ABSTRACT
Winarni, Ria Resty. (2016). A Study of Speech Act Categories in the Text Your Say
Column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 Issues. Yogyakarta: English
Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Freedom of speech is a human right in a democratic society. It gives the opportunities to review and express opinion without the fear of prosecution. The newspapers provide many media to implement the freedom. In the Jakarta Post,
Text Your Say column is used to facilitate the readers to express their opinion.
The study is about speech act categories in Text Your Say (TYS) column of the Jakarta Post. There are two research questions in this research: (1) what speech act categories are employed in the TYS column of the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues, (2) which speech act categories are most frequently employed and characterize the TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issue. The first research question is to find out and explain what speech act categories are employed in the TYS column of the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues. From the viewpoint of speech acts theory, the second research question aims to find out and explain typical characteristics of TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues.
This study used a descriptive qualitative analysis. The study was to gain deeper information of speech act categories of TYS column. The researcher described the data using visual aids such as tables to make the readers understand the data distribution.
Based on the data analysis, the researcher finds that there are four of five speech act categories which are employed in TYS column. Those are assertive, commissive, directive, and expressive. The second finding is that assertive category is the most frequently employed speech act category in TYS column. The text writers prefer to convey information of the truth. Moreover, every theme has various typical characteristics of TYS column.
ABSTRAK
Winarni, Ria Resty. (2016). A Study of Speech Act Categories of Text Your Say
Column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 Issues. Yogyakarta: Program Studi
Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Kebebasan berpendapat adalah sebuah hak asasi manusia di era demokrasi. Hal ini memberikan kesempatan untuk meninjau dan mengekspresikan pendapat tanpa takut akan tuntutan. Banyak koran menyediakan media untuk menerapkan hal tersebut Dalam koran Jakarta Post, kolom Text Your Say (TYS) digunakan untuk memberikan fasilitas bagi pembaca untuk mengekspresikan pendapat mereka.
Penelitian ini membahas tentang kategori-kategori speech acts dalam kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini: (1) kategori- kategori speech acts apa saja yang digunakan dalam kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015, (2) kategori- kategori speech acts apa yang paling sering digunakan dan memberikan ciri kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015. Rumusan masalah pertama bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menjelaskan kategori- kategori speech acts apa saja yang digunakan dalam kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015. Dari sudut pandang teori speech acts, rumusan masalah kedua bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menjelaskan ciri-ciri khas kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015.
Penelitian ini menggunakan analisis deskriptif kualitatif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi mendalam tentang kategori-kategori
speech acts dalam kolom TYS. Peneliti mendeskripsikan data menggunakan alat
bantu visual seperti tabel untuk mmemudahkan pembaca memahami distribusi data.
Berdasarkan analisis, peneliti menemukan bahwa ada empat dari lima kategori speech acts yang digunakan dalam kolom TYS, yaitu assertive,
commissive, directive, dan expressive. Temuan kedua yaitu assertive adalah
kategori speech acts yang paling sering digunakan dalam kolom TYS. Para penulis teks cenderung untuk menyampaikan informasi dari kebenaran.Selain itu, setiap tema pada kolom TYS memiliki ciri khas yang bervariasi.
i
A STUDY OF SPEECH ACT CATEGORIES
IN THE TEXT YOUR SAY COLUMN
IN THE JAKARTA POST OF SEPTEMBER 2015 ISSUES
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Ria Resty Winarni Student Number: 121214060
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
Galatians 6:7
I would like to dedicate my thesis
vii
ABSTRACT
Winarni, Ria Resty. (2016). A Study of Speech Act Categories in the Text Your
Say Column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 Issues. Yogyakarta: English
Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Freedom of speech is a human right in a democratic society. It gives the opportunities to review and express opinion without the fear of prosecution. The newspapers provide many media to implement the freedom. In the Jakarta Post,
Text Your Say column is used to facilitate the readers to express their opinion.
The study is about speech act categories in Text Your Say (TYS) column of the Jakarta Post. There are two research questions in this research: (1) what speech act categories are employed in the TYS column of the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues, (2) which speech act categories are most frequently employed and characterize the TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issue. The first research question is to find out and explain what speech act categories are employed in the TYS column of the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues. From the viewpoint of speech acts theory, the second research question aims to find out and explain typical characteristics of TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues.
This study used a descriptive qualitative analysis. The study was to gain deeper information of speech act categories of TYS column. The researcher described the data using visual aids such as tables to make the readers understand the data distribution.
Based on the data analysis, the researcher finds that there are four of five speech act categories which are employed in TYS column. Those are assertive, commissive, directive, and expressive. The second finding is that assertive category is the most frequently employed speech act category in TYS column. The text writers prefer to convey information of the truth. Moreover, every theme has various typical characteristics of TYS column.
viii
ABSTRAK
Winarni, Ria Resty. (2016). A Study of Speech Act Categories of Text Your Say
Column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 Issues. Yogyakarta: Program Studi
Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Kebebasan berpendapat adalah sebuah hak asasi manusia di era demokrasi. Hal ini memberikan kesempatan untuk meninjau dan mengekspresikan pendapat tanpa takut akan tuntutan. Banyak koran menyediakan media untuk menerapkan hal tersebut Dalam koran Jakarta Post, kolom Text Your Say (TYS) digunakan untuk memberikan fasilitas bagi pembaca untuk mengekspresikan pendapat mereka.
Penelitian ini membahas tentang kategori-kategori speech acts dalam kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini: (1) kategori- kategori speech acts apa saja yang digunakan dalam kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015, (2) kategori- kategori speech acts apa yang paling sering digunakan dan memberikan ciri kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015. Rumusan masalah pertama bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menjelaskan kategori- kategori speech acts apa saja yang digunakan dalam kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015. Dari sudut pandang teori speech acts, rumusan masalah kedua bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menjelaskan ciri-ciri khas kolom TYS di koran Jakarta Post pada isu-isu bulan September 2015.
