JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS
JoAL Vol.
4 No.
January 2025 Journal of Applied Linguistics e- ISSN 2809 - 1922 , p-ISSN 2809 - 1914 Available online at:
https://journal.
org/index.
php/joal/index The Analysis of Figurative Language in Two Divergent Movie Genres:
Semantic Study 1,2,3 Rani Komalasari1*.
Marwito Wihadi2.
Yayan Suryana3 Department of English Education Faculty of Teacher Trainings and Education.
Universitas Kuningan.
Indonesia *Correspondence Email: ranikomalasari4@gmail.
ARTICLE INFO
Article history:
Received : October 28, 2024 Revised : December 23, 2024 Accepted : December 24, 2024 Available online : January 2, 2025 Keywords:
Figurative language, semantic, movie Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify the types and functions of figurative language in two divergent movie genres.
The data is taken from utterances from actors or characters in a movie.
The method of this study is qualitative research, and the research design is a case study.
Observation and note-taking research are the techniques for collecting data for this research to understand utterances and classify types, meanings, and functions.
The results of this study showed that the researcher found a total of 48 utterances in comedy movie genres and 9 .
types found in the movies, these types include Allegory .
67%), metaphor .
08%), metonymy .
58%).
Paradox .
33%), personification .
25%).
Simile .
67%).
Symbol .
25%),
Synecdoche .
25%) Hyperbole .
92%).
This research found a total of 26 utterances in horror movie genres and 8 .
types found in the movies, these types include Allegory .
53%), metaphor .
, metonymy .
23%),
Simile .
08%).
Symbol .
23%).
Synecdoche .
72%) Hyperbole .
53%).
Irony .
84%).
The second result identifies the function.
The most dominant function found in comedy and horror movies is imaginative INTRODUCTION Language is an important role in social life because people use language as a means of communication to interact with each other and receive information.
Language is one of the most important parts of our lives.
Without language, humans will never be able to communicate with each other (Prawita et al.
, 2.
everyday life, language is usually used to express feelings emotions, and thoughts verbally or in writing .
states that language is often seen as a tool of thought, an expressive system that mediates the transmission of thoughts from one person to another.
English skills are very much needed in this age of globalization.
Mastering English will make it easier for humans to communicate more broadly and create a more global English can be found anywhere.
It can be in the form of products, such as newspapers, cassettes, music, and even movies.
Learning English has many benefits, one of which makes it easier for us to watch entertainment like movies and TV shows produced in English.
Figurative language also exists in movies.
can find types of figurative language in conversation or language used in the movie (Sriwedani et al.
, 2.
Figurative language is an important part of semantics.
Semantics is a part of semantics which is one of the branches of linguistics (Wihadi & Fauziah, 2.
Lehrer .
stated semantics studies the meaning of words and the language of sentences (Mukti & Nugraha, 2.
As you know, figurative language is used to discuss Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors DOI: 10.
52622/joal.
Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
Vol.
4 No.
January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 the meaning of a word or sentence.
When someone speaks, we often realize that there is a hidden meaning behind what they say.
Or when you watch a movie, you can't understand the images being discussed, because there are images that you rarely encounter in everyday life.
Therefore, we don't understand figurative language, if we don't understand what it means (Agnes Meikurniawaty Nehe et al.
, 2.
Researchers also want to know whether movie genres influence the figurative language used.
The researcher chose figurative language research because it can enhance each literary work and help readers easily visualize what happens in the literary work.
Especially in English language film scripts, it is known that the film has a message that it wants to convey to the audience.
Each utterance has its meaning and a different Figurative language describes how a term is used or an expression that has a meaning different from the actual meaning.
Figurative language refers to the use of words or expressions that convey meanings that differ from their literal meanings (Wahyuni et al.
, 2.
In the community, figurative language is employed in a wide range of contexts.
In this study, to analyze figurative language, this researcher uses Perrine's theory.
The researcher used Perrine's theory .
to analyze the meaning in each sentence of figurative language, consisting of 12 types, namely: hyperbole, irony, understatement, apostrophe, synecdoche, metonymy, symbol, allegory, paradox, simile, metaphor, and personification.
Meanwhile, to analyze the function, the researcher uses Perrine's theory .
consisting of 4 types, namely imaginative pleasure, additional imagery, emotional intensity, say much in a brief compass.
Perine's theory is suitable for this study because several previous studies have used this theory to analyze figurative language.
Past studies have observed and analyzed figurative language.
The reviewed studies analyzed the figurative language in movies.
