# Bernadette Kushartanti Dwi Noverini Djenar Editors

# Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia

Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia

Bernadette Kushartanti · Dwi Noverini Djenar Editors

# Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia

*Editors*  Bernadette Kushartanti Universitas Indonesia West Java, Indonesia

Dwi Noverini Djenar The University of Sydney Camperdown, NSW, Australia

ISBN 978-981-99-4774-4 ISBN 978-981-99-4775-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2024. This book is an open access publication.

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### **Contents**



### **Editors and Contributors**

### **About the Editors**

**Bernadette Kushartanti** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. She obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2014) with a dissertation entitled *The Acquisition of Stylistic Variation by Jakarta Indonesian Children*. Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests include language acquisition, language variation, pragmatics, and discourse analysis.

**Dwi Noverini Djenar** is Associate Professor in Indonesian Studies at The University of Sydney. She obtained her BA in English literature from Gajah Mada University, an MA in linguistics and politics from La Trobe University, and a Ph.D. in linguistics from The University of Melbourne. Her research interests lie in questions related to the way language facilitates understandings of sociocultural and political ideas, including ideas about self-other relations, identity and style. She has published in the areas of discourse and pragmatics, sociolinguistics and grammar, focusing on Indonesian.

### **Contributors**

**Puspita Andiani** Indonesian Studies Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia; Fintek Karya Nusantara (LinkAja), Jakarta Selatan (South Jakarta), Indonesia

**Dwi Noverini Djenar** Indonesian Studies Department, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

**Ida Erviana** Javanese Literature Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia; Motivasi Indonesia, Jakarta Utara (North Jakarta), Indonesia

**Andri Imam Fauzi** Javanese Literature Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok City, Indonesia; Halodoc, Jakarta Selatan (South Jakarta), Indonesia

**Fitriana Ferhadija** Indonesian Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia; MyEduSolve Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

**Editia Herningtias** Lembaga Bahasa Internasional, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

**Bernadette Kushartanti** Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

**Abdul Muta'ali** Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

**Rizma A. Puspita** Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia; SEAMEO QITEP in Language, Jakarta, Indonesia

**Dwi Puspitorini** Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

**Innova Safitri Suprapto Putri** Laboratorium Riset Bahasa Isyarat, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

**F. X. Rahyono** Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universitas Buddhi Dharma, Tangerang, Indonesia

**Lisnawaty Simatupang** Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia; Politeknik Negeri, Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia

**Totok Suhardijanto** Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

**Untoro** Javanese Literature Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia. https://kitabisa.com/

**Widhyasmaramurti** Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

**Untung Yuwono** Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

### **List of Figures**

### **Gender and Grammatical Cohesion in Indonesian Preschoolers' Narrative**



### **List of Tables**

### **Grammatical Cohesion in Indonesian-Speaking Preschoolers' Narrative**


### **Gender and Grammatical Cohesion in Indonesian Preschoolers' Narrative**


### **Lexical Cohesion in the Narrative Produced by Javanese School-Age Children in Pati**


### **Superstructure and Cohesion in the Narratives of Jakarta Sign Language Signers**


### **The Dynamics of the Graphemic Transcription of the Javanese Language in the Instant Messaging Apps, Line and WhatsApp**


### **Just Like Conversation?: Speech and Thought Presentation in Indonesian Adolescent Fiction**


### **Children and the Interpretation of the** *Gugon Tuhon:* **The Age Factor**


### **Introduction**

### **Bernadette Kushartanti and Dwi Noverini Djenar**

This edited volume presents studies on language practices broadly related to children and youth in Indonesia. The chapters are written predominantly by emerging Indonesian scholars in collaboration with their supervisors. Most of the chapters were written and presented at the International Young Scholar Symposium on Humanities and Arts (INUSHARTS) and the Asia Pacific Research in Social Sciences and Humanities Conference, held at the University of Indonesia in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The volume is divided into three main sections. The first section includes studies on the structure of narrative by children and youth. The second section contains studies on language use in popular culture through analyses of radio advertising, television talent shows, and social media. This section also includes a study on the representation of youth speech styles in popular fiction. The third and final sections of the book present studies on social change as evident in Javanese naming practices and children's interpretation of traditional Javanese etiquette.

### **Children's and Young Adults' Narrative Production**

The term *narrative* is often used interchangeably with *story*, *account, discourse*, *narration,* or *tale* (see Gimenez, 2010, p. 200). It also has a broad definition, since it includes the different modes (oral, written, and sign language) as well as content (experiences about self or others). Narrative is a topic widely studied in research on language use among young speakers. This body of research shows that narrative

D. N. Djenar

B. Kushartanti (B)

Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: kushartanti.hum@ui.ac.id

Indonesian Studies Department, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia e-mail: novi.djenar@sydney.edu.au

B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_1

production is one of the most important skills that demonstrate linguistic competence and social skills (see, for example, Colozzo & Whitely, 2014; Horton-Ikard, 2009; Reese et al., 2012). Maturity in language use can be shown by children's ability to construct well-formed macro- and microstructure in storytelling (Mills et al., 2013). Macrostructure relates to the hierarchical structure consisting of setting, plot, and characters, whereas microstructure refers to the use of linguistic elements (e.g., judged by the number of words and clause density) to form cohesion (see also Hughes et al., 1997 in Mills et al., 2013). A narrative, according to Labov and Waletzky (1997), consists of the orientation, complication, evaluation, resolution, and coda. Children's narrative skills can be observed in the way they use linguistic elements to produce coherence and cohesion in the story. Narrative coherence relates to the connection between the text and something external to it, whereas cohesion points to the connection between elements within the text.

The authors in the first section of this volume apply Halliday and Hasan's (1976) theory in the analysis of narrative production by hearing children and young, hearingimpaired Indonesians. Halliday and Hasan (1976) include reference, substitution, ellipsis, and conjunctions as grammatical cohesive devices, and repetition, synonymy, hyponymy, hypernymy, meronymy, antonymy, and collocation, as lexical devices. Many cross-linguistic studies on text cohesion suggest that sociocultural factors, such as socioeconomic status, gender, cognitive ability, and linguistic background, play a role in the development of narrative competence. Since children's linguistic skills are revealed through their narrative abilities, narrative is one of the components of academic assessment in Indonesian schools. In Indonesia, as in many countries, storytelling is one of classroom activities introduced in the early years of schooling.

Berman (2009, pp. 358–359) suggests that examining narrative is helpful for understanding the acquisition of referring expressions. Referring expressions can function as cohesive ties in narrative. Competence in narrative can be examined by the way children tell a story, e.g., how they narrate events and use linguistic elements to create cohesion between the different parts of a story. For example, a child may use reference as a cohesive device to invite an interlocutor to direct their attention to some object. In the chapter by **Herningtias and Kushartanti,** it is shown that young children (aged three to six) who speak Indonesian as their first language can use grammatical devices to create cohesion in a narrative elicited from dialogic reading. The study found that older children are more competent in using such devices, thus supporting the study by Mäkinen et al. (2014). Nevertheless, as the children in this study were still developing their linguistic competence, the point was made that these children were still learning to understand the listener's needs. These findings align with previous studies (see Kail & Hickmann, 1992; Wigglesworth, 1990).

Besides age, gender is also shown to be a factor in children's narrative production (see Nicolopoulou, 2008), but studies draw different conclusions as to where and how gender plays a role. For example, Mainess et al. (2002) found that girls showed a greater level of elaboration in their narrative production compared to boys, evident in a larger number of words, longer sentences, as well as clauses. Meanwhile, the findings by Sperry and Sperry (1996) found that boys produced a greater quantity of narrative-like talk than girls, specifically in terms of episodes per hour and types of morphemes per minute. Gender differences in narrative production by young children are also discussed by **Ferhadija and Kushartanti.** These authors compare young boys' and girls' tendencies in using grammatical cohesive devices in narrative. Their findings show that, on average, children of both genders used grammatical cohesive devices, such as reference, substitution, ellipsis, and conjunctions, equally well.

As Indonesia is one of the homes for bilinguals and multilinguals, examining narrative competence in Indonesian bilingual children can contribute toward a better understanding of the multilingual situation in Indonesia. While the subjects of two previous studies were preschoolers who spoke Indonesian as their first language, the subjects in the study by **Puspita and Kushartanti** were older children who already had learned the language formally at school and who were bilingual Javanese and Indonesians. Their study focused on the use of lexical cohesive devices. Results from this study show that these children are already able to use various types of Indonesian lexical cohesive devices. Their study also shows that younger children tended to incorporate Javanese—their first language and the language they used in daily conversation—when they narrated a story in Indonesian. It was found that they used both Javanese and Indonesian lexical cohesive devices in narrative production. Puspita and Kushartanti pointed out that the older children outperformed the younger children, which again suggests that age is a factor in the acquisition of narrative competence. In this regard, their study agrees with the findings by Purwo and Sukamto (2016), who found in their study of bilingual Javanese–Indonesian children in Yogyakarta, that higher-grade children performed better in Indonesian than in Javanese.

Besides the spoken and written forms, narrative production can be signed. The structures, in terms of plotting, are similar, as found by Sutton-Spence (2010). She found a threefold pattern in vertical symmetry, namely, placing signs at head height, shoulder height, and waist height, and in horizontal symmetry, placing signs in the left, right, and center spaces. In the study of narrative production by young adult signers using Jakarta Sign Language (JSL), which is included in this section, **Safitri and Yuwono** found similar patterns to those reported by Sutton-Spence. They applied the theory of narrative structure, by Labov and Waletzky (1997), and the theory of cohesion, proposed by Halliday and Hasan (1976) and Halliday and Matthiessen (2014). Apart from the different modes of linguistic expression used, both the hearing speakers and the deaf signers used similar cohesive devices to make coherent narratives. Considering that studies of narrative production by JSL signers are rare, Safitri and Yuwono's study provides a useful departure point for further research into this sign language variety.

### **Youth, Language, and Popular Culture**

Many studies of youth and social practices stress that the category of 'youth' should be regarded as a social construction rather than defined in terms of age alone. Young people growing up in different parts of the world experience life differently (though there are shared practices due to contact of various kinds) and the way they socialize also varies across cultures (Nilan & Mansfeld, 2014; Papalia & Martorell, 2015). As Nilan and Mansfeld (2014, p. 5) state, youth culture can be understood in terms of practices related to, for example, identity construction, socialization, consumption, claims to legitimacy, relation to adult power, and creativity. Studies on Indonesian youth language practices show that when speaking Indonesian, young people draw on a range of language resources, including ethnic and foreign languages, in their interaction with each other in daily activities (e.g., Djenar et al., 2018; Tamtomo, 2016). This section focuses on youth language practices in popular culture.

The need to be connected to a wide social network, as enabled by technology, is one of the characteristics of young people's social life (Papalia & Martorell, 2015). Mass and social media become important tools for doing this. Two chapters in this section present the study of language in radio and social media. **Andiani** and **Suhardijanto** examined cooperative principles in *adlibs* and improvised radio advertisements involving young Indonesian broadcasters in Jakarta. Based on Gricean pragmatics (1975), this study presents an analysis of cultural mixing. It found that the most common violation of cooperative principles is the violation of narrative relevance. The chapter by **Fauzi and Puspitorini** discusses written language produced by young Javanese speakers from Banyumas, Central Java. Focusing on Javanese graphemic transcription in social media (e.g., *Instant Messaging Line* and *Whatsapp*), they found that the new generation of Javanese language speakers uses graphemic transcription based on the sounds they hear, instead of following Javanese standard spelling, and that the relative freedom that young people have when writing in social media has given rise to variations in graphemic representation of language.

Studies of youth language practices are not limited to analyses of language use among young people, but also its representations. Lengthy discussions have taken place about youth language practices often being viewed negatively (Drummond, 2016; for a similar discussion on Indonesian youth language, see Djenar, 2012). Nevertheless, young people are often classified in Indonesian popular discourse as a linguistically creative social group because of the way they use the Indonesian language. **Djenar**'s chapter examines a claim that the writing style in *Teenlit*, a genre of adolescent fiction, is basically conversational language that is written. Based on data from two novels, the chapter presents preliminary results on how adolescents' speech and thought are represented in Teenlit. Djenar shows that Direct Speech and Free Direct Speech are two common techniques used in the novels. Her findings support the argument by Leech and Short (2007) that Direct Speech is the norm for speech presentation and indirect thought is the norm for thought presentation.

This section also includes a study by **Simatupang** and **Muta'ali** on politeness strategies among young adults serving as judges in a television talent show. In this study, Brown and Levinson's (1987) and Maslow's theory (1949) are applied to examine the judges' strategies for delivering constructive comments to young contestants. This study found that judges took into account children's psychological condition when they gave comments on performance. Simatupang and Muta'ali argue that the judges generally provide positive comments to motivate the contestants to improve. In doing so, they effectively encourage the fulfillment of the four basic human needs: safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization.

### **Children, Language, and Tradition**

Many ethnolinguistic groups in Indonesia maintain traditional practices by teaching young members moral values and etiquette through their ethnic language. Javanese speakers, the largest ethnolinguistic group in Indonesia, are no exception. Javanese language is spoken by more than one-third of the Indonesia's population (see Ananta et al., 2015). The chapters in this section show that tradition and modernity can live side by side. Though for the younger generation of Javanese speakers globalization and modernity are part of their everyday reality, many still observe traditional etiquette. The authors in this section show this through studies of personal naming and childrens' knowledge of and adherence to the etiquette, respectively.

Conventions for naming a child lie at the core of Javanese traditions. Naming is tied up with myth, spirit, and culture (Widodo et al., 2010, p. 260). Moreover, names reflect the name-giver's beliefs and aspirations for the bearer (Aldrin, 2016; Nyström, 2016). In a semiotic study of personal names given by Javanese parents to their children, **Untoro** and **Rahyono** point out that a shift in naming has been occurring across generations of Javanese speakers, forming part of an overall process of cultural change. Based on names collected from written sources, interviews, and questionnaires conducted in a high school in Kediri, East Java, their study shows that contemporary names include sounds not found in the names of Javanese from the previous generations. In many cases, contemporary names do not have any discernible meanings.

The second and final chapters in this section are concerned with the interpretation of Javanese etiquette taught to children through a set of prohibitions. It has been pointed out that traditional Javanese child-rearing practices prioritize teaching a child to be obedient to parental commands (Hoffman, as cited in Kuntoro et al., 2016, p. 1394). The chapter, by **Erviana, Widhyasmaramurti,** and **Puspitorini,** discusses Javanese-speaking children's understanding of *Gugon Tuhon,* a set of Javanese prohibition maxims related to table manners. Based on questionnaire data, the authors found that *Gugon Tuhon* maxims are still being applied as a means of parenting among Javanese families.

### **Closing Remarks**

This volume presents studies mainly by linguists based in Indonesia and includes topics that have never been studied by non-Indonesian scholars (e.g., narrative production among children in Chaps. 2–4, interpretations of *Gugon Tuhon* in Chap. 11). In that regard, this volume can be considered as an exploration of potential areas for future research. We therefore hope that despite its lapses, this book will serve as a useful resource for students and scholars researching languages and cultural practices in Indonesia, particularly in relation to children and young people. **Acknowledgements** We would like to thank Rosari Saleh, Diah Ayu Maharani, Manneke Budiman, S. M. Gietty, and Universitas Indonesia for their continous support in publication; and Pratidina Sekar Pembayun who handled our files carefully.

### **References**


and socioeconomic issues. *Linguistics and Education, 13*(2), 151–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0898-5898(01)00060-2


**Bernadette Kushartanti** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. She obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2014) with a dissertation entitled "The Acquisition of Stylistic Variation by Jakarta Indonesian Children". Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests include language acquisition, language variation, pragmatics, and discourse analysis.

**Dwi Noverini Djenar** is Associate Professor in Indonesian Studies at The University of Sydney. She obtained her BA in English literature from Gajah Mada University, an MA in linguistics and politics from La Trobe University and a PhD in linguistics from The University of Melbourne. Her research interests lie in questions related to the way language facilitates understandings of sociocultural and political ideas, including ideas about self-other relations, identity and style. She has published in the areas of discourse and pragmatics, sociolinguistics and grammar, focusing on Indonesian.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **Children's and Young Adult's Narrative Production**

### **Grammatical Cohesion in Indonesian-Speaking Preschoolers' Narrative**

**Editia Herningtias and Bernadette Kushartanti** 

**Abstract** This chapter discusses the use of Indonesian grammatical cohesive devices in preschoolers' narrative productions. The participants of this study are three- to sixyear-old children (*N* = 60). All children live in Jabodetabek area and use Indonesian as the first language. We use a wordless picture book to elicit the use of reference, ellipsis, substitution, and conjunction in children's storytelling. Cohesive devices in children's narration of the picture story are identified and analyzed with quantitative and qualitative approaches. The result indicates a tendency of increasing use of reference, ellipsis, substitution, and conjunction in older children, especially in lexical variation. We also find that children still use inappropriate cohesive devices. We also find correlations between reference, ellipsis, and substitution; when participants did not use reference, they preferred to omit the character from the story. Nevertheless, there is no significant difference between the age groups.

**Keywords** Narratives · Cohesion · Grammatical cohesive devices · Preschoolers · Indonesian

### **Introduction**

The narrative medium is an authentic mode of communication in which children are encouraged to participate (Reese et al., 2011, p. 133). It refers to the "telling of something, 'a story' or 'stories'" (Gimenez, 2010, p. 200), one of many skills that children learn. In narrative, many aspects in children's linguistic competence, such as lexical knowledge and knowledge of story structure, can be observed. Moreover, narrative production also reveals how children learn to guide their listeners by using certain devices. To make the listeners understand the story he/she is relating, children

E. Herningtias

B. Kushartanti (B)

Lembaga Bahasa Internasional, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: kushartanti.hum@ui.ac.id

<sup>©</sup> The Author(s) 2024

B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_2

should tell a coherent and cohesive story (Ariel, 1996; Collozo & Whitey, 2014; Cornish, 2006; Mäkinen et al., 2014). A coherent narrative can be observed in the structure, including the plot, events, and characters (see, for example, Reese et al., 2011; Sah, 2015). A cohesive narrative comprises the use of lexical choices and connectivity, which can be observed by the use of cohesive devices (see, for example, Berman, 2009; Mills et al., 2013).

Cohesive devices are needed for the wholeness of discourse (Brown & Yule, 1983; Halliday & Hasan, 1976). Halliday and Hassan (1976) distinguish two types of devices that are manifested through grammar and vocabulary. These are grammatical and lexical cohesive devices. Grammatical cohesive devices include reference (the relation between discourse elements which precede or follow), ellipsis (the omission of part of an element in the discourse), substitution (the replacement of a segment, especially a word or a sentence segment, by another word), and conjunction (the relationship which indicates how a subsequent sentence—following or preceding—is linked) (see Renkema & Schubert, 2018, pp. 126–127). Lexical cohesive devices can be distinguished as reiteration and collocation, when repetition, synonymy, hyponymy, meronymy, and antonymy are included in reiteration (see Renkema and dan Schubert, 2018, pp. 127–128).

Storytellers use cohesive devices to enable the hearer to understand the character and storyline (Ariel, 1996; Colozzo & Whitely, 2014; Cornish, 2006; Mäkinen et al., 2014). These devices play an important role in the success of creating a good narrative, especially in the connectivity used to arrange the chain of cohesion between sentences in a story (Brown & Yule, 1983; Halliday & Hasan, 1976). The successful use of these cohesive devices requires certain skills as well as particular knowledge on the part of the speaker, including the ability to create story plots and having an awareness of the listener's perspective and needs (Collozo & Whitely, 2014; Karmiloff-Smith, 1985; Orsolini et al., 1996; Schneider & Hayward, 2010).

The present chapter deals with the use of cohesive devices in preschoolers' narrative production. Many studies show that the use of grammatical cohesive devices in children's narrative develops over time (Clark, 2009; Colozzo & Whitely, 2014; Hickmann, 2009; Mäkinen et al., 2014; Vuletich, 2017; Wigglesworth, 1990). In many of the studies of language development, researchers have observed that the use of cohesive devices plays an important role in children's narrative production. To maintain topic continuity in narration, which includes characters, events, and settings, children learn that they must use, not only repetitions of certain elements, but also variations of them, such as references, ellipses, substitutions, or conjunctions. However, the learning process takes a long time. Wigglesworth (1990) found that young children tended to use a form of cohesive device to refer to different references and this sometimes led to ambiguity in the storytelling. In their study of preschoolers' (three- to six-year-old children) narrative production, Orsolini et al. (1996) found that children tend to use ellipses for nouns more frequently, as they prefer to use nonverbal indicators, such as pointing to a character in a storybook. O'Grady (2005) also suggested that younger children more frequently use an ellipsis as the subject of a sentence. As for conjunctions, Hickmann (2009) found that English-, French-, German-, and Mandarin Chinese-speaking preschoolers frequently use "then" and its equivalent. As they grow older, the use of "then" decreases or disappears as they start to use other conjunctions to combine two clauses or sentences (Hickmann, 2009).

Even though studies on children's narrative are plentiful, studies in the Indonesian context are still limited. Manstura (2006) studied the coherence in preschoolers' narrative production from a psychological perspective. She found that pictures helped three-year-old preschoolers to retell a story in a coherent manner. Manstura argued that without a storybook, children tend to retell a story in incoherent sequences and with an added storyline. Novietri and Kushartanti (2018) had studied the use of cohesive devices in deaf and hearing children's writing. The research found that both deaf and hearing children used cohesive devices to construct a story. However, deaf children generally used references to a lesser degree than hearing children did. Demonstrative reference with unclear references was found only in deaf children's narratives. In addition, hearing children used more ellipses than their counterpart group. Deaf children tended to use fewer temporal conjunctions. This could be because not all conjunctions were available in the sign language vocabulary. Ferhadija and Kushartanti (this volume) studied preschoolers' use of grammatical cohesive devices in narrative production with a focus on gender differences. They found that there were no significant differences in terms of cohesion between the boys and the girls. Puspita and Kushartanti (also this volume) examined the use of lexical cohesive devices in narrations by bilingual Javanese-Indonesian school-age children in Pati, Central Java. Their study found that these bilingual children were already capable of using Indonesian lexical cohesive devices in the narration of the silent film *The Pear Story* (Chafe, 1975). Nevertheless, they were still influenced by their first language, Javanese.

The chapter discusses the use of grammatical cohesive devices in the narratives of middle-class Indonesian-speaking children, aged 3–6. The study presented here is part of the first author's master thesis (Herningtias, 2017), conducted under the supervision of the second author. This study applied semi-structured elicitation (following Eisenbeiss, 2010) for the data collection. The following sections will discuss the theoretical framework, the research method, and the results of the study.

### **Children's Language and Grammatical Cohesion**

Berman (2009) mentioned three important aspects in the functions of the narrative: reference, temporality, and connectivity. These aspects deal with discourse cohesion. Children learn to introduce the characters, settings, and events and how to maintain these components by the use of cohesive devices. The devices emerge quite early, but the mastery takes a long time (Berman, 2009, p. 358).

At the age of 3–4 years, children begin to develop their narrative ability (Hoff, 2009, p. 7). According to Piaget, three- to six-year-old children are in an egocentric stage, during which they accentuate any story's connections to themselves and their environment (Hoff, 2009, p. 115). Children will dominate the conversation by talking about themselves, their personal experiences, and their fantasies (Ninio & Snow, 1996). This means that children in this age range tend to focus more on their own narrative needs than on the listener's need to understand the storyline. Hoff (2009) mentioned that the first cohesive device used by five- and six-year-old preschool children is reference, especially the pronoun. However, the use of reference is still limited, and sometimes, the listener cannot understand the objects that are being referred to in the previous speech (Mäkinen et al., 2014). In child language, the use of ambiguous pronouns is a natural phenomenon in preschoolers' speech, where the references, *we* and *him,* are unclear, as in the following (bold type was added by us) (O'Grady, 2005, p. 136).

*Researcher : Can you tell me about the barbecue that you had?* 

*Child : We had a barbecue right over here and I told him to don't put it.* 

Berman and Slobin have investigated how children tell a story based on frog story pictures. An example below presents a three-year-old child's utterances (as cited in Clark, 2009, p. 332):

They're looking at it and there's a frog. He's looking at the jar (whispers): cause his frog's not there. Getting out. (Turns several pages fast, looks at boy climbing tree)

By the age of 5, children typically use nouns and pronouns to refer to clear things or characters, as shown in the following example (Clark, 2009, p. 333).

When the boy and the dog were as—asleep. The frog jumped out of the jar. And then the boy and the dog woke up. The frog was gone. Then the boy got dressed, and the dog stuck his head in the jar. And then the boy opened up his windows…

The five-year-old child, as shown in the example above, was able to use the references appropriately. She referred to the characters as *the boy and the dog* in the beginning of the story, using *his* to refer to the dog. She was able to lead the listener to understand her story. She was also able to use the connective marker *then.* 

In Hickmann and Hendriks' study (1999), English-, French-, German-, and Mandarin Chinese-speaking children used conjunctions with a "then" meaning, as their first conjunction when telling stories. As they grow older and their vocabulary develops, their use of "then" conjunctions decreases. Children choose other words to express the order of their stories, and their lexical choices are more varied, using words, such as "while" (Hickmann, 2009, p. 279).

On the use of ellipsis, by contrast, O'Grady (2005, p. 91) stated that it is commonly found in preschoolers' speech, as they still use incomplete speech. There are numerous possibilities that can be used to fill in for the subject of a sentence. Due to their limitations in vocabulary and composing sentences, children get rid of the most dispensable things first, especially the subject (O'Grady, 2005, p. 91).

### **Method**

Language research which involves young children as the subjects requires substantial effort to collect children's speech. In studies of children's narrative production, many researchers have used wordless picture books (see Reese et al., 2011) to elicit children's speech. Eisenbeiss (2010) suggested a technique, which is called semistructured elicitation tasks. In this technique, the researcher uses instruments, such as a storybook, to elicit children's speech. This study adapted the aforementioned method.

This study also used a wordless picture book as the main instrument for eliciting narrative production and employed a quantitative approach to examine the tendencies on the use of cohesive devices by children. A pilot study was conducted before we collected the data, to ensure that the children could follow our instructions during the data collection and whether they understood the story in the pictures. We used two wordless picture books. The first was titled *Nomi Suka Bersih-bersih* "Nomi likes cleaning up" and the second one was *Makan Rame-rame* "Let's eat together." In their study on children's narrative, Mäkinen et al. (2014) suggested that using a storybook whose situation was familiar to children was recommended to assess children's narrative. As we found that the characters in *Makan Rame-rame* were more familiar to the children, we chose this book as the instrument for this research.

From the pilot study, we learned that children needed to be guided at certain points. We observed that at times they were hesitant to talk. Therefore, we guided the children using questions, such as *ada apa?* "What happens?" every time we turned a page and looked at the picture. Without the guiding question, the child was just quiet and seemed to not know what to do. Moreover, when we questioned some children, the answers were only nouns referring to the characters. We added the question *sedang apa* "What is X doing?" while pointing at the character, to elicit more varied answers from the children. Therefore, we created a scenario containing questions for each page. This scenario contained the steps for the data collection, which started from showing the book and then showing the images contained in the book; we also designed a (very short) question for each image to elicit the children's speech. This scenario was used as the procedure for the data collection. This stage of the procedure was also used by Ferhadija and Kushartanti (this volume), but in the end, interactions with different children led to different processes for obtaining the data. This scenario has also been presented in the section about the data collection procedure.

### *Instrument*

The main instrument, as has been previously mentioned, was a wordless picture book, titled *Makan Rame-Rame* by Ideo (2015).<sup>1</sup>*Makan Rame-Rame* is a story about birds

<sup>1</sup> Permission to use the book for the research has been granted by the author.

who come one by one to find food. At the end of the story, these four birds turn out to be eating on a buffalo's back. There are five characters in the book, namely the four birds and the buffalo. The introduction of multiple birds, one by one, is used to encode the use of pronouns referring to the birds. The eight-page cohesive storybook is assumed to be able to elicit the use of conjunctions, such as *lalu, kemudian* "and then." This short book was chosen out of consideration for the short attention span of our three-year-old subjects.

### *Participants*

The participants in our study were preschool children, aged 3–6 years, whose first language was Indonesian. Sixty children were recruited and grouped into four age groups, each age group consisting of 15 children. At the time of the present study, the children were attending kindergartens or playgroups in the Greater Jakarta region. Information on the parents' occupation, ethnicity, time spent with the child, other caretaker(s) if any, and whether there was a storytelling activity at home, was obtained through parental questionnaires adapted from Kushartanti (2014). Questionnaires were distributed to the parents of all sixty children; however, only 48 questionnaires were completed. Information on the other 12 children, whose questionnaires were not returned, was obtained from their teachers. This information was needed for the description of the children's demographic background, including their socioeconomic status.

Based on the questionnaires and information from the teachers, 50% of the children's fathers and 25% of the mothers worked as private employees; 31% of the fathers and 6.7% of the mothers were entrepreneurs; 11.7% of the fathers and 15% of the mothers were government employees; 6.7% of the fathers and 1.7% of the mothers worked as military personnel; 41.7% of the mothers were housewives, and 10% of the mothers were teachers. Of the 60 children, 23.3% were firstborn children; 23.3% were middle children; 30% were youngest children, and 23.3% were only children. All participants spoke Indonesian as their first language, and the parents had not been exposed to regional languages as their first languages. This means that all participants lived in families where Indonesian has been the first language for at least three generations. Based on information about parents' occupation, we could infer that all the participants came from middle-class families.

### *Data Collection Procedure*

We invited each child to look at each page of the book. As they had already viewed the other book (see the explanation in the previous sections), we started our conversation by mentioning it first and then showing the instrument later. This was to ensure that all the children experienced the same situation. The opening conversation was the following.

Ini tante punya buku lagi nih, bagus. Coba liat. Sama seperti buku lebah tadi, buku ini juga nggak ada kata-katanya. Tante minta tolong kamu ceritain lagi dong ke Tante. Kamu lihat dulu nih.

[Trans.]

Auntie (I) have another book, a good one. Please have a look. Like the book I just showed you, this book doesn't have any words. Please tell me the story. Have a look first.

We asked the child to describe the picture on each page of the book by pointing to the object and saying *"Ada apa ya?"* "What's there (in the picture)?" or *"(…) sedang apa*?" "What are (they) doing?" At this stage, we did not record the children's speech.

After viewing the whole book, each child was then asked to retell the whole story while holding the book and turning the pages. We started with the following:

Nah, sekarang Tante mau meminta (child's name) untuk cerita semuanya, dari awal sampai akhir

[Trans.]

Now I want you to tell the whole story, from the beginning to the end.

When the child was telling the story, we provided short responses, such as *"he'em"*  "uh huh" or *"ya"* "yes" or repeated what the child said, as an acknowledgment of listening and an encouragement for them to continue. The whole interaction between the child and the researcher was then recorded.

### *Transcription and Data Processing*

The recordings were transcribed2 using a transcription convention adapted from Du Bois (2006). Based on the transcription, the number of clauses produced by the children was examined. Afterward, we identified the cohesive devices and grouped each type of grammatical cohesive device. We used three different symbols to mark these devices in the narrative, as in (1) below.

(1)

(CH1 = the child; INT = interviewer/the researcher)


<sup>2</sup> We would like to thank Meidita Kusuma Wardhani who helped with the transcription process.


Ø = ellipsis; in this example, Ø refers to *burung* (bird) which is seen by the child in the picture

= reference = conjunction

We coded all the identified grammatical cohesive devices, put them into a matrix, and analyzed them quantitatively to examine the correlation between the use of cohesive devices and the age factor.

### **Children's Use of Cohesive Devices in This Study**

### *An Overview of Participants' Utterances*

We analyzed only the children's speech that was produced when they were retelling the story. This means that the story they told when they were just shown the book and viewing it (see section data collection procedure) was not analyzed. Table 1 presents the mean and range scores of the number of clauses (utterances) made by the children by age group.

The data in Table 1 indicate that the four-year-old children (*M*: 10.87; SD: 3.96) tended to use a larger number of clauses than the three-year-old children (*M*: 9.33; SD: 2.90). The five-year-old children (*M*: 12.07; SD: 3.77) also tended to use more clauses than the younger groups. The six-year-old children (*M*: 9.87; SD: 3.02), however, used fewer clauses than the youngest group did. It was found that there were children in the oldest group who used seven clauses to tell the whole story, one of which is shown in the following text (2), and which was taken from a child's speech without any interruption from the researcher.

(2)

```
Burung sedang me-lihat. 
bird PROG ACT.TR-see 
"a bird is seeing (something)" 
Lalu ada teman-teman-nya. 
and.then exist friend~PL-3:POSS 
"and then come his friends" 
Dia…ber-kenal-an. 
3SG ACT.INTR-acquaint-INTR 
"he gets acquainted" 
Ø men-cari makan. 
Ø ACT.TR-look.for eat
```


**Table 1** Mean and range scores of participants' production of clauses by age group

"*Ø* looking for food" *Ø ber-kumpul… ber-kumpul ber-empat. Ø* ACT.INTR-gather ACT.INTR-gather ACT.INTR-four "*Ø* the four of them are getting together" *Ø ber-main Ø* ACT.INTR-play "*Ø* playing" *Lalu Ø ber-main sama kerbau.*  **and.then** *Ø* ACT.INTR-play with buffalo "and then (they are) playing with a buffalo"

The segment above shows that the use of cohesive devices was diverse (conjunction *lalu* "and then," reference *dia* "he" and *-nya* "his," and ellipsis Ø), even though the story was rather short. The story was also arranged in a coherent sequence of events. It should be noted that as the child told the story, he used gestures, such as pointing to the object and turning the pages, to maintain the coherence of the story. As Wigglesworth (1990) suggested, such paralinguistic means could help children's performance in referencing.

### *An Overview of the Use of the Grammatical Cohesive Device*

Table 2 presents the use of all grammatical cohesive devices, based on the individual scores. In this table, we present the mean and range of individual scores in each group.

Table 2 shows that the older the children were, the more grammatical cohesive devices they used. In other words, older participants were more capable of understanding the listener's needs to understand the story. The data in Table 2 show that the four-year-old children in our study (*M* = 16.13; SD = 9.18) tended to use more


**Table 2** Mean and range scores of grammatical cohesive devices by age group

grammatical cohesive devices than the three-year-olds (*M* = 9.67; SD = 9.69). The five-year-olds (*M* = 18.40; SD = 11.72) were the most productive participants. Meanwhile, the six-year-old children (*M* = 12.93; SD = 6.60), on the other hand, used fewer devices than the four-year-old and five-year-old children. However, it was found that the oldest group in this study was able to tell the whole story properly using fewer grammatical cohesive devices. A further discussion on this finding will be presented in the following subsections.

Table 2 also shows the various range scores of individual children's use of grammatical cohesive devices. Some children did not use any grammatical cohesive devices in their stories; specifically, the youngest children (those in the three-yearold group) opted for repetition of some words. The range scores show not only the amount of grammatical cohesive device usage but also the ability of participants in each age group to create a coherent story. The six-year-old children were able to produce a coherent story without using many grammatical cohesive devices.

### *Grammatical Cohesive Devices in Children's Narrative Production*

Several types of grammatical cohesive devices were found in the children's narratives. With regard to references, there were person references, demonstrative references, and anaphoric markers. As for ellipses, there were ellipses of words, phrases, and clauses. As for conjunctions, there were additive, order, opposition, temporal, causal, purpose, supposition, and extension conjunctions. We found instances of substitution as well. Table 3 shows all the grammatical cohesive devices found in the data. Table 3 also shows several instances of the use of grammatical cohesive devices, specifically, references and conjunctions.

Table 3 shows that there are various grammatical cohesive devices used by children. It shows that older children used more varied devices. The finding's concerning the age factor is in line with other studies (e.g., Muˇnoz, et al., 2003; Westerveld et al., 2004). However, variations in demonstrative references were less common in older children. This relates to elements that were referred to, omitted, or replaced in the story, i.e., the characters. This means that older participants chose not to use demonstrative references for the characters. Another difference between the five-year-olds and the six-year-olds was the referents and how they used the reference. While the five-year-olds tended to use lexical variations related to the animals or characters, the six-year-olds tended to use lexical variation related to personification. Nevertheless, both age groups tended to use lexical variations when referencing the characters.

From Table 3, it was clear that the types of references found in our data included both personal and demonstrative references. The use of –*nya* was to refer to something understood both by the speaker and the interlocutor. This is known as a script or some information about a speech's context that is shared between the speaker and interlocutor (Purwo, 1984, pp. 219–220). The finding shows an important aspect in


**Table 3** Recapitulation of grammatical cohesive device usage in children's speech at 3–6 years of age in storytelling

(continued)

#### **Table 3** (continued)


(continued)


#### **Table 3** (continued)

(continued)


#### **Table 3** (continued)

√: Found in data

–: Not found in data

\*: (for plural characters, participant used singular pronoun and for some conjunctions, participant used "unique" conjunction)

the learning of narrative skills (see Hickmann, 2003), in terms of referential cohesion. It was evident that the children were learning how to perform a joint activity (Clark, 2009), adjusting the perspectives of both the narrator and listener, by using both gestures (such as pointing in book-reading) and linguistic elements.

There were nominal, phrasal, and clausal ellipses in the current study, but mostly there was nominal. The element omitted from the narration was mostly the character. This is in line with the finding by O'Grady (2005) that preschoolers often omit the subject or characters of a story (p. 92). According to the bottleneck theory, as proposed by O'Grady (2005, p. 92), children have limitations in producing words that have been prepared previously. The children tended to omit the name of the character that had been mentioned in the question posed by the interviewer. In this study, it appeared that the children assumed that both they and the interlocutor shared the same point of attention as they looked at the same picture. Older children showed more advanced ability in telling a story as they introduced and mentioned the character in the story.

We found that the older the children, the more varied was their use of conjunctions. This is in line with Hickmann and Hendriks' (1999) research, which revealed that the use of conjunctions is more varied since children's vocabulary increases as they grow older. Table 3 also shows that children used substitutions in referring to the characters in the book, in this case, the birds. Preschool children used not only the demonstrative pronoun *ini* "this" but also other substitutions in referring to the characters, although they tended not to use *mereka* "they" because of the use of pictures in the storytelling. For instance, while he was pointing at the object, the child also mentioned *ini* "this." In other words, the use of the demonstrative term *ini* "this" and the frequent use of substitutions, tended to occur together as replacements for characters. This finding was consistent with Colozzo and Whitely's (2014) work.

Moreover, we observed the use of kinship terms attached to the anaphoric marker –*nya* to refer to the characters. The characters thus anthropomorphized by the participants were limited to the birds, as the number of birds in the picture was more than one, as shown in (3).

(3)

*Itu dia, ibu-nya terbang trus nggak ada makan-an-nya.*  that 3SG mother-3:POSS fly then not exist eat-NOUN-3:Poss "that's him, his mother fly and then the food is gone" trus **ibu-nya** terbang. then mother-3:POSS fly "and then his mother flies" *Ibu bapak-nya kangen sama anak-nya.*  mother father-3:POSS miss with child-3:POSS "his parents miss their child"

As Table 3 shows, the variation for substitution using the names of family members was more common among the six-year-olds. Even so, only three of the six-year-olds used these words. We found that one child in the oldest group used all variations of reference. This study shows that these children are still learning to use references, considering that the referent of the reference is still unclear.

There were children in each group who used the singular personal pronoun *dia*  "s/he, 3SG" instead of *mereka* "they, 3PL" in referring to the plural characters. This means that the third-person singular reference functions as a third-person plural reference. We found that the older groups tended to use cohesive devices to refer to unclear references. The following is an example of the use of *dia* "s/he" to refer to plural objects. The child chose the singular pronoun, but he was pointing at the flock of birds.

(4)

*Terus dia cari makan lagi.*  then 3SG search eat again "and then he searches for food again"

The finding is almost similar to Hudson's (as cited in Berman, 2009, p. 360), in terms of the use of unclear references, especially the use of *him,* as in the following segment.

[…]


In the segment above, it is shown that the reference *him* was used to refer to the counterpart gender. It should be noted that the subject of Hudson's study was a 26-month-old child. While the unclear reference in Hudson's study was related to gender, our study deals with a number of references. Furthermore, it was found in the group of five-year-old children. In this regard, the finding was not in line with Clark's (2009) finding that states that, at the age of five years, children already use noun and pronoun references with more clarity.

We also found several special uses of conjunctions exhibited by one child in the four-year-old group, three children in the five-year-old group, and three children in the six-year-old group. The "unique" conjunctions that are referred to here are the conjunctions that were not used according to "adult language" in Indonesian. Some of them used the conjunction *kalo* (5), "if," or the conjunction *seterusnya* (example (6)), "and so on," which functions as "and then."

(5)

*Abis nyari makan, di-cari-cari-in sama ibu-nya.* 

finish search eat PASS-search~PL-TR with mother-3:POSS

*\*Kalo burung-nya ke-tawa.* 

if bird-DEF PASS-laugh

*Burung-nya yang ini lagi ber-diri.* 

bird-DEF REL this PROG INTR-stand

"after searching for food, (the bird) is searched by his mother. **This bird**  (pointing at the character) is laughing. This bird (pointing another bird) is standing"

*Terus ibu bapak-nya nyari makan buat adek-nya.*  then mother father-3:POSS search eat for younger.sibling-3:POSS

<sup>(6)</sup> 

#### *\*Seterusnya anak-nya naik banteng.*

Henceforth child-3:POSS ride buffalo

"and then the father and mother are looking for food for the brother.

**And then**, the child ride a buffalo"

In Table 3, the aforementioned conjunctions are marked with asterisks (\*). We found that older children in this study used these conjunctions. In example (5), it is shown that the use of *kalo* "if" has the function of indicating that the child was pointing to a certain character. In spoken Indonesian, especially in an informal situation, the use of *kalo* "if" does not necessarily mean modality. It can be used to describe a certain situation that is happening while another situation is occurring; therefore, *kalo* in this context means "while" or "in the meantime." In example (6), the child mixed up *seterusnya* with *terus* whose root is the same but the meanings are different: the former is "henceforth" while the latter being "and then." The finding indicated that these children were still learning to use conjunctions in lexically and grammatically appropriate situations, as used by adult speakers. The variability of conjunction usage is in line with the increasing vocabularies of older children, regardless of appropriateness.

### *Correlation Between Grammatical Cohesive Devices*

We found that the occurrence of conjunctions correlated with those of ellipses and references, and that the occurrence of references correlated with those of ellipses and substitutions. The following table shows the results of correlation analysis.

Table 4 shows that the use of references has a strong negative correlation with the use of the ellipsis (*r* = −835). The use of ellipses tended to increase when the use of references decreased, and vice versa*.* This pattern was found mainly in the youngest group. The table also shows a significant negative correlation between ellipses and substitutions (*r* = −340). The use of ellipses tended to increase when the use of substitutions decreased and vice versa. There was also a significant positive correlation between the use of references and the use of substitutions (*r* = 264). The use of references increased as the use of substitutions increased.

We found that children did not use pronouns, nouns, or names to refer to characters; instead, they tended to omit words altogether or replace them with other words, as in the following examples.


\* *p* < 0.05; \*\* *p* < 0.001 *N* = 60

(7)

*(burung) Lagi terbang.* → Ellipsis (the bird) PROG fly "(the bird) is flying"

(8)

*Ini sedang terbang.* → Reference this PROG fly "this (bird) is flying"

(9)

*Kakak-nya lagi terbang.* → Substitution older.sibling-3:POSS PROG fly "his/her older sibling is flying"

(10)

*Satu-nya terbang*. → Substitution one-DEF fly "the other (bird) flies"

Therefore, there were correlations between references, ellipses, and substitutions, such as when the children did not use pronouns, nouns, or proper names to refer to characters in the story, they tended not to mention them at all; some of them used other words, instead of pronouns, to refer to the characters.

### **Conclusion**

In this study, it was found that children in this research used references, ellipses, conjunctions, and substitutions as rhetorical strategies for creating cohesion in narratives. The older the children were, the more varied the cohesive devices they used. Participants in each age group mostly used references and ellipses, to maintain the topic of the story, especially the characters. The question, "*Sedang apa*?" "What is/ are X doing?" by which participants were guided to explore the whole content of the book, was used as a trigger to elicit narrative production.

We have seen in many studies that the use of grammatical cohesive devices tends to be more frequent in older children. In this study, older children showed that they were more advanced in narrative production and especially in the use of cohesive devices. Yet, in terms of frequency, we found that age differences need to be explored in more depth. While there were tendencies, in other studies' findings, that the increase of reference adequacy is related to age (see, for example, Mäkinen et al., 2014; To et al., 2010), the findings in this study show a different result. The limited number of participants might be one of the explanations. This study found that young, Indonesian-speaking children have already used grammatical cohesive devices at a very young age. Nevertheless, we have found that the mastering of this skill has a long way to go. The direction we need to go is the same as other studies. Further studies and more participants are needed to confirm our findings using Indonesian data.

We found that the use of references positively correlates with the use of substitutions, while the use of both cohesive devices negatively correlates with the use of ellipses. These findings indicate that these children were already capable of using various types of cohesive devices. Nevertheless, it is strongly recommended that future studies examine the extent to which children distinguish among these devices in order to generate an overall illustration of narrative development.

**Acknowledgment** This work was supported by Universitas Indonesia (Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional Untuk Tugas Akhir Mahasiswa (PITTA) UI 2017, Grant Number 462/UN2.R3.1/ HKP.05.00/2017)

### **References**

Ariel, M. (1996). Referring expressions and the +/− coreference distinction. In T. Fretheim & J. K. Gundel (Eds.), *Reference and referent accessibility* (pp. 13–36). John Benjamins.

Berman, R. A. (2009). Language development in narrative context. In E. L. Bavin (Ed.), *The Cambridge handbook of child language* (pp. 355–375). Cambridge University Press.

Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). *Discourse analysis*. Cambridge University Press.

Chafe, W. L. (1975). http://pearstories.org/pears\_video.htm

Clark, E. (2009). *First language acquisition* (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.


### *Instrument (Book)*

Ideo, W. (2015). *Makan Rame-Rame* [Let's eat together]. PT. Bhuana Ilmu Populer.

**Editia Herningtias** earned her MA in linguistics from Universitas Indonesia in 2017. She is currently working as a teacher in BIPA (Indonesian as a Foreign Language) in the Lembaga Bahasa Internasional, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests are sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics.

**Bernadette Kushartanti** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. She obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2014) with a dissertation entitled "The Acquisition of Stylistic Variation by Jakarta Indonesian Children". Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests include language acquisition, language variation, pragmatics, and discourse analysis.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **Gender and Grammatical Cohesion in Indonesian Preschoolers' Narrative**

**Fitriana Ferhadija and Bernadette Kushartanti** 

**Abstract** This study compares Indonesian-speaking boys' and girls' narrative ability, focusing on grammatical cohesive devices in the production. The subjects are children aged 4–6 years attending a kindergarten (TK) in Bogor, West Java. We use elicited production task to obtain data of children's utterances. Twentyeight children in total participated in the study. The main data for the study are stories narrated by the children, elicited from a wordless picture storybook. Children are interviewed individually at school. The analysis is also supported by parental questionnaires on factual information distributed to and filled out by parents. Children's personal information obtained from school. Comparison of the use of cohesive devices, namely reference, ellipsis, substitution, and conjunction, based on gender difference, is analyzed quantitatively. The result shows that both genders have the same ability in using grammatical cohesive devices. This study reaffirms the result of previous studies, which essentially state that gender does not significantly affect the language skills.

**Keywords** Cohesive device · Narrative · Gender · Preschoolers · Indonesian

### **Introduction**

In studies of children's language, gender is a factor which is often taken into account in individual variations. However, gender difference in child language is still a debatable issue. Some findings highlight the superiority of one gender over the other, while other studies show that gender difference has no effect on language use. For example,

F. Ferhadija

MyEduSolve Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

B. Kushartanti (B)

Indonesian Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: fitrianaferhadija@gmail.com

Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: kushartanti.hum@ui.ac.id

<sup>©</sup> The Author(s) 2024

B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_3

in language assessment, girls outperformed boys (Bornstein et al., 2004), as well as with narrative quality (Fey et al., 2004). Lange (2016) performed several tests on German children in order to assess their language competence (vocabulary, grammar, speech comprehension, and other linguistic skills.). The study found that girls were significantly more advanced in all domains, whereas boys varied considerably in their language competence. This finding was similar to that of Razmjoee et al.'s (2015) study on Iranian children. On the other hand, Roberts (1994) found that when it comes to the use of the standard variant of a language (in this case, English), boys are more advanced than girls. Barbu et al.'s study (2015) focused on the relationship between gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and language development in a sample of French children (ages 2–6). The results showed a significant difference in the language competence of the low-SES boys and girls, whereas no significant difference was found among the high-SES boys and girls. In addition, the performances of the low-SES boys were poor, while the performances of the low-SES girls were intermediate. Conversely, the performances of the high-SES boys and girls were higher than their low-SES counterparts.

Regarding narrative skills, the issue of gender superiority is also still debatable. For example, in language assessment, girls outperformed boys (Bornstein et al., 2004), as well as with narrative quality (Fey et al., 2004). According to Barra and McCabe's (2013) study on Chilean children (aged 4–6), girls are more fluent in telling stories than boys. In a study of African American preschoolers' oral narrative skills, Gardner-Neblett and Sideris (2018) found that boys had lower scores than girls. Yet, studies by Sperry and Sperry (1996) found that Afro-American boys talk more, producing more stories than do Afro-American girls. At the same time, Champion and Maines (as cited in Horton-Ikard, 2009) found that children who use African American English do not violate gender restrictions in terms of pronoun usage in narratives.

Studies on children's narratives focusing on gender differences, as well as on competence in using cohesive devices, are quite plentiful. However, studies focusing on both issues—gender differences and cohesion competence—are still rare, let alone with Indonesian data. The present chapter discusses Indonesian-speaking young children's narrative production focusing on the gender difference in grammatical cohesive devices. This study departs from a question: do girls and boys have differences in using cohesive devices in narratives? Our participants were children aged 4–6 years old enrolled in a national curriculum-based preschool located in Bogor, West Java. This chapter is part of the first author's (Ferhadija, 2017) thesis, under the supervision of the second author. The remainder of this chapter includes a brief theoretical review concerning factors dealing with language development, followed by a discussion on cohesive devices and a description of the research method and findings. The final section presents the conclusions as well as the recommendations for future studies.

### **Narrative Ability and Cohesive Devices**

As already mentioned previously, the focus of this chapter is the use of grammatical cohesive devices. This section presents a brief discussion on cohesion, preceded by a brief discussion on the influencing factors in language development.

### *Language Development and the Influencing Factors*

In language development, several factors should be considered, namely culture, socioeconomic status, and gender. These factors deal with the relation between children, their surroundings, and linguistic input. Interactions between children and their caregivers may reflect cultural differences. There are mothers who are more information-oriented and those who are more emotion-oriented. Research by Toda et al. (as cited in Owens, 2012, p. 135) shows that American mothers use more questions and correct grammar in interaction with their children, whereas Japanese mothers use more environmental sounds and baby talk (see also Papalia & Martorell, 2015). Socioeconomic status may also influence language development. According to Owens (2012), middle-class mothers tend to ask more questions and are more verbal, so that their children's language is stimulated. Meanwhile, lower-class mothers tend to use more imperatives or directives and are less verbal.

Gender difference is also regarded as a factor affecting language development. Fenson et al. (as cited in Rowland, 2014) suggested that in the early years, girls tend to be more advanced in language than boys since girls tend to mature earlier than boys. Furthermore, the gender difference is reflected in the parenting and socialization process. Owens (2012, pp. 135–137) suggested that generally, mothers tend to be closer to their daughters than to their sons. It is also suggested that mothers tend to speak in longer sentences to daughters than to sons. Furthermore, parents tend to talk about different things to boys than they do to girls (Rowland, 2014, p. 211). Nevertheless, Owen (2012) also affirms that the difference is not always related to the child's linguistic behavior. Findings in the aforementioned studies have addressed this issue.

Several studies show that gender difference can be observed in narrative styles and preferences in children's language (e.g., Nicolopoulou, 2008; Richner & Nicolopoulou, 2001). Girls tend to tell home-centered stories and establish the characters in their network relationships, whereas boys' stories are usually marked by conflict, movement, and disruptions and portray disconnected characters (Nicolopoulou, 2008, pp. 310–311).

### *Development of Narrative Ability*

In children's narrative studies, Hickmann (2003, 2004) suggests that linguistic and cognitive abilities are needed in narrative reference, which includes distinction between deixis and anaphora, and between given and new information. Other requirements are shared information between narrator and interlocutor, and a good command of the theory of the mind (as suggested by Berman & Slobin, 2013; see also Berman, 2009a, 2009b, p. 359).

A child's ability to narrate a story is usually apparent at preschool age (4–6 years) since language skills rapidly develop during this time period. More specifically, a child at this age is capable of producing simple sentences as well as some more complex sentences with conjunctions (Papalia & Martorell, 2015, p. 221). From the "frog story," (English-speaking) children's narrative samples, Berman and Slobin (2013) found three developmental linguistic categories: prepositions, suffix *-ing,*  and the connective *and.* The findings show that through narrative, children show their abilities with perception of space, time, and order.

As in other aspects of linguistics, the use of cohesive devices becomes interesting when it is associated with a child's language skills. According to Colozzo and Whitely (2014), grammatical cohesive devices begin to appear when a child is between 5 and 6 years of age. Meanwhile, Hickmann (1995) stated that cohesive devices, in the form of references, also appear when a child reaches the age of 5 or 6. However, a narrative produced by a child at that age is still egocentric in nature. In addition, the use of pronominal references or temporal markers in sentences indicates that he/she still finds it difficult to place him/herself in the audience's perspective (Hickmann, 1995, p. 106). Thus, in some cases, the use of references does not clearly refer to certain objects. Peterson et al. (1999) showed that at the age of 6, children are quite capable of providing a complete structure of narrative with a clear ending. Meanwhile, five-yearold children can tell an almost complete story, albeit without a clear ending, whereas the four-year-olds tend to jump from one event or point in a story to another, which is a result of their inability to concentrate on a specific reference. Other studies claim that children are actually quite capable of reconstructing an event in a chronological manner and reiterating it in a coherent story (e.g., Thompson & Myers, as cited in Berk, 2006).

### *Cohesive Devices in a Narrative*

According to Halliday and Hasan (1976, p. 4), cohesion is a semantic concept that refers to the relationship between meanings in a discourse. Thus, cohesion can be used to determine whether a written text is actually a cohesive and coherent discourse. Halliday and Hasan (1976) also distinguished grammatical and lexical cohesions. As for grammatical cohesions, they are categorized into five grammatical cohesive devices: references, substitutions, ellipses, and conjunctions. Lexical cohesions refer to the semantic relationship between elements that form a discourse by utilizing lexical elements or words (Yuwono, 2005, p. 98). Lexical cohesive devices are divided into reiterations (consisting of repetitions, synonymies, superordinates, metonymies, and antonymies) and collocations. Since the focus of the present study is on the use of grammatical cohesions, the following provides a more detailed description of such cohesive devices with some examples from Indonesian adult language.

**Reference** is cohesive device connecting a marker with the object to which it refers. Halliday and Hasan (1976) categorized a reference into two types: exophoric and endophoric. An exophoric reference refers to something outside the text, whereas an endophoric reference refers to something within the text. Based on the position of its reference, the endophora is divided into anaphoric and cataphoric references. An anaphoric reference is located *before* the referent's marker, whereas a cataphoric reference is placed *after* the referent's marker. Moreover, a reference can be classified according to its marker, i.e., personal reference, demonstrative reference, and comparative reference. In Bahasa Indonesia, personal references are pronouns, namely *aku, saya* "I," *kamu, Anda* "you," *dia* "s/he," *kami* "we/us," *kalian* "2nd. PL," and *mereka*  "they/them" [see, for example, (1)]. Demonstrative references are demonstratives, such as *sini* "here," *sana* "there," *ini* "this," and *itu* "that" [see (2)]. Meanwhile, comparative references can be found in *sama dengan* "same with," *berbeda dengan*  "different from" [see (3)].

(1) Personal reference

*Kemarin Nana pergi ke pasar. Dia membeli sayur-sayuran.* 

"Yesterday **Nana** went to the market. **She bought** vegetables."

(2) Demonstrative reference

*Akui baru saja pergi ke perpustakaan dan meminjam buku-buku di sana.* 

"I just visited **the library** and borrowed some books **there.**"

(3) Comparative reference

*Fina berumur dua belas tahun. Umur Zakiyah sama dengan umur Fina.*  "Fina is **twelve-year-old**. Zakiyah's age is the **same** with Fina."

**Substitution** is a cohesive device replacing one language element with another that includes the same meaning. A substitution is also construed as the relationship between a word and another word it replaces to avoid repetition. Moreover, a substitution is classified according to its form, i.e., nominal substitution (4), verbal substitution (5), and clausal substitution (6). The examples are presented in Indonesian.

### (4) Nominal substitution

*Didi sering mengunjungi orang tuanya di Medan. Anak yang baik itu memang selalu berusaha menyenangkan hati mereka.* 

"Didi often visits his parents in Medan. **That kind-hearted boy** is always trying to please them."

### (5) Verbal substitution

*Mereka sudah berusaha. Kami juga begitu.*  "they had already tried. So did we."

#### (6) Clausal substitution

### *Keluarga saya sering mengadakan upacara adat. Keluarga suami saya juga demikian.*

"My family often holds traditional ceremonies. My husband's family is the same."

**Ellipsis** is a deletion/removal of a language element that can be traced back by referring to the previous element. In some cases, an ellipsis is classified as a zero substitution, as what the speaker is referring to is not restated in the following sentence. Moreover, an ellipsis is classified into three types, i.e., nominal ellipsis (7), verbal ellipsis (8), and clausal ellipsis (9). The examples are presented in Indonesian.

(7) Nominal ellipsis

*Aduk adonan. Diamkan Ø sebentar.*  "stir the batter. Let Ø sit"

(8) Verbal ellipsis

*Mereka berteriak. Anak itu Ø juga.*  "they **shout.** The child Ø also"

(9) Clausal ellipsis

*Saya sudah mengerjakan tugas. Dia juga Ø.*  "I have done my assignment. He also Ø"

**Conjunction** is a cohesive device whose function is to link one sentence to another. Unlike other grammatical cohesive devices, a conjunction does not refer to an element that is already in the text. The purpose of a conjunction is to mark the relationship between parts of a text, thereby allowing the text to be understood. Halliday and Hasan (1976) categorized a conjunction into four types, i.e., additive (10), adversative (11), causal (12), and temporal (13). The examples are presented in Indonesian.

(10) Additive conjunction

*Kami tidak bisa membeli roti karena toko-toko sudah tutup. Lagipula, sekarang hampir tengah malam.* 

"we cannot buy bread as the shops have already closed. **Moreover,** it is almost midnight"


*Keadaannya sudah membaik. Karena itu, dia tidak perlu minum obat.* 

"his condition is getting better. **Therefore**, he does not need to take the medicine"

(13) Temporal conjunction

*Ia duduk di sebuah sudut. Lalu ia memesan makanan.*  "she sits in the corner. **And then** she orders some food"

### **Method**

At preschool age, children still find it difficult to grasp abstract concepts (Papalia & Martorell, 2015, p. 269). Thus, the present study employs the images of animals as the research instrument, as children are generally familiar with the concept of animals. This study applied semi-structured elicitation (Eisenbeiss, 2010, p. 21). We prepared some short questions to encourage participants to describe displays of events or objects.

Before collecting the data, the researchers conducted a pilot test with a group of 4 year-olds. Using a wordless picture book containing a story of animals, the pilot test revealed that the children found it difficult to focus on the researchers' questions, as there were many characters being referenced. It was also found that there were several objects which were unfamiliar to the children. Mäkinen et al. (2014) suggested that, to assess narrative using a storybook, familiarity is an important thing. Therefore, we tried another wordless picture book, with only several characters, and found that they were more easily recognized by the children. We also found that to elicit their stories, children needed to be guided. For example, when they turned the page, they did not say anything, unless we asked them. Besides, any familiarity with the reviewer could potentially affect the children's responses. As a result, we prepared a scenario, which helped the children be more attentive and better able to produce the narratives. We arranged a short question for each page of the book, such as "*Ada apa ini?*" "What is happening?" or "*Ini sedang apa?*" "What are they doing?".

For the purpose of this study, the children were asked to narrate an eightpage, wordless picture book. Besides obtaining the children's utterances through the picture-series elicitation, the analysis was supported by questionnaires about the children and their parents. The results of the comparison regarding the use of cohesive devices between both genders were quantitatively analyzed.

The main instrument in this study is an eight-page, wordless picture book by Watik Ideo (2015), titled *Makan Rame-Rame* ("Let's Eat Together"). This book, which depicts a story about a flock of birds preparing to have a feast, is used to elicit the children's utterances (see also Herningtias & Kushartanti, in this volume, who also used this instrument in their study).

We also administered questionnaires to the parents in order to obtain factual data pertaining to their children, the parents themselves, and the language that they used in various contexts. The information, in this case, included the children's date of birth, the parents' employment and ethnicity, and the language used by the parents on a daily basis. The questionnaires were adapted from Kushartanti's (2014) study on the acquisition of language among Indonesian-speaking children.

### *Participants*

The participants of this study consisted of 28 preschoolers (14 boys and 14 girls; 4– 6 years of age) attending a national based-curriculum preschool in Bogor, West Java. The preschool was monolingual; the only language of instruction was Indonesian. We selected children using the following criteria: 1) aged between 4 and 6 years; 2) their primary language was Indonesian; and 3) possessed good communication skills with clear articulation. The school in which the research was conducted applied the *metode sentra* or the "center method," which related to the Beyond Center and Circle Time (BCCT) curriculum.<sup>1</sup>

Personal information about the participants was obtained from two sources: the school and the parental questionnaires. From the school, the researchers obtained personal information, such as the place and date of birth, birth order, and the language used by the participants in their daily activities. From the parental questionnaires, we obtained a demographic picture of the participants, such as the parents' occupation and ethnicity, and the language used by the parents in their daily activities. Included in the parental questionnaire was a consent form. From the 28 questionnaires distributed, 21 were returned. Nevertheless, all the parents gave their permission to let their children be involved in this study, as confirmed by the teachers.

From the parental questionnaires, we found that the majority of the children were born in Bogor, which is in line with the location of this study. All of the children spoke Indonesian in their daily activities at school, at home, and between their friends and families. Only a few children spoke a foreign or local language outside of these situations.

The parental questionnaires revealed that the majority of the participants' fathers were either employed by private companies or working as entrepreneurs (i.e., among the 21 responses, 9 were entrepreneurs and 9 were employed by private companies). The information about the fathers' occupations implies that the participants of this study come from middle-class families. Most of the mothers were housewives (12 of the 21 responses). Moreover, the majority of the parents were either Javanese or Sundanese (15 of the 21 responses).

### *Procedure*

The school allowed the researchers to collect the data when the children were participating in their classroom activities. On the day of the data collection, individual interviews with the children were conducted. As an "ice-breaker," each child played a game as the researchers engaged them in light conversation. After establishing a good rapport, the child was presented with the picture book and asked several questions (prepared beforehand based on the scenario) that were related to the contents of the book. The purpose was to familiarize the child with the contents of the book, thus allowing him/her to produce a more coherent narrative. Afterward, the child was asked to retell their story. Initially, we assumed that children in our study were going to be too shy to speak; therefore, we prepared the scenario. Nevertheless, all the children in this study were actively engaged and capable to retelling their own stories without intervention. All we did was to give prompts, such as *mmm, uh huh,*  or *iya* "yes." The children's re-tellings were recorded. At the end of the session, the

<sup>1</sup> In the BCCT curriculum, there is a session termed as "recalling" in which children are asked to recount their experiences after playtime. This activity fosters children's ability to express an idea and expand their vocabulary (Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2006, p. 14).

researchers gave each child a token of appreciation. It is important to note that all the children in this study were able to provide a narration to accompany the pictures until the end of the book.

The recordings of the children's narratives were transcribed into orthographic transcriptions, from which we examined the number of words and clauses. Afterward, we identified the grammatical cohesive devices and calculated the occurrences, from which we compared the boys' and girls' speech. The results are presented in tables in the following section.

### **Cohesive Devices in Children's Narrative Productions**

Totally, we have gathered 1051 words from 239 clauses as uttered by the children in our study. From the data, we found four kinds of cohesive device: reference, substitution, ellipsis, and conjunction. In this section, we will present some examples found in the children's narratives. We will then move further to the comparison between the two genders, based on the quantitative analyses.

### *The Use of Cohesive Devices*

In this study, we found that children's foci are primarily on the characters of their story and then the events. It should be noted that, as we used a wordless picture book, the children pointed to the objects they saw. We found that the most frequently used device was personal references, or pronominal references, (the others were anaphoric marking references and demonstrative references) to refer to the characters. The finding was in line with Colozzo and Whitely (2014), who studied Canadian children using wordless picture books. In this section, we present an example.

(14) Ada **se-ekor burung** yang mau turun ke tanah. exist ONE-tail bird REL want go.down to ground

*Lalu dia men-cari makan.*  And.then 3SG ACT.TR-look.for eat

"There is a bird that would like to go down to the ground. Then, she looks for some food."

The example shows that *dia* "3SG" refers to *seekor burung* "a bird" as the child saw in the picture.

Example (14) also shows how the child connected the events chronologically by using the conjunction *lalu* "and then." The term *lalu means the same as the term terus* "and then." While the former is usually used in a formal situation, the latter being is used in a counterpart situation, as is also found in another piece of data, presented in Example (15).

(15) *Ada burung. exist* bird

> *Terus burung-nya cari makan.*  and.then bird-DEF search.for eat "There is a bird. And then the bird is looking for food."

Conjunctions were also frequently used by the children. The use of conjunctions—especially temporal conjunctions—indicates that these children had learned to compose stories in an orderly and chronological way. The findings are in line with McGregor (as cited in Horton-Ikard, 2009) that preschool-aged children, as well as the older ones (Horton-Ikard, 2009), predominantly use temporal conjunctions in storytelling.

We also found that children were able to use ellipses in their narrative productions. Mostly, the omitted components were the character of the story, as shown in Example (16).

(16) *Terus burung-nya ada lagi. and.then* bird-DEF exist again

*Terus Ø dapet makan-an.*  and.then receive eat-NOUN 'And then, comes another bird. And then (they) got food'

The use of ellipses indicates that the children were able to maintain the reference. As Berman (2009a, 2009b, p. 371) mentioned, *same subject elision* "[…] plays a role in narrative connectivity"; as it is an important means of reference maintenance.

It is found that the use of substitutions between the boys and the girls was rather miniscule. In fact, their vocabulary was still limited. Therefore, the ability to replace a certain word with another that includes the same meaning was still restricted. However, we found that both genders tended to substitute the "name" of the characters with kinship terms, as exemplified in (17).


### (17) *Ibu-nya me-marah karena anak-nya terbang.*  Mother-DEF ACT-angry because child-POSS fly

*Lalu anak-nya di-gendong sama mamah-nya.* 

and.then child-DEF PASS-carry with mother-POSS

"The **mother** is angry because her child flies away. Then, the child is carried by **her mom**."

Example (17) shows that the child uses different names to refer to the same object. Here, we witness how they use other strategies to maintain the reference.

### *Comparisons Between Both Genders*

This section discusses the analyses on the use of cohesive devices, based on the quantitative analyses. Before we start with our main focus, the production of words and sentences was analyzed. Table 1 presents a comparison between the girls and the boys in word production.

Table 1 shows that word production among the girls (*M* = 37.43; SD = 14.88) was almost similar to that of the boys (*M* = 37.64; SD = 18.01). The table also shows that the standard deviation for each group was smaller than the mean for each group. Thus, it can be concluded that the ability to produce words was evenly distributed among both genders. The result from an independent sample t-test indicated that there was no significant difference between the two groups (*p* = 0.875).

Meanwhile, the comparison between the boys' and the girls' sentence production is presented in Table 2 and shows similar results to previous analyses, in terms of indifference.

Table 2 shows that the girls' clause production (*M* = 8.57; SD = 1.28) was almost similar to that of the boys (*M* = 8.50; SD = 1.09). The table also shows that the


**Table 2** Production of clauses in both gender groups (mean scores and standard deviations)

standard deviation for each group was smaller than the mean for each group (SD = 1.28 for the girls and SD = 1.09 for the boys). Thus, it can be concluded that, as with word production, the ability to produce clauses was evenly distributed among both genders. The result from an independent sample t-test also indicated that there was no significant difference between the two groups (*p* = 0.973).

Further, we examined the overall use of grammatical devices. The results from both genders are presented in Table 3.

Table 3 shows that among the girls, the use of grammatical cohesive devices ranged from 3 to 24, whereas such use among the boys ranged from 5 to 36. Despite the difference in usage, the mean values for the use of cohesive devices were the same for both groups; that is, both genders tend to use cohesive devices in nearly equal numbers. Moreover, the independent sample t-test confirmed that there was no significant difference between the two groups (*p* = 1.00).

A further analysis was conducted to examine the children's use of each grammatical cohesive device. Figure 1 shows the comparison of the means of individual ratio of the use of grammatical cohesive devices between both genders.

As previously discussed, it is indicated that references were the most frequently used by both genders, whereas substitutions were the least used among both groups. Based on this finding, it is possible to surmise that many of the children in this study have not mastered the use of substitutions in narrative productions.

We also conducted quantitative analyses to examine the difference between both genders, in terms of the use of each cohesive device. In Table 4, we present the


**Table 3** Use of grammatical cohesive devices split by gender

**Fig. 1** Comparison of the mean scores (of individual ratio) of the overall use of grammatical cohesive devices between both genders


**Table 4** Comparison of the overall use of grammatical cohesive devices between both genders

range scores (minimum use and maximum use), mean scores, and standard deviation. Further discussion on these results is based on Fig. 1 and Table 4.

Both Fig. 1 and Table 4 suggest that there were no significant differences between both genders. Nevertheless, to confirm the finding, we conducted an independent sample t-test for each cohesive device. Based on Fig. 1 and Table 4, we found that both genders have equal ability in the use of references. From the range scores (0.0– 0.78), we found that there were girls who did not use any references. Nevertheless, the result from an independent samples t-test confirms that there is no significant difference between the two genders (*p* = 0.835*)*.

Another finding showed that the use of substitution was very limited in both genders. We were able to confirm that there is no significant difference between them (*p* = 0.927). The boys' range score in the use of ellipses was larger (0.0– 0.75) than girls' (0.0–0.67), but the mean score in the counterpart group was higher. However, we can confirm that there is no significant difference on the use of ellipses (*p* = 0.130).

Based on the range score, there are girls who did not use conjunctions, and the score is slightly larger (0.0–0.69) than the boys' score (0.13–0.71). While the girls' mean score was lower than boys', we found that there was still no significant difference in the use of conjunctions (*p* = 0.133*).* 

All the comparisons confirmed that there was no difference between the girls and the boys in narrative production, especially in terms of the use of grammatical cohesive devices. The finding did not align with other studies on gender differences in children's narrative production, especially on the superiority of a certain gender (Bornstein et al., 2004; Barra & McCabe, 2013; Fey et al., 2004; Gardner-Neblett & Sideris, 2018). Note, however, that the foci in these studies is on different aspects, such as language assessment (Bornstein et al., 2004; Fey et al., 2004), performance (Barra & McCabe, 2013; Gardner-Neblett & Sideris, 2018; Sperry & Sperry, 1996). Thus, an explanation of the findings rests mainly with the variables in this study, namely the cohesive devices in Indonesian children's narrative production.

### **Conclusion and Suggestions for Future Research**

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether gender difference has any effect on the use of grammatical cohesive devices in the production of narrative in Indonesian-speaking preschoolers. The findings show that both genders (on average) used grammatical cohesive devices (i.e., references, substitutions, ellipses, and conjunctions) somewhat equally. Among the devices, references (especially personal references, represented by the word *dia* "he/she") and conjunctions (especially temporal conjunctions, represented by the words *terus* "then" and *lalu* "then") were used the most frequently. Moreover, the boys tended to use references and conjunctions more than the girls, whereas the girls used ellipses more than the boys. As for substitutions, both groups showed a similar tendency.

Given that gender effect is still found in other studies, the explanation may have something to do with the observed linguistic variables—the grammatical cohesive devices—and the nature of the observed language, Indonesian. Besides, the number of participants in this study was very limited, Therefore, additional research should be conducted in order to highlight any potential general tendencies associated with gender. In addition, future research should utilize a larger sample than the one in this study in order to generalize the results. Finally, it is important to note that the use of grammatical cohesive devices by Indonesian children in their production of narrative is still relatively unexplored, especially in terms of gender. Therefore, this study can be viewed as a preliminary study with regard to the difference in language skills between Indonesian-speaking boys and girls.

**Acknowledgements** This work was supported by Universitas Indonesia (Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional Untuk Tugas Akhir Mahasiswa (PITTA) UI 2017, Grant Number 462/ UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2017)

### **References**


### *Instrument (Book)*

Ideo, W. (2015). *Makan Rame-Rame* [Let's eat together]*.* PT.Bhuana Ilmu Populer.

**Fitriana Ferhadija** earned her BA degree in linguistics from the Indonesian Study Program at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia in 2017. Her interests include child language and early education. Currently, she is working at an edu-tech startup.

**Bernadette Kushartanti** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. She obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2014) with a dissertation entitled "The Acquisition of Stylistic Variation by Jakarta Indonesian Children". Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests include language acquisition, language variation, pragmatics, and discourse analysis.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **Lexical Cohesion in the Narrative Produced by Javanese School-Age Children in Pati**

**Rizma A. Puspita and Bernadette Kushartanti** 

**Abstract** This chapter presents a study which discussed the narrations in Bahasa Indonesia by children in Pati, Central Java, who still use Javanese at home. Our focus is on lexical cohesive devices, based on Halliday and Hasan's (Cohesion in English. Longman, 1976) theory. The participants in this study are school-age children (*N* = 51) aged 6–9 years old, classified into three groups based on their grades at school. This study uses semi-structured elicitation technique with silent film The Pear Story (developed by Chafe in The pear film, 1975) as the main instrument. Instruction is in Indonesian. The analysis is supported by our observation at school and parental questionnaires on language use. Descriptive statistics analysis is conducted to observe the tendency of the use of the lexical cohesive device. It is found that children use Indonesian- and Javanese cohesive devices in their story and use code-mixing, as well. The result shows that the use of repetition cohesive device in Indonesian is being very dominant, compared to other cohesive devices. The most dominant ones in all grades are the repetitions of nouns and verbs.

**Keywords** Narratives · Cohesion · Lexical cohesive devices · School-age children · Indonesian

### **Introduction**

In Pati, Central Java, people still use both the regional language, Javanese, and the national language, Bahasa Indonesia, in daily activities; the regional language for informal speech and Bahasa Indonesia for formal communication. In the educational

R. A. Puspita

SEAMEO QITEP in Language, Jakarta, Indonesia

B. Kushartanti (B)

Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: kushartanti.hum@ui.ac.id

B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_4

domain, the use of Indonesian, especially at school, is compulsory. Being competent in Bahasa Indonesia, the formal variety of Indonesian is one of the requirements in this domain. However, code-switching and code-mixing of Indonesian and Javanese are often used in daily conversations. Based on our preliminary observation in Pati, these phenomena are not uncommon, as have also been found in several studies (e.g., Dewi, 2006; Sudono, 2011), and certainly affect children's language use.

When children enroll in school, the use of Indonesian increases as it is used as the main medium of instruction. In early elementary school, children—especially those whose first language is Javanese—experience a transition to using Indonesian. Some materials of certain subjects at school are given in Bahasa Indonesia, but in order to understand, children still need explanations in their first language. In such a situation, teachers need to code-switch or code-mix. The need for code-switching and code-mixing from Indonesian to Javanese to explain difficult materials shows that children's understanding of Indonesian has not yet been perfected. The transition commonly ranges from children's first enrollment to approximately the third grade.

Concurrent use of Javanese and Indonesian evokes a diglossic situation for children. They tend to use Javanese with persons closest to them, such as family or friends, and Indonesian to other people or in formal situations, such as at school. The diglossic situation also happens at school, where both, in this case Javanese and Indonesian, are used. While the former is mostly used outside the classroom, the latter is used inside the classroom.

At school, narration is used to improve children's speaking skills. They are encouraged to speak in Bahasa Indonesia. In this activity, children learn how to tell a story in Bahasa Indonesia in a well-composed, coherent, and cohesive structure. Based on our preliminary observation, these children, especially those who are in the first, second, and third grades, are starting to gain more exposure to Indonesian while they are still using Javanese. The question to be addressed is: How do these children create a cohesive story in Bahasa Indonesia?

This chapter discusses the use of cohesive devices in these children, focusing on the lexical cohesive devices, as proposed by Halliday and Hasan (1976). Our participants in this study were school-age children, who were in the first, second, and third grades of an elementary school in Pati, Central Java. The main data of this study was children's narrations which were elicited from the silent film *The Pear Story* (developed by Chafe in 1975). Observation by researchers and a questionnaire completed by parents also supported the study.

This chapter is part of the first author's thesis, completed under the second author's supervision. In this chapter, we briefly discuss the theoretical framework and research method. With data obtained from questionnaires, we also explain the use of Indonesian and Javanese and the result from analysis of the usage of lexical cohesive devices. The conclusion also suggests several findings that could be discussed in further research.

### **Narratives: By Children and the Cohesive Devices**

This section discusses some reviews on the theoretical background of this study. First, we present a brief discussion on children's language development, especially in narrative. We also discuss briefly the language of bilingual children, as a comparison to the present chapter. As we examine children's use of cohesive devices, we discuss briefly Halliday and Hasan's theory on cohesion.

### *Children and Narrative Ability*

Children's narrative production emerges at an early age and the pace of development grows in the preschool- and early school-age (Justice et al., 2006; Mäkinen et al., 2013). This ability continues to develop into production of long, coherent, and cohesive narration during the school-age period (Berman, 2009; Hoff, 2009).

Willenberg (2016) who studied the development of narrative production with mixed-race preschool and third-grade children in South Africa found that vocabulary, macrostructure elements in narration, and discourse features, improved with age. Children's early experience with at-home reading positively correlates with the macrostructure of third-grade children's narratives. The study also found no correlation between the education level and language use of mothers who were non-native speakers of English. Additionally, Mäkinen et al. (2013) studied the development of narrative production in Finnish children, aged 4–8. These researchers found a rapid increase in production capability and utterance of events in children aged 4–5. Five to six-year-old children showed a rapid increase in their production of reference cohesion capability.

