The Flexibility of the “F” Word

The “f” word (fuck) cannot be separated from its taboo nature. This can reveal more deeply about its use which can be found every day that the “f” word is not always used in negative terms and may be useful to enrich the knowledge about the characteristics of the “f” word and to reduce the stigma about it that it has more than negative purpose in expressing emotions. This research would also clarify the reasons for the versatility of the “f” word itself because of the kind that can be used to convey the sense of a specific emotional situation. This study was created because of the shortcomings that the previous study had; Horvat (2016), Jay and Janschewitz (2008), and Pluszczyk (2015) who have not studied the function of the “f” word in detail. So the motivation is created with documentation technique and applying the framework of Shiedlower (1999) and Wang (2013) to further discuss that the “f” word can be flexible in terms of word elements and their function in this study. The results have 6 different types of word element and 4 functions of “f” word swearing.


INTRODUCTION
Language has always been a medium of communication. Every emotional state can be conveyed by expressing it through language. It does not rule out that any kind of word can be uttered, because it is the function of the language itself to visualize what we are thinking or feeling in words despite whether it is "good" words or "bad" words. By "bad" words, it means a taboo, which means in linguistic theory refers to the condition that a word or a name cannot be used by a certain community, circumtance, or persons. Let us name it the "f" word (fuck) in this case. Battistella notes that the words' vulgarity 'and' obscenity 'both apply to crude terms for human anatomy (e.g. prick, cunt) and sexual or excretory functions (e.g. fuck, shit),' largely a matter of degree and prurience,' with the discrepancy between vulgarity and obscenity (2005).
Historically, the 'degree and prurience' of the "f" word was such that the first academic study of the "f" word, Read's paper, omits any description of the word itself and refers obliquely to it as 'the most unreputable of all English terms, the colloquial verb and noun, uniformly understood by English speakers, defining the sex act' (Read, 1934).
The survival and continuing use of the "f" word can sound shocking, considering this extreme social stigma (Fairman, 2006). Stapleton (2010) however suggests, that the banned existence of taboo language gives it a strength and power that performs a number of social, psychological and interpersonal purposes. The term thus tends to be used 'not in spite of the stigma, but because of it' (Fairman, 2006).
For some people expressing emotional state with the "f" word is inevitable. It proves that this "f" word has its some kind of flexibility to be in any explication or statement. This what makes the study worth doing. It is to analyze why is it flexible. Why it can be "Get the f*ck out" when you expel someone? Why it can be "Don't f*ck with me" when you are cornered and giving a threat like so? And why does it have to be "She's f*cking beautiful!" when you see a really beautiful person?
Several related studies found. Among them is a study by Horvat (2016) that discusses the "f" word from its etymology and also its roles as a word element. But not the function of the word. The second study is done by Jay and Janschewitz (2008). It analyzes swearing from the pragmatic's perspective and believes that swearing is not necessarily impolite. However, the second previous study focuses on the swearwords characteristics in general and does not expand it to the "f" word specifically. The third is by Pluszczyk (2015) that analyzes various functions of swearwords from negative to positive use. Even this study attemps to demonstrate the occurrence of swearing used in a more positive sense. This following study will support the function of the "f" word's flexibility in expressing any kind of emotional statement.
The case leads us to the purpose of this study that is to clarify and point out that the "f" word has several functions to express something more than what it is written explicitly. Therefore, the present study is motivated by the statement of Andersson & Trudgill (1992) that the "f" word can be considered flexible, since the "f" word can be used to express pain, pleasure, hate, and love depending on the context it appears in.
Swearing Vingerhoets (2013) cited from Andersson and Trudgill (2007) Swearing is described as a use of language in which the expression: (i) refers to something in the culture of the swearer that is taboo or stigmatized, (ii) is not meant to be literally interpreted, (iii) may be used to convey strong emotions or attitudes. The application of these elements leads to a language with a greater power of expression. For this reason, in specific cases, swearing may be more functional (Stapleton, 2010). Pinker (2007) notes that swearing is universal and that in certain cultures, the words and terms used in swearing can be considered taboo. In various corners of the world, swearing is a normal human behavior.
Many people claim that it is sometimes socially inappropriate to utter swear words, but new studies show that it helps alleviate stress, frustration, and tension (Stephens, 2013). As Stephens (2013), a senior lecturer in psychology at Keele University, states: "[...] swear-ing probably works by making people feel more aggressive, in turn setting off the fight or flight response".
Most of us probably agree that the main purpose of swearing is expressing something negative, such as anger, frustration, and annoyance. It is used when we cannot control our emotion most of the time. Swearing, in addition, is often used to insult or offend others. People, thus, stigmatize swearing, even if swearing may be used for the opposite reason. Just as Jay and Janschewitz (2008) claim that the purpose of swearing does not always have to be thought in a bad way.

