typical cultural features in english and vietnamese fables about philosophy of life a contrastive analysis = phân tích đối chiếu các đặc điểm văn hóa điển hình trong các truyện ngụ ngôn tiếng anh và tiếng việt nói

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES -o0o - NGUYỄN VĂN NGHĨA TYPICAL CULTURAL FEATURES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FABLES ABOUT PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC ĐẶC ĐIỂM VĂN HĨA ĐIỂN HÌNH TRONG CÁC TRUYỆN NGỤ NGƠN TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT NÓI VỀ TRIẾT LÝ CUỘC SỐNG M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 HANOI – 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES o0o NGUYỄN VĂN NGHĨA TYPICAL CULTURAL FEATURES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FABLES ABOUT PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC ĐẶC ĐIỂM VĂN HĨA ĐIỂN HÌNH TRONG CÁC TRUYỆN NGỤ NGÔN TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT NÓI VỀ TRIẾT LÝ CUỘC SỐNG M.A minor thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 Supervisor: PHẠM XUÂN THỌ, MA SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN LINGUISTICS HANOI – 2010 iv Table of contents Certificate of originality of study project report Page i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv Abbreviations vii List of tables viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims and research questions 1.3 Significance of the study 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Organization of the study Chapter 2: Literature View 2.1 Culture 2.2 Fables as a type of literature 2.2.1 Fable v 2.2.2 Fables about philosophy of life 10 Chapter 3: Methodology 11 3.1 Subjects 11 3.1.1 English fables 11 3.1.2 Vietnamese fables 11 3.3 Data collection and data analysis procedures 12 Chapter 4: Results and discussions 14 4.1 Typical cultural features of English fables about philosophy of life 14 4.1.1 Features of the settings and objects 14 4.1.2 Features of the characters 17 4.1.3 The features of the language used by the characters 20 4.1.4 Features of the ways the philosophy of life is expressed 23 4.2 The TCFs in Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life 24 4.2.1 Features of the settings and objects 24 4.2.2 Features of the characters 26 4.2.2.1 Characters as humans 26 vi 4.2.2.2 Characters as animals 28 4.2.3 Features of the language 30 4.2.4 Features of the way the philosophies of life are expressed 32 4.3 The similarities and differences of the TCFs in English and Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life 34 4.3.1 Similarities 34 4.3.2 Differences 35 Chapter 5: Conclusion 37 5.1 Major findings 37 5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further research 38 5.3 Pedagogical implications 38 References 39 APPENDIX I vii Abbreviations TCF: Typical cultural features CA: Fables with characters as animals CHA: Fables with characters as humans and animals CH: Fables with characters as humans S: Settings O: Objects R: Rural setting U: Urban setting D: Domestic animals ND: Non domestic animals H: Humans A: Animals DA: Domestic animals NDA: Non-domestic animals FR: Family-related relation C: Career relation SR: Social relation L: Language used by characters in the conversation ES: Explicitly stated IS: Implicitly stated viii List of tables Table 1: TCFs of the settings and objects in English fables about philosophy of life Table 2: TCFs of characters in English fables Table 3: Features of the language in the conversations of English fables Table 4: Features of the ways the philosophy of life is stated in English fable Table 5: TCFs of the settings and objects in Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life Table 6: TCFs of characters in Vietnamese fables Table 7: Features of the language in the conversations of Vietnamese fables Table 8: Features of the ways the philosophy of life is expressed in Vietnamese fables Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Rationale of the study The first thing to mention when it comes to choosing the topic of this thesis is that culture itself is a broad and complicated subject matter There are plenty of aspects in this field As usual, each of them is touched upon individually from different angles, depending on the interests of certain authors Therefore, it is not surprising that different authors give different definitions of culture In addition, it is agreed that getting a deep understanding about any aspect of culture is a really hard job This is because culture is not tangible, and it is only perceptive to human sense For different individuals, the perceptions are not the same Thus, there is a variety of presentations on the subject matter However complicated it is, culture is still an important factor in our life It distinguishes humans from animals The way people behave and treat each other makes them different from other living beings It is also agreed that although the world is coming toward common standards in many fields like science, technology and business, there are by no means a uniform in culture among the regions or nations in the