Rationale
“Music gives you happiness and sadness
But it also, also heals your soul”
(From the song “Let the music heal your soul”)
Music is a very colorful thread woven into the entire fabric of our life
Singing songs with melodic rhythm is a subtle way for people to share their happiness and sadness
Moreover, music lyrics and rhymes serve as an important part of English teaching curricula in a variety of countries As an obvious example, in Taiwan, songs and rhymes are expected to fulfill different purposes in elementary education, especially in English teaching (Teng, 2013) In a lot of well-known English textbooks such as Headway, New English File and Solutions which are in use in Vietnam, songs are used as a part of exercises
Another example is in the famous English teaching program ESL Podcast, music is often played at the beginning and the end of each audio For instance, to teach the vowel /i:/, instead of saying “ “Today we are going to discuss about the way to pronounce /i:/”, a piece of music introduced:
We are three Shall have some tea She will come
We see a bee We’ll say buzz off Don’t bother me (two – three – four – five – six – seven – eight)
(Chorus) Fiddle de fiddle de Fiddle dee dee Fiddle de fiddle de Fiddle dee dee
(Bee Movie script, 2007) According to Gardner (1983: 20), a Harvard psychologist, “music intelligence is equal in importance to logical mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence” In linguistic area in Vietnam, the effectiveness of music in enhancing listening skill is also studied at Phuong Dong University by Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, 2006 or by Nguyen Thi Quyet 2005 supplied learners with language knowledge of structures and meanings in English and Vietnamese nursery rhymes
Of all topics, songs about mother have drawn attraction of listeners and learners as they not only entertain people but also educate them in terms of language knowledge and moral values Until now, there has not been much research on mother image under the light of linguistics All reasons mentioned above motivate me to carry out the research “Mother image in English and
Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using transitivity system in Systemic Functional Linguistics perspective” What should be carried out in the thesis will be an inquiry of both of the structure and meaning of mother image in order to find out the similarities and differences between them We are hopeful that the study will make a humble contribution to providing an insight into the similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese mother image in the issues investigated.
Aims and research questions
Aims
- Describe and analyze mother image in songs from systemic functional linguistics perspective
- Identify similarities and differences in linguistic means to depict mother image in English and Vietnamese songs
- Offer some suggestions for teaching and learning English through songs.
Research questions
In order to achieve these aims and objectives of the study, the following
1 How are mothers depicted in English and Vietnamese songs from the perspective of systemic functional linguistics?
2 What are the linguistic means to express such meanings?
Scope and significance of the study
Scope
Within the framework of an M.A thesis, the research cannot cover all aspects of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs; therefore, we limit it to manageable scope: analyzing mother image in terms of transitivity system, and at the same time mentioning some figures of meanings or stylistic devices in depicting mother image.
Significance
By investigating representational meaning of mother image in English and Vietnamese, this study, to some extent, could provide an aspect of linguistic features of mother image in English and Vietnamese under the light of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) In addition, it could be a valuable source for foreign language learners to enhance knowledge of language and music To some extent, the results of the study can reveal the cultural similarities and differences between English-speaking countries of the inner circle (in the book English as an international language: perspectives and pedagogical issues, 2009, inner circle refers to countries in which English is primary language) and Vietnam.
Methodology and procedures
Methodology
The study is conducted as an attempt to understand more about mother image from SFL perspective At the same time, the thesis illustrates similarities and differences of mother image in English and Vietnamese song Therefore, the descriptive and comparative analysis is used as principal method in the study
The descriptive method aims at describing mother through transitivity system, and then synthesizes the result to find out the similarities and differences in the depiction of mother images in the two languages
In fulfilling the focuses of the study, the comparative method is applied to present prominent features of mother images in English and Vietnamese.
Procedures: data collection and analysis
The study deals with mother image in English and Vietnamese, so we have collected one hundred songs (50 songs for each type, 50 written in English and 50 in Vietnamese) Then, we identify clauses and select one thousand clauses (500 clauses for songs in each language) Based on theory of transitivity system set by Halliday, we analyze clauses into six types of process: material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal and existential process In the paper, processes, participants and circumstances are analyzed to illustrate activities and emotions of the mother in each song It applies three steps developed by Burton (1982) which are isolating the processes, determining which participants (who or what) is doing each process, determining what sort of processes they are, and which participants is seems to be affected by each of these processes All processes identified are categorized and illustrated as percentages
From these results, similarities and differences of mother images in English and Vietnamese songs are presented.
