conjunctions in some english and vietnamese newletters a contrastive analysis = phân tích đối chiếu liên từ trong một số bức thư ngỏ tiếng anh và tiếng việt

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES


NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀNG HUẾ


CONJUNCTIONS IN SOME ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
NEWSLETTERS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

(PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU LIÊN TỪ TRONG MỘT SỐ BỨC THƯ NGỎ
TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAM THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60.22.15



HA NOI- 2012
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀNG HUẾ


CONJUNCTIONS IN SOME ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
NEWSLETTERS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

(PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU LIÊN TỪ TRONG MỘT SỐ BỨC THƯ NGỎ
TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAM THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60.22.15
SUPERVISOR: PHẠM THỊ THANH THÙY, Ph.D


HA NOI- 2012
v

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Page
Declaration ………………………………………………………
i
Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………
ii
List of tables……………………………………………………………
iii
Abstract ………………………………………………………………
iv
Table of contents ………………………………………………………
v
PART 1: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………….
1

1. Rationale for the study ………………………………………………
1
2. Aims of the study ……………………………………………………
2
3. Scope of the study …………………………………………………
2
4. Methods of the study ………………………………………………
2
5. Design of the study. ………………………………………………
3
PART 2: DEVELOPMENT………………………………
4
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND…………………
4
1.1. An overview of Newsletters…………………………………
4
1.1.1. Definitions of Newsletters………………………………
4
1.1.2. Types of Newsletters……………………………………
4
vi

1.1.3. Formats of Newsletters……………………………
5
1.1.4. English and Vietnamese Marketing Newsletters……….
7
1.2. English and Vietnamese Conjunctions…………………………
7
1.2.1. English conjunctions……………………………………………
7

1.2.1.1. Definitions of English conjunctions…………………
7
1.2.1.2. Classifications of English conjunctions……………….
8
1.2.2. Vietnamese conjunctions……………………………………….
15
1.2.2.1. Definitions of Vietnamese conjunctions………………
15
1.2.2.2. Classifications of Vietnamese conjunctions…………
16
1.3. Related studies ……………………………………………………
18
1.4. Summary…………………………………………………………
19
CHAPTER 2: CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF
CONJUNCTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
MARKETING NEWSLETTERS…………………………………….
20
2.1. Introduction……………………………………………………….
20
2.2. Contrastive analysis of conjunctions in English and
Vietnamese Marketing Newsletters…………………………………
20
2.2.1. Frequency of using conjunctions in English and
Vietnamese Marketing Newsletters…………………………………….
20
2.2.2. Similarities and Differences in conjunction usages in
English and Vietnamese …………………………………………
25
vii

2.2.2.1. Similarities………………………………………
25
2.2.2.2. Differences………………………………………
31
2.3. Summary…………………………………………………………
34
PART 3: CONCLUSION……………………………………………
35
1. Recapitulation………………………………………………………
35
2. Implications…………………………………………………………
36
2.1. Implications for EFL teaching and learning…………………
36
2.2. Implications for translating…………………………………
38
3. Contributions of the study……………………………………………
39
4. Limitations of the study………………………………………………
39
5. Suggestions for further research……………………………………
40
REFERENCES ……………………………….…………………
41
APPENDICES

1


PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study
In the world of cooperation and development, English has become an
international language and effective means of communication bringing nations
throughout the world close together. English is said to have played a very important
role in the development of commerce, trade, education, technology, economics, etc
in almost every country especially in Vietnam’s integration into the world.
Therefore, it is necessary to know how to use English correctly and
communicatively. In the process of learning English, having good knowledge of
English grammar is of great importance, for one can express his/her ideas, feelings
or emotions not only by separated words but also by meaningful sentences formed
grammatically. Thus, the importance of grammar is the researcher’s first reason for
choosing this topic.
The second reason the writer chooses conjunctions to study is that when
grammar is under discussion, most people tend to appreciate the significances of
tenses, aspects, voices, order of clause elements rather than conjunctions.
Conjunctions, functioning as connectors and transition signals, actually play an
important role in linking sentences, paragraphs, or clauses each other. Apart from
this, thanks to conjunctions, various kinds of grammatical sentences are formed
such as compound sentences and complex sentences.
One more reason that has inspired the researcher to the topic is her deep
interest in English Commerce, especially in newsletters. The fact is that, a
newsletter is regarded as a form that many companies use to promote their products.
It serves as a smaller version of the newspaper to create good relationships with

customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. It goes without saying that newsletters
contribute towards the overall success of the business. Newsletters are also known
as consultant letters, so they need to have the logic and coherence to attract
customers. Besides, conjunctions are seen as an essential means of linking so as to
2


increase the persuasion in newsletters. Therefore, studying and finding the
similarities and differences in conjunction usages in English and Vietnamese
Newsletters will be of great help to the writer in teaching economic students at Hoa
Lu University where the author is working.
2. Aims of the study
The research firstly aims to study conjunctions used in English and
Vietnamese marketing newsletters and then explore the similarities and differences
based on the syntactic and semantic features between them. At the end of the study,
some implications for teaching, learning and translation will be covered as useful
resources. To fully achieve these aims, the study should answer the following
questions:
1. How frequent are conjunctions in English and Vietnamese Newsletters?
2. What are the similarities and differences in conjunction usages in English
and Vietnamese Newsletters?
3. Scope of the study
Many topics relating to conjunctions as well as lots of types of newsletters in
different fields need to be exploited. For the feasibility of a minor M.A. thesis, the
writer narrowed the scope of the paper. The main focus is on the descriptive and
contrastive analysis of conjunction usages in English and Vietnamese marketing
newsletters with respect to the syntactic and semantic features.
4. Methods of the study
The study has been carried out based on a combination of different methods,
among which the main method is contrastive analysis. In fact, according to Carl

James (1980), contrastive analysis (CA) is defined as a linguistic enterprise aimed at
producing inverted two-valued typologies (a CA is always concerned with a pair of
languages), and founded on the assumption that languages can be compared. For the
contrastive analysis method, English is considered to be the target language and
Vietnamese - the source language - a means to contrast. The author has taken 40
3


samples of both English and Vietnamese marketing newsletters (20 English and 20
Vietnamese ones) to compare and contrast. This method involves two steps:
describing the syntactic and semantic features of conjunctions in English and
Vietnamese marketing newsletters, then comparing and contrasting to point out the
similarities and differences between these two languages. Together with this
method, the writer also uses the quantitative method that is based on data to
examine conjunctions used in both English and Vietnamese. Supporting techniques
such as reference to the publication, consultation with the supervisor, discussion with
colleagues, and personal observations are also of great significance.
5. Design of the study
The study consists of three main parts organized as follows:
Part 1 entitles “INTRODUCTION” outlining the background of the study in
which a brief account of relevant information such as rationale, aims, scope,
methods, and designs of the study will be presented.
Part 2, the “DEVELOPMENT” is subdivided into two chapters. Chapter 1
– Theoretical background, as its name suggests, covers a series of concepts about
English and Vietnamese conjunctions and an overview of newsletters. The writer
also introduces some famous studies related to conjunctions as a source to develop
this thesis. In Chapter 2, the researcher focuses on “Contrastive analysis of
conjunctions in English and Vietnamese Marketing Newsletters”. The author
analyzes and contrasts how to use conjunctions in English and Vietnamese
marketing newsletters based on the syntactic and semantic features to find out the

similarities and differences in the two languages.
Part 3, the CONCLUSION, is the last part of the study which summarizes
what has been done, what has not been covered, accompanied by suggestions for
further study. Some possible implications for language teaching, learning and
translation are given at the end of this part with a view to providing a new insight
into a very important device of linking in English and Vietnamese.

