Presented as Partial Fulfillments of the Requirements to obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree in English Language Studies
GRAMMATICAL AND LEXICAL FEATURES OF JOB
ADVERTISEMENTS IN KOMPAS
A THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillments of the Requirements to obtain the Magister Humaniora (M.Hum) Degree in English Language Studiesby
NUGROHO JOKO SASONO
Student Number: 056332002
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIESSANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2011
August 22, 2011
APPROVAL PAGE
August 26, 2011
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan dibawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : NUGROHO JOKO SASONO Nomor Mahasiswa : 056332002
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
GRAMMATICAL AND LEXICAL FEATURES OF JOB ADVERTISEMENTS IN KOMPAS beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 23 Agustus 2011 Yang menyatakan Nugroho Joko Sasono
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I realized that the writing of this thesis cannot be separated from the role of certain persons who help me in the form technical guidance, moral support, and useful advice.
I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, MA for his advice and technical direction in the process of my research. I would also like to thank FX. Mukarto, M.S., Ph.D., the Head of Graduate Program in English Language Studies for his understanding and his support.
I would like to thank to all Graduate Program in English Language Studies lecturers: Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A., Dr. J. Bismoko, Prof. Dr. Soepomo Poedjosoedarmo, Dr. Novita Dewi, M.S., M.A.(Hons), who have given me some useful suggestions during their lectures.
I would like to give my special thanks to my lovely family for being patient and supportive.
Finally, I would direct my thankfulness to all my classmates in the English Language Studies in Sanata Dharma University for their friendship and solidarity.
Yogyakarta, 23August 2011 Nugroho Joko Sasono
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table 1.1. World Bank Text, Date: November 22, 2008 ................................. 60Table 1.2. Mitsui Text. Date: January 18, 2009 ............................................... 61Table 1.3. Multinational Company Text. Date: January 18, 2009 .................... 61Table 1.4. Raksa Pratikara Text. Date: January 18, 2009 ................................ 62Table 1.5. Everbesindo Text. Date: January 18, 2009 ..................................... 63Table 1.6. Pharmaceutical Company Text. Date: January 18, 2009 ................. 64Table 1.7. Tupperware Text. Date: January 17, 2009 ...................................... 65Table 1.8. Sentosa Text. Date: July 31, 2010 .................................................. 65Table 1.9. Chinatrust Text. Date: July 31, 2010 .............................................. 66Table 1.10. Rehau Text. Date: July 31, 2010 .................................................. 67Table 1.11. UMN Text. Date: August 1, 2010................................................. 68Table 1.12. Miura Text. Date: August 1, 2010 ................................................ 69
Table 2.1. World Bank Text ........................................................................... 70Table 2.2. Mitsui Text .................................................................................... 71Table 2.3. Multinational Company Text ........................................................ 72Table 2.4. Raksa Pratikara Text ...................................................................... 75Table 2.5. Everbesindo Text ........................................................................... 76Table 2.6. Pharmaceutical Company Text ....................................................... 77Table 2.7. Tupperware Text ............................................................................ 78Table 2.8. Sentosa Text .................................................................................. 79Table 2.9. Chinatrust Text .............................................................................. 79Table 2.10. Rehau Text .................................................................................. 81Table 2.11. UMN Text ................................................................................... 83Table 2.12. Miura Text ................................................................................... 84
Table 3.1. Word Bank Text ............................................................................ 85Table 3.2. Mitsui Text .................................................................................... 85Table 3.3. Multinational Company Text ......................................................... 86Table 3.4. Raksa Pratikara Text ...................................................................... 86Table 3.5. Everbesindo Text ........................................................................... 87Table 3.6. Pharmaceutical Company Text ....................................................... 87Table 3.7. Tupperware Text ............................................................................ 88Table 3.8. Sentosa Text .................................................................................. 88Table 3.9. Chinatrust Text .............................................................................. 89Table 3.10. Rehau Text .................................................................................. 89Table 3.11. UMN Text ................................................................................... 90Table 3.12. Miura Text ................................................................................... 90
ABSTRACT
Nugroho Joko Sasono. 2011. Grammatical and Lexical Features of Job
Advertisements in Kompas. Yogyakarta: English Language Studies, Graduate
Program, Sanata Dharma University There are two aspects of language that becomes the main issue of this research. These issues are the grammatical and lexical features contained in the text of job advertisement. The main focus of the research is finding these features. Another important point of the research is finding the answers on how these features provide specific characteristics in the composition of job advertisement texts.
