The metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body parts in english and vietnamese

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

VŨ THỊ THANH MIỀN

THE METAPHORIC MEANINGS OF WORDS DENOTING NAMES
OF HUMAN BODY PARTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
(NGHĨA ẨN DỤ CỦA CÁC TỪ CHỈ BỘ PHẬN CƠ THỂ NGƯỜI
TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A. THESIS

Field: English Language
Code: 8220201

Hanoi, 2018


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

VŨ THỊ THANH MIỀN

THE METAPHORIC MEANINGS OF WORDS DENOTING NAMES
OF HUMAN BODY PARTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
(NGHĨA ẨN DỤ CỦA CÁC TỪ CHỈ BỘ PHẬN CƠ THỂ NGƯỜI
TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A. THESIS
Field: English Language
Code: 8220201

Supervisor : Dr. Nguyễn Thị Vân Đông

Hanoi, 2018


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report
entitled “The metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body
parts in English and Vietnamese” submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master in English Language. Except where the
reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due
acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.
Hanoi, 8th November, 2018

Vũ Thị Thanh Miền

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.
Nguyễn Thị Vân Đông for her great patience, encouragement, ceaseless academic
support and insightful comments. Without her guidance and contributions, the
present study would have never seen the light.
My great thankfulness is also given to all my lecturers of the Faculty of
Postgraduate Studies for their ideas to my paper and many thanks to all my friends
who have been always willing to help and give their best suggestions during the
time of collecting necessary data and information for the study.
Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt

gratitude to my whole family who were always supporting me and encouraging me
with their best wishes.
Hanoi, 8th November 2018

Vũ Thị Thanh Miền

ii


ABSTRACT
This study focuses on the metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of
human body parts in English and Vietnamese. It is investigated with the hope of
finding out the similarities and differences between the metaphoric meanings of
words denoting names of human body parts “head, hand/arm, leg/foot, eye” in
English and “đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in Vietnamese and suggesting practical
implications to the learning and teaching English as a foreign language in Vietnam.
Data used for analysis in this study were mainly collected through dictionaries and
the Internet. To carry out this research, the writer used descriptive, comparative and
contrastive methods. The result of the study illustrates the fact that there exist both
similarities and differences in the metaphoric meanings of the words denoting
names of human body parts in two languages. This reflects the way English and
Vietnamese people view the world and the way they use language. Hopefully, this
study will help students of English widen their understanding of the metaphoric
meanings of words and get better results in reading comprehension as well as in
everyday language.

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LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Table 1: Metaphoric meanings of “head” in English and “đầu” in Vietnamese ....... 34
Table 2: Metaphoric meanings of “head” in English and “đầu” in Vietnamese ...... 35
Table 3: Metaphoric meanings of “head” in English and “đầu” in Vietnamese ....... 36
Table 4: Metaphoric meanings of “head” in English and “đầu” in Vietnamese ...... 37
Table 5: Metaphoric meanings of “hand” in English and “tay” in Vietnamese ........ 39
Table 6: Metaphoric meanings of “arm” in English and “tay” in Vietnamese ......... 39
Table 7: Metaphoric meanings of “arm” in English and “tay” in Vietnamese ......... 41
Table 8: Metaphoric meanings of “leg” in English and “chân” in Vietnamese ........ 42
Table 9: Metaphoric meanings of “leg” in English and “chân” in Vietnamese ........ 43
Table 10: Metaphoric meanings of “foot” in Englishand “chân” in Vietnamese ...... 43
Table 11: Metaphoric meanings of “foot” in English and “chân” in Vietnamese ..... 45
Table 12: Metaphoric meanings of “eye” in English and “mắt” in Vietnamese ....... 46
Chart 1: Words denoting names of human body parts “head, hand/arm, foot/leg,
eye” in English and “đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in Vietnamese ........................................ 31
Chart 2: Metaphoric meanings of “head” in English and “đầu” in Vietnamese ....... 38
Chart 3: Metaphoric meanings of “arm /hand” in English and “tay/cánh tay” in
Vietnamese ................................................................................................................. 41
Chart 4: Metaphoric meanings of “leg/foot” in English and “chân” in Vietnamese . 45
Chart 5: Metaphoric meanings of “eye” in English and “mắt” in Vietnamese. ......... 48

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Ferrando’s definition of culture.................................................................. 19
Figure 2: Sikkema and Niyekawa’s definition of culture .......................................... 20

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................................. i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS ............................................................................ iv
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1
1.1. Rationale of the study ........................................................................................ 1
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study ...................................................................... 2
1.3 Research questions ............................................................................................. 3
1.4. Methods of the study ......................................................................................... 3
1.5. Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 4
1.6. Significance of the study ................................................................................... 4
1.7 Structure of the study.......................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................... 6
2.1. Previous study ................................................................................................... 6
2.2. An overview of metaphor and human body ...................................................... 7
2.2.1. Metaphor ......................................................................................................7
2.2.2. Human body ...............................................................................................14
2.3. An overview of language, thought and culture ............................................... 14
2.3.1. Language and thought ................................................................................14
2.3.2. Culture ........................................................................................................19
2.4. An overview of word and its meaning ............................................................ 23
2.4.1. What is the word?.......................................................................................23
2.4.2. Types of word meaning ..............................................................................24
2.4.3. Semes and Componential Analysis ............................................................27
2.5. Summary.......................................................................................................... 28
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................ 29
3.1. Subjects............................................................................................................ 29
3.2. Instruments ...................................................................................................... 29

3.3. Procedures ....................................................................................................... 30
3.4. Statistical analysis ........................................................................................... 30
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3.5 Summary........................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 4: THE METAPHORIC MEANINGS OF WORDS DENOTING
NAMES OF HUMAN BODY PARTS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ........... 32
4.1. Metaphoric meanings of “head” in English and “đầu” in Vietnamese. .......... 32
4.2. Metaphoric meanings of “hand/arm” in English and “tay” in Vietnamese..... 38
4.2.1. Metaphoric meanings of “hand” in English and “tay” in Vietnamese. .....38
4.2.2. Metaphoric meanings of “arm” in English and “tay/cánh tay” in
Vietnamese. ..........................................................................................................39
4.3. Metaphoric meanings of “leg/foot” in English and “chân” in Vietnamese..... 42
4.3.1. Metaphoric meanings of “leg” in English and “chân” in Vietnamese. ......42
4.3.2. Metaphoric meanings of “foot” in English and “chân” in Vietnamese. ....43
4.4. Metaphoric meanings of “eye” in English and “mắt” in Vietnamese. ............ 45
4.5. The similarities and differences in the metaphoric meanings of words denoting
names of human body parts in English and Vietnamese. ....................................... 48
4.5.1. The similarities ...........................................................................................48
4.5.2. The differences ...........................................................................................49
4.6. Implications for teaching and learning metaphors denoting names of human
body parts for Vietnamese students. ....................................................................... 50
4.6.1. Implications for teaching and learning metaphors in general ....................50
4.6.2. Implications for teaching and learning metaphors denoting names of
human body parts in particular .............................................................................50
4.7. Summary.......................................................................................................... 51
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 53
5.1. Summary of findings ....................................................................................... 53
5.2. Concluding remarks......................................................................................... 53

5.3. Limitations of the study ................................................................................... 55
5.4. Recommendations for further study ................................................................ 55
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 56
APPENDIXES

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale of the study
It is common knowledge that one of the most important functions of
language is to name the world or express human thoughts through a system of
concepts. However, the concepts expressed through language do not exist in
isolation from each other. Rather, they exist associatively in the language and make
up a giant network with many interconnections and associations among various
subparts. A good example of these interconnections involves metaphor, the
understanding of one concept in terms of another.
There is often a misbelief that metaphor is used in the literary or poetic
language, but it is indeed widely used in everyday conversational language. It is
obvious that metaphor is utilized to express ideas sensibly and vividly as it has great
expressive power. It is capable of conveying more of the human feeling, emotion or
attitude towards what is said rather than the non-metaphorical or direct way of
expression.
One interesting idea in the language use is that the human beings, first of all,
got to know their own body and gave names to its parts. Later in the process of
cognition of the world they began comparing the surrounding objects with their own
body and finding common features. Hence the names of parts of human body are
transferred to denote many other things or parts of things in the real world. In such a
way, things or parts of things in the real world are personified to possess the same
name with the parts of human body. For example in English, the word “foot” refers

