POLITE EXPRESSIONS USED BY MEN AND WOMEN IN E-MAIL CORRESPONDENCES IN TJAMPUHAN HOTEL
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POLITE EXPRESSIONS USED BY MEN AND WOMEN IN E-MAIL CORRESPONDENCES IN TJAMPUHAN HOTEL
By:
Ni Luh Putu Ayu Tantri
ABSTRACT
Judul artikel ini adalah “Politeness Expressions Used by Men and Women in E-mail Correspondences in Tjampuhan Hotel”. Jurnal ini memaparkan mengenai kegunaan language features dan politeness maxims di dalam korespondensi surat elektronik di Tjampuhan Hotel. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan cara menganalisi data di dapat melalui Microsoft Outlook.
Sesuai dengan data yang di dapat, banyak ditemukan penggunaan super polite form. Kondisi ini ditemukan baik di korespondensi surat elektronik oleh pria maupun wanita. Polite form merupakan bagian dari language features. Penggunaan dari politeness maxims seperti sympathy maxim, generosity maxim, approbation maxim dan agreement maxim, berhasil ditemukan dalam korenpondensi surat elektronik di Tjampuhan Hotel.
Dalam pemberian informasi melalui surat elektronik tersebut, karyawan hotel di harapkan menggunakan percakapan yang formal atau di situasi lain dapat menciptakan percakapan yang bersahabat. Penggunaan kata-kata kasar atau kiasan sangat dihindari. Kesopanan merupakan prioritas utama dalam penulisan surat elektronik.
Kata Kunci: E-mail, korespondensi, kesopanan, maxims, fitur bahasa.
As we all know that language is the main way to communicate and human needs to communicate with each other. Composing words onto sentences is the major problem faced by most of the people in hotel industry in terms of communicating with their guests and is continued with the explanation of information to be delivered to the guests. Having a look onto the developments of communications, specifically, the way that are going to be used to deliver the information from one person to others will increase the use of tools of communication, by telephone conversation, facsimiles, or the latest way, e-mails. In hotel industry, the uses of e-mail correspondences increases tremendously along with the need of the guests to get very fast information on any requests that they have previously asked for. Tjampuhan Hotel, a hotel located in Ubud uses e-mail as a tool in communicating to the customers.
The problem of the present study are formulated as follows:
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a. What kinds of language features were used by men and women in e-mail correspondences in Tjampuhan Hotel?
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b. What kinds of politeness maxims were used by men and women in e-mail correspondences in Tjampuhan Hotel?
The aims of the present study are:
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a. To find out the types of language features used by men and women in e-mail correspondences in Tjampuhan Hotel.
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b. To analyze the politeness maxims used by men and women in e-mail correspondences in Tjampuhan Hotel.
The research method explains about the process and procedure of how we get the problems and seek out the answers through finding, collecting and analyzing the data.
The data of this study consist of six e-mails from the Tjampuhan Hotel. The six samples of emails consist of three e-mails involving female employees (two e-mails) and the foreign guest (one e-mail) and three e-mails involving male employee (one email) and their guests (two e-mails).
The data were collected from e-mails at the reservation department of Tjampuhan Hotel from June 2012 until August 2012. The data were collected both by printing the email correspondences from Microsoft Outlook and the e-mails were forwarded.
The collected data in this study were analyzed qualitatively based on the theory of sociolinguistics namely politeness principles proposed by Robin Lakoff and Geoffrey Leech. These two theories were focused on the language features and the politeness
expressions nthat influence the politeness. The data in this study were analyzed descriptively.
The analysis of the following data was based on the theory proposed by Robin Lakoff and Geoffry Leech.
E-mail 1
From: sumika [mailto: [email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2012 8:45 AM
To: 'Sylvia Ravetupu'
Subject: Problem at Tjampuhan Hotel; Booking Reallocation
Dear Sylvia,
Good afternoon. My name is Sumika and run Reservation fro Tjampuhan Hotel, Bali.
If I may be direct; I have some bad news. Circumstance has arisen at Tjampuhan hotel, which affects your booking. One until of three-bedroom luxury pool villa has to be shut down for major maintenance work until August. The fact that we are fully booked for the period on group accommodation, regrettably we have to reallocate your reservation to our other property in Bali, just 10 minutes away, Pita Maha Resort and Spa, www.pitamaharesorts-bali.com. Unfortunately, we have no alternative but to take this course action since no other three-bedroom of four-bedroom luxury pool villas are available he at Tjampuhan Hotel.
I have however consulted the matter with the GM. In light of the problem, we are pleased to give you a free upgrade to a four-bedroom grand luxury pool villa at Pita Maha Resort and Spa to compensate you for the inconvenience. We hope this is acceptable. Sena from Reservation will be e-mailing you the new confirmation letter soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions or thoughts on the matter, do contact me directly at this address.
I apologize profusely on the above and thank you for your understanding. I can assure you that Pita Maha Resort and Spa offers the same high standard of accommodation as Tjampuhan Hotel and all staff would do their best to make your stay an enjoyable one. Best regards, Sumika/ Reservation
Analysis
Language Features
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A. Super Polite Form
There have been three polite expressions collected. They are:
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1. I apologize profusely on the above … … (line 18)
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2. …… and thank you for your understanding. (line 18)
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3. Best regards. (line 23)
It is explained in point number 1 that the writer would like to express her sincere apology due to a sudden circumstance which occurs when an overbooked situation could not be avoided on dates that guest has preferred to stay.
Meanwhile, as stated in point number 2, the writer has accordingly expressed her thankfulness to guest that the guest understanding and the guest might be pleased to accept the reallocation offer to another villa category due to the overbooked situation. In point number 3, this sentence is also a common polite expression that in every ending e-mail, writers often put ‘best regards’, ‘regards’, or even ‘sincerely yours’ to pause e-mails after necessary information provided in body of the e-mail.
Politeness Maxims
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A. Sympathy Maxim
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1. If I may be direct; I’m afraid I have some bad news. (line 4)
The above expression explained a situation which tried to maximize sympathy between self and other, implying indirect opinion regarding unpleasant news of something in which the correspondences was started with If I may be direct.
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B. Generosity Maxim
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1. We are pleased to give you a free upgrade to a four-bedroom grand luxury pool villa at Pita Maha Resort and Spa to compensate you for the inconvenience (line 13)
On sentence number 1, focuses on the employee, and says that guest should have a better villa to stay such as a free upgrade to a four-bedroom grand luxury pool villa at Pita Maha Resort because of the inconvenience.
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C. Approbation Maxim
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1. I apologize profusely on the above and thank you for your understanding.
(line 18)
This sentence expressed to minimize dispraise of other and to maximize praise of other and to recognize the addressee’s experience.
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D. Agreement Maxim
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1. We have to reallocate your reservation to our other property in Bali, just 10 minutes away, Pita Maha Resort and Spa (line 9)
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2. We have no alternative but to take this course action since no other three-bedroom of four-bedroom luxury pool villas are available he at Tjampuhan Hotel.(line 11)
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3. I can assure you that Pita Maha Resort and Spa offers the same high standard of accommodation as Tjampuhan Hotel and all staff would do their best to make your stay an enjoyable one (line 18)
The first sentence reconfirmed the first sentence given regarding the reallocation as an action that needed to be taken due to the fully booked situation that hotel was experiencing.
The second sentence created a condition which offered a final option regarding the reallocation to another hotel. The confirmation was continued by a firm argument provided as implied in the third sentence.
In e-mail written by men, while there was the adherence to the politeness principle, violation of maxim was also witnessed. Men applied explicit expression of politeness through words not as much as women.
E-mail 2
From: Jamie[mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:24 AM
To: Gungtra [mailto:[email protected]]
Subject: RE: Tjampuhan Hotel Bali, 29th August-5th September, Mr. Jamie Jason –
Holiday Certificate TJ100168
Gungtra,
I have to admit this is a bit shocking given that the gift certificate that we purchased says nothing about this.
We paid $ 5,000 US for this to benefit the wonderful work of Refugees International and now you want to change the rules and charge us for electricity, water and cleaning… this is ridiculous.
Based on your original confirmation, you paid for two air tickets today. I will speak with Refugees International and advise whether we will cancel or not tomorrow.
Very disappointed,
Jamie Jason
Analysis
Language Features
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A. Super polite Form:
E-mail 2 contains complaints addressed by Mr. Jamie Jason regarding his disappointment that hotel has suddenly revised booking conditions explained by Gungtra.
In regards to the way the guest addresses the writer’s name, without using “Dear” or “Hi” reflects a direct utterance in which it does not often explain the avoidance in keeping aloofness of the relationship between the writer and the addressee, however, it is merely due to unpleasant situation being experienced by the guest.
The use of intensive adverbs is only found in the expression:
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1. Very disappointed, (line 12)
On the expression above, linguistically speaking, the adverb very modifies an adjective disappointed as well. At this stage, a very disappointment of incorrect information obtained by Mr. Jamie Jason after he has confirmed his flight.
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C. The Use of Empty Adjectives
The use of empty adjectives is essentially to show the person’s approbation and admiration for something. In e-mail 2, indeed, numbers of adjective could be collected, however, these are not considered as empty adjectives. They are:
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1. This is a bit shocking given that the gift certificate… (line 3)
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2. This is ridiculous. (line 7)
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3. Very disappointed (line 12)
In the e-mail number 2, there were three adjectives collected which show negative responses from Mr. Jamie Jason. Due to incomplete information provided on the confirmation including the extra charges he has to pay. Therefore, it creates inconvenience which has caused him upset.
Politeness Maxims:
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A. Agreement Maxim
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1. I will speak to Refugees International and advise whether we will cancel or not tomorrow. (line 9)
In e-mail 4, there was only one maxim found and this was an agreement maxim. The e-mail sender explained that he would discuss with a company providing a complimentary voucher booking in certain time and advised whether or not the booking would be cancelled. This was an agreement between the e-mail sender and the reservation at the time the conversation took place.
In e-mail correspondences, the uses of language features were successfully collected. The features that are found in all e-mail correspondences that were analyzed were various, they were; the use of super polite form, hedges, intensive adverbs and empty adjectives. Additionally, the use of super polite forms was apparently applied in all e-mail correspondences by the staff of the Reservation Department, both women’s and men’s e-mail correspondences. The reason that the use of super polite form in both
women’s and men’s e-mail correspondences by the reservation department staff is to maintain a good and long term relationship with the guests. Politeness has become the first priority to be applied in all e-mail correspondences by the reservation staff. That is why the use of slangs, jargons and taboo words are avoided. The politeness maxims that were applied in the e-mails are due to provide the essential roles to be applied by all employees for the purpose of establishing excellent communication between the guest and the employees.
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