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A Diction Analysis on The Jakarta Post’s Articles
A Thesis Submitted to letters and Humanities Faculty
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Letters Scholar
Agus Bachtiar 105026000883
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH” JAKARTA
2010
ABSTRACT
Agus Bachtiar, A Diction Analysis on The Jakarta Post’s Articles. Thesis. Jakarta: Adab and Humanity Faculty, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Maret 2010.
This research is aimed at knowing the types of lexical relations are chosen to build text on the Jakarta Post’s articles and knowing the diction used on the Jakarta Post’s articles.
Moreover, the writer uses a qualitative method by collecting the randomly-selected texts which have the inappropriateness in diction as the misunderstanding words to any people who read the texts. After selecting the data, then the writer analyzes the words in the texts by using the theory of diction related to semantics.
The writer finds that some words are inappropriate in the texts and they deviate from the appropriateness of diction. However, some words that are used in the texts have the problems with the diction. Besides, the words are applied to the texts without considering word meanings and lexical relations. Thus, the diction must be used carefully in the texts. If the choice of words is not appropriate, so it is going to make readers misunderstand the meaning of words. By knowing word meanings and lexical relations well, the texts can be easily understood by readers and will convey the same ideas to the words. On the other hand, the writer also finds the three lexical relations in the text as the problems of diction.
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APPROVEMENT
A DICTION ANALYSIS ON THE JAKARTA POST’S ARTICLE
A Thesis
Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
The Degree of Letters Scholar
Agus Bachtiar
105026000883
Approved by:
Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd.
Advisor
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT
LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”
JAKARTA
2009
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LEGALIZATION
The thesis entitled “A Diction Analysis on The Jakarta Post’s Articles” has been defended before the Letters and Humanities Faculty’s Examination Committee on April 27, 2010. The thesis has already been accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of strata one.
Jakarta, April 27, 2010
The Examination Committee
Signature Date
1. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M.P.d (Chair Person) ________ _________
19650919 00003 1 002
2. Drs. A.Saefuddin, M.P.d (Secretary) ________ _________ 19640710 199303 1 006
3. Drs. A.Saefuddin, M.P.d (Advisor) _________ _________ 19640710 199303 1 006
4. Elve Oktafiyani, M.Hum (Examiner I) _________ _________ 19781003200112 2 002
5. H. Muhammad Farkhan, M.P.d (Examiner II) _________ _________ 19650919 00003 1 002
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by
another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the
award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher
learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text.
Jakarta, April 27, 2010
Agus Bachtiar
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, the writer would like to express the most gratitude and praise
to Allah SWT, the Lord of the universe for his help, affection and generosity in
completing the writer’s study in the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah,
Jakarta. Then, peace and blessing is upon to our beloved prophet Muhammad
SAW and all of his family, his disciplines, and his followers.
The thesis is submitted in partial accomplishment of the requirement for
the Strata 1 Degree to The Faculty of Adab and Humanities, English Letters
Department State Islamic Unversity Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.
In the terms of completion the writer’s study, the writer would like to
express his deepest gratitude to the Dean of Adab and Humaties Faculty, Dr.H.
Abdul Chair, MA, The Head of English Letters Department, Dr. M. Farkhan,
M.Pd., The secretary of English Letters, Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd., Mr. Zaenal
Arifin Toy, M.Lis, and to all the writer’s lectures who have taught me a lot of
things during the writer’s study.
The writer’s own family deserve the writer’s deepest esteem more than
whoever (Andy Priatna, Sawikah, and Muchtar Hidayat), since they who always
support me; financial assistance, moral and spiritual. This is the only the writer’s
initial step to the future.
Additionally, I am deeply grateful to the individuals too numerous to
mention who have sent me suggestions, corrections, and criticisms, especially,
Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd., as the writer’s thesis advisor, since I am awfully aware
of his every guidance, patience, and encouragements mean to me a lot.
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In addition, the writer would like to thank the best friends and the
acquaintances. Moreover, the best friends are Kasmir, Uri, Qushoy, Habib & Nia.
The writer thanks for their attentions to make the writer eager to complete the
writer’s study and they can always make me cheerful. On the other hand, the
students of class A 2005 as the acquaintances who have been my classmates have
shared your academic or non-academic experiences to me.
Jakarta, April 17, 2010
The Writer
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... i
APPROVEMENT .......................................................................................... ii
LEGALIZATION ........................................................................................... iii
DECLARATION ………………………………………………………….... iv
ACKNOWLEDMENT ……………………………………………………... v
TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………... vii
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………...... 1
A. Background of the Study ………………………………………………... 1
B. Focus of the Study... ..…………………………………………………… 4
C. Research Questions ................................................................................... 5
D. Significance of the Study .......................................................................... 5
E. Research Methodology ............................................................................... 5
1. Objective of the Study .………………………………………….......... 5
2. Method of the Study .……………………………………………......... 5
3. Data Analysis ……………………..…………………............................... 6
4. Instrument of the Research …...….………………………………........ 6
5. Unit of Analysis .………………….…………………………… .......... 6
F. Time and Place of the Research …………………….……………............ 6
CHAPTER II. THEORITICAL FRAME WORK ……………….............. 7
A. Concept of Diction ..................................................................................... 7
B. Semantics ……………………………………………………………….... 11
C. Word Meanings ………………………………………………………… .. 13
1. Denotation ………………………………………………………….. .... 14
2. Connotation ………………………………………………………….... 17
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D. Lexical Relations ………………………………………………………… 18
1. Synonymy ……………………………………………………………... 18
2. Meronymy …………………………………………………………...... 22
3. Homonymy ……………………………………………………………. 23
CHAPTER III. RESEARCH FINDINGS ………………………………… 27
A. Data Description…………………………………………………………… 27
B. Data Analysis ……..……………………………………………………… 29
1. Text I: The Indian Husband Search …………………………………… 29
2. Text II: A Marriage Made in SkypeTM ………………………………… 34
CHAPTER IV. SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ……………….. 38
A. Conclusions ..…………………………………………………………… ... 38
B. Suggestions ..……………………………………………………………… 39
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………… .. 40
APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………. 42
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of Study
A text is a sequence of sentences.1 Then, the sentences have words that
give meanings. Moreover, the sentences will form paragraphs to become a
discourse and the discourse has to be understood well by considering chosen
words. However, if words are not related to good meanings, so it will be
misunderstood in words of articles. Therefore, it is going to be problems that can
be known in the text by considering lexical relations of semantics and the
instances of articles from a mass media that will come into the problems are
related to lexical relations.
Anyway, lexical relations are very important to study in order to know
whether the words have been already correct to choose in discourse. By looking at
lexical relations, the words will be used well, so it can be understood
comprehensively. Besides, lexical relations can relate to a meaning that is
frequently considered as the well-structuralized text in the discourse in order to
get the best understanding and to avoid a wrong sense.
Therefore, the user of the words has to look up a dictionary in order to
decide which one of the words the user chooses accurately. By doing that, it will
be able to overcome the problem of discourse so that the words in a text of
1 John Lyon, Linguist Semantics: An Introduction (Cambridge: The University Press, 1932), p. 263.
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discourse make sense because if someone reads the text but he or she gets a
different understanding that is contradictive with what the text wants to convey.
On the other hand, the instances of articles that can make some problems
in semantics can be found on The Jakarta Post’s articles. As known, this mass
media uses English to give the information about news that will be read mostly by
Indonesian. Meanwhile, if the articles contain the words which don’t have the
good meaning, so the comprehension of content will be vague. For example, there
are two words are used on the article of The Jakarta Post. The two words on the
first page of The Jakarta Post’s newspaper are taken from the edition on July 5th
2008. There the words written to tell the readers have actually a distinctive
meaning and the article uses the words as synonymy which is not exact. It’s
because the words are not synonymous. Like ‘graveyard’ and ‘cemetery’ are not
able to use as synonym. Moreover, they have the different meaning, so they
cannot be applied as something equal. If they are looked up by the oxford’s
advanced learner dictionary, so the word ‘graveyard’ is an area of land, often near
a church, where people are buried and ‘cemetery’ is an area of land used for
burying dead people, especially one that is not beside a church. Therefore, they
are not included as synonym which is studied by lexical relations of semantics
because synonyms themselves are different phonological words which have the
same or very similar meanings2.
In addition, there are other problems about words that are wrong to apply.
The words are found on articles from The Jakarta Post but the articles are not
2 John I. Saeed, Semantics (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997), p. 65.
3
from its newspaper, they are from its September magazine edition. The words
from the articles of its magazine are the inappropriate words. However, the words
are not from the entire article existing there but there are only two words
becoming the samples and they are concerning the problems of meronymy and
connotation.
For example of meronymy, there is a word written inappropriately because
if it is seen as meronymy that is exact to choose to complete a sentence, so it must
be picked up as the right word where it is put. Therefore, the word ‘translator’ is
not suitable to accompany the other words as meronym of ‘editor’. On the article,
the words ‘newspaper journalist’, ‘translator’, ‘press officer’, and ‘poetry editor’
are written as meronymy of the word ‘editor’. If there is taxonomy to describe, so
the taxonomy is going to be:
editor
newspaper journalist translator press officer poetry editor
Figure 1 Taxonomy of Meronymy.
However, in this case, the word ‘translator’ has come into meronym of the
word ‘editor’. Thus, it must be changed by another word for example, ‘book
editor or radio journalist’. It is because if ‘editor’ is described by using sentence
frames like ‘book editor’ is a part of the job of ‘editor’ or ‘editor’ has a job of
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book editor. Then, meronymy is the semantic relation that holds between a part
and the whole.3
Meanwhile, the last instance elected is the connotation obtained in the
second paragraph of the article. Here it is the word: ‘middle ground’ is the word
that is not suitable to be there in the paragraph. It must be substituted because it is
not needed as the connotation surrounded to the words as in ‘a balance’ and
‘compromise’ referred with the word ‘middle ground’ to the additional
information of the two words which are categorized as the denotation. Therefore,
the word ‘harmony’ is correct to choose for the substitution. It’s based on the
connotation bringing in the, often emotive, associations a word may have for a
speaker or a community of speakers.4
Therefore, from the fact collected the writer is interested to take the case
for being studied and analyzed. Besides, there are some theories that can analyze
the problems on articles of The Jakarta Post’s magazines: Secret (blog) Lives of
Expat Wives.
B. Focus of the Study
In this research the writer will focus on lexical relations and analyze the
articles by applying concept of diction. The research is focused on the text of the
Jakarta Post’s articles from its Weekender magazine published every first Friday
monthly and the writer chooses its magazines dated in September version 2009.
3 www.thefreedictionary.com accesed on October 27, 2009. 4Howard Jackson, Lexicography: an Introduction (New York: Routledge, 2002), p.16.
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C. Research Questions
Based on the focus of the study, the main questions of the research are:
1. What types of lexical relations are chosen to build the texts on the Jakarta
Post’s articles?
2. How is the diction used on the Jakarta Post’s articles?
D. Significance of the Study
The writer hopes this study can be useful to give the knowledge towards
readers and the writer himself about word meanings and lexical relations included
to the study of semantics. In addition, it will be a reference for next researchers
who are interested in this study.
E. Research Methodology
1. Objective of the Research
Related to the research questions above, the study is done:
a. To know the types of lexical relations are chosen to build text on the
Jakarta Post’s articles; and
b. To know the diction used on the Jakarta Post’s articles.
2. Method of the Research
The method involved by the writer is a qualitative method which looks at
an object on its inherent characteristics so that it’s able to know the types of the
object.
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3. Technique of Data Analysis
To get the aims of the research, the writer applies some steps:
a. Reading and understand the study of semantics and concept of diction;
b. Reading The Jakarta Post’ articles of Weekender Magazine selected to
be analyzed;
c. Concluding collected data.
4. Instrument of the Study.
In the qualitative analysis, the instrument of study is the writer himself in
order to get data.
5. Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis is the texts chosen randomly Weekender Magazine of
The Jakarta Post in September edition 2009:
a. Text I : The Indian Husband Search
b. Text II : A Marriage Made in SkypeTM
F. Time and Place of the Research
This research starts from semester 8 of 2009 and is carried out in Jakarta.
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Concept of Diction
Diction, in its original, primary meaning, refers to writers’ or speakers’
distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression.1 On a book that concludes
definitions of diction after elaborating same explanation like the writer quotes.
First, a choice of words or diction covers which definition of words is used to
convey an idea, how to form a group of words which is precise or to use
appropriate expressions, and which style is the best use for a situation. Second, a
choice of words or diction is a skill to compare precisely meanings from an idea
that wants to convey, and a skill to find a suitable form with situation and a moral
value that a society has as listener. Third, a word of choices which is precise and
appropriate is only enabled by mastery of majority of vocabulary in a language.2
Therefore, diction of a sentence must be considered so that the sentence
can be understood well, and of course it has used a choice of words which is
appropriate. Meanwhile, appropriateness has to be known by a user of words that
wants to make some sentences or even paragraphs including words. Anyway, a
choice of words encompasses appropriateness. Besides, the writer will use
appropriateness of diction to get correct understandings on articles.
1www.wikipedia.org accesed on January 15, 2010. 2Gorys Keraf, Diksi dan Gaya Bahasa (Jakarta: PT Gramedia, 1984), p. 24.
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The sense of “appropriateness” is perhaps one of the clearest marks of
careful writers. As your knowledge of the language grows, you will find that for
every situation that you wish to describe or for every argument that you wish to
present a wide variety of choices is open to you. The English language contains a
remarkably large of number of synonyms. But of these similar words, only one or
two will be appropriate for the purpose you have in mind.3 Hence, the diction
involves semantics which is in lexical relations containing such synonymy,
homonymy, and etc.
Appropriateness of diction deals with a capability of a word to cause
appropriate thoughts on an imagination of readers or listeners, like what authors or
speakers thinks and fells. Therefore, a matter of diction appropriateness will
impinge word meaning and vocabulary of someone too. Abundant vocabularies
will make writers or speakers more fell free to choose words regarded more
precisely to represent his or her mind. Appropriateness of word meanings also
demands writers’ or speakers’ awareness to know how is relation between
language form (word) and reference.4
Hence, if someone wants to make a writing which has a good style (not
monotone), he or she has to consider words which have been appropriate to apply.
The first requisite of style is choice of words, and this comes under the head of
Diction, the property of style which has reference to the words and phrases used in
speaking and writing. The secret of literary skill from any standpoint consists in
3David King and Thomas Crerar, A Choice of Words (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1969), p. 2. 4Gorys Keraf (1984), op.cit. p. 87.
