AN ANALYSIS OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE USED ON
FACEBOOK ONLINE SHOPPING
THESIS
BY:
KHOLILAH
07360246
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
AN ANALYSIS OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE USED ON
FACEBOOK ONLINE SHOPPING
THESIS
This thesis is submitted to meet on the requirements to achieve Sarjana Degree
in English Department
By:
KHOLILAH
07360246
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
M otto
“ H o w per fect i s, a l l t h e pr a i se i s fo r Al l a h . No n e h a s
t h e r i g h t t o b e w o r sh i pped ex cept Al l a h , a n d Al l a h
i s t h e g r ea t est ” .
“ A z er o o ppo r t u n i t y b eco m es o n e h u n d r ed
o ppo r t u n i t i es i f yo u b el i eve yo u r sel f”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.5 Significant of the Study... 5
1.6 Definition of Key Terms ... 5
2.2.8 Irony ... 13
4.1.1 Figurative Language Found in Facebook Online Shop ... . 24
4.1.1.1 Figurative Language Found on Lazy Doll Online Shopping ... . 24
4.1.1.2 Figurative Language Found on Maize Online Shopping ... . 25
APPENDIX
REFERENCES
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Undergraduate Thesis. Petra Christian Universty.
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_____________. 2008. Online Shopping.(www.mastercardworldwide.com).Accessed on 15February 2012.
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter explains the background of the study, statement of problems,
scope and limitation, significance of the study, purposes of the study, and definition
of key term.
1.1Background of the Study
Internet usage has grown very fast over the last decades. There are many
things that can be done through internet. Internet is a global electronic, interactive
medium and each of these properties has consequences for kind of language found
there (Crystal, 2001). Currently, people use internet as media to find everything they
need especially information and other things that always change dynamically. The
importance of internet causes many services to promote information online. It shows
that the internet become indispensable necessities such as food and clothes. In
addition, the process of transfer information among users which are inter-connected
via internet makes it easier for them to conduct transactions.
As network that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business,
and government networks; internet becomes most important communication media
aside from telephone, newspaper, and television. The internet has enabled or
delivered new forms of human interactions through internet forums, instant
messaging, and social networking.
Nowadays, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Koprol, Blackberry
2
one of social networking site becomes a place to share information or news and
hobbies. Jakarta post, (on July 2012) posted that Facebook member is around 900
million and 40 million of those are from Indonesia. Because of the great number of
Facebook members, there are many people using Facebook as a means to run their
business. Due to practical and economic reasons, people are more interested in
advertising, selling or buying some items or products through Facebook to earn much
money.
In relation to the wide using of Facebook to run people’s business, online
shopping becomes a qualified option in order to gain much money. It has boomed
both for major retail outlets and small artisans and traders. The trending shopping
activities on Facebook may affect products exchange across entire industries.
Online shopping offers the easy way for people to fulfill their needs. They do not
need to go to the mall or store that usually sells the things that they want because
everything they need is available in online shops.
Meanwhile, more and more consumers prefer to shop online. For example, in
a Nielsen consumer survey, which is based on a sample of more than 14,000
European internet users, 79 percent respondents said that they planned to purchase
services via the internet within the next six months (Nielsen, 2010). Seeing the
advances from the day online shopping started taking its form and eventually being a
part of our life, it is really interesting to know much about it. In addition, the owners
of online shop use interesting language in their advertisements to gain many
3
Advertisement is a language used to persuade people to do things or to buy a
certain products or services (Stewart and Vaillette, 2001). In promoting the products
through advertisement, the owners of the online shop utilize attractive language to
invite customers to come for visit the shop. Regarding the language, the owners
usually use figurative language in their communication. The language’s fiction,
verbal play, compressed story-telling, photography, cartoons, puns, and rhythm are
often memorable, enjoyable, and amusing. Words and details of advertisement come
to our mind more readily than those of novels, poems, and plays by the words and
details of advertisements we are often recalled with more laughter and enthusiasm.
The detail of advertisement, for example the catchy advertisement, is sometime
enjoyable and attractive but at the same time it may lead to a contradictory
interpretation for someone who observes the advertisement. In relation to that,
understanding the meaning of figurative language advertisement used on Facebook
online shopping is necessary to conduct.
Figurative language usually is used to create a special effect or feeling. It is
characterized by figures of speech language that compares, exaggerates, or means
something other than what it first appears to mean. In figurative language, Crystal in
Johnson (2011) stated that there are seven types. They are hyperbole, personification,
metaphor, simile, idiom, euphemism and chiasmus. McArthur in Johnson (2011) adds
irony, litotes, meiosis, oxymoron, and synecdoche. Figurative language which is used
by the owner increases customer’s proclivity to check on that shop for best rates and
for the reviews. It shows that the use of language especially figurative language has
4
Palupi (2007) in her paper “An Analysis on Figurative Language Used in
Thomas Hardy’s Poems” stated that Thomas Hardy used some figures of speech in his
poems. She also said t hat figurative language was used to describe ideas, object and
another by giving a pressure weight redundantly to get the intensive effect such as
love, nature, reality, pessimistic, and the contrary states of the human soul. Marlina
(2006) also stated in her paper “The Figure Of Speech and Its Figurative Meaning
Used in The Language of Cosmetics Advertisements in Cleo Magazine” that
figurative language advertisements are used to increase interactive communication
between the advertiser and the audiences or consumers. So the reader or customers
can easily capture and understand the message of the advertisement. She also
analyzed that the figure of speech that occurred on her study was personification.
Based on the reason above, the writer is interested in conducting the study
toward the figurative language used on Facebook Online Shopping.
1.2Statement of the Problems
Based on the background of the study above, the writer decides to formulate the
problems as follows:
1. What kinds of figurative language are used on Facebook Online Shop?
2. What are the meaning of figurative language used on Facebook Online Shop?
1.3Purposes of the Study
The purposes of this study are:
1. To know deeply about kind of figurative language that is used on Facebook
5
2. To know the meaning of figurative language use on Facebook Online Shop.
1.4Scope and Limitation
The scope of this study is the figurative language used by the owner of online
shop. The limitation of this study is Facebook Online Shopping on Lazy Doll, Maize
and Fashionandyou.com published on May 2012.
1.5Significance of the Study
It is expected that this study will be benefit for:
1. Teachers
This study is expected to increase teacher’s knowledge about language learning.
The writer also hopes that the result of this study helps teachers in teaching by
informing a common figurative language used on Facebook online shopping.
2. Learners and readers
Hopefully, this study gives some information about kinds of figurative language
used on online shopping in social networks. The writer also hopes that this study
can help to interpret the meaning of figurative language used on Facebook online
shopping. Besides, this research is intended to be references to others about how to
promote their products. On the other hand, she also hopes that the result of this
study can help people who are interested in conducting the study in the same field.
3. Researcher
Hopefully, the result of this study can enlarge the writer’s knowledge.
1.6Definition of Key Terms
To avoid a misunderstanding, the writer needs to explain definition of the key
6
1. Figurative language is a language that the intended meaning does not
coincide with the literal meaning of the words and sentences that are used
(Glucksberg, 2001). For example : I tried a thousand times
2. Online shopping is the act of purchasing products or services over the Internet
(http://www.businessdictionary.com). So, online shopping is a right way for
people to do shopping especially who do not have time to go to conventional
shop for buying some clothes or their daily needs.
3. Facebook is one of friendship sites or social networking sites that consist of
