Thành ngữ so sánh trong tiếng anh và tiếng việt phân tích đối chiếu

Table of contents Certificate of originality i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of tables and figures iv Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Objectives of the study 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Desgin of the study Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous studies 2.2 Theoretical background 2.2.1 Theory of syntax 2.2.2 Theory of semantics 2.2.3 Theory of idioms 10 2.2.3.1 Definitions of idioms 10 2.2.3.2 English comparative idioms 13 2.2.3.3 Vietnamese comparative idioms 15 2.2.4 General features of idioms 17 2.2.5 Classification of idioms 19 2.2.5.1 Semantic classification of idioms 22 2.2.5.2 Structural classification of idioms 24 2.6 Summary 25 Chapter METHODOLOGY 26 3.1 Research-governing orientations 26 3.1.1 Research approaches 26 3.1.2 Research questions 26 3.1.3 Research setting 27 3.1.4 Criteria for intended data collection and data analysis 27 3.2 Research methods 28 3.2.1 Major methods and supporting methods 28 3.2.2 Data collection techniques 28 3.2.3 Data analysis techniques 29 3.3 Summary 30 Chapter FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 31 4.1 Syntactic features of English comparative idioms and Vietnamese ones 31 4.1.1 Syntactic features of English comparative idioms 31 4.1.1.1 Comparative word 32 4.1.1.2 Component A 32 4.1.1.3 Component B 33 4.1.2 Syntactic features of Vietnamese comparative idioms 34 4.1.2.1 Comparative word 35 4.1.2.2 Component A 36 4.1.2.3 Component B 38 4.1.3 Similarities and differences between English comparative idioms and Vietnamese ones in terms of syntactic features 40 4.1.3.1 Similarities between English comparative idioms and Vietnamese ones in terms of syntactic features 40 4.1.3.2 Differences between English comparative idioms and Vietnamese ones in terms of syntactic features 42 4.2 Semantic features of English comparative idioms and Vietnamese ones 43 4.2.1 Semantic features of English comparative idioms 43 4.2.2 Semantic features of Vietnamese comparative idioms 45 4.2.3 Similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese comparative idioms in term of semantic features 46 4.2.3.1 Similarities between English comparative idioms and Vietnamese ones in terms of semantic features 47 4.2.3.2 Differences between English comparative idioms and Vietnamese ones in terms of semantic features 48 4.3 Implications for teaching English comparative idioms to Vietnamese learners of English 49 Chapter CONCLUSIONS 53 5.1 Recapitulation 53 5.2 Concluding remarks 54 5.3 Limitations of the current research 55 5.4 Suggestions for a further research 56 REFERENCES 57 APPENDIX OF ENGLISH COMPARATIVE IDIOMS 60 APPENDIX OF VIETNAMESE COMPARATIVE IDIOMS………………….67 Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study English is known to be used the most widely over the world As a result, English is being taught and learned in Vietnam During the course of English, we have chance to deal with many aspects of English language We are really fond of English idioms since they play a very important role in reflecting the vivid, colourful picture of nation’s customs, cultural traditions and history Idioms are used both in written and spoken language to emphasize meaning and make our observation, judgment and explanations more lively and interesting; so, they have aesthetic function In other words, they are really useful tools for communicating a great deal of meaning in just a few words For example, to indicate a person who is really beautiful, the English men are likely to say as beautiful as the rainbow or as beautiful as the sunset To indicate a person who is very fat, Vietnamese would like to say béo cun cút (as fat as a partridge) We are attracted by the question how and why idioms differ from each other between English and Vietnamese in case of comparative idioms referring to people Hence, there are many researchers, many linguists studying about idioms such as Fernando (1996) in his book Idioms and Idiomacity, provided a comprehensive treatment of idioms and idiomaticity from a functional perspective or Bùi Phụng (1995) gives lists of English and Vietnamese idioms and their uses or the explanations in Từ điển thành ngữ, tục ngữ Việt-Anh tường giải However, they have not mentioned much the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms, especially, in term of syntactic and semantic features They only give lists of these kinds of idioms without explanation and comparison with Vietnamese Furthermore, as a student of English, I find that students of English only stop at using non - idiomatic ways of expressing ideas There are a few students using idioms in their speaking and writing It means students of English miss the chance to reach the highest effect in communication in general and in communication with foreigners in particular If they try consciously to fill their speech and writing with idioms, the effect will probably be improved For all the reasons above, we decide to choose to study about Comparative idioms in English and Vietnamese: A contrastive analysis I hope the study can partly improve the knowledge of idioms in students of English 1.2 Aims of the study The thesis is aims at finding out the syntactic and semantic features of English comparative idioms in contrast to the Vietnamese ones, thus help the Vietnamese learners of English to have better understanding of these idioms and be able to use them effectively in practice 1.3 Objectives of the study To achieve the aims mentioned above, following objectives are put forward: (i) Pointing out the syntactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese comparative idioms (ii) Finding out the similarities and differences of comparative idioms in English and Vietnamese in terms of syntactic and semantic features (iii) Proposing some implications for teaching the English comparative idioms to the Vietnamese learners of English 1.4 Scope of the study (i) Academic scope This research is restricted to English comparative idioms containing “like”, “as…as” and Vietnamese comparative idioms with “như” We focus on making a contrastive analysis in terms of syntactic and semantic aspects Syntactically, my study will investigate phrases in the form of as + adj+ as, A like B and like + noun in English comparative idioms At the same time, phrase At B and Như B in Vietnamese ones will be also investigated In this thesis, some phrases that have the same forms as the above structure but no idiomaticalness or phrases that are idiomatic but not comparative are not investigated (ii) Social scope To carry out the research thesis, all the material collection of English idioms containing “like”, “as…as” and “như” in Vietnamese ones are selected from some reliable dictionaries in both language: English and Vietnamese It is hoped that the outcomes of this research thesis, to some extent, can make a certain contribution to enhance knowledge and quality of communication for language learners at Hanoi Open University 1.5 Significance of the study (i) Theoretical significance In terms of theoretical significance, the research is expected to contribute an in-depth understanding into the repetoire of idioms after analyzing their semantic and syntactic features (ii) Practical significance In terms of practical significance, comparative idioms are used 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 an attempt to provide Vietnamese learners with better mastering about semantic and syntactic features of English comparative idioms 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 Design of the study