Austin (1962), the father of Speech Act Theory, uses the terms ‘performative verbs’ or ‘performatives’ to refer to the verbs which perform an expressive act simultaneously with the naming of that expressive act, for example, ‘promise’ in ‘I promise!’, or ‘declare’ in ‘I declare you husband and wife!’. He also uses this term to distinguish between what he call ‘explicit speech acts’, speech acts with the presence of
performatives and ‘implicit speech acts’, speech acts without performatives. This explicitness and implicitness distinction model has been widely applied in previous studies of invitations, including Vietnamese invitations (e.g., T. L. Đào, 2011a; Lưu, 2007; V. T. Nguyễn, 2012).
I propose to use this term to dichotomise Vietnamese mealtime ritual invitations (VMRIs) into explicit VMRIs to mean invitations containing Vietnamese performative verbs meaning ‘invite’, and implicit VMRIs to mean invitations without these verbs. My adaptation of using performative verbs meaning ‘invite’ to distinguish explicit VMRIs from implicit VMRIs is not only because the presence of a performative meaning ‘invite’ is a marking language expression in Vietnamese invitations, but also because native speakers’ perceptions of these two types of invitations and their uses of structures and mood can be a differentiating indicator for sociocultural variables. All these points will be discussed below.
Explicit VMRIs 5.1.1.
As discussed in Chapter 4, VMRIs of various surface structures function as invitations in meal context. When invitations contain performatives, they function as performatives and their structures including certain verbs that mean ‘invite’ affect the performative function and affective meanings of making an invitation. I categorise these as explicit VMRIs because they explicitly mention a verb meaning ‘invite’, for example, “Con mời cảnhà ăn cơm!” [Child invite all house eat rice!] (I’d like to invite all of you to enjoy
the meal!). There are three performatives, namely ‘mời’, ‘rước’, and ‘thỉnh’ with
different nuances and connotations. All invitations with these performatives are explicit VMRIs by definition. However, only one of these verbs, ‘mời’, was found in my data;
the other two, ‘rước’, and ‘thỉnh’ are archaic and have very specific uses83. ‘Mời’ is a
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The performative ‘rước’ is an old-fashioned verb (Đào, 2011a) with an ultra-polite and ultra-formal connotation, whose use could reflect social distance of status or rank between interlocutors. ‘Rước’ is seldom used and appears in explicit VMRIs found in the feudal-time literature, e.g., “Bẩm, xin rước quan thủ khoa và các quan xơi tạm chén rượu!” (Ngô, 1939, chapter 19) (Please, (I) would like to formally invite you, Mr First-Laureate and other officials, to enjoy the meal!).
Similar to ‘rước’, the performative ‘thỉnh’, which is an archaic verb and of Sino-Vietnamese origin (the other two are of purely Vietnamese origin) was not used at all in any invitations at everyday meals. With its defined meaning ‘invite formally and solemnly’ (Hoàng, 1994), it isfound only in ritual prayers expressing solemn and formal invitations extended by a respectfully-assigned representative to the spirits and ancestors in special meals (sub-context#4 in Chapter 4). Examples were seen in written forms in various popular collections of Vietnamese prayers, e.g., “Chúng con xin cung thỉnh ngài [….] hiển linh trước án thụ hưởng lễ vật” (Thích, 2010, p. 4) (We would like to solemnly invite you […] to virtually
polite (Lưu, 2007) and standard (Đào, 2011a) verb. It does not have ultra-polite, ultra- formal and solemn connotations like the other two performatives. That might be one of the reasons why, of all three performatives,‘mời’ has been acknowledged in all studies of Vietnamese invitations, but the other two have hardly been recognised in any, with the exception of T. L. Đào (2011a), who collected data in Vietnamese literary works. The use of ‘mời’ and the non-use of the other two ultra-polite and ultra-formal
performatives in currently collected VMRIs may indicate a preference or a tendency to narrow the social gap and distance through language use amongst present-time communicators.
The presence of ‘mời’ in VMRIs can not only identify explicit invitations but also
generally make them sound formal, polite, and respectful because performative verbs are used mainly to increase the politeness of directives in certain directions (Vu, 1997, p. 174). Mời’, a polite verb itself, can increase the formality and politeness of the
invitations in which it appears. It also characterises explicit VMRIs as being formulaic and conventional invitations. The verb can stand alone or it can also be preceded by honorifics such as ‘kính’ and ‘xin’, e.g., “Xin mời!’ [Honorific invite] (IVN9, 08:12), to make explicit invitations more polite, respectful, and formal. The words such as ‘hân hạnh’, ‘trân trọng’, ‘xin trân trọng’, ‘xin trân trọng kính’, ‘có nhã ý’ (with great honor
or pleasure), that can be added to the verb to enhance the deference and distance between interlocutors in invitations in general (Lưu, 2007) were not found in daily mealtime invitations. This might indicate that users of everyday explicit VMRIs tended to retain cordiality and closeness rather than to keep or create a distance while being polite and formal.
