Language Universals and Language Typology

Hoang Khanh Linh

26.06.2017
Assignment 3
on
Vietnamese

1. Basic word order

The basic word order in Vietnamese is fixed with Subject Verb Object (SVO) pattern.
(1) Ti n to
I eat apple
I eat apples.
Although subject or verb is sometimes omitted in the sentence, this sequence still remains
(Dinh-Hoa 1997: 209)1. The presence of constituents may be flexible but the word order is
strict.
(2) M ti ngi H Ni
mother I native Hanoi
My mother is a Hanoian.
(3) Con mo to
the cat big
The cat is big.
(4) Anh phi li xe bn tay tri
in the UK must drive on the left
In the UK, people must drive on the left.
There are highly marked clauses, which deviate from the basic word sequence. They are used
with an indefinite substitute ai whoever or no whichever to emphasize the patient of the
action. Object stands at the beginning of the sentence and is followed by subject and verb,
which creates OSV pattern.
(5) Vic ai ngi ny lm
business whoever person that do
Each person minds his/her own business.

2. Word order correlations

Since the basic word order in Vietnamese is SVO, the sequence of verb and object is VO.
Below is the examination of the word order correlations between VO and other constituent
pairs against the background of Greenbergs word order correlations2.
2.1. Verb and auxiliary: In languages with basic VO order, auxiliary precedes verb - Agree
(6) Em phi lm vic chm ch
you must work hard
You must work hard.

2.2. Noun and determiner (article): If a language has VO basic word order, it tends to place
the article before noun Agree
(7) Mi ngi u cn hc tp
every person need study
Everyone needs to study.

1
Dinh-Hoa, N. (1997). Vietnamese: Tieng viet khong son phan (London Oriental and African Language Library 9). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
2
Greenberg, J. H. (1963). Some universals of grammar with particular reference to the order of meaningful elements. Universals of
language, 2, 73-113.
2.3. Adposition and noun: If a language has basic VO order, it tends to employ prepositions
Agree
(8) Con chim bay trn tri
the bird fly on sky
The bird is flying in the sky.

2.4. Possessor (genitive) and possessed: In languages with prepositions, the genitive almost
always follows the governing noun Agree
(9) Con mo ca ti mu en
cat my black
My cat is black.
(10) Ci xe ca Minh rt mi
car POSS Minh very new
Minhs car is very new.

2.5. Noun and relative clause: If a language has basic VO order, the relative clause almost
always follows the head noun Agree
(11) Bc H, ngi m ti rt knh yu, qua i
uncle Ho person that I very admire PST pass away
Ho Chi Minh, whom I admire very much, passed away.
(12) C y n ci bnh m ti tng
she PST eat the cake that I give
She ate the cake which I gave to her.

2.6. Position of subordinate clause: If a language has basic VO order, the subordinate
clause tends to precede the main clause Disagree
The position of subordinate clause is flexible and mainly depends on the constituent that they
complement.
(13) Anh y cu c ti khi tri ti
he fish until sky dark
He fished until it got dark.
(14) Tin bo n lm mi ngi lo lng
the news storm come make everyone worried
The news that a storm is coming makes everyone worried.
However, the sequence can be reversed without changing the initial meaning.
(15) Khi mt tri ln, c y ra ng
when the sun rise she go to paddy field
When the sun rises, she goes to the paddy field.
(16) c y ra ng khi mt tri ln
she go to paddy field when the sun rise
She goes to the paddy field when the sun rises.

2.7. Position of subordinate conjunction in the subordinate clause: If a language has basic
VO order, the subordinator almost always occurs at the beginning of the subordinate
clause Agree
(17) Mc d khng thch mn ton, c y vn hc chm ch
although dislike Maths she still study hard
Although she dislikes Maths, she still studies it hard.

It is possible to classify Vietnamese as a head-initial language.

Vietnamese has VO basic word order, with the verb (V) precedes its complement (O) in a
verb phrase, in which a verb is the head.
(18) n sng
eat breakfast
eat breakfast
In a noun phrase with a noun is the head, the noun precedes its complement (a
complementizer or adpositional phrase).
(19) c gi m ti yu
the girl that I love
the girl whom I love
In an adjective phrase with an adjective as the head and adverbial or adpositional phrase as
the complement, the adjective begins the phrase.
(20) t ho v con
proud about you
proud of you
A determiner which is the head of a determiner phrase stands at the intial position.
(21) mi ngi
every person
everyone
An adpositional phrase is initialized by a preposition.
(22) trong nh
in house
in the house
A complementizer phrase is headed by a complimentizer which is the head of the phrase.
(23) vic anh y b hc
that he drop out
that he dropped out
Tense marker is the head of a tense phrase and stands at the beginning.
(24) n tra
PST eat lunch
ate lunch