world It is cultural identities that distinguish groups of people Nowadays, in the world of integration, humans are searching for a common understanding of one another Culture is really a bridge that brings people closer together The need to discover certain cultures has become more urgent than ever before Another reason that inspires the author to carry out this study is the attractiveness of fables, in this case, fables in English and Vietnamese Fables are one type of folk literature with stories containing characters as either animals or humans Stories of this type tell a variety of subject matters like the explanations of phenomena in real life or the teasing of bad habits of humans Each story is a moral lesson and through the words and behaviors of characters, we can draw certain philosophies of life The readers become thoughtful after reading such a fable Among fables of various themes, those about philosophies of life appear to be the most remarkable These are the most attractive of all types of fables The world of animals or humans - mostly in the past, speaks of the moral lessons which are still relevant in present life Apart from the moral lessons, another attraction in fables is the cultural features embedded in each story The settings, characters, language, and the way characters treat one another reveal the cultural identities of certain nations, regions and these are the most attractive parts of fables 1.2 Aims and research questions Conducting the study, the author sets several limited aims First of all, the study is to find out the typical cultural features (TCFs) in fables in English as well as in Vietnamese As a matter of fact, there are a number of cultural features in fables, but the author’s focus is only on the typical ones That is, only the most remarkable features are taken into account The second thing this study has to is to contrast these typical cultural features in the fables in the two languages, finding out the similarities and the differences In order to so, the study will have to search for the answers to the following research questions: What are the typical cultural features in English fables about philosophy of life? What are the typical cultural features in Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life? What are the similarities of the typical cultural features in English and Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life? What are the differences of the typical cultural features in English and Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life? 1.3 Significance of the study The study is of great significance to not only culture researchers but those whose interests are in applied linguistics as well To those who are interested in cultures, the findings of the study will manifest the TCFs in the fables in two languages, namely English and Vietnamese The readers and the learners of English language will have a chance to perceive the TCFs in each language In addition, the study also presents a contrastive analysis between these features The audience will get a deep understanding about the similarities and differences between Vietnamese culture and Western one For learners of English as a second language, the study helps them become aware of cultural elements in the process of learning, which has not been paid much attention to so far Meanwhile, this is very important in English learning because learners are able to perceive why speakers or writers use different language in different contexts Being aware of cultural elements is also a good way to avoid cultural shocks when they communicate with people from English – speaking countries 1.4 Scope of the study As stated earlier, culture is a broad field with various aspects This study, however, only focuses on the TCFs in a limited number of fables in English and Vietnamese It is also known that fables consist of lots of themes Yet, due to the shortage of such factors as time, materials and finance, this study only exploits those about philosophy of life, which are very common in the world of fables 1.5 Organization of the study The thesis consists of five chapters The first chapter is the introduction, which includes the rationale, aims and research questions, scope as well as the organization of the study The second chapter is the literature view in which the author presents an overview of the publications related to the topic of the research The methodology used in the study is presented in the third chapter It includes a description of the data collection and data analysis procedures used in the study The findings of the study are presented in the fourth chapter, Results and Discussions The final chapter presents a summary of the findings, limitations of the study as well as suggestions for further research 28 them farming work It is such an important animal that the Vietnamese have many sayings about it: “Con trâu đầu nghiệp” (Vietnamese saying) or “Trâu ta bảo trâu Trâu ruộng trâu cày với ta Cấy cày vốn nghiệp nông gia Ta trâu mà quản công Bao lúa cịn bơng Thời cịn cỏ ngồi đồng trâu ăn.” (Vietnamese expression) “Chó” (dog) and “gà” (hen/cock) are other popular images of domestic animals These animals are kept in most Vietnamese families In Vietnamese culture, there is a special relationship between the dog and its owner: “Con không chê cha mẹ khó, chó khơng chê chủ nghèo” (Vietnamese saying) “Trâu”, “chó”, “gà” are typical of domestic animals in Vietnamese culture Some non-domestic animals in the fables (“ếch”,”nhái”, “cua”, “ốc”, and even “đỉa” ) are also related to the culture of water- rice production These animals are so popular in Vietnam because they are typical animals of water - rice agriculture In addition to the animals attached to agricultural production, there are other animals which also bear certain identities of Vietnamese culture The case of “Gà ông Đồ”and “gà ông Nghè” is an example The images of “gà” reflect the fact that Vietnamese people have the custom of raising chickens at home for food They also have fun of watching cocks fighting This habit still exists today and has become a cultural practice usually held at the beginning of a year This fun only exists in Vietnamese culture Another cultural feature embedded in the images of chickens is that they are often used by the Vietnamese as the symbol of unity, especially that between siblings: 29 “Khôn ngoan đối đáp người Gà mẹ hoài đá nhau” (Vietnamese expression) Apart from domestic animals, Vietnamese fables also have some characters as wild animals “Voi” (elephants), “hổ” (tiger) are two examples that are stereotyped as being big and strong; however they are rather stupid, arrogant and often bad things In fables, they are often punished for their arrogance and bad actions This is the same as in English culture where such animals are often stereotyped as being arrogant, stupid and even cruel The only difference is that these wild animals exist in Vietnamese context, which are heavily affected by Vietnamese human society In short, characters as both domestic and non domestic animals bear some typical identities of Vietnamese culture 4.2.3 Features of the language used by the characters in the conversations Table shows the typical features of the language used in the conversations in Vietnamese fables 13 out of 15 fables (86.6%) have got conversations in direct language (language of literal meaning) 30 L DL % IDL % CA 20 13 CHA 33.3 0 CH 33.3 Total 13 86.6 20 Table 7: The features of the language used by the characters in the conversations of Vietnamese fables Notes: DL: Direct language CA: Fables with character as animals IDL: Indirect language CHA: Fables with character as humans and animals CH: Fables with characters as humans Below is an example of the direct language in conversation: Ngày xưa, có người cày quát tháo, đánh đập trâu trâu phải chịu Con Hổ ngồi bờ, nom thấy, hỏi trâu rằng: - Trâu kia! Mày to lớn nhường ấy, mày để người đánh đập thế? Trâu nói: - Người bé trí khơn người lớn! Hổ lấy làm lạ, khơng biết trí khơn gì, hỏi người rằng: - Người kia! Trí khơn người đâu, cho ta xem? Người nói: - Trí khơn ta để nhà - Người lấy mang đi! - Ta rồi, Hổ ăn trâu ta sao? Hổ có thuận để ta trói lại ta lấy cho mà xem Hổ muốn xem thuận trói Trói xong, người lấy bắp cày vừa phang vào lưng hổ, vừa nói: - Trí khơn ta đây! Trí khơn ta đây! (Trí khơn) 31 The explicitness of the lanuage is also shown in the conversation between the passer – by and the salesman in the fable “Người đường chó” (The paser-by and the dog): “Một người đường qua đầu làng Có chó xơng đuổi theo sủa Người quay lại dọa đánh, chó chạy lui Khi người tiếp tục đi, chó lại đuổi theo định cắn trộm Cứ lần, người thật xa Lát sau, người khác qua qng đường Con chó lại xơng Bác ta thản nhiên Con chó chạy theo qng ngắn, cúp quay trở Có người chủ quán gần thấy hỏi bác ta rằng: - Lúc có người qua đây, Chó đuổi theo sủa, người quay lại dọa đánh, song dọa bám riết Bây bác qua, Chó đuổi theo, bác khơng quay lại mà khơng dám đuổi Thế cớ làm sao? Bác ta đáp: - Việc dễ hiểu Người trước sợ nó, quay lại dọa Nó biết thế, nên đắc ý làm già Ngược lại, thấy tơi thản nhiên khơng sợ nó, nên chùn lại quay lui Xem đủ biết Chó dọa dẫm người yếu bóng vía mà thơi Sự hãn đâu phải sức mạnh (Người đường chó) The dominance of direct language over indirect language manifests typical features of the culture As known, fables were created mostly by the cleverest people in societies long ago when life was very simple However, the audience mostly belonged to people of lower class, who were not very well - educated Therefore, the authors had to use easily – understood language in their fables so that the majorities of the population could understand them We can hardly find any complicated words or sentences in the fables, both in English and Vietnamese 32 4.2.4 Features of the way the philosophies of life are expressed IS % ES % CA 33.3 0 CHA 20 13 CH 26 Total 12 79.3 20 Table 8: The features of the ways the philosophies are expressed in Vietnamese fables Notes: CA: Fables with character as animals IS: Implicitly stated CHA: Fables with characters as humans and animals ES: Explicitly stated CH: Fables with characters as humans The feature of the way the philosophy