MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG
TRẦN THỊ THÙY OANH
A COGNITIVE STUDY OF METAPHORS BASED
ON HUMAN SENSES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
DOCTORAL THESIS
IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
Danang - 2018
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG
TRẦN THỊ THÙY OANH
A COGNITIVE STUDY OF METAPHORS BASED
ON HUMAN SENSES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
Major: English Linguistics
Code: 62.22.02.01
DOCTORAL THESIS
IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUM
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ANITIES
Supervisors: 1. Dr. Trần Quang Hải
2. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Văn Hiệp
Danang - 2018
i
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no
material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I
have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any
other tertiary institution.
Danang, January 2018
Tran Thi Thuy Oanh
ii
ABSTRACT
The thesis studies English and Vietnamese conceptual metaphors based on the five
basic human senses namely vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. The study uses the
descriptive, analytic, synthetic, qualitative, quantitative, comparative, contrastive,
deductive and inductive methods. The research finds out 19 conceptual metaphors from
setting up the mappings or sets of correspondences between the source domains and
target domains for each sense with the explanation in each situation. At the same time,
this work points out the similarities and differences between the two languages. Most of
conceptual metaphors can be found in both languages, but some are unique to
Vietnamese or English. The study also examines source domains sharing target domains.
Moreover, the “cross-expressions” between human senses in expressing language are also
clarified. The study suggests the implications for teaching, learning and translating
English in the view of cognitive linguistics in general and conceptual metaphor theory in
particular.
.
iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CD conceptual domain
CL Cognitive Linguistics
CM conceptual metaphor
CMs conceptual metaphors
CMT conceptual metaphor theory
HSs human senses
ME metaphorical expression
SD source domain
OALD The Oxford Advanced Learning Dictionary
TD target domain
VD The Vietnamese Dictionary
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................ i
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... iv
LIST OF TABLES.viii
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
1.1. Rationale ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Aims of the Study ......................................................................................................... 3
1.3. Objectives of the Study ................................................................................................. 4
1.4. Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 4
1.5. Scope of the Study ........................................................................................................ 4
1.6. Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 6
1.7. Organization of the Study ............................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 8
2.1. Cognitive Linguistics .................................................................................................... 8
2.1.1. The concepts of Cognitive Linguistics ................................................................... 8
2.1.2. Main tenets in Cognitive Linguistics .................................................................... 10
2.2. Conceptual Metaphor .................................................................................................. 11
2.2.1. The views of Conceptual Metaphor ...................................................................... 11
2.2.2. Related concepts ................................................................................................... 15
2.2.2.1. Conceptual domain .......................................................................................... 15
2.2.2.2. Source domain ................................................................................................. 16
2.2.2.3. Target domain .................................................................................................. 16
2.2.2.4. Mappings.......................................................................................................... 16
2.2.2.5. Conceptualization ............................................................................................ 18
2.3. Human senses .............................................................................................................. 19
2.3.1. The concepts of human senses ............................................................................... 19
2.3.2. Vision ..................................................................................................................... 20
v
2.3.3. Hearing .................................................................................................................. 21
2.3.4. Touch ..................................................................................................................... 22
2.3.5. Smell ...................................................................................................................... 23
2.3.6. Taste ....................................................................................................................... 23
2.4. Metaphor in literature ................................................................................................. 24
2.5. Related research .......................................................................................................... 25
2.5.1. A general review .................................................................................................... 25
2.5.2. The typical related works in English ..................................................................... 28
2.5.2.1. The work of Lakoff and Johnson...................................................................... 28
2.5.2.2. The work of Sweetser ....................................................................................... 29
2.5.2.3. The work of Ibarretxe-Antuđano ...................................................................... 30
2.5.2.4. The work of Kưvecses ...................................................................................... 31
2.5.3. The typical related works in Vietnamese ................................................................. 33
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 36
3.1. Data collection and analysis ....................................................................................... 36
3.1.1. Data collection ....................................................................................................... 36
3.1.2. Data analysis .......................................................................................................... 41
3.2. Metaphor identification...43
3.3. Methods of the Study .................................................................................................. 45
3.3.1. Descriptive method ................................................................................................ 45
3.3.2. Analytic and synthetic methods ............................................................................. 45
3.3.3. Qualitative and quantitative methods .................................................................... 46
3.3.4. Comparative and contrastive methods ................................................................... 46
3.3.5. Deductive and inductive methods .......................................................................... 46
3.4. Summary ..................................................................................................................... 47
CHAPTER 4. CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS BASED ON HUMAN SENSES IN
ENGLISH ................................................................................................................ 49
4.1. Conceptual metaphors based on vision ....................................................................... 49
4.1.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS VISION .................................................... 49
4.1.2. HUMAN EMOTION IS VISION .......................................................................... 53
4.1.3. MEETING IS VISION .......................................................................................... 56
4.1.4. JUDGMENT IS VISION ....................................................................................... 57
vi
4.2. Conceptual metaphors based on hearing .................................................................... 59
4.2.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS HEARING ............................................... 59
4.2.2. GETTING INFORMATION IS HEARING ......................................................... 62
4.2.3. HUMAN EMOTION IS HEARING ..................................................................... 63
4.3. Conceptual metaphors based on touch........................................................................ 65
4.3.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS TOUCH ................................................... 65
4.3.2. HUMAN EMOTION IS TOUCH ......................................................................... 67
4.4. Conceptual metaphors based on smell ........................................................................ 69
4.4.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS SMELL .................................................... 69
4.4.2. INTEREST IS SMELL .......................................................................................... 71
4.4.3. EXPERIENCE IS SMELL .................................................................................... 73
4.5. Conceptual metaphors based on taste ......................................................................... 74
4.5.1. LANGUAGE IS TASTE ....................................................................................... 75
4.5.2. EXPERIENCE IS TASTE ..................................................................................... 75
4.6. Summary ..................................................................................................................... 76
CHAPTER 5. CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS BASED ON HUMAN SENSES IN
VIETNAMESE ....................................................................................................... 79
5.1. Conceptual metaphors based on vision ....................................................................... 79
5.1.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS VISION .................................................... 80
5.1.2. HUMAN EMOTION IS VISION .......................................................................... 86
5.1.3. MEETING IS VISION .......................................................................................... 91
5.1.4. JUDGMENT IS VISION ....................................................................................... 92
5.2. Conceptual metaphors based on hearing .................................................................... 94
5.2.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS HEARING ............................................... 95
5.2.2. GETTING INFORMATION IS HEARING ......................................................... 97
5.2.3. HUMAN EMOTION IS HEARING ..................................................................... 99
5.3. Conceptual metaphors based on touch...................................................................... 101
5.3.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS TOUCH ................................................. 101
5.3.2. HUMAN EMOTION IS TOUCH ....................................................................... 104
5.4. Conceptual metaphors based on smell ...................................................................... 105
5.4.1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS SMELL .................................................. 105
5.4.2. EXPERIENCE IS SMELL .................................................................................. 106
vii
5.4.3. HUMAN EMOTION IS SMELL ........................................................................ 107
5.4.4. JUDGMENT IS SMELL ..................................................................................... 108
5.5. Conceptual metaphors based on taste ....................................................................... 109
5.5.1. LANGUAGE IS TASTE ..................................................................................... 110
5.5.2. EXPERIENCE IS TASTE ................................................................................... 111
5.5.3. HUMAN EMOTION IS TASTE ......................................................................... 111
5.5.4. THING IS TASTE ............................................................................................... 113
5.5.5. HUMAN IS TASTE ............................................................................................ 113
5.6. Summary ................................................................................................................... 115
CHAPTER 6. A CROSS-LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS .......................................... 118
6.1. Comparison and contrast between conceptual metaphors based on human senses in
English and Vietnamese. .................................................................................................. 118
6.1.1. Vision ................................................................................................................... 118
6.1.2. Hearing ................................................................................................................ 120
6.1.3. Touch ................................................................................................................... 121
6.1.4. Smell .................................................................................................................... 122
6.1.5. Taste ..................................................................................................................... 123
6.1.6. “Cross-expressions” between human senses ....................................................... 124
6.1.7. Summary .............................................................................................................. 126
6.2. Source domains sharing target domains.....128
6.2.1. Vision, Hearing, Touch, Smell - An Intellectual Activity ................................... 128
6.2.2. Vision, Hearing, Touch, Smell, Taste - Human Emotion ................................... 131
6.2.3. Vision, Hearing - Judgment ................................................................................. 133
6.2.4. Summary .............................................................................................................. 134
6.3. Chapter summary ...................................................................................................... 134
CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 141
7.1. Concluding remarks .................................................................................................. 141
7.2. Implications from the results .................................................................................... 143
7.3. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research .................................. 144
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................
