A study on the syntactic and semantic features of the english verbs “look”, “see”, “watch” with reference to their vietnamese equivalents

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A study on the syntactic and semantic features of the english verbs “look”, “see”, “watch” with reference to their vietnamese equivalents

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY M.A THESIS A STUDY ON THE SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH VERBS “LOOK”, “SEE”, “WATCH” WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU ĐẶC ĐIỂM CÚ PHÁP VÀ NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA CÁC ĐỘNG TỪ “LOOK”, “SEE”, “WATCH” TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ SỰ TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TIẾNG VIỆT ) ĐỖ THỊ TOAN Hanoi, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY - - M.A THESIS A STUDY ON THE SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH VERBS “LOOK”, “SEE”, “WATCH” WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU ĐẶC ĐIỂM CÚ PHÁP VÀ NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA CÁC ĐỘNG TỪ “LOOK”, “SEE”, “WATCH” TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ SỰ TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TIẾNG VIỆT ) ĐỖ THỊ TOAN Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Dang Ngoc Huong, Ph.D Hanoi, 2016 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled “A study on the syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs “look”, “see”, “watch” with reference to their Vietnamese equivalents” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2016 Do Thi Toan Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Dang Ngoc Huong, Ph.D Date:10/12/2016 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First of all, I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Dr Dang Ngoc Huong , who has patiently supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher A special word of thanks goes to many other lecturers, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my lover for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work ii ABSTRACT Among the most popular English words being used currently worldwide, the verbs look, see, watch have been , without a doubt , given great attention by linguists so far Therefore, an initial investigation into syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs look, see, watch with reference to their Vietnamese equivalents would provide valuable experience to further studies of linguistics in general and teaching them for students at Nguyen Du secondary school in particular Numerous examples have been analyzed cautiously by applying qualitative approach and some other ones so as to achieve the set objectives iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS E.g For example i.e That is S Subject O Object V Verb A Adverbial C Complement N Noun NP Noun phrase Prep Preposition p Page = Equal to / the same as sb somebody sth something EFL English as a foreign language iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v Chapter1 INTRODUCTION 1.1.Rationale for the research 1.2.Aims of the research 1.3.Objectives of the research 1.4 Scope of the research 1.5 Significance of the research 1.6.Structural organization of the thesis Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.Review of previous studies 2.2.Review of theoretical background 2.2.1 Theoretical framework 2.2.1.1 Theory of syntax 2.2.1.2 Theory of semantics 2.2.2 Theoretical Background 10 2.2.2.1.Definition of a verb 10 2.2.2.2.Collocation .11 2.2.2.3.Synonyms 13 2.2.2.4 Definition of perception verbs 13 2.2.2.5 Syntactic features of perception verbs in English 13 2.2.2.6 Semantic features of perception verbs in English 14 2.3.Summary 15 Chapter METHODOLOGY 16 v 3.1.Research-governing orientations 16 3.1.1.Research questions 16 3.1.2 Research setting 16 3.1.3.Research approach 17 3.1.4.Principles for intended data collection and data analysis 17 3.2.Research methods 18 3.2.1 Major methods vs supporting methods 18 3.2.2.Data Collection techniques 19 3.3.Summary 19 Chapter 4.FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 20 4.1.Syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs Look, See, Watch 20 4.1.1.Syntactic features of the English verbs Look, See, Watch 20 4.1.1.1.Syntactic features of the verb “look” 20 4.1.2 Semantic features of English verbs look, see, watch 28 4.1.2.1 Semantic features of the verb “look” 28 4.1.2.2 Semantic features of the verb “see” 29 4.1.2.3 Semantic features of the verb “watch” 32 4.2.The English verbs look , see