A Discourse Analysis of English Swear Words Used in American Movies

. The purpose of this paper is aimed at giving a description of how English swear words, particularly in American movies, are used. The writers collect the common English swear words in American movies as the data. There are nine categories of English swear words. They are (1) sexuality, (2) eject and material from body, (3) family matters, (4) part of body, (5) blasphemy, (6) animal, (7) xenophobia, (8) low or bad personality, and (9) low status and profession. Among those categories, the most used terms are the English swear words from sexuality, eject and material from body, part of body and family matters. Considering the context of utterance, English swear words have four functions. They are; (1) as an abbreviation and short-hand of speaker’s distress, (2) as a means to insult or degrade someone, (3) as a means to achieve peer acceptance, and (4) as a means to stress the speaker’s utterance.


Introduction
Swearing as rude and vulgar practice is no longer a trend in the English society such as America but it becomes a way of life for many. The evidence to prove this fact is the increasing of English swear words used in movies production. Swear words and taboo words can intensify what is said, but they can shock or give offence. Swearings and the use of taboo words and expressions are quite common in speaking. We often hear and use it both in private and in public settings and in films, on television and on the radio. The use of taboo expressions suggests that speakers have, or wish to have, a close personal relationship with others. We also use taboo expressions and swear words when we express strong feelings, or when we wish to threaten or to be unpleasant to others. These kinds of words are impactful for others (Yunita, 2019). The film makers, especially the action ones, give 'color' to their movies by giving many swearing terms on their dialogue. We often hear the uttering of swear words by the actor or participants of the movies. Most of them utter the swearing terms in order to show anger, emotion, feeling and with the purpose to insult or putdown someone. Hence, the swear words are the emphasis of one's emotion toward something or someone; and they can take the role as a sign when someone gets mad or beyond control (Prayuda, et.al, 2019). Generally, the use of English swear in American movies is not complex in form and meaning. Indeed, they seem to be the same in types from one movie to another. In fact, the American movies only use the general or common English swearing terms such as fuck, shit, damn, as, nut, screw, jerk, bastard and their variants on the dialogues. But still, those who cannot read lips well and never know about English swearing will get a little bit confused thinking and obviously lose the messages. Thus, many linguists such as Sterling Johnson and Geoffrey Hughes suggest that English swearing should be part of vocabulary of any person who wishes to communicate English effectively. Sterling Johnson in his book stated: There are books that will teach you to avoid using swear words and they will even teach you to avoid innocent words that might be considered as swear word. Their point is to keep you from being thought of as vulgar. We say …. Fuck it! Vulgarity is not the point. The name of this game is communication.
(1995:6) That statement clearly suggests that if we want to learn English as a second language and we want to communicate it effectively, we should have a mastery on English swear words or at least we recognize the common terms and their meaning which are usually found in American movies. By knowing the uses, forms, meaning and purposes of English swear words we can be better in understanding the messages from the dialogues in which swear word is used. We can also avoid such words in our conversations or if we have to, we can say it in a proper way. Swearing is defined as a foul or taboo language. It covers the use of words which is not socially acceptable but it is used to either express strong emotion or to give the impression of the speakers' strong emotions. Usually, swearing terms use explicitly 'dirty' or taboo words as a mean to insult or putdown someone. The tendency of society to swear or possess swearing behavior comes as a result of psychological development process (Kakisina and Purwaningtyas, 2020). Hughes stated that these works of literature are banned due to the existence of obscenity, usually taken to mean the explicit depiction of sex and use of 'dirty' or taboo words (1998:99). In standard histories of language studies, swearing has been ignored and considered as improper language. Virtually all societies, even the most modern, retain some taboos against swearing. Their ignorance causes some English swear words such as drat, brag, and boast die and no longer used as common uses. But no matter of fact, lots of English swearing words such as fuck, damn, ass, nut, shit, bastard, and so on, are growing in a fascinating way in form of euphemism, flexibility in use and variety. In the discussion of English swearing form, it can be formed in words and phrases. Ogden and Richard, cited by Lyons, employed the term 'reference' for the concept which mediate between the word or expression and the referent (1997: 175). He described the referential relationship in the form of semiotic triangle which can be seen in the following diagram: English swearing words as reference have their own capacity to produce a certain emotional effect upon the hearer or reader; this is stated by Ogden and Richards as their emotive meaning. Many empirical studies also found to expose about English swearing words in movie (Sanusi, 2014;Sarmi, 2017;Khoirunnisa, 2017;Puspitasari, 2017;Prayuda, Suarnajaya & Juniarta, 2019;Rinaldi, 2020;Salim & Setiawan, 2020;. All those researchers concerned to the use and types of English swearing in a certain movie. There are differences in this study with those in empirical review. The most significant difference of this study is that the current study discusses both the type and function of the English swearing, while those ones focus only on the type or meaning of the swearing terms. The other difference is the source of data. From the variety of data, this study is more vary than the previous ones. The writers take the data from various movie and genre. By doing so, the data of this study are various in terms of context of utterances, meaning and function of the swearing words.

