| Abstract |
This study conducts a sociolinguistic analysis of offensive language features in four selected American children movies. To conduct a comprehensive scrutiny, the model encompasses variant tools adopted from different linguistic perspectives such as sociolinguistics, semantics and pragmatics. In sociolinguistics, the researcher concentrates on social variables, social factors and social dimensions. In semantics, she focuses on denotation, connotation and euphemism. In pragmatics, she picks only Deixis. The hallmark of this model is the examination of offensive language from social and linguistic facets that display the major factors that affect the usage of this form of language. The core of this study is to examine the social differences in using offensive language, the most recurrent types of offensive words in the selected movies as well as the functions and motives which lie behind these offensive words. The analysis yields the conclusion that there is no age, social class or gender difference in employing offensive words. It also proves the dominance of this form of language as a social norm in conversations and the mostly used types of offensive terms are those related to name-calling, verbal violence and insults that are preferred to express negative and aggressive emotions as well as to show intimacy, humor, solidarity and joy. These words are also used to discredit the counterparts and to provoke confrontations between distant participants. The process of analysis also demonstrates that there is a clear relationship between offensive words and the child behavior; they have a negative impact on the young viewers. |
