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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
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
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NGUYEN THI THUY LINH
A STUDY OF POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN REQUEST BY
THE CHARACTERS IN THE NOVEL “HARRY POTTER
AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS”
M.A THESIS SUMMARY
Field: English Linguistics
Code: 8220201
THAI NGUYEN -

ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN
TRƯỜNG NGOẠI NGỮ
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
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NGUYỄN THỊ THÙY LINH
NGHIÊN CỨU CHIẾN LƯỢC LỊCH SỰ TRONG LỜI
THỈNH CẦU CỦA CÁC NHÂN VẬT TRONG PHẦN
TRUYỆN “HARRY POTTER VÀ PHÒNG CHỨA BÍ MẬT”
TÓM TẮT LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ
(Định hướng ứng dụng)
Ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh
Mã số: 8220201
Cán bộ hướng dẫn: TS. Nguyễn Thu Hạnh
THÁI NGUYÊN

DECLARATION
I hereby certify that my thesis entitled A study of Politeness
strategies in requests by the characters in the novel “Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is the result of my own work
and the substance of this research has not been submitted for a degree
to any other universities or institutions.
Thai Nguyen, June 2021
Approved by Supervisor Student
Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh
1

ABSTRACT
The study was done to find out how politeness strategies in
requests are employed by the characters in the novel “Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets” by J. K. Rowling. All the requests
carrying the illocutionary force of getting somebody to do an act
were collected for analysis. The coding system was based on Blum-
Kulka et al. (1989)’s coding manual. The results indicate that the
characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” primarily
chose the Direct Strategies to form their requests, in which the Mood
Derivable was the most well-liked strategy. In terms of Internal
Modifications, the speakers in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets” used a wide range of mitigating devices to reduce the
requestive force, mostly the Modal form, Interrogative form and
Repetition of request. With respect to External Modifications, the
speakers overwhelmingly opted for Grounders to give reasons for
their requests. The findings also showed that the relationships
between the characters had an impact on the choice of request
strategies and mitigating devices used in the novel.
Keywords: Politeness strategies, Request, Modification, Speech Act
2

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale of the research
Acquiring a second language demands more than learning
new words and another system of grammar. In fact, one of the major
goals of learning a language is to be able to carry out effective
communication, so it is necessary for language learners to have
communicative competence.
In recent years, there have been remarkable changes in the
course of teaching and learning English in Vietnam, especially when
the communicative approach became a hot topic among people in the
fields of language education. As a result, the English curriculum has
been geared more toward communication and communicative
competence is also paid more intention. However, the development
of linguistic competence still plays a remarkable role in teaching and
learning English. Consequently, Vietnamese learners are likely to
have difficulty communicating with English native speakers and
leaners of English as well.
Although previous studies have investigated requests in
numerous aspects, the use of politeness in request has been seldom
examined. Therefore, the researcher chooses the minor thesis, namely
“A study of Politeness strategies in requests by the characters in the
novel “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J. K. Rowling
with the hope of supporting the aforementioned studies and filling
the gap in the area.
1.2. Aims of the research
First of all, the research aims at studying the performance of
politeness strategies in the requests by the characters in the novel
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". In addition, modification
devices in requests employed by the characters in the novel will be
explored.
1.3. Objectives of the study
The objectives of the study are:
- To discover the choices of politeness strategies in requests
employed by the characters in the novel “Harry Potter and the
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Chamber of Secrets”
- To discover the choices of modification devices in requests
employed by the characters in the novel “Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets”
1.4. Research questions
The following two main research questions will be
addressed:
- What polite request strategies are employed by the
characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”?
- What modification devices in requests are employed by the
characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”?
1.5. Scope of the research
The study focuses entirely on the verbal aspect
communication. Other important factors such as non-verbal aspects
(facial expressions, eye contact, etc.), paralinguistic factors
(intonation, pause, speed of speech, etc.) are not taken into
consideration in this study. Theories of speech acts and politeness are
applied. Moreover, the study uses the theoretical framework which is
based on Blum-Kulka et al. (1989). All the requests made by the
characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” are the data
source.
1.6. Significance of the research
This study is carried out in order to contribute to a better
understanding of speech acts, especially the speech act of requests in
English. Moreover, speakers from different cultures have different
perceptions and norms of the cultures in communication, which can
lead to miscommunication, confusion and cultural conflicts, so the
findings of the study can help to raise Vietnamese learners and
teachers’ awareness of the use of request strategies in English.
Consequently, Vietnamese learners could know how to adopt
politeness strategies in requests which is considered one of the most
face threatening. Aside from that, the results of the research could be
useful for those who are interested in politeness strategies in requests.
4

