Male and Female Attitudes towards Swear Words: A Case Study at Binus International School

  • Maria Fe S. Nicolau Binus International School Serpong. Jl. Lengkong Karya – Jelupang No. 58, Lengkong Karya/Serpong Tangerang 15322
  • Katharina Endriati Sukamto Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman 51, Jakarta 12930
Keywords: Swear words, attitude, teenagers, gender differences

Abstract

Swear words are generally used to articulate anger, pain, excitement, frustration, or surprise. It is often imitated by children who may not really understand the meaning of the swear words. This survey-based study aims to identify the swear utterances of male and female teenagers, find out their commonly-used swear words, and investigate whether bilingual male or female students of Grade 12, Binus International School, Simprug, Jakarta, use more swear words. A combination of multiple choice and open-ended questionnaire was constructed and the analysis revealed that swearing is inevitable and becomes a part of the male and female language repertoire. Both groups of students are said to employ the use of Indonesian and English swear words in carrying-out conversations in order to release stress and express intense emotions. However, male students tend to use more swear words that are associated with sexuality.

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Published
2015-01-01
How to Cite
Nicolau, M. F. S., & Sukamto, K. (2015). Male and Female Attitudes towards Swear Words: A Case Study at Binus International School. K@ta, 16(2), 71-76. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.9744/kata.16.2.71-76