An analysis ò the most popular rhetorical devices in english and vietnamese=nghiên cứu về các biện pháp tu từ phổ biến nhất trong tiếng anh và tiếng việt

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI THU AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ P

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI THU

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL

DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ PHỔ BIẾN NHẤT

TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

B.A THESIS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

VINH-05/2014

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI THU

AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL

DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC BIỆN PHÁP TU TỪ PHỔ BIẾN NHẤT

TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

Supervisor: Phan THi Huong, M.A

VINH, 05/2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

For the completion of this paper, I would like to express my very great appreciation to

my supervisor, Phan Thi Huong, M.A, for her patient guidance, constant encouragement and useful critiques throughout the process of writing this graduate paper The blessing, help and guidance given by her time to time shall carry me a long way in the journey of life on which I am about to embark

I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to the other lecturers in Foreign Language Department in Vinh University for their enthusiastic transference of essential knowledge, their cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which help us to complete this task through various stages

I would also like to extend my thanks to Ms Tran Thi Phuong Anh, who obtained Bachelor of English of Ho Chi Minh National University for providing me with the valuable information and advice in this field I am grateful for her cooperation during the period of writing this paper

Lastly I thank my parents, brothers and friends for their constant encouragement without which this paper would not be possible

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to help readers have a more specific and obvious understanding of rhetorical devices in English as well as in Vietnamese, especially for Vietnamese learners of English With the careful study in both English and Vietnamese Literature,

we collect the most typical examples of seven rhetorical devices that are effectively used in some famous writing Moreover, misuse of some devices is analyzed to find out the tips to avoid misuse and misunderstanding of these rhetorical devices Basing

on the similarities and differences in culture and customs of English and Vietnamese,

we compare the characteristics and usage of rhetorical devices in writing as well as in daily communication of these two languages Through showing the examples of rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese, the paper highlights the importance of learning and practice of rhetorical devices in writing and daily conversations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……… 1

1.1 RATIONALE ……… 1

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ……… 2

1.2.1 Aims ……… 2

1.2.1 Objectives ……… 2

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION ……… 2

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ……… 3

1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY ……… 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4

2.1 OVERVIEW ……… 4

2.2 PREVIOUS STUDY ……… 4

2.3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ……… 5

2.3.1 General knowledge of Literature ……… 5

2.3.1.1 Qualities of Literature ……… 5

2.3.1.2 Importance of Literature ……… 7

2.3.2 Language and culture relationship ……… 8

2.3.2.1 Concept of Culture ……… 8

2.3.2.2 The Relation of Language and Culture ……… 11

2.3.3 Rhetorical Devices ……… 12

2.3.3.1 What is Rhetoric? ……… 12

2.3.3.2 Definition of Rhetorical Devices ……… 13

2.3.3.3 Types of Rhetorical Devices ……… 14

2.3.3.4 The Four Aims of Rhetoric ……… 18

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ……… 21

3.1 METHOD DESIGN ……… 21

3.2 RESEARCH PROCEDURE ……… 21

3.3 SUMMARY ……… 22

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ……… 23

4.1 THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ………

23 4.1.1 Metaphor ……… 23

4.1.2 Parallelism ……… 27

4.1.3 Hyperbole ……… 30

4.1.4 Understatement ……… 31

4.1.5 Antithesis ……… 32

4.1.6 Rhetorical question ……… 34

4.1.7 Simile ……… 36

4.1.8 Summary ……… 38

4.2 MISUSE OF SIMILE AND METAPHOR IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE 39 4.2.1 Misuse of metaphor and simile ……… 39

4.2.2 How to avoid misuse of metaphor and simile? ……… 41 4.3 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VIETNAMESE AND 43

ENGLISH CULTURE VIA THE USAGE OF RHETORICAL DEVICES

4.3.1 Similarities ……… 43

4.3.2 Differences ……… 44

4.3.3 Summary ……… 47

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ……… 48

5.1 CONCLUSIONS ……… 48

5.2 IMPLICATIONS ……… 49

5.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ……… 51

5.4 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ……… 52

REFERENCES ……… 53

APPENDICES ……… 54

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 RATIONALE

Rhetoric, the art of persuasive written or spoken discourse, was developed in ancient Greece, and every one of the terms below stems from classical Greek or from Latin, the language of the culture that inherited the Greek oratory legacy But that should be

no obstacle to adding these tried-and-true tools to your argumentative armamentarium, because brief definitions

To aim to reach the reader needs of studying rhetorical devices and provide a more specific and obvious understanding for readers, we implement this paper in accordance with previous researchers and linguists