4


PART 2: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. An overview of Newsletters
1.1.1. Definitions of Newsletters
According to Edward A. Hamilton (1996) in the book “Newsletters Design”,
a newsletter is an ambiguous term. It is defined as a condensed periodical used to
communicate specialized editorial information. He explains briefly that
“condensed” means it is shorter than the average newspaper or magazine and
provides lots of information in limited space; “periodical” means it is published
regularly; “specialized” means it focuses not on a broad subject area such as
finance, but on a subject-within-a-subject such as real estate finance, not on
organizations in general, but a specific organization.
From the point of Nadeem Hussain’s views, in the article “Advantages and
disadvantages of Newsletters” published on September 18
th
, 2008, a newsletter is
defined as a form of advertising that is sent periodically. It is considered as a
popularly effective marketing tool, it provides relevant and updated information of
the products or services of the organization for the existing clients or customers.
In another persuasive definition written by Chuck Green (2002), a

newsletter is one of the best ways to keep the company’s name in front of the eyes
of the clients, the associates, and others that may be in the company’s market target.
And sending newsletters to customers is a common marketing strategy which can
bring many benefits for the company.
1.1.2.Types of Newsletters
In his book “Design it Yourself Newsletters” written by Chuck Green (2002),
he describes three basic types of Newsletters or models of newsletters including
5


Marketing Newsletters, Relationship Newsletters, and Expert Newsletters. The
author also shows that each type of newsletter has its own characteristics.
The first type is Marketing Newsletters. They are commonly used by
businesses to promote a product or a kind of service. It is also known as a company
newsletter. The marketing newsletter tries to turn prospective customers into
patrons.
The second type is Relationship Newsletters. Some examples about this type
are club newsletters, employee newsletters, church newsletters, and school
newsletters. They focus on the shared interests of the target audience or reinforcing
a relationship.
The last type is Expert Newsletters. This type can be very exclusive or be
paid. These newsletters generally focus on a specific topic and the recipient is
someone who has specifically requested the information in the newsletters and is
willing to pay for the information.
1.1.3. Formats of Newsletters
According to Janice Byer in the article “Newsletters are smart marketing”
published on August 12
th
, 2010, newsletters can be produced in several formats. For
businesses, the most economical and most readily acceptable newsletter formats are

plain text emails, HTML emails, and HTML page on the website, PDF, and print.
The author also shows that each newsletter format has its own advantages and
disadvantages and they are shown on the table below:
Format
Pros
Cons
Plain Text
Email
Easy to format
Limited to text only
Easy for readers to open
Cannot include graphics or fancy
formatting
Costs only your time

HTML
Email
Visually appealing
Restricted in size
Costs only your time
Can only be fully viewed while
readers are online
Allows for creativeness
6


HTML
Web Page
Endless possibilities for design
Takes time to design

Room for lots of content & graphics
Readers have to be online to view
Do not need to send as email
attachment

Costs only your time

PDF
Endless possibilities for design
The larger the format, the longer to
produce
Room for lots of content & graphics
Need to have the full version of
Adobe to produce or a PDF printer
driver
Can send only a text email with a
link to the page

Readers can save to their computer
and read at their leisure

Print
Costs only your time

Endless possibilities for design
Costly to print and mail
Room for lots of content & graphics

Determining which model fits the types of newsletters to use and publish is
to depend on the user’s purposes. Having the same opinion with Janice Byer, Ladan

Lashkari in the article “Newsletter Formats – How to easily choose the perfect
format for your newsletters”, published on January 19
th
, 2007 also gives three basic
formats of Newsletters. They are HTML, plain text, and PDF. She states that HTML
is a good format because it is more professional than plain text and easier to create
than PDF. It allows extensive use of graphics and text links. Using graphics and
product pictures in newsletters can really attract customers’ attention. Plain text is
the easiest format to create, but it does not sound professional because no technical
knowledge and special software are required as well. PDF is not used as commonly
as the two above newsletters formats. It is quite difficult to produce because the
writer needs to build each issue in Microsoft Word first and then convert it into PDF
with special software.
In comparison with English newsletters formats, the writer realizes that
HTML and PDF are the widely used formats in Vietnamese newsletters.
7


