1.

Introduction

This part will discuss about the present study. It describes background of the study,

research problems, significance of the study, scope and limitations, and definition of

key terms.

1.1 Background of The Study

In this millennial era right now there are so many people to find their job or work

in another country. It is because they need new experience, new relation, new environment

or other needs perhaps. According to Noel (2013) a person who comes outside from their

country because of their professional job as a worker or an artist it is called Expat. So they

are from the outside of the country has to aim as a worker in several years. Usually, they

are as an expats has a group to make them easier to know the country where they live. Not

only that they can also share, confess, give the opinion or argument, tell a story and etc

about their experience in that country.

It seems like Expat Confessions-Indonesia. It is a fan page in facebook that contains

the confessions of the expat from many countries such as American, Australian, Fillipian,

Chines and others since they lived in Indonesia. This fan page created since 2017 and

almost has 1160 posts while the content is so interest, there they are as an expat show their

experience honestly even everyone who posts in this page anonymously. This fan page are

often blocked by other people who disagree with their opinion or arguments because

actually, the posts of them used language as persuasive so it can make persuade other

people to truth their opinion or arguments through a statement, questions, a story, until a

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picture. Being persuade it's important to open mindset, open thinking, and not blame with

the fact of the condition in Indonesia. One point of the content in that posts are the question

tag. The questions there seems like a rhetorical question, where based on Spago (2017)

argues that rhetorical question it is striking characteristic that used to make an achievement

in something else other than to elicit an answer through their convey as a memorable and

as persuasive statement or a message where to expressed as a straight forward statement.

Not only use a statement, a speech or a story to make other people persuade or truth

with what we are talking or we confess. Other ways are using a question, especially in

rhetorical question. A question which "not asked in order to get an answer but instead serve

the purpose of providing information" Athanasiadou (1991). So a question not always has

an answer but something that question can provide information to the other person.

Everything that confesses can give effects to other people.

So it can be concluded that rhetorical question absolutely has a question tag, a

question tag absolutely has 5W 1H, yes-no question, and several modals. Then rhetorical

question contains a statement as persuasive and gives some information not only that

rhetorical question actually not really need an answer, it just questions the circumstances,

also a question adds emphasize a topic.

The researcher conduct this research because previous studies that already discuss

about rhetorical question even in different topic and approach such as (Spoel, P. James,

Susan, 2006) their study about the inpure process in the rhetorical identification and to

know the differences characters each debate especially in Midwifery Ontario, Canada but

this study actually has titled rhetorical analysis but its not specific in the rhetorical question,

so the explanation not enough to explore what is rhetorical question about. It is absolutely
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in the next researcher cannot get much knowledge about rhetorical question but if their

next researcher discuss in another approach, this study will give any ideas to explore more.

Another previous study is Martin, 2015 and Finlayson, 2012 where they conduct

their study about the relations of rhetorical analysis in the political theory and strategy.

These studies have the gap such as they just analyze in political field and ignore where they

get the data, something like citation. So they just put the citation without source of and try

to analyze. Next is Orkibi, 2015 this study is about the rhetorical perspective on candidates

‘self-presentation' in electronic campaigns in the 2013 Israeli elections. So the interesting

one in this study is the media that the writer used, but this study still has the gap such as

this study actually has titled or discuss about rhetorical perspective but the context is

different it tells about the history of the campaign in Israel and the writer not focused then

to abroad explaining the campaign self. Those previous studies above give inspiration for

the researcher to find interesting ones such as political topic, electronic campaign, the

characters or different style in debate and many more.

Another previous study here also inspired the researcher such as Triwijayanti,

(2009) she conduct this study about the rhetorical questions and the relation in translation

because she used a literary works in different language so she used translated version in

the same novel and then find the rhetorical questions, but this study does not clear enough

to describe the relation of a literary work in two languages because each rhetorical question

is different. The last is the study conducted by Yulinda et all (2017) their study is about the

function of rhetorical questions in the novel ‘five on a treasure island' so they really focus

on the function of rhetorical question. Actually, this study is almost perfect in their field so

the researcher here just give comment and make this study advisor in her research.

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 After explaining all the previous studies there are gaps such as they just focus on in

identification of rhetorical, the application rhetorical in politic and another field,

application in literary work and the last talk about the function of rhetorical question. They

do not explain more about the effect or the response of the audience about the rhetorical

question that.

