A varied dialect within a multilingual country might emerge as a phenomenon where the people speak the same language but still can’t understand what other people say from another area. For instance, the Javanese people who live in the Special Region of Yogyakarta and East Java speak and hold Javanese culture. However, they might be confused or clueless about what the listener says in a conversation. Thanks to the language variation that brought so-called dialect.  

Dialectology, a linguistics study focusing on how language differs based on geography and social factors, comes to assist in answering the question. In this case, 14 students from dialectology class attempted to study vocabulary (words or phrases) variation specific to certain regions. They went to Jombang, East Java on May 10-11, 2024, to find the vocabulary variation of the Javanese language. 

“There are 14 students in our class and they spread into 5 groups. Each group went to different sub-districts, which were Perak, Wonosalam, Diwek, and Peterongan. We brought 200 Swadesh word lists to find out the changes from the Javanese standard by interviewing an informant in each sub-district,” Eduar explained. Those sub-districts were chosen based on their hypothesis. “Diwek and Perak are in the west of Jombang, so we predict that the people still use the Mataraman dialect while Wonosalam and Petarongan are in the east. Thus, the people are most likely to use the Surabayanan dialect,” Dina added. From the data gathered, they compared and mapped the changes. 

The students said that this field trip was a priceless experience. It gave a clear picture of how a linguist collects the data such as planning the program, coordinating with the locals, and interacting as well as interviewing them. “It was fun and always be a valuable experience for me. As a Javanese native speaker, I learned a lot from this experience. For instance, I didn’t know that the word kenceng means lurus (go straight on) in their dialect. All I know kenceng is banter or kencang (fast). It, of course, enhances my knowledge,” Dinda illustrated what she felt. 

“I think it would be fantastic if we could continue to hold field trips like this in the future. We learned a lot. I hope the department, the faculty, or the parties involved will always support this sort of activity,” said Ningrum.

On Saturday, May 4th, 2024, the anthropology linguistics class held a field trip to Cilacap in order to get to know the locals, in particular the people who live in the coastal area. Approximately 65 students joined the field trip. They were divided into two classes, which were Class A and Class B. Class A focused on the people and the place around Teluk Penyu Beach such as how people communicate in a particular situation and the toponym around the town. Meanwhile, class B tried to picture the people and its culture. For instance, some groups observed how the locals present their gratitude through sedekah laut and how the people who are fishermen use the equipment, particularly the people in Tegalkamulyan village. 

“We were intrigued by the event that they called sedekah laut, a special event only held by people in Cilacap,” said Fandi, a student from class B. He further explained that people in Cilacap deliver their gratitude towards the Almighty by serving some offerings. “ We were dumbfounded that they use more than 100 kinds of things as the offering where each symbolizes a certain idea,” Fandi stated. 

Another group from class B tried to describe the equipment used by the local fishermen where they discovered that naming the equipment based on its appearance such as its size and its shape. A similar topic also was discussed by a group from class A. Auna explained that his group tried to illustrate the toponym around the town. On the other hand, Dila and her group took ethnographic communication to observe the interaction between fish traders and the buyers in TPI (Fish Auction Place). “We should’ve visited the TPI but unfortunately we came a little bit too late and the weather wasn’t that good which made them close the TPI. However, we still got the data in particular about the type of communication by interviewing several fishermen,” Lova added. 

This field trip was initiated to implement what the students have learned in class and also to get more information from the experts as Dr. Suhandano delivered his remarks to officially open the activity. “The field trip was fun and insightful. We didn’t not only learn about the linguistics aspect but also tried to dig deeper to understand the culture that will enhance the analysis,” Ulfa said. 

This field trip was held in cooperation between the Master’s Program in Linguistics and the fishermen organization, Himpunan Nelayan Seluruh Indonesia Kabupaten Cilacap. “We do hope that such an activity like this will always be conducted. It gave us the real picture of being a researcher and also created a strong collaboration with organizations and the people,” said Imam. 

Seven week of lectures have passed and the students have to take their mid-term exam. The university had determined the mid-term exam period on the 1st–26th of April 2024 where the lecturers have the authority to organize the exam. The Master of Linguistics students batch 2023 shared their experience taking this examination. 

“I am taking seven classes and I have to submit three papers for this mid-term exam,” said Tata and Ilham, Master of Linguistics students who take Social Linguistics as their field of interest. From the Descriptive Linguistics group, Damai said that she had to submit several papers and present her research. Similar to other students, Wanda, who chose Translation as her field of interest, said that she had to submit papers reviewing some journals and discussing a particular topic, write a thesis proposal, and take a practical exam.  

The students expressed that the preparation for the exam was challenging. Gathering ideas, topics, and literature to construct the papers was tough and laborious but still enjoyable. “I was clueless about the things that I had to write but having a fun discussion with my friends helped me a lot to find enlightenment in making my masterpieces,” Ilham declared proudly. “It is my second mid-term examination and I got the experience (from the previous semester) that made me more prepared. But still, it was stressful since I was the one who was a deadliner” said Damai while giggling. In composing the papers, the students have several strategies such as making their own deadline for collecting the data and writing every part of the papers. Despite all the intricacy, according to Tata and Damai, this mid-term exam period would be another experience since they will join a field trip for Anthropological Linguistics and Dialectology where they need to collect the data by interviewing and observing a particular group of people as part of the mid-term examination. 

The mid-term exam is finally over. The students hope that they will get good marks. “It’s not only about the good marks but I hope I can comprehend all the material and the things that I read and learned well. It is more important than only having a good grade without knowing the essence and mastering the lesson,” Ilham ended.

Congratulation on your retirement day Dr. Tofan Dwi Hardjanto, M.A. as a lecturer at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Gadjah Mada University.

