Semantic and cultural features of love declaration in english and vietnamese folklores

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A. THESIS
SEMANTIC AND CULTURAL FEATURES OF
LOVE DECLARATION IN ENGLISH AND
VIETNAMESE FOLKLORES
(Lời tỏ tình trong văn hóa dân gian của tiếng Anh và
tiếng Việt dưới góc nhìn ngữ nghĩa và văn hóa)
HỒNG THỊ THỦY
Field: English Language
Code: 8.22.02.01
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoàng Tuyết Minh

Hanoi – 2020


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled
“SEMANTIC AND CULTURAL FEATURES OF LOVE DECLARATION IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FOLKLORES” 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

HOÀNG THỊ THỦY

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoàng Tuyết Minh
Date:……………………

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoàng
Tuyết Minh, my supervisor, for her invaluable guidance, comments and corrections
during the time I carried out my thesis.
Secondly, I would like to take this chance to thank all the lecturers in the
Ministry Of Education And Training of Hanoi Open University for helpful lectures
that have helped me in gaining the background knowledge to work on the thesis.
Finally, my gratitude also goes to my beloved family who have supported me
during the time I completed the thesis.
Hanoi, 2020

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Certificate of originality
Acknowledgements
Table of contents
Abstract
List of tables and figures
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale
1.2 Aims and objectives of the study
1.3. Research questions

1.4. Methods of the study
1.5. Scope of the study
1.6. Significance of the study
1.7. Structure of the study
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Previous studies
2.2. Theoretical background
2.2.1. An overview of semantics
2.2.1.1. Definition of semantics
2.2.1.2. Classification of semantics
2.2.2. Cultural features
2.2.2.1. Definition of culture
2.2.2.2. English cultural features
2.2.2.3. Vietnamese cultural features
2.2.3. The relationship between language and culture
2.2.4. Concepts of folklore and Love declaration
2.2.4.1. Definition of folklore
2.2.4.2. Definition of Love declaration
2.3. Summary
Chapter 3: COMPARISON BETWEEN SEMANTIC AND
CULTURAL FEATURES OF LOVE DECLARATION IN
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FOLKLORES

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3.1. Semantic and cultural features of Love declaration in English
folklores
3.1.1. Semantic features of Love declaration in English folklores
3.1.2. Cultural features of Love declaration in English folklores

3.2. Semantic and cultural features of Love declaration in Vietnamese
folklores
3.2.1. Semantic features of Love declaration in Vietnamese folklores
3.2.2. Cultural features of Love declaration in Vietnamese folklores
3.3. Comparison between semantic and cultural features of Love
declaration in English and in Vietnamese folklores
3.3.1. In terms of their semantic features
3.3.2. In terms of their cultural features
3.4. Summary

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Chapter 4: CONCLUSION
4.1. Recapitulation
4.2. Concluding remarks
4.3. Limitation of the study
4.4. Implications of the study
4.4.1. For teaching

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4.4.2. For learning

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4.5. Recommendations and suggestions for further research

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REFERENCES
APPENDIX

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ABSTRACT
Love expressions have been one of the most fascinating topics that attracts
a large number of people. In English and Vietnamese, the way people choose to
express love is not the same as it is affected by cultural values. This research
investigates how English and Vietnamese speakers express their love declarations in
in terms of semantic and cultural features. In addition, the researcher tries to explore
the similarities and differences in semantic and cultural features between English and
Vietnamese folklores. Besides, the thesis also attempts to explain what are behind the

differences uncovered in the investigation. The study suggests how learners and users
can use Love declaration in both languages. Furthermore, the thesis gives some
theoretical background in which the concepts of semantics, features of culture,
definitions of folklores, Love declaration, semantic and cultural characteristics of
Love declarations in both English and Vietnamese are mentioned. A large number of
methods are conducted, such as descriptive, contrastive, synthetic and analytic
methods. However, the study mainly focuses on analysis and comparison of Love
declaration in English and Vietnamese folklores. What is more, a variety of English
and Vietnamese folklores about Love declaration from books, previous studies,
Internet, ect have been collected to make the corpus of the study. In order to make
the thesis more convincing when showing the similarities and differences of Love
declaration in the two languages, some examples are taken in two both languages into
consideration. Finally, the findings are discovered. The results show some
characteristics of English and Vietnamese love declarations in folklores in terms of
semantics and culture.

