Negative questions in english and vietnamese – a contrastive analysis

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A. THESIS

NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE- A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS
(CÂU HỎI PHỦ ĐỊNH TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT,
PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU)

VŨ VĂN HỮU

Hanoi, 2016


VŨ VĂN HỮU

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

2014 - 2016


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A. THESIS

NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE- A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS
(CÂU HỎI PHỦ ĐỊNH TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT,
PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU)

VŨ VĂN HỮU

Field: English Language
Code: 60220201
Supervisor: Nguyễn Đăng Sửu, Ph.D

Hanoi, 2016


Certificate of originality
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report
entitled Negative questions in English and Vietnamese – A contrastive
analysis, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master in English Language. Except for the indicated reference, no other
person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the
thesis.
Hanoi, 2016

Vu Van Huu

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Dr. Nguyen Dang Suu
(Signature and full name)
Date:……………………


Acknowledgements

This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support
from a number of people.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr.
Nguyen Dang Suu, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly
supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas,
expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an
academic researcher.
A special word of thanks goes to my lecturers and many others at
University, without their support and encouragement it would never have
been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished.
Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for the sacrifice they
have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work.


Abstract
This paper focuses on English and Vietnamese negative questions in term
of structures and word using. The author wishes only to concentrate on three
types of negative questions: negative Yes/ No question, negative Whquestion and negative alternative question. The thesis is divided into five
charters. The similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese
negative questions have been analysed and pointed out. Moreover, this
research also helps learners and teachers improve their language competence
in order to avoid mistakes and have a deep understanding of negative
questions as well.
The thesis mainly focuses on the structures of three main types of negative
questions in English and Vietnamese, the negative words that are used in
negative questions are also considered. However, semantic features have been
initially investigated; a deeper approach to the pragmatic feature is suggested
for further study.
.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Certificate of originality …………………….……………………….....…..….…… i
Acknowledgements…………………….……………………………………….…… ii
Abstract………….…………………………………………………….…………..… iii
Contents……………………………………………………………….……..…….… iv
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale for the research…………………….………..…………………..…..… 1
1.2. Aims of the research…………………….……...………………………….…..… 2
1.3. Objectives of the research…………………………………………….………..… 2
1.4. Scope of the research…………………………………………….………..…….. 2
1.5. Significance of the research…………………………………………….……….. 3
1.6. Structural organization of the thesis…………………………………….………. 3
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Review of previous studies…………………………………………….……….. 5
2.2. Review of theoretical Background…………………………………………….… 6
2.2.1. Interrogative sentence in English and Vietnamese in brief……………….. 6
2.2.1.1. Definition of questions…………………………………………….. 6
2.2.1.2. Classification of questions in English and Vietnamese…………….. 8
2.2.2. Negation in English…………………………………………….………..… 10
2.2.2.1. Definition of negation…………………………………………….… 10
2.2.3. The semantic approach to English negative questions…………………….. 10
2.3. Summary……………………………………………….………..………………. 13
Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1. Research-governing orientations…………………………………………….….. 14
3.1.1. Research approach…………………………………………….………..… 14
3.1.2. Research questions…………………………………………….………..… 14
3.1.3. Research setting…………………………………………….………..……. 14
3.1.4. Principles/criteria for intended data collection and data analysis…………. 15
3.2. Research Methods…………………………………………….………..………… 15

3.2.1. Major methods and supporting methods…………………………………... 15
3.2.2. Data collection techniques…………………………………………….…… 15
3.2.3. Data analysis techniques…………………………………………….…….. 16
3.3. Summary…………………………………………….………..…………………. 16
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Negative questions in English…………………………………………….……... 17
4.1.1. Negative questions in English……………………………………………… 18
4.1.2. Negative Wh- questions…………………………………………….………. 20
4.1.3. Negative alternative questions……………………………………………… 21
4.2. Negative questions in Vietnamese…………………………………………….… 23
4.2.1. Negative Yes/No questions………………………………………………… 23
4.2.2. Negative WH – questions…………………………………………….……. 25
4.2.3. Negative alternative questions……………………………………………… 27
4.3. Similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese negative 28
questions.…………………………………………….………..………………………
4.3.1. Similarities between English and Vietnamese negative questions………..… 28
4.3.1.1. Yes/No questions…………………………………………….………. 28
4.3.1.2. Negative Wh- questions……………………………………………… 33
4.3.1.3. Negative alternative questions……………………………………….. 35
4.3.2. Differences between English and Vietnamese negative questions…………. 37
4.3.2.1. Yes/No questions…………………………………………….……… 37
4.3.2.2. Negative Wh- questions…………………………………………….

