A contrastive analysis of idioms denoting fear in english and vietnamese

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTIES OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THÙY A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF IDIOMS DENOTING FEAR IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE (Phân tích đối chiếu thành ngữ nỗi sợ hãi Tiếng Anh Tiếng Việt) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 602215 Hanoi, 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTIES OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THÙY A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF IDIOMS DENOTING FEAR IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE (Phân tích đối chiếu thành ngữ nỗi sợ hãi Tiếng Anh Tiếng Việt) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 602215 Supervisor: Trần Bá Tiến, M.A Hanoi, 2010 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration Aknowledgements Abstract Table of contents PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for choosing the topic Aims of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Format of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical Background 1.1 Idioms 1.1.1 Definitions of Idioms 1.1.2 Distinctive features of English idioms 1.2.1.1 Syntactic features of English idioms 1.2.1.2 Semantic features of English idioms 1.2.1.3 Cultural features of English idioms 1.1.3 Distinction between idioms, proverbs and some other terms: sayings, phrasal verbs, colloquialisms 1.2 Human Feelings 1.2.1 Concepts of Human Feelings 1.2.2 Classifications of Human Feelings 1.2.3 Emotion Fear Chapter 2: Syntactic features of English idioms denoting idioms fear in comparison with Vietnamese counterparts 2.1 Structural features of English idioms denoting emotion Fear 2.1.1 English idioms denoting fear have clause patterns v 2.1.2 English idioms denoting fear have phrase patterns 2.1.3 English idioms denoting fear have fixed patterns 2.1.4 English idioms denoting fear have odd patterns 2.2 An English-Vietnamese comparison of syntactic features of idioms denoting fear 2.2.1 Similarities 2.2.1.1 Vietnamese idioms with clause patterns 2.2.1.2 Vietnamese idioms with phrase patterns 2.2.1.3 Using simile 2.2.2 Differences Chapter 3: Semantic features of English idioms denoting fear in comparison with Vietnamese counterparts 3.1 Metaphor and metonymy in cognitive linguistics 3.2 Metaphor and metonymy in English idioms denoting fear 3.3 An English-Vietnamese comparison of semantic features of idioms denoting fear 3.3.1 Similarities 3.3.2 Differences PART C: CONCLUSION Recapitulation Concluding remarks Limitations REFERENCES APPENDICES Suggestion for further research PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Even having been living in England for a long time, a non-native speaker who has a great command of English could be easily realized that his English is not mother-tongue language when he is in conversation with an English speaker Explanation for this could be his way of using language Anyone who has already been put in a real communication of the language finds it easy to recognize that native-speakers‟ conversations are far more interesting and varied than that with non-native speakers The answer to this is that in their talk native speakers apply several idioms because of their convenience First, these idioms not only have brief and extraordinary forms, containing key words but they also hold profound meanings They manifest much what the speakers want to say and not want to say in words The means that can express speakers‟ viewpoints, feelings, attitudes and even personality and culture is their ways of idioms usage Take this example to consider “pull someone‘s leg‖ The phrase pull my leg would cause a lot of difficulties for non-native speakers because it has nothing to with the description of the action of pulling someone‟s leg but just means “to play a joke on somebody, usually by making them believe something that is not true” (Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, 7th edition) or simply “to fool somebody” Therefore, knowing how to use a language is a completely different category from mastering a language Mastery of a language not only needs speakers‟ acquisition of several aspects of language such as semantics, syntax, phonetics and phonology, pragmatics but also their flexibility in language usage Idioms usage is