W1: LIGUISTICS COMPARISION AND CONTRASTIVE

ANALYSIS
THE ROLE OF LIGUISTICS COMPARISION IN BRANCHING LIGUISTICS

Look at the samples of sentences in the three languages. If you want to

compare them, what do you need?
 Syntactic function, word form, phrase... (Adj, Obj, TOP, DEF, NOM,...)
 Word order (Japan: SOV, English: SVO,...)
 Grammatical structure (O before V, English S before V and O,...)

What do you notice about these languages?

1. Shared Etymology (Germanic vs Italic maybe ;v)
2. Phonetic transcription similarities between words of same root
I. Language Categorization: Phân loại ngôn ngữ theo ba loại:
1. Phân loại Genealogical (PROTO): Dựa trên nguồn gốc chung của
các ngôn ngữ, ví dụ như các họ ngôn ngữ Indo-European.
 Indo-European Family: Includes languages like English, Spanish, Hindi, and
Russian.
 Sino-Tibetan Family: Includes languages like Mandarin, Cantonese, and
Burmese.
 Niger-Congo Family: Includes languages like Swahili, Yoruba, and Zulu.
 Afro-Asiatic Family: Includes languages like Arabic, Hebrew, and Amharic
English: Indo-European language family
Vietnamese: Austroasiatic language family
- Within a language family, languages can be further categorized into
subfamilies or branches, which reflect more recent common ancestors.
For example, within the Indo-European family, the Germanic branch
includes English, German, and Dutch

* HOW TO CATEGORIZE: 7 STEPS

- Step 1: Data collection (phonological, morphological, syntactic, and lexical
information)
- Step 2: Identification of Cognates Cognates are words in different
languages that have a similar form and meaning → Compare vocabulary
- Step 3: Establish sound correspondences → Identify regular patterns of
sound changes
- Step 4: Reconstruction of Proto-Languages → Reconstruct Proto-form
- Step 5: Group languages into Families → Identify common ancestry →
Form language families and sub-families
- Step 6: Validation through historical and cultural evidence It should align
with historical knowledge about migration, trade, and cultural exchanges.
- Step 7: Classification and Naming → Define language families → Create
family trees
2. Phân loại Areal: Dựa trên sự tiếp xúc địa lý và các đặc điểm chung do
tiếp xúc ngôn ngữ.
- The process of grouping languages based on geographical proximity and
shared linguistic features that arise due to language contact.
→ Language Contact (close proximity) and Convergence (similar features)
Areal features can include:
  Phonological similarities (âm vị học): Similar sound patterns (e.g.,
tones, consonant clusters, vowel systems).
 Grammatical structures (ngữ pháp học): Shared word order, case
systems, or verb conjugation patterns.
 Lexical borrowings (từ vựng học): Vocabulary borrowed across
languages, such as shared words for cultural items, technology, or trade.
 Pragmatic patterns: Similar ways of expressing politeness, greetings,
or discourse markers
- Sprachbund (trong tiếng Đức nghĩa là "liên minh ngôn ngữ" hoặc "khu vực
ngôn ngữ") là khu vực mà các ngôn ngữ đã ảnh hưởng lẫn nhau qua thời gian,
dẫn đến việc chúng chia sẻ nhiều đặc điểm ngôn ngữ dù không có cùng gốc rễ
về mặt di truyền.
 Sự gần gũi về mặt địa lý: Các ngôn ngữ nằm trong cùng một khu vực
địa lý.
 Các đặc điểm chung: Có những điểm tương đồng quan trọng giữa các
ngôn ngữ không phải do cùng nguồn gốc mà do tiếp xúc lẫn nhau.
 Bằng chứng lịch sử về sự tiếp xúc: Việc buôn bán, di cư, các liên minh
chính trị, hoặc quá trình thuộc địa hóa có thể giải thích lý do tại sao các
ngôn ngữ này trở nên tương đồng.
 Mức độ hội nhập: Số lượng và sự giống nhau của các đặc điểm chung
giữa các ngôn ngữ trong một khu vực càng nhiều, thì sự tồn tại của một
Sprachbund càng rõ ràng.
3. Phân loại Typological (loại hình học): Dựa trên các đặc điểm cấu trúc
như ngữ pháp, hình thái học và âm vị học.
- based on shared structural features, such as grammar, phonology,
morphology, and syntax → uncover general principles that govern the
structure of all human languages
- Purpose of Typology
● Identify Patterns: → what kinds of structures are typical or rare.
● Language Universals: → properties or patterns found in all or most
languages (e.g., all languages have nouns and verbs).
● Understand Language Diversity: → different ways languages solve similar
communicative problems.
● Compare and Contrast: → a framework for comparing languages to
understand both cross-linguistic similarities and unique features
- Typology classification:
a. Morphological Typology: how words are formed and how they convey
grammatical information
Analytic (Isolating) Agglutinative Languages
Fusional Languages Polysynthetic Languages
Languages (ngôn ngữ đơn (ngôn ngữ kết dính): (ngôn ngữ hòa kết) (ngôn ngữ hỗn hợp):
kết):
Key characteristics: Key characteristics: Key characteristics:
- Morphemes are clear and - Morphemes fuse together- Words function like entire
separate. carry multiple functions. sentences.
- Each has one specific - Difficult to separate or - Incorporates multiple roots and
meaning or function. Easy to
analyze morphemes. affixes.
"break apart" and analyze. - Highly complex structures.
A single word can include multiple
roots and express subject,
object, verb, and other
grammatical functions.
words are typically single Words are formed by addinga single morphemes may Words often consist of many
morphemes, meaning they don’t together morphemes, each encode multiple grammatical morphemes, sometimes forming
change form with different representing a single features such as tense, mood,
entire sentences (e.g., Inuit,
grammatical functions. There is grammatical function (e.g., and number and are hard toMohawk)
minimal use of inflection or affixation
Turkish, Finnish). separate them (e.g., Spanish,
(adding prefixes, suffixes, etc.). Russian).
Examples: Ex: Ex: In Spanish, the verb Ex: Inuit (Greenlandic): A single
• Vietnamese: words usually In Turkish, you can "hablar" add (to speak) changes word like
remain the same regardless of morphemes to express complex form depending on tense and "tusaatsiarunnanngittualuujung
tense, number, or case. For ideas. For instance, "ev" (house)
subject. "Hablo" means "I " means "I can’t hear very well." It
instance, "học" can mean "study"can or become "evler" (houses),speak," while "hablaste" means
combines multiple morphemes for
"learn" without changing for "evlerden" (from the houses),"you
or spoke" - the endings (-o,
"hear,"
- "well," "cannot," "I," etc., al
grammatical context. "evlerimizde" (in our houses).
aste) indicate both tense and
in one word.
• English: while having some Japanese subject.
inflections, is relatively analytic. tabemashita
For = "I ate."
instance, in "I eat," "you eat," "we  tabe = eat
eat," the verb "eat" doesn’t change  mashita = past tense,
for each subject. polite form.

b. Syntactic Typology: sentence structure, especially word order

Subject-Verb-Object (SVO): English, Mandarin, Vietnam,...
Subject-Object-Verb (SOV): Japanese, Turkish.
Verb-Subject-Object (VSO): Classical Arabic, Irish
c. Phonological Typology: the sound systems of different languages
Phoneme Inventory: Tonal the Languages: Use pitch Stress and Intonation
range of sounds used intoa distinguish betweenPatterns: the use of stress
language. meanings of words. (emphasis on syllables) and
intonation (variation in pitch
across phrases) for meaning.
For ex: Vietnam and Thai Stress is more important in
language focus on tone English language
I. History of Contrastive Analysis:
1. Early Development (1930s-1950s): Influenced by scholars like
Charles C. Fries and Leonard Bloomfield, who emphasized the structural
analysis of languages to enhance teaching methodologies.
 2. Emergence (1950s-1960s): Robert Lado's work, particularly the
comparison of linguistic structures between a learner's native language
(L1) and target language (L2), is highlighted as crucial for identifying
learner difficulties.
3. Strong and Weak Versions of CA Hypothesis (1960s-1970s): The
strong version posited that all L2 errors could be predicted by L1-L2
differences. The weak version used contrastive analysis to explain errors
after they occurred.
4. Criticism and Decline (1970s-1980s), followed by Revival (1990s-
present), reflecting on the current role of CA in modern linguistics.
- Key Contributions and Figures: Major contributors include Charles C.
Fries, Leonard Bloomfield, Robert Lado, Stephen Pit Corder, and Carl
James, each contributing to the understanding and refinement of
contrastive analysis and error analysis.
II. Assumptions of CA:
 L1 acquisition and L2 learning are fundamentally different processes.
 Linguistic similarities between L1 and L2 assist learning, while differences
hinder it.
III. Transfer in CA:
- Language transfer refers to how the experience of learning one language
influences learning another. This can either facilitate or interfere with language
acquisition, depending on the similarities and differences between the
languages.
Typology in Linguistics: The document also discusses Language
Categorization, including Genetic (Genealogical) Classification (e.g.,
Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan families), Areal Classification, and Typological
Classification (based on grammatical, phonological, and morphological
structures).
 W2: CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS
I. STRONG VERSION OF CA
-AIM: predict dificulties by analyzing, What might be the problem in the
future
- CHARACTERISTICS OF STRONG VERSION
 Predictive nature: Aims to anticipate errors before they occur.
 Behaviorist Influence: Errors result from habits in L1 conflicting
with structures in L2. Build habit to performing a lang, fluency of
producing a skill
Ex: when you speak eng, you learn to open your mouth, use
Errors: we havent buil skills for that level
Form habit is the way to make them learn
 Anticipate errors
1. A hierarchy of difficulties: 6 difficults to compare
one language to another
1. Positive Transfer - no difference
- items exist both in languages:
Eg: structure SVO ing eng similiar to Vietnam -> student can learn english
easily
2. Minimal diffficulty (Coalescence - one item covering two in L1
Learn that item and add in
Present continuous: describe what is going on (Eng) refer to future
Viet: Toi dang
3. Underdifferentiation - An item present in L2 but absent in L1
Items exist in 2nd lang but not exist in 1st language
Eg: th in english # th in VN (thank - Thanh), VN do not pronounce “th” => It
takes tim for learners to learn
In VN, there is no verb tense marking like in English (e.g., walked for past
tense). VN speakers learning English may have difficulty remembering to add
past tense markers, as this distinction does not exist in VN.
4. Reinterpretation - different application of existing items
A structure exists in both languages but is applied differently, leading to
potential misinterpretation.
When L1 structures are applied incorrectly due to functional differences in
L2
Eg: Răng khểnh - Crooked teeth (răng xấu)
Plurals
Structure in Both Languages: Both can indicate plurality, but Vietnamese often
uses context or quantifiers (e.g., những or các) instead of changing the noun
form.
English: Requires adding -s or -es to plural nouns.
Vietnamese speaker says: "I see two cat." (literal translation without plural
marking).
Correct English: "I see two cats."
5. Overdifferentiation - An item present in L1 but absent in L2.
Lead to confusion, tend to transfer what we understand
Eg: duyên (with lots of meaning in VN), translate into english might hard, lost
the original meaning
Eg: English articles “a,” “an,” and “the” do not exist in Russian. Russian
speakers may struggle to use articles correctly when learning English because
they lack a direct equivalent or concept in their native language.
6. New category - Split - two items covering one in L1
The items is totally different from one another
Eg: tenses in english (Present perfect)
Vn dont have mindset for time
NOTE: Under: they have, 2nd language
Over: we have, 1st language
2. Steps:
a. Description;
b. Selection;
c. Contrast;
d. Prediction. (Whitman, 1970)
- Define the scope of analysis
 Select specific linguistic domains for analysis, Select specific ling
domains for ana
 Goals for analysis
- Gather detailed descriptions of L1 and L2 structures
 Collect linguistic data on both languages to compare , across
different case
 Group them, Consult linguistic resources
Eg: meaning that words might take in different situations
- Compare L1 and L2 structures
- Rank predicted difficulties using the hierarchical scale.
- Formulate predictions for each contrast
- Design instructional strategies based on predictions.
 Develop teaching materials + instructions
 - Test and refine predictions.
 Implement + collect learner data + refine the approachDefine the
scope of the ana
 Support learning

