TYPES OF WORD FORMATIONS ON INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS
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ISSN: 2302-920X
Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud
Vol 16.2 Agustus 2016: 102-108
TYPES OF WORD FORMATIONS ON INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS
Luh Putu Laksmi Prema Dewi1*, Ni Luh Kt. Mas Indrawati2, Ketut Artawa3 [123]English Department Faculty Of Letters And Cultures, Udayana University 1[laksmipremadewi@gmail.com]2[mas.indrawati@yahoo.com]
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Corresponding Author
Abstrak
Skripsi ini berjudul “Types of Word Formations on Instagram Hashtags”. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menklasifikasikan dan mendeskripsikan tipe-tipe pembentukan kata yang membentuk tanda tagar di Instagram serta menentukan makna yang terkandung dalam istilah tersebut. Data-data yang dikumpulkan untuk penelitian ini diambil dari jejaring sosial Instagram. Metode yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data di penelitian ini adalah metode dokumentasi; dan dengan teknik mencatat. Metode kualitatif deskriptif digunakan untuk menganalisa tipe pembentukan kata serta makna. Metode kuantitatif berhubungan dengan persentase dari tipe-tipe pembentukan kata yang membentuk tanda tagar tersebut. Teori yang digunakan dalam peneltian ini adalah teori pembentukan kata oleh Lieber (2009) dan teori tentang makna oleh Chaer (2007). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ada 8 (delapan) tipe pembentukan kata yang membentuk tanda tagar di Instagram yakni: (1) affixation; (2) compounding; (3) coinage; (4) blending; (5) acronym; (6) initialism; (7) clipping; and (8) multiple processes. Dari segi semantis terdapat makna gramatikal, dan makna leksikal, serta makna kontekstual yang berkaitan dengan istilah-istilah dalam Instagram.
Kata Kunci: pembentukan kata, makna, Instagram
Language plays an important role in our daily communication. As a tool of communication, it is constantly in the process of change. That may occur because of developing technologies, particularly the internet. By the invention of internet, social media appear as media of communication. Thus, people start to use and create new, simple, short, and meaningful language. One of the new social media which attract people’s attention is Instagram which becomes media of photo and video sharing. This social media contributes in making some ‘new words’ which are related to word formation types. Word formation types can be found on Instagram’s caption on photo or video which is using ‘hashtag’. Thus, hashtag often made of ‘new words’ which is becoming a trend and used in daily life nowadays.
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a) What types of word formation are found on Instagram hashtags?
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b) What meanings are contained in hashtags found on Instagram?
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a) To classify and describe the types of word formation on Instagram hashtags.
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b) To determine the meanings contained on Instagram hashtags.
The data source of this study was taken from social media, Instagram. It contains photos shared by its users from around the world. Photo captions which using hashtags and related to word formation types were used in this research.
The data were collected using documentation method. First step was determining Instagram hashtags which commonly used and listing the hashtags. Then, searching photos using hashtags which related to word formation types. Furthermore, several photos which contained hashtags will be captured as screenshots. The screenshots of Instagram photos will be printed. The photo caption was read and hashtags which used word formation types were identified. The technique of collecting the data was taking note in order to sort and classify them into the types of word formation.
Descriptive qualitative method was used to classify and analyse the types of word formation and the meaning found in word formation. Descriptive meant that the data were analysed by explaining or describing it in words or sentences. The collected data were classified into eight types using word formation theory proposed by Lieber (2009) and the meaning that constructed hashtags which using word formation were described using the theory proposed by Chaer (2007). The quantitative method is related to the percentage of the categories of the word formation types that construct hashtags.
This study used descriptive method in presenting the analysis. First, in order to answer the first research question, the data were classified into the types of word formation, by showing the data in the form of table. The discussion of each hashtag was presented descriptively based on the word formation types. Second, the analysis of those data based on meaning was presented descriptively. The last, the percentage of word formation types that construct hashtags was presented using a pie diagram.
New lexemes that are formed with prefixes and suffixes on a base are often referred to as derived words, and the process by which they are formed as affixation. Based on data above, prefix re- and suffix -ie were used to create hashtags on Instagram.
(5-1) #regram
The word ʻregramʼ is formed by adding prefix re- in the beginning of ʻgramʼ which is coined from word ʻInstagramʼ. Prefix re- does not change the class of the word, but it changes the meaning. Hashtag ʻregramʼ belongs to quantitative affixes because the prefix re- that means ‘repeated’ action. From its contextual meaning, it can be defined as action of Instagram user when they like a certain post and re-upload it using their own Instagram account. Sometimes this hashtags is also used to promote events or products.
(5-2) #selfie
This hashtag is formed by adding suffix –ie in the end of word ʻselfʼ. Suffix -ie does not change the class category of word self (a noun) into selfie (a noun), but it changes the meaning. Semantically, word ʻselfʼ means “a personʼs personality or character that makes them different from other people”. It is different from the base of this word, ʻselfieʼ has lexical meaning as “a photo of
yourself that you take, typically with a smartphone or a webcam, and usually put on a social networking site”. From its contextual meaning, this hashtag refers to a self-portrait photograph typically taken with a cell phone or digital camera. It has become a trending topic on Instagram becoming the “word of the year” as announced by Oxford English Dictionary in November 2013. This hashtag has no relation to common affixes categories.
Compounds are words that are composed of two (or more) bases, roots, or stems.
