An investigation into semantic, pragmatic and syntactic features of spoonerisms in english and “nói lái” in vietnamese

Abstract

To crack a joke or avoid mentioning the indelicate matters, people often make use of spoonerisms in English or the “nói lái” in Vietnamese. They help to conceal the hidden message and avoid terms that are considered to be offensive and unpleasant to the readers or the hearers. This thesis has been carried out relying on investigating spoonerisms and the “nói lái” in three aspects: syntax, semantics and pragmatics in order to identify their similarities and differences. Through the examination, statistics and analysis of 500 samples of spoonerisms in English and 500 samples of “nói lái” in Vietnamese, the study explores the similarities and differences of these two phenomena in the three above aspects in English and Vietnamese and their occuring frequency in English and Vietnamese. Finally, some applications of the spoonerism and the “nói lái” in teaching and learning English and Vietnamese are suggested so as to provide English and Vietnamese learners the knowledge of these stylistic devices