This study is intended to understand teaching quality of English student teachers when they conduct their teaching practicum. Teaching quality is conceptualized based on the principles of effective teaching resulted by teacher effectiveness studies. Thes


IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    77  

 

 

Parental and Children Language Politeness Strategies as a 
Form of Education in Family 

 
HASTARI MAYRITA

1*
, PUTRI SUKMA BALKIST 

2
, ANDINA MUCHTI

3
, AND 

YENI ERNAWATI
4
 

 
Abstract  
 
The research aimed to explore the forms of language 
politeness principles for parents and young children in the 
family environment and to describe how parents instill 
politeness in early childhood in the family environment. A 
research method is a qualitative case study. Researchers 
used observation, note-taking, and recording techniques in 
data collection. Data Analysis was carried out 
chronologically and categorically. The findings of this 
research were six forms of politeness principles, namely the 
maxim of tact, generosity, acceptance, humility, agreement, 
and sympathy from various interactions. Based on the 
findings of politeness maxims, it is necessary to apply 
politeness patterns to children in the family. It is to foster 
children's language behavior under the expectations and 
upbringing of parents because language behavior in the 
family influences their language behavior. 

 
  

 
  

 

  
Keywords 
Education, family, language 
politeness  
 
Article History 
Received 11 February 2023 
Accepted 12 April 2023 

How to Cite  

Mayrita, H., Balkist, P.S., 
Muchti, A., & Ernawati, Y 
(2023). Parental and children 
language politeness strategies 
as a form of education in 
family. Indonesian Research 
Journal in Education |IRJE|, 
7(1), 77 – 92. 
https://doi.org/10.22437/irje
.v7i1.23798     
  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
1*Universitas Bina Darma, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia; Corresponding author: 
hastari_mayrita@binadarma.ac.id  
2,3,4 Universitas Bina Darma, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia  

https://doi.org/10.22437/irje.v7i1.23798
https://doi.org/10.22437/irje.v7i1.23798
mailto:hastari_mayrita@binadarma.ac.id


IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    78  

 

 

 
Introduction 

 

According to , a language is a group of people who often use random Chaer (2010)
sound symbols to communicate with each other. However, Masinambouw (1998) 
emphasized that a language is a tool for communicating with others. Kridalaksana (2013) 
stated language is an arbitrary sound-symbol system that is used by a group of people to 
work together, communicate, and identify themselves. The conclusion from the three 
opinions before is that language is a set of arbitrary sound symbols that people use to 
communicate with each other by expressing ideas, opinions, thoughts, or feelings. The 
function of language is divided into three functions, namely ideational is a tool for conveying 
messages, interpersonal is a tool for expressing attitudes by speakers to their interlocutors, 
and textual is a tool for composing an implied message (Halliday & Webster, 2003). 

According to Yusuf (2021), communication is a process of creating meaning 
conveyed by two or more people. Based on the explanation above, communication is a way 
to convey information carried out by several people, such as ideas and opinions for other 
parties, including one party or group. Additionally,  stated pragmatics is a Leech (1993)
science that studies meaning and how it relates to situations when speaking. Meanwhile, 
according to pragmatics is a study that relates to branches of linguistics and Yule (2006), 
language forms. Based on the two explanations presented by the two experts above, 
pragmatics is a branch of linguistics related to communication between speakers and 
interlocutors. These speakers use language effectively when speaking.  stated a Chaer (2010)
speech act is an utterance given by a speaker to convey a message implied through a situation 
that has been experienced by the speaker. Therefore, a speech act is an utterance that is 
expressed by a speaker and an interlocutor to convey a message and a situation that has been 
experienced by the speaker. 

According to Fraser (1990), language politeness is a quality associated with 
communication. In this case, the interlocutor believes that the speaker does not exceed his 
rights or refuses to carry out his obligations. Based on the explanation above, politeness is 
utterance or good behavior by the speaker in interacting with the interlocutor. It is this 
manner of speaking that stands out as seen from the quality of the personality of the person 
speaking because the better and more polite the person speaking is considered a person who 
has good ethics or personality and vice versa. Politeness is not only seen in speech and 
behavior when speaking but also seen from intonation when speaking. 

