A contrastive analysis on selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE NGUYEN THI TRUNG ANH A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS ON SELECTED ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE DOG-RELATED IDIOMS Major: English Language Teaching Ha Noi, 2019 HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE NGUYEN THI TRUNG ANH A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS ON SELECTED ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE DOG-RELATED IDIOMS Major: English Language Teaching Supervisor: Pham Thi Tuan Ha Noi, 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would love to show profound gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Pham Thi Tuan, for her dedicated and scholarly instructions, wholehearted guidance, critical comment, great encouragement and valuable materials that she gave me while I was doing in research Without these, the thesis could not have been completed I wish to express my sincere thanks Mr William Salazar for his dedicated instructions and reminding in time during months of my graduation paper Last but not least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved family and friends for their support and love, which were extremely important for the completion of this paper Student ii ABSTRACT Idioms can be found in every language and in all types of discourse, ranging from daily conversations to scientific texts Hence, it is indispensable for language learners to know what idioms are and how they are related within and among languages This study was aimed to investigate the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms containing the word „dog‟ Contrastive analysis and content analysis were used to analyze and discuss 110 selected dogrelated Vietnamese and English idioms in both syntactic and semantic features The results revealed that dog-related English and Vietnamese idioms greatly differ in terms of syntactic structures, namely noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, preposition phrases, and sentences While the two most common syntactic structures for dog-related English idioms are noun phrases and verb phrases, sentence is the syntactic structure for the majority of Vietnamese ones As for semantic features, dog-related idioms in these two languages; however, share similarities in positive, negative and neutral connotation, which are particularly influenced by culture and stylistic devices Key words: idiom, dog, syntactic features, semantic features, contrastive analysis iii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Tittle: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS ON SELECTED ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE DOG-RELATED IDIOMS (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of arts in English) I certify that no part in this study has not been copied by me from any other person„s report without acknowledgment and this work is written by my best under the instruction from my supervisor Date of submission: 10th May, 2018 Student Supervisor Nguyen Thi Trung Anh Pham Thi Tuan iv LIST OF THE TABLES AND FIGURES Tables: Table Classification of idioms in syntactic features Table Classification of idioms in semantic features Table Structures of selected English dog-related idioms Table Structures of selected Vietnamese dog-related idioms Table Syntactic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms Table Semantic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms Figures: Figure Selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idiom structures v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iv LIST OF THE TABLES AND FIGURES v PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Significance of the study Scope of the study Aims of the study and Research questions Research methods Design of the study PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND An overview of idioms and dog-related idioms 1.1 Definition of idioms 1.2 Idioms which are related to dogs 1.3 Linguistic features of idioms 1.3.1 Syntactic features 1.3.2 Semantic features 1.3.3 Culture features Classification of idioms 10 2.1 Based on syntactic features 10 2.2 Based on semantic features 12 2.3 Idioms in association with culture 13 Overview of Phrase, Clause and Sentence Structures 14 3.1 Phrase 14 3.2 Clause 14 3.3 Sentence 15 vi Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES 17 Research Methods 17 Research Procedures 17 Description of the Sample 18 Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 19 Syntactic analysis of selected dog-related idioms in English and Vietnamese 19 1.1 Idiom structures based on syntactic features 19 1.2 Discussion of similarities and differences in Syntactic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms 24 1.2.1 Similarities in Syntactic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms 28 1.2.2 Differences in Syntactic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms 29 Semantic analysis of selected dog-related idioms in English and Vietnamese 32 2.1 Meaning colors of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms 32 2.1.1 Meaning colors of English dog-related idioms 32 2.1.2 Meaning colors of selected Vietnamese dog-related idioms 34 2.2 Discussion of similarities and differences in Semantic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms 35 2.2.1 Similarities in Semantic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms 37 2.2.2 Differences in Semantic features of selected English and Vietnamese dog-related idioms 39 Cultural factors behind English and Vietnamese idioms concerning dogs 41 Difficulties in learning idioms concerning dogs and suggested solutions 42 5.1 Difficulties of learning idioms related to dogs 43 5.1.1 Idioms are not literal 43 5.1.2 Dog-related idioms has complex structures 43 5.1.3 It’s difficult to use idioms correctively 43 5.1.4 Teaching materials are not much available 43 vii 5.2 Suggested solutions 44 5.2.1 Learn idioms in context, never in isolation 44 5.2.2 Create conversation using idioms 44 5.2.3 Themes: Related to your topic 45 5.2.4 Always study about culture 45 PART THREE: CONCLUSION 46 Major findings 46 Limitation of the study and suggestions for further research 47 REFERENCES 48 APPENDIX 50 APPENDIX 55 viii PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale A quite long time ago, human being used numerous forms of language to convey their messages with one another and show the cultural identity of the country Meanwhile, with the development of the 21st century society, people are in high demand for learning languages to interchange such a lot of fields as economy, education, service, etc Therefore, English has increasingly become much more necessary but quite struggling for learners to understand the words In daily conversations, communicators may encounter odd and puzzling phrases or expressions whose meanings are different from what their components convey This challenge lies in the complicated, strange yet captivating nature of idioms owing to such cultural identity of different countries as history, religions, tradition, etc (Grunwell, 1998 & Yagiz, 2013) To English learners, if they desire to reach the ultimate goal in communicating as native speakers, they need to pay attention to the idioms as well Idioms are appeared in every single material surrounded us It can be in “newspapers, books, magazines, on the radio, on the television, in everyday conversation, and at work.” Besides, what the world‟s perceptions and viewpoints about things in human and animal existence between English and Vietnamese is quite different and leads most of the idioms not the same Expressions in this way bear the cultural characteristics of a country in which they are used Therefore, to understand as well as translate idioms from a language into another one, knowledge of not only linguistic aspects but also of cultural reality has to be involved Finding idioms exciting and compelling for quite a long time, I would like to take this chance to achieve deep insight into both English and Vietnamese idioms As a matter of fact, a wide variety of studies and investigations into idioms have been done so far which mainly concern love, family, colors, body parts, animals, plants, etc With limited time, this study focuses on a tiny part of the whole immense idiom treasure – English and Vietnamese idioms related to dogs Furthermore, I personally find dog-related idioms fascinating to learn and use and there has been no study of idioms related to dogs in a range of Hanoi Pedagogical University Number Moreover, traditional teaching methods still have much concentration on grammar and separate vocabularies to promote academic reading and writing, which idioms are not common to use 5.2 Suggested solutions From the above-discussed difficulties, there are some solutions to help learners tackle the problems 5.2.1 “Learn idioms in context, never in isolation” First of all, it is necessary for learners to be aware that there is no need to learn all the existing idioms and it is encouraged that they should find and learn practical idioms frequently use in daily speech “If you see an idiom in context i.e., in a magazine, newspaper or a book, try to understand the context and this will help you with the idiom For example: my boss was really angry: shouting and screaming until he tripped and fell over the table Everyone laughed and I couldn’t keep a straight face.” Of all, using context is considered the most useful strategy for secondlanguage learners because idioms introduces in context are easier to understand and grasp their figurative meaning than those standing in isolation Moreover, identifying origins of idioms can be a potential approach as it provides learners explanation for figurative meanings of idioms and stories related to the idioms 5.2.2 Create conversation using idioms You must make sure that you grasp idioms, and learn how to use them effectively, “present idiom examples in context, for example, in simple conversations where the meaning of the idiom is clear.” Find a partner to make a pair, then each of you “must write a conversation and use this idiom in it.” Use the idioms you have learnt in everyday life or keep your own „Idioms diary‟ until in “a certain situation then don‟t be afraid to use one either in writing or in speaking.” Besides, one of the youngsters‟ hobbies are listening to music and “a lot of idioms can be found in songs If you can download the lyrics, have a look at the words and find the idioms – remember an idiom does not make sense if you translate every word but more that you see it as a whole expression.” 44 However, the best advantage of this approach is to spend enough time to cover proper amount of idioms at once thoroughly and have sufficient practice time without being overwhelmed 5.2.3 Themes: Related to your topic “You can include idioms in your studying by learning them thematically If they are related to the topic you are studying, you will have an easier time remembering them and will be familiar with the vocabulary you are using.” When studying about “pets”, for instance, you can learn idioms such as “work like a dog” and “dog tired” “which are related to the topic and will have something to discuss What makes idioms so interesting is that they are a unique combination of words that have completely different meanings from the individual words themselves.” 5.2.4 Always study about culture Last but not least, besides basic knowledge of languages, cultural background is also recognized as an essential role in learning idioms effectively, especially for second-language learners Without knowledge of cultural factors like history, religion, customs, tradition or lifestyle of people, misunderstanding and misuse of idioms can be a common trouble preventing idiom learning 45 PART THREE: CONCLUSION Major findings The study has presented the idiomatic expressions concerning dogs in English and Vietnamese from semantic and syntactic angle and provided a contrastive analysis between them Syntactically, English and Vietnamese dog-mentioned idioms are made up of various phrasal structures (verb phrases, noun phrases and adjective phrases; only preposition phrases are exclusive to English idioms) and sentence structures Dogrelated English idioms are mostly formed by both phrases and sentences with a variety of structures except abverbial phrases Remarkably, phrasal patterns make up nearly all English dog-mentioned idioms, meanwhile the sentence accounts the least a number of using To be more specific, English idioms have abundant structures of verb phrases, noun phrases, adjective phrases and preposition phrases in which verb phrases are the most common pattern and followed by noun phrases and adjective, even preposition pharse is rarely used in English dog-related idioms In Vietnam, dog-related idioms are in the form of both phrases and sentences with numerous structures; especially, about two-thirds of the idioms are sentences, except adverbial and preposition phrase Semantically, positive, negative and neutral meanings about human characters, luck and life conditions and so on are implied by dog-related idioms in both English and Vietnamese are under great