TTLA: Research on the conversion of function - lexical meaning in Vietnamese (based on terminology documents)

INFORMATION ABOUT DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name of the researcher:Le Thi Lan Anh 

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: 25 – 10 – 1981 

4. Place of birth: Hanoi, Vietnam

5. Decision on recognition of PhD students No. 3676/QD-SDH dated October 28, 2009 of the Director of Hanoi National University

6. Changes in the training process:Not available

7. Thesis topic name:Research on the conversion of function - lexical meaning in Vietnamese (based on terminology documents)

8. Major: Language Theory             Code:62.22.01.01                 

9. Scientific instructor:Prof. Dr. Le Quang Thiem

10. Summary of new results of the thesis:

The thesis has completed the analysis and demonstration of the function-meaning transformation in three basic word classes (nouns, verbs and adjectives) of Vietnamese on the scientific terminology corpus in the fields of natural sciences and social sciences and humanities. From there, it affirms the nature and cause of the transformation of ordinary words into terms in Vietnamese and this is one of the ways to construct and develop the Vietnamese terminology system. The process of function-meaning transformation of Vietnamese vocabulary not only occurs from the everyday field to a specialized field but it also has the ability to transform into many other specialized fields. Even within a specialized field, a term can contain many different specialized contents. This transformation occurs according to two main methods of semantic transfer: metaphor and semantic metonymy. The results from the statistics and analysis of the conversion of lexical functions and meanings have shown that in addition to the advantages of economy and convenience in forming the Vietnamese terminology system, there are also shortcomings and limitations, which are the occurrence of polysemy and synonymy. In the face of these realities, the thesis has proposed a number of solutions to ensure the scientific nature and accuracy of terminology. In particular, the solutionhomonymyIt is necessary to simplify the multi-conceptual and multi-content explanatory terms in the dictionary. It not only helps to standardize the recognition of the content of the term's meaning as a symbolic and monosemous meaning in the terminology system, but also contributes to improving the cognitive efficiency of knowledge recipients through the dictionary. This is also a solution to help preserve the purity of Vietnamese and improve the quality and efficiency of dictionary products.

11. Practical application

The thesis partly provides a source of materials for research projects on the development of Vietnamese vocabulary and semantics, because the terminology system is a part of the vocabulary that reflects the fastest and strongest changes and developments of Vietnamese society in modern times. The research results contribute materials for standardization, preservation of purity and development of Vietnamese language in the period of industrialization, modernization, regional and international integration; helping the research and compilation of dictionaries which are very necessary and developing today.

12. Further research directions

Continue to study the conversion of function - meaning of terms into ordinary words. Towards compiling a monograph on the process of conversion of function - meaning of lexicon in the modern Vietnamese lexical semantic system.

13. Published works related to the thesis

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2006), "Try to apply some ways to explain words for foreigners learning Vietnamese at the basic level",Proceedings of the scientific conference: Vietnam studies and Vietnamese language, Hanoi National University Publishing House, pp.7-13.

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2007), “On the phenomenon of function-meaning conversion within the scope of Vietnamese nouns (based on terminology materials)”,Language & Life Magazine(6), pp.12-16.

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2010), “On the phenomenon of function-meaning conversion within the scope of Vietnamese adjectives”,National Linguistics Conference 2010: Linguistics and Languages ​​in Vietnam, pp.3-7.

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2015), “Terminization of common words: one of the ways to form Vietnamese terms”,Language & Life Magazine(5), pp.19-23.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name:Le Thi Lan Anh                    2. Sex:Female

3. Date of birth: October 25^th, 19814. Place of birth:Hanoi, Vietnam

5. Admission of decision number: 3676/QD-SDH, date October 28^th, 2009, issued by the President of Vietnam National University, Hanoi

6. Changes in academic process: none

7. Official thesis title: A study of the transformation of function and meaning of lexical units in Vietnamese language (based on terminological materials)

8. Major: Theory of LinguisticsCode:62.22.01.01

9. Supervisors:  Prof. Dr. Le Quang Thiem

10. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

This thesis has completed the analysis and demonstrated the transformation of function and meaning of commonly used words into terminology, which occurs in three main categories (noun, verb and adjective) in Vietnamese language (based on scientific terminology materials), both in the field of natural sciences and in the field of social sciences and humanities. The outcome of an analysis from eight special dictionaries points out that this transformation happened from the everyday style into not only a scientific sector but also many different scientific sectors. Even in one science sector, a single term signifies several concepts. This is one of the ways to establish and contribute to development of the Vietnamese terminology system effectively and economically. Besides that, there are also certain limitations and disadvantages such as phenomena of polysemous terms and synonymous terms. That breaks the rule that terms need to contain one meaning to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding. Facing this reality, the thesis gives some solutions to ensure the accuracy and science of terms. In particular, polysemantic terms splitting into homonymous terms is a critical solution. This not only helps standardize the identification of terminological concepts as scientific concepts and nomosemy in a terminology system, but also contributes to improving the efficiency of receiving cognitive knowledge through dictionaries. This solution also contributes to standardization, preserving the purity of the Vietnamese language and improving the quality of dictionaries.

11. Practical applicability:

This thesis partly provides resources for research about the development of Vietnamese lexical-semantics because the terminology system, which is part of the vocabulary, reflects the all the changes and development of Vietnam society in the quickest and clearest way. The research results contribute materials to the standardization of Vietnamese language, preserving the purity and the development of the Vietnamese language during the process of industrialization, modernization, regional integration and international cooperation; they are also useful for researching and compiling of dictionaries.

12. Further research directions:

Continue to study the transformation of function and meaning of terminology into commonly used words, towards compiling a textbook about the transformation of function and the meaning of lexical units in Vietnamese language.

14. Thesis-related publications

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2006), “Applying some ways of explanation for word meaning for foreigners learning Vietnamese at basic level”,Yearbook of Scientific Conference: Vietnamese studies and Vietnamese language, Vietnam National University Publishing House, pp.7-13.

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2007), “About the transformation of function and meaning of Vietnamese nouns (based on terminological materials)”,Language and life(6), pp.12-16.

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2010), ““About the transformation of function and meaning of Vietnamese adjectives”,National Linguistics Conference 2010: Linguistics and languages ​​in Vietnam, pp.3-7.

- Le Thi Lan Anh (2015), “The transformation of everyday vocabulary into terminology: one of the ways to establish the Vietnamese terminology system”,Language and life(5), pp.19-23.