Apologizing in Kodhi

Abstract

ABSTRACT This preliminary study investigates apology strategies in Kodhi, an Austronesian language spoken in Sumba, Eastern Indonesia. To understand how Kodhi speakers formulate conceptions of apology, seven hours of video recordings of natural Kodhi speech were analyzed. The apology taxonomy proposed in the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) is used as a starting point for classifying the types of apologies in Kodhi. In the absence of performative apology verbs (e.g. ‘(be) sorry’, ‘pardon’ among others), Kodhi speakers employ a range of alternative semantic formulae including the use of non-verbal udhoko to confirm the authenticity of a corresponding verbal apology act and ‘(don’t) be angry’ strategies. This is in addition to some apology strategies consistent with the cross-linguistic literature as outlined in the CCSARP model. The results of the study introduce the unique ways of apologizing in Kodhi society, and in so doing, lend valuable insight into Kodhi ‘linguaculture’.