DSpace at VNU: Mother image in English and Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using transitivity system in Systemic Functional Linguistics perspective

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS – A

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TẠ THỊ THU HẰNG

MOTHER IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS USING TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS

PERSPECTIVE

(Hình tượng người mẹ trong các bài hát tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt – một phân tích văn học theo hệ thống chuyển tác trong ngôn ngữ chức năng hệ thống)

M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME 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 IMAGE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE SONGS – A LITERARY ANALYSIS USING TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS

PERSPECTIVE

(Hình tượng người mẹ trong các bài hát tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt – một phân tích văn học theo hệ thống chuyển tác trong ngôn ngữ chức năng hệ thống)

M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Linguistics Code: 60220201

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lâm Quang Đông

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DECLARATION

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

Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using transitivity system in Systemic Functional Linguistics perspective, is entirely the result of my own work The

thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or tertiary institution, and to the best

of my knowledge, neither does it contain material previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text

Hanoi, 2016

Tạ Thị Thu Hằng

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

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

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

Finally, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my family for their support, encouragement and understanding, without which my theis would not have been accomplished

Hanoi, January, 2016

Ta Thi Thu Hang

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ABSTRACT

Song lyrics and rhymes serve as an important part of English teaching curricula in a variety of countries Of all topics, songs about mother have drawn attraction of listeners and learners as they not only entertain people but also educate them in terms of linguistic knowledge and moral values Until now, there has not been much research on mother image under the light of linguistics These provide me with the motivation to carry out the research

“Mother image in English and Vietnamese songs – A literary analysis using

transitivity system in Systemic Functional Linguistics perspective” The study

is conducted to figure out the similarities and differences in the way mother image is represented in English and Vietnamese in view of systemic linguistic perspective In other words, the study aims to give readers a brief description and analysis of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs Within the framework of an M.A thesis, the research 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 study are descriptive and comparative analysis Through descriptive method, six types of transitivity process in each language were identified In fulfilling the focuses of the study, comparative method is applied to the identification of prominent features of mother image

in English and Vietnamese songs The paper 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 for designing exercises based on songs for teaching English as well as linguistic theory

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 by Michael Halliday in the 1960s, refers to a new approach to the study of grammar Systemic linguistics deals with the way spoken and written language operating in different social situations In particular, it is very useful

in illustrating three points: the operation of text beyond the level of the sentence, the difference in structuring the text and the variable changes of the language to meet the purpose of the users It takes on descriptive approach and 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 a functional one rather than a formal one Such functions are identified in three distinct 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 a different usage of context Regarding the second point, the fundamental components of meaning in language are functional components Based on the analysis 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 the

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explained 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 linguists developed 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, including the world in our minds, to describe events, states and the entities involved in them Secondly, we also use the language to interact with other people, to establish and maintain relation with them, to influence their behavior, to express our own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit or change theirs Finally, in using language, we organize our messages in ways which indicate how they fit in with the other messages around them and with the wider 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, and thus constrain what a person can and cannot say

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

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