Rhetorical device is one of the most interesting topics in literature nowadays It not only appears in poetry and prose but also figures in most of idioms There are many writings of famous writers in English and Vietnamese literature that effectively use rhetorical devices as the best way to express the author‘s thoughts and attract reader‘s attention Many researchers studied the others features of linguistics such as semantic features, syntactic features or types of rhetorical devices used in literature in general However, there are few research works to study the rhetorical devices, and no thesis of rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese Therefore, we collect data from many sources and linguists to describe and analyze some of the rhetorical devices used in English and Vietnamese famous writings and in daily life, especially in some familiar idioms In addition, we give out some more examples in English and Vietnamese literature to provide more complete knowledge of rhetorical devices

Each nation‘s language has its own similar and different concepts on many fields of life such as humane values, ways of thinking, behavior standards, religious beliefs, customs and traditions, social convention, etc Words and expressions including idioms have formed the vocabulary system of a language Idioms and proverbs are regarded as special factors of a language‘s vocabulary system because they reflect

cultural specific characteristics of each nation, including material and spiritual values Therefore, many researchers have long shown their concerns for idioms Follow the previous researchers; we analyze some of the most popular idioms in English and Vietnamese in order to make a clearer illustration of rhetorical devices

The structure of this paper is organized following the form of an investigation We collect the data from English and Vietnamese dictionary as well as previous researches

to complete the paper: ―An analysis of the most popular rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese.‖

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.2.1 Aims

The study is expected to:

- Investigate some typical rhetorical devices in some famous writing of Vietnamese and English

- Help Vietnamese learners to be aware of the differences of various types of rhetorical devices

- Provide Vietnamese learners of English with the basic knowledge of the field so

as to help them take use of rhetorical devices into their works and use them in writing, listening, reading and speaking fluently and naturally

1.2.2 Objectives

The paper is intended to achieve the following objectives:

- Describe and identify some rhetorical types used in Vietnamese and English

- Describe and compare some rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese works

- Suggest some implications to aim to help learners overcome their difficulties in dealing with different types of rhetorical devices in English as well as in Vietnamese

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

The study attempts to seek answers to the following questions:

- What are the rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese?

- What are types of rhetorical devices and their usage in some writing?

- What are the similarities and differences between rhetorical devices in English and Vietnamese?

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

As this study is a B.A graduate paper, it focuses on the rhetorical devices in some famous writing in both languages: Vietnamese and English Specifically, we collected the data from English and Vietnamese literature including some familiar idioms in order to provide a clearer and more interesting picture of rhetorical devices in context Especially, the writer would like to pay attention to the effective use of rhetorical devices of some famous writers in English and Vietnamese

1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY

The thesis is organized into five chapters as follows:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature review and theoretical background

Chapter 3: Methodology and procedures

Chapter 4: Findings and discussion

Chapter 5: Conclusion and implications

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL

BACKGROUND

2.1 OVERVIEW

The prosperity of language in form and content not only brings the beauty of language but also deeply contributes to successful daily communications Every language in the world has a system of rhetorical devices that are used frequently in literature as well as

in daily conversation Rhetorical devices make color for language and carry a large amount of nationally or culturally specific information with them It can be said that these are interesting and popular phenomena of every language

Studying the rhetorical devices thoroughly and deeply can help learners be easier to approach and use them for the communication purposes as well as achieve the successful in their jobs Moreover, rhetorical devices contribute to expressing the unique and character of a culture Therefore, the studying and learning rhetorical devices in language are more and more important and popular There have been more and more research works in many languages

Besides, there are also some dissertations of Vietnamese learners about rhetorical

devices which deal with certain type of rhetorical devices such as ―A study on Metaphors of Love in English‖, by D.T.T Nhan (2012), B.A Thesis of Vinh

University, ―An Investigation into The Use of Stylistic Devices in English Newspaper Headlines‖, by Trần Huy Khánh (2010), Da Nang University, and so on

2.3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.3.1 General knowledge of literature

In this paper, we collect some famous writing in English and Vietnamese Literature and focus on the most effective use of rhetorical devices in these writers Therefore, in order to help readers comprehend thoroughly the usage of rhetorical devices in literature, we give a general knowledge of literature consisting of its qualities and importance as follows:

2.3.1.1 Qualities of Literature

Dictionary.com defines literature, in part, as follows:

“writing in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays”

That seems to make enough sense, and it represents a common definition of literature found in most dictionaries But as all dictionaries do, Dictionary.com goes on to offer more definitions, one of which is this:

―any kind of printed material, as circulars, leaflets, or handbills.”

