VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES, BUI THI HUYEN QUALIFIERS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE NOMINAL GROUPS: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTLONAL COMPARISON DỊNH NGỮ TRONG NHÓM DANH NGỮ ANH VLET: SO SANH THEO QUAN DIEM CHUC NANG HE THONG M. THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 HÀ NỘI - 2010 " VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES, BUI THI HUYEN QUALIFIERS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE NOMINAL GROUPS: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTLONAL COMPARISON DỊNH NGỮ TRONG NHÓM DANH NGỮ ANH VIET: SO SANH THEO QUAN DIEM CHUC NANG HE THONG M. THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 Supervisor: Prof. Hoang Văn Vân HÀ NỘI - 2010 TABLE OF CONTEN’ Pages Acknowledgements Abstract Table of contents List of abbreviations Part 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale Research questions kề ` Scope of the sludy w ww 4, Significance of the study Methods of the study 6“ Bo 6, Design of lhe study Part 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter |: TITEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.
Schools of grammar 1. Systemic fimetional grammar 1. Basis synlactical notions 1. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The research questions mentioned above have already implied that this study focuses only on investigating qualifiers of English nominal groups.
‘I'he investigation of this aspect of English is conducted in comparison with that iat Vicinamosa to find out (he sitnilarilios and differences between therm, and from these findings, Ihe investigation will suggest seme implications for teaching and learning English in the Vietnamese context. 4, SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ‘To have a deeper understanding of functional grammar in general and nominal groups im particular, and to be aware of the mistakes made by Vietnan students, the aulhar chooses qualifiers as the main study. The research could serve as a good consolidation of systemic-fimctional grammar’s positions about qualifiers in nominal groups, and the roprascntation of English and Vistnarnesc qualifiers based on functional granunar may bo a useful way for toaching and learning nominal groups. Besides this, the research also includes some implications for communicative teaching and learning qualifiers in nominal groups 5, METHODS OF THE STUDY To achieve the aims above, the study uses descriptive, contrastive and qualitative methods offanguage research, Descriptive methods: Theoretisal issues are studied, Then they are re-examined to form the theoretical framework for the study.
Real-life illustrations along with examples extracted from different kinds of books are also exhibited comprehensively t constitute fally the understanding of the theories and the realization of them, Comparative methods: ‘The Unglish and Vietnamese qualifiers in nominal groups will be madg, which is indnetive in naire. Us reliabitily and validity will be ensured by the descriptive method. Qualifiers in English and Vietnamese nominal groups will be compared in terms of position and meaning so as to search out the resembling and the distinctive features of the two languages in this linguistic aspect, Chapter 2: QUALIFTERS IN TITE ENGLISI NOMINAL GROUP 2. Structure of nominal groups (Functional grammar) 21 2.2, Elements that act as Qualifiers in English nominal groups 23 2.
Non-finile clauses as qualificrs 28 2. Finite clauses as qualifiers 29 2. Summary 31 Chapter 3: QUALIFIERS IN THE VIETNAMESE NOMINAL GROUP TN COMPARISON WITH QUALIFIERS IN THE ENGLISH NOMINAL GROUP 3. Comparison of words as qualifiers in English and Vietnamese nominal groups — 32 3.
Comparison of phrases as qualifiers in English and Vietnamasc nominal groups 3. Comparison of prepositional phrases 33 3. Comparison of adjectival phrases 3s 3. Comparison of adverbial phrases 36 3.
Companson of clauses as qualifiers in English and Vietnamese nominal groups 3. Comparison of finite relative clauses 37 3. Comparison of non- finite relative clauses 39 3. Summary 41 Part 3: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 4 Bibliography 46 Sources of Data 48 Part 1: INTRODUCTION 1.
RATIONALE Used to distingnish betweon human boings and other creatures, lmguages can be the most wonderful thing in this world, Along with the development of ou society, languages were barn so many that actually we do not know how many languages are still being used and have existed up to now. Fach langnage has its own history and appears in a specific period. It reflects relatively clearly the society, the economy, the culture of country. We have achieved a lot of accomplishments in the field of biology, information technology, astronomy and other fictds, eluding linguisties.
In (he late 19 and the carly years of the 20" century, English colonies spread over many continents, Therefore, it is unavoidable that English has been a dominant language since then. All most of newspapers, magazines, radios. ‘I'V broadcasts s2 English as a main language. And we may nol know when it was considered as an international language in meetings, dialogues, conferences, ete, In Vietw, English is a compulsory subject in secondary, high schools and in universilics as well.
Teachers of English worldwide in genoral, Viclnamese tcachers of English and learners in particular always think of how to teach and leam English with easier ways. We teach and learn English to fulfill the language fimetion of communication. lt is argued thal when we say a porson has learned a new language we mcan thal he has learned its sound system (understanding speech and speaking well), learned to use its grammar, and learned at feast, a firmited vocabulary. Over the two centuries, English grammar has been viewed by many scholars with different schools, such as: traditional grammar, structural grammar, transformational generative grammar and systemic fimctional grammar.
