NGUYỄN THÙY LINH
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Nguyễn Thùy Linh
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
A STUDY OF THE USE OF ADDRESSING
TERMS IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE FAMILIES
MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
COURSE: 2016 – 2018
HANOI, 2018
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Nguyễn Thùy Linh
A STUDY OF THE USE OF ADDRESSING
TERMS IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE FAMILIES
Field
Code
: English Language
: 8220201
Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga, Ph.D.
HANOI, 2018
DECLARATION BY AUTHOR
I hereby declare that this thesis was of my own composition except
where proper use of quotes and references were indicated, and that this thesis
has not been submitted for the award of any other degrees.
Author’s Signature
Nguyễn Thùy Linh
Approved by
SUPERVISOR
Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga, Ph.D.
Date:…………………………….
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe innumerable thanks to people who give me support and
assistance in completing this research.
The first goes to my supervisor Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga, Ph.D, whose
considerable encouragement and valuable feedback kept me from losing
confidence when I got frustrated with my thesis. My project could not have
been completed without her great patience and sustained guidance.
I am deeply grateful to my family who always give me warmth and
support.
Thanks also to my friends who helped me a lot with my data collection.
Thanks to all.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION BY AUTHOR..................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................ ii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... v
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................... vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS ........................... viii
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1
1.1 Rationale...................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Aims of the study ........................................................................................ 2
1.3 Research questions ...................................................................................... 2
1.4 Scope of the study ....................................................................................... 3
1.5 Significance of the study ............................................................................. 3
1.6 Methodology ............................................................................................... 3
1.7 Structure of the study .................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................... 5
2.1 Culture, language and communication........................................................ 5
2.2 Relationship and solidarity in the family .................................................... 8
2.3 Addressing terms ....................................................................................... 11
2.3.1 Definitions of addressing terms ............................................................. 11
2.3.2 Features of addressing terms .................................................................. 12
2.3.3 Addressing terms in English .................................................................. 14
2.3.4 Addressing terms in Vietnamese............................................................ 19
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 34
3.1 Research question revisited ....................................................................... 34
3.2 Selection of participants ............................................................................ 34
3.3 Data collection instrument ........................................................................ 34
3.4 Data collection procedures ........................................................................ 35
iii
CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ........................................ 37
4.1 Results of the study ................................................................................... 37
4.1.1 Vietnamese responses ............................................................................ 37
4.1.2 English responses ................................................................................... 42
4.2. Summary of the findings .......................................................................... 46
4.2.1 About the results collected from Vietnamese participants .................... 47
4.2.2 About the results collected from English participants ........................... 47
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 52
5.1 Recapitulation............................................................................................ 52
5.2 Concluding remarks .................................................................................. 53
5.3 Implications ............................................................................................... 54
5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further studies ........................................ 58
REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 60
APPENDIX 1. SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................. I
APPENDIX 2. BẢN ĐIỀU TRA .................................................................. IV
iv
ABSTRACT
This study is carried out to investigate the area of addressing terms
between members in families in Vietnamese and English culture from major
perspectives namely the common terms and the affecting factors on the choice
of the terms. There are 200 people who are from different Vietnamese and
English families take part in this study. A questionnaire and an interview are
chosen as the data collection instruments. According to the results of the
research, in Vietnamese the addressing terms used with the highest frequency
in the mentioned relationship are “kinship term”. There are many factors
affecting the choice of addressing terms such as: “personality”, “occasion”
and “mood”. Additionally, “age gap” and “position” is also considered by the
Vietnamese while the English pay attention to the “personality”, “occasion”
and “mood”. After analyzing and synthesizing the statistics, the researcher
discussed and recommended some implications along with suggestions for
further research. Last but not least, it is much hoped to improve teaching
language – not only in the field of addressing terms but also in any language
field in general.
