CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1. Semantics
The study of the linguistics meaning or morphemes, words, phrases and
sentences is called semantics. Semantic is concerned with aspects of meaning in
language. Work in semantic deal with the description of word and sentence meaning.
There are certain kinds of meaning or certain aspects of meaning in linguistics (Lyons,
1981:139).
Geoffrey Leech (1974:9) explains that semantics as the study of meaning is
central to the study of communication and as communication becomes more and more
pressing.
Katz (1972:1) also states that semantics is the study of linguistic meaning. It is
concerned with what sentence and other linguistics object express, not with the
arrangement with their syntactic parts or with their pronunciation.
The term of Semantics is the recent addition to the English language.
Semantics is the philosophical and scientific study of meaning. The word semantics is
derived from the Greek verb ―semaino (to signify or to mean). Semantics is part of the larger study of signs, semiotics. It is the part that deals with words as signs (symbols)
and language as a system of signs (words as symbols). (Hipkiss, 1995:IX)
Semantics has been variously described as the scienceof sign, of symbolic
behavior or of communication-system. It focuses on the scope of the term
communication-systems, human and non-human, natural and artificial. A signal is
transmitted from a sender to a receiver (a group a receivers) along a channel of
communication. The signal will havea particular form and will convey a particular
meaning (or message). The connection between the form of the signal and its meaning
is established by what (in a rather general sense of the term) is commonly referred to
semiotics as the code: the message is coded by the sender and decided by the receiver.
Semantics is one of branches of linguistics studying about the meaning, and it is
considered as a major branch of linguistics devoted to the study of meaning in
language (Crystal, 1991: 310). From this definition,we have to know what is meant by
meaning. For thousand years, philosophers have been considering the meaning of
meaning, speakers of a language can understand what is said to them and can produce
strings of words that are meaningful to other speakers (Fromkin, 1983: 151).
Leech (1977: IX) states that semantics (as the study of meaning) is central to
the study of communication; and as communication becomes more and more a crucial
factor in social organization, the need to understand it becomes more and more
pressing. Semantics is not only the center of communication study but also the center of
the study of the human mind- thought processes, cognition, conceptualization. All these
are intricately bound up with the way in which we classify and covey our experience of
the world through language.
Lyons (1971:400) states, “Semantics may be defined, initially and provisionally,
as the study of meaning”.
Akmajian (1979:228) says, “Semantics is generally considered to be the study of
study of reference (and related notions) in languages”.
Hornby (1974: 789) defines, “Semantics is branch of linguistics concerned with
studying the meaning of words and sentences”.
Katz (1972:1) defines, “Semantics is the study of linguistic meaning. It is
concerned with what sentences and other linguistic objects express, not with the
arrangement of their syntactic parts or with their pronunciation”. It means that
generally the basic principle of semantics is about the meaning.
All these definitions given above are different in some respect but principally
semantics is a division of linguistics dealing with meaning of words, it is a study
concerned with meaning of linguistics string. It means that we must focus our attention
to what sentences or other linguistic objects express not to arrangement of their syntactic
part of their grammatical form.
2.2 Scope of Semantics
Semantics is the study of the linguistics meaning. It is not concerned with what
sentences and other linguistics object expressed. It is not concerned with the
arrangements of syntactic parts, or with their pronounciation. Semantics could cover
more extensive areas, from structure and function of language as well as the
interrelationship with other discipline. In this thesis, the scope of semantics is about
the meaning itself in linguistics. Meaning of linguistic object can be various.
Every people may have different way to analyze the meaning of a linguistic
because there is no very general agreement about the nature of meaning or the way in
There are two major approaches to the way in which meaning in language
studied, the first is the linguistic approach. The students of language or linguists have
long been interested in the way in which meaning in a language is structured.
There have been studies of the meaning of words and the semantic structure
of the sentences. Some of them also have distinguished between different types of
meaning. The second is philosophical approach. Philosophers have investigated the
relation between linguistic expression, such as the words of language, and persons,
things, and events in the world to which these words refer to. Although there are may
be different approach to semantics, three basic terms seem to be widely mentioned in of
each these approach, there are meaning, sense and reference.
2.3 Meaning
The term meaning is simply derived from the verb mean. Meaning is regarded
as the message that is intended or expressed or signified. In other word, it can be said
that meaning is the idea that is intended.