This study deals with children who are exposed to more than one language. Hoff (2009, p. 298) stated that children's exposure to two languages can happen in diverse situations. For instance, children are not necessarily equally exposed to both languages. Hoff (2009, p. 304) also showed evidence of bilingual children's overlapping use of lexical forms because they have two lexical systems for expressing the same concept. In Hatay, Turkey, Co¸skun (2011) studied fifth-graders' use of cohesive devices with immigrant children from Uzbekistan, who spoke Uzbek and Turkish. Co¸skun found no significant difference between the use of cohesive devices by immigrant and nonimmigrant children in Turkey. Besides Co¸skun (2011), Kim (2011) also studied bilingual (Korean–English) and monolingual children's use of discourse markers. Similar to Co¸skun's study (2011), Kim's study showed no difference between bilingual and monolingual children. Keith and Nicoladis (2013) studied 7- to 10-year-old bilingual (French–English) and monolingual (English-speaking) children's lexical categories. Compared with monolingual children, bilingual children tended to make more mistakes in word-meaning categorization. One language's influence on the other was also observable in bilingual children. Squires et al. (2014) studied story retelling by bilingual Spanish–English, typically developing (TD), and primary language impaired (PLI) children. They found that at school, TD children made greater growth in microstructure in their first language, while PLI children did not. This study shows the growth patterns of macrostructure (hierarchical structure) and microstructure (linguistic) elements in the narratives of bilingual children, both with a primary language impairment and without. Squires et al. also pointed out that the influence of schooling played an important role in first language development, especially for the bilingual TD children.

In Indonesia, Purwo and Sukamto (2016) studied Javanese and Indonesian first to sixth graders' language competence in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. Through data elicitation using a silent film, results showed that children in lower grades were more eloquent telling a story in Javanese than in Indonesian. In addition, through data elicitation using images, Indonesian competence increased in the lower to higher grades, while Javanese competence showed no development. In this study, we also observed Javanese–Indonesian children's narrative production in the school setting. However, our focus was on the use of lexical cohesive devices.

### *Cohesion and Cohesive Devices*

Indicators of a good narration include coherence and cohesion. Coherence, in narrative, is the connection that is brought about by something outside the text, whereas cohesion is the connection between its elements (Renkema, 2004, p. 49). According to Peterson and McCabe (1991, p. 29), cohesion is the relationship between sentences. Messages and meaning are communicated effectively as it ties together and organizes structure (Horton-Ikard, 2009, p. 394).

A cohesive narration is manifested by use of appropriate cohesive devices. According to Halliday and Hasan (1976), there are two kinds of cohesive devices related to grammatical and lexical aspects. Grammatical cohesive devices include reference, substitution, conjunction, and ellipsis. Lexical cohesive devices include repetition, synonymy, hyponymy and hypernymy, meronymy, antonymy, and collocation.

Since the focus of this chapter is the lexical cohesive devices, a more detailed description is presented in the following.


### **Method**

The main data of this study are children's narrative productions, elicited from a silent film. We also observed children's social environment and activities, as well as their language use inside and outside the school environment. Interaction between others was also our main concern. Even though we had observed children's language use at school, we needed supporting information on language use at home, to explain some of the findings that might occur. Therefore, we also constructed a parental questionnaire.

Before we collected the data, we conducted a pilot test on five children in grades one through three, in Pati. We performed a trial procedure by asking several children, who were not involved in this research, to watch the film and retell the story. As this study's focus is Indonesian cohesive devices, we used Indonesian as the instructional language. In the pilot study, we observed that these children mixed Indonesian and Javanese. Nevertheless, they could follow and tell the whole story, despite differences—which were basically due to the influence of local knowledge—in lexical choices when they referred to certain objects. For example, they used *jambu* "guava" to refer to the fruit instead of using *pir* "pear."

### *Instruments*

The main instrument of this study was the silent film *The Pear Story* (downloaded from http://pearstories.org.), which was designed by Wallace Chafe in 1975 at the University of California, Berkeley, to elicit language samples around the world. The film is about a farmer who picks some pears, his stolen pear, and the boy who steals it. It was developed for narrative elicitation from speakers of different languages around the world and used by many researchers to examine numerous aspects of linguistic competence, including narration. Since the film contains no dialog, informants can tell the story without any influence from the characters' speech. Based on this consideration, we chose it as the instrument for narrative elicitation. As we also observed in this study, children's lexical choices in narration originated from what they saw, understood, and used daily.

Apart from the silent film, parental questionnaires were used to support this research. The questionnaire was adapted from the second author's research (see Kushartanti, 2014) and completed by selected children's parents (a description of the selection process is presented in the following subsection). The questionnaire contained questions about the children's demographic data (date and place of birth) and the parents' sociocultural information. Based on our preliminary observation that Javanese as well as Bahasa Indonesia is used in daily conversation, we assumed that the children's linguistic input would be in both languages. However, it was important to use the most dominant language as the input language. Therefore, the questionnaire has needed to examine the extent to which the parents used both languages at home, at school, and in public areas. Besides collecting information on children's demographic data, the questionnaires also collected information on the patterns of language use of both children and the people around them.

### *Selection of Participants*

Before the data collection, we went into the children's classes and sat in and made ourselves known to the children. Once they became familiar with us in the classroom, we showed them the equipment (i.e., a laptop) that we were going to use and several films (which were not used for the research). We watched these films together and talked about them afterward. We then selected several active children with good communication skills as participants. Furthermore, the researchers also mingled with the children when they were playing during the breaks.

### *Data Collection Procedure*

Children's speech data were obtained from individual interviews, conducted in a small room provided by the school. Prior to each interview, the researcher enquired about the child's daily activities to put her/him at ease. We sat together and watched the complete film, *The Pear Story*. Following that, the film was replayed, and the interviewer asked the child to tell the story while watching it. The child's speech was then recorded. The interviewer responded to the child's story only with back-channel behavior (see Renkema, 2004, p. 165), such as *hmm, iya* "yes," *wah* "wow," *o, gitu* "I see," so that he/she did not feel awkward or self-conscious. These prompts encouraged the child to talk. At times, the interviewer repeated some parts of the child's speech, as an acknowledgment or confirmation. An example of such conversation is the conversational segment below, which was taken after the interviewer played the silent film (INT = interviewer; CHI = child).


(INT replayed the film, and the CHI started to tell the story and pointing some objects)


There were 56 children who were interviewed (20 from the first grade, 19 from the second grade, and 17 from the third grade). However, five recordings could not be used, either because the sound was not properly recorded or the child remained silent. Therefore, the total number of recordings for the purposes of the data source was 51 (17 from each grade).

The parental questionnaires were distributed at school and completed by parents at home, with a 100% return rate (*N* = 51). However, one questionnaire was not entirely completed, so we excluded it, leaving 50 questionnaires for the analysis.

### *Data Processing*

Recordings were transcribed as orthographic transcription, adapted from Du Bois (2006). From the transcription, we identified and classified the cohesive devices and conducted a quantitative analysis to examine the use of Bahasa Indonesia in the children's speech. Nevertheless, the use of Javanese cohesive devices and whether there was some mixing of both languages were also analyzed. The demographic data from the parental questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively, as well.

### **An Overview of the Participants**

From the questionnaires (*N* = 50), we obtained demographic information, such as place of birth, birth order, parents' place of origin, and parents' occupation. Fortyone children were born in the Pati district; others were born in the Central Javanesespeaking areas such as Grobogan, Kudus, Wonosobo, and Kendal.

We found that both parents of these children came from Central Javanese-speaking areas, and all of them came from Javanese ethnic groups. This information showed us that no child came from an inter-ethnic marriage (which sometimes indicates that the child uses Indonesian as the language of the family, instead of either language of the parents).

### **Overview of the Language Use**

In the following section, we discuss the results from the analysis of the children's language use, based on data from the parental questionnaires. This analysis examines how the children learned and used both Javanese and Indonesian, as it could potentially influence the narrative production. To describe the children's linguistic profile, we analyzed the information in the parental questionnaires. In this section, we present comparisons between Javanese and Indonesian in terms of how the children use the languages in their surroundings (home, school, and community) and in terms of how other people use the language when speaking to the children. We present figures to show the comparisons. Figure 1 shows the mean scores of language use by individual children in those environments, whereas Fig. 2 shows mean scores of languages used by people around the children—father, mother, siblings, paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, and other close relatives, based on the children's grade level.

**Fig. 1** Use of Indonesian and Javanese by children at home, school, and public space/community (1 = never; 4 = always)

**Fig. 2** Languages used by others while interacting with children (1 = never; 4 = always)

Figure 1 shows that children used both Indonesian and Javanese. However, we can see that the use of these languages was influenced by the setting. At home and in public spaces, children tended to use Javanese more frequently than Indonesian. A paired samples t-test revealed significant differences between the use of Javanese and Indonesian at home (*p* = 0.00) and in the public space (*p* = 0.00), where Javanese tended to dominate. At school, children used both Indonesian and Javanese. The figure shows that the use of both Indonesian and Javanese is more or less equal. We found that there was no significant difference between the use of Javanese and Indonesian (*p* = 0.351) at school.

Figure 2 shows the language used by others when interacting with children.

Figure 2 shows that both Javanese and Indonesian were used by fathers, mothers, siblings, paternal grandmothers and fathers, maternal grandmothers and fathers, and others (relatives and new acquaintances) to talk with the children. In other words, these children have both Javanese and Indonesian input from their extended family and others and are already familiar with both languages. The figure shows that extended family members (grandparents) and others tended to use Javanese more frequently than Indonesian. Nevertheless, the difference is not significant. There is also a reason that these people used both languages. One reason for using Indonesian, as we observed, was to avoid Javanese stratified styles, namely *ngoko* (the lowest style)*, ngoko alus* (the low style)*, krama alus* (the higher style), and *krama inggil*  (the highest style). Inappropriate use of style can be a problem when speaking to certain people from a different social status; for example, it is considered impolite for a younger speaker to speak *ngoko* instead of *krama alus* to an older person. We observed that Indonesian is used at home to avoid Javanese styles or registers. The finding was in line with Poedjosudarmo (as cited in Cohn & Ravindranath, 2014, pp. 140–141) and Gunarwan (2006). Therefore, it is understandable that Indonesian plays an important role in their social life.

### **Lexical Cohesive Devices in Children's Narrative Speech**

From the children's speech data, we found repetition, hyponymy, hypernymy, synonymy, and antonymy, in both Indonesian and Javanese and also in a mix of both languages. Table 1 presents the cohesive devices' mean ratios. The formula of the ratio was as follows:

> Total score of cohesion per individual Total of all cohesion per individual

Table 1 shows that repetition dominated the children's speech. The first graders (*M*  = 0.902, SD = 0.095), second graders (*M* = 0.890; SD = 0.093), and third graders (*M* = 0.891; SD = 0.088*)* showed no significant differences in use and distribution; however, equitable distribution occurred only in the use of Indonesian repetition. Table 1 also indicates that Indonesian cohesive devices were more frequently used than Javanese cohesive devices, and the third-grade children no longer mixed Javanese and Indonesian cohesive devices. We also found that the use of other cohesive devices was limited. Moreover, our analysis showed that the mean scores (*M*) of these devices were less than the score of the standard deviation (SD), indicating that there was a large individual difference.

The findings on Indonesian dominance in the data can be attributed to the fact that it was the language of instruction in the data collection. In this case, these children were already capable of using the language; at least they understood the instructions and tried to accommodate the interviewer's speech. As they were still developing the ability to use Indonesian, some were still influenced by their first language, Javanese. Nevertheless, we also found that competence in using Indonesian increased as the children grew older, as indicated in the oldest children's data.

We also analyzed each cohesive device's mean scores based on the category, at the lexical, phrasal, and clausal level. The scores presented in Table 2 below are the


**Table 1** Mean and standard deviation of ratio of lexical cohesive devices

M = Mean; SD = Standard deviation

ratio scores. Not all types of cohesive devices, as proposed by Halliday and Hasan (1976), were found in Javanese or in a mix of Indonesian and Javanese. Besides that, only repetition of nouns and verbs was frequently used. We also found that each grade had a different tendency in using cohesive devices, and the children did not use all of them. Table 2 shows a more detailed representation of the lexical cohesive devices, based on the two languages.

From Table 2, we can see that the most dominant lexical cohesive device in all grades was nominal and verbal repetition. This could be because the research instrument was a film, and the children told the story while watching it. Moreover, the use of repetitions indicated that it worked well in maintaining the characters, which is in line with Colozzo and Whitely's (2014) findings. In the current study, the children mentioned the "objects" they saw while watching the film, several of which are always visible in the film, for instance, the farmer, the boy who steals, and the pear. In the final scene of the film, three other boys help the thief. Furthermore, each scene connects to another through these objects, so the children repeatedly mentioned the visible objects, which resulted in frequent repetition. Table 3 shows the mean ratio scores of the cohesive device of repetition in the data.


**Table 2** Use of lexical cohesive devices in Indonesian and Javanese


**Table 3** Mean ratio of categories and types of lexical cohesive devices

All the children used nominal repetition to mention objects reappearing in each scene, for example, the fruit and the thief. The oldest children tended to use verbal repetition, nominal phrase repetition, and verbal phrase repetition. Meanwhile, repetition of other categories was used only by certain participants.

No child mentioned "pear," which was the name of the fruit that was one of the objects in the film, since they were unfamiliar with that fruit. Instead, they tended to call it *jambu* "guava," *mangga* "mango," *apel* "apple," or *alpukat* "avocado." Here, we see that culture has influenced the children's perception on the object. It is understandable that these Pati children did not mention "pear," as they were not familiar with it. Instead, they mentioned things they knew from their own culture. Nevertheless, they were able to mention the object as "fruit."

As previously mentioned, the boy who steals the pear is always visible in the film. The children mentioned him, not only in nominal repetition, but also in nominal phrases. The first graders (*M* = 0.668; SD = 0.152) and the second graders (*M* = 0.603; SD = 0.238) tended to use nominal repetition; however, their references were not clear because they overlapped with the other main character, the farmer. For example, the children mentioned *orang* "person," *seseorang* "a person," and *anak*  "child." The third graders used noun phrases (*M* = 0.633; SD = 0.122); therefore, their references were clearer, for example, *tiga anak* "three children" or *tiga orang*  "three people" for the boys who help the thief.

Besides repetition, the children used other cohesive devices, such as hyponymy, hypernymy, synonymy, and antonymy. A few Javanese interferences were also found in the use of other lexical cohesive devices, namely hyponymy and synonymy, in Javanese and a mix of Indonesian and Javanese. Only the first and second graders used such cohesive devices; the third graders used only Indonesian cohesive devices. The findings suggest that the first and second graders were still influenced by Javanese, which was still used in the classroom. Nevertheless, given that the use of Javanese cohesive devices was not as frequent as the Indonesian ones, it implies that the use of the latter at school has had an impact on the children's speech. At school, the children are trained to speak individually using Indonesian, in certain contexts, such as when they explain content on a certain subject. The higher the grade, the greater the children's exposure to Indonesian. Because of that stimulus, third graders can speak Indonesian without any intervention from Javanese. Studies have shown that school greatly affects children's language development (Squires et al., 2014). As the school environment has a different language requirement, compared with other environments, the teaching and learning process tends to create an environment that encourages interaction. How teachers speak and interact with their colleagues also affects children's language. Moreover, the findings in this study also confirm that as the children in this study grow older, their ability to use the second language— Indonesian—develops further.

We found that if there was any interference, especially in their use of lexical cohesive devices, the children were not able to find the specific word in Indonesian with which to label a certain event, for example, the occurrence of hyponymy *jatuh* (Ind. for "fall down") and *manting* (Jv. for "fall down"). *Manting* refers to a two-wheeled vehicle that is shaky or unbalanced and then crashes and flips over. Semantically, *manting* is a subordinate of *tiba* (Jv. "fall down") which has no equivalent in Indonesian. Another finding was that children tended to use the same word for different events. The word *mengambil* "take" sometimes implies *mencuri* "steal" or *memetik*  "pick." The word usually occurs in hyponymy. This means that children use the word *mengambil* "take" instead of *mencuri* "steal" or *memetik* "pick." We need to consider the context (in this case, the film) to determine whether *mengambil* is the hyponym of *mencuri* or of *memetik*.

### **Conclusions and Recommendations**

This study has shown that the children in Pati were able to produce cohesive narratives by using lexical cohesive devices, such as repetition, hyponymy, hypernymy, synonymy, and antonymy. Compared to other cohesive devices, repetition, especially repetition of nouns, was most frequently used by the children. The findings show that the children used this kind of cohesive device to maintain the narration, which was also in line with Colozzo and Whitely's (2014) findings. We also found that the children's narration was influenced by the instrument, the silent film *The Pear Story*, especially when they were focusing on the objects and the actions they saw.

The first and second graders also used cohesive devices in Javanese and a mix of Indonesian–Javanese, but the third graders did not. We observed that the school was influential in exposing them to Indonesian and not to Javanese; therefore, the use of Javanese decreased as the children reached higher grades. The questionnaire responses regarding the dominant language used at home, at school, and with other people also supported this research. Nevertheless, our findings show that both Indonesian and Javanese have their own functions, respectively, and that the children had almost equal Indonesian and Javanese input from the people around them, especially their extended families.

At the early stage of elementary school, children are still in a transition period between using Javanese as the dominant language and Indonesian as the language of education. But at school they have to speak mainly in Indonesian. By the third grade, the participants in this study were already accustomed to speaking Indonesian. In the language used by the oldest participants, therefore, we found neither Javanese cohesive devices, nor mixed Javanese and Indonesian cohesive devices.

We also found other tendencies in the use of lexical cohesive devices. The first is that the children used cohesive devices as tools for topic maintenance (see also Colozzo & Whitely, 2014). The children used repetition while thinking and staying on topic, especially for finding words and correcting their language. They also sometimes used hyponymy and synonymy to find more specific words and correct their language. In some cases, the children used lexical cohesive devices to refer to something vague, for instance, they used a generic word that is a hyponym of certain word with a different meaning. In this study, the film's context played an important role, and therefore, further study on grammatical cohesive devices to examine the use of references in children's narrative is very important.

This research was conducted in Pati, a Javanese region where people still speak the regional language. The findings of this research paint a small picture of children's language use in this region. Nevertheless, this study has some limitations. First, it was conducted at only one school, and the number of participants was also limited. Moreover, the focus of this study was only on the use of lexical cohesive devices in which linguistic input at home and school was accounted for. We did not examine other factors, such as age nor gender differences, nor the socioeconomic status, which might add further explanation to the findings. As Javanese still has a large number of speakers with Indonesian being their second language, research with more participants is still needed to have a comprehensive illustration of how Javanese-speaking children use and learn their first and second languages, especially in narration.

**Acknowledgements** This work was supported by Universitas Indonesia (Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional Untuk Tugas Akhir Mahasiswa (PITTA) UI 2017, Grant Number 462/ UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2017)

### **References**

Berman, R. A. (2009). Trends in research on narrative development. *Language Acquisition*, 294–318.


### *Source of Instrument*

Chafe, W. (1975). *The pear film* [Video file]. Retrieved from http://pearstories.org/pears\_video.htm. A website constructed by M.S. Erbaugh, 2001

**Rizma Angga Puspita** earned her BA from the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia in 2013, and obtained her MA in Linguistics from the same university in 2017. She is one of the staff at SEAMEO QITEP in Language, Jakarta. Her research interests are sociolinguistics, language acquisition, and language teaching.

**Bernadette Kushartanti** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. She obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands (2014) with a dissertation entitled "The Acquisition of Stylistic Variation by Jakarta Indonesian Children". Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests include language acquisition, language variation, pragmatics, and discourse analysis.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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### **Superstructure and Cohesion in the Narratives of Jakarta Sign Language Signers**

**Innova Safitri Suprapto Putri and Untung Yuwono** 

**Abstract** This chapter deals with the narrative structure and connecting elements of narrative discourse in Jakarta Sign Language (JakSL). Two research questions are discussed in this paper: (1) what is the narrative structure of fairy tales proposed in the JakSL? and (2) what are elements in the JakSL that create the narrative cohesion in the narratives of the Deaf? The first question pertains to the narrative structure of sign language, while the second question relates to cohesion in sign language. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative. The data are taken from the transcription of two narrative signing videos about a fable—The Hare and The Tortoise—narrated by two JakSL signers. The results of this research show the story order delivered by two informants of JakSL speakers which corresponds to the order of narrative structure as proposed by Labov and Waletzky (Essays on the verbal and visual arts: proceedings of the American Ethnological Society. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1967) In this study, the structure is formed both by manual movements and nonmanual movements. Two types of grammatical cohesion, namely reference and ellipsis, are found. Meanwhile, in lexical cohesion, repetition and collocation are found.

**Keywords** Narrative discourse · Sign language · Narrative superstructure · Cohesion

### **Introduction**

Narrative is generally the first type of discourse speakers learn upon acquiring a language. Narrative is closely related to the expressive function of language. Like discourse in oral language, the structure of narrative in sign language is based on

I. S. S. Putri

Laboratorium Riset Bahasa Isyarat, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

U. Yuwono (B)

Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: untung.yuwono@ui.ac.id

<sup>©</sup> The Author(s) 2024 B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_5

the arrangement of the scene, the development of the plot, the complication, and the resolution (Bahan & Supalla, 1995; Gee & Kegl, 1983). However, Rayman's research (1999) on comparing narratives in both sign and oral language finds that, in general, visual gestures are the main structural elements for organizing narrative in sign language. In addition, visual gestures also contain devices that can be used to connect different elements in a sign language narrative. Visual gestures are used for describing characters, space, and motion and are more readily available for signers than speakers because of the visual–spatial nature of sign language. Therefore, in general, visual gestures are the main structural elements for organizing narrative in sign language.

An analysis of oral narratives by Labov and Waletzky (1967) shows that conjunctions are often used as cohesive devices in spoken/oral narrative discourse. As is found in every language in the world, sign movements for conjunctions also exist in Jakarta Sign Language (JakSL) and are used for connecting words, phrases, and clauses. However, from our brief observation of Deaf people using this sign language, our researchers found that conjunctions were interestingly absent when signers produced narrative. This raises a question as to why they are not used in JakSL. If conjunctions are not used in a sign language narrative, what connectors shape its cohesiveness so that all parts of the narrative structure form a coherent and cohesive whole?

Based on this question, this study seeks to understand how signers of JakSL produce a cohesive narrative by focusing on the production of a genre of fictional narrative, namely fables. More specifically, the paper seeks to answer the following research questions: How does the narrative structure of fables appear in JSL? Which elements in JSL are used as a resource to create narrative cohesiveness for Deaf people?

### **Sign Language Narrative**

In research conducted on narrative about everyday life and human experience, and based on data from English speakers in New York, Labov and Waletzky (1967) have identified five structural parts that constitute a narrative: orientation, complication, resolution, evaluation, and coda (Renkema, 2004, p. 194). *Orientation* describes the setting, characters, and other background information that should be understood in a narrative. The second part, *complication*, describes the basic details of a focus event. Following complication, *resolution* is the part of narrative in which the event's result is conveyed. Next, *evaluation* is concerned with the lesson that should be learned from the story or the reason an event happened. Finally, the *coda* closes the story and connects all the events in the narrative. Labov and Waletzky adopted a sociolinguistic approach to discover the social correlation between storytellers' characteristics and the structure of stories delivered in spoken oral language.

Slobin (1996) argues that different languages provide a different range of resources for every language user, as he supports Whorf's (2012) claims on how vast every language is, and how different it is from others. These claims are also supported by Rayman (1999), who provides some evidence in terms of sign language and oral language narratives. Compared to oral language, sign language contains strong visual and gestural elements for describing characters, space, and motion because of the visual–spatial nature of sign language.

Based on Eisenberg, Hudson & Shapiro (1991), McCabe & Peterson (1990), and Rathmann (2007) summarizes that there are three cognitive domains of concern in narrative production and comprehension: (1) linguistic devices within and across sentences and bigger discourse units including episodes and settings, (2) pragmatic abilities, and (3) general cognitive abilities, such as working memory and information processing for the sequencing of information. These three domains are not only involved in the production of spoken and written text, but also in signed texts. In this chapter, we only limit the discussion to the first domain.

Sutton-Spence (2010) has conducted research on the importance of narrative for Deaf people. Her paper describes the role of sign language narrative in the development of Deaf identity in children. Interviews with British Deaf teachers and other Deaf adults as well as "The Owl Interpreter" story told to children using British Sign Language show that there are elements of language that adults believe should be passed on to the next generation of Deaf people. Sutton-Spence argues that storytelling in schools by Deaf teachers plays an essential role in Deaf children's development of identity. She finds that in Deaf narratives, adult signers value and wish to pass on narrative knowledge to the next generation of Deaf signers. They, as gifted signers, believe that they will be able to build valuable visual information about their knowledge of the Deaf world and Deaf experiences into their stories. Sutton-Spence finds that signed stories are structured in a similar way to English stories, from the introduction to the climax and denouement. The storytelling she describes uses a threefold pattern, namely vertical symmetry, which involves placing signs at head height, shoulder height, and waist height, and/or horizontal symmetry, which involves placing signs in the left, right, and center space. This allows the narrator to use the pattern of three to build a narrative. Sutton-Spence believes that this linguistic pattern should be introduced to Deaf children.

Like spoken language, sign language has developed devices for constructing a cohesive narrative. Deaf signers can generate layers of information about events, places, and characters. Similar to what Indonesian speakers do in oral narrative, signers first establish reference in the form of noun phrases, for instance, *kelinci*  (hare) and *kura-kura* (tortoise), by using fingerspelling. They also establish a location for spatial reference, such as *di sana* (there), by pointing to the positions of the characters. Sign language also employs certain strategies to organize sequential actions by sorting verbs that represent actions. In general, a range of linguistic strategies is used to produce connectives in narrative.

Sign language discourse, including narrative, also uses referential cohesion, ellipsis and substitution, conjunctions, and lexical organization. Table 1 shows the categories of cohesive devices from Halliday and Hasan's (1976) theory on cohesion, elaborated by Johnston and Schembri (2007, pp. 270–277) in their study of Australian Sign Language (Auslan).


**Table 1** Comparison of discourse cohesion theories

Johnston and Schembri (2007) identify several categories as the most important constituent elements of sign language narrative, the first being referential cohesive resources, which include full noun phrase, pronoun and determiner, verb modification, classifier, role shifting, and list buoys.

A full noun phrase can be a combination of noun signals or signing by spelling letters or fingerspelling. In sign language narrative, the full noun phrase functions as an opening of chain reference in a text (Martin, 1992). Subsequent cohesion is thereafter indicated also with the full noun phrase, forming continuity of meaning.

Pronouns and determiners are used to indicate location in the text that is signed in the scope of the signing space. Pronouns and determiners are produced by means of noun signs followed by indexing (pointing) that functions as a determiner. Indexing is a device commonly used in signed languages, whereby the signer points to a location in the signing space to refer to a person or object; this location then becomes associated with that person or object and remains so until the end of the narrative or until the signer explicitly changes that association (Earis & Cormier, 2013, p. 315).

In addition to nouns that can change their meaning depending on location and indexing, verbs can be used in sign language to adjust locations to strengthen meaning in narrative. This is referred to as verb modification or verb agreement. There are five major forms in verb modification: (1) spatial and directional modification for showing what the subject is doing with the object and the location of an action; (2) modification for indicating the number of references or participants involved; (3) movement modification for showing how the action referred to by the verb is revealed in the time aspect(s); (4) modification for showing how actions occur; and (5) modification for showing intensification of action (Johnston & Schembri, 2007, p. 141). Regarding signing location, when a signer suggests a verb that points in a different direction, it indicates a statement that has a different meaning.

A classifier is a hand form whose signal represents an object, such as humans, animals, and other objects, combined with the unity of motion and location. The unity of gesture carries out an important grammatical role in sign language. Johnston and Schembri (2007, p. 168) divide classifiers into three categories: entities, treatments, and determiners of shape and size (SASS: size and shape specifier handshapes). The first category, "classifier entities," represents a category of objects represented by the shape of a hand that approximates the shape of the object (object in the form of a living thing).

A "handling classifier" is a gesture that mimics the interaction of the hand with an object. The imitation is a sign that raises a verb that focuses on humans or animals holding an object or objects. Handling classifiers are divided into three categories. The first category is the holding hand-shape, which conveys the meaning of verbs by forming the hand into shapes that represent the carrying or holding of an object, such as a doorknob. The second category is the touching hand-shape, which includes the shape of a hand that mimics the touching of an object. Examples of this category are squeezing balls, stroking animals, and so on. The third category is the instrumental hand-shape, which refers to the shape of the hand that mimics the object itself. The objects referred to in this topic are objects commonly used by humans in everyday life. Examples of handshapes in this category are the "scissors for cutting" verbs or the shape of the letter Y that represents the shape of the "phone for calling" verbs.

The third classifier is size and shape handshapes' specifier (SASS), which is used to describe a reference object by describing the shape and size, such as a signal to imitate a thin object (paper), or a box and other large objects, such as cardboard.

The shape of the hand is then used to bring up verbs (modified verbs) to indicate the movement and/or location of the subject characters in the gesture space. Signers can use one hand, or two hands at a time, to indicate a classifier. The use of two hands describes the location and movement of two or more separate referents (Johnston & Schembri, 2007, p. 169).

The next form of cohesion is role shift. Role shift can be understood as referential shift. A role shift is used to signify an entity in a part of the discourse that is presented from one perspective, by certain participants. The entities referred to can be the speakers themselves or others. Role shifts are indicated in three ways: shifted expressive elements (shifts in expressive elements), shifted gaze and/or postures (shifts in views and/or postures), and shifted references (shifts of reference) (Engberg-Pedersen, 1993). Liddel and Metzger (1998) explain that in shifting expressive elements there is a constructed action. Constructed actions refer to gestures that mimic the actions of the participants or characters involved in a discourse narration.

The next referential cohesion device is list buoys. Liddell and Metzger (1998) and Liddell (2003) explain that referential cohesion uses buoys or so-called signs. In this reference, the native signer uses subordinate hands which are maintained in the space of gesture, while the dominant hand is used to produce other signals that explain and refer to subordinate hand signals. Its use in sign language is referred to as list buoys, which explains a list of sign movements. Usually, the list is signed by the subordinate hand by mentioning the sequence of numbers—usually one to five—and the dominant hand explaining anything on the list. In a discourse, list buoys is used to refer back to the subordinate hand as a means of keeping track of referents in the discourse.

Another aspect of the unity of sign language narrative is lexical cohesion, which consists of reiteration and collocation. In sign language, reiteration is a lexical form that is indicated by reading the same words in different sentences. The purpose of repeating the words is to draw attention to a character or group that is considered important in the story. In addition to repetition, reiteration can be indicated with a signal that has the same meaning or concept as the signal that was previously produced. Meanwhile, collocation refers to sign inter-relationships that are in the same environment or fields as certain patterns and are continuous, so that references to one another can have an overall meaning.

In addition to referential and lexical cohesion, other categories of cohesive devices include ellipsis, marker substitution, and discourse conjunction. Ellipsis is an ellipse of a word or sentence. The word or sentence is not mentioned because the signer and interlocutor share an understanding of the context. In the sign language discourse, ellipsis appears most in role shift (shifting roles) and when the reference used is the same as that used in the previous sentence. Substitution is the substitution of words or elements in sentences with certain words at the lexicogrammatical level. For example, one could replace noun cues with the signal OTHER to refer to other nouns within the same meaning range. Discourse markers indicate the direction or purpose of a discourse, including conjunctions and fillers (Schiffrin, 1987). In JakSL there is a form of conjunction, e.g., *tapi* (but)*, kalau* (if), etc., which functions as a cohesion device, connecting one clause with another in a complex sentence. In short, the categorization proposed by Johnston and Schembri (2007) can explain the cohesive sign narrative structure in sign language, including the data used in this research.

### **"The Hare and the Tortoise" as the Data**

Narrative in sign language has been studied in relation to British Sign Language (BSL), American Sign Language (ASL), and also signs in other countries. One of the most recent studies of sign language narrative was conducted by Earis (2013). Earis's study focuses on perspective-taking (POV) in the narrative produced by BSL speakers and oral language speakers, using "The Tortoise and the Hare" story as the data prompt. Earis found that there are differences between the two groups, in terms of the point of view used to tell the story. Speakers of English use the narrator's perspective, while BSL users adopt the character's perspective in telling the story. The main cohesive markers used in the spoken English narrative are nouns and pronouns, while BSL signers use eye view as their mental markers. This difference is to be expected considering oral English and BSL which are two languages with different modalities.

Our research was conducted using video data recorded from two Deaf participants, who, in April and May 2016, narrated the tale of "The Hare and the Tortoise" using JakSL. The story of "The Hare and the Tortoise" is used since JakSL signers can sign it and both participants are aware of and have sufficient knowledge of the story. Prior to the data collection, the two Deaf participants were not provided with the written story material. They were only told the stories from memory. By doing this, we maximized the potential that the two participants could come up with different versions of the story in terms of plot, character, and so on. The difference in this story is not important unless it affects the continuity of the narrative discourse. To ensure that the narrative elicitation was spontaneous and delivered in its entirety, researchers were not fully involved in the location of the data collection at the time of recording. The researcher was in the same room with the participants solely to give brief instructions. Once the recording started, the researcher left the room until the participants finished telling their stories. The two informants were recorded using a digital video camera aimed at the upper body, namely the waist to the head. For analysis of the structure and connecting elements in their narrative, videos were transcribed using Johnston and Schembri's (2007) transcription method and the eLan program (eLan 4.9.3) to focus on manual and nonmanual movements. Manual signs are made with only the hands. These signs are formed from the basic components: hand-shape, orientation, location, and movement. Meanwhile, nonmanual signs occur in the parts of the body other than the hands. Nonmanual signs may involve facial expressions, mouth gestures, mouthing, gaze, and head/body movements.

To explain examples of sentences in the analysis, the sentences produced by Participant 1 are numbered 1.1, 1.2, and so on, while examples from Participant 2 are numbered 2.1, 2.2, and so on. We limited the participants to only JakSL users and disregarded distinctions based on gender. Based on the age limit and the indicator of sign language originality, this research engaged two male participants of different ages: one participant was 25 years old and the other was 55 years old. Both participants lived in Jakarta and were alumni of Sekolah Luar Biasa (SLB) B Don Bosco, Wonosobo. (SLB B is a special school for Deaf students located in the province of Central Java.)

### **Narrative discourse's Superstructure in Jakarta Sign Language**

From the transcription, which was based on sentences and then translated, the story's plot was delivered by Participant 1, and the narrative structure conformed to Labov and Waletzky's (1967) structural order: orientation, complication, resolution, evaluation, and coda. Table 2 compares the two informants' narrative structures.

Participant 1 constructed the orientation part by illustrating the fable's setting, characters, and other background information. First, he introduced the story's main characters, the hare and the tortoise, and then explained the background of their conflict: the tortoise challenges the hare to a race. The participant further clarified the background with a description of the setting, the race arena marked by the use


**Table 2** Comparison of participants' narratives

of a classifier, i.e., a sign that imitated a long banner with "START" written on it. In addition, he also described the characters through their interactions and dialog. The tortoise was described through the hare's statement that the tortoise is a slow animal. Through direct description, Participant 1 described the tortoise as a patient animal. This was shown by role shift performed by Participant 1. From the sentence TURTLE RIGHT (TURTLE)-LEFT (PATIENCE), after the TURTLE signal, Participant 1 performed a role shift, from the point of view of the storyteller, by changing roles into a turtle marked with RIGHT (TURTLE)-LEFT (PATIENT). This RIGHT (TURTLE)- LEFT gesture was a shifted gaze made by the participant, by turning his gaze to the left toward the rabbit, as if the participant were acting like a turtle character trying to be patient with the rabbit.

Complication is conveyed using basic details of an event that is the focus of the story. For this story, Participant 1 categorized the complication into three parts and explained it through the hare and the tortoise's perspectives. The first complication consisted of a description of the hare's and the tortoise's actions when the race begins. Participant 1 described in detail the tortoise's movements and its progress in the race with various classifiers and modification verbs to illustrate the hare's and the tortoise's respective positions.

For the second complication, Participant 1 described in detail the hare's and the tortoise's further actions in the race. As Participant 1 related, after managing to get ahead of the tortoise in the middle of the race, the hare stops to relax while grabbing a bite to eat. On the other hand, the participant explained that the tortoise continues walking, and maintaining her/his patience.

For the third complication, Participant 1 described the tortoise's position of almost catching up with the hare*.* He further described the hare's action with a classifier sign for the hare, showing the hare running quickly, and leaving the tortoise behind*.* 

Next, the resolution details the race results, in which the tortoise wins and the hare loses*.* The resolution, i.e., the tortoise's victory, was described as a process in which, after the hare falls, the tortoise is still far behind*.* Then, by using a classifier movement, Participant 1 signed that the tortoise is catching up to and getting ahead of the hare.

Following this resolution, in the evaluation, the participant identified the lesson that should be learned from the fable or the reason the event occurs in the story. He explained in detail the reason behind the tortoise's victory and the hare's defeat: the hare, who is in a hurry, becomes unaware of its surroundings, stumbles, and falls over a cliff. Meanwhile, the tortoise was described as having patience, which helps it win the race. In this case, the participant explained the evaluation from his own perspective as narrator.

Participant 1 ended up his storytelling with a nonmanual sign movement, signifying that he had finished the story. He smiled and shrugged to signal that the story was over. The movement served as a coda that closed all the stories' narrated events.

Similar to Participant 1's narrative, Participant 2's narrative structure was also close to complete, with only the coda missing. Participant 2 clearly included orientation. He explained and described the story's characters: the hare, the tortoise, the monkey, and the elephant. He described the hare by mentioning its physique and character—a furry, buck toothed animal, that was also arrogant—through his sign movement for WALKING WITH A PUFFED-UP CHEST. He also described the hare's character through the dialog, with a sign movement for *RIGHT* (EASY)— *LEFT* (HARE) and *PRON-1* (HARE) GREAT. The participants emphasized the character using a nonmanual sign (e.g., PUFFED CHEST) that focused on the body movement. This is also similar to Participant 1, where Participant 2 used body movement to embody the HARE's character within himself and changed the role shift from the narrator's perspective to the character's perspective.

Participant 2 did not describe the other characters in detail, signing the tortoise only as an animal that moves very slowly. The other characters—the monkey and the elephant—were identified through his sign vocabulary: for the elephant, Participant 2 imitated an elephant's trunk with his hand, and for the monkey, he imitated a monkey's typical movements of scratching its body and head.

When Participant 1 introduced the story, he signed the tortoise challenging the hare to a race. Participant 2 introduced the story by signing that the hare and the tortoise are race participants without explaining the reason for the race*.* He described the monkey and the elephant as supporting the tortoise in winning the race.

Like Participant 1, Participant 2 divided the complication section into three parts based on the stages of the race. For the first complication, Participant 2 explained that the race would soon begin because the hare and the tortoise were getting into position on a mark made by the monkey*.* He described that after the race begins, the tortoise walks very slowly, while the hare hops fast. He explained that the race continues with the hare leaving the tortoise far behind*.* 

Participant 2 described the second complication from the hare's perspective slacking off—because the hare knows that the tortoise is too far behind to catch up. At this point, the participant described a new setting, using classifiers to imitate the hare hopping through a winding path and up a hill. Then, he described a tree atop the hill where the hare eats and sleeps. Along with the new setting, he explained the hare's next actions of eating and sleeping under the tree.

For the third complication, Participant 2 explained the rest of the story from two perspectives, those of the hare and the tortoise*.* He began with the tortoise walking slowly and moving past the hare*.* Then, he explained that the hare slacks off and falls asleep until it is almost dark. The hare then wakes up and is surprised when the tortoise is no longer in sight*.* Participant 2 explained that as the hare hurries to catch up, the tortoise is walking close to the finish line. In this part, in addition to the characters' perspectives on chronology, he also used signs for TIME PASSES and IT STARTS TO GET DARK, adding information about time to signal the race's chronology.

