Verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents in english and vietnamese cultures

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT ************ LÊ HÀ VÂN VERBAL EXPRESSIONS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING PRESENTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE CULTURES BIỂU THỨC BẰNG LỜI KHI TRAO VÀ NHẬN QUÀ TRONG VĂN HOÁ ANH VÀ VIỆT MA MINOR THESIS FIELD CODE : ENGLISH : LINGUISTICS 60 22 15 HA NOI – 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT ************ LÊ HÀ VÂN VERBAL EXPRESSIONS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING PRESENTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE CULTURES BIỂU THỨC BẰNG LỜI KHI TRAO VÀ NHẬN QUÀ TRONG VĂN HOÁ ANH VÀ VIỆT MA MINOR THESIS FIELD CODE SUPERVISOR : : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS : 602215 ASSOC PROF DR NGUYỄN VĂN ĐỘ HA NOI – 2009 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS * Acknowledgements * Abstract * Table of contents * Abbreviations * List of Tables and Graphs INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Methods of the study DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 The relationship between language & culture 1.2 Speech Acts 1.3 Verbal Expressions in giving and receiving presents 1.4 Linguistic Politeness CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 Hypotheses 2.2 Data collection 2.2.1 The Questionnaires 2.2.2 The Respondents 2.3 Data analysis CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 3.1 Findings in Vietnamese 3.2 Findings in English 3.3 Similarities and Differences 3.4 Tentative explanations in terms of linguistic politeness CONCLUSION REFERENCES APPENDICES v ABBREVIATIONS S : Speaker H : Hearer G : Giver R : Recipient FTA : Fact Threatening Act FT : Face Threat No : Number % : Percent vi LIST OF TABLES AND GRAPHS Table 1: Age group correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents Table 2: Gender correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents Table 3: Living area correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents Table 4: Occupation correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents Table 5: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of birthday Table 6: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of wedding Table 7: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of house warming Table 8: Strategies in receiving presents Table 9: Rank of importance of social factors Table 10: Rank of importance of social factors INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale It can not be denied that English has been used as an international language all over the world; it is the most widely spoken language which is used in many fields such as economics, trade, tourism, diplomacy, politics, and press In Vietnam, as a result of the Open-door policy, the number of people learning English for various purposes is on the rise They study English to communicate with people from other countries where English is used as a native, a second or just a foreign language, to read English materials, or simply to pass the national secondary school exams Although English has been taught in Vietnam for many years, not until recently has the focus of improving linguistic competence for learners been on syntax, on lexical and phonological components of the language Many people still believe that being good at English means being good at linguistic competence Thus, cultural factors are paid little attention to In our modern world, however, globalization is expanding; the need for interacting and communicating across nations is indispensable Successful communication requires not only purely linguistic competence but also the knowledge of social norms, social values and relations between individuals known as communicative competence Communicative competence presupposes ability to use the language correctly and appropriately This pragmatic competence is as crucial as linguistic competence The lack of it may lead to rudeness, misinterpretation, cultural shocks, and even communication breakdown It is clear that people who lack an awareness of socio-cultural conventions in the target language may face unwanted communication breakdown in cross-cultural interaction For example, if a Vietnamese speaker gave a native speaker of English a gift and he/she only received the response from the receiver as: “Thank you” or “Thank you so much”, the Vietnamese speaker may feel a little bit disappointed because he/she expects a more emotional and warmer response than just saying “Thank you” Obviously, cultural differences here made the communication process unsuccessful Hence, the knowledge about cross-cultural communication is really essential On this basis, this study is done to contribute an insight into a really fine social manner: Giving and receiving presents It helps Vietnamese learners of English to find out the best English verbal expressions which are often used when giving and receiving presents in specific situations and vice versa As the result, similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents will be identified With this study, the researcher desires to seek a number of suitable and interesting verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents in English and Vietnamese in some specific circumstances for avoiding, or at least, reducing the threat of communication breakdown in giving and receiving presents particularly in intercultural communication 1.2 Aims of the study This study aims to: - Find out typical models of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions used when giving and receiving presents in specific situations - Identify the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents - Make tentative explanations for these similarities and differences in terms of linguistic politeness 1.3 Scope of the study As mentioned above, the study mainly focuses on English and Vietnamese verbal expressions used when giving and receiving presents on three occasions: birthday, wedding, and house-warming party Due to its small scale, only 25 Vietnamese and 25 English native speakers were involved in this study These respondents were asked to complete the questionnaires with information about their verbal expressions used in the case of giving and receiving presents in certain situations Conclusions are based on the analysis of the data collected from the questionnaires Data obtained from questionnaires about what English native speakers and Vietnamese people might say in certain situations may not be always the same as what they actually say in the real life Similarities and differences between the English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents are also discussed In this study, giving and receiving presents simply are understood as a nice symbol of cultural behaviors in normal life expressing deep emotion, concern, gratitude and attention to the Recipient, bringing joy to both the giver and receiver, promoting goodwill, and developing a closer relationship As the result, some tentative explanations for these similarities and differences in terms of linguistic politeness will be given in this study 1.4 Methods of the study In order to carry out this study with the aim of a cross-cultural research, the main method used is the quantitative one All the comments, evaluation and conclusions in this thesis are mainly based on: Survey questionnaires; Statistics, description and the analysis of the collected data DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 The relationship between language and culture Up to now, there has been much research with tremendous attempts to describe complicated and diversified relationships between language and culture In spite of opinion divergences, it is said that culture embraces language and language reflects the image of culture According to Sapir (1921), “language is a purely human and non instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desire by means of voluntarily produced symbols.” Language is a part of culture and a part of human behavior Anna Wierzbicka (1992, p.371) regards “Language as a mirror of culture and national character” People can understand the cultural characteristics of the nation through the language they use Richard et all, (1992, p.94) defines: “Culture is the total set of beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors, social habits of the members of a particular society” This definition not only helps us to understand what the culture is, but also lists the components of culture Obviously, culture is sort of knowledge, which everyone must possess to function within a society Beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors and social habits are not innate or born naturally, but they are learnt through the socialization process in which you grow up a full member of a society That is the reason why culture does not belong to any single person but to all people It is often held that the function of language is to express thought and to communicate information Language also fulfills many other tasks such as greeting people, conducting religious service, etc Krech (1962) explained the major functions of language from the three following aspects: 1) 2) Language is the primary vehicle of communication; Language reflects both the personality of the individual and the culture of his history In turn, it helps shape both personality and culture; 3) Language makes possible the growth and transmission of culture, the continuity of societies, and the effective functioning and control of social group For many people, language is not just the medium of culture but also is a part of culture It is quite common for immigrants to a new country to retain their old customs and to speak their first language amid fellow immigrants, even if all presents are comfortable in their new language This occurs because the immigrants are eager to preserve their own heritage, which includes not only customs and traditions but also language This is also seen in many Jewish communities, especially in older members: Yiddish is commonly spoken because it is seen as a part of Jewish culture It is obvious that language plays a paramount role in developing, elaborating and transmitting culture and language, enabling us to store meanings and experience to facilitate communication Language and culture are so closely related that the correct understanding of the relationship between the two is vital in cross-cultural communication Children learning their native language are learning their own culture; learning a second language also involves learning a second culture to varying degrees On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture It reflects culture Cultural differences are the most serious areas causing misunderstanding, unpleasantness and even conflict in cross-cultural communication 1.2 Speech Acts The theory of speech acts has long been studied It was first formulated by the philosopher John Austin in a series of lectures which are now collected into a short book called How to Things with Words (Austin, 1962) These ideas were then further developed by other scholars such as Searle (1969, 1975), Labov and Fanshel (1977), Bach and Harnish (1979), Edmondson (1981), Recanati (1987), Allan (1994) and so on Making a statement may be the paradigmatic use of language, but there are all sorts of other things we can with words We can make requests, ask questions, give orders, make promises, give thanks, offer apologies, and so on Moreover, almost any speech act is really the performance of several acts at once, distinguished by different aspects of the speaker's intention: there is the act of saying something, what one does in saying it, such as requesting 45 respectively) The data from English native speakers and Vietnamese people support Hypothesis The fourth hypothesis is that both English native speakers and Vietnamese speakers prefer the strategy “thanking” as receiving presents It can be easily seen from the table 8: Strategies in