CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

As part of our assessment for the subject Introduction to Sociolinguistics, our group
consisting of Nurul Zahidah binti Hassan PTM130723907, Zahidah Husna binti Zulkifli
PTM130723486 and Farhana binti Abdul Hadi PTM130723631 conducted a questionnaire
among third semester students of TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) code BE101
regarding Politeness and Address Forms.
Politeness in the English dictionary is defined as the quality of being civilized or wellmannered and address forms are ways of addressing the people around us. According to Janet
Holmes An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, factors constraining the polite choice of address
terms are age group, gender, status, setting, title and solidarity.
Politeness and address forms play an important role in our daily lives, specifically our
target respondents who range from college students who study in an environment of different
people. They are inclined to interact with peers that vary from different age groups, genders,
statuses and titles in different settings.
Our questionnaire was conducted to investigate the factors that manipulate politeness
and the different ways others address their peers of different age groups. Our questionnaire
entitled, Degree of Politeness between Peers of Various Age Groups among BE101 Semester
3 Students in KPTMKL was distributed fairly among the third semester TESL students of Kolej
Poly-Tech MARA Kuala Lumpur. We received an appropriate amount of responds and
successfully drafted this report. This report contains the objective and findings of our
investigation.

CHAPTER TWO: OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the study is to analyse the BE101 Semester 3 students perception of the
degree of politeness between peers of various age group. The more specific objectives of the
study are:
1. To identify the students perception regarding politeness between peers of various age
group
2. How does politeness influence the students behaviour towards their peers from different
group of age
3. The factors that influence the degree of politeness among students with their peers of
different age
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The fundamental questions addressed by this study are:
i.

Does age group plays an important role in the degree of politeness between peers?

ii.

What are the factors that determine the degree of politeness in different ages?

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

The instrument that is a questionnaire was developed to elicit answers to the research
questions was administered to the respondents who were BE101 students in KPTMKL. The
respondents were 30 students from KPTMKL. The questionnaire is divided into two parts. The
first part gathers the information of students personal data and consists of eight questions. The
first five questions require them to state their age, gender, age of their friends, do they have
friend who is older than their age and have they experienced a communication barrier with their
older friend. They were asked to write their answers in the space provided in the questionnaire.

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS

Background of respondents

Total Number of Respondents based on

Gender
Total Number of Respondents

16
14
12
10
8

Male

Female

4
2
0
Gender

GRAPH 1: Total Number of Respondents Based on Gender

In completing our research regarding the Degree of Politeness between Peers of
Various Age Groups among BE101 Semester 3 Students in Kolej Poly-Tech Mara (KPTMKL),
we had gone through the questionnaires done by 30 students altogether, all of whom are
BE101 Semester 3 students in KPTMKL. In this small-scale research, the 30 respondents
mentioned above; is comprised of a total of 15 male and 15 female. Hence, we can say that the
number of respondents is this research based upon gender is equal; leading us onto a
percentage of 50% male to 50% female in regards of the total number of respondents in this
particular research.

SECTION A
QUESTION 1: How old are you?

Age of Respondents
Total No. of Respondents

16
14
12
10
8

Male

Female

4
2
0
18-20 Years Old

21-23 Years Old

24-26 Years Old Above 26 Years Old

Age

GRAPH 2: Age of Respondents

In order to find out the age of our respondents, we created a question in our
questionnaire that can help us to determine the age of the respondents. Based upon graph 2,
13 of the male respondents are within the range of age 18 until 20 years old. The remaining 2
of the male respondents are within the range of age 21 until 23 years old. For the female
respondents, 14 of the female respondents are within the range of age from 18 until 20 years
old. Meanwhile, the remaining 1 of the 15 female respondents is within the range of age 21
until 23 years old. None of the respondents are within the range of age between 24 until above
26 years old. Overall, 27 out of 30 respondents are within the range of age from 18 until 20
years old and 3 out of 30 respondents are within the range of age of 21 until 24 years old.

QUESTION 2: How old are your peers?

