Schwarting - Intro Blog

If I gave you a list of stereotypes, would you be able to guess what culture I am talking about?  What group of people own most nail salons?  Or what group of people is very family oriented or prefer to eat on the floor?  How about what group of people like to eat dog? You have probably narrowed it down to Asians but I specifically want to look at the Vietnamese culture.  Through my research project I want to break down the stereotypes most Americans believe about the Vietnamese culture and give you an inside look in how they think and act.

Culture is defined as a “learned pattern or behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people” (Martin & Nakayama, 2012, p.88).  The Vietnamese definitely share many values and tradition that would define them as a culture.  They have a strong sense of traditional family values, spiritual values and hard work ("Vietnam culture values," 2006).  They also have traditional clothing, music, food, literature, art and holidays ("Vietnam culture values," 2006).

 

Next, I want to look at the Vietnamese communication styles.  The Vietnamese is classified as a high context society (Ashwell, 2005).  In a high context society, many times communication is left up for interpretation.  Unlike the United States, they beat around the bush when it comes to agreements and tasks.  They are not straight to the point like most Americans are.  Another couple of differences is how some body language here can be offensive or negative in Vietnam.  Shaking one’s head is a negative body action (Ashwell, 2005).  Also winking at someone is not acceptable, especially toward someone of the opposite sex (Ashwell, 2005).  A woman and a man may not shake hands (Ashwell, 2005).  Women and men are treated very differently in Vietnam.

Using the interpretive method, I plan on studying this group.  I plan on using participant observation when studying the relationship on how Vietnamese relationships differ from an American relationship.  I will be observing Anh Ha and his girlfriend of several years in their home.  I will also be interviewing a woman named Terri Tran about raising her boys through her Vietnam culture in the United States.  Some limitations of my research are that these Vietnamese people have lived in the United States for quite some time now.  They still keep their culture strong with them but they have been Americanized in their way of life. 

Here is a video with explanations of a traditional wedding

tea ceremony. 

As I go about being an interpretive researcher, I suspect that I will find many similarities and differences in the way I grew up in my own culture.  I can’t wait to learn more about these amazing people and be able to understand more about their culture. 

References:

 Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2010). Intercultural communication in contexts (5th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. 

Vietnam culture values. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.vietnam-culture.com/zones-6-1/Vietnamese-Culture-Values.aspx

Ashwell, M. (2005). Vietnamese gestures and politeness. Retrieved from http://www.adoptvietnam.org/travel/vietnamesepolitegestures.htm