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that this paper will have some contributions to the study of cross-cultural communication between America and Vietnam.
1 1.1 Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale Language and culture are interdependent and interactional Culture affects the way language is used and language may reflect many factors of culture in turn In addition, what is right in one culture may not be accepted in another culture As people move from one country to another, cultural differences become apparent to them For instance, American society values simple and direct communication Being open and direct in expressing desires, preferences, and feelings or in discussing issues is highly appreciated in the United States Americans are likely to be, to various degrees, honest in delivering negative evaluations However, in Vietnamese culture, where positive face saving is important, directness may be perceived as being blunt, rude and impolite, especially when complaining and criticizing someone or something (face-damaging acts) Therefore, most Vietnamese are at first shocked at the American direct way of communicating in general and criticizing in particular In addition, with the popularity of Internet and online magazines in English language, people have more chances to interact and know more about other countries As a reporter of a Vietnamese e-newspaper, the thesis author would like to find out the differences in articlewriting style among countries and how culture affects it For the limitation of time and resources, she only focuses on expressions of criticizing in American and Vietnamese e-newspapers in the light of Directness/Indirectness to see if they cause culture shock Such is her hope that this paper will have some contributions to the study of cross-cultural communication between America and Vietnam 1.2 Aims of the study The aims of this paper are: + To study cultural aspects which affect criticism in American and Vietnamese online newspapers + To compare the use of directness and indirectness in criticism between American and Vietnamese online newspapers + To study ways to express criticism in American and Vietnamese online newspapers 1.3 Scope of the study This research only analyzes the degree of directness and indirectness in criticism of some selected American and Vietnamese newspapers 1.4 Methods of the study The analysis uses inductive and deductive methods with the following techniques: + Selecting some online newspapers with great readership and popularity + Collecting and analyzing articles with criticism + Consulting reference books + Discussing with teachers and friends + Conducting surveying 1.5 Designs of the study Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Criticism in American and Vietnamese e-newspapers Chapter 4: Data analysis Chapter 5: Conclusion 2.1 2.1.1 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Culture Definition of culture Culture is one of the most complicated concepts to define This is partly because of its long historical development, but mainly because it now has been used in important background for a lot of distinct intellectual systems The word “culture” comes from the Latin root - “colere” which means “to inhabit, cultivate, or honor” In other words, it refers to human activities In 1952, Kroeber and Kluckhohn compiled a list of over 200 different definitions of culture in their book “Culture: A critical review of Concepts and Definitions” One of these is: “Culture consists of pattern, explicit and implicit, of and for, behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the other hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand as conditioning elements of further actions” (1952:181) Because the thesis focuses on the communication aspect of culture, the definition by Levine and Adelman (cited in Nguyen Quang, 1998) is believed to be the most relevant: “Culture is a shared background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes and values Culture refers to the informal and often hidden interactions, expressions and viewpoints that people in one culture share The hidden nature of culture has been compared to an iceberg, most of which is hidden under water Like the iceberg, much of the influence of culture on an individual cannot be seen The part of culture that is exposed is not always that which creates cross-cultural difficulties: the hidden aspects of culture have significant effects on behaviors and on interactions with other.” 