Inter-cultural communication

Topic: INFLUENCES OF AGE AND STATUS ON ANGLICIST AND VIETNAMESE PEOPLES WAYS OF REFUSING A REQUEST
Group 1_ Class 09E20 Hong Th Dip Phm Th Nhn ng H Phng Bi Nguyn Tr My

I. Introduction

Outline

1. Rationale stimulus/reasons 2. Research aims

II. Theoretical background

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Speech act Refusals Requests Refusing a request Strategies used in refusing a request

III. Data analysis

1. Introducing the survey and research methodology 2. Influences of age and status on the informants use of refusing strategies 3. Similarities and differences of Anglicist and Vietnamese 4.Some common structures/ expressions in English and Vietnamese

IV. Conclusion

I. Introduction
1. Rationale reasons

Improve communicating Avoid cultural misunderstanding Know the kinds of refusing a request with each culture

2. Research aims

Identify the effect of age and status on refusing a request Distinguish refusals between Anglicist and Vietnamese

II. Theoretical background

1. Speech act

John Austin (1911 - 1960) a British philosopher of language

John Searle (1932) an American philosopher

II. Theoretical background

2. Request - Ask someone for something under the form of
questions commands Declarative statement

3. Refusal
- A responding act - The need to express a negation of the request.

Verschueren (1985 in Wierzbicka 1987:96) claims: refusing is negative response to directives (e.g. request).

II. Theoretical background

4. Refusing a request
Request Refusal

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

According to Phan Thi Van Quyen, there are 15 refusing strategies
5.1. Flat refusals: - Give the requestor almost no further chance to insist. - Be considered to be a high face-threatening act .
polite language: Sorry, Id rather you didnt common language: Im sorry, I cant off record: My m ? on record: No, I really cant. I simply dont have time colloquial language: No way rude or even insulting language: No, piss off

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.2. Expressing doubt
Imply that the speaker refuses the request just because it is not something important, necessary or appropriate to do, not because they are unhelpful.(Negative exclamation are also made). E.g.

You must be joking. Why should I do it? C nht nh phi lm khng ?

Requestor assumes that the requestee can do the thing for them, or has the thing they want to borrow.

5.3. Negating the presupposition of the request

-

Eg:

Sympathize with me! It is my uncles motorbike. Xe ca t bn ri!

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.4. Asking for reciprocity
-

by pointing to the recipient right of doing doing Face Threatening Acts to each other, the speaker may soften his face- threatening acts by negating the debt aspect and/or the face-threatening aspect of speech acts.(Brown and Levinson)

- Be more open when asking for reciprocity in English, but less favored in Vietnamese.

Eg:

Get out of it. Would you let me use yours? I dont think so. Mnh m ngi lm bn iu tra ny cho cu th t na cu phi o mnh vo trng nh.

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.5. Asserting condition
-

Refuse to do something undesirable Depend on the requestors accomplishment of the condition for acceptance.(requestor is unable to meet the condition and will ask

others people for help.)

Eg:

If you have driving license. By law, riders must ride their own motorbike.

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.6. Back-request

Be more employed in Vietnamese than English. Be tentative only and may be accompanied by an excuse for refusing or deference to hearer to minimize the imposition on hearer. E.g.:

Oh, come on. You can do it yourself, cant you? in lun h anh i. Ch hiu anh qu ri m.

5.7. Offering excuse

-

Be commonly used in both English and Vietnamese. Giving a series of reasons at a time to appeal for understanding and sympathy. (some common reasons such as business, illness, obligation) E.g.:

Sorry, I have a terrible headache today. Bc xem y chu bn ti mt ti mi.

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.8. Self-abasement
- Humble and abase ones self, ones capacities and possessions or raise the others self, capacities and possessions. - Tell white lies to prove the speaker is not qualified enough to meet the demand. - Be a face-giving act, a negative politeness strategy and maxim of modesty.

Eg:

Im not sure if Ill be able to get it done Em c bit g u m in.

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.9. Showing concern to hearer
- Implying that speaker is willing to cooperate but he has to refuse for the benefit of hearer. Eg:

You are not old enough to drive so No! Xe t ang hng, t s cu i li mang ha

5.10. Passing the ball to other(s)

- Imply that another person is more relevant to the request. Eg:

Get Mom to do it for you. Im busy. Sao bc khng nh ch Lan. Ch y tin ng hn chu.

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.11. Offering medium help
- To redress the potential threat of an Face- threatening act like refusing; requestee may try to demonstrate his good intentions to satisfy requesters positive face wants - Stress requestees cooperation with requester in another way.Eg:

I am sorry I cannot, but I will give it to someone who can. t nh ngi khc h cu cho.

5.12. Delay

- Make speaker more socially regarded as being nice - Use definite time such as: tomorrow, in an hour or so, this evening - Imply that speaker is not refusing but postponing the decisionmaking.Eg:

Maybe I can go in an hour or so. By gi t ang lm vic ti v t lm cho.

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.13. Paying lip-service
- Use indefinite time: sometime, some other time, next time, later - Sound polite and helpful but vague and the act is most unlikely to be performed. E.g:

Im really busy now. Come back sometimes soon. Khi no rnh, em in gip cho.

5. 14. Token acceptance

Eg: Ill see what I can do.

- Come from the desire to accept or appear to accept the request. - Commit speaker to the compliance to a request but not do it.

5. Strategies used in refusing a request

5.15. Borderline refusals
- May be described as reluctant acceptances which still give room for refusals - Divide into 2 ways: + acceptance with reluctance/hesitation

Eg: Im using it but you can borrow my car if you need it right now.
+ acceptance with warning

Eg: Xe mnh do ny hay trc trc lm y, nhng nu cn bn ly m i cng c.

III. Data analysis

1. Introducing the survey and research methodology
-

Scope of study: Vietnamese and Anglicist including British, American and Australian 5 situations with 160 utterances

Research questions
1. A colleague asks if you could help him a project. You do not want to help him. What will you say to refuse his request?
Requester (Your colleague) You

2. You are working with heavy workload documents. Your son comes to asks you if you could help him solve a difficult Math exercise. You cannot stop working to help him. How do you refuse?
Requester (Your son)

You

Research question
3. You have just bought a new car and your friend asks you if you can lend him your car because he wants to drive his girlfriend to the countryside at weekend. Actually, you do not want to do that. What will you tell him?
Requester (Your friend)

You

4. Your boss wants you to go with him to have dinner with partners. You do want to go. What will you reply?
Requester (Your boss) You

5. Your mother asks you to go shopping with her, but you want to stay at home. What do you tell her?
Requester (Your mother) You

Research Methodology - Data collection process Design

Pilot Revise

Conduct survey
- Data analysis method

Chart 1: Occurence of refusing strategies in all situations of Vietnamese

4% 0% 6% 10% 0% 9% 1% 3% 3% 45% 15% 0% 4% 0% 0%
Flat Expressing doubt Negating the presupposition of the request Asking for reciprocity Asserting condition Offering excuse Back-request Self-abasement Showing concern to hearer Passing the ball to other(s) Offering medium help Delay Paying lip-service Token acceptance Borderline refusals

Chart 2: Occurence of refusing stragies in all situations of Anglicist

0% 12% 0% 29% 12%
Flat Expressing doubt Negating the presupposition of the request Asking for reciprocity Asserting condition Offering excuse Back-request

1% 7% 0% 4% 5% 25% 4% 1% 0% 0%

Self-abasement Showing concern to hearer Passing the ball to other(s) Offering medium help Delay Paying lip-service Token acceptance Borderline refusals

Chart 3: Ranking of occurrence of refusing strategies in English and Vietnamese

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Flat

Percentage

Anglicist Vietnamese

Negating the

Asserting

Showing

Offering

Refusing strategies

Back-request

Paying lip-

Borderline

2. Influences of age and status on the informants use of refusing strategies 3. Similarities and differences of Anglicist and Vietnamese
Vietnamese -Offering an excuse -Flat refusals - Delay Anglicist

-Passing ball to other

- Paying lip- service

Tend to use the combination of excuse refusal and the other ones.

E.g.: B ang phi lm vic.Con th suy ngh tip theo cc hng khc xemri sau b con mnh cng gii quyt nh! Con hi b nh. M ang bn qu! I am tired tonight And do not want to go shopping. May be tomorrow I am tired to go shopping todayLets do it some other day

4. Some common structures/ expression

in Vietnamese and in English
4.1. In Vietnamese
-

In form of negative imperative/declarative with such words as khng, khng th, thi, ng, chng or negative interrogatives with such structures as: sao c th, sao c, g c, ti sao. Use courteous words as redressive element like ng tic, n bun,

xin li, xin bc thng cm, tha cho em E.g.

Mnh s l khng c, v C tht khng? Mnh m lm c ci ny ? Mnh khng chc c lm c khng

4.2. In English
-

Contain features of delay: hehh, uhm the use of mitigated refusal: I dont think I canhesitations: Lets see an explanation of the refusal or saying with their reluctance. E.g.

Im afraid I cant because I wish I could Im sorry but I cant because I regret to say that Im unable to help you Sorry but I

IV. Conclusion

The younger and lower-status person tends to be more carefully, they usually employ excuse refusals. The older and higher status person feels free to refuse a request in all kinds of relationships they suggest an alternative or future acceptance. Anglicist and Vietnamese do not only use separate the indirect refusal ways, they tend to use the combination of excuse refusal and the other ones

References

Sarfo, Emmanuel (2011). Variations in ways of refusing requests in English among members of a college community in Ghana. Quyen, Phan Thi Van. Cross cultural differences in refusing a request. Speech acts: Refusals. Retrieved from http://carla.acad.umn.edu/speechacts/bibliography/refusals.html on 2nd November, 2011. Cross- cultural communication handouts for sophomores at Hanoi University of languages and International studies.