Politeness In Conversation Between Tourist And Guide In Medan
Wilberth Manurung, Selviana Napitupulu, Febrika L.Toruan
febrika23@yahoo.co.id
abstract
This research is about politeness. The source data of this research is conversation between tourist and guide
in Medan. According to Yule, Politeness is an interaction, which can then be defined as the means employed to
show awareness of another person’s face and politeness classified into “Self and other: say nothing, Say something:
off and on record, Positive and negative politeness. The writer focus to make data Positive and Negative politeness.
This research uses Qualitative Method. This research to find out the types of politeness used and to find out the most
dominant types of politeness found in conversation between tourist and guide. The data are analyzed based on
Yule’s theory. Having analyzed conversation, there are two types of conversational politeness which occurred in the
conversation tourist and guide. They are 5 Positive Politeness is 35.7 % and 9 Negative Politeness is 64.3%.
Negative politeness is a general expression which is implied by a speaker, and the positive is a specific expression
which is implied by a speaker. Negative Politeness is a facing act which is oriented to the person’s negative face will
tend to show difference, emphasize the importance of the other’s time or concern and even include an apology for
the imposition or interruption. Positive Politeness is a face saving ct which is concerned with the person’s positive
face will tend to show solidarity, emphasize that both speaker want the same thing, and that have a common goal.
The writer need guide improvement of his ability to make a good way in speaking to the tourist, and hope the guide
would be more motivated to increase their knowledge about politeness expression and to maximize the positive
politeness and minimize the use of negative politeness.
Key words: Politeness, off and record, solidarity
I. Introduction
Politeness means having showing good manners and respect for the feelings of others. Politeness
is a technical term in the pragmatics subfield of linguistics. Yule claimed that there were three types of
Politeness Self and other : say nothing, Say something : off and on record, Positive and Negative
politeness.
A guide has important role to make tourist interested in communication because success in
communication is a key to make tourist interested. A guide has task to prepare schedule of planning,
accommodation, souvenir, tourism place, etc. A guide can says a ambassador one of country, because
having good manners and respect for the feelings of other is one guide characteristic key.
For decade’s tourism industry and being a guide growth has been major contributor to increased
economic activity throughout the Indonesia and the world. It has created jobs in both large and small
communities and is a major industry in many places. It is the dominant economic activity in some
communities. The impacts of tourism can be sorted into seven general categories : Economic,
Environmental, Social and cultural, Crowding and congestion, Services, Taxes, Community attitude.
Nowadays, in this development era, many students are interested in Pragmatics field ( Politeness ).
They write their thesis which deals with pragmatics. As the writer, an interested in the Pragmatics,
especially in Politeness. The writer has experience that politeness ways in speaking that sometime
misunderstanding happened in interpreting utterances and resulting misunderstanding. According to Yule
(1996), “Politeness classified into Self and other: say nothing, Say something: off and on record, Positive
and negative politeness, but the writer focus to make data Positive and Negative politeness”. The writer
will conduct a study titled “ Politeness in conversation between tourist and guide”. The objectives of this
study are to find out the types and the most dominant type of politeness used in conversation between
tourists and guides.
II.Pragmatics
According to Keiser ( 1994 : 5 ) “pragmatics is the study how the meaning conveyed by a word or
sentence depends on aspects of the context in which it is used ( Such as time, place, social relationship
between speaker and hearer, and speaker’s assumptions about hearer’s beliefs)”.
In addition, Levinson ( 1983 : 21 ) stated that “ pragmatics is the study of relation between
language and context that are basic to an account of language understanding”. From explanations above,
the writer makes conclusion that pragmatics focuses analysis is on the meaning of speakers’.
Politeness
Talking about politeness is talking about relation to social interaction because the focus of
politeness is social interaction that described in terms of respect or deference.
There are some meanings of politeness falls within the domain of many sub disciplines of the study
of language: sociolinguistics, pragmatics.
According to Mills in Levinson (2003 : 6), “politeness is the expression of the speaker intention to
mitigate face threats carried by certain face threatening act forward another”
According to Yule (1996 : 60 ), “politeness is an interaction which can then be defined as the means
employed to show awareness of another person’s face”. It is possible to treat politeness as a fixed
concept, as in the idea of ‘polite social behavior’. or etiquette, within a culture. It is also possible to
specify a number of different general principles for being polite in social interaction within a particular
culture. Some of these might include being tactful, generous, modest, and sympathetic toward others.
There are assumption that participant in an interaction are generally aware that such norms and principles
exist in the society at large. Within an interaction, however, there is a more narrowly specified type of
politeness at work. In order to describe it, the concept of face is needed.
