Publications

Publication details [#67400]

Qismullah Yusuf, Yunisrina, Chairina Nasir and Nurzaleni Andib. 2019. Power and solidarity: The pronoun of address ke [ke] used in Indonesian by Acehnese speakers. International Journal of Language Studies 13 (1) : 77–98.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Language as a subject

Annotation

This paper examines power and solidarity of the second person singular pronoun ke [ke] that is often used informally by Acehnese speakers while speaking Indonesian across four extra-linguistic factors: age, sex, relationship with interlocutor, and social class. Data were collected using three instruments: a socio-demographic questionnaire, a close-ended questionnaire and interviews. Approximately 30 students from Syiah Kuala University who were born and raised in Banda Aceh participated in this study. The findings indicate that ke in the age factor is preferred most by the same age group; meanwhile the sex factor showed more ke to be used by females compared to males. The relationship with interlocutor factor showed that friends used more ke than family and stranger. In the social class factor, those in a higher social class use more ke than the middle and lower classes. The respondents’ choice of pronoun from these factors was higher with title and name in general. Perhaps this is influenced by the Acehnese culture where title is still preserved when calling older or younger interlocutors. It was concluded that ke is viewed as disrespectful by the Acehnese elders or older generations.