A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF VOYAGE CHARTER PARTIES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

Abstract

This study addresses the interrelation of English and Vietnamese voyage charter parties. With the examples of collected data, some specific features have been explored in terms of layout overall, lexical items, syntax structure and discourse linguistic features. By doing this, the thesis provides a clear description of the above mentioned features employed in English and Vietnamese voyage charter parties and to find out the overall patterns in the choice of those features used in the both contracts. The layout pattern has a slightly different placement for some of the provisions. On the other hand, some significant differences were found in the characteristics of lexical, syntactic and linguistic features of discourse. We also examine the frequency of the use of lexical and grammatical cohesion used in both. Whatever unequal rates they are, their roles in creating coherence and cohesion in discourse are undeniable. With above features mentioned, the study showed implications for teachers and learners in shipping business. The English Voyage Charter Parties with its function as an effective means of conmmunication can be a bridge for the countries closer and linking business people. Finally, it is hoped that the findings of the study can contribute to the understanding of voyage charter parties, the teaching and learning activities of legal English, and also the legal translation practice.