A STUDY ON ENGLISH NOUN PHRASES IN FOOTBALL NEWS IN THE JAKARTA POST PUBLISHED DURING THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2006
A STUDY ON ENGLISH NOUN PHRASES
IN FOOTBALL NEWS IN THE JAKARTA POST
PUBLISHED DURING THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2006
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ANGELIA MAYA RATRI KUSUMA
Student Number: 024214001
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2007
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Worry about words, Bobby. Your grandmother is right
For whatever else you may do,
you will be using words always.
All day, and every day, words matter.
Though you live in a barrel and speak to nobody but yourself,
words matter……
For words are the tools of thought
A.P. Herbert
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Ya TUHAN,
Aku memberi Engkau kebebasan penuh dalam hidupku
untuk mendatangkan kebahagiaan ataupun kesusahan;
demi memperhalus sifatku,
untuk memuliakan Engkau,
atau untuk belajar apapun
yang ingin Kau ajarkan kepadaku mengenai Engkau.
Aku ingin membiarkan Engkau
menyingkapkan peristiwa-peristiwa dalam hidupku
di dalam kebijaksaan-Mu
sesuai dengan rencana-Mu yang penuh kuasa.
AMIN.
A prayer from Mas Indra ‘n Mba Tatik
29th March 2007
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This thesis is dedicated to
Jesus Christ
My caring Papa
My wonderful Mama
My beloved brother, Theo
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My deepest gratefulness is to Jesus Christ for guiding me in everything I
do and pouring me with His miracles. Writing this thesis is a very long journey for
me but I thank Him because He has placed me among people who always support
me to finish this thesis.
I would like to give my deepest thankfulness for Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd.,
M.A., my advisor whom I greatly admire, for understanding my difficulties,
guiding me patiently and encouraging me to finish my thesis. I would also like to
address my thanks to my co advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum, for giving
constructive suggestions and evaluation, and convincing me to finish my thesis as
soon as possible.
I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all the lecturers for
giving me priceless knowledge and guidance. I would like to thank the staff of
The English Letters Department, especially Mbak Ninik, and the librarians for
their help.
I am deeply indebted to my beloved parents, Mama for being a helpful
companion, Papa for cheering me up when I’m sad, also for my special brother
for being a truly best friend. I thank them for their everlasting love and affection. I
dedicate this thesis to them. I also thank Mbak Tatik and Mas Indra to raise me
up whenever I am down.
It is also a special thing for me to experience the great love from Bapak
and Ibu Satmoko as well as their beloved son, Satriyo Setiawan. No matter what
happens, he always ensures me that life is beautiful!
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I am also grateful to all of my friends. I am thankful to sweet Elisa for
being my truthful pal, for sharing every glittering time. She is the best shoulder to
cry on. I am thankful to my reliable friends: Berbudi Yudhosunu, Ochie, Lira,
Swesty, Grace, Linda, Yani, Lia, Titin, Olive, Kuncup, Thomas, Nuke, Fena,
B’not, Ko David and all my friends in SING 2002 for the unforgettable
friendship. My sincere thanks go to mudika St. Patrick and lektor St. Yohanes
C. They always color my life and show me what a wonderful friendship is. I want
to thank my Sunsmile Kids fellows and Ms. Detty for being very understanding
to me. It is extremely enjoyable to work with them.
Last but not least, my appreciation goes to numerous individuals whose
name I cannot mention. It is their support that makes this thesis possible.
Angelia Maya Ratri Kusuma
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………
APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………..
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ………………………………………….………
MOTTO PAGE ………………………………………………………….
DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………..
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………..
LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………..
ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ……………………………………...
A. Background of the Study ………………………………………
B. Problem Formulation …………………………………………..
C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………………..
D. Definition of Terms ……………………………………………
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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW …………………………..
A. Review of Related Studies …………………………………….
B. Review of Related Theories …………………………………...
1. Theory of Noun Phrases ……………………………………..
2. The Elements of Noun Phrases ……………………………...
a. The Head ………………………………………………….
b. Determiners ……………………………………………….
1) Predeterminers …………………………………………
2) Central Determiners ……………………………………
3) Postdeterminers ………………………………………...
c. Modifiers ………………………………………………….
1) Premodifiers ……………………………………………
2) Postmodifiers ………………………………………......
3. Theory of the Types of the Noun Phrases …………………...
4. The Nature of News …………………………………………
a. Theory of News …………………………………………...
b. The Language of News …………………………………...
C. Theoretical Framework …………………………………..........
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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY …………………………………..
A. The Object of the Study ……………………………………….
B. Population and Sampling ………………………………………
C. Data Collection and Processing Activities …………………….
D. Data Analysis ………………………………………………….
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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS …………………………………………...
A. The Elements of Noun Phrases ………………………………..
1. The Head …………………………………………………….
2. Determiners ………………………………………………….
3. Premodifiers …………………………………………………
4. Postmodifiers ………………………………………………..
B. The Types of Noun Phrases ……………………………………
C. The Average Length of the Noun Phrases ……………………..
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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ………………………………………..
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BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………...
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APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………..
Appendix 1 ………………………………………………………..
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. The Elements of Noun Phrase…………………………………………. 27
Table 2. The Types of Noun Phrase ……………………………………………..40
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ABSTRACT
ANGELIA MAYA RATRI KUSUMA (2007). A Study of English Noun
Phrases in Football News in The Jakarta Post published during the FIFA
World Cup 2006. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,
Sanata Dharma University.
A noun phrase is a phrase which has a noun as its head. The noun phrase
can be found in almost every sentence because a sentence usually consists of a
verb phrase and a noun phrase. By understanding noun phrases someone is able to
understand a sentence. However, the structure of English noun phrase is different
from Indonesian. The difference may cause difficulties in understanding English
noun phrase. Concerning the statement above, the writer is interested in studying
English noun phrases that occur in football news in The Jakarta Post. In football
news, there are many active sentences which require the occurrence of noun
phrase to complete the thematic role. Moreover, many people are fond of football
thus they are always enthusiastic to know every football news.
This thesis has three objectives. The first objective is to identify the
elements of noun phrase in football news. The second is to identify the types of
noun phrase that mostly occur in the football news. The third objective is to
identify the average length of those noun phrases.
The method employed in this study is a descriptive study, meaning that it
describes the elements of noun phrase, the type mostly occurs and the average
length of those noun phrases. The number of the noun phrases used as the data is
451 which are taken from 5 articles in The Jakarta Post published during the
FIFA World Cup 2006. The method of sampling was convenient sampling. There
were some steps in collecting the data. First, the writer collected and identified all
the noun phrases occurred in the football news. Second, the writer identified the
element realized the noun phrase. Third, the writer classified the noun phrases into
their types and counted them. Last, the writer summed up by putting them in a
table.
From the analysis, it can be concluded that a head of the noun phrase is
mostly realized by countable nouns. A definite article occurs as a determiner of a
noun phrase, an adjective phrase as a premodifier, and a prepositional phrase as a
postmodifier. The most frequent type of noun phrase is type 1, a noun phrase
which only consists of a head. After knowing the type that is mostly used, thus the
average length can be identified. On average the noun phrases are one-word
length. It is because the news writing style is basically simple and concise. The
occurrence of simple noun phrase in the football news in The Jakarta Post makes
the readers who are mostly Indonesians easy to understand the articles.
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ABSTRAK
ANGELIA MAYA RATRI KUSUMA (2007). A Study of English Noun
Phrases in Football News in The Jakarta Post published during the FIFA
World Cup 2006. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,
Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Frasa nominal adalah frasa yang memiliki kata benda sebagai induknya.
Frasa nominal dapat ditemukan hampir di seluruh kalimat karena sebuah kalimat
biasanya terdiri dari frasa verbal dan frasa nominal. Dengan memahami sebuah
frasa nominal seseorang dapat memahami sebuah kalimat. Namun, struktur frasa
nominal bahasa Indonesia berbeda dengan bahasa Inggris. Perbedaan tersebut
menyebabkan kesulitan dalam memahami frasa nominal bahasa Inggris.
Berdasarkan pernyataan tersebut, penulis tertarik untuk mempelajari frasa nominal
bahasa Inggris yang terdapat dalam berita sepakbola di koran The Jakarta Post.
Dalam berita sepakbola, terdapat banyak kalimat aktif yang memerlukan frasa
nominal untuk melengkapi pola kalimatnya. Terlebih lagi, banyak orang
menyukai sepakbola maka mereka akan selalu bersemangat utuk menyimak setiap
berita sepakbola.
Studi ini memiliki tiga tujuan. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk mengetahui
elemen-elemen dari frasa nominal dalam berita olahraga tersebut. Yang kedua
adalah untuk mengetahui tipe frasa nominal yang paling sering digunakan dalam
berita olahraga. Tujuan ketiga adalah mengetahui panjang rata-rata dari kata
benda tersebut.
Metode yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah studi deskriptif yang
memaparkan elemen-elemen frasa nominal, tipe yang sering muncul, dan panjang
rata-rata dari frasa nominal itu. Jumlah frasa nominal yang digunakan sebagai data
adalah 451 yang diambil dari 5 artikel di The Jakarta Post yang dicetak selama
FIFA World Cup 2006. Metode yang digunakan dalam sampling adalah
convenient sampling. Ada beberapa langkah dalam pengumpulan data. Pertama,
penulis mengumpulkan dan mengidentifikasi seluruh frasa nominal dalam berita
sepakbola. Kedua, penulis mengidentifikasi elemen –elemen dari frasa nominal.
Ketiga, penulis mengelompokkan kata frasa nominal menurut tipenya dan
menghitungnya. Langkah terakhir, penulis meringkas seluruh frasa nominal
dengan memasukkannya ke dalam tabel.
