In everyday social life, people are sometimes invited to go somewhere or
to do something. Accepting an invitation is a delicate matter although it is
much easier than rejecting as the latter is a face- threatening act. However,
there are situations in which invitations cannot avoid refusal. For these
reasons, I have decided to choose the subject: “A comparative study on
rejecting invitation in English and Vietnamese” to enhance the efficiency of
the teaching and learning of this speech act in English and Vietnamese, create
the tactfulness and flexibility in language use for both Vietnamese learner of
English and English-speaking learners of Vietnam with the maxim declared in
a Vietnamese proverb: “You don‟t have to buy words, so don‟t let them hurt
the feelings of others.”