EKSPLORASI SEMANTIK: DIMENSI MAKNA ASOSIATIF DALAM ANTOLOGI CERPEN MALAM TERAKHIR KARYA LEILA SALIKHA CHUDORI

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the variety of associative meanings in the short story collection Malam Terakhir by Leila S. Chudori. This literary work was selected for its rich vocabulary and the complexity of the social issues it addresses, ranging from politics to patriarchal culture. The method used is descriptive qualitative with a semantic approach based on Geoffrey Leech’s theory. Data collection was conducted through the free-listening-and-speaking method (SBLC) and note-taking techniques on the nine short stories in the anthology. The research results revealed 50 instances of associative meaning, encompassing five categories: instances of 11 stylistic meaning, 14 of connotative meaning, 8 of affective meaning, 4 of collocative meaning, and 13 of reflective meaning. The findings indicate that the author’s use of associative meanings plays a crucial role in building narrative atmosphere, conveying social criticism subliminally, and creating emotional depth for readers. The implications of this study are expected to enrich literary semantic literacy and serve as a reference for Indonesian language instruction.