v
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1 : Kinship terms as address terms
23
Table 2 : Different ATs are used in the families
38
Table 3 : Frequency of different ATs used in Vietnamese families
39
Table 4 : Degree of influence of possible factors on the choice of
addressing terms used in Vietnamese families
40
Table 5 : Different ATs are used in the families
43
Table 6 : Frequency of different ATs used in English families
44
Table 7 : Degree of influence of possible factors on the choice of
addressing terms used in English families
Table 8 : Major differences between Vietnamese and English with
regards to popular addressing terms and categories
45
50
Table 9 : Major differences between Vietnamese and English with
regards to influential factors on the choice ATs between
members in the families
vi
51
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1
: Vietnamese participants’ background information
37
Figure 2
: English participants’ division
42
Figure 3
: English participants’ information
42
vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS
ATs
: addressing terms
FN
: first name
LN
: last name
T
: title
TLN
: title with last name
viii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale
One of the earliest sociolinguistic studies of speech behavior among
speakers of English concerns the way people in the English speaking
countries address one another. Forms of address are important for effective
and successful communication and have long been considered a very salient
indicator of status of relationships. One can use different forms of address to
show his respects or fondness towards other people, or to insult or depreciate
them. How to address people appropriately needs the taking of several factors
into consideration, such as the social status or rank of the other, sex, age,
family relationship, occupational hierarchy transactional status, race or degree
of intimacy. There do exist general rules of address forms in English, but
because address forms are social phenomenon, it varies on different occasions
and the rules do not always take effect, just as Philipsen and Huspek said:
“Personal address is a sociolinguistic subject par excellence. In every
language and society, every time one person speaks to another, there is
created a host of options centering around whether and how persons will be
addressed, named,…to those who interpret them, are systematic not random.
Such systematicity in language behavior, whether of use or interpretation, is
universal, although what elements comprise the personal address system and
what rules govern its deployment, vary across context. And such variation in
structure is, according to the extant empirical literature, correlated with social
ends and social contexts of language use. From this view, personal address is
a systematic, variable, and social phenomenon, and these feature of it make it
a sociolinguistic variable, and social phenomenon, and these features of it
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make it a sociolinguistic variable of fundamental importance.” (Philipsen and
Huspek 1985:94).
Mastering a new language does not only the ability to master its system
of linguistics forms but also the ability to use them appropriately. This is
because languages differ from one another not only in their system of
phonology, syntax and lexicon but also in rules of speaking. Addressing is, to
various extents, formulaic, culture – specific and routinized in different
languages, including Vietnamese and English. The selection of appropriate
addressing terms largely depends on age, gender, position, qualification,
power, the context of interaction and other social factors. Addressing is also a
product of culture and history.
In Vietnam, especially in the Vietnam family, all of the members in the
family are usually aware of the fact that a suitable address terms can establish
and maintain a good relationship. With all the above necessity, I find this
topic so inspiring that I decide to carry out a study on the use of addressing
terms by the members in the family. It is hoped that the research would
contribute to raise the awareness of cultural and language differences in the
use of addressing terms in English – Vietnamese.
1.2 Aims of the study
To investigate major similarities and differences in using addressing
terms in English and Vietnamese and the factors which affect the choice of
addressing terms between members in Vietnamese – English families.
1.3 Research questions
The research questions are:
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Question 1: What are the possible addressing terms that members in families
call each other in English and Vietnamese?
Question 2: What are the possible factors that affect the choice of ATs
between members in the families in the two cultures?
Question 3: What are the similarities and differences between English and
Vietnamese in ATs used in the families?
1.4 Scope of the study
The study focuses on the addressing terms used by members in English
and Vietnamese families. The address terms will be analyzed in some specific
situations in their families to discover how members address each other in
English and Vietnamese. In the study, the author also studies nuclear family
in the rural areas.
1.5 Significance of the study
The study is hoped to be a useful source for both pedagogical and
research purpose. Specifically, equipped by the outcomes of the study,
language teachers and learners may find the subject matter no longer
complicated but motivating uses of addressing terms in English so that
English learners can understand deeply addressing terms and can be confident
in using addressing terms successfully.
1.6 Methodology
This is a qualitative and quantitative study, therefore I use the
following steps to conduct the research.
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-Studying relevant publications about background theories on
addressing terms in English and Vietnamese (mostly from the Internet, books
and magazines).
- Conducting survey questionnaires. The survey was carried out among
200 people from Vietnamese and English families randomly.
1.7 Structure of the study
Chapter 1, the introduction, includes the rationale, the aims of the
study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study,
methodology and the structure of the study.
Chapter 2, the literature review, is the most important part in the study.
It has theoretical background of culture, language and communication which
is designed to serve as the basic foundation of data analysis. Chapter 3 is
methodology to study. Chapter 4 discusses the addressing terms used by
Vietnamese and English family members.
Chapter 5, the recapitulation, concluding remarks, implications,
limitations and suggestions for further study. In this part, some concise
summaries on the use of addressing are drawn. Simultaneously, the chapter
also put forward some implications for the addressing in communication in
English and Vietnamese. A statement of unsolved problems and suggestions
for further research beyond the limits of the paper is also included in this
chapter.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Culture, language and communication
Culture, language and communication are the three concepts which
are closely related. Before being examined in the relationships with the
others, each is expected to be perceived in a thorough way.
At first, we consider the concept of culture. Social scientists have
been interested in culture and how it influences people for many years. Over
the years there have been many different definitions of culture, with
similarities as well as differences. Culture influences all aspects of our lives.
We use culture to explain similarities within and differences between groups
of people (Tooby & Cosmides, 1992). According to Roohul – Amini (1989),
“Culture has multifarious meaning. Culture meant farming” (p.15). It is used
everywhere as rural culture, urban culture. Today, in every field, in
humanities, every research requires a general view of culture. It is used in
archaeology, linguistics, history, psychology, sociology and etc. It is even
said that man is an animal with culture. That is to say, the factor which
differentiates the human being’s behavior from the behavior of animal is
culture (Mesbahe Yazdi, 2005).
There are about two or three hundred and even more definitions for
culture. With respect to the definition of culture, Edward Sapir (1956) says
that culture is a system of behaviors and models that depend on
unconsciousness. Rocher (1972/ 2004) an anthropologist, believes that
culture is a connection of ideas and feelings accepted by the majority of
people in a society (p.142). Undeniably, culture is learned and shared within
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social groups and is conveyed by nongenetic ways (The American Heritage,
Science Dictionary 2005). Taylor (1974), an anthropologist, says in his
Primitive Culture that culture in a complex definition includes belief, art,
skills, moralities, laws, traditions and behavior that an individual, as a
member of a society, gets from his own society. Goodenough (1996) claims
that culture is a systematic association of people that have a certain way of
life. Therefore, culture is the only distinction between human and animals.
Of course, animals live in association but it is a special kind. There are,
indeed, a lot of sharing characteristics between human beings and animals
such as associative life, responsibility toward children and so on. But culture
is for men, only T.S.Eliot (1961) considers culture as a capital and means for
developing all cultures and knowledge in order to terminate all human
sharing problems.
Obviously, there are many ways to define culture. Culture, in short,
can be understood as a shared learned behavior that is transmitted from one
generation to another independently of biological genes, for the purpose of
promoting individual and social survival, adaptation and growth and
development.
Secondly, communication can be defined as the process of
transmitting information and common understanding from one person to
another (Keyton, 2011). The word communication is derived from the Latin
word, communis, which means common. The definition underscores the fact
that unless a common understanding results from the exchange of
information, there is not communication. “Communication” which is defined
by Richard, is the exchange of ideas, information between two or more
persons. Communication is an effective tool for people to cooperate with
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each other in the process of development. Communication is described as an
act of interchanging ideas, information or message from one person or place
to another, via words or signs which are understood to both the parties.
Communication is vital for the organization because it is a principle means
by which organizational members work with each other. Communication is a
pervasive process, it is a two way activity, which consists of seven major
elements, for example, sender, encoding, message, channel, receiver,
decoding and feedback.
Thirdly, language is described as a tool which helps in the
transmission of feelings and thoughts, from one person to another. It is the
mean of expression of what a person feels or thinks, through arbitrarily
produced symbols or sounds, such as words (spoken or written), signs,
sounds, gesture, posture, and so on that convey a certain meaning.
Language is sole medium of communication between two persons, through
which they can share their views, ideas, opinions and emotions with one
another. It is aimed at making sense of complex and abstract thought and
that also without any confusion.
Language plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining what we
call culture, including conventions, habits and interpretive practice of
individuals and communities. Through language we create and share with
others identities, categories, attitudes, values and belief structures. Language
is not only a rule – governed system with its own internal rule and logic, but
a system of tools for the constitution of social life and culture.
It is commonly accepted that language is a part of culture, and that
culture plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider that
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language without culture would not be possible. Language simultaneously
reflects culture, and is influenced and shaped by it. In the broadest sense,
language is also the symbolic representation of a people, since it comprises
their historical and cultural backgrounds, as well as their approach to life
and their way of living and thinking. Brown (1994) describes the two as
follows: A language is a part of a culture and a culture is a part of a
language, the two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate, the
two without losing the significance of either language or culture (p. 165). In
a word, culture and language are inseparable, language is a key component
of culture. It is the primary medium for transmitting much of culture.
Without language, culture would not be possible.
Language, culture and communication are different things that cannot
be separated. Language is surely the most important tool of communication
that individual have at their disposal. This is because it is language that
permits people to communicate. The purpose of acquisition of language as
proved by Chomsky is for communicative purpose. That is why human
communicate
perfectly
using
language
means.
Other
means
of
communication have several weaknesses thus human language is the best
means of reflecting culture through communication.
2.2 Relationship and solidarity in the family
“As are families, so is society” – in the American author William
Thayer’s word (quoted in Samovar (2007, p.40)).
In Vietnamese there is a saying literally translated as: family is the
basic unit of the society, which nurtures a man’s soul from the cradle to the
grave. The African say that “a person who has children never dies”. The
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American parents often teach their children “the apple does not fall far from
the tree”, which implies that a man, no matter where he does, no matter what
he does, would never live separately from his family. That is to say how
important the family is to a life. In his book titled, “Communication between
cultures”, Samovar (2007) has noted that family is “one of the oldest and
most fundamental institutions of all human, which is a universal experience
– found in every culture” (p.40). In other words, family is at the heart of a
society’s survival.
At a deep – seated level, family can be perceived as “a group of
intimates, who generate a sense of home and group identity, complete with
strong ties of loyalty and emotion and an experience of a history and future”
(Noller and Fitzpatrick, 1993). It is in the family that a man starts his life,
initially exposed to love and hate; give and take and is protected after a
chain of failure and success of an individual in the society. Here never is he
alone.
Family is the manifestation of the society where all social norms and
cultural values are transmitted to each member of the family through
communication and language since childhood. When the children grow up to
virtual citizens and a new family is established, those cultural values
continue to be transmitted to next generations. That process keeps on and on
inexhaustibly, demonstrating the very first and most significant function of
the family, which is to transmit important cultural values.
Another
function
of
family
is
to
enhance
communication
proficiencies. Not only does family introduce to the babies the language of
their culture but it also teaches the babies initial communicating skills,
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which are gradually built up and improve through observation, imitation and
practices (with other members of the family). “From the family, we first
learn how to create, maintain and end relationships, how to express
ourselves, how to argue and display affection…” (Gamble, T.K. and
Gamble, M.W., 2005, p.422).
All things considered, the two basic functions of family have
described the relationship between family and culture as well as family and
communication, in which family plays the roles of a connector helping to
preserve cultural values and better communicative competence over
generations, from then, cultural identities are step by step framed and
constructed family.
There are, in general, two types of family existing in different
cultures: nuclear family of a single parent or parents together with one or
more than one child and extended family with normally grandparents and
relatives. The former is more popular in Occidental countries where child –
rearing and individualism are centered; the latter is maintained in Oriental
cultures as the continuity of deep – rooted tradition where hierarchy and
collectivism take the priorities.
Nevertheless, whatever type a family is, it still spins around a chief
relationship – the relationship between wife and husband, children and
parents. Undoubtedly, it determines the solidity of the family’s structure,
guaranteeing the close links between other relationships in the family.
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