1.7. Method of the research
The method used in this research is mainly the quantitative
method that emphasizes more on the collection and analysis of
numerical data and statistic. The study makes use of utterances in
“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” as the major data source,
so counting and measuring are commonly used. The results of the
studies are generally presented in tables and charts or figures.
1.8. Design of the study
The thesis consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1 Introduction mentions the rationale of the study,
aims of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, scope
of the study, significance of the study, methods of the study,
overview of the novel and design of the study.
Chapter 2 Literature review reviews the literature on
speech acts, the speech act of request and politeness theory.
Chapter 3 Methodology outlines the data collection, data
analysis, and analytical framework.
Chapter 4 Data analysis gives an overview on “Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, an investigation of polite request
strategies which provides a collection of examples and detailed to
uncover how the characters in the book manage their requests
politely on their choice of modifications.
Chapter 5 Conclusion presents the conclusion of the study,
implication, and suggestions for further research.
5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW 2.1. The speech act theory
The theory of speech acts has been studied for ages by numerous
researchers such as Austin (1962), Grice (1957, 1975), Hymes
(1964), Searle (1969, 1975, 1976, 1979), Levinson (1983), Brown
and Yule (1983), Yule (1996), etc.
Austin’s book How to Do Things with Words (1962)
condenses the basic idea of the speech act theory: saying something
means doing, or is part of doing, something, i.e. words are (part of)
deeds - hence the term speech act. In addition, Austin distinguishes a
speech act into three levels
Cohen (1996) agrees on Austin’s (1962) theory of speech
acts: In attempting to express themselves, people do not only produce
utterances containing grammatical structures and words, they
perform actions via those utterances
The classification of speech acts is developed by Searle
(1976), who presents typology of speech acts which are divided
based on the following four dimensions: illocutionary point (force),
direction of fit between words and world, expressed psychological
state and propositional content (Searle, 1979:12-20)
In speech act theory, a distinction between direct and
indirect speech acts is also made. Huang (2007) states that an
utterance is seen as a speech act whenever there is a direct
relationship between a structure and a function
2.2. The speech act of requests
2.2.1. Definitions of requests
Requests are one of the most important speech acts because
they occur very frequently in everyday situations. Hence, out of the
speech acts, the speech act of request has continuously drawn much
attention in the study of pragmatics.
A request is defined as a directive speech act which counts as
an attempt to get H (the hearer) to do an act which S (the speaker)
wants H to do, and which S believes that H is able to do; and which it
is not obvious that H will do in the normal course of events or of H’s
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own accord (Blum-Kulka et al., 1984, 1989).
Request, according to Trosborg (1995) and Jalilifar (2009), is
a speech act expressed in order to enable the respondent to react in a
way that benefits the individual making the request. Therefore, this
speech act has been considered one of the most threatening speech
acts in communication since it fundamentally threatens the face of
the hearer (Brown & Levinson, 1987), and that they involve a variety
of interlocutors (ranging from equal status individuals, e.g. friends or
colleagues to higher status individuals, e.g. professor or manager),
requests call for redressive action and require mitigation to
compensate for this impositive effect on the hearer (Fukushima,
1996).
2.2.2. A request sequence
2.2.1.1. The head act
The head act is the core part of a request sequence which
realizes a request independently of other elements (Blum-Kulka et
al., 1989).
2.2.1.2. The alerter
The alerter is an opening element preceding the actual
request, used primarily to draw the hearer’s attention
2.2.1.3. Supportive moves
Supportive moves are modifications preceding or following
the head act and serving the purpose of modifying the intensity of
requests.
2.2.3. Types of requests
2.2.3.1. Direct Requests
Direct request is often perceived as being aggressive and
demanding and it is often preceded by the use of personal pronouns
such as “I..” or “You …” followed by verbs that express the speaker’s
wish or desire such as “like”, “want”, and other verbs of action like
“give”, “take” and “make.” For example, “I want my pen back.”
2.2.3.2. Indirect Requests
The person is making a request to others in implicit way. A
person who makes a request indirectly is perceived more highly than
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one who makes a direct request. Indirectness displays respect,
courtesy and good breeding, for example, “This place is quite hot.”
According to Blum-Kulka et al. (1989), Fukushima (1996) and
Trosborg, 1995, there are two sub- types of requests based on the
direction levels. They are Unconventionally Indirect Requests and
Conventionally Indirect Requests.
2.2.4. Request strategies
Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) lists nine sub-levels of request
strategy types.
2.2.4.1. Direct requests
The direct strategy refers to utterances in which the
illocutionary act is explicitly stated. There are five sub-strategies,
ordered on a scale of directness from the most direct to the most
indirect: (1) mood derivable, (2) explicit performative, (3) hedge
performative, (4) obligation statement, and (5) want statement
strategies.
2.2.4.2. Conventionally indirect requests
A conventionally indirect strategy refers to utterances in
which the illocutionary act is indirectly stated. There are three sub-
strategies: (1) suggestory formulae, and (2) query preparatory sub-
strategies.
2.2.4.3. Unconventionally indirect requests
An unconventionally indirect strategy features an utterance in
which the illocutionary act is implicit. There are three sub-strategies:
(1) strong hints and (2) mild hints
2.2.5. Modification in performing a request
2.2.5.1. Internal modification
Internal modifications refer to the linguistic elements which
occur within the same head act. In the CCSARP coding manual
(Blum-Kulka et al., 1989), internal modifications are subcategorized
as downgraders and upgraders. Furthermore, downgraders fall into
two classes: syntactic and lexical/phrasal downgraders.
- Syntactic downgraders: The classification of syntactic downgraders
as follows:
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+ Interrogative Form: an actual request but its impact is
decreased: Will you help me?
+ Modal Form: Some modal verbs can be used to reduce the
speaker’s authority on the hearer: Could you help?
+ Negation Preparatory: negation can be a mitigation device
which is used to provide the hearer with more optionality: You
couldn’t give me lift, could you?
+ Subjunctive: Might be better if you were to leave now.
+ Aspect: I was wondering if I could audit the class.
+ Past tense: using the past form of a verb instead of the
present one without changing the meaning of the utterance: I wanted
to ask you to present your paper a week earlier.
+ Conditional clause: the speakers to make themselves less
involved in the request by using conditional clauses: I wanted to
know if…
- Lexical/Phrasal downgraders: Apart from syntactic downgraders,
lexical downgraders which are words and expressions are also employed
by speakers to decrease the illocutionary force of a request. Their
classification according to Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) as follows:
+ Politeness marker: lexical items like ‘please’, ‘kindly’,
etc. which can be added to a request to bid for cooperative behavior:
Could you close the window, please?
+ Hedges: devices like “somehow”, “kind of”, “sort of”,
“more or less” used to show hesitancy, possibility and avoid a
precise specification: It would really help if you did something about
the kitchen.
+ Downtoners: adverbials or modal particles such as
‘possibly’, ‘perhaps’, etc., which are used by a speaker in order to
modulate the impact of his or her request on the hearer: Will you be
able to perhaps drive me?
+ Understaters: elements such as ‘a bit’, ‘a little’, ‘sort of’,
‘kind’ which can be used by the speaker to minimize parts of the
imposition: Could you tidy up a bit before I start?
+ Subjectivizers: elements such as ‘I wonder’, ‘I suppose’
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in which the speaker expresses his or her subjective opinion directly
related to the state of affair, thus lower the force of the request: I
wonder if you would give me a lift.
+ Cajolers: devices such as ‘You know’, ‘you see’ which
are employed to make things clearer to the hearer and invite him or
her to figuratively participate in the speech act: You know, I’d like
you to present your paper next week.
+ Appealers: devices such as ‘is that alright?’. ‘ok/right?’,
‘will you’ used by the speaker to appeal to the hearer’s benevolent
understanding: Clean up the kitchen, dear, will you?
- Upgraders: are words and expressions are also employed by
speakers to increase the illocutionary force of a request. Typical
upgraders consist of :
+ Intensifiers: The speaker over-represents the reality: The
kitchen in a terrible mess.
+ Expletives: The speaker directly expresses negative
emotions: Why don’t you clean that bloody mess up?
+ Repetition of request: Get lost! Leave me alone!
+ Time Intensifiers: You’d better move your car right now/
immediately!
2.2.5.2. External modification
External modifications or supportive moves are composed of
elements that are external the Head act and can either precede or
follow it. Some categories are offered by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989)
are as follows:
- Preparator: short utterance that the speaker uses to prepare the
hearer for the request: “I’d like to ask you something…” “May I ask
you something?”
- Getting precommitment: the speaker checks on a possible rejection
before performing the request by trying to get the hearer to commit:
“Could you do me a favor?”
- Grounder: a clause allows the speaker to gives reasons,
explanations and justifications for the request: “Could I borrow your
notes? I missed class yesterday”
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- Disarmer: a phrase with which the speaker attempts to remove any
potential objection the hearer might raise: “I know you don’t like
giving extensions, but…” “I realize this is an unusual favor I am
asking…”
- Promise of reward: the speaker offers a reward to enhance the
hearer’s enforcement: “Could you give me a lift? I’ll pitch in for
gas”.
- Imposition minimizer: the speaker tries to reduce the imposition on
the hearer by the request offered: “Would you mind reading my
paper, but only if you have the time, of course.”
2.3. Politeness
2.3.1. Politeness theory
According to Yule (1996:60), “Politeness, is in an
interaction, can be defined as the means employed to show awareness
of another person’s face.”
Watts (2003: 97,119) argues that the assessment by the
addressee of the behavior of the speaker, rather than the behavior or
intention of the speaker, is what determines whether or not politeness
arises. Politeness is recently considered “as a sociocultural
phenomenon, roughly to be defined as showing, consideration of
others” (Wang, 2014: 271).
Many researchers have been interested in the field of
politeness with various points of view and from different aspects.
The most influential theories of politeness are those of Lakoff (1975),
Leech (1983), Brown and Levinson (1987), Barron. (2003).
Lakoff (1975) sees politeness as a structure of interpersonal
relationships aimed at reducing potential conflict and possible
confrontation in human interactions. The purpose of this system is to
promote human interaction and it consists of three rules.
(1) Don’t impose (Distance).
(2) Give option (Difference).
(3) Make audience feel good (Camaraderie).
Leech (2005) introduces politeness by anlyzing illocutionary acts and
forces.
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Brown and Levinson (1987) develop another theory of politeness
which is also regarded as the most influential work in politeness
theory by many researchers such as Eelen (2001), Leech (2005),
LoCastro (2012).
Levinson (1987) propose five politeness strategies that
interlocutors can use to avoid or minimize face threatening acts
2.3.2. Politeness and indirectness
There are many studies on the correlation between politeness
and indirectness such as Ariel (2010), Bach (2004), Wang (2014),
Watts (2003).
According to Ariel (2010), indirectness can be seen as the
cases in which one illocutionary act is performed indirectly via the
performance of another.
Bach (2004) assumes a relationship between indirectness and
politeness.
Wang (2014), in accordance with Leech’s perspective,
affirms that there are significant parallels between the notions of
politeness and indirectness.
Unlike the aforementioned researchers, Watts (2003) views
the relationship between politeness and indirectness differently. She
argues that indirectness does not always imply politeness and too
much indirectness may be viewed as lack of clarity which is a marker
of impoliteness.
2.3.3. Politeness and indirectness in performing requests
As discussed, higher levels of indirectness may lead to
higher levels of politeness.
Leech (1983) states that direct requests seem to be inherently
impolite and face-threatening because they intervene in the territory of
the addressee, and they also argue that the preference for polite behavior
is indirectness. Furthermore, Ashoorpour and Azari (2014) propose that
the degree of politeness can be increased by using more indirect
illlocutions. The connection between indirectness and politeness in
requests is further supported by Searle’s observation that “politeness is
the most prominent motivation for indirectness in requests, and certain
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forms tend to become the conventionally polite ways of making
indirect requests” (Searle, 1975:76).
There are different strategies when it comes to the realization
of the request and the level of directness that will play a part in how
politely the request is rendered. The Cross-Cultural Study of Speech
Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) on requests and apologies by
Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) specified three levels of directness which
could be considered universal: explicit level, the most direct form of
request, which includes imperatives; conventionally indirect level,
which includes contextualized predictions that include could and
would in the request form; and nonconventional indirect level in
which the request will be made more as a hint.
2.4. Previous studies on politeness strategies in requests
By far, there have been a lot of studies conducted in various
aspects of the request speech act.
A study by Abdul Majeed A. Umar (2004) involved 20
advanced Arab learners of English.
Another study carried out by Hilbig (2009) investigates the
request strategies in Lithuanian and British English based on the
principles from Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) CCSARP.
Until now, speech acts in general and requests in particular
have been under-represented in pragmatics literature in Vietnam. Vu
Thi Thanh Huong (1997, 1999) conducted a research on requests and
politeness in Vietnamese.
Another study to be mentioned was carried out by Dau
(2007), focusing on the relationship between politeness and
indirectness used in the speech acts of making requests in English
and Vietnamese.
Luong Thanh Hong (2012) did research on the politeness
strategies in request in the movie series “Harry Potter” for her minor
M.A. thesis at University of Languages and International Studies,
Vietnam National University.
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CHAPTER 3:
METHODOLOGY 3.1. Research Design
This research used qualitative research because the data was
not analyzed by statistical procedures. Qualitative researcher as a
human instrument to determine research focus, choosing informant as
data sources, doing the collecting data, evaluating the availability of
data, interpreting and making conclusion. This research could be
taken to the research that was based on descriptive data that did not
make (regular) statistical procedures.
3.2. Analytical framework
The following table will illustrate the types and strategies of
requests.
Request
Request strategies
(presented at levels of decreasing directness)
types
Situation: Speaker requests to Hearer to clean the kitchen
Str. 1: Mood derivable Clean up the kitchen!
Str. 2: Explicit performative I ask you to clean the kitchen.
Direct
Str. 3: Hedge performative
I must ask you to clean the
requests kitchen
Str. 4: Obligation statement You have to clean the kitchen.
Str. 5: Want statement
I would like you to clean the
kitchen.
Convention Str. 6: Suggestory formulae
How about cleaning the
kitchen?
ally indirect
Could you clean up the
requests Str. 7: Query preparatory
kitchen, please?
Unconventi
Str. 8: Strong hints
You have left the kitchen in a
onally right mess.
indirect
Str. 9: Mild hints
We don’t want to see dirty
requests dishes in the sink.
Table 2. Types and strategies of requests
Apart from strategies of request, modification can be used to

