Congratulatory Responses among Vietnamese and American People: A Contrastive Study

Authors

  • Thanh Hien Le Do

    Department of Vietnamese Studies, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University, Hue City 530000, Vietnam
    School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Can Tho City 900000, Vietnam
  • Vien Truong

    Department of English, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University, Hue City 530000, Vietnam
    Department of Foreign Languages, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh city 700000, Vietnam
  • Thai Hong Ly

    Center for Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Can Tho City 900000, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i4.9554
Received: 1 April 2025 | Revised: 10 April 2025 | Accepted: 12 April 2025 | Published Online: 14 April 2025

Abstract

This study compares strategies employed by Vietnamese and American speakers in responding to congratulations, focusing on how power dynamics, social relationships, and cultural norms influence these responses. By examining these cultural differences, the research aims to shed light on how communicative behavior varies in different societal contexts. The research employs a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative analyses to explore strategy use. We gathered data using a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) given to 78 Vietnamese and 78 American participants. The DCT included three situational scenarios, each designed to reflect varying power dynamics and social contexts. Findings indicate that while both cultures exhibit a preference for acceptance strategies with Appreciation tokens, there are notable differences in the specific tactics employed. Vietnamese speakers, influenced by collectivist values, often use a variety of strategies such as Offering wish, Suggestion, and Promise in their responses. In contrast, American speakers are more likely to express personal feelings and gratitude directly. The study finds that power dynamics, in relation to social distance, significantly shape response patterns, with Vietnamese speakers showing more formal, hierarchical responses and American speakers engaging in more egalitarian exchanges. The data coding followed Herbert’s taxonomy, with modifications made to account for the cultural differences observed. The findings highlight the impact of cultural values in shaping communicative behavior and contribute to the broader field of cross-cultural pragmatics.

Keywords:

Cross-Cultural Pragmatics; Congratulatory Response; Discourse Completion Task; Power in Language Use; Social Relationships

References

[1] Austin, J.L., 1962. How to do things with words. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, USA.

[2] Searle, J.R., 1969. Speech acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.

[3] Thomas, J., 1983. Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics. 4(2), 91–112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/4.2.91

[4] Norrick, N.R., 1978. Expressive illocutionary acts. Journal of Pragmatics. 2(3), 277–291.

[5] Elwood, K., 2004. “Congratulations!”: A cross-cultural analysis of responses to another's happy news. The Cultural Review. 25, 355–386.

[6] Markus, H.R., Shinobu, K., 1991. Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review. 98(2), 224–253.

[7] Schegloff, E.A., Sacks, H., 1973. Opening up closings. Semiotica. 8(4), 289–327.

[8] Brown, P., Levinson, S.C., 1987. Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.

[9] Culpeper, J., Haugh, M., 2014. Pragmatics and the English Language. Palgrave Macmillan: London, UK.

[10] Saleem, A., Saleem, T., Aziz, A., 2022. A pragmatic study of congratulation strategies of Pakistani ESL learners and British English speakers. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education. 7(1), 1–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00134-9

[11] Alghazo, S., Zemmour, S., Al Salem, M.N., et al., 2021. A cross-cultural analysis of the speech act of congratulating in Kabyle and Jordanian Arabic. Ampersand. 8, 100075. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2021.100075

[12] Avazpour, K., 2020. Cross-cultural analysis of congratulations in American English, Indian English and Peninsular Spanish [Master's Thesis]. Dalarna University: Dalarna, Sweden.

[13] Alameen, M.I., 2017. Investigating similarities and differences between Sudanese Arabic and British English speech acts of congratulations [Doctoral dissertation]. Sudan University of Science and Technology: Khartoum, Sudan.

[14] Dastjerdi, H.V., Nasri, N., 2012. Congratulation speech acts across cultures: The case of English, Persian, and Arabic. Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation. 1(2), 97–116.

[15] Zhao, Z., 2025. “Saying ‘thank you' or something more than lip service”: a variational analysis of the influence of gender and social status on responses to congratulations on Chinese WeChat. Journal of Politeness Research Language Behaviour Culture. 21(1), 73–94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2023-0063

[16] Holmes, J., 1986. Compliments and compliment responses in New Zealand English. Anthropological Linguistics. 28(2), 485–508.

[17] Vanderveken, D., 1990. Meaning and speech acts. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.

[18] Holmes, J., 1988. Paying compliments: A sex-preferential politeness strategy. Journal of Pragmatics. 12(4), 445–465.

[19] Emery, P.G., 2000. Greeting, congratulating and commiserating in Omani Arabic. Language Culture and Curriculum. 13(2), 196–216.

[20] Nguyễn, Q., 2019. Returning to the issue of face and politeness in communication [Trở lại vấn đề thể diện và lịch sự trong giao tiếp]. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies [Tạp chí nghiên cứu nước ngoài - Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội]. 35(2), 1–14.

[21] Kasper, G., 2006. Speech acts in interaction: Towards discursive pragmatics. In: Bardovi-Harlig, K., Félix-Brasdefer, J.C., Omar, A.S. (eds.). Pragmatics and Language Learning, Vol. 11. National Foreign Language Resource Center: Hawaii, USA. pp. 281–314.

[22] Hofstede, G., 2001. Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations, 2nd ed. SAGE Publications: London, UK.

[23] Ting-Toomey, S., 1999. Communicating across cultures. The Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA.