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putting the right word in the right place. In order to do this it is imperative to
know the meaning of the words we use, their exact literal meaning. Many
synonymous words are seemingly interchangeable and appear as if the same
meaning were applicable to three or four of them at the same time, but when all
such words are reduced to a final analysis it is clearly seen that there is a marked
difference in their meaning. For instance grief and sorrow seem to be identical,
but they are not. Grief is active; sorrow is more or less passive; grief is caused by
troubles and misfortunes which come to us from the outside, while sorrow is often
the consequence of our own acts. Grief is frequently loud and violent; sorrow is
always quiet and retiring. Grief shouts, Sorrow remains calm.5
However, appropriateness is a capability of a word to cause same ideas on
readers’ and listeners’ imagination, like writers or speakers think and feel, so
every writer or speaker must attempt accurately to pick up words to reach his or
her intention. Some attentions and matters should be concerned by everyone in
order to achieve appropriateness of diction.
1. Differentiate accurately denotation from connotation. From the two words
that resemble each other writers or readers must determine which word is
used to reach the intention. If only the literal meaning that they want, so
they must choose the denotative word; if they wish for the certain
emotional reaction, they must choose connotation according to the target
that will be achieved.
5www.speakingwriting.com accesed on January 16, 2010.
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2. Differentiate accurately words which are almost synonymous. Therefore,
writers or speaker must be careful to choose from some existing synonyms
to convey what to intend, in such a way they will not be misinterpreted.
3. Differentiate the similar words in pronunciation.
4. Avoid the artificial words.
5. Watch out for the words taken from another language.
6. The verbs using the prepositions must be idiomatic.
7. To guarantee appropriateness of diction, writers or speakers must
differentiate specific words and general words. Specific words are more
appropriate to describe something than general words.
8. Use the sense words showing a certain perception.
9. Pay attention with alteration of meaning that happening in the popular
words.
10. Pay attention with directness of diction.6
Such as the point 3 in discussion above, the point actually has the same
definition from the notion of homophones in lexical relations of semantic study.
Anyway, it will be difficult to find the problems in the texts will be analyzed by
the writer. Thus, the diction that will be analyzed have problem in homonyms.
However, the writer will not consider as the material of analysis some
attentions and matters from the all points above. The writer picks up the related
points to semantics that will explain next. For example, the points discussing
6Gorys Keraf (1984), op.cit. pp. 88-89.
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about word meanings and lexical relations will be chosen by the writer. It is
because of points like 1 until 3.
B. Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning communicated through language.
Besides, semantics the study of the meaning words and sentences.7 Therefore, in
semantics the meaning of words must be understood well. For instance, if we
don’t know words in sentences, so the words will be meaningless and they will
affect the sentences. It’s because sentence meaning (or word meaning) is what a
sentence (or word) means, i.e. what it counts as the equivalent of the language
concerned.8 That’s why semantics is quite important to learn.
In linguistics, semantics is the subfield that is devoted to the study of
meaning, as inherent at the levels of words, phrases, sentences, and larger units of
discourse (referred to as texts).9 It is, however, more usual within linguistics to
interpret the term more narrowly, as concerning the study of those aspects of
meaning encoded in linguistic expressions that are independent of their use on
particular occasions by particular individuals within a particular speech
community. In other words, semantics is the study of meaning abstracted away
from those aspects that are derived from the intentions of speakers, their
7John I. Saeed (1997), op.cit. p. 1. 8James R. Hurford and Brendan Heasley, Semantics: a Course Book (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), p. 3. 9www.wikipedia.org accesed on October 26, 2009.
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psychological states and socio-cultural aspects of the context in which their
utterances are made.10
In addition, speakers’ utterances can be made semantically more
informative if the investigator is able to constrain their production in various ways
– for instance, by elicitation in tightly controlled situational contexts.11 Talking
about contexts, we have to relate to texts indeed. Moreover, context determines
utterance-meaning at three distinguishable levels in the analysis of text or
discourse. First, it will usually, if not always, make clear what sentence has been
uttered – if a sentence has indeed been uttered. Second, it will usually make clear
what proposition has been expressed – if a proposition has been expressed. Third,
it will usually make clear that the proposition in question has been expressed with
one kind of illocutionary force rather than another.12
There are, however, three central aspects of the meaning of linguistics
expressions that are currently accepted by most semanticists as forming the core
concern of linguist semantics.13 These central aspects are linked to semantic
theory, as followed:
10Ronnie Cann, Formal Semantics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), p. 1. 11D.A. Cruse, Lexical Sematics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 9. 12John Lyons, Linguistic Semantics: an Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 265. 13Ibid.
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A semantic theory must:
a. capture for any language the nature of the meaning of words,
phrases, and sentences and explain the nature of the relation
between them;
b. be able to predict the ambiguities in the expressions of a language;
c. Characterise and explain the systematic meaning relations between
the words, the phrases and the sentences of a language.14
In the first place, let us consider more closely, what it is that is to be
assigned meanings by a semantics theory. Condition (a) refers to words and
sentences as the carriers of meaning. The term sentence here is being used in its
abstract sense, common in linguistics, as the largest unit of syntactic description,
independently of its realisation in spoken or written texts. Like the term sentence,
word is also ambiguous in everyday English.15
C. Word Meanings
Word is as a unity from a language’s vocabulary that contains two aspects,
namely aspects of form or expression and meaning. Form or expression is the
easily-understood aspect of indera, by listening and seeing. On the contrary, the
aspect of meaning is an aspect that makes reaction in listeners’ or readers’ mind
14Ibid. 15Ibid. p. 3.
14
because of the aspect.16 Thus, word meanings must be understood in order to get
appropriate reaction after reading or listening.
A dictionary seems to the obvious place to find a record of the meanings
of words.17 The dictionary is very important to know the word meanings
accurately, and it will no be conveyed well the intention of someone that wants to
say or write something. It is quite obvious to any user of any language that there is
an intimate connection between the lexicon and meaning.18 Therefore, the lexicon
which donates words applied by someone must have been known by another
person or other people, it is because the lexicon has the intimate connection. Such
was the case; it will correlate to the appropriate meaning that can be understood
by readers or listeners. Generally word meanings are firstly compared by meaning
that has the quality of denotation and connotation.19
1. Denotation
Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, the dictionary
definition. For example, if you look up the word snake in a dictionary, you will
discover that one of its denotative meanings is any of numerous scaly, legless,
sometimes venomous reptiles having a long, tapering, cylindrical body and found
16Gorys Keraf (1984), op.cit. p. 25. 17M. A. K. Halliday, et al., Lexicology and Corpus Linguistics: an Introduction (London: Continuum, 2004), p. 23. 18David Singleton, Language and The Lexicon: an Introduction (London: Arnold, 2000), p. 63. 19Gorys Keraf (1984), op.cit. p. 27.
15
in most tropical and temperate regions.20 Denotation can be called also as the
literal word.
In the pure form, denotative meaning is related to the scientific language.
A writer that only wants to convey information to us, in this case of scientific
field, will tend to apply the denotative word.21 However, if the word has
denotative meaning, so actually a writer must considered reference that will differ
from denotation. The crucial different between reference and denotation is that the
denotation of an expression is invariant and utterance-independent: it is part of the
meaning which the expression has in the language-system, independently of its
use on particular occasions of utterance. Reference, in contrast, is variable and
utterance-dependent. For example, the word ‘dog’ always denotes the same class
of animals (or, alternatively, the defining property of the class), whereas the
phrase ‘the dog’ or ‘my dog’ or ‘the dog that bit the postman’ will refer to
different members of the class on different occasions of utterance.22
Traditionally, language has been seen as communicating meanings via
concepts constructed out of our experience of the relevant denotata. On this view,
each linguistic form is associated with a concept, and each concept is the mental
represented diagrammatically shown in the following figure:
20www.eng.fju.edu.tw accesed on December 20, 2009. 21Gorys Keraf (1984), op.cit. p. 28 22John Lyons (1995), op.cit. p. 79.
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CONCEPT
FORM (indirect link) ‘REAL WORLD’
PHENOMENOM
(object, person, place,
attribute, action, process etc.)
Figure 5.1 Linguistic forms associated with ‘real word’ phenomena.
One difficulty with this kind of representation is that, in implying that each
particular form is uniquely associated with the single particular concept, it fails to
provide any account of cases where more than one expression is associated with a
more than one meaning and there is also the problem that this whole approach
leads to an ‘atomistic’ view of semantics which treats each form and its meaning
as isolated and self-contained. There are other reasons too for taking a wary
approach to the notion that meaning is only about expressions being applied to
‘real world’ phenomena, whether referential or denotationally. For one thing,
there are words whose simply cannot be accounted for in this way – words like if,
and, should, nevertheless. All of these items have meaning, but certainly not by
virtue of identifying observable phenomena or classes of phenomena in the ‘real
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world’. These are also expressions that relate to phenomena which do not exist –
mermaid, tooth-fairy, unicorn etc. Can we say that such expressions have no
meaning just because they have no corresponding denotata in ‘the real world’?
Certainly not.23
2. Connotation
A distinction is often drawn between the ‘denotation’ of a word and its
‘connotation’. While the denotation is the straightforward, neutral relation
between a word and its referent, the connotation brings in the, often motive,
associations that a word may have for a speaker or a community of speakers.24 In
addition, if writers or speakers want to say something in the connotative word, so
they can use another word which is, for example, for the rude word. Thus, they
should apply the word that is not literal. The word, however, will be confusing if
there is diction that readers or listeners do not know. For all that, writers or
speakers must consider the word as the understandable word even though the
word doesn’t deal with the literal meaning. Moreover, must know the denotative
word, first, before they say the word in order to be understood by readers or
listeners. It is because the connotative meanings of a word exist together with the
denotative meanings. For example, the connotations for the word snake could
include evil or danger.25
Some words spread particular negative or positive connotation (semantic
prosodies) across the phrases or sentences in which they occur. For example,
23David Singleton (2000), op.cit. pp.65-66. 24Howard Jackson (2002), loc. cit.
25www.eng.fju.edu.tw accesed on December 20, 2009.
18
fundamentalist or fundamentalism, which denotes ‘adherent/adherence to the
fundamental teachings of a movement or religion’, is usually used in a negative
context and with a connotation of a fanaticism that should be disapproved of. On
the other hand, inspire, denoting ‘creating the desire to do or feel something’,
usually has a positive connotation and spreads a positive semantic prosody,
occurring typically with nouns like confidence, enthusiasm, or loyality. Such
connotations are widely shared and may be or become intrinsic to the contexts in
which the users of a language generally situate the words. Connotations may be
more restricted in scope, to a particular generation (e.g. blitz to those who lived
through World War II), or to a particular group (e.g. safe to those who have
hazardous occupations), or even to an individual. A connotation that is shared by
large proportion of speakers can be considered as a contributory feature to the
meaning of a lexeme.26
D. Lexical Relations
The branch of semantics that deals with word meaning is called lexical
semantics. It is the study of systematic meaning related structures of words.
Lexical field or semantic field is the organization of related words and expressions
in to a system which shows their relationship within one another, .e.g. angry, sad,
happy, depressed, and afraid. This set of words is a lexical field all its words refer
to emotional states. Lexical semantics examines relationships among word
meanings. It is the study of how the lexicon is organized and how the lexical
26Howard Jackson (2002), loc. cit.
19
meanings of lexical items are interrelated, and its principal goal is to build a
model for the structure of the lexicon by categorizing the types of relationships
between words.27
There are a number of different types of lexical relations, as we shall see.
A particular lexeme may be simultaneously in a number of these relations, so that
it may be more accurate to think of the lexicon as a network, rather than a listing
of words as in a published dictionary. An important organizational principle in the
lexicon is the lexical field. This is a group of lexemes which belong to a particular
activity or area of specialist knowledge, such as the terms in cooking or sailing; or
the vocabulary used by doctors, coal miners or mountain climbers. One effect is
the use of specialist term like phoneme in linguistics or gigabyte in computing.
More common, though, is the use of different senses for a word, for example:
blanket1 verb. To cover as with a blanket.
blanket2 verb. Sailing. to block another vessel’s wind by sailing
close to it on the windward side.
ledger1 noun. Bookkeeping. the main book in which a company’s
financial records are kept.
ledger2 noun. Angling. a trace that holds the bait above the bottom.
Dictionary recognize the effect of lexical fields by including in lexical
entries labels like Banking, Medicine, Angling etc., as in our examples above. One
effect of lexical fields is that lexical relations are more common between lexemes
in the same field. Thus peak1 ‘part of mountain’ is a near synonym of summit,
27www.buzzle.com accesed on October 26, 2009.
20
while peak2 ‘part of a hat’ is near synonym of visor. In the examples of lexical
relations which follow, the influence of lexical fields will be clear.28
1. Synonymy
Synonyms are two or more forms with very closely related meaning,
which are often, but not always intersubstituble in sentences. It should be noted
that idea of sameness of meaning is not necessarily total sameness.29 However, if
we use two words in order to have same idea, so we have to look up whether the
two words are same by each meaning.
The synonyms may portray positive or negative attitudes of the speaker:
for example naive or gullible seem more critical than ingenuous. Finally, as
mentioned earlier, one or other of the synonyms may be collocationally restricted.
For example the sentences below might mean roughly the same thing in some
contexts:
She called out to the young lad.
She called out to the young boy.30
In addition, there are some examples that can refer to synonyms from
dialects:
In many most dialects of English, stubborn and obstinate are synonyms.
In many dialects, brigand and bandit are synonyms.
In many dialects, mercury and quicksilver are synonyms.
28John I. Saeed (1997), op.cit. p. 63. 29Muhammad Farkhan, an Introduction to Linguistics (Jakarta: UIN Jakarta Press, 2006), p. 107. 30John I. Saeed (1997), op.cit. p. 65.
21
Examples of perfect synonym are hard to find, perhaps because there is
little point in a dialect having two predicates with exactly the same sense. Note
that our definition of synonym requires identity of sense. This is a stricter
definition than is sometimes given: sometimes synonym is defined as similarity of
meaning, a definition which is vaguer than ours. The price we pay for our rather
strict definition is that very few examples of synonyms, so defined, can be
found.31
One of the classic example of descriptive synonymy is the relation that
holds (or perhaps used to hold) in English between ‘bachelor’ (in one of the
meaning of ‘bachelor’) and ‘unmarried man’. (There are those who would deny
that these two expressions are descriptively synonymous, nowadays, on the
grounds that a divorce man, though unmarried, is not a bachelor. The point is
debatable; and, since it can be exploited for more general theoretical purposes.
