Exploring istighfar as an emotive and religious interjection in Indonesian Menelusuri istigfar sebagai interjeksi emotif dan religius dalam bahasa Indonesia
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Abstract
Istighfar is an interjection in the Indonesian, borrowed from Arabic and widely used in various social situations, both in personal and public spheres. As a religious interjection that holds a significant position in the linguistic practices of Muslim communities, istighfar reflects both emotional responses and moral awareness toward events perceived as negative or sinful. This study aims identified the characteristics of istighfar as an interjection and to analyze its meaning using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach. Employing a qualitative-descriptive method, the primary data were drawn from fifteen Indonesian novels by prominent authors, while supplementary data were taken from online news headlines and everyday communicative experiences, including spontaneous conversations and selected social media comments within the researcher’s observation. The analysis proceeded in two stages: categorizing istighfar within interjection typology and constructing semantic explications using NSM. The results show that istighfar fulfills nearly all prototypical features of interjections and carries complex spiritual content. Its use not only reflects emotional expression but also constructs and represents the speaker’s religious identity. This research affirms that language can reflect levels of religiosity, as demonstrated by the frequent use of religious interjections in Indonesian society, which is known for its high level of religious devotion.
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Afrizal, M., Mijianti, Y., & Anggraeni, A. W. (2025). Exploring istighfar as an emotive and religious interjection in Indonesian. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, Dan Pengajarannya, 8(4), 1011-1024. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v8i4.1362
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References
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Ljung, M. (2011). Swearing: A cross-cultural linguistic study. Palgrave Macmillan.
Meinard, M. E. M. (2015). Distinguishing onomatopoeias from interjections. Journal of Pragmatics, 76, 150–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2014.11.011
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Nübling, D. (2001). Von “oh mein Jesus!” zu “oje!”: Der Interjektionalisierungspfad von der sekundären zur primären Interjektion. Deutsche Sprache, 29(1), 20–45. https://www.germanistik.uni-mainz.de/files/2015/03/Nuebling_2001c.pdf
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Pertiwi, E. D., & Nusarini, N. (2018). Interjeksi dalam fiksi berbahasa Indonesia. Caraka: Jurnal Ilmu Kebahasaan, Kesastraan, dan Pembelajarannya, 4(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.30738/caraka.v4i2.2847
Ponsonnet, M. (2025). The semantic typology of expressive interjections: Colexifications in pain, disgust and joy interjections across languages. Lingua, 324, 103979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103979
Putri, H. H., & Ermanto, E. (2022). Kesantunan berbahasa warganet dalam podcast Deddy Corbuzier. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 5(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v5i4.523
Saniyah, S. R., & Aulia, T. (2023). Faktor faktor penyerapan bahasa asing ke dalam perubahan bahasa Indonesia. Morfologi: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan, Bahasa, Sastra dan Budaya, 1(4), 11–19. https://doi.org/10.61132/morfologi.v1i4.215
Sipayung, A. R., Simanjuntak, D. S. R., Barus, L. N. S. B., Sirait, D. S. B., & Raja, D. S. B. L. (2025). Interjeksi dalam tayangn Lapor Pak. DEIKTIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 5(2), 671–687. https://doi.org/10.53769/deiktis.v5i2.1318
Stange, U. (2016). Emotive interjections in British English: A corpus-based study on variation in acquisition, function, and usage. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Tamir, C., Connaughton, A., & Salazar, A. M. (2020). The global God divide. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/07/20/the-global-god-divide/
Unuabonah, F. O., & Daniel, F. O. (2020). Haba! Bilingual interjections in Nigerian English: A corpus-based study. Journal of Pragmatics, 163, 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2020.04.004
Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013). Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing and Health Sciences, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12048
Widiatmoko, B., & Waslam, W. (2017). Interjeksi dalam bahasa Indonesia: Analisis pragmatik. Pujangga, 3(1), 87. https://doi.org/10.47313/pujangga.v3i1.330
Wierzbicka, A. (1992). The semantics of interjection. Journal of Pragmatics, 18(2–3), 159–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(92)90050-L
Wierzbicka, A. (1996). Semantics: Primes and universals. Oxford University Press.
