“Get fucked!”
Am I angry with you? Am I excited? Am I
jealous of you? Am I implying some strange seductive relationship? These two
words are built with meaning depending on the way I say it and in what context I
say it. It is these two seemingly simple words that resonate with numerous
connotations and meanings. The phrase is a signifier of my culture (us Aussies
are so laid back and swear whenever the opportunity presents itself – I’m sure
you can relate), and expresses and indicates a variety of emotions.
Gabriel in the article “The
Heteroglossia of Home” attempts to understand Bakhtin’s theory of hetereoglossia:
“The presence of heteroglossia is manifested in the
multiplicity of signs and meanings linked dialogically through the interplay
between the various levels of discourse or utterance—contextual, extra-
linguistic as well as intra-linguistic—that exist within the creative and relational
aspects of the novel” (2006, p41). In layman’s terms (or what I like to call
Cassie’s terms), a word has layers upon layers of meaning, which is constructed
of all its previous experiences and exposures. Linking back to the “get fucked!”
example, there are numerous of implications to the phrase depending on its perceived
context; if I were to say this to my mother-dearest, I am sure she would have a
small heart attack and attempt to ground me for the rest of my life even if I
was only trying to express my surprise. Yet if I were to say this to a BFF, I’m
sure they would answer with “bloody oath” (or some other bogan idiom). Again,
the reaction in a literal sense would imply having a sexual relation with a
man, woman or goat. The words remain the same, yet the connotations establish
its definition. Ultimately, the word itself means nothing without a historical,
cultural and social context.
Like, it’s um… nearly um… as interesting
as… uh… um… yeah… hedging.
Gabriel, S 2005, “The Heteroglossia of Home”,
Journal of Postcolonial Writing,
vol.41, no1, pp40-53.
I agree that it’s very interesting the amount of meaning that could be gathered from a seemingly simple phrase. I think it’s even more interesting that words generally agreed as “swear words” can take on an entirely different character based on the context. As in your example, “get fucked” could be a term indicating jealousy. Calling someone “bastard”, “arse” or even “cunt” can be seen as a chummy, diminutive or playful form of address all depending on the specific contexts, the definition of the situation, and the attitude of the speaker.
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of heteroglossia. For me it seems to link extremely well with Garfinkel’s whole documentary method and recipe knowledge idea. So not only are our interactional patterns negotiated through a constant interpretation (and re-interpretation) of the situation based on previous experience, but so are our words. We base our knowledge of the use of words based on our stock knowledge of past uses by ourselves and others, and how these were produced and received contextually. Experience and understanding of interaction feeds into words and words feed back into interaction in a sort of never-ending cycle of contextually produced and reproduced meanings. To be honest, my head’s in a bit of a never-ending spin now so I’ll leave it at that, but good post. I enjoyed it.