Similarities and differences between cultural aspects of apology givings of vietnamese and english in communication and some particularly social situations

Due to the fact that language has consistently been the main element of human social communication, meanwhile English is an international language and used as the medium of interaction ,

TABLE OF CONTENT

I INTRODUCTION……… 2

1 Rationale of the study …………: 2

2 Aims and objectives 4

3 Scope of the study 4

.4 Methods……… 4

II.CONTENTS PART I.THEORETICALBACKGROUND: 5

1.1.Speech and Apology-givings Etiquette……… …… 5

1.2 “Face” in Interpersonal Interaction……… 5

1.3 Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction……… 6

1.4 Social and Cultural factors in the Ue of Apology-givings………6

1.5 Social and Cultural factors in the Use of Apology-givings……… 6

PART II TABLE OF SOME PARTICULAR SITUATIONS IN WHICH EXPRESSING APOLOGIES IS RECOMMENDED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE……… 7-10 PART III DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 11

1 Data analysis……… 11

2 Discussion the Table III about the similarities and differences in socio-cultural features of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese………… ………… 13

PART IV PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS …… 13

1 For the teachers: 13

2 For the students: 14

III.Conclusion 15

IV REFERENCE……… 17

I INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

The main reason making English become one of the most important languages in the world are the speedy globalization of the world and the consequent need for effective communication language As a result, learning English has become a basic and urgent need.However, it’s not enough to learn grammar and vocabulary.Learning pragmatic and cultural competence is very necessary so that learners can use target language in a apropriateb way Speech acts are of all importance in daily language.In this study, speech act is the apology which belong to expressive speech, in which speakers try to indicate their attitudes

It can not deny that communication, in particular conversation, has become an indispensible demand of human beings Due to the fact that language has consistently been the main element of human social communication, meanwhile English is an international language and used as the medium of interaction , the demand to master it and effectively use it has been more and more great It is by means of communication that human employ language to exchange and express their ideas and purposes as well as to maintain the social relations

Of all the functions of language, apology-givings have played a significant role in everyday social interaction of every society

Because each linguistic system has its own ways of expressing ideas, in particular apology-givings, the learners of foreign languages have to develop the socio-cultural appropriateness As a result, they can avoid the misunderstandings and gain effectively communicative goals

According to Spence-Oatey : ‘culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioural conventions, and basic assumptions and values that is shared by a

group of people, and that influences each member’s interpretations of the meanings of other people’s behaviours’ In fact, such social factors as social contexts, different relationships between interlocutors, genders, ages etc remarkably affect the ways of using linguistic items, particularly in expressing apologies in real situations

The differences in the importance of saying ‘sorry’ in Vietnamese and English culture:

For Vietnamese people, the stories of saying ‘sorry’ still need to mention

as much as modern life has developed ‘Sorry’ is only a simple word, however, it means a lot in not only formal conversations but also daily situations as well

Whereas, people from Western countries use ‘sorry’ in their whole life They have been to say ‘sorry’ since they were kids, and we can see this still appear on their lips every time This culture has embedded in their minds and has existed in Western communities for hundreds of years

Admittedly, cultural barriers cause numerous problems encountering Vietnamese students when learning English

Theoretically, the study is carried out to indicate the similarities and differences in ways of apology-givings in two languages: English and Vietnamese in social and cultural features Also, some suggested implications are mentioned for English teaching in this study

For Vietnamese students, to give apology when they make mistakes is very popular but to make it more formal ,I would like to recommend some ways

to give apology in an extra-curricular lesson It also helps students to have a intensive lesson.they can study more effectively

For that reason, I, in my efforts, try to concentrate upon the topic with an aim to enhancing learners’ language competence as well as to helping them overcome the difficulties they encounter during their learning

I hope through this research, learners can understand and use the word

‘Sorry’ more effectively They need to know that saying ‘Sorry’ is also a beautiful characteristic in every culture from all around the world We shouldn’t

be afraid or ashamed of saying ‘I’m sorry’ or other kinds of giving apologies

2 Aims and objectives.

This study aims to find out distinctions and resemblances in ways of apology-givings; the effect of Cultural and Social behavious in apologising in the two languages: English and Vietnamese

The study is intended:

- To present theoriotical background on apology-givings

-To collect some popular situations in which we should say ‘Sorry’ from students in some particular situations

