Similarities and differences between cultural aspects of apology givings of vietnamese and english in communication and some particularly social situations

TABLE OF CONTENT
I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………… 2
1. Rationale of the study …………:............................. . ................................... 2
2 Aims and objectives...................................................................................... . 4
3. Scope of the study .........................................................................................

4

.4 Methods…………………. .........................................................................

4

II.CONTENTS
PART I.THEORETICALBACKGROUND:............................................... .....
1.1.Speech and Apology-givings Etiquette…………………………… …….

5
5

1.2. “Face” in Interpersonal Interaction………………………………………. 5
1.3. Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction…………………………………… 6
1.4. Social and Cultural factors in the Ue of Apology-givings…………………6
1.5. Social and Cultural factors in the Use of Apology-givings……………… 6
PART II. TABLE OF SOME PARTICULAR SITUATIONS IN WHICH
EXPRESSING APOLOGIES IS RECOMMENDED IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE………………………………………………………….....

7-10

PART III. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ..................... ...................11
1. Data analysis………………………………………………………………..11

2. Discussion the Table III about the similarities and differences in socio-cultural
features of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese………… …………
PART IV. PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS ……...................................

13
13

1. For the teachers:.................................................................................. ..........13
2. For the students: .............................................................................................14
III.Conclusion......................................................................................... 15
IV. REFERENCE……………………………………………………………..17

1


I. INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
The main reason making English become one of the most important
languages in the world are the speedy globalization of the world and the
consequent need for effective communication language. As a result, learning
English has become a basic and urgent need.However, it’s not enough to learn
grammar and vocabulary.Learning pragmatic and cultural competence is very
necessary so that learners can use target language in a apropriateb way. Speech
acts are of all importance in daily language.In this study, speech act is the
apology which belong to expressive speech, in which speakers try to indicate
their attitudes.
It can not deny that communication, in particular conversation, has
become an indispensible demand of human beings. Due to the fact that language
has consistently been the main element of human social communication,
meanwhile English is an international language and used as the medium of

interaction , the demand to master it and effectively use it has been more and
more great. It is by means of communication that human employ language to
exchange and express their ideas and purposes as well as to maintain the social
relations.
Of all the functions of language, apology-givings have played a significant
role in everyday social interaction of every society.
Because each linguistic system has its own ways of expressing ideas, in
particular apology-givings, the learners of foreign languages have to develop the
socio-cultural appropriateness. As a result, they can avoid the misunderstandings
and gain effectively communicative goals.
According to Spence-Oatey : ‘culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs,
behavioural conventions, and basic assumptions and values that is shared by a
2


group of people, and that influences each member’s interpretations of the
meanings of other people’s behaviours’. In fact, such social factors as social
contexts, different relationships between interlocutors, genders, ages etc
remarkably affect the ways of using linguistic items, particularly in expressing
apologies in real situations.
The differences in the importance of saying ‘sorry’ in Vietnamese and
English culture:
For Vietnamese people, the stories of saying ‘sorry’ still need to mention
as much as modern life has developed. ‘Sorry’ is only a simple word, however, it
means a lot in not only formal conversations but also daily situations as well.
Whereas, people from Western countries use ‘sorry’ in their whole life.
They have been to say ‘sorry’ since they were kids, and we can see this still
appear on their lips every time. This culture has embedded in their minds and has
existed in Western communities for hundreds of years.
Admittedly, cultural barriers cause numerous problems encountering

Vietnamese students when learning English.
Theoretically, the study is carried out to indicate the similarities and
differences in ways of apology-givings in two languages: English and
Vietnamese in social and cultural features. Also, some suggested implications are
mentioned for English teaching in this study.
For Vietnamese students, to give apology when they make mistakes is
very popular but to make it more formal ,I would like to recommend some ways
to give apology in an extra-curricular lesson. It also helps students to have a
intensive lesson.they can study more effectively
For that reason, I, in my efforts, try to concentrate upon the topic with an
aim to enhancing learners’ language competence as well as to helping them
overcome the difficulties they encounter during their learning.
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I hope through this research, learners can understand and use the word
‘Sorry’ more effectively. They need to know that saying ‘Sorry’ is also a
beautiful characteristic in every culture from all around the world. We shouldn’t
be afraid or ashamed of saying ‘I’m sorry’ or other kinds of giving apologies.
2 Aims and objectives.
This study aims to find out distinctions and resemblances in ways of
apology-givings; the effect of Cultural and Social behavious in apologising in the
two languages: English and Vietnamese.
The study is intended:
- To present theoriotical background on apology-givings
-To collect some popular situations in which we should say ‘Sorry’ from
students in some particular situations
-To present some differences in characteristics of the word ‘sorry’ between
in English and in Vietnamese as well as the difficulties which Vietnamese
learners may have to face in terms of understanding this word.

