Chandra F D Silalahi

8176111006

Politeness in Inter
language Pragmatis
of Complaints by In
donesian Learners o
f English
INTRODUCTION
According to Bachman; 1990 pragmatics knowledge is crusial to successful cros
cultural and interpersonal communication as it will facilate intelocutors to conv
ey their communicative intention and comprehend the messege as it is in tende
d by other interlocutors. Complaint is one of speech acts which could engender
communication breakdown. There has been increasing interest analyzing the ap
plication of politeness by non native speakers. Mostly research convered by use
politeness in speech, (e.g Al-marrani and sazalie, 2010; Anderson,2009; Marazit
a, 2009).
Research Question :
Do Indonesian learners of english use politeness strategies when they make co
mplaints?
Do different social distances (Familiarity) intigate different use of politeness stra
tegies?
Do different status levels (power) induce different use of politeness strategies?
METHOD
This journal research use two methods to do the research, they are:
By using object (participant) => This journal research consisted 50 stu
dents comprising 25 males and 25 females. The students aged 18-20
years old with average age being 19.5 years. The student previously st
udy english for 6 years in secondary school and 2 years at the English
Department. None of the participants went to English speaking count
ries previously and they never use English in naturalistic setting.
By using instrument => this journal research use the ODCT (Oral Dis
course Completion Task) instruments to the participants. They invol
ved nine scenarios each of which represented one of three different
status levels, constituting either different age levels or occupation (l
ower, equal, and higher) and three social distences of familiarities
(Close, Familiar, and Unfamiliar).
RESULT
This journal have 6 results, they are :
Bald on record and possitive polliteness were use more frequently than negative politeness and off-
record across the status levels.
Possitive politeness was used to address compaliness of familiar higher status the most frequently a
nd it was use to those of familiar equal the last frequently.

Bald on record was used by the participant the most frequently across the status levels. Possitive po
liteness was commonly used to address collocutors unfamiliar equal and higher or less similary.

The participants commonly aplaid bald on record they use possitive politeness frequently to addres
s collucutors of equal close and for equal familiar and equal unfamiliar they used negative politenes
s.

The participants used bald on record and possitive politeness very frequently. They used bald on re
cord to the lower unfamiliar and possitive politeness politeness to lower close and lower familiar.

The participants tended to apply bald on record and to complain to those of higher familiar and mo
stly used possitive politeness and negative politeness most frequently used to the higher familiar.
DISCUSSION
The different status level and social distances induc
ed the different frequentcy of politeness strategies.
Bald on record and possitive politeness were the m
ost pervasive stratyegies use by the participant.