VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------------ BA. THESIS A STUDY ON ENGLISH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS DENOTING COLOURS WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ THÀNH NGỮ VÀ TỤC NGỮ TIẾNG ANH LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN MÀU SẮC CÓ THAM CHIẾU ĐẾN NGHĨA TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT) Student: NGUYỄN THỊ THUỲ LINH Code: 621221 Major: ENGLISH Supervisor: NGUYỄN THỊ THU THUỶ, PhD Hanoi – 2021 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------------ BA. THESIS A STUDY ON ENGLISH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS DENOTING COLOURS WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ THÀNH NGỮ VÀ TỤC NGỮ TIẾNG ANH LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN MÀU SẮC CÓ THAM CHIẾU ĐẾN NGHĨA TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT) Student: NGUYỄN THỊ THUỲ LINH Code: 621221 Major: ENGLISH Supervisor: NGUYỄN THỊ THU THUỶ, PhD Hanoi – 2021 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled ―A study on English Idioms and Proverbs denoting colours with reference to Vietnamese equivalents‖ submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor 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, 2021 Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the period of graduation thesis, I received a plenty of enthusiastic help and support that guide and encourage me to overcome all difficulties and finish this tough but meaningful time. Firstly, I would prefer to express my gratitude to the School Board of Vietnam National University of Agriculture and therefore the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages creating favorable conditions for me to require my thesis. Secondly, I sincerely appreciate to Miss. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, my supervisor who gave me useful guidance and advice that help me to finish my research successfully.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends, who often shared my feelings and gave me timely advice during the course of thesis work. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1: INTRODUCTION. RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY. DESIGN OF THE STUDY. 4 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW.
REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES. REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND. RESEARCH QUESTION REVISITED. 18 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
COMPARE THE SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE IDIOMS AND PROVERBS DENOTING COLOUR. COMPARE THE SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE IDIOMS AND PROVERBS DENOTING COLOUR. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES BETWEEN IDIOMS AND PROVERBS DENOTING COLOUR IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE. LIMITATION OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH. 51 iv ABSTRACT This graduate thesis is a research work on idioms and proverbs denoting colour in English with equivalent meanings in Vietnamese. There is a total of 6 colours that may be mentioned within the article: black, white, red, blue, green and yellow. This study mainly uses comparison - contrast method, combined with two other ones - statistical and analytical method.
Regarding the similarities, the idioms and proverbs denoting colour in both languages are almost fixed - phrases and appear quite a lot in the form of noun phrases. Additionally, those sentences can also be divided into two varieties of meanings - literal and figurative, furthermore, what they represent can as well be understood into five distinct semantic fields as if the colour tone of something, life experiences, human alluding, behaviours and sensations, and ultimately a particular conception. On the other hand, the colour idioms and proverbs of the two languages also have many differences. Such as the non-existence of adverb phrases and their prepositional phrases in Vietnamese or the difference within the meaning of colours due to the influence of culture, lifestyle, natural conditions and the use of rhetorical measures.
Finally, from the above similarities and differences between the idioms and proverbs denoting colour of the two English - Vietnamese languages, the study is helped us to understand thoroughly and have an overview of the structures and meanings of each idiom, proverb in the two languages. Consequently, we can improve our understanding of the culture and people of both languages, which is incredibly helpful for learning and teaching English, together with developing translation and interpreting jobs. v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Adj : Adjective Adv : Adverb Art : Article CW : Comparative Word C : Conjunction N : Noun NP : Noun Phrase Pre : Preposition ProN : Pronoun S : Subject V : Verb vi LIST OF TABLES: Table 1.1: Classification of Idioms and Proverbs Table 2.1: Syntactic analytical framework Table 2.2: Rhetorical measures analytical framework Table 2.3: Semantic fields analytical framework Table 3.1: Noun Phrase Structures of English and Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.2: Verb Phrase Structures of English and Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.3: Adjective Phrase Structures of English and Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.4: Adverb Phrase Structures of English and Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.5: Prepositional Phrase Structures of English and Vietnamese Idioms denoting colour Table 3.6: Simple Sentence Structures of English and Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.7: Complex Sentence Structures of English and Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.8: Comparative Sentence Structures of English Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.9: Comparative Sentence Structures of Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.10: A summary of English and Vietnamese Idioms denoting colour in Syntactic Features Table 3.11: Summarizes the occurrence of structures used in English and Vietnamese Idioms and Proverbs denoting colour Table 3.12: Rhetorical measures of Idioms and Proverb denoting colour in English and Vietnamese vii Table 3.13: Idioms and Proverbs of English and Vietnamese in the Semantic field of Colour Table 3.14: Idioms and Proverbs of English and Vietnamese in the Semantic field of Life Experience Table 3.15: Idioms and Proverbs of English and Vietnamese in the Semantic field of Human Alluding Table 3.16: Idioms and Proverbs of English and Vietnamese in the Semantic field of Behaviours and Sensations Table 3.17: Idioms and Proverbs of English and Vietnamese in the Semantic field of a Particular Conception Table 3.18: Frequency of semantic fields of English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs denoting colour viii Part 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale for the study In today's developed world, English is regarded as indispensable part of international communication.
That is the reason why more and more people are learning this rigorous but equally flexible language. However, just like Vietnamese, English also has combinations of words and expressions such as idioms and proverbs. Idioms and proverbs in English are phrases with specific meanings, expressing the quintessence of English culture. Although they are combined together in a strict structure, their meaning is not the literal meaning of the words that make up them.
Idioms and proverbs are commonly used in the written and spoken form in both formal and informal situations, especially with native speakers because it demonstrates fluency and makes the user sound more natural. As you probably know, colour plays an important role in every human's life. Each colour has its own nuances, meanings, symbols, etc. In English, colours are also combined with idioms and proverbs.
However, in these expressions, the colour is not only indicated itself, but also means a lot more. For example, blue colour will not only be blue but also mean peace and tranquility; yellow will express feelings of joy; green will carry the symbol of vitality. Therefore, the name of my topic is a study on English idioms and proverbs with reference to Vietnamese equivalents. Hopefully, through my study, people will not only understand more about colour idioms and proverbs, but also know how to apply them successfully into practice.
Aims and objectives of the study The aim of the study The aim of the study is to find out the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs denoting colours in terms of the syntactic and semantic features. 1 Research objectives - Describing the syntactic and semantic features of idioms and proverbs denoting colours in English with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents - Comparing and contrasting syntactic and semantic features of idioms and proverbs denoting colours in English with reference to the Vietnamese equivalents. What are the syntactic and semantic features of idioms and proverbs denoting colours? 2. What are the differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs denoting colours? 1.
Scope of the study As the title of the study suggests, it focuses primarily on English idioms and proverbs denoting colour that are associated with their Vietnamese equivalents. However, idioms and proverbs are a very large and difficult cultural field of each language, so I cannot cover all idioms and proverbs with their own colour. Therefore, my research will only specialize in some main colours such as: black, white, red, blue, green, yellow which equivalent to the colours: "đen", "trắng", "đỏ", "xanh dương" or "lam", "xanh lá" and "vàng" in Vietnamese. Significance of the study This study is expected to help English teachers and learners as well as translators have a deeper insight into understanding and using idioms and proverbs, especially idioms and proverbs denoting colours which bring out the unique flavour to the English language.
Thereby, it will not only help them use these idioms more fluently and naturally, but also avoid common mistakes in teaching, learning and of course in the translation process. Design of the study 2 Apart from abstracts, references and appendices, this research provides a clear organization consisting three main parts. Part I – Introduction consists of six small sections. There are Rationale, Aims and objectives of the study, Research questions, Scope of the study, Significance of the study, Design of the study.
Part II – Development consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 - Literature review. In this sub-divisions, some researches of domestic and foreign authors that were made previously are indicated. Then, some background information like the definition of idioms, proverbs, colours, and syntactic, semantic features.
Due to the limitation of knowledge, my research only focuse on some main colours such as: black, white, red, blue, green, yellow. The next one is Chap 2 - Methodology. It describes the methodology used in the research including three research methods (comparison-contrast method, the statistical method, the analytical method), data collection, research procedures and data analysis to carry out the research. Chapter 3 - Finding and Discussions reports and discusses the findings of the study.
And the last part is Part III – Conclusion summaries, restates the major finding and offers some implications for teaching and learning. 3 Part 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Review of the previous studies In the past ten years, there have been many studies on idioms with words indicating colour, notably the subsequent studies: Domestically, we can mention "Color idioms in English and Vietnamese: A contrastive analysis and teaching implications" by Nguyen Manh Khang. It was completed in 2013 with the aim of constructing students aware of the requirement of using idioms in both English and Vietnamese.
With the method of description, comparison and contrast, the author had provided learners with educational information to assist them gain knowledge and improve their learning. However, the content of the study is kind of general and mostly focuses on semantics, rather than syntax. A little prior than the above study, Pham Thi Kim Chuyen (2012) did the study ―A Study on Linguistic Features of the Word ―Green‖ in English and ―Xanh lá‖ in Vietnamese‖. a rich source of information and capable of in-depth analysis, but it still did not pay much attention to syntactic features.
Nevertheless, the research "Cognitive Linguistic Features of Idioms Related to the Concept of "Black", "White" in English Versus Vietnamese" by Tran Vu Thi Diem Vy (2013) was showed the meticulousness in investigating the language patterns.