Politeness Strategies and Power Relations in Indonesian Lecturer–Student Classroom Discourse

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the politeness strategies employed by lecturers and students in classroom interaction and to examine how these strategies reflect and negotiate power relations in the context of Indonesian higher education. The study employs a qualitative descriptive approach using a Pragmatic Classroom Discourse Analysis framework and Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory, which distinguishes four main strategies: Bald On Record, Positive Politeness, Negative Politeness, and Off Record. The data consist of utterances produced during classroom interactions between one lecturer and twenty-five students in an Advanced Linguistics course at an Indonesian university. The data were collected from three classroom sessions, comprising approximately 180 minutes of audio-video recordings that were transcribed verbatim. The analysis involved four stages: segmentation of utterances, identification of Face-Threatening Acts (FTAs), classification of politeness strategies, and interpretation based on power, social distance, and rank of imposition. The findings reveal an asymmetrical pattern in the use of politeness strategies between the lecturer and students. The lecturer predominantly employed Positive Politeness (43%) and Bald On Record (30%), whereas students showed a stronger preference for Negative Politeness (60%). The lecturer’s use of Positive Politeness indicates an effort to establish solidarity and reduce social distance with students, while the use of Bald On Record reflects the need to maintain clarity and institutional authority in classroom management. In contrast, students’ preference for Negative Politeness demonstrates their tendency to minimize face threats and maintain respect when communicating with the lecturer. These findings indicate that politeness in classroom discourse functions not merely as interpersonal courtesy but also as a pragmatic resource for maintaining, negotiating, and managing power relations. The findings further suggest that politeness practices are shaped by Indonesian cultural norms, particularly sungkan and collectivist values, which emphasize respect toward authority and interpersonal harmony.