TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀNG HẢI VIỆT NAM

KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ

THUYẾT MINH

ĐỀ TÀI NCKH CẤP TRƯỜNG

ĐỀ TÀI

COMPILING TEACHING SUPPLEMENTARY

MATERIALS FOR CROSS – CULTURAL

COMMUNICATION COURSE

FOR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

AT VIETNAM MARITIME UNIVERSITY

(Xây dựng tài liệu giảng dạy bổ trợ môn Giao tiếp giao văn

hóa cho sinh viên chuyên ngữ trường Đại học Hàng Hải Việt

Nam)

Chủ nhiệm đề tài: Ths. Nguyễn Thị Thúy Thu

Hải Phòng, tháng 5/2016

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1

1. Rationale .................................................................................................. 1

2. Aims of the study .................................................................................... 1

3. Significance of the study ......................................................................... 1

4. Methodology of the study ........................................................................ 2

5. Scope of the study ................................................................................... 3

6. Design of the study .................................................................................. 3

DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................. 4

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING CROSS – CULTURAL

COMMUNICATION ........................................................................................ 4

1.1. Definition of culture ............................................................................... 4

1.1.1. Language .......................................................................................... 4

1.1.2. Culture .............................................................................................. 4

1.1.3. The components of culture ............................................................... 6

1.2. Definition of Communication ................................................................. 7

1.3. Communication competence (CC) ......................................................... 8

1.4. The definition of cross-cultural communication .................................... 9

1.5. Culture shock and how to avoid culture shock? ................................... 10

1.5.1. Culture schock? Why culture shock? ............................................. 10

1.5.2. Main factors creating culture shock ............................................... 12

1.5.3. How culture - shock: From honey moon to Culture shock to

integration ................................................................................................. 12

1.5.4. How to cope with culture shock? ................................................... 14

1.6. Practice.................................................................................................. 15

CHAPTER 2: CULTURE IMPACTS ON NON – VERBAL

COMMUNICATION ...................................................................................... 20

2.1. Understanding non-verbal communication .......................................... 20

2.2. The importance of nonverbal communication ...................................... 21

2.3. Types of nonverbal communication ..................................................... 22

2.3.1. Gestures .......................................................................................... 22

2.3.2. Postures ........................................................................................... 29

2.4. Cross-cultural nonverbal communication and culture shock ............... 31

CHAPTER 3:CULTURE IMPACTS ON VERBAL COMMUNICATION . 33

3.1. Addressing forms in Vietnamese language and culture ....................... 33

3.1.1. Circular Relationship ...................................................................... 34

3.1.2. Horizontal Relationship- Type 1 .................................................... 34

3.1.4. Dynamic Relationships ................................................................... 36

3.1.5. The dynamic relationship-type II ................................................... 38

3.1.6.The variant of circular relationship. ................................................ 39

3.2. Addressing forms in English - American language and culture ........... 40

3.2.1. Addressing forms in English - American ....................................... 40

3.2.2. Terms of affection .......................................................................... 42

3.3. Objectiveness and Subjectiveness ........................................................ 43

3.3.1. Definition of objectiveness and subjective ..................................... 43

3.3.2. Objectiveness and Subjectiveness in defining the space ................ 43

3.3.3. Subjective and objective in pragmatics .......................................... 44

3.4. Directness and indirectness .................................................................. 45

3.4.1. Directness ....................................................................................... 45

3.4.2. Indirectness ..................................................................................... 46

3.5. Politeness .............................................................................................. 49

3.5.1.What is politeness? .......................................................................... 49

3.5.2.What is FTA?................................................................................... 50

3.5.3. Speech atcs ..................................................................................... 51

3.5.4. Politeness principles ....................................................................... 52

3.5.5. Politeness strategies ........................................................................ 53

3.5.6. Bald on record – without redressive action .................................... 54

3.5.7. Positive politeness strategies .......................................................... 55

3.5.8. Negative politeness strategies ........................................................ 57

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 61

1. Major findings ....................................................................................... 61

2. Implications for English language teaching .......................................... 61

3. Limitations ............................................................................................. 64

4. Further study .......................................................................................... 64

REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 65

In English ..................................................................................................... 65

In Vietnamese .............................................................................................. 66

Website ........................................................................................................ 67

LIST OF FIGURES IN THE STUDY

LIST OF FIGURES PAGE

Figure 1: Levine and adalman’s iceburg of culture 7

Figure 2: Classification of Communication 8

Figure 3: W-shaped diagram of culture shock 13

Figure 4: Circular Relationship 34

Figure 5: Horizontal Relationship- Type 2. Nguyen

Quang (1999:165)

36

Figure 6: Dynamic relationship type-I 37

Figure 7: Dynamic relationship type-II 38

Figure 8: Dynamic relationship type-II cited in Nguyen

Quang (1999:175)

39

Figure 9: Variant of circular relationship. 40

Figure 10: Possible strategies for doing FTAs (Brown

and Levinson, 1987)

53

Figure 11: Strategies to minimize risk of losing face

(Nguyen Quang, 1999:130)

54

1

INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale

As stated by Nguyen Quang (1998)“ in communication, only language is

not enough, behind and deep under it, following many tacit rules, are

culture, belief, attitude, norms, values, etc. Each country has its own

culture”.

Cross- cultural communication (CCC) is not a new subject in most

universities nationwide; and it is an interesting and challenging subject.

Materials for this subject are various; however, choosing one course book

seems to be not enough for students to understand well many differences

and similarities between the two cultures and two countries. Therefore,

the author decided to do a research on compiling teaching supplementary

materials for Cross-cultural communication course for English major

students at Vietnam Maritime University (VMU).

2. Aims of the study

The aims of this study are to:

- Research and summarize the information from many cross- cultural

communication books to compile teaching supplementary materials for

English major students at VMU.

- Collect and arrange some cross- cultural communication exercises to

help students deal with the new theory actively.

3. Significance of the study

It is impossible to separate language from culture when communicating

and teaching a foreign language especially at higher level as well. That is

the reason why culture learning should always go hand in hand with

language learning. In the world, studying about cross culture

communication is varied and abundant. Many books written about cross-

cultural studies, each of these supplies huge knowledge about culture

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definitions, culture shock, cross-culture communication, and many other

aspects of this field, can be Politeness of Brown and Levinson;

Intercultural communication of R Scollon, SW Scollon, 1; or Languages

and Gestures of McNeill, David; Gestures: the do's and taboos of body

language around the world of Axtell, Roger E. In Vietnam, cross-cultural

studies are recognized well enough with a lot of books such as

Intercultural communication and Cross –culture communication for ELT

written by Nguyen Quang, Doing business in Vietnam: a cultural guide

by Esmond D. Smith Jr. and Cuong Pham.

The cross- cultural communication course book for English major

students at VMU is Beyond Language Intercultural Communication for

English as a Second Language written by Deena R. Levine & Mara B.

Adelman, Prentice Hall Regents (1982). This book indicates the main

aspects of cross – cultural communication but it does not include the

comparing and contrasting analysis between English culture and

Vietnamese culture. Moreover, according to the syllabus of Cross-cultural

communication subject (see the appendix), students have to do self-study

at home to deeply understand what they have learnt in class. Therefore,

the author would like to compile teaching supplementary materials to

give more information about culture differences and similarities between

English and Vietnamese to help students master the language they are

learning and be aware of its cultural background.

4. Methodology of the study

The method of this study is:

- The main method of this study is the contrastive methodology.

- Researching relevant materials

- Consulting with Professors of cross-cultural studies

- Discussing with English and Vietnamese colleagues

3

5. Scope of the study

The author will investigate a number of references materials to build

teaching supplementary materials for cross cultural communication

course for English major students at Vietnam Maritime University.

6. Design of the study

The study is divided into 3 parts:

Part I - Introduction includes rationale, aims of the study, methodology of

the study, the significant and the organization of the study.

Part II – Development is the main and covers the following aspects:

Chapter 1: Understanding cross-cultural communication;

Chapter 2: Non-Verbal communication in the light of cross-cultural

communication;

Chapter 3: Verbal communication in the light of cross-cultural

communication

Part III- Conclusion is the summary of the study, and the suggestions for

further research.

4

DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING CROSS – CULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

1.1. Definition of culture

1.1.1. Language

Language is considered to be a mean of human communication formed

from such linguistic units as morphemes, words, sentences. Supporting

that point of view, Crystal (1992: 212) states, language is “the systematic,

conventional use of sounds, signs, or written symbols in a human society

for communication and self-expression”. Therefore, people use language

to communicate, to pass their achievements from generation to

generation, language is a tool by which people are most frequently

judged, and through which they may make or lose friends. It is "the

vehicle par-excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of

professional advancement and of business" (M. Bygate, 1987: 3).

1.1.2. Culture

Unlike language, culture does not contain fixed rules. It is different from

society to society and even from individual to individual. What is right in

one culture may not be right in another culture.

