Master minor programme thesis English teaching methodology: Euphemism of death and sex in English and Vietnamese poems from cultural perspective

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ THUÝ AN

EUPHEMISM OF DEATH AND SEX IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

POEMS FROM CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

(Uyển ngữ về cái chết và tình dục trong thơ tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt

nhìn từ góc độ văn hoá)

MINOR MASTER THESIS

Major: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201.01

HANOI - 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ THUÝ AN

EUPHEMISM OF DEATH AND SEX IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

POEMS FROM CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

(Uyển ngữ về cái chết và tình dục trong thơ tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt

nhìn từ góc độ văn hoá)

MINOR MASTER THESIS

Major: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201.01

Supervisor: Dr. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn

HANOI - 2019

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP

I, Le Thi Thuy An, hereby state that, this minor thesis is the result of my own

research and all the materials in this study which is not my own work has been

identified and acknowledged. I also state that the substance of the thesis has not,

wholly or in part, been submitted for any degree to any other universities or

institutions.

Supervisor MA. student

Dr. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn Lê Thị Thuý An

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been accomplished with the support and encouragement of

many people. Hence, I hereby would like to express my appreciation to all of them.

In the first place, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor,

Dr. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, for his valuable assistance and guidance throughout my

research.

Also, I am greatly indebted to all the professors and staff of the Faculty of Post

- Graduate Studies for their meaningful lessons and precious support thanks to which

I was able to overcome obstacles during the time my research was carried out.

Last but not least, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my beloved family

whose support and encouragement have always been a great deal of motivation that

has helped me to overcome all problems to complete my thesis.

ii

ABSTRACT

Euphemism is a linguistic device to express emotions, ideas and transmit

attitudes in a more neutral way. Besides, euphemism, as a universal phenomenon, is

culturally specific. This study aims at investigating the use of euphemisms of death

and sex in English and Vietnamese poems. Specifically, the study seeks to explore

how death and sex euphemisms are used in poems and identify the similarities and

differences in their use from a cultural perspective. The research employed the

descriptive and contrastive method in analyzing the data and adopted a qualitative

approach. The data analysis demonstrates that both English and Vietnamese

euphemism is employed as face-keeping and taboo-avoiding function. However, in

English death is more perceived as relief, peace, a sleep, a reunion or an end while

in Vietnamese, death is perceived as a heroic loss or a natural force. Sex in English

is often perceived as a war and function. Whereas, in Vietnamese, sex is often

conceptualized as nature and companionship.

Keywords: euphemism, dysphemism, poems, cultural perspective

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP .................................................................... i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... ii

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ iv

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. vi

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................1

1.1. Rationales ............................................................................................................1

1.2. The aim and objectives of the study .................................................................2

1.3. Research questions .............................................................................................2

1.4. The significance of the research ........................................................................2

1.5. The research method..........................................................................................3

1.6. The structure of the study .................................................................................3

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................5

2.1. Euphemism .........................................................................................................5

2.2. Euphemism formation .......................................................................................6

2.3. Features of euphemism across cultures ...........................................................9

2.4. Sex and death euphemisms in review .............................................................11

2.4.1. Death euphemisms in English and Vietnamese ..............................................11

2.4.2. Sex euphemisms in English and Vietnamese ..................................................15

2.4.3. Sex and death euphemisms from a cultural perspective .................................17

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................22

3.1. Ressearch questions .........................................................................................22

3.2. Research approach and method .....................................................................22

3.3. The data .............................................................................................................23

3.4. Data collection procedure ................................................................................23

3.5. Data analysis procedure ..................................................................................23

3.6. Analytical framework ......................................................................................24

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Chapter 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ..........................................................26

4.1. Findings .............................................................................................................26

4.1.1 Death euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems ...........................26

4.1.2 Sex euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems ...............................33

4.2. Discussion ..........................................................................................................42

4.2.1. Death euphemisms used in Engish and Vietnamese poems ...........................45

4.2.2. Sex euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems ..............................47

Chapter 5 CONCLUSION .....................................................................................51

5.1. Summary ...........................................................................................................51

5.2. Implications ......................................................................................................52

5.3. Limitations and further research ...................................................................53

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................54

APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... I

v

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: How death and sex euphemisms are used in English and Vietnamese poems ............................................................................................................. 24

Table 2: Similarities in the use of death and sex euphemisms in English and Vietnamese poems ......................................................................................... 25

Table 3: Differences in the use of death and sex euphemisms in English and Vietnamese poems ......................................................................................... 25

Table 4: Death euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems ................. 32

Table 5: Sex euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems..................... 42

Table 6: Euphemisms of sex as a companionship................................................ 48

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Rationales

Euphemism is a common linguistic phenomenon in all languages. Eversince

the beginning of the world, people have tried to make themselves understood and to

understand others to communicate; they have used all forms of communication, and

in time words or written signs as well as spoken forms have become more and more

specialized and complete.

Words, along with human evolution and development, have been endowed

with power, ideology and social change. This is what has been called the social

construction of reality. Therefore, words interpret the whole of our experience and

carry an entire upload of cultural and social-bound significance. Hai-long (2008, p.

55) went on to say that language and culture are inseparable from each other. As an

inalienable part of language, euphemism bears the mark of culture. He continues

that it can be easily tracked in our conversation and they reflect different levels of

culture and various patterns of culture. To some extent, euphemism is a mirror of

culture.

It is in that sense that euphemism, a special kind of words, as a medium of

communication, is chosen to investigate in the light of cultural perspective in

English and Vietnamese poems.

In so far, we have discussed that language demonstrates culture and the use

of euphemism is different from culture to culture. Therefore, cultural differences

may lead to communication breakdown (Daim et al., 2012), and there exists a need

to study euphemism in cultural contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese

poems.

For years, study of euphemism in English and Vietnamese poems has been

neglected, meanwhile, euphemism is not only a social phenomenon, but also a

lingual phenomenon (Pan, 2013, p. 1). Studying English euphemism in comparison

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with Vietnamese one may bring to light the similarities and differences in the two

languages and cultures, which seeks to help EFL learners understand and have

better use of English. This may also help EFL learners to have confidence in cross-

cultural communication.

What is more, in Vietnam, there has been a neglect of research into the

politeness strategies in cross-cultural communication in English and Vietnamese.

This present study seeks to propose some suggestions on using euphemism to

prevent communication breakdown. As an English teacher, the author would love to

contribute to the understanding of euphemism, thus promote smooth

communication based on cultural contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese

poems.

In conclusion, the study attempts to investigate the euphemistic forms of

English and Vietnamese poems from a contrastive analytical perspective, from the

perspectives of various scholars working on euphemism and its elements and issues.

1.2. The aim and objectives of the study

This study aims at investigating the use of euphemisms of death and sex in

English and Vietnamese poems. Specifically, the study seeks to explore how death

and sex euphemisms are used in the poems and identify the similarities and

differences in their use from a cultural perspective.

1.3. Research questions

This present study seeks to answer the following research questions (RQ):

1. How are euphemisms of death and sex used in English and Vietnamese

poems?

2. What are the similarities and differences in the use of euphemisms of

death and sex in English and Vietnamese poems from a cultural perspective?

1.4. The significance of the research

In so doing, this study contributes important insights into cross-cultural

communication both in sociolinguistic and socio-cultural aspects of the use of

euphemism. This also hopes to enhance cross-cultural motivation, including

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politeness strategies, cultural values and conventional awareness and harmonious

communication.

No research is able to represent precisely and accurately all the features of

the entire target population (Charles, 1998). This research is no exception and it is

limited to the analysis of euphemistic expressions on two topics: death and sex. It is

because human interaction in any type of situation usually avoids anything

unpleasant or embrassing. Euphemism has, therefore, flourished across multiple

themes and topics, which causes difficulties in choosing more topics for analysis in

the scope of a minor thesis.

1.5. The research method

This study employs a qualitative approach, which involves collecting,

analyzing and interpreting qualitative data in a single study. This employment is

adopted because qualitative data may provide a deep examination of a phenomenon

of interest and the results can be described in relationships among variables,

meanwhile, contrastive description of the data is needed to give a clear picture of

the data in the results of the comparative analysis.

The data are twenty poems from the two websites poets.org and thivien.net

with the following data collection criteria: (1) the article must have at least one case

of euphemism; (2) the articles belong to two topics, namely death and sex.

1.6. The structure of the study

This present study begins with a brief introduction of euphemism and

euphemism in relation of cultural perspective. The research problems are justified to

set aims and objectives of the study. The research gaps in the local context are

highlighted to explain the significance of the study. A focus on the research

questions is explained thoroughly in connection with the scope of the study to

narrow down the research problems and prove the feasibility of the study. Last but

not least, a list of guidelines for the method of the study is proposed to guide

through the study.

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In chapter 1, the author reviews the extant literature and research that

motivates, generates and locates the research gaps, and furthermore, sets up the

background for the entire study.

Chapter 2 depicts the social background of Vietnamese and English cultures

on euphemistic expressions and methodological approaches adopted in this study. It

also reviews the previous studies.

Chapter 3 presents the research questions, the data and the research method

employed. The analytical framework is also discussed.

