Từ ngữ chỉ bộ phận cơ thể người trong thành ngữ, tục ngữ tiếng Hàn và đặc trưng ngôn ngữ học tri nhận của chúng (so sánh với tiếng Việt) ttta

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF PEDAGOGY

BUI THI MY LINH

THE HUMAN BODY PARTS IN KOREAN IDIOMS, PROVERBS
AND COGNITIVE SEMANTIC FEATURES
(IN COMPARISON WITH VIETNAMESE)

Major: Linguistics
Code: 62220240

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION ON LINGUISTICS

Ho Chi Minh City – 2022


The work is completed at Ho Chi Minh City University of Pedagogy.
Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Hoang Dung

Reviewer 1 : Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Phuong Trang
Reviewer 2 : Assoc. Prof. Du Ngoc Ngan
Reviewer 3 : Assoc. Prof. Le Kinh Thang

The dissertation will be defended in front of the University-level
Dissertation Council meeting at ………………………………………
On the date………..……….. 2022

The dissertation can be found at the following Libraries:
National Library of Vietnam
Library of Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical University

General Science Library of Ho Chi Minh City


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INTRODUCTION
1.

Reason for writing

The research on the group of words indicating human body parts (HBP) in
Korean idioms and proverbs in the perspective of cognitive linguistics tends to dig
deeper into conceptual metaphors than conceptual metonymies and focus on
comparing with equivalent data sources in English and Chinese. In particular, the
studies only focus on one or a few specific HBP with a limited number of idioms
and proverbs. Therefore, a study approaches the group of words indicating all HBP
from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, on both the conceptual metaphor and
conceptual metonymy with the research object being all the words indicating HBP
with a large number of idioms and proverbs in the comparison between Korean
and Vietnamese is essential.
Moreover, Korea and Vietnam have a strengthen cooperation in many fields,
especially in Korean and Korean language teaching. From this point of the view,
the dissertation will apply the research results to teaching, translating terms in the
connection between the languages and cultures of Korean and Vietnam.
2.

Previous studies

The studies of Lakoff & Turner (1989), Lakoff & Johnson (1980), Kövecses &
Radden (1998), Barcelona (2003), Kövecses (2010) is considered great works that

set the theoretical framework when discussing cognitive linguistics.
The study of Ning Yu (2009) analyzes " 心 (mind)" from the point of view of
monism in Chinese culture and dualism in Western culture. This study is defined
as the basis for explaining the similarities and differences in cognitive attitudes in
the East and the West.
In Korea, the studies about the conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy
is very diverse, such as Lim Ji-rong (2008), Kim Hyang-suk (2001), Choi Ji-hoon
(2007), Jin-jeong (2008). The studies on the group of words indicating HBP in
Korean are all based on idiomatic data sources and are limited to one or a few
words indicating HBP. In Vietnam, the studies on the group of words indicating
HBP the perspective of cognitive linguistics have also received much attention,
such as Nguyen Ngoc Vu (2008), Trinh Sam (2014), Lieu Thi Thanh Nhan (2018),
Tran Thi Hien (2018).
Studying the history of researching words indicating HBP in Korean and
Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, we found that:
- There has not been any studies comparing and synthesizing the words
indicating HBP in Korean and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs from the
perspective of cognitive linguistics.


4
-

-

-

There has not been any studies accessing the data source of proverbs
containing words indicating HBP in the comparison between Korean and
Vietnamese from the perspective of cognitive linguistics.

All the studies cited, if based on idiom data, the number of idioms is also
very small. The most work based on this data is 982 idioms.
When analyzing the conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy,
previous studies only focused on structural metaphors and container
metaphors, part metonymy instead of whole and other types of metaphor,
metonymy or not mentioned at all or very briefly mentioned.
Some studies of Vietnamese have considered the quantity, frequency and
appearance of words indicating HBP in idioms and proverbs, but in Korean,
we have not found any research on this part. In general and in comparison
with Vietnamese in particular, the data source is idioms, proverbs containing
words indicating HBP.

-

Research purpose
Find out the number, level of occurrence, trend of combination of words
indicating HBP in Korean idioms and proverbs.
Find out the idealized cognitive models (ICMs) on the data source of Korean
idioms and proverbs with words indicating HBP.
Point out the similarities and differences in the cognitive methods of Korean
and Vietnamese based on data source of Korean and Vietnamese idioms and
proverbs containing words indicating HBP.
Provide the scientific basis to explain ICMs.

4.

Research object and scope

3.
-

The research object of the dissertation is the words indicating HBP that appear
in idioms and proverbs in Korean and Vietnamese.
5. The
5.1.
-

-

theoretical and practical significance of the research
The theoretical significance of the research

Contributing to the research of conceptual metaphor and metonymy models
on an extensive and new data source of Korean and Vietnamese idioms and
proverbs containing words indicating HBP.
Determining cognitive linguistic features of words indicating HBP in Korean
and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs.


5

5.2.
-

-

-

-

6.

The practical signficance of the research

The conceptual metaphor and metonymy models will become the basis for
explaining the meaning of idioms and proverbs containing words indicating
HBP in Korean and Vietnamese.
Provide idioms and proverbs containing words indicating HBP in compiling
study and research materials for Vietnamese learning Korean and Korean
learning Vietnamese.
The appendix of the dissertation will become a reference source for learning
and teaching Korean for Vietnamese and Vietnamese for Korean in Korean
language and language - culture courses. At the same time, this will be a
valuable reference source for research related to idioms and proverbs in
general and idioms and proverbs containing words indicating HBP in
particular.
The appendix will become the source of documents for compiling Korean Vietnamese and Vietnamese - Korean dictionaries related to words
indicating HBP as well as idioms and proverbs containing words indicating
HBP in Korean and Vietnamese.
Research method

We use statistics, description, comparison as the research methods.
7.

Research Resources

From dictionaries and research data sources, we collected 2,346 idioms and
proverbs containing words indicating HBP in Korean and 1,623 idioms and
proverbs containing words indicating HBP in Vietnamese.
8.