LITERATURE REVIEW
SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS
1.1.1 Development of Systemic Functional Linguistics
Systemic Functional Linguistics or Grammar, a grammar model developed by Michael Halliday in the 1960s, refers to a new approach to the study of grammar Systemic linguistics deals with the way spoken and written language operating in different social situations In particular, it is very useful in illustrating three points: the operation of text beyond the level of the sentence, the difference in structuring the text and the variable changes of the language to meet the purpose of the users It takes on descriptive approach and focuses on groups of words that function to make meanings In his book,
An Introduction to Functional Grammar, Halliday (1994) points out that functional grammar is so-called because its conceptual framework is a functional one rather than a formal one Such functions are identified in three distinct senses, in its interpretation of texts, of the system, and of the elements of linguistic structures In the relation to the first aspect, functional grammar is involved in how the language is used In other words, each text unfolds in a different usage of context Regarding the second point, the fundamental components of meaning in language are functional components Based on the analysis of Halliday, all languages possess two main types of meanings, the
“ideational” (to understand the environment), and the “interpersonal” (to act on the others in it) The third meaning is formed by the combination of these two above, the “textual” Three components are called metafunctions in the explained by reference to its function in the total linguistic system
Accordingly, “a functional grammar is one that construes all the units of a language– its clauses, phrases and so on Specifically, each part is interpreted as functional with respect to the whole” (Halliday, 1994)
Following the pioneering model initiated by Halliday, some of other linguists developed and gave informal explanation of functional grammar Thompson
(1996) describes the three metafunctions of functional grammar as follows
Firstly, we use language to talk about our experience of the world, including the world in our minds, to describe events, states and the entities involved in them Secondly, we also use the language to interact with other people, to establish and maintain relation with them, to influence their behavior, to express our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit or change theirs Finally, in using language, we organize our messages in ways which indicate how they fit in with the other messages around them and with the wider context in which we are talking or writing
Similarly, Martin, Matthiessen and Painter (1997) define functional grammar as a way of looking at grammar in terms of how grammar is used In the field of linguistics, formal grammar, which is an alternative to functional grammar, is concerned with the way our genes constrain the shape of our grammar, and thus constrain what a person can and cannot say
Therefore, functional grammar, based on cultural and social contexts, is considered as an effective tool for the description and evaluation of how language can be adopted to write and speak more appropriately and powerfully Thanks to functional grammar, to some extent, our ability of reading documents is substantially improved in terms of cognition and criticism
1.1.2 Difference between traditional grammar and systemic functional grammar
As a new model of grammar, functional grammar differs from traditional grammar in many ways While traditional grammar focuses on written language and deals with rules of correct usage, functional grammar deals with both spoken and written language and concentrates on the functions of language More specifically, functional grammar provides us with tools for describing how language is used in various contexts in real life, and for understanding why a text is the way it is (Martin, Matthiesen & Painter,
1997) On the contrary, traditional grammar is prescriptive one which shows the speakers what they can and cannot say and generates a wide variety of rules for correcting what are often referred to as grammatical errors It is easy to realize that functional linguistics respects speakers‟ rights to make up their own minds about how they choose to talk, and it makes speakers explicitly aware of the choices they have available In addition, functional grammar is concerned with how language in a text works together as part of a larger system in order to construct meaning, while traditional grammar is concerned with identifying the functions of words and word groups within sentences, without demonstrating how language is presented in a range of cultural and social contexts Then, in the process of analysis, sentence works as a basic unit in traditional grammar, yet, clause plays the main role in functional grammar It can be concluded that systemic functional linguistics is closer to language more deeply and comprehensively In the view of systemic functional linguistics, language is a resource for making meanings and hence grammar is a resource for creating meaning by means of wording It is designed to display the overall system of grammar rather than only fragments
That is the reason why it has come to be known as a Systemic Functional Linguistics or Grammar.
APPLICATION OF TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN LITERARY
As mentioned above, Halliday points that there are three lines of meaning in a clause: the textual meaning, the interpersonal meaning and the ideational meaning, or to put it differently, the clause has three metafunctions: textual, interpersonal and ideational metafunctions which can be illustrated as the following table:
Metafunctions My mother gave a book to me
Interpersonal Subject Predicate Complements Adjunct
Experiential Actor Process Goal Recipient
Table 1: Three lines of meaning in a clause
Among them, the ideational meaning (the clause as representation) serves for the expression of “content” in language, that is, our experience of the real often use it to speak of something or someone doing something That is why the ideational meaning can be referred to as experiential meaning coming from the clause as representation The interpersonal meaning helps to establish and maintain social relations; the individual is identified and reinforced in this aspect by enabling him or her to interact with others by expression of their own individuality The textual meaning creates links between features of the text with elements in the context of situation, it refers to the manner in which a text is organized In other words, the textual meaning comes from the clause as message Halliday also claims that the three types of meanings presented in language are not accidental but are necessarily in place because we need them to perform functions in social life
In constructing experiential meaning, there is one major system of grammatical choice involved: the system of transitivity or process type The transitivity system is chosen as framework in our research because of all the grammatical aspects analyzed, it produces the fruitful data on the text
Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend in adopting transitivity system in analyzing literary works such as “Using Transitivity as a framework in a Stylistic Analysis of Virginia Woolf’s Old Mrs.Grey”
(Bonifacio, 2011), “Transitivity analysis: representation of love in wilde’s the nightingale and the rose” (Asad, Roshan, Sobia & Rabia, 2014) and
“Transitivity Analysis of A rose for Emily” (Zijiao, 2013)
It can be seen that transitivity analysis has been widely used to understand the language of speakers and writers It examines the structure of sentences which are represented by processes, the participants involved in these processes and transitivity analysis, researchers have tried to reveal that language structures can produce certain meanings and ideology, which are not always explicit for readers In other words, the task of functional analysis, particularly transitivity analysis, is to discover the relation between meanings and wordings that accounts for the organization of linguistic features in a text
According to this theory, in transitivity, different processes are distinguished, classified and known as material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal and existential We can see the process at the table below:
Process type Category meaning Participants
Token, value Carrier, attribute Identified, identifier
Table 2: Process types, their meanings and characteristic participants
The next part will be illustration in great details of each process adopted from the book “An introduction to Functional Grammar” (Halliday, 2004) and
“Ngữ pháp kinh nghiệm của cú tiếng Việt: Mô tả theo quan điểm chức năng hệ thống” (Hoàng Văn Vân, 2005)
1.2.1 Material processes: the process of doing
Material processes are processes of “doing” They express the notion that some entity “does” something – which may b done to some other entity In the material processes, there are two participants role, namely: actor and goal, for example:
The lion Caught the tourist
Từng đôi Chim bay đi
Table 3: Material process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn
1.2.2 Mental processes: process of sensing
Cognition (thinking, knowing, understanding, etc.)
