HUE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF OPEN EDUCATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ENGLISH LANGUAGE SOCIOLINGUISTIC PROJECT Lecturer: TS Trần Thuần Student’s name:Ngô Thị Ngọc Ánh Student’s code: 7052900513 Class: Nghe An Topic 10: How you address each other in your culture? Does the form of address depend in any way on factors (variables) such as that person’s gender, age, ethnicity, dress, perceived role, physical wellbeing, or behavior? Compare the addressing patterns of people in your culture with English people or with the people you are familiar with Nghe An, July 2023 I INTRODUCTION Language is an inevitable product of the communication process in order to satisfy one of the essential needs to ensure the existence and development of human society In any language, the issue of address is very important and is considered as the premise of communication If the address is incorrect, it means that the relationship between the communicators is incorrectly defined, making the conversation difficult For the Vietnamese people, due to the influence of feudal rites, with the binding of the ideology of “tam cương, ngũ thường” it has profoundly influenced the psychological and emotional life of each member of Vietnamese society throughout generations Therefore, the system of pronouns in Vietnamese, the choice of pronouns in Vietnamese communication depends on many factors, with human meanings and profound cultural connotations Addressing is also a psychosocial issue in communication that is concerned by the vast majority of members of society, and considers it as a very necessary principle of conduct in social relationships Among the cultural factors, the way to behave when communicating in society, which stands out as the problem of choosing how to address to satisfy the purpose of communication, is a matter of profound human significance This article shows that the way of addressing in Vietnamese culture depends on many factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, etc and culture of that nation In Vietnamese, the way of addressing is very rich and complex In contrast, the British way of addressing is simpler and it has some similarities as well as many differences with Vietnamese people Thus, the way of addressing speaks to the socio-cultural context characteristics of each language, which should be studied by combining culture and language II CONTENT In Vietnamese, addressing is very important in communication relationships Vocabulary words in Vietnamese have very clear expressive nuances such as: respect, intimacy, casualness, contempt The choice or change of address words depends on the level of affection between the parties involved communicate In certain contexts, combined with intonation factors, one can determine the semantics of address words Through addressing, it is possible to convey to listeners feelings of joy, sadness, love, hate It can be seen that Vietnamese people attach great importance to hierarchies, delicate emotional life At the same time, it is also through the name to see the typical cultural features of the Vietnamese nation Addressing is also considered an art in communication Because legitimate personal pronouns in Vietnamese are limited in number and scope of use, but thanks to the system of temporary kinship nouns used in the address function, the system of pronouns Vietnamese language becomes very rich As a result, the address in Vietnamese also has distinct expressive nuances, distinguishing hierarchy, gender, age, ethnicity Responding to a type of address denotes a different relationship, nuances of expression Feelings are also different It is this that makes the address in Vietnamese have rich connotations Classification of pronouns in Vietnamese In Vietnamese, linguists such as Nguyen Kim Than (1963), Le Can, Cu Dinh Tu, Hoang Tue (1962), Diep Quang Ban and Hoang Van Thung (1998) also classified Vietnamese pronouns into groups: address with proper personal pronouns, address with kinship nouns, in addition, address with nouns indicating position, occupation, address by full name Addressing with proper personal pronouns: In Vietnamese, proper personal pronouns in both singular and plural are limited in number The expressive nuances of these address words are often casual, not polite, except for the pronoun "I" which is neutral Therefore, these terms are used only in a narrow range For example: In Vietnamese, when self-professing at the equal shoulder and the lower shoulder, it denotes a casual, intimate, and polite tone of voice, etc., usually three personal pronouns are used: "“tôi, tao, tớ”." Corresponding to it, when self-proclaimed on the upper shoulder, use nouns to address kinship in cases showing the meaning of respect and politeness "grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, uncle, brother, aunt, uncle … When self-advocate on the lower shoulder, showing a humble tone often uses kinship nouns such as " em, con, cháu ” " Due to the limited semantics of legitimate personal pronouns, the Vietnamese language mainly uses nouns indicating kinship relations, which are temporarily used in the addressing function, occupying an important position in terms of quantity Frequency of use and especially pragmatic meanings are diverse and flexible Cultural connotations of Vietnamese pronouns In the communication of Vietnamese people, corresponding to a way of addressing is expressing a different relationship, the level of affection is also different In Vietnamese, legitimate personal pronouns in all three persons are used in a narrow range, only in the equal relationship of age, social status, or only used to address groups of people with different geographical positions inferior taste Therefore, legitimate personal pronouns are often used when expressing casual, contemptuous, angry tone, sometimes also used to address intimacy in friendship relationships For example, the first person singular pronoun "I" refers to himself in communication with strangers, in a polite manner, or when he reports or speaks in front of a large number of people Superiors address subordinates, address between heads and employees in the agency, or address between people of equal age This type of address is often used in heterosexual relationships In addition to showing humility, sometimes the pronoun "we" is used instead of the pronoun "I" (Usually used to address oneself formally in front of a large number of people) The change in the way of addressing in Vietnamese also indicates expressive nuances (only relationship gets better or worse) For example: In an intimate relationship, "I" is used to indicate coldness and anger In the relationship between husband and wife, addressing by "I" indicates sulking and anger In the relationship between parents and children, when a father or mother calls "I" to their children, it often carries an angry and dissatisfied tone In contrast, in the family, children not address "I" to grandparents and parents In social communication, young people not address "I" to the elderly, there are a few localities where children habitually still address "I" to their parents and grandparents In the case of selfproclaimed "tao", "I" and addressing the co-conversation as "mày" and "mi", this way of addressing is only used to address intimacy between friends, or to address younger people, signifying friendly tone, sometimes indicating anger In Vietnamese, the specific meanings of pronouns for speaker and listener change depending on each communication situation The self-proclaimed 'I', the person who is called 'grandfather, brother, sister, brother, child, grandchildren ' in the sentence will have a role change, the ethnic nouns are pronounized and used flexibly, synonymously time can be concurrently in all three places, the first person (as the speaker), the second person (the role of the listener) and the third person (the role of the person being talked about) This multi-person phenomenon is only in the words of kinship To address the third person singular is often combined with nouns indicating the person who creates isotope phrases, making it easier for listeners to distinguish the mentioned object, the phenomenon of creating isotope idioms does not exist the function of discriminating but only the function of describing the speech For example: pronouns: ‘ông ấy, bà ấy, anh ấy, chị ấy, cô ấy…” Indefinite case use “hắn” “y” “gã” “thị” in case of small person address I'm older than I use "it" Due to the fact that there are very few personal pronouns in Vietnamese, and they not have polite nuances (except for the first person personal pronoun "I"), a provisional kinship noun system is used in Vietnamese make pronouns It is thanks to this feature that Vietnamese people can only distinguish, through the way they address themselves, whether the relationship between them is a relative or a sister, a blood relationship or a non-blood relationship Expressive nuances between the parties involved in the dialogue are: happy, sad, angry, angry, polite, friendly, unfamiliar Similarities and differences between the address culture of Vietnamese and British people Similarities: Respect: Both Vietnamese and British cultures emphasize showing respect when addressing others This respect is usually displayed through the use of appropriate titles or honorifics Formality: In both Vietnam and Britain, there is a general expectation of maintaining formalities when addressing people in professional or formal settings This includes using appropriate prefixes or titles, such as Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Dr Politeness: Both Vietnamese and British cultures place importance on polite and courteous language This includes using polite forms of address, such as "please" and "thank you." Differences: The Vietnammese have a more complex system of addressing than the British In Vietnammese, there are many different pronouns depending on the relationship and age of the speaker For example, young people often address “em” to older people, while older people often address “anh, chị” to younger people Meanwhile, British people usually only use “you” to address whith people Name order: In Vietnam, the family name comes before the given name, while in Britain, the given name comes before the family name For example, in Vietnam, Nguyen Van A is addressed as Mr Nguyen, while in Britain, John Smith is addressed as Mr Smith Formality levels: Vietnamese address culture has a more complex system of honorifics and formalities compared to British culture In Vietnam, the appropriate title and level