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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In the world today, there are 5,000 to 6,000 living languages, of which English is by far
the most widely used. Approximately 350 million people speak English as their first language.
About the same number use it as a second language. It is the English language that is used as
the language of aviation, international sport and pop music. 75% of the world's mail is in
English, 60% of the world's radio stations broadcast in English and more than half of the
world's periodicals are printed in English. It is also the English language that is used as an
official language in 44 countries, and as the language of business, commerce and technology
in many others. English is now an effective medium of international communication.
In Vietnam, English has long been considered as a tool of international communication,
and together with its rising importance, the need of learning English is becoming more and
more urgent. It can't be denied that all foreign learners in general and Vietnamese learners in
particular desire to master English as the native speakers; however, they usually face a lot of
difficulties that prevent them from gaining successful conversations. One of the reasons for
these problems lies in the way people perceive and use idioms.
Each nation's language lies in itself similar and different concepts on many fields of life
such as humane values, ways of thinking, behavior standards, religious beliefs, customs and
traditions, social conventions, etc. Words and expressions including idioms have formed the
vocabulary system of a language. Idioms are considered as special factors of a language's
vocabulary system because they reflect cultural specific characteristics of each nation,
including material and spiritual values. Therefore, a lot of researchers have long shown their
concerns for idioms.
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Idioms are used to express ideas in figurative styles. They bring the vividness and
richness to the speakers' speeches. This is the reason why the more skillfully a person use
idioms in his conversations, the more effectively he can establish his communicative
relationship. One more important thing is that the general present tendencies are towards
idiomatic usage; therefore, knowing how to use idioms effectively in the right situations is
becoming essential. Moreover, the most distinguished advantage of idioms is that they do
provide users with a whole new way of expressing concepts linguistically. It can be said that
idioms are the color and vitality of a language.
Several linguists have given a lot of definitions about an idiom basing on its fixed
characteristics. For example, "An idiom is a fixed group of words with a special different
meaning from the meaning of several words" (Dictionary of English Idioms, 1979). Sharing
the same point of view, Hoang Van Hanh (1994) considered an idiom as a fixed group of
words which is firm in terms of structure, complete and figurative in terms of meaning, and is
widely used in daily speaking. The fixed characteristics of an idiom are as follows:
- Form: The words of an idiom are generally fixed. It means that the components
forming an idiom are unchanged in using.
- Structure: The fixed characteristic of structure of an idiom is expressed by the fixed
order of the components forming an idiom.
In fact, we can see a lot of idioms violating the principles of their fixed characteristics
such as to swear like a bargee and to swear like a trooper, to die a dog’s death and to die like
a dog in English, nước đổ đầu vịt and nước đổ lá khoai (like water off a duck’s back), giãi gió
dầm mưa and dầm mưa giãi gió (to be exposed to the sun and socked with dew) in
Vietnamese. This gives us some questions as follows:
Are the idioms above the idiomatic variants or synonymous idioms?
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What kinds of idioms allow us to use the violation about their fixed characteristics?
What criteria make a clear distinction between idiomatic variants and synonymous
idioms?
What are the similarities and differences between idiomatic variants and synonymous
idioms in English and those in Vietnamese?
The questions above have not been found in any studies about idioms before. This is
the reason why the author decided to make a further study on this topic. The thesis, A study on
idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English and Vietnamese, is expected to be an
interesting and helpful material for foreign language teachers and learners and for people who
are interested in idioms in both English and Vietnamese.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The study, as entitled, focuses on the idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in
English and Vietnamese. Therefore, the study is aimed to:
- Present some theoretical background on idioms.
- Establish some possible criteria for the distinction between idiomatic variants and
synonymous idioms.
- Gain an insightful look at idioms in general and idiomatic variants and synonymous
idioms in particular in both English and Vietnamese.
- Work out the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese in terms of
idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms.
3. Scope of the study
Due to the duration of time and the length as well as the references available, this thesis
does focus on the forms and contents of idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English
and Vietnamese. The author would like to pay attention to the following questions:
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- "Comparison" can be considered as a cognitive procedure, a scientific thought used in
all processes of perception. It means that it is different from a basic linguistic method.
- "Contrastive analysis" is a method which has its own principles and techniques.
- "Semantics-Pragmatics", according to Do Huu Chau, is a mergence of semantics and
pragmatics (semantics containing pragmatics and on the contrary).
Due to the aims and objectives of the thesis, the scope of contrastive analysis is based
on the following principles and aspects:
- Contrastive analysis of signs and appearances.
- Contrastive analysis of meanings of components.
- Contrastive analysis of forms.
4. Methods of the study
Due to the main aims and objectives of the study, description, componential analysis
and contrastive exploitation would be mainly carried out throughout the process. Also, the
thesis makes use of the English language as the target and the Vietnamese one as the source
language (the base language). The process, in general, can be divided into two stages which
are always applied in a quick-minded and active way.
Stage 1: During the process of investigating materials from various sources, the forms,
characteristics and meanings of idioms and their variants and synonyms in English and
Vietnamese are described and analyzed in the relationship with cultures. Then, techniques
such as comparison, transformation, and contrastive analysis are applied in a quick-minded
and active way to find out a general picture about the idiomatic variants and synonymous
idioms in both languages.
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Stage 2: Basing on the results from stage 1, the author has taken a careful contrastive analysis
to find out the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese about the field of
the study.
The sources for the analysis are from materials and references written by linguists in
English and in Vietnamese as well as some bilingual reference books available in Vietnam.
This will help to make clear both the similarities and the differences between the idiomatic
variants and synonymous idioms in English and those in Vietnamese.
Techniques for analyzing materials:
- English and Vietnamese idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms are investigated
in many of their aspects such as appearances, forms, component orders, characteristics,
meaning colours, figurative styles etc. Basing on this, the author has tried to find out the
similarities and differences between English idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms and
Vietnamese ones.
- Description and comparison are carried in the order of different groups of subjects by
using some techniques such as contrastive analysis, componential analysis, transformable
analysis and statistics.
Moreover, frequent talks with the supervisor, lecturers and experts on the field have
proved to be a very useful method for the completion of the study. Also, the study is carried
out on the basis of the author's personal experience.
5. Design of the study
This study consists of three parts, excluding the appendixes and the references.
Part one, Introduction, consists of the rationale, the aims and objectives, the scope, the
methods, and the design of the study.
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Part two, Development, is the heart of the study which directly deals with the idiomatic
variants and synonymous idioms in English and Vietnamese. This part is divided into three
chapters including chapter I: Literature review and theoretical background, chapter II: Major
characteristics of English and Vietnamese idioms, and chapter III: Idiomatic variants and
synonymous idioms in English and Vietnamese.
The last part is the conclusion of the study as well as some suggestions for implications
achieved from the discussion in the thesis and for further studies.
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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Literature review
There have been a lot of authors whose studies generally relate to idioms. Hoang Van
Hanh (1973), Nguyen Thien Giap, Le Nhu Tien (1988), Nguyen Khac Hung (1988), Hoang
Van Thang (1992), Trinh Duc Hien (1995), Phan Van Que (1995), Dang Anh Dao (1997)
showed their concerns for the ways how to use idioms in literature and in different kinds of
act. Studies on the roles of idioms in traditional culture were carried by some authors such as
Duong Quang Ham (1956), Pham The Ngu (1969), Dinh Gia Khanh, Chu Xuan Dien (1972,
1973), Cao Huy Dinh (1974), Le Chi Que, Vo Quang Nhon (1990) etc. Nguyen Xuan Hoa
(1995), Phan Van Que (1996), Ngo Minh Thuy (2005) gave their own studies on idioms in
Vietnamese in comparison to Russian, English and Japanese.
Here are some studies directly relating to the field of the study:
A Study on Vietnamese Idioms (Hoang Van Hanh, 2004)
Hoang Van Hanh is a well-known Vietnamese linguist who had spent a lot of time and
energy on this research. This study specialized in the objectives, the aims, the tasks, the
problems, etc. of Vietnamese idioms. The author analyzed idioms based on different aspects,
synchronically and diachronically, on the view of functional and structural system as well as
from cultural, social and psychological perspectives. The research also introduced a systematic
collection of Vietnamese idioms in forms of three main types.
A contrastive analysis on animal-based comparison idioms in English and
Vietnamese (Nguyen Thi Nga, 2003, VNU-CFL)
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In the study, the author focused on the features of English idioms and made a
contrastive analysis on animal-based comparison idioms in English and Vietnamese
counterparts. The author found that, though the animal-based comparison idioms in both
cultures use different animal images to express ideas, they semantically reflect the personal
characteristics and status of people in the society during the course of historic development of
the two nations. According to her, many animals are positive in English but negative or neutral
in Vietnamese and vice versa, which creates a lot of interests for learners in accessing and
analyzing them.
Simile in English and Vietnamese - A contrastive analysis (Le Thu Ha, 2001, HOU)
In this paper, the author presented a contrastive analysis on the concept, formulation,
cultural traditional function, syntactic function and classification of simile in English and its
Vietnamese equivalents. She also pointed out some common mistakes made by Vietnamese
learners of English and some solutions as well as suggestions for translating simile from
English into Vietnamese.
A contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese idioms of comparison (Do Quynh
Anh, 2004, VNU-CFL)
The author gave out some theoretical background about idioms and made some
comparison with other concepts such as proverbs, slang and quotations. In the development,
the author made a contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese idioms, and then pointed out
some similarities and differences between these two languages. Due to the findings, the author
stated out some difficulties of learning English in terms of idioms and raised the awareness of
cultural related factors that should be put into consideration in the teaching process.
A study on comparative idioms from cultural perspective (Do Thi Thu Trang, 2006,
VNU-CFL)
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In this study, the author analyzed and discussed English and Vietnamese comparative
idioms in the light of culture and she found out some similarities and differences in the way
and the reason why people from the two cultures convey their comparative idioms.
Idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in Vietnamese (Nguyen Thi Minh
Phuong, 2006)
This is a study written in Vietnamese. In the study, the author gave some theoretical
background relating to Vietnamese idioms in general and their idiomatic variants and
synonymous idioms in particular. Basing on the forms and contents, some criteria were given
to make a clear distinction between idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in Vietnamese.
She also carried an investigation on these due to their forms and meanings.
1.2. Theoretical background
1.2.1. Culture and the relationship between language and culture
Culture has a great influence on the origin and development of language. This is the
season why content of language is closely linked to culture. Besides words and expressions,
idioms are considered as special language units because they reflect cultural characteristics of
different countries.
