MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY HUỲNH TRỌNG KIM AN INVESTIGATION INTO LEXICAL STYLISTIC DEVICES USED IN “OF MICE AND MEN” BY JOHN STEINBECK AND ITS VIETNAMESE TRANSLATED VERSION BY HOÀNG NGỌC KHÔI Field:The English Language Code: 8 22 02 01 Supervisor: Assoc. Nguyễn Tất Thắng e BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN HUỲNH TRỌNG KIM NGHIÊN CỨU BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ TỪ VỰNG ĐƢỢC SỬ DỤNG TRONG TÁC PHẨM “OF MICE AND MEN” CỦA JOHN STEINBECK VÀ BẢN DỊCH TIẾNG VIỆT CỦA HOÀNG NGỌC KHÔI Chuyên ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh Mã số: 8 22 02 01 Ngƣời hƣớng dẫn: PGS. Nguyễn Tất Thắng e 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 a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person‘s work has been used without the acknowledgement in the thesis.
Binh Dinh, 2021 e ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this study is the result of not only my efforts but also other assistance of individuals to whom I would like to express my special gratitude. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Assoc. Nguyễn Tất Thắng, who has supported me with his endless patience, thoughtful guidance and comprehensive advice during the whole period of the study. Without his instructions, this thesis would have been impossible to be completed.
Secondly, I am also thankful to all the lecturers of the courses for their valuable lectures and experiences, which provide essential knowledge for this thesis. Thirdly, my gratitude is devoted to my colleagues and close friends for their kind support and warm encouragement, without which I could not have overcome all the trouble during the fulfilment of this study. Last but not least, my special thanks go to my beloved family for accompanying and giving me the strength to complete this study. e iii ABSTRACT This research paper aims at conducting a contrastive analysis of lexical stylistic devices used in the novel ―Of Mice and Men‖ by John Steinbeck and its Vietnamese translated version by Hoàng Ngọc Khôi.
The data of the study were taken from this English work and its Vietnamese version. Qualitative, quantitative approaches were used to describe and analyze lexical SDs used in the novel in English and its Vietnamese translation. Some noticeable findings were found in the two languages. First, there are seven lexical stylistic devices found in the English novel, orderly, metaphor, simile, allusion, hyperbole, irony, euphemism and metonymy.
They all contribute considerably to the creative worth and success of John Steinbeck‘s novel ―Of Mice and Men‖. In comparison between the English work and its Vietnamese translation, the distribution of their sub-types is quite the same in the two versions. This indicates that the translation is well-translated based on the English version. The minor differences between the English version and the translation are also presented in Chapter 4.
In Vietnamese, simile comes first, followed by hyperbole, irony, metaphor, allusion, euphemism, and metonymy. These dissimilarities do not change the original meaning of the novel in English; they just make the translation sound natural in Vietnamese and help readers to understand the novel easily. By so doing, we hope to give a better understanding and appreciation of novels‘ artistry as well as contribute to better teaching and learning English as a foreign language. And due to its limitation in lexical SDs, researchers can broaden the scope of their research by selecting other types of SDs, such as phonetic and syntactical SDs, and analyzing them all in one work to make their analysis more in-depth.
e iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv ABBREVIATION AND CONVENTIONS. vii LIST OF TABLES.
viii LIST OF FIGURES. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Aims and Objectives. Scope of the Study.
Significance of the Study. Organization of the Study. 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND. General Notes on Stylistics.
Stylistic Devices and Functions of Stylistic Devices. Classification of Stylistic Devices. The Author John Steinbeck and the novel ―Of Mice and Men‖. Review of Previous Studies.
33 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS. Reliability and Validity. 36 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Lexical Stylistics Devices in English.
Similarities and Differences of Lexical SDs in the English and the Vietnamese versions. Similarities and Differences of Metaphor in the English and the Vietnamese versions. Similarities and Differences of Metonymy in the English and the Vietnamese versions. Similarities and Differences of Irony in the English and the Vietnamese versions.
Similarities and Differences of Simile in the English and the Vietnamese versions. Similarities and Differences of Euphemism in the English and the Vietnamese versions. Similarities and Differences of Hyperbole in the English and the Vietnamese versions. Similarities and Differences of Allusion in the English and the Vietnamese versions.
Loss and gain. 88 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study. 1 TOPIC-ASSIGNING CERTIFICATE (Copy) e vii ABBREVIATION AND CONVENTIONS a.
Abbreviation Stylistic device: SD b. Convention (1) – (141): Data numbered from 1 to 141 [E-1] – [E-118]: Data samples coded from E-1 to E-118 For example: (2) Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers.[E-5] This is the second example extracted from the English data which coded E-5. Bold words are used to indicate the markers of lexical SDs. For example: (24) His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse.
[E-6] The word ―like‖ is a marker of simile. e viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page Title number number Distribution of Lexical SDs in the novel ―Of Mice and 4.1 37 Men‖ by John Steinbeck e ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Title number number Distribution of Metaphor in the novel ―Of Mice and 4.1 38 Men‖ by John Steinbeck Distribution of Metonymy in the novel ―Of Mice and 4.2 44 Men‖ by John Steinbeck Distribution of Irony in the novel ―Of Mice and Men‖ 4.3 46 by John Steinbeck Distribution of Simile in the novel ―Of Mice and 4.4 49 Men‖ by John Steinbeck Distribution of Euphemism in the novel ―Of Mice and 4.5 56 Men‖ by John Steinbeck Distribution of Hyperbole in the novel ―Of Mice and 4.6 58 Men‖ by John Steinbeck Distribution of Allusion in the novel ―Of Mice and 4.7 64 Men‖ by John Steinbeck Distribution of Lexical SDs in the English and the 4.2 70 Vietnamese versions e 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Language is a medium of communication. It is composed of sounds and graphic symbols.
Language studies are essential since it serves a variety of tasks in society. Writing is the depiction of sounds on paper. Because writing has many different forms and structures, linguists are increasingly interested in studying stylistics. The study of stylistics dates back to the classical period.
Scholars and writers have continued to be interested in the relationship between language patterns in a text and how the text communicates since then. Literature, one of the most effective forms of language, reflects society. It enables us to appreciate, observe, and learn the mannerisms and languages of people from previous periods. Literature is, without a doubt, the expression of life via language.
Because any piece of literature, such as a novel, is first and foremost a work of language, language is a fundamental material source in literature. The process of composing literature requires a desire among the readers to be more understanding of the true spirit and real meanings of that piece of literature that they read. However, the task is challenging because readers are expected to understand literary norms and the historical background of any work of literature. However, they could have a sense of language through the grammatical and stylistic technicalities involved in its composition.
Stylistic devices are used as an essential means of literature to capture readers‘ attention effectively. The proper use of those devices enables the author to keep us interested while reading a story. SDs are also called rhetorical devices or figures of speech. They are specific expressions, or certain arrangements of those, in order to convey the message to the listener/reader in a better, more effective way.
Stylistic devices are classified into many types, and each of them has its own characteristics. Literature, e 2 undoubtedly, is an area in which stylistic devices are used to make the poetic works more sophisticated and persuasive. John Steinbeck (1902–1968), the owner of the 1962 Nobel Prize and many other prizes, is considered one of the finest writers in the world. Many critics signify him for his mastery of using various stylistic devices.
Among the masterpieces of Steinbeck, including In Dubious Battle (1936) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939), ―Of Mice and Men‖ is one of his three influential novels of the late 1930s focusing on the California labouring class, became a best seller when it appeared in 1937. This novel is translated into Vietnamese and deserves to be read. Many important factors consist of the unique storyline, the writer‘s talent in telling the story, and the writer‘s style of using stylistic devices that contribute to the novel‘s success. Actually, lexical stylistic devices are also one of these factors that add to the true value of the novel.
We are living in the Industry 4. The world is considered to be flattened. That is, every country cooperates with each other to develop the economy, science, technology, and education. The need for interaction among people in every country in the world is rapidly increasing with the aim to build up close relationships, exchange experiences, and transmit information.
However, people could hardly reach the above targets because of language differences. That is why translation is an essential means for people from different cultures to understand and learn from each other. It also brings people various opportunities to form closer friendships, share their own viewpoints, inherit scientific achievements, and enjoy artistic values. Nevertheless, translation is always a challenging task because translation entails not just transferring the meaning of source language words into the target language but also preserving the source language‘s essence.
Translation, therefore, requires the translator to have a broad knowledge of e 3 the source language and that of the target language. The translators will be likely to face linguistic, literary, aesthetic as well as socio-cultural problems which require them to have suitable methods. Apparently, it is not an easy job for translators who translate literary works, especially those by John Steinbeck. It is even more complicated to translate expressive means embodying lexical stylistic devices because of their multi-layers of meanings.
Therefore, studying lexical stylistic devices used in work by John Steinbeck and its Vietnamese translated version is no doubt an exciting area in learning languages in general and literature in particular. Although there have been several studies on stylistic devices in various kinds of texts, no studies have been found with data used in a specific novel by John Steinbeck and its Vietnamese translated version. Therefore, the thesis “An investigation into lexical stylistic devices used in “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and its Vietnamese translated version by Hoàng Ngọc Khôi” has been carried out to address these gaps. Aims and Objectives 1.
Aims This research is aimed at discovering lexical stylistic devices used in ―Of Mice and Men‖ by John Steinbeck. The research is also an attempt to point out how the lexical stylistic devices are translated into Vietnamese.