DIFFERENCES OF WOMEN’S GOSSIP AND MEN’S GOSSIP IN … · sekelompok perempuan dan laki-laki dalam film Pitch Perfect. Perbedaan bahasa yang digunakan antara sekelompok perempuan

DIFFERENCES OF WOMEN’S GOSSIP AND MEN’S GOSSIP

IN PITCH PERFECT MOVIE

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Francisca Romana Maria Ardhyningtyas

Student Number: 121214162

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

201

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI



iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work

or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the

references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, 11 September 2017

The Writer


121214162


v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama : Francisca Romana Maria Ardhyningtyas

Nomor Mahasiswa : 121214162

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan

Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

DIFFERENCES OF WOMEN’S GOSSIP AND MEN’S GOSSIP

IN PITCH PERFECT MOVIE

beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian, saya memberikan

kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,

mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau

media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya

maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencamtumkan nama saya

sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal: 11 September 2017

Yang menyatakan



vi

ABSTRACT

Ardhyningtyas, Francisca Romana Maria Ardhyningtyas. (2017). Differences of

Women‟s Gossip and Men‟s Gossip in Pitch Perfect movie. Yogyakarta: English

Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

This research analyzes the difference of language used by a certain group

of women and men in Pitch Perfect movie. The difference of language used by a

group of women and men in that movie could be clearly seen through its

conversations. Therefore, the researcher is motivated to do a deeper study in order

to discover the real differences of language used by women and men when they

talk to the same gender in a certain group. Moreover, the researcher tried to prove

that not only women do gossip but men also do that.

In this study, there are two research problems which are going to be

analyzed: (1) Which linguistic features are used by women and men in Pitch

Perfect movie‟s speech? (2) What are the differences between women‟s gossip

and men‟s gossip in Pitch Perfect movie? To answer those two research problems,

the researcher uses Lakoff‟s (1975) theory about women language and Tannen‟s

(1990) theory about the definition and the function of gossip in society.

The researcher uses qualitative research method in which discourse

analysis and document analysis were used during the study. The document needed

in this study is not only books as the references but also movie‟s script of Pitch

Perfect also used as a tool to analyze the data. In this study, the researcher also

takes a role as a „human instrument‟ who is involved significantly in conducting

the data.

Based on the study result, the researcher found some terms that show the

difference of women‟s language and men‟s language that commonly used in daily

conversations. The researcher also found the difference of women‟s gossip and

men‟s gossip related to its content based on the movie. Moreover, the researcher

could prove that not only women do gossip, but men also do that even the content

they discussed is not similar to women‟s have.

Keywords: Pitch Perfect movie, women‟s gossip, men‟s gossip, gender language


vii

ABSTRAK

Ardhyningtyas, Francisca Romana Maria (2017). Differences of Women‟s Gossip

and Men‟s Gossip in Pitch Perfect movie. Yogyakarta: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Penelitian ini menganalisis perbedaan bahasa yang digunakan oleh

sekelompok perempuan dan laki-laki dalam film Pitch Perfect. Perbedaan bahasa

yang digunakan antara sekelompok perempuan dan laki-laki dalam film ini sangat

terlihat melalui beberapa percakapan. Oleh karena itu, peneliti terdorong untuk

melakukan penelitian tentang perbedaan bahasa yang digunakan oleh perempuan

dan laki-laki. Serta membuktikan bahwa tidak hanya perempuan saja yang

bergosip tetapi laki-laki juga melakukannya.

Dalam penelitian ini, ada dua rumusan masalah yang dianalisis: (1) Fitur

linguistik apa yang digunakan oleh perempuan dan laki-laki dalam film Pitch

Perfect? (2) Apa perbedaan gosip perempuan dan gosip laki-laki dalam film Pitch

Perfect? Untuk menjawab kedua rumusan masalah tersebut, peneliti

menggunakan teori Lakoff (1975) tentang bahasa wanita, teori Tannen (1990)

tentang definisi dan fungsi gosip dalam masyarakat.

Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif di mana analisis

wacana dan dokumen digunakan selama penelitian berlangsung. Dokumen yang

diperlukan dalam penelitian ini tidak hanya buku sebagai referensi, namun

transkrip film Pitch Perfect juga digunakan sebagai alat untuk menganalisis data.

Peneliti berperan sebagai „human instrument‟ yang terlibat secara signifikan

dalam pengumpulan data yang diperlukan dalam penelitian.

Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, peneliti menemukan beberapa hal yang

menunjukkan perbedaan antara bahasa perempuan dan bahasa laki-laki yang

sering digunakan dalam percakapan sehari-hari. Peneliti juga menemukan

perbedaan isi dalam gosip antara perempuan dan laki-laki yang ditarik

berdasarkan film tersebut. Terlebih lagi, peneliti berhasil membuktikan bahwa

tidak hanya perempuan saja yang bergosip, namun laki-laki juga melakukannya

meski dalam cara yang berbeda dan topik yang mereka bicarakan tidak sama

dengan yang dibicarakan oleh wanita.

Kata kunci: Pitch Perfect movie, women‟s gossip, men‟s gossip, gender language


viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ for blessing and guiding me during I

working on my thesis. I dedicate my thesis to my special mama and papa

(Geoveva Sumartiningsih and Dominikino Suwardi) who strengthen me up

through their everyday prayer. For all my sisters, Regina Ardhy, Maria Ardhy

and Rossa Ardhy. I thank them who are never tired in giving me support and

helping me to solve my problems.

I would like to express my special thanks to my thesis advisor, Drs. Barli

Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D., for guiding me to finish my thesis. He kindly encouraged

me in my working to always give the best on my thesis. I would also like to thank

to all my lecturers in ELESP for invaluable knowledge that I have learned

during my study in Sanata Dharma University. They give me many things to be

learned. My appreciation goes to Rian, who has spared her busy time to help me

proofread my thesis.

For all my friends in ELESP USD, I thank them for accompanying me

from the very first semester until I finish my study in Sanata Dharma University.

To all my friends, I appreciate for teaching me many things, both in academic and

non academic study. My biggest thanks go to my special one Vebry Prakoso who

always accompanies me in my up and down. He never stops in giving me support

to jump over the barriers. I would also like to thank everyone who has taken parts

during these five years study.



ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE ........................................................................................................ i

APPROVAL PAGE................................................................................................ ii

STATEMENT OF WORK‟S ORIGINALITY ............................................................iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ............................................................. v

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................vi

ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................. vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ ix

LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................. xi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1

A. Research Background ........................................................................... 1

B. Research Problems ............................................................................... 5

C. Problem Limitation .............................................................................. 5

D. Research Objectives ............................................................................. 6

E. Research Benefit .................................................................................. 6

F. Definition of Terms .............................................................................. 7

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ........................................... 8

A. Theoretical Description ....................................................................... 8

1. Language ....................................................................................... 9

2. Linguistic Features of Language ................................................... 9

3. Gossip As Language Variation ................................................... 14

4. Characteristic of Gossip .............................................................. 16

5. Function of Gossip ...................................................................... 21

B. Theoretical Framework ..................................................................... 23

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...................................................... 25

A. Research Method ................................................................................ 25


x

B. Research Setting ................................................................................. 27

C. Research Data ..................................................................................... 28

D. Instrument and Data Gathering Technique ........................................ 29

E. Data Analysis Technique ................................................................... 30

F. Research Procedure ............................................................................ 31

CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION............................... 33

A. The Difference of Linguistic Features Used by Women and Men in

Pitch Perfect Movie ........................................................................... 33

1. Women‟s Linguistic Features ..................................................... 34

2. Men‟s Linguistic Features ........................................................... 37

B. The Difference of Women‟s Gossip and Men‟s Gossip in Pitch

Perfect Movie ..................................................................................... 39

1. Women‟s Gossip ......................................................................... 39

2. Men‟s Gossip .............................................................................. 42

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND

RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................... 46

A. Conclusions ........................................................................................ 46

B. Implications ........................................................................................ 48

C. Recommendations .............................................................................. 48

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 50

APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... 53


xi

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

APPENDIX. A .................................................................................................... 53

APPENDIX. B .................................................................................................... 58

APPENDIX. C .................................................................................................... 62


1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of six sections. The first one is the research

background which is concerned about the reasons why the researcher chose the

topic. The second research problems which is deal with the problems that will be

analyzed in chapter four. The third section is problem limitation which becomes

the scope and the focus of the study. The fourth section is about the objectives of

the study which provide the purpose of this study. The next part is the benefit of

the study which contains the use of study. The last part is the definition of terms

which consists of an explanation related to the important terms in this study.

A. Research Background

Language has always been an important part in human life. People need

the language to express their emotions, ideas, feelings, and thoughts by using

speech. The language has some functions, Holmes (2013) states that “though

language serves many functions, language can convey objective information of a

referential kind, and it can also express how someone‟s feeling” (p.10). It makes

people are capable in interacting and communicating with one another for

whatever they do in their everyday life. Thus, it can allow people to maintain

social relationships with other people. However, the way individual speaks is

different from one another, especially men and woman.

Holmes (2013) says that languages provide a variety of ways of saying the

same thing – addressing and greeting others, describing things, paying


2

compliments. Therefore, even though women and men are saying the same thing

to the same receiver, they will deliver it in a different way and also in a different

style. It occurs because of the gender differences in linguistic features and its

functions. Some research had proven that some characteristics show the

differences between women‟s language and men‟s language. Even if they grow up

in the same neighbourhood, on the same block, or in the same house, girls and

boys grow up in different worlds of words (Tannen, 1990). Thus, even though

there is a woman and a man who are siblings as brother and sister, they were born

to be different as man and woman. Holmes (2013) adds that men and women may

use language for different social purposes, having been socialised in different

ways from earliest childhood. Those factors may influence both men and women

to speak in a different way. In a real social life, both women and men are naturally

act differently, especially in the way they deliver something.

People who speak in a different style from one another might accept

others‟ talk in a different assumption and might interpret it in different meanings

too. In perceiving others‟ speech, men and women have different ways to take.

Sometimes, men choose to use language as a tool to give comment on others‟

opinion when others‟ argument is not the same with their idea. In contrast, women

are more likely to be silent when others start to invite them into a debate. Silence

may be the best ornament of a woman, but it is one she all too seldom wears

(Holmes, 2013). However, we could not decide directly when both women and

men are silent, it means that they avoid to have a debate with others. Silence has

different meaning for women and men, in case of perceiving other‟s saying. If a


3

man is silent, this may well be seen to confirm his authority and potency; if a

woman is silent, this may be taken as a confirmation of her weakness or timidity

(Holmes, 2013).

The use of language itself can be varied based on the individuals who use

it. Therefore, in this research, the researcher is going to prove one of language‟s

use as a gossip in human life, especially for both women and men. Most people in

this world have the same perception about gossip in which women are the one

gender who are likely to do gossip rather than men. Moreover, since there is a

myth which says that the one who most do gossip is women, the researcher is

motivated to change the statement related to that myth. That myth has

successfully influenced the way people think about who frequently do gossip.