From the definition of literature above, we can easily determine the qualities of literature The first significant thing is the essentially artistic quality of all literature All art is the expression of life in forms of truth and beauty; or rather, it is the reflection of some truth and beauty which are in the world, but which remain unnoticed until brought to our attention by some sensitive human soul, just as the delicate curves of the shell reflect sounds and harmonies too faint to be otherwise noticed A hundred men may pass a hayfield and see only the sweaty toil and the windrows of dried grass; but here is one who pauses by a Roumanian meadow, where girls are making hay and singing as they work

In the same pleasing, surprising way, all artistic work must be a kind of revelation Thus architecture is probably the oldest of the arts; yet we still have many builders but

few architects, that is, men whose work in wood or stone suggests some hidden truth and beauty to the human senses So in literature, which is the art that expresses life in words that appeal to our own sense of the beautiful, we have many writers but few artists In the broadest sense, perhaps, literature means simply the written records of the race, including all its history and sciences, as well as its poems and novels; in the narrower sense literature is the artistic record of life, and most of our writing is excluded from it, just as the mass of our buildings, mere shelters from storm and from cold, are excluded from architecture A history or a work of science may be and sometimes is literature, but only as we forget the subject-matter and the presentation of facts in the simple beauty of its expression

The second quality of literature is its suggestiveness, its appeal to our emotions and imagination rather than to our intellect It is not so much what it says as what it awakens in us that constitutes its charm When Milton makes Satan say, "Myself am Hell," he does not state any fact, but rather opens up in these three tremendous words a whole world of speculation and imagination When Faustus in the presence of Helen asks, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?" he does not state a fact or expect an answer He opens a door through which our imagination enters a new world,

a world of music, love, beauty, heroism, the whole splendid world of Greek literature

The third characteristic of literature, arising directly from the other two, is its permanence The world does not live by bread alone Notwithstanding its hurry and bustle and apparent absorption in material things, it does not willingly let any beautiful thing perish This is even more truth of its songs than of its painting and sculpture; though permanence is a quality we should hardly expect in the present deluge of books and magazines pouring day and night and to know him, the man of any age, we must search deeper than his history History records his deeds, his outward acts largely; but every great act springs from an ideal, and to understand this we must read his literature, where we find his ideals recorded When we read a history of the Anglo-Saxons, for instance, we learn that they were sea rovers, pirates, explorers, great eaters and drinkers; and we know something of their hovels and habits, and the lands which

they harried and plundered All that is interesting; but it does not tell us what most we want to know about these old ancestors of ours, not only what they did, but what they thought and felt; how they looked on life and death; what they loved, what they feared, and what they reverenced in God and man Then we turn from history to the literature which they themselves produced, and instantly we become acquainted These hardy people were not simply fighters and freebooters; they were men like ourselves; their emotions awaken instant response in the souls of their descendants At the words of their gleemen we thrill again to their wild love of freedom and the open sea; we grow tender at their love of home, and patriotic at their deathless loyalty to their chief, whom they chose for themselves and hoisted on their shields in symbol of his leadership Once more we grow respectful in the presence of pure womanhood, or melancholy before the sorrows and problems of life, or humbly confident, looking up

to the God whom they dared to call the Allfather All these and many more intensely real emotions pass through our souls as we read the few shining fragments of verses that the jealous ages have left us

It is so with any age or people To understand them we must read not simply their history, which records their deeds, but their literature, which records the dreams that made their deeds possible So Aristotle was profoundly right when he said that "poetry is more serious and philosophical than history"; and Goethe, when he explained literature as "the humanization of the whole world"

2.3.1.2 Importance of Literature

It is a curious and prevalent opinion that literature, like all art, is a mere play of imagination, pleasing enough, like a new novel, but without any serious or practical importance Nothing could be farther from the truth Literature preserves the ideals of a people; and ideals love, faith, duty, friendship, freedom, reverence are the part of human life most worthy of preservation The Greeks were a marvelous people; yet of all their mighty works we cherish only a few ideals, ideals of beauty in perishable stone, and ideals of truth in imperishable prose and poetry It was simply the ideals of the Greeks and Hebrews and Romans, preserved in their literature, which made them what

they were, and which determined their value to future generations Our democracy, the boast of all English-speaking nations, is a dream; not the doubtful and sometimes disheartening spectacle presented in our legislative halls, but the lovely and immortal ideal of a free and equal manhood, preserved as a most precious heritage in every great literature from the Greeks to the Anglo-Saxons All our arts, our sciences, even our inventions are founded squarely upon ideals; for under every invention is still the dream

of Beowulf, that man may overcome the forces of nature; and the foundation of all our

sciences and discoveries is the immortal dream that men "shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

In a word, our whole civilization, our freedom, our progress, our homes, our religion, rest solidly upon ideals for their foundation Nothing but an ideal ever endures upon earth It is therefore impossible to overestimate the practical importance of literature, which preserves these ideals from fathers to sons, while men, cities, governments, civilizations, vanish from the face of the earth It is only when we remember this that we appreciate the action of the devout Mussulman, who picks up and carefully preserves every scrap of paper on which words are written, because the scrap may perchance contain the name of Allah, and the ideal is too enormously important to be neglected or lost

Each language has its own Literature with different periods based on the differences of history For instance, English Literature is divided into eight Periods, from the Old English Literature of Anglo-Saxon to Modern Literature The study of Literature and its qualities and importance will help us to find out good writers and their works in term of rhetorical devices in order to illustrate the paper with precise examples in both

