A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES PERFORMED BY OPRAH WINFREY IN VIEW FROM THE TOP PROGRAM IN 2014

Abstract

In this study, politeness strategies performed by Oprah Winfrey in View From The Top program in 2014 are the object of the analysis. The purposes of the research are to find the types of politeness strategies often used by Oprah Winfrey in View From The Top program in 2014, to identify the realizations of politeness strategies used by Oprah Winfrey in View From The Top program in 2014, and to investigate the sociological factors that influence the use of politeness strategies in View From The Top program in 2014. The researcher applied descriptive qualitative method to analyze the data based on the politeness theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1978). The findings of the research show that positive politeness strategy was a type of politeness strategy which was often used by Oprah Winfrey. Meanwhile, from each type of politeness strategies, seeking agremeent realization in positive politeness was often performed by Oprah Winfrey in order to accomplish the agremeent ideas from the hearer. The sociological factor that was the main factor influencing the use of politeness strategies employed by Oprah Winfrey was social distance, rather than other factors like power and rank of imposition.

Keywords: pragmatics, politeness strategies, View From The Top program in 2014