The

epresentations of Informative Function in Handling Food

Service at Restaurant

Denok Lestari

Dept. of Hotel Management, Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata Bali Internasional, Denpasar, Indonesia

Keywords: English for Specific Purposes, Informative Function, Language Functions, Tourism.

Abstract: Tourism is the worldwide fast-growing industry which directly affects various fields of life. Tourism study

does not stand by itself, but is supported by other social sciences, specifically language education. This paper,

based on a research in language functions, aimed to identify the use of informative functions in handling food

service at the restaurant. Categorized as a study of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), this paper described

language variations to provide preliminary analysis of needs in tourism and hospitality context. The research

methods were qualitative, using observation and recording technique. The data were in the form of transcribed

utterances between guests and waiters at the restaurant. The result of the analysis showed that informative

functions were represented through micro functions, namely ‘asking’, ‘explaining’, ‘stating’, and

‘confirming’.

1 INTRODUCTION

One of the benefits of tourism is to expand

employment and improve living standards of local

people. The rapid development of the hospitality

industry can directly affect language needs (Lin, Wu,

and Huang, 2013). As tourism growth in line with

hospitality industries, the ability to speak foreign

languages, especially English, is increasingly

becoming a necessity and the main requirement for

achieving the desired profession. To practitioners

involved in the industry, especially those who have

direct contact with guests, such as front office staff

and waiters at restaurants, English is very important

as a media for revealing product knowledge and

services. Therefore, those who work in the tourism

sector must improve communication skills, as well as

fluency in language (Zahedpisheh, et al. 2017). The

sparks of language research in tourism have attracted

attention due to high mobility of international tourists

in the non-English speaking countries. English, which

is the most widely used language as a medium of

interaction, has a major role in delivering quality of

services. Employees working in the tourism and

hospitality industry are fully aware of the importance

of good English competence to carry out their roles.

Given the importance of language support in the

development of tourism, this article highlights the use

of language functions used in restaurant service.

Although language learning currently tends to be

communicative, linguistic knowledge is still needed

to improve understanding of the target language

(Lestari, 2013). Discussing the function of language

is equal to discussing language use because the

language will not be meaningful if it is not used or

functioned (Luardini, 2009). Language function

refers to the use of language by speaking, writing,

reading, and listening to achieve communication

goals (Halliday and Hasan, 1985: 17). The word

'function' can be seen as the equivalent of the word

'use' so that the function of language cannot be

separated from the situational and cultural context

behind the language.

'Functions' from a pragmatic point of view tend to

focus more on the purpose of the speaker than the

effect on the listener (Cook, 1994). Function involves

two things: the purpose of the language in general –

referred to as a macro function, and the action carried

out by speech specifically – referred to as a micro

function (Cook, 1994). For example, 'explaining' is

included in the micro function, while 'informative' is

categorized as a macro function. The function of

language is basically the goal achieved by language,

for example stating, asking, responding, greeting,

saying farewell words, and so on (Brown, 2007: 245).

Leech (1974: 47-50) divides the communicative

functions of language into five, such as: 1)

Informational functions to convey information; 2)

2050

Lestari, D.

The Representations of Informative Function in Handling Food Service at Restaurant.

DOI: 10.5220/0009939120502056

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2018), pages 2050-2056

ISBN: 978-989-758-458-9

Expressive functions to express the feelings and

attitudes of speakers; 3) Directive functions are used

to influence the behavior and attitudes of others; 4)

Aesthetic functions, the use of language for the sake

of the work itself without hidden intentions, for

example in poetry; 5) Phatic function, oriented to

means of communication with the aim of keeping the

lines of communication open and to maintain good

relations in society. Four of the five language

functions proposed by Leech (1974) are very suitable

to be used as an analytical knife to identify the

representation of language functions in the field of

food service, namely informational, directive,

expressive, and phatic functions, while an aesthetic

function (which tends to be poetic) may not be

suitable to be applied in the language variation in

restaurants which are mostly informative.

Meanwhile, Halliday (1973: 22-26) divided

language functions into seven categories described as

follows (1973: 22-26): An instrumental function is

the function of language to manipulate the

environment, and to create certain situations or

events; 2) Regulatory functions, namely the function

of language in controlling circumstances or events; 3)

Representational functions, namely the function of

language to make statements, convey facts and

knowledge, explain or bring back reality as people see

it; 4) Interactional function, which is a language

function that refers to its function as an interacting

tool; 5) Personal function, which is a language

function that implies the meaning that language is

a tool to identify oneself; 6) Heuristic function,

which is used to obtain knowledge; and 7)

Imaginative functions, which can be used to imagine

or create ideas. The most appropriate with the

objective of this research is the fourth function,

namely interactional functions that mainly aim to

interact. This function requires a speaker to

understand cultural values including politeness that

applies in certain language.

