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2.
Method 
This study uses a qualitative approach to find out 
the modesty strategies proposed by Brown & 
Levinson. Therefore, this review-based research tries 
to illustrate how the strategies that have been 
developed by Brown & Levinson. This research also 
looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the theory. 
This study also tries to see whether the theory still 
been used by current studies. This research hopes to 

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Journal of Research and Innovation in Language
 
Available online at: 
 
http://ojs.journal.unilak.ac.id/index.php/reila
Vol. 1, No. 3, December 2019, pp. 111-117
113 
be able to provide a simple picture while 
recommending the findings or steps in the article, 
whether it is feasible to be replicated or not in the 
same study. 
3. Strength and Weaknesses 
The concept of politeness in this study is primarily 
based on the politeness theory by Brown and 
Levinson (1978, 1987), which incorporates three 
basic notions: face, face-threat (FTA) actions and 
politeness strategies. 
Brown and Levinson's 'politeness' theory was 
initially published in 1978. This is a theory that has 
caused quite a lot of controversy; although widely 
recognized in the literature, it also attracts a lot of 
criticism (e.g. Matsumoto, 1988; Ide, 1989). The 
phenomenon of 'politeness' can be identified by using 
Brown and Levinson’s theory is not only in goal-
oriented interactions but also in interactions that are 
not goal-oriented (Kitamura: 1000). Brown and 
Levinson's work consists of two parts. The first part is 
their fundamental theory of the nature of 'politeness' 
and how it functions in interactions. The second part 
is a list of 'politeness' strategies with examples from 
three languages: English, Tzeltal, and Tamil. In the 
theoretical part of their work, Brown and Levinson 
introduced the ‘face’ idea to describe ‘politeness’ in 
the broadest sense.
In other words, everyone who interacts has an 
interest in maintaining two types of 'face' during 
interaction: 'positive face' and 'negative face'. Brown 
and Levinson define 'positive faces' as positive and 
consistent images that people have about themselves, 
and their desire for approval. On the other hand, 
negative faces 'are" necessary claims to territory, 
personal protection, and the right not to be disturbed 
"(p. 61). Utilizing the idea of 'face', 'politeness' is 
considered to have a dual nature: 'positive politeness' 
and 'negative politeness'. 'Positive politeness' is 
expressed by satisfying 'positive faces' in two ways: 
1) by showing similarities among the participants; or 
1) by expressing appreciation for the other person's 
self-image. 'Negative politeness' can also be 
expressed in two ways: 1) by saving 'interlocutors' 
(either 'negative' or 'positive') by reducing threatening 
facial actions (from now on referred to as FTA), such 
as giving advice and disagreeing; or 1) by satisfying 
negative faces 'by showing respect for the recipient's 
rights that are not imposed. According to Schegloff 
and Sacks, 1973; Scollon and Scollon, 1981; Usami, 
1998 "Although the theoretical part of this work 
seems to have the potential to be applied to various 
types of interactions, Brown and Levinson's list of 
'politeness' strategies mainly includes certain types of 
interactions that are very limited. The examples they 
provide mainly consist of single sayings that have or 
presuppose clear communicative goals, such as asking 
to borrow a book or giving advice.
Brown and Levinson tend to ignore the fact that 
most single utterances are only constituents of a 
greater exchange between two or more people who 
interact. First, they do not pay attention to phenomena 
that occur throughout the discourse, such as the return 
channel or the overall sequence of speech (cf. 
Schegloff and Sacks, 1973; Scollon and Scollon, 
1981; Usami, 1998). Second, they ignore any 
interactions, such as simply enjoying a relaxed 
conversation, which does not involve predetermined 
goals. The theory of politeness suggested by Brown 
and Levinson is the most influential work in the field 
of interlanguage science, which is widely used (1978, 
1987) (Brunet, Cowie, Donnan, & Douglas-Cowie, 
1011, p. 1). The theory concentrates primarily on how 
politeness is conveyed to protect the identity of the 
speaker. Brown and Levinson (1987) based on their 
Goffman theory (1955, 1967), which introduced a 
positive face first and demonstrated importance and 
necessity in specific social interactions (Brunet et al., 
1011, p. 1).
'Positive politeness' refers to what can be 
conveyed to satisfy the needs of the positive face of a 
person, whereas 'negative politeness' works in two 
ways. 
First, to save the "interlocutor of the face", it 
can be expressed negatively and positively. Second, 
by respecting the needs of the negative face, it can 
also be expressed by showing respect for the recipient, 
remembering that their rights must be respected and 
‘not imposed’ (Kitamura, 1000, p. 1). At this point, 
they cooperate in any social communication for the 
interlocutor to defend their faces, because they need 
to defend everyone's faces depends on others 
(Wijayanto, Laila, Prasetyarini, & Susiati, 1013). 
Therefore, Brown and Levinson (1987) proposed their 
politeness technique to shield the interlocutor's face in 
any social interaction as they communicate their 
speech behaviour. 
They believe that this strategy may be universal in 
allowing the speaker to understand the social factors 
in which the speaker defends others' faces by using 
his speech actions. When clarifying modesty 
strategies, the significance of social factors has 
prompted researchers to justify it before describing 
modesty strategies. Brown and Levinson (1987) 
reflect on three social factors that the speaker will 
consider while communicating with each other. There 
are 1) Power, 2) Social distance and 3) Level of 
coercion. Power refers to both the speaker and the 
listener's social status. Social distance is defined as a 
factor indicating the degree of mutual contact between 
the other parties. (Brown Levinson, 1987). Kida 
(1011, p. 183) said that "reverence, respect and 
politeness" can be conveyed by the use of different 
linguistic forms.
Brown and Levinson (1987) state that politeness 
strategies are developed to save the "face" of the 
listener. The face refers to the respect a person has for 

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