VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES


TRIỆU THÀNH NAM THE EXPERIENTIAL STRUCTURE OF
NOMINAL GROUP
IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
(CẤU TRÚC KINH NGHIỆM CỦA CỤM DANH TỪ TRONG
TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)
M.A. Minor Thesis
Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60 22 15
HÀ NỘI, 2010

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

IV. Methods of the study 2
V. Methods of Analysis 3
PART 2: DEVELOPMENTS
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
I. Systemic Functional Grammar 4
II. Noun Phrase or Nominal Group: The problem of labeling 5
III. Noun Phrase/Nominal Group in Different Schools of Grammar 6
1. Noun Phrase in Structural Grammar and Generative Transformational Grammar 6
2. Noun Phrase in Functional Discourse Grammar 7
3. Nominal Group in Systemic Functional Grammar 8
IV. The Nominal Group in English 9
1. An overview of English Nominal Group 9
2. The experiential structure of the nominal group in English 11
2.1. Premodifier 11
2.1.1 Deictic 11
2.1.2. Numerative. 13
2.1.3. Epithet 13
2.1.4. Classifier 13
2.2. The Head: The Thing 15
2.3. The Postmodifier – the Qualifier 16
3. Summary on the experiential structure of the nominal group in English 16

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CHAPTER 2: NOMINAL GROUP IN VIETNAMESE
I. An overview of studies on Vietnamese Nominal Group 18
II. Nominal Group in Vietnamese 19

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
I. Rationale for the study
Over the last few decades, the modern linguistics has seen the remarkable
developments of functional linguistics in which the theory of systemic functional grammar
developed by Halliday is said to have the greatest influences. Vietnamese linguistics has
also initiated new trends, basing on the functional grammars. Some Vietnamese linguists,
such as, Cao Xuan Hao with Sơ thảo ngữ pháp chức năng (1991), Hoang Van Van with
Ngữ pháp kinh nghiệm của cú tiếng Việt: Mô tả theo quan điểm chức năng hệ thống
(2001), and Diep Quang Ban with Ngữ pháp tiếng Việt (2008) are the first to apply the
theory of Systemic functional grammar into the interpretation of Vietnamese language.
And their studies marked new important changes in the approaches to Vietnamese
language.
These works have settled a functional base for other further studies on Vietnamese
under the light of the Systemic functional grammar. In these works, functional aspects and
relationships, such as the issues of Theme, Mood, and Process of transitivity of clauses
have been described. Besides, structures below clauses, such as, nominal groups, also have
received some interpretations. However, on Vietnamese language in general and
Vietnamese nominal groups in particular, there have to be more functional studies because
theory of functional grammar can be still considered "new" in Vietnamese linguistics.
That, in other words, means the number of people who know and pay attention to it is still
limited.
On Vietnamese nominal groups, although there have been some studies, the issue
still has some questions to be answered and some debates to be solved, and needs further
investigations. One question raised to be answered is: Can the experiential functions in
Vietnamese nominal groups be clearly determined based on the systemic functional
grammar? One debate that has not been solved completely is about the determination of the
component element(s) of the Head and Thing in Vietnamese nominal groups.
Furthermore, for Vietnamese learners of English, the full understanding of nominal
groups in English and Vietnamese has been proved to be of the great importance,
especially, when they want to develop skills of high proficiency, such as translation. As a

the next chapter. Nominal groups that are used as examples for analyses and descriptions
are taken from books of different genres in English and Vietnamese. The contrastive
method is used to figure out the similarities and differences between nominal groups in the
two languages. 10
V. Methods of Analysis
To answer the first question, with the Systemic Functional approach the study will
look into the structures of the nominal groups in the two languages. Each functional
component of the nominal group will be described separately, and defined first in the
interpretation of English nominal groups. In the description of Vietnamese nominal groups,
there will be marked positions in the structure; each position will be examined to determine
the function that the element in that position realizes. Examples of Vietnamese nominal
groups will be used accompanied with their English translations.
The answer to the second research question is obtained through comparing the
typical orderings of the functional components of the nominal groups in the two languages.
For the demonstration of the similarities and differences, examples of English -
Vietnamese nominal groups are given. The similarities and differences are intended for
further studies and unstated implications for learning and teaching English for Vietnamese
learners.