The first study was conducted by Agnes Meikurniawaty Nehe.
Erika Sinambela and Tiara Pasaribu .
from HKBP Nommensen University.
Medan.
Indonesia.
Entitled "An Analysis Of Figurative Language In "Maleficent" Movie".
In this study, the researcher used a qualitative method to analyze the types of figurative language and the most dominant types of figurative language found in conversations between the actors in the Maleficent movie.
This study uses the theory by Perrine .
to classify each type of data.
The second is previous research conducted by Ni Luh Sriwedani.
Fivy A.
Andries, and Veronika L.
Damopolii .
at Universitas Negeri Manado with the title "Figurative Language in Movie Script 'Me Before YouAy .
The researchers conducted this study using qualitative descriptive methods and analyzed the data to characterize the various types and features of images used in the film, especially Me Before You.
The researchers used the theory by McArthur .
to analyze and classify the types of figurative language and analyze figurative language function used the theory by Perrine .
The researchers conducted this study using qualitative descriptive methods and analyzed the data to characterize the various types and features of images used in the film, especially Me Before You.
The researchers used the theory by McArthur .
to analyze and classify the types of figurative language and analyze figurative language function using the theory by Perrine .
The third is a previous study conducted by Wisnu Aji Wardani .
from Universitas Negeri Surabaya entitled "Figurative Language Used In The MovieAos The Split .
This study uses qualitative methods and documentation to reveal the nature and meaning of cinematic images.
This study refers to Perrine's .
figurative language theory to identify the types of figurative language and Leech's .
theory of meaning in figurative language.
Researchers are interested in researching these movies because want to know the types, meanings, and functions of figurative language found in two divergent movie genres, namely the comedy genre and the horror genre and the researcher wants to know whether the use of figurative language depends on the movie and its genre but that's not the only other reason the researcher chose this movie.
These movies have achieved success at the box office because all these movies are listed on the worldwide box office website.
Barbie is a comedy movie directed by Greta Gerwig that tells the story of the lives of Barbies who have different characters and the adventures of Barbie and Ken in the real world.
Marry Me is a comedy movie directed by Kat Coiro.
This movie tells the story of music superstar Kat Valdez who marries a stranger in the crowd at her concert.
Kat found out a few minutes before her wedding that her future husband Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 Bastian was cheating on her so she decided to marry Charlie who was a commoner in the crowd.
Meanwhile.
Talk To Me is a horror movie directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou.
This movie tells the story of a group of teenagers who discover how to communicate with spirits.
Until finally, they didnAot realize they had released a terrifying dark power.
Insidious: The Red Door is a horror movie directed by Patrick Wilson.
Tell the story of a family who is again disturbed by an evil demon from another dimension.
After several years of being free from a series of horror incidents that once haunted them.
The ghost returns to disturb them.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Kreidler .
says that the study of meaning is called semantics.
Linguistic semantics is the study of how language is used and how the meaning of language is expressed (Hutauruk, 2.
Based on Saeed .
as cited in (Mukti & Nugraha, 2.
semantics is defined as the study that refers to the meaning of words in a language is called semantics.
Semantics is the science that studies the meaning of language because meaning is a part of language.
According to Yule .
, semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences, which are the foundation of language structure.
Figurative language use is defined as nonliteral language used to convey and describe any concept, in a unique way like an idea, a theme, or a mood.
Utilizing the facts and the circumstances makes meaning more interesting or extraordinary (Nehe et al.
, 2.
According to Perrine .
, figurative language is thought to be more effective in expressing the authors' intentions because it does several things: it provides the reader with the imaginative pleasure of literary works.
it adds additional parables to a poem, making it concrete and it accumulates emotional intensity instead of just providing information and conveys attitudes along with information.
and it is a way to say a lot of things in a short amount of time (Hutauruk, 2.
According to Perrine .
as cited in (Agnes Meikurniawaty Nehe, and Erika Sinambela, 2.
identified twelve categories of figurative language: hyperbole, irony, understatement, apostrophe, synecdoche, metonymy, symbol, allegory, paradox, simile, metaphor, and personification.
Figurative language serves to explain or describe a situation that is related to emotional and dramatic feelings, both verbally and in writing.
Perrine .
argues that the nature of figurative language is often more efficient than simple expressions in conveying our meaning.
Therefore, he classified the functions of figurative language into the following categories: to give imaginative pleasure, to bring additional imagery, to increase emotional intensity, and to say much in a brief compass.