But the principle that the example is intended to illustrate is clear enough). One
tests for descriptive synonymy, in this case, by investigating whether anyone
truly, or correctly, describe as a bachelor is truly describable as unmarried man,
and vice versa. Not simply “not married”, but “never married”, and cannot be
correctly applied to divorcees – together with those, if any, who would readily
apply both ‘bachelor’ and ‘unmarried’ to divorcees – will presumably treat
‘bachelor’ and ‘unmarried man’ as descriptively synonymous.32
31James R. Hurford and Brendan Heasly (1983), op.cit. p. 102. 32John Lyons (1995), op.cit. p. 64.
22
2. Meronymy
Meronymy is a term used to describe a part-whole relationship between
lexical items. Thus cover and page are meronyms of book. We can identify this
relationship by using sentence frames like X is part of Y, or Y has X, as in A page
is part of a book, or A book has pages. Meronymy reflects hierarchical
classification in the lexicon somewhat like taxonomies: a typical system might be:
car
wheel engine door window etc.
piston valve etc.
Figure 3.47 Taxonomies of Meronymy
Meronymic hierarchies are less clear-cut and regular than taxonomies.
Meronyms vary for example in how necessary the part is to the whole. Some are
necessary for normal examples, for example nose as a meronym of face; others
23
are usual but not obligatory, like collar as a meronym of shirt; still others are
optional like cellar for house.33
On the other hand, meronymy is like hyponymy in that it relates words
hierarchically, but the relation is a part of relation. The meronyms of a super
ordinate word represent the parts of that word.34
3. Homonymy
The word Homonym has been derived from Greek term 'Homoios' which
means identical and 'onoma' means name. Homonyms are the words that have
same phonetic form (homophones) or orthographic form (homographs) but
different unrelated meanings. The ambiguous words whose different senses are far
apart from each other and are not obviously related to each other in any way is
called as Homonymy. Words like tale and tail are homonyms. There is no
conceptual connection between its two meanings. For example the word ‘bear’, as
a verb means ‘to carry’ and as a noun it means ‘large animal’.35
In addition, there is a definition from another source. Homonyms are
unrelated senses of the same phonological word. Some authors distinguish
between homographs, senses of the same written word, and homophones, senses
of the same spoken word. Here we will generally just use the term homonym. We
can distinguish different types depending on their syntactic behaviour, and
spelling, for example:
33John I. Saeed (1997), op.cit. p. 70. 34Howard Jackson (2002), op.cit. p. 18. 35www.wikipedia.org accesed on January 15, 2010.
24
1. Lexemes of the syntactic category, and with the same spelling: e.g. lap
‘circuit of a course’ and lap ‘part of body when sitting down’.
2. Of the same category, but with different spelling: e.g. the verbs ring
and wring.
3. Of different categories, but with the same spelling: e.g. the verb keep
and the noun keep;
4. Of different categories, and with different spelling: e.g. not, knot. 36
Therefore, the homonyms from the explanation can be subdivided into:
a. Homophones
Homophones can be defined as words that are pronounced the same
(and may or may not be spelt the same), but differ in meaning, such as
waste and waist. Some other examples in English are:
Bare and bear
Meat and meet
Flour and flower
Pail and pale
Sew and so
Check and cheque
b. Homographs
Homographs can be defined as words that are spelled the same (and
may or may not be pronounced the same), but the two words differ in
36John I. Saeed (1997), op.cit. p. 64.
25
meanings and have no relevance with each other, such as mean
(adjective) and mean (verb). Some other examples in English are:
Mean (intend) and mean (average)
Bank (a river) and bank (financial institution)
Pupil (student at school) and pupil (in the eye)
Mole (small dark spot on the skin) and mole (small grey furry
animal)
Meal (repast) and meal (flour)
Sole (flat sea fish used for food) and sole (bottom surface of
shoe)37
Nevertheless, the writer will use the notion, homonymy, as the material of
lexical relations that will be analysis. It defines as a word having the same
pronunciation but having the different meaning.
Let us begin, therefore, by establishing a notion of absolute homonymy.
The absolute homonyms will satisfy the following three conditions (in addition to
the necessary minimal condition for all kinds of homonymy – identity of at least
one form):
(i) They will be unrelated in meaning;
(ii) All their forms will be identical;
(iii) The identical forms will be grammatically equivalent.
Absolute homonymy is common enough: ‘bank’-1, ‘bank’-2; ‘sole’-1
(“bottom of foot or shoe”), ‘sole’-2 (“kind of fish”); etc. but there are also many
37Muhammad Farkhan (2006), op.cit. p. 111.
26
different kinds of what I will call partial homonymy: i.e., cases where (a) there is
identity of (minimally) one form and (b) one or two, but not all three, of the above
conditions are satisfied. For example, the verbs ‘find’ and ‘found’ share the form
found, but not finds, finding, or found, finding, etc.; and found as a form of ‘find’
is not grammatically equivalent to found equivalent to found as a form of ‘found’.
In this case, as generally in English, the failure to satisfy (ii) correlates with the
failure to satisfy (iii).38
38John Lyons (1995), op.cit. p. 55.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH FINDINGS
A. DATA DESCRIPTION
This chapter is going to elaborate the analysis of two texts of The Jakarta
Post’s articles in its magazine with applying the diction analysis to semantics
studying word meanings and lexical relations. Moreover, these are the analysis of
the paragraphs of the texts. So, the analysis of data will find the diction which is
not appropriate in the paragraphs and the writer will suggest or change the words
that have been written with the appropriate ones. Then, the analysis will show
some paragraphs representing the texts and the writer will consider the context of
the sentences in the paragraphs according to the diction which needs to the
appropriateness dealing with word meanings and lexical relations by looking up
Advanced Learners’ Oxford Dictionary. In The dictionary is used to give
explanations of the words so that the words are appropriate or not to choose to
make the texts. Besides, the dictionary is pretty complete to know the meanings of
words in detail.
Therefore, by having known the exact meanings from the dictionary the
data can be acquired to analyze the word meanings and lexical relations which
require the dictionary as the source of knowledge of language. In addition, the
data will include definitions of words as consideration to run the analysis.
Anyway, the data that will be analyzed as the following table:
27
28
TABLE 1
Data of Diction Analysis
No. Text Paragraph Word meanings Lexical relations
1.
2.
The Indian Husband
Search
A Marriage Made in
SkypeTM
a. 2
b. 3
c. 5
d. 6
e. 12
f. 15
a. 3
b. 9
c. 11
• Connotation
(Jack-in-the-box)
• Denotation
(ambitious)
• Connotation
(a hot potato)
• Synonymy
(trajectory)
• Meronymy
(the brokers)
• Synonymy
(counterparts)
• Homonymy
(a platform)
• Synonymy
(turbo)
• Synonymy
(fraudulent)
29
1. THE INDIAN HUSBAND SEARCH
a. Paragraph 2
There was a time when relationships were sacred, such questions
reserved solely for the best friend or the therapist. Nowadays, they pop
up everywhere with a persistence that beats a Jack-in-the-box.
• Connotation (a Jack-in-the-box)
In the paragraph the words ‘a Jack-in-the-box’ are connotative. However,
they are hard to understand. The paragraph uses them inappropriately because
readers who will read this paragraph are going to be ambiguous to interpret.
