CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Language plays an important role in human communication. Without

language, we cannot communicate each other. Wardhaugh (1972:3) states that
language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.
The main function of language is as a tool of communication. Language can be
used to express someone‘s feelings or emotion and expressing their ideas, their
thoughts and their imaginations, that can be speaking or writting. Spoken
language can be found in the song, speech, and conversation. While, written
language can be found in the novel, newspaper, poem, and magazine.

In linguistics, the study about meaning is called semantics.

Semantics is one of linguistics branches, which explains about language
meaning, or it can be said that meaning the most important thing in studying
semantics term. According to what has long been the most widely accepted
theory of semantics, meanings studies about ideas or concepts, that can be
transferred from the mind of the speaker to the mind of the hearer by embodying
them, as it were, in the form of one language or another. (Lyons, 1984,p.136).

A part of semantic studies is literal and non-literal meaning. Figurative

language is language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is
different from the literal meaning. Figurative language can be used in any form of
communication, such as in daily conversation rarely, songs, articles in newspaper,
advertisements, novels, poems, etc. Figurative language uses some words that go
beyond their ordinary meaning. It requires the readers to use his/ her imagination
to figure out the author's meaning. It makes figurative meaning is difficult to
understand because we cannot find the meaning of the figurative language in
dictionary just like the other vocabulary words that we usually use in our daily
conversation. To know about the meaning of figurative language we need to use
our imagination to imagine what the words are said or what the words refer to.

As far as we know, song is a part of literature. Sometimes, people find

difficulties to understand what composer means in a song, because what

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conventionally says is not always the same as what he intends to express. A
composer usually put the meaning implicitly. In the attempt to understand the
meaning of what composer means in the song, a further knowledge is needed. The
song usually consists of figurative language. The figurative language is kind of
language that the speaker says less than what he means. Figurative language is
commonly applied in literary works. One of the literary works is song. Hatch
(1995) states that, traditionally, figurative language has been described in terms of
categories: simile, metaphor, allusion, personification, and so forth.

This study focused on figurative languages which are used mainly in the
song lyric of Ebiet G Ade’s songs. In this study, the researcher take three sample
of Ebiet G Ade songs, they are entitled “Berita Kepada Kawan”, “Isyu”, and
“Menjaring Matahari”. These song are the familiar song of Indonesian people
especially in era years of 1990. These songs are famous by it’s lyric that full of
figurative language. Until now, the song of Ebiet G Ade still popular in Indonesia
people society because the liryc of the songs are have a really depper meaning for
life.

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 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. Figurative language

According to Larson (1984:111), states that the figurative senses cannot

regularly be translated with a literal form of the word. It means, we have to
imagine the other translation of the word. We cannot use the literal meaning of
the word and we should find another meaning. Perrine (1988:565), says
figurative language is the language cannot be taken literally (should not be taken
literally only) and say something other than ordinary way or saying one thing
and mean another. It means the figurative language is the way of saying
something other than ordinary way, or different from the original one. Because,
almost everyday people always express figurative language to interact with
another people to make special effect more understandable what is being
told.

Meanwhile, Matthews (1997:128), explains that figurative language not

intended to be interpreted in a literal sense. Appealing to the imagination,
figurative language provides new ways of looking at the world. It means we
should find a new meaning of the word that exists in figurative sentence. The
meaning of the word or phrase in the figurative sentence does not exist in the
sentence. It always makes us think about a comparison between different things.

Figurative language is using figures of speech to be more effective,

persuasive and impactful. Figures of speech, such as metaphors, similes, allusions
go beyond the literal meanings of the words to give the readers new insights. On
the other hand, alliterations, imageries, or onomatopoeias are figurative devices
that appeal to the senses of the readers. Figurative language can appear in multiple
forms with the use of different literary and rhetorical devices. According to
Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia, figurative language has five different forms:
understatementor emphasis, relationship or resemblance, figures of sound, errors
and verbal games.

