NGUYEN THI THUY LINH A STUDY OF POLITENESS S

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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NGUYEN THI THUY LINH

A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN REQUEST BY

THE CHARACTERS IN THE NOVEL

“HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS”

M.A THESIS SUMMARY

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

THAI NGUYEN - 2021

ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN

TRƯỜNG NGOẠI NGỮ

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NGUYỄN THỊ THÙY LINH

NGHIÊN CỨU CHIẾN LƯỢC LỊCH SỰ TRONG LỜI THỈNH

CẦU CỦA CÁC NHÂN VẬT TRONG PHẦN TRUYỆN

“HARRY POTTER VÀ PHÒNG CHỨA BÍ MẬT”

TÓM TẮT LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ

(Định hướng ứng dụng)

Ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh

Mã số: 8220201

Cán bộ hướng dẫn: TS. Nguyễn Thu Hạnh

THÁI NGUYÊN - 2021

1

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that my thesis entitled A study of Politeness

strategies in requests by the characters in the novel “Harry

Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is the result of my own work

and the substance of this research has not been submitted for a degree

to any other universities or institutions.

Thai Nguyen, June 2021

Approved by Supervisor

Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh

Student

Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh

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ABSTRACT

The study was done to find out how politeness strategies in

requests are employed by the characters in the novel “Harry Potter

and the Chamber of Secrets” by J. K. Rowling. All the requests

carrying the illocutionary force of getting somebody to do an act

were collected for analysis. The coding system was based on Blum-

Kulka et al. (1989)’s coding manual. The results indicate that the

characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” primarily

chose the Direct Strategies to form their requests, in which the Mood

Derivable was the most well-liked strategy. In terms of Internal

Modifications, the speakers in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of

Secrets” used a wide range of mitigating devices to reduce the

requestive force, mostly the Modal form, Interrogative form and

Repetition of request. With respect to External Modifications, the

speakers overwhelmingly opted for Grounders to give reasons for

their requests. The findings also showed that the relationships

between the characters had an impact on the choice of request

strategies and mitigating devices used in the novel.

Keywords: Politeness strategies, Request, Modification, Speech Act

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Rationale of the research

Acquiring a second language demands more than learning

new words and another system of grammar. In fact, one of the major

goals of learning a language is to be able to carry out effective

communication, so it is necessary for language learners to have

communicative competence.

In recent years, there have been remarkable changes in the

course of teaching and learning English in Vietnam, especially when

the communicative approach became a hot topic among people in the

fields of language education. As a result, the English curriculum has

been geared more toward communication and communicative

competence is also paid more intention. However, the development

of linguistic competence still plays a remarkable role in teaching and

learning English. Consequently, Vietnamese learners are likely to

have difficulty communicating with English native speakers and

leaners of English as well.

Although previous studies have investigated requests in

numerous aspects, the use of politeness in request has been seldom

examined. Therefore, the researcher chooses the minor thesis, namely

“A study of Politeness strategies in requests by the characters in the

novel “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J. K. Rowling

with the hope of supporting the aforementioned studies and filling the

gap in the area.

1.2. Aims of the research

First of all, the research aims at studying the performance of

politeness strategies in the requests by the characters in the novel

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". In addition, modification

devices in requests employed by the characters in the novel will be

explored.

1.3. Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are:

- To discover the choices of politeness strategies in requests

employed by the characters in the novel “Harry Potter and the

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Chamber of Secrets”

- To discover the choices of modification devices in requests

employed by the characters in the novel “Harry Potter and the

Chamber of Secrets”

1.4. Research questions

The following two main research questions will be

addressed:

- What polite request strategies are employed by the

characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”?

- What modification devices in requests are employed by the

characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”?

1.5. Scope of the research

The study focuses entirely on the verbal aspect

communication. Other important factors such as non-verbal aspects

(facial expressions, eye contact, etc.), paralinguistic factors

(intonation, pause, speed of speech, etc.) are not taken into

consideration in this study. Theories of speech acts and politeness are

applied. Moreover, the study uses the theoretical framework which is

based on Blum-Kulka et al. (1989). All the requests made by the

characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” are the data

source.

1.6. Significance of the research

This study is carried out in order to contribute to a better

understanding of speech acts, especially the speech act of requests in

English. Moreover, speakers from different cultures have different

perceptions and norms of the cultures in communication, which can lead

to miscommunication, confusion and cultural conflicts, so the findings

of the study can help to raise Vietnamese learners and teachers’

awareness of the use of request strategies in English. Consequently,

Vietnamese learners could know how to adopt politeness strategies in

requests which is considered one of the most face threatening. Aside

from that, the results of the research could be useful for those who are

interested in politeness strategies in requests.

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1.7. Method of the research

The method used in this research is mainly the quantitative

method that emphasizes more on the collection and analysis of

numerical data and statistic. The study makes use of utterances in

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” as the major data source,

so counting and measuring are commonly used. The results of the

studies are generally presented in tables and charts or figures.

1.8. Design of the study

The thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1 Introduction mentions the rationale of the study,

aims of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, scope

of the study, significance of the study, methods of the study,

overview of the novel and design of the study.

Chapter 2 Literature review reviews the literature on

speech acts, the speech act of request and politeness theory.

Chapter 3 Methodology outlines the data collection, data

analysis, and analytical framework.

Chapter 4 Data analysis gives an overview on “Harry Potter

and the Chamber of Secrets”, an investigation of polite request

strategies which provides a collection of examples and detailed to

uncover how the characters in the book manage their requests

politely on their choice of modifications.

Chapter 5 Conclusion presents the conclusion of the study,

implication, and suggestions for further research.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. The speech act theory

The theory of speech acts has been studied for ages by numerous

researchers such as Austin (1962), Grice (1957, 1975), Hymes

(1964), Searle (1969, 1975, 1976, 1979), Levinson (1983), Brown

and Yule (1983), Yule (1996), etc.

Austin’s book How to Do Things with Words (1962)

condenses the basic idea of the speech act theory: saying something

means doing, or is part of doing, something, i.e. words are (part of)

deeds - hence the term speech act. In addition, Austin distinguishes a

speech act into three levels

Cohen (1996) agrees on Austin’s (1962) theory of speech

acts: In attempting to express themselves, people do not only produce

utterances containing grammatical structures and words, they

perform actions via those utterances

The classification of speech acts is developed by Searle

(1976), who presents typology of speech acts which are divided

based on the following four dimensions: illocutionary point (force),

direction of fit between words and world, expressed psychological

state and propositional content (Searle, 1979:12-20)

In speech act theory, a distinction between direct and

indirect speech acts is also made. Huang (2007) states that an

utterance is seen as a speech act whenever there is a direct

relationship between a structure and a function

2.2. The speech act of requests

2.2.1. Definitions of requests

Requests are one of the most important speech acts because

they occur very frequently in everyday situations. Hence, out of the

speech acts, the speech act of request has continuously drawn much

attention in the study of pragmatics.

A request is defined as a directive speech act which counts as

an attempt to get H (the hearer) to do an act which S (the speaker)

wants H to do, and which S believes that H is able to do; and which it

is not obvious that H will do in the normal course of events or of H’s

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own accord (Blum-Kulka et al., 1984, 1989).

Request, according to Trosborg (1995) and Jalilifar (2009), is

a speech act expressed in order to enable the respondent to react in a

way that benefits the individual making the request. Therefore, this

speech act has been considered one of the most threatening speech

acts in communication since it fundamentally threatens the face of

the hearer (Brown & Levinson, 1987), and that they involve a variety

of interlocutors (ranging from equal status individuals, e.g. friends or

colleagues to higher status individuals, e.g. professor or manager),

requests call for redressive action and require mitigation to

compensate for this impositive effect on the hearer (Fukushima,

1996).

2.2.2. A request sequence

2.2.1.1. The head act

The head act is the core part of a request sequence which

realizes a request independently of other elements (Blum-Kulka et

al., 1989).