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perform a request. There will be two groups of modification: Internal
modification and external modification.
3.3. Data source: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”
“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is a fantasy novel
written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the
Harry Potter series. The book was first published in the United Kingdom
on 2 July 1998. The edition which is used as the main material for this
study was released in September 2014 by the same publisher of the first
one which is Bloomslury. The book received a lot of high praise and
awards from critics, young readers, and the book industry.
3.4. Data collection procedure
The methods of data collecting techniques were as follows:
1. Reading “HPCS” as the primary source of data form;
2. Re-reading “HPCS” several times to find the relevant data;
3. Identifying the requests by the characters in “HPCS” and
marking them with the use of highlighter pens;
4. Cutting the highlighted requests out of the hard copy; and
5. Storing all the paper pieces containing requests in a clear bag.
3.5. Data analysis procedure
The analysis of the data is based on a modified classification of
request strategies originally presented by Blum-Kulka et al. (1989). The
strategies were classified under three degree of directness: 1) Direct, 2)
Conventionally Indirect, 3) Unconventionally Indirect. Besides the main
strategies known as the “head act” (Blum-Kulka & Olshtain, 1984) are
examined, requests can also be coded in terms of modifications, mainly
in two groups: Internal modification and external modifications. The
result of the research was a then presented in tables and charts.
15