SOURCES OF DATA .................................................................................................
viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: The entities and sensory activities of the five basic HSs in English and
Vietnamese ........................................................................................................................... 5
Table 2.1: Mappings for the LIFE IS A JOURNEY metaphor ......................................... 17
Table 2.2: Extremities of the five basic human senses ...................................................... 19
Table 4.1: Mappings for the AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS VISION conceptual
metaphor ............................................................................................................................ 49
Table 4.2: Mappings for the HUMAN EMOTION IS VISION conceptual metaphor ..... 54
Table 4.3: Mappings for the MEETING IS VISION conceptual metaphor ...................... 56
Table 4.4: Mappings for the JUDGMENT IS VISION conceptual metaphor .................. 57
Table 4.5: Distribution of CMs based on vision in English .............................................. 58
Table 4.6: Mappings for the AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS HEARING
conceptual metaphor..60
Table 4.7: Mappings for the GETTING INFORMATION IS HEARING conceptual
metaphor ............................................................................................................................ 62
Table 4.8: Mappings for the HUMAN EMOTION IS HEARING conceptual metaphor . 63
Table 4.9: Distribution of CMs based on hearing in English ............................................ 64
Table 4.10: Mappings for the AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS TOUCH conceptual
metaphor ............................................................................................................................ 65
Table 4.11: Mapping for the HUMAN EMOTION IS TOUCH conceptual metaphor ..... 68
Table 4.12: Distribution of CMs based on touch in English ............................................. 69
Table 4.13: Mappings for the AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS SMELL conceptual
metaphor ............................................................................................................................ 70
Table 4.14: Mapping for the INTEREST IS SMELL conceptual metaphor ..................... 72
Table 4.15: Mapping for the EXPERIENCE IS SMELL conceptual metaphor ............... 73
Table 4.16: Distribution of CMs based on smell in English .............................................. 74
Table 4.17: Mappings for the LANGUAGE IS TASTE conceptual metaphor ................. 75
Table 4.18: Mappings for the EXPERIENCE IS TASTE conceptual metaphor ............... 76
Table 4.19: Distribution of CMs based on taste in English ............................................... 76
Table 4.20: Distribution of CMs based on HSs in English ................................................ 77
ix
Table 5.1: Distribution of CMs based on vision in Vietnamese ........................................ 94
Table 5.2: Distribution of CMs based on hearing in Vietnamese .................................... 100
Table 5.3: Distribution of conceptual metaphors based on touch in Vietnamese ........... 104
Table 5.4: Mapping for the HUMAN EMOTION IS SMELL conceptual metaphor ..... 107
Table 5.5: Mapping for the JUDGMENT IS SMELL conceptual metaphor .................. 108
Table 5.6: Distribution of CMs based on smell in Vietnamese ....................................... 109
Table 5.7: Mapping for the HUMAN EMOTION IS TASTE conceptual metaphor ...... 112
Table 5.8: Mapping for the THING IS TASTE conceptual metaphor ............................ 113
Table 5.9: Mapping for the HUMAN IS TASTE conceptual metaphor.......................... 113
Table 5.10: Distribution of CMs based on taste in Vietnamese ...................................... 114
Table 5.11: Distribution of CMs based on HSs in Vietnamese ....................................... 115
Table 6.1: Comparison and contrast between CMs based on vision in English and
Vietnamese ....................................................................................................................... 119
Table 6.2: Comparison and contrast between CMs based on hearing in English and
Vietnamese ....................................................................................................................... 120
Table 6.3: Comparison and contrast between CMs based on touch in English and
Vietnamese ....................................................................................................................... 121
Table 6.4: Comparison and contrast between CMs based on smell in English and
Vietnamese ....................................................................................................................... 122
Table 6.5: Comparison and contrast between CMs based on taste in English and
Vietnamese ....................................................................................................................... 123
Table 6.6: Comparison and contrast between CMs based on HSs in English and
Vietnamese...127
Table 6.7: Source domains share the target domain AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
.......................................................................................................................................... 130
Table 6.8: Source domains share the target domain HUMAN EMOTION .................... 133
Table 6.9: Source domains share the target domain JUDGMENT ................................. 134
Table 6.10: Comparison and contrast between CM based on HSs in English and
Vietnamese ....................................................................................................................... 137
x
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1: The structure of perception metaphors ........................................................... 30
Figure 2.2: A new model for perception verbs ..................................................................... 31
Figure 3.1: Accounting the expressions by the function of the excel software ................ 40
Figure 3.2: The folder of expressions based on vision ..................................................... 41
Figure 3.3: Extract of the OALD for the word ‘see’ ........................................................ 41
Figure 3.4: Extract of the VD for the word ‘ngoṭ ngào’ .................................................... 62
Figure 6.1: “Cross-expressions” between human senses in Vietnamese ........................ 126
Figure 6.2: Source domains share the target domain AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
.......................................................................................................................................... 128
Figure 6.3: Source domains share the target domain HUMAN EMOTION .................. 131
Figure 6.4: Source domains share the target domain JUDGMENT ............................... 133
Figure 6.5: Distribution of ME based on HSs in English ............................................... 135
Figure 6.6: Distribution of ME based on HSs in Vietnamese ........................................ 135
Figure 6.7: Distribution of CM based on HSs in English and Vietnamese .................... 136
Figure 6.8: Distribution of similarity and difference of CMs of HSs in English and
Vietnamese ...................................................................................................................... 139
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
Cognitive linguistics (CL) originally emerged in the early 1970s attracting
many linguists’ interests such as G. Lakoff, M. Johnson, R. Langacker, L. Talmy,
W. Chafe, R. Jackendoff, G. Fauconnier, Ch. Fillmore, U. Neisser, E. Rosch, A.
Wierzbicka, Yu. Stepanov, N. Aruchiunova, V. Demiankov, E. Kubriakova, V.
Maxlova, A. Parchin, I. Protopopova, E. Iakovleva, etc.
According to the cognitive approach, linguistic knowledge is considered
cognition and thinking. Human beings use knowledge and experience of things and
events they have and know well to transfer to those other ones in so unfamiliar or
abstract concepts, especially in the case of metaphors. Notably, in 1980, George
Lakoff and Mark Johnson first extensively explored this theory by atypical work
Metaphors We Live By (revised in 2003) which has become popular with linguistic
works around the world in recent years. It is said that the human conceptual system
is “fundamentally metaphorical in nature” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 3).
In the view of traditional concepts, metaphor is a linguistic phenomenon
with artistic and rhetoric purpose, based the similarities between two objects, used
by talented people or for special effects (Kưvecses, 2010). However, it has been
challenged deeply in the light of CL. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980),
“metaphor is a property of concepts, and not of words; the function of metaphor is
to better understand certain concepts, and not just some artistic or esthetic purpose”
(cited in Kưvecses, 2010, p. 10). Lakoff and Johnson (1980) also defined that
“metaphor is often not based on similarity; metaphor is used effortlessly in
everyday life by ordinary people, not just by special talented people; and metaphor,
far from being a superfluous though pleasing linguistic ornament, is an inevitable
process of human thought and reasoning” (cited by Kưvecses, 2010, p. 10). In fact,
2
“metaphor is defined as understanding one conceptual domain in terms of another
conceptual domain” and called “conceptual metaphor” (Kưvecses, 2010, p. 4). Our
conceptual system is highly metaphorical, “the way we think, what we experience,
and what we do everyday is very much a matter of metaphor” (Lakoff &
Johnson, 1980, p. 4). In other words, in the view of CL, “metaphor is fundamental
to language and cognition in that it represents and records how people
conceptualize their experiences, attitudes and practices” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980,
p. 3). Lakoff (1987) shows that metaphor is conceptual in nature, and its mappings
are regarded as conventional mental mechanisms and experientially motivated. It
allows us to “understand ourselves and our world in ways that no other modes of
thought can” (Lakoff & Turner, 1989, p. xi). Our own bodies are used as an ideal
reference point to describe or refer to something related. Kưvecses (2002) defines
that “although our thoughts have to be done by systematic metaphorical mapping, a
common target domain is the human mind and “being such an abstract concept, it is
not surprising we employ metaphors for better comprehension” (p. 21).
Generally speaking, there have been many cognitive linguistic researches on
metaphors based on human body parts in the world. This is understandable;
because human body parts are very specific, very close to our lives and our
understanding. We take ourselves to imagine the world, reflect the development
path of our awareness by expressing ideas from concrete to abstract. By talking,
working, and getting feelings with the changes we experience, we receive
knowledge of parts of our body. According to Kưvecses (2010), “the human body
is an ideal source domain, since, for us, it is clearly delineated and (we believe) we
know it well. This does not mean that we make use of all aspects of this domain in
metaphorically understanding abstract targets” (p. 18). Thus, many researches
focus on conceptual metaphors based on body parts such as the head, hands,
stomach or conceptual metaphors of emotion, love and so on. However, there are
still not any works of conceptual metaphors based on human senses in detail,
especially in English compared and contrasted with Vietnamese. Actually, every
3
day we have to look with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell through our nose, taste
with our tongue, and touch things around us by hand. Through the five basic
human senses of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste, we experience the world
surrounding us and express what we get with language. For instance, the SEEING
IS TOUCHING metaphor, one of examples described in Kưvecses’s (2010) work,
is based on the set of correspondences like ‘take someone’s eyes off of someone’,
‘avoiding eye contact’, ‘undressing someone with one’s eyes’. Obviously, these
expressions include a context. For example, the expression ‘take someone’s eyes off
of someone’ in “He couldn’t take his eyes off of her” is expressed at work. It
generates the social practice. Thus, according to Kưvecses’s (2010), this is “a
conceptual metaphor “real” in everyday social practice” (p. 71). Actually, using
human senses for expressing language is extremely various that can cause the
misunderstanding for language users, especially people using English as a second
language in Vietnam.
Consequently, we would like to conduct a study entitled “A cognitive study
of metaphors based on human senses in English and Vietnamese” by doing a
comparative and contrastive analysis with the aim of being an essential study and
significance in linguistics.
1.2. Aims of the Study
This thesis aims to extend the later semantic concepts of conceptual
metaphors drawing from cognitive linguistic concepts that are relevant and viable
to the study through tracking its history and development. Specifically, by
analysing the metaphorical expressions based on the five basic human senses in
English and Vietnamese, this thesis will fin...s of which thought patterns operate in reflecting the world in human language
associated with the flexible and dynamic nature of human thought. Consequently, it
may embrace many linguistic metaphors as well as attributes of the SD and TD.
In short, in this part we introduce some related definitions on CM to support
a background for the thesis. The theoretical basis presented above on CM is used to
describe and analyse CMs based on the five basic human senses in English and
Vietnamese in chapter four, five and six.
The concepts of the human senses are then presented to approach the exact
objectives.
19
2.3. Human senses
2.3.1. The concepts of human senses
Although it can be said that humans have more than five senses, as we
presented in the scope of the study, we choose the five basic human senses namely
vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. The other senses may be suggested for the
further research in chapter seven. Therefore, this part presents the concepts of these
five senses.
Actually, these five classical senses are considered as channels providing
information about the external world. It can be said that they help human beings to
perceive surrounding environment. According to Sekuler and Blake (1994), the
senses collect information and transfer to the brain and then the human perception
perceives descriptions of objects and events. According to Mihaela (2016, p. 24)
“the existence of perception provided that at least three main elements are present”.
This author emphazied that they are “the perceiver or perceptor as the person
involved in this process, who carries out the perception, the object - animate or
inanimate - being perceived and the act of perception itself” (p. 24). This author
also cited Martin Joos’ idea (1968) that “the perceptual phenomenon can be
represented by an axis of visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory or tactile perception,
defined by two extremities: the perceiver and perceived object” and illustrated a
following form imagined by Martin Joos (1968) (cited in Mihaela, 2016, p. 24):
Table 2.2: Extremities of the five basic human senses (Mihaela, 2016, p. 24)
Perceiver Perceived object
The eye of the beholder object seen
The ear of the listener object heard
The nose of the perceiver object smelt
The tongue of the perceiver object tasted
The hands of the perceiver object touched
In 1994, Sekuler and Blake envisaged the phenomenon of perception as a
biological process wherein the brain obtains descriptions of objects and events,
using information collected by the senses. Classen (1993) also defines them as
“different modalities for conveying information about the physical world” (p. 4). In
20
fact, each sense has a different way to provide information on that world and “each
sensory modality is connected to a specific receptor organ transforming stimuli into
a subjective experience” (Mihaela, 2016, p. 25). She also emphasized that “the
differentiating properties are: the nature of the stimulus, the distance and contact
between the stimulus and perceiver, the location and contact between the duration
of perception, the identification and modification of the stimulus by the perceiver”
(p. 25). According to Ibarretxe-Antunano (1999), “Biologically, each sense has its
own receptors – eyes, ears, skin, nose, mouth – and its own pathways to the brain.
Each sense receptor responds to different stimuli: light, sound waves, mechanical
disturbances, volatile substances, and soluble substances” (p. 132). The concepts of
each sense will be then presented and it seems logical to start with vision.
2.3.2. Vision
The Oxford Advanced Learning Dictionary (OALD) states that “vision is the
faculty or state of being able to see, is the ability to think about or plan the future
with imagination or wisdom, is an experience of seeing someone or something in a
dream or trance”. “It is considered to be a distant sense in that human beings do not
need to have a direct contact with what their eyes see” (Mihaela, 2016, p. 25).
According to Ibarretxe-Antuđano (1999), vision is “by far the most studied sense of
the five” (p. 55). In 2008, Allan also declared that it is the most significant sense
with the evidence of more 75% of her research’s entries about vision. In fact,
Sweetser (1991) observes that vision is associated with “the objective and
intellectual mental domain” (p. 37). Classen (1993) defines them as “different
modalities for conveying information about the physical world” (p. 4). However,
they do that in different ways. Ibarretxe-Antuđano (1999) expresses “culturally,
human beings rely more on some senses than on others” (p. 210). She also
concluded that vision is the most reliable in Western societies. However, the senses
of the world are considered to be made from the senses of smell, hearing and touch
in Western history, and other contemporary cultures. “It gives us more information
than any of the other senses” (Sweetser, 1986, p. 531). In other words, visual
21
perception is the process of registering visual sensory stimuli as meaningful
experience. It can be said that public knowledge may be provided through vision
sense as what Sweetser (1986) suggests that vision has a connection to intellectual
activity because of three reasons: “(i) Vision is our primary source of objective data
about the world. (ii) The focusing ability of vision that enables us to pick up one
stimulus at will from many. (iii) Vision is identical for different people who can
take the same viewpoint” (p. 531).
According to Mihaela (2016), in the process of visual perception, eyes are the
main component for both capturing the light and generating messages. The light is the
prototypical stimulus which reflects the spatial configuration of the perceived object
in form, dimension, orientation, colour and distance. Although vision is a distant
sense, “the light must come into contact with the eyes in order to be transformed into
neural elements and make this process possible” (Mihaela, 2016, p. 25).
2.3.3. Hearing
According to the OALD, hearing is “the faculty of perceiving sounds, is an
opportunity to state one's case”. Hearing has a process of auditory perception in
which ears capture the sound waves representing the hearing’s prototypical stimuli
and coming inside our ears”. Similarly, to visual perception, “the sounds are
registered in the neocortex, where the main part of the intellectual skills and the
language faculty are situated” (Mihaela, 2016, p. 26). According to Ibarretxe-
Antunano (1999, p. 210), “these sound waves are then transformed into neural
events by the hair cells and analysed by neurones specialised for frequency and
sound location”. This author also emphazied that “hearing is the sensory modality
denoting linguistic communication in which two elements are involved namely the
hearer and the speaker. The presence of the speaker be it a person or an object is
always compulsory” (p. 64).
In fact, “in hearing, as in vision, it is possible to locate the source and
direction of stimulus, where sounds are coming from, even if the object that emits
22
the sound is far away from us, and even if we cannot perceive with our eyes, we can
still hear it” (Ibarretxe-Antunano, 1999, p. 210).
In Mihaela’s work in 2016, she stated interestingly that in hearing has a
limitation of the ability to manipulate as vision because the ears cannot control
physically the act of perception as opening, closing or directing as the eyes and this
mechanism is constantly open. Therefore, according to the same linguist (2016),
“within active visual perception, the perceiver physically and mentally controls the
act of perception, while the control is only mental for the hearer” (p. 26). Although
the hearer and speaker are two elements involved in hearing which “is said to be the
sense of linguistic communication” and the speaker who “could be a person or an
object, known or unknown, but the fact is that it is always present” (Ibarretxe-
Antunano, 1999, p. 64).
2.3.4. Touch
Touch is defined in the OALD as “coming into or being in contact with,
handling in order to interfere with, altering or otherwise affecting, affecting or
concerning, producing feelings of affection, gratitude, or sympathy in, reaching (a
specified level or amount)”. “Touch provides people with the possibility to learn,
interact with the others and even protect themselves from unpleasant or dangerous
situations” (Mihaela, 2016, p. 26). In other words, according to same linguist, “the
perception of touch is the contact between the skin and an external entity such as a
different object when mechanical disturbances produce nerve impulses” (p. 26).
This author presented “the difference with the other senses results from the fact that
the sensations are due to stimulation anywhere on the entire body” (p. 26) and the
hand is considered as the most subject organ to stimulation. “It is important to
notice that tactile perception is always superficial and thus, the perceiver can in this
way obtain information about the temperature, shape, size, and surface of a
perceived object” (Ibarretxe-Antunano, 1999, p. 139). This author defined “by
touching an object, the perceiver can tell what the limits of the perceived object are”
(p. 26). Mihaela (2016) also emphasized that in sensory modalities, the touch
23
always has a connection to emotions. Buck (1949) gives an example of ‘feel of’ and
‘feel’ as in ‘perceive by touch’ “refers not only to the physical perception but also to
the emotions” and Hans Kurath (1921) explains that “this transfer of meaning from
sense perception to emotion on the basis of the similarity of feeling that both
domains share” (cited in Mihaela, 2016, p. 26).
2.3.5. Smell
In the OALD, smell is defined as “the faculty or power of perceiving odours
or scents by means of the organs in the nose, a highly developed sense of smell,
perceiving or detecting the odour or scent of, emitting an odour or scent of a
specified kind”. In Mihaela’s work (2016), she stated that “the perceiver’s age or
gender, the distance between him and the source of the odour, the concentration
level of odorous molecules are all factors that make this perception different from
odour to odour” (p. 26). According the same linguist, “the information obtained is
projected into the limbic region of the brain, also called the emotional brain. Thus,
odours receive an immediate, positive or negative valorisation” (p. 26). Viberg
(1984) gave a reason for this is that “it often signals the presence of something at a
distance from the perceiver” (p. 148). We must recognize that, from all senses,
while vision is the one that is by far the most commonly used to objectively describe
what one perceives, smell is the least developed sense in humans. It cannot be
interpreted similarly to the stimulus for vision or hearing.
2.3.6. Taste
Taste is defined in the OALD: “The sensation of flavour perceived in the
mouth and throat on contact with a substance”. According to Ibarretxe-Antunano
(1999), the sense of taste has some properties: (1) contact, (2) voluntary, (3)
briefness and (4) subjectivity. According to Miller and Reedy (1990), the taste buds
are the responsible receptor cells for the reception of chemical substances. The most
sensitive part, however, is the tip of the tongue; this can identify tastes in only a
couple of seconds. Besides, taste information arrives at the brain over several
different communication lines. In the brain, there are two sections involved: on the
24
one hand, the insular cortex - located between the temporal and parietal lobes –
whose activity triggers the conscious experience of tastes; and on the other, part of
the limbic system, which registers some behaviourally relevant information about
taste. As seen in the case of smell, this is a possible explanation for the differences
in the aesthetic judgments of the perceivers in reference to the classification of
tastes, both physically and metaphorically. The physical sense of taste is generally
linked to personal likes and dislikes in the mental world. Perhaps the reason why
this is so lies in the fact that the sense of taste is most closely associated with fine
discrimination.
In short, thanks to these characteristics of human senses, they are used to
create many metaphorical expressions, especially in literature. The next part
presents metaphor in literature.
