Gratitude expressions and gratitude responses of male and female characters in Rachel Getting Married movie

ABSTRACT

People often show appreciation to express thanks to other people because of some reasons such as receiving help, a gift or other favours. Therefore, it is a positive emotion or attitude acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. However, gratitude can also be used for negative emotion. It can be used ironically. Depending on different gender, the expression of gratitude can be delivered in different way because female speech is being different from male.

This research purposes to know whether the similarities or differences of gratitude expressions and responses used by eight characters, either male and female, in Rachel Getting Married movie. It is to know the way of the characters either male or female express and respond to gratitude showing either positive or negative emotion.

In conducting the research, the researcher uses descriptive qualitative research. It uses a discourse analysis which uses speech acts theory and pragmatics approach. It analyzes the utterances that show gratefulness of eight characters in Rachel Getting Married movie using Hymes’ theory of gratitude expressions and coulmas’ theory of gratitude responses.

From the analysis, it can be found seven functions of gratitude expressions. The most function uses to express gratitude expression is acknowledging a major favour while it is a fair in gratitude responses. Finally, the result is that they are the differences between male and female in expressing gratitude but there are no differences in responding gratitude. The researcher found women express gratitude commonly than men, for either positive emotion or negative emotion. Women are more polite then men. Women usually show their feeling expressively, emotionally and politely. Furthermore, Women express gratitude with length strategies such “Thank you very much”, “it’s beautiful. Thank you’ while men express gratitude in simple expression such “thank you”. Finally, men express gratitude much in formal situation. In contrast, women express gratitude much in informal situation but fair in formal situation. Women usually can express gratitude in all condition and situation.