the clearest evidence for their ability of varied language usage Moreover, idioms are the combination of culture, language usage and creative competence, personality and mark of time They are everlasting and passed from generation to generation because of their own distinctive features The combination of all the facts mentioned above is the reason for the thesis In the thesis the author has made an attempt to investigate into English idioms from different aspects Then there will be a comparison between English idioms and Vietnamese idioms denoting fear Aims of the study The study is carried out for the following aims First of all, it demonstrates some general knowledge about idioms in terms of syntactic, semantic and cultural features and their differentiation from other similar terms Secondly, it represents syntax and semantics of English idioms denoting fear Thirdly, the study provides a comparison of English and Vietnamese idioms, then clarifies syntax and semantics of Vietnamese idioms denoting fear Scope of the study English idioms have a great number of idioms denoting human feelings A few of basic emotions have been researched by some Vietnamese researchers such as “A Study on Structural and Semantic Features of English Idioms of Anger in Comparison with Vietnamese Equivalents” by Doan Ngoc Diep, “An Investigation into The English Words and Idioms Denoting Happiness” by Nguyen Thi Van Lam One human emotion that appears daily, therefore has several idioms, but has not been received much study is fear Hence, in the study the author concentrates on English idioms denoting fear and put it them in comparison with Vietnamese idioms Methods of the study The approaches and procedures employed to achieve the research goals are as follows: - To establish a theretical framework for the study, both domestic and foreign publications are critically reviewed and referred to - The quantitative method is dominantly used for the data statisctics In addition, the contrastive analysis approach is employed to compare the two language and cultures - Procedures: The study takes the following steps Data sources: The sources which are used to collect data consist of books, websites and other materials As for books, books which are concerned with idioms are collected and studied to gather necessary knowledge Main materials are Oxford Idioms (2010), Từ Điển Thành Ngữ AnhAnh-Việt (2004), Thành Ngữ Tiếng Việt (2009), Từ Điển Thành Ngữ Tục Ngữ Việt Nam (2008), Từ Điển Thành Ngữ Tục Ngữ Việt Nam (2006) As for websites, they are the tool that is made use of The websites are a huge source of idioms Three basic websites are En.wikipedia.org, News.google.com and Books.google.com As for other materials, namely the previous theses in linguistics which are involved in the content of the study are also collected to grab related information Data analysis procedures: Idioms that are related to fear are collected from the dictionaries and books mentioned above Then the examples are taken from websites and books for illustration The last step is to investigate and analyze according to the requirements of the study Format of the study The study consists of three parts which are Introduction, Development and Conclusion Introduction: a brief account of relevant information for carrying out the study is represented They are the rationale for choosing the topic, the aims, the scope, the methodology and the format of the study Development: This crucial part concludes four chapters Chapter I is Theoretical Background, which introduces initially necessary theories on the topic from the different aspects involved in idioms and human feelings Chapter II provides a deep insight into syntactic features of English idioms of fear and the comparison between the two languages, English and Vietnamese Chapter III has the similar steps as the second chapter It is concerned with semantic features of English idioms describing fear and its comparison with Vietnamese ones Conclusion: which includes Recapitulation, Concluding Remarks, and Suggestions for further researches The study ends at Reference and Recapitulation PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical background 1.1 Idioms 1.1.1 Definitions of Idioms Idioms are a broad and crucial field of any languages Usage of idioms is integral in human interaction Be aware of this, recently, much work on idioms has been carried out Hence, a