2.1.2 Culture shock Culture shock can be described as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to another country or a place different from the place of origin Often, the way that one lived before is not accepted or considered as normal in the new place Everything is different, for example, not speaking the language, not knowing how to use some mechanical systems and so forth The symptoms of culture shock can appear at different times Although one can experience real pain from culture shock, it is also an opportunity for redefining one’s life objectives It is a great opportunity for learning to acquire new perspectives In these days, due to the development of technology, people can update information through media system such as television, newspapers, internet, etc Another expression of culture shock occurs when one cannot explain what he/she is viewing In this case, “culture shock” may be equivalent to the term “confusion” For instance, when a foreigner reads this sentence in a Vietnamese newspaper: He is considered a Chi in the Vietnamese Literature (Ơng coi anh Chí văn học Việt Nam) The foreigner is sure to be confused if he does not know Chi and his personality In general, culture shock can be described as below: “A mismatch between the neuro - perceptual - cognitive map and the physical and sociocultural environments can cause considerable uncertainty, confusion, insecurity and anxiety The complex of thought, emotion and behavior caused by this mismatch is called culture shock.” (freedictionary.com/encycopedia/culture-shock) 2.2 2.2.1 Criticism Definition of criticism First the definition of critic should be taken into account A critic (derived from the ancient Greek word krites meaning a judge) is a person who offers a value judgment or an interpretation The term is used in particular for a professional who regularly judges or interprets performances or other work of other people and publishes these judgments or interpretations in a periodical (often a newspaper, a magazine, or an academic journal) Critics often specialize in one field and are usually well educated in that field According to Wikipedia online dictionary, “Criticism is the activity of judgment or informed interpretation and, in many cases, can be synonymous with “analysis” There are constructive and destructive criticisms Constructive criticism is the process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about someone or something, usually involving both positive and negative comments, in a friendly manner rather than an opposite one In collaborative work, this kind of criticism is often a valuable tool in raising and maintaining performance standards Destructive criticism is intended to harm someone, derogate and destroy someone’s creation, prestige, reputation and self-esteem” Although there can be both positive and negative aspects to criticism, one sense of the term emphasizes negative comments A phrase such as "critics of Einstein argue that " generally refers to people who are skeptical of the value of Einstein's position In a different context, though, the use of critics in a similar phrase like "critics of Romantic poetry argue that " simply means the neutral activity of interpretation Written criticism is called a critique - an article or essay that gives a critical evaluation, serious examination and judgment of something Criticism helps to clarify and define the theoretical basis of public address It also contributes to setting up a standard of society In particular, criticism interprets the function of communication and indicates the limits of present knowledge in society 2.2.2 2.2.2.1 Types of criticism Practice of analyzing and evaluating literary or other artistic works This type of criticism is based on the rules and principles that regulate the practice of the critic, the art of judging with knowledge and propriety of the beauties and faults of a literature performance, or of a production in the fine art As Brande & C (1913) says the elements of criticism depend on the two principles of Beauty and Truth, one of which is the final end or object of study it pursuits: Beauty - in letters and the arts; Truth – in history and sciences 2.2.2.2 Unfavorable judgment of other social aspects Unfavorable judgment is called fault - finding or disposal expressed by pointing out faults or shortcomings Anyone who does not follow the standard way of doing will be criticized This type of criticism covers all aspects of life ranging from politics, economy to social behaviors E.g The senator received severe criticism from his opponent Most people attach a negative connotation to the word criticism because it brings to mind of something uncomfortable However, criticism comes into two flavors: constructive and destructive Destructive criticism aims to hurt an individual’s self-esteem by causing psychological damage In contrast, constructive one is handled with positive attitude that will receive improved results and give feeling of satisfaction Literature criticism requires a certain ability of evaluating literary or artistic works Also, it has limited and selected number of readers Hence, literature criticism is not popular among people In contrast, the second type of criticism reflects all the aspects of life and has direct impact on readers Thus, the second is the type of criticism the author will focus on in the next parts 2.3 2.3.1 Directness vs Indirectness An overview of Directness vs Indirectness Directness and Indirectness is one