This occurrence becomes the reason for the researcher to change the way people‟s

perspective related to that myth. Furthermore, people‟s understanding about the

meaning of gossip itself is not totally true. For most people, gossiping is talking

about someone else or an absent third party. Nevertheless, the way people define

the meaning of gossip is similar to the definition of gossip in a dictionary which

says that gossip is an informal talk about other people, especially about other

private lives. Meanwhile, there are some meanings of gossip asides from it. Each

expert describes the different meaning of gossip based on their own theory. Some

studies have already shown that men are talking much more than women in

reality. There is abundant evidence that men talk more than women (Holmes,

1990). In the same situation, Tannen (1990) argues that men think women talk a

lot because they hear women talking in a situation where men would not. In fact,


4

men actually do gossip, but they choose to gossip with their fellow who are in the

same gender rather than talking with women. Thus, the researcher tries to learn

deeper about language and gossip, especially about gossip and its function for

women and men.

Hence, the researcher has checked the previous research which is

conducted by English education‟s students in the same university. As a result,

most of the studies are talking about women‟s language only, without comparing

it with men‟s language. The contain of the study defines about the linguistic

features of women‟s language only. For this reason, the researcher tries to

compare the linguistic features used by women and men in their speech, and tries

to analyze the difference of gossip talked by women and men. As an English

learner, it is good to understand about language used by women in their speech,

but it is better to understand the language used by both women and men in their

speech. Not only understand about language and its linguistic features only, but

also learn to understand about the variation of language use in social life is good

for English learners.

To understand about gossip as one of language variations, the example of

women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip is shown in Pitch Perfect movie in which there

are some dialogues of women‟s speech and men‟s speech which could be

categorized as gossip. Those speeches show that women‟s speech and men‟s

speech in the movie is not similar. Moreover, the content of women‟s speech and

men‟s speech is different, especially when both women and men is talking in a

all-female group or all-male group. Thus, in this study, the researcher is interested


5

in analyzing the differences of women‟s speech and men‟s speech in Pitch Perfect

movie.

B. Research Problems

1. Which linguistic features are used by women and men in Pitch Perfect

movie‟s speech?

2. What are the differences between women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip in

Pitch Perfect movie?

C. Problem Limitations

This research focuses on two points. The first is the differences in

women‟s speech and men‟s speech in Pitch Perfect movie. Another one is the

differences between women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip in Pitch Perfect movie. To

gather the data of this study, the researcher only focuses on analyzing the

dialogue done by the two main groups of all-female capella group and all-male

capella group who appear frequently in the movie.

The character‟s speech among both women and men is analyzed only

through their dialogues. There are some linguistic features that indicate the

differences between women‟s speech and men‟s speech and there are some

characteristics that indicate the differences between women‟s gossip and men‟s

gossip in Pitch Perfect movie.

D. Research Objectives

The aim of this study is to describe how women‟s speech differs from

men‟s speech which shows in a certain movie. This study is done to find the


6

linguistic features used by women and men in their speech and also the content of

their speech. Moreover, the aim of this study is to prove that in fact, not only

women do gossip but men also do it.

E. Research Benefits

The researcher believes that this study will be beneficial for the readers

and for those who deal with language education. They are:

1. English Language Education Study Program (ELESP) Students

This study will be useful for ELESP students because this study will help

the students know more about the differences of women‟s speech and men‟s

speech. Through this study, the students could also understand that there are not

only women who do gossip, but men also do that, even in different ways and

different contexts. Moreover, this study could be the reference for the students in

order to know about one of some branches in sociolinguisticss that commonly

done by the majority of society, and it is called gossip.

2. English Lecturers

The result of this study is expected to be useful not only for the ELESP

students but for the lecturers also. Hopefully, this study could be one of learning

sources in teaching English or other related subjects. Since this study is analyzed

about gossip and proved that not only women do gossip, but men also, it might be

one of interesting topics to be learned by the students.

3. Readers

This study is about sociolinguisticss which is relevant not only with

linguistic terms, but also with society. Thus, it might be useful for everyone who


7

read it. For those who do not concern about linguistic, this study can give the

readers information related to the differences of gender language.

F. Definition of Terms

In order to help the readers in understanding the content of this research,

the terms used in this research are defined as follows:

1. Gossip

Gossip is informal talk about other people especially about their private

lives (Oxford Dictionary, 2008). In other sides, Foster (2004) describes gossip as

efficient and at time exclusive means of gathering or disseminating information.

Tannen (1990) argues that “to him (men), talk is for information, but to her

(women), talk is for interaction” (p.38). When gossiping, women are likely to

share about their feeling and try to build a closer relationship with others.

Meanwhile, men are more likely to share about an information rather than talking

about their feelings.

2. Pitch Perfect Movie

Pitch Perfect movie is an American movie, which is created based on a

book by Mickey Rapkin and directed by Jason Moore. This movie tells about two

capella groups which consist of Bellas as the women capella group and Trebles as

the men capella group. They compete to perform at the International

Championship of Collegiate a Cappella.


8

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of two sections. They are theoretical description and

theoretical framework. In the theoretical description, the researcher reviews some

theories to support the researcher‟s ideas in the study. Then, in the theoretical

framework, the researcher elaborates the way how the theories are implied for

analyzing the dialogues in the movie.

A. Theoretical Description

In supporting the idea of the analysis, some relevant theories are used, as

follows.

1. Language

Holmes (2013) states that “languages provide a variety of ways of saying

the same thing – addressing and greeting others, describing things, paying

compliments” (p.3). The variety of language is able to be seen when a

communication happens between two persons, especially men and women, then

they are saying the same thing, but they deliver it in different ways. Even though

the purpose of those different person are the same, but when the same things are

said by different individual, it could be delivered in a different way too. This

situation caused by individual factors where every person has their own different

character and style in delivering their thought.


9

Definition of language by Lado (1957) is the system of speech sound by

which human beings, communicate with one another. However, Tannen (1990),

who wrote the book You Just Don‟t Understand, stated that communication isn‟t

as simple as saying what you mean. The way you say what you mean is crucial

and differs from one person to the next.

According to Cameron (1998), men and women are members of cultures

in which a large amount of discourse about gender is constantly circulating. They

do not only learn, and then mechanically reproduce, ways of speaking

„appropriate‟ to their own gender; they learn a much broader set of gendered

meanings that attach in rather complex ways to different ways of speaking, and

they produce their own behavior in the light of these meanings.

By looking at the name quickly, people are able to interpret the meaning of

sociolinguisticss directly without finding out further in a dictionary. We could

easily know that the word comes from society and language, which means there

is a relation between language and in society. In An Introduction to

Sociolinguistics‟s book which is written by Holmes (2013), it supports that

sociolinguisticss studies the relationship between language and society.

Wardhaugh (2006) has described earlier about the definition of

sociolinguistics which means a study that concern about the relation between

language and society with the goal to understand how languages function in

communication. Through the study of language, social relation, and

communication could be better understood.


10

Thus, it can be simply concluded that sociolinguisticss means a theory of

language which is used by people in a group of society. Holmes (2013) states that

sociolinguisticss interested in explaining why people speak differently in

different social context. That means sociolinguisticss explains to us why

everyone speaks differently from one another, why people who live in different

area have to speak in different language, why those people in a certain area

always speak in a high intonation, and so on. It is related to the function of

sociolinguisticss, where sociolinguisticss is concerned about identifying the

social functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social meaning

(Holmes, 2013). The theory which is being focused in sociolinguisticss can be

vary, it could be the structure of language, the function of language, or even

various the language politeness in a certain group of society.

Talking about language and society, we could directly think about what

language that people commonly use when they are talking with others in their

own region. For example the language used by a group of people in a certain area

is different from other‟s language which is used in other different areas too. For

majority of Indonesian people, when a native speaker of American is talking

American English, the speech which is talked by American people sounds too

fast and difficult to be understood by Indonesian people. This occurrence happens

because native speakers are talking their language with their own style, and this is

what we called by dialect. According to Yulia and Ena (2006), dialect is simply

linguistic varieties which are distinguishable by their vocabulary, grammar and


11

pronunciation; the speech of people from different social, as well as regional

groups, may be differed in these ways.

A certain group of people who lived in different areas certainly speaks in

different languages too. Every country has their own language variety and every

region has their own traditional language which is varied too. Therefore, every

individual could learn diversity from other‟s different language. Through this

diversity, everyone is expected to be able to respect one another, therefore

everyone could build solidarity and loyalty among the society. That solidarity will

always be growing up until there will be no gap between one another.

2. Linguistic Features of Language

Language as a tool for people to communicate with others has linguistic

features to determine the meanings of the language‟s content. Both women and

men have their own different linguistic features of their own language since the

language uttered by them are different from one another. According to Wardaugh

(2006), linguistic variables or linguistic features are items in the structure of a

language, an item that has alternate realizations, as one speaker realizes it one way

and another a different way or the same speaker realizes it differently on different

occasions. Therefore, linguistic features become an important part in the way

people communicate through language and it is functioned to determine the

meaning of language.

The function of language itself is not only to tell the meaning of language

which someone utters, but also to indicate the speaker of the language, whether

the speaker is a man or a woman. Men and women are different psychologically


12

in the way they act, from the style in which they communicate to the way in

which they attempt to influence others. These gender differences in

communication and influence tactics also have implications for gender differences

styles of men and women. (Merchant, 2012). To differentiate the language made

by woman and man, both woman and man have their own difference linguistic

features.

a. Linguistic Features of Women’s Language

Lakoff (1975) provides a list of ten linguistic features which characterize

women‟s speech. The first one is lexical hedges or fillers, e.g. you know, sort of,

well, you see. The second is tag questions, e.g. she‟s very nice, isn‟t she? The

third is rising intonation on declaratives, e.g. it‟s really good? The fourth is

„empty‟ adjectives, e.g. divine, charming, cute. The fifth is precise color terms,

e.g. magenta, aquamarine. The sixth is intensifiers such as just and so, e.g. I like

him so much. Then the seventh is „hypercorrect‟ grammar, e.g. consistent use of

standard verb forms. The next is „super polite‟ forms, e.g. indirect requests,

euphemisms. The other one is avoidance of strong swear words, e.g. fudge, my

goodness. The last is emphatic stress, e.g. it was a brilliant performance.”

(Holmes, 2001)

Moreover, women are reported to use more polite forms and more

compliment than men (Wardaugh, 2006). Even when communicate with the same

gender or with their opposite gender, women tend to use more polite language

rather than their language will sounds rude by others. Women are somehow

predisposed psychologically to be involved with one another and to be mutually


13

supportive and non-competitive (Wardaugh, 2006). When women engage with

their partner in a conversation, they tend to support their friend‟s argument and

avoid to against another in order to keep others feeling instead of hurting other‟s

feeling. They also give more responses, little words like mhm, uh-uh, and yeah,

sprinkled throughout someone else‟s talk, providing feedback loop (Tannen,

1990). Tannen (1990) adds that “women respond more positively and

enthusiasticaly by agreeing and laughing” (p.69). Those responses indicate

women in showing their attention as a good listener to others.

Tannen (1990) found a fact that, women also tell jokes even not as much

as men do. Unlike men, women preferred a small audience of one or two, rarely

more than three. It is different from most of men who are freely telling jokes in a

public. In contrast, women tend to refuse if they are asked to tell jokes in a public

or in a larger group. Entertaining others is a way of establishing connections with

them, and telling jokes can be a kind of giving where the joke is a gift that brings

pleasure to receivers (Tannen, 1990).

b. Linguistic Features of Men’s Language

Men and women speak differently. Men‟s speech was seen as logical,

concise and dealing with important topic (Weatherall, 2002). Wardaugh (2006)

says that in cross-gender conversations, men try to control what topics are

discussed and are inclined to make categorical statements. When a father asked

her beloved daughter to continue her study based on the father‟s choices, while in

other sides her daughter has a different idea from him, the father starts to take


14

control of their conversations and persuade her daughter to follow his idea.

