NOTION: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Culture

Environmental ideology in WALHI’s ecological disaster press releases: An ecolinguistic analysis of Sumatra

Mimas Ardhianti — 2026-05-28

This study aims to uncover the environmental ideology embedded in WALHI’s ecological disaster press releases through transitivity analysis. The study employs a descriptive qualitative approach grounded in ecolinguistics within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). The data consist of press releases on ecological disasters in Sumatra published by Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI). Data were collected through observation and documentation techniques. The collected data were analyzed in four stages: (1) clause segmentation and numbering; (2) identification and classification of process types; (3) identification of participant roles and circumstantial elements; and (4) interpretation of ideological patterns based on recurring configurations of processes and participants. The findings indicate that relational processes dominate the transitivity patterns, followed by material, existential, verbal, mental, and behavioral processes. The environmental ideologies identified in WALHI’s ecological disaster press releases include: (1) environmental ideology: those in power are responsible for environmental destruction; (2) environmental ideology: rejection of power practices in elite regulations; (3) environmental ideology: justice in resisting systems of power; (4) environmental ideology: the government must be responsible for environmental damage; and (5) environmental ideology: transparent enforcement of legal policies.

The role of artificial intelligence in contemporary literary practice: Perceptions and implications

Firah Alifiah Ningrum — 2026-05-28

This study examines the relationship between literature and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the development of digital technology. While AI is increasingly shaping how writers work from generating ideas to editing, there is still a lack of empirical focus on how this affects authorial agency, especially in the Indonesian context. This study used a qualitative descriptive method, distributing an online questionnaire to 53 literary writers in Indonesia, including poetry, short story, novel, and drama writers. The results showed that 62% of respondents use AI as a tool to facilitate the writing process, while 22% view it as a potential threat to creativity. Most respondents (82%) believe that AI cannot replace writers because it lacks emotional experience and cultural understanding. Furthermore, 50% of respondents believe AI can improve the technical aspects of writing, although 22% stated that excessive use can diminish the originality of the work. These findings imply that the integration of AI requires writers to develop critical digital literacy, ensuring that technology serves as a collaborative partner rather than a replacement for human creative identity. Overall, this study concludes that AI plays a supporting role in the creative process but still requires the writer’s supervision and control to maintain the quality and originality of literary works. Beyond individual practice, these results highlight the need for literary institutions to establish ethical guidelines that protect authorial voice in an increasingly automated environment.

News virality in disaster communication: An encoding–decoding study of community reception in Sumber Mujur, Mount Semeru

Radius Setiyawan — 2026-05-28

This study examines how local communities interpret news about the Mount Semeru eruption on social media. It argues that disaster news constructs meaning through language, visuals, and framing, rather than merely conveying facts. Media portrayals often dramatize disasters, creating a gap between media representations and local experiences. While existing studies tend to focus on media production or textual analysis, this research positions affected communities as active agents in meaning-making. In doing so, it addresses the limited scholarship on community-based disaster reception in Indonesia. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with residents of Sumber Mujur Village, Candipuro District, Lumajang Regency, East Java, following the eruption (January–February 2022). The analysis is guided by Stuart Hall’s encoding–decoding framework to explore how communities interpret and respond to disaster news. The findings identify three decoding positions. First, a negotiated reading of the “Rumini died beside her mother” report, where the event is accepted but the emotional framing is questioned. Second, a dominant-hegemonic reading of the “house intact from the eruption” report, interpreted through religious values as a symbol of hope despite its simplification of the disaster. Third, an oppositional reading of the “Semeru lava can cause a tsunami” report, which is rejected as hyperbolic, geographically inaccurate, and potentially panic-inducing. This study demonstrates that community reception is not passive but actively negotiates media meaning within local socio-cultural contexts. It extends encoding–decoding theory by grounding it in disaster communication at the community level in Indonesia, and highlights the importance of context-sensitive, non-exaggerative, and victim-centered reporting.

Hegemonic masculinity and genre mediation in contemporary religious cinema: A comparative Connellian-Freirean analysis of Immaculate (2024) and Women Talking (2022)

Ester Yoanita Sirait — 2026-05-28

Debates on gender inequality in Christian contexts often focus on doctrine and sociocultural patriarchy, yet genre’s influence on these issues at the narrative level is rarely examined. This study investigates how Immaculate (2024) and Women Talking (2022) construct representations of masculinity, religious authority, and female resistance through horror and drama conventions. Using qualitative interpretive film analysis, the research involved repeated close viewing, scene logging, and iterative coding. Recurring patterns were identified inductively and examined through Raewyn Connell’s (2005) framework of power, production, and cathexis, alongside Paulo Freire’s (1970) concept of internalized oppression. The analysis indicates that biblical references within the films’ narrative worlds become aligned with feminine-coded expectations of endurance and restraint through cinematic form rather than doctrinal meaning. Spatial confinement, sound design, dialogue, and visual framing contribute to this alignment. Horror externalizes patriarchal control through spectacle, while drama organizes authority through deliberation. In both cases, resistance emerges within, rather than outside, existing structures of power. The study contributes by positioning genre as a mediating framework through which religious authority and gender hierarchy are narratively organized in these texts. Given its focus on two films, further research is recommended across broader genres, global cinemas, and media forms.