Research layout

In addition to the introduction and conclusion, the research is divided into four
chapters.
Chapter 1: Basic theoretical issues in cognitive linguistics
Chapter 2: Number, frequency and appearance of words indicating HBP in
Korean idioms and proverbs (compared with Vietnamese)
Chapter 3: Conceptual metaphor of words indicating HBP in Korean idioms
and proverbs (compared with Vietnamese)
Chapter 4: Conceptual metonymy of words indicating HBP in Korean idioms
and proverbs (compared with Vietnamese)


6
9.

Research contribution

-

This is the first research to survey a large number of idioms and proverbs
containing words indicating HBP in Korean up to 2,346 idioms, proverbs
and in Vietnamese up to 1,623 idioms and proverbs.
This is the first research that compares the number, frequency and
appearance of words indicating HBP in the most specific way in idioms and
proverbs in Korean and Vietnamese.
This is the first research based on the data source of proverbs containing
words indicating HBP in Korean and compared with equivalent words in
Vietnamese from the perspective of cognitive linguistics.

This is the first research to compare to find out the similarities and
differences in the conceptual metaphor and metonymy methods on the basis
of the data between Korean and Vietnamese.
The research studies all types of conceptual metaphor including structural
metaphors, orientational metaphors, ontological metaphors based entirely on
data, which are idioms, proverbs containing words indicating HBP in Korean
and Vietnamese.
The research studies in detail about conceptual metonymy according to
cognitive models including thing and part ICM, event ICM, category and
property ICM and attributes that the previous research often ignored or
overlooked.

-

-

-

-

-

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Metaphor and metonymy from traditional linguistics to cognitive
linguistics
1.1.1. Metaphor and metonymy from a traditional linguistics view
1.1.

In traditional linguistics, metaphor and metonymy are both ways of transferring
name between two things. Metaphor is a way of changing name between two

similar things A and B based on similarity and metonymy is changing name based
on proximity/ contiguity.
Three centuries BC, Aristotle identified that metaphor is calling a thing by a
name that is used to call another thing. Aristotle discusses metaphor (including
metonymy) within the framework of literary art and he emphasizes that “It is the
one thing that cannot be learnt from others; and it is also a sign of genius, since a
good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilars.”
Aristotle’s views on metaphor had a great impact throughout the history of rhetoric
in the West. Aristotle’s treatment of metonymy as a type of metaphor remained


7

accepted by linguists until the late 1950s, before Jakobson identified that metaphor
and metonymy are two separate methods based on two opposing principles.
In 1916, in the General Linguistics, F. de Saussure, a Swiss linguist, divided
linguistic activity into two, speech and language. Thus, in a logical way, metaphor
and metonymy are also divided into two, speech (alive metaphor, metonymy) and
language (dead metaphor, metonymy). It is very important to clearly separate
because it allows us to understand what mechanisms help create metaphors,
literary metonymy.
1.1.2.

Metaphor and metonymy from a cognitive linguistics view

The traditional conceptions of metaphor and metonymy remained almost
unchanged until the advent of cognitive linguistics, especially with Lakoff &
Johnson’s Metaphors We Live By published in 1980. The author proves that
metaphor and metonymy are not just linguistic matters as the traditional view
holds. They analyze and give strong evidence to confirm that they are cognitive

tools, that is, the way for people to perceive the world.
In cognitive linguistics, metaphor and metonymy are cognitive processes. If the
cognitive process takes place in two conceptual domains according to a similar
mechanism, it is a metaphor. And if the cognitive process only takes place in a
conceptual domain according to the proximity/ contiguity mechanism, it is a
metonymy.
The two conceptual domains of metaphor perception are called the source
domain and the target domain. In which the conceptual domain containing
metaphorical expressions to help understand other conceptual domain is called the
source domain, while the conceptual domain that is understood based on the
source domain is called the target domain.
Lakoff & Johnson (1980) demonstrates that metaphor and metonymy pervade
human language and thinking by presenting a series of metaphorical and
metonymic linguistic expressions. Metaphor and metonymy exist not only in
language but also in thought and action, helping people to concretize abstract
concepts.
1.1.3.

Compare conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy

Although metaphor and metonymy share some similarities, they are two
distinct modes of perception, with different characteristics between them.
Conceptual metaphor
Conceptual metonymy
Occurs in two domains of ICM.
Occurs in a domain of ICM.
The main function is understanding, The main function is referencing,
using the concept of one entity to using one entity instead of another.

8

understand another entity.
The relationship between the source
domain and the target domain is “isa”.
Occurs according to the “similarity”
mechanism between the source
domain and the target domain.

The relationship between the source
domain and the target domain is
“stand-for” .
Occurs according to the mechanism
of “proximity/ contiguity” between
the source domain and the target
domain.

Although metaphor and metonymy are two different cognitive mechanisms, in
many cases they interfere with each other. This makes the study of metaphor and
metonymy more challenging and interesting.
1.2. Classification of conceptual
1.2.1. Classification of conceptual
1.2.1.1.
Structural metaphor

metaphor and conceptual metonymy
metaphor

Structural metaphor is a metaphor in which one concept is metaphorically
structured through another. This type of metaphor often uses the result of symbolic

representation in association, helping people understand a target domain B through
a source domain A.
Orientational metaphor
Orientational metaphor is a metaphor that does not structure one idea on the
basis of another, but on the contrary it organizes a whole system of interrelated
ideas. This metaphor is so named because they are all related to spatial orientation:
up - down, in - out, front - back, shallow - deep, center - edge. Orientational
metaphor provides less conceptual structure than ontological metaphor. Instead,
the positioning metaphor creates a series of target domain concepts in the human
conceptual system.
1.2.1.2.

1.2.1.3.

Ontological metaphor

Ontological metaphor provides less cognitive structure than structural
metaphor. The cognitive engine of this metaphor seems to provide only the
ontological condition that leads to the general category of abstract target concepts.
1.2.2. Classification of conceptual
1.2.2.1.
Thing and part ICM

metonymy

This is a metonymy in which a part of an entity stands for the whole entity or
vice versa.


