VAGUE ELEMEMTS IN VIETNAMESE COMPLEX WORDS

Abstract

From the synchronic viewpoint, the (monosyllable) component in some Vietnamese complex words is considered to be ambiguous or insignificant by Vietnamese linguists, which is based on to classify complex words. However, these factors are still not ambiguous or insignificant in the dialects... Therefore, it is necessary to have a look back for a more reasonable classification. This article aims to look for and point out the components that are considered to be fuzzy or losing meaning in today’s complex Vietnamese words and proposes to reclassify some of these complex words. We do statistics of modern complex words with components considered to be ambiguous or insignificant in meanings to compare with these components in ancient words with the support of the general dictionaries and dialect dictionaries. Then, we reclassify the complex words. We show the components considered to be ambiguous or insignificant in meanings in order to form bases for classifying Vietnamese words by their structures. Using the semantic criteria to classify modern Vietnamese words is reasonable, scientific but it’s also quite complicated. It is necessary to consider the semantics of the components in complex words used in the current dialects. These suggestions can be applied to teach the structure of Vietnamese complex words in Philology books for school and used as reference material for the current Philology training in universities.