First-Person Pronouns as Authorial Presence in Research Articles: A Cross-Linguistic Study of English and Indonesian

This paper is a corpus-based study that attempts to examine how first-person pronouns are used in English research articles in comparison to Indonesian research articles in the field of linguistics since Indonesian writers tend to avoid the use of first-person pronouns in academic writing. This study intends to identify the types of first-person pronouns used to express authorial presence in English and Indonesian research articles. It also explores the discourse functions of first-person pronouns that serve in English and Indonesian research articles. The source of the data consists of 40 research articles that are collected from reputable journals and analyzed using AntConc. This study employs the categorization of discourse functions proposed by Hyland (2002). The results show that I, my, me, we, our, us, and the author(s) are employed by the English authors and kami, penulis, and peneliti are used by the Indonesian authors. The pronoun we is the most frequently used by both English and Indonesian authors. The English authors tend to use the pronoun I rather than the Indonesian authors. The Indonesian authors hide themselves in the phrases of the author(s) and the researcher(s).  In addition, the results also identify that these first-person pronouns serve discourse functions in research articles

Navigating Academic Texts: Challenges and Strategies of International Students in Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is a fundamental skill essential for academic success. However, many international students, particularly those from non-English-speaking backgrounds, face significant challenges in understanding academic texts. This study explored the reading comprehension challenges encountered by four Asian international students from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam at an American university in New York during the Fall Semester of 2023. It explored the Problem-Solving Strategies they used to overcome these challenges. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The findings revealed that linguistic factors, such as limited academic vocabulary, and non-linguistic factors, such as background knowledge, significantly affect students' reading comprehension. Despite these challenges, students frequently utilized Problem-Solving Strategies, including rereading, adjusting reading speed, and inferring meanings from context, to enhance their understanding. The study highlighted the crucial role of these strategies and suggested that targeted instruction in Problem-Solving Strategies could further support international students' academic success

Modal Auxiliary Verbs in The Jakarta Post Op-Ed Articles by Indonesian and Non-Indonesian Writers

This study was aimed at finding the meaning, similarities, and differences of the use of modal auxiliary verbs in editorial articles from an Indonesian newspaper, The Jakarta Post, regarding the writers’ various linguistic backgrounds.  The data were collected from 20 editorial articles written by Indonesian and non-Indonesian writers using corpus linguistics software #Lancsbox v. 6.0, which found 286 instances of eight modal auxiliary verbs. The most commonly employed modal auxiliary verbs by both Indonesian and non-Indonesian writers are can, will, should, may, would, could, must, and might, respectively. Biber et al.’s (1999) classification of deontic and epistemic meanings was used to find the meaning of the modal auxiliary verbs. The results of this study show that Indonesian and non-Indonesian writers used modal auxiliary verbs significantly differently, suggesting that linguistic and cultural background might affect the use of modal auxiliary verbs, especially in newspaper editorial articles. Furthermore, the results also show that both groups of writers used more modal auxiliary verbs with epistemic meaning rather than with deontic meaning, indicating their commitment to the truth of their argument.

Kamala Harris’s Convincing Strategies in Her First Presidential Nomination Speech: A Speech Act Analysis

This research investigates the convincing strategies in Kamala Harris’s first speech for the 2024 United States presidential election. It classifies the assertive speech act used to convince the audience. Utilizing Searle and Vanderveken’s theory (1985), a qualitative method was applied. The data were collected through documentation techniques, including watching the speech, identifying relevant utterances, and organizing them on the data cards. The analysis identified 24 utterances from 3,306 words classified into nine categories of assertive acts: claim, inform, assure, admit, predict, criticize, insist, remind, and boast. The most frequently used act was boast (5 instances) emphasized her positive track record. This was followed by criticize (4 instances) aimed at offering better policy alternatives. Both assure (3 instances) and inform (3 instances) used to emphasize her personal background. Other acts that appear (2 instances) were claim, insist, remind, and predict. The least frequent was admit (1 instance) to expose policy mistakes. Notably, only the criticize involved indirect speech acts and non-literal meaning. The rest of the assertive acts are direct speech act and literal meanings. The findings suggest that Kamala Harris mostly uses boast to emphasize past achievements as convincing strategies for gaining audience trust in political campaigns

Kamala Harris’s Convincing Strategies in Her First Presidential Nomination Speech: A Speech Act Analysis

This research investigates the convincing strategies in Kamala Harris’s first speech for the 2024 United States presidential election. It classifies the assertive speech act used to convince the audience. Utilizing Searle and Vanderveken’s theory (1985), a qualitative method was applied. The data were collected through documentation techniques, including watching the speech, identifying relevant utterances, and organizing them on the data cards. The analysis identified 24 utterances from 3,306 words classified into nine categories of assertive acts: claim, inform, assure, admit, predict, criticize, insist, remind, and boast. The most frequently used act was boast (5 instances) emphasized her positive track record. This was followed by criticize (4 instances) aimed at offering better policy alternatives. Both assure (3 instances) and inform (3 instances) used to emphasize her personal background. Other acts that appear (2 instances) were claim, insist, remind, and predict. The least frequent was admit (1 instance) to expose policy mistakes. Notably, only the criticize involved indirect speech acts and non-literal meaning. The rest of the assertive acts are direct speech act and literal meanings. The findings suggest that Kamala Harris mostly uses boast to emphasize past achievements as convincing strategies for gaining audience trust in political campaigns

Semantic Derogation in K-pop Fandom Discourse: A Study of Gendered Nicknaming Practices

Semantic derogation as a direct example of sexist language can be seen in many contexts. This study focuses on the phenomenon of semantic derogation in the nicknaming practices within K-pop fandom discourse, particularly on how female and male idols are linguistically targeted based on gender. It aims to analyze derogatory nicknames collected from posts on X, where fan wars frequently occur. The data is categorized by gender and examined through critical discourse analysis at the level of words (Mills, 2008). Findings reveal that female idols are more frequently subjected to sexually charged and demeaning terms (e.g., “Seoul Cycle”, “Jenwhore”), while male idols are insulted based on their appearance or perceived irrelevance (e.g., “Pigmin”, “Fadhyung”). This indicates a gendered double standard, where women are disproportionately sexualized and criticized for their success, whereas men are ridiculed for superficial traits. These practices reflect deep-rooted sexist ideologies and internalized misogyny within digital fan communities. Furthermore, it highlights how fandom language reinforces traditional gender roles and calls for further research into the socio-cultural roots of such bias.

