A Comparative Analysis on Idioms the Human Body Parts in Indonesian and Thai Languages

Abstract

Background: Idiom is figurative languages often used in daily communication. Two different languages may have the same and different meaning of Idiom. The Thai languages or Indonesian languages as a second language learned by Thais or Indonesian. Thai and Indonesian speaker found some problems to understand the idioms in both languages.

Aims: This research aims to compare the meaning of idioms used human body parts.

Methods: This research conducted using The Language Relativism Framework of Sapir-Whorf's. There are certain thoughts of an individual in one language that cannot be understood by those who live in another language. The data collected from Thai idioms collection books and Indonesian Dictionary; Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia.

Results: The findings revealed categories of idiomatic expressions; those that 16 idioms have the same literal and real meanings, those that  20 idioms differ in real meanings but are similar in literal meanings, and those that  10 idioms differ in literal meanings but are similar in real meaning.

Conclusion: This present study indicated that there are three categories of idioms regarding the perspectives between Thai and Indonesian Culture. Where the most type of form is Phrase, some idioms indicate binomial and compound. The idioms orchestrate the expression of people in Thailand and Indonesia. The findings acknowledge that the Thai and Indonesian people use idioms on the human body part to express the human actions, characters, and thinking.

Keywords: Idiom, Human body part, Indonesian language, Thai language.