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VuMaiYenTran:Vietnameseexpressionsofpoliteness

VietnameseExpressionsofPoliteness

VUMAIYENTRAN*

Abstract

InVietnam,addresstermsareindispensablefeaturesofpoliteconversation,astheserelatetotheageand
socialstatusofthespeakerandhearer,andtheinteractionbetweenthem.Thispaperexaminestheuseof
anumberofpolitenessstrategiesininteractionbetweenyoungwomenfromnorthernVietnam.Thedata
are recorded conversations and observations. The study examines the ways in which the participants
addresseachotherinVietnamese.Itfoundthattheyusedthepairedaddresstermsbtiandmnh
mnh to refer to those of the same age and social status, and the paired address term chem to
address females with age distinction. Moreover, it found that instead of saying something formally,
youngwomencanalsoexpresspolitenessnonverbally;andthesmileistheirchoice.Anappreciationof
thesefindingsisessentialforthosewithaninterestinunderstandinghowonemightexpresspoliteness
ininteractioninVietnam.

1.Introduction

Politeness plays a very important role in our daily lives. In different social situations, we as
members of groups are obliged to adjust the words that we use and the ways in which we
behavetobepoliteinmoreorlesspredictablewaysinordertoachievesocialcoordinationand
sustaincommunication(JanneyandArndt,1992:223).Onereasonwhywedothisisbecause
accepted politeness can help us build lasting relationships. In fact, politeness is considered a
diplomaticstrategyofcommunication(Kummer,1992:325),sinceitsuseisconstrainedbythe
culturalvaluesofagivensociety.Inotherwords,whatisconsideredpoliteinonesocietymay
be different from what is considered polite in another society; hence, people have different
waystoexpresspoliteness(Haugh,2006).
In Vietnam, politeness is one of the key factors in the value system and, thereby, an
indispensable part of effective communication. Politeness is expressed through respectful
attitudesdependingonwhotheheareris,andhowclosetherelationshipbetweenthespeaker
and the hearer is. In other words, a polite conversation is one that takes into account such
factorsasage,socialpositionsandsocialcontexts.TobepolitewhenspeakingVietnamese,one
can use appropriate particles like d, at the beginning of a sentence, or address terms to
indicatethatoneisspeakingtoapersonofthesame,higherorlowersocialstatus,andage.Itis
alsoatypeofpolitenessstrategyforarespondenttoansweraquestionwithyesiftheywant
toavoidhurtingthefeelingsofthepersontheyarespeakingto.Politenesscanalsobeexpressed
bybodylanguage(e.g.aslightbowofthehead,standingwithhandsclaspedinfront,listening
attentively,orkeepingeyecontactwithoutstaring).
This paper looks at the ways in which young women from the northern area of Vietnam
express politeness as they talk to each other. It argues that their politeness strategies are a
meansby whichonecanidentify as a member ofa particular sociolinguistic group, and inso

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doingbuildandsustainmeaningfulrelationships.Hence,thispaperseekstocontributetoour
understandingsofhowyoungwomenmighteffectivelyexpresspolitenessinVietnam.

2.SomeBackgroundInformation

2.1Vietnamesevalues

IntheVietnamesevaluesystemrespectisregardedasakeyfactor(Tuong,2002).Apersonis
expected to show his/her respect to relatives and nonrelatives of a senior age and/or higher
socialstatus.However,apersonwillalsoexpressrespecttothoseofthesameageand/orequal
social position. A person can show resect for another by being polite. If a person is polite in
interacting with people, he/she aims to make the addressee feel good by being kind and
friendlytominimizeconflicts(Srichampa,2003:137).Politenessisconveyedthroughasystem
ofacceptablesocialbehaviourandsociolinguisticformsthatgovernthewaysinwhichpeople
interact (OSullivan, 2007). Culturally, polite behaviours include handshaking, hugging, eye
contact and voice tones (Srichampa, 2003). Politeness also impacts on the choice between
differentaddressforms.AsHolmes(1992)discussed,inmanyeasternandAsiansocieties,the
norms of address usage indicate social status differences, and being polite involves using
languagewhichemphasisestheageaswellaspositionveryexplicitly.

