An analysis of lexical cohesive devices in Aesop's fables

Chuyên ngành: English Linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15 Người hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thúy Hương- MA Năm bảo vệ: 2010 Abstract: This thesis paper investigates the lexical cohesive devices used i

An analysis of lexical cohesive devices in

Aesop's fables Đoàn Thị Hồng Thanh

Trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ Luận văn ThS Chuyên ngành: English Linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15

Người hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thúy Hương- MA

Năm bảo vệ: 2010

Abstract: This thesis paper investigates the lexical cohesive devices used in the English

version of Aesop’s fables translated by Laura Gibbs in 2002 In this study, the theoretical knowledge of discourse, cohesion and fable as a genre of discourse is offered Some of the previous studies on the similar issue are also reviewed briefly for reference The data for analysis

is from twenty five of Aesop’s fables that are chosen randomly from the collection of World’s Classics In the first place, the number of occurrence of each lexical cohesive device is counted

to find out their frequency in each fable After analyzing the data, the figures are presented to reveal the contribution of the lexical cohesive device in the construction of a fable Based on the findings, some implications for English language teaching are proposed It is hoped that the study will be useful for teachers who wish to use fables as a source of authentic materials in language, especially for students of elementary level

Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Truyện ngụ ngôn; Phương tiện liên kết; Từ vựng

Content:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

5 Organization of the study 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: Theoretical background 4

1.1.1 Definition of discourse 4 1.1.2 Discourse versus Text 5 1.1.3 Discourse analysis 6

1.2.1 The concept of cohesion 10

1.2.2 Cohesion versus Coherence 11 1.2.3 Cohesion and discourse structure 12 1.2.4 Types of cohesion 12 1.2.4.1 Grammatical cohesion 13 1.2.4.2 Lexical cohesion 14 1.3 The narrative structure 15 1.4 Fables and its properties 16 1.4.1 Definition of fables 16 1.4.2 General characteristics of a fable 17 1.4.3 Generic structure of a fable 18

1.5 Introduction about Aesop and Aesop’s fables 19

Chapter 2: Previous studies on lexical cohesive devices 21

Chapter 3: Lexical cohesive devices in the English version of Aesop’s fables 23

3.1.2 Synonyms and near synonyms 27

3.2.1 Lexical collocation 30 3.2.2 Grammatical collocation 32 3.3 Some concluding remarks 34

PART 3: CONCLUSION

4 Suggestions for further studies 38

APPENDIXES

Appendix 1: 25 chosen Aesop’s fables for analysis of lexical cohesive devices

Appendix 2: Number of occurrence of lexical cohesive devices in 25 chosen Aesop’s fables for analysis

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

The concept of discourse analysis was first studied in the late 1970s and 1980s from different aspects and views of linguists It has been paid much attention to by linguists since its appearance Halliday and Hasan (1976) put the emphasis on the social functions of language Schegloff, and Gail Jefferson (1974), whose exemplary study of turn-taking in ordinary conversation made a first seminal contribution to the understanding of the sequential organization of interaction Then the concept continued to attract the attention of the late twentieth century’s linguists such as Cook (1989), Hatim and Mason (1990), Swales (1990), Simpson (1997), etc Through linguistic history, discourse analysis is found important in providing insights into various aspects of language in use and therefore of great value to language teaching In reality, traditional language teaching seems to deal merely with

pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary of a language whereas the ability to produce a grammatically correct sentence is not sufficient to use a language for powerful communication Discourse analysis came into being to put such knowledge of language into action for communicating more successfully

Cohesion and coherence, as sub-concepts of discourse analysis are greatly essential in discourse construction and comprehension for communication It is believed that the linguistic features of great importance and interest are those of generic structure and cohesion The belief comes from the fact that these two factors make influential contribution

in defining a genre of discourse As a component of cohesion, lexical cohesion is therefore worth being investigated

Fable which is defined as “a traditional short story that teaches moral lessons, especially one with animals as characters” ( Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2000: 470) is a genre of discourse Of all the great authors of fables, Aesop is the earliest and best known His short and simple fables own their typical features distinguished from other genres

of discourse such as an article or a speech Apart from its contribution to discourse as a genre, fables are considered the valuable authentic materials that play a very important part in students’ cultural enrichment, language enrichment as well as personal involvement In language teaching, they represent great potentials for learners, especially learners at the elementary level Short and simple as fables are, they consequently seem to be the most suitable authentic material for students’ language proficiency at low level in rural areas For all these reasons, this research is carried out with the hope that an analysis of lexical cohesion devices in Aesop’s fables is helpful for the application of fables in English teaching and learning in Vietnam

2 Aims of the study

The research is intended to explore lexical cohesive devices as one discourse feature

in Aesop’s fables To be more specific, it aims at:

 Identifying lexical cohesive devices used in Aesop’s fables

 Realizing the role and contribution of lexical cohesive devices in constructing

a fable

3 Scope of the study

The concept of cohesion is large This study only focuses on the lexical cohesive devices and explores the process in which coherence is achieved in the formal written genre

of fables Short and simple fables of Aesop are studied to work out typical lexical cohesive devices used in such genre of discourse Data analyzed in the study is taken from 25 of Aesop’s fables chosen at random that were translated into English by Laura Gibbs for World’s Classics in 2002

4 Methods of the study

To attain the aim of the study, the research is conducted in the following steps:

First, data necessary for the study are collected Relevant theories are read and extracted from books of great linguists such as Halliday and Hasan (1976), Cook (1989), Brown and Yule ( 1983), Hatim and Mason ( 1990), Swales (1990) Aesop’s fables are also collected to serve the purpose of analyzing lexical cohesive devices used

Second, a framework of lexical cohesive devices is set up in order to find out the defining characteristics of fables as a genre of discourse This is done on the ground of several linguists’ relevant theories and their viewpoints

Third, three previous studies on lexical cohesive devices used in other genres of discourse are reviewed for comparison with the use of lexical cohesive devices in fables

Then, 25 selected fables are analyzed in terms of lexical cohesive devices: reiteration and collocations All the 25 fables are comprehensively analyzed to identify the lexical cohesive devices used; their frequencies of occurrence are counted to make out the significance level of each device to fables

Last, some conclusions are drawn based on the data analysis and some implications for English teaching at elementary level are also proposed

The study is approached in both inductive and deductive ways; the three successive methods chosen for the study can be named as descriptive, analytical and comparative

5 Organization of the study

The study is composed of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion The Introduction part presents the rationale, the aims, the scope, methods and organization of the study

The Developments part consists of three chapters:

Chapter 1 discusses the theoretical background related to discourse analysis The concepts of

discourse and discourse analysis, the concept of genre and the distinction between genre and

register are made clear The theoretical knowledge of cohesion and fables are also mentioned

in this chapter

Chapter 2 reviews some previous studies on similar issue

Chapter 3 focuses on the analysis of lexical cohesive devices employed in Aesop’s fables

The conclusion part reviews the study and ends it with some findings, implications for teaching and learning, and suggestions for further studies

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