ISSN: 2302-920X Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud Vol 18.1 Januari 2017: 15-20

Figurative Language and Its Contextual Analysis in Mean Girls

Dewi Kim Oktavia Purwani1*, I Wayan Mulyawan2, Ni Kt. Alit Ida Setianingsih3 [123] English Department, Faculty Of Arts Udayana University 1 [[email protected]] 2[[email protected]] 3[[email protected]] *Corresponding Author

Abstrak Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis makna dari gaya bahasa yang berbahasa Inggris yang ditemukan dalam film “Mean Girls” sesuai konteks. Dalam penelitian ini tiga teori digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi jenis gaya bahasa oleh Larson (1998), Keraf (2002), dan Henry Guntur Tarigan (1986), dan satu teori konteks oleh Halliday (1985). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa konteks sangat membantu untuk memahami makna dari gaya bahasa yang digunakan. Dalam menganalisis makna dari gaya bahasa yang digunakan dalam film “Mean Girls”, gaya bahasa sarkasme adalah yang paling sering muncul. Kata kunci: gaya bahasa, konteks 1. Background Figurative language can be one of the effective ways to express oneself. It often provides a more effective means of saying what the speaker means than direct statement. “Figurative language is used in any form of communication, such as in daily conversation,

articles

in

newspaper,

advertisements,

novels,

poems,

etc”.

(Koesnoesoebroto, 1980:4). However, the meaning of figurative language cannot be interpreted literally. So the theory of context of situation was used to analyze the case as the object of this study is focusing on the meaning of figurative languages used by people in conversation. The figurative languages applied in communications were taken from the movie Mean Girls as it reflects how figurative language is used in a communication. It is a movie about girls’ friendship and their shortcomings in their high school lives. 2. Problems of the Study 1. What types of figurative language are found in the movie Mean Girls? 15

ISSN: 2302-920X Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud Vol 18.1 Januari 2017: 15-20

2. What is the meaning of the figurative language found in the movie Mean Girls based on the context of situation? 3. Aims of the Study The aims of the study are: 1. To classify what types of figurative language found in the movie Mean Girls. 2. To explain the meaning of the figurative language found in the movie Mean Girls based on the context of situation. 4. Research Methods 4.1 Data Source The data used as the object of this study were taken from the movie Mean Girls, 2004 American teen comedy movie directed by Mark Waters. The movie contains a lot of figurative language in its dialogue varied in context of situation from each of the utterance made by the cast. 4.2 Method and Technique of Collecting Data The data were collected by identifying the dialogues made by the characters in the movie and marking the time of the dialogues and the scene when the data occurring were screen-captured to be shown in the data analysis. The relevant data were noted down and then the data which had been noted were grouped and typed in bold on each type of figurative language, which was further analyzed based on the context of situation. 4.3 Method and Technique of Analyzing Data The Qualitative method was used to analyze the data. The data found were first classified using the theories based on the ideas of some linguists who have the competence in the field of figurative language by Larson (1998), Keraf (2002) and were distinguished into four major types by Henry Guntur Tarigan (1986) which were then analyzed using the theory of context of situation proposed by Halliday (1989) to find out the real meaning of the figurative language uttered by the characters in the movie. 16

ISSN: 2302-920X Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud Vol 18.1 Januari 2017: 15-20

5. Result and Discussion The data were taken from the dialogue when figurative language was used in the movie, classified into types of figurative language by Larson (1998) and Keraf (2002), and the context of the situation was analyzed using theory by Halliday (1985). 5.1 Antithesis Janis: And evil takes a human form in Regina George. The expression evil and human used by Janis is opposed but balanced in opposition which is used to emphasize the intention to describe Regina as an awful human being.  Field: Janis introduces the Plastics to Cady at the school backyard.  Tenor: Janis as speaker, and Damian and Cady as hearer.  Mode: Declarative utterance to give information to the hearer. 5.2 Metaphor Damian: She’s the queen bee. The Star. In the data above Damian compares Regina with queen bee and star because Regina is the leader and is the most dominant one in the Plastics.  Field: Damian describes what Regina George as the leader of the Plastics at the school backyard.  Tenor: Damian as speaker, and Janis and Cady as hearer.  Mode: Spoken declarative to give information to the hearer. 5.3 Simile Cady: Regina’s like the Barbie doll I never had. A Barbie doll is often valued as girls’ perfect glamorous life. Cady sees Regina’s life is perfect like Barbie’s. She has pretty face, nice body, many friends, and nice stuffs.  Field: Cady describes what she thinks of Regina at the school field when Regina picks her up on her way back home.  Tenor: Cady  Mode: Spoken declarative to express the speaker’s opinion on Regina George 17

