CC BY
61
ya,K 81'23
In memory of Yuriy A. Sorokin
cross-cultural investigation of the concept of business: a new step in the development of the lacuna theory
The article deals with a new comprehensive approach to cross-cultural investigations based on the Lacuna theory as the research methodology. Multicomponent research identifies and discusses culture-specific concept of business through Hungarian-Vietnamese linguistic and cultural comparison. The research presented contributes to the development of the Lacuna Theory in general, identifies new types of linguistic and cultural lacunas, and discusses the ways of practical application of the results obtained.
Keywords: Lacuna Theory, lacuna classification network, intercultural communication, language consciousness, Hungarian-Vietnamese comparison, culture-specific concept of business.
Introduction
Ethnopsycholinguistic research in Russia is based on the theories that have been developed and are being developed by the Russian/Moscow psycholinguistic school. It is, first of all, the theory of Speech Activity by A.A. Leont'jev which is sometimes used the psychological Theory of Activity developed by an outstanding Russian scholar A.N. Leont'jev. Then, it is the Theory of Language Consciousness.
Language consciousness is an equivalent, though incomplete, of an ethnic consciousness. Ethnic consciousness may be defined as a set of knowledge, concepts and ideas about the world, which is shared by all members of an ethnos (a nation) [Tarasov 1996]. The language consciousness is a complex of verbally externalized mental images that contain concepts of man (i.e., a human being), and his activities as well as of objects and phenomena of the world developed by the members of a certain culture [Tarasov 1996: 7].
Ethnopsycholinguistics studies the specificity of various ethnic language consciousnesses. The research shows that it is the lack of knowledge of systemic characteristics of culture objects that conflicts of misunderstanding in intercultural communication result from. In other words, non-congruence in the ethnic-specific images of the coonsciousness may be regarded as the major factor causing misunderstanding between intercultural communicants. To investigate the ethnic-specific images of the
Irina Yu. Markovina,
Head of the Departmet of Foreign Languages, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Trubetskaya Ul, 8|2 e-mail: irina_markovina@mail.ru
Istvan Lenart
Associate Professor, Departmet of Foreign Languages, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Trubetskaya Ul, 8|2 e-mail: istvan_lenart@hotmail.com
coonsciousness as well as images of the world as a whole created by different nations, ethnopsycholinguistics uses intercultural communication both as an object and as a means of research. Intercultural communication is viewed as the ontological field for the investigation of language consciousness.
In line with the psycholinguistic approach to intercultural communication, we have to agree that successful communication implies achieving mutual understanding between intercultural dialogue partners. The challenge of mutual understanding in intercultural communication necessitates the search for causes of misunderstanding. To identify, investigate and interpret the crosss-cultural mechanisms of understanding/ misunderstanding we have to move beyond language. For this reason, the phenomenon of culture is included in the investigational field of Enthopsycholinguistics. We view culture as a means to externalize ethnic consciousness. Language is another semiotic form of consciousness existence, which unites people into one ethnic, group (ethnic integration) and at the same time differentiates one ethnic group from another (ethnic disintegration). Language objectifies consciousness images and arranges them into an ethnic linguistic image of the world. Via the national language, it is possible 'to gain access' to the ethnic consciousness and to reconstruct its somewhat incomplete equivalent, language consciousness [Tarasov 1996; Tarasov 2004; Ufimtseva 2014a; Ufimtseva 2014b].
The research into the non-congruence of the ethnic-specific images of the consciousness, which in fact reflects the differences in ethnic cultures, is often conducted using the ethnopsycholinguistic Lacuna Theory [Markovina/ Sorokin 2006a; Markovina, /Sorokin 2006b]. In a broad sense, lacunas are gaps on the 'semantic map' of a language, text, or culture as a whole, i.e. on the 'semantic map' of a certain ethnic (language) consciousness. The gaps can be identified only through comparison of two national languages, texts, or cultures (two language consciousnesses). Such comparison typically occurs in the process of intercultural communication. The method of lacuna identification serves as the tool, and the lacuna classification - as a terminological nomenclature for describing and qualifying exposed discrepancies in communicating languages and cultures [Markovina 2007].
The recent research this article presents convincingly demonstrates the effective use of the Lacuna Theory to investigate the culture specific concept of business through Hungarian-Vietnamese linguistic and cultural comparison.
The research discussed aims to investigate the culture specific concept of business through Hungarian-Vietnamese linguistic and cultural comparison. The comprehensive approach developed in the research may be regarded as a new step in the development of Lacuna Theory.
Methodology of the comprehensive approach1
Our research is an action research, which targeted to reveal the differences of Hungarian and Vietnamese communication in a real-life situation. we intend to share
1 In the framework of the dissertation Intercultural lacunae in Hungarian-Vietnamese communication, with emphasis on entrepreneurial interactions, completed at the Intercultural Linguistics doctoral program of Eot-vos University in Budapest we aimed at gaining an insight to Hungarian-Vietnamese bilateral communication in general and in entrepreneurial interactions in particular through the application of Lacuna Theory. In this article we highlight some of the findings of the work [Lenart 2016].
its results with all those who are or will potentially be involved in the development of Hungarian-Vietnamese bilateral economic relations. A subsequent research may develop a communication program that prepares Hungarian individuals for efficient communication, hence for doing business successfully when entering into Vietnamese environment. From a wider perspective, this research presents a new pattern to do comprehensive linguistic-cultural comparison into any specific field based on Lacuna Theory.
One of our key purposes is to identify and observe lacunas in the Hungarian-Vietnamese relation based on a survey, as well as examining intercultural linguistic similarities and differences between the two countries. Methodology relies on a questionnaire-based research conducted in the form of personal interviews with a target group selected out of Vietnamese citizens who graduated from Hungarian universities, consequently, they have a solid knowledge of Hungarian language and culture.
We used six different sets of questionnaire. Some of those contained exclusively closed questions (i.e.: Questionnaire No. 4: Statements) thus can clearly be defined as a questionnaire, while in other cases (such as Questionnaire No. 3: Case studies; Questionnaire No. 7: Habits, lacunas) we can rather talk about structured interviews. Consequently, we alternately use the terms questionnaire, interview and respondent, interviewee, interviewer.
Interviews were conducted personally after pre-arranging an appointment with the respondents. We included those individuals to the above mentioned sample who (1) still master Hungarian language at a relatively high level; (2) who are either still active or have just recently retired from business life or from public administration. We completed the research with 638 questionnaires filled in by 127 individuals. Each individual respondent completed two, four or six questionnaires.
Hungarian language skills were checked by a conversation prior to the interviews to filter out those who lost contact with Hungary in the previous decades. Active connections with or interest in Hungary was ensured by choosing members of the Vietnam-Hungary Friendship Association for the role of interviewee.
The main concept of the methodology of the survey is to apply different approaches and compile the results, draw conclusions based on several different methods. The following sets of questionnaires were elaborated and used in the research: stereotypes, case studies, statements, associations, proverbs and habits/lacunas.
In the first set of questionnaire (stereotypes), in line with the studies of Markovina [Markovina 2011] and the research methodology of Ertelt-Vieth [Ertelt-Vieth 2003] as well as relying one the authors' preliminary studies [ Lenart 2013], auto- and heterostereotypes have been collected about (1) a good businessperson, (2) Hungarians, (3) Vietnamese, (4) Hungarian businesspersons and (5) Vietnamese businesspersons.
The second questionnaire consists of four case studies from the Vietnam-Hungary relation. All interviewees listened to the short stories about specific intercultural encounters (two of them in business settings, another two with general background), and after each story was told they were requested to comment on them. The source of all four case studies was real-life situations.
Our first case study dealt with a misunderstanding based on the lack of knowledge of addressing forms in Vietnamese. The second case study highlighted another misunderstanding related to time management and connected to religion and superstition
as well. In the third case study we introduced a story when the mother disposes of the money of her daughter without consulting her beforehand. The last one is a complex situation in the setting of a scientific conference where an unexpected event occurs as one of the participants suddenly asks the panel leader to allow him to sing a song. They interrupt the program of the conference and participants listen to him singing.
A set of ten statements in the form of closed questions has been introduced to respondents, five out of those related to Vietnamese businesspersons, another five to Hungarian entrepreneurs. We measured the answers on a scale from 1 to 9 the level of agreement/disagreement. we introduce below those seven statements that directly referred to business life such as: (1) business ethics; (2) sensitivity and the role of silence in communication; (3) long-term and short-term thinking (horizon); (4) reliability of businesspersons; (5) differences between Southern and Northern Vietnam; (6) directness of communication and (7) willingness to cooperate with foreigners.
In the associations part interviewees were requested to freely associate about (1) Hungary; (2) Vietnam; (3) a Hungarian person and (4) a Vietnamese person. When requesting respondents to evoke their memories on Hungary or a Hungarian person then they are very likely to focus on those fields, experiences, characteristics which they remember for the reason of being unexpected, strange for them, therefore we expected to identify further lacunae through these questions as well.
Proverbs were collected in four groups such as: (1) Vietnamese proverbs on money; (2) Hungarian proverbs on money; (3) Vietnamese proverbs and (4) Hungarian proverbs. Through this questionnaire we hoped to gain valuable linguistic information which can further sophisticate the answerer's view on the two countries and their cultures in general and about business-related activities in particular.
The last, sixth questionnaire was elaborated with a focus on habits and lacunae with the objective to identify lacunae in the most direct way: by asking respondents to enlist them. We note here that our target group was set up expressedly with a purpose to find such individuals who have a dual identity and know both of the studied culture well.
Based on the definition of lacuna by Ertelt-Vieth2 we asked interviewees to list out similar "strange", "unfamiliar" or "awkward" experiences from the time they spent in Hungary. In another question we investigated on respondents' changed habits after returning to Vietnam. The next question aimed at gaining insight to intercultural lacunas, for this purpose interviewees were asked to enlist differences perceived when living in Hungary. In our fourth question we requested respondents to give specific examples of Hungarian-Vietnamese intercultural differences in terms of communication, behavior and doing business.
Examples and comments
Due to limitations of space we hereby restrict ourselves to present examples mainly from the below questionnaires: stereotypes, statements and habits/lacunas. Some of the results of the remaining questionnaires will only be mentioned in brief.
2 "Gaps or - using a Latin term - lacunas between cultures refer to something strange, unfamiliar, possibly awkward, possibly memorable", In: [Ertelt-Vieth 2003: 2].
stereotypes
In the first questionnaire (stereotypes) we asked the respondents to describe Hungarian and Vietnamese businesspersons.
Hungarian businesspersons are generally characterized by positive terms both in relation to their personal features and their business skills. 114 stereotypes were identified in total. According to the answers Hungarian entrepreneurs are perceived as straight people who are able to do business very well. They are seen as friendly, sharp-witted, kind, enthusiastic, diligent, hospitable, well-educated, dynamic, sensitive, heartfelt, honest, intelligent, decisive, reliable partners in business, cautious and careful. Some negative evaluations are connected to them such as: not too clever, impatient in negotiating, sometimes too heartfelt, still without much success in Vietnam.
Table 1
comparison of stereotypes on Hungarian and Vietnemsese businesspersons (top 4 results)
Hungarian businesspersons are... Vietnamese businesspersons are...
1. Straight\Downright Dynamic
2. Intelligent Hard-working\Diligent
3. Not good at catching opportunities No long-term view and strategy \Run after short-term profits\Short-sighted
Able to do business very well
4. Knowledgeable Professional Successful Don't abide by the law\Dodge the law\ Evade taxes
Regarding the evaluations connected to business Hungarians are considered to
know how to adapt to the market and work with comprehensive coordination. Hungarians are seen as clever in business and having high social consciousness, definitive goals and flexible methods. They always appreciate profit. They abide by the law and rarely evade taxes. They are not acquainted with the Vietnamese way of thinking, working and business environment. However, they are said to be having low capital and sometimes they are not able to trade efficiently. Due to their open-mindedness they are considered as ones who can easily get tricked. Their way of considering transactions carefully sometimes makes them miss opportunities. Their cooperation spirit is seen as not too high.
Evaluation of Vietnamese businesspersons also shows a positive image, however, more negative aspects are mentioned than in the case of their Hungarian counterparts. 125 different descriptions were collected. The most frequently arising characteristics of Vietnamese are being dynamic, diligent and hard-working. They always make efforts to achieve their goals. They are clear-headed, decisive, friendly, sensitive, pain-taking, flexible, go-ahead, eager to learn, sharp-witted. At the same time they are small and weak, not far-sighted and have a limited vision and low discipline. As Vietnam is a market-oriented socialism, businessmen need to have a good relationship with their superiors. A connection is presumed between the many wars Vietnam suffered along its history ("Vietnam is a heroic nation") and the recent development of the country.
In contrast to Hungarians, Vietnamese are said usually not to respect or even dodge the law and to evade taxes. They are seen as individuals who do not do business very well and are sometimes hasty and live by makeshift. Their English is poor and they have weak management skills. They live from hand to mouth and don t have solidarity in business. Their success ratio is not high. Communication problems can be partly due to the fact that Vietnam transits from poor state economy to market economy, where a peasant or a worker can become an entrepreneur. Vietnamese entrepreneurs also have limited opportunities to contact with foreign countries and are in short of foreign support.
In Table 1 above we summarized the four most frequently evoked characteristics of Hungarian and Vietnamese businesspersons. This indicates clearly the considerable amount of differences between members of the two groups: we cannot find any similarities in the top 4 results.
Statements (abbreviated summary)
Table 2 below shows a simplified summary of the results whereas (1) seven out of ten statements are introduced (only those with very direct reference to business life) and (2) responses were scored from 1 to 9 where score 1 means that the respondent fully agrees with the statement, meanwhile score 9 stands for complete disagreement. However, for the sake of clarity we merged scores 1-3 to one common category of complete agreement, similarly 4-6 means neutral approach or no opinion and 7-9 a complete disagreement.
Replies to the statement "In Vietnam ethical business behavior is not an obligatory norm." show general disagreement. Interviewees state that a considerable difference exists between Vietnam and Hungary or in a wider sense between "Europe" or " Western countries" (and " USA") in this regard. They agree that ethical behavior is business is a must for many reasons including: "to create value for the country and for society"; to "create high-quality products, maintain prestige and attract customers" as well as for "contributing to the country's development'; "creating profits, expanding, developing and for sustainable development' and "for stable development'.
The second statement - "When communicating, Hungarian businessmen are too sensitive and unable to bear silence from their partner's side." - referred directly to communicational aspects of Hungarian-Vietnamese business relations. A rather strong agreement was expressed from the answerers' side. This statement yielded in several opinions on the communicative role of silence in general and in business, including: "Hungarians don't like silence as time-consuming and no communicative purpose"; silence "probably happens when no one understands the other - in this case to do business is impossible"; "businessmen they need to give their opinion (cannot keep silent)"; "in business silence means doubt or disagreement".
Table 2
Evaluation of statements on business life in Hungary and Vietnam
Completely agree Neutral, no opinion Completely disagree Sum Avg. Diff.
1 In Vietnam ethical business behavior is not an obligatory norm. 20 22 46 88 5.8 0.8
2 When communicating, Hungarian businessmen are too sensitive and unable to bear silence from their partner's side. 40 37 10 87 3.9 -1.1
3 Vietnamese businessmen are only willing to make any efforts if the project offers a very short-term financial return. They don't like to fight for vague and long-term goals. 42 33 13 88 4.0 -1.0
4 Vietnamese partners are amongst the most unreliable ones in Asia. 12 29 49 90 6.3 1.3
5 Northern and Southern Vietnam are two completely different regions in terms of business environment. 42 45 8 85 3.8 -1.2
6 Hungarian businessmen speak forthright on the topic (they do not«beat around the bush»). 43 55 1 89 3.4 -1.6
7 When Vietnamese businessmen see a profitable business opportunity, they prefer to solve the funding within their own circles, and are reluctant to involve a foreigner. 35 42 8 85 4.1 -0.9
Total: 234 263 135 612 4.5 -0.5
The general approach to the statement(s) "Vietnamese businessmen are only willing to make any efforts if the project offers a very short-term financial return. They don't like to fight for vague and long-term goals." is agreement, though 33% of all respondents were confident that Vietnamese businesspersons do efforts only in the case
of short-term projects: "only a small part of Vietnamese businessmen is interested in not prompt business" or "another reason is their lust for immediate profit". Personal characteristics of Vietnamese were mentioned: "Vietnamese are short-sighted, the term 'instant noodle'3 is applied in all social and business activities" or "Vietnam is an agricultural country, people are short-sighted". According to respondents private companies more frequently concentrate on short-term projects than state-owned ones: "private companies work for short-term goals, they do small, quick business".
The strongest disagreement was experienced when evaluating reactions to the statement "Vietnamese partners are amongst the most unreliable ones in Asia." Respondents emphasized the reliability of Vietnamese businesspersons when stating: "although Vietnamese businessmen are short-sighted, they do not try by trickery" or "Vietnamese partners are reliable". A minority of answerers (11%) agreed with the statement, arguing that "Asian partners are generally less reliable than European ones". Some respondents involved other nationalities to the comparison implying that "in Asia Japanese businessmen are the most honest ones" and "in China there are also many unreliable partners: Vietnamese are still trying to make a good impression on business partners".
Only 9% of respondents disagreed completely with the statement "Northern and Southern Vietnam are two completely different regions in terms of business environment."
Generally, replies can be described as strongly agreeing with the above sentence. Southern entrepreneurs are seen as more professional and reliable than Northerners: "Southern businessmen are more professional, industrious and reliable compared to Northerners" or they are "more decisive and reliable in negotiating a contract". The most common argument for the differences is that South bears the characteristics of European/Western countries: "South is Western style, North shows Asian features", "Northern people's style resembles Asians' while Southerners are influenced by European people's style".
When asked about directness in speech in the statement "Hungarian businessmen speak forthright on the topic (they do not «beat around the bush»)." an overwhelming majority of respondents agreed that Hungarians speak straight on the topic ("yes, this is Hungarian nature"; 'they speak fast and straight on the topic", "Hungarians are very straight, put all their goods in the window") while most of them stated that Vietnamese tend to "beat around the bush". Respondents see Hungarians as straight people (29%), both in general and in business, while one respondent claimed that "related to doing business, sometimes they are not very straight and honest".
A high proportion, 49% of respondents stayed neutral when expressing their opinion on the statement "When Vietnamese businessmen see a profitable business opportunity, they prefer to solve the funding within their own circles, and are reluctant to involve a foreigner." while only 9% of respondents disagreed with the statement. Those 41% who agreed argued that Vietnamese are "reluctant to involve foreigners, they want to gain all profit", or "they prefer to stand on their own feet". Vietnamese businesspersons usually "try to solve from their own circles: if it doesn't work then they involve foreigners". It was added: "if the co-operation brings lots ofprofits, they are willing to use foreign sources".
3 Instant noodle is a widespread nutrition as well as one of the cheapest options for a quick meal in Vietnam.
Habits/lacunas
In the questionnaire about habits and lacunas a more direct method was applied. We encouraged interviewees in four questions (1) to share differences they experienced when living in Hungary; as well as (2) differences and similarities between Hungarians and Vietnamese; (3) to list out strange, unexpected events they remember from this period of their lives; and (4) to share which of their habits changed after returning to their motherland, Vietnam.
Table 3
Habits/lacunas
No. of items (differences/ experiences/habits) categorization (groups)
1. Differences when living in hungary 175 18
2. Differences between Vietnamese 120 6
and hungarians
3. strange, awkward experiences in hungary 55 19
4. changed habits 141 9
Total: 491 52
We identified a total number of 175 opinions on differences when living in Hungary, 120 differences between Hungarian and Vietnamese individuals, 55 strange or awkward experiences when staying in Hungary and 215 utterances about 141 different changed habits after returning to Vietnam. A total number of 491 differences have been identified (see Table 3).
Differences when living in Hungary
We identified 175 differences and set up 18 groups out of those such as follows (in brackets the number of revealed differences): personal characteristics (55); life, society (31); communication (13); physical environment (12); behavior (8); business, economy (8); environment protection (8); attitude to law, rules (7); work, study (7); food, cuisine (6); habits (5); mindset, emotions (4); traffic (4); housing (2); methods (2); gender (1); history (1); relation to elderly (1).
With reference to the main topic of this article we summarize those gained differences that have direct connection with business, economy and communication in Table 4 below.
Table 4
Differences when living in hungary (extract)
communication Business, economy
1. Addressing forms are more equal 1. Developed agriculture
2. Communication is open-minded 2. Developed country
3. Different communication: Hungarians 3. Embezzlement rarely occurs
are straightforward, speak directly on 4. Ethical business
the topic
4 Different in terms of'communication
5. Don't talk loudly in public places (train, bus)
6. Gentle behavior: always say thank you and sorry
7. Hungarians speak gently (in public places)
8. In terms of communication: gentle, peaceful
9. Often say "thankyou" and "sorry"
10. Rarely call the other loudly
11. Vietnamese laugh loudly
12. Vietnamese are like Asians: like to "beat around the bush"
13. Vietnamese often speak long and
8. They spend in a planned
way
6. In Vietnam besides high
technology, employees need to learn how to integrate themselves with their bosses: in Hungary similar situation hardly occurs
~5. Hungarians are really
economic, everything involved in economy is considered carefully
7. Personal ownership is very
clear in Hungary unlike Vietnam
"beat around the bush"__
Hungarians are seen as being more punctual and conscious on time than Vietnamese as well as living in a more scientific, disciplined and planned way (the Vietnamese original of the adjective scientific is khoa hoc: a term referring to a specific lifestyle connected to health and a theoretically correct way of living).
Environment protection and cleanness/clean streets is one of the key differences identified. Hungarians are also seen as much more typically following rules and abiding by the law when compared with Vietnamese. Some further lacunas we highlight here including: more punctual public transportation and the habit of queuing up without barging in an orderly way in Hungary, as well as no missing products in Hungarian stores and the habit of bargaining in Vietnam. Hungarians spend money in a more planned way, they celebrate Christmas more economically. Furthermore In Vietnam several generations live under the same roof in contrast with the Hungarian nuclear family model. Hungarians as a European nation is seen to live along principles, meanwhile Vietnamese live by emotions.
Differences between Vietnamese and Hungarians
The 120 differences found in this point we divided into main groups according to the content such as those related to: (1) doing business; (2) communication; (3) lifestyle, society; (4) personal characteristics; (5) cisine and (6) language. Among the utterances of respondents we found two main types of statements: firstly those oppositions which contrast Hungarians and Vietnamese directly (i.e.: Hungarians don't ask about the age, meanwhile Vietnamese do so); and secondly those which express a unilateral opinion on either Hungarians or Vietnamese (i.e.: Vietnamese businessmen only want to sell). Taking the above into account we marked the first type of oppositions by double arrows in Table 5 below.
When mapping communicational differences (Table 5 below) respondents highlighted that Hungarians are Westerners/Europeans who are straight, cautious and humble. They speak more directly and definitively, by contrast Vietnamese are Asians who are warmer and sometimes considered to be more curious. They behave flexibly,
cleverly, esteem sentiment and relationship. Hastiness and carelessness is also attributed to Vietnamese with reference to their Asian origin. Hungarians are seen as calmer, more self-confident, more open-minded and speaking calmer. Vietnamese are noisier in communication, less polite and calm and sometimes seem to be too curious. They don't refrain from asking about the age of their conversational counterparts, at the same time they are seen as more timid and less self-confident in communication than Hungarians. Another communicational difference evoked when describing Hungarians is that they tend to say sorry.
Table 5
differences between hungarians and Vietnamese
s
©
S
о
'S s S
S
©
и
hungarians
1. As Western people: speak directly,
definitively
2. Calm in communication, behavior 3. Careful /Considerate /Sensitive/
cautious/Vigilant 4. Confident/speak confidently / confident in communication 5. Don't ask about the age
6. Like everything clear, detailed and
concrete
7. Like westerners: straight, cautious
and humble 8. More equal 9. More intimate 10. More open-minded 11. More polite and kind 12. More self-confident, honest 13. Speak more gently
14. Straight
15. Straight 16. Straighter
17. Punctual 18. Sensitive; 19. Speak directly; 20. They have the art of communication; 21. willing to help unconditionally; 22. willing to say
"sorry"
Vietnamese
Like Asians: warmer,
sometimes considered to be more curious
Noisier in communication,
behavior
Brisk and hasty
Sometimes, are more timid
Usually ask about the age
Prefer general and unspecific
Like Asians: sometimes hasty
and careless
Less equal
Less intimate
Less open-minded
Less polite and kind
More timid, less honest
Speak loudly
Mealy-mouthed
Often beat around the bush
Less straight
23. Are defensive; 24. Like Asians: behave flexibly, cleverly, esteem sentiment and relationship; 25. open-minded; 26. Wise
<r->
и .в
u
.а
g oi
о
1. Hungarians are less close (less friendly less sociable) 2. Rarely negotiate at a meal or party 3. Speak straight on the topic 4. Straighter
5. Patient; 6. Want to widen the relations; 7. Work according to a planned schedule
Vietnamese people are closer (more friendly, more sociable) often negotiate at a meal or party
They beat around the bush Less straight
8. Sometimes they are not honest;
9. Vietnamese businessmen only want to sel1
>
<T->
<T->
<T->
Differences were pinpointed in terms of doing business including: Vietnamese often negotiate at a meal or party while Hungarians rarely do so; Hungarians work according to a planned schedule and Vietnamese businessmen only want to sell. No clear borderline can be drawn between differences in doing business and in communication: under this point we collected those responses which have direct relevance in business life though.
New types of lacunas and comments
Based on the above introduced results of the research and in connection with the application of Lacuna Theory we would like to make a brief comment on some of our observations of new types of lacunas.
Tonal lacunas. One of the most striking differences of Vietnamese language for foreigners is its tonal system. Vietnamese consists of 6 tones marked by diacritics. Lexemes are monosyllabic, tones may bring about a change of meaning. Besides the obvious difference between Hungarian and Vietnamese languages in terms of the fact that Vietnamese is a tonal language, meanwhile Hungarian is not, we mention here a lacuna faced when analyzing Vietnamese proverbs. In several cases we observed that idioms and proverbs contain pun, a game with words based on two similar lexemes with identical vowel and consonants, with one single difference: tones. In the top 13 results of Vietnamese proverbs we identified 4 cases where a game with the tones can be revealed. The most frequently evoked Vietnamese proverb was Co tien mua tien cung duac (With money a fairy can be bought) while the fourth placed one proved to be Tien la Tien, la Phat (Money is a Fairy, a Buddha). Even after a literal translation or an interpretation of the abstract meaning of both proverbs we cannot perceive the pun that lies in the similar form of tien (money) and tien (fairy). The first noun is pronounced with a low-falling, the second one with a mid-level tone).
Classifiers. In Vietnamese classifiers form a special part of speech and can be considered as examples of lacunae. According to Dung (Dung 2010) classifiers in Vietnamese can be grouped into 5 categories as follows: (1) classifiers for people (i.e. physician: thay thuoc = [classifier for teachers] medicine), (2) classifiers for things (i.e. table: cai ban = [classifier for objects in general] table), (3) classifiers for emotions (i.e. joy: niim vui = [classifier for emotions]joy), (4) classifiers for various groups (i.e. association: hoi ai huui = [classifier for groups] love, friendship), and (5) classifiers for social activities (i.e. main dish: mon chinh = [classifierfor dishes] main). It is interesting
to mention that classifiers can also be used independently, i.e.: Nam qua thoi! (five [classifier for round-shaped fruits] [final particule for stressing the content].
Final particles. Vietnamese final particles such as thoi form another group of words, which does not exist in Hungarian. Thoi as well as nhe, nhi, nha, a, a etc. do not have a denotative meaning but can express emotions or add a subjective approach to the content, moreover can express politeness. According to Dung [Dung 2010: 45-46] final particles can be divided into 3 categories as follows: 1) interrogative particles (i.e. khong) that transform a declarative sentence into an interrogative one (Co khde khong? = "How are you?"); 2) interrogative-expressive particles (i.e. a) which just add a nuance of surprise to the question (Co met a? = "Are you tired?") and 3) expressive particles (i.e. chu, qua), words that adds stress, exclamation, surprise, anger or other emotions (Toi biet chu! = "Surely I know it!").
Kinship terms. When we try to identify the equivalents of Hungarian personal pronouns in Vietnamese we realize that in the latter language several different lexical items can take the same function as personal pronouns in Hungarian. Those can be grouped into 4 main categories4 such as 1) personal pronouns by lexical meaning (i.e toi,"I"; minh, "I'; tao, "I"; may, "you"; no, "he/she"; han, "he/she"; ho, "they"; chung, "they/ we"); 2) kinship terms (bo, "father"; me, "mother"; anh, "elder brother"; chi "elder sister", em "younger brother" or "younger sister"); 3) nouns denoting occupations (giao su "professor"; bac si, "doctor") and 4) personal names (Hung, Mai, Thang, Thuy). Usage of such terms introduced in 1-3. in the function of personal pronouns, reflecting relative age, kinship relations, level of intimacy and/or social status we also consider as intercultural lacunae when Vietnamese and Hungarian languages are contrasted.
Phonemes. On the level of phonetics some respondents mentioned difficulties connected to this area when learning Hungarian. They most commonly took note of the sound "c" which does not exist in Vietnamese, therefore interviewees gave account of the fact that they needed to practice the pronunciation of this sound by repeating Hungarian words such as cica ("kitten"). On the other hand they also claimed that they faced problems when trying to differentiate between the sounds "s" and "sz" in Hungarian. This sometimes led to humorous misunderstandings when mixing up for instance sor ("beer") and szor ("hair on human body").
Lexical lacuna as focal point of research. A substantial implication of the results of our research is the presumption that the further study as well as the more precise classification of lacunas from the Intercultural Linguistic point of view must be done based on lexical lacunae. These are the most tangible artifacts of linguistic studies. As Gibson states [Gibson 2010: 25]. Intercultural Communication needs to be grasped along nodes, connecting points of different sciences such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, linguistics etc. Finke adds [Finke 2002: 39. In: Foldes 2007] that linguistics should be considered as a network rather than an autonomous, separate field as well. In all circumstances, if Intercultural Linguistics would like to use Lacuna Theory as a consistent method of describing intercultural communication from the linguistic aspect then in first step a clear and concise definition as well as coherent classification of lexical lacunas is needed.
4 Classification and examples are from Ngo Nhu Binh, Binh (2010), 19.p.
Multiple/complex lacunas. As a finding of our research we stated that in real-life situations lacunas typically do not appear in an isolated manner, but usually several lacunas are simultaneously present. We set forth such an example among the case studies about a Hungarian female participant of a scientific conference who experienced a shocking scene when another participant of the event sang a song during the panel discussions. In this situation it seems to be unavoidable to embed the analysis of the situation in a complex setting. The general background of the mentioned case is a scientific conference with its specific rules and protocol, the Hungarian participant is female (gender dimension), the social role of singing and music differs in the two countries. Consequently we need to take a minimum number of 3 lacunas into consideration when analyzing the situation. These types of lacunas we name complex or multiple lacunas.
The Lacuna Paradox
Following Labov we call it the Observer's Paradox when the observation itself distorts the results of the research: "the aim of linguistic research in the community must be to find out how people talk when they are not being systematically observed; yet we can only obtain this data by systematic observation " [Labov 1972: 209]. The personality and mindset of the person conducting the research can significantly influence the results of the research. Hofstede for instance was criticized that even in his cross-cultural research the formation of the questionnaires and the research objectives is deeply connected to his "culturally programmed" mindset.
In our study we identified a similar deficiency - we named it the Lacuna Paradox - which is present in all cases of intercultural comparisons when we use at least two languages in our research. Results of the survey will necessarily be distorted due to the lacunas within the survey itself (i.e. in the questionnaires, in the utterances of respondents etc.). Our study was even more affected by this phenomenon as we used a third language, English as an intermediary language between Hungarian and Vietnamese. We have mentioned a handful of examples, including the adjective nhiet tinh (enthusiastic: in a meaning of helpful and wholehearted), the adjective khoa hoc (scientific: in the meaning of a specific lifestyle connected to health and a theoretically correct way of living) or the adjective gan gui (meaning: close in the meaning of friendly, relying on each other, helpful). All of the above examples illustrate that the lexical items cannot accurately be translated into another language, for this reason they can be regarded as lacunas.
Conclusion: Lacuna Theory pragmatics The lacuna classification network developed by Y. Sorokin and I. Markovina [Antipov/Donskikh/Markovina/Sorokin 1989; Markovina/Sorokin 2006a, Markovina/ Sorokin 2006b; Markovina 2007; Markovina/Sorokin 2010; Markovina 2011] and further elaborated by other researchers [Ertelt-Vieth 2003; Grodzki 2003; Panasiuk 2005; Panasiuk 2006; Panasiuk/Schroder 2006; Turunen 2006; Lenart 2016]5 provides a conceptual framework which can be used to identify, describe and interpret differences and similarities in the ways various nations comprehend themselves, other peoples as well as the world as a whole. In other words, the lacuna classification network allows registering, categorizing and assessing cross-cultural differences in various forms of language consciousness externalisation.
5 Only international researchers are mentioned here.
As for the research discussed in the article, in our view the further study of intracultural lacuna in Vietnam could yield valuable additional results. Northern and Southern Vietnam for example seem to differ both culturally and linguistically thus could be a rich area for future research. Taking the findings of our research into account we can state that assembling a practical manual for businesspersons in the Hungary-Vietnam (or in another) relation based on intercultural lacunas would raise effectiveness of bilateral economic interactions. Instead of the widespread Do's and Don 'ts approach that frequently strengthen stereotypical approach of the new, unknown culture, a Business Manual listing out lacunas with examples and case studies could contribute to the success of publications and trainings in the field of intercultural management.
From a wider perspective, the Lacuna Theory used in the research discussed as the methodological basis has - as Prof. Yurij A. Sorokin pointed out - the marked heuristic value, theoretical and practical implications that have not been demonstrated to the full yet.
Antipov, G.A./Donskikh, O.A./Markovina, I./Sorokin, Y. (1989): Tekst kak yavleniye kulturi (Text as the phenomenon of culture). Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1989, 197 p.
Binh, Ngó Nhu (2010), The Vietnamese Language, Learning Framework, Part One: Linguistics, Harvard University, In: http://www.seasite.niu.edu/jsealt/past%20issues/ volume%2010/VN%20LLF%20Part%20I.pdf.
Dung Trán Ngoc (2010), Cam Nang Ngu Pháp Tieng Viet (Vietnamese Grammar Handbook), Tú Sách Tinh Hoa Viet Nam, printed in the USA, 129-146.p.
Ertelt-Vieth, A. (2003), How to analyze and Handle Cultural Gaps in German Everyday Life (from the perspective of Exchange Students), Interculture-Online, No. 4/2003, In: www.interculture-online.info, data retrieved 8 January, 2014.
Foldes, Cs. (2007a), „Interkulturális kommunikáció": koncepciók, módszerek, kérdojelek, In: Fordítástudomány, 9/1, pp. 14-39.
Gibson, Robert (2010), Intercultural Business Communication, Oxford University Press. 123 p.
Grodzki, Erika M. (2003), Using Lacuna Theory to Detect Cultural Differences in American and German Automotive Advertising, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 23-68.; pp.109-161.
Labov, W. (1972): SociolinguisticPatterns, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
209 p.
Lénárt I. (2013): How do Vietnamese and Hungarian Businessmen Communicate? In.: Hoi Thao Khoa Quoc Te Ngon Ngu Hoc Viet Nam trong Boi Canh Doi Moi va Hoi Nhap, International Conference on the Linguistics of Vietnam in the Context of Renovation and Integration, ed.: Nguyen Van Hiep, Hanoi, pp. 60-61.
Lénárt I. (2016): Intercultural lacunae in Hungarian-Vietnamese communication, with emphasis on entrepreneurial interactions, doctoral dissertation at Eotvos University.
Markovina,I. (2007):Investigatingandteachingmultüiteracy:anethnopsycholinguistic approach. Eisner, D. & Küster, L. & Viebrock, B. (Hrsg.). Fremdsprachenkompetenzen fur ein wachsendes Europa. Das Leitziel "Multiliteralität. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang GmbH, pp. 61-74.
References
226 p.
Markovina, I. (2011): Teoriya lakun v issledovanii problem mezhkulturnogo obscheniya. Etnopsikholingvisticheskiye osnovi lakunologii (The lacuna theory in the investigation of the problens of intercultural communication. Enthopsycholinguistic basics of lacunology). LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. 212 p.
Markovina, I./Sorokin, Y. (2006a): Systematisierungsvergleich linguistischer und kultureller Lakunen. In: Lakunen-Theorie: Ethnopsycholinguistische Aspekte der Sprach- und Kulturforschung. Igor Panasiuk und Hartmut Schröder (Hrsg.). MünsterBerlin-Hamburg-London-Wien, pp. 21-34.
Markovina, I./Sorokin, Y. (2006b): The lacuna phenomenon and the problem of foreign culture comprehension: An experimental study of lacuna elimination strategies. Panasiuk, I./Schröder, H. (Hrsg.). Lakunen-Theorie: Ethnopsycholinguistische Aspekte der Sprach- und Kulturforschung. Berlin: LIT Verlag, pp. 154-160.
Markovina, I./Sorokin, Y. (2010): Kultura i tekst. Vvedeniye v lakunologiyu [Culture and text. Introduction to lacunology]. Moskva: GEOTAR Publ. 138 p.
Panasiuk, I. (2005): Kulturelle Aspekte der Übersetzung: Anwendung des ethnopsycho-linguistischen Lakunen-Modells auf die Analyse und Übersetzung literarischer Texte. Dissertation. Münster etc.: LIT Verlag.
Panasiuk, I. & Schröder, H. (Hg.). (2006): Lakunen-Theorie. Ethnopsycholinguistische Aspekte der Sprach- und Kulturforschung. Berlin: LIT Verlag.
Panasiuk, I. (2006): Lakunen-Theorie und Aquivalenzproblematik. Voprosi psikholingvistiki (Problems of Psycholinguistics), Moskva: Russian Academy of Science Institute of Linguistics. 3, pp.187-215.
Tarasov, E. (1996): Mezkulturnoye obshcheniye - novaya ontologiya analiza yazikovogo soznaniya [Intercultural communication: new ontology of verbal consciousness analysis]. Etnokulturnaya spetsifika yazikovogo soznaniya. Moskva: Russian Academy of Science Institute of Linguistics, pp. 7-22.
Tarasov, E. (2004): Yazikovoye soznaniye (Language consciousness). Voprosi psikholingvistiki (Problems of Psycholinguistics). Moskva: Russian Academy of Science Institute of Linguistics, 2: 34-47.
Turunen, N. (2006): Feststellung von Lakunen im finnischen Russichunterricht. Panasiuk I./Schröder H. (Hg.). Lakunen-Theorie. Ethnopsycholinguistische Aspekte der Sprach- und Kulturforschung. Berlin: LIT Verlag, pp. 260-266.
Ufimtseva N. V. (2014a): The Associative Dictionary as a Model of the Linguistic Picture of the World // Procedia. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014, v. 154, p. 36-44, ISSN 1877-0428.
Ufimtseva Natalia V. (2014b): Russian Psycholinguistics: Contribution to the Theory of Intercultural communication // International communication studies, vol. XXIII:1, 2014. pp.1-13 ( ISSN 1057 7769, indexed in EBSCO).
кросс-культурные исследования представлений о бизнесе: новый шаг в развитии теории лакун
ирина Юрьевна Марковина
заведующая кафедрой иностранных языков, Первый Московский государственный медицинский университет
имени И.М. Сеченова e-mail: irina_markovina@mail.ru
Иштван ленарт
доцент кафедры иностранных языков, Первый Московский государственный медицинский университет
имени И.М. Сеченова e-mail: istvan_lenart@hotmail.com
В статье представлен новый комплексный подход к кросскультурным исследованиям с использованием теории лакун. Путем многоаспектного анализа выявляется и описывается специфика представлений о бизнесе на материале венгерско-вьетнамских сопоставлений. Авторы развивают теорию лакун, выявляют новые разновидности лингвистических и культуррологических лакун, предлагают варианты практического использования подобных исследований.
Ключевые слова: теория лакун, классификационная сетка лакун, межкультурная коммуникация, языквое сознание, образы сознания, образ мира.