Moreover, if the readers define them literally so the words will have a meaning
which is in a box there is Jack. Therefore, they need to be searched by looking at
the context. The evidence shows that the meaning actually is referred to a game.
In the dictionary of Oxford’s advance learners, the definitions of jack are diverse:
1. a device for raising heavy objects off the ground, especially motor vehicles so
that a wheel can be changed, 2. an electronic connection between two pieces of
electrical equipment, 3. (in a pack / deck of cards) a card with a picture of a
young man on it, worth more than a ten and less than a queen, 4. (in the game of
bowls) a small white ball towards which players roll larger balls, 5. a children’s
game in which players bounce a small ball and pick up small metal objects. By
looking up the dictionary, the fifth definition can be taken to elaborate that Jack is
a kind of games. Therefore, the connotation of a Jack-in-the-box should be
changed with ‘a Jack game’. By choosing that connotation, the paragraph will
understand in ease.
30
b. Paragraph 3
Since moving to Indonesia, my romantic trajectory has been
prodded open and analyzed by my hairdresser, domestic helper, random
bartenders and, day after day, by Western-minded colleagues. Even
Facebook posed the question but fortunately for me, the "Through a
Relative" option nipped it in the bud.
• Synonymy (trajectory)
By looking up at the dictionary, ‘trajectory’ is the curve path of something
that has been fired, hit into the air. Therefore, use of the word ‘trajectory’ in the
paragraph is not appropriate according to its definition. Moreover, the paragraph
actually needs a word which is appropriate in the context. By picking up the word
‘journey’, so it is going to exact to understand by considering the meaning of
‘journey’. In addition, if ‘journey’ accompanies the word romantic the paragraph
will use the appropriate words.
c. Paragraph 5
The very definition of an arranged marriage is ambiguous, let alone
its place in society as a boon or a bane. In my culture, we understand it as
a version of speed dating except the brokers are your chachis and mamis
and the goal is not a mere boyfriend but rather matrimonial harmony for
you, your spouse and both your families.
• Meronymy (the brokers)
From the definition of dictionary, ‘the broker’ is a person who buys and
sells things, for example, shares in a business, for other people. Therefore, ‘the
31
brokers’ in the paragraph is not appropriate. In the context of paragraph, it is not
talking about theme of selling and buying and ‘the brokers’ is part of selling and
buying or selling and buying are ‘the brokers’. Thus, this problem is related to the
meronymy. On the other hand, the context is actually talking about relationship
and love. If the word ‘brokers’ is changed with another word related to love or
relationship so it will give the context correctly. Therefore, ‘the agents’ is
appropriate in the paragraph because it is part of relationship. By defining the
word in the dictionary, ‘agent’ is 1. a person whose job is to act for, or manage
the affairs of, other people in business, politics, etc, 2. a person whose job is to
find work for an actor, musician, etc. or to find somebody who will publish a
writer’s work, 3. = secret agent: an enemy agent, 4. (written) a person or thing
that has an important effect or situation, 5. (technical) a chemical or substance
that produces an effect or a change or is used for a particular purpose. From the
recent definitions, the fourth definition is used to describe the word needed in the
context of paragraph. In addition, the word ‘the agents’ is appropriate because
meronymy has formula that shows the word is a part of relationship affair or
relationship affair is a part of ‘the agents’.
d. Paragraph 6
So how does a well-educated, ambitious girl of today find herself in
such a position?
• Denotation (ambitious)
The word ‘ambitious’ is denotative word. It is the literal meaning that is
defined as an adjective – needing a lot of effort, money or time to succeed. The
32
paragraph actually needs connotative words like ‘well-educated’ already written
in the paragraph. Moreover, the sentence show that there is a message conveyed to
readers by emotive association. It’s because the words in the paragraph have a
question mark and it is appropriate to put another word accompanying well-
educated. Therefore, the word ‘ambitious’ should be changed to the connotative
words, namely, ‘hard-working’. This word will make the paragraph more emotive
because the word can bring readers emotively by emphasis of the question mark.
Besides, the word ‘smart’ and ‘ambitious’ are used in paragraph 13 and they are
appropriate because of literal meanings in the words there and also because there
is no any word building and aiding the paragraph to be emotive.
e. Paragraph 12
That was lesson number 1 and something most non-Indians fail to
grasp. Arranged marriages, like their romantic counterparts, are not
predefined mergers but a search. They may operate at a faster pace and
with criteria that are based more on culture than on romance, but rejection
plays a similar role. In modern India, you have the right to say no for
whatever reason you think fit and my first attempt threw one right in my
direction.
• Synonymy (counterparts)
The word ‘counterparts’ is chosen in the paragraph to make the
inappropriate word indeed. It is because when it is looked up from the dictionary,
so it will define as a person or thing that has the same position or function as
somebody/something else in a different place or situation. Thus, ‘counterpart’
33
should be changed with another word. In this context of paragraph, the word
‘partners’ is appropriate because there is a word ‘romantic’ that is put before the
word ‘counterparts’ and the appropriate word accompanying ‘romantic’ should be
‘partners’. Meanwhile, the word ‘counterparts’ is actually used to give another
choice of words related to synonymy of the word ‘partners’. Moreover, if the
word ‘counterparts’ and ‘partners’ are defined so it will be the different meaning.
It is because the word ‘partner’ is 1. the person that you are married to or having
a sexual relation with. 2. One of the people who own a business and shares the
profits, etc. 3. A person that you are doing an activity with, such as dancing or
playing game. 4. A country or an organization that has an agreement with
another country.
f. Paragraph 15
Arranged marriages give you a platform to cut through the crap. If
I chose the path to avoid more heartache, I might as well avoid financial
difficulty and health problems along the way. While some things are
unpredictable, love can sometimes be blind what is right in front of your
eyes.
• Homonymy (a platform)
In the study of the lexical relation of homonymy, the word ‘a platform’ is
included to the type of lexical relations of homonymy. Therefore, the word is
actually has some meanings literally. In the dictionary the word is defined to some
meanings as 1. AT TRAIN STATION: the raised flat area beside the track at a
train station where you get on or of the, 2. FOR PERFORMERS: a flat surface
34
raised above the level of the ground or floor, used by public speakers or
performers so that the audience can see them, 3. FOR EQUIPMENT: a raised
level surface for example one that equipment stands on or is operated from, 4.
POLITICS/OPONIONS: the aims of political party and the things that they say
they will do if they are elected to power, 5. an opportunity or a place for
somebody to express their opinions publicly or make progress in a particular
area, 6. COMPUTING: the type of computer system or the software that is used,
7. SHOES: a high thick sole of a shoe, 8. ON BUS: the open part at the back of
DOUBLE DECKER bus where you get on or off. With the diverse meanings of the
word ‘platform’, so the paragraph should be careful to use in the context.
However, the context is talking about the meaning of the fifth definition. But, it
will make readers ambiguous to understand the word. It is because of the word is
not familiar to define as the fifth meaning. That’s why; the chosen word should be
the word ‘an opportunity’ in order not to make the readers confused.
2. A Marriage Made In SkypeTM
a. Paragraph 3
My husband and I thought distance would become secondary
thanks to the communication options available to us. Seeing and talking
with each other every day would not be a problem - we would not even
feel the distance between us. So we thought. Little did we know, though,
that technology has altered the way we interact. Throw in complicating
factors such as the 11-hour time difference, our individual schedules and
35
the DSL bandwidth differential - mine was turbo fast and his was not-so
fast - and you get conversations peppered with audio and visual delays that
were frustrating and infuriating.