Functions of Swearing
It is undeniable that a swear word used in a given context fulfills some kind of communicative function (Wang 2013). It is necessary to stress that there are several functions of swearing to be distinguished.

Emotion
One of the most principal functions of swearing is expressing emotion. Whenever we analyze swearing in terms of expressing emotions, we usually associate it with anger, fury, and anxiety. According to Andersson and Trudgill (2007), swearing in constitutes an utterance of strong emotions such as: fuck, shit, holy shit.

Insult
Swearing is also used in order to offend another person. It is undeniable that this function is used in a negative way. Male 1: Danny, anybody hurt? Male 2: We're OK, just don't say "no", you motherfucker! (The Negotiator) The above example contains word -insults and slurs the purpose of which is to offend others. We can easily observe how swearing is used in order to vent negative emotions, show rudeness, offend, insult another person or refer to them in a derogatory way.

Emphasis
Another function of swearing is emphasis. One of the most principal objectives of swearing in this respects is to emphasize one's feelings or emotions about something and intensify the force of a particular element in an utterance (Wang 2013). It should be stressed that the swear words the function of which in emphasis do not have to be regarded as contextually inappropriate or offensive. As a result, the judgement is not negative in this respect. In the above example, the function of the adjective fucking is used in order to strengthen the force of beaten.

Solidarity / Identity
Another function is expressing solidarity or identity. The expletives used in this respect usually occur in order to indicate intimacy or group membership (Wang 2013). The swear words fuck you, or shit, or the mild one damn is probably very okay among close people, as the swearing utterances instill or confirm the feeling of friendship, solidarity, or camaraderie.
The occurence of swearing can also be caused by the need to show solidarity or harmony. Hence, in this respect a swear word functions as a marker of solidarity and this phenomenon is regarded as positive.

Humour
Finally, swearing can also be used in order to bring forth laughter. It should also be stressed that there is a lot of offensive language encountered in jokes which also contributes to or increase the funniness.
It can be hypothesized, in other words, that swearing does not actually always indicate rudeness. Swearing is not inherently violent, rude, and hostile. It can even be a reflection of politeness, it can also have other functions-swear words, for example, also serve to signify unity or cooperation or even to create laughter.

The "F" Word (Fuck)
The meaning of the "f"word varies based on its word element. It is because the characteristic of the "f" word that can be any word element in a sentence. Either as a verb, noun, adjective, interjection, adverb, infix, or acronyms. Therefore, the "f" word can be considered as a polymorphous word.

In various similes and proverbs;
Legman, Dirty jokes, 1952: I am going to fuck you till your ears fly off. (Sheidlower, 1999) W. C. Woods, Killing zone, 1970: I wish you were here too, so I could fuck your brains out. (Sheidlower, 1999) 4. Used as an interjection to express dismay, disbelief, resignation, surprise, etc., often used with it, occasionally elaborated; Manning, Fortune, 1929: A man uttered a monosyllabic curse: "Fuck!" (Sheidlower, 1999) (Sheidlower, 1999) 7. To cheat, to victimize, deceive, betray;Gwin, Overboard, 1979-1982 As Mick tried to teach me, "Top dog fucks the bottom dog. That's the law of the jungle." (Sheidlower, 1999) 8. In variations implying especially cruel deception or brutalization; New Yorker, September 1997: Gil didn't understand how much firepower Steve had ... Steve is going to fuck Gil so hard his eardrums will pop. (Sheidlower, 1999) 9. To exploit to one's own benefit; M. Baker, Cops, 1985: I'm going to stay here but I'm going to fuck the job to death. They are not going to get anything out of me. (Sheidlower, 1999) (Sheidlower, 1999)

A large or outstanding example:
National Lampoon, August 1977: Have I got a motherfucker of a stunt for you! (Sheidlower, 1999)

Used as an indefinite standard of comparison:
Rukuza, West Coast Turnaround, 1990: It was raining like six motherfuckers. (Sheidlower, 1999) Fucked -adjective; 1. Completely exhausted: H. Garner, Monkey grip, 1977: I only want to crash, right now. I'm absolutely fucked. (Sheidlower, 1999) 2. Lacking in sanity or good sense, crazy: National Lampoon, April 1990: They're fucked in the head. (Sheidlower, 1999) (Sheidlower, 1999) Also -motherfucking-Ragni and Rado, Hair, 1967: Yeah! Emancimotherfuckin'-pator of the slave. (Sheidlower, 1999) A number of explanations above lead to several problems to be answered. some of these are to answer the meaning of the word "f" (fuck), and the flexibility of the "f" word from the point of view of the swearing function. This is related to the purpose of this study are to uncover the meaning of the "f" word (fuck), and to elaborate the flexibility of the "f" word by categorizing the swearwords according of their pragmatic (functions) and semantic (word element).

