SFG in the Students’ Interpretation of Song Lyrics

Yeni Dewi Cahyani

doi:10.31949/jell.v1i1.912

SFG in the Students’ Interpretation of Song Lyrics

Yeni Dewi Cahyani

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Song lyrics can give important clues about what people thought and felt, their daily struggles, and their dreams about the future.The language of the lyrics itself can express different meaning. It can be also said that song always sends message in every lyrics; and every song has the lyrics which gives a different meaning according to the language use. The problem is that the literal meaning of song lyrics is often hard to establish, and this meaning is usually enriched with allusion, suggestion, and implied meanings. One of the best ways to get an idea of the different things that a song means and has meant is to see what people have said about it. The purpose of this study is to apply the SFG in interpreting the student’s interpretation of song lyrics and the meaning making through representational strategies. The data were gathered from the students’ interpretation of song lyrics through writing task.The theme song used here is focused on the songs about relationships i.e., “Rolling in the deep” (Adele) and “Because of you” (Kelly Clarkson).The instrument to be used in analyzing the data is a systemic functional grammar (SFG). Having analyzed the students’ texts using transitivity, the study shows that there are different types of processes and their ways applied in the texts. The finding shows that the differences occur in the use of processes and their functions. Construction of interpretation in this case depends on clues from the text and probability, which is determined both by facts from texts and connotations. In relation to the meaning making through representational strategies, the different types of processes dominated in the students’ text synergized to build the representation of the song meaning related to the meaning which was meant by the song writer.

Key words: SFG, interpretation, representation, song lyrics.

Full Text:

PDF

References

REFERENCES

Benson, J.D. and Greaves, W.S (eds) (1988). Systemic Functional Approaches to Discourse. Norwood, N.J: Ablex.

Benson, J.D., Cummings, M.J. and Greaves, W.S. (eds) (1988). Linguistics in a Systemic Perspective. Amsterdam: Benjamins

Berry, M. (1981). Systemic Linguistics and Discourse Analysis: a multi-layered approach to exchange structure. In M.C. Coulthard and M. Montgomery (eds) Studies in Discourse Analysis, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Bloor, T. and Bloor, M. (1995). The Functional Analysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach. London: Arnold. Co-published New York: Oxford University Press.

Bloor, T. and Bloor, M. (2004). The Functional Analysis of English. Second Edition. London: Hodder Education

Bustam, M. R. (2011). Analyzing clause by Halliday’s Transitivity System. Literary Journal. Vol. 6 No.1, Mei 2011. pp. 22-34

Butler, C.S. (1985). Systemic Linguistics: Theory and Applications. London: Batsford.

Butt, D. Et.al. (2000). “Using Functional Grammar”. Sydney: Macquarie University.

Butt, D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., Spinks, S., and Yallop, C. (2001). Using Functional Grammar: An Explorer’s Guide, 2nd edition, Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Macquarie University.

Carter, R. and Nash, W. (1990). Seeing Through Language: A Guide to Styles of English Writing. London: Basil Blackwell.

Clarkson, K. (2012). Top40. October 20th, 2012. Retrieved from

Cole, D. S. C. (1998). Meaning Making. Composed August 3, 1998. Retrieved from

Eggins, S. (2004). An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics, 2nd edn. London: Continuum

Fawcett, R. (1980). Cognitive Linguistics and Social Interaction: Towards an Integrated Model of a Systemic Functional Grammar and the Other Components of an Interacting Mind. Heidelberg: Julius Groos.

Fawcett, R. P. and Young, D. (eds) (1988). New Developments in Systemic Linguistics, Vol. 2: Theory and Application, London: Pinter.

Filter Magazine. (2010). Electronic magazine. December 3rd, 2010. Retrieved from

http://www.filtermagazine.com/index.php/media/entry/adele_rolling_in_the_deep_live/>

Gerot, L. & Peter W. (1994). Making Sense of Functional Grammar. Sydney: Tanya Stabbler.

Ghadessy, M. (1993). Register Analysis: Theory & Practice. London: Pinter.

Gregory, M. (1967). Aspects of Varieties Differentiation. Journal of Linguistics, 3, 177-98.

Gregory, M. (1988). Generic Situation and Register. In J.D. Benson, M.J. Cummings and W.S. Greaves (eds). Linguistics in a Systemic Perspective. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Griffee, D. T. (1992). Songs in action. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, London: Macmillan Publishers; New York: Grove's Dictionaries.

