English numerical set expressions with reference to vietnamese

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THU HƯỜNG

ENGLISH NUMERICAL SET EXPRESSIONS
WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE
(NGỮ CỐ ĐỊNH CHỨA SỐ TRONG TIẾNG ANH
TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A Thesis
Field: English Language
Code: 8220201

Hanoi, 2018


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THU HƯỜNG

ENGLISH NUMERICAL SET EXPRESSIONS
WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE
(NGỮ CỐ ĐỊNH CHỨA SỐ TRONG TIẾNG ANH
TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A Thesis
Field: English Language
Code: 8220201
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Ngoc Trung

Hanoi, 2018


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report
entitled ENGLISH NUMERICAL SET EXPRESSIONS WITH REFEENCE TO
VIETNAMESE (NGHIÊN CỨU NGỮ CỐ ĐỊNH CHỨA SỐ TRONG TIẾNG
ANH TRONG SỰ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT) 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, 2018

Nguyen Thu Huong

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Ngoc Trung
Date: …………………...

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and
appreciation to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Ngoc Trung for his inspiring and
invaluable guidance, advice and encouragement throughout this study.
I would also thank the organizers of this master course. My sincere thanks go

to the whole lecturers and the staff of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Hanoi
Open University for their useful lectures, assistance, enthusiasm and advice during
my course.
I highly appreciate the helpful advice and assistance from the Dean of
English Faculty and my colleagues at National College for Education.
Finally, I am so indebted to my parents, my husband and my family for their
understanding, support and encouragement during the entire period of my study.

ii


ABSTRACT
This study focused on English set expressions containing numbers with
reference to Vietnamese. The purpose of this study is to investigate the linguistic
features and cultural characteristics of English set expressions containing numbers.
Through their syntactic features, semantic features and cultural characteristics we
find out the similarities and differences between English set expressions and
Vietnamese ones under the light of contrastive analysis and cross-cultural
perspective. Data used for analysis in this study were mainly collected through
dictionaries and the internet. Through analysis of forms of set expressions
containing numbers in English and Vietnamese, it is deduced that idioms are really
important in communication. Idioms are used to express ideas in figurative styles.
They bring vividness and richness to the speakers‟ speeches. The findings of the
thesis illustrate some implications for teachers and learners of English from the use
of linguistic features of set expressions containing numbers in English and focus on
the meanings of English set expressions containing numbers in English and a
comparative analysis with Vietnamese ones. Hopefully, the study may help learners,
teachers, and translators of English avoid difficulties in realizing and translating
English numerical set expressions into Vietnamese.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY .......................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. vii
LIST OF TABLES AND OF FIGURES ................................................................. viii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................1
1.1 Rationale for the study .......................................................................................1
1.2 Aims and objectives of the study .......................................................................2
1.3. Research questions ............................................................................................2
1.4 Methods of the study .........................................................................................2
1.5 Scope of the study ..............................................................................................3
1.6 Significance of the study ...................................................................................3
1.7 Design of the study ............................................................................................3
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................4
2.1 Previous studies .................................................................................................4
2.1.1. Previous Studies of English set expressions in Foreign Countries ............4
2.1.2. Previous Studies of English and Vietnamese Idioms in Vietnam ...............4
2.2 Theoretical background .....................................................................................5
2.2.1 Syntax theories ............................................................................................5
2.2.2 Semantic theories ........................................................................................5
2.2.3 An overview of Phrase, Clause and Sentence structures ............................6
2.2.4. Culture and language ...............................................................................10
2.2.5. Translation theories .................................................................................11
2.3 Theoretical framework.....................................................................................12
2.3.1 Definition of set expressions......................................................................12

