Acknowledgements. If I haven’t got a lot of enthusiastic helps from many people, I couldn’t complete the thesis successfully. First, I would like to give great gratitude to my supervisor- M.A TrÇn Ngäc T- ëng who has encouraged, suggested numerous improvements and given me many useful advices and experience. I’m also grateful to many teachers of Foreign Language Departmment and of others have helped me with many useful advices and references. And lastly, I would like to express special thanks to my family, my friends who have encouraged my enthusiasm to complete the thesis. Vinh, May 2003. Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese Table of contents. pages 1.Acknowledgements 1 2.Symbols and abbreviation 5 3.Table of contents: 2 Part one: Introduction 1. Reasons of the study 6 2. Aims of the study 6 3. Methods of the study 6 4. Design of the study 7 Part two: Investigation Chapter I: Theoretical background I.1.Semantics - one of the essential branches of lexicology 9 I.1.1.Grammatical meaning 9 I.1.2. Lexical meaning 10 I.2. Figures of speech 10 I.2.1. Some general ideas 10 I.2.2. Some common types of figures of speech 12 I.2.2.1. Metaphor 12 I.2.2.2. Simile 14 I.2.2.3. Personification 15 I.2.2.4. Metonymy and Synecdoche 16 I.2.2.5. Alliteration and Onomatopoeia 17 I.2.2.6. Idiom and Slang 19 I.2.2.7. Paradox 21 I.2.2.8. Oxymoron 21 I.2.2.9. Antithesis 22 I.2.2.10. Euphemism 22 I.2.2.11. Irony 23 I.2.2.12. Exclamation 24 I.2.2.13. Pun. 24 Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 2 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese I.2.2.14. Litotes 24 I.2.2.15. Hyperbole 25 I.2.3. The effects of figures of speech 25 I.3. Hyperbole 26 Chapter II: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese II.1. Ways of expressing hyperbole 28 II.1.1. By exaggerated words 28 II.1.2. By exaggerated expressions 31 II.1.3. By exaggerated structures 32 II.2. Degrees of hyperbole 34 II.2.1. Hyperbole of low degree 34 II.2.2. Hyperbole of high degree 35 II.3. Hyperbole in dialogue 35 II.4. Hyperbole in literature 38 II.4.1. Hyperbole in poetry 39 II.4.2. Hyperbole in proverbs and idioms 44 II.4.3. Hyperbole in prose 45 II.5. Hyperbole in songs 46 II.6. The cooperative principle between the speaker and the hearer 47 II.7. The influence of culture on hyperbole 54 II.8. Some fields in which hyperbole is not used 56 Chapter three: Some implications and suggestions III.1. Hyperbole in studying and teaching 57 III.2. Some misunderstandings of hyperbole 59 Part three: Conclusion 60 4. Bibliography 61 Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 3 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese Symbols and abbreviation ------****------ eg : for example. -> : equivalently Vietnamese examples. inclined and underlined examples: e.g : wonderful (means: exaggerated words or expressions.) ( , ) : equote the title, the writers or both. H : hearer S : speaker < >: more explanations. [,]: The first number refers to the reference in the “bibliography” of the thesis and the second refers to the page of the reference. Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 4 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese Part one: Introduction 1. Reasons of the study Sometimes, in daily communication as well as in literature, we meet some ways of speaking which is not compatible with what our expression literally means. This way of speaking usually contains high effects and called figures of speech. Metonymy, simile, metaphor .are common figures of speech. For me, I sometimes meet the way of speaking overstates the truth in both English and Vietnamese language and it attracts me a lot. That is hyperbole. For example: In English: We can find many interesting examples. Im bored to death Tôi buồn đến chết mất To describe the top of boredom If I have told you once, Ive told you a thousand times not to do that. Anh đã bảo em hàng ngàn lần rồi là đừng làm nh thế. In fact, the speaker may have told only some times. But he says that to emphasize his/or her anger or discontentment. In Vietnamese: To give a reaction before the bitter state of life that the rich always look down on and exploit the poor, the character says: Cơm của nhà giàu khó nuốt, ăn của họ mà không làm lợi cho họ đợc thì họ làm cho đến phải mửa ra mà giả họ (Nam Cao-Con ngời và tác phẩm-234) Or, a very good poem: In order to make sure a truth, Nguyen Trai emphasizes: Gơm mài đá, đá núi phải mòn Voi uống nớc, nớc sông phải cạn (Nguyễn Trãi, Bình Ngô Đại Cáo) Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 5 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese - Each language has its own characteristic, sometimes the learners of a foreign language not only transfer the formal device but also meanings to the foreign language as Lado claims: “Individuals tends to transfer the forms and meanings and the distribution of forms and meanings of their native language and culture to the foreign language and culture ”(Lado, 1957: 2) [4,45] E.g: “Her eyes are brighter than the very sun” We can’t translate: → M¾t c« Êy s¸ng h¬n mÆt trêi.× But: → M¾t c« Êy s¸ng h¬n ®Ìn pha. ∨ Sometimes, hyperbole is used for the same meaning and purpose but expressed by different structures as well as rhetoric images in both languages. Being a student of foreign languages, I have always been keen on studying about hyperbole, and that is the reason why I choose it for my graduation paper. 2. Aims of the study: The aims of the study: -To analyze and contrast English and Vietnamese hyperbole -To point to possible situations or fields where we can or can’t use hyperbole in both languages . -To give some words, phrases or structures with which hyperbole is expressed -To give some interesting points of cultural influence on hyperbole -To suggest some exercises and a teaching plan of hyperbole, and point out some misunderstandings that Vietnamese learners of English usually face with in their use of hyperbole. We don’t think have studied deeply about English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese, but hope have given many interesting points to help you find out the beauty of a figure of speech, rhetoric values. 