1.2.1.1. Culture and its characteristics
Culture is what makes you a stranger when you are away from home. It includes all
beliefs and expectations about how people should speak and act which have become a kind of
second nature to you as a result of social learning.
A way of thinking about culture is to contrast it with nature. Nature refers to what is
born and grows organically (from the Latin nascere "to be born"); culture refers to
what has been grown and groomed (from the Latin colere "to cultivate")
(Kramsch, 2000: 4)
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According to Goodenough's famous definition (1957: 167), the term "culture" is used in
the sense of whatever a person must know in order to function in a particular society.
Society's culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to
operate in a manner acceptable to its members, and to do so in any role that they accept
for any one of themselves.
Culture, therefore, is the "know-how" that a person must possess to get through the task
of daily living; only for a few does it require a knowledge of some, or much, music, literature,
and the arts.
Some scientists also compare the nature of culture to an iceberg, which is mostly
hidden under water. The part of culture that is exposed is not always that which creates crosscultural difficulties; but the hidden aspects of culture have significant effects on behavior and
on interactions with others.
Characteristics of culture proposed by Porter and Samovar (1994: 12):
- Culture is not innate, it is learnt. Fact has shown that members of culture learn their
patterns of behaviors and ways of thinking until they have become internalized. The power
and influence of these behaviors and perceptions can be seen in the ways in which people
acquire culture.
- Culture is transmissible. The symbols of a culture are what enable us to pass on the
content and patterns of a culture. People can use spoken words as well as nonverbal actions as
symbols to spread culture.
- Culture is dynamic. As with communication, culture is on going and subject to
culture, they can produce changes through the mechanisms of invention and diffusion.
- Culture is selective. Every culture represents a limited choice of behavior patterns
from the infinite patterns of human experience. This selection is made according to the basic
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assumptions and values that are meaningful to each culture. In other words, culture also
defines the boundaries of different groups. The notion of selectivity also suggests that cultures
tend to separate one group from another. If one culture selects work as an end (Japan) while
another emphasizes work as a means to an end (Mexico), we have cultural separation.
- Facets of culture are interrelated. As Hall clearly states: "You touch a culture in one
place and everything else is affected" (Porter and Somovar, 1994: 13). This characteristic
shows that culture is like a complex system.
- Culture is ethnocentric. Keesing notes that ethnocentrism is a "universal tendency for
any people to put its own culture and society in a central position of priority and worth"
(Porter and Somovar, 1994: 13). Ethnocentrism, therefore, becomes the perceptual window
through which a culture interprets and judges all other cultures.
In conclusion, culture, in anthropology, is the pattern of behavior and thinking that
people living in social group learn, create, and share. Culture distinguishes one human group
from others. It also distinguishes humans from other animals. A culture belonging to a group
of people includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of
dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems.
1.2.1.2. Characteristics of British culture
The United Kingdom, constitutional monarchy in Northwestern Europe, is officially the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the largest island in
the cluster of islands, or archipelago, known as the British Isles. England is the largest and
most populous division of the island of Great Britain, making the South and East. Wales is on
the West and Scotland is to the North. Northern Ireland is located in the Northeast corner of
Ireland, the second largest island in the British Isles. Among these four cultural regions, the
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English culture is considered a representative and often used to refer to the entire country's
culture.
To other Europeans, the best known quality of the British, especially of the English is
"reserve". They are people who often keep certain distance to strangers, do not talk much
about themselves, do not show much emotion and seldom get excited. This fact tends to give
their communicators the impression of coldness.
Apart from "reserve", a typical English man is expected to be modest and humorous.
Any self-praise is felt to be ill-bred and it is ideal to laugh at oneself- at one's own faults, one's
own failures and embarrassment. He also tends to expect those characters in others and
distrusts exaggerated promises and shows of affection, especially if they are expressed in
flowery language.
Politeness is a hallmark of British society though their habits of politeness are on the
whole very informal. There are no complicated greetings, for instance, a simple "good
morning" or a cheery wave of the hands across the street is quite satisfactory; handshakes are
only exchanged on a first introduction, or on special occasions, or as a token of agreement or
congratulation. All politeness is based on the elementary rule of showing consideration for
others, and fitly acknowledging the consideration they show to you.
Moreover, sportsmanship is highly valued in Britain with rules showing generosity to
one's opponent and good temper in defeat. It is also an ideal that is applied to life in general.
This is proved by the number of sporting terms used in ordinary speech. One of the most
elementary rules of life is "never hit a man when he's down", in other words, never take
advantage of another's misfortune.
In short, we can say that although the United Kingdom covers only a small area of the
earth surface, the British, on the one hand, represent people of many different origins and
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cultures; on the other hand, they are very different in some ways from people of other
continents.
1.2.1.3. Characteristics of Vietnamese culture
The Vietnamese culture is said to be an agricultural one with the most distinguishing
products as rice, vegetables and fish. Living in an agricultural country created democracy and
hierarchy, unity, and collective and independent spirit in Vietnamese people. They are also
greatly affected by Yin and Yang philosophy, clearly expressed in harmony tendency between
people with people and with the nature. In their social and communicative relationships, the
Vietnamese prefer feelings to reasons, spirit to material, subtlety and reserve to rough and
violence. In their spiritual life, they idolize fertility- a belief praises multiply with the genitals
as its symbol.
Though at any development period, to every Vietnamese person, motherland is the most
miraculous and nothing can compare to it. They have fought for centuries, against a lot of
enemies, to protect and hand it down to their ancestors. The second distinguishing feature
when talking about Vietnamese cultural identity is the durable relationship between
individuals and their family, between families and village, and to a broader term, the
motherland. Generally speaking, Vietnamese people are those of duty and responsibility.
Another feature of no less importance is the personalism in Vietnamese culture, which is
opposite with individualism in Western culture. Vietnamese people are those of various and
diversified relationship and strongly controlled by such complicated relationships. In the Viet
community, to a person's children, he is a father; to his wife, he is a husband; to his
grandparents, he is a nephew; to his neighbors, he also a family's child and a member of a
large family.
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In general, Vietnamese culture is an undetechable part of South-East Asian culture
space with typical features of a wet-rice civilization and Vietnamese people are said to be very
hard-working, brave and faithful in their living and behaviors.
1.2.1.4. Language and culture
According to Kramsch (2000:3) language is the principle means whereby we conduct
our social lives. When it is used in contexts of communication, it is bound up with culture in
multiple and complex ways.
Kramsch argued that the words people utter express facts, ideas or events that are
communicable. Words also reflect their authors' attitudes and beliefs, their points of view,
which are also those of others. In both cases, language expresses cultural reality.
However, members of a community belonging to different social groups do not only
express experience, they also create experience through language. They give meanings to it
through the medium they choose to communicate with each other, for example, speaking face
to face, writing a letter or reading a newspaper. The way in which people use the spoken,
written or visual medium itself creates meanings that are understandable to the groups they
belong to, for example, through the speaker's tone of voice, accent, conversational style,
gestures and facial expressions. Through all its verbal or nonverbal aspects, we find that
language embodies cultural reality.
Language is also a system of signs that is seen as having itself a cultural value.
Speakers identify themselves and others through their use of language as a symbol of their
social identity. The prohibition of its use is often perceived by its speakers as a rejection of
their social group and their culture. Therefore, we can say that language symbolizes cultural
identity.
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The theory of linguistic relativity does not claim that linguistic structure constrains
what people can think or perceive, only that it tends to influence what they routinely do thing.
In this regard, the work of Sapir and Wholf has led to two insights:
- There is nowadays recognition that language, as code, reflects cultural preoccupations
and constrains the way people think.
- More than in Wholf's days, however, we recognize how important context is in
complementing the meanings encoded in the language.
In brief, language and culture always exist together and reinforce each other. The
relationship between them is so inextricable that we could not understand or appreciate the one
without the knowledge of the others.
1.2.2. Idioms
1.2.2.1. What is meant by “idioms”?
Words have their own meanings. They, however, do not just come individually; they
also come in expressions or in groups. Idioms are among the most common of these
expressions. And it is impossible to master a language without learning idioms – a very
important part of the language. What is an idiom? The question may have many answers.
Many linguists such as Robins (1989), Palmer (1981), Jackson and Amvela (1998) and
others consider idioms as a special kind of collocation. The meaning of an idiom, however,
can not be deduced from the meaning of its constituents. An idiom is distinguished from a
collocation, for a collocation is a sequence of lexical items which habitually co-occur and each
lexical constituent of a collocation is a semantic component. Hornby (1995) argued in his
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, an idiom is “a phrase or sentence whose meaning is
not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit”.
Sharing the same point of view, Seidl and Mordie (1988) defined “an idiom is a number of
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words which, taken together, mean something different from the individual words of the idiom
when they stand alone”. For instance, the collocation of kick and the bucket forms an idiom
meaning die, which is not systematically determinable from the meanings of kick and the
bucket. This idiom or phrasal lexeme is formally identical with the phrase kick the bucket
whose meaning is systematically determinable on the basis of the meaning of the lexemes of
which it is composed – hit a certain type of container for liquids with their foot.
Here are some more definitions of idioms:
- “An expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot be worked
out from its separate parts”.
(Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1992)
- “An idiom is a fixed group of words which is firm in terms of structure, complete and
figurative in terms of meaning, and is widely used in daily speaking”
(Hoang Van Hanh, 1994: 21)
- “An idiom is a fixed group of words with a special different meaning from the
meaning of several words”
(Dictionary of English Idioms, 1979)
As can be seen from the above definitions, there are different ways of defining an
idiom. In general, most of the linguists share the same point that an idiom is a fixed expression
whose meaning can not be worked out by looking at the meaning of its individual words.
1.2.2.2. What is meant by “idiomatic variants”?
In “Bases of General Linguistics”, Ju.X. Xtepanov partly dealt with variants. He said
that phonetic variation of words had its own limitation performed by synonyms. It means that
the forms of the words change but their meanings are the same. That a word is pronounced in
two ways makes two phonetic variants of a word. [31: 42]
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"Variant" is something which differs in form from another thing, though really the
same; as, a variant from a type in natural history; a variant of a story or a word. [47]
Basing on these, we can say that idiomatic variants are idioms having the same
meanings and grammatical structures or having different components belonging to the same
field of meaning.
1.2.2.3. What is meant by “synonymous idioms”?
"Synonym" is one of two or more words (commonly words of the same language)
which are equivalents of each other, one of two or more words which have very nearly the
same signification, and therefore may often be used interchangeably.