2.2.1.2. The alerter

The alerter is an opening element preceding the actual

request, used primarily to draw the hearer’s attention

2.2.1.3. Supportive moves

Supportive moves are modifications preceding or following

the head act and serving the purpose of modifying the intensity of

requests.

2.2.3. Types of requests

2.2.3.1. Direct Requests

Direct request is often perceived as being aggressive and

demanding and it is often preceded by the use of personal pronouns

such as “I..” or “You …” followed by verbs that express the speaker’s

wish or desire such as “like”, “want”, and other verbs of action like

“give”, “take” and “make.” For example, “I want my pen back.”

2.2.3.2. Indirect Requests

The person is making a request to others in implicit way. A

person who makes a request indirectly is perceived more highly than

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one who makes a direct request. Indirectness displays respect,

courtesy and good breeding, for example, “This place is quite hot.”

According to Blum-Kulka et al. (1989), Fukushima (1996) and

Trosborg, 1995, there are two sub- types of requests based on the

direction levels. They are Unconventionally Indirect Requests and

Conventionally Indirect Requests.

2.2.4. Request strategies

Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) lists nine sub-levels of request

strategy types.

2.2.4.1. Direct requests

The direct strategy refers to utterances in which the

illocutionary act is explicitly stated. There are five sub-strategies,

ordered on a scale of directness from the most direct to the most

indirect: (1) mood derivable, (2) explicit performative, (3) hedge

performative, (4) obligation statement, and (5) want statement

strategies.

2.2.4.2. Conventionally indirect requests

A conventionally indirect strategy refers to utterances in

which the illocutionary act is indirectly stated. There are three sub-

strategies: (1) suggestory formulae, and (2) query preparatory sub-

strategies.

2.2.4.3. Unconventionally indirect requests

An unconventionally indirect strategy features an utterance in

which the illocutionary act is implicit. There are three sub-strategies:

(1) strong hints and (2) mild hints

2.2.5. Modification in performing a request

2.2.5.1. Internal modification

Internal modifications refer to the linguistic elements which

occur within the same head act. In the CCSARP coding manual

(Blum-Kulka et al., 1989), internal modifications are subcategorized

as downgraders and upgraders. Furthermore, downgraders fall into

two classes: syntactic and lexical/phrasal downgraders.

- Syntactic downgraders: The classification of syntactic downgraders

as follows:

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+ Interrogative Form: an actual request but its impact is

decreased: Will you help me?

+ Modal Form: Some modal verbs can be used to reduce the

speaker’s authority on the hearer: Could you help?

+ Negation Preparatory: negation can be a mitigation device

which is used to provide the hearer with more optionality: You

couldn’t give me lift, could you?

+ Subjunctive: Might be better if you were to leave now.

+ Aspect: I was wondering if I could audit the class.

+ Past tense: using the past form of a verb instead of the

present one without changing the meaning of the utterance: I wanted

to ask you to present your paper a week earlier.

+ Conditional clause: the speakers to make themselves less

involved in the request by using conditional clauses: I wanted to

know if…

- Lexical/Phrasal downgraders: Apart from syntactic downgraders,

lexical downgraders which are words and expressions are also

employed by speakers to decrease the illocutionary force of a request.

Their classification according to Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) as follows:

+ Politeness marker: lexical items like ‘please’, ‘kindly’,

etc. which can be added to a request to bid for cooperative behavior:

Could you close the window, please?

+ Hedges: devices like “somehow”, “kind of”, “sort of”,

“more or less” used to show hesitancy, possibility and avoid a

precise specification: It would really help if you did something about

the kitchen.

+ Downtoners: adverbials or modal particles such as

‘possibly’, ‘perhaps’, etc., which are used by a speaker in order to

modulate the impact of his or her request on the hearer: Will you be

able to perhaps drive me?

+ Understaters: elements such as ‘a bit’, ‘a little’, ‘sort of’,

‘kind’ which can be used by the speaker to minimize parts of the

imposition: Could you tidy up a bit before I start?