to the lowest part of the human being and later on it is metaphorically used to refer
to the lowest part of many things, for instance, “the foot of the mountain/ hill”.
Not only English but many other languages also make use of metaphors in
such a way. In Vietnamese, many words denoting parts of human body are also
used metaphorically. For example, the word “chân”, equivalent to the word “foot”
in English is also used as a metaphor to refer to the lowest parts of the mountain or
hill: “Chân núi / Chân đồi”.

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However, the way individual words are used is not always the same in the
two languages. For example, the word “eye” in English is metaphorically used to
refer to the hole of the needle.
E.g.: Eye of the needle
Whereas, in Vietnamese the word “mắt” is not used in such a way. In
another case, it is metaphorically used to refer to holes of a woven basket.
E.g.: Mắt rổ
Examining the examples above it is obvious that in both English and
Vietnamese, the words denoting parts of human body are used metaphorically but
the way each word is used is varied in two languages. This can be explained that the
way metaphors are utilized is due to people’s life experience, world views or
people’s cognition of the outside world. In the broader term, it is also due to the
language users’ cultures. For this reason, metaphors are varied from one language to
another.
Thus, as for many teachers as well as learners of English, some questions
arise: “What are the metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body
parts in English and Vietnamese?”, “How much are they similar?” and “How
much do they differ from each other?” For such reasons, this study titled “The
metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body parts in

English and Vietnamese” come into existence with a view to answer the questions
mentioned.
Hopefully, it will somehow help Vietnamese learners of English enrich
their knowledge, have a deeper insight into human body parts metaphors and
improve the ability of using and understanding human body parts metaphors in
daily life.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
The study is basically aimed at investigating the metaphoric meanings of words
denoting names of human body parts “head, hand/arm, foot/leg, eye” in English and
“đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in Vietnamese. It also finds out and explains the similarities and
differences between the two languages so as to apply in teaching and learning work.
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The study is intended to fulfill the following objectives:
- To examine the metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human
body parts of “head, hand/arm, foot/ leg, eye” in English and “đầu, tay, chân, mắt”
in Vietnamese.
- To find out some similarities and differences in the metaphoric meanings
of words denoting names of human body parts “head, hand/arm, foot/leg, eye” in
English and “đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in Vietnamese.
- To make some suggestions for teaching and learning metaphors denoting
names of human body parts to Vietnamese learners of English.
1.3 Research questions
In order to achieve the objectives of the study the following research
questions should be taken into consideration:
1. What are the metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human
body parts of “head, hand/arm, foot/ leg, eye” in English and “đầu, tay, chân,
mắt” in Vietnamese?
2. What are the similarities and differences in the metaphoric meanings of

words denoting names of human body parts “head, hand/arm, foot/leg, eye” in
English and “đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in Vietnamese?
3. What are the recommendations for teaching and learning metaphors
denoting names of human body parts to Vietnamese learners of English effectively?
1.4. Methods of the study
This paper uses a number of methods and techniques such as descriptive
(qualitative, quantitative), comparative and contrastive methods are used for finding
out the common as well as the distinguished features in the use of the metaphoric
meanings of words denoting names of human body parts “head, hand/arm,
foot/leg, eye” in English and “đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in Vietnamese.
Firstly, descriptive (qualitative, quantitative) method is applied to describe in
details the metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body parts

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“head, hand/arm, foot/leg, eye” through examples of English and Vietnamese with
the help of a powerful source of dictionaries.
Secondly, comparative and contrastive methods are used to find out the
common as well as the distinguished features between English and Vietnamese
words denoting names of human body parts “head, hand/arm, foot/leg, eye”.
Finally, some conclusions or inferences will be made about what has been
analyzed and compare.
1.5. Scope of the study
Due to time constraints and within the framework of an M.A thesis, this
study is to compare and contrast the metaphoric meanings of words denoting names
of human body parts “head, hand/arm, foot/leg, eye” in English and “đầu, tay,
chân, mắt” in Vietnamese.The words used in metaphors can functions as nouns,
verbs and adjectives ect, however, for the scope of this study, only words
functioning as nouns in metaphorical expressions are mentioned and discussed.

