THE USE OF METAPHORS

IN Social Media  
By : Sofa Priyandayani Nasution
2111620013

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY LANGUAGE AND ART
THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2013

                          
THE USE OF METAPHORS
IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Sofa Priyandayani Nasution

 2111620013

English Department, Faculty Language and Art The

State University Of Medan 2013

Abstract
New days, all of people in the world know about social media. In this literary work will show
how the metaphor use in advertisement specially social media. The example is taken from the
thw slogan of scoail media which is promoted in the social network. To create a metaphor from
the socail media, I choose 9 famous social media.
Keyword : social media; metaphor

Introduction
Language is the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems
of communication, and a language is any specific example of such a system. The scientific study
of language is called linguistics.
Sematics is one lesson who discuss about language. Semantics course expects that the
students will acquire extensive knowladge and understanding of the principles and concepts of
meaning linguistically and nonlinguistically based on the scopes of : Meaning, Concept, Sense
and references, goals and semantics Theory, semantic properties, semantic relation and semantic
interpretation in the level of word, phrase and sentences.
In semantics, a meaning postulate is the notion that lexical items can be defined in terms of
relations with other lexical items. A meaning postulate is a formula expressing some aspect of
the sense of predicate. It can be read as a proposition necessarily true by virtue of the meaning of
the particular predicates involved.  
Social media refers to interaction among people in which they create, share, and or
exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.Furthermore, social media
depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through
which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content.
They introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations,
communities, and individuals.
 Review of Literature
Metaphor
Metaphor is a figure of speech makes an implicit, implied or
hidden comparison between two things or objects that are poles apart from each other but have
some characteristics common between them. In other words, a resemblance of two contradictory
or different objects is made on a single or some common characteristics.
Using appropriate metaphors appeal directly to the senses of listeners or readers,
sharpening their imaginations to comprehend what is being communicated to them. Moreover, it
gives a life-like quality to our conversations and to the characters of the fiction or poetry.
Metaphors are also ways of thinking, offering the listeners and the readers fresh ways of
examining ideas and viewing the world.
In semiotic  terms, semantics is the study of the relationship between signs and the
objects or concepts that they stand for. Meaning is associated as sign because sign because sign
has meaning, and yet not only words have meaning but also anything has meaning. People
created the meaning arbitary of the signifier (lingusitics element) from the signified (non-
linguistic form) for it goes to the reality and concept of human’s mind (Ritchie, 2006).

Media
The word media comes from the Latin plural of medium.Communication
channels through which news, entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages are
disseminated. Media includes every broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such
as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet. Media
is the plural of medium and can take a plural or singular verb, depending on the sense intended.
Data storage material divided into three broad categories according to
the recording method: (1) Magnetic, such as diskettes, disks, tapes, (2) Optical, such
as microfiche, and (3) Magneto-Optical, such as CDs and DVDs.

Social Media
Forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and
microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas,
personal messages, and other content (as videos).
Nowdays, in people gadget, social media is the most impotant for them. Social media is
the way to connceting with the other people. Then, so many social media was created by creatr
like Facebook, twitter, path, instagram, line, we chat, kakao talk, tumblr, blog, whats app and so
on.
Again, in every social media we found the different slogan in each social media and of
course with different meaning.

Metaphors Advertisement- social media.

One of the most powerful advertising techniques is to create a symbolic representation of the key idea you
want to communicate with metaphors and similes. An insurance company, for instance, could picture a man about to
step on a banana to represent the unexpected risks in life. Metaphors and similes are two excellent ways to
communicate symbolic ideas.You can create a metaphor by using two images or statements that are completely
different, but when placed together create a new idea.You can use words. Or visuals. Or both. You can create a
 metaphor to represent a characteristic of the brand. Or a feature of the service. Or a benefit of the product. To create
a metaphor, use one thing - a vivid statement or dramatic visual - to suggest another thing - your company, product or
service. A metaphor, by the way, is like a simile, but more powerful. A metaphor "is". A simile "is like". A metaphor
equals. A simile is similar. But a simile can help you create a metaphor. Here's how: - Start with the most basic idea,
the key concept for your product. That might be 'safe' or 'agile' or 'bright' or "well engineered". Then sketch or write
ways to express that idea.