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 Figures of speech are imaginative tools in both literature and ordinary
communications used for explaining speech beyond its usual usage. The Collins
English Dictionary (2006) in Elaheh (2010:19) defines figure of speech as "an
expression such as a simile, in which words do not have their literal meaning, but
are categorized as multi-word expressions that act in the text as units" (Alhasnawi,
2007: 3).

Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that the figurative

senses cannot regularly be translated with a literal form of the word. It means,
we have to imagine the other translation of the word. We cannot use the literal
meaning of the word and we should find another meaning. In addition Figurative
language is using figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive and
impactful

2. Song

Song is one of the familiar literatures in the listener's ear. According to

Jamalus(1988:5) reveals that songs can be described as art works in singing to
musical instruments accompaniment. In addition, Hornby USA (1995) can be
defined song as a short rhyme or set of verses in music and aimed to be sung.
Based on the above explanation, it can be concluded that the song is one of the
literature in the form of poem which is showed by sung and accompanied by
musical instruments.

3. Lyric

According to Dallin (Firdaus, 2013) “Lyrics are printed as a form of

communication between the author and the readers”. Mainly of the times, they
carry a message (whatever that might be) with the purpose of inspiring the
listeners, at least, to think about it. Such a purpose and form of communication are
entrenched in the cultural context of these people, according to their musical
preference occasion, etc

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 CHAPTER III

DATA AND THE DATA ANALYSIS

1. Data

The data of this study are the Ebiet G Ade’s songs that contain the
figurative language. The data focus on types of figurative language in the songs.
In this study, the researcher take three samples of Ebiet G Ade’s songs, they are
entitled “Berita Kepada Kawan”, “Isyu”, and “Menjaring Matahari” These song
are the familiar song of Indonesian people especially in era years of 1990. These
songs are famous by it’s lyric that full of figurative language. There are 17
figurative meaning in Ebiet G Ade’s song; 8 figurative meaning in “Berita Kepada
Kawan” song, 5 figurative meaning in “Isyu” song, and 4 figurative meaning in
“Menjaring Matahari” song.

2. The Data Analysis

1. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rethoric device of figure of

speech to create s strong effect. Dennis (1996:65) stated that hyperbole is a figure
of speech that has statement containing exaggeration. With hyperbole, the notion
of the speaker is greatly exaggerated to emphasize the point. Moreover, it is used
to express strong feelings of produce strong impression, and not intend to be
understood literary.

The hyperbole that exist in the Ebiet G Ade’s songs are:

Song title Figurative language Types of figurative

language
1 Berita Kepada - Tubuhku terguncang Hyperbole
Kawan dihempas batu jalanan (My
body shaken and slammed by
street stones).
- Ditelan bencana alam ini Hyperbole

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 (Swallowed by this disaster).
2 Isyu - Melilitkan isu di leherku Hyperbole
(Wraping issues in my neck).
3 Menjaring - Roda zaman menggilas kita, Hyperbole
Matahari terseret, tertatih-tatih (The
wheel of the age is crush us,
dragged and hobbled).

- ‘My body shaken and slammed by street stones’, hyperbole helps to make
point the body was so pained of getting shaken and the slammed by street
stones. Like Dennis said it’s exaggeration, the body shaken and slammed
by thestones. Actually it means that someone who getting the continous
trouble of his journey. The trouble is represent by the street stone.
- ‘Swallowed by this disaster’ means that disaster swallow something.
Hyperbole make the point that something or someone/something really
swallowed by the disaster, but actually that is not as bad as swallowed by
disaster, it means that the death that caused by the disaster.
- ‘Wraping issues in my neck’ actually this is not something that wraping in
the neck. Wraping issues in my neck here means accused me do something
that I don’t
- ‘The wheel of the age is crush us, dragged and hobbled’ it means that the
wheel of the age is not actually crush us, dragged and hobbled. Hyperbole
here helps to make point of the age which still go on force the human to
live and adapt in.

