Connotations of flower words and phrases in english and vietnamese

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A. THESIS

CONNOTATIONS OF FLOWER WORDS AND
PHRASES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
(Nghĩa hàm ẩn của các từ và cụm từ chỉ hoa trong
Tiếng Anh và Tiếng Việt)

BUI QUANG CHUNG
Field: English Language
Code: 8.22.02.01

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Tuyet Minh

Hanoi, 11/ 2020


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled
CONNOTATIONS OF FLOWER WORDS AND PHRASES 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, 2020

Bui Quang Chung

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Date:……………………

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To complete this master's thesis, apart from my own efforts, there is the enthusiastic
guidance of the teachers and lecturers, as well as the encouragement and support of
family and friends during the time of studying and doing the master's thesis.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang
Tuyet Minh, my supervisor, who has wholeheartedly helped and created the best
conditions for me to complete this thesis. Her advice and direction have helped me
confidently conduct the research on new issues and solve the problem scientifically
and comprehensively.
In addition, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the lecturers in the
Faculty of English, Hanoi Open University who have been dedicated to conveying
valuable knowledge, as well as supporting me throughout the process of learning,
researching, and until the implementation of the thesis.
Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to extend my profound
thankfulness to my family, colleagues, and friends for always trusting, following,
supporting, and caring for me during the time when I studied, conducted the research,
and implemented this master's thesis.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Certificate of originality

i

Acknowledgements

ii

Table of contents

iii

Abstract

vi

List of tables and figures

vii

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1

1.1 Rationale

1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

2

1.3. Research questions

2

1.4. Methods of the study

3

1.5. Scope of the study

3

1.6. Significance of the study

3

1.7. Structure of the study

3

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

5

2.1. Previous studies

5

2.2. An overview of word meaning

8

2.2.1. Definition of word meaning

8

2.2.2. Components of word meaning

10

2.2.3. Denotation

16

2.2.4. Connotation

16

2.3. Cultural features

18

2.3.1. Culture definition

18

2.3.2. Characteristics of English and Vietnamese culture

21

2.3.3. The relationship between language and culture

22

2.4. An overview of flowers

25

2.4.1. Definition

25

iii


2.4.2. Classification

25

2.4.3. Connotations of flower words and phrases

26

2.4.4. Names of flowers

26

2.5. Summary

26

Chapter 3: A COMPARISON BETWEEN CONNOTATIONS OF

27

FLOWER WORDS AND PHRASES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
3.1. Connotations of flower words and phrases in English

27

3.1. Connotations of flower words and phrases in English

27

3.1.1. Flower as a symbol of national flower

27

3.1.2. Symbol on important occasions

27

3.1.2.1. Symbol on weddings

27

3.1.2.2. Symbols at funerals

30

3.1.2.3. Symbol for get well soon

32

3.1.2.4. Symbol on birthdays

34

3.1.2.5. Symbol on graduations

36

3.1.2.6. Symbol of having new-born baby

37

3.1.2.7. Symbol of getting promotion and success

37

3.1.2.8. Symbol of moving into new home

38

3.2. Connotations of flower words and phrases in Vietnamese

42

3.2.1. Flower as a symbol of national flower

42

3.2.2. Symbol on important occasions

43

3.2.2.1. Symbol on weddings

43

3.2.2.2. Symbol at funerals

46

3.2.2.3. Symbol for get well soon

47

3.2.2.4. Symbol on birthdays

48

3.2.2.5. Symbol of graduations, getting promotion and success and moving new
house

48

3.3. A comparison between connotations of flower words and phrases in

55

English and Vietnamese.

iv


3.3.1. Flowers as a symbol of national flower

74

3.3.2. Symbol on important occasions

74

3.3.2.1. Symbol on weddings

74

3.3.2.2. Symbol at funerals

75

3.3.2.3. Symbol for get well soon

76

3.3.2.4. Symbol on birthdays

76

3.3.2.5. Symbol of graduations, getting promotion and success and moving new
house

77

3.4. Summary

77

Chapter 4: CONCLUSION

79

4.1. Recapitulation

79

4.2. Concluding remarks

79

4.3. Limitation of the study

80

4.4. Suggestions for further research

81

4.4.1. Implication for learning connotations of flower words and phrases

81

in English and Vietnamese
REFERENCES

82

APPENDIX

86

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is to find out the similarities and differences between the
connotations of flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese. It helps
learners learn English well and use them in daily communication, especially, in using
connotations of flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese. This research
used qualitative and quantitative approaches. The author uses quantitative method for
collecting the data of flower names and their connotations. Qualitative method is used
to describe connotations of flower words and phrases. In addition, the author also
uses contrastive and comparative analysis so as to make an investigation into the
similarities and differences between connotations of flower words and phrases in
English and Vietnamese in terms of cultural cognition. The data is collected mainly
from the Internet and flower connotations in the book “The Complete Language of
Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History”. The author focus on popular flowers
collected on special occasions including 45 flowers in English and 25 flowers in
Vietnamese. The data were analyzed based on Nguyen Hoa (2004)’s framework of

connotations and explained based on Tran Ngoc Them (1999)’s and Farzad Sharifian
(2007)’s theories on culture. The results of the research show that both the English
and the Vietnamese use connotations of flower words and phrases on important
occasions. However, due to cultural differences, the English tend to use the
connotations acknowledged based on the tales, myths and legends more frequently
than the Vietnamese, who mainly use the connotations based on metaphor and
metonymy of color meanings formed according to Yin and yang theory, or Feng Shui.
This study also suggests some implications for better using connotations of flower
words and phrases in English and Vietnamese.
Keywords: connotations

vi


LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 2.1. Types of meaning (Leech,1977)

14

Table 3.1 Connotations of flowers used in important occasions in England

40

Table 3.2 Connotations of flowers used in important occasions in Viet

51

Nam
Table 3.3 Comparison connotations of flowers between in England and in

55

Viet Nam

Figure 2.1 Meaning triangle (Zveginxhev,1957)

3

Figure 2.2 Meaning pyramid (Do Huu Chau,1998)

3

Figure 2.3 Types of semantic transference: Metaphor (Nguyen Hoa,2004)

12

Figure 2.4 Types of semantic transference: Metonymy (Nguyen Hoa,2004)

14

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
This chapter gives some overall information about the topic which has been chosen
to investigate by the author. First, it describes a general background of the topic, the
reason as well as the necessity of the study. Then, the aims and objectives of the study
are also clearly presented, and they are followed by three research questions, which
will be answered in chapter 3. After that, this chapter provides a brief explanation of
the method utilized during the research process, the scope, and the significance of the

topic investigation. Finally, it indicates the overall plan of the thesis and the way how
this paper is structured.
1.1. Rationale
Language is used to show not only the way each people perceives the world around
but also the way each people reacts towards that world. Each language also conveys
a particular aspect of its culture which prevents people from communicating with
each other effectively and clearly. Besides, nowadays in the stage of integration, the
more society develops, the more people have great demands in communication.
Moreover, it is undeniable that acquiring a good command of English is beneficial to
one’s career and self-development. In the course of communication, we use language
which is symbolic to represent ideas, objects, and feelings. We can interpret any
given statement in more than one way. Sometimes the difference is simply literal
versus figurative interpretation. Most of the words do not simply express a thought,
but also express feelings beyond the word’s literal meaning. The connotations of
words can also change drastically from one culture to the next and could bring about
difficulties to English and Vietnamese learners. Especially, various folk cultures and
traditions assign symbolic meanings to flowers and they are usually used in
connotations.
Theoretically, connotations are very important in communication because
connotations set the tone when writing and speaking, and clarify one’s intentions they can elicit certain emotions or reactions or help to provide distinct impressions of
things. Conversely, choosing words with the wrong connotation can produce an
undesired reaction or emotion and misrepresent one’s intentions. Particularly,
connotations are dealt with in some books such as Beatriz (2013), Kenny (2008), and
Gibbs (1973). It is also possible to find some publications dealing with specific types
of connotations such as Said Faiq (2018)

