PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT’S SELECTION OF INDONESIAN FIRST-PERSON ADDRESSING TERMS TO TEACHERS
Dea Devina Fabrian
Abstract
This descriptive qualitative study examines students’ selection in the use of Indonesian self-referring terms of aku and saya to teachers. The personal pronoun saya is
traditionally prescribed to be the standard polite form to refer to oneself when
communicating with teachers to show respect. In recent years, however, it has been
observed that some students have started to use the more informal version aku, which
may reflect a shifting paradigm of politeness. This study therefore aims to further investigate students’ practice in using the personal pronouns. As a case in point, this research involved 120 private senior high school students in their second year in SMA
Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga. The results show that the tendency to shift from formal
to informal self-reference is strongly evident in students’ reported practice of the
personal pronouns. It was also suggested that there is a shift from negative politeness to
positive politeness in students’ communication with their teachers.
