Contrastive analysis 2009 1

Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

University of Pedagogy

English department

Contrasting of English and

Vietnamese Addressing
Forms

Nguyễn Vũ Hoàng Vân

Class: 5CQBT.05
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

I. Introduction:

All human languages have addressing forms. Addressing forms are considered as

an interesting phenomenon in the study on the across cultural communication because

of including numerous addressing systems in different cultures and languages. Both

English and Vietnamese languages also have their unique addressing term system,

which cannot be translated equivalently. In these two languages, a few basic

addressing terms share the same semantic constants. However, cross-cultural

researchers find that addressing terms of a society that uses one system cannot be fully

translated equivalently into the language of a society that uses a different system.

Compared with English addressing system, Vietnamese addressing system is much

more complicated and diversified. A lot of foreigners find it very difficult and confused to

use Vietnamese addressing forms. They regard accessing to Vietnamese addressing

forms as entering to a maze. Even Vietnamese natives sometimes make mistakes for

using them. Therefore, Vietnamese addressing forms are said to be the most intricate

features in Vietnamese language for those who study Vietnamese. As for English

addressing system, there exists a neutral dyad “ I and You” which used in

communication in any context and with anyone because of no differences of age, social

and family relationship or gender between addresser and addressee.

This paper aims at contrasting the differences of addressing forms between

English and Vietnamese. From that it helps learners who study English or Vietnamese

understand more about the equivalence of addressing forms between these 2

languages when translating them into each other. It focuses on contrasting personal
 Contrastive analysis 2009 3
Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

pronouns, kinship terms, proper names, occupational titles and demonstrative

pronouns.

I. Definition of addressing forms and general view of

English and Vietnamese addressing forms:

According to Nguyen Van Khang (as cited in Vinh, 2008, Address forms in

translation), addressing terms are words used to call oneself and others. Namely, they

are words used to addressee or call the hearer or speaker in the communication. In

comparison with English terms, the use of Vietnamese terms of address in actual

communication is more intricate. As Luong points out: “Both the use and the meanings

of Vietnamese person-referring forms are saliently and inextricably linked to the power,

solidarity, and formality dimensions in the relations among the addressor, addressee, as

well as the referred parties.” (as cited in Luong,1990, p.5). The appropriate choice of

Vietnamese addressing forms to utilize involve and consideration a wide range of

sociolinguistic factors, such as age, sex, social status, relationship( blood, intimate or

distant), attitudes ( respectful or arrogant), feelings of the speakers and addressee as

well as the formality of the communication context. English addressing forms, unlike

Vietnamese ones, content “prefabricated units”, such as I, we and you, in

communication. It means that these units can be used in any context and with

everyone. English addressing forms don’t include in themselves any information of

sociolinguistic factors or the formality of the communication

II. Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing

forms:
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

 Personal pronoun

Personal pronoun is a word used instead of a noun that represents a specific

person. Its use depends on number ( singular, pural), person ( first, second, third),

gender (male, female, neutral), and case ( subject, object). These two following tables

will illustrate the difference between English and Vietnamese personal pronoun.

Table 1: English addressing forms

English personal pronoun

singular plural

subject object reflexive subject object reflexive

first me myself we us ourselves

second you you yourself you you yourselves

thir masculine he him himself they them themselves

d
feminine she her herself

neuter it it itself

Table 2: Vietnamese addressing forms

Persons Number
P1 (addressor) P2 (addressee) P3 (third person

(English "I/we") (English "you") referent) (English

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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

"he, she, it/they")

tôi / nó, hắn, y Singular
tao mày, mi
ta mi
tớ cậu, bạn, trò
mình bạn
/ mình
chúng tôi các bạn chúng nó, chúng, Plural
chúng tao chúng mày, bây,
ta/ chúng ta họ,
chúng bây ,tụi

mày, tụi bây

chúng tớ các cậu
mình, chúng các bạn

mnh2, tụi mình

As these two tables can be seen, Vietnamese and English personal pronoun

must be in agreement with correct gender and number of people being described.

