LEXICAL AMBIGUITY IN ENGLISH POEMS WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS LEXICAL AMBIGUITY IN ENGLISH POEMS WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE (HIỆN TƯỢNG MƠ HỒ TỪ VỰNG TRONG THƠ TIẾNG ANH LIÊN HỆ VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT) ĐẶNG THỊ MINH NGUYỆT Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Dr Trần Thị Thu Hiền Hanoi, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of tables and figures iv Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Methods of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Design of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous studies 2.2 Semantics in linguistics 2.2.1 Definition of words 2.2.2 Word meaning 2.2.2.1 Components of word meaning 2.2.2.2 Transference of meaning 2.2.3 Definition of linguistic ambiguity 2.2.4 Types of linguistic ambiguity 2.3 An overview of lexical ambiguity 2.3.1 Definition of lexical ambiguity 2.3.2 Typical sources of lexical ambiguity 2.3.2.1 Homonymy 10 10 2.3.2.2 Polysemy 14 2.3.2.3 Criteria used to distinguish homonymy and polysemy 17 2.4 English and Vietnamese poetry in the twentieth century 18 2.4.1 Concepts of poetry 18 2.4.2 Typical types of English and Vietnamese poems 19 2.4.2.1 Typical types of English poems 19 2.4.2.2 Typical types of Vietnamese poems 20 2.4.3 Characteristics of poetry in the twentieth century 21 2.4.3.1 Characteristics of English poetry in the twentieth century 21 2.4.3.2 Characteristics of Vietnamese poetry in the twentieth century 22 2.5 Summary 23 Chapter 3: LEXICAL AMBIGUITY IN ENGLISH POEMS WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE 3.1 Lexical ambiguity in English and Vietnamese poems 24 3.1.1 Homonymy in English and Vietnamese poems 24 3.1.1.1 Homonymy in English poems 24 3.1.1.2 Homonymy in Vietnamese poems 27 3.1.2 Polysemy in English and Vietnamese poems 31 3.1.2.1 Polysemy in English poems 31 3.1.2.2 Polysemy in Vietnamese poems 34 3.2 Comparison of lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese 38 3.2.1 In terms of homonymy in English poems with reference to Vietnamese 38 3.2.2 In terms of polysemy in English poems with reference to Vietnamese 3 Summary 40 42 Chapter 4: LEXICAL AMBIGUITY ERRORS MADE BY LEARNERS OF ENGLISH 4.1 The test and interview 43 4.1.1 Subjects Error! Bookmark not defined 4.1.2 The test and interview 43 4.1.2.1 The test 43 4.1.2.2 The interview 44 4.1.3 Procedure Error! Bookmark not defined 4.2 Common errors of lexical ambiguity made by learners at Sao Do University 45 4.3 Causes of committing errors made by learners at Sao Do University 49 4.4 Suggestions for disambiguating when teaching and learning English 51 4.4.1 Suggestions for teachers of English 51 4.4.2 Suggestions for the students 54 4.5 Summary 56 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Concluding remarks 57 5.2 Limitations of the study 58 5.3 Suggestions for further study 59 REFERENCES APPENDIX 60 64 APPENDIX 69 APPENDIX 76 APPENDIX 82 APPENDIX 83 APPENDIX 83 APPENDIX 84 Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study The need to meet the demand for expressing new objects, new conceptions, so a huge number of new words appear If more and more new words are created, the system of language might become overburdened, and then prevent people communicating successfully Due to this reason, there is an existence of linguistic ambiguity while people use one word or phrase to implicit different meanings Involving English ambiguity, there are various types such as lexical, structural, non-lexical ambiguity regarded as major ambiguity and the others as metaphorical and intonation referred to minor ones Structural and lexical ambiguity has been mostly investigated by linguistic scholars Some authors pay attention to aspects of ambiguity in creating jokes, irony or puns and et cetera Bucaria, C (2004) investigates some forms of ambiguity in English newspaper headlines Semiz, O (2014) tests the comprehension of linguistic ambiguity in language-based jokes Others focus on conversational contexts which are created by linguistic ambiguity David, E.M (1976) tests the given hypothesis to recognize the ambiguous words in certain contexts To English learners, vocabulary is so crucial that it helps the learners express their own ideas and understand others In addition, vocabulary does not only help learners comprehend the meanings of spoken English but it also aids learners in perceiving written English Wilkins, D.A (1972) states that “…while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” However, lexical ambiguity often causes misunderstanding or embarrassing circumstances for both native speakers and the learners of English Homonymy and polysemy are considered as sources of English ambiguity Without any cognition of the ambiguity in lexicon, learners could get trouble with English in communicating or in reading and writing all texts related to this language In addition, the phenomenon of lexical