A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN ELIZABETH BANKS PITCH PERFECT 2 A Thesis Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Attainment of Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Literature Citra Sukmawati 12211144023 ENGLISH LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY 2017
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MOTTOS To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Everyone makes mistakes in life, but that doesn t mean they have to pay for them the rest of their life. Sometimes good people make bad choices. It doesn t mean they re bad, it means they re human -Anonymous You haven t failed until you stop trying. -Jon Gordon v
DEDICATIONS This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to: - my late father; - my beloved mother, Endang Sugiarti, who never gets tired of praying and supporting me in everything I do, for her unstoppable and unlimited support and love; - my younger sister and brother, Dinda and Izal. vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Bismillaahirrahmaanirraahiim, All praises be to Allah SWT, the Almighty, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful who always guides me for every decision I made. I would never complete this thesis writing without His blessings and guidance. I would like to acknowledge the contributions of my supervisors, Titik Sudartinah, M.A., and Paulus Kurnianta, M.Hum. for their supports, guidance, patience, help, and valuable advice in completing my undergraduate thesis. I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to my beloved mother for her endless and immeasurable prayer and love. Her patience and way of reminding me to complete my undergraduate thesis are the best ones. On this special occasion, I would also like to give my special thanks to Sunu Putra Adi Pangestu who always reminded me staying focused on my undergraduate thesis writing and made me encouraged when I get bored in writing my undergraduate thesis. I also do not forget to thank my friend whom I usually call Mbok Ocep who gave me his help during my undergraduate thesis writing from the very beginning to the end. Also, I thank Maulida who could spend her time for being my reviewer from the very beginning to the end. I also thank Tarry Andini for not being tired of reminding me to complete my thesis and for always giving me advice and making me encouraged. vii
a lot of things. Last, I thank Sasing H, 7 Goal, and all my best friends from whom I learned Yogyakarta, August 08, 2017 Citra Sukmawati viii
TABLE OF CONTENT TITLE PAGE... I APPROVAL SHEET... Ii RATIFICATION SHEET... Iii SURAT PERNYATAAN... Iv MOTTOS... V DEDICATIONS... Vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... Vii TABLE OF CONTENTS... Ix LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES... Xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS... Xii ABSTRACT... Xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION... 1 A. Background of the Research... 1 B. Research Focus... 2 C. Objectives of the Research... 4 D. Significance of the Study... 5 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK... 6 A. Literature Review... 6 1. Pragmatics... 6 2. Politeness... 9 a. The Definition of Politeness... 9 b. Face... 9 c. Politenes Strategies... 11 1) Bald-on Record... 11 2) Positive Politeness... 14 3) Negative Politeness... 21 4) Off Record... 25 3. Previous Studies... 27 4. Pitch Perfect 2... 29 B. Conceptual Framework... 30 C. Analytical Construct... 32 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD... 33 A. Type of the Research... 33 B. Form, Sources, and Context of the Data... 34 C. Instruments of the Research... 34 D. Data Collection Tecnique... 36 E. Data Analysis Technique... 36 F. Trustworthiness... 36 ix
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION... 38 A. Findings... 38 B. Discusion... 41 1. The Types of Politeness Strategies in Pitch Perfect 2... 41 2. The Realization of Each Type of Politeness Strategies in Pitch Perfect 2... 49 CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS... 82 A. Conclusions... 82 B. Suggestions... 84 REFERENCES... 86 APPENDICES... 88 A. Data Sheet of Types and Realizations of Politeness Strategies in Pitch Perfect 2... 88 B. Surat Pernyataan Triangulasi... 123 x
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figures Figure 1 : The cover of Pitch Perfect 2... 30 Figure 2 : Analytical Construct... 32 Tables Table 1 : An Example of a Data Sheet of Politeness Strategies and Politeness Strategies Realizations in Pitch Perfect 2... 35 Table 2 : Findings of Types and Realizations of Politeness Strategies Performed by the Characters in Pitch Perfect 2... 39 xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BR = Bald on-record 1 = Showing disagreement 2 = Giving suggestion 3 = Requesting 4 = Warning 5 = Using imperative form 6 = Offering 7 = Task-oriented PP: Positive Politeness 1 = Noticing and atending to H 2 = Exaggerating 3 = Intensifying interest to the hearer 4 = Using in-group identity markers 5 = Seeking agreement 6 = Avoiding disagreement 7 = Asserting common ground 8 = Joking to put the hearer at ease 9 = Presupposing knowledge 10 = Offering and promising 11 = Being optimistic 12 = Including both speaker and hearer in the activity 13 = Giving or asking for reasons 14 = Asserting reciprocal exchange 15 = Giving gifts to hearer NP: Negative Politeness 1 = Conventionally indirect 2 = Questioning and hedging 3 = Being pessimistic 4 = Minimizing the imposition 5 = Giving deference 6 = Apologizing 7 = impersonalizing speaker and hearer: avoid the pronouns I and You 8 = Stating the FTA as a general rule 9 = Nominalizing 10 = Going on record as incurring debt or as not indebting hearer OR: Off Record 1 = Giving hints 2 = Understanding 3 = Overstating 4 = Being ironic 5 = Using rhetorical question 6 = Being vague or ambiguous xii
A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN ELIZABETH BANKS PITCH PERFECT 2 Citra Sukmawati 12211144023 ABSTRACT This research is aimed at describing one of pragmatic phenomena called politeness strategies. The objectives of this research are to describe the types and realizations of politeness strategy in Pitch Perfect 2. This research was a descriptive qualitative research as it described the data in the form of sentences. The data were in the forms of sentences while the context of the data was conversations performed by the characters in Pitch Perfect 2. This research employed Brown and Levinson s theory in revealing the objectives of the research. The results of the research show that four politeness strategies proposed by Brown and Levinson are all used in Pitch Perfect 2. They are bald-on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record. In terms of the realizations of politeness strategies, there are six realizations of bald-on record politeness strategy used in the movie i.e. showing disagreement, giving suggestion, requesting, warning, using imperative forms, and offering. There are eleven realizations of positive politeness used in Pitch Perfect 2 i.e. noticing and