VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ THÙY A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE LEXICAL MEANS OF MODALITY EMPLOYED IN CULTURE AND SPORT EDITORIALS OF COMMENDATION ON THE USATODAY.COM AND THE VIETNAMNEWS.VN FROM 2012 TO 2015 NGHIÊN CỨU SO SÁNH NHỮNG PHƢƠNG TIỆN TỪ VỰNG CỦA TÍNH TÌNH THÁI TRONG CÁC BÀI XÃ LUẬN KHEN NGỢI VỀ LĨNH VỰC VĂN HÓA VÀ THỂ THAO TRÊN BÁO USATODAY.COM VÀ VIETNAMNEWS.VN TỪ NĂM 2012 ĐẾN 2015 M.A Minor Thesis Field: English linguistics Code: 60220201 HANOI – 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ THÙY A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE LEXICAL MEANS OF MODALITY EMPLOYED IN CULTURE AND SPORT EDITORIALS OF COMMENDATION ON THE USATODAY.COM AND THE VIETNAMNEWS.VN FROM 2012 TO 2015 NGHIÊN CỨU SO SÁNH NHỮNG PHƢƠNG TIỆN TỪ VỰNG CỦA TÍNH TÌNH THÁI TRONG CÁC BÀI XÃ LUẬN KHEN NGỢI VỀ LĨNH VỰC VĂN HÓA VÀ THỂ THAO TRÊN BÁO USATODAY.COM VÀ VIETNAMNEWS.VN TỪ NĂM 2012 ĐẾN 2015 M.A Minor Thesis Field: English linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Tô Thị Thu Hƣơng, Ph.D HANOI – 2016 DECLARATION I certify that the work contained in this thesis is the result of my own research, and this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or institution Hanoi, October 2016 Signature Lê Thị Thùy i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the following people who have offered support and encouragement in all their different ways throughout this study I am indeed thankful to my supervisor, Dr Tô Thị Thu Hương, whose sympathetic guidance has been the source of inspiration and knowledge for my research I am also grateful to other teachers of the Department of Post-Graduate Studies for their encouragement and valuable advice My great thanks are also given to my family and my friends who have encouraged me a lot during the process of my study ii ABSTRACT The thesis analyzed the selected editorials of commendation on cultural and sporty fields chosen from the American English newspaper, the usatoday.com, and the Vietnamese English newspaper, the vietnamnews.vn, to identify the lexical means of modality employed in the two newspapers The study aimed at analyzing how similar and different in tendencies of using modality as well as the functions of modality employed in commendation editorials in the two newspapers The data showed that modality was realized in the two newspapers through modal auxiliary verbs, ‗knowledge‘ verbs, certain reporting verbs, modal adjectives and adverbs, and some modal nouns From the findings, the research also provided some suggestions in teaching and learning English iii TABLE OF CONTENS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Justification 1.2 Aim and purposes of Research 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance 1.5 Thesis outline CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of modality 2.2 Types of modality 2.3 Linguistic manifestations of modality 2.3.1 Modal verbs 2.3.2 Modal adverbs 11 2.3.3 Modal adjectives 11 2.3.4 Modal nouns 11 2.4 Editorials and classification of newspaper editorials 12 2.4.1 Definition of editorials 12 2.4.2 Classification of newspaper editorials 14 2.4.3 Editorials of commendation 14 2.5 Previous studies 15 iv CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Types of Research 18 3.2 Data Sources 18 3.3 Data Analysis Instruments 19 3.4 Data Analysis Procedure 20 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 24 4.1 Modal verbs 24 4.2 Modal adjectives and adverbs 31 4.3 Modal nouns 37 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 39 5.1 Summary 39 5.2 Pedagogical implications 41 5.3 Limitations of the study 44 REFERENCES 45 APPENDICES I UT1 I UT2 III UT3 V UT4 VI UT5 .VII UT6 VIII UT7 X UT8 XI UT9 XIII v UT10 .XV VN1 XVII VN2 XVIII VN3 .XXI VN4 XXIII VN5 XXV VN6 XXVII VN7 XXX VN8 XXXI VN9 XXXII VN10 .XXXIV vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS UT: the usatoday.com VN: the vietnamnews.vn vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Table Modality through modal auxiliaries in UT & VN Table Number of quoted direct speech & indirect speech in two newspapers Table Comparative and superlative forms of evaluative adjectives and adverbs viii VN Huyen speeds to her third gold medal Update: June, 13/2015 - 10:31 HA NOI (VNS) — Nguyen Thi Huyen completed her hattrick at the Singapore SEA Games, winning her third gold medal yesterday Huyen finished first in the women's 400m event with a time of 52sec, followed by teammate Quach Thi Lan and Vallabouy Shereen Samson of Malaysia The result, which is Huyen's personal best, brings her the second ticket to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next summer Two days earlier, the Nam Dinh Province native triumphed in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay, setting two