Lecturer of Artha Wacana Christian University Succeeded in Obtaining a Doctorate Degree in Linguistics Doctoral Program at the Faculty of Humanities Udayana University

• Posted by: Admin
• Jumat, 5 Juli 2024
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Artha Wacana Christian University lecturer successfully achieved a doctorate degree in the Linguistics Doctoral Program, Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University through an open examination on Thursday, July 4 2024 in Dr. Ir. Sukarno. The student named Naniana N. Benu, S.Pd., M. Hum. declared to have graduated with the title "With Honor". The student is the 211th doctoral graduate at the Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University and the 231st doctorate in the Linguistics Program.

Promovendus presented a dissertation with the title "Language Use on Signboards in Kupang City Public Spaces: Linguistic Landscape Study". This dissertation seeked to explain the language contestation on nameplates in Kupang City public spaces and the lingual forms of language on signboards in Kupang City public spaces as well as the perceptions of the people of Kupang City towards the linguistic landscape of Kupang City. This is discussed with the aim of knowing the spread or distribution of languages, including competition or conflict between languages, which is reflected through their use on signboards in public spaces in Kupang City.

This dissertation concludes that there are sixteen competing languages ​​in the public space of Kupang City, especially those used for signboards. Indonesian dominates, followed by English and other foreign languages ​​and local languages. Languages ​​are contested in monolingual, bilingual and multilingual forms. The existence of local languages ​​is marginalized by the prestige and economic value of the language.

This dissertation finds that the linguistic landscape theory (LL) from Landry & Bourhis (1997) and Gorter (2006; 2018) can be used as a research object to understand motives, uses, ideologies, language variations, and the contestation of various forms of language in public spaces. Language policy theory (Shohamy, 2006; Zein, 2020) is also used as the main supporting theory in looking at the use of language on signboards in Kupang City because language policy is the main mechanism for regulating, managing and manipulating language behavior because it consists of decisions made about language and its use.

In his speech, Prof. Dr. Ketut Artawa, M.A. as the promoter said that promovendus had provided a general overview of the phenomenon of linguistic contestation in Kupang. "We can indirectly see what is happening there based on the contestation because contestation in the public space not only carries information but is indexical and carries other symbolic meanings and that is the finding raised in this research," concluded Prof. Artawa.(agt)