As a technical term, face means the public self – image of a person. It refers to that emotional and
social sense of self that every one has and expects everyone else to recognize. Yule ( 1996 : 62 ) stated
that politeness, in an interaction, can be defined as the means employed to show awareness of another
person’s face. In this sense, politeness can be accomplished in situations of social distance or closeness.
Showing awareness for another person’s face when that other seems socially distant is often described in
terms of respect or deference. Showing the equivalent awareness when the other is socially close is often
described in terms of friendliness, camaraderie, or solidarity. The first type might be found in a student’s
question to his teacher, show as [ Ia], and a second type in the friend’s question to the same individual, as
in [ Ib]
Scene : Mr Raffles have time to talk with Evan
[ I ]a. Evan
: Excuse me, Mr Raffles, but can I talk to you
for a minute?
b. Mr Raffles
: Evan, got a minute?
After hearing these example, there are some way to say if someone have time with using politeness.
These one kinds of politeness that will be learning.
It follows from this type of approach that there will be different kinds of politeness associated ( and
marked linguistically) with the assumption of relative social distance or closeness. In most English –
speaking contexts, the participants in an interaction often have to determine, as they speak, the relative
social distance between them, and hence their ‘face wants”
Face wants
Face wants refers to the expectation dealing with one’s face or public image (Yule, 1996 : 60 ).
There are assume that the participants involved in interactions are not living in a context which has
created rigidly fixed social relationships. Within their everyday expectations concerning their public self –
image, or their face wants, will be respected. If a speaker says something that represents a threat to
another individual’s expectations regarding self – image, it is described as a face threatening act.
Alternatively, given the possibility that some action might be interpreted as a threat to another’s face, the
speaker can say something to lessen the possible threat. This is called a face saving act.
Imagine a late night scene, where a young neighbor is playing his music very loud and an older
couple are trying to sleep. One of them, in [2], proposes a face threatening act and the other suggests a
face saving act.
Scene
: One day a young neighbor was playing music so loudly in the middle
of the night. At the same moment there were a couple of older people
who were trying to sleep
[2] The husband
: I’ m going to tell him to stop that awful noise
right now..!
The wife
: Perhaps you could just task ask him if he is going
to stop soon because it’s getting a bit late and
people need to get to sleep.
The saying of the husband is an example of face threatening act whereas the saying of the wife in
an instance of face saving act.
Because it is generally expect that each person will attempt to respect the face wants of others,
there are many different ways to performing face saving acts.
Negative and Positive Face
According to Yule ( 1996 : 61 ) “a person’s negative face is the need to be independent, to have
freedom for action and not be imposed on by other”. When someone attempt to save another’s face, it can
pay attention to negative face wants or positive face wants. The word ‘negative’ here doesn’t mean ‘bad’,
it’s just the opposite pole from ‘positive’. Peccei (1999 : 64 ) stated that Negative Face refers to our right
to independence of action and our need not to be imposed on by others ( note that negative does not mean
bad here, simply an opposite term to positive ).
According to Yule ( 1996 : 62) “a person’s positive face is the need to be accepted, even liked, by
others, to be created as a member of the same group, and to know it wants are shared by others”. In
simple terms, negative face is the need to be independent and positive face is the need to be connected.
Peccei ( 1999 : 64 ) stated that positive face refers to our need to be accepted and like by other and our
need to feel that our social group shares common goal.
So, a face saving act which is oriented to the person’s negative face will tend to show deference,
emphasize the importance of the other’s time or concerns, and even include an apology for the imposition
or interruption. This is also called negative politeness. A face saving act which is concerned with the
person’s positive face will tend to show solidarity, emphasize that both speaker want the same thing, and
that they have a common goal. This is also called positive politeness. After hearing explanation above
about negative and positive face, the examples are given in this conversation.
Negative face
Scene : Mr Ridwan ask a question to Mr Dicky, but he don’t care about it.
[3] a. Ridwan
: What is your opinion about Indonesia law?
b. Dicky
: I don’t care. / Who cares? / Mind of your
business.
After hearing that example, the speaker in ( 3b) is not answer question of (3a) about opinion. This kinds
of negative face use their technical term.
Positive face
Scene
:
[4] a. Nandar
: Who is your favorite singer or group?
b. Anwar
: My favorite singer is Elvis Presley and my
favorite group is the Beatles, Cold Play and U2.
How about you? Do you have favorite singer or
group?
a Nandar
: I like Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Hallen, B.B King,
and Carlos Santana. They are blues musician.
In answer to make Anwar’s good response, Nandar has to draw on some question to connected.
