a study on structural and semantic components of idioms in english and vietnamese

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration by Author………………………………………………………….……
Published Works by the Author Relevant to the Dissertation……………….……
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………….…
Abstract…………………………………………………………….…………….…….
List of Exposures………………………………………………………………….…
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….……
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………….….
List of Abbreviation and Symbols Used in the Dissertation………………….…….
List of Vietnamese – English Terms…………………………………………….……
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PART A: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………….…
1. Rationale…………………………………………………………………….………
2. Aims and Objectives of the Study………………………………….……………
3. Research Questions……………………………………………………….………
4. Scope of the Study………………………………………………………………….
5. Contributions of the Study……………………………………………….………
6. Methodology……………………………………………………………….………
6.1. Analytical Framework………………………………………………….……
6.2. Data Collection………………………………………………………….……
6.3. Data Analysis………………………………………………………….……….
6.4. Procedure……………………………………………………………….……
7. Structure of the Study……………………………………………………….……

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………….………
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………….………
1.1. Theoretical Background………………………………………………….………
1.1.1. Idioms Defined………………………………………………………….…
1.1.2. Fundamental Considerations…………………………………………….…
1.1.2.1. Idioms from Traditional View………………………………….……
1.1.2.2. Idioms from Cognitive View…………………………………….…
1.1.2.3. Idioms from Taxonomic View………………………………….……
1.1.2.4. Idioms from Cultural View…………………………………….…….
1.1.2.5. Functions of Idioms……………………………………………….…
1.1.3. Demarcation of Idioms………………………………………………….…
1.1.3.1. Idioms versus Words…………………………………………….…
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1.1.3.2. Idioms versus Collocations…………………………………….…….
1.1.3.3. Idioms versus Clichés and Catchphrases…………………….………
1.1.3.4. Idioms versus Proverbs and Sayings………………….……………
1.1.3.5. Idioms versus Free Combinations………………………….………
1.2. Previous Research…………………………………………………….…………
1.2.1. Previous Research Works on Idioms in English…………………….……….
1.2.2. Previous Research Works on Idioms in Vietnamese……………….………
1.2.3. Previous Research Works on Idioms in English and Vietnamese under
Comparison and Contrastive Analysis……………………………………
1.3. Chapter Summary……………………………………………………….……….
CHAPTER II: STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
IDIOMS………………………………………………………………………………………
2.1. Canonical Structural Components……………………………………………
2.1.1. Symmetrical Idioms………………………………………………………….
2.1.1.1. Realization…………………………………………………………
2.1.1.2. Structural Patterns………………………………………….………
2.1.1.3. Structural Components………………………………………………
2.1.2. Similized Idioms……………………………………………………………
2.1.2.1. Realization…………………………………………………………
2.1.2.2. Structural Patterns…………………………………………………
2.1.2.3. Structural Components………………………………………………
2.1.3. Ordinary idioms……………………………………………………………
2.1.3.1. Realization…………………………………………………………

2.1.3.2. Structural Patterns…………………………………………………
2.1.3.3. Structural Components………………………………………………
2.2. Non-Canonical Structural Components………………………………………
2.2.1. Idiom Variants……………………………………………………………
2.2.1.1. Realization…………………………………………………………
2.2.1.2. Structural Components………………………………………………
2.2.2. Synonymous Idioms…………………………………………………………
2.2.2.1. Realization…………………………………………………………
2.2.2.2. Structural Components………………………………………………
2.3. Structural Components of English and Vietnamese Idioms Compared……
2.3.1. Similarities…………………………………………………………………
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2.3.1.1. Canonical Structural Components Found in both Languages……….
2.3.1.2. Non-Canonical Structural Components Found in both Languages….
2.3.2. Differences…………………………………………………………………
2.3.2.1. Canonical Structural Components Unique to English……………….
2.3.2.2. Non-Canonical Structural Components Unique to English………….
2.3.2.3. Canonical Structural Components Unique to Vietnamese…………
2.3.2.4. Non-Canonical Structural Components Unique to Vietnamese……
2.4. Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………
CHAPTER III: SEMANTIC COMPONENTS OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
IDIOMS………………………………………………………………………………………
3.1. Canonical Semantic Components……………………………………………….
3.1.1. Semantic Components of Symmetrical Idioms……………………………
3.1.1.1. Transparent Symmetrical Idioms……………………………………
3.1.1.2. Semi-opaque Symmetrical Idioms…………………………………
3.1.2. Semantic Components of Similized Idioms…………………………………
3.1.2.1. Semi-transparent Similized Idioms………………………………….

