VMRIs as multiplex discourses 4.7.
4.7.3.3. Secondary functions
Greetings
Extending VMRIs in some situations is similar to greeting in the ways that the acts weigh more on politeness; their utterances are both low in information; and they can be expressed verbally with both formulaic and unconventional structures and nonverbally with gestures and facial expressions. In daily spoken Vietnamese language, the verb ‘mời’ (invite) can sometimes be used interchangeably with ‘chào’ (greet)82. The extending of VMRIs at meal-starts (sub-context#8) and at meal-ends (sub-context#17) is to some extent similar with the Japanese culture of saying something like ‘Itadakimasu’ or ‘Gochisosama’, which Burke (2013, p. 26) regards as ‘greeting’ although according to Ishii, D. and Ota, Y. (personal communication, March 2015 and April 2013, respectively), these Japanese utterances are not greetings. The extending of during-meal VMRIs (sub-context#13), e.g., “Mời bác xơi cơm” [invite uncle to eat rice],
was similarly considered “a greeting routine” in Nguyen (2004, p. 10) with an inadequate argument that “when uttering this, the host is simply performing an act of greeting; he or she does not intend to invite the guest to have dinner with the family”. However, those similar-to-greeting VMRIs are still to do with inviting. Firstly, it seems unreasonable to judge these utterances as greetings only, but not invitations when they are issued in the meal discourse with the native hospitality and food-sharing culture. Secondly, the extenders’ negative intention (only greeting, but not inviting), which was subjectively claimed by the researcher rather than by the speakers themselves or the recipients should not be criteria to deny inviting function in the extenders’ utterances. Moreover, all the expressions explicitly marked by performative verb ‘mời’ (invite) are
regarded as invitations (Đào, 2011a). Therefore, although greeting function can be recognised in few similar-to-greeting VMRIs, treating them as greetings only may lose their apparent invitational nature.
Polite requests for permission and acts of giving permission
VMRIs in certain situations could also function as polite requests for permission to eat or to finish meals. Some inferiors extend their meal-start and/or meal-end VMRIs, for instance “Con mời cơm cả nhà!” [Child invite rice all family] (IVN2, 05:49), indirectly
seeks their seniors’ permissions to start to eat first. The responses from recipients might
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sometimes be nonverbal (e.g., head nods or smiles) and/or verbal (e.g., “ừ, ăn cơm đi!” (Ok, go ahead!), which mean to accept the requests and permit the extenders to start/finish their meals. The responses imply that the preceding actions had been interpreted as requesting for permissions.
Many VMRIs extended by superiors or hosts, in contrast, could also function as acts of giving permission to eat. “Thôi, cơm đi!” (Now, have meal!) (VideoVN#5, 00:11), for instance, uttered by the head of the family can be interpreted as both acts of inviting and giving permission for his inferiors to have meal. These VMRIs include an act of giving permission because after that, recipients assume that it is appropriate to start their meal. Many young participants (e.g., IVN3, IVN11, IVN15) reported that they did not often start eating until their superiors had already said something or had extended some signals implying their permission. Inferiors often wait for these invitational permission unless they initiate their own VMRIs as requests for permission to eat, as illustrated in Figure 4-3 below
Figure 4-3 Children waiting for invitational permission from their superiors
(Photos from video-clips, VideoVN#1 and VideoVN#7)
In both cases, VMRIs manifest either acts of politely requesting for permission or giving permission in situation of power variables in which there is “legitimate demand for recognition, deference, obedience or the service of others” (Bourdieu, 1991, p. 167) and is, according to Foucault, diffused not on the agents but in social relations and exercising in discourse (as cited in Nguyen, 2014). This power is inherent in the statuses of VMRI-extenders and recipients are also aware of it. VMRI-extenders such as the hosts or the heads of the family, whose statuses are superior to recipients’, tend to claim or be given more power and their VMRIs can, therefore, also function as giving permission. Conversely, VMRI-extenders of lower given or acclaimed statuses, such as children or guests, often minimise their power and their VMRIs would be treated as polite requests for permission.
Declarations
VMRIs in a number of situations could also function as declarations, which change the world via utterances (Searle, 1976). VMRIs from the extenders such as the hosts or the chief meal-organisers who are given the authority to declare reasons for the meals before people can start can be declarative. Even when diners, who do not have such authority, extend their regular meal-start or meal-end VMRIs, they are indirectly announcing or informing others that they are going to start or finish their meals. Then, they can do these without the necessity of the others’ consent or agreement. This indirect announcing or informing function is one reason for extending VMRIs, verbalised by some young interviewees (see above). After VMRIs, both extenders and recipients feel that they can proceed to start, join, or leave their meals. These VMRIs to some extent changes the situations. Therefore, these VMRIs also embody declarative function.
