Metonymy in english and vietnamesea contrastive analysis

Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis Acknowledgements I have completed this study with the help from my teachers and friends. Firstly, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor the Dean of the Department of Foreign Languages- Master of Arts Ngô Đình Phơng for his encouragement, great support and constant advice on my study. I am grateful to Master of Arts Trần Ngọc Tởng for his useful advice and enthusiastic help from the early stages of the study. I would also like to acknowledge my special thanks to the teachers in the Department of Foreign Languages as well as the teachers in other Departments whose references and advice are useful for my study. And lastly, I really like to express my gratefulness to my friends who gave me much advice and great help throughout my study. Vinh, May 2003 Trịnh Minh Hải Table of contents Graduation paper Trịnh Minh Hải - 40A2 1 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis Acknowledgements……………………………………………….1 table of contents………………………………………………….2 Part A: Introduction ……………………………………………. 4 1. Reasons for choosing the subject .4……………………………… 2. The aims of the study…………………………………………………4 3. Scope of the study…………………………………………………… .5 4. Methods of the study…………………………………………………5 5. The design of the study …………………………………………… .5 Part B: Contents …………………………………………………5 Chapter 1. Theoretical preliminaries ……………. 6 1.1 Theory of General Semantics …………………………………… 6 1.2 Language habit-Study ……………………………………………. 6 1.3 The meaning of word ……………………………………………… 7 1.4 Semantic change …………………………………………………… 8 1.5 The use of word …………………………………………………… . 9 Chapter 2. Metonymy in English and Vietnamese 11 2.1 Definition ………………………………………….…………… … 11 2.2 Features of metonymy …………………………………………… 13 2.3 Types of metonymy ……………………………………… ……… 16 2.3.1Abehavioral-reactions-for-emotionmetonymy 16……………… 2.3.2Acontroller- for-controlled metonymy …………………………19 2.3.3 An institution-for people-responsible metonymy 19………… 2.3.4 An object -used-for -user-metonymy 20……………………… 2.3.5Apart-for-wholemetonymy ……………………………………… 21 Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 2 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis 2.3.6Awhole-for-par metonymy ……………………………………….24 2.3.7 A physiological-effects-for-emotion metonymy .24…………… 2.3.8Aplace -for-event metonymy …………………………………… 26 2.3.9Aproducer-for-producmetonymy ……………………………….27 2.3.10Aname-of-author-for- work metonymy .28…………………… 2.3.11 Acontainer-fo contained metonymy ………………………… 29 2.3.12Aconcrete-for-abstract metonymy …………………………….31 2.3.13Apartof human body-for-symbol metonymy .32……………… 2.3.14Amaterial-for-thing-made- of- material metonymy 33……… 2.3.15Aplace-for-institution metonymy ………………………… ….33 Chapter 3. The contrastive analysis of Metonymy in English and Vietnamese - Suggested exercises 35 3.1 Similarities ………………………………………………………… 35 3.2 Differences ……………………………………………………… .38 3.3 Suggested exercises ……………………………………………… 39 Part C: Conclusion ………………………………………… .42 References …… ……………… ……… …… … … … … … … … … … 43 appendix…………………………………………………………45 Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 3 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis Part A. Introduction 1. Reasons for choosing the subject In both daily spoken language and literary language in English and Vietnamese, we often meet figurative use of language that is the way of saying something that is different from a literal expression. For example, It is a nightmare, A thousands thanks, She is a snake . We are really interested in studying them, especially metonymy. For example, words such as Volt, Ampere, Penicillin… We can also see that, in fact, language choice not only depends on the speaker or writer’s knowledge, culture . but also is a habit. Sometimes, people use words without knowing much about their origin and their development of meaning. Studying about this phenomenon attracts us very much. More ever, metonymy is not only a linguistic phenomenon that exists in English but also popular in Vietnamese. It is interesting and helpful to examine and find out some relationships between two languages. That is very helpful because we can not only see the beauty of two languages but also apply our understanding to learning and teaching language, especially learning and teaching English. +These are the reasons why I choose this subject for my graduation paper. 2. The aims of the study This study aims at giving a basic knowledge of metonymy and to some extent, explaining how language is enriched. This study also gives specific analysis of metonymy in English and Vietnamese and a contrast between them. I hope the result of the study will help the readers have a deep understanding about metonymy including its nature, how it is used in daily language as well as in written language, especially in literature and the effects gained when using it. Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 4 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis We also hope that specific analysis and suggested exercises provided will contribute a small part in teaching and learning Semantics in general and metonymy in particular in two languages, especially in English. 3. Scope of the study We pay attention to metonymy-its features and types in English and Vietnamese The scope of the investigation is limited to only a few daily spoken languages, some newspapers, science books, literary works in English and Vietnamese. 4. Methods of the study - Systematic method - Contrastive method - Analytical method 5. The design of the study Part A. INTRODUCTION 1. Reasons for choosing the subject 2. The aims of the study 3. Scope of the study 4. Methods of the study 5. The design of the study Part B. CONTENTS Chapter 1. Theoretical preliminaries Chapter 2. Metonymy in English and Vietnamese Chapter 3 . The contrastive analysis of metonymy in English and Vietnamese - Suggested exercises Part C. CONCLUSION REFERENCES appendix Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 5 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis Chapter 1 . theoretical Preliminaries 1.1.Theory of General Semantics Korzybski succeeded in formulating a theory and a method, which gives a means of proper evaluation whenever language is used. This body of data and method leading to habits of adequate language-fact relationships he called General Semantics (Ibid. p.8). General Semantics, differing from the other ones, gives emphasis on the effectiveness of human communication. It provides a method of studying the part language plays in human affairs. The scientist is able to use words so accurately that they enable him to build bridges and erect giant super natures. Perhaps, the scientist’s use of words may provide a clue to help the teacher; the pupil or anyone evaluate his own language habits. There are several things that we can do to use language more efficiently and accurately to achieve understanding and agreement: a. An awareness of the all-pervasive character of language in human being’s daily affairs from infancy to maturity. b. A habit of looking to language as a possible clue to some of our misunderstandings and conflicts. c. An appreciation of scientific method as applied in the physical sciences and a consideration of the possibility of application of that method to language. 1.2 Language habit-Study An individual’s use of language is a clue to his personal adjustment, his interpersonal relationships, and his degree of maturity. A study of language habits should increase self-understanding and promote more effective relationships with others. We are born in and live in a language milieu that is tremendously influential in determining what we believe and how we act. We listen to and Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 6 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis take over existing habits of speaking and thinking which profoundly affects our ways of doing things. And if by the vagaries of existence those habits lead to confusion, misunderstanding, and conflicts, we become caught in a kind of system from which escape comes only by much effort. According to Lee (in “Language Habits in Human Affairs”), these remains something even more fundamental-the necessity of knowing how to “ talk sense ”of knowing how to use the gift of speech intelligently, of being able to manipulate the language in our own daily living and in our affairs with others so as to avoid the blockages, misevaluation, and cross purposes that seem so much a part of the modern world. 1.3 The meaning of word Among the word’s various characteristics, meaning is the most important. Word has two main types of meaning: grammatical meaning and lexical meaning Grammatical meaning is the meaning recurrent in identical set of different words and it divides words into group with their own grammatical features. For example: The grammatical meaning of “ pen, pencil and room” is that they are nouns. Lexical meaning is the realization of concept or emotion. For example: When we hear the word “school ,” our concept is realized and the picture or the image of a school occurs to our mind. There are two types of lexical meaning. They are direct meaning and indirect meaning. Direct meaning is the meaning that directly denotes something without comparing it or associating it with other things in other words, we do not need a context. Direct meaning is also called “literal meaning”. Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 7 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis Indirect meaning is the meaning that indirectly denotes something .To understand it, we have to compare it or associate with other thing, in other words, we need contexts. Indirect meaning is also called “figurative meaning”. For example: When we hear the word “skirt” we are most likely to think of a type of clothes. That is direct meaning. But when we put it in the sentence “He is always running after the skirt”, we are not talking about a real skirt in other words, its literal meaning. In this context, “skirt” refers to a woman or a girl that is indirect meaning. Indirect meaning affects the use of figures of speech, that are ways of saying thing without saying them directly such as metaphor, simile, metonymy and so on. Figures of speech can be used primarily to attain some specific effect on the reader, for declarative or purely aesthetic purpose. 1.4 Semantic change The systems of meanings of polysemantic words evolve gradually. The older a word is, the better developed is its semantic structure. So, what are causes of development of new meanings? The first group of causes is new meaning can also be developed due to linguistic factors such as the influence of other words, mostly synonyms. For example: The word “deer ”used to be used to denote any kind of beast, this meaning is influenced by that of a borrowed word “animal” and now it denotes a certain kind of beast. The second group of causes is historical or extra-linguistic. We have observed evidence that we live in a world of constant changes and motion at all levels. Different kinds of changes in a nation’s social life, its cultures, knowledge, technology, art . lead to gaps appearing in the vocabulary which beg to be filled. New created objects, new notion and phenomena must be named; otherwise, our speech will not correspond to the moving, changing world about us. We already know two ways for providing new names for newly created notion: Making new words (word - building): Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 8 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis For example: Air - line, matchbox , postman , And borrowing foreign ones: For example: Animal, crisis, and criterion . One more way of filling such vocabulary gaps is by applying some old words to a new object or notion. For example: The word “mill” originally meant “a building in which corn is ground into flour”. When the first textile factories appeared in English, it was applied to these early industrial enterprises and the new meaning was “textile factory .” 1.5. The use of word The fact that a limited number of words must serve to cover an unlimited number of things leads to confusion and misunderstanding. There is no such thing as the real sense of a word. There is only the sense in which word is used. Even though the English tongue contains many thousands of words and many of these have more than one recognized dictionary meaning yet we are far from having one word for each fact. Each word and even each dictionary meaning of each word, must do heavy duty, representing a great number and variety of facts. According to Johnson, a rather large share of our misunderstandings and disagreements arises not so much because we are constitutionally stupid or stubborn, but simply because we have to use the same words to refer to so many different things (People in Quandaries) For example: Mother says: “ I need some new glasses”. Her daughter buys a dozen water glasses for a present while what mother meant is eyeglasses. Hayakawa in his “ Language in Thought an Action”, says that: “ If we can get deeply into our consciousness the principle that no word ever has the same meaning twice, we will develop the habit of automatically examining contexts, and this enables us to be aware of the fact that any word may have a whole list of uses, what is being said may not represent what they assumes it does”. Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 9 Metonymy in English and Vietnamese-A contrastive analysis Chapter 2. Metonymy in English and Vietnamese 2.1 Definition Before giving definition of English metonymy and going into specific discussion about it, we will analyze some examples extracted from a literary work and daily spoken language: 1. Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour England hath need of thee: She is a fen Of stagnant waters: altar, sword and pen Fireside, the heroic welth of hall and bower. (“London 1802 William Words Worth” ) 2. The kettle is boiling. Reading the first example, the readers can see the beauty of the poetic lines as well as the talent of the author. The aesthetic value achieved by a special way of expression especially words such as altar, sword and pen. Here, he poet talks of “altar”, “sword” and “pen” instead of “clergy”, “soldier” and “ author”. By this way he can suggest not only the people but also the function of those people. The device is used basing on the associative relationship existing between “clergy’’ and “altar”, “soldier” and “sword”, “author” and “pen”, therefore, their names can be transferred to each other. In the second example, “kettle” is used instead of “water in the kettle” though in fact, the kettle does not boil. This way of speaking is economical and acceptable because in common, use they appear together. Similarly, people have created new ways of speaking in language that have become popular not only in daily spoken language but also in written language. This device is called metonymy. So what is metonymy? Graduation paper  TrÞnh Minh H¶i - 40A2 10