A Linguistic Analysis of Trash Talk Using Examples from the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a linguistic analysis of trash talk based on the sociolinguistic theories of face, politeness, and impoliteness. Experiences in martial arts environments and a love of sociolinguistics inspired me to explore language, gender, and sports more closely. Martial arts, specifically mixed martial arts (MMA), is the selected sport not only for personal reasons but also because it exemplifies that which sport is so often associated with - masculinity and machismo. In the world of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) this machismo is partly indexed through the use of trash talk.

After proposing a linguistic definition of trash talk, examples from UFC athletes Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor will be analyzed. These particular speakers were chosen due to their high level of success within UFC as well as being well-known for their trash talk. Their examples will be analyzed in terms of strategies used, whether they are within the bounds of acceptable impoliteness and are acceptably entertaining (based on an analysis of YouTube comments), and whether they involve practices that focus on making the speaker look good (“self-elevating”) or making the opponent look bad (“other-lowering”).

The next level of analysis concerns audience reception to the use of trash talk by the speakers. Comments from YouTube videos will be analyzed as a means to access their attitude toward the trash talk of the speakers. They may also provide insight into language ideologies around gender in a hyper-focused and intensely masculine environment, as the audience reactions.