Four speakers were invited to the two-session seminar that received high enthusiasm from FIB students and faculty members, with a total of 90 participants from undergraduate to doctoral programs attending the international seminar.

As reported by fib.uns.ac.id, two Linguistics experts shared their expertise in the first session of the seminar. They were Prof. Wayan Arka from Australian National University and Dr. FX. Sawardi, M. Hum from FIB UNS. Prof. Wayan discussed the linguistic complexity of Bahasa Indonesia affected by time dimension, marked with the use of word ‘mau’ (want/will).

“The word “mau” in Bahasa Indonesia is complex from functional to structure,” Prof. Wayan stated in his Categorial Gradience, Grammaticalisation and Prototype Theory in Linguistic: Evidence from Indonesia Languages presentation.

The next speaker, the head of Master Program in Linguistics FIB, Dr. FX. Sawardi discussed the Language Richness and Linguistics Development in Indonesia. Dr. FX. Sawardi stated that Bahasa Indonesia has 718 languages, according to a study conducted by Badan Bahasa (Language Board) in 2019.

The second day of the seminar was spent with two speakers from foreign universities—Prof. Frank Dhont from the National Cheng Kung University and Prof. Norhayati Ab. Rahman, from Akademi Pengkajian Melayu (APM), University of Malaya (UM). Prof. Frank Dhont discussed the power to maintain and protect culture and gave an example of Semar’s character that does not exist in the original story. “But in Indonesia, Semar becomes a character that is close to the Javanese culture that brings beauty and power of a culture,” he added.

The closing discussion from Prof. Norhayati Ab. Rahman focused on the collaboration in language and literature among Southeast Asian countries and a discussion on several notable Indonesian writers, such as Rendra, Sapardi Djoko Damono, and Ajib Rosidi.

The seminar meets the expectation of Prof. Warto, the Dean of FIB UNS, who hoped that the seminar could run excitingly. Participants took turns to discuss with the invited speakers.

“I hope this international seminar could bring a warm discussion, sharing of experiences on linguistics, and improve the knowledge continuously,” Prof. Warto stated. Humas UNS

Reporter: Alinda Hardiantoro
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

The post FIB UNS International Seminar with Language and Linguistics Experts appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.

Zalfaa’s interest in literature grew from a young age that during her university days, the 7^th-semester students who have a myriad of achievements started an online library named Sanbukis and initiated a free tutoring community; Rumah Mentari. On Tuesday (26/10/2021), Zalfaa shared her journey in the literature fields with the uns.ac.id team.

Love for Reading

Little Zalfaa was introduced to books by her parents, starting from picture books, comics, folktales to the old-famous-children magazine-Bobo. Now, in a month, she could finish three books, fiction or non-fiction. She thinks that reading brings many positive impacts for her.

“I feel that reading is fun; it could fill our free time and could train our imagination,” she said.

Due to her high interest in reading, Zalfaa often visited her school library and was even nominated as a student who visited the library most often in her Junior High School (SMP). Zalfaa also likes various book genres, from self-development, romance, adventure, and religious books.

Favorite Books and Writers

The Literary Ambassador’s favorite writers are Alvi Syahrin and Tere Liye because she thinks both writers always promote positive values in their books that could empower someone to improve their quality of life. One of her favorite books is Jika Kita Tak Pernah Jadi Apa-Apa (If We Never Become Anything) by Alvi Syahrin, which mentioned that one’s does not need to be great before being useful for others.

“We do not need to be green or fruity trees before being useful. We cannot suddenly become a great person and useful for people without starting from the small things. I feel that Alvi successfully makes readers who lose their hope towards life and feel useless to be a more meaningful personality in a modest way,” Zalfaa said.

Sanbukis and Rumah Mentari

In her lifetime, Zalfaa had completed many books which when she cleaned them at the end of 2020, she remembered all the positive lessons she learned and her wish that others could learn the same things. There were 70 books in her possession that were in good condition, and they encouraged her to open an online library named Sanbukis. The books were uploaded to Sanbukis’ Instagram account, and people who are interested in borrowing those books could make an appointment.

“Alhamdulillah, it garnered positive responses. My friends are borrowing the books, and even a friend who was just graduated from university and worked in Batam, when they did not have any idea what to do with the 30 books, they deposited their books to Sanbukis,” Zalfaa said.

