This thesis examines four taboo words (Jesus, God, fuck, ass) used in the films Jaws, Shampoo, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The dominant method of research is semantic, drawing on language theories of I.A. Richards and Alfred Korzybski. Investigation led to these conclusions: (1) Symbolic use of taboo terms is accompanied by positive attitudes, while non-symbolic use, which is more frequent, is accompanied by negative or neutral attitudes. (2) Casual non-symbolic pronunciation is leading to separation of the symbol from its referent. (3) Through this methodology, it is possible to ascertain the speaker's intent and his attitude toward the audience, but not his attitude toward the referent.

<p>In this essay, I have investigated whether players of World of Warcraft change their language to suit the gender of the character they play. I have researched if there are gender differences that correspond to what is defined as male and female language in mixed-sex conversations. Chat-logs, collected during four participant observations, were used for making an analysis based primarily on research by Coates (1993) and Yale (2007). Seven features were selected for analysis: amount of participation, hedges, questions, directives and commands, taboo language, compliments and grammar. It was possible to discover gender differences, but these were not consistent in all areas of research. For example, female characters had a higher contribution than males, as well as a higher use of hedges and tag-questions among males, which contradicts previous research. The lack of consistency might be due to the fact that the participants do not specifically consider all areas as typically female or male, or their unawareness of these tendencies. We also need to consider disagreement in previous gender studies as well as folklinguistic belief. The explanation of the lack of consistent differences may be a more equal relationship between males and females in this context, or due to thepossibility that the participants, who are usually male, make use of their normal male language.</p>

In this essay, I have investigated whether players of World of Warcraft change their language to suit the gender of the character they play. I have researched if there are gender differences that correspond to what is defined as male and female language in mixed-sex conversations. Chat-logs, collected during four participant observations, were used for making an analysis based primarily on research by Coates (1993) and Yale (2007). Seven features were selected for analysis: amount of participation, hedges, questions, directives and commands, taboo language, compliments and grammar. It was possible to discover gender differences, but these were not consistent in all areas of research. For example, female characters had a higher contribution than males, as well as a higher use of hedges and tag-questions among males, which contradicts previous research. The lack of consistency might be due to the fact that the participants do not specifically consider all areas as typically female or male, or their unawareness of these tendencies. We also need to consider disagreement in previous gender studies as well as folklinguistic belief. The explanation of the lack of consistent differences may be a more equal relationship between males and females in this context, or due to thepossibility that the participants, who are usually male, make use of their normal male language.

Cette thèse pose la question du travail des examinateurs au travers des classifications britannique et française de films : au Royaume-Uni, le BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) est l’institution en charge de la classification des films ; en France, c’est la Commission de Classification des Œuvres cinématographiques qui s’en occupe. La problématique de ce sujet est : comment les pratiques des examinateurs et les évolutions sociales et institutionnelles ont façonné la création et le développement d’un critère langage au sein des systèmes de classification britannique et français ? En effet, selon les stéréotypes, ces classifications sont généralement mises en opposition : le BBFC est présenté comme une machine à compter les jurons, alors que la classification française est décrite comme étant libérale. Cette thèse vise à expliquer l’origine de ces stéréotypes et à mettre en lumière la place du critère langage au sein de ces classifications de films. / This thesis wonders about the work of examiners within British and French filmclassifications: in the UK, the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is theinstitution in charge of film classification; in France, it is the Commission ofClassification of Cinematographic Works. The question here is: how have the work ofexaminers and institutional and societal evolutions shaped the creation and thedevelopment of a language criterion within British and French film classificationsystems? Indeed, stereotypically, those classifications are generally opposed: the BBFC is presented as a swearword-counting system, while the French classification is described as liberal. This thesis aims at explaining the origin of those stereotypes and at highlighting the true place of language within film classifications.

This essay presents a study on gender differences with a focus on swearing and taboo language, based on findings from the BNC1994 and the BNC2014. Bitch and cunt are two words that are linked to the female gender, but previous research has shown that they are used differently by men and women. The usage of the words differs in terms of frequency, but it has also been suggested that men and women tend to differ in the way they aim their usage of the words, whether the usage is directed toward men or women. The aim of the study is to analyse both corpora in order to find out how the usage of the words differs between men and women in different age categories, and how it has changed across time. Previous research on swearing, in connection to gender and age, is presented as well as a historical background of the words. The results show that the usage of bitch has increased but the usage of cunt has decreased. However, there are findings in the results that show that in addition to the change in frequency there has also been a change regarding how men and women tend to aim their usage of the words. Hopefully, the findings in this study could shed more light on the topic on gender differences and swearing.