Your dedication, patience, and kindness will never be forgotten. We thank you for everything, your legacy will continue to thrive in the hearts and minds of all those you have inspired. Have a wonderfull retirement Sir!😊

Through assistive technology devices and special learning software, students can access learning materials more easily and effectively. This ensures that no student is left behind in the quest for quality education for all.

Technology also has great potential in supporting and advancing education at various levels, and can contribute to achieving various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) collaborated with FIB Gadjah Mada University (UGM) on Wednesday, January 31 2024, explored LASSI as an assessment tool design in the form of a survey format used to identify areas of strength and areas which requires improvement in students’ study habits along with attitudes toward learning.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamisah Arifin in the discussion forum explained that through a research plan entitled “Utilising Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) as a Predictive Tool for Strategic Prediction of ESL/EFL Student Performance”, there are 9 components in the assessment in LASSI to identify learning problems faced by students include, Self-Regulation, Study Aids, Motivation, and Time Management. Then in this research it is hoped that LASSI can be used to assess the effectiveness as a predictive tool for ESL/ EFL student performance, as well as identifying the key factors and study strategies measured that correlate most strongly with ESL/ EFL student success.

Furthermore, there are various responses from Dr. Suhandano, Dr. Sailal Arimi, Dr. Ni Gusti Ayu Roselani and other FIB lecturers regarding the use of LASSI which might be implemented in various language teaching, not only English but also Indonesian, Javanese and so on.

A joint research plan between UiTM and FIB UGM through other fields of Linguistics such as Sociolinguistics and Corpus Linguistics was formulated to examine more deeply the discourses in Indonesian and Malaysian news relating to the environment and language variations. This is an example of collaboration between educational institutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are in accordance with the 4th pillar, namely quality education to strengthen solidarity and partnership.

Hello Linguistic Friends!

After voting period, 116 votes were obtained with the following percentages:

 

1. Budi Rahmat Setiawan: 6,1%
2. Lova Daniel S: 30,4%
3. Nabil Asad Al-Quds: 7%
4. Yuliana Kristianti: 56,5%

 

Based on the results of the election, Kalingga Second Council Meeting appointed Yuliana Kristianti as Chairperson of Kalingga for the 2024 Period.

Thank you for your vote, hopefully the elected can carry out the mandate and continue the Kalingga organization to be even better for us together.

Kalingga Election Team

Alhamdulillah, the management of Kalingga 2023 has been declared finished, but after considering the validity of the results of the Council Meeting of Kalingga regarding the Election of the Kalingga Chairperson for the 2024 period, an auction mechanism for the Kalingga Chairperson position will be opened with criteria according to the AD / ART that has been approved at the Kalingga Council Meeting.

Furthermore, the mechanism and discussion of the election of the Kalingga Chairperson will be discussed in the 2023 class group which will be commanded by the class management.

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The timeline for the election of the Kalingga chairman for the 2024 period is as follows:

Nov 26-28: Submission of names from representatives of each class in the class of 2023

Nov 29th: Verification of nomination requirements for the 2024 Kalingga chairman

Nov 30 – Dec 1: Voting in the Class of 2023 Group

Dec 2, 2023: Decision of the Election Results of the 2024 Kalingga Chairperson

Enthusiastic participants in the workshop on writing thesis topics and utilizing text analysis software

Every linguistics master student should be able to give their best to contribute to forming a positive image for the linguistics master study program. Understanding writing thesis topics and utilizing text analysis software is needed to build this positive image.

To improve students’ competence in writing and utilizing text analysis software, the Master of Linguistics study program held two workshops on Saturday, November 4, 2023. The first workshop was about writing thesis topics, and the second was about text analysis software (AntConc and Sketch Engine). Located in the Auditorium of the Soegondo Building, the workshop was attended by 108 participants.

The head of the Master of Linguistics study program, Dr. Suhandano, M.A., opened the workshop by delivering a speech, followed by an ice-breaking activity guided by Anugrah Novendi to play “Simon Words.” This ice-breaking activity aims to make the participants excited and focused on the material that the speakers will give. The enthusiasm of the participants was seen when participating in this ice-breaking activity.

The speaker at the first workshop is Dr. Sajarwa, M.Hum. He is a senior lecturer at the UGM Master of Linguistics study program and editor-in-chief of the “Deskripsi Bahasa” journal. Sajarwa ‘s expertise in writing scientific article topics has been proven with 30 years of experience, and various publications.

Focusing on writing skills in writing thesis topics, the material presented includes the basics of writing titles, types of research, how students write thesis topics using applicable rules and how readers can understand the contents of the thesis. In addition, Dr. Sajarwa, M.Hum. also explained how a thesis can change the mindset of good students.

Furthermore, the participants were allowed to ask questions about the thesis topic writing material that had been delivered. The participants’ enthusiasm was seen during the question and answer session. Nine questions were obtained from nine workshop participants, and as an appreciation for their activity, participants who asked questions were rewarded with souvenirs.

The day continued with the second workshop with the theme of utilizing text analysis software (AntConc and Sketch Engine). The speaker at the second workshop is Arina Isti’anah, M.Hum. She is a lecturer in the English Literature study program at Sanata Dharma University. The second workshop began by introducing the corpus as a text analysis. Then, it continued with the presentation of the material, Corpus Linguistics – Some Features, and ended with the practice of Word Lists, Keywords, Collocation, and Concordances.

Arina Isti’anah, M.Hum. provided material on the use of corpus applications for text analysis and explained the basic elements of data retrieval in the text, followed by practice using the AntConc and Sketch Engine applications. Participants could also ask questions about text analysis applications like the session on writing thesis topics. Enthusiasm was still shown in this session. Not a few participants asked questions. The workshop ended by giving souvenirs to the speakers and taking photos with all participants and speakers.