A study on english color idioms with reference to the vietnamese equivalents

Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the research Language is obviously a vital tool for communication in our daily life Not only is it a means of thoughts and ideas, but it forges friendship, cultural ties, and economic relationships Benjamin Whorf has noted that language shapes thoughts and emotions, determining one’s perception of reality John Stuart Mill said that language is the light of the mind Language, of course, is knowledge, and in our world today knowledge is one of the key factors in competitiveness especially knowledge of the English language is one of the international languages, a tool of communication between countries, cultural groups, various companies and organizations, communities and friends Learning English is a difficult task, and mastering idioms in English is not an easy job Every country or nation has got their own idioms that are specific to their own culture, while many idioms have synonyms in several countries, what refers to the equal shared human nature in many cultures Learning the specific idioms related to a certain culture helps you learn more about the history, customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of it Idioms make a language more interesting and vibrant Mastering idioms means you are using and understanding the language more like a native speaker would As for English learners, effectively communicating with others especially native speakers is the ultimate goal And we cannot reach that goal if we pay little or even no attention to the idioms So grasping the use of idioms is an essential part of English study Idioms are everywhere You will find them in newspapers, books, magazines, on the radio, on the television, in everyday conversation and at work Understanding the meaning of idioms in general and idioms which contain basic color words in particular is the first difficulty of learners and the second one is the way of using idioms in each specific context Nevertheless, an investigation into idioms containing basic color words at language levels has not been deal with so far For these reasons above, we would like to choose the research “A study on English color idioms with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents” Hopefully, the result of the study will be useful for learners of English and contribute a small part into the teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam 1.2 Aims of the research This study is carried out to aim at finding out the syntactic and semantic features of English idioms containing color words with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents, thus helping Vietnamese EFL learners to be able to use them effectively in daily communication 1.3 Objectives of the research To achieve the aims mentioned above, following objectives are put forward - Describing the syntactic and semantic features of English idioms containg Black and Red color words - Pointing out the similarities and differences of English idioms containing Black and Red color words and their Vietnamese equivalents in terms of syntactic and semantic features - Suggesting implications for teaching English idioms containing Black and Red color words to Vietnamese EFL learners 1.4 Scope of the research (i) Academic scope Due to the time and resource limitation, this research is restricted to idioms containing color words (Black and Red) It is focused on making a comparative analysis in terms of syntactic and semantic aspects basing on interpretation of English color dioms Syntactically, my study will investigate into English idioms containing Black and Red color words with noun phrase structure, verb phrase structure, adjective phrase structure, prepositional phrase structure, adverb phrase structure and sentence structure In aspect of semantic opacity, an investigation into positive and negative meaning possession of Black color of Politics, Nature, Body, Printing/Ink/Writing, History/ Comparisions with animals/objects, As opposed to white color and to the Red color regarding Race/Ethnicity, Qualities/ Mental characteristics, Nature, Fabric/Clothing, Body, Printing/Ink/Writing and Comparision with animals/objects (ii) Social scope To carry out the research thesis, all the material collection of English idioms containing color words and their Vietnamese equivalents with illustration examples are selected from some reliable dictionaries and the internet in both languages: English and Vietnamese It is hoped that the outcomes of this research thesis, to some extent, would be able to make a certain contribution to enhance knowledge and quality of communication for Vietnamese language learners 1.5 Significance of the research (i) Theoretical significance In terms of theoretical significance, the research is expected to contribute an in-depth understanding of an in-depth description of English idioms containing color words when analyzing their semantic and syntactic features with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents (ii)Practical significance In terms of practical significance, idioms containing Black and Red color words are use popularly in daily life, but so far, there have been no studies about this topic carried out As a result, this research is conducted in attempt to provide Vietnamese EFL learners with better mastering about the syntactic and semantic features of English idioms containing color words From the findings, Vietnamese