The politeness of criticism speech acts in Japanese and Minangkabau films

Criticism tends to be a face-threatening speech act that can endanger social relationships if not managed using appropriate strategies, especially in the intercultural context. This study aims to compare and contrast the politeness of criticism speech acts used in Japanese and Minangkabau languages as depicted in film series. The data on criticism speech acts in this study were collected from eleven Japanese film series with a total duration of 538 minutes and eight Minangkabau films with a total duration of 535 minutes. The collected data were formed into a set of data cards, classified based on the criticism speech acts strategies by Nguyen (2005), and analyzed based on Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. The data classification in Japanese and Minangkabau was validated through the expert judgment process. The findings indicated that the Japanese and Minangkabau languages employed the same set of criticism speech act strategies but had different tendencies. In Japanese, speakers tend to use indirect strategies as their main criticism speech act strategy by ‘asking/presupposing,’ ‘correction,’ and ‘advice for change.’ Meanwhile, in Minangkabau, speakers tend to use direct strategies by using ‘negative evaluation,’ ‘expression of contradiction,’ and ‘disagreement’ strategies. Regarding the politeness strategy, off-record politeness strategies are more dominantly used among Japanese speakers. In contrast, Minangkabau speakers use bald on-record politeness strategies in criticism speech acts, reflecting their communication culture. The findings of this study provide a deeper understanding of criticism speech acts and politeness strategies. The study is expected to contribute to the area of research on intercultural communication and sociolinguistics.


