Metonymy and its implications for teaching vocabulary

I Full name Tran Thi Thu Trang (1985) Class 18C College of Foreign Languages VNU Metonymy and its implications for teaching vocabulary I Abstract Vocabulary, much more than grammar, is the key to a second language learner understanding what shehe hears and reads in school; and to communicating successfully with other people Among many issues related to vocabulary, linguists and teachers of English nowadays have paid more attention to metonymy, one aspect of transference of meaning It is also co.

Full name : Tran Thi Thu Trang (1985)

Class: 18C

College of Foreign Languages - VNU

Metonymy and its implications

for teaching vocabulary

I Abstract

Vocabulary, much more than grammar, is the key to a second language learner understanding what she/he hears and reads in school; and to communicating successfully with other people

Among many issues related to vocabulary, linguists and teachers of English nowadays have paid more attention to metonymy, one aspect of transference of meaning It is also considered to be helpful for learners in the process of building up a large store of words and using language creatively I have been a teacher of English for just one year; In some readings lessons I have taught, I found that my students had difficulties comprehending words which should be understood in their metonymic sense For such reason, I decide to study metonymy and try to find ways for teaching this effectively by consulting ideas presented in research on this subject of former MA students because I have not got much experience in teaching In this paper, I’d like to review the matter of metonymy and present its implications for teaching vocabulary

II What is metonymy?

According to Nguyen Hoa, metonymy can be defined as the substitution of one word for another with which it is associated Metonymy works by contiguity rather than similarity

According to standard tradition, metonymy is defined as a “figure in which one word is substituted for another on the basis of some material,

causal, or conceptual relation Some substitutions include palce-for-institution, thing-for-perception, 0r object-for-possessor, or part-for-whole, or place-for-event

For Nunberg (1978, 1979), metonymy is a case of “deferred reference”,

in which a speaker uses a description of A and succeeds in referring to B Nunberg also regards metonymic uses as a kind of “local” word uses that are perceived as rational against a system of beliefs that is available only to a sub-section of the community

According to Galperin I.R, metonymy is based on a different type of relation between the dictionary and contextual meanings, a relation based not

on identification, but on some kind of association connecting the two concepts which these meanings represent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Metonymy is defined from two different perspectives In rhetoric, metonymy is the substitution of one word for another word with which it is associated In cognitive linguistics, metonymy refers to the use of a single characteristic to identify a more complex entity and is one of the basis characteristics of cognition It is common for people to take one well-understood or easy-to-perceive aspect of something and use that aspect to stand either for the thing as a whole or for some other aspect or part of it Sometimes, metonymy is seen as a specific kind of symbolism by which the most essential component of an object is abstracted to represent it For example, if a person is well-known for his red hair, this feature “red hair” can lend itself to referring to the person who has red hair

That red hair is getting angry with his wife.

According to Kukharenko V.A, metonymy also becomes instrumental

in enriching the vocabulary of the language and it is based on contiguity (nearness) or objects of phenomena

So, according to those definitions, metonymy can be understood as a transference of meaning based on a logical or physical connection between

things In metonymy, a thing is described by its action, its function or by some significant features It is one of the means of forming the new meanings of words in the language

Many examples of metonymy are highly conventionalized and easy to interpret However, many others depend on an ability to infer what the

speaker has in mind The metonymy in the strings are too quite is easier to

understand if you are familiar with orchestral music Or we can say that we have to rely on context, background knowledge and inference to understand metonymic expressions

III Types of metonymy

Metonymy is classified into 3 types according to Alexey in his article

“The metonymic way of an attributive description of the subject: cultural aspect”

1 Direct, or primary, metonymy

Direct metonymy is the direct transference of the meaning to the object

on the basis of association with the subject itself For example:

“We could hear the cheery clatter of our knives, the laughing voices…”

(J.K Jerome)

In this case, the participle “laughing” that characterizes the subject expressed

in this sentence by the pronoun “we” is used with the noun “voices”, although

no voice can laugh by itself; it is the property of human being The description is transferred from the subject itself to its part, so it is obvious that this sentence is an example of primary metonymy

An interesting example of primary metonymy is its usage in such a cultural phenomenon as wishes By saying to each other “Happy New Year!”

or “Merry Christmas!”, people in reality explicate the thought “ I wish you to

be happy in the new year” or “I wish you to be merry on Christmas” The usage of direct metonymy is quite obvious in cases like these

2 Indirect, or secondary, metonymy

This type of metonymy is the double transference of the meaning to another object on the basis of association with the manner of action of the subject mediated by the subject itself For example:

“Poirot waved an impatient hand.” (A Christie) Here is the analogous transference of the meaning from the manner os

an action of the subject (waved impatiently) to the object (hand), mediated by the subject (Poirot), because it is not the hand that is impatient, but Poirot himself waves impatiently

3 Partial metonymy

Differently from the first two types, this type of metonymy employs the use of an attribute which acquires a certain degree of associativeness with the subject For example:

“Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright

In the forests of the night What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmertry?” (W.Blake)

In this fragment, the usage of metonymy can be observed in the nouns

“hand” and “eye” The attribute “immortal” characterizing the subject of this transference (obviously “God”) does not bear in itself the pronounced metonymic complexion, but has only a shade of the associative transference

As a matter of fact, the attribute “immortal” only adds to nominative metonymy in the words “hand” and “eye”, and therefore can not by itself be regarded as complete and self-sufficient metonymy

IV Cases of metonymy

The relationship between words are based simply on a close connection

in everyday experience That close connection can be based on a container – contents relation (bottle-coke; can-juice), a whole-part relation (car-wheels; house – roof) or a representative – symbol relationship (King – crown; the President – the White House) We will look at some cases of metonymy as follows

1 Name of container to refer to the thing contained.

Examples:

The kettle is boiling (1)

He drank the whole cup (2) Obviously, the kettle can not boil as well as the man can not swallow the cup However, we all understand that the water in the kettle is boiling and the man drank some coffee or some tea in the cup, not the cup itself In other words,

“kettle” and “cup” in this examples are used to refer to other things, which are contained in those kinds of containers

The following table shows how these words carry different meanings in original use and metonymic sense:

1 kettle a container with a lid, handle

and a spout, used for boiling water

Water boiled in the kettle

2 cup Container shaped like a bowl,

usually with a handle, used for drinking tea, coffee, etc

Water/coffee/tea/etc

in the cup

2 Names of parts of human body used as symbols.

Human beings in the process of using language firstly got to know about their own body and gave names to its parts Later, when they discover the world outside , they compared the surrounding objects with their own body Hence the name of parts of human body are transferred to denote many other things or parts of things in the real world In that case, we have

“metaphor” However, sometimes names of parts of human body are used to

be the symbol for characteristics of a kind of person

Examples:

The boy has a very clever head.

This is an example of indirect metonymy Head is normally considered as the most important part of the body which controls the operation of the whole body and it contains the brain which has direct relation to a person’s intelligence So if that person is very clever, the word “head” is employed to symbol that characteristic

3 The concrete to refer to the abstract

Concrete is defined as what you can see or feel Abstract, however, is something existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical reality It

is normally difficult to express something abstract, so people tend to use the concrete to visualize the abstract, to give it “a physical reality” Here is an

example: “First we must roll up our sleeves.” Originally, “roll up the sleeves”

denotes an action which is regularly done when people want to start doing something by making the sleeves in the shape of a tube However, in this example, the phrase is understood as making a move of trying

4 Materials to refer to the things made of the materials

In many cases, people find it is not easy to name something and they

are not sure about what is the most appropriate way to call it Then, the name

of materials are taken to name their products

Examples:

Can you give me a rubber, please?