of the major categorical dimensions of cross-cultural communication This dimension has been seriously studied by many pragmatists, sociolinguist, etc G Yule (1996) states “whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act; whenever there is an indirect relationship between a structure and a function, we have an indirect speech act.” This statement shows that in direct speech, the speaker/writer says what he means while in indirect speech, he means more than what he says In other words, it is easy and clear to understand a direct speech; in contrast, there remain some hints in indirect speech and one has to know the rules to interpret the meaning Americans generally consider themselves to be frank, open and direct in dealing with each other They often exhibit strong emotional response to something However, according to Althen (2003:18), Americans are often less direct than they realize Latins and Arabs are generally inclined to display their emotions more openly than Americans and to view Americans as unemotional and cold Meanwhile, it is believed that Americans are much more direct than Asians, particularly Vietnamese As a result, Vietnamese who appreciate and consider indirectness as politeness will see Americans insensitive, rude, forceful and sometimes aggressive 2.3.2 Directness and Indirectness in criticism A good example of direct criticism would be if the boss told his employee something like: “How could you make such a stupid mistake? What are you thinking? I don’t know why I hire you in the first place.” An American boss tends to criticize this way because it may motivate his employee to work harder and smarter This is because being open and direct in expressing opinions, desires, preferences, and feelings, or in discussing issues, events, and most ideas is considered proper in the United States However, to a Vietnamese worker, it will make him resent and want to quit It is more acceptable to say something like: “Thank you for the report I can see you put a lot of effort into it However, I was hoping you could touch it up a little by summarizing it more carefully and adding some graphs This content is solid, but if you could make those small changes, I would really appreciate it.” The Vietnamese often use hedges before informing bad news or criticizing Giving some compliments before showing weak points of others is preferable among them 2.4 2.4.1 Newspapers Definition of newspapers According to Oxford English Dictionary (1990): A newspaper is a sheet of paper printed and distributed, at stated intervals for conveying intelligence of passing events, advocating opinions, etc.; a public print that circulates news, advertisements, proceeding of legislative bodies, public announcements, etc Another definition that the Levi E Coe Library presented in their website should be taken into consideration: A newspaper is a lightweight and disposable periodical usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint containing a journal of current news in a variety of topics These topics can include political events, crime, sports, opinion, and weather Newspapers are also developed around very narrow topic areas, such as news for merchants in a specific industry, fans of particular sports, fans of the arts or of specific artists, and participants in the same sorts of activities or lifestyles Most nations have at least one newspaper that circulates throughout the whole country, but in the United States there are few truly national newspapers, with the exception of USA Today and The Wall Street Journal; large metropolitan newspapers with expanded distribution networks such as The New York Times Nowadays, newspapers are not only printed on sheets of paper With the development of Internet, another kind of newspaper that, in recent years, has been popular to everyone has appeared: e-newspaper (newspaper in Internet) 2.4.2 E-newspapers Of all the changes of newspapers, the most significant recent development is obviously the emergence of the Internet as a second national and global stage for news and entertainment that can challenge the dominant television Among other things, it is giving us a growing industry of journalism and a new tradition of media criticism This change is taking place because Internet is the television for print, in the sense that it is allowing writing from many sources to appear together in the same virtual “space” That means all the journalism and media criticism that print makes possible is now available to anyone who can access a computer, vastly expanding choice and creating all kinds of opportunities, for role modeling, competition, dialogue, and mutual critique of writers Now, when there is something wrong, many of the severe stories and the subsequent critiques are immediately available to millions of readers, and not merely to a limited audience Reading e-newspapers obviously has many advantages First, it is becoming easier and easier to approach because Internet is so popular today Second, information is updated everyday, even every hour For example, process of football matches is uploaded each minute in Internet In addition, people have more chances to choose any kind of newspapers to read due to their interest and their needs Furthermore, with the appliance of World Wide Web (www), people have great opportunities to know and read foreign newspapers Therefore, the number of e-newspaper readers has been increasing with high speed 2.4.3 Language of newspapers 2.4.3.1 Accuracy Accuracy is required in any written style of language However, it is particularly important and significant to newspaper language because newspaper has the function of directing public opinion Just a trivial mistake of using wrong words or expressions can make it hard for readers to understand; and misunderstanding may cause unpredictable serious consequences 2.4.3.2 Specification Another typical feature of newspaper language is specification Newspapers’ articles provide specific, concrete details to make readers feel as if they were the insiders, witnessing the event As a matter of fact, each event must be fixed at certain time, in certain place, relating to certain people This is the basic persuasion because it helps readers check the information easily 2.4.3.3 Publicity Newspaper is a kind of mass media Every one, regardless of education level, is objectively served by newspapers where they can both get the information and express their opinion Therefore newspapers should use the general standard language to meet the needs of various readers, so that a scientist with wide knowledge does not feel bored, and a child with low qualification can easily understand 2.4.3.4 Conciseness Language in newspapers should be short and brief Long expression can make the information dilute, which causes bad effect on the reception of information Moreover, it 10 wastes time for both the writers and readers because in this era of information explosion, it is better to get as much information as possible in the shortest time 23 Figure 3: Comparison of Directness and Indirectness in the Illustrations In American newspapers, there still exist indirect images while this appears times in Vietnamese ones, such as blurred pictures or with the caption “Hình ảnh mang tính minh hoạ” (this photograph above is just for illustration): 24 Here is the image of the article 9x, 10x “khoe mình” mạng (Teens post nude photos on blogs) revealing an issue that even 7-9 year old girls show off the body in the Internet, but their faces have been blurred by the reporter Whereas, the below does not look like a critical picture, it seems to be used for decoration only The comparison of illustration shows that both feel free and daring to express what they think but the Vietnamese tend to avoid things which are considered sensitive Especially, when mentioning about sex, Vietnamese writers only post the pictures that will not cause embarrassment or strain for readers On the contrary, sexual pictures are usual images in American newspapers 4.2.3 Six major ways to express indirect criticism Writers make great effort to find different methods of indirect criticism when expressing their point of view This, on one hand, reduces negative reactions; and, on the other hand, the information becomes more vivid and interesting to readers Ways of expressing criticism indirectly in e- newspapers can be: using literature materials, proverbs and precepts, punctuations, metaphors, abbreviation, and playing on words 25 4.2.3.1 Metaphors Metaphor is a rhetorical trope or a figure of speech, where a comparison is made between two seemingly unrelated objects without using “like” or “as” It is transference on one object’s characteristics onto another Metaphor also appears frequently in American newspapers They use the phrase “star to steer by” (The Washington Post) when complaining about a lack of strategic vision from government; or “full-speed ahead” (USA Today) when 92 local banks committed wholeheartedly to a project The following example is also considered a typical kind of metaphor: “Đáng buồn thay, sống hay gặp bệnh nhờn thuốc Nói giới học đường, trí thức vốn bạch xưa nay, mà bệnh nhờn thuốc có tha đâu Nguy hiểm hơn, người sớm “làm quen” với tiêu cực, đời hẳn dễ “tiếp thu” ứng xử hịa vào “dịng đục” mà khơng ngỡ ngàng.” (Vietnamnet) (It’s so sad as “medicine’s ineffectiveness” can also be found in our society Even the intellectual world which used to be pure and upright is still interfered More dangerously, those who early get familiar with bad habits and tricks will be easily adaptive with the “dirty trend” without any abashment) In this case, “nhờn thuốc” is a metaphorical symptom of those who are dishonest and deceptive in examinations; copy others’ works, etc The writer continues his metaphorical method, claiming that they will get on well with “dirty trend” “Dòng đục” - “dirty trend” refers to negative and passive lifestyles Here the writer combines metaphor, innuendo and quotation mark to criticize a painful phenomenon of society From the very beginning, he uses hedge as a softening – up process: “So sánh chuyện nhờn thuốc vi khuẩn với chuyện người, xã hội có điều “bất kính”, thiên nhiên vốn có tượng bất tương đồng.” (Comparing the medicine’s ineffectiveness towards bacteria to a social phenomenon of human beings seems to be “disrespectful” but there are many phenomena that are unpaired in nature.) 