METHOD
This study uses a qualitative descriptive method to analyze figurative language in four box office movies: two comedy movies (Barbie and Marry M.
and two horror movies (Talk to Me and Insidious: The Red Doo.
The data consists of characters' utterances, collected through observation and note-taking.
Perrine's framework was used to classify the types and functions of figurative language.
Data analysis used PerrineAos theory to answer the first and second research questions.
The purpose of this research focuses on the analysis of types of figurative language to describe the meaning and functions of each figurative language used in two divergent movie genres.
This study used the descriptive method to find detailed explanations and descriptions systematically about the research object (Creswell, 2.
Qualitative research is data analysis since it examines the character's speech during social interactions and looks at social phenomena, which are examples of nonnumerical data.
Creswell .
stated that "Qualitative research is a method that uses natural situations to explore and understand or examine the meaning of social or humanitarian problems as described by individuals or groups".
Qualitative research is a method for looking into phenomena found in a context or social setting of the study (Creswell, 2.
The research design that was used in this research was a case study.
A case study is a research design commonly found in various fields, especially in evaluation, in which a researcher conducts Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
Vol.
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 an in-depth analysis of a case, namely an event, program, process, or activity carried out by one or more people (Creswell, 2.
The researcher is interested in analyzing the figurative language in the movies because they are box office movies and were once hits, in addition, these 4 movies have different genres.
Barbie is a movie from The United States and has a duration of 114 minutes.
This movie is produced by Heyday Films and the script of the movie is written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach while Marry Me is a movie from The United States and has a duration of 112 minutes.
This movie is produced by Nuyorican Productions and the script of the movie is written by Jhon Rogers.
Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill.
Insidious: The Red Door is a movie from The United States and has a duration of 107 minutes.
This movie is produced by Blumhouse Productions and the script of the movie is written by Leigh Whannel.
Talk To Me is a movie from Australia that has a duration of 95 minutes the movie is produced by Causeway Films and the script of the movie is written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman.
The researcher found the movies from the telegram application.
In this study, the research itself becomes the primary research instrument.
The data was collected by listening to all utterances and watching to gather information from the movie.
The researcher classified the data based on the types, meanings, and functions of figurative language.
To obtain data research, the researcher needs to answer the research question.
Data analysis procedures The researcher classifies types of figurative language and analyses the meaning and function of the theory used by Perrine.
In the first step, the researcher studied and understood figurative language before classifying it.
The second identified the figurative language by watching the movie to understand the situation in the movie.
The third classified the data based on the form, types, meaning, and functions of figurative The fourth is finding out the dominant types, meanings, and functions in two divergent movie genres and making conclusions based on data analysis.
FINDINGS
Regarding the first research problem, 10 .
types of figurative language are used in comedy movies, and 8 .
types of figurative language are used in horror movies.
From the result, in the comedy genre, there were 8 utterances .
67%) belonging to Allegory and simile, 1 utterance .
08%) belonging to metaphor, 7 utterances .
58%) belonging to metonymy, 4 utterance .
33%) belonging to Paradox, 3 utterance .
25%) belonging to Personification.
Symbol, and Synecdoche, 11 utterance .
92%) belonging to Hyperbole.
From the percentages above, we can see that in the comedy genre movies, the most dominant figurative language was Hyperbole.
The last metaphor.
Meanwhile, for the horror genre, there were 3 utterances .
53%) belonging to allegory, 1 utterance .
84%) belonging to metaphor and irony, 6 utterances .
08%) belonging to Simile, 5 utterances .
belonging to Symbol and metonymy, 2 utterances .
72%) belonging to synecdoche, 3 utterances .
belonging to hyperbole.
The types of figurative language apostrophe, understatement, paradox, and personification were not found in horror genre movies.
From the percentage above, we can see that In the horror genre movies, the most dominant figurative language was Simile.
The least figurative language found was metaphor.
Regarding the second research problem, the functions of figurative language are found in divergent movie genres.
In comedy and horror movies, the Function of Figurative Language imaginative pleasure is the most frequently found.
The least frequently found function is emotional intensity.
In addition, the researchers determine these functions based on the utterance meaning and context situation.
It can be concluded that in box office movies are Barbie.
Marry Me.
Talk To Me, and Insidious.
The Red Door, the most figurative language found between the comedy and horror genres has a different type, after being studied it turns out that in comedy movies .
arbie and marry m.
the most figurative type is hyperbole while in horror movies .
alk to me and insidious: the red doo.
the most figurative type is simile.
