SEMANTICS FINAL EXAMINATION

AN ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTUAL MEANING IN A SHORT

STORY “THE BOY WHO CRIED ‘WOLF”

BY LOUIS UNTERMEYER

Compiled By:

1. Rani Rohmawati Umi Siswoyo (16.9202.6982)

2. Ervina Indirawati Funarto (16.9202.6989)
3. Eka Ranti Safitri (16.9202.6990)

SEKOLAH TINGGI ILMU BAHASA DAN SASTRA

SATYA WIDYA

SURABAYA

2019
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The study of a meaning in a language is called semantics. The meaning of

a word and sentence does not have any relation to the context, but it is how word

will be connected to the things. The semantic analysis will also attempt to

determine the relationship between verbal description and states of affairs in the

world as proper or not, in any case of who produce the description of the word.

To define a word is not an easy thing to do. The way to define a word is

usually found orthographically or based on the right spelling (dictionary). But the

fact that understanding a word is not only based on the orthographic makes people

may have a different perception of what the other people means. In this case, the

concept of the meaning such as symbol, reference, and referent are a must. The

word orange may be thought as one of the color, but when the referent shows as a

fruit it will change the people perception from what they though before. The

meaning of a word may be understood by the people through the description, the

description of orange can be: un-animate, has much variety, have a sour taste, and

angiospermae (fruit whose seeds are located inside of the fruit).

Some people usually use semantics to improve the study of meaning in

wider sense of all that will be communicated with a language. The analysis will

generally explain the sentences of a particular language that are understood,

interpreted, and related to states, process, and objects in the world. In semantics,

there are four kinds of meaning; they are conceptual meaning, connotative

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meaning, social meaning and affective meaning. Those kinds of meaning will

distinguish the types of meaning and fit into the total composite effect of a

linguistic communication, and show the method of study appropriate to one type

may not be fit to another.

In this paper the writers will discuss the conceptual meaning in the short

story “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf”. The short story which is adapted by Louis

Untermeyer is telling about the Shepherd boy who is bored with his routine, he

tries to entertain himself by making a trick shouting “Wolf” and make some

villagers come to help him, but the fact that he is tricking them twice make the

villagers annoyed and do not believe and help him when the wolf is actually

coming and catching his sheep. The writers use the conceptual meaning as a

discussion because the writers would like to know the meaning of the word

conceptually(orthographically) whether it has one conceptual meaning or more,

almost all of the words can be describe conceptually, it will make the writers

easier to analyze and understand. The short story is chosen as a source to discuss

because it has a lot of data where the writers can find several possibilities of

referents.

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 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A. Elaboration about Conceptual Meaning

Conceptual meaning is also known as cognitive meaning is a term

sometimes used in semantics as part of classification of types of meaning.

It refers to those aspects of meaning which relate directly to denotations of

lexical items of the propositional content of sentences, and thus

corresponds to an intellectually objective level of interpretation, as

opposed to one where emotional or subjective interpretation is involved

(Crystal, 1997: 67)

The conceptual meaning analysis will be related to the triangle

concept by Odgen and Richard, according to them it is called meaning of

meaning or the theory of meaning. They say there is no direct connection

between the symbol and its referent. The relation between them is rather

‘imputed’, as the dotted base of the triangle and its caption tells us. For

any act of reference to succeed, it must first pass through the intermediate

step of thought of reference (Odgen and Richards 1989[1923]:9-12)

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 The triangle concept will be successfully understood when the

thought of reference, symbol and referent are completely related.

Mentioning a symbol without any referent make a possibility there is a

different perception through the thought of reference, moreover if there is

more than one referent based on the symbol. The misperception or

ambiguity is able to make the sender or receiver of the massage remember

and understand more about the meaning. Meaning involves the

relationship among the words in the language, the referents in the real

world, and the references in the long term memory of the human being

brain.

Conceptual meaning is the clear and logical definition of word

based on the structure and form of the word, the conceptual meaning is not

included as part of the word. According to Geoffrey Leech (1974)

conceptual meaning refers to the dictionary meaning which indicates the

concept. It also can be found a same conceptual meaning but it has

different word (synonym). It covers those basic, essential components of

meaning that are conveyed by the literal use of a word, and the type of

meaning that dictionary design to describe. There are several possibilities

of referents in conceptual meaning:

1. The referent shows an entity (a thing, a person, or an animal)

This referent mostly tells about a noun that will be explained

orthographically (word that can be found in dictionary; book,

elephant, mountain) and through the characteristic or physic of

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 the referent (person, certain place; President Trump, STIBA

Satya Widya)

2. The referent shows a psychological power

This referent shows the ability of mortal that is related to

psychological term (not physically) and this term mostly as a

noun. e.g: tolerance: the power to endure without protest.

3. The referent shows an event

This referent describes an occasion that happened in a certain

opportunity or time. e.g: Christmas: an event that happen in

25th of December to celebrate the Jesus Christ.

4. The referent shows a situation or time

This referent describes about an interval time or an activity that

happened in uncertain term, or in a several occasion. e.g:

season: the suitable or normal for something.

