a vietnamese-english cross-cultural study on the use of responding to english greetings = nghiên cứu giao văn hóa anh - việt trong việc sử dụng lời đáp lại các lời chào của tiếng anh

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PHÙNG THỊ ĐỨC A VIETNAMESE –ENGLISH CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY ON THE USE OF RESPONDING TO ENGLISH GREETINGS Nghiên cứu Giao thoa Văn

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

PHÙNG THỊ ĐỨC

A VIETNAMESE –ENGLISH CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY

ON THE USE OF RESPONDING TO ENGLISH GREETINGS

(Nghiên cứu Giao thoa Văn hoá Anh- Việt trong việc sử dụng lời

đáp lại các lời chào của tiếng Anh)

Minor Thesis

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 60 22 15

HANOI - 2010

PHÙNG THỊ ĐỨC

A VIETNAMESE – ENGLISH CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY ON THE USE OF RESPONDING TO

ENGLISH GREETINGS

NGHIÊN CỨU GIAO VĂN HÓA ANH –VIỆT TRONG VIỆC SỬ DỤNG

LỜI ĐÁP LẠI CÁC LỜI CHÀO CỦA TIẾNG ANH

M.A Mino Programme Thesis

Major: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15

Supervisor: PHAN THỊ VÂN QUYÊN, MA

HANOI - 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RETENTION OF THE STUDY PROJECT REPORT i

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

I Rationale 1

II Aims of the study 2

III Scope of the study 2

IV Methodology 3

V Design of the study 3

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 4

Chapter One: Literature Review 4

1.1 Language in communication 4

1.2 Language and culture 5

1.3 Cross-cultural communication 6

1.4 Cross-cultural pragmatics 7

1.4.1 Speech acts 7

1.5 An overview of greetings in English and Vietnamese 12

1.5.1 Definition of greetings 12

1.5.2 Functions of greetings 12

1.5.3 Characteristics of greetings 13

1.5.3.1 Addressing forms in greetings 14

1.5.3.1.1 Addressing forms in Vietnamese greeting 14

1.5.3.1.2 Addressing forms in English greetings 15

1.5.4 Types of greetings 16

1.5.4.1.Greetings in passing 17

1.5.4.2.Greeting before a conversation 17

1.5.4.3 Greetings in Business 18

1.5.4.4 Greeting at a social event ( at a party) 19

1.5.4.5 Greetings in the classroom 20

1.6 Responding to a greeting in the light of Cross-Cultural Pragmatics 21

Chapter two: RESEARCH AND METHODOLODY 23

2.1 Hypotheses 23

2.2 Data collection 23

2.2.1 The questionnaire 23

1.2.2 The informants 24

Chapter three: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 25

3.1 Considerations when responding to greeting 25

3.2 The strategies of responding to greetings 26

3.2.1 Data analysis 26

3.2.3 Findings and results 37

3.2.4 Suggestion for using responses to greetings in English 40

PART III: CONCLUSION 42 APPENDIX I SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE I BIBLIOGRAPHY II

PART I: INTRODUCTION

I Rationale

In recent years, English has become an international language used widely all over the world It is not only the language of communication and media but also the language of knowledge and culture Mastering English is considered an obligated condition for everyone in Vietnam and it is implied to be a “passport” for a good job because English serves their job and their promotion Therefore, people pay more and more attention to learning English They no longer do grammar and translation exercises only but listening skill and speaking skill have been invested more time and better attention as well As a result, English has been learnt more properly and used more effectively

However, in reality, Vietnamese learners of English often make mistakes in communicating with English speakers This is mostly caused by the effect of Vietnamese culture and the limitation of understanding about English culture One of the most important parts in almost every conversation is greeting which generally plays an important role in communication and functions as a start of a conversation or indentify the appearance of speakers or to express the respect to the listener In addition, greetings help

to establish, maintain a relationship and facilitates the conversation

Greeting is the first step of the communication The continual step is responding to the greeting, a decisive agent assuring the success of the communicating Thus, it is essential

to take great interest in not only what and how we greet each other but also what and how

we respond to greetings Although greetings and responses are, to some extent, formulaic, choosing a relevant response to a greeting is not an easy job In fact, many Vietnamese people failed to continue their conversation in English due to not only language ability but also understanding about the culture of target language, English In many cases, when being greeted by a foreigner, many English learners feel confused to find out a good and relevant response, some people cannot respond their partner’s greeting immediately Realizing the important role of responding to greetings, the author has chosen to study Vietnamese and English cross-cultural communication in term of responding to greetings with the expectation of finding out the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English responses to greetings then suggest relevant responses to greetings in specific

situations, which partly helps English learners in Vietnam have more confidence and achieve more success in communicating in English

II Aims of the study

The ultimate goal of this research is

- to investigate the specific situations of responding the greetings among learners of English with certain variables (i.e age, gender, social hierarchy, etc.)

- to provide readers general information about English and Vietnamese greetings and the way they reply a greeting in their own language

- to compare and contrast replying strategies in English and Vietnamese in order to bring about the similarities and differences in the way Vietnamese and English people reply a greeting

- Therefore, the research questions are:

 What are the verbal strategies used by Vietnamese and English people to reply a greeting?

 What are the similarities and differences in responding to greeting in English and Vietnamese?

III Scope of the study

- Although the role of paralinguistic and non-verbal factors in real-life communication is fully conscious, the study focuses on the verbal aspects of the act

of replying a greeting only

- The study is confined only to strategies of replying a greeting in Vietnamese and Anglophone culture The Vietnamese Northern dialect and the English language spoken in Great Britain are chosen for contrastive analysis

- Conducting survey questionnaires enables the author to collect the data from a large population in a short period of time Recorded and videotaped face-to face conversations are impossible due to the limitation of time, geographical distance and financial difficulties

IV Methodology

In order to carry out this study theoretically, the author has based on careful studies and analysis of linguistic, semantic and pragmatic materials with the great support of my supervisor through her valuable remarks and comments as well as reference to both home and foreign publications Thus, in order to achieve the objectives of a cross-cultural research, the main method of study is the qualitative and quantitative one Thesurvey questionnaire is designed for Vietnamese people about their ways of replying greetings in their target language and English people about their ways of replying greetings in their mother tongue The survey was designed with different situations basing on the routines and daily conversations Their cultural and linguistic matters will be analyzed by the statistics, data, and description collected Besides, some comments and suggestions are also given by personal observations or consultation with the supervisor

V Design of the study

This study consists of three main parts Part I - Introduction- In this first part, all the theoretical background and academic routines are discussed In part B – Development focuses on the 3 chapters In chapter I, cross-cultural and responding to a greeting are defined cultural pragmatics and replying a greeting are mentioned In this chapter, the author distinguishes the differences and the similarities between responding to greeting in English and Vietnamese In the next chapter, the research methodology is discussed with analysis and findings from the survey questionnaires conducted by the Vietnamese and English Part III is the conclusion of the study, here, the author summarize all the main ideas, the important findings as well as some suggestions

PART II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter One: Literature Review

1.1 Language in communication

In the history of human’s evolution, language is seen as the most amazing achievement because it creates the distinguishing between man and beast Since language has become a part of the development of man and his society, it is impossible to distance language from people

Language includes a system of verbal forms of communication which conveys meaning by other means of human communication and a system of non-verbal cues such as body motions, facial expressions, etc According to Schmidt and Richard (91980:161),

“language is to build bridges, to consolidate political regimes, to carry on arguments, to convey information from one person to another, to entertain and in short, to communicate” Hence, “language is a human system of communication which uses structured vocal sounds and can be embodied in other media such as writing, print and physical signs” (The Oxford Companion To The English Language 1996:523)

Hybels,S and Weaver, R (1992) say “communication is any process in which people share information, ideas and feelings that involve not only the spoken and written words but also body language, personal mannerisms and style, the surrounding and things that add meaning to a message” In this sense, communication is considered a transactional process of creating and sharing meaning, through verbal and non-verbal behavior, between two or more persons

In Malinowski’s words (in Hudson R.A 1980:109) “language functions as a link in concerted human activity, as a piece of human behavior” In this way, communication has

“the phatic function” as communication is used not only for exchanging information but also establishing, reinforcing and maintaining a social relation to confirm each other’s presence In this sense, Verderber (1990:60) claimed 4 uses of language Firstly, language

is to designate, label and define thoughts, feelings, objects, people and experiences in order that they may be shared with other people Secondly, language is used to evaluate what it defines as language plays a role to control over the perceptions and behaviors of people