attending to hearer, exaggerating, intensifying interest to hearer, using in-group identity markers, seeking agreement, avoiding disagreement, presupposing or asserting common ground, telling a joke, offering and promising, including both speaker and hearer in the activity, and assuming or asserting reciprocity. There are five realizations of negative politeness strategy used in Pitch Perfect 2 i.e. conventionally indirect, being pessimistic, minimizing the imposition, giving deference, and apologizing. In addition, there are four realizations of off record used in Pitch Perfect 2 i.e. giving hints, understanding, being ironic, and being vague or ambiguous. Positive politeness has the highest variety of realizations, but bald-on record is the strategy that is dominant in Pitch Perfect 2 since the coversations are mainly between close friends. Keywords: pragmatics, politeness strategies, Pitch Perfect 2 xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter explicates the background of this research. It also describes the research focus and the formulation of the problems, points the objectives of the research, and illuminates the significance of the research. A. Background of the Research The definition of language is definitely wide. It can be defined as a means of communication, and it also can be defined as an identity of a culture. Separated from those definitions, language can be used as a means of communication in sharing ideas, suggestions and feelings with others. Therefore, language is very important for people. They hopefully are capable to understand the function of language itself in order to maintain a good relationship with others. In maintaining a good relationship, people need to use their language correctly and to pay attention on politeness in language use. The reason is to make the addressee able to respond well. According to Yule (1998: 60), politeness is defined as a means used by an individual to respect other s face. It can be concluded that by using politeness one can show awareness toward other s face of which he or she wants to keep. Politeness differs in the employment based on contexts and situations. Linguistically politeness can be defined as people using their language with exact diction and proper addressee in the right time and the right place. This is different from other aspects. By understanding this means of communication, people will create a good relationship with each other. 1
2 To acquire a good relationship, people need to do some strategies which are called politeness strategies. Brown and Levinson (in Goody 1987:68-70) state there are four types of politeness strategies i.e. bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record. The employment of these strategies depends on the relationship between the speaker and the addressee. Politeness strategies are not only realized in real life conversation, but it also appears in a movie. A movie makes people possible to observe how language is used as it is a reflection of real life experience. One of the movies that interestingly portrays this phenomenon is an American musical comedy movie directed by Elizabeth Banks, Pitch Perfect 2. The researcher chooses this movie as the object of the research for two reasons. First, this movie portrays a group whose members are from various culture. Thus, there is a high tendency for group members to employ politeness strategies. Second, when they perform on a stage, audience who come from various cultural backgrounds make everyone in the event use the language appropriately and politely. This makes politeness strategies possible to be used by them. B. Research Focus Pragmatic problems do not only occur in daily conversation, but the problems also occur in the dialogues in a movie. The study of language use in a movie can be done on the characters utterances supported by their circumstances and the employment of their language. Therefore, the dialogues among the characters in a movie become an interesting object to be studied. From the language use, the researcher finds three related theories, i.e. cooperative principle, speech act,
3 and politeness strategies. The three theories have relevance to one another. They are under the pragmatic study, and they can also be used to analyze a movie. In addition, they have the same discussion about courtesy talk. The explanation of each theory is presented below. First, the object can be analyzed using cooperative principle. Cooperative principle examines how communication occurs when both the speaker and hearer cooperate with each other in order to understand their speech or utterances. To make a good conversation, the user of language should pay attention on the principles prevailing in the communication. Yule (1998: 36-37) proposes some guide-lines that have to be followed by the participants who are engaged in a conversation. These guide-line are the four basic maxims of cooperative principle including maxim quality, quantity, relation, and manner. By using this approach, it is possible to reveal the successful communication between Beca as a leader of Barden Bella and the members of the group in Pitch Perfect 2. It is assumed that a leader should be able to build good communication with the members. Second, the object can be analyzed using speech act. Speech act is understood as thing people do through language they use in their communication with other people. It simply means using utterances to perform actions. Those utterances also fulfill functions such as requesting, denying, apologizing, introducing, ordering, and so on. Last, the object can be analyzed by using politeness strategies. Politeness strategies are strategies that provide an appropriate opportunity for minimizing face risk. The politeness strategies seem interesting to analyze since the notion how to be
4 polite is different from one culture and others. The characters in Pitch Perfect 2 who are from various cultural backgrounds make politeness strategies even more interesting to analyze. The various cultural backgrounds will potray different kinds of politenessd notion in creating an effective communication. In reference to limitation of the problems, the researcher focuses on the last aspect, politeness strategies. The researcher finds some aspects from the language use in Pitch Perfect 2 which can be discussed. Considering the wide range of the aspects and accessibility of the study, the researcher focuses only on two problems. First, the researcher identifies the types of politeness strategies expressed by the characters. Brown and Levinson categorize the types of politeness strategies into four. They are bald on-record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and offrecord. Second, the researcher identifies the realization of politeness strategies. Based on the limitation of the problems, the researcher formulates the problems as in the following. 1. What types of politeness strategies are employed by the characters in Pitch Perfect 2? 2. How are the realizations of politeness strategies used by the characters in Pitch Perfect 2?
