A contrastive analysis of ways of greetings in english and vietnamese

48 Table 5: Frequency of greetings in use English and Vietnaese subjects 80 participants 40 Vietnamese & 40 English ...81 Table 6: Factors affecting greeting English subjects 40 particip

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY

M.A THESIS

A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF WAYS OF GREETINGS

IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC CÁCH CHÀO HỎI TRONG TIẾNG ANH

VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT

LÊ THỊ TÌNH

Hanoi, 2016

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY

M.A THESIS

A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF WAYS OF GREETINGS

IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC CÁCH CHÀO HỎI TRONG TIẾNG ANH

Hanoi, 2016

Le Thi Tinh

Approved by SUPERVISOR

Assoc Prof Dr Lê Văn Thanh

(Signature and full name) Date:………

A special word of thanks goes to all my lecturers in English Department of Post Graduate Studies, Hanoi Open University for their precious assistance, enthusiasm, valuable knowledge which enlightened the arguments in the study

My acknowledgement goes to the informants, Vietnamese and English native speakers, who spent their precious time completing the questionnaires

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family,my students especially my parents, my boyfriend, and my friends for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work

Hanoi, October 2016

Le Thi Tinh

ABSTRACT

According to importance-of-learning-the-english-language: " three billion people will

http://www.yeuanhvan.com/%20education/225-the-be speaking or learning English within a decade." English is the language of globalization It's the language of international business and politics It is the primary language used for most computers and for the inner workings of the Internet

English is the dominant international language in communications, science, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomacy English is an important tool for operating on the world stage The ability to speak and understand English is mandatory in certain fields, professions, and occupations Therefore, more and more people want to master the English language In order to do this, we should be not only good at four skills but also improve knowledge about sociolinguistic As we know that different cultures have different ways of communication The learners of the second language so often have difficulties in using the target language appropriately Greeting is one of these problems Greeting is considered as

an important aspect in cultural life of each nation In Vietnam, greeting plays an important role as these sayings “Lời chào cao hơn mâm cỗ” It means that Vietnamese are extremely serious in greeting According to Professor Dr Lê Quang Thiêm, the greeting presents not only feature of language but also culture, custom as well as person’s dignity From these factors, this paper aims at doing a contrastive analysis in Vietnamese and English greetings to help English learners communicate successfully

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: greeting classified 14

Table 2: Verbal greetings classified 19

Table 3: Nonverbal greeting difined 30

Table 4: The uses of greetings (Verbal and Nonverbal) 48

Table 5: Frequency of greetings in use (English and Vietnaese subjects) 80 participants (40 Vietnamese & 40 English) 81

Table 6: Factors affecting greeting (English subjects) 40 participants 82

Table 7: Factors affecting greeting (Vietnamese subjects) 40 participnats 83

(Figure 1: Greeting in feudalism in Vietnam) 13

(Figure 2: Greeting in England) 14

(Figure 3: time pass greeting) 15

(Figure 4: Greeting in Vietnam) 15

(Figure 5: formal/ informal greeting) 20

(Figure 6: Greeting on the run) 22

(Figure 7: speedy greeting) 23

(Figure 8: The chat) 24

(Figure 9: The long greeting) 25

(Figure 10: The intimate greeting) 26

(Figure 11: The introductory greeting) 27

(Figure 12: The all business greeting) 28

(Figure 13: The re-greeting) 29

(Figure 14: The handshaking) 32

(Figure 15: The hugging/Embracing) 33

(Figure 16: waving) 34

(Figure 17: the high – five) 35

(Figure 18: bowing) 36

(Figure 19: The patting) 37

(Figure 20: Nodding) 37

(Figure 21: The raising eyesbrows) 38

(Figure 22: Mentioned Time Greeting) 49

(Figure 23: Combine word and gesture in communication) 54

(Figure 24: signal “yes” or “ no” with hand gestures) 54

(Figure 25: frawn at someone) 55

(Figure 26: hugging) 55

(Figure 27: contradicting) 56

(Figure 28: Contradiction occurs intentionally in humor or sarcasm.) 56

(Figure 29: roll the eyes) 56

(Figure 30: stick out our tongue) 57

(Figure 31: shrug) 57

(Figure 32: meaning of silence) 58

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES iv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the research 1

1.2 Aims of the research 2

1.3 Objectives of the research 3

1.4 Scope of the research 3

1.5 Significance of the research 4

1.6 Structural organization of the thesis 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Review of previous studies 6

