Bahasa Kiasan yang Digunakan dalam Album 'Nicole' NIKI: Analisis Semantik = Figurative Language Used in Niki's 'Nicole' Album: Semantic Analysis

Background. The researcher is interested in analyzing selected songs from NIKI’s NICOLE album due to the popularity it gained on the internet. The album helped popularize the term “backburner” and led to a noticeable increase in the interpretation of NIKI’s song meanings by listeners. Aim. The purpose of this study is to determine the types of figurative language used in the lyrics of five selected songs from NIKI's NICOLE album and to reveal their meanings by focusing on both denotative and connotative interpretations. Denotative meaning refers to the literal, straightforward meaning of words, while connotative meaning involves the associations or implied meanings that a word suggests. Method. This research uses a qualitative approach. The method of data analysis involves reducing the data by selecting purposive lyric samples from five songs in NIKI’s NICOLE album. These samples were chosen due to the high density of metaphors, in order to minimize redundancy and highlight other types of figurative language. The figurative expressions were identified and classified based on Knickerbocker and Reninger’s theory (1963), then analyzed for their denotative and connotative meanings using Lakoff and Johnson’s theory of metaphors (1980). The findings were presented in a table. Result. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that there are seven types of figurative language used in NIKI’s songs: metaphor, hyperbole, personification, simile, paradox, metonymy, and allusion. Metaphors were used most frequently, with twenty-three ontological metaphors, five structural metaphors, and one orientational metaphor. Additionally, the album includes eleven hyperboles, three instances of personification, three similes, two paradoxes, one metonymy, and one allusion. The meanings expressed through the figurative language in the lyrics consist of both denotative and connotative meanings, with the central theme being nostalgia and past love, along with various form of heartbreak, ranging from separation due to life circumstances, such as moving away, the pain of being a second choice, and unrequited love. Conclusion. The analysis of the selected songs from NIKI’s NICOLE album shows that metaphor, especially ontological metaphor, is the most dominant type of figurative language. However, other types such as hyperbole, personification, simile, paradox, metonymy, and allusion are also present and serve to enhance emotional expression and imagery.

Keyword : figurative language, song lyrics, denotative meaning, connotative meaning, NIKI’s NICOLE album.