Luận văn english metaphoric expressions based on proper names = các lỗi diễn đạt ẩn dụ tiếng anh dựa trên tên riêng

We always wonder why thefollowing phenomenon, for example, English expression: “He is an Othello”has an equivalent in Vietnamese : “Hắn đúng là hoạn th” and many cases wecannot find any

Vinh university Foreign languages department

Supervisor: Phan ThÞ V©n H¬ng, M.A

Student : Ph¹m Quúnh NgaClass : 45E1_English

Vinh, May 2009

Acknowledgements

For the completion of this thesis, I have received invaluable help from many people.

Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Phan Thị Vân Hương for her great assistance, constant and helpful advice

on my study.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to my lecturers at the Foreign language Department, Vinh University for their help and invaluable advices during my studying time.

I am grateful to students of the course 45E_English for their help and support for my research thesis.

Finally, my warmest thanks are to my relatives and friends for encouragement and support during the time that I study.

Vinh, May 2009

Phạm Quỳnh Nga

Table of contents

Pages

Acknowledgements ……… i

Table of contents ……… ii

Part A: Introduction ……… 1

1 Rationale ……… 1

2 Aims of the study ……… 2

3 Methods of the study… … … … … … … … … … … … … 2

4 Scope of the study ……… 3

5 Design of the study… … … … … … … … … … … … …… 4

Part B: Development……… 4

Chapter 1: Theoretical background ……… 4

1.1 General view ……… 4

1.1.1 Word ……… 4

1.1.2 Word Meaning………. 5

1.1.3 Semantic Change………. 6

1.1.4 Narrowing of meaning………. 7

1.1.5 Broadening of meaning……… 8

1.1.6 The so – called “degeneration” of meaning………. 8

1.1.7 The so – called “elevation” of meaning……… 8

1.1.8 Figures of speech……… 8

1.1.8.1 Metonymy……… 8

1.1.8.2 Metaphor……… 9

1.2 Metaphor and its characteristics and classification ……… 9

1.2.1 What is metaphor……….… 9

1.2.2 Characteristics of Metaphor……… 10

1.2.2.1 Metaphor is the implicit form of “X is like Y in respect of Z”… 10 1.2.2.2 In metaphor an association may be built not only between two physical objects but also between a concrete object and an abstract concept ………

10 1.2.2.3 The association with the meaning is original considerably weakened and is gradually erased……… 11

1.2.2.4 In general, metaphor change of meaning is often observed in idiomatic compounds……… 11

1.2.2.5 Metaphor are frequently found in the informal strata of the vocabulary, especially in slang……… 11

1.2.3 Classification of Metaphor ……… 12

1.2.3.1 According to the types of similarity……… 12

1.2.3.2 According to time ……… 16

1.2.3.3 According to part of speech ……… 17

1.2.3.4 According to the types of names……… 17

Chapter 2: A study on the English metaphoric expressions based on proper names……… 20

