Language Functions on Advertisements found in the Jakarta Post

ABSTRACT

Language of advertisement is a part of linguistic phenomena in society that provides much information from the advertiser to the readers. Advertisement has unique language because it is different from most other language used in everyday life and it is included as transactional discourse that stresses on the expression of the message. The focus interest of this research is on the types of language functions and the use of language functions in service advertisements of The
Jakarta Post published on 1st to 30th September 2008.

The objective of this research is to find out the type of language functions and to describe the use of language functions used in service advertisements of The Jakarta post. This research was designed by using descriptive qualitative method since the data are in the form of words or utterances rather than numbers. The data analyzed descriptively based on the language functions theory proposed by Jacobson. Thus, the researcher herself became the instrument in the process of data collection and data analysis. In analyzing the data, the researcher displays the data that performed language functions based on Jacobson’s theory of language function. Next the researcher analyzes per column in order to make the research finding report are clear. For research question number one, the researcher categorizes per column based on six types of language function. Then, the researcher explores the words, phrases or sentences that performed the six types of language function. For research question number two, the researcher used the finding for research question number one. Then, explaining how the language functions used in service advertisement headlines. After that, the researcher makes conclusion of the findings from research question number one and two.

As a result, the researcher found out five types of language functions that were used in 45 service advertisement headlines. They were referential, emotive, conative, phatic and poetic language functions. However, metalingual language function was not found. Among five language functions which were used in
service advertisements in The Jakarta Post on 1st to 30th September 2008,
referential language function was frequently used. In accordance with the findings, some kinds of language functions were used specific detail word that brings effectiveness and made readers were easy to understand the intention of advertisers in conveying the message content in the composition of text description.

This study can lead the future researchers to conduct research in language function in different kinds of magazines or media and different data sources like literary works in order to have more population and enrich the understanding about the language function.