Luận văn a study on english and vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities from cultural perspective

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES PHAM THI MINH A STUDY ON ENGLISII AND VIETNAMESE PROVERBS ABOUT EDUCATING MORAL QUALITIES

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

PHAM THI MINH

A STUDY ON ENGLISII AND VIETNAMESE PROVERBS

ABOUT EDUCATING MORAL QUALITIES FROM

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

(Tục ngữ tiếng Anh và Tiêng Việt với ý nghĩa giáo dục phẩm chat

đao đức - Nghiên cửu dưới góc độ văn hoá)

Minor thesis

Ficld: English Linguistics

Code: 60 22 15

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

PILAM TIT MINIT

A STUDY ON ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PROVERBS

ABOUT EDUCATING MORAL QUALITIES FROM

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

{Tục ngữ tiếng Anh và Tiếng Việt với y nghĩa giáo dục phẩm chất

đao đức - Nghiên cứu dưới góc độ văn hoá)

2, Aims of the study

3 Scope of the study

4 Molhods of the study

5 Design of the study

DEVELOPMENT CIIAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

11 Proverbs

1.11 Deñnitians

1.1.2 Proverbs about educating moral qualities

1.1.3 Some features af proverbs

1.1.4 Classification of proverbs

1.1.5 Proverbs and Idioms

Some characteristics of English/ Vietnamese peuple and cullure

roe hob The relationship between language and culture

Characteristics of English people and culture

CIIAPTER TWO: COMPARISON OF SYNTACTIC AND

VIETNAMESE PROVERBS ABOUT EDUCATING MORAL

CHAPTER THREE: COMPARISON OF CULTURAL

FEATURES BETWEEN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

PROVERBS ABOUT EDUCATING MORAL QUALITIES

Universal moral qualities

Moral qualities in the family

Women’s moral qualities

Moral qualities in love

Moral qualities in the busband-wile relationship

The duty of the children towards their parents

Ins the soclety

Moral qualities in friendship and neighborhood

‘The attitudes towards the elderly people and the teachers

The altilude towards Law

The attitude towards money

About Honor

Summary

wee

CONCLUSION Recapitulation

1, Rationale

It is clear that communicators in their own native language environment find it

natural te speak in the way they normally speak and behave according to their

presupposed social norms and conventions However, in our cross-cultural

communicalion, that is corumnanication between individuals from different cultural

backgroméds, many difficullies nay arise Fach nation’s language lies in ilsel similar and

different cultural concepts on many fields of life such as humane values, behaviour

standards, religious beliefs, etc Therefore, it would be difficult for foreign language

lcarners to commmnicate successfully with native speakers if they have poor

understanding of the Janguage itself and the language in relation with culture

Among many favorite languages sack as French, Chinase cle, English has still played its decisive role in international communication and has been Jeamed by a large mmumber of people in the world All foreign learners of Linglish desire to master inglish as the native speakers but they usually face many difficulties that prevent them ftom gaining sucecssful conversations, One of the reasons for these problems lics in the way people peroeive and use proverbs

For many yoars, English provorbs have often beon neglected in Iearning and teaching because it is a difficult area of English, but nobody can deny that proverbs are really important in communication, “a proverbs wn the hand ix often worth q thousand

words” (Horace Reynolds, 1959)

Furstly, proverbs as traditional wisdom are never absent tom our daily speech They are a main part of each nation’s culture, which reflects all aspects of the life People

epilomize their way of thinking and their ideas through proverbs We can use therm to

solve our daily conflicts or support our arguments Proverbs are the mizrors that reflect

Inman culture As Dr Malik lzaki (2002) states: “If we want to understand the culture in

a given society, we have to study its proverbs as any nation has its own characteristics

that reflect their lives and environmental surroundings” Hence, it can be said that

language

Sccondly, praverbs ar usoit to cxpross idcas in figurative way Il brings the

vividness and richness for the spzaker’s sp: h Anyors who much voncerns proverbs owns a very altractive manner of speaking, Especially, they can do provide users with a whole new way of expressing concepts linguistically Without Ihem, ¡L can be slated that English might lose its color and vitality,

Studying English proverbs in comparison with Vietnamese ones, we can find the

similarilies and difference in two languages and cultures, which therefor: Ip Iearnicrs

of English to understand and have a better use of English proverbs and Vietnamese ones

‘This can also help leamers to have better communication in the cross-cultural communication

effect of learning proverbs: “Through proverbs £ know your points of view, the attitudes

of your ancestors Rach time T know a new Vietnamese proverb, I became Vietnamese a

little I believe when we know all proverbs of each other, we are brothers”

Leing interested in proverbs for a long time, | choose proverbs as my thesis topic

as both English and Victnames: are especially nich in proverbs Many of them are

comesponding in meaning or close enough to make comparison interesting and rewarding However, due to the limited time and knowledge, I just focus ona small part

of the huge proverbial (reasue “A study on English and Vietnamese proverbs sbout

educating moral qualities fom cultural perspective”

Llopefully, the study may be an interesting and helpful material for learners,

teachers of English and for people who arc intercsied im cultural palldm in

communication and cross-cultural communication

Z Aims of the study

The study aims to:

