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Premise : Journal of English Education and Applied Linguistics

PJEE https://fkip.ummetro.ac.id/journal/index.php/english
Carera,Anjas and Nurcholis
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ANALYSIS ONOMATOPOEIA IN SELECTED POEMS BY LEE EMMETT

Walen Carera1
1
the student of English study program in Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu
[email protected]
Anjas1
1
the student of English study program in Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu
[email protected]
Ivan Achmad Nurcholis2
[email protected]
2
the lecturer in Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu

Received; December 6, 2018 Reviewed: December 20,2018

Returned: January 15, 2018 Accepted; January 19, 2019
Revised: March 31, 2019 Published: April 2, 2019

Abstract

The aims of this article are to analysis onomatopoeia with use some poems of Lee Emmett. There
are five poems that have been analyzed: running water, Bake a Cake, wind and rain, the gentle
sound of rain, and See the Skater. These articles, Authors apply observation method and note taking
technique. The process of this article covers several steps such as read the poems, identify, and
make a table to collect Onomatopoeia word. From five poems that have been analyzed, there are
two types of onomatopoeia word; primary onomatopoeia (PR) and secondary onomatopoeia (SC).
Onomatopoeia found as many as 21 words. From 21words, the dominant types and meaning that
used in five poems are secondary onomatopoeia; 15 words. This article is to help readers easier to
understand the meaning of sound trough poems by Lee Emmet.

Keyword: Onomatopoeia, poems, Lee Emmett

INTRODUCTION

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Literature is a beautiful art; it can make the reader flow in its verse like it really happening
in true life. Literary works can allure readers to ascertain the level of happiness that no
other art can possess (Ullman 1962,p.84. The type of literature is many varieties such
poem, poetry, movie, novel, short story, etc. In this paper, the researchers only focus on a
selected poem by Emmett (2015) that has a title "Running Water, Bake a Cake, Wind and
Rain, Gentle sound of Rain, and See The Skater”. The researchers choose these titles from
many poems by Lee Emmett because the researchers think that these titles have many
onomatopoeic words that can be analyzed by the researcher. These poems also entertain
the reader by the verses in a mellow situation. It could bring the reader into the stanza of
the poems actually. The researchers had some difficulties in reading the poem because
there are many words that make the researchers confused to find the meaning. The
translation is an option to comprehend the meaning of the word. The words used in these
poems by Lee Emmett are so soft and melodious. Translating the idea and meaning from a
source language into a target language may not be an easy thing to do. The different
language between one language and other is affected by the system and the culture,
especially English and Indonesian. There are differences from the system that language
formed. Onomatopoeia in Indonesia is different from onomatopoeia in English.
Onomatopoeia words are considered difficult to deal with. Translators will not always find
the equivalence of certain onomatopoeic. In the other hand, analyzing the translation of
English onomatopoeia into Indonesian is very interesting to do. The translators need to see
how to deal with the unique language expression as it is not always readily found in any
dictionary as some people consider it as slang language or children language because it is
commonly used in non-formal communication.

Onomatopoeia is derived by special words because the words that produce directly
have the relation with the meaning and tell about the production of sound with image,
unique, and beautiful word (Tamori and Schourup.1999,p.1 in Takashi Sugara. 2011,p.1).
A word that imitates nature sound that is often natively thought to be completely ironic
since it is perfect replicas of the actual sounds they refer to is called
Onomatopoeia/onomatopoeic word (Antilla, 1972,p.14). Onomatopoeia or also called
onomatopoeic is an object sound produced by imitated its sound object (Gasser, 2006 in
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Ellin Dofs, 2008,p.4). Generally, the form of onomatopoeia could be found in our social
life. It might be found in an object that can produce sound, and it also found in animal
action such bird singing in the morning, sound from a car when the engine starting, and
telephone ringing when someone calling. Some sound could represent the object that
produced the sound and people recognize it easily. People basically know that the sound is
produced in a simple vocal pattern, such as human and grunt. It appears to be an ancient
part of the brain that we share with all of the animals but it is not a human language.
Onomatopoeia normally contains in poems, comic books, and also advertisements. In this
paper, the researchers only explain onomatopoeia in a poem by Lee Emmett.