Thirdly, we use language to discuss things outside our immediate experience Finally, we can use language to reflect on or to talk about language because it is self- reflexive Talking about the functions of communication, Verderber also defined three functions of communication i.e psychological function, social function and decision-making function

In brief, it is difficult to distance language from communication Thanks to language, communication becomes more successful and effective In turn, communication helps language express all features and characteristics

1.2 Language and culture

Language and culture are the two factors which are interrelated because people share not merely language but also culture Thus, “What is culture?” It is difficult to define this concept Culture normally refers to the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior, language, ideas, customs and so on However, culture is the way we act, the context in which we exist, think, feel and relate to others In Kottak’s words (1979:4) culture that complex whole which include knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society Another definition that is the most widely –cited by Goodenough (1992:217)

A society’s culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate

in a manner acceptable to its members, and to do so in any role that they accept for any one

of themselves

In this definition, culture is seen as a shared background (e.g national, ethic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes and values Therefore, culture is also absorbed through the socialization process Goodenough stated “the relation of language to culture is that of part to whole” and according to Goshgarian, “Language shapes our perception of reality”

The socio-cultural context reflects the social and cultural practices of a community through language It is not difficult to interpret culture through language because language reflects cultural identity which people meet daily in their lives Additionally, thanks to language, cultural values and ideas, human culture would be persevered by generations to generations In its turn, culture has a great influence on the way in which language is used Culture itself navigates guidelines or practices for linguistic behavior To add this sense,

William Frawley (1992:45) says: “Culture is the final arbiter of meaning, or linguistic meaning is entirely determined by the cultural context in which the language occurs”

In Bromfit’s words (C.J et al: 1995), language is one of the most important symbol systems

in any culture, thus, there is no surprise that language and culture should be taught and learned in the foreign or second language classrooms as learning a new language means learning a new culture

1.3 Cross-cultural communication

Obviously, cultural components play an important role in conveying the message of communication People living in a cultural environment gradually learn the language, beliefs and behavior of the group in which they re nurtured They know and understand the manners which are acceptable in their society Thus, there is an understanding between those who share the same culture However, when people from different cultural backgrounds, cross-cultural communication occurs Jose, P (1992) states:

Things happen as entities from different cultures directly and constantly communicate This, obviously, will lead to changes of the original patterns, or in other words, cross- cultural communication is the exchange of cultures and also the results of these changes Sooner or later they will experience a period of curiosity, frustration, anger, alienation, depression and other such reactions that have come to be labeled “culture shock” It is the reaction of the person from his culture to the visitor’s behavior coming from other culture

It seems that no matter how well a person has prepared himself, some degree of “shock” is inevitable and, some would say, necessary for better adjustment What is important is to recognize these feelings and to know how to respond to them (Condon and Yousef 1996)

In order to cope with this problem, we should adopt openness, a receptive attitude towards other cultures, never see them as awkward or meaningless Mentioning what makes communication successful, Byram and Flemin (1998:12) stated “acquisition of abilities to understand different modes of thinking and living, as they are embodied in the language to

be learnt, and to reconcile or mediate between different modes present in any specific interaction”

1.4 Cross-cultural pragmatics

In the eyes of linguists, language is considered a social product which should be examined

in a context to find out the meaning in relation of the language and the context Thus, it is impossible to interpret an utterance without the context in which it is used The term

“Pragmatics” is defined as “The study of language from the point of view of users, especially of the choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using language in social interaction, and the effects the use of language has on other participants in the act of communication In other words, pragmatics is the study of communicative action in its sociological context Communicative action includes not only speech acts – such as requesting, greeting, and so on; but also participation in conversation engaging in different types of discourse and sustaining interaction in complex speech events” (Kasper:1996) Pragmatics focuses on the actual language used in specific communicative situations Therefore, speakers must be sensitive to potential as well as actual meaning because pragmatics refers to the meaning implied in individual words and the order of words to consider how we use utterances when we talk To be more specific, making meaning is a dynamic process which involves different contributions of both speaker and hearer as well

as the context and the potential meaning of an utterance Besides, in Richard’ opinion (1992:284), when mentioning pragmatics, it is obvious that researchers have to answer the three questions as the followings: “How do the interpretation and use of utterances depend

on knowledge of the real world?, How do speakers use and understand speech acts? And How is the structure of sentences influenced by the relationship between the speaker and the hearer?” Briefly, world knowledge and social knowledge of participants in communication are so important that they can be distance from interpreting the real meaning of each utterance

