English Journal Literacy Utama

CO-CONSTRUCTING DIGITAL COMMEMORATION ON FACEBOOK DURING REUNIFICATION DAY

Quy Nguyen Duc — 2026-09-24

Vietnam’s reunification day has increasingly been commemorated through social media, where remembrance extends beyond official institutions to include influential digital figures and public participation. Although previous studies have examined digital memory and influencer communication, limited attention has been paid to how Vietnamese key opinion leaders (KOLs) and their audiences collaboratively construct commemorative discourse during nationally significant events. This study investigates how Vietnamese KOLs and their audiences co-construct digital commemoration on Facebook during the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s reunification day. A qualitative corpus-based design was employed to analyse 32 Facebook posts published by 13 prominent KOLs and 160 highly engaged audience comments using an integrated framework of critical discourse analysis and digital linguistic ethnography. The findings reveal that KOLs construct commemorative meanings through evaluative language, personalised storytelling, and multimodal symbolism, while audiences actively participate through expressions of alignment, emotional resonance, reflection, and occasional critique. These interactions demonstrate that commemorative meanings are continuously negotiated through linguistic choices, visual resources, and platform-mediated engagement. Digital commemoration on Facebook functions as a dynamic and participatory process in which influencers and audiences jointly shape public memory, extending current understanding of digital commemoration, influencer-mediated discourse, and online civic engagement in contemporary Vietnam.

HEGEMONY AND FEMALE SUBJECTIFICATION IN THE COPYWRITING OF LOVE AND DEEPSPACE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Karlita Karolina — 2026-09-24

This study analyses how language operates as an ideological instrument in digital promotional discourse with specifically how lexical choices and transitivity structures in the Instagram captions of the mobile game Love and Deepspace construct hegemony and female subjectification. Amid a post-pandemic condition of liquid love and digital loneliness, women are conventionally positioned in language as objects of romantic discourse. The captions of Love and Deepspace, however, reveal a discursive paradox: through careful linguistic choices, they construct women as agents who appear to hold power over the virtual male characters — inviting, directing, and controlling them. The study employs Fairclough's (2003; 2010) three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis integrated with Halliday's (1994) system of transitivity, analysing 54 data items: 32 caption clauses as primary data (18 for diction, 14 for transitivity) and 22 audience comments as secondary data. At the micro level, four diction categories: emotional accessibility; unconditional commitment; experiential realism; and destiny that construct the virtual male as both unconditionally devoted and fully controllable, while transitivity analysis reveals shifting grammatical roles: the same character appears as Actor in some captions and Goal in others, exposing him as a flexible linguistic construction with no autonomous agency. At the meso level, soft-selling and intertextual strategies make promotional discourse feel personal, while audience comments show five patterns of active linguistic reproduction. At the macro level, the discourse rests on the loneliness epidemic, gacha monetisation, and liquid love ideology. These three dimensions produce what Gramsci (1971) termed hegemonic consent that defined as subjectification that feels like empowerment. The language most effective at reproducing power is the language that does not feel like power.

REPRESENTING POWER AND IDEOLOGY IN TIKTOK NEWS HEADLINES: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF RADAR BANDUNG AND RADAR CIANJUR

Mila Huriyatul Khamilah — 2026-09-24

This study investigated how digital news media constructed events, social actors, power relations, and ideology through linguistic representation in news headlines. The study aimed to identify the representation strategies employed by both media outlets and examine how linguistic choices contributed to the construction of meaning in digital news discourse. This research used a qualitative method with applied Critical Discourse Analysis using Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework and Van Leeuwen’s theory of social actor representation. The data were obtained from 17 pairs of headlines published on the official TikTok accounts of Radar Bandung and Radar Cianjur. The findings revealed that Radar Bandung tended to employ active, explicit, and informative structures that clearly represented actors and responsibilities, whereas Radar Cianjur frequently used passive constructions, evaluative expressions, and impact-oriented representations emphasizing emotional engagement and audience attraction. The study also showed that linguistic choices shaped the representation of accountability, authority, and social relations within discourse. The findings indicated that digital news headlines were not neutral texts but discursive constructions that actively shaped public perception and social reality through language and representation strategies. Future researchers are encouraged to examine larger datasets and different digital media platforms to gain a broader understanding of representation strategies in contemporary news discourse.

THE ILLOCUTIONARY SPEECH ACTS IN THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT: A PRAGMATICS STUDY

Akhmad Mulyana — 2026-09-24

Speech acts are central in pragmatics because they reveal how language functions to perform actions in communication. Although many previous studies have discussed illocutionary acts in films, novels, and daily conversations, research in interactive media such as video games is still limited. This study aims to identify the types of illocutionary acts and analyze their functions in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The research applied a qualitative descriptive method with a pragmatic approach, using Austin’s and Searle’s classifications of illocutionary acts, along with Leech’s principles for analyzing functions. The data consisted of thirty utterances purposively selected from dialogues and narrative texts in the game. The results showed that directive acts were the most dominant with 14 data (46.7%), followed by assertive 6 data (20%), commissive 5 data (16.7%), expressive 3 data (10%), and declarative 2 data (6.6%). In terms of functions, competitive was the most dominant with 14 data (46.7%), followed by convivial 8 data (26.7%), collaborative 7 data (23.3%), and conflictive 1 data (3.3%). These findings indicate that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt not only presents a complex and interactive narrative but also demonstrates the use of linguistic strategies that reflect pragmatic purposes in character communication. This research contributes to linguistic studies in interactive media and provides opportunities for further exploration of language use in digital games.