receiving presents that the strategy “thanking” is used at the highest rate by both Vietnamese and English informants (67.9% and 57.4% respectively) in comparison with other strategies in receiving presents The findings which have been discussed support Hypothesis In summary, the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents is summed up as follows: * Similarities: The strategy “wishes” is the most frequently used by both English and Vietnamese informants when giving presents while the strategy “token refusal” stands the lowest place in order in both groups of informants - Both English and Vietnamese informants prefer to employ “thanking” and “expressing the R‟s feeling” when they receive presents from others although the number of informants in both groups using the strategy “thanking” is much higher than “expressing the R‟s feeling” (we can clearly see it from the table 8: Strategies in receiving presents) * Differences: - In general, the Anglophone informants favor short and simple utterances whereas the Vietnamese ones like longer and complex sentences This reflects their way of thinking According to Kaplan (1972), the mannerism of the English-speaking peoples (e.g the English, the American) tend to be straightforward and direct while the oriental peoples (e.g the Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese) are more likely to adopt roundabout and indirect expressions 46 The strategy “direct offer” is employed by English informants more often than Vietnamese ones when giving presents (23.22% of the Anglophone using “direct offer” compared to 12.33% of Vietnamese informants) This reveals that the English native speakers, characterized by Anglo-Saxon linearity, are more inclined to speak their minds directly - Age and social status are the most important factors in selecting Vietnamese verbal expressions while the English regard social status and family relation as the most important factor that influences their verbal expressions of giving and receiving presents 3.4 Tentative explanations in terms of linguistic politeness Offering gifts is one of the positive politeness strategies It brings benefit to the R Hence, in responding to the offers we realize that the R welcomes it and avoid FTA of the G even though he/she does not want to receive the gift or does not like that gift However, refusing presents is not mentioned in this research Brown and Levinson (1987) state that when giving a present, the S assumes that the H will like or likes it Thus, the G sometimes pays his/her special attention to the R in the utterances of gift giving The G makes the positive face want of the R be satisfied The S notices and understands the H‟s taste, hobby, need…and to some extent, the S has or appears to have the same taste as the H The H feels that the S is at the same side with his, and therefore, the gift offering of the S is more likely acceptable Here are some examples from the data of survey questionnaire: - Happy birthday Yes, I got the thing you wanted - I know how much you love candles, so I got one for your new home - Congratulations I thought you like this - Tớ tin cậu thích q sinh nhật tặng cậu (I‟m sure you‟ll really like my birthday gift) 47 - Mình nghĩ đèn hợp với phòng ngủ bạn (I think this lamp will be suitable with your bedroom) As we know, receiving is not an FTA, the informants have tactfully chosen different strategies Both groups resorted to all the five strategies, but each group has employed them differently It can be seen from the findings, a small number of informants in both groups the strategy “token refusal” Although the R, in his/her mind, really wants to get the present, he/she still gives a refusal at first, but it is only a token refusal It is called “từ chối chiếu lệ/lấy lệ” in Vietnamese Some informants want to show their politeness by employing this strategy so that the G not misunderstand about them and reveal a little of their formality 48 CONCLUSION On the theoretical background of speech act theory, the concept of politeness as well as the problem of face in social interactions in the light of cross-cultural communication, the study has made an investigation into Vietnamese and English native speakers' choice of politeness strategies in giving and receiving presents The investigation shows that the two groups of informants have similarities and differences in choosing utterances when giving and receiving presents The differences result from the specific features of the two languages and cultures in general, and politeness norms and communication styles in particular The similarities show that between the two cultures there exist some common things which lay initial foundation for cross-cultural communication as well as for cultural exchange and integration The analysis of data collected from the questionnaires helps find out the typical models of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents on three specific occasions: birthday, wedding, and house warming In addition, the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents are also identified The ways the Vietnamese and the Anglophone say when they give someone presents or receive presents not have much in common The cross-cultural differences might obviously result in the interference knowledge of the other culture This cross-cultural study is conducted with a view to point out the differences between Vietnamese and Anglophone cultures and the influences of culture on the use of language, particularly on the utterances in giving and receiving presents As discussed so far, this study is limited to English and Vietnamese verbal expressions used when giving and receiving presents on three occasions: birthday, wedding, and housewarming party This speech act should be investigated more, especially in non-verbal aspect like body language, gestures or postures … when giving and receiving presents Despite my best efforts, some shortcomings are surely inevitable due to the limit of time and knowledge Thus, any further comments and suggestions are