The borrowing process in Sanbukis is free, and the borrower only needs to fill a direct message form on Instagram, then the book is delivered through a direct meet with the borrower. The borrower has one month period that could be extended. There are two programs offered by Sanbukis. Give Happiness is for people to donate their books to be lent in Sanbukis. “Second, Sharing Happiness, for people who want to deposit their books to be lent in Sanbukis,” Zalfaa added.

Zalfaa’s other program, Rumah Mentari, runs in the educational field and provides free tutoring for Elementary School (SD) students in the village. The program is run by Zalfaa and her friend weekly and is still effective to this day.

The Beginning of Duta Bahasa

The student from Boyolali stated that one of her reasons to participate in the competition was to find friends who share her vision and mission in the literature world so that she could collaborate in many activities. Her objective is achieved because currently, Zalfaa and Shella (3^rd place winner in Central Java Literary Ambassador) have an Instagram live program that discusses books they just completed. “We want to share the goodness from the books we read. I also want to channel my literature hobby, (because) I do not have a means, so when I became the ambassador, (I) could be useful for more people because of the wider networks,” Zalfaa stated.

This program combines her love for reading and writing, Sauna Citra: Sahabat untuk Pecinta Literasi (Fellows for Literature Lovers). Although she does not study literature, Zalfaa is not disheartened and wants to learn more to improve her language skills. Her learning outcomes were proved through an excellent level in Uji Kemahiran Berbahasa Indonesia (UKBI) (Indonesian Language Proficiency Test).

Impression as Duta Bahasa Jawa Tengah

When asked about the impression she has as ambassador, Zalfaa mentioned that she feels happy and honored to be trusted as a Central Java representative at the national level. “But behind that, there is a long and tiring process, like public speaking training, preparing Gim Sima, not to mention when (competing) in pairs, need adaptation, adjusting with one another to build chemistry,” Zalfaa said.

Zalfaa also did not expect to win 1^st place in the competition because during the Best 3 from 10 finalists, she was mentioned last. When two names were announced, she did not expect that the last person would be her.

Achievements

Zalfaa has a myriad of achievements, including the 1^st winner in the Indonesian Language Debate Competition for FKIP Students in Indonesia 2021, Best Speaker in 4 KDBI FKIP in Indonesia 2021, Student Exchange ICT Kemendikbudristek Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021, Top 5 Grab Tempo Editor’s Chair by Tempo Institute 2021, and 1^st Runner-Up Excellent Student Selection FKIP UNS 2021.

Areas of Improvement

Following her win at the provincial level, Zalfaa received various assistance to improve various aspects of her skills. Zalfaa mentioned that she learned three lessons from the competition. First, she received assistance from Ikadubas and Language Office in preparation for the national round. “From that, I wanted to return their kindness by doing good for other people,” Zalfaa said.

The second lesson she learned was she wants to be consistent in anything in life. She believes that constant 1% improvement is better than one time 50% improvement without follow-up. Nothing is instant; everything needs to be prepared, planned, and enjoyed the process. Her last lesson is that winning is not the end of the journey. Zalfaa recalled the time when she did not feel fulfilled with her achievements.

“Because I was far from God. So, no matter where we are, in whatever peak of success, we should always involve God in our every action,” she said.

Messages and Wishes

Concluding the interview with the uns.ac.id team, Zalfaa shared her messages and wishes. She hoped that she could minimize her expectation and be useful through small things. “Whatever (I) face, (I) need to enjoy, do it to my best of ability, there will be good things waiting afterward as long as we believe in the paths prepared by God,” Zalfaa stated. Humas UNS

Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

The post Zalfaa Azalia Pursita, From Loves of Reading to Literary Ambassador appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.

Rizal, Ricard, and Ibun went through a tight selection process to win the competition. The selection process started with a literature essay that was used to select 32 teams, followed by an online elimination process to select Best 16 who need to fly to Jakarta and participate in the Grand Final stage in Hotel Mercure Ancol in October 2021. Although they must be satisfied with the 3^rd position, the Team admitted that they were glad about their accomplishment.

“I did not expect to win the 3^rd place because my program is not language and literature but Psychology. I am very grateful and thankful to my parents, juries, and team members who always support and give suggestions on language and literature materials that I could apply in the next debate competition,” Rizal stated.

