Luận văn Thạc sĩ

1 Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1. Statement of the Problem English has now become an international language. The extent to which English has spread is truly marvelous. No other language, ancient and modern, has ever been so widely used. In fact, the use of English as language of business, computer, diplomacy and other fields continues to grow. It is not too exaggerated to say that if one can not speak and understand English, one will face several obstacles in interaction with foreigners and will certainly prevent himself from updating latest information on science, technology to enrich his knowledge as well. As a result, English, no doubt to say, is the most popular language in the world. There is, then, nothing strange in the fact that many people should wish to learn English. In learning and communicating process, non-native speakers of English can reach a point in their knowledge of the language where they feel comfortable with standard literary speech. They are, however, liable to get confused when they confront slangs- a linguistic modality confined to spoken language, has always been difficult to locate, to explain and to grasp as a unitary phenomenon. “Slang is a language which rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands- and goes to work” Carl Sandburg quotes. [46] Slang is full of vivid reality that almost any language has, whether wanted or not. The writer Victor Hugo took notice of using slangs in his work “Le dernier Jour d'un Condamne” (1828). He even devoted his entire volume VII in the fourth section of the massive popular novel “Les Miserable” (1861) to discuss the slang. These are identified by Victor Hugo: “…All profession, all business, any random social system and all the forms of intellectual have their own slangs. On the pure literary, slang can be studied much more interestingly than other sciences.” Slang is language deliberately selected for its striking informality and is consciously used in preference to proper speech (or, more rarely, writing). It usually originates in small social group. For these groups, it is a private code that embodies their particular values and behavior and reinforces their exclusivity. As a result, understanding and using slangs correctly and effectively is not an easy task. Sometimes, non-native speakers of English find it difficult to comprehend what is meant by English slangs as well as what structures the slangs belong to. Moreover, slangs denoting animals are various in the ways of expressing their meanings because, in some cases, we cannot understand some expressions by basing on their literal meanings. As a matter of fact that you frequently hear such slangs from animals in your daily life: (1) - “My God, he made a real dog’s breakfast of that presentation”. [28, p.131-132] (2) - “It feels so good to let my dogs out (of my shoes)”. (3) - “When that cute waitress started flirting with me, it was only a matter of time before my girl friend and her got into a cat fight” (4) [53] [53] - “Stop being a mouse potato, go outside and talk to some real guys” [53] (5) - “Angela: Instead of a beef hamburger, try a garden-burger. It’s got nuts and oats and is healthier for you. Brent: I don’t like bird food”. [53] Very often we understand every individual word in this sentence but still fail to grasp what the sentence is all about. Thus, if we not learn slangs in general and slangs containing words denoting animals in particular, we cannot understand their exact meanings. It means that it’s so difficult for us to master the deeply true and full meaning of such the phrase as dogs, dog’s breakfast, cat fight, mouse potato and bird food if you are not under the light of slang, especially slangs containing words denoting animals. In consequence, we lose interaction in communication because we cannot understand speakers’ intentions and opinions. Moreover, learning these kinds of slangs makes non-native learners of English understand and uses English more confidently, effectively and naturally. Hopefully, this research will enable us to understand the syntactic and semantic and cultural features of English slangs containing words denoting animals and use them in sensible as well as productive ways. Besides, learning such these slangs is one of the best ways to add to and develop our vocabulary. And with the respect to culture, language learners can get acquainted with the past and present social life of the people with its way of living, way of thinking and its traditions via slangs. Studying English slangs in general and slangs containing words denoting animals in particular helps teachers and learners of English to improve their understanding and helps them achieve their ultimate goal in better teaching, learning, speaking and translating English. For the above reasons, the topic “An Investigation into Syntactic, Semantic and Cultural Features of English Slangs Containing Words Denoting Animals” has been chosen for my MA thesis with the hope that it will contribute something valuable to the English teaching and learning field, along with communication and translation one. 1.2. Aims and Objectives 1.2.1. Aims: The aim of this thesis is to investigate some syntactic, semantic and cultural characteristics of English slangs containing words denoting animals. To be equipped with the knowledge of syntactic and semantic and cultural characteristics of slangs containing words denoting animals, non-native learners of English in general and Vietnamese learners of English in particular will be able to handle and understand such interesting and popular group of English slangs containing words denoting animals effectively and completely. Also, it is possible for the learners to gain a better insight into various cultural aspects of the people speaking the language that they are learning. They can, to some extent, see the interest and the beauty of language. 