2.2Vietnamesesystemofaddress

InVietnamese,thesystemofaddressvariesaccordingtotheageoftheinteractant,relationship,
andstatus.Thesystemofaddressincludespersonalpronouns,kinshipterms,statusterms,and
propernouns(Luong,1990;Cooke,1968;Nguyen,1999;Cu,2001).Forthefirstpersonsingular
reference, there are five common pronouns (i.e. toi, tao, ta, to, minh), and five pronouns for
pluralformswiththeadditionofchungtothesingularform(i.e.chungtoi,chungtao,chung
to, chung minh). The third person reference includes four commonly used pronouns in the
singularformandthreeinthepluralform.AccordingtoNgo(2006:4),theuseofVietnamese
personalpronounspragmaticallyimplieseitherintimacy/familiarity,amongclosefriendsofthe
same age, or a lack of deference and high degree of arrogance towards the addressee and/or
thirdpartypronominalreferentofsuperiorage.
Additionally, kinship terms are considered more important in the Vietnamese system of
address than personal pronouns. In order to express politeness, one has to address the other
person with a suitable choice of words. Luong (1990: 37) observed that Vietnamese kinship
terms are used not only for thirdparty reference, but pervasively also in address and self
reference.Peoplewho are relativesor nonrelatives can usekinship termstoindicateseveral
degrees of meaning, from low to high respect, and from a high level of intimacy to distance.
SincetheaimofthisstudyistoinvestigatethewayinwhichyoungVietnamesewomenexpress
politeness, the use of different terms of address should be clarified to see the flexibility and
diversityoftheVietnameselanguage.

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3.ResearchDesign

3.1Participants

TheparticipantsinthisresearchprojectareallyoungwomenfromVietnam,whorecentlycame
to Australia to commence their postgraduate studies. All three females voluntarily agreed to
participateintheproject.Thesethreefemaleswereagedbetween23and26years(onewas23
andtwowere26).Priortoparticipating,theywereallinformedabouttheresearchproject,and
about their rights to withdraw from the project at any time, without penalty, and without
providingareasonforwithdrawing.

3.2SourcesofData

Thesourcesofdataforthisresearchprojectconsistedofconversationsandobservations.These
datawerecollectedduringasocialgettogetheratoneoftheparticipantshousesinBrisbane,
Australia in2009. At that time, theconversations were recorded and observationswere noted
bytheauthor.Therecordeddatawerelatertranscribedforanalysis.
Note that the examples of Vietnamese talk are transcribed and presented in italics, the
Standard English translations are presented in single quotation marks, and the nonverbal
expressionofinterestisrepresentedinStandardEnglishinsquarebrackets.

4.ResultsandDiscussion

RecallthatthisresearchprojectaimstoidentifythewaysinwhichyoungVietnamesewomen
expresspolitenessduringinteraction.Thecollecteddataarecarefullyexamined.

4.1 FormsofAddress

TheconversationpresentedbelowtakesplaceatHuongshouse,afterMaidropsbyforavisit.
HuongandMaiareboth26yearsofage.ThefollowingexamplebeginswithMaiaddressinga
questiontoHuong,inVietnamese.

Example1:Addressingb(you)andtiand(I)

Line Name
Conversation
1
Mai:
Banglmgy?
2

Whatareyoudoing?
3
Huong:
Tilnmngtthi.Maibckhochgkhng?
4

ImsurfingtheInternet.Haveyougotanyplansfortomorrow?
5
Mai:
Khngb.Bnhlmg?
6

Notyet.Whatareyougoingtodo?
7
Hng:
,tinhrbiu.
8

Yeah,Imaskingyouifwecangosomewhere.
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9
10
11
12

Mai:

Hng:

15

Bmuniu?
Wheredoyouwanttogo?
TinhrbiGardenCityhocInala.
IintendtoaskyoutogotoGardenCityorInala.