In the mental processes, there are two participants, namely senser (the conscious being that is feeling, thinking, or seeing) and phenomenon (which is “sensed” – felt, thought or seen) Let‟s see the example below:
Người già muốn sự thoải mái
Table 4: Mental process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân, 2005)
1.2.3 Relational processes: the processes of being
There are three types of relational process in the clause, namely,
Each of these comes into modes:
Attributive (“a” is an attribute of “x”)
Identifying (“a” is the identity of “x”) type mode (i) Attributive (ii) Identifying
(1) intensive Sarah is wise Tome is the leader; the leader is Tom
(2) circumstantial The fair is on a Tuesday Tomorrow is the 10 th
(3) possessive Peter has a piano The piano is Peter‟s
Table 5: The principal types of relational process (Halliday, 2004)
Naturally, there seems not to have a clear cut in the distinction of different processes and on the borderline between material and mental processes in the behavioral process, the one which represents outer manifestation of inner workings, the acting out of the process of consciousness and physiological states
The child wept copious tears
Thằng ấy bị con Hoa nó lườm
Table 6: Behavioral process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân,
Between the process of mental and relational is the verbal process
There are processes of saying The participants of the process are sayer (participant who speak), receiver (the one to whom the verbalization is addressed), verbiage (a name of the verbalization itself) There is however one other type of verbal process, in which sayer is in sense acting verbally on another direct participant, with verbs such as: insult, praise, slander, abuse, and flatter
Pussy-cat said naught but
Anh hỏi em "bao giờ trở lại"
Sayer Process: Receiver Circumstance: time
Table 7: Verbal process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân,
Between the relation process and the material process is existential process, by which a certain phenomenon is recognized/ seen to “be”- to exist, or to happen For example:
On the branch There was a nest
Trên giời có đám mây xanh
Circumstance: location Process: existential Existent
Table 8: Existential process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân,
There are two other participant in the clause, namely: Beneficiary and Range Beneficiary is the one to whom or for whom the processes said to take place; it appears in material and verbal process
Material a The recipient, is one that goods are given to b The client, is one that services is done to
Fred bought a present for his wife
Verbal The one who is being addressed
One the other hand, range is the element that specifies the range and scope of the process A range may occur in material, and verbal processes
Material a Expresses the domain over which the pre process take place b Expresses the processes itself
Ray climbed the mountain Fred played the piano
Verbal The element expressing the class, quality, or quantity what is said
He walks for seven miles She stayed for two hours
We work in the kitchen
My mother went by bus
I went through my head like an earthquake
For want of a nail the shoe was lost For the sake of peace I‟m writing on behalf of Aunt
Fred came with Tom Fred came instead of Tom
6 Matter I worry about her health
7 Role I‟m speaking as your employer
DEFINITION OF “IMAGE”
A number of reliable dictionaries such as Oxford Advanced Learner‟s dictionary or McMillan English dictionary all agree that image is the picture that we have what somebody or something looks like In this paper; however, we have not merely discussed the literal meaning of the word “image” but the figurative meaning In other words, “image” should be understood as how the person is Specifically, we will explore qualities and virtues of mothers in English and Vietnamese song.
DATA ANALYSIS - TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN
TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH SONGS
Table 12: Transitivity patterns in English songs
As can be seen from the table, material processes play the most important role among processes The figures show that the processes of doing take the greatest proportion in English songs, which account for 36.8% of the total processes analyzed The second dominant proportion is relational processes, which is lower than the first type The relational processes stay at 32.8% of the clauses Mental clauses stand at 14.6%, which is equivalent to 73 clauses out of 500 clauses; meanwhile verbal processes consist of 8.8% (44 clauses)
Behavioral and existential processes share the least proportion; they have the percentage of 5.8% and 1.2%, which are accounted correspondently by 29 and
Through data analysis, the most frequently used processes are material processes Many of them are actions, which are closely associated with mothers‟ work on a regular basis It can be seen that these verbs such as
“work”, “give”, “make” or “do” are employed with the high frequency For example, the verb “work” appears in a wide range of songs:
“You work late night just to keep on the lights”
(From the song “Hey Mama”)
“Worked three jobs all through the weekdays”
(From the song “I love my mama”)
“You worked two jobs to keep a roof up over our heads”
(From the song “Turn to you”)
“just working with the scraps you were given”
(From the song “Dear mama”) Another example is the verb “give”
“You would give anything in this world”
(From the song “Hey mama”)
“She gave me peace and love”
In addition to such verbs, numerous verbs are used to describe actions that mothers encounter everyday in particular They show the usual work that mothers make living to raise their children or they do to take care of their babies:
“How mama used to clean somebody else’s house”
“While scrubbing on the floor on her bended knees”
(From the song “I’ll always love my mama”)
“Brush your teeth Wash your face”
(From the song “The mom song”) With the mental process, mothers tend to express their love, perception and desire that they show to their children We can come across these verbs like
“love”, “remember”, “want”, “hope”, or “believe”:
(From the song “The mom song”)
“She doesn’t want you to cry”
(From the song “That’s my mama”)
In some cases, we also find out such verbs used to reveal the children‟s love
(From the song “Thanks to you”) Relational processes witness the dominance of attributive clauses Among 164 clauses, more than half of them are attributive type Let‟s have a look at some examples:
“Your love is like a river peaceful and deep You soul is like a secret that I never could keep”
(From the song “A little more time on you”)
Another example can be illustrated:
“M is for the moan and the miserable groan”
(From the song “Treat your mother right”)
“You’ve been the meaning of my life”
(From the song “Thanks to you”)
Sometimes, verbal processes are the prayers of mothers for their children:
“I pray for angels by your side”
(From the song “A mother’s prayer”) However, at the other time, they are simply the advice, teaching or even soothing mothers want to convey to their children:
“Told me when I was young
“Son, your life’s an open book”
(From the song “Mama said”)
Most behavourial are used to manifest states of consciousness such as:
(From the song “I know my mother weeps for me”)
Lastly, the appearance of the existential processes is not considerable (1.2% out of 100%) Moreover, the meaning of this process will not be disscused in our study because in terms of systemic functional grammar, existential process has no representational function
In short, the analysis of English songs with regard to transitivity system reveals the mother image depicted in every aspect of life The material processes account for the majority of clauses while the relational processes reach the second highest level These next levels are mental, verbal, behavourial, and existential processes, respectively.
TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN VIETNAMESE SONGS
Table 13: Transitivity patterns in Vietnamese songs
In association with the qualities as well as the personalities of Vietnamese women in general and Vietnamese mothers in particular, relational processes comprise 35.8%, which dominates the total clauses A huge range of adjectives is adopted to describe the image of mother in great details:
“Sớm chiều nặng đôi vai gầy”
(From the song “Nhớ mẹ quê”)
“Lòng mẹ bao la như biển Thái Bình Tình mẹ tha thiết như dòng suối hiền ngọt ngào”
(From the song “Lòng mẹ”)
The second position is material processes, which amount to 29.2% of the total clauses Being concerned with mothers‟ daily work, a wide variety of verbs such as “nuôi”, “chăm”, “nấu”… are adopted:
“Bàn tay mẹ bế chúng con Bàn tay mẹ chăm chúng con”
(From the song “Bàn tay mẹ”)
“Nuôi con nên người từ dòng sữa mẹ”
(From the song “Mẹ như tia nắng”)
In addition to two types of processes above, mental processes stay at the third rank Most of mental processes in Vietnamese songs are the processes of
“feeling” and “thinking” with prominent verbs such as “yêu”, “thương”, “lo” or “ước”, “trông”, “mong”
“ Thương con thao thức bao đêm trường”
“Mẹ trông con trong niềm hi vọng bao la”
(From the song “Lời ru của mẹ”) Through the investigation, the number of behavioral processes reaches 9%
Behavioural processes are used to express physiological behavior They often describe mothers‟ state
“Hai lần khóc thầm lặng lẽ”
(From the song “Đất nước”)
“Mẹ về đứng dưới mưa”
(From the song “Huyền thoại mẹ”)
“Đêm năm canh chày mẹ thức đủ vì con”
(From the song “Tiếng ru thần tiên của mẹ”)
In the investigation into the investigation of verbal processes (4.6%), the most frequently used verb is “ru” “Ru” is a special kind of music to sooth the baby to sleep
“Mẹ ru ta câu hát ngọt ngào”
(From the song “Lời ru của mẹ”)
“Mẹ ngồi ru con đong đưa võng buồn”
(From the song “Ca dao mẹ”)
“Mẹ ru con ngân tiếng tình tang”
(From the song “Lời ru của mẹ”) The least frequency is existential processes with 2.6%
In short, transitivity patterns have been investigated to clarify the mother image in Vietnamese songs In Vietnamese songs, the relational processes play the most important role At the second rank are the material processes
The third largest amount is the mental processes whiles these following ranks
CHAPTER III: DISCUSSION - A COMPARISON BETWEEN MOTHER IMAGES IN ENGLISH SONGS AND IN VIETNAMESE
In this chapter, by the comparative method, similarities and differences between mother images in English and Vietnamese songs will be made Both similar and different aspects will be shed under the light of systemic functional linguistics Through the investigation of one hundred songs, we see that mothers in English and Vietnamese songs are depicted in both the wartime and peacetime This similarity allows us to make division of comparison into mother image in wartime and mother image in peacetime.
