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POLITENESS STRATEGIES USED BY ELLEN DEGENERES
AND U.S. POLITICIANS IN THE ELLEN SHOW
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Carolina Yuni Rahastri K.
Student Number: 131214013
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2017
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
A Smjana Pendidikan Thesis on
POLITENESS STRATEGIES USED BY ELLEN DEGENERESAND U.S. POLITICIANS IN THE ELLEN SHOW
By
Carolina Yuni Rahastri K.
Student Number: 131214013
Approved by
Advisor
Barli Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D.
ii
Date
12 June 2017
__1 _
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
POLITENESS STRATEGIES USED BY ELLEN DEGENERESAND U.S. POLITICIANS IN THE ELLENSHOW
By
CAROLINA YUNI RAHASTRI K.
Student Number: 131214013
Defended before the Board of Examinerson 11 July 2017
and Declared Acceptable
Board of Examiners
Chairperson Yohana Veniranda, M.Hum., M.A., Ph.D.
Secretary : Christina Lhaksmita Anandari, Ed.M.
Member : BarH Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D.
Member : Christina Lhaksmita Anandari, Ed.M.
Member : Dr. Retno Muljani, M.Pd.
Yogyakarta, 11 July 2017Faculty ofTeachers Training and EducationSanata Dharma University
iii
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
STATEMENT OF WORK'S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the workor paIis of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and thereferences, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, 11 July 2017
The Writer
Ca !ina Yuni Rahastri K.
131214013
IV
...&r _
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUANPUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang belianda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dhanlla:
Nama
Nomor Mahasiswa
Carolina Yuni Rahastri K.
131214013
Demi pengembangan i1mu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada PerpustakaanUniversitas Sanata Dhal111a karya i1miah saya berjudu1:
POLITENESS STRATEGIES USED BY ELLEN DEGENERESAND U. S. POLITICIANS IN THE ELLEN SHOW
Dengan demikian saya membelikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas SanataDhanlla hak untuk menyimpan, menga1ihkan da1am bentuk media lain,menge101anya da1am bentuk pangka1an data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, danmempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademistanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada sayase1ama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di YogyakartaPada tangga1: 11 Juli 2017
Yang menyatakan
C 7;<Car lina Yuni Rahastri K.
v
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
vi
ABSTRACT
Rahastri, Carolina Yuni. (2017). Politeness strategies used by Ellen DeGeneres
and U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show.Yogyakarta: English Language Education
Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
Learning a language, especially for EFL students, is related to learning the
structural rules of the language, namely grammar. Meanwhile, there are other
essential aspects required in learning the language. One of them is understanding
how to use the language in social conditions. It means that students need to use
the language appropriately. They will be able to avoid miscommunication if they
understand the language. The capability of using language appropriately is related
to politeness.
This study analyzed the application of politeness strategies in a talk
show, namely The Ellen Show. Furthermore, the writer analyzed the interaction
between the host, Ellen, and two U.S. politicians as the guest stars. The interaction
between them represented the use of politeness strategies in social context. There
were two research questions in this study: (1) Which politeness strategies are used
by Ellen and U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show? and (2) What are the factors that
influence Ellen and the politicians in using politeness strategies in the talk show?
Discourse analysis which belongs to qualitative research was used by the
writer to conduct this study. The writer analyzed the utterances that were
produced by Ellen and U.S politicians by using the s and the transcripts of the talk
show. The writer employed Brown and Levinson‘s (1987) theory to classify the
use of politeness strategies that were used by the speakers. The factors that
influence the choice of strategies were analyzed by using Brown and Levinson‘s
theory as well.
The study revealed that Ellen and U.S. politicians used almost all of the
politeness strategies. The factors that influence the choice of the strategies were
the payoffs and the sociological variables which consisted of social distance and
rank of imposition. The writer expected that the result of the study will be helpful
for readers, especially for learners, teachers, and future researchers in
understanding politeness in English.
Keywords: politeness strategies, payoffs, sociological variables, talk show
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
vii
ABSTRAK
Rahastri, Carolina Yuni. (2017). Politeness strategies used by Ellen DeGeneres
and U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show.Yogyakarta: Program Studi Bahasa
Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Mempelajari bahasa, terutama bagi mahasiswa yang mempelajari Bahasa
Inggris sebagai bahasa asing, berkaitan dengan mempelajari aturan-aturan dalam
struktur kebahasaan, atau yang biasa disebut grammar. Sementara itu, terdapat
beberapa hal penting yang diperlukan dalam mempelajari bahasa. Salah satunya
adalah dengan memahami cara bagaimana menggunakan bahasa tersebut di dalam
kehidupan bersosial. Hal ini menunjukan bahwa mahasiswa perlu menggunakan
bahasa dengan sesuai. Mahasiswa dapat menghindari terjadinya miskomunikasi
yang terjadi di antara mereka ketika mereka dapat memahami bahasa yang mereka
pakai. Kemampuan dalam menggunakan bahasa dengan baik dan benar berkaitan
erat dengan kesopanan.
Studi ini menganalisis tentang penggunaan strategi kesopanan dalam sebuah
talk show bernama The Ellen Show. Selanjutnya, penulis menganalisis interaksi
antara pembawa acara yang bernama Ellen dan para politisi Amerika sebagai
bintang tamu. Interaksi yang terjadi diantara mereka menunjukan penggunaan
strategi kesopanan dalam konteks sosial. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah dalam
studi ini: (1) Strategi kesopanan apa saja yang digunakan Ellen dan politisi
Amerika di The Ellen Show? (2) Faktor-faktor apa saja yang mempengaruhi Ellen
dan politisi Amerika dalam menggunakan strategi kesopanan dalam talk show
tersebut?
Analisis wacana yang termasuk dalam penelitian kualitatif digunakan oleh
penulis untuk melakukan studi ini. Penulis menganalisis ungkapan-ungkapan yang
dikemukakan oleh Ellen dan politisi Amerika dengan menggunakan cuplikan
video beserta transkrip yang terdapat dalam talk show. Penulis menggunakan teori
dari Brown dan Levinson (1987) untuk mengklasifikasi penggunaan strategi
kesopanaan yang diterapkan oleh pembicara. Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi
pemilihan strategi kesopanan juga dianalisis dengan teori Brown dan Levinson.
Studi ini menyimpulkan bahwa Ellen dan politisi Amerika menggunakan
hampir semua strategi kesopanan. Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi pemilihan
strategi kesopanan adalah keuntungan untuk penutur dan variabel sosiologis yang
mencakup jarak sosial dan tingkat pembebanan. Penulis berharap supaya hasil dari
studi ini akan berguna bagi pembaca khususnya bagi pembelajar, pengajar, dan
penulis selanjutnya dalam memahami kesopanan dalam bahasa Inggris.
Kata kunci: politeness strategies, payoffs, sociological variables, talk show
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It has been a long journey I went on to achieve my Sarjana Pendidikan
degree. I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to those who kindly walked
beside me to strengthen me and give me support during the process of writing this
thesis.
First of all, I would like to praise Jesus Christ for all the blessings, time,
and everything given to my life. His blessings have been guiding me through my
journey. I would also like to thank Him for sending me the people who supported
me during the writing of my thesis. Foremost, I would like to thank my beloved
parents, Papa Yosep Adrianus Muljono and Mama Maria Caecilia Novitta Sri
Sanggrama Hastawati Wuniasmoro, and my sisters, Crescentiana Diah
Lindiyasari Kusumaningtyas and Lusia Ratih Desi Kusumaning Hapsari for
their prayers and support throughout my life.
I respectfully express my gratitude to my advisor, Barli Bram, M.Ed.,
Ph.D., for being very patient in guiding me. I thank him for spending his valuable
time critically read my writing and advise me for better writing. My gratitude also
goes to my academic advisor, Drs. Y.B. Gunawan M.A. for his patience in
guiding me throughout my study in this university. I also thank all lecturers,
staff, and students of ELESP Sanata Dharma University for everything. I
would peculiarly thank Ibu Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. for kindly
supporting me and giving me references in writing this thesis.
I am grateful to have cheerleaders in writing this thesis: Mas Yos (as
my tutor since Structure 2 course), Mami Eggie, Monica, Cimbul, all of my
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ix
friends in Class A batch 2013, all of GRISADHA members especially Yu
Warni Emprit, Mas Agus, Swelana, and Yostin, all of my friends in Thesis
class, REMBOL, and all of Kos Sagan No.22 girls. Last but not least, for all
inspirations, I thank my beloved partner, Victor Wijaya Dewantara.
Carolina Yuni Rahastri Kusumarani
(Aci)
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGES .............................................................................................. ii
STATEMENT OF WORK‘S ORIGINALITY ...................................................... iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ........................................................ v
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vi
ABSTRAK .............................................................................................................. vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ x
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................... xii
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES ...................................................................................... xiv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
A. Research Background ............................................................................. 1
B. Research Questions ................................................................................ 4
C. Research Significance............................................................................. 4
D. Definition of Terms ................................................................................ 4
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...................................... 7
A. Theoretical Description .......................................................................... 7
1. The Study of Language ........................................................................... 7
2. The Study of Language and Society ....................................................... 8
3. Discourse Analysis .................................................................................. 9
4. Politeness Theory .................................................................................... 9
5. Politeness Strategies .............................................................................. 12
6. Factors of Politeness Strategies ............................................................. 26
B. Review of Related Research ................................................................. 30
C. Theoretical Framework......................................................................... 32
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 33
A. Research Method .................................................................................. 33
B. Research Setting and Data Source ........................................................ 34
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xi
C. Data Gathering Technique .................................................................... 36
D. Data Analysis Technique ...................................................................... 37
CHAPTER IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................. 39
A. The Politeness Strategies Used by Ellen and the U.S. Politicians in The
Ellen Show ............................................................................................ 39
B. The Factors Which Influence the Application of Politeness Strategies
by Ellen and the Politicians in The Ellen Show .................................... 56
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... 65
A. Conclusions .......................................................................................... 65
B. Implications .......................................................................................... 67
C. Recommendations ................................................................................ 67
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 69
APPENDICES ...................................................................................................... 71
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
1. EFL = English as a Foreign Language
2. U.S. = United States
3. FTA = Face-Threatening Act
4. BoR = Bald on Record
5. PP = Positive Politeness
6. NP = Negative Politeness
7. OR = Off Record
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LIST OF TABLES
3.1 The Categorization of Politeness Strategies Used by Ellen and U.S. Politicians
in The Ellen Show .......................................................................................... 38
4.1 Politeness Strategies Found in The Ellen Show ............................................. 40
Table Page
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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix Page
A The List of Politeness Strategies Produced by Ellen and U.S. Politicians in
The Ellen Show .............................................................................................. 72
B The Transcript of The Ellen Show ................................................................. 78
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents four sections, namely the research background,
research questions, research significance, and definition of terms. The research
background presents the background issues and concerns of the study. The
research questions formulate questions related to the study. The research
significance presents the writer‘s contribution of the study. The definition of terms
defines the significant keywords and phrases related to the study.
A. Research Background
People use language every day in their daily life to communicate with
others. They use language as a tool in social activities. Based on Holtgraves
(2002), language is a method that allows people to interact among themselves (p.
5). Furthermore, communication become one of the important aspects in human
daily life. People use the language to interact and communicate for reasons and
purposes especially in interpersonal communication. Through the language,
people can express their thoughts and feelings, ask for help, criticize, and give
compliment. The use of language is not about doing an action for one self, but
also ―a social action that involves other people‖ (Holtgraves, 2002, p. 1). Clark
(1996a) states that people should coordinate with others in using the language to
understand and to be understood (as cited by Holtgraves, 2002).
Meanwhile, people need to control themselves in using the language
especially in interpersonal communication. People need to avoid improper use of
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2
language because it can harm other people who are involved in the conversation.
Hence, they need to choose proper way and proper diction in producing their
utterances. The adjustment of utterances and the way to consider what people feel
can be identified as politeness. Politeness as said by Brown and Levinson (1987)
is a psychological state that is related to something emotionally established and
can be lost, maintained, and must be constantly attended to in interaction.
Meanwhile, van Herk (2012) defines politeness as an act of behaving properly in
any social interaction and treating the interlocutor properly. Generally, speaking
politeness involves understanding the feelings of others. People who speak
politely will make other people feel comfortable. Inappropriate choice of words
and choice of the way people speak may be considered as rude.
It is important for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to learn
about politeness in order to be able to produce an utterance properly. Learning
English Language for EFL students is not only understanding about the form and
the structure of language, early named grammar. However, the students need to
understand how to use the language in social conditions. Moreover, English
learners will face difficulties in choosing the right way to communicate properly
and politely by using different language. It can lead them into improper use of the
language itself. However, EFL students need to have good knowledge in using
English language as a tool to communicate in interpersonal communication.
Different languages will lead English learners to different cultures as well.
Furthermore, the different cultures can affect the way the English learners produce
an utterance. Therefore, English learners shall also understand the diversity of the
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3
culture in order to avoid misunderstanding in speaking different languages. It is
clear that people need to firstly understand the culture of a language before they
want to study the language itself.
The writer aims to analyze how politeness strategies are used in the daily
conversation. The focus of this study is to observe and analyze the use of
politeness strategies in an American talk show named The Ellen Show. The writer
wants to analyze how politeness strategies are used by Ellen DeGeneres, as the
host, and the United States (U.S.) politicians as the guests. Ellen is well known as
an American comedian in her first debut. Now, she has her own TV program
named The Ellen Show. The writer choose this talk show because it provides
dialogues which show interpersonal relationship. In addition, the writer choose
Ellen DeGeneres as the subject of the study because the writer wants to know how
Ellen, who has a background as comedian, used her politeness towards U.S.
politicians as the guests of the talk show. Meanwhile, the politicians are chosen
because the writer wants to know how politicians used their politeness in non-
state events.
What makes this study different from other politeness studies is about the
object. Many of politeness studies concern how politeness strategies are used in
several movies or novels. Meanwhile, the writer of this study concerns how
politeness strategies are used in the daily conversation as presented in a talk show.
Besides, the selected clips of the talk show that will be discussed in this study are
clips which containing the conversation between Ellen and the U.S. politicians.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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B. Research Questions
Based on the background of the study, two research questions are
formulated as follows.
1. Which politeness strategies are used by Ellen and U.S. politicians
in The Ellen Show?
2. What are the factors that influence Ellen and the politicians in
using politeness strategies in the talk show?
C. Research Significance
The writer expects that this study will be useful for English learners,
English teacher candidates, English teachers, and future researchers. For English
learners, the writer believes that this study will encourage them to be more aware
in using English language. This helps them to be capable in using appropriate
English utterances in social situations. For English teachers and teacher
candidates, the writer believes that this study will encourage them to assess and
evaluate not only the grammatical skill, but also the students‘ skill in using
language in social situations, in terms of politeness. For future researchers, the
writer believes that this study will give them enough information about politeness
so that it can be a reference for their own studies.
D. Definition of Terms
In this section, the writer will define three terms related to this study. The
terms are:
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1. Politeness
Holmes (1996) states that politeness is a behavior that shows positive
concerns for others. The theory accounts for the redressing of the affronts to face
posed by face threatening acts (FTA) to addressees. Mills (2003) mentions that
politeness is the speaker‘s expression to reduce the face threats that carried by
assertive face threatening acts to the hearer. Meanwhile, Brown and Levinson
(1987) state that emotional and social sense have a relation to everyone‘s self-
public image and it will be expected by everyone else to recognize. The utterances
in which the politeness were produced by Ellen and U.S. politicians will be the
focus of this study.
