Similarities and differences between cultural aspects of apology givings of vietnamese and english in communication and some particularly social situations

TABLE OF CONTENT I INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………… Rationale of the study …………: 2 Aims and objectives Scope of the study 4 Methods………………… II.CONTENTS PART I.THEORETICALBACKGROUND: 1.1.Speech and Apology-givings Etiquette…………………………… …… 5 1.2 “Face” in Interpersonal Interaction……………………………………… 1.3 Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction…………………………………… 1.4 Social and Cultural factors in the Ue of Apology-givings…………………6 1.5 Social and Cultural factors in the Use of Apology-givings……………… PART II TABLE OF SOME PARTICULAR SITUATIONS IN WHICH EXPRESSING APOLOGIES IS RECOMMENDED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE………………………………………………………… 7-10 PART III DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .11 Data analysis……………………………………………………………… 11 Discussion the Table III about the similarities and differences in socio-cultural features of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese………… ………… PART IV PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS …… 13 13 For the teachers: 13 For the students: .14 III.Conclusion 15 IV REFERENCE…………………………………………………………… 17 I INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study The main reason making English become one of the most important languages in the world are the speedy globalization of the world and the consequent need for effective communication language As a result, learning English has become a basic and urgent need.However, it’s not enough to learn grammar and vocabulary.Learning pragmatic and cultural competence is very necessary so that learners can use target language in a apropriateb way Speech acts are of all importance in daily language.In this study, speech act is the apology which belong to expressive speech, in which speakers try to indicate their attitudes It can not deny that communication, in particular conversation, has become an indispensible demand of human beings Due to the fact that language has consistently been the main element of human social communication, meanwhile English is an international language and used as the medium of interaction , the demand to master it and effectively use it has been more and more great It is by means of communication that human employ language to exchange and express their ideas and purposes as well as to maintain the social relations Of all the functions of language, apology-givings have played a significant role in everyday social interaction of every society Because each linguistic system has its own ways of expressing ideas, in particular apology-givings, the learners of foreign languages have to develop the socio-cultural appropriateness As a result, they can avoid the misunderstandings and gain effectively communicative goals According to Spence-Oatey : ‘culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioural conventions, and basic assumptions and values that is shared by a group of people, and that influences each member’s interpretations of the meanings of other people’s behaviours’ In fact, such social factors as social contexts, different relationships between interlocutors, genders, ages etc remarkably affect the ways of using linguistic items, particularly in expressing apologies in real situations The differences in the importance of saying ‘sorry’ in Vietnamese and English culture: For Vietnamese people, the stories of saying ‘sorry’ still need to mention as much as modern life has developed ‘Sorry’ is only a simple word, however, it means a lot in not only formal conversations but also daily situations as well Whereas, people from Western countries use ‘sorry’ in their whole life They have been to say ‘sorry’ since they were kids, and we can see this still appear on their lips every time This culture has embedded in their minds and has existed in Western communities for hundreds of years Admittedly, cultural barriers cause numerous problems encountering Vietnamese students when learning English Theoretically, the study is carried out to indicate the similarities and differences in ways of apology-givings in two languages: English and Vietnamese in social and cultural features Also, some suggested implications are mentioned for English teaching in this study For Vietnamese students, to give apology when they make mistakes is very popular but to make it more formal ,I would like to recommend some ways to give apology in an extra-curricular lesson It also helps students to have a intensive lesson.they can study more effectively For that reason, I, in my efforts, try to concentrate upon the topic with an aim to enhancing learners’ language competence as well as to helping them overcome the difficulties they encounter during their learning I hope through this research, learners can understand and use the word ‘Sorry’ more effectively They need to know that saying ‘Sorry’ is also a beautiful characteristic in every culture from all around the world We shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed of saying ‘I’m sorry’ or other kinds of giving apologies Aims and objectives This study aims to find out distinctions and resemblances in ways of apology-givings; the effect of Cultural and Social behavious in apologising in the two languages: English and Vietnamese The study is intended: - To present theoriotical background on apology-givings -To collect some popular situations in which we should say ‘Sorry’ from students in some particular situations -To present some differences in characteristics of the word ‘sorry’ between in English and in Vietnamese as well as the difficulties which Vietnamese learners may have to face in terms of understanding this word -To suggest some implications paying ways for learners in effectively using apology-givings as well as teachers in helping their students encountering with native speakers Scope of the study In researching the ways of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese , due to lack of time, the study will not survey all linguistic aspects With respect to expressive means, it will be driven to find out differences and resemblances in socio-cultural features, not lexical, phonetic and stylistic ones In terms of social features, it will be focused on gender social status affecting ways of giving apologies especially to students at Quang Xuong high school Methods: -Analyzing methods -Comparative methods This research on ‘Sorry’ culture is carried out by not only analyzing methods but also comparative methods in the hope that learners could realize and understand how it plays such an important role in our life From that point, they can say this word more often as well as use it in the most intelligent and effective way Besides, information in the research was collected from many sources so that learners will get broad knowledge of this culture in order to apply successfully into their real lives II CONTENTS PART I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Speech and Apology-givings Etiquette 1.1 Definition of an apology and Etiquette of speech An apology is a word or statement saying for something has been done wrong or that causes a problem (Oxford Advanced Learners) Acording to Brown and Levinson, apologies are politeness strategies.An apology is a fundermental speech act which is a part of human communication occurs in every culture In order to perform the role of the most important means in communication, language is considered and brightened to obtain a high ability of thought expressing “Etiquette of speech is seen as a system of everlasting formulate with race’s specific They are recorded in social communication and accepted by the society to set up relationship among interlocutors…”[6] 1.2 Apology-giving Etiquette When people speak, they make utterances An utterance is communicative unit, comprising of sound or word strings used in a certain occation to imply a purpose “Utterance is the use by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion of a piece of language such as a sequence of sentences, a single phrase or even a single word”(60,p.15) 1.3 “Face” in Interpersonal Interaction According to Goffman (53,p.310), ‘the term “face” may be defined as the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume that has taken during a particular contact Face in an image of self delineated in terms of approval social attribute-albeit an image that other may share, as when a person may a good showing for his profession or religion by making good showing for himself.’ 1.4 Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction Politeness is such an interesting phenomenon that many linguistic experts have done research so far The concept of politeness have expressed by many authors such as Yule( 1996), Leech (1983), Brown and Levinson(1987)… Yule( 1996) states that : “ Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction can be defined as the mean employ to show the awareness of another person’ face.” Leech (1983) notes that politeness means to minimine the effect of impolite statements and maximine the effect of possitive politeness Giving apology is one of the most sensitive ways of daily communication in term of politeness It plays a crucial role in keeping people happy friendship lasts long As a normal social habit, people would get angry when apologying is not given in apropriate time 1.5 Social and Cultural factors in the Use of Apology-givings 1.5.1 The Habit of Using apology In Vietnam, people not use apology in communication as much as English.In England ,they give apology naturally and effectively.They think that giving apology is one of the polite ways in communication when they have done something wrong or even when they want to get attention 1.5.2 Communication Style Giving apology in England is more popular than in Vietnam They use it in daily communication frequently because it is a polite cultural PART II TABLE OF SOME PARTICULAR SITUATIONS IN WHICH EXPRESSING APOLOGIES IS RECOMMENDED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE When • people English *In formal Vietnamese situations:Such as something• wrong -in a restaurant, to express your regret or to tell that you are really sorry • because your food didn’t meet Eg – Xin lỗi ơng/bà Món súp the standards mặn Eg –I’m (really) sorry The soup is rather salty • -Sorry The soup is This is popular in nice restaurants in Vietnam rather salty Eg.