Moreover, the metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body parts
are various. But for the limitation of personal knowledge and ability, this study only
focuses on the most common metaphors of the words that can be found and
traditionally used in communication in both languages. In other words, the most
common referent beside parts of human body that the words refer to will be
mentioned and analyzed.
1.6. Significance of the study
Theoretically, the study will make clear a full description of the metaphoric
meanings of words denoting names of human body parts in English and
Vietnamese. It contributes to the theory of metaphors and theory about language
and thought, cultural features, word meanings. Thus, other researchers and
linguistics could take it as a reliable reference to make further studies in this field.
Practically, words denoting names of human body parts are used popularly in
daily life, but so far, there have been no studies about this topic. As a result, this
research is conducted in an attempt to provide Vietnamese learners with better
mastering how to use words denoting names of human body parts. From these
findings, Vietnamese learners of English will enhance knowledge about the
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metaphoric meanings of words denoting the names of human body parts as well as
apply this kind of words in sensible ways in communication. The study is hoped to
make a great contribution to the process of teaching and learning English.
1.7 Structure of the study
The study consists of five following chapters:
Chapter I, Introduction, includes the rationale, the aim, the objectives, the scope,
the significance and the structural organization.
Chapter II, Literature review, provides the synopsis of previous studies on the
similar topics, as well as presents a review of theoretical background and theoretical
framework for the case study.

Chapter III, Methodology, focuses on the research methods that were followed in
the study. It provides information on the subjects, instruments, procedures and
statistical analysis.
Chapter IV, The metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body
parts of “head, hand/arm, foot/ leg, eye” in English and “đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in
Vietnamese, describes and analyzes the metaphoric meanings of words denoting
names of human body parts of “head, hand/arm, foot/leg, eye” in English and
“đầu, tay, chân, mắt” in Vietnamese, makes a comparison of the metaphoric
meanings of words denoting names of human body parts in English and Vietnamese
and provides some possible implications for teaching and learning the metaphoric
meanings of words denoting names of human body parts in English and
Vietnamese.
Chapter V, Conclusion, gives the summary of the study. Furthermore, this chapter
also presents the limitations of the research and some suggestions for further
studies.
References and Appendixes come at the end of the thesis.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter serves two main purposes. Firstly, it gives the summaries of
previous researches associated with the theme of the investigation. Secondly, it
presents an overview of the theoretical background as well relevant knowledge.
2.1. Previous study
Up to now, there have been several investigations of human body parts and
their role in languages.
In English we have Elaine S. Andersen, the author of “Lexical Universal of
Body-Part Terminology” published in 1978. Kyung-Joo Yoon in 2003 wrote “The
Korean conceptualization of heart: An indigenous perspective”.

At the same time, Kyung-Joo Yoon (2003) also wrote “Heart and Mind:
Contrastive Semantics of Cultural Concepts” Mol Susan (2004) wrote “Head and
Heart-Metaphors and metonymies in a cross-linguistic perspective”.
In “Culture, Body, and Language: Conceptualizations of Internal Body
Organs across Cultures and Languages” edited by Sharifian Farzard, Dirven
René, Yu Ning, and Niemeier Susanne (2008) included several writings mentioning
to body organs as:“Heart and (angry) minds in Old English” by Dirk Geeraerts
and Caroline Gevaert (2008), “Culture and Language: Look for the ‘mind’
inside the body” by Farzad Sharifian, René Dirven, Ning Yu, and Susanne
Niemeier (2008),“ “Contrastive semantics and cultural psychology: English
heart vs. Malay hati” by Cliff Goddard (2008), and “Did he break your heart or
your liver? A contrastive study on metaphorical concepts from the source
domain Organ in English and in Indonesian” made by Poppy Siahaan (2008).
In Vietnamese, Nguyễn Dương Nguyên Hảo (1999) made the thesis
“Semantic structures of words denoting human body organs in English: eye – ear –
nose – mouth (versus Vietnamese)”. In “A contrastive analysis of English and
Vietnamese idioms using the terms of human body parts”, Nguyễn Thị Hiệp (2001)
investigated idioms in relation to their grammatical and semantic features. Bùi Thị
Ái Hảo (2011) wrote the thesis “An investigation into linguistic features of words

