The English modal “can” and its Vietnamese counterpart “có thể”

Abstract

Considering modality as whatever that lies out of the lexis (also called the dictum) of the proposition of a declarative sentence, I have considered the meanings conveyed by the modal verb “can” as well as its English alternative modal expressions, in comparison with those conveyed by its so-called Vietnamese counterpart “có thể”, if possible. If not, other translated versions into Vietnamese are suggested. The English modal verb can is translated into Vietnamese in a number of different ways, and có thểis one of these ways, however frequent and thus prominent it is; in other words, besides có thể, among other Vietnamese counterparts of “canare “được”, “mới … được”, “có thể … được”, “có thể sẽ”, “biết”, and “thường”. The alternative modal expressions of “can” as shown in the English declaratives in this paper have plenty of Vietnamese equivalents, as identified in their suggested translated versions. Although these inevitable differences cause both Vietnamese learners of English and native speakers of English who do a course in Vietnamese a lot of trouble, their potential similarities are the objective bases for successful practice in translating or interpreting. There is no doubt that the interesting and fruitful esearch on modal expressions in Vietnamese and English declarative sentences is of undeniably practical significance in the current time of world-wide explosion of information and cross-cultural communication.