The Faculty of Humanities at the Universitas Indonesia (FIB UI) has once again produced a new doctor in Linguistics. Dien Rovita officially earned her doctorate after successfully defending her dissertation entitled “Lexical Compounds of Human Body Parts in Indonesian” in an Open Doctoral Promotion Session held on Monday (10/11) at the Tan Tjoe Som Auditorium, Building 4 Hoesein Djajadiningrat, UI Campus, Depok.
The doctoral promotion session was chaired by the Acting Dean of FIB UI, Dr. Taufik Asmiyanto, S.S., M. Si., who announced that Dien Rovita had passed and was entitled to hold a Doctorate degree in the Linguistics Studies Program, FIB UI. Also present were the promotor, Dr. Untung Yuwono, S.S., co-promotor Dr. Sonya Puspasari Suganda, and the examining panel, including Dr. Triaswarin Sutanarihesti (Chair of the Examining Panel), Dr. R. Muhammad Arie Andhiko Ajie, Dr. Zahroh Nuriah, Dr. Yohanes Tri Mastoyo, M.Hum, and M. Umar Muslim, Ph.D.
The dissertation written by Dien Rovita explores linguistic phenomena related to compounds and combinations of two or more words that form new meanings. Specifically, it focuses on those who use the lexicon or basic words for human body parts, such as eyes, head, hands, or heart.
This research highlights how body part lexicon, which originally had literal meanings, can interact with other words to produce new lexical units that are metaphorical or idiomatic in nature. For example, the word mata in the expressions mata air (spring) or mata-mata (spies) no longer refers to the organ of sight. These findings make an important contribution to enriching our understanding of word formation and meaning change in Indonesian, particularly in the lexical domain.
Dien Rovita’s success in completing her doctoral studies is not only a personal achievement but also strengthens the position of FIB UI as a center for linguistic studies in Indonesia. Dien Rovita graduated with satisfactory results, becoming the 5th Doctor from the Linguistics Postgraduate Program in 2025, and the 465th Doctor from FIB UI.
FIB UI hopes that this academic achievement will inspire the academic community to continue conducting research that contributes to the development of language and culture studies in Indonesia. The faculty also encourages students and young researchers to boldly explore the richness of the Indonesian language through innovative and interdisciplinary approaches. (RMRW)
