Beyond Swear Words: A Rhetorical Probing of Expletives Used in Filipino Movies

Abstract

^{This study investigates the  employment of swear words in the selected films of the renowned Filipino director, Jerrold Tarog entitled, Heneral Luna and Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral respectively. Significantly, this addresses knowledge gap through which aims to raise awareness on topic people have little and fixated knowledge in terms of swearing and the underlying factors alongside it. To achieve an in-depth analysis of swear words in communication, the researchers make use of the Content Analysis anchored on the theory of Sociolinguistics by Jane Holmes (2001) and is fortified by the Utterance Emotion Dynamics Framework introduced by Hipson and Mohammad and Paralinguistic by Trager. Upon scrutinization, the findings reveal that in totality, there are eleven (11) emotions revolving around the aforementioned films. These emotions consist of (1) Anger, (2) Disbelief, (3) Disgust, (4) Frustration, (5) Surprise, (6) Fear, (7) Irritation, (8) Confusion, (9) Sarcasm, (10) Excitement, and (11) Arrogance. Among the identified emotions, data provide that people ultimately swear due to exasperation, basically known as anger. This paper concludes by putting on an emphasis on the importance of understanding the complex nature of swear words by delving deeper into its multifaceted nature.}