© Investigate the general syntactic, semantic and especially cultural features

of English and Viemamese proverbs about educating moral qualities

Lixplore the similarities and differences between Linglish and Vietnamese

= Provide some suggestions for the tenching/learing and translation of the English proverbs about educating moral qualities in particular

3 Scope of the study

Proverbs about educating moral qualities are a large part in both English and

Vietnamese proverhs, so it is impossible for the author to carry out an exhaustive study

on them, just from the cultural perspective

In this study, syntactic and semantic features of English proverbs about educating moral qualilies are discussed briefly, cultural features are extensively analyved and

discussed when English proverbs are compared with Vietnamese ones

All English and Vietnamese proverbs are collected from dictionaries and books,

so this research may not cover all proverbs about educating moral qualities; just those of

common usc

4, Methods of the study

The study uses the two methods: quantitative and qualitative By virtue of the quantitative method, the study has collected data for the study, inchiding both English and Vielmarnese proverbs about educating moral qualilies The qualitative method is employed to describe and analyze the data of the study, The steps of the study are in the order as follows:

© Collect Linglish and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities

fromm several dicticmaries and books (¢ g., English proverbs and sayings, The Oxford Dictionary of voncise Proverbs, Tit diễn Thành ngữ và lục ngữ Việt Nam by Nguyễn Lân, Tit didn Tuc ngit Vide-Anh, Anh-Viee thông đụng by Vũ THÊ Ngọc, Tục ngữ sơ sảnh (838 Tục Xgít Việt-3000 Tục ngữ Anh-Pháp- Pspanlo) by Phụm Văn VăilL, Tục ngữ Cá dao Dan ca Viet Nam by Vii Ngoc Phan and then sort them out

«Investigate and analyze the syntactic, semantic and cultural features of English and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities

© Compare and find the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese about educating moral qualities

background of the study In this part, a brief account of relevant information is provided

about the rationale, aims, scopes, method, and design of the study

‘The main part of the study comprises three chapters

Chapter one, as implicd by the fille: “Theoretical Background”, covers a series of

proverb-related concepts ranging tiom definitions of proverbs, features of proverbs, types

of proverhs, proverbs in comparison with idioms Chapters two and three make up the more specifically focused part of the study Chapter Iwo is concerned with a

“Comparison of syutactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities’ whereas chapter three deals with a

“Comparison of cultural features of English and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities”

‘The final part is the “CONCLUSION”, which provides the recapitulation, implications

for the FFL teaching and learning and for the translation, and suggestions for farther

studies The study ends with the “REFERENCES”.

CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUN

1.1 Proverbs

L1.1 Definitions of Proverbs

As there is a general agreement that proverbs are widely known in all human

languages, it is very ncecssary to define what proverbs arc Such English expressions as

“Many men, many minds”, “Experience is the mother of wisdem”, “Poverty ts no sin”, cle are usually described as proverbs, so “Whal is a proverb?”

According to The New Oxford Dictionary (1996), a proverb is “a short, pithy saying in

general use, stating a general truth or a piece of advice” This definition is developed in

the Oxford English Dictionary (2001, on-line) which defines a proverb as “a short, pithy

saying i common and recognized use, a concise sentence, often metaphorical or

alliterative in form, which is held to express some truth ascertained by experience or

observation and familiar ta all”

Some proverbs in themselves are people’s definitions of a proverbs, like “proverbs are

the wisdom of the street”, “proverbs are the children of experience”, “All the good sense

of the world runs into proverbs”

Wolfgang Micder defines a proverb as “a concise statement of an apparent iruth

which has currency anong the people” Mieder performed an interesting survey, asking

JS non-aeademies lo writs their defirritions of a proverb He found thal from 4 to 20 lines

in the collected definitions, a proverb is “a phrase, saving, truth, morals, experience,

lessons, and advice concerning life and which has been handed from generation to

generation (Proverbs arc never ont of scason, 1993)

Vu Ngoc Phan (2000:39) considered proverbs as “a complete saying in which it expresses one idea of comment, experience, morality, justice or criticism”

Many olher scholars contimme ta find their own definitions of proverbs, Init il is

difficult to give one exact definition Archer Taylor (1931) defined a proverb in more

than 200 pages, and he conchided that it was impossible to give a meaningful definition

of it Taylor noted that “ an incommaticahle quality tells us this sentence ts proverbial

and that one is not” (1931.3).

definitions mest at a common point that they find out some features to realize a proverb which are a shorl pithy saying in common, slaling a general Irufh ar giving Tessons or

advice

1.1.2 Proverbs about educating moral qu:

According to Oxford dictionary, “moral” refers to principles of right or wrong behaviour, based on one’s sense of what is right and just, not on legal tights and obligations

From ime to time, tha definition of moral qualily changes by the benovolonee of public opinion and depends also on the point of view According to Stephen N “Moral quality is not just a cudueral and social behaviours of acting and reacting .Maral quality should he understood as huanan hehaviour which holds that man shauld concern himself with the welfare of all humans and never seek to destroy” (In the Book American

Hypocrisy: American Diplomacy, American Stragedy, 2007)

Tims by “proverbs ahout educating moral qualities” bore is mcant proverbs thai may be used to express a lesson about principles of behaviour