2.4. Metaphor in literature
According to Kưvecses (2010), “one of the startling discoveries of work on
poetic language by cognitive linguists is the recognition that most poetic language is
based on conventional, ordinary conceptual metaphors” (p. 50). In fact, he
emphasized that metaphors have a relationship when they are used in ordinary
language and in literature (Kưvecses, 2010). According to the same author, “there is
a widespread notion among lay people and scholars alike that the “real” source of
metaphor is in literature and the arts” (p. 50). In fact, he found that “everyday
language and the everyday conceptual system contribute a great deal to the working
of the artistic genius” (p. 49). In literature, writers obviously create new metaphors
“jumping out” from the text and “they have a tendency to be noteworthy by virtue
of their frequently anomalous or strange character” (Kưvecses, 2010, p. 49). For
illustration, Gibbs (1994) analysed an example (cited in Kưvecses, 2010, p. 49)
from the novel Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez: “Once he
tasted some chamomile tea “This stuff tastes of window.” it did taste of
window”. In this situation, a new perspective is created from a reality by the author
with an idea of creating an unconventional metaphor “tea tastes like window”. This
25
is one of literary metaphors that are original and creative (Kưvecses, 2010). Besides,
the characteristics of personification, extended metaphors, image-based metaphors,
or “megametaphors” are also included in literary texts.
In summary, according to Kưvecses (2010), the authors often make
metaphors constituting a special set. These metaphors are done by ordinary people.
There are some ways to transform them used by writers like extending, elaboration,
combining or questioning that make literary metaphors special. “Although people
are not explicitly instructed about which element of one image maps onto which
element of another, they can perform the mappings successfully in the process of
interpreting literary texts” (Kưvecses, 2010, p. 59).
2.5. Related research
2.5.1. A general review
From Aristotlian’s time, the existence of metaphors has been recognized
(Kưvecses, 2002, p. 5). Until the 1960s-70s, cognitive linguistics emerged and was
considered the classic study. According to Evans and Green (2006), although
firmly rooted around ten years ago, CL’s research was dominated by a few scholars
in the 1970s-80s. However, “by the early 1990s, there was a growing proliferation
of research in this area, and of researchers who identified themselves as cognitive
linguists” (Evans & Green, 2006, p. 5). It “marked the birth of cognitive linguistics
as a broadly grounded, self conscious intellectual movement” (Langacker,
1991/2002, p. xv). Then, CL has gained a good deal of visibility in research in
many languages in the world. The works can be listed here: Evans (2007); Evans &
Green (2006), Lee, D. (2001) and Geeraerts (2006) had the works to introduce CL;
Johnson (1992) gave a detail in philosophical implications of Cognitive Semantics;
Langacker (1987) wrote “Foundations of cognitive grammar: Theoretical
Prerequisites”; Nesset T. (2008) showed “Abstract Phonology in a Concrete
Model: Cognitive Linguistics and the Morphology - Phonology Interface”;
Sweetser (1999) studied on “Compositionality and blending: semantic
composition, in cognitively realistic framework” and “Blended spaces and
26
performativity” (2000); Talmy (2000) gave a study of “Toward a Cognitive
Semantics”; Lý Toàn Thắng had some typical works such as “Linguistics and
Space Cognition” (1984), “Cognitive Linguistics - From theory to Practice”
(2005) and “Applying embodiment theory on analysing some linguistic
expressions” (2007). Some authors studied it on cultural aspects such as Sweetser
with “From Etymology to Pragmatics: Metaphorical and Cultural Aspects of
Semantic Structure” (1990). In 2003, Boers showed special issue on applied
linguistics perspectives on cross-cultural variation in conceptual metaphor. Johnson
(1987) had “The Body in the Mind: The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination and
Reason”.
There are indeed many works on CL, especially on conceptual metaphor -
one of the salient achievements of this approach. Many typical authors with the
works of metaphor in the view of CL can be remarked. Searle (1993) had a study of
“Metaphor.” Gibbs and Steen (1999) gave “Metaphor in cognitive linguistics”,
especially Lakoff and Kưvecses. Lakoff had “Metaphors We Live By” (with
Johnson, [1980], 2003), “A Figure of Thought. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity”
(1986), “Image Metaphors. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity” (1987), “More Than
Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor” (with Turner, 1989), “The
Invariance Hypothesis: Is Abstract Reason Based on Image schemas?” (1990),
“The contemporary theory of metaphor” (1993), “Philosophy in the Flesh: The
Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought” (with Johnson, 1999).
Besides, Kưvecses also had many works of metaphor in the view of CL such as
“Happiness: A definitional effort - Metaphor and Symbolic Activity” (1991),
“Metaphor and emotion: Language, culture, and body in human feeling” (2000);
“Metaphor: A Practical Introduction” ([2002] 2010), “Metaphor in culture:
Universality and variation” (2005), “Language, mind and culture: a practical
introduction” (2006), “Metaphor and emotion” (2008). Charteris-Black (2004)
stated the corpus approaches to critical metaphor analysis. Picken (2007) performed
a study of “Literature, Metaphor, and the Foreign Language Learner”. Trần Văn
27
Cơ stated his works in “Cognitive Linguistics - noting and thinking” (2007),
“Perception, Cognition - Two but one” (2007), “An introduction to Cognitive
Linguistics” (2011), “Cognitive Linguistics - Explaining and Contrasting
Dictionary” (2011). Phan Văn Hòa (2008) studied of “Comparative Metaphor,
Pragmatic Metaphor and Grammatical Metaphor”. Nguyêñ Đức Dân (2009) had
“Cognition in space of Vietnamese”. In 2007, Pragglejaz Group gave two works:
“A Method for Identifying Metaphorically Used Words in Discourse. Metaphor and
Symbol” and “A Practical and Flexible Method for Identifying Metaphorically -
Used Words in Discourse”. In 2008, Phan Thế Hưng performed a study of
“Cognitive Model in conceptual metaphor”. In 2009, he continued with studying of
“An investigation of Vietnamese metaphors in the view of Cognitive Linguistics”
for his doctoral dissertation. Steen et al (2010) gave “Metaphor in Usage”. There
are also many works in comparing and contrasting with many world languages like
Charteris-Black with “Second language figurative proficiency: A comparative
study of Malay and English” (2002); Trần Thi ̣ Thu Huê ̣with “A contrastive and
comparative study of metaphor in Vietnamese and Korean in the view of Cognitive
Linguistics” (2002); Nguyêñ Thi ̣ Quyết with “Metaphors in contemporary English
and Vietnamese poetry: a study from cognitive approach” (2015); Trần Bá Tiến
with “A study of idioms of emotion in English and Vietnamese in the view of
Cognitive Linguistics” (2015); Nguyêñ Văn Trào with “Idioms of emotion: A
comparative and contrastive analysis” (2009), etc.
In the view of CL, “mental and linguistic categories are not abstract,
disembodied and human independent categories; we create them on the basis of our
concrete experiences and under the constraints imposed by our bodies” (Ibarretxe-
Antuđano, 1999, p. 18). Therefore, using body parts to express the metaphorical
meanings is extremely popular in daily life which attracts the linguists’ interest
with many famous works like: Nguyêñ Văn Phở with “Perception verbs in
Vietnamese” (2009); Ibarretxe-Antuđano with “Polysemy and Metaphor in
Perception Verbs: A Cross-linguistic Study (1999); Olfactory Research Fund
28
with “Living well with your Sense of Smell (1996); Sekuler & Blake with
“Perception” (1994); Viberg with “The verbs of perception: A typological study”
(1984), etc.
However, due to space and time limitations, we will choose only a certain
number of salient related works of metaphor in English and Vietnamese to review.
2.5.2. The typical related works in English
2.5.2.1. The work of Lakoff and Johnson
In 1980, Lakoff and Johnson first published their seminal book Metaphors
We Live By (revised 2003) which has been applied to the study of many different
languages. In this work, Lakoff and Johnson gave a new perspective on metaphor.
They take the position that metaphor is a part of language usage and is therefore
part of cognition. Further, metaphor is not merely cognitive; it is also a linguistic,
sociocultural, neural, and bodily phenomenon (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, 2003). This
view is shared by other scholars (Gibbs, 1998; Kưvecses, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010;
Charteris Black, 2002; Picken, 2007). The difference with previous approaches is
that, in the CL perspective, metaphor is defined as understanding one conceptual
domain in terms of another. According to Lakoff and Johnson (2003), metaphor
constitutes one of the basic strands of CL, and one which is mentioned in most CL
studies in CL. In other words, CL gave conceptual metaphorical analysis its
academic foundation (Kưvecses, 2002). Lakoff & Johnson (1980) stated that “these
patterns are in fact so widespread and established that it affects the way we speak,
think and even act, thus being a dominant character in our everyday life” (p. 3). It is
also defined that “they ultimately assert that metaphors go beyond mere words and
that our thought processes are largely metaphorical in nature” (p. 6).
In the view of CL, metaphors are understood in association with a system of
many other metaphors: together, they form what is called a conceptual metaphor
(Lakoff & Johnson, 2003).
Conceptual metaphor has been investigated in a number of specific domains.
In economics texts, Johnson (1987) argued in The Body in the Mind: The “bodily
29
basis of meaning, imagination, and reason”. In literature, Lakoff and Turner
(1989) showed the relevance of the ordinary language metaphoric system for the
interpretation of literature. Lakoff (1993) studied the applicability of conceptual
metaphor to dream analysis in the psychological domain.
2.5.2.2. The work of Sweetser
In 1990, in the view of CL, Sweetser analysed the multiple meanings
English perception verbs in the semantic field to show that understanding lexical
polysemy independently of human cognition is impossible that in the past long
time, there were many researchers on perception such as Bechtel (1879), Kurath
(1921), and Buck (1949) whose studies only stopped at the etymological origin.
According to Sweetser (1990), the mind and body’s link-up of vocabularies is both
rooted in “certain psychosomatic reactions” and “in some examples psychosomatic
explanations” (cited in Ibarretxe-Antuđano, 1999c, p. 93). She also shows an instance
that “it is possible to have emotional tension or to feel low may be linked to the
muscular states of tension and limpness that go with these mental states” (p. 93). The
same author also presents “however, other expressions such as bitter anger or sweet
revenge cannot be linked to any direct physical taste response of bitterness or
sweetness; they should be regarded as metaphorical” (cited in Ibarretxe-Antuđano,
1999c, p. 93). Therefore, by correspondences between our external experience and our
internal emotional and cognitive states, Sweetser (1990) supposed the MIND-AS-
BODY metaphor considered as “conceptual metaphor” in the view of Lakoff and
Johnson (1980, 1999). In this work, she supposes that “our conceptualising one whole
area of experience (i.e. mind) in terms of another (i.e. body)” (cited in Ibarretxe-
Antuđano, 1999c, p. 108). Sweetser (1990) also states that “from the vocabulary of
bodily experience to the vocabulary of psychological states (p.30). She also
emphasizes that “the vocabulary of physical perception as the source domain and the
vocabulary of the internal self and sensations as the target domain” (1990, p. 30). This
is considered as important point in her study which can be summarised in the
following figure:
30
Figure 2.1: The structure of perception metaphors (After Sweetser 1990, p. 38)
Although Sweetser’s research is inventive in that time (1990), her work has
still some dispute being nonetheless present. Then, using the original ideas in
Sweetser’s thesis, Ibarretxe-Antuđano has the extensive works on this subject in
the later years (1999, 2005 and 2008).
2.5.2.3. The work of Ibarretxe-Antuđano
Basing on Sweetser’s (1990) above work, Ibarretxe-Antuđano (1999c)
conducted her doctoral thesis with the study “Polysemy and metaphor in perception
verbs: a cross-linguistic study”. She studied on polysemy from a cognitive semantic
perspective of perception verbs in English, Basque and Spanish. She paid attention to
its semantic field. She emphasized the reason and the way people experience and
understand the senses. This work shows the various their extensions of meaning.
Besides, she focuses on the ways that contain the polysemy in them. Finally, she clears
the locations of these perception verbs, which the elements it effects in complementing
them in a sentence. Her work only focuses on perception verbs in English, Basque and
31
Spanish through presenting a synchronic typological study of the different meanings,
both physical and metaphorical, found in perception verbs in the three languages. All
are summarised in the following figure:
Figure 2.2: A new model for perception verbs
(After Ibarretxe-Antuđano, 1999c, p. 212)
2.5.2.4. The work of Kưvecses
Conceptual metaphor has also been the focus of crosslinguistic study.
Kưvecses (2006) examined the same figurative meaning in English and Hungarian.
Assuming that different word forms are utilized in different languages to express
roughly equivalent meanings, the literal meaning of an expression with a figurative
meaning may be either the same or different in the two languages. Kưvecses
highlights three cognitive devices: conceptual metaphor, conceptual metonymy,
and a combination of the two. Each may be either the same or different in the two
languages. Kưvecses’ work clarifies the relation between metaphorical language
and the all-important notion of culture in its many forms.
According to Kưvecses (2002, p. 6) “as metaphors are frequently used to
demonstrate or better understand a theoretical concept, it appears intuitive to use a
more concrete concept for further clarification”.
32
“Conceptual metaphors therefore commonly apply more abstract concepts
for the target domains and more definite or physical concepts for the source”
(Kưvecses, 2002, p. 6). Stockwell (2002) supports this by claiming the tangible
world around us is a typical basis to comprehend the more abstract ideas. Kưvecses
(2002) furthermore explains that this accounts for the unidirectionality of
conceptual metaphors, that the metaphorical process generally goes “from the more
concrete to the more abstract but not the other way around” (p. 6).
He analyses in some detail one of the best-known conceptual metaphors in
the cognitive linguistic literature: LOVE IS A JOURNEY using the American
English examples given by Lakoff and Johnson, and Hungarian counterparts. He
shows that most of the American English examples are translated into Hungarian in
a straightforward way. In English, the LOVE IS A JOURNEY metaphor has agents
involved in an internal way (mentally, conceptually) in making decisions. In
Hungarian, conversely, the metaphor leans on agents who are, from the outside,
forced to make decisions about their relationship. In general, Kưvecses (2006)
argues “this can be related to a more fatalistic attitude to life in the case of
Hungarians, a further difference in culturally entrenched outlook on love
relationships” (p. 176). He also emphasizes “it may be related to a distinction
between a more success-oriented and a less success-oriented attitude” (p. 176) and
the distinction concerning “the naturalness with which the people in the
relationship evaluate ‘from the outside,’ as it were, the progress they have made”
(p. 176). For this author, “the American explicitness concerning one’s success or
difficulties in love relationships reflects a degree of extroversion that is not found
in many other cultures, including Hungarian and British cultures” (Kưvecses, 2005,
p. 160). He concludes that “two languages or varieties may have the same
conceptual metaphor but the linguistic expression of the conceptual metaphor may
be influenced or shaped by differences in cultural-ideological traits and
assumptions characterizing different cultures” (Kưvecses, 2006, p. 177).
33
Other work on metaphor by applied linguistics has extended Kưvecses’
crosslinguistic comparison to other langua... ask.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
6
PL 92
10. Khơng hiểu sao, Tồn thấy hơi
rờn rợn, ngần ngừ chưa muốn
tháo ba lơ.
Somehow, Tồn felt a little
grouchy and hesitant to take
off the backpack.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
6
11. Tồn bỗng thấy bứt rứt. Tồn suddenly felt fidget. Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
12
12. Trong bĩng chiều, cảnh hoang
vu của khe núi làm nàng chợt
thấy trơ trọi.
In the shadow of the
afternoon, the wilderness of
the canyon made her
suddenly feel lonely.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
127
13. Tự dưng Lễ thấy hãi hùng. Suddenly Le feels frightened. Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
198
14. Chị thấy gờn gợn. She felt a bit scared. Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
207
15. Chợt chị thấy sợ hãi. Suddenly, she felt scared. Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
207
16. Đã quen với những câu hỏi
vang lên từ sau lưng nên chị
khơng cịn giật mình nữa, chỉ
thấy rờn rợn.
Already familiar with the
questions raised from behind
her so she was no longer
startled, yet only felt a bit
scared.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
210
17. Chị im lặng bước sau Vành,
lịng bỗng thấy như là thanh
thản.
She silently stepped behind
Vành, her heart suddenly felt
serene.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
216
18. Nghĩ vậy về Hấn nên mẹ tơi và
tơi phần nào cũng thấy yên
lịng.
Thinking that about Hấn, my
mother and I were/ felt
relieved.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
220
19. Cĩ điều gì như bất chợt vừa
mất đi khiến mình thấy trống
trải hẫng hụt quá!
There is something like
suddenly lost that makes me
feel very empty!
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
226
20. Qua cửa sổ, Thi trơng thấy đứa
bé hồi nãy chân đất chạy theo
đồn tàu, tay nĩ cầm một tập
tiền lẻ, Thi thấy gai người, xé
vội bao thuốc lá, rút cây bút chì
và vẽ.
Through the window, Thi saw
the child he met recently
running toward the train on
his bare foot, his hand
holding a wad of small paper
money. Thi felt
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
305
PL 93
uncomfortable, ripped the
cigarette pack, and took the
pencil out and drew.
21. Cả Hùy và Chi thấy lâng lâng. Both Huy and Chi felt happy. Hương
rượu cẩm
57
22. Ngày thường gặp chú nhiều
người thấy khĩ chịu.
On normal days many people
find him uncomfortable.
Hương
rượu cẩm
128
23. Thanh thấy nhoi nhĩi trong
lịng.
Thanh felt throbbed in his
heart.
Hương
rượu cẩm
129
24. Thanh thấy tim đau nhĩi, ngực
tức nghẹn.
Thanh felt his heart aching,
chest choking.
Hương
rượu cẩm
144
25. Lúc đầu anh vẫn thấy lo sợ. At first he still felt afraid. Hương
rượu cẩm
189
26. Trung thấy dìu dịu trong đầu. Trung felt relieved in his
head.
Hương
rượu cẩm
212
27. Đồng thời thấy rạo rực khi nghĩ
lại truyền thống anh hùng của
nhà máy.
At the same time, he felt
excited when thinking of the
heroic tradition of the factory.
Hương
rượu cẩm
216
28. Đứng trước chị bỗng nhiên tơi
thấy ngường ngượng vì bộ
quần áo khá thẳng nếp của
mình.
Standing in front of her
suddenly made me feel
embarrassed by my rather
straight clothes.
Hương
rượu cẩm
225
29. Chị chỉ thấy tội tội hai thằng
lính, nhất là cái thằng mặt non
choẹt, luơn miệng kêu cha nĩ
bằng chú.
She only felt bad for the two
soldiers, especially the
younger one, who always
called his father uncle.
Chim én
bay
39
30. Chị bỗng thấy xấu hổ. She suddenly felt
embarrassed.
Chim én
bay
40
31. Chị cảm thấy nhột nhột trong
dạ.
She felt tickling in the
stomach.
Chim én
bay
42
32. Chị thấy ớn lạnh dọc sống lưng
như lúc đứng trong nghĩa địa
hồi nãy.
She felt chilled along her
back as she stood in the
graveyard some time ago.
