ABSTRACT
Rosiani, Maria Sandra Deta. (2016). A Study of Politeness Strategies As Shown by the Four Main Characters in Begin Again Movie. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
In communication, people need to pay attention to the language so that it can be used politely and properly. This requires the people to consider the context of the communication and the social aspects possessed by the addressee. However, there are still some difficulties in applying the polite and proper language for the communication. It means that language learners only learn the grammatical rules of a language without learning how to use it politely and properly. Moreover, the culture which is carried by a language may influence the way the language should be used. Considering these phenomena, the writer conducted a study on politeness strategies. This study was done by analyzing a movie entitled Begin Again, which tells about a singer and a music producer who are struggling to rise from the problems they face. This movie depicts the real application of politeness strategies. Thus, the writer intended to analyze the phenomena related to the application of politeness strategies in Begin Again movie.
In this study, the writer aimed to analyze the four main characters of Begin Again movie. Therefore, two research questions were built as 1) Which types of politeness strategies are used by the four main characters in Begin Again movie? and 2) What are the factors that influence the four characters in choosing the politeness strategies for communication?
The writer used qualitative research by employing document analysis to answer the research questions. The writer conducted the study by using the movie script of Begin Again movie to analyze the utterances of the four main characters. The writer analyzed the utterances in order to find out the types of politeness strategies used by the four main characters. Afterwards, the writer analyzed the factors which may influence the four main characters in choosing the types of politeness strategies.
The research result showed that the most frequent strategy used by the four main characters is positive politeness (67 utterances) followed by bald on record (61 utterances), negative politeness (34 utterances), and off record (20 utterances). Also, it was found that one of the four main characters named Steve only performed three of the politeness strategies: positive politeness, bald on record, and negative politeness. The factors which were found influencing the four main characters in choosing the types of politeness strategies were payoffs and sociological variables which consist of social distance, relative power, and rank of imposition.
ABSTRAK
Rosiani, Maria Sandra Deta. (2016). A Study of Politeness Strategies as Shown by the Four Main Characters in Begin Again Movie. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Dalam berkomunikasi, masyarakat perlu memperhatikan bahasa yang digunakan sehingga bahasa tersebut dapat digunakan dengan sopan dan benar. Hal ini dapat dilakukan dengan memperhatikan konteks pembicaraan dan aspek sosial yang dimiliki oleh lawan tutur. Namun, masih terdapat beberapa kesulitan yang dialami oleh penutur dalam menggunakan bahasa secara sopan dan benar. Hal ini berarti bahwa pelajar bahasa hanya mempelajari tata bahasa tanpa mempelajari bagaimana bahasa itu digunakan. Hal tersebut sangat penting untuk dipelajari mengingat sebuah bahasa berasal dari budaya yang dapat mempengaruhi penggunaan bahasa tersebut. Berdasarkan permasalahan yang dialami oleh pelajar bahasa, sebuah studi tentang strategi kesopanan bahasa dilakukan. Studi ini dilakukan dengan menganalisa sebuah film berjudul Begin Again, yang menceritakan tentang seorang penyanyi dan produser musik yang berjuang untuk bangkit dari permasalahan yang dihadapi. Film ini memperagakan penerapan strategi kesopanan bahasa secara nyata. Dengan demikian, penulis bermaksud untuk menganalisa permasalahan mengenai penerapan strategi kesopanan bahasa yang terjadi di dalam film berjudul Begin Again.
Di dalam studi ini, penulis menganalisa empat tokoh utama dari film Begin Again. Dengan demikian, terdapat dua pertanyaan yang dirumuskan sebagai berikut, 1) Tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa mana sajakah yang digunakan oleh keempat tokoh utama dalam film Begin Again? Dan 2) Faktor apa sajakah yang mempengaruhi keempat tokoh utama dalam memilih tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa?
Penulis menggunakan penelitian kualitatif melalui analisis dokumen untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan penelitian tersebut. Penulis menggunakan naskah film guna menganalisa ungkapan – ungkapan dari keempat tokoh utama. Hal ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa yang digunakan oleh keempat tokoh utama. Selain itu, penulis juga menganalisa faktor – faktor yang mempengaruhi keempat tokoh utama dalam memilih tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tipe yang paling banyak digunakan adalah positive politeness (67), diikuti oleh bald on record (61), negative politeness (34) dan off record (20). Faktor – faktor yang mempengaruhi keempat tokoh dalam menentukkan tipe kesopanan bahasa yaitu keuntungan bagi penutur dan variabel sosial yang terdiri dari jarak sosial, kekuasaan, dan tingkat pemaksaan.
i
A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES AS SHOWN BY THE FOUR MAIN CHARACTERS IN BEGIN AGAIN MOVIE
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By:
Maria Sandra Deta Rosiani
Student Number: 121214091
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
vi ABSTRACT
Rosiani, Maria Sandra Deta. (2016). A Study of Politeness Strategies As Shown by the Four Main Characters in Begin Again Movie. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
In communication, people need to pay attention to the language so that it can be used politely and properly. This requires the people to consider the context of the communication and the social aspects possessed by the addressee. However, there are still some difficulties in applying the polite and proper language for the communication. It means that language learners only learn the grammatical rules of a language without learning how to use it politely and properly. Moreover, the culture which is carried by a language may influence the way the language should be used. Considering these phenomena, the writer conducted a study on politeness strategies. This study was done by analyzing a movie entitled Begin Again, which tells about a singer and a music producer who are struggling to rise from the problems they face. This movie depicts the real application of politeness strategies. Thus, the writer intended to analyze the phenomena related to the application of politeness strategies in Begin Again movie.
In this study, the writer aimed to analyze the four main characters of Begin Again movie. Therefore, two research questions were built as 1) Which types of politeness strategies are used by the four main characters in Begin Again movie? and 2) What are the factors that influence the four characters in choosing the politeness strategies for communication?