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 3.1. Simile in Love declaration in English folklores
Table 3.2. Metaphor in Love declaration in English folklores
Table 3.3 Cultural features of Love declaration in English folklores
Table 3.4. Simile in love declarations in Vietnamese folklores
Table 3.5. Metaphor in love declarations in Vietnamese folklores
Table 3.6. Cultural features of Love declaration in Vietnamese folklores
Table 3.7. Simile in Love declaration in English and Vietnamese
folklores
Table 3.8. Metaphor in Love declaration in English and Vietnamese

folklores
Table 3.9. Cultural features of Love declaration in English and
Vietnamese folklores

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
In recent decades, love has been receiving a great deal of public attention. The
communication of love is an important aspect of interpersonal relationships across
cultures. However, saying “I love you” can be very delicate walk, with much gray
area, regarding what can and should be communicated about love, when, by whom
and to whom. Love is sometimes felt but not expressed, other times, love is expressed
only nonverbally; and still other times, it is communicated verbally, with or without
nonverbal manifestations.
In English and Vietnamese, the way people choose to express love is not the
same as it is affected by cultural values. Love declarations include in themselves
people’s viewpoints which are presented quite differently in the two languages.
Hence, what needs to be carried out in this study will be semantic and cultural features

of Love declarations in folklores of the two languages in order to find out the
similarities and differences between them. The thesis also attempts to explain what
are behind the differences uncovered in the investigation.
The study is entitled “Semantic and cultural features of Love declarations in
English and Vietnamese folklores”. The choice of the thesis is generated from two
reasons: Firstly, as Swales (1990: 34) stated that “the concept of genre has maintained
a central position in folklore studies ever since the pioneering work in the early
nineteenth century”. The functionalist in folklore would rather stress sociocultural
value. For Malinowski (1960, cited in Swales 1990:35) “folklore genres contribute to
the maintenance and survival of social groups because they serve social and spiritual
needs”. Perhaps inevitably, to assign cultural value also requires the investigator to
pay attention to how a community views and itself classify genre. This idea will lead
to the fact that Love declaration is a mode of social communication and is only a
genre among others, therefore, the Love declaration in English and Vietnamese
folklores is investigated to see the similarities and differences of this genre in the two
languages. Secondly, Love declarations, as mentioned above, reflect human’s
ideology, so it is wished to see how the ideologies represented in the two languages.
It is optimistically hoped that the thesis will help students of English, and
students of culture as it could provide an insight into the similarities and differences
of love declarations in English and Vietnamese folklores.

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1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
The aim of the study is to help learners and users of English master Love
declaration in English and Vietnamese folklores in terms of semantic and cultural
perspectives.
In order to gain the above aim, the following objectives are put forward:
- To identify the semantic and cultural features of Love declaration in English

and Vietnamese folklores.
- To make a comparison between the semantic and cultural features of Love
declaration in English and Vietnamese folklores.

1.3. Research questions
In order to fulfill the aim above, the study focuses on answering these
following questions:
1. What are the semantic and cultural features of Love declaration in English and
Vietnamese folklores?
2. What are the similarities and differences between semantic and cultural features
of Love declaration in English and Vietnamese folklores?
1.4. Methods of the study
1.4.1. Research orientations
1.4.1.1. Research approaches
The study is carried out by basing on the quantitative and qualitative
approach. With the quantitative approach, the vast amount of data of Love
declaration in both English and Vietnamese folklores is collected. Besides, the
researcher uses the qualitative one to describe and analyze the data of the research.
1.4.1.2. Data collection
The data collection is the most vital step in any research. This procedure
consists of two main stages. Firstly, a large number of English and Vietnamese
folklores about Love declaration were collected in order to make the corpus of this
thesis. Secondly, the collection of books related to semantics, cultures, linguistics,..
such as, Kramsch. C. (2000). “Language and Culture”. Leech. N. L. (1996) “ A
Linguistic Guide to English Poetry” or Chưởng, L. V. (2004). “Ca dao Việt Nam

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Những yếu tố của những chỉnh thể nguyên hợp”. Diễn, N. Ð. “Tình yêu qua thơ vǎn

Anh ngữ” were done to hold up the study.
The corpus used in this research are built on the following general principles
regarding size, number of languages, sources (i) The size of the corpus: Some data of
utilized in the study consists of about one hundered love declarations in both English
and Vietnamese.(ii) The number of languages: The corpus in this thesis is considered
as bilingual corpus; hence it contains two languages: English and Vietnamese.(iii)
The source of the corpus: The data in this research are taken from books, Internet,
dictionary, previous studies.
1.4.1.3. Data analysis
After assembling about 50 Love declarations in each language from books,
dictionaries, websites…, the research is carefully studied with the aim of effectively
analysing the thesis data. Therefore, the following stages of analysis are applied.
- The first stage: Classification: With an attempt to make the study more coherent
because of the tremendous amount of data collected, the thesis is categorized into two
major aspects: semantic and cultural features. It is also an effective way to analyze
the materials.
- The second stage: Comparison: One of the most crucial strategies in any analysis
is comparison. After being described, the thesis needs to be compared and contrasted
so that the similarities and the differences of Love declaration between English and
Vietnamese folklores (in terms of semantic and cultural features) are distinguished.
- The third stage: Synthesis and generalization. The data is summarized and
generalized after the comparative and contrastive analysis on the semantic and
cultural features of Love declaration in English and Vietnamese folklores. As a result,
the learners and users can achieve better knowledge in expressing love in English and
in Vietnamese.
1.4.2. Research methods
1.4.2.1. Major methods
There are two main methods utilized for the research. The first is descriptive
method which characterizes the semantic and cultural features of Love declaration in
English and in Vietnamese folklores. The second is contrastive one which helps to