Moreover, men are more competitive and prone to conflict (Tannen, 1990).

The corresponding strategies of men given fewer listener responses,

making statements rather that asking questions, and challenging rather than

agreeing, can be understood as moves in a contest by incipient speakers rather

than audience members (Tannen, 1990). Most of men are not interested to be a

good listener like most women do. Men have different ways of showing

expression that they are listening to others. Tannen (1990) argues that men tend to

say “yeah” only when they agree.

When a man refrains from expressing negative thought or feelings, he

seems to be overestimating the power of this words to hurt a woman, when,

ironically, she is more likely to be hurt by his silence than his word (Tannen,

1990). Tannen (1990) an American linguist found that men like to tell jokes. Men

preferred and were more likely tell jokes when they had an audience at least two,

often four or more (Tannen, 1990). Men are more confident to tell jokes in a

public, even they are engaged with a group in a same gender or with an opposite

gender. Tannen (1990) argues that the idea that telling jokes is a kind of self-

display does not imply that it is selfish ot self-centered. By telling jokes, men are

getting closer and really involve with people in a group.

3. Gossip as Language Variation

Nowadays, gossip has already been an important part of everyday life for

everyone in who are living in this world. In people real life, gossip has beco``me a

tradition in their society. Whether they realize it or not, most of people do gossip


15

in many different ways. Sometimes people are making mistakes in interpreting the

meaning of gossip. Gossip as one of language variation can be transferred in more

than one meaning. The definition of gossip itself, not only about a conversation

which is done by a group of men or women or a tool which is used to spread out a

negative things done by someone or a certain group to give a negative influences

on others.

Foster (2004) says the definition of gossip is a personal information about

an absent third party that is conveyed in an evaluative manner. As what majority

people know so far that gossip is a conversation where the topic is an absent third

party. Aside from the entertaining, the nature of gossip as a form of storytelling,

gossip can be used to transmit information, exert social influence, increase

intimacy, and as a mechanism for social comparison processes (Levin & Arluke,

1987; Foster, 2004; Rosnow & Georgoudi, 1985). Thus, gossip is not only used to

talk about third parties, but also could be used as a tool to disseminate an

information.

Another definition of gossip by Foster (2004) that at the most general

level, gossip behavior includes “idle talk” or “chit chat” about daily life. In reality,

people could not be stayed away from getting conversation with other people

around them. Although the topic people talk is not related to human, but it is still

called by gossip because the topic which is being told is an absent of third party.

In 1990, Tannen said that “troubles talk is just one aspect of the ongoing intimate

conversation that can be called gossip” (p.48). Therefore, the actual meaning of


16

gossip is not only for talking about other‟s negative story or other‟s positive

information, but a little conversation belongs to gossip also.

While some studies have found women are more likely than men to gossip

(e.g. Nevo, Nevo, & Derech-Zehavi, 1994), others have suggested this is an

artifact of gender norms and men are simply more likely to underreport the

amount of gossip they engage in. Levin and Arluke (1985) examine gender

differences relating to gossip and found men and women gossiped in fairly equal

amounts, however the topics they gossip about is differed. Men were more likely

to gossip about sports athletes, while women were more likely to gossip about

personal relationships.

4. Characteristic of Gossip

In everyday life, it is sure that someone will have a conversation with one

another, whether the conversation happens between women and women, men and

men, or even women and men. Not only conversation that people could see in a

real life, but also gossip happens in a daily life. Gossip has already become a part

of people‟s daily conversation since a long time. At the most general level, gossip

behaviour includes “idle talk” or “chit chat” about daily life (Foster, 2004).

Myth has successfully influenced people‟s perception to say that the one

who are the most do gossip is women. However, some studies have already

proven that men are much more frequently gossiping than women do. Even

though both men and women do gossip, they will do it in a different way. In their

different style of language, men and women have their own different topic when

they do gossip. Because men and women are regarding the landscape from


17

contrasting vantage point, the same scene appear very different to them, and they

often have an opposite interpretation of the same action. (Tannen, 1990). It means

that men and women have different assumption about the place of talk in

relationship (Tannen, 1990).

a. Characteristic of Women’s Gossip

Tannen (1990) writes that women tend to show understanding of another

woman‟s feelings. As we know that most of women in the world have a more

sensitive feeling than men. Wardaugh (2006) adds that when women talked to

women, the equivalent categories were the self, feelings, affiliation with others,

home and family. If women do not have someone to tell their thought and

impression to, they do feel alone (Tannen, 1990). Knowing that they have

someone to share their feelings, it makes them feel that they are not alone. For

most women, getting together and telling about their feelings and what is

happening in their lives is at the heart of friendship (Tannen, 1990). In the recent

year, Waddington (2012) agrees that women were more likely to gossip about

friends and family.

Likewise, a study by DeBacker, Nelissen, and Fisher (2007) found that,

when presented with gossip, women were most attentive to information about the

attractiveness of other women. Telling thing is a way to show involvement and

listening is a way to show interest and caring (Tannen, 1990). That is what women

do when they are engaged with their partner and having such a consultation or a

sharing moment. When a woman meets her friends to tell her problem, then her

friend will kindly listen to her and offer solution. Women show concern by


18

following up someone else‟s statement of trouble by questioning her about it

(Tannen, 1990). By giving questions to others who are sharing their feelings, it

shows that the listener is following the discussion. Mutual understanding and

giving advice is symmetrical, and this symmetry contributes to a sense of

community (Tannen, 1990)

In contrary with men who are likely to give an information to others in

order to higher their status, “women are more inclined to be givers of praise than

givers of information” (Tannen, 1990, p.32). Women are known as a language

user who speaks in a polite form. Therefore, most women love to give praise

when they see or hear a good thing.

Women tend to focus on intimacy (Tannen, 1990). Intimacy is key in a

world of connection where individuals negotiate complex networks of friendship,

minimize differences, try to reach consensus, and avoid the appearance of

superiority, which would hilight difference (Tannen, 1990). Women are more

often attuned to the nego

tiation of connections. Since a relation is very important for women, so

most women appreciate their relation with other, and they try to have a good

connection with people around them.

Women expect decisions to be discussed first and made by consensus.

They appreciate the discussions itself as the evidence of an involvement and

communication. Men and women have different concept in making decisions. For

most women, it is natural to have consultations with their friends when they got a

problem, then making decision by having discussion together. However, many


19

men feel oppressed by lengthy discussion about what they see as minor decision

and they feel hemmed in if they can‟t just act without talking first (Tannen, 1990).

b. Characteristic of Men’s Gossip

On the contrary, women who are inclined to use their feelings in

responding something, men in the majority commonly use their logic to analyze

something they see instead of using their feeling. It also influences on what usualy

men are talking about. When men talked to men, the content categories of such

talk focused on competition and teasing (Wardaugh, 2005). Likewise, a study by

DeBacker, Nelissen, & Fisher (2007) found that men were attentive to

information about the wealth and status of other men. In the recent year,

Waddington (2012) added that men were more likely to gossip about celebrities

and sports figures.

When most men talk to their friends on the phone, they may discuss what‟s

happening in business, the stock market, the soccer match, or politics (Tannen,

1990). It is different from women where they tend to talk about feeling, men are

more likely to talk about fact. Since men value the position of center stage and

feeling of knowing more, they seek opportunities to gather and disseminate

factual information (Tannen, 1990). Thus, in the way of disseminate information

whether the content is about factual information or not, men also do gossip in the

way they are. They tend to talk about political rather than personal relationships:

institutional power, advancement and decline, a proposal that may or may not get

through the commitee, a plan for making money (Tannen, 1990). By exchanging

one information to another, men are able to get and share knowledge related to


20

their daily life and what is going on around them. For man, despite a lack of

information, might still give the experts run for his money and possibly gain the

upper hand by the end (Tannen, 1990).

To say that many men do not exchange secrets about their own and other‟s

lives for the purpose of establishing intimacy is certainly not to say that they do

not have a need and a way to bond with others through talk (Tannen, 1990). Men

do have a moment to tell their secret to their partners, but it is not going on in

turns. When they think that the matters is not a big deal, they will not tell it to

others.

Men tend to focus on independence (Tannen, 1990). In a world of status,

independence is key, because a primary means of establishing status is to tell

others what to do, and taking orders is a marker of low status. Intimacy is key in a

world of connection where individuals negotiate complex networks of friendship,

minimize differences, try to reach consensus, and avoid the appearance of

superiority, which would highlight differences (Tannen, 1990)

Many men are automatically making decisions by their own when they got

a problem, because it is not important for them to have a consultation with their

partner. Men do not respond to each other the way women respond to each other

in troubles talk (Tannen, 1990). For a man, sharing their feelings is not a common

thing for them. Men are more often inclined to focus on the jockeying for status in

a conversation (Tannen, 1990).

For most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve indepence and

negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order (Tannen, 1990).


21

5. Function of Gossip

Gossip has become a part of human life in the world. Each individual has

their own perception of the function of gossip in their daily life. Dana (2012) says

that gossip may be used as a tool to gain acceptance in the group, as gossip is an

effective way to express group loyalty and adherence to group norms. Gossip

helps to maintain the unity and the morality of the group involved in the gossip

(Gluckman, 1963). For some people, especially they who are in a marginal group

or even do not have much friends, they are usually disseminating an information

or lets say gossiping to be closer to others. Gluckman (1963) says that gossip

circle maintains group unity, control, aspiring individuals, and make possible the

selection of leaders without embarrasment. It does occur on women in most.

Not all gossip, in all situations, will increase intimacy. Gossip can serves a

crucial function in establishing intimacy-especially if it is not “talking against”

but simply “talking about” (Tannen, 1990). The things which is going to discuss is

something positive instead of saying negative things that could against others.

Moreover, if the goal of gossip is creating a closer bond with the group, the

gossiper needs to be strategic about who they are talking about and what they are

saying, particularly if the gossiper is a peripheral group member. However, if the

gossiper delivers the bad things, it will cause other functions of gossip, such as

social influences instead of building loyalty.

The function of gossip is based on the content of the gossip itself.

However, most of people often gossip in a negative conversation about negative

things. Actually this is totally wrong. Gossip is not always a tool for someone to


22

talk about others‟ vice or others‟ guilt, but gossip can be a tool for someone to

disseminate an information. There are some differences about the function of

gossip for men and women.

Foster (2004) argues the function of gossip as efficient and at time

exclusive means of gathering or disseminating information. It is true that through

gossip, people could gather or disseminate much information, and it could be

positive and negative for people who are engaged in. One gossip that could be

seen clearly which has a function to disseminate an information is the one which

is shown on television. In addition to provide the listener with information, the act

of gossiping is likely to increase intimacy between those involved in the exchange

of gossip (Levin & Arluke, 1987). Sometimes when someone does gossip with

another, it is because they already feel close with that certain person or group.

Likewise, a study by DeBacker, Nelissen, & Fisher (2007) suggest that

gossip is frequently used to gain knowledge about a potential sexual rival and

gossip is an important part of reproductive strategy. In other words, for both

women and men, gossip has the same function to gain deeper information related

to their cross gender. It is important for both women and men get more

information from their cross gender, especially when they are starting to interact

with.