-To present some differences in characteristics of the word ‘sorry’ between in English and in Vietnamese as well as the difficulties which Vietnamese learners may have to face in terms of understanding this word

-To suggest some implications paying ways for learners in effectively using apology-givings as well as teachers in helping their students encountering with native speakers

3 Scope of the study

In researching the ways of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese , due to lack of time, the study will not survey all linguistic aspects With respect

to expressive means, it will be driven to find out differences and resemblances in socio-cultural features, not lexical, phonetic and stylistic ones In terms of social features, it will be focused on gender social status affecting ways of giving apologies especially to students at Quang Xuong 2 high school

4 Methods: -Analyzing methods

-Comparative methods

This research on ‘Sorry’ culture is carried out by not only analyzing methods but also comparative methods in the hope that learners could realize and understand how it plays such an important role in our life From that point, they can say this word more often as well as use it in the most intelligent and effective way Besides, information in the research was collected from many sources so that learners will get broad knowledge of this culture in order to apply successfully into their real lives

II CONTENTS

PART I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1 Speech and Apology-givings Etiquette

1.1 Definition of an apology and Etiquette of speech

An apology is a word or statement saying for something has been done wrong or that causes a problem (Oxford Advanced Learners)

Acording to Brown and Levinson, apologies are politeness strategies.An apology

is a fundermental speech act which is a part of human communication occurs in every culture

In order to perform the role of the most important means in communication, language is considered and brightened to obtain a high ability of thought expressing “Etiquette of speech is seen as a system of everlasting formulate with race’s specific They are recorded in social communication and accepted by the society to set up relationship among interlocutors…”[6]

1.2 Apology-giving Etiquette

When people speak, they make utterances An utterance is communicative unit, comprising of sound or word strings used in a certain occation to imply a purpose “Utterance is the use by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion of

a piece of language such as a sequence of sentences, a single phrase or even a single word”(60,p.15)

1.3 “Face” in Interpersonal Interaction

According to Goffman (53,p.310), ‘the term “face” may be defined as the

positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume that has taken during a particular contact Face in an image of self delineated in terms of approval social attribute-albeit an image that other may share, as when a person may a good showing for his profession or religion by making good showing for himself.’

1.4 Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction

Politeness is such an interesting phenomenon that many linguistic experts have done research so far The concept of politeness have expressed by many authors such as Yule( 1996), Leech (1983), Brown and Levinson(1987)…

Yule( 1996) states that : “ Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction can be

defined as the mean employ to show the awareness of another person’ face.”

Leech (1983) notes that politeness means to minimine the effect of impolite statements and maximine the effect of possitive politeness

Giving apology is one of the most sensitive ways of daily communication

in term of politeness It plays a crucial role in keeping people happy friendship lasts long As a normal social habit, people would get angry when apologying is not given in apropriate time

1.5 Social and Cultural factors in the Use of Apology-givings

1.5.1 The Habit of Using apology

In Vietnam, people do not use apology in communication as much as English.In England ,they give apology naturally and effectively.They think that giving apology is one of the polite ways in communication when they have done something wrong or even when they want to get attention

1.5.2 Communication Style

Giving apology in England is more popular than in Vietnam They use it

in daily communication frequently because it is a polite cultural

PART II TABLE OF SOME PARTICULAR SITUATIONS IN WHICH EXPRESSING APOLOGIES IS RECOMMENDED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

When

people do

something

wrong

*In formal situations:Such as

-in a restaurant, to express your regret or to tell that you are really sorry because your food didn’t meet

the standards

Eg –I’m (really) sorry

The soup is rather salty

-Sorry The soup is

rather salty

This way is very popular

in English culture

*In informal situations:

Eg -I’m (really) sorry

I’m late

-I’m (so) sorry I

forgot your birthday

-My bad.

-It’s my fault.

Eg – Xin lỗi ông/bà Món súp hơi mặn

This is popular in nice restaurants in Vietnam

Eg.- ‘Tôi sơ ý làm vỡ ly rồi

Xin lỗi cô nhé.’

