ELOMPUGI AS A SITE OF SOCIOLINGUISTIC RESISTANCE: LOCAL KNOWLEDGE, MODERNITY, AND THE RECLAIMING OF VOICE

This study explores Elompugi, a Bugis oral tradition, as a living ecology of language that embodies moral reasoning, cultural identity, and civic participation. Using contemporary sociolinguistic and ecolinguistic frameworks, the research analyzes linguistic forms, discourse structures, and ideological functions that transform Elompugi from a narrative performance into an ethical and epistemic practice. Data were collected through textual analysis and in-depth interviews with storytellers and community elders in Bone and Soppeng, revealing that language in Elompugi serves as both moral act and social governance. The findings indicate that archaic diction, rhythmic repetition, and prosodic emphasis on siri’, getteng, and lempu’ encode collective values of dignity, persistence, and honesty. These linguistic features interact with discourse-level patterns—moral exposition, symbolic narration, and reflective closure—to reproduce Bugis cosmology as a decolonial moral framework. The integration of modern terms within local syntax illustrates a translingual adaptation that negotiates modernity without erasing cultural integrity. Moreover, the dialogic rhythm between storyteller and audience enacts a form of linguistic citizenship, where speech itself becomes moral participation and silence implies social withdrawal. In conclusion, Elompugi redefines language as an ethical ecology—an enduring system through which the Bugis people sustain their identity, knowledge, and moral continuity within the shifting landscape of modernity.