A study on tourism cultural features of the english and vietnamese people in some online travel advertisements from cross cultural perspective

38 CHAPTER 4: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE TOURISM CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PEOPLE AS LINGUISTICALLY REPRESENTED IN SOME ONLINE TRAVEL ADVERTISEMENTS ....

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

- -

NGUYỄN THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG

A STUDY ON TOURISM CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE

ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PEOPLE IN SOME ONLINE TRAVEL

ADVERTISEMENTS FROM CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Nghiên cứu về những Đặc điểm Văn hóa Du lịch của người Anh và người Việt

trong một số Quảng cáo Du lịch Điện tử từ Góc độ Giao tiếp Giao văn hóa

MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English linguistics Code : 60220201

Hanoi - 2017

Số thứ tự:……

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

- -

NGUYỄN THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG

A STUDY ON TOURISM CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE

ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PEOPLE IN SOME ONLINE TRAVEL

ADVERTISEMENTS FROM CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Nghiên cứu về những Đặc điểm Văn hóa Du lịch của người Anh và người Việt

trong một số Quảng cáo Du lịch Điện tử từ Góc độ Giao tiếp Giao văn hóa

MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English linguistics Code : 60220201

Supervisor: Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn

Hanoi - 2017

Số thứ tự:……

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DECLARATION

I, Nguyễn Thị Minh Phương, hereby certify that the thesis “A Study on Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People in some Online Travel Advertisements from Cross-cultural Perspective” is

submitted for the partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of Graduate Studies - University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi I also declare that this thesis is the result of my own research and efforts and that it has not been submitted

for any other purposes

Hanoi, 2017 Signature

Nguyễn Thị Minh Phương

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my indebtedness and sincere gratitude

to my supervisor Dr Huynh Anh Tuan for his invaluable guidance and great support without which this thesis would not have been completed

Besides, I am heartily thankful to all the lecturers and teachers of the Faculty of Graduate Studies - University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their valuable and interesting lectures and assistance during my study at the university

Last but not least, I send my special thanks to my husband, my family and my friends who have provided abundant assistance and encouragement while this work was in progress

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ABSTRACT

This study aims at finding out travel cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online English and Vietnamese advertisements A comparison was made to find out the similarities and differences between the tourism cultures of the two countries

A combination of descriptive, comparative and contrastive method was used

to figure out typical features, similarities and differences in tourism culture of the two countries from cross cultural perspective The study analyses the words, phrases and structures revealing tourism cultural features in the advertisements in six categories: landscape, cuisine, activity, transportation, accommodation and weather The result reveals that there exist some similarities and differences in tourism culture of the two countries as linguistically represented in the advertisements

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the Study 1

2 Aims of the Study 2

3 Research Questions 3

4 Scope of the Study 3

5 Method of the Study 3

6 Analytical Framework 4

7 Design of the Study 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 6

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1.1 Theoretical Background 6

1.1.1 Advertising and Tourism 6

1.1.2 Culture and Tourism Culture 7

1.1.3 Tourism Language 7

1.1.4 Cross-cultural Communication 8

1.2 Previous Related Studies 10

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOY 11

2.1 Research Questions 11

2.2 Research Methods 11

2.2.1 Method of Description 11

2.2.2 Methods of Comparison and Contrast 12

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2.3 Data Source 14 2.4 Data Collection 14 2.5 Data Analysis Framework 14

CHAPTER 3: TOURISM CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PEOPLE AS LINGUISTICALLY REPRESENTED

IN SOME ONLINE TRAVEL ADVERTISEMENTS 21

3.1 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically

Represented in some Online Travel Advertisements 21 3.1.1 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Landscape 21 3.1.2 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Cuisine 23 3.1.3 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Activity 24 3.1.4 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Accommodation 26 3.1.5 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Transportation 26 3.1.6 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Weather 27 3.1.7 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Other Features 28

3.2 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as Linguistically

Represented in some Online Travel Advertisements 31 3.2.1 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as

Linguistically Represented in Landscape 31 3.2.2 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as

Linguistically Represented in Cuisine 32

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3.2.3 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as

Linguistically Represented in Activity 33 3.2.4 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as

Linguistically Represented in Accommodation 34 3.2.5 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as

Linguistically Represented in Transportation 35 3.2.6 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as

Linguistically Represented in Weather 37 3.2.7 Tourism Cultural Features of the Vietnamese People as

Linguistically Represented in Other Features 38

CHAPTER 4: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE TOURISM CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PEOPLE AS LINGUISTICALLY REPRESENTED IN SOME ONLINE TRAVEL ADVERTISEMENTS 42

4.1 Similarities in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in some Online Travel

Advertisements 42 4.1.1 Similarities in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and

Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Landscape 42 4.1.3 Similarities of Tourism Cultural Features of the English and

Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Activity 46 4.1.4 Similarities in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and

Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Accommodation 48 4.1.5 Similarities in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and

Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Transportation 49 4.1.6 Similarities in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and

Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Weather 50 4.1.7 Similarities in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and

Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in other Features 50

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4.2 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in some Online Travel