40

4.3.2.3. Negative alternative questions…………………………………….

42

4.4. Summary…………………………………………….………..………………….. 44
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. Summary of the findings…………………………………………….………..… 45
5.2. Implication for teaching and learning…………………………………………... 46
5.3. Suggestion for further studies…………………………………………….…….. 47


Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….... 48


Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale for the research
English is not the most widely spoken language in the world in terms of
the number of native speakers--there are many more Chinese speakers than
native English speakers--but Chinese is spoken little outside of Chinese
communities, so English is the most widespread language in the world. It is
difficult to estimate exactly how many English speakers there are, but
according to one estimate there are more than 350,000,000 native English
speakers and more than 400,000,000 speakers of English as a second language
(a language used in everyday life, even though it is not the native language) or
foreign language (a language studied but not used much in everyday life).
However, even these numbers do not really indicate how important
English is as a world language, because less than fifteen percent of the world
population use English. The importance of English is not just in how many
people speak it but in what it is used for. English is the major language of
news and information in the world. It is the language of business and
government even in some countries where it is a minority language. It is the
language of maritime communication and international air traffic control, and

it is used even for internal air traffic control in countries where it is not a
native language.
In communicative process in English as well as in other languages,
questions play an important role in our daily life. We are not able to keep
communicating going on well without asking questions. We ask in order to
exchange information, ideas, feeling and knowledge. On the other hand, we
sometimes ask questions not for the above purposes but for confirmation,
1


refusal, irony or reply avoidance. It is undeniable that questions can not be
missed in communication. There are a lot of types of question in English but
in this paper I would like to devote all my interest in English negative
questions in order to get more understanding of this type of questions and we
can be able to use it flexibly and fluently. The contrastive analysis of English
and Vietnamese negative questions also reveals the similarities and
differences in both languages. From my experience and knowledge, I will go
deep into this matter in a hope of assisting people who are interested in the
subject matter.
1.2. Aims of the research
The study is mainly aimed at providing the semantic features of English
negative questions in contrast to Vietnamese ones, thus giving some suggested
implications for teaching English negative questions to Vietnamese learners
of English.
1.3. Objectives of the research
The objectives of the research include:
-

Describing the semantic features of English and Vietnamese negative

questions.
-

Pointing out the similarities and differences between English and

Vietnamese negative questions.
-

Suggesting some possible implications for teaching English negative

questions to the Vietnamese learners of English.
1.4. Scope of the research
The study “English negative questions in English and Vietnamese - a
contrastive analysis” focuses on English negative questions and Vietnamese
2


equivalents within the frame of negative structures. The three main types of
questions will be focused: Yes-No question, wh-question, alternative
question. Especially, only negative questions that use negator “not” will be
discussed, others will be suggested for further study.
1.5. Significance of the research
The same grammar category in two languages always has similarities
and differences. It will get mislead for learners if they cannot distinguish
the differences in classifications, functions, and even uses of that category.
It is, therefore, essential for teachers to have a better solution. After the
research, it is hoped that the result will be helpful to provide:
(i).input for the learners of English in order to clearly describe the negative
questions in the comparisons;
(ii).input for teacher of English with teaching implications of the negative

questions;
(iii).good assistance to anyone who is interested in the negative questions in
English.
1.6. Structural organization of the thesis
Chapter 1 is the general introduction of the study, which consists of the
rationale, the aims and objectives, the scope of study, the significance of
study, the research questions and organizational structure of study.
Chapter 2 presents the previous studies relating to the study, the theoretical
background of the study in which it lays emphasis on identifying semantic
features of negative questions in English and Vietnamese.
Chapter 3 is about the methods and procedures of the study. It will mention
3


the methodology, some necessary approaches of the research, data collection,
data analysis.
Chapter 4 is devoted to the analysis and comparison of semantic features of
English and Vietnamese negative questions, hence similarities and
differences of English and Vietnamese negative questions will be dealt with.
Chapter 5 includes the conclusion and the implications, the limitations, and
suggestions for further study

