VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

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NGUYỄN VÂN KHÁNH
POLITENESS PHENOMENA IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
THROUGH USING IMPERATIVE MOOD WITHIN THANG
LONG UNIVERSITY EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT (HIỆN TƯỢNG LỊCH SỰ TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT
THÔNG QUA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG MỆNH LỆNH THỨC TRONG
MÔI TRƯỜNG GIÁO DỤC Ở ĐẠI HỌC THĂNG LONG)

MASTER THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

CODE: 602215

MASTER THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

CODE: 602215 SUPERVISOR: Assoc. Prof. Dr. NGUYỄN VĂN ĐỘ HANOI, 2010
v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statement of authorship ……………………………………………………………… i
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………… ii
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………… iii
List of graphs and tables ……………………………………………………………… iv
PART A. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………… 1
1. Rationale of the study ……………………………………………………… 1
2. Aims of the study …………………………………………………………… 2
3. Scope of the study ………………………………………………………… 2
4. Structure of the study ………………………………………………………. 2

PART B. DEVELOPMENT …………………………………………………… 4

2.5.1. Results of the MPQ for English native speakers ………………… 23
2.5.2. Results of the MPQ for Vietnamese native speakers ……………… 27
2.6. Results of the DCT ………………………………………………. ………. 28
2.6.1. English native speakers’ sayings vs. Vietnamese native speakers’ sayings
2.6.2. Conclusion ………………………………………………. ……… 35
2.7. Data analysis ………………………………………………. …………… 36
Chapter three: Findings and discussions ……………………………………. 38
3.1. Overall findings and discussions of using Imperative Mood when making
polite requests of English native speakers …………………………………………… 38
3.2. Overall findings and discussions of using Imperative Mood when making
polite requests of Vietnamese native speakers ……………………………………… 39
3.3. Comparison of using linguistic structures to make requests between English
and Vietnamese native speakers …………………………………………. …………… 40

PART C. CONCLUSIONS
vii

1. General conclusion …………………………………………………………. 42
2. Limitation …………………………………………………………………… 43
3. Recommendations for further research …………………………………… 44
4. Implications…………………………………………. ……………………… 44 REFERENCES…………………………………………. ……………………………… 46

APPENDIX A: METAPRAGMATIC QUESTIONNAIRE (MPQ) ……………………. I
APPENDIX B: DISCOURSE COMPLETION TASK (DCT) ………………………… X