Language politeness has an essential role in a person's personality development, 
especially in early childhood when the child is still in the process of self-development, 
attitudes, and character. In everyday life, humans who use polite language are often referred 
to as humans who have high ethics by using smooth and polite language when speaking, low 
intonation when speaking, and good behavior when speaking both as a speaker and as a 
speech partner. Vice versa, if the speaker uses language that is rude or not good, uses high 
intonation, and his behavior when speaking is not good, the speaker can be called someone 
with an impolite personality. Therefore, language politeness is essential for life in society, as 
well as in the family environment. 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    79  

 

 

According to a family is a household that is related by blood or Lestari (2012), 
marriage which provides the implementation of instrumental functions as well as expressive 
functions of the family for its members who are in one network. Based on the explanation 
above, the role of the family is the implementation of rights and obligations in a household 
that contains fathers, mothers, and children who have their respective duties. In general, 
polite language is good for communication because it can reflect the speaker’s personality 
when spoken. Language politeness should be taught from an early age through the family 
environment and in the surrounding. The family has an essential role because this family is 
the first benchmark for children to get early teaching from their parents so that a polite 
personality can be formed. Conversely, if the teaching from parents is not good in speech or 
attitude, the child will imitate it. Based on the results of the observations, researchers feel 
interested in choosing the topic the “Phenomenon of Language Behavior of Parents and 
Children: Cases of Politeness in Language as a Form of Education in the Family”, because 
researchers find problems that researchers will solve thoroughly. Initial data on the principle 
of language politeness that researchers have obtained from conversations between parents 
and early childhood in the family environment, namely: 

 Sister: Mom, sister put on a new hair clip.  

 Mother: Wow, you look very pretty when you wear this new clip. 
The speech between a child and her mother includes the principle of politeness in the maxim 
of generosity because, for this reason, the maxim of generosity has the principle of 
maximizing respect for others and minimizing disrespect for others, Leech (1993). The 
language politeness that will be studied by researchers is a conversation between a parent and 
four years old child, with the initial 'Z' in the family of the father with the initial 'I', and the 
mother with the initial 'N' in the family environment. This research used Leech’s (1993) 
theory because this theory is considered the most established, the most relevant, the most 
complete, and the most perfect of the other theories. Therefore, researchers feel interested 
in using a theory to complete this research. The principle of politeness, in Leech (1993) 
consists of the maxim of wisdom, acceptance, generosity, humility, compatibility, and 
sympathy. Based on the background described above, the formulation of the research 
problem is: (1) how do the principles of language politeness form between parents and early 
childhood in the family environment I and N? and (2) how do parents instill language 
politeness to early childhood in the family environment I and N? The purposes of this 
research are: (1) to describe the form of politeness principles between parents and young 
children in the family environment I and N, and (2) to describe how parents instill language 
politeness in early childhood in the family environment I and N. The novelty in this research 
is the maxim of politeness obtained through speech between parents and children in a family 
environment as a form of education in the family. 
 

Methodology 
 

Research design, site, and participants 

This research method is descriptive qualitative with a case study because it will focus 
on a case (Creswell, 2016). The data in this research were primary data. This research is like 
observation or prior observation of phenomena in the I and N family environment that 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    80  

 

 

would be observed. After the observation, the researcher records the conversations between 
parents and early childhood and records the results of the recorded conversations related to 
the formulation of the research problem so that researchers get a speech that contains the 
principles of language politeness, and the way parents instill language politeness in early 
childhood in the I and N family environment. 

Data sources and time of research 

In collecting data, first, the researcher made observations for a few days. After the 
observation, the researcher started recording a conversation between parents and early 
childhood when they were interacting, whether they were playing, drawing, singing, or 
counting. Then, the researcher recorded the speech in the recorded conversation, which 
contained the form of politeness principles (Leech, 1993) and how parents instill language 
politeness in these early childhoods. The object of this research is the speech between 
parents and four years old children. The child's initial is Z. 

Table 1. Research data sources 
 
Speech from Code 

Mother N 
Father I 

Child Z 

Data collection techniques 
 
This research is qualitative with a case study approach . For data (Creswell, 2016)

collection, the researchers used observation, recording, and note-taking techniques. The 
observations are to determine the speech between parents and early childhood in the family 
environment. Furthermore, the researchers recorded a speech between parents and early 
childhood when they were carrying out interactions related to forms of politeness principles, 
as well as how parents instill politeness in early childhood.  

The final step is the note-taking technique. In this technique, the researchers 
recorded the results of the recordings. This technique is to make the researchers easier to 
determine the recording results that contain the form of politeness principles and how 
parents instill language politeness. 

 
Data analysis techniques 
 
According to (Creswell, 2016), the data analysis techniques in this research will be 

arranged chronologically and categorically based on the data collection. The steps for 
qualitative data analysis are in the form of an identification stage by collecting data or 
information in advance related to the problem discussed. The second step of classification is 
grouping the problem. It will be thoroughly discussed in the research. The third step of 
interpretation is reinterpreting the data that has been obtained by researchers related to the 
form of language politeness principles and how parents instill language politeness in early 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    81  

 

 

childhood. The last step is reporting. At this stage, the researcher writes down the results of 
the data analysis that has been obtained by the researcher relating to the form of politeness 
principles and the way parents instill language politeness. 

 
Findings  

 

The research results were presented based on observations, records, and notes that 
had been carried out by researchers in the family environment I and N to a four-year-old 
child with the initial Z. It did not change the data obtained from the research object at all. 
This research was presented using a qualitative method with the theory of Leech (1993). 
When it is compared with previous research by Apriliani (2019), the difference is that 
previous research examined the form of children's language politeness based on learning 
interactions in PAUD and wants to know the teacher's language politeness based on 
language politeness in learning interactions in PAUD.  Hamzah et al. (2011) stated that 
language politeness is essential for the school environment and family. Ningrum et al. (2019) 
explained politeness in language can be studied using politeness principles to see the level of 
politeness in language with the politeness principles in student discussion activities. 

Figure 1. Mother’s interaction with her child 

 

Principles of politeness in language  

The following describes the speech between parents and early childhood related to 
the form of language politeness principles (Leech, 1993) consisting of six forms of language 
politeness principles, such as the maxim of wisdom, generosity, acceptance, humility, 
agreement, and sympathy . Furthermore, Widodo et al. (2022) also put (Hermawan, 2018)



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    82  

 

 

forward the six principles of language politeness. The findings obtained in this research are 
as follows: 

The maxim of wisdom 
 
The maxim of wisdom is a maxim that maximizes benefits for others and minimizes 

losses for others. Pradnyani et al. (2019), in their research, studied politeness in language 
with politeness maxims. The findings in this research are that families I and N have a form 
of language politeness principles related to tact maxims, which are spoken by parents to early 
childhood with the initial Z as follows, 

 
N: "Little brother, don't run, you'll fall!" 
Z: “Yes, Mother” 
N: “Yeah, just walk.”  

The conversation above was said by N to Z in the afternoon, the utterance belongs to the 
maxim of wisdom, because N adds an advantage to Z, so that Z does not run around which 
results in injury (Norhidayah, 2018) in the utterance "Sister, don't run, you will fall !” 

 
N: "Little brother, what are you eating?" 
Z: "Eat cotton candy Mother." 
N: "Don't eat this often, Sis, your teeth will hurt." 
Z: "The cotton candy is not hard."  
N: "Even though it's not hard Sis, there's sugar in it that can make cavities later. 
Just this one time, okay?” 
Z: "Yes Mother." 

 
The conversation above was spoken by N and Z while eating cotton candy. This utterance 
belongs to the maxim of wisdom because N maximizes the benefits of Z not eating cotton 
candy too often because cotton candy can cause cavities, the utterance "Don't eat cotton 
candy too often" eat this often, Sis, later the teeth will hurt and even though it's not hard Sis, 
there's sugar that can make cavities later. Just this one time, okay?” 
 