4


Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Review of previous studies

Negative questions stand in place of questions, important part of the

English grammar. Negative questions are used to indicate the speaker’s
idea(what he/she believes is or is not true) and attitude (surprise,
anger,…).Many grammarians have described negative questions like
L.G.Alexander (1990), Betty Scrapper Azar (2002), Anne Seaton( 2007),
& Randolph Quirk (1973) and so on. They each have their own way to
describe the negative questions. Fundamentally, they concentrate their
attention on the definition, formation, functions of the negative questions,
types of negative questions and their uses. Moreover, negative questions in
Vietnamese are also described by such authors as Diep Quang Ban (2002),
Nguyen Tai Can (1999), Cao Xuan Hao (2003) and L.G. Alexander (1990) in
Longman English Grammar constantly concerns with basic different uses
between some questions. He focuses on Yes/ No questions, negative
statements, yes/ no answers. He only doesn’t deal with the formation of ways
of making yes/ no questions, forms of yes/ no questions. He also introduces
alternative negative forms and negative questions. In negative question, he
describes the full form and the short form. Furthermore, he describes how to
use stress and intonation in negative questions.
Betty Schrampfer Azar (2002) in Understanding and Using English
Grammar refers to the background knowledge of negative questions. He gives
specific details for each negative question. He introduces more about the
forms of yes/ no and information questions, negative wh- questions, negative
tag- questions. He specifies forms of avoiding double negatives.

5


In the book Basic English Grammar book 1, Anne Seaton (2007) only
focuses his attention on two kinds of questions. They are yes/ no questions
and wh-questions. He gives some more simple uses, functions and positions of
the questions. In addition, he pays much attention to the usages of some

negative questions such as yes/ no negative questions and wh- negative
questions.
Randolph Quirk (1973) in the book A University Grammar of English
gives some features of negative questions or specific details of relationship
between subjects, predication with negative questions. In his opinion,
assertion and non- assertion are some major types of sentence.
In the book Ngu Phap Tieng Viet, Diep Quang Ban (2005) deals with
specific characteristics, classifications and description of negative questions.
He mentions four types of Vietnamese negative questions such as negative
structure in Yes/No questions, negative structures in Tag- questions, negative
structures in Wh- questions, negative structures in alternative questions.
Language group of philology faculty, Hanoi Pedagogical University (2006) in
the textbook Ngu Phap Tieng Viet part 1 gives basic features and kinds of
negative questions. They pay attention to the classification of

negative

questions by functions and intended uses.
2.2. Review of theoretical background
2.2.1. Interrogative sentence in English and Vietnamese.
2.1.1.1. Definition of questions
In the book “Oxford guide to English grammar”, an interrogative
sentence, or a question is defined as a sentence whose most basic usage is to
ask for information [6, 27]. According to Vietnamese linguist Le Quang

6


Thiêm, questions are sentences whose main purpose is to find out more about
something we have not known or have not understood yet [25, 222].

Examples: Do you speak French? How can I do that?
As you can see, the two above definitions share the same idea with each
other. However, as Le Quang Thiêm adds, in reality, sometimes we ask
questions so as not to seek for extra information but for other purposes. For
instance, Vietnamese can use questions in order to greet each other
[25,222]:
For examples: Phụng, đang ăn cơm hả?
Em đang đi đâu vậy?
It is also true in English. We ask questions such as: “Hi there, what are
you doing?”, “Hello, how are you?” which do not really need a particular
reply. When doing research about questions, we may aslo come across some
ideas defining question as a sentence that needs a reply. This definition is not
accurate because I have mentioned, there are some kinds of questions which
do not need an answer. Among them are rhetorical questions and paradoxical
questions. Sometimes we ask questions as a means of expressing the way we
feel or as a way of showing our frustration. We call this a rhetorical question.
For examples: Could my day get any worse? Could you make any more
noise?
There is also another type of question that cannot be answered because
there is no answer to it. We call this type of question a paradox. The most
famous paradoxical question is: “What came first: the chicken or the egg?”
In conclusion, we can see that there are many different ways to define a

7


question, largely based on their purpose of usage. Most of them are not
contradictory to each other, they are complementary to each other.The most
accurate and concise definition I think is the one in “Oxford guide to English
grammar”. Let me put it again here as to sum up this part: A question, or in

other words, an interrogative sentence is a sentence whose most basic usage
is to ask for information.
2.2.1.2. Classification of questions in English and Vietnamese
a. Classification of questions in English
This is not an easy question because there are a variety of ways to
classify English questions. In “The grammar handbook”, Feigenbaum (1985)
says that there are two kinds of them: questions to learn and questions to
confirm. Questions to learn include information or WH- questions and
affirmative yes/ no questions. Questions to confirm include negative yes/no
questions, tag questions and restatements (p. 16). As you can see, this way of
categorizing is based on the purpose of using questions.
However, according to Angela (2003), interrogative structures in
English are of three main types: polar, alternative and non- polar [p. 185]. A
polar interrogative, also called yes/ no question, is a question whose answer
is either “Yes” or “No” (Can you swim?). Non- polar interrogative, also
called WH- question or information questions is the one asking for some
information refered to by the Wh- word (Where are you from?). The third
one is alternative interrogative, which consists of two polar interrogatives
joined by “or” (Do you want to stay a bit longer or would you prefer to go
home?). There is also another kind of classification. In “System in English
Grammar”, Master (1996) claims that there are four types of questions in
English: yes/ no questions, information questions, tag questions and echo
questions [p. 136].
8


