DOI: 10.24843/JH.2018.v22.i01.p24

ISSN: 2302-920X

Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud

Vol 22.1 Pebruari 2018: 156-160

Language Functions and Styles Used by Vendors at Legian Beach

Riris Sidabutar1*, I Gede Sadia2

12

12Program Studi Sastra Inggris Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Universitas Udayana

1[[email protected]] 2[[email protected]]

*Corresponding Author

Abstract

As social beings, we interact each other. One kind of interaction is by communicating. In communicating, we need language so that we can convey our ideas, desires, intentions and purposes to others. This is called language function. The functions of language are important in our live. According to Bruce Tillit and Mary Newton Brother, there are eleven functions of language we usually use in our daily conversation. They describe it in their book entitled: Speaking Naturally: Communication Skill in American English (1985). Besides of language functions, there is another thing which also has important role in communication that is language styles. We can know the background of a person through the style of the language he/she used. According to Martin Joos (1976,) there are five types of language styles, whereas according to Mandell and Kirzner (2003), there are four types of language styles. This study aims to analyze the language functions used by vendors at Legian beach as well as to find the style of language they use in their conversations with tourists. The results of this research indicate that eight of the eleven language functions proposed by Bruce Tillit and Mary Newton Bruder were used by vendors at the Legian beach in their conversations with tourists. The most common language functions they use are the language functions of getting information and controlling the conversation. There are four types of language styles they use in communicating with tourists. From those four styles of language, they mostly used informal style.

Keywords: Communication, Language Function, Language Style

Abstrak

Sebagai makhluk sosial, kita saling berinteraksi satu dengan yang lainnya. Salah satu bentuk interaksi adalah dengan berkomunikasi. Dalam berkomunikasi, kita memerlukan bahasa agar kita dapat menyampaikan ide, gagasan, hasrat dan maksud serta tujuan kita kepada orang lain. Hal ini disebut dengan fungsi bahasa. Fungsi bahasa merupakan hal yang penting dalam kehidupan kita.Menurut Bruce Tillit dan Mary Newton Bruder ada sebelas fungsi bahasa yang kita gunakan dalam percakapan sehari-hari. Hal ini mereka jabarkan dalam buku mereka yang berjudul: Speaking Naturally: Communication Skill in American English (1985). Selain fungsi bahasa, ada hal lain yang juga memegang peranan penting dalam komunikasi yaitu gaya bahasa. Melalui gaya bahasa yang digunakan, dapat diketahui latar belakang seseorang. Menurut Martin Joos (1976) ada lima jenis gaya bahasa, sedangkan menurut Mandell dan Kirzner (2003), ada empat jenis gaya bahasa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa fungsi bahasa yang digunakan oleh pedagang di pantai Legian serta menemukan gaya bahasa yang mereka pakai dalam percakapan mereka dengan turis. Hasil dari peneletian ini menunjukkan bahwa delapan dari sebelas fungsi bahasa yang dicetuskan oleh Bruce Tillit dan Mary Newton Bruder digunakan oleh para pedagang di pantai Legian dalam percakapan mereka dengan turis. Fungsi bahasa yang paling sering mereka gunakan adalah fungsi bahasa memperoleh informasi dan mengontrol percakapan. Sedangkan gaya bahasa yang mereka gunakan dalam berkomunikasi dengan turis ada empat jenis. Dari keempat gaya bahasa ini, yang paling sering mereka gunakan adalah gaya bahasa informal.

Kata kunci: Komunikasi, Fungsi Bahasa, Gaya Bahasa

  • 1.    Background of the Study

Language is a system of communication using sounds or symbols that enables us to express our feelings, thoughts, ideas, and experiences. It has an important role in every part of human life. Through language, people can communicate each other. Language is used in every part of our life and it has many purposes. We use language, for example, to deliver what is in our mind, to speak to others or to ask advice or opinion from people. This is called language function. Language function is the function of a language in its use and utterance.

In doing communication, people may use different expressions to convey an information depending on the situation and condition of its social context. They can speak very formally or very informally, their choice being governed.

by circumstance. This is called language style. According to Ducrot and Todorov (1993), language style is the choice among the other alternatives in using language.

There are many languages in the world and one of the most important languages is English since it is an international language. It is used in an important meeting, tourism, education, etc. In addition, for those reasons many people want to learn English with different backgrounds and, of course, different purposes. Students, workers, teachers and entertainers study English. Using English language improves their skill in communication that can develop their career.

As we know, Bali is known in all over the world because it has unique culture and many beautiful and interesting tourism destinations. Therefore, Bali becomes one of the most popular tourism destinations. People

from all over the world come to Bali to see everything interesting offered by Bali, such as the tourism destination and the culture. This fact makes many people in Bali work in tourism industry. One of them is vendor.

A vendor is anyone who provides or sells goods or services to a company or individuals. Since the vendors are the ones who speak English to the tourists directly, they are needed in this research to know more about language functions and styles they use in their daily conversations with the tourists. Therefore, they are chosen as the object of this study.

By using English, they can communicate with the tourists. They finally can convey their ideas, thoughts, and consider that they work on the beach, they able to greet the tourists, to give information, to offer the tourists drinks, food, or goods to buy. Besides business, they also get many friends from around the world.

  • 2.    Problems of the Study

There are two problems appearing in this study:

  • a)    What language functions are used by the vendors at Legian beach in communicating with tourists?

  • b)    What are the styles used by the vendors in their conversation with tourists?

  • 3.    Aims of the Study

The aims of this study are:

  • a)    To analyze the language functions used by the vendors at Legian beach in communicating with tourists.

  • b)    To find out the styles used by the vendors in their conversation with tourists.

  • 4.    Research Method

To get the structural scientific writing, a study must use methodology in producing a piece of scientific writing. Research is a process of finding something systemically which requires time, uses scientific methods and valid values. Methodology is systematically steps in doing research, used to examine certain problems in accordance to the research. In this research, the writer used descriptive-qualitative method.

Descriptive method is a research method which describes systematically a situation or area of interest factually and accurately. Meanwhile, qualitative research is used because the research is based on data in the form of words, not as numbers (Sudaryanto, 1993: 57). The research methods of this writing consist of:

  • 1.    Data Source

  • 2.    Method and Technique of Collecting Data

  • 3.    Method   and  Technique   of

Analyzing Data

  • 4.    Method   and  Technique   of

Presenting the Result of Data Analysis

  • 1.    Data Source

Data source is the subject from which the data are obtained. There are two data resource, namely primary data and secondary data. Primary data is the data obtained directly by the researcher, whereas secondary data is the data that obtained by the second part. The writer used the primary data in this study, that is,conversations between vendors and tourists at Legian beach. The research was done on December 2015 until July 2016. There were five vendors chosen as the informants and they were chosen randomly. They were selling foods, fruits

and drinks. There was one conversation taken from one vendor. The duration of every conversation was about 5 minutes.

  • 2.    Method and Technique of Collecting

Data

In this research, the writer used observation method by analyzing an object systematically. The writer observed and examined the data source based on its phenomena. The phenomena existed in this research is about the language functions and styles used by vendors at Legian beach in communicating with tourists. The data in this study were collected by recording and note taking the conversation between vendors and tourists while the vendors selling goods or offering service to the tourists.

  • 3.    Method and Technique of Analyzing Data

The method of analyzing data applied in this study was qualitative method. When the data was completed, it was classified in accordance with the functions of language proposed by Bruce Tillit and Mary Newton Bruder (1985) to analyze the first problemand theory of language styles according to Martin Joos (1976) and Mandell and Kirzsner (2003) to analyze the second problem and then it was analyzed descriptively.

  • 4.    Method and Technique of Presenting the Result of Data Analysis

Sudaryanto stated that in presenting the analysis, researcher can use formal method and informal method (1993: 144). He explained informal method is a method used by describing the data in technical words through sentences. Meanwhile, the formal method is a method used by describing the data through signs and symbols. In presenting the result of data analysis, the writer

applied the informal method since the writer described itin technical words through sentences and did not use any signs and symbols. In order to answer the first problem, the data were classified into some categories of language functions based on the theory proposed by Bruce Tillit and Mary Newton Bruder (1985) and to answer the second problem, the language styles used by the vendors were classified based on the theory proposed by Martin Joos (1976), and Mandell and Kirzsner (2003). The analysis of language functions and styles used by vendors were explained descriptively.

  • 5.    Result and Discussion

    • 5.1.    Language  Functions Used by

Vendors at Legian Beach

There are eleven functions of language proposed by Bruce Tillitand Mary Newton Bruder; they are: opening (greeting), pre-closing and closing, introduction and address system, invitation, thanking people and replying to thanks, apologizing, expressing anger and resolving conflict, giving and responding to compliment, getting people’s attention and interrupting, agreeing and disagreeing, controlling the conversation and getting information.

From those eleven functions of language, the functions used by the vendors     at     Legianbeach     in

communicating with tourists are:

  • -    opening (greeting),

  • -    pre-closing and closing,

  • -  introduction and address system,

  • -  thanking people and replying to

thanks,

  • -    apologizing,

  • -    getting people’s attention and interrupting,

  • -    agreeing and disagreeing,

  • -    controlling the conversation and

  • -    getting information.

They mostly used the functions of language controlling the conversation and getting information.

Since they work as a vendor, they must know how to control and guide the conversation. In the function of controlling the conversation, they show the tourists that they are listening and that they want the tourists to continue explaining what the tourists want. On the other hand, they also have to know everything the tourists order. Therefore, they ask the vendor the information about the food or drink that is ordered by the tourists, the amount, and etc. That is the reason why the vendors mostly used the functions of language to control the conversation and get information.

  • 5.2.    Language Styles Used by

    Vendors at Legian Beach

According to Martin Joos (1976), there are five styles of language. They are: frozen (oratorical) style, formal style, consultative style, casual style and intimate style. Meanwhile, there are four styles of language according to Mandell and Kirszner (2003), they are: formal style, colloquial style, slang style and informal style.

From those styles above, the styles of language used by the vendors at Legian beach in their conversation with tourists are: formal, consultative, colloquial andinformal.

They mostly used informal style. By using informal style, they can communicate with tourists in a relax situation.

  • 6.    Conclusion

Based on the foregoing analysis and discussion, the following points can be drawn as conclusions. In handling the tourists, there are some language functions used by the vendors, such as:

  • -    opening (greeting), pre-closing and closing,

  • -  introduction and address system,

  • -  thanking people and replying to

thanks,

  • -    apologizing,

  • -    getting people’s attention and interrupting,

  • -    agreeing and disagreeing,

  • -    controlling the conversation and

  • -    getting information.

They mostly used the function of language getting information and controlling       the       conversation.

Thelanguage styles used by vendors are:

  • -    formal,

  • -    consultative,

  • -    colloquialand

  • -    informal.

From those styles above, they mostly used colloquial and informal styles.

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