Representasi Kesantunan Berbahasa Masyarakat Badui dalam Film Theeb: Analisis Pragmatik Berdasarkan Skala Kesantunan Leech

Abstract

This article examines the practice of linguistic politeness in the film Theeb (2014) by Naji Abu Nowar as a representation of the cultural values of the Arab Bedouin community. This study employs a pragmatic approach by applying Geoffrey Leech’s politeness scale theory, which comprises five dimensions: cost-benefit, optionality, indirectness, authority, and social distance. The method used is qualitative descriptive, employing data collection techniques of listening, note-taking, and pausing throughout the film’s dialogue, resulting in 15 verbal utterances between characters as units of analysis examined within their social and cultural contexts. The research results indicate that the social distance and cost-benefit scales are the most dominant, each with four instances, followed by the power scale with three instances, the indirectness scale with two instances, and the optionality scale with one instance. These findings indicate that politeness strategies in the film Theeb are significantly influenced by kinship hierarchies, power relationships, and Bedouin cultural norms that highly value honor and social harmony, as reflected in the use of formal greetings, indirect speech, and authority-based command patterns. Politeness in language in this film functions not only as a communication strategy but also as a means of affirming the cultural identity and traditional values of the Bedouin community. Thus, this study contributes to cross-cultural pragmatic studies and the understanding of the relationship between language and culture in Middle Eastern cinema.