Positive Transfer
Minimal diffficulty Underdifferentiation
Overdifferentiation
Reinterpretation New category
- no difference(Coalescence - one - An item presentAn in item presentdifferent
in application
Split
- items exist both
item covering two inL2 but absent in L1.
L1 but absent in of
L2.existing items two items coverin
in languages L1) one in L1
A structure exists in
both languages but is
applied differently,
leading to potential
misinterpretation.
Eg: structure In VN, to describe A French learner of An Arabic speaker A Japanese learner oftenses in engli
SVO ing eng ongoing actions, English uses “-ed” learning English adds English applies the (Present perfect)
similiar to Vietnam
learners use "đang”. T
endings on all past vowel sounds to break concept of “politeness
Vn dont hav
describe future events,
tense verbs, even up English consonant markers” to English mindset for time
they might use "sẽ" for
irregular ones (e.g., “I
clusters (e.g., “esport”
sentences
future: goed” instead of “I for “sport”). inappropriately
In English, these twowent”).
sentences can both use E in arab (L1) but
the present continuous:
Ed in english (L2) butabsent in L2 english
"She is reading a book"
absent in france (L1)
and "We are meeting the
client tomorrow."

EXERCISE
1. What is the purpose of Lado's Levels of Difficulties in language
learning?
a) To assess language fluency
b) To predict specific areas of difficulty for L2 learners based on
L1-L2 differences
c) To measure vocabulary proficiency in L2
d) To determine social factors affecting language learning
2. Which level of difficulty involves structures that are identical or
very similar in both L1 and L2, making them easier to learn?
a) Positive Transfer
b) Underdifferentiation
c) Overdifferentiation
d) New Category
3. What does the “Reinterpretation” level of difficulty indicate?
 a) An L2 feature that is identical to L1
b) A structural similarity between L1 and L2 that has a different function or
meaning in L2
c) A feature that requires overgeneralizing L1 rules
d) A feature in L2 that does not exist in L1
4. Which level of difficulty describes a situation where L2 requires
learners to make distinctions that are not present in L1?
a) Positive Transfer
b) Underdifferentiation
c) Overdifferentiation
d) Reinterpretation
5. In Lado’s hierarchy, which level involves L1 having distinctions
not present in L2, potentially causing learners to add unnecessary
distinctions?
a) Positive Transfer
b) Underdifferentiation
c) Overdifferentiation
d) New Category
6. What is the reinterpretation level of difficulty?
a) When L1 and L2 features are identical, so there is no difficulty
b) When L1 structures are applied incorrectly due to functional differences
in L2
c) When there are no L1 equivalents for L2 structures
d) When L2 features are simpler than L1 features
7. If a Spanish learner of English easily applies SVO (subject-verb-
object) word order because it is the same in both languages, this
would be an example of:
a) Underdifferentiation
b) Positive Transfer
c) Overdifferentiation
d) Reinterpretation
8. A French learner of English uses “-ed” endings on all past tense
verbs, even irregular ones (e.g., “I goed” instead of “I went”).
This is likely an example of:
a) Underdifferentiation
b) Positive Transfer
c) Reinterpretation
 d) Overdifferentiation
“ed” belongs to english
9. An Arabic speaker learning English adds vowel sounds to break up
English consonant clusters (e.g., “esport” for “sport”). This is an
example of:
a) Overdifferentiation
b) Positive Transfer
c) New Category
d) Reinterpretation
Arabic has vowel “e”
10. A Japanese learner of English applies the concept of
“politeness markers” to English sentences inappropriately. This is
an example of:
a) Positive Transfer
b) Reinterpretation
c) Underdifferentiation
d) Overdifferentiation
II. WEAK VERSION
1. Aim: not predict but only explains learners’ errors
- Identifies interference areas after errors occur, focusing on actual learner
errors and empirical data.
2. Characteristics:
 Diagnostic: Focus on understanding actual errors rather than predicting
them.
 Empirical: Based on error analysis and selective interference observed
in learner data.
3. Steps for Error analysis
- Step 1: Collection of a sample of learner language
- Step 2: Identification of errors
- Step 3: Description of errors
- Step 4: Explanation of errors
4. Two kinds of errors: based on Psycholinguistic Sources of Errors (Ellis,
1994, p. 58), DIVIDED INTO 2 TYPES
 a. Competence: apply in the wrong ways
- TRANSFER (OR INTERLINGUAL) problem: th-thank
- INTRALANGUAGE: Eg: Learning past tense (regular and irregular), if we
do not learn irregular V, we assume all V added “ed”, Intralangual have
nothing to do with CA
- UNIQUE: SKIP
FOCUS ON TRANSFER:
+ Interlingual (focus): another name INTERFERNCE, indentify the habit in
the 1st lang transfered into 2nd lan, the similarity btw 2 language leading to
hypothesis made by the learners. Learners cannot distinguish L1 from L2,
look for equivalent, make word for word translation.
=> overdifferentiation
những lỗi này bị ảnh hưởng bởi ngôn ngữ mẹ đẻ (L1) của người học do bị can
thiệp hoặc chuyển giao trực tiếp khi trình độ L2 thấp.
Eg: Error: “He go to school every day” instead of “He goes to school every
day.”
Explanation: Mandarin Chinese does not mark verbs for third-person singular,
so learners may omit the “-s” suffix in English.
+ Intra (eliminate): not have INTERFERENCE,
Leaners and native speakers might made the same mistakes. These errors are
due to incorrect application of L2 rules, often arising from
overgeneralization, simplification, or developmental stages within L2 learning.
Eg: Ed and past tense, Pluralization: s/es
Error: “She goed to the store” instead of “She went to the store.”
Explanation: The learner overgeneralizes the regular past tense rule (-ed) to
an irregular verb.
b. Performance: Do not care much abt performance in CA which
compare btw 2 systems, the focus is competence
 All mistakes occur due to circumtances (outside factors), not use of
language
 EXERCISE:
1. What is an interlingual error?
a) An error caused by overgeneralizing L2 rules
b) An error caused by interference from the learner’s native
language (L1)
c) An error due to social factors in language acquisition
d) An error that arises from developmental stages in L2
2. What is an intralingual error?
a) An error caused by interference from L1
b) An error due to applying L2 rules incorrectly or
overgeneralizing them
c) An error caused by social and cultural differences
d) An error that arises from non-linguistic influences
3. Which of the following is an example of an intralingual error?
a) A Spanish learner of English says “She has 20 years” instead of “She is
20 years old.” => inter
b) An English learner says “He don’t like it” instead of “He doesn’t like it.”
c) A Japanese learner of English pronounces “right” and “light” the same
way. => inter, own rule
d) A French learner of English says “I have hunger” instead of “I am
hungry.”
4. If a German speaker learning English says “I am here since two
hours,” this is likely an example of:
a) Intralingual error
b) Interlingual error: tự suy ra từ ngôn ngữ mẹ đẻ
the use of prepositon
ttreen trời >< in the sky
 Not think the same way
5. A Japanese learner of English pronounces “r” and “l” sounds the
same way. This is an example of:
a) Interlingual error
b) Intralingual error
6. Which of the following is an example of an interlingual error?
a) An English learner says “I can sings” by adding unnecessary “-s.” =>
intra,
b) A French speaker uses the word “sensible” to mean “sensitive” in
English. =>
 c) A Chinese learner uses “-ed” for all past tense verbs. => intra
d) A German speaker uses English word order correctly.
7. A Spanish learner of English says “She is in the house of my
friend” instead of “She is at my friend’s house.” This is likely an
example of:
a) Interlingual error
b) Intralingual error
8. An English learner says, “She goed to the store” instead of “She
went to the store.” This is an example of:
a) Interlingual error
b) Intralingual error
9. A learner of English says, “I can to swim” after learning the
infinitive form “to swim.” This error is an example of:
a) Interlingual error
b) Intralingual error
10. A French learner of English says “She speaks goodly” instead
of “She speaks well.” This error is most likely:
a) Interlingual error
b) Intralingual error