Onomatopoeia in the world language is different from each other. One

onomatopoeia word in a region is different from others. For instance, a France pig will
produce the sound groin-groin while English is oink, and Chinese is hulu-hulu. A dog’s
sound is guk-guk in Indonesia, kukure in Nepali, and kutta in Hindi. The variations of the
onomatopoeia are affected by phonological system and culture in their language used to
interpret onomatopoeic (Thomas, 2004,p.15). In term, onomatopoeic can be separated into
2 parts (Ullman 1962,p.84):

1. Primary Onomatopoeia
The primary Onomatopoeia is sound imitated its sound. The object itself can
produce the primary sound. Onomatopoeia occurs in words, which imitate sound,
and this suggests the object described (Alexander, 1963,p.20). In this point, an
object is naming by imitating the sound that produces by the object itself, such as
roar, growl, crack, hum, plup, squeak, whizz. The primary onomatopoeia could call
as the onomatopoeic words which imitate the sounds natural object. For example:
Bell Ding ding
Car beeping Horn
Phone Br-r-ring
(Thomas, 2004,p.19)

2. Secondary Onomatopoeia

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The secondary onomatopoeia sound is occurred because of the relation between the
sound of an object and its movement/causing by object moving. For example dither,
dodder, slink, slither, slouch, squirm and wriggle. This is based on the movement
only (Ullman, 1962,p. 84). The secondary onomatopoeia or onomatopoeia words
can be the produce of relation between the sound of the object and the action that
integrated each other. For example:
Sound of eating Chomp chomp
Sound of drinking Gulp gulp
Collision of other object Thum/thud
Collision of metal Clang
(Thomas, 2004,p.19)

“Meaning is conceptual thinking that can help people to organize and store their
knowledge by relating it to other things they have known (Croft and Cruse, 2004,p. 125).
Ullman described the meaning of words "The meaning of a word is a reciprocal and
reversible relationship between sound and sense” (Ullman, 1964,p.57). The meaning of the
word, the relationship between word and sound cannot be separated. The meaning is
derived by the context called the contextual meaning. The meaning of the word can be
found in particular situations (Ullman, 1962,p.64). The context of a sound may often
provide enough clues to interpret the meaning of onomatopoeia words when they have not
yet recorded in dictionaries.

Research Questions

1. What are the types of onomatopoeia words in selected Lee Emmett's Poems?
2. What are the meanings of onomatopoeia words in selected Lee Emmett’s Poems?
3. What is the dominant type of onomatopoeia words in selected Lee Emmett's Poems?

METHODOLOGY

Design

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This research paper used the observation method and note-taking technique, which are
the researchers observe the primary and secondary onomatopoeia. The observation method
used in this paper because the researchers would observe what kind of onomatopoeia used
in the poems. The qualitative research referred to the meanings, concepts, definition,
characteristics, metaphor, and symbol.

Subject

In this research paper, the researchers only focused on primary and secondary
onomatopoeia in selected poems by Lee Emmet.

Data and Source of Data

The data of the research paper took from some sources and online journals that
related to the title of this research paper, and they about sound classification, and poem
from Lee Emmet (2015).

Data Collecting Technique

The first step is the researchers choosing the poems from Lee Emmett that has more of
sound words, the second is the researchers read all of the poems carefully and the last is
the researchers identify the word which has sound meaning by marking the words.

The data collected by observed the source data taken from the selected Lee Emmet’s poems
entitled “Running Water, Bake a Cake, Wind and Rain, Gentle Sound of Rain, See the
Skater”. There were some steps applied by the researchers to observe the onomatopoeia:
1) Read the poems, 2) Identify the words that had onomatopoeia from the poems, 3) List
the onomatopoeia words by making a mark and selecting the onomatopoeia words from
the selected poems by applying taking note technique. 4) Identify the meaning of
onomatopoeia words, the researcher refer to the online dictionary (Sudaryanto,
1993,p.135). The results of an analysis are presented by using a table containing the
primary and secondary onomatopoeia.