InExample1,MaiandHuongfrequentlyuseb(you)andti)(I)asaformofaddress.
EverytimeMaiusesb(lines1,5,and9)toaddressherfriendHuong,sheisaddressedinthe
same way (lines 3, 7, and 11). Similarly, Huong refers to herself as ti three times after she
hearsMaiusethepronounb.Bandtiareaddresstermsthatareusedinconversation
betweenfemalesofthesameage.Neitherbnorticanbereplacedbyotherpronounsas
their use is conventional and decided to be appropriate to the relationship between Mai and
Huong.Eventhoughtherearedifferentwaystoaddresstheother,theyarenotchosenbythese
participants.
AsNgo(2006)classified,therearefivecommonpronouns(ti,tao,ta,t,mnh)thatreferto
thefirstpersonalpronouns;andtheonethatshouldbeuseddependsonthecloseness/distance
of the relationship between people involved in the interaction. In addition, the only personal
pronounthatisusedinformalsituationsisti.Itisconsideredthemostneutraltermonecan
useinformalsituations.However,inExample1,bothHuongandMaiusetoi(I)almostevery
timetheyaddressthemselvestotheothereventhoughthisisnotaformalsituation,asthetwo
youngwomenarefriendswhosharethesameageandbackground.
Another thing to note is that the term of address b (you) is not included in the list of
personalpronouns,butisinsteadincludedasakinshipterm(Ngo,2006).Thetableofkinship
terms provided by Crooke (1968) indicates that b is used to refer to older females of ones
grandparentsageorasatermofrespectforwomen(usuallymarried)seniortothespeakerand
who are of late middle age or older. However, the current findings show that the Mai and
Huongusethisaddresstermquiteoften,eventhoughtheyknowthattheyareofthesameage.
It seems then that these close young friends use the term b (you) to politely address each
otherinordinaryconversation.
In the conversation below, Mai and Huong have stepped into Huongs kitchen. Mai is
askingHuongabouttapiocaafoodproductthatsheappearstobeunfamiliarwith.Inthis
example,MaiaddressesallofherquestionstoHuong,andHuongaddressesallofheranswers
to Mai. Note that in the course of producing this series of questions and answers both young
womenusetheaddresstermmnh(lines5,7,&9).

Example2:Addressingmnh(we)

Line Name
Conversation
1
Mai:
Cihtgyb?
2

Whatseedisit?
3
Huong:
Hgilbtbng.
4

Thatistapioca.
5
Mai:
Thmnhmuav?Haymnhtlmcihtny?
6

Sodowebuyit?Ordowemakeitourself?
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7
8
9
10
11
12

Hng:

Mai:

Hng:

16

Mnhmuavmnhnu.Luclnchonnra.
Webuyitfromthemarket.Afterboiling,itwillrise.
Cnghalmnhmuavlnth?
Doesitmeanthatthisseedisinthatshapewhenwebuy?
Khngphiu.Htnnhhn.Nuxongthnnra.
No,itisnt.Theseedissmaller,anditwillbebiggerafterboiled.