2. Idiom

In webster’s dictionary,an idiom is defined as : a peculiar to itself either

grammatically or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined
meanings of its elements. Idiom is the language. Peculiar to a group of people and
has a special meaning of its own. In Ensiklopedi sastra Indonesia (2004:345) “
idiom adalah ungkapan yang bercorak khas digunkan dalam pemakaian bahasa,

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baik yang menyimpang dari tata bahasa maupun tidak karena mempunyai makna
yang tidak dapat dijabarkan dari makna unsur-unsurnya.”

The idiom that exist in the Ebiet G Ade’s songs are:

Song Title Figurative Language Types of

Figurative
Language
1 Berita Kepada - Hati tergetar menapak kering Idiom
Kawan rerumputan (Heart is thrilled to
tread the dry grasses).
2 Isyu - Mengibaskan suasana panas Idiom
(Flicking the hot atmosphere).
- Suara dalam jiwaku a dalah Idiom
kebenaran (The voice of my soul
is the truth).
- Aku telan yang bukan milikku (I Idiom
swallowed something that are not
mine).
- Coba buka catatan di langit, Idiom
disana kusimpan kebenaran (Just
try to open the record in the sky,
up there I keep the truth).
3 Menjaring - Hitam pekat bearak menyelimuti Idiom
Matahari matahari (Tha thick black march
covering the sun).

- Heart is thrilled to tread the dry grasses, the heart actually cannot tread
the grasses because it doesn’t walking, it just represent the felling in
through the the dry grasses which the dry grasses means the condition in
the land that crushed by the disaster.
- Flicking the hot atmosphere, means spreading the bad issues so that the
situation will full of conflict.

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 - The voice of my soul is the truth, idom make the point of my soul is voices
even actually doesn’t. The voice of my soul is the truth here means that
someone try to emphasize that he’s a good man.
- Just try to open the record in the sky, up there I keep the truth. There is no
record in the sky so that we can keep the truth there. Sentence here have a
idiom meaning. As we know, nobody lives in the sky and nobody know
everything exist there but the truth is keeping there. It means that nobody
know what the kindness and the truth someone ever did in the life, just
God who know it.
- Life is really hunted, pace with the time. This sentence is the continue of
the hyperbole sentence is ‘The wheel of the age is crush us’ . the idiom
meaning of this sentence is life must be keep giong on by the time unless
the wheel of age will crush us or the other word life will keep stay there
while the age is keep going on.
- The thick black march covering the sun. Actually there is no thick black
that covering the sun, it’s imposible in the fact and also in language
regular. The idiom here make a point of the thick black as something that
block the sun light. It can be reffered to the life that full of problem ang
can’t find way out.

3. Simile

Simile is a comparison of one thing another is always explicit because the

words “like” or “as” are used (Dennis: 1996:62-63). Macmilan (1984:187) says
simile is direct comparison between things, which are not particularly similar in
theory essence. We can find quite easily since the writer use such connectors; like,
as. Them, all address that is a comparison between things, which are not quite
similar.

The simile that exist in the Ebiet G Ade’s songs are:

Song Title Figurative Language Types of Figurative

Language

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 1 Berita Kepada - Perjalanan ini seperti Simile
Kawan jadi saksi (This trip is
like the witnes).

“This trip is like the witnes of crying of a little shepperd.” The lyrics are
included into simile because it expressed by the connector and the word “like”.
The simile meaning in this sentence compare the trip and the witness. Which is
the trip here be compared like a witness of crying of a little shepperd.

4. Personification

Kennedy (2983:487) stated that personification is the attribution of a

personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstracts notions, especially as
a rethorical figure. Personification is representation of inanimate objects or
abstract ideas as living beings, as in fact. In Merriam Webster‘s Encyclopedia of
Literature (1995: 875), personification is figure of speech in which human
characteristics are attributed to an abstract quality, or animal, or inanimate
object. Furthermore, according to Keraf (1991: 140) personifikasi adalah
semacam gaya bahasa kiasan yang menggambarkan benda-benda mati atau
barang- barang yang tidak bernyawa seolah-olah memiliki sifat-sifat
kemanusiaan”.