3.1.2.2. Semi-opaque Similized Idioms………………………………………
3.1.3. Semantic Components of Ordinary Idioms………………………………….
3.1.3.1. Transparent Ordinary Idioms………………………………………
3.1.3.2. Semi-Opaque Ordinary Idioms………………………………………
3.1.3.3. Opaque Ordinary Idioms…………………………………………….
3.2. Non-Canonical Semantic Components………………………………………….
3.2.1. Semantic Components of Idiom Variants……………………………………
3.2.2. Semantic Components of Synonymous Idioms……………………………
3.3. Semantic Components and their Underlying Properties………………………
3.3.1. Idiom Formation……………………………………………………………
3.3.2. Idiomatic Meaning Formation……………………………………………….
3.3.3. Main Factors Affecting the Formation of Semantic Components…………
3.3.3.1. Living Circumstance………………………………………………
3.3.3.2. Historical Allusion…………………………………………………
3.3.3.3. Religions and Beliefs………………………………………………
3.3.3.4. Traditions and Customs……………………………………………
3.4. Semantic Components of English and Vietnamese Idioms Compared……….
3.4.1. Similarities…………………………………………………………………
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3.4.1.1. Canonical Semantic Components Found in both Languages………
3.4.1.2. Non-Canonical Semantic Components Found in both Languages…
3.4.1.3. Underlying Properties of Semantic Components Found in both
Languages……………………………………………………………
3.4.2. Differences…………………………………………………………………
3.4.2.1. Canonical Semantic Components Unique to English………………
3.4.2.2. Non-Canonical Semantic Components Unique to Vietnamese……
3.4.2.3. Differences between English and Vietnamese in terms of Main

Factors that Affect the Shaping of Semantic Components…………
3.5. Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………
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PART C: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….
1. Recapitulation………………………………………………………………………
2. Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………
3. Implications for Language Teaching and Translation…………………………
4. Suggestions for Further Studies…………………………………………………
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REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………
APPENDIX 1…………………………………………………………………………
APPENDIX 2…………………………………………………………………………
APPENDIX 3…………………………………………………………………………
APPENDIX 4…………………………………………………………………………
APPENDIX 5…………………………………………………………………………
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ABSTRACT
The study undertakes an investigation of idioms in English and Vietnamese in terms of
structural and semantic components. There are three foci: (1) similarities and
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differences between English and Vietnamese idioms in terms of structural components;
(2) similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms in terms of
semantic components; and (3) similarities and differences between English and
Vietnamese in terms of main factors behind the formation of semantic components of
idioms. In order to collect the data, we have conducted a hand search approach of the
two dictionaries, which has enabled the establishing of a corpus of more than 6,000
entries in English and more than 4,000 entries in Vietnamese.
In the present study, we establish a theoretical frame for canonical structural
components and non-canonical structural components of idioms in both English and
Vietnamese. The canonical structural components involve three types of idioms existing
in our data: symmetrical, similized, and ordinary (Đức 1995; Hành 2008). The structural
components of these idioms are coded in A, B, M, X, etc, which are then realized,
described and analyzed according to grammatical rules (Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, &
Svartvik 1985). The non-canonical structural components involve two types of idioms:
idiom variants and synonymous idioms (Giang 2009). The structural components of
idiom variants in English are divided into morphosyntactic variation (verb inflection,
flexible use of determiners, and noun inflection), lexical variation (substitution,
modification, and partial deletion), and syntactic variation (constituent reversal and
dative shift). The structural components of idiom variants in Vietnamese are also
divided into three types: phonological & orthographic variation (substitution of initial
consonant or initial vowel of a word), lexical variation (substitution, modification, and
partial deletion), and syntactic variation (constituent reversal, and truncated reversal).
The structural components of synonymous idioms in English are classified under two
general headings: lexical synonymy and syntactic synonymy. The lexical synonymy

heading involves the substitution, i.e. a constituent part of an idiom can be replaced with
alternatives belonging to different fields of meaning (Giang 2009). The syntactic
synonymy heading refers to the change of grammatical structures including pattern
changing and passivization. In Vietnamese, the structural components of synonymous
idioms can also be classified under two general headings: lexical synonymy (including
substitution, literalized transformation, and language transformation) and syntactic
synonymy. In the light of the findings, the study has shown that a high level of
canonicity is observed in the idioms in both languages.
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As regards the semantic components, the study is substantially reliant on the cognitive
theory of idioms (Gibbs 1990, 1995; Nunberg et al. 1994; Kövecses & Szabo 1996;
Fernando 1996) to analyze the data. The semantic components of idioms in both
languages appear from totally transparent to the totally opaque: transparent, semi-
transparent, semi-opaque, and opaque. The semantic components are investigated under
two categories: canonical (symmetrical idioms, similized idioms, and ordinary idioms),
and non-canonical (idiom variants and synonymous idioms). In the present study, we
once again suppose that the idiom formation in both English and Vietnamese lies in
diachronic evolution (Fernando & Flavell 1981). In addition, the idiomatic meaning
formation in both languages is closely associated with the process of human cognition
about the world around them through images. It is a natural process implicitly affected
by several different factors. The differences between English and Vietnamese in terms
of the formation of semantic components of idioms are dominated by different living
circumstance (geographical environment, climate) different historical allusion
(historical events, fables and mythologies, literary works), different religions and
beliefs, different traditions and customs (food and cooking, animals). This leads to a
fact that the components forming idioms in the two languages are different although
they denote similar concepts. The dissertation also presents the implications for
language teaching and translation of idioms.
Keywords: idioms, idiomaticity, symmetrical idioms, similized idioms, ordinary
idioms, idiom variants, synonymous idioms, structural components, semantic