highly appreciated 49 REFERENCES Vietnamese References: Nguyễn Văn Độ (2004), Tìm Hiểu Mối Liên Hệ Ngơn Ngữ - Văn Hoá Nguyễn Quang (2001), Một số vấn đề giao tiếp giao tiếp giao văn hoá, Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội Nguyễn Quang (2003), Giao tiếp nội văn hoá giao văn hoá, Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội English References: Austin, J.L (1962), How to things with words, Oxford University Press Blommaert, J and Verschueren, J (1991), The Pragmatics of Intercultural and International Communication, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia Blum – Kulka, S (1978), Indirectness and Politeness in Requests: Same or Different?, Journal of Pragmatics II, North Holland Blum – Kulka, S (1989), Investigating Cross - cultural Pragmatics: An Introductory Overview, In S Blum – Kulka, J House, & G Kasper (Eds.), Cross – cultural Pragmatics: Requests and Apologies, 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America, Time Book International 44 Wierzbicka, A (1985), Different Culture, Different Language, Different Speech Acts, Journal of Pragmatics 45 Wierzbicka, A (1991), Cross-cultural Pragmatics: The Semantics of Human Interaction, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin, New York 46 Press Wierzbicka, A (1992), Semantics, Culture and Cognition, Oxford University 47 www.dictionary.com 48 www.findarticles.com 49 http://logos.uoregon.edu/explore/socioling/politeness.html 50 www.linguaphone.co.uk 51 www.surprise.com 52 www.zurinstitute.com/gifsintherapy I APPENDICES BẢN ĐIỀU TRA (For Vietnamese informants) Câu hỏi khảo sát phục vụ cho đề tài nghiên cứu “Biểu thức lời trao nhận quà văn hoá Anh Việt.” Xin quý vị bớt chút thời gian trả lời giúp câu hỏi Chúng cam đoan khơng nêu danh tính q vị trường hợp Xin chân thành cảm ơn quý vị! I Xin quý vị cho biết cách điền vào chỗ trống thông tin sau: Tỉnh/ Thành phố Tuổi Nghề nghiệp Nơi sống lâu Giới tính Những ngoại ngữ mà quý vị biết 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 II Tình Tình 1: Q vị nói quý vị tặng quà cho đối tượng sau sinh nhật? Bạn thân quý vị Anh (chị) em gia đình? Cấp Cấp II Tình 2: Quý vị nói q vị tặng q cho đối tượng sau cưới hỏi? Bạn thân quý vị Anh (chị) em gia đình? Cấp Cấp Tình 3: Q vị nói q vị tặng quà cho đối tượng sau lễ mừng tân gia? Bạn thân quý vị Anh (chị) em gia đình? Cấp Cấp Tình 4: Quý vị nói q vị nhận q từ đối tượng sau sinh nhật? Bạn thân quý vị Anh (chị) em gia đình? Cấp Cấp III Tình 5: Q vị nói quý vị nhận quà từ đối tượng sau nhân ngày cưới? Bạn thân quý vị Anh (chị) em gia đình? Cấp Cấp Tình 6: Quý vị nói q vị nhận q từ đối tượng sau lễ mừng tân gia? Bạn thân quý vị Anh (chị) em gia đình? Cấp Cấp III Nhân tố sau ảnh hưởng tới cách nói quý vị nhận quà tặng (Xin Quý vị đánh số theo thứ tự mức độ quan trọng) Vị xã hội Tuổi tác Quan hệ gia đình Giới tính Các nhân tố khác (Xin vui lịng ghi rõ nhân tố khác theo ý kiến riêng Quý vị) XIN CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN SỰ GIÚP ĐỠ CỦA QUÝ VỊ! IV SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For English informants) This survey questionnaire is specially designed for my research into “Verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents in English and Vietnamese cultures” Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated Any information is confidentially treated in such a way that informants cannot be identified Thank you very much for your co-operation II Please fill in these following information: Nationality Age Gender Occupation Area where you spend most of your time: Urban Acquisition of language(s) other than your mother tongue Please specify what languages(s) and your level Excellent Good Fair Poor 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 III Situations: Situation1: What would you say when you give a present/gift to the following person on the occasion of his/ her birthday? She/ he is your close friend? She/ he is your brother/ sister? She/ he is your employer? She/ he is your employee? V Situation 2: What would you say when you give a gift/present to the following person on the occasion of his/her wedding? She/ he is your close friend? She/ he is your brother/ sister? She/ he is your employer? She/ he is your employee? Situation 3: What would you say when you give a gift/present to the following person on the occasion of his/her house- warming? She/ he is your close friend? She/ he is your brother/ sister? She/ he is your employer? She/ he is your employee? Situation 4: What would you say when you receive a gift/present from the following person on the occasion of your birthday? She/ he is your close friend? She/ he is your brother/ sister? She/ he is your employer? She/he is your employee? VI Situation 5: What would you say when you receive a gift/present from the following person on the occasion of your wedding? She/ he is your close friend? She/ he is your brother/ sister? She/ he is your employer? She/he is your employee? Situation 6: What would you say when you receive a gift/present from the following person on the occasion of your house- warming? She/ he is your close friend? She/ he is your brother/ sister? She/ he is your employer? She/he is your employee? III Which factor(s) influence(s) your verbal expressions when you receive a gift/ present? (Please number in order of importance) Social status Age Family relation Gender Others (Please give the other factors, if any) THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KINDNESS! ... the verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents in English and Vietnamese In fact, what to say when giving a present and how to respond when receiving a present are culture-specific and. .. expressions used when giving and receiving presents in specific situations - Identify the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents - Make... life Similarities and differences between the English and Vietnamese verbal expressions when giving and receiving presents are also discussed In this study, giving and receiving presents simply