Modality in English and Vietnamese: A Cognitive Perspective = tính tình thái trong tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt: nghiên cứu từ góc độ tri nhận. Doctor thesis Linguistics: 62 22 15 01

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU THỦY MODALITY IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE: A COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE A Thesis Submitted in Full Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: English Linguistics Code: 62 22 15 01 Supervisors: Assoc Prof Dr Vo Dai Quang Prof Dr Hoang Van Van Hanoi, 2015 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, certify my authority of the dissertation report submitted entitled “Modality in English and Vietnamese: A Cognitive Perspective” in full fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgements in the text of the dissertation Hanoi, 2015 Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Upon reaching this time, I have been fortunate to have benefited from encouragements and financial supports by my colleagues and Bacninh Teacher Training College where I have been working for nearly 20 years I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my research supervisors: Assoc Prof Dr Vo Dai Quang and Prof Dr Hoang Van Van, for their long lasting supervision, great encouragements, invaluable guidance and endless support during my research They give me a lifetime unforgettable memory of their benevolence, patience, intelligence, diligence and erudition My special thanks are expressed to professors and doctors at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University (VNU): Prof Dr Nguyen Hoa; Assoc Prof Dr Le Hung Tien; Prof Dr Nguyen Quang; Prof Dr Tran Huu Manh; Dr Ha Cam Tam; Dr Nguyen Huy Ky; Assoc.Prof Dr Le Van Canh, Assoc Prof Dr Tran Van Phuoc, Assoc Prof Dr Phan Van Que, Assoc Prof Dr To Nu My Nhat, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Van Trao, Assoc Prof Dr Pham Thi Hong Nhung, Assoc.Prof Dr Hoang Tuyet Minh, Assoc.Prof Dr Ngo Huu Hoang, Dr Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, Dr Huynh Anh Tuan, Dr Do Thi Thanh Ha, Dr Nguyen Duc Hoat, Dr Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa; Prof Dr Nguyen Duc Ton; Dr Sao Chi, etc for their long lasting support, great encouragements and useful advice during the time the study was carried out I have also benefited from the assistance of other scholars I would particularly like to acknowledge the efficiency and expertise of Prof Dr Jack C Richards, Prof Dr Alexander Arguelles, Dr Melchor Tatlonghari during the time I started to conduct my thesis at SEAMEO Regional Language Center, Singapore I also owe many thanks to my students, colleagues and friends who patiently listened to my frustrations, and provided me with a lot of encouragements, understanding and collegiality Their valuable backing indicates the significance of my study Finally, my wholehearted appreciation goes to my husband, Mr Nguyen Van Ban, and my two children: Nguyen Xuan Thang and Nguyen Bich Thuy, my parents, my brothers and sisters; for their emotional and material sacrifices as well as their understanding and unconditional supports Their encouragements and financial aids make all my endeavours worth doing ii ABSTRACT This study is an attempt to describe, analyse, compare/ contrast English and Vietnamese root and epistemic modality as realized by modal verbs from Cognitive perspective, more specifically in terms of force dynamic framework The study is both descriptive and contrastive in nature The main aim of the research is to find similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese root senses (including obligation, permission, ability and volition) and epistemic senses (including necessity, probability and possibility) of modal verbs from force dynamics The main data used in this study are taken from the two corpora: one in English with a total of 500,000 words in 91 social science texts and the other in Vietnamese with 500,000 words in 119 social science texts on the ground that (1) it is a rich resource for the researcher to find examples of root and epistemic meanings of modal verbs in English and Vietnamese to serve the purposes of the study and (2) it is the social science field that the researcher often deals with The texts are research articles published in English and Vietnamese journals respectively in disciplines: education, psychology, social science, economy, linguistics, culture and law, from 2000 upwards The data collected are then quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed in order to find similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese root and epistemic senses of modal verbs in terms of force dynamics in case that English is considered as a source language and Vietnamese as a comparative one With the help of the corpus-based analysis the TexSTAT-2 programme, frequency occurrences and KWIC (Key Word In Context) concordance of various modals are discussed in order to show their relative importance in expressing root and epistemic senses in the two languages in question The findings of the study show that both English and Vietnamese writers/ conceptualizers use the modality of obligation, permission, ability, volition, necessity, probability, and possibility with different force structures and barriers to express their different opinions or attitudes towards the propositions/ state of affairs or events It can be inferred from the results of the study that there exists one common core across English and Vietnamese modal verbs, i.e., the force opposition between the Agonist and the Antagonist The force can be the one which impinges upon the participant or the state of affair or the event, making the situation necessary (e.g must in English and phải in Vietnamese) The force may be the one that prevents the participant or the situation from taking place (e.g can’t in English and in Vietnamese) There may be absence of force, or removal of restraint or no barrier so something is possible (though not necessary) (e.g can in English and in Vietnamese) However, there are a number of iii differences between the two languages under study when the conceptualizers/ writers express their own embodied scientific experiences in communication by using various modals with different levels of strength of cognitive, sociophysical and rational forces One of the typical differences is that in English, low strength forces of modals such as can, could, may, might, predominate over median (will/ would/ should/ ought) and high strength (must/ have to/ need/ cannot), which indicates a tendency for modality to be used to mitigate than to strengthen assertations in academic writing In contrast, in Vietnamese, high strength modals (phải, cần, không thể) predominate over median (nên, sẽ, muốn, định, toan) and low (có thể), which can be inferred that the Vietnamese writers/ conceptualizers when writing their papers in social science journals have a tendency of expressing strong obligation and necessity The overweight of high dynamic value in Vietnamese may be due to the fact that the three major philosophical traditions: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have exerted their influence on the “subjective culture” of the Vietnamese (cf Bochner 1986 & Marr 1981, cited in Ellis 1994 & T.N.Thêm 1998: 25) It is hoped that the findings from this study will make a contribution to further understanding of root and epistemic modality in English compared to Vietnamese in terms of force dynamics and their equivalence and non-equivalence in the expressions of obligation, permission, ability, volition (in sociophysical interactions and relations), and the modality of necessity, probability and possibility (in reasoning domain) Moreover, the findings of similarities and differences between the two languages will be useful in language teaching and learning and translation from English into Vietnamese and/or vice versa iv TABLE OF CONTENT Pages CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY……………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………… ii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENT …………………………………………………… v LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………… ix LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………… x ABBREVIATIONS ………………………………………………………… xi PART ONE: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………… 1.1 Rationale ……………………………………………………………… 1.2 Scopes of the Study …………………………………………………… 1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study ………………………………… 1.4 Research Questions …………………………………………………… 1.5 Methods of the Study ………………………………………………… 1.6 Contribution of the Study …………………………………………… 1.6.1 Theoretical Significance of the Study ……………………………… 1.6.2 Practical Significance of the Study ………………………………… 1.7 Structure of the Dissertation ………………………………………… PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………… Chapter I: Literature Review …………………………………………… 1.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………… 1.2 Modality from the Traditional Point of View ……………………… 1.2.1 The Concept of Modality ………………………………………… 1.2.2 Types of Modality …………………………………………………… 12 1.2.2.1 Agent-oriented Modality vs Speaker-oriented Modality ………… 13 1.2.2.2 Extrinsic Modality vs Intrinsic Modality ………………………… 13 1.2.2.3 Deontic Modality, Dynamic Modality and Epistemic Modality …… 14 1.2.2.4 Root Modality vs Epistemic Modality …………………………… 16 1.3 Modality in Scientific Writing ………………………………………… 19 1.4 Modality Viewed from Force Dynamics in Cognitive Perspective … 21 1.4.1 Definitions of Terms ………………………………………………… 21 1.4.1.1 Linguistic Universals ……………………………………………… 21 v 1.4.1.2 Cognitive Linguistics ……………………………………………… 22 1.4.1.3 Cognitive Semantics ……………………………………………… 22 1.4.1.4 Cognitive Grammar ………………………………………………… 23 1.4.2 Major Principles of Cognitive Linguistics ………………………… 23 1.4.2.1 Language is all about meaning …………………………………… 23 1.4.2.2 Grammar and Meaning are indissociable ………………………… 24 1.4.2.3 Language, Cognition and Culture ………………………………… 24 1.4.3 Force Dynamics and Modality ……………………………………… 25 1.4.3.1 The Notion of Force Dynamics …………………………………… 25 1.4.3.2 Force-dynamic Parameters ………………………………………… 26 1.4.3.3 Features of Force …………………………………………………… 28 1.5 Root and Epistemic Modality in English …………………………… 33 1.5.1 Modality and Modal Verbs ………………………………………… 33 1.5.2 Root Modality ……………………………………………………… 36 1.5.2.1 Obligation …………………………………………………………… 37 1.5.2.2 Permission ………………………………………………………… 38 1.5.2.3 Ability ……………………………………………………………… 40 1.5.2.4 Volition …………………………………………………………… 40 1.5.3 Epistemic Modality ………………………………………………… 41 1.5.3.1 Necessity …………………………………………………………… 42 1.5.3.2 Probability ………………………………………………………… 42 1.5.3.3 Possibility …………………………………………………………… 44 1.6 Root and Epistemic Modality in Vietnamese ………………………… 45 1.6.1 Modality and Modal Verbs ………………………………………… 45 1.6.2 Root Modality ……………………………………………………… 49 1.6.2.1 Obligation …………………………………………………………… 49 1.6.2.2 Permission ………………………………………………………… 51 1.6.2.3 Ability ……………………………………………………………… 52 1.6.2.4 Volition …………………………………………………………… 52 1.6.3 Epistemic Modality ………………………………………………… 53 1.6.3.1 Necessity …………………………………………………………… 53 1.6.3.2 Probability ………………………………………………………… 54 1.6.3.3 Possibility …………………………………………………………… 55 vi 1.7 Concluding Remarks ………………………………………………… 55 Chapter II: Research Methodology ……………………………………… 56 2.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………… 56 2.2 Research Questions …………………………………………………… 56 2.3 Methods of the study ………………………………………………… 56 2.4 Data collection ………………………………………………………… 58 2.5 Corpus - aided analysis ……………………………………………… 64 2.6 Cognitive Framework ………………………………………………… 67 2.7 Concluding Remarks ………………………………………………… 72 Chapter III: Root Modality in English and Vietnamese ………………… 73 3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………… 73 3.2 General Findings ……………………………………………………… 74 3.3 Obligation in English and Vietnamese ……………………………… 77 3.3.1 Form ………………………………………………………………… 77 3.3.2 Meaning ……………………………………………………………… 78 3.4 Permission in English and Vietnamese ……………………………… 93 3.4.1 Form ………………………………………………………………… 93 3.4.2 Meaning ……………………………………………………………… 93 3.5 Ability in English and Vietnamese …………………………………… 100 3.5.1 Form ………………………………………………………………… 100 3.5.2 Meaning ……………………………………………………………… 100 3.6 Volition in English and Vietnamese ………………………………… 105 3.6.1 Form ………………………………………………………………… 105 3.6.2 Meaning ……………………………………………………………… 105 3.7 Concluding Remarks ………………………………………………… 110 Chapter IV: Epistemic Modality in English and Vietnamese …………… 113 4.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………… 113 4.2 General Findings ……………………………………………………… 113 4.3 Necessity in English and Vietnamese ………………………………… 115 4.3.1 Form ………………………………………………………………… 115 4.3.2 Meaning ……………………………………………………………… 115 4.4 Probability in English and Vietnamese ……………………………… 122 4.4.1 Form ………………………………………………………………… 122 vii 4.4.2 Meaning ……………………………………………………………… 122 4.5 Possibility in English and Vietnamese ……………………………… 131 4.5.1 Form ………………………………………………………………… 131 4.5.2 Meaning ……………………………………………………………… 131 4.6 English and Vietnamese Modal Verbs in Different Disciplines …… 138 4.7 Concluding Remarks ……………………………………………… 139 PART THREE: CONCLUSION ………………………………………… 143 Recapitulation …………………………………………………………… 143 Implication ……………………………………………………………… 148 2.1 For English Language Learning and Teaching ………………………… 148 2.2 For Language Research ………………………………………………… 149 Limitations of the Study ……………………………………………… 150 Suggestions for Further Study ………………………………………… 150 Articles related to the study ……………………………………………… I References ………………………………………………………………… II Appendix A: Titles of English Texts in the English Corpus …………… XVII Appendix B: Titles of Vietnamese Texts in the Vietnamese Corpus …… XXV Appendix C: String Matching of Modal Verbs in E and VNese Corpora XXXIII Appendix D: Tables ……………………………………………………… LXV viii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Data in English and Vietnamese Corpora Table 2.2 Distribution of Root and Epistemic Modality in the two Corpora Table 2.3 Categories of Low-Median-High FD in English and Vietnamese Table 2.4 Categories of Root Senses in English and Vietnamese Table 2.5 Categories of Epistemic Senses in English and Vietnamese Table 3.1 Distribution of Root Senses in the E and Vietnamese Corpora Table 3.2 Distribution of Low-Median-High FD in the E & VN Corpora Table 3.3 Distribution of E and VNese Modals in Root & Epistemic Senses Table 3.4 Distribution of E & VNese Modal Verbs in the Two Corpora Table 3.5 Distribution of Co-occurrence of Modal Verbs in the Vietnamese Corpus 60 67 68 70 72 75 76 LXV Table 3.6 Distribution of Obligation Realized by Modal Verbs in the E & VNese Corpora 92 99 104 110 114 121 130 137 LXVI LXVII Table 3.7 Distribution of Permission realized by Modal verbs in E&VNese Corpora Table 3.8 Distribution of Ability realized by Modal verbs in E & VNese Corpora Table 3.9 Distribution of Volition realized by Modal verbs in E & VNese Corpora Table 4.1 Distribution of Epistemic Senses in the E & VNese Corpora Table 4.2 Distribution of Necessity realized by E &VNese Modal verbs Table 4.3 Distribution of Probability Realized by E & VNese Modal verbs Table 4.4 Distribution of Possibility Realized by E & VNese Modal verbs Table 4.5 Distribution of English Modal Verbs in Disciplines Table 4.6 Distribution of Vietnamese Modal Verbs in different disciplines ix LXV LXV Figure 3.13c String Matching of MIGHT BE in the English Corpus Figure 3.14a String Matching of CÓ THỂ in the Vietnamese Corpus LIII Figure 3.14b String Matching of KHÔNG THỂ in the Vietnamese Corpus Figure 3.14c String Matching of CÓ THỂ PHẢI in the Vietnamese Corpus LIV Figure 3.14d String Matching of CÓ THỂ SẼ in the Vietnamese Corpus Figure 3.14e String Matching of CÓ THỂ NÓI in the Vietnamese Corpus LV Figure 3.15a String Matching of WILL in the English Corpus Figure 3.15b String Matching of WILL NOT in the English Corpus LVI Figure 3.15c String Matching of WILL BE in the English Corpus Figure 3.15d String Matching of WILL NOT BE in the English Corpus LVII Figure 3.16a String Matching of WOULD in the English Corpus Figure 3.16b String Matching of WOULD NOT in the English Corpus LVIII Figure 3.16c String Matching of WOULD BE in the English Corpus Figure 3.16d String Matching of WOULD NOT BE in the English Corpus LIX Figure 3.16e String Matching of WOULD HAVE in the English Corpus Figure 3.17a String Matching of SHALL in the English Corpus LX Figure 3.17b String matching of SHALL BE in the English Corpus Figure 3.18a String Matching of SẼ in the Vietnamese Corpus LXI Figure 3.18b String Matching of SẼ KHÔNG in the Vietnamese Corpus Figure 3.18c String Matching of SẼ BỊ in the Vietnamese Corpus LXII Figure 3.18d String Matching of SẼ ĐƯỢC in the Vietnamese Corpus Figure 3.19 String Matching of ĐỊNH in the Vietnamese Corpus LXIII Figure 3.20 String Matching of MUỐN in the Vietnamese Corpus Figure 3.21 String Matching of DÁM in the Vietnamese Corpus LXIV APPENDIX D: TABLES Table 3.3 Distribution of E and VNese Modals in Root & Epistemic Senses English Modal Verbs Modals Root % Epist 1.Can 365 35.16 673 2.Could 168 36.44 293 3.May 620 67.25 302 4.Might 160 65.84 83 5.Will 652 76.17 204 6.Would 580 68.56 266 7.Shall 33 52.26 20 8.Should/ought 194 46.52 231 9.Need 171 71.25 69 10.Must/ 314 68.11 147 Have to 3257 100 2288 % 64.84 63.56 32.75 34.16 23.83 31.44 47.74 53.48 28.75 31.89 Vietnamese Modal Verbs Modals Root % Epist 1.Có thể 494 26.76 694 Sẽ 180 9.75 489 Nên 150 8.13 215 Cần 141 7.64 923 5.Phải 607 32.88 1134 Định 0.43 Muốn 251 13.60 Dám 15 0.81 100 1846 100 3455 % 20.09 14.15 6.22 26.71 32.82 0.00 0.00 0.00 100 Table 3.4 Distribution of E & VNese Modal Verbs in the Two Corpora English Modal Verbs Tokens Verbs Can Could May Might 5.Will 6.Would Shall Should/ought to Must/Have to 10 Need Total 1038 461 922 243 856 846 53 425 461 240 545 Vietnamese Modal Verbs % 18.72 8.31 16.63 4.38 15.44 15.26 0.96 7.66 8.31 4.33 100% Verbs Tokens % 1.Có thể Sẽ Nên Cần 5.Phải Định 7.Toan Muốn Dám 1188 669 365 1064 1741 251 15 22.41 12.62 6.89 20.07 32.84 0.15 4.74 0.28 Total 5301 100% Table 3.5 Distribution of Co-occurrence of Modal Verbs in the VNese Corpus nên cần phải khơng nên 0 0 37 cần 32 phải 10 177 22 258 LXV 0 0 11 0 0 (không thể: 217) Table 4.5 Distribution of English Modal Verbs in Disciplines Modals Esci Eedu Epsy Eling Ecult Eeco Elaw 59 325 71 605 59 471 80 325 62 586 61 424 105 534 11.ought to 158 – 266 330 130219 132 128215 761 83139 907 4575 853 5491 024 5592 710 2542 141 3558 997 23 371 195272 327 119166 190 76106 138 6793 569 76106 138 2839 103 3853 069 3041 897 5475 414 45 586 172214 130 199247 744 104129 474 103128 229 4353 533 4252 288 7593 371 4252 288 3239 838 11 245 126201 323 86137 411 79126 226 69110 248 3962 314 5181 488 5283 086 3962 314 2438 347 914 380 Total Per million 715 687 102171 512 160269 039 99166 468 4880 712 2338 674 5389 119 2338 674 2948 763 4575 667 11 681 11 681 574 813 564 126205 132 74120 474 139226 296 161262 113 5081 401 99161 175 67109 078 1117 908 3252 097 1321 164 11 628 773 159150 662 154145 925 231218 887 315298 482 134126 973 130123 183 153144 977 6763 487 2826 532 2422 741 65 685 1401 205225 959430 965176 012138 901160 258465 1327534 can may will would should 6.could 7.must/have to might 9.need 10 shall Note: The number in bold and italics refers to the total words of each discipline The number in bold refers to the actual occurrences The number in italics refers to the number of words per million LXVI Tota l 1038 922 856 846 417 461 461 243 240 53 5545 Table 4.6 Distribution of Vietnamese Modal Verbs in different disciplines Modals Vsci 70 040 220 314 106 Vedu 58 656 205 349 495 Vpsy 65 741 220 334 647 Vling 76 459 379 495 691 Vcult 78 786 221 280 507 Veco 81 595 232 284 331 Vlaw 68 723 264 384 141 Total 500000 1741 134 191 319 178254 140 86122 787 4969 960 134 228 451 210358 020 84143 208 5492 062 133 202 309 106161 239 66100 394 5177 577 155196 735 84 106 618 7595 195 5266 002 1188 34579 650 721 773 23334 676 2291 023 729 251 Total 28425 913 4608 448 608 170 208 346 190232 857 116142 166 4858 827 11 225 16196 090 118171 704 128186 255 138200 806 5681 487 28399 771 1142 775 696 344 449 914 168219 726 104136 021 5571 934 79 155 77993 996 2261 578 1136 Per million 993 371 229 200 924 841 485 763 809 788 947 361 060780 1.phải cần nên 6.định 7.muốn 8.dám 45571 167 6761 556 638 Note: The number in bold and italics refers to the total words of each discipline The number in bold refers to the actual occurrences The number in italics refers to the number of words per million LXVII 1064 669 365 15 5301