components, underlying factors.
LIST OF EXPOSURES
Exposure 3.1: Spill the beans (give away information)………………………… 120
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Exposure 3.2: Cưỡi ngựa xem hoa (do something summarily and perfunctorily) 120
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Classification of symmetrical figurative idioms in Vietnamese (Hành
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2008: 76)……………………………………………………………
Figure 1.2: Classification of non-symmetrical figurative idioms in Vietnamese
(Hành 2008: 100)……………………………………………………
Figure 1.3: Classification of similized idioms in Vietnamese (Hành 2008: 115)…
Figure 2.1: Structural patterns of symmetrical idioms in English…………………
Figure 2.2: Structural patterns of symmetrical idioms in Vietnamese…………….
Figure 2.3: Structural components of A and B symmetrical idioms in English…
Figure 2.4: Structural components of A or B symmetrical idioms in English…….
Figure 2.5: Structural components of A but B symmetrical idioms in English……
Figure 2.6: Structural components of A to B symmetrical idioms in English……
Figure 2.7: Structural components of A, B symmetrical idioms in English……….
Figure 2.8: Symmetrical relationship between A and B of mẹ tròn con vuông in
Vietnamese……………………………………………………………
Figure 2.9: Symmetrical relationship between A and B of chạy ngược chạy xuôi
in Vietnamese…………………………………………………………
Figure 2.10: Canonical structural components of symmetrical idioms in
Vietnamese……………… ……………………………………… …
Figure 2.11: Structural patterns of similized idioms in English……………… …
Figure 2.12: Structural patterns of similized idioms in Vietnamese………………
Figure 2.13: Structural components of as A as B similized idioms in English……
Figure 2.14: Structural components of A like B similized idioms in English……
Figure 2.15: Structural components of […] like B similized idioms in English…

Figure 2.16: Structural components of […] as B similized idioms in English……
Figure 2.17: Structural components of A như B similized idioms in Vietnamese
Figure 2.18: Structural components of (A) như B similized idioms in Vietnamese.
Figure 2.19: Structural components of như B similized idioms in Vietnamese…
Figure 2.20: Structural components of AB similized idioms in Vietnamese… ….
Figure 2.21: Structural patterns of ordinary idioms in English………….…… …
Figure 2.22: Structural patterns of ordinary idioms in Vietnamese………….……
Figure 2.23: Structural components of A HN (B) ordinary idioms as noun phrases
in English……………………………………………………………
Figure 2.24: Structural components of AB ordinary idioms as adjective phrases in
English………………………………………………………………
Figure 2.25: Structural components of Prep B ordinary idioms as prepositional
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phrases in English…………………………….………………………
Figure 2.26: Structural components of A Adv ordinary idioms as adverbial
phrases in English…………………………………………………….
Figure 2.27: Structural components of (A) V/PV B ordinary idioms as verb
phrases in English…………………………………………………….
Figure 2.28: Structural components of ordinary idioms as sentences in English…
Figure 2.29: Structural components of AB ordinary idioms as noun phrases in
Vietnamese……………………………………………………………
Figure 2.30: Structural components of AB ordinary idioms as adjective phrases
in Vietnamese…………………………………………………………
Figure 2.31: Structural components of AB ordinary idioms as verb phrases in
Vietnamese……………………………………………………………
Figure 2.32: Structural components of ordinary idioms as sentences in
Vietnamese……………………………………… …………………
Figure 2.33: Realization criteria of idiom variants in English and Vietnamese…
Figure 2.34: Realization criteria of synonymous idioms in English and
Vietnamese………………………………… ……………………….
Figure 2.35: Distribution of idiom types in English and Vietnamese……………
Figure 3.1: Semantic components of transparent symmetrical idioms in English
and Vietnamese………………………………………………………