The writer used qualitative research by employing document analysis to answer the research questions. The writer conducted the study by using the movie script of Begin Again movie to analyze the utterances of the four main characters. The writer analyzed the utterances in order to find out the types of politeness strategies used by the four main characters. Afterwards, the writer analyzed the factors which may influence the four main characters in choosing the types of politeness strategies.
The research result showed that the most frequent strategy used by the four main characters is positive politeness (67 utterances) followed by bald on record (61 utterances), negative politeness (34 utterances), and off record (20 utterances). Also, it was found that one of the four main characters named Steve only performed three of the politeness strategies: positive politeness, bald on record, and negative politeness. The factors which were found influencing the four main characters in choosing the types of politeness strategies were payoffs and sociological variables which consist of social distance, relative power, and rank of imposition.
vii ABSTRAK
Rosiani, Maria Sandra Deta. (2016). A Study of Politeness Strategies as Shown by the Four Main Characters in Begin Again Movie. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Dalam berkomunikasi, masyarakat perlu memperhatikan bahasa yang digunakan sehingga bahasa tersebut dapat digunakan dengan sopan dan benar. Hal ini dapat dilakukan dengan memperhatikan konteks pembicaraan dan aspek sosial yang dimiliki oleh lawan tutur. Namun, masih terdapat beberapa kesulitan yang dialami oleh penutur dalam menggunakan bahasa secara sopan dan benar. Hal ini berarti bahwa pelajar bahasa hanya mempelajari tata bahasa tanpa mempelajari bagaimana bahasa itu digunakan. Hal tersebut sangat penting untuk dipelajari mengingat sebuah bahasa berasal dari budaya yang dapat mempengaruhi penggunaan bahasa tersebut. Berdasarkan permasalahan yang dialami oleh pelajar bahasa, sebuah studi tentang strategi kesopanan bahasa dilakukan. Studi ini dilakukan dengan menganalisa sebuah film berjudul Begin Again, yang menceritakan tentang seorang penyanyi dan produser musik yang berjuang untuk bangkit dari permasalahan yang dihadapi. Film ini memperagakan penerapan strategi kesopanan bahasa secara nyata. Dengan demikian, penulis bermaksud untuk menganalisa permasalahan mengenai penerapan strategi kesopanan bahasa yang terjadi di dalam film berjudul Begin Again.
Di dalam studi ini, penulis menganalisa empat tokoh utama dari film Begin Again. Dengan demikian, terdapat dua pertanyaan yang dirumuskan sebagai berikut, 1) Tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa mana sajakah yang digunakan oleh keempat tokoh utama dalam film Begin Again? Dan 2) Faktor apa sajakah yang mempengaruhi keempat tokoh utama dalam memilih tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa?
Penulis menggunakan penelitian kualitatif melalui analisis dokumen untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan penelitian tersebut. Penulis menggunakan naskah film guna menganalisa ungkapan – ungkapan dari keempat tokoh utama. Hal ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa yang digunakan oleh keempat tokoh utama. Selain itu, penulis juga menganalisa faktor – faktor yang mempengaruhi keempat tokoh utama dalam memilih tipe strategi kesopanan bahasa.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tipe yang paling banyak digunakan adalah positive politeness (67), diikuti oleh bald on record (61), negative politeness (34) dan off record (20). Faktor – faktor yang mempengaruhi keempat tokoh dalam menentukkan tipe kesopanan bahasa yaitu keuntungan bagi penutur dan variabel sosial yang terdiri dari jarak sosial, kekuasaan, dan tingkat pemaksaan.
viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Foremost, I would like to send my gratitude to Jesus Christ and Mother Mary who always be my strength and motivation in life. Their blessings have accompanied and guided me all this time, specifically in accomplishing this study.
They are the main reason of my life why I can keep my dream flying high.
First of all, I would like to send my profound gratitude to my thesis
advisor, Bapak Drs. Y. B. Gunawan, M.A. for his guidance, support, time, patience, and attention to help me in accomplishing this study. He always gives
comments and critics in order to build my spirit to keep working on this study. I
would like to send my special gratitude Bapak Agustinus Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd.,
M.A. for the support which is given to me and to class B batch 2012 in the last four years. Next, I would like to thank Miss Patricia Angelina Lasut, M.Hum.
and Miss Truly Almendo Pasaribu, S. S., M.A. who have been contributed in giving suggestion and guidance for this thesis to be perfect. I would like to send
my gratitude for all lecturers of PBI for the guidance during my study in PBI. Then, I would like to thank all staffs of PBI and Sanata Dharma University Library for the five-star service during my study.
Second, my deepest gratitude goes to my father Bapak Aloysius Jumono and my mother Ibu Chrisanta Widayatmi, S.Pd., for the greatest love and everlasting support. I also would like to send my gratitude to my brothers Mas Felixius Ageng Bani Widanarko and Ferdinandus Eko Budi Prihanto for the advice, support, inspiration, and for every sarcastic word which always be my
ix
Third, I would like to thank my best friends, Theodora Intan, Ayu Nyoman Aryani, Fransiska Selvy, and Pinguin Kejim Squad (class D PBI 2012) for thesis discussion, for the help in understanding theories, love, togetherness, support, and precious time we spent together in the last four years. I
would also thank PA St. Christopher XXIV, special for Manis Manja (Caecilia
Santi, Teresa Devina, and Elisabeth Listyana) for the love, support, sarcastic words, advice, happiness, and togetherness we have spent since we were kids. I
send my warmest love to KKN USD LI 30 for being my new family. My special
gratitude goes to Mbak Maria Dea Wrestiningtyas and Dwiki Prenandita who
helped me a lot in checking my thesis and gives some advices related to the
mechanics. I would also give my special gratitude for Gisela Gisa Maya and Miwita Rosari who write the same topic with me and help me in understanding the theory.
Finally, I would like to thank all people who have given contribution
during the process of accomplishing this study. I am so grateful for being able to
get much love from everyone.
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGES ... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK‟S ORIGINALITY ... iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ... v
ABSTRACT ... vi
ABSTRAK ... vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x
LIST OF TABLES ... xiv
LIST OF FIGURES ... xv
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xvi
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION A.Research Background ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 5
C.Problem Limitation ... 5
D.Research Objectives ... 6
E. Research Benefits ... 7
F. Definition of Terms ... 8
CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A.Theoretical Description ... 11
1. Speech Acts ... 11
xi
4. Factors that Influence the Choice of Politeness Strategies . 20
xii
2. Categorizing The Characters‟ Utterances ... 37
3. Identifying The Factors of Politeness Strategies ... 38
4. Writing Up The Report ... 38
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Politeness Strategies Used by The Four Main Characters of Begin Again ... 39
1. Positive Politeness ... 41
2. Bald on Record ... 45
3. Negative Politeness ... 53
4. Off Record ... 57
B. The Factors that Influence the Application of Politeness Strategies by the Four Main Characters of Begin Again ... 62
1. Payoffs ... 62
a. Positive Politeness Payoffs ... 63
b. Bald on Record Payoffs ... 65
c. Negative Politeness Payoffs ... 67
d. Off Record Payoffs ... 68
2. Sociological Variables ... 71
a. Social Distance ... 71
b. Relative Power ... 74
c. Ranking of Imposition ... 77
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A.Conclusions ... 81
B. Recommendations ... 83
1. Future Researchers ... 83
2. Language Learners ... 84
xiii
REFERENCES ... 86
xiv
LIST OF TABLES
Tables Page
3.1 The Classification Politeness Strategies in Begin Again Movie ... 35
3.2 Code List ... 36
xv
LIST OF FIGURE
Figure Page
xvi
LIST OF APPENDIX
Appendix Page
1. The List of Politeness Strategies in the Utterances Produced by the Four
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter is divided into six parts. The first part is about the
background of this study. In this part, the writer would like to present the topic
which is going to be discussed and the reason why the writer choses a movie to be
analyzed. The second part is about the problem formulation which contains the
research questions of this study. The third part is about the problem limitation
which presents the limitation of this study. The fourth part is about the research
benefits of this study. The fifth part is about the objectives of this study. Finally,
the sixth part is the definition of terms. This part defines and explains the terms
used in this study.
A. Research Background
Communication is one of the important activities in people‟s daily life.
Life goes easier because people have done the communication for exchanging the
information by using the language. Wardhaugh (1972) defines a language as a set
of systems which contain symbols used for communication. Since language is
used as a communication device, it provides some communicative functions.
Holmes (2001) states that “language provides a variety of saying the same thing –
addressing and greeting others, describing things, and paying compliments” (p. 3).
Language can make people‟s life easier if they also think about the social context
of the communication and the behavior that is performed during the
Holmes (2001) states that social context influence the people‟s way of talking.
This means that if the people are not aware with the social context, they may not
be able to apply appropriate language for communication. As the result, the
speaker and the addressee will face the misunderstanding. In other words,
language has many functions in making communication among people easier to be
done. However, the speakers should consider the way they express something to
the addressee so that the main point can be accepted clearly.
Nowadays, there are many people who learn a new language as their
second language. When they are learning a new language, they also have to learn
the culture of where the language comes from. This should be done because each
language has its own culture that also should be understood by the language
learners. Holmes (2001) adds that the same message may be expressed differently
to the different people. In other words, the choice of a language is determined by
some aspects. Thus, the speaker should consider the background culture of the
addressee so that the language and the behavior can be performed appropriately.
However, the language learners still find it difficult to decide the polite language
which is appropriate with the context and the social aspects for the
communication. Most language learners only master the grammatical rules of a
language and pay less attention to the background culture of the language itself.
As a result, the language is considered as impolite or even improper. Therefore, as
a language learner, it is important to understand the culture of a language because
different language may carry different culture which influences how the language
3
people communicate with others will be related to language politeness. Since
language politeness deals with how people act when they are using the language
for communication, it is closely related to sociolinguistics.
Based on Holmes (2001), sociolinguistics is concerned with the
relationship between language and context in which it is used. In other words,
sociolinguistics discusses about language and context where the language is used
as the communication device. On the other hand, language politeness is also
related to pragmatics study since pragmatics deals with language in social context
and the way in which people produce and comprehend meanings through
language. Katz (1977) (as cited in Levinson, 1983) says that pragmatics study
deals more with the correlation of the social context and the way the users apply
the language for the communication rather than concerning with the structure of
grammar. Therefore, people will pay more attention to the language and the ways
the users apply the language whether it is appropriate or not. Knowing that
language is important for communication, people need to consider the language as
well as the context. People also need to pay attention to the behavior that is
performed. Therefore, the misunderstanding and the feeling of being offended can
be avoided when people communicate with others.
According to Holtgraves (2002), “politeness is a technical term, a
theoretical construct invoked as a means of explaining the link between language
use and social context” (p.38). In other words, politeness aims to explain the
correlation between language and social context. The correlation between
people who run the communication. Holmes (1992) states that in order to be
linguistically polite, people need to involve appropriate speaking by paying
attention to the relationship between the speaker and the addressee. This means
that the way people talk is determined by the social context, such as relationship
that the people have. Thus, the communication will be delivered differently
among people who have different degrees of relationship. Furthermore, there are
some other reasons such as age and gender which also influence people in
choosing appropriate language and performing behavior for the communication.
This study focuses on the politeness strategies by the four main characters
in the movie entitled Begin Again by John Carney. This movie tells about a producer and a singer who plan to produce an album using their way. This movie
is chosen because it contains formal and informal language which is used in the
daily conversation. Through the daily conversation, the writer analyzes the
utterances of the four main characters so that the research questions can be
answered. On the other hand, this movie is chosen because of its moral value
which can make this study more meaningful for the readers. The moral value that
can be learned from this movie is that there is always a way out for all problems in
life. Therefore, people should be optimistic that all problems have their own
solution and their life will still be going on although people are depressed because
of the problems.
