Experiencing and Understanding the Meaning of Poverty Through Language

(Mengalami dan Menghayati Makna Kemiskinan melalui Bahasa)

Authors

Abstract

Language can be a medium to express the joys and sorrows of life. This study examines the experience of poverty through language. This study was conducted using the framework of Sperber and Wilson (1986)'s Relevance Theory (RT). A total of nine lines from Usman Awang's (UA) poem entitled "Selembar Kamus Kemiskinan" that were identified as containing irony were analyzed. The process of determining the code, inferences and assumptions in RT help to complete the search for implicit meanings. RT allows extra information such as memories and so forth to set the context, and via code, inferences and assumptions which are as well allowed in RT analysis, the implicit meanings of the poem "Selembar Kamus Kemiskinan" are discovered. Further results show that UA succeeds in getting readers of this poem to feel the misery of living in poverty through poetic language. Sadness and sympathy are also detected in this poem.

Keywords: language, poverty, Relevance Theory, irony, Usman Awang

Author Biographies

  • Mary Fatimah Subet, University of Malaysia, Sarawak

    Pusat Pengajian Bahasa

  • Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin, National University of Malaysia

    Institut Alam dan Tamadun Melayu

References

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Published

2014-06-01

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2014): Jurnal Bahasa Volume 14 Number 1 June 2014

Section

Articles

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