1.1.4. English and Vietnamese Marketing Newsletters
One of the biggest tasks of many business companies today is gaining and
keeping prospective customers. Accordingly, most companies use marketing
newsletters as an effective way to promote their products and services, and English
and Vietnamese companies are no exception.
According to Nadeem Hussain (2008), marketing newsletter is a form of
advertising that is sent periodically. It is a document that notifies, reminds, advises,
communicates and advertises about a business to its target audiences and customers.
In addition, it is also a good way to build an effective connection with clients.
Companies can motivate customers to buy their products through informative
marketing newsletters.
Both English and Vietnamese marketing newsletters are being widely used

by many companies with a view to promoting their businesses. However, there is
still a slight difference that English marketing newsletters content is often longer
than that in Vietnamese.
1.2. English and Vietnamese Conjunctions
1.2.1. English conjunctions
1.2.1.1. Definitions of English conjunctions
Conjunction is a word rooted from two Latin oniunctio or coniunctions
meaning “to join together”. (Mc Arthur, 1992). English conjunctions are defined
as words which typically join sentences and elements within sentence” (Berk,
1999). According to him, we can always add one structure to another by joining two
or more elements with a conjunction.
Rodney Huddleston (1944) defines conjunction as uninflected word that used
to connect clauses or sentences, or to coordinate words in the same clause. Another
8


definition by Ann Cole Brown (1987), conjunction is a word that connects
individual words or groups of words. In fact, a conjunction literally means the act of
joining or combination.
And in a word, it is worth viewing the most adequate definition by Richard
Mallery (1967) that “a conjunction is a word or a pair of words used either to
connect words, phrases, clauses or sentences or to show how one sentence is
related to another.” Many definitions of conjunctions are arrived at by other
grammarians. However, they generally defined the concept of conjunction in the
light of emphasizing on its main function concerning the combination of words,
clauses or sentences.
1.2.1.2. Classification of English conjunctions
According to Chalker (1967), the word-class conjunction is a traditional one
which can be divided into coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions join grammatically equal elements whereas

subordinating conjunctions link a subordinate “dependent” clause to a main clause.
Also, he points out conjunctions consist of single words (because, however, so),
compound conjunctions (as long as, so that, surprising that, provided that) and
correlative ones (both… and).
However, from many grammarians’ points of view such as Carol Ann
Bergman (1989), Ann Cole Brown (1987) and Quirk and Greenbaun (1973),
English conjunctions include coordinating conjunctions (or more simply
coordinators), subordinating conjunctions (or subordinators) and correlative
conjunctions (correlatives).
In “Grammar, rhetoric, and composition” (Mallery, 1967), conjunctions can
be arranged into three principal groups: coordinating, correlative and subordinating
conjunctions. With correlative and subordinator groups, the writer merely states
their definition together with the list of words belonging to both groups. However,
9


apart from common correlatives (both … and, either … or, neither … nor, not only
… but also) the writer recommends others: though … yet, whether … or, so … as, if
… then, as … as.
Another research provided by Chalker (1967), conjunctions are traditionally
divided into coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. According to him and,
or, but, so, yet, for, neither … nor, either … or, both … and, not only … but also
belong to the coordinator group. They are used to join two equal parts of the
sentence whereas the subordinating conjunctions are used to link a modifying clause
to a main clause
To sum up, there are many different ideas about types of conjunctions. The
author would like to take three types of conjunctions including coordinating,
subordinating and correlatives into consideration as follows:
(i) Coordinating conjunctions


Definitions and functions of coordinators
Based on Quirk’s viewpoint (1973), explicit indicators of coordination are
termed coordinating conjunctions. And coordination is analyzed as the process of
joining units which are in equal status. In other words, coordination involves the
linking of units which are constituents of the same level. Virtually, the process of
conjoining equal status units must be attended by a coordinator which is a word
which joins elements that are grammatically equal (Chalker, 1967).
In “A reference English Grammar”, R.A. Close (1975) stresses the
coordination of separate parts of clauses caused by coordinating conjunctions. A
specific explanation about separated parts of a clause shows that more than two
parts of the subject, object, etc can be further added. Sometimes, coordination
prompts ambiguous meaning. What is more, coordinators can join more than two
clauses in order to form a compound sentence.
10


In terms of function, Michael Swan (1995) states that the basic function of
coordinators to join pairs of clauses that are grammatically independent from each
other.
From Ann Cole Brown’s point of view, the function of coordinators is more
elaborative. She gives three main functions: First of all, a coordinating conjunction
may connect nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases and other
sentence elements. Each coordinating conjunction shows a different relationship
between the words that it connects. Secondly, a coordinating conjunction may
connect two of independent clauses which are groups of words that can stand by
themselves as complete sentences. Thirdly, a conjunction helps to avoid repetition
by bringing separate items into one sentence.

