MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY HOÀNG THỊ THANH TÂM A STUDY ON THE ADJECTIVE GROUP DENOTING THE BEAUTY IN ENGLISH WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE ( BASED ON THE BILINGUAL NOVEL “ THE THORN BIRD‟) NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC TÍNH TỪ MIÊU TẢ VẺ ĐẸP TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ CÁC TƢƠNG ĐƢƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT ( DỰA TRÊN TÁC PHẨM ― TIẾNG CHIM HÓT TRONG BỤI MẬN GAI‖) M.A THESIS Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Hanoi, 2018 i MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS A STUDY ON THE ADJECTIVE GROUP DENOTING THE BEAUTY IN ENGLISH WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE ( BASED ON THE BILINGUAL NOVEL “ THE THORN BIRD‟) NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC TÍNH TỪ MIÊU TẢ VẺ ĐẸP TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ CÁC TƢƠNG ĐƢƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT ( DỰA TRÊN TÁC PHẨM ― TIẾNG CHIM HĨT TRONG BỤI MẬN GAI‖) HỒNG THỊ THANH TÂM Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Phan Văn Quế Hanoi, 2018 ii CIRTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award, the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; and ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed Hanoi, 2018 Approved by Hoàng Thị Thanh Tâm SUPERVISOR Assoc Prof Dr Phan Văn Quế Date: …………………………… iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to my family for their love, sharing and support Without their understanding of the sacrifices throughout these arduous years at Hanoi Open University, I would not have had the courage to accomplish this study Thank you so much The efforts, guidance, and support of my supervisor was immensely helpful and encouraging me much Assoc Prof Dr Phan Văn Quế was tireless, brave, thorough, and accommodating I acknowledge the works and the lectures of lecturers at Hanoi Open University Through your constructive criticisms, excellent methodological reviews, and insistence on the rubric, these distinguished university members influenced the quality of this graduation thesis positively My appreciation goes to reviewers/inspectors for their excellent works on editing and ensuring that this work met the high standard of Hanoi Open University iv ABSTRACT The features of adjective groups has been one of the big concern for learners of linguistics as well as the researchers especially translators who are interested in masterpieces such as ―The Thorn Bird‖ by Colleen McCullough Some studies have been conducted on the similarities and differences of adjective and adjective groups in English and their Vietnamese equivalents but never before has a study on English adjective groups denoting beauty of a specific novel been done This study aims to research on the syntactic and semantic features of English group denoting beauty and their Vietnamese equivalents of the novel ―The Thorn Bird‖ by Colleen McCullough The preliminary results of the study show that there are some similarities and differences in the syntactic and semantic features of English adjective group denoting beauty and their Vietnamese equivalents The conclusion can also be drawn that better ways to teach and learn English Australian literature through understanding about English adjective and adjective phrases can be found and applied into the class lessons Following the brief introduction of the novel and English adjective , some findings will also be presented v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: APDP as Noun Phrase Modifiers and Their Vietnamese Equivalents…………………………………………………………………… 36 Table 2: APDP as predicate adjective and Their Vietnamese……………37 Table 3: APDP as Objective Complement and Their Vietnamese Equivalents…………………………………………………………………… 38 Table 4 List of adjectives used to denote beauty in the ―Thorn Bird‖… 49 vi TABLE OF CONTENT CIRTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Methods of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Design of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous studies 2.2 Theoretical background 2.2.1 English Syntax 2.2.1.1 Sentence and clause 2.2.1.2 Canonical and non-canonimalclause 2.2.1.3 Initial listening of the parts of speech 2.2.1.4 Phrases 2.2.1.5 The structure of canonical clause 2.2.1.5.1 Subject and Predicate 2.2.1.5.2 Predicators, Complements and Adjuncts 2.2.1.5.3 Object and Predicative Complement 10 2.2.1.5.4 Direct and Indirect Object 11 2.2.1.5.5 Subjective and Objective Predicative Complement 11 vii 2.2.1.5.6 Five Canonical Clause Structure 11 2.2.1.5.7 Prepositional and Clausal Complements 12 2.2.2 English Semantics 13 2.2.2.1 Defination 13 2.2.2.2 What is the meaning? 