Abstract

This article examines British etiquette as a core manifestation of cultural identity and compares it with Vietnamese etiquette from an intercultural communication perspective. Drawing on established theoretical frameworks developed by Brown and Levinson, Hofstede, and Hall, the study analyzes everyday communicative acts such as apologizing, refusing, and criticizing. The findings indicate that British communication is characterized by convention-based indirectness, an emphasis on negative face, and individual autonomy, whereas Vietnamese communication prioritizes positive face, relational orientation, and social harmony. This comparative analysis highlights fundamental cultural value differences underlying communicative behavior and potential sources of intercultural misunderstanding. The study contributes to the field of intercultural pragmatics and offers both theoretical and practical implications for language teaching, intercultural training, and English–Vietnamese communication in global contexts.

Keywords: British culture, cultural identity, etiquette, linguistic society, politeness, pragmatics.