An Overview into the Semantic of Questions in English and Vietnamese

An Overview into the Semantic of Questions in English and Vietnamese

An Overview into the Semantic of Questions in English and Vietnamese

Student: Nguyễn Thanh Thảo

4B07

Lecturer: Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ

University of Pedagogy

December 2010

As early as the 18th century, studies on comparing and contrasting linguistics became popular thanks to the emergence of new lands, new communities, and newlanguages Sine 1970s, comparing and contrasting linguistics has been playing a more and more important role to meet the rising demand for language learning to communicate and scientific developments in the direction of multi-lingual research

In Vietnam, along with economic growth, more and more people pick up learning a new language so that they can have more advantages in running their business Nevertheless, most of language learners have the same obstacle in comparing and contrasting their mother tongue with a foreign language, which prevents them from acquiring a new language easily and effectively

It is found that question is one of the most frequently used types of

sentences and English learners have encountered a lot of difficulties practicing questions in speaking and learning Therefore, this paper aims to compare and contrast the differences and similarities of various types of questions in English and Vietnamese and thus, suggest some application for language teachers and

learners

Nguyễn Thanh Thảo

be defined as sentences which are followed by a question mark at the end and used forseeking information However, there are some sentences in the form of questions but they don’t require an answer We often use those sentences for greeting purposes

In terms of speaking purposes, there are 2 types of questions: Questions thatfunction as a request for information and questions used for a variety of speaking purposes [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] This paper mainly focuses on the semantics of questions that function as a request for information The semantics refers to the

close and intense relationship between the form and the meaning of a sentence

[ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] Comparing and contrasting questions in terms of their

semantics enable us to point out the question framework, the devices and operatorsthat contribute to forming questions [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ].

1 Types of questions in Vietnamese and English

a) Types of questions in Vietnamese

Basing on their semantics, Vietnamese linguists have classified two main types of questions [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] They are alternative questions and questions that offer no choice First of all, let us have a look at alternative

questions Alternative questions are those that offer options, which are signposts used for marking the sphere of oscillation in the speaker’s consciousness

[ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] Particularly, alternative questions require the respondent

to answer by picking out the information that is being sought In Vietnamese, there are three main sub-types of alternative questions They are questions formed by

“Là/ hay là”, questions formed by “Có … không, phải không”, questions using model particle “à, ư, nhỉ, nhé”[ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ]

Following are examples and features of each sub-type

 Alternative questions

 Questions with: là / hay là

à Tôi, hay anh đi mua đồ cho lớp mình?

à Ngày mai lớp mình kiểm tra toán hay văn?

à Bây giờ chúng mình đi ăn phở hay là về nhà làm bài tập?

The most important thing is that we should not present so many options or objects at a time

E.g Mẹ nên nấu canh bầu hay canh bí, canh khổ qua, canh chua …?

Chúng ta cần tài liệu về Trung Quốc, hay là Việt Nam, Mỹ, Canada …?

Also, objects or options that do not belong to the same category or

reference should not be included in the question due to the fact that the form of thequestion, though grammatically correct, goes against common sense and doesn’t conform to its content

E.g Vietnamese people never say: “ Em nên mua máy tính hay nấu cơm?”

Neither do we say: “Sóng thần do động đất dưới đáy biển hay là suy thoái kinh tế gây ra?”

 Questions with “có… không, … phải không, đã … chưa, …”

E.g.: Hôm nay thầy có dạy không?

Con có ăn cơm không?

Mẹ đã đi làm về chưa?

Em đã làm bài chưa?

Cô là cô giáo chủ nhiệm của lớp em phải không?

Đây là nhà anh ấy phải không?

As we can see from the above examples, questions of this type contain two opposite clauses, in which the positive one normally stand at the front and the negative one is often in the back [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] However, for questionslike these:

Em có muốn ăn bánh mì không?

Chúng ta có tiếp tục dự án này không?

There is no distinction between two clauses, that is we cannot tell which one

is more positive In this case, the particle không is put at the end of the question.

 Questions with particles and complementary groups

E.g.: Hôm nay con không đi học à?

Tên bạn là gì thế nhỉ?

There are some modal particles contributing to forming alternative

questions They are: à, nhỉ, hả, nhé, ư, chứ, sao, nha, vậy, … [ CITATION LêQ041 \l

1033 ] We often find them at the end of the questions These modal particles

functions as the intonation for ending a question

E.g.: Bây giờ chúng ta bắt đầu nhé?

Cô ấy lại mất tiền nữa ư?

Hắn làm hỏng bữa tối thật chứ?

Nếu em có ở đây bây giờ thì vui lắm nhỉ?