5 C. Objectives of the Study In relation to the formulation of the problems, the objectives of the research are stated as follows: 1. to reveal the types of politeness strategies employed by the characters in Pitch Perfect 2, and 2. to identify the way politeness strategies realized in the utterances expressed by the characters in Pitch Perfect 2. D. Significance of the Study This research analyzes politeness strategies in a movie. Thus, it is expected that this research offers both theoretical and practical benefits. Theoretically, this research can provide some information on understanding of politeness for students and for lecturers. Also, for readers in general, this research can be something worthreading. Practically, this research can be beneficial to students majoring in linguistics. To the English language study program students, this research can be used as an example of how to analyze politeness strategies in a movie. In addition, this research can be seen as an alternative idea in teaching English using a movie as the medium. Moreover, this research also hopefully can be used as additional information for other researchers in conducting some research in linguistics especially on politeness study.
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This chapter is categorized into three parts. The first part, literature review, discusses politeness strategies theory. The second part, previous studies, elaborates some related studies as references of this research. The last part, conceptual framework and analytical construct presents the major theories to answer the research questions. A. Literature Review 1. Pragmatics Many linguists described pragmatics in various ways. Yule (1998: 3) describes pragmatics as the study dealing with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker and interpreted by a listener. This type of study necessarily involves the interpretation of what people mean in a particular context and how the context influences what is said. It consequently considers with whom a speaker is talking to, in what circumstances or what contexts he/she utters his/her utterances, and when and where he/she utters those utterances. Yule (1998: 3) also states that pragmatics is the study that deals with four areas. First, pragmatics is the study of speaker s meaning. It has something to do with what people really mean when they are saying words. It is not about what the words uttered by the speaker literally mean, but it is about what the speaker means by saying the words. Second, pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning. This study focuses on what a speaker means in a particular context when they are talking. It requires the speaker to consider to whom he or she is talking, and when, where, and 6
7 under what circumstances he or she is having a conversation. Third, pragmatics is the study of how people get more communicated rather than only saying words. This study involves how the listeners or addressees make inferences of what is said by the speakers. It is to interpret what is the speaker s intended meaning by saying utterances. In other words, it is the investigation of invisible meaning. Last, pragmatics is the study of the expression of relative distance. It is about how close or distant the speaker and the listener can determine what is said and what is unsaid. In addition, Geoffrey Leech (1991: x) states that pragmatics can be defined as the study of how utterances have meanings in a situation. It is how implied meanings in one s utterances are understood by others in a certain situation. To conclude, pragmatics then can be described as one of linguistics branches which studies how people use language in their conversation in a certain context and different situations. This study makes the speakers consider with whom they are having a conversation, in what particular context they are having conversation. Times and places also determine the speakers in uttering their utterances. Besides, the state of being emotionally or socially closed between the speaker and the speakers and the listeners can determine the choice of what is said or unsaid. Context, setting and solidarity make pragmatics cover wide scopes including speech acts, cooperative principles, deixis, and politeness. Austin (in Cutting, 2003: 16) defines speech acts as the performance of action which is conveyed through what is said. In other words, people perform actions through their utterances. Yule (1998: 47) states that in English, generally speech acts are given more particular categories, such as apology, complaint, compliment,
8 invitation, promise, or request. Furthermore, Mey (1993: 111) explains that speech acts are acts which occur in society and that they create differences to the current circumstances. Based on Levinson (in Goody, 1987: 101), the cooperative principle is a set of principles which is proposed by Grice in 1975. He develops the concept of implicature and suggests that there is a set of comprehensive assumptions which guide the conversation management. According to Grice (in Leech, 1991: 8), under the cooperative principle, there are four sub-principles called maxims; they are maxim of quality, maxim of quantity, maxim of relation, and maxim of manner. Another topic under the study of pragmatics is deixis. Deixis is a form used to identify something which is attached to the speaker s situation (Yule 1998: 9). Deixis cannot be separated from the context. As proposed by Cutting (2003: 7), some words actually point out to the referred object when the referring expression pinpoints the referent in the context. The deictic expressions, which are used to do the pointing, can be used to indicate people, location or time. Another topic under pragmatics is politeness. The employment of politeness is used to show awareness of another person s public self-image (Yule, 1998: 60). Cutting (2003: 45) explains that politeness refers to the choices made in the use of language. It is the linguistic expressions which give people space and show them a friendly attitude. The further discussion about politeness will be discussed in the following section.
