A Contrastive Analysis Of Proverbs And Idioms Relating To Animals In English And Vietnamese Equivalents

1 UNIVERSITY, HANOI VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES HÁN VĂN MAI A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF PROVERBS AND IDIOMS RELATING TO ANIMALS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (Phân tích đối chiếu câu tục ngữ, thành ngữ liên quan đến động vật tiếng Anh cách biểu đạt tương đương tiếng Việt) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 HANOI - 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL2 UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES HÁN VĂN MAI A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF PROVERBS AND IDIOMS RELATING TO ANIMALS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (Phân tích đối chiếu câu tục ngữ, thành ngữ liên quan đến động vật tiếng Anh cách biểu đạt tương đương tiếng Việt) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60 22 15 Supervisor: Đào Thị Thu Trang, MA HANOI - 2011 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study 3 Scope of the study Methodology Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER : THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Relationship between language and culture 1.2 Literal meanings and idiomatic meanings 1.2.1 Literal meaning 1.2.2 Idiomatic meaning 1.2.2.1 Definitions of idiom 1.2.2.2 Some features of idiom 10 1.2.2.3 Types of Idiom 12 1.3 Proverb in relation to idiom 13 1.3.1 Definitions of proverb 13 1.3.2 Proverb versus Idiom 13 v CHAPTER SOME FEATURES OF ENGLISH –VIETNAMESE PROVERB AND IDIOM 2.1 Proverb and Idiom relation to Language and Culture 15 2.2 Comparison between English and Vietnamese proverbs and 16 idioms viewed from cultural identities 2.2.1 Based on principles of cultural types 16 2.2.2 Based on cognitive culture 22 2.3 Animal images in proverbs and idioms 2.3.1 Animal images in Vietnamese proverbs and idioms 25 2.3.2 Animal images in English proverbs and idioms 27 CHAPTER A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH PROVERB AND IDIOM RELATED TO ANIMALS VERSUS THE ONES IN VIETNAMESE 3.1 The cognitive similarities 31 3.1.1 Same expressions same meaning 32 3.1.2 Different expressions close meaning 32 3.2 The cross-cultural differences 33 3.2.1 View from Customs 33 3.2.2 View from Religions 36 3.3 Similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese 38 idioms about human characteristics through the images of animals PART C: CONCLUSION 42 REFERENCES 44 PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale Nowadays, English has been widely used in Vietnam It is also a compulsory subject in high schools In Vietnam, English has long been regarded as a tool of international communication, and together with its rising importance, the need of learning English is becoming more and more urgent It can‟t be denied that all foreign learners in general and Vietnamese learners in particular desire to master English as the native speakers However, they usually face a lot of difficulties that prevent them from gaining successful conversations One of the reasons for these problems lies in the way people perceive and use idioms and proverbs English and Vietnamese are two different languages, that is, each of them embodies in itself the cultural factors which characterize one culture from the others Therefore, it is unquestionable that to learn a foreign language also means to gain benefits from its great stock of proverbs and idioms in which most cultural values are reflected However, most Vietnamese learners are taught English mainly with the knowledge of language, not culturally appropriate factors embedded in the teaching language They speak English without the understanding of English communication manner They write English with little knowledge misunderstanding or of even English cultural communicative background breakdown Consequently, Clearly, without it causes cultural appropriateness, learning English in general and learning English proverbs and idioms in particular seem to be a challenging process It is really a risky road for learners to understand and translate English proverbs and idioms into Vietnamese Each nation‟s language has its own similar and different concepts on many fields of life such as humane values, ways of thinking, behavior standards, religious beliefs, customs and traditions, social convention, etc Words and expressions including idioms and proverbs have formed the vocabulary system of a language Idioms and proverbs are regarded as special factors of a language‟s vocabulary system because they reflect cultural specific characteristics of each nation, including material and spiritual values Therefore, many researchers