-136. Pragmatics 3:7.

107 Pragmatics Association International

SPEECH LEVELS: THE CASE OF SUNDANESE'

Edmund A. Anderson

0. Introduction2 Sundanese speechlevelshave been treatedby Kern (1906),Kats and Soeriadiradja (1927),Eringa (1949),Satjadibrata(1956),Wirakusumahand Djajawiguna(1957), Noorduyn (1963), Wessing(1974), Djajawiguna(1978), Ayatrohaedi (1980), and (1986). Soedradjat Notwithstanding,these studies have been based on reported usage or intuition, not analysisof actual texts.This has yielded a standardmodel based on "features the socialenvironmentin which the speechevent is taking place",most of or notably,"a) socialstatusof the addressee referent,b) socialstatusof the speaker, c) the difference (if any) between a) and b) [and], "d) the degree of friendship (WessingI974: I2). (intimacy)between the speakerand the addressee" results of an This paper presentsthis model in some detail and discusses This interlocuters. analysis 60 texts documentingspeechlevel use by Sundanese of of producessevenpreviouslyunreportedaspects interlocuters'knowledge analysis of speechlevel use.

l. The speechsituation The estimated7992population of Indonesiawas about 190 million, of which over 112million resideon the islandof Java.Of those,an estimated30-35million are speakers of the Sundanese language.3The Sundaneselanguage situation is summed on the macro-levelby Harsojo: succinctly
"Nowadays Sundanese is used widely among the population of West Java. In village settlements, the language of instruction is Sundanese,whereas, in towns, Sundanese is primarily utilized in the family circle, in conversation among friends and intimate acquaintances,and also in public and official places between people who are aware that they both know Sundanese. With regard to the language reftnentent, it is frequently ntentioned, that

The full version of this paper is forthcoming in Papers in SoutheastAsian Linguistics, Series A of Pacifrc Linguistics Various versions of this paper have been critiqued by Roger Shuy, R. Noorduyn, E. Sadtono, Bjdrn Jernudd, Robert Lord, Evangelos Afendras, Gisela Bruche-Schulz and anonymous reviewers, to all of whom I am indebted for helpful comments. 3 Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1989,tggL. Jakarta: Central Bureau of Statistics,p.43-45. 2

'

108

Edmund A. Anderson pure and refined Sundanese is to be found in the area of Priangan, that is, in the regencies of Ciamis, Tasik-ntalaya, Garut, Bandung Suntedang Suknbumi and Cianjur. Even now, the Cianjur dialect is still considered the most refined Sundanese. From Cianjur also came the songs for lute and Jlute refened to as Cianjuran Considered less reftned is the Sundanese near the north coast of lava, for example, that spoken in Banten, Karawang, Bogor and Cirebon. [Furthermore,l The language of the Baduy, which is spoken in south Banten, is archaic Sundanese."(Harsojo 1983: 3ffi-301)

The Baduy have lived in the mountainsat the extremewesternend of Java,in south Banten, apart from Islamic and Western influenceswith which most Sundanese people have interactedfor centuries. They have resistedcultural change.They did defeatedwarriors of the not convert to Islam. One story has it that their ancestors, pre-IslamicKingdom of Pajajaran, fled there after a defeat in battle by the Islamic kingdom of Banten in late 15th or early 16th Century,but this has now been shown view.a to be a romanticized impact of meetingsome Baduy has been In modern times,the psychological recorded by Sundanese literary scholar, Ajip Rosidi. He noted their social characteristics,including their language, which may be similar to those of pre-contact people.Rosidi writes: Sundanese
'I have never done a formal study, but on meeting several Baduy, I noted no unique physical characteristics. There were, however, striking contrasts to other Sundanese. Immediately evident were featuresdevelopedin responseto their environment, to nature and as a result of their education - in short, culture traits: distinctive black or dark blue clothing, the ancient head scarf, behavior so full of self-confidence [as opposed to malu'shyness'], and 4) the language, which does not symbolize relative social levels of speaker and addressee." (Rosidi 1980: 128)

Speculationas to how speechlevelscame to play a part of Sundanese has yielded various explanations.The following appears to be the most credible, given geographical factors:
"Aside from an emotional, literary evaluation, the existence of the distinction between refined and less refined, and pure and less pure Sundanesemay perhaps be explained from the point of view of Sundanese history: Priangan, for example, was known to have been culturally inJluencedby the Islamic pavanesel Kingdom of Matarant. In the 19th century, there were fantilial and cultural relations between Sundanese nobility, specificalty in area of Suntedang, with [Javanese] nobili4' in Solo and Yogtakarta. In addition, it is possible that the psychological clinnte and environment exerted an inJluence upon certain aspects of language." (l{arsojo 1983: 301)

Sumeciang's location in easternmost West Java, along with Ciamis, Tasik-malaya, and Garut, close to what is today Central Java,givescredenceto this theory. On the micro-level,historically, reports Soedradjat:
"The higher speech level was employed among members of the regents' [:chief district administratorsl families. In fact, only upper classpeople, descendants the royal families, of knew the speech level system. Speech levels were formally taught in [Dutch] schools only in the early 20th century. Speech levels thus became a part of the life of educated Sundanesepeople (Rosidi 1980).' (Soedradjat 1986: 108)

Indonesianindependence \949 exertednew influences language in on development. According to Soedradjat:

a Prof. Noorduyn has called my attention to the challenging of this interpretation by Bakels

(1e8e).

Speech levels in Sundanese

109

"The use of speech levels has changed over time in such a way that some levels are now used differently from the way they were used very much earlier. Some of these levels [i.e., Medium and Very high levelsl are rarely used nowadays. Only in the wayang [i.e., puppet drama] performance is the high level now used [in the way that it was used socially in the past]. In the past, the high level was used to show respect to the menak'aristocrats'. Nowadays, however, the distinction in class based on blood is not significant, and therefore the high level [i.e., L] is used to any addresseewhom a speaker thinks should be given respect."(Soedradjat 1986: 108)

Variant terminological systemsand models of speech level use exist. Of these, Satjadibrata's (1956) seemsto be the standardformulation,becauseNoorduyn, Wessingand Soedradjatrely heavily on it. In it, two levels constitute the frame: Kasar(K)'low level'or'general conversational speech'andLemes(L)'high level' 'speech or in which polite (i.e.,Lemes)vocabulary used'. is Choice of vocabularyis, however,not the only aspectof the Lemes style.
"ln the Lemes level, the manner of speakingplays an important role. Even if the vocabulary is perfect, if the speed and loudness are not proper, the speaker may be regarded as not respecting the addressee." (Soedradjat 1986: 112).

Peopleare said to be 'speaking Lemes'or 'speaking Kasar' accordingto the overall impressionthe listener derivesfrom the utterances s/he hears. Socially,use of speechlevelsis one aspectof politeness, which rangesfrom Lemes refined, in accordancewith customarylaw' to Kasar'lacking refinement'. culture: The Kasar-Lemes scaleis a theme underlyingmany aspectsof Sundanese deportment,dress,body movement,etc. Finer distinctions though their use is very infrequent:Lemes are possible, 'very polite', 'crude,, Hsan (LP) Panengah(P)'rather polite', and Kasar Pisan (KP) earthy'.