Culture, in Moore’s words (1985:4), is “the whole of the knowledge,

ideas and habits of society that are transmitted from one generation to the

next.” It is more powerful than instinct. Apte (1994), writing in the ten

volume Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistic, propose the following

definition: “Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioral

conventions, and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group

of people, and that influence each member’s behavior and his/her

interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of the other people’s behavior.” Moore

(1985:4) also claims the following components of culture, which are

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“beliefs, values, norms, roles, role conflict, and status.” R.A.Hudson

(1982:81) regards culture as “the kind of knowledge” involving cultural

knowledge, shared-non-cultural knowledge, and non-shared-knowledge

“which we learn from other people, either by direct instruction or by

watching their behavior.” In other words, culture is the set of values and

ways of acting that mark a particular society.

Culture, as stated by Nguyen Quang (1998: 3), 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”. No culture is good or bad, cultures are equal but

different. There is a famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi that goes “no

culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.” Culture does not belong to

any single person but to all people. Nguyen Quang in his “Lectures-notes

on cross-cultural communication” (2004: 31) also describes culture as “a

complex whole of tangible and intangle expressions that are created and

adapted by a society or a social group as well as that ways it functions

and reacts in given situations.”

What can be seen from these points of view is that the language of a

community is a part or a manifestation of its culture as Goodenogh’s

word “the relationship of language to culture is that of part to whole.”

Language and communication modality (verbal, gesture, written) are

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examples of elements that form and shape a culture. Kramch-Troike

(1998:3) clarifies the corelation between language and culture by

emphasizing three functions of language related to culture. They are

“expressing cultural reality, embodying cultural reality and symbolizing

cultural reality”. What we can see that culture and language are closely

interrelated and interwoven. R.A.Hudson (1982: 81) argues“As for the

relation between language and culture, most of language is contained

within culture”. Obviousely, the close relationship between language and

culture plays a very important part in communication. It is impossible to

separate language from culture when communicating.

1.1.3. The components of culture

According to Stephen Moore (1985:4), the components of culture can be

defined as the followings:

Belief: These are general, vague opinions held about the world and about

the nature of society.

Values: These are vague beliefs about what is right and correct in the

world.

Norms: These are socially expected patterns of behavior.

Roles: Social roles are patterns of behavior expected of certain people

according to the occupation or position they hold in society.

Role conflict: These are innumerable social roles: father, mother, child,

and shopkeeper. All of us occupy a number of roles, which are generally

complementary, but sometimes they may conflict.

Status: this refers to the position of a person or social role in society

according to the amount of prestige received from others.

According to Nguyen Quang (1998:4), the iceburg of culture includes

visible part of culture and invisible part of culture:

+ Visible part of culture: Appearance, food, language, etc.

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+ Invisible part of culture: values, beliefs, perceptions, communication

styles.

Figure 1: Levine and adalman’s iceburg of culture(Nguyen Quang, 1998)

1.2. Definitions of Communication

According to Nguyen Quang (1998: 3), communication is the process of

sharing meaning through verbal and nonverbal behavior.

“Communication, then, is vital to our lives. To live is to communicate”

(Hybels, 1992:5).

Communication is “a symbolic process in which people create shared

meanings” (Lustig, 1996:29). “Human communication is a conscious or

unconscious, intentional, or unintentional process in which feelings and

ideas are expressed in verbal and non verbal messages”.( Berko,1989:4)

“Communication is any process in which people share information, ideas,

and feelings. That process involves not only the spoken and written word,

but also body language, personal mannerism and style” (Hybels, 1992:5).

8

COMMUNICATION

Verbal communication Nonverbal communication

Intralanguage Paralanguage Extralanguage

- Vocabulary

- Grammatical rules

- Phonetic & phonological

rules

- Rules of language use and

interaction skills

-……

- Vocal characteristics

+ Pitch + Volumn + Rate

+ Vocal quality

- Types of vocal flow

- Vocal interferences

- Silence/ pauses

- ….

Body language

( Action of language/Kinesics)

Object language

(Artifacts)

Environmental

language

- Eye contact - Facial expression

- Physical characteristics

- Gestures - Postures

- Body movements

- Touch/ Haptics/ Tactile

- Clothing

- Jewellery

- Make- up

- Gifts

- …..

- Setting - Conversational

distance

- Time/ Chronemics

- Lighting system

- Colour - Heat

- Classification of Communication can be seen in Nguyen Quang chart as

below:

Figure 2: Classification of Communication (Nguyen Quang,1998)

1.3. Communication competence (CC)

“CC is defined as the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a

language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to

know when and where to use these sentences and to whom.” (Longman

dictionary of Applied linguistic, 1985:49)

Together with these ideas, Wardhaugh (1989:213) suggests: “When we

teach a language like English to speakers who already know another

language, we must aware that we have to teach more than new sounds,

words, and grammatical structures, etc”.

9

CC involves the understanding of cultural, social knowledge and other

skills of interaction. CC includes:

- “Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language.

- Knowledge of rules of speaking (e.g: knowing how to begin and end

conversation, knowing what topics may be talked about in different types

of speech events, knowing address forms should be used with different

people and in different situations).

- Knowing how to use and respond to different types of speech acts, such

as requests, apologizes, thanks, and invitations.

- Knowing how to use English appropriately”

(J. Richards et al- 1985:49)

In J.Richards’ opinion, he also adds: “When someone wishes to

communicate with others, they must recognize the social setting, their

relationship to the other person, and the types of language can be used for

a particular occasion. They must also be able to interpret written or

spoken sentences within the total context in which they are

used”(J.Richard, 49). CC is essential in cross-cultural communication. It

includes notion of language, culture, and thought.

1.4. Definitions of cross-cultural communication

According to Nguyen Quang (1998:3): “Communication (verbal or

nonverbal) between people from different cultures; communication that is

influenced and cultural values, attitudes and behavior: the influence of

culture on people’ reactions and responses to each other.”

Cross-cultural communication can be defined as “an awareness that

specific cultural and/or social and/or linguistic and/or economic and/or

historical and/or gender-based differences matter in cross-cultural

interaction, demonstrated through appropriately shaping one’s discourse

with individuals of different backgrounds from one’s own”

(www.global-workforce.globalization.org).

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“The phrase cross-cultural communication describes the ability to

successfully form, foster, and improve relationships with members of a

culture different from one's own. It is based on knowledge of many

factors, such as the other culture's values, perceptions, manners, social

structure, and decision-making practices, and an understanding of how

members of the group communicate--verbally, non-verbally, in person, in

writing, and in various business and social contexts, to name but a few.

Like speaking a foreign language or riding a bicycle, cross-cultural

communication involves a skill component that may best be learned and

mastered through instruction and practice: simply reading about it is not

enough”(www.ewbs.com).

Or cross-cultural communication can be understood in a more simple

way: “Cross-cultural communication (also frequently referred to

as intercultural communication, which is also used in a different sense,

though) 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 endeavour to communicate across

cultures” (en.wikipedia.org).

1.5. Culture shock and how to avoid culture shock?

1.5.1. Culture shock? Why culture shock?

Culture shock or communication breakdown may happen when a person

learns a second language in a second culture or s/he moves to live in

another cultural environment. Culture shock in H.Douglas Brown’s

opinion, refers “to a phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep

psychological panic and crisis” when entering a new culture. And George

M.Foster (1962:87) uses more terms to describe culture shock:

“Culture- shock is a mental illness, and as it is true of much mental

illness, the victim usually does not know he is affected. He finds that he is

11

irritable, depressed, and probably annoyed by the lack of attention shown

him.”

Culture shock in H.Douglas Brown’s opinion, refers “to a phenomena

ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis”

when entering a new culture. Culture shock results from different values,

perceptions, norms that lead to the different inference as well as

misinterpretation in both verbal and non-verbal communication.

However, how about culture shock happening between native and non-

native speakers of a language, and of Vietnamese in particular, because of

unawareness of cultural differences. “Communication breakdown”

between them is unavoidable. Culture shock results from different values,

perceptions, norms that lead to the different inference as well as

misinterpretation in both verbal and non-verbal communication. For

example in the way of using address forms:

Vietnamese students often call: “teacher, blah, blah, blah”. But the

word “teacher” is just a job, and there is more to that person than

just his/her job. So it sounds impolite, and the teacher may tell the

student “my name is not Teacher, you can call me Mrs. Mary…”

Moreover, in the Vietnamese culture, when asking such questions as “Are

you married?”, “how old are you?”, “How much do you earn a month?”

people simply want to show their concern to the others, to make the

distance between interactants closer and friendlier; thus, to enhance

solidarity. In contrast, in English, people do not always do so. Those

questions can be considered too acquisitive, since they respect

interactant’s privacy. So concerning questions about other’s age, earning,

marital status etc are not appropriate in the English initial conversation.

Or in the other word, unawareness of different roles the speaker and

hearer might play namely age, social distance, work power, and

12

relationship, marital status, education as well. Using wrong language in

wrong circumstances can cause culture shock.

1.5.2. Main factors creating culture shock

Unawareness of cross-cultural differences, i.e. different cultures may

have difference values, perceptions, cultural thought patterns, belief, etc.

Unawareness of different roles the speaker and hearer might play namely

age, social distance, work power, and relationship, marital status,

education as well. Moreover, it should be noted that the length of time

knowing each other can determine the language used in communication.

Using wrong language in wrong circumstances can cause culture shock.

1.5.3. How culture - shock: From honey moon to Culture shock to

integration

H.Douglas Brown (1986:33) suggests the term “acculturation” which is

defined as the process of becoming adapted to a new culture. It is

common knowledge that entering a new culture for a length of time

involves a period and in a number of stages. Levin and Adelman in their

book Beyond Language: Intercultural Communication for English as a

Second Language (1982) present a W-shaped diagram that illustrates

periods of adjustment in a second culture:

13

Figure 3: W-shaped diagram of culture shock (Nguyen Quang,1998b)

“Honey moon stage: When you first arrive in a new culture, differences

are intriguing and you may feel excited, stimulated and curious. At this

stage you are still protected by the close memory of your home culture.

This is a period of excitement, fascination, bewilderment, of discovery

and inquisitiveness, curiosity and amazement.

Culture-shock: A little later, differences create an impact and you may

feel confused, isolated or inadequate as cultural differences intrude and

familiar supports (eg family or friends) are not immediately available.

Those initially exciting cultural differences may now cause you to feel

insecure or confused, as you struggle to understand the rules of the new

culture you find yourself in. At this stage, the reality of day-to-day living

begins to sink-in. The individual is totally immersed in new sets of

problems. You are confronted by the daily problems of living in a

different culture and trying to communicate in a foreign language. You

became mentally tired from all the effort involved in understanding and

copying.

14

Initial adjustment: You may consciously or unconsciously also be

assessing your own cultural values and trying to make sense of them in

your new cultural context. You are reconnecting with what you value

about yourself and your own culture. You are starting to feel less alien

and more at home.

Mental isolation: After being away from your family, friends, and

familiar environment, you begin to feel lonely. You miss the music, the

native places of attraction, or even your spouse, and you long for news

from home. You begin to suffer from nostalgia, especially if the social

status you had in your original culture is not realized in the new country.

Even though you are able to live in the new culture without any problem,

you still feel inadequate and have lost self-confidence.

Acceptance and integration or abandonment: You have accepted the

habits, customs, foods and behaviors of the people in this new culture”

(Levine, D.et al – cited from Nguyen Quang – 1998b)

1.5.4. How to cope with culture shock?

B.Tomalin and Stempleski suggested on the following encompassed

qualities, which would be useful in cross-cultural interaction:

+ Awareness of one’s own culturally induced behavior.

+ Awareness of the culturally induced behavior of others.

+ Ablity to explain one’s cultural standpoint.

In order to avoid culture shock or communication breakdown, awareness

of cross-culture differences as well as of our own culture should be

promoted and enhanced. This does not mean our culture identities are lost

but more cultural influences are regconized within ourselves and others.

15

1.6. Practice

Practice 1: In My Culture It’s Normal

In my country it is normal/polite/impolite/rude/strange:

1. To shake hands when we meet someone for the first time.

2. To kiss on both cheeks when we greet or say goodbye to a friend

3. To take someone out to dinner (pay for dinner) for his birthday or

when he gets a promotion

4. To be a little late to meet friends

5. To be a little minutes late to work or to business meetings

6. To spit in public

7. To call most people by their first names

8. To ask people their ethnicity or nationality when you meet them for

the first time

9. To sing in public

10. For women in the family to make important decisions like which

school to send children to, how to spend money, etc…

11. For men to cook, clean or do other household work

12. To interrupt people when talking

13. To give gifts to teachers, doctors, government officials, bosses for

students to wear suits or dresses or formal clothing

14. To invite people to your home

15. To ask guests to leave when it gets late or if you are busy

16. To serve guests only drinks and chips or small snacks

17. To disagree with older people or people who are more powerful

than you

18. To give up your seat for older people or women

19. To get promoted to a much higher position than your family or

friends.

16

Practice 2. Culture Shock: Timed Skimming Exercise

(http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/490/wchild/wchild21.htm)

Part 5: Culture Shock

You have read about Romulus and Remus

whose culture shock came when they went

back to the world of human beings after

being raised by a wolf. Tarzan's culture

shock came when he discovered that he

was not a "white ape" but a human being.

Emily Carr preferred the culture of the First

Nations people and the life she led on her

explorations to the dresses and polite

conversations of her own culture. You now

know that First Nations culture did not

include school or even business activity,

people spent most of their time in nature or

around the fire of their home talking, telling

stories and making the things they needed

to survive.

Psychologists tell us that there are four

basic stages that human beings pass

through when they enter and live in a new

culture. This process, which helps us to

deal with culture shock, is the way our

brain and our personality reacts to the

strange new things we encounter when we

move from one culture to another. If our

1. When does culture shock

happen?

A. when you reach

your teens

B. when you move to a

big city

C. when you meet

foreign people for

the first time

D. when you go to live

in a foreign culture

2. How do you feel during

the first stage of culture

shock?

A. lonely and

depressed

B. bored and

homesick

C. happy and excited

D. angry and

frustrated

3. How do you feel during

the second stage?

A. homesick and

afraid

B. interested and

17

culture involves bowing when we greet

someone, we may feel very uncomfortable

in a culture that does not involve bowing. If

the language we use when talking to

someone in our own culture is influenced

by levels of formality based on the other

person's age and status, it may be difficult

for us to feel comfortable communicating

with people in the new culture.

Culture begins with the "honeymoon

stage". This is the period of time when we

first arrive in which everything about the

new culture is strange and exciting. We

may be suffering from "jet lag" but we are

thrilled to be in the new environment,

seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and

language, eating new kinds of food. This

honeymoon stage can last for quite a long

time because we feel we are involved in

some kind of great adventure.

Unfortunately, the second stage of culture

shock can be more difficult. After we have

settled down into our new life, working or

studying, buying groceries, doing laundry,

or living with a home-stay family, we can

become very tired and begin to miss our

homeland and our family,

girlfriend/boyfriend, pets. All the little

amused

C. stressed, but

positive

D. you have no

particular feelings

4. How could the third stage

be described?

A. adjustment

B. rejection

C. enthusiasm

D. anger

5. How do you feel during

the fourth stage of culture

shock?

A. tense, but positive

B. relaxed

C. negative and

stressed

D. afraid

6. Why might reverse culture

shock be a problem?

A. It hardly ever

happens.

B. It is extremely

stressful.

C. Most people do not

expect it.

D. It only happens to

18

problems that everybody in life has seem to

be much bigger and more disturbing when

you face them in a foreign culture. This

period of cultural adjustment can be very

difficult and lead to the new arrival

rejecting or pulling away from the new

culture. This "rejection stage" can be quite

dangerous because the visitor may develop

unhealthy habits (smoking and drinking too

much, being too concerned over food or

contact with people from the new culture).

This can, unfortunately lead to the person

getting sick or developing skin infections or

rashes which then makes the person feel

even more scared and confused and

helpless. This stage is considered a crisis in

the process of cultural adjustment and

many people choose to go back to their

homeland or spend all their time with

people from their own culture speaking

their native language.

The third stage of culture shock is called

the "adjustment stage". This is when you

begin to realize that things are not so bad in

the host culture. Your sense of humour

usually becomes stronger and you realize

that you are becoming stronger by learning

to take care of yourself in the new place.

young people.

4. The four basic stages of

culture shock are:

a. honeymoon,

rehearsal,

memorization,

return

b. honeymoon,

rejection,

adjustment, at ease

at last

c. honeymoon,

rejection, reverse, at

ease at last

d. honeymoon,

rehearsal, rejection,

at ease at last

5. Why would people in the

second stage of culture

shock choose to spend all

their time with people

from their homeland?

a. They are afraid to

risk being

uncomfortable with

strangers and it is

easier to stay with

people from their

19

Things are still difficult, but you are now a

survivor!

The fourth stage can be called "at ease at

last". Now you feel quite comfortable in

your new surroundings. You can cope with

most problems that occur. You may still

have problems with the language, but you

know you are strong enough to deal with

them. If you meet someone from your

country who has just arrived, you can be

the expert on life in the new culture and

help them to deal with their culture shock.

There is a fifth stage of culture shock which

many people don't know about. This is

called "reverse culture shock".

Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back

to your native culture and find that you

have changed and that things there have

changed while you have been away. Now

you feel a little uncomfortable back home.

Life is a struggle!

own culture.

b. They are afraid of

skin diseases and

want to hide from

contact with

foreigners.

c. They feel that they

can learn the new

language by

themselves and

don't need contact

with people from

the new culture.

d. They are only

interested in going

home.

20

CHAPTER 2: CULTURE IMPACTS ON NON – VERBAL

COMMUNICATION

2.1. Understanding non-verbal communication

Lustig (1996:187-188) defines “nonverbal communication is a

multichanneled process that is usually performed simultaneously; it

typically involves a subtle set of nonlinguistic behaviors that are often

enacted subconsciously. Nonverbal behaviors can become part of the

communication process when someone intentionally tries to convey a

message or when someone attributes meaning to the nonverbal behavior

of another, whether or not the person intend to communicate a particular

meaning”.

