LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS USED BY THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF …
Transcript of LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS USED BY THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF …
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LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS USED BY THE MAIN
CHARACTERS OF THE MARRIAGE STORY MOVIE
A THESIS
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for
the Bachelor Degree Majoring in Linguistic in English Department
Faculty of Humanities Diponegoro University
Submitted by:
Shely Martha Sanastia
13020116130052
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
DIPONEGORO UNIVERSITY
SEMARANG
2020
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PRONOUNCEMENT
I state truthfully that this thesis is compiled by me without taking the results
from other research in any university, in S-1, S-2, and S-3 degree and in
diploma. I ascertain that I do not quote any material from other publications or
someone else’s work except from the references mentioned.
Semarang, October 2020
Shely Martha Sanastia
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APPROVAL
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VALIDATION
Approved by:
Strata 1 Thesis Examination Committee
Faculty of Humanity Diponegoro University
On 18th November, 2020
Chair Person
Dr. Deli Nirmala, M.Hum
NIP. 196111091987032001
First Member
Drs. Mualimin, M.Hum.
NIP. 196111101987101001
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MOTTO AND DEDICATION
“And He found you lost and guided you”
(Surah Al Kahf, 18:23)
“In order to become who you most want to be, you need to let go of who you
think you are.”
(Hunter Fogarty)
I sincerely dedicate this thesis to my family
as my support system, and everyone
who helped me in finishing this thesis.
Thank You.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Praise to Allah S.W.T, the Entirely Merciful, for his guidance, strength,
opportunity, and blessing so this thesis entitled Language Function Used by The
Main Characters of The Marriage Story movie is finally completed. On this
opportunity, I want to thank everyone who have contributed and given endless
supports in the progress of this thesis.
The deepest gratitude and appreciation is given to Mytha Candria, S.S,
M.A.,M.A., as my thesis advisor, for her continous guidance, advice, correction,
moral support, and especially her time and patience, so this thesis can be completed.
I would also address my deepest gratitude to:
1. Dr. Nurhayati, M.Hum., as the Dean of Faculty of Humanities of
Diponegoro University.
2. Dr. Agus Subiyanto, M. A., as the Head of English Department of Faculty
of Humanities, Diponegoro University.
3. All of the lecturers in English Department, particularly in Linguistic section,
Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University for their sincere dedication,
valuable knowledge and experiences during my study at English
Department.
4. My beloved parents, Mr. Kuat Santoso and Mrs. Nana Septiana, for giving
endless support and love and being the main reason and motivation for me
to finish my thesis.
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5. My brother, Keenan Rassya, for giving me support and laughter. I am so
lucky to have you.
6. My best friend, Adhisty, Saskia, Mella, Bella, Dania, Ovie, Jen, Nisa,
Wildan, thank you for always being there, help me through thick and thin,
and still making me laugh in a hard time.
7. All fellow students of English Department batch 2016 who have given
unforgetabble days and stories.
8. To all the person I can not mention one by one. Thank you for being a part
of my journey.
This thesis is far from perfections. So, I will be grateful to receive some
suggestions and constructive critism to make this thesis better. Finally, I expect that
this thesis will be useful for the readers who want to do the same research on
language functions.
Semarang, October 2020
Shely Martha Sanastia
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRONOUNCEMENT ....................................................................................................... ii
APPROVAL ..................................................................................................................... iii
VALIDATION.................................................................................................................. iv
MOTTO AND DEDICATION ......................................................................................... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. viii
TABLE OF FIGURE ........................................................................................................ x
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER I ...................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background of the Study......................................................................................... 1
1.2 Research Question .................................................................................................. 3
1.3 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................... 4
1.4 Previous Studies ...................................................................................................... 4
1.5 Scope and Limitation .............................................................................................. 6
1.6 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................ 7
1.7 Organization of the Writing .................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER II ..................................................................................................................... 9
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................. 9
2.1 Context .................................................................................................................... 9
2.1.1 Physical Context ......................................................................................... 9
2.1.2 Social Context ........................................................................................... 10
2.2 Language Functions .............................................................................................. 10
2.2.1 Referential Function .................................................................................. 11
2.2.2 Emotive Function ...................................................................................... 11
2.2.3 Conative Function ..................................................................................... 12
2.2.4 Phatic Function ......................................................................................... 13
2.2.5 Metalingual Function ................................................................................ 13
2.2.6 Poetic Function ......................................................................................... 14
2.3 Social Factors ........................................................................................................ 15
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2.3.1 Settings ...................................................................................................... 15
2.3.2 Participants of the Interaction ................................................................... 16
2.3.3 Topic of the Interaction ............................................................................. 16
2.3.4 Function of the Interaction ........................................................................ 16
2.4 Social Dimensions ................................................................................................ 17
2.3.1 A Social Distance Scale ............................................................................ 17
2.3.2 A Status Scale ........................................................................................... 17
2.3.3 A Formality Scale ..................................................................................... 18
2.3.4 A Functional Scale: Referential and Affective ......................................... 18
CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................. 20
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 20
3.1 Type of Research .................................................................................................. 20
3.2 Data and Sources ................................................................................................... 20
3.3 Population, Sampling Technique and Sample ...................................................... 21
3.4 Method of Collecting Data .................................................................................... 21
3.5 Method of Analysing Data .................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER IV.................................................................................................................. 24
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................... 24
4.1 Function of Language Used by Nicole and Charlie .............................................. 24
4.2 Social Factor and Social Dimensions Influencing the Use of Language Function
by Nicole and Charlie ........................................................................................... 25
4.2.1 Emotive function ....................................................................................... 26
4.2.2 Referential Function .................................................................................. 33
4.2.3 Conative Function ..................................................................................... 41
4.2.4 Metalingual Function ................................................................................ 50
4.2.5 Phatic Function ......................................................................................... 57
4.2.6 Poetic Function ......................................................................................... 65
CHAPTER V ................................................................................................................... 67
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 67
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 69
APPENDIX ...................................................................................................................... 71
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TABLE OF FIGURE
Figure 4. 1 Functions of Language spoken by Nicole and Charlie ................................... 25
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is a presentation of seven sub-chapters. i.e. background of the
study (1.1), research questions (1.2), purpose of the study (1.3), previous studies
(1.4), scope and limitation (1.5), significance of the study (1.6), and writing
organization (1.7).
1.1 Background of the Study
Marriage Story is a comedy-drama movie written, directed, and produced
by Noah Baumbach, a New York writer-director. After its release on 29th August
2019 at Venice Film Festival, Marriage Story was transformed into digital
streaming on 6th December 2019, chosen as one of nine best pictures of the year by
the Academy Awards, receiving additional nods for best actor, actress, original
screenplay, and original score. Marriage Story was starred by Scarlett Johansson
and Adam Driver as the main characters and other actors and actresses in supporting
roles. Johansson starred as Nicole Barber and Driver starred as Charlie Barber.
Nicole is an actress, while Charlie is a New York theatre director. They have been
married for eight years. Unfortunately, their marriage is not a beautiful and
harmonious one; instead, it is a story that is on the verge of ending. They are facing
a long divorce process, in which every one of them fight for the custody of their
son.
I choose the Marriage Story movie as the object of research because the
movie depicts different language usage, delivered by the main characters depending
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ABSTRACT
People tend to use different utterances considering the social context in
which communication takes place. One utterance may have more than one meaning
and function depending on social context and other factors. This study aims to
describe the spoken language functions of the main characters, Charlie and Nicole,
in the Marriage Story movie. This descriptive qualitative research used Roman
Jakobson’s language function classification to categorize the selected utterances
found in Marriage Story movie into one of the six functions (emotive, conative,
referential, metalingual, phatic, and poetic). To interpret the classified data and the
contexts or situations, I related the language functions to social factors and social
dimensions based on Holmes’ categorization. The results show that all the six
language functions appeared in 118 of Nicole and Charlie’s utterances. The data
analysis depicts that 35 utterances contained emotive function which meant that
emotive is predominantly used by the main characters throughout the whole movie.
This is because the two main characters tend to fully express their personal feelings,
thoughts, ideas, and opinion towards the other characters. Besides, I found out that
the language functions are influenced by the social factors and social dimensions.
Social factors consist of the participant, setting, topic, and function. In contrast,
social dimensions consist of social distance scale, status scale, formality scale, and
two functional scales.
Keywords: language function, social factor, social dimension, Marriage Story
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is a presentation of seven sub-chapters. i.e. background of the
study (1.1), research questions (1.2), purpose of the study (1.3), previous studies
(1.4), scope and limitation (1.5), significance of the study (1.6), and writing
organization (1.7).
1.1 Background of the Study
Marriage Story is a comedy-drama movie written, directed, and produced
by Noah Baumbach, a New York writer-director. After its release on 29th August
2019 at Venice Film Festival, Marriage Story was transformed into digital
streaming on 6th December 2019, chosen as one of nine best pictures of the year by
the Academy Awards, receiving additional nods for best actor, actress, original
screenplay, and original score. Marriage Story was starred by Scarlett Johansson
and Adam Driver as the main characters and other actors and actresses in supporting
roles. Johansson starred as Nicole Barber and Driver starred as Charlie Barber.
Nicole is an actress, while Charlie is a New York theatre director. They have been
married for eight years. Unfortunately, their marriage is not a beautiful and
harmonious one; instead, it is a story that is on the verge of ending. They are facing
a long divorce process, in which every one of them fight for the custody of their
son.
I choose the Marriage Story movie as the object of research because the
movie depicts different language usage, delivered by the main characters depending
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on the purpose or situation. The main characters in the movie tend to use verbal
expressions to help them communicate their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and needs.
They usually use language to both intentionally and unintentionally express
thoughts as what and how they feel; they also consider how, why, when, where and
to whom they deliver their utterances.
In this movie, language as a verbal communication is used not only as
positive reinforcements, such as to praise or show empathy, but also as negative
reinforcements, such as critical or hateful speech. When having conversation with
other characters, both Nicole and Charlie tend to combine communication with
supportive language, which are language communicated in an open, honest, sincere
and non-confrontational way. However, in some other situations, they also use
unsupportive language, including sarcasm, curse, labels and judgmental language.
In addition, this movie contains the function of language in almost every utterance,
such as when the main characters produce command, share information, or maintain
close relationships with other characters.
When we talk about a language as a means of communication, we cannot
disregard human beings as the speakers. The speakers of a language will be
influenced by the social context. Language can show the speaker’s social classes,
educational background, and the relation between the speakers and the participants.
It is interesting to analyse the functions of language spoken by Nicole and
Charlie in Marriage Story movie affected by different contexts, meanings, and other
factors of communication. I will employ Roman Jakobson’s theory of language
function classification to analyze the functions of the language appearing in the
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movie. Jakobson divides language functions into referential, emotive, phatic,
conative, metalingual, and poetic. Furthermore, the categorization by Janet Holmes
is applied to find out factors that influence language functions and to investigate the
relationship between language functions, social factors and social dimensions. This
study aims to describe what are the functions of language spoken by Nicole and
Charlie by identifying the context, meaning, and the differences between their
utterances.
Marriage Story tells about Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole’s (Scarlett
Johansson) cumbersome marriage. Chalie is a theater stage director who lives in
New York with his wife Nicole, a film actress. They finally get a son named Henry.
At the beginning of the story, Charlie and Nicole attempt to not giving up on their
marriage with the help of a counselor. Nicole however seems to be not so
cooperative and makes the counseling process failed. They finally agree to split up
and not live together anymore. In consequence, both of them still take care of Henry
who still sits in primary school. Nicole and Charlie end up having an amicable
divorce and each looks for a private lawyer to help the divorce process. During the
process of divorce, they have to go through a lot of conflicts, struggles, and
heartbreaks that make the process even more complicated for both of them.
1.2 Research Question
Based on the background of the study above, I formulated two research
question as follows:
1. What are the functions of language spoken by Nicole and Charlie in
Marriage Story movie?
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2. What are the social factors and social dimensions that influence the
functions of language spoken by Nicole and Charlie in Marriage Story
movie?
1.3 Purpose of the Study
By following the research questions above, I have two purposes in
conducting this research namely:
1. To describe the functions of language spoken by Nicole and Charlie in
Marriage Story movie.
2. To describe the social factors and social dimensions that influence the
functions of language spoken by Nicole and Charlie in Marriage Story
movie.
1.4 Previous Studies
There has been no research on Marriage Story movie so far. However, there
are four previous studies related to language function and social factors in the
movie. First, research by Kurniarini (2012) analyses the social factors and social
dimensions of the character’s language reflecting racism in Freedom Writers
movie. She analysed the character’s language using Searle’s theory of speech act.
From the data, she found three functions, i.e. expressive, directives and
representative in the utterances reflecting racism in the movie. The findings also
showed that there are four kinds of social dimensions in Freedom Writers, i.e
solidarity scale, status or power scale, formality scale, and functional scales and
four kinds of social factors that are used in the film, i.e. participants, setting, topics
and function of the interaction.
