Melola Discovery

← Melola Discovery

Open access Journal

Politeness Strategies to Express Emotion in Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty

Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies · Vol. 15 No. 2 (2026) · pp. 138–46

DOI
10.15294/rainbow.v15i2.57601
ISSN
2721-4540, 2252-6323
Published
2026-08-03
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language
eng
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Abstract

This study aims to examine the politeness strategies found in the novel The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. In cross-linguistic pragmatics, politeness is a key element that functions as a system of interpersonal relations designed to minimize communication problems. For adolescents who are developing an awareness of social relationships and emotional regulation, politeness strategies are crucial for managing conversations in order to maintain connections and avoid misunderstandings. The objective of this study is to identify which strategies and the most frequently used strategies are employed by the teenage characters in this novel, namely Belly, Steven, Jeremiah, and Conrad. The theory employed is the politeness strategies framework by Brown & Levinson (1987), which comprises four strategies: bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record. Using a qualitative descriptive method, 169 instances of politeness strategies spoken among the four characters were identified. Through the frequent use of positive politeness, the findings indicate that these characters tend to prioritize solidarity and closeness in their interactions. This study contributes to our understanding of how politeness strategies are represented in literary discourse, particularly among adolescent characters.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

8 authors · 13 co-authorship links

Hover or tap a name to highlight its co-authors. Double-click to open the author's page.

  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Yuliati YuliatiAffiliation unknown1
Ummi Nur Laila SulistyaniAffiliation unknown1
Aditya Rangga Putra CahayaAffiliation unknown1
Nira AmaliaAffiliation unknown1
Farrel Maulana AzhaniAffiliation unknown1
Silva RaniAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
<oai_dc:dc xmlns="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/  http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Politeness Strategies to Express Emotion in Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Faily, Naura Makiya</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Utami, Almira Irwaniyanti</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">adolescents</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">brown and levinson</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">communication</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">politeness</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">politeness strategies</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">
This study aims to examine the politeness strategies found in the novel The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. In cross-linguistic pragmatics, politeness is a key element that functions as a system of interpersonal relations designed to minimize communication problems. For adolescents who are developing an awareness of social relationships and emotional regulation, politeness strategies are crucial for managing conversations in order to maintain connections and avoid misunderstandings. The objective of this study is to identify which strategies and the most frequently used strategies are employed by the teenage characters in this novel, namely Belly, Steven, Jeremiah, and Conrad. The theory employed is the politeness strategies framework by Brown &amp;amp; Levinson (1987), which comprises four strategies: bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record. Using a qualitative descriptive method, 169 instances of politeness strategies spoken among the four characters were identified. Through the frequent use of positive politeness, the findings indicate that these characters tend to prioritize solidarity and closeness in their interactions. This study contributes to our understanding of how politeness strategies are represented in literary discourse, particularly among adolescent characters.
</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2026-08-03</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/article/view/57601</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/rainbow.v15i2.57601</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Rainbow: Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies; Vol. 15 No. 2 (2026): Special Issue ; 138-46</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2721-4540</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2252-6323</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/rainbow.v15i2</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/rainbow/article/view/57601/10913</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2026 Naura Makiya Faily, Almira Irwaniyanti Utami (Author)</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>