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Greeting Using Verbal and Non
Greeting Using Verbal and Non
I. Introduction
A. Definitions
1. Definition of greetings
2. Definition of communication
1. Similarities
Additionally, both English and Vietnamese greetings use the form of question,
English
Vietnamese
Using questions is a common way Vietnamese people show their concerns in the
different level which is up to intimacy between parties. The main content of the
They don’t intend to know exactly what an addressee is doing or whether he or she has done or
not. Therefore, to response the greeting can be a gesture (nodding or smiling), a vague answer
or sometimes a re-question.
Đi đâu đấy?
Greetings to addressees
In viet nam
Viet Nam has more complex system of address terms in kinship than English does. The reason is
that Vietnam has a long history of feudalism.. Moreover, the Vietnamese society is hierarchical in
nature. Therefore, the differences in age and paternal and maternal relationship are reflected in
kinship address terms. There are plenty of forms of the second personal pronoun, i.e., “cô, dì, chú,
bác, ông”, whereas English has only one form “you”.
For example:
Cụ đang làm gì đấy ạ? (What are you doing?)
Moreover, it is difficult in :
Greetings to senior addressee
In the asymmetric communication between seniors and juniors, people in lower social
positions have to greet first in order to show their respect for those in higher positions.
Formulas:
(Dạ) “yes” + (First person) + chào “hello” + title/kinship term + polite particle “ạ”
(Dạ) (em) chào thầy ạ.
(Dạ) (cháu) chào bác ạ.
Or
Chào “hello” + title. Chào bác
The unique feature in Vietnamese greetings is that a speaker can express his or her
emotion toward an addressee through a politeness intensifier “ạ”.
In addition, the phrases such as “xin kính chào”, “kính chào”, “chào mừng”, “nhiệt liệt
chào mừng” … are commonly used in a ceremony or a meeting.
Greetings to junior addressee
A greeting is simpler than two previous kinds of greetings due to the equality of age
and social status.
(Chào) + name/nickname/title.
(Chào) Lan.
Chào bác sĩ.
In English
In addition, addressee forms in English are not as complicated as ones in Vietnamese.
Different usage to junior and senior addressee forms in English is not very clear since
English culture puts high value on equal or horizontal relationships. Consequently, the
relationships between people are symmetrical. “Just call me by my first name” is a slogan
illustrating the value of individualism and equality.
For instance, Hi, Jack!
or Good morning, Ms Lorie.
Secondly, one major difference in greetings between English and Vietnamese lies in
a topic.
In English culture,
Personal matters are regarded as one’s privacy and people do not talk about them except
with close friends. Thus, English speakers get accustomed to greeting each other with linguistic
routines
or some other greetings that do not infringe on private issues. These talks are
Vietnamese people, on the other hand, like to greet people with “Bác đi đâu đấy”
(Where are you going?) or “Bác đang làm gì đấy” (What are you doing?). These are questions
about what people are doing at the time they meet each other to show politeness and mutual care
according to Vietnamese custom and tradition. Obviously, people in English culture as well as
friendly in Vietnamese culture. Another example is that a Vietnamese can greet a longtime
departed friend:
A: Chị Phương đấy àh! Lâu quá không gặp,trông chị vẫn không thay đổi.
In contrast, this will offend a native speaker by implicating that he or she should have
been old. The above examples reflect the different communication rules between the two
cultures.
3. Part 2. Non-verbal
or shaking hands are quite popular in English. For a couple, they habitually hug and kiss
each other instead of “Hi” in English. For example: In greeting, warm hugs and kisses are
common in Italy; Moreover, in English culture , two same sex person put their hand around
Unlikely, Vietnamese people use lots of body language, gesture and even intonation
based on the hierarchical relationships. In greeting, the Vietnamese express their sentiment
in a reticent way from time immemorial. A couple never hugs or kisses in public when
greeting. It is regarded as a taboo in Vietnamese culture. Greeting is usually just a slight nod
and bow. Sometimes people will applaud; this should be responded with applause.
This is one of the typical features in Vietnamese greeting culture. Especially, young
people is followed by a slight bow or folding their aims when they greet old people
Similarities
Both Vietnamese and English people when greeting would rather stand at a distance
and wave.
Shaking hand
I. Feedback
I. Conclusion
greeting plays an important role in cultural life. Through a greeting, people can evaluate one’s
academic standard and a community’s civilization. A contrastive analysis in this area between
English and Vietnamese show many similarities as well as differences in strategies, contexts or
II. Reference