SIMILARITIES
No one can deny the harshness of the war which can steal a soldier‟s life at any time In the battlefield, they have to confront with overwhelmed dangers from bomb or gunfire Therefore, it is difficult for any mothers in the world to say good-bye to their children on the day before drafting into the army The pain due to separating their own children is expressed in tears Here the behavioral process is adopted and the behavioral verbs are identified with
“weep” (in English) and “khóc” (in Vietnamese)
“My mother weeps for me When all the world is hushed in sleep”
(From the song “I know my mother weeps for me”) There is one behavioral process used in two verses In the first line, the behavior is “my mother”, the mother of a soldier The verb “weep”, as a behavioral verb, both describes the state and emotion of the mother Night is supposed to be the time for all things to take a rest, which is shown in the verbal process “hush” with the receiver “all the world” Although the time is not shown specifically in the line, the readers can easily realize in the circumstance element “in sleep” that indicates the time must be at night
However, somewhere, a mother alone begins to “weep” The author does not use another behavioral verb such as “howl” or “sob” but it is “weep” Here the reader can feel that the mother tries to hide her sorrow and worry in her heart There is deep loneliness which dominates her heart for which only the appearance of her child can compensate
Similarly, the readers witness teardrops of Vietnamese mother:
“Hai lần khóc thầm lặng lẽ”
(From the song “Đất nước)
In this line, the behaver is not mentioned but the circumstance of time is put at the beginning of the sentence “hai lần” The author seems to emphasize the pain that the mother put up with It is not the only time but it is repeated
Once more time, the circumstance of manner “thầm lặng lẽ” depicts her patience and sacrifice If on the day mothers say good-bye to their children, they try to fight back tears from their eyes, for these days of waiting, tears spill from their eyes so much that their eyes are too dry to cry Through the behavioral process “weep” or “khóc thầm lặng lẽ”, the author partially helps the reader feel and understand the pain of mothers In Vietnamese songs, there are many such mothers:
“Nước mắt mẹ không còn
(From the song “Người mẹ của tôi”) The existential process is used in the verse with the verb “không còn” “Nước mắt” works as the existent of the process In the second line, the circumstance of cause explains the root reason “vì khóc những đứa con” There is nothing more painful than the pain of leaving their own children Many of them lost not only one but two or even three children in the war; hence, mothers have undergone such intense agony that there is not enough tear for so-called
Besides the behavioral process, the mental type greatly contributes to describing love the mother saves for the child That love is conveyed through mothers‟ expectation of their children‟s coming back and their worries for soldiers
“Là biết mấy chờ mong mỏi mòn”
(From the song “Hát về mẹ Việt Nam anh hùng”)
“Thương con thao thức bao đêm trường”
(From the song “Lòng mẹ”) Again, the readers do not see the appearance of the participant – the senser here but the mental verb “chờ mong” and “thương” with the powerful effects of two circumstances of manner “mỏi mòn” and “thao thức” is the clear demonstration of mothers‟ patient waiting at length Seemingly, the mother counts each day for the return of the child There is sometime the light of hope is on the edge of shattering but the mother cannot help worrying about her child so the hope keeps alive through the letter she writes to these soldiers
“I hope this letter catches up with you”
Two clauses with two different types of processes are employed in the same line For the first clause, the senser is “I” – the mother with identified mental verb “hope” Though the mother is fully aware of the war fact, she still wants to dispatch some lines to her child Such lines rekindle her hope as well as reinforce her belief It is the strong belief that the child will return in the hands of her In the second clause, the actor is “the letter”, which performs the material process “catches” This material verb also belongs to a kind of stylistic device – the personification that is likely to be further discussed in our larger scale research It is not accidental when the author takes “the letter” as the subject – the actor of the action It cannot be ignore the fact that the letter can be sent to soldiers is merely slight hope
On the regular of basis, the reality of the war leads the mother to pray to God for her child to be safe
Please protect all the boys who are fighting tonight””
(From the song “Soldier’s last letter”) The verbal process is seen in the clause with the verb “pray” and the sayer is
“she” – the mother The verbiage or the content of the pray is the hope that the supernatural will shelter their offspring from dangers God in Western countries or Buddha in Eastern ones is a form of belief It is said that to encourage themselves to lead an optimistic life, humans builds their own belief with supernatural power which can be real or not In this case, the woman relies on the intangible power to raise their hope
It is the similar case for Vietnamese mothers When their children, the soldiers, fight at battlefield, they closely and quietly follow each their step
Dõi theo bước đường tôi hành quân xa”
(From the song “Mẹ tôi”)
In English songs, the mother with innumerable sleepless nights to pray for their child, Vietnamese mother also experience plenty of such nights The circumstance of extent “nhiều đêm” functions well to illustrate that The behavioral process “dõi” successfully interprets the meaning that the mother day and night looks forward to their soldier‟s news in the battlefield Mothers in Vietnamese songs also share the same feeling when leaving their children
However, the more fervent the hope is, the more painful the mother feels
The behavioral processes once more time describe the mother‟s state when she receives tragic news
“Then the mother’s old hands began to tremble The mother knelt down by her bedside”
(From the song “Soldier’s last letter”) Both the behavioral processes draw the physical postures of the mother,
“tremble” and “knelt down” The mother is not able to stand firmly, she must lean on “the bedside” (the circumstance of location) Surely, the readers will be obsessed about the image of trembling old hands of the miserable mother Too painful, she seems to nearly be collapsed with the thunderbolt
In Vietnamese songs, the readers not only feel mother‟s pain by heart but by all other senses, even “nghe” (listen) to the that pain The behavioral verb
