A Contrastive analysis of syntactic and semantic features in English and Vietnamese proverbs containing the word “eat”

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

ĐOÀN THỊ THÙY LINH

A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF SYNTACTIC

AND SEMANTIC FEATURES IN ENGLISH

AND VIETNAMESE PROVERBS CONTAINING

THE WORD “EAT”

Field: English Language

Code: 8220201

Supervisor: TRƯƠNG VĂN ĐỊNH, Ph.D.

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN

ĐOÀN THỊ THÙY LINH

PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU ĐẶC ĐIỂM CÚ PHÁP

VÀ NGỮ NGHĨA TRONG CÁC CÂU TỤC NGỮ ANH

VÀ VIỆT NAM CÓ CHỨA TỪ “ĂN”

Chuyên ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh

Mã số: 8220201

Người hướng dẫn: TS. TRƯƠNG VĂN ĐỊNH

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis, entitled A contrastive analysis of syntactic and

semantic features in English and Vietnamese proverbs containing the word

“eat”, is my own work.

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does

not contain materials 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 due acknowledgement in

the main text of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma

in any other tertiary institution.

Binh Đinh 2021

Đoàn Thị Thùy Linh

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratefulness to all of the following people for

helping and motivating me complete the master thesis.

Firstly, my most deeply felt words go to my thesis supervisor, Dr Trương

Văn Định for his extremely great support, guidance and encouragement. Since

the thesis was commenced, he spent his valuable time and effort to read my

work thoroughly and reply promptly with insightful comments and critical

questions so that I could deeply understand the problems and be on the track for

the completion of the thesis. Without his devoted assistance and careful revision,

my thesis would not have been finalized.

My special thanks are reserved for the president and the staff of Nha

Trang National College of pedagogy, who created favorable conditions for me to

conduct the thesis. I am also grateful to my friends for their constant

encouragement and their help during the period of carrying out the research

work.

Last but not least, my husband and beloved my son deserves my most

sincere thankfulness for their love and strong motivations that have helped me

cope with all obstacles in my life and inspired me to greater effort in finishing

the study.

iii

ABSTRACT

This research aims to investigate the syntactic and semantic features in

proverbs containing the word “eat” in English and Vietnamese and to find out

the similarities and differences between two languages. The data were collected

from reliable sources, which consist of dictionaries and publications, both

English and Vietnamese. This study is carried out on the framework of Quirk et

al.’s theory (1985) for English proverbs and the framework of Diệp Quang Ban

(1996) for Vietnamese proverbs. The cultural values are also presented in the

study. The quantitative and qualitative research approaches are also employed to

analyze data. The findings indicate that both the British and Vietnamese use

sentence structures more than phrase structures in proverbs containing the word

“eat”. Compound sentences are the most used common with a high rate and

comparative sentences are ranked in the lowest position in Vietnamese proverbs;

meanwhile, the British tend to use complex sentences in their proverbs more. In

addition, parallel structures are also used in both English and Vietnamese

proverbs containing the word “eat”. In term semantic features, the homogeneity

of thinking and perception of the British and Vietnamese can be found in

proverbs containing the word “eat”. Besides, the contents of the proverbs turn

around the same topics such as health, social and family relationship, life

experience, human personality and behavior. The literal and figurative meaning

is examined to find out the meaning of proverbs.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................... i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..............................................................................ii

ABSTRACT….......... ……..…………………………………………………iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................. iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................... vi

LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................. 1

1.1. Rationale..................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Aim and Objectives of the Study ............................................................... 3

1.2.1. Aim….…………………………………………………………………………..3

1.2.2. Objectives………………………………………………………………………3

1.3. Research Questions.................................................................................... 3

1.4. Scope of the Study ..................................................................................... 3

1.5. Significance of the Study ........................................................................... 4

1.6. Organization of the Study .......................................................................... 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................... 6

2.1. Overview of proverb .................................................................................. 6

2.1.1. Definition of proverb…..……………………………………………………..6

2.1.2. Classification of proverb……………………………………………………..7

2.1.3. Distinction between proverbs and idioms…………………………………..9

2.1.4. Features of the word “eat” in English and Vietnames……….…………13

2.2. Theoretical framework…………………………………………… …….14

2.3. Some characteristics of Vietnamese and British eating culture………... 26

v

2.4. Previous Studies…………………………………………………………29

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................... 34

3.1. Research Methods.................................................................................... 34

3.2. Data Collection......................................................................................... 34

3.3. Data Analysis........................................................................................... 34

3.4. Validity and Reliability............................................................................ 36

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION......................................... 37

4.1. Comparison and contrast of EPWE and VPWE in terms of syntactic. ... 37

4.2. Comparison and contrast of EPWE and VPWE in terms of semantics... 47

4.3. The cultural similarities and differences between EPWE and VPWE .... 65

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION..................................................................... 68

5.1. Main findings........................................................................................... 68

5.2. Implications of the study.......................................................................... 69

5.3. Limitations ............................................................................................... 70

5.4. Suggestions for further research .............................................................. 71

REFERENCES……......……………………………………………………72

APPENDIX 1

APPENDIX 2

vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EPWE English proverbs containing the word “eat”

VPWE Vietnamese proverbs containing the word “eat”

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table

Number Name of Tables Page

2.1 Distinguishing criteria between proverbs and idioms. 12

2.2 Summary of parts of noun phrase 15

4.1 Noun phrase structure 37

4.2 Verb phrase structure 38

4.3 Adjective phrase structure 38

4.4 Simple sentence structure 40

4.5 Compound sentence structure 42

4.6 Frequency of stylistic device 59