2. Socialdeterminantsof speechlevel use The socialrelationships interlocuters of influence selection speechlevel. Social of relationshipis a function of the relative statuses interlocutersin a conversation. of society.Harsojo Someof these statuses may be seenin an overviewof Sundanese writes:
"Economiqs,political ideology, modernity, governmentaladministra-tion, communications, education have created an upper stratunl, consisting of village administrators, teachers, information specialists,office workers, students, armed forces personnel, merchants and entrepeneurs,all possessing outward-looking orientation. On the other hand, there is a an lower stratunr,consisting of a great number of farmers, most of whom still illiterate, whose life style remains lraditional. People on the upper stratum possess economic skills basedon thc principle of seekingprofit. They have connectionswith middle-men and large merchants in cities. All economic power of the village may be said to be centeredin the upper stratum. Generally, the bond between upper and lower classestakes the form of debt or contracts not beneficial to the lower stratum, whose economy is weak. ..." (Harsojo 1983: 305)

Surjadihas also provided a descriptionof Sundanese socialstructurein the context of modernization:

"H. Geertz ( l6- 18) conncctcd meansof livelihood with social system. In cities she proposed a social composition consisting of "an urban elite, an urban middle class and an urban

110

EdmundA. Anderson
proletaiat." T-be urban e/ire consists of the diplomatic community, businessmen, and nan communities of foreign Asian businessmen: Chinese, Arabs and Indians. Next, Indonesian metropolitan superculture"is forming itself by cultivating symbolssuch as higher education, ability to speak foreign languages,overseasexperience and possessionof western produced luxury goods such as automobiles. Tl.e urban middle c/css consists of mid-level civil servants and other officials such as health officers, teachers and mid-level armed forces personnel. It also includes groups of skilled laborers: tailors, stone masons, blacksmiths, merchants, electricians, drivers, mechanics of motorized vehicles,etc. Finally, the urban proletaiat consists of laborers, messengers or household servants, peddlers, pedicab drivers, etc. They are generally unskilled and illiterate. As for the village,... [Geertz] only wrote "most villages are fairly homo-geneous both in economic condition and in general outlook." With regard to the composition or even the social strata in cities, as proposed above, the major part is valid for cities in West Java,cspeciallyBandung. ... In Bandung the diplomatic community is very small, among which are British citizens at the British Council, and the community of foreign businessmen, indeed exists,e.g., the Japanese. Nowadays, the senice sector, especially the field of entertainment, is developing in large cities such as Bandung, with the birth of night clubs and bars. Another fast growing area is transportation. Tlte number of intercity vehicles in West Java, and also those within the city of Bandung itself, with the existence of new routes for motorrycle taxis, honda taxis, etc., is developing very rapidly. ... The result of this development for the labor sector is an increase of drivers, conductors, and also passengeragents." (Surjadi 1974:.22-24)

Interlocuters' social relationship affects choice of terms to addressand refer to each other. The frame of referencewithin which this choicetakes place is 'familiality',or kekeluaryaan Indonesian.Surjadi illustratesthis principle. in
"In everyday social interaction, Sundanesepeople, on meeting a person for the first time, after revealing their panca kaki'genealogy' and finding no family relationship whatsoever, then determine each other's positions according to age. So the younger calls the elder aknng 'elder brother' leuceu'elder sister']. In return the elder addressesthe young-er as ayiladi 'younger brother[/sister]'. The term of addressnnng, 'uncle', besidesits family reference,is also frequently used for a non-family relationship, i.e, a person with whom one is not acquainted,but whose status is lower, eg. pedicabor ox cart drivers, and so forth." (Surjadi 1974: 134)

Furthermore, interlocuters'social relationshipalso affects their choice of lexical terms which in any wav refer to themselves, each other, or any other person(s)they happen to refer to (eg. my, your or hislherhouse). Figure 1 is a summaryof norms for choiceof speechlevel.This arrangement shows that social relatiortshipis the basisof the system. STRANGERS, at one end of the scale (1.), are presumedto speakLemes with each other, while intimate FRIENDS, at the other end (6.), alwaysspeakKasar. The people Satjadibrata mentionsin 7. do not seemto be activeparticipants in the speechlevel system, and we are not told anythingmore about their ability in this area. All others are governed by interlocuters'social relationship,that is, their relativestatuses. Only when interlocuters'statuses equaldoesacquaintance (4a.) are and relative age (4b1,2) exert an influenceon choiceof speechlevel.'

) People referred to in 7 do not seem to be active participants in the speech level system. We are not told anything more about their ability in use of speech levels.

Speechlevels in Sundanese 111

l. STRANGERS speak Lentes with each other. 2. a. l.ower Status persons speak Lemes up to Higher Status persons b. Higher Status persons speak Kasar down to l.ower Slatus persons. 3. a. A speaker uses Lemes to refcr to a referent of Higher Status than eithe speaker/listener. b. A speaker uses Knscr to rcfer to a rcfcrent of l-ower Status than eithe speaker/listener. 4. Equal Status persons speak Lemes with each other, with 2 exccptions... a. Well-acquainted Equal Status persons speak Kasar with each other. b. 1) Younger Equal Status persons speak Lentes to older persons. 2) Older Equal Status persons speak Kasar lo younger persons. 5. a. A speaker uses Kasar to refer to a closefriend of Same Status. b. A speaker luses Lemes to refer to referentof Same Status when already using | 1 , 2 a , 4 b 1 l) . c. A speaker usesKasar trl refer to a referent Same Statuswhen already using of | 4a, 4b2) I. d. An older speaker usesKasar to rcfer to a younger referent of Same Status. 6. Intinmte friends speak Kasar with each other. 7. Sonte people (i.e. lower c/ass) speak Kasar among themselvcs. 8. A speaker usesKasar to refer to himself/herself when speaking to intimate friends.... 9. "In addition, when writing for the general public, Kasar is usually used.For schola books on mathematics,linguistics,or clther scholarly fields, for easeof comprehension, it is better t0 use Kasar" (14\.

Frcunu1:
SpeechLevel Norms: Address2nd- & lst-Person Reference 1956) (Ref. Satjadibrata

level variant types 3. Speech to A speaker must knclwfour patternsof lexicalvariables conveya socialattitude, which may be resen,e respect and/or humility (to one's betters) or (with strangers), solidairy (with one's intimates).The four patterns are shown in Figure 2, on the followingpage. The Type I variablehasa ditferentword or form of the sameword for Polite respect,Polite humble and Kusar. A speaker has two means of showing respect or towardthe addressee a third person: word (Lr) to ret'erto the addressee's a third person's or L By usinga respectful activity('lookingat'). 'You, sir are looking at me.' Bapa ningali ka abdi. (Lr) 2. Or, by using a humble word (Lh) to refer to his/her own activity. Humbling respectfor addressees third persons. him/herself, speakerindicates or a 'I am looking at you.' Abdi ningal ka Bapa. (Lh)

112

EdmundA. Anderson

Attitude

Type I Address& Reference

Type II Address& Reference

Type III Address& Reference

Type IV Non-Address & Non-Reference "neutral polite"*

Respect "Respectful words"* POLITE

Lr ningali 'look at' bunti 'house' ibu 'mother' Lh ningal 'look Lrll,h dwdd 'confused'

Lr ranbut 'hair'

LE dugr 'until' dnjing 'tomorrow' as in...

t------1
Dugi ka injing. 'Til tomorrow!'

Respect "Humble words"* POLITE

at' rorompok 'house' biang 'mother' Lh/K buuk

K ndnjo, 'look

UNMARKED

at' intah, 'house' indung 'mother'

K bingung 'confused'

'hair

K datang 'until' isuk 'tomorrow' as in ... Datang ka isuk. 'Til tomorrow.'

FrcuRr 2: Patterning of Variants (Ref. Satjadibrata1956)" Noorduyn's English terminology (1963)] [*Follows

'Polite Lr = respect' Lentes pikeun nu dihorntdl (Terms referring to objects, places, actions, etc. associatedwith the addresseeor with someone being referred to whom the speaker wishes to respect. 'Polite Lh = humble' Lentes pikeun nu ngahomral (Terms referring to objects, places, actions, etc. associatedwith a speaker, who wishes, by humbling himself to show respect to the addressee or person being referrcd to.) 'Neutral LE = Polite' Lenrcs Enteng (Terms not associated with speaker or addressee, but are neverthelessare considered to be Lemes.) 'Everyday K : speech' Kasar terms.

