A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF AMBIGUITY IN THE SONG LYRICS OF “AUGUST” BY TAYLOR SWIFT
Keywords:
Ambiguity, Semantics, Song LyricsAbstract
This study examines ambiguity in the song lyrics of “August” by Taylor Swift. The objectives of this study are to identify the ambiguous expressions found in the lyrics, classify the types of ambiguity, and interpret their possible meanings. This study used a qualitative descriptive method because the data were analyzed in the form of words, phrases, and sentences. The primary data source was taken from the lyrics of “August” published on the Genius website. The data were collected through documentation and note-taking techniques, while the analysis was conducted by identifying ambiguous expressions and classifying them into lexical ambiguity and structural ambiguity. The findings show that lexical ambiguity appears more frequently than structural ambiguity in the lyrics. Several words and phrases such as “August”, “mine”, “it all”, and “us” contain more than one possible meaning depending on the context. In addition, structural ambiguity appears in several lines such as “Meet me behind the mall” and “Back when we were still changin’ for the better”, which can be interpreted in different ways. The study concludes that ambiguity in the song is not only a linguistic feature but also an important stylistic device that strengthens the emotional and narrative meaning of the lyrics.
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