Dari pembahasan dapat disimpulkan bahwa induk dari frasa nominal
kebanyakan adalah kata benda yang dapat dihitung. Definite article muncul
sebagai determiner dari frasa nominal, frasa adjektiva sebagai premodifier, dan
frasa preposisi sebagai postmodifier.Tipe yang paling sering muncul adalah tipe 1
yaitu frasa nominal yang terdiri dari induk kata saja. Setelah mengetahui tipe yang
paling sering muncul, maka panjang rata-rata dari frasa nominal dapat
diidentifikasi. Rata rata frasa nominal hanya terdiri dari satu kata. Hal ini
dikarenakan gaya penulisan berita yang sederhana. Penggunaan frasa nominal
yang sederhana dalam berita olahraga di koran The Jakarta Post membuat
pembaca yang kebanyakan adalah orang Indonesia mudah untuk memahami berita
tersebut
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the study
Human beings live in a world of language. Whatever they do when they
come together, whether they play, fight or do the dishes, they talk to each other.
Human beings use a language as their means to communicate to each other, to
express their thought and emotions (Fromkin, Blair and Collins, 1991: 2)
In this globalization era, people are required to master other language
besides their ownlanguage. Freeman in his book An Introduction to Second
Language Acquisition Research, (1991: 1) says,
English, a second language for most of the people of the world, has
increasingly become the international language for business and
commerce, science and technology and international relationship and
diplomacy.
Since English becomes an international language in this globalization era,
many people begin to learn it. However, English, like all languages, is full of
problems for foreign learners (Swan, 1980: ix). According to Brown, learning a
second language is a long and complex undertaking. Many variables are involved
in the acquisition process. Language learning is not a set of easy step that can be
programmed in a quick do-it-yourself kit (1994: 1). Because of that, people
require years of study and practice to master English as a foreign language.
One of the problems people face in mastering English is the ability to
understand written sentences in textbooks, novels, magazines, newspapers and
articles. Many learners do not have a good ability in reading. One of the causes is
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that many of them are not fully able to understand phrases. There are several types
of English phrases: noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverbial
phrases and prepositional phrases. A phrase contains words in a group and has a
certain function in sentences.
One type of the English phrases that can be found in almost every sentence
is a noun phrase. This is because a sentence usually consists of a verb phrase and a
noun phrase. According to Ronald Wardaugh, a noun phrase is a grammatical
construction usually contains a noun as its central constituent (1977: 247). The
noun phrase typically functions as subject, object, complement of sentences and as
complement in prepositional phrases (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 59). Here are
some examples of the noun phrases:
1. My father has bought a very expensive car.
2. The police have arrested the man who married John’s sister.
3. This research requires expensive equipment.
My father, the police, the research, a very expensive car, the man who
married John’s sister, and expensive equipment are all noun phrases. The noun
phrases my father, the police, and this research function as the subjects of the
sentences. Whereas, the noun phrases a very expensive car, the man who married
John’s sister and expensive equipment function as the objects of the sentences.
According to Leech and Svartvik (1975: 251), in the structure of the noun phrase
the noun head can be accompanied by a determiner, a premodifier and a
postmodifer. The noun phrases my father, the police and this research consist of
determiners (my, the, this) and noun heads (father, police, research), while, the
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noun phrase a very expensive car consists of a determiner (a), a premodifier (very
expensive) and a head (car). The noun phrase the man who married John’s sister
consists of a determiner (the), a head (man) and a postmodifier (who married
John’s sister). Finally, the noun phrase expensive equipment consists of a
premodifier (expensive) and a head (equipment).
The structures of English noun phrases are different from Indonesian.
Thus, their differences often make learners confused in learning English. The
problem here is that learners tend to base their interpretation of English noun
phrases on the system and pattern of Indonesian noun phrases. Thus, it will be
difficult then for them if they come to the various forms of English noun phrases.
Learners can misinterpret the text easily.
Concerning the statements above, the writer is interested in investigating
noun phrases in written sentences found in sport news in The Jakarta Post,
especially in its football news. Many people are fond of football. Those football
fans never miss such an outstanding match as The FIFA World Cup which is only
held once in four years. Because of that, football news has become headlines news
that attracts a lot of people to know more about the match. This study is intended
to identify the elements of noun phrase, the types of noun phrases which mostly
occur in the football news and the average length of those noun phrases. The
present study is about the noun phrases in football news in The Jakarta Post
newspaper. The findings of this research are expected to help readers to
understand English noun phrases. By having a better understanding of English
noun phrases, readers can improve their reading comprehension.
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B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background of the study above, the problems of this study
were formulated as follows.
1. What are the elements of the noun phrases in the football news in The
Jakarta Post newspaper?
2. What types of noun phrases are mostly used in the football news in The
Jakarta Post newspaper?
3. What is the average length of those noun phrases?
C. Objectives of the study
From the problem formulation above, the objectives of the study are
formulated into three parts. First is to identify the elements of noun phrase in the
football news of The Jakarta Post newspaper. After identifying the elements of
the noun phrase, the writer tries to identify the types of noun phrase mostly used
in the football news of The Jakarta Post newspaper. The last objective of this
study is to identify the average length of those noun phrases.
D. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding of terms used in this study, it is
necessary to clarify those important terms as presented below.
A phrase is one or more words that are built around a skeleton consisting
of two levels, a phrase level and a word level and act as syntactic unit (O’Grady
and Dobrovolsky, 1996: 725). According to Collins Cobuild English Dictionary
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for Advanced Learners, a phrase is a small group of words which forms a unit,
either o its own or within a sentence (2001: 1155)
A noun phrase is a grammatical construction usually containing a noun as
its central constituent (Wardaugh, 1977: 247). The noun is shown to be the head
of the phrase by its primary stress and syntactically, by the fact that the whole
group can be replaced by a simple noun (Archibald, 1958: 157).
Sidney Greenbaum categorizes noun phrases into eight types. The types of
the noun phrases are based on the function of the elements such as noun,
determiner + noun, premodifier + noun, determiner + premodifier + noun, noun +
postmodifier, determiner + noun + postmodifier, premodifier + noun +
postmodifier and determiner + premodifier + noun + postmodifier (1989: 60).
Length is the amount of writing that is contained in it (Collins, 2001: 885).
According to Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English
Language, it is a quantity, whether long or short (Webster, 1989: 820).
A newspaper is a publication printed on newsprint, issued at regular and
usually closed intervals, esp. daily or weekly and commonly containing news,
comments, features and advertising (Webster, 1989: 963).
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
Chapter II covers three parts: review of related study, review of related
theories and theoretical framework. The first part contains other studies related to
the topic. The second part contains the theories that help in accomplishing the
study. The last, theoretical framework explains the contribution of those theories
in solving the problem of the study.
A. Review of Related Studies
There have been other researchers who study about noun phrase.
Putuningsih, (2000), in her undergraduate thesis entitled The Difference in
Frequency of Noun Phrases in The Jakarta Post and Newsweek tries to find out
what constitutes noun phrase and what is the frequency of noun phrases in The
Jakarta Post and Newsweek. She takes the noun phrases in the headlines of The
Jakarta Post and Newsweek as the sample of her observation.
In her analysis, she compares the frequency of the noun phrases in The
Jakarta Post and Newsweek. She finds out that the use of noun phrases in The
Jakarta Post is fewer than in Newsweek. According to Putuningsih, there are two
reasons why The Jakarta Post contains fewer noun phrases than Newsweek. The
first reason is because there is interference from the habit of using noun phrases in
Indonesian on The Jakarta Post. The writers of The Jakarta Post are bilinguals,
their first language influences their second language. An individual tends to
transfer his native language structure to their foreign language (Lado, 1957: 59).
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The second reason is the writers of The Jakarta Post want to make the articles
easily understood by the readers who are mostly Indonesian. English, which is
spoken in almost every country as the first or second language will be different
according to the country in which it was spoken.
Another researcher, Yudit, (2004), in her undergraduate thesis entitled
Noun Phrases in “Hills like white Elephants” and “Indian Camp” Revealing
Ernest Hemingway’s styles tries to find out and to analyze phrases and clauses that
occur as the element of noun phrases. Yudit categorizes the phrases and clauses
based on their function in the noun phrase structure. Yudit tries to reveal
Hemingway’s style based on the noun phrases that occur in his two short stories.
Yudit finds out that the occurrence of simple noun phrases dominates
Hemingway’s “Hills like white Elephants” and “Indian Camp”. The simple noun
phrases occur with determiner, a genitive and an indefinite article. The simple
noun phrase also occurs by itself in a bare noun phrase. Meanwhile the complex
noun phrases occur with different types of phrases namely an adjective phrase,
prepositional phrase, verb phrase, noun phrase and clauses. Those phrases and
clauses hold certain function in noun phrases structure as an attribute, adjunct or a
complement. Another function which is required to occur with the noun phrases is
a specifier.
This study differs from the previous studies because it concerns in the
elements and types of the noun phrases in football news in The Jakarta Post.
Since there are no studies discussing the topic and use football news in The
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Jakarta Post as the source of the data, the writer deals with it in the study. This
study tries to give an understanding and contribution of noun phrases in usage.
B. Review of Related Theories
This part contains some theories that help in accomplishing the study. The
theories that are applied in this study are theory of noun phrases, the elements of
noun phrases, the types of noun phrases and theory of news. Those theories will
be explained in the following section.
1. Theory of Noun Phrase
Flor Aarts and Jan Aarts in their book English Syntactic Structures state
that a phrase is a constituent which can be identified on the basis of the word class
membership of its most important constituent. Thus, a noun phrase is a phrase
which has a noun or typically a noun as its most important constituent (1982: 60).
Noun phrases can act as the subject, object or complement of a clause or as
prepositional complement. It is called a noun phrase because the head is typically
a noun. The head noun can be accompanied by the determiners, for example: a,
the, his, and one or more modifiers, either premodifiers or postmodifiers (Leech
and Svartvik, 1975: 251).
The structure of a typical noun phrase may be represented schematically in
the following way, where the parentheses indicate elements of the structure that
may be absent (Greenbaum, 1989: 60).