In Chapter 4, key findings and discussion are presented. A detailed account

and interpretation of the findings is presented in reference to research questions and

in relation to previous relevant research findings, which makes the findings of this

study reliable and valid.

At the end of this present study, conclusion should summarize the study

findings; focus on theoretical and practical implications as well as the limitations of

the study. This thesis presents a critical examination of the core features of

euphemism and dysphemism and their cultural differences in English and

Vietnamese.

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Chapter 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review is essential for any research due to the fact that its

function is to explore the background knowledge from existing information in the

field of the research question, to explore previous findings and to view the

interpretation of the findings (Charles, 1998). To acquire an understanding of the

general concept of euphemism, it is important to analyze the way people perceive

euphemism in section 2.1 before considering how euphemism is psychologically

created in section 2.2. Section 2.3 presents the features of euphemism of death and

sex in English and Vietnamese poems in details and analyzes the relationships

between euphemism and culture. Section 2.4 reviews previous findings on the

topics of euphemisms of death and sex.

2.1. Euphemism

First and foremost, euphemism, judging by its etymology, dates back from

the 1650s, from Greek ―euphemismos‖, which refers to the ―use of a favorable word

in place of an inauspicious one‖; from its prefix eu-, which means ―good, well‖ and

the affix -pheme means ―speak‖. There was a time in Greece when folks tried to

avoid the usage of ill-omen (bad words) or names of Gods in public ceremonies

(Etymonline, 2018). For example, the Athenians called the prison ―the chamber‖,

and the executioner ―the public man‖.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines euphemism in this way: "the

substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or

suggest something unpleasant; also: the expression so substituted." Leech (1981, p.

45) defines euphemism as "the practice of referring to something offensive or

delicate in terms that make it sound more pleasant." Sanderson (1999, p. 259) also

states that euphemism "can be used as a way of being vague and unclear, or to cover

up the truth or reality of a situation." At the same time, Johnstone (2018, p. 59)

phrases that euphemism is "the use of a supposedly less objectionable variant for a

word with negative connotations."

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Noticeably, there is another entity called dysphemism, the opposite term of

euphemism, which may not often appear in our daily language use (Burridge,

2004). Dysphemism is an entity ―with connotations that are offensive either about

the denotatum or to the audience, or both, and it is substituted for a neutral or

euphemistic expression for just that reason‖ (Allan & Burridge, 1991, p. 26). A

dysphemism is generally used to offend someone deliberately. For example, the

sentence ―My boss is something else‖ may not carry a swear or an offensive idea

but it is something of negativity.

There are words and topics which are not usually supposed to be spoken of

directly in different cultures. It is here to say then euphemism is employed to

encompass the sensitive subjects such as religion, politics, sex, death, human body

and diseases. It is in this sense we see that the origin of euphemism has its own

social foundation. When communicating with each other, people not only have to

think of where they are, what to talk about, but also how to express their ideas. It is

when they may need to express what they want to say indirectly or to choose a

roundabout way to avoid any embarrassment or harassment and so euphemism

comes into being. At this point, we can conclude that euphemism is a social product

and it is worth comparing and contrasting among cultures.

2.2. Euphemism formation

Euphemism may take different forms. The most common formation of

euphemism is abstraction. Speakers may avoid using unpleasant or embarrassing

truth by using a form of abstraction such as ‗go to the West‘ instead of ‗die‘ or

Dũng (1948) expressed the death in a euphemistic way:

―Anh bạn dãi dầu không bước nữa

Gục lên súng mũ bỏ quên đời‖

(leans on the rifle, forgets life)

(Dũng, 1948)

Rawson (1981, p. 9) states that the strength of particular taboos may be

dissipated by casting ideas in the most general possible terms, also, abstractions,

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being quite opaque to the uninformed eye (and meaningless to the untrained ear)

make ideal cover-up words.

The second formation is abbreviations. Users of language sometimes tend to

use the initials of words to refer to an offensive reference or taboo. For example,

they say ―SOB‖ for ―son of a bitch‖ or in Vietnamese, ―ĐM‖ for ―đ** m**‖. It can

also be playing with abbreviations; for instance, ―sugar honey ice tea‖ for ―shit‖ or

―cờ mờ nờ rờ‖ (cmnr) for ―con mẹ nó rồi‖ in Vietnamese. Baker (1981) calls this

alphabeticisms and this part of euphemism can function in disguising unpleasant

and embarrassing terms (Cottle, 1975) and Burridge (2004) states that due to

semantic preciseness, abbreviation can function as fluent communication

facilitators, yet also form a barrier between interlocutors. This is also called

omission. Adams (1985) views omissions as part of euphemism from a unique

perspective. He argues that fictional omissions can be seen frequently, and that it is

the fact that omissions are related intimately to euphemism. He says ―… only if

language … tried to prettify or cosmeticize the effect. You should call euphemism

the deodorant of language; if so, a code of silent omissions would correspond …‖

(Adams, 1985, p. 47).

Thirdly, people sometimes mispronounce words as a euphemistic strategy.

For example, ―shoot‖ instead of ―shit‖ or in Vietnamese, ―đù m*‖ in stead of ―đ**

m*‖. And it is that ―mispronunciation supposedly soften the sounds of the bumps in

the night‖ (Rawson, 1981, p. 42).

Fourthly, euphemism can be disguised under the use of foreign or technical

terms. For example, ―đám hiếu‖ instead of ―đám tang‖. Present day languages are

the the results of long-term association with and effects of other languages. Foreign

words and phrases are often observed in many languages to replace words more

pleasantly than the original‘s native‘s language words (Cooper, 1993). The use of

foreign words has a close link to culture as Orwell (1970, p. 160) states that foreign

words ―… are used to give an air of culture and elegance.‖

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Last but not least, euphemism has a metaphoric formation. This is the

semantic feature of euphemism, which refers to an implied comparison between two

things; for instance, ―melons‖ or ―bưởi‖ in Vietnamese as euphemism of women‘s

breasts. Euphemism and metaphor are both figures of speech. A euphemism is a

word or phrase that is used for replacing something people do not wish to refer to

directly. Therefore, euphemism proves to be an interesting means of coping with

such a reality as death, sex. They provide a ―protective shield‖ against a feared,

fearful and unpleasant fact. Meanwhile, a metaphor is often a word, a phrase or a

short sentence that is is employed to hint something so as to make it clearer, more

picturesque. In comparison to euphemism, which seeks to disguise or avoid its

subject, metaphor attempts to strengthen or to make it more colorful. There are two

characteristic metaphors: dying metaphors and mixed metaphors. Dying metaphors

implicate clichés (Baker, 1981), which are regarded when ―… they become so much

a part of our regular language that we cease thinking of them as metaphors at all‖

(Hayakawa & Hayakawa, 1990, p. 80) and mixed metaphors are rich of affective

elements such as allusion, irony, pathos, humor, lies and so forth. From

metaphorical conceptual perspectives, there are three conventional heterogeneities

which form metaphors: (1) structural metaphors are the ―cases where one concept is

metaphorically structured in terms of another‖ (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 14), (2)

oriental metaphors do not ―structure one concept in terms of another but instead

organize a whole system of concepts with respect to one another … since most of

them have to do with spatial orientation: up-down, in-out, front-back, on-off, deep-

shallow, central-peripheral‖ (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 14), and (3) ontological

metaphors involve a ―… way of viewing events, activities, emotions, ideas, etc., as

entities and substances‖ (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 25).

To show the links between poetry and metaphors, Swift (as cited in Kehl,

1975, p. 136) states ―a poem should do: develop, use up, the metaphor,‖ metaphor

serves as a significant mechanism in poetry and remains an integral instrument to

diffuse readers‖ imaginary worlds (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). Orwell (1970) states

8

that metaphors can make the meaning obscure to both addressor and addressee and

that ―the sole aim of a metaphor is to call up a visual image. When these images

clash … it can be taken as certain that the writer is not seeing a mental image of the

objects he is naming: in other words he is not really thinking‖ (Orwell, 1970, p.

164). In the same line, Gambino (1973, p. 16) points out poets use metaphors and

similes to heighten meanings … use them to blur meanings.

2.3. Features of euphemism across cultures

Speaking of features of euphemism, Nilwati (2012) lists out three prominent

linguistic phenomena as follows:

(1) Euphemism as a universal phenomenon. All languages and cultures have

certain euphemistic expressions that are unfavored to be spoken of directly. Brown

and Levinson (1987) report that evidence indicates that euphemism is a universal

feature of language usage.

(2) Euphemism as a culturally specific phenomenon. It is in this sense,

euphemism bounds strongly to cultures. For example, it is common to speak of age

in Chinese, but that is not that popular in English language, although, they may be

really ―old‖ (Qi, 2010). Fershtman, Gneezy, and Hoffman (2011) confirm this that

the use of euphemism is based on cultural values and beliefs.

(3) Euphemism as a dependent phenomenon. The use of euphemism may be

good or bad depending on how it is used. The first case, good, is when the user

wants to maintain their face or politeness and a social harmonious conversation

which is the most common. The second case, bad, is when the user uses euphemism

as a mechanism to lessen or deceive reality. For example, the French called their

war in Vietnam ―civilization Francais‖ (Mintz, McNeil, Lienhard, Lin, & Rapp,

2016).

Besides, euphemistic features can be looked into from different angles.