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The second study is conducted by Irrisa (2009) who presents social factors
and social dimensions in terms of language style in Sherlock Holmes – The Game
of Shadow movie. She analysed the data based on Martin Joos’s categorization. The
findings show there are three types of language style occurring in Sherlock
Holmes’s utterances in Sherlock Holmes – The Game of Shadow movie. Those are
formal style, consultative style and casual style. She found casual style as the most
language style that occurred in Sherlock Holmes – The Game of Shadow movie. In
addition, she found out that Sherlock Holmes’s utterances influence by the social
context when he chooses his type of speech, such as setting, participants, topic, and
situation. Her analysis is very detailed because she analysed the data one by one.
She also explained the factors that influence the use of language style. However,
she just analysed 5 examples of conversation, so it is not enough to get the variations
of language style on the data.
The third study elaborate social factors with language functions. Hasits
(2007) analysed language functions used by Marcuss Burnett in Bad Boys II movie
and what are the factors that influence the language functions. He used Janet
Holmes’s classification to analysed the data. From his study he found out the most
dominant language function used by Marcuss Burnett, which is expressive function
and the language used by Marcuss Burnett in the conversations are most influenced
by social factors, such as participants, setting, topic and functions. However, he did
not provide a deep analysis of language functions and only analyses social factors
in his study.
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The last study is conducted by Adi (2018) who analysed slang words based
on social dimensions uttered by the characters in Little Man movie. The study used
a descriptive qualitative method because he interpreted the data by his own
knowledge and described the result of the analysis. He found four scales in social
dimensions using Janet Holmes categorization. From his study, he found 18 slang
words and social distance scale as the most influential scale in using slang words.
The result of their research concerns the relationship between the slang words and
social dimensions. He focused on describing the context of slang words that appear
in the conversation, but he did not discuss further the social dimensions on specific
explanation.
The differences between this study and the previous study are the object of
the study, the aspect that will be analysed, and the theory used to explain the
language functions. I want to examine the functions of language spoken by the main
character in Marriage Story movie by using Roman Jakobson (1987) classification.
I will also describe the social factors and social dimension that influence the
language function by using Janet Holmes (2013) categorization.
1.5 Scope and Limitation
This study focuses on the functions of language spoken by the main
characters of Marriage Story and the social factors and social dimensions that
influence the functions of language. The source of the data is from Marriage Story
movie script. The data in this study were taken from the utterances by Nicole Barber
and Charlie Barber, as the main characters in the movie. The selection of the data
based on the frequent conversations of those characters and the important roles
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within the movie plot. The characters have the most portions of the dialogs. I take
four to five conversation fragments as the sample to represent every language
function.
This study mainly focuses on two theories. First, language functions
classification from Roman Jakobson (1987), they are expressive, conative,
metalingual, phatic, referential and poetic function. Second, the categorization of
social factors and social dimensions by Janet Holmes (2013). The correlation
between social factors and social dimensions are important in describing and
analyzing all kinds of interaction.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study is expected to be an insight and could give a meaningful
contribution to studies in the linguistic field, especially about language functions,
which is a part of sociolinguistics. This research is also conducted to understand the
influence of social factors and social dimensions of language functions in Marriage
Story movie. I expect that these research findings can make other researchers
interested in exploring the interrelated theory of two or more collaboration studies.
Hopefully, this research will give benefit to all students, especially at English
Department Student.
1.7 Organization of the Writing
In this thesis, I divide the parts into five following chapters:
Chapter 1 Introduction
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This chapter includes background of the study, research question,
purpose of the study, scope and limitation of the study, significance
of the study, previous studies, and writing organization as well.
Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework
This chapter explains the theory used to analysed the data. The
theory consists of the major field in which language functions, kinds
of language functions, kinds of social factors and social dimensions.
Chapter 3 Research Method
This chapter includes the type of research, data source, population
and sample, method of collecting data, and method of analyzing
data.
Chapter 4 Finding and Discussion
This chapter explains the finding and discussion based on the
obtained data.
Chapter 5 Conclusion
This chapter provides a summary of the whole study.
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter is a presentation of the theories used to support the topic of the
research. This chapter is divided into three sub-chapters, i.e. context (2.1), language
functions (2.2), social factors (2.3), and social dimensions (2.4).
2.1 Context
Context has a vital role to play in communication; provides meaning and
clarity to the intended message. Context clue in an human interaction create a
relationship between the speaker and the listener, giving a deeper understanding
of the intent and direction of the interaction. A context must be understood to be
a set of propositions, describing the beliefs, knowledge, commitments and so on of
the participants in a discourse (Levinson, 1983). Context cannot be meant simply
as the place or where and when the speaker states, but also including the identity of
the speaker, identity of the listener, also the objects being discussed based on the
fact.
2.1.1 Physical Context
The physical context is a term used to refer to the general physical conditions
of a particular environment where the communication process takes place. These
particular areas can however come in the form of school, public rooms, or an office.
Nevertheless, the physical context aids individuals to distinguish which messages
are appropriate in different environments. Yule (2013) also added that to interpret
words or sentences, the relevant physical context is our mental representation of
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what is out of our physical states. We need to have a clear understanding of what we
read, hear, or learn to process the aspects of the physical context.
2.1.2 Social Context
The social context, on the other hand, refers to the general environment or
circumstances that the communal framework of interpersonal and individual
behavior takes place. Social context is generally used to describe the types of
settings in which people are engaged, including the groups with whom they interact
and the culture in how they live. Furthermore, in a social context, the roles,
relationships, general society normalities, cultural values, and customs of
individuals affect the way they communicate and engage with each other (DeVito,
2010). For example, the way a teacher requests or commands her students will be
different from the way she communicates the request to her spouse.
2.2 Language Functions
Language is central to all our lives since it fulfills a symbolic or
communicative function among us. This study uses the classification of language
function proposed by Roman Jakobson (1987). Jakobson declares six essential
elements of communication. The first is the context that refers to the setting of
communication. It is influenced by the form and content of the message which may
intersect with physical, cultural, social-psychological, and temporal aspects. The
second is the addresser (sender), a person who initiates the conversation and
develops the idea to be conveyed to others. The third is the addressee (receiver), a
person who receives, reads, and listens to the message delivered by the sender
through a communication channel. The fourth is contact or the psychological and
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physical connections used to decode the message. The fifth is a common code that
includes the language with all its symbols and arrangements. The last is a verbal or
nonverbal communication form that can trigger the receiver to give a response.
Furthermore, Jakobson (1987) divides language functions into six functions
(referential, emotive, conative, phatic, metalingual and poetic) in which each of
those functions has its own characteristics and purposes.
2.2.1 Referential Function
Referential function reveals the condition of the speakers who need to
convey their knowledge or information toward the hearer. Referential function
corresponds to any statements with numerous definite descriptions or information
(Jakobson, 1987). For example, “At the third stroke, it will be three o’clock
precisely” (Holmes, 2013, p. 275).
Referential function is the most common one in communication, it is
concerned by a reference to the context of the discussion, it can be a person, a
situation, an object, or an action. Referential function must constitute a reference to
something that the audience is familiar with (Nord, 2006). Referential function can
be express by a declarative statement ‘Trump won the election’, or by interrogative
statement ‘Where are you come from?’.
2.2.2 Emotive Function
Emotive function comes out when we express our emotions and do not
intend to give a piece of information. Emotive aims to direct the expression of the
speaker's attitude toward what he is speaking about. The message can be perceived
as conveying emotional feelings, such as joy, anger and sadness. For example,
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“Wow, what a beautiful scenery!”. We can also put a simple interjection expression,
such as ‘woah!’ ‘yuck!’ ‘shit!’ that are effective and natural ways to express
amazement, disgust, and aggravation without an explicit statement or complex
description.
According to Tribus (2017), another way to present emotive function is in
the empathic prolongation of vowels. In emotive, the statement “your room is so
cold” might be referred to as referential. However, if the speaker puts extra
emphasis such as “your room is so cooooold”, it is more likely to become involved
in the emotive language function indicated by the prolonged vowel.
2.2.3 Conative Function
Conative function is used when the message or utterance has an orientation
toward the addressee (Jakobson, 1987). It shows a language function that makes
addressee, to respond to what the addresser says or wants the listener to do.
Conative function finds its analytical expression in imperative sentences, and it
helps to make people do something through the addresser’s utterance.
Tribus (2017) adds that conative function generally assesses the effects of
the message on the behavior of addressee. For example, the utterance “Let’s get out
of here!” implies the addresser’s expectation of the addressee’s compliance with
the command. The hearer’s reaction is more essential than the speaker’s intention
since this function determines whether such a phrase reaches the target.
According to Holmes (2013), there are many ways to express the conative
function, for instance, using imperative, declarative, and interrogative sentences.
Imperative sentences may be expressed by giving a conative command (e.g. Sit
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down), the declarative sentence may be expressed by giving a less demanding but
more polite command (e.g. Sit down, please), and the interrogative sentence has a
particular function to request information or give an indirect order (e.g. Could you
sit down?).
2.2.4 Phatic Function
The phatic function of language keeps the channels of communication open.
Poetic function serves the purpose to establish, to prolong, or to discontinue
communication, to attract the attention of the interlocutor or to confirm continued
attention. (Jakobson, 1987). The examples are “Hello, do you hear me?” and “Are
you listening?”.
The phatic function also shows how the speakers reveal their sociability
toward the hearer and it usually appears in everyday interactions, such as greeting,
gossiping, and complementing. Holmes (2013) also adds that phatic function is an
utterance that expresses solidarity and empathy with others. For example, when we
meet someone we haven’t seen for a long time, we say “Hi, how are you, lovely
day isn’t it!”.
2.2.5 Metalingual Function
Metalingual function deals with language or linguistic nature. Moreover,
metalingual function is associated with the same code of the language that the
addresser and/or the addressee use (Jakobson, 1987). In other words, metalingual
function aims to convey information about the lexical code of languages, such as
explaining the item with synonyms, acronyms, definitions, paraphrases, or
examples.
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Furthermore, the metalingual function works to discuss or describe
language itself (Holmes, 2013). It means to give an opinion on the language or the
function of language. Metalingual pays attention to the language codes to clarify or
negotiate the meanings. The use of standard lexical phrases, such as “I don’t follow
you – what do you mean?” will allow the speaker to ask for clarification for unclear
communication (Jakobson, 1987).
Jakobson (in Tribus, 2017) breaks down the metalingual function into four
possible relationships: (1) message to message, in the form of a direct quote or
reported speech (“I didn’t hear him, what did he say?”, “He said turn left!”), (2)
code to code, for example, New York City is the place that bears that name, (3)
message to code, such as “A foal is a young horse” or “Foal is a four-letter noun”,
(4) code to message via shifters.
2.2.6 Poetic Function
Poetic function focuses on the aesthetic features of language. It carries a
variety of linguistic features, such as a poem, an ear-catching motto, and a rhyme
(Holmes, 2013). For example, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”.
Poetic function also deals with the artistry of a language. The word poetic is not
about how good we are at composing poetry, but how we can creatively manipulate
language. Thus, we can say that the poetic function aims to convey pleasure.
This function embraces wider than just poetry and linguistics cannot only
limit itself to the field of poetry. Besides, a poetic function connects to artistic nature
that is signalized by dynamic diction, rhyme, alliteration, figurative language, and
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others. The poetic function can reinforce the impressiveness and efficacy of the
language.
2.3 Social Factors
According to Holmes (2013) the way people talk is influenced by the
surrounding social context. It relies on who can hear us, where we are talking, and
how our feelings toward the interlocutor. Simply put, social factors are about the
participant, setting, topic, and function that intervene someone to talk to another
person. Participants mean whom you speak to and the kind of relationship you have
with him or her. Settings mean where the conversation takes place that would
influence the conversation formality, for example in the market, hall, office room,
house, and university. The topic is about what is being talked about. The function
is the purpose of a conversation that would influence the way a person speaks.
2.3.1 Settings
` Holmes (2013) states that setting influences the way people select an
appropriate language code or variety by considering the time and place of the
interaction. The appropriate variety during a sacred ceremony in the church will be
different from the variety used in the porch of the church. The teacher’s style in a
formal lecture will differ from her everyday style outside the school. Thus,
determined by the social context, speakers need to choose the appropriate language
when uttering. They should perceive the proper language functions to comply with
the situations.
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2.3.2 Participants of the Interaction
The participant alludes to who is speaking and with whom he is speaking
(Holmes, 2013). People will talk differently from one to another considering the
interlocutor’s specific backgrounds, such as age, sex, relationship, and personal
characteristics. The social status of participants also determines the variety of
languages. For example, a child will use a more polite and formal language variety
or style when talking to the teachers than when she talks to her peers. There are
many kinds of participants, for instance, family participants (husband-wife),
professional participants (boss-worker), and social participants (customer-
shopkeeper). According to Hymes (in Johnstone, 2010), speakers of a language in
a particular community must be able to communicate with each other in the right
manner and appropriate socio-cultural context.