Ibun, another team member, also stated that he is glad to be able to achieve something amid the pandemic. For him, this competition is a short break from distance learning boredom. “I am very happy to win 3^rd place in this debate competition. Moreover, the pandemic situation has made almost all activities to be online. Thus, the Final of University Students Debate Competition 2021 that was held offline could be an antidote and remedy for the longing of offline debate competition,” he added.

Preparation

The Team has serious preparation and scheduled routine online discussion to dissect motions provided by the committee. The Team members also discussed the motions that might be offered during the impromptu session. Their preparation continued until right after they arrived at Jakarta, all to achieve the best result in the competition, participated by more than 160 teams for all universities in Indonesia.

Ricard, a team member, stated that besides competing, they also received new comprehension on debating competitions. He also stated that debate is not merely delivering arguments and critical thinking but also how to deliver the arguments politely using good language structure. Humas UNS

Reporter: Ida Fitriyah
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

The post UNS Student Won University Student Debate Kemendikbudristek Language Institute appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.

SEMIOTICS invited six main speakers: Prof. Dr. Juliane House (Hamburg University, Germany), Dr. Sharifah Fazliyaton Shaik Ismail (Universiti Utara Malaysia), Prof. Dr. E. Aminuddin Aziz (Chief of Badan Bahasa – Language Office), Dr. Sugeng Hariyanto, (Politeknik Negeri Malang), Dr. Henry Yustanto (UNS), and Dr. Dyah Ayu Nila Khrisna (UNS). Several supporting speakers will also share their researches in this international seminar.

SEMIOTICS was opened on Tuesday (12/10/2021) and was attended by Vice-Dean for Academic, Research, and Student Affairs FIB UNS, Prof. Tri Wiratno, and the Head of Master Program in Linguistics, Dr. Fx. Sawardi. In his opening remark, Dr. Fx. Sawardi stated that the theme for this international seminar was ‘language and translation in the digital era: what is the future?’ is linear with the current condition considering many life aspects are shifting into digital platform. Digital communication is also considered normal and often brings misunderstanding due to the lack of physical contact.

“There are UU ITE, electronic dictionary, and google translate that (we) need to check the acceptability. In facing these changes, we invited speakers to discuss linguistic issues in the digital world—linguistic analysis using the digital method,” Dr. Fx. Sawardi explained.

Prof. Tri Wiratno greatly appreciated the seminar and hoped that similar events could be conducted annually.

“Hopefully, this event inspires (us) to develop ourselves and explore the seminar theme. This seminar should become a means of knowledge exchange, a means of academic dialogue so that in the future (we) could hold similar seminars,” Prof. Tri stated in his opening remark and opening SEMIOTICS.

Two main speakers delivered their materials on the first day: Prof. Dr. E. Aminuddin Aziz and Dr. Henry Yustanto, with Dr. Wiwik Yulianti as the moderator of the session. Four other main speakers delivered their materials on the second day, followed by the presentations from other supporting presenters. Humas UNS

Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

The post Discussing Language and Translation in the Digital Era, Master Program in Linguistic UNS Held International Seminar SEMIOTICS appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.

In his material titled writing (creative) in today’s world, Han Gagas mentioned that everyone has a different objective in writing, from hobby, profession, existence, or even creative charity. “All of it is okay, as long as the writer happy. The bonuses of writing are generating income, have readers or fans, flexible working hours, awards, their work adapted to a movie, and can travel around Indonesia and even the world,” he explained.

He also shared the key or creative tips in the literature world, such as improving writing skills and reading patiently as research in writing. A writing idea must be original, not widely written, and has a strong premise. Writers should also adapt to the writing media, either printed, online, or conventional. Finally, they should follow the update on the recent technology.

“Then master the writing technique. They can hone it by writing diligently. They (writers) could make marketing breakthroughs as well,” Han Gagas explained.

He added that writer should open their writing with unusual style and serve exciting plots to keep readers reading. If they want to send their work to external media, writers should understand the character of each media and understand the style and taste of each editor. Han Gagas suggested early writers befriend fully-fledged writers to improve their knowledge of the writing world.

“Writing could make us eternal. Many works from deceased writers are still being read by people today. Write to entertain yourself and make it a habit without burdened by material achievement or a certain target. If your work becomes a bestseller, adapted to film, and goes around the world, that is a bonus from God,” he concluded. Humas UNS

Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

The post Indonesia Language and Literature Program Held Creative Industry Training on Language and Literature appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.