9 2. Politeness a. The Definition of Politeness Most people surely can describe how to be polite is. Some people may answer that being polite is respecting older people. Some also may answer that being polite is when we speak really well, and so on. Respecting older people and speaking really well, as stated by Watts (2003:1), are called polite behavior. Politeness in an interaction, however, as what is described by Yule (1998:60), is the means employed to show awareness of another person s face. Showing awareness for another person s face when the speaker and the listener seem socially distant is often described in terms of respect or deference. Besides, when someone shows awareness of other s face when they are socially close to each other is often defined in terms of friendliness or solidarity. It is in line with what is explained by Yule (1998:60) that politeness can be accomplished in situations of social distance or closeness. In other words, one can show aversion toward other s face of which he or she wants to keep and that politeness differs in the employment that depends on contexts and situations. In addition, according to Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987:04), Naturally, politeness is protypically exhibited in conversation and other kinds of face-to-face interchange. b. Face As human beings, people sometimes take part in a wide range of interaction whose addressee is sometimes strangers. It results in the choice of diction they may use regarding the social distance they have with the strangers. The social distance
10 makes them consider to be polite in having the interaction with their addressee. The politeness they are performing is related to the concept of face. Yule (1998:60) describes face as the public self-image of a person. It refers to the emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and expects everyone else to recognize. Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987:61) defines face as something that is emotionally invested and that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly attended to an interaction. In other words, face is something everyone has and should be respected by others. Therefore, in order to have and maintain a good social interaction, people should be aware of another one s face. Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987:62) also consider that face has two aspects i.e. negative face and positive face. Negative face is the need to be independent, to have freedom of action, and not to be imposed on by others. For instance, when a person asks another person to show time, the person will say I wonder if you could show me the time. Positive face, however, is the need to be accepted, even liked, by others, to be treated as a member of the same group, and to know that his or her wants are shared by others. For instance, when a person asks another person to show time, the person will say what time is it?. Another domain that is to be considered in the topics of face is face wants. Some people want their faces to be respected by others when they are having a communication. Unfortunately, some people may say something that can threat others face due to the difference in their cultural background. Therefore, Yule (1998:61) states that people always try to say something to lessen the possible threat called face saving acts.
11 According to Yule (1998:61), face threatening act is utterances spoken by people that represent a threat to another individual s expectations regarding selfimage. In order to avoid the possible threats one may make, some strategies are needed. The strategies are called politeness strategies i.e. bald-on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record. c. Politeness Strategies 1) Bald on-record Bald on-record is the most straight forward strategy among the rests. Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987:69) states that bald on-record is doing an act baldly, without redress, involves doing in the most direct, clear, unambiguous, and concise way. What a speaker utters is what he/she really means. This strategy is usually used among speakers and hearers who have a close relationship to each other such as among friends, family, or relatives. Yule (1998:60) states that the bald-on record strategy does nothing to minimize threats to the hearer's face. This strategy, if it is used among strangers, can threaten other s face as it is not minimizing the possible threats that may happen when doing the face threatening act. The further explanation of the realization of bald on-record strategies is discussed in the following points. a) Showing disagreement Showing dissagrement enables a speaker to show disagreement to a hearer without softening the threat that may arise. This sub strategy makes the speaker do face threatening act directly to the hearer. The example of this sub strategy is that s
12 wrong; the gap should be bigger (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 97). The speaker directly shows his or her disagreement toward the hearer s point. b) Giving suggestion Giving suggestion makes a speaker give his or her suggestion to a hearer without regarding of who the person is. The instance of this sub strategy is your wig is askew; let me fix it for you (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 98). The speaker gives suggestion to the hearer to fix the wig. The speaker is more superior than the hearer, so that the speaker performs a face threatening act to the hearer s face. c) Requesting Requesting is when speakers directly request the interlocutors to do what they want. Usually it deals with imperative sentences. The instance of this sub strategy is lend me a hand here (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 97). In this sentence, by requesting the speaker becomes more superior than the hearer, and this sentence directly threatens the hearer s face. d) Warning In emergency situation, a speaker uses direct command to a hearer without softening the threat. The example of warning is Careful! He s a dangerous man (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 98). In this sentence, the speaker tries to warn the hearer against someone who can threaten him or her. The speaker said his or her utterance baldy and means what is said.
