Nghiên cứu so sánh về nghĩa của các thành ngữ có liên quan đến nước trong tiếng Việt và tiếng Anh - pdf 25

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ABSTRACT
Idioms, a special form of language use, are shaped in the daily lives of
people. Idioms can also be considered as a reliable measure of the proficiency
of foreign languages in general and English in particular. It is the semantic
and grammatical problems that cause difficulties for learners to grasp
meanings of idioms. With the aim of providing in - depth information about
English and Vietnamese idioms, we have tried to work out some syntactic and
semantic features of idioms relating to water in English and Vietnamese.
Moreover, some cultural contexts hidden behind these idioms are mentioned
and analyzed in this thesis. The study also puts forwards some implications
for teaching and learning idioms. We believe that they are helpful to teachers
and students as well as translators of English.
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study
Water is essential for life and for human kind, and it is crucial for
sustainable socio - economic development. As a matter of fact, 22 March of
each year is declared as the World Water Day (WWD) by the United Nations
in December 2003. Water is not only a physical resource but in every cultural
context, it is closely linked to social, spiritual, political and environmental
meanings. Both English and Vietnamese are rich in idiomatic expressions of
which idioms denoting water are abundant. Idiomatic expressions are largely
used in our daily communication conveying the common - sense wisdom and
experience of a certain cultural group. Mass media, textbooks and everyday
language embody rich sources of idiomatic expressions. It is believed that
English idioms are even difficult for English native speakers and naturally
more problematic for ESL/EFL learners because the figurative meanings of
English idioms cannot be predicted through an analysis of their individual
word meanings. Apparently, teaching EFL learners to use English idioms is
considerably critical for EFL teachers. Learning idioms adds a lot to
understand the British culture and people because language is the bearer of
culture, and idioms consistently have their roots in a particular culture. The
purpose of identifying how the image of water is reflected in idioms
metaphorically and literally and what cultural context underlines it urges me
to investigate into the theme: “A comparative study of water relating idioms
in Vietnamese and English”.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
2.1. Aims of the study
This thesis is conducted as an attempt to:
- Explore the English and Vietnamese idioms relating to water with the main
focus on the cultural viewpoint.
- Point out the similarities and differences between the two languages in terms
of idioms relating to water.
2.2. Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study are to:
- Investigate English and Vietnamese idioms relating to water.
- Clarify the cultural differences and similarities.
- Provide some suggestions for teaching, learning and translating English
idioms denoting water.
2.3. Research questions
The study tries to answer the following questions:
- What are the general syntactic, semantic and cultural features of
English and Vietnamese water relating idioms?
- What are similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese
water relating idioms from cultural viewpoint?
3. Scope of the study
In this research, both English and Vietnamese idioms relating to water are
discussed in terms of syntactic, semantic and cultural features. All English
and Vietnamese idioms are collected from two dictionaries: “Vietnamese
Dictionary of Idioms and Proverbs” (2010) by Nguyễn Lân and “The Oxford
Dictionary of Idioms” (2004) by Oxford University Press.
4. Theoretical and practical significance of the study
The study is an attempt to look into idioms for the Vietnamese postgraduates
of English. Thus, once completed, its outcome may offer significant benefits
to Vietnamese learners and teachers of English. In addition, the findings of
this study will familiarize Vietnamese teachers of English with meanings of
idioms that their students may use in class and that they might consider as
errors or mistakes. Furthermore, in regard to Vietnamese learners, the
research may provide them with deep and comprehensive insight into water
relating idioms. Last but not least, researchers of the related fields can use this
study for reference and carry out further and deeper investigation.
5. Methodology
In this study, the major methods applied are descriptive, comparative and
contrastive analysis. It is carried out on carefully collected materials from two
dictionaries. The first dictionary is “Vietnamese Dictionary of Idioms and
Proverbs” by Nguyễn Lân (Literature Publishing House in 2010). The second
one is “The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms” (Second Edition) by Oxford
University Press in 2004. The data are analyzed and synthesized to find out
the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese water
relating idioms.
6. Organization of the study
The thesis is divided into three main parts:
- Part One is an Introduction to the study and includes rationale, aims, the
research questions, objectives, scope, significance and the design of the whole
paper.
- Part Two is the Development which is composed of three chapters. Chapter
One, as implied in the title “Idioms: theoretical background for the study”,
presents the theoretical background related to the issue. Chapter Two is
concerned with “Water relating idioms in English and Vietnamese” covers
the syntactic and semantic study of water relating idioms in English and
Vietnamese. Chapter Three deals with “Findings and Discussions” (i.e.
analysis of data, results)
- Part Three is the Conclusion which summarizes significant findings of the
investigation, elaborates contributions of the research, puts forward practical
suggestions for future research as well as addresses notable limitations.
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: IDIOMS - THEORETICAL BACKGROUND FOR THE
STUDY
1.1. Idioms and meanings of idioms
1.1.1. Definition of idioms
In the Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, idiom
is defined as “a fixed phrase that has its own special meaning. It’s often
impossible to guess the meaning of the whole phrase from the meanings of
the separate words that it is formed from”. The Collins Cobuild Dictionary
of Idioms (2002) explains it as “a special kind of phrase. It is a group of
words which have a different meaning when used together from the one it
would have if the meaning of each word were taken individually. Idioms are
typically metaphorical: they are effectively metaphors which have become
“fixed” or “fossilized”. Martin H. Manser (1997) states in his Dictionary of
Everyday Idioms: “Idioms are fairly fixed phrases that consist of more than
one word, with a meaning that cannot be understood from putting together the
meanings of the individual words”.
From the above given definitions of idioms, it is clear that although
there are some differences among the definitions of idiom, all idioms share 3
main characteristics in common:
Firstly, idioms are basically fixed expressions in terms of words, their
orders, and their grammatical forms. These expressions are phrases of two or
more words and belong to both spoken and written English.
Secondly, the meaning of an idiom is metaphorical rather than literal.
Thirdly, an idiom is more or less invariable and fixed in wording and in
certain grammatical way; it can not be changed or varied whether in speech or
writing.
1.1.2. Idioms and proverbs
It is rather difficult to make distinction between idioms and proverbs.
However, some significant points below Giúp clarify their distinctions clearly.

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