II. UNDERPINING THEORIES

1. STRONG VERSION: 6 theories
a. Behaviorist version: thói quen của NN1 ảnh hưởng NN2
- According to behaviorist theory, language learning is a habit-forming
process. Errors arise when L1 habits interfere with the formation of
L2 habits, which CA aims to predict and address.
- Example: A French speaker learning English might say, “I have 30
years” instead of “I am 30 years old.”
b. Structural linguistics: cấu trúc (trong tiếng anh: tính từ đứng trước
danh từ, tiếng TBN ngược lại, người TBN thường dựa vào cấu trúc
của họ để tạo cụm danh từ
- Explanation: Structural linguistics focuses on analyzing language at the
level of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. The strong
version of CA relies on comparing the structural elements of L1 and L2 to
predict areas of difficulty.
- Example: In English, adjectives typically precede nouns (“blue car”),
whereas in Spanish, they follow (“coche azul”). A Spanish learner of
 English might say, “car blue,” directly transferring the Spanish structure,
which CA can predict by contrasting English and Spanish word order.
c. Error analysis and Transfer hypothesis: Predict error, during the
time you teach learner language => Confirm that the error fit in with
your prediction.
- Explanation: Error analysis is a framework within CA that studies errors
learners actually make to understand why they occur. This approach
observes and categorizes errors, helping identify patterns of L1
interference and intralingual errors in L2.
- Example: If many Japanese learners of English are observed omitting
articles (“I saw cat” instead of “I saw a cat”), error analysis helps identify
this as an error arising from Japanese L1 interference, where articles do
not exist. By categorizing such errors, CA can predict similar patterns in
learners from article-free languages.
d. Markedness theory (thuyết đánh dấu): Những đặc điểm ngôn ngữ
hiếm, phức tạp được xem là “marked”, những đặc điểm phổ biến, đơn
giản, dễ học được coi là “unmarked”
- Explanation: posits that certain linguistic features are "marked" (less
common, more complex) while others are "unmarked" (more common,
simpler). In language learning, unmarked features are usually easier for
learners to acquire, while marked features can be challenging.
- Example: English makes a distinction between voiced and voiceless
sounds (e.g., /b/ vs. /p/), while some languages do not. Voiceless
sounds are considered unmarked and more common across
languages, so learners from languages without voiced sounds may
struggle with English sounds like /b/ and /d/.
Eg: compare airstream: Engressive (popular=> unmarked) and ingressive
(less common, marked)
e. Interlanguage theory (thuyết liên ngôn ngữ): mixture of 1 and 2
language, reflected when producing incorrect grammatical
- Explanation: developed by Larry Selinker, suggests that learners
develop a unique linguistic system that incorporates elements from
L1, L2, and learner-specific rules.
- Example: A Spanish learner of English might say, “She don’t like it,”
reflecting both L1 influence (simplifying negation as in Spanish) and an
interlanguage form, where the learner hasn’t yet mastered English
auxiliary rules.
f. Functional typology and Universal Grammar (loại hình chức năng
và ngữ pháp phổ quát)
 - Explanation: Functional typology studies the common structures
and functions across languages, while Universal Grammar (UG)
suggests that humans are born with an innate set of grammatical
principles common to all languages. Functional typology looks at
variations between languages, and UG provides a universal base for
predicting what should be easy or difficult for learners based on innate
structures.
- Example: (SVO) word order is common and unmarked across many
languages, aligning with UG, so it’s relatively easy to learn. However,
English uses wh-movement for questions (“What do you see?”), which
may challenge learners from languages where questions follow
declarative structures, such as Chinese.
Behaviorist version
Structural linguistics
Error analysis Markedness
and theory
Interlanguage theory
Functional typology (loạ
(thuyết ngôn ngữ học Transfer (thuyết đánh dấu):
(thuyết liên ngôn hình chức năng và ngữ
cấu trúc) hypothesis: ngữ): pháp phổ quát)

thói quen của NN1 Các

ảnh ngôn ngữ có trật tự
Predict
từ error, Những đặc điểm ngônkết hợp các yếu tố từLoại hình chức năng nghiên
hưởng NN2 và cấu trúc khác nhauduring the time you ngữ hiếm, phức tạpL1, L2 cứu các cấu trúc và chức
teach learner được xem là “marked”, năng chung của các ngôn
language => những đặc điểm phổ ngữ, Ngữ pháp phổ quát cho
Confirm that the biến, đơn giản, dễ học rằng con người sinh ra đã có
error fit in with your
được coi là “unmarked” một bộ nguyên tắc ngữ pháp
prediction. bẩm sinh chung cho tất cả
các ngôn ngữ.
Người Việt thường
cấu trúc (trong tiếng anh: English makes a She don’t like it (SVO) word order is common
quên thêm “s/es”tính
khi từ đứng trước danh distinction between and unmarked across many
chia động từ ở tiếng
từ, tiếng TBN ngược lại, voiced and voiceless languages,
anh do ảnh hưởng người
của TBN thường dựa sounds (e.g., /b/ vs.
ngôn ngữ mẹ để vào cấu trúc của họ để /p/), while some
tạo cụm từ languages do not