This kind of Positive face use their technical term.
Pre – request
According to Yule ( 1996 : 67 ) “pre request is one way of avoiding risk is to provide an
opportunity for the other to halt the potentially risky act”. As already suggested, the concept of face
saving may be helpful in understanding how participants in an interaction inevitably understand more
than is said. The basic assumption, from the perspective of politeness, is that face is typically at risk when
the self needs to accomplish something involving other. The greatest risk appears to be when the other put
in a difficult position. For example, rather than simply make a request, speaker will often first procedure
what can be described as a pre- request. Another is presented as [5], along with one analysis of the
structure of this interaction.
Scene : John order George doing a little job are check letter because it is a part of job.
[5] John : Are you busy?
(= pre-request)
George
: Not really
(= go ahead)
John
:
Check over this letter
(= request)
John : Okay
(= accept)
The advantage of the pre-request element is that it can be answered either with a ‘go ahead’ response, as
in [5], or with a ‘stop’ response, as in [6]
Scene : John order George doing a little job but he cannot do it.
[6] John : Are you busy
(= pre – request)
George
: Oh, sorry
(= stop)
The response in [6] allows the speaker to avoid making a request that cannon be granted at the time.
Understanding that it is a response to a pr-request also allows us to interpret the expression ‘sorry’, not
only as an a apology about being busy, but also as an apology about being unable to respond to the
anticipated request.
There is, however, a general pattern of pre – request actually being treated as request and being
responded to, as in [7], with the ( unstated, hoped for) action being performed.
Scene : Jeco don’t have a pencil but Erick give it.
[7] Jeco
: Do you have a spare pencil?
Erick
: Here . ( Hands over a pencil)
This ‘short – cut’ process of going from pre – request to granting of request helps explain the literal
oddness of the common pattern in [8]
Scene : Jessica sure that jean used her phone.
[8] Jean
: Do you mind if I use your phone?
Jessica : Yeah, sure.
As a literal response, ‘Yeah’ or ‘Yeah, sure’ would be the equivalent of ‘I do mind’ and wouldn’t count as
allowing use of the phone. However, these forms are normally interpreted as a positive response, not to
the pre – request, but to the unstated request.
Pre – request are also commonly used in making invitations. As illustrated in [ 9], with a ‘ go
ahead’, and [9], with a ‘stop’ inviters tend to ask a pre – invitation question and receivers tend to
recognize their function.
Scene : There is a dinner on Friday and Rico invites Jackie to come and Jackie accept it.
[9] Rico : What are you doing this Saturday ?
(= pre – invitation)
Jackie
: Hmm, nothing so far (= go ahead)
Rico : Come over for dinner
(= invitation)
Jackie
: Oh, i’d like that
(= accept)
Scene :
Reza ask Karina to do something now, but Karina doesn’t have time, she does it later.
[10] Reza : Are you doing anything later
(= pre – invitation)
Karina : Oh, yah. Busy, busy, busy
(= stop)
Reza : Oh, okay
(= stop)
Children often use pre – announcements to check if their parents are willing to pay attention, as in
example [11]
Scene : Mother is very busy, so she doesn’t want to disturb her child.
[11] Child
: Mom, guess what happened?
(= pre announcement)
Mother : (silence)
Child
: Mom, you know what?
(= pre - announcement)
Mother : Not right now, Jacy, I’m busy
(= stop)
In example [11], there are two pre – announcements, neither of which receives a ‘go ahead’. The initial
pre – announcement is met with silent, which is generally interpreted as a ‘stop’. The child’s second
attempt muse be based on an interpretation that the parent did not hear the first attempt. The final
response has to be interpreted as a ‘stop’, but noticeably it is expressed, in face – saving terms, as a
postponement.
Throughout this discussion of politeness in interaction, there are some assuming a well known and
easily recognizable structure for the interaction. That structure must now be analyzed because it is
comfortable familiarity with its regularity that allows a great deal to be communicated that is never said
Types of politeness
According to Yule ( 1996 ) the politeness classified into Self and other: say nothing, Say
something: off and on record, Positive and negative politeness.
Self and Other: say nothing
One way to see the relevance of the relationship between these politeness concepts and language
use is to take a single speech event and map out the different interpretations associated with different
possible expressions used within that event. For example, someone arrive at an importance lecture, pull
out a notebook to takes notes, but discover that don’t have anything to write with. In this cases, think that
the person sitting next to provide the solution. In this scenario, going to be ‘self’ and the person next to
going to be ‘other’
The first choice is whether to say something or not. Someone can, of course, rummage in the bag,
search rather obviously through the pockets, go back into bag, without uttering a word but with the vague
intention that the problem will be recognized. This ‘say nothing’ approach may or may not work, but if it
does, the other offers and not because the self asks, as in [12]
Scene : Jessica just look in bag, and ovalyn knowing what she to do. She gives her pen.