Previously, Bühler (1965) argued that language

could fulfill three functions: i.e. representational

functions, conative functions, and expressive

functions. 1) Representational functions are carried

out by signs of language, e.g. text, utterances,

sentences, etc.; 2) The conative function will be

fulfilled when the text asks the reader or listener to do

something, mentally, emotionally or physically, and

influences their behavior, and 3) Expressive function

will be achieved when the text is able to express the

inner state of the writer or speaker. Whereas Jacobson

(1960) divided language functions into six, namely:

1) Emotive function, used in human feelings as a tool

to express themselves; 2) Conative function, used to

motivate others to behave or do something; 3)

Referential function, used to discuss a problem with

a particular topic; 4) Poetic function, used to convey

a specific message or message; 5) Phatic function,

used to greet each other simply to make contact with

others; and 6) Metalingual functions, used to discuss

language problems with certain language.

The four theories of language function were then

reformulated in Lestari (2017) which was adjusted to

the use of language in the restaurant, called the food

service, which was described as follows: 1)

Informative function is used to exchange information

represented in the function 'explain', 'state' , and 'ask';

2) The directive 'ordering' function is refined to

'invite' or 'ask'; 3) The interactive function is identical

with the effort to create as well as to maintain

harmonious and communicative interactions between

participants, which is represented in the function of

'greeting', and “chit-chatting’. 4) Indicative functions

are used as markers in a conversation, which are

realized in the function of 'thanking' and

'apologizing'; 5) Persuasive functions are used when

offering and providing alternatives to guests with the

aim of selling restaurant products; and 6) Permissive

functions to create comfort and smoothness in a

speech event. The use of non-standard English that

remains acceptable, the use of intonation, and the use

of passive forms is the representation of permissive

functions.

The taxonomy in table 1 shows that the extended

study of language functions is getting more

interesting to discuss, especially if it is associated

with studies outside the language, such as tourism and

hospitality. In food service, the language function

mostly used is the informative function, that is, when

the waiter provides information to guests about the

menu or facilities available. Therefore, the problem

raised in this study is: how is the function of

informative language represented in the expressions

of language used in restaurants? The findings in this

study can be used as a needs analysis and

contribute to the preparation of ESP learning

materials, especially in the field of tourism and

hospitality.

2 RESEARCH METHODS

This research was carried out at Mamasan

Restaurant, located on Jalan Kerobokan No 135,

Kuta-Badung. Qualitative data were in the forms of

recorded conversations between waitresses and

guests, and also the results of interviews of 25 waiters

and waitresses. The data were secondary as taken

The Representations of Informative Function in Handling Food Service at Restaurant

2051

from a dissertation on language functions (Lestari,

2017). In qualitative research, the researcher can be

the main instrument (Creswell, 2010). The

instruments used were a recorder, observation sheet,

and a semi-structured interview sheet, in addition to

the researcher herself. The findings were then

presented informally using narrative descriptions.

The analysis method used is the taxonomy of

language functions.

Table 1: Taxonomy of Language Functions (1)

Bühler

(1965)

Jacobson

(1960)

Lestari

(2017)

Representational

Conative

Expressive

Referential

Conative

Phatic

Emotive

Poetic

Metalingua

Informative

Directive

Interactive

Indicative

Persuasive

Permissive

Table 2: Taxonomy of Language Functions (2)

Leech

(1974)

Halliday

(1973)

Informational Directive

Phatic

Expressive Aesthetic

Representational

Instrumental

Interactional Personal

Imaginative

Regulatory Heuristic

3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

The verbal transcription indicated that informative

function tends to be used by waiters when explaining

menu to guests at the restaurant. This informative

function is represented in a number of micro

functions, including 'explaining', 'asking', and

'confirming'. The following is a more detailed

description of the informative function and its

representations.

3.1 ‘Explaining’ Function

Waitress: Good evening, ma’am, sir. Have you been

here before?

Guest: No, it’s our first time.