The writer employs the theory of politeness strategies by Brown and
Levinson (1987), which classify the politeness strategies into four strategies,
5
The classification of Brown and Levinson (1987) about politeness strategies is
chosen because it classifies people‟s behavior when they are having conversation
with others. The theory which is employed to answer the second research question
is also from Brown and Levinson (1987) about the factors that influence the
characters in choosing the politeness strategies. Therefore, the study is done by
classifying the four politeness strategies as shown by the four main characters in
Begin Again movie and analyzing the factors which influence the characters in applying the politeness strategies in their conversation.
B. Problem Formulation
There are two questions that become main points in this study. They are
formulated as follows:
1. Which types of politeness strategies are used by the four main characters in
Begin Again movie?
2. What are the factors that influence the four characters in choosing the
politeness strategies for communication?
C. Problem Limitation
The writer limits this study only on the analysis of the four main
characters in Begin Again movie. There are four characters that are analyzed to complete the data of this study, namely Gretta, Dan Mulligan, Steve, and Dave
have important roles in the movie. This means that they will produce more
utterances than the other characters. The utterances that they produce may contain
politeness strategies because of the frequency of their appearances in the movie.
The writer conducts the research by watching the movie and finding the
utterances which is included in politeness strategies. The next step is the writer
categorizes the utterances into the types of politeness strategies. Then, the writer
analyzes the type of politeness strategies which is applied by the four main
characters. Afterwards, the writer will analyze the factors of why the four main
characters choose certain types of politeness strategies to be applied for the
communication.
D. Research Objectives
This section will present the research objectives of the study in accordance
with the research questions. Therefore, there will be two objectives to be
accomplished.
a. To find out the politeness strategies which are chosen by the four main
characters in a movie entitled Begin Again.
b. To find out the factors which influence the four main characters in choosing
7
E. Research Benefits
The writer believes that this study could be beneficial for the language
learners, teachers/lecturers, and future researchers.
This study is about human behavior in using the language for
communications which is classified into the four types of politeness strategies.
This study is hopefully can be beneficial for the language learners because in
learning a new language, it is not enough if they only learn about the grammatical
rules. They have to understand about the rules of how the language should be used
for the communication. This study can help them in recognizing the types of
politeness strategies so that they can be able to decide how they should behave
when they are applying the language for communication. Therefore, the language
learners can apply the appropriate language for the social interaction.
For the teachers/lecturers, they can learn from this study about politeness
strategies to be applied in classroom activities. Therefore, the teachers/lecturers
will be able to consider the types of politeness strategies when doing the activities
in class in which they can apply more polite strategy for the communication. It is
expected that through this study, the teachers/lecturers can differentiate the types
of politeness strategies to be used in different condition. In order to be discipline,
the teachers/lecturers can apply bald on record strategy in which the utterances are
expressed clearly and directly. Besides, if the teachers/lecturers want to praise
students‟ work, they can apply positive politeness in which it can make the hearer
feel that he/she is being admired or liked. Therefore, it is expected that through
activities. By understanding about the classification of politeness strategies, the
teachers/lecturers can place themselves in appropriate condition and perform the
behavior which is also appropriate with the condition.
For the future researcher, this study is hopefully can be beneficial for the
future researchers who aimed to develop the research on politeness strategies. It is
expected that this study can help them as the reference for the research that will be
done by the future researchers. Therefore, they will obtain more references to be
used for developing the research on politeness strategies.
F. Definition of Terms
In order to support the readers in understanding this study, several key
terms which are used in this study will be explained in this part.
1. Politeness
According to Holtgraves (2002) the term politeness refers to the concept of
behavior which is performed by people regarding how they act or behave in
different social setting. In other words, different social setting will make people
able to perform different behavior. According to Mills (2003), politeness is the act
of showing respect to a person whom we are talking to and avoiding the possible
acts which may offend the addressee. In other words, politeness is the act of
respecting others in which the speaker can choose the way to communicate with
others. The writer focuses more on the verbal aspects of politeness. Thus, the
utterances which show the aspects of politeness will be taken as the focus of this
9
2. Politeness Strategies
According to Brown and Levinson (1987), politeness strategy is a strategy
that concerns saving the addressee‟s face by performing an expression that is less
threatening for the addressee‟s face. Face behavior is the act that represents the
desire of the speaker towards the hearer. In order to be polite, the speaker may
formulate expression which does not impose the hearer to accomplish the
speaker‟s desire. Face is something that should be attended to in interaction
(Brown & Levinson, 1987). In other words, face is something that is emotionally
showed and invested in the interaction between the people. In politeness
strategies, there are four strategies of politeness based on the theory proposed by
Brown and Levinson (1987) namely, Bald on Record, Off Record, Positive
Politeness, and Negative Politeness.
In this study, the theory of politeness strategies will be used for analyzing
the way the characters speak. Through the utterances which are produced by the
four main characters, the writer analyzes the strategy that is performed in the
interaction among the four main characters.
3. Character
According to Roberts (1983) character in literature is an extended verbal
representation of a human being, specifically the inner self that determines
thought, speech, and behavior. Roberts (1983) adds that through dialogue, action,
and commentary, literature captures some of the interactions of character and
circumstance. Therefore, a character is an important thing in literary works, such
the atmosphere in a movie and they can build the conflicts which make the movie
or the literary works become more interesting. That is the reason why Roberts
(1983) says that the appearance of characters is worth noticing that most writers
and film makers give physical features to a character in order to match them or
11 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of two parts, namely the theoretical description and
theoretical framework. Theoretical description presents about some theories which
are used as the basis of this study. Theoretical framework presents the summary of
the theories which are employed to answer the research questions of the study and
the correlation between the theories and the research questions.