Aside from the entertaining, the nature of gossip as a form of storytelling,

gossip can be used to transmit information, exert social influence, increase

intimacy, and as a mechanism for social comparison processes (Levin & Arluke,

1987; Foster, 2004; Rosnow & Georgoudi, 1985). Tannen (1990) argued that to


23

him (men), talk is for information, but to her (women), talk is for interaction. That

is the main point from the function of gossip for women and men.

B. Theoretical Framework

This section defines the overview of all the theories used in this study and

how each theory is applied in the analysis. The reason why the theories used in

supporting the statement is given by the researcher will also be explained in the

following section.

Men and women have their own different language style and their own

language features of the different language they have. In a social circumstance,

women are expected to be more polite and more expressive than men in their

communication. Therefore, to answer the first research problem which is related

to linguistic features of men‟s language and women‟s language, the researcher

applied Lakoff‟s theory (1975), Wardaugh‟s theory (2006) and supported by

Tannen‟s theory (1990) to analyze linguistic features of women‟s language.

There are ten linguistic features of women‟s language defined by Lakof.

Lexical hedges or filler such as „well‟, which commonly used by most of women,

then tag question which is used to show uncertainty, rising intonation which is

used to strengthen a question, empty adjective and emphatic stress which have

function to deeper an expression, intensifier that commonly used to strengthen a

statement, hypercorrect grammar to show a formality, superpolite form which is

indicated by using indirect form and has a function to show women‟s politeness in

speaking and avoidance of swear words.


24

Whereas, the characteristic of men‟s language is not to with women‟s

language. In contrast, when women try to speak using hypercorrect grammar to

show formality and politeness, most of men do not give much attention to their

language into detail, especially in the grammar correction. Moreover, men

commonly put more swear words in their speech rather than putting some praise

to someone they speak with. One thing that indicates the most difference of

women‟s language and men‟s language is men are likely to speak using their

logic, while women are likely to speak using their feeling.

Whereas, to answer the second research question, the researcher uses

Tannen‟s theory supported by Wardaugh‟s theory for analyzing the content of

both women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip. Both women and men are likely to do

gossip even the topic they talk are not similar. Moreover, gossip has different

function for women and men. Majority experts said that most of women are likely

to tell about their feeling, their problem and sharing information about the newest

gossip around them. For most women, gossip has a function as a way to build an

intimacy among women.

On other sides, the topics that men commonly talk are about information,

actual fact, sport, and knowledge. For men, gossip has a function as a tool to gain

more information and wider their knowledge instead of building an intimacy.


25

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter is divided into six sections. They are research setting,

research subject, instrument and data gathering technique, data analysis technique,

and research procedure. The first section is the research method which contains

with the explanation of the chosen method. The second section is about where and

when the research was conducted. The third section explains the subject of the

study. The fourth section is about the instruments and the data gathering technique

which explain about the research instruments in the study. The fifth section is the

data analysis technique which describes the ways of how the findings are analyzed

to answer the research questions. The last section is the research procedure which

summarizes the steps taken in conducting the study.

A. Research Method

This research analyzed the dialogues of each character in the movie

entitled Pitch Perfect. The analysis used the script movie written by Paul Brooks.

The methodology employed to find out the answer to the two research problems.

(1) What kind of linguistic features used by women and men in Pitch Perfect

movie‟s speech? (2) How does women‟s gossip differ from men‟s gossip in Pitch

Perfect movie?

Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen (2010) write in their Introduction to Research

In Education book, “quantitative research focuses on understanding


26

social phenomena from the perspective of the human participants in natural

settings” (p.22). In the same way, this study is going to discuss about social

phenomenon which is almost everyone are exactly experienced with. The focus of

this study is gossip among both women and men.

There are eight of the most widely used approaches types of qualitative

research: “basic interpretative studies, case studies, document or content analysis,

ethnography grounded theory, historical studies, narrative inquiry, and

phenomenological studies” (Ary, Jacobs, & Sorensen, 2010, p.29). Among those

types of qualitative research, this study used document and content analysis to

analyze the data. In document or content analysis type, “the material may be

public records, textbooks, letter, films, tapes, diaries, themes, reports, or other

documents” (Ary, Jacobs, & Sorensen, 2010, p.29). In the same way, this study

used movie and the script movie as the document to analyze the data. Ary, Jacobs,

and Sorensen (2010) add that “the materials analyzed can be textbooks,

newspapers, web pages, speeches, television programs, advertisements, musical

compositions, or any of a host of other types of documents” (p.457). Since the

materials of document analysis includes speeches also, the researcher analyzes the

women‟s speech and men‟s speech to prove that linguistic features made by

women and men in their speech are not similar.

Data analysis “emphasizes how humans construct meaning through speech

and text, and its object of analysis typically goes beyond individual sentences”

(Nkwi, Nyamongo, & Ryan, 2001, p. 15). The researcher applied data analysis

since it is used to examine the meaning and the purpose of gossip talked by


27

different person. Moreover, when gossip is delivered by different person it will

give different meaning for others too. While, Nkwi, Nyamongo, and Ryan (2001)

say that “Conversation analysis tends to be more granular, looking at elements

such as grammatical structures and concentrating on smaller units of text, such as

phrases and sentences.” (p. 15). Therefore, the researcher used conversation

analysis to determine the different meaning of women‟s speech and men‟s speech

uttered by different individual based on the linguistic features. Men and women

have their own style in delivering their thought. Thus, the researcher is interested

to analyze the differences between women‟s language and men‟s language

through their conversation which shows in a certain movie.

The researcher not only used the discourse and conversation analysis, but

also conducted the research by having documented analysis. Ary, Jacobs, and

Sorensen (2010) say that “qualitative research employs words and images to

answer questions” (p. 419). Therefore, the researcher obtained the data by

printscreening the conversation in the movie which is contained the linguistic

features of each individual language, then categorized it using the linguistic

features of both women‟s language and men‟s language. Moreover, the researcher

also analyzed the content of the dialogue to define the characteristic of gossip

done by women and men in the movie.

B. Research Setting

This study was conducted in English Language Education Study Program

(ELESP) of Sanata Dharma University by using library study and movie script.

The researcher conduct the data in ELESP of Sanata Dharma University since


28

there are lots of references available to support the writing of the study. The

research was started in March 2016.

There is more than one movie which shows that not only women do

gossip, but men also do that, even the topic they talk about is not similar.

However, the researcher chose Pitch Perfect movie because the researcher could

find more data and information related to the study. In this movie, there are two

big groups consist of one women group and another one is a men group. By

looking at those main characters, it could help the researcher easier to get the

dialogue done by a group of men only and a group of women only which is

important in proving women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip.

C. Research Data

The subject of this study is the two main groups in Pitch Perfect movie,

named Bellas and Treblemakers who are being a rival since they tried to compete

their a cappella performance in one of a cappella competition named

“International Championship of Collegiate a Cappella”. The researcher analyzed

the conversation by watching and printscreening some dialogues in the movie and

also used the movie script to help the researcher easier in analyzing. The

dialogues that was being analyzed in defining the linguistic features made by

women and men in the movie is the dialogue which is done among women and

men. Meanwhile, for defining the differences between women‟s gossip and men‟s

gossip, the dialogue that being analyzed is only the which is done by a group of

women and a group of men only, instead of the dialogue between women and

men.


29

Those characters helped the researcher in analyzing the linguistic features

made by women and men in Pitch Perfect movie and also in differentiating gossip

done by women and men in the movie.

C. Instrument and Data Gathering Technique

In qualitative studies, the human as instrument to emphasize the unique

role that qualitative researchers play in their inquiry (Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen,

2010). Thus, in the same way, the researcher is the instrument during conducting

the data of this study. Since this study belongs to qualitative research where its

study about social phenomena, the researcher need an instrument which is able to

handle the human experiences, and the one which is believed to handle it is only

human.

There were five steps taken by the researcher to obtain the study of the

differences between women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip. First, the researcher

watched the movie for more than once. It needs more than once in watching the

movie in order to make sure the reliability of the data which are conducted.

Moreover, the researcher should understand the main idea of the movie. Second,

the researcher printscreening the dialogues which are spoken by the characters in

the movie, then compare it with the movie‟s transcript to make sure the

conversation and to know who is talking at that moment of speaking. Third, the

researcher conducted the dialogues which contain the linguistic features of

women‟s speech and men‟s speech and also the one which contain with the

characteristic of gossip. The dialogues which are selected are taken from both of

women‟s speech and men‟s speech. In this step, the dialogues which are going to


30

be analyzed are those which are taken from the printscreening and has been

compared with the movie‟s transcript. Fourth, the data that has been conducted

then being analyzed into some linguistic features of women‟s speech and men‟s

speech and also the one which contains with the characteristic of gossip. The last

step, the researcher then compared the result of the data that has been analyzed

between women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip and proved the theory that not only

women do gossip but men also.

D. Data Analysis Technique

In order to answer the two research questions, the data conducted from

some dialogues in the movie entitled Pitch Perfect. These dialogues are the

characters‟ conversations that being analyzed based on some theories related to

the linguistic features of language made by both women and men and gossip in

the linguistic view.

Based on Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen (2010), there are several steps

involved in a discourse analysis, the first is “specifying the phenomenon to be

investigated” (p.458). In discourse analysis technique, there are some important

features which become a requirement in analysing the data of the study. There are

only some certain data could be analyzed through discourse analysis technique.

Jorgensen and Phillips (2002) argue that discourse analysis is not just one

approach, but a series of interdisciplinary approaches that can be used to explore

many diferent social domains in many different types of studies. In this research,

discourse analysis has its own purpose as an exploring tool to a certain social

domain.


31

The phenomena which becomes the focus of this study is about women

stereotyping related to gossip. The second step is “selecting the media from which

the observations are to be made” (Ary, Jacobs, & Sorensen, 2010). The researcher

chooses a movie which is adopted from a book entitled Pitch Perfect as the media

to conduct the data. The last step is “analyzing the data” (Ary, Jacobs, &

Sorensen, 2010). After watching the movie, the researcher started to printscreen

the dialogue done by the characters in the movie, then analyze it based on its

linguistics features and the content based on the theories related to women‟s

gossip and men‟s gossip.

F. Research Procedure

This research took several steps in order to determine the linguistic view in

analyzing the data. The first thing that the researcher did was finding the movie,

watching it and understanding it. The researcher watched the movie more than

once, in order to define the dialogue that would be analyzed. Some theories are

applied by the researcher to support the data analysis. The procedures of

conducting this research were stated in the following section.

1. Selecting the Research Question

As a beginning of the study, the researcher decided to choose the topic of

the study about sociolinguisticss, especially on gossip, and more specific is the

difference between women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip. The research deals with

two research problems. The first one is about how the difference between

women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip which shows in the movie. Whereas, the


32

second focuses on the linguistic features made by women and men‟s speech in the

movie.

2. Reviewing Related Literature

To support the writing of this thesis, the researcher reviewed some theories

related to gossip and gender language. The theories used in this research proposed

by more than one expert to support one another.

3. Collecting Data

To conduct the data, the researcher should find the movie first then watch

it. While watching the movie, the researcher tried to analyze the character‟s

conversation and printscreen the certain dialogue, so that it is easier for the

researcher to find the detail conversation in the movie script.

4. Analyzing the Data

After all of the conversation found, then the researcher analyzed the

linguistic features used in the conversation using the theories that have been

chosen.

5. Drawing Conclusion

The last step of this part is drawing the conclusions based on the result of

the data which has been conducted.