ISSN: 2302-920X Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud Vol 18.1 Januari 2017: 15-20

5.4 Hyperbole Coach Carr: Don’t have sex. Because you will get pregnant and die. The data above can be considered a hyperbole because there is an exaggeration used by Coach Carr. He does not really mean that sex causes death, but he emphasizes the message not to have free sex in high school age and/or before marriage because it is not a right thing to do.  Field: Coach Carr explains about the danger of sex before marriage in health class at the gymnasium.  Tenor: Coach Carr as speaker, the class as hearer.  Mode: Spoken imperative to make the hearer do something. 5.5 Irony Regina: Oh, my God! I love your skirt. Where did you get it? The data above is an irony because later on, when the girl walked away, Regina said to Cady that it was the ugliest skirt she had ever seen.  Field: Regina commenting on Lea’s skirt at the school hallway.  Tenor: Regina as speaker, Lea and Cady as hearer.  Mode: Spoken declarative to express the speaker’s thought about something 5.6 Paradox Cady: Then there was Ms. Norbury, who was living proof that no good deed goes unpunished. Ms. Norbury is said to be the living proof of the proverb because even though she was being a really good teacher to the school and her students, she is still unappreciated and her students do not respect her.  Field: Cady describes what she thinks of Ms. Norbury in Math class after the ‘drug’ incident.  Tenor: Cady.  Mode: Spoken declarative to express the speaker’s opinion on Ms.Norbury experience after the ‘drug’ incident.

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ISSN: 2302-920X Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud Vol 18.1 Januari 2017: 15-20

5.7 Sarcasm Ms. Norbury: Oh, hi. Did you wanna buy some drugs? The data above can be considered sarcasm because Ms. Norbury was sarcastic towards Cady, because they both knew that Cady was the one who made up rumor about her selling drugs at the school.  Field: Ms. Norbury being sarcastic towards Cady in her Math class.  Tenor: Ms. Norbury as the speaker, Cady as the hearer.  Mode: Interrogative utterance used to sneer at Cady who made up rumour about her. 5.8 Euphemism Jason: Is your muffin buttered?//Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin? The expression is actually meant by Jason to ask Cady (jokingly) whether she wanted to have sex with him or no.  Field: Jason teasing Cady at the school cafeteria.  Tenor: Jason as the speaker and Cady as the hearer.  Mode: Interrogative utterance by speaker picking on Cady as a new student. 5.9 Metonymy Cady: Somehow, the word had gotten out about my small get-together. The word the word stands for the plan Cady, Gretchen, and Karen to throw a small get-together. The word represents Cady and the rest of the girl’s plan, which leaked out and made it a home party.  Field: Cady wonders why a lot of people come to her small get-together at her house.  Tenor: Cady.  Mode: Spoken declarative is used to express the confusion on her disclosed plan .with the girls

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ISSN: 2302-920X Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud Vol 18.1 Januari 2017: 15-20

5.10 Synecdoche Coach Carr: OK, everybody takes some rubbers. Rubbers meant by Coach Carr were condoms. He was distributing condoms to his students in the Health Class and referring condoms as rubbers because condoms are made of rubber.  Field: Coach Carr told the students at Health Class to take some condoms to promote safe sex.  Tenor: Coach Carr and the students present at Health Class.  Mode: Spoken imperative is used to make hearers do something. 6. Conclusion There are 30 figurative languages found in total from 10 different types of figurative language, they are antithesis, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, irony, paradox, sarcasm, euphemism, metonymy, and synecdoche. In this movie, figurative languages are used to express feelings and how and what characters of the movie intended to express which cannot be expressed literally more accurately, which the meaning can be understood more by finding out the context of situation of the dialogue. The context of situation helps a lot understand the actual meaning of the figurative language used in the movie. 7. Bibliography Halliday, M.A.K. and Ruqaiya Hasan. 1989. Language, Context, and Text: Aspect of Language in a Social-Semiotic Perspective. Victoria: Deakin University.Hockenbury, Hockenbury. 2010. “Discovering Psychology: Fifth Edition”. New York: Worth Publishers. Keltner, Dacher; Ekman, Paul. 2003. Introduction: Expression of Emotion. “Handbook of Affective Science”. New York: Oxford University Press. Keraf, Gorys. 2002. Diksi dan Gaya Bahasa. Bandung: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. Tarigan, Henry Guntur. 2009. Pengajaran Gaya Bahasa. Bandung: Angkasa.

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