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combinations containing pairs of human body parts in Vietnamese and their
English semantics equivalents”.
From the cognitive point of view, Nguyễn Huỳnh Ngọc Thanh (2003) wrote
the thesis “A cognitive semantics study on the spatial terms derived from body-parts
used in English and Vietnamese”.
Hoàng Thị Bảo Kim (2006) has focused on analyzing and discussing the
syntactic and semantic features of collocations of the words “skin” and “da” in

advertising in English and Vietnamese.

Especially, in the same year (2006),

Nguyễn Minh Thủy made the PhD thesis under the title: “ Đặc điểm của Thành ngữ
Tiếng Nhật (trong sự liên hệ với Thành ngữ Tiếng Việt). Lately, Đào Tấn Cảnh
(2008), wrote the thesis “ Đối chiếu ngữ kết hợp của răng và tóc trong ngôn ngữ
quảng cáo tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt”
In general, words denoting names of human body parts have been studied in
many research works in both English and Vietnamese, however, researches on the
metaphoric meanings of words denoting names of human body parts in English and
in Vietnamese haven’t been paid much attention so I decide to choose this subject
for my study.
2.2. An overview of metaphor and human body
2.2.1. Metaphor
Before discussing the metaphorical use of the words denoting parts of human body,
it is necessary to have an insight into metaphors in general.
2.2.1.1. Definitions of metaphor
Generally, metaphor is defined as the transference of name based on the
association of similarity.
According to Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary (1995, p. 15),
“Metaphor is a word or phrase used in an imaginative way used to describe
something or somebody else in a way that the two things have the same qualities
and make the descriptions more powerful”.
In A Handbook to Literature by Harmon and Homan (1996, p.315),

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metaphor is defined as ― “an analogy identifying one object with another and

ascribing to the first object one or more of the qualities of the second”. In this
definition, metaphor is seen as the process of expressing one thing through another
thing due to the similarities of two objects.
Sharing the same view, a definition offered by Cambridge Advanced
Learner‘s Dictionary considers metaphor as ― “An expression which describes a
person or object in a literary way by referring to something that is considered to
possess similar characteristics to the person or object you are trying to describe”.
According to Halliday (1985), Metaphor is usually described as variation in
the use of words: a word is said to be used with transferred meaning. (p. 320)
The Vietnamese linguist Cù Đình Tú stated that: “it is the phenomena in
which one thing is represented by another due to their characteristics similarities
or the logical connection between two things”, (1983, p.270).
According to Nguyễn Hòa (2001), “ Metaphor is the transference of meaning
(name) from one object to another, based on the similarities between two objects.”
Lý Toàn Thắng (2005) writes “According to traditional rhetoric and
literature, metaphor, along with metonymy, is considered as one of the two main
types of using words figuratively. It is formed based on the concepts of simile and
comparison between the literal and figurative meanings of words.” For example,
“foot of mountain” compared with “foot of human” (p.28 )
Đỗ Hữu Châu (1966) defines that: “Metaphor is a way of naming an object
in terms of the name of another, based on the similar relationship between them.”
Nguyễn Đức Tồn (2007, p.470) explains very carefully the nature of
metaphor and then defined it as “Ẩn dụ là phép thay thế tên gọi hoặc chuyển đặc
điểm thuộc tính của sự vật hiện tượng này sang sự vật hiện tượng khác dựa trên cơ
sở sự liên tưởng đồng nhất hóa chúng theo đặc điểm thuộc tính nào đó cùng có ở
chúng.”
The term metaphor that comes from Greek means ‘transference’. As it is
stated by Võ Đại Quang (2003, p.33), metaphor is “word meaning transference
based on similarity between two things as regards function, character, size, shape,
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age, color etc.” Take the following example.
E.g.: Tom is a snake.
In this example, the word “snake” has negative connotation as snakes are
thought to be very poisonous or dangerous to people. So this meaning is transferred
to refer to the character of a person (Tom) to imply that he is a dangerous person.
The similarity in this case between an animal (snake) and a person (Tom) is about
the character. So this definition of metaphor is very clear and detailed.
However, the question is “why do people have to use such an implicit way to
convey the idea?” This is clearer in the definition given by Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary (1995, p.734) in which metaphor is defined as “the
imaginative use of a word or a phrase to describe somebody! something as another
object in order to show that they have the same qualities and as to make the
description more forceful”. This definition is not as detailed as the abovementioned definition about the association of similarity but it takes the use and the
effect of metaphor into consideration. If we say: “Tom is a dangerous person”, it is
not as forceful or face-saving to the hearer as we say “Tom is a snake”. Also,
metaphor can convey the imagination of the language users so it is obviously more
persuasive and effective in communication.
From the linguistic point of view, metaphor is defined as “An extension in
the use of the word beyond its primary meaning to describe referents that bear
similarities to the word’s primary referent” Edward Finegan (1994). Language its structure and use. The term “extension” refers to the meaning of the word that
can be expanded beyond its literal meaning. So metaphor here is treated as a means
of creating and extending meaning to describe other referents which are similar to
the word’s primary referent. Look at the above example again. The primary referent
of the word “snake” is one kind of animal and in this metaphor, it refers to another
referent that is a dangerous person (Tom). This can be done on the basis of the
resemblance between the two referents.
There is also another definition from cognitive viewpoint which also makes
clear about this transference of meaning. According to Barcelona (2000, p.3),

