MOTHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE

MOTHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE MOTHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE MOTHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE MOTHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

**************************

TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG

MOTHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE

(Hình tượng người mẹ trong các bài hát tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt theo

quan điểm ngôn ngữ học chức năng hệ thống)

M.A Combined Program Thesis

Major: English Linguistics Code: 60220201

Hanoi – 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

**************************

TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG

MOTHER IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS FROM SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVE

(Hình tượng người mẹ trong các bài hát tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt theo

quan điểm ngôn ngữ học chức năng hệ thống)

M.A Combined Program Thesis

Major: English Linguistics Code: 60220201

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lâm Quang Đông

Hanoi – 2016

I declare that this MA thesis, entitled Mother in English and Vietnamese

Songs from Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective, is entirely the result

of my own work The thesis contains no material which has been accepted forthe award of any other degree or diploma in any university or tertiaryinstitution, and to the best of my knowledge, neither does it contain materialpreviously published or written by another person, except where dueacknowledgement is made in the text

Signature

Tạ Thị Thu Hằng

Song lyrics and rhymes serve as an important part of English teachingcurricula in a variety of countries Of all topics, songs about mother havedrawn attraction of listeners and learners as they not only entertain people butalso educate them in terms of linguistic knowledge and moral values Untilnow, there has not been much research on mother image under the light oflinguistics These provide me with the motivation to carry out the research

“Mother in English and Vietnamese Songs from Systemic Functional

Linguistics Perspective” The study is conducted to figure out the similarities

and differences in the way mother image is represented in English andVietnamese in view of systemic linguistic perspective In other words, thestudy aims to give readers a brief description and analysis of mother image inEnglish and Vietnamese songs Within the framework of an M.A thesis, theresearch cannot cover all aspects of mother image in English and Vietnamese;

we therefore limit it to a manageable scope: analyzing mother image in songs

in terms of transitivity system Two principal methods employed in the studyare descriptive and comparative analysis Through descriptive method, sixtypes of transitivity process in each language were identified In fulfilling thefocuses of the study, comparative method is applied to the identification ofprominent features of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs Thepaper also provides conclusions on the images to which mother is compared,and these images are closely associated with cultural and historical factors.Insights gained through this study lend themselves to suggestions fordesigning exercises based on songs for teaching English as well as linguistictheory

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to mysupervisor, Assoc.Prof.Dr Lâm Quang Đông for transferring me hisspecialized knowledge, his inspiring me the love in linguistics as well as hisvaluable suggestions, advice and correction throughout my study

I also take this opportunity to thank all my lecturers in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies,Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lectures, which havesurely contributed to the foundation of my thesis

Post-Finally, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my family for theirsupport, encouragement and understanding, without which my theis wouldnot have been accomplished

Hanoi, January, 2016

Ta Thi Thu Hang

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES AND PICTURES vi

INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims and research questions 3

2.1 Aims 3

2.2 Research questions 3

3 Scope and significance of the study 3

3.1 Scope 4

3.2 Significance 4

4 Methodology and procedures 4

4.1 Methodology 4

4.2 Procedures: data collection and analysis 5

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1.1 SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS 6

1.2 APPLICATION OF TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN LITERARY ANALYSIS 9

CHAPTER II: DATA ANALYSIS - TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS 19

2.1 TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH SONGS 19

2.2 TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN VIETNAMESE SONGS 23

CHAPTER III: DISCUSSION - A COMPARISON BETWEEN MOTHER

IMAGES IN ENGLISH SONGS AND IN VIETNAMESE SONGS 26

3.1 SIMILARITIES 26

3.2 DIFFERENCES 49

CONCLUSION 64

1 RECAPITUALTION 64

2 SUGGESTIONS FOR DESIGNING EXERCISES 65

3 LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES .67 REFERENCE 68

LIST OF TABLES AND PICTURES

Page Table 1: Three lines of a meaning in a clause 9

Table 2: Process types, their meanings and characteristic

participants

11

Table 5: The principal types of relational process 13

Table 12: Transitivity patterns in English songs 19

Table 13: Transitivity patterns in Vietnamese songs 23

Table 14: Comparison examples between English and

Vietnamese songs

Picture 1: Difference in feeling expression between

Westerners and Easterners

6260

Picture 2: Difference in thought expression between

Westerners and Easterners

61

Picture 3: Cultural thought patterns in inter-cultural education 62

1 Rationale

“Music gives you happiness and sadness

But it also, also heals your soul”