1.3 Some typical features of proverbs

1.3.1 Semantic features

+ Interms of semantic peculiarities, a great number of proverbs are melaphors, So cach of therm has one lilerat iwaning and one or more extended meanings

in the figurative sense For example, “Dog does not eat dog” can literally mean that even

a dog does not eat another dog: whereas, the figurative meaning refers 1o the loyalty

between companions: A person must not attack, try to mjure, or try to make profit out of

a parson of his own set However, once a reader ot hearer realizes that @ given expression

is a proverb, cvon if they arc nol sure of ils oxact moaning, they will automatically discard the literal imcaning of the expression, and scck a figurative mncaning Furthermore, the context in which the proverb occurs also plays an important zole in the reduction of the potential ambiguity of the proverb

= Many proverbs from different culture correspond in meaning because they

slill are the samme because they sla (he same experience For sxamuple, we all know that

children have to be taught and are aught best al an carly age, the Victnamesc say “The

young bamboo is easy to bend” (Zre non dé udn) while English-speaking people say,

“The hot iron is easy to strike” There are many common proverbs all over the world in

general and in English in particular, for examples:

- Walls have ears { Tuéng vach eb tai)

- Cheapest is he dearest ( hiim rẻ mua đấu)

- There is na snoke without fire (Khéng co lita lam sao ed Khdi)

= Paradox proverbs: As the proverhs are often so pithy and short, some

proverbs only states or imply one side of the issue The contrastive proverbs are eonsidered as the exception for the general or normal moral lessons Another explanation

for this phenomenon in proverbs is thal, because the Tife is so various, complicated, it alsa has paradoxes, good points and bad points Thus, in each specific situation people must have the suitable behavior We cannot follow only one model of behavior We can find many paradox proverbs both in English and Victamese, for examples

- Necessity is the mother of invention (Cai khó lỏ cái khôn)

And = - Poverty ebstructs the road to virtue (Cai kho bỏ cải khôn)

1.3.2 Syntactic features

According to Vu ‘The Ngoc (2000), brevity is an essential formal characteristic of proverbs of any country The commen purpose is lo make them casier to memorize, So often, their popularity has been enhanced by the use of such devices as rhythm, thyme, assonance, alliteration and antithesis,

Proverbs nmust have the clause or sentence structure (not word) fo express one idea of comment, morality or criticism, Sometimes subject or predicate can be hidden in proverbs such as: “Yo fish in troubled waers”, “Lidng muse nho nguén”

a proverbs does not contain long and complicated constructions, homogeneous parts, more than om subordinate clause, and such components as might be omitted without affecting the meaning of the proverbs, All these churacletistics contribute to the brevity

of proverbs

Proverbs are not ad hoc pieces of language, bul are pre-farmnulated and pre- fabricated generalized statements They are therefore unalterable in their style and structure As such, they may neither need to be adapted to a given textual context nor do

spovific lextual surrounding to be comprobonsibls

1.4, Classification of proverbs

TLis claimed that the o: crcist: of calugiriving the proverb genre is just difficull as

defining it Despite the foregoing constraint, scholars have attempted to classity he

proverbs ‘There exists many different ways of proverb classification among linguists who have based on differesi! calegorics as origin, meaning, fimetion

S impson/ Speake in the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Proverbs (1998) postulate

in its introductory remarks the classification of Proverbs They states that proverbs can be

divided into three main categories Those of the first type take the form of abstract

statements expressing general truths, such as Abserice makes the heart grow fonder

Proverbs of the second type, which include many of the more colourful examples, use specific observations from everyday experience to make a point which is general: for

instance, “Fou can take a horse to water, but vou can't make him drink” and “Don't put

all your eges in one basket" The third type of proverb comprises sayings from particular

areas of traditional wisdom and folklore In this category are found, for example, the

health proverbs After dinner rest a while, after supper walk a mile in addition, there are traditional country proverbs which relale to husbandry, the seasons, and the weather

From my point of view, this way of classifying Uke proverbs is nol clear and

difficult for learners to analyze As this study mainly aims at analyzing and comparing

the English and Vietnamese cultural characteristics I find that analyzing the proverbs

according to the classification based on the sub-topic is very an effective and interesting way When comparing the system of sub-topies of proverbs, it is easy to find the

Vietnamese communities ‘This kind of classification is the very popular often used in many baoks For oxamplas, Dictionary of proverbs by Fergusson (6000 proverbs, 188 subjects) and Tue new Vier Nam (Hanoi, 1993) by Chu Xuan Dien (4100 proverbs, 73 subjects)

1.5 Proverbs and idioms

It is affirmed that all languages have systems of proverhs Llowever, besides provers there also have idioms, which share many things in commen with proverbs Fer

better understanding proverbs, sctting distinction between proverbs and idioms is highly

essential

According In Hornby (1995) in his Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, an

idiom is “a phrase or sentence whose meaning ix noi clear from the meaning of ts

individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit” \diom is a fixed group of

words which is fin in terms of structure, complete and figumativ

and is widely used in daily speaking (Hoang Van Hanh, 1994:21), Some examples of idioms are: “bury the hatcher