A. Theoretical Description
This section discusses several theories, namely theories on speech acts,
pragmatics, and politeness strategies. Theory of speech acts is significant for this
study because this study is about politeness strategies which deal with the acts of
speaking performed through the utterances. Pragmatics is also significant for this
study since it comprises speech acts which discuss how language is used for the
communication. The theory of politeness strategies is significant for this study
because it is the primary theory of this study.
1. Speech Acts
Speech acts is part of sociolinguistics and under the scope of pragmatics
study. The relationship between language and the context is the concern of
sociolinguistics study (Holmes, 2001). Holmes (2001) adds that people‟s speech
provides clues to others about who they are, where they come from, and perhaps
to the language that is used whether or not the language is in line with the social
context. Besides, sociolinguistics is also related to the social behavior because
when people do the communication, they also perform certain acts which may
represent what they really think about.
Speech acts is also related to pragmatics study because speech acts is
under the scope of pragmatics study. Katz (1977) as cited in Levinson (1983) has
a simpler definition about pragmatics.
Grammars are theories about the structure of sentence types while pragmatics theories, in contrast, do nothing explicate the structure of linguistics constructions or grammatical properties and relations. They explicate the reasoning of speakers and hearers in working out the correlations in a context of a sentence token with a proposition. In this respect, a pragmatic theory is part of performance. (p. 8)
As mentioned in the theory above, it can be said that pragmatics is neither related
with the structure of grammatical theories or the structure of linguistics. It is the
reason of the speaker and the hearer work out to make the language appropriate
with the context of the communication. Levinson (1983) adds that “the term
pragmatics covers both context-dependent aspects of language structure and
principles of language usage and understanding that have nothing or little to do
with linguistics structure” (p. 9). In communication, people will not care about
how they produce certain sounds of a language. They concern more about the way
they choose and apply the language for the communication. Therefore, the proper
language can be applied as well as the social context. Since the term pragmatics
does not deal with linguistic structure, the study of speech acts is included in
13
language. Moreover, language politeness also deals with language choosing as
well as the social context and the behaviors performed by the language users in
understanding the message of the communication.
According to Searle (1974), speech act is the production of utterances
which is done under the conditions. People may produce certain utterances based
on the condition that is faced during the communication. Searle (1974) adds that
“speaking a language is firstly, performing speech acts, such as making
statements, giving commands, asking questions, making promises, and so on; and,
secondly, that these acts are in general made possible by and are performed in
accordance with certain rules for the use of linguistics elements” (p.16). In other
words, someone who makes statements, gives commands, or makes promises is
considered as a speaker who performs the speech acts. Levinson (1983) states in
order to deliver the meaning of what people want, all utterances which are
produced perform specific actions of doing things. In other words, when a speaker
produces utterances, it may contain specific actions that represent the speaker‟s
wants or meaning. According to Austin (1962), there are three basic senses in
which saying something one is doing something, and hence three kinds of acts
that are simultaneously performed (as cited in Levinson, 1983). The classification
of three basic senses as stated by Austin (1962) is explained in the following
sections.
a. Locutionary Act
According to Austin (1962), locutionary act is the act of saying something
hearer, it is included in locutionary act. The example of locutionary act can be
found when someone is saying something, such as “Darling, you look so pale, what happened?” By saying the utterance, the speaker asks about the condition of
the addressee. The example above is included in locutionary act because by saying
that utterance, the speaker aimed to express something to the hearer. Therefore, by
saying something to the hearer, the speaker has been successful in performing the
locutionary act.
b. Illocutionary Act
As stated by Austin (1962) “Ilocutionary act is the making of a statement,
offer, and promise in uttering a sentence, by virtue of the conventional force
associated with it or with its explicit performative paraphrase”. Levinson (1983)
adds that illocutionary act is the act of producing utterances which contain
coercion to accomplish something. In other words, illocutionary act is the
performance of an act in saying something. The example of illocutionary act is
found in the example which is stated in the section above. In the example above,
the speaker said, “Darling, you look so pale, what happened?” to the addressee.
This means that the speaker is worried about the addressee‟s health. The feeling of
worry which makes the speaker produces the utterance is included in illocutionary
act. Therefore, the illocutionary act which can be found in the utterance is when
the speaker feels worry about the addressee‟s health which leads the speaker to
15
c. Perlocutionary Act
According to Austin (1962), “Perlocutionary is the bringing about effects
on the audience by means of uttering the sentence, such effects being special to
the circumstances of utterance”. In other words, perlocutionary act is the act of
producing utterances which may give effect for the audiences. Searle (1974) states
that the acts which may give effect for the audiences are the act of persuading,
embarrassing, intimidating, boring, imitating, or inspiring the hearer. For example
is in the utterance, “Come on. Join my team, you will get so many great
experiences!” Through this utterance, the effect which will be given by the
addressee is either he/she is or is not willing to join the speaker‟s team.
2. Face Threatening Acts
Brown and Levinson (1987) develop a theory about face threatening acts
which is closely related to the theory of politeness strategies. Brown and Levinson
(1987) state that face must be included to interaction because face is something
that is emotionally invested and that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced. In other
words, when people hold the communication, they emotionally produce face
threatening acts which are aimed to achieve the purpose in communication. Face
threatening acts (FTA) are those acts which run contrary to the face wants of the
addressee and/or the speaker (Brown & Levinson 1987). Therefore, the act which
is performed through face may represent what the people have in mind and what
is intended to be done through verbal or non-verbal communication. There are two
a. Negative Face
Brown and Levinson (1987) define negative face as the basic claim
territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction. It is also stated as the
freedom of action and freedom from imposition. In other words, negative face
divests people of being impeded and gives freedom for people from imposition.
