A study on semantic features of english set expressions containing words “red” and “green” with the reference to the vietnamese equivalents

nnnnnnnla AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF EDUCATION HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS A STUDY ON SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH SET EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING WORDS “RED” AND “GREEN” WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU ĐẶC TRƯNG NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA NGỮ CỐ ĐỊNH TIẾNG ANH CHỨA TỪ MÀU ĐỎ VÀ XANH TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TIẾNG VIỆT) NGUYỄN THỊ HÒA Hanoi, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS A STUDY ON SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH SET EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING WORDS “RED” AND “GREEN” WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU ĐẶC TRƯNG NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA NGỮ CỐ ĐỊNH TIẾNG ANH CHỨA TỪ MÀU ĐỎ VÀ XANH TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TIẾNG VIỆT) NGUYỄN THỊ HÒA Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc.Prof Lê Văn Thanh Hanoi, 2016 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A study on semantic features of English set expressions containing words “Red” and “Green” with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Linguistics 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 Nguyen Thi Hoa Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr Le Van Thanh, Ph.D, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly 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 My sincere acknowledgement also go to all my lecturers and officers of Faculty of Graduate Studies, Hanoi Open University, who have facilitated me with the best possible conditions during my whole course of studying Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my friends for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work ii ABSTRACT The title of my thesis is a study on semantic features of English set expressions containing words “red” and “green” and the Vietnamese equivalents The purpose of my study is to describe the semantic features of set expressions containing words red and green colours, show some similarities and differences between English set expressions containing words red and green and the Vietnamese equivalents, and propose the implications for teaching these ones at high school To carry out this research, I use descriptive, analytical and contrastive method Hopefully, the finding of this study can, to some extent, be suggested as a referential materials for Vietnamese students and teachers in studying and teaching colour set expressions iii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Statistical analyze of semantic filed of English set 44 expressions containing word “Red” Table 4.2 Statistical analyze of semantic filed of English set 50 expressions containing word “Green” Table 4.3 Stastistical analyze of the meaning of English and 51 Vietnamese set expressions containing word “Đỏ” Table.4.4 Statistical analyze of the meaning of English and 52 Vietnamese set expressions containing word “Xanh” Table.4.5 Statistical summary of English set expressions 55 containing words “Red” and“Green” and Vietnamese set expressions containing words “Đỏ” and “Xanh” iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of tables v Chapter 1: 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 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of previous studies 2.2 Review of theoretical background 2.2.1 Theoretical framework 2.2.2 Theoretical background 11 2.2.2.1 Definition of set expressions 11 2.2.2.2 Classifications of set expressions 14 2.2.2.3 Features of colour set expressions 16 2.2.2.4 An overview of Red and Green colours 18 2.3 21 Summary Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Research-governing orientations 23 3.2 Research methods 25 3.3 Summary 27 v Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28 4.1 37 Semantic features of English set expressions containing words Red and Green and their Vietnamese equivalents 4.2 Similarities and differences of English set expressions 50 containing words Red and Green and their Vietnamese equivalents in term of semantic features 4.2.1 Similarities 50 4.2.2 Differences 54 4.3 57 Implications 4.3.1 Implications for learning set expressions containing