Exploring Negative Judgment Language in Indonesian Conversational Language on Facebook: An Appraisal Analysis

Exploring Negative Judgment Language in Indonesian Conversational Language on Facebook Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 10(1), May 2025 eISSN: 2503-4197, pISSN: 2527-5070 Available online at: www. indonesian-efl-journal.org http://dx.doi.org/10.21462/ijefl.v10i1.879 Exploring Negative Judgment Language in Indonesian Conversational Language on Facebook: An Appraisal Analysis Ziyaul Haq1*, F.X.Rahyono2 1 Indraprasta PGRI Jakarta University 2 Buddhi Dharma University , Abstract: This research examines the use of negative judgment expressions within the framework of appraisal theory across four Facebook fan pages: Kata Kita (KK), Media Oposisi (MO), Mak Lambe Turah (LT), and Rakyat Oposisi (RO). The methods employed are discourse analysis and quantitative content analysis. Discourse analysis focusing on appraisal analysis was used to explore the evaluative language used in these social media accounts. Findings indicate a prevalent tendency for implicit judgment, with each clause element serving as a potential marker of negative judgment. In the dimension of Engagement, pronouncement expressions are not limited to reported speech; instead, they are often marked by specific lexical elements, including -lah, mah, -nih, -loh, among others. Furthermore, in terms of graduation, these pages employ pragmatic meaning repetition in addition to lexical and semantic repetition. These results suggest that Indonesian evaluative language possesses distinctive characteristics that diverge from English evaluative language, as outlined in Martin and White’s appraisal theory. Quantitative content analysis was used to examine the comparison of patterns or tendencies in the use of evaluative language across Facebook accounts. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of cultural distinctions in the evaluative language styles found in social media discourse. Keywords: appraisal analysis, negative judgement, Indonesian social media, Facebook fan pages 1. INTRODUCTION The advancement of technology and science has driven the rapid development of communication technology. This is marked by the emergence of various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and so son. Social media, which is internetIndonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 10(1), May 2025 89 Haq & Rahyono based, provides facilities for communication and interaction among users (Gandhi et al., 2023). As a communication tool, social media plays an important role in enabling users to express themselves and share personal experiences (Bleier et al., 2024). From a psychological perspective, social media is even seen as a tool for self-discovery and identity formation, thus influencing the development of the user's self-quality (Wang & Wang, 2024). Moreover, social media has also become a platform for expressing opinions and views to other users (Millet et al., 2024). This shows that social media creates a broad and inclusive discussion space. Additionally, opinions and views shared on social media often have a significant impact on the public in the online world. Opinions expressed on social media can influence public perceptions in the digital sphere (Cascini et al., 2022; Hussain et al., 2024; Tähtinen, 2024). Public perception is shaped by utilizing symbolic tools that carry strong meanings, which can control the thoughts and attitudes of the public (Haryati & Apriadi, 2023; Wijana, 2022). Furthermore, social media plays a role in forming communities, serving as a space for seeking validation, and strengthening a sense of togetherness among its users (Hu et al., 2024). With these diverse functions, it can be said that social media has become an integral element in human interaction in the digital age. Social media has evolved in terms of its usage. It is no longer merely seen as a means of communication, community building, or sharing information with other users. Social media can also serve as an educational tool by spreading useful information and addressing issues like misinformation, such as health-related information within the community (Bhatara et al., 2024). Additionally, social media is highly useful as a promotional tool for products in the fields of economics or business (Kim & Wang, 2024). Entrepreneurs are able to influence public perceptions of the products they sell, facilitating interaction between business owners and buyers. In public affairs, social media has also become a platform for interaction between the government and its citizens. Through social media, citizens can express aspiration or opinions related to government policies, while the government can observe citizens' reactions to the policies they implement (Nguyen et al., 2024). This shows that social media also plays a role in maintaining the functioning of the democratic system. Although social media provides various benefits in society, it also has negative impacts. Social media is used to create negative sentiments towards certain issues, which can influence public perceptions (Yang et al., 2024). This leads to polarization and conflict among people on social media due to opposing views (Tähtinen, 2024). On the other hand, social media is even exploited to express emotions that may result in suicide attempts (Widiatmika et al., 2024). Such actions can be triggered by negative sentiments or negative opinions that create psychological pressure on individuals. This highlights that, in addition to its benefits, social media can also cause problems in society if not used wisely. The phenomena related to the functions, benefits, and impacts created by social media, as explained above, demonstrate that its usage has expanded far beyond its basic functions. In a democratic system, social media serves as a platform for self-expression and opinion-sharing. It is used to convey attitudes or evaluations that reflect disagreement with public policies (Cascini et al., 2022). Social media allows citizens the freedom to express their opinions, whether in agreement or disagreement with a particular issue. This means that people are free to express their views on matters they experienced or observed. From a linguistic perspective, the opinions 90 Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 10(1), May 2025 Exploring Negative Judgment Language in Indonesian Conversational Language on Facebook or views expressed on social media are related to evaluative texts (Martin & Rose, 2003; Martin & White, 2005). Evaluative language is discussed in the Appraisal theory developed by Martin and White (Martin & Rose, 2003; Martin & White, 2005; Sekarsari, 2024). Appraisal theory provides a framework for analysing how language is used to express attitudes, both positive and negative, through three interrelated dimensions. These three dimensions are attitude, engagement, and graduation. Attitude relates to the expression of attitude, engagement relates to the position of the speaker/writer in the text, and graduation relates to (...truncated)