2. Face Threatening Act
Brown and Levinson (1987) describe that Face Threatening Act is an act
that inherently threats hearer‘s or speaker‘s face. There are two different notions
that are stated by Brown and Levinson (1978), namely positive face and negative
face. FTA is the expression that threats the positive face or negative face of both
speaker and hearer within the interpersonal communication. In this study, FTA is
used to analyze the politicians and Ellen‘s interaction in The Ellen Show.
3. Politeness Strategies
Based on Brown and Levinson (1987), ―politeness strategy is a strategy
that concerns saving hearer‘s face by formulating an expression that is less
threatening for the hearer‘s face‖ (p. 61). In this study, politeness strategy is
dealing with interpersonal communication between U.S. politicians and the host in
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
6
The Ellen Show. Furthermore, the study will analyze how the politicians and the
host mitigate their utterances towards hearer‘s face.
4. The Ellen Show
In this study, The Ellen Show is used as the data source. The Ellen Show is
a daytime American talk show which is hosted by a comedian and actress, Ellen
DeGeneres. The talk show had its first debut on September 8, 2003. This talk
show invites several types of guests who include celebrities, politicians, actors,
musicians, newsmaker, and also interviews ordinary people who have
extraordinary talents. This TV program was also nominated in Emmy Award in
2004 that became a successful year for The Ellen Show in the early debut of the
talk show. The Ellen Show has unique concepts in each episode, for example
audience participation games with prizes, Ellen dance moves with the guest star,
and audience surprise introduction to their favorite celebrities.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of two parts, namely the theoretical description and
theoretical framework. The theoretical description includes the description of
related theories that are used in this study. The theoretical framework summarizes
and synthesizes all major relevant theories which will help the writer analyzes the
study to answer the research questions.
A. Theoretical Description
This part discusses five major theories which can be the bases of this study,
namely the study of language usage, language in society, discourse analysis,
politeness, and politeness strategies. Since the study deals with the utterances
which are produced by Ellen and the politicians in The Ellen Show, it is necessary
to include the pragmatic theory because it is related to the meaning within the
context. The language and society theory is included because it focuses on how
language is used in social context. Discourse analysis theory is included because
the study deals with how people produce the language within the context. The
other theories are the theories of politeness and politeness strategies which
become the main theories of this study.
1. The Study of Language
Van Dijk (2009) describes that the study of language usage or pragmatics
is one of the fields of linguistics and discourse studies that has most
systematically studied the relations between context and language. Leech (1992)
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states, ―pragmatics is the study of how language is used to communicate and also
how someone uses language within context in particular ways in communication‖
(p. 19).
Besides, pragmatics aims to analyze the meaning of the language that is
used by a speaker in connection with speech situations (Leech, 1983). The
pragmatic theory is in accordance with the focus of this study which is how the
language is used by people to communicate with others. It concerns how people
use the language and why they use it in particular ways.
Meanwhile, pragmatics focuses on the study of the utterance‘s meaning
conveyed by the speaker, not in grammatical form of the utterance. It is in line
with Levinson‘s (1983) theory that ―pragmatics cover both context-dependent
aspects of language structure and principles of language usage and understanding
that have nothing or little to do with linguistics structure‖ (p. 9). Thus, the theory
of pragmatics itself clarifies the language usage and language structure as the way
to understand the context within the language that is used by the speaker in
communicating with others.
2. The Study of Language and Society
The study of language and society or sociolinguistics is a study that
focuses on the social aspect of language and how the language is used (Davis,
1995). It concerns how people use the language in social life. Llamas and
Stockwell (2009) state that ―societies differ from each other and change over time
which show that language is variable‖ (p. 21). It means that language varies for
one to another. Meanwhile, social variables make the variation in the use of
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9
language. There are four social variables which can affect people in doing
conversation, such as age, gender, geography, and social class (Stockwell, 2002).
Furthermore, each language is used by different people in different contexts
within different reasons. It becomes essential that people need to consider those
social variables in learning a language to communicate with each other.
3. Discourse Analysis
Nunan (1993) states that ―discourse analysis involves the study of language
in use‖ (p. 7). Based on this view, discourse conveys what the language is, how
the speakers produce the language, and how the context within which the
language is used (Nunan, 1993). In other words, discourse refers to the
interpretation of the communicative event in context. Avdi and Georgaca (2007)
state that discourse is defined as systems of meaning that is related to the
interactional in wider sociocultural context and operate regardless of the speakers‘
intentions. In discourse analysis, language is also considered as a form of social
action. Therefore, people use language to achieve certain interpersonal goals in
specific interactional contexts (Nunan, 1993).
4. Politeness Theory
Brown and Levinson (1987) define politeness as a psychological state that
is related to something emotionally established and can be lost, maintained, and
must be constantly attended to in interaction. There are four strategies to maintain
the psychological state in the interaction that are presented by Brown and
Levinson (1987), namely bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness,
and off record.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
10
Meanwhile, there are two elements that are firmly related to the application
of politeness strategies that are proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). The
elements are the notion of face and Face Threatening Act (FTA). Before
explaining the politeness strategies by Brown and Levinson (1987), the writer
discusses the elements in the following paragraphs.
a. Face
Brown and Levinson (1987) define face as the public self-image that every
member wants to claim for himself. There are two related aspects of face. The two
aspects are negative face and positive face.
Negative face is defined by Brown and Levinson (1987) as ―the basic
claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction‖ (p. 61). Negative
face is known as the want of every individual to be independent and be
unimpeded by others (Brown and Levinson, 1987, p. 62). It means that every
individual has the desire to be free from imposition and action towards him.
Positive face is defined by Brown and Levinson (1987) as the positive
consistent self-image claimed by interactants. As Brown and Levinson (1987)
state that positive face refers to ―the want of every member that his wants be
desirable to at least some others‖ (p. 62). The positive face crucially includes the
desire that self-image be appreciated and approved of. It means that positive
politeness is used when an individual wants to be appreciated or to be approved
and liked by others.
To make it clear, consider an example. Mrs. Thompson is a cat lover.
Much of her time and effort are expended on her cats. She is proud of her cats,
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
11
and she likes others to admire them. She is gratified when people say ‗What a
lovely cat; I want to touch it. How do you take care of its fur?‖, implying that they
want just what she has wanted and achieved (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
b. Face Threatening Act
When a speaker produces an utterance that violates hearer‘s positive or
negative face, he does the Face Threatening Act (FTA). It is intuitively the case
that the speaker‘s utterances threaten the hearer‘s face. The utterances will
threaten the hearer‘s face when there is a difference between the speaker and
hearer‘s wants or desire. In other words, the speaker and hearer‘s wants run
contrary. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that FTA is a threat used by a speaker
that consists of mitigating statement and verbal repair or politeness (p. 66). The
speaker may threaten the hearer‘s face, for example by asking for help which
threatens hearer‘s negative face since the speaker is potentially imposing on the
hearer or just simply by giving compliments which threatens hearer‘s positive face
since the speaker satisfying the hearer. Furthermore, FTA can be done within
verbal and non-verbal communication. However, the focus of this study is to
analyze FTAs which are produced verbally.
People need to be aware of the utterance that they produced. They must be
careful in choosing the words to be uttered to maintain the hearer‘s face. Any
misunderstanding will happen if the speaker‘s utterance threatens the hearer‘s
face. Besides, the misunderstanding will damage their interpersonal
communication. Therefore, Brown and Levinson‘s (1987) politeness strategies
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serve four notions to save both speaker and hearer‘s face. The four notions will be
described in the following section.
5. Politeness Strategies
Based on Brown and Levinson (1987), politeness strategies are strategies
which concern saving hearer‘s face by producing an expression that is less
threatening for the hearer‘s face. There are four main strategies which are
presented by Brown and Levinson (1987), namely bald on record, positive
politeness, negative politeness, and off record. The following points show deeper
explanation of each politeness strategy.
a. Bald on Record
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that bald on record is the maximum
efficiency in communication. The speaker uses bald on record when he does the
FTA with maximum efficiency more than his wants to satisfy the hearer‘s face.
On the other hand, there are two different classes of bald on-record depending on
the cases and motives of the speakers to do the FTA with maximum efficiency,
namely non-minimization of the face threat and the usage of FTA-oriented bald
on record.
1) Non Minimization of the Face Threat
The first class of bald on record deals with the condition where the face
threat is irrelevant. This class is the class where the FTA is ignored and not
minimized. The communication difficulties of this class exert pressure to speak
with maximum efficiency. The class where the FTA is ignored includes the case
of great urgency or desperation, the case where the speaker‘s willingness to satisfy
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hearer‘s face is low and the case where doing the FTA by the speaker is primarily
for hearer‘s interest. The case of great urgency shown in the utterance ―Watch
out!‖ The speaker‘s low willingness to satisfy hearer‘s face is shown in the case
when the speaker is more powerful, does not fear retaliation from hearer, or
because the speaker wants to be rude. It is exemplified by the utterance ―Bring me
these clothes, John.‖ as said by the oldest sibling. The case where doing the FTA
by the speaker is primarily for hearer‘s interest is shown in the utterance ―Hey,
girl. Don‘t be sad.‖ and ―Be careful! The floor is wet.‖ Thus sympathetic advice
or warning can be performed baldly on record.
2) FTA-Oriented Bald on Record Usage
The second type is where a threat is minimized by the implication. Based
on Brown and Levinson (1987), the threat which is inherently brought by the FTA
is minimized by saving hearer‘s particular face. For instance, the utterance
implicitly saves the hearer‘s face but the utterance that the speaker makes is an
FTA. This nicely requires mutual orientation which involves the attempt of each
participant of social interaction to foresee what the other participant attempts to
foresee (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
There are three states which are included in this type of bald on record,
namely welcomings, farewells, and the state where the speaker insists the hearer
to impose on speaker‘s face. The example of welcomings is the utterance ―Come
in. I‘m not busy.‖ as said by a person with higher power to the subordinate who is
waiting outside his room. The example of farewells is in the utterance, ―Good
bye! See you when I see you.‖ The state in which the speaker insists the hearer to
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impose on speaker‘s face is exemplified by the utterance, ―Don‘t worry about it.
I‘ll clean it up.‖ as said by the host to a guest, who wants to clean the mess.
b. Positive Politeness
Positive politeness is a redress directed to the addressee‘s positive face, the
want to be approved, desired, and accepted (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
Holtgraves (2002) states that positive politeness is an approach depends on
strategy. It refers to an action to minimize the distance between the speaker and
hearer. By using positive politeness, the speaker wants to make the hearer feel
accepted and feel good about his interest. Brown and Levinson (1987) divide
positive politeness into three big mechanisms, namely claiming common ground,
conveying that speaker and hearer are cooperators, and fulfilling hearer‘s want.
1) Claiming Common Ground
The first mechanism of positive politeness is claiming common ground
which includes the act of indicating that the speaker and hearer belong to a
particular group. The particular group here is considered as a group of people who
share the same desire that includes goals and values. However, Brown and
Levinson (1987) elaborate this mechanism into eight sub-strategies which are
exemplified in the following paragraphs.
Sub-strategy 1 is the state where the speaker attends to notice the condition
of the hearer (Brown & Levinson, 1987). It includes noticing hearer‘s interests,
wants, needs, and goods. Another aspect of notice output is when the speaker
respects the hearer condition. It can be in the form of sympathy, care or even
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compliment. The example of this sub-strategy is the utterance ―Your performance
is very good! Congratulations.‖
Sub-strategy 2 is the state where the speaker exaggerates interest, approval,
and sympathy with the hearer. This strategy is often done by saying something
more impressive than its actual status using exaggerated intonation or stress in the
adjective. The example is the utterance ―What a fantastic car you have!‖
Sub-strategy 3 is intensifying interest to hearer. This sub-strategy is used
when the speaker shares his wants to a hearer by making a good story and drawing
the hearer into it. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that it is another way for the
speaker to intensify the interest of his own contributions to the conversation. It is
exemplified with the utterance state by Brown and Levinson (1987) ―I come down
the stairs, and what you think I see? – a huge mess all over the place, the phone‘s
off the hook and clothes are scattered all over…‖ (p. 106).
Sub-strategy 4 is done by using any of the innumerable way to convey in-
group membership. It indicates that both the speaker and hearer belong to a group
of people who share specific wants. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that the use
of address forms, language or dialect, jargon or slang, and ellipsis are the elements
of in-group identity markers. The example is in utterance ―Come here, fellas.‖
Sub-strategy 5 is seeking agreement. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that
seeking agreement indicates speaker‘s wants to seek hearer‘s agreement and
therefore to satisfy hearer‘s desire to be ‗right‘. It is done by delivering safe topics
to the hearer and repeating part or all of what the preceding speaker has said in the
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conversation. The example is proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987) in the
dialogue:
A: I had a flat tyre on the way home.
B: Oh God, a flat tyre!
It can be seen that hearer B repeats the part of what the preceding speaker A has
said in the conversation as the response to speaker A‘s safe topic.
Sub-strategy 6 is done by avoiding disagreement. There are four
mechanisms of avoiding disagreement according to Brown and Levinson (1987).
The mechanisms are token agreement that leads the speaker to twist his utterances
to hide disagreement, pseudo-agreement which is the use of ‘then’ as a conclusory
marker, white lies, and hedging opinions. This sub-strategy is exemplified with
the utterances ―I‘ll be seeing you then.‖
Sub-strategy 7 is presupposing common ground. Brown and Levinson
(1987) state that gossiping or having small talk is the example of presupposing or
asserting common ground. This is an act of believing something happens before it
is proven. The example is in the utterance ―I really had a hard time learning to
dive, you know.‖
Sub-strategy 8 is using joke. Brown and Levinson (1987) explain that
joking is a basic positive-politeness technique. In this way, jokes can be used to
stress mutual background knowledge and values that are shared by the speaker
and hearer. The example is in the utterance ―OK if I tackle those cookies now?‖
(Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 124).
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2) Conveying that Speaker and Hearer are Co-operators
The second mechanism is conveying that the speaker and hearer are co-
operators. It means that the speaker and hearer have the same goal and same wants
in particular way. Brown and Levinson (1987) divide this strategy into six sub-
strategies that will be explained in the following paragraphs.
Sub-strategy 1 is asserting speaker‘s knowledge of and concern for
hearer‘s wants. Brown and Levinson (1987) note that this sub-strategy purposes to
assert the hearer‘s wants and willingness based on the speaker‘s knowledge to fit
one‘s own wants within them. The example that is proposed by Brown and
Levinson (1987) is in the utterance ―I know you can‘t bear parties, but this one
will really be good – do come!‖ (p. 125).
Sub-strategy 2 is offering or promising. Brown and Levinson (1987) state
that offers and promises demonstrate speaker‘s good intention to satisfy the
hearer‘s wants. The intention of satisfying the hearer‘s wants claims that the
speaker will obtain whatever the hearer‘s wants. This sub-strategy is exemplified
with the utterance ―I‘ll drop by sometime next week.‖
Sub-strategy 3 is being optimistic. Brown and Levinson (1987) explain that
this is the act of assuming that speaker‘s wants is also wanted by hearer and that
the hearer will help the speaker to obtain them. Thus, the speaker presumptuously
assumes that hearer will cooperate with him because both of them share mutual
interest. The example of the utterance is ―You‘ll lend me your lawnmower for the
weekend, won‘t you?‖ (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 126).
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Sub-strategy 4 is including the speaker and hearer in a particular activity.
This sub-strategy is done by using an inclusive ‗we‘ form, when the speaker really
means ‗you‘ or ‗me‘. By using ‗we‘ form, the speaker wants the hearer to be
involved in the activity and eventually become cooperators. The example is in the
utterance ―Let‘s get on with dinner, eh?‖ (i.e. you).
Sub-strategy 5 is giving or asking for reasons. Brown and Levinson (1987)
state that giving or asking for reason is a way of assuming cooperation between
the speaker and the hearer (H wants S‘s desires). This sub-strategy shows that
help is needed as in a way of implying ‗I can help you‘ or ‗you can help me‘. The
example is in utterance ―Why don‘t I help you with that suitcase?‖
Sub-strategy six is assuming or asserting reciprocity. This sub-strategy is
done by giving evidence of reciprocal rights or obligations which are obtained
between speaker and hearer (Brown & Levinson, 1987). It is an act when the
speaker and hearer create mutual advantages. The sub-strategy is exemplified with
the utterance ―I‘ll give you pizza if you win the competition.‖
3) Fulfilling Hearer’s Want
The third mechanism is fulfilling hearer‘s wants. It means that the speaker
wants the hearer‘s desire for hearer himself. The speaker can satisfy the hearer‘s
positive face by making the hearer satisfy about positive face he wants. Hence,
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that satisfying hearer‘s wants is done by the act
of gift-giving. The gift itself is not only in a form of tangible gift, but it also in the
form of intangible gift, such as goods, sympathy, understanding, and cooperation
that is done among the speaker and the hearer. This sub-strategy is exemplified
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with the utterance ―I heard that your son won yesterday‘s singing competition. I
am happy for you.‖
c. Negative Politeness
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that negative politeness is a redressible
action addressed to the addressee‘s negative face. It is about the speaker‘s desires
to have his freedom of action unhindered and his attention unimpeded. Negative
politeness is more specific and focus rather than positive politeness which is free-
ranging. There are four sub-strategies in the mechanism of negative politeness
strategy that are classified by Brown & Levinson (1987).
1) Being Conventionally Indirect
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that conventional indirect forms can be
seen by asking questions or asserting the felicity conditions underlying the act.
The conventional indirectness occurs when the speaker uses phrases or sentences
that have contextually unambiguous meaning which are different from their literal
meanings. These sub-strategies can be performed when a speaker wants to bother
a person for favors, for example, ―Can you shut the door?‖ In this way, the
speaker‘s on record utterance is conveyed indirectly. Brown and Levinson (1987)
add that ―conventional indirectness encodes the clash of wants and partially
achieves them both‖ (p. 132).
2) Avoid Presuming or Assuming
Brown and Levinson (1987) explain that avoiding presuming or assuming
anything towards the hearer‘s belief includes avoiding presumption about the
hearer, his wants, and what is the relevant of his attention (p. 144). The ability to
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avoid performing a particular action regarding the hearer‘s belief is through the
use of hedges. For example, the use of ‗if‘ clause suspends the relevant felicity
condition, as in the utterance ―Close the door, if you can‖; the use of hedges
addressed to Grice‘s Maxim, as seen in the utterance ―I assume that junk food is
not good for health.‖, the hedge ‗assume‘ can suggest that the speaker is not
taking full responsibility for the truth of his utterance; the use of hedge on the
relevance maxim to soften the imposition of topic changes, as in the utterance
―I‘m sorry to say this, but…‖ (as cited in Holtgraves, 2002, p.45).
3) Avoid Coercion
A strategy to lessen coercion includes not only conventional indirectness,
but also an act which conveys pessimism regarding the appropriateness of the act
that is performed by the speaker (Brown & Levinson, 1987). The use of
subjunctive and tag questions, as in the utterance ―Would you open the door?‖, are
the output of this strategy. In addition, the other sub-strategies to lessen coercion
include attempting to minimize the imposition, humbling themselves
(downgrading a compliment), and giving deference (using formal address terms).
4) Communicate a Speaker’s Wants to Not Impinge on Hearer
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that communicating the speaker‘s wants
to not impinge on the other can be accomplished by providing an apology which
indicates reluctance, as in utterance ―I don‘t want to disturb you, but could you
lend me a hand?‖; admitting the impingement, as in utterance ―I know you are
busy, but could you come to me please?‖; or by asking for forgiveness, for
instance ―I wish you‘ll forgive me.‖ Meanwhile, there is another sub-strategy to
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borderline the addressee (hearer) from the act that will be delivered by the speaker
linguistically. The sub-strategy is impersonalizing the speaker and hearer. For
example, the use of pronoun ‗I‘ in ―It‘s wrong‖ rather than ―I tell you it‘s wrong‖;
and pronoun ‗you‘ as in ―Close the door‖ rather than ―You close the door‖; and
the use of passive rather than active instructions as in ―It is expected that students
will follow the lesson‖ rather than ―I expect you to follow the lesson.‖
5) Go on Record of Incurring Debt
The last sub-strategy by Brown and Levinson (1987) is going on record of
incurring debt or by disclaiming any indebtedness on the part of the hearer. An
example of this sub-strategy is the utterance ―I‘d be happy for your help‖ and ―I
could easily do it for you.‖
d. Off Record
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that an off record utterance is actually an
indirect use of language. People who use the off record strategy will produce
utterance that is either more general or essentially different from what others
mean. It means that the utterance which is stated by someone contain less
information so that the hearer have to interpret them in order to understand the
real meaning. Thus, it is clear that the meaning of the utterance is not directly
stated by the speakers since the utterance is categorized as an indirect utterance. It
is supported by Holtgraves (2002), who states that off record strategy is an
indirect communication. There are two mechanisms that are proposed by Brown
and Levinson in the off record strategy, namely inviting conversational
implicature and being vague or ambiguous.
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1) Inviting Conversational Implicatures
If the speaker wants to do an FTA and chooses to do it indirectly, the
speaker must give the hearer some clues. Besides, the speaker hopes that the
hearer can interpret what the speaker really means to say. Brown and Levinson
(1987) state that the basic way to do the FTA is by inviting the conversational
implicatures so that the speaker can assume an interpretation that makes the clues
understandable. This mechanism is divided into ten sub-strategies that will be
explained in the following paragraphs.
Sub-strategy 1 is by giving hints. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that
this sub-strategy is done by the speaker who says something that is not explicitly
relevant. The speaker invites the hearer to find an interpretation of the possible
relevance. An example for this sub-strategy is in the utterance ―This soup‘s a bit
bland‖ (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 215). From the utterance, the speaker gives
hints to the hearer to pass the salt.
Sub-strategy 2 is by giving association clues. This sub-strategy is done by
the speaker who gives a related kind of implicature triggered by relevance
violations. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that ―it is provided by mentioning
something associated with the act required of a hearer by mutual knowledge
irrespective of their interactional experiences‖ (p. 215). This sub-strategy is
exemplified by the utterance ―Are you going to market tomorrow? There‘s a
market tomorrow, I suppose‖ (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 216). From the
utterance, the speaker conveys a request to the hearer to give a ride there.
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Sub-strategy 3 is presupposing prior event. The example of the strategy is
in the utterance ―I washed the car again today.‖ The use of again is done by the
speaker to force the hearer to find the relevance of the presupposed prior event
(Brown & Levinson, 1987).
Sub-strategy 4 is by understating what the speaker actually wants to say.
Brown and Levinson (1987) explain that this is an act of saying something less
than what is required. The example is in the utterance ―That dress is quite nice‖
(Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 218), when the speaker actually means that he does
not particularly like it for understated criticism implicating, or the speaker actually
likes it very much for understated compliment implicating.
Sub-strategy 5 is overstating. This sub-strategy is done by the speaker who
exaggerates or chooses a point on scale which is higher than what is required
(Brown & Levinson, 1987). It is the opposite of the previous sub-strategy which is
understating. The example of the sub-strategy is in the utterance ―There were a
million people in the Co-op tonight!‖ (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 219).
Sub-strategy 6 is using tautologies. It is done by the speaker who
encourages the hearer to search for an informative interpretation of the non-
informative utterance. As stated by Brown and Levinson (1987), the example is
the utterance ―If I won‘t give it, I won‘t,‖ (c.i. I mean it!).
Sub-strategy 7 is using contradiction. Brown and Levinson (1987) explain
that this sub-strategy is the act of stating two things that contradict to each other.
In this case, the speaker cannot tell the truth and encourage the hearer to look for
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an interpretation that conforms both contradictory propositions. The example is
―Well, John is here and he isn‘t here‖ (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 221).
Sub-strategy 8 is being ironic. This is an act where the speaker says the
opposite of what he really means. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that the
speaker can indirectly convey his intended meaning by saying the opposite. The
example is in the utterance ―Beautiful weather, isn‘t it!‖ (As said by the speaker to
a postman drenched in rainstorm).
Sub-strategy 9 is using metaphors. In this sub-strategy, the speaker uses
metaphor and hedges the utterance. By doing this, the speaker invites the hearer to
interpret the meaning of the utterance. This sub-strategy is exemplified by the
utterance ―Emma‘s a real fish.‖ (c.i. She swims like a fish).
Sub-strategy 10 is using rhetorical question. Brown and Levinson (1987)
state that this sub-strategy is done when the speaker wants to ask a question with
no intention for the hearer to answer the question. The example of this sub-
strategy is in the utterance ‖What can I do?‖ As said by the speaker who actually
has nothing to do.
2) Be Vague or Ambiguous
Being vague or ambiguous is another mechanism that can be used by the
speaker to go off record. There are five sub-strategies of being vague or
ambiguous that are explained in the following sections.
Sub-strategy 1 is being ambiguous. Brown and Levinson (1987) explain
that this sub-strategy is done by the speaker who makes purposeful ambiguity
which may be achieved by using metaphor. It can be seen in the utterance ―John‘s
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a pretty (sharp/smooth) cookie.‖ It could be either a compliment or an insult,
depending on which of the connotations of sharp or smooth are latched on to.
Sub-strategy 2 is being vague. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that the
speaker can go off record with an FTA by being vague about who the object is or
what the offence is. This sub-strategy is exemplified with the utterance ―Perhaps
someone did something naughty‖ as said by the speaker to convey criticism.
Sub-strategy 3 is over-generalizing. Brown and Levinson (1987) explain
that this sub-strategy is done when the speaker gives a rule instantiation which
may leave the object of the FTA vaguely off record. Then, the hearer have to
decide whether the general rules apply to him. The example is in the utterance
―Mature people sometimes help do the dishes.‖
Sub-strategy 4 is displacing the hearer. Brown and Levinson (1987) state
that this sub-strategy happens when the speaker pretends to address the FTA to
someone whom it would not threaten. Thus, the speaker expects that the real
target will understand that the FTA is aimed at him. The example case of this sub-
strategy is stated by Ervin Tripp in which one secretary in an office asks another
using negative politeness to pass the stapler, in circumstances where a professor is
much nearer to the stapler than the other secretary (as cited in Brown & Levinson,
1987, p. 226). It does not threaten the professor‘s face and he may choose to do it
himself as a bonus for the secretary.
Sub-strategy 5 is being incomplete and using ellipsis. This is an act of
saying unfinished utterance. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that by leaving an
FTA half undone, the speaker can leave the implicature ‗hanging in the air‘ as
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same as rhetorical question. This sub-strategy is exemplified with the utterance
―Oh sir, a headache…‖ as used by a niece to ask her father‘s younger brother for
an aspirin. This utterance gave him the option of telling her to take a rest rather
than dispensing a precious pill.
6. Factors of Politeness Strategies
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that there are two factors which can
influence the speaker to use politeness strategies. The factors are the politeness
strategies‘ payoffs and the sociological variables.
a. Payoffs
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that payoffs are the expected results of
the politeness strategies. When politeness strategies are used by the speaker, there
will be the expected result concealed in the strategies. In addition, Brown and
Levinson (1987) explain that the expected results in applying the strategies must
be beneficial for him. Therefore, every politeness strategy has its own advantages
for the speaker.
The payoff is classified into four payoffs based on each politeness strategy,
namely bald on record payoff, positive politeness payoff, negative politeness
payoff, and off record payoff. The following sections discuss the four payoffs.
1) Bald On Record Payoff
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that bald on record is used by the speaker
when he wants to be clear, straight-forward, and efficient in expressing his wants.
Meanwhile, the speaker has particular intentions in applying this strategy that will
give them some advantages. Brown and Levinson (1987) state that by using bald
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on record strategy, the speaker avoids the possibility of being misunderstood,
being seen to be a manipulator, and being dishonest. In addition, the speaker who
uses this strategy can have the opportunity to give compensation for the face that
has been threatened by the FTA (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
2) Positive Politeness Payoff
Based on Brown and Levinson (1987), one of the advantages for the
speaker who applies positive politeness strategy is that he can minimize the threat
of an FTA by assuring the addressee that he is ‗the same kind‘ as the hearer. It
means that the speaker likes the desire that a hearer wants. Furthermore, Brown
and Levinson (1987) state that ―positive politeness is used by the speaker to
satisfy hearer‘s positive face in some respects‖ (p. 71). By doing so, the speaker
wants to maintain social closeness toward the hearer. The speaker who uses
positive politeness can value what the hearer has by giving compliments towards
the hearer. Therefore, the speaker can also avoid or minimize the debt implication
of doing the FTA by referring to the relationship between speaker and hearer.
3) Negative Politeness Payoff
Negative politeness is a strategy that is used by the speaker to satisfy
hearer‘s negative face. Brown and Levinson (1987) explain that by using negative
politeness, the speaker wants to pay his respect and deference towards the hearer
for the FTA that he makes. In other words, by using negative politeness, the
speaker wants to respect other, maintain social distance, and avoid the threat that
speaker gives to the hearer (Brown & Levinson, 1987). The example from this
case is when the speaker gives the hearer freedom to decide his choice in
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perceiving the speaker‘s request. The speaker who uses negative politeness will
clarify that he does not really expect the hearer to say ‗Yes‘ in perceiving the
speaker‘s request unless he wants to. Thereby, the speaker can minimize the
mutual face loss incurred if the hearer has to say ‗No‘. Furthermore, the speaker
can avoid the threat of advancing familiarity towards the hearer by maintaining
social distance (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
4) Off Record Payoff
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that the off record strategy is used by the
speaker to satisfy the hearer‘s negative face and to minimize the threat which the
speaker makes towards the hearer in a greater degree. By applying the off record
strategy, the speaker can have profit in the following ways: the speaker can get
credit for being sympathetic and non-coerciveness, avoid responsibility for the
potentially face-damaging interpretation, and give the hearer an opportunity to be
seen to care for speaker so that he can test hearer‘s feelings towards him.
b. Sociological Variables
Another factor that influences the speaker in using politeness strategies is
the sociological variables. There are three variables that are proposed by Brown
and Levinson (1987), namely social distance, relative power, and the rank of
imposition. It is considered as the calculation in the assessment of the seriousness
of an FTA. The calculation affects the way the speaker uses the politeness
strategies. Furthermore, each of the calculation has its own values that the hearer
knows.
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1) Social Distance
As stated by Brown and Levinson (1987), social distance is ―symmetrical
social dimension of similarity or difference‖ (p. 76). Moreover, Holmes (2001)
describes that the dimension deals with the judgment of the relationship between
the speaker and hearer. Thus, intimacy between the speaker and hearer affects the
choice of the strategy.
Social distance also discusses how stable social attributes (age, social class,
and ethnic background) affect the relationship between the speaker and hearer
(Brown & Levinson, 1987). In other words, it indicates the intimacy between the
speaker and hearer whether they have close or distant relationship. If the speaker
has high intimacy with the hearer, the speaker will choose the least polite
strategies as in positive politeness and bald on record strategies. Meanwhile, if the
speaker has less intimacy with the hearer, the speaker will choose more polite
strategies as in negative politeness and off record strategies.