Brown and Levinson (1987) add that negative face is the face wants of the
members in the communication that they can act free. People who run the
communication may give response through their face without any interference
from others. Thus, negative face allows people who run the communication to
perform their face more freely.
b. Positive Face
Positive face is the act that focuses on self-image appreciation (Brown &
Levinson, 1987). In other words, positive face is about the desire of being
appreciated and accepted by others. For example, there is someone who wants to
be approved and appreciated by people in a group. He/she then performs the
positive face in order to make others realize that he wants to get appreciation and
approval. Brown and Levinson (1987) add that positive face includes the desire to
be ratified, understood, approved of, liked or admired. Thus, if the speaker
performs the positive face, it means that the speaker has desire to be ratified,
understood, approved, liked, or admired.
3. Politeness Strategies
According to Holtgraves (2002) the term politeness refers not to a lay
17
in different social settings. Politeness is not about the rules or protocols which are
applied in the society, but it is more about how people perform the behavior which
does not harm the listeners. Holtgraves (2002) add that politeness is a technical
term, a theoretical construct invoked as a mean of explaining the link between
language use and the social context. In short, politeness is the act of making the
link between the language use and the social context. Thus, it is important to see
and understand the social context before using the language, so that the addressee
will not misunderstand in taking the assumption of the communication. The
matter of applying proper language and performing behavior as well as the social
context is related to the theory from Brown and Levinson (1987) about politeness
strategies.
Brown and Levinson (1987) propose a theory about politeness strategies
which consist of Bald on Record, Off Record, Positive Politeness, and Negative
Politeness.
a. Bald-on-Record
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that bald-on-record is a set of principle
for achieving maximally efficient communication. In order to achieve the efficient
communication, the utterances which are expressed through this strategy are clear
and direct. In this strategy, FTA is performed with maximum efficiency more
than the speaker wants in order to satisfy the hearer‟s face. According to Brown
and Levinson (1987), there are two kinds of bald on record strategy in different
circumstances. The first kind of bald on record strategy is where the face is not
record strategy is where the speaker minimizes face threats by implication. Direct
imperatives are the clear example of bald on record usage where the utterances are
stated clearly and directly to the hearer (Brown & Levinson, 1987). The example
of direct imperative is “Lend me a hand here.”
b. Positive Politeness
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that “Positive politeness is a redress
directed to the addressee‟s positive face, his / her perennial desire that he / she
wants – or the actions, acquisitions, values resulting from them – should be
thought as of desirable” (p. 101). If a speaker applies positive politeness into
his/her utterances, it indicates that the speaker wants to get closer with the hearers.
The speaker will produce utterances which are aimed to attract the hearer‟s
interest in order to satisfy the hearer‟s positive face by sharing wants and
knowledge. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that the only thing that makes
positive politeness is different with other strategies is the element of exaggeration.
The speaker will use the element of exaggeration in their utterance in order to
satisfy the hearer‟s positive face such as, “He built the house terrifyingly” (Brown
& Levinson, 1987). When the speaker performs positive politeness strategy, it
means that the speaker is maintaining a closer relationship with the hearer. The
speaker will do so through the utterances which contain the elements of
exaggeration.
c. Negative Politeness
According to Brown and Levinson (1987) “Negative politeness is
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freedom of action unhindered and his attention unimpeded” (p. 129). The speaker
in this strategy tends to produce the utterances which are aimed to increase the
social distance. However, this strategy seems to be more polite rather than
positive politeness since this strategy is addressed to the hearer‟s negative face.
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that the utterances produced in negative
politeness are performed due to the function of minimizing the imposition to the
hearer. It means that the speaker wants the hearer to fulfill his/her wants by
satisfying the hearer‟s negative face. Therefore, this strategy is the heart of respect
behavior because there is FTA redress which is done by the speaker in order to
give chance for the hearer to perform the negative face. The example of this
strategy is as can be seen in the utterance “Can you pass the salt?” which can
only be an indirect request and that is not really a question to ask about
somebody‟s ability.
d. Off – Record
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that “A communicative act is done
through off record strategy if it is done in such a way that it is not possible to
attribute only one clear communicative intention to the act” (p. 211). The
utterances which are performed through off record mostly contain more than one
possible intention and mostly are about critics or satire. Since off record is mostly
used for indirect usage of language, the speakers will let the hearer to decide the
possible intention of the utterances through the speaker‟s FTA if it is performed.
Furthermore, off record is an ineffective way of saying things because the speaker
of this strategy is shown in the utterance “Beautiful weather, isn’t it?” which is
said to the postman who drenched in rainstorm.
4. Factors That Influence The Choice of Strategies
According to Brown and Levinson (1987) there are two factors which
influence the choice of strategies, namely payoffs and the sociological variables
between the speaker and the hearer. The first factor, namely payoffs, refers to the
result when certain strategy is applied. After certain strategy is applied in the
communication, the speaker will intrinsically afford certain advantages. Brown
and Levinson (1987) explain that the second factor, namely sociological variables,
is elaborated into three variables, namely social distance, relative power, and
absolute ranking.
a. The Payoffs
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that a payoff is the result after certain
strategy is implemented in the communication. When a speaker chooses certain
strategy to be implemented, he/she is expecting result of having implemented
certain strategy. The speaker also expects that the result of certain strategy to be
advantageous for him/her. According to Brown and Levinson (1987), each
strategy has its own advantageous result for the speaker. The advantageous result
will be explained in the following paragraphs.
By implementing bald on record, the speaker can get several benefits. The
speaker can enlist public‟s pressure against the addressee. The speaker can also
get support for his/her own image and he/she can get credit for honesty and
21
manipulator and of being misunderstood. The last advantage that will be gained
by the speaker is he can have the chance to redress the face that has been
potentially taken away by the FTA (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
By implementing off record, the speaker may profit in the following ways.
The speaker can get credit for being non-coercive. The speaker can also minimize
the risk of being gossiped by others and avoid the responsibility for the
face-damaging that he/she makes. The last profit of this strategy is the speaker can give
the hearer a chance to be seen as caring with the speaker since the speaker can
also avoid the threat of ordering the hearer (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
For going on record with positive politeness, the speaker can get the
following several profits. Through this strategy, the speaker can avoid
face-threatening by stating that the speaker and the hearer belong to “the same kind” or
that the speaker likes the hearer and also wants his/her wants. A criticism in the
assumption of friendly context may support the face-threatening reduction.