ambiguity is permeated in almost all languages, and it rises up strongly in Vietnamese Vietnamese has a large number of jokes, irony, humorous headlines or puns and et cetera created based on the ambiguity Thus, funny stories or newspaper headlines have become the main topics in Vietnamese related to English ambiguity Nguyen Dieu Linh (2010) study on both lexical and structural ambiguity in the story named “Treasure Island” Nguyen Thi Anh Nguyet (2011) focuses on humorous headlines in English electronic newspapers based on lexical and syntactic ambiguity However, a study on lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese has not been dealt with yet Especially, the main sources including polysemy and homonymy have been still studied in English only For these above mentioned reasons, a study on lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese is chosen to investigate in order that both teachers and learners could master the main sources of lexical ambiguity as well as disambiguate it 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study The study aims at identifying the lexical ambiguity, finding the typical similarities and differences of lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese in order to help teachers of English and learners disambiguate when teaching and learning English To fulfill the aims above, the study pursues the following objectives: To investigate main sources of lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese; To find out the similarities, differences of lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese; and To suggest some possible ways to avoid lexical ambiguity for learners 1.3 Research questions To achieve the aims and objectives of the study, the following research questions are given: What are main sources of lexical ambiguity in English and Vietnamese poems? 2 How is lexical ambiguity in English poems similar and different from Vietnamese ones? What are possible suggestions for teachers and learners to avoid lexical ambiguity? 1.4 Methods of the study The research uses the main methods as qualitative, quantitative and contrastive approaches for the most part which aim at identifying lexical ambiguities found in English poems with reference to Vietnamese Descriptive method is used to describe the characteristics of lexical ambiguity in English poems Contrastive approach is utilized to find out the similarities and differences of lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese On the other hand, the analytical and synthetic methods are used as supporting methods in order to dissect the important issues related to lexical ambiguity such as word meaning, homonymy, polysemy A typical number of examples are going to be given and analyzed both in these two languages 1.5 Scope of the study The study only concentrates on lexical ambiguity in spite of various types of linguistic ambiguity In the case of lexical ambiguity, homonymy and polysemy are investigated Moreover, the study draws attention to English and Vietnamese poetry in the twentieth century 1.6 Significance of the study Theoretically, if the study would be successfully, it would be able to bring the additional understanding of lexical ambiguity as well as homonymy and polysemy The study also gives some pivotal characteristics to distinguish homonymy and polysemy Practically, this study will also be beneficial to the students and teachers in their classroom setting Importantly, the study will contribute to improving teaching skills of teachers It can help teachers choose more suitable ways of teaching English In addition, the study can assist learners have a thorough grasp of homonymy and polysemy, recognize lexical ambiguity and disambiguate them when learning English 1.7 Design of the study The study consists of five parts organized as follows: Chapter entitled “Introduction” concisely introducing the rationale of the study, the aims of the study, scope of the study and methods of the study Chapter named “Literature Review” introduces some significant previous studies related to linguistic ambiguity, present an overview of lexical ambiguity, concepts, descriptions of homonymy and polysemy Concepts of poem and typical characteristics of English and Vietnamese poetry in the twentieth century are additionally discussed Chapter 3, with the title of “Lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese”, brings a comparison of lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese that is carried out in terms of homonymy and polysemy found both in English and Vietnamese poems Chapter - titled “Lexical ambiguity errors made by learners of English” that is designed to provide common errors made by students in Sao Do University, common causes and solutions for teachers and learners to disambiguate when learning English Chapter - “Conclusion” provides concluding remarks, limitations of the study and suggestions for further study Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous studies In lexical semantics and psycholinguistics, a large number of scholars investigate polysemy and lexical ambiguity in their studies Lexical ambiguity is one of the most difficult issues in linguistics and thus, not surprisingly, it is at the centre of lexical semantics researches Concerning the distinction of lexical ambiguity, Weinreich’s (1964) distinction between contrastive lexical ambiguity and complementary ambiguity is illustrative to this point Geeraerts, D (1993) puts emphasis to the importance of context when determining the predictions of each of his tests, as he demonstrates that context alters the senses of the words found in it This emphasis on context is common to all lexical ambiguity studies Ravin, Y and Leacock, C (2000) present the theoretical and computational problems of polysemy as well as lexical ambiguity Several previous studies concerning lexical ambiguity focus on verbs rather than nouns Bucaria, C (2004) analyzes some forms of linguistic ambiguity in English newspaper headlines The author focuses on examples of lexical and syntactic ambiguity that result in sources of voluntary or involuntary humor Kaplan, J (2014) exploits the lexical ambiguities of random in the statistics classroom and provides preliminary results that indicate that such classroom interventions can be successful at helping students make sense of ambiguous words In Vietnamese, Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong (2012) considers lexical ambiguity as one of the typical linguistic factors causing laughter in British funny stories The study focuses on British funny stories and their linguistic characteristics with reference to cultural perspective to point out main factors causing laughter Nguyen Hai Ha (2012) pays attention to linguistic ambiguity which is regarded as a source of constructing funniness in English verbal jokes Tran Thuy Vinh (2015) presents the types of jokes in view of language ambiguity illustrated by Vietnamese and English language However, a study on lexical ambiguity, especially lexical ambiguity in English poems and Vietnamese one has not been dealt with yet Finding out the similarities and differences of lexical ambiguity both in English and Vietnamese and ways of disambiguating make the study dissimilar from others 2.2 Semantics in linguistics 2.2.1 Definition of words In English, the definitions of a word from different perspectives are proposed by many linguists Orthographically, a word is defined as any sequence of letters which is bound on either side by space In the grammatical perspective, words are defined as having the criteria of “positional mobility” and “internal stability” Semantically, Carter, K (1992) defines that a word can be regarded as the smallest meaningful unit of language Since there is still no reasonable definition of what meaning is, Carter’s definition is not reliable enough In Bloomfield’s definition, a word is a minimal free form Mc Carthy, M (1994) argues that a word, as a free meaningful unit of language, must contain at least one potentially freestanding morpheme From Mc Carthy’s view, a word may be derived that a word is a combination of morphemes that involve a certain unit suitable for the formation of higher level units In Vietnamese, Nguyen Hoa (2004) regards word as the smallest indivisible meaningful unit of a language which can operate independently Do Huu Chau (2001: 8) defines that words are the smallest unit used to produce meaningful sentences or utterances Nguyen Thien Giap (2008: 191) identifies words as a fundamental unit of lexicon and a language 2.2.2 Word meaning 2.2.2.1 Components of word meaning Lyons, J (1995: 52) states that a lexeme may have different word-forms and these word-forms will generally differ in meaning Word meaning consists of components such as denotative, connotative, structural and categorical meaning Denotative meaning includes conceptual and referential meaning For example, a woman may be defined as an adult female Giữa Lau đồng Tháp, mía Tuy Hòa Ở với bạn, ngày qua Anh nhớ vô đất nước ta! Mai mốt, em ơi, rời xứ bạn Anh về, e lại nhớ Cu-ba… 1964 (On http://www.thivien.net) Tương tư Nguyễn Bính Thơn Đồi ngồi nhớ thơn Đơng, Một người chín nhớ mười mong người Gió mưa bệnh trời, Tương tư bệnh yêu nàng Hai thôn chung lại làng, Cớ bên chẳng sang bên này? Ngày qua ngày lại qua ngày, Lá xanh nhuộm thành vàng Bảo cách trở đò giang, Không sang chẳng đường sang đành Nhưng cách đầu đình, Có xa xơi mà tình xa xôi Tương tư thức đêm rồi, Biết cho ai, biết người biết cho? Bao bến gặp đò? Hoa khuê các, bướm giang hồ gặp nhau? Nhà em có giàn trầu, Nhà anh có hàng cau liên phòng 74 Thơn Đồi nhớ thơn Đơng, Cau thơn Đồi nhớ trầu khơng thơn 1939 (On http://www.thivien.net) Viếng lăng Bác Viễn Phương Con miền Nam thăm lăng Bác Đã thấy sương hàng tre bát ngát Ôi! hàng tre xanh xanh Việt Nam Bão táp mưa sa đứng thẳng hàng Ngày ngày mặt trời qua lăng Thấy mặt trời lăng đất đỏ Ngày ngày dòng người