Euphemism usage can be different from genders. For example, we may often hear

of young ladies refer to their monthly period as ―the old friend‖ or in Vietnamese

―đèn đỏ‖, such terms are more often used among women. Furthermore, we may not

9

be polite enough to speak of women as ―fat‖ or comment on their physical

appearance. Lakoff (2004) made an attempt to explore why women seem generally

more polite than men.

Euphemism differs among people of different social statuses. The upper

class may not consider much about using taboos in their daily life because of their

power over that, but those who belong to lower class are more cautious of the

language they use in daily conversations for fear of offending the powerful people

(Pan, 2013).

Euphemism is commonly used in many aspects of daily and social cultural

life as physiological phenomena, as a communicative means (Pan, 2013). Along

with the development of society, people pursue the language utilization to show that

they are civilized and cultivated. Spontaneously the use of euphemism is a

politeness communicative device. It is here that politeness function is to show

respect to others and run a harmonious social relationship and obtain the

communicative goals.

Euphemism from cultural perspective has been looked into by many

scholars. Fershtman et al. (2011) concluded that what is tabooed in one society may

not be the norm in another and euphemism is culture-based. They also confirmed

that ―taboos change over time, some become stronger while others disappear‖ (p.

152) and some taboos which are related to food, like kosher food, may be restricted

in Jewish society, or for Hindus, eating beef is a taboo. Al-Shamali (1997)

investigated the euphemized expressions used in the Jordan Valley dialect and

found out that the traditional social variables had an impact on the choice of a

certain euphemistic expressions.

Also in terms of religious euphemism in cultures, Frajzyngier and Jirsa

(2006, p. 531) concluded that in English the terms Lord and Virgin are used for

Jesus and Mary. Similarly, in Polish there is a variety of indirect means of reference

to Jesus and Mary, e.g.: Pan Jezus, Lord Jesus, Zbawiciel, Saviour, Najs wie tsza

Maria Panna, The most Holy Virgin Mary, Niepokalana, Immaculate, Matka Boska

God's Mother.

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When it is that euphemism is a linguistic and cultural mechanism by which

ideas are shaped and reshaped to replace the unpleasant with the easy-to-listen to

ones or to be polite, to keep face and to avoid communication breakdown. It is in

this sense that Grice (2013) proposed four maxims, which is also known as Gricean

maxims, and it is sometimes referred to as Cooperative Principle (CP) and he stated

―Our talk exchanges do not normally consist of a succession of disconnected

remarks and would not be rational if they did. They are characteristically, to some

degree at least, cooperative efforts; and each participant recognize in them, to some

extent, a common purpose or set of purposes, or at least a mutually accepted

direction.‖ (Grice, 2013, p. 49). Talking about his four maxims, Grice (2013, p. 50)

stated ―I call these categories Quantity, Quality, Relation, and Manner.‖

To look at Gricean maxims from the view of culture, now the question

arises: What are the differences between cultures? Once again, euphemism is

basically directed towards achieving acceptance, in that case, speakers have to

move people by what is said to how is said, and it is time when speakers must

complete these tasks by words. Then come politeness and the notion of face keeping

(Brown & Levinson, 1987). It is because euphemism is also used to ―avoid face-

threatening acts‖ (FTA) (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 91). In other words, Brown

& Levinson (1987, p. 313) take into account ―the relative wieghtings of three wants:

(1) the want to communicate the content of the FTA, (2) the want to be efficient or

urgent, and (3) the want to maintain H‘s (addressee‘s) face to any degree.‖ They go

on to discuss redressive action referring to the ―action that ―gives face‖ to the

addressee, that is, that attempts to counteract the potential face damage of FTA.‖

2.4. Sex and death euphemisms in review

2.4.1. Death euphemisms in English and Vietnamese

In Vietnamese, the number of death euphemism accounts for about 280

(Hinh, 2004, p. 55), in another work by Giang (1997, as cited in Trương, 2003, p.

8), he lists more than 1000 death euphemisms. In a general grasp, we see that

Vietnamese death euphemisms fall into two groups: compound and phrase.

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Compound death euphemisms are mãn lộc (out of luck), ngạ tử (die of hunger), tịch

diệt (loss of everything), vĩnh quyết (parting forever), băng hà (the king dies), biệt

cõi trần (leave life), bỏ mình (lose one’s life), bỏ tuổi xanh (lose young life), qua đời

(pass away) as in:

Của có không nào khác đám mây

Người tan hiệp sao dường bọt nước

Tịch cốc can bề ngạ từ

Hai con Cô Trúc đã về đâu? (Thanh, 1968).

or

Nằm đây tưởng chuyện ngàn sau

Lung linh nến cháy hai đầu áo quan

Gió lìa cành lá không vang

Tin ta vĩnh quyết trân gian hững hờ (Dzếnh, 1943)

or

Lưu Trọng Lư ơi! Biệt cõi trần

Tiếng thu man mác nhạc trong ngần

Nửa đêm sực tỉnh... Đời pha mộng

Da diết lòng Anh một chữ Nhân! (Hữu, 1992).

or

Tám mươi ba tuổi Tết Tân Mùi

Vợ đã qua đời, mắt lại đui!

Số vậy, thân đành cam chịu vậy

Người vui, mình cũng gượng làm vui

Lư trầm dĩ vãng nâng niu nhúm

Bếp lửa ưu tư lặng lẽ vùi

Ngồi tựa bình mai nghe pháo nổ

Nửa xuân gần gũi nửa xa xôi...(Tấn, 2007).

Many more death euphemisms are found in the combination of two verbs

such as: bỏ đi (leave), ra đi (leave), tắt thở (stop breathing), in the combination of

two nouns such as: trăm tuổi (100 years old) as in ―còn bố mẹ tôi đi đưa đám ma

người ta, lúc nào trăm tuổi người ta sẽ tới khóc chia buồn nên gọi là khóc đổi‖ (my

12

parents go to a funeral, when they are 100 years old, people will come and cry for

them and it is called ‗exchanging funeral cry‘).

In another poem ‗Kính viếng 10 cô gái Ngã ba Đồng Lộc‘ by Hảo (2016) ,

he wrote:

Ngã ba Đồng Lộc anh hùng

Mười cô yên nghỉ bóng lồng hương hoa

Non sông đất nước quê nhà

Tiếng chuông vang vọng ngân nga đất trời

Xuân hương sắc tuổi đôi mươi

Mười cô yên nghỉ giữa đồi cỏ xanh

Rừng thông bát ngát reo quanh

Vọng lời tổ quốc hát thành bài ca. (Hảo, 2016)

He describes the death as ―yên nghỉ‖ (rest in peace ), in so doing, he

promotes the patriotic spirit of the ten heroines in Dong Loc Battle.

In English literature, the use of death euphemisms has been an oldest way of

saying what not to say and the number of death euphemism in English is numerous

(Enright, 2004). It is here that we can name some big dictionaries of euphemism in

English such as Bloombury Dictionary of Euphemism (Ayto, 2000), Oxford

Dictionary of Euphemisms (Holder, 2008), Slang and Euphemism Dictionary

(Spears, 1981) and Death Euphemism (Ahmed, 2011).

Noticably, Holder (2008) sets examples of many euphemistic expressions of

death used in today‘s English such as: pass away, pass on the other side, pass over,

pass into the next world, leave the land of the living, go to heaven, go to our rest, go

to a better place, go to our long home, go west, go under, sleep away, return to

ashes, put a person to sleep, put to the sword, self seliverance, have gone, farewell

part of Being Jewish, gave up the ghost, kicked the bucket, slipped away, eternal

sleep, demise, departed, breathed her last, met his maker and so on as in:

Going to heaven!

I don‘t know when-

13

Pray do not ask me how!

Indeed I‘m too astonished

To think of answering you!

Going to heaven! (Emily Dickinson, 2007)

or

Part of being Jewish is a Choice

Part of being Jewish is a Choice

As one becomes an act of preservation.

Seders start the stream of admonition,

Stories meant to bind one to the past. (Emily Dickinson, 1989)or

Don‘t cry for me

I‘m not gone

My soul is at rest,

my heart lives on. (Christy Ann Martine, 2004)

or

Twilight and evening bell,

and after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

when I embark. (Lord Alfred Tennyson, 1990)

or

The only way to get ahead

Is exploit the weak and to burn your dead

Just look to history

Society in moral decay

Here tomorrow

Or gone today

Oh yeah

We‘ll return to ashes one day. (Jamie Christopherson, 2000)

14

2.4.2. Sex euphemisms in English and Vietnamese

Sex and sexual body parts have become a religion in Vietnam for a long time

and they also perfom as a mysterious or magical function to mention them and who

those mention the topic is regarded as low status in the society. The analysis of

Hinh (2004) shows that there are about fifty-five sex euphemisms in Vietnamese.

For example:

Đương khi lửa tắt cơm xôi

Lợn kêu, con khóc, chồng đòi tòm tem (Ngọc, 1997).

Other cases originate from daily life such as ngủ, đi lại, chung đụng, ân ái,

tính giao, or mây mưa as in:

Mây mưa đánh đổ đá vàng

Quá chiều nên đã chán chường yến anh

Nào người phượng chạ loan chung

Nào người tiếc lục than hồng là ai? (Du, 1814 (1814-1820?)).

