VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ----* **---- NGUYỄN THÙY DƢƠNG A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE RESIGNATION LETTERS IN TERMS OF DISCOURSE STRUCTURE PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CẤU TRÚC DIỄN NGÔN CỦA ĐƠN THƢ TỪ CHỨC TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Linguistics Code : 60220201 Hanoi ,2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ----* **---- NGUYỄN THÙY DƢƠNG A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE RESIGNATION LETTERS IN TERMS OF DISCOURSE STRUCTURE PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CẤU TRÚC DIỄN NGÔN CỦA ĐƠN THƢ TỪ CHỨC TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Linguistics Code : 60220201 Supervisor : Dr. Đỗ Thị Thanh Hà Hanoi ,2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF STUDY PROJECT REPORT I certify my authority of the Study Project Report submitted entitled “A contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese resignation letters in terms of discourse structure” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Hanoi - 2014 Nguyen Thuy Duong i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Do Thi Thanh Ha, my supervisor, for her valuable guidance, her encouraging support while working on the thesis.
I am sincerely grateful to the Department of Postgraduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies – VNU for giving me the opportunity to complete my thesis. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT A resignation letter is one kind of business letters, which holds an important role in helping the employee to maintain a positive relationship with his/ her old boss, and paves the way for him or her to move on. However, this kind of letters does not receive much attention from the researchers in English and Vietnamese. Therefore, so as to help people have better understanding of resignation letters and see the similarities and differences in writing style of English and Vietnamese resignation letters, this thesis studies discourse structures of 20 resignation letters (10 in English and 10 in Vietnamese); then compares and contrasts them.
The major methods used in this thesis are „move analysis‟ approach, comparison and contrast methods. The result of the study shows that the structures of English and Vietnamese resignation letters are basically similar. They only have some differences in the length of the letters and the kinds of moves. From the result of the analysis, the characteristics of resignation letters both in English and Vietnamese can be clarified.
Then, the knowledge of discourse structure of English and Vietnamese resignation letter can be applied in writing an effective and persuasive letter of resignation. TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Certificate of Originality of Study Project Report………………………………………. iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………. iv List of Tables and Diagrams.…………………………………………………………… viii Part A: Introduction…………………………………………………………………… 1 1.
Aims of Study. Scope of the Study. Methodology of the Study…………………………………………. Organization of the Thesis.
3 Chapter 1 – Literature Review and Theoretical Background………………… 3 1. General Description of Discourse & Discourse Analysis………. Definition of Discourse……………………………………………………………. Discourse and Text………………………………………………………………… 4 2.
Genre Analysis and Approach to Genre……………………………………………. Approach to Genre: Move Analysis………………………………………………. General Description of Resignation Letters. Definition of Resignation Letters.
Characteristics of Resignation Letters……………………………………………. Format of English Resignation Letters. 9 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Format of Vietnamese Resignation Letters……………………………………….
Description of Samples & Method of Data Collection………………………………. Methods of Data Analysis……………………………………………………………. 13 Chapter 3: Analysis of Discourse Structure in English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters……………………………………………………………………………………. Discourse Structure Analysis of English Resignation Letters………………………… 15 1.
The Surface Features of English Resignation Letters………………………………. Length of Discourse…………………………………. The „Move Analysis‟ of English Resignation Letters………………………………. The Analytical Framework……………………………………………………….
General Analysis of Move Types in English Resignation Letters………………… 18 1. Detail Analysis of Move Types in English Resignation Letters…………………. Move 3 – Stating Resignation & Informing the Last Day of Work……………. Move 4 – Giving the Reason of Resignation Positively………………………… 22 1.
Move 5 – Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition……………. Move 6 – Requesting Interest from the Old Company…………………………. Move 7 – Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success………………………………. Discourse Structure Analysis of Vietnamese Resignation Letters…………………….
The Surface Features of Vietnamese Resignation Letters…………………………. Length of Discourse…………………………………. The „Move Analysis‟ of Vietnamese Resignation Letters…………………………. 28 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The Analytical Framework………………………………………………………. General Analysis of Move Types in Vietnamese Resignation Letters……………. Detail Analysis of Move Types in Vietnamese Resignation Letters……………… 32 2. Move 3‟ – Introducing Oneself………………………………………………….
Move 4‟ – Stating Resignation & Informing the Last Working Date…………… 34 2. Move 5‟ – Stating the Reason of Resignation …………. Move 6‟ – Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition……………. Move 7‟ – Committing Onself to Fulfill One‟s Duty…………………………… 36 2.
Move 8‟ – Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success……………………………. Move 9‟ – Requesting Interest from the Old Company…………………………. 38 Chapter 4: Comparing and Contrasting discourse structure of English and Vietnamese resignation letters…………………………………………………………. The Surface Features of English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters……………….
Length of Discourse…………………………………. Paragraph, Sentence, Vocabulary……. The „Move Analysis‟ of English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters………………. The Analytical Framework………………………………………………………….
General Analysis of Move Types in English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters… 43 2. Detail Analysis of Move Types in English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters…. Stating Resignation and Informing the Last Day of Work………………………. Giving the Reason of Resignation………………………………………………… 44 2.
Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition…………………………. Requesting Interest from the Old Company………………………………………. Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success……………………………………… 45 2. 45 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Part C: Conclusion ……………………………….
Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study……………………………………… 48 References……………………………………………………………………………… 50 Appendix I. Move Analysis of English Resignation Letters. Move Analysis of Vietnamese Resignation Letters.………………… VI vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND DIAGRAMS TABLE: Table 1: Seven analytical steps Table 2: The number of words in the corpus of English resignation letters Table 3: The frequency of move types in the corpus of English resignation letters Table 4: The order of moves in English resignation letters Table 5: The list of moves and steps in English resignation letters Table 6: The number of words in the corpus of Vietnamese resignation letters Table 7: The frequency of move types in the corpus of Vietnamese resignation letters Table 8: The order of moves in Vietnamese resignation letters Table 9: The list of moves and steps in Vietnamese resignation letters Table 10: The analytical frameworks of English and Vietnamese resignation letters DIAGRAM: Diagram 1: The length of English and Vietnamese resignation letters viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A – INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale: A Business Letter, the most popular and the most widely written type of letter, is used to serve as a means of communication written for various commercial purposes.
These purposes can be a business deal, complaint, warning, notice, invitation, declaration, information, apology and various other corporate matters. There are many types of business letters such as Application Letter, Acceptance Letter, Demand Letter, Letter of Complaint, Resignation Letter, Sales Letters, etc. Among these types of letters, the Letter of Resignation may receive the least notice because people often think that when they leave their jobs they have nothing to do with their old company and old employer. However, a good resignation letter can help the employee maintain a positive relationship with his/ her old boss, and pave the way for him or her to move on.
In addition, the employee might need a reference from the previous employer. These show that knowing how to write a good resignation letter is very important. Nevertheless, it seems that no researchers concern this kind of letter in English and Vietnamese. Hence, in order to help people have better understanding of resignation letters and see the similarities and differences in writing style of English and Vietnamese resignation letters, this study focuses on comparing and contrasting discourse structure of English and Vietnamese resignation letters.
Aims of the Study: The aims of the study are: To review the background knowledge of discourse analysis and resignation letters. To point out the similarities and differences between discourse structures of English and Vietnamese resignation letters. To give some suggestions for writing resignation letters in English and Vietnamese. Scope of the Study: Conducting this study, I do not have the ambition to cover everything about discourse analysis of English and Vietnamese resignation letters.
I only concentrate on analyzing English and Vietnamese resignation letters in terms of discourse structures. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Research Question: What are the similarities and differences between discourse structures of English and Vietnamese resignation letters? 5. Methodology of the Study: „Move analysis‟ approach is applied in this research to analyze the discourse structure of resignation letters in English and Vietnamese.
Besides, in order to find out the similarities and differences between discourse structure of English and Vietnamese resignation letters, the author uses comparison and contrast method. Organization of the Thesis: the study is divided into five main parts as follows: Part A – Introduction This part consists of rationale for choosing the topic, aims and scope of the study, research question, research methodology, and organization of the study. Part B – Development Chapter 1 – Literature Review and Theoretical Background This chapter includes general description of discourse analysis, discourse structure, „Move analysis‟, and general information about English and Vietnamese resignation letters. Chapter 2 – Methodology This chapter describes the participants and methods which are applied to collect and analyze the data.
Chapter 3 – Analysis of Discourse Structure in English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters In this chapter, the author analyzes discourse structures in English and Vietnamese resignation letters in detail. Chapter 4 – Comparing and Contrasting Discourse Structure of English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters The similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese resignation letters in terms of discourse structures are pointed out in this chapter. Part C – Conclusion In this part, the author gives some recommendations for writing a good resignation letters, points out some limitations of the study, and gives suggestions for further study. References Appendixes 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B – DEVELOPMENT: Chapter 1 – Literature Review and Theoretical Background 1.
Literature Review Discourse analysis is usually known as the study of the relationship between language and the contexts in which it is utilized. Harris (1952), Austin (1962), Hymes (1964), Searle (1969), Grice (1975), Halliday and Hasan (1976), Widdowson (1979), Brown and Yule (1983) are linguists who greatly contribute to the overall picture of discourse analysis because they have provided a fundamental theory of discourse analysis. In Vietnam, there are many linguists having joined in the trend of researching on discourse analysis as well. Among these linguists, Tran Ngoc Them is regarded as the first one studying this new field.
In terms of genre analysis, there are a number of researches on academic genres such as research article (Swales,1990), sales promotion letters, job applications (Bhatia, 1993), sociology articles (Brett,1994), dissertations (Hyland, 2003), or “Genre Analysis of Personal statements: analysis of Moves in Application Essays to Medical and Dental schools”, by Ding (2007), “Self-composed: Rhetoric in Psychology Personal Statements” by Brown (2004), and so on. With regards to resignation letter, up to now, there has been no research. Therefore, it is necessary to have a research in terms of discourse structure of resignation letters in English and Vietnamese. Hopefully, this study can bring some contributions to the theory and implications of teaching and learning writing skill, especially writing English and Vietnamese resignation letters.
General Description of Discourse and Discourse Analysis: 2.