Syntactic features of coordinators
Quirk and GreenBaum in “A University Grammar of English” (1973)

introduced six syntactic features of coordinators as follows:
Syntactic Features
Characteristics
Examples
a. Restricted to
initial position
“and”, “or” and “but”
are restricted to initial
position in the clause:

John plays the guitar, and his sister
plays the piano.
*John plays the guitar; his sister and
plays the piano.
b. Coordinated
clauses sequentially
fixed
Clause beginning with a
coordinator cannot be
moved in front of the
preceding clause without
producing unacceptable
sentences or at least
changing the relationship
of clauses.
They are living in England or they
spending a vacation here.
*Or they are spending a vacation there,
they are living in England
c.Conjunctions

preceding

“and”, “or”, “but”,
“for”, “so that” do not
allow another conjunction
to precede them.

11


d. Ellipsis of subject
The coordinators allow
ellipsis of the subject of
the clause they introduce
if the subject is co-
referential with that of the
preceding linked clause.
I may see you tomorrow or (I) may
phone later in the day.
e. Linking of
subordinate clauses
“and” and “or” can link
subordinate clauses.
I wonder whether you should go and
see her or whether it is better to write
to her.
f. Linking more
than two clauses
“and” and “or” can link
more than two clauses.

John might take them by car, Mary
might go with them by bus, or I might
order a taxi for them.
(Source: Quirk and GreenBaum in “A University Grammar of English” (1973))

Kinds of coordinators
As a matter of fact, there have been classifications of coordinators. For
instance, Collin Cobuild (1990) lists the most common coordinators: and, nor, but,
or, then, for. Nevertheless, according to Oshima Alice and Hogue Ann, for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so are called FANBOYS in order to help learners easier to
remember these coordinators.
In short, not all grammarians have been able to provide readers a consistent
classification of coordinators. Therefore, the occurrence of various classifications is
inevitable. To be more precise and to understand coordinators more clearly, it is
likely that Quirk’s classification of coordinating conjunctions (1973) should be
taken into account: and, or, but, for, yet, so with the functions as follows:
Coordinators
Functions
Examples
and
joins alike sentences
The bride’s guests sit on the left, and
the groom’s guests sit on the right.
but
joins opposite or contrast
sentences
Her parents are very short, but she is
tall.
or
expresses choices, alternative

Would you like tea or coffee?
12


so
uses to combine clauses
whose second clause is the
result of something described
in the first.
I had no car, so I hired one for the
journey.
yet
is quite similar to “but”

for
introduces a reason or a
cause
The days were short, for it was now
December.
(ii) Subordinating conjunctions

Definitions and functions of subordinators
Mallery (1967) gives a clear definition about subordinating conjunctions that
“subordinators are words being used to indicate that one element is subordinated to
another in a sentence.”
According to Quirk and Greenbaum in “A University Grammar of English”
(1973), “subordination is a non-symmetrical relation holding between two clauses
in such a way that one is a constituent or part of the other.” In other words, a
subordinate clause is always introduced by a subordinating conjunction. A
subordinating conjunction connects elements in the sentence that are of unequal

value.
In terms of functions, subordinating conjunctions usually express relations of
time, reason, condition - consequence, concession and purpose. They are presented
in the below table:
Functions
Subordinators
Examples
Time
after, as, as long as, as soon
as, before, until, when
After the sun rises, we will set out on
our journey.
Reason
because, as, since
We are late for the meeting because our
car broke down.
Condition-
consequence
if, unless, in case, even if, if
only
The church bells will ring if the
Vikings land.
Concession
although, though, while,
She was a good actress while he was
13


whereas, rather than
only a mediocre actor.