13 e) Using imperative form When a speaker uses an imperative form, he or she does not regard who his/her addressee is. Thus, the face threatening act is clearly arisen. The example of using imperative form is forgive me (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 97). In this example, the speaker and the hearer s face. His or her utterance contains a face threatening act as it direcly makes the hearer s negative face threatened. f) Offering A speaker directly offers something. To do offering makes the speaker ignore to whom he or she is talking to. The example of this sub strategy is leave it to me (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 100). In this example, the speaker does not take into account to whom he or she is talking to. This sentence contains a face threatening act by offering the speaker himself to do something. g) Task-oriented Task-oriented happens when a speaker directly orders a hearer to do what the speaker wants him/her to. This sub strategy is usually found in occupational hierarchy such as a doctor to a patient. The example of this sub strategy is add three cups of flour and stir vigorously. (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 97). This example shows that the speaker more superior than the hearer is, and he or she makes the hearer s negative face threatened directly as he or she said that utterance
14 2) Positive Politeness Positive politenness strategy is oriented toward the positive face of a hearer, the positive self-image that he claims for himself that is stated by Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987:70). The potential of face threatening act is minimized by doing the positive politeness strategy by the assurance that in general a speaker wants at least some of hearer s wants. It is like treating the hearer as a member of an ingroup, a friend, a person whose wants and personality traits are known and liked. Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987:101-129) also state that there are fifteen realizations of positive politeness strategy which are elaborated in the following section including the example of each strategy. a) Noticing and attending to hearer Noticing and attending to hearer suggests that a speaker should pay attention to a hearer s condition. The condition may be their interests, wants, needs, or goods. The realization is by doing a compliment. If the hearer makes a Face Threatening Act against himself, the speaker should notice the act and indicate that he is not embarrassed by the act, and he/she can lessen the threat by performing a joke or teasing. The example of this sub strategy is portrayed in the sentence Your dress looks good. Did you make it yourself? (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:104). In the two preceding sentences, the speaker actually knows that the dress worn by the addressee is good. He or she also wants to know where the place that sells that dress and even wear that same dress worn by the addressee. Therefore, he or she attempts to satisfy the addressee s positive face by praising the dress worn by the
15 addressee. By praising the addressee s dress, the speaker hopes that the addressee can tell him/her the dress, whether the dress is hand made or sold in a store. b) Exaggerating Exaggerating is the exaggerative or empathic use of words or particles. The realization is often done with exaggerated intonation, stress, and other aspects of prosodic toward hearers interest, approval, and sympathy with the hearer. The expressions usually used in performing this realization in English language are including for sure, really, exactly, and absolutely. The example of this realization is presented in the expression How absolutely incredible! (Bown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:104). The expression put as the example shows that the speaker wants to exaggerate what the addressee just did even though what the addressee just did is a common thing, but by exaggerating the state of the addressee s work can make the addressee pleased and willingly provide what the speaker wants him or her to do. c) Intensifying interest to hearer Intensifying interest to hearer is another way for a speaker to show that he or she shares some common purposes with the hearer is by intensifying the hearer s interest to the speaker s contribution. The speaker of this strategy may pull the hearer s attention to the conversation by making a good story or narrative. Therefore, the narrative should be clearly explained by the speaker. The example of this realization is as follows:
16 Black I like. I used to wear it more than I do now. I wore a black jumper, and when I wear it my Mum says Ah, she said. But Len likes it, he thinks it looks ever so nice and quite a few people do. But when my Mum sees it she said, Oh it s not your color, you re more for pinks and blues. (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:106) The speaker attempts to involve the addressee into his or her discussion by comparing a story of his or her experience in applying black for his or her clothes. It is to make the addressee feel like he or she is in the same group or community as the speaker. d) Using in-group identity markers Using in-group identity marker allows a speaker to implicitly claim the common ground with a hearer who is carried in the same social background. This sub strategy can be realized by doing in-group language or dialect, in-group address forms, jargon, slang, contraction or ellipses. The example of this sub strategy is Come here, honey (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:108). Here, the speaker treats the addressee as a close one to him or her as the speaker calls the addresse honey. It is a type of address terms called special name or endearment that is to show a close relationship between the speakers and the hearers. The speaker employs the endearment to save the speaker s face by treating him or her as the member of his or her group or community. e) Seeking agreement In expressing positive politeness, a speaker can also apply the sub strategy of seeking agreement in safe topics. It is a sub strategy that allows the speaker to find a possibility in which he or she can agree with the hearer s statement in safe topics.