In discussing these two main issues, the supporting variables for grammatical and lexical features were explored. The supporting variables for grammatical aspects are sentence, phrase, clause, and ellipsis. The supporting variables for lexical aspects are adjective, noun, and verb. Subsequently, the answers regarding the role of these variables in job advertisement texts were obtained. The exploration on the grammatical aspects focussed on the use of certain sentence structure, tenses, and their relation to grammatical rules in the composition of job advertisements. The exploration related to lexical aspects was emphasized on the use of certain words, phrases, diction which contained certain meanings and messages.
There were some steps taken in the data analysis. The first one was collecting the data from Kompas newspaper. Second, the selected data were rewritten and compiled into tables. Each of the data was identified according to its parts namely the opening, the body, and the closing. Then, each part was observed to find certain features or characteristics related to grammatical and lexical aspects of the composition.
Based on the data analysis, there were some answers to the questions stated in the problem formulation. The lexical items used in the job advertisement texts are the ones which correlate with the domain of job advertising and contain certain features to meet the efficiency and the effectiveness of advertisement writing style. The words used in the job advertisement are characterized by words that contain positive image the company and positive qualities of the required applicants.
The grammatical features of the job advertisement texts include elliptical patterns, imperative, modals, and passive voice. The grammatical features are like the supporting bridges between the words in the advertisement text so that the message to the reader can be fully understood.
ABSTRAK
Nugroho Joko Sasono. 2011. Fitur Gramatikal dan Leksikal dalam Iklan
Lowongan Pekerjaan di Harian Kompas. Yogyakarta: Kajian Bahasa Inggris,
Program magister, Universitas Sanata Dharma.Judul tesis ini adalah Grammatical and Lexical Features of Job
Advertisements in Kompas. Dalam tesis ini terdapat dua aspek bahasa yang
menjadi isu utama penelitian yaitu karakteristik gramatikal dan karakteristik leksikal yang terdapat dalam teks lowongan pekerjaan. Penemuan akan kedua karakteristik ini menjadi fokus utama penelitian. Selanjutnya juga akan digali tentang bagaimana karakteristik tersebut memberikan ciri tersendiri dalam penulisan iklan lowongan pekerjaan.
Untuk mendalami kedua aspek yang menjadi isu utama tersebut, hal pertama yang dilakukan adalah dengan mengeksplorasi variabel-variabel yang mendukung. Variabel pendukung aspek gramatikal adalah sentence, clause, phrase, ellipsis. Sedangkan variabel pendukung aspek lexical adalah adjective, noun, verb. Langkah berikutnya adalah mencari jawaban atas pertanyaan mengapa dan bagaimana peran variabel-variable tersebut dalam iklan lowongan pekerjaan.
Dalam tataran yang lebih praktis, eksplorasi yang dilakukan pada aspek gramatikal berkaitan dengan analisis pada penggunaan pola-pola tertentu dari struktur kalimat, tenses, dan kepatuhan aturan tata bahasa dalam penyusunan iklan pekerjaan. Sedangkan eksplorasi yang berkaitan dengan aspek leksikal menekankan pada penggunaan kata-kata tertentu, penggunaan frase dan diksi tertentu.
Langkah-langkah dalam analisa data adalah, pertama-tama dengan mengumpulkan data dari surat kabar Kompas. Data yang dipilih ditulis ulang dan disusun ke dalam tabel. Setiap data diidentifikasi menurut bagian-bagiannya yaitu bagian pembuka, bagian tubuh, dan penutup. Selanjutnya dilakukan observasi pada masing-masing bagian sehingga dapat ditemukan ciri-ciri tertentu yang mengarah pada karakteristik aspek gramatikal dan aspek leksika dalam teks iklan lowongan pekerjaan.