Chim én
bay
43
33. Chị bỗng thấy hoảng sợ. She suddenly felt panic. Chim én
bay
111
34. Câu nĩi làm anh chạnh lịng và
chị thấy thương anh vơ hạn.
The saying made him
unhappy, and she felt a
profound love for him.
Chim én
bay
137
35. Chị thấy nĩng ruột quá chừng. She felt very aching. Chim én
bay
151
36. Cúc hồi hộp quá, cơ bỗng thấy
người nĩng ran lên, chiếc áo
lao động kẻ sọc bĩ sát lưng lấm
thấm mồ hơi.
Cúc was so nervous; she
suddenly felt hot, the striped
shirt labor tightening her back
was full of sweat.
Hoa cúc
nâu
67
37. Những lúc ấy y thống buồn,
nhưng lại chợt thấy vui.
At those moments, he was a
bit sad, but then suddenly felt
Truyện
ngắn hay
41
PL 94
happy. 2007
38. Đêm tân hơn Bồ Bồ khơng
thấy sung sướng đặc biệt
nhưng khơng thấy kinh tởm.
On the wedding night, Bồ Bồ
did not feel particularly
happy but not disgusting.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
59
39. Chợt ơng Bùi thấy mủi lịng. Suddenly, Mr. Bui felt
relented.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
77
40. Tiến đi rồi, ơng Bùi chợt thấy
ngượng ngùng.
After Tiến left, Mr. Bui
suddenly felt embarrassed.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
79
41. Chị thấy lịng dịu lại, cĩ cái gì
mơ hồ lắng đọng trong tâm can
chị.
She felt calmed, something
vague deposited in her heart.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
111
42. H’Linh thấy má mình nĩng... H'Linh felt her cheeks hot... Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
130
43. H’Linh thấy thương anh rể quá. H'Linh felt very
compassionate for her
brother-in-law.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
138
44. Như cĩ thuốc tiên người tơi bắt
đầu thấy rạo rực lạ bụng dưới
tức anh ách máu chạy rần rật
giật đùng đùng nhức như đĩng
mủ.
As if having a magic pill, I
began to feel harsh blaze in
the abdomen and my blood
run tightly like a pus.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
152
45. Chỉ như vậy mà cơ chợt thấy
lịng chẳng yên.
Only then did she suddenly
feel uncomfortable.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
327
46. Nhưng cũng chính lúc ấy Long
thấy lịng mình như nát ra, tan
lỗng, quặn thắt nỗi niềm dâng
lên, ứ tắc nơi cổ họng.
But at the same time, Long
found that his heart was
crushed, diluted, crammed
up; his thoughts and worries
surged in the throat.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
414
47. Hảo thấy đầu ĩc thoải mái khi
tỉnh dậy.
Hao felt his mind relaxed
when he woke up.
Rừng
khát
93
48. Nhìn họ, già thấy lo trong cái
bụng vì vẻ mặt họ ai cũng khác
lạ.
Looking at them, the old man
felt worried in his belly
because their faces looked
different.
Rừng
khát
95
49. Tơi cũng thấy xĩt ruột. I also felt hurt. Rừng
khát
113
50. Nghĩ ngợi lung tung, đại ca
thấy đau lịng vì năm thằng con
trai hư hỏng.
Thinking awkwardly, the
boss felt hurt by his five bad
boys.
Rừng
khát
217
51. Từ khi tơi trịn mười lăm tuổi,
tơi sờ thấy tim nhĩi đau mỗi
khi mẹ cười như thế.
Since I was fifteen years old,
I felt my heart ache every
time my mom laughed like
that.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
24
PL 95
52. Trái tim tươi trẻ của ơng thấy
đang hồi hộp, chạy nháo lên
dồn dập trong lồng ngực.
His bright young heart was
thrilled, running up and down
in his chest.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
282
53. Khi lên voi, lúc xuống chĩ, chỉ
để cĩ tiền mà tiền quan trọng
thế nhưng khơng làm cho hắn
thấy hạnh phúc.
Fasting comes after feasting,
just to have money and
money is important, but it
does not make him happy.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
337
54. Chỉ ngồi lặng yên, khơng nĩi
chuyện nhưng thấy lịng bình
yên lạ.
Just sitting quietly, not
talking but she finds such a
peace of mind.
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
283
55. Cơ thấy tim mình đập vang
vang tận đỉnh đầu.
She felt her heart beat to the
top of her head.
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
346
56. Chị ngồi nhìn đám mây lơ lửng
trên nền trời, lịng thấy sao
trống trải quá!
She sat looking at the cloud
hovering in the sky and felt
empty!
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
374
57. Mình thấy ngượng! I felt embarrassed! Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
390
58. Tơi cảm thấy vơ duyên cho nỗi
day dứt.
I feel ungrateful for the
torment.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2009
116
59. Tơi cảm thấy tủi thân muốn
khĩc vì cảm giác bị bỏ rơi.
I feel like crying because of
the feeling of being
abandoned.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
19
60. Bà khơng nĩi nhưng Liên hiểu
mẹ nghĩ gì và chị cảm thấy
lịng mình đau buốt.
Though Liên’s mother did not
talk, Liên understood what
her mother thought and she
felt painful.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
238
61. Chị luơn cảm thấy cơ đơn,
sống bên Quân chị luơn phải
nghe, phải chứng kiến những
gì mà chị khơng muốn nghe,
khơng muốn chứng kiến.
She always felt lonely, living
side by side with Quân but
she always had to hear and
witness what she did not want
to hear or witness.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
240
62. Tự nhiên ơng cảm thấy trống
vắng điều gì đấy rất khĩ cắt
nghĩa.
Suddenly, he felt empty of
something that was difficult
to explain.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
141
63. Bính cảm thấy chính mình như
vừa bị tát.
Binh felt himself slapped. Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
298
64. Nguyệt nhìn ba người ăn uống
cũng cảm thấy trong người như
ngây ngất đang say.
Nguyệt looked at the three-
people eating and also felt
ecstatic like being drunk.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
306
PL 96
65. Con người cũng cảm thấy phấn
chấn và nỗi khổ, nổi đau cũng
như giảm được một phần
khơng?
Do people also feel the
excitement, the suffering, or
the pain as well as reducing
the pain partially?
Hương
rượu cẩm
91
66. Nĩ trở lại vào giây phút chị
cảm thấy cơ đơn nhất.
It came back at the moment
when she felt most lonely.
Chim én
bay
24
67. Suốt dọc con đường từ Đà
Nẵng trở vào, những kỷ niệm
cũ của hơn mười năm trước
thức dậy làm lịng chị cảm thấy
nơn nao.
Along the road from Danang
to the south, the old
memories of more than ten
years ago woke her up,
making her feel excited.
Chim én
bay
25
68. Chị chợt cảm thấy ghê ghê và
hơi né tránh theo một phản ý tự
nhiên.
She suddenly felt horrified
and slightly evaded as a
natural reflex.
Chim én
bay
88
69. Chị bỗng cảm thấy buồn bã,
giống như người đã phải đi qua
một quãng đường lầy lội, và đã
cố gắng quên quãng đường ấy
đi nhưng cĩ kẻ vẫn buột chị
phải đi trở lại con đường ấy.
She suddenly felt sad, like the
person who had to go through
a muddy road, and tried to
forget that road but somebody
else forced her go back to that
path.
Chim én
bay
90
70. Nhưng chị cảm thấy nhẹ nhõm
khi nhớ tới anh Cường, nghĩ
rằng, mình đã làm được một
việc gì đĩ cho anh.
But she was relieved to think
of Cuong, thinking that she
had done something for him.
Chim én
bay
126
71. Chị ơm riết lấy anh, cảm thấy
đau thắt nơi ngực bởi một sự
mất mát.
She gripped him, feeling
aching in the chest by a loss.
Chim én
bay
132
72. Mặt chị nĩng rát. Chưa bao giờ
chị cảm thấy sung sướng và
hạnh phúc như lúc đĩ.
Her face was like burning.
Never before did she feel so
happy and joyful.
Chim én
bay
163
73. Chị thầm nghĩ và cảm thấy ân
hận, như chính vì sự chậm trễ,
thờ ơ của mình đã đẩy chị ta
tới nơng nỗi ấy.
She thought and felt remorse,
as if her delay and apathy had
pushed her to this situation.
Chim én
bay
172
74. Tơi trố mắt nhìn cơ gái trước
mặt qua ánh sáng mờ ảo quyện
khĩi thuốc, cảm thấy vừa
ngượng vừa tức.
I gazed at the girl in front of
me in the light of the smoke,
feeling embarrassed.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
10
75. Đêm đêm nhìn chị em vẹo xiêu
đạp xe về nhà trọ tơi cảm thấy
ngượng ngùng.
At night when seeing the
sisters ride the bike unstably
to the hostel, I feel awkward.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
296
76. Hắn đi rồi, Long càng thấy
trống vắng.
When he left, Long felt
emptier.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
400
77. Tơi vẫn cảm thấy ngượng
ngùng, vì những hành động
ngu ngốc ban trưa, khơng
I still felt embarrassed,
because of idiotic activities at
noon, did not want to get out
Săn cá
thần
22
PL 97
muốn chiu ra khỏi lều và giáp
mặt với bọn họ.
of the tent and faced them.
78. Tơi nhìn theo, bỗng cảm thấy
ớn lạnh xương sống, phía ấy tối
om om, chẳng hứa hẹn điều gì
tốt lành.
I follow with my eyes,
suddenly feel chilly, it is
pitch-black in that way, not
promising anything good.
Săn cá
thần
27
79. Tơi cảm thấy hai tai mình nĩng
ran, tim đập thình thịch liên hồi
kỳ trận.