Figure 3.2: Transformation of quốc sắc thiên hương (from Sino-Vietnamese into
Vietnamese)…………………………………………………………
Figure 3.3: Semantic components of semi-opaque symmetrical idioms in English
and Vietnamese……………………………………………………….
Figure 3.4: Semantic components of semi-transparent similized idioms in
English and Vietnamese………………………………………………
Figure 3.5: Semantic components of semi-opaque similized idioms in English
and Vietnamese……………………………………………………….
Figure 3.6: Semantic components of in any case in English………… …………
Figure 3.7: The relationship between the literal readings and idiomatic meanings
of throw a spanner into the works in English and cưa sừng làm nghé in
Vietnamese………………………… …………………………………
Figure 3.8: Semantic components of semi-opaque ordinary idioms in English and
Vietnamese……………… ……………………………………………
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Figure 3.9: The relationship between the literal readings and idiomatic meanings
of kick the bucket in English and đẽo cày giữa đường in Vietnamese…
Figure 3.10: Semantic components of opaque ordinary idioms in English and
Vietnamese………………… …………………………………………
Figure 3.11: The formation of idiom in English and Vietnamese…………………
Figure 3.12: Idiomatic meaning formation in English and Vietnamese…… ……
Figure 3.13: Main factors that affect the formation of semantic components of
idioms in English and Vietnamese……………………………… ……
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: Traditional view of kick the bucket in English…………………………
Table 1.2: Traditional view of mắt tròn mắt dẹt in Vietnamese………… ………
Table 1.3: Types of Idioms (Fernando 1996: 32)……………………

……………
Table 1.4: Distinguishing criteria of idioms……………………………….………
Table 2.1: Possible structural components of idiom variants in English………….
Table 2.2: Possible structural components of idiom variants in Vietnamese… …
Table 2.3: Possible structural components of idiom variants in English and
Vietnamese……………………………………………………………
Table 2.4: Possible structural components of synonymous idioms in English and
Vietnamese……………………………….……………………………
Table 2.5: Distributional degree of idiom variants and synonymous idioms in
English and Vietnamese………………………………………………
Table 2.6: Structural components of ordinary idioms found to be distinctive in
English……………………………………….…………………………
Table 2.7: Structural components of ordinary idioms found to be distinctive in
Vietnamese……………………………… ……………………………
Table 3.1: The continuum of semantic components of idioms in English and
Vietnamese…………………………… ………………………………
Table 3.2: Distribution of semantic components of different idiom types in
English and Vietnamese…………………………………… …………
Table 3.3: Differences between English and Vietnamese in terms of main factors
that affect the formation of semantic components of idioms… ………
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS USED IN THE DISSERTATION
[…]
Adj
AdjP
Adv
AdvP
Cl
De
DCl
DVI
Eng
EFL
InCl
LT
NePa
N
NP
Mo
ODC
ODEI
Op
Ord

PV
Prep
PrepP
TL
To-inf
Sen
absence of constituent
adjective
adjective phrase
adverb
adverbial phrase
clause
determiner
dependent clause
Dictionary of Vietnamese Idioms (1978)
English
English as a foreign language
independent clause
language teaching
negative particle
noun
noun phrase
modifier
Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases (2002)
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms (1993)
operator
ordinary
phrasal verb
preposition
prepositional phrase

target language
to-infinitive
sentence
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Sim
SL
Sym
V
VP
Viet
similized
source language
synonymous
verb
verb phrase
Vietnamese
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LIST OF VIETNAMESE – ENGLISH TERMS
bán mờ
bán tường minh
biến thể âm vị và chữ viết
chuyển đổi theo nghĩa đen
đẳng kết
đồng đại
đồng nghĩa cú pháp
đồng nghĩa từ vựng
mờ
khuynh hướng
phi đẳng kết
phương pháp phục nguyên

tâm nguyên
thành ngữ đối
thành ngữ so sánh
thành ngữ thường
thành tố
tường minh
sắc thái ý nghĩa
semi-opaque
semi-transparent
phonological & orthographic variation
literalized transformation
coordination
synchronic evolution
syntactic synonymy
lexical synonymy
opaque
approach
non-coordination
etymologizing
etymology
symmetrical idiom
similized idiom
ordinary idiom
component
transparent
nuance
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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
‘If natural language had been designed by a logician, idioms would not exist’ (Johnson

