A study on different types of verbal responses to questions in english conversations with reference to the vietnamese equivalents

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY LƯU THỊ THÚY HẰNG A STUDY ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF VERBAL RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH CONVERSATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHỮNG CÁC LOẠI LỜI ĐÁP KHÁC NHAU CHO CÂU HỎI ĐÀM THOẠI TIẾNG ANH TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT ) M.A THESIS Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Hanoi, 2015 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY LƯU THỊ THÚY HẰNG A STUDY ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF VERBAL RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH CONVERSATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHỮNG CÁC LOẠI LỜI ĐÁP KHÁC NHAU CHO CÂU HỎI ĐÀM THOẠI TIẾNG ANH TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT ) M.A THESIS Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Võ Đại Quang Hanoi, 2015 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A STUDY ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF VERBAL RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH CONVERSATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2015 Luu Thi Thuy Hang Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Dr Vo Dai Quang Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my professor, Dr Vo Dai Quang From the point of a teacher, an advisor and a mentor, you introduced and inspired me to this research My professional development has been growing increasingly with your precious guidance and continuous motivation My special thanks go to all my lectures in Post-graduate Department of Ha Noi Open University for their precious assistance, knowledge and enthusiasm I own my parents for their constant source of love, support and encouragement I am immensely grateful to them for standing behind me whenever I needed them especially in times of difficulties I would also want to extend a special shout-out to all the research participants Without your valuable opinions and ideas on the questionnaire, the project would not have been accomplished Finally, my special thanks go to all my dear friends for their understanding and assistance during the process of preparing this research I count each of you as my special blessings While I am greatly indebted to all of these people for their tireless help to my completion of this thesis, I myself remain responsible for any inadequacies that are found in this work Luu Thi Thuy Hang ii ABSTRACT Communication is the essential need of human It has incessantly improved and developed during our whole life Communication helps us to acquire and increase knowledge from the outside world and strengthen relations between people, especially those from different cultures and countries In workplace, many organizations are losing valuable business opportunities because they have failed to recognize the fundamental importance of effective communication It is communication breakdown that is at the root of conflicts or misunderstanding among colleagues Staff’ success also depends not only on professionalism and diligence but their individual relationships and communication skills as well In Vietnam nowadays, the country is integrating into the global village More and more foreign companies and organizations have been sprung up like mushroom Therefore, communication skills with foreign counterparts play an important role in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of their work Vietnamese staff’s ability to communicate with foreigners has become a subject of discussion Due to the differences in response type usage to questions across cultures, it is unavoidable for Vietnamese learners of English to have some problems in responding to questions On the basis of analyzing these problems, some suggestions for better teaching and learning of English in Vietnamese are presented I hope this paper will help students understand the differences of verbal resonses to questions in Vietnamese and English conversation to become more proficient in their studying of English.The study hopes to provide a comprehensive picture of response patterns to question both in English and Vietnamese conversation iii LIST OF TABLES AND ABBREVIATIONS Lists of abbreviations Q: Question A: Answer E: English V: Vietnamese DCT: Discourse Completion Test NSE: Native Speaker English NSV: Native Speaker Vietnamese Lists of tables Table 1: Correlation of content and format in adjacency pair 11 Table 2: Forms of indirect responses to questions 22 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate oforiginality………………………………………… i Acknowledgement……………………………………………… …… ii Abstract…………………………………………………………………… iii List of tables and abbreviations iv Table of contents v CHAPTER : INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale … 1.2 Aims of the study … 1.3 Objectives of the study … 1.4 Scope of the study … 1.5 Significance of the study … 1.6 Structure of the study .… CHAPTER : LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review the previous study 2.1.1.Review of previous studies overseas………………………… 2.1.2.Review of previous studies in Vietnam 2.2 Review the theoretical background 2.2.1 Conversational theory … 2.2.1.1.Conversation ……………………………………… 2.2.1.2 Conversation structure 2.2.1.3 Conversation analysis 2.2.1.4.Conversational principle 14 2.2.1.5 Verbal communication 17 2.2.2 Questions and Responses 18 2.3.Summary 26 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1.Research-governing orientations .