“nghe” is sophisticatedly used because there is a change of feeling here
From an abstract concept, the author turns it into something concrete, which the readers can listen, see and even touch We classify this verb in the group of behavioral process because it is not simply the process of doing but there is
“Nghe dịu nỗi đau của mẹ”
(From the song “Đất nước” ) Another common point of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs is that these soldiers, as the children, who are experiencing the hardship of war appear to be peaceful and comfortable when they recall their mothers They think about their mothers when they are awake
“No one but mother can cheer me today Mother would comfort me if she were here”
(From the song “Mother would comfort me”)
In the first clause, the actor mentioned puts strong impression on the readers
It is a noun phrase “no one but mother” It is like the declaration that mother is an unique person on the earth can “cheer” and “comfort” – the material processes the goal “me” as the soldier in the battle field The second clause continues to mention the actor “mother” as another confirmation
Nevertheless, we are aware that it is just the soldier‟s dream that never comes true with the circumstance of condition “If she were here”
Likewise, Vietnamese soldiers always bring the image of mother as the encouragement for long and harsh journey
“Con đi trong bóng hình quê hương Mang bóng dáng mẹ già yêu thương”
(From the song “Về thăm mẹ”)
“Các con ra đi đã mấy chiến trường Mang theo cả tình thương của mẹ “
(From the song “Tấm áo chiến sĩ mẹ vá năm xưa”)
DIFFERENCES
The primary difference, which can be seen from songs of mother image in each language, is the way of depicting mothers‟ contribution in war In addition to similarities mentioned above, we have found out that in most Vietnamese songs about mother in the wartime, there appears the direct participation of the mother in the war In other words, mothers exclusively devote to the victory of Vietnam today Whereas, in English songs selected, we do not observe similar points These following parts aim at reasoning the possible causes of the difference
Among randomly selected English songs, we observe four of them composed during the wartime However, we see none of them depicts the participation of the mother in the wartime The song “I know my mother weeps for me” will be taken as the typical example
“My mother weeps for me When all the world is hushed in sleep”
(From the song “I know my mother weeps for me” – Charles Thompson)
In the song, the behavioral process “weep” reveals the mother‟s feeling when she must leave his child Let us take a look at the situation which the song was born and the features of the war the soldier engaged in
The song “I know my mother weeps for me” was composed during the
American civil war (1861 – 1865), which determined what kind of nation it would be It was the result of the conflict between the North and the South region of slavery This war gave answer to the question whether American, born of a declaration that all men were created with an equal right to liberty, would continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world One thing that cannot be denied is that the war brought massive death to American society A wide range of questions are put forward: “How did people cope with it? How did survivors account for the loss once the war was over? How were people‟s lives irrevocably changed?” A high number of movies, literary works about American in this time and in the reconstruction period were born
Most of them reflected extensive death and reconciliation With the intuition of a mother, maybe she has the premonition of what is happening to her son
It is the reason why when all living beings are hushed in sleep, there sits she alone and “weeps” when missing her child
The second typical song during the time of war is “Soldier’s last letter”
“The mother’s old hands began to tremble
Then the mother knelt down by her bedside”
(From the song “Soldier’s last letter”)
The behavioral processes have put strong impression on the readers about the mother‟s physical posture “tremble” and “knelt down” Two postures are obsessive when the mother is informed about her son She seems to feel like
Earnest Tubb and Redd Stewart This song is about a soldier in World War II who writes his mother a letter that turns out to be his last communication with her World War II was caused by the conflict of rights, especially colonial rights among capital countries It is reported that World War II and its attendant atrocities would exact an unparalleled human toll, estimated at 50 million military and civilian lives lost Combat deaths alone add up to about
19 million, with the largest share of this accounted for by 10 million Soviet, 3.5 million German, 2 million Chinese, and 1.5 million Japanese deaths (The United States lost about 400,000, and the United Kingdom some 280,000)
The readers will never forget how the mother is collapsed to receive evil tidings of her son in the song “Soldier’s last letter”
Differently, Vietnamese songs not only purely express mothers‟ pain of the child loss but the mother image is usually associated with their engagement in the Resistance One of the typical songs is “Huyền thoại mẹ” (Legend of mother) by the late composer Trịnh Công Sơn, in which the presence and contribution of mother in the war is successfully demonstrated The song is proud words of heroic Vietnamese mothers The situation which "inspired the author is quite special One time, he visited Quang Binh, a central province in Vietnam, he saw the picture of mother Suot with blowing hair in wind covering a corner of sky From 1964 – 1966, after the Gulf of Tokin incident,
US troops began raiding the north Quang Binh land is one of the key attacking places of planes and navy of the United States, with the aim to prevent supply sources from the North to the South At that time, Mother Suot was 60 years old but still volunteered to row and carry officers, wounded soldiers and weapons across the river, maintaining the communication generalized about Vietnamese mothers who silently sacrificed the whole for family and country
“Mẹ về đứng dưới mưa Che đàn con nằm ngủ Canh từng bước quân thù
Mẹ ngồi dưới cơn mưa
Mẹ lội qua con suối Dưới mưa bom không ngại
Mẹ nhẹ nhàng đưa lối
Tiễn con qua núi đồi
Mẹ chìm trong đêm tối Gió mưa tóc che lối con đi
Mẹ về đứng dưới mưa Che từng căn hầm nhỏ”
(From the song “Huyền thoại mẹ)
A range of material verbs describes mother‟s activities in revolutionary activities “canh” (guard), “che” (shelter), “tiễn” (see out) and “lội”
