A study of politeness strategies in requests in the course book ''streamline english departures and connections'' by b hartley & p viney

VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENTNGUYEN THI MAI HOA A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN REQUESTS IN THE COURSE BOOK STREAMLINE ENGLISH DEPARTURES & “STREAMLINE ENGLISH DEPARTU

VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

NGUYEN THI MAI HOA

A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN

REQUESTS IN THE COURSE BOOK

STREAMLINE ENGLISH DEPARTURES &

“STREAMLINE ENGLISH DEPARTURES &

CONNECTIONS BY B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY ” BY B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY

(c¸c chiÕn lîc lÞch sù trong lêi nãi thØnh cÇu trong s¸ch gi¸o tr×nh “streamline English DEPARTURES &

CONNECTIONS ” BY B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY VIÕT BëI B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY)

Graduation thesis

FIELD: LINGUISTIC

Vinh - 2010

VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN

REQUESTS IN THE COURSE BOOK

STREAMLINE ENGLISH DEPARTURES AND

“STREAMLINE ENGLISH DEPARTURES &

CONNECTIONS BY B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY ” BY B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY

(c¸c chiÕn lîc lÞch sù trong lêi nãi thØnh cÇu trong s¸ch gi¸o tr×nh “streamline English DEPARTURES VÀ

CONNECTIONS ” BY B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY VIÕT BëI B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY)

Graduation thesis

FIELD: LINGUISTICS

Supervisor: Cao ThÞ Ph¬ng, M.A

Student : NguyÔn ThÞ Mai Hoa

Class : 47A1 - English

VINH - 2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Cao ThÞ

Ph¬ng, M.A for her helpful advice, comments and support throughout this

study.

I am also grateful for the valuable support of Lª ThÞ Thuý Hµ, M.A

for her valuable suggestions which have been useful for the accomplishment

of the thesis.

Finally, I wish to thank my friends and my beloved family those who gave me a lot of encouragement to complete the study.

Vinh, May, 2010

Student

NguyÔn ThÞ Mai Hoa

ABBREVIATIONS

S.E.D: Streamline English Departures

S.E.C: Streamline English Connections

E.g.: For example

FTA: Face Threatening Act

S: Speaker

H: Hearer

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLE 1.1: The five general functions of speech acts (J.Searle, 1979) 6TABLE 3.1: Politeness strategies in requests in the Course book

“Streamline English Departures & Connections” .39TABLE 3.2: The frequency of occurrence of Politeness strategies in requestsseen from S-H relationship in the Course book 41FIGURE 1: Possible strategies for doing FTA (Brown and Levinson,1987:69) 15CHART 3.1: Bald on-record strategies in requests in the course book

35CHART 3.2: Positive politeness strategies in requests in the course book

36CHART 3.3: Negative politeness strategies in requests in the course book

CHART 3.4: Off-record strategies in requests in the course book 39

PIE-CHART 3.1: Politeness strategies in requests in the course book seen from S-H relationship 43

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABBRIVIATIONS ii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4

1.1 Speech acts 4

1.1.1 Definitions of Speech acts 4

1.1.2 Classification of Speech acts 4

1.1.3 Direct and Indirect Speech acts 6

1.2 Speech act of Request 8

1.3 Politeness 10

1.3.1 What is politeness? 10

1.3.2 Lakoff’s theory of politeness 11

1.3.3 Leech’s theory of politeness 12

1.3.4 Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness 13

1.3.4.1 Face 13

1.3.4.2 Face threatening act 14

1.3.4.3 Politeness strategies 15

1.3.2 Politeness in Request 18

1.4 Streamline Departures & Connections by B.Hartley & P.Viney 19

Chapter II: A realization of politeness strategies in requests in the course book “Streamline English DEPARTURES & CONNECTIONS” 20

2.1 Politeness strategies in Requests in the Course book “Streamline English Departures & Connections” 20

2.1.1 Bald-on record 20

2.1.2 Positive politeness 22

2.1.3 Negative politeness 27

2.1.4 Off record 30

2.2 Some factors affect the politeness in Requests 33

Chapter III: Major findings in politeness strategies in requests in the course book “streamline English DEPARTURES & CONNECTIONS” 35

3.1 Data analysis 35

3.2 Politeness strategies in requests in the course book seen from S-H relationship 40

3.3 Major findings 44

3.4 Suggested activities 46

PART C: CONCLUSION 48

1 Review of the study 48

2 Application of the study 49

2 Suggestion for further studies 49

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Language is a specially social symptom and plays an important role in our life Language is considered as a mean of communication Human beings use it to transfer information, represent what they think, their attitudes, feelings, etc

Request is an act that people trend to use much in their daily interaction Depending on the different situations, whom they are requesting, what they are wanting to requests, people will use the suitable ways to express their wants That is a very important thing that make the request efficient Therefore, politeness in requests will help it to maintain the good relationship between the speaker and the listener, especially have the listener willingly done what the speaker wants

For example:

A: Can you show me the way to Vinh Market?

