The Jeepney Culture of Politeness: A Structural Functionalist Perspective

The jeepney, tagged as ‘king of the road’ is an intriguing exhibit of Filipino culture. The study aims to explain the systems of action within the jeepney context. Through the lens of Parsons' systemic functionalist perspective, the study examines the driver-passenger interactions to understand how politeness (Lakoff, 1975) is negotiated inside the jeepney. Three specific research questions guided this investigation. First, it explored the linguistic choices Filipino jeepney riders employ to fulfill two main functions of their utterances: paying the fare and getting on/off the jeepney. Second, it examined the mechanisms riders use to negotiate politeness within the jeepney. Finally, it analyzed what these linguistic choices reveal about the cultural practices of the riders. Employing a qualitative-complete observation method, the study's findings reveal a distinct culture of politeness unique to the jeepney environment.