+ Subjectivizers: elements such as ‘I wonder’, ‘I suppose’

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in which the speaker expresses his or her subjective opinion directly

related to the state of affair, thus lower the force of the request: I

wonder if you would give me a lift.

+ Cajolers: devices such as ‘You know’, ‘you see’ which

are employed to make things clearer to the hearer and invite him or

her to figuratively participate in the speech act: You know, I’d like

you to present your paper next week.

+ Appealers: devices such as ‘is that alright?’. ‘ok/right?’,

‘will you’ used by the speaker to appeal to the hearer’s benevolent

understanding: Clean up the kitchen, dear, will you?

- Upgraders: are words and expressions are also employed by

speakers to increase the illocutionary force of a request. Typical

upgraders consist of :

+ Intensifiers: The speaker over-represents the reality: The

kitchen in a terrible mess.

+ Expletives: The speaker directly expresses negative

emotions: Why don’t you clean that bloody mess up?

+ Repetition of request: Get lost! Leave me alone!

+ Time Intensifiers: You’d better move your car right now/

immediately!

2.2.5.2. External modification

External modifications or supportive moves are composed of

elements that are external the Head act and can either precede or

follow it. Some categories are offered by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989)

are as follows:

- Preparator: short utterance that the speaker uses to prepare the

hearer for the request: “I’d like to ask you something…” “May I ask

you something?”

- Getting precommitment: the speaker checks on a possible rejection

before performing the request by trying to get the hearer to commit:

“Could you do me a favor?”

- Grounder: a clause allows the speaker to gives reasons, explanations

and justifications for the request: “Could I borrow your notes? I

missed class yesterday”

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- Disarmer: a phrase with which the speaker attempts to remove any

potential objection the hearer might raise: “I know you don’t like

giving extensions, but…” “I realize this is an unusual favor I am

asking…”

- Promise of reward: the speaker offers a reward to enhance the

hearer’s enforcement: “Could you give me a lift? I’ll pitch in for

gas”.

- Imposition minimizer: the speaker tries to reduce the imposition on

the hearer by the request offered: “Would you mind reading my

paper, but only if you have the time, of course.”

2.3. Politeness

2.3.1. Politeness theory

According to Yule (1996:60), “Politeness, is in an

interaction, can be defined as the means employed to show awareness

of another person’s face.”

Watts (2003: 97,119) argues that the assessment by the

addressee of the behavior of the speaker, rather than the behavior or

intention of the speaker, is what determines whether or not politeness

arises. Politeness is recently considered “as a sociocultural

phenomenon, roughly to be defined as showing, consideration of

others” (Wang, 2014: 271).

Many researchers have been interested in the field of

politeness with various points of view and from different aspects.

The most influential theories of politeness are those of Lakoff (1975),

Leech (1983), Brown and Levinson (1987), Barron. (2003).

Lakoff (1975) sees politeness as a structure of interpersonal

relationships aimed at reducing potential conflict and possible

confrontation in human interactions. The purpose of this system is to

promote human interaction and it consists of three rules.

(1) Don’t impose (Distance).

(2) Give option (Difference).

(3) Make audience feel good (Camaraderie).

Leech (2005) introduces politeness by anlyzing illocutionary acts and

forces.

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Brown and Levinson (1987) develop another theory of politeness

which is also regarded as the most influential work in politeness

theory by many researchers such as Eelen (2001), Leech (2005),

LoCastro (2012).

Levinson (1987) propose five politeness strategies that

interlocutors can use to avoid or minimize face threatening acts

2.3.2. Politeness and indirectness

There are many studies on the correlation between politeness

and indirectness such as Ariel (2010), Bach (2004), Wang (2014),

Watts (2003).

According to Ariel (2010), indirectness can be seen as the

cases in which one illocutionary act is performed indirectly via the

performance of another.

Bach (2004) assumes a relationship between indirectness and

politeness.

Wang (2014), in accordance with Leech’s perspective,

affirms that there are significant parallels between the notions of

politeness and indirectness.