Z: "Father, you can pick it up." 
I: "Heavy but sis." 
Z: “Just a little yeah.” 
I: "Later your body will get dirty." 
 

The conversation above was spoken by I and Z when I was working. This utterance belongs 
to the maxim of wisdom because I add an advantage to Z not helping him at work. After all, 
later Z's body will get dirty in the utterance "later your body will get dirty." 
 

N: "Why are you crying, Son?" 
Z: “Want to play there, Mother.” 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    83  

 

 

N: "Don't cry anymore, play there but don't go far okay..."  
  
The conversation above was spoken by N and Z in the afternoon. This utterance belongs to 
the maxim of wisdom, with the reason that because N maximizes profits for Z, to go to 
another alley to play, in the utterance "don't cry anymore, play there but don't go far okay..." 
 

N: "Sister, what are you playing?" 
Z: “Play Lato-Lato.” 
N: "Don't be so loud, play the Lato-Lato, you'll get hit in the head." 
Z: "Yes." 
 

The conversation above was spoken by N and Z in the afternoon when Z was playing. This 
utterance belongs to the maxim of wisdom because N maximizes profits for Z, so he does 
not play the Lato-Lato loudly in an utterance "Don't be loud, play the Lato-Lato, you'll get hit 
in the head." 
 

Acceptance maxim 
 
The maxim of acceptance is a maxim that maximizes losses for oneself and 

minimizes gains for oneself. In families I and N, there are forms of language politeness 
principles related to acceptance, which is spoken by parents to early childhood with the 
initials Z, as follows, 

 
Z: "Mother, want to carry." 
N: "Come here, Mother, carry it. This Mother's child is very heavy." 

 
As spoken by N, when Z wants to ask to be carried in the afternoon, this utterance belongs 
to the maxim of acceptance because N maximizes the loss for himself and minimizes the 
benefit for himself in the utterance "come here, Mother, carry it. This mother's child is very 
heavy." 
 

Z: "Mother, you want the red ones." 
N: "Which one, Sis?" 
Z: “That one Mother.” 
N: "Yes, take it later Mother will buy it." 

 
Spoken by N and Z when they want to shop at the warung. This utterance belongs to the 
acceptance maxim because N obeys Z's wish to buy snacks in the utterance "Yes, take it later 
Mother will buy it." 
 

Z: "Father, want to buy Lato-Lato ." 
I: "Can you play it?" 
Z: "Yes." 
I: "Yes, what color do you want?" 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    84  

 

 

 
Spoken by I and Z when they were in the shop. This utterance belongs to the maxim of 
acceptance because I is maximizing losses for himself by complying with Z's wish to buy 
Lato-Lato, in an utterance "Yes, what color do you want to choose?" 
 

Z: "Mum, want ice cream." 
N: "What do you want to taste? Just choose, later you will buy it, right?” 

 
Spoken by N and Z, in the afternoon when they were at the shop. This utterance belongs to 
the maxim of acceptance because N maximizes losses for himself by complying with Z’s 
wish to buy ice cream in an utterance "what do you want to taste? just choose, later mother 
will buy it." 
 

Z: "Mother, want to play with dolls." 
N: "Can you play it?" 
Z: "Yes." 
N: "Come on, let's play, don't forget to wear sandals, Ok?" 
 

Spoken by N and Z in the afternoon when Z wants to play with claw dolls. This utterance 
belongs to the maxim of acceptance because N obeyed Z's wish to play claw dolls, and N 
paid for the game in an utterance "let's play, don't forget to wear sandals okay..." 

 
Generosity maxim 
 
The generosity maxim is a maxim that maximizes respect for others and minimizes 

disrespect for others. This speech is considered polite when a speaker throws a good speech 
to the interlocutor and does not offend other people. In families I and N, there is a form of 
politeness principle related to the maxim of generosity, which is spoken to early childhood 
with the initials Z, as follows, 

 
I: "Sister, do you remember not praying for food?" 
Z: “Still Father.” 
I: "Which try, I want to hear." 
Z: "Bismillahirahmannnirahhim, Allahumma baarik lanaa fiimaa razaqtana wa qina 

'adzaa Bannaar.” 
I: "Wow, you're so smart, Father's son." 
Z: "Thanks, Father." 
I: “You're welcome.” 