Speech levels in Sundanese

II3

Both LemeJ and variants are forms of the same word. The Kasar variant is a different word, nnjo. Other verb forms operate similarly: 'That book was seen by you.' 1a. Bttku ta ditingali ku Bapa. (Lr) 'You were 2a. Bapa ditingal ku abdi. (Lh) seen by me.' activity in 1a.,the speakerchooses respectfulword (Lr). In a For the addressee's 2a.,Ihespeakerrefersto his/herown actionwith a humbleword (Lh). In so doing, s/hesymbolizes respectfor the addressee. Additionally, there are a few Type I nouns,as well: '...house your' (your house), but... 1b. ...bumiBapa. (Lr) my' (my house). 2b. ...rorompok abdi. (Lh)' ...house Thevariantsare differentwords.Both are Lemes.TheKasarvariant is yet another word, imah. 'mother': Lr : ibtt, Lh = putt biang, and K : Another Typ. I noun is indung.All three variants are different words. Typ" II variableshave the sameword for Polite respectand Polite humble and a different word for the Kasar. A speaker may respect the addresseeor referent of personalreferent by referring to a characteristic either the addressee, with the sameLemes term. or himself/herself 'You (are) confused.' 'I Abdi |wdd. (Lh) (am) gonfused.' Gamparanwd. (Lr) The Kasar term is a different word entirely,birtgung. Type III variableshave one word for Polite respectand another for Polite humble and Kassr. A speakerhumbleshim/herselfby referring to him/herselfwith That is, the sameword would be used in the sameword as is used in Kasar speech. different socialstatus/rankand also a situationrequiring a Kasar term symbolizing solidarity. '...hair '...hairmy...' your...'...buukahdi.,(Lh/(K)) Bapa...(Lr) ...rambut of A sub-class Type III terms, including adi'youngersibling',anak'child', and bapa 'father', make the distinction between Kasar and Lemes by prepositioning the 'my pun makesthe expression child', particfepun. Prepositioned Lemes;pun anak 'my pwr bapa father', both of which are Polite humble words (Lh). and first, secondor third Typ. IV variables,becausenot used for address, person reference,have only a Lemes and a Kasar term. Interlocuters can show to neutralpolite(LE) terms,which canbe adjectives, respect eachother by choosing (prscn'very'). nouns,verbs, conjunctionsand augmentatives adverbs, Datang (LF.) ka isuk.(LB) ka dnjing.(K) Dugi (K) at tomorrow! Arrive 'Untiltomorrow!' Kasar Lemes

Mention of speakers' ways of referring to themselvesare rather scattered in pre-vioustreatments.Item 8 in Figure 1 covers one particular case.Satjadibrata for STRANGERS. Presumablythey should use does not mention self-reference but I have observedthat STRANGERS make very Lemesto refer to themselves,

If4

Edntund A. Anderson

few referencesto themselves, each other, or, for that matter, to third persons. Furthermore, other contingencies for self-reference are left unaccountedfor by Satjadibrata.How, for example,does a speakerrefer to himself/herself when the addressee neither an intimate friend, nor someoneto whom one speaksin the is Lemes style? We are not told. In conclusion,by observingnorms for use of speechlevels,social meanings are transmitted.Kasar stylecan not only express awareness an addressee's of lower status,or lack of respect, but, in the right circumstances, solidarity.

4. Speechlevel use in discourse:A text-based study Sixty texts were elicited from a total of eight different people over a period of two months.Five people were language instructors Indonesian in and Sundanese a at language schoolin Bandung. One wasa university graduate Economics, in presently employed in the Department of Taxation in Jakarta.The other four were high school graduates. The remainingthree people were village people: two women working as householdhelpersand a man working as a warehouseman. The reason for using elicited texts (rather than constructed texts, or inter-views)is that interviewing and constructing texts taps interlocuters' explicit knowledge (of speechlevels,in this case).Elicitating texts taps interlocuters'tacit knowledge,so that they will be able to judge "what sounds appropriate" in a particularsituation,even though they may not be able to tell why it is. In elicitationsessions, described I situations which a speechevent might in take place and participants assumedvarious participant roles. Speech event enactments were tape-recorded and immediately replayedto the actorsand other Sundanese-speaking onlookers, a checkon their authenticity. a performance as If as a whole, or any interlocuter'sperformancewas deemed inauthentic, the performancewas repeated (severaltimes, on occasion)until interlocutersand onlookerswere satisfied. Recordings were archivedand are the basisfor this study. Speechlevel termsin textswere identitled according Satjadibrata's to (1956) listing and tagged by type: Lemes Pisan, Lemes, Panengalt,Kasar (only if other choiceswere possible,being that Kasar is unmarked) and Kasar pisan.T For a broad overview,frequencies occurrence speechlevel terms were of of tabulated.Numericvalueswere assigned eachlevelto createan impression-istic to politeness scale: LemesHsan(+2),Lemes(*l), Panengah(+0.5), Kasar(O) Kasar and Pisart(-l). An averageof valuesfor each dyad (i.e. a pair of interlocuters)and for each individualwas calculated all textsusingthe followingformula: for

:(2a+b+.75c-e) M N

Where a, b, c, d and e are the total of Lemes Pisanl Lemes,Panertgah,, Kasar & Kassr Pisan terms, ] re s p e c ti v e l yn e a chtext; N : a* b+ c+ d+ e. ] i,

'

Very polite, Polite, Rather polite, General conversationaland Crude or earthy specch.

Speechlevels in Sundanese 115

This array of Dyad averages represents gkrbal view of speechlevel use by dyad a and by interlocuter acrosstexts.

5. Results There were five kinds of dyads:STRANGERS, ACQUAINTANCES, CO-WORKERS, FRIENDS and FAMILY members).Averagesfor each type of dyad were sortedand arrayed in descending order. The ranges of Dyad averagesfor the various degreesof acquaintanceclf interlocuters appear in Table 1. Table 1 showsthe upper boundsas similar while the lower boundsare variable.The lower boundsof each range distinguish them from eachanother. One initiallyconfusing fact is the similarity upper bounds(i.e., of 1.00-1.17). reasonfor this similarityappears be that in everygroup,there is The to a wide variabilityin the use of speechlevelsand it will be necessary investigate to furtherto discover that the reasons this variablity. for

Relatedness STRANGERS ACQUAINTANCES CO-WORKERS FRIENDS FAMILY

Overall ave. 0.97 0.85 0.85 0 .7 7 0 .7 5

Ranee of Ave.(DyAd)

0 . 8 00.2r 0.40 0.18 0.09 -

t.r7 1.06 1.00 1.00 1.00

Tlnle 1 : Rangesof dyad & Overall Averages by degreesof relatedness

5.1.Strangers STRANGERS. predictably,use Lemes style overwhelmingly. The followingexcerptwas producedby STRANGERS. The venue indicated wasthe Bandungtrain station. 28-year-old A businessman returnsfrom Jakartaon the eveningtrain and is met by his brother. Leaving the station, they encounter a womanin her fortieswho seemsapprehensive. approaches She and asksdirections. Lcmes wordsare in bold italic type. (1) D: Olt, Ibu badd ka mana? Ka-tingal-na linglung pisan.
Oh, Madam wantsto to where? Apparent-ly confused very. 'Oh, wheredo you want to go?You seem veryconfused.' (2) S: Leres, D6rt. 'Correcl, prince,/honored sir.'

116

Edmund A. Anderson

(3)

Ibtt

tlt

badd

milarian panginepan,,tyaetu Hotdl Homan

Hotel Homan jalmi

wants to Ma'am FOCUS find lodging, that is, 'As for me, I'm looking for my lodging, Hotel Homan, that is.' (4) Namung But lbtt Madam teu acan not yet terang, kumargi know, because Ibu Madam

hnggal person new,

(s)
(6)

kitu
like that,

ti
from

Tasik
Tasikmalaya

dongkap
come

ka
to

dieu,namungmilarian
here, but look for

pottginepan teu acan pendak. Margi teu terang. not yet lodging reached. Because know not 'cause 'But, I'm not sure yet, I'm new here, the story is, I'm from Tasikmalaya and came here, but finding lodging I'm not yet successful.Because I don't know Bandung.'

(7)

D:

Ibu

tth

nembd

ka Bandung,ibu

tlt?

just Madam to Bandung, Madam FOCUS? FOCUS 'As for you, Madam, you only just came to Bandung for the first time, you yourself?'

(8)

S:

l*res.

'Correct.'......etc.

Some cases STRANGERS usingKasarappearedafter they had been introduced, of and were therefore strictly no longer STRANGERS, but ACQUAINTANCES. Furthermore,the great majority of these23 seemingly misplaced Kasar terms in STRANGER dyadswere Typ. IY KasarvariantsreplacingNeutral Polite terms, which, I believe signala general relaxationof formality. In conclusion, texts for STRANGERS, then, are by and large accountedfor by Satjadibrata's model.

