MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING LAC HONG UNIVERSITY TRAN THI NHAN SEMANTIC AND SYNTACTIC ATTRIBUTES OF SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS IN VIETNAMESE: A COGNITIVE INVESTIGATION MASTER GRADUATION PROJECT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE DONG NAI, 2024 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING LAC HONG UNIVERSITY TRAN THI NHAN SEMANTIC AND SYNTACTIC ATTRIBUTES OF SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS IN VIETNAMESE: A COGNITIVE INVESTIGATION MASTER GRADUATION PROJECT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR CODE: 8220201 TABLE OF CONTENTS INSTRUCTORS 1. Ly Ngoc Toan, PhD. Nguyen Thi Chau Anh, PhD DONG NAI, 2024 i TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv THE RECOGNIZANCE FOR NON-PLAGIARISM.
v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .vi LIST OF FIGURES. vii LIST OF TABLES. 1 Scope of the study .3 Aims of the study. 3 Contributions of the study .4 The Organization of the project.
Syntactic characteristics of SVCs. Sematisc of SVCs. Cultural and conceptual considerations. Semantic aspects of serial verb constructions in Vietnamese.
Cognitive and cultural perspectives. Statistical analysis tools. SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS IN VIETNAMESE. SVCs of locative verbs in Vietnamese.
SVCs of inner locative. SVCs of Outer locative. SVCs of dative verbs in Vietnamese. Agentive-Dative-Goal verbs.
Agentive-Dative-Source verbs. SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF SVCs IN VIETNAMESE. The syntax of SVCs in Vietnamese. Non-grammaticalized and grammaticalized SVCs.
SVCs with complement-taking and non–complement–taking verbs. Semantic properties of Vietnamese SVCs .63 Limitations and - Recommendations for future research .64 REFERENCES APPENDICES iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to begin by sincerely thanking my supervisor Ly Ngoc Toan, Ph., whose assistance in a number of areas has enabled me to ultimately complete this project. His enlightening comments and discussions used to extend our meetings to several hours. His formal and empirical methodology have greatly affected my research views.
I also want to express my gratitude to Nguyen Thi Chau Anh, Ph. for her kind guidance and assistance throughout the project, from the initial drafts to its completion. My deepest gratitude is extended to the Dean of the Foreign Languages and Informatics Faculty at People's Police College II, for his constant encouragement. Finally , despite my best efforts, I humbly acknowledge that imperfections remain in this project due to limited time and ability.
However, I sincerely appreciate any feedback or criticism that could help me to further improve my work. Learning from such eminent academics has been an honor and a joy, and I hope that this study adds even a tiny bit to the great history of this prestigious university. Dong Nai, January, 2024 Author Tran Thi Nhan iv ABSTRACT This project aims to conduct an in-depth investigation of serial verb constructions (henceforth SVCs) in Vietnamese, a unique linguistic phenomenon that allows for the compact encoding of complex events through the serialization of multiple verbs within a single clause. The research adopts a cognitive linguistics approach, drawing upon Talmy's framework of event conceptualization, to unravel the cognitive mechanisms underlying the formation and interpretation of SVCs.
The literature review examines seminal works on SVC syntax by Clark (1975) and Naomitsu (1981), semantics by Talmy (2000), and the interplay between language, cognition, and culture in SVC usage. Key linguistic theories, such as Talmy's typology of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages, provide a conceptual framework for analyzing the features of Vietnamese SVCs. The project employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative methods like linguistic and cognitive linguistic analysis with quantitative corpus analysis and statistical methods. Descriptive methods are also utilized to systematically describe and categorize the various types of SVCs based on their structural and functional features.
Data is collected from authentic Vietnamese sources, including literature, conversations, and online content, to capture the diversity of SVC usage across genres and contexts. The findings confirm the pivotal role of coverbs in shaping the syntax and semantics of Vietnamese SVCs, enabling compact representations of complex events. Syntactic analysis reveals principles governing verb serialization through coordination, embedding, and grammaticalization. Semantic examination unveils cognitive tendencies for integrating event facets into cohesive macro-event depictions, selectively foregrounding certain elements aligning with cultural biases.
Implications span translation, linguistic theory, and language pedagogy. Recommendations include incorporating robust translation theories, utilizing diverse methodologies, and expanding data sources to enhance generalizability. Future research should further explore the interplay between language, thought, and culture in Vietnamese event conceptualization and expression through SVCs. v THE RECOGNIZANCE FOR NON-PLAGIARISM I, Tran Thi Nhan, do hereby certify that this graduation project titled “Semantic and Syntactic Attributes of Serial Verb Constructions In Vietnamese: a Cognitive Investigation” is my own original work that I independently researched and authored.
All data, analysis, findings, conclusions, and other content presented in this project are based solely on my own academic research and have not been used for any other thesis, dissertation, publication, or degree qualification of the same level previously. This is to guarantee that the entirety of this project represents my own scholarship and ideas, conducted ethically and transparently. I take full accountability for the originality and authenticity of the knowledge produced and shared through this academic work. This guarantee is made in good faith on the date of submission.
Dong Nai, January 2024 Author Tran Thi Nhan vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviations Meaning Page A-D-G Agentive-Dative-Goal 32 A-D-S Agentive-Dative-Source 32 NPs Noun phrases 38 ONP Object noun phrase 40 SNP Subject noun phrase 40 SVCs Serial verb constructions iv V Verb 38 VN Vietnamese novel 17 VP Verb phrase 43 VS Vietnamese story 17 vii LIST OF FIGURES Titles of figures Page Figure 3. Finding the word “đến” with 20 Foxit reader viii LIST OF TABLES STT Titles of tables Page 1 Table 1. Conceptual framework 13 2 Table 2. SVCs in Vietnamese 17 3 Table 3.
SVCs of Inner Locative Verb 23 4 Table 3. SVCs of Outer Locative Verb 28 5 Table 3. SVCs of Dative Verbs in Vietnamese 32 1 INTRODUCTION Rationale Serial verb constructions have emerged as a pivotal focus within linguistic research interested in how languages grammatically encode complex events (Foley, 2008). SVCs serve as a versatile tool for conveying elaborate and multifaceted event semantics by combining multiple verbs in a single clause (Foley, 2008).
In the Southeast Asian sprachbund, Vietnamese stands out as a language that prolifically utilizes SVCs, similar to regional languages like Thai, Khmer, Hmong and others (Foley, 2008). The term serial verb construction was initially coined by scholars of Chinese as coverb referring to a verb that functions as a secondary verb preceding the main verb in a sentence, is followed by a noun phrase, forming a constituent with it, and can be translated into English as a preposition (Clark, 1975, p. Chuwicha (1993) further defines an SVC as a construction where two or more verb phrases are serialized without overt markers of coordination or subordination, expressing concurrent subevents while sharing at least one argument. Cognitive linguist Leonard Talmy’s conceptualization of event provides a crucial framework for analyzing SVCs cross-linguistically.
Within this perspective, the human cognitive system can impose boundaries to construe a segment of experience as a discrete entity with singular characteristics across conceptual domains like space and time. An event is one such entity category. Furthermore, Talmy (2000) proposes macro-events organized as gestalts relating a main event and supportive co-event aspects like manner, purpose and cause. This aligns with Talmy's earlier notion of complex events in compound sentences (Talmy, 1987).
Vietnamese SVCs express macro-events comprising multiple subevents based on the number of serialized verbs. The study of SVCs holds great significance within linguistics given their versatility in encoding elaborate event semantics. Previous Vietnamese SVC research has examined argument structure templates (Nguyen, 2004) and semantic typologies (Luong, 1987), while developmental studies like Huynh (2008) have explored SVC acquisition patterns. However, limitations still exist.
Few studies have utilized cognitive linguistic frameworks or investigated the cultural cognition 2 and conceptualizations shaping SVC use within the Vietnamese cultural context. This study aims to address this gap through in-depth cognitive linguistic analysis of the syntactic, semantic and conceptual motivations underlying Vietnamese SVCs. Cognitive linguistics proposes that language is shaped by embodied human cognition and conceptualization processes (Evans & Green, 2006). Cultural models, metaphoric mappings, metonymy and cognitive mechanisms like construable and perspective influence linguistic structure and meaning (Croft & Cruse, 2004).
This perspective can provide theoretical insights into how SVCs in Vietnamese grammatically construe events based on cultural cognition. Conceptualization patterns may motivate formal SVC properties like argument sharing and common syntactic templates, while cultural metaphoric models may shape the encoding of subevents within SVCs. Adopting this framework allows an enriched understanding of the cognitive underpinnings of SVC structure and meaning. Therefore, this project utilizes cognitive linguistics to comprehensively analyze Vietnamese SVCs, scrutinizing syntactic forms, semantic attributes and the cultural cognition shaping SVC use for complex event construct.
The investigation focuses on three key research questions: 1) What are types of SVCs in Vietnamese? 2) How are syntactic properties of SVCs used by Vietnamese speakers to express complex events? 3) How are semantic properties of SVCs used by Vietnamese speakers to express complex events? Data will be collected from Vietnamese native speakers through elicitation techniques and natural discourse analysis. Quantitative analysis will identify formal linguistic patterns, while qualitative examination will provide insights into conceptual and cognitive motivations. This project aims to address gaps in current understanding of Vietnamese SVCs by adopting an embodied cognitive linguistics approach allowing enriched multi-faceted analysis encompassing syntactic, semantic and cultural conceptual factors. Findings will furnish theoretical and analytical contributions regarding how culturally shaped cognition motivates the grammatical encoding of complex events through SVCs cross-linguistically.
Practical contributions include pedagogical implications for Vietnamese as a second language teaching. This introduction has outlined the key contextual background, SVC definition, research significance, 3 literature gaps, rationale and theoretical framework grounding the study. The next chapter will extensively review relevant literature in greater detail to fully situate this research within current scholarship. Scope of the study When conducting research on serial verb constructions (SVCs) in Vietnamese, the researcher faces the diversity and complexity of verbs in the language.
This study cannot encompass all verbs and their characteristics. Therefore, this research focuses on two main aspects of SVCs - semantics and syntax, including the following: Semantics: - Analyze the semantic functions of individual verbs in SVCs; - Analyze macro events, manner, purpose, cause; - Clarify the unique semantic contribution of each verb; Syntax: - Assess the order of verbs in SVCs; - The relationship between verbs and main and subordinate events; - Identify the typical syntactic structure of Vietnamese SVCs; - Analyze noun phrases in the SVC components; Aims of the study The research was undertaken to achieve the following aims: - Analyze the linguistic properties (syntactic and semantic attributes) of Vietnamese serial verb constructions in simple sentences with a minimum of two verbs expressing complex events. - Examine the conceptualizations of Vietnamese speakers regarding complex events denoted by SVCs, adopting cognitive linguistics as the theoretical framework. - Scrutinize how macro-events (with a main event and supportive co-event) are expressed through SVCs based on Talmy's framework.
- Investigate how various sub-events contingent on the number of verbs in SVCs represent the components of a complex event. 4 Contributions of the study Theoretical Perspectives - Provides an in-depth analysis of Vietnamese SVCs through the lens of cognitive linguistics and Talmy's framework of macro-events. - Examines the complex layering of events expressed through SVCs. - Explores how SVCs reveal conceptualizations of events in Vietnamese speakers' cognition.
Practical Perspectives - Insights can inform Vietnamese language teaching and learning materials development. - Findings can assist translators in conveying nuances of complex events in Vietnamese. - Analysis provides resources for computational linguists developing Vietnamese language technologies. Research questions In order to conduct a study on the semantic and syntactic properties of Serial Verb Constructions in Vietnamese, the researcher seeks to answer the following three research questions: 1.
What are types of SVCs in Vietnamese? 2. How are syntactic properties of SVCs used by Vietnamese speakers to express complex events? 3.