VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- PHẠM THỊ TỐ LOAN A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS ON LEXICAL COHESIVE DEVICES USED IN BUSINESS NEWS ON ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ONLINE NEWSPAPERS (PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC PHƯƠNG TIỆN LIÊN KẾT TỪ VỰNG TRONG TIN TỨC KINH TẾ TRÊN CÁC BÁO ĐIỆN TỬ TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.01 HA NOI, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- PHẠM THỊ TỐ LOAN A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS ON LEXICAL COHESIVE DEVICES USED IN BUSINESS NEWS ON ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ONLINE NEWSPAPERS (PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC PHƯƠNG TIỆN LIÊN KẾT TỪ VỰNG TRONG TIN TỨC KINH TẾ TRÊN CÁC BÁO ĐIỆN TỬ TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60. Ngô Tự Lập HA NOI, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “A Contrastive Analysis on Lexical Cohesive Devices Used in Business News on English and Vietnamese Online Newspapers” is my own study in the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Hanoi, 2014 Phạm Thị Tố Loan i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Ngô Tự Lập for his profound knowledge, constant encouragement and invaluable advice without which the study would not have been possible. My heartfelt thanks also go to my colleagues at Vietnam University of Commerce for their substantial help and unconditional support. I especially owe a debt of gratitude to my adorable son, my caring husband, and my thoughtful parents who give me ample inspiration, strength and willpower in the completion of my thesis.
Lastly, my gratefulness is also extended to linguists in reference section whose ideas and viewpoints significantly enlighten me and lead me to the right track. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACTS The purpose of this study is to work towards the similarities and differences between lexical cohesive devices used in business news on English and Vietnamese online newspapers. With this aim, 30 news items are taken from prestigious websites, such as BBC, CNN, Vneconomy, Cafef for calculating, synthesizing and analyzing the use of lexical cohesive devices in both languages. The result shows that the repetition proves to be the most effective and predominant device in both English and Vietnamese news.
It is also revealed that the Adjective+Noun collocation in English news appears to exert its dominance over Vietnamese one. However, Vietnamese news has the tendency to use the largest portion of Noun+Noun pattern among all types of collocation. The results will facilitate English majors to write cohesive essays and produce accurate translation between English and Vietnamese news. Additionally, the study also put forth some suggestions for further research in the future.
It is hoped that the findings and implications for learning and teaching English in this thesis will ensure a surefire success for English majors in the pursuit of advanced English. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgment ………………………………………………………………….iii Tables of contents ………………………………………………………….iv List of Abbreviations ………………………………………………….vi List of tables …………………………….vii List of figures…………………………………………………….viii PART A: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………1 1. Aims of the study………………………………………………………………. Research questions of the study………………………………………….
Scope of the study ………………………………………………………. Methods of the study ……………………………………………………. Design of the study …………………………………………………………….…5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………5 1. The concept of cohesion…………………………………………….
Cohesion vs Coherence…………………………………………………. Types of cohesion……………………………………………………….Definition of online newspaper…………………………………………12 1. Features of online newspapers…………………………………………13 1. Characteristics of news……………………………………………….16 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHOD…………………………………….18 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The subjects of the study………………………………………….22 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION …………………. Frequency of using lexical cohesive devices in English and Vietnamese online newspapers. Similarities and differences in the use of lexical cohesive devices in business news on English and Vietnamese online newspapers. Limitations of the study…………………………….
Suggestions for further research…………………………………….40 APPENDICES v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BNE: Business news in English BNVN: Business news in Vietnamese V+N: Verb+Noun Adj+N: Adjective+Noun N+V: Noun+Verb N+N: Noun+Noun Adj+N: Adjective+Noun Adv+Adj: Adverb+Adjective V+Adv: Verb+Adverb vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Type of Cohesion……………………………………………….2: Grammatical and Lexical Cohesion…………………………….1: List of business news on English online newspapers………….2: List of business news on Vienamese online newspapers……….1: The frequency of reiteration in business news on Vietnamese 23 online newspapers………………………………………………………….2: The frequency of reiteration in business news on English online 24 newspapers………………………………………………………………….3: The frequency of reiteration in business news on English and 24 Vietnamese online newspaper……………………………………………… Table 3.4: The frequency of collocation in business news on English 26 online newspapers………………………………………………………….5: The frequency of collocation in business news on English 27 online newspapers………………………………………………………….6: The frequency of collocation in business news on English and 27 Vietnamese online newspapers…………………………………………… vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Logos of some prestigious English online newspapers 12 Figure 1.2: Logos of some famous Vietnamese online newspapers 13 viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A - INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, the widespread use of the Internet has made it possible for people to update news anywhere and anytime through online newspapers. Apparently, online newspaper is a crucial part of our life as it keeps us well-informed about what is happening around us within one click. An enormous amount of news on daily newspapers provides us with the latest national and international events on a wide range of topics such as: business, sports, education, society, politics, culture, etc.
News not only helps to increase our knowledge but also serves as a source of entertainment. With this in mind, the author has made an attempt to do research concerning with news, staying focus on online news due to the ubiquitous of the Internet. Additionally, as an English teacher at Vietnam University of Commerce, the author has many chances to approach business English and takes interest in teaching business English to students in general and English majors in particular. In an effort to improve business English to students, the author has adopted authentic materials including business online news which proves to be very effective and convenient in class.
Besides, students are also encouraged to spend time reading business online news at home as it is very beneficial to them in many ways. The most recognizable benefits involve the increased knowledge and extended vocabulary in business. However, there is a strong likelihood that students often encounter a lot of troubles in comprehending the news due to the complicated semantic relation between the lexical items in the text or numerous new words in the news. Thus, understanding cohesive devices within a text gives students more insight into how writers organize what they want to say since lexical cohesion deals with meaning in text.
Halliday and Hasan (1976) claimed that “cohesive effect is achieved by the selection of vocabulary”. To some extend, an acquisition of lexical cohesive devices will facilitate understanding of business news among students. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Furthermore, the writer has the ambition to make a distinction of the lexical cohesive devices used in business news between English and Vietnamese online newspapers with the aim to figure out the similarities and differences of business news in both languages. Thus, the study entitled “A contrastive analysis of lexical cohesive devices used in business news on English and Vietnamese online newspapers” was conducted to achieve this aim.
The findings of the study will hopefully lay a solid foundation to both teachers and learners in the mastery of business English news; more importantly, create background for translation between the two languages and consequently, enhance the teaching and learning of business English. Aims of the study The main aims of the thesis are as follows: - To figure out the types of lexical cohesive devices in business news on English and Vietnamese online newspapers. - To identify the frequency and roles of lexical cohesive devices that attribute to the success of business news in Vietnamese and English online newspaper. - To pinpoint the similarities and differences between lexical cohesive devices used in English and Vietnamese online business news.
The research questions of the study In order to achieve the aforementioned aims, the study is intended to find out the answer to three following research questions: 1. What are the types of lexical cohesive devices used in business news on English and Vietnamese online newspapers? 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. How frequent are lexical cohesive devices used in English and Vietnamese online business news and their corresponding roles? 3. What are the similarities and differences in the use of lexical cohesive devices between English and Vietnamese online business news? 4.
Scope of the study Currently, online newspapers offer a large number of issues namely: Sport, Entertainment, Political, Technology, Health, Business, etc. However, within the framework of this minor thesis, the author only has intention to focus on the use of lexical cohesive devices in online Business news. It is noted that the ubiquitous Internet has made it easier for readers to access to a wide range of online newspapers than ever before. Multitude of newspapers in English consist of BBC, CNN, AP, AFP, CNBC, ABCNEWS, REUTERS, BLOOMBERGE, etc.
Likewise, newspapers in Vietnamese comprise a number of sites like VNEXPRESS, VNECONOMY, CAFEF, DANTRI, VIETNAMNET, THANHNIEN, TUOITRE, LAODONG, and the list goes on. Due to countless sites with numerous articles released and updated every minute daily, the author merely desire to select business news from two prestigious agencies in English including BBC (www.com) and CNN (www.com) and two business oriented websites in Vietnamese namely, VNECONOMY (www.vn) and CAFEF (www. As clearly stated above, the focus of the study work towards the similarities and differences of lexical cohesive devices used in business news on English and Vietnamese online newspapers. Methods of the study In the completion of the study, a variety of methods has been adopted, among which the main methods are qualitative and quantitative.
The data is taken from 30 business articles on both English and Vietnamese online newspapers (15 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com articles on English online newspapers and 15 articles on Vietnamese ones) to distinguish the similarities and differences. This method involves three steps: first, identify common types of cohesive devices used in English and Vietnamese online business news, then figure out the frequency of occurrence of such lexical cohesive devices and finally, compare and contrast to pinpoint how the two languages resemble and differ from each other. Invariably, other techniques such as reference to materials, consultation with the supervisor, and personal observations also count. Design of the study The study is composed of three main parts organized as follows: Part 1 – INTRODUCTION specifies the background of the study which covers a wide range of information such as rationale, aims, research questions, scope, methods, and design of the study.
Part 2 – DEVELOPMENT is broken into three chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of literature on cohesion, lexical cohesion, online newspapers, news in general and business news in particular. Chapter 2 discusses the research method of the study. Chapter 3 deals with the findings and discussion of the study.
Part 3 – CONCLUSION summarizes the main issues of the study, accompanied by limitations and suggestions for further study. Additionally, some possible implications for language teaching, learning and translations when using business news as materials in classroom are presented. 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART B - DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.