Waitress: So, we will explain the Mamasan concept,

please. Our concept here is family dining,

like a family self. So, we put the food in

the middle, you can share between you like

the starter or the main course. But for the

entrée, start from the Grilled Scallops until

the Chicken Betel Leaf is come one pieces,

and the rest you can share in the middle.

And this is good come with the side dishes

like the Naan or some rice. And ... are you

OK with the spicy or you have any allergy,

please?

Conversation above, is the 1

experiment.

Mamasan Restaurant is unique in that it serves a large

portion of food so that it can be enjoyed together. To

first-time visitors, the waitress is obliged to explain

this concept. As shown in the 1

data, waitress used

the interrogative "Have you been here before?" to find

out whether or not the guest has ever visited the

restaurant. The purpose of this question was to

determine if the waitress needed to explain the

concept of the restaurant, because the unique concept

must be explained to each guest who first came to the

restaurant. This is to avoid mistakes in ordering food

that might lead to problems or complaints from

guests.

The waitress's question was responded by the

guest, indicating that they were first-time guests.

Knowing this, she immediately decided to give an

explanation about the restaurant concept, by starting

with a statement "Our concept here is family dining".

The waitress then explained at length what is meant

by the concept of family dining, i.e. dishes were

served in large portions so that they could be shared

in group. The waitress also informed that there were

several menus which were served in small portions.

When the guest asked a second time, the waitress

immediately explained and described the name of the

food in question complete with the accompanying

dish. Thus, in a speech, the waitress used the function

‘explaining’ together with ‘describing’.

Unlike the previous interrogative, the following

questions "Do you have any food allergy?" And "Do

you have any problem with spicy?" gave clues on

what foods might be recommended to guests or, on

the contrary, should be avoided. This certainly aimed

to prevent the emergence of complaints or unwanted

problems. Thus, the function 'asking' is often a trigger

for statements, explanations, as well as determining

the next response. For example, it is necessary to

explain the concept of a restaurant, as shown in the

previous conversation. This conclusion is reinforced

by the following data:

Guest: What’s different for entrée and starter?

Waitress: So entrée are mostly smaller like

individual portion, and starter are

bigger...like salad. You can check all in

the menu.

Guest: Great. And what is Pork Belly?

Waitress: Pork Belly is a type of cube pork belly, it

comes with the tamarind sauce and the

other side is dipping sauce, the Naan pan

sauce. It’s a bigger portion.

Conversation above, is the 2

experiment. In data

above, guests asked about Pork Belly, one of the top

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dishes in the restaurant. This question was then

answered by the waitress with a description of

the dish. This, again, confirmed the previous

conclusion that in the function of 'asking' related also

the function 'explaining' or 'describing'.

Waitress: Do you have any food allergy?

Guest: Actually, I’m allergic to shell fish.

Waitress: I see. Do you have any problem with

spicy? Guest : Not too spicy, maybe.

Waitress: Alright. Because mostly our food here is

spicy, so I’m gonna tell you if you order

for something that is really spicy. Please

have a look first, let me know if you are

ready to order.

Conversation above, is the 3

experiment.

Different from the previous one, the interrogative

sentence used by waitress in the data (3) serves to find

out whether guests have allergies to certain types of

food, so they can avoid food poisoning or other

unwanted problems. Every waiter / waitress at

Mamasan Restaurant had gone through training on

the menu and the ingredients contained in it.

Therefore, they must always ask about food allergy to

each guest so they can help when explaining and

providing food recommendations. In addition to

asking about food allergies, the waiter / waitress also

has to make sure that guests do not have a problem

with spicy taste because the dishes in the restaurant

tend to be spicy, especially for Europeans.

When recommending food and drinks to guests,

of course the waiter must provide an explanation of

these products. For example, a brief description of the

taste of food (flavor), how to make it (method of

cooking), or ingredients (ingredients) contained in it.

In addition to explaining the menu, the waiter also

needs to ask whether guests have allergies to a type

of food and whether guests like the spicy taste or not.

The 'explaining' and 'asking' functions are the micro

functions of the informative.

3.2 ‘Confirming’

When a guest orders food in a restaurant, of

course he needs some information related to the food

he will order. Questions that arise in the food

ordering process aim to ensure the information

needed so that guests avoid dissatisfaction with the

food and drinks ordered. The following data

contained the ‘confirming’ function, which was

closely related to other informative functions, namely

'asking', and 'explaining' function.

Waitress: What kind of starter would you like,

madam?

Guest: I’ll have this Snapper umplings, this

one... and then for the salad I can take the

Salmon Salad,... is it nice?