Penelitian ini menggunakan analisis deskriptif kualitatif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi mendalam tentang kategori-kategori
speech acts dalam kolom TYS. Peneliti mendeskripsikan data menggunakan alat
bantu visual seperti tabel untuk mmemudahkan pembaca memahami distribusi data.
Berdasarkan analisis, peneliti menemukan bahwa ada empat dari lima kategori speech acts yang digunakan dalam kolom TYS, yaitu assertive,
commissive, directive, dan expressive. Temuan kedua yaitu assertive adalah
kategori speech acts yang paling sering digunakan dalam kolom TYS. Para penulis teks cenderung untuk menyampaikan informasi dari kebenaran.Selain itu, setiap tema pada kolom TYS memiliki ciri khas yang bervariasi.
ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my highest gratitude to my Lord, Jesus
Christ. With His blessing and His guidance every moment, I could survive in
finishing my thesis. I am sure that He never fails.
Second, I would like to express my special gratitude to my parents,
Romelan and Suswatiningsih, and my brother, Andri Setyanto. I am so proud
of having them in my life. They always support and motivate me to finish my
study.
I would also like to present my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Emanuel
Sunarto, M.Hum., who has helped and guided me in finishing my thesis. He is
patient and always gives suggestions to make my thesis better. He is never bored
in listening to my difficulties in thesis. Then, I do not forget to present my
gratitude to my academic advisor, Veronica Triprihatmini S.Pd., M.Hum.,
M.A. for her patience in guiding me during the learning process in English
Language Education Study Program.
Then, my gratitude is for my beloved friends, Fany, Neny, Iput, Sela,
Vita, Ninda, Anis, Albert, Bagas, Deni, Ratih, Rapon, Tya, and Yuni for the
togetherness, motivation, and spirit. They all have given me meaningful things to
face the life. I also thank my niece, Dyah Nova for the thesis discussion. She has
helped me to understand the theories and gives the information related to my
thesis.
Next, I also thank my beloved one, Yosep Dwi Ananto. He has been
x
me all the times. He always understands and cares about my situation. Although
he is not a romantic person, I feel better beside him.
I would not forget to thank all friends from batch 2012, especially class A
and all people who support and help me during the learning process in English
Language Education Study Program and finishing my thesis. I am blessed to live
around them. There are many meaningful learnings which I have got to make me
better.
xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGE ... ii
DEDICATION PAGE ... iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... vi
ABSTRACT ... vii
ABSTRAK ... viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xi
LIST OF TABLES ... xiii
LIST OF FIGURES ... xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 3
C. Objectives of the Study ... 4
D. Benefits of the Study ... 4
E. Problem Limitation ... 5
F. Definition of Terms ... 5
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Review of Previous Studies ... 8
B. Theoretical Description ... 12
1. Speech Acts ... 12
2. Speech Act Categories in Written Communication ... 18
C. Theoretical Framework ... 18
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY A. Research Method ... 20
B. Research Subject ... 21
C. Research Instrument and Data Gathering Technique ... 22
D. Data Analysis Technique ... 23
xii
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Speech Act Categories in TYS column ... 26
1. Assertive Category ... 26
2. Commissive Category ... 28
3. Directive Category ... 30
4. Expressive Category ... 33
5. Declarative Category ... 35
B. Speech Act Categories by Theme ... 36
1. Theme A: Confusing Circular on Foreign Journos Withdrawn 36
2. Theme B: Smoking Ban in Jakarta still Neglected ... 38
3. Theme C: Jokowi Told to Drop Prohibition Bill ... 39
4. Theme D: Controversy over KPK Leader Hopefuls ... 41
5. Theme E: Govt Urged to Handle Haze Issue Seriously ... 42
6. Theme F: V-day Parade Boosts Sino-Russian Ties ... 44
7. Theme G: Tighter System Clogs up permit Issuance ... 46
8. Theme H: Jakarta to Scrap Property Tax Next Year ... 48
9. Theme I: Light Rail Transit Construction Starts ... 49
10.Theme J: Bali Police Probe Alleged Tourist Extortion ... 51
11.Theme K: Police Investigate Bali Airport Extortion ... 52
12.Theme L: Santions against Firms Burning Forests ... 53
13.Theme M: Heavy Santions against Firms Burning Forests ... 55
14.Theme N: China to Give Indonesia Its First Bullet Train ... 56
15.Theme O: Searching for Jakarta’s Leader ... 58
16.Theme P: Shining a Light on the Dark Past ... 59
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions ... 63
B. Recommendations ... 64
REFERENCES ... 65
xiii
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
3.1 Speech act category classification ... 23
3.2 The percentage of speech act categories in Text Your Say column ... 24
4.1 Speech act category classification in Theme A ... 36
4.2 Speech act category classification in Theme B ... 38
4.3 Speech act category classification in Theme C ... 39
4.4 Speech act category classification in Theme D ... 41
4.5 Speech act category classification in Theme E ... 43
4.6 Speech act category classification in Theme F ... 45
4.7 Speech act category classification in Theme G ... 47
4.8 Speech act category classification in Theme H ... 48
4.9 Speech act category classification in Theme I ... 50
4.10 Speech act category classification in Theme J ... 51
4.11 Speech act category classification in Theme K ... 52
4.12 Speech act category classification in Theme L ... 54
4.13 Speech act category classification in Theme M ... 55
4.14 Speech act category classification in Theme N ... 56
4.15 Speech act category classification in Theme O ... 58
4.16 Speech act category classification in Theme P ... 60
4.17 The Most Frequently Speech Act Category in the TYS Column ... 61
xiv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
xv
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix Page
Appendix 1 Index and Clues of Speech Act Categories ... 68
Appendix 2 Data Classification of Speech Act Categories by Theme... 69
1. Confusing Circular on Foreign Journos Withdrawn ... 69
2. Smoking Ban in Jakarta still Neglected ... 70
3. Jokowi Told to Drop Prohibition Bill ... 73
4. Controversy over KPK Leader Hopefuls ... 74
5. Govt Urged to Handle Haze Issue Seriously ... 74
6. V-day Parade Boosts Sino-Russian Ties ... 77
7. Tighter System Clogs up permit Issuance ... 78
8. Jakarta to Scrap Property Tax Next Year ... 80
9. Light Rail Transit Construction Starts ... 81
10.Bali Police Prbe Alleged Tourist Extortion ... 84
11.Police Investigate Bali Airport Extortion ... 85
12.Santions against Firms Burning Forests ... 85
13.Heavy Santions against Firms Burning Forests ... 86
14.China to Give Indonesia Its First Bullet Train ... 87
15.Searching for Jakarta’s Leader ... 89
1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter is the discussion of the background of the study. It consists of
six parts. The parts are background of the study, problem formulation, objectives
of the study, benefits of the study, problem limitation, and definition of terms.
A. Background of the Study
Freedom of speech is the most fundamental freedom and rights in a
democratic society. Freedom of speech is important for democracy because it gives
the opportunity of spreading information freely. It provides people with better
opportunities to reach agreed decisions. Freedom of speech can give them the
opportunities to communicate and express their opinions about how public power
is exercised. They must be free to express opinion without the fear of prosecution.
Two laws in 2008, Law Number 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information
Openness and Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information, Transaction and
Electronic (IET Law) also protect readers’ freedom of speech.
Expressing opinion is the implementation of communication. Expressing
opinion can be done not only through oral communication, but also through written
communication. Written communication has great significance in today’s
communication. It involves careful choice of words, their good organization, and
correct order in sentence formation. By this communication, the transmission of a
In recent years, there are many written media to support the freedom of
speech. One of them is newspapers. Many newspapers, including the Jakarta Post,
provide many opinion columns for the readers. They facilitate the readers for
expressing opinion. These opinion columns appear regularly in the newspaper. The
purpose of the columns is to express an opinion about a current issue within society.
The objective is also to get appropriate policy recommendation regarding the issue.
These columns tend to be written by someone who has expertise on the subject
being discussed. Many readers use this column to express their opinion in public.
Text Your Say (TYS) column is one of opinion columns in the Jakarta Post.
It is a part of Reader’s Forum. It provides the space to express readers’ opinion
about the current issue within society. It also forms stimulus-response model in
communication. The readers are given the opportunity to express their opinion
about the current issues in Indonesia proposed by editorial staffs of the Jakarta Post,
such as politics, environment, and economics. This practice may have important
effects on readers' perceptions for the issue. The readers have their own perception
toward the issue. They use various language styles in expressing opinion.
In general, speech acts are the acts of the communication. Searle (1976)
identifies five speech act categories based on the speaker’s intention by uttering the
sentence. Those are assertive, directive, expressive, commissive, and declarative.
Furthermore, both oral and written forms of communication use speech acts. From
this theory, readers’ opinions in TYS column of the Jakarta Post contains speech act
categories which deliver readers’ purpose. According to Burnett & Dollar (1989),
the receiver interprets the message by the sender’s intention. Thus, the speech act
categories used in expressing opinion in TYS column differentiate readers’ meaning.
In this case, language is important in decoding meaning. People need to
understand and compromise not only grammatical structure but also the meaning.
Sometimes, the meaning is delivered although the speaker does not use appropriate
grammatical structure in speaking. The underlying meaning is vital to make
communication more efficient and makes people’s everyday life function more
smoothly.
The study focuses on analyzing the speech act categories which are
employed in the TYS column in Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues. Besides
analyzing the speech act categories which are frequently employed, the researcher
also analyzes typical characteristics of TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September
2015 issues.
B. Problem Formulations
In this study, the researcher addresses the following questions:
1. What speech act categories are employed in the TYS column of the
Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues?
2. Which speech act categories (a) are most frequently employed in/or (b)
characterize the TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the problem formulations, the objectives of the study are:
1. To find out and explain what speech act categories are employed in the
TYS column in the Jakarta post of September 2015 issues
2. From the viewpoint of speech acts theory, to find out and explain typical
characteristics of TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015
issues
D. Benefits of the Study
The researcher gives the benefits of this study for the readers in this part. It
is for English learners, English lecturers, and future researchers. Those are:
1. English learners
The researcher hopes this study will be a useful reference for students of
English Language Study Program who are interested in linguistic analysis,
especially in speech acts. This study will help the student to learn linguistics deeper.
Through pragmatics foundation in mind, the student will be more sensitive to people’s intentional meanings. They can also learn to recognize speakers’ intention
effectively and comprehensively.
2. English lecturers
This study can be an additional reference for teaching linguistics, especially
in speech act field. Through the teaching, the students are expected to understand
the concept of speech acts. Thus, they can understand more and will be able to
3. Future researchers
For future researchers, they can use this study as one of preliminary
information to conduct other studies related in linguistics, especially speech acts.
The researcher expects that the research can inspire the future researchers. They can
conduct the study of speech acts in written communication deeper or in different
perspective.
E. Problem Limitation
The research focuses on speech act categories which are employed in TYS
column of the Jakarta Post. In this case, the researcher analyzes written text from
the readers’ opinions in TYS column of the Jakarta Post. The researcher limits on
the opinion texts posted in September 2015 issues. There are 114 texts and 16
themes during one month. The texts have various sentence length. However, it
cannot influence how many speech act categories which are employed.
F. Definition of Terms
The researcher defines some terms to avoid misunderstanding and
misinterpretation as follow:
1. Speech Acts
According to Searle (1969, p. 16), the speech act is “the basic or minimal
units of linguistic communication.” He explains that speech act refers to the process
of uttering. It is a performed act when a speaker makes an utterance. Based on the
point: assertive, commissive, directive, expressive, and declarative. Moreover,
mood types (declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamative) influence the
speech act. There are the correlation between them. Mood types are the form of
sentences and speech acts are the function of the sentences. Furthermore, expressing
one speech act can use several mood types.
In the first time, the term ‘declarative’ is used to differentiate mood types.
However, this term is also found in speech acts theory as the development of
linguistic theory. In this case, the study uses the term ‘declarative’ in two fields.
This term is found in the theory of speech acts and mood types. Although the
researcher uses same term in different field, the term has different meaning. In speech acts, the term ‘declarative’ is the speech act category where the speaker
brings about state of affairs by the mere performance of speech acts. In mood types, the term ‘declarative’ is the sentence which is used to give statement and ends with
period.
2. Text Your Say
Text Your Say is one of opinion columns in the Jakarta Post. It is also part
of Reader’s Forum in the Jakarta Post. TYS column in the Jakarta Post is a type of
interactional written communication. The editorial staffs of the Jakarta Post prepare
the current issue in order to gain the readers’ opinion. It is for the readers to give
their opinion about a topic that is discussed in a current issue. In this column,
readers can send a message or an email to respond the issue which is decided by the
Jakarta Post staffs. The readers express their opinion whether they agree, respect,
3. Jakarta Post
The Jakarta Post is a daily newspaper in Indonesia using English since 1983.
The newspaper is owned by PT Bina Media Tenggara. The main office is at Jl.
Palmerah Barat No. 142 - 143, Jakarta 10270, Indonesia. The Jakarta Post has many
features such as news, readers’ forum, community, academia, etc. In this case, TYS
8
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter reviews important studies to support the present research. The
aim of this chapter is to give the basic principles of the formulated problems. This
chapter consists of three main parts: review of previous studies, theoretical
description, and theoretical framework. Review of previous studies gives
explanation of previous studies related to the study of speech acts. In addition,
theoretical description and theoretical framework discuss the theories that have
been employed.
A. Review of Previous Studies
Speech acts always exist in daily language and communication. People are
accustomed to imply speech acts in their utterance. Thus, it is easy to conduct
speech acts as the research. There are some researchers that already conducted the
research about speech acts.
The research conducted by Titus Kristiawan in 2015 analyzes speech acts
about ill-sequence conversation in Questions Only game based on Searle’s indirect
speech act. He focuses on which speech acts are performed by the performers in the
conversation and how the question could conform to each other in the context. The
researcher uses content analysis in analyzing seven videos of the Question Only
game from season six to ten. The references of the study are from books, general
knowledge, film, etc. The finding is that the questions in the conversation perform
is considered as ill-sequences. It clarifies that the adjacency pair is fulfilled in the
conversation.
The research by Tusita Mania Dewi analyzes Olive Penderghast’s speech
acts in Easy A movie for her thesis of English Language Education Study Program. She conducts her research to find out how Olive Penderghast’s speech acts are
employed in the conversation in the movie by using the theory from Searle (1999).
She also analyzes what speech acts Olive uses before and after the transformation
of her character in the movie. The study analyzes spoken dialogue; and the result is
the description of explanation. The result finds that there are four speech act categories that Olive uses based on Searle’s theory. There are assertive, commisive,
directive, and expressive. There is no declarative category because it is rarely used
in daily communication. The most category used is assertive category, 63% of all. The research also finds out powerful speech acts support to build Olive’s new
image, from an ordinary student to a bad naughty girl. However, the powerful
speech acts appear when certain situation forces her.
The study by M. Hashim investigates the role of language in the
communication and interpretation of intentions by examining selected political speeches of John Kerry in Presidential Campaign in 2004 and George Bush’s
Inaugural address in 2001. The study is to identify the speech act features, to
analyze the features in relation to the contexts, and to determine how the identified
features project the message in the speeches. The study focused on the locutionary,
illocutionary and perlocutionary acts. Twenty sentences were selected from the two
Campaign about The Economy and Middle Class Families and the second is Bush’s
speech of Inaugural address in 2001. The selected speeches were downloaded from
the internet and analyzed to show the speech acts performed in the course delivering
the speeches. The linguistic approach adopted Theory of Austin (1962) and Searle
(1969). In order to make the analysis clear and easy to understand, the calculation
of the percentages of the speech acts in a speech is made so as to make interpretation
of the tables clear and empirical. The findings show that the overall relative
frequency percentages for the selected speeches are: commissive 40%, assertive
35%, directive 20%, and expressive 5%. The results show that Kerry relied on
sentences that performed commissive acts since he committed to some future
actions, and he promised to make the world fit the words. Besides, Bush used
sentences with assertive acts because the assertive has a truth value which can only
enhance the effect of the asserted proposition. Hence, the data are characterized by
a preponderance of commissive, assertive and directive acts that are mostly used as
mobilization strategies in political campaigns, where it is essential for candidates to
persuade their listeners to win elections. The revelation of the speech act dominance
is a reflection of the purpose of political speeches which are to influence, persuade,
impress, convince, and even to deceive the populace
The study by Sattar examines the speech act of criticism among Iranian
native speakers of Persian. The study focuses on Iranians’ perception and
production of speech act of criticism. Data are based on the distribution of a
Discourse Evaluation Test (DET) and a structured interview to 100 Iranian native
and categorized based on Nguyen’s (2005) coding scheme. The overall findings
showed that the use of direct strategies outnumbered that of indirect strategies and
mitigating devices. However, one distinctive feature of the present data was that
politeness is achieved through the use of mitigating devices.
Elisabeth Rosalia also analyzes Text Your Say column. She focuses on
moods expressed and modals used in the column. The objective of her study is to
reveal the moods that are expressed in Text Your Say column of the Jakarta Post
issued in November 2012. Besides, she also finds out how the modals are used in
the Text Your Say column of the Jakarta Post issued in November 2012. The study
uses document analysis. The data is the comments in Text Your Say issued in
November 2012. As the result, she finds out 563 moods both major and minor moods were expressed in the comment of Text Your Say based on Harnish’s
classification (2015). There are 33 imperative moods, 472 declarative moods, 26
WH-interrogative moods, and 9 yes or no interrogative moods, 17 exclamative
moods, 2 incredulity responses, 2 optative moods, and 2 interjection moods. For
another problem, she finds 225 modals used by comentators in Text Your Say, such
as should, might, had better, will, could, would, be able to, etc. These modals
express necessity, possibility, prohibition, expectation, etc.