… 27 v 3.1.1 Research questions … 27 3.1.2 Research setting 27 3.2 Research methods 28 3.2.1.Data collection 28 3.2.2.Data analysis 30 3.3.Summary 30 CHAPTER : FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1.The different types of verbal responses to questions in English conversation 31 4.1.1 Direct responses 31 4.1.2 Indirect responses 34 4.2 Similarities and differences of verbal responses to questions in English and Vietnamese conversation 39 4.2.1 Similarities 39 4.2.2 Differences 42 4.3 Some possible implications for teaching the different types of verbal responses to questions in English conversation 51 4.4 Summary 53 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Recapitulation … 54 5.2 Concluding remarks … 55 5.3 Limitation of the research 56 5.4 Suggestions for further studies 56 REFERENCES 58 vi CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1.RATIONALE Nearly all people throughout the world use English as the main medium of communication in every aspect of life English is not only the language used in English speaking countries but also an international language The necessity of knowing and using this communication medium has been increasing due to the development of globalization In the age of global communication, it is important and necessary to communicate effectively This requires language learners not only the knowledge of linguistic structure of the target language but also ability to use it appropriately in different situations, depending on factors such as settings, context and relationships between speakers (Washburn, 2001) In Vietnam, as the economy grows and international business develops, English proficiency becomes a master tool for young people to get a job They encounter foreigners in everyday settings where communication is necessary In the modern society, the need for communication is increasing, especially in the process of globalization, when communication spreads beyond the boundary of a country During the last decades, linguistic researchers have broadened their focus of their interests from the development of grammatical competence to other areas of target language development, such as discourse and pragmatic competence, common speech routines, for example, requests, apologies, complaints, compliments, refusals, and the like have been most frequently studied in cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics A question which is now posed to us is how we can precisely understand and interpret the speaker’s intents to a question; what types of question responses are; what strategies the speaker uses to respond to questions; and what factors affect speaker’s responding behavior This is the reason that motivated our choice of the research to present a contrastive analysis of responses to questions in English and Vietnamese conversation Through the study, we hope to gain some insights which highlight both the similarities and the differences between English and Vietnamese response types, strategies used to respond to question by Native Speakers of English and Vietnamese The study will also try to present difficulties as well as some practical recommendations for the process of teaching and learning English 1.2.AIMS OF THE STUDY The study aims at pointing out the different types of responses to questions in English and Vietnamese conversations, thus suggesting some implications for teaching them to the Vietnamese learners of English as foreign language 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To achieve the above mentioned aims, the following objectives are put forward: - Finding out the different types of verbal responses to questions in English conversation - Describing the similarities and differences of verbal responses to questions in English conversation and the Vietnamese ones Q: Will you give me a truthful answer? Is there another man? A: I thought you know the answer more clearly than me Q: What you think of our boss’s comments? It is bad, isn’t it? A: I see it the way you see Implicit responses are also a preferred type to evade the question found in Vietnamese: Q: Tức mẹ muốn đuổi phải khơng mẹ? A: Cái tùy hiểu Q: Con khơng bỏ chứ? A: Câu hỏi khơng phải trả lời Refusals The addressee, sometimes, denies the assumption that he interprets from the question, or when being asked a question that he/she thinks its presupposition is untrue or inappropriate, will reject the speaker’s presupposition Consider the following samples: Q: Well, what about credit cards? Are American credit cards accepted? A: How would I know? Q: Now, David, when did you meet Rossie? 46 A: Uh ,where can I start? Q: Sao thế? A: Chẳng Q: Để làm ạ? A: Chẳng để làm Q: Nó hỏi hở bác? A: Hỏi đâu In Vietnamese, denial patterns are usually common with “gì đâu”, “chẳng cả”,used to deny the questioner’s assumption Another kind of question responses occurs quite commonly in Vietnamese and often denies the questioner’s implicit meaning embedded in his question: Q: Hương hay giận người yêu phải khơng? A: Em có người u đâu mà giận Q: Bao cậu giả tiền cho mình? A: Tớ vay tiền cậu mà giả? Q: Lúc đèn kho có bật sáng khơng? A: Tơi có đâu mà biết? 47 In some cases, the speakers blatantly refuse to answer the question without any excuse for their failure to so This way of responding to a question can be considered objection-raising responses Q: What does John for a living? A: What have you got to with that? Q: What’s the time? A: Ask Jack Q: Mấy rồi? A: Đi mà hỏi Lan Q: Trời mưa à? A: Cứ nhìn qua cửa sổ khắc biết The most face-threatening act in verbal communication is to challenge the speaker’s right to as; some kind of “mind your own business” Consider the followings: Q: How you know the devil can’t die? A: I’m just telling you Q: Why must I leave her? A: Shut up, you want to be killed? Q: Tại cô lại đến đây? Hẹn gặp đâu nào? 48 A: Làm mà anh hét lên thế? Tơi anh nào? Q: Sao nhà nghèo thế? A: Hãy hỏi ông trời ấy? Incomprehension responses The addressee often gives incomprehension responses when he/she misunderstands or has inattentiveness and difficulty in hearing Q: What colour does your girlfriend usually wear? A: What? Oh dear Q: How you say companero in English? A: Pardon? Q: Where is the parking lot? A: Sorry, sir? Q: Excuse me! Can I get past? A: Pardon? Q: Bao anh Tùng mua bánh cho Huyền? A: Anh nói cơ? Q: Anh gặp chị chưa? A: Cái gì? 49 Q: Em mệt à? Bộ phim có hay khơng? A: Gì ạ? Q: Sao anh? Anh có giống không? A: Hả Q: Không hiểu anh tỏ tình với bạn gái nhỉ? Chắc lại anh yêu em : thứ - thứ hai à? A: Xin lỗi? In English, some expressions, such as: “Pardon?” “What?” “What was that?” “Sorry?” are used as incomprehension responses, while, in Vietnamese, the addressee uses corresponding types as “Hả", " Gì ạ", " Cái gì", " Ai cơ" Disbelief responses Q: The ball was made of leather It always- it felt really different from a basketball or a volleyball Do you remember? A: Really? Q: Chị vất vả hay mà gầy thế? A: Thế ư? Compliment responses 50 In English, the speaker often uses some expressions: “Thank you”, “You’re well come” “That’s very kind of you”, “Well done” to give complement responding In Vietnamese, there are also some corresponds like that “Cảm ơn”, “Chào mừng bạn”, “Rất vui lòng” Q: You need my hand, my darling? A: Thank you Q: Who is the first in our group? A: You’re well come Q: Cịn dưa muối, cá kho ngon lắm! Anh có ăn khơng? A: Cảm ơn Q: Em tham gia vào nhóm anh không? Em thuộc đường đấy? A: Rất vui 4.3.Some possible implications for teaching the different types of verbal responses to questions in English conversations After observing some conversations between Native Speakers of English and Vietnamese Speakers of English in our company as well as between The English teachers and Vietnamese learners of English in the classrooms, we have realized some disadvantages in answering and asking questions in interactional process The Vietnamese learners of English have showed their difficulties in dealing with Native Speakers of English In the conversations, their talk is 51 mostly full of pause, fillers, hesitation or silence They often use “yes” or “no”, smile for their responses Some situations show that Vietnamese learners of English are passive in verbal interaction with NSE This may be due to their ability to memorize what has been said to them Their shortterm memory undoubtedly makes them unable to respond appropriately The reality indicates the Vietnamese learners of English are very cautious about making errors in what they say, for making errors would be a public display or ignorance, which would be an obvious occasions of losing face Learning to perform response types to questions in an appropriate, nativelike manner is not an easy task for Vietnamese learners of English The findings highlight the fact that learners face some problems in their social interaction Accordingly, we would like to have some suggestions for the teachers in helping students to achieve ability to interact effectively with members of the target language speech community and for learners in improving the communicative competence First, in stead of smile or nods, the addressee should give feedback to let the speaker know that she/ he is listening Feedback is an essential element of communication Asking and answering questions needs the contribution of feedback This can make the partner say more Feedback used to asking for a clarification or repairs can be: “Pardon?” “I’m sorry” “What you mean?” or some supportive verbal responses, such as “Yeah” “Well” “Oh, really?” and so on Second, the interlocutors in conversation should be sensitive to different levels of usage, the way in which the particular situation will effect the choice of verbal language Vietnamese learners of English should be guided to effectively communicate by using various kinds of questioning and responding strategies They should be trained how to negotiate the 52 utterance meaning in a conversation, how to avoid answering difficult or controversial questions As much as possible, the teachers can consider encouraging students to verbalize respond to questions in English in different situations or according to cooperative behavior by observing maxims for an effective conversation If the maxims are not followed, what one hears should be interpreted as utterance meaning not sentence meaning The frequent practice helps students produce correct utterance naturally It is necessary that practice exercises require student – centered interaction Activities such as role play, simulation and drama will engage students in different social roles and in many communicative situations as well Such activities provide opportunities to practice the wide range of pragmatics and sociolinguistic abilities that students need in interpersonal encounters outside classroom 4.4 Summary This chapter made mention of different types of verbal responses and similarities and differences in them used in English and Vietnamese conversation All data which used in this chapter was analyzed and discussed carefully Based on the result of the statistics and data analysis in order to point out the similarities and differences in verbal responses used in English and Vietnamese CHAPTER 53 CONCLUSION 5.1 Recapitulation Through the four chapters, the study has given necessary information about the pragmatic aspects of response types to questions in English and Vietnamese conversation The study has given consideration on the nature of response types, from which the involved elements in its representation and pragmatic use have been described, observed and analyzed in their contrastive analysis in English and in Vietnamese The study has identified different types