The box office movie contains figurative language in the dialogue in the movie so that the box office movie Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 is more interesting.
Figurative language at the movie box office is used to explain something more interestingly and to increase someone's imagination.
By studying it we get an understanding of what types of figurative language are often used in comedy and horror that makes the movies more interesting to watch.
Table 1.
Types of Figurative Language Type of Figurative Language Apostrope Metaphor Metonymy Paradox Personification Simile Symbol Synecdoche Understatement Hyperbole Irony Marry Me Total Data Talk To Me Insidious:
Comedy Genres Allegory Barbie Movies Horror Percentage (%) The Red Door Total Data Percentage (%) Allegory The first figurative language which is explained here is allegory.
Perrine .
stated that Allegory is a narrative or description that has more meaning than meets the eye or can also be called a description with a double meaning.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 8 utterances .
67%) in comedy movies and 3 utterance .
53%) in a horror movie.
Two utterances of allegory which found:
Marry Me Movie Utterance 2.
:18:47 --> 00:19:.
Kat told the audience sadly about her feelings, because she didnAot want to be embarrassed if she canceled the wedding Kat was forced to choose one of the men in the audience to marry her.
Kat: So this time, for the first time, you make a different choice.
You jump off a cliff so high you can't even see the fall.
It is included in Allegory because, the sentence is not the real meaning.
So the meaning of the sentence is she felt very disappointed because she was betrayed by the person she loved.
Insidious: The Red Door Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 Utterance 4.
:26:12--> 00:26:.
Dalton attended Prof.
ArmargaAos painting class, all students listened to what Prof.
Armarga explained, and then he asked them to paint.
Prof.
Armagan: You must let go of your past, shed your skin in order to grow It is included in the Allegory because the sentence is not the real meaning.
So the meaning of the sentence is to abandon some things and focus on a more specific path so that I can develop and become Metaphor The second figurative language explained here is Metaphor.
"Metaphor is a type of figurative language in which two different things are contrasted without using connecting terms like, as, or comparable.
Metaphors contrast two dissimilar objects (Perrine, 1.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 1 utterance .
08%) in comedy movies and 1 utterance .
84%) in a horror movie.
Two utterance of metaphor which found:
Barbie Movie Utterance 1.
:14:17--> 00:14:.
All the Barbies work together to make all the men misunderstand and become hostile to each other.
Barbie's plan succeeds in making all the men fight and make a fuss.
Men: This is a real hornet's nest It is included in Metaphor because in this sentence, heAos not in a real beeAos nest, but he compared the situation to a hornetAos nest because heAos in a very dangerous situation like being in a beeAos nest.
The sentence means that the place is very dangerous and too crowded and messy.
Talk To Me Movie Utterance 3.
:05:58 --> 00:06:.
Riley and his friend sit together while waiting for the pick-up, then her friend offers Riley a cigarette, but Riley refuses it.
Riley: I hate the smell.
His friend: You're a fuckin' foetus.
It is included in Metaphor because in this sentence AuYou're a fuckin' foetusAy.
Riley doesn't really a foetus, but she compared a foetus with Riley because her friend thinks that Riley doesn't dare to smoke.
The sentence means that Riley is a coward like a child.
Metonymy The third figurative language which explained here is Metonymy.
"Metonymy is use of a term or phrase is almost related to represent what is actually meant.
It could also be said a word that is quite similar to one thing is employed to replace it (Perrine, 1.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 7 utterances .
58%) in a comedy movies and 5 utterances .
23%) in a horror movies.
Two utterances of metonymy which found:
Barbie Movie Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 Utterance 1.
:20:24 --> 00:20:.
Barbie asked for help from a strange Barbie and in one of their conversations they discussed BarbieAos friend Ken Barbie: That Ken of yours, he is one nice-looking little protein pot.
It is included in Metonymy because Metonymy is the name of a thing that is substituted with another.
In this sentence.
Barbie says little protein pot.
In this sentence, protein pot is an athletic and it is included in metonymy because Barbie says protein pot instead of an athletic.
The sentence means that ken has a nice athletic body.
Talk To Me Movie Utterance 3.
:11:42--> 00:11:.
When Riley and her friend are waiting for the pick-up, suddenly Mia came to pick up Riley because RileyAos older sister couldnAot pick her up.
Mia: Need a hand Mother: Can I help? Yes.
Riley, thank you for asking It is included in Metonymy because Metonymy is the name of an object that is replaced by another.
In this sentence.