Advertisements 51

4.2.1 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Landscape 51

4.2.2 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Cuisine 53

4.2.3 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Activity 55

4.2.4 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Accommodation 57

4.2.5 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Transportation 58

4.2.6 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Weather 59

4.2.7 Differences in Tourism Cultural Features of the English and Vietnamese People as Linguistically Represented in Other Features 59

PART C: CONCLUSION 61

1 Recapitulation 61

2 Discussion 63

3 Limitations of the Study 64

4 Suggestions for Further Studies 64

REFERENCES 65

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PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the Study

Tourism is one of the world's largest industries and one of its fastest growing economic sectors The more the society develops, the better the quality of life becomes As living standards have risen in Vietnam, people are spending more money travelling There are more and more people who choose travelling as a kind of their favorite entertainment In the past, travel typically took the form of visiting relatives at their home, or taking a company trip to the beach with one's colleagues More recently, however, travel has become more diverse as people look forward to enriching their lifestyles This trend is helping to redefine Vietnam's tourism industry

Since the tourist industry has become one of the most important economic influences and also one of the fastest growing industries of modern times, it needs certain advertising and public relation efforts to offer various services to the travelling public and encourage people to travel to specific places Today advertisements are more and more used by organizations to promote their products and services They are the main support for communication in business and the main link between the companies and their customers Moreover, the essence of advertising is convincing people what a product is meant for them Advertisements supply people with all information including transport, accommodation, cuisine, and so on about destinations Therefore, they can decide where they would like to go So according to Levitt‟s theory (1983), it would be really easy for the companies

to persuade the customers all around the world to buy their products

It cannot be denied that advertising makes a great contribution to the development of tourism industry Only by dint of advertisements can a

From these reasons, I decided do research into tourism cultural features

of the English and Vietnamese people linguistically represented in some online advertisements to find out the similarities and differences in six features which include landscape, cuisine, activity, transportation, accommodation and weather of the two countries It is hoped that the findings

of the study might help tour organizers have strategies to attract tourists

2 Aims of the Study

The aims of the thesis are:

- To study tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements from cross-cultural perspective

- To find out the similarities and differences in tourism culture between the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements

- To help tourism organizers know the culture of tourism of the two countries to have strategies to attract tourists

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3 Research Questions

3.1 What are the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements from cross- cultural perspective?

3.2 What are the similarities and differences in the tourism cultural features

of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements?

4 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is the tourism cultural features, similarities and differences in the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements The advertisements are gathered from four English and Vietnamese famous websites which are Sunday Express (www.express.co.uk), The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk), Thong tin du lich (baodulich.net.vn) and

Du lich Viet Nam (baodulich.com)

These advertisements are written in English, aimed at British readership which may include people from England, Scotland and Wales

5 Method of the Study

To achieve the aims stated, methods of description, comparison and contrast are used to highlight the similarities and differences in the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements

Description is used to find out the cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements

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Comparison and contrast are used to highlight the similarities and differences in the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements discovered from cross-cultural perspective

Since this study dwells largely on the practical aspects of cross-cultural communication, the main method of analyzing data is qualitative in which the units of analysis are words, phrases, sentence structures showing the tourism cultures of the two countries as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements The results will be discussed to find out the similarities and differences in tourism culture of the English and Vietnamese people

The data of the thesis are travel advertisements in some English and Vietnamese online travel newspapers

6 Analytical Framework

The research is devoted to studying tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people to find out the similarities and differences in the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnam as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements from cross-cultural perspective My focus is on words, phrases and structures about tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people including six features: landscape, cuisine, activity, accommodation, transportation and weather

7 Design of the Study

The paper consists of three parts

Part A, Introduction, covers rationale, aims, research questions, scope,

methods, and design of the study

Part B, Development, is composed of four chapters:

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Chapter one deals with theoretical discussions

Chapter two is devoted to the methodology

Chapter three presents tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements

Chapter four compares tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people to find out the similarities and differences in tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements

Part C, Conclusion, offers the overview of major findings and

suggestions for further study

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical Background

This part presents the theoretical backgrounds related to the topic which are advertising, tourism, culture and tourism culture, language of tourism and cross-cultural communication

1.1.1 Advertising and Tourism

There are many definitions of advertising Advertising is considered to

be the activity or profession of producing information for promoting the sale

of commercial products or services Advertising is defined as a linguistic and social activity because it depends on a language as the medium to accomplish

a social activity An advertisement is “a public notice designed to spread information with a view to promoting the sales of marketable goods and services” (Cook, 1992) Advertising helps to introduce a new product or service to customers It creates demand of buying things or service

According to Widdowson (1996), human language “serves as a means of cognition and communication: it enables us to think for ourselves and to cooperate with other people in our community It can be concluded that advertising is a kind of communication between the creator of advertisement (in fact, the copywriter who substitutes the producer/seller and transfers his ideas into advertisements), and the consumer

It can be seen that, the meaning of advertising is to transmit a product to the reader, in other words, the advertiser is trying to persuade the reader or the tourist to come to the destination This shows advertising is a kind of communication with its own principles The code of the language has to be known by all participants of the communication

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Today, tourism is a fastest growing industry in the world Advertising plays a vital and important role in promoting tourism In today‟s world, communication network has become more efficient and informative with the use of the internet Online advertisements can promote tourism by projecting

a destination so that readers have the ideas and information to choose where they should go and which tour they should book

1.1.2 Culture and Tourism Culture

According to Samovar (2009), culture is “a complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society” Zimmermann,

in the website http://www.livescience.com/, defines culture as the

“characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts” Hofstede (2005:4) states that culture is “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the member of one group or category of people from others”

One way of dividing people in the world is by their nationalities Cultural differences and similarities may exist among different nationalities Tourism culture of a country refers to habits, hobbies and viewpoints of people in that country when they travel Every country has its own tourism culture because of differences in belief, custom, language, religion, cuisine, life style, habit and so on

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language of Tourism”, Dann (1996) states that tourism has its own language

in advertising He suggests that written language and pictures in travel advertisements are a specific language

The language of tourism has become pervasive and familiar in our society since it is part of a promotional language used by the mass media and replicated in conversation Indeed, tourism uses language to manipulate reality and turning an anonymous place into a tourist destination Language becomes the most powerful driving force in tourism promotion, whose aim is

“to persuade, lure, woo and seduce millions of human beings, and, in so doing, convert them from potential into actual clients” (Dann, 1996)

Tourism language includes language in the following fields:

Geography: the language of geography describes destination, surroundings Economics: tourism market and strategies of advertising tours

Sociology: concepts of factors in promoting tourism development and types of

tourism

Psychology: tourists‟ feeling of destinations

And some other fields such as history, cuisine, architect, religions and so

on Each field listed above is an aspect of tourism constituting a series of possible language

1.1.4 Cross-cultural Communication

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 According to Richards et al (1997:94),

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culture refers to the total set of beliefs, attitudes, customs, behavior, social habits, etc of the members of a particular society From this definition, culture can be understood as a specific community Every community has its own values to distinguish it with other communities When people from different cultural backgrounds exchange ideas, information etc., we call it cross-cultural communication People in the same culture understand each other‟s behavior, customs However, people in different cultures may interpret others‟ speech or behavior according to his or her own cultural conventions and expectations As cross-cultural communication theory begins with the assumptions of cultural variations These differences act as barriers to communication It is realized that there are often more problems in cross-cultural communication than in communication between people of the same cultural background Thus, if the cultural conventions of the participants are widely different, misinterpretations and misunderstandings can easily arise, even resulting in a total breakdown of communication Therefore, knowing the differences and recognizing the potential effects on communication, the communicator will be more sensitive to the fact and accommodate such differences This means that in order to understand each other, communicators should have something in common in their backgrounds that will enable them

to perceive the stimuli similarly Communication is intricately woven into the culture Culture fosters or promotes communication process

According to Scollon & Scollon (2001:13) intercultural communication considers communication which has the added characteristics of cultural

„variance‟ between those people involved, in one or more areas, such as: values, beliefs, thought patterns, practices (including language) and other habits of behavior Cultural variance can be salient in that it can create differing expectations and interpretations of interactions between people In this research, the tourism culture is shown in the habit, hobby and viewpoint

of travelling of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically

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represented in some online advertisements

1.2 Previous Related Studies

Nowadays, when the quality of life is improved, people tend to spend more time and money travelling and advertising is one of the quickest and most effective ways to introduce destinations to tourists Every country has different features in tourism because of its different customs, cultures and life styles Therefore, tour organizers are advised to study travel advertisements to understand the travelling culture of people in their country so that they can have suitable strategies to attract tourists In the past few years, many people have done research into tourism advertisements

There are some approaches to study travel advertisements Some writers studied the systematic structure For example, Nguyen Thi Dieu Ha (2011) studied similarities and differences in systematic structure of English and Vietnamese tourist advertisements She focused on four main parts of an advertisement which are headline, beginning part, developing part and ending part Another approach is research on a discourse analysis of tourism advertisements in English and Vietnamese A typical research was carried out

by Ho Thi Thien Trang (2011) In her research, she studied the layout, cohesive devices and stylistic devices of English and Vietnamese tourism advertisements

There are some other approaches carried out in tourist advertisements For example, the sentence patterns used in travel advertisements on English and Vietnamese websites were done by Phung Ngoc Bich (2008) A comparative study of some discourse features between English and Vietnamese tourist advertisements was studied by Nguyen Thu Huong (2001) An approach to contrastive discourse analysis of travel advertisements based on the theory of functional grammar was carried out by Ton Nu My Nhat (2005)

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

The study aims at finding the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements so there are some issues that need to be considered such as questions and methods of the research How to collect and analyze the data are also discussed in this chapter

2.1 Research Questions

2.1.1 What are the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements? 2.1.2 What are the similarities and differences in the tourism cultural features

of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements?