However, Vietnamese has more forms of personal pronoun than English does. There

are five common pronouns for the first person singular reference and the corresponding

plural forms for five singular forms by adding “chúng” to them. “Mình” and “ta: can be

used in both plural and singular form. In the second person reference, there exist three

singular and 3 corresponding plural forms. The third person reference includes four

commonly used pronouns in the singular form and three in plural. As the result,

Vietnamese personal pronouns can reveal the social relationship between the speaker

and the person being referred to, the difference in age and the attitude of the speaker

toward the hearer. For example, the first person tôi is the only pronoun to be used in

polite speech. The second person ta does not only indicate a higher status of the

speaker, but also is often used when talking to oneself as in a soliloquy. The other
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

superior-to-inferior forms in the first and second persons (tao, mày, mi, bay),which are

considered impolite, are commonly used in familiar social contexts, such as among

family member. The pronoun mình is used only in intimate relationships, such as

between husband and wife. The form “ y” can be preceded by the pluralizer in Southern

dialects in which case it is more respectful than “nó”.

In English personal pronoun, there are only two forms for the first person:

I(singular) and we ( plural). You is used for both the second singular and plural person.

The third person includes three singular forms, such as he, she and it; and only one

plural form_they. In the first and second person, they exist in to neutral dyadic pairs

(I_You and We_You) which are regarded as prefabricated units because they are used

to communicate in any context and with everyone, not containing any information of

gender, age or social and family relationship as well as the formality of communication.

The third person is only used to refer to the difference of gender but age between the

speakers and listeners in any dimensions of the communication.

As for grammar, Vietnamese personal pronoun, unlike English personal pronoun,

does not have transformation from subjective form to objective form so Vietnamese one

can be used as both subject and object in sentences. In English personal pronoun,

there is a clear distinction between subjective and objective forms of addressing. Each

subjective form also has its own relevant objective form.

Eg:

Cô ầy yêu tôi she loves me

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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

Tôi yêu cô ấy I love her

In Vietnamese personal pronoun: the subjects are the same with the objects: cô

ấy, tôi

In English personal pronoun: “ she” has the objective form_”her”, “I” has the

objective form_”me”.

 Kinship terms

Kinship terms, according to E. R. Leach , are “category words by means of which

an individual is taught to recognize the significant groupings in the social structure into

which he is born” (as cited in Leach,1958, p. 143). All languages in the word have

kinship terms, which are clearly highlighted in addressing forms of a language. Without

exception, all kinship terms make use of such factors as age, sex, generation, blood

and marriage in their society. Both English and Vietnamese languages also have their

own kinship terms, which cannot be translated into each other equivalently. Both they

have defined their own set of kinship terms and the roles they serve in the society.

There are both similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese kinship

terms through the following table 3 and table 4:

Table3: Lineal relations

Relation to ego English term Vietnamese term

Reciprocal
paternal grandfather Ông nội Cháu
grandfather Ông ngoại cháu
maternal
grandfather
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

paternal grandmother Bà nội Cháu

grandmother Bà ngoại cháu
maternal
grandmother

father father Ba, cha, tía, bố con

mother mother Mẹ, má, u, bầm con

elder brother brother Anh trai em

younger brother Em trai
elder sister sister Chi gái Cha, má, bố,
younger sister Em gái mẹ…
son son Con trai Cha, má, bố,
mẹ…
daughter daughter Con gái Cha, má, bố,
mẹ…
son’s son grandson Cháu trai ( cháu Ông bà nội, ông
daughter’s son nội or cháu bà ngoại
ngoại)
son’s daughter granddaughter Cháu gái Ông bà nội, ông
daughter’s ( cháu nội or bà ngoại
daughter cháu ngoại)