thương nhớ Kết tràng hoa dâng bảy mươi chín mùa xuân Bác nằm giấc ngủ bình yên Giữa vầng trăng sáng dịu hiền Vẫn biết trời xanh mãi Mà nghe nhói tim! Mai miền Nam, thương trào nước mắt Muốn làm chim hót quanh lăng Bác Muốn làm đóa hoa tỏa hương Muốn tre trung hiếu chốn 4/ 1976 (On http://www.thivien.net) 75 APPENDIX TEST I Participant information Full name (Optional):…………………………………………………… Age:…………………………………………………………………… From:…………………………………………………………………… How long have you been learning English? A Under three years B Seven years C Over ten years II Test Read and choose A, B or C: Homonymy refers to a situation where different words happen accidentally to have the same forms whereas polysemy designates a situation in which a single word has a set of related meanings In “Morning at the window”, what does Eliot imply through the word “housemaids”? They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens, And along the trampled edges of the street I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids Sprouting despondently at area gates A females servant in a large house B working class C a woman lives in a basement In this line “And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts”, what is the part of speech of “tear” and what does it refer to? 76 A a noun/ a drop of liquid that comes out of your eye when you cry B a verb/ make a hole in something by force C a noun / a hole that has been made in something by tearing In the line “All the /sʌn/ long it was running, it was lovely, the /heɪ/”, the word /sʌn/ and /heɪ/, are _ and A sun/ hey B son/ hay C sun/ hay What does the author imply through these lines? Time let me hail and climb Golden in the heydays of his eyes And honored among wagons I was price of the apple towns And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves A The author has an occasion to join in various pastimes B The author is proud of his childhood C The author could enjoy all the perks of royalty without burden responsibility The word “wind” in the following lines is closest meaning to _ And the wind rose in the morning sky And one was rigged for a long journey A air that moves quickly as a result of natural forces B an act of turning, wrapping or twisting something around itself or in a circle C to make somebody unable to breathe easily for a short time In the poem “Valediction”, what does William imply through these lines? All thought In your absence Time rode easy, anchored 77 On a smile, but absence Rocked love’s balance, unmoored A The author is unmoored and drifting because of losing enjoyment with his love B The author describes the loved one’s presence and absence C The author describes a ship when anchoring and unmooring The word “left” in these lines is closest meaning to ? Since you left the house Its emptiness has hurt A go away from the house B to the left side C the someone’s left Could you realize these words pronounced in this stanza of “A drinking song”? Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the /aɪ/ That’s all we shall /nəʊ/ for truth Before we grow old and /daɪ/ A I - no - dye B eye - know - dye C eye - know - die What does Auden W.H imply through these lines? The winds must come from somewhere when they blow There must be reasons why the leaves decay Time will say nothing but I told you so A The author implies that the romance is deteriorating B The author feels sad because the leaves are decaying C The author shows that all things have a cause as death and suffering 10 What does the word “rose” in these lines most closely mean? 78 The northern sky rose high and black Over the proud unfruitful sea A a flower with a sweet smell that grows on a bush with thorns B to appear and go upwards C an increase in a level 11 How you guess the meaning of the word “rose” in question number 10? A Look for the dictionary B “Rose” is a popular word C The relationship among “rose” with others in the lines 12 “See” and “sea” are both pronounced /si:/ and they are called A full homonyms B homographs C homophones 13 To what “đường1” and “đường2” refer in these lines? Em ạ, Cu Ba lim đường1 Mía xanh đồng bãi biếc đồi nương Cam ngon xoài vàng nông trại Ong lạc đường2 hoa rộn bốn phương A sugar/ a road B a road/ sugar C a track made by someone moves/ a way to reach aims 14 What does the word “về” in these lines most closely mean? Áo bào thay chiếu, anh đất Sông Mã gầm lên khúc độc hành A go back to hometown B go to the last place 79 C die 15 “đường1” and “đường2” in question 13 refer to _ A lexical homonym B lexical-grammatical homonym C homonyms among word and syllables 16 How you know the meaning of the word “về” in question 14? A Look for the dictionary B Based on the words “áo bào”, “chiếu” and “đất” C “Về” is often used in daily communication 17 Do “mặt trời1” and “mặt trời2” in these two lines have the same meaning? Ngày ngày mặt trời1 qua lăng Thấy mặt trời2 lăng đỏ A They have different meanings B They share various meanings C They both mean “the sun” 18 