[Determiners]
[Premodifiers]
Noun
[Postmodifiers]
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Though the parentheses indicate that the elements can be absent,
determiners are more essential to noun phrase structure than modifier (Leech and
Svartvik, 1975: 251). Those elements of the noun phrase will be discussed further
in the following section.
2. The Elements of Noun Phrases
From the explanation above, the elements of noun phrase can be seen
clearly. In the structure of the noun phrase, those elements are also realized by
other elements as follows.
a. The Head
A head is an obligatory element for noun phrase. It is a minimal
requirement for the occurrence of a noun phrase. According to Bas Aarts, all
phrases have something in common, namely the fact that they must minimally
contain a Head (1997: 97). The most usual type of a head of a noun phrase is a
noun. However, according to Flor Aarts and Jan Aarts, if the noun phrase consists
of a head only, the head must be realized by a count noun, books are getting
more and more expensive; an uncountable noun, we are running out of sugar, a
proper noun, Smith is extremely difficult to get on with, and a pronoun, she
never eats meat (1982: 104). According to Jackson, being countable noun means
that for the nouns in those examples the system of number operates. In English,
the number system has two terms namely singular and plural. On the other hand,
the system of number for the uncountable nouns does not operate. Uncountable
nouns refer to undifferentiated mass. They cannot be used with indefinite article
and cannot occur in plural form (1990: 37).
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The head of a noun phrase can also be realized by an adjective phrase
like in the poor, the inevitable (Langacker, 1972: 194). Most commonly
adjectives that become the heads of a noun phrase have personal reference for
example the wise look to the wiser for advice; the young in spirit enjoy life. These
adjectives have generic and plural reference (Quirk & Greenbaum, 1973: 117).
The head of a noun phrase can also realized by a participle like in the
accused, the dying. The head is also realized by a numeral like in these two, all
three. The last, the head can be realized by a genitive like in I am staying at my
aunt’s, the grocer’s is at the corner of the street (Aarts, 1982:104).
b. Determiners
Determiners are words which specify the range of reference of a noun.
Determiners always precede the noun they determine, but they have different
positions relative to one another (Leech and Svatvik, 1975: 224-226). According
to Aarts (1982: 106) determiners are distinguished into three sub functions namely
predeterminer, central determiner and postdeterminer. Those sub functions will be
explained in the following section.
1) Predeterminers
Predeterminers occur before central determiner. The noun head can be
predetermined by means of the items all, both, double, half, twice, many, such
and what (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 106). The items all, both, half occur before
articles, possessives, or demonstratives like in half an hour, both his last two
newspaper articles, all these expensive school uniform.
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2) Central determiners
The central determiner of the noun phrase follows a predeterminer. It can
be realized by means of a definite article like in double the amount, an
indefinite article like in half a minute, a demonstrative like in both these books,
a possessive pronoun like in all Peter’s clothes, a quantifier like in his many
grievances and wh-determiners like in which university (Leech and Svartvik,
1975: 226). Wh-determiners cannot, as a rule, be preceded by a predeterminer but
it still may occur like in half of whose books (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 107).
3) Postdeterminers
Items which must follow determiners but precede adjectives in the
premodifier structure include numerals and quantifiers (Quirk and Greenbaum,
1973:65). Postdeterminer is usually realized by cardinal numerals like in some
ten passengers. Next element that can realize postdeterminer is ordinal
numerals. They occur only with count nouns and usually precede any cardinal
numbers in the noun phrase like in the first three years in Edinburgh. Finally, the
postdeterminer can be realized by means of quantifiers like in his many friends,
what few money.
c. Modifiers
Besides determiners, the head noun can also be accompanied by one or
more modifiers. Modifiers which precede the head are called premodifiers, and
those which occur after the noun head are called postmodifiers (Leech and
Svartvik, 1975: 251).
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1) Premodifiers
Premodifiers in a noun phrase are placed after determiners but before the
noun which is the head of the phrase (Leech and Svartivk, 1975: 271). In the
structure of the noun phrase the function of a premodifier may be realized by
means of an adjective phrase. The choice of an adjective phrase in the structure
of a noun phrase is independent of previous choices from the predeterminer,
central determiner or postdeterminer items like in all English poetry, any other
acceptable solution (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 108).
Next, the function of premodifier may be realized by means of a noun
phrase like in church bazaar, sports review. It is common for the noun phrase
head to be premodified by a noun phrase which, in turn, is premodified by another
noun phrase. Consider for example: Cambridge University Press, London street
guide. It is also possible for the noun phrase head to be premodified by
coordinated nouns like in cheese and cucumber sandwiches, the Eric Morecambe
and Ernie Wise Show (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 111).
The third, the noun phrase head may be premodified by a classifying
genitive like in a doctor’s degree, a men’s shop (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 111).
However, this classifying genitive is different from the specifying genitive
functioning as a central determiner. The word preceding the specifying genitive
qualifies the genitive, not the head noun. On the other hand, it is the head noun
which is qualified when the genitive is classifying. The difference can be seen
through the following explanation.
13
those men’s wives
that men’s shop
The demonstrative those preceding a specifying genitive qualifies the
genitive men’s, not the head wives. On the other hand, it is the head shop which is
qualified when the genitive men’s is classifying (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 112).
Next, the noun phrase head can be premodified by an adverb phrase like
in the then chairman, an away game, the above photo, the upstairs neighbor.
Then and above are probably the most common adverb phrases used as
premodifier (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 129). Leech and Svartivk, state that a
few degree words can modify noun phrases. They include quite, rather, such, and
what. The noun phrase is normally indefinite, and the adverb precedes any
determiners like in he told such a funny story and what a fool he is! (1975: 203).
In the structure of the noun phrase, premodifier can be realized by means
of a participle (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 395). Either present or past
participle can premodify the noun head like in his crumbling cottage and his
completed cottage.
In addition, there are modifiers which consist of more than one word but
which make up syntactic construction rather than a compound word. They are
usually hyphenated when they premodify like in a ready-to-wear suit, which
means the suit is ready to wear and the town-hall clock, which means the clock is
on the town hall (Leech And Svartivk, 1975: 272).
14
2) Postmodifiers
The noun head can be accompanied by some modifiers. The modifiers
which follow the noun head are called postmodifier (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973:
251). In the structure of the noun phrase the function of postmodifier may be
realize by means of an adjective phrase like in the information available. The
occurrence of the adjective phrase as the postmodification also can be seen as a
temporary status (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 377). Thus the noun phrase the
information available would be understood as having reference only to a specific
time. According to Leech and Svartvik (1973: 194) in certain cases,
postmodifying adjective can usually be regarded as a reduced relative clause like
in the people present (the people who were present), the easiest solution
conceivable (the easiest solution which is conceivable).
Next element that can realize the postmodifier is an adverb phrase. Some
adverbs denoting time or place postmodify nouns like in the meeting yesterday,
his journey home. Leech and Svartivk state that the use of adverbs as postmodifer
is more restricted than the use of other postmodifier. The adverbs used as
postmodifying such as home, yesterday, tomorrow, before, ahead, below and
outside (1973: 203 & 271).
The most common type of postmodifiers in English is a prepositional
phrase like in the trees in the park, the path along the canal. A prepositional can
often be expanded to relative clause like in Is this the road to Paris? that can be
expanded into is this the road that lead to Paris? (Leech and Svartvik, 1975:
268).
15
The next element that can postmodify the noun head is a finite clause like
in the news that he had been fired, the problem how this could be solved.
According to Aarts and Aarts, the finite clause function as postmodifier is
introduced by temporal conjuction such as before, after, since, and until (1982:
117). The examples of the noun phrase postmodified by those kind of finite clause
are the days before he died, the time since he has been chairman.
Next, postmodification of the head can be realized by a non-finite clause.
Three types of non-finite clause can occur in postmodification namely infinitive
clause like in he is the man to talk to, -ing participle like in I received letter
asking me to return to England, and –ed participle clause like in the general
impression given by this book is favorable. According to Leech and Svartivk, non
finite clauses that premodify the head noun are equivalent to reduced relative
clauses (1975: 268).
The last element that can postmodify the noun head is a noun phrase like
in girls your age, a rock that shape, and a car that color. However, according to
Aarts and Aarts, posmodification by means of noun phrase is rare (1982: 115).
3. Theory of the Types of Noun Phrases
In the structure of a noun phrase, Aarts and Aarts distinguish three
elements namely head, determiner and modifier (1982: 104). From the element of
the noun phrases, Greenbaum (1989: 60) states eight possible structure of the
noun phrases, as follows.
No
1.
Types of noun phrases
Noun
Examples
books
16
2.
Determiner + Noun
those books
3.
Premodifier + Noun
history books
4.
Determiner + Premodifier + Noun
some long books
5.
Noun + Postmodifier
books about Canada
6.
Determiner + Noun + Postmodifier
some books on astronomy
7.
Premodifier + Noun + Postmodifier
popular books on psychology
8.
Det + Premodifier + Noun + Postmodifier
some popular books on astronomy
The above table shows the types of the noun phrase. However, according
to Leech and Svartvik (1975: 272), the noun head can be accompanied by more
than one premodifier like in the American spring medical conference and a world
political problem. Those two examples belong to the fourth type, Determiner +
Premodifier + Noun. The noun phrases consists of determiners (the, a),
premodifiers (American spring medical, world political) and nouns (conference,
problem). Though those noun phrases belong to the same group but they have
different length, for example the noun phrase the American spring medical
conference consists of five words, while the noun phrase a world political
problem consists of four words.
4. The Nature of News
a. Theory of News
John B. Bogart, a city editor of the New York Sun utters a famous dictum,
when a dog bites a man, that’s not news. But when a man bites a dog, that is news.
17
To some extent it still stands today, because news is often the recount of
something rare or out of ordinary (Metzler, 1986: 21).
