INTRODUCTION
Justification of the thesis
1.1 WHAT IS SUBSTITUTION AND TYPES OF SUBSTITUTION.
Substitution has evolved from being viewed merely as a formal feature within sentences to being recognized as a cohesive and grammatical device that connects sentences This perspective has been supported by prominent linguists, including Halliday, who emphasize its role in enhancing textual coherence.
Hassan, Michael Mc Marthy, Carl James, Brown and Yule etc Those influential linguists have their own definitions about substitution
- Substitution is a device for abbreviating and for avoiding repetition Most of the substitutes of pro-forms within sentences are used across sentence They are normally stressed
(A university Grammar of English: Randolph Quirk and Sidney
- Substitution is a process in which we replace items which are too long or to be well-known
- Substitution is similar to ellipsis in that, in English it operates at nominal, verbal or clausal level
(Discourse Analysis for language teachers: P45: Michael Mc Carthy)
Substitution is a relation within the text on the lexical - grammatical level A substitute is a sort of counter which is used in place of repetition of a particular item
In sum, I can say that substitution is an effective way of avoiding repetition
There are four types of substitution which are nominal, verbal, adverbial, and clausal In this thesis, nominal substitution will be carefully carried out
1.2 DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SUBSTITUTION
Reference refers to the connection between a lexical item and its real-world counterpart For instance, the term "tiger" denotes a group of entities that embody the defining characteristics of a tiger, such as being a type of animal and exhibiting specific traits.
The distinction between substitution and reference is evident: substitution pertains to the relationship between linguistic elements within a sentence or discourse, while reference relates lexical items to the real world.
Distinguishing between substitution and reference can be challenging, particularly due to the co-reference relationship between expressions in various parts of discourse According to Halliday and Hasan, substitution operates at the lexico-grammatical level, while reference pertains to the semantic level of meaning.
1.3 DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SUBSTITUTION
Substitution and ellipsis are often confused due to their similarities Ellipsis involves omitting unnecessary words or phrases from sentences when they have already been mentioned or implied It refers to the exclusion of elements typically required by grammar, which the speaker or writer assumes are clear from the context The omitted parts are usually found in preceding sentences, making the correct understanding of ellipsis reliant on prior information, much like substitution.
Ellipsis, like substitution, effectively enhances cohesion in discourse by requiring the listener to refer back to prior statements for implied information This connection between different parts of the conversation significantly contributes to the overall coherence of the discourse.
Ellipsis and substitution serve as effective strategies for managing information in writing, allowing us to avoid redundancy By employing specific linguistic cues or omitting certain details, we can efficiently convey the intended message without repeating previously stated information.
Both ellipsis and substitution operates either at nominal, verbal or clausal level
Ellipsis and substitution are distinct linguistic concepts; ellipsis involves omitting unnecessary elements, while substitution replaces lengthy or well-known items to avoid repetition In ellipsis, the omitted information leaves a gap, whereas in substitution, the original information is directly replaced with alternative linguistic elements.
From what has been mentioned above, ellipsis and substitution should be seen as two different processes and be dealt with separately
Nominal substitution takes place mainly in the environment of a nominal group and in English the following items can occur as nominal substitutes
In this study, those mentioned above will be carefully examined and at the same time Vietnamese equivalents are also provided
Before dealing with those items I would like to take a look at the nominal structure both in English and Vietnamese
1.5 GENERAL FEATURES OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
According Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum the structure of the nominal group in its full form consists of 3 components: Head, premodification and postmodification
Eg: The pretty/girl/in the corner
The Head of a noun phrase serves as the central component, dictating agreement and coherence with the surrounding sentence elements For instance, in the phrase "the pretty girl," the Head is "girl," while "pretty" modifies it, and in a broader context, it can extend to "some pretty college girls."
-The premodification, which comprises all the items placed before the head - notably adjective and noun: eg - the pretty girl
- The post modification, comprising all the items placed after the head-notably prepositional phrases, non-finite clauses, and relative
Eg: The girl in the corner
The girl standing in the corner
The girl who stood in the corner
Like Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, Halliday and
Hassan also introduce the same structrure of the nominal group in its full form consists of 3 components:
Head, premodifier and postmodifier Premodifier optionally precedes the Head and postmodifier optionally follows the Head
Eg: The two high stone/ walls/ along the roadside
Now, we can come to the conclusion that the standard structrure of the English nominal group has a maximum of three components: one
The head of a sentence can be a common noun, pronoun, or proper noun, which may be substituted or omitted This aspect is the primary focus of my study.
Beside logical structure, Halliday and Hassan give out the experiential of the nominal group
There are six elements in this structure: the Deitic (usually a determiner expressing identity)
The Numerative (A numeral or other quantifier expressing quantity)
The Epithet (An adjective expressing a property)
The Classifier (A common or a proper noun expressing a subclass)
The Qualifier (A relative clause of prepositional phrase)
The relationship between logical and experiential structure can be illustrated as follow
Logical structrure Premodifier Head Postmodifier
The structure given by Halliday and Hassan is preferable to be used in this study
As far as the Vietnamese nominal structure is concerned, the work done by well-known linguists such as Diep Quang Ban, Nguyen
Tai Can and Do Thi Kim Lien will be taken into consideration
According to Diep Quang Ban, the structure of the Vietnamese nominal group is composed of three components: the Head, the
Premodifier and the Postmodifier The presence of the last two is optional (Ngữ pháp tiếng Việt: Diệp Quang Ban)
Eg: Tất cả những cái/ con mèo/ đen ấy
The head in grammar refers to a noun or a noun phrase that typically includes another noun, such as "chicken" (con gà), "areca palm" (cây cau), "scale" (cân gạo), or "meeting" (cuộc họp) This combination represents a singular entity, conveying a unified meaning.
The premodifier may functionally be divided in to three pasts:
Universal Qualifier (từ chỉ tổng lượng như hết thảy, cả thảy, tất cả )
Numerative (số từ eg: những, một, hai )
And the indexical word " cái " (từ chỉ xuất cái) This structure can be illustrated as below
Tất cả những cái con mèo
In Vietnamese, the order of premodifiers is fixed, and they can occasionally replace the Head when it is absent.
The Postmodifier may consist of two elements: Qualifiers (định tố) and demonstrative (từ chỉ định: này, nọ, kia, đây, đó )
Nguyễn Tài Cẩn, in his work on Vietnamese grammar, supports the functional view of language He emphasizes that both the classifier and the noun it accompanies hold equal significance, challenging the notion that one is more important than the other.
The term "head" is a combination of two nouns, where the first noun acts as a classifier and is considered subordinate to the second noun This structure highlights that "head" consists of both Head I and Head II.
Head I Head II r con mèo đen ấy
Một đoàn sinh viên khoa văn
He also suggests that Head may have three forms:
Head I + Head II: con/ chim/ này
Head II chim/ (naỳ) Đỗ Thị Kim Liên (Tiếng Việt thực hành – 1999) totally agrees with Nguyen Tai Can’ point of view
Futhermore, she claims that if premodifier consists of the word indexical "cái" Head must consist of classifier and noun So According to her, nominal group has the following form
Từ chỉ đơn vị Classifier
Danh từ Noun Định ngữ Qualifier
Danh từ chỉ định Demon strative
Cả hai hai ba cái cái cái con anh cân gà sinh viên thịt mái lười biếng thiu ấy ấy ấy
From what has been mentioned above, I would like to give out my own structure of nominal group with the reference of three above linguists'form.
Demonstrative Đại từ chỉ định
Tất cả hai những cái cái anh con sinh viên mèo lười biếng đen ấy ấy
This structure of nominal group in above table will be used in this study
2.1.1 Subjective personal pronouns and Objective personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are divided into two categories: subjective personal pronouns, which include "I, we, you, he, she, it," and objective personal pronouns, such as "me, you, us, him, her, it, them." Understanding these classifications is essential for proper grammar usage.