Method
This study is a descriptive qualitative study since the data taken were in the form of words, phrases, clauses and sentences. The writers act as the main instrument since the writers themselves are the ones handling and conducting this study from the very start. Some American movies scripts contained the swearing words were used as the data of this study. Since this study focused on swearing words in the movies dialogue, the writers applied content analysis to cope with reference to the meanings, contexts, and intentions found in the information delivered (Prasad, 2008). Content analysis includes document analysis and observation interface to give an insight about language phenomena in relation to swear words. The point that the writers found most relevant stating the type of this study is that; the document taken as the data were selected, limited, and partial since they were intended for specific purpose, that is to give clear description of what, how and why the English swearing words were used in American movies. The followings are the brief steps of how the data were collected and analyzed: a. Identifying data from selected American movies. There are 7 movies were selected as the data source of this study. The most reason in selecting the movie was that the Reference meaning (concept)

Form (word) Referent
dialogues of those movies contain many English swearing words. The data were the utterances or dialogues containing the English swearing term. b. Classifying the data based on their categories. c. Identifying the meaning of the swearing words based on the context of utterances. d. Analyzing the function of the swearing words based on the context of utterances.

Findings and Discussion
The writers found 9 categories in this study; (1) sexuality, (2) eject and material from body, (3) family matters, (4) part of body, (5) blasphemy, (6) animal, (7) xenophobia, (8) low or bad personality, and (9) low status and profession. Considering the context of utterance, the writers found the function; (1) as an abbreviation and short-hand of speaker's distress, (2) as a means to insult or degrade someone, (3) as a means to achieve peer acceptance, and (4) as a means to stress the speaker's utterance.

A. ENGLISH SWEAR WORD CLASSIFICATION
As replacing symbols, English swear words can be classified into several categories:

Sexuality
English swearing words dealing with sexuality are the largest class in swearing category. The swear words included in this class are those concerning with sexual matters and have 'sense' of sexuality. They are considered taboo to be uttered in public speaking and categorized as 'heavy swearing'. The swear words in this class can be either used in their own entity or to replace other reference. The various data concerning with sexuality is analyzed in the following description: a. Sexual practice The most used terms are fuck and screw and their variants. Their exact meaning is 'having sexual intercourse'. They might be used in their own entity to refer its exact act. The use of the word fucking in both sentences (3) and (4) has nothing to do with sexual matter. It is used as intensifier. The word fucking in many contexts of utterance just intensify the sentence or the next words. Being used in a similar context, the swear word fucking in both sentences (3) and (4) can be transformed into a non-swear word 'bad'.
As intensifiers, fucking in those sentences are used as a means to force the speakers' sentences. We can also 'read' the speakers' emotion. There is a large emotion involved in uttering such sentences. But in many other contexts, the word fucking cannot be translated into 'bad'. See the following: 5) John : 10 blocks? You fucking kid me! 6) Simon : Man, this is my fucking lucky day! John : Yeah, enjoy it, you cock-sucker! (Taken from 'Die Hard II') The word fucking in both sentences (5) and (6) have the same context. They can be transformed into non-swear word 'really'. They are also used as intensifier. The use of the word fucking will remain the same in any context of utterance. Its meaning will be close related to the descriptions above. Fucking is effective to intensify the high-tone utterance. The phrase fuck yourself in sentence (7) can be replaced into the sentence 'I don't care' or 'up to you'. It shows the ignorance of the speaker, Jersey, to the man named DeLeon. Its meaning is similar with the sentence screw you in (8). While the phrase get fuck out in (8) might be replaced with non-swear phrase 'stay away' or 'get loss'. Though they are 'only' used as intensifiers, they are considered serious and painstaking because they are uttered in a high tone of temper. They are also wounding since they are directly uttered to someone with a sense of degrading. The uttering of swear words in such contexts will decrease someone honor and dignity. Fuck-up in (9) refers to a man named Frankie. It replaces the phrase 'a crazy man' or 'a maniac'. The speaker assumed that Frankie is a maniac; a man who dare to do everything, even to kill someone. Its meaning will remain the same if being used in similar context. But its meaning will be different if the context of sentence is changed. Like in (10) and (11) the phrases fuck-up have different meaning. In (10), as an adjective, it can be transformed into the word 'fail'. While in (11), as a noun, it can be replaced with 'failure'. The phrase fuck-up itself then can be used in many different contexts of utterance. Its meaning will vary depend on its context. Meanwhile, the swear phrase fuck it in (10)  The word cunt can be used to refer both female and male, though its original meaning is 'vagina'. The use of cunt in (12) refers to a man named DeLeon. It replaced 'a despicable person'. While in (13), it might be transformed into 'a prostitute' or 'a woman or girl who is regarded as a sexual object'. Its meaning will remain the same in any context of utterances. Damn!! Louis, you're mother-sucker! (Taken from 'Black Dawn') The swear phrases cock-sucker and mother-sucker represent the same meaning. They refer to 'a despicable person'. The use of those two swears phrases make the sentences sounded more offended and ruder.

Eject and Material from Body
The English swear words included in this class are those concerning with eject and material from human's body. The act concerning with eject and material from body are considered rude and dirty if being done in public. Therefore, the terms dealing with it are considered as rude or taboo words. The English swear words from this class are: piss, snot, fart, shit, and ear wax. The most used terms are shit and piss (included their variants). While the other words are no longer exist. The exact meaning of piss is 'to empty water from the bladder' (as a verb). While as a noun, it refers to 'what was emptied from the bladder.' The word piss due to its flexibility and elasticity can be either used to refer its exact meaning or to refer other references. The used of the word piss and its variants can be seen in the following examples: 15) X : I wanna piss! … I'm starving. Get me two burgers and a big milk shake. Y : Boss is waiting us. He'll kill us if we're late. X : Screw him! Now get fuck! (Taken from 'Bounty Hunter') The bad symbol piss in the sentence (15) represents its exact meaning that is 'to empty water from the bladder'. The use of the word piss makes the sentence more stressed, shorter, and more effective to communicate the speaker's point. In many contexts of utterance, the swear phrase piss off can be simply transferred into the word 'angry' like it is shown in (16) and (7). But if the context is changed, it can also represent the word 'go'. Such context can be seen in the sample dialogue (17) : I said, I don't know. Find yourself, mother-fucka!! (Taken from 'Under Siege II') As verb, bullshit might represent the word 'lie'. The sentence Don't bullshit me above, therefore, can be simply transformed into 'Don't lie to me'. Its meaning will remain the same in any context of utterances.

Part of Body
The English swear words like ass (included its variants such as asshole, kiss my ass, watch your ass and etc) and nut are classified into the part of body. The swear phrase watch your ass is usually used to warn someone, but with the feeling of anger and grievance. It represents the phrase 'be careful'. Its meaning will remain the same in any contexts of utterance. 18) Rochetti : I need your help. Vinnie : You treated me like a shit when I asked you some fucking money.