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In Vietnamese, the definition and types of connotations are dealt with every semantic

book such as Nguyen Hoa (2004), Do Huu Chau (2005).
Practically, the author hopes to contribute a small part in studying and teaching
connotations in English and Vietnamese, especially, connotations of flower words
and phrases. In the study, connotations of flower words and phrases are described in
popular contexts and situations. The author hopes that with the thesis, we can help
Vietnamese learners study connotations of flower words and phrases more easily.
There have been so far some studies and investigations into idioms concerning
animals, plants, colors, or the connotation of the Vietnamese zodiac animals in
English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs. Nevertheless, hardly any study of
connotations of flower words and phrases have been carried out. These are the
reasons why the author would like to carry out this thesis titled “Connotations of
flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese”.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
This paper is aimed to help learners of English understand and use connotations of
flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese effectively. This paper is
designed to aim at the following objectives:
 To identify connotations of flower words and phrases in English and
Vietnamese.
 To make a comparison between connotations of flower words and phrases in
English and Vietnamese.
 To give some implications for learners using connotations of flower words and
phrases in English and Vietnamese.
1.3. Research questions
In order to achieve the aims and objectives of the study, the research questions below
will be addressed:
- What is the connotation of flower words and phrases in English and
Vietnamese?
- What are similarities and differences between connotations of flower words
and phrases in English and Vietnamese?
- What implications are drawn for effectively learning connotations of flower

words and phrases in English and Vietnamese?

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1.4. Methods of the study
In this research, the mixed method approach including quantitative method and
qualitative method is used. The author uses quantitative method for collecting the
data of flower names and their connotations. Qualitative method is used to describe
connotations of flower words and phrases. In additions, the author also uses
contrastive and comparative analysis so as to make an investigation into the
similarities and differences between connotations of flower words and phrases in
English and Vietnamese in terms of cultural cognition.
1.5. Scope of the study
Within the framework of the thesis, the author would like to put the focus on
connotations of flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese. In the thesis,
the author use phrase definition that A phrase is a group (or pairing) of words in
English. A phrase can be short or long, but it does not include the subject-verb pairing
necessary to make a clause.
There are more than many words in English and Vietnamese related to flowers, but
the focus of the research is on 49 popular flowers in England and 25 ones in Vietnam
used on important occasions of both countries and focus the connotations of flower
words and phrases in terms of cultural cognition.
The data categories are on the Internet from websites of flowers.
1.6. Significance of the study
- Theoretically, this study is hoped to provide contributions to studies linguistic unit
become from cognitive semantic approach, which in turn can shed light on researches
in difficult other fields such as psychology, psycholinguistics and applied cultural
linguistics
- Practically, this research is expected to help Vietnamese learns of English better

understanding flower word and phrase connotations. Moreover, it can contribute to
teaching English literature in Vietnamese universities.
1.7. Structure of the thesis
The graduation thesis is designed with 5 chapters, Chapter 1 introduces the rationale,
aims and objectives, scope of the study, research questions, methods, and significance
of the study, Chapter 2 presents an overview of meanings, components of word

3


meanings, denotation, connotation, as well as a brief of connotations of flower words
and phrases, names of flowers, Chapter 3 investigates the similarities and differences
between connotations of flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese in
idioms of both languages and some literary works. Additionally, the implications in
effectively learning connotations of flower words and phrases in English and
Vietnamese are also presented in this chapter, and chapter 4 briefly summarizes the
conclusion of the study, the limitations of the study and proposes some suggestions
for bettering the study as well as for better researches in the future. References and
Appendix come at the end of the study.

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background as well as relevant
knowledge and summaries of previous research’s findings and conclusion associated
with the theme of the research. In other word, the review is to explain several related
terms and definitions as to word meanings, denotations, connotations, cultural
features, the relationship between language and culture, an overview of flowers, name
of flowers, and connotations of flowers. These are frameworks of understanding

connotations of flower words and phrases. Besides, they are useful to analyze the
similarities and differences of flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese.
2.1. Previous studies
- The studies of connotations:
In English, there are three relevant previous studies. The first study is by Roni
Kuswantoro (2002) that entitled “A Study on Connotative Meaning of Language
Used in Scorpion’s Song”. This research is aimed to show the interpretation of the
connotations found in the song lyrics, the messages of the songs, and the contribution
of the connotations to the messages in Linkin Park’s song lyrics A Thousand Suns by
using Leech’s Theory (1990). In the conclusion, He found more connotative meaning
than denotative meaning, namely: Being, Cosmic, Energy, Substantiated, Terrestrial,
Object, Living, Animate and Human in Scorpion’s Songs and he state that the
messages conveyed in the songs are mostly motivating and persuasive.
The second study is by Guimei He (2010) entitled “English and Chinese Cultural
Connotation of Color Words in Comparison”. This research discussed connotation of
color words. In short, the cultural connotation in the color words between Chinese
and English languages is very abundant. Here only three common colors are
discussed. The color phrases have a very strong rhetoric function. They are the
indispensable and important part in the intercultural communication. Because there
are many differences between the Chinese and American’s favorite colors. So the
phrases of different colors in the two different nations show the different meanings.
The last study is by Elvira Sinta Hajar (2011), with her title “A Connotation in Comic
“Uncle in North of the Yukon”: A Barthes‟ Semiotics Analysis. In her research, she
is used the qualitative descriptive analysis as the method of the research in analyzing
the connotative meaning. In her analysis, she found out the final result that shows the
relation between the picture and the text of selected figures in describing the
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connotation. In addition, it also represents the meaning of verbal and nonverbal signs

on comics, so that, the reader could understand what the narrator meant. In analyzing
the data, how the words and pictures are combined in comics. The difference of this
research with writer research is in the theory used in the research. And the corpus that
she used is different from writer research so the result of this research will different
with writer research.
In Vietnamese, some researches on the connotation have been also conducted.
Nguyen Quoc Toan (2011) researched the connotation of the Vietnamese Zodiac
animals in English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs. Bui Thi Phuong Thao
(20011) studied proverbs related to plants in English and Vietnamese: a contrastive
analysis and teaching implication. Vo Tu Phuong (2016) conducted a research on the
similarities and differences in the connotation of animal words in English and
Vietnamese proverbs.
From the above studies, it can be seen that up to now, there has been no research on
comparing connotations of flower words and phrases in English and Vietnamese.
- The studies of flowers:
In the world, there are many authors interested in researching groups of words
indicating colors; only the concept of beauty; a group of words about light and
shadow, etc. and there are some specific studies on the group of words indicating
flowers under different angles.
From a cultural perspective, a typical study of this angle is that of Huss et all (2017)
with the theme "The meaning of Flowers: A Cultural and Perceptual Exploration of
Ornamental Flowers". In this study, the authors investigated how different flowers
(with different perceptions) are generalized in a culture. They used a combination
method to investigate the preferences of 150 subjects for four different types of
flowers, exploiting why they chose those flowers. The authors also investigated the
object's perception of the concept of flowers in general and compared it with the circle
representing the religion of the universe. Since then, the authors turned to theories of
psychology, perception, and culture through the use of concept maps (concept - map)
to approach cultural awareness of specific flowers. The results of the study show that
all four flowers are equally selected as the first choice so the author introduced the

general concept of flowers that increases the calmness and happiness of humans. The
concept of flowers is ranked higher than the circle representing the religion of the

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universe because flowers bring happiness and the symbolic circle only brings care.
Flowers are also ranked and distinguished according to the cultural significance of
their various visual elements evoke in the Jewish country's cultural context. The study
results confirm that there is a mutual interaction between universal and specific
cultural factors associated with flowers. Besides, the results also show that a central
concept of flower covers the specific cultural meanings of flowers.
From a psychological perspective, Haviland-Jones et all (2005) studied a work of
flowers "An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers", in which the
authors performed three different studies and showed that flowers are a strong
emotional contributor. In the first study, the results show that flowers, when given to
women, always made them a true smile. The women who receive the flowers were
reported to be in a more positive mood until three days later. In the second study, a
flower given to men or women in an elevator produced more positive social behaviors
than any other stimulus. In the third study, flowers were given to the elderly (over 55
years old), the results show that the elderly also have positive moods and improved
memory. It can be said that flowers have immediate or lasting effects on emotional
response, mood, social behavior and even memory for both men and women.
Currently, there are very few theories in disciplines that can explain these findings.
The author also argues that flowers are very useful because they evolved to quickly
generate positive emotions in humans.
In Vietnam, at present, there are many research works on semantic vocabulary field
in general and words for flowers in particular. The research works mainly in terms of
semantics.
In terms of semantics, studying the vocabulary field of plant names in Vietnamese,