So the researcher here makes different research with add the response of the

audience about rhetorical question especially in Expats' Confession-Indonesia at

Facebook. Not only that this research also focuses on the function of rhetorical

question, and types of rhetorical question. The researcher tries to choose a universal

topic such as politic, social, culture, economic and etc that contain in the expats'

confession Indonesia fan page. So the data here use media electronic is Facebook. The

researcher interest with the topic because of the phenomenon in this millennial era,

everyone starts to speak or argue or confess their opinion implicitly in social media

then through this topic makes the researcher know about the expats’s life, the condition

of Indonesia in expats’s eyes, the complaints of foreign citizen, and find the solution

of the problems in Indonesia that the government know yet.

1.2 Research Problem

This research has several problems that will be discussed, they are:

a. What the types of rhetorical question at the posts in Expats Confession-

Indonesia?

b. What kind the function of rhetorical question at the posts in Expats

Confessions-Indonesia?

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 c. What the response of the audience through the rhetorical question at the posts

in Expats Confession-Indonesia?

1.3 Significance of The Study

Hopefully, this research can give some significance in discourse analysis

and pragmatics. Then in the analysis of the rhetorical question in the posts in Expats

Confessions-Indonesia via Facebook. So there is expected to give the teacher and

the reader know other side of Indonesia through this fan page, and absolutely know

the application of rhetorical question in media electronic.

1.4 Scope and Limitation

There are so many expats confessions outside there but this research focuses

on the expats confessions-Indonesia to find the types, the function of rhetorical

question, and the audience's response about rhetorical questions contain in the

expats' confession- Indonesia fan page Facebook

This research limited in the expat confession-Indonesia so the topic will be

argued, confessing or giving an opinion in reality of Indonesia's condition.

1.5 Definition of Key Terms

a. Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical question is interrogative in structure has a strong assertion and

it doesn’t need any answer

b. Types of Rhetorical Question

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 Types of rhetorical question here are the kind of rhetorical question based

on Quirk 1985 and Busmann 1996

c. The Function of Rhetorical Question

The function of rhetorical question here to know the purpose and the

meaning of rhetorical question

d. Expats Confessions- Indonesia

Expats confession-Indonesia here is a fan page in Facebook from the

group of expats from many countries such as America, Australia, Fillipina,

China and etc. The content is about the confession and argues of expats’

with Indonesia’s condition

2. Review of Literature

2.1 Rhetorical Question

Athanasiadou (1991) argue that a question self can be divided into four

based on the function in communication and in the intentions of the speaker, they

are information-seeking, rhetorical question, examination question, and indirect

question. So we know that based on the function in Athanasiadou (1991) rhetorical

question here is one of many ways in communication. Other experts also argue

rhetorical question here that an interrogative structure but it is has a strong assertion

and this is not needed an answer (Quirk, 1985). So it is an interrogative that doesn't

need an answer so there is no real answer and perhaps that contains a statement or

an argument as a complaint or others. Rhetorical questions are a type of figurative

language to achieve a pragmatic goal, such as stuttering an argument, being

persuasive, emphasizing a poht, being ironic (Soraby et all 2017). So rhetorical

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 question actually the questions there contain a persuasive, where the context try to

make other people persuade through the idea, argument, confess and etc.

A question that doesn't need an answer where it is as an argument or an

opinion in some context can make a message and that is expressed as a

straightforward statement (Spago, 2017). So the question where doesn't need an

answer it can contain a straight message to confess as persuasively. Another expert

also argues that "rhetorical question used as a challenging statement to convey the

addresser's commitment to its implicate answer, in order to induce the address's

mental recognition of its obviousness and the acceptance verbalized or not

verbalizes of its validity" (Illie, 1994)

2.2 Types of Rhetorical Question

In the rhetorical question according to Quirk (1985) and Busmann (1996)

there are two types such as rhetorical yes-no question and rhetorical WH-question.

It means these types show the types or it is called the structure of a question tag

which refers in the rhetorical question.

a. Rhetorical Yes-No Question

There are also have two types positive and negative question. A positive

question is like a strong negative assertion, while a negative question is

like a strong positive one.

Positive

Ex: am I thinking about this too much?

Negative

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 Ex: aren’t men supposed to be the providers?

Both of the question don’t need to answer.

b. Rhetorical WH- Question

In this rhetorical wh-question generally have a rise fall tone, less

commonly simple falling tone. The positive question is equivalent to a

statement in which the wh-element is replaced by a negative element.

Positive

Ex: how can one fell if an Indonesian woman is married?

The less common negative question is equivalent to a statement in which

the wh-element is replaced by a positive element.

Negative

Ex: why I didn’t post it just normally and did it anonymously?