INTRODUCTION
The way someone expresses communication strategies and uses language with speech partners to convey messages is known as speech acts (El-Dakhs, 2020;Saleem et al., 2021). Speech acts are actions performed via utterance (Nasser, 2022), which are determined psychologically by the speaker's ability to deal with certain situations and messages to the interlocutors through direct or indirect speech (Takamiya, 2018). The way in which someone expresses communication strategies and uses language with their speech partners to convey messages is known as speech acts.
One of the speech acts that is often misunderstood in communication, especially in cross-cultural communication, is criticism (Hosseinizadeh, 2019;Kittler, 2018) because it often creates unpleasant effects on the speech partner. Criticism speech acts tend to be threatening and are closely related to the concepts of face and politeness which vary among societies and cultures (Chelangat, 2019;Xafizovna, 2022). Moreover, in the context of criticizing, cultural differences also affect how an individual criticizes, with regards to choosing the appropriate expressions and strategies as well as politeness standards based on the culture (Paltridge, 2006). Therefore, speakers need to use appropriate speech act strategies and pay attention to politeness in criticizing with the aim of not offending the other person's feelings (Peng, 2020).
Several relevant previous studies have explored speech acts including criticism speech acts in cross-cultural contexts involving Japanese, Indonesian and regional languages in Indonesia. These studies cover various aspects, such as studies of directive speech act strategies in Japanese and Minangkabau focusing on politeness (Putri & Haristiani, 2021), Japanese and Javanese greeting terms (Rahayu et al., 2023), refusal speech acts in the context of politeness between native Japanese speakers and Japanese Indonesian language learners (Nurjaleka, 2019), interlanguage apology and complaint speech acts in Japanese and English (Tamanaha, 2003), expressions of reference used in Malay and Japanese speech acts (Okubo et al., 2022), speech acts from a referential perspective in German and Japanese (Matoba, 1996), and a study of Japanese language apology speech acts by Javanese and Sundanese Japanese learners (Savana & Meisa, 2021). Regarding politeness, Japanese speakers tend to use negative politeness strategies, while other contrasting languages such as Chinese, English, Indonesian, and Sundanese prefer positive politeness strategies (see e.g., Abe, 2006;Haristiani et al., 2021;Ikeda, 1993;Nurjaleka, 2019). Although many studies on speech acts have been conducted in various contexts, research specifically focusing on criticism speech acts in cross-cultural contexts remains limited. It is particularly crucial and still uncommon to compare languages with the same honorific language system, such as Japanese and regional languages in Indonesia, including Minangkabau. Comparing these two languages -Japanese and Minangkabauand their culture is invaluable for providing a deeper understanding of speech acts from a politeness point of view, particularly regarding criticism of speech acts and the politeness strategies used in various international languages in general.
Minangkabau people are an ethnic group of people living in the Minangkabau highlands of West Sumatra, Indonesia who are very concerned about ethics and manners in speech and social relations. They hold a cultural concept of politeness called kato nan ampek (four words) as rules and guidelines in speaking and acting, including when criticizing. Chaniago and Alfikri (2022) disclosed that the kato nan ampek concept referred to the four communication styles practiced by the Minang people, namely kato mandaki, kato manurun, kato mandata, and kato malereng.
Kato mandaki is a rule of communication that is used to interact with someone older than the speaker. Kato mandaki is characterized by the specific use of grammar, clear expression, and special first, second, and third-person pronouns. The special pronouns, for example, include ambo for the first person, mamak, inyiak, uda, tuan, etek, amai, and uni for the second person (elders), and beliau for the third person. The second communication style is Kato menurun, a communication style to interact with someone younger. This communication style is characterized by the use of correct grammar with shorter sentences and special first, second, and third-person pronouns, like Uni/uda, Awak den or Awak aden for the first person, Awak ang for the second person (male) and Awak kau for the second person (female), while Awak nyo is used for the third person (Chaniago & Alfikri, 2022).
The third communication rule is Kato mandata which is a polite form of speaking to peers. This is equivalent to a common language such as slang. The first, second, and third-person pronouns used in kato mandata are also special, such as Aden or Den for the first person, Ang for the second person (male) or Kau for the second person (female), and Inyo or anyo for the third person. Lastly, Kato malereng is a communication style that is used when communicating with someone who is respected by the community or by the custom in the Minangkabau society. This communication style includes the use of appropriate grammar and more proverbs such as parables, allegories, or satire. The first, second, and third-person pronouns used in Kato malereng are also special. Wak ambo or Awak ambo is used for the first person, while the title and kinship title given by the family to the second person is Angku. Baliau is used for the third person (Chaniago & Alfikri, 2022).
Similar to the Minangkabau language, the Japanese uses a certain way of expressing politeness in communication. Japanese is one of the languages that possess an honorific language system and put an emphasis on politeness in communication (Obana, 2020), especially when Japanese people need to criticize their speech partner (Peng, 2020). In Japanese, a variety of honorific languages to show respect to the speech partner is called Keigo. Keigo is divided into sonkeigo, kenjougo, and teineigo. Sonkeigo is an honorific style of speaking to honor the speech partner or the person being spoken to by elevating the degree of the person. For example, in a sentence such as 'bucchou wa irasshaimasuka?' (Is the manager available?), irasshaimasuka is the honorific form of ita (be/available) and is used in this situation to honor the 'manager.' Kenjougo is another variety of honorific language used to show respect to another person or a person who is the topic of conversation by demeaning the speaker. For example, in a sentence such as 'watakushi wa Indonesia kara mairimashita' (I came from Indonesia), mairimashita is the demeaning form of kita (came) and used in this situation to honor the hearer. Teineigo is the most basic form of honorific language in Japanese, which is composed by adding an auxiliary verb -masu or copula -desu at the end of a word or sentence. For example, in 'hon o yomimasu' (reading a book), yomimasu is a polite form of yomu (read). This concept of honorific languages in Japanese is reflected not only in special expressions but also in personal pronouns that can also be seen in criticism speech acts (Obana, 2020).
Criticism of speech acts, as a form of language variation, can be expressed both in written and oral forms (Wibowo, 2022). Criticism speech acts require the speakers to adopt a particular stance, which is influenced by how they express their criticism. Criticism speech acts could also be observed in audio-visual media (Barón & Celaya, 2022), one of which is films. Films demonstrate real speech as expressed by the characters in the films as well as body language and gestures that can be observed directly (do Nascimento, 2019). In addition, films can also represent phenomena and social realities that occur in real life (Moura & Bispo, 2020).
Prior studies on speech acts suggested movies as good data sources for study on discourse analysis since they are similar to real-life phenomena (e.g., Rizki & Golubović, 2020 When examining criticism speech acts, prior studies have emphasized the importance of positive, clear, and accurate criticism, as it can influence behavioral changes in individuals. Positive criticism speech acts help in avoiding conflicts between interlocutors (Globočnik et al., 2022). Several studies also revealed other types of speech act strategies employed in criticism such as direct and indirect strategies (Hosseinizadeh, 2019), humor strategies, criticizing in unclear language, and developing empathy (Peng, 2020). In terms of politeness, the criticizing strategy is characterized by speaking frankly without small talk or with a positive politeness strategy (Halawa et al., 2019;Nofrita, 2016), using greeting words and employing declarative, interrogative, and imperative sentence types (Alfersia, 2016;Halawa et al., 2019;Nofrita, 2016). Furthermore, research on criticism speech acts has been carried out in several contexts, such as exploring the relationship between teachers and junior high school students using Leech's theory (Peng, 2020), examining how English students in Vietnam criticize their peers (Nguyen, 2008), and analyzing criticism within the context of race and power among diverse ethnic groups in Hawaii (Marlow, 2010).
Past studies that have been described examined the criticism speech act strategies and their relation in several contexts. These contexts include the relationship between teachers and junior high school students (Peng, 2020), native speakers and foreign language learners at universities, doctoral students and supervisors (Li & Seale, 2007), and Facebook and novels (Nofrita, 2016). These studies have examined several target languages, including English (Nofrita, 2016), Arabic (Darweesh, 2011), Indonesian (Halawa et al., 2019), Persian (Hosseinizadeh, 2019), Iranian (Farnia & Sattar, 2015), Vietnamese (Nguyen, 2005;Hoa, 2007), English (New Zealand) (Nguyen, 2013), Chinese (Cao, 2005), and Javanese (Gunawan, 1996). In terms of politeness, past studies have examined politeness in two types of speech acts, namely prohibition and criticism, in the Indonesian context (Halawa et al., 2019). Some prominent variables explored in these studies include age, gender, and the degree of relationship between the participants.
However, previous studies that have explored criticism speech act strategies in various contexts have revealed a gap in research when it comes to examining the specific forms and strategies of criticism speech acts and comparing them across different languages and cultures. Although some studies were carried out in comparing Japanese and other national languages, a comparative study investigating the criticism speech act strategies and expressions between Japanese and other languages that similarly possess honorific language systems, such as the Minangkabau language, is rare. Moreover, none of the mentioned studies investigated the strategies of criticism speech acts from the politeness perspective while also highlighting the cultural characteristics in crosscultural contexts. It is noteworthy that Goddard and Wierzbicka (2007) emphasized the importance of cross-cultural studies to minimize cultural misunderstandings and conflicts.
Based on the discussion and gap from previous research, this study aims to investigate criticism speech acts strategies in Japanese and Minangkabau languages. By analyzing the results through the lens of Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory, we aim to gain insights into the distinctive characteristics of criticism speech act strategies in these two languages. In addition, the number of Japanese language learners in Indonesia is the second highest in the world, and the number of Japanese language learners who are Minangkabau language native speakers is rather significant (The Japan Foundation Survey, 2020) and this number continues to increase every year (Kawai, 2015). Therefore, this study is considered valuable as a reference to enhance intercultural communication competence which has become an important mission of higher education (Taguchi, 2014) and for Japanese language learning in general.