(From the song “Let the music heal your soul”)

Music is a very colorful thread woven into the entire fabric of our life.Singing songs with melodic rhythm is a subtle way for people to share theirhappiness and sadness

Moreover, music lyrics and rhymes serve as an important part of Englishteaching curricula in a variety of countries As an obvious example, inTaiwan, songs and rhymes are expected to fulfill different purposes inelementary education, especially in English teaching (Teng, 2013) In a lot ofwell-known English textbooks such as Headway, New English File andSolutions which are in use in Vietnam, songs are used as a part of exercises.Another example is in the famous English teaching program ESL Podcast,music is often played at the beginning and the end of each audio For

instance, to teach the vowel /i:/, instead of saying ““Today we are going to

discuss about the way to pronounce /i:/”, a piece of music introduced:

We are three Shall have some tea

She will come And so will he

If by chance

We see a bee

We’ll say buzz off

Don’t bother me (two – three – four – five – six – seven – eight)

(Chorus) Fiddle de fiddle de

Fiddle dee dee

Fiddle de fiddle de

Fiddle dee dee

(Bee Movie script, 2007) According to Gardner (1983: 20), a Harvard psychologist, “music intelligence

is equal in importance to logical mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence” In linguistic area in Vietnam, the

effectiveness of music in enhancing listening skill is also studied at PhuongDong University by Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, 2006 or by Nguyen ThiQuyet 2005 supplied learners with language knowledge of structures andmeanings in English and Vietnamese nursery rhymes

Of all topics, songs about mother have drawn attraction of listeners andlearners as they not only entertain people but also educate them in terms oflanguage knowledge and moral values Until now, there has not been much

research on mother image under the light of linguistics All reasons

mentioned above motivate me to carry out the research “Mother in English

and Vietnamese Songs from Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective”.

What should be carried out in the thesis will be an inquiry of both of thestructure and meaning of mother image in order to find out the similaritiesand differences between them We are hopeful that the study will make ahumble contribution to providing an insight into the similarities anddifferences of English and Vietnamese mother image in the issuesinvestigated

2 Aims and research questions

2.1 Aims

The study aims to:

- Describe and analyze mother image in songs from systemic functionallinguistics perspective;

- Identify similarities and differences in linguistic means to depict motherimage in English and Vietnamese songs;

- Offer some suggestions for teaching and learning English through songs

2 What are the linguistic means to express such meanings?

3 Scope and significance of the study

3.1 Scope

Within the framework of an M.A thesis, the research cannot cover all aspects

of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs; therefore, we limit it tomanageable scope: analyzing mother image in terms of transitivity system,and figures of meanings or stylistic devices in depicting mother image

3.2 Significance

By investigating representational meaning of mother image in English andVietnamese, this study, to some extent, could provide an aspect of linguisticfeatures of mother image in English and Vietnamese under the light ofsystemic functional linguistics (SFL) In addition, it could be a valuablesource for foreign language learners to enhance knowledge of language andmusic To some extent, the results of the study can reveal the cultural

similarities and differences between English-speaking countries of the inner

circle (in the book English as an international language: perspectives and pedagogical issues, 2009, inner circle refers to countries in which English is

primary language) and Vietnam

4 Methodology and procedures

4.1 Methodology

The study is conducted as an attempt to understand more about mother imagefrom SFL perspective At the same time, the thesis illustrates similarities anddifferences of mother image in English and Vietnamese song Therefore, thedescriptive and comparative analysis is used as principal method in the study

The descriptive method aims at describing mother through transitivity system,mood patterns and then synthesizes the result to find out the similarities anddifferences in the depiction of mother images in the two languages

In fulfilling the focuses of the study, the comparative method is applied topresent prominent features of mother images in English and Vietnamese

