A study on english and vietnamese greetings from a cross cultural communication perspective

THESIS A STUDY ON ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE GREETINGS FROM A CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ LỜI CHÀO TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT TỪ PHỐI CẢNH GIAO TIẾP GIAO VĂN H

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

A STUDY ON ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE GREETINGS FROM A CROSS- CULTURAL COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ LỜI CHÀO TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT

TỪ PHỐI CẢNH GIAO TIẾP GIAO VĂN HÓA)

NGUYEN THI PHUONG THANH

Hanoi, 2016

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

A STUDY ON ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE GREETINGS FROM A CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ LỜI CHÀO TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT

TỪ PHỐI CẢNH GIAO TIẾP GIAO VĂN HÓA)

NGUYEN THI PHUONG THANH

Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201

Supervisor: Assoc Prof VÕ ĐẠI QUANG, Ph.D

Hanoi, 2016

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled “A study on English and Vietnamese greetings from a cross-cultural communication perspective” 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, 2016

NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG THANH

Approved by SUPERVISOR

Date:………

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc Prof Dr.Vo Dai Quang, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher

A special word of thanks goes to all the teachers of the Post Graduate Department of Hanoi Open University for their valuable lectures on many aspects of my concern which laid the foundation for this thesis and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished

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

ABSTRACT Mastering a new language does not only consist of the ability to master its system of form but also the ability to use its linguistic units appropriately This is because languages differ from one another not only in their systems of phonology, syntax and lexicon but also in their speakers’ manners of pattering their discourse and relating speech act Therefore, people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds come into contact; there always exists the possibility for misunderstanding This thesis

is an attempt to provide a cross-cultural comparison of greeting categories in English and Vietnamese The greeting categories are analyzed with data taken from the questionnaires for the Vietnamese and English informants Utilizing contrastive analysis, the author analyzed the greeting categories in English and Vietnamese Results of the study showed that greeting is a socially significant even in universal terms Especially in Vietnamese, greeting is an important part in cultural life Some issues considered as “a taboo” in English are used popularly in Vietnamese These are the specific cultural features in two languages Then, some suggestions for the Vietnamese learners of English are presented based on the theory and the conductor’s personal experience after studying

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Austin’s classification of illocutionary act 13Table 2: Searle’s classification of speech acts 14Table 3: Politeness Strategies (according to Brown and Levinson, 1987) 17Table 4: Classification of illocutionary acts 22Table 5: Survey for background 34Table 6: Number of English and Vietnamese people using greeting

categories (direct and indirect greetings) 48Table 7: Some examples indirect greeting in English and Vietnamese 48Table 8: Some examples of strategic greetings in English and Vietnamese.53

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF TABLES iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale for the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 2

1.3 Objectives of the study 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Structural organization of the study 3

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Review of previous studies 5

2.2 Review of theoretical background 7

2.2.1 Language and communication 7

2.2.2 Cultural traits in greeting 8

2.2.3 Overview of speech acts 10

2.2.3.1 Definition of speech acts 10

2.2.3.2 Components of Speech acts 11

2.2.3.3 Classification of Speech Act 12

2.2.3.4 Politeness Theory 14

2.2.4 Cross-cultural communication 18

2.2.5 Overview of Greetings 19

2.2.5.1 Greeting as a speech act 19

2.2.5.2 Definition of Greetings 19

2.2.5.3 The pragmatic functions of Greetings 20

2.2.5.4 Types of greetings 24

2.2.6 Summary 30

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 31

3.1 Research-governing orientations 31

3.1.1 Research questions 31

3.1.2 Research setting 31

3.1.3 Research approach 32

3.1.4 Principles for data collection and data analysis 33

3.2 Research methods 34

3.2.1 Major methods and supporting methods 34

3.2.2 Data collection techniques 35

3.2.3 Data analysis techniques 35

3.3 Summary 35

Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 36

4.1 The categories of greeting in English and Vietnamese 36

4.1.1 Based on the structural and functional dimensions 36

4.1.1.1 Direct greeting 36

4.1.1.2 Indirect greeting 38

4.1.2 Based on the contextual dimension 42

4.1.2.1 Greeting on the run 42

4.1.2.2 Speedy greetings 43

4.1.2.3 The chat 44

4.1.2.4 The long greeting 44

4.1.2.5 The intimate greeting 45

4.1.2.6 The business greeting 46

4.1.2.7 The introductory greeting 46

4.1.2.8 The re-greeting 47

4.2 Similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese greeting categories in terms of a cross- cultural perspective 47

4.2.1 Similarities 47

4.2.2 Differences 49

4.2.2.1 The differences about the structural and functional

dimensions of greeting categories 49

4.2.2.2 The differences about the strategically dimensions of greeting categories 52

4.3 Implication in using greeting categories for Vietnamese learners of English 60

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 62

5.1 Recapitulation 62

5.2 Concluding remarks 63

5.3 Limitation of the research 63

5.4 Suggestion for further studies 64

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study

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

However, in reality, Vietnamese learners of English often make mistakes in communicating with English speakers This is mostly caused

by the effect of Vietnamese culture and the limitation of understanding about English culture One of the most important parts in almost every conversation is greeting which generally plays an important role in communication and functions as a start of a conversation or indentify the appearance of speakers or to express the respect to the listener In addition, greetings help to establish, maintain a relationship and facilitates the conversation As in Vietnam, greetings play an important role as these sayings “Lời chào cao hơn mâm cỗ” or “ Dao năng liếc năng sắc, người năng chào năng quen” It means that Vietnamese are extremely serious in greeting

In fact, many Vietnamese people failed to continue their conversation

in English due to not only language ability but also understanding about the

culture of target language, English In many cases, when being greeted by a foreigner, many English learners feel confused to find out a good and relevant response, some people cannot respond their partner’s greeting immediately

With all the above necessity, the author has chosen the topic “ A study on English and Vietnamese greetings from a cross – cultural communication perspective” with the expectation of finding out the cultural similarities and differences between Vietnamses and English greetings which partly helps Vietnamese learners of Engish have more knowledge and skills in greetings, achieve more success in communicating

in English

1.2 Aims of the study

The study aims at investigating the greetings in English and Vietnamese, compare and contrast to point out the similarities and differences of greetings categories in English and Vietnamese from a cross-cultural perspective, to provide Vietnamese learners of English necessary knowledge and skills in greetings

1.3 Objectives of the study

To achieve the aims above, the following objectives can be put forward:

- Pointing out the categories of greeting in English and Vietnamese

- Identifying the similarities and differences of greeting categories in English and Vietnamese from a cross-cultural perspective

- Providing the Vietnamese learners of English some implications in using greeting categories

1.4 Scope of the study

Academically, the greeting categories which are analyzed in this study

categorized and analyzed in this study include only the greetings that are commonly found in daily communication and expressed to other(s) orally Moreover, greeting is one important part of language, especially is the initiator of conservation How greeting is used in different cultures, particularly between English and Vietnamese is my great concern Therefore, the study focused on the cultural similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese greetings; greetings in different social encounters

1.5 Significance of the study

Theoretically, major similarities and differences between the English and Vietnamese speakers when greeting someone will be highlighted and analyzed in great detail to add some certain theoretical background to study English

Practically, the findings of the study will increase readers’ awareness

of cross-cultural differences in order to avoid culture shock and to guarantee successful communication As a teacher of English, the author feels duty-bound to raise her students’ awareness of conventional behaviors in common situations and to incorporate the study of cultural behaviors as an integral part of each lesson

1.6 Structural organization of the study

The thesis consists of 5 chapters as follow:

Chapter 1 is the Introduction of the study which shows the reasons why the topic is chosen, what the research aims at as well as the scope, the significance and the structural organization of the study

Chapter 2 is the Literature review and Theoretical background of the study This chapter will give the brief review of related literature and theoretical background of every matter mentioned in the study

Chapter 3 is the Methodology in which the main steps and techniques applied in the study such as data collection, description and comparison the greetings between two languages is provided

Chapter 4 is the Findings and Discussions In this chapter, it presents and analyzes the collected data from questionnaires as well as gives the similarities and differences of using greeting categories in English and Vietnamese Besides that, the study offers some implications for Vietnamese learners of English in greetings are drawn out

Chapter 5 is the Conclusion of the study which presents the recapitulation of the study, the limitations of the study and some suggestions for further study

