Differentiate Sih as Adverb or Particle

Etika Suzerein (16320009)

This paper proposed to concern with the syntactic properties sih in Indonesian like

indeed or actually in English, and lakar in Maduranese. Considering the language

which is dynamic, there are many words come up and used by people like a word sih.

At the first glance, sih in Indonesian probably has the same meaning as indeed or

actually in English for a sentence. Yet, we do not know the category of sih and also the

impact to the meaning from its different position. In this paper, I would like to present a

further information about the use of sih, consisting the proper position it should be, on

which category it is included, then I will compare and contrast it into the other

languages with the examples in order to know whether it is considerably equivalent.

Sih has a meaning that it is a particle that marks a topic or emphasizes a statement 1.

On the other hand, I consider sih for a sentence is categorized as an adverb.

In Indonesian, sih apperantly has different meanings depending on the sentence:

(I provide the example with my own language to make it understandable)

a) It shows a reason

1. Aku tidak mau beli hape baru.. mahal sih.

1SG not want buy handphone new.. expensive sih

→I do not want to buy new handphone because it is expensive.

b) It shows a reality

2. Manis sih manis, tapi bukan zamannya lagi.

Sweet sih sweet, but not its era anymore.

→It is actually sweet but it is not the era anymore.

1
http://kamus.sabda.org/kamus/sih
 c) It has a meaning as a wondering something by asking why

3. Berat banget sih kopernya? Isinya apa?

Heavy very sih the travel bag? Its contain what?

→Why is the travel bag very heavy? What does it contain?

From the a.1 example, we know that sih functions to connect the dependent clause

with the independent clause. So, it is not as an adverb. Whereas in the b.2 example, it

behaves as an adverb. It modifies the adjective sweet. And the c.3 example it shows a

wonder of particular thing. It does not also behave as an adverb.

Then, I assume sih as an adverb for the reason I present the examples below. I also

did compare and contrast these sentences with the other languages. Both in 4 and 5

examples are considered as the category of adverb because their positions precede and

likely modify the adjectives.

4. Kamu sih/memang pintar jadi tenang saja. (Indonesian)

You actually/indeed clever so calm just. (English)

Ba’na lakar penter dhaddi tennang bhai.

(Maduranese-EI2)

→You are actually/indeed clever so just calm.

5. Menurutku sih/memang tadi itu aneh. (Indonesian)

In my opinion actually/indeed just now that weird. (English

Ka sengko’ lakar gella’ jaruwa aneh.

(Madurenese-EI)

→In my opinion, it was actually/indeed weird just now.

2
EI is Enja’/Iya. It is the lowest level of Madurese dialect. It is used by Madurese society among friends,
relatives and the older people to the younger ones (it is considered as the low level). This level speech is
also used in daily communication. The Study of Madurese Social Dialect (Jaftiyatur Rohaniyah).
 Adverbs mostly function as modifiers of verb, adjective or other adverbs. An

adverb which modifies adjective or another adverb is called as adverb of degree and

usually goes before what it modifies. Surely, it is used to give an extra emphasis. Sih

emphasises both the adjectives clever and weird. Also for English indeed/actually and

Madurese lakar are used for the same function, to firmly mark the statements. For

another example, like Rudy is absolutely delighted to the news.

Yet, sih apperantly can not always be an adverb when its position is changed. Sih

can not always appear and even fit to a sentence.

6. Sih, kamu tidak belajar tadi malam.

7. Pria itu terlalu sih baik.

In Indonesian, the sentences above are not grammatically correct. Sih is likely not

important to be put and it can be omitted. But it is better to exchange its position after

the subject.

→ Kamu sih tidak belajar tadi malam.

You indeed did not study last night.

Ba’na lakar tak ajar malemma.

→ Pria itu sih terlalu baik.

The man is indeed too kind.

Lalake’ jaruwa lakar ce’ bhagussa.

On the contrary, sih is considered as a particle. Particles are short words that with

just one or two exceptions all are accompanied by any complement of their own.

Unlike bases of major word classes the particles do not take any affixes.
 When sih is categorized as particle, it does not need to modify another one. Its

function is to describe and express the feeling of the speaker to assert a statement. In

declarative sentence, sih emphasises about the truth that is important. Whereas in

question, sih shows someone is wondering about a thing to know.

In summary, sih is more approriate, in fact, to be categorized as a particle than an

adverb. It can not be included in adverb category because when its position is changed,

it seem breaks the rule and makes a sentence not understandable. While sih as a particle

is to give an expression of the speaker’s saying of a proposition.

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Grammar. New York: Cambridge University Press

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