of life is expressed is shown in Table The number of the fables with the philosophy implicitly stated far exceeds that with the philosophy explicitly stated (79.3% as opposed to 20%) Clearly, Vietnamese fables tend to hide their philosophies The job of finding the philosophies belongs to the readers The Vietnamese are famous for being implicit in their language: Đến mận hỏi đào Vườn hồng có vào hay chưa? Mận hỏi đào xin thưa Vườn hồng bcó lối chưa vào (Vietnamese expression) or Thuyền có nhớ bến Bến khăng khăng đợi thuyền (Vietnamese expression) 33 In most of the Vietnamese fables, there are no conclusions or philosophies explicitly stated in the end They are drawn by the readers after the stories are over For example, the philosophy in the fable “Ếch ngồi đáy giếng” is that one who stays in a restricted space and have no contact with the outside world always find himself the best of all Or the philosophy in the fable “Con chó chết đuối” is that greed is sometimes paid by the loss of life However, there are some fables in which the philosophies are explicitly expressed The fable “Gieo gió gặp bão” states the philosophy in the end: “Rõ ràng “gieo gió gặp bão””, the fable “Người đường chó” with the philosophy “ …Sự tàn đâu phải sức mạnh” Sometimes, the philosophy is directly stated by the characters themselves: “… Đúng! Như thấy chia lẻ yếu, hợp lại mạnh Vậy phải biết hợp quần đùm bọc lấy có sức mạnh.” (Chuyện bó đũa) In short, the Vietnamese prefer the indirect way of conveying the message in their speech This feature is clearly shown in the fables about philosophy of life To the Vietnamese, the implicitness of language sometimes causes trouble, but it is also the beauty of the language that always needs searching further 34 4.3 The similarities and differences of the TCFs in English and Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life 4.3.1 Similarities Despite being composed by different authors at different times, the fables in English and Vietnamese share some similarities in terms of culture As is shown in Table and Table 5, the fables in both languages share some cultural features of the settings and objects As for the settings, in most fables in both English and Vietnamese, the stories take place in the setting of the countryside The first thing to mention is the place where the work of crop cultivation is done It is the “plowland”, the “farm” in the West and “cánh đồng”, “đồng lúa” in Vietnam The main crops grown in these places are “wheat”, “vine” in the West (including England), and “lúa” (rice) in Vietnam With reference to the other rural settings, these two cultures also have some common features They are the fundamental facilities for any society to exist such as “country lane” in English fables and “con đường”, “ven đường” in Vietnamese ones Similar to the settings, the characters in the fables in the two cultures share some TCFs With regard to the animal characters, as is shown in Table and Table 6, fables in both English and Vietnamese cultures have characters as domestic and non-domestic animals There are the common stereotypes in two cultures about certain animals For example, the cruel, sly and cunning are always attributed to “fox”, “wolf” and “bear” in English, and “con hổ”, “con cọp”, “con cáo” in Vietnamese; whereas the little, timid and kind are attributed to “lamb”, “sheep”, “tortoise” in English or “châu chấu”, “nai” in Vietnamese Apart from the animal characters, those fables hat have human characters also bear some similar cultural features The character of “farmer” or “nông dân” bears most of the similarities In both cultures, they are the persons who the job of cultivating crops on the “farm” or “cánh đồng” The image of “farmer” or “nông dân” is very common in both cultures The similarity in the language used by the characters in the conversations is the most dominant As can be seen in Table and Table 7, most of the conversations in the fables in 35 both English and Vietnamese use direct language That is, the language is used with their literal meaning The reason for this is that all the fables were created long ago for people of lower class, so their language is very simple and easy to understand Concerning the philosophies of life expressed in the fables, they are basically the same in two languages They are all the moral lessons in life which can be applied in certain situations or the attitudes towards the good and the evil They are usually accepted in all societies and cultures: “Misfortunes test the sincerity of friends” (The bear and the two travelers) “Self help is the best help” (Hercules and the wagoner) “The least outlay is not always the greatest gain” (The widow and the sheep) “Gieo gió gặp bão” (Gieo gió gặp bão) “Sự hãn đâu phải sức mạnh” (Người đường chó) In conclusion, there are some similarities between the TCFs of the fables in English and in Vietnamese They are partially shown in the features of the settings and objects, of the characters as animals and humans, of the language and particularly, of the content of the message of the philosophy 4.3.2 Differences Besides some