- Laird in a foreword to a collection of works on idioms, cited in Tim 2002). However,
exist they do, and not only that they present a rich vein in structural and semantic
components as well as language behaviors and styles; therefore, they cry out for
explanation.
It seems that the accurate and appropriate use of expressions which are in the broadest
sense idiomatic is one distinguishing mark of a native command of the language and a
reliable measure of the proficiency of foreign learners (Cowie, Mackin & McCaig 1993:
x). We can go beyond simple observation of the usage of such learners and ask them
whether the verb in catch someone’s imagination (rouse the interest, engage the
thoughts and feelings of a specified group or kind) in English and the noun in dữ như
cọp (ferocious) in Vietnamese can be replaced. If they recognize seize someone’s
imagination or dữ như hổ, they have a sense of fine lexical tolerances. It cannot be
denied that all foreign learners in general and Vietnamese learners in particular desire to
master English as the native speakers; however, they usually face a lot of difficulties
that prevent them from gaining successful conversations. One of the reasons for these
problems lies in the way people perceive and use idioms.
In Vietnam, there exist three approaches in studying idioms: etymology, synchronic
evolution, comparison and contrastive analysis (Hành 2008). Firstly, the investigations
on idioms under etymology go into macro field. These studies are focused on the
formation and transformation of each idiom in the language history. It is a hard work
taking a lot of time and energy. The method mainly used in these studies is the
etymologizing, i.e. the origins of idioms are recovered in order to make the forms and
the idiomatic meanings transparent. Hành (2002) and Minh (2007) are the typical
authors who pay attention to this field of study. The second approach in studying idioms
is synchronic evolution. Descriptive method is used in these studies from which the
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underlying cultural factors behind the idioms can be partly interpretable. This field of
study attracts a lot of authors such as San (1974), Việt (1981), Lực & Đang (1978), Đức
(1995), Hành (2008), etc. Studying idioms under comparison and contrastive analysis is
the third approach. It can be said that the studies under original recovery and synchronic

evolution are the backgrounds for comparison and contrastive works. Several attempts
have been made to work out the similarities and differences between English and
Vietnamese in terms of emotion expressing idioms (Trào 2009), idiomatic verb phrases
(Long 2010), idiom translation (Lan 2001; Phúc 2009), etc. It seems that an in-depth
investigation of the structural and semantic components of idioms will offer excellent
opportunities for cross-language comparison and analysis. This not only helps introduce
cultural linguistic features of a language and its speakers, but also contributes to further
research into cross-cultural communication, language universals, and the semiotics of
culture.
Structurally, English and Vietnamese are very different. English is a hybrid language
consisting of some isolating features: prepositions, some inflecting (e.g. the present
tense of lexical verbs), and some agglutinating, particularly in word formation (e.g.
anti-dis-establish-ment-arian-ism) (Crystal 1997: 295). Vietnamese is strongly isolating
(Trào 2009). It is interesting, however, that several idioms in English have the same
structural patterns as those in Vietnamese. For example, like water off a duck’s back in
English and như nước đổ đầu vịt in Vietnamese are both prepositional phrases. It is
more interesting that the idiomatic meanings of the two idioms are also similar, and they
can be paraphrasable as ‘ineffective’. In terms of structural components, these idioms
have both similarities and differences. They are similized idioms introduced by
prepositions as the first components (like in English and như in Vietnamese). The
differences lie in the rest of components forming the idioms. The components after like
in English together form a noun phrase whereas those after như in Vietnamese together
form a clause. To the best of my knowledge, the structural components of idioms in
both English and Vietnamese have not yet been investigated in this way.
Although the components forming idioms expressing the same concepts in English and
Vietnamese are usually different, they have some features in common. The semantic
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components of idioms in both languages appear from totally transparent to the totally
opaque: transparent, i.e. all the components are explicit (e.g. on foot in English and bàn
đi tính lại (discuss something carefully) in Vietnamese); semi-transparent, i.e. some

components are explicit (the meaning focused) and the other are implicit (e.g. as busy
as a beaver (very busy) in English and cay như ớt (very hot) in Vietnamese); semi-
opaque, i.e. all the components are implicit but possibly interpretable (e.g. like a duck to
water (feel comfortable) in English and như chó với mèo (always conflictive) in
Vietnamese); and opaque, i.e. all the components are implicit (e.g. kick the bucket (die)
in English and đẽo cày giữa đường (always passive and changeable) in Vietnamese)
(Fernando & Flavell 1981; Fernando 1996). Investigating semantic components of
idioms based on these semantic criteria in English and Vietnamese is still the gap. In
addition, what main factors lie behind the differences between English and Vietnamese
in terms of the formation of semantic components of idioms also need uncovering
(Hành 2008).
For the reasons presented above, we state that studying the structural and semantic
components of idioms in both English and Vietnamese in order to fill in the gap in
research is necessary.
2. Aims and Objectives of the Study
The study attempts to find out the similarities and differences between English and
Vietnamese idioms from structural and semantic perspectives.
In order to achieve the aims, the study is expected to reach the following objectives:
- to identify the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms in
terms of structural components;
- to identify the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms in
terms of semantic components;
- to identify the main factors that affect the idiom formation, idiomatic meaning
formation, and semantic components of idioms in English and Vietnamese.
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3. Research Questions
The objectives of the study can be elaborated into the following research questions:
i) What are the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms in
terms of structural components?
ii) What are the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms in