(http://www.usingenglish.com/synonym)
It can be said that Russian linguists have recorded great achievements of synonymy,
especially synonymous idioms. T.A. Bertagaep and V.I Zimin referred to synonymous idioms
(synonymous idiomatic groups of words) in modern Russian. Basing on the structures of
synonymous idioms, they gave the concept of idiomatic variants and the opposite of idiomatic
variants and synonymous idioms. They supposed that synonymous idioms were idiomatic
groups of words which had the same meanings but different expressive colours belonging to
different functional styles of the language. [27: 55]
In Vietnam, Do Huu Chau has partly referred to the synonymous idioms. He said “The
idioms which are about the same as words are mainly synonymous, colorific and descriptive”.
[7] It means that synonymous idioms are idioms having the same meanings but different
structures or having the same structures but different components belonging to different fields
of meaning.
1.2.2.4. Functions of idioms
Idioms may play different roles. They are used to name objects, actions or describe
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situations. They may express certain generalizations, advice, make evaluation, emphasize…
Traditionally, from the point of view of the function of idioms, we can refer to the
following basis groups:
-
idioms with a nominative function - express concepts and name objects, states,
processes, actions, qualities, etc. They have the structure of a phrase. Examples: while
elephant, pull somebody 's leg, cool as a cucumber; body and soul
-
idioms with a communicative function - describe situations and express independent
statements. They have the structure of a sentence, e.g. all that glitters is not gold, the
coast is clear
-
idioms with both nominative and communicative functions (including idioms with a
mixed, limited variable structure), e.g. break the ice - the ice is broken, close the door
on - the door is closed, lead somebody by the nose - somebody is led by nose
-
idioms without any distinctive nominative and communicative function - linguists
usually include here modal and interjectional idioms, or idioms which have a cohesive
function, e.g. like hell; what on earth; on the other hand; as well as; by the way.
In relation to words, within the group of idioms with a nominative function (lexemic
idioms), we can refer to idioms equivalent to single words, i.e. they may be replaced by a
single word (of course = certainly, kick the bucket = die, in the family way = pregnant). They
may also correspond to non-idiomatic phrases (collocations: a big fish = an important person,
as red as a turkey cock = very angry), or they may be correlated with approximate (free)
description, e.g. have green fingers = have natural ability in growing plants.
Nominative idioms correlate with word classes (parts of speech). They may be divided
into: noun, verbal, adjectival and adverbial idioms, etc., for example: a dark horse (noun),
make give up (verbal), as white as a sheet (adjectival), once in a blue moon, tooth and nail
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(adverbial). Their function is not completely identical with that of single words, since their
meaning usually includes a higher degree of both expressiveness and evaluation.
From the pragmatic point of view and discourse, some linguists, including Fernando
(l996) speak about:
-
"ideational" idioms ("the state and way of the world" idioms, expressing namely:
actions, events,. situation, people, things, attitudes, emotions, etc.): red herring, bury
the hatchet, as white as a sheet
-
"interpersonal" idioms (expressing greetings, agreement, rejections, etc.): so long,
never mind
-
"relational” idioms (ensuring cohesion, etc).: by the way, in addition to, last but not
least
Other linguists give more detailed categorization of idioms. Some idioms may have
more than one function. Moon (1998), for example, distinguishes the following groups of
idioms:
-
informational (conveying information of different kind: in the red, rub shoulders with,
one’s kith and kin)
-
evaluative (giving the speaker’s attitude to the situation: works wonders, wash one’s
hands of sth, a different kettle of fish)
-
situational (expressing conventions, clauses, exclamation, relating to extralingual
context: walls have ears, so long, talk of the devil, long time no see)
-
modalizing (expressing modality, truth values, advice, request: mark my words, more
or less, at all, in effect)
-
organizational (organizing the text, signaling discourse structure: by the way, all in
all, let alone, in the light, on the other hand, in other words)
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1.3. Summary
There have been a lot of authors whose studies generally relate to idioms. However, no
studies directly relating to idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English and
Vietnamese are known to us. This is the reason why we carry a study on idiomatic variants
and synonymous idioms in both English and Vietnamese.
It can be said that culture has a great influence on the origin and development of
language. Content of language is closely linked to culture. Besides words and expressions,
idioms are considered as special language units because they reflect cultural characteristics of
different countries.
In general, idioms in both English and Vietnamese are fixed groups of words which
have settled forms and figurative meanings and reflect their own nation's culture values,
including material and spiritual values.
Idiomatic variants are idioms which have the same meanings and grammatical
structures or have different components belonging to the same field of meaning.
Synonymous idioms are idioms which have the same meanings but different structures
or have the same structures but different components belonging to different fields of meaning.
Idioms are used to name objects, actions or describe situations. They may express
certain generalizations, advice, make evaluation, emphasize, etc. In other word, naming things,
phenomena, processes, properties and describing situations are the main functions of idioms.
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CHAPTER II: MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
IDIOMS
2.1. Characteristics of idioms
2.1.1. Characteristics of English idioms
According to many linguists, a group of words which has a fixed structure, indivisible
meaning, and can appear in speech like a word is called an idiom. Therefore, idioms can be
distinguished by their grammatical and semantic features.
2.1.1.1. Grammatical features
It is very easy to realize that most idioms are fixed expressions. There are no changes
in structure, word order and lexicology. We can take the idiom black and blue (of bruises) as
an example. It would sound uncanny if we changed it into blue and black. It means that it
wouldn’t make sense. Moreover, when an idiom is used in a complete sentence, it is hardly
change into passive voice. Let us consider the idiom to stuff one’s face in the sentence She is
stuffing her face with chocolates (She is eating a lot of chocolates); It would be unnatural to
say Her face is stuffed with chocolates.
However, some other idioms are more flexible; we can make some changes if they
don’t lose their idiomatic meaning. This means that idioms are only fixed in some of their
parts but not all. The alteration of component words can help to form a different idiom of the
same or different meaning. Appearing on the mass media is in this way of using. They no
longer keep the full form of the idiom but add some more components to make it more vivid,
particularly effective when writing articles. We can change the tense of the verb in the idiom
to give someone the cold shoulder (to treat someone in a cold or unfriendly way), or the verb
in to have one’s finger with to get one’s finger.
22
In addition, idioms may take many different forms or structures. Some idioms are noun
phrases such as tender age, a black sheep, forty winks, etc. Some are verb phrases such as to
spare one’s blushes, to do someone proud, to cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth, etc. The
most important thing is that an idiom can have its own regular, irregular or even incorrect
grammatical structure. to be at large is an example of grammatical irregularity. The idiom is
formed by verb + preposition + adjective. In English, no structure like this is normally
accepted because an adjective doesn’t usually come after a preposition singly. However, this
can be considered as an exception in language.
2.1.1.2. Semantic features
When mentioning the semantic features of an idiom, we often talk about its meaning. A
linguist said “the meaning of an idiom is the special chemical mixture of all components’
meaning, which is completely new in quality”. This means that it is very important to
understand idioms metaphorically. We can not usually discover the meanings by looking up
the individual words in a dictionary when studying idioms; most of the idioms are
metaphorical rather than literal. For example, in order to understand the idiom (to feel) like
fish out of water, we have to consider its meaning metaphorically as to feel uncomfortable
because of unfamiliar surroundings.
Another feature concerning itself with semantics is that idioms can range from
positive, neutral to negative meaning. Some idioms have positive meanings such as a willing
horse (a keen worker), to get it into one’s head (to deeply understand), or to warm the cockles
of one’s heart (to make someone feel pleased or happy). Some have neutral meanings as to
watch the world go by (to observe the others while doing nothing oneself), etc. And many
other idioms are negative. For instance, crocodile tears means insincere tears, to waste one’s
breath means to talk or give advice without having any effects, or to wash one’s dirty linen in
23
public means to discuss or argue about one’s personal affairs in public, etc. All those
examples show that the nuances of idiomatic meanings are very complicated. They mainly
depend on the nuances of their key components.
2.1.2. Characteristics of Vietnamese idioms
In Vietnamese, idioms are considered as very special language units because they
reflect Vietnamese cultural characteristics. The forms and contents of idioms are also
distinguished by grammatical and semantic features.
2.1.2.1. Grammatical features
Most of Vietnamese linguists have had the same point of view about the forms of
Vietnamese idioms. Nguyen Van Tu [28] said “Idioms are fixed expressions whose word
components do not have their own individual meanings and become a solid block”. He
emphasized the combination of the components forming the meaning of idioms. Nguyen
Thien Giap [12] did consider an idiom as a fixed expression. Although Nguyen Duc Dan [7]
didn’t focus on the forms of Vietnamese idioms, he dealt with the fixation of idioms. He said
“Idioms are language units which have fixed forms”. Hoang Van Hanh (1987) attached special
importance to the components forming idioms. He affirmed that an idiom was a fixed group of
words whose form was unchanged.
It can be said that Vietnamese idioms are fixed groups of words whose forms are
unchanged: the fixed combination comes from settled words and expressions such as bắt cá
hai tay (to run after two hares), mèo mù vớ cá rán (The devil looks after his own), cá chậu
chim lồng (behind prison bars), ăn chắc mặc bền (solidity first), chuột sa chĩnh gạo (to get a
windfall), etc. The fixation shows that we can not change the order of words or use the
synonyms (similar words) to replace any components of an idiom in a casual way. This is a
basic feature helping us to realize idioms easily. However, in fact, there are some fixed
24
expressions which are not idioms such as bánh xe lịch sử (the wheel of history), gia đình văn
hóa (good family), khoa học kỹ thuật (sciences and techniques) etc. Therefore, in order to
realize an idiom correctly, we can not only look at this feature but also other ones.
2.1.2.2. Semantic features
There have been a lot of different opinions about the semantic features of Vietnamese
idioms. According to Nguyen Van Menh [21], an idiom introduces an image, a phenomenon, a
state, a personality, an attitude, etc. This opinion is quite simple and general. In 1986, he gave
his own new point of view: Idioms have their own meanings and nominative functions, and
are used in daily speaking. Nguyen Van Tu [28] said “The meaning of an idiom does not come
from individual components which may have their images or not. Its meaning can be different
from the meaning of each component or does come from each original word”.
Nguyen Thien Giap [13] focused on the basic semantic features of idioms: Being rich
in imagery is a basic feature of idioms. Idioms express concepts basing on specific images and
symbols. The imagery of idioms is made from its metaphor and comparison.
Although there have been different ideas about the semantic features of idioms,
Vietnamese linguists have all shared the same point of view as follows:
-
Firstly, the meaning of an idiom is a perfect whole which does not come from the
meanings of individual components added.