9

1.2.2.2.

Event ICM

This is a metonymy in which a part of the event stands for the whole event.
1.2.2.3.

Category and property ICM

This is a metonymy in which a category stands for a property or vice versa.
CHAPTER 2: NUMBER, FREQUENCY AND APPEARANCE OF WORDS
INDICATING HUMAN BODY PARTS IN KOREAN IDIOMS AND
PROVERBS
(COMPARED WITH VIETNAMESE)
2.1. Number and frequency of words indicating human body parts in korean
idioms and proverbs
2.1.1. Number of words indicating human body parts in korean idioms and
proverbs
Out of a total of 457 words indicating HBP in Korean, 192 words (accounting
for 42%) appear in 2,346 idioms and proverbs. And out of a total of 222 words
indicating HBP in Vietnamese, 110 words (accounting for 50%) appear in 1,623
idioms and proverbs.
Humans receive and process input information through the senses. The head is
the place where almost all the body parts are responsible for the human senses,
including: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch. This is the reason why the first group
of HBP words always have a high number of occurrences in almost all idioms and
proverbs, including Korean and Vietnamese.
Out of 192 words indicating HBP appearing in Korean idioms and proverbs,
there are 22 vulgar words and degrading ways to refer to the same HBP, including:

“心心”, “心心”… And out of 110 words indicating HBP that appear in Vietnamese
idioms and proverbs, there are five vulgar words and degrading ways to refer to
the same HBP, which can be mentioned: “mồm”, “cặc”, “dái”…
Both Korean and Vietnamese have idioms and proverbs that reflect the
influence of Chinese characters in Korea and Vietnam.
Both in Korean and Vietnamese have metaphors to refer to HBP: “心心”, “心心”, “
心心”…; “cổ tay”, “lòng bàn tay”, “đầu lưỡi”, “gò má”, “đầu gối”, “chân răng”…
Among the words indicating HBP in idioms and proverbs in Korean and
Vietnamese, there are words that, when standing alone, are essentially not words
for HBP but refer to animals in general. But when participating in some idioms


10

and proverbs, they are temporarily used to refer to people: “心心心”, “心心心”...; “mề”,
“mang”, “cánh”…
Out of 192 words indicating HBP appearing in Korean idioms and proverbs and
110 words indicating HBP appearing in Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, there are
66 words indicating HBP in Korean and equivalent ways of saying it in
Vietnamese. Vietnamese appear in idioms and proverbs of the two countries, 76
words indicating HBP appear only in idioms and proverbs in Korean and 12 words
indicating HBP only appear in Vietnamese idioms and proverbs.
2.1.2. Frequency of words indicating human body parts in korean idioms and
proverbs
With 2,346 idioms and proverbs containing words indicating HBP, the total
frequency of 192 words indicating HBP in Korean is 2,614 times. With 1,623
idioms and proverbs containing words indicating HBP, the total frequency of 110
occurrences of HBP words in Vietnamese is 2,564 times. In both Korean and
Vietnamese, the total frequency of occurrence of the first group is equal to the sum
of the frequencies of more than two groups combined. If in Korean the second

highest total frequency is the extremities group consisting of parts that perform
physical activities, then in Vietnamese it is the abdominal group consisting of parts
that are believed by the Vietnamese to have the function of judgment and
containment, thought and feeling. The number of idioms and proverbs containing
words indicating HBP in Korean is more than in Vietnamese, 723 idioms and
proverbs. However, in terms of total frequency of occurrence, Korean is only 50
times higher than Vietnamese. This gives us a statement, in Korean idioms and
proverbs, the number of words indicating HBP tends to stand alone, while in
Vietnamese, they tend to appear in a combination of words indicating HBP
together.
The HBP in Korean idioms and proverbs with the highest total frequency is “心”
with 222 times, second is “心” with 206 times. The HBP in Vietnamese idioms and
proverbs with the highest total frequency is “tay” with 254 times, second is “mặt”
with 243 times. The total frequency of occurrence is high in Vietnamese idioms
and proverbs, which are completely different from those in Korean.
2.2. Appearance of words indicating human body parts in Korean idioms and
proverbs
The HBP in Korean and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs have two modes of
appearance: 1) Appearing independently of a word indicating HBP; 2) Appears in
a combination of many words indicating HBP. In Korean idioms and proverbs,
90% of the words indicating HBP appear independently, while the way they appear
in a combination accounts for only 10%. In contrast, appearing independently in


11

Vietnamese idioms and proverbs accounted for less than those appearing in
combinations with 45% and 55% respectively. Thus, if Korean prefer to use each
HBP individually, Vietnamese use a diverse and flexible combination of HBP
together.

CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR OF WORDS INDICATING
HUMAN BODY PARTS IN KOREAN IDIOMS AND PROVERBS
(COMPARED WITH VIETNAMESE)
3.1. Structural metaphors
In 2,346 Korean idioms and proverbs, we collected 434 conceptual metaphor
idioms and proverbs, of which structural metaphors is 93 idioms, proverbs,
accounting for 21%. And in 1,623 Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, we collected
277 conceptual metaphor idioms and proverbs, of which structural metaphors is 69
idioms, and proverbs, accounting for 25%.
Through our analysis, we can confirm that there are five source domains
including: COMMODITY, FOOD, WEAPON, LIGHTING OBJECT, ROTARY
IN ENGINE.
No.

Source domain

1
2
3
4

COMMODITY
FOOD
WEAPON
LIGHTING
OBJECT
ROTARY
IN
ENGINE

5

Korean
Number
Proportion
(%)
30
32
30
32
12
13
11
12
10

11

Vietnamese
Number
Proportion
(%)
33
48
17
25
12
17
7
10

0

0

3.1.1. HUMAN BODY PART IS COMMODITY
From time immemorial, in many circumstances, human is considered a
commodity. This really stood out in the feudal era when people of low status in
society were always considered a commodity for exchange.
The properties of buying and selling in the process of exchanging commodity is
used as the basis for mapping on the exchange of HBP. When HBP are recognized
as commodities, they are traded on the market. In Korean idioms and proverbs,
Korean use the predicates “心心”, “心心心”, “心心” to concretize this concept.


