THE TEEN MAGAZINE LANGUAGE AS A REGISTER.

ABSTRACT

Nana RaihanaAskurny. Registration Number: 035010117, THE TEEN
MAGAZINE LANGUAGE AS A REGISTER, A Thesis.
English
Apllied
Linguistics
Study
Program,
Postgraduate Program, State University of Medan.
2009.
This qualitative research was conducted to discover whether language used
in teen magazines is a new register in terms of sociolinguistics. Three teen
magazines namely Aneka, Hai and Gadis were taken as the sample. The
researcher took ten rubrics randomly from one edition of each rubric except
Gadis, there were only eight rubrics taken as source of data of words,
phrases, and sentences. From the data collection, it is definitely defined that
all the data are indicated a specific language variety of language use. As a
register, consists of three dimensions namely Field (purpose of language
use), Tenor (relation between participant), and Mode (specific language
used), from the data analysis, it was clear that language use in teen magazine

fulfilled the three dimensions. The three dimension in the teen magazine
which was define as a register are field is purpose of giving information,
news, knowledge, and entertainment for teenager, tenor, the specific relation
which is built between the reader and the editor or writer of the teen
magazine, and mode, there is written language use actually, but it was rather
a spoken·written language use. This study concluded that the language use
in the teen magazines is a new register. Implication of this study is language
variety is challenging to be developed much wider, since there are many
candidates of language use outside which could become as language variety
or register, language use is naturally and arbitrary. However, this register of
teen magazine could be risky, remembered that this affected to the language
use in the teen life, for instance, teenager will use English words, phrases,
and sentences frequently, use of code alteration mostly, and use prokem
language in every part of time and place. Therefore, the researcher suggests
to all editors of teen magazines to consider about language use. In addition,
the Language Council of Indonesia is expected to be more conscious of this
phenomenon in order to regulate specific guidelines for mass media dealing
with language use in the community.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Study
Language use is an important tool in communication. Human beings and
language are two entities which unsupportable unity.

There is no human and

humanity without language and vice versa Language as a lingua franca and its many
roles m tiuman ives: through language humans can share i ea, ideology, and interest.
By communicating, human beings live together.
social life of human beings.
In the society people interact to others by using language, many aspects of
life that man enters many kinds or variations oflanguage are built. Such as Jan

age

in the mass media is dedicated to inform news and knowledge, and in the recetft (Jays,
mass media is a tool to share ideas, ideology, interests, entertainment and even
gossips. Magazine as one of kind of mass media concerns on definite point (field) of

journalistic purposes that affect of what kind oflanguage use which is occurred within
the magazine.

Magazine for politics definitely uses specific words,

sentences, as well as teen for adult woman and magazine for teenager.
Published mass media, such as magazines, newspapers, bulletins, consist of
chief roles in the development and progress of information that build up among
people. A magaz·ne is one of the domains of journalism dedicating to represent facts,
phenomena which are available to be voiced. Seeing that one of t e domains of

variation can
systematically.

considered, as a specific style is the one which emerges

2
Language use in some Indonesian teen magazines presents interesting
phenomenon. The presence of code mixing and code mixing between Indonesian
language and English, specific words and phrases, and spoken- code alteration

sentences within the magazines eager the writer to inquiry such phenomenon as a
sociolinguistics issues namely as language variety which depends on the language use
called by "register".

Such phenomenon socio-linguistically are needed to be

elaborated properly of how the phenomenon are settled up, what linguist called such
ptienomenon socio-Iinguistically, and are the phenomenon really buil up a language
variety considering it is a language use matter.
Regarding that a magazine is committed to a specific domain of social
community for instance; adult women, men, kids, and also teenagers, some teenage
magazines in Indonesia has inspired the writer to conduct the research on collecting
words, phrases and sentences, which are extremely unique, artificial and surprising,
contained within the teenage magazine. For examples;

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ngobrol bareng jagoan fashion, Sandryant. Oke Girls, see ya at the chat

room
Hello grils, got your holiday? Let's have a talk on fashion by th

m

Sandryant. Okay girls.
2. "Jadi ilfil neh .... (ilang/hilang filing/feeling)"
" lose my appetite"

The first sentence signifies that the process of code switching and code
mixing are taking place, however the second sample points out lndonesianization;

3

"I lose my appetite"
3. "Halo Wyang top abis ... , Thanks 4 all"

"Hello the top W ... , "
The first sentence signifies that the process of code switching and
code mixing are taking place, however the seco d sample points out

Indonesianization; feeling to filing, and refonnulate of a new vocabulary that is

i/fil; "ilang" (miss/lost) plus "filing" (feeling), and the last one indicates the
omitted phoneme /h/ on the word habis. Further investigation on this thesis
shows much wider development of teen's world on language used in the teen
magazines.
There are many evidences which needed to be analyzed and one of
them is the phenomenon which exhibits one specific register.

It contains one

specific characteristic of building words, phrases and sentences that is register as
found in the teenage magazines, therefore it is notably reformulates the Indonesia
written-spoken mass media.