Participant 2 divided the resolution into two different parts; first, an explanation that the tortoise wins the race because its right foot touches the finish line a fraction of a second before the hare's foot does. He also repeated this detail through the perspective of the monkey, who explains to the hare that it has lost the race. He then ended the resolution with the monkey and the elephant celebrating the tortoise's victory*.* 

Participant 2 delivered the evaluation from the hare's perspective*.* The hare is surprised and disappointed to know that it lost the race. Moreover, the hare cannot believe that the tortoise has defeated her/him*.* The participant made no sign movement representing a coda to close the tale and connect all the narrative's events. After delivering the resolution, Participant 2 signed only THANK YOU to close the narrative.

### **Cohesion in Jakarta Sign Language Narratives**

Most of the cohesive devices mentioned by Johnston and Schembri (2007) were attested in the data, as described below.

### (1) **Grammatical Cohesion**

a. Referential Cohesion

i. Full noun phrases

Noun phrases produced by the participants included sign movements and fingerspellings. Both participants made references using fingerspelling and direct sign movements' noun phrase. Fingerspelling was used to spell tortoise (**T-O-R-T-O-I-S-E**) and hare (**H-A-R-E**). In addition, noun phrases were used in *PT* + *ka* KURA-KURA as a reference for the tortoise*.* Below are examples from the data. Spellings are used to refer to the tortoise (K-U-R-A-K-U-R-A) and rabbit (K-E-L-I-N-C-I) characters. In addition, the noun phrases are raised in PT + Ka KURA-KURA as a reference for the tortoise.

1.2 t t t t MAU CERITA **D-O-(N)-G-E-N-G** TENTANG FATIS KELINCI

**K-E-L-I-** -t

### **N-C-I** YANG-KEDUA PT+ka **KURA-KURA**

*Saya mau bercerita mengenai dongeng tentang Kelinci dan Kura-kura [I want to tell a story about a hare and a tortoise.]* 

2.3 AM: an

AM: an

### PRON-3 (KELINCI[PT+ki]) · **K-E-L-I-N-C-I KELINCI PRON-3**  (KURA-KURA[PT+ka]) **K-U-R-A-K-U-R-A** · PRON-3 (KURA-KURA[PT+ka]) KURA-KURA

*Ada lomba, lomba adu cepat antara Kelinci yang berbulu badannya dan memiliki dua gigi menonjol dengan Kura-kura.* 

*[There is a race, a race between a furry, bucktoothed hare and a tortoise to see who is faster.]* 

#### ii Pronouns and determiners

Determining a location with reference to a spatial sign strengthens the texture's and the reference's correlation and continuity of discourse. By pointing, Participant 1 positions the hare on the left (PT + ki) and the tortoise on the right (PT + ka). Only the tortoise's location was pointed out clearly, so the implication is that the hare's position was on the left. The following is an example of the location description.

### 1.2 MAU CERITA D-O-(N)-G-E-N-G TENTANG FATIS KELINCI K-E-L-I-N-C-I YANG-

KEDUA *PT* + *ka* KURA-KURA

*Saya mau bercerita mengenai dongeng tentang Kelinci dan Kura-kura* 

*[I want to tell a story about a hare and a tortoise.]* 

### 1.3 *PRON-3* (KURA-KURA[*PT* + *ka*]) BERKATA BALAP

*Kura-kura mengajak Kelinci untuk balapan [The tortoise challenges the hare to a race.]* 

As already mentioned, Participant 2 included four characters in the narrative: the tortoise, the hare, the monkey, and the elephant*.* During the narrative, he described only the locations of the two main characters, the hare (PT + ki) and the tortoise (PT + ka). The locations of the other characters—the monkey and the elephant—were not fully and consistently described throughout the story. Instead, he produced sign Mused direct signs for the MONKEY and the ELEPHANT. In his story, the monkey and the elephant's locations tended to be replaced by PRON-1 and PRON-2 (I and you).

2.8 AM:an AM: ar

M: @ M: n MONYET GAJAH BERTEPUK-TANGAN + dp [KURA-KURA] · *Monyet dan Gajah bertepuk tangan kepada Kura-kura [The monkey and the elephant cheer for the tortoise.]* 

2-9 AM:ar

M: n AYO SEMANGAT + dp [KURA-KURA] PRON-2 (KURA-KURA[PT + dp]) · CEPAT

AM:ar

M: n

CEPAT

*"Ayo semangat, Kura-kura! Kamu bisa cepat!" kata Monyet dan Gajah menyemangati Kura-kura* 

*[Go, tortoise! You can do it!" says the monkey and the elephant, cheering for the tortoise.]*

### 2.10 [MONYET] KIRI(KL[BENDERA])-KANAN(KL[MEMEGANG BENDERA]) *Monyet memegang bendera untuk memulai lomba [The monkey is holding a flag to signal the start of the race.]*

#### iii Modification verbs/agreement verbs

Modification verbs also appeared in the data. Johnston and Schembri (2007, p. 141) distinguish between five categories of these verbs. One category, which shows what the subject does and what location is used, was mentioned by Participants 1 and 2. The example (1.6) shows how the subject, the tortoise, glances at a specific location (to the left, in the hare's direction) using a nonmanual sign and locating the verb toward the left (M:v + ki), which marks alignment between modification verbs and the location used to describe the characters in the following sentence.

1-6 M:v+ki

KURA-KURA KURA-KURA-MELIRIK-KE-ARAH-+ki [KELINCI] *Kura-kura melirik ke arah Kelinci. [The tortoise glances in the hare's direction.]* 

The second form of modification verb is a modification of a verb that states the number of referents involved. In this type of verb modification, there is no match between more than one reference. Modification of verbs, in both data, refers to one reference only, as in the previous example, with the subject (the tortoise) glancing at the rabbit (one reference). Therefore, only one object is included in this sentence. In contrast, different things were found in Participant 2's data with reference to a single entity object, while the number of subjects involved is two characters, the ELEPHANT and the MONKEY, as in the following clause example.

2.75 AM: an M: @ GAJAH MONYET KL[MENGANGKAT-KURA-KURA-KE-PUNDAK] *[The elephant and the monkey then lifted the tortoise onto their shoulders.]* 

The third form is modification of verbs, which is concerned with indicating aspect. It is found in Participant 2's narrative, shown in the two examples below. Both examples describe non-punctual time.

2.46. AM: ar M: n

GB: uu WAKTU-TERUS-BERJALAN · *[Time keeps running]* 

2.47. HARI-MULAI-GELAP · *Waktu terus berjalan dan hari pun mulai gelap [IT'S GETTING DARK Time keeps running and the day is getting dark]* 

The fourth form is modification of the verb, shown through how the action is executed (the manner). In the data, the most noticeable type of verb modification is in both participants' description of the tortoise and the rabbit competing. Both participants describe the rabbit running rapidly with the gestural portrayal of action and with a description of the action using a classifier. Meanwhile, the tortoise is described as running very slowly. The use of this type of modification verb in the data reinforces the manner adverb with the appearance of nonmanual and other traits. In the data, the behavior of the tortoise is not shown using nonmanual characteristics, but instead both participants used speed and conditional delays. The movement of the tortoise is described by Participants 1 and 2 as very slow to reinforce the tortoise's slow movements. Meanwhile, the speed of the rabbit's motion, in addition to being marked by the speed of motion, is also described using nonmanual characteristics, as shown in the following example.

2.7 AM: an

M: @

PRON-3 (KURA-KURA[PT + ka]) · KURA-KURA-BERJALAN-PELAN

*Sementara itu, Kura-kura datang dengan berjalan sangat pelan* 

*[Meanwhile, the tortoise comes very slowly.]* 

The fifth aspect is the agreement modification verb with intensification for adjectives to reinforce meaning. In oral Indonesian, an example is*sangat* or *very* in English (Johnston & Schembri, 2007, p. 153). Johnston and Schembri explain that in Auslan, separate intensifier signs, such as VERY and TRUE, exist. Nevertheless, the sign for some adjectives and verbs in Auslan may need a specific modification of their movement features to signal intensification. As shown in the data, Participant 2 describes the tortoise's position by signing *so faraway,* characterized by a nonmanual sign of the eye (shrinking), and the eyebrow (wrinkled), and makes a further movement onward to show the intense meaning of the sign, as seen in the following example. In spoken language, it could be identified as an intensifying adjective or adverb (Johnston & Schembri, 2007, 153). In our data, the gesture form for intensifying cues is not found. As described earlier, in the fourth type of modification verb, the concept of intensity, in sign language, can be conveyed by certain nonmanual characteristics and the addition of speed or delay in movement. Participant 2 describes the tortoise's position by indicating a distant word, characterized by nonmanual eye (shrinking) and eyebrow (wrinkled) signs to indicate intensity, as in the following example.

2.27 B:tg + ka K:tg + ka AM: ar M: n [KURA-KURA-MASIH]-JAUH FATIS-(ALAH) + ka *"Ah, Kura-kura masih jauh sekali." ujar Kelinci ["Ah, Tortoise is still very far away," said Rabbit*.*]* 

### iv. Classifier

The classifier is used by both participants in almost every act. One type of classifier found is an entity classifier to represent the hare and the tortoise*.* Participant 1 used two pointing handshapes to represent the hare and the tortoise.

### 1.30 GB: uu

KANAN (KL-[KURA-KURA-TERTINGGAL)-KIRI (KL-[KELINCI-LARI-CEPAT])

*Kelinci berlari cepat meninggalkan Kura-kura. Dan Kura-kura jauh tertinggal di belakang* 

*[The hare runs in a dash, leaving the tortoise behind. And the tortoise is left far behind.]* 

The next classifier found in the data is the handling classifier. One of the handling classifiers is found in Participant 2's narrative. The participant uses verb forms for conveying the action of grasping. In the story, the rabbit is grasping the carrot while falling asleep, as a result of overeating. The example of a handling classifier is provided in 2.34.

### 2.34 B: sd + bz GB: aa KELINCI] KANAN (MENGUAP) LEFT (KL[MEMEGANG WORTEL])

*Belum sempat habis wortelnya, dia mulai menguap dan merasa mengantuk* 

*[Had not finished his carrot, he started yawning and feeling sleepy*.*]* 

The next classifier that appears in the data is a classifier based on a shape and size determiner (Size and Shape Handshapes' Specifier/SASS). In the data, the SASS classifier is found in Participant 2's narrative. This participant used the SASS classifier by signing a thin line representing the end of the race. An example is given in 2.55.

2.55 AM: an

### M: @

### KURA-KURA-BERJALAN-PELAN · KL[GARIS-FINISH] ·

*Kura-kura masih berjalan dengan pelannya dan mulai mendekati garis finish* 

*[The tortoise is still walking slowing and approaching the finish line.]* 

### v. Role shift

Role shift was present in Participant 2's narrative. This participant shifted between the two characters' perspectives, i.e., the hare and the tortoise, by showing it through bodily movement. He first imitated the tortoise's slow movement and then quickly shifted to the hare's jumping movement.

2.56 AM: ar M: n GB: oo KURA-KURA-BERJALAN-PELAN · KELINCI-MELOMPAT-SEMAKIN-CEPAT ·

> *Kura-kura masih berjalan dengan pelannya sementara Kelinci melompat semakin cepat.*

*[The tortoise is moving very slowly, while the hare is jumping even faster.]*

### vi. List buoys

No list buoy was found in the data. When listing characters, neither participant mentioned the characters in a particular order, using both hands, with the subordinate hand indicating numbers and the dominant hand explaining the list. However, both participants immediately mentioned the characters involved, using full noun phrases and determiners, as shown in the example below.

### 1.2 MAU CERITA D-O-(N)-G-E-N-G TENTANG FATIS KELINCI K-E-L-I-N-C-I YANG KEDUA PT+ka KURA-KURA

*Saya mau bercerita mengenai dongeng tentang Kelinci dan Kura-kura.* 

*[I want to tell a story about a hare and a tortoise.]* 

### b. Ellipsis

In addition to role shifting between characters, ellipsis was also found in one participant's role shift, but in different sentences. The following is an example of ellipsis.

2.20 AM:an

M:@ M:g + ka K:tg + ka

KELINCI · BERJALAN-SENYUM-MEREMEHKAN + ka · MELOMPAT-LOMPAT ·

*Kelinci memandang Kura-kura dengan remeh. Dia berjalan, kemudian melompat-lompat* 

*[The hare gives an underestimating look at the tortoise. Then, it hops away.]* 

### 2.21 K: tg + ka

### KIRI(KELINCI-MELOMPAT-LOMPAT) > KANAN (KL[KURA-KURA TERTINGGAL JAUH]) ·

*Kelinci melompat-lompat hingga jauh meninggalkan Kura-kura di belakangnya* 

*[The hare hops away from the tortoise, leaving it far behind.]*

2.27 B: sd + b AM: ar [KELINCI]-DUDUK-BERSANDAR-DI-BAWAH-POHON · LAPAR · MAKAN ·

> *Kelinci kemudian duduk bersandar di bawah pohon di puncak bukit itu. Dia kemudian kelaparan dan ingin makan*

*[The hare then sits under a tree on the top of the hill. It gets hungry and wants to eat.]* 

In examples 2.21 and 2.27, the participants performed different roles for the same referent, the hare*.* Sentence 2.21 contains the subject *kelinci* 'hare*'* performing an action, WALKS, SMILES, UNDERESTIMATES. In fact, in the next move, HOPS AWAY, the same subject is omitted and continues to be omitted in the following sentences describing this subject performing different actions: HOPS AWAY and SITS and EATS. In the data, ellipsis was indicated, not only by role shifting but also by using a classifier movement for the same referent, the hare*.* 

### (2) **Lexical Cohesion**

Johnston and Schembri (2007) distinguish between two types of lexical cohesion: reiteration and collocation. In the data, reiteration was found in the repetition of sentences. The following is from Participant 2's narrative.

2.29 B: sd + b

GB: MENGUNYAH [KELINCI]-WORTEL-MAKAN


[KELINCI]-MENGAMBIL-WORTEL ·

### 2.33 B: sd + b

### GB: MENGUNYAH

### [KELINCI]-WORTEL-MAKAN ·

*Kelinci mengambil wortel-wortel yang dibawanya dan memakannya [The hare takes out the carrots it brought with her/him and eats them.]* 

Besides repetition, Participant 1 used antonymy to compare the tortoise and the hare. For example, an antonymy was presented, from the hare's perspective, in which she/he compares her-/himself (FAST) with the tortoise (SLOW), as shown in 2.6 and 2.7.

2.6 AM: an

M: @ M:v + ka

KELINCI BILANG + ka PRON-2 (KURA-KURA) TIDAK-MAMPU + ka KURA-KURA

M:v + ka

PELAN-PELAN PRON-3 (KURA-KURA[PT + ka]) TIDAK-MAMPU + ka

*Kelinci berkata, "Kura-kura lambat, dia tidak akan mampu! [The hare claims, "The tortoise is slow, it won't win the race!"]* 

2.7 AM: an

M: @ M:v + ka (MEREMEHKAN) GB: mm PRON-3 (KELINCI[PT + ki]) KELINCI BILANG CEPAT PRON-1(KELINCI)-BANGGA

M:v + ka (MEREMEHKAN)GB: mm HEBAT + ka *Kelinci dengan bangga berkata bahwa dia cepat, "Aku kan hebat!" [Proudly, the hare says that it runs fast, "I'm the best!"]* 

Collocation identifies discourse cohesiveness from the relation between words within the same environment or area. Only Participant 2 used this lexical cohesive device:

### 2.2 AM: an M: @ GB (TERSENYUM-BANGGA) mm KELINCI KL[MEMAKAI-IKAT-KEPALA] BERGIGI-DUA-MENONJOL GB (TERSENYUM-BANGGA) mm KL[MEMAKAI-KAIN-DIIKAT-DI-LENGAN-KIRI BERJALAN-MEMBUSUNGKAN-DADA

*Kelinci datang berjalan membusungkan dada dengan memakai ikat kepala, dan lengan terikat kain.* 

*[The hare comes walking with a puffed-up chest, wearing a band around its head and a ribon around its arm.]* 

In example 2.2, the participant used a sign movement for TWO BUCKTEETH to represent the hare's physique. Here, the phrase BERGIGI DUA MENONJOL "having two buckteeth" was mentioned within the same environment as the KELINCI "hare" and thus collocated with it.

### **Conclusion**

This study has presented an analysis of narrative structure produced by native users of JSL. We have shown that the structure of their narrative matches that described by Labov and Waletzky (1967). Participant 1's narrative shows a structure that includes complete components—from orientation to complication, resolution, and evaluation to coda. Meanwhile, Participant 2's narrative includes orientation, complication, resolution, and evaluation, but the coda was absent.

As structured discourse, narrative is incomplete without an element connecting each of its parts. An analysis of sign language elements that create cohesiveness can build on Halliday and Hasan's (1976) theory and on Johnston and Schembri's (2007) variables for cohesion in sign language discourse.

Grammatical cohesion is attested in the data in the form of referential cohesion, ellipsis, substitution, and discourse markers. Referential cohesion takes a number of forms: full noun phrases, pronouns and determiners, modification verbs, classifiers, role shifting, and list buoys—the last form has no equivalent in JSL. In their narratives, the two participants used a type of lexical cohesion not mentioned by Johnston and Schembri, namely antonymy. This research result shows that not only narrative structure, but also the discourse structure of JSL used by Deaf people, can be studied. It is also interesting, for example, to study the argumentation structure of sign language or how deaf people describe things in the language.

### **References**


**Innova Safitri Suprapto Putri** studied in the Indonesian Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, specializing in linguistics. She works as a sign language interpreter and a junior researcher at the Laboratorium Riset Bahasa Isyarat at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. Her research interests mainly focus on sign language.

**Untung Yuwono** completed his doctorate study in Linguistics in 2004 with his dissertation entitled "Konstruksi Asindetis dalam Kalimat Bahasa Indonesia" [Asyndetic Construction in Indonesian Sentences]. He is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. Currently, he teaches linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the same faculty. His academic interests include morphosyntax, semantics, critical discourse analysis, forensic linguistics, and Indonesian as a foreign language.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **Youth, Language, and Popular Culture**

### **Discourse on Adlibs Radio Advertisements: Structure and Cooperative Principles**

**Puspita Andiani and Totok Suhardijanto** 

**Abstract** This chapter aims at explaining structures and violations of the cooperative principle in adlibs to understand its function in a radio advertisement. This adlib is a new method in radio advertisement in which radio broadcasters read and perform the advertising. Data are collected from the morning program of Gen FM radio. This research applies qualitative method in order to provide descriptive data in the form of written and oral words from observed or targeted individuals. There are two key findings in this study. First, the most often of adlibs structures is an advertisement structure without opening or greeting. It means that the radio broadcasters started adlibs without prior notification. Second, the most violated principle is Grice's maxim of relevance. The radio broadcasters deliberately contravene the maxim of relevance that radio listeners do not think they are listening to an advertisement. Therefore, a radio broadcaster must have skill to deliver adlibs as natural as possible. This research shows the current conditions of radio advertisement from the perspective of linguistics. The success of adlibs radio advertisements relies heavily on the ability in manipulation discursive and pragmatic aspects of language and communication.

**Keywords** Discourse analysis · Radio · Adlibs · Cooperative principles

### **Introduction**

Radio is a form of mass media that contributes to the delivery of information to society (e.g., through news and entertainment programs). Radio has undergone a long developmental process before emerging as a communication medium in its current shape. It is one of the oldest forms of mass media in Indonesia (Andini, 2009) and

T. Suhardijanto (Deceased) Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

P. Andiani (B)

Indonesian Studies Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: andianipuspita@gmail.com

Fintek Karya Nusantara (LinkAja), Jakarta Selatan (South Jakarta), Indonesia

<sup>©</sup> The Author(s) 2024

B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_6

remains popular as a form of communication that connects audiences from wide demographic and geographic ranges. Radio has become an effective media form for marketing fast-moving customer goods because it can reach a wide range of listeners of different ages and educational backgrounds living in different geographical areas. In terms of media, radio has also evolved into what is now known as digital media, and many radio broadcast services in Indonesia are offered as digital services. Digital radio requires listeners to have an Internet connection to access the services.

Internet radio (also called web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, or online radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet (Sanghoon, 2013). Unlike conventional radio, Internet radio networks are far-reaching because they have a global range. Conventional radio has a limited reach as it requires an antenna to get the signal. Nowadays, many private radio services in Indonesia use radio streaming as their broadcast platform. With Internet radio, distances and time do not matter anymore. With the availability of the digital platform, operational costs have become cheaper, and as a result, radio services in Indonesia have multiplied.

Radio is also an effective medium for advertising as radio stations generally have specific target markets, and therefore, retailers can advertise their products accordingly. For example, the Gen FM radio station, whose target listeners are young people, aged 18–24, knows exactly what products to advertise to this audience.

Like any other medium for advertising, radio advertisements are diverse in terms of the products advertised and the ways they are advertised. This diversity is due to the increased number of radio stations, to the extent that each station must be more competitive in attracting advertisers to fund their programs. One way to compete with other radio stations is to be innovative in delivering radio advertisements.

One form of radio advertising is *adlibs advertisements* or *adlibs* for short. Adlibs are improvised radio advertisements, so radio listeners do not immediately know they are listening to advertisements. At first, radio listeners will have difficulty noticing and distinguishing between an advertisement and a regular dialog between radio broadcasters. Adlibs appear to be part of the program or information provided by the announcer (Andini, 2009). Radio adlibs are widely used today because they have advantages compared with other forms of radio advertising. One advantage is that the announcer usually delivers the adlib in a way that does not sound like an advertisement of a product, so the listeners are more likely to believe in the information given about the product.

Designing a persuasive and informative advertisement requires high creativity, and language plays an important role in the process. Language conveys and delivers the meaning in communication, especially in advertising. With language, a copywriter or scriptwriter can creatively compose many different advertisements. However, human language is a highly elaborate communication system and is unique among all animal communication forms. According to Pagel (2017), human language is distinct from all other known animal forms of communication in being compositional. The feature of compositionality gives human language an infinite capacity for generating new sentences as speakers combine and recombine sets of words into sentences.

How to approach and analyze human language in advertising has become a longstanding issue in both the area of advertising studies and communication studies. cation, including advertising, in a replicable and systematic manner (Alan, 2011). In linguistics, there are several techniques and methods for analyzing advertisements (Machin & Van Leeuwen, 2005; Motaqed & Annapurna, 2016; Pavenkov et al., 2014; Skorupa & Duboviˇcien˙e, 2015). Machin and Van Leeuwen (2005) approach advertising language with a combination of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, to coarticulate a sociological and a linguistic-discourse analytical concept of style. Based on a study of advertising language in *Cosmopolitan*, a global women's magazine, they show that advertising authors use style as an expression of identity and values. Pavenko et al. (2014) approached Russian advertisements with the theory of implicature. They found that the theory of implicature was very useful to reveal meanings and structures in Russian advertising. Meanwhile, Skorupa and Duboviˇcien˙e (2015) analyzed commercial and social advertisements to uncover their linguistic characteristics. They found that rhyme and alliteration are the most used techniques which help to transmit simple information and make a piece of writing memorable. In the study of the language of advertising, Motaqed and Annapurna (2016) tried to analyze the language of advertising from a linguistic point of view and specify the linguistic methods used in advertising texts.

In this study, we use Gricean pragmatics to analyze adlib advertisements. According to Grice (1975), to create a favorable speech situation, speech participants need to adhere to cooperative principles. Grice formulated the principles of cooperation into four maxims: quantity, quality, relevance or relation, and manner. According to the maxim of quantity, a speaker should aim to be as informative as possible and provide information as needed, and no more. The maxim of quality specifies that one should aim to be honest and not give information that is false or not supported by evidence. The maxim of relevance requires a speaker to be relevant and say things that are related to the interaction. The maxim of manner specifies that one should attempt to be as clear, as brief, and as orderly as one can in what one says and avoid vagueness.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, people do not always apply these principles in their communication. For example, as Chaer (2007, p. 17) noted, in humorous discourse, the speech actor deliberately violates the cooperative principle to create an atmosphere of humor. Violation of the cooperative principles generally concerns the maxim of relevance. In some situations, however, the addition of new, irrelevant information becomes important. This aligns with Sperber and Wilson's (1994) theory of relevance. Sperber and Wilson introduce different levels of relevance. Although speakers add unrelated information, a speech situation can still be relevant if the speaker and listener share the same knowledge, beyond the immediate context. In most cases, the violation of a maxim creates a humorous situation, as in the following example:


From Grice's Cooperative Principle, it can be regarded as irrelevant; however, the new information added by the speaker not only informs the audience but also creates a humorous situation.

With regard to adlibs, this form of advertising requires a certain degree of improvisation on the part of the announcer (speaker) when reading the prepared script, to make the advertisement sound spontaneous and natural. Frequently, in an attempt to improvise, the speaker violates the cooperative principle. Our paper focuses on how violations of these principles are manifested in adlibs.

### **Method**

This study used a qualitative research method, defined by Creswell (2014, p. 21), that relies on text and image data, applies unique steps in data analysis, and draws on diverse designs. In this research, data are elaborately explored and analyzed to reveal the meanings of adlib radio advertisements. For this reason, not all radio advertising is chosen to be included in the data.

For this study, the data consisted of adlib radio advertisements from the program *Semangat Pagi* (Morning Spirit), aired by the Gen FM station, a station with the largest number of listeners in Jakarta, which is approximately 4,148,000 (*Radio Gen FM Jadi Nomor Satu, Divisi Penyiaran Mahaka Media Melesat*, 2011), and therefore, the ads that were aired were representative of adlib advertisements on Jakarta radio overall. We analyzed 13 adlibs from the program, aired on March 14 and 31, 2016. The 13 advertisements were chosen because they were presented by two speakers and conveyed product information very well. After the data selection, a transcription was undertaken using Rosenfelder's (2011) convention, with some adjustments.

### **Violation of Cooperative Principles in Adlib Advertisements**

This section discusses the violation of the cooperative principles that occurred in the adlib advertisements. Our analysis has revealed several violations, including the maxim of quantity, quality, relevance, manner, and other violations, and showed the following patterns of violation pairing: quantity–relevance, quantity–manner, quality–relevance, and relevance–manner.

The number of instances of violation is 21, with the most common being the violation of the maxim of relevance (ten occurrences) and the maxim of quantity (nine occurrences). Example (1) shows the violation of the maxims of relevance and quantity.

### **(1) McDonald's-3103**

Y[1]: *Dengan sarapan terbaru di McDonald's,* 

(With the new breakfast menu at McDonald's,)

Y[1a]: *masa lalu gak perlu dilupakan, tapi jadikan itu suatu pelajaran untuk masa depanmu* 

(The past doesn't have to be forgotten, but make it a lesson for your future.)

X[1]: *Gitu* 

(So there)

Y[2]: *Jadi sobat gen, gausah sedih inget yang dulu-dulu* 

(So, gen friends, don't be sad about the past.)

X[2]: *Jangan dong, coy* 

(Yeah, don't do that.)

Y[3]: *Iya, mending* move on

(Yes, it's better to move on.)

X[3]: *He eh* 

(Yes)

Y[4]: Move on *lah dengan sarapan terbaru dari McDonald's, sosis wrap and* egg and cheese muffin

(Move on with McDonald's latest breakfast menu, sausage wrap, and egg and cheese muffin.)

In this example, speakers Y and X provide information on the latest breakfast meal from McDonald's. Violation of the maxim of relevance begins with Y[1]. In Y[1a], Y says *masa lalu gak perlu dilupakan, tapi jadikan itu suatu pelajaran untuk masa depanmu* "the past doesn't have to be forgotten, but make it a lesson for your future." Then, the adlib proceeds to Y[2] and Y[3]. Y suggests that the latest breakfast menu

from McDonald's helps the listener forget their sadness. This is increasingly made explicit in Y[4] when Y says, *Move on lah dengan sarapan terbaru dari McDon-ald's, sosis wrap and egg and cheese muffin* "Move on with McDonald's latest breakfast menu, sausage wrap, and egg and cheese muffin."

The urge to "move on" implies that one should forget the past. In Y[3] and Y[4], however, and in Y[1a], Y says that the past should not be forgotten, but used as a lesson for the future. However, the context of the phrase "move on," uttered in Y[3] and Y[4], is not directly related to "McDonald's latest breakfast;" that is, feeling sad and a food item on a menu are not immediately associable. Therefore, Y violates the maxim of relevance. But this interpretation can be discounted if we consider the latest breakfast menu as something exciting that can help cheer someone up. Ultimately, this is the association that the advertiser wants the listener to draw.

In example (2), speaker X explains to Y how to search for a mobile phone that has a front-facing camera specification and is sold on OLX, an online shopping website. Up to X[3], X adheres to the maxim of quantity by providing information on how to search for a mobile phone on OLX that has a front-facing camera specification. However, in X[4], X provides additional information, "*Kita berdua nyari yang 2Man lah, ya, Sam, ya*." (let's search for the one priced around 2 million Rupiahs, right, Sam). Additional information is unnecessary in this instance, but X has provided more information anyway, so the maxim of quantity is violated in this case.

### **(2) OLX-1403A**

X[1]: *Lo buka OLX, terus cari di kategori elektronik dan* gadget

(You open OLX, and find in it an electronic and gadget

category)

Y[1]: *Iya* 

(Yes)

X[2]: *atau ketik* handphone *kamera depan di kotak pencarian* 

(Or type "front-facing camera hand phone" in the search box.)

Y[2]: *Betul* 

(Right)

X[3]: *Lo cari deh tuh, harga yang paling pas sama kantong lo* 

(Then you search for the price that suits you.)

Y[3]: *He eh* 

(Yes)

X[4]: *Kita berdua nyari yang 2 M-an lah, ya, Sam, ya* 

(Let's search for the one priced about 2 million Rupiahs, right, Sam.)

The same violation of the maxim of quantity can be seen in example (3). In Y[1] and Y[2], the speaker says that he wants a mobile phone that has a camera on its front, but instead, he finds a gate. Y's utterance, when analyzed according to Grice's cooperative principle, is irrelevant because a front-facing camera has nothing to do with a gate. However, X responds to Y with *Iya gue juga teras, di belakang kamera gak ada, kolam renang adanya*. "Yes, I have a terrace; there is no camera at the back, but there is a swimming pool instead." X's seemingly illogical response signals that X understands the context of the comment. Y equates a mobile phone with a house. Just like a (luxury) house, it has a gate and a terrace, and at the back, there is a swimming pool. Because X understands the context of Y's utterance, the conversation can be deemed relevant.

#### **(3) OLX-1403A**

Y[1]: *Saya juga pengen punya* hand phone *yang depannya ada kameranya* 

(I also want to have a hand phone with a camera at the front.)

X[1]: *Iya* 

(Yes)

Y[2]: *Adanya gerbang* 

(But there is only a gate at the front.)

X[2]: *Iya gue juga teras, di belakang kamera gak ada, kolam renang adanya* 

(Yes, I have a terrace; there is no camera at the back, there is a swimming pool instead.)

In example (4), Y told X about the benefits of drinking Milko cereal milk. X understands and confirms it to X[2] by saying "*iya, iya, iya, jadi dua fungsi utama milko susu sereal ini adalah pengganti sarapan dan penunda rasa lapar itu, ya*." (Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, the two advantages of Milko's cereal milk are as a food supplement and a cure for hunger, aren't they?). From X[2]'s response, it seems that X has already understood the benefit of Milko cereal milk. Then, Y tells X that the information is a secret and only both of them truly understand it. Furthermore, in Y[5], Y adds that *you, me, and God know the secret*, which makes it more convincing that the information is truly a secret.

Y's utterance that the information about Milko milk's benefit has only been heard by the two interlocutors is obviously not true since they were talking on radio. At the end of the conversation, Y says that "*oke, baiklah, sekarang kita kembali lagi on-air*." "Okay. All right. Now we're going back to be on-air." For this reason, Y's speech did not conform to reality, and therefore, it violates the maxim of quality.

### **(4) Susu Milko-1403**

Y[1]: *Ya, terus terang aja, ya, milko ini pengganti sarapan dan penunda rasa lapar* 

(Frankly, Milko is a breakfast substitute and a cure for hunger)

X[1]: *Oh gitu* 

(Oh I see.)

Y[2]: *Asal lo tau aja, gua gak kasih tau ini ke semua orang, ya* 

(Just so you know, I did not share this information with other people)

X[2]: *Iya, iya, iya, jadi dua fungsi utama milko susu sereal ini adalah pengganti sarapan dan penunda rasa lapar itu, ya* 

(Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, the two advantages of having Milko cereal milk, you'll have a breakfast substitute and a cure for hunger, right?)

Y[3]: *Nah, jadi lu tolong, ini jadi rahasia antara kita berdua* 

(So, please keep this a secret just between us)

X[3]: *Oke, baiklah, baiklah* 

(I got it.)

Y[4]: *Gak ada yang tahu* 

(No one else knows)

X[4]: *Gak ada* 

(No one)

Y[5]: You, me, and God

X[5]: *Oke* 

(That is right)

Y[6]: *Oke, baiklah, sekarang kita kembali lagi ke* on-air

(Okay. All right. Now we're going back to be on-air.)

In example (5), X talks about the advantages of using the ASUS laptop, mentioning that it has a full two-year warranty. In Y[1], Y responds to the information given by X with "*Waw*" (Wow), pretending to be surprised that ASUS gives such a warranty, as not all notebook manufacturers do. Then, in X[2], X adds the information that this warranty is applicable all over the world. This additional information still fulfills the maxim of quantity because it is still relevant to X[1]'s utterance. Nevertheless, in Y[2], Y also gives the following additional information: *Notebook gua kemaren lebih ke dua tahun full global warming*. "My last notebook has more than a two-year full global warming." This additional information can be considered unnecessary as it is purely a joke and does not add useful information. For this reason, we can say

that Y has violated the maxim of quantity, as Y has overinformed X and also the listeners.

Moreover, example (5) also violates the relevance maxim. This violation also occurs in Y[2]. This joking utterance is made in response to X[1], *ASUS ini punya dua tahun full global warranty.* Y wants to compare her/his notebook to an ASUS notebook, but it is not appropriate because *global warranty* and *global warming* are not conceptually comparable. *Global warranty* is a warranty that is valid all over the globe, while *global warming* is an environmental issue. For this reason, the joke in Y[2] violates the maxim of relevance.

### **(5) Asus-1403**

X[1]: ASUS *ini punya dua tahun* full global warranty

(This new ASUS notebook has a two-year full global warranty)

Y[1]: *Waw* 

(Wow)

X[2]: *Jadi garansi biaya* service *dan* sparepart-*nya berlaku di seluruh dunia* 

(So, the service and spare part warranty is applicable throughout the globe)

Y[2]: Notebook *gua kemaren lebih ke dua tahun* full global warming

(My last notebook has more than a two-year full global warming)

In example (6), Y provides information about the advantage of the ASUS *A456 Series*. There are two violations of the quantity maxim in this example. First, a maxim violation in Y[1c], when Y says *Dung, dung, dung, dung, nah, biasanya ada gitunya sobat gen, ya.* "Dung dung dung dung [imitating the sound of a drum]. Well, usually it is provided with that [feature], Gen FM listeners." In the example, Y tries to give additional information that in a laptop with an intelcore, we can hear a *dung, dung, dung, dung* sound when we start the computer. However, the additional information is not essential, and hence in Y[1c], Y has violated the maxim of quantity.

Second, a violation also occurs in X[2] when X says *Batre alkaline lebih awet, ya, Mal*? "An alkaline battery is longer-lasting, isn't it, Mal [the broadcaster's name]?" This utterance is produced in response to Y[1e]'s utterance, *Dengan baterai lipolimer umur batre jadi panjang, panjang umur*. "With a li polymer battery, the battery lasts a long time, and has a long life." In X[2], it seems that X compares an alkaline battery with a li polymer battery—or more correctly a lithium-ion polymer battery mentioned by Y, which is a very different type of battery. In Y[1e], Y wants to give information that the ASUS A456 Series is longer-lasting because it is equipped with a li polymer battery. However, X offers additional information that an alkaline battery is better*.* This additional information is unnecessary as the laptop they mentioned is not equipped with an alkaline battery. For this reason, we can say that X has violated the maxim of quantity.

### **(6) Asus-1403**

X[1]: *Sobat gen, tuh, semua, tuh* 

(Hi, Gen FM listeners, all of you.)

Y[1]: *Coba lo cek deh* ASUS A456 Series

(Please check the ASUS A456 Series out.)

Y[1a]: *Notebook terbaru* ASUS *dengan* intelcore *generasi ke-6 terbaru* 

(A new notebook from ASUS with a new 6th generation intelcore)

Y[1b]: *Didukung dengan* intelcore i56200u *dengan kecepatan hingga* 2.8 GHz

(Supported with i56200u intelcore with a speed up to 2.8 GHz.)

Y[1c]: *Dung, dung, dung, dung, nah, biasanya ada gitunya sobat gen, ya* 

(Dung dung dung dung [sound imitation]. Well, usually it is provided with that [feature], Gen FM listeners.)

Y[1d]: *Dengan memori yang gede banget,* 4 GB DDR 3L, *yang bisa di-*upgrade *sampe* 12 GB

(Provided with a huge random access memory, 4 GB DDR 3L upgradable up to 12 GB.)

Y[1e]: *Dengan baterai* li polimer *umur batre jadi panjang, panjang umur* 

(With a li polymer battery, the battery life becomes very long-lasting)

X[2]: Batre alkaline lebih awet, ya, Mal?

(An alkaline battery is longer-lasting, isn't it, Mal [the broadcaster's name]?)

In addition, in example (6), a violation of the relevance maxim also occurs in X[2], when X says *Batre Alkaline lebih awet, ya, Mal*? "An alkaline battery is longerlasting, isn't it, Mal [the broadcaster's name]?" As already mentioned, the utterance is a response to Y's utterance, that is,*Dengan baterai lipolimer umur batre jadi panjang, panjang umur.* "With a li polymer battery, the battery life is long-lasting, and has a long life." X's response to Y is irrelevant because X is comparing a lithium-ion polymer battery to an alkaline battery. In such a situation, X did not need to respond to Y's utterance by comparing lithium-ion polymer batteries and alkaline batteries. First, a lithium-ion battery is a rechargeable battery, while an alkaline battery is not.

Second, since an alkaline battery is not a rechargeable battery, portable personal computers or notebooks never use alkaline batteries for their power supply source. For this reason, in this context, X has violated the maxim of relevance.

So far, examples (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) illustrate the broadcasters' creative efforts to make the advertisement sound like part of a casual conversation. In these efforts, it seems that the speakers deliberately commit maxim violations. However, even when analyzed according to Grice's cooperative principles, maxim violations are found mainly in relevance, in which additional information usually leads to a humorous situation so that listeners do not feel they are listening to an advertisement. According to Sperber and Wilson's theory of relevance, therefore, these conversations are still considered relevant.

### **Conclusion**

Several points can be concluded from this study. First, even though the speakers broadly follow the principle of cooperation, the additional information provided in the ads violates the maxim of relevance. The violation of cooperative principles, discussed in this study, generally is of two types: violation of a single maxim and violation of multiple maxims. The first type includes violations of the maxims of quantity, relevance, quality, and manner. Violation of multiple maxims concerns maxims of quantity–relevance, quantity–manner, quantity–relevance, and relevance– manner.

