An Analysis of Meaning in Alor Folklore (Sulkupei): A Systemic Functional Linguistic Approach

Abstract

This study aims to examine the structure of meaning in the Sulkupei folktale from Alor, East Nusa Tenggara, using the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach developed by Halliday. The Sulkupei story contains various moral messages, cultural values, and the social structures of the Alor community, which are manifested through language use. The analysis focuses on the three metafunctions of language: ideational, interpersonal, and textual. The findings reveal that the ideational function represents the characters’ experiences through material, relational, and mental processes, reflecting actions, identities, and internal conflicts. The interpersonal function highlights power relations and communicative roles among the characters, while the textual function demonstrates cohesive and culturally embedded discourse organization. The story also conveys values such as female purity, family loyalty, spiritual strength, and geographic relations between islands within Alor culture. This study shows that the SFL approach is effective in uncovering the depth of meaning and local value systems in folktales, and it contributes to the preservation of cultural heritage through linguistic analysis.