5.2.Acquaintances and co-workers ACQUAINTANCES and CO-WORKERS overwhelminglyuse Lemes style to interactwith each other. Though the ranges of averagesfor ACQUAINTANCE and STRANGER dyads overlap, the difference between overall averagesfor STRANGER and ACQUAINTANCE dyads is statisticallysignificant.It follows that the overall average for CO-WORKER dyads is also statisticallydifferent from that for STRANGER dyads. Sincethe overall averagefor ACQUAINTANCE and CO-WORKER dyads are the same, these two types have were treated as a single category, though identitiesof individualdyadswere retained. ACQLJAINTANCES and CO-WORKERS useLemesstylefrequently among themselves.But, they use Kasar terms more frequently than STRANGERS. The majority of Kssar terms used (640/o) are chosen in preference to Neutral Polite (Typ" IV) words, indicating a gradual relaxation of formality in those social situations. The other 36Vo consistof Kasar choseninsteadof Polite respect or Polite humble terms. This meansthat interlocuters intend to signaltheir perceptions of their own, addressees', referents' (SameStatus).If we and relativesocialstatuses

Speech levels in Sundanese

777

focuson Kasar terms replacingPolite respectand Polite Humble terms, we have a clear indicationof the social meaningsbeing exchanged. Two patterns emerge. Pattern 1: One of the interlocutersproduces no Kasar< Polite respect/humble terms while the other speakerproduces1 to 15, the averagebeing 2.7. Pattern 2, both interlocutersproduce 1 or more Kasar<Polite respect/humble terms. To interpret these patterns,texts were examinedfor the valuesshowingrespectand/or humblingoneself. social In text 48, two women friends,A & B, conversein Kasar style,in accordance with the received model (Ref. Fig.1-4a). In Scene2 of the same conversation, A' nephew,enters and politely C, "speaks to A's friend. A's friend, as expected, p" "speaks down" to C (Ref . Fig.1.: 2a & 2b or 4b1) & 4b2).Specifically, 15Kasar terms choseninsteadof Politerespect all are producedby A's friend. A's nephew uses only Lemes terms. But, anotherphenomenon besides status agedifferences or becomes evident. The following excerptillustratesthis.6 (1) C: Aya naon ieu, Ibi, ibut-ibttt kieu?
like this ? Therc is what rhis, Auntie, noisy-noisv 'What's up herc, Auntic, so noisvlike this?'

(2)

B.

Nyutta

ibi

t1lt

halang

di-gawd yettlt.
to work v'know.

That is auntie FOCUS wants 'Well, I want to work, y'know.' (3) A. Heueuh,

cenah halang di-gawi nLt sedi buruh-na, Unh-hunh, says wants to work which large the pay, 'Ya, saysshe wants work with a large salary,is there any, Chaidir?'

aya,Dir? exist,D?

(4)

C:

Badd

moal,

Ibi?

Want to will not. Auntic? 'You do, don't you, Auntie?'

A's nephewanswers and A's triend'squestions Lemesstyle.Once, B usesa A's in Lemesterm, but it is the sameterm iust usedby C. (8) C: Ieu
This 'This

badd
want to

moal?
will not?

you want or not?'

B.

Nlg Y'know 'Y'know

wad badd ari tueLut mah. want to indeed with regard to that FOCUS. I do indeed with regard to that.'

( 1 0 ) A.

Erya.
Y'know. 'Y'know.

Siti

amb1lt

tortg nga-lamun wa1, knhananntmptn.

see-ir.

just, Siti so that don't daydream uneasy Siti don't just daydream,I'm uncomfortable seeing it.'

( i 1 ) B.

Kesel
Disgusted

nga-lamun wa4.
daydrcam just.

Lcmes words are in bold italics, Kasar words in underlined bold italics.

118

Edmund A. Anderson 'I'm disgustedjust daydreaming.'

(12)

C:

Artth Indeed
'Well

dnjing tomorrow

wd just

ku abdi. by me.

tomorrow by me [it will be foundl.'

B.

ayeLtna mending g Ah entong 4njing tomorrow better also now Ah don't 'Ah don't talk of tomorrow, be betteralso it'd iust now.'

wa. just.

(17) (18)

A. C:

Gedd
'l-argc

gaji-na?
the salary?'

Dtta

rtbrt

sa-dintenmalt.

one-day FOCUS. Twt'r thousand '2,000rupiahs per day!'

( 19)

A.

Ah. 'Ah!

Lnmayan Not bad

atult. indeed.'

B.

Dua

rdbu

sa-dintenT! Euleuh

untung

atuh rys.
indeedy'know.

profitable one-day?! Oh my Two thousand '2,000per day?!Oh my! Good fortuneindeed, you know.'

Lemes terms in lines 9 (badd), 8 (enjing), and 20 (dinten), all B's utterances, are exceptions to Satjadibrata's model. Their motivation is as follows:

I.

or When repeating co-speaker's a utterance a clarifuing challenging in speechact, repeat the exactwords. Do not changespeakingstyle, of regardless socialrelationship.

As the conversationproceeds,yet again,B usesLemes style (line 23), counter to thanksfor C's infbrmation. statednorms, this time to express (23) B. Ol\
Oh, 'Oh, (24) C.

nla

atulr

ketm hatur nultun.

thanks.

y'know indecd let be give all right, that's it, thank you.' tlt. FOCUS.

ta Sa-wangsul-na that One-return-NOM 'You're welcome for that.'

Neither A's relationshrpwith B, nor B's with C warrantsLemes style. The act of Lemes.Speakersknow the following: thanking someoneseemsintrinsically

Speechlevels in Sundanese 119

IL

of LJseLemes style to express"thanks",regardless any other style used. being

Soedradjatfeels that nulrur, and hatur nuluut are not so different in politeness. these days this so-calledexceptionis really not such an exception. Perhaps exceptions, ACQLJAINTANCES B and C in Text 48, excluding In conclusion, norms (0'00 and 1.00,respectively)' conform perfectly to Satjadibrata's A similai phenomenonoccurs among CO-WORKERS. In Text 44, Scene 1, two male CO-WORKERS (C ancl D), slightly different in age, conversein an office. The first topic is work, but it soon shifts to a second,D's son's school problems. The style ir Kasar, usual for well-acquaintedpersons of equal status (Ref. Fig.1'4a).e (1) c: Ku naon, Diu, \ta mani...mani s-arar-edilt kieu?
very-sad like this? that rather From what, Djunaedi, 'Why,Dju, very'.. so vgrysadlike this?' (Z) D:

p-ar-ar-gsirtg paLu ieu Dir, En!a6. much confused Chadir, <]ay this Y'know, 'True,Dir, todayI'm vcry dizzyindeed.' meu'euns bat pa-gawd'an6 ditumpuk Eta just no doubt is piled up That work 'That work is just piling up apparently y'know" pa-gaw6'an6 'Work numpttk! Mana detti? pilesup! What next?'

pisan euy. very indeed.

(3)

C:

Wg6 y'know'

(4)
(5)

D:

lulus telt sia Alunad pttsirtg, Di i-sht pass not confused, ol' Ahmad At home 'At home headache,young Ahmad failed school"''

sakola... school"'

(6)

C:

et

Altmad

salm?

whose? Young Ahmad 'Who is his father?'

(7)
(8) (9)

D:
C:

An-sk'. 'child.'
Oh,
'Oh,

snokt
child.'

St,

Ahrnad

qnako Diwta1di anu

kelas til, SMP

fto?
that?

ygung chikl Djunaedi which class 3 jr.hi.school Ahmacl ' Y t l u n g A h m a d , D j u n a e d i ' ss o n i n c l a s s3 j u n i o r h i g h , t h a t o n e ? '

C Suddenly, and D beginusingLemesterms:NeutralPolite(line 10),Polite respect

4 = Knsar replaces Polite respect [Lentes pikeun nu dihormat] 5 = Kasar replaces Polite humble [Lentes pikeun nu ngahormatJ 6 = Kasar replaces Neutral Polite ILentes Ennng]

120

A. Edntund Anderson

and Neutralpolite (lines 17, (line 13),Polite humbleand Politerespect (lines14-15) 19and 21).to ( 10) (11) (12) @ D: C: D: C: M uhun t. 'Yes.'
'No

Teu

lulus ayewta n!a6?

pass now, true?'

Teu lulus. 'Not pass.' Kumaha tah budgkt tdh? Bad63 ttgulang maksad-na]?
intention-the? alas kid FOCUS? Going to repeat How 'lndeed, how about that kid'? Is hc repeating the grade your intention?'

D:

Piwarang2 Comrnand

abdi2 my

mah FOCUS

ieu this

ngulang, repeat,

ngans anjeunna'l he only

alimeuns.
educated. 'l told him he should now rcpeat, just so he gets an education.'

(16)

C:

Tah, atLth kitu

Alas, 'Well

mah.

FOCUS. indced like that shame, like that indeed.'

Kieu

wad, atanapil di sakola

SMA

anu
which

vE.
late afternoon.

in school sr.hi.school or Like this just, 'l-ike this, or in a late afternoon high school...' D: Swostan\a6? 'Private/non-govcrnment,y'mean?'

