Gender Tendency Towards The Use of Acehnese Taboo Language: A Case Study of University Student

In social life, everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, both male and female have different roles in society and behaviour pattern which is also affected by their language use, including taboo language use. Taboo language is remarkably avoided and censured in the formal aspect of life. However, many people use taboo language in informal life situations, especially young people like university students. This study aims to find the tendency of gender in using Aceh taboo language and the reasons for using Aceh taboo language. To achieve the aim, the questionnaire about the use of taboo language in an everyday situation based on a Likert scale filled by 30 university students of English Education Department (15 males, 15 females) in UIN Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh. After analyzing the questionnaire data by the SPSS program, the next method is by interviewing with 6 respondents who have the highest score in the questionnaire to answer the reasons for using taboo language. In this study, the results revealed both genders have the same tendency in using taboo language and also have the same reasons. However, it is found that male students are tend to use taboo words more than female students in certain circumstances and emotions, such as in anger, sorrow, joy, and shock.