Unlike the aforementioned researchers, Watts (2003) views

the relationship between politeness and indirectness differently. She

argues that indirectness does not always imply politeness and too

much indirectness may be viewed as lack of clarity which is a marker

of impoliteness.

2.3.3. Politeness and indirectness in performing requests

As discussed, higher levels of indirectness may lead to higher

levels of politeness.

Leech (1983) states that direct requests seem to be inherently

impolite and face-threatening because they intervene in the territory of

the addressee, and they also argue that the preference for polite behavior

is indirectness. Furthermore, Ashoorpour and Azari (2014) propose that

the degree of politeness can be increased by using more indirect

illlocutions. The connection between indirectness and politeness in

requests is further supported by Searle’s observation that “politeness is

the most prominent motivation for indirectness in requests, and certain

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forms tend to become the conventionally polite ways of making indirect

requests” (Searle, 1975:76).

There are different strategies when it comes to the realization of

the request and the level of directness that will play a part in how

politely the request is rendered. The Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act

Realization Patterns (CCSARP) on requests and apologies by Blum-

Kulka et al. (1989) specified three levels of directness which could be

considered universal: explicit level, the most direct form of request,

which includes imperatives; conventionally indirect level, which

includes contextualized predictions that include could and would in the

request form; and nonconventional indirect level in which the request

will be made more as a hint.

2.4. Previous studies on politeness strategies in requests

By far, there have been a lot of studies conducted in various

aspects of the request speech act.

A study by Abdul Majeed A. Umar (2004) involved 20

advanced Arab learners of English.

Another study carried out by Hilbig (2009) investigates the

request strategies in Lithuanian and British English based on the

principles from Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) CCSARP.

Until now, speech acts in general and requests in particular

have been under-represented in pragmatics literature in Vietnam. Vu

Thi Thanh Huong (1997, 1999) conducted a research on requests and

politeness in Vietnamese.

Another study to be mentioned was carried out by Dau

(2007), focusing on the relationship between politeness and

indirectness used in the speech acts of making requests in English

and Vietnamese.

Luong Thanh Hong (2012) did research on the politeness

strategies in request in the movie series “Harry Potter” for her minor

M.A. thesis at University of Languages and International Studies,

Vietnam National University.

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1. Research Design

This research used qualitative research because the data was

not analyzed by statistical procedures. Qualitative researcher as a

human instrument to determine research focus, choosing informant as

data sources, doing the collecting data, evaluating the availability of

data, interpreting and making conclusion. This research could be

taken to the research that was based on descriptive data that did not

make (regular) statistical procedures.

3.2. Analytical framework

The following table will illustrate the types and strategies of

requests.

Request

types

Request strategies

(presented at levels of decreasing directness)

Situation: Speaker requests to Hearer to clean the kitchen

Direct

requests

Str. 1: Mood derivable Clean up the kitchen!

Str. 2: Explicit performative I ask you to clean the kitchen.

Str. 3: Hedge performative I must ask you to clean the

kitchen

Str. 4: Obligation statement You have to clean the kitchen.

Str. 5: Want statement I would like you to clean the

kitchen.

Convention

ally indirect

requests

Str. 6: Suggestory formulae How about cleaning the

kitchen?

Str. 7: Query preparatory Could you clean up the

kitchen, please?

Unconventi

onally

indirect

requests

Str. 8: Strong hints You have left the kitchen in a

right mess.

Str. 9: Mild hints We don’t want to see dirty

dishes in the sink.

Table 2. Types and strategies of requests

Apart from strategies of request, modification can be used to

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perform a request. There will be two groups of modification: Internal

modification and external modification.

3.3. Data source: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is a fantasy novel

written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the Harry

Potter series. The book was first published in the United Kingdom on 2

July 1998. The edition which is used as the main material for this study

was released in September 2014 by the same publisher of the first one

which is Bloomslury. The book received a lot of high praise and awards

from critics, young readers, and the book industry.