( l8)

C:

Muhunl, swasta. fua

Yes, ttu which 'Yes, sorf private. That

fth
FOCLIS

nampil
receive

kdn1h,
yct,

SMA
sr.high

afternoon private. It's accepting students,late afternoon high school.'

(20)

D:

th? mana nLt sa6l Swasta good FOCUS? which one that Private 'Which private school/s is/are] good /' Muhunl, Yes, dta mah FOCUS swosto private ttLt which SMA sr.high 'BLtr' 'B' tah alas

(A

C:

/that upamr-na' for instance. 'Bur' 'Yes, High School, well, for example.' that private one

lo

1 : Neutral Polite [Lentes Enrung] 2 = Polite humble [Lentes pikeun nu ngahornrut] 3 : Polite respect fLentes pikeun nu dihornnt] 4 = Kasar replaces Polite respect [Lentes pikeun nu dihorntat] 5 = Kasar replaces Polite humble ILentes pikeun nu ngahomtat] 6 : Kasar replaces Neutral Polite [Lentes EnrungJ

Speech levels in Sundanese

127

Socialrelationshipremains constant.But changeof topic accompanied change by of stylepoints to a rather obviousexplanation: Lemes'Polite' style is a consensual way of handling sensitive, potentially embarrassing(to D, here) topics in a face-saving manner. In other words,lemesstyleserves a "bad newscushion."This as is not surprising, given that, in Sundanese perasaan'feelings' culture,other people's are treatedvery delicately.Being sensitive others' feelingsis a mark of a lemes to 'refined, cultured'person. The principleC and D are following,then, is:

III . When CO-WORKERS (perhapsalsoFRIENDS & ACQUAINTANCES) discussa topic which constitutesa threat to any of their perasaon'feelings', they shouldselectLemesstyleto "cushionthe bad news."

In Text 44, Scene 2,, a second CO-WORKER, an attractive woman, W, approximately the same age as C and D enters. Thereafter we note a nearly two-fold increasein production of Lemes terms for the same dyad, C and D. It appearsthat W's presencein Scene2 affectsthe male colleagues, who present a good imageto their colleagueof the oppositesex. D (male) greetsW (female) and they begin chattingabout work.rr (23)
(24)

W:

Padamelani di-tingal-kewt
Work abandoned pa-gaw6-an6 tih! work FOCUS!
'Work

kalah ka ng-ar-obrol,
lose to chatting

abandoned in favor of chatting, think of the work!'

(25)

C:

Ieu
The 'He

saur-na3, Willa, anak-naateu nak... teu lultts.

sayshe, W, child-his not go up... says,Willa, his child didn't pass... not pass.' not pass.

(28)

W:

Bodo

meureunant etuh mah.

fuarrgu

bandel.

Stupid apparently that FOCUS. Or headstrong. 'That one'sstupidapparently. stubborn/naughty.' Or

(32)

W:

Mdmang upamil Indeed if

pamegef mah, kedah3 male FOCUS. must

teras3. ahead.

I = Neutral Polite [Lentes EnungJ 2 = Polite humble fLentes pikeun nu ngahomtatJ 3 = Polite respect fLentes pikeun nu dihomtatJ 4 = Kasar replaces Polite respect [Lentes pikeun nu dihorntatJ 5 : Kasar replaces Polite humble fLentes pikeun nu ngahomtat] 6 = Kasar replaces Neutral Polite ILentes Entung]

722

Ednrund A. Anderson 'Indeed, if a child is a male, he must stay in school.' ieu, this, budaknaa kid-his tdh FOCUS alim-eun3 natural-ly neras-kcun3. go ahead-

(33)

C:

Saur-na3 Says-he

(34)

Sau/ abdi2 th,

Say I FOCUS,

ieu
this

wa
just

kedah2 di-pilari-an2 sakola

must be selected school

nu
which

(35)

$ad

supadosl henteu

nganggur.

late afternoon so that not idle. 'He saysthis, as for his child, he must of course stay in school. Say I, just this we must look for a late afternoon school so he's occupied.' (36) D: mena nLt SMA sail High school which one which good 'Which high school is good hm, Willa?' Indra atanapil 'Indra or Bur. Bur.' W.e6, Wilta? y'know, W?

(37)

W:

(39)

C:

Tah, SMA
Alas, 'Alas,

Indra gd

sa61 tah.

high school also good alas. I Indra High School also is good y'know.'

(40)

D:

O,
Oh,

sadt.
fine.

In summary, referencesto D's son remain in Kasar style, as do Kasar< Neutral Polite terms,suchas (e)nya'yes,true'. The remainderof terms areLemesof various types (Ref. Fig.2). Thus, in addition to the useof Lemesstylefor "cushioning bad news",where both speakers are males,a further factor is stirred into the mix which further refines the Lemes style in Text 44 Scene2. This may be stated as follows:

IV. When male CO-WORKERS (perhaps also FRIENDS and ACQUAINTANCES) are speakingand are joined by a woman, they should selectLemes style (or a more elevateddegree of Lemes) in the woman'spresence.

In another example,two co-workers,D, a 2S-year-old man, and W, a 27-year-old woman, discussa matter in an office. W complainsof not having received her

Speech levelsin Sundanese 123 monthly paycheck.l2 (1) W: Dju, kumalm yeuh mani l-al-ieu/, teu b_ep! dritt. D, hm how rather very-confused, have money. not 'Dju, how about it, hm. I'm ratherconfused, don't havemuch money.' Muhunl, Will, tost kapiny' hiji teu ecanz nampi2 artos wai. Yes, W, alreadydate one not yet receive moneyjust. 'Yes,Will, it's alreadythe first of the month,but we'venot yet received salary.' our Kumaha How atuh indeed majikan boss fth FOCUS mani rather kilu like that pisan, verv.

(2)

D:

(3)

W:

(4)

teu di-per-hatos-kcun2 pisan, ka-ter-lalu-an! not be-paid attentionto very, NOM-too-past-IZER 'What a shamethe boss like that,we is are totallyignored. too much!' it's D: Kumaha n!a6 majikan th... majikan tdh kitu? How y'know boss FOCUS... boss FOCUS like that? 'What about it that boss, y'know... what abouta bosslike that?' Taros-keun2 geura... usul. Ask quickly... suggesrion 'Ask aboutit right away... I suggest.' Muhunt, upami|... engkE siany' ieu Yes, if... later day this (heu)nteu hasil engkd abdi2 not succeed later I

(5)

(6)

W:

(7) (8)

D:

ka-ditu lah ka majikan, ka durtttng-an. to-there hm to boss, to employer 'Yes,if...later todaythis isn'tsolved, later I'll go thereto the boss, the employer.' to W: Ktmalm stL6 abdi2 mah rdpof aruh mani fuidos How if I FOCUS busy indeedrather busy 'What about my beingbusy, verybusy?' so sami3 wat, Will, saren{ bpu 'W, Y'know same just, as True it's just the same, Willa, as with me. abdi2. me. pisan? very?

(9)

(10)

D:

In Scene 2, the boss joins the conversation. He asks what they are chatting about. W answers.l3

I = Neurral Polite ILentes EntungJ 2 = Polite humble [Lentes pikeun ru ngahomtat] 3 = Polite respect ILenrcs pikeun nu dihorntnt] 4 = Kasar replaces Polite respect ILemes pikeun nu dihomtat] 5 = Kasar replaces Polite humble fLentes pikeun nu ngahomnt] 6 = Kasar replaces Neutral Polite [Lenres Enrung] 13 I = Neutral Polite [Lentes Ennng] 2 = Polite humble [Lentes pikeun nu ngahomtat] 3 = Polite respect [Lentes pikeun nu dihomtatJ 4 = Kasar replaces Polite respect fLentes pikeun nu dihormat] 5 = Kasar replaces Polite humble [Lentes pikeun nu ngahomtatJ 6 = Knsar replaces Neutral Polite [Lenrcs Ennng]

124

Edmund A. Anderson

(1s) w:
@ C:

Em,

Pa,... biasa lah

mani tost...

kosortg"'

rather already... empty"' That, Sir,... usual hm 'That. Sir.... the usual, well, it's already'.' rather'.' empty''

Oh, Oh,
'Oh,

perkawisl gajimatter salary'

the matter of salary.'

