denotations and connotations of colours in english and vietnamese

i



I certify that all the material in this study which is not my own work has been identified and

acknowledged, and that no material is included for which a degree has already been conferred

upon me.

Signature of the candidate:

ii





Writing a dissertation is not just a matter of getting the work done efficiently and with

good input-output ratio, for me it has been much about finding my place in the matrix of

different research traditions and people doing that research. I feel very fortunate to have come

across and made friends with a large number of kind, bright and encouraging people during

my research.

This work would never have been possible without the encouragement and support

from my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang. I have been extremely lucky to have

him as my mentor and guide in writing this thesis.

I am also indebted to all my lecturers at the University for their precious knowledge,

useful lectures in linguistics, which lay the foundation for this study.

Lastly, I would like to thank the most important people in my life, my family and

friends. I am forever grateful for my parents, who have given me their unconditional support

and provided me with the feeling that I am free and capable to pursue any goal in life that I set

my mind.

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This paper is on denotations and connotations of colours in English and Vietnamese from a

cross-cultural perspective. The author tries to cover denotations and connotations of colours

across cultures. Then, a preliminary contrastive analysis between the two systems is made

with eleven basic colour terms in English and nine in Vietnamese. They are differentiated in

terms of meanings, collocations and symnonyms.

What is to be presented in this paper accounts for only a fraction of similarities and

differences between the two systems of colour terms in English and Vietnamese. Hopefully,

this will pave the way for further research.

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Declaration................................................................................................................................. i

Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................ii

Abstracts ..................................................................................................................................iii

Table of contents...................................................................................................................... iv

Part 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1

I. Rationale: ............................................................................................................................ 1

II. Aims of the study:.............................................................................................................. 2

III. Scope of the study: ........................................................................................................... 2

IV. Methods of the study:....................................................................................................... 3

V. Design of the study:........................................................................................................... 3

Part 2: Development................................................................................................................. 4

Chapter I. Review of Literature.............................................................................................. 4

I. 1. What culture? .............................................................................................................. 4

I. 2. What denotations and connotations? ........................................................................ x5

I. 3. Denotations and connotations of colours across cultures ........................................... 9

Chapter II. Denotations and connotations of colours in Vietnamese and English............... 18

II. 1. Black (
en): ............................................................................................................. 19

II. 2. White (trng): .......................................................................................................... 21

II. 3. Blue (xanh da tri):.................................................................................................. 24

II. 4. Green (xanh lá cây): ................................................................................................ 27

II. 5. Red (
): .................................................................................................................. 29

II. 6. Pink (hng): ............................................................................................................. 31

II. 7. Yellow (vàng):......................................................................................................... 33

II. 8. Orange (cam): .......................................................................................................... 36

II. 10. Purple (tím):........................................................................................................... 39

II. 11. Gray (xám):............................................................................................................ 40

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II. 12. Conclusion:............................................................................................................ 41

Part 3: Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 42

I. Summary of the study: ...................................................................................................... 42

II. Suggestions for avoidance of culture shock .................................................................... 43

References .............................................................................................................................. l45