Strategies in Expressing Gratitude Performed by English Department Students in 5 th th and 7 Semester of Different Gender: A Socio-Pragmatics Approach

Abstract

In this study, the researcher focuses on the analysis of the strategies in expressing gratitude performed by English Department students in 5<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup> semester of different gender. The objectives of this study are (1) identifying the contexts, types, and functions that influence gratitude expression uttered by the 5<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup> semester of English Department students based on gender differences, (2) analyzing and discovering the language pattern in gratitude expression used by the 5<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup> semesters of English Department students based on gender differences. The researcher used a descriptive-qualitative method and employed Spradley’s analysis method in collecting and analyzing the data which includes domain, taxonomic, componential and cultural context analysis. The source of data is in the form of participants; the students of 5<sup>th</sup> and 7<sup>th</sup> semester in English Department whereas the data were taken from responses in the form of utterances in DCT answered by the participants. Throughout the taxonomic analysis, the data were classified into Cheng’s taxonomy (2005) of gratitude strategies.