LEVELS OF POLITENESS IN INTERACTIONS BETWEEN TRADERS AND VISITORS IN PANTAI MATRAS

The primary objective of this study was to explore the levels of politeness in interactions between traders and visitors at Pantai Matras, a beach in Bangka Island, specifically focusing on greetings and closings by using qualitative descriptive methodology and Brown and Levinson's Politeness Strategy. Since politeness take important role in building social elements, it is essential to map the level of politeness within traders and visitors around Matras to reveal and officially preserve local treasures in Bangkanese society. The data were collected by observing 10 traders using close participant observation focusing on opening and closing pleasantries between traders and visitors, and analyzing direct illocutionary speech acts. The results reveal that traders predominantly use semi-polite openings but often conclude conversations with more polite closings, aligning with cultural norms. The findings underscore the importance of politeness in social interactions, contributing insights for tourism enhancement at Pantai Matras. In conclusion, understanding and applying politeness in these interactions are crucial for fostering positive relationships and improving the overall tourism experience at the beach.


INTRODUCTION
The presence of cultural and ethnic diversity within a society presents valuable prospects for conducting research that centers on the phenomenon of social interaction.This is due to the multitude of aspects that necessitate examination, such as cultural characteristics, language, and behavioral norms across various ethnic groups.Likewise, the phenomenon is often found in Pantai Matras-set among a rich cultural landscape-among the traders and the visitors.Pantai Matras is one of the beaches located in Bangka island, in Provinsi Kepulauan Bangka Belitungs.To be specific it is located in Sungailiat-about 45kms from the capital city, Pangkalpinang, Studying the interaction between the traders and visitor in Pantai Matras is intriguing, particularly the traders' level of politeness in entertaining visitor.The level of politeness in the linguistic realm is very broad in scope because it includes several aspects related to speech acts.This speech act can be analyzed based on the directness of the utterance.In relation to this, the politeness that will be studied in relation to interactions between traders and visitor to Pantai Matras is politeness Some research related about politeness and illocutionary act has been conducted.One of which is the research done by El Samaty (2008) which demonstrated that the inhabitants of Bangka are widely recognized for their strong commitment to a culture of tolerance, which fosters a sense of security in their ability to communicate effectively in any given setting.In this scenario, it is understood that the Bangka people engage in face-to-face encounters with the intention of accepting all modes of communication.They do so by replying with utmost politeness and striving to maintain a positive relationship between the speaker and the listener.Consequently, communication will involve adapting to external cultural disparities, while the indigenous culture of the Bangka people as speakers will be set aside to uphold civility.This assertion is corroborated by a prior study conducted by Alfattah (2009), which affirms that the Bangka community is recognized for its inclination to "embrace diversity through the cultivation of a strong sense of tolerance."Nevertheless, the significant degree of tolerance in social interactions does not indicate that the inhabitants of Bangka readily embrace all sorts of impoliteness that exceed acceptable boundaries.
If the subject pertains to traders and visitor at Pantai Matras, the interactions that take place will primarily revolve around fulfilling the visitor' specific requirements, such as purchasing goods or seeking information about the beach vicinity.With regards to this objective, it is anticipated that traders and visitor will establish a conducive climate for contact, characterized by a high level of tolerance, to ensure the comfort of both sides, particularly when the interlocutor intends to make a purchase.The act of prioritizing tolerance in verbal interaction leads to the emergence of various forms of politeness.Pilkington (1998) previously examined these forms individually and found that politeness arises when the interlocutor has goals that are advantageous to the speaker.
In the same way, Rizk (2003) in his research stated that Bangka society-which consists of multiple cultures-demonstrates a tendency to exhibit respect towards individuals in positions of authority and older individuals.Subsequent research has demonstrated that the Bangka people's mode of communication emphasizes politeness, as seen by the prevalence of friendliness and humility in their conversations (Alfattah, 2009).In addition, the Bangka people exhibit a tendency to avoid conflict and display a preference for offering praise or flattery during social interactions (El Samaty, 2005).
Multiple studies suggest that the residents of Bangka have engaged in positive communication by giving priority to the comfort of their conversation partners.Nevertheless, a cursory examination of the circumstances surrounding Pantai Matras reveals a noticeable decline in both visitor numbers and trading activities among the local merchants.This research, eventually, aims to investigate the influence of politeness variety on the interaction between traders and visitor.It seeks to determine if this influence is solely due to language or if other external factors are at play.Previous research, such as El Samaty's (2008) study, has explored the culture of tolerance among the inhabitants of Bangka.However, there exists a research gap in understanding the specific forms of politeness observed in the interactions between traders and visitors at Pantai Matras.Building upon this, this research employs Brown and Levinson's theory on Politeness Strategy to systematically chart the different manifestations of politeness.The purpose of this research is to explore politeness levels to enhance our understanding of social interactions as well as contribute to the revitalization of tourism in Pantai Matras.This research examines the diversity of politeness by employing Brown and Levinson's comprehensive theory on Politeness Strategy.Subsequently, the different manifestations of politeness will be systematically charted.The research is centered around the significance of enhancing the tourism industry in Pantai Matras by emphasizing politeness.It is assumed that the quality of service, as demonstrated via politeness, will attract a greater number of visitors.This research aims to serve as a reference for the evolving dynamics of politeness levels over time.It specifically focuses on the study of direct speech acts, particularly those that occur during interactions between traders and visitor at Pantai Matras.The findings of this research will contribute to an increased understanding of this topic.
To make this research comprehensive and cohesive, this paper is structured into introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion, also conclusion.Introduction contains a brief overview about the background and the focus of this research.It also states the purpose of the study.To support that, literature review is needed.It provides the theory and previous research about the same topic, which in this case is politeness strategy and illocutionary act.Methodology is also needed to explain of how the research was designed, data were collected, and analysis was performed.Equally important, results and discussion are the main focus of the research.They collectively contribute to the understanding, interpretation, and significance of the research.Finally, conclusion summarizes key findings, discussing limitations, and suggesting directions for future research.

LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Politeness
In pragmatic studies, the concept of politeness is known as politeness strategy.The verbal message tactics that "save" the listener's face are referred to as "politeness strategies."In order to avoid being disrespectful or rude towards the other person's face, politeness techniques are employed.Various strategies are employed by speakers to avert Face Threatening Acts (FTAs).The rules of politeness differ from language to language and among societies.The incorrect approach might occasionally have unfavourable results.When non-native speakers use the language, this can happen.Many linguists regard politeness techniques as "rules between people" and believe that their significance is in upholding social order (Brown & Levinson, 1987).According to Lakoff (1875: 101), the goal of civility is to prevent confrontation.The speaker in an engagement will select one of five approaches to minimise or prevent FTAs.Brown and Levinson provide an explanation of this tactic, summarizing human "politeness" behaviour into four categories: offrecord-indirect strategy, negative politeness, positive politeness, and bald on record.

Direct Speech Acts and Illocutionary
Brown and Levinson (1987) identify three sociocultural characteristics that play a crucial role in regulating the frequency of direct illocutionary speech acts between speakers (S) and interlocutors (H): The three criteria are as stated: (1) The degree of correlation between H and S. (Seeking assistance from peers, for instance, is less challenging than seeking assistance from higher-ranking individuals).
(2) Social gap between H and S. (Performing "face threatening acts" is more manageable when dealing with acquaintances rather than strangers).
(3) The degree of demand that leads to "face threatening acts."Directing someone to the hospital is less challenging than providing transportation to the hospital.
The research examines a specific type known as direct illocutionary speech acts which governed by cultural and situational factors, and it refers to how much the speaker's remark is perceived as disturbing or offending the listener.These three sociocultural factors can generate distinct nuances of politeness when they are associated with variances in politeness.