words Red 58 and Green 4.3.2 Implications for teaching set expressions containing words Red 58 and Green 4.3.3 Implications for tranlating set expressions containing words Red 58 and Green 4.4 Summary 59 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 60 5.1 Recapitulation 60 5.2 Concluding remarks 61 5.3 Limitation of the research 61 5.4 Suggestions for a further research 62 REFERENCES 63 APPENDICES 66 vi Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the research Nowadays, the globalization has been changing and developing very quickly; therefore, communication with high requirements has become an urgent than ever more Among which English is the most popular and flexible language in the world However, in spite of the fact that English has been the most common one, there stand challenges existing for foreign learners to overcome Those difficulties derived from special factors such as culture, context or even speaker’s implication They affect to foreign learners’ understanding as much as possible In studying English, especially for the Vietnamese, it is really a shortcoming if we not take into consideration of English colour set expressions English colours set expressions are not only a part of language, but also one of the components creating traditional culture of each nation Through these set expressions, we can learn more clearly and deeply about English people, their country as well as their culture According to Rod Ellis, one way to help foreign learners of English overcome their language related problems is to teach them formulaic and figurative set expressions such as proverbs, idioms, metaphors, phrasal verbs etc which are a crucial part of natural language production (Rod Ellis, 2008) Therefore, set expressions containing words “red’ and “green” are selected as the focus of this study because it is seen that specific characteristics of culture, and each colour English expression has its own features It lies in the fact that, colours have taken an important role in the living and each colour also has its own meaning Therefore, there have been a lot of studies involved in the meaning of colours set expressions in order to know how to use them As for Berlin and Kay, the “colour terms” has been used to show differences in color of each language on over the world While we might readily expect differences for words relating to things in environment such as animal and plants, or for cultural system like governance or kinship terms, it might seem surprising that terms for colours should vary The investigation claims that languages vary in the number and range of their basic color terms (Berlin and Kay, 1969) As a result, knowledge of color set expressions can increase comprehension of texts and using them can make learners‘verbal and written communication more effective (Irujo, 1986; Vanyushkina-Holt, 2005) Being aware of the importance of colour set expressions in daily interaction as well as in learning language, I decided to choose the thesis entitled “A study on semantic features of English set expressions containing words “Red” and “Green” with reference to the Vietnamese equivalent” as the topic of the master graduation thesis; thus, can help Vietnamese learners of English understand more clearly about the way of using and translating them from English to Vietnamese and vice-versa Hopefully, it will somehow help Vietnamese learners enrich their knowledge and have a deeper insight into English colour set expressions As for the learners of English or Vietnamese, a contrastive analysis of semantic features of colour set expressions in this thesis will help them improve the ability of using and understanding Especially, the study of all kinds of color set expressions containing words “red” and “green” are expected to provide the translators with fresh thinking of culture, lifestyle, custom, notions, which brings their works to perfection to some extent 1.2 Aims of the research This study is conducted to aim at finding out the typical semantic features of English set expressions containing words “Red” and “Green” with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents, thus helping Vietnamese For instance: - Rừng xanh núi đỏ - Xanh vỏ đỏ long - Mắt xanh mỏ đỏ - Một xanh cỏ-hai đỏ ngực - Xanh-chín,… On the contrary, English set expressions containing words Red and Green, only have only one colour “Red” or “Green” in comparison or symbolization Through the analysis which has been shown above, it is clear that the difference not only come from language, but also in culture and the way of perceiving the world around That’s the difference make the language more lively and diversified Therefore, set expressions containing colour in general, red and green in particular has become a language treasure to discover 4.3 Implications 4.3.1 Implications for learning set expressions containing words Red and Green Obviously, in most situations, to learn a foreign language effectively, one should have good knowledge of the culture between two countries Therefore, learners should learn the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English cultures by using words as well as their metaphorical and literal meanings To this, it’s not easy and need a long time to practice every day One of the most effective ways is reading, from all kinds from poems to set expressions, from professional books to stories talking about British and Vietnamese cultures As a matter of fact, the knowledge is kept and grew into a colorful treasure of set expressions Particularly, the learners should consider the meaning of set expressions 55 containing words Red and Green in the contexts where it appears because the meaning of a word is not decided by itself 4.3.2 Implications for teaching set expressions containing words Red and Green In language teaching, it’s essential to pay attention to the culture and history of a language as well as a country; because it can be clues leading us to present usage of set expressions containing words Red and Green in particular and set expressions in general In fact, any learners of foreign languages are affected by their mother tongue and there is no exception to Vietnamese learners Therefore, teachers should point out all the similarities and differences between the two languages Last but not least, teachers should not ignore cultural gaps between the source and the target language because of the origination of interlingual errors from the deficiency of cultural knowledge Thefore, the best way to solve it is to supply our students with background knowledge of history, culture, traditional customs relating to set expressions in genereal and English set expressions containing words “Red” and “Green” in particular Besides, contrastive and comparative analysis are also recommended because this method makes conveniences for teachers to diagnose as well as indicate errors committed by learners 4.3.3 Implications for translating set expressions containing words Red and Green In translating set expressions containing words Red and Green , some translations tactics relating to literal and figurative translation could be applied to help Vietnamese learners of English deal with difficulties met by cultural and language gaps more easily 56 4.4 Summary Through the scope of the above analysis, we found that many of the differences and similarities in term of semantic features of the language and the culture of both English and Vietnamese Both languages are used the set expressions contain Red and Green to human subjects, mental states, attributes, personality, health, luck, nature, society; but each language has its own way to express ideas and implications by specific cultural characteristics of each country English and Vietnamese always focused on the attributes of the human personality and the world around them In the process of studying, we realize that Red colour take an important role in both English and Vietnamese; however, Green colour does not have an important role like that: Green are used to express jealousy, nature, permission for doing something, and even good lucks in English but only the nature in Vietnamese 57 Chapter CONCLUSION 5.1 Recapitulation There is nothing more wonderful than perceiving the world through set expressions That is the reason why the subject English colour set expressions with reference to the Vietnamese equivalent are chosen in my thesis In my thesis, the both English and Vietnamese set expressions containing words Red and Green are examined carefully to bring out the basic ideas and various views on semantic features in order to find out the similarities and dissimilarities of them The rationale, aims and objectives of the study are presented in chapter One It was also in this chapter that the scope, the significance and structural organization of the thesis have been found as an overall introduction to the research Chapter Two is the theories