Mia says hand which means help.
Hand in the dictionary is "the part of the body".
This sentence is included in metonymy because Mia says hand instead of the word help.
Thus, it can be understood that AuhandAy and AuhelpAy has a related meaning.
The sentence means offer to help tidy up the shopping.
Paradox The fourth figurative language which explained here is paradox.
Perrine .
stated that paradox is a statement that seems contradictory but is still true.
Type of figurative language that conveyed contrast or conflict is called a paradox.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 4 utterances .
33%) in a comedy movies.
Two utterances of paradox which found:
Marry Me Movie Utterance 2.
:44:53 -->00:44:.
Charlie took Kat home while chatting casually and telling each other about the worst times they had been through.
Kat: Well, this business, those type of guys, they build you up to break you down.
It is included in Paradox because in this sentence there are two words that have contradictory The words are build you up and break you down.
The sentence means they make you successful to ruin your career.
Barbie Movie Utterance 1.
:19:06 --> 00:19:.
One of the Barbies told another Barbie that she had become strange because there are some changes in her that had never happened before that made her look like a human, and her friend advised her to meet a strange Barbie because a strange Barbie could help solve her problem, a strange Barbie used to be the prettiest barbie, unfortunately the barbie was damaged for some reason.
Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 And now she's fated to an eternity of making other Barbies perfect.
while falling more and more into disrepair herself.
It is included in Paradox because in this sentence there are two words that have contradictory The words are perfect and disrepair.
This sentence means she makes other Barbies look beautiful but she doesnAot pay attention to herself looking bad.
Personification The fifth figurative language which explained here is personification.
Personification is a type of figurative language in which inanimate objects, or animal are described as having human-like characteristics (Perrine, 1.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 3 utterances .
25%) in a comedy Two utterances of personifications which found:
Barbie movie Utterance 1.
:54:06 --> 00:54:.
Barbie escaped from being caught by the men from the mattel company.
Gloria met Barbie and gave her a ride and their car was chased by the men I thought that Barbie made the real world better but the real world is forever and irrevocably messed It is included in personification because.
In this sentence Barbie is an inanimate object.
being able to be a human.
Barbie canAot do these things like humans because Barbie are inanimate object.
The sentence means the existence of Barbie just motivate someone but does not make the world a better place.
Marry Me Movie Utterance 2.
:13:05--> 01:13:.
Students from CharlieAos class created a website called Numbers Neva Lie.
Charlie and Kat agreed because the phrase was interesting.
Jose: "Numbers Neva Lie.
Kat: Oh, that's perfect.
In sentence above it is included in personification because, in this sentence AunumberAy is an inanimate in this sentence the number is described as if it is alive because in the sentence Neva lie it is usually for humans.
It is means the number is always correct.
Simile The Six figurative language which is explained here is simile.
Perrine .
stated that simile is expressions that compare two things, for example like, as, than, comparable, resemble, or looks.
A simile compares the characteristics or attitudes of two objects and can be meant as the comparison of two quite different logical things.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 8 utterances .
67%) in a comedy movies and 6 utterances .
08%) in a horror movies.
Two utterances of similes which found:
Marry Me Movie Utterance 2.
:36:56 -->00:37:.
Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 After the press conference Charlie and Kat chat together about KatAos life which is always in the Kat: Other days, you feel like.
a panda in a zoo.
You should know that up front.
Charlie: Got it.
In sentence above, it is included in Simile because, in this sentence, she compares herself with a panda in a zoo because she is a singer so she becomes a spectacle like a panda in a zoo.
Insidious: The Red Door Movie Utterance 4.
:36:56 -->00:37:.
Chris entered Dalton's room because she was worried about Dalton, then Chris was surprised because Dalton's room was Chris: so I figured.
I would illuminate your room, much like how I illuminate your life.
It is included in Simile because.
In this sentence.
Chris compares her illuminate his life with her illuminate his room because she wants to illuminate Dalton's room like he illuminated Dalton's life.
This sentence means his room is very dark so she want to light up DaltonAos room with lights.
Symbol The seventh figurative language which is explained here is Symbol.
Symbol is a kind of figurative language in which symbols are used to convey a sentence's meaning or An item that represents something more abstract can be an object, person, circumstance, or action (Perrine, 1.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 3 utterances .
25%) in a comedy movies and 5 utterances .
23%) in a horror movies.
Two utterances of symbol which found:
Marry Me Movie Utterance 2.
:44:02 -->00:44:.