17 The speaker can perform this sub strategy by doing repetition of the hearer s utterance. The example of this strategy is as follows: A: John went to London this weekend! B: To London! (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:113). In this dialogue, B attempts to save his or her A s face by seeking an agreement with A. By saying the agreement, B shows his or her cooperation with A. f) Avoiding disagreement Avoiding disagreement is the application of hedges in pretending that a speaker is in the same thought as a hearer s. It is to avoid a disagreement. The example is as follows: A: That s where you live, Florida? B: That s where I was born. In this dialogue, B attempts to save A s face by hiding his or her disagreement. He or she chooses to say That s where I was born instead of saying No, you are wrong. Therefore, B makes the hearer feel good because A thinks that his or her opinion is not wrong. g) Presupposing or asserting common ground Presupposing or asserting common ground can be done by having a small talk or gossiping with a hearer. Besides, it also can be applied by using point of view operations and presupposition manipulations. The example is presented in the sentence I had a really hard time learning to drive, didn t I. The speaker uses question tag to create a small talk that includes the addressee into the discussion. The question tag emphasizes that the speaker and the addressee
18 have a common goal. Therefore, the speaker can minimize the threat when he or she asks the addressee about his or her driving learning. h) Telling a joke Telling a joke allows a speaker to show solidarity and familiarity to a hearer by making a joke. The example is in the sentence How about lending me this old heap of junk? (hearer s new Cadillac) The speaker is trying to amuse the hearer by telling a joke about the addressee s brand new car. The speaker says that the addressee s new Cadillac is just an old heap of junk even though the car is new, and he or she is going to borrow it from the addressee. The speaker makes a joke to minimize the demand when he or she is asking B for lending his or her new car. i) Presupposing speaker s knowledge of and concerning for hearer s wants Presupposing speaker s knowledge of and concerning for hearer s wants is done by asserting or implying knowledge of the hearer s wants and willingness to fit one s own wants with them. The example is portrayed in the sentence Look. I know you want the car back by 5, so shouldn t I go to the town now? (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:124). The example shows the cooperation stressed by the speaker. The speaker understands that the addressee wants the speaker to return the addressee s car at five because he or she may use the car at that time, so that the speaker promises the addressee to return it right at five o clock. Thus, the hearer s positive face has been satisfied because he or she has been appreciated and accepted by the speaker.
19 j) Offering and promising In order to minimize the potential threat and to show that a speaker and a hearer are cooperative, offering and promising are naturally outcomes of choosing this sub strategy even if they are false. They just demonstrate the speaker s good intention in satisfying the hearer s wants. The example is I will take you along on my trip to New Zealand if you cook me a good meal tonight (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:125). The example shows that the speaker conveys the hearer that they are cooperative. The speaker stresses his or her cooperation by promising the hearer that he or she will take the addressee along on the speaker s next trip to New Zealand. This expression can minimize the imposition when the speaker asks the hearer to cook the dinner that evening. Thus, the hearer s positive face has been fulfilled because the speaker has appreciated him or her. k) Being optimistic Being optimistic makes a speaker expect a hearer to do anything the speaker wants because it is in their shared interest. The example is I m borrowing your scissors for a sec ok? (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:127). The speaker promises the addressee to turn his or her scissors in a second. It shows that the speaker has appreciated the hearer and satisfied the hearer s positive face. l) Including both speaker and hearer in the activity Including both speaker and hearer in the activity is to make the hearer part of the activity or the thing that the speaker wants to do. Pronoun we including its
20 relative and objective forms is usually used in performing this sub strategy. The example of this realization is Give us a break (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:127). The speaker asks the addressee to break for certain reasons. The use of pronoun us in that sentence shows that the speaker includes the addressee in his or her activity. It makes the request more polite because it indicates the cooperation between the speaker and the addressee. The goals are not only for the speaker but also for both of them. m) Giving or asking for reasons The speaker of giving or asking for reasons sub strategy shows cooperation with the hearer by giving or asking for reasons. The speaker does this to make his or her wish understandable by the hearer. Therefore, the hearer agrees to help the speaker in making his or her wish. The example is Why don t you bathe at all? (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:128). The speaker suggests the addressee to take a bath in his or her shower as the speaker knows that the addressee has done a heavy work. Thus, the speaker has satisfied the addressee s positive face. n) Assuming or asserting reciprocity The existence of cooperation between the speaker and the hearer can also be shown by stating mutual exchange. An example of asserting reciprocal exchange or tit for tat strategy is presented in the sentences I think you ve had a bit too much to drink, Jim. Why not stay at our place this evening (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:129).