2.3.2 Classification of set expressions .............................................................12
2.3.3 Syntactic features .....................................................................................14

iv


2.3.4 Semantic features ......................................................................................18
2.3.5 Cultural features........................................................................................21
2.3.6. Numbers in English ..................................................................................23
2.4. Summary .........................................................................................................23
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................25
3.1 Research design ...............................................................................................25
3.2 Instruments.......................................................................................................25
3.3 Procedure .........................................................................................................25
3.4 Statistical Analysis ...........................................................................................26
3.5 Summary ..........................................................................................................26
CHAPTER IV: ENGLISH SET EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING NUMBERS
WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE ...............................................................27
4.1 Syntactic features of English set expressions containing numbers with
reference to Vietnamese ........................................................................................27
4.1.1 Phrase Structures ......................................................................................27
4.1.2 Clause Structures ......................................................................................32
4.1.3 Similarities and Differences in Syntactic Features of English and
Vietnamese SEN .................................................................................................34
4.2 Semantic features of English set expressions containing numbers with
reference to Vietnamese ........................................................................................35
4.2.1 Semantic classification ..............................................................................35
4.2.2 Semantic Fields of English set expressions containing numbers with
reference to Vietnamese .....................................................................................38
4.2.3 Similarities and Differences in Semantic Features of English and

Vietnamese SEN .................................................................................................44
4.3. Cultural features of English set expressions containing numbers with
reference to Vietnamese ........................................................................................46
4.3.1 Cultural features of English set expression containing numbers ..............46
4.3.2 Cultural features of Vietnamese set expression containing numbers .......47
4.3.3 Similarities and Differences in Cultural Features of English and
Vietnamese SEN .................................................................................................49

v


4.4. Implications for teaching and learning ...........................................................50
4.4.1 Implications for English language learning ..............................................50
4.4.2 Implications for English language teaching ..........................................51
4.5 Summary .......................................................................................................52
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .................................................................................53
5.1 Concluding remarks .......................................................................................53
5.2 Limitation of the study ...................................................................................54
5.3 Suggestions for further study .........................................................................54
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ i
APPENDIX 1: LIST OF ENGLISH SET EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING
NUMBERS ............................................................................................................... iii
APPENDIX 2: LIST OF VIETNAMESE SET EXPRESSIONS CONTAINING
NUMBERS ...............................................................................................................xv

vi


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

A

Adverbial

Adj

Adjective

Adv

Adverb

Art

Article

C

Complement

CN

Chủ ngữ

Conj

Conjunction

ĐT

Động từ

N

Noun

NP

Noun phrase

O

Object

Prep

Preposition

S

Subject

Sb

Somebody

SEN

Set expressions containing numbers

Sth

Something

V

Verb

VN

Vị ngữ

VPs

Verb phrases

vii


LIST OF TABLES AND OF FIGURES
Table 4.1 Statistical Summary of Syntactic Features of English and Vietnamese....33
Set Expressions Containing Numbers. ......................................................................33
Table 4.2 Statistical Summary of Semantic Classification of English and Vietnamese
Set Expressions Containing Numbers. ......................................................................38
Table 4.3. Statistical Summary of Semantic Fields of English and Vietnamese Set
Expressions Containing Numbers. ............................................................................43
Chart 4.1 Rate of Syntactic Features of English and Vietnamese Set Expressions
ContainingNumbers. .................................................................................................34
Chart 4.2 Rate of Syntactic Semantic Classification of English and Vietnamese Set
Expressions Containing Numbers. ............................................................................38

Chart 4.3 Rate of Semantic Fields of English and Vietnamese Set Expressions
Containing Numbers. ................................................................................................44

viii


CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale for the study
Numbers are in the things. Numbers are objective properties of the things
and it means that they are secret essence of all things. Only names of numbers (or
the form) and their symbols (or hidden meaning) are created. In the process of
communication, sometimes we come across some expressions containing numbers
that we can‟t understand although we can comprehend the meaning of every single
word in them. “Language is a source of misunderstandings” (Antoine de Saint
Exupery).
The main reason why we fail to understand what these sentences are all
about lies in the low level of linguistic competence of English set expressions.
Idioms, proverbs and sayings are often defined as a group of words which have a
different meaning when used together from the one it would have if the meaning of
each word were taken individually. Numbers are widely used to form idioms such
as “on cloud nine” (very happy), “slip me five” (shake my hand). In these examples,
the numbers have lost their surface meaning and have to be understood nonliterally. Therefore, in order to understand as well as translate set expressions from
a language into another one, knowledge of not only linguistic aspects but also of
cultural reality has to be involved.
There have been so far a lot of studies and investigations into idioms
concerning family, animals, colors, food, weather ect. These studies mainly
concentrate on investigating semantic features such as transfer of meaning:
metaphor, hyperbole and simile. Nevertheless, hardly any study of set expressions
containing numbers has been carried out especially in semantic categories and
culture features. This is the reason why we would like to carry out this thesis

entitled “English numerical set expressions with reference to Vietnamese”.
Hopefully, the result of this study will help Vietnamese teachers and learners of
English teach, study and use the idioms, proverbs and sayings involving numbers
effectively.