records "Success never comes easily Sweet results come after great effort I will have to try harder in the future," Huyen said "Her speed is incredible, much better than what she did in training I am surprised with her winning three gold medals," said coach Vu Ngoc Loi "Huyen is training without comfortable conditions, as our infrastructure is poor and we have not enough expert or doctors to take care of her So, if she received better support she would go much further," Loi said In the final day of competitions, Vietnamese also won seven silver medals in different categories, including the men's 400m, women's and men's 3,000m steeplechase and women's high jumping In taekwondo, Truong Thi Kim Tuyen won one of three gold medals for Viet Nam Tuyen defeated Bermejo Irene Therese of the Philippines 19-7 to win the title in the women' U46kg category Earlier, her teammates triumphed in the poomsae (peformance) events Nguyen Minh Tu and Nguyen Minh Van won the mixed pair class this morning The Vietnamese duo earned 7.885 points to take the lead, followed by Malaysia and Singapore Van and Tu are said to be the shortest pair in the world of taekwondo, as Tu is 1.50 and weighs 42kg and Van is 1.55, weighing 38kg When they stepped on the competition map, many people laughed at their size However, the duo needed only several minutes to make admire their abilities and applaud them Their fluent, strong and impressive moves persuaded the judges, as they received the highest scores among competitors "They are like tiny ones and nobody believes they are taekwondo athletes However, not look down at them, they can make everybody take their hats off," said coach Le Minh Khuong Tu and her former partner, Nguyen Dinh Toan, are the world defending champion Though Van took part in his first SEA Games, he quickly won victory XXI "We deeply understand each other, since we have been training together for a long time It played a key role in our win today," said Tu Van said that despite being a little nervous, he was very confident and believed in a victory "I don't mind what people said about our height I just give them a smile Our small size is not a problem in us, otherwise it keeps us balanced better," said Tu The other medal went to Chau Tuyet Van, Nguyen Thi Le Kim and Nguyen Thuy Xuan Linh in the women's team pool Earlier, one of the judges made a mistake and forgot to give points to the Vietnamese players, leading to their second rank overall with 7.830 points, behind Thailand (7.900) Vietnamese officials complained to the organising board After a review, Viet Nam and Thailand had to perform again and, this time, Viet Nam won with 8.130 points Thailand came in second with 8.030 "Mistakes of judges are normal in taekwondo In this case, our athletes are the defending champions and also world winners, and they performed very well, so we decided to issue a complaint Fortunately, the mistake has been corrected," said Vu Xuan Thanh, head of Taekwondo Department of the National Sports Administration Athlete Van was also very happy when she took the title back "I am happy that we could take the medal back from the judges I cried a lot when we placed second But it is okay now Thank you to everybody who supported us," Van said The Vietnamese men's team, however, only won a silver medal, and placed after the Philippines Viet Nam's Le Nghia won the men's trap shooting individual gold at the National Shooting Centre yesterday Nghia shot 12 out of 15 targets, against Malaysia's Chen Seong Fook in the gold-medal match, while Chen shot 10 out of 15 and to win a silver medal Singapore's Mohamed Zain won the bronze After seven days, Thailand, who grabbed 16 titles yesterday, replace Singapore in the top podium with 71 gold medals The hosts are second with one less Viet Nam drop to third place with 62 — VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/sports/271714/huyen-speeds-to-her-third-goldmedal.html#7pPz0Tsz3Qd8TrrD.99 XXII VN VN athletes win gold in gymnastics, wushu Update: June, 09/2015 - 09:04 HA NOI (VNS) — Gymnasts and wushu martial artists pushed Viet Nam up the medal tally to the second place on the third day of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore Dinh Phuong Thanh and Phan Thi Ha Thanh bagged gold in men's and women's allround events in artistic gymnastics, respectively While Thanh successfully defended her title, Thanh won his second gold in this SEA Games Thanh made 53.650 points from four single's events Abdul Hadi Farah Ann of Malaysia came second, followed by Nathan Nadine of the hosts "Yesterday's poor results had affected me slightly However, my coaches and teammates encouraged me and I came back strongly to give a successful performance today," Thanh said, admitting to suffering a knee injury just before her event Thanh's was not her peak performance