Data Analysis Technique

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In analyzing, the data there are five steps. The first is making table kind of word classes
consist of sound words, type, and the categorized. Second, input all of the verse of the
poem into the table. Third, identify words in poems verse into word sound classes. Fourth
is calculating all of the words in word sound classes and determining which kind the most
dominant word sound class in the selected poems, and then identify the meaning of
onomatopoeia words with use online dictionary.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results

There are five selected poems by Emmet (2015) that have been analyzed by the
researchers: Running Water, Bake a Cake, Wind and Rain, Gentle Sound of Rain, and
See the Skater and there are some words sound which had analyzed. These are the table
of Result:

Running Water

Type
Onomatopoeia
No. Meaning Primary Secondar
Words
y
1. Warbling sing softly and with a
succession of constantly √
changing notes(of a bird)
2. Trill sing softly and with a
succession of constantly √
changing notes(of a bird)
3. Whoosh a sudden movement
accompanied by a rushing √
sound
4. Croaks a deep hoarse sound made by a
√
frog or a crow
5. Babbling talk rapidly and continuously in
a foolish, excited, or √
incomprehensible.
Total 5 Onomatopoeia
Words

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Bake a Cake

Type
Onomatopoeia
No. Meaning Primary Secondar
Words
y
1. Clatter make or cause to make a
√
continuous rattling sound
2. Tap-tap-tap To strike lightly especially with
√
a slight sound
3. Crack A line on the surface of
something along which it has
√
split without breaking into
separate parts
4. Splat A sound of something soft and
√
wet or heavy striking a surface
5. Splash a sound made by something
√
striking or falling into liquid
Total 5 Onomatopoeia
Words
Wind and Rain

Type
Onomatopoeia
No. Meaning Primary Secondar
Words
y
1. Splashes A sound made by something
√
striking or falling into liquid
2. Slipstreams A current of air or water is
driven hack by a revolving √
propeller
3. Splatters A spot or trail of a sticky or
viscous liquid splashed over a √
surface or object
Total 3 Onomatopoeia
Words

Gentle Sound of Rain

No. Onomatopoeia Meaning Type

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Words Primary Secondar

y
1. Gurgling Make a hollow bubbling sound
like that made by water running √
out of a bottle
2. Splashing Cause (liquid) to strike or fall
√
on something in irregular drops
3. Spatters a spray or splash of something √
4. Crashing A sudden loud noise, as of
something being violently √
smashed or stuck.
5. Roar A loud continuous confused
√
sound
Total 5 Onomatopoeia
Words

See the Skater

Type
Onomatopoeia
No. Meaning Primary Secondar
Words
y
1. Click A short, sharp sound as of a
switch being operated of two
√
hard objects coming quickly
into contact
2. Crashes A sudden loud noise as of
something breaking or hitting √
another object
3. Jangling Make or cause to make a
ringing metallic sound, √
typically a discordant one.
Total 3 Onomatopoeia
Words

From the data analysis above of the poems, researchers found 21 onomatopoeia
words from the five selected poems by Emmett (2015). They are warbling, trill, whoosh,
croaks, babbling, clatter, tap-tap-tap, crack, splat, splash, splashes, slipstreams, splatters,
gurgling, splashing, spatters, crashing, roar, click, crashes, and jangling. From 21
onomatopoeia, 6 words of them are primary onomatopoeia. They are warbling, croaks,

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babbling, roar, click, and jangling. 15 words of them are secondary onomatopoeia. They
are trill, whoosh, clatter, tap-tap-tap, crack, splat, splash, splashes, slipstreams, splatters,
gurgling, splashing, spatters, crashing, and crashes. The following table gives an overview
of the onomatopoeia type because refer with the title of the poems itself and these poems
have a meaning that related to two types of onomatopoeia. These poems tell about the
original sound of the object and sound of movement such as running water, bake a cake,
wind and rain, gentle sound of rain, and See the Skater.

Onomatopoeia Word Type

No. Onomatopoeia Types Number of Words

1. Primary 6
2. Secondary 15
Total 21

Dominant

The result of finding these selected poems collect 21 the onomatopoeia words.
There are two parts of onomatopoeia. First is primary onomatopoeia with 6 words (29%)
and the second is secondary onomatopoeia with 15 words (71%). Therefore, based on the
data the researchers can decide that the most dominant of the onomatopoeia in selected
poems by Lee Emmett is secondary onomatopoeia.

