Politeness Strategies Used by the Main Character in Spongebob Squarepants Movie

Ina Mutmainah

Student, Master of English Education Study Program, Postgraduate of University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the SpongeBob movie with the title SpongeBob Movie Out of Water Food Fight. It is to identify the politeness strategies applied by the main characters in SpongeBob Square Pants. The researcher uses qualitative research. The data was taken from Video movie in SpongeBob Movie Sponge Out of Water Food Fight. The result showed that Bald on record strategy is the most frequent strategy (14 out of 42 total data). It is followed by positive politeness strategy (12 out of 42), Off-Record strategy (8 out of 42) and Negative politeness (7 out of 42). This prefers to apply bald-on record in conveying their utterances to the other, especially Mr. Crabs toward SpongeBob and Patrick as employee in his office. It concludes that there is a good relationship between SpongeBob and Patrick, SpongeBob and Mr. Krab, so the conversation used positive politeness.

Keywords: politeness strategy, movie

1. Introduction other people in their life. According to Thomas In our daily activity, human can interact in Winerta (2012) stated that “politeness was a with other by using language. Language is a real-world goal (politeness interpreted as a real tool for communication which becomes main desire to be pleasant to others or as the part in our life. Language makes people underlying motivation for an individual‟s enable to transfer the message, ideas, feeling or linguistic behavior.” thought. Delivering the ideas when we Using politeness made listeners could communicate to the other must be clear in give a good response to speaker‟s question or order to be received well because the good request. According to Yule in Winerta (2012), communication happened if the speaker and politeness was showing awareness of another the listener can get the meaning appropriately. person‟s face; it was related to social distance Common people make communication or closeness. Politeness referred to the unstructured. This is not become problem emotional and social sense of self that because the most important is their speech can everyone else to recognize. In this case, be understood and accepted by others. politeness was really needed to build a good One of the important thing is politeness relationship and to have a good social when speak to the other. The politeness was interaction with other people. In other word, not only for one group society, but also it was politeness was the expression of the speakers‟ for everyone in all conditions that using intention to mitigate face threats carried by language as their tools in daily conversation in certain face threatening acts toward another. order to make a good social interaction with

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Hasmi (2013) stated understanding employed politeness strategies and the politeness is very important. People often think realization of each strategy proposed by Brown that politeness is simply a matter of saying and Levinson. In short, the research problems please, sorry, excuse, and thank you. can be formulated as the two points, (1) What Politeness does have its own role. Being are the types of politeness strategies employed linguistically polite means speaking to people by the main characters in SpongeBob Square appropriately in the right place and the right pants movie?, and (2) How are politeness time. People must be aware of the context of strategies realized in the utterances employed speaking and be able to determine which by the main characters in SpongeBob Square politeness form is the best to a context. pants movie? The phenomenon of politeness features happens in the society, in real conversations. 2. Theoretical Review However, to analyze them, it is not a must to Watts (2003) explains politeness as a observe a real society since this is depicted in thing that is not born with people. It is many media such as movies. Movie is one something people have to learn and be among many media which are popular in the socialized into, and no generation has been of society and can be used to investigate short teachers and handbooks on etiquette and politeness. One of the movies which must “correct behavior” to help people acquire become the study is SpongeBob Square Pants politeness skills. He also describes that Brown because in Indonesia there has ever been an and Levinson view politeness as a complex issue about the controversy to present the system for softening face-threatening acts. SpongeBob Movie to the Children They analyze politeness and say that in order Based on the news from Tribunnews.com to enter into social relationship, people have to (2014) informed that KPI (Komisi Penyiaran acknowledge and show awareness of the face, Indonesia) light up cartoon programs with the the public self-image, the sense of self, and the violence both verbal and nonverbal including addressee. the spongebob movie and it makes the Politeness also means a way to establish limitation for the presenting the movie. For and maintain feelings of community within the this issue, the researcher is interested to social group (Leech, 1983). Moreover, analyze the politeness strategy used by the According to Foley (1997) in Seyyed (2016) main character. referred to politeness as “a battery of social Considering the wide range of the skills whose goal is to ensure that everyone approaches of politeness, the researcher limits feels affirmed in a social interaction”. As an the problems observed. The researcher only important aspect of pragmatic competence and focuses on analyzing conversation among the consequently communicative competence, main characters and the children who