Review of previous studies 6

2.2 Review of theoretical background 7

2.2.1 Speech act definition 7

2.2.2 Definition of greeting 8

2.2.3 The pragmatic functions of greeting 10

2.2.3.1 Greetings as Illocutionary Acts 10

2.2.3.2 Greetings as Linguistic Routines of Politeness 11

2.2.4 Greeting classification 13

2.2.5 The role of greeting in communication 16

2.2.6 The situations for studying 17

2.2.7 The common verbal greetings 19

2.2.7.1 Formal and Informal Greetings 19

2.2.8.2 Greeting on the run 21

2.2.8.3 Speedy greeting 22

2.2.8.4 The chat 24

2.2.8.5 The long greeting 25

2.2.8.6 The Intimate greeting 26

2.2.8.7 The Introductory greeting 27

2.2.8.8 The All- business greeting 28

2.2.8.9 The re-greeting 29

2.2.9 The common nonverbal greetings 30

2.2.9.1 Handshaking 32

2.2.9.2 Hugging / Embracing 33

2.2.9.3 Waving 34

2.2.9.4 The high – five 35

2.2.9.5 The bow 35

2.2.9.6 The patting 36

2.2.9.7 Nodding 37

2.2.9.8 The raising eyesbrows 38

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 39

3.1 Research-governing orientations 39

3.1.1 Research questions 39

3.1.2 Research setting 39

3.1.3 Research approach 40

3.1.4 Principles/criteria for intended data collection and data analysis .41

3.2 Research methods 43

3.2.1 Major methods vs supporting methods 43

3.2.2 Data collection techniques` 43

3.2.3 Data analysis techniques 46

3.3 Summary 46

CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND DISCUSSION 47

4.1 Findings 47

4.1.1 Informants’ awareness of greeting 47

4.1.2 The similarities and differences in greeting between English and Vietnamese .48

4.1.2.1 The similarities 48

4.1.2.2 The differences 49

4.2 Discussion 53

4.2.1 The connection of verbal and non-verbal greetings in English and Vietnamese and their effect in communication 53

4.2.2 Factors affecting greeting 59

4.3 Implication of the study 61

4.3.1 Causes and sollutions of culture shock 61

4.3.2 Suggest to avoid the sensitive situations when greeting in English and Vietnamese 63

CHATER 5: CONCLUSION 65

5.1 Recapitulation 65

5 2 Limitation of the study 67

5.3 Recommendations/Suggestions for a further research 68

5.3.1 Recommendations 68

5.3.2 Suggestions for further researches 68

REFERENCES 70

APPENDICES 81

ENGLISH SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES ……… 84

CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA TIẾNG VIỆT 96

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

We have all heard this warning:

“You never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression.”- http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/seventips.htm That’s a very true statement Every culture is different, and has different styles of etiquette Every day deals are lost through misunderstandings, even between relatively similar cultures These misunderstandings do not have to be huge

to have an effect on your business However, a poor first impression could leave your prospective partner or customer with a bad feeling Knowing the right etiquette can help you avoid this and save you a great deal of wasted time and money

Greeting is an important part of communicative skills Many countries have their own style of greeting, and there is nothing more off-putting than try to kiss someone who is only expecting a handshake, or holding out your hand pointlessly while the other person bows In many countries, it is also polite to give small gifts when meeting someone Make sure you find out the local customs and avoid giving an overly expensive gift that the other person will feel the need to reciprocate In many Southeast Asian cultures, business cards are usually exchanged and no one is taken seriously who does not have a business card The cards must also be treated with respect, and not shoved immediately into a pocket

1.1 Rationale of the research

As you see, one of the issues leading to a failure of communication is differences in culture Thus, improving a wide knowledge about sociolinguistics is a key thing for learners to develop their communicative competence in the target language, beside listening and speaking In daily life, people tend to use the illocutionary act rather than the locutionary act Therefore, in different contexts, learners have difficulties in using the target language appropriately A greeting is not an exception It is considered as

the important thing in cultural life of each nation Countries has separate ways of greeting According to http://www.ediplomat.com/: In Western countries such as France, Spain, they kiss each other on both cheeks, starting with the left.) or Italy (air-kissing on both cheeks, starting with the left), kissing on both cheeks is the way people here greet each other while in the Middle East, Muslims often hug persons of the same sex when greeting each other About Asians like us, the peoples are quite reticent So, the way they greet each other is discreet and respectful In Vietnam, greeting plays

an important role in daily life Adults often teach their babies to greet others when they are very young Greeting brings valuable meaning Meaning of greeting is mentioned clearly in a song “Lời chào của em” which was composed by Nghiêm Bá Hồng According to Professor Lê Quang Thiêm, the greeting presents not only feature of language but also culture, custom as well as person’s dignity

According to Goffman, greetings provide the means of the opening conversations appropriately, establish and maintain social relationship (as cited in Li, 2009, p.1), for example “hello” or “hi” In addition, the basic functions of greeting are also to identify the presence of communicators and

to show their concern However, modes of communication in all languages are not the same That is the reason why the study of Contrastive Analysis: English, Vietnamese Greetings is carried out

1.2 Aims of the research

The main aim of this study is to discuss Contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese Greetings It is hoped that this analysis will provide

as much information as possible on the most common greetings, frequences

of greetings in use, factors affecting greeting in English and Vietnamese to help learners of English as a foreign language to achieve effective communication

1.3 Objectives of the research

The aims of the thesis are:

- To study typical ways of greeting in English and Vietnamese by verbal greetings and nonverbal greetings with illustrations

- To recognize the similarities and differences of ways of greetings in English and Vietnamese

- To find out factors affecting greetings which cause misunderstandings and culture shocks in English and Vietnamese

1.4 Scope of the research

- Academic scope:

Due to the duration of time and the length as well as the references available, the study just mentions ways of verbal and nonverbal greeting in English, and Vietnamese not mentions written greetings and taboos in greetings of the two languages Data I collected and used based on dictionary, culture articles on the Internet, previous study related to the study about greeting, books of famous phylologists like Mr Le Quang Thiem, and results gained from questionaires Moreover, I did not have enough time and equipment to record and transcrip nonverbal greetings

- Social scope:

My participants are foreigners who are using English as their mother tongue in Vietnam and Vietnamese Hanoi is an ideal place to meet foreigners Therefore, it is easier to ask them to fill out my questionaires in some famous places Hanoi and Thai Binh province are the two places I chose to carry out the study Moreover, I am a teacher of Hanoi University

of Business and Technology, and have many friends and relatives and my students working and studying in a variety fields, so they help me to complete my questionaires

1.5 Significance of the research

This study will also provide valuable information about Vietnamese customs in greeting By achieving ways of greeting in English and Vietnamese, our young generation can widen their knowledge about a variety of language of Vietnamese language and others From here, they can make more meaningful and impressive small talks in important events Finally, it will also serve as a future reference for researchers on the subject

of Vietnamese customs

1.6 Structural organization of the thesis

The study consists of six chapters Chapter 1 covers rationale, aims, objectives , scope, significance, and structural organization Chapter 2 includes two main parts The first one is literature review which provides short summary of previous studies and gives strengths and weaknesses of them The second one is theoretical background which gives theoretical discussions to background the topic in focus Chapter 3 mentions methodology of the study which shows research questions and research methods which were used to support for the study Chapter 4 is designed for Finding and Discussion part which analyses greeting gestures perceived by Vietnamese and English native speakers, focuses on some factors effecting

on greetings and certain situations, and discusses the findings on similarities and differences, especially areas of potential culture shock between the two cultures in cross- cultural communication Implication of the study identifies some application from the study to find out the similarities and differences when greeting in English and Vietnamese in major cross-culture and suggestions to avoid culture shock These are discussed in Chapter 5 Chapter 6 is Conclusion of the study It summarizes the study and discuss the limitation as suggested for further studies

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of previous studies

Review of previous studies

Research 1: Contrastive Analysis: English and Vietnamese Greetings

- Nguyen Thi Bich Hang University of Education The study indicated the contrastive analysis of ways of greeting between English and Vietnamese by listing ways of greeting of each countries, and then compared them The study listed many ways of greeting of each country and concerned with the topics of greeting in each nation However, the study did not indicate the frequency of greetings in each language and each situation

Research 2: Vietnamese and English Greetings: A contrastive

analysis - Tran Thi Bich Hanh, Ho Chi Minh city university of pedagogy The study indicated 8 common situations for greeting, then list ways of greeting in English and Vietnamese by separate aspects not follow the same situations, then analyzed and give table of the contrast between Vietnamese and English greeting strategies However, the study has not refered factors affecting greeting in English and Vietnames clearly

Research 3: Greeting in Vietnamese and English a contrastive

analysis- Dinh Tran Minh Trang, Ho Chi Minh city university of education The study is also listed ways of greeting in Vietnamese and English However, it has not refered frequency of greeting and factors affecting greeting in English and Vietnamese

Research 4: CÁCH CHÀO HỎI CỦA NGƯỜI VIỆT VÀ NGƯỜI

MỸ: Những nét Tương đồng và dị biệt, Vũ Minh Huyền The study, the author used the situations that Eisenstein and his colleagues –a groups of people who studied about language used like record, observation, interview and role play to analyze and give similarities and differences of greeting strategies.However, the study did not use real datas from native English speakers, just used results of Eisentein and his colleagues

2.2 Review of theoretical background

2.2.1 Speech act definition

According to Yule (1996), speech act is one of the central phenomena that any general pragmatic theory must account for On my occation , the action performed by producing an utterance will consist of three related acts: locutionary, illocutionary, perlocutioary act The first one, locutionary act is the basic act of utterance, of producing a meaningful linguistic expression The second one, illocutionary act is the function of the utterance that speaker has in mind that is what kind of speech act the utterance counts as And the last one, perlocutionary act refers to the hearer recognition of the illocutionary act

Comunicating is the way to express a certain attitude, and the type of speech act being perform coresponds to the type of attitude being expressed For example, a statement express a belief, a request expresses a disire ad an apology express regret As an act of comunication, a speech act succeeds if the audience idetitifies, in accordace with the speaker’s intention, the attitude being expressed Since langugage has been an intentional behavior ,

it should be treated like a form of action

The speech act is used to express meaning, an utterance with the speaker’s intention Normally, the speech act is a sentence , but it can be a word of a phrase as long as it follows the rules necessary to accomplish the intention Whe one speaks, one performs an act Speech is not just used to predicate something, but it actually does something Though making a statement may be the pragmatic use of language , there are all sort of other things we can do with words We can make requests, ask questions, give orders, give thanks, do greetings, make promises and so on Speech act stresses the intent of the act as a whole Understanding the speaker’s intention is essential to capture the meaning