SFG is (called) the grammar which is pushed into the direction of semantics.
In SFG, fundamental components of meaning in language are functional
components, and the use and meaning of language are understood as the performance of
the 3 metafunctions: the ideational, the interpersonal, and the textual. These functions are
realized in every units of language in use ranging from the whole text to phrases and
groups and so on. It can be said that the theory of 3 metafunctions is the thread line in SFG
by Halliday. It also helps to distinguish SFG from other functional theories.
The ideational metafunction is divided into two subtypes: the experiential and
logical metafunctions. The experiential function is to reflect our experience and

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understanding of the world, which include all that come from our imagination. The logical
metafuntion works above the experiential. It builds up our reasoning on the basis of our
experience. The second metafunction is the interpersonal metafunction which comprises
the three component areas: the speaker/writer persona, social distance and relative social
status, and which serves to establish and maintain social relations. The textual
metafunction is to provide links of building/setting up discourses. By this function, we can
tell a text from a set of sentences randomly mixed together. It can be said that the theory of
3 metafunctions is the underlying background of SFG.
II. Noun Phrase or Nominal Group: The problem of labeling
In doing this thesis, we have run over the two terms: Noun Phrase and Nominal
Group, which are used to refer to the same thing but in different respects of meaning. For
the sake of further investigations later into the issues, it is better to look into the two terms
at the right beginning for any distinction to be made.
Within the scope of this study, the two terms: Noun phrase and Nominal group are
the two labels to refer to the same structural unit in language. The thing that matters to be
mentioned here is that each term is used in a certain context reflecting a certain choice.
Noun phrase is a term of formal grammar; it has been used in formal traditional
grammar for a long time and has become so popular in linguistics. As a formal term, it is
likely to be understood fully in terms of intrinsic formal features of structural constituents.

Determiner coming before the Head and modifying it. Because the modifying words come
before the Head, they are called Premodifiers. In the sentence below the Noun Phrase: The
house consists of the Head house and the Premodifier the:
The house was pulled down yesterday.
When a Noun Phrase has the modifiers that follow the Head, the modifiers in this
case are called the Postmodifiers. In the following sentence, the noun phrase taking the role
of the subject consists of three parts: the Premodifier, the Head and the Postmodifier”
The girl who lives next door is now on holiday.
The a determiner is the Premodifier, girl a noun the head, and who lives next door a
relative clause is the Postmodifier
Going into the structure of the Noun Phrase, formalist have given a 3 part model as
mentioned above and diagramed below:
Premodifier
Head
Postmodifier
Following this model, the analysis into the structure of the Noun Phrase can be continued
by investigating the components of each part. At the end of the process of analyzing, single
word classes can be shown in the chart of the Noun Phrase structure, as in the following
example:

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A
little
boy
Premodifier
Head
Determiner
Adjective
Noun


According to Halliday, it is still possible to analyze the three functional
components of meaning in a Nominal Group, but there is some difference in the patterning
when compared to a clause. In a clause, each component of meaning makes a part of
meaning structure; therefore, the meaning of a clause consists of three distinct combined
meaning structures. In a group, the 3 components of meaning are not seen as “separate
whole structure, but as partial contributions to a single structural line.” That is why
Halliday tends to analyze the structure of nominal group in one aspect of meaning, not in 3
as in analyzing the clause. He states that: “The difference between clause and group on this
respect is only one of degree; but it is sufficient to enable us to analyze the structure of the
group in one operation, rather than in 3 operations as we did with the clause.” (Halliday,
ibid, p.179)
In analyzing Nominal Group structure, Halliday splits the ideational meaning
component into two: Experiential and Logical. Hallidayan point of view in analyzing the
structure of Nominal Group focuses on interpreting the position of each subset element and
its functional contribution to the meaning of the Head – the semantic core of the group and
the meaning of the group on the whole. Describing the experiential structure of the
Nominal Group, Halliday (ibid) sets up the following system of functions: Deictic
(typically realized by Determiner), Numerative (typically realized by Numeral), Epithet
(typically realized by Adjective), Classifier (typically realized by Noun/Adjective), Thing
(typically realized by Noun), and Qualifier (typically realized by prepositional phrases and
embedded clauses).
IV. The Nominal Group in English
In this section, we will discuss the experiential structure of the nominal group. As
stated by Halliday, the ideational function can be divided into two functions: logical and
experiential. When the nominal group is seen as a univariate structure generated by
iteration, we are discussing its logical structure. The relationship of modification with
familiar terms, such Head, Modifier, is of the logical function. When the nominal group is
seen as a multivariate structure in which components play different functional roles, we are
dealing with its experiential structure. Halliday (ibid) identified six experiential functions
in a nominal group. They are: Deictic, Numerative, Epithet, Classifier, Thing, and

