Emotive interjection in Asahan Malay language: A natural semantic metalanguage perspective

Mulyadi; Dardanila; Muhammad Yusuf

doi:10.31893/multiscience.2025172

Keywords:

emotive interjections

type

meaning

semantic component

Abstract

Emotive interjections are phrases that express intense emotions like surprise, happiness, sorrow, anger, and disgust. These exclamations function independently, adding emphasis to speech or writing, and enabling speakers to establish an emotional connection with their listeners or readers. It can be found in many languages including Asahan Malay Language (AML). This article aims to describe the semantic types and the meaning of emotive interjection in AML. This study was conducted by using qualitative approach. The research data were obtained through interviews with native speakers and through observations of the verbal behavior of people in Tanjungbalai (Asahan), North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Disclosure of the type and meaning of emotive interjection based on the set of semantic primitives derived from the Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory. This article explains that emotive interjection has two main types, namely, emotions and sensations. The type of emotion is built by the components ‘I feel something now because I think something now’ and consists of subtypes ANGRY (e.g. amboi and wih), LOVE (e.g. anyalah, bayadah, and alahbaya), DOUBT (e.g. aih and aihmak), FEAR (e.g. amak, makjang, and ayamakjang), and AMAZED (e.g. aba, ha, and alamak), while the type of sensation is built by the component ‘I feel something now because something happened to (part of) my body’ and consists of BODY (e.g. adoi and oih) and MOUTH (e.g. ih, is, and uwi). The meaning of emotive interjection is built by elements derived from the mental predicate, such as ‘feel’, ‘think’, ‘want’, and ‘know’, and temporal element ‘now’.
References
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3. Downing, A., & Martínez Caro, E. (2019). Chapter 4. Interjections and emotions: The case of gosh. In Pragmatics & Beyond New Series (Vol. 302, pp. 87–112). John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.302.04dow
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5. Goddard, C. (1994). Semantic Theory and Semantic Universal. Dalam C. Goddard (ed.) 1996. Cross-Linguistic Syntax from a Semantic Point of View (NSM Approach). Australian National University.
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8. Mao, A. (2017). Conceptuality and Context-Sensitivity of Emotive Interjections. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 07(01), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2017.71004
9. Mulyadi. (2015). Categorization of Emotion Verbs in Bahasa Indonesia. International Seminar “Language Maintenance and Shift V", Diponegoro University.
10. Mulyadi. (2012). "Verba Emosi Bahasa Indonesia dan Bahasa Melayu Asahan: Kajian Semantik Lintas Bahasa." (Disertasi). Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Universitas Udayana.
11. Poggi, I. (2009). The Language of Interjections. In Multimodal Signals: Cognitive and Algorithmic Issues (Vol. 5398, pp. 170–186). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00525-1_17
12. Saeed, J. I. (1997). Semantics. Blackwell.
13. Shannon, T. (2018). Hallo! Ätsch! On the semantic analysis of interjections. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.30909.31209
14. Thompson, R. (2019). Tweaa! – A Ghanaian interjection of “contempt” in online political comments. Ampersand, 6, 100047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2019.100047
15. Valin, R. D. V., & LaPolla, R. J. (1997). Syntax: Structure, Meaning, and Function (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139166799
16. Wierzbicka, A. (1991). Cross-Cultural Pragmatics: The Semantics of Human Interaction. Mouton de Guyter.
17. Wierzbicka, A. (1996). Semantics: Primes and Universals. Oxford University Press.
18. Wierzbicka, A. (1999). “Emotional Universal”. http://elies.rediris.es/Language_Design/LD2/wierzbicka.pdf
19. Yusuf, M., Mulyadi, Aswani, A., & Siregar, R. K. (2023). Grammatical relation in applicative construction of Asahan Malay language. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 5, 2023011. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2023011

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How to cite

Mulyadi, Dardanila, & Yusuf, M. (2024). Emotive interjection in Asahan Malay language: A natural semantic metalanguage perspective. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 7(5), 2025172. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2025172

[1] Ameka, F. (1992). Interjections: The universal yet neglected part of speech. Journal of Pragmatics, 18(2–3), 101–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(92)90048-G

[2] Ameka, F. K., & Wilkins, D. P. (2006). Interjections. In Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (pp. 743–746). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/00396-5

[3] Downing, A., & Martínez Caro, E. (2019). Chapter 4. Interjections and emotions: The case of gosh. In Pragmatics & Beyond New Series (Vol. 302, pp. 87–112). John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.302.04dow

[4] Gladkova, A., Vanhatalo, U., & Goddard, C. (2016). The semantics of interjections: An experimental study with natural semantic metalanguage. Applied Psycholinguistics, 37(4), 841–865. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716415000260

[5] Goddard, C. (1994). Semantic Theory and Semantic Universal. Dalam C. Goddard (ed.) 1996. Cross-Linguistic Syntax from a Semantic Point of View (NSM Approach). Australian National University.

[6] Goddard, C. (1998). Semantic Analysis. Oxford University Press.

[7] Goddard, C. (2014). Interjections and Emotion (with Special Reference to “Surprise” and “Disgust”). Emotion Review, 6(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073913491843

[8] Mao, A. (2017). Conceptuality and Context-Sensitivity of Emotive Interjections. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 07(01), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2017.71004

[9] Mulyadi. (2015). Categorization of Emotion Verbs in Bahasa Indonesia. International Seminar “Language Maintenance and Shift V", Diponegoro University.

[10] Mulyadi. (2012). "Verba Emosi Bahasa Indonesia dan Bahasa Melayu Asahan: Kajian Semantik Lintas Bahasa." (Disertasi). Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Universitas Udayana.

[11] Poggi, I. (2009). The Language of Interjections. In Multimodal Signals: Cognitive and Algorithmic Issues (Vol. 5398, pp. 170–186). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00525-1_17

[12] Saeed, J. I. (1997). Semantics. Blackwell.

[13] Shannon, T. (2018). Hallo! Ätsch! On the semantic analysis of interjections. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.30909.31209

[14] Thompson, R. (2019). Tweaa! – A Ghanaian interjection of “contempt” in online political comments. Ampersand, 6, 100047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2019.100047

[15] Valin, R. D. V., & LaPolla, R. J. (1997). Syntax: Structure, Meaning, and Function (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139166799

[16] Wierzbicka, A. (1991). Cross-Cultural Pragmatics: The Semantics of Human Interaction. Mouton de Guyter.

[17] Wierzbicka, A. (1996). Semantics: Primes and Universals. Oxford University Press.

[18] Wierzbicka, A. (1999). “Emotional Universal”. http://elies.rediris.es/Language_Design/LD2/wierzbicka.pdf

[19] Yusuf, M., Mulyadi, Aswani, A., & Siregar, R. K. (2023). Grammatical relation in applicative construction of Asahan Malay language. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 5, 2023011. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2023011

Abstract

References

How to cite