Berdasarkan analisis data ada beberapa jawaban atas pertanyaan- pertanyaan yang dinyatakan dalam rumusan masalah. Item leksikal yang digunakan dalam teks iklan pekerjaan adalah kata-kata yang berkorelasi dengan domain iklan pekerjaan dan berisi fitur tertentu untuk memenuhi efisiensi dan efektivitas gaya penulisan iklan. Kata-kata yang digunakan dalam iklan pekerjaan yang ditandai dengan kata-kata yang mengandung citra positif perusahaan dan kualitas positif dari para pelamar yang dibutuhkan. Ciri tata bahasa dari teks iklan pekerjaan meliputi pola elipsis, pola imperatif atau perintah, pola modals, dan kalimat pasif. Ciri tata bahasa berfungsi seperti penjembatan yang mendukung komposisi kata-kata dalam teks iklan sehingga pesan untuk pembaca dapat dipahami sepenuhnya.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION1.1 Background
In recent years, where various kinds of global relations emerge and expand, the role of English as an international language is getting extensive. It meets the global need of a global language, as the world may become interconnected areas in term of communication. Being the global mass communication language, English becomes a common practice in many fields such as education, business, and mass media. In the rapid development of human civilization, mass media plays important role as a medium of information to publish and report the phenomenon. Mass media can take various types: audio such as radio, audio-visual such as television, and printed mass media such as newspaper.
Nowadays, it is common to find English newspapers published in countries where English is not their native language. Indonesia is one of these countries where one can easily find international English newspapers displayed side by side with national and local newspapers. Some national publishers also publish English newspapers to meet the need of expatriate readers who stay or work in Indonesia. The widespread use of English in local and national newspapers shows the extensiveness of English in printed media. Accordingly, it implicates in the way the national newspapers publishers present their media contents. Such of the implication is that they receive advertisement texts written in English.
Advertisement is a form of non personal or mass presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services in mass media which are financed by particular sponsors (C.M. Lingga Purnama, M.M.; 2002:156). The presentation and promotion is meant to present and to promote the ideas, goods, and services of particular company. Clear and correct presentation and promotion may boost the image of the company. Therefore, the advertisement should be written in clear and correct sentences. Clear and correct sentences make sure that the readers may easily understand the message of the advertisement.
One of the English written advertisements in newspapers is job vacancy, as found in Kompas. It may have some reasons. One of the reasons is probably the necessity to aim or select particular readers or applicants with particular level of skills and education. The job advertisements which are written in English may be intended as a way of selecting the prospective applicants on a preliminary basis. Another reason may relate to strategies of brand imaging or ways to present corporate images to the public domain. Thus, the choice of using English may not, merely, because English is an international language. Other reasons may lie beyond it. The preference to English may also deal with the aspects of credibility, prestige, and the like. The need of targeting specific readers or applicants along with sustaining the company‟s prestige may become some of the reasons of writing the advertisements in English.
However, problems may occur at the textual level considering that not all English-written job advertisements are meeting the standard of writing. The following are some examples of the errors found in some English written job advertisements published in Kompas. The errors are underlined.
“ …..There are some opportunities for experience people to joint our professional
people
….. “ (PT. Madani Talatah Nusantara / Kompas, June 7. 2008) “…..The role will also involve of farm activities, data compilation and
integration, working with the technical team to plan future work programs within
the project area, and also some component of grid based exploration…..” (PT. Indo Multi Niaga / Kompas, June 7.2008)
“…..We invited strong candidates who fulfill these below qualifications with the
capability to lead a team of HR personnel to create a comprehensive HR services
to designated company business areas and contributing to the overall
performance.” (recruitment.development@gmail.com / Kompas, June 7.2008)In other occasions the errors occur since it is commonly known that the writers of advertisements sometimes deliberately produce sentences that are not complete (R.A. Close; 1975:1). Consequently, the writers of the advertisements mau have to observe and check the composition to meet the standard of English usage.
There are some requirements in order to meet the standard of English usage. First, an English sentence should have subject and verb. Some sentences below show examples of English sentences.
(1) She looks pretty with her blue dress. (2) They are great fire fighters. (3) The man with a red hat is my uncle. Second, there is an agreement between the subject and the verb as they are shown in these following examples
(4) a. They looks strong in that game.
b. They look strong in that game. (5) a. The collection of books are stored in the museum.
b. The collection of books is stored in the museum.
`The examples in (4) a. and (5) a. are incorrect. Their subjects and their verbs do not show any agreement. In (4) a. They looks strong in that game, the verb looks is incorrect. It should be look because looks does not show agreement with subject
they since they is a pronoun for third person plural. Therefore, looks should be
replaced with look. In (5) a. The collection of books are stored in the museum, the verb are is incorrect. It should be is because are does not show agreement with subject the collection of books since the head of subject here is collection, which is singular, while of books is the post modifier. Therefore, the appropriate verb is
is. Third, English sentence should meet the agreement between verb and time
which is expressed in the form of tenses. Some sentences below show some of the agreements between verb and time.