2.3.3 Topic of the Interaction
Holmes (2013) notes that, “the topic of the interaction related to what is
being talked about or discussed” (p.12). In other words, the topic limits the speaker
to not speak out of the context of the discussion and guarantees the integrity of the
conversation. Holmes (2013) also argues that people may select a particular variety
or code because it puts them at ease to discuss a particular topic, regardless of where
they are speaking. People sometimes attempt to establish one main topic to create
smooth and focused communication.
2.3.4 Function of the Interaction
Holmes (2013) initiates several ways of categorizing the functions of speech
that includes expressive function (expressing the speaker’s feelings) and referential
17
function (providing the information). The speech functions represent what the
speaker wants to achieve in the interaction. The forms of speech always take into
consideration the intention and purpose of the conversation.
2.4 Social Dimensions
According to Holmes (2013), all social factors may be relevant to the choice
of variety or code in a particular situation. When both participants share more than
one variety, other factors will contribute to the appropriate selection. The following
types of social dimensions should also be taken into consideration in the process of
language choice.
2.3.1 A Social Distance Scale
Holmes (2013) states that the social distance scale is useful to identify the
relationship between the speaker and hearer. Many different groups in society result
in increasingly diverse linguistic features. In the social distance scale, the
relationship between participants is divided into two, namely high solidarity or
intimate relationship and low solidarity or distant relationship. The communication
between people with high solidarity often reflects their intimacy and the regular
interactions they have. In contrast, two strangers tend to use a more formal and
straightforward speaking style when talking to each other.
2.3.2 A Status Scale
A status scale, according to Holmes (2013), justifies the participants’
relationship. This scale depicts whether the speaker is superior or has a higher status
than the interlocutor or inferior and has a lower status than the interlocutor. Besides,
18
Holmes (2013) mentions that a social role is important and often becomes the
determinant of people’s social status. The typical relationships are teacher-pupil,
doctor-patient, soldier-civilian, priest-parishioner, official-citizen. The same person
may speak in different codes depending on their duty or role at the moment, such
as a teacher, parent, or customer in the market-place. Status can also be used to
express respect to someone.
2.3.3 A Formality Scale
According to Holmes (2013), the formal scale can assess the influence of
the social settings or types of interaction on language choice. For example, people
will speak formally when attending a sacred ceremony in the church and the
language variety may be different when the ceremony is over or they are leaving
the church. The language variety used by a news anchor on TV differs from a radio
announcer. The speaker may change her speech style either to increase or decrease
the formality of the context within a particular setting or situation.
2.3.4 A Functional Scale: Referential and Affective
Language conveys objective information of a reference and it expresses
someone’s feelings (Holmes, 2013). In the referential scale, there are high
information content and low information content. In the affective scale, there are
low affective content and high affective content. Information-oriented interactions
do not require the expression of feelings. Otherwise, interactions that prioritize the
expression of feelings usually provide little new information. All speech
communities have linguistic means of expressing basic speech function since every
language particularly has social and referential meanings. These dimensions must
19
be taken into account when choosing an alternative to ways of saying. Holmes
(2013) declares that different cultural groups might emphasize the affective
functions while the other considers referential information as the primary focus.
20
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, I describe about the methodology of the research, which is
consists of five sub-chapters, i.e. type of research (3.1), data and sources (3.2),
population, sample, and sampling technique (3.3), method of collecting data (3.4),
and method of analysing data (3.5).
3.1 Type of Research
I employ a qualitative descriptive method as the research methodology. This
method aims to thoroughly describe social phenomena in certain matters relating to
the problem and area study. According to Creswell (2007) “qualitative research
involved the researcher in interpreting what they see, hear, and understand” (p.39).
The researcher’s interpretations cannot be separated from their own background,
history, context, and prior understandings. I use a literature review from books,
journals, and articles as references to analyze the data descriptively. Instead of being
presented statistically, the result was spelled out in the form of explanations
supported by the conversation data.
3.2 Data and Sources
The material object of this research is a movie entitled Marriage Story taken
from the website. The data in this research were taken from the utterances by Nicole
and Charlie, as the main characters in the movie. The source of the data is from
Marriage Story movie script. As stated by Wahidmurni (2017) “data resources refer
to the origin of research data obtained and collected by the researcher” (p. 8). In
21
answering research problems, one might be needed more data sources, this however
depends on the needs and sufficiency of the data to answer research questions.
3.3 Population, Sampling Technique and Sample
Sugiyono (2010) states that “the population is a generalization area
consisting of objects or subjects that have certain quantities and characteristics
determined by researchers to be studied and then drawn conclusions” (p.61). The
population of this study is all the utterances of both of the main characters in the
movie. Meanwhile, the sample of this study is the utterances containing language
functions used by the main characters. I take four to five conversation fragments as
the sample to represent every language function.
In this study, the sampling technique used is non-probability sampling with
a purposive sampling technique. According to Sugiyono (2010), “Purposive
sampling is a data source sampling technique with certain considerations” (p. 85).
Purposive sampling technique is used in order to choose the data that had particular
language functions spoken by Nicole and Charlie in the movie. Hence, I took 25%
of the population or 25% x 118 conversation fragments as the research data. In other
words, the research samples were 30 conversations.
3.4 Method of Collecting Data
The data collection method in this research was a non-participant
observation method. As said by Sudaryanto (1993) “non-participatory observation
is a data collection method where the researcher is not involved or not actively
participating in the conversation.” (p.134). The method was chosen because the film
22
had been published and uploaded on many platforms and I only analysed the written
data (transcript) of the film. To collect the data, I downloaded the movie then
watched it to observe the characters’ conversations. After that, I put the
conversations between Nicole and Charlie that included language functions on the
list. Furthermore, I analysed the language functions appearing in the movie with
Jacobson’s classification and determined what social factors and social dimensions
influencing the language function.
3.5 Method of Analysing Data
In analyzing the data, I use the identical method and have a sub-method
suitable for this research. The data from this study were analysed in these following
steps:
1. Analyzing the Script
I watched the movie while reading the script to ensure its reliability and
authenticity before being used as one of the research data. Afterward, I took
note of the dialogues between the two main characters containing language
functions to answer the research questions.
2. Classifying and Analyzing Data Indicating the Types of Language
Functions
After gathering the data, I classified the data based on Jacobson’s language
function theory that was divided into six types: expressive, conative, referential,
metalingual, phatic, and poetic functions.
3. Analyzing the Social Factors and Social Dimensions Affecting the Use of
Language Function in the Main Characters’s Dialogues
23
After classifying and analyzing the types of language function, I analysed and
interpreted the data contextually using Holmes’s theory to figure out the social
factors and social dimensions affecting the characters to speak in different
language functions.
4. Drawing a Conclusion
The last step in the data analysis method was to draw a conclusion. Here, I
summed up the results of the study.
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CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, I will give a brief explanation and analysis of language
function in Nicole and Charlie’s utterances. Using related theories, I will also
describe the social factors and social dimensions that influence language function.
From the analysis, I find six types of language functions proposed by Roman
Jakobson. Afterward, I will discuss the social factors and social dimensions that
influence the use of language function in those conversations. Thus, the chapter is
divided into two main sub-sections: (1) types of language functions used by Nicole
and Charlie, and (2) social factors and social dimensions influencing the use of
language function.
4.1 Function of Language Used by Nicole and Charlie
This section is to answer the first research question about the types of
language function from Roman Jakobson’s categorization applied by Nicole and
Charlie in the Marriage Story movie. Jakobson categorizes the language function
into six functions, namely expressive, conative, referential, metalingual, poetic, and
phatic.
Based on the analysis, those six types of language functions found in Nicole
and Charlie’s utterances are displayed in the form of a chart as followed:
25
Figure 4. 1 Functions of Language spoken by Nicole and Charlie
I find six language functions, namely emotive function, referential function,
metalingual function, conative function, phatic function and poetic function in
Nicole and Charlie’s utterances. From 118 data, emotive function is predominantly
used by the main characters with thirty-five utterances (30%). The rest includes
referential function with thirty utterances (25%), metalingual function with eight
utterances (7%), conative function with twenty-six utterances (22%), phatic
function with eight-teen utterances (15%), and poetic function with one utterance
(1%).
4.2 Social Factor and Social Dimensions Influencing the Use of Language
Function by Nicole and Charlie
Someone’s utterances are influenced by the social contexts and formality of
the situations. This happens because speech function belongs to language variation
which is related to the term ‘social factors’ and ‘social dimensions’. Those are
factors that influence the way people produce utterances and use appropriate
language when having an interaction. In this section, I would like to analyse the
30%
25%7%
22%
15%1%
Functions of Language Spoken by Nicole
and Charlie
Emotive Referential Metalingual
Conative Phatic Poetic
26
social factors and social dimensions and their interconnection with the language
function. I would categorize the social factors and social dimensions and
synchronize them with types of language functions spoken by Nicole and Charlie.
4.2.1 Emotive function
Emotive is used when the speaker wants to express a message or feeling.
Emotive focuses on the expressions of emotion, thoughts, attitudes, and opinions of
the speaker which are delivered in different word choices and intonations. These
following utterances in bold are examples of emotive taken from Nicole and
Charlie’s utterances:
Datum 1
Time (00:25:15 – 00:25:35)
Context:
Nicole in this situation sees her lawyer Nora for the first time. She attempts
to tell her about her problems of marriage.
Nora : Now, can you tell me a little bit more about what’s going on? Because
part of what we’re going to do together is tell your story.
Nicole : It’s difficult to articulate. Sorry. It’s like I know why I’m doing
this but I don’t know too. It’s not as simple as not being in love
anymore.
Nora : I understand. Why don’t you start at the beginning, wherever that is for
you.
This dialogue between Nicole and her lawyer Nora takes place in Nora’s
office. The situation is quite formal because this is their very first meeting and the
conversation takes place in an office (setting). Nicole needs to see Nora because
she wants to file a divorce and they need to discuss the matter together. The topic
27
of the conversation, as can be seen from datum 1, is the reason Nicole wants to file
a divorce against her husband Charlie.
Nicole finds it hard to explain the reasons she wants a divorce. She therefore
uses the utterance “It’s difficult to articulate. Sorry. It’s like I know why I’ m doing
this but I don’t know too. It’s not as simple as not being in love anymore” to express
her feeling or emotion towards Nora. The tone of her statement is slightly worried
and her facial expression also shows confusion. In relation to Holmes’s social
factor, the participant and the setting equally affect how Nicole expresses her
feeling. She tends to use formal language because the conversation occurs in the
office. Moreover, Nicole does not spill the entire emotion considering that she does
not know Nora very well yet.
In this point, it can be seen that Nicole’s utterance is highly affective rather
than referential because Nicole tends to show her feeling than to provide
information. In Holmes’s referential and affective functions scales, the utterance is
thus more of the low information content and high affective content. The use of the
word “articulate”, instead of “say” or “explain”, indicates higher formality and
distant, rather than low formality and high solidarity. In conclusion, Nicole’s
utterance is emotive as she expresses her individual feeling and emotion to Nora.
Datum 2
Time (01:11:35 – 01:11:59)
Context:
Nicole visits Charlie’s new house to make sure of his condition and talk
about the root cause of their marriage problems but they end up in a big quarrel.
28
Nicole : I can’t believe I have to know you forever!
Charlie : You’re fucking insane! And you’re fucking winning!
Nicole : Are you kidding? I wanted to be married. I’d already lost. You didn’t
love me as much as I loved you. You’re so merged with your own
selfishness that you don’t even identify it as selfishness anymore.
You’re such a dick!
Charlie : Every day I wake up and hope you’re dead.. dead like – If I could guarantee
Henry would be ok, I’d hope you get an illness and then get hit by a car
and die!
Nicole : I know.
Charlie : I’m sorry
Nicole : Me too.
The conversation above takes place in Charlie’s house. The participants of
the conversation are Charlie and Nicole. Emotive function emerge in this
conversation. In this scene, Nicole visits Charlie's new house after they have gone
through their first divorce proceeding. Nicole intends to discuss their marriage
again because they have never talked about their feelings thoroughly. The initially
light conversation becomes tense when both characters pour out all their long-
hidden feelings and emotions to each other.
In this conversation, the participant’s relationship appears to be the pivotal
social factor that gives an impact on the language function in Nicole’s utterance.
As a married couple, they have completely known each other’s characters so they
can talk freely with all emotions, for instance, both Nicole and Charlie use swear
words to express anger. This proves that there is also a connection between
language function and social dimension, such as a social distance scale. They have
high solidarity since they speak straight forward towards each other. In terms of the
formality scale, the location of the conversation has shown that it has a low
formality scale. Besides, in this dialogue, Charlie and Nicole tend to show their
29
expression more than information. Therefore, the conversation lowers the
referential scale and brings up the affective function scales. By the explanation
above, it is clear that emotive function is spoken by Nicole and Charlie to show
their emotional feeling towards each other.