2) Relative Power
Relative power is an asymmetric relation. Brown and Levinson (1987)
explain that relative power is the degree to which the hearer can impose his own
wants. It is supported by Holmes (2001) that using similar terms of relative power
called ―relative status‖. It explains about the status of the hearer over the speaker
which actually focuses on the power of the hearer over the speaker. It means that
the speaker will use more polite strategy when the speaker has lower power than
the hearer. Meanwhile, when the speaker has higher power than the hearer, the
speaker will use less polite strategy.
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3) Rank of Imposition
The last sociological variable is rank of imposition. Brown and Levinson
(1987) state that ―the rank of imposition is the degree of a matter that is
considered as the interference to the face of the hearer‖ (p. 77). The interference
itself is the FTA that the speaker made. In other words, the degree of the FTA
defines the rank of impositions. A speaker who wants to impose the hearer‘s
negative face will choose more polite strategies as in negative politeness and off
record strategies. Meanwhile, a speaker who wants to impose the hearer‘s positive
face will choose less polite strategies as in positive politeness and bald on record
strategies.
B. Review of Related Research
In this section, the writer will review other related studies previously done
by other researchers. There are two studies that will be reviewed by the writer.
The first study was written by Oktorio (2015) entitled A Study of Politeness
Strategies Used by The Four Main Characters of Yes Man. The study analyzed
the types of politeness strategies that were used by the four main characters and
the factors that influenced the four characters in using politeness strategies. The
theory of Brown and Levinson (1987) about the types of politeness strategies and
the factors in choosing the strategies was employed in the study. Oktorio (2015)
applied document analysis method and used the movie script of Yes Man movie.
The second study was written by Gloria (2016) entitled The Use of Brown
and Levinson’s Politeness Strategies as seen in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love.
Different from Oktorio‘s (2015) politeness studies which analyzed a movie,
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Gloria (2016) analyzed the politeness strategies employed in a novel. The study
discussed how the main characters of the novel used politeness strategies and
what factors that affected them in choosing the politeness strategies. The theory of
politeness strategies by Brown and Levinson (1987) and the theory of Holmes
(2001) about the factors affecting the use of politeness strategies were employed
in the study. Gloria (2016) implemented a document analysis method in which it
was associated with discourse analysis since the study was a socio-pragmatic
research of a novel.
However, there are some differences between the previous studies from
this study. The studies by Oktorio (2015) and Gloria (2016) analyzed about
politeness strategies in the movie and novel. However, this study will discussed
the use of politeness strategies in a talk show, namely The Ellen Show. It becomes
the new thing of this study because the writer analyze the conversation between a
host and the guest stars which run spontaneously. It is different from the analysis
of the conversation between the characters in the movie and novel which have
been conducted before. Moreover, the focus of this study is to analyze how
politeness strategies are used by Ellen as a multitalented host who has a
background as comedian and two U.S. politicians who attended the talk show.
The U.S. politicians are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The clips of the talk
show will be the data source of this study. Specifically, most of the clips are taken
during the presidential campaign.
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C. Theoretical Framework
The purpose of this study is to analyze the implementation of politeness
strategies which are done by Ellen and U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show. There
are two research questions, namely the types of politeness strategies implemented
by Ellen and the U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show and the factors which
influence the choice of politeness strategies in the conversation between Ellen and
the politicians in the talk show. Brown and Levinson‘s (1987) theory is used to
underlay the writer in analyzing the study to answer the research questions.
In order to answer the first research question, the writer uses Brown and
Levinson‘s (1987) politeness strategies theory to analyze the utterances that are
produced by the speakers. Brown and Levinson (1987) elaborate the politeness
strategies theory into four strategies, namely bald on record, positive politeness,
negative politeness, and off record strategy. The writer applies the four strategies
to analyze the utterances which are produced by Ellen and the politicians in The
Ellen Show and classify the types of strategies that are used by them.
Meanwhile, in order to analyze the factors which affect the choice of the
strategies, the writer also uses Brown and Levinson‘s (1987) theory. Brown and
Levinson (1987) elaborate the factors which influence the application of the
politeness strategies into two factors. Those two factors are the payoffs of the
politeness strategies and the sociological variables. The writer analyzes the
utterances which are produced by Ellen and the politicians in the talk show in
accordance with the two factors to see what factors which influence the choice of
the strategies.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents a methodology rationale which is used to find the
data for this study. This chapter is divided into four parts, namely the research
method, research setting and data source, instrument and data gathering technique,
and data analysis technique.
A. Research Method
In this study, the writer focused on the implementation of politeness
strategies used by Ellen DeGeneres and U.S. politicians in a talk show namely
The Ellen Show. The method used by the writer aimed to answer two research
questions. The two research questions in this study are (1) Which politeness
strategies are used by Ellen and U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show? and (2) What
are the factors that influence Ellen and the politicians in using politeness strategies
in the talk show? This study discussed how language was used in a social context
especially in the form of conversation as shown in the talk show. Therefore, the
concern of the study was about the way how Ellen and the U.S. politicians
implemented the politeness strategies in their conversation in The Ellen Show.
The writer employed this study which was categorized as qualitative
research. Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh (2010) state that ―a qualitative research
focuses on the understanding of social phenomenon from the perspective of the
human participant in natural setting‖ (p.22). It was the same as the objectives of
the study which were to analyze the politeness strategies employed by Ellen and
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the politicians and to find the factors that influence the choice of the strategy. The
goal of this qualitative research is a depth understanding in narrative description
and interpretation, rather than a numeric data analysis (Ary, et al. 2002).
Meanwhile, to answer the research questions, the writer applied a discourse
analysis method since it concerned how language was used in the communication
between Ellen and U.S. politicians (see Chapter 2, section A, p. 8). In this study,
the utterances of the subjects that carried politeness strategies were discussed. The
utterances became the model of how language was used in context. Therefore,
discourse analysis method was considered as the most appropriate method for this
study since it dealt with language used in social interactions.
B. Research Setting and Data Source
The writer started to analyze the data on November 10th
, 2016.
Specifically, the writer watched the clips of the talk show in order to know which
politeness strategies that were used by Ellen and the politicians in The Ellen Show.
The talk show was televised in United States (U.S.) as one of the most favorite
talk shows. The clips and the transcripts of the dialogue between Ellen and the
politicians was provided in the clips uploaded by The Ellen Show You Tube
channel.
The clips that were chosen were all the clips in The Ellen Show that were
attended by the politicians (Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton) from the last two
years (2014 until 2016). Most of the clips were taken during the presidential
campaign.
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The utterances that were analyzed in this study were produced mainly by
three speakers in the talk show. The first speaker was Ellen DeGeneres as the host
of the daytime talk show named The Ellen Show. Ellen DeGeneres is one of the
most popular comedians and the host of a successful daytime talk show. She
started her career as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. As a film actress,
there are several movies that are starred, such as Mr. Wrong (1996) and The Love
Letter (1999). She also dubbed the voice of Dory in the Pixar animated films
Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016). She becomes the host in The
Ellen Show since 2003. In hosting, she always creates an interesting performance
in every episode in The Ellen Show. She creates a pleasing atmosphere and
sometimes she makes some jokes to entertain the audience and guest stars. The
Ellen Show earned positive reviews and solid ratings across nation (―Ellen
DeGeneres, The Ellen Show‖). Moreover, The Ellen Show was nominated in
Emmy Award in 2004. That was a successful year for Ellen and The Ellen Show in
the early debut of the talk show.
The second subject was the 44th
President of the United States of America,
Barack Hussein Obama. Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He is a father of two daughters, namely Malia and Natasha, from his marriage
with Michelle Robinson. He started his career as a civil rights attorney and
professor and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.
In November 2008, he was elected as President of USA. Furthermore, he was the
first African-American president who was chosen to become the leader of
America. He was really respected by the people who supported him.
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Parameswaran (2009) states that American news media recorded the euphoric
reaction of citizen around the world in the aftermath of the inauguration
ceremonies.
The third subject was the President candidate of the United States of
America Election 2016, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton. In the time the writer
conducted this research, Hillary Clinton was joining a campaign as the President
Candidate of USA. She was born on October 26, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She
married Bill Clinton in 1975 and have a daughter named Chelsea Clinton. In her
career she was elected as the first female senator from New York in 2000 and
became a Secretary of State in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013. As
stated by Taylor, Lord, McIntyre, and Paulson (2011), Hillary Clinton was in the
top three most frequently mentioned successful woman. She was an advocate for
gender equality and healthcare reform. In addition, she was appointed by
President Carter to the board of Legal Service Corporation and won a Grammy for
her recording of her book It Takes a Village (Taylor, et al., 2011).
C. Data Gathering Technique
In gathering the data, the writer firstly observed the selected clips of the
talk show. Then, the writer analyzed the utterances which were produced by Ellen
and U.S politicians with the help of the transcripts of the selected clips. In
selecting the clips, the writer went to http://www.youtube.com/TheEllenShow.
The clips with the transcripts were taken from The Ellen Show You Tube channel.
After that, the writer determined the clips that would be used as the main source
of the data. The writer chose all the clips of The Ellen Show that were attended by
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the U.S. politicians. Further, the writer selected and collected the utterances which
are produced by the speakers which carried politeness strategies. Thus, the
selected utterances were used to find out the factors which influence the choice of
politeness strategies.
Meanwhile, in conducting the research, the writer acted as human
instrument. Lincoln and Guba (1985) state that the writer as a human instrument
has the ability to collect information concerning multiple factors simultaneously.
Similarly, the writer employed some information taken from books, journals,
internet, and previous studies in terms of supporting the process of data analysis.
D. Data Analysis Technique
All the utterances produced by Ellen and U.S. politicians were taken from
the transcripts of the talk show. The writer analyzed the utterances in order to
know how the speakers conveyed the messages and intentions. Meanwhile, there
were three steps that were used by the writer to answer the research questions.
First, the writer made a checklist in the form of a table that contains the
speakers, the utterances, and what politeness strategies were used. There were
four types of politeness strategies written in the table, namely bald on record
(BoR), positive politeness (PP), negative politeness (NP), and off record (OR).
Thus, the purpose of the checklist was to classify which politeness strategies used
by Ellen and U.S. politicians in the talk show.
Second, the analysis was done by observing the occurrence of each
politeness strategy that was used by each speaker. Then, the revealed strategies
were listed based on the categorization that written in the table. The categorization
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is shown in Table 3.1. Meanwhile, the completed data analysis was presented in
Appendix A. Furthermore, the selected utterances from the table were analyzed to
answer the first research question by using Brown and Levinson (1987) politeness
strategies theory.
Table 3.1 The Categorization of Politeness Strategies Used by Ellen and U.S.
Politicians in The Ellen Show
Speakers Utterances Politeness Strategies
Ellen Mr. President, it has been
awhile since we‘ve
spoken. You look great.
How are you?
PP
Barack Obama Ellen dog bowls are
somewhere. I‘m sorry,
but…
NP
Hillary Clinton Don‘t let all the
wonderful, beautiful
young women who are
here, don‘t get
discouraged. Don‘t give
in, don‘t give up. Don‘t
quit on yourself, on your
dreams, on your future.
BoR
… … …
At last, the writer identified the utterances which carried politeness
strategies that were described in the first research question‘s discussion to find out
what factors that influence the speakers to use certain politeness strategy. Thus,
the writer also used Brown and Levinson (1987) politeness theory to find out what
factors that influence the speakers to use certain politeness strategies.
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CHAPTER IV
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents the results and discussions to answer the research
questions which were formulated in the first chapter. The first research question
discusses the politeness strategies used by Ellen and the politicians in The Ellen
Show. The second research question discusses the factors that influence Ellen and
U.S. politicians in using politeness strategies in the talk show.
A. The Politeness Strategies Used by Ellen and the U.S. Politicians in The
Ellen Show
This section elaborated the results of the analysis of the utterances which
were spoken by Ellen and U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show. Ellen was the host
of the talk show while the U.S. politicians were the guest stars of the talk show.
The selected U.S. politicians were Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
There are four main parts of politeness strategies that are stated by Brown
and Levinson (1987), namely bald on record, positive politeness, negative
politeness, and off record. The four parts of politeness strategies were applied by
Ellen and Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, Obama only used bald on record, positive
politeness, and negative politeness strategies in his utterances. The politeness
strategies used by the speakers were listed in Table 4.1.
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Table 4.1 Politeness Strategies Found in The Ellen Show
Speaker
Politeness Strategy
Positive
Politeness
Negative
Politeness
Bald on
Record Off Record
Ellen 18 5 12 2
Barack Obama 14 1 1 -
Hillary Clinton 6 2 2 2
Total 38 8 15 4
The analysis of the politeness strategies used by the three speakers was
elaborated in the following discussion based on the most frequent strategy until
the infrequent one.
1. Positive Politeness Strategies Found in The Ellen Show
The function of positive politeness is to redress the addressee‘s positive
face. Positive politeness has the basis to fulfill hearer‘s positive face by satisfying
their desire. It refers to the speaker‘s action to minimize the distance with the
hearer by using the intimate language. The speaker makes the hearer feel being
accepted, respected, and wanted.
The three speakers in The Ellen Show applied the positive politeness while
doing the conversation. The positive politeness strategy was shown through three
mechanisms, namely claiming common ground, conveying that speaker and
hearer are cooperators, and fulfilling hearer‘s want. From the data, the writer
found out that the most frequent and apparent positive politeness strategies that
were used by Ellen and the U.S. politicians were the sub-strategies of
exaggerating interest, intensifying interest to hearer, using joke, giving offer and
promise, and giving gifts to the hearer.
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The first mechanism of positive politeness was claiming common ground.
It indicated that both speaker and hearer shared the same wants, including goals
and values. In using this mechanism, the speaker wanted to satisfy the hearer that
hearer‘s desire was interesting to the speaker as well. There were three
applications of the sub-strategies in claiming common ground that were found in
the talk show, namely exaggerating interest, intensifying interest to hearer, and
using jokes. Dialogue 1 showed the application of exaggerating interest by Ellen
and Obama.
The exaggerating interest or the positive politeness was labeled as ‗PP‘.
Dialogue 1
Clip Title : Pres. Barack Obama on Ellen Breaking his Twitter Record
Time : 03.59 – 04.34
Participants : Ellen and Obama
Obama : We were on a trip to New York, and the gap announced that they
were gonna make sure that all their employees at least got paid
$10 an hour, so they're increasing their wages for tens of
thousands of employees across the country, and since we've been
saying that America deserves a raise, and we should provide a
minimum wage of at least $10.10 an hour. I thought it was great
for me to be able to go frequent a store. That's doing right by their
employees.
Ellen : Good for you.
Obama : I thought that was really important.
Ellen : [cheers and applause] Good for you. That's fantastic. (PP)
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 78)
Ellen asked Obama about his experience in visiting a gap or a department
store in New York. He told Ellen and the audience about the salary of the
employees that work on the gap. At that time, Obama was really satisfied to hear
that the gap parties would increase the employee‘s wages. Obama told Ellen and
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the audience that he was also satisfied to be able to visit the gap. Ellen responded
Obama by saying ―Good for you. That‘s fantastic.‖ The word ‗fantastic‘ indicated
that Ellen was impressed by Obama‘s action. Moreover, in saying the word
‗fantastic‘, Ellen used the exaggerated stress to show her interest in Obama‘s
statement and keep his positive face.
Intensifying hearer‘s interest was the next example of claiming common
ground. It represented the way how the speaker communicated with the hearer to
give contribution by making a good story to intensify hearer‘s interest. The use of
exaggerated facts was one of the techniques to intensify the hearer‘s interest.