1


1.2 Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims to investigate the linguistic features and cultural
characteristics of English numerical set expressions with reference to Vietnamese in
order to find out the similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese set
expressions containing numbers.
The study is to fulfill the following objectives:
- To investigate the syntactic features of English set expressions containing
numbers with reference to Vietnamese.
- To investigate the semantic features of English set expressions containing
numbers with reference to Vietnamese.
- To find out the cultural characteristics of English set expressions containing
numbers with reference to Vietnamese.
1.3. Research questions
To complete the tasks assigned to itself, the thesis is expected to answer the
following research questions:
1. What are the syntactic characteristics of English set expressions
containing numbers (with reference to Vietnamese)?
2. What are the semantic characteristics of English set expressions containing
numbers (with reference to Vietnamese)?
3. What are the cultural characteristics of English set expressions containing
numbers (with reference to Vietnamese)?
1.4 Methods of the study

In order to achieve the aim given, the major method to be employed in the
study is a descriptive one. The descriptive method is used to describe in details the
syntactic and semantic features through the examples of idioms and proverbs
containing numbers collected from reference books, dictionaries and Internet
websites. Moreover, analysis method is used to find out the similarities and
differences between English set expressions and Vietnamese ones.
Therefore, the considerations, remarks, consumptions, comments and
conclusions in the thesis are mainly based on data analysis.
2


1.5 Scope of the study
The study focuses on syntactic features, semantic features and cultural
characteristics of English set expressions containing numbers. Any English set
expressions that contain cardinal and ordinal numbers are subject to study.
1.6 Significance of the study
The analysis of syntactic features, semantic features and cultural
characteristics of English set expressions containing numbers has provided a
profound and convincing explanation to manifest the viewpoints of the native
speakers more logically, vividly and clearly. The systematic contrastive analysis
of the language and cultures of the two communities has demonstrated the
similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese set expressions
containing numbers.
1.7 Design of the study
The thesis consists of 5 main chapters, excluding the appendixes and
references.
Chapter 1: Introduction, consists of the rationale, the problem statement
and justification of the research project, the aims and objectives, the research
questions, the methods of the study, the scope of the study, the significance of the
study and the design of the study.

Chapter 2: Literature review, consists of previous studies, theoretical
background and theoretical framework
Chapter 3: Methodology and procedures, consist of research design,
instrumentation, procedure and statistical analysis.
Chapter 4: English set expressions containing numbers with reference to
Vietnamese, consist of 1) Syntactic features of English set expressions containing
numbers with reference to Vietnamese, 2) Semantic features of English set
expressions containing numbers with reference to Vietnamese, 3) Culture features
of English set expressions containing numbers with reference to Vietnamese, 4) The
pedagogical implication of the study.
Chapter 5:Conclution, consists of concluding remarks, limitation of the

study and recommendations/suggestions for further study.

3


CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Previous studies
2.1.1. Previous Studies of English set expressions in Foreign Countries
Idiomatic expressions have become an interest of a great number of
researchers in the world in different languages.

In fact, many writers and

linguists started studying English idioms at the beginning of the twentieth
century. Some authors have made great contributions to the collections of
English Idioms. M.C. Mode (1909) with “English Idioms and How to Use them”
is considered among the first authors to study on this field. Idioms take up a
large proportion of both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries such as: “Oxford

Dictionary of English Idioms” by Cowie, A.P et al. (1993) [6], Fenado, C. with
“Idioms and Idiomaticity” (1996) [10], “English Idioms in Use” by McCarthy,
M & O‟Dell, F (2002) [18], Ayton, J. (2006) [4]. In addition, there are some
more collections of idioms. Palmer, F.R. (1990) [19], who defined idioms as
sequences of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meaning of the
words themselves.
2.1.2. Previous Studies of English and Vietnamese Idioms in Vietnam
Vietnamese idioms and proverbs also prove significant in Vietnamese
language, and several native linguists have been trying to collect them and to
detect their special peculiarities, Hoang Van Hahn (2004) [27] with “A study on
Vietnamese Idioms” had spent a lot of time and energy on this research. The
author analyzed idioms based on different aspects, synchronically and
diachronically, on the view of functional and structural system as well as from
cultural, social and psychological perspectives. The research also introduced a
systematic collection of Vietnamese idioms in forms of three main types. Phan
Xuan Thanh produced an important and useful book “Từ điển thành ngữ Việt
Nam” (1993) [32]. More interestingly, there have been many contrastive studies