“Tet the cat out of the bad”

mn lerms of meaning,

‘come up smelling like arose

have second thoughts”,

It is easy to find that proverbs and idioms have many in common and it comes as

no surprise that they are traditionally studied together ‘The first one is that both proverbs and idioms are ready-made They are products of people, enlture and process of hard working and learning They are mainly orally handed down irom generation to generation and naturally accepted in daily fif Secondly, any substitution in any component of a proverb or an idiom may result in unacceptable changes in the meaning of the whole group as bath proverbs and idioms are se-expressions with stable and insubstituted components Apart from this, most proverbs and idioms use fanguage in a motaphoricat and figurative meaning So we canmot discover their meanings by looking up the individual words in a dictionary, their meanings must be understood metaphorically

However, proverbs and idioms also have some typical features that distinguish one fiom the other The first and most obvious difference Lics in the grammar Proverbs are considered as complete sentences or phrases expressing the whole idea and can stand

alone Meanwhile, idioms are phrases which are parts of a sentence and thus, they are equivalent to words only Moreover proverbs and idioms are also different in terms of functions Proverbs are short well-known sentences ar phrases thal express a judgment

slale a ga

functions which are perceptive function, aesthetic function and education function

eral truth aboul Life or advice, they are claimed to contain three rain literature

For example, the proverb “Money és the root of all evil” demonstrates 4 remark as well as

a criticism about the negative side of money in the soeiety Its perceptive fimction is tơ make people aware of the bad effect of money which can tead people to the evil road The educational function is to eriticize the nogalive af moncy and urges poople to bs

aware of its 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 have fimctions of perception and edncation but only the aesthetic fimction For example the idiom “a dirty pig” merely desetibes somebody whe is duty in his or her personat or domestic habits in figurative and imaginary way and does not point out any educational lesson or knowledge

of life

To conctuds, beside some common things, proverbs and idioms also have

differences in their structure and functions

1.2 Language and Culture

1.2.1 The relationship between language and culture

Tn any culture or region, language is much more than semantics, much mare than what the written or the system word can contain It has been seen that language of a community is a part of or a manifestation of its culture Culture and language are closely

related and interact between themselves This specially becomes clear when studying a

foreign language and learning the ways of a particular culture According to Kramsch (2003:3), language is the principle means whereby we conduel our social lives When il is used int contexis of commusticalion, il is bound up with culture in multiple and complex

ways

Kramsch argued that the word people utter express facts, ideas or events that are

communicable Words also reflect their authors’ attitudes and belicfs, their points of view

that are also those of others In both cases, fanguage expresses cultural reality

In addition, we find that language embodies culéural reality through all its verbal and nonverbal aspects The way in which people use the spoken, written or visual

medium itself crcat:

s tnganings thai are understandable lo the group they belong to, for example, through a speakcr's lone of voive, accent, conversational style, gestures and expressions,

Firally, language is

system of signs thal is seeras 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 cullies Thus, we «

say thal language

symbolizes cultural identity

Lspecially, in Sapir’s view (1970, p.207), “language doesn’t exist apart from

culuire, that ix from the socially inherited assemblage of practices and beliefs that

determines the texture of our lives” In other words, he defines culture as “what society

does and thinks” and language is “a particular how of thought” A culture’s language conlains everything ils speakers can think about and every way [hey have of thinking

about thing

‘Yo sum up, it is clear that langnage and culture always exist together and

reinforce cach other The relationship between them is so incxlricable that we could not

understand or appreciate the one without the knowledge of the other Anyone studying a foreign language has to be bicultural as well as bilingual to speak the new language in a

way thal itis not disparaging lo the culture and ils origin

1.2.2, General characteristics of Vietnamese people and culture

Vietnam boasls an agc-long and special cullure, Originated frum the Soulheasl Asian culture, the Vietnamese river-imprinted culture deeply atizcts the whole spiritual

as well as material life of Viemamese peopl The culture has existed and developed in close interaction with other cultures in Asia, particularly with Chinese culture due to the era of Chinese domination, which lasted tor almost 1000 years of the country’s early

history As a result, the Viet people and culture were subject to constant Chinese

In fact, Vietnam has found itself entangled in wars against foreign powers (China, France and Americar) more than any other country in the region On the positive side, the history of war las holped shape the Vietnamese characters Long yours of fighting against forcign intruders have served to unify the country, fosicring a sense of nalionalisi, patriotism and pride,

‘The Vietnamese onllure is said to be an agricultural one which was characterized

by the village community with many of its primitive vestiges retained Farmers’ thoughts penetrated deeply into the Vietnamese agricultural society and had many positive aspects

if fostered the sense of collectivism

In addition, Vietnamese life was also profoundly influenced by the practice of ancestor worskip as well as alive animistn, Most Vilnamese people, regardless of religious denomination, practise ancestor worship and have an ancestor altar at their home or business, a testament to the emphasis Vietnamese culture places on filial duty

Another feature of no less imporlanes is the porsonalismn in Victwamesc enllure, which is opposite with individualism in westem culture, Vietnamese people are those of various and diversified relationship and strongly controlled by such complicated relationships, in the Viet community, 1o a persou’s children, lic is a father, lo his wife, he

is a husband; to his grandparents, he is a nephew; and to his neighbors, he is also a famity’s child and a member of a larger family Especially, the distinguishing features when talking about Vietnamese cultural identity is the durable relationship between individuals and their family, between families and village, and to a broader tem, the

