Teasing, Jokes and Directives in Cerito Mang Juhai Uncle Juhai stories: A discourse analysis of humorous texts in Palembang Malay

Abstract

This paper discusses teasing, jokes and directives in ten written Uncle Juhai stories (Cerito Mang Juhai) in Palembang Malay in Indonesia. Palembang Malay is one of the local languages in Indonesia, hereafter referred to as Palembangnese. Uncle Juhai stories are popular texts in Palembang City and are widely read because they are published in one of the city’s major newspapers. The figure of Mang Juhai in particular is a popular mascot in Palembang [1]. This paper identifies distinct cultural-linguistic practices in the texts [2]. In highlighting these practices this research contributes to the limited literature in this area and raises interest and awareness across generations about Palembangnese humour and its role in Palembang society. This mixed-method study uses a discourse analysis approach [3] The transcripts were transcribed based on discourse transcription to show the location of laughter [4-7]. The texts were translated into English and examined by data notations and cultural explanations. The theory of affective face and affiliation alignment [8] informed the analysis. The results show practices that are distinctive to Palembangnese humour. The practices of kelakar (jokes), teasing and directives occur frequently in Uncle Juhai stories. This paper asserts these humorous practices help to make Palembangnese society more cohesive because the humour and directives in the Uncle Juhai stories also represent expressions of solidarity [8]. In addition, the results depict the association of humour and directives as a sequence pattern and show the relationship of solidarity, face, and politeness in Palembangnese. In Palembangnese, native speakers promote affective face (informality) rather than competence face (formality) in building relationships in daily conversations. This paper contributes insights into Palembangnese culture and society, promotes awareness of face in Palembangnese culture and shows how humour helps to maintain Palembangnese solidarity and traditions.