2. WEAK VERSION: ít dự đoán lỗi trước khi chúng xảy ra mà tập trung vào
việc hiểu và giải thích lỗi sau khi chúng xảy ra.
is less about predicting errors before they occur and more about understanding and
explaining errors after they happen. It relies on observing learner data to identify
patterns of errors, often considering various theoretical frameworks:
a. Error Analysis
- Explanation: Instead of predicting errors in advance, error analysis
focuses on empirical evidence, analyzing the types of mistakes
learners actually make.
- Example: If learners frequently omit articles in English (“I saw cat”), error
analysis can reveal that this might stem from interference in L1 or
developmental stages within L2 learning.
b. Interlanguage Theory (Larry Selinker): giống strong version
c. Markedness Theory: giống strong version
d. Cognitive Linguistics & Transfer Theory: ngôn ngữ học nhận thức
- Explanation: Cognitive linguistics focuses on how language relates to
the mind and conceptualization, while transfer theory examines how
knowledge from L1 affects L2. Together, these theories explain how
learners transfer cognitive and linguistic patterns from L1 to L2.
- Example: A learner might transfer their conceptual understanding of
tense from L1 to L2. A Spanish learner may say “I have 20 years” instead
of “I am 20 years old” because in Spanish, age is expressed with “tener”
(to have).
e. Sociolinguistic Factors
- Explanation: Sociolinguistic factors consider how social context,
language status, cultural norms, and learner attitudes impact
language acquisition. Learners’ social environments and exposure to
L2 affect their errors and usage patterns.
- Example: A learner might use overly formal or direct phrases in L2 if
those are norms in their L1 culture, leading to pragmatically
inappropriate expressions in L2.
f. Communicative Competence & Pragmatic Theory
- Explanation: Communicative competence refers to a learner's ability to
use language appropriately in social contexts, including grammatical,
sociolinguistic, and strategic competence. Pragmatic theory focuses on
the use of language in context and the meaning conveyed in interactions.
- Example: A learner might say “Can you pass me the salt?” to mean
“Please pass the salt,” as direct requests are common in their L1. This
reflects a pragmatic error influenced by sociocultural norms, not
necessarily structural errors.
DRAFT DIFFERENCE BTW STRONG AND WEAK
Aspect Strong Version of CA Weak Version of CA
To describe, analyze, and understand
To predict potential errors learners may
actual errors learners make after they
Aim make due to differences between L1
occur, focusing on understanding error
and L2 structures.
sources and learning patterns.
Key Theories
Behaviorist Theory: Errors arise as Error
L1 Analysis: Observing and
habits interfere with L2 learning, categorizing actual learner errors
requiring learners to replace old habits
reveals patterns and sources, informing
with new ones. L2 instruction without relying on
Structural Linguistics: Languagepredictions.
is
analyzed through its structure (syntax,
Interlanguage Theory (Selinker)
morphology, phonology), so L1-L2 Learners’ errors reflect an evolving
 Aspect Strong Version of CA Weak Version of CA
interlanguage system, with both L1
influence and developmental L2
structures.
Markedness Theory: Errors occur
more frequently with marked (less
structural comparisons reveal potential
common, complex) structures absent in
learning difficulties.
L1.
Error Analysis: Systematic study of
Cognitive Linguistics & Transfer
predicted errors allows teachers to
Theory: Learners transfer cognitive and
address specific L1-based errors.
linguistic patterns from L1 to L2,
Interlanguage Theory (Selinker)
impacting L2 learning.
Learners develop a unique
Sociolinguistic Factors: Cultural and
interlanguage, an evolving system
social contexts of learners influence L2
influenced by both L1 and L2 that
error patterns, as language is used
reflects transitional stages of L2
within social settings.
proficiency.
Communicative Competence &
Pragmatic Theory: Errors can also
arise from learners’ attempts to use
language appropriately in social and
pragmatic contexts.
Used for designing instructional Used to create diagnostic tools and
materials targeting predicted develop strategies based on observed
Application
difficulties, especially in areas of L1-L2
errors to support individualized learning.
contrast (e.g., pronunciation drills for
Focuses on observed interlingual and
sounds absent in L1). intralingual errors.
 WEEK 3: CONTRASTIVE PHONETICS,
CONTRASTIVE PHONOLOGY
Outline: Contrastive phonetics, Contrastive phonology
1. Contrastive phonetics: debcribe how sounds are created
a. Articulatory Phonetics: the way humans plan and execute movements to
produce speech
Language universals = Articulatory system
Location System
HEAD Articulatory
THROAT Phonatory
CHEST Respiratory
Respiratory system: The creation of airstream – ingressive and engressive
Phonatory sys: voices, vocal fold, vibrate -> voiced sounds,
Articulatory sys: tongue, teeth, soft palate
 Produce sounds
Vn: 21 consonants both finals and initials
English: 24 consonants, more cons than VN
Similarity: sounds are similiar – t, v, z, w, l,
Different sounds: b implosive – b plosive in english, t h (thanh – thank), d, tc
(ch) , n – nh, g (y) – girl gà, k
b. Acoustic phonetics: how sounds are transmittted through the air
No intervention => silent
Amplitude: highest , loudness of the sound you can hear, low=>softer
Measure number of sound waves
High pitch: low oxilation
Low pitch: high oxcilation
Ffrequency -> pitch
Amplitude of vibration -> loudness
By changing the pitch we produce, the meaning is different => distinctive
feature in VN
THE CHANGE of pitch lead to change of tones and intonnation
- Primary role of pitch in english: convey intonation, particularly stress
Pitch primarily affects intonation without changing words meaning
Ex: you are coming? – question
You are coming. – statement => The same meaning
- Primary function of pitch in VN: distinguish word meanings due to its
tonal nature
Ex: ma – mả - má – mạ
VN have 6 tones: high rising (sắc), low rising (huyền), mid-level, high rising
broken (ngã), low dropping broken (nặng), low falling,
Amplitute does not change word meanings in VN, its function is to convey
emotional emphasis
Vnese speakers may increase amplitude to ensure tones are more audible in
noisy settings.
Vn speakers are sensitive in changes of the pitches as it can lead to different
meanings of words. Meanwhile, english speakers are less sensitive and rely
more on intonation for the whole sentence
Intonation roles in english: Emotion, Grammatical function in english
1. What is the primary role of pitch in English, and how does it affect the
meaning of a sentence? 2. How does English use pitch for intonation
patterns, and what kinds of information does it convey? 3. How does
amplitude contribute to emphasis in English? Can changes in loudness
alter the meaning of a sentence? 4. In English, can changes in
amplitude alone change the meaning of a word or sentence, or does it
mainly serve a pragmatic function? 5. How does English handle word
stress, and what role do pitch and amplitude play in signaling stressed
syllables?
2. What is the primary function of pitch in Vietnamese, and how does it
differ from its function in English? 2. How many tones does Vietnamese
have, and how are they distinguished by pitch? How does this affect word
meanings? 3. Can Vietnamese speakers use amplitude to change the
meaning of a word? If not, what is its primary role in Vietnamese? 4. How
might Vietnamese speakers use amplitude to enhance the clarity of tones
in noisy environments? How do Vietnamese speakers perceive pitch
changes compared to English speakers, given the tonal nature of
Vietnamese?
 2. Contrastive phonology:
- Phonology: how sounds are arranged to form meaningful units +
the function(s) each sound performs.
- Contrastive Phonology: -A set of sounds the language selects to use &
their features-The rules = specify how sounds interact with each
2 CONCEPTS:
a. PHONEMIC ASYMMETRIES: dont have equal distribution
- Def: an imbalance or lack of a one-to-one correspondence in the
phonemic inventory or phonological system of a languag
5 Types:
 Asymmetry in phonemic inventory (SỰ BẤT ĐỐI XỨNG TRONG
NGỮ ÂM): This type occurs when a language has some sounds
(phonemes) that are not paired with their logical counterpart in the
inventory. (đôi âm vị)
/f/, /v/: symmetry
Have /f/ but not /v/ => asymmetry
Ex: /f/ and /v/: In some languages, both /f/ (voiceless) and /v/ (voiced) exist,
which creates a symmetry. However, if a language has /f/ but lacks /v/, this
creates an asymmetry because the voiceless sound is not complemented by its
voiced counterpart.
Vietnamese, for instance, has /f/ but not /v/, leading to such asymmetry.
 Asymmetry in voicing (BẤT ĐỐI XỨNG TRONG PHÁT ÂM): Refers
to the unequal presence of voiced and voiceless phonemes in the
phonemic system.
Ex: Some languages might lack voiced stops like /b/, /d/, /g/ but have voiceless
stops like /p/, /t/, /k/. This causes an imbalance.
 Positional Asymmetry (BẤT ĐỐI XỨNG VỊ TRÍ): Certain phonemes
can only occur in specific positions within a word, creating a limitation in
their distribution. (một số âm vị nhất định chỉ xuất hiện ở những vị trí cụ
thể của từ)
Ex: In Vietnamese, "ng" (as in "người") can appear at the beginning of words,
while in English, it is restricted to final positions (e.g., "ring"). This creates a
positional asymmetry in how phonemes are used.
 Asymmetry in phonotactic constraints (SỰ BẤT ĐỐI XỨNG
TRONG CÁC RÀNG BUỘC VỀ ÂM VỊ) : how we group sounds to make
meanings (restriction)
In Vietnamese, "ng" is highly flexible and can occur in both initial and final
positions.
English Accept most of consonants as initials except “ng”
 Asymmetry in phoneme frequencies: Occurs when certain types of
phonemes (e.g., vowels or consonants) appear far more frequently than
others, creating an imbalance in usage. (một số nguyên âm hoặc
phụ âm xuất hiện thường xuyên hơn các nguyên âm hoặc phụ
âm khác)
Ex: English has a larger proportion of consonants compared to vowels, leading
to asymmetries in the distribution and frequency of these phonemes.
b. FUNCTIONAL LOADS: TẢI TRỌNG CHỨC NĂNG
- The importance or role of specific phonological contrasts in distinguishing
meaning within a language (xem xét mức độ tương phản âm vị có ý nghĩa
như thế nào trong việc phân biệt ý nghĩa trong một ngôn ngữ)
- 6 Types:
 Voicing contrasts: Refers to the distinction between voiced and
voiceless sounds that help differentiate words.
vibration if vocal folds, create minimal pairs, high functional load in
english
Voiced: The vocal cords vibrate (e.g., /b/, /d/, /g/).
Voiceless: The vocal cords do not vibrate (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/).
Ex: English: pat /pæt/ vs. bat /bæt/ (the voicing of /p/ and /b/ creates a
difference in meaning). Tap – tab
Vietnamese: This contrast is less significant because Vietnamese does not
rely heavily on voicing to distinguish words.
 Aspiration contrasts (TƯƠNG PHẢN VỀ SỰ BẬT HƠI) : Burst of
air differentiate meanings:
English: does not affect meaning, low functional load
 Aspirated sounds: Accompanied by a puff of air (e.g., /pʰ/, /tʰ/, /kʰ/).
Unaspirated sounds: Lack this puff of air.
Ex: English: pin [pʰɪn] vs. spin [spɪn] (the /p/ in "pin" is aspirated, but not in
"spin").
Vietnamese: Aspiration is not phonemic, so /p/ and /pʰ/ do not change
word meanings.
 Tone contrasts: In tonal languages, pitch differences on the same
syllable can create entirely different meanings.
Ex: Vietnamese: ma (ghost, neutral tone), má (mother, rising tone), mà (but,
falling tone), mạ (rice seedling, low tone with underdot)
English: Does not use tones to distinguish meaning. Pitch changes only
indicate emotions or questions (e.g., "You’re going?" vs. "You’re going.").
 Length (duration) contrasts: Some languages distinguish
meaning based on the duration of vowels or consonants (short vs.
long sounds).
Ex: Japanese: obasan (aunt) vs. obaasan (grandmother) => Lengthening the
vowel changes the meaning entirely.
Vietnamese: Does not use vowel or consonant length to create meaning
differences.
 Place of articulation contrasts: The location where a sound is
produced in the vocal tract (e.g., bilabial, alveolar, velar) can
distinguish words => if the features create diff meaning =>
high functional load
Ex: English: pat /pæt/ (bilabial /p/) vs. cat /kæt/ (velar /k/).
Vietnamese: ba (three) vs. ca (to sing): The distinction between bilabial /b/ and
velar /k/.
 English has high functional load as it has lots of place of articulation
(bilabial, dental,...)
 Nasalization contrasts: The presence or absence of nasal
resonance during vowel production can differentiate meanings in
some languages.
Ex: French: beau /bo/ (beautiful, oral vowel) vs. bon /bõ/ (good, nasalized
vowel).
Vietnamese: Nasalization is not phonemic and does not create meaning
differences.
NOTES: A contrast has a high functional load when:
- It differentiates a large number of words.
For example, if removing the contrast results in widespread confusion or
many words becoming homophones.
 - It is used frequently in everyday communication