2.3 The Function of Rhetorical Question

Larson (1998) argues that there are several functions of rhetorical question such

as "to emphasize a known fact in order to communicate a suggestion or command,

indicate doubt or uncertainty, introduce a new topic or new aspect of a topic, show

surprise, admonish or exhort something and the last to express the speaker's

evaluation"

Those functions show us that in rhetorical question there is some statement in a

question where the speaker tries to convey the new information to communicate a

suggestion or command, then in rhetorical question it convey doubt or something

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 un-rare in their life, other words something new. The other important thing is

everyone or human need new knowledge to upgrade their skills or information

about anything. To surprise also its one of many functions by Larson, someone

gives a statement where make the audience surprise like they know the other fact

of their country that not expect it happens and rhetorical question also can admonish

or exhort something. It means many people to admonish or exhort something using

one of many ways is rhetorical question. The last is to express the evaluation of the

speaker, so use social media is the too easy way to convey or express the argument

or else.

The example to show that rhetorical question can identify one of many

function by Larson.

“I’m a bule woman living in Bali. I gotta ask, wtf is with so many good

looking, young women who live here and constantly date the beach boys?”

That rhetorical question shows that it has a function as to emphasize a

known fact. It means that there are so many young woman in Bali constantly date

with beach boy.

2.4 Expats

According to Noel at all (2013) a person who outside from their country

because their professional job as a worker or an artist it called Expat. So they are

from outside country has aim as a worker in several years.

Based on Oxford Dictionary expats or an expatriate here it is a person who

temporarily or permanently in other countries, in other words they live outside their

native country to work or other temporarily or permanently.

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 According to McNulty Y, & Brewster C (2017) expatriate or expats is a

bunch of people who moved around the world to travel, the empire sent their soldier

in other lands, and the religious history that full of missionaries who sent by the

church as strangers. It can conclude that expatriate here people who send by their

boss to moves in other places to some purposes. Actually, in the 17th century, the

term of expatriate used in the first time but the meaning of it refers to pioneers

where pioneers here include artist, entertainers, and authors. When they left one

country to make a batter life without return.

Other experts define expatriate as an employee who sent by the government

organization to some purpose which is different with their own country, to some

job which needs a temporary time usually more than six months and less than five

years (Aycan and Kanungo, 1997). So the expatriate also can be called employees

which have some purpose in their job several times. That statement also described

by Harrison, Shaffer, and Bhaskar-Shrinivas (2004) was said that employees of the

business who sent by their government to some purpose in temporary time

3. Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design

In this research used a descriptive qualitative method where the researcher

conducts it to find the types, function, and the response of the audiences about the

rhetorical question in expats confession – Indonesia. So the researcher collects the

data by copying posts on Expats Confession-Indonesia.

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3.2 Data Collection

3.2.1 Data and Data Sources

Facebook is the most popular social media since the first it made

until now. It is an application were to share any information, opinion,

arguments, convey the fact easily to hear or read by another person. In

this research focus on the fan page in Facebook Expats Confessions –

Indonesia where the researcher will take 200 from 1106 posts and

contain 77 rhetorical questions and take the responses from the

comments of the reader in fan page Expat’s Confessions-Indonesia

3.2.2 Research Instruments

The main instrument is the researcher because the researcher has an

important role to collect and analyze the data. Another instrument is a

Facebook especially in Expats Confessions – Indonesia fan page

https://web.facebook.com/pg/expatsconfessions/posts/?ref=page_internal

to take the data that the researcher needs and the comments of readers

3.2.3 The Technique of Data Collection

The data of this research will take from the posts in Expats

Confessions- Indonesia fan page Facebook which is consist of rhetorical

questions and the comments of the readers in that fan page. There are

some steps that the researcher applied to collect the data:

a. Open Facebook account

b. Search and open Expats Confessions – Indonesia fan page

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c. Find the rhetorical question

Example:

a.

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 b.

Rhetirorical
Question

c.

3.3 Data Analysis

The researcher will be analyze the data through many ways so in below

there are several ways that the researcher use, such as:

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1. Identifying

In this section, the researcher will identify the posts of Expats

Confession – Indonesia fan page on Facebook. Here the researcher try

to make an underline with different color if that post contain a rhetorical

question. So each an underline and color represent the criteria of types

and function of rhetorical question.