(6) He went to Jakarta last week. (7) She walks and jogs every day. (8) My father will get a new position next week. Another requirement is related to the word form. An English sentence should consist of appropriate words in order to build a good sentence. There are some factors need to be considered in word form. They are the form of irregular verbs, the correct use of verbs, and the use of articles, prepositions, and pronouns.
1.2 Problem Identification
This research deals with the linguistic features used in job advertisement in
Kompas . It is focused on the grammatical and lexical features used in job
advertisement. This deals with the standard of accuracy in using the verbs in accordance with the tenses used in the sentence, for example simple past tense, simple present tense, present perfect tense, or the voice. Another standard related to verbs usage accuracy is the agreement between the subject of the sentence and the form of the verbs. Articles, plurality, prepositions, and pronouns are also some other focuses which need to be concerned.
This research also deals with question of how are grammatical and lexical features meet the advertisement requirement. It is something to do with the language use in advertisement in term of the message content, the effectiveness of language, and the fascination of the advertisement language form. By observing and analyzing job advertisements collected from Kompas, the standard factors of good job advertisement may be discovered.
1.3 Problem Limitation
This research is limited to analyzing job advertisement since there are many kinds of advertisements published in newspaper. The job advertisements that are used as the data research are written in English since this research is intended to analyze the English use in job advertisement.
An example of textual composition of a classified advertisement is provided below.
URGENTLY REQUIRED A reputable company in property industry in South Jakarta seeks a: Marketing Manager The ideal candidate will be 35
- – 40 years of age, service oriented and possess strong management organizational and communication skill with at least 5 years experience as a Property Manager. A university degree in a related discipline as well as proficiency in the English language is required. Please send your complete application letter, CV and photo within 7 days to PO Box 1230 Jakarta 10310 (Kompas, 19/01/2008)
Since many parties may get involved in the advertisement creation process, the information needed in order to meet the goal of this writing will be gathered from relevant resources such as advertising agencies and some experts in public communication when needed.
1.4 Problem Formulation
This research will discuss the use of grammatical and lexical features in job advertisement dealing with the language use in job advertisements in a daily national newspaper, Kompas. In doing so, some research questions related with the object being observed are proposed. They are:
1. What are the grammatical features of job advertisements? 2.
What are the lexical features of job advertisements?
1.5 Research Goals and Objectives
The first goal, which is attempted to obtain in this research, is to discover the grammatical features in job advertisements written in English. In order to achieve this goal, some theories of English grammar should be explored to elaborate the grammatical features in job advertisements.
The second goal is to discover the lexical features in job advertisements written in English. In order to achieve this goal, some theories of English lexical should be explored to elaborate the lexical features in job advertisements.
The last goal is to discover the contribution of grammatical and lexical features in job advertisements written in English. The use of grammatical and lexical features in job advertisements might be discovered by observing the grammatical and lexical features in job advertisements in English. In order to support this observation, theories of advertisements are explored because the theories also state about the requirements of good advertisements. By elaborating the theories of English grammar, English lexical, and the theories of advertisements, it is expected that the requirements for good advertisements in English are discovered.
1.6 Research Benefit
The research, theoretically, may give a contribution to English language studies concerning the discussion that goes around grammatical and lexical issues.
It is hoped that the study would also enrich any academic discourse related to the notion of lexis and grammar and give rise to further research since there are some different views that lexis and grammar should be considered as interdependent, rather than as two separate entities and vice versa.
Practically, the results of this research should be useful for Indonesian who read English written advertisements, English users, and particularly for those who are involved in advertisement business. They are the advertising agencies in terms of developing advertisements in English properly, the editors in the newspapers company in conducting screening and editing before the newspaper is published, and the job seekers in understanding job advertisement written in English.
Generally, the results of this research may contribute to any activities related to English writing lessons, where the emphasis is to write sentences effectively, clearly, and proper correctly. In addition, it may improve the ability of any English users in writing properly. This research should also be useful for further research and investigations, serving as an additional reference or supporting materials.