Kat visits CharlieAos house, to chat together so they can get to know each other and find out more about their respective personal lives.
Charlie: But still, do you ever feel like just kind of, "I'm waving the white flag on marriage.
That's it.
Kat: No, it's like math.
It is included in symbol because.
In this sentence, white flag does not literally mean white flag.
It is means a symbol of someone who surrenders.
Talk To Me Movie Utterance 3.
:08:26--> 01:08:.
Mia.
Jade and Haylay are looking for a way to save Riley from an evil spirit that possessed Riley while performing a ritual because they broke the rules.
Mia: What if we opened the door but we didn't shut it? Jade: What are you saying? Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 In sentence above, it is included in symbol because.
In this sentence, the door is did not literally mean the door, it a symbol of supernatural dimension.
Synecdoche The eight figurative language which is explained here is synecdoche.
Perrine .
stated that Synecdoche is the use of components or elements to represent a whole or mentioned a part of something that said to suggest the entirety.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 3 utterances .
in a comedy movies and 2 utterances .
72%) in a horror movies.
Two utterances of synecdoche which Barbie Movie Utterance 1.
:44:07 --> 00:44:.
When Ken was in the human world he saw that men could rule and do whatever work they wanted and this was in contrast to the situation in Barbie Land where women are in power, because of this Ken learned something about the patriarchy system, and when he returned to Barbie land he wants to tell all the men in Barbie land.
Ken: I'll go back to Barbie Land, and I'll tell the Kens what I've learned.
Oh, it's going to be Women: Okay.
It is included in Synecdoche because.
In this sentence the word AuKensAy represents all the men in Barbie Land.
It means that he will tell all the men in Barbie land what he has learned.
Talk To Me Movie Utterance 3.
:32:28--> 00:32:.
Before carrying out the ritual to summon ghosts.
Joss explained that the origin of the objects for the ritual was that they are made from the cut hands of psychics, this was a story from white people.
Joss: So everyone around him thought, let's cut his hand off.
White people shit, man.
I tell ya In sentence above, it is included in Synecdoche because.
In this sentence the word AuWhite peopleAy represents mostly European ancestry.
Hyperbole The ninth figurative language which is explained here is Hyperbole.
Perrine .
said that Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to emphasize the truth and often uses unrealistic language.
From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 11 utterances .
92%) in a comedy movies and 3 utterances .
53%) in a horror movies.
Two utterances of hyperbole which found:
Insidious: The Red Door Movie Utterance 3.
:13:54--> 00:13:.
Mia saw HayleyAos post about people who are possessed, but Jade didnAot believe it.
Jade: It's 1,000 per cent a trick.
Mia: How would Hayley fake that? Why would they? Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 It is included in Hyperbole because in this sentence she overreacts by saying AuIt's 1,000 per cent a trickAy she describes what she felt about being possessed.
This sentence is hyperbole because usually people generally say 100 percent while she says 1000 percent, it means that she is very sure that possession is a Marry Me Movie Utterance 2.
:52:08--> 00:52:.
Kat visits the school to visit Charlie who is teaching mathematics.
Kat wants to surprise Charlie and the children in his class.
The girl: I have a million questions for Kat.
It is included in Hyperbole because in this sentence she overreacts by saying "I have a million questions for Kat".
This sentence is hyperbole because this sentence means that she has many questions.
Irony The tenth figurative language which is explained here is Irony.
Perrine .
said Irony is a figurative language satire in which the true truth is concealed and the opposite of what is said and what is From the utterances of characters in the movies, it is found 1 utterance .
84%) in a horror movies.
One utterance of irony which found:
Talk To Me Movie Utterance 3.
:14:27--> 00:14:.
Jade visited HaleyAos house but Jade was late for the promised time.
Hayley: Only an hour late.
Great.
Jade: Been waiting for Mum to sleep.
In sentence above, this is included in irony because this figurative language is used by people when they want to satirize someone.
In this sentence.
Hayley said that only an hour late.
Great.
So he teased Jade by saying great.
What he actually meant is that Haley was angry because Jade was very late for the promised time.
The sentence means that Jade came very late.
Table 2.
The Functions of Figurative language Genre Comedy Horror Functionsof Figurative Language Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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4 No.
January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 Types Saying Much in a Brief Compass Emotional Intensity Additional Imagery Imaginative Pleasure Saying Much in a Brief Compass Emotional Intensity Additional Imagery Imaginative Pleasure Allegory Apostrophe Metaphor Metonymy Paradox Personification Simile Symbol Synecdoche Understatement Hyperbole Irony Total Percentage This part examines the functions of each figurative language found in Barbie.
