Using English and Vietnamese metaphor for proper names

Part i introduction VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES SEMANTICS (Final assignment) Topic Using English and Vietnamese metaphor for proper names Instructor Dr Ha Cam Tam Student’s name Do Thi Phuong Thuy Hanoi, 2010 Content Part 1 Introduction 1 Rational 3 2 Aims of the study 3 3 Methods of the study 4 4 Scope of the study 4 5 Design of the study 4 Part II development 6 Chapter i 6 Theoretical background of metap.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES SEMANTICS (Final assignment) Topic: Using English and Vietnamese metaphor for proper names Instructor: Dr Ha Cam Tam Student’s name: Do Thi Phuong Thuy Hanoi, 2010 Content Part 1: Introduction Rational……………………………………………….…………………….3 Aims of the study…………………………………….…………………….3 Methods of the study…………………………….………………………4 Scope of the study……………………………….……….……………… Design of the study………………………….…………………………….4 Part II: development………………………………………… Chapter i:………………………………………………………………………….6 Theoretical background of metaphor IN ENGLISH I.1 What is metaphor? I.2 Characteristic features…………………………………………………………….6 I.3 Classification of metaphor………… ……………………………………………6 Chapter Ii……………………………………………………………………… 11 A study on English metaphor related to the proper names II.1.1 Metaphor related to Boycott………………………………………… ………11 II.1.2 Metaphor related to hooligan………………………………………………….11 II.1.3 Metaphor related to Pander………………………………… ………………11 II.1.4 Metaphor related to Tawdry…………………………………….…………….11 II.1.5 Metaphor in English idioms, proverbs and sayings related to the proper names II.2.1 Metaphor related to the idioms “ happy as Larry”……………… …………12 II.2.2 Metaphor related to the proverb: Rob Peter to pay Paul……………………… 12 II.2.3 Metaphor related to the idiom: any Tom, Dick or Harry…… ………………12 II.2.4 Metaphor related to “peeping Tom”……………………………… ……… 12 II.2.5 Metaphor related to “ smart Alec”……………………………… ………….12 II.3 Metaphor in English related to the characters in the literature…….………….12 II.3.1 Metaphor related to the character “Don Juan”……………………………….13 II.3.2 Metaphor related to the character “ Hitle” …………………… ………… 14 II.3.3 Metaphor related to the character “ Vandals”………………… ……………14 II.3.4 Metaphor related to “ a paint Jane”……………………………… …………14 II.3.5 Metaphor related to “ painted Jezebel”…………………….…………………14 II.3.6 Metaphor relating to “Tarzan”…………………………… …………………14 chapter iii: metaphor related to proper names in English in comparison with Vietnamese III.1.Similarity in using proper names in Vietnamese……………………………….16 III.2 Difficulties in understand and translating words related to proper names in English idioms and proverbs……………………………………………………………………………… 18 III.3 Suggestion to overcome difficulties……………… ………………………….18 PART III: CONCLUSION……………………… …… ……………………… 20 References…………………………………….……………………….21 Part i: introduction rational Nowadays, with the development of society and technologies, English has been used the most widely in the world It not only plays an important role in communication but it has many progressive effects in many aspects of our life There are plenty of similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese cultures not only in Grammar, lexicology translation, phonetic but also in metaphorical meaning especially metaphor in literature and idiom expressions Therefore, deep understanding about the uses of metaphor in everyday language not only helps students of English increase vocabulary but also helps them understand new and original metaphor when they hear or speak them Everyone knows that idioms and proverbs are the genius of national language that is the key help learners know more about nation, as well as custom and culture of each country all over the world When studying Vietnamese and English metaphor, what made me the most impressed is that the proper names not only reflect the concepts bur also refer the characteristic of person and places Importantly, metaphor help learners see the interest the beauties as well as the culture color of language which help learners use and understand correctly and clearly I hope that learners will understand about metaphor in English especially metaphor relating to the proper names that is also the main reason motivating me to carry out this research Aims of the study My research aims are: + giving theoretical background of metaphor + giving some difficulties of Vietnamese learners of English with idioms in general and the idioms related to the proper names in particular + giving some suggested solutions to overcome these difficulties, + finding the metaphorical characteristic of factors related to the proper names in English idioms and literature Methods of the study The study on metaphor in not only English idioms but also literature related to the proper names is carried out with comparative methods with a hope that learners could see the role of metaphor in using idioms and literature from some linguists, typical examples and extracted from various types of books Besides, idioms were collected from dictionary to get valuable knowledge for this paper Furthermore, Information related to the research paper from websites was also looked into in order to complete this research successfully Scope of the study During the study process, I have been attracted by metaphor - one of the figures of speech as well as metaphor in English idioms and expression about the proper names Because of time allowance and knowledge, I cannot cover all idioms and proverbs on these issues but only focus on idioms related to proper names, here is a sample of discussing on metaphor in English idioms: typical proper names in literature and idioms, in each kind of proper names, I introduce some outstanding idioms to illustrate for the research 5.Design of the study The study consists of three parts Part is introduction, including rationale, aims of the study, methods of the study, scope of the study, and design of the study Part is development that is divided into three chapters Chapter is background knowledge on the study It supplies the definition characteristic, classification and definition Chapter is an analysis of metaphor in English related to proper names Chapter is metaphor related to proper names is English comparison with Vietnamese Part is a conclusion which gives a summary of the whole study mentioned in the previous parts Part II: development Chapter i: Theoretical background of metaphor IN ENGLISH I.1 What is metaphor? According to Oxford Advance Learner’s dictionary: metaphor is a word or phrase used to describe somebody or something else, in a way that is different from its normal use, in order to show that two things have the same qualities and to make the description more powerful Ex: She has a heart of stone Ex: She is a fox The following sentences illustrate how the metaphorical understanding of anger-as-fire is expressed: Your insincere apology just added fuel to the fire After the argument, Dave was smoldering for days Boy, am I burned up! I.2 Characteristic features I.2.1Similarity of shape Take the example: Neck of the bottle Mouth of the cave Truong (1993:80) In these examples, looking at metaphorical expression the “neck” is not a neck-part of the human body, but it is the narrow part at the top of the bottle, also the word “mouth” in the last one is a part of the body that is small and round Mouth is also used as a metaphor to refer the entrance of a cave and the other example such as: The head of a cabbage The teeth of a saw Truong (1993:80) Finding many meaning of metaphors, the metaphorical expressions are based on the identification of shape I.2.2Similarity of size Look at the example: Their daughter is quite plump but their son is positively elephantine English –Vietnamese –Dictionary (1993:559) The image of “elephantine” is used metaphorically make hidden comparison with a big person I.2.3 Similarity of position Look at the following example: The foot of a mountain The heart of the country Truong (1993:79) Such expression as “foot of the mountain” is described as a similarity of position “foot” is the lowest part of the body and it is used metaphorically to refer to the foot mountain, the metaphor is stimulated by the identification of the mountain Further one, “heart” is used metaphorically because; it is an important part of the body and in the center position In such way “leg of the table” or “tail of the procession” and so on, we is also considered metaphors basing on the similarity of position I.2.4 Similarity of movement Look at the example: They had to worm their way through the narrow tunnel The river snaked away into the distance The image of “worm” is an animal with a soft rounded or flattened body It is put in the real context with function as a verb to compare with a twisting movement of a person like a worm The other example, the verb “snake” is used as a metaphor based on the identification of movement I.2.5 Similarity of function Basing on the similarity of function, these examples: Key to the mystery Head of the class Hand of the clock Truong (1993:80) We easily see that “key”, “head” and “hand” in this cases are not a key to open clock, head- part of the body and not a hand of the body, they also not belong to instrument, success or clock, in fact metaphorical meanings in these examples are applied to any obstructing, this transference of meaning is based on some common features to refer to similarity of function I.2.6 Similarity of color E.g The rose of clouds at down An orange light The words “rose” and “orange” are described as similarity of colour, “the rose of clouds at down” is a kind of flower and it is used as a metaphor to refer to the clouds that has rose of clouds And the second one “an orange light”, the word “orange” is a kind of fruit and it is as a metaphor to refer to the lights that has orange color Therefore, the metaphorical expressions are based on the identification of color I.2.7 Similarity of behavior and character Look at the following example He is a fox He is an Othello Truong (1993:80) The word “fox” here is a name of animal that indicates a big animal which is very wise and clever Fox is used metaphorically with the negative meaning to refer to a person cunning character or if we say “he is an Othello”, it refers to a person who is very jealous, that are used as metaphor based on the similarity of character and behavior I.3 Classification of metaphor I.3.1 Living metaphor Living metaphor that can be called active metaphor is one which relatively new and has not become part of everyday linguistic usage It is created and used by individuals Living metaphor, according to Hoang Tat Truong (1993:81): “When a word has an unusual metaphorical sense or the metaphor is created and used by an individual" E.g: You are my sun Perelman (1999:88) I.3.2 Fade metaphor According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993:81) “fade (trite) metaphor is one that has lost its freshness due to long and traditional use" And it is necessary to note that the meanings of faded metaphor are registered in dictionaries since they are of common use We can take the following metaphor for example: E.g: Her voice is sweet She is a snack Truong (1993:81) I.3.3 Dead metaphor According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993:81) “Dead metaphor is a metaphor which is no longer felt as a metaphor because the direct 10 meaning of the word has been completely last" we can look at following example for a highlight E.g: To ponder All theoretical background mentioned above aim to provide a theoretically fundamental basis that is a key which helps me get more knowledge and experience in studying metaphors about proper names in many aspects and expressions that will be referred to in the next chapter 11 Chapter Ii A study on English metaphor related to the proper names II.1.1 Metaphor related to Boycott The words “boycott” here is used to metaphorically to refer to refuse to deal with or a refusal to deal with in order to see the mean of boycott clearly, look at the following example: E g: The anarchist speaker urged all citizens to boycott the elections O’ Dell (1995:30) The word “boycott” named after a land lord in Ireland who made himself unpopular by his treatment of his tenants and was socially isolated II.1.2 Metaphor related to hooligan The word “hooligan” is used to metaphorically refer a rough, lawless youth which named from the Irish family name hooligan E g: Acts of vandalism committed by football hooligans O’ Dell (1995:30) II.1.3 Metaphor related to Pander The word “pander” named from Pandaros, a procurer or pimp in Ancient Greek mythology So as to further understand the meaning and the using of the word “pander”, look at the following example: E g: Newspaper pandering to the public love of scandal O’ Dell (1995:30) The word “pander” in this case refers to indulge someone’s desire II.1 Metaphor related to Tawdry The word “tawdry” is used to metaphorically refer to cheap and tasteless Look at this example: 12 E g: He is only a tawdry person O’ Dell (1995:30) The word “tawdry” named from ST Audrey, at whose cheap gaudy scarves wore sold II.1.5 Metaphor in English idioms, proverbs and sayings related to the proper names II.2.1 Metaphor related to the idioms “ happy as Larry” The idioms “happy as Larry” here is used to metaphorically to refer to extremly happy Look at the example: E g: She is happy as Larry This mean the degree of emotion “great happy” the word “Larry” was named after in Australia or New Zealand and dated from around 1875 It has been suggested that it comes from the name of the Australia boxer Larry Foley though why he was particularly happy no one seems to know he won a lot of contests II.2.2 Metaphor related to the proverb: Rob Peter to pay Paul The idiom “Rob Peter to pay Paul” is used to metaphorically referring to taking away from one person in order to give to another Look at the example E g: He is a rob peter to pay Paul www.usingenglish.com This proverb expresses not in this sense of robbing the rich to pay the poor but of behaving illogically or falling to solve a problem by merely creating other early appearances of proverbs show the reference is to St Peter and St Paul as two men of equal sainthood II.2.3 Metaphor related to the idiom: any Tom, Dick or Harry 13 The list has included other names down the centuries such as Jack and Will- Shakespeare has Tom, Dick and Francis in Henry IV E g: He won’t talk to any Tom, Dick or Harry B J Thomas (2002:114) This mean is person is a real snob; he’s only interested in people who are rich or famous II.2.4 Metaphor related to “peeping Tom” Eg: They are some peeping Tom Someone who spies on the other people, especially by looking through their windows, is called a peeping Tom B J Thomas (2002:114) II.2.5 Metaphor related to “ smart Alec” Take an example: Eg: He’s just a smart Alec The word “smart Alec” refers to a person being very show-off, he always thinks he knows everything B J Thomas (2002:114) II.3 Metaphor in English related to the characters in the literature II.3.1 Metaphor related to the character “Don Juan” Don Juan is a character who has bad behaviour and always flirt beautiful girls anywhere he went Therefore Don Juan became a love of many women, or lady-killer E g: He is a Don Juan Truong (1993:80) II.3.2 Metaphor related to the character “ Hitle” 14 The word “Hitle”is named of the shogun who very cruel He killed a lot of people in the second World War, therefore the word “ Hitle” indicates the person who is cruel Eg He is a Hitle Thu (2006:12) II.3.3 Metaphor related to the character “ Vandals” The word “vandal” was formed by in a story, the character is vandal who always destroyed anything and the word “Vandal” indicates the person who is destructive people E g: He is a Vandal www.usingenglish.com II.3.4 Metaphor related to “ a paint Jane” E g: She is a paint Jane www.usingenglish.com This means a woman who isn’t particularly attractive II.3.5 Metaphor related to “ painted Jezebel” Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, whom she introduced to the worship of Baal, the god of the Phoenicians, while persecuting the prophets of the Hebrew god, Jehovah and drawing down upon herself the denunciation of Elijah In II Kings, 9, she is referred to in connection with whored one’s and witchcrafts and her use of cosmetics (verse 30) has given risen to the expression a painted Jezebel for a woman who flaunts herself provocatively E g: She is a painted Jezebel www.usingenglish.com 15 This means shameless, immoral, scheming woman II.3.6 Metaphor relating to “Tarzan” Look at the example Eg: He looks like Tarzan B J Thomas (2002:114) Tarzan is name of character in story of Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan is used to metaphorically refer to a body-builder and weight-lifter In summary, there are a large number of Metaphors related to the proper names However, due to the scope of my study, I only focus on several English idioms on typical proper names, characters in literature and so forth I hope that this study will help learners of English understand more about metaphorical expressions in English idioms 16 chapter iii: metaphor related to proper names in english in comparison with Vietnamese III.1.Similarity in using proper names in Vietnamese There are a lot of similarities in using proper names in Vietnamese, especially to relate to the characters in literature and with the following example, we can see it more clearly that both English and Vietnamese have an equivalent in using the proper names as a metaphor III.1.1 Similarity in using proper names between “ Little Lord Fautleroy” and “ M· Gi¸m Sinh” E.g: He is little Lord Fautleroy The word “ Little Lord Fautleroy” is referred to elegantly-dressed person, in Vietnamese the name “Little Lord Fautleroy” is also used metaphorically to express the character of the story “ KiÒu”- Nguyen Du poet, the name of “ M· Gi¸m Sinh” III.1.2 Similarity in using proper names between “ Scrooge” and HuyÖn Hinh” Basing on the characteristic, we can understand many equivalent in proper names With the name of “ Scrooge” refers to very mean person in Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, in Vietnamese the name “ Scrooge” is used metaphorically to express the name of character of the story Đồng hào có ma by Nguyễn Công Hoan, the name of character is HuyÖn Hinh who express the same characteristic of Scrooge III.1.3 Similarity in using proper names between Jekyll and Hyde and TRịnh Hâm E.g: He is got a Jekyll and Hyde We can see the name “Jekyll and Hyde” is referred to a man with two contrasting personalities, one gentle and one murderous in novel by R L 17 Stevenson However, there is a character in Vietnamese literature having an equivalent, that is name of character in story Lục Vân Tiên, the character Trịnh H©m” has also the similariry of characteristic III.1.4 Similarity in using proper names between “Don Juan” and “ Së Khanh” E.g: He is a Don Juan Truong (1993:90) If the name of “Don Juan” refers to a character who has bad behaviour and a love of many women, the character in the story “KiÒu”-Së Khanh is also a person who always flirt and deceive many women III.1.5 Similarity in using proper names between “painted Jezebel” and “ThÞ Në” e.g: She is a painted Jezebel B J Thomas (2002:114) The word “painted Jezebel” has an equivalent in Vietnamese literature which has the same appearance such as ugly and particularly attractive, that is a character in story “ChÝ phÌo” Nam Cao writer The character “ThÞ Në” is a typical character who express clearly III.1.6 Similarity in using proper names between “Smart Alec” and “ Cô cè Hång” e.g: He’s just smart Alec B J Thomas (2002:114) the story “ Sè §á” by Vị Träng Phơng , the character “ Cơ cè Hång” is referred to a person very show-off, he always thinks he knows everything, but English people usually refer to “ Smart Alec” having the same characteristic 18 In short, metaphorical proper names are used differently in two languages and cultures Therefore, in order to understand and know the metaphor related to proper names, we will learn more knowledge not only from school but also from many books III.2 Difficulties in understand and translating words related to proper names in English idioms and proverbs Learners are likely to meet