According to Reah, news is a late Middle English word that means tiding,
new information of recent events. It is an information about recent events that are
of interest to a sufficiently large group or that may affect the life of sufficiently
large group (2002: 4). Whereas, according to Metzler news is a prompt, “bottom
line” recounting of factual information about events, situations and ideas
(including opinion and interpretations) calculated to interest an audience and help
people cope with themselves and their environment (1986: 23).
Talking about news can not be separated from newspaper. Newspaper has
made itself an important place in people’s life. One of the major functions of the
newspaper is to serve as the eyes of its readers, focusing attention on the
interesting, important and thrilling events of the day. As what Reddick says:
We want to go to a football game but have to work. As
soon as the game is over, we buy a sports edition and thrill to
the account of the game. We could not go, but someone saw
the game for us and told us about it- the sports writer (1941: 6).
b. The Language of News
The language of news today is the product of centuries of linguistic
evolution. It is not a ‘natural’ form of writing. It is particular discourse with its
own rhythms, tones, words and phrases (Keble, 2001: 81).
According to Miller in Mott’s book entitled New Survey of Journalism, the
style of the news writing must observe five principles (1958: 50). First is
correctness. Correctness of news style is essential to clarity and understand the
news. Language is a conventional set of symbols, a refinement of the sign
18
language of the ancient. When the correctness of the conventional set of symbols
is violated, its meaning is uncertain. The reader will not understand the news.
Correctness of news-writing style implies not only accuracy in grammar, spelling
and diction but also conformity to canons of good tastes as well.
Second is simplicity. This necessity for simplicity touches every element
of the news story such as word, sentence and paragraph. The short and well
known words are preferred than the longer words. Sentences in news are compact,
definite in structure and moderate in length. Sentences go directly to the points.
According to Keble, the sense of news values has to be sharp and that only comes
with practice. “KISS (Keep It Short and Simple) and TELL” could be the
journalist’s motto. Complex sentences overloaded with long subordinate clauses
should be avoided. Short, precise sentences are best (2001: 81). The news writer’s
sentences are, on the average, shorter than those employed in literary publications,
text and reference works. Many newspapers currently are asking reporters for
sentence lengths of less than twenty words. Studies have revealed that sentences
of greater length increase the difficulty of reading for the large number of readers
who had little education. There is a need of brevity in news story paragraph. The
news paragraph rarely should exceed a maximum of six standard type written
lines (approximately twelve lines of newspaper body type). As this maximum is
passed, ease of reading is sacrificed. News shall be told plainly with no obvious
straining for effects. Sports writers seem particularly susceptible to this frailty of
style. The following paragraphs are the example of a lead of an account of a Notre
Dame Southern California football game:
19
SOLDIERS’ FIELD, CHICAGO, Nov. 16- Football of a
magnificent stature, comparable in every way to the headline position
which the game occupied in national affairs was played in this
uncompleted, murk filled bowl, laying within earshot of the lapping
waters of Lake Michigan here this afternoon.
California, trained and schooled in the sun kissed climate of
the Pacific Coast, rode 2500 miles from the shadows of the Sierra
Madre mountains to meet an eleven coached by the vital Viking of
America’s greatest sport (Mott, 1958: 51).
Third is conciseness. Desired brevity is attained not by omission of details
but by tight phrasing, packing fact upon fact. According to Keble, many factors lie
behind the creation of the concise news language. Every reported word involves a
cost. Economic language helps provide economies in production. Speed is the
essence of newspapers. Sentence structure and page design are influenced by the
need to help readers move through the newspaper quickly (2001: 82). Most wordy
stories are the result of lazy writing. The reporter fails to take time to write briefly.
There are some ways to construct the conciseness of style such as; the omission of
unnecessary articles like in a fire which started at 7 A. M., which is better to be
written as in fire which started at 7 A. M. Second is by using a direct statement
like in changes which are going to affect tomorrow’s newspaper, which is better
to be written as in changes affecting tomorrow’s newspaper (Mott, 1958: 53).
Fourth is objectivity. This quality in style is a reflection of the writer’s
point of view. The journalistic ideal of fair play demands not only that the reporter
shall tell both sides of the story but also that the phrasing of his account shall not
be colored by his opinion. According to Miller (Mott, 1958: 53), direct expression
of opinion is barred in all stories except those carrying the writer’s by-line.
Indirect expression through colored words which unconsciously express the
20
writer’s bias should be avoided as well for example in reporting testimony of a
witness, to write that “she admitted” or conceded a fact has implications far
different from the uncolored tag, “the witness said”.
Fifth is interest. Miller says that interest must always be present in news
(Mott, 1958: 53). The news writer always puts his best foot forward in his effort
to maintain reader-interest. Word choice and the organization of sentence and
paragraph must be determined in view of the ever-present. There are some ways
to make the news interesting. The first is the use of vigorous diction like in an
accident occurred at Main and Second streets when…, which is better to be
written as in a loaded school bus and a 10-ton truck collided…. The second is the
variety of paragraph length. Although news writing must be simple, its sentences
should not be uniformly simple. Variety in paragraph length gives the news a
more interesting appearance. The last is the variety of both length and structure in
sentences. If the beginning of a sentence is not interesting, readers will not take
time to read the news. Miller gives the example as follows. An author writes the
beginning of a sentence like in With 2000 spectators in the stands, Skeet’s Motors
defeated the Home Bakers 5 to 3 today to win the Industrial league championship.
The sentence is not interesting for the readers. It is better to write Skeet’s Motors
won the Industrial league championship today, defeating the Home Bakers 5 to 3
before a crowd of 2000 (Mott, 1958: 55).
21
C. Theoretical Framework
This part explains the contribution of the theories in solving the problems
formulated in this study. Those related theories will be used as a foundation and a
guideline for the writer to analyze the object of the study.
In order to gain a deep knowledge about a noun phrase, the elements that
realize the occurrence of a noun phrase must be mastered first. Thus, the writer
put the theory of noun phrases and elements of noun phrases. Those theories
discuss the elements that are possible to realize the occurrence of a noun phrase.
Those theories will be helpful to recognize the elements constitute the noun
phrase. By doing so, the first problem of this study can be solved.
The writer also put the theory of the types of noun phrases. The theory
may give contribution to solve the second problem. This theory discusses eight
possible types of noun phrases. The types of the noun phrases are classified based
on the function of the elements constitute the noun phrases. The writer will use the
theory to classify the noun phrases into their types. By classifying those noun
phrases, the writer can find out the types of those noun phrases which mostly
occur in the sport news. Basically, this theory can help the writer to solve both the
second and third problems of this study. After finding out the most common type
of the noun phrases occurs in the football news, the writer will be able to
recognize the average length of those noun phrases.
Besides those theories, the writer also has some theory of news. Those
theories discuss the nature and the language of the news. Those theories may have
contribution to support the finding of the second and third problems since they
discuss some principles of news writing.
22
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter contains a discussion of the procedures of the study to gain
the objectives. This chapter covers three parts: the object of the study, the
population and sampling, and method of the study. The third part discusses not
only the method of the study but also the data collection and data analysis.
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study is the noun phrases that occur in the football news
in certain pages in The Jakarta Post published during the FIFA World Cup 2006.
According to Leech and Svartvik, a noun phrase can act as subject, object or
complement of a clause or as prepositional complement. In the structure of the
noun phrase, the noun head can be accompanied by a determiner, a premodifier
and a postmodifier (1975: 251). A noun phrase can be found in almost every
sentence. This is because a sentence usually consists of a verb phrase and a noun
phrase.
In this study, the writer discusses the noun phrases which occur in football
news. The writer chooses the football news because football is one branch of sport
that commands a large following of enthusiastic and even rabid fans. The writer
chooses 5 articles issued from June until July 2006. It was when the FIFA World
Cup was held. Many people were waiting for the great event that only held once
in four years. Those reasons made the football news interesting to be analyzed.
23
B. Population and Sampling of the Study
According to Spiegel, population is the entire group of individuals or
objects (1961: 1).
It is any group of individuals that have one or more
characteristics in common that are of interest to the researcher (Best, 1986: 11). In
this study, the writer takes the noun phrases in the football news in The Jakarta
Post as the population. The Jakarta Post is chosen because the language used is
the standard one. Best states that some populations are so large that it will be
impractical and time consuming to observe the whole population to gain the
objectives of a certain research (Best, 1986: 11).
As mentioned above, it will be time consuming to observe the whole
population. Fortunately, instead of taking the whole population, the researcher can
take a sample of the population. According to Best, sample is a small proportion
of a population selected for observation and analysis. By observing the
characteristics of the sample, one can make certain inferences about the
characteristics of the population from which it is drawn (1986: 12). Referring to
the previous explanation, the writer limits the articles as the sample of the study.
The sample of this study is 5 football news taken from 5 editions of The Jakarta
Post. Those football news are issued on 11, 18, 25 June, 2 and 9 July 2006. Those
football news are published on Sunday. The writer chooses the Sunday edition
because on Sunday people have more leisure time to read their favorite news. The
method used in this research could be categorized into convenient sampling. In
this method, the samples contain subject who are simply available in a convenient
way to the researcher. This method is often the only practical one, particularly for
24
students
or
others
with
restricted
time
and
resources
(http:/www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~kate/gmcweb/s8.htm)
C. Data Collection and Processing Activities
The primary data of this study was the noun phrases which occurred in the
football news. The football news was collected from The Jakarta Post issued from
June until July 2006.
There were several steps in the collecting the data. First the writer chooses
the population and the samples that will be used as the data resources. In this
study, the population is The Jakarta Post. The samples are football news in The
Jakarta Post issued from June until July 2006. The second step is collecting all
noun phrases that occur in the 5 football news in The Jakarta Post. After that, the
writer identifies the elements that constitute the noun phrases. Then
IN FOOTBALL NEWS IN THE JAKARTA POST
PUBLISHED DURING THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2006
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ANGELIA MAYA RATRI KUSUMA
Student Number: 024214001
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2007
i
ii
iii
Worry about words, Bobby. Your grandmother is right
For whatever else you may do,
you will be using words always.