26 This sentence of hedge makes the critical article less stressful and intensive Using metaphors shows the creativeness of the writer; therefore, it bears the stamp of individuals It can be said that using metaphors as a means of contrast may make the readers get lost but bring great impressions 4.2.3.2 Literature materials Newspapers and Literature have a close relationship because literature is a precious source for newspapers’ creativeness Literature materials are used widely in almost all kinds of articles with variable forms such as borrowing plots, images, words and expressions in literature works Nevertheless, they appear more frequently in critical articles The usage of literature materials in newspapers are usually realized through the following methods: 4.2.3.2.1 Borrowing plots or episodes The most popular way of this method is to summarize the content of a literature work or just take one part of it and use as a bridge for the writers to get to the point Example 1: “Trong tiểu thuyết nhà văn Soviet Solokhov miêu tả ông chủ tịch không chịu tiếng gà gáy mụ hàng xóm Khơng chịu nổi, ơng dùng quyền hành tìm đến nhà bóp chết gà Thói đời vậy, gà tức tiếng gáy tất sinh chuyện Trước hết chuyện thể diện, sau đến hao tiền tốn ” (VnExpress) (In one of his novel, Solokhov - a Soviet writer - described a chairman who could not stand the noise of a neighbor’s cock So he used his power to kill the cock As a matter of fact, envy causes chaos It results in losing face and wasting money ) Even the readers have never heard about that story, they still know what the writer means through the way he summarizes the story Hence, with this writing style, the articles are usually easy to be understood by both Vietnamese and foreign readers This way makes the articles highly artistic The transfer from the past to the present with its color of contrast interests the readers They are not only reminded of the old tales, but also receive the new 27 information related to a hot issue in society However, it sometimes wastes of space and of time, especially for impatient readers 4.2.3.2.2 Borrowing characters and images “Cảng Sài Sòn: đâu Gót chân Asin?” (VnExpress) (Saigon port football team: where is Asin’s heel?) “Bản quyền âm nhạc: chiến chàng Don Kihote chống lại cối xay gió” (Dân Trí) (Music copyrights: the fight of Don Kihote against windmills.) For the two examples above, the character Don Kihote or the image of Asin’s heel have become so familiar, famous among the public that writers can take them without any explanation Nevertheless, if writers use characters in Vietnamese works, it will be a great problem for foreigners to define what types of people those characters symbolize: “Hoạn Thư thời @” (VnExpress) (Modern Hoan Thu with the help of advanded gadgets) Many other characters are brought into newspapers: So Khanh embodies the unfaithful man; Chi Pheo is the image of ruffians or villains; Hoan Thu is the common name of jealous and cruel women, etc These borrowings help writers save their words at maximum but still describe someone or something correctly and adequately 4.2.3.3 Punctuations One effective way to expressing indirectly in written form is using punctuations In this paper, the author only mentions question mark, quotation mark and three-dot mark as three typical representatives of this type 4.2.3.3.1 Quotation mark Quotation mark has high value of expressive style to indicate that words or expressions are not used with their normal and denotative meanings It brings the shade of meaning of being humorous and witty or ironical and satirical 28 Obama's “team of rivals” share big-picture views (The Washington Post) “5 sinh viên ‘góp vui’ động lắc” (Dân Trí Online) (Five students caught in the act in illegal discotheque) 4.2.3.3.2 Three-dot mark Three-dot mark remarkably increases the expressiveness when it carries out its function of dilating the rhythm of the sentence to mark that there is going to be a surprise or to suggest the readers some other ways of thoughts “Các nam ca sỹ ngày đẹp gái” (Dân Trí Online) (The male singers are becoming more and more beautiful.) “Lời hứa ô nhiễm” (Dân Trí Online) (Evens promises are polluted.) 