FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Efadyah Purnamasari/ 0811202190

A. Introduction
Figurative language is a way of saying something other than the literal
meaning of the word. In other word any language that goes beyond the literal
meaning of word in other to furnish new effects or fresh insight into an idea or
subject.
According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1987: 379)
states that figurative speech or figurative language is an example of the figurative
use of word. Same definitions are given by Oxford Advanced Learners
Dictionary (2005: 443) that is a word or phrase used for vivid or dramatic effects.
According Keraf (1994: 113) Gaya bahasa atau style adalah cara
mengungkap pikiran melalui bahasa secara khas yang memperlihatkan jiwa dan
kepribadian penulis atau pemakai bahasa.
In this case, figurative meaning is used to make a usual and not interest
statement become more interesting. There are many kinds of figurative meaning,
such as: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbol, etc. for each
figurative meaning has its own characteristic.
Keraf (1994: 192) states that language style that is based on direct and
indirect meaning is often called figure of speech. Figure of speech in this can
means

figurative

meaning.

Figurative

meaning

can

make

peoples

communication fresh, lively, and interesting. Figurative meaning has been used
by people to communicative variously.
A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetorical figure of device, or
elocution, is a word or phrases that depart from straight for word literal language.

Figure of speech are often used and created for emphasis, freshness and
expression, or clarity. How ever clarity may also suffer from this use.
The figurative meaning is also the idiomatic meaning. Therefore, an
idiom expresses the figurative meaning of a word or phrase.
So, figurative is supposed as a way in saying one thing and meaning
another. It is usually applied by many writers in creating literary works such as
poetry and novel. Many writers create figurative language personally and
creatively. Their style is influenced not only by their culture but also their
background of experiences of so forth. Certainly, the writers skill to create
attractive and dept meaning of combinational word are needed to attract their
readers intention.
B. Discussion
Figure of speech has been classified into a number of different categories.
Most of figure originated out of centuries of philological commentary on ancient
texts, and so most are named from Gree and Latin, as the originally were meant
to classify grammatical peculiarities of those languages.
According to Merriam-Websters Encyclopedia of Literature (1995: 415)
figure language or figure speech can be classified in five major categories, they
are:
1. Figures of resemblance on relationship (e.g., simile, metaphor,
kenning, conceit, parallelism, personification, metonymy, synecdoche
and euphemism).
2. Figures of emphasis or understatement (e.g., hyperbole, litotes,
rhetoric, question, antithesis, climax, bathos, paradox, oxymoron and
irony).
3. Figures of sound (e.g., alliteration, repetition, anaphora, and
onomatopoeia).

4. Verbal games and gymnastics (e.g., pun and anagram).

5. Errors (e.g., malapropism, periphrasis, and spoonerism).
Basically, according to Keraf (1991) in Bahasa Indonesia figurative
language or majas is divided into four major categories, they are:
1. Majas Perbandingan for example, personification,

metaphor,

euphemism, allegory, hyperbole, litotes, etc.

2. Majas Sindiran for example, irony, sarcasm, etc.
3. Majas Penegasaan for example, pleonasm, repetition, parallelism,
tautology, climax, rhetoric, anticlimax, etc.
4. Majas Pertentangan for example, antithesis, paradox, okupasi, etc.
This figurative language would be explained which related to this study
and those are used in analyzing the findings. The sixteen types of figurative
language are presented below:
1.
Alliteration
Alliteration is repeated consonant sound occurring at the beginning of
the word or within words. Alliteration is used to create melody,
establish mood, call attentions to important word, and point out
similarities contras.
Example:
a. Sweet smell of success, a dime a dozen, and jump for joy.
b. Five freaky females finding sales at retail.
2.
Allegory
Allegory is a poem in the form of narrative or story that has a second
meaning beneath the surface one. According to Ensiklopedi Sastra
Indonesia (2004: 38) alegori adalah suatu unsure gaya bahasa
perbandingan yang menggunakan perlambang untuk menyatakan
kiasan.
Example:
a. After Apple-Picking: the apple harvest suggests accomplishment.
b. Kakek dan nenek itu telah bersama-sama mengarungi bahtera
pernikahan selama 50 tahun.
3.
Allusion
Allusion is a brief figurative or symbolic reference within a literary
text to a familiar or person, place, event or thing outside the text.

Allusion in used to hopes of triggering an association to portray a

meaning.
Example:
a. He was Hulk of a man (strong, take on anything).
b. Jessica is a real Cinderella (work a lot around the house, cooking,
and cleaning).
4. Hyperbole
Hyperbole is expression of exaggeration which used by a writer
depicted a being better a worse, or larger or smaller, then actually the
case.
Example:
a. Dr. Johnson drank his tea in oceans.
b. My date last night was the most beautiful girl in the world.
5. Irony
Irony is word using that say something other than what we mean
actually. Irony is one of type of figurative language that declare the
opposite meaning and contradiction with the fact.
Example:
a. In this cell we are happy, actually.
b. Wanita itu kesepian ditengah kota yang ramai.
6. Metaphor
Metaphor is use of a word or phrase denoting kind of idea or object in
place of another word or phrase of the purpose of suggestion a
likeness between the two.
Example:
a. A women is admired for her strength and beauty, she is a silken
tent.
b. The stage of love are stepping stone the death.
7. Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation
of the sound associated with it and the use of word whose sound
suggests the sense. In more simple terms, it is use of a word to
indicate sound in other words the figurative language of a sound like
the word.
Example:

a. The fire crackled and the popcorn popped.