Another profit is that the speaker can avoid the debt implications of FTA either by
asserting the relationship between the speaker and the hearer or including the
hearer as the participants of the request or offer (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
For going on record with negative politeness, the speaker can get the
following benefits. The speaker can pay respect and deference to the hearer for the
FTA that the speaker‟s made. Therefore, the speaker can avoid incurring a future
debt. The speaker can also maintain social distance and avoid the presumption of
familiarity towards the hearer. The last benefit from this strategy is the speaker
not to fulfill the speaker‟s desire. It means that the speaker can show his/her
respect towards the hearer‟s negative face.
b. Sociological Variables
The second factor that may influence the choice of the strategies is
sociological variables. According to Brown and Levinson (1987), sociological
variables include three factors namely social distance, relative power, and ranking
of imposition. Those factors of sociological variables are used for measuring the
seriousness of the FTA. Thus, the factors will affect the choice of the politeness
strategies that will be applied for the communication. The factors which are
included in the sociological variables will be elaborated in the following sections.
1) Social Distance
According to Brown and Levinson (1987) the measurement of social
distance is based on the frequency of interaction and the kinds of material or
non-material goods exchange between the speaker and the hearer. In this factor, the
social attributes such as age, sex, and the social background may affect the choice
of the strategies. Holmes (2001) states that people tend to perform different
speech style when they are talking to adult and children. In other words, the same
message of a communication will be delivered through different language depends
on the hearer‟s age. Holmes (2001) adds that social background of the hearer also
affects the speaker‟s speaking style. The speaker will consider the proper
language style that will be applied for the hearer based on the hearer‟s social
background. Therefore, the different age and social background of the hearer will
23
2) Relative Power
According to Brown and Levinson (1987), “Relative power is the degree
to which the hearer can impose his own plans and his/her own self-evaluation or
face at the expense of the speaker‟s plans and self-evaluation” (p. 77). In other
words, the hearer has power to impose his/her own desire over the speaker‟s
desire. It means that the speaker will employ more polite language if the hearer
has high power for his/her desire to be fulfilled. However, the speaker can also
employ the less polite language if the hearer does not have high power to impose
his own desire over the speaker‟s desire.
3) Ranking of Imposition
According to Brown and Levinson (1987), “The ranking of imposition is
the degree to which they are considered to interfere with an agent‟s wants of
self-determination or of approval, his negative- and positive-face wants” (p. 77). In
other words, the interference is the FTA made by the speaker which can determine
the degree of imposition. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that for the negative
face, there are two possible scales that can identify the rank of imposition, namely
the imposition in proportion of services and of goods. Meanwhile, for the positive
face, the rank of imposition involves the measurement of the threat given to the
hearer‟s face. This can be done by looking at the differences between the hearer‟s
own desire and what is presented through the FTA.
5. Review of Begin Again
Corden, and Adam Levine. John Carney‟s Begin Again is a bitter yet warm
-hearted movie which tells about some people who can heal their damaged life
through music (Hood, 2014). This movie tells about people who are in their
lowest condition of their life and they can lighten up their life by working with
music. Mark Ruffalo played as Dan Mulligan, a producer in a famous record label
who finds some complicated problems because he does not make contract with
new artists in several years. Furthermore, he is cheated by his wife which makes
him live apart from his family. On the other side, Keira Knigthely played as
Gretta James, a young woman musician who follows her boyfriend to build his
career in New York. However, she is also cheated by her boyfriend and she
decides to break up with his boyfriend. In this study, there will be two other
characters that will be used as the subject of this study, namely Dave Kohl and
Steve. Dave Kohl is Gretta‟s boyfriend and this character is played by Adam
Levine. Dave Kohl aims to be a singer by moving on to New York and starts his
career, but then Dave Kohl cheats on Gretta that makes them breaks up.
Meanwhile, Steve who is Gretta‟s close friend is played by James Corden. Steve
is Gretta‟s close friend who helps Gretta when she breaks up with Dave Kohl.
Besides, Steve also helps Gretta and Dan when they are working on their album.
Hood (2014) states that Begin Again movie is related to Christian faith because it delivers the message that there will always change to start over. As
shown in the scene when Dan is depressed and Gretta is broken heart, they are
willing to start their life again. The result of what they are doing through music
25
value about the failure that happens in life will make somebody stronger. Hood
(2014) adds that “Dan and Gretta‟s character arcs are one of reconciliation,
redemption, and resurrection.” The example can be seen at the scene when Dan is
being approached by a missionary on the subway who distributes the pamphlets
related to the religion.
In Begin Again movie, John Carney as a director did not make common ending which usually happens in the drama movie. In the middle of the movie, the
audiences will guess the ending that Dan and Gretta will fall in love to each other.
However, John Carney turned the story up that Dan and Gretta are not falling in
love to each other. They keep their relationship as a producer and an artist or as
colleague. Even though John Carney did not make romantic story between Dan
and Gretta, he built a happy ending. As the ending, Dan can gather with his family
and Gretta can continue her life because she decides to forgive her ex-boyfriend.
This movie wants to make people believe that there will always be a way out to
solve the problems that they face. From this movie, there is another moral value
according to Hood (2014) that we can rebuild our lives when we can join together
in forgiveness and love.
6. Review of Related Research
Politeness is a behavior of people in using the language as a
communication device. Politeness is a study under the scope of sociolinguistics
which connects the social behavior and the study of linguistics. There are some
strategies of politeness which can be applied in the communication in order to
provide an example of the study of politeness strategies which had been done by
the previous researchers.
