THE SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES OF THE LEXEME ‘HANJUANG’ IN THE SUNDANESE LANGUAGE: A STUDY IN ETHNOLINGUISTICS

Abstract

Plants are an inseparable part of the life of the Sundanese people. One species of plant that is closely related to the cycle of life of a Sundanese person is Hanjuang (Cordyline). This traditional significance of hanjuang among the Sundanese people is reflected on the high number of phrases or expressions in Sundanese which contain the word ‘hanjuang’. In the phrase ‘hanjuang siang’, for example, the word ‘hanjuang’ symbolizes the boundary between the dimensions of time and space and between private and public domains. The phrase suggests that in the Sundanese society, such boundaries must be clearly defined. The aim of the study is to describe the linguistic features and sociocultural values related to the lexeme ‘hanjuang’, and how these values are implemented in the life of the Sundanese people.

The study combines the descriptive and qualitative methods. The data, which, comprise sentences and phrases containing the word ‘hanjuang’, were collected by means of a field observation involving interviews with Sundanese people over 60 years of age. This group was chosen based on a consideration that Sundanese people under 60 tend to be less concerned about their traditional culture than their more senior counterparts. In addition, the data were also collected by means of library research, in which selected traditional Sundanese manuscripts were scrutinized in order to identify sentences or phrases that contain the word ‘hanjuang’. The data were then validated by means of person triangulation through in-depth interviews with experts in the Sundanese culture. The study used O’Grady and Archibald’s theory of lexicon (2000) to analyse the data, Riley’s theory on ethnolinguistics (2009) to study the relation between language and culture, and the Ekadjati’s views on the Sundanese culture (2005) to unravel the Sundanese philosophy behind the lexeme. Theoretically, the study adds more contribution to the already existing discussions on language and culture. Practically, the study can be used as a reference for teaching language and culture.

Keywords: ethnolinguistics, culture,hanjuang, language, Sunda