AN ANALYSIS ON WORD FORMATION OF SLANG WORDS IN THE TITLE OF

DANGDUT SONG
By Akhmad Ivan Zulkarnaen
Student of Postgraduate Degree of Linguistics Department of Brawijaya University
Email: ivanzulkarnaen21@yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION
In daily life, language is very important for social interaction. It is defined as the main
communication tool for people to communicate with and understand others. Brown & Yule
(1983, p. 4) divide language into two kinds, they are spoken language and written language.
Spoken language is communicated verbally by one speaker to others while written language
is communicated in written form. In daily communication, people usually use formal and
informal style. There are some kinds of language varieties that are used in informal context of
communication, one of them is slang.
Slang is one of language variation. Everyone use different language variation to
communicate with other. Language and communication is related to language variation. The
language will look higher and creative by making a variety in our communication. According
to Wardhaugh (2006, p. 135), language variation is one way of characterizing in certain
variations is to say that speakers of a particular language sometimes speak in different dialect
of that language. According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 555), Slang is a label which is used to
show the informal usages of anyone in speech community. In the other word, slang is the use
of informal words and expressions that do not consider standard.
By time goes on, language is also developed. OGrady (1996: p. 55) stated that one of
the developments is creating new words by using word formation. Words as a part of
language has important role in forming language. Every time people get more and more new
words unless they know the way it happens. People as the user of language sometimes do
not think about how a language is formed. The meaning of the new word form is influenced
by the process of forming a word. This process is usually called word formation process.
The use of slang can be found in many varieties. Music, film and TV programs are
the example of the using slang language. Slang on film can be found on its transcript. In the
TV programs, such as talk show, the presenter usually use slang language when they
delivering their speech. Moreover, in music, slang can be found in the titles or lyrics of the
1

song; it is also used in communication.

In this research the writer uses word formation theory. In this research, the writer
analyzes the slang words in the title of dangdut song. The writer chooses dangdut song title
because dangdut is one of the most popular genres of music in Indonesia. According to
www.portalsejarah.com/peringkat-genre-musik-dangdut/. It is informed that dangdut is the
the most popular genre of music after pop and rock musics. Besides dangdut lovers come
from the teenager nowadays. So, there are many titles that used a slang words by forming into
new words to convey the people to enjoy the dangdut music. Using this theory, help the
writer in analyzing the data to understand how the word formation of slang language used in
the song titles. Besides, this research is to help the people in understanding words.
Remember, there are many of songwriters create the title of their song by forming new words.
So it can make the people confuse. It was the reason why this research is worth to do.
According to www.lembar-pena.com. It is informed that the title become the most crucial part
in the such as in articles, books, songs, films etc. People often confuse in comprehending the
title because they are only look at the text and the literal meaning of the title without see to
the context.
Research questions
Based on the description on the background of the study, there are some problems in
relation with the discussion above, as follows:
1. What types of word formation of slang words that used in the titles of dangdut
song?
2. What is the meaning of word formation of slang words that used in the titles of
dangdut song?
3. Which type of word formation is mostly used to form slang words in the titles of
dangdut song?
Purposes of the study
Based on the statement of the problem above, the objectives are:
1. To find out the types of word formation of slang words that used in the titles of
dangdut song.
2. To find out the meaning of word formation of slang words that used in the titles of
dangdut song.
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3. To find out the type of word formation mostly frequently used to form the slang
words in the titles of dangdut song.
THEORIES
According to Nida (1983, p. 672), Morphology is The study of morphemes and their
arrangements in forming words (In the Riasa, 2002, p. 7). Based on this definition, it shows
that morphology is the branch of linguistics that concerns in the process of forming word.
About study of morphology, it deals with a morpheme. A morpheme was the essential
unit in word construction, the smallest meaningful unit of language which conveys message
containing meaning or function OGrady (1996, p. 133). Morpheme can be divided into two
types; they are bound morpheme and free morpheme. A morpheme that can be a word by
itself is called free morpheme while a morpheme that must be attached to another element is
called bound morpheme. For example of free morpheme: Ball, write, sleep, run etc. besides,
there are the example of bound morphemes. They are /s/ of balls and /ing/ of speaking.
In morphology, there is specific object that discuss about process of forming words. It
is called word formation. According to OGrady et al (1996: p. 55) stated that One of the
developments is creating new words by using word formation. Words as a part of language
has important role in forming language. Every time people get more and more new words
unless they know the way it happens. People as the user of language sometimes do not think
about how a language is formed. The meaning of the new word form is influenced by the
process of forming a word. This process is usually called word formation process. In other
words, word formation is focuses on forming new words.
According to OGrady et al (1996: p. 63), there are several types of word formation
processes:
1. Coinage: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 65), coinage is the new and attractive
name for a product that required by the industry. He also called this process as word
manufacture, associated with the manufactured product names and the way that the
words created from scratch. For instance, from general products are Xerox forPhoto
copy, Honda forMotorcycle, Indomie forInstant noodle.
2. Borrowing: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 66), borrowing is taking of words
from other languages. For example: Alcohol (Arabic), boss (Dutch), piano (Italian),
banana (Swahili).

