This thesis makes use of an online survey to study the current state of language use among newspapers in the American Midwest. Specifically, it examines editors’ attitudes toward and adaptation to changed language over the course of the last fifteen years. Those years have seen a general relaxation of language-use standards in the allowance of profanity, as well as changes brought about by emerging electronic media including the Internet and text messaging. The survey results indicate editors are gradually reacting to these changes, as opposed to leading the charge for change themselves. / Department of Journalism

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.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

published_or_final_version / abstract / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts