ALS457 CASE STUDY

1. Task B #2. Focus only on Arman and Husni.

2. I suggest you follow this format in writing the dialogue:

a. indicate the timestamp; eg: 00:33:34 - 00:35:10

b. Font for Javanese : italics and bold

c. Font for B Melayu: normal

d. Writer's interpretation/ description of the scene : (normal font in bracket)

e. All questions in paragraphs. No need to put number

dialogue is indented from the rest of the text

The oral presentation:

We'll be looking at these aspects:

Content

Language use

Delivery + visual aids

From this movie, a few functions from Gumperz’s classifications can be found such as addressee
specification, message qualification and reiteration. The first function is addressee specification. The
role of the addressee specification is to direct the message to a specific person in a group who is
present in a conversation (Salima, 2010). In the conversation, Tuminah is in the living room with her
sons, Jalal and Arman. She initially starts the conversation with Jalal. Then, Arman expresses his
regrets regarding the family matters. That is when Tuminah calls ‘Man’ which is his nickname, to
direct the conversation to him. By doing so, she intends for Arman to stay involved in the
conversation and she wants to give assurance her son that she also feels the same thing. She
switches from conversing casually with Jalal to conversing seriously with Arman. She also code
switches from Malay to Javanese when talking to him.

Timestamp: 1:00:01 – 1:00:06

Tuminah: Man, ora kui kowe sing terkilan. (Man, bukan kau seorang saja).

Another function of code-switching that can be found in the movie is message qualification. Message
qualification is an explanation of the previous speech in the other code in order to provide additional
information (Salima, 2010). In the specific scene, Jalal is having a conversation with his older brother,
Arman by the beach, talking about the storks’ nest. He tells that storks build their nests high on the
trees to avoid dangers and he further elaborates that they are protective and careful in taking care of
their nests. He means to say that we need to take good care of ourselves. He initially speaks Malay to
describe the storks’ nest before switching to Javanese to explain further on his analogy. He uses the
analogy as a way to remind Arman about his health since he finds out that his brother is sick.

Timestamp: 00:44:58 – 00:45:27

Jalal: Sarang dia tinggi atas pokok. Jauh dari bahaya. Dan dia jaga sarang dia tu sepenuh hati.
Goyo kito lah. Kito keno jogo aweke dhewe. (Macam kitalah. Kita kena jaga diri kita
sendiri).

Next, an example of reiteration is also portrayed in this movie. Reiteration happens when a message
is repeated in another code in order to explain what has been stated or to increase the
perlocutionary effect of the utterance (Salima, 2010). Pak Mansor wants to discuss the division of the
land with Tuminah, so he meets her at her house. He tries his hard to convince her to just sell the
land to him but Tuminah still contemplates it. He misunderstands that she already agrees with his
suggestion. To clear things up, she says directly that she has not made a definite decision on selling
the land to him. She expresses her ideas in Javanese before reiterating them in a simpler way in
Malay. This is to make sure that Mansor clearly understands Tuminah’s points.

Timestamp: 00:51:06 – 00:51:10

Tuminah: Aku durung ngomong aku setuju paatuh tanah itu. (Aku belum cakap aku setuju
nak jual tanah itu). Aku belum cakap.
In your opinion, should the society disapprove code-switching? Why? Explain your answers and provide
justification with support from secondary sources (at least 2 sources)

We think that society should not disapprove of code-switching. Some people prefer to code-switch
because it gives a sense of comfort towards the people they converse with. Shuter (2013) explains that
when interacting with kids, a person will often adjust their language to avoid intimidating them and also
so as not to teach them inappropriate or filthy language. Through code-switching, people will feel more
open to share their ideas and thoughts. In case they fail to express their thoughts in only one language,
they have the freedom to combine with another language; as long as the audience understands the
messages conveyed. Kheder and Kaan (2021) state that bilinguals must maintain track of both languages
at all times in order to choose the proper language for a particular discourse. Not everyone has the
ability to construct, understand and communicate in sentences that contain a combination of two or
more languages in a conversation. It requires a kind of common sense for code-switching to work.
Furthermore, Beeharilal (2020) elaborates that people keep a specific connection with those who share
a language, dialect, and presentation when they switch in their minority community. This proves that
there is a sense of uniqueness and unity in code-switching. According to a new research, people who
code-switch are better in adapting into their various surroundings, and it can help job progress,
connection, and other sorts of success that come from belonging to a group (Beeharilal, 2020). As a
result, their standard of living becomes higher and they are able to improve the other aspects of living as
well. Therefore, the significances of code-switching in society should not be undermined as they are
beneficial.
Video:

Assalamualaikum and greetings. I’m Atira binti Sarajuddin and I’ll be answering the second question. So,
how does the characters’ (Arman and Husni) use of Javanese variety reflect their social identity in the
movie?

According to Tajfel, Social identity is defined as a person’s sense of who they are based on their group
membership(s). Groups such as social class, family etc which people belong to are an important source
of pride and self-esteem. This is because they provide us with a feeling of social identity: a feeling that
we belong in the society.

I’m going to explain the relationship between language and social identity. Language is not simply an
assortment of words but an entity that connects an individual to his family, identity, culture, music,
beliefs and wisdom. It is the carrier of history, traditions, customs and folklore from one generation to
another. Without language, no culture can sustain its existence. Therefore, our language is actually our
identity.

As shown in the movie, Arman speaks Javanese a lot which means he’s proud of his roots. Another
evidence that he takes pride in Javanese variety is when he reminds his younger brother, Jalal to stay
true to their roots and take care of the land that belonged to their late father. He’s really passionate to
carry the Javanese tradition and language, and he tries hard to preserve the elements by reminding his
family members.

Meanwhile Husni seems to forget his roots. He barely speaks Javanese compared to Arman. Maybe it’s
because of their different environments of living. For example, Arman lives in Parit Jawa. The presence
of Javanese community in where Arman lives is greater than in where Husni lives. However, if Husni
takes pride in Javanese language, he would’ve still used Javanese to communicate more with his family,
at least. However, he doesn’t do that. In fact, he even ridicules Jalal for staying true to the Javanese
philosophy. This shows that the Javanese variety is not deeply rooted in Husni since he doesn’t bother to
do anything to sustain the Javanese tradition and language which his family carries. That’s all from me
and my partner. Thank you.