Contrastive analysis on english and vietnames proverbs referring to parts of the human body

Luận văn, khóa luận, đề tài

NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English Acknowledgements The thesis could not have been completed without the devoted help of many people during the time of my doing it. Firstly, I would like to express my deep thank to my supervisor Lª §×nh Th¶o (M.A) who helped me devotedly and thoughtfully to finish this thesis. Secondly, I am grateful to my teachers from the Department of Foreign Languages, especially the former Dean NguyÔn Xu©n B×nh (M.A) who gave us chance to do the work. Thirdly, I am also indebted to my dear teacher Chrisstaples and my dear friends who helped me a lot. Student: NguyÔn §×nh Lu Class: 40A2 - English Index Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 1 NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English Pages Acknowledgments 1 Index 2 Part A. Introduction 1. Rationale for choosing the subject . 4 2. Aims of the study . .…… . 5 3. Objects of the study 5 4. Methods of the study . 6 5. Scope of the study 6 6. Design of the study 6 Part B. Content Chapter 1. Background 7 1. Where do proverbs come from? . 7 1.1.Where do English proverbs come from? 7 1.2. Where do Vietnamese proverbs come from? 8 2. The position of proverbs in lexicology 10 2.1. Word structure and formation 10 2.2. Semantics 10 2.3. Etymology . 10 2.4. Lexicography . 10 2.5. Phraseology. . 10 3. Proverbs, idioms, quotations, clichÐs and sayings . 10 3.1. Proverbs 11 3.2. Idioms . 11 3.3. Quotations . 11 3.4. ClichÐs . 11 4. Distinction between proverbs and idioms . 12 4.1. Idioms 12 4.1.1What is an idiom? ……… 12 4.1.2. Kinds of idioms .…… 13 4.2. Proverbs 13 4.2.1 What is a proverb? . …… 14 Table 1. Table of distinction between proverbs and idioms 16 4.2.2. Kinds of proverbs . 16 5. Distinction between English proverbs and Vietnamese proverbs 16 6. How proverbs can be interpreted . 19 Chapter 2. English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 21 1. The position of proverbs referring to part of the human body 21 2. Parts of the human body 21 3. The classification of parts of the human body according to position 22 Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 2 NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English 3.1. The direction from top to bottom . . 22 3.2. The direction from the front to the back 25… 3.3. The direction from the outside to the inside 25 Table 2. List of English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 27 Chapter 3. A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body . ……… ………… ……… 35 1. A contrastive analysis . 35 2. The similarities 36 2.1.Using the same parts of the human body to express an idea 36 Table 3.Table of similar proverbs that refer to parts of the human body ……… 37 2.2 The same parts of the human body may be used for different purposes according to their functions 38……………………… 2.3. Both English proverbs and Vietnamese ones hold a rhyme 40 2.4.There are two parts of the human body in one proverb 40 Table 4. Table of proverbs that contains two parts of the human body . 42 3. The differences . 43 3.1. The different cultures_ the conditions of nature and society 43 3.2. Using different parts of the human body to express the same ideas 44 Table 5. Different parts of the human body are used for the same ideas between English and Vietnamese proverbs . 45 Chapter 4. The meanings of English proverbs referring to parts of the human body and their Vietnamese equivalents: . . . … … 46 1. Meaning 46 2. The meanings of English proverbs referring to parts of the human body and their Vietnamese equivalents . ……… … … … 48 3. Rhetorical figures of speech in proverbs referring to parts of the human body … 50 3.1. Hyperbole in the proverbs referring to parts of the human body 50 3.2. Metonymy in the proverbs referring to parts of the human body 51 3.3. Metaphor in proverbs referring to parts of the human body 51 3.4. Personification in proverbs referring to parts of the human body 52 Table 6. The meanings of English proverbs referring to parts of the human body and their Vietnamese quivalents . 53 Chapter 5. Some suggestions for learning and teaching English proverbs 59 1. Methodology . 59 2. What is the role of proverbs in learning and education? . 60 3. Some suggestions for teaching English proverbs .… 62 3.1.Teaching English proverbs through stories . … 62 3.2. Stages for teaching an English proverb in general . 64 Part C. Conclusion 66 References . … 67 Appendices 68 Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 3 Nguyễn Đình Lu. 40A2 - English Exercises for practice 68 Keys . 68 PART A. INTRODUCTION I. Rationale for choosing the subject When studying a nation's language, everyone wants to apprehend it thoroughly and master it well. To reach this aim, students are not allowed to skip the nation s proverbs. On the contrary, they must inherit them with a thorough study; because in the social contact, a proverb used in a proper moment and place will have great effects on the collocutors' understanding. We often read the phrase Language is a living thing as we have known that language is the address of the culture, learning a language is, in fact, learning the culture of that country. Phạm Quang Sán wrote in Nam ngạn chính cẩm Các nớc ở trên mặt địa cầu này, nớc nào có phong tục của nớc ấy, thì nớc nào cũng có thần hồn của nớc ấy, ngôn ngữ tức là thần hồn trong một nớc phát hiện ra ngoài, "Trông mặt mà bắt hình dong", "Ngời làm sao chiêm bao làm vậy", cho nên muốn biết thần hồn trong một nớc thì phải xét phong tục trong một nớc; muốn biết phong tục trong một nớc thì phải xét ngôn ngữ trong một n- ớc . (Vietnamese proverbs - Chu Xuân Diên, Social Science Publishing House, 1918, page3). This means that languages play an important part in the peoples life. Meanwhile, proverbs are the generalized product of language or proverb as a popular phenomenon of the language plays an important role in the spiritual life of the community because they reflect a vivid picture of the nations customs and cultural traditions. Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced, even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it (John Keats <1795 Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 4 NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English – 1821>) or A proverb is one man s wit and all men s wisdom“ ’ ’ ” (Lord John Russell). Every language has its own system of proverbs. During the process of learning English proverbs, we find various types of English proverbs, especially English proverbs referring to parts of the human body. It takes precedent in English proverbs as well as in Vietnamese ones, that interests me very much and urges me to choose the subject “A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body ” with a hope that this study will contribute a small part to the teaching and learning of English proverbs. Especially to those who want to study deeply this subject "English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body". II. Aims of the study • To describe English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body. • To make a contrastive analysis on proverbs referring to parts of the human body. We try to find out the similarities and differences between them and the distinction between English culture and Vietnamese one in these proverbs. • To try to offer some suggestions for teaching proverbs at schools and offer some possible types of exercises to improve the learning of English proverbs. • To improve English vocabulary through learning proverbs referring to parts of the human body. • To help learners of English thoroughly apprehend their nation’s folklore as well as their mother tongue’s rich ability of expression. • To enable the learners to express their thoughts and feeling in English exactly, flowingly, meaningly, and figuratively. III. Objects of the study Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 5 NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English • Proverbs • English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body • Meanings of English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body IV. Methods of the study • Statistic method • Contrastive and comparative method • Analysis and systematic method • Obtaining advice from experts V. Scope of the study • Due to the time limitation, we only focus on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body VI. Design of the study Part A. Introduction 1. Rationale for choosing the subject 2. Aims of the study 3. Objects of the study 4. Methods of the study 5. Scope of the study 6. Design of the study Part B. Content Chapter 1. Background Chapter 2. English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body Chapter 3. A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body Chapter 4. The meanings of English proverbs referring to parts of the human body and their Vietnamese equivalents Chapter 5. Some suggestions for learning and teaching English proverbs Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 6 NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English • Exercises for practice • Keys Part C. Conclusion References Appendices PART B. CONTENT Chapter 1 Background 1. Where do Proverbs come from? 1.1. Where do English proverbs come from? Proverbs come from two primary sources: the common and the wise. These two sources are not really distinct. Something common and popular has often been documented by the wise, and something written by the wise has often been liked and freely used by the common. The latter is the case where quotations graduate to proverbs. Proverbs have largely originated from the traditional and collective wisdom of mankind. By way of examples, Little strokes fell great oaks have obviously come from the common experience of woodcutters in olden times. A stitch in time saves nine has evidently come from the experience of housewives in mending clothes. Many English proverbs owe their origin to the Bible, e.g: A soft answer turneth away wrath. In addition to the Bible, several proverbs are believed to have their origin in the works of William Shakespeare. It is difficult to be certain whether these Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 7 NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English proverbs were truly invented by Shakespeare or they were already in existence before or around his time. Some examples follow. Brevity is the soul of wit (from Hamlet) A rose by any other name would smell as sweet (from Romeo and Juliet) Famous literary works have contributed to a lot of proverbs as illustrated below. A little learning is a dangerous thing (from Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope) A thing of beauty is a joy forever (from the poem Endymion by John Keats) Other proverbs are attributed to particular individuals; presumably wise and learned ones, e.g., “they also serve who only stand and wait” appears as the last line in John Milton's sonnet on his blindness. Some English proverbs have their origin in other languages like French, Latin and Spanish. The English versions may have developed in parallel, or been borrowed from other languages. For instance, “he gives twice who gives quickly” is a translation of “bis dat qui cito dat” (Latin). When the proverbs have not been translated and are even today more popular in their original form, they can be readily recognized to have been borrowed from another language. Here are some examples. Caveat emptor (Latin) is more popular than Let the buyer beware. In vino veritas (Latin) is more popular than In wine, there is truth. 1. 2. Where do Vietnamese proverbs come from? Proverbs are an oral tradition that the Vietnamese people have conserved for four thousand years of their history. They are often used as popular expression to criticize society and to describe the daily hardships of the peasants. As Vietnam is a farming country, one finds in most of the proverbs a great deal Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 8 Nguyễn Đình Lu. 40A2 - English of the peasant s life. It is dominated by factors beyond the control of the peasants; floods, droughts, typhoons, etc. Their existence is the continual struggle. Like English proverbs, Vietnamese proverbs also come from two sources: the common and the wise. Usually proverbs are created naturally through the peasants life. They are transferred from generation to generation by the oral way. Some proverbs were written by intellectuals, writers, poets, and famous men. Because of particular reasons, proverbs were widely propogated in the community, examples: ngày vui ngắn chẳng tày gang ; cảnh nào cảnh chẳng đeo sầu, ngời buồn cảnh có vui đâu bao giờ ; c ó tài mà cậy chi tài, chữ tài liền với chữ tai một vần They are in the Kiều story by Nguyễn Du, are widely used as proverbs or ôn cũ biết mới(ôn cố nhi tri thân); tai hoạ từ miệng gây ra, bệnh tật từ miệng rớc vào (Hoạ do khẩu xuất, bệnh do khẩu nhập). The first one is of Khổng Tử and the second is of Phó Huyền (Chinese author) (Vietnamese proverbs -Chu Xuân Diên, Social Science Publishing House 1975, page 55). Proverbs are of intellectuals, writers or famous men. They came to the community by Confucian scholars, Confucianism came to Vietnam during the Chinese domination and then the Le dynasty it became official idealogical system of Vietnamese feudalism. Some proverbs are borrowed from other countries like China, họ hàng xa không bằng láng giềng ở gần (viễn thân bất nh cận lân), French mèo đi rồi chuột nhảy múa (le chat parti les souris dansent), a Russian proverb mèo vắng nhà chuột tự do , a German proverb, phần đầu xuôi thì phần sau lọt(Frisch be gonnen, halb gennonen) Some proverbs are collected from other ethnic groups. In the country such as the proverbs of Mờng people con gái là trái bòn ; một năm làm nhà, ba năm trả nợ; chó cậy nhà, gà cậy gần cùm Thái Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 9 NguyÔn §×nh Lu. 40A2 - English people have proverbs “gÇn löa r¸t mÆt, gÇn s«ng s¹ch m×nh”; gÇn quan th× khæ,“ gÇn nåi th× nhä ” …these proverbs are also equivalent of Viet people‘s ones. Therefore the sources of Vietnamese proverbs are very various. 2. The position of proverbs in lexicology Lexicology is the study of words that are considered as a branch of linguistics. Lexicology can be said to consist of five essential branches: 2.1. Word structure and formation: It investigates all the problems concerning the structure of the word and the way it is formed. 2.2. Semantics: It focuses on the meaning of the word, chiefly the lexical meaning because the grammatical meaning is studied in the grammar. It discusses types of meaning, the change and the development of meaning, the grouping of words and so on. 2.3. Etymology: It refers to the history and the origin of words. Etymologists divide the English vocabulary into main layers: native words and borrowings (borrowed words). 2.4. Lexicography: It studies the problem related to dictionary compiling. They are the problem of the types of dictionary, the selection of words for each type, the arrangement of words and so on. 2.5. Phraseology: It goes into set (fixed) expressions, which are reproduced in speech as ready - made units. There may be standardized word phrases to very long sayings. In English, there are such set expressions as: “good heavens ;” diamond cut diamond ; no pains no gains ; as strong as a horse ; two heads“ ” “ ” “ ” “ are better than one” so phraseology consists of idioms, quotations, clichÐs, sayings and proverbs. Like a picture, a proverb is worth a thousand words. 3. Proverbs, idioms, quotations, clichÐs, and sayings Very often there arises the problem of distinction between proverbs, idioms, sayings . A perfect solution is hardly possible since there are many Graduation thesis - A contrastive analysis on English and Vietnamese proverbs referring to parts of the human body 10