2.2 Research Methods

2.2.1 Method of Description

The first method which is used to find out the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people as linguistically represented in some online advertisements is description The researcher describes the ways the advertisers use to express the six aspects which include the landscape, cuisine, activity, accommodation, transportation and weather, and what kind of words, phrases, structures are used to highlight the cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people As in an advertisement about Phan Rang, the author describes the beauty of the landscape with descriptive adjectives such as: “bát ngát, xanh um, vàng ươm”

“Hồi trước cứ mỗi lần đi tàu lửa ngang qua khu Phan Rang, Tháp Chàm nhìn những cánh đồng nho bát ngát xanh um dưới cái nắng vàng ươm như đổ lửa

2.2.2 Methods of Comparison and Contrast

If the method of description is used to find out the tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people, comparison and contrast are used to figure out the similarities and differences in the tourism culture of the two countries Comparison and contrast are used to highlight similarities and differences in travel culture at the same categories Six categories are studied which include landscape, cuisine, activity, accommodation, transportation and weather Let‟s take an example of the comparison and contrast of landscape between the English and the Vietnamese people

“Porto-Vecchio is the ideal base for exploring southern Corsica, an area

blessed with some of the most breathtaking beaches in Europe and spectacular mountain scenery, all in close proximity.”

(Advertisement about Corsica) The English people always describe the landscape and surroundings with descriptive adjectives They care about the beauty of the place where they can enjoy the nature It can be seen that the English people want to visit places which are ancient, religious and romantic

Vietnamese people usually use a legend to introduce a landscape because most of destinations are related to a legend As a matter of fact that Vietnamese people have experienced several thousand years of history Every

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region is attached to history One of the cultural features of the Vietnamese people is to look back to history Understanding this matter, the advertiser always tries to find the legend related to destinations to attract the tourist For example: “Truyền thuyết về hoa Dã quỳ, kể rằng: “Ngày xửa ngày xưa, trên cao nguyên LangBiang - Lâm Viên (Đà Lạt ngày nay) có hai bộ tộc hằn thù nhau, cấm tiệt trai gái không được lấy nhau, ai vi phạm sẽ bị xử trảm Năm ấy, chàng Lang (bộ tộc Chill) khôi ngô tài giỏi, yêu say đắm nàng Biang (bộ tộc Lạch) xinh đẹp hiền thục nhất vùng Họ nguyện thề mãi mãi bên nhau Khi bị phát giác, cả hai đã chấp nhận cái chết để giữ trọn lời thề Điều kỳ lạ

là, bên hai nấm mồ ấy, mọc lên một loài cây hoang dại, cứ tháng 11 hằng năm (thời điểm hành quyết) nở hoa vàng rực, báo hiệu mùa khô đến Sau này, người đời xót thương đặt tên loài hoa ấy là Dã quỳ Đã có kẻ nhẫn tâm (vì không yêu được nàng) chặt bỏ hết Dã quỳ quăng đi thật xa Nhưng, Dã quỳ vẫn sống, mọc lan khắp núi rừng Tây Nguyên”

(Advertisement about Da Lat) (A legend of wild sunflowers says that there were two hostile tribes which forbade men and women from the two tribes to get married Anyone who broke the law would be killed A handsome and intelligent man named Lang (of the Chill tribe) fell in love with the most beautiful and elegant woman (of the Lach tribe) They swore to be with each other forever When their love was revealed, they chose decided to commit suicide to keep their oath The strange thing is that there is a tree which blossoms yellow flowers in November (the time of execution) People name the flower wind sunflower Some merciless men who couldn‟t have her love cut down all the trees However, the wind sunflower trees keep living and spreading Tay Nguyen‟s forests.”

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2.3 Data Source

The data in this research is advertisements from four online travel websites The researcher uses four websites which include two English websites and two Vietnamese websites which are Sunday Express (www.express.co.uk), The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk), Thong tin du lich (baodulich.net.vn) and Du lich Viet Nam (baodulich.com)

2.4 Data Collection

In this study, the data collected were words, phrases and structures from advertisements from four travel websites Words, phrases and structures are used to highlight the cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people

2.5 Data Analysis Framework

The research studies the travel advertisements including linguistic aspect such as words, phrases, structures and pictures and visual aspect such as pictures

The research focuses on the practical aspects of cross-cultural communication so the main method of analyzing data is qualitative As a matter of fact, qualitative research is to have better understanding about how people interpret their experiences, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their experiences (Merriam, 2009: 5) Qualitative research involves collecting information about personal experiences, introspection, life story, interviews, observations, historical interactions and visual text which are significant moments and meaningful in people‟s lives” According to Patton (1996:4) qualitative research is an attempt to grasp the unique interactions in a particular situation, not to predict what might occur but rather to understand in depth the meaning brought by the participants

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regarding what is happening to them at the moment In this research, the writer bases on her interaction with some online travel advertisements and her experiences in travelling to find out tourism cultural features, similarities and differences in tourism cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people

as linguistically represented in some online travel advertisements

In this research, words, phrases and structures are studied with the aim of finding cultural features of the English and Vietnamese people when they travel For example: “Be a daredevil and go tobogganing Check out the new 3 km toboggan track with its exciting turns

Go ice skating The impressive rink is open daily from 4.30 pm-10 pm.”

