Face-Threatening Acts and Politeness Strategy in Letters on “Readers’ Forum” Column of The Jakarta Post

The background of this study firstly is considering how to communicate well and polite. In communication, face is an existential aspect. It pertains to the dignity of a person. There are two terms in identifying the face. The first negative face that is each person’s want to be free from imposition or distraction. The other one is positive face that is each person’s want that his or her desires be desirable for others. In communication we ought to maintain our interlocutor’s face. Utterances that disrupt the balance of face maintenance are called ‘Face-Threatening Acts’ (FTAs). There are four sorts of FTAs: (i) FTAs which threaten the hearer’s negative face and (ii) those which threaten the hearer’s positive face, (iii) FTAs which threaten the speaker’s negative face, and (iv) those which threaten the speaker’s positive face. When considering another person’s feelings, people speak or put things in such way as to lessen the potential threats in the interaction. In the other words, they use ‘politeness’ as the strategy in interaction. Politeness also has various strategy and sub strategies. As the outline there are four major types of politeness: bald on record, off record, negative politeness, and positive politeness. Hence, this study is conducted with the data in form of letters on “Readers’ Forum” column of The Jakarta Post to seek the FTAs and the politeness strategy that is used to minimize the impact of FTAs. The problem investigated in this study includes: (i) What types of Face-Threatening Acts (FTAs) do the writers use in letters on “Readers’ Forum” column of The Jakarta Post that threaten the addressee’s negative face and that threatens the addressee’s positive face? (ii) What types of politeness strategies do the writers use in letters on “Readers’ Forum” column of The Jakarta Post to lessen the impact of FTAs that belong to negative politeness and that belong to positive politeness? (iii) Is it always that negative politeness to lessen the impact of FTAs that threaten the addressee’s negative face and positive politeness to lessen the impact of FTAs that threaten the addressee’s positive face in letters on “Readers’ Forum” column of The Jakarta Post? This study uses the design of qualitative research in form of descriptive method in the kind of analysis. The analysis finally helps to find the result of FTA that can potentially threaten the addressee and two kinds of politeness used by the writers. The researcher finds that negative politeness is not always to minimize the impact of FTAs that threat the negative face of the addressee and positive politeness is not always to minimize the impact of FTAs that threat the positive face of the addressee. The types of FTAs in these letters that threaten the addressee’s negative face include suggestions and reminding while the types of FTA that threaten the addressee’s positive face include seperti criticism, complaints, ridicule, reprimand, mentions of taboo topic, and raising of potential divisive topic. The type of politeness strategies that are also sought in this study are negative and positive politeness. Negative politeness that is used just includes being conventionally indirect, being pessimistic, and giving deference. Positive politeness that is used includes intensifying interest to the addressee, seeking agreement, avoiding disagreement, raising a safe topic, giving sympathy, being optimistic, exaggerating, including both the writer and the addressee in the same activity, and asserting common ground