Kajian Pragmatik Tindak Tutur dalam Interaksi Sosial antara Pedagang dan Pembeli di Pasar Tradisional

Abstract

This study examines the use of language in social interactions between traders and buyers at Sukaramai Traditional Market, Medan, through a pragmatics approach to speech acts. This research is motivated by the importance of traditional markets as social interaction spaces rich in language use in everyday life, while pragmatic studies that focus on the context of traditional markets in Medan City are still limited. The purpose of this study is to describe the forms of speech acts used in buying and selling interactions, identify the functions of speech acts, and analyze the pragmatic meanings contained in the utterances of traders and buyers. The method used is descriptive qualitative research with data collection techniques in the form of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. The study was conducted on May 29, 2026, in three time sessions, namely morning, afternoon, and evening, involving four informants consisting of traders and buyers. The results of the study indicate that the dominant speech acts are assertive, directive, expressive, and commissive. The functions of speech acts found include informative, directive, persuasive, negotiative, expressive, commissive, and social functions. Pragmatic analysis shows that the meaning of utterances is influenced by the situational context, conversational implicature, politeness strategies, and the cross-ethnic code-mixing characteristic of Sukaramai Market. This finding confirms that language in buying and selling interactions functions not only as a tool for economic transactions but also as a means of building social relationships and strengthening the community's cultural identity.