B: Of course […]

There has been a problem that in English, the expression of request isvarious and which request we should use to express and make it polite ForVietnamese learners, it is more necessary for them to understand and use therequest with the appropriate politeness strategy not only in writing form butalso in speaking and communicating In this study, we focus on thepoliteness strategies that are often used in requests in daily interaction.Moreover, the course book “Streamline English Departures & Connections”

by B.Hartley & P.Viney is a main one in teaching and learning English withdaily conversations, so we decide to choose the course book to study andclassify the requests in different politeness strategies Thus, we can applythem in fact effectively Some suggested activities in teaching and learning

to use the politeness strategies in request are given, too

2 Aims of the study

The aims of this study are:

- To provide an overview of politeness strategies

- To study and identify the politeness strategies in requests in the coursebook and in communication

- To suggest some suggested activities in teaching and learningpoliteness strategies in requests; and applying them in our daily interaction.The research questions of the study are:

- What kind of politeness strategies are used in requests in the coursebook?

- Which politeness strategies are used more in requests in the coursebook?

3 Scope of the study

The study focuses on the politeness strategies in requests in the coursebook “Streamline English Departures & Connections” by B.Hartley &P.Viney We only study the politeness strategies of requests contained in theSED and SEC, so some of politeness strategies are not mentioned in this

thesis Basing on Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness (1987), weconcentrate on classifying the requests in four types of politeness strategies,

in which the positive and negative politeness strategies or requests areclassified more detailedly

4 Methods of the study

The study is carried out by using the quantitative method withcollecting, analyzing and classifying the politeness strategies of requests inthe course book

We also review the theories related to speech acts and politeness bycollecting books and finding information from Websites containing thetheories of Speech acts and politeness Then, we use analysis method toanalyze the collected data

5 Designs of the study

The thesis consists of three parts:

Part I: Introduction discusses the reasons for choosing the topic, the

aims, its scope, methods and the design of the study

Part II: Development consists of 3 chapters:

Chapter 1: Theoretical background states the theoretical background of

speech acts, politeness theory and politeness strategies in requests in thecourse book “Streamline English Departures & Connections”

Chapter 2: A realization of politeness strategies in requests in the

course book “Streamline English Departures & Connections”

Chapter 3: Major findings of politeness strategies in requests in the

course book “Streamline English Departures & Connections”

Part III: Conclusion summarizes the main points of the study and

suggests some directions for further study

PART B : DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Speech acts

1.1.1 Definitions of speech acts

The study of speech acts has been concerned much by many linguistssuch as: John L.Austin, Grice, John Searle (1969), Brown and Yole (1983),George Yule (1996), etc

The philosopher John L.Austin (1911-1960) with “How to do thingswith words” (1962) claimed that many utterances (things people say) areequivalent to actions

According to George Yule (1996:47), “speech acts are actionsperformed via utterances In attempting to express themselves, people do notonly produce utterances containing grammatical structures and words, theyperformed action via those utterances such as: apology, complaint,compliment, invitation, promise or request”

These utterances are broadly explained in speech act theory and includethree parts or aspects: locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts.i) Locutionary act: is the basic act of utterance, or producing a meaningfullinguistic expression

ii) Illocutionary act: is the real action which is performed by the utterancewhere saying equals doing, as in betting, plighting one’s troth, welcomingand warning.

iii) Perlocutionary act: is an effect of the utterance on the listener Theutterance is created without intending it to have an effect.(George Yule,1996:48)

1.1.2 Classification of speech acts

Some linguists have attempted to classify illocutionary acts into anumber of categories or types

According to Austin (1962), there are five types of speech acts:verdictives, exercitives, commissives, behabitives and expositives

From Searl’s (1979) point of view, speech acts are divided into 5groups: representatives, directives, commissives, expressives anddeclarations

 Representatives: the speaker asserts a proposition to be true, usingsuch verbs as: affirm, believe, conclude, deny, report

 Directives: the speaker tries to make the hearer do something withsuch words as: ask, beg, challenge, command, clare, invite, insist,request

 Commissives: the speaker commits himself (herself) to a (future)course of action, with verbs such as: guarantee, pledge, promise,swear, vow, undertake, warrant

 Expressives: the speaker expresses an attitude to or about a state ofaffairs, using such verbs as: apologize, appreciate, congratulate,deplore, detest, regret, thank, welcome

 Declarations: the speaker alter the external status or condition of anobject or situation, solely by making the utterance Ex: I nowpronounce you man and wife; I sentence you to be hanged by the neckuntil you be dead…

Searle summarized these five general functions of speech acts with theirkey features in the following Table 1 (J.Searle, 1969, cited in G.Yule,1997:55):

Speech act type Direction of fit S: speaker

X: situationDeclarations Words change the world S causes X

Representatives Make words fit the world S believes X

Expressives Make words fit the world S feels X

Directives Make the world fit words S wants X

Commissives Make the world fit words S intends X

TABLE 1.1: The five general functions of speech acts (J.Searle, 1979)

