64
B. THE STRATEGIES USED TO GAIN RESPECT AND OBEDIENCE
In the efforts to gain obedience and compliance, a speaker uses some strategies. The data shows that the speaker uses conventional and nonconventional
strategies. Further, the data indicates that conventional strategies are mostly used in the form of imperative, while other form uses both conventional and
nonconventional strategies. The nonconventional strategies are used under three
different approaches, they are the reason, obstacle neutralization, and goal statement approaches
. The table below provides the number of uses of the approaches and strategies in the discourses in Nanny 911.
Table. 4.7 The Strategy Used in Nanny 911
Approach Strategy
Disobedience Obedience
Conventional Conventional request
57 14
Goal Goal
1 12
Neutralization Anticipate counterargument
7 Increase cost of noncompliance
6 Provide compensation
1 2
Reason Forestall intervention
3 Make correction
4 5
Provide precondition 4
5 State problem
6 1
State infraction 6
5
The strategies under the reason approach are mostly used in the utterances. It is applied by identifying a reason or a cause for the addressee to carry out or
facilitate the desired action and make the addressee aware of it. Included in the reason approach is call attention to a problem. In this strategy,
the addressee‟s action is necessary to answer some problem.
65 55
I‟m on the phone, Joseph 8.a.1 56
She got red mark on her arm from where you pinched her. 5.b.2 57
Dylan is gonna make the bed. 1.b.2 58
I don‟t want to hear that Tyler 9.h.1 Utterance 55 is calling attention to a problem by stating that the father is
having a conversation on the phone therefore he needs a quiet situation to be able to hear the voice. The consequence is that the addressee, in this case, the boy
should remedy by being calm. Expression 56 is stating the problem of the girl who has red mark because her brother has pinched her. The addressee needs to be
aware of the situation so that he would not do the cause again. 57 is the statement of a problem that the girl should be aware. Consequently, she should
stop jumping on the bed so that Dylan can make his bed. Utterance 58 is the problem statement faced by the mother who does not want to hear what Tyler says
because he always challenges her. Therefore, the expected action is Tyler stops saying things that challenge his mother.
The second strategy in the reason approach is stating an infraction. When the addressee involved in an action that against a norm or creates a problem, stating
the infraction is used. 59
Theron, that‟s not nice. 7.g.1 60
We‟re not doing that. Ok? 16.c.2 61
You don‟t treat me that way. 7.i.5 62
All you do is just make it worse. 8.g.3 Utterance 59 is stating that the boy‟s deed is not acceptable. Theron throws
things to his mother which disturbs her. Therefore, by saying the infraction, the desired action from Theron is to stop throwing things. The infraction stated in 60
is that the boy, Collin, stops quarrelling with his sister, because it is not acceptable
66 and creates problem between both brother and sister. 61 expresses the violated
norm by Theron because he hits his mother. Therefore, the utterance is intended to stop what he has been doing. Expression 62 is stated to stop Joseph from doing
bad things, such as quarrelling with his brothers. Father lets him know that what he does would make things worse.
The third strategy is making a correction. It is done when a hearer does inappropriate action to make him aware of the right things to do.
63 If you are angry, you go to the other room 16.e.1
64 You need to use your words. 1.g.3
65 I love you very much, Joseph, but you got to stop and learn to behave
better 8.g.2 66
You gonna listen to me just like you did to dad. 16.l.2
Utterance 63 is expressed to remind the hearer of the agreed rule to go to his room to calm himself when he is angry. It is intended to make him aware of the
inappropriate action and end his anger to calm down. The inappropriate action in 64 is that the girl, Catherine, is crying instead of saying what she wants. 63 is
uttered to make her aware that she better says what she wants rather than just crying because Nanny Deb and the mother cannot understand what she wants.
Joseph, the addressee of 65, is reminded by his father that the appropriate things to do is stop fighting with his brothers and behaves better. It is intended to make
him aware that what he has been doing is wrong and he has to do the right things. The context of 66 is a boy Colin who does not want to obey his mother and
respect her like he did to his father. 66 is to make him aware that what he has been doing is wrong, he should respect his mother as he did to his father.
67 The fourth strategy is providing preconditions. If the addressee will do the
desired action when specific preconditions are met, it is to make him aware that such preconditions have been or will be met.
67 I will let go of you, if you go to the other room or sit down so that I can
talk to you. 16.f.1 68
I just trying to be fair to everybody. 14.m.5 69
Are you ready to come back? 1.j.1 Utterance 67 is a precondition from a mother to her son that she will let him go
if he would calm down by sitting down or going to the other room. Expression 68 is a precondition fo
r the girl to share the crayon with her sister. His father‟s treatment to his children, to be fair to all of them, is a precondition for the girl to
do what he says. The proposition in 69 is a precondition for the girl to join the family, if she is not ready she would be left in her room.
The fifth is forestalling intervention, happens when intervention in some activity is anticipated to identify or justify the planned activity.
70 I mean it, Sal 14.c.2
71 I think so. 16.k.3
Utterance 70 is said by a mother to her son to stop him from hitting her. This is to identify and underline the mother‟s intention. Mother does not want the boy to
say anything on her command. 71 is an utterance after Mother mentions What do you think your dad would have done? Would he told you to go to your room?. It
is to justify her intention to make the boy understand that she would do the same like his father did.
The next strategies are part of the obstacle neutralisation approach. The first is anticipating counterargument. It is used when an addressee might have
68 reasons not to cooperate with the speaker‟s goal, to identify a way to mitigate such
obstacle and inform the addressee. 72
That‟s right, you have the right to be angry. 16.f.1 73
What do you think your dad would have done? 16.k.1
72 is uttered to mitigate the reason that might be uttered by the boy. It is informed to the boy that he has the reason to be angry, therefore the boy feels
justified that he is angered. Consequently, he would not challenge his mother anym
ore. Utterance 73 is used to anticipate the boy‟s respond if he would refuse the mother‟s intention, therefore mother uses his late father‟s usual punishment to
him as a way to mitigate the action. The second strategy is by providing compensation. It is used to neutralize
the high cost of an intended action or goal. 74
Now you want to stay with mama, but you need to use your word, Natalie. 1.g.1
75 Then you know what, you need to treat me good all the time. 14.m.2
76 Ok. We work the same way, I treat you nice, you treat me nice.
14.m.4
Utterance 74 is to say that if the girl would use her words to say what she means other than crying, she may stay with her mother. The compensation of
being with her mother is using her words to say what she wants. 75 is giving compensation for the expected condition to be with her father. Instead of just
saying that the girl should behave, father provides compensation that he would be with her all the way if she would behave. Utterance 76 is providing
compensation for the girl that if she would treat her father well, father will also treat her well.
69 The third strategy is increasing the cost of noncompliance. It is done by
threatening, for example. 77
If you guys don‟t listen to me, I will leave and Nanny Deb can stay for the rest of the week. 14.d.1
78 If you don‟t choose to listen, you gonna have to go your own room.
1.c.2 79
I‟m gonna separate the two of you. 2.b.1 Mother, the speaker of utterance 77 expects her children to listen to her and obey
her. She uses intimidations to make her children obey her. She says the compensation of being with her is by listening to her and obeying her. 78 is
uttered by Nanny Deb to a girl to come down from the bed. The cost of noncompliance to her is to go to her own room, a form of isolation from other
member of the family. 79 is expressed by a mother to her daughters who fight each other. She tells them to stop fighting, the cost of noncompliance to this is
that she would separate them. This should be a high cost because when they are being separated, they cannot have the joy of playing together.
The third approach is to make the addressee aware of the desired goal. Some examples of using this approach are stated below.
80 You want me to be there? 14.m.1
81 You want me to treat you nice? 14.m.3
82 Don‟t you want to have a nice relationship with Daddy?
83 Do you want me to scream a lot? 8.g.4
The goal of 80 is the father being with the girl all the time to take care of her. By stating this goal, father makes the girl aware of the cost and things that she has to
do to achieve the goal. Similar to 80 is utterance 81, the goal is father treats the girl nice, therefore she had to treat him nice in return. In 82, the goal is having a
70 nice relationship with Daddy, the consequence is the addressee has to behave well
and obey him. 83 is stating part of the goal that should be achieved, if father is screaming a lot then the situation would not be comfortable, thus to avoid this the
boy should behave well and obey his father. The analysis refers that parents also use nonconventional strategies to
control their children acts. The reason approach is partly obeyed and disobeyed by the children. The neutralization approach is also partly obeyed and disobeyed. The
stating goal approach seems to be the most obeyed by the children, perhaps because by stating the goal the children would have the clear picture of what they
would get when they comply to the directives. In the final analysis, the expressions of control acts are in declarative,
imperative, and interrogative. Each grammatical form has the obedience and disobedience percentage. The utterances have various communicative functions,
which do not determine respect and obedience. The determining factors are the cost of action and the face threatening acts of the utterance. Hence, there is no
specific form of utterances to gain respect and obedience. The strategies used determine the children‟s respect and obedience. The conventional strategies are
mostly disobeyed while the nonconventional strategies are mostly obeyed by the children.
The results of the study show adjacent relation to the background culture of the participants. Since American children are raised to be autonomous, they
reject to be imposed by others, even though by their own parents. They tend to
71 make their own choices from their intrinsic motivation. It shows their high self-
esteem.
72
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
This chapter presents the conclusions and the suggestions from the analysis. The conclusion consists of the summary of the findings from the study.
The suggestions offer some recommendations that can be explored by other researchers.
A. Conclusions
The analysis in the previous chapter implies some conclusions. Regarding the first research question, What linguistic features are used to gain respect and
obedience in Nanny 911? some inferences are made. First, the moods are not defining respect and obedience. The analysis shows that the control acts are
expressed in declarative, imperative, and interrogative sentences. Each type has the disobeyed and obeyed percentage of utterances. The declarative has the
highest percentage of obeyed utterances, followed by imperative, and interrogative, however the number is not significant. The utterances have been
categorized into different communicative functions. However, it can be inferred that this is also not a significant factor in defining obedience and compliance.
Therefore, simply expressing utterances in certain sentence types and moods do not consequently gain obedience.
The factors influence obedience and compliance are 1 the cost of the intended action to the addressee and 2 the face threatening act of the expression.
High cost action tends to be disobeyed by children. The high cost appears when
Kategori