Group of Peers based on Age

14

Total No. of Respondents

12
10
8
Male

Female

4
2
0
18-20 Years Old

21-23 Years Old

24-26 YearsOld

Above 26 Years Old

Age of Peers

GRAPH 3: Group of Peers based on Age

In order to find out the age of our respondents peers, we come out with a question that
can help us to determine their age. Based on graph 3, 13 of the male respondents have a group
of peers within the range of age from 18 until 20 years old, while the other 2 of male
respondents have groups of peers within the range of age from 21 until 23 years old. For female
respondents, 12 of the respondents have groups of peers within the range of age from 18 until
20 years old whilst the other 3 of the female respondents have groups of peers within the range
of age from 21 until 23 years old. None of the respondents have groups of peers from the range
of age from 24 until above 26 years old. Overall, 25 out of 30 of the respondents have groups of
peers from within the range of age 18 until 20 years old, and; 5 out of the total respondents
have groups of peers within the range of age from 21 until 23 years old.

QUESTION 3: Do you have friends who are older than you?

Respondents' Opinion if They Have Friends who

are Older than Them
10

No. of Respondents

9
8
7
6
5

Male

Female

3
2
1
0
Yes

No
Responds

GRAPH 4: Respondents Opinion if They Have Friends who are Older than Them
In order to find out the respondents opinion if they have friends who are older than
them, we put it as a yes/no question in our questionnaire. Based on graph 4, 9 of the male
respondents say that they indeed; do have friends who are older than them whilst the other 6 of
the male respondents say the opposite- which is: No. Equally, 9 of the female respondents also
say that they do have friends who are older than their age while, the other 6 of the female
respondents say no to the question. Overall, 18 of the total respondents says yes that they
have friends who are older than them while the other 12 says that they do not have friends who
are older than them.

QUESTION 4: Have you ever experienced communication barrier due to differences in

age?

Respondents' Opinions Regarding Experiencing

Communication Barrier Due to Ages' Differences
Total No. of Respondents

12
10
8
6

Male

Female

2
0
Yes

No
Responds

GRAPH 5: Respondents Opinion Regarding Experiencing Communication Barrier due to

Ages Differences
In order to find out if the respondents ever experienced communication or language
barrier when they communicate with peers who are older than them, we created a yes/no
question to help us get an answer for it. Based on graph 5, 9 of male respondents say that they
have experienced communication barrier which had occurred due to ages differences, whilst
the other 6 of male respondents say that they have never came across communication barrier
due to ages difference. For female respondents, 5 out of 15 respondents say that they have
experienced communication barrier due to ages difference whilst the other 10 of the female
respondents say otherwise.

QUESTION 4(A): If you do, please explain why.

Causes of Communication's Barrier

7
Total No. of Respondents

6
5
4
Male

Female

2
1
0
Age Differences

Difficult to Interact
Causes

GRAPH 6: Causes of Communication Barrier

This question is a continuation from Question 4 in Part A. In this question, we asked the
respondents who answered yes in Question 4 to give reasons why or what do they think are
the causes for them to experience language barrier with their older peers. Based on graph 6, 3
of the male respondents who have experienced communication barriers due to ages difference
say that they experienced such barrier mainly because of the age difference, especially ones
who are older than them. The other remaining 6 of the male respondents who have experienced
communication barrier due to ages difference say that they faced such experience because
they find it difficult to interact with those who are older than them.
They felt awkward because they felt that they cannot really relate to the way those who
are older than them communicate, hence; causing them to have difficulties in interacting with
those who are older. For female respondents, all 5 of those who have experienced
communication barrier due to ages difference basically have the similar reasons to the male
respondents: they experienced such barrier mainly because they feel the need to respect them.
From these, we can see that majority of male respondents faced such barrier because of
difficulties in interacting to those who are older, whilst majority of female respondents faced the
barrier due to the age difference.
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QUESTION 5: How do you address peers older than you?

Ways in Addressing Older Peers

Total No. of Respondents

12
10
8
6

Male
Female

4
2
0
Name According to Age/Status

First Name Basis

Ways

GRAPH 7: Ways in Addressing Older Peers

In order to find out on how the respondents address their older peers, we created this
question to help us determine if age and status play an important role in linguistic politeness and
address form. Based on graph 7, 9 of the male respondents preferred to address their older
peers according to their age or status which are: abang, kakak or bro; while the remainder 6
of the male respondents preferred to address them using their first name basis. For female
respondents, 10 of the female respondents preferred to address their older peers according to
their age or status- those which are similar to that of male respondents; while the other 6 of the
female respondents preferred to call their older peers using the first name basis. From these
findings, we can see that majority of male and female respondents preferred to use names
status when addressing their older peers.

