A cross - cultural study on the economicality and redundancy in requesting in English and Vietnamese

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES - - HOÀNG THỊ MỴ A CROSS – CULTURAL STUDY ON THE ECONOMICALITY AND REDUNDANCY IN REQUESTING IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE Nghiên cứu giao văn hóa tính kiệm ngôn rườm ngôn hành vi yêu cầu người Anh người Việt M.A Minor Thesis Field: Linguistics Code: 602215 HANOI – 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES - - HOÀNG THỊ MỴ ON THE ECONOMICALITY AND REDUNDANCY IN REQUESTING IN ENGLISH A A CROSS – CULTURAL STUDY ND VIETNAMESE Nghiên cứu giao văn hóa tính kiệm ngơn rườm ngơn hành vi yêu cầu người Anh người Việt M.A Minor Thesis Field: Linguistics Code: 602215 By: Hoang Thi My – K16C Supervisor: Do Thi Mai Thanh, M.A HANOI - 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of abbreviations iv List of tables v PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale and the statement of the problem Aims of the study 3 Significance of the study Scope of the study Method of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Speech acts and classification of speech acts 1.2 Requesting as a speech act 1.3 Redundancy and classification of redundancy 1.3.1 Redundancy 1.3.2 Classification of redundancy 10 1.3.2.1 Modality redundancy 10 1.3.2.2 Habitual redundancy 11 1.3.2.3 Insufficient redundancy 11 1.4 Economicality and classification of economicality 11 1.4.1 Economicality 11 1.4.2 Classification of economicality 11 1.4.2.1 Modality economicality 11 1.4.2.2 Habitual economicaltiy 12 1.4.2.3 Insufficient economicality 12 1.5 Lexico modal markers 12 1.6 Previous studies on lexico modal markers, addresser’s/addressee’s gender and relative age when making requests 15 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 18 2.1 Research design 18 2.2 Participants 18 2.3 Data collection instrument 19 2.4 Data collection procedures 20 2.5 Data analysis methods and procedures 20 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 22 3.1 The popularity of economicality and redundancy in requesting 22 3.2 The link between the addresser’s/ addressee’s gender and relative age and the use of lexico modal makers seen as redundancy – creating factors 24 3.2.1 The use of lexico modal markers for communicative partner of same sex and younger 25 3.2.2 The use of lexico modal markers for communicative partner of same sex and older 29 3.2.3 The use of lexico modal markers for communicative partner of opposite sex and younger 33 3.2.4 The use of lexico modal markers for communicative partner of opposite sex and older .36 PART C: CONCLUSION 40 Conclusions 40 Pedagogical implications 41 Suggestions for further study 42 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX I