Production of Politeness by Myanmar (Burmese) Native Speakers in Requests

Abstract

This research aims to examine the production of politeness in Myanmar (Burmese) native speakers via the request speech act. The politeness theory of Brown and Levison (1987) was deployed to investigate the responses elicited from the informants. The data consists of quantitative approach (Discourse completion test). Forty-nine male and female Myanmar (Burmese) native speakers with different ages and educational backgrounds responded to the questionnaire. The findings of this research argued for the adequacy of the theories of Brown and Levison (1987) for the Myanmar (Burmese) context. In addition, a new politeness strategy, "using politeness markers," was suggested. Employments of politeness strategies in making the requests varied depending on the different social variables. Three characteristics of using politeness strategies by Myanmar (Burmese) native speakers are also laid out. The framework of politeness production in the request by Myanmar (Burmese) native speakers was proposed to fulfill the goal of third-wave politeness research.