Design of the thesis
The design of the thesis is represented as follow
1.1 WHAT IS SUBSTITUTION AND TYPES OF SUBSTITUTION.
Substitution has evolved from being viewed as a formal feature of individual sentences to being recognized as a cohesive and grammatical device that connects ideas across sentences Esteemed linguists, including Halliday, have contributed to this understanding, highlighting the significance of substitution in enhancing textual coherence.
Hassan, Michael Mc Marthy, Carl James, Brown and Yule etc Those influential linguists have their own definitions about substitution
- Substitution is a device for abbreviating and for avoiding repetition Most of the substitutes of pro-forms within sentences are used across sentence They are normally stressed
(A university Grammar of English: Randolph Quirk and Sidney
- Substitution is a process in which we replace items which are too long or to be well-known
- Substitution is similar to ellipsis in that, in English it operates at nominal, verbal or clausal level
(Discourse Analysis for language teachers: P45: Michael Mc Carthy)
Substitution is a relation within the text on the lexical - grammatical level A substitute is a sort of counter which is used in place of repetition of a particular item
In sum, I can say that substitution is an effective way of avoiding repetition
There are four types of substitution which are nominal, verbal, adverbial, and clausal In this thesis, nominal substitution will be carefully carried out
1.2 DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SUBSTITUTION
Reference refers to the connection between a lexical item and its real-world identity For instance, the referent of "tiger" encompasses all entities that meet the defining characteristics of a tiger, such as being a type of animal, having fur, and being carnivorous.
The distinction between substitution and reference is evident: substitution pertains to the relationship between linguistic elements within a sentence or discourse, while reference relates lexical items to the real world.
Distinguishing between substitution and reference can be challenging, particularly because reference involves co-reference relationships among expressions within a discourse According to Halliday and Hasan, substitution pertains to the relationship between linguistic items at the lexico-grammatical level, whereas reference relates to meaning at the semantic level.
1.3 DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SUBSTITUTION
Substitution and ellipsis often cause confusion due to their similarities Ellipsis involves omitting unnecessary words or phrases in sentences, relying on previously mentioned context This grammatical omission occurs when the speaker or writer assumes that the missing elements are obvious, making it essential for the reader to interpret the sentence based on prior information Understanding ellipsis requires awareness of the preceding content, much like substitution.
Ellipsis, like substitution, serves as an effective tool for enhancing cohesion in discourse By requiring the listener to refer back to previous statements for implied information, ellipsis creates connections between different parts of the conversation, significantly contributing to the overall coherence of the discourse.
Ellipsis and substitution are effective linguistic strategies for managing information without redundancy By utilizing specific linguistic markers or omitting certain details, we can convey meaning while avoiding the repetition of previously mentioned information.
Both ellipsis and substitution operates either at nominal, verbal or clausal level
While both ellipsis and substitution serve to streamline language, they differ significantly in their functions Ellipsis involves omitting unnecessary elements from a sentence, while substitution replaces lengthy or well-known information with shorter linguistic items In ellipsis, the omitted information leaves a gap in the sentence, whereas substitution fills that gap with an alternative expression.
From what has been mentioned above, ellipsis and substitution should be seen as two different processes and be dealt with separately
Nominal substitution takes place mainly in the environment of a nominal group and in English the following items can occur as nominal substitutes
In this study, those mentioned above will be carefully examined and at the same time Vietnamese equivalents are also provided
Before dealing with those items I would like to take a look at the nominal structure both in English and Vietnamese
1.5 GENERAL FEATURES OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
According Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum the structure of the nominal group in its full form consists of 3 components: Head, premodification and postmodification
Eg: The pretty/girl/in the corner
The Head of a noun phrase is the central element that governs the agreement and harmony with other parts of the sentence For example, in the phrase "the pretty girl," the Head dictates the grammatical structure, as seen in the transition to "some pretty college girls."