find the similarities and differences of Love declaration between English and
Vietnamese folklores.
1.4.2.2. Supporting methods

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In addition to two above major methods, the study is also applied with some
other supporting methods. They are synthetic and analytic method. These methods
make the research become more general and logical. Consequently, the learners and
users can have an overview of the similarities and differences in expression of Love
declaration by using English or Vietnamese folklores.
1.5. Scope of the study
In the framework of the study, Love declaration in English and Vietnamese
folklores in terms of semantic and cultural features are exploited. The thesis also
focuses on the similarities and differences of those characteristics between English
and Vietnamese.
There are about 50 Love declarations in each language investigated in the
thesis. The document is collected from a large number of English books, such as
Kramsch. C. (2000). “Language and Culture”. Leech. N. L. (1996) “ A Linguistic
Guide to English Poetry” and Vietnamese books, such as Chưởng, L. V. (2004). “Ca
dao Việt Nam Những yếu tố của những chỉnh thể nguyên hợp”. Diễn, N. Ð. “Tình
yêu qua thơ vǎn Anh ngữ”, etc.
1.6. Significance of the study
It cannot be denied that Love declaration in folklores is an important part in
our daily communication as well as in the process of learning and using a foreign
language.
Theoretically, the study mentions about some definitions of semantics,
culture, folklore, Love declaration, etc. Besides, it is also emphasized about semantic
and cultural features of English and Vietnamese folklores. As a result, the readers and

users can point out the similarities and differences of expressing love between English
and Vietnamese people in their folklores.
Practically, unintentionally or intentionally, we have used them as a habit for
conveying our intention, attitude and assession which reflect the cultural features of
the country. The lack of knowledge of linguistic features of Love declaration in
folklores could cause some problems to the understanding and translating them into
both languages. This study of semantic and cultural features of Love declaration in
English and Vietnamese folklores could hence to some extent help learners and users
have a good insight into two languages.

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1.7. Structure of the study
The thesis could consist of four chapters as presented below:
Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the reason why the topic is chosen, the
rationale, the aims, the objectives, the methods, the scope, the significance and the
structure of the study.
Chapter 2, Literature Review, is about the brief review of the previous
studies. This chapter is also devoted to the presentation of an overview of semantics,
the definition of cultural features in English and in Vietnamese, the concepts of
folklores and Love declaration and the semantic and cultural features of Love
declaration.
Chapter 3, Comparison between semantic and cultural features of Love
declaration in English and Vietnamese folklores, describes, compares, contrasts
and discusses the semantic and cultural features of Love declaration in English and
Vietnamese folklores.
Chapter 4, Conclusion, summarizes the major findings of the thesis along
with the practical implications, the limitations of the study and the suggestions for
further study.

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Previous studies
There were a large number of previous studies not only in English but also in
Vietnamese related to culture, language, folklore, semantics and Love declaration.
In English, it is first mentioned about Robert Lado (1960); Claire Kramsch
(2000) in which original theories are applied in the cultural study. They assumed that
there is the connection between language and culture. What is more, in “A linguistic
guide to English poetry” Leech (1969), it is supposed that trope is a means of
conveying the meaning in folklores. Moreover, Richards and Platt, in their “Longman
Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied linguistics”, give a very simple
definition of semantics as “the study of meaning”. In the Oxford learner’s dictionary
(2003:1526), the simile is utilized in folklores and defines that simile is a figure of
speech. Besides, in Leech (1969:151), the writer argued that metaphor is so crucial in
the notion of poetry creation.
Furthermore, Aristotle is the typical linguist to view metaphor as implicit
comparison, which is based on analogy. He assumes the primary function of
metaphor is stylistic and ornamental. Palmer (Frank Robert, Palmer, 1981:15
“Semantics. Cambridge University Press”) suggested that semantics is a part of
linguistics, a scientific study of language. Also, Lyons (1995) claims that semantics
is by definition the study of meaning; and linguistic semantics is the study of meaning
in so far as it is systematically encoded in the vocabulary and grammar or in the
structure of natural languages.
According to Yule, semantics is the study of the relationships between
linguistic forms and entities; that is, how words literally connect to things. In “A new
approach to English grammar on semantic principles” (Robert Dixon claims that
semantics is a part of a larger study of signs, semiotics. It is the part that deals with