Phan Huyền Thư talked of sexual arousal as:

Cùng sương triền đê đôi bờ

Ỡm ờ nước lũ (Thư, 2000).

In English, Holder (2008) claims that it is hard to mention a body part

without referring to sex in one way or the other and the more common way is

euphemistic substitutions used in reference to a sexual partner such as mate,

boy/girlfriend, miss, good friend… or in referring to sexual acts: get busy with, get

into bed with, get your share, get your green, get laid, hooking up, screwing, riding

it, bump and grind, scoring, nailing someone, roll in the hay, … and other such

terms as contact with, to make happy, to mate, conquer a bed as in:

Touch yourself for me

Then I‘ll ride you like a horse

I make you happy

or

Touch me all over

Then plunge it deep inside me

Like that! Yes! Yes! Yes!

15

or

I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I

Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?

But sucked on country pleasures, childishly? (John Donne, 1633)

Let alone some key terms in sex, Allan and Burridge (1991) state that there

are approximately 1,200 terms for ―vagina‖, 1,000 terms for ―pennis‖, 800 for

―copulation‖, and around 2000 terms for ―whore‖. And as Giddens (1991) says that

it seems sex has become a great domain in the realm of euphemism and it

subsequently creates more and more new words.

There is a wide range of expression purveying sexual connotations, and a

movement to diffuse these uses is becoming widespread in present society. At a

mere start, the use of Ms. is the result of a long-term fight for woman rights, as

Lakoff (2004) states that there are several plausible reasons why the title Ms. is

commonly used. However, the foremost reason can be explained in the use of

euphemism as a blend of Miss and Mrs to hide woman marital status and it is to

harmonize the communication event.

In an online database, Goad (2014) lists 400 euphemisms for sexual

intercourse. Some examples of which are belly-bumping, boning, boom-boom,

bouncy-bouncy, cave-diving and so on. Epstein says that in the beginning was the

word. There followed, at an undetermined but one assumes decent interval, private,

harsh and dirty words. Invention here being the mother of necessity, the need for

euphemism arose. Nowhere could this need have been greater, or more evident,

than in the realm of sex (Epstein, 1985, p. 56). Sexual euphemism: people usually

find it hard or embarrassing to talk about topics concerning sex or part of the body.

Instead of that, they resort to expressions which denote the topics. For example, in

English, people may say ―make love‖ instead of ―have sexual intercourse with‖. For

example, Bertie Higgins in his poem ―Casablanca‖ said:

Popcorn and coke beneath the stars

Became champagne and caviar

Making love on a long hot summer‘s night. (Higgins, 1994)

16

2.4.3. Sex and death euphemisms from a cultural perspective

There is a number of scholars and researchers investigating death and sex

euphemisms between English and their native languages (Frajzyngier & Jirsa, 2006;

Gathigia, Ndung‘u, & Njoroge, 2015; Glass, 1975; Greene, 2001; Hai-Long, 2008;

Pan, 2013; Qi, 2010; Rice, 2016). They all prove that euphemism connects closely

with culture. For example, in referring to the death, Glass (1975) describes the death

as ―return‖ in a famous poem ―When You Didn‘t‖ to describe the harshness of

Vietnam War when his friend did not come back. He wrote:

There were plenty of things you did to put up with me,

to keep me happy, to love me, and there are

so many things I wanted to tell

you when you returned from

Vietnam...

But you didn't. (Glass, 1975)

People may use a beautiful euphemistic expression as ―the big divide‖ to

mean ―divorce‖ (Rice, 2016). This is an effective device which helps users of

language avoiding sensitive topics. In a cross-cultural study, Greene (2001)

examined the differences in the use of euphemism of death by speakers of Russian

and English and found out that tabooed terms were avoided such as death and sex.

When studying the principle of indirect means in language use and language

structure, Frajzyngier and Jirsa (2006, p. 531) added that death euphemism varies in

cultures. For example, in Kwa languages of Ghana, instead of saying ―the chief has

died‖, they say ―the chief went to the sea‖, or ‗the chief went to the village.‘

Meanwhile, in English, expressions such as ―he is not with us,‖ or ―he passed

away‖ can be heard in different social contexts.

Euphemism in death and sex attracted the attention of some other researchers

(Al-Shamali, 1997; Elyyan, 1994; Greene, 2001; Makin, 2003). In which, Elyyan

(1994) investigated the frequency of euphemism used in death and sickness. He

found out that the direct taboos were likely to be avoided. Greene (2001) focused on

17

the differences in the use of euphemism and taboo terms on sex and death in

Russian and English. Greene (2001) concluded males and females were likely to

use taboo terms in informal rather than formal register. On the contrary, Makin

(2003) studied euphemism in conversations and found out that utterances produced

by female speakers were judged to be more polite.

Hai-Long (2008, p. 85) claimed that ―because of different cultures, the

origins of euphemism in Chinese and English are different.‖ Since English-speaking

countries are mostly Christian, English euphemism relating to religious taboos

outnumbered those in Chinese. Meanwhile, the Chinese emphasize on social status

distinction, which has had huge impact of Chinese euphemism. They also proved

that there are differences in the use of aging euphemism; they concluded ―Due to

social and cultural differences, the forms of euphemism vary. Understanding

euphemism is conductive to intercultural communication‖ (Hai-Long, 2008, p. 56).

Qi (2010) conducted another contrastive study of English and Chinese

euphemism. He claimed that euphemism is a linguistic and particular cultural

phenomenon and that euphemism co-exists and co-develops with social and cultural

development. He concluded if it is impolite and offensive to say ‗old man‘ in

English but it means ―wise man‖ or ―senior citizen‖ in Chinese (p. 139). Moreover,

he showed that there is a difference in the use of death euphemism in Chinese and

English because in China, euphemism for death of the ruling class is not similar to

that of the common people. He took an example as death of the emperor is taken the

collapse of a big mountain while death of the common people is just plainly put as

―death‖.

In Vietnamese literature, euphemism has been a focal interest to scholars for

a long time from different perspectives. From linguistic and stylistic perspectives,

euphemisms are studied in ―Từ vựng tiếng Việt‖ (Vietnamese Vocabulary) (Giáp,

1998), ―Phong cách học tiếng Việt‖ (Vietnamese Stylistics) (Lạc, 1999).

Euphemism study in Vietnam has been investigated by some scholars from

cultural perspective (Nguyễn, 2005; Trương, 2003). Trương (2003) investigated

18

euphemism in English and Vietnamese and he concluded that cultural and social

values have a huge impact on the use of euphemism.

Nguyễn (2005) studied euphemism in English and Vietnamese from cultural

perspective. Firstly, she reviewed words and phrases, and defined the term culture

and contrastive analysis; she went on to describe politeness and euphemism.

Secondly, she collected data from learners of English and some foreigners. She

concluded that cultural background may affect the use of euphemism and that

―euphemism is greatly affected by the economical situation and social

characteristics‖ (p. 37).

Both English and Vietnamese languages have a number of euphemistic

expressions to substitute expressions of death. The concepts of death in both the two

cultures are profoundly influenced by their respective religious belief. Qi (2010)

stated that Christianity is what English people believe in, whose religious belief can

be illustrated as ―in God we trust‖. In the eyes of the English, death means

differently because they have a strong belief that life is bestowed god. Human

beings have to suffer from the process of evil, degeneration or atonement. Only

after they atone for their sins could they be saved, go to the heaven and unite with

the majority and stay with god, otherwise they will go to the devil forever. The fact

is explained why euphemisms of death in English are often used as ―go to heaven‖,

―part of being Jewish‖, ―gave up the ghost‖, ect.

In terms of differences, in Vietnamese culture, religion dictates some of

rituals in the dying process. Older Vietnamese people may prefer to be at home at

the end of life with family members around them. Therefore, euphemisms of death

in Vietnamese are often seen as phrases: ―về với ông bà‖ (be with father), ―về với tổ

tiên‖ (be with ancestors). The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a country with a

unique form of socialism which came into existence under influence of the specific

historical context of Vietnam. In this way, euphemisms for death of the heroic

soliders are different from that of the normal people, e.g.: ―anh về đất‖ (come back

to the land), ―giờ nằm sâu trong đất‖ (rest in the land), ―anh về đất‖ (becomes

19

astray), ―tai dưới đất‖ (a part of the body in the land), ―đất nâu lạnh lắm‖ (the brown

cold land). The word ―đất‖ (land) is repeated in Vietnamese poems because there is

an initial belief that the land is the most peaceful place where we will be protected

for the rest of the life. The traditional belief in agriculture is added to the reason

why the euphemism ―land‖ is often used in place of ―death‖ in Vietnamese poems.

The agricultural activities are highly dependent on the land so the ―Mother land‖ is

always worshipped as the final resting place.

According to the Encyclopedia of Sexuality, ―the Vietnamese prefer a

flowery, euphemistic vocabulary when they speak about sexuality‖. For example, a

man having sexual desires, might say ―I‘m going to buy a tree‖. To describe the

desire of a woman, one poet used some colorful words such as ―triền đê‖ (a river

dam‖, ―đôi bờ‖ (two banks of a river), ―nước lũ‖ (like flood). Food is also heavily

connected with sexual activity. Words like ―crisp, sticky, spicy‖ are used to

describe food as well as women in erotic fantasies. Many dishes are identified with

female organs or figures as ―the white rice flour cake‖ is the image of a virgin. This

type of language helps people to speak about sexual matters without using the terms

that would embarrass them.