- ‘Tôi sơ ý làm vỡ ly • • This way is very popular in English culture • *In informal situations: • Eg -I’m (really) sorry I’m late • -I’m (so) sorry I Xin lỗi nhé.’ - Xin lỗi anh, không cố ý xúc phạm anh - Đó lỗi Con làm rách sách mẹ Mẹ tha lỗi cho forgot your birthday • -My bad This is also used but not mostly • -It’s my fault - Whoops’ or ‘Oops, sorry’ in every situation Worse, the tone and the attitude of the (when you by chance make a mistake-makers is rather in low small mistake You feel quite voice bad about one thing, but it is -This is very popular in most not a horrible mistake) situations in class in Vietnam This is used commonly with high tone and apologising attitude to show the mistakes even very small -Student: -I’m sorry I’m late - I’m sorry I have made a mistake - I’m sorry I forgot • my books When Eg –I’m sorry I’m late but I Eg Xin lỗi đến muộn Tôi bị people want missed the bus to give This is regularly used in This is mostly used when you reasons: English regardless of who you are in junior position in society are • nhỡ xe buýt It seldom happens with an employer When Eg -I’m sorry to hear that you Eg –Tôi/Chúng thật lấy something bad happens to failed in the driving test làm tiếc phải thông báo với -I’m sorry to inform that quí khách chuyến bay your application form was VA102 chuyến bay bị someone turned down hỗn lại 30 phút lý else: thời tiết This is not only in special This is only used in special occations but also in daily situations such as at the airport conversations to sympathize When or station It is hardly used in daily conversations Eg -I’m sorry I didn’t hear Eg –Xin lỗi, ông nhắc lại họ people want that can you say that again? to ask tên đầy đủ ông không -Excuse me, I’m afraid I ạ? someone to didn’t catch it Can you repeat repeat: it? - Em xin lỗi, em chưa nghe hỏi Cơ nhắc lại This way is always used to câu hỏi không ạ? show politeness This way is maybe only used in classroom or at a post office service When you Eg I’m sorry but can I get Eg –Xin lỗi xếp, xếp want interrupt someone to through? có hẹn lúc 9h -I hate to interrup but you (it have an appointment at 9.AM (It means your also means your polite reminding the boss about his polite appointment at 9AM when he is reminding the boss about his talking to another) appointment at 9.AM when This is commonly in certain he is talking to another) situations such as in companies or offices -Excuse me, Can you tell me -Xin lỗi, ngại phải ngắt where the National Library is, lời bạn, bạn please? đường tới thư viện quốc gia không ạ? This way is commonly This way is not common Only employed in any situation some polite people use it when even when you are in the they interrup others’ work superior status in society Apologizing - Sorry, - Pardon word - Excuse me! - Forgive Apologizing -Excuse me! Could/Can you please show me the way to word the post office? question - Excuse me! Can you tell the way to … Apologizing - I beg your pardon sentence - Xin lỗi - Tha lỗi - Tha thứ - Lượng thứ -Xin lỗi, cô cho cháu hỏi đường đến bưu điện? -Xin tạ lỗi - I am terribly sorry to -Thành thật xin lỗi tơi để anh leave you waiting such đợi lâu a long time - We apologize for… Apologizing - Are you willing to forgive -B (Hearer) có sẵn lịng tha question me? thứ/thứ lỗi/tha lỗi cho A -Will you accept my apology? (Speaker) không? -(Does B have willing forgive for A?) 10 PART III DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION Data analysis The samples collected were described qualitatively in terms of politeness in Interpersonal Interaction, social and cultural factors in the use of apologygivings as well as the habit of using language according to modern linguistic points of view in English and Vietnamese The frequency of apology-giving culture is used in the table in comparison between English and Vietnamese The contrastive method was applied to analyse the similarities and differences in the socio-cultural features of apology-givings in the two languages Some generalizations and implications were drawn out after the data analysis In general, giving apology in Vietnam is not as popular as in England Discussion the Table III about the similarities and differences in sociocultural features of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese 2.1 The similarities Firstly, in both languages English and Vietnamese, apology-givings are used when you something wrong regardless of formal or informal situations Secondly, apology-givings are also employed when you want to hear something bad to someone else or you want