words as signs (symbol) and language as a system of sign (words as symbols). It can
also be seen diverse definitions of culture from “Cultural Anthropology: Tribes,
States, and the Global System: (Bodley, 1999: 315). Hofstede (1980, pp. 21-23)
defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the
members of one group from another”. Samovar & Porter (2003) give a typical
definition of culture as follows: “The deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs,
values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial
relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by

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a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving”.
Risager (2005) considers culture from three dimensions of the concept including
hierarchical, differential and generic concept.
Moreover, Kramsch (1998) examines culture by comparing it to nature and
showing its development through social activities. According to Goodenough (1957),
culture is defined as the thing that people in each particular community must know
and possess to run their activities. Culture is not genetically inherited, and cannot
exist on its own, but is always shared by members of a society (Hall 1976, p. 16). The
research studies on 'emotion and culture' (Kitayama & Markus & Kurokawa, 2000)
and 'cultural and love' (Gareis & Wilkins, 2009) show that culture has a great
influence on love expression or discussion. According to Collins English Dictionary.
Retrieved April 27, 2016, “A statement made by one person to another in which they
say they are in love with the other person”. Permanent marks: Declarations of love
can surface as permanent marks on urban environments and nature.
In Vietnamese, there have been proposed various studies paying attention
to folklores, such as, Dinh Gia Khanh et.al (2003), Chu Xuan Dien (2003), Minh Hieu
(1984), etc. In Chu Xuan Dien (2003), Love is discussed through English poems.
Besides, some poetric methods are exploited in Kinh, N.X.(2005). In addition, in

Minh Hien (1984), the writer mainly focuses on the arts of folklores. Especially,
according to Dinh Gia Khanh et.al (2003:248), the base for Vietnamese folklores is
the work, relationship and social activities. Therefore, Love declaration in folklores
becomes all the rage of Vietnamese people.
However, there has not been any research that studied about semantic and
cultural features of Love declaration in English and Vietnamese folklores. In the
scope of the thesis, it is fully hoped to be received the support and contributions from
the listeners and readers.
2.2. Theoretical background
2.2.1. An overview of semantics
2.2.1.1. Definition of semantics
The word semantics derived from the Greek semaino, meaning, to signify or
mean. Semantics is a part of a larger study of signs, semiotics. It is the part that deals
with words as signs (symbol) and language as a system of sign (words as symbols).
(Robert Dixon, 2005:40 “A new approach to English grammar on semantic
principles”)

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It all started in 1912 when Weekley used this suitable term semantics, which
has recently been used in studies of meaning. As we know that the field of semantics
has developed for past few decades, but it has attracted the attention of many worldknown linguists such as Austin, Yule, Halliday, Carnap, Chafe, Chomsky, Lyons, etc.
So far, a variety of definitions have been given to semantics by different linguists.
According to Yule, semantics is the study of the relationships between
linguistic forms and entities; that is, how words literally connect to things. Semantic
analysis also attempts to establish the relationships between verbal descriptions and
states of affairs in the world as accurate or not, regardless of who produces that
description.
Richards and Platt, in their “Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and

Applied linguistics”, give a very simple definition of semantics as “the study of
meaning”. Linguists have investigated the way in which meaning in a language is
structured, and have distinguished between types of meaning. In recent years, they
have generally agreed that meaning plays an important part in grammatical analysis,
but there has been disagreement on how it should be incorporated in a grammar.
Knowing a language is how to produce and understanding sentences with
particular meanings. The study of linguistic meaning, called semantics, is concerned
with the meaning of words, morphemes, phrases and sentences. The term meaning is,
of course, much more familiar to us all although there are numerous different
definitions of dictionaries.
Palmer (Frank Robert, Palmer, 1981:15 “Semantics. Cambridge University
Press”) suggested that semantics is a part of linguistics, a scientific study of language.
Therefore, learners should attempt to see what meaning is, or should be, within the
framework of an academic or scientific discipline rather than take the simple looking
at the common or even scholarly uses of the relevant terms.
Lyons (1995) claims that semantics is by definition the study of meaning;
and linguistic semantics is the study of meaning in so far as it is systematically
encoded in the vocabulary and grammar or in the structure of natural languages. This
broader definition will deal with first what is meant by “meaning” and, second, what
exactly meant by ‘encoded’ in this context. For the question ‘what is meaning?’,
Lyons mentions the following:
+ The referential (or denotation) theory (the meaning of an expression is what
it refers to (or denotes), or stands for).