3.4. Data collection procedure

The methods of data collecting techniques were as follows:

1. Reading “HPCS” as the primary source of data form;

2. Re-reading “HPCS” several times to find the relevant data;

3. Identifying the requests by the characters in “HPCS” and marking

them with the use of highlighter pens;

4. Cutting the highlighted requests out of the hard copy; and

5. Storing all the paper pieces containing requests in a clear bag.

3.5. Data analysis procedure

The analysis of the data is based on a modified classification of

request strategies originally presented by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989). The

strategies were classified under three degree of directness: 1) Direct, 2)

Conventionally Indirect, 3) Unconventionally Indirect. Besides the main

strategies known as the “head act” (Blum-Kulka & Olshtain, 1984) are

examined, requests can also be coded in terms of modifications, mainly

in two groups: Internal modification and external modifications. The

result of the research was a then presented in tables and charts.

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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS

4.1.The utilization of request strategies by the characters in

“HPCS”

4.1.1. Differences in frequency of request strategies used in

“HPCS”

The characters in the novel “HPCS” employ a variety of

polite request strategies which were categorized into three major

types. It is obvious from Table 3 that the most frequently used

request strategy types are Direct (DR) and Conventionally Indirect

(CI) ones, with the occurring rate of the former being significantly

higher than that of the latter. The results show that 379 request

utterances (80.1%) out of 473 fall into the Direct category, and 75

(15.9%) belong to the Conventionally Indirect ones. The least

common request strategies in “HPCS” are Unconventionally Indirect

(UCI) with the frequency of 4% (19 utterances).

Strategies Number of

appearance (n) Percentage (%)

Direct (DR) 379 80.1%

Conventionally indirect

(CI) 75 15.9%

Unconventionally Indirect

(UCI) 19 4%

Total 473 100%

Table 3. The differences in the figures for request strategies in

“HPCS”

4.1.2. Analysing politeness strategies in requests used in “HPCS”

Different strategies in requests are employed by the

characters in “HPCS”. All of the nine strategies based on Blum-

Kulka et al. (1989)’s coding manual were found in this novel.

Table 4 gives the values for the four most preferable request

strategies used. The data shows that the Mood derivable strategy

ranks in the first position with the frequency of 63.2%, respectively

higher than other three most frequently used strategies, namely

Obligation statement (13.1%), Suggestory formulae (9.3%) and

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Query preparatory (6.6%). These are followed by Strong hint (2.5%)

and Want statement (1.7%). The least used strategies are Mild hints,

Explicite performative, and Hedge performative with the frequency

of occurrence being well over 1%.

Categories (Cat.) Strategies (Str.) n %

Direct (DR)

Category 1

Str.1 Mood derivable 299 63.2

Str.2 Explicit performative 6 1.3

Str.3 Hedge performative 4 0.8

Str.4 Obligation statement 62 13.1

Str.5 Want statement 8 1.7

Conventionally

indirect (CI)

Category 2

Str.6 Suggestory formulae 44 9.3

Str.7 Query preparatory 31 6.6

Unconventionally

indirect (UCI)

Category 3

Str.8 Strong hints 12 2.5

Str.9 Mild hints 7 1.5

Table 4. Polite request strategies by types in “HPCS”

4.2. The utilization of modifications by the characters in “HPCS”

4.2.1. The use of internal modifications

Considering the data, it can be seen that the characters in

“HPCS” prominently use Modal form at the frequency of 30.2%,

followed by Interrogative form (14.1%), Repetition of request (11.1%),

Politeness marker (10.1%), Downtoner (9.5%), Conditional clause (5%).

Past tense, Intensifiers and Appealers are used at the frequency of

around 3%, whereas Understaters, Time intensifiers, Cajolers and

Subjectivizers share the same frequency of 2.5%. Negation preparatory

and Aspect are employed with a small amount of about 1% which is

slightly higher than Subjunctive, at 0.5%. At the bottom end, there are

not any Hedges and Expletives (0%) found.