-
Secondly, the meaning of an idiom expresses the reflection of things or concepts.
-
Thirdly, the meaning of an idiom is usually figurative and descriptive.
Although many linguists affirm that idioms have their own figurative and imaginary
meanings, we shouldn’t consider this as an absolute fact. In Vietnamese, there are also some
idioms which have literal sense coming from the meanings of their components. They may be
comparative idioms such as nát như tương (as pasty as soy), đen như cột nhà cháy (as black
25
as a sweep) and bám như đỉa đói (to stick like a limpet), whose imagery comes from the
images compared with activities or properties. Some Sino-Vietnamese idioms such as nhất cử
lưỡng tiện (to kill two birds with one stone), bán tín bán nghi (half doubtful) and bách phát
bách trúng (to hit the mark one hundred times out of one hundred) also have literal sense
basing on the meanings of their components.
2.2. Classification of idioms
In both English and Vietnamese there exist many different ways of idiom classification
among linguists who have based on different categories such as motivation, function, origin,
meaning and kind, etc. However, each language has its own characteristics and the idiom
classification is also based on different points of view.
2.2.1. Classification of English idioms
Some authors have classified English idioms into topic groups and countries. They
have also listed the amount of idioms belonging to each topic or country.
Idioms by topic
-
Animals: the birds and the bees
-
Body and bodily functions: at arm’s length
-
Buildings and construction: to drive someone up the wall
-
Character and appearance: as cold as ice
-
Children and babies: like a kid in a candy store
-
Clothes: at the drop of a hat
-
Colours: black and white
-
Death: at death’s door
-
Drinking and pubs: to turn water in to wine
-
Drugs: close but no cigar
26
-
Food: as cool as a cucumber
-
Furniture and household fittings: to cut a rug
-
Gambling: to go for broke
-
Law: to bring someone to book
-
Men and women: man in the street
-
Money: for my money
-
Music: to call the tune
-
Nationality and ethnicity: for England
-
Nature: as cold as a stone
-
Numbers: to feel like a million
-
Person’s name: as rich as Croesus
-
Place name: to set the Thames on fire
-
Plants and flowers: to gild the lily
-
Police and crime: to get away with murder
-
Politics: on the stump
-
Profession or work: all in a day’s work
-
Religion: at the bottom of the totem pole
-
Sex and sexuality: to play the field
-
Sport: to drop the ball
-
Technology and science: to hit the airwaves
-
Time: behind the times
-
Transport and travel: to hit the road
-
War and conflict: war of words
-
Weather: in a fog
27
Idioms by country
-
American English: as mad as a wrongly shot hog
-
Australian English: to cut down the tall poppies
-
British English: by a long chalk
-
Canadian English: The Mountie always gets his man
-
Indian English: to do the needful
-
Irish English: Even the dogs in the street know
-
New Zealand English: across the ditch
-
Scottish English: to turn the crack
(http://www.usingenglish.com/idiom catergory)
Basing on parts of speech, Jennifer Seidl – W. McMordie (1988) gave eight groups of
idioms as follows:
Key words with idiomatic uses
-
Adjectives and adverbs: bad, good, long etc
-
Nouns: end, line, thing etc
-
Miscellaneous: all, how, too etc
Idioms with nouns and adjectives
-
Noun phrases: a drop in the ocean
-
Adjective + noun: a close shave
Idiomatic pairs
-
Pairs of adjectives: cut and dried
-
Pairs of nouns: wear and tear
-
Pairs of adverbs: more or less
-
Pairs of verbs: hit and miss
28
-
Identical pairs: bit by bit
Idioms with prepositions: by, for, from etc
Phrasal verbs: act up, call something off, make something up to someone etc
Verbal idioms: blow one’s own trumpet, call a spade a spade, do a bunk etc
Idioms with key words from special categories
-
Animals: bird, bee, bull etc
-
Colours: black, blue, red etc
-
Numbers, size, measurement: one, inch, mile etc
-
Parts of the body: arm, back, nose etc
-
Time: day, minute, night etc
Idioms with comparisons
-
Comparisons with as … as: as bold as brass
-
Comparisons with like: to go like the wind
Basing on functions, idioms can be also classified as follows:
Idioms as noun phrases
e.g. peace and quiet (peace/ calm): It is nice to have some peace and quiet.
the cat’s whiskers (wonderful): She thinks she is the cat’s whisker.
dog’s dinner (over dressed in a showy way): He was dressed up like a dog’s
dinner.
Idioms as verb phrases
e.g. to ump out of my skin (give a big jump): I jump out of my skin when I heard the
bang.
to get the bottom of things (find the true the explanation or the state of affair): We
need a proper investigation to get the bottom of things.
29
Idioms as adjective phrases
e.g. as good as gold (generous, helpful, well-behaved): He is as good as gold.
hard and fast (can not be changed in any circumstances): There are no hard and
fast rules about this.
Idioms as adverbial phrases
e.g. as likely as not (certainly/ surely): He’ll be at home now, as likely as not.
Idioms as prepositional phrases
e.g. in a black mood (a bad mood/ temper): Gerry is in a black mood.
Idioms as interjections
e.g. Well, I never!
Never say die!
Take your time!
Idioms as independent clauses
e.g. A little bird told me ( It is not necessary for me to tell you who told me this)
2.2.2. Classification of Vietnamese idioms
According to Luong Van Dang [9], Vietnamese idioms (in “Thành ngữ tiếng Việt”)
can be classified as follows:
Idioms with three single words or more
e.g. bạn nối khố (a bosom friend)
bở hơi tai (fagged out)
treo đầu dê, bán thịt chó (He cries wine and sells vinegar)
trẻ không tha, già không thương (Neither consideration for the young nor the pity
for the old)…
30
Idioms with a single word and a compound word
e.g. bé hạt tiêu (little body, great mind)
câm miệng hến (mute as a fish)
có máu mặt (to be in comfortable circumstances)…
Idioms with two compound words
e.g. buôn gian bán lận (to cheat in commerce)
nhắm mắt xuôi tay (to die)
năm xung tháng hạn (an unpropitious period of time) …
Idioms as simple sentences
e.g. châu chấu đá xe (David fights Goliath)
êch ngồi đáy giếng (a frog in a well)
mèo mù vớ cá rán (The devil looks after his own)…
Idioms with alliterations or compound words
e.g. hì hà hì hục (be completely engrossed in)
lảm nhảm lảm nhàm (to drivel)
ăn bớt ăn xén (to take a stealthy rake off)…
Idioms with symmetrical comparisons
e.g. nát như tương (as pastry as soy)
đen như mực (inky-black))
nặng như chì (as heavy as the lead)
nguây nguẩy như mẹ quẩy tôm (to turn away in anger)…
Idioms with summary comparisons
e.g. như cá gặp nước (feel like duck in water)
như đỉa phải vôi (like a scalded cat)
31
như nước đổ đầu vịt (like water off a duck’s back)…
However, the common structures of Vietnamese idioms are the structures which have
two balanced members. Idioms are also formed by joining rhymes (usually interior rhymes)
such as bóc ngắn cắn dài (to live beyond one’s means), bé xé ra to (to make mountains out of
molehills) etc. These structures do not only make idioms easy to say and remember, but they
also keep the fixation and unshakeable characteristics of idioms.
According to Nguyen Cong Đuc [11], Vietnamese idioms can be divided into two main
groups:
Idioms with symmetrical structures
Symmetrical structures consist of two members which have the same forms and
harmonious balanced contents (opposite or supplement of each other). These structures form a
large number of idioms in general and idioms showing speaking activities in particular. They
are concretized by the following expressions:
- AxAy (A: verb; x, y: combinative words)
e.g. buôn gian bán lận (to cheat in commerce)
ăn không nói có (to be dishonest)
ăn thật làm giả (to work perfunctorily) …
- BxBy (B: noun; x, y: combinative words)
e.g. điều ong tiếng ve (unfavourable reputation)
mồm năm miệng mười (loud-mouthed)
mồm loa mép dải ( loud-spoken)…
- CxCy (C: adjective; x, y: combinative words)
e.g. dại mồm dại miệng (foolish tongues)
vụng ăn vụng nói (not good at speaking)
32
vụng chèo khéo chống (A bad workman blames his tools)…
- DxDy (D: numeral; x, y: combinative words)
e.g. nửa nạc nửa mỡ (neither flesh nor fish)
nửa đùa nửa thật (half seriously)
nửa úp nửa mở (equivocal)…
Idioms with symmetrical structures can be compound sentences; for example, có mồm
thì cắp, có nắp thì đậy (to keep silent for good).
Idioms with comparative structures
These are the common structures of Vietnamese idioms. A như (like/as) B is
considered as the comprehensive form of comparative idioms. The words such as như, bằng,
tày are usually between A and B, and they are concretized by the following expressions:
- A như B (A: verb or adjective; B: noun)
e.g. nói như vẹt (to parrot))
ngang như cua (utterly nonsensical)
chua như dấm (sour like vinegar))…
- Ax như B (Ax: verb-adjective phrase; B: noun)
e.g. nói dối như cuội (to be a colossal liar)
nói ngọt như đường (to use honeyed words)
nói dẻo như kẹo (to be smooth-tongued)…
- A như Bx (A: usually verb; Bx: phrase expressing activity)
e.g. dỗ như dỗ vong (to soothe)
chửi như vặn thịt (to abuse someone regularly)
chửi như hát hay (to heap abuses on)…
33
- Ax như Bx (Ax: phrase consisting of a verb and an adjective; Bx: phrase expressing
activity)
e.g. nói dai như chó nhai dẻ rách (to talk constantly)
chuyện nở như ngô rang (to chat loudly)
chuyện giòn như bắp rang (to chat loudly)…
2.3. Idioms versus other language units
Words and groups of words including idioms make a vocabulary system of a
language. It means that a vocabulary system of a language is very complex. It consists of a lot
of different language units. Therefore, distinguishing idioms and other language units is
necessary.
2.3.1. Idioms versus words
“Words are the smallest language units having their own meanings and fixed forms,
and are used to build sentences”. [29] According to this definition, words have the following
features:
- Words are independent language units and have their own meanings.
- Words are available language units and have their own fixed forms.
- Words usually have nominative functions. It means that they are the names of things,
phenomena, activities, properties, states, etc.
- Words are basic language units used to build sentences.
The biggest difference between idioms and words is that they are compared with single
words: The smallest idioms consist of at least two single words. Moreover, the determination
of words closely connects concepts. For example, hẻo lánh (out of the way) is a word and khỉ
ho cò gáy (out of the way) is an idiom. Both of these semantically express the same meaning.