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+ The ideational, or mentalistic theory (the meaning of an expression is the
idea, or concept, associated with it in the mind of anyone who knows and understands
the expression).

+ The behaviourist theory (the meaning of an expression is either the stimulus
that evokes it or the response that it evokes, or a combination of both, on particular
occasions of utterance).
+ The meaning-in-use theory (the meaning of an expression is determined
by, if not identical with, its use in the language).
+ The verificationist theory (the meaning of an expression, if it has one, is
determined by the verifiability of the sentences, or propositions, containing it).
+ The truth-conditional theory (the meaning of an expression is its
contribution to the truth-conditions of the sentences containing it).
Though he does not attempt to provide a comprehensive classification of the
different kinds of meaning that a linguistic theory of semantics should cover, Lyons
draws one very broad distinction descriptive (or propositional) and non-descriptive
(or non-propositional) meaning. With regard to descriptive meaning, it is a
universally acknowledged fact that languages can be used to make descriptive
statements which are true or false according to whether the propositions that they
express are true or false. Non-descriptive meaning refers to expressive components,
meant by virtue of which speakers express, rather than their beliefs, attitudes and
feelings.
To sum up, as a sub-branch of linguistics, semantics studies the meanings of
linguistic signs. However, it focuses on how linguistic signs are conventionally meant
or related to the external world. In other words, it tries to spell out those natural, static
or stable meanings of words and sentences. The meanings of words in dictionaries,
for instance, are semantic meanings or the outcomes of semantic explorations of
words.
2.2.1.2. Classification of semantics
Semantics is a branch of language study dealing with word meaning. Word
meaning consists of grammatical meaning and lexical meaning. Grammatical
meaning unites all grammatical characteristics of a word and lexical meaning is a
realization of a concept or notion. Lexical meaning includes denotative meaning and
connotative meaning.

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Lexical semantics concerns the meanings of words and morphemes. Issues
in lexical semantics include, among others, compositionality (how word meaning is
built up from the meanings of morphemes and why it sometimes isn’t
straightforward) and conceptual mapping (how real-world concepts are mapped to
words, which sometimes differs in startling ways between languages).
Compositional semantics concerns how the meanings of words combine to
produce the meanings of sentences, especially how predicates combine with their
arguments. These two broad divisions overlap somewhat. For example, the study of
the semantics of modality (how sentences express possibility, necessity, wishes, and
so forth) involves both lexical semantics, as the meanings of the words expressing
modality are complex and varied, and compositional semantics, as it’s not trivial to
show how modal words combine with propositions (basically, declarative sentences
Semantics studies also other spheres of word meaning, such as polysemy,
homonymy, synonymy, antonym, as well as development of meaning including some
figures of speech, namely metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole and irony. These units
also relate to the formation of semantic structure of words in English.
In the study, the meaning of love declaration in folklores is mainly conveyed
through tropes. In his book “A linguistic guide to English poetry” Leech (p. 74) stated
that “tropes have been defined as devices involving alteration of the normal meaning
of an expression” and “tropes are foregrounded irregularities of content”. Freeborn
(1996: 61) also said that “a trope is a device that involves meaning”. The most
familiar tropes in literary criticism are simile, metaphor and metonymy. However, in
this thesis, we will deal with simile and metaphor for these tropes manifest in love
declarations.
2.2.1.2.1. Simile
The Oxford learner’s dictionary (2003: 1526) defines that simile is a figure

of speech in which two things are compared using the word “like”, or “as”, or “as if”.
Simile is like a metaphor except that it makes the comparison explicit by using “like”,
or “as”, or “as if”. In simile the comparison between the two things is made explicit
by an indirect relationship where one thing or idea is expressed as being similar to
another. For example:
“Love’s like the measles- all the worst when it comes late in life.”
(Douglas Jerrold)
“Love is like the measles; we have to go through it.”
(Jerome K. Jerome)

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Simile, according to Leech (1969; 156) is an overt comparison, simile can
specify the ground of comparison. Most similes are linked by “like”, “as”. Similes
may vary from a short, simple comparison to long, “extended similes”. In
Vietnamese, the corresponding words such as “như”, “như là”, “như thể” etc. are used
in simile. For example:
“Ðôi ta như thể con ong,
Con quấn con quýt, con trong con ngoài.”
(Chưởng, L. V. (2004)
Simile can be an excellent way for an author either to make an unusual thing
seem more familiar (i.e., “The planet Zenoth was as cold as ice”) or a familiar thing
seems more unique (i.e., “Her smile was jagged like a broken zipper”). In this way,
similes can help the reader imagine the fictive world of a piece of literature. Good
similes can also make readers think about things in a new way, and can sometimes
create a lasting effect. Scottish poet Robert Burns’s declaration that his “luve’s like a
red, red rose” forever linked the concepts of love and red roses in our minds.
Simile can also sometimes be used to show a comparison, though with the
conclusion that these two things really are unalike or even at odds with each other.