10

QUESTION 6: Respect those who are older than you

Do you agree with this statement? If you do/do not agree, please explain why.

Opinions regarding statement: "Respect those

who are older than you"
Total No. of Respondents

16
14
12
10
8

Male

Female

4
2
0
Agree

Disagree
Opinions

GRAPH 8: Opinions regarding Statement: Respect those who are older than you
For this question, we give the respondents a statement Respect those who are older
than you to identify if the respondents agree or disagree with the statement. They also have to
give reason(s) why they agree or disagree with the statement. Based on graph 8, 14 out of 15
respondents for both male and female respondents respectively agree to the statement:
Respect those who are older than you whilst the other 1 of both male and female respondents,
respectively disagree to the statement. Thus, we can see there that majority of male and female
respondents agree to the fact that people should respect those who are older than them, whilst
minority of 1 respondent respectively; from both male and female respondents disagree to such
statement.

11

Reasons given by respondents for agreeing with the statement

Total No. of Respondents

Reasons to Agree to the Statement: "Respect

those who are older than you"
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Male
Female

Upbringing

Culture

Religion

Age

Reasons

GRAPH 9: Reasons to Agree to the statement: Respect those who are older than you
This graph represented those who agree with the statement in Question 6. Based on
graph 9, 8 of male respondents and 7 of the female respondents who agree to the statement
Respect those who are older than you described that they had agreed to such statement
because of their upbringing. They were taught and educated in a family which inclined them to
respect people, especially those who are older than them despite whoever they are. Whilst 2 of
the remainder male respondents and 3 of the female respondents described that their culture
had moulded them onto respecting those who are older than them.
2 of the other male respondents and 3 of the female respondents described how they
respect people, especially those who are older than them; because of their religion. Their
religion had taught them to respect people, no matter who they are; what more those who are of
older age than them. Meanwhile, the last 2 of the overall male respondents and 2 of the overall
female respondents agree to such statement because of the age factor. For them; as long as
the person is older than them, they feel that they are obligated to respect them. From these
findings, we can see that majority of both male and female respondents agreed to the statement
because of their upbringing. Hence, we can say that for both male and female respondents;
upbringing factor plays a large role in making them agreed to the statement that People should
respect those who are older than them.
12

Reasons given by respondents who disagree with the statement

Reasons to Disagree to the Statement:

"Respect those who are older than you"
1.2

No. of Respondents

1
0.8
0.6

Male

0.4

Female

0.2
0
Age is just a number
Reason

GRAPH 10: Reasons to Disagree to the Statement: Respect those who are older than
you
This graph represented those who disagree with the statement in Question 6. Based on
graph 10, we can see that the respective number of 1 respondent from both male and female
respondents does not agree to the statement that people should respect the other people who
are older than them because they feel that age is just a number. If they feel that the person
deserves respect from them, than they will gladly give it to those who deserved it. They
described that people should gain respect; not because of how old they are, but; who they are
as a person. Thus, we can see here that equal number of male and female respondent have
disagreed to the statement because they feel that age is just a number.

13

QUESTION 7:
A. Ali respects peers who are older than him.
B. Lisa does not give special treatment to peers older than her. She treats them equally.
C. Abu disrespects peers older than him.
Why do you think situation A, B and C occur? Explain.

Opinions Regarding Situations A, B and C

8

Total No. of Respondents

7
6
5
4

Male

Female

2
1
0
Language Barrier

Politeness

Personality

Perspective

Environment

Opinions

GRAPH 11: Opinions Regarding Situation A, B and C.

For the final question for Part A in our questionnaire, we come out with a situation based
question. This question is created to find out the respondents opinion on three different
situations. Based on graph 11, 3 of the male respondents and 4 of female respondents
explained that situation A, B and C had occurred due to language barrier. They explained how
A, B and C might have occurred due to miscommunication and problems faced by the speaker
in interacting with peers who are older than them. 3 of the male respondents explained that
situations above might have occurred due to politeness. They described how a certain person
have a higher level of politeness in comparison to the other, and this factor thus causes him or
her to behave the way they do to peers who are older than them.

14

7 of male respondents and 5 of female respondents explained that such situations

occurred due to the personality of the speakers- in which are moulded by the persons religion,
culture and background in terms of his or her family. 2 of the remainder male respondents
explained how situation A, B and C might have occurred due to their different perspective in
regards of how they view the peers who are older than them. Whilst, 6 of the remainder female
respondents explained how situations above might have occurred due to their environmental
factor. The people they interact with and the place they stayed in might have influenced them to
behave the way they do to peers who are older than them. Hence, based on the findings, we
can see how majority of the male respondents think that situations above might have occurred
due to the personality of the speaker. Meanwhile, majority of the female respondents think that
situations have occurred due to environmental factor.

15

SECTION B
QUESTION 1: Does your culture or religion teach you to respect people who are older
than you?

Opinions If Religions And Cultures Teach Respect

to People Who Are Older
Total No. of Respondents

16
14
12
10
8

Male

Female

4
2
0
Yes

No
Responds

GRAPH 12: Opinions if Religion and Cultures Teach Respect to People Who are Older
In order to find out what are the factors that determine the degree of politeness, we
come out with section B in our questionnaire which consists of 5 questions to help us determine
the factors. For Question 1 we asked the respondents whether their religion or culture teaches
them to respect people who are older than them. Based on graph 12, the equal number of 14
respondents; respectively from both male and female respondents, have agreed that religions
and cultures indeed; teach respect to people who are older.
Meanwhile, 1 respondent; respectively from both male and female respondents
disagreed that religions and cultures teach people to respect those who are older than them.
From the findings, we can see how majority of both male and female respondents agreed that
religions and cultures indeed teach ones to respect people who are older than them.

16

QUESTION 2: Why do you choose to respect peers who are older than you? Explain.

Reasons in Choosing to Respect the Older Peers

14
Total No. of Respondents

12
10
8
Male

Female

4
2
0
Cultures

Educations
Reasons

GRAPH 13: Reasons in Choosing to Respect the Older Peers

For Question 2, we asked the respondents the reasons behind their choice to respect
their older peers. Based on graph 13, 13 of the male respondents and 12 of the female
respondents described that they chose to respect those who are older than them because their
cultures have moulded them to do so. On the other hand, 2 of the male respondents and 3 of
the female respondents described that they chose to respect peers who are older than them
because they have been educated to respect people regardless of who they are, because of
that; they chose to respect peers who are older than them. Thus, from the findings, we can see
how majority of male and female respondents described that they chose to respect peers who
are older because of their cultures teaching.

17

QUESTION 3: Do you think environment can affect the degree of politeness?

Opinions if Environment can Affect People's

Degree of Politeness
Total No. of Respondents

16
14
12
10
8

Male

Female

4
2
0
Yes

No
Opinion

GRAPH 14: Opinions if Environment can affect Peoples Degree of Politeness

For Question 3, we want to find out if environment affect peoples degree of politeness.
IN order to do so, we asked our respondents to give their opinion about this matter. Based on
graph 14, all 15 respondents from respectively male and female respondents agreed that
environment can affect peoples degree of politeness. None of the respondents from neither
male nor female respondents disagreed that opinions can affect peoples degree of politeness.
Hence, based on the findings; we can see that majority of both male and female respondents
agreed that environment indeed can affect peoples degree of politeness.

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QUESTION 4: If you do/ do not think so, explain.

Reasons On Why Environment Can Affect People's

Degree Of Politeness
10
Total No. of Respondents

9
8
7
6
5

Male

Female

3
2
1
0
Surroundings

Level of Education
Reasons

GRAPH 15: Reasons on Why Environment can Affect Peoples Degree of Politeness
This question is continuity from Question 3. For this question, we asked the respondents
to give reasons why they say yes or no in Question 3. Based on graph 15, 8 of male
respondents and 9 of female respondents described that ones surrounding can always affect
peoples degree of politeness. They explained how ones surroundings- cultures, family, society,
religion- affect ones degree of politeness. If their surroundings emphasized politeness in their
everyday life; then there is a high probability that they are going to be people with high degree
of politeness as they grow up.
Meanwhile, 3 of male respondents and 6 of female respondents described that peoples
level of education, in a way; affect their degree of politeness towards the other people. They
explained how ones level of education more often than not; affect their degree of politeness.
They described how people of lower education usually got less exposure on the importance of
politeness and certain degree of politeness that one person should be aware of; hence leading
them onto having lower degree of politeness. Nevertheless, based on the findings above, we
can see how majority of respondents- male and female- has come onto an understanding that
surroundings is the reason why environment can affect peoples degree of politeness.

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QUESTION 5: What factors do you think affect the way you communicate with your
friends who are older than you?

Factors That May Affect The Way Of

Communicating With Friends Who Are Older
Total No. of Respondents

7
6
5
4
3

Male

Female

1
0
Culture

Age

Upbringing

Factors

GRAPH 16: Factors that may affect the Way of Communicating with Friends who are
Older
In order to find out what are the other factors that can affect the way people
communicating with older peers, we asked the respondents to provide other reasons that they
think can affect the way they talk to their older peers. Based on graph 16, 4 of male respondents
and 5 of female respondents think that culture is the factor that affects the way they
communicate with friends who are older than them. Meanwhile, the other 5 of male respondents
and 4 of female respondents think that age is the factor which affects the way they
communicate with their friends- ones who are older than them. Whilst the remaining 6 of both
male and female respondents respectively; think that their upbringing which is comprised of
religion, culture and family background- affect the way they communicate with friends who are
older than them. Based on the findings; obviously, majority of the respondents, from both male
and female; think that their upbringing is the factor that affect the way they communicate with
friends who are older than them.

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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS

The main objective of this research is to identify what does the student think about
politeness and how does it influence the students behaviour towards their older peers. On the
whole, the findings of this mini-research show that age for both male and female does play an
important role in the degree of politeness between peers. However, female respondents display
higher degree of negative politeness towards their older peers compared to male respondents.
This is because female has higher number of older peers compared to male as shown in Graph
3 from our findings. According to our findings, female address their older peers by their age
status such as kak or abang while male are more comfortable addressing their older peers by
first name basis. This is shows that female displays negative politeness more than male as
shown in Graph 7 from our findings.
The second objective of this research is to identify what are the factors affecting degree
of politeness in different age group. The first factors that we find are religion and culture. Based
on our research, both male and female respondents agree that religion and culture are the
factors that affect their interaction with older peers. This is because religion and culture in
Malaysia emphasise on respecting older people. This factor is supported by our findings in
Graph 12 and Graph 13. The second factor affecting the degree of politeness is environment.
This is because environment can make us change the way we speak to anyone we came in
contact with. This statement is supported by our findings in Graph 14. According to Graph 16,
other factors that may influence a persons degree of politeness are culture, upbringing and age.
The factors however, are not in accordance with what Janet Holmes claimed in her
book. The only factors that are the same as the theory are older or age and marked setting.
Based from our understanding, we all agree that the factors affecting the degree of politeness
may be different from the theory is because the factors that are represented by Janet Holmes is
based on the British society. In Malaysia, we are made up of several different races and
sometimes culture and religion really plays an important role in address form.
In order to improve our research, we think that this mini-research could be extended to
include the respondents race and religion in order for us to get more accurate result regarding
the factors.

21

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION

Based on the objectives stated at the beginning of the research which in in Chapter One
and the findings and discussion presented in Chapter Four and Chapter Five, here are some
recaps on what we have learned from our research.
We found out that female show more negative politeness towards their older peers compared to
male because ?????
We also found out that the factors may be different from what we have learned or
expected. Even though we manage to determine whether age group does play an important role
in the degree of politeness between peers and finding the factors affecting the degree of
politeness, the result for this mini-research is still inconclusive. This is because the number of
respondents who answered the questionnaire is not enough to support our theory regarding this
matter.

22