(17) w:

kapin{ Muhunl, tosi alreadv date Yes.

mznt hiii, Bapa mah FOCUS rather one, you-Sir

t1E)
(19) C:

sa-ngeunah-naa Pisan. as-comfortable-ADV very. 'Yes,already first,you, Sir, are ratherverylacksadaisical'' the Kumaha
two be-waiting y'know musl How 'How about it hm, must it wait two more days?'

ryg6

kersa3

ng'antos-an3 dua

dintenl
daYs

deui?
more?

(20) w:

Bad63

ka mana kitu?

to where like that Want to 'Where to, if it's like that?'

C:

Nyata

bapa t6h

bad62

ka-luar

kota ayeuna
city now

fth
FOCUS'

go-out want to FOCUS Sir tirat is 'As for me, I am going out of town now''

(24\ W:

wat Bapa mah nla-nlaba-ana just you-sir FOCUS going away far Ieu

ari6 asfor

uran7... talieu/ yeult yah us... confused

'As for you, Sir, going ro*"where far away and we... have a headache.'.hm.'

(2s)

C:

pentmS. untsan ays imPortant. matter This thereis 'This is an importantmatter.' tos2 deui! Ieu dintenl dua kota tah Ka-htar more! This already day alas two city To-out ngap4ryapan Yeuh! gasping Yah! ;Coing out of town rwo moredays!We'realready for gasping air!'

(26) D :

C:

Tuda

haPa tllt

kedah2 ayewm, ieu

must
now,

tdh,
FOCUS,

FOCUS Because sir ber-angkaF ka-luar

travel

this

@ (2e) W :
(30)

margrt ieu kota tdh, city FOCUS, because this

'l

par-usaha-an' un$-Qtr NoM-business-lZER. arrange-NOM tosl... ieu pisan atult... da 'causealready... very alas... this

must now leave here to go out of town' becausethiS is a company matter''

4o!, ulah boltort Basis don't lie rdpof pisan. criticalvery.

w4, Pa, iust, sir,

'Just don't lie, Sir, already ... we are very alas...in a critical situation.'

Speech levels in Sundanese

125

(31) c: (32) D: (33) w: (34) D:

W:

wd Sirtg s-al-abar Well very-patient just

'You

heula+tan first-ly

ayeuna mah. now FOCUS.

both must just first be patient now.'

Muhunl sabar lah.

Yes 'Yes patient hmm. be patient.' Djun? D?

Muhunl lah. Kumaha, Yes hmm. How, 'Yes indeed. How, Djun?'

NJoo

kumaha, WiU?

W? Y'know how, 'Well how about it, Will?'

Kalahks indita
Rathcr 'Rather

geuning-un kapala-na

ryg6.
y'know,

takc off indccd head-the the boss'staking off, y'know.'

is For the D and W, the boss'spresence clearlya factor in the symbolicsocial meaning system. Closer inspection revealsa shifl in style due to W's indignation (lines18& 24).Shechooses Kasarword, where shewould normally selecta Polite a respect term, according Satjadibrata. to The bossusesNeutralPolite(lines 76,19 & 28),Politerespect(line 19),and giventhat C is W's and D's boss! Politehumble(lines22 & 27).This is unexpected, It appearsthat C is trying to det-lect W's anger, atier she hears of C's impending two-day out-ot--town business trip. We are led to infer two more exceptions stated to norms,both relatingto anger:

V.

Use Kasar style to express anger in extreme circumstances,even to one's superior.

and,

VI.

Use Lemes style to deflect anger, regardless relative statusesof of interlocutors.

and W's anger increases. and D converse Kasar styletbllowing stated C leaves C in But, when W refersto the boss's goingawal, she shoulduse Polite respect norms. style(Ref. Fig.1),but usesKasar (line 35: indit) instead. Of course, useof levelsto vent angeris tacitlyknown by native-speakers. The point is that this knowledge doesnot appearin explicitstatements speechlevel of

126

Edntund Anderson A.

norms. Readers or learners with no first-hand experienceof Sundaneseremain ignorant of what Spradley and McCurdy (1975) have referred to as "rules for breakingrules".

5.3. Friends & family In contrasrto STRANGER, ACQUAINTANCE and CO-WORKER dyads,there is a much wider range of variabilityof speechlevel use among FRIENDS and FAMILY member dyads,no doubt because wider range of emotions(intimacy to a strict decorum) is possible among thesegroups. More interlocutorpatternsof speechlevel use are balancedfor FRIEND than for FAMILY member dyads. An exampleof FRIENDS'communication found in Text Scene1. D is C's is older friend. Both are males. D wants to know about the yield from C's rice fields this year. C reports it has been a rather good year. D congratulates C1a. (3) (4) D: C: Sa61 nlab
'Fine, y'know,

ayeuna.
now.'

Sumuhunl. Kumaha yetth sawah

Akang

anu

di Cinnjur?

rice field older brother which in Cianjur? Yes How yah 'Yes.How aboutyour rice field,olderbrother,in Cianjur?' (5) D: Nu-mawit And so rada rather ieu, this, mah... Yi, kagung-an2 akang younger bro., be-owned older brother FOCUS

(6)

th hasil-na. kiran/ sa61 taun ieu good year this FOCUS harvest-the less 'And so, younger brother,mine... so goodthis year the harvest.' not C: Ktt+mon? From-what? 'How so?' ...kewn hama wereng. Margil struck brownleafhopperpest. Bccause... 'Because...there a brownleafhopper was pest.' Atuh... kedah3 Goodness... must ieu... di-pasih-an3 pupuk di... sarengl bc-... this... be-applied fertilizer and

(7)

(S)

D:

(9) (10)

C:

wereng. di-basmi wat hama just be-sprayed brownleafhopperpest. 'Goodness,...it sprayed the brown leafhopper pest.' fertilized...and fbr mustah...bc

14

1 = Neutral Polite [Lemes Ennng] 2 : Polite humble ILenres pikeun nu ngahorntat] 3 = Polite respect [Lemes pikeun nu dihornnt] 6 : Kasar replaces Neutral Polite [Lentes Ennng]

Speechlevels in Sundanese 127

(11)
(12)

D:

Olt,
Oh,

pupuk,
fertilizer,

pLtpuk
fertilizer

mah
FOCUS

parantos2. Pupuk sareny'...eh,

already. Fertilizer and unh rupi-nal teu acan3 appearance-ADv not yet

parantos2 di-semprot. be-sprayed. already

Namuny'... But...

(13)

ku Gusti pa-ngintenl. sael di-pasih-an| good by Lord probably. be-given 'O\ fertilizer, I've already applied fertilizer. Fcrtilizer and... ah, already sprayed. But...apparentlynot yet blesscdby God.' C: Sumuhunl. Yes. Alt, Ah, 6ta that moh FOCUS kednh3 .. ieu must.. this w iust

(14)

di-pa-damel3-na. he-donc-it. 'Yes. Ah. that must.. immediatclv be donc.'

betweenmale friends,the style is relativelyformal tor this Thougha conversation dyad,probablydue to the fact that the topic is one which requiresLemesstyle to "cushion bad news." is exampleof FRIENDS' communication Text 48 Scene1. S is W's A second S olderfriend.Both are women.W inquiresabout S's daydreaming. replies.ls (2) S: Nya1ta
That is

ieu
this

tttt
FOCUS

mikir-ans
think-ing

hglorgt
want to

di-gawis
be-working

jiga if (3)
(4)

baturr person ng-abing, jadi mun5 bogas gne'

just havc work

resep isuk-isuk6

willing earlyin the morning walk together,so

kana hat6s. pan rada senang mah meureun-ans liver. rather happy in FOCUS lhen assuredly 'That is I wasthinkingI would like to getwork if someone willing to hire me, I'd is be happy cverymorningwalkingin a group,sojust I havework, I'd be ratherhuppy being.' in my innermost W: Eh, ari6... Hey, as for... ta basa language that suganu thought tdh FOCUS di-gawia be-working da ka-tingal-il hmm view-ed

(5)

(6)

sok sinaiewt indita" mah go. happening wantsto FOCUS unexpectedly 'Ei, with regardlo...that work, apparently that expression unexpcctedly thought, wantsto so.'

ts

I = Neutral Polite [Lenres EnrungJ 2 = Polite humble ILentes pikeun nu ngahomtat] 3 = Polite respect [Lentes pikeun nu dihomtat] 4 = Kasor replaces Polite respect ILentes pikeun nu dihorntatJ 5 = Kasar replaces Polite humble ILemes pikeun nu ngahormat] 6 = Knsnr replaces Neutral Polite ILenrcs Entungl

128

Ednund A. Anderson

(7)

S:

I,{yadta ieu
That is this

th
FOCUS

jadi
become

pa4ryanggur.
unemployed.