influence of distinct cultural factors of two countries, which can pose challenges for learners in understanding the real meaning of idioms and the stylistic devices, are also utilized to make idioms richer and effective in conveying meanings like metaphor, simile and personification In general, the meaning of imagine of dog is not in surface that we can easily see in English and Vietnamese idioms but they contain negatively, most in Vietnamese It can refer to the life or respectation of dog in living style of human After studying American and British culture, that people have love of animal, even no eating dog meat makes them have the most neutral connotation in using or describing dog in idioms On the other hand, the stylistic devices metaphor and simile are the highest proportion of using in both English and Vietnamese, but only Vietnamese takes advantage of personification which is usually appear in Vietnamese literature, not in English It can be explained that English prefer as straight and clear language as possible in the world 46 Limitation of the study and suggestions for further research Due to the significant number of dog-related idioms in English and Vietnamese, the study does not cover all aspects of all idiomatic expressions concerning dogs Therefore, the study only concentrates on comparison between English and Vietnamese dog-related ones regarding semantic and syntactic criteria Moreover, because of fairly limited time and ability, limited formal information sources such as books and printed materials, and small amount of previous research done in this field, the study‟s findings may not be convincing enough and may need verification What is more, due to the large number of dog-related idioms in English and Vietnamese, cultural factors affecting idioms may not be fully covered to provide an extensive explanation Therefore, in the future, there are many areas for further studies such as: - Pragmatic features of English and Vietnamese idioms about dogs - English and Vietnamese idioms related to dogs from cultural approach 47 REFERENCES Adkins, P (1968) Teaching Idioms and Figures of Speech to Non-Native Speakers of English The Modern Language Journal, 52(3), 148-152 Alhaysony, M (2017) Strategies and Difficulties of Understanding English Idioms: A Case Study of Saudi University EFL Students International Journal Of English Linguistics, 7(3), 70 Bao, N T (2003) Ngữ nghĩa từ ngữ động vật thành ngữ Tiếng Việt (so sánh với thành ngữ Tiếng Anh) Ho Chi Minh University of Teaching Cacciari, C & Tabossi, P (1988) The comprehension of Idioms Journal of Memory and Language, 27, 668-683 Carter, R (1997) Investigating English Discourse: Language, literacy and literature London: Routledge Cambridge Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (1995) Cambridge University Press Coulson, S (2001) Semantic Leaps Frame-shifting and Conceptual Blending in Meaning Construction Cambridge University Press 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(with Examples) Retrieved from https://www.grammarmonster.com/glossary/phrase.htm 2019, April Yagiz, O., & Izadpanah, S (2013) Language, Culture, Idioms, and Their Relationship with the Foreign Language Journal Of Language Teaching And Research, 4(5) Yorio, C A (1980) Conventionalized language forms and the development of communicative competence TESOL Quarterly, XIV (4), 433-442 49 APPENDIX List of selected dog-related Vietnamese idioms “Ăn chó với mèo”: Sống khơng hòa hợp, nhiều mâu thuẫn với “Ăn chó, ló xó ma”: Giao lưu với người xấu dễ bị nhiễm, học theo thói xấu họ “Bán gà ngày gió, bán chó ngày mưa: Nên bán hàng vào thời điểm thích hợp, giá cao (Bán gà, bán chó vào ngày khơng giá mưa rét nên lông chúng xù lên trông xấu mã) Ý muốn nói làm việc ngược đời; có nghĩa thêm không gặp thời không chọn thời để tiến hành cơng việc.” “Bọ chó múa bấc: Khơng có tài cán mà học đòi, phơ trương thế, làm việc q sức nên thường khơng thành cơng, bị chế nhạo, khinh bỉ.” “Bơ vơ chó lạc nhà”: Thất thểu, cô độc, mệt mỏi không xác định việc cần làm, nơi cần đi, cần đến “Chó ăn đá/đất, gà ăn sỏi/muối”: Người thuộc nơi đất đai trơ trọi, “cằn cỗi” nghèo nàn có yêu cầu cao điều kiện sống vốn có “Chó ăn vụng bột”: Hành vi “lấm lét, sợ sệt”, hoảng loạn, biểu rõ rành rành, khơng che giấu “Chó cắn áo rách/ Chó sủa ăn mày/ Đã khó chó cắn thêm: Đã khó khăn, khổ 12 sở cực lại gặp tai họa, rủi ro Đã túng thiếu cực lại bị kẻ xấu