5. The referent shows a state

This referent refers to the condition of a noun, this referent use

adjective as a term of the referent. e.g: hot: having a hight

temperature.

6. The referent shows action

This referent will refer to the thing that someone/thing do. This

term uses verb as a referent. e.g: sing: an action of making

musical sounds with the voice.

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 7. The referent shows a process

The referent shows the thing that happen in a short or long time

and it happens to get the goal. This term usually use verb + ing

to make this possibility. e.g: raining: a process of rain falling.

8. The referent shows the psychological experience

This referent shows the thing that is already happened in the

past, and it is still remembered or not to be forgotten. e.g:

regret: feel sorry for the loss of.

9. The referent shows a manner

This referent is showing the way how the action happens. It

usually using adverb of manner to refer the referent. e.g:

warmly: in a warm manner.

10. The referent shows a location

This referent shows the position of something. e.g: above: in a

position of higher than.

B. Discussion

This paper will use the short story namely “The Boy Who Cried

‘Wolf” as the source of data. The writers will analyze by classifying the

referent and then analyze the conceptual meaning through several

possibilities of referent. Here the writers collected 42 data that will be

analyze and describe.

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 Furthermore, the analysis is presented clearly below:

1. The classification of word that has conceptual meaning

List of Word List of Word List of Word List of Word

Once Day Lonely Twice
Young Get Pleased Deceiving
Shepherd Thought Considerable Stirred
Boy Little Tried Made
Tended Excitement Trick Good
Sheep Wolf Began Flock
Foot Village Worry Complained
Mountain Villager Louder Wise
Near Believed Before Man
Dark Fooled Speaks Said
Forest Liar

2. The analysis and description of Conceptual meaning through the several

possibilities of referent.

To analyze the conceptual meaning, the writer will classify the list

of word through the several possibilities of referent and the dictionary

column will be filled orthographically (Oxford Dictionary). There are ten

several possibilities of referent that is possible exist in the data.

1. The referent shows an entity (a thing, a person, or an animal)

No List of word Dictionary Description

1. Shepherd A person who tends The cognitive meaning
and rears sheep. of shepherd is animate,
male or female, guard
the sheep.
2. Boy A broad inlet of the The cognitive meaning
sea where the land of boy is animate,
curves inwards human, male, teenager,
young.
3. Sheep A domesticated The cognitive meaning

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 ruminant mammal of sheep is animate,
with a thick wooly mammal, herbivore,
coat and (typically and quadruped, furry.
only in the male)
curving horns.
4. Mountain A large natural The cognitive meaning
elevation of the of mountain is
earth’s surface rising inanimate, huge.
abruptly from the
surrounding level.
5. Villager A person who lives The cognitive meaning
in a village. of villager animate,
human, male and
female, leaving in
village.
6. Man An adult human The cognitive meaning
male. of man is animate,
human, male, and
adult.
7. Liar A person who tells The cognitive meaning
lie. tells that liar is animate,
human, male or female.
8. Forest A large area covered The cognitive meaning
chiefly with trees tells inanimate, full of
and undergrowth. trees, wild, have many
kinds of animals.
9. Village A group of houses A cognitive meaning of
and associated village is inanimate,
buildings, larger place to live,
than a hamlet and traditional.
smaller than a town,
situated in a rural
area.
10 Foot The lower extremity The cognitive meaning
. of the leg below the of foot is inanimate,
ankle, on which a part of body, an
person stands or instrument for walking.
walks.
11 Wolf A wild carnivorous The cognitive meaning
mammal which is of wolf is animate,
the largest member animal, mammal,
of the dog family, carnivore, quadruped,
living and hunting in family of dog. Furry.

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 packs.

2. The referent shows a psychological power

No List of word Dictionary Description

1. Excitement A feeling of great The power of making
enthusiasm and the atmosphere
eagerness. becomes enjoyable.
2. Wise Having or showing The power of facing
experience, everything in a good
knowledge, and way because of the
good judgment. experience and
knowledge.

3. The referent shows a situation or time

\
List of word Dictionary Description
No
1. Once On one occasion or Time when doing
for one time only. something one time
only and still does not
have the next
opportunity.
2. Before During the period of Time when it comes
time preceding (a earlier.
particular event or
time)
3. Twice Two times, one two Time when doing
occasions. something and has two
opportunities.
4. Day Each of the twenty- Time that has 24 hours,
four-hour periods, from 12 am to 12 pm.
reckoned from one
midnight to the next,
into which a week,
month, or year is
divided, and
corresponding to a
rotation of the earth
on its axis.

4. The referent shows a state

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 No List of word Dictionary Description
1. Young Having lived or A state of having an
existed for only a earlier age and will
short time grow older soon
2. Dark With little or no A state of cannot see
light. anything because there
is no light.
3. Little [attributive] A state of having a few
relatively or nothing and wanting
unimportant or to have it.
trivial (used
ironically)
4. Considerable Notably large in A state of having many
size, amount, or things/ people.
extent.
5. Good Having the required A state of fulfilling the
qualities; of a high standard of something.
standard.
7. Lonely Sad because one has A state of having no
no friends or one to accompany.
company.