According to Dr Maysa'a Kadhim Jibreen-Department of English /College of Education/University of Al-Qadisiya, Greeting expression can

be treated as speech acts Because it is set up to perform someone’s intention and express the attitudes of the participants, for example: to open

an effective conversation or successful communication, to show respective attitude, etc

According to LI Wei (2010), from pragmatic perspective,greeting can

be regarded as locutionary which has a meaning and illocutionary act Illocutionary act is conventional act and differs mainly in its immediate purpose or illocutionary act However, the understanding of the convert meaning of greeting by the interlocutions in daily conversation lies in the routinization of such expressions

“Greetings are important as well as frequent in everyday social interactions all over the world Appropriate greeting behavior is crucial for the establishment and maintenance of interpersonal relationships As a significant aspect of politeness phenomenon, greetings have been studied in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, sociolinguistics and discourse analysis, yet there has been no systematic investigation of their use across different languages from both pragmatic and sociolinguistic perspectives Fortunately, Brown and Levinson (1978) have attempted to analyze the functional application of politeness to the performance of FTAs (Face Threatening Acts) in order to claim politeness phenomenon as universals in language use Laver (quoted in Qian, 1996) has summarized social factors

on the choice of greetings in his descriptive framework

2.2.2 Definition of greeting

According to Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, Greet is to say hello to somebody or to welcome them

According to Vietnamese – Vietnamese dictionary of

http://tratu.soha.vn/dict/vn_vn/Ch%C3%A0o, chào (greeting) là tỏ thái độ

kính trọng hoặc quan tâm đối với ai bằng lời nói hay cử chỉ, khi gặp nhau hoặc khi từ biệt

According to two linguists, Schegloff and Sacks (1973), greetings are considered as a speech event constituted by two parts side by side

According to Searle (1969), a greeting is defined as an illocutionary act which is simpler than other speech acts due to the lack of propositional content (as cited in Gass & Neu, 1996, p 90)

Nguyễn Hoàng Sơn, (2014), Lời chào đi trước, Nhà xuất bản Kim Đồng: “Lời chào là “phương tiện” tình cảm mở đầu cho việc làm quen với

người lạ Với người quen, lời chào làm tăng thêm tình cảm gắn bó mật thiết với nhau “ ( Greeting is a sympathetic mean to make acquaintance for the first time with a stranger With a person you know well, greetings helps to develop our close relationship.)

According to a song named “lời chào của em” ( my greeting) composed by musicianNghiem Ba Hong- a Vietnamese musician, definition and meaning of the term “ greeting” are also mentioned clearly” Đi đến nơi nào lời chào đi trước/ Lời chào dẫn bước con đường bớt xa/ lời chào thành quà khi gặp các cụ già/ Lời chào thành hoa làm nên bao việc tốt.”(Going anywhere, greetings come first/ greetings make us feel the long distance of the road we are walking shorten/ greetings become valuable gift for old people/ greetings become beautiful flowers of kind activities.)

A greeting is a friendly way of opening a conversation or as a way of letting the other person know that we have seen them – Mr Duncan, an English teacher born in Stafford (United Kingdom), who after working for 4 years in China as a teacher of English conversation, returned to the UK and decided to create free videos (uploaded to YouTube) to teach English to anyone

2.2.3 The pragmatic functions of greeting

2.2.3.1 Greetings as Illocutionary Acts

As Firth (1972:30) comments, greetings are ‘a system of signs that convey other than overt messages.’ But how do people take the covert messages (i.e the intention or goodwill of the speaker) from this intricate sign system? Austin’s Speech Act Theory is helpful for the explanation of this phenomenon

The basic assumption of Austin’s theory is ‘to say something is to do something’ (Austin, 1962:12) According to him, utterances are the production of words and sentences on particular occasions by particular speakers for particular purposes They are not ends in themselves, but means

to ends – means to affecting listeners in certain ways They are speech acts for achieving certain communicative goals He asserts (Austin, 1962:120) that speech acts consists of locutionary acts which have a meaning, illocutionary acts which have a certain force in saying something, and perlocutionary acts which achieve certain effects by saying something Illocutionary acts are conventional acts and differ mainly in their immediate purpose or illocutionary force There are thousands of possible illocutionary acts, such as requests, orders, complaints, promises, etc According to Austin (1962), there are six types of illocutionary acts:

Assertives, used for expressing a belief, eg ‘John is in the library.’ Directives, used to get the addressee to do things, eg ‘Please close the door.’

Commissives, used to commit oneself to some future action, eg ‘I’ll wash the dishes.’ and ‘Can I do anything for you?’

Expressives, used to express certain feelings toward the hearer, eg thanking, apologizing, congratulating, greeting, etc

Effectives, used to cause changes in institutional state of affairs, eg

‘You’re dissmissed.’ and ‘You are hereby sentenced to five years in prison.’

