MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M. THESIS LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH ENVIRONMENTAL TERMINOLOGY (Đặc điểm ngôn ngữ của Thuật ngữ Môi trường Tiếng anh) TRẦN THỊ NGỌC LAM Field: English Language Code: 8.01 Hanoi, 01 / 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M. THESIS LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH ENVIRONMENTAL TERMINOLOGY (Đặc điểm ngôn ngữ của Thuật ngữ Môi trường Tiếng anh) TRẦN THỊ NGỌC LAM Field: English Language Code: 8. Phan Van Que Hanoi, 01 / 2023 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ENVIRONMENTAL TERMINOLOGY (Đặc điểm ngôn ngữ của thuật ngữ Môi trường Tiếng Anh) submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language.
Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis. Hanoi, 2023 Tran Thi Ngoc Lam Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date: ………………… ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc. Phan Van Que, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher.
A special word of thanks goes to all the lecturers of the M.A course at Hanoi Open University and many others, without their supports and encouragements it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished. Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my friends for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work. ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to analyze the morphological and semantic features of Environmental terminology in English in order to assist English language learners in accurately recognizing and utilizing this type of terminology. In this study, the author evaluates and analyses English environmental terminology data.
The terminology is collected from an English – Vietnamese dictionary. Statistics, description, analysis are among the approaches utilized by the study. Employing the statistical method, a list of Environmental terms is created. The descriptive method illustrates morphological and semantic features.
The analytical method facilitates the analysis of the forms, structures, rules, and principles of terminology. The result of this study illustrates five morphological and two semantic features of environmental terminology in English, provides professional implications for ESP teachers while teaching environmental terminology, and suggests future research directions. TABLE OF FIGURES Table 4.1 Prefixes in environmental terms in English .2 Suffixes in environmental terms in English .3 Environmental terms by compounding .4 Environmental terms by initialism .5 Environmental terms by clipping .6 The ways of creating environmental terms .7 Percentage of one-element terms .8 Percentage of two-element terms .9 Percentage of three-element terms .10 Percentage of four-element terms .11 Percentages of element environmental terms in English .13 Denotative meaning of environmental terms .45 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Aims and objectives of the study.
Scope of the research. Methods of the study. Significance of the study. Structure of the study .4 CHAPTER 2: : LITERATURE REVIEW.
An overview of terms and terminology. Definition of terms. Definition of terminology. Features of terminology.
Features of environmental terminology. Distinction between terminology and terms. Distinction between terms and words. An overview of semantics.
Meaning and meaning‟s perspectives .26 CHAPTER 3: : THE METHODOLOGY. Principles for data collection and data analysis .34 CHAPTER 4: MORPHOLOGYCAL AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS IN ENGLISH. Morphological features of environmental terms in English. Derivation of term.
Elements in creating environmental terms in English. One-element terms. Two-element terms. Three-element terms.
Four-element terms. Five-element terms. Semantic features of environmental terminology in English. Limitations of the current research.
Suggestions for further research .53 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The chapter sheds light on the rationale for this study. More importantly, the aim and objectives are summarized in two research questions. This chapter continues with the scopes, the significance, the method and the overview of the study. Rationale The environment has become a hot topic on a global scale as well as in Vietnam, especially after a series of recent natural disasters such as tropical storm and flood.
As a result, environmental science has become an important field; a number of people have taken courses in this field, various research has been conducted, and international, regional, and national conferences have been held. However, the majority of scientific information is produced and disseminated in English in Western nations. Thus, the translation of environmental terminology in such conferences and seminars raises a number of issues. In this light, understanding environmental terminology is crucial for future specialists in the environmental sector.
Numerous scientists focus on various facets of the study of the concept of “term” and the peculiarities of terminology system construction in the environmental field. Such researchers as Dubuc (1997), Felber (1984), Sager (1990) were preoccupied with the approach for the analysis of words as language subsystems in general. The particular term systems associated to environmental terms and issues in terminological processes of ecological terminology in English, however, have not been the focus of scholars worldwide or in Vietnam. As one of the premier environmental research universities, Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment (HUNRE) has recognized and recognized the significance of English in the environmental field.
English for Environment is therefore taught to second-year students whose major is related to the field of environment. The demand for English environmental terminology necessitates an appropriate translation. However, environmental terminology in English is an issue that has not been addressed by researchers at HUNRE. First, when teaching English for environmental purposes, a lecturer may be uncertain as to whether he should explain an English environmental term in his own way or translate it into Vietnamese so that students can fully comprehend it.
Experience has shown that while describing a new term in a lengthier set of words, 1 the instructor might compel to use unfamiliar or more difficult terminology for his students. Due to insufficient environmental science expertise, translation is not always pleasurable or simple for the instructor. Therefore, it complicates translation and the selection of acceptable meanings. In addition, there are now English- Vietnamese environmental science dictionaries; however, a dictionary may provide many Vietnamese definitions for a single English phrase and may not be able to provide all environmental term definitions.
This could result in various translations of the same concept by various lecturers. Given that environmental terms are not just structurally but also semantically complex, this circumstance may be reasonable. In most cases, the meaning of an environment term may be deduced from the word‟s direct meaning, but in certain cases, the meaning must be derived from other aspects of the word. As a lecturer, who teach English for Environment for students at HUNRE, the researcher believes that the issue is due not only to the approach to the subject and the complexity of the English environment, but also to the use of inappropriate materials.
Consequently, it is expected that a study of English environmental terminology will have huge impact on this situation since the environmental terminology in English remains an unresolved issue. In light of this, the goal of this research on the issue of “Linguistic features of English environmental terminology” is conducted to assist the teaching and learning of English for Environmental purposes. Aims and objectives of the study The aims of the study are to identify the morphological and semantic features of English environmental terminology so that English language teachers and students can use these terms appropriately and efficiently. This study has two objectives as follows: - To point out the morphological features of environmental terminology in English - To point out the semantic features of environmental terminology in English 1.
Research questions The research attempts to answer the following questions: - What are morphological features of English environmental terminology? - What are semantic features of English environmental terminology? 2 1. Scope of the research Due to limited resources and settings, this study focused on two features of lingustics, which are the morphological and semantic features of English environmental terminology. The primary source of data for this study is the “English-Vietnamese Mining and Environment Dictionary”, written by Bui Xuan Nam, Mai The Toan, and Nguyen Anh Tuan and published by Science and Technics Publishing House in Hanoi in 2015. It is crucial to note that the selected terms are not all of the terms in the material, but rather the most commonly used terms.
There are total 1508 terms collected in this study. Methods of the study In this study, the author has employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The objective of qualitative research, which is employed in the earliest stages of a research study, is to provide a comprehensive, detailed description of the features of English environmental terminology. Quantitative research relies mostly on counting and categorizing features and using statistical models and figures to explain what is found.
Since the fundamental purpose of this study is to define the properties of terminology, the descriptive method is typically utilized to achieve this objective. The author additionally performs qualitative research to describe the source‟s data. In order to determine the morphological features of the terminology, the data are analyzed using the process of compounding, which divides the terms into minimal components. Descriptive research is one of the qualities of qualitative research, and a subcategory of this is documentary analysis.
Documents are printed pieces of paper that contain information. In this case, the emphasis of the documentary analysis was the list of terms from the selected sources. The primary method of data collection is the assortment of environmental terminology from the dictionary. Utilized data analysis procedures include collection, processing, and classification.
The study will be conducted as follows: first, data will be gathered from the chosen dictionary; second, the data will be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to determine the morphological and semantic features of environmental terminology; and finally, the results will be categorized and presented in the form of tables. After collecting data, they are sorted and statistically and qualitatively examined to produce actual results. The 3 results of the investigation offer some implications for the teaching and learning of English environmental terminology. Significance of the study This research is conducted to contribute to theoretical foundation of terminology, in terms of systemizing general theories as well as theory of environmental terminology.
In practice, the findings can be used as a referential material in teaching English for Environmental purposes at Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment. Compilers also find this paper useful when they design materials related to the English environmental terminology. Structure of the study In addition to the references, the present study comprises five chapters: Chapter 1, Introduction, explains the rationale for undertaking the research, its aims, objectives, and importance. Chapter 2, Literature Review, presents the findings of other researchers on Environmental terminology and terms in English and provides an overview of the pertinent theoretical background, including: terms and terminology, environmental terms in English, terms and words, term features, and term formation.
Chapter 3, The Methodology, describes the methods and materials used in doing the research, including data collection and data analysis techniques. Chapter 4, Findings and discussion, presents, analyzes, and interprets the collected data about Morphological and semantic features of environmental terminology in English. Chapter 5, Conclusion, which summarizes the issue and findings of the study and provides recommendations for future research. References come at the end of the study.
4 CHAPTER 2: : LITERATURE REVIEW The literature review discusses major aspects which in turn lay a foundation for the researcher’s contemporary study.