(Advertisement about Obergurgl) The English people tend to use imperative when talking about activities that tourists should do when they visit a destination

The data in this research is advertisements from four online travel websites The researcher uses four websites which include two English websites and two Vietnamese websites which are Sunday Express (www.express.co.uk), The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk), baodulich.net.vn and baodulich.com It is pointed out from all the advertisements that there are six main issues that every reader always cares for when they read an advertisement which are landscape, cuisine, activity, accommodation, transportation and weather These aspects appear in any advertisements Those are the reasons why journalists fosus on these aspects

to study whenever they want to advertise any destinations The following examples (one advertisement in English and one advertisement in Vietnamese) show six aspects which include landscape, cuisine, activity, accommodation, transportation and weather

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Example 1: In an advertisement about Nevis in the Caribbean, all the above issues are illustrated as follow:

Landscape: “The sand is golden and velvety underfoot, the sea is like

liquid turquoise, the only noise the whooshing melody of the waves.”

Cuisine: “The signature drink there is the killer bee which fully lives up

to its name, a cocktail of pepper, honey, passionfruit and rum.”

Activity: “Nevis offers rainforest hikes, horse riding, water sports,

Accommodation and transportation: “Western & Oriental (020 7666

1234/western oriental.com) offers seven nights from £1,580pp (four sharing a

two-bedroom villa), room only Price includes return flights from London Gatwick to St Kitts, private transfers from St Kitts to Nevis Nevis

tourism: nevisisland.com”

Weather: “Thanks to the volcano, Nevis has thermal hot springs, whose

properties cure many ailments.” And “The springs are open streams except for

a small covered pool for women You submerge yourself for as long as you can stand the heat and the aches should melt away.”

Every advertisement supplies the reader with all these kinds of information so that the reader can have enough information to prepare for their trip Let‟s see these issues in a Vietnamese advertisement

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In an advertisement about Ninh Thuan, the discription of six criteria including landscape, cuisine, activities, accommodation, transportation and weather is illustrated in the following sentences:

Landscape: “Vịnh Vĩnh Hy hoang sơ, những tháp Chăm cổ kính, những

vườn nho trĩu quả… là hình ảnh của vùng đất Ninh Thuận mà có thể bạn chưa từng biết.”

(Vinh Hy Bay is neglected, ancient Cham towels, closely fruited grape gardens,… are the images of Ninh Thuan that you may not know.)

Activity: “Không phải là một địa danh phát triển về du lịch nhưng Ninh

Thuận ẩn chứa nhiều yếu tố hấp dẫn du khách về phong cảnh, tôn giáo, văn hóa, kiến trúc…

Biển Cà Ná: Không chỉ là bãi biển đẹp nhất Ninh Thuận mà đây còn là

một trong những bãi biển nổi tiếng nhất ở khu vực miền Trung Nằm cách thành phố Phan Rang 30 km, biển Cà Ná dài khoảng 3 km với bãi cát trắng mịn và làn nước xanh ngắt Tuy nhiên, du khách chỉ được phép bơi gần bờ vì biển có nhiều đá ngầm và khá sâu Sau khi vùng vẫy thỏa thích trong làn nước biển, bạn cón được ghé thăm nghề làm muối của các diêm dân hay những cơ

sở sản xuất nước mắm nổi tiếng ở đây

Vịnh Vĩnh Hy: Đây là điểm đến lý tưởng cho du khách thích khám phá

những khung cảnh thiên nhiên hoang sơ đầy thơ mộng như suối Lồ Ồ, bãi Bà Điên, Cà Tiên, bãi Cốc, bãi Hời, bãi Thùng, bãi Lớn, mũi Đá Vách… Đến đây

du khách có thể tắm tiên, ngắm san hô qua những chiếc tàu bằng đánh kính trong suốt, lặn biển hoặc leo núi….”

(Although Ninh Thuan is not a developed tourist attraction, it has tourism potential elements including landscape, religion, culture and architecture, …)

Ca Na beach: It is not only the most beautiful beach in Ninh Thuan, but

it is also one of the most famous beaches in the central It is 30 km from Phan

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Rang city, Ca Na beach is about 3km long with white sand and blue water However, tourists are only allowed to swim near the shore because there is a lot of reef and the beach is quite deep After swimming in the beach you can visit salt making village or fish sauce

Vinh Hy bay: This is an ideal destination for those who like to explore the natural and poetic lanscapes such as Lo O stream, Ba Dien, Ca Tien, Coc, Hoi, Thung , Lon banks, …Tourists can bath, see coral through glass ships, dive or climb moutains,…

Cuisine: “Không chỉ có cảnh đẹp, ẩm thực của Ninh Thuận rất phong

phú và đa dạng đáng để bạn phải khám phá

Thịt cừu: Đây là món ăn làm mê hoặc biết bao du khách đặt chân đến

vùng đất nắng gió này Đến đây, bạn sẽ được người dân thết đãi món sườn cừu nướng thơm nức ăn kèm muối tiêu chanh Nếu thích lai rai, món lòng cừu luộc là một lựa chọn tốt nhất cho bạn Ngoài ra, thịt cừu hấp, xào hay nấu cà

ri cũng rất hấp dẫn

Thịt dê: Bên cạnh thịt cừu, thịt dê cũng là một đặc sản nơi đây Được chăn

thả tự nhiên trên các đồi núi nên thịt dê vùng này săn chắc và không có mùi hôi Nhắc đến thịt dê, bạn khó có thể bỏ qua nhiều món ăn ngon như dê xào lăn, dê nướng mọi; dê hấp sả; cà ri dê… Hiện nay, tại tháp Pôsanư, du khách đến tham quan sẽ được đãi món thịt dê truyền thống của đồng bào Chăm

Sheep: This is the most delicious dish that attracts most tourists You will be treated barbecued sheep chop with salt, pepper ans lemon You can also enjoy boiled entrails, steamed sheep,…

Goat: Apart from sheep, goat is also a specility in Ninh Thuan Goats are grown naturally on hills and moutains You can enjoy dishes from goat

Accommodation: “Với lợi thế đường biển dài nên không ngạc nhiên khi Ninh Thuận có nhiều resort quyến rũ nằm cạnh biển như Amanoi Vĩnh Hy,

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Con Gà Vàng, Aniise Villa, Bầu Trúc, Long Thuận… Ngoài ra, thành phố Phan Rang cũng có rất nhiều khách sạn tiện cho bạn lưu trú như khách sạn Hồng Đức, khách sạn U2, khách sạn Sài Gòn – Ninh Chữ… Thời điểm này Ninh Thuận chuẩn bị diễn ra Festival Nho và rượu vang nên bạn cần đặt phòng trước để thuận lợi cho chuyến đi của mình.”

(With the advantage of long coast, Ninh Thuan has attractive resorts by the beach such as Amanoi Vinh Hy, The golden chicken, Aniise Villa, Bau Truc and Long Thuan Besides, there are many hotels in Phan Rang for you to stay such as Hong Duc, U2, Sai Gon-Ninh Chu…)

Transportation: “Ninh Thuận cách Sài Gòn khoảng 350 km và cách Hà

Nội gần 1.500 km, để đi đến Ninh Thuận, bạn có thể đi bằng phương tiện công cộng hoặc cá nhân (nếu đi từ Sài Gòn) Có hai phương tiện cho bạn lựa chọn là tàu hỏa hoặc xe ô tô Còn nếu đi từ Hà Nội, cách tiết kiệm thời gian nhất là bay đến Nha Trang rồi đi ô tô ra Ninh Thuận, khoảng cách chỉ 100

km Còn không, bạn vẫn có thể đi tàu hỏa (dừng ở ga Tháp Chàm) hay xe khách, mất hơn 1 ngày.”

(Ninh Thuan is 350 km far from Sai Gon and 1500km from Hanoi You can go by public transports such as train or individual vehicles such as car if you go from Sai Gon If you go from Hanoi, the easiest way to save time is to flight to Nha Trang then you go to Ninh Thuan by coach, about 100 km Or you can go by train (and stop at Thap Cham station) or by coach It takes you more than one day to get there.)

Weather: “Bạn có thể đi đến Ninh Thuận vào bất cứ tháng nào trong

năm, tuy nhiên để có thể tránh thời tiết hanh khô hay những cơn mưa dai dẳng thì thời gian đẹp nhất là từ tháng 7 đến giữa tháng 9 Đến đây vào thời điểm này, bạn còn được tham quan những vườn nho sai trái, chín mọng rất đẹp mắt Ngoài ra, thời tiết biển mùa này cũng rất yên bình, thuận lợi cho bạn ghé thăm các đảo cũng như thưởng thức đủ món hải sản thơm ngon, hấp dẫn ở đây.”

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(You can visit Ninh Thuan at any time of the year; however, the most comfortable time is from July to mid September to avoid dry or rainy weather When visiting this place at this time, you can visit closely fruited grape garden Besides, the beach is peaceful this season, which is convenient for you to visit islands and enjoy delicious seafood.)

From advertisements such as typical examples above, the six aspects above are studied throughout the research

In the aspect of visual analysis, according to Kress and Van Leeuwen (1996), there are two elements for visual discourse which are represented participants and interactive participants Represented participants are people

or things that are mapped on a picture Interactive participants are producers and viewers

The picture in advertisements is composed of signs (represented participants), and the signs are putted in certain relation to construct the structure of the pictures The readers have their own complex framework of codes, knowledge about the world, attitudes, beliefs and expectations towards the received pictures to interpret pictures in any advertisements

The social sphere and environment are stimuli for the producer As a result by the stimulation from environment, the producer intends to publish certain message through pictures, and by using his or her available codes and knowledge, he or she composes the message to formulate the intention The receiver, by using his or her codes and knowledge, interprets the message from pictures If his or her codes are shared with the producer, the communication has taken place

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CHAPTER 3: TOURISM CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH

AND VIETNAMESE PEOPLE AS LINGUISTICALLY

REPRESENTED IN SOME ONLINE TRAVEL ADVERTISEMENTS

English is considered as a tool to transmit ideas of the writer to the reader in travel advertisements A pleasant atmosphere for the reader of all levels (from primary to advanced level) is important Therefore, the writer should create simple English language so that it is easy for the reader to remember, understand and the structures should be also simple and understandable so that the writer can convey ideas and information to the reader with any misunderstanding or confusion It can be seen that culture has great influence on the organization, structure, writing style of any discourse of tourism advertisements Understanding tourism culture, the travel organizer and journalist can create successful advertisements to raise the number of tourists to destinations therefore they can reach the goal of deriving benefit

3.1 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in some Online Travel Advertisements

3.1.1 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Landscape

There are some common goals between English and Vietnamese tourist advertisements Both of these types aim at giving the most interesting and attractive information about a landscape to persuade readers to go to a tourism destination

This goal also creates some competition among different advertisers to draw the attention and inspire for the reader-traveler Therefore, the information must be selective, unique, identical and suitable with the reader‟s psychology

It can be concluded that the English tourists like visiting the landscapes which are outstanding, and ancient, and something related to religion

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For instance: “One of the most moving spots is Cottle church, an Anglican church, built in 1824, which was the first church on Nevis where whites and blacks could worship together”

(Advertisement about Nevis)

“Our 15-minute stroll to the majestic port temples of Apollo and Athena was accompanied by the calming echoes of the mosque‟s call to prayer.”