Verdictives, used to determine institutional state of affairs, eg

‘Strike’ said by a baseball umpire According to the above classification of illocutionary acts, greetings fall into the category of ‘expressives’ and are therefore should not be taken literally When an English speaker asks you

‘How are you?’ or ‘How is your work?’, he is not necessarily concerned much about your physical condition or work, but showing his politeness

Another interesting example of the expressive aspect of such routines

is the use of the Chinese expression ‘Have you eaten?’ When a Chinese speaker makes such an inquiry, he is seldom really concerned about whether you are full or hungry, but intends to make you feel that he is being considerate to you The conventional answer is ‘yes’, though often a white lie, for the negative answer would put the greeting person in an awkward situation Actually such a greeting expression is not an invitation but a means to show the speaker’s warm attitude and consideration towards the hearer

The discussion above shows that from pragmatic perspective, greetings can be regarded as illocutionary acts Illocutionary force can be conveyed through these illocutionary acts However, the understanding of the covert meaning of greetings by the interlocutors in daily conversation lies in the routinization of such expressions

2.2.3.2 Greetings as Linguistic Routines of Politeness

Firth(1972:29-30) suggests that greetings should not be treated as spontaneous emotional reaction to the coming together of people For the most part they are highly conventionalized and follow patterned routines

Espousing Firth’s view, Laver (quoted in Qian, 1996) makes a further study of greetings in the linguistic patterns of conversation He asserts that greetings as conversational routines are part of the linguistic repertoire of politeness They are tools of polite behavior and their use is guided by a

polite norm Based upon his assumption, he employs Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory to explain the function and use of greetings

As Laver (quoted in Qian, 1996) comments, the central concept Brown and Levinson employ in their model is that of ‘face’ after Goffman (1967) As mentioned earlier, face refers to that emotional and social sense

of self that everyone has and expects everyone else to recognize They distinguish negative face (the want that one’s action be unimpeded by others) and positive face (the want that one’s wants be desirable to at least some others) If the strategic ends of speakers in conversational act are to be achieved, various politeness strategies must be used to maintain the participants’ negative face or to enhance their positive face In the process

of greetings, such maintenance of enhancement of face has to be taken into consideration

For instance, in English, greetings such as ‘Hello!’, ‘How do you do?’ and ‘I am pleased to meet you.’ have to be used to maintain or even enhance the hearer’s positive face, depending on the status of the participants and the social setting

In Chinese, some greetings are frequently used for the sake of politeness in social interaction as well For example, ‘Hello!’ and ‘Good morning!’ as greeting expressions seem to be directed towards the hearer’s positive face Greetings such as ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘Where are you going?’ seem to maintain the speaker’s positive face

The examples above illustrate some routine expressions used in social greetings Both participants normally take each other’s positive or negative face into consideration

In short, greetings are important conversational routines in the negotiation of social relationship and they are constrained by common social factors In the following section, the use of greetings and some

analytical frameworks accounting for the factors that affect the use of greetings will be discussed

2.2.4 Greeting classification

“Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between individuals or groups of people coming

in contact with each other.”- Greeting definition Wikipedia Greeting habits are highly cultureand situation - specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship The phenomenon exists in all known human cultures, though Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically (verbal and non-verbal), and often involve a combination of the two and greetings are often used to begin a conversation Some epochs and cultures from different countries and kingdoms have had very elaborate greeting rituals, e.g., greeting of a king Secret societies have clandestine greeting rituals that allow members to recognize common membership

Some epochs and cultures from different countries and kingdoms have had a very elaborate greeting rituals, e.g., greeting of a king Secret societies have clandestine greeting rituals that allow members to recognize common membership

(Figure 1: Greeting in feudalism in Vietnam)

(Figure 2: Greeting in England)

According to D.R Nguyen Quang “All the components of the message that,

when taken together, constitute the communication which is not verbally

coded but both vocally and non-vocally channeled Nonverbal greeting is

composed of paralinguistic factors (nonverbal - vocal channel), such as rate,

volume, etc., and extra-linguistic factors (nonverbal-non-vocal channel),

such as body language (gestures, postures, facial expressions…) object

language (including clothing, jewelry…) and environmental language

(proxemics, settings…)”

Table 1: greeting classified

Verbal greeting can be defined as“The spoken word and includes

actual words, intended and inferred meanings, tone and vocal

inflection”.(By Live strong.com newspaper)

For example:

(Figure 3: time pass greeting)

(Figure 4: Greeting in Vietnam)

Nonverbal greeting can be defined by Lustig (2001) (An American pediatric endocrinologist at the university of California) is“Nonverbal greeting is a multi-channeled process that is usually performed simultaneously; it typically involves a subtle set of nonlinguistic behaviorsthat are often enacted subconsciously Nonverbal behaviors can become part of the greeting when someone intentionally tries to convey a message orwhen someone attributes meaning to the nonverbal behavior of another, whether or not the person intend to communicate a particular meaning