terms of semantic components?
iii) What main factors lie behind the formation of semantic components of idioms in
English and Vietnamese?
4. Scope of the Study
This study focuses on everyday idioms selected from Oxford Dictionary of English
Idioms (ODEI) by Cowie, Mackin & McCaig (1993) and Thành ngữ tiếng Việt
[Dictionary of Vietnamese Idioms] (DVI) by Lực & Đang (1978). The idioms in ODEI
are ‘both current and used, or at least understood, by most native speakers’ (Cowie,
Mackin & McCaig 1993: vi). Moreover, the idioms and their examples for illustration in
DVI are mostly from literary works, magazines and newspapers. It means that the
idioms in these dictionaries are usually used in daily communication. Therefore, the
study is deliberately limited to common idioms. The idioms used in business, science
and technology, politics, etc are not of our concerns.
5. Contributions of the Study
Scientifically, the work revisits theories on idioms, looks at the typical features of
English and Vietnamese idioms in general, and compares structural and semantic
components of idioms in English to those in Vietnamese. This is a major contribution to
the knowledge of linguistics in general and that of idioms in particular. Since language
and culture are closely intertwined, the findings will help improve the knowledge of the
two underlying cultures, which are expressed through those idioms.
Practically, for language teaching (both English and Vietnamese), the study facilitates
4
learners’ communication because language is for communication, and idioms are an
indispensable part of common expressions (Cowie, Mackin & McCaig 1993: x). The
work will provide assistance to English-speaking learners of Vietnamese and
Vietnamese learners of English to tell one kind of idiom from the other in each
language. The work will also enable learners to tell when idioms in English and
Vietnamese are similar and different in terms of structural and semantic components, so
that they can use them accurately and adequately in actual communication. Language
teachers will be aided to help their learners reach this communicative goal (see Section

3 in Part C). For translation, knowledge of idioms from this work will help translators
find closest equivalents to the expression in the source language. It can be said that
idioms and idiomatic expressions are the most culture-bound part of any language, so
their transfer is one of the most problematic issues in translation. It is because transfer
of language also involves that of culture, which is not always transferable. In this way,
knowledge from this sort of work will be of great benefit to translators, who should be
able to find the possible equivalents in the target language.
6. Methodology
6.1. Analytical Framework
According to Krzeszowski (1990: 35), ‘No exact or reliable exploration of facts can be
conducted without a theoretical background, providing concepts, hypotheses, and
theories which enable the investigator to describe the relevant facts and to account for
them in terms of significant generalizations’.
In the present dissertation, we will apply a select range of theories to the investigation
of the idioms collected: the theory of contrastive linguistics (König and Volker 2008)
and the theory of contrastive idiom analysis (Dobrovol’skij 2000; Dobrovol’skij &
Piirainen 2005; Fernando & Flavell 1981; Fernando 1996).
Narrowly defined, contrastive linguistics can be regarded as a branch of comparative
linguistics that is concerned with pairs of languages which are ‘socio-culturally linked’.
Two languages can be said to be socio-culturally linked when (i) they are used by a
5
considerable number of bi- or multilingual speakers, and/or (ii) a substantial amount of
‘linguistic output’ (text, discourse) is translated from one language into the other (König
and Volker 2008). According to this definition, contrastive linguistics deals with pairs
of languages such as English and Vietnamese, but not with Latin and Vietnamese, as
there is no socio-cultural link between these languages.
More broadly defined, the term ‘contrastive linguistics’ is also sometimes used for
comparative studies of (small) groups (rather than just pairs) of languages, and does not
require a socio-cultural link between the languages investigated (König and Volker
2008). On this view, contrastive linguistics is a special case of linguistic typology and is

distinguished from other types of typological approaches by a small sample size and a
high degree of granularity. Accordingly, any pair or group of languages (even Latin and
Vietnamese) can be subject to a contrastive analysis.
Contrastive linguistics invariably requires a socio-cultural link between the languages
investigated, but that it is not restricted to pair wise language comparison. Contrastive
linguistics thus aims to arrive at results that carry the potential of being used for
practical purposes, e.g. in foreign language teaching and translation. As it provides the
descriptive basis for such applications, its research programme can also be summarized
as ‘comparison with a purpose’. The ‘objective of applicability’ is also reflected in the
fact that contrastive studies focus on the differences, rather than the similarities,
between the languages compared. König and Volker (2008) give four steps in the
procedure of contrastive linguistics (see Section 7.4).
Contrastive idiom analysis is regarded as a special type of language comparison, which
is different from other kinds of cross-linguistic research, such as contrastive phonology,
or contrastive semantics. In the current literature, the contrastive analysis of idioms has
focused on the description and comparison of (a) structural components and (b)
semantic components.
The investigation of structural types or typological aspects of idioms cannot be
separated from the semantic factors of contrastive aspects, since both are needed to
establish the theoretical background to the implementation of the contrastive
6
investigation (Dobrovol’skij 2000; Dobrovol’skij & Piirainen 2005).
From the theoretical point of view, contrastive idiom analysis has concerned relations
between the idiosyncratic aspects and the universal features of idioms. The cognitive
and cultural aspects of these relationships are of prime importance. For instance, if two
languages show major similarities in the field of idioms, it is necessary to know whether
these similarities ‘could be traced back to accidental parallels, borrowing processes,
genetic factors, or the universal character of the conceptualization of the given entities’
(Dobrovol’skij 2000: 170). In contrast, the cross-linguistic differences can be traced
back to ‘metaphorization, to preferences for certain conceptual metaphors (metaphoric

