A Vietnamese Reference Grammar Previously published as Mon-Khmer Studies XIII-XIV

Abstract

As a basic work of reference it meets all the criteria of linguistic analysis, namely, thoroughness, comprehen-siveness, conciseness, and elegance. Among other features Profesor Thomp-son deserves the credit for calling attention to the endocentricity of Vietnamese constructions, to the existence of sub-syllabic morphemes, to a number of "relator-nouns" which previous authors had called "verbs" or "preposi- tions" (trong, ngoili, tren, dueli, etc.), to the notion of "focus" discovered in proper nouns, pronouns, and also circumstantial complements (of manner, place and time), and to a novel treatment of particles.