great number of definitions of idioms is understandable Every linguist who specializes in different branches will have different way to understand and describe idioms Jackson & Amvela and Palmer share the similar viewpoint on idiom definition According to Jackson & Amvela (2000, p.66), “an idiom may be defined as a phrase the meaning of which cannot be predicted from the individual meanings of the morphemes it comprises” Palmer (1990) states that an idiom is an expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from the meanings of its parts It can be seen that there are two visible points in their statements First, an idiom is a phrase; second, its meaning is not simply the meanings of constituents making up the phrase Having the same point of view is Seidle and Mordie (1978, p.8) who consider “an idiom is a number of words which, taken together, mean something different from the individual words of the idiom when they stand alone‖ Collins has a different way to define idioms but shares the similar idea To take the definition by Collins (1995) to consider, an idiom is a special kind of phrase It is a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one it would have if the meaning of each word were taken individually […] idioms are typical metaphorical: they are effectively metaphors which have become „fixed‟ or „fossilized‟ In his definition, there are two noticeable terms, “typical metaphorical” and “fossilized” used to describe idioms „Metaphorical‟ could be referred to figurative and non-literal characteristics of idioms In the meanwhile, „fossilized‟ implies unchangeable property of idioms It can be seen from the definitions mentioned above, the linguists have defined idioms just in terms of their semantics and syntax In fact, idioms are man‟s creation and originated from human communication, thus usage of idioms is integral in human interaction Idioms have a deep interrelation with the human beings‟ thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and attitude, which means the speaker‟s culture Therefore, it would be a shortcoming in the attempt to define idioms without regarding their cultural aspect As for her viewpoint on idioms, Fernando (1997, pp.1-30) describes idioms as “conventionalized multiword expressions […] individual units whose components cannot be varied or varied only within definable limits […] Nor are the words of an idiom usually recombinable” At the same time, in her book, she lists three features which are commonly brought up with idioms to make it clearer, they are compositeness, institutionalization and semantic opacity Compositeness means that idioms are multiword expressions, consisting of more than one word According to Fernando, the shortest length is a two-word compound structure and the maximum limit is a complex clause with no more than two subordinate clauses In terms of institutionalization, idioms are the product of socially interaction expressions which have conventionalized, therefore, idioms are conventionalized expressions Semantic opacity could be understood as figurativeness and non-literalness of idioms In accordance with Fernando, an idiom is made up from at least two words and its meaning is not inferred from the meaning of each constituent or of both 1.1.2 Distinctive features of English idioms Analysis of the idioms in terms of definition simultaneously demonstrates some features of idioms Idioms should be treated as a special kind of every language They separate themselves from regular rules compared with other sorts of a language In other words, only in idioms the unacceptability in both meaning and form of a language could exist If a sentence she puts her money where her mouth is immediately indicates the meaning via its words, it could be changed into passive voice her money is put where her mouth is However, strangely enough, following the same form of every form that could be changed into passive voice Agent – Action – Recipient, the form mentioned above must not be employed in passive voice, otherwise, it looks odd Because, in fact put one‘s money where one‘s mouth is is an idiom, it is therefore necessary to be known as a fixed unit which does not permit of any rearrangement of its elements Put another aspect of idioms into consideration, that is semantic one, there will be one more aspects involved in Whether the sentence he loses his shirt should be treated as having a