According to Dr Nguyen Quang “All the components of the message that, when taken together, constitute the communication which is not verbally coded but both vocally and non-vocally channeled Nonverbal greeting is composed of paralinguistic factors (nonverbal - vocal channel), such as rate, volume, etc., and extra-linguistic factors (nonverbal-non-vocal channel), such as body language (gestures, postures, facialexpressions…)

object language (including clothing, jewelry…) and environmental language (proxemics, settings…)”

According to Matsumoto(San Francisco State University and

Humintell) and Juang (University of Potsdam, Germany) – authors of a book named Culture and Psychology, the nonverbal motions of different

people indicate important channels of communication Nonverbal actions should match and harmonize with the message being portrayed, otherwise confusion will occur For instance, an individual would normally not be seen smiling and gesturing broadly when saying a sad message The author states that nonverbal communication is very important to be aware of, especially if comparing gestures, gaze, and tone of voice amongst different cultures As Latin American cultures embrace big speech gestures, Middle Eastern cultures are relatively more modest in public and are not expressive Within cultures, different rules are made about staring or gazing Women may especially avoid eye contact with men because it can be taken as a sign

of sexual interest In some cultures, gaze can be seen as a sign of respect In Western culture, eye contact is interpreted as attentiveness and honesty In Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native American cultures, eye contact

is thought to be disrespectful or rude, and lack of eye contact does not mean that a person is not paying attention Voice is a category that changes within cultures Depending on whether or not the cultures is expressive or non-expressive, many variants of the voice can depict different reactions

2.2.5 The role of greeting in communication

There is a Western byword said that“You never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression.” That’s a very true statement in communication if wemake a suitable and right greeting, however we can still make a great 2nd impression if for some reason we botched the 1st one Impressions matter and 1st impressions really matter

Greetings are not only critically important part but also play a pivotal role of communication The first step to any form of interaction however, is through greeting, we can convey the massage very packed The message is:

- I value and respect myself as a person

- I recognize you and your personhood

- You are welcome

Greetings are perceived to certain specific purposes in human interactions as paving conflict resolution, creating an atmosphere of ease among people and creating a conducive climate of communication to flow.The level of self respect might be decided and that’s of others is usually judged by where or not a person greets the others.By greetings, we candetermine how one is perceived by society In any case it is necessary and important to greet people before ask them questions, asking for assistance orstart a conversation If we skip that it can be easy to be misunderstood or perceived as rude, proud or snobbish A greeting is an acknowledgment of someone else’s presence, for some this is automatic and for others it is too often neglected.When people fail to greet, the end result can be a negative assumption or can be hurt feelings, in any cases that result in misunderstandings In different fields can have different way to follow, such as in business, a confident, direct greeting is the professional thing to do, in social settings, it isthe courteous thing to do, in all interactions, it is the right thing to do Greeting is oftentimes us first form of face-to-face communication If we have communicated with someone by phone or in writing prior to the actual meeting, the in-person greeting should validate theanticipated impression The goal is to be perceived as self confident and secure in one’s identity instead of insecure or arrogant

2.2.6 The situations for studying

Base on situations of Eisenstein and his colleages (1996), I used the following situations to carry out the study:

- The 1st situation (friends – a close and equal relationship): Two friends meet each other by chance on the street They are in a hurry to go They greet each other

- The 2nd situation (colleagues - an equal relationship): Two colleagues meet each other at their workplace They greet each other

- The 3rd situation (friends – an equal relationship):A group of friends meet each other at a birthday’s party They have a long time to chat They greet each other

- The 4th situation (friends – an equal relationship or a person with his/her relatives – an unequal relationship) Two cousins have not seen each other recently They meet and greet

- The 5th situation (strangers, different ages):Two persons are sitting next to each other at the bus station, and they greet one another

- The 6th situation (a director and an employee – an unequal relationship): A director calls an employee to have a meeting with him/her They meet each other and greet

- The 7th situation (friends/ neighbors - an equal relationship, at the same workplace): Two people meet each other many times They greet each other

- The 8th situation (family’s members – an unequal relationship with the same family): Children greet parents when returninghome from schools.They meet each other and greet

- The 9th situation: A foreigner is on a holiday in another country He walks

on the street, sees and greets local people

Together with the provide situations above, there are 80 Vietnames informants who are now living and working in the north of Viet Nam(maintly nearby Hanoi) and 80 English native speakers from UK, Australia, USA and Newzeland (by internet sourses, tourists and people working in Viet Nam) are provided the surveyed questionnaires for the study

The study was runned by four steps as:

-Informants are provided question “what kind of greeting do you often do to greet the other?”