33

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter consists of two parts which discuss the result of the research.

The first part answers the first research question about what linguistic features

used by women‟s speech and men‟s speech in Pitch Perfect movie. The second

part answers the second research question which elaborates the differences

between women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip in Pitch Perfect movie.

A. The Difference of Linguistic Features Used by Women and Men in Pitch

Perfect movie

In everyday life, people will certainly use language as their facility to

communicate with other people around them. Holmes (2013) states that language

provides a variety of ways of saying the same thing – addressing and greeting

others, describing things, paying compliments. If individual people or particular

relationships were to blame, there wouldn‟t be so many different people leaving

the same problems, the real problem is conversational style (Tannen, 1990). Both

women and men have different conversational style in their languages, even they

say the same things. It could be happened by the reason of society factors and the

roles of themselves.

There are some methods to analyze the difference between women‟s

language and men‟s language. The characteristic of women‟s language and men‟s

language could be analyzed based on its linguistic features. Here are the


34

differences of women‟s language and men‟s language that the researcher found in

Pitch Perfect movie.

1. Women’s Linguistic Features

Conversation 1

Aubrey : Just take the dramatics down a notch, okay? Hi do you wanna

Chloe : Well you‟re the one who got us into this hot mess.

The word „just‟ in Aubrey‟s sentence shows the linguistic feature of

women‟s speech that called by intensifier. Then the word „well‟ in Chloe sentence

shows the linguistic feature of women‟s speech that called by lexical hedges

which describes meaning as meaningless particle.

Conversation 2

Chloe : You were singing Titanium right? You know David Guetta?

Beca : Have I been living under a rock?

From the conversation above, the word „right‟ that being told by Chloe

represent question tag. The use of question tag in Chloe‟s sentence is aimed to

show uncertainty about what she just said. Then, the parable “living under a rock”

shows that women more frequently use empty adjectives in their sentences.

Conversation 3

Chloe : Yeah. I‟m pretty confident about all this.

Beca : You should be. I still need to shower.

Chloe : You have a lovely voice.

Beca : Thanks

The word „pretty‟ and „lovely‟ in Chloe‟s sentence indicates an empty

adjective. The use of empty adjective in Chloe‟s sentence means to increase the


35

effect of Chloe‟s expressions. Women often use this expression because it sounds

positive.

Conversation 4

Becca : Hello. Um... I didn‟t know we had to prepare that song.

Chloe : That‟s okay. Sing anything you want.

Becca : Uh... May I?

Chloe : Sure.

From the conversation above, it could be seen that women often use

lexical fillers as what being seen in Beca‟s sentences that is „um...‟ and „uh...‟.

Conversation 5

Amy : You know, so there‟s like 10 of us.

Aubrey: Mmm...

Amy : That means that one of us is probably a lesbian.

Aubrey: You think? Which one do you think it is?

Amy : My money‟s on Black Beauty. Don‟t tell her I said that.

From the conversation above, the word „you know‟ in Amy‟s sentence

indicates as lexical hedges which describes as meaningless particle. While the

sound „mmm...‟ in Aubrey‟s sentence indicates the use of lexical filler as one of

women‟s characters. Then, in thar dialogue, Aubrey puts a declarative statement

into a question by raising the pitch of her voice at the end of her statement. The

use of the word „you think‟ as declarative statement express uncertainty.

Conversation 6

Beca : You really don‟t like me, do you?

Aubrey: I don‟t like your attitude.

The word „do you‟ on Beca‟s sentence indicates the use of tag question.

Beca uses the word „do you‟ to get confirmation of her statement which claims

that Aubrey does not like her.


36

Conversation 7

Amy : You should really listen to your doctor.

Chloe : They key is early diagnosis. I am living with nodes. But I am a survivor.

I just have to pull back. Because I am limited. Because I have nodes.

Aubrey: Chloe this is horrible.

The word „really‟ in Amy‟s sentence indicates the use of an intensifier.

Amy uses the word really to convince Chloe that she is better to listen to her

doctor for her health. Then the word „horrible‟ in Aubrey‟s sentence indicates an

emphatic stress. In the conversation above, Aubrey feels really sorry to hear

Chloe‟s condition.

Conversation 8

Amy : Aubrey, please just give us a break. It‟s kind of not the same without

everyone here.

Rose : We need Beca.

Amy‟s sentence shows an indirect request to Aubrey. That indirect request

indicates super polite form as one of women‟s linguistic features. By using super

polite form, Amy and Rose actually have a request to someone for having Beca

back.

Conversation 9

John : Ladies and gentlemen, the Barden Bellas!

Gail : My goodness gracious. Will you look at this? Gone are those Bella

uniforms and this is a whole new look for them, and it is hot, hot, hot!

The word „my goodness‟ in Gail‟s sentence shows that she tries to avoid

putting swear word in her sentence. This is one of linguistic features that in

contrast to men where majority of men choose to use swear word in their speech.

Then the word „gracious‟ and „hot‟ in Gail‟s sentence indicates an empty

adjectives as one of women‟s linguistic features.


37

As conclusion of this section, women‟s linguistic features which

commonly use in Pith Perfect movie are; lexical hedges (just, you know), lexical

filler (uhh, umm, mmm), intensifier (well, really), empty adjective (pretty, lovely,

gracious), question tag (...right? ...do you?), and superpolite form (my Goodness).

Most women try to select the best word to be used in their sentences when they

are going to tell something. Moreover, instead of telling swear words, almost all

of women attempt to speak politely.

2. Men’s Linguistic Features

Conversation 10

Bumper : Trebles, listen up!

Donald : If this is about the Bellas getting into the finals, we already know.

Bumper : I don‟t give a crap about those dumb bitches. Because I‟m being

brought up to the musical big leagues.

The word „crap‟ and „dumb bitches‟ told by Bumper indicate strong swear

word which is one of men‟s linguistic features. Men commonly put swear word in

their sentences in order to express their strong feeling.

Conversation 11

Donald : Here‟s the real question. Who would be easier to sleep with?

Captain America or a great white shark?

Bumper : Great white shark, I wouldn‟t...

The conversation above shows that men use indirect allusive speech, such

as saying “Captain America or a great white shark?” What he mean by a great

white shark here is not a real shark, but it is actually Amy who has light skin and

fat body. Indeed, men tend to paraphrase more often than women.

Conversation 12


38

Treble : Bumpers a jerk. Alright, I said it.

Donald : Well, he‟s a jerk that we need to replace.

The word „jerk‟ is one of swear words and it was said by Treble and

Donald as men. It proves that men are often put swear words in their speech.

Conversation 13

Bumper : Ohh look who it is. Old dudes. Get a life.

Donald : Sonic boom

Senior : Just cause we graduated a few years ago, doesn‟t mean we can‟t

still get off performing our oral magic, alright?

Donald : Oral magic?

Senior : Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, buddy. Are you looking for what I‟m

looking for?

Donald : Yeah a fight? You looking for a fight?

Senior : Please, please. Please say you‟re looking for a fight. Please,

please say you‟re looking for a fight.

Bumper : Yes! I will fight. I would fight him, but I tore a quad within the

midst of the dance…

Senior : Hey Ghandi. Hey, you, are we doing this or what? Hit me.

Jesse : What?

Senior : Let‟s get in on

From the dialogue above, it shows that men tend to be more competitive in

their conversation. The way men response others‟ statement is different from

women who are commonly support others. In contrast to women, men are more

competitive in the way they response others‟ talk. Furthermore, the conversation

above shows that men use more progressive verb forms in their sentence. The

words „are looking‟ and „are doing‟ in men‟s dialogue above indicate the use of

progressive verb form. In addition, the dialogue above shows that men do not give

much attention in their grammar of their sentences.


39

B. The Difference of Women’s Gossip and Men’s Gossip in The Pitch

Perfect Movie

Gossip takes places mutually among people in a network or a group

(Pamella, 2004). In a real life, gossip has become a part of people daily activity.

There is actually a function of gossip in a group of people, especially for women

and men. Both women and men do gossip in their own style and also in different

purpose. Men and women differ psychologically in the way they act, from the

style in which they communicate to the way in which they attempt to influence

others (Merchant, 2012). Both women and men have their own style in the way

they deliver something especially when they are trying to give suggestion or

influence others with their opinion.

The real difference between men and women with regard to gossip is

much more to do with the way that gossip is perceived and used as a term in

everyday conversation and different relational practice (Waddington, 2012). In

spite of there is no linguistic features that can be used to analyze gossip, gossip

could be analyzed by its content in order to define the difference of women‟s

gossip and men‟s gossip. Here are some characteristics of differences between

women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip in Pitch Perfect movie based on its content.

1. Women’s Gossip

In most cases, when majority women get interaction in a same gender, they

attempt to be supportive with the topic disscused by their opposite speaker. Coates

(1997) says that women on the other hand, in conversation with women, typically

adopt a cooperative mode: they add to rather than demolish other speaker‟s


40

contributions, they are supportive of others, they tend not to interrupt each other.

Aside from it, the content of women‟s speech in a group are varied. Most women

are interested to talk about their friends, family, and their personal feeling. Here

are the content of gossip talked by women in Pitch Perfect movie.

Conversation 14


Aubrey: Mmm...



Amy : My money‟s on Black Beauty.

The dialogue above shows the two women are gossiping one of their

group‟s members who is known being a lesbian. This occurrence matches with

Waddington‟s opinion. Waddington (2012) agrees that women are more likely to

gossip about friends and family.

Conversation 15

Jesse : I bring some films. I don‟t like how much cooler he thinks he is than me.

Even if he is, in fact, much cooler than me. What do you want to watch

first?

Beca : Umm.. Maybe we could do something else like talk about our feelings or

go to the gynecologist?

The dialogue which is done by Jesse and Beca shows the difference of

discussion‟s content which is commonly talked by woman and man. In the

dialogue done by Beca and Jesse above, Beca as a woman, suggest Jesse as a man,

to talk about their feelings or giving another choice to do instead of following

Jesse‟s allurement. Looking from the dialogue above, it could be seen that women

are more interested to talk about feeling rather than talking about hobby. For most


41

women, getting together and telling about their feelings and what is happening in

thier lives is at the heart of friendship (Tannen, 1990).

Conversation 16

Aubrey: Our score sheet revealed that the Sockappellas almost beat us. And Fat

Amy, you need to do it exactly how we rehearsed it, okay? No surprises.

Beca : We should be taking risks. It‟s not enough to be good, we need to put

ourselves out there, be different.

Rose : Beca‟s right. The Trebles never sing the same song twice.

The dialogue above shows Aubrey‟s anxiety about a problem they got

related to their group‟s score in a capella competition. Tannen (1990) says that

troubles talk is just one aspect of the ongoing intimate conversation that can be

called gossip. In that dialogue, those women talk about their rival in a capella

competition whose name is Treble. They try to beat their score above Treble.

Treble becomes the absent third party in Bella‟s gossip.

Conversation 17

Aubrey: Chloe, your voice didn‟t sound Aguilerian at all. Chloe, for

serious, what is wrong with you?

Chloe : I have nodes

Aubrey: What? My God

Chloe : I found out this morning.

The conversation above shows that Aubrey tries to give attention to her

friend, Chloe. Aubey shows her anxiety about Chloe‟s pain. From the

conversation above, it can be seen that women are likely to share their feelings

and their emotions. Tannen (1990) says that for most women, getting together and

telling about their feelings and what is happening in their lives is at the heart of

friendship. Those two women try to share their feelings and show their care to

their close friend.


