Tree Diagram and Readability a New Approach Assessment in Vietnamese Text (in Contrast with English)

Objectives: The primary objective of this research is to investigate text readability in Vietnamese from the perspective of corpus and applied linguistics, specifically focusing on a new approach to assessing readability. The study aims to analyze the linguistic elements affecting Vietnamese text readability, extending the understanding of readability beyond English texts by identifying unique elements in Vietnamese grammar. Methods: This research follows a quantitative approach, building upon previous studies on the linguistic elements influencing English text readability. The study conducts a detailed analysis of a corpus of Vietnamese texts, examining various linguistic features such as sentence complexity and grammatical structure. Through this analysis, the paper aims to assess how these elements impact the readability of Vietnamese texts. Results: The findings from the corpus analysis show that in Vietnamese texts, the complexity of a sentence increases as the number of phrases and clauses in the sentence increases. The study also reveals that, in contrast to English, the depth of the diagram tree serves as a significant and generalized linguistic element for assessing Vietnamese text readability. These results suggest that sentence structure and the arrangement of clauses are key factors in determining the readability of Vietnamese texts. Conclusion: The research contributes to the understanding of Vietnamese text readability and provides practical applications for teaching Vietnamese, including both for native speakers and foreigners, as well as for Vietnamese-English translation. The results can be used to assess the readability of Vietnamese texts in the development of textbooks and educational documents, particularly in the context of ongoing education reforms in Vietnam. The findings offer important insights into the linguistic elements affecting readability in Vietnamese, a relatively under-explored language in this field, and lay the foundation for future studies in this area.