Those questions using modal particles also functions as exclamative

sentences Interestingly, alternative questions require answers while exclamative sentences don’t

 Questions in which there is no options in the predicative

Questions of this type often contain question words or groups of question

words like gì, nào, ai, đâu, sao, bao giờ, như thế nào, ra sao, lúc nào …

There is no option in this type of questions; therefore, the answer

contains as much information as possible, concerning the question and the possible contexts [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] For instance:

Ai là lớp trưởng của lớp 4B?

Bạn muốn gì?

Chừng nào khoá học này kết thúc?

Bài toán này giải như thế nào?

Vụ án này tình tiết ra sao?

Trường Đại học Sư Phạm ở đâu?

There is a wide variety of topics for questions of this type

 Questions about people:

Điều gì quan trọng nhất trong cuộc sống?

 Questions about manners, features, qualities:

Ngôi nhà này như thế nào?

Kết quả cuộc hành trình ra sao?

Toà tháp được xây bằng cách nào?

 Questions about position:

Nhà bếp ở đâu?

Cửa hàng điện ở chổ nào?

Ngươi là người nơi nào?

Em phải tìm anh ở chốn nào?

 Questions about time:

Bao giờ cho đến tháng ba?

Khi nào mẹ về nhà?

Buổi họp kết thúc vào lúc nào?

 Questions about causes

Tại sao lại như vậy?

Vì sao con khóc?

Anh nghỉ làm vì lí do gì?

 Questions about quantities

Táo bao nhiêu một kí?

Nhà em có mấy người?

Mấy giờ em tan học?

We should also notice that when asking about time, we can combine the question word with a preposition to indicate the point of time [ CITATION LêQ041 \

l 1033 ]

E.g.: Từ lúc nào bà ấy mắc căn bệnh hiểm nghèo đó?

Câu chuyện diễn ra vào thời điểm nào?

b) Types of questions in English

In English, there are many ways to categorize and define questions In

“Practical English Usage”, questions are classified into 4 main types [ CITATIONMic03 \l 1033 ]:

 Declarative questions:

E.g.: “That’s your girlfriend? I thought she was someone else.”

“I’m going to America next year.” “You are going to America?”

 Reply questions including short questions, questions with question words like who, what, how …, echo questions, attention signals.

 Rhetorical questions including questions that do not expect an

answer, questions with why / how should …?, negative yes/no questions.

Did they see the new building in town?

Has Ms Ann seen her daughter yet?

 Negative questions

Depending on the intonation and stress, we can use this type of

questions to persuade, invite, make exclamations, express disbelief, surprise orannoyance …

E.g.: Can’t you really ride a bicycle?

Don’t you remember our first date in Paris?

Wouldn’t you mind me sitting here?

Can’t you ever turn off the light when you leave the room?

Isn’t it cool to be a movie star?

 Tag questions and echo tags

E.g.: She’s late, isn’t she?

You locked the door, didn’t you?

“He’s resigning.” “Is he?”

“I’ve just lost 100$.” “Have you?”

 Question-word questions

E.g.: When does the plane take off?

What are you looking at?

Which books do you prefer?

How long have they known each other?

 Subject-questions

E.g.: Who tipped the waiter?

Which hats suits him best?

Whose number did you ring?

 Questions about alternatives, emphatic questions with “ever”

E.g.: Did you laugh or cry?

Did you take it, or didn’t you?

Where ever did you buy that tie?

What ever does she see him?

In many other studies about linguistics, questions are also put into three main groups [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ]:

In general, the table below can give us a clear overview about questions

in English and Vietnamese [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ]

no choice

Alternative questions Questions that offer no choiceYes/No

questions

Alternative questions

Wh.questions

In some other studies, there is another way to classify questions in both languages:

Questions in English Questions in Vietnamese

2 Alternative questions 2 Câu hỏi lựa chọn

3 Declarative questions 3 Câu hỏi có dùng ngữ điệu

2 Similarities and differences in questions in Vietnamese and

English

In this section, we will investigate the similarities and differences of

questions in terms of their semantics Specific semantic-syntactic frameworks are necessary for linguistic comparison and contrast [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] These frameworks can either belong to a certain type of questions or illustrate their constituents Below are some specific semantic question frameworks:

a) Questions about objects and activities

In Vietnamese, there are many question words and question frameworksused for asking about objects and activities [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] Some

frequently used question words are: điều gì, cái gì, việc gì, chuyện gì, thứ gì, vật gì … Contexts and speaking purposes decide which question words can be used However, in English, only the interrogative pronoun what is often

employed in this type of questions

 Some frameworks of questions about objects:

Question words function as subjects:

E.g.: What made you cry?

Cái gì ẩn giấu phía sau vẻ mặt thân thiện và nụ cười duyên dáng

ấy?

What caused the fire in the department building last night?

Điều gì sẽ xảy ra với tình hình ngoại giao thế giới sau vụ rò rỉ thông

tin từ WikiLeaks?