[12]Jessica
: (looks in bag)
Ovalyn
: (offer pen) Here, use this.
Many people seem to prefer to have need recognized by others without having to express those needs in
language. When those needs are recognized, as in [12] then clearly more has been communicated that was
said.
Say something: off and on record
According to Brown and Levinson ( 1987 ), “a communicative act is done off – record if it is done
in such a way that it is not possible to attribute only one clear communicative intention to the act”. Thus,
if a speaker want to do an FTA, but wants to avoid the responsibility for doing it, he can do it off – record
and leave it up the addressee to decide how to interpret it. Meanwhile, According to Yule ( 1996 : 63 )“off
record is decide to say something, actually have to ask for anything”. Someone can ( perhaps after your
search through your bag) simply produce a statement of the type in [13a] or [13b]
Scene : Shelly want to borrow Kelly’s ruler, but Kelly forgot her ruler.
[13]a. Shelly
: Do you have a ruler?
Kelly
: Uh, I forgot my ruler.
Scene : Wina want to borrow Chintya’s pen, but Chintya forgot her pen.
b. Wina
: Do you have a pen?
Chintya
: Hmm, I wonder where I put my pen
These, and other similar types of statement, are not directly addressed to the other. The other can act as if
the statements have not even been heard. It is technically described as being off record. In casual
descriptions, it might be referred to as ‘hints’. Once again, and off record statement may or may not
succeed ( as a means of getting a pen), but if it does, it will be because more has been communicated than
was said.
Brown and Levinson outline (1987 ) outline that On – Record Strategy do not attempt to minimize
the threat to the hearer’s face. This strategy is most often utilized by speaker who closely know their
audience. Meanwhile, according to Yule ( 1996 : 63 ) on record is statements directly address the other as
a means of expressing are needed. These direct address forms are a means of expressing are needed.
These direct address forms are technically described as being on record. The most record approach, using
imperative forms such as those in [ 14], is known as bald on record. The other person is directly asked for
something.
Scene : Ricky need help a jacket, Jackie help him.
[14]a. Ricky :
Can you help me?
Jackie
: Of course.
Ricky
: Give me a jacket.
Scene : Ricky need help a pen, Jackie help him.
b. Ricky
: Can you help me?
Jackie
: Of course
Ricky
: Lend me your pen.
These bald on record forms may be followed by expressions like ‘please’ and ‘would you?’ which serve
to soften the demand and are called mitigating devices.
It is tempting to equate the bald on record approach with all direct command forms (i.e
imperatives). This would be misleading because imperative forms are often used by close familiars
without being interpreted as commands. Examples would be a friend offering something to eat, as in [
15a], or trying to help you, as in [ 15b]
Scene : Jimmy offer something to help Bram.
[15]a. Jimmy
: What can I do for you?
Bram
: Have some more cake
Jimmy
: Wait a minute, sir? I will take it.
Scene : Jimmy offer something to help Bram.
b. Jimmy
: What can I do for you
Bram
: Gimme that wet umbrella
Jimmy
: Sorry, I can’t help you,sir?
Emergency situations also occasions the use of direct commands, regardless of who is being addressed, as
when danger prompts use of the expressions in [16]
Scene : Shinta ask Shelly for don’t touch something because it is danger.
[16]a. Shelly
: Is this danger?
Shinta
: Don’t touch that
Scene : Shinta as Shelly for get out because she doesn’t want to disturb.
b. Shelly
: Are you busy?
Shinta
: Get out of here!
There are, consequently, some social circumstances where using a direct command as a bald on record
expression is considered appropriate among social equal.
However, generally speaking, bald on record expressions are associated with speech events where
the speaker assumes that he or she has power over the other ( for example, in military contexts) and can
control the other’s behavior with words. In every day interaction between social equals, such bald on
record behavior would potentially represent a threat to the other’s face and would generally be avoided.
Avoiding a face threatening act is accomplished by face saving acts which use positive or negative
politeness strategies, example from source theory Brown and Levinson’s ( 1993) :
 Give hints
: It’s bit cold in here
 Be vague
: Perhaps someone should have been more
responsible
 Be sarcastic, or joking : Yeah, he’s a real Einstein (rocket scientist,
Stephen
Hawking, genius and so on)!