In English culture, kissing on the mouth is one of the most basic sources of

sexual arousal. Kissing is described as contact created by the mouth, which can be a

sign of greeting, love, friendship, passion or romance. Mouth-to-mouth kissing is

very common in English culture. Therefore, kiss is on display everywhere. The

English can make out intimately, even on a first date.

According to the data from two surveys done by Durex (Wellbeing Survey

from 2007-2008 and Face of Global Sex 2012), East Asia religious traditions or

cultural norms promote sexual conservatism. One study by a group of researchers

found very high levels of reported ―embarrassment‖ about discussing sexual

pratices in public. These results, according to the researchers is that ―in comparison

with men and women from Western regions, respondents living in East Asia

20

countries were more sexually conservative, more male-orientated and less sexually

active.‖

The range of beliefs on sex topic tends to differ drastically from location to

location but respecting a culture‘s belief is critical. Cultures are heavily influenced

by religion. Often, religion is restrictive but some religions actually promote open

sexuality. Throughtout different cultures and societies, sexual activity is either

promoted or it is also suppressed, but the global trend seems to be tilting towards

more open societies that are accepting of sexual activity.

In my research, twenty poems in English and Vietnamese will be analyzed to

investigate death and sex euphemisms linguistically and identify the similarities and

differences in the use of euphemisms in poems from a cultural perspective.

21

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research questions, the research approach and

method, data, data collection procedure, data analysis procedure and data analytical

framework.

3.1. Ressearch questions

With a view to make a contrastive analysis of English and Vietnamese

euphemisms in poetry, this present research project seeks to answer the following

questions:

1. How are euphemisms of death and sex used in English and Vietnamese

poems?

2. What are the similarities and differences in the use of euphemisms of

death and sex in English and Vietnamese poems from a cultural perspective?

The first question is to investigate sex and death euphemisms in poems in

English and Vietnamese linguistically. The second question is to identify the

similarities and differences in the use of euphemisms of sex and death in English

and Vietnamese poems from a cultural perspective.

3.2. Research approach and method

This research employed the descriptive and contrastive method in analyzing

the data and adopted a qualitative approach. Data qualitative approach (Creswell,

2013) offers the opportunities to gain insights into the data during the analysis

process. Descriptive and contrastive methods (Given, 2008) were to utilize in this

study to gain in-depth data analysis and to compare and contrast the use of

euphemisms of death and sex in English and Vietnamese poems from a cultural

perspective. Contrastive analysis is a method to distinguish between what are

needed and not needed to learn by the target language learner by evaluating

languages. In addition, contrastive analysis is a technique to identify whether two

languages have something in common, which assess both similarities and

differences in languages, conforming to the belief in language universals.

22

3.3. The data

In order to achieve the aim of the present study, ten prominent poems in

English and ten in Vietnamese were collected for analysis. The publishing years of

the poems are not taken into consideration. These poems are chosen as they have

enough euphemistic expressions to analyze, compare and contrast. The lexical items

gathered were based on two domains sex and death, all of which have been

discussed in the previous chapters in this thesis.

The two domains were identified frequently in the literature, as well as in the

researcher‘s background knowledge as both a Vietnamese and English speaker,

where the use of euphemism and dysphemism is common.

The data collection criteria were as follows: (1) the poem must have at least

one euphemistic item on the researched domains; (2) all the Vietnamese poems

were gathered from the website www.thivien.net, which is thematized in the

researched domain and contains a big corpus of Vietnamese poems (51.460 poems);

(3) English poems are gathered from the three websites

https://www.familyfriendpoems.com, https://poets.org and

https://www.poetsfoundation.com; (4) all the poems must be recognized by authors

and published in official publishing.

3.4. Data collection procedure

The data collection procedure was carried out as follows:

1. went to thivien.net, poet.org, familyfriendpoems.com and poetsfoundation.com

and searched for two selected themes: sex and death

2. identified the poems containing euphemisms of sex and death

In so doing, the data were collected by means of manual search. For the

process of the raw data from the websites, the researcher deleted the unnecessary

information such as the poem descriptions or the poem albums information and

saved the screened data to the appendixes.

3.5. Data analysis procedure

Data analysis concerning the use of a rhetorical device in a literary text

offers four processes: categorizing, synthesizing, searching for patterns and

interpreting the collected data (Glesne & Peshkin, 1991). The first process of data

23

analysis involves the cyclical categorizing. ―The procedure involves creating

potential categories by crossing one dimension or typology with another, and then

working back and forth between the data and one‘s logic constructions, filling in the

resulting matrix (Patton, 1987, p. 155). In the second process, as Dey (1999) puts it

as imputing and consolidating meaning, it is again to group, regroup and relink the

findings with the theory. In the third process, as Bernard (2011) states that analysis

is the search for parterns in data and for ideas that help explain why those parterns

are there in the first place (p. 338). In the last process Saldaña (2015) says that one

of the most critical outcomes of qualitative data analysis is to interpret how the

individual components of the study weave together (p. 45).

Specifically, the data were categozied into two selected groups: death and

sex in the first place. Secondly, the findings were synthesized into table. Thirdly,

the findings were put into specific patterns in terms of two topics, such as death as a

sleep, death as a journey or sex as companionship, sex as a war, sex as romance,

ect. Last but not least, a detailed discussion of the key findings was presented with

close references to cultural perspective.

3.6. Analytical framework

In order to conduct a good analysis and go through all the steps in the analysis,

the present study employed analytical frameworks as models to guide and facilitate sense

making and understanding. The tables below guide the analysis of data by identifying

key analytical outputs and products at each step of analysis. This framework also guides

the structure of the final discussion in answering the two research questions.

Euphemisms in the poems are choosen basing on the euphemism formation. All

euphemistic expressions are realized in single words and phrases.

Table 1: How death and sex euphemisms are used in English and Vietnamese

poems

Euphemistic expressions Perception Function

When I visit the grave Death is perceived as to avoid the unpleasant

where you lie in eternal peace reality

peace.

Nhưng mắt đóng trong Death is perceived as a to avoid the unpleasant

24

đêm câm dằng dặc sleep reality

The arrows of delight shot Sex is perceived as a war to avoid taboo

through my body

Chuyện đời hành lạc từ Sex is perceived as nature to avoid taboo

kim cổ

Table 2: Similarities in the use of death and sex euphemisms in English and

Vietnamese poems

English Vietnamese

Until I journey to that Áo bào thay chiếu, anh về

peaceful shore and see đất. (coming back to the

you again. land)

Your strong tongue and Cỏ bồng thi mùa non, dần Euphemistic expressions slender fingers reaching vào, bờ nõn. (young glass

where I had been waiting leaves, young lips)

for you in my rose-wet

cave.

Death is perceived as a journey. Perception Sex is perceived as romance.

to avoid the unpleasant reality Function

Table 3: Differences in the use of death and sex euphemisms in English and

Vietnamese poems

English Vietnamese

When we with daisies lie, Gục lên súng mũ bỏ quên

that commerce will đời. (leans on the rifle and

continue. stogie, forgets life) Euphemistic expressions The arrows of delight shot Nằm nghiêng cùng sương

through my body. triền đê đôi bờ ỡm ờ nước

lũ. (a river dam, two banks

25

of a river, like flood)

Death is perceived as Death is perceived as a

joyful life. heroic loss. Perception

Sex is perceived as a war. Sex is perceived as nature.

to avoid taboo and keep face Function

Chapter 4

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This present study is built on English and Vietnamese poems. In this chapter,

the findings are analyzed accordingly to answer two research questions to reveal the

linguistic expressions denoting euphemisms in English and Vietnamese poems and

the frequency of euphemism in the data and to compare and contrast these findings

from a cultural perspective.

Section 4.1 represents and explains the findings of English and Vietnamese

euphemisms of death and sex so as to answer the first research question. Section

4.2 provides with a detailed discussion of the key findings, with close reference to

cultural perspective and in order to answer the second research questions. The

results are also discussed in comparison to previous findings. Section 4.2.1

discusses the features of English and Vietnamese euphemism towards death; section

4.2.2 presents a close look at sex euphemism in English and Vietnamese poems.

4.1. Findings

4.1.1 Death euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems

In the poem ―Kissing my Father‖ (Legaspi, 2018), the author might have

thought of death as something peaceful but also mournful (See appendix 1). He

described his father‘s death as ―three days into his wake‖ (Legaspi, 2018) and then

he went on to say ―my father has not risen‖ (Legaspi, 2018).

Three days into his wake my father has not risen.

(Legaspi, 2018)

26

The death was thought of as a sleep; quiet moments with black color

surrounding the father. When the author spoke of the death as a law of nature, of the

immigrants come to the country, live and die, he spoke of the death directly:

The church is forested

with immigrants, spent after their long journey

to another country

to die. (Legaspi, 2018)

When referring back to the father, the death was once again thought of as a

sleep, a ―safe approach‖ and like being drunk (Legaspi, 2018).

In the poem ―Leaving‖, Coke (1958) talked of his father who died at ninety-

four and suffered from a lot of strokes as well as hardships in life (See appendix 1).