4


on idioms and proverbs in Vietnamese by Vu Dung (2000) [25], Nguyen Lan
(1989) [30].
Despite abundant researches on idiomatic expression, it seems that idiomatic
expressions containing numbers have been left underexplored in English as well as
in Vietnamese.
2.2 Theoretical background
2.2.1 Syntax theories
In linguistics, syntax refers to the rules that govern the ways in which
words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. It comes from Greek for

“arrange together”. The term is also used to mean the study of the syntactic
properties of a language. Syntax is one of the major components of grammar.
According to Anthony Burgess (Ender by Outside, 1968) “It is syntax that
gives the words the power to relate to each other in a sequence… to carry
meaning-of whatever kind-as well as glow individually in just the right place”.
Andrew Radford elaborates “Within traditional grammar, the syntax of a
language is described in terms of a taxonomy (i.e. the classificatory list) of the
range of different types of syntactic structures found in the language. The central
assumption underpinning syntactic analysis in traditional grammar is that phrases
and sentences are built up of a series of constituents (i.e. syntactic units) each of
which belongs to a specific grammatical category and serves a specific
grammatical function. Given this assumption, the task of the linguist analyzing the
syntactic structure of any given type of sentence is to identify each of the
constituents in the sentence, and (for each constituent) to say what category it
belongs to and what function it serves.” (English Syntax: An Introduction,
Cambridge University Press, 2004).
2.2.2 Semantic theories
Semantics has quite a long history going back thousands of years. It is
indeed true to say that it is as old as the history of linguistics. However, the word

5


“semantics”

made is earliest entry into the Old English Dictionary only in

1890s, interpreted as the study of meaning.
J. Lyons (1995) and Frawley (1992) use the same term “linguistic
semantics” stating in different terms about its coverage. And the term does not

necessarily cover the same ground. That is what Lyons (1995, 12) says about
linguistic semantics: “… and linguistic semantics is the study of meaning in so
far as it is systematically encoded in the vocabulary and grammar of natural
languages”. Meaning for Lyons would include that which is traditionally dealt
with in semantics (literal meaning) and that which is within pragmatics
(nonliteral meaning). Thus, the author may be said to take a rather broad view of
meaning. Frawley on the other hand defines in obvious terms linguistic
semantics as the study of literal, decontextualized, grammatical meaning.
One of the most interesting and central questions in linguistics is
understanding how syntax and semantics interact (i.e. interface). “Basically,
syntax studies the structure of well-formed phrases and sentences; part of the
business of semantics deals with the way syntactic structures are interpreted.
Traditionally, problems like word order, agreement, case marking and the like
are within the domain of syntax whereas things like the meaningfulness of a well
formed structures are seen as a part of semantics”. [13]
2.2.3 An overview of Phrase, Clause and Sentence structures
2.2.3.1 Phrase
“A phrase is a small group of words that forms a meaningful unit within a
clause”. (The Oxford English Dictionary, 1998 by John Simpson).
There are several different types, as follows:
Noun phrase: A noun phrase is built around a single noun.
E.g.

A vase of roses stood on the table
She was reading a book about the emancipation of women.

Verb phrase: A verb phrase is the verbal part of a clause.
E.g.

She had been living in London.

I will be going to college next year.

Adjective phrase: An adjective phrase is built around an adjective.