METHOD
A qualitative descriptive method was employed in this study to analyze the verbal data containing criticism speech acts in eleven episodes of Japanese films with a total duration of 538 minutes and eight Minangkabau films with a total duration of 535 minutes. The data sources of Japanese and Minangkabau films are presented in Table 1. Some considerations were taken into account in the selection of the Japanese and Minangkabau films. Firstly, the selected films include many scenes with numerous criticism speech acts that serve various functions. As asserted by Rizki and Golubović (2020), the film is considered appropriate as a medium for linguists to study speech acts and functions because film effectively delivers messages which sufficiently reflect communicative interaction. Secondly, the films selected for this study were chosen among the most popular films on the streaming platform, Crunchyroll. As for Minangkabau films, they were selected over multiple years due to limited production. The films are less popular than those in Indonesian, resulting in fewer productions in a year. However, it has been noted that the use of the Minangkabau language in these films did not show a significant change. The reason could be due to the fact that the difference in the production between the films was only about a span of a year.
In addition, obtaining other data sources such as talk shows or reality shows is challenging because there are no reality shows or talk shows specifically using the Minangkabau language. Due to this reason, using such data sources may cause data imbalance, and it will be difficult to determine how criticism speech act strategies are employed in both languages. Therefore, talk shows and reality shows are not advisable as data sources. Moreover, the films used in this study are considered realistic as they depicted the daily life of both the Japanese and the Minang people, making them an effective and communicative medium for studying speech acts (Rizki & Golubović, 2020).
The data collected from the films were then categorized based on a classification of criticism realization strategies and modifiers adapted from Nguyen (2005). The analysis involved methods and techniques, including observation, data recording, data transcription, and note-taking. Data cards were used to record the results of the transcription data based on the dialogue in the films. The data were also validated through scrutinized observation.
There were 611 data on criticism speech acts that included direct and indirect criticism speech act techniques identified in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages, according to Nguyen's framework for criticism speech acts (2005). Additionally, the data were categorized into six substrategies of direct criticism speech act strategies namely negative evaluation, disagreement, expression of contradiction, problem identification, statements of difficulty, and consequences, and into ten sub-strategies of indirect criticism speech act strategies namely correction, indicating standard, lecture, demand of change, request for change, advice for change, suggestion for change, expression of uncertainty, and asking/presupposing (Nguyen, 2005).
To gain further insights into the politeness strategies and cultural differences between the Japanese and the Minangkabau languages, an analysis was conducted on the similarities and differences of criticism speech act strategies in Japanese and Minangkabau. The data were also analyzed using Brown and Levinson's politeness strategy theory (1987), including its four main strategies namely bald on record, positive politeness strategy, negative politeness strategy, and off record. Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory was employed in this study because it is considered the most suitable theory to comprehensively analyze and describe the politeness strategies of both the Japanese and Minangkabau languages, including the cultural aspects. In addition, this study aims to focus on bald-on-strategy, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off-record strategies, which are not addressed in other politeness theories (e.g. Azis, 2000; Grice, 1975;Leech, 1983). The reason for adopting Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory in this study is to facilitate comparisons with previous findings regarding speech acts in Japanese and Indonesianand Indonesian regional languages including the Minangkabau language. These previous studies applied the same politeness theory framework in their analysis (Borris & Zecho, 2018;Haristiani & Danuwiyaja, 2017;Haristiani et al., 2021;Rosari, 2016) strengthening the analysis in the present study.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
To reiterate, 611 data on criticism speech acts were collected in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages. Each speech act strategy in the two languages was then classified into two main categories namely direct and indirect criticism speech act strategies, including their respective subcategories. Each type of strategy is discussed in the following sub-sections. Table 2 presents the distribution of direct criticism speech acts strategies in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages. A total of 312 direct criticism speech act strategies were found in both languages, with 95 strategies in Japanese and 217 strategies in the Minangkabau language. The data of this study show that the Minangkabau language used direct criticism speech act strategies with a much higher frequency compared to Japanese. In Japanese, the four most commonly used strategies were 'negative evaluation' (43,16%), 'disagreement' (21,05%), 'statements of difficulty' (16,84%), and 'consequences' (7,37%), respectively. While in the Minangkabau language, the four most commonly used strategies were 'negative evaluation' (31,8%), 'expression of contradiction' (20,74%), 'disagreement' (17,51%), and 'problem identification' (11,98%), respectively. The data indicate that both languages share a similarity in expressing direct criticism through the use of negative evaluation as the main strategy. However, besides negative evaluation, Japanese tends to express disagreement and state difficulty as their direct criticism speech act strategies, whereas Minangkabau tends to express contradiction and disagreement strategies to express direct criticism. Only the four most frequently used sub-categories of strategies namely 'negative evaluation,' 'disagreement,' 'expression of contradiction,' and 'statement of difficulty' will be further analyzed in this section.