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter presents some literature information including theories
related to the study. Some notes and critical opinions will be presented also in order to evaluate these information and theories. Three main discussions are presented in this chapter which concern about theoretical review, related research, and theoretical framework.
2.1 Theoretical Review
2.1.1. Grammatical Features
As the study of the thesis is about grammatical and lexical features in job advertisement, this section will elaborate the definition and aspect regarding the terms called grammatical and lexical features. Finch (2000: 20) defines feature as:
A term which refers to any typical or noticeable property of spoken or written language. Like many such terms in linguistics it can be used in either a general or a precise sense. Using it generally, we could say, for example, that a feature of spoken language is the use of
INTONATION because intonation is a typical
property of speech, or that complete grammatical structures are a feature of written language, on similar grounds. Used more preci sely, however, „feature‟ refers not simply to typical but to distinctive linguistic properties. About grammar, Finch (2000: 20) defines as:
The grammar of a language consists of a set of rules which
WELL-
native speakers intuitively follow in the production of
FORMED constructions. So, for example, knowing that regular
VERBS form their past tense by adding 'ed', is a rule of English
MORPHOLOGY, and knowing that „ed‟ may be pronounced as /t/, /id/, or /d/, depending on the environment, is a rule of English
PHONOLOGY
. The term `rule' has a special sense here: …They are better understood as principles by which the language operates. In accordance with the two statements, grammatical features is defined by Kibort and Corbett (2008) in their website on grammatical features as
“In attempting to understand language, many researchers use features, the elements into which linguistic units, such as words, can be broken down. Examples of features are number (singular, plural, dual ...), person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), and tense (present, past ...).” It means that identifying grammatical features of a text means to observe what features of grammar such as tenses, prepositions, and the like, are used in the text and how they are used.
2.1.2. Lexical Features
The term lexical is the adjective form of the term lexis. According to Leech et al. (2001: 264) lexis means the use of vocabulary, or the choice of words, in a language or a text.
Finch (2000: 102) adds the discussion on these terms where he elaborates,”The „lexis‟ of a language is its vocabulary or word. You will usually come across the term in its adjectival form, lexical. A lexical item, for example, is a vocabulary unit, or lexeme; in other words, something you will find in a dictionary
”. Therefore, it can be said that the discussion on lexical features is related with the use of certain words.
About feature, Finch (2000: 20) defines as: “A term which refers to any typical or noticeable property of spoken or written language. Like many such terms in linguistics, it can be used in either a general or a precise sense. Using it generally, we could say, for example, that a feature of spoken language is the use of intonation. Intonation is a typical property of speech, or that complete grammatical structures are a feature of written language, on similar grounds. Used more precisely, however, „feature‟ refers not simply to typical but also to distinctive linguistic properties.
”
2.1.3. Phrase
Finch (2000: 112) defines a phrase as “a syntactic unit which typically consists of more than one word, and is intermediate between word and clause level in sentences.
” Finch adds that phrases are formed out of the main lexical word classes. Leech et al . (2001: 396) states, “We build clauses and sentences out of phrases. A phrase may co nsist of one or more word.” Therefore, the combination of two words such as the cat can be said as a phrase. A single word like man, woman, children can also be called a phrase. A phrase then has no subject or predicate, and can be a part of a sentence.
Leech et al. (2001: 396) add that there are five kinds of phrase namely noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, adjective phrase, and adverb phrase. A noun phrase has a noun as its main word or head word, as in these examples: (a). expensive bags, (b). his book. In each of these examples, the nouns
bags and books is the main word. The word expensive is the modifier of the noun
bags , the word his is the modifier of the noun books. The elaboration of other
kinds of phrase is as follows: A verb phrase has a verb as its main word, as in (a).
has come . (b). is working. The verbs come and working are main words with the
modifiers has and is. A prepositional phrase has a preposition as its first word, as in (a). at night. (b). from London. The words at and from are prepositions coming before the nouns night and London. An adjective phrase has an adjective as its main word, as in as in (a). very small. (b). so cold. The words small and cold are adjectives modified by very and so. An adverbial phrase has an adverb as its main word, as in (a). too often. (b). very frequently. The words often and frequently are adverbs modified by too and very.
2.1.4. Clause
According to Leech et al. (2001: 80), clauses are the main structures of which sentences are built. He adds that a sentence contains at least one main clause, and may also contain subordinate clauses. Finch (2000: 88) explains that the distinctive feature of clauses is that they have a subject-predicate structure.