similarities in terms of settings, characters and philosophies of life between fables in English and Vietnamese, there are several differences Considering the settings of the fables in English and Vietnamese, it must be said that although most of them have rural settings, they are quite different in terms of culture In Vietnamese culture, the term “rural” is associated with agricultural production, with the settings of “cánh đồng”, “đồng lúa”, “lúa”, “làng”, “đầu làng” – the popular images of Vietnamese rural life, whereas in Western culture, they are “farm”, “field”, “plowland”, “wheat land”, “country lane” Each of the settings holds the distinctive TCFs of each region These differences result from the differences of the natural and socio – cultural conditions between the East and the West The Eastern culture is based on agricultural production with 36 water rice cultivation in the field, while the Western one is based on farming production with their own crops and products The difference of production leads to the difference in culture The cultural difference is also shown in the characters of the fables, both as animals and humans With regard to the characters as domestic animals, they are quite different in two cultures Due to the respective productions, domestic animals in the West are usually “sheep”, “goat”, “donkey”, “lamb”, while in Vietnam, they are “chó”, “gà”, “trâu”, “bị” Each kind of the animals above holds cultural identities of a country Non-domestic animals, on the other hand, also bear distinctive identities Due to the difference of natural conditions, certain animals are popular in a certain region: “Fox”, “wolf” and “bear” are, for example, popular in the West because there are many forests in Europe “Swan”, “raven” are also popular birds there due to the specific ecological conditions By contrast, the characteristics of agricultural production in Vietnam lead to the appearance of such animals as “ếch”, “nhái”, “cua”, “đỉa” Concerning the jobs in each culture, due to the differences in climate and geographical as well as socio-cultural conditions, there are “farmer”, “hunter”, “woodman”, “merchant”, “butcher”, “shearer” in Western culture, while there are “nông dân”, “thợ cày”, “ơng Đồ”, “ơng Nghè”, “thầy bói” in Vietnamese culture, each of which bears certain typical cultural features The way the philosophy of life is expressed in the fables in each language also shows the difference in culture Despite being conveyed through different languages, the contents of the philosophy are almost the same However, the way they are conveyed is different between the two cultures Most of the philosophies in Aesop’s fables are explicitly stated at the end of the story (Table 4) whereas they are mostly hidden in Vietnamese fables (Table 8) This explains two different ways of thinking, namely directness, straightforwardness in the West and indirectness, hidden meaning in Vietnam In summary, there are many differences between the TCFs expressed in English and Vietnamese fables The most dominant differences are manifested through the features of the settings, objects, characters and the way the philosophies of life are expressed 37 Chapter 5: Conclusion 5.1 Major findings Culture plays an important role in the modern world Cultural identities distinguish one group of people from the other However, it is the cultural differences that lead to misunderstanding in communication Thus, getting to know other cultures is very important today Fables are one source that holds many typical cultural features of a nation or a region This study has found out the TCFs in English and Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life In the study, fifteen Aesop’s fables in English and another fifteen in Vietnamese were analysed The findings of the study answer the four research questions regarding the TCFs in English as well as in Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life and the similarities and differences between these TCFs In the study, the TCFs of the fables in each language are divided into four categories: the feature of the settings, of the characters, of the language used by the characters in the conversations, and of the way the philosophy of life is stated The findings show that most of the settings of the fables in both languages are rural with distinctive backgrounds of respective culture Due to specific natural and socio-cultural conditions, the characters of the fables, which include both animals and humans, bear the typical features of that culture On the other hand, the language of the conversations/dialogues between the characters either in English or in Vietnamese is, in general, simple and straightforward because the fables were composed in the ancient time and most of the audience belonged to lower class As for the way the philosophy of life is stated, most of the philosophies in English fables are stated explicitly, while in Vietnamese they are conveyed implicitly 38 5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further research However, the study has some limitations First, culture is itself a