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“Metaphor is the cognitive mechanism whereby one experiential domain is partially
mapped or projected onto a different experiential domain so that the second
domain is partially understood in terms of the first one”. So metaphor in this
definition is understood as a conceptual projection whereby one experiential
domain is understood in terms of another. In the above example, the character of a
person (Tom) is likened and understood in terms of a character of a snake.
In general, metaphor discussed above is viewed from different angles. To put
it simply, it is the way we call one object by the name of another because we
compare these objects and find some common features between them.
There is a necessity here to distinguish metaphor from simile and metonymy
because they are closely related. Firstly, metaphor and simile are forms of
comparison. In both ways, we compare two unlike things together. However,
metaphor is the hidden comparison and simile is the open comparison. Take the two
examples below.
E.g.: He is the head of the department.
He is like the head of the department.
The head on the human body is thought to be the part that contain the brain
and can control the activity of the rest of the body. In this case, the word “head”
refers to the person who takes the controlling function as the leader in the
department. In the first sentence (metaphor), this can be understood implicitly and
in the second sentence, this is understood explicitly. To put it on the scale,
metaphor is really an equation and simile is an approximation. Of course, they are
of different values and take different effects to the hearer.
Secondly, metaphor and metonymy are two kinds of transference of
meaning. That is, one object is named and understood in terms of another. But
metaphor is based on the association of similarity and metonymy is based on the
association of contiguity. Look at the following pair of examples.

E.g.: He is the head of the department.
Two heads are better than one.
The word “head” in the first sentence, as mentioned above, refers to the
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leader or the person in the department and this can be understood in terms of the
similarity of function; the head on a human body and the leader in the department
both carry the function to control the rest parts of the whole. But the word “heads”
in the second sentence refers to “people” because between the head and the person
are related to each other, that is head is one part of the person. This is done on the
basis of part-whole relation in which the name of the part is used to refer to the
whole.
So it is obvious that metaphors are related to simile and metonymy but it is
quite distinguished from them. And how metaphors function in language and how
they are classified will be presented below.
2.2.1.2. Classifications of metaphor.
Metaphors, like any other stylistic devices, can be classified according to
their degree of unexpectedness. As it is stated by Nguyễn Hòa (2004, p.109), basing
on the degree of unexpected ness, there are three main types of metaphors namely
living metaphors, faded metaphors and dead metaphors.
a. Living metaphors
Metaphors which are unexpected and quite unpredictable are called living
metaphors. In these metaphors the word has an unusual metaphorical sense that are
easily recognized by the hearer. They are created and used by individuals.
E.g.: You are my sun
It can be seen that the sun lights our earth by day, which can makes people’s
life brighter and happier. So when a person who is thought to make the other’s life
brighter and happier is considered “the sun”. The metaphors of this type are also
called creative or poetic metaphors as it reflects the creative use of language and

they are attached to the symbolic function as discussed above and are especially
used in literature and poetry. They are not common in everyday language usage.
Sometimes, they are called genuine metaphors because it is the common sense
when people talk about metaphors and they have great rhetoric effect on the hearer.
b. Faded metaphors