Leech et al. (2001: 81) elaborate that a clause itself contains one or more elements. He mentions the elements that can be contained in a clause which are
conjunction , subject, verb phrase, object, complement, and adverbial.
Another terms for main and subordinate clauses are independent and dependent clauses as already discussed in the previous section. Long (1961: 60) states, “Main clauses have characteristics that make them freely usable as sentences. Subordinate clauses, on the other hand, are normally incorporated within other clauses, and many of them have characteristics which ordinarily make them seem unacceptable as sentences.” It means that a main clause can stand as a sentence and independent while subordinate clause cannot stand as a sentence and dependent.
In line with Long are Young and Strauch (2006: 183) who mention that “Dependent clauses cannot be sentences on their own. They depend on an independent clause to support them. The independent clause in a complex sentence carries the main meaning, but either clause may come first. When the dependent clause comes first, it is always followed by a comma.
” There are some points of discussion regarding clauses. First, a clause can be independent or dependent and each of them contains a subject and a predicate.
The meaning carried in the dependent clause, although structurally meets the grammatical standard in that it contains a subject and a predicate, cannot be understood without referring the context carried by the independent clause. So, it can be said that the dependent clause can be meaningful only if a reader relate it to the independent clause. In the sentence, yesterday I went to the supermarket
where I met my old friend , the meaning of the clause where I met my old friend
is not clear without relating it to the clause yesterday I went to the supermarket.Therefore the clause where I met my old friend is dependent.
2.1.5. Sentence
Ralph B. Long (1961: 9) states, “Sentences are linguistic units of a certain magnitude”. He adds that in written discourse, “sentences are ordinarily the most clearly marked units smaller than paragraphs and larger than words, beginning with capital letters, completed by periods or equivalent marks end them, and there is characteristic spacing before and after”. Stated in his remarks are that sometimes a single word can be a sentence, and even a paragraph; but the distinction in magnitudes is a real one nevertheless. He also mentions that most sentences are dependent on the context of preceding sentences or of situation for some of their meaning.
Regarding the structural form of sentences, there are three main kinds of sentences; which are simple sentence, compound sentence, and complex sentence.
Baack (2011) states, that a simple sentence contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. But they can also contain a compound subjects or verbs. Baack gives examples on simple sentences as in (a) some students like to
study in the mornings . (b). Juan and Arturo plays football every afternoon. (c).
Alicia goes to the library and studies every day . Baack states that those three
sentences are written in simple sentences. In (b) the sentence contains a compound subject: Juan and Arturo, and in (c) contains a compound verb: goes and studies.
The other structure of sentence is compound, which Baack mentions as “containing two independent clauses joined by a coordinator”. The coordinators are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Baack gives examples that in the sentence I
tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English , there are two
independent clauses: I tried to speak Spanish and My friend tried to speak
Spanish . The coordinator that joins these clauses is and. Another use of
coordinator such as so can be seen in the sentence
Alejandro is sick, so he doesn’t
go to school . There two independent clauses in the sentence, the first clause is
Alejandro is sick , the second clause is Alejandro doesn’t go to school. When thesesentences are joined using coordinator so the pronoun he is used in the second clause to avoid repeating the subject Alejandro and in that context, the pronoun he is known as referring to Alejandro.
Another kind of structure which is complex sentence, as mentioned by Baack, has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. Baack elaborates that a complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because,
since , after, although, or when. In the sentence the students are studying because
they have a test , there is a subordinate because joining the independent clause the
students are studying , with the dependent clause they have a test. Another
example of complex sentence is the sentence when he left my house, he forgot to
bring his bag . There is a dependent clause when he left my house and an
independent clause he forgot to bring his bag. The subordinator used in that complex sentence is when. In the complex sentence the position of the clauses can be interchanged. The sentence when he left my house, he forgot to bring his bag can be rewritten as he forgot to bring his bag when he left my house. In the latter sentence there is no comma after the independent clause.
2.1.6. Ellipsis
Leech et al. (2001: 141) explain ellipsis as the omission of words in grammar. As an example, Leech et al show that in the sentence
“We went to Rome last year, and [we] real ly enjoyed it”, the word in the brackets is the one which
can be omitted. Leech et al. add that ellipsis can be very useful because it allow us to omit words, instead of repeating them.