42

Conversation 18

Beca : I think we all know where this is going. Les-be-honest

Rose : Well, for the last two years, I‟ve had a serious gambling problem.

Amy : What?

Beca : What?

Rose : It started when I broke up with my girlfriend.

Beca : Okay, I‟ve never really been one of those girls who had a lot of friends

who were girls. And I do now. And that‟s pretty cool. So, that‟s me.

Someone else please go.

The conversation above tells about Bella‟s feeling and each fact of them.

From the conversation above, it can be seen that it is okay for most women to

share their feeling with their fellows. Tannen (1990) argues that telling secrets is

an essential part of friendship for most women, they may find themselves in

trouble when they have no secret to tell. That is why as a member of a group

which has been built for a long time, they try to build a closer relation by being

honest to each other. Every woman tells their own secret and the fact of

themselves.

2. Men’s Gossip

Men in all-male groups are more likely to discuss current affairs, travel

and sport (Coates, 2004). For most men, it is not common to talk about their

privacy in a public or even in a group. Coates (2004) says that with each other,

men avoid self-disclusure and prefer to talk about more impersonal topics such as

current affairs, modern technology, cars or sport. It shows that talking about

trending topic or current event is more interesting for men to talk about rather than

talking about their privacy.


43

Conversation 19

Jesse : I bring some film. I don‟t like how much cooler he thinks he is than me.


first?




discussion‟s content which is commonly talked by woman and man. The dialogue

shows that man is more interested in talking about hobby rather than feeling. For

men, sharing their feelings is not a common thing for them. Men are more often

inclined to focus on the jockeying for status in a conversation (Tannen, 1990).

Jesse‟s hobby is watching film, so he brings some films to watch with Beca. In the

dialogue above, Jesse as a man, tries to ask Beca as a woman in choosing what

movie they are going to watch. However, Beca refuses Jesse‟s request to watch

movie.

Conversation 20


Even if he is, in fact, much cooler than me. What do you want to whatch

first?




discussion‟s content which commonly talked by woman and man. From the

dialogue above, it could be concluded that what men are talking is about the

movie or his hobby which is watching movies. However, Beca as a woman there,

suggest the man, Jesse, to talk about feelings which is not a men‟s interest.

Conversation 21


44




The conversation above shows two guys who are talking about women. It

shows that actually the one who are likely to gossip about opposite gender is not

only women but also men do. The occurrence which happens based on the

dialogue above, proves that in reality, men are interested to talk about others

especially their opposite gender.

Conversation 22

Bumper : Treble Mayer just asked me, personally, through an assistant, to

sing backup on his new CD. I leave for Los Angeles in a few

hours, so I gotta get going.

Donald : But Bumper, what about the ICCAs? They‟re this weekend.

Bumper : Sorry buddies, but I won that shit 100 times, so I‟m out of here.

Got a collarless leather jacket to buy. Maybe some aviators. I

might get an earring. I don‟t know. It‟s Los Angeles. This is

exciting stuff. My life rules!


Donald : Well he‟s a jerk that we need to replace.

Treble : Yeah.

Donald : Pronto dente. You know he writes his own fan mail.

The conversation above shows the time when Bumper as one of Treble‟s

members is getting out from his a capella group. After getting a surprising news,

one of their member starts to talk about him as a disappointing guy. Bumper here

as the absent third party of their member‟s talk. However, if seeing from

Bumper‟s sides, it means that men are more likely to share their career and their

job instead of sharing their feelings. Men, on the other hand, are viewed as more

likely than women to offer solutions to problems in order to avoid further

seemingly unnecessary discussions of interpersonal problems (Basow &

Rubenfeld, 2003; Merchant, 2012). it could be seen from the conversation above


45

that Bumper‟s friends tend to better not give any suggestion rather than provoke

other problems. Besides, men are different from women who are commonly

emotional in their interaction, so that it is not a big deal for men when they are

facing unexpected decision.

As a conclusion for this section, there are some differences in women‟s

language and men‟s language based on its linguistic features. In sort, women are

often use lexical hedges and fillers in their speeches, use empty adjectives and

emphatic stress to strengthen and increase the effect of their expression, become

more polite when utter a question, and try to avoid using swear word in their

sentences. In contrast, men are often use swear words in their sentences, in order

to express a strong feeling and in order to show his superior status.

Moreover, the content of women‟s speech and men‟s speech, especially in

gossiping is not similar. In this movie, women are likely to talk about friend,

feeling, experience, and also the real fact of their selves. When a group of women

are gathered, it is common for them to share a thing they just experienced. Not

only share their experiences, but also tell their personal feelings to get others‟

support. Whereas, in this movie, men are more likely to talk about women and

carrier. By looking at the movie, it could be concluded that in reality, not only

women who are interested to talk about their opposite gender, but men also have

the same interest. Therefore, it could be concluded that in fact not only women do

gossip, but men also, even the content they talk are different from women.


46

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter consists of three sections, they are conclusions, implications,

and recommendations. The conclusions present the major findings of the research

and its limitations. The implications define the use of this study in accordance

with teaching and learning. Whereas, the recommendations present some

suggestions for all students and lecturers in English Language Education Study

Program and for all future researchers.

A. Conclusions

In this part, the researcher devides the conclusion into two parts. The first

part is about the linguistic features used by women and men in their language

which shows in Pitch Perfect movie. The second is the difference between

women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip in Pitch Perfect movie. In analyzing gossip and

linguistic features used by women and men in the movie, the researcher uses

discourse analysis as the method. At the same time, the researcher uses the

movie‟s transcript to analyze the dialogues.

There are some differences of women‟s language and men‟s language

based on its linguistic features that could be seen in Pitch Perfect movie. After

observing the conversations done by a group of women in Pitch Perfect movie,

the linguistic features used by women in the movie are: „just‟ as an intensifier,

„well‟ as a lexical hedges, „right‟ and „do you‟ which indicates


47

tag question, „pretty‟ and „lovely‟ that represent an empty adjectives, a sentence of

„please,,,‟ which shows indirect request, and the word „my goodness‟ which

shows that women try to avoid swear word, Whereas, linguistic features that used

by men in Pitch Perfect movie are: „dumb bitches‟ and „jerk‟ which is told by

men indicate the use of swear word.

The next part is the difference of women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip in

Pitch Perfect movie. The content of gossip could be analyzed from some

conversations done by all-female group and all-male group who do gossip. Some

conversations done by a group of women show that women are more likely to

gossip about their fellow woman, whether the third party belongs to their group or

someone who comes from outsides their group. For women, talking about their

personality and sharing their feeling to their group is one of the way to get closer

with others and to build an intimacy with people around them. In contrast, men

are more likely to gossip about their carrier instead of sharing their feeling. Most

of men are more likely to gossip about other women, but soometimes the purpose

of their talk is only for joke.

As a result, after observing some dialogues done by a group of women and

men in Pitch Perfect movie, it could be concluded that in fact the way women and

men speak is not similar. The differences between women‟s language and men‟s

language caused by some effects and it affects the content of their speech. One of

speech variations that people are commonly experienced is gossip. Through this

research, it has already proved that the one who do gossip is not only women but

men also do that. The researcher concludes that men also do gossip even the


48

content of their gossip is not similar with women‟s have. More than that, the

definition of gossip is not only talking about others or especially about others‟

personal lives, but there are more than one definitions related to gossip. Based on

the movie, gossip could be define as a little conversation, and the content of its

gossip could be vary. A little chit-chat or a little conversation could belong to

gossip also, even the content of it is not about an absent third party.

B. Implications

This study could be applied in English education as a contribution in

sociolinguistics especially in understanding the difference between women‟s

speech and men‟s speech. Through this study, English students will get a chance

to learn about language uses and language variations when a same language is

uttered by different individuals.

In complying a regulation in English teaching and learning, the difference

of women‟s speech and men‟s speech could teach everyone in understanding the

natural differences of women‟s speech and men‟s speech. Hence, there will be no

misunderstanding in communication between women and men. Moreover, both

women and men as English students should be able to use an appropriate

language when having a conversation with others.

C. Recommendations

In this section, the researcher gives some recommendations to English

Language Education Study Program (ELESP) students, English lecturer, and

future researchers. For all students who concern about English course, the result


49

of this study is able to enrich student‟s knowledge about one of language issues

which is familiar in social environment that is gossip. By reading this study, the

students will not only learn about gossip which happens among people in a real

life, but the students could also understand the difference between women‟s

language and men‟s language in their daily conversations. Even less, language

and gossip as parts of sociolinguistics also learned in most English classes.

For English lecturers who concern abput sociolinguistics or who handle

sociolinguistics class, this study could be a teaching material which belongs to an

authentic writing. Since this study enlighten the difference between women‟s

speech and men‟s speech, including women‟s language and men‟s language, and

also women‟s gossip and men‟s gossip, the lecturers are able to broaden the

teaching focus and expand the topic related to sociolinguistics course.

The last, for future researchers especially who are interested in conducting

a research related to sociolinguistics study. It will be better if the future

researchers could find more contrast differences between women‟s language and

men‟s language in delivering their speech. Especially when the future researchers

are able to gain much data from a real life to support the study in proving the fact

that the one who most do gossip is men. Hopefully, this recommendations might

improve this study.


50

REFERENCES

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorensen, C. K. (2010). Introduction to research in

education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Basow, S. A., & Rubenfeld, K. (2003). Troubles talk: Effects of gender and

gender-typing. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 48, 183-187.

Biber, D., & Finegan, E. (1994). Sociolinguistics perspectives on register. New

York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Birchall, C. (2006). Knowledge goes pop: From conspiracy theory to gossip.

Oxford: Berg.

Bull, V. (2008). Oxford learner‟s dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cameron, D. (1998). Gender, language, and discourse: A review essay. Journal of

Women in Culture and Society, 23(4), 482-502.

Cinardo, J. (2011). Male and female differences in communicating conflict.

Conway: Coastal Carolina University.

Coates, J. (1997). Gender and discourse. (Wodak R, Ed.). California: SAGE

Publications Inc.

Coates, J. (2003). Men talk: Stories in the making of masculinities. Berlin:

Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Coates, J. (2004). Women, men and language: A sociolinguistics account of

gender differences in language. New York: Routledge.

De Backer, J. S., Nelissen. M., & Fisher. M. L. (2007). Let‟s talk about sex: A

study on the recall of gossip about potential mates and sexual rivals. Sex

Roles, 56, 781-791.

Edwards, J. (2009). Language and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Foster, E. K. (2004). Research on gossip: Taxonomy, methods, and future

directions. Review of General Psychology, 8(2), 78-99.

Fought, C. (2004). Sociolinguistics variation: Critical reflection. New York:

Oxford University Press, Inc.


51

Georgoudi, M., & Rosnow, R. L. (1985). The emergence of contextualism.

Journal of Communication, 35, 76-88.

Gluckman, M. (1963). Gossip and scandal. Current Anthropology, 4(3), 307-316.

Guerin, B., & Miyazaki, Y. (2006). Analyzing Rumors, Gossip, and Urban

Legends Through Their Conversational Properties. The Psychological

Record, 56, 23-34.

Haegeman, L. (2006). Thinking syntactically: A guide to argumentation and

analysis. Carlton: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Holmes, J. (2013). An introducton to sociolinguisticss. New York: Routledge.

Holmes, J. & Meyerhoff, M. (2003). Language and gender. Berlin: Blackwell

Publishing Ltd.

Huggo. (n.d). Pitch Perfect Synopsis. Retrieved 18 September, 2017, from

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981677/plotsummary.

Jørgensen, M., & Phillips, L. J. (2002). Discourse analysis as theory and method.

Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Inc.

Kafi, Z., & Motallebzadeh, K. (2016). An introduction to sociolinguisticss.

International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 4(2), 134-140.

Lado, R. (1957). Linguistic accross cultures: the impact of culture on second

language learning. Texas: Prairie View A&M University.

Lakoff, R. (1973). Language and women‟s place. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Lakoff, R., & Bucholtz, M. (2004). Language and women‟s place: Text and

commentaries. New York: Oxford University Press.

Levin, A., & Arluke, A. (1985). An exploratory analysis of sex differences in

gossip. Sex Roles, 12, 3-4.

Merchant, K. (2012). How men and women differ: Gender differences in

communication styles, influence tactics, and leadership styles.

Claremont: Claremont McKenna College.

Nevo, O., Nevo, B., & Derech-Zehavi, A. (1994). The tendency of gossip as a

psychological disposition: Constructing a measure and validating it.

Haifa: University of Haifa.


52

Nkwi, P. N., Nyamongo, I. K., & Ryan, G. W. (2001). Field research into socio-

cultural issues: Methodological guideliness. Cameroon: International

Center for Applied Social Sciences, Research, and Training.

Pietila, T. (2007). Gossip, markets, and gender. Madison: The University of

Wisconsin Press.

Schantz, N. (2008). Gossip, letters, phones: The scandal of female networks in

film and literature. New Yotk: Oxford University Press.

Stewart, P. J., & Strathern, A. (2004). Witchcraft, sorcery, rumors and gossip.

New York: Cambridge University Press.

Sunderland, J. (2006). Language and gender. New York: Routledge.

Tannen, D. (1990). You just don‟t understand. New York: Ballantine Books.

Tannen, D. (1993). Gender and conversational interaction. New York: Oxford

University Press Inc.

Tannen, D. (1994). Gender and discourse. New York: Oxford University Press,

Inc.

Turcotte, D. (2012). Gossip and the group: A self-categorization perspective.

Claremont: Claremont Graduate University.

Verderber, K. S. (1995). A Selection of multicultural readings. Belmont:

Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Waddington, K. (2012). Gossip and organizations. New York: Routledge.

Wardaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2015). An introduction to socioliguistic. West

Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Weatherall, A. (2002). Gender, language, and discourse. New York: Routledge.

White, A. (2003). Womens‟ usage of specific linguistic functions in the context of

casual conversation: Analysis and discussion. Birmingham: University

of Birmingham.


APPENDICES


53

APPENDIX 1. List of Women‟s Linguistic Features and Men‟s

Linguistic Features in Pitch Perfect Movie

1. Women’s Linguistic Features

Conversation 1

Aubrey : Just take the dramatics down a notch, okay? Hi do you wanna

Chloe : Well you‟re the one who got us into this hot mess.

The word „just‟ in Aubrey‟s sentence shows the linguistic feature of

women‟s speech that called by intensifier. Then the word „well‟ in Chloe sentence

shows the linguistic feature of women‟s speech that called by lexical hedges

which described meaning as meaningless particle.

Conversation 2

Chloe : You were singing Titanium right? You know David Guetta?

Beca : Have I been living under a rock?

From the conversation above, the word „right‟ that being told by Chloe

represent tag question. The use of question tag in Chloe‟s sentence is aimed to

show uncertainty about what she just said. Then, the parable “living under a rock”

shows that women more frequently use empty adjectives in their sentences.

Conversation 3

Chloe : Yeah. I‟m pretty confident about all this.

Beca : You should be. I still need to shower.

Chloe : You have a lovely voice.

Beca : Thanks

The word „pretty‟ and „lovely‟ in Chloe‟s sentences indicates an empty

adjectives. Those empty adjectives are functioned to increase the effect of Chloe‟s

expressions. Women often use this expression because it sounds positive.

Conversation 4


54

Becca : Hello. Um... I didn‟t know we had to prepare that song.

Chloe : That‟s okay. Sing anything you want.

Becca : Uh... May I?

Chloe : Sure.

From the conversation above, it could be seen that women often use

lexical fillers as what being seen in Beca‟s sentences that is „um...‟ and „uh...‟.

Conversation 5


Aubrey: Mmm...



Amy : My money‟s on Black Beauty. Don‟t tell her I said that.

From the conversation above, the word „you know‟ in Amy‟s sentence

indicates as lexical hedges which describes as meaningless particle. While the

sound „mmm...‟ in Aubrey‟s sentence indicates the use of lexical filler as a

women‟s character. Then, in the movie, Aubrey makes a declarative statement

into a question by raising the pitch of her voice at the end of the statement. The

use of the word „you think‟ as declarative statement express uncertainty.

Conversation 6

Beca : You really don‟t like me, do you?

Aubrey: I don‟t like your attitude.

The word „do you‟ on Beca‟s sentence indicates the use of tag question.

Beca uses the word „do you‟ to get confirmation of her statement which claims

that Aubrey does not like her.

Conversation 7

Amy : You should really listen to your doctor.

Chloe : They key is early diagnosis. I am living with nodes. But I am a survivor.

I just have to pull back. Because I am limited. Because I have nodes.

Aubrey: Chloe this is horrible.


55

The word „really‟ in Amy‟s sentence indicates the use of an intensifier.

Amy uses the word really to convince Chloe that she is better to listen to her

doctor for her health. Then the word „horrible‟ in Aubrey‟s sentence indicates as

emphatic stress. In the conversation above, Aubrey feels really sorry to hear

Chloe‟s condition.

Conversation 8

Amy : Aubrey, please just give us a break. It‟s kind of not the same without

everyone here.

Rose : We need Beca.

Amy‟s sentence shows an indirect request to Aubrey. That indirect request

indicates super polite form as one of women‟s linguistic features. By using super

polite form, Amy and Rose actually have a request to someone for having Beca

back.

Conversation 9

John : Ladies and gentlemen, the Barden Bellas!

Gail : My goodness gracious. Will you look at this? Gone are those Bella

uniforms and this is a whole new look for them, and it is hot, hot, hot!

The word „my goodness‟ in Gail‟s sentence shows that she is trying to

avoid putting swear word in her sentence. This is one of linguistic features which

is in contrast to men where majority of men choose to use swear word in their

speech. Then the word „gracious‟ and „hot‟ in Gail‟s sentence indicates an empty

adjectives as one of women‟s linguistic features.

2. Men’s Linguistic Features

Conversation 10

Bumper : Trebles, listen up!


56

Donald : If this is about the Bellas getting into the finals, we already know.

Bumper : I don‟t give a crap about those dumb bitches. Because I‟m being

brought up to the musical big leagues.

The word „crap‟ and „dumb bitches‟ told by Bumper indicate strong swear

word which is the one of men‟s linguistic features. Men commonly put swear

word in their sentences in order to express their strong feeling.

Conversation 11




The conversation above shows that men use indirect allusive speech, such

as saying “Captain America or a great white shark?” What he mean by a great

white shark here is not a real shark, but it is actually Amy who has light skin and

fat body. Indeed, men tend to paraphrase more often than women.

Conversation 12


Donald : Well, he‟s a jerk that we need to replace.

The word „jerk‟ is one of swear words and it was said by Treble and

Donald as men. It proves that men are often put swear words in their speech.

Conversation 13

Bumper : Ohh look who it is. Old dudes. Get a life.

Donald : Sonic boom

Senior : Just cause we graduated a few years ago, doesn‟t mean we can‟t

still get off performing our oral magic, alright?

Donald : Oral magic?

Senior : Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, buddy. Are you looking for what I‟m

looking for?

Donald : Yeah a fight? You looking for a fight?

Senior : Please, please. Please say you‟re looking for a fight. Please,

please say you‟re looking for a fight.


57

Bumper : Yes! I will fight. I would fight him, but I tore a quad within the

midst of the dance…

Senior : Hey Ghandi. Hey, you, are we doing this or what? Hit me.

Jesse : What?

Senior : Let‟s get in on

We can see that the focus of the conversation above is on the activities,

information and facts rather than own feelings. The responses frequently disagree

with or challenge the previous statements in any case as seen in the conversation

6. It shows that men tend to be more competitive in their conversation. Moreover,

it shows that men use more progressive verb forms, such as „are looking‟ and „are

doing‟.


58

APPENDIX 2. List of Women‟s Gossip and Men‟s Gossip in Pitch

Perfect Movie

1. Women’s Gossip

Conversation 14


Aubrey: Mmm...



Amy : My money‟s on Black Beauty.

The dialogue above shows the two women are gossiping one of their

group‟s members who is known being a lesbian. This occurrence matches with

Waddington‟s opinion. Waddington (2012), agreed that women were more likely

to gossip about friends and family.

Conversation 15

Jesse : I bring some films. I don‟t like how much cooler he thinks he is than me.


first?




discussion‟s content which is commonly talked by woman and man. In the

dialogue done by Beca and Jesse above, Beca as a woman, suggest Jesse as a man,

to talk about their feelings or giving another choice to do instead of following

Jesse‟s allurement. Looking from the dialogue above, it could be seen that women

more interested to talk about feeling rather than talking about hobby. For most

women, getting together and telling about their feelings and what is happening in

thier lives is at the heart of friendship (Tannen, 1990, p.50).

Conversation 16


59

Aubrey: Our score sheet revealed that the Sockappellas almost beat us. And Fat

Amy, you need to do it exactly how we rehearsed it, okay? No surprises.

Beca : We should be taking risks. It‟s not enough to be good, we need to put

ourselves out there, be different.

Rose : Beca‟s right. The Trebles never sing the same song twice.

The dialogue above shows Aubrey‟s anxiety about a problem they got

related to their group‟s score in a capella competition. Tannen (1990) said that

troubles talk is just one aspect of the ongoing intimate conversation that can be

called gossip (p.48). In that dialogue, those women talk about their rival in a

capella competition whose name is Treble. They are trying to beat their score

above Treble. Treble becomes the absent third party in Bella‟s talks.

Conversation 17

Aubrey: Chloe, your voice didn‟t sound Aguilerian at all. Chloe, for

serious, what is wrong with you?

Chloe : I have nodes

Aubrey: What? My God

Chloe : I found out this morning.

That conversation shows that Aubrey tries to give attention to her friend,

Chloe. Aubey shows her anxiety about Chloe‟s pain. From the conversation

above, it can be seen that women are likely to share their feelings and their

emotions. Tannen (1990) says that for most women, getting together and telling

about their feelings and what is happening in their lives is at the heart of

friendship.

Conversation 18

Beca : I think we all know where this is going. Les-be-honest

Rose : Well, for the last two years, I‟ve had a serious gambling problem.

Amy : What?

Beca : What?

Rose : It started when I broke up with my girlfriend.


60

Beca : Okay, I‟ve never really been one of those girls who had a lot of friends

who were girls. And I do now. And that‟s pretty cool. So, that‟s me.

Someone else please go.

The conversation above tells about Bella‟s feeling and each fact of them.

From the conversation above, it could be concluded that women are more open

end to share their feeling with their fellows. Tannen (1990) argued that telling

secrets is an essential part of friendship for most women, they may find

themselves in trouble when they have no secret to tell (p.47). That is why as a

member of a group which is being built for a long time, they try to build a closer

relation by being honest to each other.