Hybel (1992, 104) states “without saying a word you could be

communicating by your clothing, your facial expressions, your posture, or

any other number of nonverbal signals”.

According to Nguyen Quang (2004, 226), nonverbal communication

refers to “all the components of the message that, when taken together,

constitute the communication which is not verbally coded but both

vocally and nonvocally channeled. Nonverbal communication is

composed of paralinguistic factors (nonverbal-vocal channel), such as

rate, volume, etc., and extralinguistic factors (nonverbal-nonvocal

channel), such as body language (gestures, postures, facial expression,

etc), object language, environment language”.

21

2.2. The importance of nonverbal communication

Hybels (1992, 104) states “nonverbal communication is extremely

important in human interaction”.

Hall (cited in Nguyen Quang, 2004) claims that 60 percent of all

communication is nonverbal.

Mehrabian has determined from his research that as much as 93 percent

of communication is nonverbal (Hybels, 1992:104)

Birdwhistell estimates that the average American speaks for only ten to

eleven minutes a day, and that more than 65 percent of the social meaning

of a typical two-person exchange is carried by nonverbal cues (Valdes,

1992:65).

22

2.3. Types of nonverbal communication

Peace (1984:7) claims “The fascinating thing is that human animal is

rarely aware of his postures, movements and gestures that can tell one

story while his voice may be telling another”.

2.3.1. Gestures

Gestures, which have been called “silent language”, is a form of

nonverbal communication made with part of body or the body as a whole,

and used instead or in combination with verbal communication (Roger

E.Axtell, 1998). Gestures vary from culture to culture. People from

different cultures tend to use and read gestures in a different way.

2.3.1.a. Facial expressions

As stated by Nguyen Quang (1996:64): “Our faces reveal emotions and

attitudes, but we should not attempt to “read” people from aother culture

as we would “read” someone from our own culture”.

Facial expressions are also among the most universal forms of body

language. The expressions used to convey fear, anger, sadness, and

happiness are similar throughout the world. Researcher Paul Ekman has

23

found support for the universality of a variety of facial expressions tied to

particular emotions including joy, anger, fear, surprise, and sadness.

Sadness

Anger

Surprise

Disgust

Fear

Happiness

Confusion

Excitement

Desire

Contempt

2.3.1.b. Eye contact:

The eyes are sometimes called the "windows to the soul" because they

can reveal so much about what a person is thinking or feeling.

Eye-gaze: “When a person looks directly into your eyes when having a

conversion, it indicates that they are interested and paying attention.

24

However, prolonged eye contact can feel threatening. On the other hand,

breaking eye contact and frequently looking away may indicate that the

person is distracted, uncomfortable, or trying to conceal his or her real

feelings”.

(www.capitaleap.org/body-language-what-were-really-saying)

Blinking: “Blinking is natural, but you should also pay attention to

whether a person is blinking too much or too little. People often blink

more rapidly when they are feeling distressed or uncomfortable.

Infrequent blinking may indicate that a person is intentionally trying to

control his or her eye movements. For example, a poker player might

blink less frequently because he is purposely trying to appear unexcited

about the hand he was dealt”.

25

Pupil-size: “One of the most subtle cues that eyes provide is through the

size of the pupils. While light levels in the environment control pupil

dilation, sometimes emotions can also cause small changes in pupil size.

For example, you may have heard the phase "bedroom eyes" used to

describe the look someone gives when they are attracted to another

person”.

(www.capitaleap.org/body-language-what-were-really-saying)

26

2.3.1.c. The mouth:

The mouth and lips can convey a great deal of nonverbal information.

Pursed lips: Pursed lips might be an indicator of distaste, disapproval, or

distrust

Lip biting: People sometimes bite their lips when they are worried,

anxious, or stressed.

Covering the mouth: When people want to hide an emotional reaction,

they might cover their mouths in order to avoid displaying a smile or

smirk.

27

Turned up or down: Slight changes in the mouth can also be subtle

indicators of what a person is feeling. When the mouth is slightly turned

up, it might mean that the person is feeling happy or optimistic. On the

other hand, a slightly downturned mouth can be an indicator of sadness,

disapproval, or even an outright grimace.

2.3.1.d. Hand gestures:

Hand gestures in different cultures may imply different meanings. It is

really important to understand the meaning of different gestures when

you are about to travel to other countries, or when you learn another

language as well. “Many times we tend to use our hands to explain our

needs and thoughts. The same hand gesture may mean something quite

nasty and offensive to a person from a different cultural background.

Hand gestures are a very important part of the body language gestures.

Hand gestures are a way of communicating with others and conveying

28

your feelings. These gestures are most helpful when one is speaking to

someone with no language in common. The meanings of hand gestures in

different cultures may translate into different things. Before you

communicate with people in different cultures, you need to understand

the meaning of gestures. Those considered as a good gestures in one

country may be termed as an offensive gesture in some countries.

Thumb up: The thumb up sign in most American

and European cultures meaning things are going

according to your plans or something you approve

of. However, the going good sign translates into a

rude and offensive gesture in Islamic and Asian

countries. In Australia, it means OK, but if you

move it up and down, it is considered as a grave

insult.

Thumb down: The thums down sign obviously

means the opposite of a thumbs up sign. It is an

indicate of something that is bad or something

that you do not approve of. It also indicates that

something or someone has failed. The thumbs

down sign is not used as often as the thumbs up

sign. This is a rude hand gesture and an arrogant

way to indicate failure”.

(www.buzzle.com/articles/hand-gestures-in-different-cultures.html)

Hand shaking: According to Nguyen Quang (1999:22), “when Anglicist

shake hands, they usually only shake hands for a seconds. When shaking

hands, they shake hands firmly not loosely. “He shakes hand like a dead

fish” refers to someone whose handshake is not firm enough. In the

American culture, a weak handshake is a sign of a weak character. In

29

Vietnam, people shake hands differently. They may take the other’s hand

a bit loosely and may tightly”

2.3.2. Postures

There is a tendency to see gestures as dynamic and postures as static.

Postures, the way we hold ourselves, give important information.

Interested people always pay attention and lean forward, folding arms

across one’s chest is protective and will give the impression of a closed,

guarded and defensive character.

As can be found in www.assertbh.org.uk/content/uploads/2015/06/Body-

Language, posture can tell a lot about how a person might be feeling:

30

2.3.2.a. Open postures:

Open postures involve keeping the trunk of the body open and exposed.

This type of posture indicates friendliness, openness, and willingness.

2.3.2.b. Closed postures:

Closed postured involve keeping the obscured or hidden often by

hunching forward and keeping the arms and legs crossed. This type of

posture can be an indicator of hostility, unfriendliness, and anxiety.

2.3.2.c.The arms and legs:

The arms and legs can also be useful in conveying nonverbal information.

Crossing the arms can indicate defensiveness. Crossing legs away from

another person may indicate dislike or discomfort with that individual.

31

Other subtle signals such as expanding the arms widely may be an

attempt to seem larger or more commanding, while keeping the arms

close to the body may be an effort to minimize oneself or withdraw from

attention.

When you are evaluating body language, pay attention to some of the

following signals that the arms and legs may convey:

Crossed arms might indicate that a person feels defensive, self-protective,

or closed-off.

Standing with hands placed on the hips can be an indication that a person

is ready and in control, or it can also possibly be a sign of aggressiveness.

Clasping the hands behind the back might indicate that a person is feeling

bored, anxious, or even angry.

Rapidly tapping fingers or fidgeting can be a sign that a person is bored,

impatient, or frustrated.

Crossed legs can indicate that a person is feeling closed off or in need of

privacy.

2.4. Cross-cultural nonverbal communication and culture shock

Communication is culture-bound. The way we communicate emanates

from our culture. Nonverbal communication, as a form of

communication, is culturally determined. Most from of nonverbal

32

communication can be interpreted only within the framework of the

culture in which they occur. The rules and norms that govern most

nonverbal communication behaviors are culture-specific.

Birdwhistell suggests, “a smile in one society portrays friendliness, in

another embarrassment, and in still another may a warning that unless

tension is reduced, hostility and attack will follow” (cited in Lustig,

1996:194).

“In cross-cultural communication, misunderstandings often occur in the

interpretations of nonverbal behaviors because different rules create very

different meanings about the appropriateness and effectiveness of

particular interaction sequences” (Lustig/ Koster, 2006, 214).

An example for hand gestures in different culture with different meaning:

33

CHAPTER 3: CULTURE IMPACTS ON VERBAL

COMMUNICATION

3.1. Addressing forms in Vietnamese language and culture

34

3.1.1. Circular Relationship

The kinship terms used as addressing form can make a new relationship

that is call “Circular Relationship”. This relationship can be shown in

figure below in comparision with I - YOU in English:

Figure 4: Circular Relationship

This one is used popularly in the communication among Vietnamese

people in family and in society to express the inequality, respect and

deference, and solidarity.