The use of elliptical forms is common in advertising for economical reason as mentioned by Goddard (2002: 125). By using elliptical forms, a subject of a sentence may be omitted so that it may only contain a verb and other words. Referring to the above example given by Leech et al as in the sentence we went to
Rome last year, and really enjoyed it , the omitted word is we which functions as
the subject of the sentence. Therefore, it can be said that the sentence we went to
Rome last year, and really enjoyed it is subject ellipsis. The subject we is omitted because it is already understood or implicit by the context provided in the sentence.
There are other forms of elliptical sentences such as sentences with omitted verbs or verb phrases. In the sentence, John bought some books and Jack
some folders , there is an omission of the verb bought since it is implicit by the
context. Another example of ellipsis is the omission of certain phrases as in the sentence,
John wears a jacket, but Jack didn’t [wears a jacket]. The verb phrase in
the bracket which is omitted is already understood by the context in the sentence, that Jack did not wear a jacket as John does.
2.1.7. Advertising
Weilbacher states, “Advertising is communication” (1984: 470). Referring to Weilbacher‟s statement, it can be said that advertising is related to giving messages. In the matter of advertising, there are certain media that are commonly used by advertisement companies to put their messages. In conveying the advertising message, each of these media has some advantages and disadvantages. Televisions rely on both audio and visual advantages, radios on their audio advantages while newspapers on the textual aspect of the message. Advertising messages in television and radio are more punctual and real time then the ones in newspaper. However, people can not easily trace back the data. Whereas advertising messages in newspaper can easily be traced back because they are printed.
Being a printed material, an advertisement needs enough space in the newspaper to deliver the comprehensive message. In advertisement, comprehensive messages are not always composed in long sentences. Goddard (2002: 125) writes, “Advertising language often attempts to reproduce the elliptical nature of spoken language…” Goddard also states that ellipsis is used for economical reason. Sente nces such as “We need applicants to join our team” can be shortened into “Join our team”. Since the subject “we” and the object “applicants” are already known, the use of ellipsis is possible. However, ellipsis may not reduce the point of the message. Therefore, since the form of classified advertisement provides limited space, the use of ellipsis is necessary. Besides ellipsis, Goddard mentions that the message of an advertisement is especially clear at the beginning of a text, often by using bold or large type for the “headline” or “slogan” to capture the attention of the reader.
According to Goddard (2002: 10), “…advertising is not just about the commercial promotion of branded products, but can also encompass the idea of texts whose intention is to enhance the image of an individual, group or organization”. Hence, the use of certain words or lexical items may fulfill the intention to enhance the image of individual, organization, or the company that put the advertisement.
Other feature that characterizes advertising language is proposed by Grey (2011). He notes that these features among others are the frequent use of adjectives and adverbs, long noun phrases, frequent use of pre and post modifiers for descriptions, the use of short sentences for impact on the reader. The use of adjective and adverb can be seen in the phrase such as “highly motivated individual”. The adverb highly modifies the adjective motivated. The example of long noun phrases can be seen in the sentence “The candidates who have significa nt experience in the related field….” The use of pre modifier can be seen in the sentence “A fast growing company is looking for ….” The phrase a fast
growing modifies the noun company. The phrase makes the sentence more
concise since the other form of sen tence can be “We are a fast growing company which is looking for ….” The use of post modifier can be seen in the sentence “We are a joint venture company with Mitsubishi Corporation Japan is looking for ….” The phrase with Mitsubishi Japan modifies the noun company. The phrase makes the sentence more concise since the other form of sentence can be “We are a joint venture company having a relation with a Japanese company namely Mitsubishi”.
In accordance with the use of short sentences in advertising, Chapman (2001: businessballs.com) suggests some tips of writing a job advertisement.
Included in his suggestions are: Make the advert easy to read. Use simple language, avoid complicated words unless absolutely necessary
… Less is more…. Use language that your reader uses. ….and limit your vocabulary to that found in the newspaper. Use short sentences. More than fifteen words in a sentence reduce the clarity of the meaning.
Thus, sentence construction is important in advertising because it deals with creating messages to the readers. Weilbacher (1984: 462) writes that “…message content does matter
…” he also adds, “…sales do go up when particularly effective advertising messages are introduced, and sales do fade when weaker advertising messages are run
…. much more emphasis would presumably be placed upon media planning and the fine tuning of message delivery procedures ”.