Tiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and Vietnamese

Tiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and VietnameseTiểu luận Ngôn ngữ Anh: Comparisons of discursive structures of English and Vietnamese

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part A: Introduction……… 1

1 Rationale……… 1

2 Aims of Study ……… 1

3 Scope of the Study ……… 1

4 Research Question……… 1

5 Methodology of the Study……… 2

6 Organization of the Thesis ……… 2

Part B: Development………. 2

Chapter 1 – Literature Review and Theoretical Background……… 2

1 Literature Review……… 2

2 Theoretical Background……… 2

2.1 General Description of Discourse Analysis……… 2

2.2 Characteristics of Resignation Letters……… 3

Chapter 2: Analysis of Discourse Structure in English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters……… 3

2.1 Detail Analysis of Move Types in English Resignation Letters……… 3

2.1.1 Move 1 – Opening……… 3

2.1.2 Move 2 – Addressing……… 3

2.1.3 Move 3 – Stating Resignation & Informing the Last Day of Work……… 3

2.1.4 Move 4 – Giving the Reason of Resignation Positively……….…4

2.1.5 Move 5 – Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition……… 4

1.1.6 Move 6 – Requesting Interest from the Old Company……….… 4

1.1.7 Move 7 – Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success……….….5

1.1.8 Move 8 – Ending……….…6

2.2 General Analysis of Move Types in Vietnamese Resignation Letters……… ……6

2.2.1 Move 1’ – Opening……….………7

2.2.2 Move 2’ – Addressing……….……7

2.2.3 Move 3’ – Introducing Oneself……….….7

2.2.4 Move 4’ – Stating Resignation & Informing the Last Working Date……….……8

2.2.5 Move 5’ – Stating the Reason of Resignation ………….……… 8

2.2.6 Move 6’ – Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition……… 8

2.2.7 Move 7’ – Committing Onself to Fulfill One’s Duty………8

2.2.8 Move 8’ – Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success……… 8

2.2.9 Move 9’ – Requesting Interest from the Old Company……….9

2.2.10 Move 10’ – Ending……… …… 10

Chapter 3: Comparing and Contrasting discourse structure of English and Vietnamese resignation letters……….10

3.1 The Surface Features of English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters……… …10

3.1.1Length of Discourse……… ……… 10

3.1.2 Paragraph, Sentence, Vocabulary…….……… ……… ……10

3.2 The ‘Move Analysis’ of English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters……….… 11

3.2.1 The Analytical Framework……… …… 12

3.2.2 General Analysis of Move Types in English and Vietnamese Resignation Letter… 3.2.1 Opening……….………13

3.2.2 Addressing………13

3.2.3 Stating Resignation and Informing the Last Day of Work……… 14

3.2.4 Giving the Reason of Resignation………15

3.2.5 Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition……… ………15

3.2.6 Requesting Interest from the Old Company……….15

2.3.7 Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success………15

3.2.8 Ending……… ………15

Part C: Conclusion ……… ……… 16

1 Conclusions………

2 Recommendations………

References………

PART A – INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale:

A Business Letter, the most popular and the most widely written type of letter, is

used to serve as a means of communication written for various commercial purposes Thesepurposes can be a business deal, complaint, warning, notice, invitation, declaration,information, apology and various other corporate matters There are many types of businessletters such as Application Letter, Acceptance Letter, Demand Letter, Letter of Complaint,Resignation Letter, Sales Letters, etc Among these types of letters, the Letter ofResignation may receive the least notice because people often think that when they leavetheir jobs they have nothing to do with their old company and old employer However, agood resignation letter can help the employee maintain a positive relationship with his/ herold boss, and pave the way for him or her to move on In addition, the employee might need

a reference from the previous employer These show that knowing how to write a goodresignation letter is very important Nevertheless, it seems that no researchers concern thiskind of letter in English and Vietnamese Hence, in order to help people have betterunderstanding of resignation letters and see the similarities and differences in writing style

of English and Vietnamese resignation letters, this study focuses on comparing andcontrasting discourse structure of English and Vietnamese resignation letters

2 Aims of the Study:

The aims of the study are:

 To review the background knowledge of discourse analysis and resignation letters

 To point out the similarities and differences between discourse structures of Englishand Vietnamese resignation letters

 To give some suggestions for writing resignation letters in English and Vietnamese

3 Scope of the Study:

Conducting this study, I do not have the ambition to cover everything about discourseanalysis of English and Vietnamese resignation letters I only concentrate on analyzingEnglish and Vietnamese resignation letters in terms of discourse structures

4 Research Question:

What are the similarities and differences between discourse structures of English andVietnamese resignation letters?

