A semantic analysis on evidentiality found in Political issues of the Jakarta Post headlines

ABSTRACT

This research analysis about: A Semantics Analysis on Evidentiality Found in Political Issues of the Jakarta Post Headlines. Evidentiality is to indicate sources information, which sources information from indirect evidentiality (second hand and third hand) and direct evidentiality (visual and auditory). Evidentiality is the way to know how the relationship from one utterance to another utterance or one sentence to another sentence in the articles and evidentiality gives the most substantive contribution to the articles.

This study uses descriptive qualitative method. This is called descriptive research, since the data were descriptively analyzed based on the Willet’s theory using semantic analysis approach. This analysis only focused on political party issues article, especially in the Jakarta Post headlines published from 04 to 15
April 2009.

This study chooses the political party issues of the Jakarta Post headlines to analyze, because it is a national newspaper in Indonesia with international reputation as it is written in English. The language in the Jakarta Post is very clear and it uses basic words, so we can understand easily about its meaning and content.

Thus, this study was aimed at identifying the evidentiality and finding out the types of evidentiality found in political issues of the Jakarta Post headlines. They are direct evidentiality and indirect evidentiality. Direct evidentiality found attested information (visual and auditory). Indirect evidentiality found reported evidentiality (second hand and third hand). To achieve the above objectives, the data analysis was handled in several steps. The first, the data are categorized in accordance with evidentiality, especially in political party issues article that used evidentiality types. The second, the data are discussed and interpreted from each category based on Willet’s theory. The last, the data are presented descriptively to draw conclusion.

Finally, this study gives contribution to English students, lecturers and people who are interested in analyzing about evidentiality, because this study can lead the reader understand the relationship of the utterances and sentences in the articles. This study is expected that the result of the study is going to lead the next researchers as reference and comparison that might be relevant to their study. Hopefully, further researchers can analyze more deeply and use the new theory of evidentiality.