3. Men’s Gossip

Conversation 19



first?




discussion‟s content which is commonly talked by woman and man. The dialogue

shows that man is more interested in talking about hobby rather than feeling.

Jesse‟s hobby is watching the film, so he brings some films to watch with Beca. In

the dialogue above, Jesse as a man, tries to ask Beca as a woman, in choosing

what movie they are going to watch. However, Beca refuse Jesse‟s request to

watch movie.

Conversation 20


61


Even if he is, in fact, much cooler than me. What do you want to whatch

first?




discussion‟s content which commonly talked by woman and man. From the

dialogue above, it could be concluded that what men are talking is about the

movie or his hobby which is watching movies. However, Beca as a woman there,

suggest the man, Jesse, to talk about feelings which is not a men‟s interest.

Conversation 21




The conversation above shows two guys who are talking about women. It

shows that actually the one who are likely to gossip about opposite gender is not

only women but also men do. The occurrence which happens based on the

dialogue above, proves that in reality, men are interested to talk about others

especially their opposite gender.

Conversation 22

Bumper : Treble Mayer just asked me, personally, through an assistant, to

sing backup on his new CD. I leave for Los Angeles in a few

hours, so I gotta get going.

Donald : But Bumper, what about the ICCAs? They‟re this weekend.

Bumper : Sorry buddies, but I won that shit 100 times, so I‟m out of here.

Got a collarless leather jacket to buy. Maybe some aviators. I

might get an earring. I don‟t know. It‟s Los Angeles. This is

exciting stuff. My life rules!


Donald : Well he‟s a jerk that we need to replace.

Treble : Yeah.

Donald : Pronto dente. You know he writes his own fan mail.


62

APPENDIX 3. Pitch Perfect Movie Synopsis

PITCH PERFECT

The movie opens with the Barden Bellas about to perform at the ICCA

championships. One of them, Chloe (Brittany Snow) is running late to the start of

the performance. When she arrives she is reprimanded by the older Bellas. As

they are about to perform, Aubrey (Anna Camp) tries to assure them she'll do a

good job, but is shot down. The group sings 'The Sign'.. and all is going well, until

the very end when Aubrey has a solo, and projectile vomits all over the stage and

front rows of the audience.

Cut to the start of a new year at Barden University, and freshman Beca

(Anna Kendrick) is arriving by taxi. While she is receiving directions and her

Rape Whistle, a car passes her by, and another student, Jesse (Skylar Austin) is

singing along to the radio, and catches her attention.

Beca finds her new dorm room, and meets her roommate Kimmy-Jin, who

is hostile and unfriendly. Beca's dad, a professor at Barden then arrives, and asks

her how she got there. It is revealed that Beca's parents have split up as she refers

to her dad's new wife as her 'step monster', and seems very reluctant to be

attending College. Beca's dad tries to encourage her to enjoy it, but Beca escapes

to the Activities fair.

In another dorm room, Jesse is meeting his roommate Benji (Ben Platt),

who is into Star Wars and magic.

At the Activities fair, we are introduced to the Trebles - one of the Campus

singing groups, all male, who are talented and have a high opinion of themselves,


63

especially Bumper (Adam Devine) the lead singer. Jesse and Benji approach the

Trebles, as Benji is desperate to join, but Bumper is not impressed with his

enthusiasm.

Across the campus, the Bellas are now down to just 2 members - Aubrey

and Chloe, who are trying to recruit new ones. Due to their disastrous

performance at the last Championships, they are not having much luck, and are

even ridiculed by 'Baloney Barb' who has tried out for them previously. They are

then approached by Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), an outgoing and quirky student

from Tasmania who doesn't hesitate to demonstrate her singing and dancing

abilities. They then meet Beca, who quickly rebuffs their offer to audition, saying

it is lame, which immediately puts Aubrey offside.

Instead of being interested in joining any of the singing groups, Beca has

much more of an interest in remixing music on her laptop. She gets a job at the

campus radio station, and much to her dismay, so does Jesse.

Her dad pays her a visit in her dorm, and gives her an ultimatum - if she

makes an effort and joins a group at College , but still doesn't like it by the end of

the year, she can quit and follow her true dream of becoming a DJ, and he will

help her... but he wants her to really make an effort.

As Beca goes into the communal showers singing to herself, Chloe

happens to be in the showers as well, and confronts Beca in her shower stall ,

insisting that she try out for the Bellas. Although Beca is mortified, she sings

along with Chloe to 'Titanium'.


64

Finally the auditions are on, and Jesse, Benji and Fat Amy are among the

hopefuls trying out, auditioning to 'Since you've been gone'. Beca comes late, and

hasn't prepared the audition song, but auditions with 'Cups (miss me when I'm

gone)', and Chloe and Jesse are impressed, while Aubrey is unsure. We then see

the initiation of the new Bellas including Beca, Fat Amy, Stacie (Alexis Knapp),

Cynthia-Rose (Esther Dean) and the very softly spoken Lilly (Hana Mae Lee).

They all swear an oath and drink the 'blood of the Bellas who came before them'

(wine). Cut to the initiation of the new Trebles.. Jesse has made it, but Benji has

not. That night, there is Aca-initiation where all the groups come together for

drinks and singing. Jesse is pleased to see Beca is in the Bellas, although she

seems less than thrilled to be there. Fat Amy and Bumper seem to share some

chemistry, despite insulting one another, and Aubrey looks unhappy that Beca is

showing an interest in Jesse.

The next day, Bella rehearsals begin. Aubrey has a very rigorous training

schedule planned. She announces that one of the new Bellas has been kicked out

for breaking the oath that you must not hook up with a Treble. She asks the rest of

the girls to confess the same if necessary, and another Bella is kicked out.

Rehearsals begin, and the girls are less than impressive. Aubrey and Chloe have

their work cut out for them. As the girls leave, Aubrey calls Beca over and warns

her not to get involved with Jesse. Beca is flippant and retorts that Aubrey is not

the boss of her.

At the Bellas' first gig with their new line up they wear the same uniforms

and sing the same songs they always have. They are not at all prepared, and are


65

cut short and told they won't be paid for the gig. Aubrey is furious, especially at

Chloe, who then reveals she has Nodes - 'the rubbing together of your vocal

chords at above average rates and without proper lubrication', and will have to

pull back on her singing.

As time goes on, Jesse tries flirting with Beca at work, who seems like she

is interested in him but trying not to be. He then approaches her on campus and

wants to show her his favourite movies, but she reveals she does not like watching

movies, especially the endings... Jesse argues that endings are the best part. Beca

says she doesn't have time to watch the movies, as Bellas are rehearsing all the

time. Jesse asks if they are getting ready for the Riff Off. Beca has no idea what

that is, but soon finds out. The Riff Off is a singing competition that pits the

groups against each other, with various song categories. Despite Beca impressing

most of the Bellas, the other groups, and Jesse with her version of 'No Diggity',

the Trebles win the Riff Off. Beca is encouraged by the other Bellas' ability to

listen to one another and sing together impromptu, but Aubrey brushes her off,

upset that they still lost.

Jesse and Beca become closer when she plays him some of her music

remixes, and he shows her the ending of his favourite movie, the Breakfast Club.

As the Bellas rehearse for the next round of competition, Chloe and Beca try to

convince Aubrey to try something different and not keep singing the same songs,

but Aubrey is adamant that they will win if they keep it all the same. She gives Fat

Amy a solo in the performance, who gets a bit carried away, but the audience love

the energy and variation from the usual Bella prim and proper style. However,


66

Aubrey is not impressed. The Trebles win the trophy, but as they are all leaving, a

fight breaks out with an acapella group of older men outside, and Beca

accidentally breaks a window, and ends up being arrested. When her father arrives

to bail her out, she is furious with Jesse for calling him. Beca arrives back at the

dorm, and all the Bellas are waiting for her in support, although when she tries

suggesting they mix things up for their next performance, once again, Aubrey

shoots her down and says they will be doing things the same as always.

The Bellas travel to the semi finals on a bus driven by Fat Amy. She stops

at a gas station to 'pump and dump', and the Trebles drive past. Bumper cruelly

throws a huge burrito at Fat Amy and sauce spills all over her, making her furious.

As the Bellas keep driving, they are in good spirits and sing together 'Party in the

USA', until suddenly the bus splutters, and Fat Amy realises she never actually

got around to putting gas in the tank. Out of desperation, they call the Trebles for

a lift on their bus. At the semi finals, there is a group called the 'Footnotes' who

are impressive, but the commentators note the male lead singer's voice sounds

unusually high. The Bellas begin to perform their usual set, but Beca becomes

sick of the mocking looks from the other bands, and also the bored looks in the

audience, so she starts singing another song 'Bulletproof' over the top of 'The Sign'

much to the other Bellas' surprise and Audrey's displeasure, but it does make the

judges take more notice. After the performance, Aubrey tells Beca off, and she

ends up leaving the Bellas, but not before lashing out at Jesse again as he tries to

come to her defence.


67

The Bellas do not advance to the Finals, and Aubrey is devastated. Over

Spring Break, Beca finally watches the Breakfast Club, and is moved to tears.

Also, it is discovered that the group the Footnotes who advanced to the Finals had

a member in High School, so were disqualified, and the Bellas are back in the

running. They are all thrilled and excitedly come together to rehearse. Chloe

reveals that she has let Beca know, much to Aubrey's annoyance. Beca tries to

make amends with Jesse, but he brushes her off. She speaks to her Dad, admitting

that she shuts people out, and asks him what to do. Meanwhile, Bumper has been

offered a back up singer job with John Mayer,and ditches the Trebles without any

regard for the Finals. Jesse immediately rushes to Benji and offers him the spot,

but warns him not to act weird.

Finally sick of Aubrey and her bossy, controlling attitude, Chloe tells

Aubrey that Beca was right, and they should have listened to her. They get in a

fight and the other Bellas start to intervene. Aubrey loses it, and makes herself

projectile vomit all over the place. All hell breaks loose, as Beca comes in and

calms everyone down. Finally Aubrey agrees to let Beca have a go at remixing the

songs and changing the style of the Bellas' performance for the better. It is

discovered that as Chloe has had surgery to remove her Nodes, she can now hit

the bass notes, and also that Lilly can beatbox.

It is the Finals, and Beca wishes Jesse luck in his performance, but there is

still tension between them. The Trebles perform strongly as always, with Benji

finally getting his moment to shine with a solo. It is then the Bellas' turn to

perform, and they have ditched their drab flight attendant uniforms and are


68

wearing their own clothes and look a lot more stylish and sexy. They do a

fantastic performance with all different songs mixed together, met with

thunderous applause from the audience including a standing ovation from the

Trebles. Jesse finally realises Beca is sorry for how she's treated him as one of the

songs she sings is 'Don't you forget about me' from the Breakfast Club soundtrack.

After the performance, Beca and Jesse finally share a kiss. Cut to 6 months later,

and it is next years' auditions. The winners of last year's championships get to pick

the audition song, and we see the Bellas minus Chloe and Aubrey with a huge

trophy on their table discussing which song to pick.


Documents

DIFFERENCES OF WOMEN’S GOSSIP AND MEN’S GOSSIP IN … · sekelompok perempuan dan laki-laki dalam film Pitch Perfect. Perbedaan bahasa yang digunakan antara sekelompok perempuan