However, hẻo lánh (out of the way) has literal meaning which is quite objective and neutral;
34
khỉ ho cò gáy (out of the way) has figurative meaning containing the speaker’s emotional
colorings and comments: It is a boring hard place to live and work.
Words are the smallest language units which are independent and have their own
meanings. The meanings of compound words such as rain coat, coffee table and pocket
dictionary are usually clear and easy to deduce by looking at the literal sense of their
components. However, it is impossible to understand the meanings of idioms by doing like
that (except comparative idioms in Vietnamese) because idioms have figurative meanings.
2.3.2. Idioms versus locutions
Most of the linguists share the same point of view that an idiom is a fixed expression
whose meaning can not be worked out by looking at the meaning of its individual words.
“A locution is a fixed group of words having been used for a long time and its meaning
comes from the meanings of its components”. [29: 810] For example, rán sành ra mỡ (to skin
a flint) (Vietnamese), as bald as a coot (English) are idioms, but lên lớp (to give a lesson)
(Vietnamese), go to bed (English) are considered as locutions.
It can be said that the forms of idioms and locutions are the same: They are all fixed
groups of words. However, the meanings of idioms don’t come from the meanings of their
components; locutions tend to have their own literal sense coming from the meanings of their
components.
2.3.3. Idioms versus slang
In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, slang is defined as follows:
“They are very informal words and phrases commonly used in speech, especially
between people from the same social groups or who work together, not considered suitable for
formal contexts and often not in use for long”.
35
Although both idioms and slang are almost fixed in structures and words, they have
some certain differences.
Firstly, slang is used among some groups of people whereas idioms can be found
everywhere. Slang is a means of identifying and reinforcing certain sub-groups in society; the
member of this group may not understand the conversations of other groups’.
Secondly, even in the same cultural area, while idioms are almost the same, slang
stands differently from region to region. For example, the idiom like death warmed up (being
ill) can be understood both in England and the US; meanwhile, such slang as asskissing
(flattering, toadying), dinge (a black person) are accepted only by the American.
Finally, it is found that slang is fashionable and soon out of date. For instance, to
indicate something beautiful, before the World War II, people used the word top hole, then in
the 1940s, it was wizard, 1970s ace, comic and in the 1980s, it turned to be brills, wicked.
2.3.4. Idioms versus proverbs
According to Hornby (1995), in his Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, a proverb
is defined as “a short well-known sentence or phrase that states a general truth about life or
gives advice, e.g. Better safe than sorry or Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. More
particularly, Vu Ngoc Phan (2000: 39) considered a proverb as “a complete saying expressing
one idea of comment, experience, morality, justice or criticism”.
It is easy to find that idioms and proverbs have many in common and it comes as no
surprise that they are traditionally studied together. The first one is that both idioms and
proverbs are ready-made. They are products of human’s thought, cultures and processes of
hard working and learning. They are mainly orally handed down from generation to generation
and naturally accepted in daily life. Secondly, both idioms and proverbs are set-expressions
with stable and insubstituted components. Therefore, their meanings can not be deduced from
36
individual words but must be understood as a whole. It means that any substitutions in any
components of an idiom or a proverb may result in unacceptable changes in the meaning of the
whole group, which make them nonsensical in metaphorical meaning. Apart from this, most
idioms and proverbs use language in a metaphorical way. We can not usually discover their
meanings by looking up the individual words in a dictionary; their meaning must be
understood metaphorically.
Beside those similarities, both of them still own typical features that distinguish one
from the other. The first and most obvious difference lies in their grammatical structures.
Idioms are phrases which are parts of sentences; thus, they are equivalent to words only.
Proverbs are complete sentences or phrases expressing the whole idea. Moreover, idioms and
proverbs are also different in terms of their functions. Proverbs are short well-known
sentences or phrases that express a judgment, state a general truth about life or advice; they are
told to contain three main literature functions which are perceptive function, aesthetic function
and educational function. For example, the proverb Money makes the mare go demonstrates a
remark as well as a criticism about the negative side of money. Its perceptive function is to
make people aware of the bad effect of money which can become the power dominating the
society, even the most inanimate things. The educational function is to criticize the negative
side of money and urges people to be aware of that ill effect. And its aesthetic function is to
exaggerate in a picturesque way to help readers understand the proverb easily. In contrast,
idioms do not express judgments, give advice or state general truth about life, which means
they do not have functions of perception and education but only aesthetic function. For
example, the idiom to eat like a horse merely describe the strong ability of eating because of
great hunger in figurative and imaginary way and does not point out any educational lesson or
knowledge of life.
37
In short, beside their common things, idioms are distinguished from proverbs by their
structures and functions.
2.4. Summary
Although English and Vietnamese idioms have some different features about
structures, meanings, functions as well as origins, they both have some similarities as follows:
-
Idioms are fixed groups of words which are firm in terms of their structures and
lexical components.
-
Idioms are complete and figurative in terms of meanings which do not come from
the meanings of their individual components.
-
Idioms have their own expressiveness.
-
Grammatically, idioms are usually groups of words, sometimes sentences.
-
Idioms are semantically considered as words or groups of words.
-
The function of idioms is naming things, phenomena, processes, properties, etc.
Both English and Vietnamese idioms can be classified due to parts of speech, topics or
origins. However, Idiom categories basing on their grammatical functions are quite common.
Each group of idioms has its own grammatical function and can form sentences. This is the
reason why idioms can function as words. Idioms in both languages are quite multiform and
flexible. Therefore, we can not understand idioms clearly without understanding the culture of
each country.
Idioms in both English and Vietnamese are very different from other language units.
These differences are summarized in Table 1
38
Table 1: Idioms versus other language units
Features
Structure
Idioms
Words
fixed groups
morphemes
of words or
or words
Locutions
Slang
groups of words words or
Proverbs
sentences
fixed
sentences
groups of
words
Relationship close, fixed,
independent
close, fixed,
close,
close, fixed,
among
(single
available
fixed,
available
available
components
words),
fashionable
close/ lax
(compound
words)
Meaning
figurative
literal
Nominative
naming
function
literal
figurative
generalized
naming
naming
naming
things,
things,
things,
accounts,
phenomena,
phenomena,
phenomena
events…
processes,
processes,
, processes,
properties…
properties…
properties
…
Syntactic
forming
forming
forming
forming
sentences
function
sentences
sentences
sentences
sentences
used
independently
Expression
pure
pure
saying with a
pure
communiqué,
concepts
concepts
smooth tongue,
concepts
conclusion,
taking verbal
truth,
precautions,
experience…
connecting or
emphasizing
ideas
39
CHAPTER III: IDIOMATIC VARIANTS AND SYNONYMOUS IDIOMS IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
3.1. Lexical synonymy
In the language system, all the language units are closely connected and define by
regulations each other. In order to study these, a connective form of the language units is taken
out and given a look separated from the scope of other connections. One of the most basic
connective forms of the language units is synonymy. The language unit that expresses
synonymous attribute by far the most clearly is the lexicon system, including idioms
synonymically connected with each other.
Synonymy (synonymia in ancient Egyptian) means “the same name” and displays the
relationship between two expressions which are literal but not identical. Literality is the
correspondence or something in the same denotatum (events, objects), or something in the
same significance (something displayed belongs to the language). In other word, expression A
and expression B are synonymous if their outsides are not the same (form A is different from
form B) but their insides are the same (content A = content B). Synonymous units including
synonymous words and idioms are the exceptions of the synonymous expressions. Therefore,
synonymous idioms can be realized by the following formula:
Synonymy
Form A
≠
Form B
Content A
=
Content B
40
e.g.
English
≠
Form A
Form B
not to turn a hair
without turning a hair
Content A
=
Content B
almost, nearly
Vietnamese
≠
Form A
Form B
dạy đĩ vén váy
dạy khỉ leo cây
(to teach the dog to bark)
(to teach the dog to bark)
Content A
=
Content B
to do something unnecessary
When studying synonymy, they usually deal with lexical and grammatical synonymy.
Lexical synonymy is the synonymy of words (words and equivalent units including idioms).
Idioms are language units functioning as words; however, they are formed by many
lexical words. Therefore, the synonymous idioms are more complex than the synonyms of
words because they are connected with the idiomatic variants. In many cases, it is difficult to
distinguish those phenomena clearly.
e.g.
English
Vietnamese
to die a dog’s death – to die like a dog
bữa đực bữa cái – buổi đực buổi cái
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(day on day off)
not to turn a hair – without turning a hair
mua quan bán tước – mua danh bán tước
(to buy and sell status)
to be head over ears in – to be over head
and ears in
tránh vỏ dưa gặp vỏ dừa – tránh được lợn
cỏ gặp gấu chó…
(to jump out of the frying pan into the fire)
3.2. Idiomatic variants in English and Vietnamese
Idiomatic variants are available in both English and Vietnamese. However, the forms
and contents of idiomatic variants in each language are different.
3.2.1. Idiomatic variants in English
It is easy to realize that the components, especially verbs and nouns, of an English
idiom can be replaced by units which are synonymous or belong to the same field of meaning.
For example, the verb get in the idiom to get one’s back up can be replaced by the verb put,
but the meaning of the idiom is still the same. We can see this in a lot of idioms such as to get
one’s blood up – to have one’s blood up, to welcome with open arms – to greet with open
arms, and to find the length of someone’s feet – to know the length of someone feet which are
idiomatic variants.
The idiomatic variants in English are the other forms of idioms whose meanings are
the same as the original idioms. In other word, when one (or more components) of the original
idiom is (are) replaced by another (other components) belonging to the same field of meaning,
we consider this the idiomatic variant. These can be concretized as follows:
- A verb (a verb phrase) replaced by another belonging to the same field of meaning: to
get one’s back up – to set one’s back up – to put one’s back up etc.
42
- A noun (a noun phrase) replaced by another belonging to the same field of meaning:
to take into one’s head – to take into one’s mind etc.
- An adverb replaced by another belonging to the same field of meaning: to come apart
– to come asunder etc.
- A conjunction replaced by another belonging to the same field of meaning: to make
as if – to make as though etc.
- An adjective replaced by another belonging to the same field of meaning: to have a
great mind to – to have a good mind to etc.
In addition, like words, English idioms can form sentences; therefore, some
components of the idioms such as possessive adjectives, objects of personal pronouns can
themselves change in order to keep the agreement among the components in the sentences.
3.2.2. Idiomatic variants in Vietnamese
Ju.X. Xtepannov said that phonetic deformation of words was limited by synonyms.
