A contrastive analysis of negative questions in English and Vietnamese

Non – assertive forms in English:

E.g.: We have some lunch.

=> a. We have not any lunch.

=> b. We have no lunch.

As example above, it is noted that there are always two negative sentences equivalent to affirmative, one employs non-assertive form and the other uses negative item. Both of them are negative and close paraphrases. The second sentence looks like an affirmative since it has no “not” or “n’t” following operator, but they have a negative element; the determiner “no”. The first sentence is obviously a negative sentence, but its effect is less strongly negative than the second. It seems that an ordinary negative sentence is weaker than the one in which the negative making is part of another word or phrase.

2. Negative questions

   1. What is a negative question?

Negative questions is also used to check information. Maybe you see someone at a party who looks really familiar and you feel like talking to them. You think you have met them before. You can ask, “Have we met somewhere before?” or “Haven’t we met somewhere before?”. The meaning is the same, but which one you use depends on how sure you are. If you are very sure, use the negative (you expect them to answer yes). If you are less sure use the regular form.

2. The semantic and pragmatic approach to English negative questions:

The ambiguity in these is remarkably hard to keep hold of, and the following elaboration may be helpful.

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

Kathleen: Yeah, isn’t there a vegetarian restaurant around here- Moosewood, 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:

Situation 2: 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.

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.

3. Negative questions in English and Vietnamese

   1. Negative Yes/No questions:

Negative Yes/No question can appear in a post subject position in its full form not, or in pre-subject position in its clinic-contracted form n’t. In other word, it has either contracted forms or uncontracted forms (negative full form and negative short form). The negator full form is rather formal while the short form is usually preferred in informal spoken English.

In Vietnamese yes-no questions are usually formed by adding the negators: “không”, “chưa”, “chẳng” or “chả”  which are normally place after the subject and before the predicate in combination with “à/ ư/ sao/ hả/ hử/ chứ/…” which occur in final position. Sometimes “chẳng phải/ không phải/ chả phải…” in presubject position is used in combination with “à/ sao/ hay sao/ là gì/ đó sao” in final position. “Chẳng lẽ (nào)/ (có) lẽ nào/ có đúng là” in pre-subject position can be used in combination with negators “không/ chẳng/ chưa/ chả” before the predicate.

• 
  S + “không”/ “chưa”/ “chẳng”/ “chả” + …..+ à/ ư/ sao/ hả/ hử/ chứ/ gì/ hay sao/chớ/ chứ gì/ được sao/ được ư/ phải không/ đấy chứ ?
  

E.g.2:Con không làm bài tập à?

• 
  Chẳng phải/ không phải/ chả phải/phải chăng/ chẳng phải là / không phải là / chả phải là + S +…+ à/ sao/ hay sao/ là gì/ đó sao?
  

E.g.2: Không phải tại con thì tại ai?

• 
  Chẳng lẽ (nào)/(có) lẽ nào/ có đúng là + S+ “không”/ “chưa”/ “chẳng”/ “chả” +…..+ à/ ư/ sao/ hả/ hử/ chứ/ gì/ hay sao/chớ/ được sao/ được ư/ đấy chứ ?  
  

E.g.2: Có đúng là cậu được đề bạt lên chức trưởng phòng không?

The answer depends on the situation.

E.g.: Em không ngủ được à?  –> Vâng, em không ngủ được. 

Another difference is also the way of answering which cause learners to make mistakes when they encounter negative questions. In English, answering yes or no rely on the fact but in Vietnamese negative particles require yes.

E.g.: Cậu không làm được việc này à? -> Dạ em không.

(Can’t you do it? -> No, I can’t.)
It should be noted that there is no universally accepted contraction for am not. In spoken English, ‘am I not?’ is often contracted to ‘aren't I?’. However, although the expression ‘aren't I?’ is considered acceptable in informal English, it is not considered to be grammatically correct in formal English. In formal English, no contraction should be used for am I not.

In several negative Yes/ No questions, the negative particles and the non assertive form can combine to produce a negative form (any, anything, anyone, ever, etc.) it can be replaced by a structure with a nuclear negator (no, nothing, no one, none, never, etc.) in which the predicator remains positive in form (without not) and non-assertive words are replaced by nuclear negator in the same positions. This form of negative questions is rendered into Vietnamese in the same way as the form with not plus non-assertive words.

Yes/ No questions expressed by interrogative structures can be oriented according to the kind of answer the speaker expects and are said to have neutral, positive or negative orientation. Negative Yes/No interrogative without non-assertive or assertive forms can be used with a negative orientation, he or she assumes that the answer also negative.

Negative Yes/No interrogative without non-assertive or assertive forms can also be used with a positive orientation, when the speaker is expecting or hoping for the answer “Yes”.

The functions of English negative Yes/No questions have been discussed a lot. Sometimes we use negative questions with “be” and “do” for emphasis, especially with descriptions. These kinds of questions are “exclamatory questions” with these, the speaker expects agreement instead of a negative answer

E.g1: Can you not stop asking me for money?

E.g2: Will you not apologize for me?

Contracted forms are used when speaker is expecting the answer “Yes”, it’s also used to express surprise, disbelief, annoyance or sarcasm.

E.g1: Don’t you spend your holiday in France?

E.g2: Can’t you shut the door behind you?

Also they are used for invitation and exclamation.

E.g1: Won’t you come in for a few minutes?

E.g2: Isn’t it a lovely day?

Negative Yes/ No questions can express feelings surprised and suggestions lobbying, criticizing others, admirers or invitation.

E.g.1: Haven’t you done your homework? (the deadline is close) (You have not done your homework? The deadline is approaching!)	Mày vẫn chưa làm bài tập về nhà à/ hay sao? (Tao cũng đến lạy mày!)	(Surprised)
E.g.2: Don’t you think we should try again? (We may not win this time) (You don’t think we should try one more time? Perhaps this time we will win.) E.g.3. Won’t you help me? (=Please help me)	Cậu không nghĩ là chúng ta nên thử lại à/ sao? (Sao cậu không nghĩ là chúng ta nên thử lại nhỉ?) Anh không giúp tôi sao?=Anh hãy giúp tôi nhé	(Recommendation)
E.g.4: Wouldn’t it be better to find out what has happened first? (First identify what happened is not a good point?)	Liệu tìm ra chuyện gì xảy ra trước tiên có tốt hơn không?	(Lobbying)
E.g.5: Can’t you see that your work is below standard? (Do you not know that your work substandard)	Cậu không thấy là công việc của cậu dưới mức yêu cầu à?	(Criticism)
E.g.6: Isn’t this a wonderful concert? (This concert is wonderful)	Đây là buổi hòa nhạc tuyệt vời đấy chứ?	(Amazing)
E.g.7: Won’t you come in for a few minutes?	Anh sẽ vào trong một lát chứ? Anh không vào được một chút hay sao? (Thôi vào đi!Tôi thực sự muốn anh vào)	(Invitation)

2. 
   
   Каталог: ed -> CA2011
   ed -> Sau khi Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam ra đời (3/2/1930), Đảng đã thấy rõ tầm quan trọng của việc xây dựng tổ chức Đoàn
   ed -> THÔng tin pháp luật số 03
   CA2011 -> Exclamatory sentence english and vietnamese
   CA2011 -> Ho chi minh city university of education department of english
   CA2011 -> Phrasal structure in vietnamese and english newspaper headlines nguyen thi phuong lan department of english
   CA2011 -> A contrastive analysis of passive voice in english and vietnamese
   
   
   
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