-Informants are provided the clear situations and asked to use what kind of greeting in that situations

- Informants are provided the situations and questionares with way of greeting to choose

-Informants are asked to list out what kind of factors mostly effecting when they do greeting

By following the methodology and plan above, the study can find out the common verbal and non-verbal greeings

2.2.7 The common verbal greetings

Table 2: Verbal greetings classified

2.2.7.1 Formal and Informal Greetings

Formal greetings and informal greetings are sometimes used in different situations, and each type of greetings depends on types of people, age, gender, communication’s purpose, etc Formal greeting follows certain rules that often sound formal with proper languages (e.g To pay one’s formal respect , or marked by form ceremony : A formal occasion) Formal greetings are also designed for some formal and special occasions or events

marked by elaborate ceremoniesor social observances: The formal attire included tuxedos and full length gowns Formal greetings are requiring a type of dress suitable for such occasions: A formal dance

Formal greeting are observant of conventional requirement of behaviors, procedure, etc …as person, ceremony …

(Figure 5: formal/ informal greeting)

For example:

In English, according to ABA Journal English for real life

This time the people do not know each other and are meeting for the first time

– How do you do? My name is John

– Pleased to meet you My name is Lyndsey

Time for another conversation! James, Lola and Sydney have just met

James: How do you do? My name is James

Lola: I’m Lola Nice to meet you

James: This is my wife, Sydney

Sydney: Hi Lola! How are you?

Lola: Very well, thank you And you?

Sydney: Fine, thanks

As in Vietnamese:

+ Formal greeting: As my observation

- Chào chị rất vui được gặp chị !

- Cháu chào chú ạ

- Chào bạn rất vui được gặp bạn

- Chào anh, rất hân hạnh được biết anh

Informal greetings are the ways without formality or ceremony, casual: An informal visit

Informal greetings are not following the prescribe,official, customary way or manner, irregular, unofficial: Informal proceedings

Informal greetings are suitable to characteristic of casual and familiar, but educated, speech or writing Not of a formal, official or stiffly conventional nature: An informal luncheon

Informal greetings appropriate to daily activities or use: Informal clothes

Informal greetings are often denoting or characterized by idiom, vocabulary…appropriate to everyday conversation language rather than to formal written language

For example:

In English: According to ABA Journal English for real life

- Hello!

- Hi!

- How are you?

- Great, thanks, and you?

- Fine, thanks

Instead of “hello”, we can also use “hi” or “hey”

In Vietnamese: According to my observation in Vietnam

- Hey, tình hình thế nào?

- Công việc tốt không?

- Ê Nam, dạo này khỏe chứ, công việc thế nào rồi?

- Chào Mai, đi đâu thế này?

2.2.8.2 Greeting on the run

This kind of greeting is commonly used when people have tendency

to greet on the run, which usually happens when people don’thave much

time, just exchange each other shortly However this greeting just happens

to people have a close relationship or see each other very often Greeting on the run is used for both English and Vietnamese in the same situations

(Figure 6: Greeting on the run)

For example:

In English, according to Sussan M Gass and Joyce Neu, (1996)

Speech act across cuture, pp 92 – 96

“The female students began greeting by saying:” Hi! How ya doin?” The young student responed: Hi! Gotta run I’m late for the class She smiles at him and said cheerfuly,” Okay”

In Vietnamese: As my observation

This greeting is between Lan and Mrs Trang who are neighbors and have close relationship They meet each other by chance but have no time to talk much Therefore, they just say a few words:

- Lan: Cô đi chợ đấy ạ?

- Mrs Trang: Ừ Lan đấy à!cháu đi học à?

In English, we often use very simple, short information in greeting while in

Vietnamese it is usually use general one or personal pronoun to greet

2.2.8.3 Speedy greeting

This is rather common for colleagues or office’s staff who often start

or end greeting suddenly They start and end conversation quickly to do other things in both English and Vietnamese:

(Figure 7: speedy greeting)

For Example

In English:

According to Sussan M Gass and Joyce Neu, (1996) Speech act across cuture, pp 92 – 96

“The conversation took place in an elevator on the way to their offices The

man greet the woman by saying:

He: Hi How’ve you been?

She: Not bad ‘N you?

He: Can’t complain Busy

She: I know Mee too

He: Oh Well Gotta take off.See ya”

In Vietnamese: As my observation

The conversation took place on the street, two friends Quỳnh and Thanh meet and greet together:

Quỳnh: Ê, đi đâu thế?

Thanh: Photo ít tài liệu

Quỳnh: Làm luận văn xong chưa?

Thanh:Chưa xong Mày sao?

Quỳnh: Cũng vậy Đi nha

Thanh: Bye!

When have speedy greetings, normally in English people oftent go straight the point without greeting meanwhile in Vietnamese people greeting first Then, they talk about the main topic Moreover, this greeting is used

among colleagues and students, in English native speakingcountries where people avoid talking about work or private while in Vietnamese they talk about work or private to show close or friendships English donot use much information whereas Vietnamese use and ask more specific one

2.2.8.4 The chat

(Figure 8: The chat)

This kind of greeting is similar to speedy greetingonly when greeting people exchange some more information and often enclose with a topic

For example in English: According to Sussan M Gass and Joyce Neu,

(1996) Speech act across cuture, pp 92 - 96

A coversation took place between two females friends in their early 20’s in

an office lounge area:

Femaile 1: Hi

Female 2: Hi

Female 1: Howa ya doing?