-The premodification, which comprises all the items placed before the head - notably adjective and noun: eg - the pretty girl
- The post modification, comprising all the items placed after the head-notably prepositional phrases, non-finite clauses, and relative
Eg: The girl in the corner
The girl standing in the corner
The girl who stood in the corner
Like Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, Halliday and
Hassan also introduce the same structrure of the nominal group in its full form consists of 3 components:
Head, premodifier and postmodifier Premodifier optionally precedes the Head and postmodifier optionally follows the Head
Eg: The two high stone/ walls/ along the roadside
Now, we can come to the conclusion that the standard structrure of the English nominal group has a maximum of three components: one
The focus of my study is on the head of a phrase, which can be a common noun, pronoun, or proper noun This head can often be substituted or even omitted, highlighting its significance in sentence structure Additionally, I will explore two optional modifiers that can accompany the head, further enriching the analysis.
Beside logical structure, Halliday and Hassan give out the experiential of the nominal group
There are six elements in this structure: the Deitic (usually a determiner expressing identity)
The Numerative (A numeral or other quantifier expressing quantity)
The Epithet (An adjective expressing a property)
The Classifier (A common or a proper noun expressing a subclass)
The Qualifier (A relative clause of prepositional phrase)
The relationship between logical and experiential structure can be illustrated as follow
Logical structrure Premodifier Head Postmodifier
The structure given by Halliday and Hassan is preferable to be used in this study
As far as the Vietnamese nominal structure is concerned, the work done by well-known linguists such as Diep Quang Ban, Nguyen
Tai Can and Do Thi Kim Lien will be taken into consideration
According to Diep Quang Ban, the structure of the Vietnamese nominal group is composed of three components: the Head, the
Premodifier and the Postmodifier The presence of the last two is optional (Ngữ pháp tiếng Việt: Diệp Quang Ban)
Eg: Tất cả những cái/ con mèo/ đen ấy
The head can function as a noun or a noun phrase, typically consisting of another noun, such as in examples like "chicken" (con gà), "betel palm" (cây cau), "scale" (cân gạo), and "meeting" (cuộc họp) This combination represents a single entity.
The premodifier may functionally be divided in to three pasts:
Universal Qualifier (từ chỉ tổng lượng như hết thảy, cả thảy, tất cả )
Numerative (số từ eg: những, một, hai )
And the indexical word " cái " (từ chỉ xuất cái) This structure can be illustrated as below
Tất cả những cái con mèo
In Vietnamese, the order of premodifiers is fixed, and they can sometimes replace the Head when it is absent.
The Postmodifier may consist of two elements: Qualifiers (định tố) and demonstrative (từ chỉ định: này, nọ, kia, đây, đó )
Nguyễn Tài Cẩn, in his work on Vietnamese grammar, aligns with the functional view, emphasizing that both the classifier and the noun that follows hold equal significance in their grammatical roles.
The term "Head" consists of two nouns, where the first noun acts as a classifier and is considered secondary to the second noun This concept highlights that "Head" is a combination of Head I and Head II.
Head I Head II r con mèo đen ấy
Một đoàn sinh viên khoa văn
He also suggests that Head may have three forms:
Head I + Head II: con/ chim/ này
Head II chim/ (naỳ) Đỗ Thị Kim Liên (Tiếng Việt thực hành – 1999) totally agrees with Nguyen Tai Can’ point of view
Futhermore, she claims that if premodifier consists of the word indexical "cái" Head must consist of classifier and noun So According to her, nominal group has the following form
Từ chỉ đơn vị Classifier
Danh từ Noun Định ngữ Qualifier
Danh từ chỉ định Demon strative
Cả hai hai ba cái cái cái con anh cân gà sinh viên thịt mái lười biếng thiu ấy ấy ấy
From what has been mentioned above, I would like to give out my own structure of nominal group with the reference of three above linguists'form.
Demonstrative Đại từ chỉ định
Tất cả hai những cái cái anh con sinh viên mèo lười biếng đen ấy ấy
This structure of nominal group in above table will be used in this study
2.1.1 Subjective personal pronouns and Objective personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are divided into two categories: subjective personal pronouns, which include "I, we, you, he, she, it," and objective personal pronouns, which consist of "me, you, us, him, her, it, them."