Coherence in Bilateral Trade Negotiation Discourse from a Cross-cultural Pragmatic Perspective: A Comparison between English and Vietnamese

Tóm tắt

In government-level negotiations, discourse not only conveys information but also reflects communication strategies and cultural values. This study analyzes cohesive and coherence devices in the discourse of the Vietnam-US bilateral trade negotiations (2015-2024) from the perspective of cross-cultural pragmatics. Based on the theoretical framework of Halliday & Hasan (1976) and Hofstede (2001), the study examined 30 official documents, including press releases and memoranda. The method combines qualitative coding and frequency statistics to identify how cohesive devices contribute to coherence and strengthen arguments. The results show that Vietnamese discourse prioritizes repetition, modal expressions, and soft connections to maintain collective face and goodwill. In contrast, English discourse favors causal structures, meta- discourse, and short sentences to increase transparency and argument effectiveness. This difference reflects the influence of power distance and collective/individual orientation in the two cultures. The study affirms the value of the intercultural pragmatic approach in analyzing government discourse, and suggests applications in negotiation training, improving translation and interpretation skills, and drafting diplomatic documents.