-To suggest some implications paying ways for learners in effectively
using apology-givings as well as teachers in helping their students encountering
with native speakers.
3 Scope of the study
In researching the ways of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese ,
due to lack of time, the study will not survey all linguistic aspects. With respect
to expressive means, it will be driven to find out differences and resemblances in
socio-cultural features, not lexical, phonetic and stylistic ones. In terms of social
features, it will be focused on gender social status affecting ways of giving
apologies especially to students at Quang Xuong 2 high school.
4 Methods:

-Analyzing methods
-Comparative methods
4


This research on ‘Sorry’ culture is carried out by not only analyzing
methods but also comparative methods in the hope that learners could realize and
understand how it plays such an important role in our life. From that point, they
can say this word more often as well as use it in the most intelligent and effective
way. Besides, information in the research was collected from many sources so
that learners will get broad knowledge of this culture in order to apply
successfully into their real lives.
II. CONTENTS
PART I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Speech and Apology-givings Etiquette
1.1 Definition of an apology and Etiquette of speech
An apology is a word or statement saying for something has been done
wrong or that causes a problem (Oxford Advanced Learners).

Acording to Brown and Levinson, apologies are politeness strategies.An apology
is a fundermental speech act which is a part of human communication occurs in
every culture.
In order to perform the role of the most important means in
communication, language is considered and brightened to obtain a high ability of
thought expressing. “Etiquette of speech is seen as a system of everlasting
formulate with race’s specific. They are recorded in social communication and
accepted by the society to set up relationship among interlocutors…”[6]
1.2. Apology-giving Etiquette
When people speak, they make utterances. An utterance is communicative
unit, comprising of sound or word strings used in a certain occation to imply a
purpose. “Utterance is the use by a particular speaker, on a particular occasion of
a piece of language such as a sequence of sentences, a single phrase or even a
single word”(60,p.15)
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1.3. “Face” in Interpersonal Interaction
According to Goffman (53,p.310), ‘the term “face” may be defined as the
positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others
assume that has taken during a particular contact. Face in an image of self
delineated in terms of approval social attribute-albeit an image that other may
share, as when a person may a good showing for his profession or religion by
making good showing for himself.’
1.4. Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction
Politeness is such an interesting phenomenon that many linguistic experts
have done research so far. The concept of politeness have expressed by many
authors such as Yule( 1996), Leech (1983), Brown and Levinson(1987)…
Yule( 1996) states that : “ Politeness in Interpersonal Interaction can be
defined as the mean employ to show the awareness of another person’ face.”

Leech (1983) notes that politeness means to minimine the effect of
impolite statements and maximine the effect of possitive politeness.
Giving apology is one of the most sensitive ways of daily communication
in term of politeness. It plays a crucial role in keeping people happy friendship
lasts long. As a normal social habit, people would get angry when apologying is
not given in apropriate time.
1.5. Social and Cultural factors in the Use of Apology-givings
1.5.1. The Habit of Using apology
In Vietnam, people do not use apology in communication as much as
English.In England ,they give apology naturally and effectively.They think that
giving apology is one of the polite ways in communication when they have done
something wrong or even when they want to get attention.
1.5.2. Communication Style

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Giving apology in England is more popular than in Vietnam. They use it
in daily communication frequently because it is a polite cultural.
PART II. TABLE OF SOME PARTICULAR SITUATIONS IN WHICH
EXPRESSING APOLOGIES IS RECOMMENDED IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE
When •
people do

English
*In formal

Vietnamese

situations:Such as

something•
wrong

-in a restaurant, to
express your regret or to tell
that you are really sorry

•

because your food didn’t meet

Eg. – Xin lỗi ông/bà. Món súp

the standards.

hơi mặn.

Eg. –I’m (really) sorry.
The soup is rather salty.

•

-Sorry. The soup is

This is popular in nice
restaurants in Vietnam.

rather salty.