b. Classification of questions in Vietnamese
As for Vietnamese, there are also various ways to categorize questions.
Based on their semantic- structural relationship, questions in Vietnamese can
be classified into two main kinds: alternative questions and non- alternative

questions. Compared to English, they share the same characteristics as polar
and non- polar questions. In conclusion, we can see that the main types of
English and Vietnamese interrogative sentences are not different from each
other. As Lê Quang Thiêm synthesized into the following table [25. 228]:

Languag

Vietnamese

e
Alternative
Question
types

questions

Non-

English
Alternative questions

alternative

Non- alternative
questions

questions
Yes/ no
questions

Alternative WH- questions
questions

The more research we do, the more different ways we will discover.
Therefore, We cannot say this one is correct and that one is not. They are just
different points of view and might be based on different foundations. Because
the purpose of this paper is making a comparison between English and
Vietnamese negative questions, I will take the classification of Lê Quang
Thiêm, which seems the most logical one related to the two languages, as a
foundation for my analysis.

9


2.2.2. Negation in English
2.2.2.1. Definition of negation.
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English,
published in 1994, negation is the act of stating that something does not exist
or is untrue, and the Vietnamese Dictionary, published in 2002 by the Centre
of dictionary at Da Nang Publishing House says that negation is the act of
rejecting the existence, the necessity of something; is the opposition to
affirmation. There also have been many definitions of negation made by many
scholars so far: Frank, Marcela (2005: 53) states that negation shows
disagreement, denial, absence of somebody or something, or an opposite idea
or quality. Forming a negative clause means putting “not” directly after
operator. Semantically speaking, Frank has pointed out the importance of
negation in establishing “a counter–part” of affirmation. Grammatically
speaking, the insertion of “not” in predicate of a sentence is a signal of
negation.
My research mainly bases on English Grammar book “A University

Grammar of English” (R, Quirk.1973). According to him, the negation of a
simple sentence is accomplished by inserting not (abbreviated n’t) between
the operator and the predication. Although the definition of negation varies
from scholar to scholar, from dictionary to dictionary, we can draw some main
points as follows: Negation is a part of men’s cognition activity and
communication process. It is also a basic category of thinking, of formal logic.
It is the opposition to the affirmative category.
2.2.3. The semantic approach to English negative questions
Ladd (1981) presents a first look at the semantics and pragmatics of
negative questions. The first is a systematic ambiguity in negative questions,
10


such as:
E.g.1: “Didn’t you hear him as we were leaving?” Fred said. [11.67].
E.g.2: ‘Aren’t you finished yet?’ called Ron incredulously. [11.114].
The ambiguity in these examples is remarkably hard to keep hold of, and the
following elaboration may be helpful.
E.g.3: (Situation: Kathleen and Jeff have just come from Chicago on the
Greyhouse bus to visit Bob in Ithaca)
Bob:

You guys must be starving. You want to get something to eat?

Kathleen: Yeah, isn’t there a vegetarian restaurant around hereMoosewood, or something like that
Bob: Gee, you’ve heard of Moosewood all the way out in Chicago, huh? Ok,
let’s go there.
Kathleen uses the negative question Isn’t there a vegetarian restaurant
around here? to ask for confirmation of something she believes to be true.
Compare this to the following case:

E.g.4: (Situation: Bob is visiting Kathleen and Jeff in Chicago while
attending a meeting)
Bob: I’d like to take you guys out to dinner while I’m here, we’d have time
to go somewhere around here before the evening session tonight, don’t you
think?
Kathleen: I guess, but there’s not really any place to go in Hyde Park.
11


Bob: Oh, really, isn’t there a vegetarian restaurant around here?
Kathleen: No, about all we can get is hamburgers and souvlaki.
Bob uses the negative question here for a very different reason: he had
previously assumed the truth of the proposition there is a vegetarian
restaurant around here, but has now inferred from what Kathleen says that
this proposition is actually false, and is using the negative questions to check
this new inference.
The ambiguity in (E.g.2) is between ‘left-wing’ and ‘right-wing’ readings
as seen in (E.g.5) and (E.g.6).
E.g.5: (Situation: A and B are former left-wing activists discussing the recent
activities of a colleague.)
A: Did you hear John’s decided to go to business school?
B: Yeah, I can’t believe how much he’s changed these days; didn’t he
even vote for Reagan?
A: That’s what somebody told me.
E.g.6: (Situation: A and B are staunch Republicans)
A: What’s Dick been up to these days, I haven’t seen him at the Club for
ages.
B: Haven’t you heard? He says he’s disillusioned with two-party politics,
he’s joined Common Cause, gave a lot of money to the Citizens’ Party…
A: Didn’t he even vote for Reagan?