21 In this sentence, it is clearly seen that both the speaker and the addressee get their reciprocity. The speaker will get his or her new phone while the addressee will gets his or her lawn mown. o) Giving gifts to hearer When applying giving gifts to hearer sub strategy, a speaker may give not only a tangible gift, but also an intangible gift. The example is as follows: A: Have a cup of coffee, boy. B: thanks. A: not at all. I wonder if you could spend me some time for two-minute chatting (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987: 129). In this dialogue, A attempts to give B a gift by giving him or her a glass of coffee. By giving a glass of coffee as a gift, A makes B feel appreciated. Therefore, A can minimize the imposition when he or she confide in B. 3) Negative Politeness According to Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987: 129) negative politeness performs the function of minimizing a particular imposition that the FTA unavoidably affects. In addition, Brown and Levinson (in Cutting, 2002: 46) state that negative politeness focuses on negative face, by showing the distance between speakers, and minimizing disrupting on each other subject. Furthermore, Brown and Levinson (in Goody, 1987: 130) divide the strategy that can realize the negative politeness into ten. The ten strategies are presented below along with their examples. a) Being conventionally indirect Being conventionally indirect suggests that a speaker should tell something in an indirect way with a clear meaning. The speaker can apply this sub strategy as in
22 the example Could you tell me the time, please? (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:133). In this sentence, the speaker attempts to request information to the addressee. By saying that sentence, the speaker successfully maintains the addressee s negative face as he or she feels independent. b) Questioning and hedging Hedge, here, can be defined as caution notes expressed about how an utterance is to be taken. The example is I wonder whether I could just sort of ask you a little question (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:147). By using the hedge, sort of, the speaker can minimize the imposition that may occur among the speaker and the addressee. It can maintain the addressee s negative face. c) Being pessimistic A speaker can express his or her pessimism by using the subjunctive to anticipate a refusal from a hearer. Being pessimistic can be found in this sentence If you had a little time to spare for me this afternoon, I d like to talk about my paper (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:173). In this sentence, the speaker attempts to ask the addressee whether he or she has some time to spend to talk about the speaker s paper. The speaker is being pessimistic because the addressee may has or does not have the time to spend for the speaker.
23 d) Minimizing the imposition In minimizing the imposition, a speaker can minimize the imposition between the speaker and the hearer. The example of this strategy is Could I talk to you just a minute? (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:177). In this sentence, the speaker uses could and a minute in his or her sentence in order to minimize the imposition that may occur among them. By applying this strategy, the speaker can maintain the addressee s negative face. e) Giving deference The strategy of giving deference can be accomplished through the use of honorific or the use of more formal varieties of language. The honorific can be found in this strategy. For example Excuse me, officer. I think I might have parked in the wrong place (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:183). The word officer shows that the speaker may have lower status than the addressee. f) Apologizing In apologizing sub strategy, when asking for apologize, a speaker may admit the impingements, indicate reluctance, give overwhelming reasons and beg forgiveness. The example of this sub strategy is Sorry to bother you, but... (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:189). In the example, the speaker says sorry to the addressee to minimize the threat he or she may produce. g) Impersonalizing speaker and hearer
24 In impersonalizing speaker and hearer sub strategy, a speaker is able to save the hearer s negative face by avoiding the pronouns I and you directly. The example of this sub strategy Do this for me (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:190). In this example, the speaker avoids using pronouns you and I. He or she says do this for me to avoid imposition. h) Stating the FTA as a general rule By stating the imposition as an example of a general rule, a hearer is able to communicate that he or she does not want to impose, but is forced by the circumstance. The example is We don t sit on tables, we sit on chairs, Johny (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:207). In this example, the speaker does not impose the hearer to sit on the chair. He or she attempts to draw the hearer s attention by saying this utterance. By doing this strategy, the speaker minimizes the threat that may arise. i) Nominalizing Nominalizing the hearer also can save other s face. By nominalizing a speaker can avoid the possible threat on a hearer s face. The example of this strategy is Participation in an illegal demonstration is punishable by law could I have your name and address, madam? (Brown anad Levinson in Goody, 1987:207). In the example, the speaker attempts to avoid any address by using general terms, participation. It is to show the distance to the addressee.
25 j) Going on record as incurring a debt or as not indebting hearer A speaker may safe a hearer s negative face by promising to reciprocate the favor in the future or by allowing the hearer to refuse. The next sentence is an example of this sub strategy. It wouldn t be any trouble; I have to go right by there anyway (Brown and Levinson in Goody, 1987:210). In this example, the speaker disclaims any indebtedness of hearer by saying. It wouldn t be any trouble. By saying this sentence, the speaker saves the hearer s face. 4) Off Record According to Brown and Levinson (in Cutting, 2000:45), off-record is an indirect way of politeness. The utterances are not directly addressed to hearers. Yule (1998:63) adds that being off record is more has been communicated than said. In this strategy, it is a must for the hearer to understand or to realize the implied meaning of what the speaker utters. The descriptions of the six strategies are as follows: a) Giving hints A speaker violates the maxim of relevance. The hints can be realized through raising the issue of some desired acts. For instance, by stating motives or reasons for doing a certain act. It can be applied by asserting or questioning. The example of this strategy is It s cold in here (Bonvillain, 2003: 127).
26 In this sentence, the speaker is stating something indirectly to the addressee. It is that whether the speaker wants the addressee to close the window and the door, or he or she even wants the addressee to turn the heating machine on. b) Understanding In using understating sub strategy, a speaker can state something that makes it seem less important than it really is or provide less information that it is required. The example is It s not half bad (Bonvillain, 2003:127). The speaker makes his statement less important than it really is. c) Overstating Another way for a speaker to express an indirect politeness is by saying more than is necessary. An expression of overstating can be found in the following sentence I tried to call a hundred times, but there was never any answer (Bonvillain, 2003:127). In this example, the speaker overstates his or her condition that he or she tries to call the addressee a hundred times. It is to make his or her statement more important than what it really is. d) Being ironic In its application, usually there are clues that a speaker conveys an indirect intended meaning in his utterance or being ironic. The example of being ironic is Thanks to Patrick who cut the grass super noisy this morning coz he successfully woke me up from sleep. The sound is super killing. (Maros, M., and Rosli, L. 2016:140).