4.2 Procedures: data collection and analysis

The study deals with mother image in English and Vietnamese, so we havecollected one hundred songs (50 songs for each type, 50 in English and 50 inVietnamese) Then, we identify clauses and select one thousand clauses (500clauses for songs in each language) Based on theory of transitivity system set

by Halliday, we analyze clauses into six types of process: material, mental,relational, behavioral, verbal and existential process In the paper, processes,participants and circumstances are analyzed to illustrate activities andemotions of the mother in each song It applies three steps developed byBurton (1982, p 202) which are isolating the processes, determining whichparticipants (who or what) is doing each process, determining what sort ofprocesses they are, and which participants is engaged in which type ofprocess, and verifying who or what is affected or seems to be affected by each

of these processes All processes identified are categorized and illustrated aspercentages

From these results, similarities and differences of mother images in Englishand Vietnamese songs are presented

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS

1.1.1 Development of Systemic Functional Linguistics

Systemic Functional Linguistics or Grammar, a grammar model developed byMichael Halliday in the 1960s, refers to a new approach to the study ofgrammar Systemic linguistics deals with the way spoken and writtenlanguage operating in different social situations In particular, it is very useful

in illustrating three points: the operation of text beyond the level of thesentence, the difference in structuring the text and the variable changes of thelanguage to meet the purpose of the users It takes on descriptive approachand focuses on groups of words that function to make meanings In his book,

An Introduction to Functional Grammar, Halliday (1994) points out that

functional grammar is so-called because its conceptual framework is afunctional one rather than a formal one Such functions are identified in threedistinct senses, in its interpretation of texts, of the system, and of the elements

of linguistic structures In the relation to the first aspect, functional grammar

is involved in how the language is used In other words, each text unfolds in adifferent usage of context Regarding the second point, the fundamentalcomponents of meaning in language are functional components Based on theanalysis of Halliday, all languages possess two main types of meanings, the

“ideational” (to understand the environment), and the “interpersonal” (to act

on the others in it) The third meaning is formed by the combination of these

two above, the “textual” Three components are called metafunctions in theterminology of FG theory In the third sense, each element in a language isexplained by reference to its function in the total linguistic system.

Accordingly, “a functional grammar is one that construes all the units of a

language– its clauses, phrases and so on Specifically, each part is interpreted as functional with respect to the whole” (Halliday, 1994)

Following the pioneering model initiated by Halliday, some of other linguistsdeveloped and gave informal explanation of functional grammar Thompson(1996) describes the three metafunctions of functional grammar as follows.Firstly, we use language to talk about our experience of the world, includingthe world in our minds, to describe events, states and the entities involved inthem Secondly, we also use the language to interact with other people, toestablish and maintain relation with them, to influence their behavior, toexpress our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit or changetheirs Finally, in using language, we organize our messages in ways whichindicate how they fit in with the other messages around them and with thewider context in which we are talking or writing

Similarly, Martin, Matthiessen and Painter (1997) define functional grammar

as a way of looking at grammar in terms of how grammar is used In the field

of linguistics, formal grammar, which is an alternative to functional grammar,

is concerned with the way our genes constrain the shape of our grammar, andthus constrain what a person can and cannot say

Therefore, functional grammar, based on cultural and social contexts, isconsidered as an effective tool for the description and evaluation of howlanguage can be adopted to write and speak more appropriately andpowerfully Thanks to functional grammar, to some extent, our ability of

reading documents is substantially improved in terms of cognition andcriticism

1.1.2 Difference between traditional grammar and systemic functional

grammar

As a new model of grammar, functional grammar differs from traditionalgrammar in many ways While traditional grammar focuses on writtenlanguage and deals with rules of correct usage, functional grammar deals withboth spoken and written language and concentrates on the functions oflanguage More specifically, functional grammar provides us with tools fordescribing how language is used in various contexts in real life, and forunderstanding why a text is the way it is (Martin, Matthiesen & Painter,1997) On the contrary, traditional grammar is prescriptive one which showsthe speakers what they can and cannot say and generates a wide variety ofrules for correcting what are often referred to as grammatical errors It is easy

to realize that functional linguistics respects speakers’ rights to make up theirown minds about how they choose to talk, and it makes speakers explicitlyaware of the choices they have available In addition, functional grammar isconcerned with how language in a text works together as part of a largersystem in order to construct meaning, while traditional grammar is concernedwith identifying the functions of words and word groups within sentences,without demonstrating how language is presented in a range of cultural andsocial contexts Then, in the process of analysis, sentence works as a basicunit in traditional grammar, yet, clause plays the main role in functionalgrammar It can be concluded that systemic functional linguistics is closer toour language in daily life, and thus can help us see and understand human

language more deeply and comprehensively In the view of systemicfunctional linguistics, language is a resource for making meanings and hencegrammar is a resource for creating meaning by means of wording It isdesigned to display the overall system of grammar rather than only fragments.That is the reason why it has come to be known as a Systemic FunctionalLinguistics or Grammar