(wade)… In the clause “Mẹ nhẹ nhàng đưa lối”, the actor is “mẹ” and the material verb “đưa” (guide) To clarify the way the action is performed, the circumstance of manner is employed “nhẹ nhàng” From that, the readers can infer the properties of the responsibility the mother takes At the time of war, all soldiers must keep their activities dark, out of the enemy‟s sight
Therefore, they always take caution of each step Their lives can be put at risk if the enemies track down them Each time they travel to a new place, the mothers help them They shelter the soldiers from the pursuit of the enemies tối” (the dark), especially the circumstance of location “mưa bom” illustrate the dangers of the activity as well as mother‟s sacrifice At that time, many villages in Vietnam were heavily and constantly bombarded that the salvo of bombs is compared to the rain However, regardless of the situation which is likely to threaten life, mother is not hesitant (“không ngại- the mental process”) to accomplish her mission to protect and guide the soldiers Mother struggles resiliently and enduringly with sleepless nights to bring soldiers good slumber The readers have the feelings that mothers treat all soldiers as their own children because somewhere their offspring will be assisted like that by another mother
Besides bearing narrative and profound tone, the song has the harmony of the central region where the composer Trinh Cong Son was inspired In the last lines, the anaphora “Cho đời mãi trong lành, mẹ chìm dưới gian nan…” seems to embed in people‟s memory of the heroic Vietnamese mothers
This song is not only close but also poignant The song is a gift to the future generation through which they are able to learn about Vietnamese heroic mothers In addition, the song is like a fragrant bunch of flowers the composer dedicated to these mothers The image of mother provides these authors with inspiration to compose similar songs “Đất nước” by Phạm Minh Tuấn is also one of famous songs about mothers during the wartime, who protect soldiers from the enemies
“Ngăn bước quân thù phía Nam phía Bắc”
(From the song “Đất nước” ) Without mentioning the actor, the material verb “ngăn” (prevent) is put at the beginning of the clause with the goal “bước quân thù” This material verb has
(“ngăn” – the material process) the enemies‟ steps in every direction
According to the author‟s confidence, he owes the poetic inspiration to his own mother When he composed the song, there were three remembrances he was impressed the most One of them is that his mother carried three children to evacuate on her own We are all in favor of his ideas that mother symbolize the best thing in the world and no matter how the melody is beautiful cannot entirely depict the virtues of mother There are many other songs with the same thought named “Hát về mẹ Việt Nam anh hùng” – An Thuyên, “Người mẹ của tôi” – Xuân Hồng, or “Tấm áo chiến sĩ mẹ vá năm xưa” – Nguyễn
RECAPITULATION
The study so far has concentrated on describing mother images in English and Vietnamese songs, which has brought about the similarities and differences
The transitivity patterns with the presentation of material process, mental process, relational process, verbal process, behavioral process and existential process are studied In some specific cases, circumstances of time and location are looked at to find out what manifests in each type of song
Besides, some stylistic devices are also taken into consideration
At the last step, a comparison is drawn upon the result found in the investigation to find out the similarities and differences between them
Despite two separate languages, we have discovered a lot of common features between mother image in English songs and mother image in Vietnamese songs We have divided into two aspects: mother image in wartime and mother image in peacetime During the wartime, though in various countries, any mother cannot stop worrying about their children and look forward to their safe return In vice versa, the children are inspired by their mothers to be resilient during the wars in which they can sacrifice at anytime Back to normal life, they are great mothers with the roles of the caretaker, the teacher and their children‟s loyal friend In the role of a mother, they are dedicated and sometimes patient to suffer with stress caused by their own children As a teacher, they show their children right from wrong and guide them to the best abandon their children under any circumstances, even when their children make unforgivable mistakes It cannot be denied that they are not only features of mothers in English speaking countries or in Vietnamese, but also features of all mothers in the world Dedication, patience and tolerance make a mother wherever they are All processes classified according to the theory of Halliday are found out in English and Vietnamese songs There is some coincidence in the ranks of transitivity processes Similarly, stylistic devices named simile, metaphor are used in both languages However, the frequency of usage and the rank are not the same
Along with similarities, differences shown between mother images in English and Vietnamese songs have uncovered the history context, the ideologies lying behind each language In the period of wartime, not only accepting to leave their children as mother in English songs, Vietnamese mother directly or indirectly engage in the war Many of them are transporters and protectors for soldiers who are taking over secret missions Others stay in the rear to supply food to soldiers in the battlefield Vietnam has experienced four thousand years of building and maintaining the countries with hundreds of wars Vietnamese people fight to drive the invaders off their territorial sovereignty so the engagement of all classes at every age is necessary, especially these women In the peacetime, the way these authors carve the mother image is diverse, which is the result of difference in culture Instead of directly praise the great contribution of mothers, Vietnamese authors utilize the power of some stylistic devices such as simile or metaphor which are presented through relational process Therefore, the relational process leads
SUGGESTIONS FOR DESIGNING EXERCISES
In reality, songs are widely used to design exercises in teaching listening skills or pronunciation However, we find out that it is feasible to design exercises of some certain subjects for learners in higher education because of the variety in terms of structures and stylistic devices used Following are some examples of exercise in a specific subject
In Functional Grammar for Master students
Task 1: Analyze the following text in terms of clause and clause complex and transitivity, mood and theme Provide comments on the above aspects
Which type of process is used most? Can you give explanation?
