UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LEXICAL CATEGORIZATION OF RAPE AND LEWD IN MALAY TABLOID AIN NADHIRAH BINTI MOHD SHAH MA July 2021

(1)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

LEXICAL CATEGORIZATION OF RAPE AND LEWD IN MALAY TABLOID

AIN NADHIRAH BINTI MOHD SHAH

MA

(2)

DECLARATION

I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations of Universiti Teknologi MARA. It is original and is the results of my own work, unless otherwise indicated or acknowledged as referenced work. This thesis has not been submitted to any other academic institution or non-academic institution for any degree or qualification.

I, hereby, acknowledge that I have been supplied with the Academic Rules and Regulations for Post Graduate, Universiti Teknologi MARA, regulating the conduct of my study and research.

Name of Student : Ain Nadhirah Binti Mohd Shah Student I.D. No. : 2017497342

Programme : Master of Arts (Applied Language Studies) LG750 Faculty : Academy of Language Studies

Thesis Title : Lexical Categorization of Rape and Lewd in Malay Tabloid

Signature of Student :

Date : July 2021

(3)

ABSTRACT

The categorization of meaning is an issue that is seen as very important. This is because a word is not only limited to one meaning but it can also lead to a variety of different meanings such as words that are polysemous. A word needs to be understood in its lexical meaning because it can give a certain effect to the context and phrase. Dedi Sutedi (2016), states that when a person receives information, it will be processed and go through several stages that eventually become knowledge and stored in one's mind.

The process of storing this information occurs through several stages and one of them is the categorization process. This categorization process is used to categorize the core meaning and the fringe meaning of a word, especially words that have many meanings or that have a circle of meaning. The meaning of a word can be known by taking into account several factors such as experience, culture, context, emotions, and so on.

Therefore, the choice of words when debating an issue is an aspect that needs to be emphasized in addition to being accurate and appropriate to the context so that the meaning to be conveyed is clear and does not cause misunderstanding. When debating about word choice and clear and effective presentation of information, it is so synonymous with the role of the media. This is because the media plays a role as a mediator in conveying information to the public. Furthermore, society today is seen to be easily influenced by what it reads, sees, and hears. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the media has an important role in conveying information to the public.

Therefore, this study aims to identify and analyze the categorization of meaning and lexical selection to describe the crime of rape and obscenity in newspapers using Prototype Theory as well as produce Lexical Mapping Model of Rape and Obscenity using Lexical Mapping Model by Heider (1991). The study also proves that the Lexical Mapping Model can be utilized to help the process of understanding to agree with and help the reader resolve the ambiguity of meaning so that the true meaning of the language can be obtained.

(4)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Bismillahirahmanirahim,

Alhamdulillah, praise and gratitude to Allah s.w.t. because with His grace I was able to complete the study complete the course requirements for a Bachelor of Applied Language Studies (Hons) English. The highest appreciation and thanks are recorded to my supervisor, Dr. Rozaimah Rashidin for all her advice, encouragement, help, and concern to me throughout the completion of this thesis. The guidance, views, and mentoring that my supervisor has extended have helped a lot to the success of this thesis.

I appreciate the patience of Dr. Rozaimah who is ready to share information, easy to contact, and quick in action during the supervision session throughout this study. The spirit of patience, careful reading, interest in this study as well as the convincing feedback from him greatly helped me to complete this thesis.

On this occasion as well, I would like to express my sincere thanks to both my parents, Encik Mohd Shah Bin Aziz and Puan Rafiah Binti Adam, and also my siblings, Muhammad Amirul Shafiq Bin Mohd Shah, Muhamad Danial Bin Mohd Shah, and Muhammad Izz Irfan Bin Mohd Shah for always providing advice, encouragement, moral support and assistance, especially from the financial aspect to enable me to complete this thesis successfully. They were the source of inspiration to me while preparing this thesis. May this thesis be a particular motivator to my sisters in their quest for success. For all the services you have given, only God can repay them.Next, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my comrades-in-arms

Rosli and Siti Aishah Binti Jamal who have helped me a lot, always accompanied me, motivated, and fought with me in surviving. challenges throughout the completion of this thesis. May God reward the kindness of all parties involved directly and indirectly in completing this thesis. Thank you.

(5)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LEXICAL CATEGORIZATION OF RAPE AND LEWD IN MALAY TABLOID AIN NADHIRAH BINTI MOHD SHAH MA July 2021