involved in this thesis under consideration which serve as the foundation of data analysis and findings discussion in this thesis Chapter Three designed to describe the research-governing orientations and research methods Some research questions have been presented in this chapter Chapter Four dealt with the findings and discussion of the research in terms of semantic features of English and Vietnamese colour set expressions containing Red and Green colours In the time of completing the study, we have also discovered that most set expressions contain two simultaneous meaning in term of semantic aspect at the same time, that is the literal meaning and figurative meaning As a sequence, the similarities and differences between English set 58 expressions containing words “Red” and “Green” and Vietnamese set expressions containing words “Đỏ” and “Xanh” are unavoidable This caused by many reasons such as cultural factors, the traditional customs, or even the way of thinking; therefore, it is the crucial factor that make some English colour set set expressions have no equivalence in Vietnamese or vice versa 5.2 Concluding remarks After completing the research thesis, the three given major objectives have been concentrated and shown as below: (i) Investigating semantic features of English set expressions containing words “Red” and “Green”; (ii) Finding out the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese set expressions containing words “Đỏ” and “Xanh” in terms of semantic features; and (iii) Suggesting some possible implications for teaching, learning and translating English set expressions containing words Red and Green from English into Vietnamese effectively To help Vietnamese learners of English have a better understanding of the English colour set set expressions in term of semantic features, this main aspect has been described and analyzed After regarding the comparison between English set expressions containing words “Red” and “Green” and the Vietnamese equivalents, both similarities and differences have been found in term of semantic features Last but not least, some possible implications for teaching have been suggested, hopefully, it will be helpful for not only Vietnamese learners of English but also other ones in many areas or aspects 5.3 Limitations of the current research 59 Despite my considerable efforts, certain limitations could be detected in this study due to time and other unexpected factors; however, the study has been implemented under strict rules with serious work Hopefully, this study can make a contribution into the rich collection of other previous studies on the same areas Due to the limitation of my knowledge as well as the time of my research stops here, I expect that it will be profoundly analyzed more by following people whose are interested in set expressions containing words Red and Green colors 5.4 Suggestions for future research In this thesis, we have confined ourselves to the study of a humble part of semantic features of English set expressions containing words “Red” and “Green” and their Vietnamese equivalents to find out their similarities and differences As a result, many other aspects need to be studied in further researches, for instance, the research of the colour set expressions may be carried out from cultural perspectives 60 REFERENCES In English Berlin and Paul Kay 1969 Basic color terms: their universality and evolution University of California Press Brown and Lenneberg 1954 A Study in Language and Cognition The Linguistic Society of America Carl G Jung 1964 Man and His Symbols University of California Press Charles W Kreidler 1998 Introducing English Semantic London: Routledge Đặng Trần Cường 2001 Lectures on Lexicology Tủ sách đại học Mở Hà Nội Fernando, C 1996 Idioms and Idiomaticity Oxford: Oxford University Press Fontana D 1994 Individual differences in personality: state-based versus trait based approaches Harvard University Press Goddard Angela 2002 The language of Advertising Psychology Press Hornby, A.S 2010 Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 8th edition, Oxford University Press 10 Ireana Pieczulics 2010 Semantic analysis of English Long Longman University Press 11 Jackson, H and E Ze Amvela 2001 Words, meanings and Vocabulary: An introduction to modern English lexicology Longman University Press 12 John Isaeed.1997 Semantics The UK: Oxford University Press 13 John Lyons 1995 Linguistic Semantics: An