Positive politeness in Vietnamese congratulations: A study through film dialogues
Abstract
This article aims to describe positive politeness strategies and linguistic devices used by Vietnamese speakers when they express congratulations. The research adopted a qualitative approach and employed discourse analysis to explore how positive politeness strategies are reflected in film dialogues and how linguistic devices enhance politeness in speech. Based on Brown and Levinson’s taxonomy, the study identifies eight positive politeness strategies used when expressing congratulations ; including Notice / attend to the hearer ; Exaggerate ; Use in-group identity markers; Joke; Offer, promise; Include both the speaker and the hearer in the activity; Give (or ask for) reasons and Give gifts to the hearer . To make their congratulations polite and respectful, Vietnamese speakers often combine various linguistic devices to increase sincerity, closeness, and politeness, including modal particles, forms of address, honorifics, and words showing respect. These findings not only provide insight into how congratulations are offered in Vietnamese but also contribute to the body of knowledge in sociopragmatics and linguistics .