and watch and their Vietnamese equivalents 33 4.2.1.Semantic differences among see, look (at), watch 33 4.2.2.The differences between see, look, and watch in English and Vietnamese 35 4.3 Some possible implications for teaching and learning the English verbs look, see, watch 37 4.3.1.Some possible implications for learning the English verbs look, see, watch 38 4.3.2.Some possible implications for teaching the English verbs look, see, watch 44 4.4.Summary 45 vi Chapter CONCLUSION 46 5.1.Recapitulation 46 5.2.Concluding marks 46 5.3.Limitations of the current study 47 5.4.Suggestions for further studies 47 REFERENCES 48 APPENDICES 51 APPENDIX 51 APPENDIX 52 APPENDIX 53 APPENDIX 56 APPENDIX 60 vii Chapter1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the research Vocabulary in general plays an important role in any language as we cannot communicate without words British linguist Wilkins (1972:111) once stated “without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” There is a common assumption that the more words a learner knows, the larger the learner’s vocabulary knowledge is However, words are not used alone and separately but go with each other and depend on each other Words are combined into phrases There are free phrases and fixed phrases The latter often confuse learners because there are not any fixed rules for all the combinations Englishas-a-second-language learners often have difficulties treating fixed phrases in their learning process That is why many learners cannot communicate fluently although they know a lot of words Therefore, the possible combinations of words or collocations have to be taken into consideration Among verbs of English, we find that the verbs look, see, watch are quite frequently used These verbs can occur in different syntactic patterns that reflect various meanings in real-life communication They can occur in the same syntactic patterns, but may have different meanings depending on the situation in which they are used As a teacher of English at Nguyen Du secondary school, I found that my learners have faced many problems when they use this group of verbs They often feel confused to choose the right verb and make errors in using them Therefore, I have carried out a study to find out how to use these verbs accurately and correctly from the analysis of their syntactic and semantic features with reference to their equivalents in Vietnamese That is why the subject : “A study on the syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs “look”, “see”, “watch” with reference to their Vietnamese equivalents” is chosen to study for the thesis We hope to figures out that is words are learned separately and no chunks, collocations or free combinations are analyzed cautiously, students will never reach the proficiently levels of native speakers in using the language 5.3 Limitations of the current study First of all, there are still some more aspects of the syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs look, watch, see and their Vietnamese equivalents to be investigated, however, within the scope of this study, simply syntactic and semantic features of them are paid attention significantly The author expects that other researchers might look at these aspects later Another drawback is that the number of selective examples gathered and analyzed is limited, causing the insufficiency in findings towards semantic and syntactic features If there would be more time and efforts, the author believes that the results would reach a higher level and might contribute more greatly There would be more meanings and collocations to be found if more examples are gathered and analyzed Finally, the limited knowledge of the author’s might affect the findings and conclusion, therefore, readers’ comments will be of great significance to the author This study might be updated or some other studies should also be conducted in the future 5.4 Suggestions for further studies It is true that the study has been merely concerned with syntactic and semantic features of English verbs look, see, watch with reference to their Vietnamese equivalents There are still more aspects that should be also taken into consideration As a result, the author hopes that his suggestions below will be highly useful for other researchers Firstly, other studies about pragmatic, grammatical features of English collocations with the verbs look, see, watch with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents should be conducted as well Secondly, A study of the verbs look, see, watch in English and their Vietnamese equivalents