Experiential Grammatical Metaphor of Batak Toba Wedding Ceremony: A Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective

Abstract

This paper aimed to explore the experiential grammatical metaphor in the Batak Toba language, which adopts the Systemic Functional Linguistics model as its theoretical framework. This theory investigates how language is used in everyday social interaction and how linguistic context is organized to identify the functions as realized in texts and to depict the construal of meaning in the wedding ceremony of Batak Toba culture. The analysis of grammatical metaphor is classified based on the shift from congruency to incongruence as the features of experiential grammatical metaphor in the Batak Toba wedding ceremony. The incongruence of grammatical realizations contributes to the construction of meaning in formal discourse and traditional ceremonial speech. These grammatical shifts encompass the relocation and rank shift of processes into nouns and qualities. The findings indicate that the relocation of grammatical categories within A shift from congruent to incongruent clause forms is relocated to the congruent pattern, as in Process + Actor + Goal is modified into Goal (noun) + Process or a phrase structure; similarly, Adjective + Actor + Goal/Phenomenon shifts to Quality/Thing + Actor. The result of the analysis reflects the cultural values of the Toba Batak community, where grammatical metaphor functions as a linguistic resource for showing respect toward ceremony participants, expressing responsibility through commitment to spoken capacities, and emphasizing solidarity through intimacy and the preservation of social relationships among members of the ordinary community.