'Negative Evaluation' Strategy
'Negative evaluation' strategy is a strategy that is generally expressed through negative evaluations (Nguyen, 2005). Examples of direct criticism speech acts with negative evaluation are presented in the following sections.
(1) Japanese The statement in example (1) was conveyed by the principal to one of the teachers who arrived late to school. This behavior, however, is uncommon for the teacher. The utterance is delivered by the speaker who has higher power status (principal) than the speech partner (the teacher). On the other hand, the Minangkabau speech in example (2) was uttered by an uncle (the speaker) to his nephew (interlocutor) because of the interlocutor's attitude which was considered to lack ethics and manners. The nephew entered the house without permission during the village elder's presence (Panzarino, 2019;Svenning, 2018;Svenning et al., 2021 ).
From the two examples, the principal and the uncle used negative evaluations when criticizing. This tendency to use negative evaluation in this film is attributed to the close relationship between the speaker and the hearer (Czyżowska et al., 2019;Torres, 2019). Accordingly, when someone observes something inappropriate or someone's incompetence, they do not hesitate to cast a negative evaluation on the other person (Carlsson & Shoemaker, 2019;D'Cruz, 2020;Miceli & Castelfranchi, 2018). This finding is consistent with past studies revealing that negative evaluation was a common strategy to criticize someone's inability. This criticism strategy is acceptable, especially when the speaker has a close relationship with the hearer (Buckingham & Goodall, 2019;Fong et al., 2018;Weiner, 2018).

'Disagreement' Strategy
Disagreement is an utterance that describes the speaker's attitude toward the choice made by the speech partner (Nguyen, 2005). The data that show the criticism speech act with a direct disagreement strategy can be seen in examples (3) and (4).
(3) Japanese (FJ/1/GTO1) Hontōu ni benkyōu shimasuka? Sukunakutomo karera ni kyūjitsu o ataenasaiyo. "You're really going to study? At least give them a day off." (4) Minangkabau (FM/14/LB) Kini sakolah se lah dulu, kalo lah gadang baru cari pitiah. "Just go to school now, when you're older, just look for money." The utterance in example (3) was conveyed by a teacher to the principal who did not allow students at the school to hold a yearly summer holiday festival at the school. The utterance is considered direct criticism speech act because the criticism uttered by the teacher (speaker) clearly demonstrated illocutionary power, namely criticizing (Benhabib, 2018;Jauhari & Purnanto, 2021;Rosyidi et al., 2019). Meanwhile, for the Minangkabau data as shown in example (4), a mother (speaker) appeared to reprimand her child (the interlocutor) because the child wanted to earn money for their family needs without having to accept charity from others. The attitude of the interlocutor is not approved by the speaker because the child is still in elementary school (underage) and is not considered to have the obligation to earn a living for the family.
The tendency to use the 'disagreement' strategy arises because the characters in the film have a close relationship between the speakers and the interlocutors (Aikin. 2019; Burdick, 2021;Rühlemann & Gries, 2021). Therefore, when someone observes something inappropriate, for example, the child's incompetency, they do not hesitate to cast a disagreement with that person (Iversen, 2019;Khoirunnisa & Hardjanto, 2018;Tawilapakul, 2022). This corroborates with the findings from previous studies which mentioned that disagreement is a common strategy to express a differing opinion from a speaker. Disagreement is acceptable, especially when the speaker has a close relationship with the speech partner (Frank, 2021;Saleem et al., 2021;Spear, 2019).

'Expression of Contradiction' Strategy
The expression of contradiction is usually manifested by the negation word 'no' or the performative 'I disagree' or 'I agree,' with or without modals (Nguyen, 2005). The data demonstrated the direct criticism speech act with the expression of contradiction can be seen in examples (5) and (6).
In the Minangkabau data (example (6), the strategy to criticize directly ) is included in the category of expression of contradiction. It is included in the direct criticism speech act as an 'expression of contradiction' because the speech contains a negation marker 'not' as shown in example (5) stating 'reality isn't that sweet' (Dedoncker et al., 2019;Lang, 2018). Furthermore, in example 6, a father (as a speaker) spoke to his daughter (the speech partner) because his daughter wants to marry a man who comes from the same tribe as their family. This creates conflict because, in the Minang culture, it is not allowed to marry someone from the same tribe (Dewi et al., 2019;Ramanta & Samsuri, 2020;Utomo, 2020;Valentina & Safitri, 2022). The utterance is delivered by the speaker who has a close relationship with the speech partner (father to daughter). This speech act also indicates a sense of resentment towards the other person (Rosenblum & Muirhead, 2020). Criticism often aims to express the speaker's displeasure with the speech partner's actions. As a result, the speech partner is expected to modify his/her attitude in the forthcoming dialogue (Caturay, 2019;El-Dakhs, 2020;Ruytenbeek, Verschraegen, & Decock, 2021).