learners of English will enhance knowledge about idioms as well as apply this kind of idioms in sensible ways in communication The study is hoped to make a major contribution to the process of teaching and learning English 1.6 Structural organization of the research This research paper is divided into five chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction - provides an overview of the issues to be covered and the situations in which the study is carried out The aims, the specific objectives, the scope, the significance and the structural organization of the thesis are also mentioned in this chapter Chapter 2: Literature review - discusses the previous studies on idioms relating to the area of the research and presents some theoretical preliminaries that could be used as foundation for the process of conducting the research Chapter 3: Methodology - presents the research questions, the major methods, the minor methods and the techniques employed in the research The chapter also describes the way the data are collected and analyzed Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion - describes and analyses the syntactic and semantic features of English idioms containing Black and Red color words with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents to find out and discuss the similarities and differences in term of syntactic and semantic features Significantly, this chapter proposes the implications for teaching English idioms containing Black and Red color words effectively Chapter 5: Conclusions - summaries the major findings found out from the investigation and data analysis, presents the limitations of the study, provides some suggestions for further research Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of Previous Studies The prosperity of language in form and content not only brings the beauty of language but also deeply contributes to successful daily communications Every language in the world has large numbers of idioms Idioms make colour for language Idioms carry a large amount of nationally or culturally specific information with them It can be said that idioms are an interesting and popular phenomenon of every language Being aware of the importance role of idioms in the daily communication in the society as well as in teaching and learning languages, many researchers has taken studies on idioms in various field such as syntax, semantics and translation, ect 2.1.1 Previous studies overseas For English dictionaries of idioms, there are some famous ones being collected and written by researchers such as “The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms” by Christine Ammer [43] In this dictionary, the author lists idioms currently used in American English and arranges them into alphabetical categories He also explains their meanings and clarifies them by examples In “NTC’s English Idioms Dictionary”, Richard A.Spears and Betty Kirkpatrick [53] focus on the meaning, usage and appropriate contexts for each idiomatic phrase They also provide definitions and two or more examples to clarify each idiom The idioms are also arranged into alphabetical order There are also many dictionaries of idioms such as “Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of English Idioms” by Helen Warren [44] which is comprehensive dictionary dealing with general idiomatic expressions in current English Author also gives examples and explanations of unusual features of grammar and usage “Oxford Dictionary of Idioms” by Judith Siefring [47] provides learners with updated idioms including clear explanations in typical contexts “Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms” by Paul Heacock [52] gives clear examples on each idiom as well as their origins etc For English books about idioms, there are some widely used by many learners of English such as “Idioms Organiser” by Jon Wright [46] In this book, the author organizes idioms by metaphor, topics and key words He also provides some exercises for practicing idioms given in each lesson and then a revision “Pocket English Idioms” by Jennifer Seidl & W.Mc Mordie [45] provides a list of 3,000 idioms with explanations and examples of use It also gives out many exercises with answers In “English Idioms in Use” by Michael McCarthy and Felicity O’Dell [48], there are 60 units of vocabulary references and practices including over 1,000 idioms The book is divided into two parts Idioms with explanations, examples and special notes about their usages are presented on the left-hand pages and exercises for practicing them are shown on the right-hand pages 2.1.2 Previous studies in Vietnam Vietnamese idioms also prove significant in Vietnamese language, and several native linguists have been trying to collect them and to detect their special peculiarities Nguyễn Lực, Lương Văn Đang [60] are two authors who made a significant contribution in the field of Vietnamese idioms They wrote “Thành ngữ Tiêng Việt” which is a collection of Vietnamese idioms arranged in alphabetical order with clear explanations and examples ectracted from Vietnamese novels, newspapers and magazines Recently, Nguyễn Lực has just published “Thành Ngữ Tiêng Việt” in which a large amount of idioms, their variants are collected with examples originally extracted from novels, short stories, newspapers and magazines Moreover, Nguyễn Trần Trụ who wrote “Thành ngữ tục ngữ lược giải” [61] explains meanings of the most common idioms and proverbs in such simple clear ways that learners can use