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of previous studies

Greeting is really an interesting issue in our daily life It plays an important role in communicative competence necessary for being a member

of any speech community There are many famous Vietnamese and foreign linguist and scholars having done researches on this linguistic field

Ebsworth (1992) also indicated that greeting can be seen in the different ways which cultures choose to perform these speech acts Greetings in American or British English are often produced by a serial turn taking of the communicative partners It was recognized that American greetings have a greater variety because Americans make use of more creative language It lies

in the fact that greetings as part of cross-cultural communication may vary from lexical choices to substantial differences in cultural norms and values Greetings in American English consist of a range of linguistic and non-verbal choices which may include a simple wave or smile, a single utterance, or a lengthy a series of conservational turns

Nodoushan (2007) provided some examples and explanations for the most common used greetings in American English He divided the greetings

in to two different types based on time: in time-free and time-bound Nodoushan (2007) also claimed that Americans tends to be more informal in their daily life greetings Except on official occasions such as reception of distinguished guests, American society has a certain amount of informality in introductions and greetings On most occasions one need not be ‘particularly conscious of social status, Americans generally ignore it’ (p.359) In spite of the informality, however, there are rules of good manners and social patterns that should be followed There are rules of introducing people to each other

A younger person is generally introduced to an old person, a man to a woman,

a guest to the host or hostess, and a person to the group Nodoushan (2007)

Dr Maysa’a Kadhim Jibreen in “The Speech Act of Greeting: A

Theoretical Reading” He has given definition of greeting, classification and

structures of greeting in term of semantic, syntactic and pragmatic William

K (1997) in “An Evaluation of Greeting Exchanges in Textbooks and Real

Life Settings” He has pointed out in general classifications of greeting

In Vietnam, a great number of studies on greeting expression have attracted learners of English such as Nguyen Phuong Suu (1990) focused on investigating similarities and differences in the way Vietnamese and Australian speaker greet and address in their own language and the underlying factors that govern their choice of linguistic forms used in greeting and address terms in order to find out what pragmatic transfer and interference exists in Vietnamese- English interaction The Australian subjects consider the length of time they have been known each other and the context of interaction the most important factors in greeting and addressing, whereas the Vietnamese speakers are likely to see the age, the address as the most important factor in greeting and addressing someone (Suu, 1990, pp.78-79)

Nguyễn Thị Bích Hằng (2009) in “ English analysis: English and

Vietnamese Greetings”, Huyền Vũ (2009) in “Cách chào hỏi của người Việt

và người Mỹ”, Trần Thị Bích Hạnh (2010) “Vietnamese and English Greetings: A contrastive analysis ”, Huỳnh Thị Thanh Châu in “Greetings in English and Vietnamese: A contrastive analysis” and Hoàng Thị Kim Dung in

“A cross-cultural study of addressing forms in greetings in Vietnamese and

English” , (2010), the study shows the similarities and differences in two

countries through their cultures in order to help the learner s avoid cultural shocks or cross-cultural conflicts involving the addressing forms in greetings

in global communication Trần Anh Vương in the research “Ways of greeting

and a comparison between Vietnamese and English greetings” studies on greeting and greeting culture in English and Vietnamese He also points out the similarities and differences between them However, his research is rather wide He infers both verbal and non-verbal greeting

However, it seems there is a lack of a research which deals with the differences between English and Vietnamese from a cross-cultural communication perspective That is the reason for this research to be done 2.2 Review of theoretical background

2.2.1 Language and communication

Language is the remarkable system that allows people to communicate

an unlimited combination of ideas using a highly structured stream of sounds

Or “language is the system of special signals which people use to communicate and it is the basic means of communication and developing thought of people People use language to impart tradition, culture, history and experiences from the old generation to the young generation” It is the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in an agreed way And there is no doubt that language is a system for communicating

When people want to tell each other something, language appears Apparently, language is the means of communication Without language, people cannot exchange information, experiences and share feelings, thought with each other People use language to express their thought, feelings, ideas, experience It is the reality of thought

Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior

It is the activity or the process of expressing ideas, feelings or exchanging the ideas, information with someone It is clearly seen that the way we communicate and the way we understand others’ communication are the

result of our knowledge and past experiences That means communication can take place anywhere and is carried out by anybody In communication, interlocutors show their attitude, relationship, mood, understanding, confusion and a whole range of other things and convey a range of meanings in different cultures, from insults to approval or even attraction The participants do anything to make others understand what they mean The successful communication means that the person receives the massage being intended