3.1.2. Horizontal Relationship- Type 1

However, Nguyen Quang (1992:50) noted that: “In Vietnamese language

and culture, apart from the circular relation, there are other addressing

forms which are not the kinship terms. They are used to express the

equality in power/ age. The interlocutors use these address forms are the

ones who have power equals and want to show the solidarity. Most of

35

them are young people, close friends, or those who have solidarity. Just

like the using of multiple names in English, the using horizontal

relationship-type 1 in Vietnamese seems to be complicated and difficult

to second-language learners”.

This relationship is called “Horizontal Relationship- Type 1”

For example:

1. Ai đi để ai thương ai nhớ

Ai về cho ai hết sầu mong

2. Mình về mình có nhớ ta

Mười lăm năm ấy thiết tha mặn nồng

Mình về mình có nhớ không

Nhìn cây nhớ núi nhìn sông nhớ nguồn

(Cited in Nguyen Quang (1999:165-166)

These addressing forms are interchangeable addressing. This is a unique

and interesting phenomenon.

3.1.3. Horizontal Relationship- Type 2

According to Nguyen Quang (1999:167) there is another relationship

which is called “Horizontal Relationship- Type II”. This is considered

36

as the use of V-form in Europe because this one expresses the equality,

formality, honorific, modesty, and insolidarity.

Figure 5: Horizontal Relationship- Type 2. Nguyen Quang (1999:165)

3.1.4. Dynamic Relationships

According to Nguyen Quang (1999:169), in Vietnamese culture and

society, if there is a conflict between the age and the social position, there

will be a compromise in the way of choosing the addressing forms. It is

different to that in American culture and society where the social position

plays a more important role in using the addressing forms. The

compromise in choosing addressing forms can be seen in the folowing

figure:

37

The addressing forms “TÔI_ CHỨC DANH” can create the new

relationship which is called “Dynamic Relationships”.

In Vietnamese culture, after a period of time of communicating the pair “

TÔI_ CHỨC DANH” can be change into “Cháu/Em- CHỨC DANH” to

express the self-abasement, solidarity or in the other hand to keep the

social-power of the interlocutors. The following figure shows the

“Dynamic relationship type-I” in which the dynamic element is the first

personal pronounce “TÔI”, the second pronounce can be unchanged or

changed to suit with the first one.

Figure 6: Dynamic relationship type-I

For example:

- Xin thủ trưởng cho tôi hai ngày để hoàn thành báo cáo này.

- Xin thủ trưởng cho em hai ngày để hoàn thành báo cáo này

(showing the respect and the solidarity)

- Cô/chị đánh cho tôi bản báo cáo này nhé.

- Em/cháu đánh cho anh/chú bản báo cáo này nhé (showing

the respect and the solidarity)

Nguyen Quang (1999:171)

38

3.1.5. The dynamic relationship-type II

In Vietnamese language and culture, there is one more relationship in

which the first personal ponounce “TÔI” is constant and the second one is

changed. In this relationship the social position of the addressee (waiter/

waitress/ taxi driver, etc.) is often lower than the addresser. It is not polite

to adopt the form of address for them like waiter/ waitress/…(with their

occupation)

Eg: Này, cô hầu bàn, cho tôi hai nâu nhé. (not polite)

In this case, the second personal pronounce will be changed to keep the

formality but still express the respect, tact, and solidarity. This

relationship is called “the dynamic relationship-type II” (Nguyen

Quang, 1999:174).

Eg: Này, em/ cháu ơi, cho tôi hai nâu nhé.

By conducting an interview, Nguyen Quang (1999:174) pointed “the

dynamic relationship-type II” in the figure below:

Figure 7: Dynamic relationship type-II

Or the “circular relationship” can be used by Vietnamese people when

an addressee is female to show the familiarity/ solidarity.

Eg: Này, em/ cháu ơi, cho anh/chú/ bác hai nâu nhé.

Nguyen Quang (1999:173)

39

This is the variant of “the dynamic relationship-type II”

Figure 8:Dynamic relationship type-II cited in Nguyen Quang (1999:175)

3.1.6.The variant of circular relationship.

In Vietnamese language and culture, there is one kind of dynamic

relationship that is considered as an interesting phenomenon and

expresses the family-orientation of Vietnamese people. That is

“addressing on the child’s behalf”. This form of address shows the

solidarity, the modesty, and the familiality. Originally it was used among

people in family, then among the neighbours, and finally it is used largely

in the solidarity relatinship and social communication. But this kind of

addressing form is normally used in the rural more than in the urban. This

is also the variant of circular relationship. As some examples written in

Nguyen Quang (1999:175):

Eg: - Bác cho em vay dăm cân gạo.

- Chú mà giúp chị thì chẳng đời nào chị quên ơn chú.

40

Figure 9: Variant of circular relationship.

3.2. Addressing forms in English - American language and culture

“It is said that the form of address in English-American language and

culture is quite simple. With I-YOU, people can communicate with each

other without concerning about their age, gender, social positions,

relationship, attitude, emotion. In fact, it is not simple like being thought.

In English-American language there are many different addressing forms

used to express the attitude, the emmotion of the interlocutors”.

3.2.1. Addressing forms in English - American

Basically, addressing forms in English-American language and culture

can be seen as following:

I –YOU : neutral

Title alone-T: eg: Professor / Dr./ Mr./Miss

Title with last name-TLN: Professor Browning/ Mr.Clinton

41

Last name alone-LN: Micheal Nixon, Mary King

First name- FN: Micheal Nixon, Mary King including diminutive eg.

Beck for Rebecca

Multiple names – MNs: According to Brown&Ford (1964:238) MNs

means when having a talk we may use TLN or FN or LN or nick name to

address the hearers; this phenomenon also exists in Vietnamese language

and culture and is often used among people having very close relationship

(solidarity).

However, in English-American language and culture, there are two main

addressing forms usually used. Those are: TLN and FN. According to

Brown and Ford (1964), Ervin-Trpp (1972), Wardhaugh (1986):

FN is identical to “T” form (informal) used when speakers want to

express the solidarity semantic.

LN is identical to “V” form (formal) when speakers want to express the

power semantic or the formality.

There are 3 groups of exchange these addressing forms:

Mutual exchange of FN: to express the solidarity, the closeness. The

young Americans tendentially use this type of addressing forms. But in

Vietnamese culture, it is able to cause culture-shock when conversing,

especially with the old people or with the ones who have higher position/

more power. According to Fasold, “a younger person or the one with

lower social position can call the older one or the one with higher

position with FN when there is a dispensation.

Mutual exchange of TLN: to express the equality and to keep the

distance. It is the polite way of communication in English-American

culture.

Nonreciprocal exchange of TLN and FN to express the inequality in

power. According to Brown and Gilman (1962), the power of the parents

prevents their children from addressing them or the ones who are older

42

than them the in informal way. This is the root of using the TLN/FN to

address the social-powerful people because they are the parent figures.

According to Nguyen Quang (2000:182), there are two aspects

influencing on addressing forms: the power and the age.

According to Fasold (1990:30), traditionally women are addressed more

formally possibly due to gentlemen. That is called gender aspect also

influencing on the addressing forms.

3.2.2. Terms of affection

Wolfson and Manes (1979) observed that: “in American society many

men call/ address the women they meet at the first time with the terms of

affection such as Dear, Honey, Sweetie/Sweety, etc. There are some

reasons:

- They are older.

- They have higher position or more social power.

- They are conversing in the intimate environment.

- Their habit. But the well-cultured people rarely use this terms of

affection at the first meeting.

According to Brown and Ford (1964), after 5 minute conversation the

Americans can change from TLN to FN. According to Fasold (1990:25),

the Americans also use addressing forms to express their attitude. When

getting angry/ mad or complaining, they change from FN to TLN.

3.2.3. Addressing form avoidance –AFA

It is considered as uncultured/ uneducated/ill-bred in Vietnamese culture.

It is partially acceptable among the people who are age-equals and

power-equals.

However, in English-American culture it is much different. The English

and Americans use AFA when they do not know how to address the

communicative subject. Eg: Mr., Miss, Ms.,

43

Doctor+ 0 - Doctor (title alone)

Mr+ 0 0 (AFA)

3.3. Objectiveness and Subjectiveness

3.3.1. Definition of objectiveness and subjective

Objectiveness is a statement that is completely unbiased. It is not touched

by the speaker’s previous experiences or tastes. It is verifiable by looking

up facts or performing mathematical calculations.

Subjectiveness is a statement that has been colored by the character of the

speaker or writer. It has a basis in reality, but reflects the perspective

through with the speaker views reality. It cannot be verified using

concrete facts and figures.

The difference between these two important ideas is the difference

between fact and opinion. Facts are objective and provably true; however,

if no clear facts exist about a topic, then a series of balanced

opinions needs to be produced to allow the reader to make up his or her

mind; opinions are subjective ideas held by individuals and so are always

biased.

(http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-

objective-and-subjective).

3.3.2. Objectiveness and Subjectiveness in defining the space

According to Nguyen Quang (1999:21), Vietnamese people seem to be

more subjective, while English-American ones are more objective.

Vietnamese people consider them as the subject so they always define the

position of “ego” in order to use the suitable preposition. While the

Anglitcist just concerns about the direction of “ego” more than its

position.