this book for consulting and reference purposes Vietnamese researchers also study, collect and write dictionaries of idioms “Từ điển Thành ngữ tục ngữ Việt Nam” by Đặng Hông Chương [55] is a collection of idioms and proverbs with clear explanations and origins of the idioms “Từ điển Thành ngữ Tục ngữ Viet Anh tường giải” by Bùi Phụng [54] displays the most popular Vietnamese idioms with similar ones in English so that it is easy for foreigners to understand, learn and use Vietnamese “Sổ tay giải nghĩa Thành ngữ Tiếng Việt” by Nguyễn Đình Cao – Phan Thị Hồng Xuân [59] gives out very clear explanations for common Vietnamese idioms as well as practical examples “Các thành ngữ Thương mại thường gặp tiêng Anh” by Lê Huy Liêm [56] provides learners with a collection of English idioms in business field It gives learners clear explanations in Vietnamese with examples in English and translations of English examples into Vietnamese Furthermore, in his graduation assignment “Color idioms in English and Vietnamese: a contrastive analysis and teaching implications”, Nguyen Manh Khang [57] has given some color idioms and their meaning in English and Vietnamese and made an analysis of similarities and differences between them In 2010, in his thesis, “Semantic analysis of English, Lithuanian and Polish idioms with the headwords denoting colors terms, Ireana Pieczulis [17] covered a semantic analysis of English, Polish and Lithuanian idioms with the headwords denoting colors terms The studies mentioned above are helpful to this study in terms of providing the theoretical background for the thesis 2.2 Review of Theoretical Background 2.2.1 Theoretical frame work 2.2.1.1 Theory of syntax C.W Morris [7] in his Foundations of the Theory of Signs (1938) organizes emiotics, the study of signs, into three areas: syntax (the study of the interrelation of the signs); semantics (the study of the relation between the signs and the objects to which they apply); and pragmatics (the relationship between the sign system and the user) Syntax is the grammar, structure, or order of the elements in a language statement (Semantics is the meaning of these elements.) Syntax applies to computer languages as well as to natural languages Usually, people think of syntax as "word order." However, syntax is also achieved in some languages such as Latin by inflectional case endings Syntax is understood to be the theory of the structure of sentences in a language This view has its direct antecedents in the theory of immediate constituents, in which the function of syntax is to mediate between the observed forms of a sentence and its meaning: “we could not understand the form of a language if we merely reduced all the complex forms to their ultimate constituents” Bloomfield [3:161] Syntax is now the study of the principles and rules that govern the ways in which words are combined to form phrases, clauses, and sentences in a language Syntax which is a subfield of grammar focuses on the word order of a language and the relationships between words In this use, syntax is opposed to morphology, the study of word structure In other words, morphology deals with word formation out of morphemes whereas syntax deals with phrase and sentence formation out of words 2.2.1.2 Theory of semantics Semantics (as the study of meaning) is central to the study of communication and as communication becomes more and more a crucial factor in social organization, the need to understand it becomes more and more pressing Semantics is also at the centre of the study of the human mind - thought processes, cognition, conceptualization - all these are intricately bound up with the way in which we classify and convey our experience of the world through language Because it is, in these two ways, a focal point in man's study of man, semantics has been the meeting place of various cross-currents of thinking and various disciplines of study Philosophy, psychology, and linguistics all claim a deep interest in the subject Semantics has often seemed baffling because there are many different approaches to it, and the ways in which they are related to one another are rarely clear, even to writers on the subject Leech [23: IX] According to Richmond H Thomason [32], Semantics is the study of the meaning of linguistic expressions The language can be a natural language, such as English or Navajo, or an artificial language, like a computer programming language Meaning in natural languages is mainly studied by linguists In fact, semantics is one of the main branches of contemporary linguistics Theoretical computer scientists and logicians think about artificial languages In some areas of computer science, these divisions are crossed In machine translation, for instance, computer scientists may want to relate natural language texts to abstract 10 - black as sin - black as the devil - black as the devil's/Old Harry's/Old Nick's nuttingbag/nutting-poke - black as the devil's croust-box - black as the dule's hoof - black as the Duke/Earl of Hell's black riding boots/waistcoat - black as the inside of the devil's waistcoat pocket - black as Humber - black as Hades - black as hell - black as a boggart - black as a witch - look as black as a wet Friday - black as night - black as midnight - black as thunder - black as a thundercloud 108 - black as snow - in London - black as ebony - black as a mazzard - eyes black as mazzards - black as a mourning weed - as fond as a bass and as black as a bleg - black as a bullace - black