To communicate successfully, the communicators must understand the other’s needs, feelings, and ideas

Language plays an important role in conveying people’s thinking and expressing their feeling and attitude in daily communication, meanwhile, greeting expression belongs to the language system When meeting, people greet each other by expressions (saying some words) So greeting is the activity of giving speech or words to welcome someone It is an important part of communication, even compulsory Participants are both speakers and listeners involved directly in conversation And using the way of greeting can help us know interlocutors’ emotion, feeing as well as their knowledge, culture, politeness and respect to each other People who are involved in conversation should depend on objects and other features of communicative situation such as age, sex, family relationship, social status and power

Language is used to communicative while greeting is a process of communication So greeting involves language which is known as greeting language It is one of the key changes to communicate effectively with different people in different cultures

2.2.2 Cultural traits in greeting

Culture is the combination of all the physical and behavioral aspects of

a society Culture includes all knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other tradition and habits acquired by man as a member of society

Culture is also a historically transmitted, socially constructed system of beliefs, premises, symbols and their meanings that pertain to a group of people So we can consider culture a tool that our families and societies instill

in us to get through life In Vietnamese, cross cultural is defined as the contact, the affective exchange, the interaction among cultural aspects of different ethnics In English, culture is like an iceberg, most of which is deep within the ocean just much of culture is deep within people The tip of the iceberg is easy to see This includes the visible aspects and taboo of communication on other cultures; the remaining huge chuck of the iceberg hidden below the surface includes the invisible aspects of a culture such as the values, traditions, experience and behaviors that define each culture

The connection between the human capacities for culture and language has been notes as far as classical antiquity, the relation between language and culture is more complex than the coordinate title language and culture would suggest Language is, of course, an integral part of culture, defined simplistically as the totality of beliefs and practices of a society

Furthermore, the semantic content of language is always related to the entities, events, states, processes, characteristics and relations within culture, and culture depends in large measure on language in order to function and to perpetuate itself It is not strange, therefore, that most of the serious mistakes

in translation are the result of not recognizing the intimate relations between language and culture

Greeting expression is a phenomenon of language And as language is believed to be woven into every fabric of every human culture, it can be said that greeting expression is an element of culture

Although there are plenty of disagreements on the definition of culture and the relation between language and culture, a majority of people agree that culture overwhelms language and language reflects culture Nevertheless,

cultural features vary from region, even when they speak the same language That is why their reflections in language are different Greeting expression is not an exception It is influenced by cultures Each country has its own culture So cross-cultural among countries can make greeting expression have plenty of dissimilarities between Vietnamese and English cultures Cultures rooted in people’s awareness so deeply that they cannot be changed easily in a short time Each culture still has its own characteristics and dignity These dissimilarities between two cultures often create a phenomenon called cultural shock when people from the two cultures endeavor to communicate

The ways of greeting in Vietnamese and English are surely affected by cultural features To partially help avoid the cultural shock in this area, this research will discuss some main characteristics of the way of Vietnamese and English people’s greeting It can also help us know more about the way we can make a polite greeting

2.2.3 Overview of speech acts

2.2.3.1 Definition of speech acts

The notion of “speech acts” and its theory were initiated by the British philosopher Austin (1962), and then were further developed by others such as Searle (1969, 1976), Leach (1983), Levinson (1983), Yule (1996,1997) And all these speech act theorists share the view that there is a close link between speech acts and language functions

Austin (1962:147-149) points out many functions performed by utterances as part of interpersonal communication Particularly, he says that many utterances do not communicate information, but are equivalent to

actions They are “words that do things” in the world and in saying

something the speaker does something Besides, Austin originally (1960:52)

used the term “speech acts to refer to an utterance” and the “total situation

in which the utterance is issued” (Thomas,1996:51)

Sharing with Austin’s ideas, Richards, Platt, J and Platt, H

(1992:342) defines, “speech acts is an utterance as a functional unit in

communication” Also, Yule (1996:47) states, “Actions performed via utterances are generally called speech acts” These speech acts are

commonly given such specific labels as apologizing, complaining, complimenting, inviting, promising or requesting etc

Thus, their common assumption is that when conversing people use grammatical and lexical units not only to produce utterances, but also to perform actions These speech acts, considered as minimal units of human communication, are performed in actual situations of language use – as

Searle (1969:16) says, “… Speech acts…are the basic or minimal units of

linguistic communication”

2.2.3.2 Components of Speech acts

According to Austin’s theory (1962), the act is performed under any

of the three forces; what we say has three kinds of meaning which Trung (2013:105) called three components namely locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary

 Locutionary Force : is what produces the act of “saying something”, i.e., the act of uttering a certain sentence with a meaning

 Illocutionary Force: In performing a locutionary act , we may also perform such an act as questioning, promising, warning, ordering, etc Thus, the words have the force of a question a promising, a warning, an ordering, etc Austin made a distinction between a locutionary act and an illocutionary act as one between the act of saying and the act in saying something, respectively The latter is the inherent function of the speech act, which might be established by simply looking at the act itself in relation to existing belief For example, “I’ll help you” could be considered

to be a promise if one believed that the hearer would be pleased at the news

 Perlocutionary Force: is one that produces the consequential effects on the speaker or hearer’s feelings, thoughts or actions For example, the acts

of coming of the speaker and the expectation of the hearer for the speaker

to come will be the effects of the promise “I’ll come”

2.2.3.3 Classification of Speech Act

There are thousands of possible illocutionary acts and several attempts have been made to classify them into a small number of types Two main approaches to classifying speech acts have been distinguished: Austin’s (1962) is principally a lexical classification of illocutionary verbs, and Searle’s (1976) solution to classifying speech acts was to group them in the five macro-classes (clarified in Cutting, J, 2002:16-17)

According to Austin’s classification (1962:151), Illocutionary act are classified into five functions namely:

or against a course of action

appoint, dismiss, order, sentence, etc

Commissives acts whose point is to commit

the speaker to a course of action

contract, give one’s word, declare one’s

intentions, etc Behabitives expressions of attitudes

toward the conduct, fortunes,

or attitudes of

congratulate, welcome, etc

others Expositives acts of expounding of views,

conducting of arguments, and clarifying

deny, inform, concede, refer, etc

Table 2.1: Austin’s classification of illocutionary act

 According to Searles’s classification, speech acts was to group them

in the five macro-classes: declaratives, representatives, expressives, directives, and commissives

Representatives Commit the speaker to the truth

of the expressed proposition

 Asserting, concluding

- “The Moon goes round the Earth"

- "It is windy today."

Directives Attempts by the speaker to get

the addressee to do something

 Requesting, questioning

- "Stand up, please!"

- "Could you open the door?"

Commissives Commit the speaker to some

future course of action

 Promising, threatening, offering

- "I’ll give one hand."

- “ I’ll be back”

Expressives Express a psychological state

 Thanking, apologizing,

- "What a great party!"

welcoming, congratulating

Declaratives Effect immediate changes in the

institutional state of affairs and tend to rely on elaborate extra-linguistic institutions

 Excommunicating, declaring war, christening, firing from employment

- "Priest: I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Table 2.2: Searle’s classification of speech acts

2.2.3.4 Politeness Theory

Politeness, an issue which has a great impact to human being and deeply influences to human interaction, will be now discussed right in this part because

Politeness is basic to the production of social order, and a precondition of human cooperation any theory which provides an understanding of this phenomenon at the same time goes to the foundation of human social life

(Brown and Levinson, 1987)

 Concept of politeness

Many linguists share their understanding and their concern on the concept of politeness Brown and Levinson (1990:2), in their introduction to

“Politeness- Some Universal in Language Usage”, emphasize that “the issues

of politeness raise sociological speculations of this scale; they also touch on many other interests and many other fields”

Hill et al (1986:349) define politeness as “one of the constraints on

human interaction, whose purpose is to consider other’s feelings establish levels of mutual comfort, and promote rapport”

The notion of politeness has been largely discussed Lakoff (1975:64)

sees politeness as “a system of interpersonal relational designed to facilitate

interaction by minimizing the potential for conflict and confrontation inherent

in all human interchange”

According to Nguyen Quang (2005:185), “Politeness refers to any

communicative act (verbal and / or non-verbal) which is intentionally and appropriately meant to make others feel better or less bad”

 Politeness strategies

Linguists have stated different ways of expressing politeness strategies Among them, the most influential theory of politeness is put forward by

Brown & Levinson According to Thomas the Brown and Levinson’s “has

been extraordinarily influential and very widely discussed” (Thomas, 1995)

Although there might be some criticism, such as a few overlaps and borderlines between positive and negative politeness, their theory can reliable serve as a theoretical framework for cross-cultural research

 Positive politeness strategies

Positive politeness is directed to hearer’s positive face, his “perennial

desire that his wants should be thought of as desirable” (Brown & Levinson

1987, 101) By using positive politeness strategies, the speaker conveys that they are co-operators with the address and that they have a common ground Brown and Levinson (1987) list 15 positive politeness strategies With

first eight of the strategies, the speaker claims common ground, “indicating

that S and H belong to the same set of persons who share specific wants, including goals and values” (p.103) The latter strategies are used to convey

that speaker and hearer are co-operators and have the same goals Consequently, if speaker requires something from the hearer, he can use the strategies to hint that by attending to the speaker, the hearer is acting in his own interest as well

 Negative politeness strategies

Negative politeness in Brown& Levinson (1987:129) is considered as

“regressive action addressed to the addressee’s negative face: his want to

have his freedom of action unhindered and his attention unimpeded”

Agreeing with Brown & Levinson on definition of negative politeness, Nguyen Quang (2003) emphasizes “Negative politeness is in any communicative act which is appropriately intended to show that speaker does not want to impinge on the addressee’s privacy, thus enhancing the sense of distance between them”

In short, “negative politeness” involves the speaker and hearer’s independence This is also known as the “formal politeness strategy” which creates the distance between the speaker and hearer In most English speaking countries, people are more inclined to employ negative politeness strategies However, what politeness strategy is preferred by what culture suggests a problem In many Oriental Languages, including Vietnamese, negative politeness is not always put in a high place Vietnamese people tend to use positive politeness to show concern to others and narrow the distance between the speaker and the hearer

Strategies Positive politeness Negative politeness Strategy 1 Notice, attend to H (his

interests, wants, needs, goods)

Be conventionally indirect

Strategy 2 Exaggerate (interest,

approval, sympathy with H)

Question/ hedge

Strategy 3 Intensify interest to H Be pessimistic

Strategy 4 Use in-group identity

markers

Minimize the imposition

Strategy 5 Seek agreement (by the safe

topics, repetition or minimal encouragers )

Give deference

Strategy 6 Avoid disagreement

(instances of ‘token agreement’, of ‘pseudo-agreement’, of ‘white lies’, of

Strategy 9 Asserts or presuppose S’s

knowledge of and concern for H’s wants

Nominalize

Strategy 10 Offer, promise Go on records as incurring a

debt or as not indebting H Strategy 11 Be optimistic

Strategy 12 Include both S and H in the

activity Strategy 13 Give (or ask for) reasons

Strategy 14 Assume or assert reciprocity

Strategy 15 Give gifts to H (goods,

sympathy, understanding, cooperation)

Table 2.3: Politeness Strategies (according to Brown and Levinson,

1987)

2.2.4 Cross-cultural communication

In cross-cultural communities, there is some reaching across boundaries We try to build bridges of relationship between our cultural communities by sharing, listening, learning, and being open to changing It usually requires intentionality, and programs of education and community-building It is also means that

(i) Two or more cultures are considered or related to

(ii) Often cultures are compared or contrasted with one another, and one culture is deemed superior or inferior to another

(iii)Power differentials are still not addressed; it only allows for limited learning or exchange between cultural groups

(iv)Cultural differences may be understood or acknowledged, but are also managed in a way that does not allow for individual or collective transformation

Cross-cultural communication is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavor to communicate across cultures Intercultural communication is a related field of study

According to Richards (1985:92), “cross-cultural communication is an exchange of ideas, information, etc between persons from different backgrounds There are more problems in cross-cultural communication than

in communication between people of the same cultural background Each participant may interpret the other’s speech according to his or her own cultural conventions and expectations If the cultural conventions and misunderstandings can easily arise, even resulting in a total breakdown of communication This has been shown by research into real life situations, such as job interviews, doctor-patient encounters and legal communication”; thus, cross-cultural communication is the exchange and negotiation of

information ideas, feelings and attitudes between individuals who come from different cultural backgrounds

