Pragmatic Study of Linguistic Expressions of Anger in Uab Meto

Abstract

This study investigates the linguistic expressions of anger in Uab Meto spoken by the Napan people of Timor Tengah Utara Regency from a pragmatic perspective. Drawing on Speech Act Theory and Face Negotiation Theory, this descriptive qualitative study involved ten native Uab Meto speakers aged 30 to 60 in Napan Village. Data were collected through elicitation tasks comprising 20 scenario-based questions and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal twenty verbal anger expressions categorized into direct (nine), indirect (eight), and metaphorical (three) forms. Direct expressions occurred slightly more often than indirect ones and mainly functioned to reprimand, accuse, and warn. The findings also identify eight cultural factors and seven pragmatic factors that shape the use of anger expressions. The cultural factors include educational background, age and social status, kinship relationships, inherited communication style, community values and habits, family environment, environmental and geographical factors, and gossip and communal gatherings. The pragmatic factors include the speaker’s emotional state, conflict and disagreement, miscommunication, the speaker’s intention, context of interaction, intonation and speech delivery, and curiosity or excessive involvement. Anger expressions in Uab Meto therefore emerge as context-sensitive communicative practices shaped by the sociocultural and pragmatic norms of the Napan community.