6


E.g. He‟s led a very interesting life.
A lot of the kids are really keen on football.
Adverbial phrase: An adverbial phrase is built round an adverb by adding
words before and/ or after it.
E.g. The economy recovered very slowly.
They wanted to leave the country as far as possible.
Prepositional phrase: In a prepositional phrase the preposition always
comes at the beginning.
E.g. I longed to live near the sea.
The dog was hiding under the kitchen table.
Of course, we also use the word phrase to refer to a short group of words that
have a particular meaning when they are used together, such as rain cats and dogs, play
for time, or a square meal. This type of phrase is often referred to as an idiom.
“A phrase is a small group of words that adds meaning to a sentence. A
phrase is not a sentence because it is not a complete idea with a subject, verb and a
predicate.
In English there are five different kinds of phrases, one of each of the main
parts of speech. In a phrase, the main word, or the word that is what the phrase is
about, is called the head. The other words in the phrase do the work of changing or
modifying the head.” ()
In a Noun phrase, one or more words work together to give more
information about a noun.
E.g. all my dear children

the information age
seventeen hungry lions in the rocks
In a Verb phrase, one or more words work together to give more meaning to
a verb. In English, the verb phrase is very complex. The Verb phrase in English has
a noticeably different structure, since the information it carries about mood, tense,
modality, aspect, and voice is quite different from the information carried by a noun
phrase. The Verb phrase has two functional parts,
the auxiliary, a grammatical morpheme carrying information about mood,
tense, modality, and voice.

7


the main verb, a lexical morpheme carrying its lexical information and,
usually, an inflection.
E.g. Be more patient!
This house was built last year.
We are going to finish our work.
Philosophers of language, like H.P. Grice, have done some of the most
interesting linguistics of recent years, explicating the meanings of the indicative
mood in English by examining how people use language in conversation. After
studying a series of conversations in different contexts, he developed the
following generalizations or “rules of conversation” that help explain much
about how we interpret our language in the indicative mood. Grice (1975) point
out the participants in a conversation expect each other to be cooperative, to say
something true and to the point, and not to be withholding any relevant
information.
In an Adjective phrase, one or more words work together to give more
information about an adjective.
E.g so very sweet

earnest in her desire
very happy with his work
In an Adverb phrase, one or more words work together to give more
information about an adverb.
E.g. especially softly
formerly of the city of Perth
much too quickly to see clearly
In a Prepositional phrase, one or more words works together to give
information about time, location, or condition. The preposition always appears at
the front of the phrase.
E.g. after a very long walk
behind the old building
for all the hungry children

8


2.2.3.2 Clause
A clause is a group of words that contains a verb (and usually other
components too). A clause may form part of a sentence or it may be a complete
sentence in itself. [14].
E.g. He was eating a bacon sandwich. [clause]
She had a long career but she is remembered mainly for one early work.
[clause]
[clause]
Main clause
Every sentence contains at least one main clause. A main clause may form part
of a compound sentence or a complex sentence, but it also makes sense on its own.
Subordinate clause
A subordinate clause depends on a main clause for its meaning. Together

with a main clause, a subordinate clause forms part of a complex sentence.
E.g. After we had had lunch, we went back to work.
[subordinate clause]
[main clause]
In according with Wikipedia ( “A
typical clause in English contains minimally a subject and a predicate. In other
languages, the subject is often omitted if it is retrievable from context. A simple
sentence usually consists of a single finite clause with a finite verb that is
independent. More complex sentences may contain multiple clauses. Main
clauses (matrix clauses, independent clauses) are those that could stand alone as
a sentence. Subordinate clauses (embedded clauses, dependent clauses) are those
that would be awkward or incomplete if they were alone.”
2.2.3.3 Sentence
According to , A sentence is a group of
words that makes complete sense, contains a main verb, and begins with a capital
letter. Sentences are used:
 to make statements:
E.g. I took some money out of the bank.
The shop stays open until 9 p.m.
 to ask questions or make requests:
9


E.g.

Can I help you?
Could you open the door?

 to give orders:
E.g. Stop arguing!

Come here at once!
 to express exclamations:
E.g.

You‟re driving too fast!
It‟s so cold!

Simple sentence
A simple sentence normally contains one statement (known as a main clause).
E.g. The train should be here soon.
His father worked as a journalist.
Compound sentence
A compound sentence contains two or more clauses of equal status (or main
clause), which are normally joined by a conjunction such as and or but.
E.g. Joe became bored with teaching and he looked for a new career.
[main clause]
[conjunction]
[main clause]
Boxers can be very friendly dogs but they need to be trained.
[main clause]
[conjunction]
[main clause]
Complex sentence
A complex sentence is also made up of clauses, but in this case the clauses are
not equal balanced. They contain a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
E.g. The story would make headlines if it ever became public.
[main clause]
[subordinate clause]
He took up the project again as soon as he felt well enough.
[main clause]

[subordinate clause]
2.2.4. Culture and language
2.2.4.1. Concepts of culture
Culture comes in many shapes and sizes. It includes areas such as
polictics, history, faith, mentality, behavior and lifestyle. There are many
definitions of the words “Culture”. According to Edward Taylor (1958) “Culture

10


is a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom
and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.
“Culture is a complex whole that consists of all the way we think and do
and everything we have as members of society” (Robert Bierstadt, 1974).
Geert Hofstede (1991) defines culture as “the collective programming of
the mind that distinguishes the members of one categogy of people from
another”.
Culture is not only the way we do things. It is also our attitudes, thoughts,
expectations, goals and values. It is the rulers of our society- the norms that tell
us what is and what is not acceptable in the society.
2.2.4.2. Culture in language
Culture is formed by creative activities of human being. It is obvious that
relying on language, we can find the specific cultural features of a nation.
Language is an integral part of culture, at the same time, it is also a carrier of
culture. The transmission of culture inevitably achieves with the benefit of
language. Language is influenced by culture, which in turn exerts influence on
culture (Wang, 2007). Language reflects the characteristics of a nation, which
not only contains the cultural history and cultural background of a nation, but
also contains the thoughts, lifestyle and the mode of thinking of the people in life
(Deng & Liu, 1989). Idiomatic expressions have deep cultural connotations.

They have history origins, map out the psychology of disfferent nationalities and
imply certain customs of life.
2.2.5. Translation theories
According to Roger T. Bell (1991) “Translation is the expression in
another language (or target language) of what has been expressed in another,
source language, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences”.
The content and style of the original text should be preserved as far as
possible in the translated text. The aim of converting information from one
language or language variety into another is to reproduce as accurately as
possible all grammatical and lexical features of the “source language” original
by finding equivalents in the “target language”. At the same time all factual
information contained in the original text must be retained in the translation.
11


2.3 Theoretical framework
2.3.1 Definition of set expressions
According to www.thefreedictionary.com, set expressions are the
expressions whose meaning cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words
that make it up. In other words, set expressions are types of informal language
that have meanings different from the meaning of the words in the expression.
Set expressions include idiom, proverb, phrasal idiom, set phrase, phrase,
phrase, locution, saying, ect. In English and Vietnamese language, idioms and
proverbs are widely used. We will focus more on idioms and proverbs.
2.3.2 Classification of set expressions
2.3.2.1 Idioms
In linguistics, idiom is defined more narrowly as a complex lexical item
which is longer than a word form, but shorter than a sentence, and which has a
meaning that cannot be derived, inferred from knowledge of its component parts.
Idioms are difficult to define accurately. They are also set expression,

short sayings usually characterized by the fact that their meaning cannot easily
be deduced from their comonents.
An idiom is a “lexical complex which is semantically simple” [8, p.37], or
one can say that idioms show unitary meaning. Hornby (1995) argued in his
Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, an idiom is “a phrase or sentence whose
meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be
learnt as a whole unit”. It can be seen that idioms can mean something different
from what the word mean. For instance, the collocation of kick and the bucket forms
an idiom meaning die, which is not systematically determinable from the meanings
of kick and the bucket. This idiom or phrasal lexeme is formally identical with the
phrase kick the bucket.
According to Wikipedia “An
idiom is a word or phrase which means something from what is says-it is usually
a metaphor. Idioms are common phrases or terms whose meaning are not real,
but can be understood by their popular use.”