1.1.3 Direct and Indirect Speech acts

Types of speech acts can be distinguished on the basis of structures.According to the grammatical structure view, speech acts can be divided into

3 types: declarative, interrogative and imperative These three typescorrespond to the three general communicative functions: statement,question, command/request Basing on this relationship between structureand function, G.Yule divided speech acts into 2 types: direct and indirectspeech act (G.Yule, 1997:54)

G.Yule (1997:55) showed that “Whenever there is a direct relationshipbetween a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act Wheneverthere is an indirect relationship between a structure and a function, we have

an indirect speech act”

Direct speech acts are that perform their function in a direct and literalmanner

Ex: - The Blue Nile is on High street

- Is the game on?

- Give me the pen

Some sentence types are typically used for certain types of speech acts

Indirect speech acts are that acts accomplished by using language inindirect ways Therefore, the interpretation of a sentence is not performedliterally in an indirect speech act

Example: - Can you get me a soda?

- Do you have the time?

- It’s kind of hot in here

A declarative is often used to make a statement as a direct speech act,but a declarative also used to make an indirect speech act For example,when A say: “It’s so noisy outside” When it is used to mention about theclass’s situation, he has made a direct speech act, but when it is used torequest someone to close the door, by this way he performed an indirectspeech act

Therefore, speech act may perform either directly or indirectly InEnglish, “indirect speech acts are generally associated with greater politenessthan direct speech acts”.(G.Yule, 1996:56)

Searle has introduced the notion of an “indirect speech act” andaccounted it as an indirect “illocutionary act” Applying a conception of suchillocutionary acts (acts of saying something with the intention ofcommunicating with an audience), he described indirect speech acts asfollows: “In indirect speech acts the speaker communicates to the hearermore than he actually says by way of relying on their mutually shared

background information, both linguistic and nonlinguistic, together with thegeneral powers of rationally and inference on the part of the hearer.”(Searle,1979)

The speech act has its popularity in direct and indirect form So,depending on the appropriate situations, the speech acts can be usedeffectively as when “the utterance must be said by right person in the rightplace at right time in the right manner and soon Then a speech act is said to

be appropriately performed.” (Jackson and Stockwell, 1996:140)

In conclusion, a speech act is an utterance as functional unit incommunication (Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistic, 1985) Thespeech acts of request is often performed and used quite frequently ineveryday

1.2 Speech act of Request

Requests are among one of the many speech acts that are usedfrequently in human communication Many linguists have differentconceptions of the request because of its varieties and complexity

In this study, we do not mention about the request in the traditionalgrammar with forms and structures but focus on the request as a speech actwhich is often used in conversations and daily communication

Leech (1983) defines request as a “pre-event act” since they express thespeaker’s expectations that the hearer will perform the requested act, verbal

According to Searle (1979), he has labeled a “directive” is called a

“request” Searle’s classification system of speech act falls into the

directives, the function of which is that the speaker attempts to get the hearer

to do something by means of what he says

In Brown and Levinson’s term (1987), requests are face-threatening acts(FTAs) which threaten the hearer’s negative face So, those who perform arequest need to reduce the level of imposition created by an act beingrequested in order to save compliance with a request Here, politeness inrequests is very important

In everyday relationships with people, we often find ourselves insituations where we need to ask someone for something: a physical object, afavor, an action We may need to ask someone to do something (e.g.: Closethe window) or even stop doing something (e.g.: Stop talking so loudly).Sometimes, requests are naturally in the form of commands For example, anarmy sergeant tells his troops, “Stand up straight! Turn left! Forward,march!” These kinds of requests are expected They are made by personswith authority, who want immediate action, no questions asked

Requests can be realized in different styles and forms which their usage

is motivated by different factors such as the relationship between hearer, context, imposition, culture or the desire to be understood, desire to

speaker-be polite For example: To request something (to have, to borrow, to use,etc) you may use many polite forms:

- May I have a cup of tea?

- Could I borrow your book?

- Can I use your motorbike?

- Would you mind if I open the window?

In general, the request is an unavoidable social act in humancommunication The request can be made directly and indirectly Therefore,there is a set of request strategies prescribed to the speakers of everylanguage Depending on different situations and languages, requests are usedand responded to be equivalent to each other

1.3 Politeness

1.3.1 What is politeness?

Politeness is a phenomenon which appears naturally in everyday humaninteraction Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of goodmanners or etiquette that people use to maintain and develop relationships.Interactors always try to make their utterances as polite as possible Thepoliteness in different cultures can be considered different in some wayssuch as what is considered polite in one culture can be rude or simply strange

in another Focusing on politeness as a pragmatic phenomenon, manypoliteness theories were born and largely discussed

Lakoff sees politeness as “a system of international relations designed

to facilitate interaction inherent in all human interchange.”