Negotiating cultural and religious identity through prophetic ethos: A critical discourse analysis of Kuntowijoyo’s Impian Amerika

Erik Tauvani Somae — 2026-05-28

In Indonesia, there are literary works deal with the issues of multiculturalism and religion, but those synthetize both in creative way are still rare. This study examines Kuntowijoyo’s novel Impian Amerika as a case of what the author terms “prophetic multicultural literature”, a literary form integrating multicultural values with a prophetic ethos grounded in humanization, liberation, and transcendence. Employing Teun A. van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The study analyzes the novel across three dimensions: textual structure, social cognition, and social context. The findings reveal that: (1) Impian Amerika construct prophetic multiculturalism through the interplay of religious and cultural values rooted in a prophetic ethos; (2) multiculturalism identity in the novel is shapes by minority status, diasporic longing, and Indonesian nationalism; and (3) the novel advanced a moderate religious discourse that transitions from textual normativity to contextual and historical interpretation. Theoretically, this study contributed to the operationalization of prophetic multicultural literature as an analytical category within CDA, offering a frame for examining the intersection of religion, identity, and social justice in literary discourse.

Strategic uses of vague expressions in Indonesian political talk show Mata Najwa: A pragmatic discourse analysis

Sri Handayani — 2026-05-28

The use of vague expressions in political discourse interaction is often viewed as a form of linguistic ambiguity, however, previous research has not adequately explained their strategic function in confrontational public interactions, especially in the in the context of political talk shows. This study aims to examine the pragmatic function of vague expressions as a communication strategy in the Mata Najwa talk show episode "Berebut Tahta di Tengah Wabah" (Fighting for the Throne in the Midst of an Outbreak). A descriptive qualitative approach is implemented. In order to get in depth data analysis, pragmatic discourse analysis based on operational linguistic indicators, including indefinite quantifiers, hedging devices, general extenders, and placeholder expressions is used. The data consists of 127 responses from nine resource persons to host questions and statements, with a tendency to use vague expressions in sensitive questions. The results show that vague expressions function as a discursive strategy structured in three main forms. First, a mitigation strategy encompasses self-protection, politeness, and information limitation to reduce epistemic commitment and avoid sensitive issues. Second, an affirmative strategy utilizes factual data and assertive statements to build credibility and public trust. Third, a conversation management strategy utilizes inclusive pronouns and cultural symbols to build legitimacy and manage power relations. This finding confirms that vagueness is a strategic pragmatic practice in political communication that plays a role in shaping public perception and legitimacy.

Language as cultural expression: An anthropolinguistics study of Javanese mantra in the traditional ceremony Malam 1 Sura

Seishaditha Aleyda Prasetya — 2026-05-28

The symbolic role of mantra language in Javanese ritual traditions remains understudied, particularly in the macapat sung during the Malam 1 Suro ceremony at the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Palace. This study examines the symbolic functions of macapat as ritual mantra performed by palace courtiers. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, data were gathered through organizational access, observation, interviews, document and audio-visual analysis, and ethical practice. Interviews with KRT. Rintaiswara and KRT. Kusumonegoro were triangulated with information from R.Ngt. Kingkin of the Yogyakarta Cultural Office to ensure validity. Findings show that the macapat recited in the ceremony serves as a safety-seeking mantra whose linguistic form has evolved into a blend of Old Javanese, modern Javanese, and everyday language. The analysis identifies four symbolic functions shaping ritual communication: (a) tradition as microphysics of power, (b) language as a symbolic enactment of belief systems, (c) language as soulful resonance, and (d) language as an identity marker of Yogyakarta’s governance. This research contributes to linguistic anthropology and ritual discourse studies by demonstrating how macapat functions not merely as verbal expression but as a symbolic medium embodying socio-cultural, spiritual, and political meanings within Javanese court practice.

Sentences types and pragmatic function of directive speech acts in motivational text of Atomic Habits

Devi Rosmawati — 2026-05-28

Directive speech acts are commonly used to influence behavior, but they are not always expressed through direct commands. In many contexts, directive meanings are conveyed indirectly through declarative or interrogative structures, requiring interpretation based on context. This indirectness is particularly characteristic of motivational discourse, where authors seek to encourage behavioral change while maintaining a persuasive and non-authoritative tone. Rather than issuing explicit instructions, motivational texts often guide readers through explanations, evaluative statements, and reflective questions. This study investigates the realization of directive speech acts in Atomic Habits by James Clear. Drawing on John Searle’s speech act theory, the analysis focuses on sentence types, modes of realization (explicit and implicit), and pragmatic functions. The data consist of 525 sentences or clauses identified as conveying directive meaning, analyzed using qualitative pragmatic interpretation and descriptive quantitative methods. The findings show that directive speech acts are predominantly realized through declarative forms, followed by imperative and interrogative structures. Indirect (implicit) directives occur more frequently than direct (explicit) ones, indicating the importance of subtle persuasive strategies in motivational writing. Pragmatically, these directives mainly function to advise, instruct, and invite reader reflection. This study contributes to pragmatic and discourse studies by demonstrating how motivational texts systematically employ indirect directive strategies to promote voluntary behavioral change. It also provides a more nuanced understanding of how directive force operates beyond imperative forms, particularly in persuasive self-improvement discourse.

Narrating forest loss: Ecological violence and environmental silence in a comparative study of Jejak Balak and Supernova: Partikel

Heru S. P. Saputra — 2026-05-28

This comparative study examines the representation of ecological violence and the function of environmental silence in Jejak Balak (Traces of Logging) by Ayu Welirang and Supernova: Partikel (Supernova: Particle) by Dee Lestari within Indonesia’s structurally driven deforestation crisis. Literature not only reflects ecological degradation but also shapes its meaning through narratives that simultaneously expose and obscure violence against forests. Using an interpretive qualitative approach grounded in ecocriticism and informed by political ecology and the concept of slow violence, this study analyzes how ecological meaning is constructed in the two novels. The findings show that Jejak Balak depicts forest exploitation explicitly through socio-economic conflicts, while Supernova: Partikel renders ecological crisis in a more reflective and spiritual mode. In both texts, the marginalization of forest voices and long-term ecological impacts reveals environmental silence as a key narrative mechanism. This study advances ecocritical scholarship by demonstrating that environmental silence is not merely an aesthetic absence but a structuring principle that shapes how ecological violence is perceived and potentially normalized. It concludes that contemporary Indonesian literature contributes to the formation of ecological ethics through both representation and silence.

"I didn't say that": Discursive evasion and responsibility management in political crisis communication (A forensic linguistic multiple-case study)

Nur Lailiyah — 2026-05-28

Political leaders’ responses to crises often combine apology, denial, and ambiguity, raising questions about how responsibility is linguistically managed. While prior studies have focused on the effectiveness of political apologies, fewer have examined how accountability is constructed at the micro-linguistic level. This study addresses that gap by analyzing six high-profile political crisis responses from Indonesia, the United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom using a qualitative multiple-case approach grounded in forensic linguistics and critical discourse analysis. The analysis focuses on selected linguistic features: passive constructions, nominalization, pronoun use, and metadiscursive refutation to identify patterns in how responsibility is expressed or obscured. The findings reveal three recurring strategies: (1) obscuring agency through passive and abstract forms, (2) diffusing responsibility through shifts between “I” and “we,” and (3) reframing statements to challenge interpretation or intention. These strategies appear consistently across cases, although their use reflects different political and cultural contexts. This study contributes by offering a clear, integrated analytical framework for examining responsibility management in political crisis discourse. Unlike previous research that emphasizes outcomes or rhetorical effectiveness, this study highlights how grammatical and discursive choices systematically shape representations of accountability. The findings provide practical insights for forensic linguistic analysis and support critical media literacy by showing how language can strategically negotiate responsibility in public communication.

The reconstruction of slavery in the novel Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson: A post-nationalism perspective

Rosma Kadir — 2026-05-28

This research examines Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains as a counter-narrative to dominant representations of the American Revolution as a universal project of freedom. It employs Stuart Hall’s theory of representation and a qualitative textual analysis approach. This study explores how the novel reconstructs slavery as an ideological structure that shapes and limits the meaning of revolutionary liberty. The findings show that Chains constructs a genealogy of slavery as a foundation of the American Revolution and represents freedom as a selective and racialized political project. Slavery is portrayed as a system of human commodification that is transnational in nature and legitimized by law and colonial economic practices. Racial stereotypes operate ambivalently by dehumanizing enslaved people while simultaneously opening spaces for agency and resistance. The character Isabel is represented as a rational subject who can read, interpret, and appropriate the discourse of freedom for self-liberation. This article concludes that Chains critically and ethically reconstructs the memory of the American Revolution beyond the boundaries of the nation-state.