First is code in the types of rhetorical question, the researcher

concludes as below:

a. There is a question tag = red line

b. There is 5W+1H = blue line

c. There is yes-no question = green line

d. There is modal = purple line

e. A question contain emphasize to a topic = orange line

f. Contain a persuasive question = black line

Other code in this research that related with the function of rhetorical

questions. The researcher concludes as below:

NO CODE Function of Rhetorical Question

(EKF) To emphasize a known fact in

1 order to communicate a

suggestion or command

2 (DU) To indicate doubt or uncertainty

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 (NT) To introduce a new topic or new
3
aspect of a topic

4 (S) To show surprise

(ADX) To admonish or exhort

5
something

(EX) To express the speaker's

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evaluation

2. Classifying

Next section is classifying here the researcher will classify every

component based on the statement problems. So here there are two

classify. First is based on the type of rhetorical questions and the second

is based on the function of rhetorical questions. The example below:

a. Type of Rhetorical Question

Here the classifying the type of rhetorical question based on

Quirk et all (1985) and Busmann (1996). So the example shows

below:

1. Rhetorical yes-no question

No Code Data

Green underline
1 S9

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 2. Rhetorical WH-Question

No Code Data

Blue underline
1 S8

It means that the color an underline shows the types of rhetorical

question and “S8 and S9” shows the data that the researcher

collected

b. Function of Rhetorical Question

Example of the classification in the function of rhetorical

question:

No Code Number

1 (EKF) S4, S8, S12

It means that in sentence four, eight, and twelve show the

function of rhetorical question is to emphasize know fact.

3. Interpreting

The researcher makes interpretation of the data of the rhetorical

questions which indicate in Expats Confessions-Indonesia. Then

analyzing the meaning of that rhetorical questions by the researcher

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ideas. Not only that, this interpreting will be an indicator to other person

response the true meaning of that rhetorical questions. The example will

be explained below:

#ExpatsConfessionsIndonesia1073 (22, 23, 24)

“Why is there a Miss Islam Indonesia or whatever show on TV here?

Is there a Miss Kristen Indonesia? Miss Hindu Indonesia?”

The meaning of that rhetorical question is the writer asking the

condition in Indonesia why is there a miss Islam Indonesia that shows

on tv? Is there a miss Kristen Indonesia or other. It is shown that even

Indonesia has five religions but the dominant one is Islam because that

domination makes the citizen or the programmer on TV always shows

the domination of Islam, they so rare shows other religion. It is cross

with the symbol of Indonesia "Bhineka Tunggal Ika" means ‘Unity for

Diversity'

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 3.4 Time Table

Activities Aug Sep Oct Nov Des Jan

3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Fixing the proposal  

Review literature     

Data collection     

Data analysis        

Writing the report            

Submit the report   

The research time frame is will be followed as well as possible. It can be there are changes

of the time, but the researcher has to finish the report in accordance with the deadline.

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4. References

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122.

Aycan, Z., & Kanungo, R. (1997). Current issues and future challenges in expatriate

management. In Z. Aycan (Ed.), Expatriate Management: Theory and Research

(pp. 245-260). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press

Busmann, H. (1996). Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. London:

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Castree, Noel; Rob Kitchen; Alisdair Rogers (25 April 2013). A Dictionary of Human

Geography (1 ed.). Oxford University Press

Finalyson, A (2012). Rhetoric and the political theory of ideologies. Vol 60. 751-767.

University of east Anglia.

Frank, Jane (1990). You call that a rhetorical question? Forms and functions of

Rhetorical questions in conversation. Journal of Pragmatics 14: 723-738.

Ilie, Cornelia (1994) What Else Can I Tell You? A Pragmatic Study of English Rhetorical
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Martin, J (2015). Situating Speech: A rhetorical approach to political strategy. Vol63, 25-

42. University of London

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McNulty, Y., & Brewster, C. (2017). Theorizing the meaning(s) of expatriate: Establishing

boundary conditions for business expatriates. The International Journal of Human

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Orkibi, E (2015). ‘new politics’, new media – new political language? A rhetorical

perspective on candidates’ self-presentation in electronic campaigns in the 2013

israeli elections. Vol21, 277-292. Ariel Univeristy

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Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. (1985). A Grammar of
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Soraby, etc (2017) Are You Serious? Rhetorical Questions and Sarcsm in Social Media

Dialog. P 310-319. Association for computational linguistics. Germany

Spago, (2017). Rhetorical questions or rhetorical uses of question?. ExELL. 4.2

(2016):102-115. Dzemal Bijedic niveristy of Mostar

Yulinda, et all (2017). A study of the function of rhetorical question in the novel ‘five on a

treasure island’ (a pragmatic approach). Solec. University of Malang

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