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Faded metaphors are those which have lost their freshness because of long
and traditional use and become habitual in daily language usage. For instance, gold
is one kind of very valuable material and the adjective “golden” denotes something
made of gold. And when people say “golden youth”, they imply that the youth in a
person’s life is also as valuable as gold. Metaphors are so common in everyday
language that they are sometimes not felt as metaphors. These metaphors can cause
polysemy of so many words in language. Among the functions discussed, they are
attached to the naming and cognitive functions.
c. Dead metaphors
Dead metaphors are those whose metaphorical sense is not felt at all because
they have lost their indirect meaning and are only used figuratively. For example,
the word “capital” in English used to mean the head which is considered as the
most important part on the human body. So it was metaphorically used to refer to
the most important city or town of a country which is usually the center of
government. But now the word “capital” is not used literally as the head of the
human body but only means the capital of the country as in the sentence; “Hanoi is
the capital of Vietnam”. These metaphors are not many in language. In fact, they are
difficult or almost impossible to be recognized as metaphors.
Generally, there are three main types of metaphors which are living, faded
and dead metaphors. Basing on these, metaphors relating to parts of human body
are called faded metaphors because they are the means of everyday language to give

names to things in the world. This will be clarified with illustrations in the
following chapter.
2.2.1.3. Functions of metaphor
Metaphors are of various values and functions in language, however, in this
study only three basic functions given by Đinh Trọng Lạc (1994, p.53), a
Vietnamese linguist, are mentioned. According to his opinion, there are three basic
functions of metaphors namely naming, cognitive and symbolic functions and
basing on this he can group metaphors together.
a. Naming function
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The first function of metaphors discussed is to name things. This is only the
technical means to use the ready-made vocabulary to give names to other things
basing on the resemblance between them. For example, the lowest part of the
mountain is called the foot of the mountain as the foot on the human body is the
lowest part. These metaphors are of almost no or very little rhetoric value but they
can reflect the way in which things in the world are viewed together. These
metaphors are only intended to give names to things basing on the experience with
the existing vocabulary.
a. Cognitive function
The second function of metaphors is to cognize or conceptualize things. Here
the metaphors do not give new names to things but conceptualize them in terms of
another. Here, metaphors operates between two domains, one domain is
conceptualized in terms of another. For example, in the domain of weather, when it
is sunny, the sun is shining and brings pleasant weather that can make people happy
and comfortable. So the word “sunny” has positive connotation and it is transferred
to talk about the mood of people as in the following example.
E.g.: By the time he reached the outskirts of Cambridge, David was in a
sunny mood.

That is, David felt very happy and optimistic. In this way, the human mood is
conceptualized and understood under the words about weather. These metaphors are
also conventional and of little rhetoric effect.
b. Symbolic function
The last function of metaphors mentioned here is to symbolize things. This
function is commonly thought to be the conventional function of metaphors. For
instance, the flower often symbolizes for the beauty. So it is often compared to the
woman’s beauty.
E.g.: Beauty is a flower which wrinkles will devour.
In the example, the flower is compared to the beauty of people that will
devour like the flower. Metaphors of this group reflect the imaginative and creative