1.2 APPLICATION OF TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN LITERARY

ANALYSIS

As mentioned above, Halliday points that there are three lines of meaning in aclause: the textual meaning, the interpersonal meaning and the ideationalmeaning, or to put it differently, the clause has three metafunctions: textual,interpersonal and ideational metafunctions which can be illustrated as thefollowing table:

Interpersonal Subject Predicate Complements Adjunct

Table 1: Three lines of meaning in a clause

Among them, the ideational meaning (the clause as representation) serves forthe expression of “content” in language, that is, our experience of the realworld, including the experience of inner world When we use language, weoften use it to speak of something or someone doing something That is whythe ideational meaning can be referred to as experiential meaning comingfrom the clause as representation The interpersonal meaning helps to

establish and maintain social relations; the individual is identified andreinforced in this aspect by enabling him or her to interact with others byexpression of their own individuality The textual meaning creates linksbetween features of the text with elements in the context of situation, it refers

to the manner in which a text is organized In other words, the textualmeaning comes from the clause as message Halliday also claims that thethree types of meanings presented in language are not accidental but arenecessarily in place because we need them to perform functions in social life

In constructing experiential meaning, there is one major system ofgrammatical choice involved: the system of transitivity or process type Thetransitivity system is chosen as framework in our research because of all thegrammatical aspects analyzed, it produces the fruitful data on the text

Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend in adopting

transitivity system in analyzing literary works such as “Using Transitivity as

a framework in a Stylistic Analysis of Virginia Woolf’s Old Mrs.Grey”

(Bonifacio, 2011), “Transitivity analysis: representation of love in wilde’s

the nightingale and the rose” (Asad, Roshan, Sobia & Rabia, 2014) and

“Transitivity Analysis of A rose for Emily” (Zijiao, 2013)

It can be seen that transitivity analysis has been widely used to understand thelanguage of speakers and writers It examines the structure of sentences whichare represented by processes, the participants involved in these processes andthe circumstances in which processes and participants are involved Usingtransitivity analysis, researchers have tried to reveal that language structurescan produce certain meanings and ideology, which are not always explicit forreaders In other words, the task of functional analysis, particularly transitivityanalysis, is to discover the relation between meanings and wordings thataccounts for the organization of linguistic features in a text

According to this theory, in transitivity, different processes are distinguished,classified and known as material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal andexistential We can see the process at the table below:

Process type Category meaning Participants

Table 2: Process types, their meanings and characteristic participants

(Halliday, 2004)

The next part will be illustration in great details of each process adopted from

the book “An introduction to Functional Grammar” (Halliday, 2004) and

“Ngữ pháp kinh nghiệm của cú tiếng Việt: Mô tả theo quan điểm chức năng

hệ thống” (Hoàng Văn Vân, 2005)

1.2.1 Material processes: the process of doing

Material processes are processes of “doing” They express thenotion that some entity “does” something – which may b done tosome other entity In the material processes, there are twoparticipants role, namely: actor and goal, for example:

Table 3: Material process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân, 2005) 1.2.2 Mental processes: process of sensing

 Perception (seeing, hearing, etc.)

 Affection (linking, fearing, etc.)

 Cognition (thinking, knowing, understanding, etc.)

In the mental processes, there are two participants, namely senser (theconscious being that is feeling, thinking, or seeing) and phenomenon (which

is “sensed” – felt, thought or seen) Let’s see the example below:

Người già muốn sự thoải mái

Table 4: Mental process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân, 2005) 1.2.3 Relational processes: the processes of being

There are three types of relational process in the clause, namely,

 Intensive “x” is “a”

 Circumstantial “x” is at “a”

 Possessive “x has a”

Each of these comes into modes:

 Attributive (“a” is an attribute of “x”)

 Identifying (“a” is the identity of “x”)

(1) intensive Sarah is wise Tome is the leader; the

leader is Tom

(2) circumstantial The fair is on a Tuesday Tomorrow is the 10th

The 10th is tomorrow

(3) possessive Peter has a piano The piano is Peter’s

Peter’s is the piano

Table 5: The principal types of relational process (Halliday, 2004) 1.2.4 Behavioral process

Naturally, there seems not to have a clear cut in the distinction of different processes and on the borderline between material and mental processes in the behavioral process, the one which represents outer manifestation of inner workings, the acting out of the process of consciousness and physiological states.

