The scientific conference “Linguistics training and research in Vietnam – theoretical and practical issues” was held on November 11, 2011. This activity is part of the program to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Linguistics Department and the 15th anniversary of the Linguistics Faculty.The workshop attracted the attention and participation of more than 100 delegates, domestic and foreign scientists, lecturers, trainees and students of the School.
More than 100 reports were submitted to the conference, including 30 reports from foreign scientists from universities: University of California - Los Angeles (USA), University of Sheffield (UK), University of Paris 7 (France), Beijing University, Guangxi University, Osaka University (Japan), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Korea), Australian National University (Australia), Ubon Rachathnani University (Thailand)... The content of the reports focused on discussing theoretical and practical issues related to training and research in linguistics, Vietnamese linguistics and languages in and outside Vietnam. At the plenary session, delegates attending the conference listened to 4 introductory reports:
- Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hong Con, Head of the Department of Linguistics:Department of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities: 55 years of scientific research.
- Associate Professor, Dr. Marina Prévot, former Head of Vietnam Studies Department, University of Paris 7:Language and literature - an illustration of the relationship between Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Paris Diderot University 7.
- Prof. Dr. Quyen Di, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of California – Los Angeles:Efforts to teach and learn Vietnamese in the United States.
- Prof. Dr. Song Jung Nam, Head of Vietnamese Department, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies:Some thoughts on the examination system of the Ly Dynasty in Vietnam.
After the plenary session, the Workshop worked in 4 subcommittees:
- Teaching Linguistics, Vietnamese Linguistics and Vietnamese Language
- Linguistics and Vietnamese Linguistics Issues
- Issues about Vietnamese Language and Culture
- Linguistics of ethnic groups in Vietnam and the region
Discussing the issues of teaching Linguistics, Vietnamese Linguistics and Vietnamese, the reports focused on the issues of language teaching, including teaching Vietnamese as a foreign language in Vietnam and many places in the world, teaching English and ethnic minority languages in Vietnam. Typical reports are the reports of authors Gyanam Mahajan and Juliana Wijaya (University of California - Los Angeles, USA), Professor Marina Prévot (University of Paris 7) mentioned issues related to the mother tongue heritage in the process of individuals integrating into communities speaking other languages. Discussing the current issues of Linguistics and Vietnamese Linguistics, a series of theoretical and practical issues were presented and discussed. Associate Professor Dr. Bui Manh Hung (Ho Chi Minh City University of Education) discussed the difference in meaning and usage of the words "a little" and "a little" in Vietnamese. Professor. Nigel Duffield (University of Sheffield, UK) presented the core issues of Vietnamese according to Chomsky's minimalist approach. Also following Chomsky's approach, Prof. Anoop Mahajan (University of California - Los Angeles, USA) discussed the position of prepositions and word order from the perspective of Generative Typology, with many examples taken from Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindi, etc.
Discussing issues about Vietnamese language and Vietnamese culture, many reports have mentioned metaphors in Vietnamese, the use of idioms and proverbs, and issues related to Sino-Vietnamese. Issues about word structure have been theoretically reviewed by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Ton (Institute of Linguistics) through the report "Is there such a thing as "morpheme-translation" and reduplicated word structure in Vietnamese?". In addition, issues about the history of Vietnamese vocabulary, proper names, geographical dialects and social dialects of Vietnamese have also been mentioned in many reports. And discussing the languages of Vietnamese ethnic groups and regions, Prof. Dr. Hoang Thi Chau (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU) explained how to divide the South Asian language groups based on the data of the counting system. Prof. Dr. Tran Tri Doi (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU) raised the issue of pure Vietnamese and foreign words. Prof. Shimizu (Japan) presented the historical phonetics of Vietnamese based on Nom script data...
This scientific conference is a scientific result to solemnly celebrate the 55th anniversary of Linguistics and the 15th anniversary of the Faculty of Linguistics. At the same time, this is also an opportunity for the Faculty of Linguistics to summarize and evaluate the training and research process, further promote research projects and international cooperation in the coming period.
Some results of the Workshop
1. Scientifically- Total number of reports participating in the Conference: 105 reports, including 30 reports by foreign authors. The Organizing Committee has selected to publish 80 full-text reports and 25 summary reports in the Conference Proceedings. - Total number of delegates attending the Conference: 115 delegates (100 delegates with reports + 15 invited delegates), including: + 85 delegates from more than 20 domestic universities and research institutes: Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Foreign Languages - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vinh University, Danang University, Hue University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Institute of Linguistics, Institute of Lexicography and Encyclopedia, Institute of Han Nom, etc. + 30 delegates from 15 foreign universities: University of California - Los Angeles (7), University of Paris 7 - (2), Sheffield University - UK (2), Beijing University (2), Osaka University (3), Hankuk University of Foreign Languages (2), Guangxi University (2), Guangxi University for Nationalities (2), Australian National University (2), Kaohsiung University - Taiwan (1), Chenggong University - Taiwan (1), Tsinghua University (1), Beijing University of Foreign Trade and Economics (1), Ubon Thani University – Thailand (1), Rahajbat Thani University – Thailand (1). - A total of over 60 reports were presented and discussed at the plenary session and at 4 subcommittees, of which nearly half were reports by foreign authors. - Delegates attending the Workshop highly appreciated the scientific significance and practical value of the Workshop as well as the content and quality of the scientific reports participating in the Workshop.2. In terms of international cooperation- The workshop has had the effect of maintaining and promoting cooperative relations in training and scientific research with traditional partners of the Faculty of Linguistics in the country (Institute of Linguistics, Institute of Lexicography and Encyclopedia and many universities) as well as abroad (University of Paris 7, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Osaka University, many universities in China, etc.) - Through the workshop, develop cooperative relations in training and scientific research with a number of new potential partners, especially with foreign universities with high rankings and strong Linguistics departments such as University of California - Los Angeles (USA), University of Sheffield (UK), Australian National University, etc.