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politeness has been addressed by different threatening act or FTA (Yule, 1996:61). researchers applying different approaches. According to Black (2006) in Hasmi (2013), In Sadeghoghli & Niroomand (2016) Brown and Levinson consider that „face‟ has stated most of the studies, the politeness has two aspects, (a) Negative face: the right to get been conceptualized especially as strategic freedom of action and freedom from conflict-avoidance or as strategic construction imposition, and (b) Positive face: the need to of cooperative social interaction (Watts, 2003). be appreciated by others, and to maintain a Watts (2003) suggests the term politic positive self-image. behavior (i.e., second-order politeness), which The theory used in the present study is the he contrasts with polite behavior (i.e., first- model of politeness strategy offered by Brown order politeness). He defines politic behavior and Levinson (1987). Most of the research into as socio-culturally determined behavior with politeness may be characterized as somehow the aim of establishing and/or maintaining the related to Brown and Levinson‟s theory personal relationships between the (Watts, 2003). Brown and Levinson (1987) in interlocutors. Seyyed (2016:50-51) stated outline four main Brown and Levinson in Watts (2003:86) types of politeness strategies including bald state that there are two kinds of face, negative on-record, positive politeness, negative and positive face. Negative face refers to the politeness, and off-record (indirect). The main individual‟s desire for freedom of action and idea is realizing various strategies used by freedom from imposition. Positive face refers various people in their interactional behavior to the individual‟s desire that his wants be to satisfy specific wants of face. appreciated and approved of in social a. Bald on-record interaction. For example, when someone asks The aim of bald on-record strategies is not to get a book from someone else, he can use minimizing the threat to the hearer‟s face and two ways. Firstly, if he wants to apply negative they are used to directly address the other face, he can say „could you lend me a pen?’. In person to express his/her needs. Using this case, the speaker prefers to give a freedom imperative forms is an example of bald on- action to the hearer by using the word could record as it can be seen in the phrase gives me you. Secondly, if he applies positive face, he the pen. Using mitigating devices such as can say „How about letting me use your book?’ „please‟ in the phrase please give me the pen In this case, the speaker wants be approved by can soften the command. It should also be using the word letting to the hearer. added that in an emergency situation, for The utterances or actions to lessen the instance, a command such as don’t touch the threat of another‟s face are called face saving bottle has no politeness function. act, while the threat is given to another individual‟s self-image is called face b. Positive Politeness

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Positive politeness strategies are used to 16. Disagreement (criticism), giving reduce the threat to the hearer‟s positive face suggestion/advice, requesting, (Brown Levinson, 1987). Fifteen strategies warning; threatening, can be used to indicate positive politeness as is 17. Using imperative form. expressed by the theory of Brown and c. Negative Politeness Levinson (1987). These strategies include the Negative politeness strategies refer to the following ones: avoidance of imposition on the hearer and can 1. Noticing and attending to the hearer, be considered as is the desire to remain 2. Exaggerating by giving different autonomous using distancing styles like using intonation, tone and other prosodic modal verbs or hesitation, apologizing for features or exaggerating by using imposition, asking questions or asking for intensifying modifiers permission to ask a question. Koike (1992) 3. Intensifying interest to hearer defined negative politeness as “consideration 4. Using in-group identity markers, of the listener‟s wished to be unimpeded in 5. Seeking agreement by the addressee‟s taking action and having attention.” statements through using specific Based on the theory of politeness by statements or repetition, Brown and Levinson (1987), ten strategies can 6. Avoiding disagreement by using false be used to show negative politeness including agreement, by expressing pseudo- the following ones: agreement, by using hedge or by 1. Being indirect, making white lies, 2. Using questions and hedges, 7. Showing common ground, 3. Being pessimistic (i.e. being 8. Joking, pessimistic whether the hearer wants 9. Showing the speaker‟s concern for the to do what we ask or not), hearer‟s wants, 4. Minimizing the imposition, 10. Offering and promising, 5. Giving deference and being deferent to 11. Being optimistic, the hearer, 12. Including both the speaker and the 6. Apologizing, hearer in the activity, 7. Impersonalizing speaker and hearer by 13. Telling or asking the reason, making your addressee unmentioned 14. Assuming reciprocity, 8. Generalizing expression rather than 15. Giving gift to the hearer in the form of mentioning addressee directly, sympathy, understanding and 9. Nominalizing, cooperation in the conversation, 10. Going on record as incurring a debt, or as not indebting the hearer

