THE STUDY OF SWEAR WORD USED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Abstract

This research dealt with swear-word used by American speakers in the United
States of America. The study was focused on classification of swear word in
American English and how male and female speakers use it. The aim was to find
the classification and the use by the speakers. To reach of aim, the researcher
applied Rothwell and Holmes theory based on Sudaryanto’s linguistics method.
The result of the research was that there were five classifications of swear words:
swear words based on copulative term, swear words based on human genital,
swear word based on sexual irregularities, swear words based on excretory, and
swear word based on death term. The male speakers tend to use swear words
which was harsh, while the female speakers tend to avoid it.
Key words: swear-word, American English, swear-word classification, the
user of swear-word