Speech Act Analysis In Moana Movie : A Semantic Study On Perlocutionary Acts In Character Dialogues
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.00000/ijlcl.v2i1.38Keywords:
Perlocutionary Acts, Semantic Analysis, Moana Movie, Character DialoguesAbstract
This study aims to investigate the use of perlocutionary acts in the dialogues of the animated movie Moana (2016) by analyzing how certain utterances affect the listener’s emotions, thoughts, or actions. The phenomenon explored focuses on the influence of language in shaping character relationships and driving the plot. Using a qualitative descriptive design, this research collected data from character dialogues in Moana, with special attention to the interactions among the main characters such as Moana, Maui, Tamatoa, Te Fiti, and Gramma Tala. The dialogues were transcribed and analyzed semantically to identify utterances that contain perlocutionary force specifically how speech leads to psychological or behavioral responses. The findings reveal a variety of perlocutionary acts, including persuading, warning, calming, encouraging, and frightening. These acts often caused meaningful reactions in the recipient characters, which in turn influenced the direction of the storyline. For instance, Gramma Tala’s encouraging words to Moana serve not only as emotional support but also motivate Moana to pursue her calling, demonstrating a powerful perlocutionary effect. In conclusion, the study highlights that perlocutionary acts are not merely linguistic expressions, but essential tools for developing emotional dynamics and character transformation in a narrative. Through semantic analysis, this research emphasizes the importance of understanding how language functions beyond literal meaning, especially in fictional media like films. The results are expected to contribute to future linguistic studies, particularly in analyzing speech acts in popular culture and their impact on audience perception.
References
Austin, J.L. (1962). How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Grice, H.P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics, Volume 3: Speech Acts (pp. 41-58). New York: Academic Press.
Smith, R. (2017). Moana: Identity, Courage, and Cultural Representation in Disney Animation. Journal of Film Studies, 23(2), 45-56.
Howard, R., & Clements, R. (Directors). (2016). Moana: A Global Phenomenon and Its Cultural Impact on Polynesian Representation. Cinema Review, 14(2), 55-68.
Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Searle, J.R. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Yule, G. (2010). The Study of Language (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Moana. (2016). Walt Disney Animation Studios. Directed by Ron Clements & John Musker.
Ladegaard, H. J., & Bleses, D. (2003). Gender differences in young children’s speech: The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. International Journal of Applied Linguistics (United Kingdom), 13(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/1473-4192.00045
Lee, J. S. (2020). Digital communication, social media, and Englishes. World Englishes, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12447
Lin, Z. (2023). How Do Internet Slang and Memes Affect Chinese Teenagers? Communications in Humanities Research, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/21/20231422
Luangrath, A. W., Peck, J., & Barger, V. A. (2017). Textual paralanguage and its implications for marketing communications. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2016.05.002
Mahfouz, I. M. (2018). Word Shortening Strategies: Egyptian vs. Non-Egyptian English Tweets.
English Language and Literature Studies, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v8n3p27 O’sullivan, J., & Kelly-Holmes, H. (2017). Vernacularisation and authenticity in Irish radio
advertising. World Englishes, 36(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12258
Petrova, Y. (2021). Meme language, its impact on digital culture and collective thinking. E3S Web of Conferences, 273. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202127311026
Rickford, J. R. (2016). Labov’s contributions to the study of African American Vernacular English: Pursuing linguistic and social equity. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 20(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12198
Saputra, G. W., Dzauharoh, S., Johan, A., Kusumawardana, M. F., & Susilawati. (2023). Socialization for the Formation of Young Generation Discipline. TGO Journal of Community Development, 1(2), 70–76. https://doi.org/10.56070/jcd.2023.012
Suizo, C. (2024). Gen z’s language identity and contemporary philosophies in the digital era. J. Nat. Lang Linguist, 2(1), 13–17. https://doi.org/10.54536/jnll.v2i1.2396
Thorne, S. L., Sauro, S., & Smith, B. (2015). Technologies, identities, and expressive activity. In Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Vol. 35). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000257
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nadine Saskia Fauziyyah, Nafisah Nur Utami (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
