VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI THANH TAM A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PUNS IN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES (ĐỐI CHIẾU CHƠI CHỮ TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT TRONG TIÊU ĐỀ BÁO CHÍ) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi – 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI THANH TAM A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE PUNS IN NEWSPAPER HEADLINES (ĐỐI CHIẾU CHƠI CHỮ TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT TRONG TIÊU ĐỀ BÁO CHÍ) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lam Quang Dong Hanoi – 2017 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research A Contrastive Analysis Of English And Vietnamese Puns In Newspaper Headlines I confirm that: This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; I have acknowledged all main sources of help; Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself Signed: …………………………………………………………… Date: ……………………………………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research paper would not have been completed without the help of people to whom I would like to express my deep gratitude First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Associate Professor Doctor Lam Quang Dong, my supervisor, for his support, continuous motivation and precious guidance which were decisive factors to the completion of the thesis Also, I would like to extend my special thanks to my teachers, my friends and my parents for their encouragement and support that help me overcome difficulties to complete this study ii ABSTRACT This paper presents a contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese puns in newspaper headlines The study applies the framework of Delabatista (1996) and Yuan Chuandao (2005) to categorize puns 200 puns are collected randomly from 51 English newspapers and 31 Vietnamese newspapers in a bid to ensure the objectivity of the study Then, these puns are analyzed and compared The results of the research show that English and Vietnamese share the same communicative purpose and variety in the methods to create puns in newspaper headlines As for differences, English newspaper headlines tend to use puns based on the similarity of sounds, including homophonic, homonymic, paronymic puns while Vietnamese ones are inclined to meaning transference-based and idiom-based puns The significant impacts of using puns in newspaper headlines make articles become more eye-catching and easy to draw reader‟s attention Keywords: puns, newspaper headlines iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Structure of the thesis PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Related studies 1.2 Definitions of newspaper headline and its fu 1.3 Definitions of puns 1.4 Pun and wordplay 1.5 Pun and ambiguity 1.6 Classifications of puns 1.6.1 Homonymic Puns 1.6.2 Homophonic Puns 1.6.3 Paronymic puns 1.6.4 Meaning transference-based puns 1.6.5 Idiom-based puns iv 1.7 An overview on Contrastive Analysis 1.8 Summary CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 The data 2.1.1 English newspapers 2.1.2 Vietnamese newspapers 2.2 Procedures CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 English and Vietnamese headlines using hom 3.2 English and Vietnamese headlines using hom 3.3 English and Vietnamese headlines using par 3.4 English and Vietnamese headlines using me puns 3.5 English and Vietnamese headlines using idio 3.6 Similarities and differences between English newspaper headlines 3.6.1 Similarities 3.6.2 Differences 3.7 Summary PART III: CONCLUSION Recapitulation Limitations of the study Implications Suggestions for further studies REFERENCES APPENDIX v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The number of English and Vietnamese puns in newspaper headlines in terms of punning methods vi PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale For centuries, the press has always played an important role in transmitting information to the wide public, and in that way, it exerts considerable influence on the public, governments, and