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HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION VU THI HUONG GIANG STRUCTURAL SEMANTIC AND REASONING CHARACTERISTICS OF ANIMAL AND PLANT RIDDLES IN VIETNAMESE Major: Linguistics Code: 9.22.90.2

HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

VU THI HUONG GIANG

STRUCTURAL SEMANTIC AND REASONING CHARACTERISTICS OF ANIMAL AND PLANT RIDDLES IN VIETNAMESE

Major: Linguistics Code: 9.22.90.20

SUMMARY OF THE DOCTORAL THESIS OF LANGUAGE

Hà Nội - 2020

HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

Science intructor:

1 Assoc Prof.Ph.D Nguyen Thi Luong

2 Assoc Prof.Ph.D Pham Van Tinh

Reviewer 1: Prof.Ph.D Hoang Trong Phien

Ha Noi National University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Reviewer 2: Prof.Ph.D Đo Viet Hung

Ha Noi National University of Education

Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof.Ph.D Ha Quang Nang

Vietnamese dictionary and encyclopedia

The thesis will be protected before the thesis dissertation committee The school met at Hanoi National University of Education

in hours days months years

The thesis can be found at the libraries:

- The National Library, Hanoi

- The Ha Noi National University of Education

INTRODUCTION

1 The reason for choosing the topic

1.1 Literature is the art of words The riddle is a kind of folk literature so this kind of text is made from the material of words So considering the characteristics of language of the riddle is contributing to affirming the value, role and uniqueness of this genre in the national literary life

1.2 Nearly one fifth of the treasure of Vietnamese riddles is the ones of fauna and flora, which are familiar to farmers These contains many original riddles that need to be explored

1.3 Many riddles are written texts However, riddle texts have a special structure compared to other cultural literature ones Along with that, the problem of nominalization of riddles in general, those of animals and plant in particular should also be more interested in research Moreover, because riddles do not reflect things, objects, events, etc in the world

as explicitly but referring to them in a “skew” way, in others, words, something is mentioned by mentioning “another” thing

1.4 Therefore, understanding riddles in the overall structure and meaning, reasoning is necessary to see the unique features of language of this genre as well as to decode the logic

of thinking and the philosophy of language of riddles

1.5 So far, research into riddles in terms of linguistics is not very abundant No work has studied the structural, semantic and argumentative characteristics of riddles on animals and plants

For the above reasons, we shall choose the topic: Structural semantic and reasoning characteristics of animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese to conduct as a PhD

dissertation

2 Research purposes and tasks

2.1 Purposes

When carrying out this topic, we would like to:

- Clarify the structural, semantics and reasoning characteristics of the riddle of plants and animals in Vietnamese to explore the uniqueness of this special type of text from a linguistic perspective

- The unique of the structure, semantics and reasoning of riddles about animals and plants in Vietnamese can be pointed out; and we can initially make comments, point out the

unique features of Vietnamese cultural thinking, thinking and philosophy through this puzzle segment

- Initially point out the basis - the decoding mechanism to be able to solve riddles quickly, correctly and accurately

2.2 Research tasks

To accomplish that purpose, the specific research tasks are as follows:

- Applying research methods into the specific object investigation, forging research skills

- Consolidating and systematizing theoretical premises related to the topic

- Doing surveys, statistics, classification questions on animals and plants

+ Indicating structural characteristics of riddle text, modeling homogeneous structure commonly found in animal and plant riddles

+ Finding structural and semantic characteristics

+ Clarifying reasoning characteristics of the animal and plant riddles: characteristics of conclude, argument and some tactics to distract arguments from which the originality of structures, meanings, arguments of riddles about animals and plants in Vietnamese are pointed out At the same time, initial comments are given on the characteristics of thinking, cultural thinking, and Vietnamese folk philosophy through the animal and plant riddles

3 Objectives and scope of research

3.1 Research objectives: due to the scope of the thesis and time limit, we only focus

on understanding animal and plant riddles (based on the text because the riddle is a folk

game realized with language)

3.2 Descriptive method: This method is used to describe structural characteristics, a

number of similar structural models in riddles, characteristic meanings selected as descriptive elements…

3.3 Interdisciplinary research methodology - cultural studies

This method helps us decipher the artistic intent and partly understand the perception of Vietnamese people through riddles about plants and animals

4 Methods and tools of research

In order to achieve the goals and tasks set out, we use descriptive methods, semantic analysis methods, interdisciplinary research methods and statistical and classification tactics; comparative tactics…

4.1 Discourse analysis

We analyze, describe and contrast riddle texts (a special type of text) in order to find the features of structure of animal and plant riddles

4.2 Analysis and synthesis

We do analyses and statistics and summary of the data Then basing the semantic analysis, we denote the reasoning of animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

4.3 This is an interdisciplinary approach to linguistics, culture studies, stylistics, prosody that help decode the artic and cognitive features of animal and plant riddles

5 Outcomes of the thesis

This is a systematic and intensive survey of linguistic characteristics: structural characteristics, semantic characteristics (nominalization) and reasoning characteristics of riddles about animals and plants in Vietnamese

6 Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis

Theoretically and practically, the dissertation has the following contributions:

6.1 Theoretically

The thesis contributes to supplement and complete additional research results on riddles; contribute a new perspective on Vietnamese folk riddles from the perspective of linguistics (text, reasoning, object projection (facility), identification)

The results of the thesis will contribute to strengthening the direction of the study of semantic structure, combined with theoretical research for a specific type of discourse, the riddle in Vietnamese

6.2 Practicality

The results of the project will contribute to improving the compilation of Vietnamese textbooks for high school students (especially in the context that the Ministry of Education and Training is developing a program and compiling a new set of Literature books) , textbook of teaching Vietnamese, serving for linguistics training at bachelor's and postgraduate levels, compiling reference books for analytical lectures in schools

In addition, the results of the thesis are of useful value, good service in teaching research, exploring puzzles in particular, folk literature in general from the linguistic perspective The thesis will be a reference for those who want to learn more about this unique genre of folk literature

7 Thesis structure

In addition to the introduction, conclusions, references, appendices, indexes, lists of published works, the content of the thesis is implemented on three chapters:

Chapter 1: An overview of research situation and theoretical background

Chapter 2: Structural and sematic features of animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese Chapter 3: Reasoning characteristics of animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

CHAPTER 1

AN OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH SITUATION AND THEORETICAL

BACKGROUND

1.1 Overview of research situation

1.1.1 Research works of riddles in terms of literature

From the perspective of literature, riddles become an object to be recognized, explored

in comparison with other types of cultural literature The authors Đinh Gia Khánh, Võ Quang Nhơn, Chu Xuân Diện in the textbooks "Vietnamese Folk Literature" have raised the most general features of the object such as content characteristics and functions of riddles

as well as its position in the spiritual life of the people

In addition, in a number of MA's and BA's theses, riddles have also been studies in terms of literature In general, riddles seen from a literary perspective have been explored quite comprehensively and systematically Researchers have devoted a lot to understanding and identifying riddles from the nature, origin and function to the production and use environments

1.1.2 The study of riddles in terms of linguistics

Some works on Vietnamese linguistics that are sporadic find out about different similarities, in terms of presuppositions, referential expressions, cognition, rhetorical measures in the riddle) No author has assumed that the riddles is a special type of text and studied all its manifestations (composition, semantics, reasoning) as a complete text, a special text

Thus, so far, research into animal and plant riddles have mainly exploited from the perspective of folk literature Studying this genre from the perspective of linguistics has not been fully and thoroughly exploited

1.2 Theoretical background

In this section, we systematize some theoretical issues related to the topic: The riddle theory (from a literary and linguistic perspectives), text theory, nominalization theory and theory of reasoning

Riddles are seen from the perspective of literature (in terms of concepts, genre characteristics, functions), from a linguistic perspective (a special text)

In terms of text theory, we go into the concepts of text types, text structure, characteristics of text and text cohesion

Regarding nominalization theory, we explore the concept, the basis of nominalization and peculiarities of thinking, culture, language in nominalization

Argument theory focuses on the concepts of argument formulas, composition of arguments, reasoning relationships, classifications of arguments, reasoning and reasoning The above theoretical issues are the background for the study associated with the specific objects in the next chapters

1.2.1 Riddles and their characteristics

1.2.1.1 Concept

For the dissertation author, the riddle is a type of folk literature It has a complete content presented with a peculiar language indicating creative thinking of the riddler Because the name of the riddled object is always hidden, the solver has to use reasoning ability so s/he can decode unknowns encoded with language in the riddle

