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Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics
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Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 5160

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Trang Phan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30123 Venezia, VE, Italy
Interests: syntax; language acquisition; historical linguistics
Dr. Nigel Duffield

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Letters, Konan University, Kobe 658-8501, Hyogo, Japan
Interests: syntax; second language acquisition; psycholinguistics
Dr. Tim Chou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
Interests: syntax-semantics/pragmatics interfaces; bilingualism/heritage language acquisition; linguistics-based NLP

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite submissions for a Special Issue of the journal Languages titled "Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics", featuring selected papers from the annual ISVL (International Scholars of Vietnamese Linguistics) workshop, held since 2021 in various locations worldwide. The workshops were organized by different institutions, including Harvard, Yenching Institute (2021), Konan University, Vietnam National University Hanoi (2022 and 2023), and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (2024).

The ISVL workshop serves as a scholarly forum for global experts to explore the latest research on Vietnamese linguistics, which has evolved significantly over its four-year existence.

This Special Issue, a follow-up to the ISVL workshop, focuses on current Vietnamese linguistic issues, covering phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and historical linguistics. Its aim is to provide a platform for high-quality research publication, enrich the existing literature with cutting-edge insights, and promote interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars. By offering a state-of-the-art overview of contemporary research, this Special Issue contributes to the advancement of Vietnamese linguistics, stimulating further discussion and debate across different theoretical perspectives.

Submission Guidelines

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200 words summarizing their intended contribution before 15 April 2024. Please send it to the guest editors (thihuyentrang.phan@unive.it, duffield@konan-u.ac.jp, and ctchou@nycu.edu.tw). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Notification of abstract acceptance will be given by May 15, 2024. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer-review process.

References:

  1. Phan, Trang; Phan, John & Alves, Mark (editors) (2022). Vietnamese Linguistics: State of the field. Special publication of Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society no 9. University of Hawai’i Press.
  2. Duffield, Nigel & Phan, Trang (editors) (2024). Progress in Vietnamese linguistics. Introduction, Taiwan Journal of Linguistics Vol. 22.
  3. Phan, Trang & Duffield, Nigel (editors) (2025). Special issue on Vietnamese Linguistics, Taiwan Journal of Linguistics.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Trang Phan
Dr. Nigel Duffield
Dr. Tim Chou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vietnamese linguistics
  • phonetics
  • phonology
  • morphology
  • syntax
  • semantics
  • pragmatics
  • historical linguistics

