Examining Javanese Reciprocal Constructions, Bachelor of English Literature, Lecturer of Faculty of Humanities Udayana University Successfully Achieved Doctoral Degree

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• Senin, 20 Juli 2026
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Denpasar, July 20, 2026 – The Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University has inaugurated a new Doctor through the Open Examination of the Doctoral Program in Linguistics. It was held at the Dr. Ir. Soekarno Meeting Room, 4th Floor of the Poerbatjaraka Building. The Promovenda, Yana Qomariana, S.S., M.Ling. successfully defended her dissertation entitled "Javanese Reciprocal Constructions" (Konstruksi Resiprokal Bahasa Jawa) and achieved the predicate of "Very Satisfactory" (Sangat Memuaskan), officially becoming the 285th doctorate at FIB Unud and the Doctoral Program in Linguistics. This Open Examination was also attended by the Promovenda's family and fellow lecturers from the Bachelor of English Literature Faculty of Humanities, Udayana University.

The Doctoral promotion examination was evaluated by 10 Examiners, directly led by Prof. Dr. I Made Netra, S.S., M.Hum. as the Chairperson and accompanied by Prof. Dr. Ketut Artawa, M.A. as the Promotor. The other academic examiners consists of: Prof. Dr. I Wayan Pastika, M.S., Prof. Dr. Ni Ketut Widya Purnawati, S.S., M.Hum., Dr. I Gede Oeinada, S.S., M.Hum., Prof. Dr. Drs. I Wayan Simpen, M.Hum., Prof. Dr. Dra. Ni Luh Ketut Mas Indrawati, Dip.TEFL, M.A., and Prof. Dr. Dra. Ni Ketut Ratna Erawati, M.Hum. Due to the absence of Co-Promoter 1, Drs. I Wayan Arka, M.S., M.Phil., Ph.D., and Co-Promoter 2, Prof. Dr. Drs. Agus Subiyanto, M.Hum., the examining authority and responsibilities of the supervisory team were taken over ex-officio by Prof. Dr. I Made Netra, S.S., M.Hum. in his capacity as the Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Linguistics.

This research was motivated by the essence of reciprocal constructions in syntactic and semantic studies, which reflect the reciprocal relationships among participants in a linguistic event. Although this relationship is generally characterized by various strategies such as the lexical marker of reciprocity (saling), specific affixations, and verbal constructions conveying collective meanings, a comprehensive description regarding its argument structure and semantic nuances has not been widely discussed in Javanese linguistic literature. Therefore, this study aims to fill the theoretical gap by dissecting the morphological and syntactic marking systems and their implications for the typology of Austronesian languages.

In addressing these issues, this qualitative descriptive research applied the observational method supported by audiovisual recording techniques. Primary data collection was conducted through elicitation techniques utilizing video stimuli to provoke linguistic responses from native speaker informants within a controlled context. As a complement to ensure a more comprehensive analysis, the study also utilized field note-taking techniques and collected written secondary data extracted from Javanese magazines and literary works. This combined approach was designed so that the obtained data could accurately reflect the grammatical intuition of the speakers while simultaneously demonstrating the reciprocal function in real-use contexts.

The findings of the study indicate that the Javanese language expresses reciprocal meaning through three primary strategies: lexically, morphologically, and syntactically. Lexically, Javanese possesses verbs that are inherently reciprocal in meaning, whereas morphologically, this meaning is formed through affixation processes (such as the use of the polysemic suffix "-an") and reduplication. Syntactically, this construction exhibits the characteristics of universal reciprocals in the form of valence reduction from a two-place to a one-place predicate. Historical findings also reveal an intriguing dynamic; Old and Middle Javanese previously utilized the prefix "ma-", which is a distinct characteristic of Austronesian languages. However, this exponent underwent weakening and was ultimately lost in Modern Javanese due to sentence structure changes and competition with reduplication forms.

The open examination proceeded with a question and answer session. Prof. Dr. Ketut Artawa, M.A., acting as the promoter, examined the Promovenda regarding the determining factors in the creation of reciprocal meaning, to which the Promovenda straightforwardly replied that the meaning emerges from the interaction between morphological strategies and syntactic argument structures that unify the agent and the patient. Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Drs. I Wayan Simpen, M.Hum., as an examiner, provided constructive suggestions regarding spelling and the use of scientific terminology while also requesting clarification on the distinction between iterative and reciprocal meanings in base-form reduplication. In response, the Promovenda clarified that the distinctiveness of reciprocals fundamentally relies on reciprocal actions where two participants simultaneously act as both the agent and the target, whereas iterative meanings can emerge within reciprocals if there are multiple sub-events involved.

Concluding the Open Examination, Prof. Dr. Ketut Artawa, M.A., representing the supervisory team amidst the absence of Co-Promotor 1 and 2 expressed his profound pride and appreciation for the Promovenda's hard work, perseverance, and high ambition in providing exceptionally rich methodological data. He commended the Promovenda's extraordinary efforts in uncovering the Typology of Javanese medial diathesis constructions. The speech concluded with congratulations to the new doctorate and the attending family. He hope that this academic title and achievement will continuously bring blessings and success in the future.