LABELING "DESI" AND "MUSLIM" AS SEEN IN SAMIRA AHMED’S INTERNMENT: A LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY STUDY

Language immensely affects identity. The researcher chooses Internment, a novel by Samira Ahmed, as the main object of this research. Hence, the researcher discovers that the appearance of labeling in Internment influences the whole characters’ position as a minority group in a majority country. Research study on labeling is focused not only on the factor of emergence labeling “Desi” and “Muslim” but also on labeling uses toward the whole characters in Internment. This study explores labeling, especially self-identified or self-labeling. The research question of this research centers on how labeling “Desi” and “Muslim” are used and the factors that affect the emergence of labeling “Desi” and “Muslim” in the Internment. The data are gathered through the documentation method or observing method. The results show that out of fifty-six (56) utterances containing the labeling of “Desi” and “Muslim,” the most dominant labeling that appears in the statements from the entire characters contains negative labeling. As follows, the researcher also discovers that words included negative labeling come from ingroup. It means that negative labeling is higher than positive labeling, and it appears mainly in the ingroup position. Moreover, the researcher uses Language and Identity theory by Joanna Thornborrow as the leading theory. Furthermore, the Context of Situation theory by Bronislaw Malinowski is used as the supporting theory to identify the types of labels and the factors that make the labels appear in the novel