This can either be a negative simile, which might come in the form of “A is not like
B” or an ironic simile, which communicates the opposite of what is expected at the
beginning of the statement. For example, the famous feminist quote popularized by
Gloria Steinem, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle,” ultimately
concludes that a woman has no need for a man.
Simile can help to make new connections for the reader. One of literature’s
purposes is to help better explain the world around us, and the technique of simile is
one of those ways in which we are able to see things in a new way. All types of
analogies are cognitive processes of transferring meaning from one thing to another,
and thus the use of simile in literature has real synaptic effects. For this reason, and
for aesthetic purposes, simile has been a popular literary technique for many hundreds
of years.
In this study, two types of simile are conducted:
- Those that make a comparison using the word ‘as’.
as + adjective/adverb + as + noun

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- Those that make a comparison using the word ‘like’.
verb + like + noun
2.2.1.2.2. Metaphor
Aristotle is the typical linguist to view metaphor as implicit comparison,
which is based on analogy. He assumes the primary function of metaphor is stylistic
and ornamental. It is used for aesthetic reasons, mainly in poetry to express a concept
in an eloquent way. Aristotle also pointed out the persuasive function of metaphor,
seeing it as an effective rhetorical figure to be employed in political discourse.
The second major theory is the substitution theory of metaphor. According
to Martin and Rom, metaphor is a way of saying what could be said literally. In other
words, metaphor can be substituted by a synonymous literal expression. It is rather a

reductionist approach to metaphor, ignoring that it is a unique expression of meaning,
all aspects of which cannot be accounted for by a literal substitute. Both the
substitution theory and the comparison theory share the view of a metaphor as a
matter of language; more specifically, as a matter of deviant language, with literal
language being perceived as natural and conventional.
Next, Lakoff and Johnson considered metaphors as much more powerful
instruments. They are primarily matters of thought and action, only derivation from
language. Metaphors are culturally-based, and define what those with certain
assumptions and presuppositions find real. The "isolated similarities" are indeed
those created by metaphor, which simply create a partial understanding of one kind
of experience in terms of another kind of experience. They are grounded in
correlations within our experience.
The foundations of the cognitive theory of metaphor were laid down by
Lakoff and Johnson in their influential work “Metaphors We Live By”. Their key
argument is that the metaphor forms an inherent part of our conceptual system – in
their words, “our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and
act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature”. Although the cognitive theory of
metaphor tends to be described as radically new, the cognitive dimension of metaphor
had been recognized by previous scholars. The interaction theory viewed metaphor
as a mental process, and even before that a number of philosophers had discussed the
cognitive implications of metaphor.
In classical theories, Kovecses also implies metaphor is a figure of speech in
which one thing is compared with another by saying that one is the other.

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Leech (1969: 151) argued that “metaphor is so central to our notion of poetic
creation that it is often treated as a phenomenon in its own right, without reference to
other kinds of transferred meaning”. In considering a metaphor, we may consider the

formula:
F = “Like L”. This implies that, the figurative meaning F is derived from the
literal meaning L in having the sense “like L”. However, the simplest kind of
metaphor is the use of “be” in clause structure, for example:
“Love is a boy, by poets styled.
Then spare the rod, and spoil the child.”
(Samuel Butler)
“Love is smoke made with the fume of sights.”
(Shakespeare)
In studying metaphor, the concept of Tenor and Vehicle should be taken into
considerations. The tenor of the metaphor is what actually under discussion, Vehicle,
on the other hand, is the image or analogue in terms of which the tenor is represented.
A metaphor is generally more concise and immediate than the corresponding literal
version, because of the superimposition, in the same piece of language, of tenor and
vehicle.
There are various types of metaphor, for example:
- Absolute metaphor: A metaphor in which one of the terms (the tenor) can't
be readily distinguished from the other (the vehicle).
- Complex metaphor: A metaphor in which the literal meaning is expressed
through more than one figurative term (a combination of primary metaphors).
- Conceptual metaphor: A metaphor in which one idea (or conceptual
domain) is understood in terms of another.
- Conventional metaphor: A familiar comparison that doesn't call attention to
itself as a figure of speech.
- Creative metaphor: An original comparison that calls attention to itself as a
figure of speech.
- Dead metaphor: A figure of speech that has lost its force and imaginative
effectiveness through frequent use.
- Extended metaphor: A comparison between two unlike things that continues
throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.