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS
4.1.The utilization of request strategies by the characters in
“HPCS”
4.1.1. Differences in frequency of request strategies used in
“HPCS”
The characters in the novel “HPCS” employ a variety of
polite request strategies which were categorized into three major
types. It is obvious from Table 3 that the most frequently used
request strategy types are Direct (DR) and Conventionally Indirect
(CI) ones, with the occurring rate of the former being significantly
higher than that of the latter. The results show that 379 request
utterances (80.1%) out of 473 fall into the Direct category, and 75
(15.9%) belong to the Conventionally Indirect ones. The least
common request strategies in “HPCS” are Unconventionally Indirect
(UCI) with the frequency of 4% (19 utterances).
Strategies
Number of
Percentage (%)
appearance (n)
Direct (DR) 379 80.1%
Conventionally indirect
75 15.9%
(CI)
Unconventionally Indirect
19 4%
(UCI)
Total 473 100%
Table 3. The differences in the figures for request strategies in
“HPCS”
4.1.2. Analysing politeness strategies in requests used in “HPCS”
Different strategies in requests are employed by the
characters in “HPCS”. All of the nine strategies based on Blum-
Kulka et al. (1989)’s coding manual were found in this novel.
Table 4 gives the values for the four most preferable request
strategies used. The data shows that the Mood derivable strategy
ranks in the first position with the frequency of 63.2%, respectively
higher than other three most frequently used strategies, namely
Obligation statement (13.1%), Suggestory formulae (9.3%) and