Dialogue 2 showed the conversation between Ellen and Obama that was consisted
of intensifying hearer‘s interest mechanism. The intensifying interest or positive
politeness was labeled as ‗PP‘.
Dialogue 2
Clip Title : President Obama Discusses His Daughters Time : 01.02-1.24
Participants : Ellen and Obama
Obama : They don‘t have an attitude, they‘re courteous and kind to
everybody. They work hard, they don‘t feel like they‘re entitled
anything.
Ellen : Well, they have great parents. Both you and Michelle are really,
really amazing. Michelle is such a strong, wonderful role model
for all women. And she has been a great First Lady. (PP)
Obama : I agree, that I agree with. [Audience applause]
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 85)
Obama is a father of two daughters, Malia and Natasha Obama. At that
time, Ellen asked Obama about his opinions of his daughters. Then, Obama talked
about his daughters‘ personalities. He told the story of his daughters proudly.
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Responding to Obama‘s story, Ellen stated another related good story that could
increase Obama‘s interest. Ellen said the good story to intensify her interest
towards Obama‘s story. She shared her opinions about Obama and his wife,
Michelle, who have been raising Malia and Natasha. Moreover, Ellen used
exaggerated facts by saying, ―Michelle is such a strong, wonderful role model for
all women.‖ Here, Ellen was trying to intensify Obama‘s interest by stressing her
good intention to give her opinions and expressing them dramatically.
Dialogue 3 also showed the use of intensifying interest to hearer mechanism
in the conversation by Hillary Clinton. The use of intensifying interest to hearer or
positive politeness was labeled as ―PP‖.
Dialogue 3
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton Catches Up with Ellen Time : 03.21-03.33
Participants : Ellen and Hillary
Ellen : You have a grand-daughter called Charlotte now.
Hillary : I do, yes. Yeah, she is going to be one year old on September 26.
Ellen : That‘s a cute age.
Hillary : Yeah. On my way here, I stopped by just to see her, so that I
could kinda catch a glimpse…(PP)
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 80)
Dialogue 3 showed the conversation between Ellen and Hillary who talked
about Hillary‘s grand-daughter. In responding to Ellen‘s statement, Hillary told a
good story about her grand-daughter. By telling a good story of her grand-
daughter, Hillary wanted to satisfy Ellen‘s interest instead of just saying ‗yes‘ to
respond to Ellen.
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Another example of claiming common ground was the use of joke. The use
of joke explained that both the speaker and hearer shared the same background
knowledge. The speaker put the hearer at ease so that it could minimize the threat
from the speaker. Dialogue 4 showed the conversation between Ellen and Obama
that consisted of joke. The use of joke or positive politeness was labeled as ‗PP‘.
Dialogue 4
Clip Title : Pres. Barack Obama on Ellen Breaking His Twitter Record
Time : 00.11 – 00.23
Participants : Ellen and Obama
Ellen : Mr. President, it has been a while since we‘ve spoken. You look
great. How are you?
Obama : I am doing great. You look wonderful also.
Ellen : Well, thank you so much for saying that. You didn‘t have to just
because I said you look good, but that was nice of you. [Audience
laughing] (PP)
Obama : It is true.
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 78)
The dialogue showed that Ellen greeted President Obama as her guest
star via video call. She greeted Obama by giving him a compliment towards his
appearance and asking him about his life. In order to satisfy Ellen‘s positive face,
Obama replied her with the compliment also. However, Ellen responded Obama
by using a joke. Ellen said that Obama did not need to pay her compliment.
However, Ellen immediately said ―that was nice of you‖ to Obama. This approach
was done by Ellen because she wanted to put Obama at ease and to save his
positive face from the threat.
The use of joke also showed in Dialogue 5 in the same situation when
Ellen talked about her retweets‘ record. It was labeled as ―PP‖.
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Dialogue 5
Clip Title : Pres. Barack Obama on Ellen Breaking His Twitter Record
Time : 00.24-00.48
Participants : Ellen and Obama
Ellen : I don‘t know if you know this, but I was aiming to break your
record of retweets, and I apologize for doing it, but I broke your
retweet record. (PP)
Obama : I heard about that. I thought it was a pretty cheap stunt myself,
getting a bunch of celebrities in the background.
Ellen : That‘s the only thing—
Obama : You feeding them pizza?
Ellen : Yeah.
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 78)
Ellen told Obama that she broke his retweets‘ record. Obama‘s role as a
president of course gave so many influences in his daily life including his
existence in social media. However, Ellen had broken Obama‘s record of retweets
in one of his social media, namely Twitter. Ellen was aware that her utterance
might threaten Obama‘s positive face. She might make Obama embarrassed since
they were having a live talk show. Thus, Ellen used a joke in delivering her
intentions to Obama.
Another mechanism of positive politeness is conveying that speaker
and hearer are co-operators. This mechanism indicates that both speaker and
hearer are involved in the same activity. The speaker and hearer are cooperatively
connected by a relevant activity. By cooperating, the speaker and the hearer share
the same goals. Furthermore, giving offer and promise are the examples of the
sub-strategies in conveying the speaker and hearer as co-operators.
The speaker would choose to intensify his cooperation with the hearer
by giving an offer or promise. By doing that, the speaker showed his good
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intentions in satisfying hearer even though he could be wrong. Dialogue 6 showed
the use of offering by Obama. The utterance of using offer was labeled as ‗PP‘ as
the part of positive politeness.
Dialogue 6
Clip Title : Pres. Barack Obama on Ellen Breaking His Twitter Record
Time : 03.23-03.32
Participants : Ellen and Obama
Ellen : I hate to say, but I hope they get tattoos. I really do.
Obama : Ellen, you should be a part of this. You should pledge to also get a
tattoo with us. (PP)
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 78)
The dialogue above showed Ellen and Obama‘s conversation about making
tattoos. Ellen talked to the audience about her wish that Obama and his wife
would have the tattoos. Then, Obama offered Ellen to get tattoos with them as
well by saying, ―you should be part of this…‖ By saying that, Obama wanted to
demonstrate his good intention and to satisfy Ellen‘s positive face.
The use of promise was shown in Dialogue 7 when Obama gave his
promise to Ellen and the audience. The use of promise was labeled as ‗PP‘ as the
part of positive politeness.
Dialogue 7
Clip Title : Pres. Barack Obama on Ellen Breaking His Twitter Record
Time : 03.03-03.27
Participants : Ellen and Obama
Ellen : If your daughter got tattoos, that you and Michelle would also
get the same tattoo in the same place, and you‘ll take a family
photo of all the tattoos.
Obama : That‘s exactly right. [Cheering and laughing] We will reduce the
cool factor of any tattoo. Michelle and I will be right there, and
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we‘ll post it so that everybody will be able to see it, and we‘ll
say, ―We all got matching tattoos‖ and I suspect that will be a
pretty good deterrent for both Malia and Sasha. (PP)
Ellen : I hate to say, but I hope they get tattoos. [Laugh] I really do.
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 78)
Ellen asked Obama about his statements that he and his wife would get
the tattoos if their daughters got the tattoos. Obama agreed with it and confirmed
that his statements were true. The conversation above indicated that Obama was
willing to fulfill Ellen‘s wants. As co-operators, Obama wanted to show his good
intention in satisfying Ellen wants by giving her a promise.
The last mechanism of positive politeness strategy was by fulfilling the
hearer‘s wants. Speaker could satisfy the hearer‘s wants by giving gift. The gifts
could be in the form of intangible gift, such as sympathy, understanding, and
cooperation. The speaker who used this strategy wanted to redress the hearer‘s
positive face directly. The example in giving gift was shown in the Dialogue 8
when Hillary Clinton was interviewed by Ellen. The sub-strategy was labeled as
‗PP‘.
Dialogue 8
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton Catches Up with Ellen
Time : 00.31-00.48
Participants : Ellen and Hillary
Ellen : I want someone who is qualified, and I feel like when you‘re
talking about, if you look at the other candidates…
Hillary : Right
Ellen : …someone who is for rights across the board, equal right for
women, equal rights for every ethnicity, equal rights for everyone.
It is…the only person I can look at is you. (PP)
Hillary : Thank you. Thank you, Ellen.
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 80)
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Hillary Clinton was one of the president candidates of USA. She was
invited to The Ellen Show and did the interview with Ellen about her campaign.
Dialogue 8 showed that Ellen gave her compliment to Hillary for her action in
keeping the equal rights for women, ethnicity, and everyone. Ellen expressed her
admiration to Hillary directly by saying ―the only person I can look at is you‖. It
indicated that Ellen gave her sympathy towards Hillary, who could keep the equal
rights. By saying that, Ellen wanted to fulfill Hillary‘s want and redress her
positive face. Moreover, this intangible gift was important for Hillary herself
because Ellen‘s compliment showed that Ellen would be by her side, since she
was doing the campaign while doing the interview.
2. Bald on Record Strategies Found in The Ellen Show
Bald on record strategy is the direct way of conveying meanings. The
speaker who uses this strategy wants to ignore the hearer‘s face. The use of this
strategy is related to the speaker‘s wants to threat the hearer‘s face. In other
words, the speaker do not have the willingness to redress hearer‘s face. The
application of this strategy is classified into two different motives, namely the
motive where the face threat is not minimized at all and motive where the face
threat is minimized by implication.
The findings from the data found out that bald on record strategy was used
mostly by Ellen and Hillary. However, the utterances produced by Ellen and
Hillary only consisted of one motive in which the face threat was not minimized
at all. The motive where the face threat was not minimized could be seen in some
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cases, for example the case of great urgency and the case where the speaker used
non-redressed comforting advice.
The case of great urgency indicated that the speaker wanted to make a
rhetorical point. It could be found in the conversation that conveyed the attention-
getters. Dialogue 9 showed the application of bald on record in the case of great
urgency. It described the conversation between Ellen and Obama. The bald on
record strategy was labeled as ‗BoR‘.
Dialogue 9
Clip Title : President Obama Talks The First Lady
Time : 03.53-04.11
Participants : Ellen and Obama
Obama : You‘re so upset about that.
Ellen : I am so because she didn‘t go down all the way and she claimed
she had longer arms and so she‘s, listen, it was very impressive
that she kept going but she didn‘t go down as far as me.
Obama : Okay
Ellen : Look at, look! (BoR)
Obama : She‘s going down pretty far.
Ellen : No, no, no. Not as far down as me. [Audience laugh]
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 86)
During the interview, Obama was asked by Ellen about his opinions
towards the video that showed Ellen and Michelle‘s push-up game. The video
showed the previous episode of The Ellen Show. Obama‘s wife, Michelle, was
invited to the talk show as a guest star. Then, they did the push-up game. At that
time, Ellen was defeated by Michelle. Meanwhile, in the episode when Obama
was invited as a guest star, Ellen told Obama about the push-up game that she did
with Michelle. Ellen expressed her disappointment to Obama in a funny way.
Ellen was upset that Michelle did the push up game in a wrong way. She
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considered that Michelle cheated her. In the conversation, Ellen asked Obama to
watch the video as an evidence and give his comment about the game.
In Dialogue 9, Ellen said ―Look at. Look!‖ to Obama. This utterance
contained an FTA which was not redress Obama‘s face. Ellen used this utterance
because of the urgency that Ellen faced. They were watching at a short video
about Ellen and Michelle‘s push-up game. Ellen had to make sure that Obama
would not miss the scene when Michelle was considered as cheating by Ellen.
Thus, she did not redress the threat and said the utterance baldly.
Another case that indicated the unminimized motive was when the speaker
used non-redressed sympathetic advice. It could be in the form of sympathetic
advice and warning. In using this strategy, the speaker showed his attention for the
hearer. In this case, non-redressed comforting advice usage could be performed in
bald on record. This case happened in the scene where Hillary Clinton was doing
her campaign in The Ellen Show. Dialogue 10 showed the conversation between
Ellen and Hillary that consisted of sympathetic advice. The bald on record
strategy was labeled as ‗BoR‘.
Dialogue 10
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton Catches Up with Ellen
Time : 00.31-01.09
Participants : Ellen and Hillary
Ellen : I want someone who is qualified, and I feel like when you‘re
talking about—If I look at all the other candidates..
Hillary : Right.
Ellen : Someone who is for rights across the board. Equal rights for
women. Equal rights for every ethnicity. Equal rights for
everyone. It is – the only person I can look at is you.
Hillary : Thank you. Thank you, Ellen. Well, no. First of all, look, I think
it's just a reality that we're held to a higher, different double
standard. And it gets a little old, to be honest, but you just forge
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ahead. Don't let--all the wonderful, beautiful young women who
are here, don't get discouraged. Don't give in. Don't give up. Don't
quit on yourself, on your dreams, on your future. (BoR)
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 80)
The conversation in Dialogue 10 showed that Ellen shared her opinion
about the other candidates. Then, Ellen continued to give Hillary a compliment for
her job recently. The conversation indicated that Ellen stood by her side. In other
words, Ellen supported and chose Hillary to be the next President for the United
States. Then, Hillary responded to Ellen by demonstrating the case where doing
the FTA was in the hearer‘s interest.
In Dialogue 10, Hillary applied the bald on record strategy by giving some
sympathetic advice for Ellen and all of the audience in the studio. Hillary did not
redress the utterances she said. It meant that she said that for the sake of Ellen and
the audience‘s interest. As a president candidate who did a campaign, it was a
must for her to make the audience impressed with her. Thus, Hillary wanted to
express herself that she cares for them by giving the sympathetic advice.
3. Negative Politeness Strategies Found in The Ellen Show
Negative politeness strategy was a strategy that was used by the speaker to
redress the hearer‘s negative face. These strategies were used when a speaker
knew that his or her utterance and action would threaten a hearer. The examples of
negative politeness usage were asking and ordering something from a hearer by a
speaker. From the collected data, negative politeness was used by all of the
speakers. There were five mechanisms of negative politeness, namely being
direct, avoiding presumption or assumption, avoiding coercion to hearer,
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communicating speaker‘s want to not impinge on the hearer, and redressing others
want of the hearer‘s. There were two sub-strategies that appeared mostly in those
three mechanisms, such as using hedge and question and apologizing. However,
the first and the last mechanism of negative politeness were not found in the
collected data.
Hedge and question were two of the sub-strategies that included in
avoiding presumption and assumption mechanism. When the speaker used
negative politeness strategy, he had to avoid presuming and assuming the wants of
the hearer. Dialogue 11 showed the example of question usage by Hillary Clinton
when she was interviewed by Ellen. The question or negative politeness was
labeled as ‗NP‘.
Dialogue 11
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton Catches Up with Ellen
Time : 01.40-02.14
Participants : Ellen and Hillary
Ellen : It wasn‘t until 1920 when the 19th
Amendment passed that women
were allowed to vote.
Hillary : That‘s right.
Ellen : We couldn‘t vote until then. Women weren‘t allowed to serve in
the military until 1948. Not allowed into combat until 2013. It
wasn‘t until 1973 that woman could serve on juries. A woman
could not have her own credit card until 1974.
Hillary : Can I tell you about that? (NP) This is hard to believe, but there
was a law passed so that if you were married, or you were a single
woman, you would be legally entitled to a credit card. So I
applied to credit card.
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 80)
Ellen and Hillary were talking about the gender equality in U.S. year to
year. They talked about women‘s policy to use their rights in joining an election,
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serving in the military, until women‘s rights in using their own credit card. When
Ellen stated her opinion about the gender policy, Hillary responded to Ellen with
her opinions by saying, ―Can I tell you about that?‖ The utterance which was said
by Ellen was considered as avoiding presumption by using question. In this case,
Hillary was aware that her utterance might threaten Ellen‘s negative face. Thus,
Hillary used the question first before stating her opinions to give Ellen choice
whether she allowed Hillary to say it or not.