And now, you ask my help? Kiss my ass! (Taken from 'For Which He Stands')
The use of swear phrase kiss my ass in sentence (18) above shows the speaker's ignorance. In many contexts of utterance, the phrase kiss my ass can be transformed into 'in your dream'. It is usually used to express the speaker's disrespect or rejection to his/her partner of speaking. The use of such bad symbol makes the sentence sounded more intended and more effective to express the speaker's point. Its meaning will remain the same in many contexts of utterance. While the use of the word nuts can be seen in the following example: 25) Louis : Robby is nuts, Jack. He'll do anything to get what he wants, even to kill us. I knew that bastard for long time. Jack : Yeah, you're right. He's nuts.

(Taken from 'Black Dawn')
Though nuts is categorized into part of body according to swearing category, its uses in many context of utterance do not have a deal with someone's part of body. The real meaning of nuts is "someone's bowel". Being used as an adjective, the word nuts in sentence (25) might replace the word 'crazy' or 'despicable person'. The use of such bad symbol makes the sentence sounded more intended. Its meaning will remain the same in many contexts of utterance.

Family Matters
The English swear words included in class are those concerning with the child of unwed parents. But in many contexts of utterance, the references of swear words from this class have nothing to do with family issue. The most used terms from this class are son of a bitch and bastard. They can be easily found in American movie dialogues or in speaking. Meanwhile, the other terms such as brat and son of a whore are no longer exist in public speaking. The phrase son of a bitch in sentence (27) is uttered by the speaker, Vinnie, to express his surprise. It does not refer to person or something. The speaker just swears out the exasperation. The term son a bitch in this context might have similar meaning with the Greek "Eureka!".

Xenophobia
The term xenophobia is defined as hatred and fear of foreigner. In general assumption is defined as a great fear or dislike to the foreigner, particular race or a group of people. Considering as a word that can invite dangerous and serious conflict among particular group of people, the xenophobic word is categorized as swear word. The swear words included in this category are; Nigger (black people), Chink (Chinese), Kike (Jew), and etc. The references of xenophobic swear words will remain the same in any contexts of utterance. Such swear words are not really popular used in public speaking, as they are considered having a power to gain sensitivity among the particular race. The uses of xenophobic swear words in American movies decrease since United States declared its country as a cosmopolitan society, tolerant to any races. The most used term is nigger. The use of this term can be seen in the following dialogue: 28) Zeus : Give that fucking code or I blow your fucking ass! Simon : (laughing). Go fuck yourself, nigger! (Taken from 'Die Hard)

Blasphemy
The swear words included in this class are those concerning with blasphemous things (= showing the disrespect to God The word damn in its exact meaning is defined as 'condemning to everlasting punishment from God'. But in many contexts of utterance, its meaning will be different based on the context of the sentence. As seen in sentence (29) and (30). Both have different meaning. In sentence (29), the swear phrase give a damn might replaces a non-swear phrase 'not care'. Then, the sentence "She will give a damn" can be transformed into "She will not care". By uttering such bad symbol, the speaker intends to be ruder and more intended. It is not wounding since it is not used to degrade someone. Being used in different context, the words damn in sentence (30) has different meaning. In both sentence "You're absolutely damn crazy" and "You looks damn sexy", the swear word damn might replace the non-swear word 'very'. That bad symbol is only used as an intensifier. The use of the word damn in such context is not offended since it is not used to insult or degrade someone. The other common uses of blasphemous English swear word is hell. The exact meaning of hell is 'a place where bad people are supposed to go after they died and where they will be punished by God'. But in many contexts, its meaning is different. As seen in sentence (31), the swear phrase go to hell can be transformed into non-swear phrase 'leave off' or 'go away'. The use of such bad symbol makes the utterance sounded more intended. That swear phrase is more effective to show the speaker's point than the phrase 'leave off'.

Animal
The names of animal, actually are not taboo at all. But if they are uttered to refer a person, In sentence (29), the swear word a dumb might replace the phrase 'a despicable person'. The speaker, Bellinda, assumed that Walter is a kind of despicable person that he would pay her for sleeping together. The use of such bad symbol is shorter and more effective to how the speaker's point. It makes the sentence sounded more intended. Its meaning will remain the same if being used at the same context of utterance.
Considering the context of sentence (32), the word chick above might replace the word 'woman'. Then, the phrase a nice chick in that sentence can be transformed into 'a nice (beautiful) woman'. The meaning of chick might be transformed into more rude sense if being used in different context. It might refer to 'despicable woman' or even in more rude sense; it might refer to 'a prostitute'. As an illustration, the word chick in sentence 'I met a nice chick last night and i screwed her' might refer to 'a prostitute'.