• Synonymy (turbo)
In this inappropriate word, ‘turbo’ is written in the paragraph as the word
which is not synonymous to the word intended to give another word having the
similar meaning with ‘turbo’. However, from the dictionary the word ‘turbo’ is
always prefix of words like in the dictionary there are turbo-charger and turbo-jet.
Meanwhile, the word ‘turbo’ in the paragraph is actually used to give the
adverbial to the word ‘fast’. Moreover, ‘turbo’ is intended to have another choice
of the synonym of the word ‘very’. Nevertheless, the word ‘turbo’ is actually not
correct to be the adverbial because it is grammatically a prefix. Therefore, the
paragraph needs the word ‘very’ as the adverbial of ‘fast’. In addition, this
problem should be concerned by everyone who wants to apply another word
assumed as the synonymous word.
b. Paragraph 9
About a week ago when I was traveling, however, skype failed me.
My computer-to-cell phone call dropped out after about an hour of talking.
After two days of relentlessly communicating solely by email, I finally
discovered that skype had blocked my account because of suspicions of
fraudulent activities - because I was not at my usual place of residence.
36
• Synonymy (fraudulent)
The word ‘fraudulent’ is analyzed as the problem of using the word choice
of synonym because the paragraph uses the word to have another word from
choosing one word which is ‘unfair’. It is based on the context of paragraph, so
basically the word is intended to pick up another word that is very close with the
meaning of the word ‘unfair’. However, the dictionary gives the explanation that
the word ‘unfair’ is not able to be changed with ‘fraudulent’. It is because
‘fraudulent’ defined as adjective word: intended to deceive somebody, usually in
order to make money illegally. Thus, the context of paragraph the word needs the
word ‘unfair’ rather than ‘fraudulent’ indeed. In addition, the context actually tells
about the activities which is not fair but the activities are done not be intended to
deceive somebody, usually in order to make money illegally. The activities are
just intended to deceive somebody indeed.
c. Paragraph 11
My earlier dropped call was to my sister in Indonesia and though it
is no less important, I am holding out hope that once back in the US my
skype access will return to normal and I will be able to pick up where I left
off with her. If my account had been blocked while I was still in the States
and apart from my family, I would have probably dropped skype like a hot
potato and turned to any of the other voice and video call applications out
there. After all, my marriage once relied on it. Perhaps given time and my
new place of residence, my sanity might rely on skype even more.
37
• Connotation (a hot potato)
The underlined word in this paragraph is about connotation. The paragraph
actually uses ‘a hot potato’ not literally. It is able to know by grasping the context
which uses ‘a hot potato’ with a different meaning literally. The different
meaning, therefore, covers the meaning that tells readers to understand the literal
words like ‘an unuseful thing’. Anyway, it can be understood well if the readers
know the context more deeply. On the other hand, the connotation actually brings
associations that a word may have for a speaker or a community of speakers.
Besides, the community who is Indonesian having the associations is not familiar
to use such a connotation. Therefore, the word ‘an unuseful thing’ should change
‘a hot potato’.
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions
From the data that the writer analyzes according to the research questions
mentioned in chapter I, the conclusions can be arranged. There are two questions
that the writer will answer. The two questions are based on the analysis the writer
has done. Besides, the answers are going to explain the conclusions.
Firstly, the analysis finds some words that are used in the texts have the
problems with the diction. The words are applied in the texts without considering
the appropriateness of word meanings and lexical relations. Thus, the diction must
be careful to be in the texts. If the choice of words is not appropriate, so the words
will be defined differently. By knowing word meanings and lexical relations well,
the texts can be easy to understand and will convey the same ideas to readers with
the words.
Secondly, the writer can conclude that the types of lexical relations used to
build the texts are synonymy, meronymy, and homonymy. It is because the
diction analysis that the writer apply find the three lexical relations as the
problems. Basically, the types of lexical relations are diverse and should be
appropriate to use. Moreover, in the texts the writer finds some words which are
used without appropriateness at all indeed.
39
B. Suggestions
After analyzing the data, the writer has the suggestions to anyone that
wants to make the same analysis with the writer:
1. Applying other studies of semantics;
2. Using other dictionaries;
3. Searching more books as the references.
By considering the suggestions, the next researchers will improve the
writer’s analysis. Moreover, the writer hopes that the next researchers can apply
many theories to do the analysis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cann, Ronnie. Formal Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Cruse, D.A. Lexical Sematics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Farkhan, Muhammad. An Introduction to Linguistics. Jakarta: UIN Jakarta Press, 2006.
_______. Penulisan Karya Ilmiah. Jakarta: Cella, 2006.
Halliday, M. A. K., et al. Lexicology and Corpus Linguistics: an Introduction. London: Continuum, 2004.
Hornby, A.S. Advanced Learners’ Oxford Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Hurford, James R. and Brendan Heasley. Semantics: a Course Book. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1983. Jackson, Howard. Lexicography: an Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Keraf, Gorys. Diksi dan Gaya Bahasa. Jakarta: PT Gramedia, 1984.
King, David and Thomas Crerar. A Choice of Words (Tronoto: Oxford University Press, 1969.
Lyons, John. Linguistic Semantics: an Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1995. Saeed, John I. Semantics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997.Singleton, David.
Singleton, David. Language and The Lexicon: an Introduction. London: Arnold, 2000.