This means that forms of words are changed while their meanings are still the same. That a
word is pronounced in two ways makes two phonetic variants. [31: 42]
It can be said that idiomatic variants are different forms of the same idioms. It means
that the form of an idiom has changed but its meaning is still the same. That the components
of an idiom are replaced by the others, or that the order of the components of an idiom
changes makes the different forms of an idiom.
Idioms having phonetic variants are considered as idiomatic variants: chôn nhau cắt
rốn – chôn rau cắt rốn (birth-place); bày binh bố trận – bài binh bố trận (to dispose troops in
battle-array); buồn như trấu cắn – buồn như chấu cắn (very sad); ân sâu nghĩa nặng – ơn sâu
nghĩa nặng (to entertain a feeling of gratitude deep in one’s heart); bắt mũi chưa sạch – vắt
43
mũi chưa sạch (to look like a spring chicken); năm châu bốn bể - năm châu bốn biển (all the
world) etc.
That the order of the components of an idiom is not the same also makes idiomatic
variants: mật ít ruồi nhiều – ruồi nhiều mật it (Little supply much demand); to gan lớn mật lớn mật to gan (to have plenty of guts); da mồi tóc bạc – tóc bạc da mồi (silver hair and
spotted skin); chân trong chân ngoài – chân ngoài chân trong (half-hearted); dãi nắng dầm
mưa – dầm mưa dãi nắng (to be exposed to the sun); năm châu bốn bể - bốn bể năm châu (all
the world); gạo chợ nước sông – nước sông gạo chợ (to live from hand to mouth); cá chậu
chim lồng – chim lồng cá chậu (behind prison bars) etc.
When the components of an idiom are replaced by units which are synonymous or
belong to the same field of meaning, we also call these idiomatic variants: dữ như hùm – dữ
như cọp (ferocious like a tiger); cùng hội cùng thuyền – đồng hội đồng thuyền (to share the
same lot); binh hùng tướng mạnh – quân hùng tướng mạnh (a strong army); giả mù giả điếc –
giả đui giả điếc (to pretend to be deaf and dumb); vẽ đường cho hươu chạy – vạch đường cho
hươu chạy (to teach the dog to bark); cơm dẻo canh ngọt – cơm ngon canh ngọt – cơm lành
canh ngọt (good meals); chua như mẻ - chua như dấm (sour like vinegar); dãi nắng dầm mưa
– dãi gió dầm mưa – dãi gió dầm sương – dãi gió dầu mưa (to be exposed to the sun); dạn dày
nắng mưa – dạn dày sương gió – dạn dày gió sương (to be used to the hard weather) etc.
Vietnamese idiomatic variants are quite multiform and complicated. How they are
expressed depends on the speakers’ habits in different parts of country. Basing on what given
above, it can be said that the variation limitations of words are synonymy. Therefore, the
variation limitations of idioms are synonymous idioms.
44
3.3. Synonymous idioms in English and Vietnamese
Although English and Vietnamese are two different languages, synonymous idioms in
both are available.
3.3.1. Synonymous idioms in English
It can be said that synonyms are different words with identical or at least similar
meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous and the state of being a
synonym is called synonymy. In the figurative sense, two words are often said to be
synonymous if they have the same connotation.
Synonyms can be any parts of speech (e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or
prepositions), as long as both members of the pair are same part of speech.
In English many synonyms evolved from a mixture of Norman French and English
words, often with some words associated with the Saxon countryside (“folk”, “freedom”) and
synonyms with the Norman nobility (“people”, “liberty”).
Two idioms are said to be synonymous if they have different structures but the same
meanings. not to turn a hair (verbal phrase) and without turning a hair (prepositional phrase)
are synonymous idioms. This kind of synonymous idioms is not very common in English.
However, it is very popular in Vietnamese.
In English when a preposition of an idiom is replaced by another but its meaning is the
same, it can be considered as a synonymous idiom: to escape by the skin of one’s teeth – to
escape with the skin of one’s teeth, to be beyond belief – to be past belief, to be down in health
– to be down at health etc.
As we know, idioms are the language units which are about the same as words.
Therefore, they are able to be synonymous with words. Two idioms are also said to be
synonymous idioms if they have different components belonging to different fields of
45
meaning, but their meanings are the same. For example, the following idioms are synonymous
with each other although they have different meaning colours:
Bases
Synonymous idioms
as drunk as a fish
as drunk as
as drunk as a lord
as drunk as a skunk
to swear like a trooper
to swear like
to swear like a bargee
as busy as a heaver
as busy as
as busy as a bee
3.3.2. Synonymous idioms in Vietnamese
In Vietnam, Do Huu Chau has partly referred to the synonymous idioms. He said “The
idioms which are about the same as words are mainly synonymous, colorific and descriptive”.
[7]
It can be said that idioms are the language units which are about the same as words.
Therefore, they are able to be synonymous with words. For example, the following idioms are
synonymous with their bases; however, each of these idioms has its own meaning specifying
different colors of its common root meaning:
Bases
Synonymous idioms
chậm như rùa (at a snail’s pace)
46
chậm (slow)
chậm như sên…
nhanh như sóc (as fast as a squirrel)
nhanh như ăn cướp
nhanh (fast)
nhanh như cắt
nhanh như chớp
nhanh như gió
nhanh như điện…
đen như mực tàu (inky-black)
đen như cột nhà cháy
đen như củ súng
đen (black)
đen như đồng hun
đen như củ tam thất
đen như quạ…
It is easy to realize that idioms are usually used in sayings belonging to informal
language; therefore, they are the language units belonging to this style. Idioms belonging to
formal language are not very common. They are usually idioms coming from Sino. For
example, Vo Nguyen Giap, in his Từ nhân dân mà ra, wrote “Quân giải phóng là một đội
quân rất trọng kỷ luật, tuyệt đối phục tùng thượng lệnh, là một đội quân giàu tinh thần đoàn
kết, đồng cam cộng khổ (to share the hard work with each other)”.
Meanwhile, words including bases synonymizing idioms created usually have neutral
colors. This can be shown as the following examples:
47
Meaning
Synonymous idioms
đen như mực tàu (inky-black)
đen như cột nhà cháy
đen (black)
đen như củ súng
đen như đồng hun
đen như củ tam thất
đen như quạ…
đồng cam cộng khổ (to share the hard work with
đoàn kết (solidarity)
each other)…
vắt cổ chày ra nước (to be a skinflint)
keo kiệt (meanness)
rán sành ra mỡ…
Words and synonymous idioms can make a clear distinction between them about their
meaning colours. For example, in Vietnamese đen (black) normally means “like the colour of
coal” or “the colour of ‘mực tàu’ (Indian ink)”. They can be used for all objects. However, it
has different meaning colours in the following idioms relating to the colours of complexion.
Idioms
Meaning
Meaning colours
Đen như cột nhà cháy
black
as black as the colour of a house pole burnt
Đen như đồng hun
black
as black as the colour of a piece of bronze smoked
Đen như củ súng
black
as black as the colour of a tuber of lotus
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Each of synonymous idioms has its own meaning color. It is easy to realize that the
meaning color of each synonymous idiom comes from the images originally creating idioms.
Therefore, we can consider idioms and their synonymous words as notional synonymous units.
It means that units expressing the same notion or the same fact do not only have different
figurative styles but also different meaning colors.
e.g.
Synonymous idioms
Meaning colours
Styles
nước đổ đầu vịt
negative
informal
neutral
formal
(like water off a duck’s back)
nước đổ lá khoai
(like water off a duck’s back)
Linguists have affirmed that in language there are no absolute synonymous words;
therefore, there are no absolute synonymous idioms. Moreover, synonymous idioms are
created from different images. It means that each synonymous idiom has its own image. That
they are not the same is obvious.
3.4. Syntactic and idiomatic synonymy
It can be said that lexicological and syntactic synonyms are diminutive unitive
synonymous systems of language. The basis to determine synonymous words and idioms are
the similar and different properties. The similarities and differences of lexical synonymous
units are dialectical because they express the different images of the same phenomenon.
Words and idioms are synonymous with each other because the express the same notions or
49
the same phenomena of the objective reality. However, they are different because they have
different meaning colors, styles and fields of using (universal, local, professional etc).
Basing on the similar and different properties of words and idioms, syntactic
synonymy can be clearly analyzed. It is affirmed that the similar and different properties of
syntactic synonymous units are the dialectical identicalness of different respects belonging to
the same aspect of study – syntactic aspect.
As we know, one of the criteria usually used to identify the synonymy is the possibility
of replacing one language unit by another. However, not all words replaced by other are
synonymous and syntactic means is not an exception. Therefore, it is syntactically necessary
to give the principles of fixing group of words, sentence, similar or synonymous sentence
element when it is alone or not. [27: 103]
Some researchers have shown that syntactic synonymous units must have different
structures. [27: 111] Therefore, synonymous idioms also have different structures although
they have the same meanings in general. Idioms having the same meanings and structures may
be variants of idioms. When idioms are considered as synonymous idioms of other, the
components of these idioms must belong to different fields of lexicon.
e.g.
English
Vietnamese
not to turn a hair – without turning a hair
chuột gặm chân mèo – vuốt râu hùm
(to beard the lion in his den)
to wrap someone around one’s little finger –
đắp tai gài chốc – mũ ni che tai
to have someone at one’s beck and call
(Turning a deaf ear to everything)
to face the music – to wake up and smell the
dưỡng hổ dị hoạ - nuôi ong tay áo
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coffee
(to set a fox to keep one’s geese)
M.F. Palepskaia, a Russian linguist, made a clear distinction between syntactic
synonyms and syntactic variants. She showed that syntactic structures including sentences and
parts of sentences are different because of their lexical elements. She considered them as
syntactic synonyms. Structures expressing the same content are syntactic variants. M.F.
Palepskaia also gave a definition about syntactic synonymous units. Her definition can be
expressed as follows: syntactic synonymous units are different structures having the same
grammatical positions and contents. They are different because of their original meaning
colours coming from grammatical meanings changed. [27: 128]. Basing on this, we can make
a clear distinction between synonyms and variants of idioms in both English and Vietnamese.
In Vietnamese, Nguyen Huu Chuong, in his doctorate thesis, gave 4 minor types of
pragmatic synonymous sentences and 18 minor types of semantic synonymous sentences.
(Appendix 1) We only focus on semantic synonymous sentences because they relate to
idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms.
