Exploring the Meaning of Ramadan from the Perspectives of Islam in America and Indonesia: A Corpus-Based Analysis

The diverse cultural interpretations and expressions of Ramadan across different societies have not been extensively examined through a linguistic perspective, especially comparing Muslim-majority and minority contexts. This study aims to investigate how the word "Ramadan" is used and understood in religious lectures by Indonesian and American Ustaz, focusing on differences influenced by cultural and social environments. The research analyzes a corpus of transcribed lecture videos, processed into .txt format, and examined using AntConc software for word frequency, sentence positioning, distribution, and collocational patterns. The findings reveal that Indonesian lectures emphasize communal worship, ritual practices, and collective spiritual growth. In contrast, American lectures highlight individual faith journeys, personal spiritual struggles, and the challenges of preserving religious identity within a non-Muslim-majority society. These results demonstrate that while both cultures view Ramadan as a time for spiritual purification and seeking forgiveness, the primary distinction lies in the communal versus individual orientation of religious experience.