làm hại, bóc lột thêm; kẻ bất lương, làm hại người khốn khó.” “Chó cắn trộm: Hành động xấu, độc ác thực lút bất ngờ.” “Chó cậy gần nhà, gà cậy gần chuồng (vườn): Ỷ thuận lợi mà hăng, dọa nạt, bắt chẹt người khác.” “Chó chạy hở đi/ Chó nằm lòi lưng”: “Thuộc chân ruộng xấu, lúa khơng mọc tốt được, lá, chó chạy ruộng lúa bị hở đi.” Khơng giữ bí mật hoạt động “Chó chê mèo (rậm) lơng/ Hóa chó lại (rậm) lông mèo”: Hay 13 chê bai người khác mà khơng tự nhìn lại thân điều xấu, điều dở “Chó chui gầm chạn”: 10 11 50 Thân phận nghèo hèn, chủ quyền, phải cam chịu nhẫn nhục nương nhờ vào lực, tài sản người khác (thường dùng nói việc rể) 14 15 16 Chê kẻ ác bị thất thế, phụ thuộc, chẳng hại “Chó có/mặc váy lĩnh”: “Kẻ xấu lại đua đòi cách lố bịch”, ăn chơi kệch cỡm, nực cười Chuyện phi lý, hoang đường, điều xảy “Chó rứt giậu: Xử liều lĩnh, thiếu cân nhắc bị đẩy đến bước đường cùng, khơng cách khác Bị dồn vào bước đường nên phải liều lĩnh để thân.” “Chó đen ăn vụng, chó trắng chịu đòn: Kẻ gây sai phạm để người thân chịu oan, gánh hậu quả.” 17 “Chó đen giữ mực: Ngoan cố, chứng tật ấy, không chịu sửa chữa sai lầm, 18 khuyết điểm.” “Chó đói chịu giữ nhà”: Người nghèo, yếu đuối, thất chịu làm, chấp nhận công việc hèn 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 “Chó ghẻ có mỡ đằng đi”: Đã xấu lại kiêu ngạo, hợm hĩnh “Thực chất khơng lại cố đài các, tốt đẹp.” “Chó già giữ xương”: Người cao tuổi bảo thủ, giữ quan điểm sắc mình, dân tộc “Chê người tham lam, thân không đủ sức, không kham mà nhận lấy, cố giữ, không chịu buông cho người khác.” “Chó giữ nhà, gà gáy trống canh: Mỗi người phận sự, nhiệm vụ, làm việc nấy, khơng nên ganh tị, so bì.” “Chó hùa đàn”: Ỷ đông người lấn át, bắt nạt kẻ yếu đuối, đơn độc “Chó ị bàn cờ dơ mặt tướng”: Việc làm xấu, bừa bãi cấp khiến cấp bị ảnh hưởng tiêu cực, phải chịu trách nhiệm “Chó ị bờ giếng khơng sao, chó ị bờ ao người ta cắt cổ: Giễu trớ trêu kẻ có tội khơng sao, người mắc lỗi nhỏ lại bị trừng trị, chịu tai họa.” “Chó khơn/tinh chẳng sủa chỗ khơng”: Người trải ln có mục tiêu, mục đích chắn rõ ràng “Chó lê trôn, gà gáy gở: Quan niệm điều xấu, báo hiệu điều xảy đến thấy chó gà có biểu bất thường.” “Chó ngáp phải ruổi: Kẻ bất tài gặp may cách ngẫu nhiên, có.” 51 28 “Chó nhà q đòi ăn mắm mực: Ở địa vị thấp mà đòi hưởng thứ cao sang.” 29 “Chó sói đội lốt cừu: Nham hiểm, độc ác lai giả dạng lành thiện, ngoan hiền.” 30 31 32 “Chó sủa chó khơng cắn”: Ám kẻ to mồm, vẻ ta thực chất khơng có sức mạnh hay lĩnh “Chó sủa trăng/ma: Chửi vu vơ, chửi mò khơng biết điều cụ thể.” “Chó tha đi, mèo tha lại”: Thứ giá trị, bị chê bai, ruồng bỏ, bị đùn đẩy qua 33 tay nhiều người “Chó treo mèo đậy: Kinh nghiệm giữ thức ăn thực tế: treo cao chó khơng trèo được, đậy chặt mèo khơng mở được; có phải biết cách giữ gìn, bảo vệ.” 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 “Chực chó chực cối/ máu giác”: Mong chờ, chầu chực để hưởng chút “Chửi chó mắng mèo/ Chửi mèo qo chó: Mượn cớ mắng chửi khác nhằm biểu tực giận người Chửi đối tượng thực chất ám chỉ, cạnh khoé đối tượng khác.” “Chửi chó ăn vã mắm: Chửi nhiều, ln miệng, chửi tới tấp, xối xả.” “Con chẳng chê cha mẹ khó, chó chẳng chê nhà chủ nghèo: Tình cảm cha mẹ, tớ chủ không phụ thuộc vào tiền của, giàu nghèo.” “Dâu họ, chó láng giềng: Nàng dâu ăn không tốt làm cho họ hàng xa lánh; nhà ni chó hàng xóm e ngại, khơng dám sang chơi bời, thăm viếng.” Có vật ni, đồ đạc nguy hiểm khiến hàng xóm, người thân e sợ, cảnh giác xa lánh “Đánh chó ngó chủ/ Đánh chó, khơng ngó đến chúa”: Xử có hại đến gì, người phải dè chừng nhân vật sở hữu, bảo trợ cho đó, người “Làm kiếp trâu ăn cỏ, làm kiếp chó ăn dơ: Người xưa cho người kiếp trước đầu thai trở lại, rơi vào kiếp phải chịu chấp nhận kiếp đó; sướng khổ, cực nhục đời kiếp trước định đoạt, phải cam chịu vậy, cưỡng lại được.” “Lang lảng chó trốn con: Lảng tránh, khơng muốn gặp mặt để tránh phiền tối, sợ phiền lụy đến ví chó mẹ trốn đàn nhỏ đói bú.” 52 42 “Làu bàu/ Lầu bầu chó hóc xương: Nói nhỏ, lầm bầm miệng với vẻ bực tức người.” 43 “Lên voi xuống chó”: Sự thay đổi địa vị đột ngột, lúc cao sang lúc thấp hèn 44 45 “Loanh quanh chó nằm chổi”: Dò xét, cân nhắc xung quanh trước thực cơng việc chính, trung tâm (“chó trước nằm lên chổi quét thường loanh quanh vòng”) “Lợn rọ, chó thui”: Khơng thể biết đánh giá vật, tượng 46 sửa chữa, trang điểm, che đậy “Luồn cửa tiền cửa hậu, chẳng thèm luồn bờ giậu chó chui: Đã quỵ luỵ cầu cạnh nơi quyền chẳng hạ nơi tầm thường, thấp hèn.” 47 “Mang chết, chó lè lưỡi: (Mang: có nơi gọi hoẵng) Chó săn mang, mang phải chết chó gần kiệt sức phải chạy đuổi đứt hơi, dễ mạng Chỉ kẻ ỉ vào mạnh để ức hiếp, hãm hại kẻ yếu, kẻ bị ức hiếp cách chống trả để giữ thân; 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 kẻ ác phải trả khơng phải nhẹ nhàng, thiệt thòi, mát.” “Mèo đàng chó điếm: Loại người vơ giáo dục, đầu đường xó chợ, chuyên làm việc càn quấy, phá phách.” “Mèo đến nhà khó, chó đến nhà sang”: Một quan niệm tín ngưỡng vận may rủi liên quan đến mèo chó, đặc biệt ngày đầu năm mới, “mèo nhà khác đến nhà khó làm ăn; ngược lại chó nhà khác đến nhà làm ăn thịnh vượng.” “Mỡ gà gió, mỡ chó mưa: Kinh ngiệm dự đốn thời tiết, trời mây có màu vàng mỡ gà có gió lớn, mây có màu phớt hồng mỡ chó có mưa to.” “Ngồi chó ngó tát ao”: Hiếu kỳ, tò mò khơng hiểu “Xuỵt chó bụi rậm”: Cơ hội, ma lanh, gây đoàn kết xui dại người khác để hưởng lợi “Sống miếng dồi chó, thác bó vàng tâm: Chê người tham lam cầu tồn.” “Thui chó nửa mùa (chừng) hết rơm”: Phê phán thiếu chuẩn bị chu đáo trước làm việc đó, làm dang dở cơng việc “Treo đầu dê, bán thịt chó”: Bịp bợm, phơ trương, giả danh giả hiệu tốt đẹp để che giấu, để làm điều xấu xa Những thấy bên chưa thực chất bên Làm ăn lừa bịp gian trá, trưng bày 53 tốt đẹp bên để che đậy thay xấu xa, chất lượng bên 54 APPENDIX List of selected dog-related English idioms A barking dog never bites: one who regularly makes angry or threatening statements rarely acts upon them “A dog and pony show”: An elaborately organized event used mainly for promotion or to drive sales If you call an event such as a presentation a dog and pony show, you mean that it is intended to impress people, often to persuade them to buy something A complicated presentation, event or display that is designed to attract 10 11 12 13 14 people‟s attention but which has little real content “A dog in the manger: someone who selfishly prevents other people from using or enjoying somwthing that they cannot use or enjoy themselves.” “A dog‟s breakfast/dinner: a very untidy piece of work, a mess”; badly organized “A live dog is better than a dead lion”: It is better to be a living coward than a dead hero “A shaggy-dog story”: a long, complicated, rambling story or joke, which has an intentionally silly or meaningless ending, no proper ending and is not very funny “A whole team and the dog under the wagon”: a person of superior ability; an outstandingly gifted or able person, who does all the work or is responsible for success “(As) mean as a junkyard dog”: exceptionally cruel, spiteful, malicious, or violent “(As) sick as a dog: very ill, vomit a lot.” “As quick as a dog can lick a dish”: very quick “As clean as a hound‟s tooth”: a way of describing something very clean or spotless or someone who is of high reputation and honesty “As sad as a hound dog‟s eye”: extremely sad “Bark up the wrong tree: to waste efforts by pursuing the wrong thing or path; to make a wrong choice; to make a mistake or wrong assumption in something you are trying to achieve; take a wrong approach to something.” “Be done like a (dog‟s) dinner”: To fail or lose 55 15 “Be like a dog with a bone”: To be fixated on a particular topic Stubborn, determined, single-minded, grabbing hold of something and not letting it go 16 “Be dress up like a dog‟s dinner”: dressed in a way that shows that you are trying to impress people, but that is not suitable for the occasion 17 “Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion: It is better to be in a leadership position, even if the group or organization you're leading is deemed less important than others.” “Blow this hot dog stand”: To leave a place, especially one that has become 18 dull or of no use or interest, generally in search of something better Often preceded by "let's," it is a variation of "blow this popsicle stand." 19 “Call off the/ (one‟s) dogs”: To stop criticizing or attacking someone or encouraging other people to criticize or attack someone 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 “Cat-and-dog life”: Of spouses or romantic partners, a life together typified by arguments, fights, and disagreements “Couldn‟t get elected dogcatcher”: So unpopular or unqualified as to be unable to be elected to even the lowliest role A hyperbolic phrase, especially since animal control officers are appointed, not elected “Crooked as a dog‟s hind leg”: “very dishonest.” “Dog somebody‟s (one‟s) footsteps”: To appear to follow or accompany one wherever they go “Dog ate my honework”: A hackneyed explanation for why one does not have their homework “A poor excuse for something that someone has failed to on time (From an excuse a student might give for failing to turn in homework on time).” “Dog eat dog”: “fierce competition in which people are willing to harm each other in order to succeed.” “Dog-tired”: “extremely tired”, exhausted “Dog‟s chance”: a very slim chance Used to describe something that is unlikely to happen “Every dog has its/his day”: everyone, even the least fortunate person “will have good luck or success at some point in their lives.” “Everybody and his dog”: to express a large number or a majority of people “Give a dog a bad name (and hang him)”: It is very difficult to lose or change a bad reputation, even if it‟s unjustified 56 31 “Go to see a man about a dog”: To leave somewhere without explaining where one is going The phrase is usually used as part of an obvious 32 euphemism for going to the bathroom or going to get an alcoholic drink “Go to the dogs”: “(often used of a company, organization, country, etc.) 34 become less powerful, efficient, etc than before.” “Have a dog in the hunt”: “To have some vested interest in or something to gain by a given situation.” “Help a lame dog over a stile”: To help or assist someone in need in some 35 fundamental or basic way “In the doghouse”: in a situation when somebody is irritated with you 33 because you have done something wrong 36 “It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog”: It is easy to attack (physically or 37 verbally) a vulnerable person or thing “Let sleeping dogs lie”: To leave a situation alone so as to avoid worsening it To leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 old argument, to leave disagreements in the past “Let the dog see the rabbit”: let someone get on with work they are ready and waiting to This phrase comes from greyhound racing, where the dogs chase a mechanical rabbit around a track “Like a dog with two tails”: be immensely happy, great pleasure, delighted “Like a blind dog in a meat market”: out of control “Like a whipped dog”: ashamed, embarrassed or unhappy because you have been defeated or punished “Look for a dog to kick”: To seek out someone to blame or castigate, especially someone who is not at fault “Lucky dog”: An incredibly lucky person; one who falls into good fortune “One‟s dogs are barking”: one‟s feet are very sore and tired from physical exertion “Play hide the hot dog”: To engage in sexual intercourse "Hot dog" is a vulgar slang term for a penis "Hide the hot dog" is sometimes hyphenated “Prairie dog”: to pop up to see what‟s going on in the rest of the office “Put on the dog”: to make a display of wealth or importance, especially by dressing stylishly and flashily “Rain cats and dogs”: rain very heavy 57 49 “The tail wagging the dog”: a situation which a small or unimportant part of something is controlling and is becoming too important the whole of 50 51 52 something “The dog‟s bollocks”: be extremely good, excelent; the best person or thing of its kind “Top dog”: The person with the most authority, power, or influence in a group or organization “There‟s life in the old dog yet”: One still has vitality or the ability to perform certain actions despite one's advanced age He/She is old to the contrary is still active and enjoys life 53 “Throw someone to the dogs”: To put someone in the position/situation of being criticized or attacked, often in order to protect himself/herself from 54 55 being criticized or attacked “Until the last dog is hung”: until the very end “(You can‟t) teach an old dog new tricks”: can‟t train some different skills or behaviors to someone who is set in their ways 58 ... suitable It has pedagogical goals in the field of translation and second language acquisition 2.Content analysis Content -analysis was mostly quantitative analysis of documentary materials concerning... 55 idioms in English In this study, only dog-related idioms are selected to make a contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese idioms about dogs “It is a contrastive analysis focusing on terms... similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms containing the word „dog‟ Contrastive analysis and content analysis were used to analyze and discuss 110 selected dogrelated Vietnamese