QUESTIONS:
1. How does the voicing contrast between English and Vietnamese
(Hanoi) consonants impact pronunciation?
English contrasts voicing in many pairs (e.g., /p/ vs. /b/, /t/ vs. /d/), which is
crucial for distinguishing words. Vietnamese, on the other hand, does not use
voicing as a distinctive feature to the same extent, relying more on tones. This
contrast affects Vietnamese speakers learning English, as they may struggle to
differentiate or pronounce English voiced and voiceless pairs accurately.
Asymmetry and Functional loads
1. Phonemic asymmetry refers to:
A. The presence of an equal number of consonants and vowels in a language
B. The lack of one-to-one correspondence or balance in the phonemic
inventory of a language
C. The even distribution of allophones in a phoneme
D. The use of tones instead of intonation in a language
2. Which of the following is an example of phonemic asymmetry?
A. English having both /p/ and /b/ sounds
B. Spanish lacking a contrast between /θ/ and /s/
C. Japanese having both voiceless and voiced stops
D. German having an equal number of consonants and vowels
3. A phonemic contrast with high functional load in a language
means:
A. It is essential for distinguishing a large number of words in that
language
B. It only occurs in specific dialects
C. It is used mainly for emphasis or emotion
D. It is rarely used and can be easily omitted
 4. In English, the distinction between /p/ and /b/ has a high functional load
because:
A. It only appears in final syllables
B. Many words depend on the voicing contrast to have different
meanings
C. It affects only the intonation of sentences
D. The sounds are always aspirated in all positions
5. Which of the following phonemic contrasts has a low functional
load in English?
A. /p/ vs. /b/
B. /θ/ vs. /ð/ father v
C. /t/ vs. /d/
D. /s/ vs. /z/
Minimal pairs involving /θ/ and /ð/ are rare in English. An example would be
"thy" (/ðaɪ/) vs. "thigh" (/θaɪ/), but such pairs are uncommon. These pairs are
rare, meaning the loss of the /θ/ vs. /ð/ distinction would cause minimal
confusion.
6. What might happen to a phonemic contrast with a low functional
load over time?
A. It becomes increasingly important for distinguishing words
B. It is likely to merge or disappear, as it has little impact on
intelligibility
C. It will replace other phonemes in the language
D. It only appears in formal speech
7. A language with phonemic asymmetry in its vowel inventory would
likely:
A. Have more vowels than consonants
B. Lack certain vowel contrasts or distribute vowels unevenly
C. Use the same vowel sounds in all syllable positions
D. Only have rounded vowels
8. Which of the following describes a high functional load for voicing
contrasts?
A. A language that only has voiceless consonants
B. A language where voicing is essential for differentiating many
minimal pairs
C. A language where voicing only appears in vowels
D. A language that does not distinguish between voiced and voiceless sounds
9. Which of the following is a likely outcome of phonemic asymmetry in
a language?
A. Speakers frequently make errors distinguishing similar sounds in
other languages
B. The language has equal numbers of vowels and consonants
C. All sounds are used interchangeably in all positions
D. There are no minimal pairs in the language
10. Which of the following could be considered an example of
phonemic asymmetry in English?
A. The presence of both aspirated and unaspirated stops
B. The absence of a uvular fricative sound like /ʁ/
C. The use of pitch for emphasis
D. The frequent use of the schwa sound /ə/
11. A minimal pair like "bat" vs. "pat" shows that:
A. Voicing has a high functional load in English
B. Aspiration is phonemic in English
C. Length is more important than place of articulation
D. Only nasal sounds affect word meaning in English
12. If a phonemic contrast has a low functional load in a language, it
means that:
A. Removing it would likely lead to significant misunderstandings
B. It is not commonly used to distinguish words
C. It only appears in initial word positions
D. It is required for tonal distinctions
13. Why might phonemic asymmetry affect language learning?
A. Learners might substitute, omit, or ignore sounds that do not exist
in their native language
B. Asymmetry leads to higher proficiency in other languages
C. Learners will produce all sounds with equal accuracy
D. Asymmetry results in no interference between languages
14. In a language where nasalization has a high functional load, what is
likely true?
A. Nasalization is only used to indicate stress
B. Words with nasalized vowels differ in meaning from words with oral vowels
C. Nasalization does not change meaning and only expresses emotion
D. Nasalization occurs only at the end of words
15. Which of the following languages has a high functional load for tone
contrasts?
A. English
B. Spanish
C. Vietnamese
D. French
16. In phonology, functional load measures:
A. How important a phonemic contrast is for distinguishing word
meanings
B. The frequency of a phoneme in spoken language
C. The loudness of a sound in speech production
D. The pitch variation in intonational languages
17. In a language where aspiration has a low functional load, it means:
A. Aspiration distinguishes many words from each other
B. Aspiration is rarely used and does not alter word meaning
C. Aspiration appears in all phonemes
D. Aspiration is necessary for tonal differences
W5: GRAMMATICAL CA (ENGLISH VIETNAMESE)
SCHEDULE
The theory of GCA
The concept of grammar W8
The CA of grammatical category

The CA of syntactic function

The CA of sentences W9
The CA of phrases
Prescriptive
Descriptive
Traditional
6 types of grammar Intermediate constitutuent grammar
Transformational : draw tree diagram
Functional grammar: ideational function, interpersonal
function, textual
Form words = functional words
Grammatical categories: features of V
- Tense, case, aspect, mood (interrogative-nghi vấn, imperative –mệnh lệnh,
explamatory-cảm thán, nominative – chỉ định)
- person, number, gender, voice -> N features
 Theses are features of V as through the V in the sentence, we can
identify tense aspect, voice,...
Syntax: types of sentences
- Semantic criterion;
- Syntatic criterion

I. The theory of GCA

1. Contrastive linguistics is a branch of linguistics which studies two or
more languages synchronically, with the aim of discovering their
differences and similarities (especially the former) and applying these
findings to related areas of language study or practice.
Contrastive linguistics = Contrastive Analysis (CA) = Contrastive studies (Ke,
P., 2019)
2. Contrastive grammar is a branch of contrastive linguistics.
A contrastive grammar of two languages may be defined as an attempt to
systematically compare the grammars of these languages.
Ideally, such a comparison must meet at least 3 criteria:
(i).It should involve all levels of linguistic organization;
- deal with 5 levels: phonological level, morphological level, syntatic level,
semantic level, pragmatic level (the use of lang in the right context)
 Phonological Level (Sound System) Focuses on how sounds are
organized and used in a language. It studies phonemes (distinctive sounds),
stress, intonation, and rhythm.
Example:
English: The plural "-s" is pronounced differently depending on the final sound
of the root word (e.g., cats /s/, dogs /z/, buses /ɪz/). Vietnamese: is a tonal
language; a word like ma can mean “ghost,” “rice seedling,” or other meanings
depending on the tone used.
 Morphology (word formation): How words are built from roots and
affixes.
Example: In English, plural nouns are marked by adding “-s” (e.g., cats), but
Vietnamese does not mark plural nouns morphologically (e.g., con mèo can
mean both cat and cats).
(ii).It should be bidirectional: PAY EQUAL ATTENTION TO BOTH
LANGUAGES (so sánh đều nhau dựa trên các point) Analyze challenges for both
English and Vietnamese speakers.
Example: English speakers learning Vietnamese might struggle with tones
because English does not have tonal distinctions. Vietnamese speakers
learning English: They might find it challenging to master consonant clusters
like in strengths because such clusters are absent in Vietnamese.
(iii). It should be nonselective. CONSIDER BOTH SIMILARITIES AND
DIFFERENCES. The comparison should include all relevant features, not just
those the researcher finds interesting or important. Ignoring certain features
could lead to an incomplete or biased analysis.
Example: If a researcher only focuses on syntax (sentence structure) when
comparing English and Vietnamese, they might miss key phonological
differences (e.g., tones vs. stress) or morphological differences (e.g., lack of
verb conjugation in Vietnamese).
3. THE IMPORTANCE OF GCA
Why GCA? Errors are unavoidable.
Two main reasons for errors/problems in translating and interpreting
one lang into another.
1. Lack of grammatical knowledge about source and target languages (e.g.:
unable to notice the contrast in tenses, aspects, and adjuncts; unable to
translate voice correctly, etc.);
2. Lack of cultural knowledge about source and target languages.
GCA helps
- identify the similarities and differences between 2 languages;
- solve the linguistic, socio-cultural problems.
II. The concept of Grammar
- Grammar refers to the set of rules that allow people to combine words in
their language into larger units.
- Grammar helps people communicate with each other.
Grammar and other aspects of language (Greenbaum & Nelson, 2002)

1. The concept of grammar

- The term grammar has at least two quite distinct applications, yielding a
general sense and a specific one.
a. The general sense: (Ke, P., 2019)
- covers all aspects of sentence patterning, as proposed by Noam
Chomsky (based on Crystal, 1987, p.88).
 - In Transformational grammar, grammar is defined as a mechanism that
generates all and only grammatical sentences of a language.
* mechanism = a set of rules
Grammar includes Syntax, Phonology, Semantics

b. The specific sense

-
The specific sense refers to the description of the morphological structure
of a language and the way in which linguistic units such as words and
phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language.
-> Grammar is presented as just one branch of the overall structure of
language, distinct form phonology and semantics.
* Internal structure (meaning): semantic str of a word, how many meanings
of a words, how many senses or interpretations a word has. This relates to a
word’s polysemy (multiple meanings).
In Vietnamese: The word đường can mean:
A street or road (đường phố).
Sugar (đường mía).
A path or way (đường đi).
* External structure (form (morphology): Describes how a word is formed
by combining roots, prefixes, suffixes, and other morphemes.
 Example: Unbelievable
Prefix: un- (negation)
Root: believe (core meaning)
Suffix: -able (ability)
NOTES:
- The specific sense refers to the description of the morphological structure
of a language.
- In the framework of traditional linguistics:
+ Grammar includes morphology (A branch of grammar that deals with the
structure of words, particularly how they are formed from morphemes).
* Derivational morphology: to be done in LCA (Language Components
Analysis)
* Inflectional morphology: the change of word form by inflectional
morphemes, to be discussed in GCA.
Inflectional morphology studies inflectional morphemes which
- provide grammatical information;
- build up new forms of the same words and dont change part of
speech;
- do not change the lexical category of words.
E.g.: taller (a.), invited (v.)
8 inflectional morphemes

Nouns
1 PLURAL -s dogs/ cats/roses

POSSESSIVE -’s Mary’s book/the student’s book

Verbs

3rd-PERSON SINGULAR -s She likes music./He walks

slowly.

PAST TENSE -ed He wanted a good job.

PROGRESSIVE -ing They are running.

PAST PARTICIPLE -ed/-enHe has arrived.

I have just spoken.