meaning directly through words or an idiom denoting losing a great deal of money, it will depend on the context it is embedded with That means idioms deal with pragmatics Exploration of features of idioms provides unique and interesting their peculiarities 1.1.2.1 Syntactic features of English idioms Johnson-Laird (1993, p.iii) states that “if natural language had been designed by a logician, idioms would not exist” Idioms hold distinctive features that cannot be seen in 34 Mona; and silver wig is the another entity that highlights the habit of wearing the platinum wig by the woman 3.2 Metaphor and metonymy in English idioms denoting fear Fear is an emotional state As one is afraid of something, there will be some changes in body state The most common physical reactions of fear include rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, tightening of muscles, sharpened or redirected senses, dilation of the pupils (to let in more light) and increased sweating Visually, the eyes are widely opened, the mouth is open and dry, the eyebrows raised, voice is in irregular quality or breathless, the hairs on the skin stands erect, muscles are shriveled, and so on Kovecses (1990) suggests metonymic models accompanied by examples, which help to conceptualize fear in English Physical agitation: Our enemies must be trembling in their shoes Increase in heart rate: My heart leapt into my throat Lapses in heartbeat: His heart stopped when the animal jumped in front of him Blood leaves face: She turned pale Skin shrinks: A shriek from the dark gave me goose bumps Hair straightens out: The story of the murder made my hair stand on end Inability to move: I was rooted to the spot Drop in body temperature: The blood turned to ice in his veins Drop in body temperature and inability to move: She was frozen in her boots Inability to breath: She was breathless with fear Inability to speak: I was speechless with fear Inability to think: You scared me out of my wits (Involuntary) release of bowels or bladder: you scared the shit out of me Sweating: The cold sweat of fear broke out Nervousness in the stomach: He got butterflies in the stomach Dryness in the stomach: My mouth was dry when it was my turn Screaming: She was screaming with fear Ways of looking: There was fear in her eyes Startle: That noise nearly made me jump out of my skin! Flight: When he heard the police coming, the thief took to his heels Apart from providing metonymic models for indicating fear, in the same book, the author demonstrates a list of metaphors that are used to describe fear in English According to the author, such kind includes nine implicit comparisons, namely: Fear is a fluid in a container: Fear was rising in him Fear is a vicious enemy (human or animal): He was choked by fear Fear is a tormentor: They were tortured by the fear of what was going to happen to their son Fear is an illness: She was sick with fright Fear is a supernatural being (ghost, etc.): It was a ghastly scene 35 Fear is an opponent: He was wrestling with his fear Fear (danger) is a burden: Fear weighed heavily on them as they heard the bombers overhead Fear is a natural force (wind, storm, flood, etc.): Fear swept over him Fear is a superior: Fear reigned in their hearts Having not completely agreed with Kovecses‟ proposal, in the light of view on conceptual metonymy and metaphor by cognitive linguists, Dobrovol‟skij and Piirainen (2005) share their idea of conceptual metonymy and conceptual metaphor in English idioms denoting fear According to them, English idioms base on three source domains to denote fear They are cold, spontaneous defecation and physical weakness Cold (freezing, chilling, symptomatic phenomena connected with cold): to curdle/chill/freeze someone‘s/the blood, someone‘s blood runs cold, the blood turned to ice in one‘s veins, to get/have the shivers/willies, to chill/freeze someone‘s spine/marrow, to send chills/a chill up/down (up and down) someone‘s spine, to send shivers/a shiver up/down (up and down) someone‘s back/spine, to get/have cold feet; to shake/tremble like a leaf, someone‘s hair stands on end Spontaneous Defecation ([involuntary] release of the bowels): to frighten the shit out of someone, to have one‘s pants full, to shit bricks, to have/get the shits Physical Weakness (inability to stand on one‟s feet, inability to move, inability to breath, increase in heart rate or lapses in heartbeat, sweating, etc.): someone‘s knees knock (together), to shake in one‘s shoes, to be rooted to the spot/ground, to catch one‘s breath, to have one‘s heart in one‘s boots, to have one‘s heart in one‘s mouth, in a cold sweat, he broke out in a cold sweat, to sweat blood 3.3 An English – Vietnamese comparison of semantic features of idioms denoting fear Models suggested by Kovecses (1990) and Dobrovol‟skij & Piirainen (2005) propose the author of the study metonymy and metaphor used in idioms meaning fear in both languages 3.3.1 Similarities It is easy to see that fear is an emotion that every human being experiences and is unavoidable the whole life It is common therefore the languages that express it also share the common way to denote its meaning If there are any differences, it must be due to the languages created by different cultures (1) Fear is coldness The following examples of English idioms use this domain to denote fear ( and if it gets to the point where he thinks they're really ready to move on, he could get cold feet and move toward them in the negotiations (…) 36 (Web.sny.tv; Retrieved on 11 August 2010) ( And a chill runs down your spine Someone walks across your grave (…) (AC/DC, Night Prowler) Or: In fear and trembling Freeze like a deer/rabbit in headlights Freeze in your tracks Make your blood run cold/freeze Get/have the shivers Send a shiver/shivers up/down your spine/back A drop in usual body temperature is its response to being frightened The coldness affects the parts of the body such as spine, feet, blood, etc The application of symptomatic phenomenon to describe human fear is found in several English idioms denoting fear Both languages use this domain to denote the emotion of fear However, the usage of this domain for conceptualizing fear in English is more popular than that in Vietnamese as regards the number of English and Vietnamese idioms ―Vô nhà lão ăn bữa chơi đi! – Rắn đâu mà rắn? Bác bắt rắn à? – Tơi hỏi vậy, nghe nói thịt rắn tơi lạnh xương sống rồi‖ (Đồn Giỏi, Đất rừng phương Nam) Or some others: Run cầy sấy Run dẽ Run chó phải bả Run gà bị cắt tiết Run thằn lằn đứt đuôi Dựng tóc gáy (2) Physical weakness refers to fear It can be referred from the proposal by Dobrovol‟skij and Piirainen (2005) that physical weakness means the body cannot operate and refuses to obey the requirements given by the central nervous system as usual This characteristic of being frightened consists of inability to stand on one‟s feet, inability to move, inability to breath, increase in heart rate, lapse in heartbeat, and inability to speak The unusual changes can be applied in several English idioms to denote fear ( The end was not for me As you can imagine my heart was in my mouth all through the deathbed scene, hoping against hope that the old man would not give way, that is, take the course he eventually did (…) (En.wikipedia.org; Retrieved on 29 July 2010) ( Then the king‘s face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together (…) (Nasb.scripturetext.com; Retrieved on 29 July 2010) 37 Some idioms in the same case: Your heart misses a beat Struck-dumb Toung-tied Be riveted/rooted/glued to Be quaking/shaking in your boots/shoes the spot/ground Increase in heartbeat or inability to speak are some physical weaknesses that are found in Vietnamese idioms denoting fear ( Và bây giờ, lý trí anh bảo anh mẩu tin đồng nghĩa với chết – anh không tin thế, niềm hy vọng trái lẽ tồn tại, tim anh đánh trống ngực (…) (George Orwell, 1984) As well, Khơng dám rĩ Nói lúng ba lúng búng Chân tay rụng rời Lẩy bẩy Cao Biền dậy non (3) Blood leaving face refers to fear In the case of being terrified, human face becomes pale The comparisons “white as a sheet” and “white as a ghost” in English idioms to denote fear are based on this point ( The operations officer was as white as a sheet when he grabbed me and another pilot and told us to get those planes out of there, like right now (…) (Gadsdentimes.com; Retrieved on August 2010) Compared to English idioms denoting fear, the source domain that is used to clarify fear in Vietnamese ones is more varied and colorful, namely face and eyebrown are compared with green or grey, anil color, no blood, stuck chicken or sheet For example: ( Hai tên nấu cơm, mặt cắt không hột máu run rẩy giơ tay trước mũi súng khác (…) (Lương Sĩ Cầm, Ánh lửa) (…) Chị Hai ngẩng lên, mặt trắng tờ giấy (…) (Nguyễn Đình Thi, Bên bờ sơng Lơ) The same cases: Mặt xanh chàm đổ Mặt tái gà cắt tiết Mặt xám mày xanh Sợ tái xanh tái tía Khơng xanh tựa màu chàm Tái xanh tái xám (4) Physical effect of fear stands for fear An instinctive reflex to the situation of being scared is running away or keeping a distance from the agent that causes fear This response to the situation in which one is terrified could be realized in following Vietnamese idioms 38 ( Quân Hung Nô lại sang, vua nhà Tần cho khiêng tượng tới Giặc tưởng ngài sống, chạy chuột (…) (Nguyễn Huy Tưởng, Truyện viết cho thiếu nhi) ( Một bọn ước chừng ba mươi tên (địch) tiến thẳng phía chúng tơi, thằng thằng nháo nhác gà phải cáo (…) (Nhiều tác giả, Làng ven) And: Bán sống bán chết Chạy long tóc gáy Ba chân tám cẳng Quáng quàng chó nhà táng Lấp ló chó tháng bảy Khơng động đến lơng chân It can be seen from the demonstration that several behaviors of animals such as flickering or creeping dog, scurrying chicken, crouching snake, or stealthy mouse, and behavior of human being such as running away are employed in Vietnamese idioms to denote fear Besides, a psychological phenomenon happens when one is in the slightest degree of fear – nervousness is the feeling of heat persaving the whole body As for this domain, while in English the heat is covered the whole body, Vietnamese uses the heat at parts of body such as bowel and liver For instances, In English ( Brian added: ―Kevin has been like a cat on hot bricks, worrying about him and phoning to ask about him (…) (Lep.co.uk; Retrieved on August 2010) And others Go hot and cold Hot and bothered In Vietnamese (…) Rồi đến chiều, tự nhiên chị thấy nháy mắt đâm lo, thành ruột nóng cào(…) (Nguyễn Cơng Hoan, Bước đường cùng) And others: Ruột/gan (nóng) lửa đốt Héo ruột héo gan 3.3.2 Differences Nóng lịng nóng ruột Lo sốt vó In terms of semantic aspect of idioms denoting fear, the basic difference between two languages is their main domains on which they base to create idioms of fear (1) Fear is soul and spirit leaving the body Vietnamese idioms take soul and spirit as the main domains to denote fear Differently, English idioms‟ key domains are drop in temperature and physical weakness 39 This conclusion is inferred from the number of idioms that base on the mentioned domains to denote fear (…)đạn rơi xuống gần lễ đài, làm chủ, khách Mỹ ngụy hồn vía lên mây, "bị lê bị càng" lủi xuống gấm bàn đít ghế ! (…) (Trần Văn Giàu, Trần Văn Giàu tuyển tập) And several cases: Bạt hồn bạt vía Bạt vía kinh hồn Mất hồn lẫn vía Mất hồn vía This difference comes from the difference in belief Vietnamese attaches much importance to soul and spirit which are considered as crucial factors that decide vitality of human beings In the case of being fear, soul and spirit leave body, and the man is not the man anymore (2) Fear causes Spontaneous defecation If one is scared, he loses his mind and cannot control his body activity This kind of idioms simultaneously demonstrates the degree of fear This kind of domain does not appear in Vietnamese idioms denoting fear (… )By stating why going to London in 2012 to watch the Olympics absolutely scares me so shitless I‘d rather go work as a Christian missionary in Afghanistan (News24.com; Retrieved on August 2010) ( That‘s right: Raymar‘s still got the goods It is his wish that the rotting corpses of the mausoleum rise from their tombs and scare the shit out of the girls (…) (Dreadcentral.com; Retrieved on August 2010) (3) Fear is a burden One who is in the state of being frightened is like having a burden – uncomfortable and is impossibly dealt with immediately Vietnamese idioms denoting fear are not concerned with this case ( Call nowhere my home No worries weigh on my mind Fate is deaf dumb and blind (…) (Dada, Hollow man) ( The young agent accepts her fates and nods for Ros to take the shot, which she does, killing her friend and colleague Jo's death continues to hang heavy on Ros(…) (En.wikipedia.org; Retrieved on August 2010) As well, 40 A millstone around/round sb‘s neck With a heavy/sinking heart Get on top of sb Lie heavy on sb (4) Fear is an illness In Vietnamese idioms, this kind of domain is absent In the meanwhile, there are some in English ( Victoria Beckham is “sick with worry” over fears that her junior sister, Louise, haw be pain from a mentality tumour (…) (Ictmag.info; Retrieved on August 2010) ( Mateo is worried sick with Corazon‘s plight As such, he calls JB to tell him what‘s happened and both of them immediately went to her rescue (…) (En.wikipedia.org, Retrieved on August 2010) (5) Fear is facing the death This domain appears in English idioms denoting fear, for example: ( During the march, a skinhead leader of ELAM in army boots, had frightened the living daylights out of a couple of Asian youths who happened to be walking on the same street (…) (Cyprus-mail.com; Retrieved on August 2010) An elderly man attacked by gunmen in his own home may have been frightened to death (Telegraph.co.uk; August 2010) Or: Be the death of sb Frighten/scare the (living)life out of sb (6) Fear is mind-absence Being scared means that the emotion has controlled the body and distracts the human from thinking The usage of this aspect is demonstrated in both English and Vietnamese idioms of fear ( Finky, Pinky, and Dinky are scared out of their wits, but Stinky refuses to be intimidated (…) (En.wikipedia.org; Retrieved on August 2010) ( American politicians are scared witless of being demonised for authorising higher taxes, even if much more important issues are involved (…) (Ft.com; Retrieved on August 2010) Other instances: Be/go out of sb‘s mind with worry/fear/horror Be at sb‘s wits‘ end Frighten/scare sb out of sb‘s wits 41 And in Vietnamese: ( Nó nói thật đấy! Em nghe thấy tiếng tiếng trẻ khóc An cười: - Ơi dào! Các thần hồn nát thần tính (…) (Nguyễn Xuân Khánh, Rừng sâu) As well, Ra ngẩn vào ngơ Nao lịng rối trí (7) Frequency of images of animals in idioms of fear Usage of behavior of animals to denote level of fear is the second difference between English and Vietnamese idioms The number of Vietnamese idioms in this case exceeds that of English idioms with 14 idioms Consider the following example ( Má bầy trẻ không tiến chút hết, nghe tiếng súng run lên thằn lằn đứt đuôi (…) (Lê Văn Thảo, Đêm Tháp Mười) And other cases: Sợ bò thấy nhà táng Chó chui gầm chạn Lo cá nằm thớt Ru rú gián ngày Sợ xanh mắt mèo Run dẽ Chạy chó phải lói Len lét chuột ngày In the meanwhile, among English idioms denoting fear, there are only a few idioms Namely, ( Brian added: ―Kevin has been like a cat on hot bricks, worrying about him and phoning to ask about him (…) (Lep.co.uk; Retrieved on August) As well, A fraidy/scaredy cat A deer/rabbit in headlights Have butterflies in your stomach Have ants in your pants As for Vietnamese, buffalo, lizard, cat, dog, curlew, chicken, cockroach, fish, and mouse are the animals that are familiar to their life Therefore, the usage of their behaviors to denote fear is the most effective way to transfer the meaning and the speaker‟s intentionality English idioms use behaviors of deer, rabbit, cat in scared situation and images of butterfly and ant which cause uncomfortableness for the human beings to denote fear 42 PART C: conclusion Recapitulation The study has demonstrated basic features of English idioms denoting fear, ranging from syntax and semantics The first chapter of the study deals with background knowledge for the study in which aspects of idioms and human feelings are demonstrated The second one is concerned with semantic features of English idioms of fear and its comparison with Vietnamese ones The same step to chapter is chapter in which syntactic features of English idioms of fear and its comparison with Vietnamese ones Concluding remarks A syntactic and semantic analysis of English idioms denoting fear has shown that the English has tendency toward using clause patterns to express human fear when the number of clause patterns far exceeds that of other patterns Similarly, Vietnamese tends to use verb phrase to denote fear when Vietnamese idioms of fear in this form outnumber other patterns The comparison between English and Vietnamese idioms in terms of semantics has proposed that English idioms use coldness as the main domain to denote fear while Vietnamese ones use soul and spirit as the key domain This comes to conclusion that conceptualizing idioms depends on the culture in which the language was born Limitations of the study The study has investigated idioms of fear in terms of its linguistic aspect However, the application of the findings into teaching and translation has not given Besides, there is possibly shortage of idioms in the process of collecting data This may result in some mistakes in the study Suggestions for further studies This study has been completed in terms of linguistics field Therefore, further studies will focus on idioms denoting fear in newspaper, news online or fictions Besides, designing tasks and exercises based on forms and meanings of idioms denoting fear to teach is necessary, which is involved in methodology field Through the time of carrying out the study, there are also some proposals for next studies Which are idioms that are concerned with time and space, idioms that denote human personality, or idioms that are concerned with cultures 43 REFERENCES VIETNAMESE Bùi Phụng (2003), Thành ngữ Anh Việt, Nxb Văn hóa thơng tin, Hà Nội Nguyễn Cơng Đức (1995), Bình diện cấu trúc hình thái – ngữ nghĩa thành ngữ tiếng Việt, Luận án phó tiến sĩ khoa học Ngữ văn, Viện Ngôn ngữ học, Hà Nội Nguyễn Lân (2006), Từ Điển Thành Ngữ Tục Ngữ Việt Nam, Nxb Văn học, Hà Nội Nguyễn Lực, Lương Văn Đang (2009), Thành ngữ tiếng Việt, Nxb Khoa học xã hội, Hà Nội Phạm Văn Bình (1999), 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Psychological Review Retrieved from En.wikipedia.org Oxford University Press (2006), Oxford Idioms, London Plutchik R (1980), The Nature of Emotions, Retrieved from En.wikipedia.org Seidl J., Mordie W Mc (1978), English idioms and how to use them, Oxford University Press, Oxford Watson J B (1936), A History of Psychology in Autobiography,Vol III, Clark University Press, MA I APPENDIX I ENGLISH IDIOMS OF FEAR A bag of nerves A bundle of nerves A chill runs/goes down sb‟s spine A fraidy/scaredy cat A millstone around/round sb‟s neck A/the sword of Damocles A yellow streak Be at your wits‟ end Be caught/freeze like a deer/rabbit in headlights 10 Be climbing the walls 11 Be frightened/nervous/scared shadow 12 Be frightened/scared/worried to death 13 Be in a (cold) sweat 14 Be in/get into a flap 15 Be/stand in awe of sb 16 Be/go in fear of your life 17 Be in/get into a state 18 Be in/get into a stew 19 Be in a tizzy/tizz 20 Be/feel like jelly 21 Be looking over your shoulder 22 Be on tenterhooks 23 Be/gooutofyour worry/fear/horror 24 Be quaking/shaking in your boots/shoes 25 Be riveted/rooted/glued to the spot/ground II 26 Be scared witless 27 Be sick with worry 28 Be struck dumb 29 Be the death of sb 30 Be worried sick 31 Bite your (finger) nails 32 Catch your breath 33 Chill sb to the bone/marrow 34 Do your nut 35 Frighten/scare the (living) life out of sb 36 Frighten/scare sb out their wits 37 Frighten/scare the shit out of sb 38 Get/have cold feet 39 Get on top of sb 40 Get/have the jitters 41 Get/have the shivers/willies 42 Get/have the wind up 43 Give sb a turn 44 Give sb the shivers 45 Give sb the willies/heebie-jeebies/creeps 46 Go got and cold 47 Go to pieces 48 Hang over sb/sb‟s head 49 Have (got) ants in your pants 50 I shudder/dread to think III APPENDIX II VIETNAMESE IDIOMS OF FEAR Ba chân bốn cẳng Bán sống bán chết Bạt hồn bạt vía Bạt phong long địa Bạt vía kinh hồn Bước thấp bước cao Bụng nát Chạy long tóc gáy Chạy chó phải lói 10 Chân tay rụng rời 11 Chó chui gầm chạn 12 Chưa lại hồn 13 Có tật giật 14 Dựng tóc gáy 15 Đánh trống ngực 16 Héo ruột héo gan 17 Hết hồn vía 18 Hết hồn hết vía 19 Hồn vía lên mây 20 Hồn xiêu phách lạc 21 Hú hồn hú vía 22 Khiếp đảm kinh hồn 23 Khơng động đến lông chân 24 Không xanh tựa màu chàm 25 Khơng dám rĩ 26 Kinh hồn bạt vía 27 Kinh tâm táng đởm 28 Lang lảng chó phải dùi đục IV 29 Lấm la lấm lét 30 Lăng xăng thằng khố 31 Lạnh xương sống 32 Lao tâm khổ tứ/trí 33 Lấp ló chó tháng bảy 34 Lẩy bẩy Cao Biền dậy non 35 Len chuột ngày 36 Len lét chuột ngày 37 Lo đái máu 38 Lo đứng lo ngồi 39 Lo hết hồn 40 Lo ngáy 41 Lo cá nằm thớt 42 Lo sốt vó 43 Lo thắt ruột 44 Long tóc gáy 45 Lúng ba lúng búng 46 Mặt cắt chẳng/không hột máu 47 Mắt la mày lét 48 Mắt tròn mắt dẹt 49 Mắt trước mắt sau 50 Mặt tái gà cắt tiết 51 Mặt tái xanh tái xám 52 Mặt trắng tờ giấy ... features of idioms denoting Fear Based on reliably collected data, both English and Vietnamese idioms contain a great number of patterns denoting fear As a matter of fact, two different languages... provides a comparison of English and Vietnamese idioms, then clarifies syntax and semantics of Vietnamese idioms denoting fear Scope of the study English idioms have a great number of idioms denoting. .. of inability to stand on one‟s feet, inability to move, inability to breath, increase in heart rate, lapse in heartbeat, and inability to speak The unusual changes can be applied in several English