Journal Albion : Journal of English Literature, Language, and Culture

Humanitarian solidarity in the lyrics “We are the world” by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie: A sociology of literature study

2026-06-10T10:57:16+00:00

This study aims to analyze the representation of humanitarian social reality in the song We Are the World by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie through the sociology of literature approach. The study focuses on how the song reflects humanitarian values, solidarity, and social responsibility through its lyrics. This research employs a descriptive qualitative method using the sociology of literature, particularly the sociology of the work, as the analytical framework. Data were collected through documentation and library research and analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings reveal four major representations of humanitarian social reality in the song: collective solidarity, concern for social suffering, a call for collective action, and the social function of the song as a medium of public awareness. These findings indicate that the song not only reflects social reality but also encourages empathy and humanitarian concern among listeners. In conclusion, We Are the World functions as a popular literary work that possesses aesthetic, social, and educational value while promoting humanitarian awareness and collective responsibility.

City identity transformation: F8’s role in changing Makassar’s image from “city of demonstrators” to “city of festivals”

2026-05-12T04:49:30+00:00

This study analyzes how F8 Makassar is represented in Tempo.co news and constructed as part of the city branding of Makassar City. Using Paul du Gay's Circuit of Culture approach, this study explores the five elements of culture; Representation, Identity, Production, Consumption, and Regulation, in understanding the changing image of the city. The method used was qualitative descriptive with observation techniques, online news documentation, and direct interviews with the Mayor of Makassar. For this reason, in the perspective of urban anthropology, a festival like this, is not only providing entertainment for the public, but a festival as well, able to become a medium of the production of social meaning about what a city imagines itself like in front of its citizens. The results show that F8 is represented as a symbol of urban modernization, which promotes cultural diversity and local creativity on the international stage. From the production aspect, this festival is managed as a marketing strategy involving the government and the media in shaping a positive narrative about Makassar. Festival consumption involves local and global communities and has a significant impact on the MSME sector and the creative industry. The identity of the city that was originally associated with demonstrations shifted to a creative city based on cultural economy. In terms of regulations, government policies support this festival as a strategy for urban development. Thus, F8 is not just a tourism event, but also a cultural discourse that continues to be constructed in the transformation of Makassar's identity.

Linguistic identity construction through the fishermen’s lexicon in Kampung Bugis Juru Seberang: An Ethnolinguistic study of the coastal community of Tanjung Pandan

2026-09-28T05:43:46+00:00

The use of language in fishing communities is closely associated with the knowledge and social experiences developed through sustained interaction with the marine environment. However, fishermen’s lexical practices involve more than the identification of marine species, as particular lexical forms may also distinguish members of the community from speakers outside the fishing group. This study aims to examine how fishermen’s fish-name lexicon contributes to the construction of linguistic identity in Kampung Bugis Juru Seberang, Tanjung pandan. An ethnolinguistic approach was employed to analyse 10 fish-name lexicons, with Giles and Johnson’s ethnolinguistic identity theory providing the analytical framework, particularly the concepts of psycholinguistic distinctiveness, perceived group boundaries, and ethnolinguistic differentiation. The findings show that the fish lexicon functions as a shared linguistic repertoire through which fishermen organize and communicate knowledge developed from their occupational engagement with the coastal environment. The recognition and use of particular fish names create a form of shared lexical knowledge that distinguishes community members from speakers who do not share the same linguistic repertoire. This lexical distinction becomes more significant in interaction across group boundaries, where local terms may be maintained in in-group communication but adjusted or explained when addressing outsiders. These findings indicate that fishermen’s linguistic identity is constructed not simply through the existence of local fish names, but through their shared use, recognition, and differentiation in social interaction. The fish lexicon therefore represents an ethnolinguistic resource through which occupational knowledge is shared and linguistic boundaries are negotiated within the coastal community.

Cohesion and coherence in RM BTS’s English speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2025 CEO Summit in Korea

2026-09-01T08:44:43+00:00

This study explores how cohesion and coherence are established in spoken discourse, focusing specifically on RM BTS's speech at the 2025 APEC CEO Summit in Korea. The primary issue addressed is how a spoken discourse, situated within the realms of cultural diplomacy and business economics across various industries, can resonate with its audience through the use of cohesive and coherent elements enhanced by pragmatic strategies. The purpose of this research is to identify the different aspects of cohesion utilized by RM in his speech and to explain how pragmatics reinforces the overall coherence of the discourse. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach alongside Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), this study integrates Halliday and Hasan’s theory of cohesion, Van Dijk's coherence theory, and various pragmatic theories that support the concept of coherence. The findings reveal that cohesion and overall coherence in RM’s speech are intricately linked and equally essential for constructing a compelling argument. The analysis highlighted 231 instances of grammatical cohesion, 39 instances of lexical cohesion, and 16 instances of coherence, all of which were supplemented by several relevant pragmatic theories.