Second, the most frequent violation was the violation of the maxim of relevance. In general, the violations occurred because the additional information provided by the speakers did not add to the information already given and was not directly related to the topic. Nevertheless, when the examples are evaluated according to relevance theory, the information can still be considered relevant. The addition of relevant, but out-of-context information, makes radio listeners feel like they are listening to a casual conversation rather than an advertisement.

Finally, the broadcaster's role, as a speaker in adlibs, becomes important in ensuring the saleability of the products. The broadcaster is expected to create a positive atmosphere when delivering an advertisement during the broadcasting programs. Generally, the broadcasters tried to make they tried to make the ads sound more like ordinary conversations than advertising programs.

### **References**

Andini, N. T. (2009). *How to create good radio commercial*. www.copywritingskill.com. Accessed on 1 May 2016.

Adhianingsih, S. (2000). *Partikel Fatis dan Daya Ilokusi dalam Iklan Radio Berbahasa Indonesia [Phatic particles and illocutionary force in Indonesian radio advertisement]*. [Unpublished

Undergraduate Thesis]. Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. https://www.lontar.ui.ac. id/detail?id=20160092&lokasi=lokal


Tarigan, H. G. (1987). *Pengajaran Wacana [Teaching discourse]*. Angkasa.


**Puspita Andiani** earned her BA from the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia in 2016. She is now working in a financial technology start-up as a government project management associate.

**Totok Suhardijanto†** (1969-2021) obtained his MA in linguistics from Universitas Indonesia in 2000 and a Ph.D. in Media and Governance from Keio University in 2012. He taught linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. From 2013 to 2015, he was the project manager of the Indonesian speech team at Google Asia Pacific. His research interests were computational linguistics, natural language processing, and digital humanities.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **The Dynamics of the Graphemic Transcription of the Javanese Language in the Instant Messaging Apps, Line and WhatsApp**

### **Andri Imam Fauzi and Dwi Puspitorini**

**Abstract** In social media, the development of Javanese is primarily evident from the variations in its graphemic transcription. Such variations occur not only at the phonological level but also morphological level. Javanese sound system and word formation, including its graphemic conventions, have been prescribed in *Pedoman Umum Ejaan Bahasa Jawa yang Disempurnakan* (Balai Bahasa Yogyakarta, in Pedoman Umum Ejaan Bahasa Jawa yang Disempurnakan [General Guidelines for the Improved Javanese Spelling], revised edn. Penerbit Kanisius, 2006). However, the use of Javanese in social media, particularly in nine chat groups on instant messaging apps Line and WhatsApp, shows some graphemic deviations from the prescribed system. This research uses a qualitative method by describing variations of Javanese graphemic transcription found in the data. The analysis reveals that there are at least three categories of Javanese graphemic variation found in social media, namely variation in vowel transcription (for phonemes /a/, /i/, and /u/), variation in consonant transcription (for phonemes /dh/, /t/, and /th/), and reduction in phoneme transcription (phonemes /y/ and /u/). These findings demonstrate how netizens who represent the younger generation of Javanese speakers use graphemic transcriptions based on the sounds they hear, without consulting the prescribed Javanese spelling system. In other words, Javanese in social media is the writing form of oral language.

**Keywords** Javanese · Development · Spelling · Instant messaging · Phonology

A. I. Fauzi

Halodoc, Jakarta Selatan (South Jakarta), Indonesia

A. I. Fauzi e-mail: andri.imam@ui.ac.id

D. Puspitorini (B) Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: dwi.puspitorini@ui.ac.id

Javanese Literature Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

### **Introduction**

Javanese is a local language that has long had guidelines used as a reference for many types of writing, such as newspaper reports, magazine articles, and speech texts. The guidelines were created by the local government. These guidelines are still in use today, especially for formal matters. As a cultural product, language is dynamic, and certain dynamics of the Javanese language are indicated by the changes in the use of this language in social media. Among these changes is the use of graphemic transcription, which does not comply with Javanese spelling guidelines. Barton and Lee (2013) explain that a key topic, under language-focused online research, is whether text-based computer-mediated communication should be treated as speech or as writing.

The language used in Line and WhatsApp shows a new variation in the way Javanese is used in spoken and written discourse, with some linguistic features used predominantly in social media. Therefore, to show how this new variation affects the understanding of the Javanese dialect, this research distinguishes and describes the characteristics of Javanese as a social media language, through graphemic transcription.

Line and WhatsApp are categorized as social media because they provide various services, such as inter-user conversation services—both personal and group—status sharing, and photo- and video-content sharing. Among the services provided, interuser group conversation provides the most data for describing social media language. Thus, the current study limits its research data to that gathered from Line and WhatsApp conversations, which consist of instant messages in the form of text passing through chat points between users in a similar system (Barton & Lee, 2013).

Some research has already been undertaken on the use of the Javanese language in social media. Among others, Wati (2013) discusses the maintenance of and the shift in the Javanese language, using Facebook conversations as the data. "Maintenance" refers to the use of Javanese in conversations among Facebook users, and "shift" refers to the interference from foreign languages in Facebook conversations. In addition, Ahmad (2016) examines data from one Instagram account, @bijakjawa, and applies critical discourse analysis to analyze themes. Siti looked at every message's content theme and found that the language used to communicate was based on three main themes, namely religious, romantic, and social themes. This research provided evidence that the Javanese language in social media is used to preserve the Javanese culture. The research conducted by Untari (2017), shows the maintenance of the Javanese language in social media, especially through the creation and sharing of memes. However, the meme creators did not comprehensively pay attention to the rules of the Javanese language, e.g., the word *ana* "there is" is written as *ono*. These three studies show that, besides Indonesian, local languages are also used in social media, but they do not address shifts in the use of these languages due to technological development. This research intends to address this gap.

Barton and Lee (2013) mention the characteristics of the language used in social media, including the use of acronyms and word reduction. However, the use of the Javanese language in Line and WhatsApp group conversations shows another prominent feature, which is the difference in the graphemic transcription of Javanese compared with its established guidelines. An example of this is the differences in graphemic transcription of certain phonemes and differences in writing, e.g., using "*monggo*" ("please") instead of "*mangga*" (as in the guidelines). This study examines such differences in graphemic transcription. These differences indicate differences in Javanese dialects that were not previously recognized because of differences in graphemic transcription.

Graphemic transcription differences for certain phonemes of Javanese can be found in the "big three" dialects of Javanese: namely, the Banyumas dialect, used in the Banyumas Residency, the Pekalongan Residency, and the western Kedu Residency; the East Java dialect that covers almost all areas of East Java, except Banyuwangi; and the Standard dialect used in the Jogja and Solo areas (Wedhawati et al., 2001). Each of these dialects is distinguishable from each other by its phonetic characteristics: dialect [a] represented by Banyumas Javanese, and dialect [O] represented by the East Javanese and Standard dialects.

In the past—before the advent of social media—to understand the use of a dialect spoken by Javanese speakers, a researcher had to at least (i) visit the region where the dialect is used, and/or (ii) listen to or be directly involved in a conversation conducted by a native speaker. However, with the current use of social media, especially instant messengers (e.g., Line and WhatsApp), a researcher does not have to do this because social media has become a "new territory": a place where speakers of various Javanese dialects interact, and differences in dialect can be observed through differences in graphemic transcription, such as that used in Line and WhatsApp. For instance, speakers of the Banyumas dialect write <a> to express the phoneme /a/, while speakers of other dialects write <o> for the same phoneme.

Through graphemic transcription, one can recognize the different ways that Javanese is pronounced, so different "dialects" can be distinguished. These differences indicate differences in Javanese dialects that were not previously recognized through Javanese spelling guidelines, created by the local government. In addition, changes in graphemic transcription also affect the pronunciation of the Standard and the East Javanese dialect. Speakers of these dialects are used to pronouncing the word *kayane* with the phoneme [kayane]. However, the graphemic transcription of *kayane,* in Line and WhatsApp, is <koyone>. This shows that there is a change in pronunciation that has not been described in previous studies (Wedhawati et al., 2001; Ogloblin, 2005).

### **Literature Review**

The vowel and consonant sound system (Rachmat, 2012) is used in this research to explain the differences in the graphemic transcription of vowels and consonants between the Javanese used in social media and that referred to in the guidelines. According to Uhlenbeck (cited in Rachmat, 2012), Javanese has six vowel phonemes: five vowels have two allophones each and a *pepet* that has only one allophone, as given in Table 1.

The five vowels that have two allophones are divided into two variants: (i) vowels with high sonority (series à) [O, E, I, U, O]; and (ii) vowels with low sonority (series á) [a, e, i, u, o]. Three factors determine the presence of the à variant and the á variant: open or closed syllables, the language's sound unit formed from syllables, and the syllables' positions in sound units. Series à belongs to closed syllables, and series á to open syllables (see Table 2).

Javanese has 21 consonant phonemes: /b/, /c/, /d/, /dh/, /g/, /h/, /j/, /k/, /q/, /l/, /m/ , /n/, /ny/, /ng/, /p/, /r/, /s/, /t/, /th/, /w/, and /y/. They are distinguished by the manner of articulation, place of articulation, positional relationships, and the movement of vocal chords. Based on the manner of articulation, consonants are classified into four types as follows: (1) occlusive consonants, namely bilabial [p, b], apico-dental [t, d], apico-palatal [t. d. ], medio-palatal [c, j], dorso-velar [k, g], and glotal [?]. (2) Nasal consonants are classified into four types: nasal palatal [ñ], nasal bilabial [m], apico-alveolar [n], and nasal dorso-velar [ŋ]. (3) Lateral consonants are classified into two types, fricatives lamino-alveolar [s] and fricatives-laryngeal [h]. (4) The approximant consonant is [r]. Furthermore, semi-vowel phonemes are classified into two types, namely labio-dental [w] and medio-palatal [y].


**Table 1** Phonemes of the Javanese language according to Uhlenbeck (in Rachmat, 2012)

**Table 2** Presence of vowel phonemes in open and closed syllables


### *Javanese Graphemic Transcription in Social Media*

The data for this research consist of words that contain different graphemic transcriptions gathered from nine groups of conversations conducted on Line and WhatsApp, from December 2016 to February 2017. The nine groups represent three Javanese dialects with a large number of speakers: the Banyumas dialect, the East Javanese dialect, and the Standard dialect. The Banyumas dialect is represented by the alumni of the SMANA 1, CLUBBAN UI, and SBS Familia conversation groups, whose members are Javanese speakers from Purwokerto, Central Java. The East Javanese dialect is represented by the Aremakara UI, Imaba Rantau, and Cemewew conversation groups, whose members are Javanese speakers from Malang, East Java. Thirdly, the Standard dialect is represented by the SETU PAHING, JAMDA Kontingen Solo, and Himadiksan conversation groups, whose members are Javanese speakers from Solo, Central Java.

The available data were grouped according to their graphemic transcription differences. To determine differences in the graphemic transcription, the researchers used a Javanese language dictionary (Poerwadarminta, 1939). In the next stage, graphemic transcription differences were analyzed based on the Javanese sound system's phonological rules.

The graphemic transcriptions of the sounds of the Javanese language that were written in the group conversations on Line and WhatsApp do not correspond to the Javanese graphemic convention in the established spelling system and dictionary. Our examination of the data reveals that graphemic transcription differences occur for certain vowels and consonants.

### *Vowel*

As explained above, Javanese has six vowels, five of which have two allophones. Differences in the graphemic transcription of vowel phonemes occur due to similarities in the way some vowels are produced and delivered, but these are actually members of different phonemes. Differences in the graphemic transcription of vowel phonemes occur in /a/, /i/, and /u/.

### *Phoneme /a/*

The phoneme /a/ has two allophones, namely [a] and [O]. Allophone [a] is a low-front unrounded vowel, and allophone [O] is a mid-back rounded vowel (Rachmat, 2012). Allophone [a] is a series à variant that appears in closed syllables, whereas allophone [O] is a series á variant that appears in open syllables. The allophone [O] of phoneme /a/ appears on the base morpheme, for which its ultimate syllable is open, e.g., *pira* [pyrO] meaning "how much/many." In addition, the allophone also appears on the base morpheme, for which the ultimate and penultimate syllables are the phoneme / a/, e.g., *menawa* [menOwO] meaning "if." The valid graphemic convention for vowel phoneme /a/ and its allophones is <a> (see Table 3).

The graphemic transcription of [O] as the allophone of phoneme /a/ on Line and WhatsApp is <o> (see Table 4).

Differences in graphemic transcription of sound [O], which should be written <a> but becomes <o> , occur because the sound [O], as the allophone of phoneme /a/ , is the same as the sound of phoneme /o/. Consider the examples, *amot* [amOt], meaning "load," and *lara* [lOrO], meaning "sick." The sound [O] in *amot,* is the sound [O] of the allophone of phoneme /o/, whereas, in the word *lara*, the sound [O] is the allophone of phoneme /a/. The allophone [O] of the phoneme /o/ is a series à variant that appears in closed vowels. The allophone [O] of the phoneme /o/ appears on the base morpheme, the ultimate syllable of which is closed, as previously seen in *amot,*  meaning "load." Based on our explanation above, the sound [O] of the phoneme / o/ has the same sound as sound [O] of the phoneme /a/. Both allophones are midback rounded vowels. The agreed graphemic convention for sound [O] is based on its phoneme. Therefore, although it is pronounced [segO], the sound [O] in that word is the allophone of phoneme /a/, and so the graphemic transcription is /a/.

The graphemic transcription of sound [O] as the allophone of phoneme /a/ that tends to be used by a netizen, is <o> rather than <a>, because they compare it with the sound [O], which is the allophone of phoneme /o/. Based on our explanation above, Table 5 compares the use of the phoneme /a/ in the graphemic convention (Javanese spelling guidelines) and in instant messaging on Line and WhatsApp.

The graphemic transcription difference for <a>, which becomes <o>, is found only in Standard and East Javanese dialects, not in the Banyumas dialect. This corresponds to differences in the Javanese phonetic dialect, i.e., [a] and [O]. The sound [O] is a special feature in the Standard and East Javanese dialects, but not in the Banyumas dialect (Wedhawati et al., 2001). Both of these phonetic dialects are determined by


**Table 3** Examples of the graphemic transcription differences for <a>




**Table 5** Table for phoneme /a/

the Javanese dialect [O]. The Standard and East Javanese dialects are included in the [O] dialect, and the Banyumas dialect is included in the [a] dialect.

### *Phoneme /i/*

The phoneme /i/ has two allophones, namely [i] and [I]. Allophone [i] is a high-front unrounded vowel, and allophone [I] is a low-front unrounded vowel (Rachmat, 2012). Allophone [i] is a series á variant that appears in an open vowel, while allophone [I] is a series à variant that appears in a closed vowel. Allophone [I] of phoneme / i/ appears on the base morpheme, for which its ultimate syllable is closed, e.g., *urip*  [urIp] meaning "alive." The graphemic convention of the vowel phoneme /i/ and its allophone, is <i> (see Table 6).

The graphemic transcription of sound [I], as the allophone of phoneme /i/ in instant messaging apps, Line and WhatsApp, is <e> (see Table 7).

Differences in the graphemic transcription of sound [I], which should be written <i> but becomes <e> , occurs because sound [I], as the allophone of phoneme /i/, is similar to the sound of phoneme /e/, e.g., *awe* [awe] meaning "call" and *wis* [wIs] meaning "already." The sound [e] in the word *awe* is the sound [e] of the allophone


**Table 6** Examples of graphemic transcription differences for <i>




**Table 8** Allophone of phoneme /i/ and /e/

of phoneme /e/, whereas in the word *wis*, the sound [I] is the allophone of phoneme /i/. The allophone [e] of phoneme /e/ is a series á variant that appears on an open vowel. The allophone [e] of phoneme /e/ appears on the base morpheme, the ultimate syllable of which is open, as in the example of *awe* above. Based on our explanation above, the sound [I] of phoneme /i/ is the same as the sound [e] of phoneme /e/. The two allophones' sound similarity is due to their inclusion in front unrounded vowels. However, the agreed graphemic convention for sound [I] is based on its phoneme <i>, whereas, in conversations on Line and WhatsApp, graphemic transcription is based on the sound <e> (see Table 8).

The difference in graphemic transcription of <i>, which becomes <e>, occurs in today's group conversations in the Javanese language dialects of Banyumas, East Javanese, and Standard.

### *Phoneme /u/*

Phoneme /u/ has two allophones, namely [u] and [U]. Allophone [u] is a highback (upper) rounded vowel, and allophone [U] is a high-back (low) rounded vowel (Rachmat, 2012). Allophone [u] is a series á variant that appears on an open vowel, while allophone [U] is a series à variant that appears on a closed vowel. Allophone [U] of phoneme /u/ appears on a base morpheme, the ultimate syllable of which is closed, e.g., (*butuh* [butUh]). The graphemic convention for vowel phoneme /u/ and its allophone, is <u> (see Table 9).

The graphemic transcription of sound [U] as the allophone of phoneme /u/ on Line and WhatsApp, is <o> (see Table 10).


**Table 9** Examples of graphemic differences transcription for <u>


**Table 10** Examples of graphemic transcription differences for <u>

**Table 11** Allophone of phoneme /u/ and /o/


The difference in graphemic transcription of sound [U], which should be written <u> but becomes <o>, occurs because sound [U], as the allophone of phoneme /u/ , is similar to the sound of phoneme /o/; for example, *pulo* [pulo] meaning "island" and *adus* [adUs] meaning "take a bath." The sound [o] in the word *pulo,* is the sound [o] of the allophone of the phoneme /o/; whereas, in the word *adus,* the sound [U] is the allophone of phoneme /u/. The allophone [o] of phoneme /o/ is a series á variant that appears in an open vowel. The allophone [o] of phoneme /o/ appears on the base morpheme, where its ultimate syllable is open, as in the *pulo* example above. The two allophones' sound similarity is due to their inclusion in front unrounded vowels. However, the agreed graphemic convention for sound [U] is based on its phoneme <u>, while in the conversations on Line and WhatsApp, the graphemic transcription is based on the sound <o> (see Table 11).

Based on these findings, the difference in the graphemic transcription of <u>, which becomes <o>, is found only in group conversations for the Javanese dialects of East Java and Standard. The difference in the graphemic transcription of <u>, which becomes <o>, was not found in the Banyumas dialect, possibly due to the relatively small size of the data.

### *Consonant*

The Javanese language includes 21 consonant phonemes (Rachmat, 2012). Based on these findings, three of the 21 consonant phonemes show graphemic transcription differences: /dh/, /t/, and /th/. The differences in the graphemic transcription of these three consonants can be explained by comparing the corresponding consonants between Javanese and Indonesian. In this case, Indonesian has the apico-dental consonant [t] and apico-palatal consonant [t. d. ], whereas Javanese has the apico-dental consonant [t, d] and apico-palatal consonant [t. d. ] (Chaer, 2009).

### *Phoneme /dh/*

The phoneme /dh/ has one allophone, which is [d. ]. The sound [d. ] is an occlusive apico-palatal consonant. The graphemic convention for consonant phoneme /dh/ and its allophones, is <dh> (see Table 12).

The graphemic transcription of sound [d. ] as the allophone of phoneme /dh/ in the instant messaging apps, Line and WhatsApp, is <d> (see Table 13).

The difference in graphemic transcription of <dh>, which becomes <d>, is possibly due to netizens not distinguishing between the two sounds. Both phonemes are transcribed into <d>. In the Javanese language, the graphemic transcription of <d> represents the sound of phoneme /d/, while the sound of phoneme /dh/ is transcribed into /dh/. Both consonants have similarities because they are closedocclusive, suddenly released (plosive) consonants. Although these sounds have similarities, they have different graphemic transcriptions. Transcribing the two sounds with the same grapheme is problematic, because doing so affects the word's meaning, e.g., *padang* [padaŋ] meaning "chef" and *padhang* [pad. aŋ] meaning "bright." Based on these examples, we can understand how a similar graphemic transcription can lead to error in interpretation.

The difference in the graphemic transcription of <dh> possibly occurs because the Indonesian language recognizes only the sound [d. ] as the allophone of phoneme /d/ (Chaer, 2009) (see Table 14). That was due to the influence of Indonesian on Javanese, which is due to Javanese speakers also speaking Indonesian.

Differences in the graphemic transcription of <dh>, which becomes <d>, occurs in group conversations in the Javanese language dialects of Banyumas, Standard,


**Table 12** Examples of the graphemic transcription differences for <dh>




**Table 14** Examples of graphemic transcription differences for <d>

**Table 15** Spelling guidelines for sound [d. ]


and East Java. Based on previous examples and explanations, Table 15 gives the transcription of the sound [d. ] according to the spelling guidelines for the Javanese and Indonesian languages, and based on the findings on Line and WhatsApp (see Table 15).

### *Phoneme /t/*

The phoneme /t/ has one allophone, which is [t]. The sound [t] is an occlusive apicodental consonant. The graphemic convention for the consonant phoneme /t/ and its allophone, is <t> (see Table 16).

The graphemic transcription of the sound [t], which is the allophone of phoneme /t/, in the instant messaging apps, Line and WhatsApp, is <d> (see Table 17).

The difference in the graphemic transcription of <t>, which becomes <d>, occurs because the sound [t] is similar to sound [d]. Both phonemes are transcribed into


**Table 16** Examples of graphemic transcription differences for <t>




**Table 18** Table for phoneme /t/

<d>. The similarity is due to both consonants being occlusive apico-dental, suddenly released **(**plosive**)** consonants.

*manud* [manUt] "follow order" *manut* [manUt] "follow order"

The difference in the graphemic transcription of <t>, which becomes <d>, occurs in group conversations in the Javanese dialects of Banyumas and East Java, where the grapheme is located at the end of a word. Based on previous examples and explanations, Table 18 gives the phoneme /t/, according to the Javanese spelling guidelines and based on the findings on Line and WhatsApp.

### *Phoneme /th/*

The phoneme /th/ has one allophone, which is [t.]. The sound [t.] is an occlusive apico-palatal consonant. The graphemic convention for the consonant phoneme /th/ and its allophone, is <th> (see Table 19).

The graphemic transcription of the sound [t.], which is the allophone of phoneme /th/ on Line and WhatsApp, is <t> (see Table 20).

The difference in the graphemic transcription of <th>, which becomes <t>, occurs because of the sound similarity of [th] to the sound [t]. This resemblance is due to both


**Table 19** Examples of graphemic transcription differences for <th>

**Table 20** Examples of graphemic transcription differences for <t>



**Table 21** Examples of graphemic transcription differences for <t>

**Table 22** Spelling guidelines for sound [t.]


consonants being closed-occlusive, suddenly released (plosive) consonants. Even though the sounds have similarities, they have different graphemic transcriptions. It will become a problem when the two sounds are transcribed with the same grapheme because it will affect the meaning of the word, e.g., the meaning of *petak* [peta?] is "compartment" and *pethak* [pet .a?] is "white-pattern." Based on the examples, the similarity of the graphemic transcription will cause errors in interpretation.

In addition, the graphemic transcription differences are probably also motivated by the influence of the Indonesian language, because in the Indonesian language there is no phoneme /th/ (see Table 21). This possibility exists because Javanese speakers also speak the Indonesian language.

The transcription difference for <th>, which becomes <t>, occurs in group conversations in the Banyumas, Standard, and East Javanese dialects. Based on the previous examples and explanations, the following table is the table for the sound /th/ according to the spelling guidelines of the Javanese and Indonesian languages, and based on the findings on Line and WhatsApp (see Table 22).

#### **The Reduction of Phoneme**

In this research, the reduction of the graphemic transcription of a phoneme occurs for semi-vowel phonemes. The semi-vowel phonemes consist of labio-dental [w] and medio-palatal [y] phonemes (see Table 23).

There is a transcription reduction of consonant /h/ that occurs in the word *adohe*. The reduction occurs because of the affixation of the suffix {-e}. Moreover, the sound [h] is unstressed because it is between two vowels, /o/ and /e/. In addition, the reduction of the graphemic transcription of <h> is supported by the sound [h], which is included in fricative consonants. This means that the consonant /h/ is a voiceless consonant.

There is a transcription reduction of consonant /y/ that occurs in the word *bien*. This reduction occurs because the sound [y] is included in a semi-vowel phoneme,


**Table 23** Examples of phoneme reduction

especially a medio-palatal phoneme. Therefore, the resulting sound resembles the sound [i], but the sound [y] is slightly higher. Based on this, the reduction of the graphemic transcription of <y> occurs due to the similarity of the sounds.

*bien* [biEn] "the past" *biyen* [biyEn] "the past"

The reduction of the graphemic transcription of <y> occurs because phoneme /y/ is between the vowel phonemes /i/ and /e/. Therefore, based on the above explanation, and due to the sound similarity, the grapheme <y> is omitted in the writing.

The reduction of the graphemic transcription in *koe*, *kui* and *kuatir,* occurs because of the deletion of the consonant /w/. The reduction of the graphemic transcription occurs because the sound [w] belongs to the group of labio-dental, semi-vowel phonemes, which means that (i) it is as high as the position of the vowel [u]; and (ii) the lip position is almost identical to the formation of the vowel [u]. Due to the sound similarity between [u] and [w], the graphemic transcription of <w> is not given.

*kui* [kui] "this" *kuwi* [kuwi] "this"

Based on the previous explanation, the deletion of the graphemic transcription of <w> occurs because the phoneme /w/ is present after the phoneme /u/. Due to the sound similarity between [u] and [w], the graphemic transcription of <w> is omitted. In addition, the sound [w] is lost because it appears between two vowels, namely /u/ and /i/. The loss of the graphemic transcription of <w> occurs, not only when the sound [w] appears between /u/ and /i/, but also when the sound [w] is present between /o/ and /e/, or /u/ and /a/.

Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that netizens use graphemic transcription based on the sounds they hear, whereas the agreed graphemic conventions and dictionaries use the graphemic transcription based on vowel and consonant phonemes.

### **Conclusion**

The development of Internet technology has led to the use of the Javanese language in social media, such as Line and WhatsApp, two instant messaging apps that are widely used in Indonesia. Netizens use graphemic transcriptions in accordance with the spoken version used by Javanese speakers. Meanwhile, the agreed graphemic convention is based on the Javanese phoneme system. Our study shows that the Javanese language, on social media, is influenced by the dialect spoken by the user. According to Barton and Lee (2013), online language is not a spoken language nor a written language, but a combination of both. The results of this research show that, depending on the dialect, combined characteristics of both the spoken and the written language are found.

The graphemic convention, which has been agreed upon through the Javanese spelling guidelines and the Javanese dictionary, does not distinguish among the Banyumas dialect, the East Javanese dialect, and the Standard dialect. The dialect can only be determined when speech occurs. However, through the graphemic transcription of the Javanese language used on the instant messaging apps, Line and WhatsApp, differences can be observed between the Banyumas dialect (which is phonetically included in the [a] dialect), and the Standard and East Javanese dialects (which are phonetically included in dialect [O]).

Netizens, who are the new generation of Javanese language speakers, constitute a bilingual generation. They can use the Javanese language as well as the Indonesian language, and the Javanese language that was used in nine conversation groups, was influenced by the Indonesian language. This was reflected in the transformation of the graphemic transcription of vowel phonemes and certain consonant phonemes.

The graphemic transcription of the Javanese language, as shown on social media, has consequences for the differences in the graphemic conventions of the Banyumas dialect, the East Javanese dialect, and the Standard dialect. The graphemic transcription of <o> for allophone [O], which is the same as phoneme /a/, does not represent the sound uttered by Banyumas dialect speakers. Therefore, the dissemination of the use of the Javanese language spelling guidelines should be encouraged, to avoid having two types of graphemic transcriptions for one language.

The findings in this study also show how social media has highlighted the variations of the grapheme representing several morphemes, which have been occurring in the Javanese language. Initially, the standard spelling system that governs such variations, was strictly followed and applied widely in the mass media, literary works, and other written texts. Javanese speakers appropriately used the written language on written media and the spoken language on spoken media. The emergence of social media, however, has been confusing things as the spoken language sounds have started to be transcribed according to how the speakers hear them. This suggests that the standard Javanese spelling is no longer the only reference for users of social media. Netizens, most of which are the younger generation of Javanese speakers, generally lack understanding of this standard system and choose to ignore the rules on how to properly spell Javanese morphemes. It can be concluded, then, that although social media originally took the form of written media, the conversations thereon basically still follow the rules of spoken communication. This has led to the emergence of a new spelling system found only on social media, which differs from the standard system formulated by the government.

**Acknowledgements** This work was supported by Universitas Indonesia (Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional Untuk Tugas Akhir Mahasiswa (PITTA) UI 2017, Grant Number 440/ UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2017)

### **References**


**Andri Imam Fauzi** graduated from the Javanese Studies Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, in 2017, with a BA thesis entitled: "Perbedaan Transkripsi Grafemis Fonem dan Morfem Bahasa Jawa dalam Pesan Singkat Line dan Percakapan Whatsapp Group: Representasi Dinamis Bahasa Jawa" [Differences Grapheme Transcription Phoneme and Morpheme of Javanese Language in Instant Message Line and WhatsApp Group Conversations: Dynamic Representation of Javanese Language].

**Dwi Puspitorini** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. Her doctorate from the Universitas Indonesia was obtained in 2015 with a dissertation entitled "Afiks Verbal dalam Bahasa Jawa Kuno" [The Verbal Affix of Old Javanese]. Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Javanese Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. Her areas of expertise are morphology and syntax.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **Just Like Conversation?: Speech and Thought Presentation in Indonesian Adolescent Fiction**

**Dwi Noverini Djenar** 

**Abstract** This chapter examines a remark by an observer of Indonesian adolescent literature that the language in Indonesian Teenlit novels resembles "spoken language," implying that it is conversational in style. Drawing on approaches to speech and thought presentation initially applied to the study of English language texts, the chapter shows that direct speech and free direct speech are the main techniques employed by Indonesian authors to represent the speech and thought of adolescent characters. It is argued that the observer's remark is not an indication that the language in Teenlit is indeed like conversational language. Rather, it represents an intuitive judgment that attests to the authors' effective use of the techniques.

**Keywords** Speech and thought presentation · Indonesian · Adolescent fiction · Stylistics · Teenlit

### **Introduction**

Toward the end of the 1990s, a new genre of popular fiction entered the Indonesian publishing market and drew the attention of adolescent readers, educators and literary critics alike. "Teenlit," as the genre became known, was introduced to the Indonesian audience through the translation of American adolescent novels at a time when there was little on offer in terms of popular fiction for adolescent readers beyond translation of Japanese comics and Indonesian folk tales. As a popular fiction genre, Teenlit was welcomed by young readers but, perhaps predictably, treated with disdain by critics and educators. In the opinion of the latter, novels in this genre lack educational values. They objected to the fact that the stories were mainly focused on the lifestyles of wealthy Jakartan teens, and the writing style was, in their view, overly colloquial. However, not everyone agreed. Some argued, for instance, that the writing style in Teenlit approximated the speech style of young urban Indonesians and was precisely the reason why young readers were drawn to the new genre. Gunawan (2006), for

D. N. Djenar (B)

Indonesian Studies Department, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia e-mail: novi.djenar@sydney.edu.au

<sup>©</sup> The Author(s) 2024

B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_8

example, described the style as "basically spoken language that is written," implying that what was written was a faithful representation of informal conversation. Though Gunawan's statement is an oversimplification of the way language is employed in fiction, it nonetheless had an intuitive appeal for those who read it, as evident by the fact the statement was recycled numerous times in various blogs and chat forums, both by readers who appreciated the genre and critics who objected to its existence. In his blog, Gunawan gave several examples of colloquial language in Teenlit novels but did not say whether he based his claim on a systematic study or a cursory observation. Even if the remark was simplistic, similar remarks by others that the language was 'speech like' tells us something about how stylistic choices are recognized. Bucholtz (2015, p. 29) defines style as "a way of doing things," of "engaging in culturally significant activities and practices of any kind using a range of stylistic features in both established and innovative ways" (2015, p. 32). What stylistic choices can be identified in Teenlit that led observers such as Gunawan to conclude that the language is speech like or conversational?

In a study of style in contemporary Indonesian youth fiction (novels and comics), Djenar and Ewing (2015) point out that one of the characteristics of contemporary Indonesian popular fiction produced around the 1990s is the blurring of the boundary between the language of narration, which is traditionally rendered in standard Indonesian, and that of dialogue, which may incorporate colloquial terms. In Teenlit, colloquial expressions are commonly employed to represent the speech and thought of teen characters. Djenar and Ewing suggest that colloquialism or standardness is a matter of degree, that is, the extent to which and the way in which elements from standard and colloquial varieties of Indonesian are deployed in youth fiction varies across individual works and genres.

Although Djenar and Ewing's study has shown that authors of contemporary Indonesian popular fiction have moved away from the norm that assigns standard and colloquial varieties to different narratorial functions, the question of whether the writing style in this genre, and more specifically in Teenlit, can be characterized as conversational has not been explored. This study addresses this question by drawing on the literature on speech and thought presentation (Fludernik, 1993; Leech & Short, 2007; Semino & Short, 2004; Short, 2014). By describing the different types of speech and thought presentation and showing how they are deployed in Teenlit, I hope to demonstrate that the techniques for presenting speech and thought employed by Teenlit authors tend to be biased toward the adolescent characters' points of view. The application of these techniques in the novels creates an impression that the characters are talking to the reader with little intervention from the narrator. This factor coupled with the stereotype of adolescent characters as heavy users of colloquial language led observers such as Gunawan to equate the writing style in Teenlit with colloquial speech.

The analysis presented here is based on data from two novels: *Still*, written by Esti Kinasih, and *Dilan: dia adalah Dilanku tahun 1991* (hereafter, *Dilan*), by Pidi Baiq. It might be objected that this dataset is too small to draw generalizations about Teenlit as a genre. To allay this concern, I have selected novels that are different from each other in several respects. *Still* is written by a Jakarta-based female author and narrated in the third person. The novel was published in 2007, a time when public attention on Teenlit as a new genre peaked, as indicated by the many public debates around the question of whether reading Teenlit novels had educational merit for adolescents, and the number of publishers willing to promote the novels in the genre. Like *Still*, *Dilan* is a love story narrated in the first person. Written by a male author based in Bandung, *Dilan* was published in 2015 when public debates about Teenlit including objections to the use of colloquial language in adolescent literature—had largely subsided. The difference in the temporal and sociocultural contexts between the two novels and the ethnolinguistic background of the authors ensures the analysis is not biased toward one writing style. That being said, it is acknowledged that given the small data size, a quantitative analysis would likely yield unreliable results. The quantitative findings presented here should therefore be considered preliminary and a prompt for further research.

### **Types of Speech and Thought Presentation**

Fiction authors draw on a range of techniques to present the speech and thought of their characters. These techniques have been the subject of many studies in stylistics and literary studies. The analysis of speech and thought in this paper is based on the theory proposed by Leech and Short (2007),1 extended in Semino and Short (2004), and further refined in Short (2012). Leech and Short (2007) distinguish between the presentation of speech and that of thought by drawing two parallel sets of categories.

Figure 1 shows the categories from Leech and Short (2007, p. 276), which include only speech and thought presentations (with some adaptation2 ). These categories form a cline, from the type of speech or thought presentation in which the narrator has the strongest degree of control of what is reported, to the type of presentation in which the narrator has the least degree of control. These are discussed in further detail in the following sections, drawing on Teenlit examples.

To the two sets of categories above, Semino and Short (2004) added an additional set, namely the presentation of writing, referring to the "reporting" of speech, thought or writing that is anterior to the one presented (2004, p. 30) and defined as "any linguistic structures used to introduce a stretch of speech, thought or writing presentation." The category "report of writing" accounts for instances in which what

<sup>1</sup> Leech and Short's book, *Style in fiction*, was originally published in 1981. The second edition was published in 2007. All citations in this study are based on the second edition.

<sup>2</sup> The categories NPSA and NPTA were previously called Narrative Report of Speech Act (NRSA) and Narrative Report of Thought Act (NRTA). I follow Short (2012) in using "presentation" (P) rather than "report" (R) in the names of these categories to accord with the argument presented in Short et al. (2002) that speech/thought in fiction has no antecedent beyond the fictional world itself. That is to say, the discourse being "reported" has no original source other than what is presented to the reader in the text, unlike conversational reported speech/thought, which may or may not be traced back to its original.


**Fig. 1** Categories of speech and thought presentation (adapted from Leech and Short (2007, p. 276))

is reported is not the speech or thought of a character but some writing, such as a quotation from some written sources (e.g., written documents or reports). The example below from Semino and Short (2004, p. 102), taken from an autobiography, illustrates this category.

(1) I know he suspected that I ate the wrong food for while I was convalescent in the country **he wrote to me frequently**: I still have his letters. "Be sure to eat the right food," he says repeatedly. (Muriel Spark, *Curriculum Vitae*, p. 204; bold letters in Semino and Short (2004)).

This category is also relevant for the Indonesian data, as illustrated in the examples from *Dilan* shown later in the chapter.

### **Speech Presentation**

In terms of speech presentation, the two main categories, direct speech (DS) and indirect speech (IS), are related in that both are concerned with the presentation (or "report") of what someone said, the main difference being that in DS, the report is supposedly faithful to the original, while in IS, the reporter conveys what was said using the reporter's own words (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 255). Short et al. (2002) stress that the notion of "faithfulness" and the related notion of "verbatim" do not simply refer to an exact reproduction of original words and should be understood differently for different text types. For example, in conversation, the words someone reports to someone else may be able to be traced back to their original source, while in fiction, this is not the case. Fictional speech, presented as DS, is essentially produced for the first time as the reader encounters it in reading, and in that regard, the DS has no antecedent: "…the words of a character in DS are not being reported at all, but being witnessed within the world of fiction *as they are being produced* for the first time" (Short et al., 2002, p. 335; italics in original). This is different from a report by a character of another character's speech, which conveys words uttered by a character in a fictional past (to which we, as readers, are privy). The reader knows the source of the words and interprets the report accordingly with an assured degree of certainty about its faithfulness. This is because, by the time the report is presented, the reader has already witnessed the event in which the antecedent is produced: "In fiction which reports events that happened in a fictional past, we usually assume that the 'reports' are real within the fiction; therefore, we use the canonical assumptions associated with various categories of discourse presentation scales analogically, and with effectively guaranteed faithful results" (Short et al., 2002, p. 336).

The structural difference between DS and IS in the Indonesian data is illustrated in Excerpts (1) and (2) respectively. In (1), Aldo's speech is presented in between quotation marks and followed by the reporting frame *kata Aldo* "said Aldo," indicating that the speech is conveyed through the voice of the narrator. In excerpt (2), the information is conveyed through the words of the narrator without any graphological marking separating the character's speech and that of the narrator, and the person deixis is anchored accordingly. Notice the difference between the first-person pronoun *gua* (1sg) used by Aldo in the quoted speech to refer to himself in (1) and the third person pronoun *dia* (3sg), which has the co-reference 'Aldo' in (2).

(2) *"Oke deh. Gua nggak pingin tau," kata Aldo* (Kinasih, 2007, p. 28). '"Okay, **whatever**. **I** don't want to know," said Aldo.'

### (3) *Aldo bilang oke. Dia nggak pingin tau*. 'Aldo said okay. **He** didn't want to know.' (my adaptation of [2])

When a character's words are reported in IS, linguistic elements that are adjusted may include subjectively-anchored elements, such as discourse markers. As one of the functions of discourse markers is to index the speaker's stance toward the addressee and what is said, if the character's words are reported by another character, the discourse marker is adjusted so that it indexes the reporter's stance. Alternatively, the discourse marker may be omitted altogether in IS. In the DS example in (1), Aldo uses the discourse marker *deh* to index his indifference toward what his friend Rei said. In the previous discourse (not shown), Rei had asked Aldo if he could use his bedroom, promising to leave the room in its original condition when he finished. Rei gave no reason for his request, leaving Aldo puzzled. Being a supportive friend, Aldo granted Rei's request without asking questions. The discourse marker *deh,*  which follows the expression of agreement *oke* "okay," shown above in (2), indexes his indifference toward Rei's situation. The following clause, *Gua nggak pingin tau*  "I'm not interested," constructs this stance more explicitly. Given *deh* forms part of Aldo's stance, it would be nonsensical if it were included in the narrator's IS in (3). However, a different discourse marker that indexes the narrator's stance toward what is said could be used, as shown in (4).

