Presuppostions in the Slogans of Indonesian Universities
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PRESUPPOSTIONS IN THE SLOGANS OF INDONESIAN UNIVERSITIES Atika Puspasari Dosen Universitas Bina Darma Jalan Ahmad Yani No.12, Palembang Sur-el: [email protected] Abstract: The objectives of the study were to identify and analyze the presuppositions implied in the slogans of Indonesian universities which are listed in the General Directorate of Higher Education website, and to discuss pragmatic transfer found in the English version of those slogans. The objects of the study were slogans of Indonesian universities. The writer used documentation technique in collecting the data. Then, qualitative method with triangulation was applied by the writer in analyzing the data. The findings showed that existential, factive, and lexical potential presuppositions were implied in the analyzed slogans. Then, actual presuppositions provide clearer and better ideas of the implied messages in the slogans. Meanwhile, the writer did not find any pragmatic transfer in the English version of the slogans. Keywords: Slogans, Presuppositions, Pragmatic Transfer Abstrak: Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi dan menganalisis praanggapan yang terkandung dalam slogan universitas-universitas di Indonesia yang terdaftar pada website dirjen Dikti. Objek penelitian ini adalah slogan dari universitas-universitas yang ada di Indonesia. Penulis menggunakan teknik dokumentasi dalam pengumpulan data dan analisis data dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif ditambah dengan triangulasi. Temuan dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa praanggapan yang terkandung dalam slogan tersebut adalah praanggapan existensial, factive , dan lexical. Kemudian, praanggapan aktual lebih memberikan ide yang lebih baik dan lebih jelas mengenai pesan yang terkandung di dalam slogan-slogan tersebut. Sedangkan temuan lainnya yaitu pragmatik transfer tidak ditemukan di dalam slogan-slogan universitas di Indonesia. Kata kunci: Slogan, Praanggapan, Pragmatik Transfer 1. INTRODUCTION Every language has different levels of structure. It is composed of sounds, words, Language is essential for the foundation of grammar and so forth that can be studied from our daily life: we talk, we listen, we read and we numerous points of views. The study which write. We need language to learn at school, at attempts to understand language from the point home, in our work, or even during our leisure of view of its structure is known as linguistics. time. Language also gives a great contribution Semantics is one of the areas of linguistics for our jobs or professions and in our everyday that focuses on the language meaning. According experience when we deal with other people. We to Mey (1993:13), semantics concerns with the need language to manage them, teach them, condition under which sentence is true or false. It persuade them or bargain with them. It is the is also related to the interpretation of the language that enables us to tell stories, to explain sentences and how those interpretations are things, to consult a problem, to make friends, related to things spoken about or the proposition. and ultimately to communicate. In other words, In understanding an utterance, the speakers and language plays a vital role in our human the listeners need to share background relationships. knowledge. However, Saeed (2003:193) argues Presuppostions in the Slogans of Indonesian Universities … (Atika Puspasari) 1 that there is another thing more important than In pragmatics, we can study about just background knowledge as it sometimes still people‟s intended meaning, their assumptions, creates ambiguity. The thing is called mutual their purposes, and the kinds of actions that they knowledge. Having a mutual knowledge means are performing when they communicate. They the producers (speakers or writers) and the may imply or assume something more than what addressee (listeners or readers) are in the same is said. The hearer (the reader) still gets the context. Saeed (2003: 193) gives an example of a meaning clearly based on the context even proposition that might be a mutual knowledge; though that something uttered is not explicitly A: Shall we go and get some ice cream? elaborated. Something about the background B: I’m on a diet. information of utterance that is assumed that it A: Oh, okay has already been understood or accepted by the From the above example, we can take a participants (readers or hearers) is called mutually known proposition p to be something presuppositions. like „Diets usually prohibit ice cream (because Presupposition is involved in any form of it‟s too fattening)‟. So B knows this and relies for communication (Lam, 2009:2). One example is her implication on A knowing it. Since A seems slogan. Slogan, as one type of advertisement, can to understand the refusal correctly, then A did be found everywhere. Even at home, we can still know p, and also knows that for B to imply it, A see and hear it in the magazine, on TV, internet must have known it. From a semantic point of or radio. People may