IMPLICATURES IN NAPOLEON BONAPARTE’S LOVE LETTERS TO JOSÉPHINE: A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS

Rheka Humanis Degawan — 2026-09-24

This study aims to identify the types of implicatures and analyze the contexts influencing the emergence of implicatures in Napoleon Bonaparte’s love letters to Joséphine de Beauharnais. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method within the framework of pragmatics, drawing on Grice’s theory of implicature (1975), Yule’s theory of context (2006), and Barbulet’s theory of context (2013). The data consist of thirty selected excerpts purposively taken from the compilation Napoleon’s Letters to Josephine, 1796–1812. The research procedures include data collection from the source book, classification of data based on types of implicatures, and data analysis using the relevant theories. The findings reveal that generalized conversational implicature is the most dominant type, accounting for 70% of the data, followed by particularized conversational implicature at 16.6% and conventional implicature at 13.3%. Regarding context, social context is found in 24 out of 30 data (80%) and physical context in 6 out of 30 data (20%), while linguistic context and shared knowledge context are not present. These results indicate that the meaning of implicatures in Napoleon’s letters is primarily shaped by the dynamics of his social relationship with Joséphine and, to a lesser extent, by physical context. Thus, Napoleon’s love letters are not only of historical and biographical value but also serve as a pragmatic object of study that reflects the complexity of interpersonal communication rich in implied meanings.

PANOPTICISM AND SURVEILLANCE IN THE TRUMAN SHOW: A FOUCAULDIAN ANALYSIS OF POWER, DISCIPLINE, AND RESISTANCE

Clarera Widiansi — 2026-09-24

Films not only serve as entertainment media, but also as a means to represent power relations that operate in society. One film that explicitly depicts the practice of surveillance and social control is Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998). This film tells the story of Truman Burbank, a man who has lived since birth in an artificial world without knowing that his entire life is recorded and broadcast as a television program. This study aims to analyze the representation of panopticism, surveillance, and disciplinary power in the film The Truman Show using Michel Foucault's theory. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method with a film analysis approach. The research data are in the form of scenes, dialogue, and narrative elements that demonstrate the practice of surveillance and social control mechanisms. The results show that Seahaven functions as a panoptic space that allows for continuous surveillance of Truman. Power in the film does not operate through physical violence, but through environmental regulation, information manipulation, and the formation of fear that encourages Truman to discipline himself. In addition, this film shows that resistance arises when individuals begin to understand the reality constructed by power. Thus, The Truman Show represents the relevance of the concept of panopticism in understanding surveillance practices in modern society.

ENHANCING FINAL-YEAR STUDENTS' ENGLISH PROFICIENCY THROUGH STRUCTURED TOEFL PREPARATION TRAINING

Ida Zuraida — 2026-09-24

The global demand for English proficiency has made standardized assessments such as the TOEFL critical benchmarks for academic and professional success. In alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), this study evaluates the effectiveness of a structured TOEFL Preparation training model for 88 final-year students at STIE Gema Widya Bangsa, Bandung. Using a pre-experimental one-group pre-test-post-test design, the program was implemented in three stages: a diagnostic pre-test, intensive strategic intervention focusing on Listening, Structure, and Reading, and a final post-test evaluation. Findings indicate a significant improvement in student performance, with 100% of participants exceeding the minimum score threshold of 450. Specifically, 60.2% fell within the 460–500 range, while 39.7% scored above 500. The study identifies Structure and Written Expression as the primary challenge for learners, which was successfully mitigated through targeted error-analysis strategies and multimedia-based simulations. These results provide empirical evidence that systematic test-taking strategy training significantly enhances graduates' strategic competence, thereby increasing their competitiveness in the global job market.

Keywords: TOEFL Preparation; Standardized Assessment; Quality Education; Higher Education; English Proficiency.

FROM “BACK” TO “BLACK”: A FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF A MISHEARD FOOTBALL UTTERANCE

Dheni Budiman — 2026-09-24

This study examines the reinterpretation of Marc Klok’s utterance in digital discourse through forensic linguistics and digital pragmatics. The study focuses on the utterance “give me the ball back,” which was perceived by some audiences as “give me the ball black” and interpreted as a racist expression on social media. It aims to: 1) analyze the role of phonological ambiguity and mishearing in meaning transformation; 2) identify how digital audiences constructed social judgment; and 3) evaluate disputed utterances through forensic linguistic analysis. This study used a qualitative descriptive method with phonological, pragmatic, and contextual analysis. Data were collected from football match videos, online news, and social media comments. The findings show that: 1) the controversy emerged from phonological ambiguity between “back” and “black,” influenced by rapid speech, stadium noise, and limited audio quality; 2) social media intensified reinterpretation through collective audience responses; and 3) linguistically, the utterance functioned as a spontaneous football expression rather than an intentional racist statement. The study emphasizes the importance of contextual and evidence-based linguistic analysis in evaluating disputed utterances in digital communication.