Hall, S. (1997). Representation, Meaning, and Language. In S. Hall (Ed.), Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, pp. 15–30. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Hall, S. (2003). Representation: Cultural Representation and Signifying Practices. Sage Publication/The Open University. London

Halliday, M. A.K. (1985). An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.

Halliday, M.A.K. and Hasan, R. (1985). Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of

Language in a Social-Semiotic Perspective. Geelong, VIC: Deakin University Press. (Republished by Oxford University Press in 1989.)

Halliday, M.A.K. (1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar, 2nd edn. London: Arnold.

Halliday, M.A.K. (2002). The Collected Works of M.A.K. Halliday, ed. Jonathan

Webster (Vol. 1 of 10-vol. Set). London: Continuum.

Halliday, M.A.K. (2004). An Introduction to Functional Grammar, 3rd edn, rev. By C.M.I.M. Matthiessen. London: Arnold.

Hasan, R., Butt, D. And Cloran, C. (eds). (1996). Functional Descriptions: Language, Form and Linguistic Theory. Amsterdam: Benjamin

Huisman, R. (2002). Narrative and Transitivity: the Semiotic Construal of Meaning in Sequence. Paper presented at the 29th International Systemic Functional Congress, 15-19 July, Liverpool, UK.

Kress, G. (1985). Linguistics process in socio-cultural practice. Geelong, Vic.: Deakin University Press.

Kurland, J. D. (2002). How the language really works: The fundamentals of critical

reading and effective writing. Retrieved from

Kurzman, C. (1996). “Structural Opportunities and Perceived Opportunities in Social-Movement Theory: Evidence from the Iranian Revolution of 1979.” American Sociological Review 61:153–170.

Lamb, l. (2012). The mood and texture in Because of you. ToneMedia. 21 March

Lock, G. (1996). Functional English grammar: An introduction for second language teachers. Cambridge Language Education. New York: Cambridge University Press

Martin, J.R. (1992). English Text: System and Structure. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Martin, J.R., Matthiessen, Christian and Clare Painter. (1997). Working with Functional Grammar. London and New York: Arnold.

Martin, J.R. (1997). ‘Analysing genre: functional parameters’, in F. Christie and

J.R. Martin (eds) Genre and Institutions: Social Processes in the Workplace and School, pp. 3–39. London: Continuum.

Martin, J. R. & Rose, D. (2003). Working with discourse: Meaning beyond the clause. London: Continuum.

Merriam, S.B. (1988). Case study research in education: A qualitative approach. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass

Mulasih, S. (2007). The realization of ideational meanings in students’ recounts. Literary Journal. CELT. December 2007: vol. 7 no.2. pp. 26-32

Oakes, J. (2011). Meaning Making accessed 31 January 2011. Retrieved from

Ochi, A. (2008). Ideational Projection in Japanese News Reporting: Construing Reporter’s Experience above Clause Rank. Systemic Functional Linguistics in Use. OWPLC 29, 2008

Peake. L. E. (1980). Song. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, sixth edition, 20 vols., edited by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 17: 510-523. London: Macmillan Publishers; New York: Grove's Dictionaries.

Pickering, M. (1986). “The dogma of authenticity in the experience of popular music, in The Art of Listening”, ed. McGregor and White (Beckenham), pp. 201–20

Queenie, C. S. Y. (2003). Construction of Women Identities in American Magazines for Teenagers and Adult Women. BA thesis. Hong Kong Baptist University.

Ricoeur, P. (1981). What is a text? Explanation and understanding. From hermeneutics and the human sciences. Essays on Language, Action and Interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Scholasticus, K. (2012). The elements of music. Online posting. 21 June 2012. Buzzle.com. 2 July 2012.

Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. 1990. Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory

procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publication, Inc.

Wilcox, (2008). The Representation of Ideas. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 02, 2008,

from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Representation-Ideas-131044.html

Young, L. (1994). University Lectures Macro-Structure and Micro Features. In Flowerdew, J (Ed.). Academic Listening: Research Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 159-176.

Riwayat Penulis:

R. Yeni Dewi Cahyani, S.S., M.Pd. adalah dosen tetap Universitas Al-Ghifari Band

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31949/jell.v1i1.912