Analysis of Idiomatic Expression in Jason Mraz Songs. Farha Dama

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1 Analysis of Idiomatic Expression in Jason Mraz Songs Farha Dama English Department Letters and Cultures Faculty Advisor I: Dr. Kartin Lihawa, M.Pd Advisor II: Titien F. Mohammad, S.Pd, M.App. Ling Abstract This study aims to find out the idiomatic expression in Jason Mraz songs and classified it. The source of the data is third album of Jason Mraz is We Sing, We Dance, We Steal. This study uses descriptive qualitative method because the data are words, phrase and sentences which are analyzed through word meaning process. To analyze the data, this research uses the process classifications by Lim (2004). The result of research shows that idioms with noun as keyword is mostly used in jason Mraz songs. The occurance are 9 out of 20 idiomatic expression. Mostly idiom are in the form of clause and sentence. Keywords: Idiomatic Expression, Jason Mraz songs. Basic Considaration Human had born with language. Human and language are two elements which never be separable. We need language for communication with everyone and everything. As an International language, English has become popular for many years before. Many people are studying English in this globalization era. In other country English has become their second language. People who are learning English should know and understand all the aspects related with the language. First is semantic. Semantic has an important role in language because semantic is a study of meaning. Meaning of semantic is a supplement of language, because if language does not have meaning makes a listener confused what we said. Meaning is divided into literal meaning and figurative meaning. Literal meaning is according to dictionary meaning and figurative meaning is the opposite of lexical meaning. Figurative meaning is lexeme usage with non-literal meaning. Figurative meaning appears from

2 figurative language. Figurative language is deviation from daily language usage (Bourque, 2010). As English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners, we should pay more attention to figurative expression. Because, in English the frequency of the expression is so high. English native speakers use that expression in their daily life. Idiom is a part of figurative language that should be faced by English learners. The important role of idiom in spoken language is determined by the frequency its usage, because most of native speakers use idioms in their daily conversation. As a student that studies English as a foreign language should pay more attention about idiom to enrich his or her ability to spoken English. An example of idiom often we hear is 'a piece of cake' means very easy. People, who do not know about this idiom, will think that it is just about a small cake. However, in idiom meaning, the world is state or explains that something is very easy. We can found idiom in many accesses like movie, magazine, talk show, song, and etc. in this research I choose songs as a subject, because songs are one of media that familiar with people. In Indonesia, English songs are popular but not many Indonesians know or understand the meaning of the song they like. It is because the authors using creative express to write the song. It is the reason why it is hard for English learners to understand the meaning of the song by translating the lyric word by word. Beside examine carefully about the definition of idiom, English learners supposed to understand the classification of idiom. Because the classification help us to know the kinds of idiom. Theoretical Bases Semantic Theories Semantic theory is a part of linguistic theory which includes the study of syntax (grammar) and phonetics (pronunciation) the study of meaning. The different grammar and pronunciation in a language may differ the meaning of that language. Therefore, other studies are involved in semantics. Katz (1973: 7) states that a semantic theory must explain why the meaning of a linguistic construction makes it a case of a certain semantic property or relation, makes it exhibit the phenomenon of synonymy, ambiguity, or redundancy, and so forth. On the other word,

3 semantics should be able to define any expression in a language and specify those meanings based on their case whether it is meaning properties or relation. Meaning Besides, the word meaning is described in various definitions by semanticists, for instance, Leech (1981: 23) notes three points of meaning through the following: 1. Meaning involves the speaker s intention to convey a certain meaning that may or may not be evident from the message itself. 2. Consequently, interpretation by the hearer is likely to depend on the context. 3. Meaning in the sense is something, which is performed rather than something that exists in static way. It involves action (the speaker produces and effects on the hearer) and the interaction (the meaning being negotiated between the speaker and the hearer on the basis of their mutual language). Idioms Idiom is a sequence of two or more words that the meaning is not translated from the individual meaning which sequenced (Cutler, 1979). As usually people translated the meaning of phrase by literal meaning. So when idiom faced it become opaque. Idiom is easier to recognize the people who familiarity with the idiom and understand the culture which idiom approach (Questia, 2013) Moreover, Bourque (2010:7) stated that "idiom is a phrase that is commonly understood in a given culture or subculture to have a meaning different from its literal meaning". Burke increase that idiom understood by native speaker who the idioms from. It is the reason why English idiom hard to understand, because we are not the native speaker. Idiom is one of expression is used to enrich their spoken and writing language. Carter (1993: 65) defines idioms as special combinations with restricted forms and meanings that cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of the words which make them up. Accordingly, an idiom is learned and used as a single unit. It should not be analyzed into its constituents; it is unchangeable and always carries figurative meaning. In addition, Ball (1968: 1) finds that an adequate definition of an idiom is the use of familiar words in an unfamiliar sense. An idiom allows no variation in form under normal circumstances.

4 Translating idioms is one of the most difficult tasks for translators. It involves far more than the replacement of lexical and grammatical items between languages, and it may involve discarding the basic linguistic elements of the SL text. According to Baker (1992: 65), the first difficulty that a translator comes across, while translating idioms, is the ability to recognize and distinguish idiomatic from non-idiomatic usage. Recognition is difficult, and sometimes impossible, since many idioms can be slightly modified, while others can be discontinuously spread over a clause. As a rule, the more difficult an expression is to understand and the less sense 24 it makes in a given context, the more likely a translator will recognize it as an idiom (Baker,1992). Classification of Idioms Lim (2004) says that generally speaking, English idioms consist of the following seven types: a. phrasal verb, as in call on, put off, do away with, b. prepositional phrases, as in in a nutshell, from time to time, with a view to, c. idioms with verbs as keywords, as in come in handy, fight shy of, leave much to be desired d. idioms with nouns as keywords, as in a blessing disguise, child s play, food for thought e. idioms with adjectives as keywords, as in cold comfort, wishful thinking, plan sailing, and f. idiomatic pairs, as in safe and sound, aches and pains, sink or swim. g. Idioms of comparison, as in as red as Methodology of Research Method of Research In this research, I use descriptive qualitative method. It means that through this method it gives a clear description about the problem that is being researched. Sources of Data The sources of the data of this research are the third album of Jason Mraz. The title of the album is We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. This album has 12 songs. The songs are: 1. A beautiful mess 2. Butterfly 3. Coyotes

5 4. Details in fabric 5. I m yours 6. If it kills me 7. Live high 8. Love for a child 9. Lucky 10. Make it mine 11. Only human 12. The dynamo of volition. Technique of Collecting Data Firstly, the data of this research are conducted by listening the songs and browsing the lyric of songs. After I listened the song I read the lyric forseveral times. Then I found out the idiomatic expression that were used in the lyric of the song. The next step is collecting the data and selecting which has the idiomatic expression Technique of Analyzing Data Technique of analysis data, I used qualitative analysis. Firstly, identify the idiomatic expression in Jason Mraz's song. And then classify the data based on Lim s classification of idiom and interpret the meaning of each idiom that I found. Research Findings and Discussion Findings After analyzing the 12 songs writen by Jason Mraz, the researcher found 24 idioms expression. Each song had different numbers of idioms. Than researcher classified the idioms in each songs, it would be classified into seven classification, presented by Lim (2004) Discussion Not all types of idiom occur in Jason Mraz` song. Idioms with noun as keywords is highest frequently occurred, with the percentage of occurrence is 10 out 24 expressions. Most idioms in the song are different from its literal meaning. Idioms that are presented the findings are in the form of phrase, clause and sentence. Conclusion and Suggestion

6 Conclusion The first aim of this research is to describe the types of idiom found in the song and reveals those meanings. There are 20 idiomatic expressions found in the songs. Idioms with noun as keyword have the highest frequency. The occurrence are 9 out of 20 idiomatic expressions. Mostly idioms are in the form of clause and sentence. In addition, better understanding and using idioms needs both knowing their historical background and familiarity with both thesource and the target cultures, and having a clear idea about their different situational context. Suggestion According to the conclusions above, some suggestions are recommended as follows. 1. For English Language Department Idiomatic expressions are widely used in speeches. It is important for the students to have good knowledge about idiom. Therefore, giving special subject of idioms at university is necessary so that the students can use and interpret the idioms appropriately. 2. For Other Researchers Idioms are colorful and lively expressions which are usually unique and specific to a particular language. The fact that there is so much idiomaticity in all languages, makes them not only important part of our everyday language use, but also an interesting area of study. As a nonnative speaker of English and student of English department, the researcher finds English idioms immensely intriguing. It is expected that this research can support other researchers to have researches in analyzing the idioms in other field. References Bourque.J.2010.Figurative Meaning: Explanations & Examples. retrieved on april 17, From Tuesday. 06: 33 pm Baker, M In Other Words: A Course book on Translation. London and New York : Routledge Carter.R Introducing Applied Linguistics. London: Penguin Books.

7 Cutler.A The Access and Processing Of Idimatic Expression. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior K.Marian. Biography of Jason Mraz retrieved on april 30, From Lim, T.C Advanced English Idioms. Jakarta: Erlangga. Questia. Idiom. Cingage Learning retrived on june 25, From