12


Vietnamese linguistic researchers have given out a number of definition of
idioms. Hoang Van Hanh defines “An idiom is a fixed group of words which is
firm in terms of structure, complete and figurative in terms of meaning, and is
widely used in daily speaking” (Thành ngữ là những cụm từ cố định có hình thái
cấu trúc bền vững, có tính bóng bẩy về ý nghĩa và được sử dụng rộng rãi trong
giao tiếp) [27, p.21].
As can be seen from the above definitions, there are different ways of
defining an idiom. In general, most of the linguists share the same point that an
idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out by looking at
the meaning of its individual words.
Idioms pose a number of structures and semantic problems. The meaning

of idioms is considered to be one of the most important difficulties, in that the
meaning of the whole cannot always be determined from the meaning of their
constitutive parts. For example, an idiom, such as spill the beans (“give away
information, deliberately or unintentionally”, [5, p.514] has a special meaning
which is attached to the whole expression.
2.3.2.2 Proverbs
According to Hornby (1995), in his Oxford Advanced Learner‟s
Dictionary, a proverb is defined as “a short well-known sentence or phrase that
states a general truth about life or gives advice, e.g. Don’t put all your eggs in
one basket”.
The author Nguyen Dinh Hung defined “A proverb is a complete sentence
with a whole meaning making comment on social relationships, imparting
experience of life, giving lessons in morality or criticizing.” [29, p.10].
Definition by Vũ Ngọc Phan (2000) stated that a proverb as “a complete
saying expressing one idea of comment, experience, morality, justice or criticism”.
It is easy to find that idioms and proverbs have many in common and it
comes as no surprise that they are traditionally studied together. Both idioms and
proverbs are set expressions with stable and insubstituted components. They are
products of human‟s thought, cultures and processes of hard working and
learning. They are mainly orally handed down from generation to generation and
naturally accepted in daily life. However, both of them still own typical features
that distinguish one from the other.

13


The first and most abvious difference lies in their grammatical structures.
Idioms are phrases which are parts of sentences; thus, they are equivalent to
words only. Proverbs are complete sentences or phrases expressing the whole
idea. Moreover, idioms and proverbs are also different in terms of their function.

Proverbs are short well-known sentences or phrases that express a judgement,
state a general truth about life or advice; they are told to contain three main
literature functions which are perceptive function, aesthetic function and
educational function.
2.3.3 Syntactic features
The thesis is based on the viewpoint of Randolph Quirk in “A Grammar of
Contemporary English”, “A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language”
[20] and “A University Grammar of English” by Randolph Quirk and Sidney
Greenbaum [21] on grammar for features of English structure.
In traditional concepts, grammar consist of two parts of morphology and
syntax. Syntax deals with the combination of words to make larger units of
language: phrase, clause and sentence [17, p.7].
Phrases: treating the combination of words into Noun phrase, Verb
phrase, Adjective phrase, Adverb phrase and Preposition phrases.
Clauses: different kinds of clauses-main/superordinate clause
(independent) and subordinate clauses (dependent).
Sentences:
- Simple sentences: sentence with one clause.
- Compound sentences: these are sentences formed by two or more
independent clause joined by and, but, or and others [17, p.10].
I told him this but he didn’t believe me.
S V O O
S
V
O
st
nd
1 indep.cl.
2 indep.cl
- Complex sentences: these are sentences joined by two or more

or more clauses of which one is the main clause and the other(s) – subordinate
clause (s) being part (S, O, C or A) of the former [17, p.11).
What he likes isn‟t what I like.
O S V ___ O S V

14


S

V

C

According to Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum [20, p.42].
Highest unit: Sentences, which consist of one or more
Clauses, which consist of one or more
Phrases, which consist of one or more
Words, which consist of one or more
Lowest unit: Morphemes
Phrase structures
 Noun phrases [17, p.19]
Determiners : 6 subclasses
a. Article: indefinite a(n), definite the, zero article (an old man, the book, boy)
b. Possessive: my, your, his, her, their (my brother, their discussion)
c. Demonstrative: this, that, these, those (this book, these boys)
d. Interrogative: whose, which, what (which color, whose book)
e. Indefinite: some, any, every, each (some water, any car(s), every student,
each book)
f. Quantifier: much (much water, much hair).

In the basic Noun phrases, these words are central elements pre-modifiers.
Pre-determiners (= words preceding Determiners):
a. Inclusive: all, both, half (all the books)
b. Multipliers: double, twice, three times (double salary)
c. Fraction: one-third, two-fifths (one-third of this book)
Post- determiners (= words coming after Determiners) [17, p.20].
a. Quantifiers
- Closed-system: many, little, few (many book, few apples)
- Open class: a lot of, good deal of, a great number of (a lot of books, a
great deal of oil)
b. Numerals
- Cardinal: one, two, three (one book, two books)
- Ordinal: first, second, third (first book, second book)

15