Wierzbicka, A. (2003). Cross-cultural pragmatics: The semantics of human interaction (2nd ed.). Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110220964
Wierzbicka, A. (2010). The “history of emotions” and the future of emotion research. Emotion Review, 2(3), 269–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073910361983
Wilkins, D. P. (1992). Interjections as deictics. Journal of Pragmatics, 18(2–3), 119–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(92)90049-H
Andrason, A. (2022). Argument structure of emotive interjections: Evidence from Polish. Lingua, 277, 103400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2022.103400
Ariesta, W., Qoyyimah, A. L. N., & Markhamah, M. (2021). Pergeseran bahasa baku: Ragam bahasa elitis dalam akun Instagram Humor Recehku. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 4(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v4i3.159
Azhari, D. R., Yoesoef, M., & Setyani, T. I. (2022). Mendiskusikan definisi sastra Islam dan sastra Islami dalam kesusastraan Indonesia masa kini. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 5(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v5i4.518
Azwar, S. R., & Agustina, A. (2019). Interjeksi dalam talkshow “Pagi-Pagi Pasti Happy” di Trans TV. Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 7(2), 125. https://doi.org/10.24036/81071410
Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Leech, G. (2016). Longman student grammar of spoken and written English. Pearson.
Biber, D., & Quirk, R. (Eds.). (2012). Longman grammar of spoken and written English (10. impression). Longman.
Cindana, & Sutarini. (2021). Analisis penggunaan kosakata bahasa Indonesia di kalangan generasi Alpha. ABILITY: Journal of Education and Social Analysis, 3(3), 43–54. https://pusdikra-publishing.com/index.php/jesa/article/view/680
Crystal, D. (2006). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language (2. ed., repr. with corr). Cambridge University Press.
Drobnak, T. F. (2009). On the merits and shortcomings of semantic primes and natural semantic metalanguage in cross-cultural translation. ELOPE: English Language Overseas Perspectives and Enquiries, 6(1–2), 29–41. https://doi.org/10.4312/elope.6.1-2.29-41
Efendi, R., Monica, A. T., & Al-Fahad, M. F. (2022). Penggunaan interjeksi dalam novel Guru Aini karya Andrea Hirata terhadap pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia. Triangulasi, 1(2), 16–24. https://journal.unpak.ac.id/index.php/triangulasi/article/view/4460
Gladkova, A., & Larina, T. (2018). Anna Wierzbicka, words and the world. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 22(3), 499–520. https://doi.org/10.22363/2312-9182-2018-22-3-499-520
Gladkova, A., Vanhatalo, U., & Goddard, C. (2016). The semantics of interjections: An experimental study with natural semantic metalanguage. Applied Psycholinguistics, 37(4), 841–865. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716415000260
Goddard, C. (2014). Jesus! Vs. Christ! In Australian English: Semantics, secondary interjections and corpus analysis. In J. Romero-Trillo (Ed.), Yearbook of corpus linguistics and pragmatics 2014: New empirical and theoretical paradigms (Vol. 2). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06007-1
Goddard, C., & Wierzbicka, A. (2016). Words and meanings: Lexical semantics across domains, languages, and cultures (First published in paperback). Oxford University Press.
Hafidz, A., & Rusydi. (2019). Konsep dzikir dan doa perspektif Al-Qur’an. Islamic Akademika: Jurnal Pendidikan & Keislaman, 6(1), 54–77. https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/290468-konsep-dzikir-dan-doa-perspektif-al-qura-6d0e5c1d.pdf
Hardiah, M. (2012). Interjeksi bahasa Indonesia [Master’s thesis]. Universitas Gadjah Mada.
