SEMIOTICS INTERPRETATION
OF CAR ADVERTISEMENTS
A THESIS
Submitted to the English Applied Linguistics Study Program as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Magister Humaniora
By:
EKA DESSY NATALINA
Registration Number: 8106112005
C
ENGLISH APPLIED LINGUISTICS STUDY PROGRAM
POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
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ABSTRACT
Eka Dessy Natalina. Interpretation of Semiotics in Car Advertisements. Thesis: English Applied Linguistics Study Program, Post Graduate School, State University of Medan. 2016
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ABSTRAK
Eka Dessy Natalina. Interpretation of Semiotics in Car Advertisements. Tesis: Program Studi Linguistik Terapan Bahasa Inggris, Sekolah Pasca Sarjana. Universitas Negeri Medan. 2016
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The completion of this thesis is impossible without the support of many
people around and close to the writer. First and foremost, praise and thank be to
Jesus Christ, God The Almighty, for the grace and blessings in her life especially
in presenting this academic work as one of the requirements to obtain the degree
of Master Humaniora.
The writer would like to express her deepest gratitude to Prof. Dr. Berlin
Sibarani, M.Pd. and Prof. Dr. Lince Sihombing, M.Pd. not only for their valuable
knowledge, suggestions and comments, but also for their precious time spared in
guiding, advising, and correcting the draft of this thesis until its present form. May
God bless them in all activities they do.
Her special thanks goes to her reviewers and examiners, Prof. Dr. Sri
Minda Murni, M.S., Dr. Anni Holila Pulungan, Dr. Zainuddin, M.Hum and Prof.
Dr. Sumarsih, M.Pd., for their great inputs in the attempt to meet the requirements
of the content presented in this thesis.
She would also like to extend her sincere thankfulness to Mr. Farid
Maa’ruf, as the staff of LTBI, for his assistance regarding the administrative procedures during the completion of this thesis. May success and happiness be
with him.
In the process of undertaking this graduate study, the writer expresses her
profound and sincere gratitude to her parents, Drs. J. Sitinjak and N. Marpaung,
St. J. Simangunsong and L. Siahaan, to her husband, S. Simangunsong, M.M, to
her lovely son, Susetyo Salomo Simangunsong and her sister, Marisi Debora, M.
Hum. for their love and support. God is good, even very good for has given them
in her life. May God bless them abundantly.
She would like to take this opportunity to thank all her friends in Class B,
LTBI – XVIII for their positive support, contributions and togetherness for their
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saying says, “Just because you took longer than others doesn’t mean you failed.”
Long last the friendship she has with them.
Finally, she realizes that this thesis could possibly far from being perfect.
Therefore, all constructive critics are warmly appreciated. May God bless us.
Medan, July 2016
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2.3.1 Interpretation as a Revelation ... 15
2.3.2 Interpretation as an Art ... 16
2.3.3 Interpretation as a Gift ... 17
2.4 Principles of Interpretation ... 17
2.5 Factors affecting Interpretation ... 20
2.6 Semiotic Analysis of Advertisement ... 22
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2.7. 1 Automotive Advertisement ... 29
2.8 Relevant Studies ... 30
2.9 Conceptual Framework ... 32
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 34
3.1 Research Design ... 34
3.2 Data and Data Sources ... 35
3.3 Technique of Data Collection ... 35
3.4 Technique of Data Analysis ... 35
3.5Trustworthiness of the Study ... 36
CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ….. 38
4.1. Data Analysis ... 38
4.1.1. The people’s Interpretation ... 38
4.1.2. Factors Affecting Interpretation ... 40
4.2. Findings... 42
4.3. Discussions ... 43
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 45
5.1. Conclusion ... 45
5.2. Suggestion ... 46
REFERENCES ... 47
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LIST OF TABLES
Pages
viii
LIST OF APPENDICES
Pages
APPENDIX A Interview of 1st Respondent ... 51
APPENDIX B Interview of 2nd Respondent ... 54
APPENDIX C Interview of 3rd Respondent ... 57
APPENDIX D Interview of 4th Respondent ... 59
APPENDIX E Interview Analysis ... 62
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Background of the Study
As a form of mass communication, advertising is closely linked with the
world of commerce and marketing. Advertising, therefore, is a powerful tool for
the flow of information from sellers to the buyers. It does not only influence and
persuade people to act or believe but also reflects certain aspects of the society’s
values and structure. In this case, mass media, like newspaper, magazine,
television, radio, internet, etc., is used to reach the mass amount of people.
Advertising and promotion are an integral part of our social and economic
systems. In our complex society, advertising has evolved into a vital
communications system for both consumers and businesses. The ability of
advertising and other promotional methods to deliver carefully prepared messages
to target audiences has given them a major role in the marketing programs of most
organizations. Companies ranging from large multinational corporations to small
retailers increasingly rely on advertising and promotion to help them market
products and services. In market-based economies, consumers have learned to rely
on advertising and other forms of promotion for information they can use in
making purchase decisions (Belch, 2010: 5).
For the media, the language it also can be seen as a place of exchange of
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meaning produced. Essentially, advertising is a sign that implied by the producer
to the consumer to be, considered and subsequently taken into consideration to
make a decision to purchase (use) or not a product. Life style increasingly
consumerist society provides an opportunity for manufacturers to compete to offer
their products, they are trying to mobilize all the expertise, creativity in
advertising as a means of communication create and use a language that is
attractive and convincing in order to lure consumers. In this society, the objects of
consumption are seen as an expression of self or externalization of the consumer.
According to Williamson (in Piliang, 2003: 148): "Consumption provides specific
opportunities for creativity, as something toys where all parts have been
determined, but the combination doubled ... Buy".
Semiotics is the study of signs and marking, so it is a discipline that
investigates all forms of communication that occurs by means of a 'sign' (signs).