4.2.3.3.3 Question mark The question mark, also known as an interrogation point, question point, is a punctuation mark that replaces the period at the end of an interrogative sentence In newspapers, it often used in rhetorical questions (a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply) Expert or Shill? (The New York Time) Black Friday: Is your cashier cranky? (USA Today) 4.2.3.4 Abbreviations It is common to see the full names of famous people in American newspapers whereas in Vietnamese critical articles, names of famous and prestigious persons being criticized are abbreviated This, in the first place, will partly reduce unfavorable rumor which is sure to cause bad effect on their fame and career Moreover, those famous ones have contributed so much to the society, therefore they deserve special favor of not being criticized directly in newspapers Let compare two following articles: 29 “It's a.m in a jam-packed New York City nightclub, and Britney Spears is giving what may be her wildest, rawest, sweatiest performance yet It sure is a far cry from the girl in braids the world first met just five years ago She exactly did go from good Britney to bad Britney Probably, she is just a young girl growing up However, it is more like a down and dirty marketing master plan She may look like she’s just letting loose here, but is this Britney Spears out of control – or in total control?” (The New York Time) “Bên cạnh đó, ơng bầu ĐT, QV thuê đội ngũ fan giả đơng đảo cho “gà” Các fan có nhiệm vụ chạy lên tặng hoa, gấu cho ca sỹ liveshow Thậm chí, liveshow gần UHP, người ta thấy chàng ca sỹ tặng gấu xuất liveshow trước anh.” (Dân Trí Online) (In addition, manager of D.T, Q.V also hired a group of fans for them The duty of these fans was to present flowers, dolls for the singers in their live shows Even, in a recent live show of UHP, he was given the doll which had been seen in his previous live show.) Through the first article, readers clearly know what exactly happened, who is criticized and why she is criticized, but in the second one, even a Vietnamese can get confused Many issues are raised, but names are still hidden Only a small number of readers can guess from those abbreviated names D.T, L.T, Q.V, and UHP Good advantage of abbreviation is to protect one’s prestige However, a clear disadvantage of this is reducing the influence, even receiving no expecting results for the half-criticism 4.2.3.5 Word – play/pun Word - play is to use homonym, poly-semantic words, etc in language to receive a certain effect or result (such as innuendo, evasion, humor) This is an effective method to create expressive value for language The text will be more interesting, attractive, and exciting, leaving a deep impression for readers “Can Sun also rise?” (USA Today) “Sun” here is the famous tech corporation Sun Microsystems Scott McNearly, its director, is making a plan of selling their new product to improve the terrible condition of the company The writer plays on word “sunrise” to wonder whether the company will overcome its situation 30 The most common method of word - play is word inversion Only by rearranging some of the elements of syllables can create new words In many cases, these new words are similar to the old ones not only in sound but also in meaning: “ Cái gọi tình u đại có đại q hóa hại điện, biến thành bi kịch tình yêu.” (Dân Trí Online) (The so-called modern love is sometimes so modern that it causes damages and turn love into tragedy.) In addition, using homonym or poly-semantic words as a method of indirectness can be seen widely: “Làm cho lạc thêm vui?” “Những kẻ sống lạc” In the first case, the appearance of word “happy” makes the word “lạc” have two meanings: “peanut” and “pleasure” The “lạc” in the second one is both understood as “lost” and “hedonism” because the content of the article is about the youth who earn money by sexual activities but lack of love 4.2.3.6 Proverbs and precepts These means of language have their own strengths They are clear, understandable and appear with high frequency in daily communication of life Therefore, using them is convenient to both writers and readers Proverbs and precepts are usually used as following: 4.2.3.6.1 Using the original form Here, the proverbs are used with it original form without adding or changing any element “Chỉ kẻ bẻ cong chân lý cố đấm ăn xôi dựng lên trò bịp bợm” (Only those, who break the law, are ready to create dishonest tricks inspire of suffering from any corporal punishments to get benefits.) “Chính mà hàng loạt ca sỹ Hà nội khăn gói mướp vào Nam lập nghiệp với lý “đất lành chim đậu” để mong kiếm danh lợi.” 31 (That is the reason why many Hanoi singers pack their luggage to settle in the South because of the thought that it is a promising land to enhance their career) 4.2.3.6.2 Using proverb with changes Besides keeping all the basic elements of the proverb, the writer adds some new elements to the structure so as to emphasize the theme of the article or the opinion that he would like to express: “Thuốc đắng liệu có dã tật.” Whether bitter pills will have blessed effects? (Original version: Bitter pills may have blessed effects) “Trống đánh xuôi mà kèn lại thổi ngược” The drums have been beaten forwards but the horn is still blown backward (Original version: To beat the drums forward and blow the horn backward) Another way is that writers, with their creativity, change some elements of a proverb