SWEARING IN MILLER’S DEADPOOL: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY A THESIS Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Attainment of Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Literature by ADELIA JANUARTO NIM 13211144009 ENGLISH LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY 2017 ii iii iv MOTTOS “Reality can destroy the dream. Why shouldn’t the dream destroy the reality?” (George Moore) “Always go with your passion. Never ask yourself whether it is realistic or not.” (Deepak Copra) “Don’t stop dreaming just because you had a nightmare.” (Anonymous) “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.” (Anonymous) v DEDICATION I fully dedicate this thesis to my parents for the unconditional love and endless support. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I thank Allah SWT, the Gracious God for His everlasting blessings so I could finish the most challenging project in my bachelor’s degree. For His help, I could go through all difficulties during the process of composing my bachelor’s thesis. Additionally, I also would like to express my deepest gratitude for the following parties for helping me during my college years and my thesis writing: 1. my thesis supervisor, Susana Widyastuti, S.S., M.A., Ph.D. for her valuable time for discussing the drafts of my thesis, and encouragements for finishing my thesis because without her involvement, the researcher would never finish his thesis; 2. my academic advisor, Ari Nurhayati, S.S., M.Hum. for her guidance and helps since the beginning of the semester until the end of my bachelor’s degree in English Literature; 3. my lecturers from Yogyakarta State University, especially from English Literature study program for their priceless knowledge and experiences; 4. Ibu, Suismiyati and Bapak, Sugiyatno for their efforts so that I can pursue my dream to study in the university degree, and for their presence as well as encouragements when I feel hopeless or unmotivated during the thesis writing; 5. my friends from English Literature K and Linguistics concentration for their supports and teamwork during my college years; 6. my peer reviewers, Ika Herdina Kurnianingsih, Dien Aulia Fasya, Meliana Mustofa, and Oktaria Denok Jatmiko for their assistances to cope with difficulties vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE ....................................................................................................................... i APPROVAL SHEET ............................................................................................... ii RATIFICATION SHEET ........................................................................................ iii SURAT PERNYATAAN ........................................................................................... iv MOTTOS ................................................................................................................. v DEDICATION ......................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURE AND TABLES .......................................................................... xii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 A. Background of the Study ................................................................................ 1 B. Research Focus .............................................................................................. 3 C. Objectives of the Study ................................................................................... 5 D. Significance of the Study ................................................................................ 5 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................ 7 A. Literature Review ........................................................................................... 7 1. Sociolinguistics: Language and Society .................................................... 7 2. Language and Social Attitudes .................................................................. 9 3. Swearing .................................................................................................. 11 a. Types of Swearing ............................................................................... 13 1) Abusive Swearing ........................................................................... 13 2) Idiomatic Swearing ......................................................................... 14 3) Dysphemistic Swearing .................................................................. 15 ix 4) Cathartic Swearing ......................................................................... 15 5) Emphatic Swearing ......................................................................... 16 6) Humorous Swearing ....................................................................... 16 b. Motivational Factors for Swearing ...................................................... 17 1) Story-telling .................................................................................. 17 2) Emphasis ...................................................................................... 18 3) Anger/Tension-Release ................................................................. 18 4) Habit ............................................................................................. 18 5) Normality ...................................................................................... 19 6) Intimacy ........................................................................................ 19 7) Vulnerability ................................................................................. 20 8) Part of Personality ......................................................................... 20 9) A Way to Shock ............................................................................ 20 4. The Practices of Swearing in the United States ......................................... 21 5. Deadpool .................................................................................................. 22 6. Previous Studies ....................................................................................... 24 B. Conceptual Framework ................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD ................................................................. 29 A. Type of Study ................................................................................................. 29 B. Form, Context, and Source of Data ................................................................. 30 C. Data Collection Techniques ............................................................................ 31 D. Research Instruments ...................................................................................... 31 E. Data Analysis Techniques .............................................................................. 33 F. Data Trustworthiness ...................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................... 35 A. Findings ......................................................................................................... 35 B. Discussion ...................................................................................................... 38 1. Types of Swearing ..................................................................................... 38 x a. Emphatic Swearing ............................................................................. 38 b. Abusive Swearing ............................................................................... 42 c. Cathartic Swearing .............................................................................. 44 d. Humorous Swearing ........................................................................... 57 e. Dysphemistic Swearing ....................................................................... 49 f. Idiomatic Swearing ............................................................................. 51 2. Motivational Factors for Swearing ............................................................. 53 a. Anger/tension-release ......................................................................... 53 b. Emphasis ............................................................................................ 55 c. Part of Personality ............................................................................... 58 d. Story-telling ........................................................................................ 60 e. Intimacy .............................................................................................. 62 f. Vulnerability ....................................................................................... 64 g. A Way to Shock .................................................................................. 65 h. Others ................................................................................................. 68 1) Aversion ......................................................................................