Positive and negative politeness
According to Brown and Levinson ( 1987 : 101 ) “positive politeness is strategy attempt to
minimize the threat to the hearer’s positive face”. This strategy is most commonly used in situation where
the audience knows each other fairly well. Meanwhile, according to Yule (1996 : 62 ),”positive politeness
is a face saving act which is concerned with the person’s positive face will tend to show solidarity,
emphasize that both speakers want the same thing, and that have a common goal”. A positive politeness
strategy leads the requester to appeal to a common goal, and even friendship, via expressions such as
those in [17]
Scene : John offer something to George.
[17]a. John : What can I do for you, sir?
George :
How about letting me use your book?
Scene : Jackie gives appreciate to buddy because he has borrow his pen.
b. Buddy :
What can I do for you, sir?
Jackie :
Hey, buddy, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me use your pen
These on record expressions do represent a greater risk for the speaker of suffering a refusal and may be
preceded by some getting to know hearer talk, of the kind presented in [18], designed to establish the
necessary common ground for this strategy.
[18] Hi. How’s it going? Okay if I sit here? We must be interested in the same crazy stuff. You take
a lot of notes too, huh? Say, do me a big favor and let me use one your pens.
According to Brown and Levinson ( 1987 : 129 ) “negative politeness which presumes that the
speaker will be imposing on the listener”. Meanwhile, according to Yule ( 1996 : 62 ),”negative
politeness is a face saving act which is oriented to the person’s negative face will tend to show deference,
emphasize the importance of the other’s time or concerns and even include an apology for the imposition
or interruption”. However, in most English – speaking context, a face saving act is more commonly
performed via a negative politeness strategy. The most typical form used is a question containing a modal
verb such as [19a]
[19]
a.
Oriza
: What can I do for you?
Yossiva
: Could you lend me a pen?
b. Oriza
: What can I do for you?
Yossiva
: I’m sorry to bother you, but can I ask you for a
pen or something?
c. Oriza
: What can I do for you?
Yossiva
: I know you’re busy, but might I ask you if -em- if
you happen to have an extra pen that I could, you
happen to have an extra pen I could, you know –
eh –maybe borrow?
Using this strategy also results in forms which contain expressions of apology for the imposition, of the
type shown in [19b] More elaborate negative politeness work can sometimes be heard in extended talk,
often with hesitations, similar to that shown in [19c]
It is worth nothing that negative politeness is typically expressed via questions, even questions that
seem to ask for permission to ask a question ( for example, ‘Might I ask…?) as in (19c). On the surface,
such questions present an opportunity for the other to answer in the negative to the questions without the
same refusal effect of responding with a negative to a direct, bald on record imperative. (This distinction
is an important motivation for the distinction between direct and indirect speech acts, discussed already)
Even more relevant for concern with the pragmatics of language in use, the availability of the bald
on record form, as well as off record forms, means that the use of a face – saving on record forms
represent a significant choice. The choice of a type of expressions that is less direct, potentially less clear,
generally longer, and with a more complex structure means that the speaker is making a greater effort, in
terms of concern for face (i.e. politeness ), than is needed simply to get the basic message across
efficiently, example from source theory Brown and Levinson’s ( 1993) about Positive Politeness.
 Attend to the hearer : You must be hungry, it’s along time since breakfast.
How about some lunch?
 Avoid disagreement : A : What is she, small? B : Yes, yes, she’s small,
smallish, um, not really small but certainly not
very big.
 Assume agreement
: So, when are you coming to see us?
 Hedge Opinion
: You really should sort of try harder
Strategies of Politeness
The tendency to use positive politeness forms, emphasizing closeness between speaker and hearer,
can be seen as a solidarity strategy. This may be the principal operating strategy among a whole group or
it may be an option used by an individual speaker on a particular occasion. Linguistically, such as strategy
will include personal information, use of nicknames, sometimes even abusive terms (particularly among
males), and shared dialect or slang expressions. Frequently, a solidarity strategy will be marked via
inclusive terms such as ‘we’ and ‘let’s’, as in the party invitations in [20]
How to get a pen from someone else
say something
say nothing (but search in bag)
on record
off record (I forgot my pen’)
face saving act
bald on record ( Give me a pen)
Positive politeness
negative politeness
(How about letting me use your pen?)
(Could you lend me a pen?)
How to get a pen from someone else ( following Brown and Levinson in Yule 1987 : 66)
[20]
Come on, let’s go to the party. Everyone will be there. We’ll have fun.