almost all other social entities Therefore, journalists always find ways to improve their articles The headline of a newspaper can be seen as the most important part of an article In other words, it is a crucial part that attracts readers The headline is always the first thing that readers pay attention to when they want to read or buy a newspaper It serves as a guide for readers to decide whether to continue reading the whole article or move to another one Therefore, a headline needs to be titled carefully and creatively The more eye-catching and impressive a headline is, the more readers the newspaper attracts There is no surprise that many newspapers are saturated with strategies to draw readers‟ attention Among those strategies is the use of puns Although they may share certain similarities, puns tend to be unique forms and specific to each language Puns are also special forms of humor based on semantic ambiguity, polysemy, homophony, amongst others Speakers and writers use the similarities of sounds and meanings to create surprises in the listeners and readers‟ interpretation Understanding puns is part of the process of language acquisition, so puns are part of charm that belongs to any language Learning to understand puns in a new language is both a cause and a consequence of language proficiency However, even native speakers need to utilize a great deal of linguistic information and background knowledge to understand a pun Without adequate background knowledge and cultural understanding, readers or listeners are likely to encounter difficulty understanding puns in another language Likewise, Vietnamese learners who study English encounter many difficulties in comprehending puns, especially English puns in newspaper headlines Obviously, it is not simply the matter of vocabulary It is language and cultural understanding The unique characteristics of puns pose a great challenge to Vietnamese learners of English when they begin to read English newspapers This is the reason why I decided to conduct the research “A contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese puns in newspaper headlines” My expectation is that this research will help Vietnamese learners of English comprehend the use of puns and distinguish the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese puns in newspaper headlines Aims of the study In light of Contrastive Analysis, the study attempts to help readers and learners gain better knowledge about puns in general and puns in English and Vietnamese in particular In addition, from this research, readers or learners can have some reference to make their own interpretation of puns in English or Vietnamese newspaper headlines which they encounter in real life Research questions The study is an attempt to analyze and contrast puns in English and Vietnamese newspaper headlines Therefore, the research seeks answers to the following questions: - What are the similarities between puns in English newspaper headlines and their counterpart in Vietnamese in terms of punning method? - What are the differences between puns in English newspaper headlines and their counterpart in Vietnamese in terms of punning method? “Đất lành chim đậu, chim chưa đậu nhậu hết chim” VI 10 “Mắt thần” xứ Thanh 11 “Mỡ để miệng mèo” mèo lại chê!!! 12 1001 kiểu lừa đảo mua bán online: Dở khóc dở cười kiểu "treo đầu dê bán thịt chó” 13 Ái ng 14 Ăn cơm nhà, lo tìm giấy tờ cho thiên hạ 15 Anh hùng rơm, tư “trẻ trâu” chuyển… trách nhiệm 16 Báo điện tử giật tít câu view: Treo đầu dê cịn bán tùy 17 Bật cười với “giấu đầu hở chân” trẻ 18 Bất thiện …nhàn cư 19 Bí thư Thăng mong "quả đấm thép" lập nhiều chiến công dịp Tết 20 Bia chui 21 Bộ Công Thương muốn định giá nhà máy 8000 tỉ “trùm mền” 22 Bom nổ chậm 23 Bóng chuyền: “Đại bàng” tung cánh hạ “Xe tăng” 24 Ca rao … ngâm tết 25 Các tập đoàn lớn Hàn Quốc bị "sờ gáy" bê bối hối lộ VI 26 Cháy nhà …mặt quan 27 Chén chén anh dễ gặp tử thần 28 Chí phéo 29 Chiếc loa phường nên "về hưu"? 30 Chiêm ngưỡng biệt thự "hồng nhan bạc triệu" 31 Chiêu “gắp lửa bỏ tay người” khiến chồng bồ sợ xanh mặt 32 Chờ Bồ “xé” Áo 33 Chồng voi đòi hai bà Trưng 34 Chưa an cư, lạc nghiệp 35 Chưa tròn 18 tuổi, cô nàng 'bắn' thứ tiếng Khánh Vy trở thành MC dẫn tin thời quốc tế 36 Cờ bạc “nở rộ” dịp Tết 37 Cổ động viên MU nức lịng Schweinsteiger “nổ súng” 38 Có Đà Nẵng “đất lành chim khơng đậu” 39 Cịn …nói cịn tát 40 Cơng Phượng “thơng nịng” trận khai xn 41 Cơng trình “cúng cụ” VI 42 Đà Nẵng: chợ hoa Tết “héo” mưa 43 Đầu xuôi, khơng lọt 44 Đề thi thử nghiệm mơn Tốn: Đã "qt" hết tồn chương trình 45 Địi lộ củ sắn củ khoai 46 Đổi tiền Tết Đinh Dậu: Ngân hàng than khó, "chợ đen" chặt chém 47 ĐT Việt Nam thời hậu Công Vinh: Trui rèn “vàng” 48 Đừng biến trạm thu phí thành chỗ “đục nước béo cò” 49 Đừng để sống kiểu “Vợ vợ hai, hai vợ cả!” 50 Đút đầu vào rọ 51 Gắp lửa bỏ tay 52 Gậy ơng đập lưng bà 53 Ghét bít đường lối 54 Giấu đầu lịi 55 Giữ xe ngày Tết thi “chặt chém” khách du xuân 56 Hàng Việt Nam chất lượng …cáo 57 Hậu sinh khả…ố IX 58 Hé lộ chế “mở” cho cá cược đua ngựa, bóng đá 59 Hoa đào “cười”, người trồng lo 60 Hoàng thành Thăng Long 'mặc áo mới', nhà quản lý nói gì? 61 Hỡi cô nàng Ưng Lộ Lộ 62 Khi “bộ phát thanh” bị rè 63 Khi kẻ cắp gặp 'bà già' cao tay 64 Khởi tố 9x lập facebook lừa tình, tiền 'quất ngựa truy phong” 65 Khởi tố vụ án chủ tịch huyện ký cấp sổ đỏ cho “đất ma”, dân "tan cửa nát nhà"! 66 Không chơi với nhà họ Hứa 67 Liệu hệ trẻ Việt Nam có vươn lên trở thành "con rồng" châu Á giới? 68 Lời chào cao tính mạng 69 Lúa “điếc” chứng “lãng tai” 70 Man City - Arsenal: Giậu đổ bìm khó leo 71 Mario Balotelli: Cháy nhà mặt …trộm 72 Một học sinh “gánh” học bạ X 73 Muốn khám nhanh phải “lụy cò” 74 Neymar dùng chiêu “mượn gió bẻ măng” với Barca 75 Nghề hổng ngon “ăn” 76 Người dân Thủ đô nườm nượp xuống phố "chở Tết" nhà 77 Nhập ơtơ bị “đóng băng” 78 Nhất cử, tam tứ tiện 79 Nhậu “chùa” 80 Những chứng minh khoa học đoạt giải “lôben” quốc tế 2012 81 Những đề án giáo dục: “đuôi chuột” “đầu voi”? 82 Những người trẻ đón Tết theo lối sống "xanh" 83 Những nhà vệ sinh với thiết kế khiến bạn đỏ mặt khơng dám “giải nỗi buồn” 84 Nịng cốt U19 Việt Nam „tan đàn xẻ nghé’ sau vé World Cup 85 Nữ hoàng UFC bị dọa “dùng gậy bà đập lưng bà” 86 Ông Trump giễu nghị sĩ Dân chủ “nước mắt cá sấu” phản đối lệnh cấm nhập cảnh XI 87 Phú quý sinh…vợ nhỏ 88 Qui định vi hiến chuyện “cầm đèn chạy trước luật pháp”! 89 Ranh ngôn mùa World Cup 90 Sống World Cup mà không "cụp" 91 Thần y Hơ Run: Chó treo, mèo chết 92 Thêm nơi có cảnh giáo viên “tắm bùn” Thiếu nữ ăn mặc phản cảm đến chùa: Thánh không ăn 'xôi thịt' Tiếng Vịt 93 94 95 Tìm bạn bốn phương …tám hướng 96 Tối kiến …né việc 97 TPHCM: Thưởng Tết giáo viên “lắng” năm 98 Trai nóng, gái nóng nóng người 99 Trúng lớn mùa cá khoai đầu năm, ngư dân “hái” bạc triệu ngày 100 Usain Bolt có “cửa” địi lại HCV Olympic bị tước XI APPENDIX Table 1: List of English newspapers No Name of newspaper abcnews.go.com Aftonbladet Chicago Sun-Times Courier Mail Daily Mail Daily Mirror Daily News Daily Star Daily Star Sunday 10 Daily Times 11 dailymail.co.uk 12 Fife Herald 13 14 Frederick News-post hattiesburgamerican.com 15 Irish Daily Mirror 16 jeffreyhill.typepad.com 17 Metro 18 Metro Herald 19 Money.cnn.com 20 21 New York Post NT News 22 nypost.com 23 Philadelphia metro 24 Sun Sport 25 Sunday Mirror 26 Telegraph XI Table 2: List of Vietnamese newspapers No Name of newspapers 24h.com.vn afamily.vn baoangiang.com baodatviet.vn baomoi.com cafebiz.vn cand.com.vn dantri.com.vn depmoingay.vn 10 enternews.vn 11 ngoisao.net 12 nguoiduatin 13 nld.com.vn 14 Nông thôn ngày 15 phunuonline.com.vn 16 phunuvagiadinh.com XI ... contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese puns in newspaper headlines The study applies the framework of Delabatista (1996) and Yuan Chuandao (2005) to categorize puns 200 puns are collected randomly... original research A Contrastive Analysis Of English And Vietnamese Puns In Newspaper Headlines I confirm that: This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at... headlines using hom 3.3 English and Vietnamese headlines using par 3.4 English and Vietnamese headlines using me puns 3.5 English and Vietnamese headlines using idio 3.6 Similarities