as a coot - black as a sloe/sloes/sloon - black as a tulgy - black as Alaskan sealskin - black as a crow - dark as a stack of black cats - black as an ousel - black as a shoe - black as your hat - black as Toby's arse - black as ink 109 - black as the inside of a man who drank a bottle of ink AS OPPOSED TO - black coffee WHITE - blacksmith - black acre - black and white - two blacks not make a white - there is no wool so white but a dyer can make it black - the blackest thorn bears the whitest blossom - black market - black fellow - black squall - black is the white of my eye - a black hen can lay a white egg - a black plum is as sweet as a white - lilies are whitest in a blackamoor's hand - blackwash - black hat - in black and white 110 - black propaganda UNCERTAIN/UN - black sanctus CLASSIFIED - go into a black hole - black gold - Black Rod - black fasting - black bomber - black box - black heat - black canon necessity is coal black - shine like the bristles of a blacking brush - black jack rides a good horse - black lad Monday - it's looking black over the wife's mother's - the richer the cobbler the blacker his thumb - blacksnake - the smith and his penny are both black 111 II RED POSITIVE - up she comes and the colour's red - red carpet - red carpet treatment - red-letter day NEGATIVE - red boar - red card - to be red carded - red channel - red tape - red flag - red alert/red warning - red light - carry three red lights - see the red light - red-light 112 - hunt the fox down the red lane - the Red Queen syndrome - red etin/eitin/aitin, red eten - nary/not a red cent - not care/give/worth a red cent - red fire hot/red-hot - wouldn't touch…with a red-hot poker! - a red-hot ember is easily rekindled - put together/sewn with a red-hot needle and burning thread - gape against a red-hot oven - red-hunting - red-baiting - red-mad/red-wood - like a red rag to a bull - red herring, to draw a red herring across the track - red cock - the red cock will crow on his house 113 - red-handed, catch red-handed - red in tooth and claw RACE/ - a red ETHNICITY - Red Indian - red man/men - red skin - red children - red-hide - Red Paint QUALITIES/ - red-sensitive MENTAL - red-mad/red-wood CHARACTERISTI CS - red as a lubber-cock/turkey-cock/a turkey- cock's jowls - red about the gills, red round the gills - to see red - red-blooded NATURE - red rain - red wind - red rot - the redder the fruit the higher it hangs 114 - the reddest apple may have a worm in it - red-bird - red fog - red mare - red steer - red onion - red meat - to shoot/sport the red - neither fish nor flesh nor good red herring - a red pig for an ackon/acorn! - has a face like the Red Lion of Brentford - red as fire - red as a rose - red as a lubber-cock/turkey-cock/a turkey- cock's jowls - red as the chollers of a bubbly-jock - turned as red as a turkey-cock snotterbob - red cock 115 - the red cock will crow on his house - red herring, to draw a red herring across the track - red as a beetroot - red as (a/the) (h)ep(ps) - red as the Rising Sun at Bromford - face as red as a pianet/pynat/piney - red as a peenie/piney - red as rubies - red as fields of heather on fire/a heather-hill - red as raw beef - red as Martlesham Lion - red as rud/raddle FABRIC/ - red riband/ribbon CLOTHING - red-hat - red-cowl - redcap - has seen redcap - you shall have the red cap 116 - red friar - red clout - red coat - red-jacket - red-laced jacket - the lass in the red petticoat - red shoes syndrome - red flag at the mast-head - red duster - red ensign - red banner - red soldier - red-gown - red judge - red flannel - hope and a red rag are baits for men and mackerel - red mass - red leather 117 - red carpet - red carpet treatment - like a red rag to a bull - red as a petticoat BODY - red face - red-arse - red-beard - red blood cell/corpuscle/red cell - red reflex - red spot - red-blind - red-raw - red mist - sew the eyes with red thread - red-blooded - red about the gills, red round the gills - to see red - red-handed, catch red-handed 118 - red as a blister - red as a hunter's face - red as blood - cheeks as red as da feet o' a shalder in da ebb- stanes - red in tooth and claw PRINTING/INK/ - in the red WRITING - out of the red - red book - red-pencil - red-circle - red-letter day COMPARISON red as a brick WITH - cute as a (speckled pup pulling a) red wagon ANIMALS/ OBJECTS - drunk as a little red wagon - red as a lubber-cock/turkey-cock/a turkey- cock's jowls - red as fire - red as a rose - red as a beetroot - red as (a/the) (h)ep(ps) 119 - red as the Rising Sun at Bromford - face as red as a pianet/ pynat/piney - red as a peenie/piney - red as rubies - red as fields of heather on fire/a heather-hill - red as a cherry - red as a ferret - red as a fox - red as a herring - red as a lobster - (nose as) red as a partan's tae - dead as a red lobster - red as raw beef - red as Martlesham Lion - red as rud/raddle - red as the chollers of a bubbly-jock - turned as red as a turkey-cock snotterbob - red as a petticoat 120 - red as a blister - red as a hunter's face - cheeks as red as da feet o' a shalder in da ebb- stanes - red as blood 10 UNCERTAIN/ - Red Rover UNCLASSIFIED - red lane - Red Cross - Red Crescent - Red Centre - red ball - red route - red-light district - to paint the town red - red box - red-ripe - red fire - red heat - red-hot 121 - red ones - pocket the red - red figure - red mason - red potter - red pill - red planet - red stock - red sable - red ball - red biddy/Red Ned - red-line 122