All day, and every day, words matter.
Though you live in a barrel and speak to nobody but yourself,
words matter……
For words are the tools of thought
A.P. Herbert
iv
Ya TUHAN,
Aku memberi Engkau kebebasan penuh dalam hidupku
untuk mendatangkan kebahagiaan ataupun kesusahan;
demi memperhalus sifatku,
untuk memuliakan Engkau,
atau untuk belajar apapun
yang ingin Kau ajarkan kepadaku mengenai Engkau.
Aku ingin membiarkan Engkau
menyingkapkan peristiwa-peristiwa dalam hidupku
di dalam kebijaksaan-Mu
sesuai dengan rencana-Mu yang penuh kuasa.
AMIN.
A prayer from Mas Indra ‘n Mba Tatik
29th March 2007
v
This thesis is dedicated to
Jesus Christ
My caring Papa
My wonderful Mama
My beloved brother, Theo
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My deepest gratefulness is to Jesus Christ for guiding me in everything I
do and pouring me with His miracles. Writing this thesis is a very long journey for
me but I thank Him because He has placed me among people who always support
me to finish this thesis.
I would like to give my deepest thankfulness for Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd.,
M.A., my advisor whom I greatly admire, for understanding my difficulties,
guiding me patiently and encouraging me to finish my thesis. I would also like to
address my thanks to my co advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum, for giving
constructive suggestions and evaluation, and convincing me to finish my thesis as
soon as possible.
I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all the lecturers for
giving me priceless knowledge and guidance. I would like to thank the staff of
The English Letters Department, especially Mbak Ninik, and the librarians for
their help.
I am deeply indebted to my beloved parents, Mama for being a helpful
companion, Papa for cheering me up when I’m sad, also for my special brother
for being a truly best friend. I thank them for their everlasting love and affection. I
dedicate this thesis to them. I also thank Mbak Tatik and Mas Indra to raise me
up whenever I am down.
It is also a special thing for me to experience the great love from Bapak
and Ibu Satmoko as well as their beloved son, Satriyo Setiawan. No matter what
happens, he always ensures me that life is beautiful!
vii
I am also grateful to all of my friends. I am thankful to sweet Elisa for
being my truthful pal, for sharing every glittering time. She is the best shoulder to
cry on. I am thankful to my reliable friends: Berbudi Yudhosunu, Ochie, Lira,
Swesty, Grace, Linda, Yani, Lia, Titin, Olive, Kuncup, Thomas, Nuke, Fena,
B’not, Ko David and all my friends in SING 2002 for the unforgettable
friendship. My sincere thanks go to mudika St. Patrick and lektor St. Yohanes
C. They always color my life and show me what a wonderful friendship is. I want
to thank my Sunsmile Kids fellows and Ms. Detty for being very understanding
to me. It is extremely enjoyable to work with them.
Last but not least, my appreciation goes to numerous individuals whose
name I cannot mention. It is their support that makes this thesis possible.
Angelia Maya Ratri Kusuma
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………
APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………..
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ………………………………………….………
MOTTO PAGE ………………………………………………………….
DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………..
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………..
LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………..
ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………
i
ii
iii
iv
vi
vii
ix
xi
xii
xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ……………………………………...
A. Background of the Study ………………………………………
B. Problem Formulation …………………………………………..
C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………………..
D. Definition of Terms ……………………………………………
1
1
4
4
4
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW …………………………..
A. Review of Related Studies …………………………………….
B. Review of Related Theories …………………………………...
1. Theory of Noun Phrases ……………………………………..
2. The Elements of Noun Phrases ……………………………...
a. The Head ………………………………………………….
b. Determiners ……………………………………………….
1) Predeterminers …………………………………………
2) Central Determiners ……………………………………
3) Postdeterminers ………………………………………...
c. Modifiers ………………………………………………….
1) Premodifiers ……………………………………………
2) Postmodifiers ………………………………………......
3. Theory of the Types of the Noun Phrases …………………...
4. The Nature of News …………………………………………
a. Theory of News …………………………………………...
b. The Language of News …………………………………...
C. Theoretical Framework …………………………………..........
6
6
8
8
9
9
10
10
11
11
11
12
14
15
16
16
17
21
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY …………………………………..
A. The Object of the Study ……………………………………….
B. Population and Sampling ………………………………………
C. Data Collection and Processing Activities …………………….
D. Data Analysis ………………………………………………….
22
22
23
24
24
ix
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS …………………………………………...
A. The Elements of Noun Phrases ………………………………..
1. The Head …………………………………………………….
2. Determiners ………………………………………………….
3. Premodifiers …………………………………………………
4. Postmodifiers ………………………………………………..
B. The Types of Noun Phrases ……………………………………
C. The Average Length of the Noun Phrases ……………………..
26
26
28
31
34
36
39
46
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ………………………………………..
50
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………...
52
APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………..
Appendix 1 ………………………………………………………..
55
55
x
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. The Elements of Noun Phrase…………………………………………. 27
Table 2. The Types of Noun Phrase ……………………………………………..40
xi
ABSTRACT
ANGELIA MAYA RATRI KUSUMA (2007). A Study of English Noun
Phrases in Football News in The Jakarta Post published during the FIFA
World Cup 2006. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters,
Sanata Dharma University.
A noun phrase is a phrase which has a noun as its head. The noun phrase
can be found in almost every sentence because a sentence usually consists of a
verb phrase and a noun phrase. By understanding noun phrases someone is able to
understand a sentence. However, the structure of English noun phrase is different
from Indonesian. The difference may cause difficulties in understanding English
noun phrase. Concerning the statement above, the writer is interested in studying
English noun phrases that occur in football news in The Jakarta Post. In football
news, there are many active sentences which require the occurrence of noun
phrase to complete the thematic role. Moreover, many people are fond of football
thus they are always enthusiastic to know every football news.
This thesis has three objectives. The first objective is to identify the
elements of noun phrase in football news. The second is to identify the types of
noun phrase that mostly occur in the football news. The third objective is to
identify the average length of those noun phrases.
The method employed in this study is a descriptive study, meaning that it
describes the elements of noun phrase, the type mostly occurs and the average
length of those noun phrases. The number of the noun phrases used as the data is
451 which are taken from 5 articles in The Jakarta Post published during the
FIFA World Cup 2006. The method of sampling was convenient sampling. There
were some steps in collecting the data. First, the writer collected and identified all
the noun phrases occurred in the football news. Second, the writer identified the
element realized the noun phrase. Third, the writer classified the noun phrases into
their types and counted them. Last, the writer summed up by putting them in a
table.
From the analysis, it can be concluded that a head of the noun phrase is
mostly realized by countable nouns. A definite article occurs as a determiner of a
noun phrase, an adjective phrase as a premodifier, and a prepositional phrase as a
postmodifier. The most frequent type of noun phrase is type 1, a noun phrase
which only consists of a head. After knowing the type that is mostly used, thus the
average length can be identified. On average the noun phrases are one-word
length. It is because the news writing style is basically simple and concise. The
occurrence of simple noun phrase in the football news in The Jakarta Post makes
the readers who are mostly Indonesians easy to understand the articles.
xii
ABSTRAK
ANGELIA MAYA RATRI KUSUMA (2007). A Study of English Noun
Phrases in Football News in The Jakarta Post published during the FIFA
World Cup 2006. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra,
Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Frasa nominal adalah frasa yang memiliki kata benda sebagai induknya.
Frasa nominal dapat ditemukan hampir di seluruh kalimat karena sebuah kalimat
biasanya terdiri dari frasa verbal dan frasa nominal. Dengan memahami sebuah
frasa nominal seseorang dapat memahami sebuah kalimat. Namun, struktur frasa
nominal bahasa Indonesia berbeda dengan bahasa Inggris. Perbedaan tersebut
menyebabkan kesulitan dalam memahami frasa nominal bahasa Inggris.
Berdasarkan pernyataan tersebut, penulis tertarik untuk mempelajari frasa nominal
bahasa Inggris yang terdapat dalam berita sepakbola di koran The Jakarta Post.
Dalam berita sepakbola, terdapat banyak kalimat aktif yang memerlukan frasa
nominal untuk melengkapi pola kalimatnya. Terlebih lagi, banyak orang
menyukai sepakbola maka mereka akan selalu bersemangat utuk menyimak setiap
berita sepakbola.
Studi ini memiliki tiga tujuan. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk mengetahui
elemen-elemen dari frasa nominal dalam berita olahraga tersebut. Yang kedua
adalah untuk mengetahui tipe frasa nominal yang paling sering digunakan dalam
berita olahraga. Tujuan ketiga adalah mengetahui panjang rata-rata dari kata
benda tersebut.
Metode yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah studi deskriptif yang
memaparkan elemen-elemen frasa nominal, tipe yang sering muncul, dan panjang
rata-rata dari frasa nominal itu. Jumlah frasa nominal yang digunakan sebagai data
adalah 451 yang diambil dari 5 artikel di The Jakarta Post yang dicetak selama
FIFA World Cup 2006. Metode yang digunakan dalam sampling adalah
convenient sampling. Ada beberapa langkah dalam pengumpulan data. Pertama,
penulis mengumpulkan dan mengidentifikasi seluruh frasa nominal dalam berita
sepakbola. Kedua, penulis mengidentifikasi elemen –elemen dari frasa nominal.
Ketiga, penulis mengelompokkan kata frasa nominal menurut tipenya dan
menghitungnya. Langkah terakhir, penulis meringkas seluruh frasa nominal
dengan memasukkannya ke dalam tabel.