The basis of semiotics is the concept of the sign, as far as relating to the human
mind entirely composed of signs, so that man by the hand signs to communicate
with each other. What kinds of choices make an advertisement highly effective are
things worthy to be studied from a linguistic perspective because the language
used in advertisement is not similar to the common language people normally find
in the storybook, article or any other printed media. Furthermore, the
interpretation towards the language of advertisement is not always the same for
individuals. That is why people may have different interpretation toward the same
objects. It is influenced by the different level of education, economical status,
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Advertising can be perceived and interpreted from different points of
view because humans have a remarkable capacity to see things in different ways.
A brand can be understood according to the terms of reference used and this refers
to the nature or past experience. However advertisement is a set of signs which is
interpreted freely. The resulting image can be positive or negative or both,
car is a sign of verbal symbols used to identify it. If the ad shows a visual signal in
the form of an image "car" driving on the road with knee-deep water (flooding
iconic sign), it will give a strong sense that the manufacturer has designed it to be
able to hit flood (indexical sign). On the other hand, if the same object is pictured
on a dusty and a long way run (symbolic sign), it will evoke the meaning of strong
and tough car for a long trip. If the object is MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) driving
with a family within it and it is placed in front of a house (iconic sign), it will give
a knowledge sense that the car suits for family needs.
In the beginning, car ads, just like ads for almost every other product, were
very informative and they were offering detailed descriptions of cars. A typical
car ad from the 50's or the 60's described various car specifications, such as
mileage, top speed, engine displacement, and so on. During the 1980's, adverts
started to look like short movies, and they weren't just informative any more.
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stick in people's heads long after they've seen the commercial. In the 1990's, most
car ads were promoting the technology that you could find in vehicles, describing
certain innovations in headlight technology, new and improved suspension and
brake systems, and other similar novelties. Throughout the history of the
automobile industry in Indonesia, advertising has been an ever-increasing
strategy for automobile marketing. In the 1970s, the increasing in various forms
of advertising such as magazines, radio broadcasting, and television allowed
advertisements to reach a wider audience (Pope, 2013: 3). Marketing gurus
know their target audience and are able to construct advertisements that reach
out to people based on specific marketing niches. Since people’s purchasing
behavior is influenced by desires for personal identification and social status,
most automobile advertisements focus on cars as desirable self-images. They are
selling people their own dream. When many people unite against a brand, a
demand for an alternative is created. It is in many ways trendy to be against
something, probably because it is a natural way of making a strong statement
about who you are and what you believe in. Brands have become our way of
talking with each other and we all want to say something and be someone
(Engeseth, 2009: 138). The most important changes in automobile advertising
started happening after the invention of the Internet. We all know that the Internet
changed practically our whole lives, and it's no wonder that it affected the way car
makers promote their vehicles. It's pretty easy for companies to advertise their
products to millions of people using websites and various social networks.
Nowadays, when you see a commercial that is fun and entertaining, and you like
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other hand, car printed advertisements included the changes on having more
pictures or images and less detailed descriptions. People are lured with pictures of
detailed pictures of a car, not only from outside view but also from inside to have
real image of a car. Advertisers are challenged not only to present information as
well as to promote the car through the signs without or less descriptions but also
to make it meaningful to people.
This study then would investigate the people’s interpretation toward
present car advertisements in terms of their signs and patterns of symbolism’ and
present an analysis about the relationships between sign systems and the contexts
of meaning in which they are encountered.
1.2 The Problems of the Study
Given the limitations in conducting the research and to generate a focused
research, this study is limited to these research problems:
1. How are semiotics used in car advertisements interpreted by people?
2. Why do semiotics used in car advertisements interpreted by people the
way they do?
1.3The Objectives of Study
In relation to the problems, the objectives of study are
1. to describe and elaborate how semiotics used in car advertisements
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2. to reason for why semiotics used in car advertisements interpreted by
people the way they do.
1.4The Scopes of Study
This study applies the concept of the systemic functional linguistics (SFL)
proposed by Halliday by describing what thematic progression that can be realized
in car advertisement especially in relation to the semiotics theory.
From the two major types of advertisement, broadcast and print
advertisement, this analysis is aimed at automobile printed advertisement
especially car advertisements taken from a car dealer.
1.5The Significance of the Study
Findings of the study are expected to be useful theoretically and
practically.
1. Theoretically, the findings are expected to enrich the theory of language
communication by getting information about the use of semiotics in
advertisement and the way people interpret it.
2. Practically, the findings are expected to be useful for other researchers to
conduct research on the basis of SFL, especially in semiotics and
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 CONCLUSION
Based on the discussion on Chapter IV, the conclusions are drawn as
following:
1. The people were able to interpret the semiotics used in the car advertisement
in the four steps of interpretations. Their interpretations were started with
denotative meaning for none of them have ever seen such form of car
advertisement. And this affected their ability in revealing the connotative
meaning which were somehow revealed from common knowledge of
advertisement features. The context and readers meaning in this study brought
a same conclusion for all respondents, which is the car in the advertisement
suits for family. The mythic meaning each respondent got showed a particular
worldview about the car advertisement, which were personality, trust, and
lifestyle of the brand of the car on the advertisement.
2. Based on the factors affecting interpretation, the study shown functional
factors and personal factors were affecting the respondents’ interpretation.
Different characteristics, jobs, needs and experience were parts of the two
factors affecting interpretation of the car ads. And this can be understood by
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5.2 SUGGESTION
In relation to the conclusions, suggestions are offered as the following:
1. It is suggested to have further research in analyzing different range of text,
such as posters and photographs, or pamphlets using Interpretation of
Semiotics.
2. It is suggested to teachers to value different interpretations in the
classrooms as the richness of the text to communicate through images as
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