- Mixed metaphor: A succession of incongruous or ludicrous comparisons.

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- Primary metaphor: A basic intuitively understood metaphor, such as "knowing
is seeing" or "time is motion" that may be combined with other primary metaphors to
produce complex metaphors.
- Root metaphor: An image, narrative, or fact that shapes an individual's
perception of the world and interpretation of reality.
- Submerged metaphor: A type of metaphor in which one of the terms (either the
vehicle or tenor) is implied rather than stated explicitly.
- Therapeutic metaphor: A metaphor used by a therapist to assist a client in the
process of personal transformation.
- Visual metaphor: The representation of a person, place, thing, or idea by way of
a visual image that suggests a particular association or point of similarity.
- Organizational metaphor: A figurative comparison used to define the key aspects
of an organization and/or explain its methods of operation merely a part of her
personal identity.
In conclusion, in terms of semantics, the research only studies about simile
and metaphor that are used in Love declaration in both English and Vietnamese
folklores. Through those methods, love declarations are expressed more clearly and
more beautifully.
2.2.2. Cultural features
2.2.2.1. Definition of culture
A brief discussion of “culture” is necessary before we can proceed with
further study of the barriers. The English word “CULTURE” come from Roman word
“cultura” which had securely survived in Latin, the learned language of Europe,
almost unchanged for roughly two thousand years. Around 1800, this word suddenly
acquired new and important meaning with which it came to pass into common use in

the several European languages such as “la cultura”, “die kultur”, “la culture”, “the
culture”, “de cultura”. In some societies, the word culture is used to mean “society”
or “civilization”. UNESCO firmly held on to a definition of culture, originally set out
in the 1982 Mexico Declaration on Cultural Policies: “… In its widest sense, culture
may now be said to be the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual
and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only
the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being,
value systems, traditions and beliefs” (UNESCO, 2001:148).

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Naturally, hundreds of other definitions of culture exist alongside
UNESCO’s.
It can also be seen diverse definitions of culture from “Cultural Anthropology: Tribes,
States, and the Global System: (Bodley, 1999: 315)
- Topical definition:
“Culture consists of everything on a list of topics, or catalogues, such as social
organization, religion, or economy.”
- Historical definition:
“Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future generations”
- Behavioral definition, Normative definition, Functional definition:
“Culture is the way humans solve problems of adapting to the environment or living
together.”
- Mental definition:
“Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses and distinguish
people from animals.”
- Structural definition:
“Culture consists of patterned and interrelated ideas, symbols, or behaviors.”
- Symbolic definitions:

“Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by a society.”
The term “culture” is undoubtedly familiar with many people, yet it is not
really simple to define it. Many linguists have spent a lot of efforts on working out
the definitions of culture. Hence, in this paper, the writer will introduce some in an
attempt to provide a general view for the readers following easily. Following are some
of them:
Hofstede (1980, pp. 21-23) defines culture as “the collective programming
of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from another”, which is
passed from generation to generation, it is changing all the time because each
generation adds something of its own before passing it on. It is usual that one‟s
culture is taken for granted and assumed to be correct because it is the only one, or at
least the first, to be learned.
Samovar & Porter (2003) give a typical definition of culture as follows:
“The deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings,
hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe,
and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of
generations through individual and group striving”. (Samovar & Porter, 2003, p. 8)

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Sharing the same opinion, Edward Tylor, a famous British anthropologist,
notes in his book “Primitive Culture” (1871), culture “is that complex whole which
includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, custom and any other capacities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society”(p. 1).
In the book “Language and Culture: Global flows and local complexity”,
Risager (2005) considers culture from three dimensions of the concept including
hierarchical, differential and generic concept. As regards to hierarchical concept,
culture means “something that the individual human being or individual, society
“either” has ‟or” does not have “at a higher or lower level” (p. 32). Meanwhile,