In question 17, “mặt trời1” and “mặt trời2” are called A homonyms B polysemy C synonyms 19 What does the phrase “bảy mươi chín mùa xn” mean? Ngày ngày dòng người thương nhớ Kết tràng hoa dâng bảy mươi chín mùa xuân A 79th spring B 79 years old C totally 79 springs 20 The word “áo bào” in question 14 is A a homonymic word polysemy B metaphorical polysemy 80 C metonymic 21 Through these lines, Nguyen Binh implies that Thơn Đồi ngồi nhớ thơn Đơng Một người chín nhớ mười mong người A Đồi village is missing Đông village B The author is missing his village C A man’s missing a girl but he doesn’t know whether she’s missing him or not 22 What does the word “đầu đình” in the lines most closely mean? Nhưng cách đầu đình Có xa xơi mà tình xa xơi A The head of the communal house in a village B A communal house in a village C the chief of the communal house in a village 23 What does Tố Hữu imply through the word “buộc” in the following stanza? Tơi buộc lòng tơi với người Để tình trang trải với trăm nơi Để hồn với bao hồn khổ Gần gũi thêm mạnh khối đời A The author ties the people by a rope B The author is closely intimate with other people C The author is reluctant to by the people 24 What does the word “trang trải” in question 23 most closely mean? A broaden B afford C try to pay off 81 APPENDIX KEYS (For the test in part II) Number Keys Number B 13 A Keys A 14 C C 15 B C 16 B A 17 B A 18 B 19 B B C 20 C 21 10 B C 22 B B 11 C 23 12 C 24 82 A A APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS Concerning lexical ambiguity, you make errors about homonymy or polysemy? Which is the most common error, homonymy or polysemy? In three types of homonymy, which is the most widespread error you make? Which is the most common, metaphorical or metonymic polysemy? Do you think why you make this error? Could you give some ways to disambiguate? APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS Concerning lexical ambiguity, the students make errors about homonymy or polysemy? Which is the most common error, homonymy or polysemy? In three types of homonymy, which is the most widespread error? Which is the most common, metaphorical or metonymic polysemy? Do you think why the students make this error? Could you give some ways to help the students disambiguate? 83 APPENDIX LIST OF LEXICAL AMBIGUITY List of lexical ambiguity in English poems Homonymy No Full homonym Homophone Polysemy Homograph Metaphor In “A drinking song” I lift wine mouth all we know die I sigh eye shall In “Fern hill” II grass time green wagon boughs prince light hail yard mercy cock hay horn air land rode lift white swallow all 10 warm dew 11 high sun 12 blue by 13 grace morning 84 Metonymy Homonymy No Full homonym Homophone 14 hear 15 him 16 days 17 sea Polysemy Homograph Metaphor In “If I could tell you” III price I show time clown so sweep to brook know weep their we told 10 there leaves decays In “Morning at the window” IV plate morning window fog I damp souls tear to waves level air souls In “The North ship” V ship saw beast by west sky sea east no north for rose one VI Metonymy wind ship In “Valediction” 85 housemaids Homonymy No Full homonym Homophone Polysemy Homograph Metaphor tartan left anchored sound time unmoored strand but buck flower bound sea days break Metonymy List of lexical ambiguity in Vietnamese poems Homonymy Polysemy Homonyms No Lexical homonyms Lexicalgrammatical among words syllables Metaphor Metonymy In “Tây tiến” I ngửi cồn tây tiến khói đong đưa mắt trừng nẻo mộng đời xanh trôi xuôi áo bào khúc lấp In “Tràng giang” II tiếp hàng núi bạc xuống ngả thuyền đùn lạc khói cồn lên sa dạt lại 86 Homonymy No Lexical Lexical- homonyms grammatical nối Polysemy Homonyms among words syllables Metaphor Metonymy xuôi vãn mái 10 cầu In “Từ ấy” III buộc hồn trang trải bừng nắng hạ chói qua tim vườn hoa đậm hương rộn tiếng chim em anh In “Từ Cu-ba” IV đạp mặc bóng ma lùng há ngày xuân tươi gác biển ngọc say lại tóc xanh tầng đảo chân trắng bầm lạc mía tưởng rẽ máu dội hàng bạn ngó quanh 10 tiến In “Tương tư” V lại đầu đình thơn Đồi sang hoa kh thôn Đông thành bướm giang hồ 87 Homonymy No Polysemy Homonyms among Lexical Lexical- homonyms grammatical words syllables Metaphor cách cau đường trầu thức Metonymy In “Viếng lăng Bác” VI trào tre nghe hàng mặt trời quanh vầng trăng kết tràng hoa hàng tre 88 79 mùa xuân ... and polysemy in English poems with reference to Vietnamese 23 Chapter LEXICAL AMBIGUITY IN ENGLISH POEMS WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE 3.1 Lexical ambiguity in English and Vietnamese poems This... in Vietnamese poems 34 3.2 Comparison of lexical ambiguity in English poems with reference to Vietnamese 38 3.2.1 In terms of homonymy in English poems with reference to Vietnamese 38 3.2.2 In. .. of Vietnamese poetry in the twentieth century 22 2.5 Summary 23 Chapter 3: LEXICAL AMBIGUITY IN ENGLISH POEMS WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE 3.1 Lexical ambiguity in English and Vietnamese poems