(4) *Aldo bilang oke dan dia nggak pingin tau lho*.

'Aldo said okay and he didn't want to know, **you see**.' (my adaptation of [2])

Free direct speech (FDS) is similar to DS in being a faithful report of what someone said but differs from DS in that it is rendered in a freer form. DS may include both or either one of the following formal features: a reporting frame and quotation marks. Correspondingly, in the freer form, either the reporting frame and the quotation marks are both absent or only one of these is included. When the formal indicator of the narrator's presence is not there, the reader is given an impression that the character speaks directly to them (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 258). An example of FDS that includes quotation marks but does not include the reporting frame is given in (5). Three friends—Langen, Fani and Febi—are talking. Langen has just told Fani and Febi that her boyfriend, Rei, abruptly ended their relationship. The first two speaking turns, in (5a) and (5b), are rendered in DS, with a reporting frame included, therefore we know that the narrator is present. In the reporting frame, the narrator explicitly informs the reader that it is Fani's and Langen's words that are reported in (5a) and (5b), respectively. However, in (5c), the speech is rendered in FDS with quotation marks but without a reporting frame, thus it is unclear whose speech is presented. Leech and Short (2007, pp. 258–259) note that a long stretch of FDS can create confusion in the reader's mind but they add that this may be precisely the effect some authors want to produce. In (5c-f), confusion may arise because the reader is presented with a multiparty fictional interaction, but the reporting frame specifying the name of the speaking character is missing, and the content of what is said does not provide a clue as to which character is speaking. The problem may be less complex if this interaction is dyadic.

Let us examine the interaction more closely. As noted, in speech turns (5a) and (5b) the narrator presents Fani's and Langen's words, respectively. Given that in turn (5b) we are presented with Langen's words, we can surmise that in turn (5c), it must be either Fani's or Febi's words that are presented. However, in the absence of a reporting frame, we cannot be certain which of these two characters is speaking. In (5d) we are presented with Langen's speech again, and we know this by inferring from what is said and from the previous turn, in which Langen is addressed by name (notice the name "La" in (5c), thus projecting that she would be speaking next. The subsequent two turns, (5e) and (5f), are similarly rendered in FDS, and, as with (5c), there are no clues to help us ascertain who is speaking, and in which turn. The excerpt ends in (5g) with a DS showing Langen's speech again, as indicated by the mention of her name in the reporting frame. (The characters' names are underlined for convenience).3

(5)


If we consider the context created by these framed and frameless turns—by which are meant turns that contain and do not contain a reporting frame to indicate who is speaking, respectively—it is interesting to observe that frameless turns are used here to construct a context of grievance-sharing among intimates. The first two turns in extract (5) establish the cause of the grievance (turn [5a]) and the identity of the character who experiences the grievance (turn [5b]), respectively, whereas the remainder of the dialogue, except the last turn, provides a context through which intimacy among the characters is built. In this regard, individuating the characters through use of a reporting frame and specifying their names in each turn seem less of a concern for the author than highlighting how intimacy is fostered through the display of empathy for the grieved party. It is also instructive that the final turn

<sup>3</sup> The author, Esti Kinasih, puts a full stop at the end of the quoted words before the closing quotation marks in lines (5a) and (5g) where a comma is usually used.

includes a reporting frame, which clarifies that it is Langen's voice that the narrator is presenting. This turn marks the closing of grievance-sharing and indicates that the aggrieved person has achieved a resolution.

The alternation between frameless (FDS) and framed (DS) turns in this example is particularly effective in conveying in-group intimacy. The absence of a reporting frame suggests to the reader that hearing what someone says is more important than being informed about who says it. At the same time, for grievance-sharing to be understood as intimacy building, the reader must know who consoles whom, and the reporting frames used in the first two turns are devices deployed by the author to achieve this rhetorical goal.

A variation of FDS, in which a reporting frame is provided but quotation marks are not, is shown in (6). The clause, *tidak terjadi apa-apa* 'nothing happened' in the emboldened sentence is separated with a comma from the reporting frame *Langen mengatakan* "Langen said" to indicate that the clause represents Langen's speech. Without the comma, the sentence would read like a straightforward IS, as can be seen in the adapted version of the example in (7). Because Indonesian verbs do not inflect for tense, the comma in (6) is the only indicator of FDS. If we insert the complementizer *bahwa* 'that' after the verb *mengatakan* 'say,' as shown in (8), we can be more certain that the sentence is an IS.

(6) *Raditya juga cemas melihat kondisi Langen yang kini terlihat murung dan agak pendiam. Tapi tidak ada yang bisa dilakukannya karena Langen mengatakan, tidak terjadi apa-apa* (Kinasih, 2007, pp. 39–40).

'Raditya is also worried about Langen who is looking miserable and prefers to keep to herself. But there is nothing he could do because **Langen said, nothing happened**.'

(7) *Tapi tidak ada yang bisa dilakukannya karena Langen mengatakan tidak terjadi apa-apa***.** 

'But there is nothing he could do because **Langen said nothing happened.**'

(8) *Tapi tidak ada yang bisa dilakukannya karena Langen mengatakan bahwa tidak terjadi apa-apa*.

'But there is nothing he could do because Langen said **that** nothing happened.'

In (9), the FDS consists of the reporting frame *dia bertanya* 'he asked' and *ada apa* 'what's the matter?' The use of a question mark indicates that it is the voice of the father that the narrator is conveying. Without this question mark, the sentence could be interpreted as a straightforward IS, as shown in the adapted version in (10). (Note that in the English translation, the past form of "be" has to be moved to the end of the sentence in order to turn the question into a statement; no such grammatical adjustment is required for Indonesian.)

(9) *Sepertinya, Ayah melihat aku gelisah, dia bertanya ada apa?* (Baiq, 2015, p. 156).

'It seems, Dad saw me feeling anxious, **he asked what's the matter?**'

(10) *Sepertinya, Ayah melihat aku gelisah, dia bertanya ada apa.*  'It seems, Dad saw me feeling anxious, **he asked what the matter was.'** 

Unlike turns (5c)-(5f) in example (5), in which the voice of the characters are given between quotation marks, the use of a reporting frame in (9), as we also saw in (6), indicates a greater degree of narrator interference. Nevertheless, unlike DS, the absence of quotation marks in these FDS examples results in a partial fusion between the narrator's voice and that of the character.

Free indirect speech (FIS) is the freer form of IS (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 260). Like IS, a reporting frame may be included in FIS, but unlike IS, the choice of any grammatical marking indicating time and person (tense in English) in the quoted speech reflects the perspective of the character. In example (11) the author describes the situation from the narrator's point of view, except the temporal phrase *waktu ini* "at this time," which references the time of Langen's experience and reflects the character's point of view. In a straightforward IS, a temporal phrase deictically anchored to the narrator's point of view would be used, as shown in (12).

(11) *Tapi tidak ada yang bisa dilakukannya karena Langen mengatakan tidak terjadi apa-apa waktu ini*.

> "But there is nothing he could do because Langen said **that**  nothing had happened **at this time**."

(12) *Tapi tidak ada yang bisa dilakukannya karena Langen mengatakan tidak terjadi apa-apa waktu itu*.

"But there is nothing he could do because Langen said nothing had happened **at that time**."

Another example of FIS is taken from *Dilan* and shown in (13). The story is narrated in the first person from the point of view of the female protagonist, Milea. Milea is telling the reader that Yugo, a male friend of hers who is keen on dating her, asked her what had happened between her and Dilan, her boyfriend. The temporal phrase *tadi malam* 'last night' in (13), is deictically anchored to the time when Milea and Dilan were talking—that is, the night before Milea talked to Yugo—and not the time Milea is narrating the event to the reader. This produces an interesting effect of drawing the reader to the time Milea and Dilan were talking, thus highlighting Milea's point of view with regard to her relationship with Dilan. Notice that if we adjust the temporal phrase to *malam sebelumnya* 'the night before,' reflecting the narrative time (i.e., the time Milea is narrating the story to us, the reader), it creates a distancing effect; it is as if Milea is merely reporting to us that Yugo asked what had happened between her and Dilan rather than taking us to the time she and Dilan were together.

(13) *Yugo nanya lagi soal kejadian tadi malam antara aku dan Dilan*  (Baiq, 2015, p. 170).

> 'Yugo asked again about what happened **last night** between me and Dilan.'

(14) *Yugo nanya lagi soal kejadian malam sebelumnya antara aku dan Dilan*.

> 'Yugo asked again about what happened **the night before** between me and Dilan.'

The different temporal points in this example are schematized in Fig. 2. Time1 is the time of the event (Evente) being talked about , Time2 is the time Milea talked to Yugo, and Time3 is the time that Evente is being reported to the reader (narrative time). The arrows are used below to indicate "appropriate temporal phrase, to refer to an Evente at narrative time."

In the Narrative Presentation of Speech Act (NPSA), the narrator informs us that a speech act has been performed by a character but does not provide details of what was said. In this type of speech presentation, the narrator is "apparently in total control"


**Fig. 2** Temporal reference for example (11)

of the report (Leech & Short, 2007, p. 260). An example is given in (15). The narrator is telling us that Rei's heart *berbisik mengingatkan* "whispered a warning" but does not specify what words were used in the warning (in this example, the action of whispering is to be understood metaphorically).

(15) *Tubuh Rei terguncang seketika. Membentur tembok dan bersandar di sana tanpa tenaga. Kemudian tubuh itu meluruh lunglai. Bahkan hatinya yang tadi sudah berbisik mengingatkan, kini ikut diam*  (Kinasih, 2007, p. 38).

'Rei's body shook suddenly. (It) hit the wall and lay there weakly. That body then crumbled, having lost all its strength. **Even his heart that previously whispered a warning now grows silent**.'

Similarly, in (16), the reader is informed that Raditya asked his younger sister to admit that the only reason she is looking low-spirited is that she has just argued with her boyfriend, but we don't know what Raditya actually said to his sister.

(16) *Akhirnya setelah sekali lagi meminta ketegasan bahwa memang benar-benar tidak ada yang terjadi selain pertengkaran, Raditya menghibur satu-satunya adik perempuannya itu dengan cara seorang kakak yang baru terima gaji bulanan* (Kinasih, 2007, p. 40).

'Finally, after once again **requesting a confirmation** that nothing else had happened except an argument, Raditya consoled his younger sister by doing what an older brother, who has just received his monthly salary, does.'

### **Thought Presentation**

Direct thought (DT) is similar to DS in that it may include both or either one of the following formal features: a reporting frame and quotation marks. In example (17) from *Dilan*, the DT (shown in bold) is preceded by two sentences describing how the female protagonist Milea is feeling. These sentences are not grammatically constructed as a reporting frame but function similarly to a reporting frame in specifying whose thought is being presented.

(17) *Aku rindu Dilan. Aku hanya merasa begitu kosong*.

*"Dilan … kamu di mana?"* (Baiq, 2015, p. 139)

'I miss Dilan. I just feel so empty.'

**'"Dilan … where are you?"'**

Later in the same chapter, Milea's thoughts are presented in Free Direct Thought (FDT). As with FDS, both the reporting frame and quotation marks, or either one of these features, may be absent. Example (18) includes neither feature but the personal pronoun *aku* "1sg" explicitly indicates that we are dealing with Milea's thoughts and are viewing the situation from her perspective.

(18) *Apakah aku harus nelepon Dilan? Atau, menunggu Dilan nelepon? Kalau nunggu Dilan yang nelepon, entah kapan dia akan* (Baiq, 2015, p. 158).

'Do I have to ring Dilan? Or, wait for Dilan to ring? If (I) wait for Dilan to ring, who knows when he'll (do it).'

Example (19) includes a reporting frame, and the example looks like indirect thought (IT). However, upon closer inspection, it is in fact ambiguous between IT and FDT, and the ambiguity is shown through the English translation in (19) and (20).

(19) *Jadi, aku berpikir biar aku saja yang nelepon duluan tapi entah mengapa mendadak aku urungkan niatku, bersamaan dengan muncul perasaan gak enak karena semalam sudah marah-marah ke Dilan*  (Baiq, 2015, pp. 158–160).

'So, **I thought I should be the one who rings first** but for some reason, I suddenly changed my mind, as I felt a little guilty for being cross with Dilan last night.'

(20) *Jadi, aku berpikir biar aku saja yang nelepon duluan tapi entah mengapa mendadak aku urungkan niatku, bersamaan dengan muncul perasaan gak enak karena semalam sudah marah-marah ke Dilan*  (Baiq, 2015, pp. 158–160).

'So, **I thought let me be the one who rings first** but for some reason I suddenly changed my mind, as I felt a little guilty for being cross with Dilan last night.'

In free indirect thought (FIT), the narrator's presentation of a character's thought is woven into the character's presentation of their own thought, similar to FIS. In both cases, it is often difficult to ascertain whether we are seeing the situation from the narrator's or the character's viewpoint; this scenario becomes complicated by the fact that in first person narration, the narrator is also a character. Leech and Short (2007, p. 272) point out that there is an interesting difference between FIT and FIS. While FIS distances us from the speaking character, FIT produces a sense of vividness and immediacy, drawing us closer to the character's thoughts. This is illustrated in the Indonesian example shown below in (21).

The example begins with evaluative statements. In the previous discourse (not shown here), Bima is described as feeling dispirited as his desperate search for a past girlfriend, whom he had wronged and to whom he wants to apologize, is not yielding any result. Based on this information, we can interpret the first three evaluative statements (in bold) in the example as presentations of Bima's thoughts. This character-based point of view shifts in the following (indented) sentence, as indicated by the shift to the mention of a third party, "Bima," which indicates that the situation is now viewed from the narrator's perspective. This perspective is sustained in the following paragraph where the reader is given a dramatic description of Bima slumping as he broke into tears. Another perspective shift occurs as we read the last two expressions describing Bima's feelings (*Mengecil. Kerdil.* 'Shriking. Small.'). The absence of overt indicators of Bima's self-reference, in this example, renders his thoughts less readily distinguishable from the narrator's thoughts; nevertheless, due to the use of FIT, the reader is provided with a closer insight into the character's thought.

### (21) *Menangis bukanlah cengeng. Menangis meredakan sakit, meskipun tidak mengubah keadaan. Meskipun sama sekali tidak menebus kesalahan*.

*Dan… Bima menangis!* 

*Terisak. Air matanya turun. Tubuhnya terhuyung mundur membentur Jeep. Perlahan, dia jatuh terduduk. Masih terisak, dia lalu tertunduk. Meringkuk. Mengecil. Kerdil* (Kinasih, 2007, p. 135)

### '**Crying is not silly. Crying reduces pain, though (it) doesn't change things. Though it doesn't erase your mistakes at all.'**

'And… Bima cried!'

'(He) sobbed. His tears rolled (down his cheeks). His body staggered backwards hitting the Jeep. Slowly, he sat down. Still sobbing, he (sat with) his head down. Crouching. **Shrinking**. **Small**.'

The final category in the types of thought presentation is the Narrative Presentation of Thought Act (NPTA). Similar to the NPSA, in NPTA, we, as the reader, can access a character's thoughts through the narrator's description. The reader is thus positioned some distance away from the content of the thought. Nevertheless, as Leech and Short (2007, p. 271) remind us, even NPTA allows the reader to access a character's points of view, though less directly than if they are presented through other types of thought presentation: "A writer who decides to let us know the thoughts of a character at all, even by the mere use of thought act reporting, is inviting us to see things from that character's point of view." An example of NPTA from the Indonesian data is given in (22). In this example, the narrator reports on Rei's intention to scream as loudly as he can, but that his desire to not create commotion stops him from doing so. This is preceded by two sentences describing the physical manifestation of the character's feeling of frustration. The NPTA and the narrative description thus work in concert to illustrate the character's state of mind, as viewed through the narrator's perspective.

(22) *Rei mengatupkan kedua rahangnya kuat-kuat. Kesepuluh jarinya mengepal. Ia ingin berteriak keras-keras, tapi sadar, akan menyebabkan kegemparan di tetangga sekitar* (Kinasih, 2007, p. 35). 'Rei clenched his jaws. His ten fingers clenched into a fist. **He wants** 

**to scream**, **but (he) realizes (that it) would greatly disturb the neighbours.**'

The aforementioned examples illustrate the application of Leech and Short's speech and thought categories to the Indonesian data. A note was made regarding the ambiguity of example (19). This example may be categorized into more than one type depending on interpretation and how it is translated into English (see Semino & Short, 2004, pp. 197–198 for a discussion on ambiguities in their English language corpus). This ambiguity is not explored further here but is an interesting issue to investigate in more depth in a future study. In the following section, I consider the extent to which the different categories of speech, thought and writing presentations are represented in the data.

### **The Distribution of Speech and Thought Presentations in the Data**

In a study of speech and thought presentation based on three text types of English writing—fiction, news report, and (auto)biography—Semino and Short (2004) found that DS and FDS are the most frequently occurring of all speech and thought presentation categories. Moreover, the number of occurrences of these two categories combined is higher in fiction than in news reporting or (auto)biography. In speech presentation categories alone, (F)DS constitutes 26% compared with 2.9% of IS and FIS combined. (F)DS occurrences are also more frequent in "popular" fiction compared with "serious" fiction (60 and 40%, respectively; see Semino and Short, 2004, p. 67). Short et al., (2002, p. 342) attribute this finding to several factors, one being that (free) direct speech "helps to produce the effects of immediacy, drama, and involvement that are particularly important in the telling of fictional stories." DS and FDS also provide the reader with an impression of direct access to the characters' words and fulfill our conventional expectations that reported/quoted speech is a faithful "reproduction" of the original, though in fiction the speech has no independent antecedent outside the fictional world itself (Short et al., 2002, p. 343).

Assuming direct speech categories in Indonesian popular fiction shares similar formal features as those in English fiction (e.g., reporting frame, graphological marking in DS), one would expect that the occurrences of DS and FDS in Teenlit are also relatively high compared to non-popular fiction. At this preliminary stage, my aim is modest, namely to determine the degree of likeness to speech, or conversationality, in Teenlit by examining the occurrences of DS and FDS compared to the other categories of speech/thought presentation. As such, we are not concerned with comparing "popular" with "serious" fiction. By focusing on the degree of similarity between the language in Teenlit and informal conversation, one could then argue that Gunawan's claim can be understood relative to the degree to which the reader is afforded access to the speech and thought of the characters. I suggest that adolescent interaction in the novels tends to be presented in ways that create a sense of immediacy, drama, and involvement, and DS and FDS help to produce this. The many colloquial expressions used by the authors in DS and FDS is what has created an impression that the language in Teenlit is similar to adolescent speech.

The analysis presented here is based on approximately the first 3000 words of each novel, and includes narration and dialogue. The data are coded manually to determine the number of occurrences for each of the speech/thought/writing presentation categories. To determine the distribution of the different categories, graphological sentences (Short, 2014) are counted and categorized. DS and DT presentations are distinguished between those that are followed or preceded by a reporting frame (coded Narrative Presentation of Speech [NPS]) and those that are not, to obtain an indication of the narrator's control of speech and thought. Following Semino and Short (2004), I code reporting frames separately from the reported material (i.e., the quoted speech). Separating the reporting frame from the speech allows us to group reporting frames and clauses that function similarly to reporting frames but are not grammatically constructed in the same way. For example, the emboldened materials in (23) and (24) are not, strictly speaking, reporting frames but they function similarly to reporting frames in introducing the speech that follows (the underlined material).

(23) *Febi berkhotbah tentang batas yang jelas antara cowok dan cewek*  (Kinasih, 2007, p. 41).

'**Febi preached about** the clear distinction between boys and girls.'

### (24) *Alasannya, berselingkuh sudah menjadi kodrat cowok* (Kinasih, 2007, p. 41).

'**Her reason** is, having an affair is men's nature.'

In these examples, the frame-like materials are categorized as NPS, and the following material as IS. For indirect thought presentation, the corresponding categories, Narrative Presentation of Thought (NPT) and IT, are used.4

In addition to NPS and NPT, the category, Narration of Internal States (NI), is used to account for instances in which the narrator "reports a character's cognitive

<sup>4</sup> NPS and NPT were previously termed as Narrative Report of Speech (NRS) and Narrative Report of Thought (NRT), respectively (see Semino & Short, 2004). I follow Short (2012) in using "presentation" rather than "report".

and emotional experiences without presenting any specific thoughts" (Semino & Short, 2004, p. 46). As we saw earlier, in example (17), reproduced below as (25) for convenience, the narrator, who is also the main character, is describing her internal state; the propositional content is given following the NI, in DT. The emboldened two sentences are therefore coded as NI, while the following sentence is coded as DT. Although NI, by virtue of its being the narrator's voice, affords us less immediate access to the character's thought compared with DT, it helps convey the character's inner state. Compare this, for example, with the "pure" narration in (26), which tells us about the character's actions but not their cognitive state.

### (25) *Aku rindu Dilan. Aku hanya merasa begitu kosong*.

*"Dilan … kamu di mana?"* (Baiq, 2015, p. 139).

### **'I miss Dilan. I just feel so empty.'**

'"Dilan … where are you?"'

### (26) *Diraihnya setumpuk buku dari atas meja, lalu sekuat tenaga dilemparnya ke dinding* (Kinasih, 2007, p. 20).

'He grabbed a pile of books on the table, and with all his might threw them to the wall.'

The distribution of the different categories in the data is shown in Table 1. In the categories related to the narrator's presentation of the characters' speech and thought, the following categories are added for *Dilan*: Narrator's Presentation of Writing (NPW) and Direct Writing (DW). NPW accounts for the narrator's citation of a character's thought rendered in writing, while DW is the writing cited, and unaccompanied by the narrator's framing. In *Dilan*, the narrator (Milea), who is also one of the main characters, cites the writing she found in her textbook (written by Dilan, her boyfriend).


**Table 1** Occurrences of speech and thought presentation in the data (highlighted boxes are the "norm" for speech presentation and thought presentation, respectively)

Table 1 shows that DS and FDS have the highest percentages of occurrence in the data, and higher than the percentages for narration (N). If we consider that the data are taken from the first 3000 words of each novel, and the beginning part of a popular novel generally contains background material pertaining to the spatiotemporal setting of the story and preliminary introduction to the main character(s), the high percentages of DS and FDS suggest that these types of speech presentations occur early in both novels. In fact, the first instance of DS occurs as the 20th and 24th sentences in *Still* and *Dilan,* respectively.

DS and FDS sentences in the data occur within speech turns that stretch over several turns, the longest consisting of 15 turns and two NRS and was found in *Dilan*, as shown in (27). In this stretch of DS/FDS turns, the reader is given access to a talk between Dilan and Milea, the protagonists in the novel. These turns do not move the story temporally but serve the affective function of indexing intimacy; they invite the reader to listen in and empathise with the two characters as they build intimacy through talk.




15 *"Harusnya, dia juga dimarah karena penakut. Dunia butuh orang pemberani. Yes?"*  '"He should be grounded for being a scaredy-cat. The world needs brave people. Yes?"'


Table 2 shows that DS and FDS occur in 71 speech turns in *Still* and in 114 speech turns in *Dilan*. In both novels, the number of speech turns that do not have a reporting frame (FDS) is 1.5 times higher than those that do (DS). This suggests that most speech turns in the data are presented without the narrator's intervention. This frameless speech presentation technique creates vividness and a greater sense of immediacy compared with other techniques in which the narrator's presence is more visible.

The quantitative results for DS and FDS in this study support the findings by Semino and Short (2004) that these speech presentation types are the most common in fiction. Indeed, among the categories for speech presentations, Leech and Short (2007, p. 276) identify DS as the "norm," pointing out that it "represents speech in the form in which it is directly manifested to a listener," while the indirect modes (IS and FIS) provide "the substance" of what someone said without commitment to her/his words.

In terms of thought presentation, Leech and Short point out that IT is the norm. If we look at the Indonesian data in Table 1above, IT and FIT are indeed more common


**Table 2** Distribution of DS and FDS in the data

than their direct mode counterparts, DT and FDT. Unlike speech, someone's thought is not directly perceptible to others and so cannot be faithfully reproduced in the way speech can ("faithful" in the sense of Short et al., 2002). It seems then, that the norms for speech and thought presentation in English texts, which are DS and FDS for speech presentation and IT and FIT for thought presentation, respectively, also seem to apply to the two novels considered here.

That DS and FDS are the most common types of speech presentation in the Indonesian data may be taken as empirical evidence supporting Gunawan's claim that Teenlit style is "speech-like." If we consider that these speech presentation categories are also norms for speech presentation in English fiction, particularly in popular fiction, we could then say that Indonesian Teenlit authors are not unique in preferring those techniques.

### **Conclusion**

This study has considered the claim by F. X. Gunawan that the language in Teenlit is "basically spoken language." Drawing on the categories of speech and thought presentation discussed by Leech and Short (2007) and Semino and Short (2004), I have shown that in the two novels examined, DS and FDS are the most frequently used techniques for presenting the speech of adolescent characters. The high degree of occurrences of these types of speech presentation in the data may have led observers like Gunawan to conclude that the writing style in Teenlit is conversational. Conversationality in fiction, as Toolan (2010, p. 327) points out, may be produced by means of various techniques, including repetition. This chapter has focused on one of those techniques, namely the presentation of speech and thought.

Scholars of narratology (see Nielsen, 2004, 2018; Nielsen et al., 2015) have strongly argued that fictional discourse is invented discourse and that it is a mistake to confuse real-world narrative situations with fictional narrative. Gunawan's remark that the language in Teenlit is similar to language used in real-life conversation confuses fictional interaction with real-life interaction. The fact that the conversation among the characters in Teenlit has captured the attention of readers and critics alike can be understood as less of an evidence of its close resemblance to real-life conversation and more of an attestation to the authors' relative success in using techniques of speech and thought presentation to create vividness and a sense of immediacy in fictional adolescent interaction.

### **References**


**Dwi Noverini Djenar** is Associate Professor in Indonesian Studies at The University of Sydney. She obtained her BA in English literature from Gajah Mada University, an MA in linguistics and politics from La Trobe University and a PhD in linguistics from The University of Melbourne. Her research interests lie in questions related to the way language facilitates understandings of sociocultural and political ideas, including ideas about self-other relations, identity and style. She has published in the areas of discourse and pragmatics, sociolinguistics and grammar, focusing on Indonesian.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **The Discourse of Motivation: Judges' Comments in** *The Voice Kids* **Indonesia**

**Lisnawaty Simatupang and Abdul Muta'ali** 

**Abstract** This chapter discusses the comments of judges of The Voice Kids Indonesia (TVKI), a competition program broadcast on television involving children. This study applies pragmatic approaches using Brown & Levinson's politeness theory (Politeness: some universal in language used. Cambride University Press, 1987) and Searle's theory (1969) on illocution. The focus of this study is the judges' motivational comments toward children's performance as contestants. The analysis is also supported by Maslow's theory (A theory of human motivation. Nalanda Digital Library, 1943) on motivation. The data are collected from TVKI judges' open comments of assessment in TVKI Blind audition session to battle round session (episodes 1−4 and 9−11) which are taken from TVKI's official YouTube Channel. Analysis based on the politeness theory reveals that positive and negative politeness strategies help shape contestants' needs for self-actualization. The judges' motivating comments genuinely address each contestant's skills and put the contestant at ease. Thus, this study can explain the existence of the relationship between politeness strategy and the hierarchy of fulfillment of human needs informing potentially motivational comments.

**Keywords** Motivation · Politeness strategy · Talk show · Speech act

### **Introduction**

Contextual consideration is fundamental to speech selection. Politeness in speech results from a thought process that considers specific sociocultural contexts (Leech, 2014, p. 13). Accordingly, Mills states that consideration of politeness and context

L. Simatupang

Politeknik Negeri, Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia

A. Muta'ali (B) Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: abdul.m@ui.ac.id

Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

is evident in the form of a speech (Mills, 2011, p. 57). Elements of the context, such as the conversation partner, the setting, and the speaker's meaning are all important in this context (Kramsch, 1998, p. 35). Austin notes that the compatibility of words uttered during a communication should consider the circumstances, the communication's aim, the diction, and the listener's reaction or response to the words (Austin, 1962, p. 8).

Circumstances and forms of speech aimed at the contestants on *The Voice Kids Indonesia* (*TVKI*) illustrate such contextual consideration. *TVKI* is a talent show for children from 8 to 15 years old. The judges assess the quality of the children's singing, and their comments are tailored *not* to create discomfort for the contestants. The effort to put each contestant at ease shows that there is awareness by its interlocutor to prioritize politeness (Aleshinskaya, 2016, p. 1). Showing consideration for politeness in providing comments is essential for delivering a motivating message (Blakemore, 2014, p. 107), and *TVKI* judges take into account each contestant's dignity when communicating with them. One method for delivering a motivational comment is by complimenting the contestant. Compliments or verbal appreciation play a role in building close relations between judges and contestants (Brown, 1987, p. 1; Culpaper, 1996, p. 349).

The comments given by the *TVKI* judges affect the contestants' psychological condition during the competition. When the contestants appear distressed, judges attempt to remedy the situation by offering comments that could create a more comfortable situation for them. *TVKI* judges' comments are unlike those in other similar programs, such as The Voice of Indonesia, Indonesian Idol, Kontes Dangdut Indonesia, etc., which are usually harsh and mainly pick on the contestants' weaknesses. Our observation suggests that TVKI's judging situation is unique in the sense that the judges' comments tend to be geared toward maintaining the contestant's self-respect. In fact, when the judges cannot avoid criticizing the contestant, they seem to manage their words, so they appear polite and encouraging. This means that the words tend to be motivational. In this study, we offer a pragmatic analysis of these comments and ask the following questions: What kinds of comments can be considered motivational? How is politeness achieved in these comments?

### **Politeness Strategy and Motivation Theory**

Comments submitted by the judges to TVKI's contestants exhibit a linguistic fact that illustrates how language can be used as a tool to have a specific purpose and exercise power. In this case, the comments of TVKI's judges can serve as an evaluation for the contestants so that they can learn from them and improve their performance or be able to compete effectively. Therefore, the TVKI judges' comments allegedly contain intentions or efforts to motivate the contestants during the judging process at the event. We draw on Brown and Levinson's politeness theory (1987) and Maslow's theory of motivation (1943) to explain the strategies that the judges adopt to motivate the contestants.

Our data consist of seven episodes of the program, which we collected by downloading the videos from the official TVKI's YouTube channel, specifically episodes 1−4 from the Blind Audition Series and episodes 9−11 from the Battle Round Series. This means we have both visual and audio data. However, our analysis is based on audio data only. The visual data were used as supporting material for describing the judging context. The data were transcribed and compiled in word documents. We then categorized the judges' comments in terms of motivating value and politeness strategies.

At the initial research stage, we focused on analyzing the judges' efforts or potential to motivate the contestants through their comments on each contestant's performance. The comments suggested that the judges appear to take into account such factors as the contestants' tender age and the public nature of the context. Both these factors call for motivating comments that acknowledge the effort, the reasons, and the drive to meet their basic needs, and that can motivate an individual to strive to fulfill their need for love, esteem, a sense of safety, and self-actualization (Maslow, 1943).

The second stage focused on analyzing the judges' comments in terms of politeness. We first analyzed the judges' comments according to the following categories: compliments, criticisms, and suggestions. Based on our initial analysis, we adjusted the categories into the following: calling, complimenting, and objecting. Following Brown and Levinson's politeness theory (1987), we classified politeness strategies into five groups: the face1 threatening act (hereinafter referred to as FTA) strategy with no redressive action (also called the bald-on-record strategy), the bald-on-record with redressive politeness action, the negative politeness strategy with redressive action, off-record strategy, and say-nothing strategy (Brown, 1987; Goffman, 1956).

An example of motivating speech that employs politeness strategies to help fulfill a contestant's needs is one where the judges recognize the contestant's need for esteem. The statement *"You have a lot of energy, don't you? I like it"* shows that the judge is helping a contestant meet this need through a direct compliment. A direct compliment is a politeness strategy aimed at helping an interlocutor preserve the conversational partner's positive dignity. Another strategy is avoiding disagreement, e.g., *Menurut Judge 3 sudah bagus yah tadi. Mungkin Judge 3 belum menemukan yang lebih pengen Judge 3 mau. Tapi, bukan berarti jelek yah sekali lagi, ok?* "For me, it was good. Maybe I haven't got what I wanted. However, that doesn't mean your performance was bad, ok?" (TVKI4/Contestant 1). From that part of the comment, we can see that Judge 3 did not want his comments to cause conflict. He didn't want his reason for rejecting the contestant to be misconstrued and considered as a criticism of the contestant's performance. Thus, he felt that providing psychological stability to his conversational partner was required (Sifianou, 2012).

The motivating potential in the judges' comments can be understood in terms of the effort made to eliminate or reduce the anxiety and pressure experienced by the candidates before and during their performance. Anxiety can lead to poor performance. In a paper entitled "*Understanding and Addressing Performance Anxiety,*" Beilock et al. explain that anxiety is sometimes caused by an external factor (Beilock

<sup>1</sup> The concept of *face* was introduced by Goffman (1956) which means a person's projects in his social contacts with others (see Renkema 2004, 24).

et al., 2017). In TVKI, contestants may experience anxiety from feeling pressured to perform well or they will be judged harshly. To avoid creating tension in a competition, TVKI's judges make an effort to create a non-threatening situation for the candidates by deliberately constructing their comments in such a way as to prevent embarrassment for the candidates.

Thus, the efforts by the judges to create a "safe" situation for the participants simultaneously indicate an effort to protect the dignity, or "the face," of the candidates. The effort is also directly proportional to the expert's statement that pressure can affect performance. Pressure, in the form of threats, can produce poor performance, while a "safe" situation is expected to provide motivation and make the candidates feel more confident so they can maximize their skills in the competition.

### **Politeness Strategy in Constructing Motivational Comments**

Analysis of the judges' comments in TVKI reveals their efforts to employ various politeness strategies in their assessments of contestants. In addition, judges also encourage contestants to develop their talent. As mentioned, there are four types of motivational comments, namely those that meet the needs for safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. The need for safety can be defined as being free from fear and anxiety (Maslow, 1954). Fulfillment of needs for safety includes comments that do not humiliate contestants, that express criticism gently, and that guarantee a contestant will be able to compete in the long run. To create a comfortable judging situation, the judges' comments prioritize the contestants' need for love. This is shown, for example, in the use of identity markers, such as *saying* "sweetheart," *abang* "brother," and *kita* "us." Comments designed to fulfill their need for esteem include those that compliment the contestants' performance and individual traits, appreciate their performance, acknowledge their talent, and reflect on their reputation and potential, and include the use of words, such as *bagus* "good," *keren* "cool," *luar biasa* "amazing," *hebat* "great," and *lucu* "cute." This relates to Maslow's belief in the basic need for people to receive recognition, appreciation, or respect, from others. Comments that potentially fulfill the need for self-actualization include those that assure contestants that they will perform much better in the future, provide advice on achieving professional improvement, and offer guidance for determining what suits them best.

Comments are commonly interpreted as a form of "judgment" of one's abilities. TVKI's judges, on the other hand, are known to use specific speech strategies in conveying their comments. As a result, instead of being a critical speech that could affect the participants' feelings or self-esteem, the TVKI judges' comments have the potential to motivate. Motivational comments that address safety needs are achieved through positive politeness strategies: optimistic statements, statements that avoid conflict, words of reason, and careful assessments. Judges commonly use statements, such as *Meskipun ada kekurangan tapi sudah baik* "Though not flawless, you're good"; *Penampilan kamu masih bisa diperbaiki,* "There's room for improvement"; and *Bakat kamu masih perlu dipoles,* "You still need to polish your talent."

Motivational comments that meet the contestants' needs for love are realized by the positive politeness strategy of finding something in common and by positive strategies that offer a chance to do an activity together with the judges. The judges also use negative politeness strategies, such as expressing specific requests, to motivate the contestants. The following are some examples of motivating comments that verbally meet the contestants' various basic love needs, and make use of negative and positive politeness strategies.

### **(Dialog**

**1)** 

2:

Judge …. *Kamu bisa loncat-loncat, bisa ngomong sama penontonnya, matanya juga kamu bisa bermain, iya kan? Nah, itu membuat penampilan kamu nantinya, orang lebih pengen ikutan jingrak-jingrakkan nih. Pengen dance bareng dia, pengen ikutan have fun samadia, gitu. Penampilannya, istilahnya harus lebih lepas* 

"You can jump around, can talk to the audience, can even use your eyes to communicate, right? Now think of how to use all of that to get your audience hyped. Get them to want to jump around with you, dance with you, have fun with you. In other words, you really have to bust a move."

Judge 1:

*Sebenarnya rumah Juri 2 sama Juri1 itu deketan. Jadi, kamu bisa belajar part teknik yang lain dengan Juri 1. Nanti kita kalau mau belajar main dance, nanti kita main aja ke rumahnya Juri 2* 

> "Coach 1's house is near Coach 2's. Therefore, you can study other technical details with Coach 1; then we can drop by Coach 2' house for dance practice."

### **(TVKI/Eps.3/Contestant1)**

The beginning of Judge 1's comment contains an assertive-stating statement (Searle, 1979, p. 10) in a truth-bound statement about the proximity of Coach 1's house to Coach 2's house: "Coach 1's house is near Coach 2's." Subsequently, Coach 1 follows this up with an expression of commissive offering (Rahardi, 2005; Searle, 1979) through the statement "…then we can drop by Coach 2's house." The use of "we" signals to the contestant that Coach 1 sees Contestant 1 as part of his team. This statement demonstrates Judge 1's effort to foster closeness between himself and Contestant 1. Comments, such as this, encourage Contestant 1 to join Judge 1's team to improve her singing. Judge 1's request, which asks Contestant 1 to get Coach 2 involved in performance improvement, further reinforces the motivating value of Judge 1's comments. We maintain that the fulfillment of love needs, that comments like this potentially serve, can inspire Contestant 1 to improve her skills and help her grow and excel in a professional environment or group that is willing to accept her.

Judge 1's comment of "Coach 1's house is near Coach 2's house" is an offer and forms part of his positive politeness strategy to engage the interlocutor in an ongoing conversation. This can also be understood as an effort to create harmony between the judge and the contestant by bringing them closer emotionally. Judge 1 has encouraged Contestant 1 to take a future action to help Contestant 1 achieve their goal on *TVKI*. The psychological consequence of Judge 1's comments is that Contestant 1 may feel a sense of participation; consequently, this may make her feel comfortable with that competitive environment and also with that particular group of people. Therefore, the positive politeness strategy in Judge 1's comments helps maintain the interpersonal relationship with Contestant 1 and also helps her fulfill her love needs (Kavanagh, 2016). Positive politeness strategies, particularly those that engage all interlocutors, have become a vehicle for motivating comments based on love needs; this is the fulfillment approach. The result of using positive politeness strategies is that it potentially increases contestants' motivation to compete and have greater self-confidence. Self-confidence is positive energy for the contestants. As stated by Richard M. Ryan and Deci, one could be motivated if one feels valued in an activity or receives encouragement from others (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

The following is an example of Judge 2's application of positive politeness strategies.