B: Not as far as I know.
12


The situation in (E.g.5) means that in (E.g.3), the negative question is
being used to confirm something the speaker believes to be true, which means
that John voted for Reagan. In (E.g.6), on the other hand, as in (E.g.4), the
negative question, which is used to check on a new unexpected inference,
means that Dick didn’t vote for Reagan.
At first glance it might appear that the different implicatures and
appropriate conditions seen in (E.g.3) and (E.g.6) are purely pragmatic, and
that apparent ambiguity results from different pragmatic inferences drawn by
the hearer on the basis of knowledge about the speaker’s politics, eating
habits, etc.
2.3. Summary
In short, much research has been done on the negative questions but they
don’t carry out comparison between them in English and Vietnamese. In fact,
there are similarities and differences between them. Consequently, it is very
essential to have a comprehensive study of negative questions in English in
comparison with that in Vietnamese. In fact, there has been a great deal of
investigation of negative questions. However, there has been little research of
negative questions in English and Vietnamese.

13


Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1. Research-governing orientations
3.1.1. Research approach

The qualitive and quantitative approaches are combined to implement this
study. In reference with quantitative approach, the study collects data for the
study of the negative questions in Harry Potter written by J.K.Rowling and
other resources as well as their Vietnamese equivalents from semantic
dictionaries, Encyclopedia, books and Internet resources.
3.1.2. Research questions
In order to achieve the objectives of the research, the findings and
discussion would be conducted to answer the following questions.
(i) What are the semantic features of English and Vietnamese negative
questions?
(ii) What are the similarities and differences between

English negative

questions and Vietnamese ones?
(iii). What are the posible implications for teaching English negative
questions to Vietnamese learners of English?
3.1.3. Research setting
Due to the experience of having taught English for 9 years, I realize
that my students often translate the negative questions into Vietnamese and
vice versa in a wrong way. Therefore, I intend to carry out my research,

14


basing myself on dictionaries, reference books at the library and on some
websites to help my students at my university enrich their knowledge of
English and Vietnamese negative questions.
3.1.4. Principles/criteria for intended data collection and data
analysis

(i) Data types: dictionaries, Encyclopediate, books and Internet resources.
(ii) Source of data: finding books at libraries, bookshops and on the internet.
(iii) Data analysis techniques: collecting and investigating.
3.2. Research Methods
3.2.1. Major methods and supporting methods
The descriptive and contrastive analysis are considered the two majore
methods of the research to describe the semantic features of negative
questions in English and Vietnamese so as to do the contrastive study on the
subjec matter.
Apart from the above- mentioned, the techniques of statistics and
personal observation and consultation are also employed to help describe ,
analyze the semantic features and compare the similarities and differences of
negative questions between English and Vietnamese.
3.2.2. Data collection techniques
Materials related to the research topic are collected from research
works, dictionaries, Encyclopediate, books and Internet. Then the most
suitable ones are selected for the theoretical background of the study.
Moreover, the research is realized by many examples of English and
15


Vietnamese negative questions collected from different English books and
their Vietnamese- translated versions. These examples are most commonused negative questions in English and Vietnamese.
3.2.3. Data analysis techniques
Once the data have been collected, they are classified and analysed ,
basing on the semantic features and types of questions in different contexts
and dividing the data by types of questions across all cases collected and
invested.
Based on the samples collected in English and Vietnamese, the writer
selects the most popular to illustrade points under the study investigation. In

this process, all samples are sorted out and grouped into different kinds of
negative questions. Since the study is conducted by descriptive and
contrastive analysis, English is considered the source language and
Vietnamese is the target one
3.3. Summary
The same category of grammar in two languages always has similarities
and differences. It will be misleading for learners if the two languages always
have similarities and differences and if they can not distinguish the differnces
in classifications, funtions, and even usage of that category. It is, therefore,
essential for teachers to propose another research of methodolody for better
solution.

16