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d. Off-record (indirect) title character and his various friends in the Off-record strategy was explained by fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The Brown and Levinson (1987) as the use of series' popularity has made it a media indirect language to remove the speaker from franchise, as well as the highest rated series to the potential to be imposing. There are fifteen ever air on , and the most strategies indicating off-record politeness as is distributed property of MTV Networks. expressed in Brown and Levinson‟s theory The series revolves around its title (1987). These strategies are the following: character and his various friends. SpongeBob 1. Giving hints, SquarePants is an energetic and optimistic sea 2. Giving association clues, sponge (although his appearance more closely 3. Presupposing resembles a kitchen sponge) who lives in a sea 4. Understating or saying less than is pineapple and loves his job as a fry cook at the required, . 5. Overstating or giving information The study will analyze the SpongeBob more than what is needed, movie with the title SpongeBob Movie Sponge 6. Using tautologies (uttering patent and Out of Water Food Fight. The synopsis of the necessary truth), film tells that SpongeBob is a cook. He makes 7. Using contradictions, Krabby Patties and uses a top-secret recipe. 8. Being ironic, Mr. Krabs locks the recipe in a 9. Using metaphor, safe. Plankton is planning to steal the recipe. 10. Using rhetorical questions that do not Plankton files over the Krusty Krab. He drops require any answer, a giant jar of tartar sauce. It's a food fight. 11. Being ambiguous, SpongeBob and Patrick must defend the 12. Being vague, Krusty Krab! SpongeBob tells Patrick to load 13. Overgeneralizing and not naming the the raw potatoes. The potatoes hit Plankton's hearer or addressing him directly, plane. The plane slices them into french fries! 14. Displacing, Fries rain down and the crowd cheers. 15. Being incomplete by using ellipsis. SpongeBob and Patrick do a happy dance. But SpongeBob Square Pants movie is a the fight is not over. Plankton has a tank. cartoon film which becomes popular in Plankton launches pickles. A pickle blows the Nickelodeon. This cartoon has been watched in roof of the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob and 1999. SpongeBob Square Pants is an Patrick fire ketchup, mustard, and mayo at the American animated television series created by tank. The tank explodes. Plankton will not give marine biologist and Stephen up. He is wearing a giant robot suit. Plankton Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. The series breaks a wall in the Krusty Krab. Plankton chronicles the adventures and endeavors of the reaches for the secret recipe! SpongeBob gasps

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and Mr. Krabs groans. The robot stops! The one table. The table is made to classify robot is out of gas and cannot reach the recipe. the utterances into types of politeness strategies and politeness principles, 3. Method 2. Interpreting This research used qualitative method. When the classification is finished, the Primary data in qualitative research have form researcher starts to analyze the data. The as words and acts. Moreover of that is an researcher analyze by interpreting each addition data such as document and the others datum to answer the research questions. (Moleong, 2009). The data was taken from 3. Reporting Video movie in Spongebob Movie Sponge Out In reporting data, the researcher will of Water Food Fight. present the data in the discussion. She The data collected through a movie in will take some examples from the Spongebob Movie Sponge Out of Water Food findings and elaborated further Fight. The data will be analyzed and classified explanation of the interpretation. into the category of each types of politeness strategy based on Brown and Levinson‟s 4. Result theory. The data classified into four categories. In this research, the researcher applies her According to Arikunto (2006:231) own perspective and basic knowledge about documentation method is a method used to the politeness strategies employed by the collect data based on transcript, book, characters of bob movie part 5 when newspaper, magazine, epigraphy, meeting having conversation with other characters. notes, and agenda. So, when the researcher This research attempts to describe those collects the data though analysis books, strategies and in the finding section, and shows magazines or document is called the results of data analysis. Then the frequency documentation method. of occurrence of those strategies is described According to Moleong (2001), data as follows. analysis is a process of organizing and classifying data into a certain pattern, Table 1. Politeness Strategy Politeness Frequency Percentage category, and basic unit of analysis so that Strategy the theme can be found. The data analyzed Bold 14 33,3% Positive 12 28,6% using some steps as follows: Politeness 1. Classifying Negative 7 16,7% The researcher will seek relevant data, Politeness Off-Record 8 19% which will be taken from the character‟s Total 42 utterances, and categorized them by using

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The table presents the occurrences of prepares the order. Mr Crab uses an imperative politeness strategies in Spongebob movie in form to directly ask to Sponge Bob without the first session in 6th until 12th minutes from attempting to minimize the treat. 1hour 18minutes. There are 42 occurrences of Positive politeness is also usually seen in politeness in the conversation among the main the groups of people in which they, in social characters, Spongebob, Patrick, Plankton, Mr. situation, know each other fairly well. It tends Crab and Sandy. Among the four strategies, to show solidarity between the speaker and the positive strategy has the most occurrences. It hearer. Spongebob and Petrik is a close friend, shows the main character prefer employing so Spongebob prefer to apply positive Bald-on-record strategy to other strategies in politeness when having communication. The the utterances although in their conversation, preference in applying this strategy is closely the expression is not positive for example they related to the relationship among them. Here are shouted, so it means they used Negative are some excerpts of the movie script which FTA. As it is seen, Bald-on-record is applied content positive politeness strategy. in as many as 14 times (33.3%) by the main Patrick : Good morning, SpongeBob! characters. At is followed by positive SpongeBob : Morning, Patrick! You here politeness strategy which is applied as many for your pre-lunch Krabby 12 (28.6%) times and off-record strategy is Patty? applied as many as 9 times out of 42 (19%). Patrick : I'm getting two today. One On the other hand, Negative politeness strategy for me and one for my friend. is the least strategy applied by the main SpongeBob : Oh. Have I met this friend? characters, It occurs 7 times out of 42 (16.7%). (Patrick used both hands to The primary reason for its usage is that squish his belly to look like whenever a speaker wants to do FTA with a big mouth. He moved his maximum efficiency more than he wants to hands to make the "mouth" satisfy the hearer's face, even to any degree, he talk) will chose bald on record strategy (Brown and Patrick : "You know me, SpongeBob." Levinson, 1978:95). In the conversation in this (The two pals laughed) film, there are some utterance for Bald-on the SpongeBob : Enjoy, Patrick's tummy. record, this is one of the example: The situation happened when Spongebob Plankton : take Extra ketchup! Extra meets his friend and gets a conversation and mustard! Hold the mayo! makes the conversation friendlier. Positive SpongeBob : Yes, sir! Politeness is used for make a situation better, The situation happens in the crabby patty shop, to show solidarity between speaker and hearer, when there is a consumer who will buy besides the greeting, joking is one of the way something. Mr. Crab asked SpongeBob to create positive strategy between speaker and