The thesis is designed with five chapters: Chapter 1, Introduction, provides an overview of the issues, the aims, the specific objectives, the scope, the significance and the structural organization of the research 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 semantic and syntactic features of comparative idioms in English and Vietnamese to find out the similarities and differences in term of semantic and syntactic features 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 References and Appendix come at the end of the study Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of previous studies The prosperity of language in form and content not only has the beauty of language but also deeply contributes to successful daily communications Every language in the world has large numbers of idioms Idioms make color for language Idioms carry a large amount of nationally or culturally specific information with them It can be said that idioms are interesting and popular phenomenon of every language Being aware of the important role of idioms in the daily communication in the society as well as teaching and learning languages, many researchers have taken studies on idioms in various field such as syntax, semantics and translation, etc Up to now, there have been a number of writers making investigations into English and Vietnamese Idioms First of all, Peaty (1983) conducted all kinds of English idioms and the frequent use of idiomatic phrases in Working with English Idioms His book is a helpful guide It is primarily a language practice book for students at intermediate level or above to recognize, understand and use some of the everyday idioms in appropriate context He presented more than 800 idioms, in twenty structurally graded units, each of which categorizes particularly type of idiom according to its grammatical structure Also in 1983, McMordie published his book English Idioms and How to use them, providing intermediate to advanced level students with information about over 3000 idioms Each idiom was listed, explained and presented in context to enable students to understand how and when to use it In 1989, Fernando provided a comprehensive treatment of idioms and idiomaticity from a functional perspective in his book Idioms and Idiomacity It examined the use of idioms in discourse to combine the novel and the conventional, to convey representations of the world, evaluate people and situations, signal conviviality or conflict, and create coherent, cohesive texts The book went on to consider implications for language learning and development Vietnamese idioms also prove significant in Vietnamese language, and several native linguists have been trying to collect them and to detect their special peculiarities Lương Văn Đang (1993) and Nguyễn Lực (1993) are the pioneers in studying idiomatic phrases in Vietnam They have just produced an useful book “Thành ngữ tiếng Việt” which has listed many Vietnamese idioms and their symbolic meanings Based on their books, there have been a lot of contrastive studies on idioms in Vietnamese and other languages such as English, French and Russian, etc by Nguyễn Đình Hùng (1999) or Bùi Phụng (1995) In his graduation assignment “Tìm hiểu vế so sánh thành ngữ so sánh tiếng Việt tiếng Anh”, Nguyễn Việt Hòa (2009) has given definitions of idioms, structures and meanings of both Vietnamese and English comparative idioms then made an analysis of similarities and differences between them Then, he had given many precious implications to teach English and Vietnamese comparative idioms to foreign language learners Also, the journal of Assoc Prof Hà Quang Năng (2011) “Đặc điểm vế so sánh thành ngữ so sánh tiếng Việt” covered features of Vietnamese idioms of comparisons He has studied various theoretical backgrounds, then, given a profound