complicated issue with various aspects, whereas the study has touched upon only some Second, the sample of fifteen fables in each language is rather small Another limitation of the study is that it only investigates the TCFs of English fables by one author (Aesop) This limitation is due to the shortage of materials, especially those of English fables The results of the study would be more reliable if the fables by different authors were taken into account For the further research, there are many other aspects that need more investigations Among those aspects, the linguistic properties of the fables in English and Vietnamese are worth studying in further research In addition, the social relations manifested through the language by the character in the fables are also an interesting topic that should be taken into account 5.3 Pedagogical implications The results of this study will be more meaningful if they are applied into the process of EFL teaching and learning in Vietnam Today, in Vietnam, a huge number of people learn English However, most of them ignore the importance of cultural elements in the process of learning The only thing they care is the linguistic knowledge, not the context in which the language is used This leads to the fact that they usually have difficulty in communicating with people from other cultural backgrounds The lack of cultural knowledge sometimes causes cultural shocks in certain communicative situations From the TCFs embedded in the fable in English and Vietnamese, it can be said that fables are a good source to increase the knowledge of culture as well as language themselves To sum up, there are many typical cultural features (TCFs) embedded in the fables in English and Vietnamese Being aware of them, we find that a fable is not only a work of art, but it is also a source of cultural knowledge that helps bring people all over the world closer together 39 References Vietnamese Nguyễn Văn Độ (2004) Tìm hiểu mối liên hệ ngơn ngữ - văn hố Nxb Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội Nguyễn Xuân Kính (2003) Tổng tập văn học dân gian người Việt Tập 10 -Truyện ngụ ngôn Nhà xuất khoa học xã hội Trần Ngọc Thêm (1995) Cơ sở văn hoá Việt Nam Nxb Hồ Chí Minh Trần Quốc Vượng (1996) Văn hoá học đại cương sở văn hoá Việt nam Nxb Khoa học xã hội English Cohen L., Manion L., Morrison K (2007) Research Methods in Education Routledge Holliday H., Hyde M., Kullman J (2004) Intercommunication Routledge Hymes D (1964) Language in culture and society: A reader in linguistics and Anthropology University of Pennsylvania, pp 36, 455 – 461 Kramsch C (1998) Language and Culture Oxford University Press Lado R (1957) Linguistics across culture The university of Michigan Nguyen Q (2009) Cross-cultural communication (Handout) Hanoi, Vietnam Nguyen V D (2007) Language, culture and society (course package) Hanoi 40 Nunan D (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge University Press Risager K (2006) Language and culture: Global flow and local complexity Cromwell Press Ltd Great Britain Website: “Aesop’s fables” Retrieved on December 12,2009 from http://www.english-zone.com “Culture” Retrieved on December 23, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org “Fable” Retrieved on December 20, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org “Fable” Retrieved on January 27, 2010 from http://urbanlegends.about.com “Philosophy of life” Retrieved on December 26, 2009 from http: // www.swamikrishnananda.org “Philosophy” Retrieved on January 29, 2010 from http://Ditionary Reference.com “Philosophy of life” Retrieved on January 12, 2010 from http: //www.onu.edu.com “What is fable?”, David Emery Retrieved December 10, 2009 from http: //www About.com Guide I Appendix English fables The bear and the two travelers The farmer and the crane The farmer and his sons The father and his sons The Fox and the Goat The Hare and the Tortoise Hercules and the wagoner The hunter and the woodman The Lioness 10 The man and his wife 11 The raven and the swan 12 The salt merchant and his donkey 13 The shepherd and the wolf 14 The widow and the sheep 15 The wolf and the lamb II Vietnamese fables Cháy nhà Châu chấu đá voi Con chó chết đuối Con chó với gà Con voi trâu Con trâu ghen với chó Chuyện bó đũa Đẽo cày đường Ếch ngồi đáy giếng 10 Gà ông Đồ gà ơng Nghè 11 Gieo gió gặp bão 12 Hai vợ chồng người thầy bói 13 Người đường chó 14 Thầy bói xem voi 15 Trí khôn ... FEATURES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FABLES ABOUT PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC ĐẶC ĐIỂM VĂN H? ?A ĐIỂN HÌNH TRONG CÁC TRUYỆN NGỤ NGƠN TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT NĨI VỀ... Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life? What are the similarities of the typical cultural features in English and Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life? What are the differences of the typical. .. to answer question and 4: “What are the similarities of typical cultural features in English and Vietnamese fables about philosophy of life? /What are the differences of typical cultural features