Conversational implicatures in “Negeri 5 Menara”: is the principle of politeness violated?

Abstract

It is widely known that there are instances in which the principle of politeness is violated not only in verbal conversations but also in written ones such as those found in novels. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the violations of the principle of politeness in a novel in order to understand every hidden meaning in the conversations. This study is descriptive-qualitative in nature. The data used in this research were taken from the novel "Negeri 5 Menara" authored by Ahmad Fuadi. The data were collected using a document analysis process that included skimming, reading, and interpreting. The collected data were analyzed using an interactive analytical model, including data collection, data display, data reduction, and conclusion drawing. The findings suggest that Ahmad Fuadi's novel "Negeri 5 Menara" features implicatures going against the principle of politeness. The principle of the politeness has been violated in 73 instances, including 12 violations against the maxim of wisdom, six against the maxim of generosity, ten against the maxim of praise, 16 against the maxim of humility, eight against the maxim of sympathy, and 21 against the maxim of agreement. The maxim of generosity is the one that is violated the least frequently, whereas the maxim of agreement is the most frequently violated. The current findings suggest that it is important to comprehend the nuances of interactions with cultural underpinnings. In so doing, no one involved in a conversation will misunderstand what is being said. In the education context, the principle of politeness fosters collaboration between teachers and students, as well as positive behavior and motivation. Finally, the findings reflect bi/multilingualism by recognizing multiple languages that blur linguistic boundaries. Therefore, it is also possible to use the languages that students bring to classrooms as resources rather than as barriers to learning. Finally, suggestions for future research are also discussed.