1.4.1 Speech acts

In attempting to express themselves, people do not only produce utterances containing grammatical structures and words, they perform actions via those utterances If you work

in a situation where a boss has a great deal of power, then the boss’s utterance: “You’re

fired” is more than just statement This utterance can be used to perform the act of ending

you employment However, the actions performed by utterances do not have to be as dramatic or as unpleasant as in this example The action can be quite pleasant, as in the

compliment performed by the acknowledgement of thanks in or the expression of surprise

for instance, “You’re so delicious”, “You’re welcome” or even “You’re crazy” So,

Action performed via utterances are generally called speech acts and in English are commonly given more specific labels, such as apology, complaint, compliment, invitation, promise, or request and greetings

(George Yule, 1996)

These descriptive terms for different kinds of speech acts apply to the speaker’s communicative intention in producing an utterance The speaker’s normally expects that his or her communicative intention will be recognized by the hearer Both speaker and hearer are usually helped in this process by the circumstances surrounding the utterance This circumstances, including other utterances, are called the speech event In many ways,

it may be the nature of the speech event that determines t he interpretation of an utterance

as performing a particular speech act

On any occasion, the action performed by producing an uttereance will consist of three related acts There is first a locutionalry act, which is the basic act of utterance, or producing a meaningful linguistic expression If you have difficulty with actually forming the sounds and words to create a meaningful utterance in a language, then you might fail to produce alocutionary act

Mostly we don’t just produce well-formed utterances with no purpose We form an utterance with some kind of function in purpose This is the second dimension, or the illocutionary act The illocutionary act is performed via the communicative force of an utterance We might utter “I’ve just made some coffee” to make a statement, an offer, an explanation, or for some other communicative purpose This is also generally known as the illocutionary force of the utterance

We do not, of course, simply create an utterance with a function without intending it to have an effect this is the third dimension, the perlocutionary act Depending on the circumstances, you will utter “I’ve just made some coffee” on the assumption that the hearer will recognize the effect you intended (for example, to account for a wonderful smell, or to get the hearer to drink some coffee) This is also generally known as the prlocutionary effect

Of these three dimensions, the most discussed is illocutionary force Indeed, the term

“speech act” is generally interpreted quite narrowly to mean only the illocutionary force of

an utterance The illocutionary force of an utterance is what is “counts as” The same locutionary act, as shown as “I’ll see you later”, can count as a prediction “I predict that I’ll see you later”, a promise “I promise you that I’ll see you later” or a warning “ I warn you that I see you later” These different analyses of the utterance in the examples above represent different illocutionary forces

Speech act classification

Serle (1969&1970), suggests one general classification system of five types of general

functions performed by speech acts: declarations, representatives, expressive, directives,

and commissives

* Declarations are those kinds of speech acts that change the world via their utterance

The examples below illustrate that the speaker has to have a special institutional role, in a specific context, in order to perform a declaration appropriately

E.g

Priest: I now pronounce you husband and wife

Referee: You ‘re out

* Representatives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker believes to be

the case or note Statements of fact assertions, conclusions, and descriptions, as illustrated

in the following examples:

E.g

(a) The earth is flat

(b) It was a warm sunny day

* Expressives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker feels They express

psychological states and can be statements of pleasure, pain, likes, dislikes, joy, or sorrow

As illustrated in the following examples, they can be caused by something the speaker does

or the hearer does, but they are about the speaker’s experience

* Directives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to get someone else to do

something They express what the speaker wants They commands, orders, requests, suggestions, and, as illustrated in the below examples, they can be positive and negative

E.g

(a) Gimme a cup of coffee Make it black

(b) Could you lend me a pen, please?

