Conversational openings and closings in office settings: A study based on American and Vietnamese movies

• Main Author: Hoàng, Trà My
• Other Authors: Hoang, Van Van
• Format: Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Ngôn ngữ học ; Tiếng anh ; Kỹ năng nói; 428.3
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/69809
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Under the cross-cultural pragmatic perspective, this study aims at yielding insights into the way Americans and Vietnamese open and close a conversation in office settings. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to identify opening and closing structures formed with sequences as well as verbal strategies employed in each sequence. In addition, the justification and interpretation of conversational opening and closing processes are primarily grounded on the cultural background of the two languages.Methodologically, the data are staff-manager conversations occurring in office settings and gathered in American and Vietnamese movies. Qualitative and quantitative methods are applied in the present study. The data are coded qualitatively and manually based on the concept-driven categories and data-driven categories. Then, the recurrent patterns of conversational opening and closing sequences and strategies are quantified to assist the process of comparison and contrast between the two languages.The dissertation discloses meaningful and practical findings. Regarding the structures, conversational opening and closing sections in both languages are complete discourse structures. Sequentially, opening sections are constructed with four sequences including summons-answer, greeting, phatic communion and topic initiation whilst closing sections are formed with three sequences namely topic termination, pre-closing and terminal exchange. In terms of strategies, opening and closing strategies are analyzed in each sequence. Totally, there are 26 opening strategies including three summons-answer strategies, four greeting strategies, 15 phatic communion strategies and four topic initiation strategies whilst there are 22 closing strategies including four topic termination strategies, 15 pre-closing strategies and three terminal exchange strategies. These findings indicate that the main part of English and Vietnamese opening and closing sections is phatic talk, functioning to assist the transition to and from a conversation smoothly and politely.