Group is as follows: "A nominal group is typically a group with a noun or pronoun as it
has, and that noun may be modified, but it does not have to be modified in order to
constitute a group in this technical sense." It seems that this definition by Bloor and Bloor
is not very "functional".

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As far as the structure is concerned, noun phrase is commonly and traditionally
defined as consisting of 3 potential parts: the Premodifier, the Head, and the Postmodifier,
in which the head, taken by a noun, is compulsorily required.
A noun phrase can consist of only a noun or pronoun as in: Tom is a student, and
Tigers are mammal animals. A noun phrase can also have a noun as the Head and some
elements coming before it (what we call Premodifiers) as in:
- The pretty girl
Pre. Head
- A beautiful dress
Pre. Head
A noun phrase can have the full form of 3 parts: Premodifier Head Postmodifier as in
the following: - The pretty girl in the corner
Pre. Head Post.
On discussing groups and phrased, Halliday (ibid, p.180) states that: "a phrase is
different from a group in that, whereas a group is an expansion of a word, a phrase is a
contraction of a clause." From this statement, we can infer that a nominal group is an
expansion of a noun. Halliday (ibid) also asserts that it is still possible to recognize the
same 3 functional components of meaning in the structure of a group as in a clause, but,
because "they are not represented in the form of separate whole structure but rather as
partial contributions to single structural line", it is sufficient to analyze the structure of a
group in terms of one aspect of functional component of meaning. In Systemic Functional
Grammar, group structure in general is interpreted in terms of ideational metafunction
which can be split into two subsets: logical and experiential.
As a matter of fact, nouns have the nature of naming things and making the

Deictic is the first functional element that can be found in the Premodifier part of
the nominal group. It has the function of pointing. There are two subtypes of Deictic: The
specific Deictic and the non-specific Deictic. The specific Deictic helps to indicate that the
subset of the thing is specific. The subset of the thing is not specific if it is premodified by
non-specific deictic.
Deictic is usually realized by determiner, possessive nouns or possessive pronouns.
The following tables given by Halliday (ibid) show how the specific deictic and non-
specific deictic are realized:
(Table 6.1: Items functioning as specific deictic)

Determinative
Interrogative
Demonstrative
This, that, these, those, the
Which(ever), What(ever)
Possessive
My, your, our, his, her, its, their, one‟s,
John‟s, my father‟s
Whose(ever) [which person‟s],
etc.
(Table 6.2) Items functioning as non-specific deictic Singular
Non-singular

Unmarked

dual
mass/plural

selective
a(n) some [sm]
„one‟ „not one‟
(unrestricted)
Furthermore, a nominal group may have no deictic element in its structure, or it
can have a second deictic element which adds further information to the identification of
the subset in the question, and which is called post-deictic or deictic 2. The most common
Post-deictic elements are: other, same, different, identical, complete, entire, whole, and
above, etc. The function of Post-deictic is to “identify a subset of the class of “thing” by
referring to its fame, or familiarity, its status in the text, or its similarity/dissimilarity to
some other designated subset.” (Halliday, ibid, p.183)
2.1.2. Numerative
The function of Numerative is to indicate the feature of quality and ordering of the
Thing in either an exact or inexact way. In the nominal groups: two trains, four hotels, the
numerative elements (two and four) express exact number of the Thing (trains and hotels);
in many trains, several houses, the numeratives show inexact number (we cannot tell the
exact numbers of the trains and houses referred.) Expressing ordering feature, numerative
can indicate an exact position in an order (such as in the second corner) or an inexact
position in an order (as in a subsequent train.)
2.1.3. Epithet
The Epithet function is to add the features or characteristic of the Thing. These

as Boor and Bloor (ibid) point out, when dancing is considered as Classifier, the nominal
group refers to some girls who dance as a job, and when dancing is considered as an
Epithet the group refers to some girls who are in the process of dancing.
Halliday (ibid, p.184) also claims that: “Sometimes the same word may function
either as Epithet or as Classifier with a difference in meaning”. Although the separate line
between Epithet and Classifier is not very clear, there are still sufficient differences.
Halliday (ibid, p.185) has pointed out two differentiating criteria:
(1) Classifiers do not accept degrees of comparison (one can normally say an older
table, a more splendid dress, but not a more wooden table.)
(2) Classifiers tend to be organized in mutually exclusive sets (a table is wooden,
mental or plastic.)
We have discussed the four functions potentially occurring in the premodification
of the nominal group: Deictic – Numerative – Epithet, and Classifier. Of the four functions

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mentioned, Deictic and Classifier can be restrictive elements or restrictors which help to
specify the referents of the thing. Numerative and Epithet in general add more quality
features or characteristics of the thing.
2.2. The Head: The Thing
In the Head of the nominal group, we can find the fifth experiential function. That
is the Thing which is the semantic core of the nominal group and which is usually realized
by a noun, pronoun, or a deverbal nominal item. According to Bloor and Bloor (ibid,
p.142) Thing can be “a material inanimate thing, an animal, a person, a substance or even
an abstract concept”. However, as Halliday (ibid) has pointed out, sometimes there is a
Head but the nominal group can have no Thing. “There is always a Head in the nominal
group (unless, it is branched, like one brown in one blue eye and one brown.), but there
may be no Thing. In those cases, the functions of Numerative and Deictic, can take the role
of the Head." (ibid, p.194)
One of the cases when the Head and the Thing do not conflate that is worth
mentioning here is the case of involving a measurement of something which includes

Head
Postmodifier
complex Numerative
Thing

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In this section, we have discussed the fifth experiential functions in the nominal
group: the Thing, which is the most semantic component. Other functions in the
experiential structure play the roles of adding some kind of meaning property to the Thing.
In other words, other functional component has certain effects on the status o the Thing. In
unmarked cases, the Thing of the experiential structure conflates with the Head of the
logical. However, a nominal group with a Head can have no Thing. And in these nominal
groups, Numerative and/or Deictic can have the role Head in logical structure.
2.3. The Postmodifier – the Qualifier
In this section, we discuss the element that follows the Head/the Thing. That is the
Postmodifier and in the experiential term, it is called the Qualifier
The Qualifier, unlike other experiential functions, can be realized by a clause
and/or a phrase. Typically, it is the defining relative clause and verbal group, and “of”
phrase that realize the Qualifier in the nominal group. Some examples of the nominal
groups with the Qualifiers of phrases and clauses are given below:
- the book on the natural resources
- the story about the ghost
- actions in case of emergency
- the man who is standing in the corner
- the baby which needs looking after more carefully
About the function of the Qualifier in the nominal group, the Qualifier expresses
some characteristic of the Thing. The process of characterizing by the Qualifier here
involves the participation of the Thing in a direct or indirect way.
3. Summary on the experiential structure of the nominal group in English
In general, the experiential structure of nominal groups in English can potentially


