Journal of Language and Literature Inquiry

Remembering the disappeared: A Ricoeurian-Gadamerian hermeneutic reading of Leila S. Chudori’s Laut Bercerita in the Indonesian post-reformasi context

Olivia Putri Dahlan — 2026-05-04

This article offers an original hermeneutic reading of Leila S. Chudori’s modern Indonesian novel Laut Bercerita (Chudori, 2017), which narrates the abduction, torture, disappearance, and familial afterlife of pro-democracy activists around the end of Indonesia’s New Order. Existing scholarship has productively examined the novel through new historicism, sociology of literature, education, discourse analysis and representations of violence. This paper contributes a different argument: Laut Bercerita is not only a fictional representation of political repression but also a hermeneutic event that trains readers to interpret absence, testimonies, and historical responsibility. Drawing on Hans-Georg Gadamer’s concepts of historically affected understanding and fusion of horizons and Paul Ricoeur’s theories of distanciation, the world of the text, narrative identity, and memory, the study applies a qualitative interpretive design to the Indonesian edition of the novel. The analysis identifies five interlocking interpretive structures: the sea as a counter-archive, torture as coercive state interpretation, the family table as everyday witness, Asmara Jati’s testimony as a bridge from private mourning to public memory, and the novel’s split temporal narration as an ethical refusal of closure. The findings suggest that the novel converts historical trauma into a demand for interpretation. In the Indonesian context, where enforced disappearances and debates over national history remain unresolved, Laut Bercerita positions literature as a civic medium through which readers encounter the disappeared not as victims of the past but as persistent claims on democratic memory.

The prefix {meN-} in chicklit popular fiction on Wattpad

Rahmawati Rahmawati — 2026-05-04

The prefix {meN-} gives rise to various allomorphs. Its attachment to base words has a considerable impact on word formation. This study aims to describe the form and process of word formation with the {meN-} prefix, along with the function and grammatical meaning of the resultant words. To achieve this goal, this study employed a theoretical approach to morphology. The data consist of 144 prefixed words bearing {meN-}, sourced from a popular Chicklit story titled “Warning: Physical Distancing!” by Kaggren, which is available on the Wattpad application. Data were collected using a documentation technique and processed with AntConc 4.2.4.0 software. The analytical stages included (1) data collection, (2) data reduction, (3) data presentation, and (4) data conclusion. Three principal findings were reported. First, the base words receiving the prefix {meN-} belong to the noun, verb, adjective, and adverb categories. Second, the prefix {meN-} attached to a base word either changes the word class (derivational) or does not (inflectional). Third, the grammatical meanings of {meN-} identified include: (1) expressing an active transitive action, (2) expressing a state of becoming or indicating a process, (3) expressing the meaning of making, (4) expressing the meaning of uttering, (5) expressing the meaning of producing a sound, and (6) expressing the meaning of giving.

Morphological forms of abbreviation in the tweets of the @Jogmfs Twitter account

Nikmatus Sholikhah — 2026-05-04

This study examines the morphological forms of abbreviation employed as communicative strategies in tweets published on the Indonesian Twitter account @jogmfs. Adopting a descriptive qualitative research design, the data were collected from tweets posted on November 1, 2023, through systematic observation, documentation, and note-taking techniques. The collected data were subsequently analyzed using Kridalaksana's (2007) morphological framework, which classifies abbreviated forms into five categories: singkatan (initialism), akronim (acronym), penggalan (clipping), kontraksi (contraction), and lambang huruf (letter symbol). The findings reveal that abbreviation practices on the @jogmfs account manifest across three of these five categories, those are initialism, acronym, and clipping. Initialism emerging as the most dominant form distributed across eight sub-patterns of letter retention. The absence of contraction and letter symbol in the dataset suggests that the communicative norms of this particular digital community favor specific morphological shortening strategies. These findings affirm that the structural character limitation inherent to Twitter as a microblogging platform constitutes a primary driver of abbreviation use, compelling users to adopt linguistically compressed forms that prioritize communicative efficiency.

Generative artificial intelligence and critical digital literacy in EFL academic writing: An integrative review and pedagogical framework

Sahara Putri Dahlan — 2026-05-04

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has rapidly entered English as a foreign language (EFL) academic writing through tools that draft, paraphrase, translate, summarize, evaluate, and imitate disciplinary texts. The central question for language education is no longer whether learners will encounter these tools but how pedagogies can help them use AI critically, ethically, and rhetorically. This article offers an integrative conceptual review of peer-reviewed scholarship on AI-assisted writing, automated writing evaluation, digital literacies, identity, academic integrity, and EFL/ESL pedagogy. Drawing on studies from applied linguistics, language education, educational technology, and discourse studies, this paper synthesizes four recurring issues: AI writing systems as feedback infrastructures, learner agency and identity in human-AI composing, the risks of dependency and homogenized discourse, and the need for assessment practices that value process evidence rather than detection alone. The review argues that GenAI should be conceptualized as a literacy environment that mediates language, power, authorship and intercultural communication. It proposes a Critical GenAI Writing Literacy Cycle comprising six stages: orienting to task and genre, prompting strategically, comparing outputs, verifying evidence, transforming texts through human revision, and disclosing AI use through reflective accountability. The framework contributes to JLLI's scope of JLLI by connecting applied linguistics, technology-enhanced language learning, digital discourse, cultural studies, and language education. It concludes that responsible GenAI integration requires pedagogical designs that protect linguistic diversity, strengthen critical reading, and position EFL writers as accountable authors, rather than passive consumers of machine-generated prose.

Digital translanguaging and local-culture pedagogy in Indonesian EFL classrooms: An integrative conceptual review

Dimvy Rusefani Asetya — 2026-05-04

Indonesia's English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms are situated within one of the world's most linguistically diverse ecologies, where English, Bahasa Indonesia, local languages, religious registers, and digital vernaculars intersect in daily communication. However, classroom practices and policy discourses often continue to treat English learning as a movement toward monolingual performance, while local languages and students' digital repertoires are positioned as distractions rather than resources. This conceptual paper develops an integrative review of Scopus- and Web of Science-indexed scholarship on translanguaging, own-language use, digital literacies, and Indonesian EFL education to propose a culturally responsive digital translanguaging framework for Indonesia. This review synthesizes international theoretical work with Indonesia-based studies on translanguaging practices, teacher attitudes, digital literacy in academic writing, social media for English acquisition, and critical media literacy. It argues that pedagogically guided movement across English, Bahasa Indonesia, local languages, and multimodal digital texts can support linguistic awareness, cultural continuity, critical literacy, and learner agency when designed with clear academic purposes. The proposed framework consists of five interrelated principles: repertoire recognition, purposeful language movement, local cultural anchoring, multimodal production, and reflective assessment. This study contributes to JLLI's interdisciplinary scope of the JLLI by connecting language education, cultural studies, digital discourse, and community-oriented pedagogy. The study concludes with implications for curriculum design, teacher education, assessment, and future empirical research in Indonesian multilingual classrooms.