3.5. Criteria for the distinction between idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms
In both English and Vietnamese, in order to make a clear distinction between idiomatic
variants and synonymous idioms, we focus on two criteria: meanings and grammatical
structures. Meanings are based on the same or different images. Grammatical structures are
based on the same or different structures. The differences between idiomatic variants and
synonymous idioms can be shown as follows: (Diagram 1, 2)
51
Diagram 1: Idiomatic variants
- same meanings
Idioms
- same structures
Idiomatic variants
- same images
e.g.
English
Vietnamese
to take into one’s head
ngồi như bụt mọc
to take into one’s mind…
ngồi như bụt ốc
(to sit in silence and do nothing)
Diagram 2: Synonymous idioms
- same meanings
- different structures
Idioms
Synonymous idioms
- same meanings
- same structures
- different images
e.g.
English
Vietnamese
to have a head on one’s shoulders – to have
dở trăng dở đèn – dơi không ra dơi, chuột
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one’s head screwed on the right way…
không ra chuột – nửa nạc nửa mỡ (halfserious)…
rối như canh hẹ - rối như gà mắc tóc – rối
as angry as a bear – as angry as a bull…
như mớ bong bong – rối như ruột tằm (to
be in a stir)…
Basing on two criteria above, we can make a clear distinction between idiomatic
variants and synonymous idioms as follows:
Idioms are considered as variants of each other when they have the same meanings
and grammatical structures or have different components belonging to the same field of
meaning.
Idioms are said to be synonymous when they have the same meanings but different
structures or have the same structures but different components belonging to different fields of
meaning.
3.6. Forms of idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English and Vietnamese
3.6.1. Forms of idiomatic variants
As we know, idioms are considered as variants of each other when they have the same
meanings and grammatical structures or have different components belonging to the same
field of meaning. Basing on these criteria, we can realize idiomatic variants through their
forms as follows:
3.6.1.1. Phonetic idiomatic variants
In English, it seems that there are no phonetic idiomatic variants because English
articulate system is very close and fixed.
53
However, in Vietnamese it is not difficult to find out phonetic idiomatic variants such
as trở/ giở mặt như bàn tay (change about), ân/ ơn sâu nghĩa nặng (to entertain a feeling of
gratitude deep in one’s heart), buồn như chấu/ trấu cắn (very sad), chôn rau/ nhau cắt rốn
(native place), gà trống/ sống nuôi con (a cock with chicks to raise), giơ cao đánh sẽ/ khẽ
(long mint little dint), trường/ tràng giang đại hải (lenghthy), dát/ nhát như cáy (as timid as a
rabbit) etc. It is clear that the meanings of phonetic idiomatic variants in Vietnamese are the
same and they also have the same meaning colours. Nevertheless, they have different style
colours. For example, nhát như cáy is neutral and formal, but dát như cáy is negative and
informal. The following examples make it clearer:
“Con người nhát như cáy, bỗng chốc trở lên dũng cảm khác thường, một mình luồn
qua lưới địch tìm bộ đội, có thể tin được không?”
(Lê Khâm, ‘Bên kia biên giới’)
“Giọng ông cụ hỏi sẵng, dường như lại bực vợ: Bà chỉ được cái dát như cáy. Chúng
nó giết ngay bây giờ đấy.”
(Quang Tiến, ‘Làng Tề’)
3.6.1.2. Idiomatic variants basing on the change of their component orders
This kind of variants is very rare in English, but it is quite common in Vietnamese.
These idiomatic variants have their own different forms:
Form 1: ABCD = CDAB
These idiomatic variants consist of four syllables. It means that they are phrases
consisting of two disyllabic coordinate compound words.
54
e.g.
ABCD
CDAB
chén thù chén tạc
chén tạc chén thù
(Toasts exchanged in a drinking about)
chức trọng quyền cao
quyền cao chức trọng
(high office and great power)
chạy ngược chạy xuôi…
chạy xuôi chạy ngược…
(to move heaven and earth)
Semantically, disyllabic compound words in the idiomatic variants above refer to
phenomena which usually go together. When these phenomena are used together, they become
idioms having general meanings.
Although these idiomatic variants have different forms, they have the same meaning
and style colours as their base idioms. However, how often they are used is sometimes
different. For example, the idiomatic variants such as chia loan rẽ phượng (to separate two
lovers) and cửa Khổng sân Trình (The Confucianist School) are more popular whereas chia
phượng rẽ loan (to separate two lovers) and sân Trình cửa Khổng (The Confucianist School)
are not very often used.
Form 2: AxBy = AyBx
These idiomatic variants consist of four syllables. In other word, they are phrases
consisting two disyllabic compound words. Form 2 is different from form 1 because only one
component in form 2 changes its position.
55
e.g.
AxBy
AyBx
lòng cá dạ chim
lòng chim dạ cá
(to have a mean heart)
dạn gió dày sương
dày gió dạn sương
(to be used to the hard weather)
xa chạy cao bay…
cao chạy xa bay…
(to run away)
Form 3: AxAy = AyAx
As can be seen from form 3, these idiomatic idioms also consist of four syllables.
They are phrases in which a single word is twice used with a disyllabic coordinate word.
e.g.
AxAy
AyAx
nói vượn nói hươu
nói hươu nói vượn
(to palaver)
nở mặt nở mày
nở mày nở mặt
(to feel proud)
kể khoan kể nhặt
kể nhặt kể khoan
(to spin a long yarn)
chết dở sống dở
sống dở chết dở
(to be in a fix)
chịu khó chịu thương…
chịu thương chịu khó…
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(to take pains)
In addition, beside the forms above, Vietnamese idiomatic variants have three special
forms as follows:
- Four syllables idioms coming from Sino are Vietnamized and become Vietnamese
idioms: Hà Đông sư tử - sư tử Hà Đông (a tigress).
- Idioms having subject - predicate - complement forms changed into complement predicate - subject ones are also considered as idiomatic variants: xương bọc da – da bọc
xương (a bag of bones).
- Idioms having “như X với Y” forms changed into “như Y với X” ones are idiomatic
variants: như nước với lửa – như lửa với nước (fire and water).
3.6.1.3. Contractive idiomatic variants and the contrary
In English this kind of idiomatic variants is rare. It sometimes appears on the mass
media. They no longer keep the full form of the idiom but add some more components to
make it more vivid, particularly effective when writing articles.
There are two kinds of contractive idiomatic variants in Vietnamese:
- Idiomatic variants are contractions of their base idioms:
e.g.
Base idioms
Contractive idiomatic variants
treo đầu dê bán thịt chó
treo dê bán chó
(He cries wine and sells vinegar)
lợn lành chữa thành lợn què
(A remedy is worse than disease)
lợn lành thành lợn què
57
lung búng như ngậm hột thị…
như ngậm hột thị…
(to sputter)
- Idiomatic variants come from their contractive base idioms:
e.g.
Contractive base idioms
Idiomatic variants
dai như đỉa
dai như đỉa đói
(as tough as old boots)
đội trời đạp đất
đầu đội trời chân đạp đất
(to get complete free hand in one’s life and action)
lên như diều
lên như diều gặp gió
(to get quick promotions)
These variants are usually used in specific contexts; therefore, they are easy to
understand and restore their base idioms.
3.6.1.4. Idiomatic variants coming from idioms of other languages
English idioms can be formed by using borrowings as their components. The idiom
Saigon moment is an example in which Saigon is a borrowing coming from Vietnamese.
However, idiomatic variants coming from idioms of other languages are not available in
English.
In Vietnamese, there are a lot of idiomatic variants coming from idioms of other
languages, especially Sino. In order to make it easy to understand, Sino idioms are
Vietnamized and have Vietnamese meaning colours.
58
e.g.
Sino Idioms
Idiomatic variants
binh địa ba đào
đất bằng nổi sóng
(An upheaval happening during a calm)
quốc sắc thiên hương…
sắc nước hương trời…
(beauty)
In general, the meanings of these idiomatic variants are similar to those of their Sino
idioms Vietnamized. However, Sino idioms Vietnamized are more general and formal than
their variants. This is the reason why Sino idioms Vietnamized are usually used in books.
3.6.1.5. Idiomatic variants with their components replaced by synonyms
In both English and Vietnamese, these idiomatic variants are available. However, they
are more common in Vietnamese. In English the components of idioms are usually replaced
by others whose meanings are close. Meanwhile, the components of Vietnamese idioms can
be replaced by synonyms or others whose meanings are close.
e.g.
English
Vietnamese
to come apart – to come asunder
mát lòng mát dạ - mát lòng mát ruột
to have a great mind to – to have a good
(to be gratified at)
mind to
to get wise to someone/ something – to be
wise to someone/ something…
nắm đằng cán – nắm đằng chuôi
(to be on the safe side)
bày mưu tính kế - bày mưu lập kế…
(to devise stratagems and contrive tricks)
59
The meanings of these idiomatic variants are similar to those of their idioms.
Nevertheless, their style colours and frequencies of using are sometimes different. It is clear
that base idioms are more used and common than their variants.
3.6.1.6. Idiomatic variants with their components replaced by words or expressions
having the same lexical-semantic field
When the components of idioms are replaced by other words or expressions belonging
to the same lexical-semantic field, they are considered as idiomatic variants. These idiomatic
variants are available in both English and Vietnamese.
e.g.
English
Vietnamese
there is no stopping someone – there is no lòng lang dạ thú – lòng lang dạ sói
holding someone
(to have a mean heart)
ăn no vác nặng – ăn no gánh nặng
to get a share of the cake – to get a slice of (to eat to satiety and carry a heavy load)
the cake
chiêm khê mùa thối – chiêm khê mùa úng…
(affected by drought in summer and
to give it to someone – to hand it to waterlogged in autumn)
someone…
In general, the frequencies of using idiomatic variants and their base idioms in English
are the same. In addition, the meaning and style colours of English idiomatic variants are
similar to those of their base idioms. However, these are not the same in Vietnamese. It means
60
that their pragmatic meanings are different. For example, that we can say nắng như đổ lửa,
nắng như hầm, or nắng như thiêu (a scorching sun) depends on how hot it is.
Basing on the meanings and the forms of idiomatic variants and their base idioms with
their components replaced by words or expressions having the same lexical-semantic field, we
can consider this kind of idiomatic variants as an intermediary between variation and
synonymy.
3.6.2. Forms of synonymous idioms
Idioms are said to be synonymous when they have the same meanings but different
structures or have the same structures but different components belonging to different fields of
meaning. In order to realize synonymous idioms, we focus on two criteria: meanings and
grammatical structures. Meanings are based on the same or different images. Grammatical
structures are based on the same or different structures. These two criteria also help us realize
synonymous idioms in both English and Vietnamese as follows:
3.6.2.1. Figurative and literal synonymous idioms
These synonymous idioms are quite common in Vietnamese but not available in
English. Two idioms are said to be synonymous when they have the same meanings (this one
is figurative, and the other is literal).
e.g.
