CONCEPTUALIZATION OF PLANT GROWTH FERTILITY AS SYMBOLS OF HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC WELFARE IN MANGGARAI LANGUAGE

Abstract

This study describes conceptualization of plant growth fertility as symbol of household economic welfare in Manggarai language as the reflection of Manggarai culture along with its function as the identity marker of Manggarai society as dry land farmers. The study is viewed from the perspective of cultural linguistics. The study is descriptive-qualitative. The results of study show that conceptualization of plant growth fertility as symbol of household economic welfare in Manggarai language is reflected in the forms and meanings of linguistic phenomena used in the following traditional expressions: (01) Saung bembang nggereta, waker caler nggerwa ‘The leaves grow widely upwards, the roots grow strongly downwards’ and (02) Cing nggersili, wela nggerpe’ang, tewar wua, wecak wela ‘Sprouting downwards, flowering outwards, scattering fruits, scattering flowers’. The forms and meanings of linguistic phenomena used are unique and specific to Manggarai culture as the parent culture in which Manggarai language is embedded. The meanings stored in the forms of linguistic phenomena used reveal the conceptualization ascribed in the cognitive map of Manggarai society as dry land farmers regarding the growth fertility of plants cultivated in their farming land, especially corn and rice as their staple foods and vegetables as their side dishes, as symbol of household economic welfare in Manggarai language.