have long shown their concerns for idioms and proverbs Idioms and proverbs are used to express ideas in figurative styles They bring the vividness and richness to the speakers‟ speeches This is the reason why the more skillfully a person use idioms and proverbs in his conversations, the more effectively he can establish his communicative relationship One more important thing is that the general present tendencies are towards proverbial and idiomatic usage; therefore, knowing how to use idioms and proverbs effectively in the right situations is becoming essential Moreover, the most distinguished advantage of idioms and proverbs is that they provide users with a whole new way of expressing concepts linguistically It can be said that idioms and proverbs are the color and vitality of a language We all know that language is the most important means of communication in the world However, only when both the speakers and the listeners have a common understanding about each other , can they communicate effectively Actually, the culture and the language are considered the two sides of a paper; both are inseparable from each other and from the social context In communication as well as in language teaching, the culture elements are getting more and more important Knowing the target language‟s culture helps second language learners comprehend the knowledge of that language more effectively It can be seen that proverbs and idioms are the windows on a nation‟s identities If the window tightly closed, we would fail to decode the real message of a language in particular and of a culture in general This idea offers me a strong impetus to study proverbs and idioms of English and Vietnamese equivalents in the view of cultural identities of each nation Being interested in idioms and proverbs for long time, I choose idioms and proverbs as my thesis topic Due to the limited time and knowledge, I just focus on a very small part of the huge idiomatic and proverbial treasure, „ A contrastive analysis of proverbs and idioms relating to animals in English and Vietnamese equivalents‟ With the aim of presenting an overview of proverbs and idioms in general and a contrastive analysis of proverbs and idioms relating to animals in English and Vietnamese in particular, I hope it will partly help learners and translators avoid difficulties in realizing and translating English proverbs and idioms into Vietnamese and vice versa Aims of the study The aims of the study are: - To discover cultural values through proverbs and idioms - To investigate the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms denoting human characteristics through images animals - To help the Vietnamese learner of English be more aware of English and Vietnamese proverbs and idioms and how to use them in appropriate and interesting way - Provide some suggestions for the teaching/learning and translation of the English proverbs and idioms relating to animals Scope of the study - Proverbs and idioms are large parts in both English and Vietnamese; thus it is impossible for the author to carry out a comprehensive study on them; thus, he just focuses on some proverbs and idioms relating to animals - In this study, the cross-cultural differences view from customs, religion are extensively discussed; English idioms denoting human characteristics through the images of animals are compared with Vietnamese ones - All English and Vietnamese proverbs and idioms are collected from dictionaries; hence, this research may not cover all proverbs and idioms relating to animals, just those of common use Methodology To achieve these aims, the author has discussed with supervisor, teachers, friends and consulted many dictionaries and books of languages, idioms, proverbs, metaphor , magazines, newspapers, etc in both English and Vietnamese in which whatever relating to idiomatic and proverbial expression containing „animals‟ is taken into consideration Then a comparative analysis is designed to point out the similarities and differences between English proverbs and idioms relating to animals and Vietnamese ones Design of the study The study consists of three parts The first part “Introduction” outlines the background of the study In this part, a brief account of relevant information is provided such as rationale, aims, scopes, methods, and design of the study The main part of the study comprises three chapters Chapter one, as implied by the title „ theoretical background‟ for the study It consists of relationship between language and culture, the literal meanings and idiomatic meanings, proverbs in relation to idioms Chapter two is concerned with “Comparison of cultural features between English-Vietnamese proverbs and