Dari pembahasan dapat disimpulkan bahwa induk dari frasa nominal
kebanyakan adalah kata benda yang dapat dihitung. Definite article muncul
sebagai determiner dari frasa nominal, frasa adjektiva sebagai premodifier, dan
frasa preposisi sebagai postmodifier.Tipe yang paling sering muncul adalah tipe 1
yaitu frasa nominal yang terdiri dari induk kata saja. Setelah mengetahui tipe yang
paling sering muncul, maka panjang rata-rata dari frasa nominal dapat
diidentifikasi. Rata rata frasa nominal hanya terdiri dari satu kata. Hal ini
dikarenakan gaya penulisan berita yang sederhana. Penggunaan frasa nominal
yang sederhana dalam berita olahraga di koran The Jakarta Post membuat
pembaca yang kebanyakan adalah orang Indonesia mudah untuk memahami berita
tersebut
xiii
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the study
Human beings live in a world of language. Whatever they do when they
come together, whether they play, fight or do the dishes, they talk to each other.
Human beings use a language as their means to communicate to each other, to
express their thought and emotions (Fromkin, Blair and Collins, 1991: 2)
In this globalization era, people are required to master other language
besides their ownlanguage. Freeman in his book An Introduction to Second
Language Acquisition Research, (1991: 1) says,
English, a second language for most of the people of the world, has
increasingly become the international language for business and
commerce, science and technology and international relationship and
diplomacy.
Since English becomes an international language in this globalization era,
many people begin to learn it. However, English, like all languages, is full of
problems for foreign learners (Swan, 1980: ix). According to Brown, learning a
second language is a long and complex undertaking. Many variables are involved
in the acquisition process. Language learning is not a set of easy step that can be
programmed in a quick do-it-yourself kit (1994: 1). Because of that, people
require years of study and practice to master English as a foreign language.
One of the problems people face in mastering English is the ability to
understand written sentences in textbooks, novels, magazines, newspapers and
articles. Many learners do not have a good ability in reading. One of the causes is
2
that many of them are not fully able to understand phrases. There are several types
of English phrases: noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverbial
phrases and prepositional phrases. A phrase contains words in a group and has a
certain function in sentences.
One type of the English phrases that can be found in almost every sentence
is a noun phrase. This is because a sentence usually consists of a verb phrase and a
noun phrase. According to Ronald Wardaugh, a noun phrase is a grammatical
construction usually contains a noun as its central constituent (1977: 247). The
noun phrase typically functions as subject, object, complement of sentences and as
complement in prepositional phrases (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 59). Here are
some examples of the noun phrases:
1. My father has bought a very expensive car.
2. The police have arrested the man who married John’s sister.
3. This research requires expensive equipment.
My father, the police, the research, a very expensive car, the man who
married John’s sister, and expensive equipment are all noun phrases. The noun
phrases my father, the police, and this research function as the subjects of the
sentences. Whereas, the noun phrases a very expensive car, the man who married
John’s sister and expensive equipment function as the objects of the sentences.
According to Leech and Svartvik (1975: 251), in the structure of the noun phrase
the noun head can be accompanied by a determiner, a premodifier and a
postmodifer. The noun phrases my father, the police and this research consist of
determiners (my, the, this) and noun heads (father, police, research), while, the
3
noun phrase a very expensive car consists of a determiner (a), a premodifier (very
expensive) and a head (car). The noun phrase the man who married John’s sister
consists of a determiner (the), a head (man) and a postmodifier (who married
John’s sister). Finally, the noun phrase expensive equipment consists of a
premodifier (expensive) and a head (equipment).
The structures of English noun phrases are different from Indonesian.
Thus, their differences often make learners confused in learning English. The
problem here is that learners tend to base their interpretation of English noun
phrases on the system and pattern of Indonesian noun phrases. Thus, it will be
difficult then for them if they come to the various forms of English noun phrases.
Learners can misinterpret the text easily.
Concerning the statements above, the writer is interested in investigating
noun phrases in written sentences found in sport news in The Jakarta Post,
especially in its football news. Many people are fond of football. Those football
fans never miss such an outstanding match as The FIFA World Cup which is only
held once in four years. Because of that, football news has become headlines news
that attracts a lot of people to know more about the match. This study is intended
to identify the elements of noun phrase, the types of noun phrases which mostly
occur in the football news and the average length of those noun phrases. The
present study is about the noun phrases in football news in The Jakarta Post
newspaper. The findings of this research are expected to help readers to
understand English noun phrases. By having a better understanding of English
noun phrases, readers can improve their reading comprehension.
4
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background of the study above, the problems of this study
were formulated as follows.
1. What are the elements of the noun phrases in the football news in The
Jakarta Post newspaper?
2. What types of noun phrases are mostly used in the football news in The
Jakarta Post newspaper?
3. What is the average length of those noun phrases?
C. Objectives of the study
From the problem formulation above, the objectives of the study are
formulated into three parts. First is to identify the elements of noun phrase in the
football news of The Jakarta Post newspaper. After identifying the elements of
the noun phrase, the writer tries to identify the types of noun phrase mostly used
in the football news of The Jakarta Post newspaper. The last objective of this
study is to identify the average length of those noun phrases.
D. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding of terms used in this study, it is
necessary to clarify those important terms as presented below.
A phrase is one or more words that are built around a skeleton consisting
of two levels, a phrase level and a word level and act as syntactic unit (O’Grady
and Dobrovolsky, 1996: 725). According to Collins Cobuild English Dictionary
5
for Advanced Learners, a phrase is a small group of words which forms a unit,
either o its own or within a sentence (2001: 1155)
A noun phrase is a grammatical construction usually containing a noun as
its central constituent (Wardaugh, 1977: 247). The noun is shown to be the head
of the phrase by its primary stress and syntactically, by the fact that the whole
group can be replaced by a simple noun (Archibald, 1958: 157).
Sidney Greenbaum categorizes noun phrases into eight types. The types of
the noun phrases are based on the function of the elements such as noun,
determiner + noun, premodifier + noun, determiner + premodifier + noun, noun +
postmodifier, determiner + noun + postmodifier, premodifier + noun +
postmodifier and determiner + premodifier + noun + postmodifier (1989: 60).
Length is the amount of writing that is contained in it (Collins, 2001: 885).
According to Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English
Language, it is a quantity, whether long or short (Webster, 1989: 820).
A newspaper is a publication printed on newsprint, issued at regular and
usually closed intervals, esp. daily or weekly and commonly containing news,
comments, features and advertising (Webster, 1989: 963).
6
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
Chapter II covers three parts: review of related study, review of related
theories and theoretical framework. The first part contains other studies related to
the topic. The second part contains the theories that help in accomplishing the
study. The last, theoretical framework explains the contribution of those theories
in solving the problem of the study.
A. Review of Related Studies
There have been other researchers who study about noun phrase.
Putuningsih, (2000), in her undergraduate thesis entitled The Difference in
Frequency of Noun Phrases in The Jakarta Post and Newsweek tries to find out
what constitutes noun phrase and what is the frequency of noun phrases in The
Jakarta Post and Newsweek. She takes the noun phrases in the headlines of The
Jakarta Post and Newsweek as the sample of her observation.
In her analysis, she compares the frequency of the noun phrases in The
Jakarta Post and Newsweek. She finds out that the use of noun phrases in The
Jakarta Post is fewer than in Newsweek. According to Putuningsih, there are two
reasons why The Jakarta Post contains fewer noun phrases than Newsweek. The
first reason is because there is interference from the habit of using noun phrases in
Indonesian on The Jakarta Post. The writers of The Jakarta Post are bilinguals,
their first language influences their second language. An individual tends to
transfer his native language structure to their foreign language (Lado, 1957: 59).
7
The second reason is the writers of The Jakarta Post want to make the articles
easily understood by the readers who are mostly Indonesian. English, which is
spoken in almost every country as the first or second language will be different
according to the country in which it was spoken.
Another researcher, Yudit, (2004), in her undergraduate thesis entitled
Noun Phrases in “Hills like white Elephants” and “Indian Camp” Revealing
Ernest Hemingway’s styles tries to find out and to analyze phrases and clauses that
occur as the element of noun phrases. Yudit categorizes the phrases and clauses
based on their function in the noun phrase structure. Yudit tries to reveal
Hemingway’s style based on the noun phrases that occur in his two short stories.
Yudit finds out that the occurrence of simple noun phrases dominates
Hemingway’s “Hills like white Elephants” and “Indian Camp”. The simple noun
phrases occur with determiner, a genitive and an indefinite article. The simple
noun phrase also occurs by itself in a bare noun phrase. Meanwhile the complex
noun phrases occur with different types of phrases namely an adjective phrase,
prepositional phrase, verb phrase, noun phrase and clauses. Those phrases and
clauses hold certain function in noun phrases structure as an attribute, adjunct or a
complement. Another function which is required to occur with the noun phrases is
a specifier.
This study differs from the previous studies because it concerns in the
elements and types of the noun phrases in football news in The Jakarta Post.
Since there are no studies discussing the topic and use football news in The
8
Jakarta Post as the source of the data, the writer deals with it in the study. This
study tries to give an understanding and contribution of noun phrases in usage.
B. Review of Related Theories
This part contains some theories that help in accomplishing the study. The
theories that are applied in this study are theory of noun phrases, the elements of
noun phrases, the types of noun phrases and theory of news. Those theories will
be explained in the following section.
1. Theory of Noun Phrase
Flor Aarts and Jan Aarts in their book English Syntactic Structures state
that a phrase is a constituent which can be identified on the basis of the word class
membership of its most important constituent. Thus, a noun phrase is a phrase
which has a noun or typically a noun as its most important constituent (1982: 60).
Noun phrases can act as the subject, object or complement of a clause or as
prepositional complement. It is called a noun phrase because the head is typically
a noun. The head noun can be accompanied by the determiners, for example: a,
the, his, and one or more modifiers, either premodifiers or postmodifiers (Leech
and Svartvik, 1975: 251).