Previous Related Studies
In relation to the request for a speech, extensive study has been conducted, particularly focusing on the notion of politeness.Alfattah (2009) conducted the initial investigation on this matter, examining the requests made by secondary school pupils in Indonesia.Research has revealed the existence of nine distinct levels of continuity in request utterances.In House and Kasper's study, they also discovered the presence of modal markers as well as two categories of "modifiers": In addition, Alfattah (2009) examined the notion of politeness diversity in two student encounters.The investigation reveals that the two speaking communities exhibit distinct social norms when it comes to generating speech for making requests.The distinction resides in the employed strategy.Students commonly employ negative politeness while interacting with elder individuals, but they tend to adopt a direct and straightforward approach (bold on record) when communicating with their peers.
El Samaty (2005) has examined the speech act of requests and demonstrated variations in politeness methods across students and teachers.This research postulates that variations in social hierarchy among speakers give rise to utterances that are inquisitive and hypothetical, but seldom employing interrogative forms.In a study conducted by Fithrorozi (2011), the focus was on analyzing the use of indirect speech requests among Indonesian students.The research findings indicate that students in Bangka exhibit a predilection for employing typical negative politeness strategies in encounters with individuals of differing positions or social strata.Conversely, they tend to employ positive politeness strategies when interacting with others who are closer to them.
Besides, Llorica & Sosas (2023) also did a research with related topic.The research investigated the different politeness strategies of Filipino teenagers in their household with the result four politeness strategies were present.They used positive politeness to talk to their parents, bald on records to offer a clear and explicit message, negative politeness to lessen the coercion to their parents, and off record to drop indications.The research also depicted that they talked respectfully to elders but sometimes not to their parents.This was due to the environment where they grew up.
Another research came from Gunas, et al. (2023) that depicted the politeness welcoming guests in the Manggaraian speech community by interviewing and recording the video.The results of the research founf that the Manggaraian speech community mostly used positive politeness strategies to show respect to guests by being friendly and off-the-record politeness strategies to to designate generosity, modesty, and approbation to a guest.This could happen due to the social factors, such as the event, age, relation, and guests' status.The research also revealed the advantages of welcoming guests, which are ge respect, maintaining a good relationship, and showing a positive attitude toward the guest.
Next, Shalihah and Winarsih (2023) conducted a research focused on the ethics of lecturers when responding to students' text messages using the WhatsApp messaging application.By using qualitative approach, it examined violations from etiquette norms in short messages from the lecturer to the students.The findings revealed that there were the unfulfilled value of politeness occur, which are the use of slang, impolite ways of expressing intentions or the use of inappropriate linguistic aspects.
Finally, Ackermann (2023) did a research about politeness effects of different syntactic, morphosyntactic, and lexical mitigating strategies in German requests by utilizing online survey technique.The findings showed that the range are from standard polite behavior to extra-polite expressions, with specific linguistic factors predicting the level of face-threatening requests.In standard situations, the requestive nature is often apparent contextually.Nevertheless, in more challenging scenarios, mitigation involves tentativeness and uncertainty markers, such as the subjunctive and lexical modifiers, to lessen the potential face-threatening impact.
Based on the description above, the majority of the studies identified seldom address particular groups, particularly those that are relevant to the research topic.Research on the utilization of politeness diversity in Bangka society, particularly in coastal groups, is scarce.Due to the little research linked to coastal towns, especially in examining varied politeness and its causes, this is what makes this research vital to carry out to develop insight and improve the Pantai Matras tourism industry related to hospitality and acts of service.

Research Design
This study utilized qualitative methods to provide a detailed description of the subject matter.This approach resembled qualitative methods since it provided a detailed description of the phenomena or condition being studied (Selinger & Shohamy, 1989).Mahsun (2014) states that qualitative research seeks to understand social phenomena, including language phenomena, by generating descriptive data in the form of words.This approach was utilized due to the fact that the gathered data comprised concise utterances transmitted by traders to visitor at Matras Beach.This study employed a descriptive qualitative research design to elucidate the concept of linguistic politeness and the instances where the traders respond to visitors during the transaction.The investigation was place at Matras Beach.The researcher selected this place as the study site due to the diversity of politness used by the traders and its implication to visitor's interest to visit this tourism spot.
Speeches in opening and closing pleasantries between traders and visitor to Pantai Matras will be the main data source in this research on politeness variants.The participants in this study are traders located in the vicinity of Pantai Matras.They were chosen using a snowball sampling technique and will be closely observed and studied.Additionally, non-verbal elements such as bodily gestures and facial cues will be carefully watched and documented to enhance the descriptions of different manifestations of politeness.An investigation was conducted to document the initial and last salutations uttered by merchants towards visitor at Pantai Matras.The chat that is observed just comprises these two elements (opening and closing) so that the rest of the interactions in it, such as the main topic, will not be noticed.The observations were conducted meticulously by utilizing speech-taking notes that documented direct illocutionary speech acts, as well as recording body movements and facial expressions during conversations.
The collected data will be carefully processed and analyzed through several stages.Initially, the data will be duplicated from observations, reviewed based on the questionnaire, and transcribed from field notes.The next step is broad analysis that involves a comprehensive analysis to understand the overall significance of the data.Data coding is then performed to systematically organize and categorize data by identifying different forms of politeness.This involves reducing data by creating distinct themes, combining similar codes to highlight central concepts, and developing detailed themes related to individuals, locations, or events in the study.The subsequent steps include ascertaining themes and descriptions through coding and providing a qualitative narrative.In presenting the findings, an explanatory approach will be used, employing figures and tables for clarity.The final stage involves interpreting the data based on relevant literature or theory.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this research, the data found are in the forms of opening and closing expressions spoken by traders at Pantai Matras.Then, the data are categorized into several levels of politeness, namely polite, semi-polite, or impolite, according to Brown and Levinson's (1987) theory.