14 2.2.2.3 Words and meaning 15 2.2.2.4 Sense and Referent 16 2.2.2.5 Reference 16 2.2.2.6 Speaker's meaning and Semantic meaning 19 2.2.2.7 Different aspects of meaning of a word 21 2.2.3 Enlish adjective 21 2.2.3.1 What is an adjective? 21 2.2.3.2 Semantic features of English adjectives 22 2.2.3.2.1 Stative and dynamic adjectives 23 2.2.3.2.2 Gradable and non- gradable adjectives 23 2.2.3.2.3 Inherent and non- inherent 24 2.2.3.3 Syntactic functions of English adjectives 27 2.2.3.3.1 Attributive adjective 27 2.2.3.3.2 Predicative adjectives 29 2.2.3.3.3 Adjectives function as head of a noun phrase 31 2.2.3.3.3.1 Well- known groups 31 2.2.3.3.3.2 Adjectives referring to abstract ideas 32 2.2.3.3.3.3 Supplementative adjective clauses 33 2.2.3.3.3.4 Exclamatory adjective sentence 35 2.2.4 Adjectives denoting “ Beauty” 2.2.4.1 Defining ―Beauty‖ 36 36 viii 2.2.4.2 Adjectives denoting ― Beauty‖ in English 37 2.2.5 Introduction of the " Thorn Bird" 38 2.2.6 Summary of the chapter 43 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 45 3.1 Research design and methodology 45 3.1.1 Research Design 45 3.1.2 Method 46 3.2 Research procedures 48 3.3 Data Analysis 49 3.4 Summary of the chapter 50 Chapter 4: FINDINGS and DISCUSSION 51 4.1 Syntactic features of adjective group denoting beauty of the Thorn Bird in English and their Vietnamese equivalents 51 4.1.1 Adjective/ Adjective phrases as Noun Phrase Modifiers 51 4.1.2 Adjective/ Adjective phrases as Predicate Adjectives 51 4.1.3 Adjective/ Adjective phrases as Object Complements 52 4.2 Semantic features of adjective group denoting beauty in the “The Thorn Bird” in English and their Vietnamese equivalents 53 4.2.1 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of the human beings 53 4.2.1.1 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of Fiona 4.2.1.2 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of Meggie 53 54 4.2.1.3 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of Ralph 55 4.2.1.4 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of Luke 57 4.2.1.5 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of Dan 58 4.2.1.6 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of Justine 59 4.2.2 Adjective/ Adjective phrases denoting beauty of the nature 59 4.2.3 Adjectives denoting “Beauty” are used in “The Thorn Bird” in English and their translation 62 ix 4.2.4 Summary of the chapter 65 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 66 5.1 Summary of Findings 66 5.2 Conclusions 66 5.3 Some implications for teaching, learning and translating English adjective denoting “ Beauty” 68 5.3.1 Implication on the language teaching and learning 68 5.3.2 Implications on translation work 69 5.4 Recommendations for Further Study 69 REFERENCES 70 APPENDIX 72 x Table 4.4 List of adjectives used to denote beauty in the “Thorn Bird” 4.2.4 Summary of the chapter In this chapter, based on the syntactic features of adjective group denoting beauty, there is differences in the position of adjective denoting beauty between English and Vienamese especially about the position of adjectives even in the Noun phrase modifier, predicate adjectives or object complement As for the sematic features, the comparation and contrast can be observed in all the examples quoted from the English and Vietnamese version There are abiut 25 adjectives denoting beauty in English and almost all of them ( 23) adjectives have been used here From all the examples above it can be seen that the writer used a range of adjective groups to denote the beauty of human beings and the Australia but these adjective and groups of adjective are applied to different row of characters For the old generation like Fiona, Ralph and Meggie, the adjective ―beautiful and handsome‖ are utilized the most while the adjective like ―stunning and gorgeous‖ are applied to describe the ways of thinking