Ilaypagt
Want to

tdlt
FOCUS

kitu
like that

(8)

di-mana wad

nga-babu-babu

kitu.

be household helper like that. at-where just 'That is, I've become someone out of work. I want like that wherever to work as a h o u s e h o l dh e l p e r l i k e t h a t . ' (9) W: Enla6 Y'know pan isn't di imaha g( at home also loba6 runs pa-gaw6-an6 work na then

(10)

pttsirtg-pusirtg teuing? very? upset

S: Laah Hm teu not

'lsn't it true that at homethereis alsomuchwork,why sucha big headache?" di imahs mah ari6 as for at home FOCUS ayal exist da alas nyatta that is pagawdan6-ana work-thc

(11)

(12)

geura ari6 buruh-na di.gye income-the quick as for be-working teuing cap6s very tired

mah FOCUS

kajeun no matter

(13)

aya buntlt. there is income. 'Well, as for at home,that'swork withoutany income, employed, if althoughtired, thereis income.' W: Nloo Y'know ndang-ans lookingfor wctd just geura... pan ke seueu/ atuh... indeed... later quickly... not true many

(14) (15)

kenal-art ongkoh. individually. acquaint-ance 'Y'know,just look for work...later...l'll manyacquaintances.' have

fh. -ooO here is dictated by S's frustrationand anger at being unemployed.This is symbolisedby the profusion of Kasar terms. Turning to FAMILY members, ranges of averages for FRIEND and however,stopsthere. Patterns The similarity, FAMILY member dyadsare identical. of speechlevel use differ for FAMILY member and FRIEND dyads. which across FAMILY member dyadsprovidea rangeof socialrelationships, however,which relationship emerges, to observespeechlevel use.One documented is symbolized by choice of the words budak, anak and murangkalih when referring to an adolescent.Satjadibratashowsbudak and anak as either Kasar or Polite humble, depending on their use (Ref. Fig.Z,Type III). An adult, however,would choose between budak or anak (:Kasar) and murangkalih(:Lemes) for a third person referent. Polite humble appliesonly to first-personreference. their son'sreport card. The In Text 26, Scene1, a mother and father discuss wife usesslightlymore Lemesterms than the father,a disparityno doubt due to the hence,the value fact that Indonesianwivestend to be youngerthan their husbands,

Speech levels in Sundanese

129

of respectis appropriate. References their son and his problem revealan interestinguse of speech to levels.Father's first reference is a Kasar term (q{Kosim). Using a Kasar term could symbolize referent'sperceivedlower statusor intimacy. the F. Mam, Ma,
'Mom,

kttmaha & Kosim how ol' K

teh? Rapot-na arron pisan! FOCUS? Report-the bad very!

what about that Kosim? His report card is very bad!'

The mother, in turn, uses the Lemes term murangkalik. N. Atuh da murangknlih-na(Lr) Goodness hm child-the Sands kirang warah. Not less taught. 'Oh my,theboy's verylazry. untaught.' Not males pisan. lam very.

What is the meaning of this Polite respectreference?Mother may be showing respect father (= the father'schild) by usinga Polite respectterm? But when the to father asks, F. Kinten-kinten natk moal? Apparently go up will not? 'Probably pass, he'll won'the?'

the motherswitches and refersto the boy and to what he must do to be able to pass to the next grade with a Kasar term: N. K( upami masih tiasa di-leres-keun sareng budak-na(K<Lr\ I-ater if srill can be-corrected and child-the kersa(Lr) di-aiar masih tiasa. wants to be-educated still can. 'Later it is still possible bestraightened andthe wants if to out kid to stucly, still can.' he

Relationship alone cannot accountfor this switchin the midst of a dialoguewhere interlocutorsare using Lemes style. A reasonableexplanationis that mother is shiftingto Kasar to show anger at her son'snegligence (an enactmentof Rute IV regarding anger). Text 45 is an interactionbetweenCO-WORKERS involvingthe same type of referenceto one's own child, that is using a Kasar term to symbolizeanxietyor unhappiness. S is unhappy.Her successful daughterwas chosento go overseas further to her studies. colleague A catches daydreaming S and asksher what'swrong. S replies respectfully, in a way reflectingpride in her daughter. but S: Ieu pun anak(Lh) This mychild
'This,

cenah badd they say going to

ka luar ro our

negei.... counrry...

my child, it is said, will go overseas....'

The colleague congratulates S. C: sad atulr ryg Y'know good indeed, bad6(Lr) balajar ka going to study ro ng-iring bingah. Gaduh(Lr) join huppy. Possess luar negeri mah! our counrry FOCUS. putra(Lr) child

130

Ednrund A. Anderson 'y'know indeed!' it's really good, I'm also happy. Having a child who wants to study overseas'

murangknlih(Lr) ka-tingal-i-na ta th ... Janrcn that FOCUS child apparent so ...And ka-majeng-an... progress... '...And apparcntly childis getting ahead" that so

aya is there

But, S is torn between pride in her daughter'sachievement,anger about the and respectfor her colleagues. daughter'simpending cleparture, S: kittt... ulah cios, ka-hoyong mah, I'{yatta ari Thatis asfor NoM-desire FocUS don't happen likethat... tilu, mung hiii-hiii-na"' teu dua, teu th, Gaduh budak three only one-AUGMENTFOCUS not two not child Have the 'Thatis,mywishis,don'thappen, that... have kid,not 2, not 3, onlythisone...' this I like

Again, S shifts to a Kasar term to refer to her daughter'

5.4. Speakingin public Finally, speaking in public highlightsthe relationshipof speech levels to speech functions. Situational factors are constant:a restricted number of speakers'one speakerperforms at a time, and an audience. Tasks performed in Public are: of 1) a village head'sannouncement an upcomingpublic speechto be given in a local mosque after eveningprayers' 2) a committeehead'sgreetingand welcometo the audience, 3) a request for someoneto read from the Qu'ran, event, 4) and introduction of the speakerat the afore-mentioned telling about himself, 5) the guestspeaker's to 6) response the welcome, in 7) retellingof humorousexperiences Indonesia, 8) telling of plans for the duration of this stay, 9) delivery of his main address, and finally, 10) complimentto those attending, 1 1 ) c los ing. order, the latter ten constitutinga maJor The tasks are in rough chronological speechevent. explanationof the use of Kasar for scholarly The clatarecall Satjadibrata's reading material. In general,Kasar vocabularyis fuller and broader than Lemes vocabJary. In the texts of these 11 tasks,Kasar terms are reservedfor the visiting Kasal terms appear to about personalhealth and hygiene. speaker'smain acldress as a topic indicator for Jpeakingin public, as well. This phenomenonis not ,L*. only limited to reading material.That is, use of Kasar terms meansthe material is relativelyobjectiveand non-personal. Furthermore, our anilysis givesa clear picture of how an effective public for speakerusesspeechlevelsto preparethe audience the main topic'

Speechlevels in Sundanese 131

In tasks 1) and 2), the village and committee head rrse Lemes terms The committee head usesLemes terms while making anouncements. exclusively are exclusively tasks 3) and 4), no doubt due to the fact that announcements in mostlyconcernedwith the relationshipbetween announcerand the villagers,and the villagersand the guest speaker,towards whom they betweenthe announcers, show respect. Objective information is subordinate to the social relationships meaning" or between speech eventparticipants, asHallidaymight say,"interpersonal meaning." dominates "ideational Text 36 illustratesthis style.The text of the recorded announcementis as head.16 anclPak RT the association follows.RT is the neighborhoodassociation, association." RW is the citizens' RT. Para Sadtrtk
PLU brother badd goingto

sa-daya, utami-na wargo

one-all

RW
matn which

05,

engkb wengi
later cvening

primari-ly member distr.ass'n05

anu pang-aos-an di-aya-ketm be-exist-CAUS NOM-read-ISER that

pen-ceramah+m, AGENT-lecturc-thc

Amika. XYZ ti Bapa Doktor nya(ta Doctor XYZ from USA. that is Mr 'Friends, in will be presented which a of residents district5, this evening lecture espccially will the speaker be Dr. XYZ from the USA.' Pang-aos-an lrcture di-aya-keun ngawit-an be-exist-CAUS begin-ning tabuh tttittlt hour scven

tilu puluh

di Masiid

Salman

S. at Mosquc three ten (=30) 'lt w i l l t a k e p l a c e b e g i n n i n ga t 7 : 3 0 P M a t S a l m a n M o s q u e . '

Sim kuring (Lh)

person I

su-loktt ka-ttta
as-acting NOM-old

RW 05
district ass'n 05

nga'hatur'keun
give-CLAUS

tutlttut sa-teuacan-na. ba-rbu-rtbu as-not-yet-NOM Nom-thousand-PLU thanks '1, acting as head of district 5, expressthousandsof thanks beforehand.'