Leech (1983) defines it as “strategic conflict avoidance, which can bemeasured in terms of the degree of effort put into the avoidance of a conflictsituation, and the establishment and the maintenance of comity.”

Brown and Levinson (1987) emphasize politeness as strategiesemployed by a speaker to obtain a variety of objectives such as promoting ormaintaining harmonious relations Face is the central in Brown andLevinson’s theory of politeness so it makes the concept of politeness morethorough In this term, politeness is defined as “redressive action taken tocounter-balance to disruptive effect of face-threatening acts.”(Kasper,1990:194)

According to G.Yule (1997:60), politeness is an interaction, can bedefined as the means employed to show awareness of another person’s face,either in social distant situation or social close ones As a technical term,

“face” means the public self-image of a person It refers to that emotional

and social and social sense of self that everyone has and expects everyoneelse to recognize.

The notion of politeness has been dealt with different orientations ofapproach Linguists have different approaches in theory of politeness Here,

we mention about three approaches, which are most largely appropriated anddiscussed, proposed by Lakoff (1973, 1989), Leech (1983) and Brown andLevinson (1987)

1.3.2 Lakoff’s theory of politeness

Lakoff (1973: 297-298) states that “Politeness usually supersedes: it isconsidered more important in a conversation to avoid offence than to achieveclarity This makes sense, since in most informal conversations, actualcommunication of important ideas is secondary to merely reaffirming andstrengthening relationship.” He proposes three different rules a speakermight follow in acting politely

 Rule 1: Don’t impose

It is applied to situations where there is an acknowledge difference inpower and status between participants such as a teacher and a student, a bossand an employee According to this rule, a polite speaker will avoid, mitigate

or ask permission, or apologize for making the hearer do anything she or hedoesn’t want to do This rule is the most formal one

 Rule 2: Give options

The rule is more formal than the first one and is appropriate tosituations in which the participants have almost equal status and power butare not socially one For example: the relationship between a businessmanand his client, two patients in a room such a way that one’s opinion orrequest can be ignored without being contradicted or rejected

Example: Do you have a pen?

(Lend me a pen if you have one)

 Rule 3: Encourage feelings of camaraderie

The rule is very informal and is appropriate to intimates or closefriends The governing principle is not only show an active interest in theother, by asking personal questions, making detail of one’s own life, feeling,

…

1.3.3 Leech’s theory of politeness

Leech (1983) develops his politeness theory basing on the notion of

“cost” and “benefit” between S & H: “Politeness is a strategy of conflictavoidance calculated on the basis of the costs and benefit related to both the

S and the H” Then, Leech lists the politeness principle that states “minimize(all things being equal) the expression of impolite belief, maximize (allthings being equal) the expression of polite belief” as follows:

 Maxim 1: The Tact Maxim

- Minimize the expression of beliefs which imply cost to other

- Maximize the expression of beliefs which imply benefit to other

 Maxim 2: The Generosity Maxim

- Minimize benefit to self

- Maximize cost to self

 Maxim 3: The Approbation Maxim

- Minimize dispraise of other

- Maximize praise of other

 Maxim 4: The Modesty Maxim

- Minimize dispraise of other

- Maximize praise of other

 Maxim 5: The Agreement Maxim

- Minimize the expression of disagreement between self and other

- Maximize the expression of agreement between self and other

 Maxim 6: The Sympathy Maxim

- Minimize antipathy between self and along with maximizingsympathy between self and other

These different maxims are applied in illocutionary act by Leech as:Tact maxim and Generosity Maxim as “directives” and “commissives”;Approbation Maxim as “expressives” and “assertives”; Modesty Maxim,Agreement maxim and Sympathy Maxim as “assertives”.

The politeness principle is a series of Maxims, which Geoff Leech hasproposed as a way of explaining how politeness operates in conversationalexchanges Leech (1983) defines politeness as forms of behavior thatestablish and maintain comity That is the ability of participants in a socialinteraction to engage in interaction in an atmosphere of relative harmony Instating his maxims, Leech uses his own terms for two kinds of illocutionaryacts He calls representatives “assertives”, and calls directives “impositives”.The speakers also may adhere to more than one maxim of politeness atthe same time Often one maxim is on the forefront of the utterance, with asecond maxim being invoked by implication

If politeness is not communicated, we can assume that the politenessattitude is absent

1.3.4 Brown and Levinson’s theory of politeness

Brown and Levinson (1987) emphasize that politeness as strategiesemployed by a speaker to obtain a variety of objectives such as promoting ormaintaining harmonious relation Face is the central concept in Brown &Levinson’s theory of politeness

1.3.4.1 Face

In communication between two or more persons, the positive imagine orimpression of oneself that one shows or intends to show to the otherparticipants is called “face”

The first author who mentioned about the face is E.Goffman, aCanadian sociologist Goffman (1967:5) defined face as “an image of selfdelineated in terms of approved social attributes albeit an imagine that theother may share, as when a person make a good showing for his profession

or religion by making a good showing for himself.” (quoted in Thomas,1995:165).