Figurative
Literal
ăn thừa nói thiếu
ăn gian nói dối
(to be dishonest)
ăn đơm nói đặt
(to be dishonest)
ăn không nói có
61
ăn sóng nói gió
ăn to nói lớn
(to speak loud and openly)
cố đấm ăn xôi…
cố sống cố chết…
(to put one’s pride in one’s pocket for the
sake of one’s end)
3.6.2.2. Synonymous idioms having the same figurative meanings basing on different
images
These synonymous idioms are available in both English and Vietnamese. Idioms
having different grammatical structures or different components basing on different images,
but the same meanings are said to be synonymous.
e.g.
English
Vietnamese
to have a head on one’s shoulders – to have ghi lòng tạc dạ - nhớ như đinh đóng vào
one’s head screwed on the right way
cột (to engrave for ever on one’s heart)
chạy như cờ lông công – chạy ngược
chạy xuôi (to be in a bustle)
as busy as a heaver – as busy as a bee…
rán sành ra mỡ – vắt cổ chày ra nước (to
skin a flint)…
3.7. Appearances of idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English and
Vietnamese
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An investigation was carried out among 100 pairs of English idioms having the same
meanings adapted by chance from Pocket English Idioms written by Jennifer Seidl – W.
McMordie in 1988. (Appendix 2) We also investigated 100 pairs of Vietnamese idioms having
the same meanings adapted by chance from Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (Vietnamese Idioms)
written by Nguyen Luc and Luong Van Dang in 1978. (Appendix 3) The purpose of the
investigation was to discover the amount of idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in both
English and Vietnamese. Basing on this, we found out how idiomatic variants and
synonymous idioms appear in each language. The main findings are in Table 2
Table 2: Appearances of idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English and
Vietnamese
Language
Total (pairs)
Idiomatic variants
Synonymous idioms
English
100 (100%)
46 (46%)
54 (54%)
Vietnamese
100 (100%)
65 (65%)
35 (35%)
The table shows that the idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English are
quite equal. Idiomatic variants are 46% and 54% are synonymous idioms. However, in
Vietnamese Idiomatic variants are much more common than synonymous idioms. Among 100
pairs of Vietnamese idioms having the same meanings, 65% are idiomatic variants, and
synonymous idioms are only 35%.
In general, synonymous idioms in English are much more common than those in
Vietnamese. In contrary, Vietnamese idiomatic variants are more common than English ones.
It can be said that both English and Vietnamese people tend to use different idioms having the
63
same meanings in their everyday conversations. However, how often they use these idioms
depends on their habits and points of view in each country.
3.8. Summary
Although there are some similarities such as multiform meaning colours, sentence
forming abilities and distinction criteria, idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in both
languages have some differences:
In English, the order of the components of an idiom is fixed. However, in Vietnamese
we can see that the order of the components of some idioms can change but their meanings are
the same such as nếm mật nằm gai – nằm gai nếm mật (to endure hardships and achieve a
lofty arm); da mồi tóc bạc – tóc bạc da mồi (having spedkled skin and hoary hair); góc bể
chân trời – chân trời góc bể (to the ends of the earth) etc. They are considered as idiomatic
variants.
In Vietnamese, idioms having phonetic variants are considered as idiomatic variants
such as chôn nhau cắt rốn – chôn rau cắt rốn (birth place); bày binh bố trận – bài binh bố
trận (to dispose troops in battle-array); buồn như trấu cắn – buồn như chấu cắn (very sad)
etc. However, we can not find these in English.
In both English and Vietnamese, idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms are quite
common. In order to make a clear distinction between them, we focus on two criteria:
meanings and grammatical structures.
Idioms are considered as variants of each other when they have the same meanings
and grammatical structures or have different components belonging to the same field of
meaning.
64
Idioms are said to be synonymous when they have the same meanings but different
structures or have the same structures but different components belonging to different fields of
meaning.
Idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms are available in both English and
Vietnamese; however, their forms and availabilities in each language are different. These can
be summarized in Table 3.
Table 3: Forms of idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English and Vietnamese
Idiomatic variants
Forms
Phonetic idiomatic variants
Idiomatic variants basing on the change of
English
Vietnamese
not available
available
available (rare)
available
available (rare)
available
not available
available
available
available
available
available
their component orders
Contractive idiomatic variants and the
contrary
Idiomatic variants coming from idioms of
other languages
Idiomatic variants with their components
replaced by synonyms
Idiomatic variants with their components
replaced by words or expressions having
the same lexical-semantic field
Synonymous idioms
65
Forms
English
Vietnamese
Figurative and literal synonymous idioms
not available
available
Synonymous idioms having the same
available
available
figurative meanings basing on different
images
In general, base idioms are more used and common than their variants and synonyms.
How often they are used depends on specific contexts and speakers’ habits. It can be said that
idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in both English and Vietnamese have the same
meaning colours but different figurative style colours. Idiomatic variants and synonymous
idioms in Vietnamese are more complex and multiform than those in English.
Both English and Vietnamese people tend to use different idioms having the same
meanings in their everyday conversations. Synonymous idioms in English are much more
common than those in Vietnamese. In contrary, Vietnamese idiomatic variants are more
common than English ones.
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PART C: CONCLUSION
1. Conclusions
In this thesis, the relationship between culture and language is given. Basing on this, the
author interprets why idioms are considered as special language units and what their idiomatic
variants and synonymous idioms are. The author also gives some criteria to make a clear
distinction between idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in English and Vietnamese.
The main findings are as follows:
Idioms in both English and Vietnamese are fixed groups of words which have settled
forms and figurative meanings and reflect their own nation's cultural values, including
material and spiritual values.
Although English and Vietnamese idioms have some different features about
structures, meanings, functions as well as origins, they both have some similarities:
-
Idioms are fixed groups of words which are firm in terms of their structures and
lexical components.
-
Idioms are complete and figurative in terms of meanings which do not come from
the meanings of their individual components.
-
Idioms have their own expressiveness.
-
Grammatically, idioms are usually groups of words, sometimes sentences.
-
Idioms are semantically considered as words or groups of words.
-
The function of idioms is naming things, phenomena, processes, properties…
67
Both English and Vietnamese idioms can be classified due to parts of speech, topics or
origins. However, Idiom categories basing on their grammatical functions are quite common.
Each group of idioms has its own grammatical function and can form sentences. This is the
reason why idioms can function as words. Idioms in both languages are quite multiform and
flexible. Therefore, we can not understand idioms clearly without understanding the culture of
each country.
There are some similarities such as multiform meaning colours, sentence forming
abilities and distinction criteria; however, idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in both
languages have some differences:
- In English, the order of the components of an idiom is quite fixed. However, in
Vietnamese we can see that the order of the components of some idioms can change easily,
but their meanings are the same such as nếm mật nằm gai – nằm gai nếm mật (to endure
hardships and achieve a lofty arm); da mồi tóc bạc – tóc bạc da mồi (having spedkled skin
and hoary hair); góc bể chân trời – chân trời góc bể (to the ends of the world) etc. They are
considered as idiomatic variants.
- In Vietnamese, idioms having phonetic variants are considered as idiomatic variants
such as chôn nhau cắt rốn – chôn rau cắt rốn (birth-place); bày binh bố trận – bài binh bố
trận (to dispose troops in battle-array); buồn như trấu cắn – buồn như chấu cắn (very sad)
etc. However, we can not find these in English.
In both English and Vietnamese, idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms are quite
common. In order to make a clear distinction between them, it is necessary to focus on two
criteria: meanings and grammatical structures.
68
- Idioms are considered as variants of each other when they have the same meanings
and grammatical structures or have different components belonging to the same field of
meaning.
- Idioms are said to be synonymous when they have the same meanings but different
structures or have the same structures but different components belonging to different fields of
meaning.
Idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms are available in both English and
Vietnamese; however, their forms and appearances in each language are different.
Synonymous idioms in English are much more common than those in Vietnamese. In
contrary, Vietnamese idiomatic variants are more common than English ones.
In general, base idioms are more used and common than their variants and synonyms.
How often they are used depends on specific contexts and speakers’ habits. It can be said that
idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms in both English and Vietnamese have the same
meaning colours but different figurative style colours. Idiomatic variants and synonymous
idioms in Vietnamese are more complex and multiform than those in English.
2. Implications for teaching and learning English idioms in general and their variants
and synonyms in particular
Teaching and learning English as well as Vietnamese, to some people, is an easy task,
but to some others, it is really a hard-solving problem. The reason for any difficulties facing
these people can be various: maybe they lack a “natural ability” or they do not have suitable
methods of teaching and learning. However, apart from linguistic competence, the most
important factor that affects the effectiveness of teaching and learning English and Vietnamese
in general and idioms in particular, as far as the author is concerned, is their cultural awareness
69
and quick-minded and active abilities in applying language knowledge to conversational
contexts.
Teachers and learners must make themselves master their mother tongue and their
country’s culture. Many students even do not have sufficient knowledge of Vietnamese culture
and language but still require a good result in their language learning. Obviously, they could
never achieve their aims successfully. The teacher must be well aware of this fact and have
suitable methods to help students enrich their mother tongue as well as their foreign language
linguistically and culturally.
Speaking a foreign language is not very difficult, but understanding and using it
effectively is not easy. For any languages, one idea can be expressed and understood in many
different ways. Idioms are considered as very special language units because they are different
from words and expressions. They are phrases where the words together have a meaning that
is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. This can make idioms hard
for ESL students and learners to understand. In order to know how to use idioms effectively in
the right situations, teachers have to help learners discover the forms, contents, origins,
functions and figurative style colours of idioms.
In this study, idiomatic variants and synonymous idioms were grammatically and
semantically analyzed quite deeply in both English and Vietnamese. This helps teachers and
learners have a further understanding of idioms and suitable methods of teaching and learning.
3. Suggestions for further studies
- Idioms are language units functioning as words. They can form sentences and have
their own meaning colours. The roles of idioms in forming sentences in English and
Vietnamese have not been investigated in a systematic way. We hope that this can be studied
in the coming time.
70
- Idioms are considered as very special language units because they are different from
words and expressions. They are phrases where the words together have a meaning that is
different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. Besides special meaning
colours, idioms also have their own figurative style colours. “A study on figurative style
colours of idioms in both English and Vietnamese” need studying.
71
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