Marry Me.
Talk to Me, and Insidious: The Red Door movies.
Perrine .
proposed 4 functions of figurative language.
give imaginative pleasure, to bring additional imaginative, to increase emotional intensity, to say much in a brief compass.
For the comedy genre namely Barbie and Marry Me movies, there are 26 utterances .
belonging to give imaginative pleasure, 13 utterances .
08%) belonging to bring additional imagery, 4 utterances .
33%) belonging to increase emotional intensity, 5 utterances .
42%) belonging to say much in a brief compass.
All functions are found in comedy movie genres and imaginative pleasure is the most dominant figurative language functions found.
In the second place as the most dominant of figurative language is additional imagery.
Meanwhile for the horror genre namely talk to me, and insidious: the red door movies, there are 14 utterances .
85%) belonging to give imaginative pleasure, 7 utterances .
92%) belonging to bring additional imagery, 1 utterance .
85%) belonging to increase emotional intensity, 4 utterances .
belonging to say much in a brief compass.
All functions are found in comedy movie genres and imaginative pleasure is the most dominant figurative language found.
Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
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4 No.
January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 Imaginative Pleasure The first function which is explained here is to give imaginative pleasure.
Perrine .
stated that imaginative pleasure is to provide imaginative pleasure.
This function means that it encourages readers or listeners to develop their imagination.
From the utterances of characters in the movies which contain the imaginative pleasure function, there are there are 6 utterances belonging to allegory, 5 utterances belonging to metonymy, 1 utterance belonging to metaphor, 2 utterances belonging to paradox, 3 utterances belonging to personification, 2 utterances belonging to symbol, and 7 utterances belonging to hyperbole in a comedy movies.
In a horror movies there are 3 utterance belonging to allegory, 5 utterances belonging to metonymy, 4 utterances belonging to symbol and 2 utterance belonging to hyperbole.
One sample of imaginative pleasure function which found:
Barbie Movie Utterance 1.
:07:39-->01:07:.
The girl: looking at her estranged best friend's engagement photos while eating a family-size bag of Starbursts.
And now her jaw is killing her It is included imaginative pleasure because the speaker says "now her jaw is killing her", to describe the pain she feels in her jaw from eating too much.
This could be concluded that the speaker is exaggerating his use of language in order to afford the listener with imaginative pleasure.
Insidious: The Red Door Movie Utterance 4.
:26:12--> 00:26:.
Prof.
Armagan: You must let go of your past, shed your skin in order to grow I'll count backwards from ten.
In sentence above, it is included imaginative pleasure because the sentence "shed your skin in order to grow" this sentence means letting go of something that is shackled in order to grow this showed how listeners imagine that shedding skin is letting go of something.
Bringing Additional Imagery The second function which is explained here is to bring additional imagery.
Perrine .
stated that additional imagery is the use of figurative language is a technique used to add imagery to a sentence, concretize an abstract.
From the utterances of characters in the movies which contained the additional imagery function, there are 1 utterances belonging to allegory and metonymy, 8 utterances belonging to simile and 3 utterances belonging to hyperbole in a comedy movies.
In a horror movies there are 1 utterance belonging to metaphor, 6 utterances belonging to simile.
One sample of additional imagery function which found:
Marry Me Movie Utterance 2.
:32:38--> 00:32:.
Charlie: It just feels like everyone walking around is, like, a sycophant.
Everything in her life is Parker: I know, but don't ruin this for me.
Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
Vol.
4 No.
January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 In sentence above ,it is included Additional Imagery because the sentence "everyone walking around is, like, a sycophant means that everyone he saw around him is pretending to be good for some reason" showed how auditory imagery effectively makes listener perceives "a sycophant" is visuals of an insincere person".
Talk To Me Movie Utterance 3.
:05:20--> 00:05:.
Riley: He looks elvish.
His friend: What's elvish? Riley: You know, like the fantasy elves.
It is including Additional Imagery because the sentence AuHe looks elvishAy shows how auditory imagery effectively makes listener perceives AuHe looks elvishAy is visuals Alex like an elf because he has very white skin and blonde hair.
Emotional Intesity The third function which is explained here is to increase emotion intensity.
Emotion intensity is add emotional depth to an utterances that would otherwise be informative and can be used to express feelings as well as facts.
From the utterances of characters in the movies which contained the increase emotional function, there 1 utterance belonging to metonymy and hyperbole, 2 utterance belonging to paradox in a comedy movies.