The following mechanism of negative politeness that was found in the
collected data was by communicating the speaker‘s want to not impinge on the
hearer. Apologizing was the sub-strategy of this mechanism that appeared mostly
in some conversations between Ellen and U.S. politicians. Dialogue 12 showed
the conversation between Ellen, Obama, and Macey that contained apologizing.
Macey was also a guest star in that episode together with Obama. The negative
politeness or apologizing was labeled as ‗NP‘.
Dialogue 12
Clip Title : Macey Meets President Obama
Time : 02.27-02.49
Participants : Ellen, Obama, and Macey
Macey : Are you still using the Ellen dog bowls?
Obama : You know, the Ellen dog bowls are somewhere, I am sorry, but…
(NP) (Audience laughing)
Ellen : Give me my trump back. (Audience laughing)
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 83)
The dialogue showed that the speakers were talking about the dog
bowls that were given by Ellen to Obama as gifts for his dogs. Then, Macey asked
Obama about the dog bowls whether he still used it. Unfortunately, Obama rarely
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54
used the dog bowls because the dog bowls were somewhere. Obama knew that his
answer would offend Ellen‘s feeling. Thus, in answering Macey‘s question and
redressing Ellen‘s negative face, Obama gave his apology towards Ellen by saying
―I am sorry, but…‖
4. Off Record Strategies Found in The Ellen Show
Off record strategy is the indirect use of language. This strategy is done by
the speaker in such a way by making not only one clear communicative intention
to the act. In using off record strategy, the speaker has a tendency to avoid the
responsibility in doing FTA. By making the communicative intention in such a
way, the speaker let the hearer to decide how to interpret his intention. The
application of off record strategy is classified into two mechanisms. The first
mechanism is inviting conversational implicatures that can be done by giving
hints and overstating words. The second mechanism is by being vague or
ambiguous.
Based on the data, the writer found out that Ellen and Hillary used the off
record strategy. However, the off record strategy did not found in Obama‘s
utterances. The conversation that consisted of the off record strategy used by
Hillary and Ellen was shown in the Dialogue 13. The dialogue showed the
application of inviting conversational implicature mechanism that could be done
by giving hints. The hints or off record strategy was labeled as ‗OR‘.
Dialogue 13
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton's Debate Dance Moves
Time : 01.17-01.40
Participants : Hillary and Ellen
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Ellen : Listen, before I say goodbye to you, it is your 69th
birthday in a few
weeks.
Hillary : It is.
Ellen : And I can imagine, but tell you wish for your birthday.
Hillary : Well, I have several wishes, one of them obviously includes the
election, but I also, I really wish that I will be the president that are
country needs right now, that‘s my deepest hope. [Applause] (OR)
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 88)
The president candidate, Hillary Clinton, was interviewed by Ellen
about her progress in doing the campaign. Hillary told Ellen and the audience
about her campaign and some memorable moments during the campaign. When
the talk show was approaching to finish, Ellen reminded Hillary that her birthday
was close. Then, Ellen asked Hillary to share her wishes in front of the audience.
Dialogue 13 showed Hillary‘s wishes. She applied the off record strategy by
giving hints to Ellen and the audience. By giving the hints, Hillary left the hearer
to search for an interpretation about her intention. She was in the condition of
doing the campaign and she wished that she could be elected as a president. It was
clear that she gave the hint for Ellen and the audience to choose her in the election
so that she would be a president. Thus, she used the off record strategy to avoid
the responsibility in doing the FTA towards Ellen and the audience.
The use of overstating words in the off record strategy indicated that
the speaker wanted to exaggerate a point on a scale which was higher than the
actual state. In this case, Hillary used the overstating words while doing her
campaign. The conversation between Hillary and Ellen that contained overstating
words was shown in Dialogue 14. The overstating words or the off record strategy
was labeled as ‗OR‘.
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Dialogue 14
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton Catches Up with Ellen
Time : 01.16-01.32
Participants : Hillary Clinton and Ellen
Hillary : I‘m not asking people to vote for me because I‘m a woman, but I
think if you vote for somebody on the merits, one of my merits is
I‘m a woman, and I think that makes a big difference in today‘s
world. (OR)
Ellen : Yes, yes. But I do, and I think that a lot of women, we‘re so
conditioned for so long to be—to be less than.
(Full transcript can be seen in Appendix B, p. 80)
In the interview, Ellen was talking about the achievements that had been
produced by Hillary. Ellen asked Hillary to give her opinion about women rights
and motivations for all women in the world. Since she was one of the president
candidates in U.S., she used those opportunities to do the campaign. She showed
her privileges as a woman and her promises to the audience. She used the off
record strategy to deliver her wants implicitly, so that the audience should
interpret what she really wanted. The actual fact was that she wanted the audience
to choose her as the next president of U.S.
B. The Factors Which Influence the Application of Politeness Strategies
by Ellen and the Politicians in The Ellen Show
There were two possible factors that could influence Ellen and U.S.
politicians to choose what kind of politeness strategies that would be used. The
factors were the payoffs of politeness strategies and the social variables.
Politeness strategies‘ payoffs were divided into four payoffs based on each
strategy, namely bald on record payoffs, positive politeness payoffs, negative
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politeness payoffs, and off-record payoffs. Meanwhile, the social variables factors
were divided into three variables, namely social distance, relative power, and rank
of imposition.
In addition, to simplify the discussion, the writer would remind the reader
about the example of speakers‘ utterances taken from the previous discussion.
Each factor was discussed in the following paragraphs.
1. Payoffs
Payoffs were the results or the advantages from the chosen politeness
strategies. The discussions of politeness strategies payoffs and the findings were
explained deeper in the following paragraphs.
a. Positive Politeness Payoffs Found in The Ellen Show
Positive politeness payoffs discussed the speaker‘s wants to satisfy the
hearer‘s positive face in some respect. The speaker who used positive politeness
could be in the form of giving compliment. It showed that the speaker valued what
the other had. This payoff was explained in the Utterance 1 when Ellen talked
about Obama‘s family life.
Utterance 1
Ellen : Well, they have great parents. Both you and Michelle are really,
really amazing. Michelle is such a strong, wonderful role model for
all women. And she has been a great First Lady. (PP)
(Transcript #4, p. 85)
Obama shared his story about his daughters to Ellen and the audience.
Then, Ellen responded Obama by saying good things about Obama and Michelle.
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Ellen said that Obama and Michelle are great parents. She used exaggerated
words, such as amazing, wonderful, and great to satisfy Obama‘s positive face.
However, the focus of this payoff was not about the exaggerated words but about
the compliments that Ellen gave to Obama. Ellen‘s compliment indicated that she
valued what Obama and Michele had done.
b. Bald on Record Payoffs
If the speaker wanted to avoid the danger of being misunderstood and to
be clear, the speaker chose the bald on record strategy. These were the essence of
bald on record payoffs. The payoff was exemplified in Utterance 2.
Utterance 2
Ellen : Look at, look! (BoR)
(Transcript #5, p. 86)
Ellen and Obama were watching a short video of Michelle Obama and
Ellen who were having push up game. From the conversation between Ellen and
Obama, bald on record strategy was used by Ellen by saying, ―Look at, look!‖
Ellen could not avoid the responsibility of doing FTA to Obama. Furthermore, she
wanted to be clear and efficient. It was related to the situation when both Ellen
and Obama watched the short video. Therefore, Ellen said it directly toward
Obama so that he could immediately take a look at the video before the scene
passed.
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c. Negative Politeness Payoffs
Negative politeness payoff discussed the speaker‘s wants to satisfy the
hearer‘s negative face. Negative politeness payoff was exemplified in Utterance 3
in the following paragraphs.
Utterance 3
Obama : You know, the Ellen dog bowls are somewhere, I am sorry, but…
(NP) [Audience laughing].
(Transcript #3, p. 83)
In Utterance 3, Obama talked about the dog bowls that were given by
Ellen. Obama used the negative politeness strategy as a result that he did not want
to threat Ellen‘s negative face. By doing so, he did not want to offend Ellen‘s
feeling. Obama gave his apology to Ellen by saying, ―I am sorry, but,..‖ to respect
Ellen. By respecting Ellen, Obama did not directly convey FTA to her. Therefore,
he could manage himself to satisfy Ellen‘s negative face.
d. Off Record Payoffs
The idea of off record payoffs is satisfying the hearer‘s negative face in
greater degree to minimize the threat towards the hearer. By doing this, the
speaker gives the hearer an intention which is not stated explicitly so that the
hearer shall interpret the actual meaning of the intention.
This payoff was exemplified in Utterance 4 in the following paragraphs.
Utterance 4
Hillary : Well, I have several wishes, one of them obviously includes the
election, but I also, I really wish that I will be the president that are
country needs right now, that‘s my deepest hope. [Applause] (OR)
(Transcript #6, p. 88)
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Utterance 4 was about Hillary who was interviewed by Ellen about her
campaign. When the show was approaching to finish, Ellen reminded Hillary
about her birthday and asked her wish for her birthday. In responding to Ellen‘s
question, Hillary told her wishes by saying, ―Well, I have several wishes, one of
them obviously includes the election, but I also, I really wish that I will be the
president that are country needs right now, that‘s my deepest hope.‖ This kind of
utterance included as off-record strategy. Hillary left Ellen and the audience to
interpret what she really wanted. Thus, the reason to choose the strategy was to
satisfy the hearer‘s negative face in a greater degree than what negative politeness
did.
2. Sociological Variables
Another factor which affected Ellen and US politicians to choose a
particular politeness strategy was the sociological variables. There were three
elements in sociological variables, namely the social distance, relative power, and
rank of imposition. However, from the example of the results, the writer found out
that the relative power factor did not influence the speakers in using politeness
strategies. The discussion of sociological variables and the findings were
explained deeper in the following paragraphs.
a. Social Distance
Social distance discusses about how stable social attributes (age, social
class, and ethnic background) affect the relationship between the speaker and
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hearer. In other words, it indicates the intimacy between the speaker and hearer
whether they had close or distant relationship.
If the speaker has a high intimacy with the hearer, the speaker will choose
less polite strategies as in positive politeness and bald on record strategies.
Meanwhile, if the speaker has less intimacy with the hearer, the speaker will
choose more polite strategies as in negative politeness and off record strategies.
Utterance 5 showed Obama‘s utterance that contained positive politeness.
Obama chose to use positive politeness to lessen the social distance between him
and Ellen.
Utterance 5
Obama : Ellen, you should be a part of this. You should pledge to also get a
tattoo with us. (PP)
(Transcript #1, p. 78)
Utterance 5 showed that Obama invited Ellen to get a tattoo together
with Obama‘s family. Obama invited Ellen by using the positive politeness, as in
utterance ―You should pledge to also get a tattoo with us.‖ By saying this, Obama
lessened the social distance between him and Ellen. Therefore, he regarded Ellen
as a part of his family by inviting Ellen to get the tattoo together with Obama‘s
family. Thus, Utterance 5 showed that Ellen and Obama had a great intimacy.
b. Relative Power
Relative power discusses the power of the hearer over the speaker. When
the speaker has lower power than the hearer, the speaker will use more polite
strategy. Furthermore, when the speaker has higher power than the hearer then the
speaker will use less polite strategy.
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Meanwhile, the example of the results showed that the relative power did
not influence the speakers in using the politeness strategies. Utterance 2 showed
Obama‘s utterance.
Utterance 2
Obama : You know, the Ellen dog bowls are somewhere, I am sorry, but… (NP)
(Audience laughing).
(Transcript #3, p. 83)
Utterance 2 showed that Obama was talking about Ellen‘s dog bowls.
Obama gave his apology to Ellen when he talked about the dog bowls by saying
―I am sorry, but…‖. It indicated that Obama was aware that his utterance might
threaten Ellen‘s negative face. At that time, Obama was the president of United
State of America. It meant that he had higher power than Ellen who was a host of
the talk show. However, Obama ignored his status and power as president, so he
used the negative politeness strategy to be more polite towards Ellen.
Utterance 6 showed Hillary‘s utterance that consisted of negative
politeness.
Utterance 6
Hillary : Can I tell you about that? (NP) This is hard to believe, but there was a
law passed so that if you were married, or you were a single woman,
you would be legally entitled to a credit card. So I applied to credit
card.
(Transcript #2, p. 80)
Hillary was talking about gender quality in U.S. and she wanted to add
some information about the fact of the situations at that time. Before Hillary
continued to share the facts, she immediately said ―Can I tell you about that?‖
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towards Ellen. In this case, Hillary was aware that her utterance can threaten
Ellen‘s negative face. However, Hillary used the negative politeness strategy
instead of the other politeness strategy which had lower power. Hillary ignored
her status and power as president candidate to tell the hearer baldly. By using the
negative politeness strategy, Hillary respected Ellen as the host and minimized the
status distance between Ellen and her.
c. Rank of Imposition
There are two variables in rank of imposition, namely imposition towards
negative face and positive face. The speaker who wants to impose hearer‘s
negative face will choose more polite strategies as in negative politeness and off
record strategies. Meanwhile, the speaker who wants to impose the hearer‘s
positive face will choose less polite strategies as in positive politeness and bald on
record strategies.
Utterance 7 showed Hillary‘s utterance that contained the off record
strategy. In that conversation, Hillary used the off record strategy to make an
imposition that required service and goods.
Utterance 7
Hillary : I‘m not asking people to vote for me because I‘m a woman, but I
think if you vote for somebody on the merits, one of my merits is
I‘m a woman, and I think that makes a big difference in today‘s
world. (OR)
(Transcript #2, p. 80)
Hillary was in her campaign while she was interviewed by Ellen. In
doing her campaign, she used the off record strategy as stated in the dialogue box.
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She showed her intentions implicitly to the hearer by using the off record strategy,
so that the hearer should interpret what she really wanted. Hillary did not directly
ask the hearer to vote her as a president. However, she gave the hearer freedom to
interpret what she wanted and choose what they would do. Therefore, she satisfied
the hearer‘s negative face in a higher level.
However, the speaker‘s desire to impose hearer‘s positive face was
showed in Utterance 8. The Utterance 8 showed Ellen‘s utterance that used the
positive politeness strategy. Ellen made a joke for Obama in the beginning of the
show when she greeted Obama.
Utterance 8
Ellen : Well, thank you so much for saying that. You didn‘t have to just
because I said you look good, but that was nice of you. [Audience
laughing] (PP)
(Transcript #1, p. 78)
The dialogue showed that Ellen did an approach towards Obama by
making a joke. She immediately said ―You didn‘t have to just because I said you
look good, but that was nice of you‖ when she was given a compliment by Obama
in the beginning of the show. By saying that, she imposed Obama‘s positive face
with the joke. Furthermore, Ellen also lessened the social distance between her
and Obama.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter consists of three parts, namely the conclusions, implications,
and recommendation. The conclusions aim to sum up the result especially the data
and findings of the study. The implications point out how the research findings
contribute to language learning. The recommendations are addressed to future
researchers and language learners to conduct further studies on a similar topic.
A. Conclusions
This study was conducted to analyze the use of politeness strategies by
Ellen and U.S. politicians in The Ellen Show. Ellen was the host of the talk show
when the data were collected, while the U.S. politicians were the guests. The U.S.
politicians who were analyzed by the writer were Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton. This study aimed to report two research questions. The first research
question deals with the use of politeness strategies and the second research
question deals with the factors that affect the speakers in using the strategies.