Kridalaksana, H. (2005). Kelas kata dalam bahasa Indonesia (2nd ed.). Gramedia.
Labiano, M. (2017). Greek interjectional ἆ = “Stop doing that!” in Euripides. Glotta, 93, 36–47. https://doi.org/10.13109/glot.2017.93.1.36
Ljung, M. (2011). Swearing: A cross-cultural linguistic study. Palgrave Macmillan.
Meinard, M. E. M. (2015). Distinguishing onomatopoeias from interjections. Journal of Pragmatics, 76, 150–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2014.11.011
Moeliono, A. M., Lapoliwa, H., Sasangka, S. S. T. W., & Sugiyono. (2017). Tata bahasa baku bahasa Indonesia (Edisi keempat). Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.
Nübling, D. (2001). Von “oh mein Jesus!” zu “oje!”: Der Interjektionalisierungspfad von der sekundären zur primären Interjektion. Deutsche Sprache, 29(1), 20–45. https://www.germanistik.uni-mainz.de/files/2015/03/Nuebling_2001c.pdf
Nübling, D. (2004). Die prototypische Interjektion: Ein Definitionsvorschlag (The prototypical interjection: A proposed definition). Zeitschrift Für Semiotik, 26(1), 11–46. https://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/year/2011/docId/21772
Pertiwi, E. D., & Nusarini, N. (2018). Interjeksi dalam fiksi berbahasa Indonesia. Caraka: Jurnal Ilmu Kebahasaan, Kesastraan, dan Pembelajarannya, 4(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.30738/caraka.v4i2.2847
Ponsonnet, M. (2025). The semantic typology of expressive interjections: Colexifications in pain, disgust and joy interjections across languages. Lingua, 324, 103979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103979
Putri, H. H., & Ermanto, E. (2022). Kesantunan berbahasa warganet dalam podcast Deddy Corbuzier. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 5(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v5i4.523
Saniyah, S. R., & Aulia, T. (2023). Faktor faktor penyerapan bahasa asing ke dalam perubahan bahasa Indonesia. Morfologi: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan, Bahasa, Sastra dan Budaya, 1(4), 11–19. https://doi.org/10.61132/morfologi.v1i4.215
Sipayung, A. R., Simanjuntak, D. S. R., Barus, L. N. S. B., Sirait, D. S. B., & Raja, D. S. B. L. (2025). Interjeksi dalam tayangn Lapor Pak. DEIKTIS: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 5(2), 671–687. https://doi.org/10.53769/deiktis.v5i2.1318
Stange, U. (2016). Emotive interjections in British English: A corpus-based study on variation in acquisition, function, and usage. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Tamir, C., Connaughton, A., & Salazar, A. M. (2020). The global God divide. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/07/20/the-global-god-divide/
Unuabonah, F. O., & Daniel, F. O. (2020). Haba! Bilingual interjections in Nigerian English: A corpus-based study. Journal of Pragmatics, 163, 66–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2020.04.004
Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013). Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing and Health Sciences, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12048
Widiatmoko, B., & Waslam, W. (2017). Interjeksi dalam bahasa Indonesia: Analisis pragmatik. Pujangga, 3(1), 87. https://doi.org/10.47313/pujangga.v3i1.330
Wierzbicka, A. (1992). The semantics of interjection. Journal of Pragmatics, 18(2–3), 159–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(92)90050-L
Wierzbicka, A. (1996). Semantics: Primes and universals. Oxford University Press.
Wierzbicka, A. (2003). Cross-cultural pragmatics: The semantics of human interaction (2nd ed.). Mouton de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110220964
Wierzbicka, A. (2010). The “history of emotions” and the future of emotion research. Emotion Review, 2(3), 269–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073910361983
Wilkins, D. P. (1992). Interjections as deictics. Journal of Pragmatics, 18(2–3), 119–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(92)90049-H