and appearance of the new generation like Justine 65 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of Findings As analyzed in the last chapter, it can be asserted that adjective groups denoting beauty in English and Vietnamese are almost identical In term of syntactic functions of the adjective groups, both English and Vietnamese adjective can function as the noun phrase modifiers, predicates and object complements with a little difference in the position of the adjectives In the translated version, the adjective ― đẹp- tuyệt đẹp- xinh đep‖ is the most commonly used in the above examples but sometimes other kinds of adjective which are more suitable with the context can be used such as ― tuyệt mĩ, long lay, xanh rì…‖ to express the different degrees of the beauty based in the view point of Vietnamese The study considers their view points on adjectives and adjectives denoting ―Beauty‖ in English as the criteria to investigate such adjectives as alluring, appealing, charming, cute, dazzling, delicate, delightful, elegant, exquisite, fascinating, fine, good- looking, gorgeous, graceful, grand, handsome, lovely, magnificent, marvelous, pleasing, pretty, splendid, stunning, superb, wonderful The followings are what the study has reached in the course of investigating: There are many ways of expressing the meaning ―Beauty‖ in English by means of vocabulary or lexical devices, metaphor, metonymy, comparison Among these means of vocabulary, adjectives are more preferable Many adjectives can be used to express the beauty Semantically, there are many similar semantic features in both languages, that is, no marked difference in representation of meaning between these adjectives denoting ―Beauty‖ in English and their Vietnamese equivalents can be found 5.2 Conclusions The primary aim of this study is to find the semantic features of adjective groups denoting beauty and their Vietnamese equivalents based on the ―Thorn Bird‖ novel In the Chapter One, the rationale, aims, method, research questions of the study are included 66 The Chapter Two of the paper has provided a review of related previous studies, fundamental and essential theoretical preliminaries concerning the subject under consideration which serve as the basic foundation of data analysis and findings discussion in the following chapters The Chapter Three is designed to describe the methods and procedures of the paper The Chapter Four presents the findings of the research where syntactic and semantic of adjective groups denoting beauty are in focus Syntactically, in the scope of the study, adjective groups denoting beauty were analyzed by functions which were divided into the three classifications: Noun phrase modifier, predicative adjective and Object complement Through the study in syntax, the researcher have found out that: The combinations of the dependents in adjectival phrases in the two languages are different as shown clearly in the differences of syntactic features of adjectival phrases denoting personality in English and their Vietnamese equivalents Semantically, the adjective groups denoting beauty were analyzed according to the shades of meaning based on concrete contexts covering in the novel ―Thorn Bird‖ To begin with, the adjective groups denoting beauty were divided into two groups: Adjective groups denoting human beauty and Adjective groups denoting nature beauty Then, the researcher divided the adjectives describing human beauty based on the characters of the novel 67 5.3 Some implications for teaching, learning and translating English adjectives denoting “Beauty” 5.3.1 Implications on the language teaching and learning With the scope of this study, we have dealt with some basic knowledge of importance of adjective in vocabulary system, recognition of the adjective Beautiful and adjectives denoting Beauty The finding of the study may be beneficial to the language learners since they provide a good background to how to use the various meanings of these adjectives appropriately For language teaching, this study may prompt the need of encouraging students to exploit the diverse meaning of adjectives for the purpose of using adjectives fully and flexibly As discussed above, the meaning of the word is not determined by itself but by itself but by its relations with other linguistic