Sociolinguistic

                                                  SOLIDARITY AND POLITENESS

  A.    SOLIDARITY

inferior and superior. Since there is no precise rule for shifting from vous to tu solidarity is unity (as of a group or class) which produces or is based on unities of interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies. It refers to the ties in a society that bind people together as one. Solidarity means to take sides with a group of people who are oppressed and exploited by a power that they are trying to counteract. The starting point for solidarity is that the interest of the addressee is actually shared or at least considered worthy of support. Tu and Vous began as a genuine difference of singular and plural.

The distinction is that grammatically there is a singular you (T) and a plural you (V) but usage requires that you use vous with the individuals or certain occasions. Tu should be use between spouse, close relatives, or the people working or living closely together, while Vous should be used with strangers, to those who have no ties of any kinds, between , it is best to wait until the other person uses it to address you before you use it to address him or her. If you cannot judge who has ‘power’ or which proper conditions to use tu or vous, it is better to use politeness and wait until the other use ‘solidarity’. 

  B.     POLITENESS

Politeness is the practical application of good manners or etiquette. It is a culturally defined phenomenon, and therefore what is considered polite in one culture can sometimes be quite rude or simply eccentric in another cultural context. While the goal of politeness is to make all of the parties relaxed and comfortable with one another, these culturally defined standards at times may be manipulated to inflict shame on a designated party. Politeness is taking account of sense: feelings of others, making others feel comfortable. Linguistically is speaking appropriately to the relationship between speaker and hearer. Linguistic politeness requires understanding how language works in variety of social contexts.

In using a language, we use a device that the language employ to show certain relationship to other. We must use the language properly. We can demonstrate our feelings to other and our awareness of social controls. Such awareness is also shown through a general politeness in the use of language. It does not mean that we must always be polite. Oppositely, impoliteness may happen depends on the existence of standard or norms of politeness. Some languages have a complex rules of politeness, for instance, Javanese, one of the important language in Indonesia, is a language in which it is nearly impossible to say anything without indicating the social relationship between the speaker and the listener in terms of status and familiarity.

Based on linguistically, politeness is speaking appropriately to the relationship between speaker and hearer. Linguistic politeness requires understanding how language works in variety of social contexts. Some languages seem have to have built into them very complex systems of politeness. Javanese, one of the principal languages in Indonesia, is a language in which, as Geertz (1960) says “it’s nearly impossible to say anything without indicating the social relationship between speaker and the listener in terms of status and familiarity. Before one Javanese speaks to another, he or she must decide on an appropriate speech style: high, middle or low.

But, there is still another level of complication. Javanese has a set of honorifics, referring to such matters as people, body parts, possessions, and human actions. There are both high honorifics, e.g. dahar for eat, and low honorifics, e.g. neda for eat. Only high honorifics can accompany high style, but both high and low honorifics can accompany low style. Neda is found in the high style with no honorifics, the middle style (which cannot have honorifics) and the low style with low honorifics. Dahar for eat always signals high honorifics in either high and low honorifics.

Level in Javanese

Speech Level                                                      Example

Eat                   now

3a  high style, high honorifics                               dahar               samenika

3    high style, no honorifics                                  neda                samenika

2    middle style                                                    neda                saniki

1b  low style, high honorifics                                dahar               saiki

1a  low style, low honorifics                                 neda                saiki

1    low style, no honorifics                                   mangan            saiki

Level name :    3a krama inggil

                              3  krama biasa

2 krama madya

1b ngoko sae

1a ngoko madya

In using language, we make use of the devices that the language employs to show certain relationship to others and our attitudes toward them. In using French, we cannot avoid the tu-vous distinction; in communicating English, we must refers to others and address them on occasion; in speaking Javanese or Japanese, we must observe the conventions having to do with the correct choice of speech level and honorifics.

Two kinds of politeness:

Ø  Negative politeness: Making a request less infringing, such as "If you don't mind..." or "If it isn't too much trouble..."; respects a person's right to act freely. In other words, deference. There is a greater use of indirect speech acts.

Ø  Positive politeness: Seeks to establish a positive relationship between parties; respects a person's need to be liked and understood. Direct speech acts, swearing and flouting Grice's maxims can be considered aspects of positive politeness because:

·         they show an awareness that the relationship is strong enough to cope with what would normally be considered impolite (in the popular understanding of the term);

·         they articulate an awareness of the other person's values, which fulfills the person's desire to be accepted.