3. Compounding: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 67), compounding words are

the result of joining two separate words to produce a single form without eliminating
each of the original words. In other words, compounding is joining two or more
words to produce a new single form (new words). For examples: Bathtub and
greenhouse.
4.

Blending: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 69), blending combines two separate

forms to produce a single new term. However, blending typically takes only the
beginning of one word and joining it to the end of the other word. Sometimes blending
combines the beginning of both words. In other words, blending is parts of two
already-existing words are put together to form a new word. Some examples of
blending can be seen below: brunch, from breakfastlunch, motel, from motorhotel
and smog, from smokefog.

5. Clipping: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 157), Clipping is Process where a

polysyllabic word is eliminated its one or more syllable so that it becomes shorter.
Base on the definition, the writer can conclude clipping is reducing element of words.
It is divided into three categories of clipping, they are:
a. Fore clipping, are those with the first part of the original word cut off, for
examples: Burger for hamburger, phone for telephone
b. Back clipping, where the tailend of the original has been shorn off, for
examples: Lab for laboratory, demo for demonstration
c. Fore-back clipping, where the first part and the tailend of the original has been
cut off. This kind of clipping is rarest happened, for examples: flu for influenza,
6. Back formation: OGrady et al (1996, p. 157) stated that To make a new word by
deleting actual affix from other word in a language is called Backformation. In the
other words, back formation is reducing a word of one type (usually noun) to form
another word of different type (usually verb). For examples: Housekeep from
housekeeper and Biograph from biography.
7. Conversion: OGrady et al (1996, p. 159) stated that Conversion is a process that
assigned an already existing word to a new syntactic category. This process
sometimes also called zero derivation because conversion seems like derivation that
brings change in category and meaning. Some examples of nouns are bottle, butter,
chair, and vacation through conversion to be used as verbs in: We bottled the
4