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CHAPTER 2: NOMINAL GROUP IN VIETNAMESE
I. An Overview of Studies on Vietnamese Nominal Group
1. Noun Phrase/Nominal Group (NP/NG) in Vietnamese has received a lot of
researches and studies over the last 50 years, and there have been remarkable achievements
on explaining the structure of Noun Phrase/Nominal Group. Some famous Vietnamese
who have paid much attention and great efforts into NP/NG can be mentioned are: Nguyen
Lan (1956), Nguyen Tai Can (1975), Cao Xuan Hao (1991), Dinh Van Duc (2001), Hoang
Van Van (2001), and Diep Quang Ban (2008). The studies and researches by the
Vietnamese linguists are based on different viewpoints of different school of grammar.
Hence, though there have been a lot of agreements on the structure of NP/NG in

con chuột (a mouse), con is a classificator informing that the noun (chuột) following
belongs a class of animals. There are 3 different treatments on the structure of the Head
which will be discussed below:
2.1 In the NGs with the structure involving a classificator + a noun (1 loại từ +
1 danh từ) such as một bác nông dân, hai cuốn cuốn sách, những bức tranh
the classificators, bác, cuốn, bức are considered as the Head of the NGs.
This treatment is given by Nguyen Tai Can (1970).
2.2 The second point of view is to consider the NGs having the Head composed
of 2 elements: a classificator + a noun which are termed T1+T2; bác nông
dân, cuốn sách, and bức tranh are the Heads in those NGs. This point of
view is proposed by Nguyen Tai Can (1975).
2.3 The last viewpoint is to treat the nouns in these cases as the Heads. In those
NGs, nông dân, sách, and tranh are the Heads. This viewpoint is proposed
by Dinh Van Duc (2001) and Diep Quang Ban (2008).
3. It should be remembered that all the points of view discussed above are related to
the aspect of logical structure. Within the scope of this study we cannot go into the
rationale of each viewpoint. However, we choose the last point of view to investigate the
NP/NG. The reason is that this thesis is based on Systemic Functional Grammar, which
focuses on the meaning much more than the syntax, and that our aim is to investigate the
experiential structure of NG.
II. Nominal Group in Vietnamese
In this section, we try to discuss the experiential functions of the NG in Vietnamese in the
three parts of its logical structure. We choose to investigate the Head first because it poses
some debates as mentioned previously.

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2.1 The Head: the Thing

Premodifier
Head
Postmodifier
Numerative
Thing
Epithet
In the examples above, there are no classificators (loại từ) coming before the nouns which
are completely accepted to be the Heads. And in these cases, the Head and the Thing
conflate.
The Head of the NG is difficult to identify when as said previously there is a
classificator coming before a noun, as in ba anh sinh viên, những cuốn sách, những bức
tranh này, mấy con mèo nhà Thanh. As discussed in the preceding section, in these cases, 3
treatments have been proposed. The first is to consider the fist element as the Head. The
classificators anh, cuốn, bức and con are the Heads. The second is to consider that the
Head consists of two subheads which are termed: T1+T2; anh sinh viên, cuốn sách, bức
tranh, and con mèo are the Heads. The last treatment which is used in this thesis is to
determine the noun to be the Head and the classificators are the modifier elements (which
will be discussed later). The nouns, Sinh viên, sách, tranh, and mèo are the heads. Treating

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the nouns as the heads in this case, we can also claim that the Thing and the Head coincide,
and it is unmarked.
The problems arise where in the NG there appears a classificator with the omission
of the noun, such as cuốn này and bức này. The question here is how to determine the
Head in these cases. It is easy to recognize that the main elements in these NGs are the
classificators, cuốn and bức. However, if we treat the elements as the Heads, is it contrary
when the Heads in the full forms of those NGs (cuốn sách, bức tranh) are the nouns not the
classificators? The answer here is “no”. The explanation is that in the cases when the nouns
are omitted, the classificators are the Heads but not the Things. That means in terms of the
logical structure, the classificators in those NGs can be the Head – the central part of the

That means in the Thing does not conflate with the Head. In English, the situation is the
same. And therefore, we can also treat the measuring words as the function of a complex
Numerative which can continuously be analyzed into a Numerative and a Classifier. The
Thing and the Head here do not coincide. The experiential structure of the NGs with
measuring expressions can be interpreted as follows:
(1)
hai
mét
vải
Premodifier
Head
Postmodifier
Numerative
Thing
(2)
ba
lít
sữa
Premodifier
Head
Postmodifier
Numerative
Thing
(3)
bốn
tấn
gạo
Premodifier
Head
Postmodifier