AN INVESTIGATION INTO SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF RIDDLES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

Abstract

Riddle is a special genre of folklore. In riddles, there is an exhibition a variety of linguistic expressions and structures. Thus, this study makes an effort to deal with a part of riddles: the semantic and syntactic features of riddles in English and Vietnamese. With regard to semantic features, the riddles in the two languages are grouped into two categories: direct and indirect, on which the data are analized. In addition, the data are analized on different semantic fields of the hidden terms such as semantic field of human and human body part, semantic field of nature, animal, plant, flower, and so on. With regard to syntactic features, the thesis examines the structures by which the information of the hidden terms in riddles in English and Vietnamese is conveyed. These typical structures used in riddles in the two languages are summarized in patterns. The main target the study wants to reach is to discover the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese riddles in terms of syntax and semantics by means of contrastive analysis. By doing so, we hope to give better understanding and appreciation of riddles as well as contribute to better teaching and learning English as a foreign language.