The Use of Humor as a Pragmatic Device in Indonesian Studium Generale Lectures

Muhammad Rizqi

Abstract


This paper concerns the use of humor as a pragmatic device in academic discourse. The previous studies in this area has shown that, though unlikely, humor is commonly used in academic discourse—both that of written and spoken nature. Among many aspects analyzed in the studies of academic discourse, some are related to academic cultures. With a deliberate consideration of this existing body of literature, this research aims to contribute in area by examining the use of humor in a specific academic environment, Indonesia. The data analyzed are selected transcripts from chosen YouTube videos of studium generale lectures by three Indonesian political figures. The usage of humor will be identified and analyzed pragmatically, and further classified on a table based on the classification of humor by Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, and Weir (2003). The findings of this study show that in Indonesian studium generale lectures, all four types of humor in the theory occurred, and the most frequently used type of humor is aggressive humor, to which offensive jokes belong.


Abstrak

Artikel ini membahas jenis dan fungsi humor dalam mata kuliah umum bahasa Indonesia. Ada beberapa aspek yang dianalisis dalam kuliah umum bahasa Indonesia yang dikaitkan dengan budaya akademik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memerikan jenis dan fungsi humor dengan menelah penggunaan humor di lingkungan akademik di Indonesia. Data yang dianalisis adalah transkrip yang dipilih dari video YouTube yang dipilih dari kuliah umum oleh tiga tokoh politik Indonesia. Data diunduh terlebih dahulu lalu kalimat yang terkait dengan penelitian dicatat. Data yang terkait humor diidentifikasi dan dipilah sesuai dengan jenis dan fungsinya. Selanjutnya data diklasifikasikan berdasarkan klasifikasi humor oleh Martin, Puhlik-Doris, Larsen, Gray, dan Weir. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat empat jenis humor, yakni affiliative humor, self-enhacing humor, aggressive humor, dan self-defeating humor yang ada dalam kuliah umum di Indonesia. Yang paling sering digunakan adalah aggressive humor yang termasuk dalam lawakan ofensif.



Keywords


studium generale, humor, pragmatic device, academic discourse, classification of humor

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abadi, M. (2016, June 5). Scientists have identified 4 types of humor - here's how to find out which one you are. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.sg/humor-types-2018-3/?r=US&IR=T

Andis, N. (2011, February 1). Studium Generale: Berbagi Bersama Menpera. Retrieved from Institut Teknologi Bandung: https://www.itb.ac.id/news/read/3100/home/studium-generale-berbagi-bersama-menpera

Attardo, Salvatore. (2003). Introduction: The pragmatics of humor. Journal of Pragmatics - J PRAGMATICS. 35. 1287-1294. 10.1016/S0378-2166(02)00178-9.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(02)00178-9

Darwin, S. M., Moffit, L. B., & Carr, E. R. (2010). Sexual objectification: advances to theory and research. The Counseling Psychologist, 20(10), 1-33.

Holmes, J. (2000). Politeness, power, and provocation: How humor functions in the workplace. Discourse Studies, 2(2), 159-185.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445600002002002

Hyland, K. (2009). Academic Discourse. London/New York: Continuum.

Institut Teknologi Bandung (Adapter). (2018, October 18). Studium Generale - Ignasius Jonan (Menteri ESDM) [Video file]. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q3W92uGdCk&t=0s&list=WL&index=13

Institut Teknologi Bandung (Adapter). (2017, February 6). Studium Generale KU-4078: Dr. (HC) Susi Pudjiastuti - Menteri Kelautan & Perikanan RI [Video file]. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LwXoLMGL8&t=1084s

Institut Teknologi Bandung (Adapter). (2017, March 28). Studium Generale KU-4078: Sri Mulyani Indrawati, SE. M.Sc,. Ph.D. - Menteri Keuangan RI [Video file]. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmGBM3Yo3pQ&t=5788s

Lochrie, K. (1999). Covert Operations: The Medieval Uses of Secrecy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812207194

Martin, R. A., Doris, P. P., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003). Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(1), 48-75.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00534-2

Nesi, H. (2012). Laughter in university lectures. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11(2), 79-89.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2011.12.003

Paltridge, B. (2006). Discourse Analysis: An Introduction. London: Continuum.

Reershemius, G. (2012). Research cultures and the pragmatic functions of humor in academic research presentations: A corpus-assisted analysis. Journal of Pragmatics, 44, 863-875.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.03.012

Raskin, V. (1985). Semantic mechanisms of humour. Dordrecht and Boston: Reidel.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6472-3

Shultz, T. R. (1976). A cognitive-developmental analysis of humour. In A. J. Chapman & H. C. Foot (Eds.), Humor and laughter: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 11-36). Piscataway, NJ, US: Transaction Publishers

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203789469-2

Thompson, S. (2002). As the story unfolds': The uses of narrative in research presentations. The language of conferencing, 147-168.

Ting-Toomey, S. (2005). Identity negotiation theory: Crossing cultural boundaries. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 211-233). Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications Ltd.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.26499/surbet.v15i2.209

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

  Laman Bahasa Ristekdikti Creative Commons License 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.