'Statements of Difficulty' Strategy
Statements of difficulty are typically expressed using structures such as "I find it difficult ....", and "It is difficult to understand...", or directly state the difficulties that are being faced by the actions of the speech partner (Nguyen, 2005). The data regarding direct criticism speech acts that demonstrate the use of the 'statement of difficulty' strategy can be seen in examples (7) and (8) The conversation in example (7) occurred when the speaker was irritated by what the interlocutor is doing. The criticism was conveyed directly without any hedging. The utterance carries elements of illocutionary power, allowing the meaning to be easily understood by the speech partner (Caponetto, 2021;Siregar, 2021). The speaker directly expressed his criticism about the attitude of the speech partner and directly conveyed his annoyance and irritation (Gisladottir et al., 2018;Richards, 2022 (8) were uttered by the speaker who has a close relationship with the speech partner. Therefore, it is not unpleasant for the speaker to convey the difficulties and unpleasantness experienced due to the speech partner's action (Aikin, 2019; Gisladottir et al., 2018;Rühlemann & Gries, 2021). This example also indicates a sense of resentment towards the other person and is consistent with the findings of Depraetere et al. (2021), El-Dakhs (2020), and Park et al. (2021), who reported that criticizing often aims to show the speaker's disapproval for the speech partner's argument and to encourage the speech partner to clarify the conversations for the speaker.

The Strategies of Indirect Criticism's Speech Acts in the Japanese and Minangkabau Languages
Indirect criticism speech acts are speeches that imply problems with the choice, action, and performance of the speech partner (Nguyen, 2005). There are a total of 299 instances of indirect critical speech act strategies used in Japanese and Minangkabau, with 200 instances found in Japanese and 99 instances in Minangkabau. The results indicate that a preference for indirect criticism speech act strategy is preferred in Japanese compared to Minangkabau. In contrast, the Minangkabau speakers demonstrate a higher frequency of using direct criticism speech act strategies. Table 3 shows that the main indirect strategies of criticism speech acts used in both languages are different. In Japanese, asking/presupposing (24.5%), corrections (18.5%), requests for change (10.5%), and indicating standard (10%) strategies were used with the highest frequency respectively, whereas in the Minangkabau language, the strategies most used were corrections (27.27%), suggestions for change (13.13%), lectures (12.12%), and expression of uncertainty (10,1%) respectively. in this section, only the four relatively highest used sub-categories of strategies namely 'correction,' 'indicating standard,' 'request for change,' and 'asking/presupposing' will be analyzed further. Based on the data presented in Table 3, it can be seen that the "asking/presupposing" strategy is more dominantly used in Japanese. This is due to the tendency of Japanese society to prioritize harmony and to be more reluctant in openly criticizing their interlocutors (Takanashi, 2004). In line with this, Makihara (2012) emphasized that in communication, there is a possibility of threatening the face of the speech partner, hence, Japanese people prioritize consideration in disclosing information to the speech partner in order to avoid or minimize the FTA (Face Threatening Act). In contrast, the Minangkabau people used "correction" strategy more frequently. This is because the Minangkabau culture encourages immediate correction or criticism when someone is displeased or in disagreement (Yanti, 2020). However, Minangkabau people still maintain politeness by continuing to use polite expressions such as Kato nan ampek (Chaniago & Alfikri, 2022).

'Correction' Strategy
Corrections are all utterances that have the aim of correcting errors by affirming specific alternatives for the choice of the speech partner (Nguyen, 2005). The data showing the indirect criticism speech acts of the 'correction' category can be seen in examples (9) and (10).
"Losing to being cheated on isn't that embarrassing, but if you had punched him earlier while people were cheering, he'd have fallen for sure." In example (9), the speaker criticized the attitude of the interlocutor who thinks that money is everything and money can help him cope with his sadness. This example is considered an indirect criticism speech act because the speech is conveyed in an unclear and convoluted manner (Arifin et al., 2019). This indirect criticism speech act strategy is categorized as a correction strategy because the speaker provided an alternative to the interlocutor for him to overcome his sadness. The speaker suggested that the interlocutor should speak to his father to reduce his sadness in a much better way (Ide & Kawahara, 2022;Jdetawy & Hamzah, 2020).
Furthermore, example (10) from the Minangkabau data was uttered by a silat (Indonesia's traditional martial art) coach (speaker) to his protege who lost the match because he allowed his opponent to attack him. He, nevertheless, did not take advantage of the available opportunity to counterattack his opponent. The criticism speech act in this 'correction' category is demonstrated in the utterance "Kalah karno dicurangi, ndak terlalu memalukan, tapi cubo tadi ang tinju pas urang basorak, pasti jatuah paja tu." (Losing to being cheated on isn't that embarrassing, but if you had punched him earlier while people were cheering, he'd have fallen for sure). This utterance was delivered by a speaker who has more power than the speech partner. In other words, the speaker who is the coach has the authority to 'reprimand' his student.
The criticism delivered in an indirect manner is considered a repair technique or face-saving technique, which is manifested through the substrategy 'correction.' This approach allows the hearer to take corrective action on her or his own (Martínez-Flor & Usó-Juan, 2020;Tereszkiewicz, 2021). These findings are corroborated by Decock and Depraetere (2018), Gisladottir et al. (2018), and Peng (2020), who reported stated that indirect criticism can mitigate the face-threatening act to the speech partner and minimize potential harm to his/her self-esteem. As a result, it is deemed more effective and acceptable.

