Vol. 17, 2021 A new decade for social changes ISSN 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com 9 772668 779000 Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol. 17, 510-523, March, 2021 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com Taboo words in hate speech through Social Media Azizah Husda Universitas Prima Indonesia [email protected] Elza Leyli Lisnora Saragih UniversitasHKBP Nomensen [email protected] Mulyadi Universitas Sumatera Utara [email protected] Abstract. This research is on taboo words used in hate speech through social media to find out the classification of taboo words and to describe the social functions of taboo words in hate speech. The method applies descriptive qualitative by describing taboo words. The data were obtained through documents from social media about recently updated hate speech. The synthesis of some previous theories and relevant studies support the research. The approaches used is socio-semantics as the combination ofboth sociolinguistics and semantics, because it studies the meanings and perspectives of using taboo words among society in hate speech. The findings showed that there are taboo words classified into epithets, profanity, vulgarity, obscenity, cursing and supernatural beings. The functions of using taboo words were also found to draw people's attention, to show contempt, to provoke, and to mock authority. This research finally provides some contributions and references for any further research related to the use of taboo words within any language and also as communication guidance especially for speakers to avoid using taboo words which lead to hate speech. Keywords. Taboo, Words, Hate Speech, Social Media 1. Introduction In conveying ideas or thoughts in language, humans must always pay attention to the terms and conditions in which they are. Misuse of language, or maybe a choice of words, can lead to misunderstandings that often lead to conflict in the community. For this reason, before communicating, a person must pay attention to the conditions and norms prevailing in certain societies. By paying attention to these norms, it is hoped that he can also pay attention to the choice of words he will use in communication. Because, certain words that do not violate the norms in one society, may cause misperceptions if used in one other society. For example, the word bunting would have a rough impression if it was used in Javanese society, to label a woman who is pregnant by an accident before married, but for Betawi people, the word is a term commonly used to refer to women who are pregnant. 510 Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol. 17, 510-523, March, 2021 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com Words or sentences, even some topics, have at the moment become so sensitive to talk that violate norms or provisions in certain societies are called taboo. Some taboo words and phrases have been used for so long that they at this point have become so frequent and widespread (Mouat, 2004). Because of taboo words are sometimes found in the communication activity in the society, taboo words are supposed to be avoided by members of the community, eventhough they can be used in certain situations, for example during religious ceremonies. Taboo exists not only in the terms of words but also in the terms of gestures, pictures, attitudes, behaviour, etc. The linguistic taboo is due not only to superstitions and beliefs, but also to emotional or social reasons, for reasons of education, courtesy, good manners, decency, and kindness. Furthermore (Affini, 2017) adds that taboo is a social prohibition on words, things, actions, or people who are considered unwished by a group, culture and even society.Taboo violates anything to do and to speak because it is unacceptable and sometimes is offensive. Taboo may cause shame, disgrace, and feeling of uncomfortable and abusive treatment through society. The concept of taboo is not only related to words (words), but also can be with actions. Someone who does an act that is clearly taboo will get punishment from the community or sin (punishment from God). Some experts may have their arguments on the study of taboo language. According to (Allan & Burridge, 2006)state that taboo is a local and forbidden word including a thing that is not allowed within a cultural point of view. Taboo words have close relationship with swearwords which people who use swear words in front of public will disturb many people who hear it (Aditia, 2011). In this case, swear word have similarity with taboo words. Taboo words may not be allowed to use in front of public and swear words may not be either. Besides, in relation to sociolinguistics, cultures are born inside because they are associated with languages, traditions, and habits of society.(Trudgill, 1974) assumes that either taboo behaviors and words or both are not supposed to do and not supposed to say especially in everyday life. In concerning of behavior, a taboo is characterized with something supernaturally unacceptable or regarded as an immoral, improper, and appalling character because it deals with prohibition and violates moral values, assaults humiliates, and even judges somebody or member of society in an illogical manner(Trudgill, 2000). (Trudgill, 2008) Surprisingly, no one has clearly established how even a child acquires word taboos. Certainly, no one is born with knowledge of taboo words. It is only when human gets matured enough and is aware of institutional standards. People learn about taboos through the socialization of speech practices which creates an oral or folk knowledge of swearing etiquette(Jay, 2009).Thus, there are some factors of using taboo language based on some previous relevant studies. First, according to (Anggita, 2015), taboo is used to swear, used by people in lower social status or less educational background because rich and powerful people are surrounded by high prestige of language and well-educated. Second, (Uhlman, 2015) states that in language gender, a taboo is particularly used to swear among men because men are more considered as groups who have lacks of manner and linguistic poverty. Third, (Simoes Lucas Freitas, n.d.) argues that if two people get involved in a conversation but have different knowledge of their societies and cultures, it may insult and humiliate each other that turns to anger. The importance of studying taboo words in this research is to know the varieties of taboo words or the classifications. (Gao, 2013; Nashaat ElMassri & Maher Al Nakhalah, 2018) classify taboo words into several circumstances, such as bodily excretions, death and 511 Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol. 17, 510-523, March, 2021 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com disease, sex, four-letter words, swear words, privacy, animal abuse, and discriminatory language. However, (Clark & Yallop, 2006)(Wardhaugh, 2006)assume that there are several occasions or intentions of why people use taboo words, namely (1) to draw attention to oneself, to have power in gaining a listener’s attention; (2) to show contempt; (3) to provoke; and (4) to moke an authority. Those show functions of using taboo but not all taboo words may always mean negative thoughts such as to swear, to humiliate, or to insult. But, there are different discussions of the social functions of using or not using taboo itself, depending on the conversational goals of the speaker both in negative and positive perspectives. First, negatively if taboo words mean to swear, for example like using the horn on your car, so it is used to signify a number of emotions (e.g., anger, frustration, joy, surprise).Second, taboo words can be used to achieve a variety of personal and interpersonal outcomes that may be positive, negative, or inconsequential in terms of their impact on others, although some might argue all uses of taboo words are harmful to some degree. Positive social outcomes are achieved by using taboo words in jokes and humor, social commentary, sex talk, storytelling, in-group slang, and self-deprecation or ironic sarcasm in order to promote social harmony or cohesion (Jay, 2009). Therefore, using taboo words may (1) show power which breaks the norms and rules to swear as being powerful, taboo may use as (2) catharsis which is to provide harmless verbal substitute when someone gets extremely angry by expressing anger in violence and (3) taboo words may refer to something humorous, creates intimacy among the speakers as long as the speakers have the same understanding and do not violate or intend to negative because taboo language can be the expression to relieve negative stress and establish identity or status through speech (Bastistella, 2005). Speaking of taboo words, they become common phenomenon in today’s life. These are also provided by some speakers of any language who may express their ideas to communicate in any platform such as informal education, organization, moreover in social media (television, radio, magazine, tabloid, etc). Social media is a product of growth and technology to make the users easily in finding and exchanging some information or to communicate with each other. Bringing the positive effects of using social media, some users misuse social media to create negative sides such as the appearance of various types of violations, infightings and even crimes including hate speech. Broadly speaking, social media is as online media, where through the internet, users can share, participate and create content in the form of blogs, wikis, forums, social networks and virtual world space by technology multimedia increasingly sophisticated until now. Internet, social media and technology multimedia into one unit and which is difficult to separate and make the emergence of new things. (Cahyono, 2016) argues that the existence of communication carried out in a modern way social transformation. The effect of this change is quite broad. Social transformation is the changes that occur in the structure of society that can affect the pattern of interaction in a character that can be character building humans get better or worse.