There are some definitions, which are given by semanticists about what meaning is,
they are:
a. Leech (1969: 5) states, “The aim of semantics is to explain and describe
meaning in the natural language”.
b. Lyons (1979: 2) states, “The meaning can be distinguished by the technique
of substituting others word in the same context and enquiry whether the resulting
sentence are equivalent.”
expresses about the world we live in or any possible or imaginary word.
d. Bloomfield (1933: 139) defines “Meaning of a linguistics form as a
situation in which the speakers utter it and response which it calls forth in the hearer.”
e. Nikelas (1988: 23) in Pakpahan (2005: 14) states “Meaning is a complex
phenomenon involving relationship between a language and the mind of its speakers and
practical use to which it is put.”
2.4 Varieties of Meaning
Many different things are said to have meaning. People mean to do various things;
tools and other artifacts are meant for various things; people mean various things by
using words and sentences; natural signs mean things; representations in people's minds
also actually have mean thing. There are two kinds of meaning, they are linguistic
meaning and speaker meaning (Siregar:1992).
2.4.1 Linguistic Meaning
Linguistic meaning is simply the meaning of an expression in some form
of language. In linguistics, meaning is expressed by the writer or speaker and
what is conveyed to the reader or listener provided that they talk about the same
thing. The knowledge of the reader or listener will determine how much or whether
he or she understands the message of the speaker or the writer. For examples:
1. He likes to run.
2. Our new engines run well.
3. They run a mail – order house.
sentences. In other words, the word of run has more than one the linguistics meaning
based on the context of the sentence or dictionary.
2.4.2 Speaker Meaning
Speaker meaning is what speaker means in producing an utterance. Although
words can not be used to mean something what they do not mean, there is a tendency of
a speaker to use a word to mean something different from what words mean literally. By
saying, ‘you are clever’ the speaker may mean ‘you are bright’ (intelligent). Because the
word clever has meaning ‘bright mentally’ or ‘have intelligence’ in English or he may
mean the opposite of what the word means. i.e. ‘you are stupid’. The speaker meaning
is classified in two parts, they are literal meaning and non literal meaning.
2.4.2.1 Literal Meaning
Siregar (1992) says, “If we are speaking literally, then we mean what our words
mean”. Literal is actual words or the real one. It means not use figurative or symbolic. When the speaker speaks literal, it means that he or she does not have any hidden
meaning in his or her words.
The following examples illustrate the literal meaning:
1. We are eating right now.
2. My mother goes to traditional market everyday.
3. Thomas is playing badminton in front of his house.
All the sentences above are easily understood as long as the speakers mean what
they say lexically. In literal meaning there is no misunderstanding or misinterpretation
2.4.2.2 Non Literal Meaning
Siregar (1992:10) says, “We sometimes mean something different from what our
mean, in other words, we sometimes speak non-literally”. People sometimes speak non literal. When the speaker speaks non literally, therefore, means something different from
what the words mean. It is the opposite of literal meaning. In additional the words
orsentence which is spoken by the speaker have hidden meaning beside the lexical
meaning.
Everyday people may find many non literal meaning such as in novel,
poem, lyrics of song, the Holy Bible, etc. Non literal meaning is very needed to
make our sentences or language more beautiful. The following example illustrate the
non literal meaning is ‘My pen is dancing on paper now’. This sentence has
non-literal meaning and it means I am writing on paper now.
2.5 Sense and Reference a. Sense
Word and phrases normally both have sense and reference. In order to have a
better understanding of a word and references, there should be a distinction between its
sense and reference.
Sense relates to the complex system of relationships that hold between the linguistic
elements themselves (mostly the words); is concerned only with intralinguistic relations.
Other linguists who contributed the meaning of sense and reference in his book is Lyons
(1979:197) says “Sense is the term used by a number of philosopher for what others
descriptive meaning”.
In some cases, the same word can have more than on sense. For example the word
‘bank’ has different meaning in the following sentences:
a. Every month the company I work for pays my salary directly into my Bank.
b. My apartment is on the east bank of the river.
Based on the examples (a) and (b) above, we can see that the word bank has a number
of different senses. In the example (a), the word bank is an organization or a place that
provides a financial service. Simply, bank is a place for keeping money safely. In other
hand, in the example (b), the word bank has sense the land sloping up along each river or
canal or the ground near the river.
b. Reference
Reference can be said as a link of signifie and signified by words. The signifier is
a word in the language and the signified is the object in the worlds that stands for, refers
to or denotes. It is an obvious fact that reference is the centre of symbol and object.
