IS REFUSAL ABLE TO REFLECT AN IDENTITY?

Abstract

This paper describes refusal, the degree of refusal, politeness, and identity reflected in refusal. The qualitative method of ethnography communication study was applied to explain the research objectives. The refusals are described and explained such as: direct refusal, giving a response, postponement, confirmation, reason, offering an alternative, silence, apology, and avoiding direct refusal. The high degree of refusal politeness is postponing, reasoning, offering an alternative, apology, and avoiding direct refusal while giving a response, confirmation, silence, and direct refusal have a low degree of politeness. Sukabumi Sundanese identity is reflected as a friendly society since they use a high degree of refusal politeness in postponing, reasoning, offering an alternative, apologizing, and avoiding direct refusal—reflecting an individual interactive experience through language resulting from a real identity. The study of language, culture, and identity considers how a society uses language to form its world, especially in social roles and cultural identity in a society.