12

Korea is a country influenced by confucianism, especially the idea of
undervaluing women in society, there is a difference in the assessment of men and
women in Korean society: men respected, while women were looked down upon.
In terms of language, it doesn't show that the person selling the body is a woman,
but in terms of culture and society, Korean tend to see the person who uses the
body to exchange as a woman and the buyer of that body is a man
Like Korea, Vietnam is also a country heavily influenced by confucianism,
including the idea of respecting men and disrespecting women. In the feudal
society, women did not have the ability to be independent, had to depend on their
father, husband and children according to the rule of “three obediences”. Their role
and status in the family and in society is very low. Women and women’s bodies are
considered commodities for exchange. Vietnamese also tend to refer to sex
workers in idioms as women in terms of culture and society.
The expensive and cheap nature of the commodity is mapped onto the

expensive and cheap nature of the anticorruption to determine the price of the
anticorruption. Korean use the predicate “心心”, “心心 心心”, Vietnamese use “đắt” to
concretize this conceptual metaphor.
The packing property of the commodity maps onto the HBP so that it can also
be packaged as a commodity. Both Korean and Vietnamese use the predicate
“package” to concretize this concept. However, the difference is that, if in Korean
idioms and proverbs, the word indicating HBP is perceived as the inner commodity
of the wrapping material, then in Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, it is perceived
as the material. package.
In Korean idioms and proverbs, the “心”, “心”, “心”, “心” are considered highvalue commodities. We know that these parts take on important human activities
such as seeing, speaking, working, hearing. So these are considered high-value
commodities comparable to money, treasures and silk fabrics. Vietnamese also
perceive HBP is jewelry as precious and high-value jewelry such as gold and jade.
However, unlike Korean idioms and proverbs that simply refer to the value of the
body part itself, Vietnamese refers to the personality of the person owning that
body part.
3.1.2. HUMAN BODY PART IS FOOD
Korea and Vietnam have diverse cuisines with many dishes from wet rice
agriculture and from the influence of cuisines from other countries. This is the
basis of creating diverse elements in the domain of food sources in HUMAN
BODY PART IS FOOD in two languages.
In Korean idioms and proverbs, Korean uses the taste of food such as: spicy,
sour, sweet, bitter... to specify HUMAN BODY PART IS FOOD. Vietnamese also
has the way HUMAN BODY PART IS FOOD. Vietnamese also use “sour”,
“sweet”, “spicy”, “fragrant” to concretize this concept. However, unlike Korean,


13

Vietnamese does not have a cognitive way of using words to indicate the taste of

food to perceive its impact on objects in contact.
In the idioms, proverbs containing words indicating HBP also clearly show the
conceptual metaphor between the source domain of food taste and the target
domain of human mood. Li Xin-yang (2020) identified that in Korean, a positive
mood is considered a sweet taste, a negative mood is considered a sour, bitter, and
spicy taste, and the research data source of our dissertation allows us to agree this
opinion of the author.
To the extent that the research data source is Vietnamese idioms and proverbs
containing words indicating HBP, there is no expression to prove this conceptual
metaphor. However, outside the scope of research data sources, Vietnamese has
many expressions that use words to indicate the taste of food to indicate human
mood. Especially in this conceptual metaphor, if Korean use each word for taste
separately, Vietnamese tend to combine two words for taste together.
In both Korean and Vietnamese, words for the taste of food are used to indicate
a person's personality. However, if in Korean using the word for taste associated
with people in general, in Vietnamese, there are both people in general and each
HBP.
Korea is in a temperate climate with cold winter and to keep the body warm,
Korean mainly cook, simmer or boil dishes in earthenware pots to keep the heat in.
This is the reason for the preparation of dishes in this conceptual metaphor using
the predicates “心心心”, “心心心”, “心” to concretize. Meanwhile, Vietnamese idioms
and proverbs use the predicate "cook" and "xèo" to concretize this concept.
When HBP is perceived as a food, it will be considered edible with the use of
the predicate eat to concretize. At this time, the act of eating is considered to be
exploiting and plundering the property of others.
Similar to Korean, Vietnamese also use the predicate eat to concretize the
concept of HBP IS FOOD, but it is not a reference to looting other people's
property but to hatred.
3.1.3. HUMAN BODY PART IS A WEAPON
Weapon is not a common source domain in conceptual metaphor. This source

domain is often mentioned as an attachment when talking about cognitive models
related to the war source domain.
The activities “bắn”, “xuyên thủng”, “đâm” which are the attributes of weapons
used to map on the HBP, perceive HBP IS A WEAPON. In Korean, HBP are
perceived as guns and sharp objects such as knives and swords.
Similar to Korean, the HBP in Vietnamese idioms and proverbs is also
perceived as a weapon. However, the main difference between the two languages
is in the source domain in the cognitive process. Specifically, if in Korean HBP IS
A WEAPON based on the source domain being guns and sharp objects, in


14

Vietnamese the source domain is just sharp objects, namely knives, swords, no
guns. In particular, this cognitive method only refers to the sharpness and
sharpness of the weapon.
HBP is considered a weapon, so it can take a person’s life. The factor that can
kill people is mapped onto the HBP to concretize this cognitive model.
3.1.4. HUMAN BODY PART IS A LIGHTING OBJECT
Korean use the predicates “sáng”, “tối”, “chập chờn” to concretize the concept
that the HBP IS A LIGHTING OBJECT and that the HBP is the eyes and ears.
Similar to Korean, there is also a way of perceiving a person as an object of
light in Vietnamese with the main source domain being an oil lamp. Previously, oil
lamps were always present in the daily life and religious activities of Vietnamese.
The operation of the oil lamp is identified by the Vietnamese with the growth and
death process of human. When the light is on, it means that the fire extinguishers
are also lighting and operating, and when the lamp runs out of oil and can no
longer shine, the fire extinguishers also stop lighting, which means that human life
has come to an end.
3.1.5. HUMAN BODY PART IS A ROTARY IN ENGINE