Adjectives
 COMPARATIVE -er faster/smarter/bigger

SUPERLATIVE -est fastest/smartest/biggest

2. The CA of Inflectional Morphology

a. The function of inflectional morphemes is to convey grammatical
information.
b. The CA on the level of inflectional morphology is largely a matter of
contrasting the morphological and lexical devices among different
languages in order to transmit grammatical meanings.
Lexical items: words or phrases
Words: apple, go, fast
Phrases: on the table, in a hurry
Lexical Devices: the way to which lexical items can convey certain meaning,
this involves the choice and arrangement of words or phrases to convey
meaning, create emphasis
Example 1 (Plurality):
English: Plural is mostly marked morphologically (apple → apples).
Vietnamese: Uses a lexical device with a quantifier (một quả táo → nhiều quả
táo = "one apple" → "many apples").
Morphological Devices: Different elements exist in a word, changes within
words that express grammatical meanings.
Example 1:
Past tense: walk → walked (suffix).
Plural: man → men (internal vowel change).
c. The morphological and lexical devices are known as grammatical
categories.
=> Lexical devices + morphological devices are called grammatical
categories
3. Grammatical categories
- Grammatical categories may be defined as classes or groups of items
(including morphemes and lexical items) which fulfill the same or similar
grammatical functions in a particular language.
 - Grammatical categories are sometimes known as inflectional
categories in inflectional languages (Latin, Greek, German, French, and
English).
- Grammatical categories include number, person, gender, case, tense,
aspect, voice, and mood.
a. Number
In English In Vietnamese
Number distinguishes nouns, verbs, adjectives, - Use of quantifiers/numerals:
etc. according to whether they are singular orCardinals:
plural, and countable or uncountable. + Definite numbers: một, hai, ba, mỗi,…
- Singular form = unmarked form (k được đánh + Indefinite numbers: dăm, một vài, năm
dấu, nhấn mạnh) bảy, nhiều, mọi, …
- Plural form = marked form (use of morphemes  Ordinals:
-s/-es) + thứ + a number: người thứ nhất, phòng thứ
e.g. : flowers, quizzes, etc. ba, tháng (thứ) 3…
- Plural markers in English are non-productive:+ a nucleus noun + a definite number: gác 2
 Change in internal vowels: foot – feet;goose phòng
– 4, …
geese Notes:
 Use of the archaic inflectional morphemes - - Cardinals + a unit N. + N
(e)n: ox – oxen, child – children (animals/plants/material): 3 cốc nước, 5 cân
 Identical form between singular and plural gạo, …
forms: sheep,deer, trout
 Two plural forms of borrowed nouns:
memorandum – memoranda/memorandums
 Compare the number in english and VN
- Number in english is expressed grammatically by using inflectional
morphemes
- Number in vn lexically is expressed by the use of certain words
b. Person (Ngôi)
In Engligh
 Person marks pronouns and, in most languages, corresponding verb forms,
according to
- whether the pronoun represents or includes the person or persons actually
speaking or writing (first person): I am happy
- whether the pronoun represents or includes the person or persons being
addressed (second person): You are kind
 - and whether the pronoun represents someone or something other than the
speaker/ writer or the listener/ reader (third person): She likes coffee
Person can be expressed:
- by the inflected forms of pronouns (I/we/mine/his/herself, themselves,
etc.);
- by the -s inflection on the verb at present tense (used with 3rd singular
personal pronouns); - in the verb TO BE at present tense (am/is/are/was/were).
In Vietnamese
 Person inVietnamese marks no changes in the form of the words in
sentences.
In English: In Vietnamese:
I do the homework. Tôi làm bài tập.
You do the homework. Bạn/Các bạn/Cậu làm bài tập. (*)
She does the homework. Cô ấy làm bài tập.
S in english could be guessed through tense.
c. Gender: musculine, feminine, neuter
- Gender is the grammatical category of a noun. Each language has its own
rules of distinguishing gender. Nouns belonging to different genders will
have different forms and in any gender form, the noun always preserves its
own gender.
- Gender, in some languages, is a grammatical distinction in which words
such as nouns, articles, adjectives, and pronouns are marked according to a
distinction between masculine, feminine, and sometimes neuter.
=> NOTHING TO COMPARE
In modern English: - there is no grammatical gender; there is only
pronominal concord.
* The CA of Gender (English & Vietnamese)
In English
E.g.: wife - husband; man-teacher - woman-teacher; tiger - tigress
- Several ways to show gender: - Use different words, Use morpheme
combination
=> Effect on verb form
In Vietnamese
E.g.: vợ – chồng; thầy giáo – cô giáo; anh – chị
- Use of different words to show gender
- Effect on forms of verb/surrounding words
d. Case: shows the grammatical functions of a noun or noun phrase (agency,
possession, naming, location, motion towards or from, etc.) in a sentence.
- Common types of case in English:
1. Nominative case (Subjective case) danh cách
2. Objective case: tân cách
3. Genitive case (Possessive case) sở hữu cách
=> Subjective case in English affects the form of the verb.
=> Case inVietnamese does not affect the form of the surrounding
words.
=> NOTHING TO COMPARE
The CA of Case (English & Vietnamese)
1. That lady has a son. 1. Người phụ nữ đó có một cậu con
2. I took that lady home last night. trai.
3. That lady’s husband has died. The 2. Tối qua tôi đã đưa người phụ nữ đó
husband of that lady has died. về nhà.
3. Chồng của người phụ nữ đó đã mất.
NOTES: Case can be ommited
Nhà tôi (spouse or husband) Nhà của tôi (the place where I
live)
e. Tense
In English
- Tense derived from the Latin word ‘tempus’ which is used to express the
time of an action. (Valeika & Buitkienė, 2003)
- Tense indicates the relationship between the form of a verb and the time of
the action or state it describes.
- In other words, tense shows:
 the relationship between the action and the moment of speaking:
He met me yesterday.
  the relationship between the different actions within one sentence/
utterance:
She said she would come to my party yesterday.
f. Aspect
in English
- Aspect indicates how the event described by a verb is viewed, such as
whether the action happens once or repeatedly, is completed or still
continuing.
- 4 aspects: the indefinite, the progressive, the perfect,and the perfect
progressive.
The CA of Aspect (English & Vietnamese)
English Vietnamese
1. The girl visited me last week. 1. Hôm qua, tớ (đã) đọc xong cuốn tiểu
2. She has read this novel. thuyết đó.
3. I will read this novel when I have 2. Sáng nay, tớ đọc tiểu thuyết này.
free time. 3. Mai, anh tôi sẽ đến đây.
g. Voice in English
- Voice expresses the relationship between a verb and the noun phrase(s)
which is/are associated with it. (Ke, P., 2019)
- 2 typical types: the active; and the passive.
E.g.:
1. He cleans the floor every day.
2. The floor is cleaned every day.
h. Mood
In English
- Mood expresses the speaker’s or writer’s attitude towards what is said or
written. (Ke, P., 2019)
- Types: Indicative mood, Interrogative mood, Imperative mood, Exclamatory
mood, Subjunctive mood
- Mood in English is expressed through the verb form.
InVietnamese
- Mood inVietnamese is not as expressive as that in English.
MOST FOCUS: NUMBER, TENSE, ASPECT
Mood in vietnamese is not as impressive as english
Bi, duoc negative meaning, express through main verb
COMPARE:
Similarity Let’s go tomorrow Mai toi gap anh ay:
Tense: future future
Grammatically lexically
Main V Let Gap (inflected form)
go-object complement,
modifies Subject

Form of V Inflected Inflected

Mean of expresing the adjunct of time (tomorrow)
adjunct of time
tense
WEEK 6:
The CA of syntactic function
The CA of sentences W9
The CA of phrases
I. THE CA OF SYNTACTIC FUNCTION
ENGLISH VIETNAMESE
(1)Direct Object: to ge (to infinitive) (1)Sub
(2)Predicative: follow link V (tobe) (2)Direct Obj ???
(3)Attributive (3)Predicate could be a clause (has S
(4)Obj complement and O)
(5)Indirect Object In Vn, Predicate is expressed through
(6)Attribute a clause
(7)Attribute (4)Direct Obj
(8)Subject (5)Ngan: attribute, followed the N
(9)Sub (6)Indirect obj, used the term
(10)Prepositional Obj complement
(11)Adjunct of time (7)Predicate
(12)Predicate of attributive clause (8)Adjunct of time

1. THE SUBJECT: is whoever or whatever is doing the action of the

verb, and it is usually a noun or a pronoun.
a. In English
- Mean of expression: words, phrases, clauses
Books are good for people.
By a phrase: Those books are good for people.
By a clause: That I love him is unknown.
- Position: front, mid, end
Sad was she when she received the bad news.
End-position: In the room is his dog
b. In Vnese: introduce the topic of the sentence (Diep Quang Ban,
2019)
- Mean of expression: words, phrases, clauses, idiom, Tu.....den => have
more way of expressing V
a. By a word (noun,personal pronoun, adjective, numeral, etc): Nắng
đẹp thật.
b. By a phrase (NP, PP):Cái màu xanh đó gợi bao nhớ thương.
c. By a clause: Cô ấy đến làm tôi vui.
d. By [từ… đến..]: Từ nhà tớ đến nhà cậu hết 10 phút đi bộ.
 e. By idioms: Im lặng là vàng không đúng ở mọi trường hợp trong
cuộc sống
- Position: front, mid, end
Mưa rơi!
Rơi hết sách tao rồi!
Cháy nhà!
2. PREDICATE:
In English: is what is‘predicated’ (or said to be true) about the
subject.
(Le Huy Truong, et al., 2015)
- Mean of expression in English: word,
phrase: It is raining/ I wonder why he didn’t come here last night =>
limited
In VN: The predicate of a sentence is considered the main part of the
sentence as it ‘develops’ the subject
- Mean of expression in Vietnamese: word, phrase, là, bằng, numeral (15 m),
idiom => numerous
By a word:Chim bay.
By a phrase:Mấy con chim ríu rít gọi nhau trên cành cây.
By a clause: Cái chợ này hàng hóa đa dạng lắm!
By the structure with là/bằng: Cái chảo này bằng gang.
By [numeral + N]: Sợi dây này 15 mét.
By idioms: Hắn ta bắt cá hai tay.
 FOCUS ON MEAN OF EXPRESSION
3. COMPLEMENT
3.1. In English: Complement is an element giving further information
about the subject or the object of the sentence. (Le HuyTruong, et al.,
2015)
- 2 types (O and S complement)
- Mean of expression:
o Word: I will let her go
o Phrase: She is very smart
o Clause: The question is when he come
3.2. In Vietnamese
3.2.1. Nguyen Van Hiep’s viewpoint, 2014
a. Definition: complement is the main part of the sentence
b. Classification:
- On the ground of types of V preceding the complement, 2 types
of complement:
 Complement overlaps the object in S-V-O structure(if it is a Proto typical
transitive V): Proto typical transitive V: ngoại động từ thực thụ, always
need an Ob
chị ấy nhuộm tóc
 Complement denotes location or destination (Chúng tôi vào nhà.);
attitude or emotion (Thằng bé sợ ma.) (if V is a less prototypical transitive
verb)
Less Proto transitive V: Ngoại động từ kém thực thụ, không đi kèm Obj
- On the ground of inclusion of a preposition in a sentence:
 Direct com: Toi tang cai dong ho cho bo
 Indirect complement: Toi tang cai dong ho cho bo
 Complement in the criterion is unclear sometimes: Tôi tặng
bố cái đồng hồ
- On the ground of formation:
 Complement expressed by a word: Bo phim rat hay
 Complement expressed by a phrase: Gio thoi rat manh ->
complement
 Complement expressed by a phrase: Toi viet ban nhac hay
3.2.2. Diep Quang Ban’s viewpoint
a. Definition: Complement is a syntactic constituent that modifies a verb
(or an adjective) in the sentence
b. Classification:
- On the ground of the syntactic conponent affected by a verb
Toi hoc Toan
- On the ground of the component that syntactically function as a
subject
(bep) day do an
(Cây cam) chín nhiều quả
- On the ground of the context in which the complement occurs:
Con ngựa chết khát.
Bức tranh vẽ bằng giấy gió
3.2.3. Le Thanh Huong, Do Ba Lam’s viewpoint
a. Definition: Complement has some functions in the sentence
b. Classification:
- A complement desscribes the degree of the word it modifies
Anh ta rat hao hung luyen tap bong chuyen moi ngay
V Comp
- A complement shows its relationship
Toi mua nha – direct complement cho co ay –ind compl
Cậu bé đang ăn bánh mỳ
 Vietnamese complements modify V, adj
- A descriptive complement following a verb or an adjective often
expresses the manner, place, quality, etc
Gió thổi mạnh.
Nhiều cây cao lút đầu đã che tầm mắt của chúng tôi.
- When it comes to compare CA of complement between English and
Vietnamese: we will consider to compare Function, Classification, Means
of expression
4. OBJECT
4.1. In English:
a. Definition: Objects in English refer to the person or thing toward
which the subject directs the process spoken of in the verb. It
denotes the receiver of the action in an active sentence
b. Classification:
Ind: He gave me
Direct: He gave me a nice present
Prepositional: He is waiting for his girlfriend outside.
c. Means of expression: (by a word/a phrase/a clause)
4.2. In VN: controversy over the concept “obj”
a. Nguyen Van Hiep treats the obj as complement
- Direct complement: Nó đang học bài.
- Indirect complement: Tớ tặng một căn biệt thự cho cô ấy.
b. Doan Thien Thuat (2 types)
- Direct: Chúng tôi học ngoại ngữ
- Indirect: con vay tiền của anh ấy
IDO denotes the receiver of the action, partner, topic of discussion, etc.
Tôi nợ tiền của hắn ta.
Nó muốn đi chơi với lớp chúng tôi.
Chúng tớ đang nói chuyện về những người sợ ma
5. ATTRIBUTE
5.1. IN ENG:
a. Function: modify N/NP
b. Position: precede or follow the N/NP, always after the n when attribute is
expresses by a clause.
c. Means of expression:
- By a word:She gave me a special thing after the class
- By a phrase: The way to conquer her heart is to buy a villa.
- By a clause:All the books I have given to you are hers.
5.2. IN VN:
5.2.1. Nguyen Van Hiep’s viewpoint:
 a. Definition: Attribute, the part of a sentence, usually precedes a noun or a noun
phrase and modifies the meaning of that noun or noun phrase. (Nguyen Van
Hiep
b. Classification:
- Based on the epistemic modality which focuses on one’s knowledge
Hẳn là cô ấy sinh ra trong một gia đình quyền quý.
Đáng lí ra, cậu nên nói luôn sự thật ngay từ đầu
 Dinh ngu dua tren tinh thai dinh ngu, su suy luan cua nguoi su dung ngon
ngu
- Based on the denotic modality which indicates social norms
Chi bằng chúng mình cưới nhau luôn đi.
Ai đời học hành tử tế vậy mà lại đi trộm cắp.
 Tinh thai dao nghia
- Based on syntactic formation:
Word attribute (có lẽ, chắc chắn, tất nhiên, etc.)
Phrase attribute (chẳng biết chừng, kiểu gì thì kiểu, nói của đáng tội, etc.)
5.2.2. Diep Quang Ban’s viewpoint
a. Definition: A subordinate part of the sentence which goes with a noun and
describes the feature of that noun
b. Classification
- Quantitative attribute (tất cả, hết thảy, cả, những, các, mấy, etc.)
Tất cả mọi người tập trung trên lớp sau 8 giờ nhé!
- Descriptive attribute
Trẻ em (ở) miền núi rất khỏe. Chẳng ai thích ăn đồ đông lạnh
Dinh ngu (tat ca, tat thay, co, nhung, cac, may,...)
Dinh ngu mo ta
5.3. ONE ATTRIBUTE IN AN ENG NP/ VN NP
A big class of students
A class of big students
Compare and contrast attribute in eng and vietnamese
In English In Vietnamese
A black Italian leather coat Mot chiec khoac da cua Y mau den

Function Similarity: Modify nouns

Differences: 2
Positio - attribute precede N - Follow N,
n
Means Adj, noun modifiers, relative Adj, relative clausea
of clauses
express
ion
Order - Fixed order, Determiner > - flexible order, Noun > Descriptive
and Adjective(s) > Noun words
role - the closest on the left has the
strongest meaning - the closest on the right has the
strongest meaning
Compare and contrast based on these point’s Position
Function
Mean of expression
Order and role of attributes on a
NP
6. ADJUNCT is a word, a phrase, or a clause which functions as an adverb
in the sentence.
6.1. In English:
a. Function: modify the maening of the main verb
b. Means of expression:
- By a word:I spoke softly to her.
- By a phrase: I spoke to her with a soft voice.
- By a clause: If you like her, you should talk to her about your
feelings.
c. Position: front for emphasis. Mid, end
d. 9 types of adverbial clauses:

6.2. IN VNESE
a. NGUYEN VAN HIEP’S VIEWPOINT:
- Base on the meaning: 8 types:
 time : hôm qua, tôi.
 manner: Bằng một giọng ấm áp
 reason: người ta kiện cáo nhau cũng chỉ vì ghen ăn tức ở
 purpose: để nó khỏi ngượng
 concession: tuy biết vậy, tôi vẫn đi
 agent emphasis (trạng ngữ nhấn mạnh tác thể): Chúng tôi thất bại bởi
nó
- based on formation: 2 types
 Marked adjuncts (trạng ngữ nhấn mạnh): ở trong lớp, giáo viên đang

giảng bài
=> Clear position, need to use preposition to denote the time
 Unmarked adjuncts: Bước chân tới nơi này, tôi như lạc vào xứ sở thần
tiên
 The same agent of action, adjunct is shortened
b. DIEP QUANG BAN’s viewpoint:
- Function: subordinate part of a sentence
- Position: front position (common); mid position; end position
- Classification: 7 types
 Adjunct of time: Hằng ngày, tôi phải đến bưu điện nhận thư cho ông tôi.
 Adjunct of place: Đằng xa, từng đoàn thuyền đánh cá nối đuôi nhau ra
khơi.
 Adjunct of situation: Trong điều kiện này, mỗi người nên phải biết cách
tự bảo vệ mình.
 Adjunct of reason: Vì họ, chúng tôi cố gắng nỗ lực hết mình.
 Adjunct of purpose: Để mọi việc suôn sẻ, con cần sắp xếp thời gian hợp
lý.
 Adjunct of condition: Nếu biết anh không đến, tôi đã ở nhà.
 Adjunct of concession: Tuy mệt nhưng tôi vẫn cố gắng hoàn thành công
việc theo đúng hạn.
THE CA BTW ENG AND VIETNAM
Function, position (Vn front, Eng mid and end), means of expression,
classification
III. THE CA OF PHRASES AND SENTENCES
1. PHRASE:
- A phrase, defined as a small group of words going together, generally
functions as one part of speech (e.g., as adjectives describing a noun, as
adverbs modifying a verb or perhaps an adjective, as nouns being the
subject or the object in a sentence) (Wilson & Barlow, 2020)
- A phrase is one of the five grammatical units of a language and is
considered a level of structure between a word and a clause.
- A phrase is the extension of a part of speech
1.1. NOUN PHRASE:
1.1.1. In English
a. Definition: NP consists of a N function as a head
b. Basic structure
PRE-MODIFIER can be part of speech HEAD POST MODIFIER
- HEAD (compulsory): a noun
- PRE-MODIFIER(optional): - Quantifiers- Determiners- Parts of speech
- POST-MODIFIER(optional):- a preposition- a PP- a relative claus
The girl who is talking to him is my sister
1.1.2. IN VNESE
a. Definition (Doan Thien Thuat): A noun phrase is a free combination
of a noun nucleus and at least one subordinate element (front
elements or end elements)
b. Basic structure:
FRONT ELEMENTS NUCLEUS END ELEMENTS
- NUCLEUS 2 elements
N1: classifier -> grammatical function: cái, con, bông
N2: object/person/phenomenon -> lexical function
 sometimes exist alone sometimes together
Notes: N1 and N2 are optional. con cá (này); --- cá (này); con--- (này)
- FRONT ELEMENTS: denote quantity
- END ELEMENTS: demonstratives (này, ấy, đó, etc.) - words/phrases
denoting quality/special features (sân sau, bàn bầu dục, etc.)
1.2. VERB PHRASES
1.2.1. In English
a. Definition: A verb phrase (VP) in English always contains a main verb
as a head with or without modifiers
b. Basic structure:
PRE-MODIFIER HEAD POST MODIFIER
- HEAD a main V
- PRE-MODIFIER: AUXILIARY 1 + AUXILIARY 2 + AUXILIARY 3 +
AUXILIARY 4
E.g.: The apple will have been being eaten by her
- POST-MODIFIER (optional): object/complement/adjunct
 (Greenbaum & Nelson, 2002)
1.2.2. In Vnese
a. Definition: defined as a group of words that contain a verb (a head or a
nucleus) and some other subordinate elements.
b. Basic structure:
FRONT ELEMENTS NUCLEUS END
ELEMENTS
- NUCLEUS
A verb:đã học bài
A series of verbs: đang nằm hát
A reciprocal verb group (nhóm động từ tương hỗ, chỉ hành động qua
lại): vừa đi Hải Phòng về/ chị em trong gia đình luôn yêu thương nhau
An idiom: nói thánh nói tướng mãi
- FRONT ELEMENTS (optional): Particles (vừa, đều, cùng, thường, rất,
có, đừng, etc.); Lexical words (ào ào (chảy), lác đác (rơi), etc.; - Đã đang
sẽ Auxiliary words
- END ELEMENTS (optional): Subordinate words (xong, với, cùng, nhau,
etc.); Lexical words ((uống) no, (nhìn) trộm, etc.)
1.3. ADJECTIVES PHRASE
1.3.1. In English:
a. Definition: is a phrase that contains an adjective as the head.
b. Basic structure:
PRE-MODIFIER + HEAD + POST MODIFIER
HEAD (compulsory): an adjective
PRE-MODIFIER (optional): intensifier: very, extremely,..
POST-MODIFIER (optional):- a to-infinitive- a PP- a that-claus
1.3.2. In Vietnamese
a. Definition: is a phrase in which an adjective is a core element (i.e., the
head/nucleus) of the structure. (Doan Thien Thuat)
b. Basic structure: FRONT ELEMENTS + HEAD + END ELEMENTS
- NECLEUS
A qualitative adj: giỏi lý luận
A quantitative adj: Lắm chuyện
 A stable V phrase: Ăn ảnh
- FRONT ELEMENTS (optional): đã (cao rồi), khá (buồn), etc.
- END ELEMENTS (optional): Obligatory elements (giàu kinh nghiệm,
sâu 20 mét, etc.); Free elements (xinh như tiên, đẹp rực rỡ, etc.)

2. SENTENCE
In English:
- A sentence is a complete thought, and it might contain more than one
instance of a certain part of speech and does not need to contain all the
parts of speech. (Wilson & Barlow, 2020)
- A sentence as the largest grammatical unit which expresses a more or
less complete
thought (or idea), and has a definite grammatical form (a subject and a finite
verb) and a
certain pattern of intonation. (Le HuyTruong, et al., 2015)
In Vietnamese:
- A sentence as the smallest unit of a language, which conveys a complete
thought and which is potentially served as a means of communication.
(Nguyen Van Hiep, 2014)
- Sentence classification criteria:
Semantic criterion: Syntatic criterion (strutural
criterion):
Declarative sentences Simple sentences
Interrogative sentences Compound sentences
Imperative sentences Complex sentences
Exclamatory sentences

II.1. SEMANTIC CRITERION:

II.1.1. Declarative sentences: Declarative sentences, or statements,
are primarily used to give information
a. In English:
2 forms
- Affirmative form: You need to know my plans.
- Negative form:
 use not after Aux. (don’t/doesn’t/didn’t/won’t/hasn’t/haven’t)
You don’t need to know my plans.
 use fail + to-infinitive: He failed to pass the exam.
 use negative words (hardly/seldom/never,etc.): Hardly could I
understand him.
b. In Vietnamese
- Affirmative form: Mẹ đang nấu cơm.- use vậy, mà, rồi, là cùng,
còn gì, etc. in end position Tớ sẽ đến cơ quan anh ấy vậy.
- Negative form: use negative words
không, chưa, chẳng before a verb
không phải before the verb là
đâu, nào, ai, gì, ..to reject an idea: Chị có đi đâu. Ai biết
được.
2.2.2. Interrogative sentences:
a. English: are used to get information.
- 4 types
1. General Q (Y/N Q): Do you like oranges?
2. Special Q (Wh-word Q [+ How]): What do you know?
3. Alternative Q: Which do you like, red or blue?
4. Tag Q: You met her, didn’t you?
b. In Vietnamese ( Nguyen Van Hiep)
- 3 forms
 General Q: use ai, thế nào, sao, bao nhiêu, etc. (Sao anh im
lặng?)
 Partial Q: use gì, bao giờ, bao lâu, đâu (Anh ăn gì?)
 Alternative Q: use nào (Anh thích màu nào?
Use alternative pairs có…không, đã … chưa
 the answer is one choice: có/không có, đã (rồi)/chưa
NOTE: Particles à, ư, nhỉ, đấy à, hả, chứ … can be used at the end of a
statement to make Q with emphasis.
Anh đánh nó hả?
2.2.3. Imperative sentences
 a. In English (Le Huy Truong): Imperative sentences are used to make
commands, orders or requests, and often have a falling intonation
pattern.
- Formation
1. Use bare infinitives: Come on!
2. Use a noun:Coffee!
3. Use an adverb: Quickly!
4. Use an adjective: Quick!
b. In Vietnamese (Nguyen Van Hiep): used to make commands, orders
or requests.
- Formation
1. Use a verb: Mặc kệ nó!, Im mồm, etc
2. Use request words:
 đi after a verb to express an urge: Đi đi!, Học đi!
 đừng, chớ before the verb to express an advice: Đừng khóc!,
Đừng nói to!
3. Use special words to make request:
 Polite words (mời, xin, yêu cầu,..)
 Words with negative meanings (không được/nên, cấm, ..)
 Verbs expressing requests (cho, cứ, để): Cho con đi với!, Để nó
làm!
CA of Imperative sentence: Share the same purpose, formation
Use nound to make imperative sentences
2.2.4. Exclamatory sentences:
a. In English (Le Huy Truong): are used to express different states
of emotions, feelings, attitudes, etc.
- Use of exclamation mark
- Formation
1. Use of interjection: Wow! – used independently
2. Use of how/what: How nice she is!/ What a boy!
3. Use of stress/intonation in any types of sentences (in spoken
form)
She has come!
 I’d like to know more details!
Notes:
- we have to use exclamation mark to make exclamatory sentences
while it’s sometimes not necessary in Vnese
- Any kind of sentences in english can become exclamatory sentences
by changing stress and intonation
b. In Vietnamese (Nguyen Van Hiep)
Exclamatory sentences are used to express different states of
emotions, feelings,
attitudes, etc.
- Use of exclamation mark:
- Formation
1. Use of interjections ối, á, a, ối giời,: Ôi đẹp quá!
=> independently or combine with other ones
2. Use structure Sao… thế/nhỉ: Sao đẹp thế nhỉ!
3. Use stress and intonation (in spoken form): Thằng đó lêu
lổng suốt ngày!
Similarity: same formation, purpose
Difference in the use of interjections:
In VN: interjections can be used independently or combine with
other ones
In english: interjections are used independently.
II.2. Syntatic criterion (strutural criterion):
II.2.1. Simple sentences
- In English: is the largest meaningful unit which has 1 subject and
1 predicate
- Components:
1 Subject (a N, NP, Pronoun, numeral, gerund, etc.)
1 Predicate (a V phr; V + object/complement/adjunct)
- 8 patterns
1. S –V He comes. Câu đơn mở rộng
2. S –V –C This dish looks delicious.
3. S –V –DO I enjoyed the journey.
 4. S –V –IO –DO She gave me a bunch of flowers.
5. S –V –O –C My parents made her sad.
6. S –V –A They ran quickly.
7. S –V –O –A She bought the house quickly.
8. S –V –O –C –A I called her my baby usually.
a. In Vietnamese: a simple sentence canbe called a two-component
simple sentence given the importance of the subject and the
predicate.
Two-component simple sentence = The simple sentence with 2 units
which are subject and predicate (Doan Thien Thuat)
- Components
1.One subject (a word/a phrase/a clause): cô gái xinh đẹp -
clause kia là của tôi
2.One predicate (a word/a phrase/a clause)
Trời mưa.
Căn hộ chung cư này rất tiện ích.
Điều anh biết (phrase) thật vớ vẩn.
Bông hoa này cánh còn tươi lắm (clause).
Note: Predicate doesn’t need any verb: Cô ấy thật quyến rũ
Difference in the way of expressing predicate:
- In english: predicate need to include a V
- In vnese: Predicate doesn’t need any verb
II.2.2. Compound sentences:
a. In English (Le Huy Truong): consists of at least two independent
clauses which are connected by coordinators (liên từ đẳng lực)
I am cooking, and she is eating.
b. In Vietnamese (Doan Thien Thuat): A compound sentence includes
two or more groups of subject-predicate. They are classified based on
the semantic ties between the syntactic components.
- 2 main types (based on the semantic ties between the syntactic
components)
  Independent compounds: use of comma ( Tôi hát, nó cũng hát.);
use of connectives và, và rồi, hay, hay là, còn, etc. ( Tôi học còn nó
chơi.)
 Subordinate compounds (2 types)
1. Subordinate compounds with one connective: câu ghép chính phụ có sử
dụng 1 liên từ kết hợp
MAIN CLAUSE – CONNECTIVE + SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
Anh ấy khỏe nhờ anh ấy chịu khó tập thể thao.
2. Subordinate compounds with more than one connective: câu ghép chính
phụ có sử dụng nhiều hơn 1 liên từ kết hợp
CONNECTIVE 1 + SUBORDINATE CLAUSE – CONNECTIVE 2 + MAIN
CLAUSE
Do thời tiết lạnh mà đàn gia súc chết hết
Further types:
- Clauses connected by function words (vừa (mới)…đã…, chưa…đã…,
càng…càng…, không những…mà còn…, etc.)
Tôi vừa đến anh ấy đã về
Thời tiết càng lạnh, chúng tôi càng thích.
- Clauses connected by indefinite-definite couples (gì…nấy, ai … người nấy,
bao nhiêu….bấy nhiêu)
Ai làm người nấy chịu.
II.2.3. Complex sentences (Le HuyTruong, et al., 2015)
a. In English: A complex sentence is a sentence containing one main
clause and one (or more than one) subordinate clause(s) which are
connected by subordinators.
- 5 types (based on the syntactic functions of the subordinate
clauses)
1. Complex sentence with a subject clause: That I love her – Noun
clause is unknown.
2. Complex sentence with an object clause: She doesn’t know why I
love her.
3. Complex sentence with a predicative clause:The truth is that I love
her.
 4. Complex sentence with an attributive clause:The reason why I
love her is secret.
5. Complex sentence with an adverbial clause: If she loves me, I will
marry her.
b. In Vietnamese
b.1. Nguyen Van Hiep’s viewpoint
- Main components: Subject, predicate, and complement
- Main components are expanded into clauses (subject-verb structures) ->
create complex sentences.
- A complex sentence is the sentence formed by two or more than two
subject-predicate structures,
of which only one structure functions as the main component of the sentence.
- 3 types
1. Complex sentence with a subject clause: Việt Nam chiến thắng đã
làm nên lịch sử.
2. Complex sentence with a predicate clause: Cuốn sách này nội dung
rất hấp dẫn.
3. Complex sentence with a complement clause: Chúng tôi sợ dịch bệnh
lan tràn khắp thành phố