VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS[.]
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS USING TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE (Hình tượng người mẹ hát tiếng Anh tiếng Việt – phân tích văn học theo hệ thống chuyển tác ngôn ngữ chức hệ thống) M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi - 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS USING TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE (Hình tượng người mẹ hát tiếng Anh tiếng Việt – phân tích văn học theo hệ thống chuyển tác ngôn ngữ chức hệ thống) M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lâm Quang Đông Hanoi – 2016 DECLARATION I declare that this MA thesis, entitled Mother image in English and Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using transitivity system in Systemic Functional Linguistics perspective, is entirely the result of my own work The thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or tertiary institution, and to the best of my knowledge, neither does it contain material previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text Hanoi, 2016 Tạ Thị Thu Hằng i ACKNOWLEGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc.Prof.Dr Lâm Quang Đông for transferring me his specialized knowledge, his inspiring me the love in linguistics as well as his valuable suggestions, advice and correction throughout my study I also take this opportunity to thank all my lecturers in the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lectures, which have surely contributed to the foundation of my thesis Finally, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my family for their support, encouragement and understanding, without which my theis would not have been accomplished Hanoi, January, 2016 Ta Thi Thu Hang ii ABSTRACT Song lyrics and rhymes serve as an important part of English teaching curricula in a variety of countries 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 linguistic knowledge and moral values Until now, there has not been much research on mother image under the light of linguistics These provide me with the motivation to carry out the research “Mother image in English and Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using transitivity system in Systemic Functional Linguistics perspective” The study is conducted to figure out the similarities and differences in the way mother image is represented in English and Vietnamese in view of systemic linguistic perspective In other words, the study aims to give readers a brief description and analysis of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs Within the framework of an M.A thesis, the research cannot cover all aspects of mother image in English and Vietnamese; we therefore limit it to a manageable scope: analyzing mother image in songs in terms of transitivity system Two principal methods employed in the study are descriptive and comparative analysis Through descriptive method, six types of transitivity process in each language were identified In fulfilling the focuses of the study, comparative method is applied to the identification of prominent features of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs The paper also provides conclusions on the images to which mother is compared, and these images are closely associated with cultural and historical factors Insights gained through this study lend themselves to suggestions for designing exercises based on songs for teaching English as well as linguistic theory iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES AND PICTURES vi INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims and research questions 2.1 Aims 2.2 Research questions 3 Scope and significance of the study 3.1 Scope 3.2 Significance 4 Methodology and procedures 4.1 Methodology 4.2 Procedures: data collection and analysis CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS 1.2 APPLICATION OF TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN LITERARY ANALYSIS 10 1.3 DEFINITION OF “IMAGE” 20 CHAPTER II: DATA ANALYSIS - TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS 21 2.1 TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH SONGS 21 2.2 TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN VIETNAMESE SONGS 25 iv CHAPTER III: DISCUSSION - A COMPARISON BETWEEN MOTHER IMAGES IN ENGLISH SONGS AND IN VIETNAMESE SONGS 28 3.1 SIMILARITIES 28 3.2 DIFFERENCES 52 CONCLUSION 68 RECAPITULATION 68 SUGGESTIONS FOR DESIGNING EXERCISES 70 LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES 72 REFERENCE 74 APPENDIX A I APPENDIX B V v LIST OF TABLES AND PICTURES Page Table 1: Three lines of a meaning in a clause 10 Table 2: Process types, their meanings and characteristic 12 participants Table 3: Material process type 13 Table 4: Mental process type 14 Table 5: The principal types of relational process 15 Table 6: Behavioural process type 15 Table 7: Verbal process type 16 Table 8: Existential process type 17 Table 9: Participants functions 18 Table 10: Range functions 18 Table 11: Circumstantial elements 19 Table 12: Transitivity patterns in English songs 21 Table 13: Transitivity patterns in Vietnamese songs 25 Table 14: Comparison examples between English and 60 Vietnamese songs Picture 1: Difference in feeling expression between 64 Westerners and Easterners Picture 2: Difference in thought expression between 65 Westerners and Easterners Picture 3: Cultural thought patterns in inter-cultural education vi 65 INTRODUCTION 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 And so will he If by chance 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 ... 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...VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS. .. 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