Journal of Language and Literature
Vol. 12 No. 2 (2026): Humanitatis: Journal of Language and Literature: In-Press

Expressive Utterances in Online Guest Reviews in Merumatta Senggigi-Lombok Hotel: A Pragmatic Analysis

Jessica Herly (Universitas Bumigora, Mataram, Indonesia)
Agus Syahid (Universitas Bumigora, Mataram, Indonesia)
Abdul Muhid (Universitas Bumigora, Mataram, Indonesia)
Syamsurrijal Syamsurrijal (Universitas Bumigora, Mataram, Indonesia)
Lela Rahmawati (Universitas Bumigora, Mataram, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
10 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study examines expressive utterances in guest reviews to identify their types and the linguistic markers that realize them. In the digital era, online guest reviews have become an influential form of electronic word-of-mouth that shapes public perceptions of hotel service quality. These reviews frequently contain expressive utterances that reveal guests’ emotional evaluations of their experiences. This study aims to identify the types of expressive utterances and examine the linguistic markers and politeness strategies used in online guest reviews of Merumatta Senggigi–Lombok Hotel. Employing a qualitative descriptive method, the data were drawn from 28 purposively selected TripAdvisor reviews and analyzed using document analysis procedures. The analysis was guided by Speech Act Theory and Politeness Strategy Theory, following the stages of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal ten types of expressive utterances, namely praise, appreciation, compliment, gratitude, complaint, criticism, regret, blame, anxiety, and negative recommendation, with compliments, appreciation, and complaints occurring most frequently. Positive expressive utterances are primarily realized through evaluative adjectives and intensifiers, while negative utterances tend to employ negation, contrastive structures, hedging, and narrative framing to mitigate face-threatening acts. These results demonstrate that expressive utterances in online hotel reviews function not only as emotional expressions but also as pragmatic strategies shaped by politeness considerations in digital communication.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

humanitatis

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Humanitatis : Journal of Language and Literature adalah salah satu Jurnal Ilmiah yang terdapat di Universitas Bumigora Mataram yang dikelola di bawah Lembaga Penelitian, Pengembangan dan Pengabadian kepada Masyarakat (LPPM). Jurnal ini bertujuan untuk memberikan wadah atau sarana publikasi bagi para ...