homebrew last night; have you buttered the toast? Someone has to chair the meeting;
theyre vacationing in Florida.
8. Acronym: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 202), Acronym is a process whereby
new words formed from the initial letters or beginning segments of a set of words. In
other words, acronyms are formed from the initial sounds or letters of some or all of
the words in a phrase or title and reading them as a word. Acronym is especially
common in names of organizations and specific terminology. For example AIDS is
an acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; in our daily language such
as GBU for God bless you.
9. Derivation: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 206), derivation is a Process of
creating a new word by using affix which the new word will has a different meaning
and different word class from its base. In linguistics, it has divided into three types;
they are prefix, infix, and suffix. Prefix is an affix that is attached to the front of its
base. Suffix is an affix that is attached to the end of its base. While infix, which far
less common than prefixes and suffixes, is a type of affix that occurs within a base.
10. Reduplication: Based on OGrady et al (1996, p. 209), reduplication is Duplicated
all or part of the base to which it applies to mark a grammatical or semantic contrast.
He also adds there are two kinds of reduplication. First, full reduplication is the
repetition of the entire word. Second, in contrast, partial reduplication copies only part
of the word. He emphasize that there is no reduplication in English. For example, in
Indonesian; Anak-anak, pohon-pohon, etc.
11. Onomatopeia: According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 211), onomatopoeia is Process
of word formation by representing an aspect of the thing that they name. In other
words, onomatopoeia is imitating the original sound. Some examples in English are
buzz (represents bee), meow (represents ca t), gukguk (represents dog).
12. Affixation: According to OGrady et al (1996, p.219), affixation is process of adding
an affix. For example: un-called prefixes, -ish called suffixes and infix such as
unfickingbelievable.
In addition, According to OGrady et al (1996, p. 555) stated that slang is Label
which is used to show the informal usages of anyone in speech community. In other words
5

slang is the use of informal words and expressions that do not considered standard. For
example: Gue, Jomblo, kudet etc.
Beside the explanations from the theories above, this research has a relationship with
previous research of Ni Made Lisa Candra Dewi (2012), whose study focuses on word
formation processes of slang in movie script. Moreover, Sri Wahyuni (2011) also carried out
about word formation of slang on TV program. She analyzed the writing form of transcript of
talk show.
Based on those theories and references above, in this research, the writer wants to
comprehend it with different object and theory. The writer uses word formation theory from
OGrady. Using this theory, we can understand the types and intended meaning of word
formation in the song title.
METHOD
This research used qualitative method because the data of this research are in the form
of sentences or words rather than numbers or statistical data. Creswell (1994, p. 145) states
that In qualitative research, the writer interested in process, meaning, and understanding
through words of the phenomena.
The data of this study were taken from the title of dangdut song that takes from
http://www.dangdutlengkap.blogspot.co.id. Online website also gives the easiness for the
writer in collecting the data because it can be read anytime. According to
http://www.readtrend.wordpress/daftar-situs-music-dangdut-terlengkap/. It is informed that
the website is one of the most popular website that provide all about dangdut. The writer
made the limitation with took the top 25 dangdut songs in 2015 that already listed. The data
were taken in 17th December 2015 to get the complete list of 2015 dangdut songs. The writer
made the limitation because there are a hundred lists. Besides, those are become the popular
songs in 2015. In other words, the writer wants to analyze the top and popular dangdut song.
In addition, list of title that contain word formation processes from that website as the data
which were considered to be the most appropriate since those articles focused on slang
language.
In collecting data, the writer did several steps. First is browsing to the website. Next is
collecting the data from the top 25 dangdut songs that already listed. The last is analyzing the
data that contain word formation processes of slang words that can be analyzed with the
theory of word formation by OGradys theory.
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After collecting the data the writer analyzed what he has found to find out the answer
of research questions. The writer analyzed the data based on procedures explained as follows:
First, the writer selected the data from www.dangdutlengkap.blogspot.co.id. The writer read
and selected 25 titles as the limitation from the data. Second, the writer determined and
categorizes the data in accordance with word formation processes based on OGradys theory.
Third, the writer made a table to help the writer in selecting the most frequently types of word
formation. Fourth, the writer analyzed the types and the meaning of word formation based on
Ogradys theory. The writer used the kamuslang.com to support in finding the meaning of
the words. Finally, the writer made conclusion as a result of the analysis.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
In this part, the writer presents the analysis of finding data which found in the title of
dangdut song. In this research, the writer found 5 types of word formation of slang words in
18 titles from 25 titles of dangdut song. They are 2 of acronyms, 1 of back derivations, 11 of
blendings, 4 of borrowings and 1 clipping and the whole calculation of the finding is
presented below.
Table 1: Types and frequency of word formation of slang words that used in the title
of dangdut song
Types of Word formation