According to Brown & Levinson (1978:66), “face” is something that isemotionally invested, and that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced and must

be constantly attended to in interaction

For both the authors’ views, “face” means the public self-image of aperson (G.Yule, 1996:60) and consists of two related aspects: negative andpositive Negative face is the need to be independent, to have freedom ofaction, and not to be imposed on by others Positive face is the need to beaccepted, even liked by others, to be treated as a number of the same group,and to know that his or her wants are shared by others (George Yule,1996:62)

In general, face is the public self image that every speaker tries toproject Positive face refers to one’s self-esteem, while negative face refers

to one’s freedom to act The two aspects of face are the basic wants in anysocial interaction, and so during any social interaction, cooperation;cooperation is needed among the participants to maintain each other’s faces

1.3.4.2 Face-threatening acts

According to Brown and Levinson, in our conversation, positive andnegative face exist If a speaker says something that represents a threat toanother individual’s expectations regarding self-image, it is described asface-threatening act (G.Yule, 1997:61) In another word, a face threateningact is an act that inherently damages the face of the addressee or the speaker

by acting in opposition to the wants and desires of the other

In FTAs, when an individual does not avoid or intend to avoid theobstruction of their interlocutor’s freedom of action, a negative FTA ismade Here, either the speaker or the hearer can be caused damage and itmakes the one of the interlocutors submit their will to the other Whennegative face is threatened, freedom of choice and action are impeded

For example: - Acts damage to the hearer: orders, requests, suggestions,offers, promises, etc.

- Acts damage to the speaker: excuses, acceptance ofoffers, expressing thanks, etc

In contrast, when the speaker or the hearer does not care about theirinteractor’s feelings, wants, or does not want what the other wants, a positiveface is threatened The speaker or the hearer can be caused damage, too Apositive FTA is made when an individual is force to be separated from others

so that their well being is treated less importantly

For example: - Acts damage to the hearer: expressions of disapproval,contradictions, excessively emotional expressions, etc

- Acts damage to the speaker: apologies, acceptance of a compliment, confessions, etc

1.3.4.3 Politeness strategies

In everyday interaction, people always adapt them to different situationsand tend to maintain one another’s face continuously They try to avoidcausing damage to each other and therefore, face is threatened Politenessstrategies are developed for main purpose of dealing with these FTAs.Brown & Levinson (1987) sum up four main types of politeness strategies:bald on-record, negative politeness, positive politeness, and off-record(indirect)

According to the two authors, action which gives face to the hearer and

“attempts to counter the potential face damage of the FTA by doing it insuch a way, or with such modifications or additions, that indicate clearly that

no such face threat is intended or desired, and that S in general recognizeshearer’s face wants and himself wants them to be achieved” (Brown &Levinson, 1987:69)

Negative politeness is an awareness of another’s right not to be imposed

on and positive politeness is a showing solidarity with another (G.Yule,

1996:132) Thus, negative politeness strategies are oriented towards the

hearer’s negative face and emphasize avoidance of imposition on the hearer

Positive politeness strategies seek to minimize the threat to the hearer’s

positive face and appeal to solidarity with another

Brown & Levinson summarize the politeness strategies in the following

figure:

Without redressive action, badly

On record Positive politeness

Do the FTA With redressive action

Off record Negative politeness

Don’t do the FTA

Figure 1: Possible strategies for doing FTA (Brown and Levinson, 1987:69)

Brown and Levinson (1978) show a various number of strategies for four types ofpoliteness as follows:

Bald-on record

Strategy 1: Great urgency or desperation

Strategy 2: Speaking as if great efficiency is necessary

Strategy 3: Little or no desire to maintain someone’s face

Strategy 4: Overcoming Channel noise

Strategy 5: Task oriented/paradigmatic form of instruction

Strategy 6: Instances in which the threat is minimized implicitly

Strategy 7: Doing the FTA is in the interest of the hearer

Strategy 8: Instances in which threat minimizing does not occur

Strategy 9: Welcomes

Strategy 10: Greeting and farewells

Strategy 11: Offers

Strategy 12: Others

Positive Politeness

Strategy 1: Notice/attend to H (his or her interest, wants,…)

Strategy 2: Exaggerate (interest, approval, sympathy with H)

Strategy 3: Intensify interest to H

Strategy 4: Use in-group identity markers in speech

Strategy 5: Seek agreement in safe topics

Strategy 6: Avoid disagreement

Strategy 7: Presuppose, raise, assert common ground

Strategy 8: Joke

Strategy 9: Assert or presuppose knowledge and concern for H’s wantsStrategy 10: Offer, promise

Strategy 11: Be optimistic

Strategy 12: Include both S and H in the activity

Strategy 13: Give or ask for reasons

Strategy 14: Assert reciprocal exchange

Strategy 15: Give gifts to H (goods, sympathy, understanding,…)