The performative ‘mời’ was presented in 149 out of 501 VMRIs84. Explicit VMRIs, therefore, make up only 30% of VMRIs while implicit VMRIs (see Section 5.1.2) make up the majority (70%), as can be seen in Figure 5-1 below.
present at the altar to enjoy the offerings). These solemn and formal invitations are not extended amongst common diners in every-day meals.
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Findings with the statistics were calculated on 501 VMRIs taken from ten diaries, 17 interviews (12 in Vietnam, five in New Zealand), four video/audio-clips (two in New Zealand and two in Vietnam), and five observations and informal talks in both New Zealand and Vietnam. However, discussions were also based on all other collected data (36 interviews, 53 diaries, 20 video-clips, field-notes)
Figure 5-1 Explicit and implicit VMRIs
When the stakeholders generally perceived explicit VMRIs as being more formal than implicit VMRIs, their far lower use of explicit VMRIs compared with implicit VMRIs (30% vs. 70%) may indicate that present users of VMRIs had a tendency to be less formal. However, the verb ‘mời’ (invite) can appear more than once in one utterance or
one time of extending invitations. It occurred 184 times in these 149 explicit VMRIs. For example, it was used up to six times in this meal-start invitation,
“Con mời ông, con mời bà, con mời dì Minh, con mời bố, con mời mẹ, mời em Bin!” (D12#2)
[Child invite grandfather, child invite grandmother, child invite aunt Minh, child invite father, child invite mother, invite younger sibling Bin]
(I invite you all to eat).
Besides the presence of the polite performative ‘mời’, the grammatical structures used
with this verb also contribute to the formality and politeness of explicit VMRIs. Whether the explicit VMRI is a full complex clause construction or a reduced clause of various types affects the pragmatic meaning and the degree of politeness. The politeness effect of syntactic constructions in Vietnamese utterances has been widely noted (e.g., Hoàng, 1991; Vu, 1997). On this basis, six structures85 of explicit VMRIs were distinguished in what I have called Structures#1-6, illustrated with examples in Table 5- 1 below and explained further underneath.
85 Particles such as discourse markers (e.g., đi, đã, nhé, thôi, rỗi) and honorifics (e.g., ạ, dạ) are not
indicated here for the primary purpose of a clear realization of the structures of explicit VMRIs, but they can be seen in examples.
30% 70% Explicit VMRIs (149) Implicit VMRIs (352)
Table 5-1 Structures of explicit VMRIs
Explicit VMRIs structures Examples
Structure#1,
X mời (invite) Y do Z
(1)
(2)
Con mời bố, con mời mẹăn cơm(VideoVN#3) [Child invite father, child invite mother eat rice] (Dad and Mum, please have meal!)
Con mời mẹăn sáng (D28#1) [Child invite mother eat morning] (Mother, please have breakfast!) Structure#2,
(a), X mời (invite) Z Y; (b), X mời (invite) Y Z
(3)
(4)
Con mời cơm bố! (IVN#10) [Child invite rice father] (Father, please have meal!)
Cháu mời bà miếng này! (VideoVN#14) [Child invite grandmother piece this] (Please have this piece, grandmother!) Structure#3, (a), X mời (invite) Y; (b), X mời (invite) do Z (5) (6) Dạ, cháu mời ông ạ! (IVN2)
[Honorific, grandchild invite grandfather, Honorific] (Grandfather, please have meal!)
Con mời ăn cơm! (IVN11)
[Child invite eat rice] (Please, have meal!) Structure#4,
Mời (invite) Y do Z
(7)
(8)
Mời mẹxơi cơm![Invite mother to eat rice] (Mother, please have meal!)
Mời bố mẹxơi cơm đi ạ! (INZ1)
[Invite parents eat rice imperative honorific] (Parents, please have meal!)
Structure#5, Mời (invite) Y
(9) (10)
(11)
Mời ông! (IVN9) [Invite grandfather] (You, please!)
Kính mời ông! (IVN9)
[Honorific invite grandfather] (You, please!)
Mời ông ạ! (IVN11)
[Invite grandfather, honorific] (You, please!) Structure#6,
Mời (invite)!
(12) (13) (14)
Mời! [Invite!] (Please!) (VideoNZ#3)
Xin/ Kính mời! (IVN9)[Honorific invite] (Please!)
Mời ạ! (IVN11) [Invite honorific!] (Please!)
A common feature of these six structures is that they all use the performative ‘mời’
(invite) and there is no infinitive marker (to). The verb may be used with or without verbs in the complement or arguments, which are represented by X, Y, and Z.