The writer applied the theory of Brown and Levinson (1987) to find out the
politeness strategies used by Ellen and U.S. politicians and the factors which
affect the strategies. The writer found out that Ellen and U.S. politicians used
politeness strategies. There are four types of politeness strategies as stated by
Brown and Levinson (1987), namely bald on record, positive politeness, negative
politeness, and off record. Furthermore, the writer found out that the most
frequent strategy used by Ellen and the U.S. politicians was positive politeness.
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The data revealed that all of the speakers, Ellen and U.S. politicians, used positive
politeness strategy as well. This finding proved that Ellen and U.S. politicians
used positive politeness in their conversation. It was basically to save each other‘s
positive face. They wanted to maintain a close relationship through the interaction
between them.
The factors which influence the use of politeness strategy by Ellen and US
politicians were the payoffs of the politeness strategies and the sociological
variables. Politeness strategies payoffs were divided into four types, namely bald
on record payoffs, positive politeness payoffs, negative politeness payoff, and off
record payoffs. Bald on record payoffs was related to the speakers‘ want to be
straight forward and efficient. Positive politeness payoffs were the speakers‘
wants to maintain social closeness towards the hearer. Negative politeness payoffs
was the speaker wants to satisfy hearer‘s negative face by respecting other and
maintaining social distance between speaker and hearer. Lastly, off record payoffs
was related to the speaker wants to minimize the threat towards the hearer and to
satisfy the hearer‘s negative face in a greater degree.
The sociological variables are divided into three variables, namely social
distance, relative power, and rank of imposition. Social distance was related to
how the social attributes affected the relationship between Ellen and the U.S
politicians. Rank of imposition was related to the degree of the FTA that is
considered as the interference to the face of the hearer. However, relative power
factor did not influence the speakers in using politeness strategies. It indicates that
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all the speakers ignored their power and social status while doing the
conversation.
B. Implications
Based on the findings, this research contributes important information to
the practice of language learning especially for English learning. This research
analyzed how politeness strategies used in a daily conversation. Politeness
strategies focus on how the speaker saves hearer‘s positive face by making an
expression that is less threatening for hearer‘s face (Brown & Levinson, 1987).
Thus, it is important for English learners to comprehend the strategies in order to
be able to formulate an utterance properly and politely.
It is important for English learners to understand how politeness strategies
affect people in maintaining interpersonal relationship. Besides, this research
findings are expected to be the examples of the use of politeness strategies in a
talk show. Hopefully, this research can enrich EFL students‘ knowledge in using
English language as a tool to communicate with each other properly. Furthermore,
politeness is one of the theories that is included in Sociolinguistics. The findings
of this research are expected to give contribution to the Sociolinguistics, as it
provides examples on how language is used in society.
C. Recommendations
The recommendations are addressed to future researchers and language
learners. The writer expects that these recommendations will help them in
learning this topic or writing further research about this topic. The writer hopes
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that it can contribute to improve the success in English learning or teaching
activities and the application of English language.
1. For Future Researchers
This research provides useful information and example which can enrich
future researcher‘s knowledge of politeness strategies used in a talk show. The
writer would like to present the recommendations to the future researchers to
conduct other research regarding utterances based on politeness strategies. Since
this research was aimed to analyze the use of politeness strategies and the factors
which affect it in a talk show, the writer expects that the future researchers can
write a research of politeness strategies that occur in a daily conversation, for
example a natural conversation between teacher and student. In conducting the
research, the future researchers can use the theory of politeness strategies which is
proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987) as well.
2. For English Learners
It is important for English learners to understand politeness strategies. In
this study, the writer encourages students who learn English as a foreign language
to pay attention to the use of their language based on the aspects of politeness
strategies. By comprehending politeness strategies, English learners will be able
to express their English utterances appropriately in a daily conversation. Studying
politeness strategies will also help English learners to apply a better strategy and
avoid misinterpreting and misunderstanding while doing interpersonal
communication.
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Mills, S. (2003). Gender and politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIX A
The List of Politeness Strategies Used by Ellen and U.S. Politicians inThe Ellen Show
Data 1Clip Title : Pres. Barack Obama on Ellen Breaking His Twitter RecordPublished on : March 19, 2014
No. Speaker UtterancePoliteness Strategy(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
1. Ellen Mr. President, it has been awhile since we've spoken.You look great. How are you?
PP
That's amazing PPWell, thank you so much for PPsaying that.You didn't have to just becauseI said you look good, but thatwas nice of you.
2. Ellen
3. Ellen4. Ellen
I don't know if you know this,but I was aiming to break yourrecord of retweets, and Iapologize for doing it, but Ibroke your retweet record.
PP
Good for you. That's fantastic PPI am doing great. You look PPwonderful also
Ellen, you should be a part of PPthis.You should pledge to also get atattoo with us.
PP
PP
PP
BoRBoR
They're doing great in school,and they're smart, and they'refunny, and they're kind, and,
I'm stuck with two dogs,and... I'm expected to walkthem and do what you do whenyou walk dogs.
Let me mention this.Let's also talk about-youwent shopping.Well, you have a family ofgood taste.
12 Obama
5. Ellen6. Ellen
7. Ellen
8. Ellen eo"
9. Obama
10. Obama
11. Obama
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No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
you know, they're athletic
13. Obama Michelle and I will be right
there, and we'll post it so that
everybody will be able to see
it.
PP
Data 2
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton Catches Up with Ellen
Published on : September 10, 2015
No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
14. Ellen The first thing that I think we
should discuss is Kanye running
for president, and how do you
feel about that?
NP
15. Ellen The only person I can look at is
you.
PP
16. Hillary Look, I think it's just a reality
that we're held to a higher,
different double standard.
BoR
17. Ellen I just want to read a couple of
things that--because I was
looking at this and it's just
unbelievable to me.
PP
18. Ellen We have to take a break, but I
just also--
I want to say I am not a political
person.
I don't like politics. I don't
understand politics.
What I--what I am is a human
being who wants everyone to
have equal rights.
NP
19. Ellen I want inclusive.
I don't want exclusive. I want
everyone to get along.
BoR
20. Ellen I want everyone to want a
common goal of a better
country.
OR
21. Ellen So let's talk about the fact that
you're a grandmother.
BoR
22. Hillary And I saw you in the debate. PP
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No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
You were great.
23 Hillary Don't let--all the wonderful,
beautiful young women who are
here, don't get discouraged.
Don't give in. Don't give up.
Don't quit on yourself, on your
dreams, on your future.
BoR and PP
24 Hillary I'm not asking people to vote for
me because I'm a woman, but I
think if you vote for somebody
on the merits, one of my merits
is I'm a woman, and I think that
makes a big difference in today's
world.
OR
25 Hillary Can I tell you about that? NP
26 Hillary This is hard to believe, but there
was a law passed
so that if you were married, or
you were a single woman,
you would be legally entitled to
a credit card.
NP
27 Hillary On my way here, I stopped by
just to see her, so that I could
kinda catch a glimpse
PP
28 Hillary ―No sing, Mommy.‖ Yeah, yeah,
exactly.
PP
Data 3
Clip Title : Macey Meets President Obama
Published on : February 12, 2016
No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
29 Ellen Well, seems like somebody spill
the secrets already. OR
30 Ellen I'd like you to meet her. BoR
31 Ellen Give me, give me my trump
back. BoR and PP
32 Ellen
We're going to have to ask him
after the show because the show
is over, but is there any one last
question you want to ask him?
NP
33 Obama How are you doing Macey, you
look great. PP
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No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
34 Obama
I like Ellen dog bowls,
sometimes I use the bail and
bowls though.
PP
35 Obama
I think I brought something for
you though because you are
such a presidential expert.
PP
36 Obama
Well, the truth is Macey, we
haven't actually made direct
contact with aliens yet, but
when we do I'll let you know.
PP
37 Obama Very good point. PP
38 Obama
I can't believe it you know so
much about presidents
yeah that's amazing
PP
39 Obama Come here. BoR
40 Obama Ellen dog bowls are somewhere.
I'm sorry but… NP
Data 4
Clip Title : President Obama Discusses His Daughters
Published on : February 12, 2016
No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
41. Ellen And you have been a great
President.
PP
42. Ellen Well, they have great parents.
Both you and Michelle are
really, really amazing.
Michelle Is such a strong,
wonderful role model for all
women.
And she has been a great First
Lady.
PP
43. Ellen We have to take another break. BoR
44. Ellen You‘ve done an amazing job. PP
Data 5
Clip Title : President Obama Talks The First Lady
Published on : February 12, 2016
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No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
45. Ellen You're probably not kidding? PP
46. Ellen That's everybody's hope, but
let's talk about me.
BoR
47. Ellen I am so because she didn't go
down all the way and she
claimed she had longer arms
and so she's.
PP
48. Ellen Look at, look.
She's going down pretty far.
BoR
49. Ellen That's, I would think so. PP
50. Ellen Do you look at what's going on
now in the campaigning and do
you miss it any way and do
you look at them and go, you're
making big mistakes?
NP
51. Ellen No, it‘s not helpful. PP
52 Ellen I have better form than her, and
I –
PP
53. Obama I'm kinda not kidding. PP
54. Obama After about 15 years,
I finally figured out that she's
always right.
PP
55. Obama I mean those are good, you
have good form.
PP
Data 6
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton’s Debate Dance Moves
Published on : October 14, 2016
No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
56. Ellen
And I can imagine, but tell
what you wish for your
birthday.
NP
57. Ellen We have to show it. PP
58. Ellen After you are elected president,
come back and see us. PP
59. Ellen
Listen, before I say goodbye to
you, it is your 69th birthday in
a few weeks.
BoR
60. Ellen We‘ll be right back. BoR
61. Hillary I also, I really wish that I will OR
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No. Speaker Utterance Politeness Strategy
(BoR, PP, NP, OR)
be the president that are
country needs right now, that's
my deepest hope.
62. Hillary
I will be the youngest woman
ever elected President of the
United States.
PP
63. Hillary I will. Absolutely, absolutely PP
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APPENDIXB
The Transcript of The Ellen Show
Transcript 1Clip Title : Pres. Barack Obama on Ellen Breaking His Twitter RecordPublished on : March 19, 2014
Ellen
ObamaEllen
ObamaEllen
Obama
EllenObamaEllen
Obama
Ellen
Obama
Ellen
We're back with the 44th President of the United States, BarackObama, who's joining us from the Ellen blue room at the WhiteHose. [Audience cheer and applause]Mr. President, it has been awhile since we've spoken. You lookgreat, how are you?I am doing great. You look wonderful also.Well, thank you so much for saying that. You didn't have to,just because I said you look good, but that was nice of you.[Audience laughing] .It is true.I don't know if you know this, but I was aiming to break yourrecords of retweets, and I apologize for doing it, but I brokeyour retweet record. [Audience cheer and applause]I heard about that. 1thought it was a pretty cheap stunt myselfgetting a bunch of celebrities in the background.That's the only thing--You feeding them pizza.Yeah.So, The First Lady's in China.How is she doing?You know, she hasn't landed yet, but the house is abandoned.I'm stuck with two dogs, and...I'm expected to walk them anddo what you do when you walk dogs. But I think they're gonnahave a wonderful time, though. They haven't been to Chinabefore, and the opportunity for them to talk to young peoplethey've actually met with students here in the United Stateswho've made these trips before and helped brief them in terms ofwhat they should see, and it's gonna be a wonderful exchange, andhopefully because of this trip, they may be able to invite someChinese students back to the United States as well.Your daughters-How are they doing?I mean, they're growing up so fast, every time I see a picture ofthem, and first of all answer that question, please, and then I havea comment about the tattoo thing that you told them.Well, they are doing wonderfully. You know, Malia, she turns 16this summer, which is a little scary.Wow.
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Obama : And Sasha‘s gonna be 13. And they are doing great in school,
and they’re smart, and they’re funny, and they’re kind, and,
you know, they’re athletic, and so I really have no complaints,
except for the fact that increasingly they don‘t have that much
time for me.
You know, I am just—I am not that interesting. They‘re nice about
it, though, because they still love me, so they‘ll come in and
they‘ll pat me on the head and kiss me, and they‘ll say, ―Oh,
Daddy, we love you so much,‖ and they‘ll talk to me for about
five minutes, and then they‘ll say, ―We‘re gonna be gone all
weekend.‖
Ellen : They‘re very busy.
Obama : So that‘s making me a little sad.
Ellen : Well, and I bet. Let me mention this. I don‘t know if everyone
heard this, but you made the most amazing comment about if they
would ever get a tattoo, and I think everyone should stick to this
rule.
If your daughters got tattoos, that you and Michelle would also get
the same tattoo in the same place and you‘d all take a family photo
of all the tattoos.
Obama : That‘s exactly right. [Audience cheer and applause]
We will reduce the cool factor of any tattoo.
Michele and I will be right there, and we’ll post it so that
everybody will be able to see it, and we‘ll say, ―We all got
matching tattoos.‖
And I suspect that will be a pretty good deterrent for both Malia
and Sasha.
Ellen : I hate to say, but I hope they get tattoos. I really do. [Audience
laughing]
Obama : Ellen, you should be a part of this. You should pledge to also
get a tattoo with us.
Ellen : Yeah, well, you know what? If that happens, I will, but other than
that, I‘m not inti tattoos. I‘m not gonna do that.
Let’s also talk about—you went shopping. I don‘t know how
you can do this, but you went to a mall and you shopped at a gap
recently, because you were photographed so I know it‘s true.
Obama : It happened.
Ellen : It happened. You went to the gap, and you went shopping.
How do you have time?
Obama : Well, here—here‘s the thing.
We were on a trip to New York, and the gap announced that they
were gonna make sure that all their employees at least got paid
$10 an hour, so they‘re increasing their wages for tens of
thousands of employees across the country, and since we‘ve been
saying that America deserves a raise, and we should provide a
minimum wage of at least $10.10 an hour, I thought it was great
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for me to be able to go frequent a store that‘s doing right by their
employees.
Ellen : Good for you.
Obama : I thought that was really important [audience cheer and applause]
Ellen : Good for you. That’s fantastic.
They sold a lot of those sweaters that you bought. I understand
those sweaters that you bought sold out, because everybody
wanted to wear the same sweaters that your daughters are wearing.
Obama : Well, I thought they were pretty nice sweaters, and Malia and
Sasha, they did not scowl when I brought them in, which was a
good sign. I mean, they didn‘t immediately say, ―Eww, that‘s
terrible.‖
Ellen : Well, you have a family of good taste.
Obama : I have not yet seen them wear them, but I‘m hoping that I make
the cut.
Ellen : Well, I would like to see them wear them also.
Transcript 2
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton Catches Up with Ellen
Published on : September 10, 2015
Ellen : I have so many things to ask you about and talk to you about.
The first thing that I think we should discuss is Kanye running
for president, and how do you feel about that?
Hillary : Well, I heard him make the announcement.
Ellen : Right.
Hillary : And he said he wanted to run in 2020.
Ellen : Yes
Hillary : I would ask him if I‘m running for re-election, to wait.
Ellen : Okay.
Hillary : Okay?
Ellen : Okay.
Hillary : But otherwise… [Audience cheer and applause]
A lot of people want to run for president these days.
Ellen : It seems like a lot of people do want to run.
Hillary : Yeah.
Ellen : I don‘t understand it myself.
Hillary : And I saw you in debate. You were great.
Ellen : Thank you so much. I want someone who is qualified, and I feel
like when you‘re talking about—if I look at all the other
candidates..
Hillary : Right.
Ellen : Someone who is for rights across the board. Equal rights for
women. Equal rights for every ethnicity. Equal rights for
everyone. It is—the only person I can look at is you.