Eg.- ‘Tôi sơ ý làm vỡ ly rồi.

•
•

This way is very popular
in English culture.

•

*In informal situations:

•

Eg. -I’m (really) sorry
I’m late.

•

-I’m (so) sorry I

Xin lỗi cô nhé.’
- Xin lỗi anh, tôi không cố
ý xúc phạm anh.
- Đó là lỗi của con. Con đã
làm rách cuốn sách của mẹ.
Mẹ hãy tha lỗi cho con.

forgot your birthday.
•

-My bad.

This is also used but not mostly
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•

-It’s my fault.
- Whoops’ or ‘Oops, sorry’

in every situation. Worse, the
tone and the attitude of the

(when you by chance make a

mistake-makers is rather in low

small mistake. You feel quite

voice

bad about one thing, but it is

-This is very popular in most

not a horrible mistake)

situations in class in Vietnam

This is used commonly with
high tone and apologising
attitude to show the mistakes
even very small.

-Student: -I’m sorry I’m late
- I’m sorry I have
made a mistake
- I’m sorry I forgot
•

my books
When Eg. –I’m sorry I’m late but I Eg. Xin lỗi tôi đến muộn. Tôi bị
people want missed the bus.
to give

This is regularly used in This is mostly used when you

reasons:

English regardless of who you are in junior position in society.
are.

•

nhỡ xe buýt

It seldom happens with an

employer.
When Eg. -I’m sorry to hear that you Eg. –Tôi/Chúng tôi thật lấy
something
bad
happens to

failed in the driving test.

làm tiếc khi phải thông báo với

-I’m sorry to inform that quí khách đi chuyến bay
your application form was VA102 rằng chuyến bay sẽ bị

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someone

turned down.

hoãn lại trong 30 phút vì lý do

else:

thời tiết.
This is not only in special This is only used in special
occations but also in daily situations such as at the airport
conversations to sympathize.

When

or station. It is hardly used in

daily conversations.
Eg. -I’m sorry I didn’t hear Eg. –Xin lỗi, ông nhắc lại họ

people want that can you say that again?
to ask

tên đầy đủ của ông được không

-Excuse me, I’m afraid I ạ?

someone to didn’t catch it. Can you repeat
repeat:

it?

- Em xin lỗi, em chưa nghe
cô hỏi gì. Cô có thể nhắc lại

This way is always used to câu hỏi được không ạ?
show politeness.

This way is maybe only used in
classroom or at a post office
service.

When

you Eg. I’m sorry but can I get Eg. –Xin lỗi xếp, nhưng xếp sắp

want
interrupt
someone

to through?

có một cuộc hẹn lúc 9h.

-I hate to interrup but you (it
have an appointment at 9.AM
(It

means

your

also

means

your

polite

reminding the boss about his

polite appointment at 9AM when he is

reminding the boss about his talking to another)
appointment at 9.AM when This is commonly in certain
he is talking to another)

situations such as in companies
or offices.

-Excuse me, Can you tell me -Xin lỗi, rất ngại khi phải ngắt

9


where the National Library is, lời bạn, nhưng bạn có thể chỉ
please?

đường tới thư viện quốc gia
được không ạ?

This

way

is

commonly This way is not common. Only

employed in any situation some polite people use it when
even when you are in the they interrup others’ work.
superior status in society.
Apologizing - Sorry,

- Pardon
word
- Excuse me!
- Forgive
Apologizing -Excuse me! Could/Can you
please show me the way to
word
the post office?
question
- Excuse me! Can you tell the
way to …..
Apologizing
- I beg your pardon.
sentence

- Xin lỗi.
- Tha lỗi.
- Tha thứ.
- Lượng thứ
-Xin lỗi, cô cho cháu hỏi đường
đi đến bưu điện?

-Xin tạ lỗi.

- I am terribly sorry to -Thành thật xin lỗi vì tôi để anh
leave you waiting such đợi lâu như vậy
a long time.

- We apologize for…
Apologizing - Are you willing to forgive -B (Hearer) có sẵn lòng tha

question

me?

thứ/thứ

lỗi/tha

lỗi

cho

A

-Will you accept my apology? (Speaker) không?
-(Does B have willing forgive
for A?)