Table 4: Collateral relations

Relation to ego English term Vietnamese term Reciprocal

Vietnamese
father’s elder uncle Bác cháu
brother Chú
father’s younger Bác
brother Cậu
mother’selder
brother
mother’s younger
brother

father’s elder/ aunt Bác, cô cháu

younger sister
mother’s elder/ Bác, dì
younger sister
father’s brother’s cousin Anh em trai bà con Em, anh, chi
son (elder / Anh em trai họ
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

younger) hàng
father’s sister’s
son (elder /
younger) Chị em gái họ hàng
mother’s brother’s Chị em gái bà con
son(elder /
younger)
mother’s sister’s
son(elder /
younger)
father’s brother’s
daughter(elder /
younger)
father’s sister’s
daughter(elder /
younger)
mother’ brother’s
daughter(elder /
younger)
mother’s sister’s
daughter(elder /
younger)
brother’s son nephew Cháu trai Chú, cô
sister’s son
wife’s sibling’s son
husband’s sibling’s
son
brother’s daughter niece Cháu gái Cậu, dì
sister’s daughter
wife’s sibling’s
daughter
husband’s sibling’s
daughter

mother’selder aunt Bác cháu

brother ‘ wife
mother’s younger Mợ
brother’ wife
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

father’s elder aunt Bác cháu

brother’ wife
father’s younger thím
brother’ wife

Father in law Father in Ba, cha bố con

( paternal and law chồng/vợ
maternal )
Mother in law Mother in Mẹ, má chồng/ vợ
( paternal and law
maternal )

Elder/ younger Sister Chị dâu Em, chị, anh

brother’s wife Em dâu
Elder/younger
sister’s husband brother Anh rễ, em rễ
Elder/ younger Brother Anh/ em chồng Anh, chi, em
brother in ( vợ)
law( paternal and sister
maternal ) Chi/ em chồng ( vơ)

Elder/younger
sister in
law( paternal and
maternal )

Daughter’s Daughter in Con dâu Ba.mẹ

husband law
Son’s husband Son in law Con rễ

In both English and Vietnamese kinship systems, addressing forms are used to

emphasize people who are related by blood and marriage (collateral and lineal). Both

they are also based on the relation of blood and marriage to choose the appropriate

terms to address each other in communication.

Eg: Parent’s parents : grandparents ( English), ông bà ( Vietnamese)

Parent’s sister : aunt ( English), cô, dì, bác ( Vietnamese).

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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

In both languages, kinship terms differentiate between generations ( the difference

between a child and a parent) and between sexes ( the difference between a brother

and a sister). Moreover, both the two kinship systems distinguish between relatives by

blood and marriage.

Eg: son/daughter : offspring son/ daughter ( English), con đẽ/ruột ( Vietnamese)

son in law, daughter in law ( English); con rễ, con dâu

( Vietnamese)

In contrast to English kinship terms, there exist more specific and complex kinship

terms in Vietnamese, most of which do not have equivalents in English language.

Kinship and family relationships in Vietnam are more accurately described as an

intricate network and complicated pattern of relationships, while English ones are less

complex, full and fastidious. Why the Vietnamese kinship system is more complicated

than English one?

Firstly, Vietnam is a family-centered tradition country, while English culture

focuses on the independence of individuals. Vietnamese people treasure the close

family relationship highly and like to live together with or near their families. Complicated

Vietnamese family hierarchy is the dominant factor in choosing the right addressing

term. By contrast to Vietnamese, Individualism has long been considered as a

characteristic of the dominant ideology in English culture. They think much of privacy of

individuals. Hence, they don’t need so many kinship terms to keep together the familial

relations.
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

Secondly, Vietnamese kinship emphasizes patrilineal relationship, while English

one does not. Vietnamese people attach much importance to consanguineous relations

and affinal ones, which connotes by kinship terms apparently. There are the difference

of kinship terms between paternal lineages and maternal ones, such as : cháu nội/cháu

ngoại, ông nội/ ông ngoại and ba vợ/ ba chồng. While in English, maternal and paternal

lineages are not distinguished so distinctly. We even cannot distinguish an “uncle”

whether is one’s father’s brother or one’s mother’s brother.

Thirdly, Vietnamese culture emphasizes “superior controls junior”, while the

descendant and the elderly relate to each other as friends in English. In Vietnam, that

the descendant is not allowed to call the elderly by name is considered against the

traditional morality and social order. Therefore, exact kinship forms are necessary in

addressing to distinct elderly kins. In English, the descendant is allowed to call the

elderly by name, which is a way to perform intimacy in English culture. The relative age

of a sibling relation may be not considered while addressing. For example, “brother”

applied to “elder brother” and “younger brother” are both practicable.

Fourthly, the gender of the relative is distinguished in Vietnamese culture, while

not in English. In Vietnamese culture, the gender of the relative is differentiated

distinctly. For example, title for “father’s brother’s son” (anh bà con) is strictly

distinguished from that for “father’s brother’s daughter” (chị bà con). English kinship

system may ignore the sex distinction. For example, all male and female children of a

person’s father/mother’s brother/sister can be called by the same term “cousin”. It may

refer to the mother’s brother’s son, mother’s brother’s daughter, mother’s sister’s son,
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

mother’s sister’s daughter, father’s brother’s son, father’s brother’s daughter, father’s

sister’s son, father’s sister’s daughter, and so on.

As for grammar, Vietnamese kinship terms are used for all first, second and third

person reference in structural sentences. In contrast to Vietnamese ones, English

kinship terms are only used for 3rd person reference

Eg:

In Vietnam:

- Con yêu mẹ. ( mẹ: the second person)

- Mẹ yêu con. ( mẹ: the first person)

- Cháu yêu mẹ lắm ( mẹ: the third person)

In England:

- I love my mother. ( my mother: the third person)

Apart from above two main contrastive points: personal pronouns and kinship

terms, Vietnamese and English also have differences in using occupational titles,

demonstrative pronouns and properl names. In Vietnamese, occupational titles,

demonstrative pronouns and personal names are used as modes of address and

reference to address others and to refer to oneself more commonly than in English.

 Proper names

Vietnamese speakers refer to themselves and others by name where it would be

strange if used in English, eliminating the need for personal pronouns altogether. For

example, consider the following conversation

Peter: Mary đang làm gì vậy?

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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

Mary: Mary đang gọi Joe. John có biết Joe ở đâu không?

John: Không, John không biết Joe ở đâu hết.

Directly translated into English, the conversation would run thus:

John: What is Mary doing?

Mary: Mary is calling Joe. Does John know where Joe is?

John: No, John doesn't know where Joe is.

A normal translation of the conversation into English would be:

John: What are you doing?

Mary: I am calling Joe. Do you know where he is?

John: No, I don't know where he is.

While referring to oneself or the audience by name would be considered strange

in English because English people always use surname with the titles, such as Mr,

Miss, Mrs and Ms in formal context or just use “I and You” in any context , in

Vietnamese it is considered friendly, and is the preferred way to communicate with

close friends. However, Vietnamese with a lower rank cannot refer to their superiors by

name in a kinship context.

 Occupational status

The next point I want to contrast between English and Vietnamese addressing

system is occupational status. In Vietnamese addressing system, there are

occupational titles used to address someone by their own occupation, such as đồng chí
 Contrastive analysis 2009 15
Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

('comrade'), giáo sư ('professor'), and bác sĩ ('doctor'). Moreover, there also exists

occupational titles with proper names, such as “ giáo sư Mai”, “thầy giáo Hùng” and

“trưởng phòng Lan”. They are can be used as the second and third personal reference.

Eg: In Vietnam

Patient: Bác sĩ ơi, khám thử xem cái tay em bị gì mà sao cứ chảy mổ hôi miết.

Doctor: Được rồi, chị ngồi xuống đây để tôi khám.

English addressing system, unlike Vietnamese one, they use a neutral dyad “ I

and You” when talk to each other. It does not depend on their own occupation as well

as their position in the society. They often use their own occupation following with their

sur name as the third person in formal content. For example, when introducing

someone, they combine his/her own occupation with the sur name, such as Doctor

David and Professor Mark.

 Demonstrative pronoun

Demonstrative pronoun is used to distinguish the particular objects or people that

are referred to from other possible candidates ( this, that, these and those). More

interestingly, it is a special addressing term that exists only in Vietnamese addressing

form, especially in love relationship, such as đây, đằng này…for the speaker and đây,

đằng ấy, ấy for the hearer. It can be used independently ( not follow with noun) to refer

somebody as the first and second person.

Eg:

Boy: Cho đằng này hỏi đằng ấy một câu nhé?

 Contrastive analysis 2009 16
Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

Girl: Dạ, đằng ấy cứ hỏi đi ạ.

As for English language, demonstrative pronoun is also used to demonstrate

people but must follow with a noun when referring someone, for example: this teacher,

that person.

Eg:

Marry: Do you know that person over there?

Peter: yes, he is my brother in law.

III.Teaching implications

Address forms are a part of greeting and showing power and solidarity for us to

know the relationship between an address and an addressee. And address forms are

also culturally restricted, so we can expect different societies to devise different ways of

handling the choice of address forms. Therefore, address forms play an important role

in communication, and the appropriate choice of address forms are helpful for

interpersonal relationship.

According to Koller, "to achieve the equivalent of using language that means

translating for a large number of specific audiences" and " how to translate ensures

understanding of their culture reception. " (as cited in Andrew,1989, Readings in

Translation Theory)

Translating of addressing forms is not only used to emphasize the rules of

communication in addressing, but also gives clear differences between English and

Vietnamese addressing forms.

There are some following rues when translating Vietnamese addressing forms into

English ones (vice versa).

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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

a. comply with the social and family hierarchies (eg: relation between parents and

children, relation between employers and employees).

b. pay attention to age, marital status and gender (distinction between married woman

and unmarried woman).

c. base on the intimation of human relationship ( such as friendship and neighborhood).

d. consider the difference of addressing between social and family relations.

When translating addressing terms from English into Vietnamese (vice versa), we

have to pay attention to equivalence and nonequivalence of the rules in the

communication in Vietnam (English). From that the learners can give their translating

which is relevant to the original content of text and its culture. Moreover, that combining

structures with rules of addressing plays important roles to get benefit of translation.

Finally, when translating these two languages into each other, learners do not only

analyze the specific culture and the features of their native language but also

reverbalize them in accord with the value and culture of the other language .

IV. Conclusion

From the above analyses of the differences between English and Vietnamese

addressing forms, it is concluded that using suitable addressing forms depends on the

power, solidarity, and formality of dimensions in the relation between addresser and

addressee so changes in the character’s feelings and attitudes toward each other or in

their relationships are conveyed through changes in addressing. Hence, when

translating English and Vietnamese into each other, translators are considered as an

intermediary between the two cultures with their own special features and have to select

the most appropriate addressing forms basing on the relationship between the speakers
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

and the hearers. Finally, using appropriate addressing forms will not only help learners

have better understanding of the language they study but also provide them with

enhanced knowledge of its custom and culture.

References:

Pham, T.V. (2008). Address forms in translation. Khoaanh. Retrieved December 15th,

2009 from http://khoaanh.net

Luong, Huy V. (1990). Discursive Practices and Linguistic Meanings: The Vietnamese

System of Person Reference. Amsterdam and Philadenphia: John Benjamins.

Leach, E. R. (1958) .Concerning trobriand clans and the kinship category “tabu”. In J.

Goody (Ed.), The developmental cycle in domestic groups. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 120-145.

Andrew Chesterman (1989). Readings in Translation Theory. English: Routledge.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2009). Vietnamese pronouns. Retrieved December

15th, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_pronouns

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2009). English personal pronouns. Retrieved

December 15th, 2009 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_personal_pronouns
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Contrasting of English and Vietnamese addressing forms

Thanh Ngo. (2006). Translation of Vietnamese Terms of Address and Reference.

Translation Journal. Retrieved December 15th, 2009 from

http://accurapid.com/Journal/38viet.htm

Indirectness in Vietnamese Newspaper

Commentaries: A Pilot Study