1.2 The Problems of the Study

In line with the background of the study, the problems are formulated as

How are the words, phrases, and sentences in teen magazine reformulated


4

1.3 The Objectives of the Study
In parallel with the above problems, the objectives of the study are to:
1.

characteristics or qualifications of a language use which can be as a
register.

2.

present liow are words, phrases and sentences within teen magazine are
reconstructed to develop a specific register.

variation is a challenging investigation. Language use in mass media is one of the
studies of language use in terms of correlation between language and social life.
There are many mass media are around the community, namely television,
internet, radio, news paper and magazine. In fact, each of them is divided into the
distinctive aim of journalistic view. There is radio for teenager, and also for adult.

As well as there are some magazines are dedicated to teenager, three of them are
Aneka, Hai and Gadis.
The researcher scopes this study only to analyze the language use within
the three teen magazines namely Aneka, Hai, and Gad is. The writeli on y focuses
this study only for language use which is applied within three magazines.
Furthermore, language use of the three magazines will be proper to prove the
riter that language use in teen magazine in Indonesia is a

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perspective that is needed to be controlled and steered in order to this language use of
one register is not be superior that standard language in terms ofindonesian language
structurally.

.

Moreover, to the Language Council of Indonesia (such as Pusat Bahasa and
Balai-Balai Bahasa) to be aware of such register in order to regulates the guidelines
for mass media how to se language appropriately, and how a foreign language use
can be occurred properly within language usage of mass media.


CHAPTERV
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

5.1 Conclusions
After collecting, classifying, processing, and analyzing the data
collection, teen magazine language as a register is more verified.
Such indications fulfilled the qualifications of generating a new register
after according to several linguist theories.

A register should consider six

differences for classification of a register, they are participant, relations between
addressor and addressee, setting, channel or mode, purposes, and topic.
The writer concludes that this recent investigation upon elaboration of
teen magazine as a new or a specific register by considering the data, supJ'Orting
references, and the result of data analysis. The conclusions of this study arw.-

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a. Participant

Data collection within teen magazines are indicated the existence of
participant that is the writer (editor) and the teen (reader)
b. Relations

magazine the writer assumes that the relation between the edito
addressor with his addressee or teen people is so intimate, it is much

From the data collection, the particular context of use or domain has more
clarified; the writer may conclude the domains of teen magazine register are art and

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entertainment. Where the use of spoken language, such "gaul" words and Englishbahasa Indonesia codes indicates the domain is only for entertaining the teen.
d. Channel or Mode,
As published mass media, it is certainly written, indeed in the teen magazines,
the language use is not purely writing, in the some cases, it is purely speech, or
So the main-conclusion of channel or mode
is Writing-Speech in between.
e. Purposes,

As well as such other published mass-media, the main purpose is transferring
information, for the time being, it is totally entertaining the

real:~

therefore the

purposes are transferring information and entertaining the reader.

f. Topic,
By processing and analyzing the data collection, it is totally undou ted1y that
teen matter or issue is the topic of the teen magazines. If there is non-teen

m~Uter

it

will be related to the teen life matter.
Register is extremely is dealing with using of vocabulary uses, each field
holds a set of specific vocabularies which is not used in other

1elas and

which has been proven that teen magazines used a set of specific vocabularies
which is not used in other fields and morphology and syntax also arouse. The set of
vocabularies which is meant are 1) The prokem words or ungrammatical Indonesian
language words and phrases, 2) ifhe use of original English words and phrases and
the
researcher bravely claims that the een magazine language is a new register.

118

Furthermore, magazine is one part of journalistic variety of language
automatically becoming a register, added more by different characteristics, shown
in the data tables which divers from other journalism channels such news paper,
bulletin, mothers magazine, or even political or business mass media, clarifies teen
magazine as one specific and thematic register.

5.2 Suggestions
The researcher realizes that this study is challenging fer language
researcher, and beneficial to anyone who are interested to language issues and
phenomenon which are taken place in the surrounding.

Therefore,

e writer

commits to several suggestion for students who put large consideration and interest
on sociolinguistics investigation, specifically on language variation and variety,
they are:
Teen life and language usage, language usage of teen life becomes one
productive topic of investigation, since the colors and dynamics of teen
life which is movable, inimitable, and unpredictable.
This thesis is widely open for other further investigations to more clarify

register whether by qualitative or quantitative methodology.
There are many issues and phenomenon on teen variation ofi language
itself, for instance, the variety of teen language in daily life, the difficulties

television news reader.

119
d. There are many issues and phenomenon due to various kind of group of
people based on age, sex, social status, or educational status needs to be
investigated.
e. Specifically, for Governmental Institution of Language, such as Pusat
Bahasa, Depdiknas (Department of Education) is expected to generate
good and proper direction on using bahasa Indonesia and foreign
languages by considering the needs, significances, and ethics for published
mass-media in using language.
Specifically, for Legislative Institution (DPR) is expected to generate
proper and acceptable regulation upon this issues

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