Motherland Generally speaking, Vietnam:

and we can frequently hear snch phras

se people are those of duty and responsibility,

as “lé léanh dim 14 rach”, “Ban anh em xa mua

làng giỗng gần", “Sớm lửa tôi đền có nhan: ”

In general, Vietnamese people are said to be very hard-working, brave and faithful in their living and behaviors Vietnamese cults is an undetachable part of Southoast Asian cnllure space with typical features of a-wel-ricc civilization Many of the valucs and customs are sill up help in the Victmunese society today, although not in ils original strict and absolute forms

1.2.3 Characteristics of British culture and people

British customs and traditions are famous all over the world ‘There is a considerable diversily of eullure among Brilish people Hawover, The English culture is often considered a representative and often used to reter to the entire country’s culture of

Britain lispecially it cannot be denied that the dominant culture of Britain today is

specifically English

Britain, the largest island of the British Istes, includes the countries of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland Being an istand has affected the British people’s characlcristies British poopte slill have an istand mentally: independent, separate and on the edge of things British families are offen criticized for the way they do things separately, though many believe that it is good for children to learn to be independent

According to James O°Driscoll (2000), Ramily identity is tether weck in Brilain, especially in England, in comparison with most other places in the world In Britain, the family unit definitely means the mclear family Compared to the culture value of Viclnarn, the menibors ofa farily in Britain usually do nwol share the same roof, Thore is littfe sense of extended family identity, except among some racial minorities, It is unusual for adults of different generations within the family io live together Especially newly naricd couples rarcly live with their in-laws, Elderly parcnts cither live alone for as long,

as they are able or enter a home for the aged An adult child would oversee such an arrangement but does not fest an obligation to take the parent into his own home

Unlike Vietnam, Britain has a strong history of colonizing many areas of the world, Perhaps because of the long tradition of a clear separation between individual and the state, Unglish people are not normally actively patriotic although many of them feel proud to be English, When the commmnity valuc is concerned, it is rare to find people

who have lived all their lives in one community, As a result, the British also have no the

same community value as the Vietnamese do

TLis probably truc thal the Prilish, espocially thơ English, Lend ta bo more reserved than the people of many other countries I macans thal they don’t show their emotion very much They do not quickly share their deeper feclings They find it comparatvely difficull to indicate friendship by open displays of affection They are said io be 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 Tho Engtish also favour individualism rather than group

onentation

‘The Lnglish people specially like privacy “dn Lnglishman's house is his castle”,

‘This old saying snms up a fairly widespread tendency In addition, certain information is thought of as private, The information is normally about parsonal details; 2g, older people would probably still not like being asked a direct question about their age Lt is not acceptable to ask a childless couple why they have wa children, Poopte do not like lo be asked how much money they ean, etc

Moreover, sportsmanship is highly valued in Britain with rules showing gencrosily lo ouc’s opponent and good tamper in defeal I is also an ideal thal is applicd

to life in general This is proved by the munber of sporting terms used in ordinary speech One of the most element rules of life is “never hit a man when he’s down”- in other words, nover take advantage of another misfortune

In short, English culture belongs to the Western one It is world wide agreed that British people are independent, separate and reserve In addition, individualism is also the

main ego in British cule The English people and culture very different from

Vietnamese ones in some ways and this makes the comparison between English and Vietnamese cutture rewarding

1.3 Summary

This chapter provides us with a basic view on proverbs in general, definitions, types and

noticeable features Besides, chapter one also makes comparison between proverbs and

idioms The relationship between language and culture, some characteristics of British

and Vietnamese cultures are also mentioned in this chapter

CILAPTER 2 COMPARISON OF SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC

FEATURES OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PROVERBS

ABOUT EDUCATING MORAL QUALITIES

2.1 Comparison of syntactic features

2.1.1 Similarities

In termns of structural organization, English and Vietramese proverbs about educaling moral quatitics have features in common Firstly, bath English and Vietnamese

proverbs are usually recognized by the fixed, often short form and is therefore quite easy

to memorize and easily retrievable from memory Moreover, rhetorical figures such as

allitcration, rhythin frequently occur For examples:

Alliteration: - He laughs best who laughs last

- Mới hay han hav ndi

Rhythm: - Waste not, want not

- An dén nai, itm dén chon

On the other hand, both English and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral

- Harm set, harm get.