“Mẹ là dòng suối dịu hiền
Mẹ là bài hát thần tiên
Là bóng mát trên cao
Là mắt sáng trăng sao
Là ánh đuốc trong đêm khi lạc lối
Mẹ là lọn mía ngọt ngào
Là tiếng dế đêm thâu
Là vốn liếng yêu thương cho cuộc đời”
(From the song “Bông hồng cài áo” )
Task 2: Analyze the following text in terms of clause and clause complex, thematic progression and cohesion Provide comments on the above aspects
Mother There is no other Like Mother
So treat Her right Mother
So treat Her right, treat Her right
M is for the moan, and the miserable groan From the pain that She felt when I was born
O is for the oven with it's burning' heat Where She stood making' sure I had something to eat
T is for the time that She stayed up at night And took my temperature when I wasn't feeling' right
(From the song “Treat your mother right”)
In Semantics for University and Master students
Task 1: Identify linguistic means used in the following songs
“Bàn tay mẹ chắn mưa sa
Bàn tay mẹ chặn bão qua mùa màng Vẫn bàn tay mẹ dịu dàng À ơi này cái trăng vàng ngủ ngon À ơi này cái trăng tròn À ơi này cái trăng còn nằm nôi”
(From the song “À ơi tay mẹ”)
“Your love is like a river peaceful and deep
Your love is like a secret that I never could keep When I look into your eyes I know that’s true God must spent a little more time on you Never thought that love could feel like this Then you change my world with just one kiss”
(From the song “A little more time on you”)
LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
The study has been the first trial to discover the similarities and differences between mother images in English and Vietnamese songs; however, it has been limited to some aspects investigated only The following studies, if clauses Besides some stylistic devices mentioned in the study, other stylistic devices can be used as tools to compare such as metonymy, anaphora or litotes
The study focuses in comparing English and Vietnamese songs as genre; therefore, further research should be made on other related genres such as poems or proses
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APPENDIX A LIST OF ENGLISH SONGS
No Names of songs Authors or singers
1 A little more time on you Alabama
5 A song for Mama Kenneth B Admonds
6 Coat of many colors Dolly Parton
8 Goodbye‟s (The saddest word) Celine Dion
10 I can‟t live without mother‟s love Sun Kil Moon
11 I know my mother weeps for me Charles.Thompson
12 I love my mama Snoop Dog
14 I‟ll always love my mama Snoop Dog
15 In my daughter‟s eyes Martina Mcbride
17 Letters from home John Michael
21 Mama and me Nelie MCKAY
25 Mama, can you hear me? ACE HOOD
28 Mom Earth, wind and fire
31 Mother would comfort me Charles Sawyer
32 Mother‟ little helper The Rolling stones
33 Mother‟s Day song Adam Sandler
34 Music of my heart NSYNC
37 Slipping through my fingers ABBA
38 Soldier‟s last letter Earnest Tubb
40 Thank you, Mom Good Charlotte
41 Thanks to you Richard Marx
44 The best day Taylor Swift
45 The mom song Anita Renfroe
46 The perfect fan Backstreet Boys
47 Treat your mother right Mr T
48 Turn to you Justin Bieber
49 You‟ll be in my heart Phil Collins
50 Your mother and mine Wendy Darling
(soundtrack of Peter Pan film)
APPENDIX B LIST OF VIETNAMESE SONGS
No Names of songs Authors or singers
1 À ơi tay Mẹ Trần Viết Tân
2 Bà mẹ quê Phạm Duy
3 Bài hát tặng mẹ Kyo
4 Bàn tay mẹ Bùi Đình Thảo
5 Bao la tình mẹ Quốc An
6 Bóng cả Vũ Quốc Việt
7 Bông hồng cài áo Thích Nhất Hạnh
8 Ca dao mẹ Trịnh Công Sơn
9 Chỉ có thể là mẹ Lê Minh Trung
10 Chúc mừng tuổi mẹ Lê Đức Long
11 Chuyện ngày xưa của mẹ Phi Hùng
12 Con cò Lưu Hà An
13 Đất nước Phạm Minh Tuấn
14 Đất nước lời ru Văn Thành Nho
15 Đi tìm lời ru của mẹ Vân Quang Long
17 Đưa cơm cho mẹ đi cày Hàn Ngọc Bích
18 Hát về mẹ Việt Nam anh hùng An Thuyên
19 Huyền thoại mẹ Trịnh Công Sơn
20 Lời ru cho con Nguyễn Xuân
21 Lời ru của mẹ Mạnh Quỳnh
22 Lời ru của mẹ Trần Tử Thiêng &
23 Lời ru trên nương Trần Hoàn
25 Mẹ như tia nắng Trịnh Vĩnh Thành
27 Mẹ con đã về Mạnh Quân
28 Mẹ là Phật Võ Tá Hân
31 Mẹ tôi Ngô Trần Nguyễn
32 Mẹ yêu Ba con mèo
33 Mẹ yêu con Nguyễn Văn Tý
34 Mơ về mẹ Dương Thụ
35 Mừng tuổi mẹ Trần Long Ẩn
36 Người mẹ của tôi Xuân Hồng
37 Nhật kí của mẹ Nguyễn Văn Chung
39 Nhớ mẹ quê Nguyễn Đức Trung
40 Nhớ ơn mẹ Phan Đinh Tùng
41 Nỗi buồn mẹ tôi Minh Vy
42 Quang gánh mẹ tôi Lê Đức Hùng
43 Tấm áo chiến sĩ mẹ vá năm xưa Nguyễn Văn Tý
44 Thư xuân cho mẹ Vũ Đức Hạnh
45 Tiếng ru thần tiên của mẹ Phương Thùy
46 Tình mẹ Nguyễn Nhất Huy
48 Tự khúc mẹ ru Vũ Khắc Tuận