1.2.1.2 Featured

i Riddle - an intellectual game with words Recreational functions

ii Riddle - a special problem

1.2.1.3 Function

i Cognitive function

ii Educational function

iii Entertainment function

1.2.2 Several linguistic theories have been selected as the theoretical basis of the thesis

1.2.2.1 Theories of Text

The theory consists of many issues In this dissertation, we present only what is related

in order to investigate the characteristics of structural and sematic of the riddle text: Conceptualization, peculiarities, structures and cohesion

iii Textual structure (general formation of text)

In their works, such authors as Diệp Quang Ban, Trần Ngọc Thêm, agree that a text has 3 three parts: opening, body and ending

In this dissertation, we use the theory of textual formation to explore structural formation of a riddle and find special features in this type of text

iv Textual cohesion

Textual cohesion consists of cohesion in form and in meaning (content) Cohesion in content includes:

Theme cohesion: This is referred to as a topic: what to be mentioned This kind of cohesion requires all sentences in the whole text to move around a topic (By keeping or developing the topic)

Logical cohesion: “known, first of all, as the part showing the peculiarities of something/somebody mentioned” I5, page 550) That is the reasonable link between something/somebody and their peculiarities in a sentence and between these peculiarities and other peculiarities among sentences in cohesion

In this dissertation, we do not study formal cohesion but explore content cohesion of riddles and nominalization when studying topics reflected (in the solution) and the peculiarities for describing riddled objects (through riddles)

1.2.2.2 Theories of Denotation, Reference

i Denotative theory, expressions and meaning (referent)

For Đỗ Hữu Châu, “The relation between utterances (discourse) and the elements that create a context is called “referent, also denotation) [17, page 186)

Thus, referential/denotative meaning is things that are referred to or signified The referential meaning of the riddle is the thing that is riddled (the solution)

ii Referential theory and referring expressions

Reference and referring expressions are devices for linking texts

1.2.2.3 Theory of nominalization

i Conceptualization

Mai Ngọc Chừ suggests that the way of understanding nominalization is “ the terms that can be used to name things, phenomena, activities, qualities, relations,…in the world.[22,page 195)

ii Base for nominalization: without reasons (arbitrary) and with reasons arbitrary)

(non-iii Nominalization ways: In/direct nominalization

v Peculiarities of thinking, culture and language in nominalization

Language and culture have a close relationship Nominalization shows human thinking ability of cognition, culture of the objective world

Animal and plant riddles are an interesting way of speaking-a type of defining things according to folk thinking (i.e second level nominalization) that brings a new and unexpected view of things and phenomena that are inherently familiar to people Accordingly, we can see observation skills, intelligence and sensible speculations of working people

The theory of nominalization is used to investigate the features chosen as descriptive elements-part 2.2 page 2

1.2.2.4 Theory of reasoning

i Conceptualization of reasoning

In “Đại cương ngôn ngữ học” (General linguistics), Đỗ Hữu Châu argues “Reasoning

is showing arguments in order to lead listener to a conclusion or an acceptance of conclusion by the speaker”[15, page 155]

In spite of different expressions, linguists agree to the nature of reasoning that is showing arguments (evidence and reasons) to orient the reader/listener to a conclusion Evidence makes people believe, reasons make people understand When they have once believed and understood, they are persuaded,, then reasoning is well-done

ii The structure of reasoning

We agree to Đỗ Hữu Châu’s viewpoint that full reasoning has two parts: arguments (i.e premises of reasoning that can be reasons or evidence) and conclusion (what comes from premises, proved by premises)

iii Reasoning relation

For Đỗ Hữu Châu, it is the relation between the parts of an argument.” There are arguments with either same direction or reverse direction

iv Reasoning background

It is what people rely on to launch arguments and then arrive at conclusions Referring

to reasoning background is talking about “common sense”

1.3 Chapter conclusion

The riddle as a product of folklore has been studied and approached in two directions: literature and linguistics Approaching from the literary aspect, there are general riddle

studies (mainly collection and compilation nature), there are riddle studies for specific subjects In terms of linguistics, the authors have focused on the rhetorical measures in riddles (puns, metaphors, etc.), studying the semantics of riddles, studying pragmatics of riddles ( projection of object description .) However, from the linguistic approach, there has not been a comprehensive study of the total expression of riddles from structure, semantics to arguments as a complete text, nor has there been a study that shows the mechanism of deciphering the riddle from its form as well as its content