Vietnamese and English Literature

2.3.2 Language and culture relationship

So as to give a precise comparison between English and Vietnamese rhetorical devices, we must base on the characteristics of culture of each nation This part will

review background understanding of culture and the relation of culture and language

2.3.2.1 Concept of Culture

 A brief history of culture concept

Anthropology began as a specialized discipline in the 19th century within a theoretical school called evolutionism This approach was related to the dominant Darwinist and, more importantly, social Darwinist paradigms of the period Evolutionists proposed a developmental framework for recording and interpreting cultural variations around the world and understanding them in relation to contemporary Victorian standards Culture was reduced to separable traits, which were collected by travelers, traders, and missionaries and collated by "armchair anthropologists" in much the same way as natural specimens and fossils Grand catalogues of these items were used to chart the stages of the human cultural development under an assumption that some traits were representative of earlier or more "primitive" historical periods This view ultimately rested on a racial theory that these progressively arranged cultural differences were attributable to unequal genetic propensities and endowments among peoples

The theses of early anthropology are evident in Edward Tylor's 1871 work, Primitive Culture, which includes the first formal definition of culture:

Culture or Civilization, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society

The telling point of this definition is that, although labeled a whole, culture is actually treated as a list of elements In effect, culture traits were understood as representing one of a series of stages of mental and moral progress culminating in the rational society of industrializing England

Although most of these prejudices about non-Western peoples are still with us, anthropologists have thoroughly repudiated the 19th century approach as an expression

of racialism and ethnocentrism, the practice of interpreting and judging other cultures

by the values of one's own Franz Boas, an early 20th century anthropologist, was instrumental in this reversal of perspective and laid out the ground rules for the modern anthropological orientation of cultural relativism This approach rests on four major postulates, which directly confront the evolutionist position

Cultural aspects of human behavior are not biologically based or conditioned but are acquired solely through learning

Cultural conditioning of behavior is ultimately accomplished through habituation and thus acts through unconscious processes rather than rational deliberation, although secondary rationalizations are often offered to explain cultural values

All cultures are equally developed according to their own priorities and values; none is better, more advanced, or less primitive than any other

Cultural traits cannot be classified or interpreted according to universal categories appropriate to "human nature" They assume meaning only within the context of coherently interrelated elements internal to the particular culture under consideration

Cultural phenomena are socially constructed artifacts They are social facts in Durkheim‘s sense of being collectively created and shared They are neither natural nor individual phenomena Of course, being collective products does not mean they are democratically constructed Typically, small groups of powerful individuals greatly influence the form that cultural phenomena take

There are five main kinds of cultural phenomena:

a) Cultural activities such as producing goods, raising and educating children, making and enforcing policies and laws, providing medical care It is through these activities that humans survive and develop themselves They are basic to the ways in which individuals interact with objects, people, and even oneself

b) Cultural values, schemas, meanings, concepts People collectively endow things with meaning Youth, old age, man, woman, bodily features, wealth, nature, and time mean different things in different societies

c) Physical artifacts such as tools, books, paper, pottery, eating utensils, clocks, clothing, buildings, furniture, toys, games, weapons and technology which are collectively constructed

d) Psychological phenomena such as emotions, perception, motivation, logical reasoning, intelligence, memory, mental illness, imagination, language, and personality are collectively constructed and distributed

e) Agency Humans actively construct and reconstruct cultural phenomena This

"agency" is directed at constructing cultural phenomena and it is also influenced by existing cultural activities, values, artifacts, and psychology

2.3.2.2 The Relation of Language and Culture

Language is the verbal expression of culture Culture is the ideas, customs and beliefs

of a community with a distinct language containing semantics- everything a speaker can think about things as medium of communication For example, the Latin language has no word for the female friend of a man because the Roman culture could not image

a male and a female being equals, which they considered necessary for friendship Another example is that Eskimos have many different terms for snow There are nuances that make each one different Language and culture are not fundamentally inseparable At the most basic levels, language is a method of expressing ideas That

is, language, is a communication; while usually verbal, language can also be visual (via signs and symbols), or semiotics (via hands and body gestures) Culture, on the other hand, is a specific set of ideas, practices, customs and beliefs which make up a functioning society as distinct A culture must have at least one language, which is use

as distinct medium of communication to convey its defining ideas, customs, beliefs, et al., from one member of the culture to another member Culture can develop multiple language, or ―borrow‖ language from other cultures to use, not all such languages are co-equal in the culture One of the major defining characteristics of a culture is which