Arguments X, Y, Z refer to nouns; X is a subject of the verb invite, (the inviter); Y is the invitee; and Z is the meal or food to be consumed. Both the verbs in the complement and these nouns can be optional86 in some of the structures.
Table 5-1 shows that explicit VMRIs include both the full (Structures#1&2) and the reduced structures (Structures#3-6) of the performative ‘mời’. Structure#1 contains a
full complement with all arguments present, which is similar to that of English verb ‘invite’: ‘mời’ is preceded by X (the inviter), followed by Y (the invitee), then a verb
complement (without infinitive marker) and Z (the meal or food). This structure is the most formal and polite (see below for further discussion). In Structure#2, ‘mời’ is used
with subject X and both objects Y and Z, but the two objects can appear in either order, similar to the dative alternation of English (see Newman (1997) for a comparison of grammatical structures of verbs of ‘giving’ in different languages). In Structure#3, the
verb goes with X and there is a minimal complement, either (a) Y only, (the invitee is the object of the verb invite but there is no clausal complement) or (b) a verb complement with Z, but no subject of the complement (Y). In Structures#4 and #5, there is no subject X. In Structures#4, ‘mời’ is also used without a verb complement. Structure#6 is a minimal invitation containing only the verb and no arguments.
This list of grammatical structures used with the verb ‘mời’ indicates that explicit invitations used in meal context can be more diverse than those used in other contexts, as found in previous studies. Two structures of ‘mời’, with and without subject (the
inviter), have been described as explicit invitations in general (Lưu, 2007; Nguyễn, V. T., 2012). Or as mentioned in Chapter 4, Section 4.2, Nguyễn, Đ. H., (1979) found out one full structure of ‘mời’ and two shortened ones, which I have called Structure#1 and
Structures#3 (a, b) respectively. They were all illustrated with examples of invitations at meals although he did not mention that the shortened ones were likely to be used in a meal context only. A possible explanation for the greater diversity of explicit invitations at meals is that meals provide not only the context but also the time, place and the proposition for these invitations even when the information is not explicitly marked (already discussed in Chapter 4). Therefore, the reduced invitations within meal contexts can be pragmatically as comprehensive or informative as the full-structured ones.
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Explicit VMRIs are called explicit purely because they all explicitly use performative verbs meaning ‘invite’; they can include implicit information when certain elements are missing.
Whether an explicit VMRI is a full complex clause construction or a reduced clause of various types affects the degree of politeness, formality and respect, which are also greatly dependent on what structures are used to whom. This might be results of Vietnamese communicative style with respect to rules and principles of social intercourse (Nguyễn, Đ. H., 1956) and culture-based assumptions about what it means to be polite and respectful that impact greatly on language performance (Nguyen & Ho, 2012). Additionally, as socially conceptualised in Vietnamese society that upward- directed respect is the rule of appropriateness, more respect needs paying to the superiors than to the inferiors and equals (e.g., Đào, D. A., 1938; Nguyễn, V. H., 1944). These social statuses (superiors, inferiors, and equals) are mainly defined by age merit and lineage rank. Native speakers generally perceived that (1) standard invitations included all three elements: the inviters, the recipients, and the inviting propositions; (2) the use of these standard invitations could bring about formality; (3) the more these elements are included, the more appropriate the invitations could be to extend towards superiors. These general perceptions mediate native speakers’ use of what structures of explicit VMRIs to use with whom.
Participants considered explicit invitations with full structures (Structures#1&2) standard since these invitations included all three elements: the inviters, the recipients, and the inviting propositions. These standard invitations were observed to be used more towards superiors than towards equals and inferiors. This might be because of their perceptions that these invitations would be polite and respectful when extended to superiors but would become too ‘khách sáo’ (ceremonial or superfluous) when extended
towards inferiors and in informal situations. Superiors also extended these standard- structured invitations towards inferiors when recipients were small children rather than grown-up children. This special delivery may also be interpreted as being for modelling purposes.
Explicit invitations with Structures#3&4 lack one element (either the inviters, or the invitees, or the inviting propositions). They were not perceived as standard as the full- structured ones (Structures#1&2). However, native speakers still considered them polite, respectful, and appropriate enough to extend towards their superiors and not too ceremonial or formal to extend towards their inferiors. This might be why explicit invitations with these two structures seemed the most frequent of the six.
Explicit VMRIs with Structures#5&6 were perceived as respectful and formal when used towards equals and inferiors. However, these invitations, especially those with Structure#6, which lack at least two elements, including the inviters and the recipients in their expressions, were inappropriate to extend towards superiors despite the presence of the polite performative ‘mời’ and honorifics such as ‘ạ’, ‘dạ’. When neither the
extenders nor the recipients were explicitly marked within the invitations, the use of them to address superiors might be regarded as ‘ăn nói trống không’ (bare style of non-
person reference) or ‘xách mé/hỗn/láo’ (impolite/rude/uncultured).
In short, viewing the prevalent use of longer and more detailed structures in explicit VMRIs above shorter ones seems to violate the Quantity (be as informative as necessary), one of four conversational maxims for effective communication proposed by Grice (1975). Instead, the use of these highly structured and conventional VMRIs begs the question of them being examined upon native speakers’ perception of respect, standard, and appropriateness that strongly govern their language use.
Implicit VMRIs 5.1.2.
There is a wide variety of VMRIs that have various other structures and are not in the form of invitations using the verb ‘mời’ (invite), for example, “Cả nhà ăn cơm!” [All house eat rice!] (Let’s enjoy the meal!). These I am calling implicit VMRIs. They are found in forms of expression (narrative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamative; or requests, demands, jokes, and the like).
Implicit VMRIs are reportedly not as formal or conventional as explicit VMRIs. However, the selection of certain structures and particular kinds of addressee likewise allow speakers to express different levels of politeness and respectfulness. Based on their structural features and also on their expression forms and mood, implicit VMRIs are categorised into six structures, demonstrated in Table 5-2 below.
Table 5-2 Structures of implicit VMRIs Implicit VMRIs structures Examples Structure#7: Imperatives without addressees (1) (2)
“Ăn cá đi!” (Have some fish!) (D2#4)
“Thưởng thức thôi!” (Enjoy now!) (VideoNZ#4)
Structure#8: Imperatives with addressees
(3) “Các con ăn cơm đi!” (Children, have the meal!) (IVN1, 11:25)
Structure#9: Declaratives
(4) “Tao ăn đây” (I eat now) (D9#1)
Structure#10: Interrogatives
(5) “Thùy có ăn cơm cùng bác không?” (Would you like to join me for the meal, Thùy?) (INV4, 12:54)
Structure#11: Sequences of utterances
(6) “Thế ăn thật chưa? Không tí về nhà lại bảo ra nhà thằng
Bình, nó ăn cơm mà nó không mời mình được một bát.”
(Have (you) really eaten or not? Otherwise, later (you) may think that I didn’t offer you even a bowl of rice when you appeared at my meal) (D2#6) Structure#12: Off-records (7) (8) (9)
“Tiết nóng đây nhé!” (Here is hot-boiled-pig-claret!)
(D2#4)
“Lâm này! (VideoVN#14) (Hey, Lâm!)
“Đến bữa rồi! Cơm nào!” (Mealtime! Rice/meal, now!)
(IVN3, 08:47)
All implicit VMRIs with what I have called Structures#7-11 contain verbs, mostly eating and drinking verbs, e.g., ‘ăn’ (eat) (examples 1, 3-6), ‘thưởng thức’ (enjoy) (example 2). Implicit VMRIs with Structure#7 start with verbs, but they do not explicitly mark the recipients or the inviters. I, therefore, entitled them with the pragmatic term ‘imperatives without addressees’. Sounding like requests or demands and barely naming the recipients, these implicit VMRIs were normally extended to equals or inferiors rather than to superiors. This type of VMRI is the most restricted.
Unlike implicit VMRIs with Structure#7, implicit VMRIs with all the other structures (Structures#8-11) were perceived as appropriate to extend to recipients of all statuses since they also contain at least one of the two elements (the recipients and the extenders) in their structures. These four structures are distinguished from one another due to their expression forms, which were also adopted as the only basis to categorise implicit invitations into forms of declaratives, imperatives, and interrogatives in previous studies (Lưu, 2007; Nguyễn, V.T., 2012). For example, what I have called ‘imperatives with addressees’ (Structure#8) are imperatives starting with verbs, using discourse markers with imperative modality such as ‘đi’, ‘thôi’,‘nào’, and also naming the recipients (example 3). Implicit VMRIs with Structure#9, called ‘declaratives’, are statements announcing that the extenders are about to eat and containing discourse markers with declarative modality such as ‘đây’ (example 4). Implicit VMRIs with Structure#10 are interrogatives asking if the recipients want or would like to join the meal or have something (more) to eat/drink (example 5). Those with Structure#11 are sequences of utterances. The illocutionary effect of an invitation spans across a sequence of utterances with different structures rather than a single utterance (example 6). This multi-utterance phenomenon is not uncommon in speech acts (De Felice et al., 2013). Unlike all other implicit VMRIs, invitations with what I have called structure#12 do not contain verbs. They also lack the inviters. Containing words denoting only either food/meals or the recipients (examples 7-9), these invitations do not explicitly mention