Structural and semantic features of english idioms referring to head and a contrastive analysis with vietnamese idioms

Vinh University Foreign languages department ======== structural and semantic features of English idioms referring to "Head" and a contrastive analysis with Vietnamese idioms (đặc trng cấu trúc, ngữ nghĩa của thành ngữ tiếng anh có chứa thành tố "head" và đối chiếu với tiếng việt) graduation thesis Field: English linguistics Student: hà văn xuân Supervisor: nguyễn thị tờng, m.a 1 Vinh - 2007 Part A. Introduction 1. reasons for choosing the topic We choose to write this graduation thesis about the topic “structural and semantic features of English idioms referring to “Head” and a contrastive analysis with Vietnamese idioms” for the following reasons. Firstly, idioms play an important role in a language both in written and spoken forms. Using idioms in communication is the most effective and interesting way because they contain not only the literal meanings but the figurative and expressive meanings as well. They are an integral part of a language and they make the language more beautiful and more dynamic. In English, the demand for using idioms is becoming higher because it is taught, learned, and communicated worldwide. Secondly, idioms give us many difficulties in communication. Although idioms help speakers and writers communicate more successfully and make languages more interesting, they are not easy at all to master and use appropriately. The listeners and readers also find it really hard to understand idioms because their meanings cannot often be deduced from the individual components. For example, when we say “Nam ®óng lµ ®Çu gèi qu¸ tai”, we do not mean that his legs are very long and when he sits down on the ground, his knees are higher than his ears. What we imply is that Nam is very lazy. The sentence “he is big-headed” does not refer to a man who has a head that is big but a man who is very conservative. Moreover, words denoting parts of human body in general and denoting “Head” in particular are available in the basic vocabulary stock of both English and Vietnamese. As a result, the number of idioms referring to those words is quite large and they are used very frequently. Lastly, this is a very new and interesting topic. Idioms interest many linguists but most of those authors only study the aspects of meanings and cultural features. The structural features of English idioms have only been dealt with by foreign linguists. This will be mentioned more carefully in the part “history of the study of idioms”. To choose 2 this topic, we could avoid the similar ways of writing the thesis of former writers. We hope that with the thesis, we can contribute a small part to help Vietnamese people who learn English as well as who are interested in idioms. 3 2. Aims of the study The first aim of the study is to make a contrast of structural and semantic features of English and Vietnamese idioms referring to “Head”. The second aim is to help English learners improve their knowledge of English and Vietnamese idioms referring to “Head” and also help them understand the cultural characteristics of English and Vietnamese people via the idioms. The third aim is to help the teaching and learning of idioms. Teachers will have some techniques to teach their students idioms. Learners will have some suggested exercises to practice and learn idioms. The last aim is to satisfy our interest in idioms. 3. scope of the study a. Idioms b. English and Vietnamese idioms referring to “Head’ c. Structures and meanings of English and Vietnamese idioms referring to “Head” 4. Methods of the study This study is based on the two following methods a. Analytical and systematic methods b. Contrastive method 5. Design of the study Part A. Introduction 1. Reasons for choosing the study 2. Aims of the study 3. Objects of the study 4. Methods of the study 5. Design of the study Part B. Contents Chapter I. Theoretical background 4 Chapter II. Structural and semantic features of English and Vietnamese idioms referring to “Head” Chapter III. Some suggestions for learning and teaching English idioms Part C. Conclusion References 5 Part B. Contents Chapter 1. theoretical background 1.1. Idioms 1.1.1. The definition of English idioms In English, “idiom” is a term that has been defined differently by various authors. It can be treated as a type of collocation involving two or more words. According to “Longman Dictionary of English language and culture”, an idiom is a“ fixed phrase that has its own special meanings and it is impossible to guess the meanings from separated words .” For example, when we say, “someone kicked the bucket” we do not imply that they hit a type of container with their foot, but we mean that they died. Similarly, when we say “do not beat a dead horse” we do not refer to a carcass of a certain kind of animal but what we mean is that a person should not waste time thinking of an issue that has already been decided. Or when we say “he has a thick head”, we do not imply that man’s head is thick, what we want to mean is he is stupid, he is foolish, etc. Such phrases as “to kick the bucket”, “do not beat a dead horse” or “to have a thick head” are called idioms. In Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Johan Than Crowder (1995) defines an idiom as a phrase whose meaning is difficult or sometimes impossible to guess by looking at“ the individual words it contains .” Jennifer Seidl and W. Mc Mordie (1988) defines an idiom as a number of“ words which, when taken together, have different meanings from the individual meanings of each word .” In general, these linguists have similar opinions about the definition of English idioms. We can understand that an English idiom is a phrase whose meanings cannot be predicted from the individual meanings of the components it includes. 1.1.2. Definition of Vietnamese idioms According to Hoµng Phª (1997), an idiom is considered to be a set of“ expression whose meaning is generally inexplicable simply through the meanings of individual words it contains .” For example: 6 The phrase da mồi tóc sơng (scaly skin and grey hair) means very old, it is used to indicate an aged person as in the following sentences: Chốc đà mời mấy năm trời Còn ra khi đã da mồi tóc sơng (Truyện Kiều Nguyễn Du) (With more than ten years gone If still alive, they must have old teeth, gray hair) Hoàng Văn Hành (1994) defines an idiom as a stable word group with a solid formation and structure, and a complete and figurative meaning, used in everyday communication, especially in spoken language For instance: - Cứng đầu cứng cổ (hard head and hard neck) is used to refer to a person that is very stubborn, inflexible. - Cá chậu chim lồng (fish in a pot and birds in a cage) is used to indicate the state of having no freedom. Một đời đợc mấy anh hùng Bỏ chi cá chậu chim lồng mà chơi (Truyện Kiều- Nguyễn Du) (How often have you lucked upon a man? When bother with caged birds and fish in a pot?) 1.1.3. History of idioms study abroad and in Vietnam 1.1.3.1. In western Europe and America Many linguists started studying English idioms since the beginning of twentieth century. Some authors have made great contributions to the collection of English idioms such as: W. Mc Marie, with English idioms and how to use them (published in 1909), is considered the first author to study on the field of English idioms; L.P. Smith with Idioms (1922); V.H Collins with A book of English idioms with explaination (published in 1958); H.Collins with American English idioms (published in 1986); Broke M. with idioms for everyday use (publish in 1994); A.D. Cowries, R. Martin and I. R. Cairo with Oxford Dictionary of current idiomatic English (published in 1994); Lord Quick, professor Douglas Bibber, Rod Bonito and many other authors with Long man Idiom Dictionary (published in 1998); Teachers and Researchers from 7 Cambridge University with Cambridge International Dictionary of Idiom (published in 1999) 1.1.3.2. In Vietnam In Viet Nam, not until 1980 did linguists start their study in English idioms. However, many authors show their interests in this new, difficult subject. For example: Bùi Phụng With Dictionary of Vietnamese- English idioms and proverbs explained (published in 1995 in 1995); Đoàn Minh, Nguyễn Thị Tuyết with English- Vietnamese common idioms (published in 1994); Trần Tất Thắng with Idioms for everyday use (published in 1995); Phạm Văn Bình with English idioms and proverbs (published in 19986); Lã Thành with Dictionary of Current English - Vietnamese idiom (Translation, published in 1995). In terms of Vietnamese idioms, many Vietnamese authors had long researches and gave out worthy collections such as: Lơng Văn Đang, Nguyễn Lực with Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (published in 1979); Hoàng Văn Hành, Nguyễn Nh Y and Phan Xuân Thành with Kể chuyện thành ngữ tục ngữ, volume 1,2,3 (published in 1998, 1991); Vũ Dung with Từ điển thành ngữ và tục ngữ Việt Nam (published in 1993); Nguyễn Nh Y, Nguyễn Văn Khang & Phan Xuân Thành with Từ điển thành ngữ Việt Nam (published in 1993); Việt Chơng with Từ điển thành ngữ, tục ngữ, ca dao Việt Nam (published in 1999); Nguyễn Nhã Bản with Cuộc sống của thành ngữ, tục ngữ trong kho tàng Ca dao ngời Việt (published in 2003). In conclusion, idioms have been studied widely through the time in Vietnam as well as abroad. In order to distinguish idioms from free-word groups and proverbs, we will come to the next part. 1.1.4. Distinction between idioms and free word groups and proverbs 1.1.4.1. Free word groups and idioms The distinction between free word groups and idioms is a very complex problem. A free-word group consists of different words but its meaning is easily deduced in any context. An idiom, as A.V. Kevin (1984) defines, is a stable word- group characterized by a completely or partially transferred meaning . It means that the meaning of an idiom is entirely new and different from the individual ones. 8 This will be illustrated in the following examples: 1. Don’t put your food here. There are so many blue bottles. 2. The shopkeeper, can I have two blue bottles, please? At the first sight, we can see the same phrase “blue bottles” in the former case without any difference in spelling. However, in the former case, “blue bottles” is used to refer to a certain kind of flies. The meaning of the phrase is completely different from the individual words (blue: a color, bottle: a kind of containers). In the former case, “blue bottles” is used to directly refer to a kind of container that is blue in color. Therefore, the first criterion is the semantic differences of the two word groups consisting of the same components. The second type is represented by idioms in which some of the components preserve their usual meanings and the others have meanings that are peculiar as in “To make a bed”. “Bed” is not idiomatic because it refers to a kind of furniture used to sleep on. However, “to make” is not used in the usual sense of “to manufacture”. According to G.B. Intrusion (1985), structural invariability is one of the essential features to distinguish idioms from free- word groups. It is represented as the following restrictions. The first restriction is in substitution. The components of any idioms are very fixed, no component can be substituted by another one without differentiating its meanings . For example “an old head on young shoulders” is used to refer to the wisdom of a young person, but “an old face on young shoulders” or “an old ears on young shoulders” make no sense. Similarly, “a bee in one’s bonnet” means “to have an obsession about something”, the word “bonnet” can not be substituted by “hat”, “cap” nor any other word although they are synonymous. Whereas, in a free word group, some substitutions can be accepted without destroying the general meanings. For instance, “He bought a hand bag”, or “He bought a school bag” are both comprehensible. The second restriction is in the addition of some elements. An idiom is always stable in its number of components. We cannot add or take out any element from certain idioms. For example, “to be weak in the head” means “rather unintelligent”, we cannot add any element such as “to be weak in the big head”, or “to be weak in the beautiful head”. In contrast, a free word group can be added one or more elements without changing the general meaning that the speakers convey. For example, “He bought a pig head to prepare for the engagement ceremony”, we can add “big” or “expensive” to form another sentence without seriously damaging its meaning that the 9 speaker conveys: He bought an expensive pig head to prepare for the engagement ceremony The third restriction is in grammatical invariability. Constituents of an idiom are used in a fixed rule, their form cannot be changed. For example, cost an arm and a leg (very expensive). It is impossible to change an arm and a leg into arms and legs, because cost arms and legs does not make sense. Meanwhile, in free word groups, the similar change is acceptable. 1.1.4.2. Proverbs and idioms In order to distinguish idioms from proverbs, we should have a look at the definition of proverbs first. A proverb is defined as a short well- known sentence or phrase that states a general truth about life or gives advice (Advanced Learners Dictionary). According to another dictionary, proverb is a traditional saying which offers advice or presents a moral lesson in a short and pity manner (John Simpson - Proverbs - Oxford University press) For example, Two heads are better than one means It is better to have a discussion before making a decision. This is an advice and the phrase mentioned is called a proverb. Many English proverbs have their Vietnamese equivalents such as: -A still tongue makes a wise head (If you are wise, you do not talk so much. You only speak if necessary) (ăn bớt đọi nói bớt lời) -Do not put ones own head under the chopper (do not put your own head into the noose) (Đừng chui đầu vào thòng lọng) -Out of sight, out of mind (xa mặt cách lòng) In communication, proverbs are used to express popular wisdom, provide wise advice, truth or moral lessons in a concise and imaginative way. Their meanings are figurative. Let us consider: So many men so many minds which means everyone has their idea - a truth in life 10