STRATEGI KESANTUNAN POSITIF DALAM SURAT-MENYURAT BISNIS: ANALISIS PRAGMATIK TERHADAP SURAT-SURAT DALAM OXFORD HANDBOOK
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37296/esci.v5i2.267Kata Kunci:
Politeness Strategies, Business Letters, Commercial Correspondence, Pragmatics, Brown and Levinson, Professional CommunicationAbstrak
Penelitian ini mengkaji penerapan positive politeness strategies dalam surat-menyurat bisnis formal yang ditulis oleh penutur asli bahasa Inggris. Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh meningkatnya pengakuan terhadap kesantunan sebagai alat pragmatik dalam menjaga profesionalisme dan mengelola hubungan interpersonal dalam komunikasi tertulis. Meskipun banyak penelitian telah dilakukan pada komunikasi digital, masih sedikit analisis yang membahas bagaimana strategi kesantunan diterapkan secara sistematis dalam surat bisnis konvensional. Untuk mengisi kekosongan tersebut, studi ini menganalisis lima belas surat yang dipilih dari Oxford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence. Dengan menggunakan teori kesantunan dari Brown dan Levinson (1987) serta tipologi komponen surat bisnis dari Nickerson (1999), penelitian ini difokuskan pada elemen-elemen seperti salutations, contexts, pre-closes, closings, signatures, dan enclosures. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif, dengan menerapkan teknik referential identity untuk mengklasifikasikan dan menginterpretasi 121 temuan strategi kesantunan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa strategi yang paling sering digunakan adalah use of appropriate forms of address (45 temuan), diikuti oleh establishing common ground, being optimistic, dan asserting knowledge. Strategi-strategi ini muncul secara konsisten di berbagai bagian surat, menunjukkan fungsinya sebagai alat komunikasi sekaligus alat hubungan interpersonal. Temuan ini menyoroti peran sentral kesantunan linguistik dalam memperkuat profesionalisme, membangun rasa saling menghormati, dan mendorong kerja sama di masa depan. Studi ini menyimpulkan bahwa positive politeness bukanlah sekadar ornamen, melainkan merupakan perangkat retoris yang penting dalam interaksi bisnis tertulis. Penelitian lanjutan dapat mengeksplorasi variasi strategi ini dalam konteks lintas budaya atau adaptasinya dalam komunikasi bisnis digital.
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