TTLA: Structure and communicative function of the Subject in simple Vietnamese sentences

INFORMATION ABOUT THE DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name of the doctoral candidate:Nguyen Thi Hong Van

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: February 6, 1973

4. Place of birth: Lao Cai

5. Decision No. 3076 dated October 28, 2009, of the Director of Hanoi National University, recognizing the doctoral student.

6. Changes in the training process: None.

7. Thesis title:The structure and informative function of the subject in simple Vietnamese sentences.

8. Major: Linguistics Theory Code: 62.22.02.40

9. Instructor:Professor Hoang Van Van

10. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- Establishing a reliable theoretical framework for carrying out research tasks. This is the first work to analyze simple Vietnamese sentences from the functional grammar perspective of MAK Halliday.

- Five criteria are proposed for identifying the Subject, including: the function of the Subject, the realization within or outside the core of the sentence, the type of sentence, the structure of the Subject, and the function of the Subject in the transformational structure.

- Describe the structure, function, and frequency of use of different types of subject phrases in simple sentences with a normal sentence order.

- Describe the structure and function of the subject in simple Vietnamese sentences with inverted order and some specific sentence types (existential sentences, equal sentences) that meet specific communicative needs and are appropriate to specific linguistic contexts.

- Apply the results of the analysis and description of the topic phrase vividly to the genre of live football commentary to see the role of the topic phrase in creating coherence in the text.

11. Practical applications:

The results of this thesis contribute to the correct and in-depth reading and understanding of simple Vietnamese sentences, helping to clearly answer the question: how to correctly understand semantic content through the structure of simple sentences, analyzed according to the Subject-Predicate structure.

12. Future research directions:

Describe the structure and function of the Subject in compound sentences and in larger texts in Vietnamese.

14. Published works related to the dissertation:

[1] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2006), “The topic part in a sentence - a component with the function of creating a text”, Magazine Language(6), pp. 21-26.

[2] Hong Van (2006), “The topic part in Vietnamese compound sentences”, Magazine Language(9), pp. 18-23.

[3] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2008), “Structure and informative function of the topic in Vietnamese sentences”,Language Magazine(3), pp. 7-17.

[4] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2008), “Transformation function of unmarked title in Vietnamese sentences””,Magazine Language & Life(9), pp. 5-12.

[5] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2013), “Organization of the Subject in a live football commentary on television”,Magazine Language and Life(4), pp. 30-36.

[6] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2014), “Structure and linguistic function of the Subject in inverted sentences in Vietnamese”,Magazine Lexicography & Encyclopedia(4), pp. 99-106.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name: Nguyen Thi Hong Van 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: 6^thFebruary, 1973 4. Place of birth: Lao Cai

5. Admission decision number: Decision number 3076/QD-SĐH, dated on October 28, 2009 by President of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in academic process: No

7. Official thesis title: Structure and discourse discussion of Theme in Vietnamese clauses

8. Major: Theory of Linguistics 9. Code: 62.22.02.40

10. Supervisors: Frof.Dr. Hoang Van Van

11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis

- This research had provided theoretical claims made about the notions of Theme-Rheme. This is the first findings about Vietnamese clauses base on SFG of Halliday.

- This research had proposed five significant variables to describe Theme: (a) mood function;(b) external realization; (c) type of clause; (d) the structure of topical themes; and (e) their transitivity function,

- This research had described formal structure, , frequencies and discourse function of Theme in Vietnamese clauses in normal word order (Subject in clause initial slot)

- This research had described formal structure and discourse function of Theme in Vietnamese clauses in inversions and in Vietnamese's special clauses: There-existential Theme, pseudo-cleft Theme. This different Themes constructions satisfy specific needs that make them appropriate for specific discourse contexts only.

Using claims hypothesized of this finding to present an analysis and discussions of Theme in Vietnamese clauses in play-by-play talk on TV to see the role of Themes in creating coherent for discourses.

12. Piratical applicability, if any:

The results of this findings help to read and correct and deep understanding about Vietnamese clauses and help to answer the question: how to understand semantic content base on Theme-Rheme structure of Vietnamese clauses.

13. Further research directions, if any:

Discussion about formal structure and discourse function of Theme in complex sentences and discourse of Vietnamese.

14. Thesis-related publications:

[1] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2006), “The Theme-one component sentence with the discourse function”, The Journal of Language(6), pp. 21-26.

[2] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2006), “The Theme in complex sentence of Vietnamese”, The Journal of Language(9), pp.18-23.

[3] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2008), “Formal structure and discourse function of Theme in Vietnamese clauses”, The Journal of Language(3), pp. 7-17.

[4] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2008), “Transitivity function of Theme in Vietnamese clauses”, The Journal of Language and Life(9), pp. 5-12.

[5] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2013), “Theme in Vietnamese clauses in play-by-play talk on TV”, The Journal of Language and Life(4), pp. 30-36.

[6] Nguyen Thi Hong Van (2014), “The Theme in complex sentence of Vietnamese”, The Journal of Lexicography & Encyclopedia(4), pp. 99-106.