of verbal responses to questions in English and Vietnamese conversation Various types of responses to questions collected in English and Vietnamese reflect diversified culture- specific phenomenon between two languages It has also found out that personal relationships between interlocutors as the factors of contexts which strongly affect response types, the way they affect response types and appropriate use of the linguistic forms to relationship in response types to questions In verbal communication, the interlocutors are not always information suppliers but can be a information negotiator This means they can not only provide the expected answers directly or indirectly but also evade the question, refuse to answer, even ignore to answer or challenge the speaker’s presuppositions in different contexts The findings in the study of response types to questions by NSE and NSV illustrate some certain similarities and differences In terms of similarities, respondents of the two groups favour directly answer to question when they are in a higher status, with friends or colleagues In terms of differences, NSE are more direct than NSV in responding to questions This reflects the strong influence of culture of each group on the 54 way they employ politeness strategies In line with other studies in response types to questions, the findings of this study are also consistent with the hypothesis of the researchers like Tsui (1994); Coates (1993); Holmes (1995); Le Dong (1985) that men appear direct than women Women tend to use more hedging devices to express responses to questions In contexts, both groups highly appreciate directness and straightforwardness to their intimates and indirectness to strangers Some ignorance to questions; or evasive and refusing strategies are employed in the cases the speakers find the questions so personal or face-threatening to their image The study also meaningful show a significant difference in choice of response types in English and Vietnamese The Vietnamese are often under pressure of social relations and power In the Vietnamese hierarchical system, people with higher status would enjoy more privilege That is the reason why the people with lower status seem to take responsibilities for ill- performed things they never This tendency is rarely found in English informants’ responses In conclusion, we have conducted the investigation into some types of verbal responses to questions in English and Vietnamese conversation The study hopes to provide a comprehensive picture of verbal responses to question both in English and in Vietnamese Due to the differences in response type usage to questions across cultures, it is unavoidable for Vietnamese learners of English to have some problems in responding to questions On the basis of analyzing these problems, some suggestions for better teaching and learning of English in Vietnamese are presented 5.2 Concluding remarks The research is believed to offer far-reaching implications follows: 55 In the first place, it contributes to the scare study on the different types of verbal responses to questions in English conversations Moreover, the study also sheds light on the major similarities and differences of verbal responses to questions in English conversations and the Vietnamese ones Thus, it provides an insight into Vietnamese and English culture, contributing to the mutual understanding between two groups Last but not least, the study give some pedagogical implications to raise foreign language teachers and learners’ awareness in sociocultural knowledge Also, recommendations are hoped to be useful guideline for teachers and students in practice 5.3 Limitations of the study Despite the researcher’s great effort, this study still has few limitations The research has been carried out in a very small scope The number of sentences collected in the study is still limited, not cover all the cases so the results may not be generalized.The researcher hope that in the future research, these limitations will be treated to have a standard result 5.4 Suggestions for futher study This study has been an attempt at analyzing some types of verbal responses to question in English and Vietnamese conversations Also, the study has investigated the differences and similarities in the choice of response patterns to questions by both NSE and NSV However, this study is just a point of departure for further study So it remains some limitations Obviously, the results from the questionnaire data are not adequate enough because the sample is small and the situations are confined to eight different 56 cases, not covering varied relationships Moreover, all of the participants’ oral responses were put into written form when they answered the questionnaire and thus might be slightly different or biased from what actually said in real life If time and situation permit, further study of this issue with a large sample and varied situations in terms of overall aspects in sociolinguistics, psychology and non-verbal language will surely a better image of response types to questions made NSE and NSV As mentioned earlier, there is a differentiation in the degree of response types to questions in different cultures This leaves a room for further research observe the similarities and differences in the ways of employing response strategies by other Englishspeaking groups, the British; the Canadian, etc These features more or less reflect the cross-cultural values concerning different English – speaking countries REFERENCES 57 English Beebe, Takahashi, & Uliss-Weltz Beebe, L.M., Takahashi, T., & UlissWeltz, R (1990) Developing communication Competence in second Language NY: Routledge Brown, P and S C Levinson (1987) 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