Differentiate Sih as Adverb or Particle?

Etika Suzerein
16320009 (Ek)

This paper proposed to concern with the syntactic properties sih in Indonesian like indeed or actually in English, and lakar in Maduranese. Considering the language which is dynamic, there are many words come up and used by people like a word sih. At the first glance, sih in Indonesian probably has the same meaning as indeed or actually in English for a sentence. Yet, we do not know the category of sih and also the impact to the meaning from its different position. In this paper, I would like to present a further information about the use of sih, consisting the proper position it should be, on which category it is included, then I will compare and contrast it into the other languages with the examples in order to know whether it is considerably equivalent.

Sih has a meaning that it is a particle that marks a topic or emphasizes a statement[1]. On the other hand, I consider sih for a sentence is categorized as an adverb.

In Indonesian, sih apperantly has different meanings depending on the sentence:              (I provide the example with my own language to make it understandable)

a)         It shows a reason

1.      Aku         tidak      mau       beli      hape         baru..        mahal       sih.

1SG          not         want       buy      handphone     new..  expensive    sih

→I do not want to buy new handphone because it is expensive.

b)        It shows a reality

2.      Manis      sih       manis,      tapi        bukan       zamannya          lagi.

Sweet       sih       sweet,       but         not            its era       anymore.

→It is actually sweet but it is not the era anymore.

c)         It has a meaning as a wondering something by asking why

3.     Berat         banget        sih     kopernya?         Isinya            apa?

Heavy        very            sih     the travel bag?  Its contain       what?

→Why is the travel bag very heavy? What does it contain?

From the a.1 example, we know that sih functions to connect the dependent clause with the independent clause. So, it is not as an adverb. Whereas in the b.2 example, it behaves as an adverb. It modifies the adjective sweet. And the c.3 example it shows a wonder of particular thing. It does not also behave as an adverb.

Then, I assume sih as an adverb for the reason I present the examples below. I also did compare and contrast these sentences with the other languages. Both in 4 and 5 examples are considered as the category of adverb because their positions precede and likely modify the adjectives.

4.    Kamu     sih/memang            pintar          jadi         tenang         saja.   (Indonesian)

You            actually/indeed      clever         so         calm           just.      (English)

Ba’na          lakar             penter            dhaddi        tennang       bhai.    (Maduranese-EI[2])

→You are actually/indeed clever so just calm.

5.       Menurutku       sih/memang            tadi    itu             aneh.             (Indonesian)

In my opinion       actually/indeed      just now             that              weird.  (English

Ka sengko’           lakar                      gella’                 jaruwa           aneh. (Madurenese-EI)

→In my opinion, it was actually/indeed weird just now.

Adverbs mostly function as modifiers of verb, adjective or other adverbs. An adverb which modifies adjective or another adverb is called as adverb of degree and usually goes before what it modifies. Surely, it is used to give an extra emphasis. Sih emphasises both the adjectives clever and weird. Also for English indeed/actually and Madurese lakar are used for the same function, to firmly mark the statements. For another example, like Rudy is absolutely delighted to the news.

       Yet, sih apperantly can not always be an adverb when its position is changed. Sih can  not always appear and even fit to a sentence.

6.     Sih, kamu tidak belajar tadi malam.

7.    Pria itu terlalu sih baik.

       In Indonesian, the sentences above are not grammatically correct. Sih is likely not important to be put and it can be omitted. But it is better to exchange its position after the subject.

→   Kamu     sih              tidak           belajar        tadi        malam.

You       indeed        did not        study          last         night.

Ba’na     lakar          tak              ajar             malemma.

→   Pria        itu               sih              terlalu         baik.

The        man    is      indeed        too              kind.

Lalake’ jaruwa         lakar          ce’              bhagussa.

On the contrary, sih is considered as a particle. Particles are short words that with just  one or two exceptions all are accompanied by any complement of their own. Unlike bases of major word classes the particles do not take any affixes.

When sih is categorized as particle, it does not need to modify another one. Its function is to describe and express the feeling of the speaker to assert a statement. In declarative sentence, sih emphasises about the truth that is important. Whereas in question, sih shows someone is wondering about a thing to know.

       In summary, sih is more approriate, in fact, to be categorized as a particle than an adverb. It can not be included in adverb category because when its position is changed, it seem breaks the rule and makes a sentence not understandable. While sih as a particle is to give an expression of the speaker’s saying of a proposition.

REFERENCES

Ikranagara, Kay. 1975. Lexical Particles in Betawi. Linguistics: an Interdisciplinary Journal of The Language Sciences.

Eastwood, John. 1994. Oxford Guid to English Grammar. New York: Oxford University Press

Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. 2005. A Student's Introduction to English Grammar. New York: Cambridge University Press

Downing, Angela. 2015. English Grammar a University Course. Third Edition. New York: Routledge

           

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[1] http://kamus.sabda.org/kamus/sih

[2] EI is Enja’/Iya. It is the lowest level of Madurese dialect. It is used by Madurese society among friends, relatives and the older people to the younger ones (it is considered as the low level). This level speech is also used in daily communication. The Study of Madurese Social Dialect (Jaftiyatur Rohaniyah).