[24] Leech, G., 1983. Principles of pragmatics. Longman: London, UK.

[25] Trần, N.T., 1996. Returning to the cultural identity of Vietnam [Tìm về bản sắc văn hóa Việt Nam]. Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House [Nhà xuất bản Tổng hợp Tp. HCM]: Ho Chi Minh City, Việt Nam.

[26] Perez-Sabater, C., Montero-Fleta, B., 2014. Pragmatic competence and social power awareness: The case of written and spoken discourse in non-native English environments. International Journal of English Studies. 14(2), 21–38.

[27] Spencer-Oatey, H., 2008. Culture and communication. In: Spencer-Oatey, H. (ed.). Culturally speaking – Culture, communication and politeness theory. Continuum: New York, USA. pp. 48–70.

[28] Nguyễn, Q., 2004. Some issues of intracultural communication and intercultural communication [Một số vấn đề giao tiếp nội văn hóa và giao văn hoá]. VNU Publishing House – Ha Noi [Nhà xuất bản Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội]: Hanoi, Vietnam.

[29] Roever, C., 2015. Researching pragmatics. In: Paltridge, B., Phakiti, A. (eds.). Research methods in applied linguistics: A practical resource. Bloomsbury Publishing: London, UK. pp. 387–420.

[30] Zhu, Q., Ren, W., 2022. Memes and emojis in Chinese compliments on Weibo. Chinese Semiotic Studies. 18(1), 69–95.

[31] Chen, R., 1993. Responding to compliments: A contrastive study of politeness strategies between American English and Chinese speakers. Journal of Pragmatics. 20(1), 49–75.

[32] Chen, R., Yang, D., 2010. Responding to compliments in Chinese: Has it changed? Journal of Pragmatics. 42(7), 1951–1963.

[33] Culpeper, J., Pat, K., 2021. Compliment responses in Hong Kong: An application of Leech's pragmatics of politeness. Text & Talk. 41, 667–690. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2020-0047

[34] Leech, G., 2014. The pragmatics of politeness. Oxford University Press: New York, USA.

[35] Dendenne, B., 2021. Complimenting on-the-go: Features from colloquial Algerian Arabic. Journal of Pragmatics. 172, 270–287.

[36] Qiu, J., Chen, X., Cao, Y., et al., 2023. A contrastive analysis of congratulate by native speakers of Chinese and advanced learners of Chinese. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 33(3), 476–492.

[37] Herbert, R.K., 1986. Say “thank you” – Or something. American Speech. 61(1), 76–88.

[38] Bataineh, R.F., 2013. On congratulating, thanking, and apologizing in Jordanian Arabic and American English. Journal of Intercultural Communication. 32, 01–14.

[39] Khalil, A.R., 2015. A Study of Congratulations' responses in Kurdish with reference to English. Journal of Kirkuk University Humanity Studies. 10(1), 21–47.

[40] Tran, Q.G., 2010. Replying to compliments in English and Vietnamese. The International Journal of Language Society and Culture. 30(1), 104–109.

[41] Phạm, T.H.N., 2014. Strategies employed by the Vietnamese to respond to compliments and the influence of compliment receivers' perception of the compliment on their responses. International Journal of Linguistics. 6(2), 153–176.

[42] House, J., Kádár, D., 2021. Cross-cultural pragmatics. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.

[43] Nelson, G.L., Carson, J., Al Batal, M., et al., 2002. Cross‐cultural pragmatics: Strategy use in Egyptian Arabic and American English refusals. Applied Linguistics. 23(2), 163–189. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/23.2.163

[44] Vo, T.K.H., 2008. An English-Vietnamese cross-cultural study of congratulating. Journal of Science and Technology. 9, 98–104.

[45] Placencia, M.E., Eslami, Z.R., 2020. Complimenting behavior and (self-)praise across social media: New contexts and new insights. John Benjamins: Amsterdam, Netherlands.

[46] Nguyễn, Q., 2014. Types of transfer in intercultural communication [Các loại chuyển giao trong giao tiếp giao văn hóa]. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies [Tạp chí nghiên cứu nước ngoài - Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội]. 30(3), 14–22.

[47] Nguyễn, T.T., 2015. SOME CONGRATULATION TYPES IN WEDDING CEREMONY OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE [Các hình thức chúc mừng trong lễ cưới của người Nam bộ]. Journal of Language and Life [Tạp Chí Ngôn Ngữ và Đời Sống]. 234(4), 94–96.

[48] Thái, L., 2004. The culture of alcohol [Văn hóa rượu]. Nhà xuất bản Văn hóa thông tin: Hanoi, Vietnam.

[49] Dương, T.K.H., Liêu, L.C., 2012. Some cultural and thinking characteristics of Chinese and Vietnamese people through expressions of praise [Vài nét đặc trưng về tư duy văn hóa của người Trung Hoa và người Việt Nam qua thành ngữ chúc tụng]. Vietnam Journal of Educational Sciences [Tạp chí Khoa học và Giáo dục]. 23(3), 88–95.

Downloads

How to Cite

Le Do, T. H., Truong, V., & Ly, T. H. (2025). Congratulatory Responses among Vietnamese and American People: A Contrastive Study. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(4), 771–787. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i4.9554

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 4 (April 2025): In Progress

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2025 Thanh Hien Le Do, Vien Truong, Thai Hong Ly

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.