the author Cao Thi Thu (1995) has shown the identifiable and semantic features of
the plant names in this field, which also mentions the word for flower.
Cao Thi Thu also explored the ethnic characteristics of plant identification in
Vietnamese and compared it with some languages such as English, Russian, and
Kazakstan.
Most recently, in the thesis “Semantics of words for flowers in Chinese (concerning
Vietnamese)”, Le Thi Kim Dung (2019) has researched and clarified the semantic
structure features and the method of meaning translation of flower words in Chinese
compared with Vietnamese and found out similarities and semantic differences of
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flower words in two languages, thereby highlighting cultural implications and
cognitive features Chinese and Vietnamese people are shown through the meaning of
this group of words.
That is the reason why we choose a research topic comparing groups of flower words
and phrases in English and Vietnamese for the thesis.
2.2. An overview of word meaning
2.2.1. Definition of word meaning
In English, according to Lyons (2005), standard monolingual dictionaries of a
language explain the meaning of words by providing them with metalinguistic
definitions in which the object language is used as its own metalanguage. The format
of these definitions will vary somewhat from dictionary to dictionary. It will also vary
from one class of words to another, especially in the case of so-called function words,
or lexically empty word-forms, such as prepositions (of. in, etc.) or the definite and
indefinite articles (the, a): it is notoriously difficult to devise satisfactory dictionary
definitions for such forms, whose meaning; is primarily grammatical, rather than
lexical. Lyons also points out that traditional dictionary definitions can be seen as
defining (in the case of words such as ‘dog’) two different, but complementary,
aspects of lexical meaning: denotation and sense.

The crucial difference between reference and denotation is that the denotation of an
expression is invariant and utterance-independent: it is part of the meaning which the
expression has in the language-system, independently of its use on particular
occasions of utterance. Reference, in contrast, is variable and utterance-dependent.
For example, the word ‘dog’ always denotes the same class of animals (or the
defining property of the class), whereas the phrases ‘the dog’ or ‘my dog’ or ‘the dog
that bit the postman’ will refer to different members of the class on different
occasions of utterance. Reference, as distinct from denotation, will be dealt with (as
part of utterance-meaning) in a later chapter. The important point to note, for the
present, is that lexemes, as such, do not have the reference, but may be used as
referring expressions or, more commonly, as components of referring expressions in
particular contexts of utterance.
Sense and denotation are not only interdependent: they are inversely related to one
another. The nature of this inverse relationship can be explained informally as
follows: the larger the denotation, the smaller the sense, and conversely. For example,
8


the denotation of ‘animal’ is larger than, and includes, that of ‘dog’ (all dogs are
animals, but not all animal’s are dogs), but the sense of ‘animal' is less specific than,
and is included in, that of ‘dog’.
A comparable inverse relation is well recognized in traditional logic in terms of the
difference between extension and intension. Roughly speaking, the extension of a
term, or expression, is the class of entities that it defines, and the intension is the
defining property of the class.
Zveginxhev (1957) show that meaning of word is the interference area as following
chart:
Language system

Word meaning

Thing
Concept
Figure 1. Meaning triangle (Zveginxhev,1957)
In Vietnamese, according to Do Huu Chau (1998), word meaning is a composite, and
the result of the factors and the impact between the factors makes word meaning.
Some of these factors are from outside language and the others are elements of
language.
Word meaning

Concept
Thing

Signal fuction
User

Language system

Figure 2. Meaning pyramid (1998)
Overcoming Stern's shortcomings, Do Huu Chau (2005) said that words including

9


forms and meanings are at the highest point of the pyramid and other factors are at
the bottom. The factors contributing to the meaning of the word in turn are things,
understanding of thoughts (concepts), user factors (historical-social factors), signal
functions, language system.
The number of bottom peaks will increase depending on the number of additional
factors detected. The advantage of the pyramid model is that a surface separates the

entities under consideration (from, the factors) from each other and also outlines the
relationships between them (by the edges of the pyramid).
From the above different conceptions of meaning, we can generalize the meaning of
the word as follows: The meaning of the word is the content that the expression
includes understandings, common knowledge expressed in the process of turning
thought into communication in the language of the speaker. Both factors are from
outside language and the others are elements of language make word meanings in
which the decisive factors are language user, context and semiotics function. At the
same time, the spiritual cultural characteristics of native speakers are also revealed
through meaning.
2.2.2. Components of word meaning
In English, according to Leech (1977), there are seven types of meaning.
Table 2.1. Types of meaning (Leech ,1977)
Conceptual meaning or sense

Logical, cognitive, or denotative
content

Associative
Meaning

Connotative Meaning

What is communicated by virtue
what language refers to

Social Meaning

What is communicated of the social
circumstances of language use

Affective Meaning

What is communicated through of
the feelings and attitudes of the
speaker/writer

Reflected Meaning

What is communicated through
association with another sense of the
same expression

Collocative Meaning

What is communicated through
association with words which tend
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to occur in the environment of
another word
Thematic Meaning

What is communicated by the way
in which the message is organized in
terms of order and emphasis

The first is conceptual meaning or sense, connotative meaning, social meaning,
affective meaning, reflected meaning and collocative meaning include associative

meaning. The last is thematic meaning
In Vietnamese, according to Do Huu Chau (2005), the meaning of the word includes
the following components: denotative meanings (denotations), significative meaning,
connotative meaning (connotations) and grammatical meanings. In which, the three
components of denotations, significative meaning, connotations form the lexical
meaning of words.
- Denotations: The component of word meanings refers to things which is used in the
world. It evokes when we come into contact with it.
- Significative meanings: the component of word meanings related to the
understanding of denotations. Things and phenomena in objective reality have
properties that are reflected in thinking and form concepts. Therefore, concepts are
categories of thought formed from real knowledge. These are essential signs of things
and phenomena. When those essential signs are reflected in the language, the
meanings will be formed. The set of meanings in the language is significative
meanings.
- Connotations: the meaning of the word is related to attitudes, emotions, and
assessment. The things and phenomena expressed in language are all perceived and
experienced by humans.
Types of semantic transference
To form and develop more word meanings, there are many types of semantic
transference in language such as metaphor, metonymy, metonymy, sarcasm,
understatement or illiteracy. However, there are basically two types of semantic
transference. The one based on similarity is called metaphor, the other based on the
relation of contiguity is named metonymy. Hyperbole, irony is also given some brief
treatment in this chapter. The denotation of word-meaning can change in two ways:

11


broadening and narrowing. Connotation, on the other hand, can change for the

“better”, i.e. elevation, or for the worse, i.e. degradation.
a. Metaphor
Metaphor, from the Greek for "transference", is the transference of meaning (name)
from one object to another based on similarity between these two objects, i.e. we call
one object by the name of another because we compare these objects and find some
common features between them. Metaphors have traditionally been viewed as
implicit comparisons. What happens is that the meaning of word is extended on the
basis of similarity. In cognitive linguistics, according to Barcelona (2000: 3)
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. Metaphor, as we shall see below, is a
conceptual projection whereby one experiential domain is partially understood in
terms of another experiential domain (the source) included in the same common
experiential domain. For example, we can liken something to something else on
certain grounds. For example, a cunning person is commonly referred to as a fox. The
following figure illustrates the process.

Figure 2.3 Types of semantic transference: Metaphor (Nguyen Hoa, 2004)
The transference may be based on similarity of:
- Shape. E.g: head of a cabbage, crane bulb, the teeth of a saw.
- Position. E.g: the tail of procession, the foot of mountain.
- Movement. E.g: caterpillar of a tank, to worm.
- Function. E.g: finger of instrument, the key to the mystery.
- Colour. E.g: orange, rose.
- Size. E.g: midget, elephantine.
Especially widely used are the metaphoric meaning of word denoting parts of human
body, i.e. the names of the parts of human body are transferred to other objects (the
nose of a plane, the head of the school, the leg of the table).

12

It is clear 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. That is why parts of our body are used as metaphors.
The names of animals are also often transferred to the human beings (A cunning
person is a fox, a spiteful person is a snake, a rude person is a bear, a hard working
person is a bee or a beaver). There are many expressions based on names of animals
(bird's view, crocodile tears).
Another subgroup of metaphors comprises proper names transferred to common
ones. For instance, a jealous person is called an Othello, and an eloquent speaker is a
Cicero.
Thus, metaphor is hidden comparison, i.e. if objects or phenomena are compared and
common features are found we speak of metaphor. Metaphors differ from
comparisons only by one feature: in metaphors there is no formal element of
comparison (as, like)
She is like a snake. - comparison
She is a snake. - metaphor
Metaphors may be:
- Living (poetic, individual) when a word is used in unusual meaning and metaphor
is felt as such (Peace is our fortress, Beauty is a flower which wrinkles will devour).
- Faded (trite) metaphor, metaphor, which lost its freshness because of long use and
became habitual (dying capitalism, fruitful effort, golden youth, to fall in love).
- Dead metaphor - where metaphoric sense is not felt. Dead metaphors are words
which have lost their direct meaning and are used only figuratively (to ponder, capital,
sarcasm).
To ponder, for instance, originally meant "to weigh", but it is used now only in the
meaning "to meditate, to consider thoughtfully". There is a theory that all our words
are dead metaphors.

b. Metonymy
There exists in any language a somewhat more complicated possibility for extending
word meaning based on a quite different conceptual relation, not a similarity between
the instances of the two categories but a strong association or contiguity of notions
between them. This is referred to as metonymic extension. In other words, metonymy
can be defined as the substitution of one word for another with which it is associated.
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Metonymy works by contiguity rather than similarity, i.e. instead of the name of one
object or notion we use the name of another because these objects are associated and
closely related: "the kettle boils" instead of "the water in the kettle boils", "crown"
instead of "monarchy", "The big apple" for "New York". Bill Clinton (the 42nd
President of the United States) was once described by a reporter as a great president
who could be bound for Rushmore, a mountain in South Dakota, the United States,
where the rock has been cut into the shape of four US Presidents: Washington,
Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. The following figure illustrates this
process

Figure 2.4 Types of semantic transference: Metonymy Metaphor (Nguyen Hoa,
2004)
According to standard tradition, metonymy is defined as "figure in which one word
is substituted for another on the basis of some material, causal, or conceptual relation.
Some substitution includes place-for-institution, thing-for-perception, or object-forpossessor, or part-for-whole, or place-for-event, and are exemplified below:
The White House objected to the plan.
There goes my knee, (pain in the knee)
The crown was angry with the PM's proposal.
We don't hire long hairs.
Watergate strikes at the heart of the American political system.
For Nunberg (1978, 1979), metonymy is a case of "deferred reference", in which a

speaker uses a description of A and succeeds in referring to B. Nunberg also regards
metonymic uses as a kind of "local" word uses that are perceived as rational against
a system of beliefs that is available only to a sub-section of the community. We can
consider the example below:
:
The white jersey was very nice.
For those not involved in the situation, it would be difficult to identify or know who
the white head was. Obviously it is someone who was wearing the white head at the

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time. But when uttered in the context of a football match, the metonymic can be used
to identify a player who was wearing the white jersey at the time. This use is justified
only against a specific belief shared by those familiar with football (a sub-section of
the community). Faucornnier (1985) also sees metonymy in similar terms, i.e. as a
sub type of deferred reference which is enabled by the establishment of links between
objects "for psychological, cultural, or-locally pragmatic reasons". These links are
captured by pragmatic mappings which Fauconnier calls "connectors". Deferred
reference is determined by the more general identification principle. Basically, this
principle means that if two objects are linked by a pragmatic function, a description
of A may be used to identify B or vice versa.!
A subtype of metonymy is called synecdoche in which a whole is represented by
naming one of its parts, or vice versa. For example:
We all live under the same roof.,
I have three mouths to feed.
She is wearing a fox.
In this example, the roof as part of the house is used to refer to the whole house. In
the other example above, fox as a whole is used to refer to the part of it (the fur).
Metonymy has been the subject of some related branches of linguistics. In cognitive

