VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -------- VŨ THỊ SINH A STUDY ON IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING WORDS DENOTING WEATHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FROM CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE (NGHIÊN CƢ́U VỀ THÀNH NGƢ̃ CÓ CHƢ́A CÁC TƢ̀ CHỈ THỜI TIẾT TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT NHÌN TƢ̀ GÓC ĐỘ VĂN HÓA) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -------- VŨ THỊ SINH A STUDY ON IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING WORDS DENOTING WEATHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FROM CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE (NGHIÊN CƢ́U VỀ THÀNH NGƢ̃ CÓ CHƢ́A CÁC TƢ̀ CHỈ THỜI TIẾT TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT NHÌN TƢ̀ GÓC ĐỘ VĂN HÓA) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc. Vũ Ngọc Tú Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I certify that all the material in this study which is not my own work has been identified and acknowledged, and this thesis is the result of my own research and the the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for any degree to any other universities or institutions. Author Vu Thi Sinh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the completion of this work, I have been fortunate to receive inestimable support from many people. First of all, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc.
Vu Ngoc Tu for his indispensable assistance, valuable suggestions, expert advice and detailed critical comments. I am also grateful to all my lecturers at the University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their constant help and encouragement. Finally, my thanks go to my family and friends who are always by my side to give the unconditional financial and spiritual support during the process of accomplishing the thesis. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Learning a foreign language is not simply to interpret and communicate but brings learners more than they can see.
Each language has its own particular features and values among which idioms are mentionable. Idiomatic expressions are undoubtedly encountered in almost every day conversations, newspapers, magazines, TVs or radios. Recognizing the importance of idioms as well as satisfying her own ambition, the author tries to figure out the features of idioms, specifically the idioms containing words denoting weather, one of the respects familiar to everyone. Moreover, it is believed that idioms are always associated with culture; hence, a cultural view on this type of idioms might be helpful and interesting.
In this thesis, the author focuses on the importance of cultural awareness in understanding idioms; thence shows the necessary of cultural knowledge in learning and teaching English in general and weather idioms in particular. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Aims of the study. Scope of the study.
Methods of the study. Design of the study. 2 PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1. Culture and the relationship between language and culture.
Culture and some characteristics of culture. Relationship between language and culture. Types of idioms. Main features of idioms in English and Vietnamese.
Idioms versus proverbs and slang. Culture in idiom. 20 CHAPTER TWO: ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE IDIOMS CONTAINING WORDS DENOTING WEATHER 2. Syntactic features of EIWW and VIWW.
Semantic features of EIWW and VIWW. 26 CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 3. Some characteristics of Vietnamese and English people, culture and weather conditions. Comparison of syntactic features between EIWW and VIWW from the cultural perspectives.
35 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Comparison of semantic features between EIWW and VIWW from the cultural perspectives. Review of the study. Suggestions for further studies.
I v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, English is obviously considered as the international language that is a tool for global connection and development. Idioms, a special part of languages in general and English in particular, seem to be the familiar element which occurs not only in daily conversations but also in literature works. People are likely familiar with idioms which are used to express ideas in an attractive and figurative way.
Therefore, understanding the meaning of idiomatic expressions is essential and useful for English users. However, understanding an idiom by understanding its components is not enough because the meanings of idioms are unpredictable, which derive from unusual forms, stylistic devices and knowledge on culture. Although idioms are not easy to comprehend, it is necessary for learners not to disregard idioms in studying languages because idioms are an unseparated element of languages and so common in daily use. As a second language teacher, this urges me to conduct the thesis entitled “A study on idiomatic expressions containing words denoting weather in English and Vietnamese from cultural perspective” to find out the similarities and differences between English idioms containing the words denoting weather (EIWW) and Vietnamese idioms containing the words denoting weather (VIWW) mainly from the cultural view.
Moreover, despite being considered as the most important second language in Vietnam, English brings various challenges for learners. One of the reasons for this problem is the dissimilarities in the way of living and thinking or the differences of culture. The result of the study, to some extent, is hoped to help Vietnamese learners of English use EIWW and VIWW effectively in communication so that their speech is more adequate, natural, interesting and imaginative. Aims of the study The thesis is conducted in attempt to: - Explore the English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting weather, with the main focus on the cultural point of view.
1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Point out the similarities and differences between these two languages in this particular aspect - Motivate students to obtain the insight of Vietnamese and English idioms containing words denoting weather 3. Objectives The objectives of the study are: - Investigate Vietnamese and English idioms consisting weather words. - Clarify the cultural intension inside the idioms - Suggest some ideas for teaching idioms The study will try to answer the questions bellows: - What are similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting weather from the cultural perspective? - What cultural aspects influence the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting weather? 4. Scope of the study This study focuses on English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting weather from the cultural perspective.
These idioms are listed in the appendix. Because of some limitation of time, not all idioms are covered. Methods of the study In this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. It is carried out by carefully collecting materials from numerous sources in both English and Vietnamese including books, websites, newspapers and from observation in daily life.
Then, the data are analyzed and synthesized to find out the similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting weather. Design of the study The thesis is divided into three main parts: - The first part is the Introduction, which includes rationale, aim, scope, methods and design of the study 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Part 2 is the Development, which comprises three chapters. Chapter one, as implied by the title “Theoretical background”, reviews the literature related to language, culture and idioms in general. Chapter two is concerned with “English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting weather” in which syntactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese idioms containing words denoting weather are investigated.
The last chapter in this part deals with “Findings and discussion” with the analysis of similarities and differences between EIWW and VIWW from the cultural view. - Part 3 is the Conclusion and Implications for teaching and learning as well as some suggestions for further study. The thesis is concluded by the appendix and references. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Languages and cultures are closely related.
Hence, to study any phenomenon of any language, it is of utmost importance to consider the culture of the people who speak that language and to compare English idioms containing the words denoting weather (EIWW) and Vietnamese idioms containing the words denoting weather (VIWW) is no exception. This chapter will present a brief theoretical introduction about culture, language, and idioms, which will lay essential foundations for what is being analyzed in the next two chapters. Culture and the relationship between language and culture 1. Culture and some characteristics of culture The term “culture” is undoubtedly familiar with many people, yet it is not really simple to define it.
Many linguists have spent a lot of efforts on working out the definitions of culture. Hence, in this paper, the writer will introduce some in attempt to provide a general view for the readers following easily. Following are some of them: Hofstede (1980, pp. 21-23) defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from another”, which is passed from generation to generation, it is changing all the time because each generation adds something of its own before passing it on.
It is usual that one‟s culture is taken for granted and assumed to be correct because it is the only one, or at least the first, to be learned. Samovar & Porter (2003) gives a typical definition on culture as follows: “The deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving”. 8) 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Sharing the same opinion, Edward Tylor, a famous British anthropologist, notes in his book “Primitive Culture” (1871), culture “is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, custom and any other capacities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”(p. In the book “Language and Culture: Global flows and local complexity”, Risager (2005) considers culture from three dimensions of concept including hierarchical, differential and generic concept.
As regards to hierarchical concept, culture means “something that the individual human being or individual society either „has‟ or „does not has‟ at a higher or lower level” (p. Meanwhile, culture is thought as the thing that can distinguish one society from others from, differential concept. The generic concept of culture focuses on what to distinguish humanity from nature and other living creatures. Also, Kramsch (1998) examines culture by comparing it to nature and showing its development through social activities.
“One way of thinking about culture is to contrast it with nature. Nature refers to what is born and grows organically (from the Latin nascere: to be born); culture refers to what has been grown and groomed (from Latin colere: to cultivate)” (Kramsch, 1998:4) According to Goodenough (1957), culture is defined as the thing that people in each particular community must know and possess to run their activities. “A society‟s culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members, and to do so in any role that they accept for any one of themselves.