The child wept copious tears

another direct participant, with verbs such as: insult, praise, slander, abuse, and flatter

“Mew”

Sayer Process: Receiver Circumstance:

time

Process:

Material

Circumstance: location Process: existential Existent

Table 8: Existential process type (Halliday, 2004 & Hoàng Văn Vân, 2005) 1.2.7 Other participant functions

There are two other participant in the clause, namely: Beneficiary and Range Beneficiary is the one to whom or for whom the processes said to take place; it appears in material and verbal process.

Material a The recipient, is

one that goods aregiven to

b The client, is one

I gave my love a ringFred bought a presentfor his wife

that services isdone to

Verbal The one who is being

addressed

John said to Mary

Table 9: Parcicipant functions (Halliday, 2004)

One the other hand, range is the element that specifies the range and scope of the process A range may occur in material, and verbal processes

Material a Expresses the

domain overwhich the preprocess take place

b Expresses theprocesses itself

Ray climbed themountainFred played the piano

Verbal The element expressing

the class, quality, orquantity what is said

He made a long speech

Table 10: Range functions (Halliday, 2004) 1.2.8 Circumstantial elements

I get up at 6 o’clock

b Quality

c Comparison

My mother went by bus

I was snowing heavily

I went through my head like an

Table 11: Circumstantial elements (Halliday, 2004)

CHAPTER II: DATA ANALYSIS - TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN

ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS

In this chapter, we will study linguistic features of English and Vietnamesesongs under the light of systemic functional language Specially, we make theeffort to explore mothers’ hard work and dedication to bringing up theirchildren as well as discover their thoughts, feelings and emotions throughtransitivity patterns In our study, as mentioned in the methodology section,one thousand clauses of English and Vietnamese songs (five hundred clausesanalyzed for each) are taken into the investigation

2.1 TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN ENGLISH SONGS

Table 12: Transitivity patterns in English songs

As can be seen from the table, material processes play the most important roleamong processes The figures show that the processes of doing take the

greatest proportion in English songs, which account for 36.8% of the totalprocesses analyzed The second dominant proportion is relational processes,which is lower than the first type The relational processes stay at 32.8% ofthe clauses Mental clauses stand at 14.6%, which is equivalent to 73 clausesout of 500 clauses; meanwhile verbal processes consist of 8.8% (44 clauses).Behavioral and existential processes share the least proportion; they have thepercentage of 5.8% and 1.2%, which are accounted correspondently by 29 and

6 clauses, respectively

Through data analysis, the most frequently used processes are materialprocesses Many of them are actions, which are closely associated withmothers’ work on a regular basis It can be seen that these verbs such as

“work”, “give”, “make” or “do” are employed with the high frequency Forexample, the verb “work” appears in a wide range of songs:

“You work late night just to keep on the lights”

(From the song “Hey Mama”)

“Worked three jobs all through the weekdays”

(From the song “I love my mama”)

“You worked two jobs to keep a roof up over our heads”

(From the song “Turn to you”)

“just working with the scraps you were given”

(From the song “Dear mama”)

Another example is the verb “give”

“You gave life to me”

(From the song “Goodbye’s”)

“You would give anything in this world”

(From the song “Hey mama”)

“She gave me peace and love”

(From the song “Mom”)

In addition to such verbs, numerous verbs are used to describe actions thatmothers encounter everyday in particular They show the usual work thatmothers make living to raise their children or they do to take care of theirbabies:

“How mama used to clean somebody else’s house”

“While scrubbing on the floor on her bended knees”

(From the song “I’ll always love my mama”)

Or

“Brush your teeth Wash your face”

(From the song “The mom song”)

With the mental process, mothers tend to express their love, perception and desire that they show to their children We can come across these verbs like

“love”, “remember”, “want”, “hope”, or “believe”:

“I love you”

(From the song “The mom song”)

“She doesn’t want you to cry”

(From the song “That’s my mama”)