at the women's all-round team event on Sunday, causing her to drop to No position overall Meanwhile, Thanh's title in the men's all-round event marked the historic win for Viet Nam It is the first time Viet Nam have taken this title in a SEA Games "I had not thought about winning a title before arriving here I just feel it closer after each single event," Thanh said about his Games debut Thanh noted that he performed best in the parallel bars event, which has been his strong point and has got him the highest result of 15.800 points in his total 86.150 points "I think confidence and peace of mind are important factors for winning I am very happy and hope it will motivate me to compete well in coming events as well," said Thanh who won a bronze in last year's Asian Games "Thank you everyone for strongly supporting me to achieve this victory," Thanh remarked, while expressing his hope to win the individual horizontal bars and parallel bars events Coming at the second place in this event is veteran Pham Phuoc Hung, also a Vietnamese He has 85.250 points to his credit "This is the second time in a row that I'm taking only a silver medal; it is still great as my younger teammate has won and we have made Viet Nam the best team," said Hung who made a mistake in the pommel horse event The third place went to Gan Gabriel of Singapore, with 79.350 points Coach Truong Minh Sang praised his athletes' accomplishments XXIII "Thanh surprised me with his performance today He was really confident and excellent I believe he will be much better in the future," said Sang, a former SEA Games winner "In the region, Viet Nam now have no worthy rivals in the men's all-round event The two Vietnamese have the same points but they leave their rivals far behind What we need to is continue to strengthen our No position," Sang observed Last evening was great for wushu as well Tran Xuan Hiep finally took his gold after a six-year hunt The 26-year-old triumphed in men's optional broadsword, scoring 9.72 points Hulaefi Achmad of Indonesia took the silver and Nguyen Manh Quyen won the bronze "I waited for six years My efforts have yielded sweet results," remarked Hiep who grabbed a silver medal in optional cudgel and a bronze in optional changquan in previous days Hiep had been participating in the SEA Games since 2009 and had managed to take only a silver and a bronze Just hours later, Hoang Van Cao overcame Solis Francisco of the Philippines 2-0 in men's sanshou 60kg class His teammate Nguyen Van Tai earned the fifth gold of the day for Viet Nam, with his 2-0 victory against Myanmar's Tun Kyaw Lin in men's 65kg pool Asian Games winner Duong Thuy Vi performed below expectations and took a silver in women's optional spear In swimming, Nguyen Thi Anh Vien bagged a silver in women's 100m freestyle and a bronze in 50m backstroke Tran Duy Khoi came from behind to take a silver in men's 200m backstroke The table tennis players made a silver in the men's team event The Vietnamese also grabbed eight bronze medals in canoeing, diving, table tennis, boxing, and petanque With 41 gold medals, Singapore remain the best delegation Thailand come close after Viet Nam, with 23 titles — VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/sports/271473/vn-athletes-win-gold-in-gymnasticswushu.html#6AKltGtcqbqEYHuI.99 XXIV VN Young squad set for gold hunt in Singapore Update: May, 30/2015 - 10:25 HA NOI (VNS) — The predominantly young swimming squad has set a target to win at least 10 gold medals at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, a first in the history of Viet Nam's sport "We have drawn a detailed preparation plan for the Games; our athletes have been attending a range of tournaments as a part of the plan This helped them improve their results Overall, they have maintained good performance and are ready for the Games," said Dinh Viet Hung, head of the Swimming Department of the National Sports Administration Many feel the target of 10 gold is believable as Viet Nam is home to some best swimmers, including Olympian Nguyen Thi Anh Vien In the previous Games, Viet Nam made history by winning five gold, five silvers, and two bronzes, a result that none of the national sport officials had expected Vien, who was a new name at the Games two years ago, contributed three titles in women's 200m backstroke, 200m, and 400m medley events This year, the Can Tho Province-born athlete is expected to win in six categories, after her remarkable show in international competitions Vien will have to defend her crowns as well as conquer the 200m, 400m, and 800m freestyle titles The 18-year-old has been training hard in the US under famous coach Cray Anthony Teeters Her preparations are not only for the SEA Games but also for further tournaments, including the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 and the Asian Games two years later According to Vietnamese swimming officials and coach Dang Anh Tuan, her performance has been pretty good and it showed in her training and competitions in the US; they have been better than any of her rivals in ASEAN states They believe that the insanely talented athlete can also vie for gold in 200m butterfly as her result is close to the top three At the recent Arena Pro Swim Series in the US, Vien grabbed a bronze medal in 400m medley, with a time of 4:42.60 She also took part in different categories and successfully entered the final eight rounds "Vien might not have competed against world-level swimmers in the American tournament, but she definitely is a star in Southeast Asia," Nguyen Hong Minh, former head of the Elite Sports of the National Sports Administration, noted, adding that Vien can easily manage to perform in six to seven events at the SEA Games Hoang Quy Phuoc is another golden hope of Viet Nam XXV Phuoc, 23, has prepared on his own by undergoing a training course in Japan, where he reached Standard B to compete at 100m (50.80sec) and 200m freestyle (1:50.94) in the coming Olympics in Brazil Phuoc will defend his title in 200m freestyle and swim to reclaim his glory in 100m freestyle that he had lost in last Games in Myanmar The Da Nang-born swimmer is also expected to change the colour of his medal from silver to gold in 400m freestyle Two years ago, Tran Duy Khoi bagged only one silver medal (200m medley) and one bronze medal (400m medley) Following his outstanding performance at the national championships this year, with 11 gold and five records, 18-year-old Khoi is hoping to make a difference Apart from Vien, Phuoc and Khoi, who compete in short-distance events, Viet Nam have Lam Quang Nhat who made a big bang in Myanmar as he secured a gold medal in men's 1,500m freestyle in his SEA Games debut Nhat successfully finished his race with a time of 15:39.44, leaving behind his nearest rival Kevin Yeap of Malaysia for a five-second gap His victory was a strong boost for Viet Nam Two years later, the HCM City-born athlete, who just returned home from China, improved his best result to 15:33.21, which is expected to keep him on the top of the podium "I have no advantages of height or a full span of arms needed for swimmers of shortdistance events So, I focus on this category and I am hoping to shine in Singapore SEA Games," said 18-year-old Nhat The team's biggest challenge will be the odd organising activities of the hosts Athletes are not allowed to practise at the main venue (OCBC Aquatics Centre) two days before their competitions, which is not in line with the world swimming federation's rules Vietnamese coaches have sought permission for their athletes to train in the evenings, but they have yet to receive a reply A tight competition schedule, asking swimmers to take part in consecutive events, will make it difficult for them to prepare for their next events, Hung observed, adding that Viet Nam strongly objected to the organisers' rules and were waiting for a response from them The eight-member swimming squad will leave for Singapore on June Their competition will take place on June 6-11 at the OCBC Aquatics Centre — VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/sports/271090/young-squad-set-for-gold-hunt-insingapore.html#pi9UAHqZXv80RDhS.99 XXVI VN Vien to storm swimming world champs Update: June, 22/2015 - 16:13 Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, a serious challenger at the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, says she will be even more competitive at the world championships in Russia next month The top ASEAN swimmer competed in her second SEA Games, which ended in Singapore on Tuesday, winning an unprecedented eight gold medals, and a silver and bronze medal each, besides setting eight records, the first-ever such instance in Viet Nam's sporting history She was one of the best swimmers of the SEA Games, leaving behind legend Yoscelin Yeo of Singapore, who had won seven individual gold medals at the 17th Games in 1993 in her hometown The Vietnamese swimmer's achievements made headlines She was featured on the front pages of several local and international publications, as well as online newspapers such as Daily Mail, AFP, Yahoo Sports and Channel NewsAsia, besides The New Paper The New Paper, the SEA Games official media partner, even voted her as the top foreign star and among the best five athletes of the SEA Games It said on its website tnp.sg: "Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Anh Vien could possibly be the only swimmer at the games who could come close to outshining swimming star (Joseph) Schooling The 18year-old won an impressive eight gold medals and set five games records Let's not forget she participated in 11 events." The media called her the 'Iron Girl' and 'Swim Queen' of Viet Nam to describe her outstanding performance during six days at the OCBC Centre Vien's results were much better than what she did at the Myanmar Games two years ago, when she won three titles - also a turning point for Viet Nam's swimming world in her debut The incredible progress of the 'little mermaid' is a result of years of hard training in the United States with National Team Coach Dang Anh Tuan who, she says, is not only her trainer, but a brother and a father too "Everything that I have today is thanks to my coach He has to work 10 times, even 100 times, harder than me," Vien said "He trains me every day as a coach, cooks for me as a father, and encourages and advises me as a brother." Tuan transformed her from an athlete who initially swam like 'a mosquito larva' into a candidate for the world's top three ranks "I first saw her at an event in HCM City in 2009 Among 20 swimmers in the pool, I found that despite her non-technique style, she had potential I tested her and she did very well There was no doubt that she was going to be a huge name," Tuan said XXVII Vien's coach said she had all the characteristics of a swimming genius such as height, long arm span, long back and large feet and hands The 18-year-old swimmer is 1.73m tall, with an arm span of 1.78m, just 4cm short of her idol, Michael Phelps of the United States With Tuan's support, Vien was called to the national team in 2010 It's been just five years since then, but she has made magical moves, which Tuan said was like sprinting to the finish for new records Vien made it to the number 14 rank in the world in the women's 400m individual medley in 2014, thanks to her one gold and two silver medals at the Youth Olympics, two bronzes at the Asian Games and good performance in competitions in the US Earlier, she grabbed three golds and one silver at the Asian Youth Games in China in 2013 She was voted the Best Athlete of the Year in 2013 and 2014 "I have trained several athletes, but none like her I told her she is a professional athlete The money that the government invests to support her is also from our people who have to work hard every day She understands and deeply respects that," Tuan said "Vien is a girl with a steel will, which is sometimes greater than what she can "This iron will helps her achieve impressive breakthroughs in her career I am proud of having such an athlete," he said Regarding her feelings about her achievements, Vien said, "I want to win more titles There are some categories where I still make mistakes, leading to worse results than while training And in some other categories, I think I can better I have to try harder "Sometimes, I also feel very tired of training and want to give up But then I think, I have come so far If I quit, all the efforts of those years will be wasted, and it would not be worthwhile for me So I train harder," Vien said Her life is a cycle of eating, sleeping and swimming, but the girl is satisfied with it and always focuses on her target of swimming faster and becoming the fastest swimmer in all competitions Vien is said to be a simple girl who does not feel any pressure from the media that paid her a lot of attention in Singapore and at home She always says what she did in the SEA Games was just a good start in the Southeast Asian region and that there are better swimmers in the world The girl has no Facebook account or mobile phone, doesn't know how to ride a motorbike or use the internet, and does not have many friends, but she wants to be as successful as Michael Phelps "I hope to be an Olympic champion My idol is Phelps He is a mirror that I look at everyday to push myself He has everything that I admire, such as body form, duration and great technique I want to be a swimmer like him XXVIII "The SEA Games was only the one in my competition plan this year There are many more to come The next one will be the world championships where I want to enter the final of the 400m IM event," Vien said She has just about some days to spend at home with family before returning to the US for training It is a normal schedule for the girl, who has been living up to 364 days away from her country for the last four years "Sport is harsh It is partly like a fight for existence If we not win, we lose Only training hard makes us perform better That is the reason why Vien cannot rest too much Her important targets lie ahead," Tuan said Vien agreed with her coach "There is no limit for records I plan to swim further than what I have done If I am satisfied with myself today, it means that I am a loser I am determined to conquer higher peaks in my career," she said The champion has won a berth to compete in two different events at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next summer It will be the second time that Vien has represented Viet Nam in Olympics She also plans to change her medal colour from bronze to gold at the Asian Games in 2019 "It is not very difficult to get a chance to swim in the Olympics The real matter is how to enter the top eight to compete in the finals "It is a huge task, but I will try my best with the year's time that I have I also want to win at the next Asian Games," she said "We are on the right track and, believe me, Vien is a rare talent She could be a world champion," Tuan, who has put all his hopes on Vien, said After her brilliant performance at the SEA Games, Vien is the top athlete of Viet Nam to receive more support in the future "Vien is now Viet Nam's pride We'll have specific plans for her, and give her the best to help her achieve better results The main target will be the Olympics," Tran Duc Phan, deputy head of the National Sports Administration, said — VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/272049/vien-to-storm-swimming-worldchamps.html XXIX VN Nhat Thuy wins Vietnam Idol Update: May, 13/2014 - 10:21 HA NOI (VNS) – Nhat Thuy of Nam Dinh Province grabbed the majority of the audience votes to win the Vietnam Idol 2014 on Sunday night Thuy won about 52 per cent of the votes, as compared to second-runner up Minh Thuy, at the award ceremony Born in 1991, Thuy graduated from the Military Culture and Arts College's Music Education Faculty She has a natural talent and technique which enables her to perform in different genres of music easily At the contest, she was highly appreciated by the jurors, including veteran composer Anh Quan Thuy is a rare singer in the Vietnamese entertainment industry who is endowed with a good voice, according to Quan Thuy received a prize of VND600 million, or US$30,000 Vietnam Idol originates from the reality programme Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller The first season of Vietnam Idol premiered in 2007 — VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/254770/nhat-thuy-wins-vietnamidol.html#Gg6scKC1BapIHjEc.99 XXX VN Rising movie star Update: April, 22/2015 - 09:00 Chi Pu, 24, is the youngest performer in the nomination list for Favourite Actress Chi Pu, whose real name is Nguyễn Thùy Chi, became popular in the teenage community after she was named ―hot girl‖ in a beauty contest for teenagers in 2009 Since then, she has worked as a model for teenage magazines At 20, she discovered her passion for filmmaking and decided to move to HCM City to pursue her dream She won minor roles in director Nguyễn Quang Huy‘s Thần Tượng (Idol) film in 2013 and in Vietnamese-Canadian director Cường Ngô‘s Hương Ga (Rise) in 2014 In early 2015, she had a chance to shine when invited to play a leading role, a young woman who faces challenges in the pursuit of happiness, in HCM City Film Studio‘s (TFS) 30-part TV series Vẫn Có Em Bên Đời (Having You by My Side) directed by Võ Việt Hùng Hùng said of the actress, ―People think she is just a ‗hot girl‘ but she actually has talent.‖ The male lead actor in the film, Nhan Phúc Vinh, said, ―At first, I thought working with a ‗hot girl‘ would be difficult But Chi Pu cancelled this thought in my minds.‖ ―She has a deep passion and love for film She is very serious and professional in her work,‖ Vinh added Chi Pu said that Hùng and her co-actor had inspired her to act well Vẫn Có Em Bên Đời has received a warm welcome from the media and the public for its plot and the actors‘ performances The film also brought an HTV Awards‘ nomination for Favourite Actor for Nhan Phúc Vinh These musicians and actors are among 36 nominees in 12 categories of music, theatre, performing arts, emcee, modelling and TV series for this year‘s HTV Awards HTV launched a public poll in early April — VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/295672/young-musicians-actors-dominate-htv-awardsnomination-list.html#ywVf6jHrp2bfrs3Y.99 XXXI VN Wushu artist Vi strikes gold at SEA Games Update: December, 22/2013 - 15:48 With the Vietnamese wushu squad under pressure to gain titles on the first day of competition, Hanoian Duong Thuy Vi delivered a stellar performance to clinch the victory Pham An and Huy Anh report Duong Thuy Vi stepped onto the SEA Games' competition mat under the worried eyes of all the sport leaders and managers They were worried because the wushu's taolu (performance) squad had been asked to win two titles on the first day of the competition However, world champions Nguyen Thanh Tung, Nguyen Manh Quyen and Tran Xuan Hiep had failed in their attempts, as the first day of competition neared its end on December Chef de Mission Lam Quang Thanh expressed his impatience by pacing up and down the stand Vi was the last member of Viet Nam's team who was competing that day, so she was under pressure and feeling pretty nervous However, the Hanoian girl proved her mettle, despite a knee injury She finished her performance to great applause and congratulations by coaches, teammates and spectators at the Wunna Theikdi Sports Complex in Nay Pyi Taw City The world champion won the judges' hearts and received 9.70 points, that pushed her to the top podium at the women's jianshu event, beating Myanmar's Sandy Oo and Malaysia's Eyin Phoon "Seeing my teammates' failure, I felt a little under-confident But when I was on the mat I just focused on how to make it the best performance," said Vi, who cried and hugged her coach Nguyen Van Chuong after the final result was announced "Before the competition, I met the whole team, which had performed well at the world championship in Malaysia However, when Hiep and Quyen failed, I was really nervous But Vi's performance made me confident (of a gold medal) though a host athlete was to compete after her," said Thanh, who is also a deputy head of the National Sports Administration "Vi gave a wonderful performance with a high level of accuracy and difficulty and we were impressed with her expressiveness," said head of the wushu team Le Minh Ha, who also saw his athlete win a silver medal in the quiangshu event two days later "In my opinion, Vi had a successful year with a silver at the World Games in July and one gold and one bronze at the World Wushu Championships three months later," he added Route to victory Born to parents who practise martial arts, Vi, 20, has always received strong support and encouragement since she started practicing wushu at the age of eight XXXII Her cousin had been practising wushu One day his coach came to Vi's house and saw her talent for martial arts He tested her in the long jump and she managed to jump 1.5 metres From that day, Vi started her journey to become a champion "Vi has been an independent and strong girl since her childhood I have never heard any complaints from her teachers," said Vi's mother, Nguyen Thi Hoa "She is also hard-working She did not miss a single training day, although she, at age eight, had to cycle 7km from our house to the sports centre," Hoa recalled Such mettle is necessary for wushu artists, who have to live away from their families when they join the national teams "We have only two kids Sometimes I am really lonely, as she often stays away from home for training and competing But we feel proud of Vi and what she has achieved Many people have congratulated us," said Hoa Vi's mother added that sometimes she wanted her daughter to stop practicing martial arts because she worried about her daughter's future, which could be affected by injuries But Vi's mother said that "she is in love with wushu and I don't want to disturb her" Vi suffered her most grievous injury during the World Wushu Junior Championships in Indonesia in 2008, when she twisted her ankle after a jump In spite of the injury, Vi tried to complete her performance and then was carried away on a stretcher The champion still needs massage and acupuncture to treat that injury "I asked her when she would stop She said she wants this kind of a 'fighting career'," Hoa said For Vi, the SEA Games were her biggest challenge During her first SEA Games in 2005 in Laos, Vi was very nervous The 16-year-old girl made many mistakes and stood at the bottom of the table in quiangshu pool But the failure pushed her to grow up quickly Two years later, Vi improved her rank and picked up a silver medal in the jianshu event At the Myanmar Games, she nearly completed her medal collection, with titles of all tournaments, from local to global "I turned 20 in 2013 and it's the year I will never forget My effort to return to competition has brought worthy results The year saw my success - I won a world gold medal and a SEA Games title The only title that I have not won is from the Asian Games," Vi wrote on her Facebook The girl said her life's motto is: "Never regret, always smile and keep fighting" — VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/249272/wushu-artist-vi-strikes-gold-at-seagames.html#3yomAOJrwf4Oc3AC.99 XXXIII VN 10 Minh to make history with third Olympics Update: December, 15/2015 - 09:00 There are some badminton players from around the world who are regarded as true legends, and this elite group has been in the forefront of the game for many years They have played with style and brilliance that has captivated spectators in tournaments around the world, and have remained at the top of the world rankings for more than a decade Audiences around the world cherish the memories of the breath-taking rallies and thrilling matches that these players have competed in It will not be an exaggeration to say that they have helped shape the history of the game as it is played today Nguyễn Tiến Minh may not have reached that level, but in Việt Nam he is really a legend, a big status on the national badminton scene The 33-year-old will take part in his third Olympic Games in a row next summer in Brazil With this remarkable achievement Minh has set a record in the national sporting history as the first ever sportsman to represent Việt Nam in three Olympics ―It is the largest sporting event in the world, and it is every sportsman‘s dream to take part in it once in a lifetime It is my third time so the happiness is multiplied three times and I am the first Vietnamese to that,‖ Minh said He took part in the Beijing Games in 2008 as the world No 28 and was stopped in the second round by Chinese Taipei Hsieh Yu-Hsing, ―because I did not understand why I could not control my hands, so I could not play the way I wanted‖ Four years later, the No 10 seed failed to advance to the knockout round in London, losing to Belgian Yuhan Tan, who had never played as outstandingly in previous meetings Now it was time to delete those unhappy memories of the first two occasions, he said ―I am confident that my technique has improved a lot, but my physique will not be as good as it was eight years ago, and I am 33 now From now until August I will have to focus on this weak point,‖ Minh, who reached his best as the World No in 2010 and 2013, said Another difficulty for the player, is that he is the top player in the nation, so it is hard for him to find a suitable sparring partner to help him sharpen his skills ―I really need someone who is as good as me to train everyday with me just as foreign players for better results I hope to solve the problem in the next weeks, so that I am nearly perfect for my third Games in Rio,‖ Minh said The HCM City-born athlete will also take part in several tournaments in Australia and New Zealand to warm up for the Rio Games Brilliant career XXXIV Introduced to badminton by his father at the age of 10, Minh was immediately captivated by the sport The interest soon developed into a passion which made Minh decide to turn professional at the age of 18, ignoring his parents‘ wishes to receive an academic education He was called to serve the national team in the same year and quickly set up his domination that has continued until now Việt Nam has never been a country of badminton, but Minh could not have broken into the game globally without the strong support of the local badminton authority and the national federation, as well as his well-off family Minh received financial aid to take part in various regional and international events which pushed him up the world ranking In his international career, Minh has won 15 titles and has been runners-up on six occasions, apart from a world championship bronze medal in 2013, which lifted him to the world top He was voted one of 10 best players of the year in 2004, 2007, 2008, and received the Labour Order, third class, in 2011 However, badminton did not only bring him glory, it also helped him find true love In the national team, while Minh had been preparing by himself, he also took responsibility of guiding the younger generation, of which Vũ Thị Trang was the rising star She is the No female badminton player in the country The two teammates then forged a common bond and understanding, and also fell in love Their love was only made public in 2014 Trang will also join him to compete at the Rio event in the women‘s singles category The couple have decided that they would their best to prepare for the Games and then get married after that when Minh announces his retirement ―Like every sportsman, I have already thought about retirement and have been taking part in coaching courses so that I can begin working as a coach in the near future I have my own business but training talents is my first choice,‖ he said Minh has recently agreed to be a consultant at the NutiFood Sport Talents Academy which will kick-off next year He will work as a talent scout in badminton He will also conduct training programmes, and invite foreign experts to work at the academy, which also provides general education for attendees VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/296661/minh-to-make-history-with-thirdolympics.html#0m7FcvKfuG08Trgc.99 XXXV ... lexical means of modality commonly employed in culture and sport editorials of commendation in the two online newspapers, the American English newspaper, the usatoday. com, and the Vietnamese... related to the topic as a guide to write this thesis It included Definition of modality, Types of modality, Lexical means of modality, Definition and Classification of newspaper editorials, and. .. process of my study ii ABSTRACT The thesis analyzed the selected editorials of commendation on cultural and sporty fields chosen from the American English newspaper, the usatoday. com, and the Vietnamese