Negative Politeness

Strategy 1: Be conventional indirect

Strategy 2: Use hedge or questions

Strategy 3: Be pessimistic

Strategy 4: Minimize the imposition

Strategy 5: Give deference

Strategy 6: Apologize

Strategy 7: Impersonalize S and H Avoid the pronounce I & youStrategy 8: State the FTA as an instance of a general rule

Strategy 9: Norminalize to distance the actor and add formality

Strategy 10: Go on record as incurring a debt or not debting H

Off record

Strategy 1: Give hints

Strategy 2: Give association clues

Strategy 3: Presuppose

Strategy 4: Understate

Strategy 5: Overstate

Strategy 6: Use tautologies

Strategy 7: Use contradictions

Strategy 8: Be ironic

Strategy 9: Use metaphors

Strategy 10: Use rhetorical questions

Strategy 11: Be ambiguous

Strategy 12: Be vague

Strategy 13: Over-generalize

Strategy 14: Displace H

Strategy 15: Be incomplete, use ellipsis

In conclusion, politeness is very important in language and in dailyinteraction It is a communication strategy which people use to maintain anddevelop relationships Politeness is “one of the constraints of humaninteraction, whose purpose is to consider other’s feelings, establish levels ofmutual comfort, and promote rapport.” (Hill et al., 1986:282)

1.3.2 Politeness in Requests

Tracy et al, (1984) suggested that “politeness in requests is aparticularly important issue because requests, by definition, impose on thehearer (H) and if the speaker (S) does not make a request appropriately, thedesire goal may not be realized, H may be embarrassed, or the relationshipmay be damaged”

Kitao (1987) thought of “politeness in requests as a communicationstrategy used by the speaker to decrease imposition on the hearer Thus,maintain a good relationship with him/her” From that, by using politeness

strategies, S can maximize the possibility of gain or achieve S’s goal inrequests without damaging the relationship with H

Also, requests can be expressed directly or indirectly Leech (1983:108) suggests that the use of indirect requests increase the degree ofpoliteness, indirect illocutions tend to be more polite because the degree ofoptionality and because the more indirect an illocution is, the diminished andtentative its force tends to be So, the more indirectly a request is realized,the more polite is

1.4 Streamline Departures & Connections by B.Hartley & P.Viney

The course book “Streamline English” written by two authors BernardHartley & Peter Viney is printed in Oxford University Press, USA (Nov1994) The course book includes three levels of “New American Streamline”(Departures, Connections and Destinations) The course book combinesnatural language, everyday situations and extensive practice of all four skills

to give students a practical command of simple, spoken American English.The texts in the course book can be used independently and easy tounderstand and practice with entertaining and engaging topics

Due to the practical characteristic, the course book becomes verypopular and is very useful for students to learn and apply those things theygain in daily life and communication

In this study, the author intends to investigate the requests in the coursebook “Streamline English Departures & Connections” by B.Hartley &P.Viney to realize them in different politeness strategies and whichpoliteness strategies are used more in requests

Chapter 2: A realization of politeness strategies

in requests in the course book “Streamline English

DEPARTURES & CONNECTIONS” BY B.HARTLEY & P.VINEY

We have carried out an investigation to find the requests used in theconversations in the course book “Streamline English Departures &Connections” The result is that 220 requests are realized and classified intofour types of politeness strategies: bald-on record, positive politeness,negative politeness and off-record

We have found out that the requests in the course book are very variousand often used in daily human communication However, some politenessstrategies are not found in these requests The result we have found is below:

2.1 Politeness strategies in requests in the course book “Streamline English Departures & Connections”

2.1.1 Bald-on record

Bald-on record politeness is defined as where the FTA is performed

“[…] in the most direct, clear, unambiguous and concise way possible”(Brown & Levinson, 1987:69) Thus, we can find the utterances withefficient maxims in Grice’s conversational maxims

Bald-on record requests are straightforward and direct ones thatrequester makes no effort to reduce the impact of the FTAs So, the hearersometimes may feel embarrassed or a bit uncomfortable with the speaker’srequests This politeness strategy is often found with people having closerelationship such as close friends and family The requests in this type ofpoliteness strategies are made through the imperative mood (ex: Open thecase, please.)

In this type of politeness strategies, we found 22 requests (10%) in 5different strategies of Bald On-record

2.1.1.1 Strategy 1: Speaking as if great efficiency is necessary

This strategy is made when S speaks in a great efficiency such as:

E.g.: - Everybody! Be quiet, please! (S.E.D, p.44)

- Taxi! (S.E.D, p.51)

We found 5 requests belonging to this strategy in the course book(2,3%)

2.1.1.2 Strategy 2: Little or no desire to maintain someone’s face

The requests in bald on-record are also expressed in metaphorical

“entreaties” that maybe is stressing the valuable friendship between S and H

E.g.: - U: Don’t forget to send me a postcard! (S.E.D, p.51)

The strategy takes up the lowest percentage of Bald on-record strategywith 1%

2.1.1.3 Strategy 3:Overcoming Channel noise

Bald-on record FTAs is also found in cases of channel noise – or wherethe requests can take pressure and be used with great efficiency

E.g.: - Sgt: Shut up Stand up Straight Now, quick march Left…

right…left right…(S.E.C, p.20)

The strategy has the percentage of 2,7% with 5 requests

2.1.1.4 Strategy 4: Task oriented

The task-oriented is focused in interaction, face redress may be felt not

to be relevant

E.g : - Brenda: Give me the keys (S.E.D, p.104)

- OK…a dozen roses, please (S.E.D, p.112)

Bald on-record requests also occurs in the another case where S and Hhave different power, S is powerful than H but S’s wants to satisfy H’s face

is small

E.g.: - M: You must go to Moscow on tonight’s plane (S.E.D, p.56)

The strategy has the percentage with 1,4%

2.1.1.5 Strategy 5: Doing the FTA is in the interest of the hearer

In some cases, S makes actions that express S’s care about H or interest

of H:

E.g.: - Well, don’t come until you feel better (S.E.C, p.26)

This strategy takes up the same percentage as the strategy 3 with 2,7%.The requests in imperative form, they are often accompanied by thesoftener “please” to maintain politeness

E.g.: - H: Two to Market Street, please (S.E.C, p.189)

- Everybody! Be quiet, please! (S.E.D, p.44)

In general, there are 5 in 12 Bald on-record strategies found in thecourse book: (1) Speaking as if great efficiency is necessary, (2) Little or nodesire to maintain someone’s face, (3) Overcoming Channel noise, (4) Taskoriented and (5) Doing the FTA is in the interest of the hearer

2.1.2 Positive politeness

Positive politeness is where the FTA is performed utilizing strategiesoriented towards redressing the positive face threat to the hearer Thelinguistic output strategies include (Brown & Levinson, 1987: 103-109).This type of politeness strategy is often seen in group of friends or peoplewho know each other fairly well

Among 15 strategies of positive politeness, we find out and classify therequests in 8 following strategies

2.1.2.1 Strategy 1: Notice, attend to H (his interests, wants, needs, goods)

Positive face can be used when speaker and listener have a symmetricalrelationship in terms of power (friends, siblings, students) and the speakerwishes to phrase his request as a positive appeal

The strategy suggests that S should take notice of aspects of listener’sconditions (noticeable, changes, remarkable possession, anything whichlooks as though the H wants the S to notice and approve of it)

E.g.: - N: A present? What a lovely surprise! Shall I open it now?

(S.E.D, p.112)

- Michael: Come on, Susan! Hurry up! Drink your coffee The

train is leaving in a minute We’ll be late! (S.E.C, p.17)

- Michael: Well, let’s walk…It’s a nice, warm evening (S.E.C, p.13)

We found 9 requests belonging to this strategy in the course book(4,1%)

2.1.2.2 Strategy 2: Use in-group identity markers

The strategy is used when the requester uses any of the innumerableways to convey in-group membership: address forms, language or dialect,jargon or slang and ellipsis

* Address forms: Address forms like generic terms and terms of address areused much in the course book We find out many different ways in addressforms: proper names (Corner, Taylor, Bull, etc.), dear, darling, etc

E.g.: - I’m sorry, dear…I’ll come and help you (S.E.C, p.41)

- Doctor: Hello, Mr Jenkins What can I do for you?

(S.E.C, p.50)

- Robin: Now, Duchess…tell us about an ordinary day in your life

(S.E.C, p.64)

- David: One of us must go to work, dear (S.E.C, p.11)

The use of language or dialect, jargon or slang is not found in requests

in the course book

* Ellipsis: it is inevitable association for the S and H to share someknowledge Both the speaker and the listener must share some knowledgeabout the context to make the utterance understandable We found manyrequests that are used in the following examples

E.g.: - O: How about dinner tonight? (S.E.D, p.47)

- Jenny: What about alcohol? Can I drink wine? (S.E.C, p.37)

The strategy of using in-group markers is used much in requests (8,9%).Besides, we also find this strategy and another strategy in a request

E.g.: - Brenda: Oh, darling I feel terribly tired! (S.E.D, p.104)

The request above contains two strategies: an address form in thestrategy of using in-group makers, positive politeness (“darling”), off-record(indirect way - “I’m terribly tired”, request her darling to do the washing up).

