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means that micro-sociolinguistics covers the intragroup interaction or relatively small group of speaker.
b. Macro-sociolinguistics concerns the study of language and development in the
scope of society in general. It means that macro-sociolinguistics covers the intergroup interaction or large group of speaker.
Thus, this research focuses only on elicitations employed by the main characters with respect to the participants’ statuses and roles in the film entitled
The Day After Tomorrow. Therefore, the researcher takes micro-sociolinguistics as the frame of the study. All the theories used are under the scope of micro-
sociolinguistics.
B. Ethnography of Communication
1. The Definition of Ethnography of Communication
It is necessary to know how the speakers of a particular language in a particular community organize their social relationships. The approach to the
sociolinguistics of language in which the use of language in general is related to social and cultural values is called the ethnography of speaking, or generally well
known as the ethnography of communication Fasold, 1996: 39. The ethnography of communication is not simply a study of language
structure or grammar. The ethnography of communication seeks to account not merely for what can be said but for when, where, by whom, to whom, in what
manner, and in what particular circumstances. Since the ways or rules of speaking can vary from one culture to another. Therefore, it can be concluded
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that the ethnography of communication studies the norms and rules for using language in social situation in different culture Trudgill, 1995: 31
It is necessary to understand the fundamental concepts of the ethnography of communication considering not only on the phenomena which occur in the
community regarding to the factors that go along with it but also the context of situation and culture in order to achieve a successful conversation. The example
taken from The Day After Tomorrow may help to clarify ethnography of communication:
Terry Rapson : I enjoyed your testimony, professor. It was very spirited.
Jack Hall : Oh, thank you. Thats what were here for, right? Put on a
good show? Terry Rapson
: Quite. Terry Rapson
: I was wondering if I could talk to you about your theory on abrupt climate shift. The names Rapson. Terry Rapson.
Jack Hall : Professor Rapson? Of the Hedland Center?
Terry Rapson : Thats me.
The conversation shows that Terry Rapson knows well the norm of introductions. He mentions his name first before he has a further conversation
with Jack. Terry Rapson already knows Jack Hall when he presented his theory in the conference meanwhile Jack has not recognized him yet. Therefore, a
politeness norm is used by Terry. He introduces himself first, before Jack asks his name. The norm is one of the elements in ethnography of communication. In
conclusion, ethnography of communication offers a radically descriptive orientation for the accumulation of data on the nature of ways of speaking within
speech communities.
2. Fundamental Notions in Ethnography of Communication