 
Spoken by I and Z when they want to eat. This utterance belongs to the maxim of generosity 
because I maximizes politeness to Z by praising Z's intelligence for reading the prayer before 
eating in the utterance "Wow, you're so smart, Father's son." 

N: "What are the colors of the rainbow, Sis?" 
Z: “Red, green, yellow, blue.” 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    85  

 

 

N: "Wow, your child is very smart and can already name the colors of the rainbow." 
  
Spoken by N and Z after taking a bath in the afternoon. This utterance belongs to the 
maxim of generosity because N maximizes respect for Z by praising Z's intelligence for 
mentioning the colors of the rainbow in the utterance "Wow, your mother's child is so smart 
you can mention the colors of the rainbow". 
 
Figure 2. Mother’s interaction with her child 

 
 

 
Z: "Adek, can you burn this sausage." 
I: "This father's son is very smart, but I'll help you, okay?" 
 

Spoken by I and Z at night. This utterance belongs to the maxim of generosity because I 
maximizes respect for Z by praising Z's intelligence in an utterance "This father's son is very 
smart, but please help me..." 
 

I: "Little sister, what was that given to you by Aunt Putri?" 
Z: “Snack.” 
I: "What do you say when you have given it?" 
Z: "Thanks, Aunt." 
I: "Very smart, carry it here first." 

 
Said by I and Z when given snacks in the afternoon. This speech belongs to the maxim of 
generosity because I maximizes respect for Z by praising Z's intelligence in an utterance 
"very smart, carry it here first". 

Z: "Mother, you can sing Pok Ambe-Ambe." 
N: "Try to sing, Mother wants to hear it." 
Z: "Pok Ambe-Ambe, butterfly grasshopper, eat rice during the day, drink milk at 

night.” 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    86  

 

 

N: “Wow, smart. Brother's voice is very good.” 
 
Spoken by N and Z while singing in the afternoon. This utterance belongs to the maxim of 
generosity because N maximizes respect for Z by praising Z's intelligence for being good at 
singing and having a good voice when singing in the utterance "Wow, smart. Your voice is 
great." 

Modesty maxim 
 
The humility maxim is a maxim that maximizes self-respect and minimizes 

self-respect. In this modesty maxim, an utterance is considered polite when a speaker does 
not favor himself when he speaks to his interlocutor. The speaker can be said to be a person 
who is not arrogant and praises others. 

 
N: "Little brother, let's go to the birthday party." 
Z: "Come on, Mother." 
N: “You are so beautiful.” 
Z: “Mother is also beautiful.” 
N: "But Mother's child is more beautiful, please!" 
 

Spoken by N and Z when they want to go to a birthday party. This utterance belongs to the 
maxim of modesty. The reason that N did not excel himself and praised Z more was in the 
speech "But Mother's child is more beautiful please." 
 

Z: "That's great for you to draw." 
N: "Thanks, your picture is also better." 

 
Spoken by N and Z while drawing. This speech belongs to the maxim of humility because N 
does not excel himself and praises Z's description more in an utterance "thank you, your 
sister's picture is also better." 
 

Z: "Smart mother." 
N: "Thanks, dear, but smarter Mother's child." 
 

Spoken by N and Z while drawing. This utterance belongs to the maxim of humility because 
that N does not excel himself and praises Z's description more in an utterance "thanks, dear 
but smarter, Mother's child." 
 

I: "Sister, it smells so good.” 
Z: “Father, also smells good." 
I: "But it still smells good, little brother." 

 
 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    87  

 

 

Spoken by I and Z after taking a bath. This utterance belongs to the maxim of humility 
because I does not excel himself and praises Z more, in an utterance "but still smells good, 
brother please." 
 