Through which, the author realized that he did not know how to do anything but

survive and she wrote ―All of this, What I am, doesn‘t know how to die‖ (Coke,

1958). Then the father said he wanted a blanket designed by Dustin, and thought of

the death as ―to leave this beauty, life‖ (Coke, 1958).

Damnit, I hate to leave this beauty, life.

(Coke, 1958)

It was a blanket to wrap himself in for his final rest and when the blanket

came, the author described the death as ―his breath slowed, eased, then quit.‖ This is

a beautiful poem, describing the death euphemistically and slowly (Coke, 1958).

On the fourth, came the Pendleton, delivered

right on time. His breath slowed, eased, then quit.

That was it.

(Coke, 1958)

Also describing the death, Stotler (2012) wrote about his sister who was his

best friend and he owed a lot of love, she died and he cried every day the year

afterwards (Appendix 1). In the remembrance of his sister, the author used three

euphemisms and one dysphemism. In which the death is thought of as peace: ―you

lie in eternal peace‖ (Stotler, 2012).

When I visit the grave where you lie in eternal peace,

I know that death and heaven brought you release;

I try to envision your joy on that shore across the sea,

27

And, until I join you, that'll have to be enough for me.

…..

Until I journey to that peaceful shore and see you again.

(Stotler, 2012)

And twice he thought of the death just to meet his sister, he wrote: ―until I

join you‖ and ―until I journey to that peaceful shore and see you again.‖ At one

time, the death was thought of as a law of nature when he said ―I know that

death and heaven brought you release‖, and that is the case of a dysphemism

(Stotler, 2012).

In the forth poem (See Appendix 1), Dickinson (1886) wrote about death as a

cheer, cuteness as it might be how nice life will be for everyone left when the

author dies and it ends in an eclusive exclamation mark. Dickinson (1886) seems to

divide the poem into two parts, the first half addresses the nature of life and death,

which is very peaceful, and the second half is the human aspect. Beginning with a

dysphemism ―die‖ and then she uses morn, moon, the birds and bees, and daisies as

a sign of peaceful and natural aspect of the death, which we see two other cases of

beautiful euphemism, of ―die‖ as ―depart‖ and ―die‖ as ―we with daisies lie‖:

If I should die,

And you should live,

And time should gurgle on,

And morn should beam,

And noon should burn,

As it has usual done;

If birds should build as early,

And bees as bustling go,

One might depart at option

From enterprise below!

‘Tis sweet to know that stocks will stand

When we with daisies lie … (Dickinson, 1886).

In the second half of the poem, Dickinson (1886) described the death as the

―parting‖ and it is as natural as life goes on as the commerce and trade continues to

prosper and we see how calming and comforting the death is in her wording:

28

That commerce will continue,

And trades as briskly fly.

It makes the parting tranquil

And keeps the soul serene,

That gentlemen so sprightly

Conduct the pleasing scene!

(Dickinson, 1886)

In the fifth data (See Appendix 1), Blackstone (2009) wrote this poem so that

she could try and lift her spirits when she miss her beloved and the death was described

as an awful experience and the death in this poem is no more than a ―part‖.

I'm building my own little library,

embedded in my heart,

for all the moments spent with you

before you had to part

(Blackstone, 2009).

In Vietnamese poems on death, the first poem ―Tây Tiến‖ (See appendix 1),

Dũng (1948) talked about the ―death‖ in a beautiful euphemistic expression: ―Gục

lên súng mũ bỏ quên đời!‖ (leans on the rifle, forgets life) (Dũng, 1948), it is the

soldier who forgets life in a heroic way and the death is so soft and patriotic. In the

same voice, ―anh về đất‖ (becomes astray). There are no cases of dysphemism in

this Vietnamese counterpart (Dũng, 1948).

Anh bạn dãi dầu không bước nữa

Gục lên súng mũ bỏ quên đời!

(leans on the rifle, forgets life)

Chiều chiều oai linh thác gầm thét

Đêm đêm Mường Hịch cọp trêu người

(Dũng, 1948)

In this poem, Bốn (2012) talked about death as not coming back (anh không

về nữa đâu) - the death was thought of as a readiness and as something of the

29

author‘s own will (See appendix 1). The death was described as a coming back to

the land and resting there (giờ nằm trong đất) (Bốn, 2012).

Giờ nằm trong đất sâu (rest in the land)

Anh chẳng còn được biết

Tiếc mình không đi hết

Những vui buồn trong em.

(Bốn, 2012)

In the poem ―Chết‖ (Cận, 1940), we found four cases of euphemism and one

case of dysphemism (See appendix 1). The author Cận (1940) used a dysphemism

to talk about the death right at the title of the poem. However, in the poem, there are

only cases of euphemism to denote the death. First, he talked of ―dying‖ as ―nghỉ

bước‖ (stop walking), and it seems that the death happens as a walk of life, as a

common thing till happens in life. Second, he talked of the death as a part of his

body was in the land (tai dưới đất) (Cận, 1940).

Tai dưới đất để nghe chừng tiếng sóng

(a part of the body was in the land)

(Cận, 1940)

The death in Cận‘s poem might be interpretted as a sleep – a closure of eyes

(mắt đóng) (Cận, 1940) and as the break-up of his body (tay nhậy đã chia lìa) (Cận,

1940).

Nhưng mắt đóng trong đêm câm dằng dặc, (a closure of eyes)

Còn biết gì trời đất ở bên kia;

Bướm bay chi! tay nhậy đã chia lìa; (the break-up of the body)

Tình gọi đó, nhưng lòng thôi bắt mộng.

(Cận, 1940)

On the 24th of July, 1968, at Dong Loc Y-Junction, Can Loc, Ha Tinh, ten

woman volunteers lied down in a bombardment of the US air forces, in which one

body was not found in two days, which inspired the author Thanh (1968) to compose the poem on the 25th of July as a call to the lost second sergeant Cuc as in

30

the name of the poem says ―Cúc ơi‖. The poet resorted to use two euphemisms in

this poem to talk about the death of Cuc as ―không về tập hợp‖ (not come to

attendance) and ―đất nâu lạnh lắm‖ (the brown cold land) to metaphorize that she

died and lied in the land

Tiểu đội đã xếp một hàng ngang

Cúc ơi em ở đâu không về tập hợp? (not come to attendance)

Chín bạn đã quây quần đủ hết

…

Cúc ơi! em ở đâu?

Đất nâu lạnh lắm (the brown cold land)

(Thanh, 1968).

In the poem ―Tưởng chuyện ngàn sau‖ by Dzếnh (1943), we found one case

of death dysphemism and six cases of death euphemisms. The poem begins with

―nằm đây‖ (lie here) and the author as a dead person started to talk about his

thoughts, which focuses on far future events when the candles are burning brightly

on the coffin. That is the time when ―gió lìa cành lá‖ (wind leaves the leaves) as a

death euphemism of ―die‖ and ―vĩnh quyết‖ (farewell to people) (Phê, 2018, p.

1417) as a euphemism of ―die‖:

Nằm đây, tưởng chuyện ngàn sau, (lie here)

Lung linh nến cháy hai đầu áo quan.

Gió lìa cành lá không vang, (wind leaves the leaves)

Tin ta vĩnh quyết trần gian hững hờ! (farewell to people)

(Dzếnh, 1943)

In the third column, the death was described as ―Nghìn thu xa vắng‖ (parting

forever) (See Appendix 1) and later in the fifth column, he wrote ―Ta nằm trong

ván‖ (lie in the coffin) and later in the column he talked of the anger to ―leave this

world‖ as ―xa đời‖:

Ta nằm trong ván trông ra, (lie in the coffin)

Tủi thân vì thấy người hoa vẫn cười!

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Ta toan... giận dỗi xa đời, (leave this world)

Chợt hay: khăn liệm quanh người vẫn thơm.

All in all, the table below (Table 1) lists the types of euphemism found in six

poems analyzed. In English, there are more death dysphemism than in Vietnamese

with one case in the title of the poem ―Chết‖ (Cận, 1940). The six authors used

abstraction as to form euphemsism in order to avoid unpleasant reality. There are no

cases of using abbreviations, or foreign terms to form death euphemisms. It is

written data so we may not access the form of mispronunciation of euphemism.

Turning to the strategy utilized to form euphemistic expressions, all the poets

resorted to using metaphor as a frequent device to express death euphemism. All

these metaphors are mixed and rich of affective elements and they build up visual

images of death when the mental images of the acts or objects are not naming

(Orwell, 1970).

Overal, all six poets employed euphemism to avoid obscurity of expressions

(Grice, 2013). It is because they may want to avoid mentioning taboo expressions

which threaten the face. We also found that in all three English poems, there are

cases in which the authors resorted to ―try to make your contribution one that is

true‖ (Grice, 2013) and ―do not say what you believe to be false‖ when they

obviously used dysphemism to talk about death. From the table below, we can see

that all the euphemisms were formed in abstraction to express ideas indirectly.

Table 4: Death euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems

Poems Dysphemisms Euphemisms

death Kissing My Father

Form Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction

Leaving die slowed, Abstraction

death Seasons of Grief into his wake has not risen in his sleep leave this beauty, life breath His eased, then quit lie in eternal peace join you Abstraction Abstraction

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Abstraction

If I should die die

journey to that peaceful shore Depart with daisies lie Parting Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction

Part Abstraction My Memory Library

Abstraction Tây Tiến

Anh không về nữa đâu

Chết

Cúc ơi

cái chết

Tưởng chuyện ngàn sau

Gục lên súng mũ bỏ quên đời! anh về đất anh không về nữa đâu anh không về nữa đâu giờ nằm trong đất sâu nghỉ bước tai dưới đất nghỉ bước mắt đóng tay nhậy đã chia lìa không về tập hợp đất nâu lạnh lắm nằm đây gió lìa cành vĩnh quyết nghìn thu xa vắng ta nằm trong ván xa đời Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction

4.1.2 Sex euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems

On analyzing the poem ―At the Touch of You‖ (Bynner, 1968), we found out

that Bynner (1968) was describing the sexual intercourse she had with the

addressor, she euphemisticated the addressor‘s penis as ―arrows of delight‖ and the

act of ejaculating as a ―shot‖, and she euphemistically described the spermatozoon

as a ―waterfall‖ (See appendix 2).

The arrows of delight shot through my body.

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You were spring,

And I the edge of a cliff,

And a shining waterfall rushed over me.

(Bynner, 1968)

Turning to the poem ―The Floating Poem‖ (Rich, 1978), the author, who was

born in Baltimore, Maryland, was all about strong desire of a woman (See appendix

2). In which, she described the beauty of the body, she talked about having sex in a

more indirect way ―your lovemaking‖ and as something wild but pure (just

washed). She nominated the act of sexual arousal and said ―your travelled, generous

thighs‖, she directedly used body parts to describe sexual arousal, she said ―dance

of your nipples in my mouth‖ or ―your touch on me‖ (Rich, 1978).

your lovemaking, like the half-curled frond

of the fiddlehead firm in forests

just washed by sun. Your travelled, generous thighs

between which my whole face has come and come –

the innocence and wisdom of the place my tongue has found there –

the live, insatiate dance of your nipples in my mouth —

your touch on me, firm, protective, searching

me out, your strong tongue and slender fingers

reaching where I had been waiting years for you

(Rich, 1978)

To talk about the organ of a woman, she used a defining clause to say ‗where

I had been waiting years for you‘ as well as she used a case and a flower to descibe

it with colour ―rose-wet cave‖ (Rich, 1978).

in my rose-wet cave — whatever happens, this is.

(Rich, 1978)

The poem ―The Watcher‖ (PerfumeandTaffy, 2018) described a strong desire

and strong feelings for sex. She started the poem with a feral night, a man and a

Harley Davidson. PerfumeandTaffy (2018) soon began with a dysphemism ―sex‖

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and used a beautiful euphemism ―inside‖ to give the readers an image of her

virgina, and before that she talked of sexual arousal with another euphemism

‗fingers find their way‘.

And his fingers find their way

Inside

(PerfumeandTaffy, 2018)

Coming back to describe the man‘s pennis, PerfumeandTaffy (2018) used

personal pronoun ―he‖ as a euphemism ―he is hard and bold.‖

The world awash in silence

He is hard and bold

(PerfumeandTaffy, 2018)

She went on to give an image of her ―hole‖ or sexual intercourse and she

said ―he slips inside‖. She described the ―peak‖ with some beautiful euphemism

such as ―pearly slick‖ and ―zenith‖.

In the poem ―After making love in winter‖ (Olds, 1987) is a poem which

deeply analyzes the spiritual and emotional process of intimacy and sexual acts.

Olds (1987) rather than focused on the physical or emotional pleasure, she finds

herself journeying through the emotional changes in the foreplay of a sexual

encounter. Olds (1987) is speaking to her sexual partner who can be identified as a

lover by the way she euphemistically describes the foreplay on the face ―like

Good/putting the finishing touches on‖. In another line, she expressed the sex act

with the temperature of the body and ‗those points‘ of hers:

My body is ice

Except at those points our bodies touch like

Blooms of fire.

(Olds, 1987)

Female reproductive organs, the ovaries, are mentioned a few times in the

poem and then she euphemistically compares her own with ―silvery bulbs‖ in the

chandelier, which validates her experience and her sexuality as well as the way of

using euphemisms in her poem:

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feel my ovaries deep in my body, I

gaze at the silvery bulbs, maybe I am

looking at my ovaries, it is

(Olds, 1987)

In the poem ―Make war, not love‖ (Shetty, 2015), the poet described the sex

act with real words and in an honest way but we can find cases of euphemism there.

She began with the sexual arousal by her partner‘s fingers ―Graze your fingers‖ and

later by kisses ―throw your kisses‖. Going down onto her chest, her partner ‗carves

bullet holes‘ and the sexual intercourse was described with moans:

let your moans

sound like gunfire

and your breath

feel like death

(Shetty, 2015)

And last line in the poem shows love and making love as a war ―make war,

not love.‖

In the same lines, in the poem ―Nằm Nghiêng‖, Thư (2000) used five

euphemism to describe the desire of a woman (See Appendix 2). She talked of her

vagina as ―khe cửa‖ (the door) and her virginal fluid as ―dòng ấm‖ (a cool

stream), her mons pubis as ―triền đê‖ (a river dam), her nymphaes as ―đôi bờ‖

(two banks of a river), and again her virginal fluid as ―nước lũ‖ (a flood), and last

but not least the act of kissing as ―vồ vập răng lưỡi‖ (a hurried touch of teeth and

tongues) (Thư, 2000).

khe cửa ùa ra một dòng ấm (the door, the cool stream)

cô đơn. Nằm nghiêng

cùng sương triền đê đôi bờ (a river dam, two banks of a river)

ỡm ờ nước lũ. (like a flood)

(Thư, 2000)

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In the poem ―Buồn gì đâu‖ (Vịnh, 1982), the author is a famous

contemporary poet. He used euphemisms as beautifully in his poem. Firstly, there

was a case of preposition phrase to denote a sexual part ―Chỗ trọng tâm giữa gót và

đầu‖ (right in the middle between head and toes).

Ta có thói quen nhìn khoảng giữa

Chỗ trọng tâm giữa gót và đầu

(right in the middle between head and toes)

(Vịnh, 1982)

Besides, we found the borrowing of foreign terms ―hồng diện‖, ―trường túc‖

to refer to an old Chinese poem to talk about women whose face skins are red and

long legs, which implies that they can have sex all day and a strong desire of sex.

Tại các em cứ hay tinh nghịch

Hồng diện "căng", trường túc lại "đầm"

(a red facial skin, long legs)

(Vịnh, 1982)

The third euphemism in the poem ―hành lạc‖ is also a Chinese term to mean

having sex (Vịnh, 1982).

Chuyện đời hành lạc từ kim cổ (having sex)

Vốn mùi như em hát cải lương

(Vịnh, 1982)

In another verse, Linh (2000) begans her poem with a strong description of

sex as a hurricane (cơn cuồng nộ).

Thật dịu dàng trong cơn cuồng nộ

Chúng mình lao vào nhau từ rất lâu (collide)

Chấn động gấp nhiều vụ khủng bố làm sụp đổ chấn động thế giới

Những sinh vật tuyệt chủng bỗng bật dậy tính dục (sexual

desire)

Vẫn còn trên từng tế bào em

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Dư chấn cơ thể anh (sexual arousal)

(Linh, 2000)

In this poem, Linh (2000) described the intercourse as a normal action ―lao

vào nhau‖ (collide). She went on to talk about sexual desire as a dysphemism ‗tính

dục. She described the sexual arousal as ―dư chấn cơ thể anh‖ (Linh, 2000).

Con sư tử kiêu hùng và đơn độc

Luôn muốn rúc vào ẩm nồng mềm mại

(enter warmly and softly)

Tạc gương mặt tuấn kiệt giữa Vũ trụ đen (a black universe)

Sự thèm khát truy nã chúng ta

(Linh, 2000)

In this second part, Linh (2000) described the intercourse as ―rúc vào‖

(enter) and her vagina as something warm and soft ―ấm nồng và mềm mại‖ and

nominated her vagina as a black universe ―vũ trụ đen‖.

Thế giới đại loạn trong tiếng rên hoan lạc triệu năm còn âm ỉ

…

Em đang xiết anh dưới vòm động Phong Nha trong tấm ảnh (a rock

mountain)

(Linh, 2000)

In this third part of the poem, Linh (2000) used ―hoan lạc‖ as a dysphemism

to talk of having sex. And she the second time nominated her vagina as a cave in a

rock mountain ―Động Phong Nha‖.

Và anh biết được (với xung năng khuếch đại) tín hiệu mùi của hoa

Thùy Linh

Ðộng kỳ vĩ nhất mang ánh sáng, độ ẩm, nhịp đàn hồi của người đàn

bà đang yêu cực độ

Hầm hập núi vú cơn cuồng hoan bền bỉ (having sex)

(Linh, 2000)

38

In this fourth part, Linh (2000) described the sexual intercourse as ―cuồng

hoan‖, that‘s is a strong dysphemism in Vietnamese to mean doing sex in a crazy

manner.

Yêu anh hân hoan náo nức

Cánh cửa chỉ cho anh (the door)

Bên trong là kho báu

(Linh, 2000)

In the fifth part, Linh (2000) talked of her vagina as a door (cánh cửa), it is a

euphemism.