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way individuals judge and comment things, which can make their language more
expressive and more persuasive. They are very popular in poetic language.
On the whole, metaphors carry three major functions in language which are
naming, cognitive and symbolic functions. Basing on that, metaphors relating to
parts of human body are in the first group which is utilized to give names to things
in the world.
2.2.2. Human body
In “Đại từ điển Tiếng Việt” made by Nguyễn Như Ý, Nguyễn Văn Khang,
Vũ Quang Hào, Phan Xuân Thành (2008, p.62), “Body is the unique system of every
organ in a living thing”.
In Oxford Advanced learners’ dictionary (2000, p.23) “Body is the whole
physical structure of a human being or an animal”.
According to Wikipedia (89), “The human body is the entire structure of a
human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create
tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability

of the human body. It comprises a head, neck, trunk (which includes the thorax and
abdomen), arms and hands, legs and feet”.
2.3. An overview of language, thought and culture
There is no doubt that language, thought and culture are closely related to
each other and the best example to illustrate this relation is the use of metaphors in
language. However, before discussing how language and thought are related, it is
necessary to understand what language is.
2.3.1. Language and thought
2.3.1.1. What is language?
Language is obviously the central concept in linguistics. So far, there have
been various definitions of language. In each definition, the linguist treats language
from a different angle. In this study, only some related definitions or perceptions of
language are mentioned.
First of all, according to Sapir (1921, p.8): “Language is a purely human
non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of
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voluntarily produced symbols. In this definition, language is purely human, that is,
humans alone possess language and it is unlike any other system of communication
of animals. Also, it is non-instinctive, as language is possessed by people through a
process of acquisition, but it is not naturally mastered. However, in this definition,
what is communicated by language as the author used the terms “idea”, “emotions”
and “desires” is insufficient in comparison with what language conveys in reality. It
can express much more than that, for example, human beings can use it to talk
about vast number of things which come from accumulated knowledge, memory
and imagination. On the other hand, there are many systems of voluntarily
produced symbols, for example, gestures, postures, eye-gaze, etc. that
metaphorically we call “body language”. What should be noted in this study about
this definition is that it is purely human and non-instinctive so it is creative and can

be developed and characterized by human beings.
Second, in their “Outline of linguistic analysis”, Block & Trager (1942, p .
5) defined language as “a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a
social group co-operates”. This definition brings in the property of arbitrariness.
That is, there is no relatedness between the sound and the meaning of language. But
it is not always the case as there are some aspects of language in which meanings
are closely related to the sounds, for example onomatopoeia words and
interjections. Another point of this definition is that it puts emphasis upon its social
function. It is used by a social group to co-operate with each other. So it can be
inferred that it also characterizes the community or social group of people by whom
it is used.
The third definition of language mentioned here is given by Hall (1968,
p.158). In his “Essay on Language", he counts language as “the institution
whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually
used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols'". Here, the author puts stress not only on the
communicative function but also the interactive function of language. These
functions are carried out by means of “habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary
symbols”. The term “arbitrary” is also mentioned and the term “oral-auditory"
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here can be understood as “vocal”. It makes reference to the receiver and the sender
of the vocal signals that we identify as language-utterance. What is the most worthy
in Hall’s definition, however, is his employment of the term “habitually used”. The
“symbols” used in the process of communication and interaction are formed and
developed by means of “habits ". In such a way, symbols used in communication
and interaction are different from one language to another due to people’s habits of
using them. In addition, Hall also treats language as a purely human institution and
the term “institution” makes explicit the view that the language that is used by a
particular society is part of that society’s culture.

Another definition that should be mentioned here is from Saussure (1960,
p.8). In “Course in General Linguistics'", he defined language as follows: “It is
both a social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary
conventions that have been adopted a social body to permit individuals to exercise
that faculty.'" In his definition, language is distinguished from speech that belongs
to both individual and society and in which there is hardly any unity. Conversely,
language is treated as a “social product” and we can discover the unity of language
for it is also “a collection of necessary conventions'" which is accepted and
exercised by members in the social body or community. The term “convention”
here also means the nature of the symbols or sign that is agreed upon does not
matter.
On the whole, what is in common among different definitions of language is
that language is the possession of human beings. It is a system of symbols or
conventions that are used and understood in a social community and at the same
time, it has both social characteristics and functions.
2.3.1.2. Relation between language and thought
It can be said that language and thought are related and interdependent on
each other. Our ability to use language and our ability to think and conceptualize
develop at the same time and these abilities depend on each other. Firstly, it is
obvious that language is a tool for expressing human thought. Each language has a
characteristic worldview. It reflects the way people think and view the world
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