In some cases, we also find out such verbs used to reveal the children’s love and gratefulness to their mothers:

“I want to thank you”

(From the song “Thanks to you”)

Relational processes witness the dominance of attributive clauses Among

164 clauses, more than half of them are attributive type Let’s have a look at some examples:

“Your love is like a river peaceful and deep You soul is like a secret that I never could keep”

(From the song “A little more time on you”)

Another example can be illustrated:

“M is for the moan and the miserable groan”

(From the song “Treat your mother right”)

Or

“You’ve been the meaning of my life”

(From the song “Thanks to you”)

Sometimes, verbal processes are the prayers of mothers for their children:

“I pray for angels by your side”

(From the song “A mother’s prayer”)

However, at the other time, they are simply the advice, teaching or even soothing mothers want to convey to their children:

“Told me when I was young

“Son, your life’s an open book”

(From the song “Mama said”)

Most behavourial are used to manifest states of consciousness such as:

“My mother weeps for me”

(From the song “I know my mother weeps for me”)

Lastly, the appearance of the existential processes is not considerable (1.2%out of 100%) Moreover, the meaning of this process will not be disscused in

our study because in terms of systemic functional grammar, existentialprocess has no representational function

In short, the analysis of English songs with regard to transitivity systemreveals the mother image depicted in every aspect of life The materialprocesses account for the majority of clauses while the relational processesreach the second highest level These next levels are mental, verbal,behavourial, and existential processes, respectively

2.2 TRANSITIVITY PATTERNS IN VIETNAMESE SONGS

Table 13: Transitivity patterns in Vietnamese songs

In association with the qualities as well as the personalities of Vietnamesewomen in general and Vietnamese mothers in particular, relational processes

comprise 35.8%, which dominates the total clauses A huge range ofadjectives is adopted to describe the image of mother in great details:

“Sớm chiều nặng đôi vai gầy”

(From the song “Nhớ mẹ quê”)

“Lòng mẹ bao la như biển Thái Bình Tình mẹ tha thiết như dòng suối hiền ngọt ngào”

(From the song “Lòng mẹ”)

The second position is material processes, which amount to 29.2% of the totalclauses Being concerned with mothers’ daily work, a wide variety of verbssuch as “nuôi”, “chăm”, “nấu”… are adopted:

“Bàn tay mẹ bế chúng con Bàn tay mẹ chăm chúng con”

“Tay mẹ nấu…

Tay mẹ đun”

(From the song “Bàn tay mẹ”)

“Nuôi con nên người từ dòng sữa mẹ”

(From the song “Mẹ như tia nắng”)

In addition to two types of processes above, mental processes stay at the thirdrank Most of mental processes in Vietnamese songs are the processes of

“feeling” and “thinking” with prominent verbs such as “yêu”, “thương”, “lo”

or “ước”, “trông”, “mong”

“Thương con thao thức bao đêm trường”

(From the song “Lòng mẹ”)

“Mẹ trông con trong niềm hi vọng bao la”

(From the song “Lời ru của mẹ”)

Through the investigation, the number of behavioral processes reaches 9%.Behavioural processes are used to express physiological behavior They oftendescribe mothers’ state.

“Hai lần khóc thầm lặng lẽ”

(From the song “Đất nước”)

“Mẹ về đứng dưới mưa”

(From the song “Huyền thoại mẹ”)

“Đêm năm canh chày mẹ thức đủ vì con”

(From the song “Tiếng ru thần tiên của mẹ”)

In the investigation into the investigation of verbal processes (4.6%), the mostfrequently used verb is “ru” “Ru” is a special kind of music to sooth the baby

to sleep

“Mẹ ru ta câu hát ngọt ngào”

(From the song “Lời ru của mẹ”)

“Mẹ ngồi ru con đong đưa võng buồn”

(From the song “Ca dao mẹ”)

“Mẹ ru con ngân tiếng tình tang”

(From the song “Lời ru của mẹ”)

The least frequency is existential processes with 2.6%

In short, transitivity patterns have been investigated to clarify the motherimage in Vietnamese songs In Vietnamese songs, the relational processesplay the most important role At the second rank are the material processes.The third largest amount is the mental processes whiles these following ranksbelong to the behavioral, verbal and existential processes, respectively

CHAPTER III: DISCUSSION - A COMPARISON BETWEEN MOTHER IMAGES IN ENGLISH SONGS AND IN VIETNAMESE SONGS

In this chapter, by the comparative method, similarities and differencesbetween mother images in English and Vietnamese songs will be made Bothsimilar and different aspects will be shed under the light of systemicfunctional linguistics Through the investigation of one hundred songs, we seethat mothers in English and Vietnamese songs are depicted in both thewartime and peacetime This similarity allows us to make division ofcomparison into mother image in wartime and mother image in peacetime.

