MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A Thesis A STUDY ON ENGLISH EUPHEMISM WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENCE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (NGHIÊN CỨU UYỂN NGỮ TIẾNG ANH TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT ỨNG DỤNG VÀO DẠY VÀ HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN CỦA HỌC VIỆN HÀNH CHÍNH QUỐC GIA) NGUYỄN THỊ THU THỦY Field Code : English Language : 60220201 Hanoi, 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A Thesis A STUDY ON ENGLISH EUPHEMISM WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENCE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (NGHIÊN CỨU UYỂN NGỮ TIẾNG ANH TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT ỨNG DỤNG VÀO DẠY VÀ HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN CỦA HỌC VIỆN HÀNH CHÍNH QUỐC GIA) NGUYEN THI THU THUY Field Code : English Language : 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc.Prof.Dr.HO NGOC TRUNG Hanoi, 2017 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work, except where due acknowledgement is made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or report submitted to any institutions for a degree, diploma or other qualifications Any contribution made to the study by colleagues, with whom I have worked at the National Academy of Public Administration is fully acknowledged Hanoi, 2017 Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc.Prof.Dr Ho Ngoc Trung, for his enthusiastic guidance, useful suggestions and advice Without his help, this paper would not have been possible My special gratitude goes to Assoc.Prof Dr Hoang Tuyet Minh for support and encouragement My sincere thanks also go to all the lecturers from the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies of Hanoi Open University who has provided me with invaluable sources of knowledge and instructions during my study at Hanoi Open University I would like to extend my grateful thanks to my friends, my colleagues and my students at the National Academy of Public Administration for their help and participation Their warm concern, whole-hearted support and encouragement play an important role in completion of this study Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my parent, my son for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of my academic work ii ABSTRACT This thesis has been done in an effort to examine English euphemism with reference to the Vietnamese equivalence as well as to make recommendations for teaching English at NAPA A collection of examples taken from some literary works written in English and in the Vietnamese versions have been analysed to see how euphemisms are used in English and how they are transferred into Vietnamese The readers will have the opportunity to see the correlations and the difference between them Also, the data collected from the survey show the need, functions, purposes and frequency of using euphemism perceived by the students at NAPA In addition, the thesis suggests some ways that teachers of English may apply to help their students use euphemism effectively Besides, it presents some class activities and types of activities which the teachers and learners of English can refer to in teaching and learning English in general, English euphemism in particular iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 3.1 Examples of metonymy and synecdoche 17 Table 3.2 Examples of understatement 19 Table 3.3 Examples of word borrowing 19 Table 3.4 Metaphor used in euphemistic expressions of death .21 Table 3.5 Types of euphemisms of sexual intercourse 22 Table 3.6 Types of euphemisms of pregnancy 25 Table 4.1 Percentage of correct answers about meaning of euphemisms 37 Table 4.2 Percentage of expressions on death choosen by participants 38 Figure 4.1 Percentage of comments on big body shape 39 Figure 4.2 Percentage of expressions on pregnancy .40 Figure 4.3 percentage of expressions on natural bodily functions 41 Figure 4.4 Percentage of expressions on humble occupations 42 Figure 4.5 Percentage of answer about the purposes of using euphemism .43 Figure 4.6 The need for using euphemism in everyday conversation .43 Figure 4.7 The frequency of using euphemism in everyday communication 44 Figure 4.8 euphemism in intercultural communication 45 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 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 .2 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study .3 1.7 Design of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous Studies 2.2 Overview of euphemism 2.2.1 Definitions of euphemism 2.2.2 Basis for the use of euphemism 2.2.2.1 Taboos and Euphemism 2.2.2.2 Politeness and Euphemism .7 2.2.3 Functions of euphemism 2.2.3.1 Being polite 2.2.3.2 Gloss-over 2.2.3.3 Avoiding Taboo 10 2.2.3.4 Disguising 10 2.2.4 Classifications of Euphemism 10 2.2.4.1 The positive euphemisms and the negative euphemisms .10 2.2.4.2 The unconscious euphemism and the conscious euphemism 11 2.2.4.3 Other classifications of euphemisms 12 2.2.5 Formation of euphemism 13 2.3 Summary 14 CHAPTER 