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PART III. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
1. Data analysis
The samples collected were described qualitatively in terms of politeness
in Interpersonal Interaction, social and cultural factors in the use of apologygivings as well as the habit of using language according to modern linguistic
points of view in English and Vietnamese.
The frequency of apology-giving culture is used in the table in comparison
between English and Vietnamese.
The contrastive method was applied to analyse the similarities and
differences in the socio-cultural features of apology-givings in the two

languages.
Some generalizations and implications were drawn out after the data
analysis.
In general, giving apology in Vietnam is not as popular as in England.
2. Discussion the Table III about the similarities and differences in sociocultural features of apology-givings in English and Vietnamese.
2.1. The similarities.
Firstly, in both languages English and Vietnamese, apology-givings are
used when you do something wrong regardless of formal or informal situations.
Secondly, apology-givings are also employed when you want to hear
something bad to someone else or you want to inform something not good for
them .
Thirdly, apology-givings are also employed when you want to interrupt
someone in their mid-sentence to show politeness.
However, some aspects of apologising culture are distinctive in these two
languages.
2.2. The differences
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Firstly, the frequency of usning apology-givings is not popular in
Vietnamese culture, which is extremely different from English culture. In
English, ‘Sorry’ or ‘Excuse me’ seems like a daily vocabulary for conversations
of Western people; but in Vietnamese culture, ‘sorry’ only means ‘xin lỗi’ – the
term that people only say when they make a big mistake. Furthermore, it also
proves that the sayers who come from Western countries are polite, considerate
and well-educated. They say ‘sorry’ not only to apologize, but also to express a
regret or deep sympathy to listeners.
Secondly, the position of participants in a certain conversation causes the
frequency of expressing apologies.
Thirdly, the tone and attitude of the person who makes a mistake is not the

same. More than that, it is really difficult for Vietnamese people to speak out this
word as well as the feeling of guilt. Actually, the way people show their reactions
towards this common term depends mostly on cultures of each country.
Fourthly, it is not the same in the purpose of the apology-makers. In
Vietnam, people rarely use ‘xin lỗi’ but other expressions to show sympathy, to
interrupt or to ask someone to repeat, that’s why ‘xin lỗi’ in Vietnamese culture is
not a common term like ‘sorry’ in Western culture.
In addition, the most popular forms of apologies in English are
apologizing sentence. By contrast, the most popular structure in the Vietnamese
data is nonapologizing sentence, especially in getting attention.
The finding helps the Vietnamese native speakers and the native speakers
of English eradicate the interference of the mother tongue into the real-life
communication in the new language environment and to minimize the risk of
misunderstanding by becoming aware of the great differences in choice of using
structures of three apology strategies by the two people from the different
cultures. The English native speakers should not be shocked when they do not
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receive an apology from Vietnamese people because of Vietnamese culture.
Seldom saying apologies does not mean that Vietnamese people are afraid of
threatening their face. Although they do not say apology, they will show their
regret or sincere behavior instead of saying apologies. Hence, this thesis can help
the visitors and newcomers avoid being culture shock.
PART IV. PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS:
1. For the teachers
Teaching a foreign language to students is an activity by which the teacher
can help them to widen their knowledge not only in terms of language but also in
terms of culture. The ‘culture’ factor is very important, it can become an
advantage or a disadvantage during the learning process of students. Many

Vietnamese learners usually have difficulties in communicating with foreigners
even if they are not bad at English; it’s actually because they still keep thinking
of Vietnamese values in their mind without knowing that there is always a big
gap between different cultures.So it’s very important for the English teacher to
explain the differences between two languages and show how to use
them.Sometimes an apology also indicate the regret of the speaker about
something. This has caused some unexpected problems to Vietnamese students
and misunderstandings are unavoidable.
This study refers to a common topic that receives a lot of attention from
both Vietnamese people and foreign people and it is still discussed until now:
‘expressing an apology in English and Vietnamese’. And in fact, saying ‘sorry’ is
very necessary and extremely needed in daily conversations. It helps us to show
our attention and consideration to other people and make our lives become better
and easier. Besides, saying ‘sorry’ will leave a good impression on other
people’s minds as it will make them feel pleased and comfortable.

13


With people from Western people, saying ‘sorry’ is not a big problem. But
with Vietnamese, they still need ‘bravery’ to overcome their ego and say ‘I’m
sorry’ into words. Being an English teacher, we should help them to raising their
cultural awareness and change their attitudes towards negative thinking about
saying ‘sorry’.
Firstly, teacher should help students to be aware that ‘sorry’ is a
miraculous word which undoes all wrong and saying ‘sorry’ is a polite speech
act which is used commonly in daily conversations. Saying ‘sorry’ is a way to
show concern, kindness and respect for each other. Students should be
acknowledge the importance of this word so that it can help them a lot to be
successful in communicating with foreigners.

Secondly, teacher should give students many examples which we can
often meet in daily conversations to help students get used to saying an apology.
Moreover, teacher should also provide students with some other expressions or
phrases to express an apology in addition to ‘sorry’ and instruct them how to use
these expressions, students will have a lot of chances not only to widen their
vocabulary but also to practice English grammar.
Last but not least, teacher can create some helpful activities/taks for
students to practice expressing an apology. Through these activities, students can
apply what they have learned into real contexts. Besides, they also can practice
pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and language skills. Teachers can choose
many situations which are popular in real life for students to practice.
Consequently, they can be more confident to say ‘I’m sorry’ in real life and any
misunderstandings can be avoided.
2. For the students
After this lesson, students have to learn to apply what they have learned
into real contexts and learn to practice pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and
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language skills. They should give the apology correctly and effectively in each
situation.
When communicating with the native speakers of English, Vietnamese
learners should say apologies frequently in the necessary situations in order to
make good 66 impression with the interlocutors and avoid being shocked.
Because the English native speakers says apologies as a reflect actions, they
expect to receive the same responses. Hence, the relationship is undamaged and
the conversations go on.
Depending on the context both Vietnamese and English learners should
use appropriate apologizing forms to make polite conversations. For example, in
a conversation with a person who has higher status, the speakers should say

apologies directly instead of indirectly. The native speakers of English are
familiar with direct ways of speaking, so bushing around the bush, sometimes,
makes conversation unnatural and interlocutors feel uncomfortable. As a result,
choosing a suitable apologizing form in a right situation should be taken into
consideration.
III. Conclusion and SUGGESTIONS
Giving apologies such as ‘sorry’ plays an important role in daily
conversations. It has the power which can help speakers avoid offensive
situations miraculously. Knowing how to say ‘I’m sorry’ in the right time and in
right situation as well as expressing an apology is extremely necessary. So I
decided to analyze the ways to express an apology in English and Vietnamese in
terms of culture backgrounds.
This study was written to give learners some popular situations in which
people should say ‘sorry’; it also presents some differences in characteristics of
the word ‘sorry’ between in English and in Vietnamese as well as the difficulties
which Vietnamese learners may have to face in terms of acknowledging this
15


word; lastly, it provides some ideas for teachers to help learners overcome these
difficulties.
To sum up, with what I have mentioned in my research paper, I hope this
study can help students learn how to express an apology more effectively in daily
conversations.
For me, the experience in science research is not much, the condition for
researching is not sufficient, so this research still has many shotcomings.I hope
the teachers and the colleagues give opinion to make this research more perfect.
In next time, I will try to give more activities to apply for the students.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN

VỊ

Thanh Hóa, ngày 10. tháng 5 năm 2016.
Tôi xin cam đoan đây là SKKN của mình
viết, không sao chép nội dung của người
khác.
Người viết

Phạm Thị Hằng

16


IV. REFERENCE
-Thanasoulas (2001): (MOTIVATION AND MOTIVATING IN THE FOREIGN
LANGUAGE TEACHING), Byran, Morgan and Colleagues, 1994 (TEACH
CULTURE); Coleman, 1996; Holliday, 1994; McKay, 2002.
-Brown, P. &. Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language
Usage. Cambridge: CUP.
-Brown, P (1994). Investigating the production of speech act sets. In S. M. Gass
& J. Neu (Eds.), Speech acts across cultures: Challenges to communication in a
second language (pp. 21-44). New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
-Cohen, A. D., & Olshtain, E. (1985). Comparing apologies across languages. In
K. R. Jankowsky (Ed.), Scientific and humanistic dimensions of language.
Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
-Green, G.M, (1989). Pragmatics and Natural Language Understanding. LEA.

-Grice, C. (1975). Apologizing in English: Politeness strategies used by native
and non-native speakers. Multilingua, 8(1), 3-20
-Holmes, J. (1990). Apologies in New Zealand English. Language in Society,

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