Purpose
in order to, so as to
She went to the post office so as to buy
some stamps
 Kinds of subordinators
A list of subordinators is highly elaborated and distinguished between
simple, compound and correlative subordinators by Quirk (1973). They are three
major kinds of subordinators.
a. Simple subordinators
After, (al)though, as, because, before, if, once, since, that, until, when(ever),
how(ever), where(ever), whereas, whereby, whereupon, while, …
b. Compound subordinators
Compound subordinators
Examples
Ending
with
“that”
in that, so that, such that,
except that, in order that, for all
that
They whispered in order that no one
could hear their conversation.
Ending
with
optional
“that”
now (that), providing (that),
provided (that), supposing
(that), considering (that), given
(that), seeing (that), granted

(that)
Providing (that) the weather is fine, we
shall go on a picnic on Saturday.
Ending
with “as”
as far as, as long as, in so far,
as soon as, so as (to +
infinitive)
You can borrow my car as long as you
promise not to drive too fast.
Ending
with
“than”
sooner than (+ infinitive
clause), rather than (+ non-
finite or verbless clause)
She prefers to wear skirts rather than
wear dresses.
Others
as if, as though, in case
In case I forget, please remind me of my
promise.
c. Correlative subordinators
If … then, (al)though … yet, so … as, whether … or, the … the, more/less …
than, as … as, such …. as, such … that, no sooner … than
14


In addition, borderline subordinators are mentioned and divided into three
borderline categories: habitual combinations of subordinators (just as, if only),

participle form (supposing…) and expression of time (directly, immediately …).
What is more, Quirk also suggests other indicators of subordinations
including wh-elements, subject-operator inversion, nominal clause with and without
that and comment clauses, besides the main subordinating conjunctions.
As above-mentioned definitions, subordinators are identified as connectors
of unequal elements or an independent with a dependent clause to make a complex
sentence. Therefore, subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of
the subordinate clause (e.g. I went out, although it was snowing) or probably start
the first clause of the sentence. (e.g. Because it rained like dogs and cats, he
couldn’t go out.)
(iii) Correlative conjunctions
A correlative conjunction consists of two or more words that work together
as a set. Correlative coordinators’ function likes coordinating conjunctions because
they connect words that perform equal functions in a sentence (Ann Cole Brown,
1987).
Cobuild (1990) arrives at the definition of a correlative conjunction that a
coordinating conjunction used in pairs in parallel contraction. However, based on
Mallery’s definition (1967) that correlative conjunctions are those used in pairs or
in a series, the following list including the popular correlatives is given:
not only but also
neither … nor
as … as
though … yet
both … and
so … as
Whether … or
either … or
if … then

15

As one of the correlative pairs, “neither … nor” can be separated, that means
neither and nor are used as single correlative conjunctions without being a
correlative pair.
e.g. She doesn’t love him. Neither does he.
“I can’t remember his name” “Nor can I”
Being the English conjunction; thus, correlatives are to do with the
combination of clauses and elements. And we can realize the most prevalent
position of correlatives which often appears right before the combined items. In
other words, they are always placed in front of the first word group. (e.g. Either you
apologize or I will never speak to you again.)
1.2.2. Vietnamese Conjunctions
1.2.2.1. Definitions of Vietnamese conjunctions
Vietnamese conjunction is an interesting topic that many Vietnamese
linguists have concerned about. In the dictionary “Bách khoa Việt Nam, tập 2”
published in 2002, conjunctions serve as connectors which link words, phrases, and
sentences to denote the significance of the relationships such as alternative, contrast,
concession, etc.
According to Hoàng Trung Thông (1998), conjunctions are words expressing
the grammatical relations used to join the components in sentences or in phrases.
Conjunctions do not make sense in terms of vocabulary and grammar, especially
they never keep functions as subject or predicate in a sentence.
Having the same opinions with Hoàng Trung Thông, Nguyễn Hữu Quỳnh in
“Tiếng Việt hiện đại” (1994) also defines that conjunctions are words which refer to
the grammatical relations used to connect parts of sentences or the elements in the
phrase.
16

