A study of politeness strategies in request by the characters in the novel "Harry potter and the chamber of secrets"

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

----------  ----------

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

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

THAI NGUYEN-2021

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

----------  ----------

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

(APPLICATION ORIENTATION)

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

Supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh

THAI NGUYEN-2021

ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN

TRƯỜNG NGOẠI NGỮ

----------  ----------

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”

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

i

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

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study cannot be completed without the help of many people. Therefore,

I would like to show my great thanks to those who have given guidance, support,

and encouragement to me during the whole period of this thesis.

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratefulness to my supervisor,

Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh for her valuable assistance, sincere advice and great

encouragement that she provided to me during the time this research conducted.

Besides, I would like to express my gratitude to all my lecturers and staff at School

of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University. Thanks to their support and

consideration, I can pursue and finish the course.

Furthermore, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all classmates

in class K3A for their support and encouragement.

Last but not least, I owe a big thank to my parents and close friends who

have always encouraged me to complete this study and taken care of me all the

time.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ........................................................................................................ i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................... iii

ABBREVIATION.......................................................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES......................................................................... vi

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................. vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................1

1.1. Rationale...........................................................................................................1

1.2. Aims of the study..............................................................................................3

1.3. Objectives of the study .....................................................................................3

1.4. Research questions ...........................................................................................3

1.5. Scope of the study ............................................................................................3

1.6. Significance of the study ..................................................................................3

1.7. Methods of the study ........................................................................................4

1.8. Design of the study...........................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................5

2.1. The speech act theory .......................................................................................5

2.2. The speech act of requests................................................................................7

2.2.1. Definitions of requests...............................................................................7

2.2.2. A request sequence ....................................................................................8

2.2.1.1. The head act ........................................................................................8

2.2.1.2. The alerter ...........................................................................................8

2.2.1.3. Supportive moves................................................................................8

2.2.3. Types of requests.......................................................................................9

2.2.3.1. Direct Requests...................................................................................9

2.2.3.2. Indirect Requests.................................................................................9

2.2.4. Request strategies ....................................................................................11

2.2.4.1. Direct requests...................................................................................11

2.2.4.2. Conventionally indirect requests.......................................................12

2.2.4.3. Unconventionally indirect requests...................................................12

2.2.5. Modification in performing a request......................................................13

2.2.5.1. Internal modification.........................................................................13

2.2.5.2. External modification........................................................................15

iv

2.3. Politeness........................................................................................................16

2.3.1. Politeness theory......................................................................................16

2.3.2. Politeness and indirectness......................................................................20

2.3.3. Politeness and indirectness in performing requests.................................21

2.4. Previous studies on politeness strategies in requests .....................................22

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................24

3.1. Research Design .............................................................................................24

3.2. Analytical framework.....................................................................................24

3.3. Data source: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” ..............................26

3.4. Data collection procedure..................................................................................27

3.5. Data analysis procedure..................................................................................27

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS ...........................................................................28

4. 1. The utilization of request strategies by the characters in “HPCS”................29

4.1.1. Differences in frequency of request strategies used in “HPCS” .............29

4.1.2. Analysing politeness strategies in requests used in “HPCS” ..................30

4.2. The utilization of modifications by the characters in “HPCS” ..........................33

4.2.1. The use of internal modifications............................................................33

4.2.2. The use of external modifications or supportive moves..........................36

4.3. Discussions on request strategies in “HPCS” from S-H relationships...............37

4.3.1. On the choice of strategies.........................................................................37

4.3.2. On the use of internal and external modifications........................................42

4.3.2.1. The use of internal modifications .........................................................42

4.3.2.2. The use of external modifications or supportive moves.......................44

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION..................................................................................47

5.1. Major findings and concluding remarks.........................................................47

5.2. Implications....................................................................................................48

5.3. Suggestions for further research.....................................................................49

REFERENCES..........................................................................................................50

APPENDICES...........................................................................................................54