Through reference, the language being mentioned is associated to the world.
According to Palmer (1976:30), “Reference deals with the relationship between the
linguistic elements, word, sentences, etc., and the non-linguistic world of experience”.
For example, the word ‘hand’ has a certain meaning. The first one has meaning a part of
body, includes right hand and left hand, a hand has five of fingers and each finger has a
fingernail. The second one, the word ‘hand’ also possesses a characteristic which is
known as ‘reference’ that is the ability of the hand is to do anything such to take, throw,
2.6 Goals of Semantics
According to Leech (1981:20-21), there are two questions which must be
answered concerning with the goals of semantics theory; what should a semantics
theory do and how should it do it? A semantics theory should attribute to each
expression in the language which the semantics properties and relations.
The answer to the second question is that a semantics theory should have at least
two kinds of constraints:
a) Semantics theory of natural language should be finite; people are capable of storing
only a finite amount of information but they nevertheless learn the semantics of natural
languages.
b) Semantics theory of natural language should reflect the fact, except for idioms,
expression are compositional. It means that their meaning is determined by the
meaning of its constituents and their grammatical relations.
2.7 Semantic Deviation
It is reasonable to translate semantic deviation mentally into nonsense or absurdity, so
long as people realize that sense is used. Semantic deviation deals with what Leech
(1968: 49) calls as TROPES: foregrounded irregularities of content’. He states that they
are classified largely into three sections:
1) Semantic Oddity,
2) Transference of Meaning, and
Leech (1969:48) asserts that there are two types of signals that may help us to know
whether a statement is literal or figurative (non-literal). The first signal is a textual one,
i.e. the language is identified in some unusual way and does not show literal sense. The
second signal is a contextual one; that is the statement has a literal sense but the context
in which it is identified is inappropriate.
A. Semantic Oddity
It refers to semantic bizarreness of expression. Semantic oddity means semantic
peculiarity of expression. There are five types of semantic oddity. Pleonasm, periphrasis,
and tautology have semantic redundancy, and oxymoron and paradox have semantic
absurdity which contains irreconcilable elements of meaning or reference.
a. Pleonasm
In figurative expression, words are used in such a way that they differ somewhat
from ordinary everyday speech and convey meanings in a more vivid and impressive
manner. Pleonasm makes a speech more effective; it beautifies and emphasizes the
speech in rhetoric which is the art of speaking and writing effectively.
b. Tautology
This can be used for emphasis, to convey something important, or to add literary beauty
to a text. However, many times its use is inadvertent and is just a needless repetition. In
logic, it is a statement that consists of two facts, one which will be true in any instance.
c. Periphrasis
Periphrasis originates from a Greek word periphrazein which means “talking around”. It is a stylistic device that can be defined as the use of excessive and longer words to convey a meaning which could have been conveyed with a shorter expression or in a few words. It is an indirect or roundabout way of writing about things.
For example, using “I am going to” instead of “I will” is periphrasis. This is also called
d. Oxymoron
Oxymoron i
Oxymorons appear in a variety of contexts, including inadvertent errors (such as "ground pilot")
and literary oxymorons crafted to reveal a Oxymoron is one type of absurdity
which entails irreconcilable elements of meaning or reference (Leech, 1968: 138).
Example:
a. controlled chaos
b. kill with kindness
c. old news
d. original copy
e. Paradox
The term existing belief or perceived opinion. It is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly
Example: “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.” – George Bernard
Shaw
B. Transference of Meaning
This section consists of five tropes which will be the main topic that will be discuss
below in figurative expressions. They are metaphor, simile, synecdoche and metonymy.
C. Honest deception
This section treats three tropes: Hyperbole (Exaggeration), Irony and Sarcasm.
1) Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of exaggeration. It tells more than the truth about the size,
number, or degree of something without intending to deceive.
2) Irony
Leech (1968: 171) quotes the definition of irony made by H. W. Fowler in Modern
English Usage, that irony is a mode of expression which postulates a double audience, one of which is ‘in the know’ and aware of the speaker’s attention,
while the other is naive enough to take the utterance as its face value.
