From máy tính ‘computer’ to sách điện tử ‘e-book’. Vietnamese Lexicology

Abstract

The article deals with various Vietnamese words and phrases, that can be considered as (recent) lexical innovations, e.g. máy tính ‘calculator, computer’, người máy ‘robot’, phần mềm ‘software’, phần cứng ‘hardware’, thư điện tử ‘e-mail’, tài khoản thư điện tử ‘e-mail account’, điện thoại di động ‘mobile phone’, mạng xã hội ‘social network, social media’, trang web ‘web page, website’, sách điện tử ‘e-book’. These and other new Vietnamese words are analyzed with reference to different processes producing lexical enrichment, such as the creation of new words, borrowing, loan translation. Comparative examples are added from various languages, besides Vietnamese, e.g. Italian, Chinese, Dai Lue, Turkish, Azeri, Hungarian, Burmese, Korean, Japanese, and others.