(c) Don’t touch that

* Commissives: commit the speaker to do something such as promises, threats, etc In

using a commissive, the speaker undertakes to make the world fit the words via the speaker

In short, speech act is the act we perform when we speak The speech act theory helps to interpret the function of language to communicate, which operates in a particularly interesting way in interaction

Bach and Harnish (1984) mention 4 groups which are not different and paradox to those identified by Searle and Austin They are constatives, directives, commissives and acknowledgements which are defined clearly in the below table

Promises Offers

Apologise Condote Congratulate Greet Thank Bid Accept Reject

Direct and indirect speech acts

A different approach to distinguishing types of speech acts can be made on the basis of structure A fairly simple structural distinction between three general types of speech act is providing, in English, by the three basic sentence types As shown in the below examples, there is an easily recognized relationship between the three structural forms (declarative, interrogative, and imperative) and the three general communicative functions (statement, question, and command/request):

For example:

You wear a seat belt (declarative)

Do you wear a seat belt? (interrogative)

Wear a seat belt (imperative)

Whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act Whenever there is an indirect relationship between a structure and a function,

we have an indirect speech act Thus, a declarative used to make a statement is a direct speech act, but a declarative used to make a request is an indirect speech act As illustrated

in “It’s cold outside” is a declarative When it is used to make a statement, as paraphrased

in ‘I hereby tell you about the weather”, it is functioning as a direct speech act When it is used to make a command/ request, as paraphrased in “I hereby request of you that you

close the door”, it is functioning as an indirect speech act

Different structures can be used to accomplish the same basic function, as in the below examples, where the speaker wants the addressee not to stand in front of the TV The basic function of all the utterances is a command/request, but only the imperative structure in the first example represent a direct speech act The interrogative structure in the second example is not being used only as a question, hence it is an in direct speech act The declarative structures in the third and fourth example are also indirect requests

The examples are:

Move out of the way!

Do you have to stand in front of the TV?

You’re standing in front of the TV

You’d make a better door than a window

One of the most common types of indirect speech act in English, as shown in “ Could you

pass the salt?” or “Would you open this?”, has the form of an interrogative, but is not

typically used to ask a question (i.e we don’t expect only an answer, we expect action) The examples are normally understood as requests

Indeed, there is typical pattern in English whereby asking a question about the hearer’s

assumed ability “Can you?”, “Could you?” or future likelihood with regard to doing something “Will you?” or “Would you?”) normally, counts as a request to actually do

that something

Indirect speech acts are generally associated with greater politeness in English than direct speech acts In order to understand why, we have to look at a bigger picture than just a single utterance performing a single speech act

Speech events

We can look at the set of utterances produced in this kind of situation as a speech event A speech event is an activity in which participants interact via language in some conventional way to arrive at some outcome It may include an obvious central speech act, such as “I don’t really like this” as in a speech event of “complaining” but it will also include other utterances leading up to and subsequently reacting to that central action In most cases, a

“request” is not made by means of a single speech act suddenly uttered

1.5 An overview of greetings in English and Vietnamese

1.5.1 Definition of greetings

Greeting is one of the most frequently and openly speech acts used in everyday conversation In all languages, it has the same purpose: to establish contact with another person, to recognize his or her existence and to show friendliness (Tillitt, 1965:5)

1.5.2 Functions of greetings

According to Goody (1972: 40) greetings have three major functions First, they open a

sequence of communicative acts between two persons, irrespective of their positions Second, they are a means of defining and affirming both identity and rank Third, a mode

of deference manipulates a relationship in order to achieve a specific result because the standardized forms of greeting contain an element of difference which is status enhancing Briefly, greetings in almost every language generally help to establish and maintain a

relationship and to facilitate the conversation However, the formulas for greetings are very

specific and usually do not carry any literal meaning People say: “Good morning!” even

if it is a miserable day and may reply to “How are you?” with “Fine, thanks!” even if they

are not feeling well

Firth (19972:2) in studying functions of greetings remarks “what is of prime relevance is the establishment or perpetuation of a social relationship, the recognition of the other person as a social entity, a personal element in a common social situation” Therefore, the refusal of a greeting to someone known is a denial of him as a social entity

1.5.3 Characteristics of greetings

Although greetings are used differently in each situation, they are formulaic Laver (1981) remarks that “the choice of formulaic terms often depends almost as much on the characteristics of the speaker as those of the listeners” Coulmas (1979) introduces the term

“routine formulae” for such kinds of expressions as greeting or thanking Richard (1983:129 ff) later uses conversational routines to refer to the same notion

Routine formulae are expressions whose occurrence is closely bound to specific social situations and which are, on the basis of the evaluation of such situations, highly predictable in the communicative course of events Their meaning is pragmatically conditioned and their usage is motivated by the relevant characteristics of such social situations

Coulmas also defines two main related functions of which have much to do with greeting and address terms The first function is that routine formulae maintain orderliness of communication by helping to reduce social interaction complexity For example, people

may say the formula “How are you?” to a neighbor only on a normal speaking terms without meaning to sincerely inquire after his health, or we can say “Good morning!” to

someone while it is raining outside, but the use of the helps to create a normal or unhostile atmosphere Besides, routine formulae facilitate the decision process in choosing communicative means by offering ready-made units Finally, they organize the reactions to social situations for example, how, what to say in response to a thank-you, a greeting or how to address one’s teacher, etc., so that these responses are apt to become spontaneous The second function of routine formulae us to support group identity by serving as a means for establishing and developing rapport, reinforcing self-awareness as a group identity,

perpetuating, emphasizing values, norms, customs of the group, indicating the speaker’s conformity with the group and being a means of defining social status of the interlocutors, e.g., in forms of address

1.5.3.1 Addressing forms in greetings

Firstly, it is stated that addressing forms is an interesting phenomenon in the study on cross-cultural communication There exist numerous addressing systems in different cultures and languages

1.5.3.1.1 Addressing forms in Vietnamese greeting

Like many other Eastern languages, Vietnamese language has a so complicated one that makes foreigners get confused when using Vietnamese addressing forms Many foreigners say that accessing to Vietnamese addressing forms is not much different from entering to a maze It is partly true and understandable because Vietnamese addressing system is one of the most complicated features in Vietnamese language that even its people find it difficult

to Normally, every form of addressing is based on a relationship such as family relationship and job relationship However, choosing a term to address someone in greeting

is a complicated job, which depends on the speaker-hear relative power such as age, status, societal hierarchy and so on is strict in its application Unlike many languages which have

T and V forms for formal and informal situations or the use of the only term “you’ in English The use of one term, furthermore, is not given a firm consideration of formality The term “d ” (aunt) for example, can be very formal as it is used to represent a relationship similar to family relationship The impact of power and solidarity is obviously found in the use of addressing terms, and hence, there is a great variation of address forms that can be traced in Vietnamese, such as the use of title, kinship term, name, etc

In Vietnamese, address terms are widely used in greetings We can easily realize that a greeting in Vietnamese is commonly begun with the greeting phrase The next is an address term which is selected basing on the relationship between the speakers and the context of the greetings As mentioned above, address terms in Vietnamese are “kinship”,

“title”, “full name” and “last name”

It should be noticed that the use of first name in greetings is often found in common cases

In fact, the construction of Vietnamese names are not similar to most of the Western names, which consist of first name and then family name or surname They family name in Vietnamese comes first Rarely do Vietnamese call each other by the family name, maybe

except for “ ncle H ” to refer to the President H Ch Minh or “ ncle T n” to refer to the President T n c Th ng Full names are sometimes used in very formal situations and accompanied by a title

is a closer relationship between interact ants Usually, the greetings formed by title or kinship terms for the superior, especially when someone who is superiors at work but inferior in age, because then the kinship term means respect for age

1.5.3.1.2 Addressing forms in English greetings

Compared with some other languages, the system of addressing forms used in English greetings is more simple with the use of title and names only which commonly come after

a greeting phrase Most English people have three names (Tillitt & Bruder: 15): a first

name is called given name, a middle name is an initial and a last name is family name or

surname The use of title and full name is not found in the responses, perhaps, because the respondents found them too formal to use In fact, the English prefers to use title and last name instead However, title and first name is not the right way of addressing in England and thus is never used

1.5.3.2 Greeting phrase+

Title +Last name

Good morning Dr John

1.5.3.3 Greeting phrase+ Full

first name

Hello Robert!, Hi Stephen!

1.5.3.4 Greeting phrase+

Short first name

Hi Sue! (for Susan), Morning Rob! (for Robert)

1.5.3.5 Greeting phrase+

Multiple name (diminutive name, nick name, other names)

How’w goin , usie ( usan)?

How’s everything ,guys?