2.1 English metaphors based on proper names……… 20

2.1.1 Metaphor created from eponymous words……… 20

2.1.1.1 Metaphor based on “Boycott”……… 20

2.1.1.2 Metaphor based on “Hooligan”……… 21

2.1.1.3 Metaphor based on “Machiavellian”……… 21

2.1.1.4 Metaphor based on “Pander”……… 21

2.1.1.5 Metaphor based on “Tawdry”……… 22

2.1.1.6 Metaphor based on “peeping Tom”……… 22

2.1.1.7 Metaphor based on “smart Alec”……… 22

2.1.1.8 Metaphor based on “Jack of all trades”……… 23

2.1.1.9 Metaphor based on “Philistine”……… 23

2.1.2 Metaphors based on proper names in English idioms, proverbs and sayings……… 23

2.1.2.1 Metaphor based on the idioms “happy as Larry”……… 24

2.1.2.2 Metaphor based on the idioms “Rob Peter to pay Paul”……… 24

2.1.2.3 Metaphor based on the idiom “any Tom, Dick or Harry”……… 24

2.1.3 Metaphors in English based on characters in the literature…… … 25

2.1.3.1 Metaphor based on the character “Othello”……… 25

2.1.3.2 Metaphor related to the character “Don Juan”……… 26

2.1.3.3 Metaphor based on the character “Hitle” ……… 26

2.1.3.4 Metaphor based on the character “Rip van Winkle”……… 26

2.1.3.5 Metaphor related to “ painted Jezebel”……… 26

2.1.3.6 Metaphor based on “Billy Bunter”……… 27

2.1.3.7 Metaphor based on “Scrooge”……… 27

2.1.3.8 Metaphor based on “Jekyll and Hyde”……… 27

2.1.3.9 Metaphor based on “Sherlock holmes”……… 27

2.1.3.10 Metaphor based on “Tarzan”……… 28

2.1.3.11 Metaphor based on “Little Lord Fauntleroy”……… 28

2.1.3.12 Metaphor based on “Bobby”……… 28

Chapter 3: Metaphors based on proper names in English in comparison with Vietnamese……… ……… 29

3.1 Metaphor based on proper names in English and Vietnamese…. 29 3.1.1 “Little Lord Fautleroy” and “Mã Giám Sinh”……… 29

3.1.2 “Scrooge” and “HuyÖn Hinh”……… 29

3.1.3 “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Trịnh Hâm”……… 29

3.1.4 “Don Juan” and “Së Khanh”……… 30

3.1.5 “Painted Jezebel” and “ThÞ Në”……… 30

3.2 Difficulties in understanding and translating words related to proper names in English idioms and proverbs………. 30

3.3 Suggestions to overcome difficulties……… 31

3.4 Some practical exercises……… 32

Part C: Conclusion……… 34

1 Recapitulations……… 34

2 Suggestions for futher studies……… 35

References……… 36

Appendix……… 37

Part A: Introduction

1 Rationale

Nowadays, English is the most widely used in the world and plays an important role together with the development of society and technologies

English is not only the effective means of communication but also hasprogressive effects in many aspects of life.

Practically, A study on the similarities and differences between thetwo languages of the two countries has been one of my concerns whenstudying at university It is clear that there are many differences between thetwo languages of as those in grammar, lexicology, translation, phonetics and

so on However, a plenty of similarities and differences between English andVietnamese still exist and these can be demonstrated through metaphoricalmeanings especially metaphors in literature and idiom expressions

This study of metaphor has been traditionally associated with the study

of literature, the use of metaphor is not restricted to a language A goodunderstanding of how metaphor is used in everyday language is not onlyimportant for English leaners to increase the vocabulary, but also tounderstand new and original metaphors when we use them

However, what We want to express here is that idioms and proverbsare the genius of national language that is the key helps learners know moreabout a nation, as well as customs and culture of each country all over theworld Therefore, studying metaphors related to proper names that has made

a deep expression on me for a long time because, we ourself find it sointeresting that the proper names not only reflect the concepts but also referthe characteristics of people and places We always wonder why thefollowing phenomenon, for example, English expression: “He is an Othello”has an equivalent in Vietnamese : “Hắn đúng là hoạn th” and many cases wecannot find any equivalent of this language’s idioms and expressions and thecharacters in literature, clearly, most language make use of metaphor but theway individual words used varies from one language to another and eachlanguage has its own system and that they cannot always transfer themetaphorical use of a word from one language to another

Importantly, metaphors help readers see the interest, the beauty as well

as the culture colour of language which helps learners use and understandcorrectly and clearly We hope that learners will understand about metaphors

in English, especially metaphors related to proper names that is also the mainreason motivating us to carry out this research

2 Aims of the study

The study aims at:

+ reviewing theoretical background, concerning words, word meaning andmetaphor

+ presenting some difficulties faced by Vietnamese learners of English interms of idioms in general and the idioms related to the proper names inparticular

+ giving some suggested solutions to overcome these difficulties

+ studying metaphors based on proper names in English idioms and inliterature

3 Methods of the study

The study on metaphor is not only in English idioms but also inliterature related to the proper names is carried out with comparativemethods with a hope that readers could see the role of metaphor in usingidioms and literature from some linguists, typical examples and extractedfrom various types of books Besides, idioms were collected from differentdictionaries to get valuable knowledge for this paper

