HONG ĐUC UNIVERSITY FACUATY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AN INVESTIGATION ON COMPARING ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE GREETING LANGUAGES Supervisor : M. Trinh Thi Thu Ha Student : Phan Thuy Trang Class : K20B - FFL - HDU Academic course: 2017 - 2021 THANH HÓA , 2021 i ACKNOWLEDGE At the first time I came to Hong Duc University, I just a normal student with limited knowledge. But throughout years , with the beloved teachers and friends, I can improve my learning skills. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs Trinh Thị Thu Hà, who gave me many advices, support and willingness to motivate and help me to complete this thesis.
Besides, I also want to express my sincere thanks to Hong Duc University for giving us the best environment, facilities and especially the professional teachers in Foreign Languages Departments. Finally, I am grateful to my friend who help me to find the document and gives many beneficial advices. And the last thanks is for my family, whose a part of my heart. They always stood behind and encourage me to make me stronger.
ii 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. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I : INTRODUCTION .Aims of the study and the scope of the study:.
Aims of the study:. The scope of the study: .Methods of the study:. Design of the study:. 2 PART II: DEVELOPMENT.
3 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Culture and language:. The link between language and culture:. The definition of communication:.
The classification of communication:. The definitions of speech acts:. The classification of speech acts:. General introduction of greeting:.
The definition of greeting:. The function of greeting: .Types of greeting:. The classification of greeting: .Greeting In English: .Greeting in Vietnamese:. The factors affect greeting speech acts.
20 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY& PROCEDURE. Data collection instrument:. The survey questionnaires. Data analysis method.
24 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 Result of data analysis :. Results of the survey questionnaires:. The categories of greeting in English and Vietnamese :. Based on the structural and functional dimensions:.
Based on the strategic dimensions. Greeting on the run :. The long greetings :. The intimate greeting.
The business greeting:. Similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese greeting categories39 3. The differences about the structural and functional dimensions of greeting categories. The differences about the strategic dimensions of greeting categories.
43 PART III: CONCLUSION:. Limitation of the research:. Suggestion for further studies:. Implications for teaching and learning English in Vietnam:.
53 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about greeting teacher Table 2 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about using interrogative in greetings Table 3 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about using the time of the years or occasion in greetings Table 4 Number of English and Vietnamese people using greeting categories ( direct and indirect greetings ) Table 5 Some examples indirect greeting in English and Vietnamese Table 6 Some examples of strategic greetings in English and Vietnamese vi LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1 Opinions‟ people about greeting relative in the daily life Chart 2 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about greeting friend Chart 3 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about greeting someone on business Chart 4 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about greeting someone you do not know before Chart 5 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about greeting in a group comprising of various social statuses Chart 6 English and Vietnamese‟s opinion about using exclamation in greetings vii PART I : INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale 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 is almost every conversation is greeting which generally plays an important role in communication and functions as a start of a conversation or identify the appearance of speakers or to express the respect to the listener. In addition, greeting helps to establish and maintain a relationship and facilitates the conversation. As in Vietnam, greeting 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 Vietnamese and English greetings which partly helps Vietnamese learners of English have more knowledge and skills in greetings, achieve more success in communicating in English.
Aims of the study and the scope of the study 2. Aims of the study The research objective of the investigation is to research systematically greetings when meeting in English. Descriptions focus on linguistic and cultural features of greetings , and then compared with the equivalent greetings in Vietnamese, outlined the similarities and differences in terms of linguistic, pragmatic and intercultural communication area. The research also sets the goal to help FFL students understanding the language of greetings, thus avoiding mistakes in the way of greeting in English.
To gain the objectives of the research, the author find the answer of the following questions: What is the different in English and Vietnamese in terms of linguistic, pragmatic and intercultural communication areas? 2. The scope of the study This study focus on the collection, systematization, and analysis of linguistic characteristics - culture and socio-cultural characteristics of greetings, thus comparing and generalizing similarities and differences of greetings in English and Vietnamese languages. Methods of the study To finish this study, the researcher carry out some following methods: - Secondary research - Quantitative and qualitative research method through questionnaire 4. Design of the study: A table of contents with pages numbers in which they are presented with help readers have a clear overview of the research proposal.
It also helps readers find the part they need more easily and quickly. The study contains of three parts: Part I : The introduction Part II :The development - The first chapter is Literature Review which provides readers the overview of culture and language, the communication, speech acts and the greeting in English and Vietnamese. - The second chapter : Methodology and Procedure. - The third chapter : Results and Discussion.
- The fourth chapter: Suggestions Part III. The conclusion which summarized all the presented information 2 PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Culture and language 1. Culture According to Moore (1985 : 4), Culture is “The whole of the knowledge, ideas and habits of society that are transmitted from one generation to the next”.
It is the complex of values, ideas, attitudes, and other meaningful symbols created by people to shape human behavior as they are passed on to succeeding generations. In the same idea with Moore, Fay said that Culture “is a complex set of shared beliefs, values, and concepts which enables a group to make sense of its life and which provides it with directions for how to live” (Holliday, A et al. This set might be called a basic belief system, such a belief system can include items which are fully explicit and others which are not, and can include matters of feeling and deportment as well as discursive claims about the world. In relation to language, Culture is emphasized as “the total set of beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors, social habits… of the member of a particular society” (in Richards et al.
Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things. In Vietnam, there are some opinions about culture. In Nguyen Quang‟s opinion (1998:3), culture is “a share background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, custom, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Culture in this text does not refer to art, music, literature, food, clothing styles, and so on.
It refers to the informal and often hidden patterns of human interactions, expressions, and viewpoints that people in one culture share. The hidden nature of culture has been compared to an iceberg, most of which is hidden underwater! Like the iceberg most of the influence of culture on an individual cannot be seen. The part of culture that is exposed is not always that which creates cross- cultural difficulties; the hidden aspects of culture have significant effects on behavior and on interactions with others. Language Language is described as “the human faculty that enables us to exchange meaningful messages without fellow man being by means of discourse and texts, which are structured according to the rules and convention of the particular language that we share with them” by Jackson and Stockwell (1996:2).
Another linguist, Widdowson (1996: 4) states that language is so uniquely human, and it distinguishes us so clearly from other animals. He also claims that what is particularly striking about language is the way it is fashioned as systems of signs to meet the elaborate cultural and communal needs of human societies. "A language is distinctively human", in Delahunty and Garvey‟s words (1994: 15). Language is not only our main link with the outside world, it is also a marker that distinguishes us from the other animal creatures we share the world with.
According to Crystal (1992: 212), language is "the systematic, conventional use of sounds, or written symbols human society for communication and self-expression.