INDEX

I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………2 II. CONTENT………………………………………………3 2.1. Literature review…………………………………………………….3
2.1.1. Definition of idiom in English…………………………………….3
2.1.2. Definition of idiom in Vietnamese………………………………..3 2.2. Horses in English and Vietnamese idiom…………………………...3 2.2.1. The positive meaning of horses in English and Vietnamese idioms………………………………………………………………………..4 2.2.2. The negative meaning of horses in English and Vietnamese idioms………………………………………………………………………..6 III. CONCLUSION…………………………………………....8 IV.REFERENCES………...…………………………………..9

I. INTRODUCTION

One of the most important things that make people are different from other animals is language. We use language everyday to communicate, studying, working… In other word, language is a tool that helps us change our lives by expressing our feelings, our ideas, our thoughts as well. However, every country has their own language so people learn other languages to be able to connect with others around the world. When we study other languages, comparison two or more than two languages is inevitable, especially when we are attending the contrastive analysis course. There are many kinds of idioms related to animals in both English and Vietnamese. Those idioms are often about dogs, cats, monkeys and so on. For example, we have idioms related to dogs like “as sick as a dog”, “like the dog with two tails” or “dog-eat-dog”. We also have some idioms about cats like “as weak as kitten” or “ cat gets one’s tongue”. Those are some typical examples that people use animals as the means of transmitting the meaning. Among the variety of animals, horse is also widely used in idioms. Due to the difference of culture and context, English and Vietnamese language may have some similar and different symbolism of horse.

II. CONTENT

2.1. Literature review. 1. Definition of idiom in English. As Wikipedia defined “An idiom is a word or phrase which means something different from what it says - it is usually a metaphor. Idioms are common phrases or terms whose meanings are not literal, but are figurative and only known through their common uses.” It means people can not understand the conversation or the text written by the foreigners if they merely look at the literal meaning of the text. Instead, people need to have a knowledge of idioms in order to figure out the inside meaning of the text.

2.1.2. Definition of idiom in Vietnamese. In Vietnamese language, idioms are known as “ thành ngữ”. According to “Vài nét về thành ngữ tiếng việt và dịch thuật thành ngữ”: Thành ngữ là cách diễn đạt ý tưởng mang tính cách đặc trưng của ngôn ngữ. Về cấu trúc phần lớn thành ngữ không thành câu với những từ-ngữ mặc dầu có thể phân tích nhưng không thể tách rời. Về nghĩa thành ngữ mang một ý nghĩa không thể thay thế hay sửa đổi bằng cách nói khác để mang cùng ý nguyên thuỷ. Nói cách khác, thành ngữ là cách nói „bóng bẩy“ về một cái gì đó bình thường. Thành ngữ là bậc thang đầu tiên đi vào chiều sâu của một ngôn ngữ mà người nói sử dụng tuỳ theo trình độ ngôn ngữ kiến thức về nền văn hoá xứ đó. Nói theo kiểu phương Tây thì thành ngữ phản ảnh cách cắt chiếc bánh ngôn ngữ của người bản ngữ.

2.2. Horses in English and Vietnamese idiom. 2.2.1. The positive meaning of horses in English and Vietnamese idioms. In English idioms, horse carries a lot of meanings. Horse idioms are always used to show something or someone realy good or healthy. For instance, to talk about someone who works hard, people may use “work like a horse” or to mention the state of health, they may use “eat like a horse” or “as strong as a horse”. On one hand, in order to describe personality traits, “get off one’s high horse” is used. That means a person is humble and agreeable. On the other hand, horse idioms may be popular in working areas. To illustrate this, I would like to give out some examples “wild horse could not drag someone away”, “straight from the horse’s mouth”, “horse trade”, “ horse with different color” and “hold one’s horses”. Those may make you confusing because you can not find any relation among them. In fact, if you put them in the specific context, the meaning will be clear. If she does not want to be involved in something, no horse can drag her away. It is clear that nothing can change her decision if she does not want to do. Another context is “it is straight from the horse’s mouth that the event will be cancelled because people think that it is horse with different color” or “ you must hold your horses and do some horse trade so that you can buy clothes with less money.” From two examples I have given, it may be not too difficult for you to make out the meaning. When they are put in the right context, you can catch the meaning in spite of your limited knowledge of idioms. Those can be translated like this: “it is from a trustworthy source that the event will be cancelled because people think that it is different from what they are discussing.” Or “you must be patient and bargain in a skillful way so that you can buy clothes with less money”. Like English, positive meaning of horse idioms also occurs in Vietnamese language. Idioms once in a while show the solidarity “một con ngựa đau, cả tàu không ăn cỏ”. When one person is in trouble, the others will put away everything to help that person. “thẳng như ruột ngựa” is used to describe a person who is honest, straightforward, simple and ready to speak his mind. This idiom comes from the bowel of the horse. It is straight and no curve. That is why people use it for personality trait. In addition, “ngưu tầm ngưu, mã tầm mã” and “ “đường dài hay sức ngựa” are widely used for people’s characteristics. They both means people will soon know whether they are compatible or not during the time they are together. Two people with same style or thinking are easily stuck with each other. Another meaning of horse idiom is to express the willingness of sacrifice in life to save people or do something dangerous: “da ngựa bọc thây”. This idea dates back to the old time when the war took place, the soldiers died and was covered by the horses. Moreover, horse idioms indicates the life of wealthy people “ lên xe xuống ngựa” or “cưỡi ngựa xem hoa”. It refers to people who are rich and lead a carefree life. They use car and horse as means of transportation which are considered luxurious in the early time; and the act of riding a horse to fool around give the image of people who have nothing to worry and just enjoy the beauty of the nature. The last example I want to mention is “ ngựa tái ông”. It is obviously weird if people try to translate it in English or even in Vietnamese. To understand this idiom, people should know the story about the old man who has experienced a lot of joy and sorrow in his life; but he always hold the belief that bad things come from good things and vice versa. In this case, people should understand it “nothing is completely good or bad or nothing is predictable.” 2.2.2. The negative meaning of horses in English and Vietnamese idioms. When people start thinking about personality, good and bad seems to go hand in hand. They seem to be inseparated. There are some typical idioms used to describe people’s bad behavior or characteristics. For stubborn people, we may say “ as stubborn as a mule”- mule looks like horse. People who are always conceited or cocky and look down on the others, then “get on one’s horse” is definitely for them. Furthermore, when people say or do something wrong, not in the right order or it is too late to fix it, these idioms may be spoken: “back the wrong horse”, “bet on the wrong horse”, “put the cart before the horse”, and “ lock the barn door before the horse is gone”. Now and then, some issues have been settled down and nothing can be done. Nevertheless, if people insist on doing the best to change that, we may call them “beat a dead horse” or “flog a dead horse”. They tend to keep on arguing the problems although all are finished. What should we say if we have given a chance for a person to express himself but he refuses to take it? That is what