Female 2: Alright – comfortable – pretty good Oh! Got that letter by the way that I said I was waiting for I finally got it

Female 1: Wow! That’s great That’s pretty good

Female 2: Look! I’ll see you later

Female 1: Okay Bye

As the one between Chi and Hoa in Vietnamese:

-Chi: Sao sáng nghỉ học, Hoa?

-Hoa: Tớ hơi mệt Thầy có điểm danh không?

-Chi: Không Bạn làm xong tiểu luận chưa?

-Hoa: Chưa Mai tớ qua bạn nhé

-Chi: Uhm Đi đây

Speedy greetings in English usually use to say or show off, update or provide information about something while Vietnamese often ask about unexpected things with the suddenly topics

2.2.8.5 The long greeting

This kind of greeting are usually used in long conversation between people who haven’t seen each other for long time or the conversation about

an interesting topic for both of them It is also usedto warm up the relationship

(Figure 9: The long greeting)

Michelle: Bea

Bea: Michelle

Michelle: Where’ve you been? I haven’t seen you around

Bea: We were away We just got back What’s new with you? What have you been up to?

Michelle: ( michelle reports on neighbor news in detail.) We missed you How are you? It’s so nice to see you Where’d you go?

Bea: (Bea describes her vacation in detail)

Michelle: Well, I’m glad you’re back It’s so nice to see you I missed talking to you

Bea: Aw, we are back How have you been doing?

In Vietnam:

And the same situation between Hanh and Linh for Vietnamese example:

- Hanh: Kìa! Linh phải không?

- Linh: Trời! Hanh đấy à? Mày khỏe không?

- Hanh: Khỏe Còn mày? Đi đâu mà lặn mất tăm vậy?

- Linh: Chuyện dài lắm Có thời gian tao kể sau Mày vẫn ở chỗ cũ à?

- Hoa: Uh Rảnh ghé tao chơi

There are not many differences between English and Vietnamese Both of them often use mixed greeting and talks to ask about the updated information such as health, family, working, situation… or about the topic they all enjoy

2.2.8.6 The Intimate greeting

People in this situation usually have very close relationships such as very close friends, members of family They understandclearly each other and in some cases we do not need to express by saying, only nonverbal communication is enough to express what we want to talk

(Figure 10: The intimate greeting)

For example:

In English: According to Sussan M Gass and Joyce Neu, (1996) Speech act across cuture, pp 92 – 96

In Vietnamese: As my observation

The conversation took place between Ba and Tung, they are close friend from the same class and greet each other after the examination :

- Ba: (Nháy mắt) Làm được không?

- Tung: Chả biết Không chắc lắm Còn mày?

- Ba: Tàm tạm thôi Tao làm được quá nửa thì hết giờ Căng tin đi!

Often both English and Vietnamese combine words andgestures together to greet Vietnamese tend to come to the point more than English

2.2.8.7 The Introductory greeting

This greeting often occurs when two people or the whole group have not known each other before the meeting

(Figure 11: The introductory greeting)

For example:

In English, According to Sussan M Gass and Joyce Neu, (1996) Speech act across cuture pp 92 – 96

A situation at a party:

A: Nice party!

B: Yes

A: Who do you know here?

B: Bill I work with him

A: Oh Are you an accountant too?

B: No, I’m in public realations

A: Oh, well I’m an old friend of Bill’s

In Vietnamese: As my observation

And at the Vietnamese party Nam and Hà at the first time meeting:

- Nam: Bữa tiệc vui thật!

- Hà: Vâng.Mọi người rất thân thiện.Anh là bạn của Mai à?

- Nam: Không Anh là Nam, bạn của anh trai Mai Rất vui được biết em

- Hà: Chào anh Em tên Hà, em là bạn cùng lớp của Mai

There is not much difference between English and Vietnamese from each other Both of them can give comments to seek for connection to make friends or have good impression at the first meeting

2.2.8.8 The All- business greeting

This kind of greeting is often used for business relationship and economical fields Greeting is often quite short and be expressed the respect the time of the other That greeting happened because of starting their business right away, go straight to the topic

(Figure 12: The all business greeting)

For example:

In English

Between John and Mr Brown at the same company

- John: Excuse me, is Mr Brown here?

- Brown: Ah, Mr John, come in

In Vietnamese As my observation

A conversation took place in an office in a Lotus company in Vietnam between manager and his staff in Vietnamese:

- Manager: Dạ! Anh tìm em có việc gì không ạ?

- Staff: Ừ, vào đây anh nhờ chút

When using this kind of greeting, both English and Vietnamese often talk right away to the business

2.2.8.9 The re-greeting

This greeting involves people who meet each other many times during a day as student from the same class or people working inthe same office that they often greet by only short letter or saying

(Figure 13: The re-greeting)

For example: According to Sussan M Gass and Joyce Neu, (1996)

Speech act across cuture, pp 92 -96

One co – worker, having learned earlier in the day that her co – worker was not feeling well, greets another by saying, “ Mary? Feel better?” Mary responds: “ Yes, thanks

Anna and Linda are working in the same office:

- Anna: Finished?

- Linda: Not yet!