My argument on the declarative function in VMRIs challenges Tseng’s (1999) claim that inviting cannot be declarative because it does not embody an institutional force that requires the illocutionary act to be issued by the authorities whose status, as a speaker, are always superior to the hearer (p. 15). However, my argument is consistent with Nahar (2006) in his noting that written wedding invitations have the function of informing recipients about something. It also accords well with Bardovi-Harlig’s (2015) assessment of the immediate declarative effect of disinvitations: “You are not invited” so “Do not come” (p. 94). The declaration in disinvitations is to some extent similar to the declaration in invitations, as I argue, “You are invited” so “You can”. In this way, VMRIs can function as declarations and this supports Bardovi-Harlig’s claim that disinvitations are declaratives.
Refusing, thanking, andleave-taking rituals
Numerous VMRIs are also extended as rituals of refusing and thanking for preceding VMRIs. For example, a visitor responded to her hosts’ invitations to join their on-going meal with: “Em mời anh chị xơi cơm đi, em ăn rồi” [Younger sibling invite elder
brother and sister eat rice, younger sibling eat already!] (IVN1, 18:50p1), which is a reciprocal invitation for the hosts to keep eating, but pragmatically means ‘No, thank you. Please have your meal. I have already eaten’. Certain VMRIs can also function as leave-taking rituals. A girl went over to her neighbors’ place while they were having a
meal. At her departure shortly after, her goodbye utterance was accompanied with a polite invitation for the hosts to keep eating, “Thôi mời gia đình ăn cơm tiếp đi. Cháu xin phép về ạ!” (Well, please continue your meal. Please permit me to leave now!)
(D5#2). In the Vietnamese culture of avoiding disturbing others’ eating, these reciprocal invitations can politely act as compensation for the disturbance and gratitude for the hosts’ hospitality.
In sum, the primary act and function of inviting (merging inviting and offering acts) and a number of secondary functions (multifunctionality), all embedded within the act of extending VMRIs, have expressed the multiplicity and the complexity of VMRIs at single act level. Additionally, the repetitiveness and the multiplicity of inviting acts themselves and of other accompanying acts (refusing and/or accepting) at a larger linguistic discourse level, intertwined altogether with their sociocultural discourses, have characterised VMRIs as multiplex discourses.
Summary
4.8.
The review of invitations in English, Vietnamese, and other languages has not identified any prior research specific to mealtime invitations. Examples of Vietnamese mealtime invitations in certain situations were included in studies of Vietnamese invitations, but they were (mis)interpreted in the same way as any kinds of invitations and through the same analytical framework designed for English invitations. This high level of generalisation, together with the lack of account for socio-cultural conventions in the interpretative frameworks, has resulted in misinterpretations of VMRIs. Besides, there are also commonly-held misperceptions of Vietnamese people that the occurrences of mealtime invitations are limited to certain situations, specific to certain people and regions.
Participants’ reasons for extending their VMRIs and numerous situated sub-contexts in which VMRIs are issued have distinguished multifaceted VMRIs from general invitations for food and invitations in some other languages. Besides illustrating that VMRIs occur throughout meals and are nation-wide rituals, the initial findings emphasise the need to contextualise VMRIs. Meals are their powerful and governing contexts, not only providing time, space, and proposition for the invitations but also yielding numerous sub-contexts that trigger and ritualise VMRIs.
The initial analysis suggests that VMRIs should be interpreted in their two discursive meanings, the more linguistic-oriented and the socio-cultural. VMRIs have been viewed as multiplex discourses. VMRIs integrate the complexity of multifunctional acts (inviting and offering combined with other functions, such as greeting, thanking, giving permissions, informing, and others) and the repetitiveness and the multiplicity of both inviting acts and other accompanying acts (refusing and/or accepting) within discourses. This suggestion, achieved by the adaptation of sociolinguistics in integration with critical applications of SAT, has been an effective interpretative framework for VMRIs beyond a solution to limitations, discrepancies in studies and misperceptions held amongst common people. Further linguistic aspects of VMRIs will be discussed in the following chapters.
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