I felt my ears burning, rapidly
my heart beat.
Săn cá
thần
82
80. Tơi cảm thấy chết điếng người,
tơi hình dung ra Tú khỉ đang
cảm thấy như thế nào.
I felt dumbfounded, I
imagined how Tu “monkey”
was feeling.
Săn cá
thần
83
81. Anh cũng thấy nhàm chán khi
ở cái tổ dân phố này mấy năm
rồi, ngày nào cũng như ngày
nào, nhà nào biết nhà ấy,
khơng ai đến với ai lại cịn bình
phẩm nhau nữa chứ.
He also felt bored staying in
this neighborhood for a few
years, every day looks like
any day, this household
knows that household, no one
knows each other to comment
about each other.
Rừng
khát
90
82. Dù dân trong phố huyện khơng
ai biết nguyên nhân họ bỏ
nhau, nhưng rộ lên tiếng xì
xào, làm bố mẹ Lan buồn bực,
cảm thấy xấu hổ.
Even though people in the
district town did not know
why they were separating
each other, the rumour made
Lan’s parents feel upset and
embarrassed.
Rừng
khát
103
83. Tất thảy đều cảm thấy một
niềm vui lơ lửng trong suốt
buổi chiều cịn lại.
All felt a joy lingering
throughout the rest of the
afternoon.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
107
84. Đức phi Ngọc Bình cảm thấy
như tắc thở bởi mùi máu tanh
tưởi và khét lạnh rợn ngợp của
binh khí chạm vào nhau.
Imperial PrincessNgọc Bình
felt trapped by the smell of
blood and cold and terrifying
weapons touching each other.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
174
85. Anh cảm thấy tâm hồn mình bị
tổn thương.
He felt his soul hurt. Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
274
86. Về phần anh, chung sống với
Vân được một thời gian, anh
cảm thấy chán ngán với tính
cách đanh đá, cộc cằn của cơ.
To him, living with Van for
some time, he felt bored with
her shrewish, gruff
personality.
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
283
87. Nhờ cái nhà xí cơng cộng mà
chị Sợi cảm thấy yên tâm khi
cĩ khách.
Thanks to the public toilet,
she feels comfortable when
she has guests.
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
297
88. Cảm giác vừa dâng trào rạo rực
lại vừa khước từ chị trong thời
khắc chạng vạng.
The rising excitement feeling
rejected her again in the
twilight moment.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2009
181
89. Lúc ấy tơi khơng cịn cảm giác
đau đớn nữa mà là một thứ
At that time, I did not feel
pain anymore but a feeling of
Truyện
ngắn hay
359
PL 98
cảm giác sảng khối tột đỉnh. utmost pleasure instead. 2009
90. Cơ ngụp lặn trong những câu
chuyện của Đào với cảm giác
lạ lẫm.
She dives into Đào’s story
with strange feeling.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
115
91. Tuy vậy cảm giác rờn rợn vẫn
bao trùm đâu đĩ.
However, the scary feeling
was still there.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
11
92. Anh cĩ cảm giác như hàng
trăm, hàng ngàn mũi kim đang
đâm thẳng vào hai bên thái
dương.
He feels like hundreds;
thousands of needles are
stabbing directly to his
temples.
Hương
rượu cẩm
156
93. Chị cĩ cảm giác ngờ ngợ,
nhưng ngờ ngợ cái gì, tại sao
lại ngờ ngờ thì chị khơng nghĩ
ra.
She has a sense of doubt, but
what to doubt, why in the
doubt she could not think of?
Chim én
bay
39
94. Gã cảm giác con tim trong
ngực đang bị một bàn tay ai đĩ
bĩp chặt.
He felt the heart in his chest
was squeezed by somebody’s
hand.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
202
95. Ngồi ơm thân hình lạnh ngắt
của em tơi cĩ cảm giác sợ hãi
là đang ơm một thi thể đưa vào
nhà xác.
Holding your cold body, I
was frightened that I was
embracing a corpse into the
morgue.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
297
96. \ Trời lạnh dã man, ngồi trong
xe mà tơi vẫn cĩ cảm giác như
đầu ĩc đơng đặc lại.
It was brutally cold; sitting in
the car, but I still felt like my
mind was frozen.
Săn cá
thần
88
97. Một cảm giác khơng vui chợt
đến khiến tơi thở dài, cuộc chia
tay với hai cơ gái đĩ thì lại
chẳng vui vẻ cho lắm, một lúc
nào đĩ tơi sẽ kể lại chuyện này.
An unhappy feeling occurred
to make me sigh, saying
goodbye to those two girls
was not so fun, someday I'll
tell you this story.
Săn cá
thần
148
98. Tuy nhiên, cĩ một lần, cơ khẽ
rùng mình vì nhận thấy một
cảm giác dễ chịu đặc biệt do
nước mang lại.
However, one time, she
shuddered slightly as she felt
a special sense of well-being
brought by the water.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
110
99. Chạm vào hình ảnh đĩ, lần thứ
hai tâm hồn cơ gái bị xáo động.
Touching that image, the
girl's soul is disturbed the
second time.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
11
100. Cảm giác ghê ghê người khi
chạm phải các bức tượng bằng
gỗ.
Feeling horrible when
touching wooden statues.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
137
PL 99
SMELL (KHỨU GIÁC)
1. AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY IS SMELL
1. Ta ngửi mùi ta biết ở nơi nào
cĩ binh khí, tên độc, nơi nào cĩ
mùi hơi người, hơi cầm thú.
I smell I know where there is
the smell of weapon
andpoisoned arrow, where
there is the smell of people
andanimals.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
149
2. Cả cái xĩm núi này, mấy khi
đã được ngửi khĩi xe hơi chạy
qua, ấy vậy mà hơm nay cĩ đến
mấy chục cái ơ tơ du lịch sang
trọng bĩng lộn đỗ dọc từ sân
đình vào vào tận cổng nhà ơng
trơng như đàn bọ hung đang
chờ tấn cơng bãi phân trâu vậy.
This mountain village rarely
smells cars running passed
by, but today there are dozens
of luxury cars park along the
courtyard to his house gate,
which look like a herd of
bugs waiting to attack buffalo
dung.
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
40
3. Cĩ lẽ chúng ngửi thấy được
mùi gì đĩ từ câu chuyện của
tơi.
Perhaps they smelled some
odour from my story.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2009
259
4. Cĩ lẽ chúng ngửi thấy được
mùi gì đĩ từ cơ thể của tơi.
Maybe they can smell
something from my body.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2009
374
5. Khi dân trong xĩm đổ vào thì
đứng ở tam cấp, người ta đã
ngửi thấy mùi của cái chết.
When villagers flocked into,
only standing at the three-step
staircase, people could
smellthe death.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
130
6. Hắn ngửi thấy mùi hương của
tĩc đàn bà, hương của miệng
cĩ đơi mơi thắm đỏ xưa giờ tuy
đã phai màu son, nhưng vẫn
mọng làm sao.
He smells the scent of
women's hair, the smell of the
mouth with old red lips that
have faded, but still very ripe.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
339
7. Chỉ cần trong hơi giĩ nồng
nồng của sơng cĩ thoảng mùi
chua chua khét khét của mồ hơi
phơi nắng là ơng Lân biết cĩ
đứa về.
Just smelling from the strong
wind of the river the smell of
sour smell of sweat because
of the sun, Mr. Lân knows
that one of his children is
coming.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
133
8. Một mùi khĩi rơm rạ ở đâu
thoảng tới, in vào trí nhớ cịn
non của tơi một mùi hương mà
khơng bao giờ tơi quên nữa.
There was a smell of smoke
from straw, deeply ingrained
in my young memories a
scent that I will never forget.
Con ve
sầu
9
2. EXPERIENCE IS SMELL
1. Khứu giác thời bú thép của tơi
khơng phân biệt được sự khác
nhau về mùi của những người
My sense in the breast-
feeding period does not tell
the difference in the smell of
Truyện
ngắn hay
2009
362
PL 100
đàn bà. women.
2. Đêm đêm, ơng nằm nghe thạch
sùng chép miệng và ngửi mùi
đời.
At night, he lies listening to
geckos making sounds and
smelling the smell of life.
Hương
rượu cẩm
112
3. Hãy cho nĩ biết mùi đàn ơng
trước khi giết chết nĩ!
Let it know the smell of men
before killing it!
Chim én
bay
83
3. HUMAN EMOTION IS SMELL
1. Một mùi hương thơm khĩ tả
chạy vào mũi Thức rồi xộc tới
miên man lên từng tế bào.
A fragrant aroma difficult to
describe ran into Thức’s nose
and then rushed to his every
cell.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2009
328
2. Cái mùi rơm thơm ùa vào khứu
giác dựng đứng kí ức đã ngủ
quên bao năm.
The aroma of straw rushing
into the olfactory evokedthe
memory that has been
sleeping for years.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
66
3. Cái mùi thơm của ngơi nhà
mới làm anh ngây ngất.
The smell of the new house
made him ecstatic.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
89
4. Cái mùi hắc nồng của vơi
khiến tơi sung sướng với một
cảm giác mình được đổi đời.
The pungent smell of lime
made me feel happy with a
life-changing feeling.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
8
5. Chắc mùi xào nấu đang hành
hạ cái dạ dày lép của nĩ.
The smell of cooking is
torturing its stomach.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
57
6. Trong nhà mùi xơi mùi mẻ mùi
bỗng rượu làm lịng bác thơm
dậy lên.
From the house, the smell of
steamed glutinous rice, of
ferment and of alcohol makes
him aromatic.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
147
7. Ra trường, Ký giang tay trước
biển đời mênh mơng hít hà
sung sướng.
Graduating from the school,
Ký stretches his arms in front
of the immense sea of life and
breathing joyfully.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
69
8. Sáu chúi mũi lên khắp cơ thể ả
mà hít lấy hít để, cứ như thằng
đàn ơng lần đầu được tiếp xúc
với cơ thể đàn bà.
Sáu smelt all over her body
and breathed constantly, just
like a man who was first
exposed to a woman's body.
Rừng
khát
12
9. Giấc ngủ của anh thơm nồng,
trịn trịa và viên mãn chẳng
khác gì những đứa con của
chúng tơi.
His sleep is fragrant, round
and full like our children.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002-
2003
140
4. JUDGMENT IS SMELL
1. Lương “thơm tho” đến nỗi The salaryis so "fragrant" that Rừng 17
PL 101
chưa nĩng túi đã bốc hơi hết
rồi.
though it has not heated the
pocket, it has evaporated.
khát
2. Quan thanh liêm để cho đời
tiếng thơm.
Officials with integrity will
be famous throughout their
life.
Rừng
khát
108
TASTE (VI ̣GIÁC)
1. LANGUGAE IS TASTE
1. Ơng Thuyên ngồi im, vẻ mặt
đanh lại. Hồi lâu ơng nĩi giọng
lạnh nhạt.
Mr. Thuyên sat quietly; his
face got stiff. He spoke in a
very cold voice.
Truyện
ngắn
hay 2009
144
2. Ly tuyên bố, giọng lạnh tanh. Ly declared, with very cold
voice.
Hương
rượu cẩm
166
3. Một giọng nĩi dịu ngọt rĩt vào
tai nĩ.
A sweet voice poured into his
ear.
Hương
rượu cẩm
23
4. Tơi đến bên Phương chờ cho
cơ nĩi chuyện với anh ấy xong
đĩn lấy máy, giọng ngọt ngào
hỏi thăm anh ấy cĩ khỏe
khơng, cơng việc thế nào.
I reached to Phuong, waited
for her to finish talking with
him, took the phone, in a
sweet voice asked how his
health and work was.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
25
5. Giọng hắn ấm nên càng buồn. Since his voice was warm,
the voice became worse.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
329
6. Mẹ Hoan chửi con dâu ngọt
như đang hát.
Hoan’s mother was scolding
her daughter-in-law as
sweetly as singing.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
381
7. Thái nĩi gọn gàng, rành rẽ, khơ
khan đến khắt nghiệt.
Thái said neatly and clearly; a
dry voice to severe.
Hương
rượu cẩm
76
8. Đi để hít thở lại được ngọt
ngào những tiếng báo cáo
anh...
Travelling to breathe back the
sweetness of the voice that
reported him...
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
70
9. Tiếng anh rể cay cay. The brother-in-law’s voice
sounds spicy.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
134
10. Những câu hát ngọt ngào ngày
xưa mẹ ru tơi thầm thì, nâng
niu từ khi các con tơi cịn trứng
nước.
The sweet lyrics that my
mother lulled me in the old
days now whispered and
cherished my babies.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
146
11. Hắn cũng bớt tơn trọng cấp
trên, gĩp ý ngày càng kỹ, ngơn
từ ngày càng sắc sảo, chua cay
hơn.
He became less
respectfulofthe higher
authorities; his suggestions
were closer; his words were
keener and bitter.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
208
PL 102
12. Sao lúc này mồm miệng lão
bỗng đắng ngắt.
Why does his mouth
suddenly get bitter this time?
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
11
13. Cổ Sâm nghẹn đắng. Anh chả
thốt nổi lời nào chỉ trừng trừng
nhìn ơng.
Sâm choked up. He did not
say anything, just glaring at
the elder man.
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
255
2. EXPERIENCE IS TASTE
1. Sau này, chị cũng gặp một đem
mưa thật dữ dội, độc ác, nhưng
ở vào một hồn cảnh cay đắng
khác.
Later, she also encountered
another heavy and cruel night
rain, but in another bitter
situation.
Chim én
bay
132
2. Đại ca thường dặn nhà hàng cĩ
cơ nào trẻ đẹp mới đến phải
dành cho ơng nếm trước.
The boss often told the
restaurant if there was a new
beautiful young girl, she
should be for him to taste
first.
Rừng
khát
118
3. Thứ ánh sáng kì diệu mà tơi đã
quên từ lâu đang tràn trề trên
mặt, chảy vào miệng tơi những
dịng ngọt ngào.
The light that I forgotten for a
long time is overflowing on
my face, flowing into my
mouthsweet lines.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
14
3. HUMAN EMOTION IS TASTE
1. Tơi cố biện minh và miếng
cơm vẫn đắng ngắt trong
miệng.
I tried to justify and the piece
of ricewas still bitter in my
mouth.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
152
2. Chị cay đắng bật khĩc. She bitterly burst into tears. Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
214
3. Anh đã nghiến răng chịu đựng
bao cay đắng của đĩi nghèo.
He gritted his teeth to endure
the bitterness of poverty.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
360
4. Cố giấu sự cay đắng, nhưng
chưa kịp nĩi hết câu thì ơng đội
cải cách đứng phắt dậy, đập
bàn đánh rầm một cái, bát nước
chè xanh hắt tung lên, rơi
xuống nền đất.
Trying to hide the bitterness,
but not having finished the
sentence, the man from the
reform team stood up
quicklyand beat a table once;
a bowl of green tea was
tossed up andfell to the
ground.
Hoa cúc
nâu
11
5. Và ơng thấy lịng trào lên nỗi
đắng cay.
And he felt the bitter
nesssurge.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
73
PL 103
6. Hắn âm thầm cay đắng nghĩ, He thought silently bitterly Rừng
khát
19
7. Tồn cay nhất là việc chị Hồng
vay Tồn mười lăm triệu, hẹn
hai tháng sau sẽ trả.
Ton was the most bitter when
sister Hong borrowed Ton
fifteen million andpromised
to pay after two months.
Rừng
khát
49
8. Chua xĩt vì tơi vốn sinh ra ở
một vùng đất cổ lề lối vốn rất
rõ ràng.
I felt bitter for I was born in a
place where traditional rules
and custom are very clear.
Truyện
ngắn
chọn lọc
2003
383
9. Lành gặp Cúc ngay từ buổi đầu
trong nỗi chua cay.
Lanh met Cuc met right from
the first time in the status of
bitterness.
Hoa cúc
nâu
236
10. Đắng lịng lắm. How bitter it is! Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
136
11. Bác mời em đến nhà mà cứ nĩi
cơng việc như thế thì uống vào
đắng họng lắm!
You invited me to your house
but if you just keep talking
about work like that, I feel
like drinking bitterness!
Rừng
khát
149
12. Cĩ cái gì đăng đắng thấm sũng
trong hồn cốt Tụ.
There is something bitter
soaked in the soul of Tụ.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
268
13. Gã cười nhạt. He sneered. Truyện
ngắn hay
2007
8
14. Mày đúng là mọt sách, đọc báo
lá cải nhiều quá rồi đấy em -
Tú khỉ cười nhạt.
‘You're exactly a bookworm,
that’s so much for you to read
a rag - Tu ‘monkey’
laughedtastelessly.’
Săn cá
thần
99
15. Hắn cười nhạt. He smiled faintly. Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
206
16. Ơng Phổ Linh mỉm cười chua
chát.
Mr. Pho Linh smiled bitterly. Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
308
4. THING IS TASTE
1. Một thứ tình bạn dai dẳng,
đượm vì đắng chát.
A persistent friendship, torn
by bitterness.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2002 -
2003
69
2. Một cuộc đời mà bây giờ mỗi
lần nhớ đến chị lại như cảm
thấy vị đắng chát của nĩ.
It is a life that now every time
she remembered it, she again
seemed to feel its bitterness.
Chim én
bay
16
3. Sau này, chị cũng gặp một đem Later, she also encountered Chim én 132
PL 104
mưa thật dữ dội, độc ác, nhưng
ở vào một hồn cảnh cay đắng
khác.
another heavy and cruel night
rain, but in another bitter
situation.
bay
4. Chị nhớ khuơn mặt anh Cường,
một khuơn mặt vừa biểu lộ sự
liều lĩnh, vừa biểu lộ sự bất lực
chua chát.
She remembers Cuong's face,
a face that has shown
recklessness as well as a
bitter powerlessness.
Chim én
bay
154
5. Nĩi chính xác phải là tơi đã cĩ
một cơn ác mộng tồi tệ, nhưng
lại giống y hệt giấc mơ ngọt
ngào của nĩ.
To be exact, I had a terrible
nightmare, but it was exactly
like his sweetdream.
Săn cá
thần
75
6. Điều khơng hề biết hương vị
tình yêu ngọt ngào thế nào.
Điều does not know how
sweet love is.
Rừng
khát
106
7. Ngon thế bọn buơn đất ngồi
phố nĩ đã đổ về rồi.
If it was that delicious, the
real estate agents in the
citywould already flock here.
Truyện
ngắn hay
2010
78
5. HUMAN IS TASTE
1. Cúc ngọt ngào. Cuc is sweet. Hoa cúc
nâu
119
2. Tất cả nhân viên quán cà phê
bỏ dở việc quay sang nhìn
chúng tơi như hai thằng dở
người.
All staff of the café stopped
working to turn to look at us
as two bad (not delicious)
men.
Săn cá
thần
77
3. Chị ở thế thượng phong cĩ
quyền xỉ vả người đàn bà kia
bằng tất cả những lời lẽ của
một người đàn bà chanh chua.
She is on the upper position,
so she has the right to revile
the other woman with all
words of a sourwoman.
Truyện
ngắn đặc
sắc 2011
103