3. Methods of the study 3.1 Analytic and synthetic method. Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 6 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese Analyzing and synthesizing words, phrases, structures as well as fields in which hyperbole is used. 3.2 Descriptive method. Describing hyperbole through examples in both languages. 3.3 Comparative and contrastive method. Contrasting English hyperbole with that in Vietnamese through the same situations and fields to find out the similarities and differences between them. In all those processes English is regarded as the basic. 4. Design of the study: This thesis consists of three main parts: Part one: Introduction. Part two: Investigation. Part three: Conclusion. Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 7 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese Part two: Investigation Chapter I: I.1. Semantics one of the essential branches of lexicology– 1a. Lexicology Definition: The word “lexicology ” originates from Greek and is composed of two parts: “lexis” meaning “word” and “logos” meaning “Science”. Thus “ lexicology” literally means “the science or the study of the word”. Lexis has taken on abstract sense, especially within linguistics, referring to the total stock of meaningful units in a language-not only the words and idioms, but also the parts of words which express meaning, such as the prefixes and suffixes .To study the lexicon of English accordingly, is to study all aspects of the vocabulary of the language, for example: how words are formed, how they have developed over time, how they are used now, how they relate in meaning to each other, and how they are handed in dictionaries, and other word books. It is a study which is carried on by lexicologists, who are thus practicing lexicology. If lexicologists choose to write a dictionary, they are known as lexicographers. - In the broad sense, lexicology can be said to consist of the following essential branches: 1. Word structure and formation 2. Semasiology (or semantics) 3. Phraseology 4. Etymology 5. Lexicography. 1b. Semantics In those fields of linguistics, semantics is generally considered to be the study of meaning (and related notions) in languages. Up to now, there have been many studies on semantics such as: In English: - Adrian Akmajian. Linguistics . -Nguyen Hoa. Semantic. HN University Press - GB Asurushina. O.V. English Lexiology Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 8 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese - A famesyeve, N. N Mokozova. In Vietnamese: - Nguyễn Thiện Giáp. Dẫn luận ngôn ngữ học - Đỗ Hữu Châu. Ngữ nghĩa Tiếng Việt - Đinh Trọng Lạc. 99 biện pháp tu từ ngữ nghĩa. and many interesting ideas have been discovered. In this paper we only present general ideas about semantics. Semantics focuses on the meaning of the word, chiefly the lexical meaning. It discusses the types of meaning, the change and development of meaning, the grouping of words and so on. There are two main types of meanings found in words: Lexical meaning and grammatical meaning. I.1.1: Grammatical meaning Grammatical meaning is what unities words with different lexical meanings. It is the meaning recurrent in identical sets of different words. E.g: The grammatical meaning of house, book, mother . is they are nouns. I.1.2: Lexical meaning Lexical meaning is the realization of concept or emotion. When we hear or see the word mountain for example, our concept is realized and the picture or image of a mountain occurs to our mind. Therefore this realization is called lexical meaning. -Although we divide semasiology in to two types: Grammatical meaning and lexical meaning, in fact they do not exist separately but always have a close relationship between each other. -Lexical meaning consists of two components: the denotative and the connotative meaning. -The denotative meaning: indicates or points out things, concepts, etc. E.g: mother, mum, denote the female parent. -The connotative meaning: Shows us how things, concepts . are indicated (denoted) Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 9 Graduation thesis: English hyperbole in contrastive analysis with that in Vietnamese It conveys the speaker’s attitude, emotions and so on. As the example above, they have the same denotative meaning but different connotative meaning. -Normally, study lexical meaning, we mention two types: Direct meaning and indirect meaning: I.1.2.1. Direct meaning Direct meaning: is the meaning that directly denotes something, without comparing it or associating with other things. Thus we don’t need a context to understand it. Direct meaning is also called literal meaning. I.1.2.2. Indirect meaning Indirect meaning is the meaning that indirectly denotes something. To understand it we have to compare or associate it with other things, e.g: we need contexts. Indirect meaning is also called “figurative/ transferred meaning.” I.2. Figures of speech In written and spoken language, there are certain effective ways of saying things without saying them directly. They are used to emphasize, clarify, and embellish what is being said. We call “figures of speech”. Most figures of speech simply take what is well- known and use it to depict what is less familiar. I.2.1. Some general ideas In order to understand deeply this concept we should known “why is it necessary to speak figuratively.” “I will speak daggers to her, but use none” says Hamlet, preparing to confront his mother. This statement makes sense only because we realize that “daggers” is to be taken two ways: Literally (denoting sharp pointed weapons) and non-literally (referring to some thing that can be used “like” weapons – namely, words). When Mariana Moore observes that a fir tree has “an emerald turkey-food at the stop”, the result is a pleasure that poetry richly affords: the sudden recognition of likenesses. A treetop like a turkey-foot, words like daggers-such comparisons are called “figures of speech”. Hoang Thi Hoan - 40A 2 10