Loss of Cultural Meaning in Netflix’s Gadis Kretek Indonesian-English Translation

This study investigates the phenomenon of information loss in the Indonesian-English translation of cultural terms in the Netflix series Gadis Kretek (Cigarette Girl), focusing on how key cultural nuances are reduced or omitted in the translation process. The study highlights the challenges faced when rendering culturally embedded into English, raising concerns about accuracy and cultural authenticity. This study used comprehensive semantic-componential analysis, guided by Larson’s Componential Analysis (1998) and Nida and Taber’s theory of Loss and Gain of Information (1982), applied specifically to Indonesian cultural contexts in audiovisual translation. Utilising qualitative methodologies, such as documentation, observation, and linguistic comparison, the study uncovers significant semantic reductions, including the omission of cultural values, historical context, and social connotations. The causes of these losses are considered to be primarily attributed to a lack of specificity in English, cultural and social gaps, and structural differences between the languages. In conclusion, the study emphasises the necessity for culturally sensitive translation strategies, with the core finding being that linguistic equivalence alone is insufficient to preserve cultural depth in cross-cultural translations

Revealing Human and Machine Translation Differences Through Annotation

This study aims to provide an annotated translation of figures of speech in the short story “You Perfect, Broken Thing” by C.L. Clark in Uncanny Magazine Issue Thirty-Two and to examine the translation strategies applied in human and machine translation. The data was analyzed using a descriptive qualitative and quantitative method. The main theory applied is Chesterman’s (2016) translation strategies, focusing on syntactic and semantic strategies. A total of 61 data are categorized by type of figure of speech: 30 metaphors, 14 idioms, and 17 paradoxical sentences were identified along with their translation processes. The result shows that human translation applies semantic strategies in all of metaphors, idioms, and paradoxical sentences, and syntactic strategies in metaphors (33,3%), idioms (64,2%), and paradoxical sentences (64,7%). Meanwhile, machine translation applies semantic strategies in metaphors (66,7%), idioms (66,3%), and paradoxical sentences (35,3%), and syntactic strategies in metaphors (66,7%), idioms (35,7%), and paradoxical sentences (100%). This shows that human translation is more dominant in applying semantic strategies (100%) that prioritize the translation in contextual meaning. In contrast, machine translation is more dominant in applying syntactic strategies (68.85%) that tend to keep the source text’s structure

Revealing Human and Machine Translation Differences Through Annotation

This study aims to provide an annotated translation of figures of speech in the short story “You Perfect, Broken Thing” by C.L. Clark in Uncanny Magazine Issue Thirty-Two and to examine the translation strategies applied in human and machine translation. The data was analyzed using a descriptive qualitative and quantitative method. The main theory applied is Chesterman’s (2016) translation strategies, focusing on syntactic and semantic strategies. A total of 61 data are categorized by type of figure of speech: 30 metaphors, 14 idioms, and 17 paradoxical sentences were identified along with their translation processes. The result shows that human translation applies semantic strategies in all of metaphors, idioms, and paradoxical sentences, and syntactic strategies in metaphors (33,3%), idioms (64,2%), and paradoxical sentences (64,7%). Meanwhile, machine translation applies semantic strategies in metaphors (66,7%), idioms (66,3%), and paradoxical sentences (35,3%), and syntactic strategies in metaphors (66,7%), idioms (35,7%), and paradoxical sentences (100%). This shows that human translation is more dominant in applying semantic strategies (100%) that prioritize the translation in contextual meaning. In contrast, machine translation is more dominant in applying syntactic strategies (68.85%) that tend to keep the source text’s structure

Complexity of Love in Wuthering Heights and Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijck

This study explores the theme of doomed love as depicted in Buya Hamka’s Tenggelamnya Kapal Van der Wijck (1938) and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847), examining the profound social barriers that doomed these relationships. It particularly focuses on the characters Zainuddin and Heathcliff, who are both rejected by their societies and lovers due to insurmountable social inequalities, a rejection that culminates in the tragic deaths of their beloveds. The aim of this paper is to dissect how intrinsic narrative elements and socio- cultural contexts collectively shape the central themes of love and societal rejection in these works. The approach used in this study is Genetic Structuralism by Lucien Goldmann (1980), a literary theory that combines structural analysis with socio-cultural context. This approach argues that a literary work should be understood as a product of both its internal structure and the socio-historical conditions in which it was created. The dialectical method is used to analyze and compare literary works by examining the interaction between intrinsic elements of the texts (structures) and their socio-historical contexts (worldviews). Applying this method to compare Tenggelamnya Kapal Van der Wijckand Wuthering Heights involves tracing the internal structures of each text, including characters, narrators, irony, and worldviews, and the external socio- historical realities shaping these structures, such as colonialism and traditionalism in Indonesia for Hamka, and industrialization and social stratification in England for Brontë. The findings show how in both works, love is portrayed as a complex and often obstructed idea, shaped by cultural and social barriers of their eras and worldviews of their authors. This idea simultaneously reflect their unique cultural contexts and engage with universal human questions about morality, love and society