1.4 Methods of the study

4



DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 The relationship between language and culture

Up to now, there has been much research with tremendous attempts to describe

complicated and diversified relationships between language and culture. In spite of opinion

divergences, it is said that culture embraces language and language reflects the image of

culture.

According to Sapir (1921), “language is a purely human and non instinctive method of

communicating ideas, emotions and desire by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”

Language is a part of culture and a part of human behavior. Anna Wierzbicka (1992, p.371)

regards “Language as a mirror of culture and national character”. People can understand the

cultural characteristics of the nation through the language they use. Richard et all, (1992, p.94)

defines: “Culture is the total set of beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors, social habits of the

members of a particular society”. This definition not only helps us to understand what the

culture is, but also lists the components of culture. Obviously, culture is sort of knowledge,

which everyone must possess to function within a society. Beliefs, attitudes, customs,

behaviors and social habits are not innate or born naturally, but they are learnt through the

socialization process in which you grow up a full member of a society. That is the reason why

culture does not belong to any single person but to all people.

It is often held that the function of language is to express thought and to communicate

information. Language also fulfills many other tasks such as greeting people, conducting

religious service, etc. Krech (1962) explained the major functions of language from the three

following aspects:

1) Language is the primary vehicle of communication;

2) Language reflects both the personality of the individual and the culture of his history.

In turn, it helps shape both personality and culture;



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3) Language makes possible the growth and transmission of culture, the continuity of

societies, and the effective functioning and control of social group.

For many people, language is not just the medium of culture but also is a part of culture.

It is quite common for immigrants to a new country to retain their old customs and to speak

their first language amid fellow immigrants, even if all presents are comfortable in their new

language. This occurs because the immigrants are eager to preserve their own heritage, which

includes not only customs and traditions but also language. This is also seen in many Jewish

communities, especially in older members: Yiddish is commonly spoken because it is seen as

a part of Jewish culture.

It is obvious that language plays a paramount role in developing, elaborating and

transmitting culture and language, enabling us to store meanings and experience to facilitate

communication.

Language and culture are so closely related that the correct understanding of the

relationship between the two is vital in cross-cultural communication. Children learning their

native language are learning their own culture; learning a second language also involves

learning a second culture to varying degrees. On the other hand, language is influenced and

shaped by culture. It reflects culture. Cultural differences are the most serious areas causing

misunderstanding, unpleasantness and even conflict in cross-cultural communication.

1.2 Speech Acts

The theory of speech acts has long been studied. It was first formulated by the

philosopher John Austin in a series of lectures which are now collected into a short book

called How to do Things with Words (Austin, 1962). These ideas were then further developed

by other scholars such as Searle (1969, 1975), Labov and Fanshel (1977), Bach and Harnish

(1979), Edmondson (1981), Recanati (1987), Allan (1994) and so on.

Making a statement may be the paradigmatic use of language, but there are all sorts of

other things we can do with words. We can make requests, ask questions, give orders, make

promises, give thanks, offer apologies, and so on. Moreover, almost any speech act is really

the performance of several acts at once, distinguished by different aspects of the speaker's

intention: there is the act of saying something, what one does in saying it, such as requesting



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or promising, and how one is trying to affect one's audience.



The theory of speech acts is partly taxonomic and partly explanatory. It must

systematically classify types of speech acts and the ways in which they can succeed or fail. It

must reckon with the fact that the relationship between the words being used and the force of

their utterance is often oblique.

For example, the sentence 'This is a pigpen' might be used non-literally to state that a

certain room is messy and filthy and, further, to demand indirectly that it be straightened out

and cleaned up. Even when this sentence is used literally and directly, say to describe a certain

area of a barnyard, the content of its utterance is not fully determined by its linguistic meaning

in particular, the meaning of the word 'this' does not determine which area is being referred to.

A major task for the theory of speech acts is to account for how speakers can succeed in what

they do despite the various ways in which linguistic meaning underdetermines use.

Austin identifies three distinct levels of action beyond the act of utterance itself. He

distinguishes the act of saying something, what one does in saying it, and what one does by

saying it, and dubs these the 'locutionary', the 'illocutionary' and the 'perlocutionary' act,

respectively. Suppose, for example, that a bartender utters the words, 'The bar will be closed

in five minutes,' reported by means of direct quotation. He is thereby performing the

locutionary act of saying that the bar (i.e., the one he is tending) will be closed in five minutes

(from the time of utterance), and what is said is reported by indirect quotation (notice that

what the bartender is saying, the content of his locutionary act, is not fully determined by the

words he is using, for they do not specify the bar in question or the time of the utterance). In

saying this, the bartender is performing the illocutionary act of informing the patrons of the

bar's imminent closing and perhaps also the act of urging them to order a last drink. Whereas

the upshot of these illocutionary acts understands on the part of the audience, perlocutionary

acts are performed with the intention of producing a further effect. The bartender intends to be

performing the perlocutionary acts of causing the patrons to believe that the bar is about to

close and of getting them to want and to order one last drink. He is performing all these speech

acts, at all three levels, just by uttering certain words.



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Based on Austin‟s speech act theory, Yule (1996, p.55) presents a table showing the

speech acts classification as below:

Speech act classification

Speech act type



Direction of fit



S= Speaker; X= Situation



Declaratives



Word change the world



S causes X



Representatives



Make words fit the world



S believes X



Expressives



Make words fit the world



S feels X



Directives



Make the world fit words



S wants X



Commissives



Make the world fit words



S intends X



As we can see, Yule distinguishes types of speech acts which can be made on the basic of

structure. According to him, three structural forms (Declarative, Interrogative, and

Imperative) and the three general communicative functions (Statement, Question and

Command/Request) can be combined with each other to create two types of speech acts

namely Direct and Indirect speech acts. He argues, “Whenever there is a direct relationship

between a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act. Whenever there is an indirect

relationship between a structure and a function, we have an indirect speech act” (Yule, 1996,

p.55). In uttering "Turn on the fan, please", the speaker (S) has directly requested the hearer

(H) to turn on the fan. The syntactic structure of this utterance indicates a straightforward

request in English. But the same request can be made in a more tacit, indirect manner to

achieve the same result. S may say something like "It is very hot in here". Or let us have a

look at another example in asking someone blocking the TV screen to move: "Move out of the

way". This is a direct speech. There are different structures can be used to accomplish the

same basic structure above but now they are functioning as indirect speeches.

a. This is a really exciting program.

b. You'd made a better door than a window.

c. How about moving over just a teensy bit.

d. Would you mind moving just a bit?



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e. Do you have to stand in front of the TV?

f. You are standing in front of the TV.

In summary, indirect speech acts are generally associated with greater politeness in

English than direct speech acts because politeness is one of characteristics of indirect speech

acts.

1.3 Verbal Expressions in Giving and Receiving Presents

Giving a gift/present is an ancient and universal way to express, among other things,

gratitude, appreciation, altruism and love (Saad & Gill, 2003). Presents/Gifts have been

defined



as



"something



that



is



bestowed voluntarily



and



without



compensation



(Dictionary.com, 2005). Anthropologists and psychologists have viewed gift behavior as a

product of an interaction between psychological mechanisms and the environment (Toby and

Cosmides, 1992).

Dr. Gary Chapman, in his book The Five Love Languages [Northfield Publishing, 1995],

identifies five different ways in which people communicate their love to one another. When

you understand and know your partner‟s love language, you can effectively communicate your

love in such a way that he/she feels loved.

One of the basic five love languages is receiving presents, a verbal expression of love and

appreciation. An unconditional gift says “I was thinking of you and thought you might like

this. I love you.”

Jeannette Haviland-Jones, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University studied the

scientific power of flowers and found that flowers create instant delight and happiness, and

induce powerful positive emotions. Upon receiving a gift of flowers, female study participants

responded with true smiles, showed improved episodic memory and reported positive moods

that lasted even three days later.

M.J. Ryan, award-winning author of Giving Thanks: The Gifts of Gratitude [Conari

Press, 2007], corroborates the findings and observations that gifts increase human connectivity

and bonding: “Gift recipients experience compelling connections with givers...”



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Gift giving is not a new idea. Communities around the world mark religious festivals,

secular holidays and important dates with presents and sharing of food. Christmas, Hanukkahan eight-day Jewish festival of lights held in December, commemorating the rededication of

the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BC after its desecration, Thanks Giving, Chinese New

Year, Birthdays, and Valentine‟s Day are just a few of such occasions where gift exchange

and a deepening of ties with friends and loved ones take place.

But why should the giving and receiving of presents be limited to particular occasions?

Some may resist the notion that gift giving is an expression of love, especially when they have

entrenched attitudes about money. For example they may believe that money should be saved

and not spent on buying presents. Adjusting these beliefs, they may come to see that

gifts/presents to be their partner‟s primary love language and the money is not spent on the gift

itself but on the deepening of their relationship.

Gift giving does not make someone a spendthrift any more than gift receiving makes a

person greedy. Of course, you may choose to splurge on a pair of tickets for a romantic

getaway to an exotic location, precious gemstone jewelry or a state-of-the-art technological

gadget.

Alternatively, you may choose for a cheaper but no less special gift of a romantic dinner

together, a bouquet of her favorite flowers or a favorite photo of the two of you blown up in a

photo frame. Perhaps you may prefer the personal touch of burning a compilation of love

songs onto a CD or writing a series of poems or prose that speaks volumes about your feelings

or hand making a special card.

Giving and receiving presents is a universal love language. Whatever present ideas you

may have, remember that they need to neither be expensive nor numerous; if your mate

resonates with this love language, a sincere present brings happiness and security to the

relationship. It is an effective way to improve one‟s emotional health and to show gratitude

and appreciation.



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1.4 Linguistic Politeness

The concept of Politeness has been part of linguistic studies since the late 1970s but it was

the publication of Brown and Levinsons‟ famous Politeness book, in 1978 that established this

issue as one of the main areas of Pragmatics theory, a novelty that emphasized the importance

of this concept in human interaction (Sifianou, 1992). However, since in our times the

definition of politeness is „the attitude of being socially correct, being refined and having good

manners‟ (Oxford Dictionary 1981), then two issues emerge immediately: first that neither

speakers‟ linguistic behavior necessarily accounts for their real motivation, nor should we

assume that all languages share the same perceptions as far as concepts as „good manners‟ or

„social correctness‟ are concerned (Thomas, 1995; Sifianou, 1992). Scholars have nowadays

agreed on the fact that politeness is conceptualized differently and so, manifested differently in

each society, an argument supported by Sifianou (1992), who points out that „...despite

popular stereotypes, no nation may be objectively verified as more or less polite than any

other, but only polite in a different, culturally specific way‟.

Within the issue of politeness, the most respected theory appears to be, as

aforementioned, Brown and Levinson‟s. The basis of their theory is the concept of face, a term

referring to every individual‟s sense of self-image. This concept involves a positive and a

negative aspect:

Negative face: the want of every „competent adult member‟ that his actions be

unimpeded by others.

Positive face: the want of every member that his wants be desirable to at least some

others. (Brown & Levinson, 1978)

The concept of face leads to the hypothesis that certain illocutionary acts could be facethreatening, an idea introduced once again by Brown and Levinson (1978). Face-threatening

acts (FTA), are liable to threaten or damage the Hearer‟s positive face, i.e. expressions of

disapproval/criticism, accusations, contradictions, interrupting, expressions of violent

emotions, etc., and threaten his/her negative face, i.e. orders, requests, reminding, offers,



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promises, etc. Moreover, certain acts can also be face threatening to the Speaker‟s positive

face, such as expressing thanks, excuses, acceptance of offers/apologies, etc., as well as

his/her negative face, such as apologies, acceptance of compliments, confessions/admissions

of guilt or responsibility, etc. Thus, always according to Brown and Levinson‟s hypothesis, the

speaker should adopt certain strategies, in order to maintain his or her own face undamaged

and at the same time to minimize the possibility of affecting the positive or negative face of

the Hearer. If the Speaker decides to perform a FTA, then Brown and Levinson (1978) suggest

a framework that determines the choice of his/her strategy:



Circumstances determining choice of strategy:

Lesser

1. without redressive action, baldly



Estimation of risk of

face loss



on record



2. positive politeness



with redressive action



Do the FTA



4. off record



3. negative politeness



5. Don’t do the FTA

Greater



Diagram 1: Possible strategies for doing FTAs (Adapted from Brown & Levinson, 1987, p.60-69)



As can be seen from the diagram above, in the context of the mutual vulnerability of face,

S has two options: She/he may seek to avoid the face-threatening act (Do not do the FTA) or

she/he may decide to “do the FTA”. If S decides to do the FTA, she/he can either go off

record, in which case there is more than one unambiguously attributable intention so that S

can not have committed him/herself to one particular intent, or S can go on record expressing



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his/her intention clearly and unambiguously. In the later case, S may express her/his intentions

without redressive action, i.e. badly on record, or S may choose to employ strategies to

minimize the face threat referred to as redressive action. In using negative politeness

strategies, such as minimizing, weakening, and avoiding, the speaker can acknowledge the

addressee‟s personal territory and personal freedom of action as negative politeness orients

toward the hearer‟s negative face, roughly the expression of restraint and deference. In using

positive politeness strategies, for example intensifying strategies, the speaker can show

recognition and appropriate validation of the addressee‟s self-image as positive orients toward

the hearer‟s positive face, roughly the expression of solidarity.

To sum up, politeness, in the light of Brown-Levinson‟s politeness theory, can then be

defined as a desire to protect self-images. A speaker must show awareness of the hearer‟s face

and self-image of her/his own in the particular cultures. In every day conversation with

different situations people are obligated to adjust the use of words to fit to occasion. English

native speakers frequently use politeness and politeness strategies when they communicate.

When they are with friends, they say things that are informal. When they are surrounded by

the strangers, they say in formal ways. General speaking, in both situations, people try to

avoid making the hearers feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY

The focus of this chapter is on the verbal expressions in giving and receiving presents in

English and Vietnamese. In fact, what to say when giving a present and how to respond when

receiving a present are culture-specific and depend on many factors such as the context of

interaction, S-H relative role relationship, gender and age, …etc. Arising from these factors, a

number of hypotheses are suggested for investigation. Apart from these factors, these

hypotheses are raised on the basic of typical models of verbal expressions as English native

speakers and Vietnamese people use when they give and receive presents.

2.1 Hypotheses

As hypotheses, my assumption is that:



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1. Age is the most important factors in selecting verbal expressions in giving and

receiving presents in both English and Vietnamese.

2. Anglophone speakers favor short and simple utterances whereas the Vietnamese ones

prefer longer and more complex sentences.

3. Vietnamese speakers (VS) are likely to use the strategy “wishes” when giving presents

more often than English native speakers.

4. Both English native speakers and Vietnamese speakers prefer the strategy “thanking”

as receiving presents.

The situations are chosen to investigate are:

1. Birthday

2. Wedding

3. House-warming party

Among:

1. Close friends

2. Brothers/sisters

3. Employers

4. Employees

2.2 Data Collection

2.2.1 The Questionnaires

The instrument to collect data is the survey questionnaire that meets the aims of the

study. The survey questionnaire is designed in Vietnamese and English and delivered to

twenty five English informants and twenty five Vietnamese ones.

There are three parts in the survey questionnaire, each of which serves a particular

purpose of the thesis (the Vietnamese and the English survey questionnaires are attached in the

Appendices):

Part 1: This part is designed to obtain information about the informants who are asked to

do the questionnaire.

Part 2: The purpose of this part is to find out what the informants would say when they

give and receive presents on special occasions. Six situations are included in the questionnaire



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and the informants are asked to answer the following questions:

- Situation 1:



What would you say when you give a present/gift to the following



person on the occasion of his/ her birthday?

- Situation 2:



What would you say when you give a gift/present to the following



person on the occasion of his/her wedding?

- Situation 3:



What would you say when you give a gift/present to the following



person on the occasion of his/her house- warming?

- Situation 4:



What would you say when you receive a gift/present from the following



person on the occasion of your birthday?

- Situation 5:



What would you say when you receive a gift/present from the following



person on the occasion of your wedding?

- Situation 6:



What would you say when you receive a gift/present from the following



person on the occasion of your house- warming?

In each situation, the informants were required to express verbally when they give and

receive a present from the following people:

- Their close friend

- Their brother/ sister

- Their employer

- Their employee

Part 3: In this part, social factors governing the verbal expressions when giving and

receiving presents are considered. The informants are suggested to answer the following

question:

Which factor(s) influence(s) your verbal expressions when you give and receive a gift/

present? (Please number in order of importance)

- Social status

- Age

- Gender

- Family relation

- Others