The structure of a typical noun phrase may be represented schematically in
the following way, where the parentheses indicate elements of the structure that
may be absent (Greenbaum, 1989: 60).
[Determiners]
[Premodifiers]
Noun
[Postmodifiers]
9
Though the parentheses indicate that the elements can be absent,
determiners are more essential to noun phrase structure than modifier (Leech and
Svartvik, 1975: 251). Those elements of the noun phrase will be discussed further
in the following section.
2. The Elements of Noun Phrases
From the explanation above, the elements of noun phrase can be seen
clearly. In the structure of the noun phrase, those elements are also realized by
other elements as follows.
a. The Head
A head is an obligatory element for noun phrase. It is a minimal
requirement for the occurrence of a noun phrase. According to Bas Aarts, all
phrases have something in common, namely the fact that they must minimally
contain a Head (1997: 97). The most usual type of a head of a noun phrase is a
noun. However, according to Flor Aarts and Jan Aarts, if the noun phrase consists
of a head only, the head must be realized by a count noun, books are getting
more and more expensive; an uncountable noun, we are running out of sugar, a
proper noun, Smith is extremely difficult to get on with, and a pronoun, she
never eats meat (1982: 104). According to Jackson, being countable noun means
that for the nouns in those examples the system of number operates. In English,
the number system has two terms namely singular and plural. On the other hand,
the system of number for the uncountable nouns does not operate. Uncountable
nouns refer to undifferentiated mass. They cannot be used with indefinite article
and cannot occur in plural form (1990: 37).
10
The head of a noun phrase can also be realized by an adjective phrase
like in the poor, the inevitable (Langacker, 1972: 194). Most commonly
adjectives that become the heads of a noun phrase have personal reference for
example the wise look to the wiser for advice; the young in spirit enjoy life. These
adjectives have generic and plural reference (Quirk & Greenbaum, 1973: 117).
The head of a noun phrase can also realized by a participle like in the
accused, the dying. The head is also realized by a numeral like in these two, all
three. The last, the head can be realized by a genitive like in I am staying at my
aunt’s, the grocer’s is at the corner of the street (Aarts, 1982:104).
b. Determiners
Determiners are words which specify the range of reference of a noun.
Determiners always precede the noun they determine, but they have different
positions relative to one another (Leech and Svatvik, 1975: 224-226). According
to Aarts (1982: 106) determiners are distinguished into three sub functions namely
predeterminer, central determiner and postdeterminer. Those sub functions will be
explained in the following section.
1) Predeterminers
Predeterminers occur before central determiner. The noun head can be
predetermined by means of the items all, both, double, half, twice, many, such
and what (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 106). The items all, both, half occur before
articles, possessives, or demonstratives like in half an hour, both his last two
newspaper articles, all these expensive school uniform.
11
2) Central determiners
The central determiner of the noun phrase follows a predeterminer. It can
be realized by means of a definite article like in double the amount, an
indefinite article like in half a minute, a demonstrative like in both these books,
a possessive pronoun like in all Peter’s clothes, a quantifier like in his many
grievances and wh-determiners like in which university (Leech and Svartvik,
1975: 226). Wh-determiners cannot, as a rule, be preceded by a predeterminer but
it still may occur like in half of whose books (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 107).
3) Postdeterminers
Items which must follow determiners but precede adjectives in the
premodifier structure include numerals and quantifiers (Quirk and Greenbaum,
1973:65). Postdeterminer is usually realized by cardinal numerals like in some
ten passengers. Next element that can realize postdeterminer is ordinal
numerals. They occur only with count nouns and usually precede any cardinal
numbers in the noun phrase like in the first three years in Edinburgh. Finally, the
postdeterminer can be realized by means of quantifiers like in his many friends,
what few money.
c. Modifiers
Besides determiners, the head noun can also be accompanied by one or
more modifiers. Modifiers which precede the head are called premodifiers, and
those which occur after the noun head are called postmodifiers (Leech and
Svartvik, 1975: 251).
12
1) Premodifiers
Premodifiers in a noun phrase are placed after determiners but before the
noun which is the head of the phrase (Leech and Svartivk, 1975: 271). In the
structure of the noun phrase the function of a premodifier may be realized by
means of an adjective phrase. The choice of an adjective phrase in the structure
of a noun phrase is independent of previous choices from the predeterminer,
central determiner or postdeterminer items like in all English poetry, any other
acceptable solution (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 108).
Next, the function of premodifier may be realized by means of a noun
phrase like in church bazaar, sports review. It is common for the noun phrase
head to be premodified by a noun phrase which, in turn, is premodified by another
noun phrase. Consider for example: Cambridge University Press, London street
guide. It is also possible for the noun phrase head to be premodified by
coordinated nouns like in cheese and cucumber sandwiches, the Eric Morecambe
and Ernie Wise Show (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 111).
The third, the noun phrase head may be premodified by a classifying
genitive like in a doctor’s degree, a men’s shop (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 111).
However, this classifying genitive is different from the specifying genitive
functioning as a central determiner. The word preceding the specifying genitive
qualifies the genitive, not the head noun. On the other hand, it is the head noun
which is qualified when the genitive is classifying. The difference can be seen
through the following explanation.
13
those men’s wives
that men’s shop
The demonstrative those preceding a specifying genitive qualifies the
genitive men’s, not the head wives. On the other hand, it is the head shop which is
qualified when the genitive men’s is classifying (Aarts and Aarts, 1982: 112).
Next, the noun phrase head can be premodified by an adverb phrase like
in the then chairman, an away game, the above photo, the upstairs neighbor.
Then and above are probably the most common adverb phrases used as
premodifier (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 129). Leech and Svartivk, state that a
few degree words can modify noun phrases. They include quite, rather, such, and
what. The noun phrase is normally indefinite, and the adverb precedes any
determiners like in he told such a funny story and what a fool he is! (1975: 203).
In the structure of the noun phrase, premodifier can be realized by means
of a participle (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 395). Either present or past
participle can premodify the noun head like in his crumbling cottage and his
completed cottage.
In addition, there are modifiers which consist of more than one word but
which make up syntactic construction rather than a compound word. They are
usually hyphenated when they premodify like in a ready-to-wear suit, which
means the suit is ready to wear and the town-hall clock, which means the clock is
on the town hall (Leech And Svartivk, 1975: 272).
14
2) Postmodifiers
The noun head can be accompanied by some modifiers. The modifiers
which follow the noun head are called postmodifier (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973:
251). In the structure of the noun phrase the function of postmodifier may be
realize by means of an adjective phrase like in the information available. The
occurrence of the adjective phrase as the postmodification also can be seen as a
temporary status (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973: 377). Thus the noun phrase the
information available would be understood as having reference only to a specific
time. According to Leech and Svartvik (1973: 194) in certain cases,
postmodifying adjective can usually be regarded as a reduced relative clause like
in the people present (the people who were present), the easiest solution
conceivable (the easiest solution which is conceivable).
Next element that can realize the postmodifier is an adverb phrase. Some
adverbs denoting time or place postmodify nouns like in the meeting yesterday,
his journey home. Leech and Svartivk state that the use of adverbs as postmodifer
is more restricted than the use of other postmodifier. The adverbs used as
postmodifying such as home, yesterday, tomorrow, before, ahead, below and
outside (1973: 203 & 271).
The most common type of postmodifiers in English is a prepositional
phrase like in the trees in the park, the path along the canal. A prepositional can
often be expanded to relative clause like in Is this the road to Paris? that can be
expanded into is this the road that lead to Paris? (Leech and Svartvik, 1975:
268).
15
The next element that can postmodify the noun head is a finite clause like
in the news that he had been fired, the problem how this could be solved.
According to Aarts and Aarts, the finite clause function as postmodifier is
introduced by temporal conjuction such as before, after, since, and until (1982:
117). The examples of the noun phrase postmodified by those kind of finite clause
are the days before he died, the time since he has been chairman.
Next, postmodification of the head can be realized by a non-finite clause.
Three types of non-finite clause can occur in postmodification namely infinitive
clause like in he is the man to talk to, -ing participle like in I received letter
asking me to return to England, and –ed participle clause like in the general
impression given by this book is favorable. According to Leech and Svartivk, non
finite clauses that premodify the head noun are equivalent to reduced relative
clauses (1975: 268).
The last element that can postmodify the noun head is a noun phrase like
in girls your age, a rock that shape, and a car that color. However, according to
Aarts and Aarts, posmodification by means of noun phrase is rare (1982: 115).
3. Theory of the Types of Noun Phrases
In the structure of a noun phrase, Aarts and Aarts distinguish three
elements namely head, determiner and modifier (1982: 104). From the element of
the noun phrases, Greenbaum (1989: 60) states eight possible structure of the
noun phrases, as follows.
No
1.
Types of noun phrases
Noun
Examples
books
16
2.
Determiner + Noun
those books
3.
Premodifier + Noun
history books
4.
Determiner + Premodifier + Noun
some long books
5.
Noun + Postmodifier
books about Canada
6.
Determiner + Noun + Postmodifier
some books on astronomy
7.
Premodifier + Noun + Postmodifier
popular books on psychology
8.
Det + Premodifier + Noun + Postmodifier
some popular books on astronomy
The above table shows the types of the noun phrase. However, according
to Leech and Svartvik (1975: 272), the noun head can be accompanied by more
than one premodifier like in the American spring medical conference and a world
political problem. Those two examples belong to the fourth type, Determiner +
Premodifier + Noun. The noun phrases consists of determiners (the, a),
premodifiers (American spring medical, world political) and nouns (conference,
problem). Though those noun phrases belong to the same group but they have
different length, for example the noun phrase the American spring medical
conference consists of five words, while the noun phrase a world political
problem consists of four words.
4. The Nature of News
a. Theory of News
John B. Bogart, a city editor of the New York Sun utters a famous dictum,
when a dog bites a man, that’s not news. But when a man bites a dog, that is news.
