A General Lecture on “Alliteration from the Viewpoint of English Literature and Linguistics” with Prof. Yoshitaka Kozuka and Prof. Kazuhiro Doki

FBS — Karangmalang On Monday (March 18th, 2024), the English Literature Study Program welcomed Prof. Yoshitaka Kozuka and Prof. Kazuhiro Doki from Aichi University of Education, Japan, to deliver a four-hour general lecture in front of the 2022-batch students. Held at Cine Club Auditorium, this lecture was declared open by Prof. Nur Hidayanto P.S.P., S.Pd., M.Pd., Ph.D, the Dean of Faculty of Languages and Arts. He expressed hope in his opening speech that Aichi University of Education and Yogyakarta State University's mutual academic collaboration will continue far into the future. 

Prof. Kazuhiro Doki initiated the general lecture by presenting the basic knowledge of alliteration. He began by defining alliteration, outlining how it differs from the concept of rhyme, and pointing out examples of its use in idioms, the old names of Ireland, political speeches, songs, poems, and fairy tales. Prof. Yoshitaka Kozuka continued by presenting the history of alliteration in English literature. He explained that alliteration originated in Germanic languages, whereas rhyme originated in Romanic languages, which is why alliteration was more common in Old English literature. However, a growing number of loanwords from French and Latin in the English language have shifted the use of alliteration to rhyme. Both professors went on to provide detailed examples and the important functions that alliteration plays in the poetry and prose of D. H. Lawrence and James Joyce. 

Following the lecture, Prof. Yoshitaka Kozuka and Prof. Kazuhiro Doki invited several students to look for alliteration in Indonesian literature and presented their findings on the stage. The lively and thought-provoking question-and-answer sessions between the students and professors also carried on. The general lecture was then closed with a group photo to commemorate the moment.