Introduction Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press 61 14 Kramsch 2000 Second Language Acquisition Longman University Press 15 Lenneberg and Roberts 1953 The Denota of Color Terms The Linguistic Society of America 16 Linda and Roger Flavell 2005 Dictionary of Proverbs and Their Origins Psychology Press 17 Mazurova, V 2009 Color Terms in English Idioms University of Chicago Press 18 Makkai, Adam 1965 Idiom Structure in English Yale university Press 19 Michael McCarthy and Felicity O'Dell 2010 English idioms in use advanced Cambridge University Press 20 Mieder, W (1993), Proverbs are never out of Season Popular Wisdom in the Modern Age, Oxford University Press, New York 21 Mieder, W (2004), Proverbs: A Handbook, Greenwood Press, Westport, the United States of America 22 Mieder, W (2008), “Proverbs Speak Louder than Words”: Folk Wisdom in Art, Culture, Folklore, History, Literature, and Mass Media, Peter Lang Publishing Inc., New York 23 Morris, C.W 2003 Foundation of the theory of signs University of Chicago Press 24 Norrick, N.R (1985), Trends in Linguistics: How Proverbs Mean Semantics Studies in English Proverbs, Moulton Publisher, Amsterdam 25 PalmerF R 1965 A Linguistic Study of the English Verb London: Longman University Press 26 Plumacher 2007 Speaking of Colors and Odors John Benjamins 62 27 Rod Ellis 2008 The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford University Press 28 Simpson, J., Speake, J (1998), Oxford Concise Dictionary of Proverbs, Oxford University Press, Oxford 29 Wyler, S 1992 Colour and Language: Colour term in English Cambridge University Press In Vietnamese Bùi Phụng (2003), Thành ngữ Anh Việt, Nxb Văn Hóa, Hà Nội Bùi Phụng (2003), Từ điển thành ngữ tục ngữ tiếng Anh tường giải, Nxb Tp Hồ Chí Minh Chu Văn Liên (2009), Tục ngữ Anh-Việt chọn lọc : 1200 câu tục ngữ Anh-Việt, 600 câu tục ngữ Việt-Anh, Nhà xuất Phương đông Đặng Hồng Chương (2007), Từ điển Thành ngữ tục ngữ Việt Nam, Nxb Văn Hóa, Hà Nội Hoàng Tuyết Minh (2014), 523 Thành ngữ so sánh ngang Anh – Việt, NXB Giáo dục Việt Nam Nguyễn Lân (1989), Từ điển Thành ngữ Tục ngữ Việt Nam, NXB Văn Hóa Hà Nội Nguyễn Lực, Lương Văn Đang (1978), Thành ngữ tiếng Việt, Nxb Khoa học xã hội Trần Thị Thu Huyền (2001), Hoa cỏ màu sắc thành ngữ tiếng Việt, Luận án phó tiến sĩ khoa học Ngữ văn, Đại học Sư Phạm Hồ Chí Minh Trinh Thi Minh Huong (2009), Tính biểu trưng từ ngữ màu sắc tiếng Việt, Luận văn thạc sĩ Ngôn ngữ học, Đại học Sư Phạm Hồ Chí Minh 63 APPENDICES RED COLOUR A red herring: gây lạc hướng, đánh trống lảng A red letter day: ngày đáng nhớ Be shown the red card: bị sa thải Red card: sa thải Be out of the red: thoát khỏi nợ nần Beet red: thẹn thùng Catch somebody red-handed: bắt tang làm Ears are red: xấu hổ In the red : thiếu nợ ngân hang 10 Not a red cent: khơng cịn xu 11 Paint the town red: ăn chơi thả cửa 12 There were some red-faces: có vài người đỏ mặt 13 Red alert: tình nguy hiểm 14 Red blooded: gợi tình, lơi cuấn 15 Red box: hộp dùng đựng tài liệu ban nội 16 Red brick: loại gạch Anh xưa màu nâu đỏ xây cung điện, trường đại học (Cambrige, Oxford) 17 Red cap: cảnh sát quân 18 Red light: đèn đỏ 19 Red light – district: khu mại dâm 20 Red line: nhóm người vấn đề khơng thể thương lượng đàm phán 21 Red giant: hành tinh lớn vào thời kỳ nguội dần 22 Red-top: báo cải 23 Red pepper: ớt Cayenne 24 Red head: người tóc đỏ 25 Redneck: người lỗ mãng, người thơ bỉ 64 26 Red coat: người lính Anh thời xưa 27 Red flag: loại cờ đỏ với cờ nhỏ góc để đánh dấu tàu biển Anh 28 Red as fire: đỏ lửa 29 As Red as rose: đỏ hoa hồng 30 As Red as poppy: đỏ hoa anh túc 31 As Red as turkey: đỏ da gà chọi 32 As Red as a beetroot: đỏ củ cải 33 As Red as cherry: Đỏ anh đào 34 As Red as lobster: đỏ tôm luộc 35 Dead as a red lobster: đỏ tôm luộc 36 As Red as rubies: Đỏ ngọc bích 37 Red as raw beef: đỏ bắp bị 38 Red as fox: đỏ lơng chồn 39 Red as a blister: đỏ vết 40 Red as hunter’s face: đỏ mặt thợ săn 41 Red cross: hội chữ thập đỏ 42 Roll out the carpet: đón chào nồng nhiệt 43 Red carpet: trải thảm đỏ 44 Red carpet treatment: đối xử nồng nhiệt 45 Red fire: lính cứu hỏa 46 Red-dog: tiền vệ đội bong 47 Red eye: chuyến bắt đầu lúc nửa đêm đến vào sáng sớm 48 Red face: thẹn thùng 49 Red in the face: thẹn thùng, bối rối 50 Red flag: dấu hiệu cảnh báo ai/cái sai 51 Red hot: trào lưu “hot” 52 Red hots: viên kẹo nhỏ có hương vị 65 53 Red ink: thua lỗ 54 Red light district: khu đèn đỏ kinh doanh mại dâm 55 Red meat: thịt bò 56 Red mist: giận