In this

situation, a rubber is made of rubber The metonymic sense of the word really works effectively because it not only helps to name the object but also is a useful way to distinguish them from other objects

5 Name of the author to refer to his works

Original use Metonymic sense rubber Material got from juice of a

tropical plant that can be

stretched and does not allow

liquid to pass through it

A rubber (eraser) which

is used for removing pencil marks from paper

Author and his works share a very close relation and his name can be normally not be separated from his works That seems to be the reasons why authors’ names are transferred to denote their work

Example:

I love reading Shakespeare before going to bed.

Shakespeare Name of an English playwright Shakespeare’s works The transfer of names of inventors or authors as “volt”, “ampere”, “watt” are also found

6 Part to refer to a whole and vice versa

The relation between a part and a whole is always easy to be seen, so that metonymy can bas eon this relation to transfer the meaning of words

Firstly, we look at some examples in which the words denoting the parts can substitute for the words of the wholes

Examples:

We live in the same roof.

Can you see a sail on the horizon?

Original use Metonymic sense

1 roof The structure that covers or

forms the top of a building

House/building

2 sail A part of the boat which the

wind blows against to make the boat travel through the water

Boat

The “roof” and the “sail” are the two distinguishing features of a house and a (sailing) boat As a type of extension, metonymy use those parts to refer to the whole objects

However, sometimes metonymy is also the use of the whole object to refer to a part of the object

Examples:

Don’t sit down! The chair has been broken There are just three legs now

She is wearing a fox.

Original use Metonymic sense

1 Chair A piece of furniture for

one person to sit on, with

a back, a seat and four legs

A leg of the chair

family with reddish-brown fur, a pointed face and a thick heavy tail

The skin and fur

of the fox used to make coats, etc

7 Symbol to refer to representative

The convention of using capital cities to represent countries or their governments is another example of metonymy Consider the following

example:

Hanoi highly appreciates all what have done by Washington in order to build up a good relationship between the two countries.

1 Hanoi Name of Vietnam’s capital Vietnamese

government

2 Washington Name of United States of

America’s capital

American government

8 Others

A part from those types of metonymical relations, other types can be found in English including: spatial, causal, functional and transfer of

geographical names

Examples:

He was elected chair of the city council (spatial) Fear of failure was bred into him at an early age (causal)

He penned a letter to the local paper (functional) She has bought a new pair of morocco shoes (transfer)

Original use Metonymic sense

1 The chair The position of being in

charge of a meeting or a committee

The person who holds the position of being in charge of a meeting or a committee

you have when you are in danger

3 Pen An instrument used for

writing with ink

To pen: to write something

From what we have mentioned, we find that metonymy is a powerful way to transfer meaning of a word to refer to another referent By simply using the contiguity between notions basing on metonymical relations, English people have changed their language

V Implications for English Vocabulary Teaching

In Vietnamese everyday life, metonymy is used in many different contexts and becomes very familiar with people without any questions about the existences of it Vietnamese people rarely question the source of underlined words in the following examples:

Đi uống vài chén đi!

“Bàn tay ta làm nên tất cả

Có sức người sỏi đá cũng thành cơm.”

Metonymy is not just a figure of speech, but reflects an important part

of the way people ordinarily conceptualize themselves, events and the everyday world Metonymy also helps structure various aspects of inference generation in discourse, as well as people’s understanding and use of contextual expression, indirect speech acts, common gestures, and colloquial tautologies Because of that, in the process of teaching English, especially English vocabulary, teaching metonymy is essential and important Learning about metonymy will help students enrich their vocabulary so as to make their communication successful and effective

Some linguists say that teachers can illustrate the cognitive nature of metonymy, and guide students to explore the metonymic motivation of a word This will help students to make clear the internal relationship among different meanings of one word, make reasonable cognitive reasoning, and gradually grasp the language rules In this way their learning efficiency will

be greatly improved and their vocabulary amount will be expanded a lot However, I prefer the idea that teachers help students find the link between the word’s original use and metonymic sense, which means providing them some relations which can help students to understand metonymic sense without the help of their teacher, and to create their own metonymy

Making a comparison between the two languages seems one of the best ways to realize the matter and avoid any mistakes in using language and translation This task should be guided carefully in the classroom then teacher asks students to do it at home after every lesson