The English Modal “<i>can</i>” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “<i>có thể</i>”

To Minh Thanh

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12

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The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”

To Minh Thanh

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 6, Issue 3)

Received: 29 March 2018 Accepted: 2 May 2018 Published: 2 June 2018

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Abstract

Considering modality as whatever that lies out of the lexis (also called the dictum) of the proposition of a declarative sentence, I have considered the meanings conveyed by the modal verb “ can” as well as its English alternative modal expressions, in comparison with those conveyed by its so-called Vietnamese counterpart “ có thể”, if possible. If not, other translated versions into Vietnamese are suggested. The English modal verb can is translated into Vietnamese in a number of different ways, and có thể is one of these ways, however frequent and thus prominent it is; in other words, besides có thể, among other Vietnamese counterparts of “ can are “ được”, “ mới …được”, “ có thể …được”, “ có thể sẽ”, “ biết”, and “ thường”. The alternative modal expressions of “ can” as shown in the English declaratives in this paper have plenty of Vietnamese equivalents, as identified in their suggested translated versions. Although these inevitable differences cause both Vietnamese learners of English and native speakers of English who do a course in Vietnamese a lot of trouble, their potential similarities are the objective bases for successful practice in translating or interpreting. There is no doubt that the interesting and fruitful research on modal expressions in Vietnamese and English declarative sentences is of undeniably practical significance in the current time of world-wide explosion of information and cross-cultural communication.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12
Page(s)	61-69
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Declaratives, Modality, The Realis Modality, The Capacity Modality, Physical or Mental Capacities, Possibility, Permission, General Characteristics

References

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APA Style

To Minh Thanh. (2018). The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 6(3), 61-69. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12

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ACS Style

To Minh Thanh. The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2018, 6(3), 61-69. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12

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AMA Style

To Minh Thanh. The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”. Int J Lang Linguist. 2018;6(3):61-69. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12,
  author = {To Minh Thanh},
  title = {The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {61-69},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20180603.12},
  abstract = {Considering modality as whatever that lies out of the lexis (also called the dictum) of the proposition of a declarative sentence, I have considered the meanings conveyed by the modal verb “ can” as well as its English alternative modal expressions, in comparison with those conveyed by its so-called Vietnamese counterpart “ có thể”, if possible. If not, other translated versions into Vietnamese are suggested. The English modal verb can is translated into Vietnamese in a number of different ways, and có thể is one of these ways, however frequent and thus prominent it is; in other words, besides có thể, among other Vietnamese counterparts of “ can are “ được”, “ mới …được”, “ có thể …được”, “ có thể sẽ”, “ biết”, and “ thường”. The alternative modal expressions of “ can” as shown in the English declaratives in this paper have plenty of Vietnamese equivalents, as identified in their suggested translated versions. Although these inevitable differences cause both Vietnamese learners of English and native speakers of English who do a course in Vietnamese a lot of trouble, their potential similarities are the objective bases for successful practice in translating or interpreting. There is no doubt that the interesting and fruitful research on modal expressions in Vietnamese and English declarative sentences is of undeniably practical significance in the current time of world-wide explosion of information and cross-cultural communication.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”
AU  - To Minh Thanh
Y1  - 2018/06/02
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 61
EP  - 69
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12
AB  - Considering modality as whatever that lies out of the lexis (also called the dictum) of the proposition of a declarative sentence, I have considered the meanings conveyed by the modal verb “ can” as well as its English alternative modal expressions, in comparison with those conveyed by its so-called Vietnamese counterpart “ có thể”, if possible. If not, other translated versions into Vietnamese are suggested. The English modal verb can is translated into Vietnamese in a number of different ways, and có thể is one of these ways, however frequent and thus prominent it is; in other words, besides có thể, among other Vietnamese counterparts of “ can are “ được”, “ mới …được”, “ có thể …được”, “ có thể sẽ”, “ biết”, and “ thường”. The alternative modal expressions of “ can” as shown in the English declaratives in this paper have plenty of Vietnamese equivalents, as identified in their suggested translated versions. Although these inevitable differences cause both Vietnamese learners of English and native speakers of English who do a course in Vietnamese a lot of trouble, their potential similarities are the objective bases for successful practice in translating or interpreting. There is no doubt that the interesting and fruitful research on modal expressions in Vietnamese and English declarative sentences is of undeniably practical significance in the current time of world-wide explosion of information and cross-cultural communication.
VL  - 6
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

To Minh Thanh

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hoa Sen University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

To Minh Thanh. (2018). The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 6(3), 61-69. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12

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ACS Style

To Minh Thanh. The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2018, 6(3), 61-69. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

To Minh Thanh. The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”. Int J Lang Linguist. 2018;6(3):61-69. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12,
  author = {To Minh Thanh},
  title = {The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {61-69},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20180603.12},
  abstract = {Considering modality as whatever that lies out of the lexis (also called the dictum) of the proposition of a declarative sentence, I have considered the meanings conveyed by the modal verb “ can” as well as its English alternative modal expressions, in comparison with those conveyed by its so-called Vietnamese counterpart “ có thể”, if possible. If not, other translated versions into Vietnamese are suggested. The English modal verb can is translated into Vietnamese in a number of different ways, and có thể is one of these ways, however frequent and thus prominent it is; in other words, besides có thể, among other Vietnamese counterparts of “ can are “ được”, “ mới …được”, “ có thể …được”, “ có thể sẽ”, “ biết”, and “ thường”. The alternative modal expressions of “ can” as shown in the English declaratives in this paper have plenty of Vietnamese equivalents, as identified in their suggested translated versions. Although these inevitable differences cause both Vietnamese learners of English and native speakers of English who do a course in Vietnamese a lot of trouble, their potential similarities are the objective bases for successful practice in translating or interpreting. There is no doubt that the interesting and fruitful research on modal expressions in Vietnamese and English declarative sentences is of undeniably practical significance in the current time of world-wide explosion of information and cross-cultural communication.},
 year = {2018}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The English Modal “can” and Its Vietnamese Counterpart “có thể”
AU  - To Minh Thanh
Y1  - 2018/06/02
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 61
EP  - 69
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180603.12
AB  - Considering modality as whatever that lies out of the lexis (also called the dictum) of the proposition of a declarative sentence, I have considered the meanings conveyed by the modal verb “ can” as well as its English alternative modal expressions, in comparison with those conveyed by its so-called Vietnamese counterpart “ có thể”, if possible. If not, other translated versions into Vietnamese are suggested. The English modal verb can is translated into Vietnamese in a number of different ways, and có thể is one of these ways, however frequent and thus prominent it is; in other words, besides có thể, among other Vietnamese counterparts of “ can are “ được”, “ mới …được”, “ có thể …được”, “ có thể sẽ”, “ biết”, and “ thường”. The alternative modal expressions of “ can” as shown in the English declaratives in this paper have plenty of Vietnamese equivalents, as identified in their suggested translated versions. Although these inevitable differences cause both Vietnamese learners of English and native speakers of English who do a course in Vietnamese a lot of trouble, their potential similarities are the objective bases for successful practice in translating or interpreting. There is no doubt that the interesting and fruitful research on modal expressions in Vietnamese and English declarative sentences is of undeniably practical significance in the current time of world-wide explosion of information and cross-cultural communication.
VL  - 6
IS  - 3
ER  -

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