40
41
Website
http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/terms/denotation.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diction/Semantics/Homonymy
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/lexical-relations-hyponymy-and-homonymy.html
http://www.speakingwriting.com/Articles/Diction.html
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/meronymy
APPENDICES
The Indian Husband Search WEEKENDER | Mon, 08/31/2009 6:38 PM |
And there it goes again. That dreadful question: “So how did you meet your partner?” There was a time when relationships were sacred, such questions reserved solely for the best friend or the therapist. Nowadays, they pop up everywhere with a persistence that beats a Jack-in-the-box. Since moving to Indonesia, my romantic trajectory has been prodded open and analyzed by my hairdresser, domestic helper, random bartenders and, day after day, by Western-minded colleagues. Even Facebook posed the question but fortunately for me, the “Through a Relative” option nipped it in the bud. I don’t resile from answering the question, but the same questions always follow when I reveal that my love story began not by running around trees as in most Bollywood films, but through an arranged marriage, which is still a reality for many South Asian women. Mine was not coerced through parental or social pressure but rather was an option that loomed when I turned 28 and found myself lonely and jaded and ready for something more. The very definition of an arranged marriage is ambiguous, let alone its place in society as a boon or a bane. In my culture, we understand it as a version of speed dating except the brokers are your chachis and mamis and the goal is not a mere boyfriend but rather matrimonial harmony for you, your spouse and both your families. So how does a well-educated, ambitious girl of today find herself in such a position? After years of studying and working in the US, the only men I seemed to meet were either (a) not Indian or (b) commitment-phobes. The former would be a direct blow to my family because while romantic love conquers everything, winning over mummyji and daddyji is a whole different ball game. The latter group of men were just not where I was in life. I wanted babies, a home and for my parents to see me settled; I wanted the next chapter. And so upon my next visit home, I revealed my innermost desires to my extended
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family and there began the search for the perfect husband. One aunty suggested www.shaddi.com, a matrimonial site that seeks to match a partner with your biographical profile. After I had to clarify my eye and skin color on page 2, however, resignation set in. Another aunty set up coffee with the son of a friend’s friend for the very next day. It was to take place in a coffee shop nearby chaperoned by our mothers. On paper, Mr. X sounded wonderful – a character straight out of a Bronte/Hornby hybrid novel. After a sleepless night of prepping physically and mentally, I was convinced I was meeting the love of my life. An hour later, my mother and I were stood up. Turns out I am manglik, which the Vedic horoscope chart defines as a troublesome spouse – temperamental, inflexible and every Hindu household’s worst nightmare. And they had not even met me yet. That was lesson number 1 and something most non-Indians fail to grasp. Arranged marriages, like their romantic counterparts, are not predefined mergers but a search. They may operate at a faster pace and with criteria that are based more on culture than on romance, but rejection plays a similar role. In modern India, you have the right to say no for whatever reason you think fit and my first attempt threw one right in my direction. My next try was a distant cousin’s business partner and we were meeting at a bar. Anyone who saw the logic in talking about marriage with a stranger over alcohol seemed brilliant to me, and brilliant he was. Smart, ambitious, with good hair too and he knew a great martini. After five hours of great conversation I went home to deliver my verdict. I was Yes. My parents voted No. Mr. Y had type 1 diabetes, was already getting injections, and while doing relatively well financially, his outstanding loans were substantial. I did not see the validity in rejecting someone for his credit rating or medical condition. This was my life, not a business agreement, I argued. But here was lesson number 2, as explained by my mother. Arranged marriages give you a platform to cut through the crap. If I chose the path to avoid more heartache, I might as well avoid financial difficulty and health problems along the way. While some things are unpredictable, love can sometimes be blind what is right in front of your eyes. Looking back, I can now vouch for her logic because an arranged marriage is really about being smart more than anything else. It is about looking for a relationship that can sustain you through the future and I know many such marriages that outlast ones that had the Romeo and Juliet beginnings.
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Third time lucky was not so lucky. Upon learning that I should be discerning, I went from Mr. Z to Mr. A and so on and so forth. Each one was too short, too fat, too conservative or too immature and the fault findings went on. I received many rejections for my part as well, some being fairly surprising. I met the man I actually married through my mother. She had met him at a wedding overseas, passed on my personal email address and encouraged him to get in touch. We only met twice face to face before we got engaged. Did I know he was the one? Not really. All I knew was that he was upfront about a lot of things, he made me laugh and I felt comfortable. Could he have been a wife beater? Maybe, but I had an army of relatives that had cross-checked his every move. Could the like never blossom to love? Perhaps, but something told me he would be responsible and caring regardless. Could I live without love? I already knew my take on the subject was adjustable. But more importantly, could I leave him if I was miserable? For while divorce may still be taboo in our society, if you are unhappy the Indian parent will do everything they can to right the wrong, especially if it was theirs. And as someone who has now been happily married for a few years, I stand by my choice. Because I now know that after the first child, after going through a parent’s death, after a miscarriage, love changes and people change – it’s the other things that hold strong. Arranged marriages are a practical take on something as impractical as relationships. That is why while I may dread the question, I often feel the need to justify my choices.
+ Deepti Sharma
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A Marriage Made in Skype WEEKENDER | Wed, 09/09/2009 4:30 PM |
The wonders of technology never cease to amaze me, from the capabilities of smart phones, mobile global positioning systems (GPS) and search engines to the myriad applications for computers and the Internet. The numerous variants of real-time online chatting, voice and webcam calls are such examples, and when my husband and I moved into a long-distance relationship, little did we know that we would be entering a new phase in our marriage – one defined by Skype. Well, almost. Skype is a real-time chat, voice and webcam call application that we use to keep in touch despite the 12,200 plus kilometers between us. Only advanced technology could have helped our marriage to survive the ups and downs of managing a long-distance relationship and raising three children. Gone are the days of writing letters by hand, posting them and waiting in anticipation for the replies. For me, I am too impatient to handwrite a letter without typos or rewrites and when I do finish a letter, it usually ends up sitting inside an envelope that I never remember to post. For my husband, writing a legible letter is tough and sending via an archaic postal system is even more challenging. The more contemporary email also takes a backseat to the faster, nay instantaneous, video chat. My husband and I thought distance would become secondary thanks to the communication options available to us. Seeing and talking with each other every day would not be a problem – We would not even feel the distance between us. So we thought. Little did we know, though, that technology has altered the way we interact. Throw in complicating factors such as the 11-hour time difference, our individual schedules and the DSL bandwidth differential – mine was turbo fast and his was not-so fast – and you get conversations peppered with audio and visual delays that were frustrating and infuriating. Especially when I wanted desperately to vent or when I had a thought I wanted to brainstorm with him. Timing, or serious lack of it, affected our communication. When connections were bad, our sentences became clipped and to-the-point. Often this would spill over during the times when we did actually get to see each other. Living halfway across the globe from each other meant that when I was awake, he was half asleep. When he was chirpy and alert, I would be struggling to keep my eyes open. Occasionally, one of us would end up asleep in front of the webcam. So desperate were we to reconnect at the end and the beginning of our days that words were overridden by visual placation. While I was half asleep, the sight of seeing my kids eating breakfast online was enough to make the day’s angst go
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away, but at the end of an especially full day, anything we wanted to express to each other would frequently drain away right along with our energy. So we found our communication groove to sit within a defined and finite window of time, learning that even five minutes of headlines and updates serves its purpose when we are both in the same alert state of mind. Having skype available created a brave new world, far from ordinary phone calls. We ended up rarely using our phones to speak with each other, because skype is free and because international calling rates offered by phone service providers are expensive from both ends. The biannual get-together during the summers and winters, however, does little to iron out the new behaviors formed during the long-distance marriage. Perhaps without skype it would be a lot worse. Usually, it takes a few weeks for everyone to adjust to having a full house again, where both parents are present in the household and where each spouse confers with the other in most decision-making. When we are not together, skype is always there sitting in our computers waiting for a video call to be made and it is always there as a constant reminder that the other is just a click away. Although we live continents apart, we feel each other’s presence by proxy. About a week ago when I was traveling, however, skype failed me. My computer-to-cell phone call dropped out after about an hour of talking. After two days of relentlessly communicating solely by email, I finally discovered that skype had blocked my account because of suspicions of fraudulent activities – because I was not at my usual place of residence. I was at that time with my husband and children, helping them get ready for another major relocation: back to the U. S. of A. After four frustrating years apart, we would be together again as one family unit. No more depending on skype. I am ecstatic about this latest development despite the enormous fear of moving to a small town, close to nowhere, and with only about 27,000 – predominantly white – people. That is just over a third of the total inhabitants of Central Jakarta and not a single mall in sight. Thinking about it, I might still need skype to talk with my friends. My earlier dropped call was to my sister in Indonesia and though it is no less important, I am holding out hope that once back in the US my skype access will return to normal and I will be able to pick up where I left off with her. If my account had been blocked while I was still in the States and apart from my family, I would have probably dropped skype like a hot potato and turned to any of the other voice and video call applications out there. After all, my marriage once relied on it. Perhaps given time and my new place of residence, my sanity might rely on skype even more! + Indira Pintak