2.1.2.3 Strategy 3: Seek agreement

The strategy means that S seeks ways to agree with H

* Safe topics: The S raises the safe topics allow him/her to stress hisagreement with the H In English, the way to seek agreement is by lookingfor topics in which it is possible to agree

E.g.: - P: Is seven o’clock OK? (request to have a meet at 7 o’clock)

(S.E.D, p.47)

- N: Is Thursday afternoon OK? (request to repair the shoes on

Thursday afternoon) (S.E.D, p.63)

* Repetition: Repeating part or all of what the preceding S has said in aconversation is one way to seek agreement

E.g.: - Mile: Couldn’t come? Why couldn’t come? (S.E.C, P.19)

The strategy accounts for 3,6% of the total politeness strategies in thecourse book

2.2.4 Strategy 4: Avoid disagreement

* Token agreement: the desire to agree or appear with H leads to “tokenagreement” The utterance with “Yes, but…” is often responded instead of

“No” we can’t find requests for this technique

* Pseudo-agreement: the S employs “then” or “so” as a conclusion to a line

of reasoning which are carried out cooperatively with the H No requests can

be found for this technique

* White lies: That is the S pretends to agree and uses “white lies” to save thelistener’s positive face

E.g.: - George: No, I’m Ok I’ll drive (S.E.D, p.104)

(The driver-George got drunk, but request to let him drive)

- Barbara: No, it’s all right We can help ourselves (S.E.C, p.36)

* Hedging opinions: the S uses “hedges” to be polite by choosing words atthe extremes of the relevant value system “Hedges” normally is used inNegative politeness but in some ways, it has the positive politeness function

in the form of prayers or swear words

E.g.: - May you have God’s blessing! If you’re going to cross the road,please take me

No requests can be found for this technique

We find 5 requests that take up the lowest percentage in the course book

in this strategy (2,3%)

2.1.2.5 Strategy 5: Offer, promise

Making a request by an offer or promise is to redress the potential threat

of some FTAs The S cooperates with H by claiming to do what H wants and

S is willing to help H to obtain it

E.g.: - S: Please put $1,56 in the box and I’ll call you back

(S.E.D, p.91)

- F: I’ll get the manager (S.E.C, p.16)

- Chris: Oh, yes…I’ll do it later (S.E.C, P.42)

The strategy accounts for 3,2% of the total politeness strategies of thecourse book

E.g.: - P: Don’t be silly! I’ll give you a lift Where are you going?

(S.E.D, p.111)

- H: Yes, my name’s Davis I’m expecting some money from my

bank in Toronto (S.E.C, p.23)

- Doctor: Don’t worry If we operate now, he’ll be all right

(S.E.C, p.64)

The strategy has the same percentage with strategy Avoid disagreementwith 2,3%

2.1.2.7 Strategy 7: Include both S and H in the activity

The strategy make the request easy to carry out by the taking part in ofboth S and H in the activity when S makes the request That is calling uponcooperative assumptions In this strategy, we often find the use of inclusiveforms of “we” and “let’s”

E.g.: - George: That’s all right Shall we go out? (S.E.D, p.104)

- Ian Peters: Let’s meet Mrs Edna Campbell from Gasgow

(S.E.C, p.96)

- Carol: OK Let’s go to restaurant (S.E.C, p.46)

The strategy takes up 4,5% of the total occurring times of politenessstrategies in the course book

2.1.2.8 Strategy 8: Give (or ask for) reasons

In this strategy, the S gives or asks for reasons including H to make therequest This strategy can be realized in the use of indirect suggestions as aconventional positive politeness form: “Why don’t you/we…?” The way togive reasons implies that “I can help you” or “You can help me”, andassumes the coorperation

E.g.: - Vicar: Why don’t you wash your car on Saturday nest week, Mr

Benson? (S.E.D, p.67)

- J: Why don’t you go to the bank? (S.E.D, p.105)

- Ann: You can’t park here! There’s a double yellow tine

(S.E.C, p.66)

The request that S gives or asks for reasons accounts for mostpercentage (10%) of the positive politeness strategies in the course book

In general, the positive politeness in requests is various In this study,

we have found 8 in 15 positive politeness strategies: Notice, attend to H, (2)Use in-group identity makers, (3) Seek agreement, (4) Avoid disagreement,(5) Offer, promise, (6) Be optimistic, (7) Include both S and H in the activityand the last one (8) Give (or ask for) reasons The strategy (8) Give (or askfor) reasons is used most in positive politeness

2.1.3 Negative politeness

Negative politeness is where the FTA is performed utilizing strategiesoriented towards redressing the negative face threat to the hearer Thelinguistic output strategies include (Brown & Levinson, 1987:129-211)

In this kind of politeness, the author finds out 6 in 10 negativepoliteness strategies The result is as following:

2.1.3.1 Strategy 1: Be conventionally indirect

The strategy has opposing tensions between the desire to be direct (go

on record) and the desire to be indirect by giving H an “out” It is solved bythe compromise of conventional indirectness, the use of phrases andsentences that have contextually unambiguous meanings which are differentfrom their literal meaning

E.g.: - C: Mrs Corner, could you pass me the salt, please?

(S.E.D, p.39)

- S: Can you take me to the airport, please? (S.E.D, p.51)

- A: May I see your ticket and your passport? (S.E.C, p.30)

In the course book, the strategy is employed rather frequently (30,1%)

of the politeness strategies used

2.1.3.2 Strategy 2: Use hedges or questions