The operating rules and structure of a machine are used to refer to the activities
and structure of people. In Korean, HUMAN IS A MACHINE and MACHINE IS
HUMAN has been clarified in many previous studies. On the basis of this concept
we have a lower conceptual metaphor that is HBP IS A ROTARY IN ENGINE.
This is the type of conceptual metaphor that has not been mentioned in previous
studies. This is a unique conceptual metaphor that is only available in Korean but
not in Vietnamese, although in Vietnamese there is still conceptual metaphor
HUMAN IS A MACHINE, MACHINE IS HUMAN as in Korean.
3.2. Orientational metaphors
Among 434 idioms and proverbs in Korean have 54 idioms, proverbs account
for 13%. And out of 277 idioms and proverbs in Vietnamese have 29 idioms,
proverbs account for 10%.
Through our analysis, we can confirm that there are two source domains,
vertical direction: UP, DOWN and horizontal direction: FRONT, AFTER, IN,
OUT, FAR, NEAR. The number and proportions of each source domain are shown
in the table below.
No.

Source domain

Korean
Number Proportion

Vietnamese
Number Proportion


15

1

2

VERTICAL
DIRECTION
HORIZONTAL
DIRECTION

25

(%)
46

21

(%)
72

29

54

8

28

3.2.1. VERTICAL DIRECTION
Reseraching about orientational metaphors “up” and “down” in Korean idioms
and proverbs, we found that orientational metaphors in Korean and Vietnamese
idioms and proverbs are common metaphors in many languages.
First upward is used to tacit comparisons with positive things such as good,

many, powerful, happy, high status, controlling, and downward refers to negative
things such as bad, little, no power, sadness, low status, control.
HAPPINESS (IS) UP; SADNESS (IS) DOWN
HONOR (IS) UP; UNHONOR (IS) DOWN
CAPACITY/COMMITTEE (IS) UP; NO COMPETENCE/ NO AUTHORITY (IS)
DOWN
ANGER (IS) UP; CALM DOWN (IS) DOWN
3.2.2. HORIZONTAL DIRECTION
FUTURE (IS) FRONT; PAST (IS) AFTER
POSITIVE (IS) FRONT; NEGATIVE (IS) AFTER
CAPACITY (IS) NEAR; NO COMPETENCE (IS) FAR
FRIENDLY (IS) NEAR; NOT FRIENDLY (IS) FAR
LOVE (IS) INSIDE; HATE (IS) OUTSIDE
3.3. Ontological metaphors
Among 434 idioms and proverbs in Korean has 287 idioms, proverbs
ontological metaphor, accounting for the highest percentage with 66%. And out of
277 idioms and proverbs in Vietnamese, the ontological metaphor has 179 idioms
and proverbs, accounting for the highest proportion with 65%.
We have verified two source domains: CONTAINER and ENTITY. The number
and proportion of each source domain is shown in the table below.
No.
1
2

Source domain
CONTAINER
ENTITY

Korean
Number

Proportion
(%)
246
86
41
14

Vietnamese
Number
Proportion
(%)
135
75
44
25


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3.3.1. CONTAINER METAPHOR
3.3.1.1. HUMAN BODY PARTS ARE FOOD CONTAINER
In the digestive system, food enters the mouth and mechanical digestion begins
with the act of chewing. After going through many processes, the food reaches the
stomach. So the body part that actually stores food is the stomach. However, in
Korean, belly and liver are perceived as the food container instead of the stomach.
When the belly contains food, Korean use expressions like “心心心”, conversely,
when the belly does not contain food, Korean use expressions such as “心心心 心心”,
“心心心” to specify this concept.
Food stored in the belly is also perceived by Korean as wealth, from which
there is a lower level perception that the belly is a wealth container. However, the

wealth contained in the belly is perceived as negative things, taken from others and
obtained. Here wealth represents human ambition and greed. For this cognitive
model, Korean use “心”, “心心心”, “心心心” to express. Although Vietnamese also
perceive the same as Korean in that they consider the belly as a food container, but
to describe whether the belly contains or does not contain food, Korean use the
expression “ 心 心 心 心 ” , Vietnamese use “no”, “tức” and “không” states. In
Vietnamese, there is a way to say “no cành bụng, no căng bụng”, but there is no
way to say “no nhô bụng” as in Korean idioms and proverbs. That tells us that if
Korean see the belly as a fixed container that changes in size only in one direction,
Vietnamese see the belly as a multi-dimensional container that can be stretched in
all directions.
In Korean, the liver is perceived as a food container, unlike the belly, the liver is
only perceived in terms of filling, not in terms of changing the size of the
container. Because it is easy to see that the liver is an internal organ that cannot
notice its change in size with the naked eye like the belly. In Vietnamese, there is a
way to express the effect of not eating “Đói bào gan bào ruột” but there is no way
to perceive the liver as a food container like in Korean.
3.3.1.2. HUMAN BODY PARTS ARE FETUS CONTAINER
After conception, the embryo travels to the womb, or uterus, to implant and
develop into a fetus during 40 weeks. However, in the Korean way of perception,
the fetus is contained in the belly and body, not in the womb. The Vietnamese also
perceive the belly as the place to hold the fetus as in Korean. However, in
Vietnamese, “mình” is not recognized as the container for the fetus as in Korean
and the combination “bụng - dạ” to refer to the container for the fetus is only
encountered in Vietnamese. “Dạ” is not a container for a fetus, it is only
considered a container for a fetus when it appears in the structure with “belly”.