Furthermore, information related to the study from websites was alsolooked into in order to complete this study successfully

4 Scope of the study

During the study process, the author has been attracted by metaphor one of the figures of speech, particularly metaphors from proper names inEnglish idioms and literature

-Within the scope of a graduation paper, we cannot cover a research onall types of metaphors Our main focus is metaphors from proper names

5 Design of the study

The study consists of three parts

Part A: Introduction, including Rationale, Aims of the study, Methods

of the study, Scope of the study, and Design of the study

Part B: Development, this part is divided into three chapters

Chapter 1: Background knowledge on the study It supplies the definition characteristic, classification and definition Chapter 2: An analysis of metaphor in English based on proper names Chapter 3: Metaphors based

on proper names in English in comparison with Vietnamese

Part C: Conclusion, it gives a summary of the whole study mentioned

in the previous parts

Part B: development

Chapter 1 theoretical background 1.2 General View

1.2.1 Word

The English word, its structure, formation, meaning and history havebecome the subject matter of the linguistic science called lexicology (HoangTat Truong, Basic English Lexicology, 1993, p.2) Semantics or semasiology

is considered one of five essential branches of lexicology

According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993, p.2-4), semantics focuses onthe meaning of the words (the lexical meaning) because the grammaticalmeaning is studied in grammar From the characteristics of semantics, wecan see that words and meanings of words play an important role in languagestudy

Most fluent speakers of English seem to know what a word is Theyknow, for example, that words are listed in dictionaries, that they areseparated in writing by spaces, and that they may be separated by paused.However, to give a definition of word that will apply to all types of word inEnglish, we shall not go into a theoretical discussion of how words can best

be defined Instead, we shall consider the word as an uninterruptible unit

of structure consisting of one or more morphemes and which typically occurs in the structure of phrases

The morphemes are the ultimate grammatical constituents, theminimal meaningful units of language For example, the different forms of

the verb speak, speak, speaks, speaking, spoke, and spoken are separated

words grammatically Equally, grave (noun) and grave (adjective) are

different grammatical words So are the plural, the plural possessive, and the

possessive of the word boy all represented by the pronunciation /b /, but

spelt boys, boys’ and boy’s respectively

1.1.8 Word Meaning

According to N.N Norozova (1985, p.4) the word can be considered

as a unit/means of communication by its possessing a meaning Therefore,among the word’s various aspects, meaning is certainly the most important.Word meaning is what a word/sentence means, i.e what the word(s) usedare conventionally held to mean According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993,p.92), “meaning of a word reflects reality or expresses humanconceptualization of reality, as it were” Every word combines lexical andgrammatical meanings There exists a close relationship between thegrammatical and the lexicon of a language The grammar of a language andits vocabulary/lexicon are complementary The vocabulary must be encoded

in grammatical structure so as to operate as means of communication and as

an important thought The same lexical meaning is shared by differentgrammatical forms of one word

E.g: Careful - Carefully

In this example, “careful” and “carefully” share a lexical meaning but

differ in grammatical meaning The former is adjective, the later is adverb

Grammatical meaning is the meaning recurrent in identical set ofdifferent words and it unites words into big groups with their own

grammatical features For instance, the grammatical meaning of “chair,

table, board…” is nouns.

Lexical meaning is the realization of concept or emotion

For example, when we hear the word “dog”, our concept is realized and the

image of a dog occurs to our mind

According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993, p.54-57), lexical meaning isconsidered in terms of components and types

In terms of components, lexical meaning is classified into denotationaland connotational meanings

- Denotational meaning denotes conceptual and referential meanings

(what it refers to) It is understood by convention of members of society For

instance, the word “cat” indicates a common animal with four legs, which is

often kept by human beings as pets

- Connotational meaning conveys the speaker’s attitude, emotion and

so on It is the pragmatic communicative value the word acquires by virtue

For instance, “dad” is more friendly than “father”

In terms of types, lexical meaning consists of the direct meaning and theindirect meaning

- Direct meaning directly denotes something without comparing it or

associating it with other things We do not need a context Direct meaning isalso called literal meaning

- Indirect meaning directly denotes something To have a better

understanding it, we have to compare or associate it with other things, i.e weneed a context Indirect meaning is also called figurative or transferredmeaning

For example: On hearing the word “skirt”, we are most likely to think of

a type of clothes That is the direct meaning However we put it in the

sentence “He is always running after the skirt”, the word “skirt” refers to a

woman That is the indirect meaning

Indirect meaning affects the use of figures of speech, such as metaphor,metonymy, hyperbole, and so on It makes languages more and moreabundant

1.1.9 Semantic Change

According to I.Arnold (1986, p.71), semantic changes are arbitrary.They proceed in line with the logical and psychological laws of thought.Semantic change is known as change in the meanings of words and can beviewed a part of the more general phenomenon of lexical change For

example, in Old English, the word “nice” means “foolish” and sometimes

“shy”, but in modern English, it means “pleasant”

Thus, what are causes of the development of new meanings?

Firstly, it dues to linguistic factors, such as changes taking place inconnection with:

- Ellipsis:

E.g Daily newspaper = daily

Mass media = media

be named So, the new words appear

As opposed to narrowing of meaning, English vocabulary has

undergone broadening as well “Boot – legger” for example, would mean

“an illegal dealer in liquor” but it nowis used to refer to any illegal dealer.

1.1.12The so – called “degeneration” of meaning.

Degeneration means that the meaning of a certain word becomes

“worse, less nice’, lower in status etc.

For example: “knave” would mean “boy” but now means “swindler, rogue”

1.1.13The so – called “elevation” of meaning

As opposed to degeneration, there is elevation of meaning which

means that the meaning of a word becomes “better, nicer”, higher in status

etc

1.1.8 Figures of speech

Words are used literally and figuratively Figures of speech aredeviation from literal or common forms of statement They are picturesque,vivid language appealing to imagination, making for clearness and easycomprehension

The basic principles on which the most popular figures of speech arebased are similarity and association These figures of speech are metaphor,metonymy and so on

1.1.8.1 Metonymy

Metonymy is the transference of name based on the association ofcontiguity

The name of one thing is changed for that of another to which it is related

E.g “The kettle is boiling”

“I can drink another glass”

Before studying in detail the use and the meaning of metaphors related

to proper names, it is important to understand the history and the use ofmetaphors in daily life

1.2.3 What is metaphor

Theoretically, there are a lot of different ways to define what ismetaphor According to Oxford Advance Learner’s dictionary, “metaphor is

a word or phrase used to describe somebody or something else, in a way that

is different from its normal use, in order to show that two things have thesame qualities and to make the description more powerful” For example,

“she has a heart of stone” (www.wordnet.princeton.edu/per/webn) Metaphor

in this definition refers to the expression that has no literal meanings andbased on the similarity not to show the literal meanings but figurativemeaning, but metaphor, according to Hoang Tat Truong (1993:7), can beunderstood as the transference of names based on the association ofsimilarity, we call one objects and find some common features betweenthem that is we can liken something to something else on certain grounds

Eg : “He is a bee”

Truong (1993:81)Here, the association of similarity is about the behaviour or character

of the bee and the person (he) is hardworking, metaphor based on character

is also understood that in each metaphor, there are two main parts: the tenor

and the vehicle

(www.educationphauner.com/education-plauner/eaasy-artideaps) This can be understood that the tenor is applied there are two partscome together to reach a point of similarity know as ground

Eg: “She is a fox”

Truong (1993:80)Here, the association of similarity is about the behaviour or character

of the fox and the person (she): cunning person character

1.2.4 Characteristics of Metaphor

In “The English word” by I.Arnold (1986, p.64), some characteristics

of metaphor can be presented as follows:

1.2.2.1 Metaphor is the implicit form of “X is like Y in respect of Z”

In the formula, X is the tenor of metaphor, which is described in themetaphor Y is the vehicle of metaphor, which represents the image thatcarries a description and serves to show the tenor and vehicle, in a metaphor

is implied, not expressed

E.g: “All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances”

(William Shakespeare, As you like it)The well-known quotation is a good example of a metaphor In this

example, “the world” is compared to a stage, the aim being to describe the world by taking well-known attributes from the stage In this case, “the

world” is the tenor and “a stage” is the vehicle

1.2.2.2 In metaphor an association may be built not only between two physical objects but also between a concrete object and an abstract concept

The noun “eye” means “a part of the body” Its meaning has developed into a new one: hole in the end of a needle The noun “bar” has the original meaning “barriers”, developed into some figurative meanings

such as: social bar, color bar, and racial bar Thus, there is an associationbetween a concrete object and an abstract concept

1.2.2.3 The association with the meaning is original considerably weakened and is gradually erased

The noun “star” on the basic of the meaning “heavenly body” developed the meaning “famous actor” or “actress” Yet, very soon, the

ironical coloring was lost, and furthermore the association with the original

meaning is considerably weakened and is gradually erased Nowadays, the

word is used to refer to idols, popular sportsmen (football stars).

1.2.2.4 In general, metaphor change of meaning is often observed in idiomatic compounds

The noun “drop” has, in addition to its meaning as a small particle of

water or other liquid, the meaning ear-rings shaped as drops of water(diamond drop) and candy of the same shape (mint drop) In the compound

words “snowdrop” and “bluebell”, both these meanings are also based on

resemblance The meaning of the second constituents undergoes the sameshift of meaning

1.2.2.5 Metaphor are frequently found in the informal strata of the vocabulary, especially in slang

According to G.B Antrushina (1985, p.14), all slang is metaphor.Each slang metaphor is rooted in a joke, but not in a kind of amusing joke.Slang is derived from colloquialisms Most slang words are metaphors andjocular, often with a coarse, mocking, cynical coloring

A redheaded boy is almost certain to be nicknamed “carrot” or

“ginger” A person who is given to spying and sneaking gets the derogatory nickname of “rat” Both these meanings are metaphorical.

1.2.3 Classification of Metaphor

1.2.3.1 According to the types of similarity

Similarity of shape

E.g “Neck of the bottle”

“Mouth of the cave”

Truong (1993:80)

In these examples, looking at metaphorical expression the “neck” is not a

neck-part of the human body, but it is the narrow part at the top of the bottle,

also the word “ mouth” in the last one is a part of the body that is small and

round Mouth is also used as a metaphor to refer the entrance of a cave andthe other example such as:

“The head of a cabbage”

“The teeth of a saw”

Truong (1993:80)Finding many meaning of metaphors, the metaphorical expressions arebased on the identification of shape

Similarity of size

Look at the following example:

“Their daughter is quite plump but their son is positively elephantine”

English –Vietnamese –Dictionary (1993:559)

The image of “elephantine” is used metaphorically to make a hidden

comparison with a big person

Similarity of position

A consideration of the example below should be taken into:

“The foot of a mountain”

“The heart of the country”

Truong (1993:79)

Such expression as “ foot of the mountain” is described as a similarity

of position “foot” is the lowest part of the body and it is used metaphorically

to refer to the foot mountain, the metaphor is stimulated by the identification

of the mountain Further one, “heart” is used metaphorically because, it is an important part of the body and in the center position In such way “leg of the

table” or “tail of the procession” and so on, we is also considered

metaphors basing on the similarity of position

Similarity of movement

Look at the following example:

“They had to worm their way through the narrow tunnel”

English – Vietnamese – dictionary (1993:2069)

“The river snaked away into the distance”

English – Vietnamese – dictionary (1993:1690)

The image of “worm” is an animal with a soft rounded or flattened body It

is put in the real context with function as a verb to compare with a twisting

movement of a person like a worm The other example, the verb “snake” is

used as a metaphor based on the identification of movement

Similarity of function

Basing on the similarity of function, these examples:

“Key to the mystery”

“Head of the class”

“Hand of the clock”