from the point of view of speech act verbs 47 REFERENCES Allerton, D J (1979) Essentials of Grammatical Theory Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd Betty Schrampfer Azar Understanding and using English grammar Prentice Hall Regents Biber D et al (1999), Longman Grammar of spoken and written English, Longman Bolinger D (1975), Aspects of Language, Harcourt Brave Jovanovich Inc Press Cruse, D.A (2004) Meaning in Language An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics, Oxford University Press Cruse D.A (1986), Lexical Semantics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Gairns R & Redman S (1986), Working with words: A guide to teaching and learning vocabulary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Halliday M.A.K (1966), Lexis as a linguistic level, w C.E Bazell, J.C Catford, M.A.K Halliday & R.H Robins (Eds.), In memory of J.R Firth (148-162), London: Longman Halliday M.A.K (2004), An introduction to Functional Grammar, Hodder Arnold 10.Hurford, J R and Heasley B (1983) Semantics: A Course Book London, Cambridge University Press 11.Heid, U et al (1996) A lexicographic and formal description of the lexical classes of perception and speech act verbs Deliverable D-III-1 of DELIS Draft 12.Nguyen Hoa (2004) Understanding English Semantics Hanoi National University of Vietnam Publishing House 48 13.Nguyen Hoa (2002) An Introduction to Discourse Analysis Hanoi National University of Vietnam Publishing House 14.Murphy, R (1994) English Grammar in Use Cambridge University Press 15.McCarthy M (1990), Vocabulary, Oxford: Oxford University Press 16.McCarthy M & O’Dell F (2005), English collocations in use, Cambridge University Press 17.PGS.TS Tran Huu Manh (2008) Fundamentals of English traditional syntax, Ha Noi national university publication 18.Noam Chomsky (1964) Chomsky Theory of syntax, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology 19.Nguyen Van Phuoc, Le Ngoc Phuong Anh (1995) The “right wrong word Từ đúng, từ sai”, Ho Chi Minh publication 20.Palmer F.R (1965), The English Verb, London: Longman Group Limited 21.Quirk R et al (1972), A Grammar of Contemporary English, Essex: Longman 22.Randolph Quirk, Sydney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik (1985).A comprehensive grammar of the English language Index by David Crystal 23.Richard, Jack, Platt, John & Weber, Heidi (1987).Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics Longman Group UK Limited 24.Richards J.C et al (1992), Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, Longman Press, Malaysia 25.James, C (1980) Contrastive Analysis Longman Group Ltd, Colchester 26.Jeffries, L (1998) Meaning in English: An introduction to Language Study Macmillan Press LTD 27.Jackson, H (1988) Words and Their Meaning Longman: London and New York 49 Dictionaries 1./28 Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary, 1994, Harper, Collins Publishers 2./29 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman Group Ltd., 2003 3.30.The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2003), Oxford University Press 4/31.Hornby A.S (1995), Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current English, Oxford: Oxford University Press 5/32.Runcie M (2002), Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English, Oxford University Press 6/33 The Oxford dictionary of current English (1995)- English and Vietnamese dictionary- Từ điển Anh-Việt, by the world publication , 7/34 According to Dang Chan Lieu, Le Kha Ke, Pham Duy Trong (2001) “ Từ điển Việt-Anh ; Vietnamese- English dictionary” Ho Chi Minh publication 50 APPENDICES APPENDIX A small test on the usage of the verbs see, look, watch used at Nguyen Du secondary school –Hoan Kiem district- Ha Noi city Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to complete the following sentences I want to that film again A watch B look C see D look at At night, My brother likes to the television A see B hear C watch D look If I finish my homework, I will a football match on TV tonight A look at B watch C see D look A:We’re going to the cinema tonight B:What are you going to ? A watch B see C look D seeing C see D look at I that you have changed your mind A look B watch Please the clock and tell me what time it is A look B see C watch D look at I like to go to the zoo and _ the animals while they are playing A watch B see C look D to look at I want to that sweater again Maybe I will buy it A look B watch C look at D see Didn’t you Ram? He was waving at you A look B see C watch D look at 10 Which way does your house ? A watch B see C look at 51 D