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This thesis investigates the contrastive predicate construction in Vietnamese under the Minimalist Program (Chomsky, 1995). As an instance of the predicate doubling constructions, it contains two copies of a predicate built around the topic marker thì, in which the one preceding thì is a contrastive topic.
It is shown that the relation between the two copies of the predicate is formed by A-bar movement. On the one hand, the dependency between the topic and the lower predicate is unbounded, and can cross a number of finite clauses. On the other hand, their dependency is island sensitive. In addition, the two copies of the predicate are required to be morphologically identical. These pieces of evidence suggest that the two copies of the predicate are links of a movement chain which exceptionally allows thephonetic realization of more than one chain link.
In this construction, the two copies of the predicate are obligatorily pronounced because they are associated with specific phonological requirements. Not pronouncing either one of them would lead to the phonological crash. As for the higher predicate or the topic, its phonetic realization is triggered by the [Top] feature of the TopP whose the head is occupied by the topic marker thì. The lower copy, on the other hand, is forced to be pronounced due to the focus feature that it is associated with. This focus feature is derived from the semantic content that the construction conveys. It is argued that of the two copies of the predicate in this construction, the higher one which is the topic provides given information, while the lower copy, in contrast, expresses new information, not given in the context; thus must receive a focus reading and be spelled out. Accordingly, both the two copies are phonetically realized.
This present study is the first to study the contrastive predicate construction, an instance of predicate doubling constructions, in Vietnamese. In the process of analysis, some aspects of Vietnamese grammar are introduced to the readers. Theoretically, this study provides a strong empirical support for the copy theory of movement in which copies of a movement are phonetically realized. To some extent, it has made some contributions to the theory of grammar.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS i
ABSTRACT ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background and Motivation of the Study 1
1.2 Thesis Organization 6
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 8
2.1 Introduction 8
2.2 An Overview of the Predicate Cleft Construction 9
2.2.1 Classification of the Predicate Cleft Construction 9
2.2.2 Derivation Analyses of the Predicate Cleft Construction 14
2.2.2.1 Base –generation Analyses 15
2.2.2.1.1 Analyses of the PCC as a Left Dislocation Construction 16
2.2.2.1.2 Analyses of the PCC as deriving from a base-generated doubled VP 18
2.2.2.1.2.1 Movement of a Low Predicate Copy 18
2.2.2.1.2.2 Movement of a Cognate Object 19
2.2.2.2 Movement Analyses 21
2.2.3 Accounts of the Predicate Doubling in the PCC 25
2.2.3.1 Predicate Doubling as a Morpho-phonological Phenomenon 28
2.2.3.2 Predicate Doubling as a Syntactic Controlled Phenomenon 34
2.2.3.3 Predicate Doubling as a Morphological Phenomenon 35
2.3 Summary 36
CHAPTER 3 VIETNAMESE CLAUSE STRUCTURE 38
3.1 An Overview of Distributional Properties of Vietnamese Clause Structure 38
3.1.1 Topic Phrase 40
3.1.2 Topic Marker Thì 44
3.1.3 Tense/ Aspect Markers 52
3.1.4 Assertion Marker 55
3.2 Summary 59
CHAPTER 4 VIETNAMESE CONTRASTIVE PREDICATE CONSTRUCTION 60
4.1 Introduction 60
4.2 Core Properties 62
4.2.1 Syntactic Properties 62
4.2.1.1 Full VP and Bare V topic 62
4.2.1.2 Types of Predicate 66
4.2.2 Semantic & Pragmatic Properties 70
4.2.2.1 Contexts of Use 71
4.2.2.2 Conversational Implicature in the CPC 74
4.2.2.3 Polarity Reversed Implicature and Pragmatic Scales Generated by the CPC 75
4.2.2.4. Summary 80
4.3 Analysis 81
4.3.1 Arguments for Movement 81
4.3.1.1 Evidence of A-bar Movement 81
4.3.1.2 Lexical Identity 84
4.3.1.3 Against Base-generation Analyses 86
4.3.1.3.1 Against Left Dislocation Construction Analyses 86
4.3.1.3.2 Against Analyses of the PCC as deriving from a base-generated doubled VP 88
4.3.1.3.2.1 Movement of a Low Predicate Copy 89
4.3.1.3.2.2 Movement of a Cognate Object 91
4.3.1.4 Summary 92
4.3.2 The Phonetic Realization of the Predicate Doubling in the Vietnamese CPC 92
4.3.3 Derivation 103
4.3.3.1 Remnant VP Movement or Long Head Movement? 103
4.3.3.2 Derivation 104
4.3.3.2.1 The Derivation of Full VP topic 104
4.3.3.2.2 The Derivation of Bare V topic 105
4.3.4 Summary 105
CHAPTER 5 CROSS-LINGUISTIC CONSIDERATION 107
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 118
REFERENCES 123

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