'Indicating Standard' Strategy
'Indicating standard' is a category of indirect criticism speech act strategy which is typically expressed as collective obligations rather than personal obligations to the speech partner, or as rules that are generally agreed upon and applied to all (Nguyen, 2005). The data showing the indirect criticism speech act of 'indicating standard' strategy are shown in examples (11) and (12) The Japanese speech in example (11) was conveyed by a senior teacher to his junior teacher who will be the new homeroom teacher of class 2-4 while handling some medicine. This utterance is considered an indirect criticism strategy because it is expressed indirectly and vaguely (Decock & Depraetere, 2018;Deveci & Binbuğa Kınık, 2019). The utterance in example (11) has two distinct illocutionary powers, making it difficult for the listener to grasp the purpose of the utterance directly (Adams, 2020;Caponetto, 2021). The first illocutionary power is expressed in the form of a question, while the second illocutionary power aims to convey criticism. The speaker intentionally handed over the medicine as a symbol to indicate that the interlocutor needed to be cautious in teaching classes 2-4 because students in this particular class are well known troublemakers in the school. The utterance falls under the category of indirect criticism speech acts, as it utilizes the symbolism of medicine to deliver criticism and serve as a reminder for the interlocutor. The Minangkabau speech in example (12) was conveyed by an older sister (speaker) to her younger sister by the name of Ratu. The speaker commented on her sister's dress which looked inappropriate. The close relationship between the sisters allowed the older sister to implicitly criticize her younger sister by indicating the standard of the social customs in dressing.

'Request for Change' Strategy
A 'request for change' is a strategy that involves making a request, expressing a desire, or seeking a change in the choice or performance of the speech partner (Nguyen, 2005). The data illustrating the indirect criticism speech acts of 'request for change' can be observed in examples (13) and (14) The speaker in the Japanese language in example (13) indirectly criticized his student regarding the hostile family situation in the student's family that prevents the student from communicating with his parents. However, the interlocutor (student) was already aware of the underlying issue without the teacher explicitly mentioning it. Furthermore, the student also possesses knowledge of how to solve the problem.
The criticism conveyed by the speaker in example (13) is categorized as an indirect criticism speech act strategy because it was delivered in an ambiguous and convoluted manner (Deveci & Binbuğa Kınık, 2019;Ide & Kawahara, 2022). The speech act possesses two illocutionary power, making it difficult for the speech partner to comprehend (Lewiński, 2021;Rosyidi, Mahyuni, & Muhaimi, 2019). The criticism is expressed through an analogy, where the problem is analogized as a 'wall.' The speaker indirectly advises the interlocutor through another analogy: "Should tear it down." The speech act strategy is considered an indirect criticism speech act of 'request for change' because the speaker conveys the criticism through a request regarding the interlocutor's attitude and decision.
The Minangkabau speech in example (14) was conveyed by parents (as speakers) to their children (as speech partners), who frequently complain about their poor family conditions. The speaker opined that although the family is poor, they still have sufficient food for their needs. Therefore, the speaker feels that his child should refrain from complaining about their family situation every day. Indirect communication style can also be attributed to a distinction between high and low culture. In an indirect communication style, direct conveyance of meaning is considered impolite, prompting individuals to conceal their true intentions to maintain politeness and preserve the hearer's face (Buckingham & Goodall, 2019;Hosseinizadeh & Rassaei, 2019;Lang, 2018;Tawilapakul, 2022).

'Asking/Presupposing' Strategy
Asking/presupposing is a speech act strategy expressed in the form of rhetorical questions to raise the speech partner's awareness regarding the appropriateness of their choices (Nguyen, 2005). The data illustrating the use of indirect criticism speech act of 'asking/presupposing' can be observed in examples (15) and (16).
(15) Japanese (FJ/18/GTO1) Hoka no dareka ni itte, anata wa tashika ni awaredesu. Jibun de dekiru koto wa nani mo arimasen. "Telling someone else, you are pathetic indeed. Isn't there something you can do yourself?" (16) Minangkabau (FM/284/DUK) Tu lah, uniak lo anak kini ko, bahasonyo malantiak lantiakmirip bulu mato LCB pulo. "It's also unique for today's children, the language is curly like LCB's eyelashes too." The Japanese speech in example (15) was delivered by Onizuka (the speaker) to Fuyutsuki (the speech partner) and can be considered an indirect criticism speech act. The utterance falls under the indirect criticism speech act strategy because it is expressed in an unclear and vague manner. The utterance takes the form of a rhetorical question, thus classifying it as an 'asking/presupposing' speech act.
Furthermore, the Minangkabau data as illustrated in example (16) was uttered by a neighbor (speaker) to a neighbor's child (speech partner). The speaker felt that the child walked in an arrogant manner (malantiak/arrogant). The manner is akin to LCB's (an abbreviation for Laudya Cintya Bella, an Indonesian female artist) eyelashes. In example (16), the speaker intended to point out that the interlocutor behaved impolitely (Borris & Zecho, 2018;Jauhari & Purnanto, 2021). This behaviour should not be practiced when walking because the child may meet someone older than him on the street. The utterance is delivered by the speaker who holds power and is older than the speech partner.

The Politeness Strategies of Criticism Speech Acts in the Japanese and Minangkabau Languages
According to Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory, the purpose of minimizing the harmful effects of criticism is to maintain a harmonious relationship with the other person or speech partner, ensuring that criticism is more readily accepted by others. Speakers should employ various strategies such as the bald-on-record strategy, positive politeness strategy, negative politeness strategy, and off-record strategy when conveying criticism, allowing it to be accepted fairly and properly. As presented in Table 4, a total of 611 instances of politeness strategies were identified in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages, with 295 instances found in Japanese and 316 instances in the Minangkabau language. Table 4 also reveals that the primary politeness strategies used in both languages differed. In Japanese, off-record (50.85%), negative politeness (23.05%), positive politeness (15.93%), and bald-on-record (10,17%) strategies were used sequentially, whereas in the Minangkabau language, the strategies most frequently used were bald-onrecord (63,61%), positive politeness (15.19%), negative politeness (10.13%), and off -record (11,08%). These findings suggest a preference for the bald-on-record strategy in the Minangkabau language, whereas the use of the off-record strategy is more prevalent in Japanese. Further analysis of each politeness strategy used in both languages is presented in the following sub-sections. Brown and Levinson (1987) asserted that the baldon-record strategy involves expressing intentions in a clear, direct, unambiguous manner, without hesitation or attempts to save the face of the speech partner (bluntly, without remedy). This strategy is characterized by directness, without offering choices to the speech partner, as the speaker prioritizes effective communication over preserving the interlocutor's face. The use of this strategy can be observed in examples (17) and (18).

'Bald on Record' Strategy
(17) Japanese (FJ/17/GTO1) Omae.."demo demo" tte, bakka da naa.. "You say "but-but" and keep on sounding like an idiot." The strategy used in the example (17) (Japanese data) involves a superior addressing his subordinate. The superior reproaches the employee for consistently providing excuses for his mistakes at work, likening his behavior to that of an idiot. The tendency to use the bald-on-record speech strategy in this situation stems from the power dynamic between the speaker and his interlocutor, allowing for clear and straightforward communication without unnecessary elaboration (D'Cruz, 2020;Jauhari & Purnanto, 2021;Xafizovna, 2022). A similar situation is observed in the Minangkabau data (example 18). The village head (the speaker) employed bald on record strategy when addressing his poor village residents (the speech partner). The village head, who holds authority, utilizes the bald-on-record strategy to criticize the poor residents (Chelangat, 2019;Saleem et al., 2021).

'Positive Politeness Strategy'
Positive politeness strategy is the strategy that is intended to protect the positive face of the speech partner, namely the desire for the speaker to be respected and understood by others (Brown & Levinson, 1987). The data that used the positive politeness strategy are in examples (19) and (20) In example (19) (Japanese data), the speaker expressed disagreement with the interlocutor's attitude who appeared to want to know everything about his life. The positive politeness speech act strategy is employed in this case because the utterance was delivered by a speaker who has power over the speech partner. This allows the speaker to deliver the speech in a straightforward, clear, and frank manner. In example (20) of the Minangkabau data, the speaker criticizes the speech partner for consistently speaking ill of others while expecting others not to do the same to him. The speaker employs the positive politeness strategy given the higher authority or power that the speaker has over the interlocutor, to convey the criticism in a more considerate manner Examples (19) and (20) fall under the subcategory of positive politeness strategy namely 'seeking agreement' with the speech partner. Seeking agreement with the speech partner is the fifth sub-strategy within the positive politeness strategies (Chelangat, 2019;Khoirunnisa & Hardjanto, 2018). By employing this sub-strategy, the speaker aims to reach a solution or mediation for the issues at hand while avoiding offense to the speech partner (Spear, 2019;Tawilapakul, 2022).

'Negative Politeness Strategy'
A negative politeness strategy is a strategy that is associated with protecting the negative face of the speech partner, namely the desire not to be bothered or for their space not to be violated by others. The negative politeness strategy is essentially aimed at fulfilling or saving the negative face of the speech partner Examples (21) and (22) illustrate the use of the negative politeness strategy. In example (21) (Japanese data), the speaker expresses annoyance towards his speech partner (his friend) for allowing his rival to take advantage of him. This speech act occurs when the speaker criticizes his friend, urging him to change his attitude. The negative politeness strategy is used in this situation due to the close relationship between the speaker and the speech partner. Hence, the speaker utilizes the speech act strategy to protect the speech partner's negative face by defending them.
The situation described in the Minangkabau data in example (22) involves Adil and his friends (speaker) criticizing the grandfather (the speech partner) for making them wait for a long time for a meeting, despite having agreed on the meeting time earlier. Here, the speaker attempts to save the negative face of the speech partner by mitigating the harm of the utterance on the interlocutor's face (Jdetawy & Hamzah, 2021;Martínez-Flor & Usó-Juan, 2020). The use of the negative politeness strategy also aims to save the speech partner's face by acknowledging the challenges experienced by speakers (Pang et al., 2019;Venkataramanan & Rajamohan, 2019).
The examples in the Japanese and Minangkabau data above are categorized as indirect expression strategy which falls under the subcategory of the negative politeness strategy The indirect expression strategy is employed to prevent disruption to the interlocutor's face. It is the primary strategy within the negative politeness category and aims to preserve the interlocutor's negative face, allowing them to maintain their freedom of action (Brown & Levinson, 1987;Kusumarini, Simpen, Budiarsa, & Laksana, 2021).

