THE PRESENTATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN UMAR KAYAM’S NEWSPAPER COLUMN

Abstract

Umar Kayam is a prolific columnist who has generated many culture-bound writings for a local newspaper called Kedaulatan Rakyat in Yogyakarta. He utilizes Indonesian, Javanese, and English languages to portray or respond regional, national, and international issues. Although there are many studies on Umar Kayam‟s works, there are limited discussion on the ways he utilizes English language in his columns. It is apparent that the English words, phrases, and clauses used by Kayam are distinctive in the sense that they are often followed by Indonesian or Javanese equivalences or interpretation; cover local, national, and international issues; and encounter lexical innovation. Readers with no repertoire of Javanese and English languages would find it hard to digest such Kayam‟s expression as „Mbok jangan kesusu. Don‟t go to the milk.‟; „…warga sipil yang hensem yang masih kinyis-kinyis.‟; or “Gud ipening! Gud epening, halo tuwan. Pliis dahar ….”. This article seeks to investigate the the sociolinguistic aspects of Kayam‟s uses of English in his columns by describing the various uses of English language in the columns and revealing the form changes of the English language elements. The results of the study would help non-Javanese readers to digest Kayam‟s ideas and would at the same time enrich the description on how English is domesticated in the expanding circle countries like Indonesia. The data source of this research is 35 columns written by Umar Kayam in Kedaulatan Rakyat in the period January to December 1990. The data collection is done through close reading by focusing on significant and relevant patterns or details of the English words, phrases, and clauses. The data is analyzed phonologically, morphologically, and syntactically, presented formally; and formulated with words and interpretations. The analysis considers sociolinguistic aspects of the English language used in the columns, by mainly addressing such phenomena as naturalization and lexical innovation.