1.5.4 Types of greetings

There are many ways to say “hello” Generally, according to Bruce Tillitt (2006), the

author of the book “Speaking naturally”, greetings can be classified into two major types

basing on the formality of the communicating contexts: formal greetings and informal greetings A greeting seen as a formal or informal one is determined by the particular context in which the greeting is uttered Besides, the formality of a greeting is dependent

on the choice of vocabulary and structure Sometimes, you say a quick hello as you are passing somebody At the other times, a greeting can lead to a conversation In addition, friends and family members greet each other in a casual way Business greetings are more formal

It can be defined that greetings forms in the Vietnamese culture is a long-established aspect that could be viewed from different angles of culture, including the direct greetings and indirect greetings Besides, like other languages where greeting forms are uttered with the direct greeting words such as “Hello!”, “Salut”, “Ciao”etc or according to different times

of the day “Good morning!”, “Good afternoon!” “Good evening!”, greetings in Vietnamese use of “direct” greeting words phrases “Ch o”, “ in ch o” widely In deed,

an addressing term, an announcement, a request, a complement, a remind or questions for direction, health, meal, work etc are used as the substitutes for a direct greeting in particular contexts

English greetings are similar to greetings in almost every language because they are formulaic and used in each case with different purposes Furthermore, English greetings are varied including “Hi!”, “Hello”, “Good morning!”, “How are you?”, “How do you do?

”etc., in other words, there are many ways to say “Hello” in English to lead to a conversation Thus, it is difficult to make a format for English greetings Firth (1972)

categorizes greetings in English into three linguistic forms: an interjection, a question or

an affirmation On the other hand, they can be divided into two types of greetings: formal

greetings and informal greetings The formal greetings like “How do you do?” or “How

are you?” are mainly used by the members of elder people or when meeting someone the

first time The less formal (informal) greetings are used more commonly in the younger generations or routines

In addition, when discussing the functions of languages, many linguists agree that there are many language devices to express a communicating purpose For example, to express a greeting, people do not have to greet directly with “hello! , Hi! Or Good morning!’ They can greet indirectly via thanking, questioning, reminding, congratulating, complimenting, inviting and so on The “indirect greetings” are mostly used in informal contexts As a result, greetings might be classified basing on the situations, where the greetings are uttered Therefore, the classification of greetings should be based on the contexts which can be named as follows:

1.5.4.1 Greetings in passing

This is an informal case because you do not always have time to stop and have a conversation Just remember to smile as you say hello A small wave is also polite Sometimes you pass the same person a second time on the same day You can say "hello again" or just smile However, it is polite to greet a person you know formally or informally, which depends on your relationship with him/her

1.5.4.2 Greeting before a conversation

You sometimes stop and talk for a minute as you say hello This type of greeting is followed by a conversation Close friends often hug when they greet each other, especially after a long time without seeing one other This situation can happen to those who meet each other for the first time or those whose relationship is close Between very close

friends, it is common to use names in an informal greeting Sometimes, nicknames or short forms are used

The below conversation is a well-illustrated example to know more about this greeting in this situation Between very close friends it is uncommon to use names in a casual greeting Sometimes nicknames or short forms are used (Cor and Jen instead of Corey and Jennifer)

A: Hi Corey

B: Hey, Jennifer Good to see you (hug)

A: You too How've you been?

B: Busy, you?

A: Pretty good How's your new job?

B: It's okay There's a lot to learn What's new with you?

A: Not much The kids are back at school

1.5.4.3 Greetings in Business

Proper etiquette is important in business greetings, thus, using formal and polite language for greeting should be noticed Formal greetings are suggested as below:

Good morning, Mr Evans!

Good morning, Dr Conners!

How do you do?

Good morning! How are you?

These following expressions should be useful in conversations

 Please have a seat

 Thanks for agreeing to meet with me

 He'll be right with you

 Can I offer you something to drink?

 My pleasure

In the below conversation, the readers may find more interesting things about using the greeting and responses to greeings:

A: Hello I'm Mia Conners

B: Hi Mia I'm David Sinclair, and this is my partner Gina Evans (hold out hand to shake) A: Nice to meet you Mr Sinclair and Ms Evans Thank you for taking the time to meet with

1.5.4.4 Greeting at a social event ( at a party)

At a social event (a party) it is necessary to open your networking Therefore, it is polite to greet many people This is called “mingling” You may greet those you know and those you will meet for the first time

 Who are you here with?