Datum 3
Time (01:35:47 – 01:35:58)
Context:
Charlie and Nicole meet right after their first divorce trial. They discuss
what they need to do afterward following both lawyers’ suggestions. However, they
are pissed off with what their lawyers say.
Nicole : Nora says there’s no coming back from this.
Charlie : Fuck Nora. I hate fucking Nora telling me I always lived in LA. Even
though I never lived in LA. How could you have her say those things
about me?
Nicole : Jay said them about me too!
Charlie : I needed my own asshole!
The participants of the dialogue above are Charlie and Nicole. They reflect
a low formality scale because the setting is at Nicole’s house. In this dialogue they
are talking about their lawyer’s behaviour. Charlie’s first utterance in the dialogue
indicates emotive function because he intends to express his annoyance towards
Nicole’s lawyer, Nora. Responding to Charlie’s arguments, Nicole claims that
Charlie’s lawyer, Jay, is also doing what Nora has done. They come to the
conclusion that both lawyers give untruthful information about them. Nora’s
attitude triggers Charlie to reveal his feeling of annoyed and hateful towards Nora.
30
He says, “Fuck Nora. I hate fucking Nora telling me I always lived in LA. Even
though I never lived in LA. How could you have her say those things about me?”.
Charlie’s trying to emphasize his annoyance and dejection towards Nora by saying
a swear word in his utterance.
Concerning Charlie’s utterance, the participant and the topic of the
conversation determine the emotive function that Charlie would use. He exactly
knows Nicole’s characters so that he frankly spills the guts over Nora to her. Based
on Holmes’s social distance scale, those swear words and the way he tells Nicole
about Nora shows that they have high solidarity that makes them express any
emotion outspokenly and comfortably. The dialogue also has high affective scale
since they prioritize to show their feeling and underrate information. In conclusion,
Charlie’s utterance is emotive because he expresses his feeling of annoyance and
hateful towards Nora.
Datum 4
Time (01:11:38 – 01:11:56)
Context:
Charlie and Nicole are arguing over the phone. Charlie takes issue with
Nicole who hacks into his account, while Nicole finds out her husband is having an
affair with someone else.
Charlie : How did you read my emails?
Nicole : I hacked into your account you dumb fuck!
Charlie : I think that’s illegal.
Nicole : About a week ago, so don’t give me this shit about being surprised about
LA. Surprise! I have opinions. Surprise! I want things that aren’t what
you want because surprise you were fucking another lady!
31
Charlie : How do you even know how to do something like that? I think you’re
conflating two different things. Mary Ann has nothing to do with LA.
Nicole : I’m conflating motherfucker! Watch me conflate!
The conversation above shows that Nicole expresses her anger against
Charlie. The participants of the conversation are Charlie and Nicole. The situation
is informal because the conversation is on the phone and they are discussing about
their personal problem. At this moment, both Charlie and Nicole are arguing about
the fact that Nicole hacked into Charlie’s email and found out that Charlie had an
affair. Their close relationship as husband and wife leads them to have informal
language choices and swearing words. Additionally, the topic in this conversation
is his husband’s affair that makes Nicole irritated and use swear words over him.
This proves how social factors, such as participants and topics, can influence the
way people speak.
At first, Charlie asks Nicole to discuss their divorce but Nicole refuses to do
so. Charlie thinks that Nicole takes their problem for granted and it makes him get
mad with her. Nicole subsequently asserts that she has hacked Charlie’s email
account and finds out that her husband is having an affair with another woman.
Here, Nicole also uses curse word such as “dumb fuck” and “motherfucker” to
emphasize her feeling of disappointment and resentment regarding Charlie’s
disloyalty. In terms of functional scales by Holmes, their conversation shows
expression-oriented interaction that requires the expression of feelings rather than
to bring the information. Thus, it brings up the affective function scale. By the
explanation above, I can say that emotive function is spoken by Nicole to show her
emotional feeling of disbelief and disappointment towards Charlie.
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Datum 5
Time (01:58:25 – 01:58:46)
Context:
Nora is visiting Nicole’s new house in Los Angeles. She also intends to
share the good news with Nicole that they win the divorce trial.
Nora : So, because Charlie dropped his claim to New York, we’re mostly done.
Jay’s lost interest and Ted, his associate, is doing the paper work.
Nicole : And we’re not taking any money, right?
Nora : We withdrew the claim for the MacArthur, which I think we could have
gotten by the way, and they’re not asking for any of the show.
Nicole : Oh good.. Thank you for everything Nora..
Nora : You’re welcome, doll.
The dialogue above shows Nicole’s gratefulness to Nora for all the help for
finally winning the divorce. The setting causes informal situation because the
conversation takes place in Nicole’s house. This conversation starts with Nicole
who invites Nora to celebrate her new house in Los Angeles. One moment at the
party, Nora approaches Nicole to let her know two exhilarating news; they almost
win the divorce after a long complicated process, and Nora does not take any cent
from Charlie. By saying “Oh good.. Thank you for everything, Nora”, Nicole shows
her gratitude to Nora who has helped her a lot throughout the divorce process. In
this conversation, the topic and participant as the social factors influence the
language function used by Nicole. Nicole wants to express her gratitude to Nora for
all her help during the trial.
Nicole’s utterance is categorized as emotive because she not only thanks
Nora but also expresses her happiness for finally winning the divorce. This is also
33
supported by her facial expression and blurry eyes when hearing the good
news. Concerning the social distance scale, Nicole and Nora have frequently met
each other and discussed their problems together which indicate a close relationship
between the two of them. Nicole’s utterance is highly affective rather than
referential because she tends to show her feeling rather than providing information.
In conclusion, Nicole’s utterance is emotive, as the utterance is used to show her
feeling of happiness and gratitude towards Nora.
4.2.2 Referential Function
Referential function focuses on the context and provides information. It can
be used to inform a report, description, statement, confirmation, and explanation of
something. These following utterances in bold are examples of referential taken
from Nicole and Charlie’s utterances:
Datum 6
Time (00:13:44 – 00:14:41)
Context:
Charlie and Nicole arrive at home after enjoying their theatre show. When
both of them are about to rest, Nicole thinks that Charlie wants to give feedback on
her performance during the show. Charlie admits and then reveals it.
Nicole : I can tell you want to give me a note.
Charlie : No, I don’t... Yeah, I mean, yes I do. But I guess, I guess it doesn’t matter
now. You won’t be with the show anymore. It’s stupid.
Nicole : You’re not going to be able to go to sleep until you tell me.
Charlie : Maybe not.
Nicole : Okay then.
Charlie : Well, yes, okay, but just because saying it out loud might help me
remember it for later.
34
Nicole : Sure.
Charlie : So, there were two things, I thought your posture at the top of scene
seven was still too dignified.
Nicole : Okay
Charlie : And then at the end, I could tell that you were pushing for the emotion.
Nicole : You know I can’t cry on stage and I know you don’t like it when I fake it,
but I thought maybe it would come tonight. But it didn’t...
Charlie : That’s all I had. Thanks for indulging me.
Nicole : Good night Charlie.
The dialogue above shows that Charlie’s utterance indicates referential. The
main purpose of referential is to provides information to the hearer at the moment.
The dialogue takes place in the living room at night so this dialogue is low in
formality scale. The topic, as we can see from the datum above, is about Nicole’s
performance last night. In this scene, after arriving at home Nicole guesses that
Charlie would give her a note about her acting performance. Charlie initially refuses
but then admits that he needs to tell something to Nicole regarding her performance
last night. Charlie conveys that Nicole must be concerned about two things: her
posture and emotion. He suggests Nicole to practice expressing her emotion more
naturally. Here, the topic and the function of the interaction becomes the social
factors that influence the language function. By giving such a suggestion, Charlie
implicitly has a purpose to help Nicole to make an improvement in her next
performance.
In terms of social distance scale, Nicole and Charlie as a married couple feel
somewhat distant and estranged from one another indicating that they are in a
struggle to maintain a happy relationship. Moreover, they show a high referential
scale and low affective scale because they prioritize new information and ignore
35
their feelings. In conclusion, Charlie’s utterance indicates referential function
because he uses language to share his thoughts and information with Nicole.
Datum 7
Time (00:16:13 – 00:16:28)
Context:
Nicole and her son Henry spend the night together in Nicole’s mom’s house
in Los Angeles. Nicole’s mom Sandra is surprised and asked if Nicole and Henry
are still in the same room. Nicole then denies it.
Sandra : Do you always sleep together? Even in New York?
Nicole : It’s just for now, while we go through this transition. Shit, don’t tell
Charlie when he gets here -- he hates co-sleeping.
Sandra : Well, I have to say, I agree with Charlie.
Nicole : Surprise, surprise
This informal interaction involves Nicole and her mother Sandra as the
participant and takes place in the Nicole’s room. The topic of the conversation is
about Nicole and her child Henry who often spend the night together. From the
dialogue above, referential function appears in Nicole’s utterance because she
wants to explain something to Sandra. In this situation, Sandra, who was wake up
first, entered Nicole’s room and saw that Nicole had just woke up with Henry lying
next to her.
Sandra then asks Nicole if she always slept together with Henry even in
New York. Nicole counters by saying that she’s only slept with Henry while they
were in transition, not every day. From the statement, I can assume that Nicole as a
speaker using referential function to provides information to her mother.
36
In relation to the formality scale, they use informal language choice because
they are inside Nicole’s room. The spontaneous swear word ‘Shit’ in her utterance
indicates that she has a close relationship with her mother and she uses those
expressions to express surprise. This proves that the participant’s relationship as a
social factor influences the way Nicole speaks to her mother. Another reason
concerns their close relationship, is confirmed by Sandra’s response that implies
she does not get irritated nor bothered by Nicole’s utterance. Nicole here more often
delivers information and does not express her feeling and emotion to her mother in
which indicates a high information content. In conclusion, Nicole’s utterance is
referential, as the utterance is used to convey information to her mother.
Datum 8
Time (00:43:23 – 00:43:44)
Context:
When Charlie is in Nicole’s house, she indirectly asks Charlie not to stay at
her house and suggests a new, comfortable, affordable hotel for him as an option to
stay while in Los Angeles.
Nicole : Where are you staying?
Charlie : Oh, um...I hadn’t...I guess I’ll...
Nicole : There’s a new hotel over on Highland that’s supposedly not too
expensive and pretty nice
Charlie : Oh.. ok, I’ll check it out
The participants of the conversation were Nicole as speaker and Charlie as
hearer. The scene takes place in Nicole’s house at night. The conversation topic is
about Charlie’s place to spend the night while staying in Los Angeles. In this scene,
37
Charlie thinks that he can stay at Nicole’s house that night. Nicole however asks
Charlie where he would stay, and indirectly asks him to look for an other place to
stay. Nicole then gives a recommendation to Charlie about the new hotel on
Highland that can be an option to stay. In this conversation, the role of the
participant influences how Nicole composes an utterance. Nicole does not feel
reluctant to let Charlie stay in another place because of their tenuous marriage
relationship.
The low formality scale brings them to use their daily interaction. In terms
of Holmes’s social distance scale, the dialogue above shows low solidarity due to
the unhealthy relationship between Nicole and Charlie. Nicole asks Charlie to not
stay at her house and suggests him to look for another homestay to stay. Moreover,
the dialogue also shows low affective content and high referential content because
Nicole delivers information about the new hotel to Charlie and avoids expressing
emotions. As a result, Nicole’s utterance is categorized as referential, since she
purposefully provides information about the new hotel where Charlie can stay.
Datum 9
Time (00:46:20 – 00:46:26)
Context:
Charlie comes to the office of Jay’s, a lawyer. He intends to talk about his
divorce and attorney fees. Jay subsequently reads through Charlie’s document and
asks about the Exit Ghost.
Jay : What’s Exit Goat?
Charlie : Exit Ghost. It’s the name of my theatre company.
38
Jay : You’re a director?
Charlie : Theatre director, yeah.
The scene that occurs at Jay’s office above involves Charlie and Charlie’s
lawyer candidate Jay as participants. As we can see from the datum above, they are
talking about Charlie’s theatre company. In that dialogue, Charlie produces a
referential function since he uses language to convey new information about his
theatre to Jay. The topic and the function of the interaction relatively have close
connection with language function spoken by Charlie. Jay at the time is reading
Charlie’s document and then asking him for a confirmation about the meaning of
Exit Ghost. Charlie replies that Exit Ghost is the name of his theatre company.
Hence, he shares new information with Jay about his job and the theatre’s name.
Referring to Holmes’s formality and social distance scale, the situation is
quite formal and they have high distant relationship and low solidarity because this
is their very first meeting and the conversation takes place in office. Social scale
does not have a quite important influence in this situation, because they share the
same age. Moreover, this conversation is marked as high referential content and
low affective content due to the presence of information exchange. Thus, by the
explanation above, I can say that Charlie’s utterance can be categorized as
referential because he describes about his theatre company to Jay.
