Linguistic Analysis of Commercial Sex Workers’ Language of Negotiation

Abstract

Abstract-Language has been used for many reasons, and one of which is for negotiation. Commercial sex workers have employed language that is distinct and rhetorical for negotiation purposes. Moral concern may be posed in the investigation of these workers' language of negotiation, but the promotion of sex commerce is not the aim of the study. The goal of this study is to appreciate how linguistic features contribute to a register used by a particular group of people, specifically, the commercial sex workers in Cebu, Philippines. In extracting the meaning of their language of negotiation through processing the morphology, semantics, functions, and rhetorical devices, this study offers a way of understanding this marginal and despised group in the Philippine context. Index Terms-Commercial sex workers, connotation through images, functions of language, language of negotiation, linguistic analysis, morphologic analysis, rhetorical devices.

A Linguistic Analysis of the Language of Sex Workers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

“…Ogdoc-Gascon et al (2015) who carried out a similar study on the language of negotiation of sex workers in Cebu City, Philippines, adopted the discourse/conversation analysis methodology; and we are taking a cue from them along that line. Specifically, Ogdoc-Gascon et al's (2015) research utilizes the qualitative research method in datagathering and the structural analysis of conversations using the word formation process, functions of language, and the rhetorical analysis for interpreting data (285). Here, we are also adopting the qualitative research method in data-gathering in which we are investigating such features in the expressions of sex workers and their clients as pidgin, slang, cursing and swearing, and lewd and obscene language.…”