The tendency to use negative politeness forms, emphasizing the hearer’s right to freedom, can be seen as
a deference strategy. It can be typical strategy of a whole group or just an option used on a particular
occasion. A deference strategy is involved in what is called formal politeness. It is impersonal, as if
nothing is shared, and can include expressions that refer to neither the speaker nor the hearer (for
example, Customers may not smoke here, sir). The language associated with a deference strategy
emphasizes the speaker’s and the hearer’s independence, marked via an absence of personal claims, as in
an alternative version of the party invitation in.
[21] There’s going to be a party, if you can make it. It will be fun.
These general types of strategies are illustrated here via utterances which are actually central to the speech
event (for example, invitation). Face saving behavior, however, is often at work well before such
utterances are produced, in the form of pre-sequence.
Tourist
According to McIntosh. and Goeldner ( 1984 : 5 ) Tourist /Visitor, In the 1963, the United Nation
Conference on International Travel and Tourism ( Rome) considered a definition and recommended that it
be studied by the United Nation Statistical Commission. The conference purpose, “ describes any person
visiting a country other than that in which he has his usual place of residence, for any reason other than
following an occupation remunerated from within the country visited”. This definition covered:
“tourist.” i.e., temporary visitor staying at least 24 hours in the country visited and the purpose of whose
journey can be classified leisure ( recreation, holiday, health, study, religion and sport) and business,
family, mission, meeting;
According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 1995 : 10 ) the defines tourists as people "traveling
to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for
leisure, business and other purposes”. After knowing explanation about tourist the writer take conclusion
about meaning of Tourist is one who travel away from his home, and staying at least 24 hours in the
country visited.
Table 1 Categories of Tourist
NO
Categories of Tourist
1
International tourist
2
International excursionist
3
Domestic tourist
Meaning
A visitor who travels to a country other
than that in which he/she has his/her usual
residence for at least one night but not
more than one year, and whose main
purpose of visit is other than the exercise
of activity remunerated from within the
country visited
A visitor residing in a country who travels
the same day to a country other than that
in which he/she has his/her usual
environment for less than 24 hours without
spending the night in the country visited
and whose main purpose of visit is other
than the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the country
visited
Any person, regardless of nationality,
resident in a country and who travels to a
place in the same country for not more
than one year and whose main purpose of
visit is other than following an occupation
remunerated from within the place visited.
Such a definition includes domestic
tourists where an overnight stay is
involved and domestic excursionists who
visit an area for less than 24 hours and do
not stay overnight
Based on the above definition of tourists, the WTO develops a series of relevant definitions Source: WTO,
1991.
Guide
According to Merriam (1993), there are definition covered of guide :
1. a.
One that leads or directs another way.
b.
A person who exhibits and explains points of interest.
c.
Something that provides a person with guiding information.
d.
A person who directs another conduct of course of life.
According explanations above, the writer choose the meaning of guide is a person leads direct
another way to give more information about tourism places.
III.Research Design
In this chapter the research methodology used is described.. The conversation used to collect the
data, including methods, technique of collecting data, technique of analysis data are described. According
to Arikunto ( 2010 : 3) “Metode kualitatif adalah metode penelitian yang digunakan untuk meneliti
kondisi objek yang bersifat alami” ( Qualitative method is a research method which is used to research the
condition of natural object). So the method is step by step research conducted by researchers to obtain
research data. Accordingly, this study used a descriptive method qualitative which is a problem-solving
by way of preparing, collecting data and analyzing of data. The purpose of this research is to find out the
types of politeness strategies used between Tourist and Guide. The research method will be descriptive
qualitative research.
The source of data is the English speaking toursits. In this research, the subjects are Tourists
(English speaking tourist ) and Guides. Meanwhile, there are conversation of Tourist and Guide that can
be the source of the data.
The data of this research which is collected by observation and the source of data is field
observation, where there are some participants ( guide and tourist) in the context interview and
conversation. Observational data is used for the purpose of description, settings, activities, people.
The procedure of collecting data by joining to the tourism agency , do conversation between
tourist and guide and recording conversation between tourist & guide.
In descriptive analysis writers do the following steps, transcribing the conversation.
identifying by underlining Politeness, classifying the conversation based on types of politeness, and
tabulating the types of politeness.
Conversation between tourist and guide contain Politeness.
No
Politeness Conversational
Guide
:
Excuse me, good morning sir?
Tourist
:
Good morning.
Guide
:
I am sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you for a minute, please?
Tourist
:
Yes, what can I do for you?
1
Guide
:
Thank you. Just story a little about your holiday in Medan of city. May I
introduce my self, please?
Tourist
:
Yes, please.
Guide
:
I belong here. How long have you been here?
Tourist
:
I’ve been here for about three days.
Guide
:
Do you know where's the best place to have visit around here, sir?
Tourist
:
Yes, I do.
