This paper introduces and analyses some syntactic features of rejection in English and Vietnamese as well as "nds out the similarities and differences of rejection between the two languages. | SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF REJECTION IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE Vu Le Vi1 Abstract Rejection is one of the popular speech acts often used in our daily life. Because this is a face-threatening speech act a thorough understanding of how to reject is really essential it will help speakers avoid hurting the listeners or causing misunderstandings in their communication. In order to show rejection Vietnamese and English people have different ways to express their opinions depending on speci c contexts. This paper introduces and analyses some syntactic features of rejection in English and Vietnamese as well as nds out the similarities and differences of rejection between the two languages. Key words Rejection Face-threatening speech act Syntactic features Similarities Differences. 1. Introduction In the era of integration language has been clearly recognized as a very important tool in communication with many purposes. Language can be used to make requests to give suggestions to ask for permission to exchange information etc. In order to use languages for communication effectively particularly in cross-cultural communication it requires not only a linguistic knowledge of the target language but also the pragmatic knowledge and pragmatic routines of the speech community using the language. One of the speech acts popularly used in communication is rejection. It is considered a face-threatening act for it threatens the face wants of the speaker and the hearer by running contrary to their face wants. Therefore a thorough understanding of rejection as well as how to deliver this kind of speech act effectively will help speakers avoid some misunderstandings and achieve their communication goals. 2. Content . Rejection as a speech act According to Oxford Dictionary for Learners of English 9 reject means refuse to accept something somebody. If you reject something such as a proposal a request or an offer you do not accept it or you do not agree to it. Searle and Vandervken 10 de ne