2.2.5 Overview of Greetings

2.2.5.1 Greeting as a speech act

According to Searle’s classification of Speech Acts, greeting is an act that belongs to expressive class Thus, greeting has the function of expressing the speaker’s psychological attitude towards a state of affairs which the illocution presupposes Wierzbicka (1987, p.129) assumes that:

“The illocutionary purpose of greeting seems to consist in assuring the addressee of one’s good feelings towards him, as well as of one’s readiness

to enter into the conservation with him”

Since greeting expresses S’s good feeling to H, greeting are often

accompanied by smiles and pleasant “wording” of the message like “Nice to

see you”, “Please to meet you” A greeting accompanied by signs of anger

and hostility would have to be sarcastic

2.2.5.2 Definition of Greetings

According to Eibl-Eibesfeldt’s (1977) greetings are defined as rituals of appeasing and bonding that counteract potentially aggressive behavior during face-to-face encounters

Searle, J.R (1969) considered greetings corresponded to some part of rituals or sometimes formulated to go along with the speech act and in its rules in the speech community The definition of greetings is shown below: Greetings are a much simpler kind of speech act, but even here some

of the distinctions apply In the utterance of ‘Hello’ there is no propositional content and no sincerity apply The preparatory condition is that the speaker must have just encountered the hearer, and the essential rule is that the utterance counts as a courteous indication of recognition of the hearer (pp 64-65)

In his definition, Searle simplified the context and usage of greetings, which may not be the case in different occasions I would agree with the point that greeting is a common speech act which can be easier to learn than some other speech acts However, rather than our daily routine greetings, this type of speech act could be very complex in some situations and occasions

In “An Evaluation of Greeting Exchanges in Textbook and Real life

setting” the linguist Schegloff (1973) considered greeting as a speech event

including of two parts side by side such as Greeting-Greeting: A mirrored greeting

B: Have you finished your homework?

In Vietnamese, greetings make people feel friendlier, easy to create a good relationship Beside the ways people great also express their respect and sociability when they meet someone

In summary, it is quite hard to give complete definition of greeting that makes people clear Generally, each country will have different ways in order to greet So that is the reason why there are different concepts

2.2.5.3 The pragmatic functions of Greetings

 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:

Please close the door

Commissives To commit oneself to

some future action

- I’ll wash the dishes

- Can I do anything for you

Expressives To express certain

feelings toward the hearer

Thanking, apologizing, congratulating, greeting

Effectives To cause changes in - You’re dismissed

institutional state of affairs

- You are hereby sentenced to five years in prison Verdictives To determine

institutional state of affairs

“Strike” said by a baseball umpire

Table 2.4: Classification of illocutionary acts 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

 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 Vietnamese, 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

2.2.5.4 Types of greetings

There are many ways to say “hello” Generally, according to Bruce Tillitt (2006), the author of the book “Speaking naturally can be classified into two major types basing on the formality of the communicating contexts: formal greetings and informal greetings A greeting seen as a formal or informal one is determined by the particular context in which the greeting is uttered Besides, the formality of a greeting is dependent on the choice of vocabulary and structure Sometimes, you say a quick hello as you are passing somebody At the other times, a greeting can lead to a conversation

In addition, friends and family members greet each other in a casual way Business greetings are more formal

It can be defined that greetings forms in the Vietnamese culture is a long-established aspect that could be viewed from different angles culture, including the direct greetings and indirect greetings Besides, like other languages where greeting forms are uttered with the direct greeting words such “Hello!”, “Salut”, etc or according to different times of the day “Good morning!”, “Good afternoon!”, “Good evening!”, greetings in Vietnamese use of “direct” greeting words/ phrases “Chào”, “Xin chào” widely

English greetings are similar to greetings in almost every language because they are formulaic and used in each case with different purposes Furthermore, English greetings are varied including “Hi!”, “Hello”, “Good morning!”, “How are you?”, “How do you do?”, etc, in other words, there are many ways to say “Hello” in English to lead to a conversation Thus, it is difficult to make a format for English greetings Firth (1972) categorizes

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

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

greetings: formal greetings and informal greetings The formal greetings like

“How do you do?” or “How are you?” are mainly used by the members of

elder people or when meeting someone the first time The less formal (informal) greetings are used more commonly in the younger generations or routines

In addition, when discussing the functions of languages, many linguists agree that there are many language devices to express a communicating purpose For example, to express a greeting, people do not have to greet directly with “Hello!, Hi! Or Good morning!” They can greet indirectly via thanking, questioning, reminding, congratulating, complimenting, inviting and so on The “indirect greetings” are mostly used

in informal contexts As a result, greetings might be classified basing on situations, where the greetings are uttered Therefore, the classification of greetings should be based on the contexts which can be named as follow:

 Greetings in passing

This is an informal case because you do not always have time to stop and have a conversation Just remember to smile as you say hello A small wave is also polite Sometimes you pass the same person a second time on the same day You can say “hello again” or just smile However, it is polite

to greet a person you know formally or informally, which depends on your relationship with him/ her

 Greeting before a conversation

You sometimes stop and talk for a minute as you say hello This type

of greeting is followed by a conversation Close friends often hug when they greet each other, especially after a long time without seeing one other This situation can happen to those who meet each other for the first time or those whose relationship is close Between very close friends, it is common to use name in an informal greeting Sometimes, nicknames or short forms are used

The below conversation is a well- illustrated example to know more about this greeting in this situation Between very close friends it is

uncommon to use names in a casual greeting Sometimes nicknames or short forms are used ( Cor and Jen instead of Cory and Jennifer)

A: Hi Corey

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

A: You too How’ve you been?

B: Busy, you?

A: Pretty good How’s your new job?

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

A: Not much The kids are back at school

 Greeting in Business

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

Good morning, Mr Evans!

Good morning, Dr Conners!

How do you do?

Good morning! How are you?

These following expressions should be useful conversations

Please have a seat

Thanks for agreeing to meet with me

He’ll be right with you

Can I offer you something to drink?

My pleasure

 Greeting at a social event (at a party)

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

*Who are you here with?

* How do you know Jane? (party host)

* I don’t think we’ve met

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

* Where did you get your costume?

* The food looks great I can’t wait to try the dip

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

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

Let’s see the greetings in the following conversation

A: I don’t think we’ve met I’m Stacey

B: Hi Stacey I’m Carl

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Greeting at a friend’s house

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

You can call me………

Thanks for coming

Thanks for having me………

I’ve heard so much about you

It’s nice to put a face to a name

You have a beautiful home

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

A: Hi Mike I’ve heard all about you Jesse says you love to play guitar B: Yes, I do Mrs Simpson Nice to meet you

A: We’re glad to finally be able to meet you Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes

B: Is there anything I can do to help?

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

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

 Greeting in the classroom

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

I’m from………… (city or country)

I hear it’s beautiful/ hot/ expensive there

How do you like it here?

How long have you been here?

The two common greeting phrases: hello! And hi! Are uttered in the below conversation which happens at the party

A: Hello I’m Shara

B: Hi Shara I’m Ben

A: Nice to meet you Where are you from?

B: Chicago, Illinois And you?

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

B: Australia Wow, I’ve always wanted to go there How long have you been in Canada?

A: I just arrived this week It’s my first day of school

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

2.2.6 Summary

In this chapter, the theories that related to greeting and other previous studies have been reviewed Theories of language, communication, cross-cultural communication, definition of speech acts, classifications of speech acts, politeness theory including positive and negative politeness strategies, etc., have been sufficiently deal with in the chapter Briefly, what have been mentioned in this chapter is the theoretical background for discussing and finding in the chapter

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY The previous chapter has established the framework of the theoretical background from which the speech act theory, politeness principles and other issues related to the matter of this thesis have been introduced This chapter focuses on introducing the methodology of the thesis; in other words, the methods of collecting data for analysis This chapter also aims at exploring the following issues respectively: research questions; research participants; research procedure; data collection instruments and data analysis method

2 What are the implications for using greetings to Vietnamese learners of English?

3.1.2 Research setting

The research is conducted with references from the diverse reliable sources such as books, MA thesis in which related to the ways of greeting in English and Vietnamese

Besides that, the author also used the survey which will help the author find out the similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese categories As a whole, participants in this study are 100 50 copies were sent by the author’s American friend She helped to deliver them to her