Linguistic Landscape Study of Padang City Billboards Leads Melati Theresia to a Doctoral Degree at Faculty of Humanities Udayana University

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• Rabu, 3 Juni 2026
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Denpasar, June 3, 2026 – The Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University  held an Open Examination of Doctoral Promotion for the Linguistics Doctoral Study Program. The open examination, which took place at the Widya Sabha Mandala Auditorium, Ida Bagus Mantra Building, 3rd Floor, Faculty of Humanities Udayana University presented Melati Theresia, S.S., M.Hum. as the promovenda with her dissertation entitled "Billboards in Padang, West Sumatra: A Linguistic Landscape Study" (Billboard di Padang, Sumatera Barat: Kajian Lanskap Linguistik). She successfully defended her dissertation with a “Very Satisfactory” (Sangat Memuaskan) predicate, officially becoming the 281st Doctor at Faculty of Humanities Udayana University and the 281st Doctor in the Linguistics Doctoral Study Program of Faculty of Humanities Udayana University.

The board of examiners for this open examination was chaired by Prof. Dr. I Made Netra, S.S., M.Hum., accompanied by Prof. Dr. Ketut Artawa, M.A. as the Promotor, Prof. Dr. I Wayan Mulyawan, S.S., M.Hum. as Co-promoter I, and Prof. Dr. I Wayan Simpen, S.S., M.Hum. as Co-promoter II. The members of the board of examiners included Prof. Dr. Made Sri Satyawati, S.S., M.Hum., Prof. Dr. Ketut Widya Purnawati, S.S., M.Hum., Dr. Silvia Damayanti, S.S., M.Hum., and Prof. Dr. I Nengah Laba, M.Hum.

This dissertation is motivated by the perspective that the Linguistic Landscape in public spaces, specifically through the medium of billboards in the city of Padang, does not merely serve as a functional promotional tool, but also reflects the linguistic practices, ideologies, and social dynamics of its community. To uncover the meaning behind this visual language reality, the research employed a phenomenological approach with a descriptive qualitative method. Empirical data collection was conducted through observation and visual documentation of billboards scattered along the right and left sides of 9 (nine) main roads in the Padang city area. Through the data collection process that took place during August 2024, this study successfully gathered and validated 144 billboard data points.

Based on the analysis, this study identified the existence of five main text types conventionally found on billboards in Padang City, which include regulatory, commercial, educational, political, and commemorative texts. Interestingly, this research yielded a theoretical novelty by introducing the "combination text type" (tipe teks kombinasi). This new category was formulated after discovering eleven visual signs that could not be identified using previous text type theories. This combination text type encompasses a more complex and layered blending of messages, such as combinations of political and educational, commemorative and educational, identity and commercial, commercial and educational, artistic and commercial, as well as protest and alerting texts.

Furthermore, the examination of lingual units revealed that billboards in Padang City strategically utilize language elements ranging from the word and phrase levels to declarative and imperative sentences to capture the public's attention swiftly. In the Social Semiotics perspective, the construction of messages on these billboards is built multimodally through the collaboration of three main elements: written, image, and color modes. These three elements ultimately project denotative meanings focused on literal information, as well as connotative meanings that carry implicit messages and heavily depend on the local cultural context of the community.

Concluding the examination, Prof. Dr. Ketut Artawa, M.A., as the promoter, expressed his deep appreciation for the dedication and hard work the promovenda had put into completing her dissertation. He also extended his gratitude to the board of examiners for providing constructive feedback toward the refinement of the research. In closing, Prof. Artawa conveyed a moral message urging the promovenda to consistently produce innovative academic works and to never give up in her future endeavors.