An analysis of the modulation system in Vietnamese from a systemic functional perspective and some suggestions for legal translation

Abstract

Systemic Functional Grammar (hereinafter referred to as SFG) is a linguistic area that has attracted numerous attention from linguistic scholars in Vietnam and worldwide. In this paper, we focus on Modulation analysis in Vietnamese, including Obligation and Inclination, from a Systemic Functional perspective. The qualitative research methodology will be applied to explore the aspects of Modulation in Vietnamese. The descriptive language method is mainly employed in this article to investigate the Modulation system in Vietnamese from the SFG viewpoint. The data for the investigation of Vietnamese Modulation was collected from formal online newspapers in Vietnamese. The data for the recommendation for legal translation was the Singapore Companies Act. The results of the study showed that the Modulation system in Vietnamese is composed of two categories: Obligation and Inclination. Regarding Obligation, it consists of four subcategories: necessity, Obligation, permission, and expectation. As for inclination, it includes Intention and Willingness. Then the results of the study will be employed to make some suggestions for legal translation in Viet Nam context.