By

Tammie Tran

UC Irvine

 

20th Annual COTSEAL/SEASSI Conference – 7/2010 University of Wisconsin - Madison

The Vietnamese Address System: The Beauty or the Inconvenience?

Vietnamese Address Forms - IntroductionTypes of Address Forms Grammatical Properties of Address Forms Factors Determining the Choice of Address FormsGeographical Variation and ChangesAddress Forms – the Beauty Address Forms – the InconveniencePedagogical Implications

Outline

The word forms used to refer to the addressees, the speaker, and third parties in social interaction (Cooke, 1968; Luong, 1990)

The Viet Address System - Introduction

Addresser - First person singular and plural forms

Addressee - Second person singular and plural forms

Third parties - Third person singular and plural forms

Personal pronounsTôi (I) Chúng tôi (we)Bạn (you) Các bạn (you)Anh ấy, chị ấy, nó Họ, chúng nó(he/she/it) (they)

Proper nounsHoa, Lan ---

Kinship termsÔng (grandfather), bà (grandmother), anh/em (older/younger brother), --Used both for kin- and non-kin relationships

Types of Address Forms

Social status terms (occupational titles)Bác sĩ Đức/Nguyễn (Doctor)Giáo sư Hòa/Phạm (Professor)

Other nouns of human referentsBác bán phở (The person who sells noodle), anh đổ xăng (gas-station attendant), chị bán cơm (rice saleswoman)Applicable as addresses(?)

Chị bán cơm ơi(?)More common for a third person reference

Types of Address Forms (2)

Intralexical declensionGender √

Anh (older brother; male young person)Chị (older sister; female young person)

Number √ Nó (it) Họ (they)

In grammatical cases Ø Bác ấy là --(Uncle/he is--)Xe của bác ấy --(his car--)-- gặp bác ấy (--met him)-- tặng cho bác ấy --(--gave -- to him)

Grammatical Properties

Interlexical declension In grammatical cases Ø

Bác ấy/bà ấy/họ là kỹ sư. (He/she/they is/are (an) engineer(s))Xe của bác ấy/bà ấy/họ (là) màu đỏ. (His/her/their car(s) is/are red)Tôi gặp bác ấy/bà ấy/họ hôm qua. (I met him/her/them yesterday)Tôi tặng một quyển sách cho bác ấy/bà ấy/họ. (I gave a book to him/her/them)

Grammatical Properties (2)

Based on Age ---> kinships

To an old person – bác/chú (uncle) To a kid – em (younger person), cháu (niece/nephew/grandchild)

Social status Bệ hạ (Majesty) Bác sĩ (doctor); giáo sư (professor)

Formality Formal: ông, bà (gentleman, lady)Informal: anh, em (older/younger person) ---

The choice of Address Terms

Based on Gender

Anh (older brother; older male person)Chị (older sister; older female person)

Relationships Blood – ba, mẹ (dad, mom) <-> con Intimate – chị (older sister/elder person/senior/close relationships) <-> em (younger sister/person/close relationships)Distant – anh <-> tôi (you – I (formal))

The choice of address terms (2)

Based on Attitudes (respectful or arrogant)

Ông, anh (older male person); Mày (a second singular person form)

Feelings A mother – a child: mẹ <-> con -> tôi <-> anh ---Mother: Đừng hỏi ý kiến mẹ/tôi nữa. Con/Anh muốn làm gì thì làm. (Don’t ask for my opinion any more. Do whatever you want.)

The choice of address terms (3)

Variation

The Beauty

The Beauty (2)

The Inconvenience

The Inconvenience (2)

The Inconvenience (3)

T/V distinction Vietnamese English

Different meanings Personal pronsPersonal pronouns you <-> I

- Chủ nhật con đi học Không? (Do you go toschool on Sunday?)- Dạ không, con không đi học. (No, I don’t --)

Chị - (older female) 1st, 2nd, & 3rd personChị đi về VN. (I/you/she goes to VN)

A Comparative Analysis

Pedagogical Implications

Pedagogical Implications (2)

An example of

form & meaning

Chào bạn (Hello)

ÔngÔng là --Ông thích ------

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BàBà là --Bà thích ------

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Thank YouQuestions & Comments

References