VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT 0O0 GIÁP THỊ BÍCH HẠNH THE LANGUAGE MIXING PHENOMENA IN VERBAL COMMUNICATIVE PROCESS BETWEEN VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH (VIEWED FROM LANGUAGE, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL PERPECTIVES) HIỆN TƯỢNG PHA TRỘN NGÔN NGỮ TRONG QUÁ TRÌNH GIAO TIẾP BẰNG LỜI GIỮA TIẾNG VIỆT VÀ TIẾNG ANH (NHÌN TỪ GÓC ĐỘ NGÔN NGỮ, VĂN HÓA VÀ XÃ HỘI) PROGRAM I MA. MINOR THESIS Major: Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 Hanoi, 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POSTGRADUATE DEPARTMENT 0O0 GIÁP THỊ BÍCH HẠNH THE LANGUAGE MIXING PHENOMENA IN VERBAL COMMUNICATIVE PROCESS BETWEEN VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH (VIEWED FROM LANGUAGE, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL PERPECTIVES) HIỆN TƯỢNG PHA TRỘN NGÔN NGỮ TRONG QUÁ TRÌNH GIAO TIẾP BẰNG LỜI GIỮA TIẾNG VIỆT VÀ TIẾNG ANH (NHÌN TỪ GÓC ĐỘ NGÔN NGỮ, VĂN HÓA VÀ XÃ HỘI) PROGRAM I MA. MINOR THESIS Major: Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Văn Độ Hanoi, 2009 MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - iv- TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A – INTRODUCTION 1 I. Rationale 1 II. Aims of the study 3 III. Scope of the study 3 IV. Methodology 3 V. Design of the study 4 PART B – DEVELOPMENT 5 CHAPTER I: THEORITICAL BACKGOUND 5 I.1. Comparison of languages and cultures 5 I.2. Borrowing (language) and pidgin 6 I.2.1. What is borrowing? 6 I.2.2. What is pidgin? 7 I.3. Relationship between language, culture and society 7 CHAPTER II: BASIC FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE AND 10 ENGLISH MIXING PHENOMENA 10 II.1. Morphological features 10 II.1.1. Fully English forms 11 II.1.2. Half English-half Vietnamese 13 II.2. Phonological features 14 I.2.1. Fully English pronunciation 14 II.2.1. Half English – half Vietnamese pronunciation 15 II.3. Grammatical features 16 II.3.1. Function as nouns 16 II.3.2. Function as verbs 17 II.3.3. Function as adjectives 17 CHAPTER III: DISCUSSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR SOLUTION 18 III.1. Origin of Vietnamese and English mixing phenomena 18 MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - v- III.2. Impacts of Vietnamese and English mixing phenomena 19 III.2.1. Positive impacts 19 III.2.2. Negative impacts 20 III.3. Ages and different views on Vietnamese -English mixing phenomena 21 III.3.1. Ages and frequency of using Vietnamese-English mixing 22 III.3.2. Ages and different views on Vietnamese - English mixing phenomena 25 III.4. Suggestions for solution 28 PART C: CONCLUSION 31 I. Summary of the findings 31 II. Suggestions for further study 32 BIBLIOGRAPHY 34 APPENDIX A I MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - vi- TABLES AND CHARTS Table 1 – Frequency of using Vietnamese-English mixing by people under 35 22 Chart 1 – Distribution of frequency of using Vietnamese-English mixing by people under 35 23 Table 2 – Frequency of using Vietnamese-English mixing by people under from 35 to 50 23 Chart 2 – Distribution of frequency of using Vietnames-English mixing by people from 35 to 50 23 Table 3 – Frequency of using Vietnamese-English mixing by people above 50 24 Chart 3 – Distribution of frequency of using Vietnamese-English mixing by people above 35 24 Table 4 - Ages and English qualification 25 Chart 4 – Ages and different views on Vietnamese – English mixing phenomena 26 MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - 1- PART A – INTRODUCTION I. Rationale As from implementation of renovation, then joining in WTO, Vietnam has much more chance of communicating with and learning people from other countries, however, we have been facing many challenges. One of the challenges is how to preserve the traditional culture from negative effects of other cultures during the process of integration. The communication and use of language in communication is a cultural feature of the whole culture. More and more foreigners come Vietnam for different purposes such as business, tourism, working, etc. Therefore, the use of foreign language in communication, especially the international language as English, is indispensable. Wherever you go, wherever you are, you can hear English words used by many Vietnamese people, especially the young ones at work, at home, on street such as ok, bye bye, stress, email, fan, chat, game, tuổi teen, sale off, shop, shopping, etc or sentences like: “- Thằng cha đó trông giống gay lắm, chẳng thấy manly chút nào. - Cần gì manly. Biết gallant và nhiều money là OK rồi!” Not only at speaking, such sentences are also presented in written, especially in emails. Instead of saying “Kính gửi/chào bà H/ông D”, they write “Dear/Hi Ms H/Mr D” and the content of the email is written in Vietnamese, but at the end of the email under their full name is their titles at work in English like: HR Manager, PR Manager, Sales Executive, …. and the good bye like Best regards, Pls contact, …or the content of the email only need “FYI” (For your information). Thanks to the integration process, Vietnamese people have been accessed to diversified