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hearer. There is an example of joking in this (SpongeBob burst into the film, when Petrik is asked about the pre-lunch office and slammed the door Krabby Patty, he said that One for me and one shut behind him) for my friend (using both hands to squish his SpongeBob : Mr. Krabs, Plankton's here belly). This shows that Petrik tries to make a and he's got a giant robot! joke with his friend, and it is positive strategy Krabs : Quick, boy, bar the door! in the conversation. This situation happened when SpongeBob see Negative politeness focuses on the plankton come to the Krabby Patty Shop, minimizing the imposition to the hearer. he run to the Mr. Crabs office to give Someone may use several ways in applying information but SpongeBob is still shocked so negative politeness to the other, such as being SpongeBob only say Robot! Robot!. Actually it pessimistic and apologizing. is still ambiguous whether robot is coming or Sandy : I'll have two Krabby Patties- who he is. After he slammed the door, he can extra ketchup, extra mustard, say that Plankton is coming to get the secret and hold the mayo. formulation. SpongeBob : I am sorry, Wrong channel! (He cranked a field radio 5. Conclusion again) There are four types of politeness SpongeBob recognizes that Sandy try to ask strategies employed by the characters in her let to give her needs. But the SpongeBob SpongeBob Movie when having conversation. felt that it is not his task to make an order, so They are bald-on record, Positive politeness, he ask an apology of her imposition. He is negative politeness and off-record strategy. sorry to refuse the order and forward to Mr. Among the four strategies, Bald on record Crab. strategy is the most frequent strategy (14 out of Off-record strategy was explained by 42 total data). It is followed by positive Brown and Levinson (1987) as the use of politeness strategy (12 out of 42), Off-Record indirect language to remove the speaker from strategy (8 out of 42) and Negative politeness the potential to be imposing. Off-record (7 out of 42). This film prefers to apply bald- strategy employs indirect uses of language on record in conveying their utterances to the which has more than one interpretation. It other, especially Mr. Crabs toward SpongeBob signifies that when the speaker tends to use and Patrick as a employee in his office. this type of strategy, he/she can do it indirectly Besides, because there is a good relationship and leaves up his/her utterance to how the between SpongeBob and Patrick, SpongeBob hearer decided to interpret it. and Mr. Krab, so the conversation used SpongeBob : Robot! Robot! positive politeness.

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6. References

Arikunto, Suharsimi. (2010). Prosedur Penelitian Suatu Pendekatan Praktik, Jakarta: Rineka Cipta Hasmi, M. (2013). A Pragmatic Analysis of Politeness Strategies Reflected in Nanny Mcphee Movie. Unpublished Thesis. Yogyakarta: Study Program of English Language and Literature, English Education Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Yogyakarta State University. Kumar, Ranjit. (2011). Research Methodology a step-by-step guide for beginners: 3rd edition. Sage: London. Moleong, L.J. (2001). Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosda Karya. Noviani, Qoldina. (2006). A Pragmatic Analysis of Politeness Principle in Uptown Girls. Jogjakarta. Universitas Negeri Jogjakarta. Sadeghoghli, Hossein and Masoumeh Niroomand. (2016). International Journal of Educational Investigations Vol.3, No.2: 26-39. Theories on Politeness by Focusing on Brown and Levinson's Politeness Theory. Iran Seyyed, M. Reza Ade‟, M Davoudi, Arham. (2006). Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research 4(1), (Jan., 2016) A qualitative study of politeness strategies used by Iranian EFL learners in a class blog. Hakim Sabzevari University, Iran. www.urmia.ac.ir/ijltr Watts, R.J. (2003). Politeness. New York: Cambridge University Press. Winerta, Violin. (2012). An Analysis of Politeness Strategies in Requesting Used in Real Human and Non-Human Conversation on “Avatar Movie”. Padang: Padang State University.

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