This research was conducted to know the use of approbation maxim strategies
which are uttered by the characters in the novel entitled Five On A Treasure Island. Moreover, this research was made to know the speakers? reason in relation to politeness principle when they use such a particular strategy in expressing the objective of their message.
This research uses pragmatics approach. It is a descriptive qualitative research, which took total sampling technique in collecting the data. The data of this research were taken from the utterances in the novel entitled Five On A Treasure Island which contain approbation maxim. Firstly, the data were divided based on the number of speech acts and then classified by using Politeness Principle by Geoffrey Leech.
The first finding of the research shows that most of the characters use Politeness Principle in the form of approbation maxim using three number of speech acts. There are 9 data which contain approbation maxim strategy uttered by the characters and they use three numbers of speech acts which consist of expressive and representative speech acts. Most of the characters in the novel use
praising, one of forms of act included in expressive speech act. Their aim in expressing the praising is to side step their main objective. Fourteen data containing of praising act show that it is the main component to manage the approbation maxim strategy. It is also proved from higher numbers of the positive response from the hearer towards the approbation maxim which contain of praising act than the other utterances without praising act.
The second finding shows that the characters in the novel prefer to employ approbation maxim strategy using three numbers of speech acts for the speaker to get closer to the hearer, to get the approval, agreement, or attention from the hearer, and simply to show appreciation towards the hearer.
The third, based on Geoffrey Leech Politeness Principle there are two types
of approbation maxim strategy; the approbation maxim which is maximizing praise to others and the other one which is minimizing dispraise to others. The most types of approbation maxim strategy used in the novel is the maximize praise to others. There are sixteen data which use the approbation maxim strategy which maximizes praise to others and only one datum out of sixteen data that fails.
The last is that approbation maxim strategy is a politeness strategy with a high possibility to success. It is seen from the number of positive response from the hearer towards approbation maxim strategy used by the speaker to deliver their main objective. Out of twenty two data, the researcher found that there are nineteen data of approbation maxim strategy which successful. Meanwhile, theother three data failed in their goal achievement related to politeness principle by Geoffrey Leech.