look APPENDIX Key A small test on the usage of the verbs see, look, watch used at Nguyen Du secondary school –Hoan Kiem district- Ha Noi city Choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) to complete the following sentences I want to that film again A watch B look D look at C see At night, My brother likes to the television A see B hear D look C watch If I finish my homework, I will a football match on TV tonight A look at C see B watch D look A:We’re going to the cinema tonight B:What are you going to ? A watch B see C look D seeing C see D look at I that you have changed your mind A look B watch Please the clock and tell me what time it is A look B see C watch D look at I like to go to the zoo and _ the animals while they are playing A watch B see C look D to look at I want to that sweater again Maybe I will buy it A look B watch C look at D see Didn’t you Ram? He was waving at you A look B see C watch D look at C look at D look 10 Which way does your house ? A watch B see 52 APPENDIX According to The Oxford dictionary of current English (1995)English and Vietnamese dictionary- Từ điển Anh-Việt, by the world publication , the verbs look, see , watch are described as below: 1-The verb “look” 1-a(+ at, down, up): nhìn xem, ngó, để ý b- dò xét( look us up and down: nhìn lên nhìn xuống 2- a-tìm tòi, nghiên cứu ( I’ll look in the morning: nghiên cứu buổi sáng) b-(+at) xem xét ( looks at the facts: phải xem xét việc 3- (+ for) tìm kiếm 4-điều tra, thẩm tra 5- có vẻ, dường (future looks bleak: tương lai xem ảm đạm 6-(+ to) quan tâm đến; 7- (+into) điều tra, nghiên cứu 2-The verb “see” (saw/seen) 1-nhìn thấy; 2-hiểu, nhận 3-xem (kịch, phim…) 4- tìm ra, biết, 5-hình dung, mường tượng (see trouble ahead: hình dung khó khăn trước mắt), 6-gặp ( I saw your mother in town: tơi gặp mẹ anh phố) 7-thăm, tiếp đón (must see a doctor: phải gặp bác sĩ {để khám bệnh}) 8-cặp bồ, quan hệ mật thiết (She doesn’t want to see him any more: cô không muốn mật thiết với nữa), 9- chờ xem ( we shall have to see: đành phải chờ xem sao), 10- cảm nhận, trải qua, 11- thấy thích, thấy mê ( can’t think what she sees in him: hiểu cô thấy mê anh điểm nào) 12- chứng kiến {sự kiện}, 13- đoán (see that it is done: đốn việc thực hiện) 3-The verb “ watch” 1- canh gác; 2- giám sát, quan sát; 3- (+ for): chờ, rình; 4- (+ over) chăm sóc, trơng nom According to the English and Vietnamese dictionary- Từ điển Anh- Việt, published 1995 by Nguyễn Xuân Chinh , the verbs look, see , watch are described as below: 53 1-The verb “look” 1- Nhìn, xem (= see, watch) You must look at both ways before you cross a road Anh phải để ý hai bên đường trước băng ngang qua đường 2-hướng về, xoay Which way does your house look? Nhà xoay hướng nào? 3-Hình như, giống như, (= appear) She looks tired Nàng mệt mỏi 4- Chú ý, quan sát (cái gì) Look at the time or we shall be late Hãy ý thời gian kẻo bị trễ 2-The verb “see” -(saw, seen) 1-xem, thấy, trơng thấy, nhìn thấy (= behold) I saw it with my own eyes Chính mắt tơi thấy việc 2-nhận ra, biết rõ, hiểu That is easy to see! Rất dễ hiểu! 3-(about) thấy, nhận thấy, để ý đến I see that you have changed your mind Tôi nhận thấy anh đổi ý kiến 4-(over) xem xét, quan sát Could you go and see what children are doing? Anh xem đứa trẻ làm khơng? 5- thăm, giao thiệp, vấn I saw your mother in town today Hôm gặp mẹ anh phố 54 6- tiếp (một người khách) I can not see him today Hôm gặp 7- giúp đỡ I can’t see my sister starve without trying to help her Tôi để chị chết đói mà khơng giúp 8- quan niệm , cho I see life differently now Bây quan niệm đời khác hẳn 3-The verb “watch” 1-thức, thức đêm, canh thức I watched all night Tôi thức tới sáng 2-canh gác, bảo vệ ai, trông chừng Could you watch my clothes! Anh trông chừng quần áo ! 3-nhìn, quan sát, trơng nom, xem xét, theo dõi She watched the children crossing the street Cô nhìn trẻ qua đường 55 APPENDIX According to Nguyen Van Phuoc, Le Ngoc Phuong Anh (1995) The “right wrong word Từ đúng, từ sai”, Ho Chi Minh publication , the verbs look, see, watch are described as below: English Vietnamese and analysis 1.I see very well without glasses 1.Tơi nhìn tốt khơng cần kính (khơng dùng I’m seeing) (dùng tĩnh: khả không cố ý) 2.I see what you mean Tôi hiểu anh nói (khơng dùng I’m seeing) (dùng tĩnh: understand :hiểu) 3.I ‘m seeing Meg on Thursday 3.Tôi gặp Meg vào thứ Năm (dùng động= meeting: gặp) I see Meg on Thursdays Tôi gặp Meg vào thứ Năm (dùng tĩnh: meeting: gặp gỡ, có đặt trước) 5.Did you see him leave/leaving? Anh thấy phải không (không dùng see him to leave) (dùng với bare infinitive: nhìn thấy tồn hành động; dùng với -ing:nhìn thấy phần hành động sau nhìn thấy người đó) 6.I saw him (being) taken away 6.Tơi nhìn thấy người ta đưa (không dùng saw him to be taken) 7.We’ll see that tomorrow 7.Chúng ta xem ngày mai (bằng mắt) (nghĩa mắt chúng tôi) 56 We’ll see about that tomorrow 8.Chúng ta xem xét việc ngày mai (=consider, deal with: xem xét) 9.I think we should look at her 9.Tôi nghĩ nên xét lại đơn application again cô (không dùng see again application (= reconsider it: xét lại) 10.I want to see that film again 10 Tôi muốn xem phim lần (watch once more) (=watch once more: xem thêm lần nữa) 11.Please look after the children 11.Xin chăm sóc bọn trẻ chúng while we’re out vắng ( không dùng “ look the children”) 12.Look! The plane’s coming into 12.Nhìn kìa! Máy bay đâm xuống land! đất! 13.I see very well without glasses 13.Khơng có kính tơi nhìn khơng rõ (Không dùng look, watch, I’m seeing) (stative use: the action is voluntary cách dùng tĩnh, hành động không chủ tâm) 14.I’ll be seeing you tomorrow 14 Tôi gặp bạn vào ngày mai (dynamic use: cách dùng động see = gặp…) 15.We saw a good film at the Rex 15.Chúng xem phim hay last night rạp Rex tối qua (see a film or play at a cinema of theatre xem phim hay kịch rạp chiếu bóng nhà hát) 16 How long have been watching 16 Cậu theo dõi trận đấu bao the match? lâu? (không dùng seeing, looking at) 57 17.Do you have to watch me 17 Ơng có phải quan sát tơi ăn bữa tối eat/eating my super? không đấy? (không dùng watch me to eat) (ngun dạng khơng có to = tồn hành động; dạng - ing = phần hành động sau watch someone (nhìn ai)) ( watch chủ tâm theo dõi hành động tiếp diễn khoảng thời gian) 18.Look at this card that John’s 18.Hãy xem bưu thiếp John vừa just sent gửi tới (không dùng watch, see this card) (chúng ta nhìn (look at) có chủ tâm, với ý, chẳng hạn tranh, vật) 19.You look well/You are looking 19.Bạn trông khỏe well (= appear: có vẻ, dùng tĩnh (stative ) hay dùng động (dynamic) phụ thuộc vào nhấn mạnh bạn muốn: look: sau tính từ đây; It looks bad (Nó trơng tồi) khơng dùng badly 20.Have/take a look at this 20.Hãy nhìn vào (khơng dùng throw) 21.Look at this! 21.(không dùng “look here” ( look khơng có nghĩa nhìn hướng này) 22.Look straight (here), let’s get this 22.Nhìn này, lấy đoạn thẳng (look (here) thường biểu lộ không kiên nhẫn kéo ý vào điều mà bạn nói) 58 23.I look forward to seeing you 23.Tơi trơng mong gặp bạn ngày during the weekend nghỉ cuối tuần (không dùng “look forward to see, looks forwards to seeing”) (to có chức giới từ+-ing đây, phần động từ nguyên thể) 59 APPENDIX According to Dang Chan Lieu, Le Kha Ke, Pham Duy Trong (2001) “ Từ điển Việt-Anh ; Vietnamese- English dictionary” Ho Chi Minh publication, the verbs “nhìn” are expressed in different ways: Vietnamese Example in English 1.Nhìn 1.Look at, peer at; -nhìn lâu thấy, -to peer at something for long before seeing it -Chẳng có nhìn đến sách -To have no time to look at one’s -Phải nhìn khía cạnh vấn đề books -We must look at all aspects of the question/ we must look at the question from all sides 2.Nhìn ngó 2.Look after -Chẳng nhìn đến - not to look at one’s children -He doesn’t look after his children at -Ơng ta chẳng nhìn ngó đến all 3.Nhìn 3.Look into -Nhà nhìn đường -The house looks into the street 4.Nhìn thấu 4.see through -Nhìn thấu tâm can -To see through somebody 5.Nhìn thấy 5.see 6.Xem 6.look at, gaze, watch, view -Xem đá bóng -To watch a football match -Xem truyền hình -To watch the TV -Xem sổ sách để kiểm tra -To view/look at the books for 60 checking -Xem đồng hồ -To look at one’s watch -Xem mặt bắt hình dong -To -Xem mặt thoughts by his appearance know someone’s inmost -Have a look at/ see the face of (a -Xem xét girl whose hand one intends to ask for) -Look into/ to look into the situation before taking a decision 7.Thấy 7.See -Thấy từ đằng xa -To see someone from a distance -Tơi thống thấy đám đông -I saw him in a flash in the crow -Ai thấy -Everyone sees so 61 ... syntactic and semantic features with reference to their equivalents in Vietnamese That is why the subject : A study on the syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs “look”, “see”, “watch”. .. see, watch and their equivalents in Vietnamese Thus, A study on the syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs “look”, “see”, “watch” with reference to their Vietnamese equivalents ... well as the scope of the study, the author focuses on the syntactic and semantic features of the English verbs look, see, watch with their Vietnamese equivalents only That means phrasal verbs and

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