The study of riddles is mainly a collection and compilation Some in-depth studies only stop at a few aspects (descriptive referential expressions, descriptive art, puns, etc.) So far, the riddle has been studied from a literary and linguistic perspective, but there has not been any work in depth to understand the riddle of plants and animals - as a special text on all three aspects: semantic, structural and reasoning characteristics

Diep Quang Ban's theory of text (specifically the theory of textual structure) is the premise for us to explore the structural characteristics of the riddle text of animals and plants in Vietnamese, thereby pointing out general characteristics and structural characteristics of this particular type of document

Do Huu Chau's theory of object projection, the logical link of Diep Quang Ban, identification theory is the basis for us to study the semantic characteristics of riddles of animals and plants in Vietnamese (the topics are reflected and the method of implementation, the characteristics selected as the element description and the method of description)

Do Huu Chau's theoretical theory (specifically, the components of argument, structure

of argument, basis of argument) is the theoretical basis that helps us to understand the characteristics of animals and plants riddles in Vietnamese

CHAPTER 2 STRUCTURAL AND SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ANIMAL

AND PLANT RIDDLES IN VIETNAMESE

Each riddle is a special text In this chapter, we apply the theory of text formation by Diệp Quang Ban to consider the structure of riddles in Vietnamese At the same time, we study some similar structural models in riddles (without considering their solutions) about the animals and plants, from which, we show an overview of the distinctive expression of riddles

2.1 Characteristics of the structure of animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

As a text (mainly a descriptive text), a riddle has a 3-part structure like a common text

However, a riddle is also a special text so it has its own characteristics of structure

2.1.1 Textual structure of text of animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

First of all, as a text, a riddle also has a 3 part structure However, in addition to very few riddles with the common structure, most riddles have on the body and ending part as shown in figure 2.1

Table 2.1 Textual structure of word animal and plant riddles about in Vietnamese

No Composition of the riddles Quanlity/1124 quiz Ratio(%)

1 Common structures 122 10,9

2.1.1.1 A common riddle text

A common text usually consists of three parts: the opening, the body and the ending Due to the need to hide the name of the riddled thing, this type of text does not takes up much (122 sentences, accounting for 10.9%)

2.1.1.2 A text with a special structure

It is the riddle text has only the body and the ending Due to the need to hide the name of the riddled thing, this type of text takes up more numbers (1002 sentences, accounting for 89.1%) The ending of the riddle text is in the solution The problem is in the body (the part describing the characters of the riddles) without the opening - the keyword leading to the topic

2.1.2 The similar structural models of animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

Through a survey of 1124 riddles on animals and plants, we found that there are 291 riddles (25,9%) use similar models

Table 2.2.Number of animal and plant riddles with similar structural models

NO Similar structures in riddles Number of riddles Ratio (%)

1 Riddles with common structure 3 1,4

2 Riddles with common structure 5 2,4

2.1.2.1 The similar structural models in riddles with common structure

i The similar interrogative model

The similar interrogative structure is a question with near/similar grammatical formation

In Vietnamese animal and plant riddles, the question with the interrogative pronouns is

used with the model: X- interrogative pronouns (gì/what/chi/what/nào/which) + Y? (in which: X: head noun (denoting the whole): con/animal (chim/bird/cá/fish) hoặc cây/tree (hoa/flower, quả/fruit), Y is the descriptive element showing one or some features of the

riddled object

Of 122 Vietnamese animal and plant riddles (including 3 parts) with the similar structure, 90 riddles are formed with the above model (73,8%) Based on the head noun, the similar structural model can be divided into 7 categories:

Table 2.3 The riddle model of questions in animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

NO

Question

Riddle number with one sentence

Riddle number with many sentences

The total riddle number

Center

Noun

Pronouns question

X (Element description)

ii The similar indicative model

In addition to the similar interrogative model, the riddle text that includes 3 parts consists of 32/122 (26%) sentences with the similar indicative model shown in figure 2.4

Table 2.4 Riddle with similar indicative model in animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

No Riddles model with similar indicative

structure

Riddle number Ratio (%)

6,1

ii Riddles with special similar model

a The model with common grammatical structure used both in animal and plant riddles in Vietnamese

Table 2.5 Riddle model with similar special structure

No Riddle model with similar special structure Riddle

b Riddles with model of separate similar structure in animals and plants each in Vietnamese

* Model of similar grammatical structure of Vietnamese animal riddles

Table 2.6 Model of similar grammatical structure of Vietnamese animal riddles

number

Ratio (%)