stated that producing minimal responses shows the encouragement of the speakers to continue talking.
Indeed, the responses serve different meanings depending on time and place Aries, 1996:125. Based on Maltz and Borker 1982:202, the minimal responses
produced by women show that they are listening to what the speakers are saying. On the other hand, men’s minimal responses are as the signal of agreement. It is
also said that women use minimal responses more than men do Coates, 2004:87. Therefore, Holmes 1995:55 notes that minimal responses are a female specialty.
B. Review of Related Studies
This part discusses several studies related to the topic of the present study. Those studies discuss phatic communion or phatic communication, gender
differences, and conversational styles. Actually, those related studies have the same concept as this present study, but they have different purposes, different
subjects, and different ways to get the data. The first study has been done by Coupland, Coupland, and Robinson 1992
in “How are you?”: Negotiating Phatic Communion . It discusses elderly people’s
response to the expression “how are you?” HAY? during the interviews. HAY? is as diagnostic elicitation aiming to assess their medical experiences. Their
responses to HAY? are to negotiate phaticity degree in order to defuse anxiety and establish rapport.
The finding shows that the elderly patients produce various responses to the interviewer’s questions. Their responses are thanking, unqualified negative
response, hedging, filled pauses, qualified initial negative global appraisals, explicitly relativized appraisals, and laughter. Those kinds of expressions are
included as phatic responses showing the elderly people’s wellbeing. In addition, most volunteers are able to embark on
their health experiences’ report. The second study, entitled Girl Talk: Gossip, Friendship, and Sociometric
Status has been conducted by McDonald, Putallaz, Grimes, Kupersmidt, and Coie 2007. This study aims to observe the characteristics of gossip among fourth-
grade girls and their close friends, and to explore ethnic differences in peer-related ossip between African American and European American girls. The data are from
a larger study of peer relationships located in the midsized southeastern city. It has been found that there are 913 boys and 915 girls in 78 fourth-grade classrooms
from 13 public schools. Six schools are African American, three schools are European American, and four schools are racially balanced.
The first finding shows that the topics are about personal and physical characteristics. In addition, gossip in fourth-grade girls and boys serve positive
and negative functions. The positive functions show that gossip serves an entertainment function in order to increase intimacy and solidarity among friends
and establish norm, while negative functions of gossip may cause great harm used aggressively.
The second finding indicates that African American girls have the same pattern of gossip as well-liked girls. They like to gossip more than European
American girls. The result of the study shows that gossip between African American girls aims to strengthen in-group norms, bond together, and reaffirm
values. The third study has been carried out by Indarti 2011 in Phatic
Communication in Casual Dialogues among English Learners. She concerns on PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
the way of the English learners sustain communication, the functions of phatic communication, the reasons of using phatic communications, and the differences
of the use of phatic communication. In this case, she focuses on a couple of female students and a couple of male students in casual dialogues under study.
The results show that based on Fine 2005:47-48, the English learners sustain communication by showing interest, easing communication, and finding a
point of agreement. The English learners also use phatic expressions to sustain the talk, to express hospitality, to make chit-chat, to create comfort, to express
friendship, to start the talk, to express solidarity, to make gossip, to break silence, and to express empathy. The reasons are created to be polite in society, to
establish good rapport, to maintain social relationship, to become friendly, to convey expressions, and to get information. The differences of the two dialogues
show that the female st udents’ dialogue had various topics and had more phatic
expressions than the male students’ dialogue. The fourth study has been done by Sitohang 2012 in Phatic Expressions
between Indonesians and Foreigners in the Casual Conversations. Her study is also related to phatic communication. She focuses on the topics in the
conversation, the different way to sustain communication, and the functions of phatic communication.
In this point, she divides the speakers into three groups of conversation. The conversations are between an Indonesian interpreter and a Libyan, between an
employee and Wales, and between a student and a German. She observes and analyzes the conversations.
