Relationship building in Vietnamese English written business communication: A systemic functional analysis

Bich H N Nguyen,Rhonda Oliver

doi:10.1186/s40554-015-0018-5

Abstract

AbstractEnglish has a long history in Vietnam and in the last two decades, particularly for business communication, it has developed with an unprecedented speed. Despite this ascendancy, there is an absence of research regarding English in Vietnamese business correspondence. The current study is an in-depth investigation of this with a particular focus on the written features of English, reflecting the importance of written documents in this context. This research was framed within the theoretical perspectives of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). 303 business texts from various business sectors composed by Vietnamese writers were collected. They were then analysed with regard to four SFL variables:speech functions,mood,modalityandterms of addressto establish the nature of the interpersonal written features developing within Vietnam. The findings of the study indicate that the writers employed several linguistic strategies (e.g., using Vietnamese kinship terms and Vietnamese lexis) and non-linguistic strategies (e.g., using emoticons and written giggling) to establish a close relationship with their interactants. Relationship building was also reflected in the employment of politeness strategies to achieve positive politeness effect. These results suggest that SFL is a useful theoretical framework and analytical tool to uncover how English is employed in different socio-cultural contexts to enact social meaning-making processes.

Highlights

The diverse forms and functions of Englishes in different continents have triggered substantial research investigating “the varied and continually evolving social and cultural characteristics of the language”
In Vietnam, despite the significant status, features and functions of English used in written business communication, there is a dearth of empirical studies about these issues (Bautista and Gonzalez 2008)
Based on the theoretical framework and the background outlined above, this study examines the variety of English used by Vietnamese business people, aiming to investigate whether endonormative uses of English have emerged

Summary

Introduction

The diverse forms and functions of Englishes in different continents have triggered substantial research investigating “the varied and continually evolving social and cultural characteristics of the language” From that period onwards the number of people learning English in the south of the country increased dramatically as it was perceived to be a means for advancement in society (Wright 2002). This vigorous growth of English, lasted for less than three decades and English use in South Vietnam went into a steep decline when Vietnam was reunified in 1975 and joined the communist bloc (Le, Son 2011). In 1997, the Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet ruled that government officials would not be hired unless they had an advanced command of a foreign language, preferably English (Wilhelm 1995)

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Discussion

Conclusion