Discussion

The data of this research were taken from selected poems by Emmett (2015), the title
of the poems are running water, Bake a Cake, wind and rain, gentle sound of rain, and See
the Skater. Where the researchers found some words that can be sound of the object
(primary onomatopoeia) and sound object that movement (secondary onomatopoeia). For
the meaning of the onomatopoeia words, the researcher used an online dictionary.
Secondary onomatopoeia is the most dominant of this research because most of the data
are the sound of another thing. These were related to the previous study conducted by

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Chang (2018) “An Analysis of Onomatopoeia in the adventure of Tintin and the blue lotus”.
In this research, the researcher found primary and secondary and also classification sound
of it (Thomas, 2004), the meaning of onomatopoeia words by searching in dictionary online
on website www.writtensound.com, Meriam Webster's dictionary, and oxford's dictionary,
and mostly the data are the sound of another thing such as machine or animal. Therefore,
there are three reasons why this research different from previous research. In this research
have primary and secondary onomatopoeia because of it the types that the researcher
conduct the research and only focus both of them. Second is using an online dictionary for
searching the meaning because onomatopoeia has some unique words. Onomatopoeia
words directly present of the word and got by imitating the sound (Hayood,2009) as cited
Crisinel, Jones, & Spence(2012). It makes the researcher easy to understand the meaning
of onomatopoeia and the researcher only search for the meaning of primary or secondary
onomatopoeia that has been found. The last, secondary onomatopoeia is dominant of this
research because of almost of sound from the object's movement that refers to the title of
the selected poem by Emmett (2015). The other hand, the previous study found primary
and secondary onomatopoeia and then the classification of sound it, because in this
research not only focus use table types of onomatopoeia but also the description of the
analysis. The second is the researcher uses many types of dictionaries to search the meaning
of onomatopoeia word because it is not only the meaning of primary and secondary
onomatopoeia but also contextual meaning. The last is the secondary onomatopoeia also
most dominant but in this research refers to the context of meaning.
Additionally, this research also has a different result of data with previous data
because of the object that uses in both of the research also different. There is a selected
poem by Lee Emmett in this research and a comic, which the title is the adventure of Tintin
and the blue lotus in the previous study. Although there are have differences in the data but
the most dominant of both this research are the same, it is secondary onomatopoeia. Based
on the explanation above, It caused different object of the research that makes the result of
data is different and then the types of the onomatopoeia that have been found in the same
because in onomatopoeia commonly used in poetry and comic, because delusion and event
described in linguistic and then onomatopoeia is part linguistic (Guynes, 2014).

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CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

Conclusion

The researchers conclude that. There are two types of onomatopoeia from five
poems (Running water, bake a cake, wind and rain, gentle sound of rain, and See the Skater)
by Lee Emmett, the primary and secondary onomatopoeias. Primary is the sound of the
original object and secondary is the sound of the object that moves. From 21 onomatopoeia
words, 6 words (29%) of them are primary onomatopoeia and 15 words (71%) of them are
secondary onomatopoeia. These poems also have a meaning that related to the title of two
types of onomatopoeia. Therefore, the most dominant onomatopoeia in five poems is
secondary onomatopoeia. It is because five poems by Lee Emmett use a lot of
onomatopoeia movement to show the sound of the poems and to help readers easier to
understand the meaning of sound trough poems by Lee Emmett.

Suggestions

In relation to the conclusion above, the researchers’ points out some suggestion as
follow:

1. Students can use onomatopoeia as media that can increase vocabulary and improve
their understanding of poems.
2. Other researchers who are interested in conducting a research study in
onomatopoeia can use other literary works such as script drama and novel.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The researchers would be like to thanks to Allah SWT almighty that has given us the
researchers change, health, strength, and the knowledge in finishing this research. The
second, the researchers would like to say thanks to our lecture Mr. Ivan Ahcmad
Nurcholish that has given us the opportunity to conduct this research in his subject. The

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last is the researchers would like to say thanks to the premise that helped us to share and
receive our research.

BIO-PROFILE
Walen Carera is a seventh-semester student at English Education Study Program of the
Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu. She obtained her senior high school at Vocational High
School 2 Seluma in 2015. Her research interests are English language teaching and learning, teacher
education and professional development. She can be reached at [email protected] 1

BIO-PROFILE
Anjas is a seventh-semester student at English Education Study Program of the
Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu. His research interests are English language
teaching and learning, teacher education and professional development. He can be
reached at [email protected] 2

BIO-PROFILE
Ivan Achmad Nurcholis, M.Pd is a lecturer of the English Education Muhammadiyah
University of Bengkulu. He several years as head of English study program at the
Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu. His Research interests are teaching TEFL and
seminar on the English language. He can be reached at [email protected] 3

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