A Contrastive Study of Advice-Giving Behaviours in Vietnamese and American English: A Preliminary Investigation

This preliminary study conducts a contrastive analysis of advice-giving behaviour in Vietnamese and American English from an intercultural pragmatics perspective. Grounded in speech act theory and politeness theory, the research explores how cultural values shape the linguistic realisation of advice across age, status, and gender. Data were collected through 24 discourse completion tasks (DCTs) and selected media dialogues, yielding 1,440 advice-giving utterances. Findings reveal that while both groups use direct, hedged, and indirect strategies, Vietnamese speakers prefer hedged and indirect forms, particularly in hierarchical or age-sensitive contexts. American speakers, by contrast, predominantly favour directness. A shared four-part structure (opening, proposition, reason, conclusion) was observed in both languages. Quantitative frequency analysis supports these patterns and highlights significant cross-cultural variation. The study also discusses the risk of pragmatic failure in intercultural encounters, where differing norms may lead to miscommunication. Pedagogical implications are drawn for ESL/EFL classrooms, emphasizing the need for intercultural pragmatic instruction. Despite limitations in ecological data sources, the study offers a foundation for future research incorporating statistical testing and real-life interactions. The results contribute to intercultural pragmatics and inform more culturally responsive language education.