A Comparative Analysis of the Semantic and Grammatical Properties of the Vietnamese Predicate “Còn” And Its Functional Equivalents in Khmer

Abstract

The Vietnamese word “còn” is a polysemous lexical item and can perform a variety of grammatical functions. It may function as a predicate, adverb, connective or adverbial. This raises the question of whether the words equivalent to “còn” in Khmer exhibit similarities or differences in comparison with “còn” in Vietnamese. This study provides a semantic and grammatical comparison of the Vietnamese word “còn” when functioning as a predicate and its corresponding expressions in Khmer.