'Off Record' Strategy
Off-record strategy is a strategy of doing FTA (Face Threatening Act) indirectly by letting the speech partner decide how to interpret the speaker's utterance (Levinson, 1987 Examples (23) and (24)  "Did your parents teach you?" In example (23) (Japanese data), Onizuka (speaker) criticizes his students (speech partner) for their reluctance to fulfill their assigned responsibilities, opting instead to avoid them. The off-record strategy is employed in this situation as the speaker intends for the speech partner to recognize the underlying criticism, which is conveyed in the form of a question (Dhayef & Mohammed, 2022;Kelly et al., 2019).
In example (24) (Minangkabau data), the speaker criticizes the speech partner for possessing an ordinary stone that is considered sacred by the villagers, despite the belief that ridiculing or insulting the stone has no effect. The off-record strategy is employed in this situation to soften the directness of the speech (Depraetere et al., 2021;Kusumarini et al., 2021). Additionally, the speaker desires the speech partner to provide the intended or expected information (Burdick, 2021;Rosenblum & Muirhead, 2020).
From the findings of the above data analysis, it can be observed that both Japanese and Minangkabau languages share a similarity in the use of 'positive politeness' strategies, within criticism speech acts. These strategies aim to maintain familiarity values between speakers and their speech partners. Additionally, speakers from both languages employ negative politeness strategies to maintain social distance between themselves and their speech partners. However, there are notable differences between the two languages. The findings indicate that Japanese speakers tend to use 'offrecord' strategies more frequently in criticism speech acts, while Minangkabau speakers predominantly favour 'bald-on-record' strategies.
The findings which indicated that Japanese mainly use "off-record" politeness strategies in criticism speech acts are in line with the results of previous studies (Obana, 2020). These findings also support previous results suggesting that Japanese communication tends to adopt an indirect or open communication style (tatemae) when interacting with less familiar speech partners (Nguyen, 2008). Furthermore, Japanese communication exhibits a tendency towards employing more indirect criticism strategies generally (Nguyen, 2005). The tendency towards an indirect communication style is believed to reflect the preference for a high-context communication style (Halawa et al., 2010;Obana, 2020;).
The trend of the results also showed that when Japanese people criticize, they pay attention to the level of closeness in their relationship with the interlocutor. This is due to the communication culture of Japanese society which is closely related to the concepts of 'uchi' (the inner circle/insider) and 'soto' (outer circle/outsider) (Obana, 2020). This is proven by the results that when Japanese people criticize someone they are not close to, they tend to be more formal (using tatemae/courtesy) because the interlocutor is considered part of the soto (outer) circle. However, when Japanese people criticize someone with whom they have a close relationship, they tend to use an open communication style, expressing their honne/true feelings because the interlocutor is seen as part of uchi (inner) circle. Moreover, Japanese culture is known for being harmony-oriented society (Nguyen, 2008;Takanashi, 2010). Hence, even in criticism speech acts that often express dissatisfaction, Japanese people prefer to use indirect strategies to maintain harmonious relations with their interlocutors. This tendency reflects and manifests in Japanese culture since communication and culture are inseparable and have a reciprocal relationship that influences each other (Samovar et al., 2016).
On the other hand, the findings reveal that speakers of the Minangkabau language tend to employ 'bald-on record' strategies and use the 'negative politeness' strategy the least. This particular finding differs from the results of previous studies, which indicated that in Minangkabau communication, speakers often use figurative language, disguised language, or satire, thereby avoiding direct and rude impressions, especially when interacting with new acquaintances or individuals with whom they do not have a close relationship with the speaker (Thamrin & Gani, 2020). However, the findings of this study revealed that in the context of criticism speech acts, Minangkabau people tend to use direct strategies and rarely use reciprocal strategies through rhyme. This tendency contradicts previous studies reported that the cultural values and communication styles of the Minangkabau community, highlighting their inclination towards indirect communication (Pawito et al., 2020) and the use of reciprocation strategies (Arifin, 2020). However, the tendency of this study is supported by Dasrial (2019) who asserts that although the Minangkabau people have a polite language concept or style of communication, known as the concept of Kato nan ampek, its application in daily life is sometimes forgotten or overlooked.
Based on the results of the analysis, it can be concluded that there are significant differences related to speech act strategies and politeness strategies used in criticism speech acts in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages. The results of the study have shown that Japanese speakers tend to use indirect strategies and 'off record' politeness strategies, while Minangkabau speakers prefer to use direct criticism strategies with 'bald on record' politeness strategies. In the context of cross-cultural communication, these contradictory differences can cause friction and misunderstandings. Hence, the findings of this study can be a point of reference expected to minimize these sorts of misunderstandings in communication, especially regarding criticism speech acts and speech acts in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages generally. The findings about politeness strategies used in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages are also beneficial to enhance cross-cultural communication understandings and communication competence for Japanese language learners including Minangkabau speakers.

CONCLUSION
This study explored the criticism speech acts by Japanese and Minangkabau speakers in the context of politeness in a cross-cultural setting. The findings show that both Japanese and Minangkabau people use direct and indirect speech act as strategies to criticize. However, the Japanese tend to use indirect strategies such as asking/presupposing, correcting, and requesting change. Meanwhile, Minangkabau people predominantly employ direct strategies such as negative evaluation, expression of contradiction, and disagreement when criticizing their speech partners. Regarding politeness strategies, both Japanese and Minangkabau language speakers used positive politeness, negative politeness, off-record, and bald records. However, there are differences where Japanese speakers tend to use off-record strategies, while Minangkabau speakers tend to use bald-on-record strategies in their criticism speech acts. These findings indicate a significant contrast in the strategies employed for speech acts of criticism, despite the languages sharing similarities in terms of possessing honorific language systems and communicative culture based on politeness.
Like any study, this study has several limitations. In this study, experts including native speakers were involved to ensure the accuracy of the data and the results. However, considering the rules and context of the films, the researchers suggest collecting more data that encompass diverse contexts, thereby representing various situations more comprehensively. Furthermore, when investigating politeness in the criticism speech acts in the Japanese and Minangkabau languages, it may be beneficial to incorporate more recent politeness theory (e.g. Principal of Mutual Consideration/PMC theory by Azis, 2000) to achieve a better