NGUYỄN HẢI THU VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Nguyễn Hải Thu ENGLISH LANGUAGE A STUDY OF IDIOMS DENOTING SPEED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FROM SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSE: 2016 – 2018 HANOI, 2018 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Nguyễn Hải Thu A STUDY OF IDIOMS DENOTING SPEED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FROM SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Hoàng Tuyết Minh HANOI, 2018 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A study of idioms denoting speed in English and Vietnamese from socio-cultural perspective submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Linguistics Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Author’s Signature Nguyên Hải Thu Approved by SUPERVISOR Assoc Prof Dr Hoàng Tuyết Minh Date:………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ms Hoang Tuyet Minh, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the steps of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise and suggestions have inspired me greatly via my growth as an academic researcher A special word of thanks goes to my best friends and my colleagues, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my husband for their sacrifice contributing to the fulfillment of this academic work ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page number Declaration by Author i Acknowledgements ii Abstract vii List of Abbreviations viii List of tables ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the Study 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Methodology 1.6.1 Research Methods 1.6.2 Research Procedure 1.6.3 Data Collection 1.6.4 Data Analysis 1.7 Structure of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous Studies 2.2 Theoretical Background 10 2.2.1 Definitions of Idioms 11 2.2.2 Syntactic Features of Idioms 14 2.2.3 Semantic Features of Idioms 17 2.2.3.1 Metaphor 14 2.2.3.2 Simile 15 iii 2.2.3.3 Hyperbole 16 2.3 Idioms Denoting Speed 21 2.3.1 Speed and Speed-related Concepts 22 2.3.2 Idioms Denoting Speed 23 2.4 Socio-culture 23 2.4.1 Definitions 23 2.4.2 Factors and Influences 24 2.4.3 In relation to language 27 2.5 Summary 30 CHAPTER 3: SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF IDIOMS 31 DENOTING SPEED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE 3.1 Syntactic Features of Idioms Denoting Speed in English and 31 Vietnamese in term of Phrase Structures 3.1.1 Idioms Denoting Speed with Noun Structures 31 3.1.2 Idioms Denoting Speed with Verb Phrase Structures 31 3.1.3 Idioms Denoting Speed with Adjective Phrase 33 Structures 3.1.4 Idioms Denoting Speed with Prepositional Phrase 33 Structures 3.1.5 Idioms Denoting Speed with Adverb Phrase Structures 3.2 Idioms Denoting Speed with other Structures 34 34 3.2.1 Idioms Denoting Speed with Parallel Structures 34 3.2.2 Idioms Denoting Speed with Comparative Structures 36 3.3 Comparison between Idioms Denoting Speed in English and 39 Vietnamese in terms of Syntactic Features 3.4 Summary 42 iv CHAPTER 4: SEMANTIC FEATURES OF IDIOMS 43 DENOTING SPEED IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE 4.1 Meanings of Speed and Speed-related Concepts 4.1.1 Idioms Denoting Speed Express Quickness in English 43 43 and Vietnamese 4.1.2 Idioms Denoting Speed Express Slowness in English 46 and Vietnamese 4.2 Figurative Meaning of Idioms Denoting Speed in English and 48 Vietnamese 4.2.1 Metaphor 48 4.2.2 Hyperbole 49 4.2.3 Simile 50 4.3 Comparison between Idioms Denoting Speed in English and 52 Vietnamese in terms of Semantic Features 4.4 Summary 55 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 56 5.1 Recapitulation 56 5.2 Concluding Remarks 57 5.3 Implications 58 5.