Data

Percentage

Acronym

11.11%

Affixation

0.00%

Back formation

5.56%

Blending

11

61.11%

Borrowing

22.22%

Clipping

5.56%

Coinage

0.0%

Compounding

0.0%

Conversion

0.0%

Onomatoepia

0.0%

Reduplication

0.0%

Total

18

100%

The types of word formation

This part presents the analysis of the types of word formation of slang words and also
the meaning of the words. From the table 1 indicates that were 18 titles that used types of
word formation in forming slang words namely borrowing, blending, clipping, acronym and
back derivation.
Acronym
The word formation of borrowing can be found in some titles. It can be found in title
5th and 18th.
a. Title 5th: PUPUS by Terres
The datum above shows the acronym. Acronym is a process whereby new words
formed from the initial letters or beginning segments of a set of words. It can be understood
the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The word PUPUS derived from pura pura sayang or
pretend to love. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word PUPUS means pura pura
sayang.
b. Title 18th: JAMBU by Alfa dewi
The datum above shows the acronym. Acronym is a process whereby new words
formed from the initial letters or beginning segments of a set of words. It can be understood
the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The word JAMBU derived from janda muda baru or
the new young widow. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word Jambu means
janda muda baru.
Back Formation
The word formation of borrowing can be found in some titles. It can be found in title
12th.
a. Title 12th: Pusing Pala Barbie by Puteri Bahar
The datum above shows back formation. Back formation is a process by removal the real or
supposed affix from another word. The word pala comes from kepala or head (human) in
English. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word pala means kepala.
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Blending
The word formation of borrowing can be found in some titles. It can be found in title
1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 11th, 14th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, 23rd and 25th.
a. Title 1st: Macan Ternak by Trio Macan
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word Macan Ternak above comes from two or more
bases of words. It can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended
meaning of the word Macan Ternak is mama cantik anter anak or the young mother taking
her child. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word Macan Ternak means mama
canti anter anak.
b. Title 2nd: Meriang by Cita Citata
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate forms to
produce a single term. The word Meriang above comes from two or more bases of words.
According to the lyrics, the word Meriang means merindukan kasih sayang or missing the
love from someone. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word means merindukan
kasih sayang.
c. Title 4th: Jamur by Ina Marlina
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word Jamur above comes from two or more bases of
words. It can be understood the meaning by looking the lyrics. The intended meaning of the
word Jamur is janda bawah umur or young widow. It is supported by kamusslang.com that
the word Jamur means janda bawah umur.
d. Title 6th: Telmi by Chantika Poetri
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word Telmi above comes from two bases of words. It
can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
Telmi is telat mikir or late thinker. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word
Telmi means telat mikir.
e. Title 11th: Goyang Dumang by Cita Citata
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word dumang above comes from two bases of words. It
can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
9

dumang is dungu mangap or dull and yawn. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word
dumang means dungu mangap.
f. Title 14th: Jokut Irma Darmawangsa
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The words Jokut above comes from two bases of words. It
can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
Jokut is jomblo akut or very lonely person. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the
word Jokut means jomblo akut.
g. Title 17th: Gardu by Janetta Janet
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The words Gardu above comes from two bases of words. It
can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
Gardu is galau merindu or confusion because of missing someone. It is supported by
kamusslang.com that the word Gardu means galau merindu.
h. Title 19th: Mahmud by Melinda
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word Mahmud above comes from two bases of words.
It can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
Mahmud is mama mudah or young mother. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the
word Mahmud means mama mudah.
i. Title 22nd: Catri by Deswa Dacademy
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word Catri above comes from two bases of words. It
can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
Catri is calon istri or the candidate of wife. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the
word Catri means calon istri.
j. Title 23rd: Bang Jones by Gita Youbie
The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word Jones above comes from two bases of words. It
can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
Jones is jomblo ngenes or very poor of unmarried person. It is supported by
kamusslang.com that the word Jones means jomblo ngenes.
k. Title 25th: Cumi by Helda Jasmine

