| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation describes about the structure and communication strategies in courtroom discourse. The courtroom discourse is the result of language use in the criminal courtroom trials in Pengadilan Negeri Medan. The objectives of this study are to describe the structure, communication strategies, turns taking structure used by the speakers when communicating with others during the trial, and the trigger factors of courtroom discourse. This study is descriptive in nature and applies van Dijk's macrostructure theory and Tarone and Faerch and Kasper's concept of communication strategies. The findings indicate that there are five levels of structure in courtroom discourse; they are the opening of trials, litigation (plaintiff), hearing (witness testimony), demands, and verdict (court conviction). Each level has one sub level that is question and answer level with its various elements, either obligatory or optional, and it is ended with closing remarks. While the communication strategies applied are cooperative, non-cooperative, self repair, avoidance, formulaic expression, repetition, reduction, approximation and circumlocution. The tum taking structure begins and ends with the judge, while the others have their turns linguistically or non-linguistically. | en_US |