From the previous studies above, it can be seen that those researchers
analyze speech act in film, speech, and interview. One of the previous studies also
concerns in same subject but has different focus. TYS column in the Jakarta Post
Even though this research also analyzes speech acts, there is still difference
from them. The main focus of this study is to analyze speech acts in in written
communication. This study analyzes speech act categories and TYS column in the
Jakarta Post newspaper is a subject for this speech act study.
B. Theoretical Description
In this section, speech act theories are elaborated. The main theory is about
speech act categories based on Searle. The elaboration of the theory is presented
below.
1. Speech Acts
According to Searle (1969), producing the utterance token with certain
conditions is called speech act. It is considered as a basic unit of human
communication. Meanwhile, Austin (1962) states that speech act is the utterance of
certain words that intends to express a certain meaning with a certain force to
produce a certain effect. It is performed to convey information, give an order,
request information, give warnings, give advices, give compliments, etc.
Austin (1962) decides that utterances involve three acts: a locutionary act,
an illocutionary act, and a perlocutionary act. First, the locutionary act is the act
which has a meaning. Second, the act in saying something which has a certain force
is called illocutionary act. Last, the perlocutionary act is the achieving of certain
Moreover, Austin (1962) also claims complete speech acts: requesting,
questioning, commanding, advising, etc., as illocutionary acts. Meanwhile, Searle
(1969, p. 42) defines that illocutionary acts are “characteristically performed in the
utterance of sounds or making of marks”. The illocutionary acts are implied based
on the speaker’s intention by uttering the sentence to reach the certain goal or
function.
“The sounds or marks one makes in the performance of an illocutionary act is characteristically said to have meaning, and a second related difference is that one is characteristically said to mean something by utterance of those sounds or marks. Characteristically, when one speaks one means something by what one says; and what one says, the string of sounds that one emits, is characteristically said to have a meaning” (Searle,1969, pp. 42-43).
Searle (1969) gives the illustration with the word ‘hello’. ‘Hello’ intends the
knowledge that the hearer is being greeted. If the hearer recognizes it as the
speaker’s intention, the hearer acquires that knowledge. In the literal utterance, the
speaker intends to produce a certain effect so that the hearer recognizes his intention
to produce the effect. Furthermore, he intends the recognition to be achieved based
on the fact what he utters associate the expression with the production of the effect.
Searle (1969) also adds the explanation that understanding is the intended
effect of meaning. In this case, every single word when people say has a meaning.
If the speaker says something and meaning, he is connected the intention to produce certain effects on the hearer. In vice versa, the hearer understands the speaker’s
Based on Searle (1976), speech acts are classified into five categories based
on illocutionary points. He believes that each time that a word or phrase which is
spoken is a speech act that can be classified in a several different categories.
a. Assertive
Assertive category is a speech act that commits the speaker to the truth of a
proposition (Searle, 1976). The purpose of assertive speech act is to convey
information about some state of affairs of the world from the speaker to the hearer.
It convinces the listener to believe what the speaker says. Searle (1979) explains
that the assertive is related to true or false. It can also be evaluated to be true or
false. The speaker has possibility of stating wrong thing.
Searle (1979) also mentions that assertive keywords are hypothesize, insist,
boast, complain, conclude, deduce, diagnose, and claim. Therefore, it refers to
predictions, statements, descriptions, classifications, explanations, concluding and
clarifications (Alston, 2000). The examples of assertive category as written in Yule
(1996) are: 1) The earth is flat. 2) Chomsky didn’t write about peanuts. 3) It was a
warm sunny day.
b. Commissive
Commissive category is “a type of utterance where the speaker makes a
commitment to a future course of action” (Crystal, 2003, p. 84). A commissive
speech act aims to commit the speaker to carry out some actions in the future
(Ad-Darraji, 2012). By commissive speech acts, the speaker wants the world to be
(1979) said that the successful performance of commissive speech acts produces
commitment of the speaker to carry out some actions in the future.
The clues of commissive speech acts are reject, refuse, swear, promise, etc.
It refers to vows, threats, pledges, guarantees, contracts, promises, covenants, and
oaths. The examples of commissive category as written in Yule (1996) are: 1) I’ll
be back. 2) I’m going to get it right next time. 3) We will not do that.
c. Directive
In directive category, the speaker requests the hearer to do something
(Searle, 1976). The speaker wants the hearer to do the speaker’s willingness. Many
directive sentences are posed as questions so they are easy to identify by the
presence of a question mark. Furthermore, many directive speech acts are not stated
as a question but as a request for assistance.
The directive keywords are ask, order, command, request, beg, plead, pray,
entreat, invite, permit, advise, dare, defy, challenge (Searle, 1976). Thus, it includes
orders, commands, requests, and refers to pleading, begging, praying, insisting, and
suggesting. The examples of directive category as written in Yule (1996) are: (1)
Gimme a cup of coffee. Make it black. (2) Could you lend me a pen, please? (3)
Don’t touch that.
d. Expressive
Verschueren (1999, p. 24) says that expressive category is to “express a
variety of psychological states, having no direction of fit between words and world,
and simply counting as expressions of psychological states.” The purpose of which
Expressive speech acts communicate to the hearer that a specific emotion is present
in the speaker. These can clarify, amplify, and precise the intended message of
emotions. They deal with social and interpersonal relations. Expressive speech act
includes thanking, apologizing, congratulating, and welcoming (Searle, 1976). The
examples of an expressive category as written in Yule (1996) are: (1) I’m really
sorry! (2) Congratulations! (3) Oh, yes, great, mmmm, ssahh!
e. Declarative
Declarative category is a speech act where the speaker brings about some
state of affairs by the mere performance of the speech act (Searle, 1979). Someone
who performs declarative speech acts wants to create a new reality. It transforms
into a new state. Yule (1996, p. 128) said that it is “a speech act that brings about a
change by being uttered, e.g. a judge pronouncing a sentence.” The examples of
declarative category as written in Yule (1996) are: (1) Priest: I now pronounce your
husband and wife. (2) Referee: You’re out! (3) Jury Foreman: We find the defendant
guilty.