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Figure 5. The use of internal modifications in “HPCS”

LEGEND: Mod.= Modal forrm Inter.= Interrogative

form

Repi.= Repetition of request

Pol.= Politeness Markers Dnt.=Downtoner Cond.= Conditional clause

Pst.= Past tense Inten.= Intensifiers App.= Appealers

Und.= Understaters Time.= Time intensifiers Cal.= Cajolers

Subje.= Subjectivizers Neg.= Negation

preparatory

Asp.= Aspect

Subju.= Subjunctive Hed.= Hedges Exp.= Expletives

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4.2.2. The use of external modifications or supportive moves

Figure 6. The use of external modifications in “HPCS”

LEGEND: Grd.= Grounder Prom.= Promise of reward Dis.= Disarmer

Impo.= Imposition

minimizer

Get.= Getting precommitment Prep.= Preparator

As shown in Figure 6, various External Modifications or

Supportive Moves were found in the novel with the total number of

appearances of 92. The results indicate that Grounder is the most

preferred device by the speakers with the frequency of 69.6% (n=64).

The second ranking device is Promise of reward with 17.4% (n=16). A

little amount is of Disarmers and Imposition minimizer with the

percentage of the former being 7.6% (n=7) and that of the latter being

4.3% (n=4), while only 1 Getting precommitment (1.1%) is used.

Preparator is not found in the novel. The results point out that the

speakers in “HPCS” are significantly inclined to give reasons,

justifications for their requests.

4.3. Discussions on request strategies in “HPCS” from S-H

relationships

4.3.1. On the choice of strategies

S-H relationships in “HPCS” were classified into seven groups,

namely Family Members, Friends, Colleagues, Acquaintances,

Professors-Students, Aquaintances, Enemies and Strangers. These

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relationships have a great impact on the choice of appropriate strategies

for communication.

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n % n % n % n % n % n % n %

DI 34 81 151 78.6 10 76.9 70 73.7 51 83.6 26 89.7 37 90.2

CI 3 7.1 37 19.3 2 15.4 22 23.2 6 9.8 2 6.9 3 7.3

UCI 5 11.9 4 2.1 1 7.7 3 3.2 4 6.6 1 3.4 1 2.4

Total 42 100 192 100 13 100 95 100 61 100 29 100 41 100

Table 5. The use of DR, CI and UCI strategies in “HPCS” seen

from S-H relationship

What stands out from the table is the dominance of the DR

strategies over the others. Comparing the use of direct strategies of

different groups, the highest rate (90.2%) belongs to strangers. It is

followed by enemies with the frequency of 89.7%. The use of direct

strategies by acquaintances accounts for 83.6%, while family members

and friends use a smaller amount of 81% and 78.6% respectively. In the

cases of colleagues and professors-students, the rates are 76.9% for the

former and 73.7% for the latter. With respect to CI strategies, they are by

far the most used by professors-students, at 23.2%. Colleagues and

friends employed fewer CI Strategies with the frequency of 15.4% and

19.3% respectively. The figures for acquaintances, strangers, family

members and enemies are far lower, at 9.8%, 7.3%, 7.1% and 6.9%

respectively. Regarding the UCI strategies, family members, colleagues

and acquaintances possessed the highest rate (11.9%, 7.7%, 6.6% in

succession). Professors-students and enemies come next with over 3% of

UCI strategies used. 2.4% of the total requests by strangers are opted for

UCI strategies. The figure is only 2.1% in the conversations between

friends.

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4.3.2. On the use of internal and external modifications

4.3.2.1. The use of internal modifications

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n % n % n % n % n % n % n %

SDs 11 58 36 62 8 66.7 28 49.1 15 58 5 35.7 9 50

LPDs 4 21 19 32.8 3 25 20 35.1 5 19.2 4 28.6 6 33.3

UDs 4 21 3 5.2 1 8.3 9 15.8 6 23 5 35.7 3 16.7

Total 19 100 58 100 12 100 57 100 26 100 14 100 18 100

Table 6. The use of internal modifications in “HPCS” seen from

S-H relationship

Family members prefer to employ SDs to mitigate their requests.