models) by the linguistic communities in question, i.e. cognitive factors, or relevant
differences in the given cultures’ (op. cit. Dobrovol’skij 2000: 170). In sum, besides
listing parallels and non-parallels of the surface structure of idioms, it is crucial for a
contrastive idiom analysis to establish the cognitive frameworks of idiom components
and their underlying cultural factors from which the idiomatic meanings can be derived.
Idioms are traditionally claimed to be idiosyncratic and cannot translate across
languages or cultures (Brown & Levinson: 1978: 144-145). If they are literally
translated into another language, they may have an unpredictably different signification,
or may be nonsensical. However, there are many idioms that are not language specific
and which do translate across languages (Strässler 1982) or at least their metaphorical
meaning can be decoded. Many idioms in one language can have a ‘fairly closely
matching translation equivalent in another language’ (Fernando & Flavell 1981: 84).
There are reasons for this. First, idioms usually refer to ordinary concrete everyday items
and entities that are common to particular areas and cultures as their source material.
Fernando & Flavell (1981: 84) state that ‘human beings from whatever race have similar
psychological attitudes. From such sources, languages generate similar idioms’. Second,
acculturation can take place. Acculturation refers to the process of cultural change that
results from contact between two or more cultures (see Berry (2005) for more
discussion). To a large extent, culture is shared by speakers of one language which is
widely spread throughout the world and by speakers of different languages in the same
geographical region, for instance, Southeast Asia, north America or north-eastern Asia
7
(Fernando & Flavell 1981). Third, there is significant inter-language borrowing of
idioms across languages (Fernando & Flavell 1981). Fourth, the translation of some
idioms can be traced back to accidental parallels (Dobrovol’skij 2000).
Translation requires sophisticated strategic judgments (Fernando & Flavell 1981;
Strässler 1982). Idioms generally demand that the translator be ‘not only accurate but
highly sensitive to the rhetorical nuances of the language’ (Fernando & Flavell 1981:
85). Any forced attempt to translate an idiom by an idiom across the board can result in
inappropriate translation (op. cit. Fernando & Flavell 1981). Depending on the idiom,

the translator’s command of the language and the relationship between the source
language (SL) and the target language (TL), idioms can be translated through a variety
of strategies.
The first strategy is paraphrase. Paraphrase is the best option if there is no appropriate
formal match (Baker 1992; Fernando & Flavell 1981; Valero-Garcés 1997). Paraphrase
expresses the meaning of the idiom in the TL by using other words. The meaning is not
a precise equivalent, but there is significant parallelism on the formal and/or semantic
level. A drawback of this strategy is that the impact of the idiom and any cultural
significance associated with it will be totally sacrificed in the translated text. It is
claimed that ‘whenever the two cultures and the language pair in question are very
different, paraphrase tends to be the safest and the most commonly used strategy’ (Abu-
Ssaydeh 2004: 119).
The second strategy is to use an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar structure
and/or lexical constituents (Fernando & Flavell 1981). The syntactic structure and
lexical constituents of an idiom in the SL, in many cases, are different from its
counterpart in the TL, but the semantic content is roughly synonymous (Abu-Ssaydeh
2004; Fernando & Flavell 1981). But any ‘such attempt to render an idiom by an idiom
has to face the difficulty of getting a close enough correspondence of semantic field, and
even where it is possible there are often considerable differences of style, register,
frequency’ (Fernando & Flavell 1981: 82).
The third strategy is to use an idiom of similar structure and/or lexical constituents but
8
dissimilar sense. The superficial similarities of structure and/or lexical constituency do
not always entail a correlation of meaning (Fernando & Flavell 1981).
The fourth strategy is a match of structure, lexical constituents and meaning. A good
match shows a high syntactic, lexical and semantic correlation (Fernando & Flavell
1981; Abu-Ssaydeh 2004).
Alternatively, the translator may provide a literal translation of the lexical constituents
of the idiom (Abu-Ssaydeh 2004). This strategy will be adopted if the metaphorical
potentials are similar and if the literal version is acceptable in the TL.

The translation of an English idiom into another language, then, depends on the idiom
stock in the target language; the rhetorical effect of a given idiom in the source
language, the text that is being translated, and the translator’s linguistic and cultural
competence (Ghazala, 2003). The discussion of the strategies shows that semantic
aspects of an idiom have a better chance of being retained in a translation than its
structure (Fernando & Flavell, 1981). In the present study, we use the first strategy
(paraphrase) to translate the idioms from English into Vietnamese, and vice versa.
6.2. Data Collection
It is a matter of fact that we can make comparison of languages in various ways. We
may start from categories of traditional grammar, phrases, a whole vocabulary or a
collection of texts (Dirven & Verspoor 2004: 250) with any appropriate database and
procedures. The usage-based or empirically-based (Bybee 2009) foundation of cognitive
grammar suggests that real linguistic examples taken from genuine usage-data should
form the basis for linguistic analysis and theory construction (Langlotz 2006; Quirk,
Greenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik 1985). Accordingly, the recent development of
linguistics has witnessed the rise of corpus-linguistics, which bases linguistic analyses
on large computer-aided corpora of both spoken and written language (Kemmer &
Barlow 2000).
In the present dissertation, the data are mainly obtained by observation and through
content-analysis (Kothari 1990):
9
By observation: The observation method implies the collection of information by way
of investigator’s own observation (Kothari 1990). The data used for description and
analysis in terms of structural and semantic components are subjected to checks and
controls on validity and reliability through observation. The observation is characterized
by a careful definition of the units (structural and semantic components of idioms) to be
observed, the style of recording the observed information (grouping and categorizing),
and the selection of pertinent data of observation. The observation following these
characteristics is called as ‘structured observation’. The main advantage of this method
is that subjective bias is eliminated. Secondly, the information obtained under this

method relates to what is currently happening. Thirdly, it seems to be a cheap method.
Through content-analysis: Content-analysis consists of analyzing the contents of
documentary materials such as books and journals which are printed (Kothari 1990). In
the present study, the content-analysis is mostly qualitative analysis concerning the
general message of the existing documents. The review of the research involves the
analysis of the contents of books and articles that have been published. The analysis is
at a relatively simple level because the researcher pursues it on the basis of certain
characteristics of the document that can be identified and counted.
The data for the present study come from two dictionaries:
i) Cowie, A. P., Mackin, R. & McCaig, I. R. (1993). Oxford Dictionary of English
Idioms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ii) Lực, N., & Đang, L. V. (1978). Thành ngữ tiếng Việt [Dictionary of Vietnamese
Idioms]. Hà Nội: Khoa học Xã hội Press.
The dictionaries are chosen for several specific reasons. Firstly, it can be said that they
are quite popular and currently available. Secondly, the scope of the two dictionaries is
focused on common idioms, i.e. they are usually used in daily speaking (see Section 4).
And finally, the dictionaries satisfy the diachronic perspective because the examples for
illustrations are mostly from literal works, magazines and newspapers. The collected
data forms a corpus under three categories: symmetrical idioms (378 for English and
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2,403 for Vietnamese), similized idioms (819 for English and 605 for Vietnamese), and
ordinary idioms (5,103 for English and 1,029 for Vietnamese).
The data in the present dissertation are also published or submitted data which are
available in books, PhD theses and journals such as On Idiom: Critical Views and
Perspectives by Fernando and Flavell (1981), Idioms and Idiomaticity by Fernando
(1996), Bình diện cấu trúc hình thái-ngữ nghĩa của thành ngữ tiếng Việt [Vietnamese
Idioms from Formal-semantic Perspectives] by Đức (1995), Thành ngữ học tiếng Việt
[Vietnamese Idiom Studies] by Hành (2008), Seeking the Nature of Idioms: A Study in
Idiomatic Structure by Tim (2002), ‘Study of Idiomatic Origins in Cultural Perspective’
by Xian (2007), Emotion Expressing Idioms in English and Vietnamese: A Contrastive

Analysis by Trào (2009), etc. The sources of these data are believed to be reliable,
suitable and adequate because they are all published, submitted and related to the area
of the study.
6.3. Data Analysis
Due to the aims, the objectives, and the scope of the study, componential analysis,
describing, comparing and contrasting are regarded as the main methods used in the
present dissertation. The study makes use of the Vietnamese language as the target and
the English one as the source language (the base language). In some cases, we may use
the opposite (the English language as the target and the Vietnamese one as the source
language).
Componential analysis is one of the main methods used to describe and analyze the
idioms, especially semantic components of idioms in both English and Vietnamese. We
describe meanings, meaning relationships and the grammatical behavior of idiom
classes by analyzing idiomatic meanings into meaning components. This analysis
procedure is called lexical decomposition (Dowty 1979; Zhang 2002). However, how to
understand and apply this approach in the dissertation is not entirely like the traditional
sense. Componential analysis in the concept of the dissertation means that we do not
only manipulate objects existing in a static way but we also analyze and access idioms
in their operation. More specifically, we study idioms in their existence and operating
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