idioms” , whereas chapter three deals with “A contrastive analysis of Vietnamese proverbs and idioms relating to animals versus the ones in English” The final part is “Conclusion” , which provides the recapitulation, implications for the EFL teaching and learning and for the translation, and suggestions for the further studies The study ends with the “References” PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Relationship between language and culture It is said that language is the highest and the most amazing achievement of human mind Most linguists currently regard the faculty of language as “ a defining characteristic of being human” because it is what best distinguishes man from ogres and other animals Language is a creative product of human kind that helps to distinguish them from other creatures on the earth and that serves the main purpose of communication Language is not occurring in isolation because human beings are not separate islands in the world of social activities It is shown that the word „culture‟ is used frequently in our daily life but „culture‟ is not easily defined, nor is there a consensus among scholars, philosophers and politicians (nor, probably, among a rest of us) as to what exactly the concept should include Despite a century of efforts to define culture adequately, there was in the early 1990‟s no agreement among anthropologists regarding its nature Another common way of understanding culture is seeing it as consisting of three elements: values, norms, artifacts Values comprise ideas about what in life seems important They guide the rest of the culture Norms consist of expectations of how people will behave in different situations Each culture has different methods, called sanctions, of enforcing its norms Sanctions vary with the importance of the norm; norms that a society enforces formally have the status of laws Artifacts-things or material culture-derive from the culture‟s values and norms Culture, in this study, like in Nguyen Quang (1998:3), is not “high culture” (traditionally the milieu of arts, music or sciences and so on) but “refers to the informal and often hidden patterns of human interactions, expressions, and viewpoints that people in one culture share” “No culture is good or bad, just different!” And there is a famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” Nguyen Quang (1998:3) also emphasizes “it is best not to overemphasize either culture differences or cultural similarities Those who says, “We are all alike; we‟re all human” deny the shape and flavor that cultures contributes to individual development Those who say, “We‟re so different that we must stay separate” create harmful barriers by closing their eyes to what is common to every human being” Culture does not belong to any single person but to all people Nguyen Quang in “Intercultural Communication” (1998:3) describes “culture‟ as “ a share background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes, and values” What we can derive from these points of view is that the language of a community is a part or a manifestation of its culture as Goodenogh‟s word “ the relationship of language to culture is that of part to whole” Language and communication modality (verbal, gesture, written) are examples of elements that form and shape a culture Kramch-Troike (1998:3) clarifies the correlation between language and culture by emphasizing three functions of language related to culture They are “expressing cultural reality, embodying cultural reality and symbolizing cultural reality” In its turns, culture influences the way in which language is used Culture is the final arbiter of meaning or linguistic meaning is entirely determined by the cultural context in which the language occurs In conclusion, there is a close relationship between language and culture; knowledge of the target culture remains an important part of language learning, especially at higher levels That is the reason why culture learning should always go hand in hand with language learning though it may take a longer time and make language teaching and learning more challenging than ever 31 CHAPTER A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH PROVERB AND IDIOM RELATED TO ANIMALS VERSUS THE ONES IN VIETNAMESE 3.1 The cognitive similarities Hatch and Brown (1995) have convincingly argued that although we think proverbs are bound to culture, there are many with equivalents across cultures Like in many other languages, proverbs and idioms in Vietnamese and English use a lot of simile, metaphor with animals‟ images Most of those animals are familiar to human Among them, domestic animals such as dogs, cats, mice, chicken, ducks, and cows… take a large portion Then comes the typical wild animals such as foxes, rabbits, lions, tigers, fish, and birds … Maybe those points are also the common points for proverbs and idioms in most languages in the world We often foist some characteristics of human beings on animals Lakoff and Turner (1989, p: 193-194) present different metaphorical schemas that show how we conceive animals, and how we apply this folk knowledge to the construction of metaphorical schemas According to them, the domain of animal life is one of the most elaborate ones, which we use to understand the human domain And people from different cultures may have idioms or proverbs that use the same image of animals and carry the same message The reason for this might be that some animals have the same important role in people‟s lives in these two cultures, and have the same attributes and features We have the same metaphors: METAPHOR SOURCE .TARGET Pig person who is dirty, messy and eat too much Fox clever person Dog and cat enemies Cat and mouse the bully and the weaker … E.g.1: to pig it (ở dơ heo), to make a pig of oneself (ăn heo) 32 E.g.2: as cunning as a fox (ranh cáo) E.g.3: argue like cat and dog (cải chó với mèo) E.g.4: cat and mouse game (trị mèo vờn chuột) 3.1.1 Same expressions same meanings As we all know, human beings have similar capabilities of thought, similar laws of cognition So, taking a closer look at the proverbs and idioms in English and Vietnamese we can see there are even more equivalent proverbs and idioms that have amazing similarities in images, form and implied messages For example: - bookworm mọt sách - crocodile tears nước mắt cá sấu - a barking dog seldom bite chó sủa thường khơng cắn - a dog is valiant at his own door chó cậy gần nhà - a cock is valiant on his own dunghill gà cậy gần chuồng - to fish in trouble water thừa nước đục thả câu - even a worm will turn giun xéo quằn - water off a duck‟s back nước đổ đầu vịt 3.1.2 Different expressions close meanings There are some proverbs and idioms that carry the same messages but contain different images of animals Although they are different in expression and show different perspectives, they are similar in meaning Followed are some illustrations from Lê and Trầm (1986): - birds of a feather flock together ngưu tầm ngưu, mã tầm mã (p 35) - every bird loves to hear himself sing mèo khen mèo dài đuôi (p 44) - fine feathers make fine birds gà tốt mã lơng (p 49) - a living dog is better than a dead lion người sống, đống vàng (p 25) - when the cat‟s away, the mice will play vắng chủ nhà gà vọc niêu tôm (p 98) And from some other sources: - eat like a bird ăn mèo - like a cat on hot bricks kiến bị chảo nóng - to shut the stable-door when the horse is stolen bò lo làm chuồng 33 We can see that the differences don‟t cause trouble for understanding those proverbs and idioms because the cognition of both Vietnamese and English people about those animals is the same 3.2 The cross-cultural differences Proverbs and idioms are always results of social, cultural, historical and political values Despite the universal features, there still be distinct features that differentiate one culture from another Therefore, we can say that there are two types of proverbs and idioms: those with a common, universal morality, similar in most cultures, if not in the form, at least in the message; and those born from a historical fact, a local custom or a specific event in a particular culture They have their own identity signs which characterize the place or time of origin and are the distinct features of that culture Cultural connotations of some animal words in English and Vietnamese are closely related to the religion, customs and the history of the nation That is why proverbs and idioms related to animals in these two languages are different in their cultural connotations And it causes a lot of difficulties for people from one country to learn the language of the other 2.3.1 View from Customs One of the most important elements that differentiate the proverbs and idioms in English and Vietnamese is the differences in tradition and custom Vietnam - an Oriental country - has the agricultural culture, while England – a Western country - has the nomadic culture They have different concepts about the world, especially the animal world Each culture highly values the animals that have more contribution to their life That is why though both languages have idioms and proverbs using the images of dogs, horses, buffaloes…, the messages carried vary across cultures In nomadic culture like English culture, dogs help human beings lots of work They watch the houses, keep farm animals like sheep, goats …, and help hunting wild animals In short, the image of a dog sticks to the image of a nomad Therefore, dogs are highly valued and are considered human‟s best friends There are many proverbs showing the importance of dogs such as: 34 - a house without either a cat or a dog is the house of a scoundrel - a house is not a home without a dog - old dog for a hard road - love me love my dog - the greater love is a mother's; then comes a dog's; then a sweetheart's - a man's best friend is his dog Because they are human‟s best companions, the image of the dogs is usually associated with human being in proverbs and idioms METAPHOR SOURCE TARGET dog .human being (England) You can find this metaphor in many idioms and proverbs: - every dog has its day: everyone can be successful at something at some time in their life - to help a lame dog over stile: to help someone who is in difficulty or trouble - you can't teach an old dog new tricks: people who have long been used to doing things in a particular way will not abandon their habits - give a dog a bad name (and hang him): people who lose their reputation have difficulty regaining it because others continue to blame or suspect them While dogs are so important in English culture, they are not so highly valued in Vietnamese culture Let consider the metonymy below: METAPHOR PART PART dog .faithful, dependable (England) dog .stupidity, cruelty, inferior (Vietnam) Though dogs help watch houses, Vietnamese people in general dislike the behavior of dogs So, dog is used to describe the bad guys, those who are cruel and unscrupulous Bellow are some Vietnamese idioms and proverbs with their meanings: 35 - mõm chó khơng mọc ngà voi: nice words never come out from the bad guy‟s mouth - chơi với chó, chó liếm mặt: be kind to the inferiors, then they will be disrespectful - chó giứt dậu: bad guy at the difficult time may be even fiercer - chó ngáp phải ruồi: stupid person accidentally says or does right things Similar to dogs are horses, they are highly respected in English culture whereas they are not as important in Vietnamese culture In England, horses represent the strength, willingness to work and the pride of the owners - as strong as a horse - eat like a horse (eat a lot) - a good horse cannot be of bad color - a horse, a wife and a sword may be showed but not lent - choose a horse and a wife to make However, in Vietnam horses represent stubbornness; bellow are some Vietnamese proverbs and idioms using the horse‟s image and their meanings: - đầu trâu mặt ngựa: bad and cruel guys - mồm chó vó ngựa: dogs‟ mouth and horses‟ hoop are very dangerous - ngựa háu đá: the young are always aggressive - ngựa quen đường cũ: hard to rid of bad habits - ngựa bất kham: as stubborn as a wild horse Beside typical images like dogs and horses, there still be lots of different connotations of animals in the two languages expressed in proverbs and idioms such as buffalos, cow … If English learners not know about the custom of English culture they will encounter lots of difficulties in communicating, especially with proverbs and idioms 36 2.3.2 View from Religion There is a big difference between the religion in Vietnam and in England The Vietnamese religion can be considered as a complex of Buddhism, Confusion, and some other religions; while most English people believe in Christianity That is why the concepts of people about some animals in both countries are different For instance, the dragon possesses different cultural connotations in Vietnamese and English METAPHOR SOURCE TARGET Dragon power, excellence (Vietnam) Dragon cruelty, fierceness (England) In Vietnamese culture, the dragon symbolizes the high reputation In the past, when someone passed the national exam and became a mandarin, the case was called “cá chép hóa rồng” (the fish turns into a dragon) And when someone having higher social status visits a lower one, then they use the idiom “rồng đến nhà tôm” (the dragon visits the shrimp) The dragon represents power, excellence, and striving for goals, as well as being a benevolent force, which radiates goodwill, good luck, and blessings In the feudal society, “dragon” is associated the kings and royal families Vietnamese people consider themselves “con rồng cháu tiên” which means “sons and daughters of Dragon and Divinity” Whereas in English – a Western culture, it is a kind of evil monster, which can vomit fire and sometimes possess three to nine heads In English, “to chase the dragon” means “to take heroin” (The Free Dictionary), a “dragon lady” is “a woman who is domineering or belligerent” (Your Dictionary) and the Vietnamese equivalent of that idioms is “sư tử Hà Đông” Only when one understands the religious features of both languages can she/he understands those expressions correctly Though there are a lot of religions in Vietnam, most of them are imported from other country in the past such as China and India That is why there are very few Vietnamese idioms and proverbs related to classic references of religions In contrast, there are a vast number of English idioms and proverbs originate from Bible and religious references, especially the proverbs and idioms related to animals Lyman (2007) stated that: 37 “Animals are often mentioned in the Bible Some of those passages have become proverbs-that is, widely quoted sayings that briefly and strikingly express some universal truth or shrewd observation about everyday life.” One of the animals mentioned most in the Bible is the sheep Sheep are mentioned in the Bible more than 500 times, more than any other animal The prominence of sheep in the Bible grows out of two realities Sheep were important to the nomads and agricultural life of the Hebrews and similar peoples Secondly, sheep are used throughout the Bible to symbolically refer to God's people (Sheep 101) METAPHOR SOURCE TARGET sheep human being (England) So, in the Bible sheep symbolizes human being that is both innocent and sinful In English, we can find lots of idioms and proverbs using sheep‟s image like: - a lamb to the slaughter: in an unconcerned manner / unaware of any impending catastrophe - a wolf in sheep clothing: an enemy disguised as a friend - separate the sheep from the goats: distinguish between good and bad individuals, or superior and inferior ones - black sheep: The odd/least reputable member of a group - lost sheep: person thought to be on a course of self-destruction - there is a black sheep in every flock: there is no perfect group/family In the Bible, you can also see lions, leopards, bears and hundreds of other animals, insects, and creatures Each of them has a special meaning base on the references to the stories in that book According to Lyman (2007), the followed proverbs and idioms also originate from the Bible: - a fly in the ointment: a little flaw that ruins what otherwise would be something good - a lion in the path: the obstacle, especially one invented as an excuse for inaction - a little bird told me: to keep secret, or to claim intuition as, a source of information - the Pale Horse: the death 38 - to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel: to fuss about unimportant issues while assenting too readily in important ones Without understanding the religion as a part of culture, we can not understand the proverbs and idioms originated from them In short, both English and Vietnamese languages are rich in images and have a lot of proverbs and idioms And among them, idioms and proverbs using the images of animals take a large portion Both cultures share the same capabilities of thought, the same laws of cognition and a common, universal morality Moreover, some animals have the same important role in people‟s lives in the two cultures, and have the same attributes and features Therefore, we have a large number of similar proverbs and idioms related to animals, both in the form and in the message However, England and Vietnam have different history, different customs and different religions They have different connotations of some animals in life Those proverbs and idioms born from the historical fact, local custom or specific religion convey different messages though they use the same images of animals 3.3 Similarities and differences of English and Vietnamese idioms about human characteristics through the images of animals When considering English and Vietnamese idioms about human characteristics through the images of animals, we only find few Vietnamese idioms, which are equivalent to English ones both in meaning and structure For examples: As timid as a rabbit (Nhát thỏ đế) As fierce as a tiger (Dữ cọp) As silly as a calf (Ngu bò) In these idioms, both the English and the Vietnamese observe and recognize outstanding characteristics of some animals which can be generalized into human beings‟ 39 characteristics such as: the timidness of rabbits, the fierceness of tigers and the foolishness of calves Nevertheless, it is obvious that most of English and Vietnamese idioms have no equivalence in the use of the images of animals due to the clear difference between two cultures The difference between two cultures can also affects the way of using the images of animals in idioms Many Vietnamese idioms use animals‟ images with exaggeration while English ones are mostly based on true description of animals‟ behaviors We can take some examples into consideration: As vain as a peacock/as conceited as a barber‟s cat Cóc mọc lơng nách As awkward as a cow on roller skates Bọ chó múa gậy We surely know that a toad can‟t have hair in its armpit or a tick can‟t hold a stick These contrary images are put together to convey the figurative meaning: the first denotes a very vain person and the second alludes to an awkward one The use of exaggerative images makes these Vietnamese idioms more expressive and shows clearly the critical attitudes of the speakers According to Nguyễn Lực, Lương Văn Đang (1993:7-16), it seems to be clear that Vietnamese idioms about human characteristics through the images of animals are similar to English idioms in the sense that Vietnamese idioms from animals denoting human characteristically divided into two types:  Vietnamese idioms having phrase pattern: the majority of Vietnamese idioms has this kind of pattern and most of them have so highly fixed structures that is hardly possible to re-order, substitute or omit words in these idioms However, like English idioms, not all Vietnamese idioms are unchangeable phrases Some of them can have variants, provided that these changes of words or structures not change the original meanings of the idioms For example: 40 We can change the order of the idiom “lòng chim cá” into “lòng cá chim”, or we can omit or substitute the word “như” in a lot of Vietnamese comparative idioms like “gan (như) cóc tía”, “ngu (hơn) bị” , “thẳng (như) ruột ngựa”…  Vietnamese idioms having clause pattern: Like English idioms, these Vietnamese ones have a full structure with subject, verb, and object Nevertheless, they can‟t be used like an independent sentence but like a clause in a complex sentence There are a lot of Vietnamese idioms of this kind such as: Quạ đội lốt cơng Cóc mọc lơng nách Chuột chù lại có xạ hương Cà cuống chết đến đít cịn cay Ngựa non háu đá Chó già giữ xương, etc However, Vietnamese idioms are different from English idioms since they have the proportion in their structures (Nguyễn Lực and Lương Văn Đang, 1993:16) Most of Vietnamese idioms from animals denoting human characteristics own the structure of two symmetrical parts like: Chó gio/mèo mù Mèo đàng/ chó điếm Buộc cổ mèo /treo cổ chó Bới đầu cá/vạch đầu tơm Đầu trâu/ mặt ngựa Có guốc/khỉ đeo hoa … Some of them have rhymes, mainly interior rhyme such as: Mèo mả gà đồng Buộc cổ mèo treo cổ chó Có cá mịi địi cá chiên Được voi địi tiên Con rơ tiếc, giếc muốn 41 Cõng rắn cắn gà nhà Cốc mò cò xơi … Another difference in syntactic feature between English and Vietnamese idioms about human characteristics through the images of animals is that Vietnamese ones have hyperbole Many Vietnamese idioms use exaggerated images with a view to emphasizing their figurative meanings such as: Ăn chó lơng Chó có váy lĩnh Ăn nắm nút giòi… The difference between nomadic and agricultural cultures is the main reason for the differences in syntactic and semantic features between English idioms and Vietnamese ones English idioms are analytical and based on specific observation whereas Vietnamese ones are expressive, have symmetrical structures and sometimes use exaggerated images Cows, sheep, mules are familiar images in English idioms while fish, crabs, snakes, birds are easily found in Vietnamese ones These differences in the structure make Vietnamese idioms more poetic, more musical and easier to use in everyday life 42 PART C CONCLUSION English idioms and proverbs are very interesting, but implicated to study This paper cannot cover all kinds of English idioms and proverbs but has attempted to investigate English idioms and proverbs about human characteristics through the images of animals and compare them with Vietnamese ones Proverbs and idioms are not only product of language but an effectively social communication environment English and Vietnamese proverbs and idioms reflect distinguished cultural identities between the two countries In terms of principles of cultural types, Vietnamese proverbs and idioms mirror images of an agricultural origins with a high frequency of trees, crop, rice, water and some kinds of cattle, etc Meanwhile, English ones reflect the cultural characteristics of the nomadic origins This explanation for a great number of proverbs and idioms with the appearances of such great cattle images of a culture images as: horse, bull, sheep, ox Teaching and learning a language are teaching and learning a culture These two elements cannot be separated By teaching the proverbs and idioms, English teachers can help their students to penetrate in English culture excitingly and interestingly Moreover, English language learners, often struggling with a limited vocabulary, find these memorable proverbs and idioms easy to learn and fun to use Learning idioms and proverbs helps students to remember the structures and vocabularies carried in the idioms and proverbs easily We can say that in a language classroom, “a proverb/idiom a day keeps the boredom away” According to Roth, proverbs and idioms add familiarity and comfort to an often strange and stressful situation for older English learners, and they also create a more global classroom which will excitingly motivate the students It is said that teaching vocabulary is not easy at all and teaching English idioms is no exception, even more difficult because idioms are sequences of words with tight cohesion both in their structures and meanings Learners often have difficulties in recognizing that they are dealing with an idiom and therefore they are easily confused with the meaning of the idiom in 43 the context So, the first step in teaching idioms is to provide some recognizable features of idioms Baker (1992:65) gives some suggestions that idioms often “violate truth conditions, such as It‟s raining cats and dogs, storm in a tea cup, fog for thought …” Some idioms “seem ill-formed because they not follow the grammatical rules of the language like in blow someone to kingdom come , by and large… Expressions which start with like also tend to suggest that they should not be interpreted literally.” The nature of idioms and proverbs is that they are difficult to understand separately, thus we need to put them in specific context To conclude, proverbs and idioms are inseparable parts of each country‟s language and culture Learning English in general and English proverbs and idioms in particular must be embedded in learning English culture This is my first research on the issue Therefore, mistakes and limitation to the form and the ideas of the thesis are inevitable There are many things need discussing in addition to the scope of the study I would be extremely grateful to any comment that would help me perfect my study 44 REFERENCES IN VIETNAMES Dương Kỳ Đức (2003), Dê ta dê tây Ngôn ngữ đời sống Viện ngôn ngữ học Nguyễn Đình Hùng Tuyển tập thành ngữ, tục ngữ, ca dao Việt-Anh thông dụng Ho Chi Minh City Press Nguyễn Lực Lương Văn Đang (1993) Thành Ngữ Tiếng Việt Nhà Xuất Bản Khoa Học Xã Hội Hà Nội Vũ Ngọc Phan (2000), Tục ngữ, ca dao, dân ca Việt Nam, Nxb Văn học, Hà Nội Nói Chuyện Về Tuổi Rồng (n.d) Retrieved October29,2009, from http://my.opera.com/maisonbk1905/blog/noi-chuyen-rong Lê, Đ B & Trầm, Q D (1986) Tục Ngữ Anh – Việt Can Tho: University of Can Tho IN ENGLISH Baker, M (1992) In Other Words Routledge Brown, P and Levinson, S – Politeness: Some Universals in Language UsageCambridge University Press 1987 Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms (1998) Cambridge University Prsess Chase The Dragon (n.d.) In The Free Dictionary Retrieved from http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com Clucksberg, S (2000) Understanding Figurative Language : From Metaphors to Idioms NewYork: Oxford University Press Cruse, D A (1986) Lexical Semantics Cambrigde university Press Dragon Lady (n.d.) In Your Dictionary Retrieved http://www.yourdictionary.com Fernando, C (1996) Idioms and Idiomaticity Oxford University Press from 45 Hatch, E and Brown, C (1995) Vocabulary, Semantics and Language Education Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 10 Hong, Bach Anh (2003) A Contrastive Analysis of English – Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs Viewed from Cultural Identities and Its Application in Translation –M.A Thesis VNU-CFL, Hanoi 11 Homby, A S (1995), Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, OUP, Oxford 12 Jackson, H and Amvela, E Z (2000) Words, Meaning and Vocabulary Cassell 13 Lakoff, G , and Turner, M (1989) More than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor Chicago: University of Chicago Press 14 Lyman, D (2007) Animal Proverbs in the Bible Associated Content Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/321886/animal proverbs in the bible.html 15 Quang, Nguyen – Intercultural Communication – VNU-CFL 1998 16 Richards, J ,Platt, J and Webber, H- Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics-Longman 1992 17 Roth, E (n.d.) Use Proverbs to Teach English and Provide Perspective Ezine Articles Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Use-Proverbs-Teach-English-andProvide-Perspective&id=1869102 18 The Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English (1983) Oxford University Press 19 Siefring, J (Ed.), (2004) Oxford Dictionary of Idioms Oxford University Press 20 Tiger (n.d.) Retrieved October 29, 2009, from Chinese Zodiac: (http://pages.infinit.net/garrick/chinese/tiger.html) 21 Wright, J (2002) Idioms Organiser (M L Jimmie Hill, Ed.) Boston,MA: Christopher Wenger Web Sites: www.Theidiomconnection.com www.Wikipedia.com