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

49 pages, 4502 KiB  
Article
Whys and Wherefores: The Aetiology of the Left Periphery (With Reference to Vietnamese)
by Nigel Duffield
Languages 2025, 10(5), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10050116 - 19 May 2025
Viewed by 24
Abstract
This paper offers a detailed description of the left periphery of embedded clauses in Vietnamese. Five kinds of pre-subject constituent are considered in isolation, and in interaction with one another: subordinating conjunctions; embedded topics; fronted quantifier expressions; fronted adverbials, and the Vietnamese equivalent [...] Read more.
This paper offers a detailed description of the left periphery of embedded clauses in Vietnamese. Five kinds of pre-subject constituent are considered in isolation, and in interaction with one another: subordinating conjunctions; embedded topics; fronted quantifier expressions; fronted adverbials, and the Vietnamese equivalent of English why (Italian perché). A systematic comparison is made with the functional sequence of Italian, proposed in the cartographic literature. Whilst largely consistent with the Italian pattern, our findings diverge in certain respects, especially in suggesting a modification of previous treatments of the *‘why-to’ constraint observed in English and a number of other varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics)
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27 pages, 6535 KiB  
Article
Locative Inversion in Vietnamese
by Trần Phan and Chao-Ting Tim Chou
Languages 2025, 10(3), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10030050 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 541
Abstract
This paper has four primary objectives. First, we examine two Vietnamese constructions—the locative and existential constructions—in which a locative phrase appears clause-initially, preceding a verb-DP sequence. We demonstrate that, in the locative construction, the locative phrase is an argument of the locative verb, [...] Read more.
This paper has four primary objectives. First, we examine two Vietnamese constructions—the locative and existential constructions—in which a locative phrase appears clause-initially, preceding a verb-DP sequence. We demonstrate that, in the locative construction, the locative phrase is an argument of the locative verb, whereas, in the existential construction, it functions as a locative adjunct. Second, we show that this locative adjunct in the existential construction can undergo optional topicalization to the left periphery. More crucially, we argue that the fronting of the locative argument in the locative construction is neither Ā-topicalization to the left periphery nor A-movement targeting Spec,TP, supporting the featural approach to the A/Ā distinction. Third, by comparing the expletive nó with the fronting locative argument in the locative construction, we contend that both compete for the same specifier position of a hybrid A/Ā projection in the high TP domain. Fourth, to detail the movement of the locative argument in the locative construction, we posit a composite probe [D, δ] on the head of the A/ĀP to selectively move the locative argument to Spec,A/ĀP over the structurally higher theme DP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics)
16 pages, 1449 KiB  
Article
Reflexivization and Mình-Exceptional Local Binding by a Monomorphemic Anaphor?
by Andrew Simpson and Linh Pham
Languages 2025, 10(3), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10030044 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 407
Abstract
This paper considers the distribution of the anaphor mình in Vietnamese and whether mình can be locally bound in the absence of the reflexivizing element tự. The patterning of Vietnamese mình poses a potential challenge to theories of binding based on claims [...] Read more.
This paper considers the distribution of the anaphor mình in Vietnamese and whether mình can be locally bound in the absence of the reflexivizing element tự. The patterning of Vietnamese mình poses a potential challenge to theories of binding based on claims that anaphors that are monomorphemic reject local binding and are unable to reflexivize a predicate. The paper reports on an experiment designed to probe judgements of mình in local reflexive interpretations and concludes that, for many speakers from different regions of Vietnam, mình in object position may be interpreted reflexively with the subject of the same clause, without the need for tự. On the basis of patterns involving ellipsis and quantificational subjects, it is further shown that this is a genuine binding relation and not simple co-reference. Such conclusions are noted to have significant consequences for certain approaches to binding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics)
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18 pages, 3840 KiB  
Article
“Again” and “Again”: A Grammatical Analysis of lại and nữa in Vietnamese
by Yi-Ling Irene Liao and Tzong-Hong Jonah Lin
Languages 2025, 10(2), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10020018 - 23 Jan 2025
Viewed by 718
Abstract
This work examines the grammatical properties of lại and nữa in Vietnamese, both of which can express the repetition of an event. It has been observed that different syntactic positions of lại result in different readings, as noted in previous studies. When lại [...] Read more.
This work examines the grammatical properties of lại and nữa in Vietnamese, both of which can express the repetition of an event. It has been observed that different syntactic positions of lại result in different readings, as noted in previous studies. When lại precedes a verb, it may assume either the repetitive reading or restitutive reading. When lại follows a verb, it can only assume the restitutive reading. Nữa can be used for the repetitive reading and the incremental reading as well, in the sense that an activity is incremented by adding subevents measured along some dimension, as discussed by Tovena & Donazzan (2008). We adopt Stechow’s (1996) structural analysis and the theory of focus semantics and propose that the preverbal lại is adjoined to vP, which can be focus-associated with an element within its c-command domain, i.e., vP or VP. This is the origin of the ambiguous readings of the preverbal lại. The postverbal lại is adjoined to VP, and this is the reason why it does not yield ambiguous readings. We also propose that nữa is adjoined to vP, along with the movement of vP to a higher functional projection. This results in the surface final position of nữa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics)
23 pages, 621 KiB  
Article
An Updated Overview of the Austroasiatic Components of Vietnamese
by Mark Alves
Languages 2024, 9(12), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9120377 - 17 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1783
Abstract
This article presents an updated view of the language history of Vietnamese from its native Austroasiatic roots, including key historical phonological, morphological, and syntactic features and developments; a characterization of its Austroasiatic etyma; and the context of this information in Vietnamese linguistic ethnohistory. [...] Read more.
This article presents an updated view of the language history of Vietnamese from its native Austroasiatic roots, including key historical phonological, morphological, and syntactic features and developments; a characterization of its Austroasiatic etyma; and the context of this information in Vietnamese linguistic ethnohistory. It is now possible to make better supported claims and more precise characterizations due to improved understanding of the history of Austroasiatic and Vietic and their reconstructions, the nature and effect of language contact with Chinese, and the process of typological convergence of the ancestral language of Vietnamese. This study shows that, while Vietnamese is not a typologically characteristic Austroasiatic language, the Austroasiatic components of the Vietnamese lexicon and linguistic structure are more prominent than previously supposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Issues in Vietnamese Linguistics)
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