16

Query preparatory (6.6%). These are followed by Strong hint (2.5%)
and Want statement (1.7%). The least used strategies are Mild hints,
Explicite performative, and Hedge performative with the frequency
of occurrence being well over 1%.
Categories (Cat.) Strategies (Str.) n %
Str.1 Mood derivable 299 63.2
Direct (DR)
Str.2 Explicit performative 6 1.3
Str.3 Hedge performative 4 0.8
Category 1
Str.4 Obligation statement 62 13.1
Str.5 Want statement 8 1.7
Conventionally Str.6 Suggestory formulae 44 9.3
indirect (CI)
Str.7 Query preparatory 31 6.6
Category 2
Unconventionally Str.8 Strong hints 12 2.5
indirect (UCI)
Str.9 Mild hints 7 1.5
Category 3
Table 4. Polite request strategies by types in “HPCS”
4.2. The utilization of modifications by the characters in “HPCS”
4.2.1. The use of internal modifications
Considering the data, it can be seen that the characters in
“HPCS” prominently use Modal form at the frequency of 30.2%,
followed by Interrogative form (14.1%), Repetition of request
(11.1%), Politeness marker (10.1%), Downtoner (9.5%), Conditional
clause (5%). Past tense, Intensifiers and Appealers are used at the
frequency of around 3%, whereas Understaters, Time intensifiers,
Cajolers and Subjectivizers share the same frequency of 2.5%.
Negation preparatory and Aspect are employed with a small amount
of about 1% which is slightly higher than Subjunctive, at 0.5%. At
the bottom end, there are not any Hedges and Expletives (0%) found.

