Article Sidebar

Submitted
May 12, 2025
Accepted
July 19, 2025
Published
August 28, 2025
Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 57 Download : 22

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Main Article Content

Abstract

Editorials are widely recognized as a space where newspapers express their views and shape public opinion. While much attention has been given to the persuasive function of editorials, relatively little scholarly work has explored how evaluative language is used to build affiliation between writers and readers. This study addresses that gap by examining how The Jakarta Post constructs ideological affiliation through evaluative languages (attitudes), coupling patterns, and affiliation strategies. Drawing on Appraisal Theory within Systemic Functional Linguistics, the study explores how attitudes are constructed and combined with ideational content to position readers. The data were five editorial texts which were selected using a constructed week sampling method over a one-month period to ensure variety and balance. The findings show that appreciation is the most common type of attitude, which often appears in negative forms to criticize policies and institutional performance. Judgment is often used in the investigated editorials, especially when evaluating public figures. In contrast, affect appears less frequently, but it still plays an important role in conveying shared emotional concerns. These attitudes are usually presented through couplings with ideational elements such as actors, events, or policies. This combination makes the evaluations more persuasive. Two dominant coupling patterns were identified, namely [NEG + INDONESIA] which is used to criticize government performance and policy and [POS + INDONESIA] which highlights national values or collective goals. To foster alignment with readers, the editorials employ affiliation strategies such as conceding and overriding (a divisive strategy) and repetition (a solidary strategy) which help guide readers toward shared viewpoints or editorial stances. The findings shed light on a clearer understanding of how evaluative language in editorials builds ideological affiliation. The study offers theoretical insights into appraisal in Indonesian media discourse and practical contributions by highlighting how evaluative language shapes reader perspectives and supports media literacy development.

Keywords

Appraisal Attitude Coupling Patterns Ideological Affiliation Editorials

Article Details

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Yulizar Komarawan, Mulyati Khorina, Khoirun Nisaa’ Arnoi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in this journal agree with the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  4. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Yulizar Komarawan, Mulyati Khorina, & Khoirun Nisaa’ Arnoi. (2025). Unpacking ideological affiliation through evaluative language: Attitudinal and coupling patterns in The Jakarta Post editorials . JOALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature), 10(2), 468–494. https://doi.org/10.33369/joall.v10i2.41849
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX

References

  1. Banks, D. (2019). A systemic functional grammar of English: A simple introduction. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429467844
  2. Bednarek, M., & Caple, H. (2012). News discourse. Continuum.
  3. Bednarek, M., & Caple, H. (2017). The discourse of news values: How news organization create newsworthiness. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190653934.001.0001
  4. Bell, A. (1991). The language of news media. Basil Blackwell.
  5. Bloor, T., & Bloor, M. (2013). The functional analysis of English: A hallidayan approach (3rd ed.). Routledge.
  6. Coffin, C., & O’Halloran, K. (2005). Finding the global groove: Theorising and analysing dynamic reader positioning using appraisal, corpus, and a concordance. Critical Discourse Studies, 2(2), 143–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405900500283607
  7. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publication.
  8. Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2019). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). Pearson.
  9. Daniarsa, H. L., & Kartika-Ningsih, H. (2023). Tendency in Indonesian newspaper editorials: Genre and APPRAISAL studies. Litera, 22(2), 188–199. https://doi.org/10.21831/ltr.v22i2.58651
  10. Daniarsa, H. L., & Mulatsih, S. (2020). Appraisal analysis of Tempo’s and Kompas’ editorials on papua cases. E-Structural, 3(01), 16–30. https://doi.org/10.33633/es.v3i01.3636
  11. Ekawati, R. (2015). Language Appraisal on Attitudinal Systems for Exploring Ideology in Death Penalty. Humaniora, 27(3), 362–372.
  12. Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2003). Educational research: An introduction (7th ed.). Allyn-Bacon.
  13. Garrison, D. R., Cleveland-Innes, M., Koole, M., & Kappelman, J. (2006). Revisiting methodological issues in transcript analysis: Negotiated coding and reliability. Internet and Higher Education, 9(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2005.11.001
  14. Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar (4th ed.). Routledge.
  15. Hao, J., & Humphrey, S. (2012). Role of ‘coupling’ in biological experimental reports. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 5(2), 169–194. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.v5i2.169
  16. Hasan, R. (1999). Speaking with reference to context. In M. Ghadessy (Ed.), Text and context in functional linguistics (pp. 219–329). John Benjamin Publishing. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.169.11has
  17. Hood, S. (2010). Appraising research: Evaluation in academic writing. Palgrave MacMillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230274662
  18. Hood, S. (2019). Appraisal. In W. L. Bowcher, L. Fontaine, & D. Schoenthal (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of systemic functional linguistics. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316337936
  19. Keeble, R. (2006). The newspapers handbook (4th ed.). Routledge.
  20. Knox, J. S., Patpong, P., & Piriyasilpa, Y. (2010). ข่าวหน้าหนึ่ง (Khao naa nung): A Multimodal analysis of Thai-language newspaper front pages. In New discourse on language: Functional perspectives on multimodality, identity, and affiliation (pp. 80–110). Continuum.
  21. Liu, F. (2017). Strategies for affiliation in media editorials: Persuading and aligning readers (Issue July). University of Technology Sydney.
  22. Liu, F. (2018). Lexical metaphor as affiliative bond in newspaper editorials: a systemic functional linguistics perspective. Functional Linguistics, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40554-018-0054-z
  23. Liu, F., & Chang, C. (2021). Constructing a national identity in media editorials to promote affiliation with an international readership. Discourse, Context and Media, 43, 100538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2021.100538
  24. Liu, F., He, W., & Zappavigna, M. (2025). Affiliation around tensions: strategies for aligning with putative readers through counter-expectation resources in media editorials. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04669-3
  25. Liu, F., & Hood, S. (2019). Rhetorical strategies of political persuasion: The play of irrealis and realis meaning in re/aligning readers in newspaper editorials. Text and Talk, 39(55), 589–611. https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2019-2041
  26. Luke, D. A., Caburnay, C. A., & Cohen, E. L. (2011). How much is enough? New recommendations for using constructed week sampling in newspaper content analysis of health stories. Communication Methods and Measures, 5(1), 76–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2010.547823
  27. Martin, J. R. (2011). Multimodal semiotics: Theoretical challenges. In S. Dreyfus, S. Hood, & M. Stenglin (Eds.), Semiotic margins: Meaning in multimodalities (pp. 243–270.). Continuum.
  28. Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2007). Working with discourse: Meaning beyond the clause. Continuum.
  29. Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave MacMillan.
  30. Martin, J. R., Zappavigna, M., Dwyer, P., & Cléirigh, C. (2013). Users in uses of language: Embodied identity in youth justice conferencing. Text and Talk, 33(4–5), 467–496. https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2013-0022
  31. Masroor, F., & Ahmad, U. K. (2017). Directives in English language newspaper editorials across cultures. Discourse, Context and Media, 20, 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2017.09.009
  32. Mulholland, J. (1994). Handbook of persuasive tactics: A practical language guide. Routledge.
  33. Ngai, J. (2022). Evaluation accross newspaper genres: Hard news stories, editorial and features articles. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003150640
  34. Nurjanah, R. L. (2021). Attitude analysis of “the guardian” editorial: Lockdown policy and the government. JOALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature), 6(2), 194–207. https://doi.org/10.33369/joall.v6i2.13776
  35. O’Halloran, K., & Coffin, C. (2004). Checking overinterpretation and underinterpretation: Help from corpora in critical linguistics. In C. Coffin, A. Hewings, & K. O’Halloran (Eds.), Applying English grammar: Functional and corpus approaches (pp. 275–297). Hodder Arnold.
  36. Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Sage Publication.
  37. Reeves, I., & Keeble, R. L. (2015). The newspapers handbook (5th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203143612
  38. Richardson, J. E. (2007). Analysing newspapers: An approach from critical discourse analysis. Palgrave MacMillan.
  39. Richardson, J. E., & Stanyer, J. (2011). Reader opinion in the digital age: Tabloid and broadsheet newspaper websites and the exercise of political voice. Journalism, 12(8), 983–1003. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884911415974
  40. Riffe, D., Aust, C. F., & Lacy, S. R. (1993). The Effectiveness of Random, Consecutive Day and Constructed Week Sampling in Newspaper Content Analysis. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 70(1), 133–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909307000115
  41. Sarikon, S., & Abdullah, R. B. (2025). Attitude as Subjective Opinion in the Evaluative Language of Malay Newspaper Discourse. LINGPOET (Journal of Linguistics and Literary Research), 6(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/ttps://doi.org/10.32734/lingpoet.v6i1.19877
  42. Simanjorang, M. F., Saragih, A., & Thyrhaya Zein. (2023). Appraisal on editorial texts related to covid-19 in newspaper in dairi. Britain International of Linguistics Arts and Education (BIoLAE) Journal, 5(2), 206–218. https://doi.org/10.33258/biolae.v5i2.942
  43. White, P. R. R. (2006). Evaluative semantics and ideological positioning in journalistic discourse: A new framework for analysis. In Mediating ideology in text and image: Ten critical studies (pp. 37–68). John Benjamin Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.18.05whi
  44. White, P. R. R. (2011). Appraisal. In J. Zienkowski, J.-O. Östman, & J. Verschueren (Eds.), Discursive Pragmatics (pp. 14–36). John Benjamin Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1075/hoph.8.02whi
  45. White, P. R. R. (2015). Appraisal theory. In K. Tracy, C. Illie, & T. Sandel (Eds.), The International Encyclopedia ofLanguage and Social Interaction (1st ed., pp. 358–379). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118611463.wbielsi041
  46. White, P. R. R. (2020). The putative reader in mass media persuasion – stance, argumentation and ideology. Discourse and Communication, 14(4), 404–423. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481320910512
  47. Wijayanto, P. W. (2016). Appraisal system on the Jakarta post opinion “a human rights memorial: Jokowi and the sorcerer’s stone.” Journal of Vision, 5(1), 169–188. https://doi.org/10.21580/VJV5I1865
  48. Yin, R. K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. Sage Publications.
  49. Zaidi, A., & White, P. R. R. (2021). Attitudinal positioning and journalistic commentary in politically fraught circumstances: Editorializing about the killing of Osama bin Laden. Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics, 12(2), 89–102. https://doi.org/10.22055/RALS.2021.17011