languages are the primary means of communication in that culture, sociologists and anthropologists draw lines between similar cultures heavily based on the prevalent language usage Languages, on the other hand, can be developed, or evolve, apart from its originating culture Certain languages have scope for cross-culture adaption and communication, and may not actually be part of any culture Additionally, many languages are used by different cultures (that is, the same language, can be used in different cultures) Language is heavily influenced by culture, as culture come up with new ideas, they develop language components to express those ideas The reserve is also true: the limits of a language can define what is expressible in a culture (that is, the limits of a language can prevent certain concepts from being a part of a culture.) Finally, languages are not solely defined by their developing culture(s) - most modern languages are amalgamations of other prior and current languages That is, most languages borrow words and phrases ("loan words") from other existing languages to describe new ideas and concept In fact, in the modern very-connected world, once one language manufactures a new word to describe something, there is a very strong tendency for other languages to "steal" that word directly, rather than manufacture a unique one itself The English language is a stellar example of a "thief" language - by some accounts, over 60% of the English language is of foreign origin (i.e those words were originally imported from another language) Conversely, English is currently the world's largest "donor" language, with vast quantities of English words being imported directly into virtually all other languages

2.3.3 Rhetorical devices

2.3.3.1 What is rhetoric?

According to Brendan McGuigan in ―Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook and Activities for Student Writers‖, [3], rhetoric is defined as follow: ―In reading, speaking or writing, rhetoric is a tool that enhances composition; its aim is to persuade, to inform,

to express a personal thought, or simply to entertain the readers.‖ Accordingly, what the former study of rhetoric allows us to do is isolate exactly what it is we have done

so that in the future we can do it again for a similar effect In accordance with Plato,

rhetoric is ―the art of winning the soul by discourse‖ Andrew King and Jim Kuypers said in ―The Art of Rhetorical Criticism‖, (2004), "The strategic use of communication, oral or written, to achieve specifiable goals." In a different way, Thomas B Farrell defined rhetoric as ―an acquired competency, a manner of thinking

that invents possibilities for persuasion, conviction, action, and judgments‖, The Norms of Rhetorical Culture, (1993) Another definition of rhetoric is of Michael E Eidenmuller, Voice of America Interview, (2011) In this study, he defined rhetoric as

―a rational study and artful practice of human symbol use (especially if not exclusively with words) when and where those symbols target identifiable communities of interest

to create, enhance, undermine, or otherwise influence human belief, attitude, emotion, judgment, behavior"

2.3.3.2 Definition of rhetorical devices

Rhetoric, the art of persuasive written or spoken discourse, was developed in ancient Greece, and every one of the terms below stems from classical Greek or from Latin, the language of the culture that inherited the Greek oratory legacy Not much different from rhetoric, rhetorical devices are very important in writing essay and for a speech They help to make the presentation be more interesting and attractive Especially, they play a significant part in idioms in expressing the meaning and entertaining the readers According to Wikipedia, rhetorical devices are defined as ― techniques that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal

of persuading him or her towards considering a topic from a different perspective, using sentences designed to encourage or provoke a rational argument from an emotional display of a given perspective or action Note that although rhetorical devices may be used to evoke an emotional response in the audience, this is not their primary purpose‖ Brendan McGuigan said in ―Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook and Activities for Student Writers‖, [3], rhetorical devices help to strengthen the paper Some of these devices are meant as transitional tools to help writers move seamlessly from one portion of an essay to another, while others are meant to help writers present their evidence or information as strongly as possible

In Vietnamese, on accordance with encyclopedia dictionary, rhetorical devices are defined as ―the ways to use language instruments to aim to achieve expressing effect: interesting, beautiful, expressive and attractive‖ Accordingly, depending on the combination of linguistic instruments, rhetorical devices are divided into four parts: phonetic rhetorical devices, lexical- semantics rhetorical devices, syntactic rhetorical devices and text rhetorical devices

2.3.3.3 Types of rhetorical devices

There are about 50 rhetorical devices that are usually used in English and Vietnamese

In this paper, we list 50 rhetorical devices in writing with definitions and examples as the followings:

 Alliteration- the recurrence of initial consonant sounds- rubber baby buggy bumpers

 Allusion- a reference to an event, literary work or person- I cannot do that because

 Antanagoge- places a criticism and compliment together to lessen the impact- The car is not pretty but it runs great

 Antimetabole- repeats words or phrases in reverse order-―Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country.‖(J F Kennedy)

 Antiphrasis- uses a word with an opposite meaning- The Chihuahua was named Goliath

 Antithesis- makes a connection between two things that are contrastive- ―That‘s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind‖(Neil Armstrong)

 Antistrophe- Repetition of a word or phrase at the close of successive clause- You said he was late-true enough You said he was not prepared-true enough You said

he did not defend his statement- true enough

 Apophasis- Calling attention to something by dismissing it-No one would suggest that those who are homeless elected to live on the streets willingly

 Aporia- A statement of hesitation, also known as dubitation, in which characters express to themselves an actual or feigned doubt or dilemma- Should I strike now,

 Bomphiologia- Excessive braggadocio-I am the very model of a modern general I‘ve information vegetable, animal, and mineral.

major- Brachyology- An abbreviated expression or telegrammatic statement-I have three words for you, buddy: pot, kettle, black

 Cacophony- Deliberate use of harsh letter sounds-The clash and clang of steel jarred him awake

 Catachresis- A hyperbolic metaphor, as in ―Each word was a lightning bolt to his heart.‖

 Chiasmus- the reversal of grammatical order from one phrase to the next, exemplified in these two well-known quotes about evaluation-Judge not, lest ye be judged‖ and ―A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others

 Commoratio- Repetition of a point with different wording-He‘s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! He‘s expired and gone to meet his maker!