Low or Bad Personality
The English swear words from this class are used to refer a person who has bad personality or attitude. The English swear words included in this class are mother-fucker, mothersucker, cock-sucker, and jerk. The use of such words can be seen in the following expressions: 21) X : Where's that CD? Bobby : I don't know. X : Don't bulshit me! Tell me, where's that fucking CD?!? Bobby : I said I don't know! Find yourself, mother-fucka! (Taken from 'Under Siege II') 33) Uncle Nick : Don't be such a jerk, Tom! Let's finish it like a man. Tommy : Enough! Stop that fucking crap! You piss me off! (Taken from 'Striking Distance') Derived from mother fucker, the swear phrase mother-fucka in the sentence (21) replaces 'vile person' (a person who is assumed as disgusting one). The speaker, Bobby, intended to show his anger and grievance to a man initialed X. Bobby assumed that the man is such a vile or disgusting person. The use of such swear term makes the sentences sounded more stressed, shorter, and more intended to express the speakers' point.

Low Status or Profession
The English swearing words included in this class are those concerning with a person who is assumed as having low status or profession such as a pimp (a man who lives off the earning of one or more prostitutes), a bugger (poor person), and a wino (an alcoholic person). The uttering of such swearing words will bring very big impacts to the person being sworn at. Calling someone with those words will hurt someone's honor and dignity. The swear word bugger in sentence (34) above replaces the phrase 'poor person'. The addition of word fucking intensifies the word bugger itself. The phrase fucking bugger can be transformed into 'a bad poor person'. The bad symbol was uttered by Jersey to refer a man named DeLeon. By using such bad symbol, the speaker's utterance sounded more offended. The phrase fucking bugger is shorter, more intended and more effective than the phrase 'a bad poor person'. The meaning of the word bugger will remain the same in any context of utterance.

B. THE FUNCTIONS OF SWEARING TERMS
There is still a big question in society; 'is all this swearing good for society?' Some say yes, and they make some persuasive arguments. And the most acceptable reason is that the swearing is needed to release the passion or anger. But, assuming as bad a symbol, swearing is suggesting a lack of sophistication. It indicates the lack of education and emotional control of the speaker. The uttering of swearing words will obviously decrease the honor of the speaker. The swearer will be 'judged' as a rude and vulgar speaker. For some other people, swearing can be a tool to achieve something, for example to achieve peer acceptance in a certain group. Some findings of this research show this phenomenon.

Swear Word as Abbreviation and Short-Hand of Speaker's Distress
The English swear words functioned as abbreviation and short-hand of the speaker's distress occurs when the speakers have very big emotion and they do not have a means to express what they feel. The resort, they swear out and ignore the proper language in their expression. Thus, the desire to express their feeling is more dominant than the need to use polite and proper language. 9) Rochetti : Listen to me, Theresa. It's not over. I know who Frankie is. He's a fuck-up. I have to kill him before he kills us. You have to believe me. I'm doing this for you and this family. : Jack, listen to me! I don't mean to lie to you. You gotta trust me, Goddamn it! (Taken from 'Black Dawn') The most dominant swear words functioned as abbreviation and short-hand of the speaker's distress are the swear words included in the class of blasphemy and sexuality. Those swear words are mostly used as expletive words as the out-burst of speakers' surprise, anger or any other strong emotion. The speakers in the sentences above are distinguished angry and desperate. They had the speakers' intended to communicate his point more specifically, with large emotion content. The uses of those bad symbols make the utterances sounded more offended. Being uttered in high tone of temper, those swear words and phrases are considered serious and painstaking. But they are not wounding since they are not used to insult and putdown someone. Being uttered in high tone of temper, the words fucking in such context of sentences are considered serious and painstaking. But they are not wounding since they are not used to insult and putdown someone.