Guide
:
Could you tell me?
Tourist
:
There are Merdeka walk, Asam Kumbang, Kesawan, that’s all.
Tourist
:
How do we get there?
Guide
:
We can get there if you have more time.
Guide
:
I am sorry, can you ask me about historical sights in Medan, sir?
Tourist
:
I cann’t.
Guide
:
Yes sir.
2
3
.
4
5
6
7
8
Maybe you ever heard about Maimoon Palace before. How about story
Maimoon palace?
Tourist
:
Yes, I do. Maimoon..?
Guide
:
Yes.
Tourist
:
Could you be allowed to take pictures once we get inside the Maimoon
Palace?
Guide
:
We can take the pictures inside of the buildings. The architecture is
beautiful and there are so many history of article estate.
Guide
:
I am sorry to bother you, can I ask you about history tourism places
Medan of city, sir?
Tourist
:
Yes, you can, with pleasure.
9
10
Tourist
:
Wait a minute, please.
Guide
:
How about Asam kumbang?
Tourist
:
The best choice.
Guide
:
I’d appreciate it if you’d let me go there. How about next time?
Tourist
:
No problem, if you have a free time, we can go.
Guide
:
Can you give me your phone number, please?
Tourist
:
Ooh, I'll give you my name card.
Guide
:
You wanna know, how about the taste, sir?
Tourist
:
(laugh..), yes.
11
12
13
14
IV Data Analysis
After collecting the data, the conversation was analysed and classified based on the
theory of politeness. . Theoretically, there are three types of politeness. They are self and other :
say something, say something : off and on record, positive and negative politeness. The writer
focus to collect data just positive and negative politeness. This research found the all two
conversational politeness were occurred in the conversation. Here are 14 examples of
conversational politeness found in conversation between tourist and guide.
Conversation 1
Scene
:
Guide wants to make greetings introduce.
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Excuse me, good morning sir?
Guide
:
Tourist
: Good morning.
Guide
: I am sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you for a minute, please?
Tourist
: Yes, what can I do for you?
The expression above contains negative politeness. It occurs in the guide’s utterance.
Guide says “I am sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you for a minute, please?”. It informs
which contains expressions of apology for the imposition.
Conversation 2
Scene
: Guide and Tourist are in around Great Mosque.
Guide introduce his self.
Setting
:
Participant :
Around Great Mosque
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: Thank you. Just story a little about your holiday in Medan of city. May I introduce
my self, please?
Tourist
: Yes, please.
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the guide’s
utterance. Guide says “Thank you. Just story a little about your holiday in Medan of city. May I
introduce my self, please?”. It is a general thing when someone first meet and more elaborate
extended talk.
Conversation 3
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist.
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: I belong here. How long have you been here?
Tourist
: I’ve been here for about three days.
The expression above contains Positive Politeness. It occurs in the guide’s utterance.
Guide says “How long have you been here?”. It means that guide directly ask tourist question
about time.
Conversation 4
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: Do you know where's the best place to have visit around here, sir?
Tourist
: Yes, I do.
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the guide’s
utterance. Guide says “Do you know where's the best place to have visit around here, sir?”. It
means that guide ask about it because needs a specific context about his journey in Medan of
city.
Conversation 5
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: Could you tell me?
Tourist
: There are Merdeka walk, Asam Kumbang, Kesawan, that’s all.
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the guide’s
utterance. Guide says “Could you tell me?”. It means that most typical form used is a question
containing a modal verb.
Conversation 6
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Tourist
: How do we get there?
Guide
: We can get there if you have more time.
The expression above contains Positive Politeness. It occurs in the guide’s utterance.
Guide says “ How do we get there” It mean that leads the requester to appeal to a common goal,
and even friendship, via expressions.
Conversation 7
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: I am sorry, can you ask me about historical sights in Medan, sir?
Tourist
: I can’t
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the guide’s
utterance. Guide says “I am sorry, can you ask me about historical sights in Medan, sir?”. It
means that results in forms which contains expressions of apology for the imposition.
Conversation 8
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide
Guide and Tourist
: Yes sir.
Maybe you ever heard about Maimoon Palace before. How about story Maimoon
palace?
Tourist
: Yes, I do. Maimoon..?
Guide
:
Yes.
The expression above contains Positive Politeness. It occurs in the guide’s utterance.
Guide says “How about the story Maimoon palace”. It means that guide needs knowing
knowledge tourist about tourism place and to appeal to a common goal, and even friendship, via
expressions.
Conversation 9
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Tourist
: Could you be allowed to take pictures once we get inside the Maimoon Palace?
