Commerce Register Analysis of Minangkabau Vernacular in a Colloquial Conversation: A Sociolinguistics Study

Abstract

This research was aimed at identifying register used in the colloquial commerce conversations among sellers and buyers. The research was conducted in Bukittinggi (Pasa Ateh-Pasa Bawah) and Padang (Pasar Raya Padang). The data were any register utterances of sellers and buyers in the colloquial commerce conversation. The observational method of note-taking, recording, and interviewing was used to collect data. The analysis was done by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach applied to examine the linguistic features viewed from the aspect of field, tenor, and mode of discourse proposed by Halliday. Findings show that in the field of discourse, registers release the experiential domain of nouns, verbs, idiomatic expression, and word blending. The goal orientation appears to have both short and long-term while the social activity results in exchanges among participants. Furthermore, in the field of tenor, participants have an equal agentive role as they have the same social function. The social role is non-hierarchic, and the social distance is minimal. Finally, in the mode of discourse, both constitutive and ancillary language role formed in present simple, past simple, and future simple. The channel is phonic, and the medium is spoken with visual contact as it is characterized by the use of back-channel signs. The SFL approach employed in this research could be used as the parameter for educators in teaching Sociolinguistics especially in conducting discourse analysis in various colloquial discourse contexts.