17

3.3.1.3. HUMAN BODY PARTS ARE EMOTIONAL CONTAINER
Korean consider “ 心 心 ” to be the only part that contains hatred. At this time,
Korean use the particle “心” to create a space containing hatred in the “心心” part.
In idioms and proverbs containing words indicating HBP, with HBP IS A LOVE
CONTAINER, Korean consider the source domain of the container as “心心”, “心”,
“ 心 心 ” , “ 心 心 ” and Vietnamese consider the source domain of the container as
“lòng”, “dạ”, “tim”. Regarding other container, Korean perceive “ 心”, “心”, “心心”
as containers for sad, angry, worried emotions, “心心” is the container of joy, “心心”
is the container of enthusiasm. Vietnamese perceive nhận “lòng”, “bụng”, “ruột”,
“gan”, “tim”, “con ngươi” containing anger and joy.
3.3.1.4. HUMAN BODY PARTS ARE CHARACTERISTIC CONTAINER
While Korean perceive “心”, “心心” as a container of spaciousness, tolerance and
narrow-mindedness, Vietnamese perceive “bụng”, “lòng”, “dạ” is the container of
this personality. And to concretize this concept, both Korean and Vietnamese use
the size of the container to express it. Thus, although Korean all perceive “ 心” and
“心心” as containers of spaciousness, tolerance or narrowness based on the size of
the container, if “心” is a container of generous personality in eating and drinking,
while “心心” is considered a container of tolerance and generosity, easy to overlook
the mistakes of others. As mentioned, Vietnamese do not use the size of the hand
to perceive as a container for personality like Korean. Vietnamese use “lòng”,
“bụng”, “dạ” to perceive and here this container includes both “心” and “心心” as in
Korean. To be more specific, Vietnamese perceive “bụng”, “lòng”, “dạ” as both a
container for spaciousness in eating and as a container for tolerance and
generosity.

3.3.1.5. HUMAN BODY PARTS ARE SPEECH CONTAINER
In Korean idioms and proverbs, “心” is considered as a container of speech, in
Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, the pair “mồm - miệng” often goes together and
is perceived as speech container. The human body parts are perceived as a speech
container in Korean is similar to those in Vietnamese.

3.3.1.6. HUMAN
CONTAINER

BODY PARTS ARE

KNOWLEDGE, THINKING

Korean perceive the head as a knowledge, thinking, and the heart as a thought
container. Like Korean, Vietnamese also perceive the head as a knowledge,


18

thinking container. In korean, the belly is perceived as a container of knowledge,
specifically containing letter. In Vietnamese, there is also a perception that the
BELLY IS KNOWLEDGE. The belly is perceived as a container of knowledge
that is influenced by the Chinese. In Korean idioms and proverbs to perceive the
container of thoughts and secret thoughts, Korean use the heart and lung. In
Vietnamese, belly, sometimes the heart is perceived as a container for thoughts and
feelings. In the research data of the dissertation, we have statistics of 27 idioms,
metaphorical proverbs belly is a CONTAINER OF MIND, SECRET THINKING.
Whereas the heart case with this metaphor has only one idiom.
3.3.2. ENTITY METAPHOR
3.3.2.1. AMBITION IS AN ENTITY
When people greed for things that are not theirs or that are beyond their
capabilities, they will lose their insight and find it difficult to see clearly. This is
the basis for Korean to have a perception that GREED IS A BLINDFOLD. Like
Korean, Vietnamese also has a way of perceiving greed as a blindfold. Unlike
Koreans, Vietnamese not only see ambition as something that blinds their eyes, but
also see it as something that brightens up their eyes to express desire.

Ambition is perceived as a burning fire, especially when someone shows
ambition, Korean perceive that ambition as a fire in the eye. We did not find a way
to perceive greed as fire in Vietnamese idioms and proverbs.
3.3.2.2. RESPONSIBILITY IS A HEAVY WEIGHT ON A SHOULDER
The shoulder symbolizes strength and is the place to carry heavy loads in daily
life and labor. On that basis, Korean have a way of perceiving the role as a place of
responsibility. In Korean idioms and proverbs, Korean see responsibility as a
heavy weight that creates pressure and fatigue for the person who carries it.
Although in Vietnamese there is also a way to perceive responsibility as a heavy
load on the shoulders but within the limitation of idioms, proverbs contain words
indicating HBP we cannot find this way of perception.
3.3.2.3. SORROW, WORRY IS A HEAVY OBJECT
When having negative moods such as sadness, worry, frustration, anger, people
seem to sag, heavy. This is the basis for how to perceive SADNESS, WORRY IS A
HEAVY OBJECT. Particularly in Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, it is not
sadness and anxiety like in Korean, but anger and frustration are things that weigh
heavily on people.


19

CHAPTER 4: CONCEPTUAL METONYMY OF WORDS INDICATING
HUMAN BODY PARTS IN KOREAN IDIOMS AND PROVERBS
(COMPARED WITH VIETNAMESE)
4.1. The thing and part ICM
In 2,346 Korean idioms and proverbs, we collected 570 conceptual metonymy
idioms and proverbs, of which thing and part ICM is 117 idioms and proverbs,
accounting for 21%. And in 1,623 Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, we collected
225 conceptual metonymy idioms and proverbs, of which thing and part ICM is 75
idioms and proverbs, accounting for 34%.

The number and proportion of the two sub-models in the thing and part ICM
are shown in the table below.
Korean
No.
ICM
Number Proportion
(%)
1 A PART FOR THE
65
56
WHOLE
2 THE WHOLE FOR A
52
44
PART

Vietnamese
Number Proportion
(%)
41
55
34

45

4.1.1. A PART FOR THE WHOLE
4.1.1.1. HUMAN BODY PART FOR PEOPLE
First, both in Korean and Vietnamese, “face” and “head” are used instead of
people. This is the common mode of perception in almost all languages.
In more detail, in Korean idioms and proverbs, if “心心” and “心心” stand for a

person in an organization or program, then “心” stands for an acquaintance.
In Vietnamese, “mặt”, “diện”, “đầu” are also used instead of people. The “mặt”
in Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, in addition to the function of replacing the
appearance of a person, also replaces the personality and qualities of that person.
Although there is no data source in our dissertation, in Vietnamese “mặt” is also
used to refer to acquaintances like in Korean.
“心” is a part that also replaces a person, but unlike other parts, “心” stands for a
worker. In Korean idioms and proverbs, “心” is used instead of the worker, while
this function in Vietnamese is the “tay”. In Vietnamese, “tay” is also used instead
of a participant in an activity or game as in the cases of “lack of hands”, “enough
hands”, “need more hands”, not used to replace the person working in sentences
with the same meaning as in Korean.
“心” is the part used to stand for the viewer or the observer. Although within the
scope of the research data of the dissertation there is no data for the “mắt” using