27 In this example, the speaker ironically uses the word thank to convey her frustation. e) Using rhetorical questions The using rhetorical questions sub strategy, a speaker asks a question to a hearer without hoping the hearer to answer it. The following is an expression of this strategy. It is what can I say? (Bonvillain, 2003:127). In this example, by saying this sentence, the speaker does not want the conversation continuously happen on the topic he or she and the addressee is discussing. f) Being vague or ambiguous The being vagues or ambiguous, a speaker delivers his or her message by saying something unclearly. An example illustrating this strategy. S H S : Where are all the book-loving guys? : Would you like to make friends with me? : I read rather few books. You would detest me (Deng, J. 2016: 300). The above dialogue is a conversation between a girl and a boy. The girl asked the boy about boys who like reading to have a thought sharing with them. However, he ignores her intention and flirts her by saying, would you like to make a friends with me?. She then declines his request by being vague or ambiguous. 3. Previous Studies The researcher believes that there are many researchers who have conducted studies under the discussion of politeness strategies. In fact, there have been many previous studies conducted under the study of pragmatics with politeness strategies
28 as the main issue to be discussed. However, this research is different because it has its own issue. The first research is Politeness Strategies Used by the Main Character in A Walk to Remember Movie by a student of Malang State Islamic University named Siti Masluha (2011). The researcher analyzed the main character s politeness in a movie. In analyzing the data, the researcher used Brown and Levinson s (in Goody, 1987) Politeness strategies theory. The politeness strategies are bald on-record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off-record strategies. This study aimed to analyze the use of politeness strategies in A Walk to Remember, specifically to find out the types of politeness strategies and the intentions for using these strategies by Jamie as the main character in the movie. Another study dealing with politeness strategies is A Pragmatic Analysis of Politeness Strategies and Politeness Principles in Uptown Girls by a student of State University of Yogyakarta named Qolidina Noviani (2014). This research aimed to identify the types of politeness strategies in the main characters utterances in Uptown Girls, and to describe the politeness principles underlying the preference of significant relationship with the problem statements. The results of this research show that in the application of the politeness strategies, Uptown Girls main characters mostly applied positive politeness strategy. Besides, in the application of the maxims, Uptown Girls main characters mostly applied tact maxim in their utterances. Meanwhile, this research entitled A Pragmatic Analysis of Politeness Strategies in Elizabeth Banks Pitch Perfect 2 is different from the previous two studies. The
29 difference between this research and Masluha s lies in the analyzed object while the difference between this research and Noviani s is in the objectives of the research. This research is aimed to find out the types of politeness strategies and also to identify how the politeness strategies are realized in the utterances of the characters in Pitch Perfect 2 while Noviani s objectives are to identify the types of politeness strategies and the politeness principles. The researcher of this research uses Brown and Levinson s theory of politeness strategies (1987). 4. Pitch Perfect 2 Pitch Perfect 2 is an American musical comedy movie directed by Elizabeth Banks. This film is a continuation of the film Pitch Perfect 1 starred by Anna Kendrick as Becca. The film tells a choir in a college named The Barden Bella. The group consists of eight members whose cultural background is different from each other. This movie was written by Kay Cannon and released on May 15th, 2015. The story of Pitch Perfect 2 is 115 minutes long. It began with Bella taken out of the Aca-Circuit after being humiliated in front of many audience including the president of The United States of America. In order to clear their name and regain their status, the Bella took on a seemingly impossible task, winning an international competition which American team had not ever won. In order to accomplish this monumental task, they needed to strengthen the bonds of friendship and sisterhood, and blew away the competition with their amazing aca-magic! In making their dream, winning the international competition, they trained themselves in a camp where they aimed to regain their harmony that many people said it had been missing. In this camp, they solved problems hanging all the times
30 within their team members of which every individual hid. They solved together, and this problem-solving activity, at the end, could make their harmony rebuilt. As their harmony renowned for the second time, they could win the international competition finally. Figure 1. Cover of Pitch Perfect 2 B. Conceptual Framework This research is aimed to reveal the politeness strategies employed by the characters in Pitch Perfect 2 and how the politeness strategies are realized in the utterances expressed by the characters of the movie. The researcher examines the dialogues of all characters in the movie that contains politeness strategies. This research uses Brown and Levinson s theory (1987:86) in revealing the types of politeness strategies and how those strategies are realized by the characters in the movie Pitch Perfect 2. Based on the theory, there are four strategies of politeness strategies: Bald on-record, Positive Politeness, Negative Politeness, and Off record. Bald-on record can be realized by showing disagreement, giving suggestion, requesting, warning, using imperative form, offering, and task-oriented.