11 Second, Mahmood, Obaid, and Shakir 2014 conducted research on the
use of figurative language in Pakistani English newspapers. This research aimed to explore the use of figurative language to communicate ideas, to facilitate the
readers, and to uncover the manipulation. Furthermore, their research focused on the function of figurative language in the English newspapers implicitly. The
result of the research showed that each figurative language had its own significant in making and describing the ideas in order to shape the public opinion. In
addition, it was identified that metonymy was the most frequently used figurative language.
These previous studies are relevant to my study because they discuss figurative language. In this current research, the researcher conducts research on
figurative language used in the newspaper. The researcher analyzes figurative language used in WSJ. The data was taken from the opinion column consisting of
Opinion: Review Outlook section and Opinion section. Besides analyzing
figurative language aspect, the scope of the research is widened. The researcher analyzes the use of syntactic features used in the opinion column headlines of
WSJ . The researcher argues that the language style not only can be observed from
the choice of words but also can be observed from the structure of words.
2. Theory of Figurative Language
According to Abrams as cited in Awad, 2014, pp. 1–2, figurative language is defined as a conspicuous departure from what user of a language
apprehend as the standard meaning of words, in order to achieve some special meaning or effect. Gill and Dunne 2011 also mention that “Figurative language
12 is a wordphrase is said to be used figuratively when it is intended to convey, not
its literal meaning, but a secondary or derived meaning which is understood by the listenerreader”. Jay 2003 in the book entitled The Psychology of Language
declares that the imagery in figurative language is used to define something or to compare two different things to create the condition clearer or more interesting.
Based on the three definitions of figurative language, it is inferred that figurative language is a wordphrase which cannot be understood only based on the literal
meaning. It is purposed to convey something or compare two different things in order to have a special meaning and make the described things clearer and more
interesting. Furthermore, Gill and Dunne 2011 state that figurative language serves
two roles as ornamentation and clearness. In ornamentation, what the writers expect to convey can be represented by using figurative language. Besides,
figurative language gives the beauty and the variety so that it makes the monotonous words more interesting and more beautiful. In addition, to make a
complex issue clear, the writers can use an analogy. Jay 2003 adds that figurative language is used because it has power on the emotion since it can
influence the readers on emotional and social levels. Since one of the analyses is about figurative language, the researcher
provides the description of the types of figurative language which are directly relevant to the research. Here are the types of figurative language:
