VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT

************
LÊ HÀ VÂN VERBAL EXPRESSIONS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING
PRESENTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
CULTURES

BIỂU THỨC BẰNG LỜI KHI TRAO VÀ NHẬN QUÀ
TRONG VĂN HOÁ ANH VÀ VIỆT

MA MINOR THESIS

FIELD : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS


VERBAL EXPRESSIONS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING
PRESENTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
CULTURES

BIỂU THỨC BẰNG LỜI KHI TRAO VÀ NHẬN QUÀ
TRONG VĂN HOÁ ANH VÀ VIỆT

MA MINOR THESIS
FIELD : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE : 60 22 15
SUPERVISOR : ASSOC. PROF. DR. NGUYỄN VĂN ĐỘ

3.3 Similarities and Differences 44
3.4 Tentative explanations in terms of linguistic politeness 46
CONCLUSION 48
REFERENCES 49
APPENDICES I
v

ABBREVIATIONS
S : Speaker
H : Hearer
G : Giver
R : Recipient
FTA : Fact Threatening Act
FT : Face Threat
No : Number
% : Percent
vi

LIST OF TABLES AND GRAPHS
Table 1: Age group correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 15
Table 2: Gender correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 15
Table 3: Living area correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 15
Table 4: Occupation correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents 16
Table 5: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of birthday 16
Table 6: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of wedding 21
Table 7: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of house warming 25
Table 8: Strategies in receiving presents 32
Table 9: Rank of importance of social factors 39
Table 10: Rank of importance of social factors 40



and warmer response than just saying “Thank you”. Obviously, cultural differences here made
the communication process unsuccessful.
Hence, the knowledge about cross-cultural communication is really essential. On this
basis, this study is done to contribute an insight into a really fine social manner: Giving and
receiving presents. It helps Vietnamese learners of English to find out the best English verbal
expressions which are often used when giving and receiving presents in specific situations and
vice versa. As the result, similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English verbal
expressions in giving and receiving presents will be identified. With this study, the researcher
desires to seek a number of suitable and interesting verbal expressions when giving and
receiving presents in English and Vietnamese in some specific circumstances for avoiding, or
at least, reducing the threat of communication breakdown in giving and receiving presents
particularly in intercultural communication.
1.2 Aims of the study
This study aims to:
- Find out typical models of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions used when
giving and receiving presents in specific situations.
- Identify the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese verbal expressions
when giving and receiving presents.
- Make tentative explanations for these similarities and differences in terms of linguistic
politeness.
1.3 Scope of the study
As mentioned above, the study mainly focuses on English and Vietnamese verbal
expressions used when giving and receiving presents on three occasions: birthday, wedding,
and house-warming party. Due to its small scale, only 25 Vietnamese and 25 English native
speakers were involved in this study. These respondents were asked to complete the
questionnaires with information about their verbal expressions used in the case of giving and
receiving presents in certain situations.
3


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.

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

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.”

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.

10 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.


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
Do the FTA
on record
1. without redressive action, baldly
4. off record
with redressive action
2. positive politeness
3. negative politeness
5. Don’t do the FTA
Greater
Estimation of risk of
face loss
Lesser
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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.

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?

and 30, 14 are in their thirties and 8 are in their forties. These data are presented in Table 1:
Age
<20
20-30
30-40
>40
Vietnamese
20%
44%
20%
16%
English
16%
32%
36%
16%
Table1: Age group correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents
b. Gender
The number of males and females participated in the survey is relatively equal. Nearly half
of them are men (24) and the other 26 are women.
Gender
Male
Female
Vietnamese
44%
56%
English
40%
60%
Table2: Gender correlation between English and Vietnamese respondents

2.3.1 The communicative strategies in giving presents
In this section, verbal expressions are analysed in relation to the situation of giving
presents and the status of the respondents .
2.3.1.1 On the occasion of Birthday
The analysis of the data has shown that there are two major strategies used to give
presents on the occasion of birthday.
No
Communicative strategy
Vietnamese
Anglophone
1.
Wishes
90%
95.24%
2.
Direct offer
10%
4.76%
Table 5: Strategies in giving presents on the occasion of birthday
As we can see from the table, both English and Vietnamese native speakers use
“wishes” at the highest rate. However, from the survey questionnaire, some informants
employ both strategies for more effective conversation between the G and R.
a. Wishes
This strategy is the most frequently used by both English native speakers: 95.24% and
the Vietnamese: 90%. The Anglophone informants usually use wishes for special occasions,
especially birthday. English native speakers‟ wishes for birthday tend to be short and simple
with the often use of adjective “happy”, “best” or the verb “have” like:
- Happy birthday!
- Happy birthday, all the best.
- Have a great day.

English and Vietnamese. However, the use of these strategies is different from partner to
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partner. It depends on the relationship between the G and the R.

1. Close friend It can be seen from the graph that both English and Vietnamese informants use
“wishes” at high rate (92% for Vietnamese and 80% for English informants) when they give
their close friends birthday presents. This shows that to the close friends, the strategy “wishes”
is really popular among English and Vietnamese informants in the event of birthday gift
giving. Surprisingly, the number of English informants using the strategy “direct offer” is
much higher than the number of Vietnamese ones (20% vs 8%). This shows that English
native speakers tend to express their straightforwardness, their formality when the
communicative partner is their close friend.
2. Brother/sister
19 For family members of same rank like brother or sister, 100% of the Anglophone use
the strategy “wishes” when they give birthday gift and the number of Vietnamese informants
use this strategy is 92%.
It is interesting that the strategy “direct offer” is not commonly used in this situation with only
8% of Vietnamese informants while no one in the group of English informants employs this
strategy.
3. Employer

Like these above situation, the strategy „wishes” continually keeps showing its
20