CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
Thischapterpresents background of
thestudy,problemof the study, objectivesof the study,scope
andlimitation,significanceof thestudy,and definitionof the keyterms.
1.1 Background of the Study Languageis
representingthemeaningof reallife.It has a socialfunction as thewayof
communicationamonghumanbeingswhetheroralor symbol.As Elaine(1982:1)
statesthatlanguageand societyare so intertwined,itis impossible tounderstand
one withoutanother.Bylanguage,peoplecan express theirfeeling, willing,opinion,and
idea.Languagebecomesunpleasantwhen a language expressed notas its
mainfunctionand violatesthemoralcode as theconceptof culture.As Holmesin Purba
(1998:32)states thatcultureconsists of threemain conceptsas: values,norms,and
technology.
Languageis apart of
culture,withoutlanguage,thecultureof society would neverdevelopand is
materialized(NababaninRahardjo, 2002:42).All of languagespeakers
willalwaysconnectwiththe elementsof society’sculture becauselanguageeventsare
cultureevents.Cultures arecomposedof two differentareas;first,an overt spaceis
a visibleareathatpeople constructtheir livesaround. Second, thecovertsphereis
invisibleareathatpeopleneed to understandthose experiencesnotovert or
presentedin thefirst. Withoutthecovert area,theovert sphere is invisiblebecause
thereis no contextinwhichto defineit.
Likewise,thecovertis an
indefinablespacein theabsenceof the sphere.
Experiencesand normsacceptablein onearea
maynot beacceptedin others.In manyways,languageplaysa rolein a culturefor identifyingwhich
experiences layin specificarea,and languagehas thepower to movean
experienceinto the overtsphere of culture.
In caseof
communication,peopleoftenexpress thelanguagefreer,they forgetabout culturesor
norms.Peopleexpress theirfeelings inanysituationby filthywords; thewords
thatare forbiddenreflectingthe particularcustomsand views of thesociety,not
onlyinoral expression, butalso in actsor behavior relatedto impoliteone, and
deemedtaboo. A taboo is astrong socialprohibition (or ban)against words, objects,actions,
discussions, or peoplethatare considered undesirableor offensivebya group,
culture,or society.Wardaugh(1986:230) statesthatlanguagetaboo or calledas ‘free
speech’is one wayof people expresses its disapprovalof certainkinds of behavior
believedto be harmful, eitherfor supernaturalreasons or becauseitis violateof
moralcode.Other taboo resultsare
embarrassment(anunpleasantemotional),shame(theconsciousness or awareness of
dishonor, disgrace,or condemnation),and rudeness (the disrespect andfailureto
behavewithin thecontextof a societyor etiquette).
In
Islamicperspective,languagetaboo or offensivelanguageis clearly forbidden.It is
beingin contradictionwithSurahAn-Nisa’ verses 4:148 of the HolyQur’an: ( “God
frowns upon bad utterances,(whatsaid) franklyexceptbymanwho has injustice.God was TheMost Heard
againTheMost co-signature” ThatAllahdislikes abad speaking, such as mockery,dirtywords,
and talking aboutbadness others is trueand moslempeopleare not allowedtodo that.
In certainsocieties,words
thathavereligious connotationsare considered profaneif theyare used
outsideformalor religiousceremonies.In England,the word “bloody”is a tabooword
becauseitoriginallyrefers tothe bloodof Christ.
As Fromkin(1997:285)
saidthattaboo is a word, utterance,behavior,or act that is forbiddenbecauseof
socialcustomand violationof a moralcode. Words relatedto death,sex,
excretion,animal,bodilyfunctions,religious,and lefthand arepart of theset
taboowords of manycultures(Freud,1918:33). In reallife, exactlyin
Indonesianculture,peoplecallothers using animalname(monkey, pig, dog, etc)is
indicatedtaboo, andalso in Americanculture,such as littlepussycat, fuckdog, and
so on. Theseare violatingculturebecausetheytendto betaboo words.
Languagetaboobecomesphenomenain
modernsociety.These are happeningtoo inmostof theentertainmentssuch as TV’s
program,radio,and tabloid.Today,thepublicis digging manymoreinformationbywatching
televisionor readinga newspaperfor peopleaware thattheyneed toknow and understandthe
world aroundthem.As Hayakawa(1972) claimsthatthepower apparenttoeven themediaof
masscommunication:the press, motionpictures, radio,and television,allthese arehelping
tochangethe socialworld.
At thepresent time,filthywords and
naughtyacts--known as taboo forms--are encounteredeverywhere;on the screen,in
thetheatres,in thecomicpapers, in the magazines,and in thefloor of congress,
and evenin dailylife(Mencken, 1937:300).It meansthattabooformsare expressedin
anywherewhetherin reality or inentertainmentworld. In thepast, we
mayrarelyfindlanguagetaboo showed inTV’s programs,but now we canfind
iteasier.Likewiselanguageexpresses in dialoguesof a filmis necessaryto giveattentionbecauseitcan
beone of the powers to affectthepublicsense.There aresomewords or
utterancesthatoften expressed bysomeactors or actresses infilmand
implicatedfromtaboo forms, such as damn, fuck, and alsoleft-handed.
Actually,manyentertainmentstodayhave
tabooin somecontexts justto makethefilmmoreinterestingto be watched.This factis
found inmany entertainmentsof Americanmovieand so in comedyfilms.Mostlytheyare coloredbysometaboosin
someevents.Taboo formsarealso found in American comedyfilmsthatare popularshown
widelyin cinemas. DeuceBigalowis one of Americancomedyfilmswith
amusingdirtyjokes includingwords andacts. It includesjokes, such as farts,
fuck,piss off, breasts, fish, pimps, nude, etc.,and alsosomeprofanities,such as
Goddamn, my God, hell, andmanyothers whichare notsuitableto be shown for
publicaudience.
Comedyfilmis differentfromdramaor
actionfilmwhetherin scriptor expression. As Voltz(1964) statesthatcomedyfilmis
freer in expressing languagebecauseithas jokes effects.The jokes effects,such
as mockery, ludicrous,or funnythings whetherin words or actsare thecomponentsof
humor.
Comedyfilmoften appliesdirtyjokes
(an analysisof sexual humor)and pornography(the explicitrepresentationof the
humanbodyor sexual activitywith thegoal of sexualarousal
and/orsexualrelief).Therefore,the researcherchooses comedyfilmas theobjectto be
analyzedin this studybecausein comedyfilmthe expression of taboowords is
freerthan otherfilms.Comedyfilmcanentertainthe audienceand makethemlaugh
becauseitmakeseverybodyfun bythe jokes effects,ridiculous,and possible
tabooformstoo. Itis reasonableif manycomedy filmsare popularin
entertainmentworld. For thatthe researcherchooses the comedyone as thesecond
reasons. The thirdreason is thatallof tabooobscenity, insultand profanitywhich
areexpressed in thefilmabove havebeen common thingin Americafor itdescribes
presentsociallifeof peoplethere andthese are showing thattaboo
stillexistsaround us and peoplebelieveitas the realityof phenomenon.Besides,
Americanpeopleareveryrespectingaboutfreedom,so it is notstrange if
thesociallifeover therebecomefree. Thelastreason, American comedyfilm
DeuceBigalowhad won the GoldenAward for thefunniest drama comedyfilm,itwas
proofedthatthe filmwith amusingdirtyjokes including tabooformsis enjoyed.The
aimof thisresearchis tostudythe categoriesof taboo andwhattaboo words are found
inAmericancomedyfilm DeuceBigalowthatare expressed byallcharacters.
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