within a sentence spoils the gist of the sentence and most of the time connotes an awkward idea.

Here are
some significant examples:

Rn l mt loi b st // khng chn. Snake is a limbless reptile. (More accurate: Snake is a reptile //
legless.)

Not: Rn l mt loi b // st khng chn. Snake is a cow that crawls without legs.

Qun ta tin vo n // ch b tiu dit hon ton. Our force attacked the enemies stronghold, and the
enemies were completely destroyed. (More accurate: Our troops advanced into fort // enemies were destroyed
completely.)

Not: Qun ta tin vo n ch // b tiu dit hon ton. Our force attacked the enemies stronghold and
was completely destroyed. (Lit.: Our troops advanced into fort enemies // were destroyed completely.)

Ch ui k trm // sa om sm. The dog chased the burglar and barked

noisily. (Lit.: Dog chased

burglar // barked noisily.)

Not: Ch ui // k trm sa om sm. The dog chased (the burglar),

and the burglar barked noisily.

E. Trng Lengthening Feature

In order to express or describe something special or extraordinary, a Vietnamese speaker will lengthen
the descriptive word usually an adjective of a statement.

Ci o y p. That dress is pretty.

Ci o y :::p. That dress is very pretty.
Normal:
ng y kh chu lm. Hes very mean.
Lengthening: ng y kh::: chu lm. Hes very, very, very mean.
Normal:
Ti thy con chut to c ny n. I saw a mouse this big.
Lengthening: Ti thy con chut to::: c ny n. I saw a mouse that is very big like this.
Normal:
Lengthening:

IV. T ip m/Vn Derivatives

Derivatives, ting ip m, are a characteristic of the Vietnamese language. They signify the exact way
of expressing the sentimentalism of the Vietnamese. The nuances found in these derivatives are usually
subtle.

A. T ip m Duplicate Derivatives
Duplicate derivatives (or duplicative, ip m i, for short) are used in a statement to reduce the
quality or quantiy of something. There are two primary methods of duplication: somple duplication and tone
alternation.
1. ip m n Simple Duplicate Derivatives
Simple duplication; simply double the word to make an identical pair: red > reddish

ngn short > ngn ngn rather short kh fairly good > kh kh barely adequate au hurt > au au
slightly hurt thng normal thng thng usually
Tone alternation; simply convert the word with a tone to unmarked and make it a prefix: > o
reddish ngn > ngn ngn fairly short kh > kha kh barely mediocre cng hard > cng cng
fairly hard tm purple tim tm purplish ng rosy ng ng a little rosy
If the word has a low broken tone, the prefix will carry a low falling tone: mn salted mn mn lightly
salted nng heavy > nng nng rather heavy nh light > nh nh somewhat light
2. ip m Ba Tonal Emphatic Derivative
Tonal emphatic derivative or ip vn ba: To describe something very unusual, this formula is applied: any
tone + low falling + low broken, which generally denotes the degree of abnormality: