Politeness strategies in phatic utterances: A pragmatic study of film A Man Called Otto
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30872/jbssb.v9i3.23018Abstract
This study examines the politeness strategies employed in phatic utterances by the main character, Otto, and other characters in the film A Man Called Otto. The analysis draws on Aitchison’s (1996) framework of phatic communion and its forms, as well as politeness strategies proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987) and Yule (1996). The film and its dialogue script serve as the primary data sources. A qualitative descriptive method was used to identify and classify the forms of phatic utterances and their relation to politeness strategies. The findings reveal four types of phatic utterances: ritual words exchanged when people meet (15 instances), standard topics of conversation (8), supportive chat (42), and meaningless or misunderstood words (7). Supportive chat emerged as the most dominant type. Positive politeness appeared more frequently than negative politeness, off-record, or bald on record strategies, indicating the characters’ tendency to build closeness with Otto despite he is being portrayed as grumpy and reluctant to engage. The study concludes that phatic utterances and politeness strategies play a crucial role in maintaining social harmony and fostering relationships in everyday communication.
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