- Xin lỗi anh, tôi không cố

ý xúc phạm anh

- Đó là lỗi của con Con đã

làm rách cuốn sách của mẹ

Mẹ hãy tha lỗi cho con

This is also used but not mostly

- Whoops’ or ‘Oops, sorry’

(when you by chance make a small mistake You feel quite bad about one thing, but it is not a horrible mistake)

This is used commonly with high tone and apologising attitude to show the mistakes even very small

-Student: -I’m sorry I’m late

- I’m sorry I have made a mistake

- I’m sorry I forgot

my books

in every situation Worse, the tone and the attitude of the mistake-makers is rather in low voice

-This is very popular in most situations in class in Vietnam

When

people want

to give

reasons:

Eg –I’m sorry I’m late but I

missed the bus

This is regularly used in English regardless of who you are

Eg Xin lỗi tôi đến muộn Tôi

bị nhỡ xe buýt This is mostly used when you are in junior position in society It seldom happens with

an employer

When

something

bad

happens to

someone

Eg -I’m sorry to hear that you

failed in the driving test

-I’m sorry to inform that

your application form was turned down

Eg –Tôi/Chúng tôi thật lấy

làm tiếc khi phải thông báo với

quí khách đi chuyến bay VA102 rằng chuyến bay sẽ bị hoãn lại trong 30 phút vì lý do

This is not only in special occations but also in daily conversations to sympathize

thời tiết

This is only used in special situations such as at the airport

or station It is hardly used in daily conversations

When

people want

to ask

someone to

repeat:

Eg -I’m sorry I didn’t hear

that can you say that again?

-Excuse me, I’m afraid I

didn’t catch it Can you repeat it?

This way is always used to show politeness

Eg –Xin lỗi, ông nhắc lại họ

tên đầy đủ của ông được không ạ?

- Em xin lỗi, em chưa nghe

cô hỏi gì Cô có thể nhắc lại câu hỏi được không ạ?

This way is maybe only used in classroom or at a post office service

When you

want to

interrupt

someone

Eg I’m sorry but can I get

through?

-I hate to interrup but you

have an appointment at 9.AM (It means your polite reminding the boss about his appointment at 9.AM when

he is talking to another)

-Excuse me, Can you tell me

where the National Library is,

Eg –Xin lỗi xếp, nhưng xếp sắp

có một cuộc hẹn lúc 9h

(it also means your polite reminding the boss about his appointment at 9AM when he is talking to another)

This is commonly in certain situations such as in companies

or offices

-Xin lỗi, rất ngại khi phải ngắt

lời bạn, nhưng bạn có thể chỉ

This way is commonly employed in any situation even when you are in the superior status in society

đường tới thư viện quốc gia được không ạ?

This way is not common Only some polite people use it when they interrup others’ work

Apologizing

word

- Sorry,

- Pardon

- Excuse me!

- Forgive

- Xin lỗi

- Tha lỗi

- Tha thứ

- Lượng thứ Apologizing

-question

-Excuse me! Could/Can you please show me the way to the post office?

- Excuse me! Can you tell the way to …

-Xin lỗi, cô cho cháu hỏi đường

đi đến bưu điện?

Apologizing

sentence

- I beg your pardon

- I am terribly sorry to

leave you waiting such

a long time

- We apologize for…

-Xin tạ lỗi

-Thành thật xin lỗi vì tôi để anh đợi lâu như vậy

Apologizing

question

- Are you willing to forgive

me?

-Will you accept my apology?

-B (Hearer) có sẵn lòng tha thứ/thứ lỗi/tha lỗi cho A (Speaker) không?

-(Does B have willing forgive for A?)

PART III DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

1 Data analysis

The samples collected were described qualitatively in terms of politeness

in Interpersonal Interaction, social and cultural factors in the use of apology-givings as well as the habit of using language according to modern linguistic points of view in English and Vietnamese

The frequency of apology-giving culture is used in the table in comparison between English and Vietnamese

The contrastive method was applied to analyse the similarities and differences in the socio-cultural features of apology-givings in the two languages

Some generalizations and implications were drawn out after the data analysis

In general, giving apology in Vietnam is not as popular as in England

2 Discussion the Table III about the similarities and differences in socio-cultural features of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese.

2.1 The similarities.

Firstly, in both languages English and Vietnamese, apology-givings are used when you do something wrong regardless of formal or informal situations

Secondly, apology-givings are also employed when you want to hear something bad to someone else or you want to inform something not good for them

Thirdly, apology-givings are also employed when you want to interrupt someone in their mid-sentence to show politeness

However, some aspects of apologising culture are distinctive in these two languages

2.2 The differences