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The characteristic of interrogative ah itself is the occurrence of rising tone when the speaker is pronouncing particle ah. An interrogative sentence uses the
question mark as the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence.
b Declarative ah
Declarative ah is aimed to strengthen the declarative sentence. It usually occurs at the end of the declarative sentence. Meanwhile, declarative sentence is
used to declare, explain or clarify something that is understood by the speaker.
2. I borrow your bag ah.
From the example above, the speaker declares his desire to borrow the addressee‟s bag. The declarative ah occurs after the speaker declares something
his desire.
c Imperative ah
Imperative ah occurs in a sentence, which is formed as the imperative sentence. There is no certain tone in marking the discourse particle ah as the
imperative ah. An imperative sentence is a sentence to give orders. Therefore, imperative ah is used to strengthen the imperative sentence. It could emphasize
the command in the sentence that makes the speaker has more power. Besides, the addressee could get the clearer command or order.
3. Take care ah
The example above is not merely the command to do something immediately, but a message in the form of order or command for the addressee to
take care of himself. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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2. Vocative ah
Vocative ah is the simple one. It is used to strengthen the speaker‟s
attitude toward the addressee. It usually appears after the addressee‟s name.
4. Amy ah.
As the example, a boy named Bob, he walks in J-walk and he sees a person, who is familiar to him. He is surprised when meeting that person in that
moment and place. Then, Bob greets that person “Amy ah.” Bob‟s greeting
sounds like an amazement of meeting Amy in J-walk in that certain moment. Bob also wants to make sure that she is a real Amy that he knew before. “Amy ah” is
like the English “Hey, Amy”.
3. Emphatic ah
Emphatic ah is discourse particle ah which has the function to make the sentence seems to be said in a strong way and without any doubt. Emphatic ah is
rather similar to declarative ah. Thus, the declarative ah is used to declare or explain something, but the emphatic ah is used to emphasize the sentence to be
stronger. Emphatic ah can be used to reveal a fact that should be remembered by the
addressee because that fact is considered as important. As the example:
5. “The keys ah, I put here” Wong 2001, p. 15 as cited in Lay, 2005.