Datum 10
Time (01:01:59 – 01:03:20)
Context:
39
Charlie comes upon another lawyer’s office, Bert. He gets the vibe with this
lawyer and finally tells her everything about Nicole. Bert gives an abundance of
advice to him afterward.
Charlie : So.. What do I do?
Bert : I recommend you try to spend as much time with your child as possible.
Many people fight to get the time and then they don’t even use it. They just
want to win.
Charlie : This shouldn’t be that complicated, right? I mean, we’re a New York
family. I think it’s all pretty straight-forward.
Bert : I hope so, yes. I see no reason-- you both love your son, you respect
each other--why this shouldn’t be relatively pain-free?
Charlie : Yes. Right.
Bert : I want you to know that eventually this will all be over and whatever we
win or lose, it’ll be the two of you having to figure this out together.
Charlie : Thank you, Sir. You’re the first person in this process who has spoken
to me like a human.
The participants of this conversation are Charlie and Charlie’s lawyer Bert.
The situation above takes place in Bert’s office. Charlie meets his lawyer Bert to
ask recommendations for winning the child custody case. In this conversation,
Charlie tells Bert the background story of his divorce with Nicole and gives the
reason for what brings him to Bert. Bert then listens to Charlie carefully and gives
some advices. After listening to Bert’s advice, Charlie feels beyond lucky to have
met Bert. Bert is the one who completely understands his currect condition. In this
conversation, the setting, participant, and topic of the interaction influence the
language function used by Charlie. Because they talk about the divorce issues in
Bert’s office and it is their first time to meet as a lawyer and client, they show a
distant relationship and high formality scale.
40
Concerning the content of the conversation, the dialogue above categorized
as referential because both Charlie and Bert are sharing their thought and
knowledge. Moreover, based on the functional scale, this conversation is marked as
high referential content and low affective content because they do not show
emotional expressiveness nor feeling. The status scale indicates that Bert has a
higher status because he is a senior lawyer makes Charlie use more polite language
to keep the balance of their statuses. Based on the analysis above, the conversation
indicates referential because both Charlie and Bert give information and suggestion
to each other.
Datum 11
Time (01:48:01 – 01:48:09)
Context:
An evaluator comes to Charlie’s house to evaluate Charlie and Henry's
relationship as father and son. During the interview session, the evaluator asks why
Charlie could not pick up Henry at school.
Evaluator : What prevents you from picking him up?
Charlie : Um, you know, work. I’m preparing a play I’m directing in a few
months.
Evaluator : Oh, what is that?
Charlie : Kasimir and Karoline by Odon von Horvath? We’re doing it
at the Barrow in New York.
The analysis above shows that Charlie’s utterance categorized as referential.
The participants are Charlie and the evaluator and the conversation takes place at
Charlie’s apartment. The topic of the conversation is about Charlie’s play in New
41
York. In this point, the evaluator asks many questions about Charlie’s daily life and
how his relationship with Henry is. The evaluator then raises a question about what
prevents Charlie from taking and picking up Henry from school. Charlie then
answers the evaluator’s question and explains that he cannot pick Henry up from
school because he is preparing a Kasimir and Karoline play by Odon von Horvath
in New York.
In terms of participant relationship, since Charlie and the evaluator have
never met before and this is their first meeting, the dialogue shows a high distant
relationship. They discuss a quite serious matter which makes them use semi-formal
language. They also share the same age, so the status scale does not have a quite
important influence in this situation. Moreover, the evaluator has important roles
to collect as much data for the divorce proceedings later, so this conversation is
marked as high referential content and low affective content because they requires
a lot of information. As a result, Charlie’s utterance indicates referential because he
describes information about the play to the evaluator.
4.2.3 Conative Function
Conative function concerns the use of language to influence and manage the
participant’s behaviour or attitudes ranging from a rather polite or request to a more
forceful command or order. These following utterancess in bold are examples of
conative function:
Datum 12
Time (00:55:36 – 00:55:44)
Context:
42
Charlie picks Henry up at Nicole’s house to spend the weekend together.
By the time Charlie arrives, Henry is engrossed in playing with Nicole. Charlie asks
Henry to hurry up and get going.
Charlie : Henry! Come on!
Henry : Can’t I stay with Mom?
Charlie : No—
Henry : Why not?
Charlie : It’s my time with you. I just flew three thousand miles.
Henry : I don’t want to—
Charlie : Henry, get in the fucking car! I’m sorry, but Jesus, get in the fucking
car.
This informal conversation happens in front of Nicole’s house and the
participants are Henry and Charlie. They must have a high intimacy because they
are father and son. This conversation contains conative function since Charlie gives
a command to Henry. In this situation, Charlie, who has just arrived in Los Angeles
from New York, wants to pick Henry up from Nicole’s house to have some quality
time with him. Arriving at Nicole’s house, Henry is playing treasure hunt with
Nicole and busily running around to look for treasure instead of approaching
Charlie. Consequently, Charlie shouts at Henry to get him ready to go quickly but
Henry asks him whether he can stay with Nicole instead of going out with Charlie.
Charlie says no because he has set the plan but Henry still refuses. Charlie is mad
and shouts in a loud, “Henry, get in the fucking car! I’m sorry, but Jesus, get in the
fucking car”.
Those imperative sentences prove that the social factor and social dimension
affects the use of the swear word. The close relationship between the participant;
Henry and Charlie is shown from the use of swear words when Charlie talks to his
43
son. Charlie may not use swear words if he talks to a person that he does not know
well. To emphasize his superiority, Charlie uses swear words to force Henry to get
in the car. Thus, by the explanation above, Charlie’s utterance is categorized as a
conative because he implies the expectation of Henry compliance with the
command.
Datum 13
Time (00:32:32 – 00:32:41)
Context:
Nicole is making a scenario on how to hand the divorce paper to Charlie.
She wants to tell him in a casual way and does not want to make it awkward. She
finally asks Cassie, his sister, to hand over the divorce paper to Charlie.
Nicole : So, Cassie, you’re going to hand him the envelope.
Cassie : Why do I have to do it?
Sandra : Because Nicole is very good at getting people to do things for her.
Nicole : That’s not what this is.
The participants of the conversation above are Nicole, her sister Cassie and
her mother Sandra. The conversation happens at Nicole’s house and the topic of
conversation is about Cassie who has to give an envelope to Charlie. Here, Nicole
asks Cassie to give an envelope containing divorce letters to Charlie. Nicole does
that way because legally she can’t be the one who hand the envelope. Without
further ado, Nicole straightforwardly appoints Cassie to hand the envelope to
Charlie. Nicole’s utterance can be categorized as conative because her command
should be fulfilled by Cassie.
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A social factor that influences the language function in Nicole’s utterance
is the participant because she directly gives an order and expresses her command in
an imperative statement since Cassie is her sister and they have an intimate
relationship. Moreover, because the dialogue occurs at the house, they tend to use
informal conversation or low formality scale. The dialogue is marked as low
affective content or high information content since Nicole uses language to give a
direct command to Cassie. Thus, Nicole’s utterance is categorized as a conative
since the utterance is used to ask someone to do an action.
Datum 14
Time (00:33:26 – 00:33:37)
Context:
Sandra, Nicole’s mom, doubts Nicole's plan to divorce Charlie. Nicole then
tries to understand her mom’s feelings and asks Sandra to trust her and always be
by her side during the divorce process.
Nicole : Now you’re both just making me feel bad about it, ok.
Cassie : Sorry... Sorry. I’m nervous.
Sandra : We all are. And we love Charlie.
Nicole : You have to stop loving him, Mom. You can’t be his friend anymore.
Sandra: Charlie and I have our own relationship independent of your marriage
just like I’m friends with Cassie’s ex, Jeff--
Cassie : Are you still seeing Jeff?
Sandra : An occasional lunch.
Cassie : I can’t believe you!
Nicole : Listen, nothing can be independent of our marriage right now. I
can’t believe I have to explain this to you. Just be on my side. Ok?
45
The utterance spoken by Nicole above indicates that Nicole as the speaker
wants her mother Sandra, to do something. The participants of the conversation are
Nicole, Cassie, and Sandra and the setting of the conversation is in the living room.
Their conversation topic, as we can see from datum above, is about Nicole's
pretension to see her mother and sister to be on her side at such a crucial time instead
of Charlie's. As shown at the datum above, the conversation shows how Cassie and
Sandra love Charlie so much and feel too bad for him. Thus, they try to induce
Nicole with the expectation of changing Nicole’s mind to divorce Charlie.
However, Nicole insists on her decision and commands her mother to stop
loving Charlie. Nicole cannot blame her mother for still loving Charlie, but she
hopes that her mother understands her arduous circumstances and is on her side
instead of Charlie’s. Social factors that influence the language function used by
Nicole here are the topic and participant. She noticeably has an intimate relationship
with her mother and sister since she gives a straightforward command. Because the
topic of this conversation is her divorce, Nicole firmly believes that it is the right
and best decision for her life. Therefore, Nicole only begs for support from her
family to stay on her side. Based on the functional scale, the dialogue shows low
referential content and high affective content because Charlie delivers his saying
with full of emotion and frantic feelings. In conclusion, Nicole’s utterance is
conative as she gets Sandra to comply with her request.
Datum 15
Time (01:06:34 – 01:06:39)
Context:
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Charlie and Henry arrive at the hotel where Charlie stays at. By the time
they enter the room, Charlie immediately asks Henry to go to the bathroom because
they will be leaving for Halloween.
Henry : This is a nice house.
Charlie : Go pee and then we’re going back out!
Henry : I’m too tired!
Charlie : Go pee and then we’re going to go drive to Halloween!
The dialogue between Charlie as the addresser and Henry as the addressee
takes place in a hotel room. The topic of the dialogue is about Charlie who asks
Henry to pee. In the dialogue above, Charlie produces two utterances that contain
conative function in an imperative commands. In this scene, Charlie is going to
take Henry for a Halloween party but they stop by the hotel first because Henry
wants to pee. Arriving at the hotel, Henry does not go right away to the toilet.
Instead, he lays down on the floor while sorting his candies. Looking at that, Charlie
hurries his son to go pee, but Henry refuses because he feels too tired. Charlie then
produces the second imperative sentence to get his son to go to the toilet right away
so that they can immediately go to the party.
In terms of the social scale, their relationship as father and son reflects an
intimate relationship that makes them to use informal language choice. Besides, to
emphasize his superiority as a father, Charlie uses a direct and imperative command
to force Henry to pee. This also shows an interconnectedness between language
functions and the influence of participants as social factors. The dialogue shows a
low affective scale since no emotion is involved. In conclusion, Charlie’s utterance
is conative, as the utterance is used to get Henry to do an action.
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Datum 16
Time (01:03:48 – 01:04:05)
Context:
Charlie worries that Henry will forget about their plan to go to a Halloween
party together. To anticipate that, Charlie asks Nicole a favor to persuade Henry to
wear the costume Charlie and Henry have agreed on together.
Charlie : You know I had Donna build him this whole Frankenstein thing with the
plugs and –
Nicole : The cousins are ninjas so he wanted to do that too.
Charlie : But he and I had decided together—
Nicole : I can’t make him be Frankenstein.
Charlie : I’m not asking you to. But maybe you could help me out a little? I’ll
leave the Frankenstein here and maybe you can nudge him in that
direction—
Nicole : I’ll try.
The scene occurring at a backyard shows Charlie and Nicole who are
arguing about a Halloween costume that Henry will wear. In this situation, after
knowing that Henry wants to wear a Ninja costume, Charlie worries if Henry forgets
their plan. He expects Nicole to induce Henry to wear the Frankenstein costume
that he made. Charlie, using a conative function, urges Nicole to nudge Henry to
wear the Frankenstein costume. By leaving the costume at Nicole’s house, Charlie
terribly hopes that Nicole is willing to persuade Henry to wear the costume. In this
case, the participant as the social factor influences the way Charlie produces
language function. Due to an unharmonious relationship, Charlie will be more
careful about asking Nicole for help and more likely to use the declarative or
imperative forms instead of an interrogative one.
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The conflicted conversation and how Nicole responses to Charlie indicate
the low solidarity scale between them. Meanwhile, in terms of the formality scale,
the location of the conversation represents the low formality scale. They also exhibit
low affective content since they use language to provide information. Based on the
explanation above, Charlie’s utterance contains conative function in the
interrogative form, and Charlie used the utterance to persuade Nicole to do his
instruction.
Datum 17
Time (01:50:42 – 01:50:58)
Context:
Charlie is preparing some food in the kitchen, while Henry is playing in his
room. Because Charlie is busy cooking, he then asks Henry to tidy up the dining
table.
Charlie : Sweetheart, do you want to help me set the table?
Henry : Do I have to?
Charlie : Just come in here and grab a plate.
Henry : I’m playing.
Charlie : Henry!