5 Methodology of the Study:

‘Move analysis’ approach is applied in this research to analyze the discoursestructure of resignation letters in English and Vietnamese Besides, in order to find out thesimilarities and differences between discourse structure of English and Vietnameseresignation letters, the author uses comparison and contrast method

6 Organization of the Study: the study is divided into five main parts as follows:

letters, job applications (Bhatia, 1993), sociology articles (Brett,1994), dissertations(Hyland, 2003), or “Genre Analysis of Personal statements

Therefore, it is necessary to have a research in terms of discourse structure ofresignation letters in English and Vietnamese Hopefully, this study can bring somecontributions to the theory and implications of teaching and learning writing skill,especially writing English and Vietnamese resignation letters

2 Theoretical Background

2.1 General Description of Discourse Analysis:

Discourse Analysis:

We can say that discourse analysis gives us insight into various aspects of language

in use such as: how discourse norms and their realization in language differ from culture toculture; how talk follows regular patterns in a wide range of different situations; or howtexts are structured beyond sentence level

2.2 General Description of Resignation Letters:

A resignation letter is one kind of business letter which the employee uses toformally inform the employer that he is leaving his job A resignation letter can help theemployee keep a good relationship with his employer, and at the same time it helps himmake progress in his new career easily

Chapter 2 – Analysis of discourse structure in English and Vietnamese Resignation Letters

2.1.Detail Analysis of Move Types in English Resignation Letters

2.1.1 Move 1 – Opening

This move can be realized by means of the following two steps

Step A: The date of writing resignation letterStep B: The employer’s contact informationAll of the ten letters in the corpus have move 1 The position of this move is at thebeginning of the letters Its steps follow the order – step A step B in which step A is used

to state the date when the employee writes the resignation letter and step B contains theemployer’s contact information including name, title, company name, and address Someexamples are shown as follow:

5501 Old York Rd, Philadelphia, PA (215) 456-7890

2.1.2 Move 2 – Addressing:

Move 2 also appears in the whole corpus of English resignation letters It followsmove 1 and is utilized to address the employer This move always starts with the short andsimple structure: Dear + Mr/ Mrs/ Miss + the employer’s surname For instance:

Dear Mr Brown, Dear Mr Hession, Dear Mr Branson,

2.1.3.Move 3 – Stating Resignation and Informing the Last Day of Work

Move 3 is also considered a compulsory move type in this kind of letter because ofits appearing frequency in the corpus This move may be realized by means of two steps:

Step A: Stating resignation

Step B: Informing the last day of work

While step A is used to state resignation, the employees utilize step B to inform thefinal date when they work in their old companies Step B tends to appear right after step A

In the exception of two letters (no.9 and no.10), from letter no.1 to letter no.8, the position

of step B is right after step A (80 %) To express step B, the writers often use structure: ‘mylast/ final day (of work) will be…’

2.1.4 Move 4 – Giving the Reason of Resignation Positively

In the genre of resignation letters, there are many letters which do not give thereasons to resign However, because one of the criteria to select the corpus of this study isbased on the reason of resignation, that is pursuing new career Therefore, the move – givingthe reason of resignation positively is obligatory in this corpus Move 4 does not necessarilystay right after move 3 For instance, in the letter no.2, 3, and 8, following move 3 is move

7 Move 4 may be realized by means of one or more of two steps:

Step A: Stating the resignation reason

Step B: Expressing interest in the old job

Step A is used to state the reason why the employees give up their jobs This stepappears in all the ten letters In some letters, step A appears 2 or 3 times in the same

paragraph or in different paragraphs; for example, in letter no.1 this step turns up 2 times inparagraph 4, while the author of letter no.9 uses this step 3 times in paragraphs 3, 4, and 6.