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Hillary : Thank you. Thank you, Ellen.
Well, no.
First—first of all, look, I think it‘s just a reality that we‘re held to
a higher, different double standard. And it gets a little old, to be
honest, but you just forge ahead.
Don’t let—all the wonderful, beautiful young women who are
here, don’t get discouraged. Don’t give in. don’t give up. Don’t
quit on yourself, on your dreams, on your future. And I
actually think, you know, look, I’m not asking people to vote for
me because I’m a woman, but I think if you vote for somebody
on the merits, one of my merits is I’m a woman, and I think
that makes a big difference in today’s world. Ellen : Yes, yes. But I do, and I think that a lit of women—we‘re so
conditioned for so long to—to be less than. To be—and I just
want to read a couple of things that—because I was looking at
this and it’s just unbelievable to me. It wasn‘t until 1920 when the 19
th Amandemen passed that women
were allowed to vote.
Hillary : That‘s right.
Ellen : 1920. We couldn‘t vote until then. Women weren‘t allowed to
serve in the military until 1948.
Not allowed into combat until 2013. It wasn‘t until 1973 that a
woman could serve on juries.
A woman could not have her own credit card until 1974.
Hillary : Can I tell you about that?
This is hard to believe, but there was a law passed so that if
you were married, or you were a single woman, you would be
legally entitled to a credit card.
So I applied to a credit card.
I was married, this was probably like 1976, ‘77.
And I got a letter back saying that I could not apply for my own
credit card. I would have to use my husband‘s.
And so, this is not, like, ancient history.
Ellen : No.
Hillary : And I was making more money than he was. And I actually was
ready to have my own credit card. [Audience cheer and applause]
Ellen : We have to take a break, but I just also—I want to say I am
not a political person. I don’t like politics. I don’t understand
politics.
What I – what I am is a human being who wants everyone to
have equal rights.
Hillary : Right.
Ellen : And I hate the ―us and them.‖ I don‘t like that someone is a
Republican, so they‘re bad. They‘re a Democrat, so they‘re bad.
I want inclusive
Hillary : Exactly.
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Ellen : I don’t want exclusive. I want everyone to get along. I want
everyone to want a common goal of a better country. Hillary : Right.
Ellen : And to not piss off any more countries. I want us all to be loved.
Hillary : Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ellen : I want us to be happy.
Hillary : The happiness agenda. [Hillary gives high five to Ellen]
Ellen : Peace. I want happiness and I want peace. Across the world.
[Audience cheer and applause]
All right, we‘ll take a break, and when we come back, we will
have world peace.
~break time~
Ellen : So let’s talk about the fact that you’re a grandmother.
You have a grand-daughter called Charlotte now.
Hillary : I do, yes. Yeah, she is—she‘s going to be one year old on
September 26.
Ellen : That‘s a cute age.
Hillary : Yeah.
On my way here, I stopped by just to see her, so that I could
kinda catch a glimpse, you know, it changes so fast, well there
she is, when she‘s, like, just born.
But now she‘s doing all kinds of interesting and exciting things.
Ellen : What does she call you?
Hillary : She hasn‘t called me anything yet, because she doesn‘t have that
many words yet.
Ellen : Aww, that‘s a shame.
Hillary : Yeah, she‘s got a couple of words.
I‘m waiting to see what she wants to call me. If I like it, I‘ll say,
―Yeah, that‘s a good one.‖
If I don‘t, then I‘m gonna have to work on what else can she call
me.
Ellen : Well, can‘t you guide her into—what would you like to be called?
Hillary : Well, you know, I‘m fine with Grandma.
I‘m fine with Madame President.
I mean, whatever is right. Fancy.
Ellen : That‘s a mouthful for a child.
Hillary : Yeah, yeah.
Ellen : That would be great if those are her first word is, ―Madame
President.‖
Hillary : Yeah. I don‘t know I‘ll have to wait.
Ellen : Do you sing to her?
Hillary : I am singing to her just like I sang to my daughter.
I sang to my daughter until she was about 18 months old, and with
our little ritual, I‘m singing to her before I put her to bed.
Ellen : What would you sing? What was the song?
Hillary : Oh, I sang all kinds of things, you know. Old favorites—I think at
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that time, I was singing ―Moon River‖ because we were looking
out the window. We were looking at the moon. And she reached
her little finger up, she goes, ―No sing, Mommy, no sing.‖
Ellen : Oh.. [laughing]
Hillary : She finally developed an ear, so I figure I‘ve got about another,
you know, eight months or six or seven with Charlotte to keep
singing.
Ellen : Before she says, ―No sing, Madame President.‖
Hillary : ―No sing, Mommy.‖ Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Ellen : That‘s a shame.
So, uh, the one thing people are saying also, ‗cause I want to give
you a chance to talk about things that are important to you, that
you want to discuss, but they‘re saying that if you are elected, you
would be one of the oldest presidents elected, which does that
matter?
Don‘t we want experience more than anything?
Isn‘t that important?
Hillary : Well I think it‘s very important, but the way I look at it, is I would
be the youngest woman ever elected President of the United
States.
Ellen : Yes, that‘s it.
Transcript 3
Clip Title : Macey Meets President Obama
Published on : February 12, 2016
Ellen : We have a little presidential expert and she is never met a
president before and her name is Macey Hensley and I'd like you
to meet her. Obama : All right. Yeah [Macey comes]
How are you doing Macey, you look great.
Macey : Thanks.
Ellen : You won‘t believe it?
Macey : No.
Ellen : I mean you know when I told you you're going to meet the
president you were like ―I can't believe it!‖
Obama : You know so much about presidents.
Macey : Yeah.
Obama : That’s amazing. Yeah.
Ellen : Yeah, I mean you know just about will tell me something about
Roosevelt.
Macey : Um, like—which one?
Ellen : Oh man.
Obama : Very good point [everyone laughs]
Ellen : Whichever one you want to tell me about.
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Macey : All right, so like, he, um, after his mama and grandma died he
went off to be a cowboy.
Ellen : Did you know that?
Obama : You know, I gotta say Teddy Roosevelt is one of my favorite
presidents. So he lived a pretty exciting life, really.
Ellen : So you have questions for the president, this is a big moment. You
can do whatever, you want to ask. What‘s your first question?
Macey : So, is there really a Book of Secrets?
Obama : That‘s secret.
Ellen : What kind of secrets would you want to know, what would you,
what would be in the Book of Secrets?
Macey : If aliens are real.
Obama : Well, what do you think?
Macey : Well, after watching these TV shows, I think aliens are probably
real.
Ellen : Okay, well, which TV show?
Macey : I think, it's called like America's Book of Secrets. [audience laugh]
Obama : There you go [laugh]
Ellen : Well, seems like somebody spill the secrets already.
Obama : I thought that was classic. I didn't think there's a TV show.
Macey : Yeah.
Obama : Well, the truth is Macey, we haven't actually made direct
contact with aliens yet, but when we do I'll let you know.
Ellen : Yeah, yeah. What else?
Macey : So, your dogs even have a secret service? [audience laugh]
Obama : No. Bo and Sunny they‘re on their own, but usually we don‘t let
him out of the White House unless they‘re with us. So, you know,
they‘re protected.
Macey : So, are you still using the Ellen dog bowls?
Obama : You know, Ellen dog bowls are somewhere. [audience laugh]
I am sorry, but..
Um, Bo and Sunny, they--
Ellen : Give me, give me my trump back. [audience laugh]
Obama : You know that they had their favorite bowls and they, it turns out
that they weren‘t the only bowl, you know, but I like Ellen dog
bowls, sometimes I use the bail and bowls though. Ellen : [laughs] All right, if you have more questions we’re going to ask
him after the show, because the show is over, but is there any
one last question you want to ask him? Macey : Um. No.
Ellen : [audience laugh] Okay.
Obama : You know, I wish you‘re a reporter, because that would be great,
if there is a press conference and then asking, ―Is there any more
questions?‖ and she says ―no‖.
Ellen : [laughs] Okay.
Obama : I think I brought something for you though because you are
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such a presidential expert. Come here, so this is the Presidential
Seal, see, and so wherever the president goes he always has the
seal and I signed it on the back, so in case you become president,
you will already have one.
You don‘t even have to get a new one. You‘ll be all set.
Macey : Thank you. [smiling]
Obama : You‘re welcome.
Ellen : Yeah, all right, we‘re going on.
Transcript 4
Clip Title : President Obama Discusses His Daughters
Published on : February 12, 2016
Ellen : So this is Malia is going off to college, and that's got to be.
Obama : It‘s hard.
Ellen : Yes.
Obama : Yeah.
Ellen : That‘s got to be.
Obama : Look. As Michelle reminds me, our job is to prepare them not
need us. And both my daughters are wonderful people, and Malia
is more than ready to leave. But I'm not ready for her to leave, and
I was asked if I would speak at her graduation and I said
absolutely not. Because I'm gonna be sitting there with dark
glasses sobbing.
She's one of my best friends and it's gonna be hard for me not to
have her around all the time.
But she's ready to go. You know you can tell when they're she's
just a really smart, capable person and she's ready to make her
own way. And they're--
Ellen : Wow.
Obama : Wonderful, they're wonderful girls and I-- Michelle gets all the
credit, maybe an assist from my mother in law.
But they really are just solid kids. They don't have an attitude,
they're courteous and kind to everybody.
They work hard, they don't feel like they're entitled to anything.
Ellen : Well, they have great parents. Both you and Michelle are
really, really amazing.
Michelle Is such a strong, wonderful role model for all women.
And she has been a great First Lady. Obama : I agree, that I agree with. [audience applause]
Ellen : We have to take another break.
Obama : That is indisputable.
Ellen : Yep.
And you have been a great President. And like you said people
can say things over and over and over again about unemployment
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or the economy or anything else.
If you listen to that, you're gonna believe it.
If you look into it and see what the facts are-- It's just not the truth.
Obama : We're better off now then when I came in.
There's no doubt.
Ellen : You’ve done an amazing job.
Transcript 5
Clip Title : President Obama Talks The First Lady
Published on : February 12, 2016
Ellen : Do you look at what’s going on now in the campaigning and do
you miss it any way and do you look at them and go, you’re
making big mistakes?
Obama : [laugh] I don‘t miss it.
Ellen : [laugh] It‘s always good to get out of Washington, which can
sometimes be a little depressing. What will, to get out of
Washington or to, what part is depressing?
Obama : Well, Washington. [audience laugh]
Ellen : That’s, I would think so.
Obama : Yeah. [audience applause]
Ellen : I mean, really.
Obama : Yeah, no, but--
Ellen : You‘re probably not kidding--
Obama : I’m kinda not kidding.
Ellen : Yeah, I mean, what was the biggest surprise for you when you
became president, what surprised you the most?
Obama : Well, the fact is that most of the time if something reaches my
desk, it means it's really hard, which is why they bumped it up to
me ‗cuz nobody else could figure it out.
And when I came in, the economy was collapsing.
We were about to go into a great depression.
We had to make a whole bunch of decisions about saving the auto
industry or making sure that business has got back on their feet, or
the housing market would recover.
And you're having to make big bets with incomplete information.
You're not sure that everything's gonna work.
And I think that part of what's happened in this Instagram.
You know, Twitter culture is that we expect quick answers
without sacrifice, without having to make choices, and politicians
play into that.
But the truth of the matter is, you know the world is a big
complicated place.
The good news is that we're generally going in the right direction,
and my hope is that we'll continue to do so.
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Ellen : That’s everybody’s hope, but let’s talk about me. [Audience
and Obama laugh]
I feel like. Don‘t you think if more people danced?
Obama : Yes.
Ellen : And just had fun instead of, everyone takes everything so
seriously and I think that we have these people, I'm kinda kidding
there, obviously, but I think we have people that we all have the
one thing in common which is we just want a good quality of life.
Obama : Right.
Ellen : And then we had these people that feel one way and if someone
feels another way, we tend to hate them and it's just-
Obama : That‘s not helpful.
Ellen : No, it’s not helpful.
Obama : The amount of stuff that is just put out there on the internet or on
sometimes news broadcasts that are just factually inaccurate, is
surprising.
And it's really hard to catch up.
Since I came into office, we reduced the deficit by two thirds. But
if you ask the average person, they're sure that spending has shot
up. And the reason is because there are a bunch of folks who say
that. We‘re wildly overspending even though we aren‘t.
Ellen : Right.
Obama : And that's just one small example, but it happens all the time.
And that's something that we have to fix partly by people paying
more attention to what's going on every single day.
And it's hard because people are busy.
They're dropping off their kids, they're working. They're, you
know, trying to figure out how they get some exercise, do some
push-ups and.
Ellen : Speaking of her.
Obama : Okay.
Ellen : What do you and Michelle disagree on? [audience laugh]
Obama : Well.
Ellen : Like what do you fight about--
Obama : After about, 15 years, I finally figured out that she's always
right.
So. [Audience applause] So then surprisingly we just stopped
fighting. And there's no more fighting.
Ellen : Well, she‘s a cheater, you know that, when you talk about the
push-ups.
I‘m not even gonna, I‘m not gonna argue about it anymore.
[Obama laughs]
But she‘s a cheater. So look at how far down I went, and look
how--
Obama : You‘re so upset about that.
Ellen : I am so because she didn't go down all the way and she
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claimed she had longer arms and so she's, listen, it was very
impressive that she kept going but she didn't go down as far as
me.
Obama : Okay.
Ellen : Look at, look!
Obama : She‘s going down pretty far.
Ellen : No, no, no.
Not as far down as me.
Look. [audience laughing]
Obama : I mean, those are good, you have good form.
Ellen : I have better form than her, and I – [all laughing]
Obama : You have good form.
Ellen : All right. [applause]
Transcript 6
Clip Title : Hillary Clinton’s Debate Dance Moves
Published on : October 14, 2016
Ellen : Everybody's talking about the debate, and everyone's talking about
the winner of this debate, and clearly the winner of the debate was
the guy in the red sweater.
Hillary : Yes.
Ellen : Ken Bone. And for some reason, no one is talking about this
moment, but we have to show it.
~video playing~
Hillary : There's a lot at stake.
This is not an ordinary time, and this is not an ordinary election.
[Audience laughing]We are going to be choosing a president who
will set policy for, not just for eight years, but because of some of
the important decisions we have to make here at home and around
the world, from the Supreme Court to energy and so much else.
And so there is a lot at stake. It's one of the most consequential
elections that we've had. And that's why I've tried to put forth
specific policies and plans. Kind of get it off of the personal and
put it on to what it is I wanna do as president.
Thank you very much both of you.
~video stopped~
Hillary : Yeah. [applause, laugh]
Ellen : You can move.
Hillary : That was the best dancing I‘ve ever done.
Ellen : Yeah. [laugh] You can move.
Hillary : He wasn‘t bad either.
Ellen : No, Ken Bone was great. Listen, before I say goodbye to you, it
is your 69th birthday in a few weeks. Hillary : It is.
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Ellen : And I can imagine, but tell what you wish for for your
birthday.
Hillary : Well, I have several wishes, one of them obviously includes the
election, but I also, I really wish that I will be the president that
are country needs right now, that's my deepest hope. [audience
applause]
And, you're right, it is my birthday and just think of it this way, I
will be the youngest woman ever elected President of the
United States [Laugh]
Ellen : Yes, you will.
Hillary : That‘s right.
Ellen : I cannot wait. I have high hopes and I trust in the good people of
this country to make the right decision. After you are elected
president, come back and see us. Hillary : I will.
Ellen : All right.
Hillary : Absolutely, absolutely.
Ellen : We’ll be right back.
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