b. Meong, dor-dor-dor, kukuruyuk.
8. Paradox
Paradox is a statement or situation containing

apparently

contradictory or incompatible elements, but on closer inspection may

be to true.
Example:
a. Men work together whether they work together or apart.
b. A well-known secret agent.
9. Personification
Personification is representation of inanimate objects or abstract ideas
as living being, as in fact. According to Keraf (1991: 140)
Personifikasi

adalah

semacam

gaya

bahasa

kiasan

yang

menggambarkan benda-benda mati atau yang tidak bernyawa seolaholah memiliki sifat-sifat kemanusiaan.
Example:
a. The tree watches him sleep.
b. Night enfolded the town in its ebon wings.
10. Simile
Simile is a figure of speech in which comparison is expressed by the
specific use of a word or phrase such as: like, as then, seems or as if.
Based on Keraf (1991: 138) state that Persamaan atau simile adalah
perbandingan yang bersifat eksplisit. Untuk itu memerlukan upaya
yang secara eksplisit menunjukkan kesamaan itu, yaitu kata-kata
seperti, sama, sebagai, bagaikan, laksana, dan sebagainya.
Example:
a. Like an old-stone savage armed.
b. We ran as if to meet the moon.
c. Matanya bagaikan bintang timur.
11. Synecdoche
Synecdoche is a figure of speech that mentions a part of something to
suggest the whole or contrary. In line with Keraf (1991: 142) state that
Sinekdoke adalah semacam bahasa figurative yang mempergunakan
sebagian dari sesuatu hal untuk menyatakan keseluruhan (pas

prototo) atau mempergunakan keseluruhan untuk mempergunakan

sebagian.
Example:
a. Have you got your wheels, man? (Wheel is used to mean a car).
b. 50 head of cattle (Head is used to mean whole animals).
Figurative meanings usually found a translator when he translated literary
texts. The use of figurative meanings include the style authors should not be
removed. Therefore, the translator must be careful in doing a translation
concerning the meanings of figurative meaning or style. Indeed there are many
styles of language, but the most frequently used is euphemism, simile and
metaphor, and personification. In addition to that figurative meaning is often
present in the expression of idiomatic.
1. Euphemism
Euphemism is the use of words to replace the words or phrase that is
considered rough or may offend. As an example is the word "die". These words
in the specific context were considered too rough. Therefore, this word can be
substituted with the word "berpulang".
Example:
- Ibunya telah mati tiga tahun yang lalu.
- Ibunya telah berpulang tiga tahun yang lalu.
- His mother passed away three years ago.
- Anak Pak Bupati gila.
- Anak Pak Bupati terganggu ingatannya.
- The regents son is mentally imbalanced.

In the above example the first sentence uses the word actually suits its
meaning, and the second sentence replace the words with other words, although
not exactly literal meaning but feels smooth.
2. Simile and Metaphor
Simile is a style of language in the form by way of comparing two things
or objects explicitly. In Indonesia simile is marked with the word "like", "good",
"like". In the United Kingdom, the simile is marked with the use of "us", "like",
"as though", and "as if".
Example:
Hes as quick as lightning

-He quickly as lightning.

-He is as fast as lightning.
-He quickly once.

From the statement and example above, it can be stated that the
characteristic of simile are:
1.

It compares something with others.

2.

It always uses the word comparison. The explicit comparison in the

example above are:
a. Thick is compared with blanket.
b. Smart is compared with crow.
c. An Old-stone is compared with armed.
d. Ran is compared with to meet the moon.
The metaphor that is an implied comparison of two things or a rhetorical

trope divined as a direct comparison between two seemingly unrelated subjects.

In metaphor, a first object is being or precisely equal to a second object. Those,

the first object can be economically described because implicit and explicit
attributes from the second object are used to enhance the description of the first.
This device is exploited in the literature and especially in poetry, where with few
words, emotions and associations from one context can powerfully be associated
with another different subject.
Example of metaphor:
1. My house is my palace. It is someone thinks about a home that is peace
and happy in there.
2. Time is money. It is to describe that we must use time for business.
From the examples above, it can be stated that the characteristics of
metaphor are: It way to compares two things directly; It always compares
two things implicitly; It comparers between two things essentially unlike.
Metaphor a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two
things essentially unlike.

3. Personification
Personification is a style of language that gives human traits to inanimate
objects and beings, including plants and nature.
Example of The Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran:
- When loved opened my eyes with its magic rays and touched my spirit for the
first with its fiery fingers.
- When love opened my eyes with his light and for the first time touched my soul
with warm hands.
4. Idiom (figuratively)

Idioms or figures of speech are the words that cannot be understood and
translated literally and usually deviate from the general rule grammatical.
Example:
-Never open the secret.
-Don't ever spill the bean.
-Michael Jackson is one of a living legend.
-Michael Jackson is one of the living legends.

C. Conclusion
Based on the analysis above, it can be concluded that the characteristics
of figurative language, especially about Metaphor and Simile are:
a. The characteristics of metaphor:
1. It always compares two things directly.
2. It always compares two things implicitly.
3. It always made comparison between two things essentially unlike.
b. The characteristics of simile:
1. It always compares something with other.
2. It has an explicit comparison.
3. It always in which a comparison is expressed by the specific use of
a word phrase such as: like, as, than, seems, appear, etc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Keraf, borys. 1994. Diksi & Gaya Bahasa, Jakarta: PT. Gramedia.
Roche, Joseph de. 1975. The Health Introduction to Poetry. Lexington,
Massacauset, Toronto, London: DC. Health and Co.
H.B. Drake. 1959. Foundation Exercise in English Book II. London, Mac Millian
& Co LTD.
http://www.google.com.pdf. Tgl 22 Mei jam 21.00 WIB.