don’t know” is generally performed when a speaker states his or her uncertainty or lack of information related to first speaker’s question. As presented in datum 6,
it is clear that Sabrina uses an expression of doubt in her dispreferred response. Mrs. Watson
: What are they like? Sabrina
: I dont know.
Mrs. Watson : You dont know? Sabrina, your father and I have
invested over half a million dollars in your education. Datum no. 6
In answering Mrs. Watson’s question, Sabrina actually does not provide any relevant response. It appears as she had not met Jason’s family yet. The clause
“I don’t know” presented in her response is used to convey that she does not have any exact information about Jason’s family whom her mother asks in her
question. The dialogue is performed by Mrs. Watson and Sabrina when they are in
the middle of preparation for the wedding. In this scene, Mrs. Watson feels curious about Jason’s family since she has not met them yet. Therefore, she asks
Sabrina a question to get some information about them. However, Sabrina who also never meets them answers that she does not know about it either. Hearing this
unexpected answer, Mrs. Watson gets mad to Sabrina since she has invested much money for her education to teach her the value of having good communication.
4. Using Token Yes
In performing a dispreferred social act, several characters use token yes or
token acceptance. It means that they do not actually say “no” when they perform a
dispreferred social act. Token yes is usually expressed in an expression of
acceptance such as “yeah” in the initial response and then followed by the actual dispreferred response.
Jason : Well, babe, it would really make my mother happy, come
on. Sabrina
: Yeah. And when she gets married again, they can read it for her, okay?
Datum no. 14 In the second pair part of the dialogue, Sabrina responds to Jason’s request
by saying “yeah” in her initial response. At a glance, it can be seen as an acceptance to the request. In fact, the word “yeah” stated in her initial response
does not show a real acceptance to the request. Yet, it means as a dispreferred response since it is followed by a statement of refusal to perform an action. The
following statement “and when she gets married again, they can read it for her, okay” is considered as a dispreferred response as it means that she refuses to pick
the verse for her wedding. Instead, she suggests that it can be read for his mother’s wedding.
The conversation takes place in a beach near Sabrina’s house when Jason and Sabrina are in a discussion with Reverent James. They talk about a verse that
will be read for their wedding. In their discussion, Jason asks Sabrina to choose a verse that becomes his mom’s favorite so that his mother will be happy. Though
Sabrina has already refused it, Jason does not give up and keep asking her to pick the verse. Yet, Sabrina’s answer is still a refusal.
Furthermore, token yes also can be presented by using a contrasting conjunction as a dispreferred marker. As presented in the datum 11, the
dispreferred response performed by Jason is accomplished without directly
refusing the request. Instead, he uses token acceptance and a contrasting
conjunction “but” to express his dispreferred response.
Sabrina : Yes, and you should respect it.
Jason : I respect it, babe, but it aint easy.
Datum no. 11
The statement “I respect it babe” in the initial response is considered as token yes or token acceptance which marks dispreferred status. It means that
token yes performed by Jason is used to initiate the dispreferred response which is going to be performed. The overall response is performed as a dispreferred social
act since it is followed by a statement of refusal “but it ain’t easy”. The conjunction “but” is used to show that there is a distance between what is
expected and what is performed. In other words, Jason intends to fulfill Sabrina’s request, but then he gives up because it is not easy to do it.
In this scene, Jason secretly enters Sabrina’s room and tries to seduce her. Sabrina who had a promise to God for only having sex with her future husband
tells Jason to respect the promise. Sabrina expects that Jason will accept the request. On the other hands, Jason gives his dispreferred response as it is hard for
him to perform the preferred action.
5. Mentioning an Obligation
Mentioning an obligation is one of the ways used by the characters in this movie to express their dispreferred social act. The dialogue between Mrs. Watson
and Ms. O’Neal in the following datum represents a dispreferred social act performed by mentioning obligation; that is by explaining a certain circumstance
that prevents the occurrence of preferred response because of an obligation.
