Pragmatic functions of formulaic expressions in Cebuano

Abstract

Natural conversations contain expressions that can be deciphered through their contextual use. These expressions are often flexible, allowing them to function beyond their literal meaning. Thus, pragmatics is functional in explaining their significance in speakers' utterances, mainly when expressing affirmation and disapproval. This study investigates the pragmatic functions of agreeing and disagreeing formulaic expressions in the Cebuano language, namely o/oo, lagi, bitaw, mao, wala, and dili. The framework of Tanangkingsing (2009) was employed to analyze and describe the functions of agreeing and disagreeing formulaic expressions in the Cebuano language used in a radio conversation. The study revealed that agreeing formulaic expressions are primarily used to convey agreement to the statements of the other participants in the conversation and affirm their own statements. On the other hand, disagreeing formulaic expressions are primarily used to convey contradiction to the perceived wrong information given by the other speakers in a conversation, opposing views or counterarguments to the opinions stated in a conversation, and expressions to serve as negation. Agreeing and disagreeing formulaic expressions in the Cebuano language have various functions depending on the context and the speaker's purpose.

Politeness strategies of Manobo students in a classroom in Kidapawan City, Philippines

“…The disagreeing formulaic expression in Sample 15 functions as a request to appeal. Araneta and Ingilan (2022) claimed that the disagreeing formulaic expression dili can also convey an appeal to stop doing something wrong. In the case of Sample 15, student 2 appealed to the teacher not to include a topic in their assessment.…”

“…However, the participants in the conversation understood what kuan means in the utterance, which is related to the topic in their activity or assessment. Araneta and Ingilan (2019) postulated that kuan functions as a placeholder to replace or substitute for the words the speaker is supposed to utter but is unable to mention the intended words. Sample 10 is an excerpt from the FGD.…”