Another definition written by Hoàng Thế (1990) shows that conjunctions are
considered as joiners to connect two clauses together and Nguyễn Lai (2006) also
agrees that conjunctions are words with the function to adhere words having the
same syntax roles in sentences or to link the same functional components,
sentences, paragraphs in which the conjunctions represent certain semantics’
functions.
Although each author gives the different definition, their contents come to a
high agreement. It can be said that like English conjunctions, Vietnamese
conjunctions are the glue to combine words, word phrases, paragraphs, sentences,
etc. The linguists really help readers to understand deeply about conjunctions. The
following part is detail classifications of Vietnamese conjunctions.
1.2.2.2. Classifications of Vietnamese conjunctions
There are many ways of classifying Vietnamese conjunctions, but the one
mostly applied is according to the parts of utterances that they link together. From
the view of Diệp Quang Ban (1993), Vietnamese conjunctions are arranged into two
principal groups: subordinating and coordinating conjunctions. Subordinating
conjunctions are used to combine subordinate constituents with super-ordinate
constituents, while coordinating conjunctions are used to link words, word phrases,
and sentences.
According to Nguyễn Lai (2006), like English conjunctions, Vietnamese
conjunctions can also be categorized into two types: conjunctions connecting
coordinated clauses (coordinators) and conjunctions connecting dependent clauses
(subordinators).
(i) Coordinators
Conjunctions that link coordinated clauses are: và (and), nhưng/ mà (but),
hay/hoặc (or), vì vậy/ do vậy (so/ hence/ therefore, etc. They are placed between
the two clauses.

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e.g. Chợ họp giữa phố vãn từ lâu. Người về hết và tiếng ồn ào cũng mất.
(Market in the city centre has disbanded for a long time. Everyone comes back home
and noise is also lost.) (Cited in “Hai đứa trẻ” (1938) - Thạch Lam)
According to grammatical meanings, conjunctions of this type have three
main meanings or functions in sentences.
The first function is conjunctions expressing listing, for instance,
coordinators “và”, “với”, “cùng” simply link clauses to indicate enumeration and
consecutive or simultaneous events.
e.g. Tôi đến nhà An nhiều lần và trở thành người thân của cả gia đình.
(I went to An’s house many times and became the intimate of the whole family).
(Cited in “Ngữ pháp tiếng Việt, tập 1” (1993) - Diệp Quang Ban)
The next function is conjunctions showing alternative “hay”, “hay là”,
“hoặc là”, “hoặc…hoặc…” An example of this type can be seen in:
e.g. Ngoài ra, ông vẫn thường đi xếp hàng mua gạo hoặc nhu yếu phẩm.
(In addition, he often stands in a queue to buy rice or necessities.)
(Cited in “Giấc mơ ông lão vườn chim. (1970) – Anh Đức)
The last function of conjunctions is that they are used to express contrast
such as “nhưng”, “song”, “còn”, for example “Hắn nghiến răng vào mà chửi cái đứa
đã đẻ ra Chí Phèo. Nhưng mà biết đứa nào đã đẻ ra Chí Phèo?
(He gritted his teeth to verbal child that spawned Chi Pheo. But know who has spawned
Chi Pheo?) (Cited in “Chí Phèo” (1946) – Nam Cao)

(ii) Subordinators
The other set of conjunctions is used to link dependent clauses, and there are
usually couple conjunctions to describe these relationships such as “tuy…nhưng…”,
“vì …nên…”, “do…nên…”, “bởi…nên…”, “dù…nhưng…”, “nếu…thì…”
In dependent clauses, there are four smaller types of relationships:
+ Conjunctions expressing reason: “vì…(cho) nên/ mà…”, “tại…(cho) nên/
mà…”, “do….(cho) nên/ mà…”, “nhờ…(cho) nên/ mà…”, “bởi…(cho) nên/

mà…”.
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e.g. Từ khóc như mưa bởi vì Từ chẳng còn biết trông cậy vào ai.
(Tu cried bitterly because she did not know whom she could rely on.)
(Cited in “Đời Thừa” (1943) – Nam Cao)
+ Conjunctions expressing condition-consequence: “nếu (như)…thì…”, “hễ
(mà)…thì/ là…”, “giá (mà)…thì…”, “ví…thì…”, “nhỡ…thì…”. These conjunctions
are used in conditional sentences.
e.g. Nếu thị không vào thì hắn vẫn cứ nghĩ vẩn vơ mãi.
(If she does not come, he still thinks miscellaneously.)
(Cited in “Chí Phèo” (1946) – Nam Cao)
+ Conjunctions expressing concession: “tuy…nhưng/ vẫn…”, “dù…nhưng/
vẫn…”, “mặc dù…nhưng/ vẫn…”
e.g. Tuy những tiếng quen thuộc ấy hôm nào chả có, nhưng hôm nay hắn
mới nghe thấy.
(The familiar noise is always appeared every day, but today he hears that.)
(Cited in “Chí Phèo” (1946) – Nam Cao)
+ Conjunctions expressing purpose: “để…(thì)…”.
e.g. Hắn tìm một người bạn thân để nói chuyện văn chương.
(He is looking for a close friend in order to talk literature.)
(Cited in “Đời Thừa” (1943) – Nam Cao)
1.3. Related studies
As shown above, opinions about conjunctions, newsletters in general and
English and Vietnamese ones in particular are given by many different researchers.
Closely related to this thesis, there are some researches. In the Graduation Paper
named “A contrastive analysis of English coordinators “and/or/but” and
Vietnamese equivalents” Le Thi Bich (2000) merely contrasted the typical
coordinating conjunctions “and/ or/ but” in English and Vietnamese equivalents.

At the end of the study, the author came to a conclusion that there are similarities
and differences of using the conjunctions “and/ or/ but” in English and in
Vietnamese equivalents based on semantic and syntactic perspective. Another
research concerning conjunctions by Nguyen Thanh Huong (2002) in her
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graduation paper, she provided an overview of all kinds of English conjunctions.
More importantly, in this paper, the author listed some difficulties faced by
Vietnamese learners in understanding and using conjunctions. At the end of the
graduation paper, some suggested solutions to Vietnamese learners’ difficulties in
learning conjunctions were given as an effective source for learners.
1.4. Summary
In this chapter, by elaborating on the key terms, the researcher has briefly
reviewed the theoretical background of the study. More importantly, the writer
provides an interesting insight into English and Vietnamese conjunctions and
newsletters. As a matter of fact, there is a close relationship between marketing
newsletters and conjunctions. Marketing newsletter is regarded as an effective way
to promote their products and services. It is a form of advertising which attracts
customers; therefore, it requires logic and coherence. Consequently, conjunctions
are used mostly in newsletters to gain this aim of newsletters.

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CHAPTER 2: CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF CONJUNCTIONS
IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE MARKETING NEWSLETTERS
2.1. Introduction
This chapter sets out to delve into providing a contrastive analysis of
conjunction usages in English and Vietnamese marketing newsletters. The data used
for analysis are extracted from forty samples of marketing newsletters in the two
languages (including 20 in English and 20 in Vietnamese) to compare and contrast.
The researcher collected the samples from the book “Oxford Handbook of
Commercial Correspondence” published by Oxford University Press in 2003,
written by A. Ashley and from reliable web addresses of English and Vietnamese
companies or organizations. They are sources that were accessible at the time of
conducting this research.
The first step in the analysis the writer synthesizes the frequency of
occurrence of conjunctions in English and Vietnamese marketing newsletters. Then,
the author lists a corpus of English and Vietnamese conjunctions in Appendices 1,
2, 3, and 4. Based on these data, the researcher compares to find out the similarities
and differences in conjunction usages in terms of syntactic and semantic features in
both languages.

2.2. Contrastive analysis of conjunctions in English and Vietnamese Marketing
Newsletters

2.2.1. Frequency of using conjunctions in English and Vietnamese Marketing
Newsletters
The first thing that the researcher would like to mention in the study is the
frequency of occurrence of conjunctions in English and Vietnamese marketing
newsletters.