Output file VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT ************ LÊ HÀ VÂN VERBAL EXPRESSIONS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING PRESENTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE[.]
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT ************ LÊ HÀ VÂN VERBAL EXPRESSIONS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING PRESENTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE CULTURES BIỂU THỨC BẰNG LỜI KHI TRAO VÀ NHẬN QUÀ TRONG VĂN HOÁ ANH VÀ VIỆT MA MINOR THESIS FIELD CODE : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS : 60 22 15 HA NOI – 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT ************ LÊ HÀ VÂN VERBAL EXPRESSIONS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING PRESENTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE CULTURES BIỂU THỨC BẰNG LỜI KHI TRAO VÀ NHẬN QUÀ TRONG VĂN HOÁ ANH VÀ VIỆT MA MINOR THESIS FIELD : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS CODE : 60 22 15 SUPERVISOR : ASSOC PROF DR NGUYỄN VĂN ĐỘ HA NOI – 2009 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS * Acknowledgements ii * Abstract iii * Table of contents iv * Abbreviations v * List of Tables and Graphs vi INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Methods of the study DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 The relationship between language & culture 1.2 Speech Acts 1.3 Verbal Expressions in giving and receiving presents 1.4 Linguistic Politeness 10 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 12 2.1 Hypotheses 12 2.2 Data collection 13 2.2.1 The Questionnaires 13 2.2.2 The Respondents 15 2.3 16 Data analysis CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 40 3.1 Findings in Vietnamese 40 3.2 Findings in English 42 3.3 Similarities and Differences 44 3.4 Tentative explanations in terms of linguistic politeness 46 CONCLUSION 48 REFERENCES 49 APPENDICES I v ABBREVIATIONS S : Speaker H : Hearer G : Giver R : Recipient FTA : Fact Threatening Act FT : Face Threat No : Number % : Percent vi LIST OF TABLES AND GRAPHS Table 1: Age group correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 15 Table 2: Gender correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 15 Table 3: Living area correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 15 Table 4: Occupation correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 16 Table 5: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of birthday 16 Table 6: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of wedding 21 Table 7: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of house warming 25 Table 8: Strategies in receiving presents 32 Table 9: Rank of importance of social factors 39 Table 10: Rank of importance of social factors 40 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale It can not be denied that English has been used as an international language all over the world; it is the most widely spoken language which is used in many fields such as economics, trade, tourism, diplomacy, politics, and press In Vietnam, as a result of the Open-door policy, the number of people learning English for various purposes is on the rise They study English to communicate with people from other countries where English is used as a native, a second or just a foreign language, to read English materials, or simply to pass the national secondary school exams Although English has been taught in Vietnam for many years, not until recently has the focus of improving linguistic competence for learners been on syntax, on lexical and phonological components of the language Many people still believe that being good at English means being good at linguistic competence Thus, cultural factors are paid little attention to In our modern world, however, globalization is expanding; the need for interacting and communicating across nations is indispensable Successful communication requires not only purely linguistic competence but also the knowledge of social norms, social values and relations between individuals known as communicative competence Communicative competence presupposes ability to use the language correctly and appropriately This pragmatic competence is as crucial as linguistic competence The lack of it may lead to rudeness, misinterpretation, cultural shocks, and even communication breakdown It is clear that people who lack an awareness of socio-cultural conventions in the target language may face unwanted communication breakdown in cross-cultural interaction For example, if a Vietnamese speaker gave a native speaker of English a gift and he/she only received the response from the receiver as: “Thank you” or “Thank you so much”, the Vietnamese speaker may feel a little bit disappointed because he/she expects a more emotional and warmer response than just saying “Thank you” Obviously, cultural differences here made the communication process unsuccessful Hence, the knowledge about cross-cultural communication is really essential On this basis, this study is done to contribute an insight into a really fine social manner: Giving and receiving presents It helps Vietnamese learners of English to find out the best English verbal expressions which are often used when giving and receiving presents in specific situations and vice versa As the result, similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents will be identified With this study, the researcher desires to seek a number of suitable and interesting verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents in English and Vietnamese in some specific circumstances for avoiding, or at least, reducing the threat of communication breakdown in giving and receiving presents particularly in intercultural communication 1.2 Aims of the study This study aims to: - Find out typical models of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions used when giving and receiving presents in specific situations - Identify the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents - Make tentative explanations for these similarities and differences in terms of linguistic politeness 1.3 Scope of the study As mentioned above, the study mainly focuses on English and Vietnamese verbal expressions used when giving and receiving presents on three occasions: birthday, wedding, and