An investigation into syntactic and pragmatic features of tautologies In english and in vietnamese

Abstract

Though considered to be needless, redundant and uninformative, tautologies are widely used in everyday communication by virtue of the pragmatic values. Speakers and writers often use tautologies which help to make the conversation or the writing more impressive, interesting and create strong emotional feelings on listeners or readers. That is the reason we choose to investigate the syntactic and pragmatic features of tautologies in English and in Vietnamese. Using a descriptive method to classify, describe and analyze tautologies in English and Vietnamese in terms of syntax and pragmatics, the study provides a systematic view on tautologies in both languages. With reliable data from films, newspapers, novels…in English and Vietnamese, the researcher tries to point out some similarities, differences and the frequency level of tautologies in two aspects in both languages. By the end of the study, some practical implications are put forward. The findings of the study are hoped to benefit not only English teachers and learners but also those who are interested in linguistics