of formality can vary based on age, social status, and relationships Informal address: In British culture, it is more common to use informal address forms among friends, colleagues, and sometimes even in professional settings Vietnamese culture, on the other hand, generally maintains a higher level of formality In Vietnamese culture, addressing patterns tend to include a strong emphasis on hierarchy and age Respect and deference towards elders is highly valued, so younger individuals often address their elders with specific titles or honorifics For example, children might address their parents as "ba" (father) or "mẹ" (mother), while younger siblings may refer to older siblings as "anh" (older brother) or "chị" (older sister) Similarly, employees may address their superiors by their professional titles, such as "giám đốc" (director) or "thầy" (teacher) In English culture, the addressing patterns are generally more informal and egalitarian Relationships are often based on familiarity rather than hierarchy, and first names are commonly used to address both friends and family members This applies across generations, so children may call their parents by their first names as a sign of familiarity and informality In professional settings, individuals usually address their colleagues and superiors by their last names, such as "Mr Smith" or "Dr Johnson." It is important to note that addressing patterns can vary within each culture depending on factors such as regional differences, personal relationships, and individual preferences People who work as teachers in Vietnam are allowed to be "teachers", which is different from the way people address other people of the same age This reflects the Vietnamese tradition of "respecting the teacher and respecting the way" Even a teacher's spouse is called a teacher even though they are not teachers In English culture, the way to address teachers is the same as for other professions Their calling does not depend on their level of education but on their marital status Unmarried female teachers are called “Miss”, whether young or old For men, everything is "Mr", regardless of whether the person is married or not Only those who hold a doctorate or are a doctor are called otherwise That's why the teaching profession is really special in Vietnam The use of family names for the whole society shows the solidarity of Vietnamese people, and also shows the openness in welcoming outsiders into their community This makes the whole society closely bonded like a family III CONCLUSION In the trend of globalization integration, people are not limited to family and village relationships Communication is expanding more and more when people have higher needs to exchange not only within the country but also with friends from all over the world Addressing is not just a matter of language, it is also a cultural factor, an important part of communication In Vietnamese, because legitimate personal pronouns have limitations in terms of expressive nuances, most of the Vietnamese address people using kinship nouns It is this factor that has made the system of Vietnamese pronouns rich, it can describe the hierarchical and kinship relationships in the family and in the society of Vietnamese people The choice of address words to suit the communication roles is based on the principle of modesty, respect, politeness, courtesy to the co-conversation, humility and courtesy towards oneself That is the culture with bold colors of the Vietnamese nation Compared to English, it can be said that Vietnamese has a much richer system of personal pronouns in both quantity and variety in usage Vietnamese often uses words that refer to kinship relationships that English cannot find equivalent words In addition, due to cultural differences, the system of personal pronouns as well as the use of pronouns in English and Vietnamese also have many differences Cultural factors and social norms also require each language to have an appropriate system of personal pronouns Regardless of the language, whether it's English or Vietnamese, when communicating, each individual should choose and adjust the way they address the subject as well as the communication situation and especially the changing emotions The way we address it has also changed Cultural factors as well as family, social and emotional relationships are the cause of the different ways of addressing the two languages REFERENCES Duong Thi Nu (2003), Semantics of groups of words indicating kinship relations in English and Vietnamese, Doctoral Thesis in Literature, Institute of Linguistics Nguyen Van Chien (1993), Vocabulary in Vietnamese, Journal of Linguistic and Cultural Issues, Hanoi National University of Education Nguyen Van Tu (1996), On how to address in state agencies, mass organizations, school, junior high school (1), – 11 Nguyen Thi Tuyet Thanh, (2007), Semantics and grammar of Chinese pronouns compared with the equivalent class of words in Vietnamese, PhD thesis in Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-HCM HCM Nguyen Nhu Y (1990), Social role and language behavior in communication, TCN Truong Thi Diem (2002), Vocabulary derived from kinship nouns in Vietnamese communication Doctoral Thesis in Linguistics University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City