3.1 SIMILARITIES

3.1.1 Mother image in wartime

No one can deny the harshness of the war which can steal a soldier’s life atany time In the battlefield, they have to confront with overwhelmed dangersfrom bomb or gunfire Therefore, it is difficult for any mothers in the world tosay good-bye to their children on the day before drafting into the army Thepain due to separating their own children is expressed in tears Here thebehavioral process is adopted and the behavioral verbs are identified with

“weep” (in English) and “khóc” (in Vietnamese)

“My mother weeps for me When all the world is hushed in sleep”

(From the song “I know my mother weeps for me”)

There is one behavioral process used in two verses In the first line, the

behavioral process is identified by the verb “weep” and it implies the behavior is “my mother”, the mother of a soldier The verb “weep”, as a

behavioral verb, both describes the state and emotion of the mother Night issupposed to be the time for all things to take a rest, which is shown in the

verbal process “hush” with the receiver “all the world” Although the time is

not shown specifically in the line, the readers can easily realize in the

circumstance element “in sleep” that indicates the time must be at night.

However, somewhere, a mother alone begins to “weep” The author does not use another behavioral verb such as “howl” or “sob” but it is “weep” Here

the reader can feel that the mother tries to hide her sorrow and worry in herheart There is deep loneliness which dominates her heart for which only theappearance of her child can compensate

Similarly, the readers witness teardrops of Vietnamese mother:

“Hai lần khóc thầm lặng lẽ”

(From the song “Đất nước)

In this line, the behaver is not mentioned but the circumstance of time is put

at the beginning of the sentence “hai lần” The author seems to emphasize thepain that the mother put up with It is not the only time but it is repeated.Once more time, the circumstance of manner “thầm lặng lẽ” depicts herpatience and sacrifice If on the day mothers say good-bye to their children,they try to fight back tears from their eyes, for these days of waiting, tearsspill from their eyes so much that their eyes are too dry to cry Through thebehavioral process “weep” or “khóc thầm lặng lẽ”, the author partially helpsthe reader feel and understand the pain of mothers In Vietnamese songs, thereare many such mothers:

“Nước mắt mẹ không còn

Vì khóc những đứa con”

(From the song “Người mẹ của tôi”)

The existential process is used in the verse with the verb “không còn” “Nướcmắt” works as the existent of the process In the second line, the circumstance

of cause explains the root reason “vì khóc những đứa con” There is nothingmore painful than the pain of leaving their own children Many of them lostnot only one but two or even three children in the war; hence, mothers have

undergone such intense agony that there is not enough tear for so-called

“cry”

Besides the behavioral process, the mental type greatly contributes todescribing love the mother saves for the child That love is conveyed through mothers’ expectation of their children’s coming back and their worries forsoldiers

“Là biết mấy chờ mong mỏi mòn”

(From the song “Hát về mẹ Việt Nam anh hùng”)

“Thương con thao thức bao đêm trường”

(From the song “Lòng mẹ”)

Again, the readers do not see the appearance of the participant – the senser

here but the mental verb “chờ mong” and “thương” with the powerful

effects of two circumstances of manner “mỏi mòn” and “thao thức” is theclear demonstration of mothers’ patient waiting at length Seemingly, themother counts each day for the return of the child There is sometime the light

of hope is on the edge of shattering but the mother cannot help worryingabout her child so the hope keeps alive through the letter she writes to thesesoldiers

“I hope this letter catches up with you”

(From the song “Letters from home”)

Two clauses with two different types of processes are employed in the sameline For the first clause, the senser is “I” – the mother with identified mental

verb “hope” Though the mother is fully aware of the war fact, she still wants

to dispatch some lines to her child Such lines rekindle her hope as well asreinforce her belief It is the strong belief that the child will return in thehands of her In the second clause, the actor is “the letter”, which performs

the material process “catches” This material verb also belongs to a kind of

stylistic device – the personification that is likely to be further discussed inour larger scale research It is not accidental when the author takes “the letter”

as the subject – the actor of the action It cannot be ignore the fact that theletter can be sent to soldiers is merely slight hope