 How do you know Jane? (party host)

 I don't think we've met

 Have you been here long?

 Have you tried the cheese dip/dessert/punch?

 Where did you get your costume?

 The food looks great I can't wait to try the dip

 I love your dress/shirt/hat It really suits you (looks good on you)

 These decorations are wonderful I love the table cloth/balloons/flowers

Let’s see the greetings in the following conversation

A: I don't think we've met I'm Stacey

B: Hi Stacey I'm Carl

A: Hi Carl So, how do you know Jane?

B: Oh, Jane and I used to work together at a coffee shop

A: Oh, you mean when you were working in Japan?

B: That's right And how do you know her?

A: Actually, Jane is my cousin Our moms are sisters

B: No way! You two don't look anything alike

1.5.4.5 Greetings at a friend’s house

When you go into a friend’s home, it is polite to greet not only the host but also other people You may meet your relatives, your friends or your roommates You sometimes greet those whom you have never met before Say hello and introduce yourself A conversation may or may not follow

 You can call me

 Thanks for coming

 Thanks for having me

 I've heard so much about you

 It's nice to put a face to a name

 You have a beautiful home

The following conversation illustrates the greetings used in a friend’s house

A: Hi Mike I've heard all about you Jesse says you love to play guitar

B: Yes I do, Mrs Simpson Nice to meet you

A: We're glad to finally be able to meet you Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes B: Is there anything I can do to help?

A: No, everything is pretty much ready We're just waiting on the roast I hope you like roast beef

B: Yes, of course Jesse tells me you are a fabulous cook

1.5.4.6 Greetings in the classroom

In the classroom, you are to greet your teachers and classmates Generally, studying

environment does not always require formality in communicating, even with teachers but for newcomers to the class, greeting them formally rather than informally It is polite to greet a new student that joins your class Introductions immediately follow this type of greeting

 I'm from (city or country)

 I hear it's beautiful/hot/expensive there

 How do you like it here?

 How long have you been here?

The two common greeting phrases: Hello! and Hi! are uttered in the below conversation which happens at a party

A: Hello I'm Sasha

B: Hi Sasha I'm Brent

A: Nice to meet you Brent Where are you from?

B: Chicago, Illinois And you?

A: I'm from Australia I live in a small town near Sydney

B: Australia Wow I've always wanted to go there How long have you been in Canada? A: I just arrived this week It's my first day of school

B: Really? I think you'll love Vancouver It's not too hot and not too cold

1.6 Responding to a greeting in the light of Cross-Cultural Pragmatics

Although replies or responses in daily communication are utterances made to respond to utterances from a speaker, they have received very little attention in the speech act area because Austin (1962) or Searle (1969) and other speech act theorists place great emphasis

on initiating acts like greeting The reason for this phenomenon is that the characterization

of almost every illocutionary acts is often done by making a semantic analysis of performative verbs rather than by examining the function of utterances in discourse; and as many responding acts do not have a corresponding performative verb

This study is to examine the responses to greetings, which is considered a communicative act or more specifically, a responding act The responding act is made in order to reply an initiating speech act Therefore, a response is identified as an utterance which fulfils the interactional expectation set up by the preceding initiating act”

In the light of pragmatics, greeting and responding are automatic sequences in the structure

of conversation which are called “adjacency pairs”, which always consist of a first part

and a second part, produced by different speakers Some common types of adjacency pairs can be named: question –answer, thanking – response, request- accept etc For greeting and replying, greeting is considered as the first part in the adjacency pair which expects the preferred of the second part, replying The preferred of the replying is the expectation of politeness, satisfaction and respect achieved by using appropriate ways to response the greeting

As said above, replying is associated with greeting, so it can be stated that it is the greeting that decides the way to reply A greeting is the opening of a short conversation, yet, to develop the conversation, replying to the greeting plays an important role Therefore, there are some common ways to respond to the greeting in each situation in both English and Vietnamese

Looking at the tables above, one interesting thing is discovered that there are many similarities in the way to reply the greeting of Vietnamese and English The differences of replying greeting in English and Vietnamese are the expressions to convey the responses for each situation For English learners, choosing an appropriate reply to a greeting is not always an easy job, in fact, many make mistakes by replying Examining the reasons for this phenomenon and solutions to this problem will be discussed in the next chapters