A comparative study of criticism between american and vietnamese online newspapers

eived severe criticism from his opponent. Most people attach a negative connotation to the word criticism because it brings to mind of something uncomfortable. However, criticism comes into two flavors: constructive and destructive. Destructive criticism aims to hurt an individual’s self-esteem by causing psychological damage. In contrast, constructive one is handled with positive attitude that will receive improved results and give feeling of satisfaction. Literature criticism requires a certain ability of evaluating literary or artistic works. Also, it has limited and selected number of readers. Hence, literature criticism is not popular among people. In contrast, the second type of criticism reflects all the aspects of life and has direct impact on readers. Thus, the second is the type of criticism the author will focus on in the next parts. Directness vs. Indirectness An overview of Directness vs. Indirectness Directness and Indirectness is one of the major categorical dimensions of cross-cultural communication. This dimension has been seriously studied by many pragmatists, socio-linguist, etc. G. Yule (1996) states “whenever there is a direct relationship between a structure and a function, we have a direct speech act; whenever there is an indirect relationship between a structure and a function, we have an indirect speech act.” This statement shows that in direct speech, the speaker/writer says what he means while in indirect speech, he means more than what he says. In other words, it is easy and clear to understand a direct speech; in contrast, there remain some hints in indirect speech and one has to know the rules to interpret the meaning. Americans generally consider themselves to be frank, open and direct in dealing with each other. They often exhibit strong emotional response to something. However, according to Althen (2003:18), Americans are often less direct than they realize. Latins and Arabs are generally inclined to display their emotions more openly than Americans do and to view Americans as unemotional and cold. Meanwhile, it is believed that Americans are much more direct than Asians, particularly Vietnamese. As a result, Vietnamese who appreciate and consider indirectness as politeness will see Americans insensitive, rude, forceful and sometimes aggressive. Directness and Indirectness in criticism A good example of direct criticism would be if the boss told his employee something like: “How could you make such a stupid mistake? What are you thinking? I don’t know why I hire you in the first place.” An American boss tends to criticize this way because it may motivate his employee to work harder and smarter. This is because being open and direct in expressing opinions, desires, preferences, and feelings, or in discussing issues, events, and most ideas is considered proper in the United States. However, to a Vietnamese worker, it will make him resent and want to quit. It is more acceptable to say something like: “Thank you for the report. I can see you put a lot of effort into it. However, I was hoping you could touch it up a little by summarizing it more carefully and adding some graphs. This content is solid, but if you could make those small changes, I would really appreciate it.” The Vietnamese often use hedges before informing bad news or criticizing. Giving some compliments before showing weak points of others is preferable among them. Newspapers Definition of newspapers According to Oxford English Dictionary (1990): A newspaper is a sheet of paper printed and distributed, at stated intervals for conveying intelligence of passing events, advocating opinions, etc.; a public print that circulates news, advertisements, proceeding of legislative bodies, public announcements, etc. Another definition that the Levi E. Coe Library presented in their website should be taken into consideration: A newspaper is a lightweight and disposable periodical usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint containing a journal of current news in a variety of topics. These topics can include political events, crime, sports, opinion, and weather. Newspapers are also developed around very narrow topic areas, such as news for merchants in a specific industry, fans of particular sports, fans of the arts or of specific artists, and participants in the same sorts of activities or lifestyles. Most nations have at least one newspaper that circulates throughout the whole country, but in the United States there are few truly national newspapers, with the exception of USA Today and The Wall Street Journal; large metropolitan newspapers with expanded distribution networks such as The New York Times. Nowadays, newspapers are not only printed on sheets of paper. With the development of Internet, another kind of newspaper that, in recent years, has been popular to everyone has appeared: e-newspaper (newspaper in Internet). E-newspapers Of all the changes of newspapers, the most significant recent development is obviously the emergence of the Internet as a second national and global stage for news and entertainment that can challenge the dominant television. Among other things, it is giving us a growing industry of journalism and a new tradition of media criticism. This change is taking place because Internet is the television for print, in the sense that it is allowing writing from many sources to appear together in the same virtual “space”. That means all the journalism and media criticism that print makes possible is now available to anyone who can access a computer, vastly expanding choice and creating all kinds of opportunities, for role modeling, competition, dialogue, and mutual critique of writers. Now, when there is something wrong, many of the severe stories and the subsequent critiques are immediately available to millions of readers, and not merely to a limited audience. Reading e-newspapers obviously has many advantages. First, it is becoming easier and easier to approach because Internet is so popular today. Second, information is updated everyday, even every hour. For example, process of football