In the conversation above, the participants are Charlie as the addresser and
Henry as the addressee. The setting of the conversation is at Charlie’s house. The
topic of the conversation is about Charlie who asks for help from Henry. The
conversation presents the conative function when Henry refuses to help his Dad
when preparing for dinner. In this situation, Charlie makes a lot of burners and mess
of the kitchen while Henry is playing with the toys in another room. Charlie asks
49
for help from Henry by yelling, “Sweetheart, do you want to help me set the table?”.
He calls Henry to help him set the dining table. However, Henry refuses to move
and keep playing. Charlie rises his intonation in the second utterance to make Henry
follow his instruction. He shouts, “Just come in here and grab a plate!”.
Based on the social distance scale, their relationship as father and son
reflects high solidarity. Charlie’s rising intonation only aims to get an immediate
response from Henry. Moreover, in terms of status scale, it is normal for Charlie as
a father to raise his intonation when asking help from his little son to set the dining
table. This scale is connected with a social factor, such as participants of an
interaction. They also use informal language choice because they are at home. The
low affective scale is also implied from the dialog that does not involve any
expression of feeling. Based on the explanation above, Charlie’s utterance is
conative, as the utterance is used to get Henry to follow his instructions.
Datum 18
Time (01:52:29 – 01:52:43)
Context:
Charlie is helping Henry doing his homework. He helps his son who finds
difficulty in spelling a word.
Henry : Dime, rime, lime, pime, sime—
Charlie : Honey, stop guessing. You’re so close, stay with it.
Henry : Ugh, I don’t want to do it.
Charlie : What’s the first letter?
Henry : I don’t want to do it. Can I do the iPad?
Charlie : No. Just look, what’s the first letter?
Henry : I don’t want to.
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The analysis above shows that Charlie’s utterance indicates conative
function because he asks the addresse to follow his command. The scene occurring
in the living room shows Henry and Charlie discussing about the assignment that
Henry is working on. In this situation, Charlie helps Henry to do his homework by
spelling some words. Henry continuously guesses the answer to a question that
makes Charlie interrupts him, “Honey, stop guessing. You’re so close, stay with it”.
Here, the participant and topic of the dialogue influence the language function used
by Charlie. Charlie asks Henry to focus on the word in the book and stop guessing
the answer. He gently asks Henry not to be lazy to read.
Based on Holmes’s social distance scale, the conversation shows that
Charlie possesses a high intimacy with Henry. Moreover, his role as a father makes
Charlie know when he needs to be casual and assertive with Henry. The
conversation gets more casual because it happens at home which leads the
participants to use informal language. On the other hand, they do not show much
feeling because they are in a learning activity. Thus, this conversation causes low
affective and high information content. In conclusion, the analysis above shows that
Charlie’s utterance indicates conative function because he asks Henry to follow his
command.
4.2.4 Metalingual Function
Metalingual function aims to check up the code of the language or to convey
information about the lexical code of languages, such as explaining an item with
synonyms, definitions, paraphrases, or examples. These following utterances in
bold are examples of metalingual function:
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Datum 19
Time (00:33:15 – 00:33:23)
Context:
Nicole is making a plan on how to give Charlie the divorce paper. However,
Cassie and Sandra are doubtful about her plan and ask her to make sure of that
again.
Cassie : OK, I just get nervous—
Sandra : Can you un-serve?
Nicole : What do you mean, like take it back?
Sandra : Yeah.
Nicole : I think so.
Cassie : You should check.
Sandra : In case we change our minds.
Nicole : I’m not going to change my mind
The dialogue takes place in Nicole’s house in the daytime. The participants
in the dialogue are Cassie, Sandra, and Nicole. They are discussing a divorce letter
to be given to Charlie. In this situation, Cassie, Sandra, and Nicole are waiting for
Charlie to come home. To avoid suspicion, Nicole has prepared a scenario for
handing over the envelope containing a divorce letter to Charlie in a natural way.
However, Sandra is unsure about Nicole’s plan and asks what if she un-serves the
envelope to anticipate that Nicole could change her mind. As Nicole does not get
Sandra’s intention, she confirms whether she should cancel her plan or not. Her
intonation also indicates a curiosity toward her mother’s utterance. Nicole’s
utterance is metalingual since Nicole uses language to recheck Sandra’s utterance.
Regarding to the social factor (participant), as a family, they must have a
close relationship with one another. This can be seen from how Nicole’s mother
52
and sister suggest Nicole. They also use informal language choice since the
dialogue occurs at the house. The dialogue reflects a low affective content because
Nicole here intends to both ask and provide information. In conclusion, Nicole’s
utterance contains metalingual function because she uses language to ask for
clarification in Sandra’s utterance.
Datum 20
Time (02:09:05 – 02:09:33)
Context:
Charlie finds Henry confused about a word in a letter. Then he comes over
and helps Henry to understand it.
Charlie : “He’s brilliant at creating family out of whoever is around. With the
theatre company he cast a spell that made everyone feel included. No
one, not even an intern was unimportant.”
Henry : What’s an intern?
Charlie : It’s like a helper. But who isn’t paid.
Henry : Why aren’t they paid?
Charlie : They’re young. They’re learning.. hmm I don’t know, maybe if they
do a good job, they get paid later?
Henry : Ok, keep going.
The participants of the dialogue above are Charlie and Henry. This father-
and-son interaction is low in formality scale because the conversation occurs in
Henry’s room. In this situation, Charlie is about to help Henry, who has a reading
difficulty read Nicole’s letter about Charlie. When Charlie mentions “intern”,
Henry looks confused about it. Charlie then explains what the word means by
saying that an intern it’s like a helper but who isn’t paid. By saying so, Charlie has
used the metalingual function because he explains the meaning of “intern” to
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Henry. In this conversation, the participant and topic of the interaction become the
factors that influence the language function used by Charlie. In this context, Henry
does not understand what ‘intern’ means; therefore, Charlie tries to explain using
clear and informal language to make Henry get it easily.
Their close relationship as father and son reflects high solidarity because
they choose to use the regular interactions they have. In terms of the functional
scale, they have high information content and low affective content because Charlie
uses language to provide information to Henry instead of expressing a certain
feeling. Thus, by the explanation above, the dialogue between Henry and Charlie
represents the metalingual function because Charlie explains the definition of
‘intern’ to Henry.
Datum 21
Time (00:18:26 – 00:18:39)
Context:
In the middle of the shooting, the director asks Nicole to change her body
movement. However, Nicole is confused with the direction and then decides to
confirm what she should do to the director.
Male producer : Can you move your hand further down the baby?
Nicole : What do you mean? Like down here?
Director : Off his head entirely—
Nicole : I’d need to support his head.
Director : No, no, support the head, of course, just try to do it from the
shoulders?
54
The conversation between the male producer, director, and Nicole takes
place at the TV studio on Nicole’s first day of work. The topic of the conversation
is about the properties that Nicole carries. In this scene, Nicole is standing in front
of a camera carrying a baby doll made of a blue foamy ball. In the middle of the
shooting process, the male producer gives Nicole direction to move her hand further
down the baby. Nicole doubts upon his request since she needs to support the baby’s
head and confirms, “What do you mean? Like down here?” in order to recheck the
male producer language.
Based on Holmes’s social dimension scale, this dialogue shows a distant
relationship between Nicole, the producer, and the director because it is Nicole's
first day of working in the TV studio. She does not make friends with many
colleagues yet. This also shows the relationship between language function and
social factors such as participant and setting. Nicole uses a formal language when
she is talking to her director in the office. Moreover, they show a low affective scale
and high referential content because Nicole asks for direction and the director give
a suggestion to Nicole. By the explanation above, Nicole’s utterance is metalingual
because the utterance is used to comment on the addresser’s word choices
Datum 22
Time (00:52:05 – 00:52:21)
Context:
Charlie and Nora are discussing default judgment on the phone. While
they are talking, Charlie’s assistant, Frank, suddenly approaches him and makes
him not focus on what Nora says.
55
Nora : If you don’t file your response, we’re going to file a request for default
judgement against you.
Charlie : (to Frank) You can’t just tuck it in tighter or get Donna to safety pin it?
Frank : I also have a thing about tucking in things-- It’s a hold-over from
childhood. Insecurities about my figure.
Nora : Charlie?
Charlie : Yes, sorry— A default judgement. What does that mean?
Nora : We’ll be able to lay claim to whatever we want.
Charlie : What do you mean? Whatever you want of what?
Nora : Your apartment, your things--well, everything you own.
From the datum above, Nora and Charlie are involve in a phone
conversation about a default judgment for Charlie. Here Charlie presents two
utterances containing metalingual function. In this scene, Charlie’s assistant, Frank,
suddenly approaches Charlie to ask about the play costume when he is having a
phone call with Nora. This situation makes him miss some parts of Nora’s talks.
Charlie interrupts the dialogue with a confirmation question regarding the meaning
of ‘default judgment’. After listening to Nora’s explanation, Charlie still does not
get the idea and reconfirms the information for the second time.
Charlie’s utterances above present the metalingual function because he asks
for clarification of some missing points from Nora. The influence of the topic and
the participant interaction as social factors are identifiable in this dialogue. The
conversation shows a distant relationship between Nora and Charlie because they
have never interacted before while considering that Nora is Nicole's lawyer. They
also use formal language because they both do not know each other well and the
topic they talk about is considered serious. Regarding to Holmes’s functional scale,
the dialogue is categorized as high information content as they share a lot of
56
information. In conclusion, Charlie’s utterances is metalingual, as the utterances are
used to ask for clarification of some points from Nora’s utterance.
Datum 23
Time (01:19:00 – 01:19:21)
Context:
After meeting with Nicole and Nora, Charlie and Bert decide to have a brief
discussion about what decisions they would make at the divorce trial later.
Bert : Listen, if I were representing you—
Charlie :You are representing me.
Bert : Right, no, of course. I don’t see a judge moving this child from LA-- I
think we try to settle today—
Charlie : Settle meaning... what?
Bert : She gets LA, but—
Charlie : No, Bert... just no. I mean, we have to win this?
Bert : Remember, the win is what’s best for Henry. And if you guys go to court,
he’ll get pulled into it.
The scene shows Charlie and his first representative lawyer, Bert, having a
very private conversation in a small conference room. As shown in the conversation
above, they discuss child custody. In this scene, both Charlie and Nicole decide to
invite their own representative into the internal meeting. After having a long and
tense discussion, Bert asks Charlie to have an in-person discussion privately. They
discuss a decision they should take. While Bert is explaining, Charlie utters “Settle
meaning.. what?” in order to recheck Bert’s suggestion. Bert then tells Charlie what
settle meaning is. Based on the conversation between Bert and Charlie above,
Charlie presents a metalingual function because he uses language to ask for an
assurance from Bert.
57
According to the participants as one of the social factors, Bert and Charlie
have interacted a lot beforehand and those intense interaction make them have a
quite close relationship which also influence their status and formality scale. Their
speaking style looks more casual and they also use a more informal language even
though Bert is older than Charlie. Based on the functional scale, the dialogue shows
high information content because they exchange a lot of ideas and show less
emotion. Based on the explanation above, it is obvious that metalingual function is
spoken by Charlie to ask for clarification in Bert’s utterance.
4.2.5 Phatic Function
Phatic function is used when the speaker wants to achieve an optimal level
of relevance because of the speaker’s communicative intention, for instance, an
intention to speak with the interlocutor, to establish, prolong, or discontinue
communication or to expresses solidarity with others. These following utterances
in bold are examples of phatic function:
Datum 24
Time (00:35:17 – 00:35:29)
Context:
Charlie tells Nicole the good news that he has won the MacArthur grant.
Hearing this, Nicole feels blissful and gives compliments to Charlie for his
achievement.
Charlie : I won a MacArthur grant.
Nicole : Oh, Charlie, that’s so great. Congratulations!
Charlie : Thank you
Nicole : I’ll say it because you can’t, it’s the genius grant. You’re a genius.
58
Charlie : Well..
Nicole : I’m really happy for you. You deserve it.
The dialogue between Nicole and Charlie above takes place in Nicole’s
house in Los Angeles. The topic of the conversation is about Charlie who won a
MacArthur grant. From the dialogue between Nicole and Charlie above, Nicole’s
utterance represents the phatic function. In this scene, Charlie is informing Nicole
that he wins a MacArthur grant. It is a prize awarded by MacArthur Foundation to
anyone who works in any field and shows his/her extraordinary originality and
dedication in his/her creative pursuits. Nicole is totally amazed by Charlie’s
prestigious winning. She spontaneously expresses her joy by complimenting and
congratulating him. Nicole wants to share her feeling of happiness and proudness
toward Charlie because he finally wins a MacArthur grant. This proves that the way
people speak is influenced by the participant and the topic of interaction. Charlie
tells Nicole about his achievement, and Nicole responds to it with an appreciation
for feeling the same joy.