5. The referent shows action

No List of word Dictionary Description

1. Tended Care for or look An action to take care
after; give one’s of the cattle.
attention to:
2. Thought An idea or opinion An action to give an
produced by idea or describe
thinking, or something on the
occurring suddenly discussion.
in the mind.
3. Get Come to have An action to receive
(something), receive. something from the
giver
4. Believed Accept that An action to accept an
(something) is true, idea or opinion from
especially without the other people and
proof. not doubting it.
5. Pleased To make happy or An action to make
satisfied. someone being happy
and satisfied.

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 6. Tried Make an attempt or An action to do
effort to do something that never be
something. done before, or to do
something seriously to
reach the goal.
7. Trick Cunningly deceive An action to deceive
or outwit. someone for a joke.
8. Began Perform or undergo An action to start
the first part of something.
(action activity)
9. Worry Feel or cause to feel An action to make
anxious or trouble somebody does not
about actual or calm because of some
potential problems. reason that bother his
mind.
10. Fooled To trick or to An action to make a
deceive someone trick on somebody else
and it is for cheat them.
11. Speaks Say something in An action to deliver the
order to convey message through the
information or to utterance.
express a feeling.
12. Stirred Arouse strong An action to move
feeling in (someone) from the place for a
move or excite. reason that they really
want.
13. Made Cause (something) An action to create
to exist or come something for him.
about or bring about.
14. Complained Express An action to say the
dissatisfaction or unpleased feeling to
annoyance about someone that is related
something. to the subject.
15. Said To utter words so as An action to express
to convey something to the other
information, an by uttering the purpose.
opinion, a feeling, or
intention, or an
instruction.
6. The referent shows process

No List of word Dictionary Description

1. Louder Producing or A process to make the
capable of producing voice will be more
much noise. listened to the people.

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 2. Deceiving Deliberately cause A process to trick
(someone) to believe everyone to believe of
something that is not what he says.
true, especially for
personal again.

7. The referent shows a location

No List of word Dictionary Description

1. Near At or to a short In a position not far
distance away, from the object.
nearby.

From the short story in title “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf” by Louis

Untermeyer, the writers have found 42 words as a data to analyze. The

analysis is made by classifying the word through the possibilities of

referent. There are 10 possibilities of referent that is mentioned at the point

elaboration of conceptual meaning, but there are only seven possibilities of

referent that exist in the source of data, they are referent of entity,

psychological power, situation or time, state, action, process, and location.

The referent of event, psychological experience, and manner are cannot be

found at the short story “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf”.

Most of the words in the short story “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf”

have conceptual meaning or cognitive meaning that can be found

orthographically or through the dictionary. The writers find 11 words of

the referent of entity. These referents tell that the referent of entity will

point to the exist things. The second possibilities of referent that found in

the short story is two words of psychological power, this referent shows

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 the psychological ability as a referent. There are 4 words from referent of

situation or time. The referent of state has 7 words that are found by the

writers. The next is the words that the writers find most in the short story;

the referent of action has 15 words. There are two words of referent of

process, and the last which has small number is referent of location that is

found only one word. The table of the number of the data that has been

found and analyzed will be presented below:

Number of
Several Possibilities of Referent
Data
The referent shows an entity 11
The referent shows a psychological
2
power
The referent shows an event 0
The referent shows a situation or
4
time
The referent shows a state 7
The referent shows an action 15
The referent shows a process 2
The referent shows a psychological
0
experience
The referent shows a manner 0
The referent shows a location 1

CHAPTER III

CONCLUTION

Conceptual meaning is also known as a cognitive meaning, denotative

meaning, and logical meaning. This subject is one of the studies in semantics that

discuss about the meaning of referent through the dictionary or orthography. The

study of conceptual meaning will always have same meaning in every part of the

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word due to the meaning are based on the dictionary. The conceptual meaning

also be able to make a different perception because there may be more than one

referent in a symbol, more over the thought of reference will make an ambiguity

of what the speaker wants to deliver the message.

From the analysis, the writers have found many words that show some

possibilities of referent. Through the words that have been found in the short story

“The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf”, the writers try to find the meaning of the words in

the dictionary. The writers conclude that most of the conceptual meaning word

will be found in the dictionary easily. The referent that mostly found in the short

story “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf” is the referent of action due to the story tells

about the main character’s activity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Crystal. David. .1997 A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Oxforf:

Blackwell Publisher Ltd.

Leech. Geoffrey. 1981. Semantic The Study of Meaning. Great Britain: Richard

Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk.

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Yule. George. 2014. The Study of Language Fifth Edition. United Kingdom: MPG

Printgroup Ltd, Cambridge.

Odgen, C. K and I.A. Richards. 1989[1923]. The Meaning of Meaning. San

Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (Original Published London: Kegan

Paul)

Untermeyer. Louis. 1965. Aesop’s Fable: “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf”

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