Truong (1993:80)

We easily see that “key”, “head” and “hand” in this cases are not a key to

open clock, head- part of the body and not a hand of the body, they also donot belong to instrument, success or clock, in fact metaphorical meanings inthese examples are applied to any obstructing , this transference of meaning

is based on some common features to refer to similarity of function

Similarity of colour

E.g “The rose of clouds at down”

English – Vietnamese –Dictionary (1993:1539)

“An orange light”

English – Vietnamese –Dictionary (1993:1216)

The words “ rose” and “ orange” are described as similarity of colour,

“ the rose of clouds at down” is a kind of flower and it is used as a metaphor

to refer to the clouds that has rose of clouds And the second one “ an

orange light”, the word “ orange” is a kind of fruit and it is as a metaphor to

refer to the lights that has orange colour Therefore, the metaphoricalexpressions are based on the identification of colour.

Similarity of behaviour and character

Look at the following example: “He is a fox”

“He is an Othello”

Truong (1993:80)

The word “fox” here is a name of animal that indicates a big animal which

is very wise and clever “Fox” is used metaphorically with the negative meaning to refer to a person with cunning character or if we say “he is an

Othello”, it refers to a person who is very jealous, that are used as metaphor

based on the similarity of character and behaviour

Similarity of sound

Taking the following example for the illustration of the similarity ofsound an metaphors

E.g “He roared with his children”

English – Vietnamese – dictionary (2002:1533)

The verb “roar” is the sound made by lion or tiger, people say that “the lion

roared” In above example “roar” does not have this meaning , but it is used

metaphorically to refer to a very angry father who sounds loudly, we also

say that “she is bombed with lots of questions” It is described what

happened to someone surprisingly, immediately and uninterruptedly Theyare the most clear-cut types of similarity The others are hard to defined, formany metaphors are not based on the similarity

E.g “You are washing my time”

“The dishwasher can save you time”

“I have invested a lot of time in the study”

Thoa (2005:9)

Clearly, there is no objective inherent similarity between time and acommodity But what is basis for the metaphor or brings these two conceptstogether is the perception, based in part on culture and in part on feeling thatall human beings share It is advisable to take two following examples forclearer illustration

E.g “She tried to avoid breaking his heart” (hurt feeling)

“I am feeling down” (feel sad)

Thoa (2005:9)These two metaphors are resulted from the transference of spacerelation upon psychological and mental notion, i.e the relation between theconcrete and obstract

On the whole, the similarities on which metaphor are based on so various orsometimes are not clear-cut or present in metaphors

Duration of time and space

E.g: Long distance ………… long speech

Short part short time

Climate

Heat, hot, cold, are words used to denote temperature They are used

metaphorically to talk about emotions and personalities Words associated

with high temperatures, such as heat and hot, are used to show strong, often

negative emotions Words associated with medium, pleasant temperatures,

such as warm and warmth are used to talk about friendly, caring people.

Cold and cool, are used to refer to unfriendly behavior

1.2.3.2 According to time

Living metaphor

Living metaphor that can be called active metaphor is one whichrelatively new and has not become part of everyday linguistic usage It iscreated and used by individuals Living metaphor, according to Hoang Tat

Truong (1993:81) "When a word has an unusual metaphorical sense or themetaphor is created and used by an individual".

E.g: “You are my sun”

Perelman (1999:88)

In above example, the "sun" is used metaphorically to refer to a person

whom you respect or admire for whatever he has done for you This is theresult from an individual and called a living metaphor

As for this type of metaphor, the addressee can recognize them easily as theyare new and very impressive Also, living metaphor are often created or used

by individual, poets and writers

Fade metaphor

According to Hoang Tat Truong (1993:81) "fade (trite) metaphor isone that has lost its freshness due to long and traditional use" And it isnecessary to note that the meanings of faded metaphors are registered indictionaries since they are of common use We can take the followingmetaphor for example:

E.g: “Her voive is sweet”

become cliches of as " stand shouder to shouder with" or keep one's head

above water, as they now lose the emotional associations that once wentwith them