in order to make it suitable with their idea “Phép nước thua lệ trường.” School laws rule the state laws (Original version: Custom rules the laws) “Con sâu làm rầu… rừng thông.” A worm injures… the whole pine forest (Original version: A rotten apple injures its neighbors) In addition, writers can split the proverbs so that each element becomes a separate part: “Người ta thấy “của rẻ” ham mà khơng biết nhiều cịn “của ơi” nữa” People are attracted by “the cheapest” and not realize that it sometimes costs “the dearest” (Original version: Cheapest is dearest, best is cheapest) “Sở dĩ có tình trạng “béo cị” phi lý thời gian qua, quan chức thường xuyên làm “đục nước” việc buông lỏng quản lý phối hợp không đồng bộ.” 32 The fact of “fishing” unreasonably is because recently, the authorities have frequently “troubled the water” by relaxing disciplines and not co-operated synchronously (Original version: To fish in troubled water) 4.2.3.6.3 Omitting proverb elements In this case, writers not add any new element They, on the contrary, leave a part of the proverb out: “Vẫn biết “thương cho roi cho vọt” làm tổn hại vật chất tinh thần thành mối quan tâm toàn xã hội.” (Despite the fact that “sparing the rod will spoil the child”, it should become the social interest when it causes physical and mental damages.) “Miệng nam mô ” A honey tongue… (Original version: A honey tongue, heart of gall) There are many cases the writer combine all the methods of using proverbs: “Nghĩ thực trạng bóng đá Việt Nam nay, khơng khỏi lo lắng: tre già mà măng dưịng lại chết yểu bệnh sao.” (Thinking of the worse situation of Vietnamese football nowadays, we feel so worried since the bamboo is already old but the bamboo shoots seem to be dying young for being proud of early fame abuse.) Here, the write not only changes the word “mọc” (grow) into “chết yểu” (die young) but also adds two new elements: “thì đã” (already) and “dường lại ” (seem to be) It can easily be seen that the changed proverbs usually have negative color through which the writers show their critical attitude (sometimes they hide their feeling behind the shell of humorous or satirical tone.) towards a social event This is the result of creativity and requires a deep knowledge about proverbs 33 4.3 Implications 4.3.1 Readers’ problems when reading Vietnamese and American newspapers The above part shows many differences between Vietnamese and American newspapers However, there are two main areas that might cause serious problems: language and cultural differences 4.3.1.1 Language difference Language itself causes problems Each country has its own language system of vocabulary, structure, and grammar that is different from that of other countries It is hard for an American to understand deeply a Vietnamese article and vice verse The problem for readers usually begins when they cannot realize the subject and the main verb because of separation or delay from each other A Vietnamese student might have trouble understanding the following sentence: A woman said to be despondent over her husband’s heavy drinking jumped into a canal Friday night with her three children She might interpret it into: A woman confessed that she and her three children pushed her husband into a canal Friday night because he was a heavy drinker The source of her problem is the first three words: "A woman said" The student may think the main verb is "said" instead of "jumped" One reason she make this mistake was because the writer omitted "who was" from the sentence The long form would have begun: A woman who was said (by a witness) to be despondent " Correspondingly, to understand written American language in common and American articles in particular, one must be able to find out the subject and the main verb In this case, subject and main verb are together at the beginning of the sentence, but in other case, they are separated or the writer delays the appearance of the verb Thus, one of the reason people sometimes misunderstand the information is that they find the wrong subject or, more commonly, the wrong main verb 34 Another problem that should be taken into consideration is language using This is also a great matter because words and phrases are not always used with their meaning of denotation For example, the sentence "Đừng thấy người ta ăn khoai…" (Just because of seeing others eating potatoes/Don’t try to imitate others) makes the readers bewildered The word "khoai" in Vietnamese language is not only used as a noun, meaning "a kind of potato" but also has the meaning of "difficulty, hard-to-solve problem" The second meaning has just appeared for 5-7 years and is not updated in any dictionary 4.3.1.2 Culture difference Understanding culture is integral to learning and understanding a language Culture may be defined as "what" a society does and thinks, and language is "a particular how" of thought The common misconception is that language’s knowledge is enough for communication’s success One should be aware of the fact that language