Here is the personification the exist in the Ebit G Ade’s songs liryc:

Song Title Figurative Language Types of Figurative

Language
1 Berita Kepada - Sesampainya di laut, Personification
Kawan kukabarkan semuanya
kepada karang kepada
ombak, kepada matahari
(Arriving to the sea, I tell
everything to the coral,
waves, and the sun).

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 - Alam mulai enggan Personification
bersahabat dengan kita
(The nature be reluctant
to friendly with us).
- Coba kita bertanya pada Personification
rumput yang bergoyang
(Let us try to ask to the
swaying grasses).

- Arriving to the sea, I tell everything to the coral, waves, and the sun. The
abstract notions here is the coral, waves and the sun. The personification
make a point they are, the abstract notions like human who can be invited
to talk.
- The nature be reluctant to friendly with us. The personification make the
point of the nature is human who can life and friendly with the other
person. The exactly meaning of this sentence is the natural disaster that
begin occur continuously so that taking the victim. So that’s why it can be
said the nature be reluctant to friendly with us.
- Let us try to ask to the swaying grasses. The inanimate object of this
personification is the grasses. It make a point that the grasses can be asked
as like human being.

5. Symbolic

Symbol is a thing that stands for something else more abstract. In Merriam
Webster‘s Encyclopedia of Literature (1995: 1085) symbolic is defined as
something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship,
association, convention, or accidental resemblance: especially, a visible sign of
something invisible. According to Kennedy (1983), symbol is sign of some kind (a
word or thing) that suggest something outside and beyond itself.

The symbolic that exist in Ebiet G Ade’s song is :

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 Song Title Figurative Language Types of Figurative
Language
1 Menjaring - Kabut, sengajakah engkau Symbolic
Matahari mewakili pikiranku (Fog,
do you really meant to
represent my mind?).

“Fog, do you really meant to represent my mind?” The symbolic here

make a point of fog as the symbol of something that unclear, gloomy, dark, or a
mess. It represent the mind of the speaker which is full of mess.

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 CHAPTER IV

THE SIGNIFICANCES OF THE FINDING

1. Ethics

Figurative language is the way of saying something other than ordinary

way, or different from the original one. It can be message, suggest, quibble, or
ethics that form explicitly or implicitly. By this finding, we get the signicance that
we learn a lot of ethics that denote in Ebiet G Ade’s song lirycs implicitly. As we
know that the ethics is about what right and wrong that being guideness in life.

2. Aesthetics

Figurative language have a aesthetics value. The significance of this

finding for aesthetics is we can learn how to make an aesthetics point by using
figurative language not only for songs, but also for poetry or traditional poetry,
story, speech, and the other art that involve the language.

3. Social

The significance of this finding for social is we can learn how to tell or
advice someone by not using hurting words. Or we can convey our willing by
denote some meaning in figurative language, in a song for example. Using the
figurative languge is softer than when we say it directly. So, it can be create the
good perception in society.

4. Cultural

The significance of this finding for the cultural is to keep the cultural
heritage in form of the paraphrases from the great-grandparents which can be
guideness behaviour in life.

5. Economi

The significance of this finding for the economi is denote the economic
condition, for example big pegs than poles

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 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

As conclusion of this paper entitled “The Analysis of Figurative Language

in Ebiet G Ade’s song” , Ebiet G Ade’s song liryc contain 17 the figurative
language. Which is 8 figurative language in “Berita Kepada Kawan” song; 2
hyperbole, 1 idiom, 1 simile,and 3 personification. 5 figurative language in “Isyu”
song; 1 hyperbole, 4 idiom, and 4 figurative language in “Menjaring Matahari”
song; 1 hyperbole, 2 idiom, 1 symbolic.

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