not be aware of the view, as Saeed (2003:193) asserts, this kind of presupposition in slogans, but it is an important „mutual knowledge discussion‟ remains a debate. component of messages, as meaning only exists He further explains that the discussion on within the context of what it is in the person‟s background knowledge is best elaborated in mind that provides the meaning. For example, a pragmatics (the study of language meaning based slogan of one of washing machine brands: on the context). Hitachi “Inspire the next” (www.hitachi.com). Pragmatics is the study of how context Although that they might be many other brands affects meaning. According to Fromkin of washing machines with more sophisticated (1993:159), pragmatics concerns with the features, the above statement presupposes that interpretation of linguistic meaning in the Hitachi will always be inspiration of a more context as communicated by a speaker (or a modern technology. writer) and interpreted by a hearer (or a reader). As technology and mass media develop, It also deals with the relationship between slogans have been increasingly common linguistic forms and the users of those forms as nowadays (Bolter, 2003). The visual content of well as unresolved problems in analyzing an advertisement may have a great influence on language meaning that cannot be captured in the readers, yet, it is usually the text that makes semantics (the condition of true or false). the readers identify a product or service, remember it and purchase and use it. They are 2 Jurnal Ilmiah BINA BAHASA Vol.7 No.2, Desember 2013: 01 -16 now extensively used in many aspects of life like using something advertised, in this case, which politics, business, or even in education. university to choose. Nowadays, it is quite common for any Pragmatic transfer has been much educational institutions like colleges or discussed under the notion of Interlanguage universities to use slogans as a motto. For Pragmatics. It has a lot to do with language example, the slogan of Surabaya Institute of acquisition as asserted by Franch (1998:7) that Technology (ITS) is CAK ITS CAK! pragmatic transfer can provide the information (www.its.go.id). CAK is an abbreviation which on how the languages known to speakers refers to Cerdas (smart), Amanah (accountable), (students) influence each other in their and Kreatif (creative). Seeing its form, this acquisition and/or use by considering the slogan is unique because there is a creativity in relationship between language and culture. the word sound and repetition. The meaning of In addition to the above reasons, this slogan is even more interesting. The words presupposition is part of pragmatics which gives in the slogan imply that the institution always try great contribution to language teaching. to educate the students to be smart, reliable, Pragmatics helps students to use words and creative people. Furthermore, the word Cak is sentences in both meaningful and structural used to greet Surabaya people. So, this slogan setting. Furthermore, Demirezen (1991:3) asserts also carries a cultural value. This kind of slogan that pragmatics along with Applied Linguistics can draw people‟s attention and therefore it work in language teaching area supplying and somehow can mobilize people to come to study suggesting the ways of practical usage in the in that university. For that reason, language in classroom: so it is both a guide and a safeguard slogans is carefully designed and thoughtfully to language teaching since it helps in reforming planned. It also consists of implicit and improving classroom practices of language presuppositions that need to be explored further. teachers. Then, Kelder (1996:3) states that The writer was interested in exploring presupposition can be a helpful tool for students more about presupposition used in slogans when they learn reading comprehension as it because she indicates that somehow there is a enables the students as the readers to consider relationship between linguistic presupposition the existence of objects, propositions, even and critical thinking. The use of presupposition cultural properties in a text. Therefore, can help establish a good communication as it presupposition becomes an important component can draw recipients‟ (readers or listeners) critical of the overall message of the text. reading radar in a predetermined, particular direction, which means that. Then, in relation to this study, the understanding toward an advertisement, say a slogan, can help the readers or the hearers be more selective in choosing or Presuppostions in the Slogans of Indonesian Universities … (Atika Puspasari) 3 2. CONCEPTS OF is required in order that the utterance become PRESUPPOSITIONS appropriate. For example: (1) Have you stopped playing football? This sentence is inappropriate Presuppositions are variously defined but if the addressee has never played football. The in general constitute assumptions underlying a producer is said to presuppose, or assume the statement or utterance. For example: when truth of the fact that the addressee used to play someone said that “Johnny’s wife is sick”.