Openings
The total and percentage of opening expressions spoken by traders at Pantai Matras can be seen in Table 1   Based on the table above, the level of politeness most frequently used by traders at Pantai Matras is semi-polite with a frequency of 11 and a percentage of 55% of the total 20 data, followed by a polite level with the frequency of 5 and the percentage by 25%.The level of impoliteness is in last position with the frequency of 4 and the percentage of 20%.
Based on the analysis of the data presented, this study could identify the interaction between traders and visitors at Pantai Matras by referring to the level of politeness based on Brown and Levinson's Theory of Politeness (1987).In the context of opening, there are 5 polite, 11 semipolite, and 4 impolite utterances found in the utterances said by the traders, according to Brown dan Levinson's Politeness Straregy (1987).From 20 data in total, there are 6 data presented the openings in this study.In data 1 and 3, which are categorized as polite, the use of the greeting word 'Dek' and 'Yuk', also structured questions are the focus.While data 2 and 5 which are categorized as impolite is caused by lack of verbal and nonverbal responses.Data 3 and 6, on the other hand, are considered semi-polite due to the use of jokes or humor that reduces the threat to the visitors' faces.Moreover, in closings, data 7 and 10 which are considered semi-polite and 9 and 12 are categorized as polite, are highlighted through a friendly and appreciative response to the visitors' gratitude.While data 8 and 11 are categorized as impolite due to the lack of responsive attitude of the traders.
These findings are consistent with multiple prior studies on the communication between traders and purchasers, as opposed to previous research.Previous studies may have discovered analogous politeness patterns in various circumstances, such as .Nevertheless, there are notable distinctions in comparison to the three preceding investigations.The three studies conducted by Alfattah (2009), El Samaty (2005), and Fithrorozi (2011) solely focused on examining variations in politeness tactics employed, without assigning a hierarchy to the level of politeness.It is necessary to investigate the degree of politeness, particularly in this study, to determine the appropriate course of action if unpleasant remarks are identified, in order to maintain harmony between the speaker and the interlocutor.A potential course of action to build upon the findings of this research would be to organize a workshop or provide public speaking training for traders and visitors, with a particular focus on tourist destinations.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this research explored the levels of politeness in interactions between traders and visitors at Pantai Matras, a beach in Bangka Island, and its relevance to improving the tourist experience at Pantai Matras.By using qualitative descriptive methodology and Brown and Levinson's Politeness Strategy, this research focused on greetings and closings, unraveling the nuanced levels of politeness displayed by traders.The findings revealed that the traders in Pantai Matras used more semi-polite level in greetings and polite level in closings to wrap up their deals.The findings also showed that the use of greeting utterances and responses to questions or speeches, as well as nonverbal responses such as nods or smiles have a vital role in determining the level of politeness in interactions between traders and visitors at Pantai Matras.Furthermore, the use of politeness strategies that are in accordance with cultural norms is equally important in building a good relationship between traders and visitors.The significance of this research lies in its contribution to understanding the specific forms of politeness used by traders and visitors at Pantai Matras.This research also provides valuable insights for tourism enhancement strategies by highlighting the importance of cultural sensitivity and adaptation in fostering positive relationships between traders and visitors.This, eventually will affect the reputation and appeal of Pantai Matras as a tourist destination.As tourism plays a crucial role in the local economy, this research suggests the potential application of its results providing communication training for traders to improve interaction quality between the traders and visitors.
Afar from that, future research in this area may consider to explore the impact or effect of increased politeness on visitor satisfaction and repeat visits.In addition, examining how nonverbal indicators like body language and facial expressions in politeness, could provide a more comprehensive understanding.Further research could also investigate into the cultural aspects that influence politeness within the broader context of Bangkanese society.Understanding the nuances of politeness in diverse contexts does not only contribute to academic knowledge but also offer practical insights for tourism development, which in this research is Pantai Matras.