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies 59 REFERENCES 61 APPENDIX A CORPUS OF IDIOMS DENOTING SPEED IN I ENGLISH APPENDIX A CORPUS OF IDIOMS DENOTING SPEED IN VIETNAMESE v IX ABSTRACT This paper is one of very few researches in the world that studies semantic and syntactic features of English and Vietnamese idioms denoting speed from socio-cultural perspective Both qualitative and quantitative analysis were used to study 180 idioms in English and 180 idioms in Vietnamese together with numerous numbers of examples taken out from 70 linguistics books, 30 dictionaries, 22 short stories and 15 Internet sources The methods show that idioms denoting speed have some similarities and differences in terms of syntactic features and semantic features from a sociocultural perspective This paper also gives the implications for the teaching and learning of idioms as well as for further studies vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Adj : Adjective Adv : Adverbial AdvP : Adverb Phrase AP : Adjective Phrase Art : Article C : Complement e.g : For example N : Noun NP : Noun Phrase Num : Numeral O : Object Prep : Preposition PP : Prepositional Phrase V : Verb VP : Verb Phrase etc : et cetera vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Contrast cultural features of Vietnam and Britain 24 Table 3.1: Statistical Summary of Syntactic Features of English and 38 Vietnamese Idioms Denoting Speed Table 4.1: Frequency of Semantic Fields of English and Vietnamese 51 Idioms Denoting Speed Table 4.2: Frequency of Figurative Meaning in English and 52 Vietnamese Idioms Denoting Speed viii 24 be slow off the mark 25 beat a retreat 26 beat a hasty retreat 27 beat someone to it 28 beat someone to the draw 29 before you know it 30 break the record 31 bright and breezy 32 burn rubber C 33 cast the first stone 34 change gear 35 come to a grinding halt 36 coin money 37 cover the ground 38 creep up on 39 cut and run D 40 something at your own pace 41 drag your ass 42 drag your tail 43 drag your feet 44 drag your heels 45 drop like flies E 46 eat and run F II 47 fast and furious 48 fast track 49 force the pace 50 full speed ahead 51 full steam ahead G 52 get your skates on 53 get a move on 54 get cracking 55 get rolling 56 get speed up 57 get the drop on 58 get the lead out 59 get the lead out of your feet 60 get up steam 61 go great guns 62 go hell for leather 63 go like a bomb 64 go through the roof 65 grind to a halt H 66 hand over fist 67 have a mind like a steel trap 68 have a quick temper 69 have the legs of 70 hell for leather 71 have it away on your toes III 72 hightail it 73 hit the ground running 74 hold your horses 75 hotfoot it 76 hurry up and wait 77 hustle your butt I 78 in a flash 79 in a second 80 in full flight 81 in high gear 82 in leaps and bounds 83 in no time 84 in one breath 85 in short order 86 in the twinkling of an eye 87 in two shakes 88 in two shakes of a lamb’s tail J 89 jump at the bait 90 jump at the chance 91 jump to it 92 just my speed L 93 let something rip 94 light years ahead 95 like a bat out of hell IV 96 like a blue streak 97 like a dose of salts 98 like a fire under someone 99 like a house on fire 100 like a house on fire 101 like a scalded cat 102 like a shot 103 like blazes 104 like greased lightning 105 like lightning 106 like the clappers 107 like the wind 108 like wildfire 109 look lively 110 look sharp 111 lose money hand over fist M 112 mad rush 113 make a fast buck 114 make a killing 115 make great strides 116 make haste 117 make it snappy 118 make light work of 119 make money hand over fist 120 make very good time 121 make short work of V 122 make time 123 make tracks 124 mile a minute 125 mind like a steel trap N 126 nineteen to the dozen 127 not the full shilling O 128 on the bounce 129 on the double 130 on the fly 131 on the jump 132 on the move 133 on the run 134 off like a shot 135 open something up P 136 pick up speed 137 pour it on 138 pressed for time 139 put the pedal to the metal Q 140 quick as a bunny 141 quick as a dog can lick a dish 142 quick as a flash 143 quick as a wink 144 quick off the mark VI 145 quick on the draw R 146 race against time 147 rattle your drags 148 run away with 149 run off with 150 run for it 151 run for your life S 152 sell like hot cakes 153 shoot from the hip 154 slick as a whistle 155 slow burn 156 slow but sure 157 slow on the uptake 158 snail’s pace 159 snap back 160 snap decision 161 snap judgment 162 snap something up 163 snap to it 164 speed ahead 165 speed up 166 spread like wildfire 167 step on it 168 step on the gas 169 stick to your guns 170 sweep someone off their feet VII 171 swift and sure T 172 take a powder 173 take it slow 174 take your time 175 the jig time 176 thick and fast 177 think on your feet 178 throw something together W 179 way off the mark 180 with lighting speed VIII APPENDIX A CORPUS OF IDIOMS DENOTING SPEED IN VIETNAMESE (180 Idioms) A Ăn chèo thuyền Ăn gấu ăn trăng Ăn gió Ăn hà bá đánh vực Ăn hùm đổ Ăn mèo Ăn rồng Ăn tằm ăn rỗi Ăn thần trùng 10 Ăn thuồng luồng 11 Ăn vụng chớp B 12 Ba chân bốn cẳng 13 Ba chân tám cẳng 14 Ba chớp ba nhoáng 15 Bán đổ bán tháo 16 Bán tống bán táng 17 Bán tống bán tháo 18 Bạt gió long đất 19 Bạt phong long địa 20 Bắt chân lên cổ 21 Bò thấy nhà táng 22 Bổ nháo bổ nhào IX 23 Bổ sấp bổ ngửa 24 Bơ bãi bà vãi lên chùa 25 Bước thấp bước cao C 26 Cẳng vác lên vai 27 Cắp đít mà chạy 28 Chạy 29 Chạy bán sống bán chết 30 Chạy bạt mạng 31 Chạy bở tai 32 Chạy cắm đầu cắm cổ 33 Chạy có cờ 34 Chạy cong 35 Chạy cờ 36 Chạy chết chạy sống 37 Chạy lỗ tai 38 Chạy nhanh gió 39 Chạy nhanh ngựa 40 Chạy nháo chạy nhào 41 Chạy bay 42 Chạy chạy loạn 43 Chạy chạy nợ 44 Chạy chó dái 45 Chạy chó phải pháo 46 Chạy chuột 47 Chạy thoi 48 Chạy cờ lông công X 49 Chạy điên 50 Chạy ma đuổi 51 Chạy mắc cửi 52 Chạy ngựa 53 Chạy ngựa vía 54 Chạy rùa 55 Chạy vịt 56 Chạy chạy tháo 57 Chạy 58 Chạy thục thân 59 Chạy tóe khói 60 Chạy trối chết 61 Chạy vắt chân lên cổ 62 Chạy vắt giò lên cổ 63 Chạy xiên chạy quàng 64 Chảy nước 65 Chảy thác 66 Chảy thác đổ 67 Chảy tháo cống 68 Chậm miệng khoan chân 69 Chậm mồm chậm miệng 70 Chậm rùa 71 Chậm sên 72 Chân le chân vịt 73 Chân trước chân sau 74 Chớp nháo đổ nhào 75 Chớp nhống đảo nhồng XI D 76 Dềnh dàng quan viên tế 77 Diều gặp gió 78 Dội sấm sét Đ 79 Đánh trời giáng hụt 80 Đi mây gió 81 Đi bay 82 Đi ma đuổi 83 Đủng đỉnh chĩnh trôi song G 84 Giở mặt bàn tay 85 Giục giục tà 86 Giục sơi bong bóng K 87 Kể khoan kể nhặt 88 Khoái mã truy phong 89 Kíp miệng chày chân L 90 Lạch bạch vịt bầu 91 Lanh chanh hành không muối 92 Lanh quạ 93 Lao bay 94 Lao tên bắn 95 Lẩn chạch 96 Lẩn ma 97 Lần xẩm XII 98 Lật đật ma vật ống vải 99 Lật đật quai sa vật vải 100 Lật đật sa vật ống vải 101 Lật lọng trở bàn tay 102 Lẹ thoi 103 Lên diều 104 Lên diều gió 105 Lên diều gặp gió 106 Lò dò cò ăn đêm 107 Lò dò cò bắt tép 108 Lò dò cò phải bão 109 Loanh quanh thầy bói dọn cưới 110 Lờ đờ chuột bị khói 111 Lờ đờ đom đóm đực 112 Lờ đờ gà ban hôm 113 Lờ đờ ma ngày 114 Lớn nhanh thổi 115 Lù rù chuột phải khói 116 Lụ khụ ơng cụ bảy mươi 117 Lủi nhanh cuốc 118 Lủi cuốc 119 Lủi chạch 120 Lừ đừ ông từ vào đền M 121 Mau miệng ăn, thưa miệng nói 122 Mau mồm mau miệng 123 Mau tay hay làm XIII 124 Mắt nhắm mắt mở 125 Miệng nói chân 126 Miệng nói tay làm 127 Mưa đổ nước 128 Mưa trút 129 Mưa trút nước 130 Mưa xối nước N 131 Ngoảnh ngoảnh lại 132 Ngồi chưa nóng đít 133 Ngốn bò ngốn rơm 134 Ngốn xa cán ngốn bơng 135 Nhanh nhảu đoảng 136 Nhanh ăn cướp 137 Nhanh bay 138 Nhanh biến 139 Nhanh cắt 140 Nhanh chảo chớp 141 Nhanh chớp 142 Nhanh điện 143 Nhanh gió 144 Nhanh hươu vượt đồng nội 145 Nhanh máy 146 Nhanh mũi tên 147 Nhanh ngựa chạy trạm 148 Nhanh sóc 149 Nhanh tên bắn XIV 150 Nhanh tên lửa 151 Nhanh thỏ 152 Nhanh thổi 153 Nhanh thuế vụ 154 Nhởn nhơ phường chèo 155 Như cờ lông công 156 Như diều gió 157 Như diều gặp gió 158 Như ngồi phải lửa 159 Như nhà trò giữ dịp 160 Như tằm ăn rỗi 161 Như vết dầu loang 162 Như xẩm sờ gậy P 163 Phi bay 164 Phóng bay Q 165 Quàng chân lên cổ R 166 Rờ xẩm T 167 Tay năm tay mười 168 Tất bật nhà có đám 169 Tất tưởi nợ đuổi sau lưng 170 Thay đổi chong chóng 171 Thất thểu cò phải bão 172 Thúc thúc tà XV 173 Tốc chiến tốc 174 Tốc chiến tốc thắng 175 Trốn chạch 176 Trốn chuột 177 Trở mặt trở bàn tay 178 Trục nhật truy phong V 179 Vắt chân lên cổ X 180 Xuất quỷ nhập thần XVI ... syntactic and semantic features of idioms denoting speed in English and Vietnamese? - What are the similarities and differences between idioms denoting speed in English and Vietnamese in terms of. .. syntactic and semantic features of idioms denoting speed in English and Vietnamese in the hope that the result can help Vietnamese Learners of English improve their understanding of idioms and apply... implications for efficiently teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam in general, and teaching and learning idioms denoting speed in particular 1.6 Methodology 1.6.1 Research