METHODOLOGY
According to Lodico (2010) qualitative research has few characteristics. Some of them are: studies in qualitative method are carried out in naturalistic settings, in qualitative the researchers ask broad research question designed to explore, interpret, or understand the social context, and the study data report is in narrative form or using words rather than numbers. Based on the explanation above, this research uses qualitative data approach because the data resulted from research problems are in the form of texts or statements.
Subject Documentation is considered to be the most useful approach in this analysis since there have been several researches similar to the present research. The hypotheses produced need to be examined and compiled later in order to produce a clearer hypothesis in this study. The data obtained comes from dialogue of a movie that requires expressions with the "f" word in it.
Data Analysis Analysis can be described, according to Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014), as consisting of three current activity processes that is data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. In this study, the researcher uses Miles and Huberman's theory to analyze the results.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
In filling in the responses to the problems that have been provided, this study collects data from a film entitled The Wolf of Wall Street, which has the motivation of the large number of "f" swearing found in the film. Please note that this film is a criminal biographical movie about the life of a stockbroker whose life is inseparable from alcohol, drugs, and other criminals that are still considered taboo by most people. It is found 571 times "f" swearing in the movie. Adjective

Word Elements of "F" Swearing
The "f" word swearing that has been collected from the movie, has 273 the f word swearing as the adjectives. There are 256 adjectives of fucking, 10 adjectives of fucked up, 3 adjectives of motherfucking, 3 adjectives of fucked, and 1 adjective of fuck-free.
As we know generally that adjective of a sentence is used to describe the noun. In this case, the word fucking and motherfucking are used to describes and emphasizes the noun in the dialogues. The adjective of fucked up and fucked are another adjective that is found in the movie. Fucked up is an adjective phrase means several points. In The Wolf of Wall Street, fucked up is expressed to describe the condition of intoxicated by liquor or drugs, contemptible, worthless, miserable, damned, utterly fatigued, and exhausted. While fucked is an adjective to be described as completely exhausted, lacking in sanity or good sense, crazy, exceedingly bad or offensive, rotten, or awful.

Infix
Infix is used and put in the middle of a word or a phrase in order to emphasize it. The 10 infixes of fucking in the movie are mostly used to emphasize a name of a person. While there is motherfucking infix that also is used to emphasize a phrase:

Emphasis
The most function of swearing in The Wolf of Wall Street is to emphasize someone's feeling or emotion about something. The word fucking is used 223 times to emphasizes mostly anything. The word fuck is also used 48 times. The phrase fuck up is used 10 times to emphasizes the condition of someone, while fucked is used to emphasizes something twice in the movie. And there is also a word fuckload that is for emphasizing somethiing in a large number.

Emotion
Swearing to express emotion in this term is tend to be anger, cursing, confusion, and anxiety. There are 40 times fuck is uttered in a strong way. While the rest are fucking 49 times, the fuck 24 times, what the fuck 3 times, and once for each fucked up and fuck over. Although the words and phrase other than fuck might be considered as other function, but the situation when they are uttered is in the state of anger, confusion, and anxiety. Which is why they are considered in emotional expression.

Solidarity
The important thing of swearing for solidarity is nobody feels offended when they are getting sworn. It is because both parties feel it is a common thing to swear with each other. The word fucking in current function has the most used word in the movie, which is 53 times. The word fuck is used 42 times. The word motherfucker does not applies as an insult if it is meant to be show a solidarity for colleagues and it is used 4 times. The fuck has been used twice, and the rest is once for each fucker, fuck off, and fucked.

Insult
The insult word is usually the one with -er infix, such as fucker that is used twice and motherfucker eleven times in the movie. However, the movie also has a various word that is not only -er word. There are also fuck five times, fucksville four times, and once for fuckface and fuckhead. Turns out, the most mentioned insult word is the word fucking, which is 26 times. Although it is doubted to be an insult, fucking can be an insult if it is used in a derogatory way.

Humour
The swearing can also bring laughter beacuse the context of the speaker is to entertain people. In this case, the word fucking brings a laughter by been mentioned 10 times, motherfucker is also mentioned 3 times, and fuck twice in the movie.

CONCLUSION
The "f" word may be judged starting from the elements of the word and the function of its usage. It turns out that there are different types of word elements and functions from the results found, which are not always meant negative and not always meant positive. It reveals the flexibility of using the "f" word into adjective, adverb, interjection, verb, noun, and infix. And this also points out that it can not be assumed that the "f" word signifies rage explicitly. It can, however, convey emotions, emphasize something, show solidarity, insult others, and trigger laughter as well. It can also not be assumed that the word "f" is an inevitably offensive, derogatory, and impolite word. Notwithstanding the compelling results, this study acknowledges that many elements of the "f" word remain that have not been touched. Similarly, as there are so many hypotheses from the leaders that can still be used as research material, its function is still a lot to be learned. It is also proposed that the study can be enhanced from different facets of the "f" word's flexibility in future research.