Furthermore, there is correlation between mood types and speech acts. In
this case, mood types influence the role of speech acts. Based on Huddleston and
Pullum (2002), the sentence type is the grammatical system which has the major
types: declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamative. They also explain that
each of the types has own characteristics.
First, declarative sentence is used to give the statement. It is the common
The happiest person is the prettiest. (3) John plays piano. Second, interrogative is
used to ask the question. It ends with the question mark. There are two kinds
interrogative sentence in English. Those are yes/no question and wh- question. The
examples are: (1) Where do you come from? (2) Can I put this pen? (3) Do you like
coffee?
Then, imperative is used to direct something. It expresses the command or
the request. It ends with period or exclamatory point. There is implied subject in
this sentence and means ‘you’. For example: (1) Please, take me an umbrella. (2)
Help me! (3) Don’t drive fast. Last, exclamative is used to make exclamatory
statement or strong feeling. It ends with the exclamatory point. The examples are:
(1) Good Job! (2) What a beautiful it is! (3) Wonderful!
In the text, expressing one speech act category can use several mood types.
Mood types show the form of the text and speech acts show the function of the text.
As the example, Huddleston and Pullum (2002) give the illustration below:
i. Passengers are requested to remain seated. ii. Would you mind opening the door for me?
Illustration (i) and (ii) show how the speaker expresses the request. From the
function point, those show directive category. The speaker wants other people to do
an action. However, the speaker uses different mood types in showing the category.
Illustration (i) uses declarative type. The speaker gives the statement to announce
the information for the passengers. Meanwhile, illustration (ii) uses interrogative
2. Speech Act Categories in Written Communication
A human being, on the basis of acquired linguistic and general knowledge,
can understand and/or produce lingual utterances. Language itself is always related
to action. When people are doing communication, they are not only delivering the
message, but also performing an action from the utterance. This is called speech
acts. Speech acts do not move independently in communication. It is specified as
conversations or discourses in more global units of communication (Moeschler,
2002). It includes real-life interaction and requires knowledge and appropriate use
of that language in a certain culture.
Every utterance shows the role of speech acts. Human’s thoughts and
perceptions are passed as a message to the receiver who will store, process and change it into meanings. Speech acts exist to express the goal of saying. “People
normally have goals of communication in mind such as establishing social
relationships or expressing emotions or directing people to do something” (Ad
-Darraji, 2012). A speaker intends his utterance to produce some effects to make the
hearer recognizes this intention (Grice, 1989). People should choose their words
and how they speak wisely because what they say can have profound effects.
C. Theoretical Framework
This part elaborates how the theory is conducted in the research. The
research is concerned in speech act categories which are employed in TYS column
of the Jakarta Post. The researcher uses the main theory from Searle about speech
questions of the research in the explanation of five speech act categories. The
supporting theories are from Austin, Huddleston & Pullum, Yule, Verschueren,
Crystal, andAd-Darraji. Speech acts are divided into five categories based on the
speaker’s intention by uttering the sentence. Based on Searle’s theory, the
categories are assertive, commissive, directive, expressive, and declarative.
Figure 2.1 The Theoretical Framework
Speech acts
locutionary acts
illocutionary acts
assertive commissive directive
TYS Column
expressive declarative
20
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter explains about methodology which is used to answer two
research problems. There are five parts in this chapter. They are research method,
research subject, research instruments and data gathering technique, data analysis
technique, and research procedure.
A. Research Method
A qualitative method is the “logic that links data to be collected (and the conclusions to be drawn) to the initial questions of the study” (Yin, 2009, p. 24).
By using a qualitative methodology, the researchers want to gain richer information
and get details of issues, cases, or events (Arora & Stoner, 2009). It is a method that
seeks the collection of evidence. The researchers could use a wide range of
techniques to collect data such as in-depth qualitative interviews; observation, field
notes, focus groups, document analysis, and other methods of data collection.
"Qualitative research is multi-method in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials – case study, personal experience, introspective, life story, interview, observational, historical, interactional and visual texts – that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings in individuals' lives." (Denzin & Lincoln, 2004, p. 2).
In this case, the researcher used descriptive qualitative analysis in the study.
act categories which were employed in TYS column of the Jakarta Post. The
researcher described the data using visual aids such as tables to make the readers
understand the data distribution.
There are various types of qualitative method. They are phenomenology,
grounded theory, ethnography, interpretive description, narratives, and discourse
analysis. This study was included in the discourse analysis type. In this case, the
study analyzed the script of the opinions of the readers in TYS column of the Jakarta
Post newspaper. The researcher wanted to analyze the form of language and its
functions of written texts.
Discourse analysis concerns about written texts and spoken language
(McCarthy, 2000). Discourse analysis is used to analyse the form of language and
its functions. It also covers the study of written texts and spoken language.
Discourse analysis takes analytic approaches and theoretical perspectives such as
speech act theory, interactional sociolinguistics, ethnography, conversation
analysis, and other analysis related to language (Schiffrin, 1994 as cited in Darwish,
2011).
B. Research Subject
The researcher used TYS column in the Jakarta Post newspaper as the subject
of this study. The column provided people to write down their opinions about
certain issues which are built by newspaper staffs. The issues were the hottest issues
TYS column was chosen because the column is an interactional written
communication which forms stimulus-response model in communication. The
column has many texts from the readers in expressing their opinion toward certain
issues. The text consists of one sentence or many sentences. It can be found that
one text can have more than one speech act categories. The comments could be
showed in various types and showed the role of speech act categories.
The data was collected from September 2015 issues. During September
2015, there were 16 issues provided to build the comments of readers. As the
response to the issues, the researcher gained 114 comments to analyze the speech
act categories.
C. Research Instrument and Data Gathering Technique
The researcher gathered the data from the Jakarta Post website. The
researcher went to the readers’ forum and chose TYS column. The data were
downloaded. The researcher used word processing program as the first instrument
to make the transcript of TYS column after downloading. In the transcript, the
researcher made cross tabulation tables as the second instrument to present the
gathered data. Then, the data were classified based on the appropriate speech act
categories from Searle’s theory. After that, the researcher made the checklist in each
classification. To determine the speech act categories, the researcher compared the
related theory with the texts. Then, the researcher changed the speech act categories
to make the analysis easier so that the best speech act categories could be
determined.
D. Data Analysis Technique
The researcher used descriptive analysis to analyze the data. The researcher
described the data using tables to make the readers understand the findings. The
researcher provided the first table according to the classification of the texts in TYS
column based on Searle’s speech act categories. It could be seen in Table 3.1. The
researcher provided the tables of speech act classification by theme. Then, the
researcher described the tables to answer each research problem. Next, the
researcher determined the characteristics of every theme in TYS column.
Table 3.1 Speech act category classification
Notes:
: found - : not found
TA.1 : theme A number 1 ass : assertive
com : commissive dir : directive exp : expressive dec : declarative
TA Speech act category
No Text ass com dir exp dec
1 TA.1 - - - -
2 TA.2 - - - -
3 TA.3 - - - -
4 TA.4 - - - -
5 TA.5 - - - -
In the last, the data was presented in percentage form. It could be seen in
Table 3.2. Through percentage form, the table was to show what the most employed
speech act category in TYS column. Therefore, the research problems could be
answered.
Table 3.2 The percentage of speech act categories in Text Your Say column
No. The Category percentage (%)
1. Assertive 2. Directive
3. Commissive
4. Expressive 5. Declarative
Next, the researcher used expert validation to make sure the analysis was
valid. The researcher also chose an International Relation undergraduate student
who specialized in speech acts and understood the social, politic, and economic
issues. The intention was to verify whether the analysis was according to the theory
or not. In the last, the researcher summarized and concluded the data. It was to
answer and cover the two research problems.
E. Research Procedure
There were four stages of research procedure in this study. Those were
selecting the data, analyzing the data, discussing the findings, and presenting the
findings. Every process had its own result from the beginning until the end of the
presenting the findings. As the result, the two research problems were answered.
Here, the researcher provides the scheme of the research procedure.
Process Result
Figure 3.1 Research Procedure
Selecting the data
Analyzing the data
Discussing the findings
Presenting the findings
The transcript of TYS column
The classification of speech act categories
The report amd discussion
26
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents research results and discussion to answer two research
questions about speech act categories of TYS column in the Jakarta Post of
September 2015 issues. The two research questions are (1) which speech act
categories are employed in the TYS column of the Jakarta Post of September 2015
issues and (2) which speech act categories are most frequently employed or
characterize the TYS column in the Jakarta Post of September 2015 issues.
A. Speech Acts Categories in TYS column
The researcher provides the texts from TYS column in order to analyze the
speech act categories related to the study. From 16 themes that are provided by the
Jakarta Post staffs, there are 114 texts from the readers. The opinions in the column
present the readers’ speech act categories. Based on the Searle’s theory, speech act
categories are assertive, commisive, directive, expressive, and declarative which
have been explained in the chapter II. From the analysis, the researcher found out
four of five speech act categories: assertive, commissive, directive, and expressive.
The researcher did not find out declarative category of speech acts.
1. Assertive Category
According to Searle (1976) assertive category is a speech act that commits
the speaker to the truth of a proposition. The researcher found out the readers’ texts
categories (see Table 4.17). In the assertive category, the text writers used the mood
types which has been explained in chapter II. The researcher found out that the text
writers used declarative and interrogative mood types in the assertive category.
Here, the researcher provides the findings of the research:
a. Declarative
(1) TE.37
There is not much the government can do about the thick haze because the haze in Indonesia is just part of the global warming happening in all countries, and in certain countries the conditions are getting worse. In developed countries this phenomenon is not easy to overcome. What we
can do is make the least of it, that’s all.
It is clear that the text is declarative sentence. The text writer explains that
haze phenomenon in Indonesia is a part of global warming in all countries. The text
writer also says that it is not easy to overcome. We are only able to lessen it.
Looking at the function of the text, the text writer wants the readers to believe what
he says. In this case, the text writer shows assertive category through declarative
sentence.
(2) TD.28
As stated, “good candidates” do not want to be “set up” by the police.
Looking at the form of the text, the type of the text is a declarative text.
Through this type, the text writer shows assertive category in order to make others
believe the truth. From the text, it is clear that the text writer gives the clarification.
The clue is the words ‘as stated’. The text writer tries to restate what the previous
person spoke in the past as the explanation of his argument. The text writer
up by the police. The text writer conveys the information so that the readers believe
him.
b. Interrogative
(3) TB.26
Smoking is indeed a nasty habit. What would happen if our own wives fell into the nicotine trap?
First she could keep it secretly from her dear husband, but the urge for nicotine would surely give her away eventually.
Wouldn’t any passing good-looking woman drive him crazy? His wife with a cigarette in her mouth would call him matakeranjang (womanizer), while her husband would call her back: keranjangmata air (bucket of tears). The
best way to stop smoking? Don’t start.
The text writer uses interrogative sentences in the text. In the second
sentence, the interrogative sentence is used in order to ask the effect of smoking in
the future for women. Looking at the function of the sentence, the text writer
commits to the truth of proposition. He wants to know what will happen in the
future. He wants to gain the information about that. Therefore, the text writer shows
his assertive category through his interrogative sentence.
2. Commissive Category
Commissive category is “a type of utterance where the speaker makes a
commitment to a future course of action” (Crystal, 2003, p. 84). The speaker wants
something to be changed and other people to believe his commitment. From the
analysis of the text, the researcher found out 5 commissive categories (see Table
4.17). The text writers showed commissive category through declarative and
imperative types. Here are the examples of researcher’s findings in the following
a. Declarative
(4) TE.37
There is not much the government can do about the thick haze because the haze in Indonesia is just part of the global warming happening in all countries, and in certain countries the conditions are getting worse. In developed countries this phenomenon is not easy to overcome. What we
can do is make the least of it, that’s all.
In the end of the text, the text writer uses the declarative sentence. This
declarative sentence is used to show his commissive category. The text writer
makes the commitment together with the readers. He invites himself and other
people to solve the problem.
b. Imperative
(5) TA.3
For everything has its own limit; so does foreign coverage. We decide!
The text has two speech act categories. The text writer uses assertive and
commissive categories. The second sentence shows the text writer’s imperative
sentence. Using the imperative sentence, the text writer is in order to invite the
readers and himself to decide something to solve the issue. On the other words, the
text writer wants other people and himself make the commitment to do an action. It
is clear that the text writer shows commissive category through his imperative
sentence.
(6) TN.95
Will these Chinese trains be of the same high quality as those famous Chinese Transjakarta buses that were in the news some time ago? Let us wait and see.
It is clear that the text writer uses imperative sentence in the last sentence.
commissive category. The text writer is in order to invite himself and other people
to wait and see the progress in the last sentence. Therefore, we can see the result
later. The text writer invites other people to do the action together. He and other
people make the commitment.
3. Directive Category
Searle (1976) says that directive speech act is that the speaker requests the
hearer to do something. The speaker wants the readers to do the speaker’s
willingness. The researcher found out 50 directive categories in TYS column (see
Table 4.17). The text writer used declarative, imperative, and interrogative
sentences to show the category. Here are the examples of researcher’s findings:
a. Declarative
(7) TE.41
The haze has caused numerous emergency situations. It brings about enormous economic, social and environmental losses. Again and again, due to a lack of courage, bringing forest and land-burning perpetrators to court is not easy.
Officers should embrace the community and ask them to actively report on every land clearing activity.
The offenders should be forced to restore environmental conditions, and they should be required to pay heavy fines.
The text has two speech act categories. Those are assertive and directive
categories. In the last two sentences, the text writer shows directive speech act
category. He shows the category through declarative sentence. The text writer
suggests that the officers ask the society to report actively. Then, the offenders are
asked to pay heavy fines and restore the environmental condition. It is clear that
(8) TM.89
A suggestion to Sucofindo and to related government departments: Please, Sucofindo should extend its services to be available 24 hours, seven days a week to increase export activities of non-oil and gas.
From the text, the text writer uses directive category in the sentence. It is
clear that he uses declarative text to show directive category. The purpose is to ask
other people to do an action. The clue is the modal ‘should’. In the text, the text
writer suggests that Sucofindo and related government departments to extend the
service. Therefore, the export activity of non-oil and gas can be increased.
b. Imperative
(9) TB.13
Make sure there are smoking lounges and make security personnel tell smokers to use them.
The text has one speech act category. It is clear that the speaker uses
imperative sentence. The imperative sentence means the text writer asks other
people to do something. The clue is ‘make sure…and make …’ The text writer wants
the official to convince that smoking lounges is available so that the smokers are
able to use them. Its imperative sentence is the characteristic of which shows
directive category. Other people should do what the text writer wants.
(10) TB.26
Smoking is indeed a nasty habit. What would happen if our own wives fell into the nicotine trap?
First she could keep it secretly from her dear husband, but 3the urge for nicotine would surely give her away eventually.
Wouldn’t any passing good-looking woman drive him crazy? His wife with a cigarette in her mouth would call him matakeranjang (womanizer), while her husband would call her back: keranjangmata air (bucket of tears). The
In the last sentence, the text writer uses imperative sentence. The text writer
uses word ‘don’t …’ From the text, the readers are forbidden to start smoking. In
his opinion, it is the best way to stop smoking. In this case, the text writer’s
imperative text shows directive category. The text writer asks the other people to
do an action.
c. Interrogative
(11) TE.36
Can somebody fix this once and for all? No other nation has this problem, so perhaps we should send our representatives abroad to learn how to deal with it?
The text has one speech act category. All consist of the interrogative
sentences. Through the interrogative sentence, the text writer shows his directive
category. The text writer wants the readers do something responding the issue. The
text writer thinks that other nations do not have this problem. He requests someone
and/or representatives to fix this problem.
(12) TI.69
This is a very pertinent comment. Details about routes and implementation are very much scarce. If you compare this to — for example — the London Crossrail project — which has a powerful marketing and information campaign then there is clear reason to be pessimistic.
What is very disappointing is that the press has not pushed for more details. Other press sources state that much of the LRT will run within existing toll roads operated by PT JasaMarga. Can we have more information about this, please?
From the last example, we can see that the text writer still uses the directive
category in the text. He uses the request in the last sentences using interrogative
sentence. The text writer requests to have more information about the project.
It is clear that the text writer asks other people to do something. His willingness is
that others can tell him about the project.
4. Expressive Category
Many Jakarta Post readers also give the response to TYS issue through their
expressive category. They show their feeling and emotion toward the issue. Some
express their pride and appreciation, some express their disenchantment.
Verschueren (1999, p. 24) said that expressive speech act is to “express a variety of
psychological states, having no direction of fit between words and world, and
simply counting as expressions of psychological states.” There were 41 expressive
categories as the findings (see Table 4.17). The text writers used declarative,
exclamative and interrogative sentences to show the category. Here are the examples of the researcher’s findings:
a. Declarative
(13) TI.65
Jokowi’s promises come thick and fast but what about delivery? I am sick
of hearing politicians promise to fix Jakarta’s traffic woes and then they
only get worse.
Less talk, more action, please.
In the text, the text writer shows his expressive category through declarative sentence. He expresses his disappointment toward the politicians’ promises. The
clue is ‘I am sick of …’ In this case, many politicians give many promises in public.
However, they will do nothing in the future which left their promises unfulfilled.
(14) TP.112
