A STUDY ON VERBAL A STUDY ON VERBAL CRITICISM IN ENGLISH AND CRITICISM IN ENGLISH AND

VIETNAMESEVIETNAMESE------------------------------

Presenter: Presenter: Đoàn Trần Thúy VânĐoàn Trần Thúy Vân

Supervisor: Assoc.Prof. Supervisor: Assoc.Prof. Nguyễn Văn ĐộNguyễn Văn Độ

Hanoi, November 2007Hanoi, November 2007

KEY POINTSKEY POINTS• Rationale• Aims of the study• Scope of the study• Methods of the study• Limitations of the study• Chapter I: Theoretical background• Chapter II:A contrastive analysis of the

speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

• Chapter III: Implications to FLT in Vietnam.• Conclusions

1. Rationale1. Rationale• Why intercultural studies?- Linguistic knowledge, interactional skills, and cultural

knowledge are all essential components of communication that must ultimately be accounted for in order to communicate appropriately. (Saville-Troike, 1982)

- The teaching and learning of English in Vietnam mainly focused on linguistic competence, but not on oral skills and cultural aspects.

• Why Criticism?- A speech act with high FTA- A speech act with many studies in different languages and in

interlanguage of English learners of different language backgrounds, but not in Vietnamese

2. Aims of the study:2. Aims of the study:

• Describing and classifying the criticizing strategies in English and Vietnamese.

• Comparing and contrasting different strategies employed by Vietnamese and English people when they give criticism in their own language and culture.

• Studying how culture exerts its influence on English and Vietnamese in giving criticism.

3.3. Scope of the studyScope of the study

• The study is only confined to the verbal aspect of the speech act of giving criticism.

• The data used for illustration and exemplification are taken mainly from short stories and novels in English and Vietnamese.

• No distinction will be made between American English, British English, Australian English and so on.

4. Methodology4. Methodology• Contrastive analysis• Qualitative and quantitative

Research procedure• Identify strategies of criticism in both English and Vietnamese

stories in the source of books.• Classify them into sub-strategies.• Describe them in each language to find out the typical

features of each sub-strategies. • Analyze, compare, and contrast criticizing strategies based on

the cultural features in two languages to point out the basic similarities and differences in this aspect.

• Reach the comments and conclusions on the subject under research.

• Make some necessary pedagogical suggestions.

5. Limitations5. Limitations

• The research will certainly limit the authenticity of the data and then the pragmatic effect of the expected results.

• The data reveals the disadvantage of missing suprasegmental features (stress and intonation).

• There must be a lack of native linguistic sensitivity in analyzing.

Chapter I: Theoretical backgroundChapter I: Theoretical background

• Contrastive Analysis:The perspectives of CA are discussed under the view of James (1980), Whitman and Jackson (1980), Lee (1980), Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Kramsch (1993) and Lado (1957).

• The relationship of language and culture:- The notion of culture is discussed by reviewing the

definitions of culture by Parson, T. (1949: 8), Goodenough (1981; in Wardhaugh, 1991: 217).

- Language and the relationship of language and culture are thoroughly discussed by reviewing Kramsch’s (1998:3), Saville-Troike’s (1982; 35), Kramsch’s (1998) point of view.

- The perspectives of Vietnamese and English culture are mentioned mainly based on Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Chapter I: Theoretical backgroundChapter I: Theoretical background

• Notion and classification of speech acts:

The notion and the classification of speech acts are discussed mainly based on Austin (1962), Searle (1974) and Yule (1996).

• The speech act of criticizing:

The speech act of criticizing is mainly based on Tracy, et al (1987), Wajnrub (1993), Toplak and Katz (2000), Tracy and Eissenberg (1990), and Tracy et al (1987).

Chapter I: Theoretical backgroundChapter I: Theoretical background

• Theories of politenessThe theories of politeness have been centred on one of the following four perspectives: conversational-maxims (Lakoff, 1973; Leech, 1983), face-saving (Brown and Levinson, 1978, 1987), social norms (Jespersen, 1965), and conversational-contracts (Fraser, 1975; Fraser and Nolen, 1981; Fraser, 1990).

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Findings:Findings: Criticizing strategies and semantic formulas in Criticizing strategies and semantic formulas in English and VietnameseEnglish and Vietnamese

- Direct criticisms:

+ Negative evaluations

+ Disapproval

+ Expressions of disagreement

+ Identification of problem

+ Consequences

- Indirect criticisms:

+ Demand for change

+ Request for change

+ Advice for change

+ Suggestion for change

+ Rhetorical questions

+ Using metaphor

+ Being ironic

+ Supposition/wish

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Findings:Findings: Modifiers in English and Vietnamese criticismsModifiers in English and Vietnamese criticisms

- External modifications:

+ Steers

+ Sweeteners

+ Disarmers

+ Grounders

- Internal modifications:

+ Hedges

+ Cajolers

+ Appealers

+ Downtoners

+ Understaters

+ Subjectivizers

+ Intensifiers

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Findings:Findings:

In comparison of frequencies of using criticizing strategies.

Table1: Result of survey on direct and indirect strategies

in English and Vietnamese.

Strategies

Language

Direct Indirect Total

English 63.6% 36.4% 500

Vietnamese 57.9% 42.1% 600

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Findings:Findings:

In comparison of frequencies of using criticizing strategies.

Table 2: Result of survey on direct strategies in English and Vietnamese.

Negative evaluation

Disapproval Expression of disagreement

Identification of problem

Consequences Total

English 10.9% 10.7% 13.1% 16.5% 12.4% 500

Vietnamese 15.1% 11.2% 14.6% 7.2% 9.8% 600

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Findings: Findings:

In comparison of frequencies of using criticizing strategies.

Table 3: Result of survey on indirect strategies in English and Vietnamese.

Request Advice Demand Suggestion Rhetorical question

Supposition

/ Wish

Metaphor Being ironic

Total

English 5.8% 4.2% 3.7% 9.8% 3.6% 3.1% 2.7% 3.5% 500

Vietna-mese

6.1% 9.6% 8.9% 4.1% 4.3% 3.4% 3.1% 3.6% 600

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Findings:Findings:

In comparison of frequencies of using criticizing strategies.

Table 4: The distribution of criticism internal modifiers by the two languages

English Vietnamese

Hedges 8.6% 8.4%

Cajolers 6.9% 7.8%

Appealers 10% 11.9%

Downtoners 18.3% 17.6%

Understaters 20.1% 18.3%

Subjectivizers 29.7% 17.2%

Intensifiers 5.4% 19.8%

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Findings: Findings:

In comparison of linguistic realization of criticizing strategies.

- In the realization of “negative evaluation”, “disagreement”, “advice”, “request” and “suggestion”.

- In the field of addressing term.

- In the using of criticizing expressions.

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Concluding remarks:Concluding remarks:

• The similarity:

The English as well as the Vietnamese try to maintain politeness, keep and save face and try to dilute every face threatening act in compliance with cultural norms they set up.

Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act Chapter II. A contrastive analysis of the speech act of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.of criticizing in English and Vietnamese.

Concluding remarks:Concluding remarks:

• The differences:

- Seen from directness-indirectness use

- Seen from politeness perspectives

- Seen from address form employment

- Seen from verbal use of criticism expressions.

Chapter III: Implications to FLT in Chapter III: Implications to FLT in VietnamVietnam

• In cross-cultural communication

• In foreign language teaching and learning

ConclusionsConclusions

• Review of the findings• Suggestions for further study- The cross-cultural study of the speech act of criticism

responses in English and Vietnamese.

- The cross-cultural study of the speech acts of criticism and criticism responses in English and Vietnamese.

- Cross-cultural interference in the English criticism and criticism response made by Vietnamese learner of English or vice versa.

Thank you Thank you for your attention !for your attention !