Based on social dimension scale, their nonverbal language such as hugging
each other and their manner indicates that they have high solidarity. Their
relationship as husband and wife also indicates intimate relationship. Moreover, the
setting of place and the use of informal language show low formality scale in their
conversation. In conlusion, Nicole’s utterances are categorized as phatic since her
word choices purposefully shows empathy towards Charlie’s achievement.
Datum 25
Time (00:55:28 – 00:55:33)
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Context:
Charlie is securing Henry’s car seat, but then something sharp cuts Charlie's
finger until it bleeds. It makes Nicole worry about him.
Nicole : Here, you have dig—
Charlie : Ow, fuck.
Henry : Why “fuck?”
Nicole : Are you ok?
Charlie : Something’s sharp—
This conversation takes place in Nicole’s yard at daylight involves Nicole,
Henry, and Charlie. The topic of the conversation is about Nicole who worries about
Charlie’s bleeding finger. In this situation, Charlie tries to connect the booster seat
in the car. While Charlie tries to connect the booster, his finger hit something sharp.
After knowing that Charlie’s finger is bleeding, Nicole checks if he is fine in
response to Charlie’s condition. By the explanation above, Nicole’s utterance
indicates phatic because she uses language to expresses her concern to Charlie.
Regarding to Holmes’s social distance scale, Charlie and Nicole noticeably
have a high intimacy because Nicole instantly shows her concern and worry to her
husband whose finger is injured. This also shows the connection between language
function and a social factor, namely the participant. They also use informal
language because the conversation occurs at the house yard. In this situation, Nicole
and Charlie do not share much information. Instead, Nicole expresses her attention
to Charlie that indicates an affective content. In conclusion, Nicole’s utterance is
phatic, as the utterance is used to express her attention and concern to Charlie.
Datum 26
60
Time (01:12:04 – 01:12:36)
Context:
Nicole is arguing with Charlie on the phone while she is still at a new year’s
eve party. Feeling very annoyed, she stomps her foot so hard and it draws the
attention of a man nearby.
Pablo : Did you just stamp your foot?
Nicole : I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. I’m sorry I’m just so ANGRY.
Pablo : You look like you need one.
Nicole : I do. Thanks.
Pablo : You know the Japanese are making really interesting tequila right
now.
Nicole : That’s exciting! I guess.
Pablo : What are you so angry about?
Nicole : Ugh, my fucking ex-husband. I spend so much time feeling guilty, but he’s
so self-absorbed it’s pointless. It’s a game I’m playing with myself.
Pablo : Oh, hey, Pablo. We met at the—
Nicole : You held the bounce board!
Pablo : The flirty grip!
Based on the conversation above, Pablo and Nicole engage in an accidental
conversation at a Halloween party. In this scene, Nicole resentfully hangs up her
cellphone after having a long quarrel with Charlie by phone. A stranger suddenly
approaches and tries to break the ice by obliquely inviting Nicole to enjoy tequila.
Nicole responses to the invitation enthusiastically. After talking quite a lot, the
stranger introduces himself as Pablo. Nicole realizes something quickly that he’s
the one who held the bounce board. Then she finally recognizes Pablo, a man who
helps her hold the property in the TV studio where Nicole works.
The function of language used in this dialogue is phatic because they use
language to establish and prolong their very first conversation. Nicole specifically
61
uses language to build the nuance and keep up the communication with Pablo.
Factors that affected Nicole’s language function in this dialog are the setting and
participants. The dialogue implies low formality due to the setting of place and
situation and the use of informal language. Nicole and Pablo also show low
solidarity scale reflected from the unintimate way of speaking since it is their first
time speaking to each other. From the explanation above, I can say that Nicole’s
utterance is categorized as phatic, since she uses language to build the relationship
and keeping up the communication with Pablo.
Datum 27
Time (00:37:26 – 00:37:31)
Context:
Charlie finally meets Cassie after such a long time. He gives her a
compliment on her different hairstyle.
Cassie : Hey, Charlie.
Charlie : Cassie, I like your haircut.
Cassie : Oh, thanks.
The conversation between Cassie and Charlie above happens in the kitchen.
Charlie here talks about Cassie’s new haircut. The conversation above shows the
phatic function of language since Charlie uses an expression to give a compliment
to Cassie. In this case, Cassie with her new haircut enters the kitchen when Charlie
is drinking a glass of water. Charlie hasn’t seen Cassie in a long time, and he
decided to reconnect with her by giving a compliment to her haircut. By telling
Cassie that he loves her new haircut, Charlie produces the most common speech act
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in an everyday interaction consisting of a greeting and compliment to someone.
This also proves the connection between social factors and language functions, such
as the participant and the function of the interaction. Because Charlie has not seen
her sister in law for a long time, he intentionally says hello and tries to reconnect
with her.
In relation to the social dimensions scale, Charlie and Cassie have a close
relationship because Cassie is Nicole’s sister. Moreover, they tend to use informal
language as the conversation happens in the kitchen. They also show low affective
content because Charlie only gives a complement to Cassie and show less emotion
and feeling. Charlie’s utterance is phatic, for he does not really intend to express
his opinion about Cassie’s haircut, but he simply wants to reconnect with Cassie
and gives her a compliment. In conclusion, because the main function of Charlie’s
utterance is to keep social relationship, Charlie’s utterance is thus phatic, and not
referential.
Datum 28
Time (00:37:49 – 00:38:20)
Context:
Charlie and Cassie talking in the kitchen. In the middle of the conversation,
Cassie talks weirdly and nervously that she does not focus on what she says. Charlie
is confused and worries about her.
Charlie : What kind of pie is that?
Cassie : It’s... Pecan.
Charlie : Did you make it?
Cassie : I don’t know. No! It’s store bought. You know Joan’s on Third?
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Charlie : Oh, yeah, that’s good, right?
Cassie : What? The store? Yeah! Jules and Molly love it.
Charlie: Are you ok?
Cassie : Yes. I’m just hot.
Charlie : I’ll pour you some water. Nicole says you’re doing a play?
The scene showing Charlie and Cassie here takes place in the kitchen when
they are having small talks. In this case, Charlie talks about the pie given by Cassie.
However, during the talk Cassie acts so strangely that she loses her focus. Charlie
then becomes worried and assures her condition. By the utterance “Are you ok?”,
this is clear that Charlie shows phatic function because he uses language to show
his empathy towards Cassie. Charlie subsequently offers her a glass of water and
tries to talk about something else to make sure Cassie is just fine. The topic of the
conversation here becomes one important thing. Charlie makes sure Cassie's
condition knowing that she is unfocused and off-topic. The topic in an interaction
serves to limit the context of the conversation.
According to the background of the conversation, the participants’
relationship, and the use of everyday conversation, both Charlie and Cassie reflect
high solidarity and low formality scales among them. The dialogue is also marked
as low affective content since it focuses more on giving and asking information than
expressing emotion and feeling. By the explanation above, I can say that phatic
function is spoken by Charlie to reveal his concern and sociability towards Cassie
by asking her condition.
Datum 29
Time (01:04:28 – 01:04:36)
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Context:
When Charlie drives Henry to Nicole’s house, she has been waiting for them
on the terrace. Her face looks pale and she seems unhealthy. Arriving at Nicole’s
house, Charlie worries and makes sure of her condition.
Charlie : Is everything ok?
Nicole : Yeah, why?
Charlie : You seem...I don’t know like something is—
Nicole : Everything’s fine.
Charlie : Ok.
This short conversation between Charlie and Nicole takes place in Nicole’s
house at night. The topic of the conversation, as we can see from the datum above,
is about Nicole’s condition. From the conversation above, Charlie’s utterance
indicates phatic function of language. At this moment, Charlie drives Henry home
while Nicole has waited for them on the terrace. Arriving at home, Charlie is aware
that Nicole’s face looks pale and different. Thus, Charlie tries to show his caring
for Nicole by asking her condition. In this conversation, the function of the
interaction becomes an important factor because Charlie really worries and asks
about Nicole's condition.
Regarding the social distance scale, Nicole and Charlie’s relationship is not
yet harmonious so they feel somewhat distant and estranged from one another. This
is seen from Nicole’s short and intrusive answer. The location of the conversation
has shown that the conversation is low in formality scale. Moreover, the dialogue
is marked as low affective content due to the unhealthy relationship, Charlie can
only asks Nicole’s condition without showing too much emotion and feeling, so
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this conversation brings up referential content and affective content lower. In
conclusion, Charlie’s utterance can be categorized as phatic because Charlie put his
thought and attention towards Nicole.
4.2.6 Poetic Function
Poetic function is used when the speaker wants to produce utterances by using
playful diction to express their feeling, interest, or attitude and to draw the
addressee’s attention. This is an example of Charlie’s utterance categorized in
poetic function:
Datum 30
Time (00:35:55 – 00:37:04)
Context:
Upon arrival at Nicole's house in Los Angeles, Charlie meets his mother-in-
law, Sandra. They are extremely happy because they finally can meet and hug each
other tightly to release their longing.
Sandra : Hey there, Charlie-bird!
Charlie : Grandma! (Lifts Sandra up)
Sandra : Don’t! I’m so heavy!
Charlie : You’re light as a feather.
Sandra : Oh, God, I’m so huge!
Charlie : You didn’t respond to my email!
Sandra : Your emails are so articulate, I get intimidated!
This conversation taking place in Nicole’s house involves Charlie as the
addresser and his mother-in-law Sandra as the addressee. In this situation, Charlie
finally meets Sandra after a long time. Expressing his excitement, Charlie directly
lifts Sandra up with full of joy. Sandra shouts out to Charlie to not lift her up because
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she is so heavy, but he says the opposite that she is light as a feather with a playful
intonation. This can be stated that Charlie’s utterance indicates poetic because he
uses an aesthetic feature making the statement beautiful. In relation to Holmes’s
social factor, the participant and function of the interaction play an important role
in Charlie's utterance. Due to their intimate relationship, Charlie has no hesitation
in expressing his feeling and complimenting Sandra using poetical language to
make her happy.
In relation to Holmes’s social distance scale, Charlie has a very close
relationship with his mother-in-law, Sandra. Sandra even called Charlie by his pet
name, ‘Charlie-bird’. This can be concluded that the dialogue above shows an
intimate relationship and high solidarity because Charlie also uses a beautiful
expression to praise Sandra. In terms of the formality scale, Charlie tends to use
informal language because the conversation takes place at Nicole's house.
Moreover, in this dialogue, Charlie shows a highly affective content than referential
because Charlie expresses both happiness and sadness to Sandra who does not meet
him for a long time. Thus, by the explanation above, Charlie produces one utterance
which refers to the poetic function because he uses aesthetic features such as
figurative language to praise Sandra.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
The research analysis in the previous chapter has discussed: (1) the language
function used by Nicole and Charlie in the Marriage Story movie, and (2) the social
factors and dimensions influencing the main characters’ language function. After I
analyzed the language function (Jacobson: 1987) along with the social factor and
social dimension in the Marriage Story movie. I found that there are 118 data that
represent types of language function in the utterance employed by Nicole and
Charlie. The main characters oftentimes convey their feelings, thoughts, and
opinions resulting in emotional word choices, dynamic intonations, and
interjections. Those aspects put the emotive function into the most dominant
language function with thirty-five utterances (30%). Followed by referential with
thirty utterances (25%), the third is conative with twenty-six utterances (22%), the
fourth is metalingual with eight utterances (7%), the fifth is phatic with eight-teen
utterances (15%) and the least frequent language function is poetic with only 1
utterance (1%).
Social factors and dimensions intertwine with the function of language.
Concerning the social factors, participant interactions, such as an interaction among
family members or social participants, perpetually occur in every movie. As regards
setting or social context, the movie settings include public and private places. The
Marriage Story movie, however, involves many different topics and diverse
language functions in each conversation that rely on the places and occasions.
68
Solidarity, status, formality, and functional scales are identifiable social
dimensions in Nicole and Charlie’s utterances. Solidarity scale refers to the relative
intimacy among participants. The Marriage Story portrays not only high solidarity
through family dialogues including husband-wife, father-son, mother-son, mother-
daughter, and sister-sister intercourses but also low solidarity through conversations
between strange social participants, for example the main character with a
counselor or with an evaluator. Regarding the status or power scale, the high status
appears in the father to son, mother to son, mother to daughter, and lawyer to
participant conversations. Meanwhile, the low status that mostly emerges are from
husband to wife, relative to relative, and co-worker to co-worker.
Furthermore, the formality scale indicates formality and informality in the
speaking styles depending on the setting or social context. In this movie, high
formality exhibited in the formal setting, such as an office, is less dominant than
the low informal setting, such as a house, hotel room, and restaurant. It is because
many conversations occur in informal situations and involve participants who have
an intimate relationship. Lastly, the functional scale is comprise of referential and
affective functions. In this movie, affective function appears slightly more frequent
than referential faction since the typical interaction topics are marriage and divorce
making the participants tend to share their feelings.
In conclusion, the relationship of language functions and social contexts has
influenced the main characters’ language choices, while social factors and social
dimensions have modified their language production and language function.
69
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APPENDIX
Datum 1
Time (00:25:15 – 00:25:35)
Nora : Now, can you tell me a little bit more about what’s going on? Because
part of what we’re going to do together is tell your story.
Nicole : It’s difficult to articulate. Sorry. It’s like I know why I’m doing
this but I don’t know too. It’s not as simple as not being in love
anymore. EMOTIVE
Nora : I understand. Why don’t you start at the beginning, wherever that is for
you.
Datum 2
Time (01:11:35 – 01:11:59)
Nicole : I can’t believe I have to know you forever!
Charlie : You’re fucking insane! And you’re fucking winning!
Nicole : Are you kidding? I wanted to be married. I’d already lost. You didn’t
love me as much as I loved you. You’re so merged with your own
selfishness that you don’t even identify it as selfishness anymore.
You’re such a dick! EMOTIVE
Charlie : Every day I wake up and hope you’re dead.. dead like – If I could guarantee
Henry would be ok, I’d hope you get an illness and then get hit by a car
and die!
Nicole : I know.
Charlie : I’m sorry
Nicole : Me too.
Datum 3
Time (01:35:47 – 01:35:58)
Nicole : Nora says there’s no coming back from this.
Charlie : Fuck Nora. I hate fucking Nora telling me I always lived in LA. Even
though I never lived in LA. How could you have her say those things
about me? EMOTIVE
Nicole : Jay said them about me too!
Charlie : I needed my own asshole!
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Datum 4
Time (01:11:38 – 01:11:56)
Charlie : How did you read my emails?
Nicole : I hacked into your account you dumb fuck! EMOTIVE
Charlie : I think that’s illegal.
Nicole : About a week ago, so don’t give me this shit about being surprised about
LA. Surprise! I have opinions. Surprise! I want things that aren’t what
you want because surprise you were fucking another lady!
Charlie : How do you even know how to do something like that? I think you’re
conflating two different things. Mary Ann has nothing to do with LA.
Nicole : I’m conflating motherfucker! Watch me conflate! EMOTIVE
Datum 5
Time (01:58:25 – 01:58:46)
Nora : So, because Charlie dropped his claim to New York, we’re mostly done.
Jay’s lost interest and Ted, his associate, is doing the paper work.
Nicole : And we’re not taking any money, right?
Nora : We withdrew the claim for the MacArthur, which I think we could have
gotten by the way, and they’re not asking for any of the show.
Nicole : Oh good.. Thank you for everything Nora.. EMOTIVE
Nora : You’re welcome, doll.
Datum 6
Time (00:13:44 – 00:14:41)
Nicole : I can tell you want to give me a note.
Charlie : No, I don’t... Yeah, I mean, yes I do. But I guess, I guess it doesn’t matter
now. You won’t be with the show anymore. It’s stupid.
Nicole : You’re not going to be able to go to sleep until you tell me.
Charlie : Maybe not.
Nicole : Okay then.
Charlie : Well, yes, okay, but just because saying it out loud might help me
remember it for later.
Nicole : Sure.
Charlie : So, there were two things, I thought your posture at the top of scene
seven was still too dignified. REFERENTIAL
Nicole : Okay
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Charlie : And then at the end, I could tell that you were pushing for the emotion.
Nicole : You know I can’t cry on stage and I know you don’t like it when I fake it,
but I thought maybe it would come tonight. But it didn’t...
Charlie : That’s all I had. Thanks for indulging me.
Nicole : Good night Charlie.
Datum 7
Time (00:43:23 – 00:43:44)
Nicole : Where are you staying?
Charlie : Oh, um...I hadn’t...I guess I’ll...
Nicole : There’s a new hotel over on Highland that’s supposedly not too
expensive and pretty nice. REFERENTIAL
Charlie : Oh.. ok, I’ll check it out
Datum 8
Time (00:16:13 – 00:16:28)
Sandra : Do you always sleep together? Even in New York?
Nicole : It’s just for now, while we go through this transition. Shit, don’t tell
Charlie when he gets here -- he hates co-sleeping. REFERENTIAL
Sandra : Well, I have to say, I agree with Charlie.
Nicole : Surprise, surprise.
Datum 9
Time (00:46:20 – 00:46:26)
Jay : What’s Exit Goat?
Charlie : Exit Ghost. It’s the name of my theatre company. REFERENTIAL
Jay : You’re a director?
Charlie : Theatre director, yeah.
Datum 10
Time (01:01:59 – 01:03:20)
Charlie : So.. What do I do?
Bert : I recommend you try to spend as much time with your child as possible.
Many people fight to get the time and then they don’t even use it. They just
want to win.
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Charlie : This shouldn’t be that complicated, right? I mean, we’re a New York
family. I think it’s all pretty straight-forward. REFERENTIAL
Bert : I hope so, yes. I see no reason-- you both love your son, you respect
each other--why this shouldn’t be relatively pain-free?
Charlie : Yes. Right.
Bert : I want you to know that eventually this will all be over and whatever we
win or lose, it’ll be the two of you having to figure this out together.
Charlie : Thank you, Sir. You’re the first person in this process who has spoken
to me like a human.
Datum 11
Time (01:48:01 – 01:48:09)
Evaluator : What prevents you from picking him up?
Charlie : Um, you know, work. I’m preparing a play I’m directing in a few
months.
Evaluator : Oh, what is that?
Charlie : Kasimir and Karoline by Odon von Horvath? We’re doing it
at the Barrow in New York. REFERENTIAL
Datum 12
Time (00:55:36 – 00:55:44)
Charlie : Henry! Come on!
Henry : Can’t I stay with Mom?
Charlie : No—
Henry : Why not?
Charlie : It’s my time with you. I just flew three thousand miles.
Henry : I don’t want to—
Charlie : Henry, get in the fucking car! I’m sorry, but Jesus, get in the fucking
car. CONATIVE
Datum 13
Time (00:32:32 – 00:32:41)
Nicole : So, Cassie, you’re going to hand him the envelope. CONATIVE
Cassie : Why do I have to do it?
Sandra : Because Nicole is very good at getting people to do things for her.
Nicole : That’s not what this is.
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Datum 14
Time (00:33:26 – 00:33:37)
Nicole : Now you’re both just making me feel bad about it, ok.
Cassie : Sorry... Sorry. I’m nervous.
Sandra : We all are. And we love Charlie.
Nicole : You have to stop loving him, Mom. You can’t be his friend anymore.
CONATIVE
Sandra: Charlie and I have our own relationship independent of your marriage
just like I’m friends with Cassie’s ex, Jeff--
Cassie : Are you still seeing Jeff?
Sandra : An occasional lunch.
Cassie : I can’t believe you!
Nicole : Listen, nothing can be independent of our marriage right now. I
can’t believe I have to explain this to you. Just be on my side. Ok?
CONATIVE
Datum 15
Time (01:06:34 – 01:06:39)
Henry : This is a nice house.
Charlie : Go pee and then we’re going back out! CONATIVE
Henry : I’m too tired!
Charlie : Go pee and then we’re going to go drive to Halloween! CONATIVE
Datum 16
Time (01:03:48 – 01:04:05)
Charlie : You know I had Donna build him this whole Frankenstein thing with the
plugs and –
Nicole : The cousins are ninjas so he wanted to do that too.
Charlie : But he and I had decided together—
Nicole : I can’t make him be Frankenstein.
Charlie : I’m not asking you to. But maybe you could help me out a little? I’ll
leave the Frankenstein here and maybe you can nudge him in that
direction— CONATIVE
Nicole : I’ll try.
Datum 17
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Time (01:50:42 – 01:50:58)
Charlie : Sweetheart, do you want to help me set the table?
Henry : Do I have to?
Charlie : Just come in here and grab a plate. CONATIVE
Henry : I’m playing.
Charlie : Henry!
Datum 18
Time (01:52:29 – 01:52:43)
Henry : Dime, rime, lime, pime, sime—
Charlie : Honey, stop guessing. You’re so close, stay with it. CONATIVE
Henry : Ugh, I don’t want to do it.
Charlie : What’s the first letter?
Henry : I don’t want to do it. Can I do the iPad?
Charlie : No. Just look, what’s the first letter?
Henry : I don’t want to.
Datum 19
Time (00:33:15 – 00:33:23)
Cassie : OK, I just get nervous—
Sandra : Can you un-serve?
Nicole : What do you mean, like take it back? METALINGUAL
Sandra : Yeah.
Nicole : I think so.
Cassie : You should check.
Sandra : In case we change our minds.
Nicole : I’m not going to change my mind
Datum 20
Time (00:18:26 – 00:18:39)
Male producer : Can you move your hand further down the baby?
Nicole : What do you mean? Like down here? METALINGUAL
Director : Off his head entirely—
Nicole : I’d need to support his head.
Director : No, no, support the head, of course, just try to do it from the
shoulders?
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Datum 21
Time (02:09:05 – 02:09:33)
Charlie : “He’s brilliant at creating family out of whoever is around. With the
theatre company he cast a spell that made everyone feel included. No
one, not even an intern was unimportant.”
Henry : What’s an intern?
Charlie : It’s like a helper. But who isn’t paid. METALINGUAL
Henry : Why aren’t they paid?
Charlie : They’re young. They’re learning.. hmm I don’t know, maybe if they
do a good job, they get paid later?
Henry : Ok, keep going.
Datum 22
Time (00:52:05 – 00:52:21)
Nora : If you don’t file your response, we’re going to file a request for default
judgement against you.
Charlie : (to Frank) You can’t just tuck it in tighter or get Donna to safety pin it?
Frank : I also have a thing about tucking in things-- It’s a hold-over from
childhood. Insecurities about my figure.
Nora : Charlie?
Charlie : Yes, sorry— A default judgement. What does that mean?
METALINGUAL
Nora : We’ll be able to lay claim to whatever we want.
Charlie : What do you mean? Whatever you want of what?
Nora : Your apartment, your things--well, everything you own.
Datum 23
Time (01:19:00 – 01:19:21)
Bert : Listen, if I were representing you—
Charlie :You are representing me.
Bert : Right, no, of course. I don’t see a judge moving this child from LA-- I
think we try to settle today—
Charlie : Settle meaning... what? METALINGUAL
Bert : She gets LA, but—
Charlie : No, Bert... just no. I mean, we have to win this?
Bert : Remember, the win is what’s best for Henry. And if you guys go to court,
78
he’ll get pulled into it.
Datum 24
Time (00:35:17 – 00:35:29)
Charlie : I won a MacArthur grant.
Nicole : Oh, Charlie, that’s so great. Congratulations!
Charlie : Thank you
Nicole : I’ll say it because you can’t, it’s the genius grant. You’re a genius.
Charlie : Well..
Nicole : I’m really happy for you. You deserve it. PHATIC
Datum 25
Time (00:55:28 – 00:55:33)
Nicole : Here, you have dig—
Charlie : Ow, fuck.
Henry : Why “fuck?”
Nicole : Are you ok? PHATIC
Charlie : Something’s sharp—
Datum 26
Time (01:12:04 – 01:12:36)
Pablo : Did you just stamp your foot?
Nicole : I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. I’m sorry I’m just so ANGRY.
Pablo : You look like you need one.
Nicole : I do. Thanks.
Pablo : You know the Japanese are making really interesting tequila right
now. PHATIC
Nicole : That’s exciting! I guess. PHATIC
Pablo : What are you so angry about?
Nicole : Ugh, my fucking ex-husband. I spend so much time feeling guilty, but he’s
so self-absorbed it’s pointless. It’s a game I’m playing with myself.
Pablo : Oh, hey, Pablo. We met at the—
Nicole : You held the bounce board!
Pablo : The flirty grip!
Datum 27
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Time (00:37:26 – 00:37:31)
Cassie : Hey, Charlie.
Charlie : Cassie, I like your haircut. PHATIC
Cassie : Oh, thanks.
Datum 28
Time (00:37:49 – 00:38:20)
Charlie : What kind of pie is that?
Cassie : It’s... Pecan.
Charlie : Did you make it?
Cassie : I don’t know. No! It’s store bought. You know Joan’s on Third?
Charlie : Oh, yeah, that’s good, right?
Cassie : What? The store? Yeah! Jules and Molly love it.
Charlie: Are you ok? PHATIC
Cassie : Yes. I’m just hot.
Charlie : I’ll pour you some water. Nicole says you’re doing a play?
Datum 29
Time (01:04:28 – 01:04:36)
Charlie : Is everything ok? PHATIC
Nicole : Yeah, why?
Charlie : You seem...I don’t know like something is—
Nicole : Everything’s fine.
Charlie : OK.
Datum 30
Time (00:35:55 – 00:37:04)
Sandra : Hey there, Charlie-bird!
Charlie : Grandma! (Lifts Sandra up)
Sandra : Don’t! I’m so heavy!
Charlie : You’re light as a feather. POETIC
Sandra : Oh, God, I’m so huge!
Charlie : You didn’t respond to my email!
Sandra : Your emails are so articulate, I get intimidated!