elements Thus, we can only identify the meaning of the word when it is put in the specific context Therefore, this study hopes to provide leaners‘ awareness of considering the contexts in which the words are used, especially the contexts where the shape of the physical objects or the expression of mental feeling are embedded It can be inferred that when teaching the meaning of the word, the teacher should give specific situations or contexts reflecting exactly different meanings of the word, or direct students to necessary collocations in recognition of word meaning If teacher only gives students Vietnamese equivalents of the meaning taught without context, this can create great difficulties for students to understand them because one English lexeme could have one or more than one Vietnamese equivalents and vice versa, especially the case when adjectives denoting ― Beauty‖ are followed by the noun Moreover, people are always affected by their mother tongue when they learn a foreign language Then they often impose Vietnamese thinking on translating English words into Vietnamese Learners often apply rules of their mother tongue in the production of foreign language sentences whenever they are short of knowledge or they are careless As a result, that the translational equivalent becomes rigid is avoidable Hence, pointing out all the similarities and differences between two languages with the teachers‘ help is necessary Lastly, the teachers should give many chances for the learners to encounter the concerned word form as possible Furthermore, doing various 68 exercises also help learners use adjectives denoting ―Beauty‖ effectively and vividly 5.3.2 Implication on translation work Firstly, when translating, the learners should have a thorough grasp of the contexts in which it is used to have suitable interpretations We should consider the texts in term of both its denotations and its connotations Grasping the right contexts, the translators may choose the most appropriate and relevant among the pool of meanings that it can convey the message being implied They should examine if the Vietnamese equivalent can render all the implications of the author Then, the intention of the author should be taken into account Secondly, the learners should translate the text based on the meaning rather than form This will help the translated version convey the intended meaning of the original one Furthermore, besides the general meaning of being ―Beauty‖ as their Vietnamese equivalents, adjectives denoting ―Beauty‖ have a variety of equivalents Finally, translators may have to make the best choices when rendering the meaning of these adjectives into Vietnamese as presented in Chapter 5.4 Recommendations for Further Study This thesis has made an investigation into linguistic features of adjectival phrases denoting personality used mainly in the novel ―Thorn Bird‖ which includes syntactic and semantic dimensions and their distributions in literature as well However, there are some other aspects that have not been dealt with within the scope of this framework and thus, some following further researches into adjective groups denoting beauty in both languages should be carried out in order to have an overall look at the problem: - Linguistic and Cultural features of adjective group denoting beauty - Pragmatic features of adjective groups denoting beauty in the novel 69 REFERENCES Foreign Author Alexander, L.G (1992), Longman English Grammar, Longman Press Bloomfield, L (1933) Language New York: Holt Colleen McCullough (1977), Thorn Bird, Harper and Row, publishers, Inc Chomsky, N (1957) Syntactic Structures The Hague: Mouton Close, R A (1975), A Reference Grammar for student of English London: Longman Group Limited Cowie, A.P (2009) Semantics Oxford: Oxford University Press De Saussure, F (1916) Course in General Linguistics (translated by Wade Baskin, 1959) New York: Philosophical Library Dixon, R.M.W (1992)., A new Approach to English Grammar, on Semantics Principles New York: Oxford University Press Eastwood, J (1994), Oxford Guide to English Grammar London: Oxford University Press 10 Farrokhpey, M (2000) Linguistics and Language Tehran: The Center for Studying and Compiling University Books in Humanities (SAMT) 11 Fasold, Ralph, W., et al (2006) An Introduction to Language and Linguistics Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 12 Firth, J.R (1957) Papers in Linguistics 1/34 – 51 London: Oxford University Press 13 Huddleston and Pullum (2017), the Cambridge Grammar of English Language, Cambridge University Press 14 Jacobs, R.A (1995), English Syntax Grammar for English language Professionals Oxford: Oxford University Press 15 Johnson, K and Johnson, H (1999) Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics USA: Blackwell Publishers Inc 16 Kies, D (1995), Modern English Grammar, Oxford University press 17 Leech, G.N (1981) Semantics (2nd ed.) Harmondsworth: Penguin Books 70 18 Löbner, S (2002) Understanding Semantics London: Arnold 19 Quirk, R and Greenbaun, S (1978), A University Grammar of English, London Long man 20 Sargeant, H (2007), Basic English Grammar, Saddleback Educational Publish 21 Sargeant, H (2007), English Grammar, Saddleback Educational Publ11 12 Swan, M (1986),p.ractical English Usage London: Oxford University Press 22 Stockwell, R.P (1977), Foundation of Syntactic Theory Los Angeles: University of California 23 Syal, P and Jindal, D.V (2007) An Introduction to Linguistics: Language, Grammar and Semantics (2nd ed.) New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Private Limited 24 Oxford Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary of Current English, 6th Edition Oxford University Press 25 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 3rd Edition Longman Corpus Network 26 Yule, G (2006) The Study of Language (3rd ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Vietnamese Authors Tiếng Chim hót bụi mận gai , NXB Văn Học Nguyễn Hữu Quỳnh (2001), Ngữ Pháp Tiếng việt , NXB Từ Điển Bách Khoa Nguyễn Tài Cẩn (1999), Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt, Hà Nội, NXB Đại Học Quốc Gia Nguyễn Văn Thành (2001), Tiếng Việt Hiện Đại, Hà Nội , NXB Khoa Học Xã Hội Lam Thuy Dung (2011) ―An investigation into Intensification of Adjectives in English and Vietnamese‖, Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Da Nang Trần Quang Long (2011) ―A study of linguistic features of adjective phrases denoting personality in English and their Vietnamese equivalents‖, Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Da Nang 71 APPENDIX Except for Agnes, the beautiful doll sitting on the store counter… [2, p.3] … Agnès, búp bê tuyệt đẹp mắc váy xòe rộng xa hồng kết ren chung quanh, đƣợc đặt quầy cửa hàng bách hóa [1, p.1] She was so pretty, such beautiful hair; [2, p.13] Nó xinh quá, tóc đẹp [1, p.11] She had seemed to Frank so beautiful and so haughty that no man could gainsay her, even a priest [2, p.130]  Đối với Frank cô nàng xinh đẹp nhƣ thế, kiêu hãnh nhƣ thế, dƣờng nhƣ không ngƣời đàn ông trụ trƣớc cô ta, linh mục … I like rather to think of it as beautiful I cannot believe Dane found death anything but welcome, and it is not surprising that Our Dear Lord could not wait a moment longer to gather Dane unto Himself  Theo ý tơi, điều tuyệt diệu Tơi tin Dane vui sƣớng gặp chết, không lấy làm lạ Chúa khơng để chậm vội đón Dane vào lòng [1, p 820] She put her knife on the table and stared at Frank and Meggie, the corners of her beautiful mouth turning down [2,p.12]  Chị dặt dao xuống bàn, nhìn Frank với Meggie, hai bên mép vành môi xinh đẹp trễ xuống ´[1,p 21] The man so like Mary, but bowed with hard work and very obviously not of her malicious disposition; his weary, beautiful wife, who looked as if she ought to have descended from a landaulet drawn by matched white horses [ 2,p 98]  Ơng chủ gia đình giống Meri lạ thƣờng, còng làm lụng vất vả……;bà vợ xinh đẹp kiệt quệ ông ta.[ 1,p.114] - And her face, her beautiful tired face with its prim halo of golden hair, all alight because of what she and that hairy old goat had done in the terrible heat of summer.[2,p 124]  Còn gƣơng mặt mẹ cậu, gƣơng mặt tuyệt đẹp, mệt mỏi vầng hào qunag nghiêm nghị mái tóc vàng óc,… [1,p.142] Yes I was frightened to death of her at first She was so beautiful in those days, Father, and so out of it, if you know what I mean As if she wasn't even there, as 72 if it was all happening to someone else." "She's still beautiful, Paddy," said Father Ralph gently [2,p.144]  Con sợ cô chết khiếp đƣợc Hồi đẹp tuyệt trần cha ạ…… ―Ngay bà đẹp Paddy ạ‖, cha Ralph trả lời cách mềm mỏng [1, p 156] - She was so pretty, such beautiful hair [2,p 14]  Nó xinh quá, tóc đẹp [1, p.11] 10 -But even this, beautiful as it was, thick and shining and very straight, was not permitted freedom [2,p.24]  Nhƣng tóc tuyệt đẹp, dày rậm, óng mƣợt, thẳng nhƣ tia sang không đƣợc tự [1,p.34] 11 - Had Fee realized it, her charity was misguided, for her daughter's hair was far and away the most beautiful in the entire school [2, p 50]  Fee không ngờ ý định tốt đẹp nhƣ chẳng đem lại điều lành, chẳng cần kiểu tóc tóc gái chị đẹp trƣờng [1,p 61] 12 - No one thought of her as important, which meant there was a space in her life into which he could fit himself and be sure of her love; she was a child, and therefore no danger to his way of life or his priestly reputation; she was beautiful, and he enjoyed beauty [2,p 121] ( Meggie in Ralph‘s love)  Chả thực nghĩ đến nó, nhƣ đời sống có khoảng trống mà cha lấp đầy cha đƣợc quyến luyến Nó nít, khơng đe dọa lối sống cha danh đấng chăn chiên cha Nó xinh đẹp, đẹp đẽ làm cha thích thú; [1,p.139] 13 - "I have it still, in my missal And every time I see a rose that color, I think of you Meggie, I love you You're my rose, the most beautiful human image and thought in my life.[2,p 418]  Bông hồng giữ bên mình, kinh lễ tối Mỗi lần nhìn thấy bơng hồng màu săc nhƣ thế, tơi lại nghĩ đến em Tôi yêu em Meggie Em bơng hồng tơi, hình ảnh ngƣời tuyệt vời em ý nghĩ em luôn tôi.[1,p 469] 14 - And there was her throat, the little hollow at its base, the skin of her shoulder so delicate and cool and dry [2,p.342]  Và cổ nàng, hõm cổ, vai – da mềm mại, nhẵn mịn, mát rƣợi… [1, p.385] 73 15 - "Yes, I think I'd better too," she agreed, lids lowered, a delicate flush in her cheeks (2, p 345)  ―Vâng, hay hơn- Mecgan ƣng thuận, mắt gằm xuống, đỏ bừng mặt (1, p 401) 16 "She's a marvelous person, your mother." (2, p762)  Bà ngƣời tuyệt vời, mẹ em ấy‖ (1, p 793) 17 - "Her name's Meghann." Frank scowled, hating this beautiful man, his stunning height [2, p.97]  Tên Meggie- Frank lầu bầu với vẻ cáu kỉnh, cậu thấy ghét gã đàn ông đẹp trai cao lớn, cân đối [1, p.113] 18 - All her attention had been focused on the priest, a being sexless and emasculated Even if he was tall, dark and handsome [2, p.131]  Cơ ta hồn tồn bị hút cha đạo này, ơng ta ngƣời khơng giới tính Tuy ông ta cao lớn, nƣớc da bánh mật, đẹp trai nhƣng dù đàn ông [1, p.150] 19 He had to be aware of how he looked: the height and the perfect proportions of his body, the fine aristocratic features, the way every physical element had been put together with a degree of care about the appearance of the finished product God lavished on few of His creations.[2, p.75]  Cố nhiên cha khơng biết đẹp trai nhƣ nào: than hình cao lớn, vóc dáng tuyệt mĩ, khn mặt q phái tú, tồn ngoại hình cha hài hòa hồn mỹ tuyệt vời… [1, p.89] 20 You'd look magnificent in cardinal's red [2, p.75]  Bộ hồng y hợp với cha [1, p.88] 21 You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen, Ralph de Bricassart," she said "Why is it so many priests are beautiful? The Irishness?[ 2,p.177]  Chƣa thấy ngƣời đàn ông đẹp cha, cha Ralph- Bà ta nói- Tại linh mục có nhiều ngƣời đẹp đến thế? Do ảnh hƣởng dòng máu Ailen chăng? [1, p.134] 22 Father Ralph's own beautiful eyes passed from niece to aunt, and back to niece again [1, 192]  Cặp mắt xanh tuyệt đẹp linh mục, hết nhìn cháu nhìn bà bác, nhìn cháu với vẻ dò xét [1, p 217] 74 23 Those stunning good looks and the accompanying body must have made him the target of many desires, too much so to preserve innocence or unawareness [2,p 307]  Đẹp trai kì lạ, vóc dáng tuyệt mĩ nhƣ thế, ông ta không gợi nên thèm muốn, chƣa ơng ta khơng biết đến thèm muốn giữ [1, p.345] 24 Naked, Father Ralph stepped off the veranda to stand on the barbered lawn with his arms raised above his head, eyes closed; he let the rain pour over him in warm, probing, spearing runnels, an exquisite sensation on bare skin It was very dark But he was still flaccid [2, p.118]  Cha Ralph trần nhƣ nhộng, rời hang hiên xuống bãi cỏ xén gọn dừng lại, hai tay bắt sau đầu, mi mắt khép lại Cha phơi toàn than trƣớc luồng mƣa ấm áp, ngào , nhói buốt chúng vuốt ve mơn trớn đến mê li da khơng có bảo vệ Đã tối hẳn Nhƣng ngƣời nguyên cảm giác yên tĩnh uể oải [1, p.230] 25 You're the most fascinating man I've ever met You throw your beauty in our teeth, contemptuous of our foolishness But I'll pin you to the wall on your own weakness, I'll make you sell yourself like any painted whore Do you doubt it?" [2, p.157]  Chƣa tơi gặp ngƣời đàn ơng có sức cám dỗ mê hồn nhƣ Bằng vẻ đẹp mình, cha thách thức khinh rồ dại Nhƣng dung chỗ yếu cha mà dồn cha vào chân tƣờng cha bán nhƣ đĩ mạt hạng phấn son lòe loẹt [1, p.179] 26 - He came to sit on the edge of the bed, rubbing her arm in a rather charming gesture of contrition "I'm sorry, Mecgham, I really am I didn't think of your being a woman Not used to having a wife with me, that's all Are you hungry, darling?" [2, p.355]  Anh đến gần, ngồi xuống mép giƣờng, xoa vuốt tay cách âu yếm, vẻ ân hận ― Anh có lỗi Mecgham, lỗi anh Không hiểu anh lại không nghĩ đến chuyện em phụ nữ Em ạ, anh chƣa quen với tình trạng anh có vợ Em đói chứ, em ngoan anh? [1, p.399] 75 27 And yet he was no more like Father Ralph than-than than a ghost gum, so tall and pale and splendid, was like a blue gum, also tall and pale and splendid  Tuy nhiên, giống cha Ralph… nhƣ cao, tƣơi sang, tuyệt đẹp ( 1, p 358) 28 Womanlike, she saw only the obvious; she just couldn't appreciate the grand design at back of it all [2, p 468]  Nhƣ phụ nữ khác, nàng xét đoán theo bề ngồi, nàng đánh giá đƣợc dự tính anh lớn lao dƣờng nào.[ 1, p.527] 29 And Cardinal Ralph gazed at the son he did not know was his son, loving him, he thought, because he was dear Meggie's boy Just so would he have wanted to see a son of his own body; as tall, as strikingly good looking, as graceful? In all his life he had never seen a man move so well [2, p 621]  Còn Hồng y Ralph nhìn trai , khơng ngờ trai ơng tƣởng ơng thấy chàng trai đáng u trai Meggie yêu dấu Ông mong muốn nhìn thấy trai này, điều cócao lớn, cân đối duyên dáng, đẹp lạ thƣờng nhƣ Chƣa ông thấy có ngƣời mà cử động đến duyên dáng đến nhƣ [1, p.701] 30 ―As time went on she improved in looks Her infant skin lost its redness, acquired that thin blue-veined transparency which goes so often with red hair, and her little arms and legs filled out to pleasing plumpness‖ [2, p 423]  ― Dần dà trở nên dễ coi Da khơng đỏ nữa, mà trắng mỏng, nhƣ thƣờng có ngƣời tóc đỏ xanh, đơi chân đơi tay mũm mĩm kiểu trẻ thơ‖ (1, p 471) 31 -"Why? What's the matter with him? Never tell me he's a poof! Shit,why is it every gorgeous man I meet is a poof? I never thought Dane was, though; he doesn't strike me that way at all [2, p.619]  ― … tất ngƣời đàn ông tuyệt vời chị gặp toàn ngƣời ẻo lả ‖ [1, p 642] 32 - "You'll have to watch it, my friend They don't call me a carrot topped Australian actress any more-these days I'm that lush, gorgeous, titian-haired British actress, thanks to my immortal interpretation of Cleopatra.[2,p.740]  ―… em nữ diễn viên ngƣời Anh lộng lẫy, tuyệt trần, có tóc nhƣ tranh Titian‖ [ 1,p 839] 76 33 - Yes, it is like Ireland in many ways; it has the same beautiful green grass But it's wilder, a lot less tamed," Paddy answered [2, p.99]  Đúng vậy, có nhiều giống với Ireland, cỏ xanh mƣợt, nom đến thích mắt Chỉ phải xứ ấu hoang dã hơn, đất không canh tác Paddy trả lời [1,p.115] 34 - However, there were many trees around the sheds, yards and animal runs, to provide welcome and necessary shade; mostly pepper trees, huge, hardy, dense and sleepily lovely [2,p.103]  Tuy nhiên, đám nhà kho, sân bãi chăn thả mọc lên nhiều cối tạo nên bóng cần thiết dễ chịu; phần lớn nhƣng hồ tiêu to khỏe, rậm rạp, mơ màng, tuyệt diệu [1,p 120] 35 - Frank followed him to the tree, commonly held the most beautiful in this part of Australia Its leaves were dense and a pale lime green,its shape almost perfectly rounded [2,p.114]  Frank theo cha đến chỗ vinga- loại đƣợc coi đẹp phần nƣớc Úc Tán gần nhƣ tròn, xanh tƣơi, um tùm [1, p.132] 36 - The land was so beautiful, so pure, and so indifferent to the fates of the creatures who presumed to rule it [2, p.219]  Mặt đất đẹp biết bao, khiết biết bao, dửng dƣng với số phận kẻ tƣởng đâu họ cai quản [1, p.248] 37 - Himmelhoch was a large white house on top of a hill, surrounded by coconut palms, banana palms and beautiful smaller palms whose leaves splayed outward in great fans like the tails of peacocks [1,p.367]  Himmelhoch – thƣợng tầng không trung- nhà đỉnh đồi dốc đứng, xung quanh có chuối, dừa cọ đẹp dáng, thấp chút, tán rộng chúng xòe nhƣ quạt, tựa nhƣ đuôi công [2,p.412] 38 - ―Under the eaves Meggie caught glimpses of wonderful flowers and butterflies, cartwheeling webs with great elegant speckled spiders motionless at their hubs, fabulous fungi chewing at mossy trunks, birds with long trailing red or blond tails‖ (2, p 397)  ― Nhƣng dƣới vòm xanh ấy, trƣớc mắt Meggie thấp thống bơng hoa nhỏ kì diệu, bƣớm, mạng nhện cực to điểm vệt đốm đỏm dáng, nấm chƣa thấy bắt rễ vào 77 thân đầy rêu, chim có dài phấp phới đỏ thắm, óng ánh vàng‖ (1, p 446) 39 - Not one of the four in the boat would have been in the least surprised to see a mermaid: a gleam of polished breast, a twisting glitter of tail, lazily spinning clouds of hair, an alluring smile taunting the siren's spell to sailors [1,p.432]  Không số bốn ngƣời thuyền ngạc nhiên chút thấy nàng tiên cá- khơng thống ngực mịn màng óng ả, cãi đầy vẩy lấp lánh quẫy nhanh, đám mây tóc xõa tung, nụ cƣời mời gọi làm mê hồn thủy thủ 40 - They had emerged on another road which ran all around the looping sandy shores of the lagoon side, crescent-shaped and hollow Far out was more white spray where the ocean broke in dazzling lace on the edges of the lagoon reef, but within the coral's embrace the water was still and calm, a polished silver mirror tinged with bronze.[ 2,p.429]  Xe họ đƣờng khác, đƣờng nhịp nhàng lặp lại tất nếp uốn bờ cát nhƣ mảnh trăng lƣỡi liềm viền lấy vụng nƣớc nông Ở đằng xa, nơi song đại dƣơng xơ vào rìa dải đá ngầm, lại chói lòa lên đăng ten bọt song trắng xóa, nhƣng khoảng nƣớc bị bao bọc khung san hơ tĩnh lặng, nhƣ gƣơng bạc loáng ánh đồng cỏ [1, p.482] 41 - Lifting her head, she tried to count the stars and could not; as delicate as drops of dew on a wheeling spider's web the pinpoints flared, went out, flared, went out, in a rhythm as timeless as God [2, p.327]  Mecggan ngửa đầu lên, thử đếm sao, nhƣng đếm đƣợc – nhƣ hạt sƣơng li ti mạng nhện khổng lồ xoay chuyển, đốm lửa bừng lên tắt lịm, nhịp điệu vĩnh cửu nhƣ thƣợng đế [1, p.369] 42 - Exquisite tiny finches whirred and wheeled, so did sparrows and starlings, and the strong brown kingfishers called kookaburras laughed and chuckled gleefully or dived for snakes, their favorite food [2,p.105]  Những ri rừng xinh đẹp nhỏ xíu chim sẻ sáo sậu bay chấp chới lƣợn vòng khơng, bói ca kukabuara nịnh, màu nâu cƣời hơ hố khúc khích vui vẻ, vừa bay vừa chộp rắn mặt đất – rắn ăn ngon chúng ƣa thích [1, p.122] 78 43 - In between these delightful bouts of nature-studying she thought of Ralph, as always Privately Meggie had never catalogued what she felt for him as a schoolgirl crush, simply called it love, as they did in books [2, p.256]  Phải, có lúc chiêm ngƣỡng thiên nhiên thật thú vị, nhƣng thƣờng Meggie nghĩ nhiều đến cha Ralph Trong thâm tâm, khơng coi tình cảm với cha si mê cô bé nhỏ tuổi, mà gọi cách đơn giản tình yêu, nhƣ ngƣời ta viết sách [1, p.297] 44 Under the eaves, Meggie caught glimpses of wonderful flowers and butterflies, cart wheeling webs with great elegant speckled spiders motionless at their hubs, fabulous fungi chewing at mossy trunks, birds with long trailing red or blond tails [2, p.397]  Nhƣng dƣới vòm xanh ấy, trƣớc mắt Meggie thấp thống bơng hoa nhỏ kì diệu, bƣớm, mạng nhện nhƣ bánh xe trục bất động nhện cực to điểm hững vệt đốm đỏm dáng, nấm chƣa thấy bắt rễ vào than đầy rêu….[1, p.446] 45 ―The days of the Hilton were still to come It was very large, and had superb views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge‖  ― Thời đại khách sạn ― Hilton‖ sang trọng chƣa đến Căn phòng rộng thênh thang, cảnh nhìn bến cầu Sidney tuyệt đẹp ― (1, p 674) Approved by SUPERVISOR Assoc Prof Dr Phan Văn Quế Date:…………………… 79 ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M .A THESIS A STUDY ON THE ADJECTIVE GROUP DENOTING THE BEAUTY IN ENGLISH WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE ( BASED ON THE BILINGUAL NOVEL. .. the title of my thesis paper: A study on adjective group denoting beauty in English with reference to the Vietnamese (base on the bilingual novel The Thorn Bird‟)” with the hope to understand... features of the adjectives denoting the beauty in the English novel The Thorn Bird? What are the Vietnamese equivalents of adjectives denoting the beauty in the Vietnamese translated version? 1.4 Methods