N: "What a melodious voice sister." 
Z: "Thanks, Mother.. Mother's voice is also melodious." 
N: "Your child's voice is more melodious." 
Z: "Father just bought new shoes." 
I: "Who wants to buy shoes?" 
Z: "Little brother yeah." 
I: “Wow, thanks.” 
Z: "You're welcome, Father." 
 

Spoken by I and Z in the morning. The utterance belongs to the maxim of consensus 
because the speech between I and Z maximizes the agreement between them to buy new 
shoes in the speech "Who wants to buy shoes?" 

 
Maxim of consensus 
 
The consensus maxim is a maxim that maximizes the sense of agreement between 

the speaker and the interlocutor when communicating and minimizes the feeling of 
disapproval between the speaker and the interlocutor. In this consensus maxim, a speaker 
and interlocutor must have a sense of agreement or agreement between them, according to 
their respective opinions. 

 
I: "You eat a lot, so you are fat." 
Z: “Yes, feed it.” 
I: "Here, father feed." 

 
Spoken by I and Z when they want to eat. The utterance belongs to the consensus maxim 
because I and Z agree with each other's wishes. 
 

Z: "Father, it is not sweet enough." 
I: "Do you want to add more sugar?” 
Z: “Yes, a little more.” 
I: "Yes, Father added." 

 
Spoken by I and Z while cooking. The utterance belongs to the consensus maxim because I 
and Z agree with each other's opinions. 
 

Z: "Mother, want to go to uncle's house." 
N: "Same mother yes." 
Z: “Mother just stays at home.” 
N: "Yes, Mother waits. Be careful on the way, ok." 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    88  

 

 

Spoken by N and Z in the afternoon. The utterance belongs to the consensus maxim 
because N and Z agree with each other's opinions. 
 

N: "Can you draw a rainbow?" 
Z: "Yes Mother." 
N: "Try to draw, Mother wants to see." 
Z: "This Mother, it is colorful." 

 
Spoken by N and Z while drawing. The utterance belongs to the consensus maxim because 
N and Z agree with each other's wishes. 
 

Z: "Father just bought new shoes." 
I: "Who wants to buy shoes?" 
Z: "Little brother yeah." 
I: "Wow, thanks." 
Z: "You're welcome, Father." 

 
Spoken by I and Z in the afternoon. The utterance belongs to the consensus maxim because 
I and Z agree with each other's opinions. 
 

Sympathy maxim 
 
The sympathy maxim is a maxim that maximizes sympathy for the addressee and 

minimizes anticipation toward the addressee. In this sympathy maxim, this utterance is 
considered polite when a speaker has a sense of care for others and minimizes indifference 
to others. 

 
Z: "Mother, it hurts." 
N: "Why does it hurt, Sis?” 
Z: “Bumped into it.” 
N: "I'm so sorry, Mother's child." 
 

Spoken by N and Z in the afternoon when Z hits the table. The utterance belongs to the 
maxim of sympathy because N maximized his sympathy for Z with the speech "I'm so sorry, 
Mother's child". 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    89  

 

 

 
Figure 3. Father’s interaction with his child 
 

 
 

Z: "Father, Brother fell." 
I: "Why can you fall?" 
Z: “Running in the field.” 
I: "I'm sorry, tomorrow we will buy medicine." 
Z: “Yes.” 

Spoken by I and Z at night. The utterance belongs to the sympathy maxim because I 
maximizes sympathy for Z in the utterance "I'm sorry, we'll buy medicine tomorrow, okay?" 

 
Z: "Mother, it is very spicy." 
N: "I'm so sorry, Mother. Wait a minute, Son." 
Z: "Yes." 
N: "Finish the drink." 

Spoken by N and Z while eating. This utterance belongs to the sympathy maxim because N 
maximizes sympathy for Z in an utterance "I'm sorry for your daughter, please wait a 
moment, son, and finish the drink.” 