Guide
: We can take the pictures inside of the buildings. The architecture is beautiful and
there are so many history of article estate.
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the Tourist utterance.
Tourist says “Could you allowed to take pictures once we get inside the Maimoon Palace?”. It
means that the most typical form used is a question containing a modal verb.
Conversation 10
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Participant :
Around Great Mosque
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: I am sorry to bother you, but can I ask you about history tourism places Medan of
city, sir?
Tourist
: Yes, you can, with pleasure
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the guide utterance.
Guide says “I am sorry to bother you, but can I ask you about history tourism places Medan of
city, sir?”. It means that guide needs tell more about tourism place and results in forms which
contains expressions of apology for the imposition.
Conversation 11
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Tourist
: Wait a minute, please.
Guide
: How about Asam kumbang?
Tourist
:
The best choice.
The expression above contains Positive Politeness. It occurs in the guide utterance.
Guide says “How about Asam kumbang?”. It means that guide give more explanation about
tourism place with leads the requester to appeal to a common goal.
Conversation 12
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: I’d appreciate it if you’d let me go there. How about next time?
Tourist
: No problem, if you have a free time, we can go.
The expression above contains Positive Politeness. It occurs in the guide utterance.
Guide says “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me go there. How about next time?”. It means that
guide really want to invite tourist making the round tourism place in Medan of city with via
expression to appeal to a common goal.
Conversation 13
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: Can you give me your phone number, please?
Tourist
: Ooh, I'll give you my name card.
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the guide utterance.
Guide says “Can you give me your phone number, please?”. It means that guide needs even
friendships and the most typical form used is a question containing a modal verb.
Conversation 14
Scene
:
Guide interviews Tourist
Setting
:
Around Great Mosque
Participant :
Guide and Tourist
Guide
: You wanna know, how about the taste, sir?
Tourist
: (laugh..), yes.
The expression above contains Negative Politeness. It occurs in the guide utterance.
Guide says “You wanna know, how about the taste, sir?” It means that guide needs tourist
feeling a new things about the taste favorite food.
Research Findings
The findings show that there are two types of politeness that occurred in the conversation
between tourist and guide. They are Positive Politeness 6 (35.7 %) and Negative Politeness 9 (
64.3 %).
In the conversation between Tourist and Guide, Negative Politeness is used more
dominantly because the background of conversation ( context) of the main character happened in
many different situations. It can be seen on the Table 4.3 following :
Table 1.Types of politeness in Conversation between Tourist and Guide
Types of Politeness
No
Number of Conversation
Positive
Guide
:
…
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
I am sorry to bother you, but can I talk to you for
a minute, please?
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
…, May I introduce my self, please?
Tourist
: …
Guide
:
…, How long have you been here?
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
Do you know where's the best place to have visit
around here, sir?
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
Could you tell me?
Tourist
:
…
Tourist
:
How do we get there?
Guide
:
…
Guide
:
I am sorry, can you ask me about historical sights
in Medan, sir?
Tourist
:
…
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Negative







8
Guide
:
…, How about story Maimoon palace?
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
…
Tourist
:
Could you be allowed to take pictures once we
get inside the Maimoon Palace?
Guide
:
…
Guide
:
I am sorry to bother you, can I ask you about
history tourism places Medan of city, sir?
Tourist
:
....
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
How about Asam kumbang?
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
I’d appreciate it if you’d let me go there. How
about next time?
Tourist
:
....
Guide
:
Can you give me your phone number, please?
Tourist
:
…
Guide
:
You wanna know, how about the taste, sir?
Tourist
:
…


9
10
11



12
13
14
Total (N)
Percentages
Conclusions


5
35.7 %
9
64.3 %
Through considering the analysis and determining the types of conversational politeness in
the conversation between tourist and guide, it is found that there are two types of conversational
politeness which occurred in the conversation tourist and guide. They are 5 Positive Politeness
(35.7%) and 9 Negative Politeness (64.3 %), Negative Politeness is a general expression which
is implied by a speaker, and the Positive Politeness is a specific expression which is implied by a
speaker.
By considering the research findings and the conclusions, the writers suggest that Guide
needs more improvement of his ability to make a good way in speaking to the tourist because
guide is a key to interest tourist because negative politeness is general expression that use., the
guide sould be more motivated to increase their knowledge about politeness expressions
especially situations of communications, types of politeness ( positive politeness), maximize the
positive politeness and minimize the use of negative politeness.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist(Accessed on September 03, 2013, at
10:25a.m)1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide?veaction ( Accessed on September 02, 2013, at
10.00a.m)