An example of the study of politeness strategies has been done previously
by Heribertus Hercules Anggi Oktorio (2015). The study is entitled A Study of Politeness Startegies Used by The Four Main Characters of Yes Man. The study which is written by Oktorio (2015) analyzed the types of politeness strategies used
by the four main characters in Yes Man movie and the factors which influence the
four main characters in choosing the types of politeness strategies. The researcher
employed the theory from Brown and Levinson (1987) about the types of
politeness strategies and the factors that influence the four main characters in
choosing the types of the politeness strategies. The method applied for this study
was document analysis which analyzed the movie script of Yes Man movie.
Another example of the study of politeness strategies had been done
previously by Tunggul Kumoro Damarjati (2014). The study is entitled A Study of
Politeness Strategies and The Degree of Politeness by the Main Characters in “King’s Speech”. In his thesis, Damarjati (2014) analyzed the politeness
strategies used by the main characters with a reference from the politeness
strategies theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). Damarjati (2014) also
analyzed the degree of politeness of the main characters‟ utterances by using the
theory from Leech (1983). In his thesis, the researcher employed document
analysis as the method in doing the research.
The research written by Oktorio (2015) and Damarjati (2014) are
27
However, there is a different problem which is analyzed in this research. In the
study done by Damarjati (2014), the research questions are to find out the types of
politeness strategies and the degree of the politeness strategies. Besides, the study
done by Oktorio (2015) is different with this study because of the different subject
which is taken as the data source. In the study done by Oktorio (2015), Yes Man movie was taken as the data source while in this study Begin Again movie is taken
as the data source. Therefore, the findings of this study will also be different from
the previous study which has been done by Oktorio (2015). Since the writer of
this study aimed to develop the research done by the previous researcher, the
research questions of this study are to find out the types of the politeness
strategies from other movies and to find out the factors which may influence the
characters in choosing the politeness strategies. Thus, the conclusion is the
researches from Oktorio (2015) and Damarjati (2014) give significant help in
finding the references of the theories. However, since there are some differences
in the research problem and the subject, the writer of this study expects that this
study can give significant benefits for the readers and the future researchers to
improve their understanding about politeness in a language.
B. Theoretical Framework
There are two research problems in this study, namely types of politeness
strategies applied by the characters in Begin Again and the factors that influence the characters in applying certain strategy of politeness. In order to answer the two
Brown and Levinson (1987) and the theory also from Brown and Levinson (1987)
about the factors that may influence the choice of the strategy.
In order to answer the first research problem, the writer refers to the theory
of politeness strategies which are proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). There
are four strategies in politeness, namely bald on record, positive politeness,
negative politeness, and off record. The writer attempts to analyze the utterances
of the four characters in order to find out the strategy which is used by the four
characters.
Besides, in order to answer the second research problem, the writer refers
to the theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987) about the factors
influencing the choice of politeness strategies. There are two factors in language
politeness, namely payoffs and sociological variables. The sociological variables
are elaborated into three factors, namely social distance, relative power, and
ranking of imposition. The writer attempts to analyze the utterances of the four
main characters based on the two factors to find out which factor that affects the
characters in choosing the politeness strategies.
Thus, this chapter provides all theories which are needed and related to
this study. The main theory of this study is the theory from Brown and Levinson
(1987) about the four politeness strategies and the factors which may influence in
choosing the strategy. The main theory of this study is employed to analyze the
politeness strategies applied by the four main characters and the factors which
may influence the four characters in applying certain strategy. Therefore, in order
29
Figure 2.1: The Theoretical Framework of the Study Begin Again
Movie
Dan Mulligan Gretta James Dave Kohl Steve
Politeness Strategies
Types Brown and Levinson
(1987)
Factors Brown and Levinson
(1987)
Positive Politeness
Bald on Record
Negative
Politeness Off Record The Payoffs
31
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter will be divided into six parts. The first part is about the
research method which describes the methods used in this study. The second part
is about the research setting which describes when the study was conducted. The
third part is about the research participants which elaborates the participants who
were involved in this study. The fourth part is about the instruments and data
gathering technique which describe about the instruments and the techniques in
gathering the data. The fifth part is about the data analysis technique which
explains about the technique employed in this study to analyze the data. Then, the
sixth part is about the research procedures which elaborates the steps in
conducting this study.
A. Research Method
This study focused on the politeness strategies of Begin Again movie. There are two research questions which are attempted to be answered by the
writer. The research questions of this study are, first, which types of politeness
strategies used by the four main characters in Begin Again movie? and second, what are the factors that influence the four characters in choosing the strategy for
communication? The research was done through analyzing the utterances of the
four main characters in Begin Again movie. The utterances which were analyzed
study analyzed the social phenomenon of the politeness strategies implication in
each utterance which is expressed by the four main characters.
Since this study is focused on how people apply the language for the
communication, the writer aimed to do qualitative research to analyze the
phenomenon. Qualitative research focuses on the total picture of a phenomenon
rather than the variables of the phenomenon (Ary, Jacobs, & Razavieh, 2002).
This means that the qualitative researchers do not use some variables, such as
numeric data, in analyzing a phenomenon. In qualitative research, the researchers
analyze the data in the form of detail explanation rather than in the form of
numeric data. The goal of a qualitative research is a holistic picture and depth of
understanding, rather than a numeric analysis of data (Ary et al, 2002). In other
words, qualitative researchers will be dealing more with words rather than number
of data. Thus, the qualitative researchers will focus more on the depth explanation
about the phenomenon that is being analyzed.
In this study, the writer analyzed the characters‟ utterances in Begin Again
movie. Since this study aimed to analyze the characters‟ utterances in a movie,
this study belonged to document analysis or content analysis. Document analysis
or content analysis is a technique that enables researchers to study human
behavior in an indirect way, through an analysis of their communication
(Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2011). The communication that can be analyzed to
observe human behavior can be in the form of textbooks, essays, newspapers,
novels, magazine articles, cookbooks, songs, political speeches, advertisement,
