Grammaticalization of Marine Animals as a Living Environment: A Case Study in Eco-Linguistics of the Bima Language

Abstract

This study analyzes the grammaticalization process in naming marine animals in Bima language, especially the use of prefixes {ka-}, {sa-}, and marine animals that do not have prefixes Ø the use of these prefixes reflects the physical characteristics and ecological relationships between Bima people and their marine environment. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach with data collection methods in the form of interviews, observation, and documentation. The data obtained was then analyzed with an ecolinguistic approach to understand how language represents human relationships with nature, as well as grammaticalization theory to reveal structured linguistic patterns in naming marine animals. The results show that the {ka-} prefix is consistently used for 'hard-shelled animals', while the {sa-} prefix is used to symbolize 'soft-shelled/non-shelled marine animals'. This study confirms that the grammaticalization process in Bima language not only explains the physical characteristics of marine animals, but also the relationship between Bima people and their marine ecosystem. In addition, this study also reveals that marine animals that are not grammaticalized reflect their position outside the human environment, but are still an important part of fulfilling their needs.