linguistics, for instance, it is seen as one of the basic characteristics of cognition. It is
common for people to take one well-understood or easy-to-perceive aspect of
something and employ it to stand either for the thing as a whole or some other aspect
or part of it. Sometimes, metonymy is seen as á specific kind of symbolism by which
the most essential component of an object is abstracted to represent it. For example,
if a person is well-known for his red hair, this feature "red hair" can lend itself to
referring to the person who has red hair.
That red hair is getting angry with his wife.
In tradition, the following cases of metonymy are often presented.
We use the name of the container instead of the thing contained. E.g.: to drink a glass.
Names of parts of human body may be used as symbols. E.g.: to have a good eye,
kind heart, clever head.
The concrete is used instead of abstract. E.g.: from the cradle to the grave.
The materials are used for the things made of the materials. E.g.: Canvass,
glass.

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The name of the author is used for his works. E.g.: Watts, Ampere, Volt,
Picasso.
Part is used for the whole and vice versa. E.g.: Roof for house (we all live
under the same roof), or when the whole is used for a part, (she is wearing a
fox).
2.2.3. Denotation
In English, Crystal (1987) states that denotative meaning is the objective (dictionary)
relationship between a word and the reality to which it refers.
Leech (2002) points out conceptual meaning (sometimes called denotative or
cognitive meaning) is widely assumed to be the central factor in linguistic
communication, and I think it can be shown to be integral to the essential functioning

of language in a way that other types of meaning are not (which is not to say that
conceptual meaning is the most important element of every act of linguistic
communication)
In Vietnamese, Nguyen Hoa (2004) states that denotation is the ability of a word or
expression to identify all the objects covered by a word. e.g. The word “computer” is
used to denote a wide range of computing machines in different shapes and sizes,
which may be called computers.
2.2.4. Connotation
Like denotation, there are many different definitions of connotation.
In English, Wilkins (1983) affirms that connotative meaning is additional to
denotative meaning and needs to be related to it only in an indirect way. It is
altogether more concerned with the attitudes of the language user, his emotional
reactions to the use of a word.
Connotation is more complicated than denotation. J. N. Hook (1989) states that
besides the denotative meaning, a word sometimes has the emotional overtones or we
call ‘connotative’ meaning. The other important thing, whenever we are talking about
connotation, is that the involvement of affective and emotive in our mind.
In addition, J. N. Hook (1989) states that connotative meaning can be divided into
two kinds, namely positive connotative (purr word) and negative connotative (snarl
word). Besides the positive and negative connotative meaning, there is neutral that is
most of them is jargon language.
Here are the examples of positive and negative connotative meaning
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Positive Connotation
Cot
Soiled linen tage
Sanitary engineer
Marketing

Neutral Negative

Connotation

Selling

Shanty/shack
Dirty Underwear
Dustman/ Garbage man
Peddling

In Vietnamese, according to Nguyen Hoa (2004), Connotative meaning is the
communicative value that an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, over and
above its purely conceptual content. This kind of meaning is rather unstable: that is,
they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of
the individual. There is variation according to dialect, time (language of the 18th
century), province (law), status (polite, colloquial, slang), modality (language of
memoranda, lectures, jokes), singularity (the style of Dickens, the style of
Hemingway).
Some, such as Holt. Rinehart and Winston (an introduction to language; 205):
“Connotations arise as words become associated with a certain characteristic of the
items to which they refer”.
Nguyen Hoa (2004) points out that connotative meaning is open-ended in the same
way as our knowledge and beliefs about the universe. This kind of meaning may
fall into one of situations: stylistic, affective, evaluative, and intensifying.
- Stylistic meaning:
When associations at work concern the situation in which the word is uttered, the
social circumstances (formal, familiar, colloquial…), the social relationships between
the interlocutors (polite, rough), the type of purpose of communication (learned,

poetic, official), this connotation is stylistic. E.g. Horse vs steed, help vs assist.
- Affective meaning (or emotional):
Affective meaning is acquired by the word as a result of its frequent use in contexts
corresponding to emotional situations or because the referent conceptualized and
named in the denotative meaning is associated with emotions. For example:
“beseech” means to ask eagerly and also anxiously.
- Evaluative meaning:

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