Animacy in Indonesia Folktales

Authors

  • Nanda Dwi Astri Universitas Prima Indonesia
  • Mulyadi Universitas Sumatera Utara

Keywords:

Animation, Semantics, Indonesian Folklore, Typology, Inanimate Noun

Abstract

Animacy is a semantic property of a noun that describes whether the referent of the noun is alive or inanimate, and to what extent it is conscious in acting. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how the concept of animation is applied in Indonesian folklore and how it reflects the views of Indonesian society. This study employs a descriptive qualitative approach supported by simple quantitative analysis (percentages) to identify and classify the elements found in Indonesian folklore. The data used are the most popular folklore texts in Indonesia, namely: The Legend of Lake Toba (North Sumatra), Malin Kundang (West Sumatra), Timun Emas (Central Java), Tangkuban Perahu (West Java), and Roro Jonggrang (Central Java) which come from various available oral and written sources. Furthermore, the data will be analyzed by mapping the elements of animation contained in the story and categorizing them based on typologies that are relevant to the study of animation in folklore. The results of this study are that Indonesian folklore consists of elements of flora/fauna life as much as 11.11%, human 33.33%, inanimate nouns as much as 40%, and supernatural as much as 15.15%. The inanimate noun element is the most dominant element. This suggests that Indonesian folklore links the environment/place as the main element in building the story.

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Published

2026-09-30

How to Cite

Astri, N. D., & Mulyadi. (2026). Animacy in Indonesia Folktales. LingPoet: Journal of Linguistics and Literary Research, 7(3), 412–422. Retrieved from https://talenta.usu.ac.id/lingpoet/article/view/25221