- Hi gotten, ill spent

- Cáo chất để da, người (a) chất đã tiẳng

- Chủ cũng như tha, d rồng như mẹ

“_ Sentenee struettes oiltsd the subject

Both English and Vietnamese proverbs in general and English-Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualitiss in particular use this form of sentence structure to express the general aspects or qualities that can belong to a general person or anyone Doing sơ, the proverbs seem to stress common sense and wisdom, which have some permanent

ble te all periods of time with Their timeless character Thanks to Uhis form,

truth applic

the proverbs carry the general meanings Here are some examples:

- Think today and speak tomorrow

- It's easy ta hear the misfortunes of others

- Cul your coat according te your cloth

Sống đục sao bằng thắc trong

- Ăn cá nhai, nãi có nghĩ

This kind of proverbs is more popular in Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities than in English, 45% Vietnamese proverbs and 28% English proverbs belong to this form

= $-V construction

In English proverbs about ecucating moral qualities, the verbs “to be, ta have, to make” were oflon used as the rman verbs im the model of $-V construction The muearings of such those verbs are of multiple ones The English of this type often have the Vietnamese equivalent ones in the form of parallel construction For examples:

Haste makes waste (Duc téc, bat dat)

Even reckoning make long friends (An cho déu, kéu cho séng)

Every man is his owa worst enemy (trach ngudi mét, trách ta mudi)

40 % Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities is of the form S-V

oonstruction For examples: “Thuyễn theo lái gửi theo chẳng", “Chữ trình đứng giá ngàn

tàng", "Chè cậy gần nhà, gà cây gần chuông”

= On the other hand, irr our daily specet, bolh Iho English and

Vietnamese people often break the form of ready-made proverbs to have more

effectiveness in their speech For examples:

- “Tmean, bringing sinners to repentance is all right, hut there are limits And

does the leopard ever change his spots?” (Hồng Đình Tử, 100 Tục ngĩt Tiếng Anh

thơng dụng, p36)

- Này chị Pha, tơi nĩt cho mà biểi

(, cĩ về bảo anh dy đối tân thằng bé, khơng cĩ

chẳng ra gì với tơi đâu "

Ù đây, cứ đặt thể đây, nghĩa là sinh sự thì sự sinh, chứ bụt trên tồ gà nào đâm mỖ`

mat” (Nguyén Cong Hoan, Bước đường cùng)

- Thơi ơng cử yên kùm Một người lấy tây cả bạ dược nhờ (Vũ Trọng Phung, KS nghệ lẩy Tây)

In those examples, fnur proveths were structirally troken:

- Leopard vamot change his spat

- Sinh sự thì sự sinh

- Bụt trên toÄ, gà nào mồ mỗi

- Một người làm quan cả họ được nhờ,

language, such as:

- Diamond cut diamond

- He laughs best who laughs last

However, Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities have the pun of

inversion, changing fiom active to passive voice, for examples

- Hai nhân nhân hại

- Chê chẳng chẳng bã chẳng chê

- Khơn ăn người, đại người ăn

Another difference between English and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities in terms of syntactic features is that rhyme is more popularly used in Viclnarnese proverbs than in English ones as Vistnamesc is of monosyllabic language meanwhile initial allitcration is more oflen used in English proverbs, for cxaunples:

- Nothing for nothing

~ Handsome is as handsome does

According to Nguyen Van Muoi (1996), rhyme has never been anportant in the English

literature Even most of the famous poems are without rhyme So it is easy to understand

why thymo is not popular in English proverbs cilher

Rhyme in Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities usually appears in the form of compound sentences such as:

- Thudn vo thudn ching, tat bién Ding ciing can

- Không ai giàu ba hp, không øi khó ba dồi

- Doi cho sạch, rách cho thom

TLalso oxisls inside the form of proverbs wilh one olause such as: “Mée giot mau dite hon a0 mes 1a”,

Jurthermore Vietnamese proverbs in general and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualitics in particular differ English ones in a way thal (hey can be formed by adding some words fiom idioms For examples, we have the Vietnamese idioms: “cd di

có lại”, "bình chân nhưc vại”, “hitu thay v5 chung” and by adding some words Vietnamese people could ersate new proverbs

Cũ di có lại mới loại lông nhưac

Cháy nhà hàng xóm bình chân nhữt vại

Những người hữu tru§ vô chung, là người tệ bạc tin dùng làm chủ

2.2, Comparison of semantic features

2.2.1 Similarities

© Universal proverbs

Many proverbs about educating ioral qualities from Engtish and Vietnamese cultures correspond in meaning because they all share the universal human experience

are expressed in different ways, the meanings still are the same because they advise the same moral qualities Hor examples:

- A honeyed tongue a heart of gall (Rhdu Phat, tâm xà) Both proverbs refer to someone who is warn and accommodating in spezch but harsh and ruthless in action These proverbs also criticize this kind of characteristics

+ Harm sat, harm get (dc gid de bdo)

The proverbs warn the people who start wrong or violent actions will suffer the same violent consecuence of their actions

& Paradox proverbs

Through this study, it is found that English-Vietnamese proverbs in general and Lnglish- Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities in particular appear some proverhs which advised people to behave quite contrastively For examples:

“Look before you leap" and “He whe hesitates is lost”

(trdu cham uéng nude duc’ and “Can tie v6 wu’)

lence ts the hest policy” and “Outspoken is the best policy”

‘As the proverbs are often so pithy and short, some proverbs only states or imply one side

of the issue ‘Ihe contrastive proverbs about educating moral qualities are considered as the exception for the general or normal moral lessons From uny point of view, there is another explanation for this phenomenon in proverbs Because life is so various, complicated, it also has paradoxes, good points and bad points ‘Thus, in each specific siluation people must have the suilable behavior We cannot follow only one model of behavior, Vietnamese proverbs also taught people about this way of behavior: “di sheo

thud, ð theo thời" or "Dáo giang mỳ khác `

4 Using words đenoting general people

English proverbs about edncating moral qualities often have the general

determiners and predeterminers (such as: Every, each, every one, everything), the

pronounce One, and the relative pronounce Phe to make the general meaning:

Lverything comes to him wha waits (At ché' ngudi ấy được) Everyone must hear his own cross (Trdng cay chua ăn quả chua, trắng

cây ngọt ăn quả ngơi)

Fieinamese proverbs also use the words io denote the general people such

âs: người, ai đứa, kẻ For ewample: “Cười người hôm trước hôm sau người cười”, "4

giàn ba họ, ai khó ba đời”, “Giàn Ẩâu đến kê ngủ tua”

2.2.2, Differences

When considering Fnglish and Vietnamese proverbs aboul educating moral qualities, we only find few Vietnamese proverbs which are comparatively equivafent to English ones both in meaning and structure, for examples: “A good name is better than riches” (Tét dank hon lank do) Nevertheless, iL is obvious that most of English proverbs

have no Vietnamese equivalent ones in the use of words due to the differences between English and Vietnamese cultural characteristics “Zhe different concepts in seeing the natural and social phenomena as well as the differant ways of thinking are reflected in

the different choices of usirg words in proverbs” (Nguyen Van Muoi,1996, p102) Look

at the following examples

A rotien apple injures its neighbor (Con séu lan rau néi canh}

Both the English aud Vietnamese proverbs criticize an evil person can have a bad influence on those around him but each proverb uses a different metaphorical image ‘he

English proverbs usc the image of one roulen apple that can spoil the whole basket while

the Vietnamese one observes the phenomenon that one worm in the soup will spoil the whole pan

Another difference in sermantic (calures belween English and Vicinamese proverbs about educating moral qualities is that Vietnamese onzs often have hyperbole

In contrast, Unglish proverbs rarely use hyperbole as they often express the meaning in

scrious and model way

Many Vietnamese proverbs use exaggerated images with a view to emphasize their figurative meaning This feature of Vietnamese proverbs teflected the common

Vietnamese popular thoughts that were rich in imaginary and satire Some examples are:

- Ching phai day di vén vay (Don't teach fishes to swini)

- Chẳng người vì nước xông pha, chẳng em ở nhà gà đá gây châm

- Được vot, doi tian (Give him an inch and he'll take an ell)

Furthermore, according to Nguyen Vani Muoi (1996:112), Vietnamese proverbs in general and Viemamese proverbs about educating moral qualities differ English ones in a way thal they sometimes have “vulgar” wards thal people oflen avoid speaking ont in

their daily conversation In fael, using this kind of Victnamnese proverb is very impressive

and effective to the hearer For examples:

- Ngài dại cởi trung, người khôn đấu mặt

- Lian di khong dit ming mom vé duyén

- Thấy việc như đề thấy cha, thấy ăn lớn vẫn như gà thấy ngõ

- Người lành nhĩ hoa ở đâu thom diy

- Có đỗ mà chẳng có thơm, nhat hoa đâm bụi nên cơm chảo gì

- Đói cho sach, rach cho thom

- Hoa tham dí chẳng muốn đeo, người thơợn di chẳng nâng nữa bên mình Nguyen Van Muoi (1996) claims that nsing words đơnging sortse o{ sIuelF Lo experiertec the life was one characteristic of Vietmamese language and people In the past, most

Vietnamese people were farmers, who were familiar with the natural perfume of trees, Dowers, fuits in the ficlds or mountains In English proverbs, we only find Ibe general word “good” to express the right qualities, such as: “Good children bring glory to their parents”, * good dog deserves a goad hone”, or "A good wife makes a good hushand”,

A good anvil does not fear the hammer"

Finally, in English, we cannot find any proverb that uses the borrowed words Lowever, Vietnamese in general and Vietnamese proverbs in particular have barrowed many words from Chinesc The Victnam

family, which is clearly separated ftom Chinese However, Chinese seript was the only

languags belongs to the Austro- Asiatic

written language in the ancient time; it became the universal written language not only for Vietnam but also for many other countries in Kast Asia Consequently, the

‘Victnamese language has many words borrowed from Chinese They arc called Han-Visl

or Sino-Victwmese More than half of curent Viewamese vocabulary is Sino- Vietnamese As a result, Vietnamese proverbs may be divided into two main classes: Vielmarnese yroverbs and Sino-Vielnamese proverbs, Some examples of Sino-

‘Vietnamese proverbs are: “de gid de bio”, “Thueng bat chinh, he tae loan’, “Ban tiêu

bdt ning di, uy rũ bắt năng khuất", “Di hod vi qua

2.3 Summary

Chapter two analyzes English and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral

qualities both in tormns af syntactic and scrrentic (caiures Bolh English and Victnaric proverbs share the general features of proverbs (xed and short form with rhetorical figures such as alliteration, rhythm ‘hey also share some typical constructions However, duc ta the differen bolweer a polysyllabic ard monosyllabic, English and Vietnamese proverbs differ in the use of puns, Rhyme is more popularly used in Vietnamese proverhs meanwhile initial alliteration is more often used m English proverbs, In terms of semantic features, English and Vietnamese proverbs about educating moral qualities have many similatities such as having universal proverbs, paradox proverbs and using the words denoting general people) Nevertheless, different metaphorical images arc often uscd in cach language Vietnamese proverbs ofen have hyperbole and some “vulgar” words English proverbs do not use borrowed words but