matches is uploaded each minute in Internet. In addition, people have more chances to choose any kind of newspapers to read due to their interest and their needs. Furthermore, with the appliance of World Wide Web (www), people have great opportunities to know and read foreign newspapers. Therefore, the number of e-newspaper readers has been increasing with high speed. Language of newspapers Accuracy Accuracy is required in any written style of language. However, it is particularly important and significant to newspaper language because newspaper has the function of directing public opinion. Just a trivial mistake of using wrong words or expressions can make it hard for readers to understand; and misunderstanding may cause unpredictable serious consequences. Specification Another typical feature of newspaper language is specification. Newspapers’ articles provide specific, concrete details to make readers feel as if they were the insiders, witnessing the event. As a matter of fact, each event must be fixed at certain time, in certain place, relating to certain people. This is the basic persuasion because it helps readers check the information easily. Publicity Newspaper is a kind of mass media. Every one, regardless of education level, is objectively served by newspapers where they can both get the information and express their opinion. Therefore newspapers should use the general standard language to meet the needs of various readers, so that a scientist with wide knowledge does not feel bored, and a child with low qualification can easily understand. Conciseness Language in newspapers should be short and brief. Long expression can make the information dilute, which causes bad effect on the reception of information. Moreover, it wastes time for both the writers and readers because in this era of information explosion, it is better to get as much information as possible in the shortest time. Chapter 3: CRITICISM IN AMERICAN AND VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPERS Major factors affecting direct/indirect criticism Communication styles It has been proved that American society values simple, direct verbal and written communication while the Vietnamese consider directness as lack of subtlety and sophistication. Gary M. Wederspahn, a leader in the field of intercultural relations and communications, has characterized the American style of communication as strongly oriented towards content (facts, numbers, dates, and precise, explicit meanings). Their speech reflects the high value they place on words and the need for clarity. Wederspahn (2000) states: “Americans focus may be compared to a spotlight intensively illuminating a narrow band of the communication spectrum. In contrast, the communication style in Asia is more like a floodlight that takes in the context in which the communications occur.” This means the situation and the relationship of the people involved plus the time and place all carry a large part of the meaning in the conversation of the Vietnamese. The actual words tend to be less important and need to be understood in terms of the contextual factors. Individualism vs. Collectivism One of the most distinctive characteristics of the American is their devotion to individualism. They have been trained since very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their own destinies. They are not socially obliged to see themselves as members of a close-knit, toughly interdependent family, religious group, tribe, and nation. They have strong belief that all people are of equal value according to some philosophical or spiritual standard. Their tendencies to use their boss’s first name, to challenge authority easily, and to expect equal treatment reveal a low power distance value. However, such cultures with high power distance as Vietnam frequently take American individualism and egalitarianism as an unwillingness to show proper deference and respect to those who deserve it. The Vietnamese always consider themselves as a member of community. They think that people not only live with nature but also live with each other to establish a society. They are sunk in the relationship with family, morals, laws, politics, etc. While the American appreciate role of individuals, the Vietnamese value role of community. The Vietnamese are observed treating people around as kin, as those who come from the same source, the same origin. This, for thousand years, has been an immutable principle - individuals are dissolved in community, they are nothing when isolated. This explains why the Vietnamese pay much attention to the “how” of their communication so that they do not leave any mistake which damages the relationship between them and others. Indirectness, especially in criticism, is an effective way to avoid making others feel unpleasant. Generally, collectivism vs. individualism leads to two ways of communication. While the Americans find it comfortable to express their ideas, feelings freely, the Vietnamese have to take notice of others’ reaction before speaking and writing. Attitudes towards criticism According to Wederspahn (2000), the American consider criticism itself a neutral thing when one starts to use it in order to create a certain experience and feeling. And no one needs defense against something that is neutral. Additionally, they tend to think of themselves before taking notice of others’ reactions because of their individualism. For this reason, the American are not resistant to express their critical opinions. For the Vietnamese, regardless of how 'true' the criticism is, it seems, for a moment, there is something wrong with those who are criticized, and seen from the perspective of one’s personality this is never a pleasant experience. What is not pleasant should be avoided, diverted, hidden or otherwise be experienced as little as possible. Hence, many of the activities aim at prevention from being criticized. Criticism in American newspapers As discussed in Chapter 2, the American are generally open and straightforward in communication. They often speak or write directly about things they dislike. They are not taught that they should mask their emotional responses. They