to inform something not good for them Thirdly, apology-givings are also employed when you want to interrupt someone in their mid-sentence to show politeness However, some aspects of apologising culture are distinctive in these two languages 2.2 The differences 11 Firstly, the frequency of usning apology-givings is not popular in Vietnamese culture, which is extremely different from English culture In English, ‘Sorry’ or ‘Excuse me’ seems like a daily vocabulary for conversations of Western people; but in Vietnamese culture, ‘sorry’ only means ‘xin lỗi’ – the term that people only say when they make a big mistake Furthermore, it also proves that the sayers who come from Western countries are polite, considerate and well-educated They say ‘sorry’ not only to apologize, but also to express a regret or deep sympathy to listeners Secondly, the position of participants in a certain conversation causes the frequency of expressing apologies Thirdly, the tone and attitude of the person who makes a mistake is not the same More than that, it is really difficult for Vietnamese people to speak out this word as well as the feeling of guilt Actually, the way people show their reactions towards this common term depends mostly on cultures of each country Fourthly, it is not the same in the purpose of the apology-makers In Vietnam, people rarely use ‘xin lỗi’ but other expressions to show sympathy, to interrupt or to ask someone to repeat, that’s why ‘xin lỗi’ in Vietnamese culture is not a common term like ‘sorry’ in Western culture In addition, the most popular forms of apologies in English are apologizing sentence By contrast, the most popular structure in the Vietnamese data is nonapologizing sentence, especially in getting attention The finding helps the Vietnamese native speakers and the native speakers of English eradicate the interference of the mother tongue into the real-life communication in the new language environment and to minimize the risk of misunderstanding by becoming aware of the great differences in choice of using structures of three apology strategies by the two people from the different cultures The English native speakers should not be shocked when they not 12 receive an apology from Vietnamese people because of Vietnamese culture Seldom saying apologies does not mean that Vietnamese people are afraid of threatening their face Although they not say apology, they will show their regret or sincere behavior instead of saying apologies Hence, this thesis can help the visitors and newcomers avoid being culture shock PART IV PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS: For the teachers Teaching a foreign language to students is an activity by which the teacher can help them to widen their knowledge not only in terms of language but also in terms of culture The ‘culture’ factor is very important, it can become an advantage or a disadvantage during the learning process of students Many Vietnamese learners usually have difficulties in communicating with foreigners even if they are not bad at English; it’s actually because they still keep thinking of Vietnamese values in their mind without knowing that there is always a big gap between different cultures.So it’s very important for the English teacher to explain the differences between two languages and show how to use them.Sometimes an apology also indicate the regret of the speaker about something This has caused some unexpected problems to Vietnamese students and misunderstandings are unavoidable This study refers to a common topic that receives a lot of attention from both Vietnamese people and foreign people and it is still discussed until now: ‘expressing an apology in English and Vietnamese’ And in fact, saying ‘sorry’ is very necessary and extremely needed in daily conversations It helps us to show our attention and consideration to other people and make our lives become better and easier Besides, saying ‘sorry’ will leave a good impression on other people’s minds as it will make them feel pleased and comfortable 13 With people from Western people, saying ‘sorry’ is not a big problem But with Vietnamese, they still need ‘bravery’ to overcome their ego and say ‘I’m sorry’ into words Being an English teacher, we should help them to raising their cultural awareness and change their attitudes towards negative thinking about saying ‘sorry’ Firstly, teacher should help students to be aware that ‘sorry’ is a miraculous word which undoes all wrong and saying ‘sorry’ is a polite speech act which is used commonly in daily conversations Saying ‘sorry’ is a way to show concern, kindness and respect for each other Students should be acknowledge the importance of this word so that it can help them a lot to be successful in communicating with foreigners Secondly, teacher should give students many examples which we can often meet in daily conversations to help students get used to saying an apology Moreover, teacher should also provide students with some other expressions or phrases to express an apology in addition to ‘sorry’ and instruct them how to use these expressions, students will have a lot of chances not only to widen their vocabulary but also to practice English grammar Last but not least, teacher can create some helpful activities/taks for students to practice expressing an apology Through these activities, students can apply what they have learned into real contexts Besides, they also can practice pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and language skills Teachers can choose many situations which are popular in real life for students to practice Consequently, they can be more confident to say ‘I’m sorry’ in real life and any misunderstandings can be avoided For the students After this lesson, students have to learn to apply what they have learned into real contexts and learn to practice pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and 14 language skills They should give the apology correctly and effectively in each situation When communicating with the native speakers of English, Vietnamese learners should say apologies frequently in the necessary situations in order to make good 66 impression with the interlocutors and avoid being shocked Because the English native speakers says apologies as a reflect actions, they expect to receive the same responses Hence, the relationship is undamaged and the conversations go on Depending on the context both Vietnamese and English learners should use appropriate apologizing forms to make polite conversations For example, in a conversation with a person who has higher status, the speakers should say apologies directly instead of indirectly The native speakers of English are familiar with direct ways of speaking, so bushing around the bush, sometimes, makes conversation unnatural and interlocutors feel uncomfortable As a result, choosing a suitable apologizing form in a right situation should be taken into consideration III Conclusion and SUGGESTIONS Giving apologies such as ‘sorry’ plays an important role in daily conversations It has the power which can help speakers avoid offensive situations miraculously Knowing how to say ‘I’m sorry’ in the right time and in right situation as well as expressing an apology is extremely necessary So I decided to analyze the ways to express an apology in English and Vietnamese in terms of culture backgrounds This study was written to give learners some popular situations in which people should say ‘sorry’; it also presents some differences in characteristics of the word ‘sorry’ between in English and in Vietnamese as well as the difficulties which Vietnamese learners may have to face in terms of acknowledging this 15 word; lastly, it provides some ideas for teachers to help learners overcome these difficulties To sum up, with what I have mentioned in my research paper, I hope this study can help students learn how to express an apology more effectively in daily conversations For me, the experience in science research is not much, the condition for researching is not sufficient, so this research still has many shotcomings.I hope the teachers and the colleagues give opinion to make this research more perfect In next time, I will try to give more activities to apply for the students THANK YOU VERY MUCH! XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ Thanh Hóa, ngày 10 tháng năm 2016 Tơi xin cam đoan SKKN viết, không chép nội dung người khác Người viết Phạm Thị Hằng 16 IV REFERENCE -Thanasoulas (2001): (MOTIVATION AND MOTIVATING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING), Byran, Morgan and Colleagues, 1994 (TEACH CULTURE); Coleman, 1996; Holliday, 1994; McKay, 2002 -Brown, P & Levinson, S C (1987) Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage Cambridge: CUP -Brown, P (1994) Investigating the production of speech act sets In S M Gass & J Neu (Eds.), Speech acts across cultures: Challenges to communication in a second language (pp 21-44) New York: Mouton de Gruyter -Cohen, A D., & Olshtain, E (1985) Comparing apologies across languages In K R Jankowsky (Ed.), Scientific and humanistic dimensions of language Philadelphia: John Benjamins -Green, G.M, (1989) Pragmatics and Natural Language Understanding LEA -Grice, C (1975) Apologizing in English: Politeness strategies used by native and non-native speakers Multilingua, 8(1), 3-20 -Holmes, J (1990) Apologies in New Zealand English Language in Society, 17 ... to find out distinctions and resemblances in ways of apology- givings; the effect of Cultural and Social behavious in apologising in the two languages: English and Vietnamese The study is intended:... habit of using language according to modern linguistic points of view in English and Vietnamese The frequency of apology- giving culture is used in the table in comparison between English and Vietnamese. .. in effectively using apology- givings as well as teachers in helping their students encountering with native speakers Scope of the study In researching the ways of apology- givings in English and