The Methodology and Discussion

The Methodology
In this paper, I present an illustarion about the aspects of the language in
advertisements specially social media. Here, I analyzed the metaphor meaning in every language
of the advertisement in social media. Exactly, the all advertisements is taken from the social
network, magazine and television. The advertisements of the social media consist of  the
different named but same function, such as Facebook, twitter, line, kakao talk, instagram, path
and so on.  We can see the kind of language choosing and the uniqueness. The point that will be
discuss here;
1.      The kinds of social media, keywords, Symbol (picture) and meaning (relationship between
language and semiotic in the Andvertisement)
2.      Keywords (Phrases and The Metaphor)

Metaphorical meaning
Then by the analysis, I were identified and classified into categories which were then
accordingly described by resuming the variety of elements and their meaning employed in the
sources of language (Literary) and contextual (symbol) shown in the following tables :
Table 1. An analytic framework for literal and symbolic visualization meaning.
No The named Keyword Symbol Meaning
of Social
Media
1. Facebook Heading Out, Stay The Chatting
Connected letter Fwith bluecoloured. Sharing
Playing games
Shopping
Video call

2. Twitter Take twitter with The letter T with blue Chatting

you coloured. Sharing
Shopping
Tweet’s bird     Making a trending
 ( The blue bird) topic.

Adding the
followers and
following
 3. Line Enjoy Line with The word Line with green Chatting
more stickers color. Calling
Sharing the unique
Unique Stikers (dool strikers
stikers with many
activities)
4. Kakao Talk Free Talk Kakao The phrase “Kakao talk” Chatting
Talk with yellow and brown Calling
color Sharing the unique
strikers
5. We chat The new way to The phrase “ We chat” Chatting
connect with green color. Calling
Sharing the unique
Two bubbles with the two strikers
little cyrcle as the eyes.
6. Path The Place for your The letter P with the Showing the places
personal Life white color and the back that we visited.
ground is red.
Sharing picture
7. Istagram Beautiful and Fun The icon of camera. Sharing Picture
way to share your complited with the lens
life with friends and and brown color.
family
8. Whats app Cross Platform The shape of call or Chatting
smartphone telephone in green buble. Calling
messanger
9. Plurk Your Life, on your The white word “Plurk” Chatting
Line and the background is Showing karma
orange and also fulfilled
with the body of animal
without head.

Table 2. The Metaphorical Meaning

No Keyword Meaning
1. Heading Out, Stay Connected By using this social media we can chatting,
sharing our status and give comments and like.
Sharing picture, palying games, make a video
call and also shopping. Again, stay connected
because facebook can we get in free way.
2. Take twitter with you This social media can share the most important
news even with 140 characters. Take twitter
 with you is the metaphor to grap the people to
still update on this social media.
3. Enjoy Line with more stickers All secial media is for chatting but in this one,
they make a new way with strickers that can
represented our feelings.

4. Free Talk Kakao Talk By using this social media. we can make a
calling free.

5. The new way to connect Same with the other, we chat also to chatting
and the metaphor in that statemen is show that
with this socail media is the way to still
connect with the other people.
6. The Place for your personal Showing personal life means that we can share
Life our activities like places that we visited and
share more photoes with close friend or family.
because only 140 people can join with us.
7. Beautiful and Fun way to share Sharing the moment with unique picture that
your life with friends and we took.
family
8. Cross Platform smartphone By using this one we can chatting with the
messanger other people in smart way.

9. Your Life, on your Line Showing our activities in our time line and we
can get the value called karma.

Conclusion
In social media we also can find the metaphor like their slogan and by the discussion
about the advertisement and focus on social media above can be concluded that the
advertisement includes at least two important element that give meaning to the meaning to the
message, they are words, to give a lexial meaning and context or symbol, to give another
interpertation of language.
In the advertisement specially socail media, people could find both symbols and words
to get meaning of it. And of the two elements drawn in advertisements, the use of symbols
outnumbered the words which were used only as a complementary.

References
http://sverigesradio.se/press/bilder/swedishradio2013_socmed.pdf
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media
Halliday, M. A. K and J.R. Martin. 1993. Writing Science: Literacy and Discursive
Power. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh.
Brown, P., and S. Levinson. (1987) metaphore, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
https://path.com/

https://twitter.com/
https://facebook.com/
https://line.com/
https://kakao_talkcom/
https://we-chat.com/
https://plurk.com/
https://instagram.com/
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