 
Z: "Father, earlier you were bitten by a mosquito." 
I: "Use a couch, okay, so you will not be bitten by mosquitoes again. I will use it 

later." 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    90  

 

 

Spoken by I and Z when they want to sleep. This utterance belongs to the sympathy maxim 
because I maximizes sympathy for Z by wanting to put a sofa on Z in an utterance "Use a 
sofa, so you don't get bitten by mosquitoes again. I'll use it later". 
 

N: "Little brother, hold on to Father, okay." 
Z: “Yes, Mother.” 
N: "Be careful on the road." 

Spoken by N and Z when they want to leave. The utterance belongs to the sympathy maxim 
because N maximizes his sympathy for Z to hold on to I in an utterance "sister, hold on to 
your father and be careful on the road".  

 
Discussion 
 
The way for parents to instill politeness in this language to young children in families 

I and N is to direct the child, speak words with soft intonation, and apply the words “thank 
you, please, and sorry” according to the situation. In families I and N, parents set a good 
example for their children so that children imitate the teachings and examples of parents to 
children, so they become good personalities and have high politeness ethics. Furthermore, 
the parents in the I and N families provide an understanding related to language politeness. 
Similar to Anggraini et al. (2019) and Hartini and AR (2017), politeness has principles, forms 
of obedience, and violations of politeness, Wulansafitri and Syaifudin (2020) also described 
that politeness has forms of compliance and violations of politeness and implicatures that 
arise in utterances. 

The novelty in this research is the maxim of politeness obtained through speech 
between parents and children in a family environment. These findings can be used as 
reference material for language politeness material, as well as techniques or methods in 
educating children through politeness maxims used by the informants of this research. 
Children must be directed to become good personalities according to the teachings of their 
parents. However, children must also be given an understanding related to language 
politeness, and good speech when speaking. It is because language politeness behavior in the 
family environment will also affect children's language behavior. 

Researchers have limitations in conducting research, which are limited to the number 
of utterances that are the source of research data, so the research results have been able to 
represent the findings of the principle of language politeness in the family environment. It is 
because this research checks the validity of the data obtained. Check the validity of the data 
by a credibility test with a member check, transferability test, and confirmability test by 
re-checking the data that has been obtained from the source. 

 
Conclusion 
 
The form of politeness principles used by researchers in this research is Leech's 

theory (Leech, 1993), which consists of six forms of politeness principles, namely the maxim 
of wisdom, generosity, acceptance, modesty, agreement, and sympathy, with each having five 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    91  

 

 

utterances in every form of politeness principle. In this research, there are forms of language 
politeness principles between parents and early childhood from various interactions, whether 
playing, drawing, singing, or counting, which fulfill the six forms of language politeness 
principles. The application of language politeness must be applied to children as early as 
possible. Children must be directed to become good personalities according to the teachings 
of their parents. However, children must also be given an understanding related to language 
politeness and good speech when speaking. It is because language politeness behavior in the 
family environment will also affect children's language behavior. 

Declaration of Conflicting Interests 
 
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. 
 
Acknowledgments 
 
Thanks to Universitas Bina Darma, DRPM of Universitas Bina Darma, Social and 

Humaniora Faculty, and Indonesian Language of Education Study Program that have helped 
in conducting research and compiling this scientific article. 
 

References 
 
Anggraini, N., Rahayu, N., & Djunaidi, B. (2019). Kesantunan Berbahasa Indonesia dalam 

pembelajaran di kelas X MAN 1 Model Kota Bengkulu (Indonesian politeness in 
learning in class X MAN 1 Bengkulu City). Jurnal Ilmiah Korpus, 3(1), 42-54. 

Apriliani, E. I. (2019). Kesantunan bahasa anak di PAUD Mekar Sari Gondoriyo Kecamatan 
Jambu. Indonesian Journal of Early Childhood: Jurnal Dunia Anak Usia Dini, 1(2), 62-70. 

Chaer, A. (2010). Kesantunan berbahasa (Language politeness). Jakarta: Rineka Cipta. 
Creswell, J. W. (2016). Qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approach. Yogyakarta: Student 

Literature. 
Fraser, B. (1990). Perspectives on politeness. Journal of Pragmatics, 14(2), 219-236. 
Halliday, M. A. K., & Webster, J. J. (2003). On language and linguistics: Volume 3. A&C Black. 
Hamzah, Z. A. Z., Hassan, A. F. M., & Adama, M. N. H. M. (2011). Kesantunan bahasa 

dalam kalangan remaja sekolah menengah (Language politeness among high school 
adolescents). Jurnal Bahasa, 12(2), 321-328. 

Hartini, H. I., & AR, H. F. (2017). Kesantunan berbahasa dalam komentar caption Instagram 
(Language politeness in Instagram caption comments). Jurnal Online Mahasiswa (JOM) 
Bidang Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, 4(2), 1-14. 

Hermawan, D. (2018). Kesantunan berbahasa pada anak usia 11 tahun (Studi kasus terhadap 
anak usia 11 tahun) (Language politeness in children aged 11 years (Case study of 
children aged 11 years)). METAMORFOSIS| Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra Indonesia dan 
Pengajarannya, 11(1), 1-9. 

Kridalaksana, H. (2013). Kamus linguistik (Linguistics dictionary). Gramedia Pustaka Utama. 
Lestari, S. (2012). Psikologi keluarga: Penanaman nilai dan penanganan konflik dalam keluarga 

(Family psychology: Instilling values and handling conflicts in the family). Jakarta: Kencana. 



IRJE |Indonesian Research Journal in Education| 
|Vol. 7| No. 1|June|Year 2023| 

 

 

|E-ISSN: 2580-5711|https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/index.php/irje/index|    92  

 

 

Masinambouw, E.K.M. (1998). Hubungan timbal balik antara bahasa dan budaya (Reciprocity 
between language and culture). Yogyakarta: Universitas Gadjah Mada. 

Ningrum, I. W., Andayani, A., & Mulyono, S. (2017). Analisis prinsip kesantunan berbahasa 
pada kegiatan diskusi kelas siswa SMA Negeri 7 Surakarta (Analysis of politeness 
principles in class discussion activities of SMA Negeri 7 Surakarta 
students). BASASTRA, 5(1), 127-143. 

Norhidayah, S. (2015). Kesantunan berbahasa di lingkungan keluarga masyarakat Banjar di 
Kecamatan Banjar Selatan (Speech politeness in Banjarese family in South Banjar 
District). Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra dan Pembelajarannya, 5(1), 45-61. 

Pradnyani, N. L. P. B., Laksana, I. K. D., & Aryawibawa, I. N. (2019). Kesantunan berbahasa 
guru dan siswa dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Indonesia pada kelas VII SMP Negeri 1 
Kuta Utara (Teacher and student language politeness in learning Bahasa in class VII 
SMP Negeri 1 Kuta Utara). Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora, 8(2), 91-96. 

Widodo, W., Santoso, A., & Putra, Y. R. (2022). Kesantunan berbahasa terhadap anak usia 
dini dalam meningkatkan komunikasi di media social (Language politeness towards 
early childhood in improving communication on social media). Jurnal Citra 
Dimensi, 1(1), 34-43. 

Wulansafitri, I., & Syaifudin, A. (2020). Kesantunan berbahasa dalam tuturan Film My Stupid 
Boss 1 (Politeness in the film My Stupid Boss 1). Jurnal Sastra Indonesia, 9(1), 21-27. 

Yule, G. (2006). Pragmatik (Pragmatics). Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar. 
Yusuf, M. F. (2021). Pengantar ilmu komunikasi (Introduction to communication science). Yogyakarta: 

Pustaka Ilmu. 

 

 
Biographical Notes 
 
Dr. HASTARI MAYRITA is working at Universitas Bina Darma, Palembang, 

South Sumatra, Indonesia  
PUTRI SUKMA BALKIST is working at Universitas Bina Darma, Palembang, 

South Sumatra, Indonesia  
ANDINA MUCHTI is working at Universitas Bina Darma, Palembang, South 

Sumatra, Indonesia  
YENI ERNAWATI is working at Universitas Bina Darma, Palembang, South 

Sumatra, Indonesia