A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS ON A STUTTERING CHARACTER

IN ROCKET SCIENCE

A THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Attainment of

Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Language and Literature

By:

Novanda Alim Setya Nugraha

08211141030

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS

YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY

2012

A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS ON A STUTTERING CHARACTER

IN ROCKET SCIENCE

A THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Attainment of

Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Language and Literature

By:

Novanda Alim Setya Nugraha

08211141030

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS

YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY

2012

A PSYCtrOI,INGTJISTIC ANALYSIS ON A STUTTERING CHARACTER

TN R(rcKET SCIENCE

Second Consultant,

Tittk Sudartinah. S. S.. M. A.n{IP. 19800911 200312 2 00rh[P. r97rmr9 1Et903 20/.0;2

RATIFICATION

APSYCHOLINGUISTIC ANALY$S ON A STUTTERTNG CHARA TER

TN N(rcKET SCIENCE

ATIIESIS

Aoce,pted by the Board ol

Yogyakarta State 12 and declared to have

tutfilbd the of Sariou Sostram

Chairperson

Secrctary

FirstExaminer

SecondE:raminer

Yogyakarta ...........Septerrber 2012

Faculty of Langrrages and Arts

Yogyakarta State UniversitY

D€a&

Prof. Dr. Zanrzarfl'M. Pd.

19550505 198011 1 001

iii

PERNYATAAN

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini :

Narna : Novanda Alim Setya Nugraha

NIM :08211141030

Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris

Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Fakultas: Bahasa dan Seni

Judul : A Psycholinguistic Analysis on a Stuttering Character in

Rocleet Science

menyatakan bahwakarya ilmiah ini adalah hasil pekerjaan saya sendiri. Sepanjang

pengetahuan say4 karya ilmiah ini tidak berisi materi yang dipublikasikan atau

ditulis orang lain atau telah digunakan sebagai persyaratan pada penyelesaian

studi aktrir di perguruan tinggi lain, kecuali pada bagian-bagian tertentu yang saya

ambil sebagai acuan dengan mengikuti tata cara dan etika penulisan karya ilmiah

yang lazirn.

Apabila terbukti bahwa pernyataan ini tidak benar, hal ini sepenuhnya

penjadi tanggung jawab saya.

Yogyakart4 5 September 2012

Peneliti,WNovanda Alim Setya Nugraha

Prodi

Jurusan

lv

v

MOTTOS

“For indeed, with hardship (will be) ease. Indeed, with

hardship (will be) ease. So when you have finished

(your duties), then stand up (for worship).”

(The Holy Qur’an: Al – Insyirah 5-7)

“Dont try to be a man of success, try to be a man of

value instead.”

(Albert Einstein)

“We don’t make a living by what we get, but we make a life

by what we give.”

(Sir Winston Churchill)

"You’re what you think."

(Unknown)

vi

DEDICATIONS

This thesis is wholeheartedly dedicated to:

Bunda, Bunda, and Bunda (Suparini)

Ayah (Ambar Sutoyo)

My Lovely Brothers (Toni Putra Kusuma and Arief

Trihatmojo)

“You’re the miracles of my life”

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Alhamdulillah, all praises be to Allah SWT, the Almighty, the Most

Gracious and the Most Merciful, without which I would never have finished this

thesis. In accomplishing this thesis, I owe to many people for the support,

guidance, assistance, and help.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to Erna

Andriyanti, M.Hum., as my first consultant and Titik Sudartinah, M.A., as my

second consultant, for their endless support, advice, patience and great guidance in

helping me throughout this thesis.

My greatest gratitude also goes to Prof. Dr. Zamzani (the Dean of

Languages and Arts Faculty), Samsul Ma’arif, M.A. (the Head of English

Language Education Department), Suparjo, M.Ed. (my academic consultant), all

lecturers in the English Education Department and the all staffs of the Faculty of

Languages and Arts of Yogyakarta State University who have taught and guided

me during my years of study.

In this special occasion, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude and

appreciation to both of my supportive parents: Ayah Ambar Sutoyo and Bunda

Suparini, for their endless moral support, solemn prayer, and pure love. I also

would like to thank my little brothers, Toni Putra Kusuma and Arief Trihatmojo,

who continuously pray for me and give me spirit. I am proud of being a part of

this family.

My thank is also dedicated to my grandparents and my big family, for their

prayers, big support, and love. I also would like to thank my cousins, Vita, Mbak

Devi, Mas Dani, Chelda, and Kiki (for their help and support). I finally finish this

thesis.

I also would like to offer great love and thanks to Pujiyanti, S.Pd., for her

understanding, prayer, and support during the hardest days. I thank her for being

so patient with me.

Other special thanks are offered to my friends in boarding house, Mbak

Rika, Mbak Vivi, Mbak Helmey, Cici, Lili, Ana, and Revi for their care, prayer,

and support. I also would like to express my deepest thanks to all the helpful

seniors, Mbak Endang, Mbak Ryang, Mbak Novi, Mbak Fitri, Mas Aja4 Mas

lwan, Mbak Desti, MbakAstin, and Mbak Tiwi for their help and encouragement.

A million thanks are also devoted all my beloved friends of Elite 08 B Class

(REUNI 13): Mbak Titi, Ratih Wijayanti, Ratih Santi, Bams, Andi, Hisyam, Rifki,

Andre, Venny, Wani, Och4 and Hey, for every happy and sad moment we have in

the last four years. Moreover, I also thank all my friends in Linguistics Class

2008, Hair4 Doni, Ray, Sheva, Shinta, Atika, Widhi, Ronanda, Pindha, Septi, and

Vuti for always coloring every class we attended with laughter, joys, motivating

spirit and even silliness.

I also thank those whom I cannot mention one by one for the support and

prayer for me in accomplishing this thesis.

Finally, I realize that my thesis is far from being perfect. Therefore, I

would be glad to get any comments, feedbacks, and suggestions for the betterment

of this thesis. Hopefully, this thesis will give some beneficial contributions to the

readers.

vllt

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................. i

APPROVAL ................................................................................................... ii

RATIFICATION ........................................................................................... iii

PERNYATAAN ............................................................................................... iv

MOTTOS ........................................................................................................ v

DEDICATIONS ............................................................................................. vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................... ix

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... xii

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................... xiii

LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................... xiv

ABSTRACT.................................................................................................... xv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study .............................................................. 1

B. Focus of the Research ................................................................... 4

C. Formulations of the Problems ..................................................... 5

D. Objectives of the Research ........................................................... 6

E. Significances of the Research ....................................................... 6

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Theoretical Review ...................................................................... 8

1. Psycholinguistics ..................................................................... 8

2. Language Production .............................................................. 10

3. Language and Brain ................................................................ 10

4. Speech Disorder ...................................................................... 12

a. Dysarthria ............................................................................ 14

x

b. Cerebral Palsy ..................................................................... 15

c. Lisps .................................................................................... 15

d. Apraxia ............................................................................... 16

e. Stuttering ............................................................................. 17

1) The Types of Dysfluencies .......................................... 18

2) The Types of Associated Behaviors ............................. 21

3) The Kinds of Stuttering Treatments ............................. 22

5. Rocket Science ......................................................................... 27

a. Production of Rocket Science ............................................. 27

b. Summary of Rocket Science ............................................... 28

B. Previous Research Findings ......................................................... 29

C. Conceptual Framework ................................................................ 30

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

A. Research Type.......……………………………………………… 33

B. Data and Source of Data………………………………………... 34

C. Technique of Data Collecting…………………………………... 34

D. Technique of Data Analysis…………………………………….. 36

E. Trustworthiness of the Data…………………………………….. 37

CHAPTER 1V FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

A. Findings ........................................................................................ 39

B. Discussion .................................................................................... 44

1. The Types of Dysfluencies Experienced by Hal Hefner,

the Stuttering Character in Rocket Science ............................. 44

2. The Types of Associated Behaviors Experienced by Hal

Hefner, the Stuttering Character in Rocket Science when

Stuttering .................................................................................. 52

3. The Kinds of Treatments that Hal Hefner Experiences

in Overcoming His Stuttering Portrayed in Rocket Science... 58

xi

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions ................................................................................. 69

B. Suggestions .................................................................................. 72

REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 74

APPENDICES ............................................................................................ 76

xii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Radiant Thinking Scheme…………………......……………………. 9

Figure 2: Interior of the Brain............................................................................. 11

Figure 3: The Cerebral Cortex........................................................................... 12

Figure 4: Analytical Construct........................................................................... 32

xiii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Data Sheet of the Types of Dysfluencies and Associated Behaviors

of Stuttering Experienced by Hal Hefner Portrayed in Rocket

Science……………........................................................................ 35

Table 2: Data Sheet of the Kinds of Treatments that are Experienced by

Hal Hefner in Overcoming His Stuttering...................................... 36

Table 3: The Data Findings of the Types of Dysfluencies and Associated

Behaviors of Stuttering Experienced by Hal Hefner Portrayed in

Rocket Science................................................................................ 40

Table 4: The Data Findings of the Types of Associated Behaviors

Experienced by Hal Hefner, the Stuttering Character in Rocket

Science when Stuttering…………….............................................. 42

Table 5: The Data Findings of Treatments that Hal Hefner Experiences

in Overcoming His Stuttering Portrayed in Rocket Science............ 43

xiv

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Data Findings of the Types of Dysfluencies and Associated

Behaviors of Stuttering Experienced by Hal Hefner Portrayed

in Rocket Science……............................................................. 76

Appendix 2: Data Findings of Treatments that Hal Hefner Experiences

to Overcome his Stuttering Portrayed in Rocket Science........ 124

Appendix 3: SURAT PERNYATAAN.......................................................... 137

xv

A Psycholinguistic Analysis on a Stuttering Character

in Rocket Science

by

Novanda Alim Setya Nugraha

08211141030

ABSTRACT

This study aims at identifying and describing stuttering suffered by the main

character in Rocket Science. The objectives of this study are to identify and

describe (1) the types of dysfluencies, (2) the types of associated behaviors, and (3)

the kinds of treatments experienced by the stuttering character in Rocket Science.

The study was a descriptive qualitative study with the researcher as the main

instrument and the data sheets as the secondary instrument. The object of this

research was the stuttering character’s utterances in Rocket Science. The data were

utterances in the form of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences of the character

containing and reflecting the phenomenon of stuttering. Another data source was

the script of the movie. After being collected, the data were categorized and

analyzed based on each category in psycholinguistic study. To enhance the

trustworthiness of the data in this study, theory and researcher triangulations were

applied.

The result of the research shows three important points. First, there are two

types of speech dysfluencies, namely between-word dysfluencies and within word

dysfluencies. In between-word dysfluencies, there are interjections, multisyllabic

whole-word repetitions, revisions, and phrase repetitions. Then in within-word

dysfluencies, there are blocks (silent pauses), monosyllabic whole-word repetitions,

and repetitions of individual sounds and syllables. Interjections can rank as the

highest phenomenon in between-word dysfluencies because it is the most usual type

of dysfluencies. Even, normal people sometimes experience Interjections to delay

the initiation of a word the speaker expects to get stuck on. Meanwhile, blocks

(silent pauses) in within-word dysfluencies can rank as the highest phenomenon

because it is also the most usual type of dysfluencies too; even normal people

sometimes experience blocks (silent pauses). Then, there are four types of

associated behaviors of a stuttering person, namely eye behaviors, visible muscle

tension, head, torso, and limb movement, and audible inhalations or exhalations.

Eye behaviors can rank as the highest phenomenon in the associated behaviors of

stuttering because this phenomenon is the earliest and most frequently observed

associated behaviors that typically involve the eyes. Some of the more common eye

behaviors are blinking, squeezing the eyes shut during moments of stuttering, side

to-side movements of the eyes, and consistent loss of eye contact with the listener

during instances of types of speech dysfluencies. The last, there are three kinds of

treatments experienced by the stuttering character in Rocket Science. They are

manuevers that can induce fluency, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and speech

therapy. In addition, for the stuttering character, the implementations of those

treatments are successful enough in overcoming the stuttering although the film

shows that the treatments just can help Hal induce his fluency, not to make him

recover from his stuttering.