THE SCOPE OF MODAL NEGATION IN VIETNAMESE: THE CASE OF “ĐỪNG”, “ĐỪNG CÓ”, AND “ĐỪNG CÓ MÀ”

Abstract

This paper investigates the stratification mechanism of the modal negative imperative system in Vietnamese, focusing on three forms: “đừng”, “đừng có”, and “đừng có mà”. Unlike the traditional view in foreign language teaching, which often considers these forms as dialectal variants, this study applies a syntactic stratification model to clarify the differences in the scope of each form. To test the hypothesis, an empirical survey was conducted with 100 adult native speakers (50 from the North, 50 from the South),who were asked to evaluate the communicative intentions of the three forms in various contexts. The results show a clear stratification: “đừng” dominates in contexts where the action has not yet occurred (68,0%); “đừng có” is the preferred choice when the action is incipient (58,0%); and “đừng có mà” is absolutely overwhelming in conflict situations (85,0%). The data also show no systematic difference between the two regions. These results confirm that the three constructions form a systematic distribution axis corresponding to the intervention from the Verb Phrase level (VP), to the Verum Phrase level (VerumP), and the Discourse Phrase level (DiscP). Thereby, the study rejects the perspective of regional distinction and proposes a new approach in teaching Vietnamese as a foreign language.