1.2.2. Objectives This paper has been designed to aim at the following objectives: ™ to investigate syntactic, semantic and cultural features of English slangs containing words denoting animals ™ to discover typical cultural characteristics of English slangs containing words denoting animals which enable to affect the effective interpretation and communication of non-native learners of English ™ to provide non-native learners of English with a basic knowledge of the field to enable them to understand, use slangs containing words denoting animals in listening, speaking, and in translating effectively and naturally. ™ to suggest some implications for teaching and learning activities, translation as well as communication. 1.3. Significance of the Study Through an investigation of syntactic, semantic and cultural features of English slangs containing words denoting animals, the study intends to help non-native learners of English have an insight about slangs in general and slangs containing words denoting animals in particular. Non-native learner of English, whereby, will be able to feel more confident of communicating and translating. Furthermore, hopefully, what can be inferred through this thesis will probably be a useful contribution to learning and teaching slangs. 1.4. Research Questions To achieve the objectives, the study tries to answer the following questions: 1. What are syntactic and semantic features of English slangs containing words denoting animals? 2. What are cultural features of English slangs containing words denoting animals and their influence to non-native learners of English? 3. What are some suggestions for teaching and learning English as well as translating and communicating? 1.5. Scope of the Study This study has been restricted to English slangs containing words denoting animals. Its author did not have much ambition to cover all kinds of English slangs, which seemed to be impossible due to deficiency in knowledge, ability and time. On account of reference constraints, in this study I just tried to narrow down to syntactic, semantic and cultural features, not all the aspects that I intend to deal with for future research, of slangs containing words denoting animals. Within the scope of this thesis, the examination of slangs containing words denoting animals was mainly collected from dictionaries. However, many other slangs also come from the prose or in literature and because it is easier for us to understand slangs in contexts. 1.6. Definition of Terms Every language has its own slangs. Slangs help us communicate each other more plentifully and effectively. Therefore, slangs have been attracting many researchers to investigate and view them from various angles. So, what does slang mean? Different researchers have different definitions of slangs. In Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia [35], slang is defined as “the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language…It is also used to identify with one's peers”. According to Yule [30, p. 211], he defines slang in his work- The Study of Language as following “slang describes words or phrases that are used instead of more everyday terms among younger speakers and other groups with special interests”. In The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English by E. Partridge and P. Beale [23], slang is “a peculiar kind of vagabond language, always hanging on the outskirts of legitimate speech, but continually straying or forcing its way into the most respectable company”. As noted by Dalzell and Victor (2008: xv), “slang is easy enough to use, but very hard to write about with the facile convincingness that a subject apparently so simple would, at first sight, seem to demand”. “Slang is a language which rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands- and goes to work” Carl Sandburg- an American poet once described. [46] As to Chesterton G.K, he referred to slang as “the one stream of poetry which is constantly flowing”. [13, p. 61] In the definition of Online Oxford Dictionary from the website: http://oxforddictionaries.com, slang is “a type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people”. Another definition of slang is that slang is “words or expressions that are very informal and are not considered appropriate for more formal situations. Some slang is used only by a particular group of people” in Macmillan English Dictionary For Advanced Learners of American English. [19, p.354] Slang is “very informal, sometimes offensive, language that is used especially by people who belong to a particular group, such as young people or criminals” according to The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online in the website: http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/slang 1.7. Organization of the Research This paper has been divided into five chapters: Chapter 1, Introduction, consists of statement of the problem, aims and objectives, significance of the study, research questions, scope of the study, definition of terms and also organization of the study. Chapter 2, Literature review and theoretical background, reviews the previous researches related to the field. Moreover, this is an introductory chapter to theoretical preliminaries concerning the subject under consideration which serve as the basic foundation of data analysis and findings discussed in the following chapter. Chapter 3, Methods and procedures, raises the research methodology and procedures for carrying out the study. Chapter 4, Results and discussion, describes some characteristics of syntax, semantic fields and culture of English slang containing words denoting animals. Chapter 5, Conclusions and implications, gives brief conclusions of the study based on the results of the previous chapter. Also, the chapter suggests some implications for teaching and learning English slang, as well as translating and communicating. Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW & THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1. Review of Previous Study Up to now, slangs have been a growing interest of researchers. In fact, slang has become a subject of study by several British, American… and even Vietnamese writers and linguists. In “An Introduction to English Slang” (2008) by Elisa Mattiello, slang was fully described in terms of features of its morphology, semantics and sociology. A study of how to speak and understand American slang and how slang used in popular American television shows was carried out by David Burke in two works “Street talk 1” (2001) and “Street Talk 2” (2001). Eric Partridge examined slangs under different approach. He discussed the sketch of the history of English slang and investigated slangs in some particular aspects such as journalism, art, medicine, etc. in “Slang To-Day and Yesterday” (2007). “The Oxford Dictionary of Slang” (1998) by John Ayto is a good dictionary of slang. It is a collection of slangs which are arranged in a particular area of activity or concept. In addition, there are some other dictionaries of slang like: “Dictionary of Contemporary Slang” (2007) by Tony Thorne, “The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English” (2008) E. Partridge and P. Beale, “Mc Graw-Hill’s Super-mini American Slang Dictionary” (2007), “Mc Graw-Hill’s Essential American Slang Dictionary” (2000) and “NTC’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions” (2007) by Richard Spears, etc. Besides above-mentioned works, it’s to blame if we forget to talk about the following other remarkable ones. As we know that slang is a language that touches such every field and profession in society as “Cop Talk” by Lewis 10 Poteet and Aaron C. Poteet (2000)- a dictionary of police slang, “Military Slang” by Lee Pemberton (2006)- a collection of slang in army, “Public school Slang” by Morris Marples (1940)- a work of slang used at school, “Cowboy Slang” by Frosty Potter and Edgar F. Potter (1986)- the colorful, humorous lingo of the American West captured here in 2000 phrases and expressions. In Vietnamese, up to now, some authors have paid attention to slang. In “Từ Điển Tiếng Lóng Thành Ngữ Thông Tục Mỹ-Viêt” (2006) by Bùi Phụng, it is a useful collection of American-Vietnamese slangs and colloquial expressions. Besides, there are some valuable materials about slang as “Sổ Tay Từ-Ngữ Lóng Tiếng Việt” (2008) by Đoàn Tử Huyến & Lê Thị Yến , “Tiếng Lóng Việt Nam” (2001) by Nguyễn Văn Khang and “Tiếng Lóng Giao Thông Vận Tải” by Chu Thị Thanh Tâm (1998). As to Phạm Hoài Anh, “The Use of and the Attitudes toward Slang Expressing Surprise and Disbelief among Young Americans” really draws her attention in doing a research as M.A linguistics thesis (2010) at the College of Foreign Languages, the University of Ha Noi. At the College of Foreign Languages, the University of Da Nang, there have been quite few of MA theses dealing with English slang. Tạ Thị Mười’s MA thesis with the title is “An Investigation into Linguistic Features of English Originated Slangs Used by Vietnamese Young People in Present-Day Life”. Although some various aspects of slangs have been investigated, up to now, no concern has been paid to slangs containing words denoting animals. This is reason why “An Investigation into Syntactic, Semantic and Cultural Features of English Slangs Containing Words Denoting 79 Chapter CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The ultimate goal of this study was to show the syntactic, semantic and cultural features of English slangs containing words denoting animals in order to find out the various meanings, aspects of cultures as well as constructions possessed by slangs from animals. Therefore, from what has been analyzed and presented in the foregoing chapters about the syntactic, semantic and cultural features of English slangs containing words denoting animals, I would like to draw some conclusions and implications for the language teaching and learning, as well as for the communicating and translating English slangs from animals. 5.1. Conclusion In terms of syntactic characteristics, English slangs containing words denoting animals consist of structures: NP, VP, AdjP, PreP, PartP and Clause. However, the quantity of these structures is not clearly equal. It is said that English slangs from animals having phrase patterns are the commonest and most of them are constituted under the form of noun phrase and verb phrase; especially noun phrase. English slangs containing words denoting animals can be the following structures: 1. Noun phrase + Pre-modified noun phrase - A possessive - Unfilled determiner - Adjective phrase - Pre-modifying noun 80 + Post-modified noun phrase - Participle/infinitive phrase - Prepositional phrase + Two noun phrase combined by conjunction “and” 2. Verb phrase + Verb phrases that have slangs from animals used as noun and prepositional phrase - Transitive verb + direct object - Intransitive verb + adjunct - Linking verb + subject complement + Verb phrases that have slangs from animals used as verbs 3. Adjective phrase 4. Prepositional phrase 5. Participle phrase 6. Clause + Subordinate clause + Main clause In terms of semantic characteristics, slangs containing words denoting animals are showed in most of aspects and fields of daily life. The number of vocabulary in 12 domains, in generally, is relatively equal. However, one use of slang is to circumvent social taboos, as mainstream language tends to shy away from evoking certain realities. For this reason, slang vocabularies are particularly rich in certain domains, such as violence, crime, drugs, sex, attitudes and emotions. 81 Below are some of the semantic fields of slangs from animals that have been discovered: 1. The body and its functions - Illness/physique - Parts of the body/ bodily functions 2. People and society - People/group - Sex/sexual orientation - Crime/prison - Police/military/maritime/air-force 3. Animals 4. Sustenance and intoxication - Tobacco/alcohol/drugs - Eating/drinking 5. Articles and substances - Tools/ implements/containers - Clothing/accessories 6. Money, commerce and employment - Money - Work/Business/commerce 7. Behavior, attitudes and emotions - Good/positive/suitable - Bad/negative/unsuitable 82 8. Thought and communication - Thought - Communication/education 9. The arts, entertainment and the media - Cards/gambling - Sports/performance 10. Time and temperature 11. Location and movement - Places - Movement/vehicles 12. Abstract qualities and states - Bad qualities/states - Good qualities/states In terms of cultural characteristics, in this study, a list of cultural characteristics of 39 kinds of animals from English has been explored. It is not difficult to realize that most of the animals symbolize for more than one specific characteristic, just a few reflect only one cultural feature. The survey on cultural characteristics is based on three main groups of animals: familiar animals, wild animals and insects. The study shows the relationship between animals and people’s life by means of the figurative meanings through animals’ images. It is clearly showed that in certain cultures, slangs from animals will display different cultural features. The most familiarity is familiar animals which are observed and described by more specific situations in slangs than 83 others. As a feature of slang, most of slangs from animals are used to symbolize the bad, the social aspects of life people shy to talk about. 5.2. Implications 5.2.1. Implications for teaching and learning English slangs a) In teaching “Without Slang and Idioms, Students are in the Dark!” [43] by David Burke Slang is realia and authentic and should therefore be taught to students who want to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the English language as spoken by native English speakers. Many English language learners often express frustration at not being able to follow the slang, jargon, colloquialisms and idioms ubiquitous in the conversations of native English speakers. Therefore, logically, it seems, an attempt should be made to introduce students to some of the more common slang expressions used by native English speakers. Here are the following suggestions of teaching slangs at school. + Suggestion 1: - Presentation 1. Start with a natural dialogue that contains no more than twelve slang words. 2. Based on the context of each phrase, allow the students to guess what each slang term means. 3. To really lock in the meaning, it is fun to go around the classroom and have each student use. - Real speak 84 Unanimously, teachers and students absolutely love going back through the dialogues using common reductions. Learning the slangs without this step leaves the students at a loss when they hear native English speakers. After slangs are presented, understood and practiced with reductions, a variety of reinforcement activities can make the meaning stick. Whole class activities as well as pair work can be successful for reinforcing a lesson. [48] + Suggestion 2: First define slang for students in a broad way using multiple nondictionary sources, since the dictionaries are too brief on the subject of slang, except perhaps in the front matter, and explanations of what slang is vary greatly. Then choose a couple of slang words that are homographs, homophones, or polysemies of other, regular words. "Cool" is always a good one. Talk about how the slang meanings vary from the Standard English ones, about how words change over time, and how we have different registers of English. [41] + Suggestion 3: Another way to teach about slang is to have your students keep a slang journal for a few weeks. They would record the slang word, where and when they heard it or read it, what they think it means, what it reminds them of (other words? a place? an older generation? a pastime?), and why they think it's slang. Then, at the end, you can compile all the journals so that all the students have a copy, and they're usually pretty happy about that. + Suggestion 4: Advisably, each activity of a lesson plan for teaching slangs should have the following main components. [42] 1. Warming Up 85 A question or statement to get you to share your ideas based on your background knowledge of the topic and language structures 2. Relaxed Speech A short tip on understand reduced speech. Native speakers often reduce or contract their speech in quick or informal situations. Although using such speech isn't appropriate in all situations, learning to recognize it is critical in improving listening comprehension skills. 3. Listening in Context A conversation using the target slang and expressions in context with key vocabulary explained. 4. Catching the Gist Multiple-choice questions to check understanding of the expressions used in the conversation 5. Filling in the Meaning A short dictation exercise based on an interview, helping students focus on accuracy and spelling 6. Retelling the Story Students retell one or both of the recordings they hear in their own words, focusing on specific use of the key expressions 7. Expanding Your Learning Activities for students to practice using the slang they have learned in more extemporaneous (or unrehearsed) situations + Suggestion 5: This lesson offers a variety of activities based on informal language and modern British slang. 86 - Task is a warm up activity that invites students to guess the correct definition of slang and introduces the topic. - Task is a matching activity which looks at slang in song lyrics. - Task practices the words and expressions from Task 2. In - Task the students skim read the text about modern British slang to get a general idea of content. - Task helps students with vocabulary from the text before they the comprehension activities in Task 6. - The students complete (and can extend) dialogues in pairs in Task as a further comprehension check and speaking practice. - The students have an opportunity to give their opinions in groups in the discussion activity in Task 8. [50] + Suggestion 6: It is a good way to teach students slangs by means of watching films. Here are efficient steps. - Ask students whether they have problems understanding conversations in British and American movies. - Brainstorm the reasons why they may have difficulty fully understanding native speakers’ language. - Explain that slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers’ language. - Give examples of slang language for students to study in groups. - Students a matching exercise to get explanation of slang vocabulary items in the examples given earlier. [36] + Suggestion 7: Slang Concentration Game 87 Students responded to this one with wild enthusiasm. The teacher divides the class into two teams. In front of the classroom, the teacher posts 36 cards in six rows of six. The cards are all clearly numbered through 36. Half of the cards have slang words written on the back while the other half has the meanings. The goal is to match a slang word with its meaning. With only one student choosing at a time, the teams take turns trying to choose two cards that match. When a match is made, the person who made the correct match must use that term in a complete sentence. If that person cannot, a person from the other team gets to try. Whichever team gets the correct answer gets a point. b) In learning In this study, some suggestions are set with the purpose of learning slangs efficiently. - The best way to learn slang is to find a native speaker to teach it to you. Make a friend at school or on the internet. You can learn a lot of up-todate slangs while you are talking to them, writing letters or chatting on the internet. - English from movies and TV is much more like the real spoken English used between native speakers. Unfortunately, most English textbooks not like to teach this kind of slang. Sometimes the slang is vulgar and crude but we still need to learn it because it is a real part of spoken English life. - The internet is probably our most valuable tool in today's society to inform oneself on any matter. Websites such as YouTube, with its phenomenal popularity, can have you hearing the tone in the speaker's voice and understanding the meaning while seeing the reference that is being made. 88 - Besides, it is no surprise if you learn slangs from a book or dictionary. Books are a great tool to utilize after already learning words for which you'd like more clarification. In addition, having fun, you can play such word game as Hangman to learn expressions, slang, proverbs, idioms and more. - Last, and most importantly, remember to use what you've learned. Part of language learning is sacrificing shyness to better your own development. People might laugh at some of what you say, but that's okay because we learn to improve through addressing our mistakes. 5.2.2. Implications for communicating and translating English slangs containing words denoting animals As a kind of informal language, slang plays an important role in social and cultural communication. Once it was called “vulgar language” and “language pollution” by the last generation, but with its increasing popularity, practical value and its characteristics, such as its concise, vivid and lively language features, it is now an accepted form of spoken language with significant social functions, and is widely accepted by an increasing number of people, as well as widely used in all walks of life. For English language learners it is necessary to have some general knowledge of slang, especially slangs from animals which are different because of different culture; and its usage on different occasions. The study of slang will surely assist in our communication with the English and understanding of the changing and developing language, culture and society. If people don’t know how to use it, which will make a lot of trouble to our daily life, study and work. Don't use things that would only make sense in your culture. Slang from animals, as you know, is words that represent something else. The 89 meanings of slang not show on the meaning of the words only, not on literal meanings, but it has figurative meanings. So keep all of that private language, the things that you say to the people around you that understand exactly what you're talking about, your made-up languages, your slangs, keep that out of conversations with people from other cultures. Appropriately using slang terms can be very challenging, and when such terms are used inappropriately it can lead to miscommunication. It is also important to note that some slang terms, even when used “correctly,” are offensive. Generally speaking, slang terms should not be used in formal or professional communications such as job interview. The best way to learn and master these terms is in conversation with peers or with people in an informal environment. Good communication requires not just a common language and an intent to communicate, but the communicants must both agree on the meaning of the words they are using. This can be a difficulty with slang that is new and constantly evolving. Remember that once slang is used, the speaker and the hearer must have the same image or meaning of that slang. If we both have different meanings in mind for our new slang, then it will be a barrier to effective communication. 5.3. Limitations and suggestions for further research In this study, the subject is narrowed down to the small part of syntactic, semantic and cultural features of English slangs containing words denoting animals due to the shortage of time and source of reference materials. 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(2008), The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Routledge, London and New York 24. Phạm Thị Tố Như (1998), A Study of some Characteristics of Structure, Meaning and Culture of English Idioms about Animals, M.A. Thesis, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 25. Spears R.A (2007), Mc Graw-Hill’s essential American slang dictionary, 2nd edition, Mac Graw Hill 26. Spears R.A. (2000), NTC’s dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions, 3rd edition, NTC publishing group 27. Spears R.A. (2007), Mc Graw-Hill’s super-mini American slang dictionary, 2nd edition, Mac Graw Hill 28. Thorne T. (2007), Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, A& C Black Publishers Ltd, London 29. Tô Minh Thanh (2005), English Syntax- Tài Liệu Ôn Thi Tuyển Sinh Sau Đại Học Chuyên Ngành Giảng Dạy Tiếng Anh, Đại Học Quốc Gia Tp HCM 30. Yule G. (2006), The Study of Language, 3rd edition, Cambridge University Press Websites: 31. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependent_clause 32. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_compound 33. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_clause 34. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepositional_phrase 35. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slang 36. http://myenglishpages.com/blog/standard-slang-lesson-plan-3 94 37. http://news.goonline.vn/616-7944/chuyen-dong/tieng-long-sao-goila-long.htm 38. http://onlineslangdictionary.com/ 39. http://oxforddictionaries.com 40. http://share-book.com/ebook/giao-duc-giao-khoa/sach-hoc-ngoaingu/english-slang-dictionary-tu-dien-tu-long-tieng-anh/ 41. http://www.eslhq.com/forums/esl-forums/esl-amesactivities/slangyslang-slang-4604/ 42. http://www.ezslang.com/design.htm 43. http://www.getesljobs.com/newsroom_detail.asp?newsid=12 44. http://www.howtodothings.com/education/how-to-learn-englishslang 45. http://www.howtodothings.com/education/how-to-learn-koreanslang 46. http://www.iwise.com/jXMIe 47. http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/slang 48. http://www.learnfaster.org/English/ESL_EFL_Teaching_Notes/Engl ish%20Teaching%20Tip%206%2020How%20Do%20You%20Teach% 20Slang%20and%20Idioms.html 49. http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/Hangman.asp 50. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/essentialuk/slang-how-do-young-brits-speak 51. http://www.tht-japan.org/proceedings/2009/56-64_j_lieb.pdf 52. www.linguistics.ucla.edu/publications/opl_12.pdf 53. www.slangsite.com 54. www.urbandictionary.com [...]... linguistic introduction-workbook by Brinton L.J (2000), Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication by Akmajian A., Demers R.A., Farmer A.K., Harnish R.M (2001), Tiếng Lóng Việt Nam by Nguyễn Văn Khang 32 (2001), Sổ Tay Từ-Ngữ Lóng Tiếng Việt by Đoàn Tử Huyến & Lê Thị Yến (2008) To build up a corpus of analysis, I tirelessly looked up slangs containing words denoting animals in a lot of books . Tiếng Việt” (2008) by Đoàn Tử Huyến & Lê Thị Yến , “Tiếng Lóng Việt Nam” (2001) by Nguyễn Văn Khang and “Tiếng Lóng trong Giao Thông Vận Tải” by Chu Thị Thanh Tâm (1998). As to Phạm Hoài