Critical Discourse Analysis of Indonesian Youtubers’ Discourse: Structure, Bilingual Language, and the Role of Digital Influencers
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This research aims to critically analyze the speech of Indonesian Youtubers in the context of YouTube social media by focusing on the structure of discourse, the practice of bilingualism, and the role of Youtubers as digital influencers in shaping the meaning and power of discursiveness. This study uses a qualitative approach with a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) design. The research data is in the form of verbal speech taken from YouTube vlog and podcast content produced by Indonesian Youtubers with the status of public figures and digital influencers. Data was collected through documentation techniques and transcribed verbatim, then analyzed using Fairclough's three-dimensional framework that includes text analysis, discourse practice, and social practice. The findings reveal that Indonesian Youtubers' discourse follows a consistent opening-body-closing structure, supported by move acts of informing, explaining, evaluating, suggesting, and concluding. Bilingualism through code-switching and code-mixing serves as a discursive strategy to negotiate local and global identities while building symbolic authority. Youtubers also function as digital influencers with significant discursive power in framing issues and shaping public perception. This research concludes that Youtuber speech is ideologically loaded, with power relations operating subtly through discourse structure and language choice. The research contributes an integrated CDA framework combining discourse structure, bilingualism, and influencer roles in the Indonesian social media context, enriching studies in linguistics, digital media, and critical literacy.
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