3: ENGLISH EUPHEMISM WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENCE 16 3.1 Formation of euphemisms in English literature 16 3.2 Cultural features of English euphemism through some taboo topics 20 3.3 A comparison of English euphemism and Vietnamese equivalence 26 3.3.1 In terms of functions .27 3.3.2 In terms of formation 29 v 3.3.3 In terms of cultural feature 30 3.4 Summary 33 CHAPTER 4: PROBLEMS FACED BY THE STUDENTS OF NAPA IN UNDERSTANDING AND USING ENGLISH EUPHEMISM 35 4.1 Procedure and data collection 35 4.1.1 The Subject 35 4.1.2 Description of the questionnaire .36 4.2 Data analysis 36 4.3 Findings 45 4.4 Suggestions for teaching English euphemism 46 4.5 Summary 49 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .51 5.1 Concluding remarks 51 5.2 Limitations of the study 52 5.3 Suggestions for further study 52 REFERENCES 53 APPENDIX 55 APPENDIX 56 vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study It is the fact that people often face the situations in communication where they cannot directly express what they want to say, or sometimes a direct expression will cause the listeners awkward and unpleasant In these cases, it will be the best choice for them to use euphemism as an indirect and roundabout way to express their ideas and thoughts, so as to avoid the embarrassment The term ―euphemism‖ is originated from the Greek, ―euphemism‖ which means ―speaking well‖ (Mc Arthur, 1992) We can understand it as a polite or indirect way of saying a tabooed term Euphemism as a reflection of culture is a common linguistic phenomenon in many languages The generation and development of euphemism are closely related to culture Psychological, custom habits and cultural features of a nation can be shed light on through this special linguistic phenomenon In English as well as in Vietnamese, there are plenty of euphemisms, but they have similarities and differences in expressions and cultural connotations This is one reason for my study to focus on this sphere of euphemism As an indispensable and natural part of language, euphemism has been an interesting topic for many linguists and scholars to research And a great number of studies have been carried on this linguistic phenomenon from different perspectives These works have focused on the terms of rhetoric, semantics and pragmatics And in Vietnam the topic of euphemism have been discussed mainly on death, while many other taboo topics such as sex, pregnancy, child birth have been mentioned Thus, on the basis of the preceding researches, this study attempts to a comprehensive analysis and to find out formation and the cultural features of English euphemism with reference to Vietnamese equivalence in taboo topics listed above The findings of the study will help people have a good understanding of this linguistic phenomenon in English and Vietnamese language In addition, it is also easier for interlocutors to overcome the obstacles in cross-cultural communications Moreover, the study can be useful for teachers and learners of English at the National Academy of Public Administration in teaching and learning English as a foreign language 1.2 Aims and Objectives of the study The study is carried out with the aim to analyze some ways of formation and cultural features of English euphemisms, and then to make a reference to Vietnamese euphemism The result of this study will help foreign language learners have a better understanding of English and Vietnamese euphemisms, which would encourage them to use euphemism more confidently and avoid communication breakdown This study has three objectives as follows:  To investigate formation and cultural features of English euphemism through several taboo topics  To make a comparison between English euphemism and the Vietnamese equivalence  To investigate problems faced by the students of NAPA in understanding and using English euphemism, and then to give some suggestions for teaching English euphemism 1.3 Research questions The research has attempted to answer the following questions: What ways of formation and cultural features does English euphemism have? What are the similarities and differences of English euphemism and Vietnamese equivalence? What are the problems faced NAPA students when dealing with euphemism? 1.4 Methods of the study The descriptive and qualitative methods were employed to describe and analyze formation or types of euphemism as well as cultural features of euphemism in English with reference to Vietnamese English euphemisms used as examples in the study were taken from several English novels ―The Thorn Birds‖, ―A Farewell to Arms‖, ―The Godfather‖, and ―Vanity Fair‖, and so on The quantative was used in chapter through a survey questionnaire By using this method we have data base to investigate understanding and application of euphemism in communication by the students of NAPA (the National Academy of Public Administration) Based on the result of this survey, implications for teaching and learning English were given 1.5 Scope of the study The study focuses on formation and cultural features of English