This type of modification makes up 58% of the total amount, more than

twice as much as the frequency of occurrence of LPDs and UDs with both

being 21%. Similarly, friends and colleagues frequently used SDs to

mitigate the force of their requests at the rate of 62% and 66.7%

respectively. The groups using the most LPDs are professors-students and

strangers, at 35.1% and 33.3% respectively, while UDs are mostly used by

enemies and strangers, at 35.7% and 16.7% respectively.

4.3.2.2. The use of external modifications or supportive moves

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n % n % n % n % n % n % n %

Pre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Get 0 0 1 2.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Gro 6 75 31 65.9 2 66.6 7 63.6 6 75 5 71.4 8 100

Dis 1 12 2 4.2 0 0 1 9 1 12.5 1 14.2 0 0

Pro 1 12 10 21.2 1 33.3 3 27.2 0 0 1 14.2 0 0

Imp 0 0 3 6.4 0 0 0 0 1 12.5 0 0 0 0

Total 8 100 47 100 3 100 11 100 8 100 7 100 8 100

Table 7. The use of supportive moves in “HPCS” seen from S-H

relationship

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As seen from Table 7, all groups of speakers choose Grounders

for their requests at the highest percentage compared to other types of

supportive moves. Conversations between strangers use the most

Grounders with 100% to give reasons or make justifications for their

requests. Acquaintances and family members come next with 75%.

Enemies rank the third in using this type (71.4%), followed by

colleagues (66.6%), friends (65.9%), and professors/students (63.6%).

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

5.1. Major findings and concluding remarks

The goal of the study is to discover the politeness strategies

in requests employed by the characters in the novel “HPCS” in the

hope of narrowing the gap in the area.

The findings reveal that the characters in “HPCS”

particularly choose the DR Strategies in making their requests. It is

also notable that Mood derivable is by far the most favorable

strategy. In terms of Internal Modifications, the speakers in “HPCS”

overwhelmingly use a wide range of mitigating devices within the

Head Act to lessen the requestive force, in which the Modal form,

Interrogative form, and Repetition of request are employed at the

highest frequency. With regards to External Modifications, the

speakers mostly make use of Grounders to give reasons for their

requests.

With reference to S-H relationship, the findings show DR

Strategies are dominant when compared to the others in the

conversations of all groups, especially between people who have

close relationship like family members and friends. CI Strategies

account for a relatively large amount in the conversations between

friends, colleagues and professors-students, while UCI Strategies are

primarily used by family members, colleagues and acquaintances. In

high power settings, the speakers are found to be more indirect. In

terms of Internal Modifications, all groups of speakers used Modal

form the most except for colleagues and strangers. Professors-

students use Downtoners for their requests more than other groups. In

the conversations between friends, Interrogative forms are highly

appreciated. With regards to External Modifications, Grounders are

the most used. The difference is that while people who have close

relationship vary their requests by using a wide range of supportive

moves, unfamiliar speakers prefer to give reasons for their requests.

It is also notable that the three social variables including power,

distance and rank of imposition influence the speakers’ choice of

strategies and mitigating devices in making their requests. However,

24

the social distance (D) was found to be the most significant, and

whenever D is high, the cost of the request is also high.

5.2. Implications

Firstly, teachers should help students to be more conscious of

cross-cultural differences in the use of politeness strategies.

Second, it is necessary for the teachers to ask the learners to

pay much attention to when, how and to whom it is appropriate to use

a linguistic form in communication.

The study also suggests that English learners should be made

aware of the rules of making a request in English.

Finally, it is advisable for teachers to provide students with

communicative activities.

5.3. Suggestions for further research

Firstly, future research is suggested to uncover the politeness

strategies in requests used in the whole series of Harry Potter.

Secondly, the same data can be further used to identify the

variations in employing request strategies in terms of gender, alerters

or other issues which have not been presented in this study.

Thirdly, the findings of this research could serve as an useful

source for studying the politeness strategies in other kinds of FTAs

employed in the Harry Potter series; for example, the speech act of

criticizing, complaining or responding to requests.

Finally, the study may serve as the background for

comparing and contrasting the use of politeness strategies in requests

in English and Vietnamese literary works.