 Dehortatio- Imperative advice about how not to act- Do not look a gift horse in the mouth

 Diacope- Repetition of one or more words after the interval of one or more other words- People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like

 Diatyposis- Advice- Do unto others as you would have others do unto you

 Distinctio- A definition or clarification of a term- What we will be seeking will

be large, stable communities of like-minded people, which is to say relatives

 Epanalepsis- repeats something from the beginning of a sentence at the end - My ears heard what you said but I couldn‘t believe my ears

 Epistrophe- The repetition of a word at the end of each phrase or clause- I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

 Epizeuxis- also called palilogia, refers to nothing more than the repetition of

words- To my fifteen-year-old daughter, everything is ‗boring, boring, boring!

 Hendiadys- A conjunctive rather than a coordinate phrase- I made it nice and hot,

just the way you like it

 Hyperbaton-Excursion from natural word ordered in various ways- Theirs was a

glory unsurpassed

 Hysteron- proteron- A reversal of logical order of elements in a phrase- Sudden

thunder and lightning drove them to shelter

 Litotes- the strategy of understatement often employed to provide subtle emphasis, frequently for ironic effect or to underline a passionate opinion- The assassin was not unacquainted with danger

 Meiosis- A dismissive epithet, such as treehugger, or a humorously dismissive understatement- It‘s just a flesh wound!

 Metanoia- The qualification of a statement to either diminish or strengthen its tone- She was disturbed — make that appalled — by the spectacle

 Paronomasia- Punning wordplay, including any of many types, including homophonic or homographic puns- You can tune a guitar, but you can‘t tuna fish Unless of course, you play bass

 Pleonasm- Redundancy for emphasis- We heard it with our own ears

 Polyptoton- Repetition of two or more forms of a word; also known as paregmenon- You try to forget, and in the forgetting, you are yourself forgotten

 Polysyndeton- Insertion of conjunctions before each word in a list- My fellow students read and studied and wrote and passed I laughed and played and talked and failed

 Scesis Onomaton- Repetition of an idea using synonymous words or phrases- We succeeded, won, and walked away victorious

 Sententia- The punctuation of a point with an aphorism such as ―Don‘t judge a book by its cover.‖

 Sentential Adverbs- single words or brief phrases emphasize the thought they

precede, interrupt, or — rarely — follow Examples include however, naturally, no doubt, and of course — and, in informal writing, phrases such as ―you see‖

 Syllepsis- Divergent use of a word in two phrases- We must all hang together or assuredly we will all hang separately

 Symploce- A combination of anaphora and epistrophe- To think clearly and rationally should be a major goal for man; but to think clearly and rationally is

always the greatest difficulty faced by man

 Synathroesmus- A series of adjectives, also known as accumulatio, compiled often

in the service of criticism- You‘re the most arrogant, selfish, self-absorbed,

insufferable narcissist I‘ve ever met

 Synecdoche- Substitution of a part or a substance for a whole, one thing for another, or a specific name used for a generic- A hundred head of cattle were

scattered throughout the field

 Tapinosis- Invective- Get out of my way, you mouth-breathing cretin

 Tricolon- A series of three parallel words, phrases, clauses, or statements- Tell me

and I forget Teach me and I remember Involve me and I learn

2.3.3.4 The four aims of rhetoric

In accordance with Brendan McGuigan in the book ―Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook and Activities for Student Writers‖, 2008, he mentioned to the four aims of rhetoric specifically: to persuade, to inform, to express and to entertain

 The first aim: to persuade

Persuasion is one of the oldest, and perhaps the most recognized, uses of rhetoric Because of the way in which many rhetorical devices affect readers, you are offered an opportunity to subtly guide their respective in ways often barred in a direct approach

By arousing an emotional response, evoking powerful imagery, or calling upon reputable authorities, rhetoric gives you a great deal of power with which to communicate your messages

It is no coincidence that the two groups who use rhetoric the most are also the two groups the most interested in persuading others: politicians and lawyers Look at almost any political speech written in the past few hundred years, and you‘ll find many clever uses of rhetoric, for a good lawyer or political wields rhetoric like a surgeon wields a scalpel‖ with education, with confidence and with precision