(5-3) #outfit
Morphologically, this word is formed by grouping two words ʻoutʼ and ʻfitʼ. Word ʻfitʼ becomes the head of this compound word. This word belongs to a right-headed compound because head of compound word is in the right side and determine the word class of compound word itself. Word ʻoutʼ belongs to a preposition and ʻfitʼ belongs to a noun. Result of grouping these words is a new word and belongs to word class noun with following pattern Prep+N=N.
Semantically, this word has different lexical meaning, word ʻoutʼ has lexical meaning “away from the inside of a place or thing” and ʻfitʼ has lexical meaning “the way that something, especially a piece of clothing”. Thus, ʻoutfitʼ has different lexical meaning as “a set of clothes that you wear together, especially for a particular occasion or purpose”. From its contextual meaning, this hashtag refers to Instgrammers who pay a lot of attention about fashion. From their feeds, the posts were about showing off what clothes he/she wears again at that time.
Based on its form, ʻoutfitʼ can be categorized as closed compound word because simply because those two words are melded together, forming a single word.
A possibility to make up entirely new words from whole cloth is called coinage.
(5-4) #foodporn
The hashtag that exists above is formed by coinage process. The term appeared to have been coined by the feminist critic Rosalind Coward in her 1984 book Female Desire. This word has a lexical meaning, “a glamourized spectacular visual presentation of cooking or eating in advertisements, infomercials, blogs cooking shows or other visual media, foods boasting a high fat and calorie content, exotic dishes that arouse a desire to eat or the glorification of food as a substitute for sex.” From its contextual meaning, food porn often takes the form of food photography and styling that presents food beautifully. It is important to realize that the term food porn does not strictly deal with the connection, often established throughout history, between food items and sexual contents.
Blending is a process of word formation in which parts of lexemes that are not themselves morphemes are combined to form a new lexeme.
(5-5) #instagood
ʻinstagoodʼ is made up from the words ʻinstaʼ and ʻgoodʼ. ʻInstaʼ is derived from ‘Instagram’. ʻinstaʼ belongs to a noun and ʻgoodʼ belongs to an adjective. Goodʼ has lexical meaning as “high quality or an acceptable standard”. ʻinstagoodʼ has no dictionary meaning. From its contextual meaning, this hashtag refers to something that is very artsy on Instagram.
Acronym is a process when the first letters of words that make up a name or a phrase are used to create a new word and the results are pronounced as a word.
(5-6) #YOLO
ʻYOLOʼ is an abbreviation for ʻYou Only Live Onceʼ. From its contextual meaning, it can be interpreted in a number of ways, but most often indicates an activity that shows someone is living on the edge, either literally or sarcastically. This hashtag generally used by teenagers who doing an extreme activity and then capture the moment before posts it on their Instagram account.
Initialism is a process when the first letters of words that make up a name or a phrase are used to create a new word and the results are pronounced as a series of letters.
(5-7) #OOTD
This is formed by series of letters from ʻOutfit of the Dayʼ. Based on its contextual meaning, this hashtag refers to Instagrammers who have interests to fashion and to show what they have worn. ʻ#OOTDʼ is an extremely popular hashtag used on Instagtam. Users use this hashtag when they upload photos of themselves in an outfit. Users often upload Outfit of the Day photos when they get a new outfit or feel like their outfit looks nice.
When the formation process is shortening or reducing language word in order to create a new word, it is called clipping.
(5-8) #pict
ʻPictʼ stands for ʻpictureʼ (a noun). The changing of this word belongs to back clipped word. Back clipped word is removing the end of a word. Semantically, ʻpicʼ means ʻa pictureʼ. From the whole word, ʻpictureʼ, it has lexical meaning as “a painting or drawing, etc. that shows a scene, a person or thing; a photograph”. This hashtag often use for various photos about animal, people, nature, food, and so on.
This process is combination of more than one type of word formations.
(5-9) #IGer
IGer is formed by multiple processes, they are initialism and affixation. Initialisms are resulted when the first letters of words that make up a name or a phrase are used to create a new word, they are pronounced as a series of letters.
The hashtag that exists above is formed by initialism. As mentioned above, ʻIGʼ is an abbreviation of ʻInstagramʼ.
Word IGer means Instagrammer, people who use Instagram. This hashtags also formed by affixation process. It is resulted when new lexemes are formed with prefixes and suffixes on a base. ʻInstagrammersʼ is made up of word ʻInstagramʼ and added suffix –er in the end of the word. This word belongs to personal affixes because it creates ʻpeople nounʼ. Suffix –er forms agent nouns (the ‘doer’ of the action). ‘IGer’ is one of the most popular hashtags on Instagram, with around 100 million tags. It is used on all kinds of photos. Users began using the tag in an attempt to gain followers or likes.
It can be concluded that there are eight types of word formations found on Instagram hashtags. The first type is initialism which exists in eight hashtags (25%), the multiple processes types are six hashtags (18%), the affixation, compounding, blending and clipping types are four hashtags (12%) per each, the acronym types are two hashtags (6%), and the coinage type is one hashtag (3%).
Moreover, from 33 hashtags found, not all hashtags have those three types of meaning. There are only five hashtags which have grammatical meaning. In addition, twenty hashtags do not have their lexical meaning (dictionary meaning) while the rests of them acquire their lexical meaning. Overall, all of the hashtags found have their contextual meaning which is related to Instagram term.
Chaer, Abdul. 2007. Linguistik Umum. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta
Hornby, A. S. 2000. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. London: Oxford University Press.
Lieber, Rochelle. 2009. Introducing Morphology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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