and culture are inseparable Thus, reading a foreign newspaper requires not only the knowledge of foreign language but also the understanding of culture The Vietnamese see a struggle between traditions and the free information The biggest thing that causes culture shock for them is sex Sex is considered taboo and thus not to be explicitly discussed in public In an effort to respect traditional norms, indirectness and metaphors are used at the cost of accuracy and clarity The way it is mentioned is often discreet and extremely delicate as the below in VnExpress online newspaper: 35 Meanwhile, in the American newspapers, sex is always potentially a topic of interest because it is an eternal and fundamental part of life Illustrations of sexual women or men are popular in American newspapers Some newspapers even use this as a means of attracting more readers That, obviously, causes shock for Vietnamese readers, who are too sensitive with this matter Another matter is the attitude towards authorities The American feel free to express their opinions, even criticizing leaders, presidents or chairman, etc They consider their country is the land of freedom and individualism In contrast, the Vietnamese think people should show respect to higher positional persons 4.3.2 Solutions Following are suggested solutions to problems in reading critiques in e-newspapers: Improving knowledge of language and culture: Language plays the first and foremost role of communication Thus, people should prepare for themselves a sufficient knowledge of language Additionally, differences between cultures cause culture shock Therefore, the only way to avoid is to understanding the target culture Guessing based on the context: Readers can clarify the problems by themselves when scanning the whole articles For examples, even though they not know who “Hoan Thu” is at the headline, they can understand that she is a very jealous woman through some scenes of jealousy described in the article Finding help from online search engines: In the Internet, search results from Google, Yahoo, Ask.com give users many articles with the same content With the various sources of information, readers are no longer confused because they can compare and understand the story more deeply 36 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary The media in general and newspapers in particular largely shape our views on the issues that we care most Opinions are mostly formed by information In chapter 4, a comparison of criticism in American and Vietnamese e-newspapers has been conducted Following is the summary of major similarities and differences in criticism between American and Vietnamese e-newspapers: Critiques American criticism Vietnamese criticism Direct Indirect Direct Indirect Headline 85% 15% 48% 52% Lead 84% 16% 79% 21% Illustration 88% 12% 73% 27% Table 1: Summary of Directness and Indirectness in American and Vietnamese enewspapers It is observed that criticism in the American newspapers is usually expressed clearly, orderly and a little more straightforward than it is in Vietnamese newspapers which are sometimes ambiguous The most distinctive difference is found in the headlines where over a half of Vietnamese critiques’ titles are indirect There is not much difference in the leads and illustrations Percentages of “body of the critical articles” are absent in the above table because some articles not answer all the questions (who did what, where, when and how) but it does not mean they appear indirect Many ways are actually resorted to in American and Vietnamese online newspapers to make writers’ points of view less strict or more vivid such as using punctuations, metaphor, etc This causes difficulties for people when reading newspapers in another language To solve 37 these problems requires great effort and depends on numerous factors which the most decisive is good knowledge of language and cross-cultural diversity 5.2 Suggestions for further research It is suggested that further research extend to: - Criticism in American and Vietnamese visual media - Cultural aspects in American and Vietnamese newspapers The thesis has been completed with its author’s best efforts Hopefully, it can contribute to true knowledge of those who wish to be successful and effective readers Due to limited time and ability, mistakes and limitations are unavoidable Any comments and contributions are most welcome ... may, on the other hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand as conditioning elements of further actions” (1952:181) Because the thesis focuses on the communication aspect of. .. in the context in which the communications occur.” This means the situation and the relationship of the people involved plus the time and place all carry a large part of the meaning in the conversation... methods of indirect criticism when expressing their point of view This, on one hand, reduces negative reactions; and, on the other hand, the information becomes more vivid and interesting to readers