20

the reference for the observer, but in Vietnamese there are many clarifying
expressions for this conceptual metonymy as in Korean. Moreover, in Vietnamese,
eyes will often appear with the structure “tai - mắt”.
“心” is the part used to replace the person and the person referred to here is the
person who talks, the person who discusses the problem. Similar to Korean, in
Vietnamese “miệng” is also used to stand for the speaker.
4.1.1.2. HUMAN BODY PART FOR PARTICIPANTS
First, in Korean, “ 心 心 ” , “ 心 心 ” , “ 心 心 ” , “ 心 心 ” , “ 心 ” are used instead of the
participants in the discussion. This comes from the fact that when people discuss,
they often sit and face each other and the body parts of the participants are also
facing each other. In this conceptual metonymy, Korean use predicates such as “ 心
心心”, “心心心心” to concretize this concept. Meanwhile, Vietnamese also use “mặt”

to stand for the participants as in Korean idioms and proverbs. However, if in
Korean “confrontation” refers to the parties participating in the discussion, in
Vietnamese it refers to the parties fighting with each other.
In Korean “心心” is used instead of the parties involved in the journey. Usually
in a journey the participants will go side by side to show the equal status of the
parties. Although in Vietnamese “vai” is also used in place of the parties involved
as in the way of saying “vai kề vai”, but in idioms and proverbs, “vai” must appear
in the structure with another HBP to stand for the participants.
In Korean, “心”, “心”, “心心”, “心” are used to refer to participants in a sexual
relationship. This conceptual metonymy model is only available in Korean but not
in Vietnamese.
4.1.2. THE WHOLE FOR A PART
4.1.2.1. HUMAN BODY PART FOR ITS PART
First of all, head is used to stand for hair is a common metonymy in both
Korean and Vietnamese.
Using the nose instead of nasal bridge is a common metonymy in both Korean
and Vietnamese. In Korean when saying “high nose” or “low nose”, the “nose” in
these expressions refers to the nasal bridge. Vietnamese has many expressions to
demonstrate this metonymy.
When we wave our hands to promise something, we use our fingers to show it,
not our hands. This is the basis for a metonymy using hands instead of fingers. In
Vietnamese, expressions such as “ngoéo tay”, “móc tay” are the ways of
perceiving using hands instead of fingers. However, there is no cognitive way to
use hands instead of fingers like in Korean.


21

The “head” is used to stand for the brain, which is common in Korean and
Vietnamese. In Vietnamese, expressions such as “nhớ trong đầu”, “ghi vào đầu”

clarify this conceptual metonymy model the head instead of the brain.
4.1.2.2. HUMAN BODY PART FOR FUNCTION
First of all, eye and ear are used to stand for eyesight and hearing, which is a
metonymy in both Korean and Vietnamese. In this conceptual metonymy model, if
in Korean eye and ear appear separately, in Vietnamese eye and ear usually appear
in a symmetrical structure with another HBP.
Hand and foot, it means working and moving functions. In Korean, these two
parts are used to stand for its working skill. Vietnamese uses “tay” and “chân” to
stand for its function, not “心” and “心” as in Korean.
4.2. Event ICM
Among 570 Korean idioms and proverbs with conceptual metonymy, we
collected 143 idioms and metonymy proverbs according to the event ICM,
accounting for 25%. And in 225 Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, we collected 24
idioms, proverbs according to the event ICM, accounting for 10%.
The number and proportion of the two sub-models in the event ICM are shown
in the table below.
No.

ICM

1

SUCCESSIVE
SUBEVENTS
FOR
COMPLEX EVENT
CO-PRESENT
SUBEVENTS
FOR
COMPLEX EVENT

2

Korean
Number Proportion
(%)

Vietnamese
Number Proportion
(%)

128

90

21

87

15

10

3

13

4.2.1. SUCCESSIVE SUBEVENTS FOR COMPLEX EVENT
4.2.1.1. SUBCEREMONIES FOR COMPLEX CEREMONY
First, Korean use the custom of a girl’s hair up high before the wedding

ceremony to get married to stand for the wedding ceremony. In the past Korean
culture, unmarried girls would braid their hair, on the day of marriage, the husband
would let his hair loose and use a brooch to tie it up. This ritual comes from China
with the custom of brooch, also known as brooch ceremony. In the old days, when
girls reached the age of fifteen, they would perform a brooch ceremony and be
considered an adult eligible for marriage. When married, the girls will let their hair


22

down in a high bun with different styles and outfits depending on the person's
social status. Like Korea, Vietnam is also influenced by Chinese culture, including
marriage rites and marriage-related things.
In idioms, proverbs containing words indicating HBP in Vietnamese, in
addition to using a ritual to replace marriage and the husband and wife
relationship, also use activities in marital life to replace the husband and wife
relationship.
In Buddhism, when a person leaves home to become a buddhist monk, there is
usually a hair-cutting ceremony. This is the basis to use down hair instead of
ordination. However, Koreans also use haircuts to stand for going to prison. In
Vietnamese, “xuống tóc” is a minor event that replaces ordination without the
second alternative of going to prison as in Korean. As mentioned above, Korea is a
country influenced by Chinese culture, especially in major life events such as
birth, adulthood, marriage, and mourning. Talking about the rituals when the
family is in mourning, there is the ceremony of letting down the mourning hair.
That is, the children and grandchildren in the family will not wear their hair as
usual, but let their hair down to wear a mourning scarf or a hat. This is the basis
for the metonymy using a minor event of hair loss in place of the whole mourning.
Vietnam is also influenced by Chinese funeral rites. However, the Vietnamese
language does not use the ritual of letting the hair down refer to funerals as in

Korean.
4.2.1.2. SUBACTIVITIES FOR AN ACTIVITY
First, Korean used eye contact to refer to the entire human sleeping activity.
Vietnamese also use eye activity instead of sleep in expressions like “chợp mắt”
but the predicate used in this conceptual metonymy model is different from
Korean. Vietnamese don't use “dán mắt” instead of sleeping, but rather for gazing
at something.
Normally, when talking, people have to open their mouth. This is the basis for
Korean to use the activity of opening their mouth instead of talking.
Both in Korean and Vietnamese use the act of twirling fingers instead of
making promises.
Korean use the act of reaching out their hand when they want to help someone,
and letting someone hold it when they need help to refer to the entire act of
helping. At the same time, when people want to ask for help from someone, people
will also use the act of reaching out their hands. This is the basis for Korean to use
the act of reaching out, reaching out to help or ask for help.
In a fight, either side raising their hands or kneeling in front of the opponent
means surrendering and accepting defeat. In Vietnamese, there are also ways such
as “giơ tay đầu hàng”, “giơ tay chịu trói”, but unlike Korean, in Vietnamese, if
only with the expression of raising hands, it is not enough to replace the surrender,


23

accept defeat but must add other expressions such as đầu hàng, chịu trói, chịu
thua…
When someone pout, they are showing disapproval or disagreement. And the
act of smacking your mouth shows regret or anger. This is the basis for Korean to
use the pouting and smacking the lips instead of disparaging and regretful
attitudes. Like Korean, Vietnamese also use the pouting and smacking of the lips

instead of a disparaging attitude.
In many countries, including Korea and Vietnam, the gesture of waving hands,
shaking the head shows an attitude of rejection and nodding shows an attitude of
agreement. Korean and Vietnamese use these actions instead of denial and
agreement.
For the birth of a baby, in the cephalic presentation, the baby's head will come
out first, then the ears will come out. Once the ear is out, it's like a baby being
born. Based on this, Korean use the moment when the ear comes out of the
mother's womb instead of the fact that the baby is born. This is a special
metonymic model only available in Korean but not in Vietnamese.
4.2.2. CO-PRESENT SUBEVENTS FOR COMPLEX EVENT
4.2.2.1. CO-PRESENT SUBEVENTS FOR A RESULT
First, Korean used the closing of the eyes and the inactivity of the pupils to
stand for death. When a person dies, there will be many phenomena in the body
such as eyes, pupils, heart, all parts of the body will stop working, body
temperature will drop, limbs gradually stiffen... Korean only use the shutdown of
the eyes and pupils to stand for death. In Vietnamese idioms and proverbs,
Vietnamese use the activity “Nhắm mắt xuôi tay”, not using the inactive state of
the eyes and pupils to replace death like in Korean.
Covering the body with soil in the cremation ground serves as a basis for
Korean to use references to death and burial rites. In Vietnamese, Vietnamese do
not have this conceptual metonymy model.
4.2.2.2. CO-PRESENT SUBEVENTS FOR AN ACTION
When we comfort others, we will have actions such as patting on the shoulder,
holding hands, saying words of comfort, nodding sympathetically when listening
to them... Korean use the only action is patting on the shoulder to stand for
comforting action. In Vietnamese there are also expressions to show that patting
on the shoulder can represent all other actions and is used instead of just
comforting someone like in Korean.
4.3. Category and property ICM

24

Among 570 Korean idioms and proverbs with conceptual metonymy, we
collected 310 idioms and proverbs according to the category and property ICM,
accounting for 54%. And in 225 Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, we collected
126 idioms, proverbs according to the category and property ICM, accounting for
56%.
The number and proportion of the two sub-models in the category and property
ICM are shown in the table below.
No
.
1
2

ICM
CATEGORY
PROPERTY
PROPERTY
CATEGORY

Korean
Numbe Proportion
r
(%)
FOR
13
4
FOR

297

96

Vietnamese
Numbe Proportion
r
(%)
12
10
114

90

4.3.1. CATEGORY FOR PROPERTY
When sitting at work, the buttock will touch the contact surface. If the buttock
is light, it is easy to bounce off the contact surface. Conversely, a heavy buttock
will stick to the contact surface. Based on this, Korean use the weight of the
buttock instead of the level of patience.
The mouth is the container of speech, so when the mouth is light, the word can
easily come out of the container and when the mouth is heavy, it is difficult for the
word to come out of the container. And Korean use the weight of the mouth to
stand for the level of keeping a secret.
4.3.2. PROPERTY FOR CATEGORY
First, Korean use red, blue, yellow, and white with only five HBP, including: “心
”, “心心”, “心心”, “心心”, “心心心”.
Korean rely on the changing of HBP color to red to stand for the anger, shame.
Meanwhile, blue, yellow and white are used to represent fear and panic. When
people are scared, the blood will not circulate, so the face skin will become blue

and white.
Red when appearing alone stands for anger or fear and blue when appearing
alone stands for fear or panic. However, when these two colors appear together in
the order of red and then blue, it replaces the emotion of indignation, horror anger.
In Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, Vietnamese also use red, white, yellow,
and blue colors to stand for the emotional category as in Korean idioms and
proverbs. In addition, Vietnamese also use grey, blue, purple, and black to replace
emotions that are not available with equivalent words in Korean.


25

The inverting and resizing properties of HBP are used instead of all emotions.
First, when people get angry, all HBP are turned upside down, like the intestines,
the belly is upside down, and the blood flows back up. Just like in Korean, in
Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, when anxiety is at its peak, the anti-corruption
victims no longer keep their original position and shape.
When people scared, the general reaction that occurs is that people will shrink,
heart and liver like falling. Use the change in size and change the position of the
natural disasters to replace human fear. Like Korean idioms and proverbs,
Vietnamese idioms and proverbs also use the attribute of changing the size and
position of the HBP to replace fear.
In addition to the changes in the color, action and position of the HBP, the
change in temperature of the HBP is also used instead of emotions. When people
scared, the body temperature will drop, making the HBP colder than normal, and
when people angry, conversely, the HBP will be hotter than normal. That's why
Korean use the change in temperature of the HBP to replace all fear and anger. In
Vietnamese, we also use the property of temperature variation of the natural
disasters instead of anxiety, fear, and anger.