house-warming party Due to its small scale, only 25 Vietnamese and 25 English native speakers were involved in this study These respondents were asked to complete the questionnaires with information about their verbal expressions used in the case of giving and receiving presents in certain situations Conclusions are based on the analysis of the data collected from the questionnaires Data obtained from questionnaires about what English native speakers and Vietnamese people might say in certain situations may not be always the same as what they actually say in the real life Similarities and differences between the English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents are also discussed In this study, giving and receiving presents simply are understood as a nice symbol of cultural behaviors in normal life expressing deep emotion, concern, gratitude and attention to the Recipient, bringing joy to both the giver and receiver, promoting goodwill, and developing a closer relationship As the result, some tentative explanations for these similarities and differences in terms of linguistic politeness will be given in this study 1.4 Methods of the study In order to carry out this study with the aim of a cross-cultural research, the main method used is the quantitative one All the comments, evaluation and conclusions in this thesis are mainly based on: Survey questionnaires; Statistics, description and the analysis of the collected data DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 The relationship between language and culture Up to now, there has been much research with tremendous attempts to describe complicated and diversified relationships between language and culture In spite of opinion divergences, it is said that culture embraces language and language reflects the image of culture According to Sapir (1921), “language is a purely human and non instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desire by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” Language is a part of culture and a part of human behavior Anna Wierzbicka (1992, p.371) regards “Language as a mirror of culture and national character” People can understand the cultural characteristics of the nation through the language they use Richard et all, (1992, p.94) defines: “Culture is the total set of beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors, social habits of the members of a particular society” This definition not only helps us to understand what the culture is, but also lists the components of culture Obviously, culture is sort of knowledge, which everyone must possess to function within a society Beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors and social habits are not innate or born naturally, but they are learnt through the socialization process in which you grow up a full member of a society That is the reason why culture does not belong to any single person but to all people It is often held that the function of language is to express thought and to communicate information Language also fulfills many other tasks such as greeting people, conducting religious service, etc Krech (1962) explained the major functions of language from the three following aspects: 1) Language is the primary vehicle of communication; 2) Language reflects both the personality of the individual and the culture of his history In turn, it helps shape both personality and culture; 3) Language makes possible the growth and transmission of culture, the continuity of societies, and the effective functioning and control of social group For many people, language is not just the medium of culture but also is a part of culture It is quite common for immigrants to a new country to retain their old customs and to speak their first language amid fellow immigrants, even if all presents are comfortable in their new language This occurs because the immigrants are eager to preserve their own heritage, which includes not only customs and traditions but also language This is also seen in many Jewish communities, especially in older members: Yiddish is commonly spoken because it is seen as a part of Jewish culture It is obvious that language plays a paramount role in developing, elaborating and transmitting culture and language, enabling us to store meanings and experience to facilitate communication Language and culture are so closely related that the correct understanding of the relationship between the two is vital in cross-cultural communication Children learning their native language are learning their own culture; learning a second language also involves learning a second culture to varying degrees On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture It reflects culture Cultural differences are the most serious areas causing misunderstanding, unpleasantness and even conflict in cross-cultural communication 1.2 Speech Acts The theory of speech acts has long been studied It was first formulated by the philosopher John Austin in a series of lectures which are now collected into a short book called How to Things with Words (Austin, 1962) These ideas were then further developed by other scholars such as Searle (1969, 1975), Labov and Fanshel (1977), Bach and Harnish (1979), Edmondson (1981), Recanati (1987), Allan (1994) and so on Making a statement may be the paradigmatic use of language, but there are all sorts of other things we can with words We can make requests, ask questions, give orders, make promises, give thanks, offer apologies, and so on Moreover, almost any speech act is really the performance of several acts at once, distinguished by different aspects of the speaker's intention: there is the act of saying something, what one does in saying it, such as requesting ... the verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents in English and Vietnamese In fact, what to say when giving a present and how to respond when receiving a present are culture-specific and. .. expressions used when giving and receiving presents in specific situations - Identify the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents - Make... life Similarities and differences between the English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents are also discussed In this study, giving and receiving presents simply