In a horror movies there are 1 utterance belonging to irony.
One sample of emotional intensity function which found:
Barbie Movie Utterance 1.
:53:56 --> 00:54:.
Gloria: I gotta lose these chuckleheads.
Barbie: I think I owe you ladies an apology.
It is included to Increase Emotional intensity.
She felt angry because the men are following her car and she had to run away from them so Barbie wouldn't get caught.
Talk To Me Movie Utterance 3.
:14:27--> 00:14:.
Hayley: Only an hour late.
Great.
Jade: Been waiting for Mum to sleep.
In sentence above, it is included to Increase Emotional intensity.
She felt angry because jade was late and she been waiting for jade for a long time.
Saying Much in a Brief Compass The fourth function which is explained here is to say much in a brief compass.
Say much in a brief compass is method of concentration, a technique that said a lot of things in a short time.
With this function, to express ideas and goals without explained further.
From the utterances of characters in the movies which contain the imaginative pleasure function, there are 1 utterance belonging to allegory and symbol, 3 utterances belonging to synecdoche.
In a horror movies there are 1 utterance belonging to symbol and Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
Vol.
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January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 hyperbole, 2 utterances belonging to synecdoche.
One sample of say much in a brief compass function which Barbie Movie Utterance 1.
:11:02 --> 00:11:.
Ken: So cool.
Barbie: Just a giant blowout party with all the Barbies and planned choreography and a bespoke You should stop by.
In sentence above, it is included Say Much in a Brief Compass because, the word AuBarbies in the sentence Auparty with all the BarbiesAy implied all the women who live in Barbie land.
This function stated one or more idea to be expressed briefly.
Insidious: The Red Door Utterance 4.
:01:48--->01:01:53 )
Hey, guys, this is "Spectral Sightings" I'm Specs.
This is Tucker.
We are PPI.
Professional Paranormal Investigators.
It is included To Say Much in a Brief Compass because, the word AuSpectral SightingsAy implies all members of the paranormal investigators to deal with supernatural matters.
This function states one or more ideas to be expressed briefly.
CONCLUSION
Regarding the first research problem, there are 10 .
types of figurative language that are used in comedy movies and 8 .
types of figurative language that are used in horror movies.
From the result, in the comedy genre, there were 8 utterances .
67%) belonging to Allegory and simile, 1 utterance .
belonging to metaphor, 7 utterances .
58%) belonging to metonymy, 4 utterance .
33%) belonging to Paradox, 3 utterance .
25%) belonging to Personification.
Symbol, and Synecdoche, 11 utterance .
belonging to Hyperbole.
From the percentages above, we can see that in the comedy genre movies, the most dominant figurative language was Hyperbole.
The last metaphor.
Meanwhile, for the horror genre, there were 3 utterances .
53%) belonging to allegory, 1 utterance .
84%) belonging to metaphor and irony, 6 utterances .
08%) belonging to Simile, 5 utterances .
belonging to Symbol and metonymy, 2 utterances .
72%) belonging to synecdoche, 3 utterances .
belonging to hyperbole.
The types of figurative language apostrophe, understatement, paradox, and personification were not found in horror genre movies.
From the percentage above, we can see that In the horror genre movies, the most dominant figurative language was Simile.
The least figurative language found was metaphor.
Regarding the second research problem, the functions of figurative language are found in divergent movie genres.
In comedy and horror movies, the Function of Figurative Language imaginative pleasure is the most frequently found.
The least frequently found function is emotional intensity.
In addition, the researchers determine these functions based on the utterance meaning and context situation.
It can be concluded that in box office movies are Barbie.
Marry Me.
Talk To Me, and Insidious.
The Red Door, the most figurative language found between the comedy and horror genres has a different type, after being studied it turns out that in comedy movies .
arbie and marry m.
the most figurative type is hyperbole while in horror movies .
alk to me and insidious: the red doo.
the most figurative type is simile.
The box office movie contains figurative language in the dialogue in the movie so that the box office movie is more interesting.
Figurative language at the movie box office is used to explain something more Published by English Lecturers and Teachers Association (ELTA) Copyright A 2025, authors Journal of Applied Linguistics (JoAL).
Vol.
4 No.
January 2025 e-ISSN 2809-1922, p-ISSN 2809-1914 interestingly and to increase someone's imagination.
By studying it we get an understanding of what types of figurative language are often used in comedy and horror that makes the movies more interesting to watch.
REFERENCES