17
To some extent it still stands today, because news is often the recount of
something rare or out of ordinary (Metzler, 1986: 21).
According to Reah, news is a late Middle English word that means tiding,
new information of recent events. It is an information about recent events that are
of interest to a sufficiently large group or that may affect the life of sufficiently
large group (2002: 4). Whereas, according to Metzler news is a prompt, “bottom
line” recounting of factual information about events, situations and ideas
(including opinion and interpretations) calculated to interest an audience and help
people cope with themselves and their environment (1986: 23).
Talking about news can not be separated from newspaper. Newspaper has
made itself an important place in people’s life. One of the major functions of the
newspaper is to serve as the eyes of its readers, focusing attention on the
interesting, important and thrilling events of the day. As what Reddick says:
We want to go to a football game but have to work. As
soon as the game is over, we buy a sports edition and thrill to
the account of the game. We could not go, but someone saw
the game for us and told us about it- the sports writer (1941: 6).
b. The Language of News
The language of news today is the product of centuries of linguistic
evolution. It is not a ‘natural’ form of writing. It is particular discourse with its
own rhythms, tones, words and phrases (Keble, 2001: 81).
According to Miller in Mott’s book entitled New Survey of Journalism, the
style of the news writing must observe five principles (1958: 50). First is
correctness. Correctness of news style is essential to clarity and understand the
news. Language is a conventional set of symbols, a refinement of the sign
18
language of the ancient. When the correctness of the conventional set of symbols
is violated, its meaning is uncertain. The reader will not understand the news.
Correctness of news-writing style implies not only accuracy in grammar, spelling
and diction but also conformity to canons of good tastes as well.
Second is simplicity. This necessity for simplicity touches every element
of the news story such as word, sentence and paragraph. The short and well
known words are preferred than the longer words. Sentences in news are compact,
definite in structure and moderate in length. Sentences go directly to the points.
According to Keble, the sense of news values has to be sharp and that only comes
with practice. “KISS (Keep It Short and Simple) and TELL” could be the
journalist’s motto. Complex sentences overloaded with long subordinate clauses
should be avoided. Short, precise sentences are best (2001: 81). The news writer’s
sentences are, on the average, shorter than those employed in literary publications,
text and reference works. Many newspapers currently are asking reporters for
sentence lengths of less than twenty words. Studies have revealed that sentences
of greater length increase the difficulty of reading for the large number of readers
who had little education. There is a need of brevity in news story paragraph. The
news paragraph rarely should exceed a maximum of six standard type written
lines (approximately twelve lines of newspaper body type). As this maximum is
passed, ease of reading is sacrificed. News shall be told plainly with no obvious
straining for effects. Sports writers seem particularly susceptible to this frailty of
style. The following paragraphs are the example of a lead of an account of a Notre
Dame Southern California football game:
19
SOLDIERS’ FIELD, CHICAGO, Nov. 16- Football of a
magnificent stature, comparable in every way to the headline position
which the game occupied in national affairs was played in this
uncompleted, murk filled bowl, laying within earshot of the lapping
waters of Lake Michigan here this afternoon.
California, trained and schooled in the sun kissed climate of
the Pacific Coast, rode 2500 miles from the shadows of the Sierra
Madre mountains to meet an eleven coached by the vital Viking of
America’s greatest sport (Mott, 1958: 51).
Third is conciseness. Desired brevity is attained not by omission of details
but by tight phrasing, packing fact upon fact. According to Keble, many factors lie
behind the creation of the concise news language. Every reported word involves a
cost. Economic language helps provide economies in production. Speed is the
essence of newspapers. Sentence structure and page design are influenced by the
need to help readers move through the newspaper quickly (2001: 82). Most wordy
stories are the result of lazy writing. The reporter fails to take time to write briefly.
There are some ways to construct the conciseness of style such as; the omission of
unnecessary articles like in a fire which started at 7 A. M., which is better to be
written as in fire which started at 7 A. M. Second is by using a direct statement
like in changes which are going to affect tomorrow’s newspaper, which is better
to be written as in changes affecting tomorrow’s newspaper (Mott, 1958: 53).
Fourth is objectivity. This quality in style is a reflection of the writer’s
point of view. The journalistic ideal of fair play demands not only that the reporter
shall tell both sides of the story but also that the phrasing of his account shall not
be colored by his opinion. According to Miller (Mott, 1958: 53), direct expression
of opinion is barred in all stories except those carrying the writer’s by-line.
Indirect expression through colored words which unconsciously express the
20
writer’s bias should be avoided as well for example in reporting testimony of a
witness, to write that “she admitted” or conceded a fact has implications far
different from the uncolored tag, “the witness said”.
Fifth is interest. Miller says that interest must always be present in news
(Mott, 1958: 53). The news writer always puts his best foot forward in his effort
to maintain reader-interest. Word choice and the organization of sentence and
paragraph must be determined in view of the ever-present. There are some ways
to make the news interesting. The first is the use of vigorous diction like in an
accident occurred at Main and Second streets when…, which is better to be
written as in a loaded school bus and a 10-ton truck collided…. The second is the
variety of paragraph length. Although news writing must be simple, its sentences
should not be uniformly simple. Variety in paragraph length gives the news a
more interesting appearance. The last is the variety of both length and structure in
sentences. If the beginning of a sentence is not interesting, readers will not take
time to read the news. Miller gives the example as follows. An author writes the
beginning of a sentence like in With 2000 spectators in the stands, Skeet’s Motors
defeated the Home Bakers 5 to 3 today to win the Industrial league championship.
The sentence is not interesting for the readers. It is better to write Skeet’s Motors
won the Industrial league championship today, defeating the Home Bakers 5 to 3
before a crowd of 2000 (Mott, 1958: 55).
21
C. Theoretical Framework
This part explains the contribution of the theories in solving the problems
formulated in this study. Those related theories will be used as a foundation and a
guideline for the writer to analyze the object of the study.
In order to gain a deep knowledge about a noun phrase, the elements that
realize the occurrence of a noun phrase must be mastered first. Thus, the writer
put the theory of noun phrases and elements of noun phrases. Those theories
discuss the elements that are possible to realize the occurrence of a noun phrase.
Those theories will be helpful to recognize the elements constitute the noun
phrase. By doing so, the first problem of this study can be solved.
The writer also put the theory of the types of noun phrases. The theory
may give contribution to solve the second problem. This theory discusses eight
possible types of noun phrases. The types of the noun phrases are classified based
on the function of the elements constitute the noun phrases. The writer will use the
theory to classify the noun phrases into their types. By classifying those noun
phrases, the writer can find out the types of those noun phrases which mostly
occur in the sport news. Basically, this theory can help the writer to solve both the
second and third problems of this study. After finding out the most common type
of the noun phrases occurs in the football news, the writer will be able to
recognize the average length of those noun phrases.
Besides those theories, the writer also has some theory of news. Those
theories discuss the nature and the language of the news. Those theories may have
contribution to support the finding of the second and third problems since they
discuss some principles of news writing.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter contains a discussion of the procedures of the study to gain
the objectives. This chapter covers three parts: the object of the study, the
population and sampling, and method of the study. The third part discusses not
only the method of the study but also the data collection and data analysis.
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study is the noun phrases that occur in the football news
in certain pages in The Jakarta Post published during the FIFA World Cup 2006.
According to Leech and Svartvik, a noun phrase can act as subject, object or
complement of a clause or as prepositional complement. In the structure of the
noun phrase, the noun head can be accompanied by a determiner, a premodifier
and a postmodifier (1975: 251). A noun phrase can be found in almost every
sentence. This is because a sentence usually consists of a verb phrase and a noun
phrase.
In this study, the writer discusses the noun phrases which occur in football
news. The writer chooses the football news because football is one branch of sport
that commands a large following of enthusiastic and even rabid fans. The writer
chooses 5 articles issued from June until July 2006. It was when the FIFA World
Cup was held. Many people were waiting for the great event that only held once
in four years. Those reasons made the football news interesting to be analyzed.
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B. Population and Sampling of the Study
According to Spiegel, population is the entire group of individuals or
objects (1961: 1).
It is any group of individuals that have one or more
characteristics in common that are of interest to the researcher (Best, 1986: 11). In
this study, the writer takes the noun phrases in the football news in The Jakarta
Post as the population. The Jakarta Post is chosen because the language used is
the standard one. Best states that some populations are so large that it will be
impractical and time consuming to observe the whole population to gain the
objectives of a certain research (Best, 1986: 11).
As mentioned above, it will be time consuming to observe the whole
population. Fortunately, instead of taking the whole population, the researcher can
take a sample of the population. According to Best, sample is a small proportion
of a population selected for observation and analysis. By observing the
characteristics of the sample, one can make certain inferences about the
characteristics of the population from which it is drawn (1986: 12). Referring to
the previous explanation, the writer limits the articles as the sample of the study.
The sample of this study is 5 football news taken from 5 editions of The Jakarta
Post. Those football news are issued on 11, 18, 25 June, 2 and 9 July 2006. Those
football news are published on Sunday. The writer chooses the Sunday edition
because on Sunday people have more leisure time to read their favorite news. The
method used in this research could be categorized into convenient sampling. In
this method, the samples contain subject who are simply available in a convenient
way to the researcher. This method is often the only practical one, particularly for
24
students
or
others
with
restricted
time
and
resources
(http:/www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~kate/gmcweb/s8.htm)
C. Data Collection and Processing Activities
The primary data of this study was the noun phrases which occurred in the
football news. The football news was collected from The Jakarta Post issued from
June until July 2006.
There were several steps in the collecting the data. First the writer chooses
the population and the samples that will be used as the data resources. In this
study, the population is The Jakarta Post. The samples are football news in The
Jakarta Post issued from June until July 2006. The second step is collecting all
noun phrases that occur in the 5 football news in The Jakarta Post. After that, the
writer identifies the elements that constitute the noun phrases. Then