1. Full name: Pham Hong Van                                                   

2. Sex: female

3. Date of birth: 03/09/1978                                                       

4. Place of birth: Ha Noi

5. Admission decision number: 2999/QD-XHNV-SDH, Dated 30/12/2013, by VNU President

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: Interruptions in Vietnamese Interaction (in contrast with English equivalence)

8. Major: Linguistics                                                                 

9. Code: 62 22 02 40

10. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khang

11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

Firstly, for classification, interruptions in Vietnamese and English conversations are classified into successful interruptions and unsuccessful interruptions. Successful interruptions are sub-classified into competitive interruptions and cooperative interruptions. Unsuccessful interruptions are sub-classified into interruption with overlapping and interruption without overlapping. For functions, interruptions are used by participants in Vietnamese and English conversations to develop the topic of the conversation; to show one’s agreement; to finish one’s utterance; to show one’s disagreement; to shift the topic of the conversation; to resist to topic shift; to tangentialize the topic of the conversation; to take the conversation floor. There are three models of interruptions in conversations, namely: Model 1: the second utterance begins while the first utterance has not reached the TRP (Transition Relevance Place); Model 2: the second utterance continues the first utterance at the TRP; Model 3: the second utterance overlaps one part of the first utterance. In contrast with English equivalence, interruptions in Vietnamese interaction are more varied and plentiful.

Secondly, sex plays an important role in conversations. The results of the research show that there is a purposeful difference in using interruptions between men and women in Vietnamese and English interaction. In Vietnamese conversations, men tend to be more successful in interrupting others than women. Men also tend to be more interrupted than women in conversations. On the contrary, in English conversations, men tend to be not as successful in interrupting others as women. The result also shows that both men and women in Vietnamese and English interaction tend to use similar structures for interruptive utterances.

12. Practical applicability: The findings help to clarify the nature as well as the functions of interruptions in interaction. In addition, the findings also help recognize the effect of sex on Vietnamese and English interaction, which reveals the changes in socio-lingual behaviors among Vietnamese and English men and women in interaction.

13. Further research directions: Interruptions in nonverbal communication as well as the effects of other social factors such as age, status…on interruptions in communication are likely to be our further research directions.   

14. Thesis related publications:

1. Phạm Hồng Vân (2013), “Some discussion on the act of interruptions in everyday conversations”, Language and Life (6), pp.8-11.

2. Phạm Hồng Vân (2016), “Gender effects on Vietnamese conversational interruption”, Language and Life (1), pp.29-31.

3. Phạm Hồng Vân (2016), “Discourse functions of interruptions in conversation”,
Language and Life (9), pp.16-20.

4. Phạm Hồng Vân, Nguyễn Trần Vân Trang (2016), “Gender in interruptions at interactive conversations”, Journal of education management (10), pp.47-53.