10

The datum above shows the blending. Blending is combining two or more separate
forms to produce a single term. The word Cumi above comes from two bases of words. It
can be understood the meaning by looking to the lyrics. The intended meaning of the word
Cumi is cuma mirip or just similar. It is supported by kamusslang.com that the word
Cumi means cuma mirip.
Borrowing: The word formation of borrowing can be found in some titles. It can be found in
title 8th, 13th, 16th and 20th.
a. Title 8th: Gue mah Gitu Orangnya by Imey Mey
The datum above shows the borrowing. Borrowing is taking over of words from
other languages. The word gue is derived from Hokkien language which is Mandarin
Chinese. It is support by Kamusslang.com that the word gue means saya or I as a subject.
b. Title 13th: Raja Duit by Tukul Arwana
The datum above shows the borrowing. Borrowing is taking over of words from
other languages. The word Duit is derived from ducth duit/deut (one coin of money). It is
support kamusslang.com that the word Duit means money in general.
c. Title 16th: Jomblo Lagi by Nova Imut
The datum above shows the borrowing. Borrowing is taking over of words from
other languages. The word Jomblo is derived from Betawi language. One of the regional
Indonesian languages. According to kamusslang.com the word Jomblo means the
single/unmarried person.
d. Title 20th: Ratu Jomblo by Dina Salsa
The datum above shows the borrowing. Borrowing is taking over of words from
other languages. The word Jomblo is derived from Betawi language, one of the regional
languages of Indonesia. According to kamusslang.com that word means the single/unmarried
person.
Clipping
The word formation of borrowing can be found in some titles. It can be found in title
24th.
a. Title 24th: Sensi by Elvy Zubay
The datum above shows the clipping. Clipping is a process where a polysyllabic word
is eliminated its one or more syllable so that it becomes shorter. According to
kamusslang.com the transcription Sensi above comes from the word Sensitif. The word
11

is a back clipping because the tail or end of the original has been cut. It is supported by
kamusslang.com that sensi has a meaning sensitif or sensitive in English.
The most frequent type of word formation of slang words
The biggest percentage which was mostly used to form slang words in the title of
dangdut song was blending. There were 5 types of word formation processes which occurred
in the process of data.
From the findings (Table 1), the blending were the most frequent word formation
processes. The blending was used in 11 or 61.11% of the total slang words in the 25 titles.
The borrowing as the second after the blending was used in 4 data or 22.22%. The acronym
as the third after the borrowing was used in 2 data or 11.11%. Clipping and back formation in
the fourth and the fifth with 1 data for each or 5.56%.
CONCLUSION
This research was conduct to find out the word formation processes of slang words in
the title of the dangdut song using the theory of word formation processes by Ogrady.
Besides, it is supported by kamusslang.com to interpret the meaning of the slang words. The
writer chosed 25 titles of dangdut song from the website.
After analyzing the word formation processes of slang words and the most frequently
word formation processes of those Slang words, the finding showed that there were 18 titles
of slang words in those 25 titles. There were 5 types of word formation processes, namely
acronym, back derivation, blending, borrowing and clipping. Among the five word formation
processes, the blending were the most frequent word formation processes. The blending was
used in 11 data or 61.11% of the total slang words in the 25 titles. The borrowing as the
second after the blending was used in 4 data or 22.22%. The acronym as the third after the
borrowing was used in 2 or 11.11%. Clipping was used in 1 datum or 5.56% and back
formation as the last with 1 datum or 5.56%.
From the findings, the word formation of slang words that used in the dangdut song
titles tended to use blending to make them simpler and easy to remember. Furthermore, the
point must be borne in mind that dangdut song mostly used slang to interact to music lovers.
Dangdut become more familiar year by year by the teenager. In addition people have to
comprehend the meaning of the song title not only from their literal meaning but also by
seeing the context. In this case, the people have to look at the whole of the song lyrics.
12

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