Category
Theoretical Proposal
Description
Profanity is not a novel addition to the context of language and communication. While words themselves or the connotation and severity surrounding them has assuredly evolved, the presence of profanity in society is just as significant now as it has always been. Geography, culture, religious beliefs or affiliations, politics, and even age can be determining factors of what is considered “too far” and when or where this boundary has been crossed. Due to the nature of profanity and its inherent impact on society, it is essential that the use of profanity is analyzed contextually with the intent of increasing communicative efficiency. Despite this, there is little research on the effect profanity has on the audience in public address, and therefore this research proposal provides the necessary literature review and comprehensive methodology to incite a research study with the goal of answering the research question: “How does a speaker’s use of profanity during a public address impact the audience’s perception of the speaker?” In order to build a foundation on the literature currently in circulation regarding this subject, journals and texts that focus on semantic barriers, media, gender studies, and quantitative methods of communication research were evaluated. Focus groups were the chosen method of qualitative research for this study, because they provide rich, detailed data surrounding specified contexts, conditions, and events. They are advantageous in qualitative research, due to this rich detail; data collection from focus groups can be efficiently, ethically, and time-consciously assembled. Through focus groups and thematic coding analysis, this study will accomplish a significant contribution to the field of semantic communication, specifically in regard to profanity.
Profanity in Public Address and Its Influence on Audience Perception
Theoretical Proposal
Profanity is not a novel addition to the context of language and communication. While words themselves or the connotation and severity surrounding them has assuredly evolved, the presence of profanity in society is just as significant now as it has always been. Geography, culture, religious beliefs or affiliations, politics, and even age can be determining factors of what is considered “too far” and when or where this boundary has been crossed. Due to the nature of profanity and its inherent impact on society, it is essential that the use of profanity is analyzed contextually with the intent of increasing communicative efficiency. Despite this, there is little research on the effect profanity has on the audience in public address, and therefore this research proposal provides the necessary literature review and comprehensive methodology to incite a research study with the goal of answering the research question: “How does a speaker’s use of profanity during a public address impact the audience’s perception of the speaker?” In order to build a foundation on the literature currently in circulation regarding this subject, journals and texts that focus on semantic barriers, media, gender studies, and quantitative methods of communication research were evaluated. Focus groups were the chosen method of qualitative research for this study, because they provide rich, detailed data surrounding specified contexts, conditions, and events. They are advantageous in qualitative research, due to this rich detail; data collection from focus groups can be efficiently, ethically, and time-consciously assembled. Through focus groups and thematic coding analysis, this study will accomplish a significant contribution to the field of semantic communication, specifically in regard to profanity.