troubles in translating these idioms related to the proper names into Vietnamese or finding Vietnamese equivalences to convey some kinds of meaning, because each nation has its own system of language, geographical circumstances, national and social condition as well as the development levels of society, which forms different national characteristic and culture Therefore, together with the same thought and awareness, each language has different expression, addition to Vietnamese and English people have their own expressions and different ways to understand the idioms related to the proper names It is due to different cultures between two countries to refer to the characteristic of jealous person the English take the image of “ He is a Othello”, while the Vietnamese take the image of Hắn đồ hoạn th and so forth Studying further proper names, I can see these differences in culture, for instance if Vietnamese people often say that the characteristic of greedy person is “ tr b¸t giíi” but the England will say that “ Billy Bunter” To sum up, in English, meaning of the proper names are often different from word-for-word translation, furthermore, each of proper names is both used in a specific context Hence, it is necessary to learn English metaphor related to the proper names is not always easy for learners III.3 Suggestion to overcome difficulties With these difficulties mentioned above, learners of English need spend time studying English idioms seriously and improving their knowledge 19 of both English and Vietnamese culture as well as habits by reading more books, novel or short stories and collecting English idioms, then learning the exact meaning of idioms Metaphoric images play an important role not only comprehension idioms but also characters in literature So that, it is easy to learn and understand metaphor related to the proper names by putting these proper names in specific contexts and making sentences related to proper names It helps to memorize both proper names and idioms related to the once Importantly, I myself find that metaphor is one of the main parts of lexicology- one of three main dimensions of a language study, especially in the folklore of idioms and expressions; this is both interesting and difficult to approach I hope that I will have chances to studying about this as a saying goes “study, study more, and study forever” 20 PART III: CONCLUSION One of rhetorical methods that is widely used in proper names is metaphor It plays an important role in making the meaning of not only idioms but also characters in novels more figurative and vivid Being aware of its importance I decided to analyze metaphors in English idioms and eponymous related to the proper names In chapter 1, a general theoretical background of metaphor has been presented, which help people make sense of the role of metaphor In chapter a series of English metaphor related to the proper names were analyzed and illustrated by lots of examples that help learners improve their knowledge of metaphor in proper names in general, in English idioms related to the proper names in particular Furthermore English metaphors related to the proper names have been presented with Vietnamese equivalences They provide learners with better understanding of the culture among countries In the final, chapter English metaphor related to the proper names have been presented with Vietnamese equivalences and difficulties that Vietnamese learners often face when studying English idiom and proper names are also pointed out By studying some suggested solutions, learners can choose the effective ways or methods to learn English idiom related to the proper names This chapter ends with some types of exercises as a sample to give learners chances to practice using it In short, I have summed up what have been mentioned in my research paper with a hope learners of English will get benefits from this study to learn English metaphor related to the proper names better 21 References Books AS Hornby 1990 Oxford Advance learner’s dictionary of current English B J Thomas 2002 Advanced Vocabulary & Idiom Liz & John Soars 1995 Headway student’s book Michael Mc Carthy Felicity O’ Dell 1995 English vocabulary in use Thoa, N Y T (2005) Assignment on Language and Culture in Contact Vietnam National University- Hanoi Trêng, H T, 1993 Basic English Lexicology National University College of Foreign language Tõ diĨn Anh-ViƯt 1993 Nhà xuất TP HCM 22 ... iii: metaphor related to proper names in english in comparison with Vietnamese III.1.Similarity in using proper names in Vietnamese There are a lot of similarities in using proper names in Vietnamese, ... comparison with Vietnamese III.1.Similarity in using proper names in Vietnamese? ??…………………………….16 III.2 Difficulties in understand and translating words related to proper names in English idioms and proverbs………………………………………………………………………………... learn and understand metaphor related to the proper names by putting these proper names in specific contexts and making sentences related to proper names It helps to memorize both proper names and