2.1.5 Move 5 – Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition

Move 5 is used when the employees want to express their willingness to help the oldcompany with the transition Out of the ten letters, this move just appears in 5 letters (letterno.4, 6, 8, 9, 10); thus, it is optional This move is not always after move 4 In letter no.4, 6,

8, and 10, move 5 turns up one time Only in letter no.9 this move appears two times

In spite of offering to help the old company, the employees have to choose theexpression carefully to demonstrate their goodwill in helping with the transition As we cansee in the following examples, the authors usually use some structures: ‘please feel freeto…’, ‘please be assured that I will do all…’, ‘I’ll help all…’, or ‘I’ll be happy to help…’

2.1.6 Move 6 – Requesting Interest from the Old Company

Move 6 is utilized to request interest from the old company It is not necessarilyincluded in the English resignation letters because its appearing frequency is 10 % In thewhole corpus, this move only appears in letter no.10 In this letter, move 6 is even beforemove 5

In order to contribute to the acquisition of the general communicative purpose of thisgenre, that is persuading the employers to accept the resignation without feeling unpleasant,the vocabularies used in move 6 are very positive

2.1.7 Move 7 – Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success

Move 7 is used to express the employees’ deep gratitude to the old employers andcompanies, at the same time to wish the old companies success This move is consideredone of the most important moves in English resignation letters On this account, all of theten letters in the corpus have move 7 This move may be realized by means of one or more

of three steps:

Step A: Appreciating the old job

Step B: Thanking

Step C: Wishing success

In step B, the employees give thanking to the employers This step turns up in 7letters (no.2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10) in which this step has 2 times of appearance in letter no.2.The survey shows that the most used word in step B is ‘thank’

Step C is used when the writers want to give the wishes to the old companies Thefrequency of this step is 60 % This step can be found in the letters no.1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 Toexpress this step, the authors often use the words ‘wish’ and ‘success’.

In order to express sincerity in step A, the writers often use the words ‘sincerely’ (letter no

1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), ‘yours sincerely’ (letter no 10), or ‘yours respectfully’ (letter no 4) Followingstep A, the employees put their signatures to the letters and give their full names Here are someexamples:

This move can be realized by means of the following two steps

Step A’: The official name of the countryStep B’: The name of the letter

Move 1’ appears in all the ten letters in Vietnamese corpus The position of this move

is at the beginning of the letters Its steps follow the order – step A’ step B’ in which stepA’ is used to state the official name of the country and step B’ includes the name of theletter Because all the ten letters are written in Vietnamese and they have the same genre, sothe vocabularies used in move 1’ of ten letters are the same Some examples are shown asfollows:

CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM

Độc lập_Tự do _Hạnh phúc

ĐƠN XIN THÔI VIỆC

CỘNG HOÀ XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM

Độc lập - Tự do - Hạnh phúc

-*** -ĐƠN XIN THÔI VIỆC

2.2.2 Move 2’ – Addressing

This move also turns up in the whole corpus of Vietnamese resignation letters Itfollows move 1’ and is used in order to address the employer This move always starts withthe structure: Kính gửi + Ban giám đốc công ty…

2.2.3 Move 3’ – Introducing oneself

According to the survey, the frequency of move 3’ is 100% The position of thismove is always after move 2’ The employees will use this move to shortly introducethemselves Move 3’ can be realized by one or more of two steps:

Step A’: Providing personal informationStep B’: Establishing credentials

Step A’ is obligatory because it appears in all the letters in Vietnamese corpus In thisstep, the employees will give their personal information such as: the full name, the date ofbirth, the identity card number, the place of living, and the working department in which thefull name and the working department are paid most attention

2.2.4 Move 4’ – Stating Resignation and Informing the Last Working Date

Move 4’ is supposed to be a compulsory move type in this kind of letter because itsappearing frequency in the corpus is 100% Except for letter no.1’, in other letters, move 4’usually turns up after move 3’ This move may be realized by means of two steps:

Step A’: Stating resignation

Step B’: Informing the last working date

The writers utilize step A’ to inform that they will give up their jobs All the letters inthis corpus contain this step, even there are more than one time move A’ appears in someletters such as in letter no.2’, 5’, 7’, 9’ There are many ways to express this step Some

employees express the regret about their leaving with the structure: ‘tôi rất lấy làm tiếc vì sẽkhông làm việc tại công ty….’