### **(Dialog 2)**


2:

### **(TVKI/ Eps.1/Contestant2)**

The sentence "I'm so happy you were singing my song" expresses Judge 2's gratitude because Contestant 2 is singing her song when auditioning. Judge 2 also expresses her hope of finding or discovering a versatile singer. Judge 2's use of the word "versatile" refers to the multifaceted skills a contestant should have as a child singer. This statement has the potential to humiliate Contestant 2, because, indirectly, it considers Contestant 2 as not meeting the judge's expectation. Judge 2's criticism is delivered subtly, however, because she does not literally or explicitly state that Contestant 2 is a talentless singer. Realizing the potential for humiliating Contestant 2, Judge 2 continues by complimenting her: "You seemed to have fun with belting it out, and your power is great." Seen as a strategy of positive politeness, Judge 2's compliments promote solidarity between her and Contestant 2, and by making these comments, the judge avoids creating embarrassment for Contestant 2.

Motivating comments, based on the fulfillment of esteem needs and realized through positive speech strategies, assume the form of compliments, special mentions, and statements of approval. Compliments, or verbal appreciation, constitute but one strategy to further motivate an individual to achieve a goal—a kind of reward for an individual's efforts. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, being complimented is part of an individual's esteem needs, namely the need for respect and recognition of dignity and potential (Maslow, 1943, 28). Judge 2's compliments emphatically steer Contestant 2 away from possible humiliation caused by previous comments about what makes a good singer. Judge 1 gives compliments to meet Contestant 2's psychological safety needs, for even though she fails to proceed in the competition, *TKVI* judges still commend and acknowledge her.

In dialog (2), Judge 2 invites Contestant 2 to a duet while giving her direction and correction. The statement "Let's try say aah here—aaaah—together with me. …" intensifies her interaction with Contestant 2 to maintain harmony between them. Judge 2's efforts to help Contestant 2 improve indicate that *TVKI* judges want all *TVKI* contestants to develop or improve their skills, regardless of whether they are still in the competition or no longer competing in *TVKI*. The forms of motivating comments that convey negative politeness strategies, include directives, suggestions, offers to do something together, and by using positive politeness strategies, such as pledges. These strategies were employed in the judges' comments to help the contestants meet their needs. Statement (2) is delivered along with Judge 2's example of a correct singing technique. This statement encourages Contestant 2 to actualize her potential to improve. Seen in that light, the advice or direction in Judge 2's comments, exemplifies an effort to fulfill Contestant 2's needs for self-realization. Contestant 2's nodding attests to her understanding and acceptance of Judge 2's comments encouraging her to work toward improvement. Contestant 2's nod indicates comprehension and acceptance of the judge's remarks. Genuinely accepted suggestions can assist one in working toward improvement (Henricson, 2017, p. 114). Therefore, Judge 2's comments belong to the potentially motivating comment category. Knowingly or not, Judge 2 has motivated Contestant 2 by giving verbal encouragement—systematic directions—that can help Contestant 2 develop her talent (Guèguen, 2015, p. 55). Judge 2's negative politeness strategies thus become a means of helping Contestant 2 meet her self-actualization needs.

In general, both Judge 1 and Judge 2 express motivating comments through positive politeness strategies, thus helping *TVKI* contestants to meet their esteem and love needs. However, the two judges differ in the way they do this. Judge 2 makes full use of the strategy of finding similarities between the contestants and herself more often than Judge 1. Judge 1 manifests no distinct characteristics in his commenting, as he merely compliments the contestants or appreciates them in order to motivate them.

### **(Dialog**

#### **3)**

Judge 2:

*Nyanyinya asik. Emang gitu, nyanyi itu, kenapa saya sangat mengidolakan Michael Jackson yah? Kenapa? Karena kalau kamu dengarkan dia nyanyi lagu up-beat, dia uh keliatan banget kayak garangnya. Eh, pada saat dia lagi nyanyi lagu yang soft, kamu bisa mengangis bersama dia, gitu dan itu bukan hanya, kalau saya ngeliat dia, itu dia bukan kayak penyanyi tapi dia kayak produser vocalnya sendiri. Dia tahu gimana cara dia produce vocal dan kamu tadi kamu memproduce vocal kamu sehingga kayaknya kawin banget deh, yah coach ya?*  "Your singing is cool. That's it—cool. See, I always look up to Michael Jackson, because when you listen to him sing an upbeat song, he would sound so fierce. When he sang soft singing, you'd cry along. And that's not all. When I saw him, he wasn't just a singer; he was his own vocal creator. He knew how to produce vocal, and you just did it the way he did. Right, coaches? Right?"

#### **(TVKI/ Eps.1/Contestant3)**

In her comments, Judge 2 shares that she enjoys Contestant 3's singing, as evidenced by her statement "Your singing is cool." The use of "cool" indicates her enjoyment. Judge 2 builds on this by comparing Contestant 3 to Michael Jackson, explaining Jackson's skills in vocal production—Jackson's listeners were mesmerized and captivated by his songs. Judge 2 believes that Contestant 3 shares similar skills. These compliments about Contestant 3's singing skills and techniques exemplify comments that respect an interlocutor's positive face, and this may result in pleasing the interlocutor. Judge 2's compliments, equating her skills with those of a professional singer, have the potential to add to Contestant 3's confidence.

Psychologically, compliments are a form of recognition, earned by a person who has done a great job, who has accomplished what she/he is required to do. Maslow (1943) observed that each individual needs recognition. In the context of *TVKI*, Contestant 3's singing skills are recognized by Judge 2 by referring to the participant's ability as being similar to Michael Jackson's. This would encourage the contestant to improve the quality of her singing. Judge 2's positive politeness comments are part of her strategies to motivate Contestant 3 to improve and impact Contestant 3's fulfillment of esteem needs.

### **Dialog**

#### **(4)**


### **(TVKI/Eps.4/Contestant4)**

In her comments, Judge 1 notes the importance of experience for a singer. Agreeing with Judge 2's statement, Judge 1 says he believes that Contestant 4's flaw is lack of experience. By saying so, Judge 1 informs Contestant 4 that experience helps a singer to master vocal techniques and improve his/her performance. Judge 1's statement exemplifies directive advising. His comments implicitly offer criticism and a statement about the flaw in Contestant 4's performance. Such a flaw is evident in Contestant 4's observable nervousness, as Judge 1 implies in "But without a lot of experience, we might not be able to fight or turn our nervousness into positive energy. That might make our final presentation lose its magic, you see."

These comments are a statement about the flaw that Judge 1 observes in Contestant 4's performance. The mentioning of this flaw in front of the *TVKI* audience might come across as humiliating for Contestant 4. However, Judge 1 understands Contestant 4's position in the competition and makes an effort to avoid humiliation. Judge 1's efforts to maintain Contestant 4's dignity and steer him away from a humiliating situation, are evident in the way he presents his criticism, namely indirectly and in the form of a combination between a directive and advice. As such, his comments belong to the category of statements that reflect the fulfillment of psychological safety needs. Instead of emphasizing the participant's flaws, the judges focused on "experience" matters. This action of psychologically meeting a contestant's needs for safety, shines a light on *TVKI* judges' understanding of its contestants, who are children in their tender years, whose self-esteem might be fragile and therefore would benefit from considered advice.

In dialog (4), Judge 1 and Judge 2 understand that Contestant 4's failure in the audition is an inconvenience to him; therefore, both judges agree to explain the reason for the failure, which is not because he is talentless or lacks a good voice, but because he needs more experience to become accustomed to performing on-stage and to be more creative with his performance. This awareness caters to each individual's need for safety, particularly when receiving an assessment in front of an audience. In this setting, *TVKI* judges help to meet Contestant 4's safety needs when they employ positive politeness strategies in their comments. Contestant 4's dignity or positive face-saving is preserved because the judges do not criticize the contestant's potential, but rather offer advice, encouraging the contestant to seek *more* singing experience. This act is motivating because it is aimed at encouraging Contestant 4 to strive for his best, and the comments also serve to fulfill the contestant's safety needs.

*TVKI* judges are aware that every auditioning contestant does not want to be judged as lacking talent or creativity. Therefore, they comment subtly on every contestant's faults. Dialog (4) shows that the judges are emphasizing a lack of experience as the cause of Contestant 4's failure in the audition. To avoid threatening the contestant's dignity in their comments, the judges compliment or appreciate the contestant's efforts: "I think you have an amazing timbre. You also have a great passion for studying vocal techniques." These comments count as compliments, serving as a softener intended to minimize or avoid threatening the dignity of the contestant who has just been failed by all three judges. To maintain harmony among the three of them and the contestant, the judges remain appreciative of the contestant, as evidenced in the compliments "an amazing timbre" and "a great passion for studying vocal techniques." These compliments can turn into positive energy for Contestant 4 and help him to stay confident in his potential. In dialog (4), the contestant's need to be recognized for his potential or talent is met by the judges' compliments for his voice and passion for learning. According to Maslow, a verbal compliment caters to one's esteem needs: "Every individual deserves recognition for his potential" (Maslow, 1943, pp. 27–29).

Based on the examples discussed above, we can argue that the act of motivating, as performed by *TVKI* judges, contributes to the fulfillment of safety and esteem needs. A failed contestant's dignity is preserved when judges do not blame either his/her talent or vocals. *TVKI* judges also understand each individual's need for recognition. These needs are met when contestants, who receive compliments, feel that the judges acknowledge their talent or potential. Their comments are not given to harshly judge or condemn contestants but rather to consider the dignity and needs of each contestant as a young individual who wishes to improve and succeed.

Episodes 1–4 "Blind Auditions" and 9–11 "Battle Rounds" of *TVKI* presented 867 comments exemplifying positive politeness strategies and 525 comments exemplifying negative politeness strategies. The lower number of occurrences of negative politeness strategies is because they can be employed only to help meet *TVKI*  contestants' love needs and needs for self-actualization. Meanwhile, positive politeness strategies are employed to help meet *TVKI* contestants' needs for love, esteem, safety, and self-actualization. When commenting, *TVKI* judges choose particular expressions that are conducive to creating a comfortable situation for the contestants. Such comfort, which the *TVKI* audience can also watch, has a positive psychological impact on the contestants' sense of self-growth.

Motivational theory is a theory that outlines how people find a certain structure or system that can help them better understand their needs, and their lives. Maslow mentions that motivation theory is quite successful in a clinical, social, and personal logical way as it fits very well with most people's experience and has helped them make better sense of their inner lives (Maslow, 1954, p. xiii). In this study, we have used Maslow's theory to explain the relationship between politeness strategies and motivational comments, in helping participants develop their potential. Based on our analysis, we have argued that the politeness strategies used by the judges have the potential to fulfill the contestants' needs. They create a condition whereby the contestants do not lose face and accept the judges' comments as advice or suggestions that can help them deliver a better performance.

Although good performance can eventually result from the judges' motivational comments, it should be stressed that motivational comments alone do not create a good performance; the individual/contestant's ability ultimately also plays a key part.

### **Conclusion**

The judges' comments contain the potential to motivate the contestants and fulfill the four basic needs for safety, esteem, love, and self-actualization. The judges' awareness of these needs can be shown in the way they manage their words and politeness strategies to maintain the contestant's dignity.

We have shown that TVKI's judges use positive politeness strategies in their motivational communication more often. The positive politeness strategies used by the judges in their comments have the potential to fulfill the four basic human needs, while the negative politeness strategies serve as a motivational tool for fulfilling the contestants' needs for love and self-actualization.

The fulfillment of basic needs, through verbal expression, shares a similarity with the purpose of politeness strategies. Both aim to protect an individual's selfesteem, create a pleasant environment, and help others self-actualize. Awareness of the need for a comfortable evaluation situation leads *TVKI* judges to adjust their speech to suit the public context of their interaction with the contestants. To the failed contestants, the judges offer no explicit comments on mistakes or weaknesses but provide directions to help them correct mistakes in their performance. Through their choice of words and expressions, the judges demonstrate their efforts in ensuring their comments are non-humiliating. The use of politeness strategies thus plays a role in encouraging or motivating *TVKI* contestants to develop their talents. Politeness strategies, specifically those that preserve *TVKI* contestants' self-esteem, are a verbal means that the judges use to help contestants meet their needs. The *TVKI*  judges' intention to motivate comes across well through their polite statements. The open judging witnessed by the audience then truly becomes an exciting, motivating platform for both *TVKI*'s child contestants and its audience.

**Acknowledgements** This work was supported by Universitas Indonesia (Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional Untuk Tugas Akhir Mahasiswa (PITTA) UI 2017, Grant Number 446/ UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2017).

### **References**


**Lisnawaty Simatupang** finished her undergraduate degree, majoring in Indonesian Literature from the Faculty of Humanities, Gadjah Mada University in 2014. In 2015, she continued her master's degree in linguistics at Universitas Indonesia and completed it in 2017. She has a research interest in discourse analysis and pragmatics.

**Abdul Muta'ali** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. Currently, he teaches linguistics in the Arabic Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, at the same faculty. He earned a doctoral degree in linguistics at the University of Holy Quran and Islamic Studies, Khartoum Sudan with a dissertation entitled "Alquran vocabularies in Indonesian: Semantics perspectives" in 2007. His research interests include theories in linguistics, translation, and issues in transnational movements.

**Open Access** This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### **Children, Language and Tradition**

### **Javanese Personal Names in Traditional and Global Contexts**

**Untoro and F. X. Rahyono** 

**Abstract** The purpose of this study is to explain the different references that the Javanese use in determining personal names in both traditional and new global context. The study is based on the theory of meaning originating in Ogden and Richards (1952) and the process of semiosis in Pierce (The philosophy of peirce: Selected writings, Harcourt, 1940). Data is obtained from (1) written sources in the form of birth data of Javanese individuals from Sukorejo, Ngasem, and Kediri, (2) interviews, and (3) a questionnaire. The informants were asked about the meaning of their names and the way they were selected. Information from the interviews supports the other qualitative data. This study shows that reference of personal names in traditional and global contexts does indeed differ. In particular, names in global context do not represent traditional Javanese culture. An important finding that should be studied further is that the ability to produce and use signs in naming as a coherent marker of identity is the result of deep thought processes.

**Keywords** Personal name · Cultural identity · Semiotics · Onomastics

### **Introduction**

Naming is a social practice that often fails to capture the interests of scholars. One commonly heard question is "What is the meaning of a name?" This question involves several aspects, such as names having meaning, names involving the aspirations of the name-giver, and other reasons for choosing a name. Javanese parents generally highly value having children in the family. For the Javanese, children are a gift from God and it is the parents' task to properly raise and educate them. Parents should educate their children so they can grow into human beings of good character and

Untoro

Javanese Literature Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

URL: https://kitabisa.com/

F. X. Rahyono (B) Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Universitas Buddhi Dharma, Tangerang, Indonesia

<sup>©</sup> The Author(s) 2024

B. Kushartanti and D. N. Djenar (eds.), *Language Practices Among Children and Youth in Indonesia*, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4775-1\_10

who would be useful to family and peers. In this connection, the choice of the child's name is very important for parents.

The academic field of study that focuses on names is called onomastics. Although its scope can be broad, the majority of the literature in this field has focused on place names (toponyms) and personal names (anthroponyms) (Bright, 2003), the latter of which is the subject of the present study. Within the context of Indonesia, personal names are markers of identity and indicate gender, social status, ethnicity, geographical area of birth, religion, and so forth. For example, if a person is named *Suharti* or *Suharto*, we immediately assume the person is Javanese. Moreover, the name *Muhammad Al Lathif* indicates membership of the community of Muslim followers. The multi-ethnic situation in Indonesia makes Indonesian names use more vocabulary from their respective regional languages. In addition to religious identity, Indonesian people identify themselves through their names using the vocabulary of their local language. Thus, the use of Indonesian vocabulary for personal names is less productive than the use of vocabulary from their respective regional languages. However, personal names do not carry meaning in the same manner as that of lexical words. A person's name has a direct correlation between that person's name and the culture in which he/she was born (Danesi, 2004). A personal name refers to an individual object (Gamut, 1991; Kempson, 1986), such as someone named Suharti or Suharto. The word "lions," for example, refers to all animals called "lions." The word "lions" is not linked to the culture of the place they inhabit.

Javanese names tend to reflect their name-givers' worldview, the phenomena (both concrete and abstract) that shape it, social groups, and the parents' aspirations for their children. In this regard, naming, in the Javanese culture, has much in common with the personal naming systems in various other cultures, e.g., the Native American culture (Tartono, 2010). For instance, Javanese personal names are commonly derived from names of flora and fauna, indicators of time *neptu* (a day of the week) and *wuku* (a month in the Javanese calendar), numerals, cosmic phenomena, characters in shadow puppet stories, and words associated with the practice of religious or spiritual beliefs. In addition, personal names are derived from lexical words with meanings related to desirable human qualities, such as ideals, hopes, beauty, salvation, strength, courage, and virtue. Widodo et al., (2010, p. 260) observed that the diversity of Javanese names suggests a long history of tradition and culture. Moreover, personal names reflect the Javanese philosophy regarding a person's attitudes, hopes, aspirations, and ideals. In fact, names reflect not only what the name-givers believe, but also relates to their wishes or prayers for the individual being named.

We examined the names of children from different periods and found that the names of children born between 2015 and 2017 are significantly different from the names of children born between 1940 and 1950. Personal names that are no longer a significant marker of ethnic identity are now more popular, as are names originating from foreign words. What motivates parents to offer their children foreign-sounding names? A desire to better understand this phenomenon is the motivation for this study.

Several researchers have looked at aspects of Javanese names. Indrawan (2015) examined how a name's connotations may influence university lecturers' perceptions of the name owner's intelligence. Widodo et al. (2010) examined the syntactic and semantic features of Javanese names and found that changing cultural tastes is a motivating factor. Kuipers and Askuri (2017) determined that Islamization is an emerging factor influencing the choice of name among the Javanese. As will be shown, our present study supports this.

The key difference between traditional Javanese names and modern names given to children in the new global context is concerned with the way people conceptualize their identity. Whereas traditional names invariably indicate that the holder of the name is Javanese, new names are more difficult to decipher, since they are influenced by multiple sources, such as the Internet, books on baby names, naming trends, foreign languages, popular culture, and so forth. Our purpose in this qualitative study is to examine the different cultural and linguistic references that Javanese people draw from in determining personal names, in traditional and new global contexts.

### **Semantic and Semiotic Perspective**

Personal names are the representation of culture in lexical forms (Koentjaraningrat, 2009). The choice of names involves the conceptualization of life experiences, knowledge, and human activities. According to Pederson and Nuyts (1999, p. 1), this is possible because people have "an internal representation of linguistic knowledge," which allows them to perform certain behaviors. Hudson (1990) explained that propositions expressed as statements are the results of conceptualizing knowledge that exists in the human mind. Thus, personal names can be traced through such conceptualization. Though personal names are not propositions, the process of selecting personal names is eventually carried out through the conceptualization process, as explained by Hudson.

In this study, personal names are analyzed from both semantic and semiotic perspectives. The semantic approach in this study is based on Ogden and Richards' semiotic triangle theory (1923). This theory is used to understand the meaning of personal names, based on the symbols and referents they invoke (i.e., objects in the real world (either concrete or abstract)). Smith (2017, p. 111) states that names always have semiotic meanings. According to Peirce's (1940) theory of the semiotic process, cultural signs are the representation of both the physical and nonphysical, i.e., the semiotic perspective explains how a sign (in the form of a personal name) can become "the representation" of objects that exists in the human mind. In this regard, the meaning of objects, in accordance with the expectations of the namegiver, is called the "interpretant" (Hoed, 2014, p. 9). In Javanese culture, the thought of salvation is a hope that is always present as an object in people's minds. Lexically, the words that express the meaning of "safe" in Javanese include the words slamet and raharja. The interpretation of hopes for salvation, as well as the words slamet and raharja, as the representation of the object of "salvation," resulted in the selfname, Slamet Raharja. The choice of that self-name is aimed at hopefully receiving salvation for the child named Slamet Raharja (Rahyono, 2015, p. 135).

The onomastic approach used in this study is based on the idea that names are not merely an arbitrary signaling system. Instead, name selection involves thought or references that exist in the human mind about the object and the world of experience**.**  Referring to Hudson's conception (1990), the world of experience denotes the cultural knowledge stored in memory. Thought or references connect objects and worlds of experience and are expressed by personal names. Naming is not just a matter of labeling people, places, or objects, but it can include categorical, associative, or emotive meanings (Nyström, 2016). According to Aldrin (2016, p. 382): "… the name is a marker of the identity of an object or a referent named."

The data for this study was collected through observation, interviews, and questionnaires. The observation involved the selection and study of written sources and government documents regarding the inhabitants of Sukorejo, Ngasem, and Kediri or the alumni database of SMAN Negeri 1 in Kediri. From this dataset, we obtained 25 names in the traditional context and 25 names in the global context.

We conducted 20- to 30-min interviews with each informant. The participants were asked about the meaning of their children's names and how their names were chosen. The information from the interviews was then used to supplement the other qualitative data. We recruited 11 persons to take part in the study. They were asked to complete a questionnaire. There were two groups of participants: a group of eight parents who had named their children, and a group of three who had confessed that they were Javanese cultural experts. Three of the interviewed cultural experts were not parents who had given names to their babies. The eight parents who were interviewed were parents whose children were born between 2016 and 2017. They talked about the meanings of their children's names and how their names were chosen. The questionnaires were given to the parents of the children who were born between 2016 and 2017.

The collected data was processed by first grouping the name data according to the year of birth. For example, birth dates between 1940 and 1950 were categorized as names under the traditional context, while birth dates between 2016 and 2017 were categorized as names under the global context. Subsequently, the names were further organized (according to morphological structure) into three groups: (1) single word, (2) word combination, and (3) complex words.

Data analysis was performed by dividing the meaning of the names into units of word-forming structures. The etymology of personal names was then traced by using three dictionaries: *Baoesastra Djawa* (Poerwadarminta, 1939), which is a dictionary commonly used by Javanese native speakers, and *Al Munawwir* (Munawwir, 1984), a well-known Arab-Indonesian dictionary. Names originating from other languages were traced by using an English-Indonesian dictionary. All of the lexemes listed in the dictionaries and related sources were validated in the interviews. Finally, a semiotic analysis was conducted, based on the researchers' interpretation of the thoughts in choosing their babies' names.

### **Personal Names in Traditional Context**

Choosing personal names in either a traditional or global context can be complex since it involves drawing on the name-givers' real world experiences and their aspirations for their children. However, the differences between the thought behind the names, under the traditional context and those under the global context, indicate changes in naming practices.

We found that traditional personal names are taken from names of objects that can be organized into three groups: (1) concrete objects, (2) abstract objects, and (3) a combination of real and abstract objects. Modern names, by comparison, only consist of terms referring to a combination of concrete and abstract objects. Concrete objects are things in the real world that can be perceived by the five human senses, while abstract objects are those that are imaginary and cannot be perceived by any of the five senses (e.g., beauty, salvation, power, and attitudes). Structurally, a Javanese name can consist of one Javanese word or a combination of words. Names can be grouped into two categories. The first category is personal names that have lexical meaning, while the second category is personal names that solely serve as markers of identity and have no lexical meaning. Personal names with a one-word structure are not found in the names of children born in the global context between 2016 and 2017. Kuipers and Askuri (2017) revealed that Javanese names consisting of only one word are almost nonexistent.

The names *Sujito*, *Suseno*, and *Harmadji* are examples of names that have no lexical meaning. In other words, the names only serve as markers of identity (Nyström, 2016). In fact, Javanese names like these generally include a three-vowel structure with the vowel patterns *u-i-a*, *u-e-a*, and *a-a-i* being the most common (Uhlenbeck, 1982). The existence of names that have no lexical meaning indicates that the name-givers did not perform a complicated semiosis process. They merely drew on a convention concerning phonetic features (Uhlenbeck, 1982). As Aldrin (Aldrin, 2016) mentions, many name-givers choose a name purely based on convention.

The name *Slamet* is an example of a name that undergoes different processes of semiosis. The name *Slamet* is derived from a word that lexically means "safety, well-being." For the Javanese, safety or well-being is a necessity of life that has to be sought in earnest, and one way that people can ensure they have it is by naming their children *Slamet.* The importance of this concept, for the Javanese, is reflected in many Javanese synonyms of *slamet*, such as *raharja, rahayu, basuki,* and *waluya*  (Rahyono, 2015). In order to improve the likelihood for a 35-day old baby to be in good health and free from any illness, the baby's parents organize a series of prayer activities, called *slametan*, a ritual activity to bring about safety and wellness.

To Javanese parents, every child born in the world is priceless and to express their gratefulness for having a child, parents search for names that suggest that the child is of great value to them, such as the names *Rukmini* and *Sulaksmi*. The word *rukmini*  can be structurally decomposed into two-word-forming constituents; namely, *rukmi* "emas" +*ni*. *Rukmi* is the name of a precious metal ("gold"), while the status – *ni,* attached to the word *rukmi,* still requires further research. In Javanese, there is a morpheme of the suffix –*i* with allomorph –ni, which has a grammatical aspect meaning. Since the word *rukmini* is the name of a woman, the form –*i* or –*ni* attached to the word *rukmi* can be classified as a female gender marker. Its corresponding male form is –*na*. Conventionally, the *a* is replaced with the vowel *o*, as in the name *Setyono*. In Javanese, the constituent –*i* or –*ni,* as a gender marker, is only found in self-names. Although there are bound morphemes that can be classified as gender markers, not all Javanese female or male names are marked with a gender marking suffix. While –*ni* is not a morpheme or suffix, it can be classified as a female gender marker, which is found in Javanese names. Its corresponding male form is –*na*. Conventionally, the *a* is replaced with the vowel *o*, as in the name *Setyono*.

A syllable-like constituent –*na* (in Javanese names written with the vowel [o] as in –*no*) acts as a marker of male gender. For women, the form becomes –*ni,* as in *Setyani* instead of *Setyono*. Aside from being a gender marker, this marker also means "something existing." However, Javanese speakers often use short forms, so it is possible that the –*na* form is also a shortened form of the word *ana* "there is, exists." Based on this analysis, the name *Setyono* is derived from the word *setya* and the short form of the word *ana*, and the name thus carries the meaning of "there is loyalty."

The meaning of the name *Rukmini* is also metaphorical. More specifically, the lexical meaning of *rukmi* ("gold") is metaphorically understood as "valuable"; thus, the name suggests that the child is precious. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) explained that metaphors are not just a matter of equating one thing with another, but involve conceptualizing one thing in terms of another. In the case of *Rukmini*, the conceptualization of gold as a precious object becomes the source of reference for naming a child. The nonproductive word *abinawa*, derived from Sanskrit, is found in everyday conversations. Lexically, *abinawa* refers to "new," "young," "amazing," or "admirable" abstract objects (Poerwadarminta, 1939, p. 1). The choice of the name *abinawa*  differs from that of *Slamet* in terms of its referents. Instead of an object, its source of reference is the concept of beauty or elegance. When the name is given to a child, it also indicates that the name-giver is from a higher social class.

Parents' knowledge of traditional names will vary depending on their social status. Parents who have had exposure to the vocabulary of literary texts will likely have mastery over a larger range of choices of words that can be used as personal names for their children. As Smith (2017, p. 111) states, experience cannot be separated from the process of interpretation or any conceptual understanding. Parents who have not had the experience of studying literary texts during their education are likely to choose a name which denotes the meaning of safety and wellness, such as *Slamet*.

The names *Widyaningsih, Hermanu*, and *Sarwaji* reflect more complex conceptualizations, as these names are composed of two or more lexical constituents. The name *Widyaningsih* comes from the word *widya* "science," the posessive marker *ning* "belonging to a third person," and the word *sih* "love, warm feelings." These complex names represent a more complex process of semiosis than that of the name *Slamet*. In this case, the names *Widyaningsih* "knowledge of love," *Hermanu* "noble water," and *Sarwaji* "worth everything," are used to identify the children by referring to physical, abstract, and concrete objects associated with the names. Aldrin (2016, p. 383) states that in onomastic studies, name-givers and name researchers are likely to have different perspectives on the meaning of names. So, our understanding as researchers of the meaning of *Widyaningsih, Hermanu*, and *Sarwaji* may not be the same as that of the name-giver. According to one interviewee, the name *Hermanu*  was solely used to distinguish the child from his older brother. However, the parents also mentioned that they hoped that, with such a name, their child would have a good life.

The use of the prefix *su*–, in personal names, is characteristic of Javanese names. *Su*–, which means "something good," is gender neutral so it can be used to name both girls and boys*.* For example, the name *Sulaksmi* is formed from the constituent *su*– and the word *laksmi* "beautiful." In this case, parents naming their daughter *Sulaksmi* would have these qualities in mind or hope their child would grow to be a person with these qualities.

### **Globally Informed Naming Practices**

Modern Javanese names are names that draw inspiration from global influences. These names are not found in the form of a single word, nor are they found in the combination of two constituent structures combined into one word. Instead, they contain foreign loan words. The use of such words enables name-givers to combine two or more words into a single name. In this regard, the process of naming, in the traditional context, is more complex than that in the global context. In other words, in the traditional context, name-givers integrate objects and qualities to symbolize something meaningful, whereas, in the global context, the practical aspect of selecting names from foreign languages is of primary concern.

Names composed of multiple words are found in both traditional and globally informed naming practices. The difference between the two is the prevalence of the number of words that make up the name. More specifically, traditional names are dominated by a combination of two words, while globally informed names are dominated by a combination of three or more words. Examples of traditional names with a two-word structure are: *Agung Prakasa, Kukuh Prasetyo, Seto Sudibyo, Joko Santosa, Surya Widodo, Sri Endah, Bambang Suwarno, Bambang Saptoadji, Bambang Sudarsono,* and *Nilawati Sugiarti*.

Referentially, the words used in traditional personal names symbolize the referents of concrete and abstract objects. According to the *Baoesastra Djawa* (Poerwadarminta, 1939), examples of the lexical meanings of words that make up names, include: *agung* "great or abundant," *prakasa* "strong," *kukuh* "strong, not easily damaged," *prasetyo* "promise of loyalty," *seto* "the color white," *sudibyo* "superior, possessing spiritual power," *joko* "a young unmarried person,' *santosa* 'strong," *surya* "the sun," *widodo* "free from danger or disaster," *sri* "light, great beauty," *endah*  "beautiful," *bambang* "a strong, brave person, warrior caste (Hindu)," *su-warno* "a fine, handsome face," *sapto-adji* "seven values," and *su-darsono* "a good example, worthy of emulation."

The positive values that are invoked in name-giving are fundamental to survival in life, both in its physical and spiritual needs. In order to "survive" (the meaning conveyed by the word *widodo*), a person must excel (*agung, adji*), have a certain role (*surya, candra*), and have power (*kukuh*, *prakasa, santosa*) or supernatural powers (*sudibyo*). Rahyono (2015) explained that Javanese culture teaches people that they must cultivate the ability to survive in the world with all its challenges. Thus, Javanese parents that prioritize this cultural ideal when naming their children, tend to follow the traditional practice.

In regard to semiotics, Danesi (2004, p. 20) stated that semiosis is the capacity of the brain to produce and understand signs. The selection of names, under the traditional context, can be seen as an example of semiosis rooted in Javanese culture. For example, the name *Surya Widodo* (for a boy) is marked with the words *surya*  "sun" and *widodo* "congratulations." In this case, "sun" (as a concrete object) and "congratulations" (as an abstract object) are used as thoughts in the naming. Hence, the name *Surya Widodo* reflects the parents' hope that the boy will grow up to become a person who is capable of serving as an enlightener and protector of people.

The name *Bambang Sudarsono*, whose meaning is "the warrior who became a good example," represents the parents' hope that the boy will have a warrior's spirit and be a good example or role model for others. In this case, the name-givers chose the name based on their positive expectations for their child. The same process can be seen in the name *Bambang Saptoadji*. The referent marked with the word *bambang*  "warrior," *sapta* "seven," and *adji* "appreciated," is the physical object of "a boy." Overall, the name refers to the hope that the seventh child (with a warrior's heart) will contribute to society and be appreciated by his people.

An interesting choice of name is *Priyono Suryo Candra*. The referents, in this case, are the physical objects "boy," "sun," and "moon." The three lexical units (all nouns) do not structurally form a coherent unity of meaning, since they mean "the boy of the sun and the moon." However, the name can be interpreted as "child who never ceases to bring light to others." According to Kuiper and Askuri (2017), this meaning is a researcher-oriented meaning. Kuiper and Asukri's ideas are not entirely true. In this study, parents who give names also have a semiotic orientation as a reference for choosing their children's names.

Two-word compound names that are globally informed are found in the following names: *Janeta Aurellia* and *Rahel Revalin*. Three-word compound names include: *Diajeng Galuh Asmara, Raditya Dirga Dwitama, Nicho Al Varo Saputra, Nathania Callista Putri, Lino Bastian Kusnadi, Satrio Dzamar Shakti, Annora Hevanika Andriani, Ronal Gavin Al Varo, Princess Varisha of Valent, Muhammad Al Lathif Khalifah, Ardiana Halimatus Saidah, Khai Al Javas Harmawan, Aguero Zafiro Abisa, Javier Nikola Paneo,* and *Aceline Shezah Farzana*. Four word compound names are: *Muhammad Arjuna Rizky Asmara, Sahila Umurina Nailatus Sa'adah, Sha Noah Jusuf Asnod, Moch. Schulhan Atho'ur Rochman, Achmad Zacky Maulana Ibrahim, Ganila Butsainah Maghani Harmawan*, and *Diandra Rizky Mulya Sari*.

Based on population data records obtained by the researchers, the globally informed names were generally found among those whose parents were the descendants of Chinese migrants. Population data records were obtained from the population archives of the local government office at the research location. One example is the name *Lino Bastian Kusnadi*. In this case, the word *kusnadi* is combined with the words *lino* and *bastian*, both of which are not Javanese. The word *kusnadi*, which has no lexical meaning, is commonly used as a Javanese name for males. Thus, the name *Lino Bastian Kusnadi* becomes a marker of Javanese identity because of this last/third name. In another example, the names *Janeta Aurellia* and *Aguero Zafiro Abisa* can also be identified as Javanese. In these cases, *Janeta Aurellia* is the son of a husband and wife named *Agus Susanto* and *Puji Saraswati*, respectively, while *Aguero Zafiro Abisa* is the child of the husband and wife named *Toetoes Soegiarto* and *Wanodya Pradana Paramita*, respectively. Although their parents' names are clearly Javanese, the parents chose not to use Javanese cultural words for their children's names.

Another interesting finding includes two globally informed names that solely use Javanese cultural words that have lexical meaning: *Diajeng Galuh Asmara* and *Raditya Dirga Dwitama*. One interesting finding is that the names of only two of the children born between 2016 and 2017 used Javanese words. Each well-formed word has a lexical meaning, namely: *Diajeng Galuh Asmara* and *Raditya Dirga Dwitama*. Global influences embedded in both names include the use of the vowel /a/, which differs from traditional Javanese names that use the vowel /o/ with the sound [O]. The choice of these two names indicates that the name-givers remained rooted in Javanese culture but also embraced non-Javanese influences. More specifically, the word *diajeng* is a greeting to women younger than the person giving the greeting. In addition to expressing a sense of affection, *diajeng* is considered to be a polite term. Meanwhile, the word *galuh* is used to designate two referents, namely, "princess/ girl" or "gemstone," while the word *asmara* means "loving, affectionate." In the second name, the word *raditya* is commonly used in literary registers meaning "the sun," while the word *dirga* is taken from a well-known Indonesian public figure, an Indonesian film actor. Moreover, the word *dwi* is used to denote that the child is the second born, while *tama*, the abbreviated form of *utama* "very good," indicates that the parents want the child to have a good character.

The use of words from foreign languages does not always imply that the namegivers have proficiency in the foreign language from which the names are derived. For example, the parents of the children named *Ronal Gavin Al Varo* and *Nicho Al Varo Saputra* explained that they did not know the meaning of their children's names. Similar cases of naming indicate that the choice of children's names is not rooted in Javanese culture. However, it does not mean that the process of semiosis and thoughts about positive values are absent, only that the role of Javanese cultural vocabulary as a marker of identity, is not the main consideration and that parents favor signs from foreign languages. This also indicates a difference in the languages that are used as a reference in naming. For example, the name *Kiandra Annaila* was used to represent a reference to a successful leader. Similarly, we found the name *Javier Nikola Paneo*  representing a reference to a prince.

An example of a globally informed name that uses Arabic vocabulary is *Muhammad Al Lathif Khalifah*. The name *Muhammad* refers to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, who has exemplary characteristics, while the word *al-lathif* comes from the root word *lathofa*, meaning "soft, subtle." Moreover, the word *khalifah*  comes from the root *kholafa*, which means "leader." In this case, the name-giver is referencing a revered figure in Islam.

In another instance, an Islamic figure and a Wayang figure from Javanese culture are combined. The name *Muhammad Arjuna Rizky Asmara* incorporates two qualities and two revered figures to identify the child: the word *rizky,* which means "sustenance" in Arabic, the word *asmara* "love," *Muhammad,* the prophet, and *Arjuna*,a brave and wise archer in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Based on the lexical meaning of the name's constituents, we can conclude that the reference is a conceptualization of reverence (*Muhammad*) and bravery (*Arjuna*). Structurally, the combination of the four words in the name does not form a coherent proposition. However, the entire name *Muhammad Arjuna Rizky Asmara* can be interpreted as good luck in life and love. The meaning interpretations meet the parental expectations for giving the names.

Finally, it is important to note that, among the global names found in this study, there were those that did not refer to any recognizable cultural, religious, or historical figure. Examples are the following names: *Princess Varisha of Valent*, *Rahel Revalin*, *Lino Bastian Kusnadi*, and *Aceline Shezah Farzana.* These names followed the same patterns of globally informed naming, but they did not refer to a recognizable figure or someone with high moral value to which we might perceive a metaphorical reference.

### **Aesthetic Considerations in Naming**

The intensity of contact between the Javanese language and its culture and foreign languages and cultures occurring in a global context has resulted in a shift in reference when choosing personal names. Although, in general, the shift still takes into consideration positive values, there are still differences in whether a particular lexical meaning of the word is an important consideration in the choice of a personal name. In the traditional context, a personal name is a word that expresses a particular lexical meaning, whereas in a global context, name-givers do not attach importance to lexical meaning. Instead, their choices are oriented toward the names of public figures or the aesthetic value of the words.

Regarding the mastery of literary or archaic vocabulary, the choice of the names *Diajeng Galuh Asmara* and *Raditya Dirga Dwitama* indicates that the name-giver knows the meaning of the individual words used as the names of their children. Knowledge of literary vocabulary provides an opportunity for them to choose names. In addition to the variety of choices, the aesthetic aspect of language is also a consideration in naming. The use of archaic terms: galuh, asmara, raditya, dirga, and dwitama, which commonly appear in literature, presents an aesthetic element to name-giving.

In Javanese, beautiful language is referred to as *basa rinengga*, literally meaning "decorated language." The element of beauty, in the Javanese language, is constructed by employing similar vowel sounds in a series of words to create assonance. Assonance, in a sequence of words in Javanese literature, is termed as *purwakanthi*  (Rahyono, 2015). Traditional names, especially those consisting of two or three words, have a pattern of assonance called *purwakanthi*. Below are examples of assonances in a series of words, along with the phonetic symbols (IPA) of the vocal sounds contained in the names. The phoneme sound /a/–[O] of the word *raditya*, for example, is similar to the phoneme sound /a/ of the word *talk* in English.


The beauty expressed through assonance is also found in modern names. The choice of foreign words used as personal names produces an assonance pattern similar to names in the traditional context. The following are some examples.


The use of assonance, in both traditional and modern names, reveals that aesthetics remains an important consideration for name-givers. Although the name-giver may have abandoned the vocabulary of Javanese, the element of beauty associated with assonance in *purwakanthi* remains a consideration in the selection of words. The blend of foreign and Javanese words indicates that among name-givers who choose modern names, there remains a sense of pride in using Javanese words and that the Javanese ethnic identity is still positively valued.

### **Conclusion**

Culture is essentially dynamic, so it is not surprising that Javanese names that represent Javanese culture are changing. The occurrence of language and cultural contacts in the Javanese community in Kediri brings new influences that the parents take up in name-giving, even though their knowledge of foreign languages is limited. Although the same can be true for naming in the traditional context, parents generally chose words that characterized their identity as Javanese. Hence, the choices between the parents in the traditional context and those in the global context, indicate a significant difference in their sources of reference for naming.

Our findings showed that the number of words used in the names was not a major factor that determined the meaning complexity of the names. The names in the traditional context that were based on single words or a combination of two words did not represent less of an ability (or inability) to identify a child through a name. Conversely, modern names that were based on a combination of three words or more did not necessarily indicate that the parents wholly understood their meanings.

Finally, along with the growth of new knowledge coming from foreign languages and cultures, the names chosen in the global context showed diverse sources of reference. In other words, Javanese culture was not the only reference used to identify their children; foreign cultural values (e.g., noble values) were also used as a reference for the selection of names. In terms of the source of reference, foreign cultural references were found to be practical in the sense that names bearing these references did not function as ethnic identity markers; i.e., modern names are not necessarily rooted in Javanese culture.

**Acknowledgements** This work was supported by Universitas Indonesia (Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional Untuk Tugas Akhir Mahasiswa (PITTA) UI 2017, Grant Number 445/ UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2017).

### **References**


Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). *Metaphors we live by.* The University of Chicago Press.


**Untoro** graduated from the Javanese Studies Program in the Faculty of Humanities at Universitas Indonesia in 2018. His thesis is titled, "Referensi dalam Nama-nama Berbahasa Jawa dalam Konteks Lokal dan Global: Sebuah Kajian Semiotika Budaya" [References in Javanese Personal Names in Traditional and Global Contexts: A Cultural Semiotic Study].

**F. X. Rahyono** obtained his doctoral degree from Universitas Indonesia in 2003 with a dissertation entitled "Intonasi Ragam Bahasa Jawa Keraton Yogyakarta: Kontras Deklarativitas, Interogativitas, dan Imperativitas" [Intonation in Javanese Variety in the Keraton Yogyakarta: Contrast in Declarativity, Interrogativity, and Imperativity]. He was a senior lecturer at the Javanese Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia before he teaches at his current affiliation, the Faculty of Social and Humanities, Buddhi Dharma University. His fields of expertise include phonetics, pragmatics, and culture.

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### **Children and the Interpretation of the** *Gugon Tuhon:* **The Age Factor**

**Ida Erviana, Widhyasmaramurti, and Dwi Puspitorini** 

**Abstract** *Gugon tuhon* is a speech used by Javanese parents to give advice and teach good behaviors to their children. This paper deals with the children's age factor which influences on their comprehension of *gugon tuhon*s concerning eating etiquette. The data were collected through a questionnaire on children's comprehension, belief, and obedience to *gugon tuhon*s, which targeted children of 1st graders (7–8 years old), 3rd graders (9–10 years old), and 5th graders (11–12 years old) in Kediri city, East Java. Using a qualitative method, the data were analyzed and described based on Austin and Searle's speech act theory. The results show that in today's modern era, *gugon tuhon*s concerning eating etiquette are still used as a means for character building in Javanese families, so as for parents to introduce social and cultural norms of eating etiquette to their children. It is found that there are different understandings of this kind of speech. Children's different understanding of *gugon tuhon*s provides an insight into the language phenomenon in modern society, particularly as to how children's age influences their illocutionary speech acts in comprehending *gugon tuhon*s.

**Keywords** *Gugon tuhon* · Kediri · Children's belief · Children's obedience · Children's comprehension

I. Erviana

Javanese Literature Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

e-mail: ida.erviana@ui.ac.id

Motivasi Indonesia, Jakarta Utara (North Jakarta), Indonesia

Widhyasmaramurti · D. Puspitorini (B) Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia e-mail: dwi.puspitorini@ui.ac.id

Widhyasmaramurti e-mail: widhyasmaramurti.s@ui.ac.id

### **Introduction**

Indonesia is well-known for its cultural richness. Teachings of values are passed down from generation to generation in the form of oral tradition. According to Ethnologue (2020), Indonesia has 704 indigenous languages, encoding local wisdom. These used to be spread orally, now they are documented (Misnah, 2019, p. 1; Sugiyono, 2019). According to Tol and Pudentia (1995, p. 12), customs are conveyed orally in the form of folklores, myths, and legends that contain teachings about local practice, directions, customary laws, and traditional medication, passed down and from generation to generation. Beside folklores, myths and legends, the form of oral tradition vary, such as proverbs, poems, propositions, rhymes, riddles, and songs (Dananjaya, 1991, pp. 21–22). These oral traditions differ across Indonesia. In the western part of Indonesia, like in Bintan (an island between Malaysia and Indonesia, Sumatera island respectively), the oral tradition comes from the Malay heritage and in a form of folklore that informs teachings of their life cyle values from birth to pass away, herbal medicine, occupation until social relationship (Leoni & Indrayatti, 2018).

Moreover, in Minangkabau, with population of 6,463,000 in 2011 according to ethnologue census, 4,240,000 people according to United Nation Statistics Division (UNSD) speak Minang language. Minang language have propositions as expressions of belief that consist of teachings in the form of an appeal for not conducting particular action (Andheska, 2018, pp. 24–26). Then in the Eastern part of Indonesia, ethnic Kaili of Sigi district in Central Sulawesi has *motutura* as a local wisdom that taught orally. Kaili people used *motutura* as a mean to transfer historical knowledge that contains good teaching values that can still be used nowadays (Misnah, 2019, pp. 3–4). However, in the heart of Indonesia, respectively in Java Island, there is Javanese ethnicity with a population of 95,200,000 according to 20,011 Ethnologue census. According to 2015 UNSD, 68,200,000 people speak Javanese language, thus it becomes the most speaking language in Indonesia. This puts Javanese language as one of prominent languages in Indonesia, beside Sundanese (34,000,000) and Madurese (13,600,000) in Sugiyono (2019).

Therefore, this research focus is on the oral tradition in Javanese as a part of Indonesia. Javanese has long history of oral traditions that comes in diverse forms. *Saloka* 'fixed-structure parables about human,' *peribasan* fixed-structured idioms,' *bebasan* 'fixed-structure parables about humans character,' *tembung entar* 'figure of speech,' *parikan '*phrases like rhymes,' *wangsalan* 'riddles and answers in disguise,' *Gugon Tuhon* 'teachings of values that are believed to have certain effects,' and many more are some of the forms (Rahyono, 2015, pp. 206–207). Furthermore, *Gugon Tuhon* is one of oral traditions in the forms of propositions which contains *piwulang* 'knowledge' of orders and prohibitions, as a guidance of good conduct, respectively (Nurjanah & Widhyasmaramurti, 2020, 127). Rahyono (2015, pp. 104– 105) explained that a proposition is a cultural expression whose meaning is formed through cultural conventions that carried out by a deep process of interpretation. The interpretation is not only based on the semantic meaning but also pragmatics one as the meaning that wanted to be obtained by the proposition maker. The proposition in the end becomes the concept of the community's mind and is communicated as a cultural form by the speakers (Rahyono, 2015, pp. 105–106). Therefore, proposition is usually introduced and taught by mothers since early childhood.

A child's experience of language acquisition starts from the day of birth (Ochs & Schieffelin, 2012, p. 8) when the parents speak to them. Through communicating with the child, parents inevitably pass down their values and beliefs. Among Javanese people, children are considered to be *durung ngerti* 'not yet have the (required) understanding,' especially in terms of moral and cultural expectations–what is allowed and what should not be done, and differentiating the good from the bad. In most cases, when they make mistakes, their parents will teach them the values by threatening them. According to Geertz (1961, p. 51), the threats that Javanese parents make reference outside forces, such as evil spirits, dogs, and strangers, all of which will harm the children if they fail to behave. Through these threats, the children become fearful and seek protection/security from their family.

Prohibitive rules conveyed by Javanese parents to their children are compiled in *Gugon Tuhon*, a set of maxims believed to have a certain influence or strength (Padmosoekotjo, 1958, p. 109). As for what is meant by influence or strength is namely in the form of a ban which was given by Javanese parents to children related to forces outside the family which will threaten children if they do not act well (Geetz, 1961, p. 151). Therefore, by using the prohibition as *Gugon Tuhon,* children are expected to be able to control themselves, be able to carry themselves politely, calmly, and in harmony. More specifically, *Gugon Tuhon* is considered as maxims that describe cultural values and etiquette of Javanese culture, which can be applied in everyday life (e.g., the etiquette of *lungguh* 'sitting,' *turu* 'sleeping,' and *mangan*  'eating').

We collected preliminary data from www.sastra.org in the form 148 *Gugon Tuhon*  maxims. Of these, 18% are concerned with eating etiquette. It shows that in Javanese, eating does not merely fulfill basic daily needs, but is also viewed as a type of ceremony that is both social and religious. Therefore, when eating together, family members have time to mingle, in this case, the mother as a parent can pay more attention to the child's behavior, thus allowing the *Gugon Tuhon* which related to eating etiquette to be spoken by mothers to their children. If the child does an act that is not considered well, such as not finishing their food, then the mother will say a *Gugon Tuhon*: "*Yen madhang aja sok nisa, mundhak pitike mati*" 'If you eat, don't leave any remains or the chickens will die.' However, sometimes the child does not realize that the *Gugon Tuhon* spoken by the mother is actually as a teaching for not wasting the food. They only understand it as a prohibition from mothers not to waste food. The presence of this G*ugon Gugon* in the middle of Javanese community shows that the *Gugon Tuhon* is still productively taught to children by mothers. These eating narratives support Tannen, Hamilton, and Schiffrin's claim (2015, pp. 685–686) that children's discourses can be seen from their participation in family routines such as dinner. Therefore, this study examines the extent to which children understand the etiquette. To find out, we interviewed primary school children on the topic of 10 *Gugon Tuhon* maxims on eating.

To Javanese people, eating ettiquete can be stated as unspoken rules that are used as guidelines, and if such rules are violated, the person in question is considered to be rude. Examples of *Gugon Tuhon* maxims about eating etiquette specify such things as: food that is and is not allowed to be consumed; procedures for starting and finishing a meal; and table manners. Overall, these maxims emphasize noble character values, usefulness, enjoyment, and healthy habits. Consider the previous *Gugon Tuhon* of children who are afraid to leave their food uneaten. This maxim is based on the notion that if the child leaves the food uneaten, then his/her chicken will die. Through this figure of speech, the child is expected to exercise control and not place too much food on his/her plate in the first place.

However, the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims are being increasingly abandoned by Javanese parents as they believe such maxims are either irrational or superstitious. According to Subalidinata (1968, p. 13), in general, those who have been warned about the bad consequences of not following the maxims are afraid to break them, whereas the purpose of the maxims is to prevent a person from taking an undesirable action in the first place. Conversely, parents do not adequately explain the meaning of such rules of conduct, because they assume that the children are passive recipients of local culture (Boas, as cited in Ochs & Schieffelin, 2012, p. 3). From the above problems, it is seen that there is an inequality in meaning in communication about the *Gugon Tuhon*  spoken by parents as speakers to children as listeners. Remembering the children who are the listeners, so that it will be difficult to respond to the intentions of the speakers.

For this study, the researchers selected 64 primary school students to participate, since children at that age group start to build their cultural foundations and are expected to develop good eating habits. As stated by Papalia and Martorell (2000), children aged 7 and 8 are usually aware of feelings of shame and pride, and they begin to differentiate between wrong and right behaviors. Children between the ages of 7 and 12 begin to care about cultural rules and expect them to know emotional expressions acceptable in society. Based on these assumptions, we recruited three groups of primary school students: 1st grade (7–8 years old), 3rd grade (9–10 years old), and 5th grade (11–12 years old). The study was conducted in Kediri, East Java. According to Kodiran (in Koentjaraningrat, 1988, p. 329), before major changes occurred to Javanese cultural, Kediri was an area where *Kejawen*–a form of Javanese spiritualism–was strongly adhered to. In fact, most elderlies in Kediri still strongly abide by the traditions and beliefs passed down by their ancestors. In addition, people in Kediri mainly speak Javanese language in the home, therefore there is a great possibility that the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims are still being delivered verbally to the children there.

### **Theoretical Framework**

This study is a pragmatic study of Javanese cultural maxims on eating. Levinson (1983, p. 5) provides a broad definition of pragmatics as a study of language use. He elaborates that "pragmatics is the study of those relations between language and context that are grammaticalized, or encoded in the structure of a language" (Levinson, 1983, p. 9). When language is used in a speech event and performed by native speakers, the meanings and messages that are produced are not only related to grammatical structures, but also to pragmatic meanings. One of the pragmatic domains that deals with this is speech act.

The term "speech act" was introduced by Austin (1975, pp. 94–108), that mention the three actions generated by a speech: locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. A locutionary act is the basis of an action, which is related to the act of uttering the speech. An illocutionary act is an act of speech that pertains to the speaker's intentions being realized through discourse. Searle (1979) divides illocution acts into five categories: (1) assertive (speaking about the truth of the expressed statements, e.g., reporting); (2) directive (speech acts performed by a speaker with the intention of influencing the listener(s) to complete an action, e.g., ordering); (3) expressive (speech acts performed so that the utterance is interpreted as an evaluation of the aspects mentioned in the utterance, e.g., criticizing); (4) commissive (binds the speaker's commitment to do something, e.g., threatening or promising); and (5) declaration (speech acts conducted to change the status quo after it has been declared, e.g., deciding). Finally, a perlocutionary act is a speech act that relates to the consequences or effects of a particular action on the listener(s).

From the definitions above, it is clear that *Gugon Tuhon* is closely related to speech acts. At the locutionary level, *Gugon Tuhon* is expressed as an imperative or prohibition. However, at the illocutionary level, *Gugon Tuhon* serves as a directive as it is actually an advice from the speaker to the addressee (usually a child). By focusing on the illocutionary act, we asked whether the children in our study understand the maxims for eating. Meanwhile, at the perlocutionary level, *Gugon Tuhon* is expected to elicit some response or action from the interlocutor as a result of the speech act. This can be seen from the children's belief and obedience to *Gugon Tuhon*. Morever, Andari and Widhyasmaramurti (2019, p. 821) stated that the *Gugon Tuhon* is related to pragmatic because it has an effect to listeners. The application of speech act theory by Austin (1975) as pragmatic domains occur through locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts. For example, in *Gugon Tuhon:* "*Yen madhang aja sok nisa, mundhak pitike mati*" 'If you eat, don't leave any remains or the chickens will die.' The locutionary is in the form of the spoken *Gugon Tuhon* which was spoken by a mother to her child, and the child who heard the *Gugon Tuhon* understood it as illocutionary which is an order to finish his/her food. The perlocutionary that occurs is the child's action to finish his/her food because the child will be afraid for not finishing his/her food for his/her chicken will die. Therefore, what is meant by obedience here is, how the ladder or actions of children regarding the *Gugon Tuhon*. If the child gives a positive response (acceptance) then the child is obedient and does what is forbidden in *Gugon Tuhon*. Conversely, if a child responds negatively (rejection) then the child is disobedient and does not do what is prohibited in the *Gugon Tuhon.*

### **Method**

This research employs a quantitative approach, because it includes survey research that uses questionnaires as research instruments. It aims to see to what extent children in Kediri comprehend and follow *Gugon Tuhon*, taking their ages into account. According to Piaget (in Hurlock, 1978, p. 80), children begin to judge my behavior on the basis of the underlying objectives at the age between 7 or 8 years and continue until the age of 12 years or more. At this stage, the rigid concept of the right and wrong and the actions learned from parents begin to change and there is a modification. These conditions make children begin to consider certain circumstances related to moral violations. Based on these assumptions, this study followed several steps as follows:

### *Preparing the Instrument*

The making of research instruments begins with collecting reference sources for instruments containing the *Gugon Tuhon*. The written references that were used carefully in collecting the *Gugon Tuhon* were taken from *Serat Gugon Tuhon Prawira Winarsa* from www.sastra.org as primary reference and *Ngengrengan Kasusastran Djawa I* (Padmosoekotjo, 1958) as secondary reference. At the beginning, there were 198 *Gugon Tuhon* from both references. Then these 198 *Gugon Tuhon* were classified and sorted in by using keywords, namely "eating" and any relation to "eating activities." Then the result is marked by the presence of the verb "to eat" (e.g., *madhang, manganese, nedha*), until it obtained 27 *Gugon Tuhon.* These 27 *Gugon Tuhon* is grouped again based on a keyword which is "eating habits." Furthermore, these habits are still actively used by the people of Kediri City Then from this sorting process, 10 *Gugon Tuhon* were obtained.

The instrument for collecting the research data was in the form of a list of questions in the form of a survey questionnaire. The questions were formulated with the intention of knowing the differences in comprehension, belief, and obedience of elementary school children from different grades. The survey questionnaire contains closed questions (multi-choice question), in which the respondents were asked to select one of the answers provided by circling the appropriate answers for each question. Before distributing the questionnaires, the instrument was pre-tested in order to support the validity of the data.

The survey questionnaire used in this study consisted of two parts. The first part includes questions on the personal background of the participants. The participants' personal data consist of name; gender; place of birth date or age; number of siblings; father's job; mother's job; mother tongue; questions about the language used at home and at school (in the form of "Yes" or "No" answer choices). Followed by the personal's questions related to language used, such as whether Javanese, Indonesian, and/or foreign languages; questions at home with anyone, whether parents, grandparents, and/or siblings; questions have the habit of eating together or not; answer "Yes" followed by the question of eating together with whom, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, and/or siblings.

The second part, consists of a list of 10 *Gugon Tuhon* maxims associated with eating etiquette. For each narrative, some questions were asked regarding whether the children have heard it, believe it, and obey it, respectively. Furthermore, each *Gugon Tuhon* is accompanied by a list of questions related to whether the child has heard *Gugon Tuhon* or not; understand the meaning or not; believe it or not; when you have heard, heard from whom: father, mother, grandparent, teacher, other people, or all the answers. Moreover, there is a "to or do" question. Participants were asked in the form of "Yes" or "No" question. If the answer is "Yes," then why do you do it, whether you are afraid of those who say it, afraid if it happens, and/or know that it's not good, or there are other reasons. In the selection of hearing *Gugon Tuhon* from whom and the reasons for doing a particular action suggested by thea meaning of the *Gugon Tuhon*, the participants can choose more than one. The language used in both parts are Indonesian, except for the *Gugon Tuhon.* This was done so that children could more easily understand the questions.

Researchers conducted a pretest twice. First, the pretest was conducted by researchers and teams who positioned themselves as participants. From this pretest the researcher corrected the list of inaccurate questions. Second, the pretest was conducted on three children in the study destination. It was intended to see how far the questionnaire made can be understood by participants. From these trials it is sufficient to be used as a benchmark for continuing data collection in the field. The questions were designed to take into account the influence of age on the children's comprehension of *Gugon Tuhon*. For this purpose, 10 *Gugon Tuhon* maxims associated with eating etiquette were presented to the students. The following are the 10 *Gugon Tuhon* maxims used in this study.

### (1) *Aja sok mangan nyongga ajang, pincuk, takir, godhong, lan sejene, mundhak kemaga.*

'Do not eat by holding up the bowls/plates, bowl-/plate-like container made of banana leaf, leaves, and the like, as you will be disappointed later.'

This maxim is intended to be used by parents to forbid children to carry plates with one hand. Not only is holding up a plate with one hand considered rude in Javanese culture, but it is also risky, as food may easily spill and be wasted. Some participants in our study mentioned that they have been told holding a plate with one hand is *ora ilok* 'inappropriate.'

#### (2) *Aja sok mangan ana paturon, mundhak lara gudhigen.*

'Don't eat in bed, as you will get scabies.'

The function of this maxim is to discourage children from eating in bed. More specifically, if children bring food to bed, it makes the bed dirty and may invites insects, and therefore makes it uncomfortable for children to sleep on. Having a dirty bed is unhygienic, so the narrative mentions eating in bed can cause scabies, which is a disease caused by poor hygiene. In Javanese culture, lack of hygiene is understood as something to be shameful of, and some children were afraid of to violate the narrative based on this reason alone.

### (3) *Nak madhang aja ngolah-ngalih panggonan, besuk mundhak kerep rabi.*

'If you eat, don't move around, as you will end up having to go through several marriages.'

Young children tend to run around, including during meal times, which causes distress for the parents who are trying to feed them. Aside from possible choking and upsetting the digestive process, moving around too often while eating indicates that the child is unsettled and is likened to a person who marries often or who frequently changes their life partners.

#### (4) *Aja mangan karo ngadeg, wetenge dadi dawa.*

'Don't eat while standing, or your stomach will grow long.'

A child who is standing and eating usually does so because he/she is in a hurry, but standing while eating is considered rude in Javanese culture. If a child eats too quickly, then it negatively affects the digestive process. Parents warn children that their stomach will grow "long" or distended to discourage them from doing so.

#### (5) *Aja memangan karo taturon, mundhak adoh malaekate.*

'Do not eat while lying down, as it drives the angels away.'

It is believed that angels love good things that are clean and white. Aside from disrupting the digestive process and contaminating the bed, the message here is that angels do not come to dirty places and if they stay away, then the child will grow into an evil human being.

### (6) *Yen madhang aja sok nisa, mundhak mati pitike.*

'If you eat, don't leave any remains or the chickens will die.'

Parents use this maxim to frighten their children and make them obey the rule for eating. Children usually love chickens, so the thought of them die scares them. This narrative is based on the reasoning that leftover food can be given to chickens, and too much leftover could make make them fat and eventually die. The real intention behind this maxim is to teach children about manners, i.e., to understand the size of a portion, and to appreciate their parents' efforts in preparing the food.

### (7) *Yen nengahi mamah, nanedha aja cecaturan, mundhak keselak.*

'If you're chewing food, don't talk as you could choke.'

There is a logical reason behind this prohibition. Aside from being impolite, talking while eating can make someone choke.

### (8) *Yen nengah-nengahi madhang aja sok ngombe, iku dibahasakake anggedhekake kamukten.*

'If in the middle of eating, don't drink often as it can be said to exaggerate the joy of life.'

Parents use this maxim to forbid children to drink too often during eating. Aside from being considered rude in Javanese culture and disrupting the digestive process, children who drink too often in the middle of a meal are likened to people who flaunt themselves in front of others.

### (9) *Aja sok mangan pepanganan kang panas-panas, mundhak gelis ompong.*

'Don't eat hot [temperature] foods often, as you will soon be toothless.'

The meaning of this maxim is that parents forbid children to eat hot (temperature) foods, since it is believed that eating hot foods results in less chewing and therefore disrupts digestion. Hot food is also believed to be damaging to one's teeth. In addition, people who eat food that is still hot are considered impatient (i.e., they cannot wait until the food cools down), which is rude in Javanese culture.

### (10) *Aja sok ngokop kokohan, mundhak peteng atine.*

'Do not drink the vegetable soup directly from the bowl, as it will darken the heart.'

*Ngokop* 'gulping' refers to an action of sticking the mouth directly into the bowl. During this action, a raised bowl can cover the face and block the eyes. Aside from being rude or inappropriate in Javanese culture, it is believed to resemble the darkness of a person's heart.

### *Participants*

This research used purposive sampling technique in selecting the participants. This means that the sample was taken because it was based on a specific objective, not strata, random, or regional. Researchers took samples at SD Negeri Blabak 4 by recruiting three groups of primary school students: 1st grade (7–8 years old), 3rd grade (9–10 years old), and 5th grade (11–12 years old). The purpose of selecting research subjects with intervals of two classes is to describe elementary school age children. The majority of children as sample were male, aged 11–12 years, and were dominated by single children. When viewed from the child's relationship with the family, most of the participants' fathers work as laborers, while the average mother's job is as a housewife. Then most children live with their parents, although not a few also live with their parents and grandparents. In the family, children tend to eat together, especially eating with their mother.

However, when it is viewed from a language perspective, on average, children tend to prefer to use Javanese in their daily life because the majority of their mother tongue is Javanese. At home, the majority of children tend to use Javanese, but there are also some who use Indonesian interchangeably. However, different things were shown by the children when they were at school. At school, children tend to look at their speech partners or who the person is talking to. With their teachers, all children use Indonesian language as well as in the process of teaching and learning activities. The teacher is required to speak Indonesian, but there are also children who use Javanese and Indonesian in turn. When communicating with friends, children tend to choose to use Javanese even though their first language is Indonesian. Apart from peers, children in communicating with other people (traders, gardeners, etc.) at school also tend to prefer to use Javanese. So, the children who were participants of this study tended to be bilingual because they had already acquired two languages, namely Javanese and Indonesian.

The participants in this study were 71 students but only 64 children are considered qualified participants while 7 other participants are sorted out because they had filled the questionnaire incorrectly or they were not a local resident. The participants criteria are: first, students of SD Negeri Blabak 4 who are in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades; second, they are local residents of Blabak area; third, they are able to speak in both Indonesian and Javanese; and fourth, they are able to read questionnaire.

### *Data Collection Procedure*

The data were collected within a period of three days in the children's classrooms. On the first day, the researchers distributed the questionnaires to each participant by stating the *Gugon Tuhon* to them individually and assisted them in completing the questionnaires in case they had questions. However, after the participants heard the stated *Gugon Tuhon,* the participants were asked to complete the questionnaires themselves.

On the second day, the researchers grouped the participants according to the proximity of their seats. This is necessary to effectively control the questionnaire completion by respondents that they answered independently. On the last day, an evaluation was performed after the submission of completed questionnaires by the participants, to check that all questions had been answered.

Considering that the respondents are still children, in order to make it easier to fill in the questionnaire, the researcher guides how to fill out the survey questionnaire and helps to provide the synonym of *Gugon Tuhon* that matches the dialect of Kediri. After the child finished filling in, the researcher checked the answers so that no questions were missed. Then the researcher gave a thank you to the child for willing to fill out the survey questionnaire. However, only 64 of 71 copies of the questionnaire are eligible to be used as data.

### *Sorting the Data*

As previously described, among the 71 returned questionnaires, 7 were excluded due to children's errors in answer the questionnaires or the fact that they were not local residents. A total of 64 completed responses were used as data in this study. The following are the categories of the participants who completed the questionnaires, based on their grade.

### *Data Processing*

The data were processed using the *Statistical Package for the Social Sciences* (SPSS) program for the purposes of quantitative analysis. Frequency is calculated for children's personal background, belief, comprehension, and obedience. Data processing was performed in several steps. Firstly, we created a data code to allow reading by SPSS matrix; secondly, we transferred the data to the computer, cleaning any errosr in entering the code, and finally, we presented the data quantitatively in the form of frequency tables and diagrams.

### *Data Analysis*

The SPSS program was used to ensure an easier and more effective process rather than processing data manually. The actual data was processed by frequency analysis, while the *Gugon Tuhon* data was processed according to the class variable (interval = two classes): 1st grade (7–8 years old), 3rd grade (9–10 years old), and 5th grade (11–12 years old). The respondents' answers were also tabulated and quantified in order to obtain some information about children's comprehension of the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims according to age and grade level.

In order to determine the influence of age on children's comprehension of the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims associated with eating etiquette, we applied Austin and Searle's speech act theory on the data. The following is an example of our data analysis:

#### (1) *Yen madhang aja sok nisa, mundhak mati pitike.*

'If you eat, don't leave any food or the chickens will die.'

First, the maxim is intended to be performed as a locutionary act. The locutionary act in this maxim is the *Gugon Tuhon* (1). The form of this locutionary act is an imperative sentence of prohibition. The percentage differences for the three grade levels will then be presented in regard to whether they have heard of this maxim. Second, the illocutionary act in this maxim is a directive that is a piece of advice given by the speaker to the speech partner. The prohibition is supported by the word *aja* 'don't'. In order to determine the illocutionary act, the percentages for the children's comprehension of this maxim will be presented. Finally, the perlocutionary act regarding the effects generated in the maxim can be obtained from the students' responses.

### **Results and Discussion**

In this section, we present the quantitative data analysis showing the degree of the children's comprehension, trust, and obedience toward *Gugon Tuhon* based on their age. In this study, the *obedience* indicator is the representation of the perlocutionary act. However, before such figures are presented,

### *Participants' Background*

This section presents the personal data of the respondents (64 students). As shown in Table 2, among the 64 respondents, there are more males (56%) than females (44%). Moreover, in the 1st and 5th grades, the majority of respondents were male (64% and 63%, respectively). In contrast, the majority of 3rd graders were female (60%).

In terms of the order of birth, youngest children constitute the majority of participants, with a percentage of 44%. By contrast, the first-born and middle children constitute the smallest number of participants (16%).


#### **Table 2** Gender


**Table 3** Order of birth


Table 4 presents the language(s) used by the participants in their daily life. Of the 64 respondents, 78% stated that Javanese was their mother tongue (first language). They still actively speak Javanese within the family, at school, and in other public contexts. By contrast, they speak Indonesian in a seemingly passive contexts, such as during classroom activities.

According to Table 5, the majority of participants lived with their parents (42%). However, from the perspective of grade levels, the majority of 3rd graders lived with their parents and grandparents (30%), while the majority of 1st and 5th graders lived with their parents (71% and 40%, respectively).

As shown in Table 6, the majority of participants had a routine of eating together as a family (78%). Of all participants, 79% of the 1st grades had the habit of eating together, while 80% of the 3rd graders, and 77% of the 5th graders followed this routine. Children who are able to eat with their families, particularly mothers, come from middle class families. Those who are grow up in low income families usually lack of quality time with their mothers since their mothers are usually working out of home in factories or rice fields. As working mothers do not spend their time accompanying their children while eating, they do not have chances in seeing their children behaviors when eating and reprimand them using *Gugon Tuhon* if their children not paying attention on their eating etiquette.


**Table 4** Use of language in daily life

**Table 5** People who live with the respondents


**Table 6** Habits of eating together


### *The Children's Comprehension, Belief, and Obedience with Respect to* **Gugon Tuhon** *About Eating Etiquette*

This section discusses the quantitative data that was used to observe the differences in the children's comprehension, belief, and obedience to the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims based on grade level.

According to Table 7, maxims (6) and (9) are adhered to the most by the respondents (69%), whereas maxim (10) was adhered to the least (39%). However, based on grade level, 100% of the 1st graders adhered to maxim (6), while only 21% of them adhered to maxim (10). In the 3rd grade, maxim (6) was adhered to the most by the students (95%), whereas maxim (10) was adhered to the least (65%). Among the 5th graders, maxims (5) and (6) were adhered to the most (83%), whereas maxim (3) was adhered to the least (40%).

Overall, the results of the analysis indicate that the 3rd graders adhered to nine out of the 10 *Gugon Tuhon* maxims. It can be concluded, then, that the 3rd graders adhered to the maxims more than the other two grade levels.

According to Table 8 and Fig. 1, maxims (6) and (9) were understood the most by the students (69%), whereas maxim (10) was understood the least (39%). However, based on the grade level, in the 3rd grade, maxims (6) and (9) were understood the most among the students (70%), while maxim (10) was understood the least (40%). As for the 5th grader, maxims (5) and (6) were understood the most (70%), whereas maxim (1) was understood the least (40%).

Among all grade levels, the 3rd and 5th grades had the highest average percentage (54.5%). As for the 3rd grade, five out of the 10 *Gugon Tuhon* maxims had a high percentage. This means that the majority of the 3rd graders comprehended most of the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims. The five maxims in question were (1), (2), (3), (6), and (8). Furthermore, the 5th graders had a higher percentage in comprehending maxims (5), (6), (7), and (10). However, in comprehending maxim (6), the 3rd and 5th graders demonstrated the same percentage (70%). Finally, the 1st graders had the highest comprehension of maxims (4) and (9).

As shown in Table 9 and Fig. 2, maxim (7) was believed the most by the students (78%), whereas maxim (4) was believed the least (42%). However, based on the grade level, 79% of the 1st graders believed maxims (6) and (7), while only 36% of them believed maxim (3). In the 3rd grade, maxims (6) and (7) were believed the


**Table 7** The respondents who adhered to the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims based on grade level


**Table 8** The respondents' comprehension of the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims based on grade level

**Fig. 1** The respondents' comprehension of the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims based on grade level

most (90%), whereas maxims (1) and (4) were believed the least among the students (70%).

Among all grade levels, the 3rd grade had the highest percentage overall. This indicates that the majority of the 3rd graders believed in the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims.

Based on the overall data for the three groups of respondents, maxim (6) was the most obeyed (73%), where maxim (3) was the least obeyed (29%). However, based on the grade level, 79% of the 1st graders obeyed maxim (6), whereas maxim (10) was only obeyed by 14% of the students. In the 3rd grade, maxims (5) and (6) were the most obeyed (70%), while maxim (3) was the least obeyed (40%). The results


**Table 9** The respondents' belief in the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims based on grade level

**Table 10** The respondents' obedience to the *Gugon Tuhon* narratives based on grade level


for the 5th grade were basically the same, i.e., maxims (5) and (6) were the most obeyed (73%), whereas maxims (3), (4), and (9) were the least obeyed (20%).

Overall, these findings show that, among the 3rd grade, eight of the 10 *Gugon Tuhon* maxims had the highest percentage for all categories. This indicates that the 3rd graders obeyed the maxims the most. This finding supported by Desmita (2015, p. 156) in her article that the 3rd graders are in the time of maximizing their capacity as

**Fig. 2** The respondents' belief in the *Gugon Tuhon* based on the grade level

**Fig. 3** The respondents' obedience to the *Gugon Tuhon* narratives based on grade level

concrete operational thinker where they can think logically about something concrete that they encounter in their daily lives.

### **Conclusion**

From the previous discussion, we can see that Indonesia has many oral teaching values that spread from the west to the east part of Indonesia and *Gugon Tuhon* is only one of them. The teaching values in *Gugon Tuhon* are mostly in the form of prohibition proposition that need to be understood, believed and obeyed, for example in (6) *"Yen madhang aja sok nisa, mundhak mati pitike"* is still actively used to teach children to eat properly. This is evident from the large number of children who understand, believe, and obey it.

*Gugon Tuhon* (3) "*Nak madhang aja ngolah-ngalih panggonan, besuk mundhak kerep rabi"* and (10) "*Aja sok ngokop kokohan, mundhak peteng atine"* appear to be the least understood. *Gugon Tuhon* (4) *"Aja mangan karo ngadeg, wetenge dadi dawa"* comes out as the least believed. Meanwhile, *Gugon Tuhon* (3) "*Nak madhang aja ngolah-ngalih panggonan, besuk mundhak kerep rabi"* is the least obeyed. This suggests there is a tendency that the level of understanding of a *Gugon Tuhon* highly influences whether or not it is followed. Moreover, children's background relates to their socio-economic also takes part in the process of transmitting *gugon tuhon* from mothers to their children. Children from low socio-economic backgrounds generally do not know *tuhon gugon* as those who come from middle class families since they lack of time in eating together with their mothers.

This quantitative descriptive study examined the extent of the understanding, belief, and obedience among samples of primary school students, to 10 *Gugon Tuhon*  maxims associated with eating etiquette. Overall, the findings show that age had an influence on a child's comprehension of the maxims. Moreover, the results can be interpreted as follows. The tendency of the 1st graders (aged 7–8 years) was that they did not necessarily comprehend the maxims, but they believed them. Meanwhile, the 3rd graders (aged 9–10 years) believed and obeyed the maxims, but they did not necessarily understand the reasoning behind them. In addition, there were many 3rd graders who lived with their grandparents and as a result, the maxims were heard more frequently by these children. As for the 5th graders (aged 11–12 years), they generally understand the maxims, but they did not necessarily believe them. Consequently, they did not obey the maxims. However, maxim (7) was strongly believed and obeyed by the 5th graders, due its logicality. These findings indicate that the cognitive abilities of the 5th graders were more developed than those of the 1st and 3rd graders. Moreover, according to Bujuri (2018, 43–47), the 1st graders cognitive abilities are still in scope of remembering (C1) and beginning to understand (C2) based on Bloom's taxonomy. However, the 3rd graders have cognitive abilities in the scope of applying (C3) while the 5th graders are in the scope of evaluating (C5) based on the Bloom's taxonomy. Thus, in this case, children have different results on their comprehension, belief, and obedience.

Based on the findings in this study, it can be concluded that *Gugon Tuhon* maxims are still being used as a means of character education in Javanese families. Unfortunately, Javanese children nowadays tend to *believe* the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims, although they do not necessarily comprehend them. As a result, they do not obey the maxims conveyed by their parents. Thus, it can be concluded that the use of such maxims as a means of character building is becoming increasingly less effective. However, based on the age factor of children interpretation of the *Gugon Tuhon,*  children in the primary school age still have vocabulary limitation, and still in the social adjustment stage to wider community. Their comprehension, belief and obidience are still developing along with the increasement of their social intelligence. Therefore, in this regard, parents could perhaps focus on conveying the maxims that are more rational so that they can be comprehended and believed by their children and therefore increase the possibility that the messages will be passed down to subsequent generations.

Finally, it is important to note that the *Gugon Tuhon* maxims associated with eating etiquette also include pedagogical benefits because it can be used as a means of transferring the teachings of the values of food courtesy conveyed by parents in educating children, such as regulations regarding foods that are allowed and not allowed to be consumed, to the procedures for starting eating until after eating, not eating while standing, leaving no food, and so on. This means that parents and teachers can use the maxims as they eat together as a family or class, which, in turn, can strengthen the bond between the parents or teachers and children.

**Acknowledgment** This work was supported by Universitas Indonesia (Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional Untuk Tugas Akhir Mahasiswa (PITTA) UI 2017, Grant Number 441/UN2.R3.1/ HKP.05.00/2017)

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**Ida Erviana** graduated from the Javanese Study Program, Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Budaya Universitas Indonesia (FIB UI), in 2017 with a BA thesis entitled "Perbandingan Pemahaman, Kepercayaan, dan Ketaatan Anak Terhadap Tuturan Langsung dan Tidak Langsung Gugon Tuhon di Kota Kediri: Kajian Pragmatik Dan Sosiolinguistik" [Comparison of children's Understanding, Faith, and Obedience toward Gugon Tuhon Direct and Indirect Speech Act in Kediri: An Analysis of Pragmatic and Sociolinguistics].

**Widhyasmaramurti** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. She graduated from Universitas Indonesia for her BA after completing her bachelor's thesis with the title "Analisis Medan Makna "Marah" dalam Bahasa Jawa" [Componential Analysis of Angry Words Meaning in Javanese] and from Utrecht University, for her master's degree with her thesis title "Tak and Kok in Javanese." Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Javanese Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. Her research areas are semantics, pragmatics, semiotics, and language preservation.

**Dwi Puspitorini** is a member of the Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. Her doctorate from the Universitas Indonesia was obtained in 2015 with a dissertation entitled "Afiks Verbal dalam Bahasa Jawa Kuno" [The Verbal Affix of Old Javanese]. Currently, she teaches linguistics at the Javanese Studies Program, Undergraduate Program, and at the Linguistics Program, Graduate Program, Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia. Her areas of expertise are morphology and syntax.

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