Waitress: Yes, but this is spicy. Are you ok for

spicy?

Guest: It’s ok, no problem. ... and for the main,

I can take this Masaman Curry Chicken,

and the side crispy thing I take the

Chinese Style Pork Belly, and then for

the side I take one Jasmine Rice and one

stir fried Asian Grill. That’s it.

Waitress : I’ll just inform you, madam. Are you ok

with the fat? Because the Pork Belly here

is come with the fat.

Conversation above, is the 4

experiment. In data

above, the waitress used the function ‘asking' and

'explaining' in response to the 'ordering' function used

by guests. After deciding which food, he wanted to

order, the guest again confirmed that the food would

taste delicious by saying "Is it nice?". The waitress

knew that the food was one of the foods with a spicy

taste then tried to inform the guest and ensured that

the guest would not have a problem with it. The

interrogative form "Are you OK for spicy" in this case

was crucial to avoid guest complaints if the food did

not match their taste.

The same thing was done by the waitress when

guests ordered Pork Belly which contained high fat.

The waitress again ensured that guests would not

have problems with fatty foods by asking "Are you

OK with the fat?" which is then followed by a brief

description of the food ordered.

Waiter: What would you like to drink,

madam?

Female Guest: I think I’ll have Two Islands, please.

Waiter: Two Islands, by the glass?

Female Guest: Yes.

Male Guest: Do you want it by the glass? Just one

glass?

Female Guest: Yes. One glass... Two Islands, please.

Male Guest: Can I have Ginger Ale, please?

Waiter: Ginger Ale with ice, sir?

Male Guest: Uhm.. Yes... Oh .. No!... No ice,

please.

Waiter: Let me repeat your order, one glass of

Two Islands and one Ginger Ale

without ice.

Male Guest: Yes. Thank you.

Waiter: Thank you.

Conversation above, is the 5

experiment. Data

above, also showed the use of informative functions

represented in the function of 'asking' and

'confirming' when ordering drinks. Hearing guests

order Two Islands drinks, the waiter immediately

asked if guests wanted to order one glass or one bottle

of the drink. Not only waiters, but also the male guest

ensured if the female guest intended to order only one

drink. When male guest ordered drinks, the waiter

asked if the guest wanted ice in the drink. All waiter’s

questions when taking food and beverage orders were

The Representations of Informative Function in Handling Food Service at Restaurant

2053

aimed to ensure orders as desired by guests in order

to avoid complaints. The guest orders were then

repeated for this purpose using the phrase "Let me

repeat your order ...".

Female Guest: How about the snapper, is it fillet? No

bones?

Waiter: Yes.

Female Guest: OK, I’ll have the Snapper. One fillet

Snapper, please.

Male Guest: Uhm.. Could we order the Grilled

Vegetable Salad, please? How long

will it take?

Waiter: More or less may be five minutes.

Male Guest: OK thank you.

Conversation above, is the 6

experiment. In data

above, the function 'asking' in the phrase "Is it fillet?

No bones?" was used by female guest before ordering

food. This aimed to ensure that the fish menu ordered

according to the tastes of guests. After confirming

this, the guest immediately decided the choice of

food. While male guest used the function 'asking' in

the phrase "Could we order ...?". The guest asked how

long it would take to prepare the food ordered in the

sentence "How long will it take?"

Based on the description above it can be said that

the function 'explaining' is often a response to the

function 'asking'. The use of the 'asking’ function is

not only intended to request information, but can also

be to 'offer' something or 'persuade' the listener to try

or do something, or also to 'confirm' information

previously obtained. The function ‘asking' can also be

used to give choices to the listener as shown in the

following data.

Waitress: We have Indonesian food in our buffet.

If you need anything else, we will

prepare for you.

Guest: Yes, can I have some eggs, please?

Waitress: Yes, of course. Please looking our buffet.

Maybe you want to take another food,

and I’ll prepare for your eggs. What

would you like to have for your eggs, sir?

Guest: Omelette, please.

Waitress: One omelette... Mix, Cheese, or

Mushroom omelette? What would you

like to have?

Guest: Uhm... Mix Omelette.

Waitress: Mix Omelette, served with some bacon

or sausages?

Guest: uhm... bacon, please.

Conversation above, is the 7

experiment. Data

above, occurred at breakfast, when the guest wanted

an egg dish that was not available at the buffet table

so it had to be prepared specifically on request. The

waitress must obtain detailed information about the

type of dish desired, so she asked some questions that

are actually an option. In general, there are two types

of breakfast provided for hotel guests, namely

Continental Breakfast (consisting of cereals, bread,

juice, tea / coffee) and American Breakfast

(consisting of hot dishes namely egg dishes, toast,

juice and tea / coffee). Egg dishes can be served with

a variety of choices, such as sunny side up, turn over,

omelette, scrambled, poached, soft boiled and hard

boiled. When guests order omelette, the waitress had

to ask again what filler material was desired because

the restaurant provides various choices such as mix,

cheese, and Mushroom. Mix Omelette was still

divided into bacon and sausages. Thus, the function

of 'asking' can also be used to inform the choices

available to guests so that they can more freely

determine choices when ordering food.

The following data strengthened the function of

'asking' which was used to give consideration about

menus in restaurants.

From the data, occurred at breakfast, when the

guest wanted an egg dish that was not available at the

buffet table so it had to be prepared specifically on

request. The waitress must obtain detailed

information about the type of dish desired, so she

asked some questions that are actually an option. In

general, there are two types of breakfast provided for

hotel guests, namely Continental Breakfast

(consisting of cereals, bread, juice, tea / coffee) and

American Breakfast (consisting of hot dishes namely

egg dishes, toast, juice and tea / coffee). Egg dishes

can be served with a variety of choices, such as sunny

side up, turn over, omelette, scrambled, poached, soft

boiled and hard boiled. When guests order omelette,

the waitress had to ask again what filler material was

desired because the restaurant provides various

choices such as mix, cheese, and Mushroom. Mix

Omelette was still divided into bacon and sausages.

Thus, the function of 'asking' can also be used to

inform the choices available to guests so that they can

more freely determine choices when ordering food.

The following data strengthened the function of

'asking' which was used to give consideration about

menus in restaurants.

Waitress: Excuse me, would you like to order now,

sir?

Guest: Yes, please. maybe I’ll try the steak...

Tell me, is the beef imported?

Waitress: yes, sir. Our steak is imported from

Australia.

Guest: Well, I guess I want to try the Rib eye

steak. How big is it?

Waitress: It’s about 200 grams, sir. But I need to

inform you that the rib eye steak is greasy

and fatty because it contains a lot of fat.

Guest: Oh really? Well. how about the sirloin

steak?

Waitress: The sirloin is cut from the back part

which is less tender, sir.

Guest: So, which one do you recommend?

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Waitress: Well, I suggest you try our tenderloin

steak. It’s the most tender part of the

beef, and not too fatty

Guest: alright, maybe I’ll have that, please.

Waitress: Of course, sir. How would you like it

done, rare, medium, or well done?

Guest: Medium well, please.

Waitress: And what would you like to come with

it? baked potatoes or french fries?

Guest: Baked potatoes, please.

Conversation above, is the 8

experiment. Data

above, was a conversation about ordering steak, when

the guest asked a few questions that the waitress

immediately responded to. Here, it was clearly seen

the use of informative functions that were full of

information from waitresses to guests. The implicit

information included steak meat imported from

Australia so of course the quality of meat was better

than local meat. Waitress also gave a brief explanation

about the parts of beef with the aim of helping guests

in choosing the type of steak they want.

The questions posed by the waitress could also

function as a 'bait' to sell products with more leverage.

For example, in a sentence when a waitress offers

vegetables, "And what would you like to come with

it? baked potatoes or French fries? ", the guest who

initially did not intend to order finally agreed and

chose baked potatoes as a complement to the dish.

Based on the description above, it can be said that the

‘confirming’ function is closely attached to the

function of 'explaining' and 'asking' as an informative

function. The ‘confirming’ function is also used when

ordering food as shown in the data below.

Waitress: What kind of starter would you like,

madam?

Guest: I’ll have this Snapper Dumplings, this

one... and then for the salad I can take the

Salmon Salad, is it nice?

Waitress: Yes, but this is spicy. Are you OK for

spicy?

Guest: It’s ok, no problem. ... and for the main,

I can take this Masaman Curry Chicken,

and the side crispy thing I take the

Chinese Style Pork Belly, and then for

the side I take one Jasmine Rice and one

stir fried Asian Grill. That’s it.

Waitress: I’ll just inform you, madam. Are you ok

with the fat? Because the Pork Belly here

is come with the fat.

Guest: It’s ok. I want to try it.

Waitress: May I repeat for your order? For the

starter it’s a Snapper Dumplings, and a

Salmon Salad, for the main course it’s a

Masaman Curry and the Chinese Style

Pork Belly, and a Jasmine Rice.

Guest: Ok. Is that enough for two people?

Waitress: Yes, it’s enough for two people.

Guest: Alright.

Conversation above, is the 9

experiment. In data

above, the function of ‘confirming’ was more widely

used by waitresses to ask whether or not guests have

problems with spicy and fatty foods. The

‘confirming’ function was also used by the guest who

once again ask whether the portion of food ordered is

enough for two people. Later, the waitress repeated

all food orders by saying "May I repeat your order?"

This question-like sentence form actually aimed to

ensure and check that there were no orders left behind

or wrong. Based on the data analysis above, it could

be said that the ‘confirming’ function was used to

confirm the message so that errors do not occur. This

function also aimed to prevent potential problems or

complaints.

Data below presented how the waitress explained

the menu and persuaded the guests to place more

orders at the same time.

Waitress : Excuse me, Ma’am. Are you ready to

order?

Guest: I don’t know ... I cannot decide, so do you

have recommendation?

Waitress : Certainly, Ma’am.... The normally for the

entrée and the starter you can keep two

different things from the starter, I

recommend you for the Scallops and then

Pork Belly so you can share together with

your friends, and for the main course you

can keep two different things from the

main course, I recommend you for the Pork

Vindaloo, and then the Crispy Whole Fish,

that’s very popular food in our restaurant

and very tasty, Madam.

Guest: The Crispy Whole Fish, does it come in big

portion?

Waitress : Ehm.... that’s... ehm.... that’s only five

hundred grams of the Snapper, deep fried

of a Snapper with chilly jam sauce, and the

taste is a bit spicy, sweet and spicy.

Guest: Oh, the fish itself is already spicy?

Waitress : Yes, Madam.

Guest: And is it big? No, it’s not too big?

Waitress : No, not too big.

Guest: We can share?

Waitress : Because it comes with the bones, so I think

the meat is not too much.

Conversation above, is the 10

experiment. The

waitress in data above, at first used the informative

function in explaining portions of Pork Belly and the

scallops. Later, she tried to make the guest order

something more, such as the pork vindaloo and crispy

whole fish, using the persuasive function. The aim was

to offer or persuade the guest. This showed that

informative function was closely related to persuasive

function when dealing with order taking at the

restaurant.

The Representations of Informative Function in Handling Food Service at Restaurant

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4 CONCLUSION

The informative function in this study, similar to the

informational function (Leech, 1974), has the

function to exchange information. The function of

this language is represented in the function of

'explaining', 'stating’, and ‘asking'. The function

‘stating’ aims to convey the intention or desire of the

speaker which is generally represented in declarative

form, as in the sentence "I think I'll have Two Islands,

please". However, the function of 'stating' can also be

represented in the form of interrogations, for example

"Can I have Ginger Ale, please?" The interrogative

form "Can I ...", might also be used to express the

wishes of the speaker.

The 1

experiment shows that the waitress's

question was responded by the guest, indicating that

they were first-time guests. Knowing this, she

immediately decided to give an explanation about the

restaurant concept, by starting with a statement "Our

concept here is family dining". Meanwhile, the 2

experiment shows that guests asked about Pork Belly,

one of the top dishes in the restaurant. This question

was then answered by the waitress with a

description of the dish. This, again, confirmed the

previous conclusion that in the function of 'asking'

related also the function 'explaining' or 'describing'.

The 4

to the 10

experiment show that Waitress

also gave a brief explanation about the parts of beef

with the aim of helping guests in choosing the type of

steak they want. It can be said that the ‘confirming’

function is closely attached to the function of

'explaining' and 'asking' as an informative function.

The function ‘asking’ can be used to inform

choices available so that guests can more freely

decide when ordering food. For example, "What

would you like for the vegetables? We have salad and

steamed vegetables." This kind of question can lead

to further products selling. The function of

‘confirming’ also aims to avoid errors or the

emergence of problems later, such as errors in

recording food orders. Therefore, restaurant staff

must always repeat or reconfirm every message

received from guests.

Based on the data discussed above, it can be seen

that the interaction takes place in two directions,

namely the guest uses the 'asking' function while the

waitress uses the 'explaining' and ‘confirming’

functions, both of which fall into the category of

informative functions. Thus, it is clear that the

informative function is represented in the function of

'asking,' explaining ', and ‘confirming' at restaurant

service.

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