44

For example:

Anglicist Vietnamese

When the ego move to externality,

for example the garden:

I am going to the garden- Tôi đi tới

vườn

If the subject is on the 2nd

floor, the

destination is the garden:

- Tôi đi xuống vườn

If the subject is in the basement, the

destination is the garden:

- Tôi đi lên vườn

If the subject indoor, the destination

is the garden:

- Tôi đi ra vườn

The subjectiveness and objectiveness in defining “ego” can be seen

clearly when there are two objects and “ego”. For example, the two

objects are “the bird” and “the sky”.

Anglicist Vietnamese

- The bird is flying in the sky

- Con chim đang bay ở trong trời.

Ego excluded in Object- Oject

interrelation

Con chim đang bay ở trên trời

The bird is flying above/on the sky.

Ego included in Object-Object

interrelation because Vietnamese people

care about their position with the bird

rather than the position of the bird and the

sky.

3.3.3. Subjective and objective in pragmatics

According to Nguyen Quang (1999:37), the subjectiveness and the

objectiveness in Vietnamese and Anglicist language and culture can be

expressed in the essence of the statements. There are two main

statements: The descriptive statements and the evaluative statements.

45

The descriptive statements are objective:

For example: - She is 1.45 metre height and weighs 60kg.

- Cô ấy cao một mét bốn năm và nặng 60 cân.

The evaluative statements are subjective because the speakers express

their feeling, their thought, their experience, their opinion when they

adjust things/objects/events in life.

For example: - She is short and fat as a pig.

- Cô ấy béo ú và lùn tịt.

(Nguyen Quang, 1991)

3.4. Directness and indirectness

“As defined in speech-act theory, direct acts are those where surface form

matches interactional function, as 'Be quiet!' used as a command, versus

an indirect 'It's getting noisy here' or 'I can't hear myself think,' but other

units of communication must also be considered” (Saville-Trike:1986).

3.4.1. Directness

With every utterance, a speaker performs a speech act. It can be a

question (“Where is the car?”), a command (“Give me the sweater!”), a

statement (“Something smells bad in here.”), or a bunch of other speech

acts, like promises, threats, or requests. In terms of speech acts, directness

could be explained as matching the speech act with the grammatical

structure it most naturally takes. In the examples above the question, the

command, and the statement are all easily recognizable, and can be

interpreted at face value.

Directness between equals, then, often marks closeness. You wouldn’t

think twice about telling your best friend those jeans make her behind

look horrible – at least before she buys them. Or telling your spouse that

s/he has toilet paper stuck on the sole of his/her shoe. You trust them

enough to interpret your message at face value and to not read some

hidden criticism into it.

46

Directness requires a good nose for the situation; however, being too

direct when stating your opinion might seem like an insult, especially if

the hearer perceives you as being lower in the social hierarchy. Direct

commands, of course, can easily sound like you’re bossing people

around.

Asking direct questions from someone you’re not that close with may

make the hearer feel you’re being nosy or intrusive. Furthermore, they

might feel you’re forcing them to be rude by asking a question they

cannot skate over and must answer with a direct “I don’t want to tell

you.”

http://insightings.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/directness-speech-acts

3.4.2. Indirectness

“Indirectness is a way of conveying desired messages by means of an

interrelationship of social variables and liguistic content” (McQuiddy:

1986). “Indirectness is mainly expressed by means of lexical choice,

syntactic structure, conventinal implicature and discourse structure”

(Miller, 1994:39).

If directness was defined as matching your speech act with your structure,

indirectness would then be e.g. using an interrogative structure (“Are you

wearing that to the party?”) to convey a non-question speech act, like a

statement (“I don’t think you should wear that to the party”) or even a

command(“Go put on something else.”). As already noted, indirectness is

very useful in socially distant situations. People have varied levels of

directness tolerance, and until you know where the limit is, it’s wise to

stay well on the polite side.

http://insightings.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/directness-speech-acts

"It is possible that indirectness is used more in societies which are, or

which have been until recently, heavily hierarchical in structure. If you

47

want to avoid giving offence to people in authority over you, or if you

want to avoid intimidating people lower in the social hierarchy than

yourself, then indirectness may be an important strategy. It is possible,

too, that the more frequent use by women in western societies of

indirectness in conversation is due to the fact that women have

traditionally had less power in these societies." (Peter

Trudgill, Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society, 4th

ed. Penguin, 2000)

According to Searle (1975), Brown and Levinson (1978), Blum-kulka

(1987), the two types of indirectness in requests can be distinguished by

the criterion of conventionality:

Conventional indirectness: “Conventional indirect requests realize the act

by systematic reference to some precondition needed for its realization,

and share across languages the property of potential pragmatic ambiguity

between requestive meaning and literal meaning”

(Blum-kulka ,1987:140).

For example:

- Husband said to his wife: Honey, it’s time for meal. (It

implies that the wife should prepare the dinner because it is

late) (Nguyen Quang, 1999:44).

Conventional indirectness refers to contextual preconditions necessary for

its performance as conventionalized in the language:

- How about cleaning up?

- Could you clean up the kitchen, please?

Nonconventional indirectness: partially refers to the object depending on

contextual clues:

- You have left the kitchen in a right mess.

- I’m a nun. (in response to a persistent hassler)

48

- It is dark in here (the speaker wants the hearer to open the

window/ let’s move to another room/ someone should turn on the

light…)

“Nonconventional indirectness is by definition open-ended both in terms

of propositional content and linguistic form, as well as of pragmatic

force. Thus, there is no formal limitation (…) neither on the kinds of

hints, nor on the range of pragmatic forces that might be carried by any

non-conventionally indirect utterance. Utterances that convey something

more or different from their literal meaning. It follows that the processes

of interpretation involved might differ with variation in type of

indirectness. It is by now well-established that in all interpretations of

indirectness in discourse, the hearer must match information encoded in

properties of the utterance with relevant features of the pragmatic context

(Van Dijk and Kintsch (1983), Dascal (1983)).

In conventional indirectness, properties of the utterance play the more

dominant role, while in non-conventional indirectness pragmatic context

is probably as, if not more, important” (Blum-kulka, 1987:142).

According to (Blum-kulka, 1987:140), Brown and Levinson’s model

predicts a strong link between politeness and indirectness, based on a

hierarchical model of politeness strategies. But sometimes the indrectness

strategies are not the highest level of politeness:

For example:

(1) Em quét nhà cho anh nhé (direct) - let’s clean the house

(2) Nhà với cửa gì mà bẩn như chuồng lợn thế này (indrect)

(This house is such a mess)

It can be seen clearly that the (1) is more polite than the (2) (Nguyen

Quang, 1999:46).

49

3.5. Politeness

3.5.1.What is politeness?

Politeness, according to Gumperz (“Politeness”cited in Brown and

Levinson, 1987: VIII), “is basic to the production of social order, and a

precondition of human cooperation, so that any theory which provides an

understanding of this phenomenon at the same time goes to the

foundations of human social life.” In addition to their status as universal

principles of human interaction, politeness phenomena by their very

nature are reflected in language. Societies everywhere, no matter what

their degree of isolation or their socio-economic complexity, show these

same principles at work; yet what counts as polite may differ from group

to group, from situation to situation, or from individual to individual.

Brown and Levinson (1978) define politeness as maintaining the H’s

face, that is, letting H feel unimposed on and approved of in certain

respects. Face refers to wants, and Brown and Levinson (1978) argue that

we have two types of wants: ego-preserving wants and public-self

preserving wants, which refer to the desire to be considered a contributing

member of society. The former (ego-preserving wants) generates negative

face, and the latter (public-self preserving wants) generates positive face.

Culturally, politeness is treated as “the idea of polite social behavior or

etiquette, within a culture” (G.Yule, 1996:60). Richards et al. (1985: 281)

considers politeness as “the attempt to establish, maintain, and save face

during conversation.” So the norms of politeness are quite culturally

specific. They differ among languages and culture. Linguistically,

politeness is defined as “the international balance achieved between two

needs: the need for pragmatic clarity and the need to avoid coerciveness”

(Blum-Kulka, 1987:131).

50

Cross-culturally, politeness in communication is seen as “any

communicative acts (verbal or non-verbal) appropriately and intentionally

meant to make other(s) feel better or less bad” (Nguyen Quang, 2005:11).

3.5.2.What is FTA?

Central to an understanding of politeness is the notion of face, which is

the sense of a person’s public self-image. This concept was established by

Brown and Levinson (1978). Every speech act has potential imposition

on somebody else’s sense of face. Thus politeness in interaction can be

recognized as the means to show the awareness of a person’s public self-

image. In communicating, people may give a threat to another

individual’s self-image or face-want, they tend to create a face

threatening act (FTA). Some actions might be taken to lessen the

possible threat. This is described as a face saving act.

3.5.2.a. Positive and negative face

According to Brown and Levinson (1987:61), “Face Face is the

public self image that every adult tries to protect”. Positive face was

defined in two ways as "the want of every member that his wants be

desirable to at least some others executors", or alternately, "the positive

consistent self-image or 'personality' (crucially including the desire that

this self-image be appreciated and approved of) claimed by interactants".