investigation about syntactic and semantic features of Vietnamese comparative idioms The studies mentioned above are helpful to this study in terms of providing the theoretical background for the thesis 134 As safe as houses 135 As slat as brine 136 As sharp as a razor 137 As silent as a stone 138 As silly as a calf 139 As sleepless as owls 140 As slow as a snail 141 As sly as a fox 142 As smooth as glass 143 As sour as a lime 144 As sour as vinegar 145 As spotless as snow 146 As steadfast as the sun 147 As still as a log 148 As still as statue 149 As stink as carrion 150 As sure as eggs is eggs 151 As sure as I am standing here 152 As sure as the day is long 153 As sweet as honey 154 As sweet as sugar 155 As swift as a deer 156 As swift as lightning 157 As swift as flash 158 As terrible as hell 159 As timid as a rabbit 160 As timid as a mouse 65 161 As timid as a fawn 162 As tired as tombstones 163 As tricky as monkey 164 As troublesome as monkey 165 As thick as pea soup 166 As ugly as sin 167 As uncertain as the weather 168 As unchangeable as the past 169 As unclean as sin 170 As voiceless as the tomb 171 As warm as sunbeam 172 As wise as an owl 173 As white as a sheet 174 As yellow as saffron 175 As young as morn 176 As cool as a cucumber 177 As tough as leather 178 As blind as a bat 179 As pretty as a picture 180 As read as blood 181 As round as a ball 182 As strong as an oxi 183 As soft as butter 184 Like a duck to water 185 Like a hen with one chicken 186 Like fun 187 Like hell 66 188 Like gimlets 189 Like cat and dog 190 Like a bold from the blue sky 191 Like a bat out of hell 192 Like a bear with a sore head 193 Like a cat on the hot bricks 194 Like a clock 195 Like a drowned rat 196 Like a fish out of water 197 Like a duck in a thunderstorm 198 Like a lamb 199 Like a log 200 Like hot cakes 201 Like a hundred bricks 202 Like a lamp lighter 203 Like a mill-pond 204 Like a rat in a hole 205 Like a streak of lighning 206 Like a teetotum 207 Like all poessed 208 Like beans 209 Like blazes 210 Like by magic 211 Like clockwork 212 Like greased lightning 213 Like mad 214 Like smoke 67 215 Like wax in somebody’s hand 216 Like winking 217 Like a bump on a log 218 Like a house fire 219 Like an open book 220 Like sitting ducks 221 Like a three-ring circus 222 Like it’s such a big deal! 223 Like looking for a needle in a haystack 224 Like glue and varnish 225 Like one of the family 226 Like the wind 227 Like a basket of chips 228 Like a dose of salts 229 Like a red rag to a bull 230 Like a shot 231 Like a thief in the night 232 Like an oven 233 Like anything 234 Like blue murder 235 Like fun 236 To breed like rabbit 237 To live like a fighting cock 238 To eat like a horse 239 To stick like a leech 240 To cling like a grim death 241 To go like hot cakes 68 242 To stand like a post 243 To work like a navy 244 To work like a nigger 245 To sleep like a log 246 To something like a shot 247 To have a hide like a rhinoceros 248 To run around like a squirrel in a cage 249 To have a head like a sieve 250 To come back again like a bad half-penny 251 To run around like a squirrel in a cage 252 To swim to the bottom like a stone 253 To have a hand like a foot 254 To treat somebody like dirt 255 To something like a shot 69 APPENDIX OF VIETNAMESE COMPARATIVE IDIOMS No Vietnamese Idioms Ác hùm Ăn cắp ranh Ăn khỏe thần trùng Ăn mèo Ăn bát nước đầy Ấm hai gái lấy chồng Bạc rận Bạc vôi Bám đỉa 10 Bắn mưa 11 Bình chân vại 12 Bẩn hủi 13 Bẩn ma lem 14 Bầy nhầy thịt bụng 15 Béo bồ cạp sứt 16 Béo cun cút 17 Béo lợn 18 Béo trâu trương 19 Bối rối bà sư đẻ 20 Bơ vơ chó lạc đàn 21 Bỡ ngỡ chim chích vào rừng 23 Buồn cha chết 24 Buồn tráu cắn 25 Buồn tình đĩ già 26 Cãi chém chả 70 27 Cãi mổ bò 28 Cái đầu xù xụ mụ ăn mày 29 Cao núi 30 Cao sếu 31 Cay ớt 32 Cẩm cẳn chó cắn ma 33 Câm hến 34 Câm thóc 35 Chán