do not think it improper to display their feelings. Hence, in American media in general and in American e-newspapers in particular, voice of criticism is usually strong, straight and direct. Some critical articles even sound aggressive, severe and sharp. Most articles of criticism in the US e-newspapers have a very clear style. They give the main points and state the criticism at the top in the headline and the lead paragraph(s). The body of the articles then adds details, statements, and comments from people involved in the articles, plus any background the writer feels necessary to support the criticism more strongly. This means one gets at least three chances to understand the main points of the article. It is said “at least” because many articles have accompanying picture and captions (text explaining the pictures) as well which produce much stronger impact on readers. The content of the next part is collected and classified through an investigation into three most popular American online newspapers: USA Today ( The New York Times ( and The Washington Post ( Criticism in Vietnamese newspapers As regards culture, “Indirectness” is believed to be common in Vietnamese communication. It is hard for somebody to find a conversation without indirectness or hedges. For instance: “Tớ biết là cậu rất bận, nhưng khi cậu đi ra ngoài, cậu có thể tiện thể gửi lá thư này cho mình được không?” (I know you are busy, but when you go out, will you send this letter for me by the way?) The phrases as “Tôi đoán là...” (I guess), “Tôi không biết nói ra điều này có phải không, nhưng...” (I’m not sure if this is right, but...), “Những gì tôi sắp nói có thể sẽ xúc phạm cậu...” (What I am going to say may offend you...) are examples of hedges and indirectness. Newspapers reflect the daily life, and are influenced by it. In the essay “Cultural elements in newspapers” published in “Sai Gon Giai phong” newspaper (The Saigon Liberation) on February 20, 1999, it is indicated that each article contains many cultural factors such as ways of thinking, observing, evaluating and writing, which is different from culture to culture. Therefore, indirectness in Vietnamese newspapers is a matter of course, and the frequency of indirectness is much higher in case of criticizing. It is well-known that the first and foremost function of newspapers is providing information. However, if in newspapers, writers only use stereotypes of words and ways of expressing to report events, or to give out problems, the articles will be so much dull. In addition, critical articles mention sensitive aspects that may cause unforeseeable reactions from readers. In daily communication, the Vietnamese tend to avoid straight talks, so do they in written communication. Therefore, we do not often see direct criticism in Vietnamese newspapers. In the most popular websites of e-newspapers such as VnExpress ( Vietnamnet ( Dân Trí Online ( etc., critical articles occupy an important position. However, criticism, in comparison with American newspapers, is still general, light, indirect and not strict, but it is acceptable to Vietnamese readers. Chapter 4: RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS Methodology Research questions This research aims at answering the following questions: - What are the ways that American and Vietnamese online newspapers use to express criticism? - How different are the degrees of directness and indirectness of criticizing between American and Vietnamese online newspapers? Sources of linguistic input - 3 of most popular American online newspapers: USA Today ( The New York Times ( and The Washington Post ( - 3 of most popular Vietnamese online newspapers: VnExpress ( Vietnamnet ( Dân Trí Online ( Data collection procedure - Investigation of “Nation” column in American e-newspapers and “Xã hội” column in Vietnamese e-newspapers from November 26th to December 2nd 2008 to find out the number of critical articles and compare the percentages of direct/indirect criticism between American and Vietnamese online newspapers through the layout and illustrations of articles as well as the language used. Data analysis and findings Structure of the articles Each of the three main part of an article (the headline, the lead and the body) has its own distinctive style and content. The headline The headline is the extra large opening statement used as the title of an article or press release. With the large, bold words, headline is the most eye-catching part of an article. Besides giving the main idea of the article, it has the function of drawing readers’ attention. Headlines are incredibly important as they make the scanning process easier. Figure 1: Comparison of Directness and Indirectness in the Headlines. Of all 33 critical articles collected from November 26th to December 2nd in three Vietnamese online newspapers, there are 17 articles using indirect titles as the following: Xăng giảm giá, xe ôm Hà thành vẫn “chém đẹp” (Vietnamnet) (Hired motor-bike keeps fee high despite of gas’s lower price) 9x, 10x “khoe mình” trên mạng (Vietnamnet) (Teens post nude photos on blogs) Việt Nam thu nhận nhiều ngành công nghiệp 'bẩn' (VnExpress) (Many polluted industries shipped into Vietnam) The titles above makes foreign readers confused for not understanding the phrase “chém đẹp” means “unreasonably raising the price” while 9x, 10x “khoe mình” points out the trend of teenagers self-posting unclothing photos on their personal websites (blogs). Whereas, the quotation mark in the third headlines reduces the negative impression of the word “bẩn” (dirty). In contrast, more than 75% (19/25) of headlines in the American e-newspapers are direct to the point: Mr. Bush and the pardon power (The New York Times) Forgotten lessons from 9/11 (The Washington Post) Stop asking for money, Obama (The Washington Post) As can be seen from the three examples above, the titles concentrate on the main point (the ‘what’) and the language is simple, specific and clear. Headlines of critical articles in American online newspapers from November 26th to December 2nd have no slang with quotation mark (which is so popular in Vietnamese newspapers), although they are sometimes troublesome. For example, the writers try to catch the readers’ attention and some of the methods used like humor, question mark, word plays, or idioms can be difficult for non-native readers to figure out: Expert or Shill? (The New York Times) Black Friday: Is your cashier cranky? (USA Today) Nevertheless, this way of writing headline is so rare (2 in all 25 headlines in the US e-newspapers) because Americans prefer direct titles so that they will immediately know what the article is going to mention to save their time. The lead The lead refers to the first (and occasionally the second) paragraph of an article. It is usually one information-packed sentence which expands on the story’s main point as introduced in the headline. The lead gives enough information to allow readers to make an important decision whether they want to read the story or to skip it and move on to another more interesting story: “We have "only one President at a time," Obama said in his debut press conference as President-elect. By mid-November, with the financial crisis growing worse by the day, it had become obvious that one President was no longer enough (at least not the President we had)”. Just reading the lead of the article “Bush's Last Days: The Lamest Duck”, readers can immediately know that the article is about to look down the role of US President George Bush in helping America overcome the current economic depression through some strong words and phrases as “obvious”, “no longer enough”, “not the President we had”. In addition, the writer hopes the president-elect Obama take action even though he will not move to the White House until next spring. In the American e-newspapers, readers can generally find out what happened and one or two prominent details through the headline and the lead. Their critical opinions are shown in each sentence with strong comments and recommendation like: With the Bush administration drawing to a close, it is presidential pardon season. Presidents have become increasingly shameless about issuing pardons to insulate political cronies from prosecution, even to protect themselves. We hope President Bush will not abuse the pardon power by putting his appointees, political supporters or friends above the law. (The New York Times) Congress must remove unjustified subsidies to inefficient private health insurance plans that have added to the cost and complexity of the Medicare program. (The New York Times) Figure 2: Comparison of Directness and Indirectness in the Leads. As can be seen in the graph from the previous page, there still exist 4 leads of hesitance and hedge when expressing criticism. For example: This is not easy to write, because I consider the election of Barack Obama to be one of the most inspiring political and social developments of my lifetime. I truly mean no disrespect when I say: Stop asking for money. (The Washington Post) Or the author uses a long letter to explain his point before writing the lead: "But most of all I feel terrified even now when I leave the house. I pause for a moment before I go out the door and say a prayer before I leave. I know that not all the people in the world are bad; it's just the ones that do bad to others. Living is a good thing, going to work has been ok so far, but when I think about what the defendant did to me with the gun pointed at my stomach I thought . . . 'This is it. No one around to see this. Dear Judge Richter. I hope and I wish you will give him everything you can give him by law and that it will give him time to think about what he did to me, and possibly someone else he may have hurt." - A handwritten victim-impact statement, Oct. 2 It's easy to overlook a crime victim if there's no body or blood on the floor -- or if the victim lives to tell about what happened. Just another case of someone someplace at the wrong time. One more sad example of life in a city where the bad are bolder than the good and the victim is an afterthought. (The Washington Post) Similarly, indirect writing style is chosen in only 7 leads in Vietnamese e-newspaper. It seems the writers have made use of all the limited space and number of words in the lead to draw a whole picture for the readers: Cho dù giá xăng liên tục giảm trong thời gian gần đây, nhưng những người thường phải di chuyển bằng xe ôm thì vẫn phải trả mức giá cao ngất ngưởng. (Xăng giảm giá, xe ôm Hà thành vẫn “chém đẹp” – Vietnamnet) (Although gas price is continuously reduced, passengers still have to pay a lot of money for the hired motorbike’s owner). The body American journalists are concerned with “the 5Ws and the H” (who did what, when, where, why, and how). Any good article will provide information to all of these. Meanwhile, Vietnamese writers do not answer every question if they think it is not necessary, especially they answer the question ‘who’ in a very indirect way. “It's 2 a.m. (when) in a jam-packed New York City nightclub (where), and Britney Spears (who) is giving what may be her wildest, rawest, sweatiest (how) performance (what) yet. It sure is a far cry from the girl in braids the world first met just years ago. She exactly did go from good Britney to bad Britney. Probably, she is just a young girl growing up. However, it is more like a down and dirty marketing master plan (why)”. (The New York Times) “Chiều 17/11 vừa qua, tôi có mặt tại một sân chơi ca nhạc và tôi đã phải "hết hồn" khi các ca sĩ nam xuất hiện. Đầu tiên là ca sĩ B.T, khi B.T xuất hiện thì những tiếng cười cợt từ dưới sân khấu bắt đầu nổi lên. B.T mặc bộ trang phục màu trắng làm cho khán giả liên tưởng đến một vị đại hiệp trong phim Hồng Kông. Ca sĩ này hát xong thì nam ca sĩ V.H bước ra với giọng cười thật ấn tượng, nhưng "ấn tượng" hơn hết là trang phục anh mặc…”. (Dân Trí Online) (In the afternoon of November 17, I went to a live show and was amazed when I saw the male singers. First is B.T; he wore white clothes like a Hong Kong great hero. When he finished his performance, V.H continued with an impressive smile, but his clothes are even more impressive…) The first example answers clearly all the question a reader may require, whereas, in the second the questions “who” and “where” are mentioned vaguely and ambiguously. The names of singers are abbreviated and the place of the live show is unknown. Illustration of the articles Photographs, pictures, maps, graphs, and drawings are an important supplement to an article in general, and to a critical article in particular. In paying attention to different photographs, noticing the size and placement of each is necessary. Photographs that accompany stories contribute to the reader’s understanding, or possibly supply any additional information they would like to have. Some critical photographs and cut-lines stand alone and give readers a glimpse of what is going on in other parts of the world. They are called human-interest photos. In both Vietnamese and American newspapers, photographs used for criticism are usually real and lively. They tell the readers what has really happened. The above photograph illustrates the article “Phung Hung temporary market unable to attract customers” (Vietnamnet). It shows the tiredness of kiosk owners for not selling anything in 3 days. Meanwhile, “He’s not black” in The Washington Post criticizes racial discrimination via the picture of their new president Barack Obama and the confirmation that “we’ve moved beyond race”. Also, graphs and maps are used to clarify data presented in a critical story and to clarify where certain events are happening. They are especially helpful because readers do not have chances to witness them. Drawings appear on the majority of the pages in every newspaper. From cartoons, advertisements to critical stories where photographs are inappropriate or unavailable, drawings are a helpful tool in any section. This above drawing is an illustration for the dishonesty in implementing state-owned projects. Figure 3: Comparison of Directness and Indirectness in the Illustrations In American newspapers, there still exist 4 indirect images while this appears 9 times in Vietnamese ones, such as blurred pictures or with the caption “Hình ảnh trên chỉ mang tính minh hoạ” (this photograph above is just for illustration): Here is the image of the article 9x, 10x “khoe mình” trên mạng (Teens post nude photos on blogs) revealing an issue that even 7-9 year old girls show off the body in the Internet, but their faces have been blurred by the reporter. Whereas, the below does not look like a critical picture, it seems to be used for decoration only. The comparison of illustration shows that both feel free and daring to express what they think but the Vietnamese tend to avoid things which are considered sensitive. Especially, when mentioning about sex, Vietnamese writers only post the pictures that will not cause embarrassment or strain for readers. On the contrary, sexual pictures are usual images in American newspapers. Six major ways to express indirect criticism Writers make great effort to find different methods of indirect criticism when expressing their point of view. This, on one hand, reduces negative reactions; and, on the other hand, the information becomes more vivid and interesting to readers. Ways of expressing criticism indirectly in e- newspapers can be: using literature materials, proverbs and precepts, punctuations, metaphors, abbreviation, and playing on words. Metaphors Metaphor is a rhetorical trope or a figure of speech, where a comparison is made between two seemingly unrelated objects without using “like” or “as”. It is transference on one object’s characteristics onto another. Metaphor also appears frequently in American newspapers. They use the phrase “star to steer by” (The Washington Post) when complaining about a lack of strategic vision from government; or “full-speed ahead” (USA Today) when 92 local banks committed wholeheartedly to a project. The following example is also considered a typical kind of metaphor: “Đáng buồn thay, trong cuộc sống cũng hay gặp những căn bệnh nhờn thuốc như thế. Nói ngay như trong thế giới học đường, trí thức vốn thanh bạch xưa nay, vậy mà bệnh nhờn thuốc có tha đâu. Nguy hiểm hơn, những con người ấy sớm được “làm quen” với tiêu cực, khi ra đời hẳn dễ “tiếp thu” và ứng xử hòa vào “dòng đục” mà không ngỡ ngàng.” (Vietnamnet) (It’s so sad as “medicine’s ineffectiveness” can also be found in our society. Even the intellectual world which used to be pure and upright is still interfered. More dangerously, those who early get familiar with bad habits and tricks will be easily adaptive with the “dirty trend” without any abashment) In this case, “nhờn thuốc” is a metaphorical symptom of those who are dishonest and deceptive in examinations; copy others’ works, etc. The writer continues his metaphorical method, claiming that they will get on well with “dirty trend”. “Dòng đục” - “dirty trend” - refers to negative and passive lifestyles. Here the writer combines metaphor, innuendo and quotation mark to criticize a painful phenomenon of society. From the very beginning, he uses hedge as a softening – up process: “So sánh chuyện nhờn thuốc của vi khuẩn với chuyện con người, xã hội có điều “bất kính”, nhưng trong thiên nhiên vốn có những hiện tượng bất tương đồng.” (Comparing the medicine’s ineffectiveness towards bacteria to a social phenomenon of human beings seems to be “disrespectful” but there are many phenomena that are unpaired in nature.) This sentence of hedge makes the critical article less stressful and intensive. Using metaphors shows the creativeness of the writer; therefore, it bears the stamp of individuals. It can be said that using metaphors as a means of contrast may make the readers get lost but bring great impressions. Literature materials Newspapers and Literature have a close relationship because literature is a precious source for newspapers’ creativeness. Literature materials are used widely in almost all kinds of articles with variable forms such as borrowing plots, images, words and expressions in literature works. Nevertheless, they appear more frequently in critical articles. The usage of literature materials in newspapers are usually realized through the following methods: Borrowing plots or episodes The most popular way of this method is to summarize the content of a literature work or just take one part of it and use as a bridge for the writers to get to the point. Example 1: “Trong một cuốn tiểu thuyết của nhà văn Soviet Solokhov miêu tả ông chủ tịch không chịu được tiếng gà gáy của mụ hàng xóm. Không chịu nổi, ông dùng quyền hành tìm đến nhà bóp chết con gà. Thói đời vẫn vậy, con gà tức nhau tiếng gáy tất sinh lắm chuyện. Trước hết là chuyện thể diện, sau đến hao tiền tốn của...” (VnExpress) (In one of his novel, Solokhov - a Soviet writer - described a chairman who could not stand the noise of a neighbor’s cock. So he used his power to kill the cock. As a matter of fact, envy causes chaos. It results in losing face and wasting money...) Even the readers have never heard about that story, they still know what the writer means through the way he summarizes the story. Hence, with this writing style, the articles are usually easy to be understood by both Vietnamese and foreign readers. This way makes the articles highly artistic. The transfer from the past to the present with its color of contrast interests the readers. They are not only reminded of the old tales, but also receive the new information related to a hot issue in society. However, it sometimes wastes of space and of time, especially for impatient readers. Borrowing characters and images “Cảng Sài Sòn: đâu là Gót chân Asin?” (VnExpress) (Saigon port football team: where is Asin’s heel?) “Bản quyền âm nhạc: cuộc chiến của chàng Don Kihote chống lại cối xay gió” (Dân Trí) (Music copyrights: the fight of Don Kihote against windmills.) For the two examples above, the character Don Kihote or the image of Asin’s heel have become so familiar, famous among the public that writers can take them without any explanation. Nevertheless, if writers use characters in Vietnamese works, it will be a great problem for foreigners to define what types of people those characters symbolize: “Hoạn Thư thời @” (VnExpress) (Modern Hoan Thu with the help of advanded gadgets) Many other characters are brought into newspapers: So Khanh embodies the unfaithful man; Chi Pheo is the image of ruffians or villains; Hoan Thu is the common name of jealous and cruel women, etc. These borrowings help writers save their words at maximum but still describe someone or something correctly and adequately. Punctuations One effective way to expressing indirectly in written form is using punctuations. In this paper, the author only mentions question mark, quotation mark and three-dot mark as three typical representatives of this type. Quotation mark Quotation mark has high value of expressive style to indicate that words or expressions are not used with their normal and denotative meanings. It brings the shade of meaning of being humorous and witty or ironical and satirical. Obama's “team of rivals” share big-picture views (The Washington Post) “5 sinh viên ‘góp vui’ trong động lắc” (Dân Trí Online) (Five students caught in the act in illegal discotheque) Three-dot mark Three-dot mark remarkably increases the expressiveness when it carries out its function of dilating the rhythm of the sentence to mark that there is going to be a surprise or to suggest the readers some other ways of thoughts. “Các nam ca sỹ ngày càng... đẹp gái” (Dân Trí Online) (The male singers are becoming more and more... beautiful.) “Lời hứa cũng... ô nhiễm” (Dân Trí Online) (Evens promises are... polluted.) 4.2.3.3.3. Question mark The question mark, also known as an interrogation point, question point, is a punctuation mark that replaces the period at the end of an interrogative sentence. In newspapers, it often used in rhetorical questions (a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply). Expert or Shill? (The New York Time) Black Friday: Is your cashier cranky? (USA Today) Abbreviations It is common to see the full names of famous people in American newspapers whereas in Vietnamese critical articles, names of famous and prestigious persons being criticized are abbreviated. This, in the first place, will partly reduce unfavorable rumor which is sure to cause bad effect on their fame and career. Moreover, those famous ones have contributed so much to the society, therefore they deserve special favor of not being criticized directly in newspapers. Let compare two following articles: “It's 2 a.m. in a jam-packed New York City nightclub, and Britney Spears is giving what may be her wildest, rawest, sweatiest performance yet. It sure is a far cry from the girl in braids the world first met just five years ago. She exactly did go from good Britney to bad Britney. Probably, she is just a young girl growing up. However, it is more like a down and dirty marketing master plan. She may look like she’s just letting loose here, but is this Britney Spears out of control – or in total control?” (The New York Time) “Bên cạnh đó, các ông bầu của ĐT, QV... còn thuê một đội ngũ fan giả đông đảo cho “gà” của mình. Các fan này có nhiệm vụ chạy lên tặng hoa, gấu bông cho ca sỹ trong các liveshow... Thậm chí, trong một liveshow gần đây của UHP, người ta thấy chàng ca sỹ này được tặng một con gấu bông đã xuất hiện trong liveshow trước đó của anh.” (Dân Trí Online) (In addition, manager of D.T, Q.V... also hired a group of fans for them. The duty of these fans was to present flowers, dolls... for the singers in their live shows. Even, in a recent live show of UHP, he was given the doll which had been seen in his previous live show.) Through the first article, readers clearly know what exactly happened, who is criticized and why she is criticized, but in the second one, even a Vietnamese can get confused. Many issues are raised, but names are still hidden. Only a small number of readers can guess from those abbreviated names D.T, L.T, Q.V, and UHP... Good advantage of abbreviation is to protect one’s prestige. However, a clear disadvantage of this is reducing the influence, even receiving no expecting results for the half-criticism. Word – play/pun Word - play is to use homonym, poly-semantic words, etc. in language to receive a certain effect or result (such as innuendo, evasion, humor). This is an effective method to create expressive value for language. The text will be more interesting, attractive, and exciting, leaving a deep impression for readers. “Can Sun also rise?” (USA Today) “Sun” here is the famous tech corporation Sun Microsystems. Scott McNearly, its director, is making a plan of selling their new product to improve the terrible condition of the company. The writer plays on word “sunrise” to wonder whether the company will overcome its situation. The most common method of word - play is word inversion. Only by rearranging some of the elements of syllables can create new words. In many cases, these new words are similar to the old ones not only in sound but also in meaning: “...Cái gọi là tình yêu hiện đại có khi hiện đại quá hóa ra hại điện, biến thành bi kịch tình yêu.” (Dân Trí Online) (The so-called modern love is sometimes so modern that it causes damages and turn love into tragedy.) In addition, using homonym or poly-semantic words as a method of indirectness can be seen widely: “Làm thế nào cho lạc thêm vui?” “Những kẻ sống... lạc” In the first case, the appearance of word “happy” makes the word “lạc” have two meanings: “peanut” and “pleasure”. The “lạc” in the second one is both understood as “lost” and “hedonism” because the content of the article is about the youth who earn money by sexual activities but lack of love. Proverbs and precepts These means of language have their own strengths. They are clear, understandable and appear with high frequency in daily communication of life. Therefore, using them is convenient to both writers and readers. Proverbs and precepts are usually used as following: Using the original form Here, the proverbs are used with it original form without adding or changing any element. “Chỉ những kẻ bẻ cong chân lý mới cố đấm ăn xôi dựng lên những trò bịp bợm” (Only those, who break the law, are ready to create dishonest tricks inspire of suffering from any corporal punishments to get benefits.) “Chính vì vậy mà hàng loạt ca sỹ Hà nội đã khăn gói quả mướp vào Nam lập nghiệp với lý do “đất lành chim đậu” để mong kiếm danh lợi.” (That is the reason why many Hanoi singers pack their luggage to settle in the South because of the thought that it is a promising land to enhance their career) Using proverb with changes Besides keeping all the basic elements of the proverb, the writer adds some new elements to the structure so as to emphasize the theme of the article or the opinion that he would like to express: “Thuốc đắng liệu có dã tật.” à Whether bitter pills will have blessed effects? (Original version: Bitter pills may have blessed effects) “Trống đã đánh xuôi mà kèn lại cứ thổi ngược” à The drums have been beaten forwards but the horn is still blown backward. (Original version: To beat the drums forward and blow the horn backward) Another way is that writers, with their creativity, change some elements of a proverb in order to make it suitable with their idea. “Phép nước thua ... lệ trường.” à School laws rule the state laws (Original version: Custom rules the laws) “Con sâu làm rầu… rừng thông.” à A worm injures… the whole pine forest (Original version: A rotten apple injures its neighbors) In addition, writers can split the proverbs so that each element becomes a separate part: “Người ta cứ thấy “của rẻ” là ham mà không biết rằng nhiều khi đó còn là “của ôi” nữa” à People are attracted by “the cheapest” and do not realize that it sometimes costs “the dearest” (Original version: Cheapest is dearest, best is cheapest) “Sở dĩ có tình trạng “béo cò” hết sức phi lý như trên là bởi thời gian qua, các cơ quan chức năng đã thường xuyên làm “đục nước” bằng việc buông lỏng quản lý hoặc phối hợp không đồng bộ.” à The fact of “fishing” unreasonably is because recently, the authorities have frequently “troubled the water” by relaxing disciplines and not co-operated synchronously. (Original version: To fish in troubled water) Omitting proverb elements In this case, writers do not add any new element. They, on the contrary, leave a part of the proverb out: “Vẫn biết “thương cho roi cho vọt” nhưng khi nó làm tổn hại cả về vật chất và tinh thần thì nó thành mối quan tâm của toàn xã hội.” (Despite the fact that “sparing the rod will spoil the child”, it should become the social interest when it causes physical and mental damages.) “Miệng nam mô...” à A honey tongue… (Original version: A honey tongue, heart of gall) There are many cases the writer combine all the methods of using proverbs: “Nghĩ về thực trạng nền bóng đá Việt Nam hiện nay, chúng ta không khỏi lo lắng: tre thì đã già mà măng dưòng như lại chết yểu vì bệnh ngôi sao.” (Thinking of the worse situation of Vietnamese football nowadays, we feel so worried since the bamboo is already old but the bamboo shoots seem to be dying young for being proud of early fame abuse.) Here, the write not only changes the word “mọc” (grow) into “chết yểu” (die young) but also adds two new elements: “thì đã” (already) and “dường như lại đang...” (seem to be). It can easily be seen that the changed proverbs usually have negative color through which the writers show their critical attitude (sometimes they hide their feeling behind the shell of humorous or satirical tone.) towards a social event. This is the result of creativity and requires a deep knowledge about proverbs. Implications Readers’ problems when reading Vietnamese and American newspapers The above part shows many differences between Vietnamese and American newspapers. However, there are two main areas that might cause serious problems: language and cultural differences. Language difference Language itself causes problems. Each country has its own language system of vocabulary, structure, and grammar that is different from that of other countries. It is hard for an American to understand deeply a Vietnamese article and vice verse. The problem for readers usually begins when they cannot realize the subject and the main verb because of separation or delay from each other. A Vietnamese student might have trouble understanding the following sentence: A woman said to be despondent over her husband’s heavy drinking jumped into a canal Friday night with her three children. She might interpret it into: A woman confessed that she and her three children pushed her husband into a canal Friday night because he was a heavy drinker. The source of her problem is the first three words: "A woman said". The student may think the main verb is "said" instead of "jumped". One reason she make this mistake was because the writer omitted "who was" from the sentence. The long form would have begun: A woman who was said (by a witness) to be despondent..." Correspondingly, to understand written American language in common and American articles in particular, one must be able to find out the subject and the main verb. In this case, subject and main verb are together at the beginning of the sentence, but in other case, they are separated or the writer delays the appearance of the verb. Thus, one of the reason people sometimes misunderstand the information is that they find the wrong subject or, more commonly, the wrong main verb. Another problem that should be taken into consideration is language using. This is also a great matter because words and phrases are not always used with their meaning of denotation. For example, the sentence "Đừng vì thấy người ta ăn khoai…" (Just because of seeing others eating potatoes/Don’t try to imitate others) makes the readers bewildered. The word "khoai" in Vietnamese language is not only used as a noun, meaning "a kind of potato" but also has the meaning of "difficulty, hard-to-solve problem". The second meaning has just appeared for 5-7 years and is not updated in any dictionary. Culture difference Understanding culture is integral to learning and understanding a language. Culture may be defined as "what" a society does and thinks, and language is "a particular how" of thought. The common misconception is that language’s knowledge is enough for communication’s success. One should be aware of the fact that language and culture are inseparable. Thus, reading a foreign newspaper requires not only the knowledge of foreign language but also the understanding of culture. The Vietnamese see a struggle between traditions and the free information. The biggest thing that causes culture shock for them is sex. Sex is considered taboo and thus not to be explicitly discussed in public. In an effort to respect traditional norms, indirectness and metaphors are used at the cost of accuracy and clarity. The way it is mentioned is often discreet and extremely delicate as the below in VnExpress online newspaper: Meanwhile, in the American newspapers, sex is always potentially a topic of interest because it is an eternal and fundamental part of life. Illustrations of sexual women or men are popular in American newspapers. Some newspapers even use this as a means of attracting more readers. That, obviously, causes shock for Vietnamese readers, who are too sensitive with this matter. Another matter is the attitude towards authorities. The American feel free to express their opinions, even criticizing leaders, presidents or chairman, etc. They consider their country is the land of freedom and individualism. In contrast, the Vietnamese think people should show respect to higher positional persons. Solutions Following are suggested solutions to problems in reading critiques in e-newspapers: Improving knowledge of language and culture: Language plays the first and foremost role of communication. Thus, people should prepare for themselves a sufficient knowledge of language. Additionally, differences between cultures cause culture shock. Therefore, the only way to avoid is to understanding the target culture. Guessing based on the context: Readers can clarify the problems by themselves when scanning the whole articles. For examples, even though they do not know who “Hoan Thu” is at the headline, they can understand that she is a very jealous woman through some scenes of jealousy described in the article. Finding help from online search engines: In the Internet, search results from Google, Yahoo, Ask.com give users many articles with the same content. With the various sources of information, readers are no longer confused because they can compare and understand the story more deeply. Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary The media in general and newspapers in particular largely shape our views on the issues that we care most. Opinions are mostly formed by information. In chapter 4, a comparison of criticism in American and Vietnamese e-newspapers has been conducted. Following is the summary of major similarities and differences in criticism between American and Vietnamese e-newspapers: Critiques American criticism Vietnamese criticism Direct Indirect Direct Indirect Headline 85% 15% 48% 52% Lead 84% 16% 79% 21% Illustration 88% 12% 73% 27% Table 1: Summary of Directness and Indirectness in American and Vietnamese e-newspapers It is observed that criticism in the American newspapers is usually expressed clearly, orderly and a little more straightforward than it is in Vietnamese newspapers which are sometimes ambiguous. The most distinctive difference is found in the headlines where over a half of Vietnamese critiques’ titles are indirect. There is not much difference in the leads and illustrations. Percentages of “body of the critical articles” are absent in the above table because some articles do not answer all the questions (who did what, where, when and how) but it does not mean they appear indirect. Many ways are actually resorted to in American and Vietnamese online newspapers to make writers’ points of view less strict or more vivid such as using punctuations, metaphor, etc. This causes difficulties for people when reading newspapers in another language. To solve these problems requires great effort and depends on numerous factors which the most decisive is good knowledge of language and cross-cultural diversity. 5.2. Suggestions for further research It is suggested that further research extend to: Criticism in American and Vietnamese visual media Cultural aspects in American and Vietnamese newspapers The thesis has been completed with its author’s best efforts. Hopefully, it can contribute to true knowledge of those who wish to be successful and effective readers. Due to limited time and ability, mistakes and limitations are unavoidable. Any comments and contributions are most welcome.