Characteristics of the vocabulary of the native lexical system of the Vietnamese language

The article discusses the vocabulary of the native lexical system of the Vietnamese language. The study deals with monosyllabic, polysyllabic (simple) and compound words of the native lexical system. Monosyllabic words consist of one syllable and belong to the most ancient layer of the Vietnamese lexis. It is noted that polysyllabic words are divided into two groups: words formed through reduplication and those made with composition. The article examines motivated and non-motivated repetitions, which may be absolute and divergent. It is noticed that Vietnamese compound words unlike Indo-European words are idiomatic by nature. The formation mechanism of Vietnamese compound words is shown. The theoretical framework of the research consists of the ideas that were laid out in scholarly works on the Chinese language and the languages of Southeast Asia. The methodological framework of the research is based on general methods of linguistic studies.

native lexical system, word formation, reduplication, word-composition, compound words, motivated and non-motivated repetitions