The above conversation is the conversation between Atticus and Ewell, the victim‟s father. During the conversation, Atticus is using negative
politeness, that is, being conventionally indirect. The purpose of the strategy is to avoid burden to the hearer. In the conversation, Atticus is using negative
politeness strategy by being conventionally indirect so that the hearer can answer the question without burden and hesitation. Since Atticus does not
know whether MrEwell can write or not, he uses the strategy so that any answer Ewell gives will not embarrass him.
b. Do not assume Willingness to Comply, UseQuestion, Hedge and
Subjunctive
Negative politeness can be done by showing do not assume willingness to comply, use question, hedge and subjunctive. There are only 2 data found
for this type of realization, they are as follows. “Just a minute, sir,” said Atticus genially. “Could I ask you a question
or two? ”
Datum 1NP2177 Atticus
‟ utterance above contains negative politeness strategy. He uses question and hedging because he does not assume willingness of the hearer to
comply. The bolded sentence shows the hedging to minimize the threat toward the speaker. He minimizes the threat so that the hearer will have an easier way
to choose whether he will approve the request or not. Moreover, Atticus is also not conviced thatwhether he asks one, two, or more questions to the hearer.
Similarly, the following conversation also contains assumptions about the lack of willingness to comply.
“That‟s fine,” said Atticus. “There’re only a few more. Miss Mayella,
not to be tedious, you‟ve testified that the defendant hit you, grabbed you around the neck, choked you, and took advantage of you. I want
you to be sure you have the right man. Will you identify the man who
raped you?” Datum 7NP2188
Atticus‟s utterance above contains negative politeness, that is, hedging because Atticus does not assume willingness to comply from the hearer. The
bolded sentence shows the hedging that Atticus uses to avoid burden t o the hearer.
Using the phrase “only a few more”, Atticus implies that he will only ask few more questions and hopes that the hearer answers them. By doing so,
the hearer has freedom to answer the request with yes or no. Unfortunately, there is no evidence of hedging, the use of question and subjunctive as the
realization of negative politeness strategy.
c.Impersonalize the Speaker and the Hearer and State the FTA as General Rules andAvoid the Pronouns I and You
Negative Politeness Strategy is also realized in another way such as impersonalizing the speaker and the hearer and stating the Face-Threatening
Act as general rules and avoid the pronouns I and you. However, the researcher only finds one evidence, that is, stating the face-threatening act as
an instance of general rule. The conversation in which the realization exists is as follows:
“Now,” said Atticus, “Miss Mayella, you’ve testified that the defendant choked and beat you
—you didn‟t say that he sneaked up behind you and knocked you cold, but you turned around and there he
was —” Atticus was back behind his table, and he emphasized his words
by tapping his knuckles on it. “—do you wish to reconsider any of your testimony?”
Datum 8NP5189 Atticus uses negative politeness by stating theface-threatening act as a
general rule. In the sentence above, the general rule is the action of giving testimony in front of the trial and under the vow. It is a rule that one should be
honest in giving testimony in front of the judge and the jury. Atticus states the face-threatening act as the general rule to minimize the threat to the face so
that the witness has to answer properly and she will not be embarrassed.
d. Nominalize to Distance the Actor and Add Formality
Atticus also uses negative politeness to nominalize to distance the actor and to add formality. There is only one datum for this type of realization as
follows:
“Tom, you’re sworn to tell the whole truth. Will you tell it?” Tom ran his hand nervously over his mouth.
“What happened after that?” Datum 9NP6196
On the conversation above, Atticus uses the realization to emphasize avoidance of burden to
tom‟s face. Atticus explains the ongoing situation that Tom has sworn to tell the truth in front of the trial. Whatever Tom will tell or
not, he is under the protection of the law. The negative politeness eases Tom to tell all the truth he knows.