(Advertisement about Side, Turkey) When describing the landscape in English advertisements, the authors use many descriptive adjectives such as “traditional, ideal, splendid, magical and outstanding” to introduce the beauty of the scene As in an advertisement about Corsica:

“Porto-Vecchio is the ideal base for exploring southern Corsica, an area

blessed with some of the most breathtaking beaches in Europe and spectacular mountain scenery, all in close proximity.”

Second, the superlative appearing with high rate attracts tourists to places because they are the best destinations with the best things

For example: “Bananas is the oldest independent restaurant on Nevis”

(Advertisement about Nevis)

Or “Cinque Terre is, without question, one of the most romantic hiking

regions in the world.”

(Advertisement about Cinque Terre, Italy)

“Side, located in the popular province of Antalya and pronounced “see day,”

means pomegranate in the area‟s ancient dialect”

(Advertisement about Side, Turkey)

On the other hand, nowadays, there is a tendency of fast food The young people like to eat fast food such as hamburger, KFC They prefer cocktail or beer for their drinks

For example: “You can take a dip in the rooftop pool, enjoy a cocktail while admiring the city views from the rooftop terrace.”

(Advertisement about Madrid) The cuisine plays an important role in satisfying the tourist‟s experience and as part of the cultural heritage of the destination It can be seen from online travel advertisements that relative clause is used in many parts including cuisine, landscape,… to supply the readers with more information especially the local food as in the following example:

“Its cobble-stoned streets lined with antique and vintage stores, seafood

restaurants (such as Sjöbaren, which offers decadent shellfish platters from around £30), and traditional cafés.”

(Advertisement about Gothenburg) England is considered as one of the fastest countries in the world Most town high streets will contain at least one fast food giant such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Kentucky fried chicken, Subway and Burger King Fish and chips, kebabs and burgers from a mobile van are also popular fast food choices

“Nevis offers rainforest hikes, horse riding, water sports, kayaking.”

(Advertisement about Nevis)

Or “I even had a go at paddle-boarding” Or “Both have direct access

to the beach where there are plenty of activities, from pedal boats to kayaks, water polo to snorkelling Or you might simply spend your time on a sunlounger, cocktail in hand, taking in the glorious blue Indian Ocean.”

(Advertisement about Mauritius) Or: “Kaş itself is great for relaxing or trying out adventure activities like scuba diving and canyoning.”

(Advertisement about Turquoise)

The writer in the website www.express.co.uk always suggests ten things that the visitor should do when coming to a tourist attraction

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3 Soak up the sights (and smells) at a fish sauce factory Phu Quoc produces 12 million litres of fish sauce every year and one of the biggest factories, Nuoc Mam Hung Thanh in Duong Dong, lets visitors look around

4 Take a dip at the Suoi Tranh waterfall, located at the end of a winding forest trail, near to Duong Dong

5 Hike through Phu Quoc National Park, which covers 50 per cent of the island and is filled with beautiful flora and fauna, including monkeys, lizards and rare flowers

A rhesus macaque monkey in Phu Quoc National Park

6 Looking for family fun? Head to sprawling Vinpearl, an enormous resort in the north of the island It comprises hotels, a safari, a fun fair and water park See vinpearl.com

7 The beautiful boutique Salinda Resort is Phu Quoc‟s most stylish hotel, and its spa is the island‟s best Try the Thai Honey Facial See salindaresort.com

8 Watch the sunset from Rory‟s, a colourful bar on Long Beach, south

of Duong Dong The cuisine is delicious

9 Hire a bike and explore the island at your own pace One day‟s hire costs just a few pounds

10 Take a diving or snorkelling trip Phu Quoc attracts divers from all over the world, so book a day trip.”

(Advertisement about Phu Quoc, Vietnam)

It can be seen from the example above that the imperative is used to invite the tourist to come and take part in special activities The imperative acts as an invitation that the tourist should visit the tourist attraction, and join local life, culture and customs

It can be inferred that the English people usually choose to stay in a hotel while they are travelling The hotel is always booked with the plane tickets They like a package holiday

For example: “Hayes & Jarvis (hayesandjarvis.co.uk) offers a night holiday to Vietnam starting from £995 per person Departing on October

seven-24, 2016, this includes a week at the Richis Beach Resort, along with transfers and flights from London Heathrow with Vietnam Airlines.”

3.1.5 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Transportation

A conclusion can be drawn that the most popular transportation of the English people is plane or train because it lies on islands Between destinations, they tend to use car or if it is close, they always walk One interesting cultural feature of transportation of the English people is that they usually use time to talk about distance

For example: “But if you prefer to keep your feet on solid ground there‟s plenty more to do in this stunning oasis, just 30 minutes from Hurghada International Airport – a four-hour flight from the UK.”

(Advertisement about Egypt) English journalists always mention ways to go to a destination at the end

of each advertisement They tend to supply tourists with a package tour including plane ticket and hotel

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For example: “A seven-night trip to Bali staying at Alila properties costs from £1,759 per person This price is based on two adults sharing and includes return flights with Malaysian Airlines, transfers, two nights at Alila Villas Soori, two nights at Alila Manggis and three nights at Alila Seminyak Accommodation is on a bed & breakfast basis Book with Western & Oriental (020 3588 6130, westernoriental.com)”

(Advertisement about Sydney, Australia)

Or “Way to go: “Hayes & Jarvis (hayesandjarvis.co.uk) offers a night holiday to Vietnam starting from £995 per person Departing on October

seven-24, 2016, this includes a week at the Richis Beach Resort, along with transfers and flights from London Heathrow with Vietnam Airlines.”

(Advertisement about Phu Quoc) Besides, English advertisements usually mention how to travel around in

a destination and how long it will take

For instance: “Instead, everyone gets around by walking, catching a train (the towns are less than five minutes apart by rail) or hopping on a boat.”

(Advertisenment about the villages of Cinque Terre, Italy)

Or in an advertisement about Egypt, it says: “But if you prefer to keep your feet on solid ground there‟s plenty more to do in this stunning oasis, just 30 minutes from Hurghada International Airport – a four-hour flight from the UK.”

3.1.6 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Weather

Weather is always an issue when the English people choose a place to visit It is a fact that the weather always changes with many kinds of weather in

a single day and the typical kind of weather is fog so the English people would like to travel to sunny and dry destinations So the English writers mention the best time for tourists to visit and enjoy the best scene, weather and food

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For example: “Or “In terms of the weather, the best months are January through to April, as they are the driest and least humid, and usually a couple of degrees Centigrade cooler than other times of year.”

(Advertisement about Barbados)

Or “Walking these trails in the autumn means that I find the paths fairly peaceful May and June are also great months to visit if you want to avoid the crowds.”

(Advertisement about villages of Cinque Terre, Italy)

Or “And with year-round sunshine and temperatures in the high 300C during summer and never dropping below 20oC in winter, you‟re guaranteed

(Advertisement about Egypt)

3.1.7 Tourism Cultural Features of the English People as Linguistically Represented in Other Features

A typical thing in every travel advertisement is that the writer always supplies the reader with some pictures that illustrate the landscape, cuisine and activity so that they can attract the reader from the first sight A cultural feature of the English people is that they select the place with the pictures of the place that attract them As a fact that visual images are the most fascinating to reader when they have intention of reading an advertisement or they just look by chance It is the picture that makes contribution to the tourist‟s decision of which place to go

For example:

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(Advertisement about Egypt) When looking at this picture, the reader will have a feeling of peace, relaxation, and romantic Someone who is under stress because of work, study

or anything may think that this place is suitable for him to release stress This

is another picture of an activity that the tourist can do when travelling to Obergurgl in Austria

(Advertisement about Obergurgl, Austria)

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Anyone especially the young who like taking part in active sport may consider to travel to this destination Every picture suggests a special thing about one place It allows the reader to notice typical and interesting about one visitor attraction Another advertisement about the Ligurian Riviera in Italy which uses a picture of ice-cream shows that this is a speciality in this place The picture reminds the visitor that they shouldn‟t forget to try this famous ice-cream when visiting Italy

(Advertisement about the Ligurian Riviera in Italy) Second, English advertisenments use the first person “I” or “we” to talk about places It brings a feeling that the author is sharing his or her experience

if the writer uses “I” and their experience if the writer uses “we”

For example: “Twice, we caught the ferry round to Portofino – the place

to see and be seen on the Ligurian Riviera As we‟d expected, it was the

prettiest (and priciest) village here, achingly idyllic, with pristine multicoloured houses and designer boutiques.”

(Advertisement about the Ligurian Riviera)

The advertisements use a large number of descriptive adjectives to show the beauty of landscapes

For example: “Những đóa sen nhô mình khỏi mặt nước lấp lánh, đón

nắng để bung tỏa hương thơm Ngoài sen thì Quan Sơn còn có loài hoa trắng

muốt, kết thành vạn đóa tạo nên khung cảnh nên thơ trên mặt hồ.”

(Advertisement about Quan Son) (The lotuses rise up from the water surface, twinkling in the sun Apart from lotus flowers, there is another kind of white flowers, which combine with lotuses to create the poetic beauty of the lake.)

Or in an advertisement about Dong pond and Luon cave in Ha Nam, the author used descriptive adjectives such as “hữu tình“, “trong xanh”, “yên ả”

to bring about the peaceful feeling for tourists

“Ghé tới đây, du khách như thể lạc vào bức tranh thiên nhiên hữu tình với những nhũ đá muôn hình vạn trạng hay mặt nước trong xanh và yên ả”

(Advertisement about Ha Nam)