Negative face was defined as "the want of every 'competent adult

member' that his actions be unimpeded by others", or "the basic claim to

territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction i.e. the freedom of

action and freedom from imposition".

“Ten years later, Brown characterized positive face by desires to be liked,

admired, ratified, and related to positively, noting that one would threaten

positive face by ignoring someone. At the same time, she characterized

negative face by the desire not to be imposed upon, noting that negative

face could be impinged upon by imposing on someone.[4] Positive Face

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refers to one's self-esteem, while negative face refers to one's freedom to

act.[1] The two aspects of face are the basic wants in any social

interaction, and so during any social interaction,cooperation is needed

amongst the participants to maintain each other's faces.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politeness_theory)

3.5.2.b. Face threatening acts

According to Brown and Levinson (1987:65), positive and negative faces

exist universally in human culture. In social interactions, face-

threatening acts are at times inevitable based on the terms of the

conversation. A face threatening act is an act that inherently damages the

face of the addressee or the speaker by acting in opposition to the wants

and desires of the other. Most of these acts are verbal; however, they can

also be conveyed in the characteristics of speech (such as tone, inflection,

etc.) or in non-verbal forms of communication. At minimum, there must

be at least one of the face threatening acts associated with an utterance. It

is also possible to have multiple acts working within a single utterance.

3.5.3. Speech atcs

“In many ways of expressing themselves, people do not only produce

utterances containing grammartical structures and words, they perform

actions via those utterances” (Yule, 1996: 47). If you work in a situation

where a boss has a great deal of power, then his utterance of expression,

“You are fired”, is more than just a statement. This utterance can be used

to perform the act of ending your employment. However, the actions

performed by utterances do not have to be as unpleasant as in the one

above. Actions can be quite pleasant, as in the acknowledgement of

thanks:“You’re welcome”, or the expression of surprise:“Who’d have

thought it?”, or in Vietnamese“ Ai mà ngờ được”.

Actions performed by utterances are generally called speech acts and, in

English, are commonly given more specific labels, such as apology,

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complaint, compliment, invitation, promise, or request.“The number of

speech acts performed by the average individual in the course of any

ordinary day when our work and leisure bring us into contact with others

probably runs into the thousands” (Austin, 1962).

3.5.4. Politeness principles

It is widely accepted that the principle of politeness gorvens all the

communicative behavior. Lakoff (1977) believes that politeness usually

wins out, leading her to postulate the rules of politeness: don’t impose,

give options, make the other person feel good-be friendly. The point of

politeness is to minimize the effects of impolite statements or expressions

(negative politeness) and maximize the effects of the polite illocutions

(positive politeness).

Leech (1983) claims that politeness principle is necessary to “rescue the

co-operative principle (be true, be brief, be relevant, be clear)” which is

based on Grice’s work and that politeness principle is intended to operate

alongside the Co-operative Principle.

Leech (1983:16) suggests six maxims of politeness:

- Maxim of Tact: minimize cost to other; maximize benefit to other.

- Maxim of Generosity: minimize benefit to self; maximize cost to self

- Maxim of Approbation: minimize dispraise of other; maximize praise of

other.

- Maxim of Modesty: minimize praise of self; maximize dispraise of self.

- Maxim of Agreement: minimize the disagreement between self and

other; maximize agreement between self and other.

- Maxim of Sympathy: minimize antipathy between self and other;

maximize sympathy between self and other.

“We can thereby define politeness in terms of favorableness ( and

correspondingly impoliteness in terms of unfavorableness) because polite

53

statements are in some way favorable to hearer, while impolite statements

are unfavorable” (Eelen, 2001:8).

3.5.5. Politeness strategies

Brown and Levinson (1987:60) do not raise rules or principles but

suggest five strategies (put in figure 1 below) to deal with FTAs. They

also number these five strategies to mean that the greater the face threat

is, the greater-numbered strategy should be employed.

Figure 10: Possible strategies for doing FTAs (Brown & Levinson, 1987)

The diagram shows that when encountering an FTA, the speaker can

choose one of the five possibilities.

Brown and Levinson (1987) imply by numbering the possibilities that

negative politeness is “more polite” than positive politeness. This can be

seen in the diagram where they number the former and the latter 3 and 2

respectively. For universal validity, Nguyen Quang (1999:129-130)

proposes another one.

54

Figure 11: Strategies to minimize risk of losing face

Ways to reduce FTAs or enhance face wants, or even bring benefit to

hearer are Positive and negative politeness strategies and Bald on

record– without redressive action

3.5.6. Bald on record – without redressive action

Bald on record, in G.Yule’s words, is utterances directly addressed to

another where illocutionary force is made explicit

Eg. Give me your car

Being preferred as follows:

- In cases of urgency or desperation. For example: Help!

- When there is channel noise or where communication difficulties exert

pressure to speak with maximum efficiency.

- When the focus of task –orientation can make face redress be irrelevant

( in classroom, instruction, in military..)

- In some cases of teasing or joking. Eg: Do it or die

- When Bald – on record is used for H’s benefit. Eg: Get out. Fire!

FTA encounter

4. Don’t do the FTA Do the FTA

3. Off record On record

2. With redressive action

Positive Negative

politeness politeness

Without redressive action

55

3.5.7. Positive politeness strategies

“Positive politeness is redress directed to the addressee’s positive face,

his perennial desire that his wants (or the actions/acquisitions/ values

resulting from them) should be thought of as desirable. Redress consists

in partially satisfying that desire by communicating that one’s own wants

(or some of them) are in some respects similar to the addressee’s wants”

(Brown and Levinson, 1978:101). Those positive politeness expressions

may involve some “ getting to know you” talk, or establish the necessary

common ground between the hearer and the speaker by using such

phrases as let’s, why don’t, we...., or address forms with I to soften the

FTAs. Yule (1996:62) defines positive politeness as a face saving act

tending to show solidarity, emphasizing that both S and H want the same

thing and that they share the same goal. In simple word, positive

politeness shows concern to others.

Nguyen Quang (2005:24), based on the functions of positive politeness in

communication, defines positive politeness as “any communicative act

(verbal and nonverbal) which is appropriately and intentionally meant S’s

concern to H, thus, enhancing the sense of solidarity between them.”

Positive politeness can be understood as the ways to shorten the distance

between S and H. There are three main positive politeness mechanisms:

claim on common ground; convey that S and H are cooperators; fulfill

H’s want for some objects”.

According to Brown and Levinson (1987), there are 15 strategies of

positive politeness used to maintain positive face.

Group 1: Claim on common ground

1. Notice, attend to hearer (H) (his interests, wants, needs). Eg: -

Goodness, a beautiful hairstyle! (after a while) Oh, by the way,

can I borrow your bike?

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2. Exxaggerate (interest, approval, sympathy with H) Eg: -My

God! Your work? It’s absolutely incredible! ( Trời ơi! Tác phẩm

của cậu đấy à? Thật là trên cả tuyệt vời) - Cậu trang điểm đẹp

như mơ. Ra đường khối anh chết, nhiều anh bị thương. Thôi cho

tớ mượn cây son nào. (Nguyen Quang,2004:26)

3. Intensify interest to H.

4. Use in-group identity markers

5. Seek agreement

6. Avoid disagreement

7. Presuppose/raise/assert common ground

8. Joke

Group 2: Convey that S and H are cooperators

9. Assert or presuppose S’s knowledge of and concern for H’s

wants

10. Offer, promise

11. Be optimistic

12. Include both S and H in the activity

13. Give (or ask for) reasons

14. Assume or assert reciprocity

Group 3: Fulfil H’s want for someone

15. Give gifts to H (goods, sympathy, understanding, cooperation)

Nguyen Quang (2004) added two more strategies:

16. Comford and encourage H

17. Ask personal question

“Positive politeness utterances are used as a kind of metaphorical

extension of intimacy, to imply common ground or sharing of wants to

limited extension even between strangers who perceive themselves, for

the purposes of interaction. For the same reason, positive politeness

strategies are usable not only for FTA redress, but in general as a kind of

57

social accelarator, where S, in using them, indicates that s/he wants to

‘come closer’ to H” (Brown and Levinson, 1987: 103).

3.5.8. Negative politeness strategies

Negative politeness, according to Brown and Levinson (1987:70), “is

oriented mainly toward partially satisfying (redressing) H’s negative face,

his basic want to maintain claims of territory and self-determination.”

They further state that negative politeness: “is the heart of respect

behavior, just as positive politeness is the kernel of ‘familiar’ and ‘joking’

behavior. Negative politeness corresponds to ‘negative rites’. Where

positive politeness is free-ranging, negative politeness is specific and

focused; it performs the function of minimizing the particular imposition

that the FTA unavoidably effects.” In Brown and Levinson’s opinion,

“when we think of politeness in Western cultures, it is negative politeness

behavior that springs to mind. In our culture, negative politeness is the

most elaborate and the most conventionalized set of linguistic strategies

for FTA redress” (1987:130).

