Idioms of comparison in vietnamese and english

Idioms of comparison Running head: Idioms of comparison Idioms of comparison in Vietnamese and English A Contrastive Analysis Trịnh Thị Phương Trang University of Education Contrastive Analysis Mr Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ December 30, 2010 Idioms of comparison Abstract Language is a system of communication of a nation Every nation has their own historical, civilized, cultural, climatic characteristics, so every nation has their own language However, different nations have similarities and differences in expressing their ideas Studying similarities and differences between idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese is liable to help the researcher to affirm that Moreover, making some comparisons is a good way to memorize English idioms of comparison effectively and enjoyably Hence, translation skill can be improved thanks to more knowledge about idioms In addition, making comparisons between English and Vietnamese idioms can help the researcher to understand more about cultures of both of countries since similarities and differences in culture reflect coincidences and dissimilarities in ways of thinking and looking at the world of English and Vietnamese people Idioms of comparison Idioms of comparison in Vietnamese and English A Contrastive Analysis Introduction Idioms of comparison are applied frequently in literature and in daily life It serves as a tool to make the language more graphic However, every language has differences in ways of expressing the same idea using idioms of comparison The goal of the study is to discover some common types of comparison used in English and Vietnamese idioms In addition, the study chiefly aims at finding out some similarities and differences between comparison idioms in both English and Vietnamese Because there are so many comparison idioms in both languages, it is impossible to include all of them in the study The study can just explore comparison idiomatic expressions which play an important part in the purpose of the study Idioms of comparison Theoretical Framework Theoretical background of idioms in English Definition of idioms in English The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines idioms as: “A group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words” (Hornby, 2006, p.740) The viewpoint is supported in A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics The author regards an idiom as “a term used in grammar and lexicography to refer to a sequence of words which us semantically and often syntactically restricted, so that they function as a single unit” (Crystal, 1985, p.225) According to A Dictionary of Linguistics, an idiom is “any expression peculiar to a language, conveying a distinct meaning, not necessarily explicable by, occasionally even contrary to, the general accepted grammatical rules” (Pei & Gaynor, 1954, p.95) Feature of English idioms When mentioning semantic features of idioms, we had better focus on the figurative meaning of idioms It is the most important characteristic of idioms to know whether an expression is an idiom or not According to Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary: A idiom is a group of words which, when they are used together in a particular combination, has a different meaning from the one they would have if you took the meaning of the individual words in the group (Sinclair, 1987, p.718) Smiley & Goldtein (1998) also suggest that “idioms are certainly more than the sums of their parts” (p.76) That means the meaning of components of an idiom is different from the meaning of the whole idiom That we can guess the meaning of an idiom or not depends on open or closed classes As Yong and Peng (2007) suggest: Idioms of comparison In open class combinations, individual components are freely recombination and are used in a common literal sense As co-occurrence of individual components is expected of this class of combinations, both their meaning and structures are predictable amenable to analysis (p.178) For instance, we can guess the meaning of the idiom “turn over a new leaf” “Turn over” means to “make something change position so that the other side is facing towards the outside or the top” and “a new leaf” is a leaf which is more beautiful, more perfect Therefore, the meaning of the idioms can be guessed as “to change your way of life to become a better, more responsible person” However, in close class combinations, we cannot guess the meaning of idioms That is because “they are characterized by semantic opaqueness, syntactic restrictions and structural stability” (Yong & Peng, 2007, p.178) For example, the idioms “spread oneself too thin” or “for the birds” Idioms have “a fixed form – that usually cannot be changed” (Heacock, 2003, p.ix) However, Heacock (2003) also claims: Not all fixed phrases are idioms For example, “close your eyes” is a common fixed phrase, but not an idiom because each word in it is used in its standard meaning The phrase “keep your skirt” is an idiom, however, because the phrase does not mean “do not take off your skirt” – it means “stay calm” (p.ix) Idioms can be divided into six different forms or structures: + Idioms located at noun entries such as “in addition to’”, “for the birds”… + Idioms located at verb entries such as “look forward to”, “take off”, “hear about”… + Idioms located at adjectival entries such as “in short”, “hot under the collar”… Idioms of comparison + Idioms located at adverbial entries such as “once again, “worse off” … + Idioms located at pronominal entries such as “give it up”, “come to nothing”… + Idioms located at numeral entries such as “give a hundred percent”, “one by one”… It’s really important to know that modifying any components and functional words can lose the idiomatic meaning (Yong & Peng, 2007) Theoretical background of idioms in Vietnamese Definition of idioms in Vietnamese According to Từ Điển Thành Ngữ Tục Ngữ Việt Nam: Thành ngữ Tiếng Việt tổ hợp từ ngữ cố định có cấu trúc từ câu hồn tồn thuộc phạm trù cấp từ, mã hóa hầu hết có tính chất cách điệu nghệ thuật, làm thành phần câu nói (Nguyễn, 2010, p.5) As Nguyễn (2007) has noted in his book, “thành ngữ tập hợp từ cố định quen dùng mà nghĩa thường khơng thể giải thích cách đơn giản nghĩa từ tạo nên nó” (p 8) Features of Vietnamese idioms Idioms are characterized by figurative and metaphorical meanings Therefore, it’s too difficult to comprehend although we know the meanings of all their components For example, “lấy thúng úp voi”, “gà để gà cục tác”, “đi guốc bụng”… Especially idioms are originated from fairy tales, folk tales…such as “ba que xỏ lá”, “thằng chết cãi thằng khiêng”, “nợ chúa Chổm”, “sư tử Hà Đông”… (Nguyễn, Nguyễn & Phan, 2009) Idioms usually consist of more than components whose counterpoint, alliteration and rhyme are combined with each other in many different ways There are some idioms of comparison such as “nóng lửa”, “khóc mưa”, “nhanh chớp”… Also, there are some Idioms of comparison idioms which are created according to counterpoint, alliteration such as “tai to mặt lớn”, “miệng hùm gan sứa”, “cùng hội thuyền”, “ong bướm lả lơi”… Besides, some idioms are originally spoken words in everyday speech which are usually used again and again for a long time and then develop figurative meanings to become idioms, for instance “chở củi rừng”, “theo voi hít bã mía”, “nước chảy chỗ trũng”, “đi guốc bụng”… (Nguyễn et al, 2009) Theoretical background of English idioms of comparison At first, we should find out the definition of idioms of comparison which are also called similes There are a lot of definitions of simile According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, “simile is a word or phrase that compares sth to sth else, using the words “like” or “as”, for example “a face like a mask” or “as white as snow”; the use of such words and phrases” (Hornby, 2006, p.1369) An idiom of comparison is also defined as: the comparison of two nouns with different meanings, using the words like or as to make the connection Friendship is like ice cream, fear moved like lighting, and leaves feel as slippery as fish are examples of similes” (Tucker, 2002, p.41) There is also a similar but shorter definition in The Challenge of Effective Speaking: “A simile is a direct comparison of dissimilar things using the word “like” or “as”” (Verderber, Verderber & Sellnow, 2008, p.197) The meanings of similes are figurative Take the simile “as tall as a tree” as an example When you say: “Minh is as stubborn as a mule”, you mean Minh is so stubborn, not Minh is as stubborn as a mule Therefore, the simile “as stubborn as a mule” is considered figurative Learners can sometimes be confused between similes and metaphors but they are really different: Idioms of comparison A metaphor, like a simile, is a comparison between two essentially unlike things In contrast to a simile, however, where an explicit comparison is made (The eye is like a lamp for the body), the metaphor makes an implicit comparison (The eye is lamp of the body) (Robert H Stein 15) Huff (2004) asserts that “the only difference between simile and metaphor is that metaphor does not use the words “like” or “as” to make the comparison” (p.98) In other words, two distinctly different things in a simile are connected by “like” or “as” while a metaphor “is an implied but in many ways even more direct than comparison because the reader is expected to identify the comparison without the word “like” or “as”” (Osborne, 1997, p.124) However, “because similes merely join two disparate ideas or images, they are generally less fertile than metaphors, which can evoke additional and fresh shades of meaning” (Ehrenhaft, 2008, p.145) Theoretical background of Vietnamese idioms of comparison In Vietnamese, there are kinds of idioms of comparison: one employs the word “như”, “tựa”, “tày”, “bằng”, “tựa như” or “cũng như” and one doesn’t Based on similarities of characteristics of things, phenomena, actions, the Vietnamese create a large number of idioms which use A to name or to modify B Eg: Mặt trái xoan: oval-shaped face Star: a famous and talented person (usually in art, sport, culture) (Nguyễn, 2010) The other kind of idioms of comparison includes the word “bằng”, “tày”, “tựa”, “sánh”, “như” or “cũng như” which divides an idiom into parts Both of parts can be a noun, verb, phrase or clause The second part whose function is predicating and complementing the first part is counted from comparative word Idioms of comparison Eg: In the idiom “tội tày đình”, “tày đình” is the complement of the noun “tội” In the idiom “chạy bay”, “như bay” is the complement of the verb chạy (Nguyễn, 2010) Idioms of comparison 10 A contrastive analysis of comparison idioms in English and Vietnamese Quantity comparison There are about 700 idioms of comparison in English, for example, “as warm as sunbeam”, “to follow like a shadow”, “to work like a Trojan”,… There are a similarity in the number of idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese Some examples of Vietnamese idioms of comparison are “lạnh tiền”, “xanh tàu lá”… Similarities of idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese Although the culture of two nations is different, ways of thinking and looking at the world of English and Vietnamese is somehow similar Hence, both Vietnamese and English express ideas and concepts in the same way In fact, a large number of Vietnamese idioms of comparison are similar with English idioms of comparison in terms of both concept and image to express English idioms Vietnamese idioms As black as coal Đen than As black as crow Đen quạ As black as ink Tối đen mực As sweet as sugar Ngọt đường As black as soot Đen bồ hóng As brief as a dream Ngắn giấc mộng As bright as day Sáng ban ngày As brilliant as stars Sáng As changeable as the weather Hay thay đổi thời tiết As cold as ice Lạnh băng As cheerful as a lark Vui sáo Idioms of comparison As cunning as a fox Xảo quyệt cáo As dark as midnight Tối nửa đêm As dumb as a an oyster Câm hến As fair as a rose Xinh hoa As fast as a hare Nhanh thỏ As fat as a pig Mập heo As fierce as a tiger Dữ cọp As firm as rock Vững đá As fleet as the wind Nhanh gió As fresh a rose Tươi hoa As gay as a lark Vui sáo As gruff as a bear Hỗn gấu As good (valuable) as gold Quý vàng As green as a leaf Xanh tàu As heavy as an elephant Nặng voi As hard as a stone Cứng đá As heavy as lead Nặng chì As hot as fire Nóng lửa As keen as a razor Sắc dao cạo As light as down Nhẹ tựa lông hồng As light as a feather Nhẹ tưa lông hồng As mum as an oyster Câm hến As pretty as a picture Đẹp tranh 11 Idioms of comparison As quick as lightning Nhanh ánh sáng As quick as a flash Nhanh chớp As red as blood Đỏ máu As red as a beetroot Đỏ gấc As sharp as a razor Sắc dao cạo As silly as a calf Ngu bò As sour as vinegar Chua giấm As stink as a polecat Hôi chồn As swift as lightning Nhanh chớp As smooth as velvet Mịn nhung As slow as a snail Chậm sên As swift as an arrow Nhanh tên bắn As steady as rock Cứng đá As timid as a rabbit/ hare Nhát thỏ đế As thick as ants Đông kiến As transparent as glass Trong suốt thủy tinh As yellow as saffron Vàng nghệ As wet as a drowned mouse Ướt chuột lột As white as snow Trắng tuyết As white as a sheet Như tờ giấy trắng Like father like son Cha To fight like cat and dog Như chó với mèo To stick like a leech Bám dai đỉa 12 Idioms of comparison To stick like glue Dính keo To cry like a baby Khóc đứa trẻ To follow like a shadow Theo hình với bóng To swim like fish Bơi cá 13 Differences of idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese The same content but different images to express Images of idiomatic comparisons in twp nations are different result from differences in culture Vietnam has the cultural tradition of the wet rice production Therefore, animals have a strong attachment to Vietnamese daily life That’s why Vietnamese idioms of comparison consist of images related to buffaloes which are an animal familiar with rice production agriculture Buffaloes pull ploughs, work very hard everyday to help farmers in their farming As a result, wanting to mention strength, people often refer to buffaloes In fact, to talk about someone very strong, the Vietnamese have the idiom “khỏe trâu” while the English have the idiom “as strong as a horse” That’s because English people prefer horses to buffaloes Horses can not only pull ploughs but also transport and entertain They are really energetic and strong enough to help people in life In spite of that, it doesn’t mean that English people don’t consider buffaloes strong animals or Vietnamese people don’t regard horses as strong animals That results just from the difference in culture Also, dragons are a kind of animal which is very close in fertile imagination of Vietnamese people Because of that, the image as a dragon appear in the Vietnamese idiom of comparison “ăn rồng cuốn” to talk about eating large quantities of food while the image of a horse is used in the idiom “to eat like a horse” Idioms of comparison 14 Lamp, butter are so familiar with English life while sweet potatoes, pig are familiar with Vietnamese life, as a result there are differences in images to express their ideas of gentleness and fatness: English idioms Vietnamese idioms As gentle as a lamp Hiền củ khoai As fat as butter Béo lợn Besides, the differences in the ways of thinking and observing the world make differences in the images of idiomatic comparisons Take some following examples to illustrate that: English idioms Vietnamese idioms As easy as ABC Dễ trở bàn tay As easy as pie Dễ trở bàn tay As easy as anything Dễ trở bàn tay As smooth as butter Mượt nhung As pale as a ghost Xanh tàu As lazy as a lizard Lười hủi As soft as wax Mềm bún As merry as a cricket Vui tết As cheerful as the birds Vui tết As glad as a fly Vui tết As happy as a child Vui tết As happy as a clam Vui tết As dark as midnight Tối đêm ba mươi As black as midnight Tối đêm 30 Idioms of comparison As dark as midnight Tối hũ nút As close as herrings Chặt nêm As soundly as a log (Ngủ) say chết As cold as marble Lạnh tiền As dry as a biscuit Khơ ngói As red as lipstick Đỏ gấc As thin as finger Gầy xương khô As weak as a kitten Yếu sên As weak as a baby Yếu sên As black as a stack of black cats Đen cột nhà cháy As black as the ace of spades Đen cú súng As round as a barrel Trịn bóng As old as the hills Xưa trái đất As hot as mustard Cay ớt Like hot cake Đắt tôm tươi As silent as the dead Im lặng tờ As silent as the grave Im lặng