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Figure 5. The use of internal modifications in “HPCS”
LEGEND:
Mod.= Modal forrm Inter.= Interrogative Repi.= Repetition of request
form
Pol.= Politeness Markers Dnt.=Downtoner Cond.= Conditional clause
Pst.= Past tense Inten.= Intensifiers App.= Appealers
Und.= Understaters Time.= Time intensifiers Cal.= Cajolers
Subje.= Subjectivizers Neg.= Negation Asp.= Aspect
preparatory
Subju.= Subjunctive Hed.= Hedges Exp.= Expletives
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4.2.2. The use of external modifications or supportive moves
Figure 6. The use of external modifications in “HPCS”
LEGEND:
Grd.= Grounder Prom.= Promise of reward Dis.= Disarmer
Impo.= Imposition Get.= Getting precommitment Prep.= Preparator
minimizer
As shown in Figure 6, various External Modifications or
Supportive Moves were found in the novel with the total number of
appearances of 92. The results indicate that Grounder is the most
preferred device by the speakers with the frequency of 69.6% (n=64).
The second ranking device is Promise of reward with 17.4% (n=16).
A little amount is of Disarmers and Imposition minimizer with the
percentage of the former being 7.6% (n=7) and that of the latter being
4.3% (n=4), while only 1 Getting precommitment (1.1%) is used.
Preparator is not found in the novel. The results point out that the
speakers in “HPCS” are significantly inclined to give reasons,
justifications for their requests.
4.3. Discussions on request strategies in “HPCS” from S-H
relationships
4.3.1. On the choice of strategies
S-H relationships in “HPCS” were classified into seven groups,
namely Family Members, Friends, Colleagues, Acquaintances,
Professors-Students, Aquaintances, Enemies and Strangers. These
19

relationships have a great impact on the choice of appropriate
strategies for communication.
Types
Familymembers
Friends
Colleagues
Professors/Students
Acquaintances
Enemies
Strangers
n % n % n % n % n % n % n %
DI 34 81 151 78.6 10 76.9 70 73.7 51 83.6 26 89.7 37 90.2
CI 3 7.1 37 19.3 2 15.4 22 23.2 6 9.8 2 6.9 3 7.3
UCI 5 11.9 4 2.1 1 7.7 3 3.2 4 6.6 1 3.4 1 2.4
Total 42 100 192 100 13 100 95 100 61 100 29 100 41 100
Table 5. The use of DR, CI and UCI strategies in “HPCS” seen
from S-H relationship
What stands out from the table is the dominance of the DR
strategies over the others. Comparing the use of direct strategies of
different groups, the highest rate (90.2%) belongs to strangers. It is
followed by enemies with the frequency of 89.7%. The use of direct
strategies by acquaintances accounts for 83.6%, while family
members and friends use a smaller amount of 81% and 78.6%
respectively. In the cases of colleagues and professors-students, the
rates are 76.9% for the former and 73.7% for the latter. With respect
to CI strategies, they are by far the most used by professors-students,
at 23.2%. Colleagues and friends employed fewer CI Strategies with
the frequency of 15.4% and 19.3% respectively. The figures for
acquaintances, strangers, family members and enemies are far lower,
at 9.8%, 7.3%, 7.1% and 6.9% respectively. Regarding the UCI
strategies, family members, colleagues and acquaintances possessed
the highest rate (11.9%, 7.7%, 6.6% in succession). Professors-
students and enemies come next with over 3% of UCI strategies used.
2.4% of the total requests by strangers are opted for UCI strategies.
The figure is only 2.1% in the conversations between friends.
20

4.3.2. On the use of internal and external modifications
4.3.2.1. The use of internal modifications
Types
Familymembers
Friends
Colleagues
Professors/Students
Acquaintances
Enemies
Strangers
n % n % n % n % n % n % n %
SDs 11 58 36 62 8 66.7 28 49.1 15 58 5 35.7 9 50
LPDs 4 21 19 32.8 3 25 20 35.1 5 19.2 4 28.6 6 33.3
UDs 4 21 3 5.2 1 8.3 9 15.8 6 23 5 35.7 3 16.7
Total 19 100 58 100 12 100 57 100 26 100 14 100 18 100
Table 6. The use of internal modifications in “HPCS” seen from S-H
relationship
Family members prefer to employ SDs to mitigate their
requests. This type of modification makes up 58% of the total amount,
more than twice as much as the frequency of occurrence of LPDs and
UDs with both being 21%. Similarly, friends and colleagues frequently
used SDs to mitigate the force of their requests at the rate of 62% and
66.7% respectively. The groups using the most LPDs are professors-
students and strangers, at 35.1% and 33.3% respectively, while UDs are
mostly used by enemies and strangers, at 35.7% and 16.7% respectively.
4.3.2.2. The use of external modifications or supportive moves
Types
Familymembers
Friends
Colleagues
Professors/Students
Acquaintance
s
Enemies
Strangers
n % n % n % n % n % n % n %
Pre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Get 0 0 1 2.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gro 6 75 31 65.9 2 66.6 7 63.6 6 75 5 71.4 8 100
Dis 1 12 2 4.2 0 0 1 9 1 12.5 1 14.2 0 0
Pro 1 12 10 21.2 1 33.3 3 27.2 0 0 1 14.2 0 0
Imp 0 0 3 6.4 0 0 0 0 1 12.5 0 0 0 0
Total 8 100 47 100 3 100 11 100 8 100 7 100 8 100
Table 7. The use of supportive moves in “HPCS” seen from S-H
relationship
21

As seen from Table 7, all groups of speakers choose Grounders
for their requests at the highest percentage compared to other types of
supportive moves. Conversations between strangers use the most
Grounders with 100% to give reasons or make justifications for their
requests. Acquaintances and family members come next with 75%.
Enemies rank the third in using this type (71.4%), followed by
colleagues (66.6%), friends (65.9%), and professors/students (63.6%).
22

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. Major findings and concluding remarks
The goal of the study is to discover the politeness strategies
in requests employed by the characters in the novel “HPCS” in the
hope of narrowing the gap in the area.
The findings reveal that the characters in “HPCS”
particularly choose the DR Strategies in making their requests. It is
also notable that Mood derivable is by far the most favorable
strategy. In terms of Internal Modifications, the speakers in “HPCS”
overwhelmingly use a wide range of mitigating devices within the
Head Act to lessen the requestive force, in which the Modal form,
Interrogative form, and Repetition of request are employed at the
highest frequency. With regards to External Modifications, the
speakers mostly make use of Grounders to give reasons for their
requests.
With reference to S-H relationship, the findings show DR
Strategies are dominant when compared to the others in the
conversations of all groups, especially between people who have
close relationship like family members and friends. CI Strategies
account for a relatively large amount in the conversations between
friends, colleagues and professors-students, while UCI Strategies are
primarily used by family members, colleagues and acquaintances. In
high power settings, the speakers are found to be more indirect. In
terms of Internal Modifications, all groups of speakers used Modal
form the most except for colleagues and strangers. Professors-
students use Downtoners for their requests more than other groups. In
the conversations between friends, Interrogative forms are highly
appreciated. With regards to External Modifications, Grounders are
the most used. The difference is that while people who have close
relationship vary their requests by using a wide range of supportive
moves, unfamiliar speakers prefer to give reasons for their requests. It
is also notable that the three social variables including power,
distance and rank of imposition influence the speakers’ choice of
strategies and mitigating devices in making their requests. However,
23

the social distance (D) was found to be the most significant, and
whenever D is high, the cost of the request is also high.
5.2. Implications
Firstly, teachers should help students to be more conscious of
cross-cultural differences in the use of politeness strategies.
Second, it is necessary for the teachers to ask the learners to
pay much attention to when, how and to whom it is appropriate to
use a linguistic form in communication.
The study also suggests that English learners should be made
aware of the rules of making a request in English.
Finally, it is advisable for teachers to provide students with
communicative activities.
5.3. Suggestions for further research
Firstly, future research is suggested to uncover the politeness
strategies in requests used in the whole series of Harry Potter.
Secondly, the same data can be further used to identify the
variations in employing request strategies in terms of gender, alerters
or other issues which have not been presented in this study.
Thirdly, the findings of this research could serve as an useful
source for studying the politeness strategies in other kinds of FTAs
employed in the Harry Potter series; for example, the speech act of
criticizing, complaining or responding to requests.
Finally, the study may serve as the background for
comparing and contrasting the use of politeness strategies in requests
in English and Vietnamese literary works.
24

Luận văn Nghiên cứu chiến lược lịch sự trong lời thỉnh cầu của các nhân vật trong phần truyện “harry potter và phòng chứa bí mật”.doc

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