‘Vietnamese proverbs have borrowed many words ftom Chinese (Sino-Viemnamese)

CHAPTER 3 COMPARISON OF CULTURAL FEATURES BETWEEN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PROVERBS ABOUT

EDUCATING MORAL QUALITIES

Proverbs have evidently cultural features of specific countries When comparing the system of proverbial topics, il is easy lo find the simflarilies and differences in cultural features among cornmmitics The cultural fealuras do nol tic in the Hitcral meaning but directly relate fo figurative one, the tme meaning of the proverbs

3.1, Universal moral qualitics

People all over the world often have some universal principles of behaviour; English and Vislnamesc eulinres are nol the exception Especially, many principles af mnorad behaviour are clearly expressed through the English and Vietnamese proverbs Those are also the moral lessons for everyone to have successful commenication in the contemporary socicty, There aro niany universal moral qualities, in Ibis parl T only focused on the most popular qualities mentioned in the English and Vietnamese proverbs

= Kindness

In both cultures, kind people are always highly valued It is also thought that kind people will have a happy resull; heaven will bless the people who are kind-hearted, Any action will bring ils evitable resull Both English and Vietnamese proverbs cducate

people should be kind and well-behave to each other There are 10 English and 12

Vietnamese proverbs about educating kindness Lereunder is some examples:

What comes from the haart comes to the heart (Ci hién gap lank)

To return like for like (Oan trả cán, ơn trả on),

To vemrn gond for evil (Lấy đức báo adn)

Those who do wrong or good will receive the same consequence of their action “4s you

sow, so shall yau reap, “As vou make your bed you nust lie on it”, “As yau brew, so vou

must drink", “Gieo gid git bin”, “Ac gid de hao”

In both cultures, Lhe proverbs imply that members of the same family share a stronger Lic

with each other than they do with others Hence, it is better to seek kindness from a kinsman than from a slranger Il is also advised that one should take care of one’s own

family, friends, or fellow citizens before helping other people

Charity begins at home

Blood is thicker than water (M61 giot mdue dato hon aa nite 1a

= Hardworking

Proverbs show hat both Linglish and Vietnamese people are hard-working and

also lovs labor Far common people, labor is the law of life, everyone has to work, even the rich One Vietnamese proverb expresses: “Cire đời ông ăn không cũng hết When

considering English and Vietnamese proverbs about labour, we can find many proverbs which educate people to work hard, for examples

- You cannot make an omelet without breaking exgs

- Muén Gn phdi lin vào bắp,

- Muén ăn cả phải thả câu

‘Those proverbs all emphasize that one could not accomplish anything worthwhile

without sornc sacrifices

Lazy people were also ciiticized through English and Vietnamese proverbs:

- By doing nothing, we will learn to do ill ( Nhàn cr vì bắt thiện)

The proverbs imply thal a person wilh nothing to do is mors likely to bz

tempted to do wrong, “the devil finds works for idle hands”

= Caution in Speech

Inboth cultures, people were advised to be moderate, careful and cautious in the

speech to avoid rsgretfd problems ‘Thers are 11 Linglish proverbs and 16 Vietnamese

ones (hal advised about the ere are some examples

- Be swifi to hear, slow to speak

- 4a cd nhai, néi cé nghi

-_ Biết thì thươ thôi, ko biết thủ dựa cột mà nghe

English and Viemamese proverbs even warned people about the danger of careless speech)

- Better the foot slip then the tongue slip (Fa iay Miong bang ve mom):

- He that talks much errs much ‘Nang ndi ning 156

These proverbs imply thal a person who Lalks @ great deal without much thought or knowledge will offen make mistakes either by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time

or by saying things that are not correct

The difference between two cultures in speech is that English proverbs advise people

to moderate in speech in a different way English people attach much importance to

silence The English proverbs state: “Silence is wisdom” or “Silence is the best ornament

ofa woman” This can be oxplained as duc Lo the quicl nature of the English people

« Gratefulness

‘There are 6 Knglish and 8 Vietnamese proverbs about the gratefiilness ‘The proverbs imply thal people have lo value and respeel the one whe helped thern in the past Here are

some examples:

- Don’t put dows the tree that gives vou shade

- Never cast dirt into that fountain of which you have sometimes drunk

- An quả nhớ kẻ trông cây

- tống mước nhớ kẽ đùo giống Thụ Viplnarmese provorbs slao advise pcople lo rospeoL the ancsslors: “uống nước nhớ

nguén” In Vietnam, the most solid element that cements all the members of the vast

extended family is the cult of ancestors Liven when their parents are still alive the pious

children practice a veritable cult in their honor Aflcr (heir death, the parents ant other ancestors who have died betore them, receive from their descendants a pious cult, This

cult is observed by all Vietnamese regardless of theit religions or social classes