tờ 15 What is more, the differences in human make differences between English and Vietnamese idioms For example, in Vietnam, there is the idiom “ghen Hoạn Thư” to refer to a person who is dreadfully jealous However, in English, the idiom “as jealous as Othello” is used to talk about a one’s jealousy Another example is “sướng tiên” and “as happy as a king” Indeed, Vietnamese people consider a fairy the happiest one while English people consider a king the happiest one Idioms of comparison 16 The same components but the dissimilar content Every so often, some images of comparison can appear in both Vietnamese and English idioms but the meaning of the two whole idioms are quite different That’s because the meaning of components differs in culture Indeed, using the idiom “rõ ban ngày”, the Vietnamese want to indicate a event which has nothing fishy Meanwhile English people use the idiom “as bright as day” to describe a light room Besides, when the weather is fine and sunny with good natural light, English people say: “It’s as bright as day” Besides, wanting to compliment someone on his or her beauty of eyes, Vietnamese people say: “Mắt cô sắc dao cạo” Still, English people use the idiom “as sharp as a razor” to refer to one’s brainpower What is more, whilst Vietnamese people apply the idiom “chắc đinh đóng cột” to something steady, “as hard as nails” in English idiom means a person who is quite strict Also, when Vietnamese people say: “Nó tốt vàng”, they mean it’s worth buying the object because of its good quality In contrast, “as good as gold” cannot be used to compliment an object In other words, English people never say: “It’s as good as gold” but “The person is as good as gold” The person can be an assiduous and submissive child or a well-behaved adult Idioms of comparison 17 Pedagogical Implications for Teaching English Idioms of comparison Learning English idioms is one of steps so as to help learners master English English idioms of comparison are frequently used in daily life Therefore, teachers should help their students learn idioms most effectively Firstly, it’s advisable for teachers to raise students’ awareness of similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English idioms of comparison When teachers teach their students a certain English idiom of comparison, they should let them guess the Vietnamese idiom which is equivalent to that idiom, making a comparison and explain why they are similar or different It’s really useful for them to have a long-term memory about that idiom of comparison Secondly, idioms of comparison as well as other idioms are taught and practiced in classroom but students rarely apply them to their daily speech That’s why teachers should encourage students to use idioms of comparison in their daily life as frequently as possible Learners will memorize idioms better if idioms of comparison are put into communicative contexts Don’t make them learn by heart Thirdly, teachers should draw students’ attention to idioms of comparison which are most useful and most frequent As there are so many idioms of comparison in English culture, about 700, students aren’t liable to memorize and apply all of them in their daily life Students should be taught to know what idioms of comparison they should learn Idioms of comparison 18 Conclusion There are both similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms of comparison The same or different image can bear resemblance in the meaning of English and Vietnamese idioms of comparison In addition, there are some idioms of comparison which have the same components but the meaning are quite different Great as have the researcher made an attempt to the research, there are some restrictions on the research out of the limited time and other unexpected factors The researcher hopes that the research will a useful material for learners and teachers to learn or teach most effectively Idioms of comparison 19 References Crystal, D (1985) A dictionary of linguistics & phonetics Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ehrenhaft, G (Ed.) 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(1987) Collins cobuild dictinary of the English language New York: Williams Collins Sons & Company Smiley, L R., & Goldtein, P A (1998) Language delays and disorders: From research to practice San Diego: Singular Publishing Group Idioms of comparison 20 Stein, R H (1994) The method and message of Jesus’ teachings Louisville: Wetminster John Knox Press Tucker, S (2002) Kindle the fire: Writing poetry with middle school students Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Verderber, R F., Verderber, K S., & Sellnow, D D (2008) The challenge of effective speaking Massechusset: Wadsworth Publishing Company Yong, H., & Peng, J (2007) Bilingual lexicography from a communicative perspective Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company  ... and dissimilarities in ways of thinking and looking at the world of English and Vietnamese people Idioms of comparison Idioms of comparison in Vietnamese and English A Contrastive Analysis Introduction... similarity in the number of idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese Some examples of Vietnamese idioms of comparison are “lạnh tiền”, “xanh tàu lá”… Similarities of idioms of comparison in English. .. English and Vietnamese idioms of comparison The same or different image can bear resemblance in the meaning of English and Vietnamese idioms of comparison In addition, there are some idioms of comparison