Another way that Mai and Huong address each other is through the first plural pronoun
mnh(we).Inexample2,atlines5,7,and9,bothMaiandHuongusethepronounmnhto
refer to themselves. In Vietnamese, mnh is produced by the first singular person (I) to
addressher/himself.However,heremnhisfoundtorefertowe(lines6,8,and10),which
isinclusive(Demosthenous,2008),andinthisinstanceisusedtogetthetwointeractantstodo
somethingtogether.AlthoughthedataindicatesthatHuongisthepersonthathasperformed
theactionofbuyingthetapioca,MaiincludesherselfwithHuonginthegroup,asonethathas
performed that action, with Th mnh mua v ? Hay mnh t lm ci ht ny? (line 5) or
So do we buy it? Or do we make it ourself? (line 6). In responding, Huong uses that same
personalpronounasMai.Thishelpssustainclosenessandintimacybetweenthesetwoyoung
femalefriends.
The term of address used by Mai and Huong does not follow what was set down in the
Vietnamesesystemofaddress,asdiscussedinCooke(1968),Luong(1990),Nguyen(1999)and
Cu(2001).Mnh(I)isusedasthefirstpersonsingularreferencetoaddressoneselftoaperson
ofthesameageandcloserelationship;andthatifsomeonewantstorefertoher/himselfandthe
other as we, s/he should add chng before mnh (chng mnh). Instead, they lend
support to Ngos (2006) finding that people use mnh not to address one of them (I) but to
engagebothofthem(we)inthecommunicationcontext,whichisinformalandintimatebutstill
showstherespectfulattitudesoftheinteractants.
Intheconversation,below,MaiandHuongaretalkingtoNam,aVietnamesewomanwho
isthreeyearstheirjunior.Namis23yearsold.Thewomenaretalkingaboutthenicknamethat
NamhasgiventoHuongandsavedinhercellphone.Notethattheformofaddresschangesif
apersontalkstoayoungerperson.NamknowsthatsheisyoungerthanHuongandMai,and
realisesthatshecannotaddressthemasb(you)andherselfas(ti)(I),asHuongandMai
do.Instead,Nammustrefertoherselfasem(I)andtoHuongandMaiasch(you,sister).

Example3:Addressingch(you)andem(I)

Line Name
Conversation
1
Mai:
Emlutncaaiy?

Whosenicknameisitinyourcellphone?
3
Nam:
Hngmoich.
4

ItsHuongmoisister.[smile]
5
Mai:
HngmoilHngghb?
6

DoyouknowwhatismeantbyHuongmoi?
7
Hng:
Mcaaivy?

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8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Mai:

Hng:

Nam:

Hng:

Nam:

Hng:

Nam:

22

23
24

Hng:

17

Butwhoseisit?
Caby.

Itsyours.[smile]
Ticbitgu.

Idontknowanything.
Emluchodnh.
Isavedyournameinsuchawaytorememberitmoreeasily.[smile]
Chchu.

Idontknowwhatmoimeans.
Churihch?

Youdontknow,doyou?
Emgiithchi!

Youcanexplainit.
Hngmoi.TivemtnhtlHngminhngmchoiquen
nnthnhmilun.
IintendedtocallyouHuongmibutithasbeenchangedtomoi
asahabit.[smile]
Haralvy.Dokhngcdu.
Thatsit.Itsduetothetone.[smile]

Atlines1,3,13,15,17,and21,wherethereisanexchangebetweenNamandMai,orNam
and Huong, the address terms ch (you, sister) and em (I, younger sister) seem to be
produced for the purpose of emphasising Nams politeness and respect for her two senior
friendsandforenhancingtheirclosenessandintimacy.
Cooke(1968:125)proposedthatVietnamesekinshiptermsarenouns,mostofwhichhave
a primary meaning denoting blood kin. Two such terms are ch (elder sister or female
cousin) and em (younger sibling or cousin). However, the use of these terms, by the
participantsinExample3,donotrelatetothemeaningslistedinCooke(1968).Infact,asLuong
(1990:37)observed,Vietnamesekinshiptermsareusednotonlyforthirdpartyreference,but
pervasively alsoinaddressandselfreferencebetweenrelativesandnonrelatives,toexpress
differentmeanings,fromhighdisrespecttogreatrespect,andfromahighlevelofintimacyto
extremedistance(Ngo,2006:4).Inthecurrentcontext,thetermschandem,areusedby
two older females (Mai and Huong) and one younger female (Nam) to refer to nonrelatives,
andthisrevealsahighlevelofintimacyamongtheinterlocutors.
The choice of address and reference terms influences the attitudes and feelings of the
speaker and the addressee. According to Homes (1992), politeness involves taking into
consideration the feelings of others, which means that the more polite a person is, the more
comfortable others feel. The way in which the participants use these address terms, based on
theagedistinctionandlevelofintimacy(i.e.,bti,mnh,chem),formsgoodfeelings
andimpressionsandenhancesthelikelihoodthattheywillbeeagertocontinuecontributingto
theconversation.