euphemism Most students agree that the role of euphemism cannot be denied 50,2% of the informants see that the use of euphemism is very necessary ―Necessary‖ is the answer of 41,2% students Only 8,6% of the respondents choose ―unnecessary‖ Question 14: The frequency of using euphemism in everyday communication 11,5% 13,2% usually sometimes never 75,3% Figure 4.7 The frequency of using euphemism in everyday communication As what have been discussed already, euphemism plays a very important part in human communication It is suggested that how often a person use euphemism depends on his qualification It means the higher your qualification is, the more frequently you use euphemism To some extent, that remark is true However, it is not always the case For instance, the street vendors, the cooks or the farmers are the people who may have lower qualification but lots of them use informal euphemism (slangs) and jargon very often So, it come to the conclusion that people always have a sense of avoid saying something directly when necessary, but the language they use is largely influenced by their qualification, job, age, and gender No one never uses euphemisms in life The only thing they not know is that they are making euphemism in terms of linguistics In the data, 75,3% of the students see people in their place ―usually‖ use euphemism in communication, 13,2% ―sometimes‖ and 11,5% ―never‖ This proves that in everyday communication, people value the importance of euphemism 44 Question 15: attention to euphemism in intercultural communication 10,7% 27% strongly agree agree disagree 62,3% Figure 4.8 Euphemism in intercultural communication In intercultural communication, misunderstanding and improper use of euphemism may create communication barriers In order to avoid the misunderstanding and conflict caused by communicative hinders, we have to know the euphemistic expressions of certain things Different social customs and diverse cultural values cannot be ignored in communication For this question, 62,3% of the students ―agree‖ that a greater attention should be paid to using euphemism in intercultural communication ―Strongly agree‖ is the answer of 27% students And only 10,7% of them ―disagree‖ with that It indicates from the result that most informants notice the importance of using euphemism in communication in case people come from different cultures 4.3 Findings Based on the results of part and of the survey questionnaires, it can be seen that NAPA students have little awareness of euphemism in English A large percentage of students don‘t understand the meaning of the euphemistic expressions Therefore, as they have to talk about taboo topics, they don‘t know to use euphemisms to avoid direct mention and face-threatening The students also have no awareness of the cultural differences between English and Vietnamese This could be due to the following reasons: - The students have not been introduced to this linguistic phenomenon at schools - It seems that the students avoid learning new words as long as they have the alternatives For instance, one may say that ―He is blind‖ is the same as ―He is visually challenged‖ Using ―blind‖ is more economical than ―Visually challenged‖ 45 because it is shorter, easier to remember; - No care or attention is paid to teaching cultural points in curriculum, syllabuses, or courses, especially at schools - They not have enough interaction with native speakers of English The data of part in the questionnaire also show the fact that most of the students understand the purposes and necessity of using euphemism in communication They also agree that euphemism should be paid more attention to, and more usually used in everyday and intercultural communication From the results and findings of the survey, we can see that the NAPA students have many difficulties in understanding and using English euphemisms in communication Short expressions seem to be the best choice for them instead of using indirect ways to refer to taboo topics Although they can‘t deny important roles of euphemism in everyday communication, there are many reasons in subjective and objective aspect that have been mentioned above Those reasons are challenges for them in understanding and using euphemism The following part focuses on some suggestions for teaching and learning English euphemism and sample exercises that may help to improve this situation 4.4 Suggestions for teaching English euphemism Knowing a foreign language and speaking it frequently are not enough A good communicator, indeed, should always have skills in speaking politely about anything in any situation, especially when referring to taboo topics This requires foreign language learners a thorough comprehension of the culture in which that language is spoken It should be noted that if one uses euphemisms appropriately she/ he will achieve much Otherwise, she will lose much, at least her/his face Sometimes, the communicators find it difficult (even impossible) to translate an English euphemisms into Vietnamese and vice versa because they see no equivalence in terms of culture People from Western countries such as England and America not share the same cultural background as those from Vietnam, thus the ways they use euphemism also reveal the difference Their thoughts, perceptions and beliefs can be distinguished Some researchers believe that it is not only the culture which affects the euphemism use Marvin Harris, a leading figure in cultural materialism, tries to explain taboos as a consequence of the ecologic and economic conditions of their societies It is quite true For example, because the industries of Western countries 46 are highly developed, the euphemisms about employment, unemployment in English are plentiful Homosexuality, which is one of the most popular social issues in Western societies, helps to create a variety of euphemisms On the contrary, Vietnam is a developing country where homosexuality is also not a popular phenomenon, so Vietnamese language does not bear such a rich source of vocabulary about those issues This proves that Vietnamese euphemism is greatly affected by the economical situation and social characteristics It is clear that the clumsy sayings and inappropriate performance in English may cause embarrassing or even painful experience for both the addressor and addressee For Vietnamese students, English is a foreign language, so sometimes they are not fully aware of whether the English words or phrases they are saying are appropriate and nice enough in a certain situation As a result, teachers have to help them: - By Teaching Formation of Euphemism We have learned that from a linguistic point of view, there are various ways of forming English euphemism Generally speaking, these means can be divided into four kinds: lexical technique grammatical technique, rhetorical technique and pragmatic technique So teachers should at first teach the students the formation of euphemism to let them have a general idea, which is the foundation for students to use euphemism successfully - Teaching Euphemism with Reference to Vietnamese Speakers can understand the pragmatic rules of their own language and knows what is proper and what is improper in communication This can be applied to both Vietnamese and a foreign language The same phenomenon exists in the two languages On the other hand, learning euphemism is a part of pragmatic competence Most languages have this kind of phenomenon Therefore, when teaching students, the teacher should make a comparison of the use of euphemism between English and Vietnamese In this way, the students can have a more clear understanding of these expressions and make full use of the same points between English and Vietnamese - By Teaching Euphemism by Explaining Cultural Differences Language and culture are closely related to each other Sometimes, what is appropriate in one culture may not appropriate in another culture Therefore, when we study a language, we should take the culture into consideration In the study of euphemism, we should pay attention to the culture aspect Likewise, in language 47 teaching, teachers should think much of culture when teaching the proper use of euphemism There are a lot of differences between English and Vietnamese culture In Vietnam, it‘s very common for people to talk about income, marriage, and family life, even in public places Vietnamese people regard this as a kind of care and concern However, in English culture, these topics are considered to be taboos and people usually avoid mentioning them so as not to invade other people‘s privacy Here is one example, the Vietnamese and the English also have different feelings about ―old age‖ A Vietnamese is proud of being old, because the Vietnamese culture places a high value on eldership To be old means to be more experienced and knowledgeable Yet westerners have negative feelings about age Elder people in English culture will feel embarrassed if others call them ―old‖ and treat them like this, because being old is considered to be a miserable thing Bearing the cultural differences in mind, it is possible for language learners to acquire the ability to speak properly and euphemistically in different situations - By designing real exercises to help students be aware of euphemisms There are many kinds of exercises as well as the class activities, teachers can design to introduce English euphemism to the Vietnamese students For example, teachers can organize programs talking about euphemism and the role of euphemism in communication, providing them with exercises about euphemism in both English and Vietnamese such as: Euphemism Quiz, Multiple Choice Questions, Gap filling exercises, matching exercises, substitution exercises… As we see, cultural and social factors directly affect the euphemisms Hence, it will be a good idea if the cultural and social characteristics are introduced in learning programs so that students are able to acquire the language efficiently via each lesson Sample exercises: Exercise 1: Match each word in column A with its euphemism in column B A pregnant stinking Mad Lover cancer syphilis Sick wrong B dicky growth blood disease in a certain condition Subnormal questionable roommate Smelly 48 Exercise 2: Choose the most suitable answer for each sentence: Peter fails the exam once more I think he is …………………………… A a little slow B stupid C a bit thick D a sandwich short of panic My elder sister is unhappy now She has just been……………………… A fired B kicked out C out of work D between jobs My uncle Tom is in the hospital He is………………… A dying B on his way out C not with us much longer Katy! Have you been…………………………… ? A expecting B pregnant C with child D on his deathbed D knocked up Sarah! David is not good husband, he‘s ………………… A having an affair B cheating C having a fling D being unfaithful Exercise 3: Find the direct word and the euphemism in English for the following Vietnamese taboo words: Vietnamese taboo words Direct English word English euphemism Chết Có chửa Người hót rác Nhà vệ sinh Quốc gia nghèo Trí tuệ 4.5 Summary The results of data analysis in this chapter show that this area of English language- euphemism is not paid enough attention in teaching and learning English as a foreign language at the National Academy of Public Administration The number of students who understand and use English euphemisms is not high Most of them choose direct and short expressions in taboo topics One of the reasons is that the students have not been introduced to this linguistic phenomenon at schools Another reason is to avoid learning new words as long as they have the alternatives For instance, one may say that ―He is blind‖ is the same as ―He is visually challenged‖ Using ―blind‖ is more economical than ―Visually challenged‖ because it is shorter, easier to remember; 49 Although most students agree that the role of euphemism is important and that using euphemism brings about effectiveness in communication However, it requires them to have knowledge of English culture in general and taboos in particular, so that they will feel self-confident to use English euphemism in communication 50 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Concluding remarks Euphemism, as a variation of language, is applied everywhere in all human societies and used in all human interactions The main function of euphemism is to replace taboos, which are common social-cultural phenomenon actually extending people‘s self-protection psychology In daily communication, there are many taboo topics which make the people embarrassed when talking about them Therefore, using euphemism in interaction or in other word, employing pleasant and less direct expressions can help communicators overcome this obstacle This thesis has presented functions, formation and cultural features of English euphemism, focusing on some taboo topics in literatures Then it also has carried out a survey on problems faced by NAPA students in understanding and applying English euphemism in to communication The three research questions stated in the very beginning of the paper have been answered in each chapter A number of previous studies and the theory of the euphemism were reviewed in detailed The functions of euphemism in communication are to avoid taboos, being polite, gloss-over, and disguising Euphemism is also classified into positive and negative euphemism, conscious and unconscious euphemism, and euphemism of taboo topics Thirteen types of euphemism are formed on the basis of three main principles, such as: borrowing word from other languages, semantic changes, and phonetic distortion By analyzing data from several novels in English, the author clarified principal formations of euphemism in English literature and cultural features of English euphemism It can be seen that English euphemism is formed in various way, but in literature, it is mainly constituted by some common ways such as slang rhythm, metaphors, circumlocution, word borrowing, and understatement Through analysis of cultural features of euphemisms in English, it is proved that replacing taboos is the main function of euphemism and is considered as the common social – cultural factor helping people to polish their self-protection psychology The thesis also analyzes the examples taken from some famous novels to make comparison about the use of euphemism in these novels in both English and Vietnamese euphemism These examples analyzed are about euphemistic expressions of death, sex, pregnancy and childbirth The analysis shows that in both languages, euphemism is fully made use of to avoid taboos and to be appropriate with particular situations This is very useful for learners in using language in real communication context in 51 daily life Apart from theory of euphemism as well as detailed analysis of the use of euphemism, chapter has focused on investigating the perception of euphemism among students at NAPA The results show that the students have poor knowledge on euphemism, and they don‘t know to use English euphemistic expressions in real situations, although most of the students realize the importance of euphemisms in everyday conversation 5.2 Limitations of the study Due to the limitation of time and of knowledge of the writer and the shortage of material sources, the thesis has limited itself to three ways Firstly, exploring the euphemism into a direct form in English texts and the evidence is mainly collected from some famous English novels of literature As a result, the research has failed to address all linguistic aspects Secondly, some of the conclusions drawn from the findings are rather subjective and the issues mentioned are still somewhat general Finally, the number of question in the survey questionnaire is rather small Thus, to some extent, the chapter four of the thesis has not accomplished a satisfactory depth as it should However, the author believes that this study contains useful findings and we hope, this will add more value and make contribution to the teaching and learning euphemism 5.3 Suggestions for further study Although some knowledge about euphemism in terms of culture has been investigated in the thesis, it cannot cover all the aspects relating to such broad cultural and linguistic phenomenon As a result, in the next research, the writer hopes to have the opportunity to work more on them In fact, there are many ways people can use to say euphemistically besides resorting to nice words and phrases For example, the speakers may use structures of higher linguistic levels carrying polite ideas (clauses, sentences, texts) or other categories of euphemism (tense device, nominalisation, scientific term labeling stylistic means) to enhance the values of their speech Another study about them is expected to be the development for this thesis In the end, although much effort has been made, some weaknesses and mistakes are unavoidable in the thesis It is the researcher who is to blame for these weaknesses and mistakes Any sympathetic comments and constructive criticisms are more than welcome 52 REFERENCES In English Allan, K., & Burridge, K (1991) Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as Shield and Weapon London: Oxford University Press Ayto, J (2000) Dictionary of Euphemisms London: Bloomsbury Publish Limited Blum-Kulka, S (1982) Learning to say what you mean: A study of speech act performance of learners of Hebrew as a second language Applied Linguistics, 3, 29-59 Brown, P., Levinson, S (1987) Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage Cambridge University Press: Cambridge Enright, D J (1985) Fair of Speech: the Uses of Euphemism London: Oxford University Press Goffman, Erving (1967) Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face behavior New York: Anchor Books Hugh Rawson (1981) Rawson’s Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Double Talk Revised Edition New York: Crown Publishers, Inc Kramsch, C (2000) Language and Culture Shanghai Foreign Education Press Leech, G (1983) Principles of pragmatics London: Longman McArthur, T (1992) The Oxford Companion of the English Language Oxford University Press, New York 10 Neaman, J S& Carole G S (1990) Kind words: A thesaurus of euphemism Maple – Vail Manufacturing Group, USA 11 Petra Christian (1973) The Sexploiters 12 Rawson, H (1981) A dictionary of Euphemisms and other Double-talk New York: Crown Publishers 13 Sapir, E (1956) Culture, Language and Personality University of California Press 14 Wardhaugh, Ronald (1992) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Second edition) Oxford: Blackwell Publisher Ltd 15 Webster‘s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language ( 1961) Merriam Publisher In Vietnamese 16 Bằng Giang (1997) Tiếng Việt phong phú NXB Văn hóa, Hà Nội 53 17 Diệp Quang Ban (2004) Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt NXB Giáo dục, Hà Nội 18 Đinh Trọng Lạc (1998) 99 phương tiện biện pháp tu từ tiếng Việt NXB Giáo dục, Hà Nội 19 Đinh Trọng Lạc (1999) Phong cách học Tiếng Việt NXB Giáo Dục, Hà nội 20 Nguyễn Thị Lê (2006) An investigation into Semantic, Pragmatic and Syntactic Features of English Euphemisms and Vietnamese Newspapers, M.A Thesis University of Danang 21 Trương Viên (2003) Nghiên cứu uyển ngữ Tiếng Anh việc chuyển dịch sang Tiếng Việt Luận án tiến sỹ Ngữ văn, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội 54 APPENDIX LIST OF NOVELS AND POEMS USED IN THE THESIS In English Cullough, C.Mc (1992) The thorn birds Harper and Row Publishers Hemingway, E (1929) A Farewell to arm JK Rowling (1997) Harry Potter series Capston Press Scribner‘s Magazine Puzo, M.( 1969) The Godfather G.P Putnam‘s Sons Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1816) Kubla Khan William Bulmer and Co Scott Fitzgerald (1925).The Great Gatsby Charles Scribner's Sons Publishers Shakespeare (1597) Romeo and Juliet John Danter Publisher Thackery, W.M (1847) Vanity Fair Punch Magazine In Vietnamese Bùi Giáng (1965) Cát bụi NXB Hội nhà văn 10 Giang Hà Vỵ dịch (2004) Giã từ vũ khí NXB Văn Hóa Thơng tin 11 Nam Cao (2015) Chí Phèo NXB Văn học 12 Nam Cao (2015) Lão Hạc NXB Văn học 13 Ngọc Thứ Lang dịch (1969) Bố Già NXB Văn học 14 Nguyễn Du (1972) Truyện Kiều NXB Giáo dục 16 Phạm Mạnh Hùng (2009) Tiếng chim hót bụi mận gai NXB văn học Đông A 17 Quang Dũng (1986).Tây Tiến NXB Kim Đồng 18 Tố Hữu (1972) Bác NXB Văn hóa thơng tin 19 Tố Hữu (2005) Tập thơ Việt Bắc NXB Văn học 20 Trần Kiệm dịch (2006) Hội chợ phù hoa NXB Văn học 21 Xuân Quỳnh (1963), Thuyền Biển NXB Phụ nữ 22 Y Phương (1980), Hồi ức chiến tranh, trích Đoạn Trường ca 23 Vũ Trọng Phụng (2011) Giông Tố NXB Văn học 55 APPENDIX INFORMATION SHEET (Questionnaire) This is a study on English euphemism with reference to Vietnamese equivalence and implications for English teaching and learning at the National Academy of Public Administration The study investigates euphemistic formation, functions, and cultural features of English with reference to Vietnamese equivalence, and then evaluate the awareness of euphemism by the NAPA‘s students The result of this study will help foreign language learners have a better understanding of English euphemisms, which would encourage them to use euphemisms more confidently and avoid communication breakdown As part of the study, I am seeking your consent to participate in a questionnaire about euphemism The questionnaire will be undertaken by 100 students The questionnaire contains 15 questions The questionnaire will take approximately 10 minutes to complete All participation for the questionnaire is entirely voluntary If you agree to participate in the study, please begin to answer the questions SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE Training Institution: the National Academy of Public Administration First- year student Second- year student Gender: male female Bảng câu hỏi phục vụ đề tài nghiên cứu uyển ngữ tiếng Anh liên hệ với tiếng Việt, ứng dụng vào giảng dạy tiếng Anh cho sinh viên Học viện Hành Quốc Gia Câu trả lời em cung cấp sở thực tiễn cho nghiên cứu Các sở liệu điều tra dùng cho việc nghiên cứu đề tài này, khơng mục đích khác 56 Part 1: What the italic phrases in the following sentences mean? ―I know Jenna is expecting the first baby!‖ said Brittany ―Her stomach looks huge and she went shopping for kid‘s clothes yesterday! She must be with child.‖ a overweight b pregnant c babysitting I‘m currently between jobs, after finishing my three years working for Pepsi Company a unemployed b working c employed I was so shocked when the doctor told me that he has gone to a better place a died b gone abroad c have a better life Tommy can‘t see that signpost because he is visually challenged And that is the reason why he needs your help to get to the bus stop a good-sighted b blind c short-sighted Until the moment she was taken to the garden of rest, we knew that she had gone to heaven a cemetery b home c garden Part 2: What would you say in the following situations? Supposing that you have to inform the others about the death of a relative: a He/ she has died d He/she has passed away b He/she has kicked the bucket e He/ she has departed c He/ she has gone to a better place Supposing that you have to inform the others about the death of a criminal: a He/ she has died d He/she has passed away b He/she has kicked the bucket e He/ she has departed c He/ she has gone to a better place You meet an old friend who looks more over weighted than before, what will you say to him/her? a You look fat! d You look great! b You look pudgy! e You look healthy! c You look prosperous! You have just known your friend is pregnant How would you say to her about that? a Are you expecting? d Are you going to have a baby? b Are you pregnant? c Are you in the pudding club? e Have you got a bun in the oven? 57 10 You are in a party with your friends and you want to go to the toilet How would you say? a I‘ll be back (in a minute) d Excuse me for a moment b Just going off to the loo e I‘m going to find the restroom c I must powder my nose 11 Supposing that your sister is a street sweeper How would you tell your friend about her job? a She works for the city as a cleaner d She‘s a sanitation engineer b She works in the cleaning industry e She's a street sweeper c She looks after the place Part 3: Please circle the given choice that matches your opinion 12 You use euphemisms when you want to… a avoid hurting other people‘s feelings c sound more polite b avoid having to tell the truth 13 In your opinion, in order to communicate effectively, the use of euphemisms is … a unnecessary b necessary c very necessary 14 In everyday communication, how often people use euphemisms? a usually b sometimes c never 15 Do you agree that euphemism should receive greater attention in the area of intercultural communication? a Strongly agree b agree c disagree THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATION! 58 ... and learners of English at the National Academy of Public Administration in teaching and learning English as a foreign language 1.2 Aims and Objectives of the study The study is carried out with. .. method we have data base to investigate understanding and application of euphemism in communication by the students of NAPA (the National Academy of Public Administration) Based on the result of this...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M .A Thesis A STUDY ON ENGLISH EUPHEMISM WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENCE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE