Expressive Speech Act Functions in Suara Publik Column of Merapi Newspaper

Newspaper rates a high public preference as part of the mass media to publicize accurate and balanced news items. In regards to the urgency, the language used in the mass media publication must consider the politeness principles. The notion initiated the study of Merapi Newspaper's Pragmatics styles, of which the objective was targeted to explore the use of expressive speech politeness in Suara Publik column of Merapi Newspaper. The article adopted a Descriptive Qualitative method with the application of an interactive analysis model consisting of four procedures, which include data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion. Based on Searle's theories on speech acts, the findings revealed eight Expressive Speech Act variations in the newspaper column, which include congratulating, thanking, expressing condolence, admiring, quipping, complaining, blaming, and criticizing.