5 The classification of Brown and Levinson 1987 about politeness strategies is
chosen because it cl assifies 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 Kohl. The writer only focuses on the four characters because those characters
6 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
the politeness strategies.
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E. Research Benefits
The writer believes that this study could be beneficial for the language
learners, teacherslecturers, 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 teacherslecturers, they can learn from this study about politeness
strategies to be applied in classroom activities. Therefore, the teacherslecturers 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 teacherslecturers can differentiate the types
of politeness strategies to be used in different condition. In order to be discipline, the teacherslecturers can apply bald on record strategy in which the utterances are
expressed clearly and directly. Besides, if the teacherslecturers want to praise students‟ work, they can apply positive politeness in which it can make the hearer
feel that heshe is being admired or liked. Therefore, it is expected that through this study, the teacherslecturers will help them to manage their behavior in class
8 activities. By understanding about the classification of politeness strategies, the
teacherslecturers 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 study.
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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 as poem, short story, or movie, because the appearance of a character can build