Nguyen Quang (2005:87), based on the functions of negative politeness

in communication, defines negative politeness as “any communicative

acts (verbal and nonverbal) which is intentionally and approprately meant

to show that S does not want to impinge on H’s privacy, thus enhancing

the sense of distance between them.”

In Bentahila and Davies’ words (1989:101), “negative politeness is

understood as a concern not to impose upon others or restrict their

freedom, but remain distance”. While positive politeness narrows the

distance between interlocutors, negative politeness keeps a distance

between them. As informed by Nguyen Quang (2005:89), positive

politeness can be called “Intimate politeness”, “Close politeness”,

“Warm politeness” while negative politeness can be differently named as

“Deference politeness”, or “Distancing politeness”, “Cold politeness”.

58

Negative politeness, thus, is essentially avoidance-based, and the

realization of negative politeness strategies consists in assurances that S

recognizes and respects H’s negative face wants and will not or only

minimally interfere with H’s freedom of action.

There are five main positive politeness mechanisms:

- Be direct

- Don’t presume/assume

- Don’t coerse H

- Communicate S’s want to not impinge on H

- Redress other wants of H’s, derivative from negative face

According to Nguyen Quang (2004), there are 11 strategies of negative

politeness:

1. Be conventinally indirect. Eg: I wonder if you could posibly

lend me the book?

2. Question, hedge. Eg: If you don’t mind/ if you can/ if it is

possible/ if you want to help me…… Could you possibly by any

chance lend me your car for just a few minutes?- Dạ phiền anh

có thể cho tôi mượn cái xe một phút được không ạ?

3. Be pestimistic. Eg: Will you open the door please?

4. Minimise the imposition. Eg: Could you lend me a little paper?

5. Give deference. Eg: I think I must be absolutely stupid but I

simply do not know how to open this box.

6. Apologise. Eg: I’m sorry to bother you but could you change

your seat with me?

7. Impersonalise S and H. Eg: It is necessary to give your opinion.

8. State the FTA as a general rule. Eg: Passengers will please

refrain from flushing toilets on the train.

9. Nominalise. Eg: We urgently request your cooperation.

59

10. Go on record as incurring a debt or not indebting H. Eg: I’d be

very grateful if you would put in a good word for me. Nếu được

anh chị giúp đỡ thì tôi không bao giờ dám quên ơn (anh/chị)

11. Avoid asking personal questions. Eg: How are you? ( health)

How are things? (job)

In sum negative politeness is understood as a concern not to impose upon

others or restrict their freedom, but remain distant. While positive

politeness narrows the distance between interlocutors, negative politeness

keeps a distance between them. This is also known as the “formal

politeness strategy”or “Deference politness”, or “Distancing

politeness”. In Brown and Levinson’s opinion, negative politeness is

considered more polite and formal than positive politeness.

In a whole, according to Brown and Levinson (1987:15-17), “ three

sociological factors are crucial in determining the level of politeness

which a speaker (S) will use to an addressee (H): these are relative power

(P) of H over S, the social distance (D) between S and H, and the ranking

of the imposition (R) involved in doing the FTA”. And “for cross cultural

comparison these three (P,D,R) compounded of culturally specific

dimension of hierarchy, social distance, and and ranking of imposition,

seem to do a remarkably adequate job in predicting politeness

assessments”.

Furthermore, according to Nguyen Quang (2004:186), in Vietnamese

language and culture, sometimes it is difficult to clearly distinguish

between this and that strategy in positive or negative politeness, or even

in both of them. Look at the following example:

- Em xin lỗi phiền bác xin cho cháu được vào học lớp bác dạy thì gia

đình em biết ơn bác lắm lắm.

60

+ Positive politeness strategies used in this statement: Use in-group

identity markers, addressing form (danymic relationship type III): bác-

em

+ Negative politeness strategies used in this statement:

- Give deference: được vào học lớp bác dạy

- Apologise: xin lỗi phiền bác

- Go on record as incurring a debt or not indebting H: biết ơn

In one statement, Vietnamese people can use both positive and negative

politeness strategies to reach to the goal of communication.

Politeness is a large and complicating field which need to be studied more

and more to deeply understand all aspects of its.

61

CONCLUSION

1. Major findings

Traditionally, in teaching and learning languages, grammaratical

structures were of primary concern. Today, communication and

communicative competence are of the first priority. Due to cross-

linguistic and cross-cultural differences, the English and the Vietnamese

have different ways of expressing themselves, communicating and

moreover they differ from art, religion, belief, etc. Therefore, in order to

avoid culture shock and communication breakdown cross-cultural

interactants should be equipped with more and more awareness of not

only cross-linguistic, but also cross-cultural differences.

In this study, the author compiles teaching supplementary materials for

cross-cultural communication for English major students at VMU. This

study gives the definitions of culture, communication, cross-cultural

communication; the differences and similarities in verbal and non-verbal

communication between the two countries as well as some practical

exercises. These teaching supplementary materials can be used for

students’ self-study because learner-centered orientation has become

more and more popular in the new teaching methodology.

2. Implications for English language teaching

It is imperative that the learning and teaching of a language concentrate

on communication with an emphasis on communicative competence

rather than on linguistic competence only. Good techniques and methods

for teaching culture as well as applying it to foreign language teaching are

not easy to be found and applied effectively. To help students (SS) use

the language they learn accurately and natively, teachers (Ts) should

provide them with both linguistic and cultural input during the teaching

and learning process. “ If we teach language without teaching at the same

62

time the culture in which it operates, we are teaching meaningless

symbols or symbols to which the SS attach the wrong meaning; for

unless he is warned, he receives cultural instruction, he will associate

American concepts or objects with the foreign symbols.”(R.Polizer,

1959).

Conclusively, the role of language teachers is essentially important

because they are the ones help the learners get the second language by

instructing, encouraging, guiding, and explaining, etc. There are some

useful techniques for teaching cultural awareness which can be described

as follows:

1. Role-play: Being an actor or actress

This technique is especially useful for directly involving SS in cross-

cultural misunderstandings by having selected members to act out in a

series of short scenes to aware misinterpretation of something happening

in the target culture.

Activty: MAKING REQUESTS

Aim: to raise SS’ awareness of different levels of politeness in making

requests.

Material: flash card

Level: Intermediate or above

Time: 10 to 15 minutes.

Instruction: SS work in pairs, decide the best way of making request in

each situation, using the card given by Ts.

The card used could be:

63

A: You are customer. You have just

finished a meal. Request for the bill.

B: You are waiter.

A: You are in the street. You want to get

a lift

B: You are the driver

A: You are the robber in a bank. You

want 50000$

B: You are the bank

officer.

2. Cultural assimilators. Situation-base (Karin's ESL party land/

www.eslpartyland.com )

This is a brief description of a critical incident of cross cutural interaction

that would probably be understood by the SS. Ts can provide SS with

some cultural situations (involving some solutions). SS have to work out

the solutions which are appropriate.

Aim: To increase awareness of appropriate behaviors in English-speaking

cultures; to compare and contrast these behavior patterns with those in the

SS’ own cultures.

Materials: A task sheet for each student.

Level: Elementary to Intermediate or above

Time: 15 to 20 minutes

You’ve got a doctor’s appointment

and need to leave class early. What

would you do?

You have got a question about

something the teacher has just said in

class. What would you do?

Your neighbour has a dog barking

all night. You have to go to work in

early moring. It drives you up the

wall. What will you say to your

neighbour.

Your neighbours are very noisy. They

play loud music late at nigh and often

hold late night party. You have asked

them to be quieter, but they are

always very rude. What should you

do now?

64

3. The culture island

Through the use of posters, picture cues, projector, Ts can attract

SS’attention to the target culture; elicit questions and comments (George

H. Hughes, 1986:167/8).

3. Limitations

Because of the curriculum of cross-cultural communication course, the

author has not had a chance to apply these teaching supplementary

materials to English major students at VMU. Hence, the author is not able

to assess the effectiveness of these materials.

Due to the constraints time, reference resources and especially the

researcher’s ability, mistakes are unavoidable. Constructive comments,

suggestions and recommendations are most welcome.

4. Further study

The author hopes that she would go further with her research on analysis

and assessment of effectiveness of these materials.

65

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66

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In Vietnamese

1. Nguyễn Văn Độ (2004). Tìm hiểu mối liên hệ Ngôn ngữ-Văn hóa.

Nhà xuất bản Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội

2. Nguyễn Quang (2002). Giao tiếp và giao tiếp giao văn hoá. Nhà

xuất bản Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội

67

3. Nguyễn Quang (2004). Một số vấn giao tiếp nội văn hoá và giao

văn hoá. Nhà xuất bản Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội.

4. Nguyễn Quang (2004). Có ®iÓn dông häc Anh – ViÖt. Nhà xuất

bản Tõ §iÓn B¸ch Khoa Hà Nội.

Website

1. www.assertbh.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Body-Language

2. www.buzzle.com/articles/hand-gestures-in-different-cultures.html

3. www.capitaleap.org/ body-language-what-were-reallysaying

4. www.eslpartyland.com

5. www.ESLvideo.com

6. www.insightings.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/directness-speech-

acts

7. www.web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/490/wchild/wchild21.htm