The question framework is the same in English and Vietnamese

[ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ].

S – V – OIntonations are employed in both English and Vietnamese [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] On the other hand, in Vietnamese, modal particles like à, ư, thế,

nhỉ, như vậy … are added into questions Positions of question words are

similar in both languages Noticeably, in some cases, the speaking purpose is shifted from asking about objects to inquring about reasons or causes

[ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ]

E.g.: What caused the president to declare war between two countries?

Vì sao nhà nước phải thắt chặt quản lí nhà đất?

What is it for?

Tại sao vẫn còn tình trạng người lái xe không đội mũ bảo hiểm?

When we study questions about direct objects, that are objects affected

by actions of the verbs, there are some differences between the two languages

What functions as an object or complement and so does gì in Vietnamese gì often goes with verbs like làm, nói, cần, muốn, ăn, nghĩ, học, … and is placed

at the end of the sentence while what always stands at the front.

E.g.: Em đang nghĩ gì vậy?

What are you thinking about?

Để phát triển kinh tế nhà nước cần làm gì?

What does the government do to develop the economic?

Cái này được gọi là gì?

What is this called?

Ba bạn làm nghề gì?

What does your father do?

Bây giờ em phải nói gì đây?

What should I say now?

From the above examples, we can conclude that question frameworks vary from Vietnamese to English

Vietnamese: Subject – Predicative – Object?

English: Object – Verb – Subject?

In general, in terms of word order, the frameworks are the same for questions about objects, yet there are some contrasts about the positions of thequestion words in questions containing direct objects

b) Questions about people

Ai and who / whose are question words for this type of questions.

E.g.: Anh là ai?

Who are you?

Ai đó?

Who’s that?

Chị muốn nói chuyện với ai?

Who do want to talk to?

Chiếc này của ai vậy?

Whose car is it?

Ai về ai có nhớ không? [ CITATION T H00 \l 1033 ]ốH00 \l 1033 ]

Who was given the prize?

The above examples show us the general framework for questions aboutpeople in Vietnamese and English

Vietnamese: Subject – Predicative – Object / complement?

English: Object – Verb – Subject?

The framework is similar for both languages if the question word acts as

a subject, yet the frameworks vary for complement and object [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ]

c) Questions about places, time, manners, features

Basically, the frameworks for questions in English and Vietnamese are below:

Vietnamese: Subject – Predicative – Object / Complement?

English: Object – Verb – Subject?

E.g.: Anh đi đâu đấy?

Where are you going?

Chị ấy công tác ở đâu?

Where does she work?

Bưu điện nằm ở đâu vậy?

Where is the post office?

Khi nào em về quê?

When are you coming home?

Mấy giờ mình gặp nhau?

What time do we meet?

Chừng nào máy bat cất cánh?

When does the plane take off?

Bao giờ cho đến tháng ba?

When does March come?

When asking about manners, we use these question words: như thế nào, ra sao, thế nào, bằng cách nào in Vietnamese, and how in English For questions about causes and reasons, question words like vì sao, tại sao, lý do

gì, vì lý do gì – Why are employed

Noticeably, in English and Vietnamese, there are a variety of equivalent question words or groups of words for forming and contrasting questions than

just one possibility of one-to-one equivalent question words, for example:

what-gì, cái gì; where-đâu, ở đâu, when-bao giờ, khi nào, lúc nào; why-tại sao, vì sao,… [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ] As we can see from the frameworks above,

most interrogative pronouns functions as subjects or objects Interrogative words carry most meaning of the whole question and this is a distinctive feature

of this kind of questions compared with alternative ones

d) Yes/No questions and choice questions

Frameworks for alternative questions in Vietnamese are:

 Questions with có … không?

Subject – có/ có phải Verb không?

E.g.: Anh có ăn cơm không?

Cậu ta có phải chịu trách nhiệm hình sự không?

Chúng ta có nên xây dựng đường cao tốc để cải thiện giao thông trong thành phố không?

Khói xe và khí thải từ các nhà máy có phải là nguyên nhân chính gây ra ô nhiễm môi trường không?

Besides, we can also form an alternative questions using … (có) phải không? This kind of questions implies the speaker’s emphasis and assertion

[ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ]

Subject Verb (có) phải không?

E.g.: Ngươi là kẻ chủ mưu của tất cả vụ việc này có phải không?

Anh là chủ cửa hàng này phải không?

The type of questions above is equivalent to yes-no questions in English, yes – có, no – không Question words are not used for forming yes-no

questions Instead, intonation and interrogative operators like may, can, be, have … are included [ CITATION LêQ041 \l 1033 ]

E.g.: Have you seen her lately?

Are you the girl she’s been talking about?

May I have a drink?

Can you pass me the salt, please?