THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES BÙI THỊ VY THUYỀN AN INVESTIGATION INTO LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES MASTER THESIS IN LINGUISTICS AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES Da Nang, 2021 THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES BÙI THỊ VY THUYỀN AN INVESTIGATION INTO LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES Major: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS Code: 822.01 MASTER THESIS IN LINGUISTICS AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES Supervisor: TRẦN THỊ THÙY OANH, Ph. Da Nang, 2021 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole, or in part from the thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree of diploma. No other person’s work has been used without acknowledgment in the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any institution.
Da Nang, 2021 BÙI THỊ VY THUYỀN ii ABSTRACT The study focuses on finding out the cohesive and semantic features of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese short stories for the purpose of implication in teaching and learning English. The data for the study is collected from English and Vietnamese short stories. The study is carried out through the adoption of descriptive, analytic, qualitative, quantitative, and contrastive approaches. In the finding and discussion, in terms of cohesive features of collective nouns, we have discussed the lexical cohesiveness of collective nouns in both languages in the light of the theories of Halliday and Hasan (1994) and John Flowerdew (2013).
With respect to semantic features, many different types of collective nouns such as collective nouns for people, things, and animals are analyzed and argued. Simultaneously, the similarities and the differences between English and Vietnamese collective nouns in terms of lexical cohesion as well as semantic features are also emphasized. It is hoped that the findings of the research will make a certain contribution to teaching and learning discourse analysis in general and collective nouns in particular. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP.
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iii LIST OF TABLES. vi LISTS OF CHARTS. vii Chapter One. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND.
Definition of Collective Noun. Grammatical Features of Collective Nouns. Definition of Short Stories. Definition of Cohesion.
Classification of Cohesion. Cohesion and Linguistic Structure. Components of word- meaning. METHODS AND PROCEDURES.
DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS. Description of Samples. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
LEXICAL COHESIVE FEATURES OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES. Super-ordinate and General Words. Superordinates and Co-hyponym of the Same Superordinate Terms. Unordered Lexical Set.
Part to Whole and Part to Part Collocation. Other Types of Collocation. SEMANTIC FEATURES OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES. Semantic Features of Collective Nouns in English Short Stories.
Collective Nouns Used for People. Collective Nouns Used for Animals. Collective Nouns Used for Things. Semantic Features of Collective Nouns in Vietnamese Short Stories.
Collective Nouns used for people. Collective Nouns Used for Animals. Collective Nouns Used for Things. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE COLLECTIVE NOUNS SHORT STORIES IN TERMS OF LEXICAL COHESIVE AND SEMANTIC FEATURES.
Occurrence Frequency of Lexical Cohesion of Collective Nouns in English and Vietnamese short stories. Similarities and Differences of English and Vietnamese Collective Nouns in terms of Lexical Cohesion. Occurrence Frequency of Semantic features of Collective Nouns in English and Vietnamese short stories. Similarities and Differences of English and Vietnamese Collective Nouns in terms of Lexical Cohesion.
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Implication for Teachers. Implication for Students. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.
Limitation of Study. Suggestion for Further Study. 96 QUYẾT ĐỊNH GIAO ĐỀ TÀI LUẬN VĂN (Bản sao) vi LIST OF TABLES Number Name of Tables Page of Tables Grammatical Features of Collective Nouns in English 2. 7 and Vietnamese Structure of collective nouns according to Angela 2.
A summary of English Collective Nouns used for People 40 A summary of English Collective Nouns used for 4. A summary of English Collective Nouns used for Things 56 A summary of Vietnamese Collective Nouns used for 4. 61 People A summary of Vietnamese Collective Nouns used for 4. 64 Animals A summary of Vietnamese Collective Nouns used for 4.
71 Things Occurrence Frequency of lexical cohesion of collective 4. 73 nouns in English and Vietnamese short stories Occurrence Frequency of Semantic features of Collective 4. 75 Nouns in English short stories Occurrence Frequency of Semantic features of Collective 4. 77 Nouns in Vietnamese Short Stories vii LISTS OF CHARTS Number of Name of Chart Page Chart 2.
Types of cohesion 10 1 Chapter One INTRODUCTION 1. RATIONALE Traditionally, in the learning English process, grammar has primacy over vocabulary because vocabulary items were regarded as vehicles to explain grammatical structures. However, the beauty of a language lies in its vocabulary. The information one utterance conveys is mostly in the words.
The more vocabulary you have, the clearer and more accurate ideas you express. Vocabulary, especially nouns, plays even a more crucial role in communication. The noun category can be further subdivided into different noun classes according to semantic and syntactic criteria. One class of nouns based on meaning is collective nouns.
In English, collective nouns take a very prominent part in the language. Collective nouns are specific words used to describe a particular group of objects. These objects can be humans, animals, concepts, anything. For non-native speakers, however, it is quite difficult to remember all these special nouns used to describe each group of objects.
However, using collective nouns to describe objects is important because it shows a higher connection to the language. We could easily say “a bunch of lions" as opposed to “a pride of lions" but it takes away from the beauty of the language. Therefore, in order to interpret and use collective nouns exactly, learners should know the cohesive and semantic features of them. Here are some examples relating to the collective nouns in English and Vietnamese: We walk past a herd of cows so thin that I could count their ribs.
(Sliman, Leil, 2019) Không phải “trời nổi cơn bão Harvey” mà đúng ra, con người làm nên cơn bão của khoa học kỹ thuật hiện đại, khiến thảo nguyên và đàn bò biến thành bi kịch không có đoạn kết. (Nguyễn Xuân Chiến, 2017) 2 Hofstadter of course offers an analogy: a swarm of ants rambling around the forest floor, as scouts make small random forays in all directions and report their finds to the group… (Somers, 2013) Thế rồi khi mùa đông đến, trong khi đàn kiến đủ ấm và no đủ trong cái giá buốt của mùa đông thì châu chấu lại đói lả và cảm thấy lạnh lẻo. (Kiến và Châu Chấu- Fable) Both English and Vietnamese have their own linguistic features. Hence, it is more interesting to study collective nouns in these two languages.
There is no denial that so far many studies on collective nouns have been conducted; however, there have been not many deep researches predominantly focusing on the linguistic features of collective nouns. The description of collective nouns in terms of cohesive and semantic features has often been neglected and they have not received the attention they deserve. Apart from the things mentioned above, it is a fact that my students, on the way to master English, often find difficulties in distinguishing, and using collective nouns correctly. From all these considered reasons, I find it necessary to carry out a study named "An Investigation into Linguistic Features of Collective Nouns in English and Vietnamese Short Stories".
I do hope that English learners and I myself would be clearer about the use of collective nouns to express our ideas correctly and effectively. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. Aims This study focuses on analyzing the lexical cohesive and semantic features of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese as well as showing the similarities and differences of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese languages. Objectives The objectives of the study are: - to analyze the lexical cohesive and semantic features of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese 3 - to find out some similarities and differences of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese in the fields of cohesive and semantic features - to offer some suggestions to the teaching and learning of English to Vietnamese teachers and learners, respectively.
How are collective nouns in English and Vietnamese short stories used as lexical cohesive devices? 2. What are semantic features of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese short stories? 3. What are the similarities and differences of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese short stories in terms of lexical cohesive and semantic features? 1. SCOPE OF THE STUDY In this research, we mainly focus on the findings of lexical cohesive and semantic features of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese.
In order to ensure of the validity of samples, we refer to those in short stories in English and Vietnamese short stories. In terms of semantic feature, we focus on the investigation of collective nouns in the structure of a collocation of “a/an collective noun + of - phrase” in English and Vietnamese short stories so as to facilitate the study of lexical cohesive features as well as semantic features of English and Vietnamese collective nouns. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY It is undeniable to say that in English, collective nouns take a very prominent part in the language. In fact, collective nouns are specific words used to describe a particular group of objects.
These objects can be humans, animals, concepts, things. For non-native speakers, however, it is quite difficult to remember all these special nouns used to describe each group of objects. However, using collective nouns to describe objects is important because it shows a higher connection to the language. Thus, when conducting this thesis, I am always aware that this will be necessary work.
This thesis is of great significance in terms of linguistic theory and language 4 practice. That is to say, the study is intended to be applied in: - providing Vietnamese learners of English with useful knowledge of the linguistic features of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese; - helping to promote the importance of collective nouns in teaching and learning English 1. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY The study is designed in five chapters as follows: Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the rationale for choosing the area for studying, the general purpose of the study, the justification, the scope, and the organization of the study. Chapter 2, Literature Review and Theoretical Background state the review of previous studies and research that has been done so far on this subject.
Some theoretical backgrounds related to the issues under investigation are also presented. Chapter 3, Research Methodology, is concerned with the methods and procedures of the study including research design, data collection, and analysis. Chapter 4, Findings and Discussions, focuses on analyzing and discussing lexical cohesive and semantic features of collective nouns in English and Vietnamese based on the findings then giving their similarities and differences. Chapter 5, Conclusions and Implications, summarizes the main points discussed throughout the study and raises some implications in learning and teaching.
It also gives some limitations and provides some suggestions for further research. 5 Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2. LITERATURE REVIEW After examining the relevant literature, the researchers found that many writers, including Rodney and Pullum, Downing, have addressed collective nouns. Rodney and Pullum (2005) noted that a collective noun could not be used in isolation in English, both in terms of syntactic characteristics and semantics.