mức, tự chủ 57 Red-necked: giận dữ, độc ác 58 Red skin: da đỏ 59 Red pencil: kiểm tra lại 60 Red sky at night, shepherds' delight, red sky in the morning, shepherds' warning: trời đỏ thời tiết xấu 61 Red sky at night, sailor’s delight Red sky at morning, sailors take warning: trời đỏ thời tiết xấu 62 Today red, tomorrow dead: song có khúc, người có lúc 63 Red Indian: Người Châu Mĩ 64 Red rag to a bull: chọc giận cáu điên 65 Like waving a red flag in front of a bull: làm tức giận 66 Red tape: thói quan lieu 67 Red under the bed: cách nói mỉa mai âm mưu cách mạng 68 Red hands: tàn bạo 69 Red battle: huyết chiến 70 Red in tooth and claw: chiến đấu đẫm máu 71 See red: giận bừng bừng 72 See the red light: nhận nguy hiểm 73 Cheese and bread make the cheeks red: có thực vực đạo 74 Better a red face than a black heart: long trước long sau 75 A red-nosed man may not be a drunkard, but he will always be called one: có tiếng mà khơng có miếng 66 GREEN COLOUR 76 A green belt: vành đai xanh 77 A hedge between keep friendship green: tình bạn muốn lâu bền cần biết giữ khoảng cách 78 A bit green: buồn nôn 79 As green as gooseberry: xanh tàu 80 Be as green as grass: non nớt, chưa có kinh nghiệm 81 Be green: cịn non nớt, chưa có kinh nghiệm 82 Green joke: trị đùa bẩn thỉu 83 Green keeper: thủ môn 84 Green fly: rệp xanh 85 Green grocer: người quản lý cửa hàng rau 86 Green-gage: lát mận cắt 87 Green manure: phịng hộ chống sói lở 88 Greener pasturer: có thứ mẻ tốt đẹp 89 Green pepper: ớt xanh loại lớn 90 Green onion: hành mùa xuân 91 Green salad: trộn rau diếp 92 Green tea: trà sấy khô chưa ủ 93 Green paper: tài liệu chứa thơng tin, nghị phủ 94 Greens-ward: mảnh vườn trồng cỏ 95 Green light: đèn xanh 96 Give someone the green light: cho phép, cấp phép 97 Get the green light: bật đèn xanh 98 Have the green light: bật đèn xanh 99 Gretna green: làng Scotland gần biên giới Anh cho đôi yêu bị ngăn cản sống 100 The green welly brigade: người giàu có thích vùng quê 67 101 The grass always sees greener across the river: xa thơm gần thường 102 The grass always sees greener on the other side (of the fence): xa thơm gần thường 103 Green around the gills: trông ốm yếu 104 Greenback: phần lưu ý pháp lý đấu thầu 105 Green fingers: có tay làm vườn 106 Green house: nhà kính trồng 107 Green thumb: người làm vườn giỏi 108 Green room: Phòng chờ diễn viên nhà hát 109 Green polictics: trị ôn hòa 110 Green stuff: tiền đô la 111 Green with envy: ghanh tị 112 Green with jealousy: ghanh tị 113 Green-eyed monster: ghen tuông, ghanh tị 114 Green-eyed dragon: ghen tuông, ghanh tị 115 Green horn: người ngây thơ, dễ bị lừa 116 Green area: mập mờ, chưa rõ sai 117 In the green: trẻ 118 Going green: làm môi trường xanh 119 To turn green: trở nên xanh xao, ốm yếu 120 The rub of the green: gặp may 121 Walk the green mile: điều không tránh khỏi 122 Praise the ripe field, not the green corn: 123 Times are not always the same; the grass is not always green: khơng có cịn 124 If I keep a green bought in my heart, the singing bird will come: hữu xạ tự nhiên hương 68 125 Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps the singing bird will come: hữu xạ tự nhiên hương 126 The most fragrant of flowers are eaten by the green-fly: hoa nhài cắm bãi cứt trâu 127 A young wife, new bread, and green wood devastate a house: thứ thiếu kinh nghiệm ko tốt 128 Green wood gives more smoke than heat: Trẻ người non 129 If you refuse to be made straight when you are green, you will not be made straight when you are dry: cành thẳng phải thẳng từ bé/ dạy từ thuở thơ, dạy vợ từ thuở bơ vơ 130 The fangs of the green snake and the sting of a wasp don’t really make poison that is only to be found in a woman’s heart: 131 Men make the earth black from green leaves: sức người làm tất 69 ... a study on semantic features of English set expressions containing words “red” and “green” and the Vietnamese equivalents The purpose of my study is to describe the semantic features of set expressions. ..MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M .A THESIS A STUDY ON SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH SET EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING WORDS “RED” AND “GREEN” WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS. .. summary of English set expressions 55 containing words “Red” and? ??Green” and Vietnamese set expressions containing words “Đỏ” and “Xanh” iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality i Acknowledgements