Many of rhetorical devices covered in this thesis are used to persuade a reader Some, such as an exemplum (citing examples) come naturally when crafting an argument, while others, such as sentential (quoting wise sayings) build from this common-sense approach and help to bolster your credibility In a larger sense, nearly every rhetorical

device can be seen as a way of helping to persuade, by improving style, by entertaining the readers, and by organizing thoughts, rhetorical devices can make an argument stronger and more convincing

 The second aim: to inform

While rhetoric may not be visible in its informative use as it is when being used to persuade, it still serve a vital function If you look at writing that has helped you learn about something, or if you focus on specific teacher‘s method during class, you will likely come across many of the devices outline in this paper Similarly, you undoubtedly use tools of rhetoric when you are teaching others or trying to explain a concept to someone else We have all used the metaphor to make a difficult concept a bit more accessible, and there are many other devices that come just as naturally when trying to inform

 The third aim: to express

Essays written to express tend to be much less former than those meant to inform, although the goal is similar You will often be asked to express your personal thoughts

on something- in a college entrance essay, for example Using rhetorical devices can ensure that your ideas shine

While you don‘t need to actually convince your readers of your ideas when writing an essay to express, you do need to persuade them that your ideas are worth reading Your style of writing will play a large part in doing this, and using rhetorical devices concerned with style will help draw in your readers The way in which you structure your essay is also important when writing to express yourself Express essays run the risk of coming across as rambling and incoherent, but by using established rhetorical forms, you can build your ideas on a solid structure A mastery of rhetoric can help turn express essays into gems of writing that others will be excited to read

 The fourth aim: to entertain

In addition to the three purposes already mentioned, you may write something with the primary intent of entertaining of your readers

Sweeping your readers away in your story or essay is often viewed as some sort of innate ability We often talk about the ―gift‖ when it comes to writing to entertain, even while accepting that other forms of essays can be taught In truth, writing to entertain is not different Good writers use rhetoric devices to pull their readers in, to make them laugh, and to make them cry While it is undoubtedly true that some great writers use rhetoric without a conscious understanding of what they‘re doing, most writers have study these forms and know quite well what they‘re writing

Writing to entertain is fundamentally about taking your readers where you want them

to go For a well-trained writer, any subject should be able to provoke a determined response in a reader The main difference between a tragedy about war (For Whom The Bell Tolls) and a dark comedy about war (Catch-22) is its presentation By using a certain set of rhetorical devices in one way, a story can be dark and moving, but by using them in a different way, the same story can be transformed into a comedy Told in a third way, the story might switch the reader‘s emotion back and forth between sadness and laughter

pre-Entertainment is a valuable weapon in your arsenal to educate, to persuade, or to express yourself Rarely will you be called upon to write an essay or prose fiction where entertainment will not help your cause

Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 METHOD DESIGN

In order to complete this paper, we had to study and design a method to meet the aims and objectives given out in Chapter 1 This means, we had to collect all of the rhetorical devices in both Vietnamese and English and related data from many sources and treat them in different ways and at various times so as to achieve this purpose We have collected and analyzed the data to find out the differences and similarities in the ways of using rhetorical devices in Vietnamese and English This study makes use of contrastive analysis in qualitative and quantitative approaches More than 50 types of rhetorical devices are collected for qualitative and quantitative analysis Contrastive method helps us to set up the similarities and differences in the usage of rhetorical devices in the daily conversations as well as pieces of writing in Vietnamese and English

Besides, descriptive research and contrastive research are chosen as the general methodology of the study Descriptive research helps to describe and demonstrate rhetorical devices and the features of rhetorical devices in two languages Typical examples and specific analysis of classification of rhetorical devices will be presented Using the contrastive research, we aim to find out the similarities and differences in the usage basing on the culture of rhetorical devices in Vietnamese and English In addition, statistical and observation methods are also applied to draw out necessary finds

3.2 RESEARCH PROCEDURE

This research is carried out through the following steps:

(1) Collecting English and Vietnamese rhetorical devices from dictionaries, books and previous researchers to reference and relevant materials, finding examples which they are used

(2) Collecting the data and related documents in order to implement the research process smoothly and on schedule

(3) Using the viewpoint of Brendan McGuigan of rhetorical devices to describe, analyze and illustrate rhetorical devices using in famous writing of English and Vietnamese authors

(4) Finding and making a comparison and contrast between the usage and features

of popular types of rhetorical in English and Vietnamese

(5) Suggesting possible ways of learning and teaching rhetorical devices for English and Vietnamese learners

3.3 SUMMARY

In some short words, deeply understanding and thorough preparation of research methodology will help us so much to study the paper smoothly and effectively Moreover, it can help us to avoid the problems encountered in the process of the research and prepare for some bad situations that may happen to find out the solution timely and effectively Therefore, this is a significantly important step in the procedure

of researching any thesis, a scientifically method of professional researchers

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

4.1 THE MOST POPULAR RHETORICAL DEVICES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

There have been so many rhetorical devices in both English and Vietnamese Estimated, there are more than fifty rhetorical devices in English and the equivalent number in Vietnamese The following are the most popular and useful rhetorical devices in both English and Vietnamese collected from some famous writings in English and Vietnamese literature as well as some familiar idioms of English and Vietnamese

4.1.1 Metaphor

One of the most useful and versatile rhetorical devices is the metaphor A metaphor connects one subject with another that is not obviously related When used correctly, it allows the writers to do this in a way that is both stylistically pleasing and concise Metaphor is the correlation and similarity This means, to replace this concept for another one, on the basis of implicit comparison, but the compared clause and the comparative conjunction are eliminated According to Oxford dictionary, metaphor is

a figure of speech, in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which,

it is not literally applicable

In the following sentences, ―thuyền‖ and ―bến‖ are used to imply a man and a woman who love each other:

―thuyền về có nhớ bến không?

Bến thì một dạ khăng khăng đợi thuyền.‖

(Vietnamese folk-songs)

In these sentences, ―thuyền‖ is a thing that is always movable on the waterways while

―bến‖ is a fixed thing on the waterways Therefore, ―thuyền‖ arouses an image of the man at that time that has to work away from home to earn living; ―bến‖ here evokes the woman faithfully waiting for her darling at home In English, metaphor links two unrelated things that are not normally linked This link does not create an open, or simple, comparison Instead, it creates the hidden one where you are saying something

is equal to something else, even though the two are clearly not the same things Consider the following sentences:

―Her presence is the shinning rays of the summer sunshine caressing my face‖

(Sự hiện diện của cô ấy là tia nắng lấp lánh của mùa hè âu yếm khuôn mặt tôi‖

Metaphor is a classical portray, which can be constantly found in linguistics However, the way of using metaphor can be misused if the authors give a confused metaphor, which is referred to as mixing metaphor Using metaphor in this ways can cause the readers a great deal of confusion or hilarity, which does not serve the subject At the very least, it can break the flow of a good metaphor by introducing an impossible image that your reader can not correctly visualize For example, "You're sailing a bit close to the bone", of Joh Bjelke Petersen Can you understand the sentence clearly?

Of course, it is not easy to comprehend the implicit meaning that the author wants to transfer because ―bone‖ here is not logical and similar with the death

In Vietnamese and English idioms, there are some ones using metaphor to express and emphasize the ideas

Let us consider this Vietnamese idiom: ―Gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì rạng‖, which is similar with ―who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl ―, an English idiom Literally, ―mực‖ is a kind of ink which is black and liquid, usually used to write in Vietnamese Feudal period When using this ink, we are easily to be stained black Similarly, ―đèn‖ (lamp) has the lights that can radiate a large area In this idiom,

―mực‖ implies bed things, or bad environments that may negatively influence our behaviors and characteristics In contrast, ―đèn‖ refers to good things and good people that may create positive effects to surrounding environment By effectively using

metaphor to compare the two things that are similar, this idiom is a typical example of metaphor in idioms It means that, if you make friend and have a close-knit friendship with a bad person, you will gradually become a bad one as well On the other hand, if you have a good friend with good characteristics such as kind, generous or helpful, you may learn these good things from this friend This idiom has a really useful meaning It gives us a right advice on how a good friend benefits us as well as the necessary of avoiding malevolent people

Another is example of metaphor in idiom is ―Man best friend‖ This idiom is understood in different ways in different countries and different cultures However, its original and popular meaning is to refer the dog In America, dogs are the most favorite pet According to the American Kennel Club, there are more pet dogs in the USA than there are people in Britain So, why do people here say that "A man's best friend is his dog‖? A best friend is the one who are always with us whenever we need help When we are sad, when we are bankrupt, and when we are ill, a best friend will not mind pouring rain or scorching sun, they will come to us A best friend always listens to us; just listen carefully when we need sharing sorrows or happiness Dogs have all of these characteristics They are always with us They are the most loyal friends Even when everyone left us alone, they are still by our side Therefore, in this idiom, a ―best friend‖ is used to imply the dog, because of their similar characters above By using metaphor, this idiom praises the good characters of the dog: loyalty and bravery

Metaphor is used to convey the truth to the readers or listeners to help the person receiving the information to be enlightened in a succinct manner Let us consider this idiom: ―Rồng đến nhà tôm‖ ―Rồng‖ (dragon) is considered as a symbol of prosperity and luxury in accordance with Oriental conception ―Tôm‖, on the contrary, symbolizes for poverty and humbleness In this case, ―rồng‖ is understood as a well-off friend and ―tôm‖ implies a poor friend Vietnamese people usually use this idiom when their friends visit their house In some case, this idiom is used with ironical