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4.2NonverbalExpressions

TheconversationpresentedbelowisbetweenHuongandMai.Thefollowingexamplebegins
withHuongaddressingaquestiontoMai.Itshowshownonverbalexpressioncancontribute
toconversation,andparticularlyhoweffectivethesmilecanbeinproducingpoliteness.

Example4:Smiling

Line Name
Conversation
1
Hng:
NgymaibmuniGardenCityhayliInala?
2

DoyouwanttogotoGardenCityorInalatomorrow?
3
Mai:
iGardenCityi.

LetsgotoGardenCity
5
Hng:
.MaibrRobertichovuinh?
6

OK.WillyouinviteRoberttogowithus?[smile]
7
Mai:
Thi.Ngilm.
8

No.[smile]HowhesitantIam[smile]
9
Hng:
Cgumngich?ichovuithim.
10

Whyhesitant?[smile]Comeon.Justforfun.

In Example 4, the conversation between Huong and Mai gradually reaches a point of the
informality wherein they both produce incomplete sentences (lines 710). Moreover, at line 7,
MaidirectlyrefusesHuongssuggestiontoinviteanAustralianman(Robertinline5),togo
out with them by saying No and reports that that she is hesitant to go with him. In the
Vietnamese culture if someone refuses the offer or invitation of another by directly saying
No,itistypicalforthatpersontobeseriouslyjudgedasimpolitebyotherpeople.However,
inthisinstance,whileMaisaysNotothesuggestion,sheshakesherheadandsmilesatthe
sametime;andthenexplainsthereasonwithanothersmile.Hersmileshowsherpolitemanner
inrefusingeventhoughitisassumedthatthosewhoknoweachotherverywelldonotneedto
besopolite.Similarly,whenHuongasksMaiswhysheishesitant,shedoessowhilesmiling.If
she had not produced such a supportive and friendly smile, her question may have been
interpretedinanegativeway,
Smilescanalsohavethebesteffectwhentheinterlocutorwantstoshowtheirfeelingsand
attitudestowardsapriorutterance.InExample3,above,Namsmilesthreetimesasshetriesto
explain to Huong the meaning of her unusual nickname, which could have been
misunderstood. She gets a positive response from Huong, since what she says is honest and
friendly,asdemonstratedwithhersmile.Homes(2008)discussedthatthesmileisanonverbal
symbolthatisusedtoexpressthefeelingofrespectaswellaspolitenessinVietnameseculture,
andthatthesmileisasuitableresponseinsituationswhenverbalexpressiondoesnotconvey
enoughofsomeonesideasandgoodwill.Asmilemayshowemotion,politeness,orhidetrue
feelings. From the above example, without the smile, the interaction would not have been
successful; the interlocutor could not have conveyed exactly what she wanted to say to the
listener;andtheconversationmightnothaveledtoafriendlyinteraction.
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In summary, from the recorded interview data and the authors observations, various
formsofaddress,andkinshipandnonverbal expression, particularly thesmile,wereusedto
build and sustain polite conversation between those of similar and different ages and social
backgrounds.

5.EducationalImplications

It is interesting to understand how young females in the northern areas of Vietnam express
politenessindailyconversation.Thisisbecausepolitenessinfluenceshowpeoplecommunicate
in Vietnamese in real life situations. It is for this reason that teachers should emphasise
politenessstrategiesinthelanguageclassroom.Inotherwords,politenessshouldbetaughtand
included in the curriculum, as these play a very important role in Vietnamese language and
culture.
InlearningVietnamese,studentsshouldbemadeawareofthedifferentformsofaddress,
which consider the age, relationship and social status of the person they are talking to; since
peopleofdifferentageshaveseveralwaysofexpressingpoliteness.Conversationsamongolder
peoplearemoreformalandpoliteastheyusethestandardwaysintheformsofaddress.Young
peopletendtobemoreinformalanddemonstratethisthroughflexibleandnewwaysintheir
talk of maintaining politeness. Moreover, nonverbal expressions, especially the smile, are
indispensableinshowingonespolitenessincommunication.Thus,verbalpronounsandnon
verbalexpressionshouldbeintroducedandfocusedonasapartoftheteachingandlearningof
Vietnamese.