Each of those schools has its own ideas, but in whatever way the term “grammar” is used to indicate syntax in a narrow sonsz or morplonology and syntax or, in the broadest senses, lo inctuds phonology, syntax and semantics, syntax is always the core of the grammat of a language. While traditional, structural and generative grammars pay so mich attention to the formal aspect of language, functional grammar is one whose conceptual framework on which the grammar is based is a functional rather than a formal one. 10 Nominal group isn’t seen as a new issne in syntax and in linguistics in general. In the old and new grammar books, the description ofnominal group has been relatively occupied.
In traditional grammar, the structure of nominal group consists of three components the head, the promodification and the post-modification. However, according to MAK Halliday and other linguisls of the Hallidayan tradition, nominal groups can be scent inthe overall relation of semanties (fimctional) and structure, Halliday gave not only the structure of the head, the modifier and the qualifier, but also the ideational (clause as representation), the interpersonal (clause as cxchange) and the textual (clause as message). Some Victnamesc researchers have considered the matter of nominal group’s structure in the terms of traditional gremmar and funclional grammar. An analysis of nominal groups in English and Vietnamese in light of systemie-fimetional grammar made by Cu Thanh Xphi (2004) is an example.
In his research, he gave how semantic relations between constituents of the nominal group are diversified and particularized in English and Victrmesc, and how these semantic relations could be explained from the representational points of views. The other onc was carticd out by Cao Thi Phuong (1928): clauses of nominal status. In light of traditional grammar, she found ont the features and classifications of English nominal clauses, the di(foronces and similarities between nominal clauses in English and Vietnamese Although the two above researches just view nominal group in general, they do not ropresent structures of sach parl in nominal gronps in detail, For this reason, the author of this paper chooses qualifiers (in the light of systemic-functional grammar) as the main issue 2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The above mentioned rationale shows that nominal groups need to be studied in more detail not only in structure but in use as well.
‘The aims of the study are + To explore the nature of Qualifier and to locale it in the space of the nominal group - To describe English and Vietnamese nominal groups based on the famework of systemic functional grammar - To cstablish the diffrences and similarities between qualificrs in English and Vietnamese nominal groups Chapter 2: QUALIFTERS IN TITE ENGLISI NOMINAL GROUP 2. Structure of nominal groups (Functional grammar) 21 2.2, Elements that act as Qualifiers in English nominal groups 23 2. Non-finile clauses as qualificrs 28 2. Finite clauses as qualifiers 29 2.
Summary 31 Chapter 3: QUALIFIERS IN THE VIETNAMESE NOMINAL GROUP TN COMPARISON WITH QUALIFIERS IN THE ENGLISH NOMINAL GROUP 3. Comparison of words as qualifiers in English and Vietnamese nominal groups — 32 3. Comparison of phrases as qualifiers in English and Vietnamasc nominal groups 3. Comparison of prepositional phrases 33 3.
Comparison of adjectival phrases 3s 3. Comparison of adverbial phrases 36 3. Companson of clauses as qualifiers in English and Vietnamese nominal groups 3. Comparison of finite relative clauses 37 3.
Comparison of non- finite relative clauses 39 3. Summary 41 Part 3: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 4 Bibliography 46 Sources of Data 48 10 Nominal group isn’t seen as a new issne in syntax and in linguistics in general. In the old and new grammar books, the description ofnominal group has been relatively occupied. In traditional grammar, the structure of nominal group consists of three components the head, the promodification and the post-modification.
However, according to MAK Halliday and other linguisls of the Hallidayan tradition, nominal groups can be scent inthe overall relation of semanties (fimctional) and structure, Halliday gave not only the structure of the head, the modifier and the qualifier, but also the ideational (clause as representation), the interpersonal (clause as cxchange) and the textual (clause as message). Some Victnamesc researchers have considered the matter of nominal group’s structure in the terms of traditional gremmar and funclional grammar. An analysis of nominal groups in English and Vietnamese in light of systemie-fimetional grammar made by Cu Thanh Xphi (2004) is an example. In his research, he gave how semantic relations between constituents of the nominal group are diversified and particularized in English and Victrmesc, and how these semantic relations could be explained from the representational points of views.
The other onc was carticd out by Cao Thi Phuong (1928): clauses of nominal status. In light of traditional grammar, she found ont the features and classifications of English nominal clauses, the di(foronces and similarities between nominal clauses in English and Vietnamese Although the two above researches just view nominal group in general, they do not ropresent structures of sach parl in nominal gronps in detail, For this reason, the author of this paper chooses qualifiers (in the light of systemic-functional grammar) as the main issue 2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The above mentioned rationale shows that nominal groups need to be studied in more detail not only in structure but in use as well. ‘The aims of the study are + To explore the nature of Qualifier and to locale it in the space of the nominal group - To describe English and Vietnamese nominal groups based on the famework of systemic functional grammar - To cstablish the diffrences and similarities between qualificrs in English and Vietnamese nominal groups 13 Part 2: DEVELOPMENT CIIAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.
Schools of grammar “Within linguistics, ‘grammar’ is normally used in a narrow technical sense to distinguish it chiefly from phonology and semantics” Palmer (1984) “Granmar deals with language forms and meanings and the way they are interconnected” Facobs (1995) Grammar has been studied by many linguists and grammarians from different schools. To have a better understanding of different schools of grammar, due to the limit of pace and tine, this chapter will present the two major schools of grammar (traditional and functional prammars). ‘raditional grammar Traditional grammars is # theory of the structure of langage based on ideas Western societies inherited. fom ancient Greek and Roman sources.