When the guest performs, he sprinkles a few Kasar terms throughout his self(task of to (task5), response the welcome(task6), sharing experiences introduction good aboutthe area (task 10).and 7),tellingaboutplans(task8), tellingsomething closing (task 11). Mostly, he usesPolite humble terms to refer to himself and his experiences. This public style is seen in Text 37.1.The guest speakeropens with the "Peaceand mercy and the blessingof God be with you" and fuabic blessing, continues...

Ke-tua rukun NOM-old association

l7

tetangga neighbor,

warga rukun association member

I32 TP.

EdmundA. Anderson Sim kuring(Lh) personI ku aya4m from exist-NOM anu that mana sim which H nga-raos bingah VB-feel happy dina in wengi evening iett, this,

pang-aos-an onu di-aya-kewt ku RW 05, NOM-read-ISER which be-exist-CLAUS by districtass'n05 kuring(Lh) personI atos already knging receive ka-lrcrmat-an NOM-respect-ISER aya thereis mangpaat+ru valuable-NOM

kanggd for

masih-an wejang-an giving advice

anu mugi-mugi which maybe

kanggo urang sadaya-na. for us one-all-NOM. 'l feel happythis evening, because pangaosan beingheldby neighborhood in that this is 5, I havethe honor of givingadvice which hopefully will be of valueto everyone.' Sim kuring(Lh) personI keun hiji one dina in ka-sempet-an ieu NOM-opportune-ISER this ngena-an, touch-ins atanapi or badd want to nyanggapropose

poko pedaran title

pa-tali tie-d

ieueg6) with

ka-sdhat-an(K). NOM-healthy-lSER. 'Given this opportunity,I want to propose title connected or tied to the a to, topic of health.' As the speaker approaches his main address (Text 37.2),,he uses Lemes style up to the point where he announces the topic of his address, itself a Kasar term. In his address, he uses Kasar terms. As he finishes the main address, he reverts to almost exclusive use of Lemes terms. An excerpt from the address follows. TP: Ka-sdhat-an(K). Para NOM-healthy-ISER PLU 'Health.Friendsall.' Dirm In Ssdrdk brother sadaya. all. sim kuring(Lh) personI(LH) badd want to nyangga-keun present-CLAUS

ka-sempet-an iett NOM-opportune-ISER this

poko pedaran hiji atanapi judttl nyata Ka-sdhat-an(K). one topic or title that is NOM-healthy-lSER. 'Havingbeengivcnthis opportunityI wantedto present topic,namelyHealth.' a Lamun ktt urang lettkeun di-pikir. di-lenyep-an, Suppose by us objectively be-thought, be-pondered, ka-sdhat-an(K) NOM-healthy-ISER

tth perlLt di durrya. keur sa-kabdh bangsa FOCUS necessaryfor race one-all on earth. 'When we ponderit a bit, or examinc in greatdetail,we become it awarethat healthis necessary all peoplcs for aroundthe world.'

Speech levels in Sundanese

I33

6. Conclusion This studyhasconfirmedSatjadibrata's model of speech It level use in Sundanese. has also broken new ground by documentingseven previously unaccountedfor additions. These additionsconstituteknowledgeSundanese speakersalready have, whichlearnersmust acquire.It concerns of'formal Lemes and not only "knowledge Kasarparadigms, but also "knowledgehow to" use theseforms. The first addition concerns a situation when one interlocutor repeats something anotherhasjust said.

I.

Whenrepeating co-speaker's a utterance a clarifuing challenging in or speechact, repeat the exactwords. Do not changespeakingstyle, regardless socialrelationship. of

We showed older speakerof higherstatusrepeating term used by a younger an a speaker lower status, that is repeatingthe Lemesterm the youngerspeakersaid. of Accordingto Satjadibrata,the Kasor equivalentwould be required by the older speaker's status. act The second additionis the speech of thanking someone. Use Lemes style to express'thanks' regardlessof any other style beingused.

II.

An older,higherstatusspeakermay thank a younger,lower statusspeakerwith the Polite Hatur nuhutt.Thankingsomeone intrinsically is Lemes. the situationwhen speaking with someonein The third addition concerns etc. Switching into Lemes style helps Kasar style, i.e. a friend, close associate, cushionbad news.It protectsthat person'sfeelings.

II I.

When CO-WORKERS (perhapsalsoFRIENDS & ACQUAINTANCES) discussa topic which constitutes threat to any of their a perosaan'feelings', shouldselect the they Lemesstyleto "cushion bad news."

1,34

Ednund A. Anderson

The fourth addition concernsexpectedacknowledgement a female'spresence of in conversational groups. mixed-sex

IV.

When male CO-WORKERS (perhaps also FRIENDS and ACQUAINTANCES) are speaking and are joined by a woman, they should selectLemes style (or a more elevateddegree of Lemes) in the woman'spresence.

Among CO-WORKERS, when a third person having a relationship of COWORKER, FRIENDS or FAMILY member enters,that person has the potential to affect speechlevelusebetweenthe originaltwo speakers, whereasSTRANGERS and ACQUAINTANCES do not. The fifth addition concernsuse of speechlevelsto expressstrong, negative emotions. Such displaysamong FRIENDS and FAMILY members are usually symbolizedby use of Kasar referencesto the person on whom these feelingsare focussed.

V.

Use Kasar style to expressanger in extremecircumstances, even to one' ss uper io r.

The sixth addition involvesuse of speechlevelsas hedges,or qualifiers,or make excuses deflect expressions negativeemotion, as when a bosstries to placate to of an employee's anger at being paid late.

VI.

Use Lemes style to deflect anger, regardless relative statusesof of interlocutors.

will beginin Lemes The tinal additionrelatedto speaking public.Speakers usually in style to establish a relationshipwith the audience (Halliday's "interpersonal metafunction"), then switch to Kusar style for the main address (Halliday's "ideationalmetatunction"), thus servingas a topic indicator. Finally, STRANGER, ACQUAINTANCE, CO-WORKER, FRIEND and FAMILY member dyadsactuallyencompass continuumwhich has been calleda a range of degreesof acquaintance. Neutral Polite terms and Kasar replacements for Neutral Polite terms (Fig. 2, Typ. IV) seemto constitute psychological sensorto a

Speechlevels in Sundanese 135

situation, aboveand beyondthe scaledegrees acquaintance. a social of

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Noorduyn,J. (1963) Categoriesof courtesv in Sundanese. Bible translator 14:4.186-191. Sunda. in E.S. Ekadjati (ed.), Masyarakat Sunda Rosidi,A. (1980) Ciri-ciri manusia dan kebudayaan dan kebudayaonnya. Jakarta: Girimukti Pasaka,125-161. Satjadibrata,R. (1954) Kanrus basa Sunda 2nd ed. Jakarta: Kementerian pendidikan dan Kebudajaan. Satjadibrata, (1956) Undak-usuk basa Sunda Zru) ed. Jakarta: Balai Pustaka. R. Socdradjat, T.M. (1986) Cross-culturalstudy for Sundancselearnersof English. (M.A. Dissertation, SEAMEO-Regional language Centre and the National Univcrsity of Singapore). Jamcs P. and David W. McCurdy (1975) Anthropologt: the culturalperspective. New York: Spradley, Wiley and Sons. Sumamihardja, Suhandi (1980) Organisasidan struktur social masyarakatSunda. In Ekadjati, Edi A. S. (ed), Maryarakat Sunda dan Kebudayaannya.Jakarta: Girimukti Pasaka. Surjadi,A. (1974) Masyarakat Sunda: Budaya dnn hoblenra. Bandung: Penerbit Alumni. Wessing, (1974) l-anguage levels in Sundanese. R. Man 9: 5-22.

B6

EdmundA. Anderson

Ganaco' Penerbit Bandung: tatabahasa. Kandaga (1957) R.M. and I.B. Djajakusuma wirakusumah,