6.Conclusion

ThisstudyshowedthatpolitenessisstillofmajorconcerninVietnamesesociety.Itfocusedon
the ways in which address terms are used to promote effective conversation between young
femalesfromthenorthernareaofVietnam.Thecommontermsofaddressamongtheseyoung
Vietnamesefemaleswerebtiandmnh,whicharecommonlyusedtorefertopersonsof
the same age, gender and educational background. The study also found that young females
address each other in new ways, which do not fit any conventional rules in the language
system,butconveyanadequatelevelofinformalityandpoliteness.Forfemaleswithadifferent
ageandsocialstatus,thekinshiptermchemseemstobefavouredinanysituation,anditis
unchangeableinmeaningandusage.Anyagedistancerequirespoliteness.Thisissoregardless
ofhowcloseordistanttherelationshipis,intermsofintimacy,andinformalityorformalityof
thediscourse.Byobservingtheuseofsuchterms,peoplecanguesshowclosetherelationship
between the speaker and hearer is,and they can makeassessments about the personality and
mannersofthespeaker.
Since this study focused on the ways in which young females from the northern area of
Vietnam express politeness, there may be a difference in the use of address terms and the
flexiblechoicesoflexicalitemsinconversationsamongthoseofthesameagefromotherareas.
Additionally,anotherimportantthingthatisconsideredeffectiveinthepolitenessstrategiesof
youngfemalesisfacialexpression,especiallythesmile.Ininformalconversation,theseyoung
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peopletended to saydirectly what they wantedto say byproducing questions in the formof
wordsonly,orimperativesorincompletestatementstowhichthesmilewasadded.Thesmile
together with their utterances appeared to create a great effect on the hearer. In much of the
conversation,thespeakersmiledandthetalkraninformallyandsmoothlyandpolitelyenough.
In fact, this nonverbal form of expression appeared to contribute to the success of the
interaction.
Inconclusion,itisarguedthatbesidesthelinguisticchoicesofsuitablewords,behaviours
and attitudes can draw the hearers attention and impression to what the speaker wants to
convey.Theeffectofthesefactorsontheformofaspeechactistakenintoaccountasmattersof
politeness (Homes, 1992). It is, therefore, suggested that linguists, sociolinguistics, inter
culturalanalystsandotherswithaconcernaboutsocialchangesinpolitenessstrategiesusedby
young Vietnamese females from the northern areas of the country, and young Vietnamese
peopleingeneral,shouldinvestigateandconsiderthediversityofnewnormsinaddressterms
to distinguish the sociolinguistic variables between young Vietnamese people and others.
Then, if there exists a new standard way with conventional meaning and usage in expressing
politeness, it could be possible to fill the sociolinguistic gap (between different regions with
differentlanguageuseandbetweenthesexes)toavoidmisunderstandingsininteraction.This
study has shed some light on the ways in which politeness is used by members of Vietnams
newgenerationofwomen.

*Authorsnote
Vu Mai Yen Tran is completing the Masters program in Applied Linguistics at Griffith University in
Brisbane, Australia. Yen received her Bachelor Degree in TESOL (teaching English to speakers of
otherlanguages) attheCollegeofForeignLanguages,UniversityofDanang,Vietnam.Shewouldlike
toworkondifferentaspectsoflanguageteachingandlearningandisparticularlyinterestedinteaching
Englishasaforeignlanguage.
Contactemail:tvmaiyen@gmail.com

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