culture is thought as the thing that can distinguish one society from others from,
differential concept. The generic concept of culture focuses on what to distinguish
humanity from nature and other living creatures.
Also, Kramsch (1998) examines culture by comparing it to nature and
showing its development through social activities. “One way of thinking about
culture is to contrast it with nature. Nature refers to what is born and grows
organically (from the Latin nascere: to be born); culture refers to what has been grown
and groomed (from Latin colere: to cultivate)” (Kramsch, 1998:4)
According to Goodenough (1957), culture is defined as the thing that
people in each particular community must know and possess to run their activities.
“A society’s culture consists of whatever it is, one has to know or believe in order to
operate in a manner acceptable to its members, and to do so in any role that they
accept for any one of themselves.” (Goodenough, 1957:167)
Subjective elements of culture may be the elements such as “values,
attitudes, beliefs, orientations, and underlying assumptions prevalent among people
in a society” (Harrison and Huntington, 2000:xv)
One more definition that should also be mentioned is the one of Triandis
(1994:23) cited in Porter, Samovar and McDaniel (2007): “Culture is a set of humanmade objective and subjective elements that in the past have increased the probability
of survival and resulted in satisfaction for the participants in an ecological niche, and
thus became share among those who could communicate with each other because
they had a common language and they lived in the same time and place”.
In short, culture is defined in various ways as Harrison and Huntington
(2000) note, “The term culture, of course, has had multiple meanings in different
disciplines and different contexts” (p. xv). Thus, culture undeniably has many

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definitions, but generally affects nearly everything people do in their society because
of their ideas, values, attitudes, and norms or expected patterns of behavior. Culture

is not genetically inherited, and cannot exist on its own, but is always shared by
members of a society (Hall 1976, p. 16). Culture is a complex concept, and no single
definition of it has achieved consensus in the literature. Regardless of dozens of
definitions, it is necessary to examine characteristics of culture because through them,
one can see the connection between culture and other elements including language.
As Huntington (1996) notes, “The heart of culture involves language, religion, values,
traditions, and customs.”
Porter, Samovar and McDaniel (2007:21-30) point out six features of culture
as follows:
Firstly, culture is obtained from people’s birth to the end of their life through
learning which means that it is learned but not innate. Learning here is understood
both formal and informal. Informal learning normally takes place through interaction,
observation, and imitation. The formal learning of culture is far more structured and
often left to the institutions of the culture such as schools and churches. Because
culture influences you from the instant you are born, you are rarely aware of many of
the messages that it sends. Therefore, studying is considered as an essential process
in one person’s whole life.
Secondly, culture is shared. The means of transmitting the culture can take
a variety forms (proverbs, stories, art) and can have numerous carriers (family, peers,
church, schools, media), but the key elements of culture (values, ideas, perception)
must be shared by other members of the culture.
Thirdly, culture is transmitted from generation to generation. If a culture is
to endure, it must make certain that its crucial messages and elements are not only
shared, but they also must be passed on to future generations. In this way, the past
becomes the present and helps prepare for the future.
Fourthly, culture is based on symbols. While cultural symbols can take a
host of forms, encompassing gestures, dress, objects, flags, or religious icons, “the
most important symbolic aspect of culture is language – using words to represent
objects and ideas.” (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride, 1005:38).
Fifthly, culture is dynamic. Culture does not exist in a vacuum, because of

“other waters continually flowing in”, they are subject to change (p.29). These
changes are related to people’s everyday lives including dress, food, transportation,

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entertainment, housing, and the like are normally compatible with the existing values
of the culture. However, values associated with such things as ethics and morality,
work and leisure, definitions and freedom, the importance of the past, religious
practices, the pace of life, and attitudes toward gender and age are so deeply
embedded in a culture that they persist generation to generation.
Finally, culture is an integrated system. In reality, culture functions as an
integrated whole. In fact, it has been said that if you touch one part of a culture you
touch all that culture. The interrelationship of these various parts is so important that
Haviland states, “All aspects of culture must be reasonably well integrated in order
to function properly” (2005:39).
In brief, culture begins at birth and continues throughout life. Culture exists
in even the minor or unexpected things in most respects of daily life. The integration
of culture makes it a stable unity and lasts everlastingly.
2.2.2.2. English cultural features
British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. There is a
considerable diversity of culture among British people. However, The English culture
is often considered a representative and often used to refer to the entire country’s
culture of Britain. Especially it cannot be denied that the dominant culture of Britain
today is specifically English.
Britain, the largest island of the British Isles, includes the countries of
England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Being an island has affected the British
people’s characteristics. British people still have an island mentally: independent,
separate and on the edge of things. British families are often criticized for the way
they do things separately, though many believe that it is good for children to learn to

be independent.
According to James O’Driscoll (2000), family identity is rather week in
Britain, especially in England, in comparison with most other places in the world. In
Britain, the family unit definitely means the nuclear family. Compared to the cultural
value of Vietnam, the members of a family in Britain usually do not share the same
roof. There is little sense of extended family identity, except among some racial
minorities. It is unusual for adults of different generations within the family to live
together. Especially, newly married couples rarely live with their in-laws. Elderly
parents either live alone for as long as they are able or enter a home for the aged. An

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