On the regular of basis, the reality of the war leads the mother to pray to Godfor her child to be safe

“She prayed Lord…

Please protect all the boys who are fighting tonight””

(From the song “Soldier’s last letter”)

The verbal process is seen in the clause with the verb “pray” and the sayer is

“she” – the mother The verbiage or the content of the pray is the hope thatthe supernatural will shelter their offspring from dangers God in Westerncountries or Buddha in Eastern ones is a form of belief It is said that toencourage themselves to lead an optimistic life, humans builds their ownbelief with supernatural power which can be real or not In this case, thewoman relies on the intangible power to raise their hope

It is the similar case for Vietnamese mothers When their children, thesoldiers, fight at battlefield, they closely and quietly follow each their step

“Và mẹ tôi nhiều đêm không ngủ Dõi theo bước đường tôi hành quân xa”

(From the song “Mẹ tôi”)

In English songs, the mother with innumerable sleepless nights to pray fortheir child, Vietnamese mother also experience plenty of such nights Thecircumstance of extent “nhiều đêm” functions well to illustrate that The

behavioral process “dõi” successfully interprets the meaning that the mother

day and night looks forward to their soldier’s news in the battlefield Mothers

in Vietnamese songs also share the same feeling when leaving their children

However, the more fervent the hope is, the more painful the mother feels.The behavioral processes once more time describe the mother’s state whenshe receives tragic news.

“Then the mother’s old hands began to tremble The mother knelt down by her bedside”

(From the song “Soldier’s last letter”)

Both the behavioral processes draw the physical postures of the mother,

“tremble” and “knelt down” The mother is not able to stand firmly, she

must lean on “the bedside” (the circumstance of location) Surely, the readerswill be obsessed about the image of trembling old hands of the miserablemother Too painful, she seems to nearly be collapsed with the thunderbolt

In Vietnamese songs, the readers not only feel mother’s pain by heart but by

all other senses, even “nghe” (listen) to the that pain The behavioral verb

“nghe” is sophisticatedly used because there is a change of feeling here.

From an abstract concept, the author turns it into something concrete, whichthe readers can listen, see and even touch We classify this verb in the group

of behavioral process because it is not simply the process of doing but there isthe combination of the process of sensing

“Nghe dịu nỗi đau của mẹ”

(From the song “Đất nước” )

Another common point of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs isthat these soldiers, as the children, who are experiencing the hardship of warappear to be peaceful and comfortable when they recall their mothers Theythink about their mothers when they are awake

“No one but mother can cheer me today Mother would comfort me if she were here”

(From the song “Mother would comfort me”)

In the first clause, the actor mentioned puts strong impression on the readers.

It is a noun phrase “no one but mother” It is like the declaration that mother

is an unique person on the earth can “cheer” and “comfort” – the material

processes the goal “me” as the soldier in the battle field The second clausecontinues to mention the actor “mother” as another confirmation.Nevertheless, we are aware that it is just the soldier’s dream that never comes

true with the circumstance of condition “If she were here”

Likewise, Vietnamese soldiers always bring the image of mother as theencouragement for long and harsh journey

“Con đi trong bóng hình quê hương

Mang bóng dáng mẹ già yêu thương”

(From the song “Về thăm mẹ”)

“Các con ra đi đã mấy chiến trường

Mang theo cả tình thương của mẹ “

(From the song “Tấm áo chiến sĩ mẹ vá năm xưa”)

Despite the fact the two songs were composed by two different composers attwo different time, the spirit in both of songs proves to be the same with the

material process “mang” The actor of the action is “con” – the soldier

It can be concluded that these soldiers always keep the image of mother intheir mind The reasons are very comprehensible Mother is the source ofmotivation and her love for her child has no comparison to any other type oflove on this planet Imagining as if mother were beside, soldiers feel hopefuland determined not to give up in any situation No one apart from mother can

console their mind, “cheer” and “comfort” them; hence, they bring (“mang”)

that love along their operation

The loving touch of mother is more clearly presented in the following lines:

“I saw my mother dear