2.2.5 Move 5’ – Stating the Reason of Resignation

Based on the result of the survey, move 5’ is one of the obligatory move types inVietnamese corpus In the exception of letter no.1’ and no.7’, this move is often right aftermove 4’ This move is utilized to state the reason why the employees give up their jobs.Although all the ten letters have the same reason of resignation, that is pursuing a newcareer, the style is various

Those are distinguished examples to express move 5’ The following structures areoften used in move 5’: ‘quyết định thay đổi mục tiêu nghề nghiệp’, ‘tìm kiếm/ mở rộng cơhội phát triển mới’, ‘phù hợp khả năng chuyên môn/ làm việc’, ‘xin vào vị trí…để học hỏithêm kinh nghiệm’

2.2.6 Move 6’ – Expressing the Willingness to Help with the Transition

Move 6’ only appears in three letters (no.7’, 8’, 10’) on the purpose of expressing thewillingness to help the old company with the transition Thus, this move is optional In letterno.7’, move 6’ follows move 4’ while it is after move 5’ in two letters no.8’ and 10’ Inorder to demonstrate their goodwill in helping with the transition, the employees oftenutilize the following structures: ‘tôi rất hân hạnh/ lấy làm vinh dự được giúp đỡ công tytrong việc tuyển chọn và đào tạo/ hướng dẫn/ giúp đỡ nhân viên mới thay vào vị trí của tôi’

2.2.7 Move 7’ – Committing oneself to fulfill one’s duty

The frequency of move 7’ is 70% It turns up in letters - no.2’, 3’ 4’, 6’, 8’, 9’, and10’ The position of this move is not necessarily right after move 6’ In letters no.2’, 3’, 9’,move 7’ is after move 4’ In letters no.4’, 6’, this move follows move 5’ Whereas in lettersno.8’, 10’, move 7’ is put after move 6’ The employees use move 7’ to express theircommitment to fulfill their duty before leaving for another job The following examples willhelp us to see more about how to express this move

The above examples indicate that some structures used in move 7’ are: ‘tôi cam đoanhoàn thành tốt công việc được giao’, ‘tôi sẽ bàn giao công việc đầy đủ và có trách nhiệmcho…’, ‘tôi sẽ tiếp tục làm việc nghiêm túc và tiến hành bàn giao công việc/ tài sản cho…’

2.2.8 Move 8’ – Showing Gratitude & Wishing Success

The employees utilize this move to show their deep gratitude, and to give the wishes

to the old companies as well This move plays an important part in Vietnamese resignationletters because its frequency is 90% Move 8’ is not necessarily after move 7’ This movemay be realized by means of one or more of three steps:

Step A’: Appreciating the old job

Step B’: Thanking

Step C’: Wishing success

The order of these three steps can be changed The writers will use step A’ toappreciate their old job This step can be found in letters - no.1’, 2’, 3’, 5’, 7’, 8’, and 9’.The result of analysis demonstrates that the most frequent used structures in this step are

‘thực sự hài lòng’, ‘lấy làm vinh dự được làm việc tại công ty…’, ‘được may mắn làm việcvới những đồng nghiệp tốt/ chân thành/ chuyên nghiệp trong một môi trường làm việc tốt’

While step A’ is used to appreciate the old jobs, step B’ is utilized to give thanking tothe employers This step turns up in 9 letters They are letters - no.1’, 2’, 3’, 5’, 6’, 7’, 8’, 9’and 10’; and in letter no.2’, this step appears two times The survey shows that the mostused word in step B’ is ‘cảm ơn’; and to make this step more positive, some writers use theword ‘xin chân thành’

In step C’, the employees wish their old companies success There are five lettershaving this step in which step C’ repeats in letter no.7’ To express this step, the authorsoften use the phrases ‘(chân thành) cầu chúc….thành công như mong muốn/ thịnh vượng vàphát triển’

2.2.9 Move 9’ – Requesting Interest from the Old Company

Move 9’ is used to request interest from the old company In Vietnamese corpus, it isonly included in letters - 1’, 2’, 3’, 8’, and 9’ In letters no.3’, 8’, and 9’, this move appearsafter move 8’ However, it follows move 4’ in letter no.1’; and it is put right after move 7’ inletter no.2’

Only in letter no.1’, the writer gives the request clearly so it is easy to find out thecommuncative purpose of this move

Để đảm bảo quyền & lợi ích của công ty cũng như của bản thân, tôi kính đề nghị công ty xem xét, chấp thuận & giải quyết quyền lợi cho tôi theo đúng trình tự, thủ tục quy định của công ty & pháp luật về lao động (letter no.1’)