3) Sarcasm
Many people relate sarcasm to irony, but there is a big difference between the two. A
person may use irony unintentionally and unconsciously. However, sarcasm must be
intentional and conscious. Whoever makes a sarcastic comment knows that they are
2.8 Definition of Figurative Expression
Figurative expression is kind of language that uses words or expressions with a
meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. Figurative expression is rarely
used in our daily conversation. Figurative expression is often found in literary works,
such as: articles in newspaper, advertisements, novels, poems, etc. Figurative
expression is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary meaning. It requires you to
use your imagination to figure out the author's meaning. When a writer uses literal
language, he or she is simply stating the facts as they are. Figurative expression, in
comparison, uses exaggerations or alterations to make a particular linguistic point.
Figurative expression is commonly used in literary works, such as: poem, prose and
nonfiction writing as well.
Figurative expression refers to words, and groups of words, that exaggerate or
alter the usual meaning in figures of speeches of the component of words. A figure of
speech may be said to occur whenever a speaker or writer, from the sake of freshness
or emphasis, departs from the usual denotations of words (Kennedy, 1983: 479).
The Webster‘s New World College Dictionary (1996: 571) explains that figurative
speech is an expression (as metaphor or euphemism) that substitutes a variation of
points of view by which things or notions which is referred to as if it is different in
some ways (in identify, degree, shape) from what it actually is or seems to be but so
related to the expression successfully implies an intended meaning of effect either or
greatly different from what is utterly said.
Figurative expression and vocabulary have a great relationship that is reciprocal
without the knowledge of the meaning of the word, even connotative meaning, it is
difficult to understand figurative expression, sometimes people read the newspapers, the
magazines or novel, overlooked non – literal expressions and read them literally. Of
course, the meaning of the expression becomes odd or not understandable. Therefore,
figurative expression becomes essential in the learning of vocabularies. While, learning
of vocabularies support the learning of semantics.
2.9 Types of Figurative Expressions
There are many kinds of figurative meaning. As stated before, in this study will only
discuss the figurative expressions by Leech in A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry,
they are: personification (humanizing metaphor), metaphor, simile, synecdoche and
metonymy. The meanings of each type of figurative expressions are explained below.
2.9.1 Personification
Personification consists of giving human characteristics to an object. Actually,
personification is the transfer of human characteristic to an object, animal, or abstract
idea. It makes the animals and the animate objects talk or behave as humans do.
According to Leech (1969:158) “Personification whereby an abstraction is
figuratively represented as human actually combines all three categories – the
concreteness, the animistic and the humanizing.”
As Kennedy (1983:686) states, “Personification is a figure of speech in which a
thing, an animal, or an abstract term (truth, nature) is made human”.
According to Siswantoro (2002: 29) states, “Personifikasi adalah pelukisan
mata atau abstrak yang diperlakukan seolah-olah sebagai manusia” (personification is portray an inanimate thing substituting one with otherthat makes a comparison
between two seemingly unlike things is called or an object in unreal or abstract
which is regarded as if as human).
For example: ‘And the beauty of the pearl, winking and glimmering in the light of the
little candle.’
From the example the word ‘wink’ is to close and open one eye quickly, typically to
indicate that something is a
word indicates that the beauty of pearl is shining.
2.9.2 Metaphor
Metaphor is a kind of figurative expression which is an implicit comparison in
which two unlike objects are compared by identifying or substituting one with other.
Metaphor– making believe that tenor and vehicle are identical. But as many
writers have observed, the pretence often seems more serious and more real than the
‘real‘ world of literal understanding. Nevertheless, from a linguistic point of view, the
literal meaning is always basis, and the figurative meaning derived. (Leech, 1969: 151)
Barnhart (1995: 118) states “A metaphor is figure of speech in which a word or
phrase is taken out of its usual setting and placed with another word to suggest a
likeness. It is made more vivid by transferring to it the name orattributes of some other
objects.
According to Tarigan (1983:141), “Metafora adalah sejenis majas
ide: yang satu adalah suatu kenyataan, sesuatu yang dipikirkan, yang menjadi objek; dan yang satu lagi merupakan perbandingan terhadap kenyataan tadi; dan kita menggantikan yang dibelakang ini menjadi yang terdahulu tadi. (Metaphor is a kind of figure of speech which the most concise, condensed, well ordered kind of
comparative figurative expressin. Two ideas are involved inside; and the one is the
reality or object, something thought; and the other is the comparison to the reality;
and we subtitude the latter with the former).
Kennedy (1983: 680) states, “Metaphor is a statement that one thing is
something else, which in a literal sense, it is not.
For example: ‘Her dark eyes made little reflected stars.’
From the expression above, it shows us an example of metaphor in Steinbeck’s novel,
The Pearl. It is comparing two nouns, her dark eyes and little reflected stars. It can be assumed that the color of her eyes is so dark just like the shining beautiful stars.
2.9.3 Simile
A simile is an explicit comparison between things, events, or actions which are
fundamentally unlike. It typically involves the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Leech (1969: 156) says, “A simile is a figure of speech in which two distinct
things are compared by using the words like or as.”
According to Kennedy (1983: 680) “Simile is a comparison of two things,
indicated by some connective, usually, like, as, than, or a verb such as resembles. A
simile expresses a similiraty. Still, for a simile to exist, the things compared have to
observation. But to say, “Your fingers are like sausages” is kind of simile.
According to Wren and Martin (1981: 480), “Simile is a comparison made
between two objects of different kinds which have, however, at least one poin in
common”. Means that, simile is the comparison between two things which have a
point of similirity.
For example: ‘In the canoe she was like a strong man.
In that example, it can be seen that the word ‘she’ or Juana, the wife of Kino is
compared with a man. As we know that Juana is a woman. The power that woman has
is not the same as the man. So, it can be concluded that Juana is not weak.
2.9.4. Synecdoche
Synecdoche is figurative expression in which a part of something represents the
whole or it may use a whole to represent a part. Synecdoche is derived from Greek
word synekdechesthal, where syn means ‘with ‘; the word ex, means ‘to get out’; and
the word decheisthai means ‘to take’ or ‘to receive’.
According to Kennedy (1983: 688), “Synecdoche is the use of a part of a
thing to stand for the whole of it or vice versa”. Means that, it is a synecdoche if A is
a component of B or vice versa.
For example: ‘Now the dealer’s hand had become a personality.’
In the example, the sentence means that the word ‘hand’ is not just hand but it stands for
2.9.5. Metonymy
Metonymy is a figurative expression in which the name of one object or idea is
substituted for that of another closely associated with it. Webster‘s Third New
International Dictionary in Leech (1969: 152) says, “Metonymy is a figure of speech
that consists in using the name of one thing for that of something else with which it is
associated.” In other hand, Halliday (1985: 319) says, “It is a word which is used for
something related to that which it usually refers to.”
For example: It was the town's mechanic, not the rich lawyer, who had the nicest ride.
From the example the word ‘ride' is a metonym for 'car' because riding is something you
do in an automobile, but the 'ride' is not a part of the automobile and therefore does not
qualify as synecdoche
2.10 Related Studies
Saleh (2008) in his thesis entitled “A Semantic Analysis of Figurative
Expressions in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and The Sea” analyzes figurative
expressions that exist in the novel. He found 67 data. They are 8 metaphors, 27
similes, 20 personifications, 4 hyperboles and 7 synecdoches. This study uses
descriptive qualitative method, which has similirities with my thesis and it helps me
how to analyse the data.
Perangin-angin (2008) in his thesis entitled “The Analysis of Figurative
Expressions in the Holy Bible: Hebrew” found 46 data. They are 20 metaphors, 9
hyperboles, 5 similes, 3 synecdoche, and 5 personifications. This thesis gives me
Nora (2009) in her thesis entitled
hyperboles, and 1 synecdoche. This thesis also helps me to analyse the data in my study.
Lisbet Pakpahan (2005). An Analysis of Figurative Meaning in Scorpion’s Song
Lyrics. In her thesis, she analyzed figurative meaning that exist in the lyrics of Scorpion’s songs. She concludes that there are 77 cases of figurative meaning found
in 10 songs of Scorpion’s and the most dominant one is hyperbole with total case
26 cases and followed by 6 synecdoches, 17 metaphors, 3 similes, 3 euphemism, 2
metonymys.
Nurul (2008). The Analysis of Non-Literal meaning in Jascha Richter’s Lyrics in
Michael Learns to Rock’s songs. In her thesis, she analyzed non literal meaning taht exists in Jascha Richter’s Lyrics in Michael Learns to Rock’s songs. She concludes
that there are 50 cases of non literal meaning found in Jascha Richer’s Lyrics in
Michael Learns to Rock’s Songs and the most dominant one is hyperbole with 17 total
cases and followed by 14 metaphors, 6 similes, 6 personifications, 6 euphemisms and 1