products with competitive and reasonable prices. More and more producers produce the same product, so the competitiveness is fierce. They always change the labels, packages and advertise noisily on mass media. I do not want to discuss about the quality of the products here, I just want to discuss about the language used for the names, slogans, labels and on the packages of many products in Vietnam current market are English, even many products are MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - 2- made in Vietnam and its producers are Vietnamese such as Vinatext mart, Vinatexco, Fivimart, hapro, Lavi, Diana 4teen, safeguard, lifebuoy, kotex xì-tin, saigontourist, FPT Telecom, khaisilk, vietravel, vinamilk, etc. For example, the advertisements for soft drink: - “Trà barley không độ - Thức uống không thể thiếu cho mọi bữa ăn” (Marketing & Family Magazine issued on March 2008, pp.9). - “Number 1 Juicie – căng tràn sự tươi mát” (Marketing & Family Magazine issued on March 2008, pp.13). - “Khăn giấy ướt All care – Chăm sóc cho cả gia đình (Marketing & Family Magazine issued on March 2008, pp.80). Or the advertisement of Diana on Television: “Diana 4teen, Hello ngày mới”; “Bobby fresh- Hiểu cả những điều bé yêu chưa nói”; Or “Xmen-Đàn ông đích thực”, etc. The reason for this is originated from the psychology of most of Vietnamese people that the imported products are always better than the domestic ones. The producers grasp the psychology and produce the goods with the use of English for their products of names, slogans, packages… The use of Vietnamese in mix with English like this becomes more and more popular in our society, and it is not only used by ordinary people but also used on mass media. There are many different ideas and discussions around these phenomena. Anyway, it keeps spreading and has both positive and negative impacts on our mother tongue, culture and, to some extent, our society. Whatever the reasons are, and whatever we should do to preserve the purity of our mother tongue and maintain our cultural and national values. This is the main reason why I have chosen the title “The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives)” for my Thesis. It is expected to be an interesting and helpful material for those who care for the purity of the mother tongue and national cultural values while using a foreign language like English. MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - 3- II. Aims of the study The study is mainly aimed at: - Pointing out the spread of the language mixing phenomena between English and Vietnamese in verbal communicative process and the impacts of the phenomena on the culture and society; - Characterizing these phenomena; - Suggesting ways to improve the situation in Vietnam III. Scope of the study Within the framework of a MA Minor Thesis, I will focus on the Vietnamese and English mixing phenomena in the following fields: - Science and technology; - Mass media; - Daily life. The study will rather focus on getting the ideas from people at different ages but not at different social classes. IV. Methodology The Thesis is done by the following methods:  Comparative method  Descriptive method  Statistical method These methods are used in carefully collecting materials from various sources to have a comprehensive view on the positive and negative sides of the language mixing phenomena between English and Vietnamese in Vietnam Society. Besides, the discussions and talks with people, friends at different ages and careers bring me more ideas on developing the study. Moreover, the analysis of survey questionnaire over 90 people helps the study more persuasive and objective. Last but not least, the study is carried out based on the observation and cherishable idea of the author for a long time. MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - 4- V. Design of the study The study is divided into three main parts: PART A: INTRODUCTION This part includes the rationale for choosing the topic, the aims, the scope, the methodology and the design of the study. PART B: DEVELOPMENT This part contains the main content of the study and is divided into three chapters: Chapter I: Theoretical background I.1. Comparison of languages and cultures I.2. Borrowing (language) and pidgin I.3. Relationship between language, culture and society Chapter II: Basic features of Vietnamese and English mixing phenomena II.1. Morphological features II.2. Phonological features II.3. Grammatical features Chapter III: Discussions and suggestions for solution III.1. Origin of Vietnamese – English mixing phenomena III.2. Impacts of Vietnamese – English mixing phenomena III.3. Ages and different views on Vietnamese – English mixing phenomena III.4. Suggestions for solutions PART C: CONCLUSION This part recapitulates the main findings of the study and draws out the significance of the study and gives out some suggestions for further study. MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - 5- PART B – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORITICAL BACKGOUND I.1. Comparison of languages and cultures Language mixing phenomena seem to be indispensable during the globalization process in Vietnam in particular and other countries in general. Today, many Vietnamese people, especially the young ones and the ones who have been studying English as their focus, who are working for foreign and joint venture businesses, have tendency to use the Vietnamese in mix with English. The systematic comparison of English language and English culture will help us to recognize the nature of the phenomena, then improve the situations. According to Robert Lado (1960:1), many linguistic distortions heard among bilinguals correspond to describable differences in the languages involved. He also found that individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings, and the distribution of forms and meanings of their native language and culture to the foreign language and culture – both productively when attempting to speak the language and to act in the culture, and receptively when at attempting to grasp and understand the language and the culture as practiced by natives. Robert Lado (1960) found some points in learning a foreign language: In learning the sound system of a foreign language, the sounds that are physically similar to those of the native language, that structure similarly to them, and that are similarly distributed. “Learning” of such phonemes occurs by simple transfer without difficulty. On the other hand, the sounds that are not part of the sound system of the native language, that structure differently, or that are differently distributed. Learning of these occurs more slowly, and difficulty with them is more persistent. In learning a foreign grammatical structure, it is observed that the grammatical structure of the native language tends to be transferred to the foreign language. Learner tends to transfer the sentence forms, modification devices, the number, gender, and case patterns of his native language. [...]... K15A - 24- MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) Ages Under 35 From 35 to 49 Above 50 English qualifications Excellent 1 (3 %) 0 (0 %) 1 (3 %) Good 17 (5 7%) 10 (3 3%) 2 (7 %) Fair 9 (3 0%) 18 (6 0%) 18 (6 0%) Poor 3 (1 0%) 2 (7 %) 9 (3 0%) TOTAL... 19- MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) “vận động hành lang” in Vietnamese However, it seems the Vietnamese words themselves are unable to present the whole meaning of this word Furthermore, the use of English in some cases brings positive... language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) A borrowing or loan word is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loan_word) In other word, borrowing is word derived from another language The. .. Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) CHAPTER II: BASIC FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH MIXING PHENOMENA Vietnam has been integrated into the world for more than 20 years, therefore the exchange of trade and culture is indispensable requirement... contacting with new advanced technology like computer, internet and other kinds of modern machines used mainly English, which is the opinion of 70 people Besides, many Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - 26- MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives)... MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) Also expressing the fear on the vanish of purity of our mother tongue like Dr Hoang Dung, however, Prof Dr Tran Ngoc Them (Head of Culture Subject, Ho Chi Minh University of Social Science and Humanity)... of English is undeniable That is the reason why many Vietnamese people are studying English and send their children to the English Centers from Giáp Thị Bích Hạnh – K15A - 28- MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) ... mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) morphology refers to the mental system involved in word formation or to the branch of linguistics that deals with words, their internal structure and how they are formed Morphology plays a vital role in our understanding of the. .. phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives) PART C: CONCLUSION I Summary of the findings In fact, no one can refuse the importance of foreign language, especially English in the era of communication and globalization However, the question is how to use the foreign language the use... believe that they are influenced from their friends and colleagues in the use of Vietnamese in mix with English The phenomena are unavoidable in the opinions of 50 people due to the importance of English as an international language in the process of integration and development Furthermore, English is the language used for most of advanced technology such as internet, telecommunication, etc They think that . This is the main reason why I have chosen the title The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives)”. suggestions for further study. MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives). of his native language. MA Minor Thesis - The language mixing phenomena in verbal communicative process between Vietnamese and English (viewed from language, cultural and social perspectives)