cơm nếp nát 36 Chạy nhanh gió 37 Chạy nhanh bay 38 Chạy cờ lông công 39 Chắc đinh đóng cột 40 Chắc nêm 41 Chặt nêm cối 42 Chậm rùa 43 Chậm sên 44 Chân ống đồng 45 Chân ống sậy 46 Chấp chới quạ đậu chuồng lợn 47 Chấp cha chấp chới quạ vào chuồng lợn 48 Chấy rận sung 49 Chễm chệ rể bà góa 50 Chết đứng Từ Hải 51 Chết ngả rạ 52 Chiều chiều vong 53 Chị em dâu bầu nước lã 71 54 Chờ chờ mẹ 55 Chua dấm 56 Chua mẻ 57 Chuyện giòn bắp rang 58 Chữ gà bới 59 Chửi hát hay 60 Chửi tát nước vào mặt 61 Có chồng ngựa có cương 62 Coi mạng người ngóe 63 Coi người rác 64 Coi trời vung 65 Cứng đá 66 Cứng sắt 67 Cười pháo ran 68 Dai bị đái 69 Dai đỉa 70 Dài sơng 71 Dát cáy 72 Dâng lên nước thủy triều 73 Dâng nước vỡ bờ 74 Dẻo kẹo 75 Dẻo kẹo kéo 76 Dễ chơi 77 Dễ trở bàn tay 78 Dễ bỡn 79 Dỗ dỗ vong 80 Dốt bò 72 81 Dữ cọp 82 Dữ hùm 83 Dửng dưng bánh chưng ngày tết 84 Đa nghi Tào Tháo 85 Đau búa bổ 86 Đau cắt 87 Đau hoạn 88 Đau xé ruột 89 Đắng ngậm bồ hịn 90 Đắt tơm tươi 91 Đắt vàng 92 Đen cột nhà cháy 93 Đen củ sung 94 Đen củ tam that 95 Đen mực 96 Đen quạ 97 Đẹp tiên 98 Đẹp tranh 99 Đỏ gấc 100 Đỏ son 101 Đông hội 102 Đông kiến 103 Đông trảy hội 104 Đuổi đuổi tà 105 Đứng im thóc 106 Được lời cởi lòng 107 Đủng đỉnh chĩnh trôi sông 73 108 Đứng trời trồng 109 Được lời cởi tầm lòng 110 Ép ép giò 111 Êm nhung 112 Êm ru 113 Gan cóc tía 114 Gãi gãi ghẻ 115 Gắt mắm 116 Gầy mắm 117 Gầy hạc 118 Gọi hò đò 119 Gầy xác ve 120 Giàu Thạch Sùng 121 Giãy đỉa phải vôi 122 Giấu mèo giấu cứt 123 Giết người ngóe 124 Giống đúc 125 Giống hai giọt nước 126 Giống in 127 Giống lột 128 Giở mặt bàn tay 129 Giữ giữ mả tổ 130 Giữ thầy giữ ấn 131 Hiền bụt 132 Hiền củ khoai 133 Hiền cục đất 134 Hót khướu 74 135 Hôi cú 136 Hùng hục trâu húc mả 137 Im lặng tờ 138 Im hến 139 Im thóc 140 Kẻ cắp rươi 141 Kêu bò rống 142 Kêu cháy nhà 143 Khinh mẻ 144 Khỏe trâu 145 Khỏe Trương Phi 146 Khỏe vâm 147 Khỏe voi 148 Khơ ngói 149 Khư khư ơng Từ giữ oản 150 Kín bưng 151 Lạch bạch vịt bầu 152 Làm mèo mửa 153 Lanh chanh hành không muối 154 Lành đất 155 Lạnh băng 156 Lạnh tiền 157 Lảng vảng thành hoàng xuất ngoại 158 Lăng xăng thằng khố 159 Láo nháo cháo trộn cơm 160 Lăn lóc cóc đói 161 Lặng tờ 75 162 Lật lọng trở bàn tay 163 Lép trấu 164 Lên diều 165 Lòng đau cắt 166 Lò dò cò ăn đêm 167 Lỗ chỗ tổ ong 168 Lớn nhanh thổi 169 Lụ khụ ông cụ bảy mươi 170 Lủi chạch 171 Lúng túng gà mắc tóc 172 Lừ đừ ông từ vào đền 173 Lưng lơ cá vàng 174 Lười hủi 175 Mạnh vũ bão 176 Mắng tát nước vào mặt 177 Mắt sắc dao 178 Mặt đỏ gà chọi 179 Mê điếu đổ 180 Mềm bún 181 Mỏng lúa 182 Mỏng tờ giấy 183 Mưa trút nước 184 Mừng bắt 185 Nát tương 186 Nắng đổ lửa 187 Nặng chì 188 Nặng đá 76 189 Ngã ngả rạ 190 Ngang cua 191 Ngáy bò rống 192 Ngáy kéo bễ 193 Ngáy sấm 194 Nghe đấm vào tai 195 Nghịch quỷ sứ 196 Ngọt mía lùi 197 Ngọt đường 198 Ngoai ngoái Phủ Khoái xin ăn 199 Ngu bò 200 Ngủ say chết 201 Nhanh ăn cướp 202 Nhanh chớp 203 Nhanh gió 204 Nhanh sóc 205 Nhát cáy 206 Nhạt nước ốc 207 Nhảy choi choi 208 Nhẹ lơng hồng 209 Nhớ in 210 Như bóng với hình 211 Như cá nằm thớt 212 Như bén rễ 213 Như chó với mèo 214 Như diều gặp gió 215 Như đỉa phải vơi 77 216 Như đinh đóng cột 217 Như gà mắc tóc 218 Như mèo thấy mỡ 219 Như đôi đũa lệch 220 Như nước với lửa 221 Như ong vỡ tổ 222 Như rắn đầu 223 Như sét đánh ngang tai 224 Như tay với chân 225 Như tằm ăn rỗi 226 Như Từ Hải chết đứng 227 Như vịt nghe sấm 228 Như vợ chồng Ngâu 229 Nói đấm vào tai 230 Nói Thánh phán 231 Nóng lửa 232 Nóng Trương Phi 233 Nợ chúa Chổm 234 Ồn chợ vỡ 235 Phận bạc vôi 236 Rách xơ mướp 237 Rẻ bèo 238 Run cầy sấy 239 Sáng ban ngày 240 Say điếu đổ 241 Sắc dao cau 242 Sướng tiên 78 243 Tan bọt xà phòng 244 Te tái gà mái nhảy ổ 245 The thé xé vải 246 Thuộc lòng bàn tay 247 Tỉnh sáo 248 To Hộ Pháp 249 Tối đêm ba mươi 250 Trắng trứng gà bóc 251 Trần nhộng 252 Trơ khúc gỗ 253 Vắng chùa Ba Đanh 254 Vui hội 255 Yếu sên 79