theory of mood types. Furthermore, this sub-chapter also provides evidence in the form of analyzed data samples and references to the previous related research
findings in order to present comprehensive and trustworthy discussions.
1. The Representations of the Ethnic Characters as Conveyed by Their Selection of Speech Functions
Speech functions refer to the roles selected by the participants of an exchange which affect the direction where the exchange is heading to. In the
textbook When English Rings a Bell for SMPMTs Kelas VIII, the six featured ethnic characters selected all types of speech functions including question,
statement, acknowledgement, contradiction, and disclaimer speech functions. Each of these speech functions implies certain conditions for both the speaker and
the listener as they assigned themselves with the roles. These conditions are different in each speech functions and thus are discussed separately in the
following sections.
a. Question
Question is the speech function which signifies that the speaker is demanding the listener to complete a partly specified proposition. The speaker can
leave either the content or polarity unspecified, for then the listener will respond by providing the required information to complete the proposition. Therefore, this
speech function is always in the initiating position. As presented in the previous sub-chapter, the Question was the third
most selected speech function in the overall distribution among the six ethnic
characters and the second most selected speech function in the initiating move. This shows the nature of the exchanges introduced in this junior high school level
textbook which mostly consist of short exchanges. Rarely were the questions found to require long and thoughtful responses, such as a recount of a past
experience or a description of something. This type of question was only found in later chapters, suggesting the increasing level of difficulty in learners’ language
proficiency level as more chapters are introduced. This can be seen in the Question in datum 0542 with two responses in data 0543 and 0544, as well as the
Question in datum 0888 which is followed by its multiple responses in data 0889- 0891:
0542 U : What is he like? [initiation: question]
0543 B : He’s tall. [response: answer]
0544 B : He’s got a fair skin. [response: answer]
C146P139
0888 E : First, how did you and your brother have the idea of
making garden benches? [initiation: question]
0889 U : My father cut down the old mango tree behind our house
three weeks ago. [response: answer] 0890
U : We saw a big piece of wood. [response: answer] 0891
U : Then we had the idea. [response: answer]
C181P182
The questions exemplified by the data above appeared in chapter 8 and 10 respectively. In the first example, Udin Sundanese was looking for someone
he never met before, when he asked Beni Batak for the description of his physical appearances. It is to be expected that Beni responded by providing more
than one proposition, offering more information until he thought that they would satisfy the required specifications. In the next example, Edo asked for a recount of
Udin’s past experience, in which Udin effectively responded by providing a series of actions containing continuous propositions.
With regard to its distribution, it was found that the 103 occurrences of the Questions were distributed unequally among the six ethnic characters. The
findings notably revealed Udin Sundanese as the one with the highest number of occurrences of 29.13, while Dayu Balinese being the one in the lowest rank
with 7.77 occurrences. The complete list of this distribution which thus represents the most active and meaningful initiator to the least active and
meaningful one was sorted as follows: Udin Sundanese 29.13, Edo Papuan 19.42, Beni Batak 18.45, Lina Minahasan 14.56, Siti Javanese
10.68, and Dayu Balinese 7.77. The following discussions shall consider this result as the basis for the selection of the data samples and the interpretations.
1 The Questions Representing the Role of an Active Initiator
The Question essentially reflects need, willingness, or activeness in initiating an exchange. Compared to the other speech function of the initiating
move, the Statement, the Question can also be seen as being more conscious and meaningful as an initiation, for this function is often followed by a certain action
or further exchanges depending on the responses, as seen in the following data:
