Journal of Asian Pacific Communication - Volume 15, Issue 2, 2005

Lexicographic evidence and oral translations of được in Vietnamese show its meanings as: “all right”, “agreed”, and “OK”. In reality, the undetermined range of probabilities in its meaning, imperceptible by non-native intuitions, are readily recognizable by natives. Not grasping what được means entails communication failures since to be told that something “can be done” induces a positive belief in English. This paper studies the meaning of được (can/OK) and compares it with chắc (là) được (probably can/OK) and chắc chắn được (certainly can/OK). It discusses the strategic and polite functions of được in business communication and shows that được is explorative as it sets the starting point for communication that could be furthered to reach a more conclusive result, explicitly lexicalized by chắc chắn được. It concludes that được is a non-committal “conflict-avoidance device” and “face-saver”. It is inconclusive that the farther the “distance” between the illocutors, the higher the degree of politeness, but supports the demand for ‘face’ over efficiency to a certain extent in the communicative style of the Vietnamese. Overall, it points to the need for long overdue analytic work on business discourse in cultural and social contexts, especially in lesser studied languages and cultures.

Brand naming is a crucial component in marketing communication. Chinese brand naming differs greatly from naming in Western communities. Both linguistic and cultural aspects play an important role in Chinese brand naming. This paper reports our analysis of 5,089 Chinese brand names from 21 product categories. We analyzed these brand names from six aspects: the syllable pattern, the tone pattern, the compounding pattern, the semantic pattern, the semantic field which consists of semantically associated words to indicate the functions or features of products, and the most frequently used words in branding. We found that Chinese brand naming has a consistent tendency for two-syllable names with a modifier-noun compounding structure. High tones and positive meaning are also the preferred features. The cultural influence is reflected in the selection of the semantic fields and the choice of words for brand names.

The aim of this article is to analyse the patterns of the business discourse of the Marwari community, one of the most successful business communities in India. Two specific business contexts — of the dispute situation and non-dispute situation — have been examined across the pre-colonial, the colonial and post-colonial period to gauge the Marwari responses to social, cultural and political changes in the history of India. The Marwari culture is synonymous with their business ethos. Migration, religion and family are factors that contribute to their distinct identity as a business community. Various observations made by business historians about the community have been examined through the lenses of communication and discourse to highlight the distinguishing features of the Marwari business ethos. The second part of the article examines the Marwari dispute resolution method as the secret behind the success of the Marwaris as a business community, when compared to the adversarial method of dispute resolution adopted by disputing parties at large in India. The concluding part of the paper recognizes certain ambivalences in the context of a confluence between the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial methods of dispute resolutions in Marwari dispute resolution contexts in the globalization era in India.