Swear Word as a Means to Insult or Degrade Someone
A swear word can be functioned as a means to insult or degrade someone. This occurs when someone feels a very big anger and grievance to someone. When people intended to express their anger or grievance to someone, they might use the swear words. Several swear words such as bastard, son of a bitch, asshole, jerk, sucker, cunt, nigger, dumb and chicken are usually used to insult or degrade someone. They are considered serious, wounding and painstaking since they are often used in such a high tone of temper and have the purpose to insult or degrade someone. Calling a person using such bad symbol will obviously hurt someone honor and dignity.  (28) and nigger (29) are considered serious and painstaking. It is also wounding and offended since it is directly uttered to call someone with the purpose to insult or putdown. The uttering of such bad symbol will obviously hurt someone's honor and dignity.

Swear Word as a Means to Achieve Peer Acceptance
In particular cases, people swear with a purpose to show their identity and membership in a group, for example; criminals. People in such group will simply swear exuberantly, even in 'inappropriate' situation. 15) X : I wanna piss... I'm starving. Get me two burgers and a big milk shake! Y : Boss is waiting for us. He will kill us if we're late. X : Screw him! Now, get fuck! (Taken from 'Bounty Hunter') In (15) the speakers' meaning is not to insult or to putdown someone. The speaker in that movie is described as a criminal. Swearing in this case can be a tool to show the identity and reflect the membership of a particular group. The use of swear words in this context is considered mocking, perfunctory and not wounding because they are not used to insult someone directly.

Swear Word as a Means to Stress the Speaker's Utterances
The swear word can also be used to stress or emphasize the speaker's utterance. Thus, the speakers swear out with the purpose to give force on their expression. They usually intended to be more rude and vulgar speakers. They intended to express their points more specifically. The following expression might that phenomenon.
3) John : Simon, you're such a fucking psycho who like a kid game. I'm sick with your fucking game!! (Taken from 'Die Hard II') 4) James : My brother died like a fish, Mr.Vilano. And you just care about this fucking expedition?!? (Taken from 'Forgotten City') The words fucking in sentence (3) and (4) are used as intensifier. They intensify the speakers' sentence. By using such bad symbol, the speakers' utterance sounded more stressed and specific. We can also read the speakers' emotion from the sentences. There was large emotion involved in uttering such expression. The speakers were distinguished angry. Being uttered in high tone of temper, the words fucking in sentence (3) and (4) are considered serious and painstaking. But they are wounding since they are not used to insult or degrade someone.

CONCLUSION
The English swear words due to their elasticity and flexibility can be used to replace any symbols, even the innocent ones. As replacing symbol, English swear words can be classified into several categories such as; sexuality, the eject and material from body, animal, part of body, family matters, xenophobia, blasphemy, low status or profession, and low or bad personality. Among those categories, the English swear words included in sexuality, part of body, eject and material from body, and family matters are the most dominant used terms in American movies. The use of English swear words as replacing terms do not match significantly to the replaced terms as synonyms. The meaning of swear words is determined by considering the forms and contexts of utterance in which the term is used. Most of English swear words are not used to refer their exact meaning. Due to the speakers' act swearing it can be concluded that people swear with many reasons. Thus, the writers conclude four reasons cover all condition of swearing. First, people swear due to their ignorance of vocabulary. In this context, the speakers are distinguished angry and use swear words to express their anger and feeling more intended. Thus, swear word is used as an abbreviation and short-hand of speaker's distress. Second, people swear due to their disorientation by passion and grievance. In this context, the speakers swear with the purpose to express their anger and grievance to someone. Thus, the English swear word is used as a means to insult or degrade someone. The third reason, people swear to achieve peer acceptance in a particular group. By swearing, the speakers wish to reflect their identity and union in a particular group (e.g: criminal). Thus, the English swear word is used as a means to achieve peer acceptance in a particular group. The last reason is people swear to give a force to their expression. In this context, the speakers swear with the purpose to express their feeling more specifically. They intend to stress their utterances by using the English swear words. Thus, the English swear word is used as a means to stress or emphasize the speaker's sentence.