Không mở bằng thần chú

Mở cánh cửa bằng trục nóng của anh - trục Vũ trụ (a hot swivel)

Vừa lọt tận cùng đã mắc kẹt vĩnh viễn (enter to the end)

……

Một đêm cực diệu tinh khí anh tròn nơi bụng em Tương lai

(a perfect night)

Sư tử buồn của em!

Băng qua địa cầu bằng tiếng gầm kinh động (go through the earth)

(Linh, 2000)

In the last part, Linh (2000) described her boyfriend‘s penis as a ―hot swivel‖

(trục xoay) and went on to nominate it as the swivel of the universe (trục vũ trụ).

She described the intercourse as a normal verb ―lọt tận cùng‖ (enter to the end).

Linh (2000) described a night sex with the euphemism ―đêm cực lạc‖ (a perfect

night). Finally, she described the act of ejaculation as going through the earth (băng

qua quả địa cầu) (Linh, 2000).

In the poem ―Thèm được anh viết thơ lên ngực‖ by Tạo (2014), we can find

both dysphemisms and euphemisms in it. The poem begins with the use of

dysphemisms to describe the sexual acts starting with ―hot pair of boobs‖ (cặp vú

nóng ran), ―pink nipples‖ (nhũ hồng), ―young grass leaves‖ (cỏ bồng thi mua non)

39

and finally to her ―labia‖, which was described as ―bờ nõn‖ (young lips) (See

Appendix 2):

Thèm được anh viết thơ lên cặp vú nóng ran

Nhũ hồng rân rấn (pink nipples)

Thèm lưỡi anh chạm rốn

Chữ liếm mơn man trên cơ thể em. Thèm

Ngón tay anh viết thơ lên đùi em

Mịn và trắng

Viết dần vào

Cỏ bồng thi mùa non (young glass leaves)

Dần vào

Bờ nõn…(young lips)

(Tạo, 2014).

In the second part of the poem, we find only euphemisms to talk about kisses

in the way that the woman cannot breathe by her partner‘s lips (em ngạt thở môi

anh) and the intercourse was euphemitized ―Chữ cắm vào trào song‖ (words in and

waves out), labias as sails and at the climax of this act, the cumming was

euphemistically expressed by the eruption of lava (phun trào nham thạch):

Em ngạt thở môi anh (breathless by your lips)

Lấp đầy khoảng trống

Em ngạt thở thơ anh

Chữ cắm vào trào sóng (words in and waves out)

Những cánh buồm nghiêng ngả trời xanh

…

Phun trào nham thạch (the eruption of lava)

(Tạo, 2014)

The poem ―Tranh loã thể‖ by Khê (2004) is famous and it was honored and

endorsed by Hoai Thanh and set and transformed to music by the musician Pham

Duy. In the second column of the poem, we first find a dysphemism to talk about

the woman chests but in the next two lines, it was euphemitized as ―một toà hoa‖ (a

40

tower of flowers). Then the poet went on to talk about his own experience watching

the naked picture when he has to stop his ―sexual desire‖ (cánh hồn si), and soon he

was deep into the sexual act by euphemistically referring to Quỳnh Giao – a series

of Chinese sex stories he wrote ―tôi miên man uống lại mộng quỳnh giao‖ (I was

deep into drinking Quynh Dao dreams); at the top of the act, he described his sexual

climax as ―a glass ball broken into the sea‖ (Một tinh cầu sẽ tan ra biển lớn). See to

the following column (See Appendix 2):

Hai vú nàng! hai vú nàng! chao ôi!

Cho tôi nút một dòng sâm ngọt lộng.

Ôi lồ lộ một toà hoa nghiêm động! (a tower of flowers)

Tôi run run hãm lại cánh hồn si...(sexual desire)

Ồ hai tay rơi chén ngọc lưu ly,

Ồ hai chân nở màu sen ẻo lả,

Cho tôi nàng! cho tôi nàng! tất cả.

Tôi miên man uống lại mộng quỳnh dao (deep in Quynh Dao dream)

Cho đê mê, chới với, hồn lên cao,

Một tinh cầu sẽ tan ra biển lệ (a glass broken into the sea)

(Khê, 2004)

In left lines of the poem, the author employed two dysphemisms talk about

sexual arousal (khiêu dâm) and having sex (mê loàn).

The table below (Table 5) enlists all the sex euphemisms and dysphemisms

from each poem. It comes interestingly to notice that sex dysphemisms are common

in English poetry while in Vietnamese, there are only two cases in one poem but the

author had to resort to borrow foreign terms to avoid using unpleasant words in

Vietnamese (Cooper, 1993). All other sex euphemisms are formed in abstraction

and there are no cases of abbreviations or mispronounciation of euphemism.

The poets use metaphors again for euphemizing taboo terms of sex. This

semantic feature represents as a bridge to link unpleasant or real world into poetry

when the poets successfully used conceptual metaphors to construct readers‘

41

imaginary worlds (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). It is here to say that metaphors are

used as a strategical mechanism in poetry, especially to describing sex.

To conclude, the poets saught to use euphemism to avoid the obscurity, as

well as there were some cases of dysphemisms, however, they were still cooperative

to use verbals to communicate successfully. As for politeness strategy, the poets

used implicit sexual expressions in consideration of the harmony of communication

and to not violate face-keeping acts (Brown & Levinson, 1987). Talking about the

formation of sex euphemism, most of the euphemism was abstracted; there were

only two cases loan words in a Vietnamese poem.

Table 5: Sex euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems

Euphemisms

Poems At the touch of you Dysphemisms

lovemaking Form Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction

The Floating Poem, Unnumbered

Abstraction Abstraction

Abstraction

The Watcher sex

ovaries

After making love in winter

arrows of light Shot Waterfall Your travelled, generous thighs the place dance of your nipples in my mouth - your touch on me reaching where I had been waiting years for you rose-wet cave fingers find their way Inside He is hard and bold slips inside pearly slick Zenith Come making love those points run your palm Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction

42

Poems Dysphemisms

Form Abstraction

Make war, not love

Nằm nghiêng

Buồn gì đâu Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction

Euphemisms putting the finishing touches on graze your fingers carve bullet holes make war, not love khe cửa dòng ấm triền đê đôi bờ nước lũ vồ vập răng lưỡi chỗ trọng tâm giữa gót và đầu hồng diện, trường túc

hành lạc

Sư tử buồn

hoan lạc cuồng hoan cặp vú

Thèm được viết thơ lên ngực

lao vào nhau tính dục dư chấn cơ thể anh rúc vào ẩm nồng mềm mại Vũ trụ đen động Phong Nha cánh cửa trục nóng trục Vũ trụ lọt tận cùng một đêm cực diệu băng qua địa cầu nhũ hồng cỏ bồng thi mùa non bờ nõn chữ cắm vào trào sóng những cánh buồm Foreign term Foreign term Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction Abstraction

43

Poems Dysphemisms

Tranh loã thể

Euphemisms Form phun trào nham thạch Abstraction một toà hoa Abstraction cánh hồn si Abstraction Abstraction uống lại mộng quỳnh giao một tinh cầu sẽ tan ra biển lệ Abstraction Hai vú nàng khiêu dâm mê loàn

4.2. Discussion

This section provides with a detailed discussion of the key findings presented

in Section 4.1 with close reference to cultural perspective and in order to answer the

second research questions. The results are also discussed in comparison to previous

findings. In which, section 4.2.1 discusses the features of English and Vietnamese

euphemism towards death in poetry; section 4.2.2 presents a close look at sex

euphemism in English and Vietnamese poetry.

Ever since the first day of the world, people tried to make themselves

understood to communicate and to survive; over the time, language became more

and more specialized, turning into signs, words, and to the art of using signs and

words as a social product, as a mechanism to achieve what people want.

Nowadays, ―words have been known to save or destroy lives, since they carry and

convey an entire upload of cultural and social bound significance‖ (Han & Maior,

2014, p. 406).

In general, on analyzing twenty selected poems, the researcher has found out

that the poets resorted to break the linguistic norms to communicate using

euphemism. In both languages, euphemism is not used to be informative, truthful or

stay relevant in communication. This is a universal feature of euphemism usage

(Nilwati, 2012).

Maintaining face is another universal phenomenon of euphemism in English

and Vietnamese poetry. The poets used euphemism as a communicative means to

build vivid imagines through euphemistic expressions. Although the content of face

may differ in cultures, ―we are assuming that the mutual knowledge of members‘

public self-image or face, and the social necessity to orient oneself to it in

interaction, are universal‖ (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 312) and it concludes that

euphemism is used in poetry as a politeness strategy among cultures.

44

Interestingly, the findings show most of euphemisms in English and

Vietnamese poems are in abstraction form, two cases of foreign words, and with no

cases of abbreviation. It is also because the data were all written poems so the form

of mispronunciation was neglected to analyze. This indicates that Vietnamese

euphemism universally shares certain features with English euphemism in poetry.

4.2.1. Death euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems

According to Ulman (1962), death is considered to be painful and the fear of

it is universal among humans. They state that as social beings, humans can ill afford

to violate social conventions without suffering adverse sanctions. People sensor

their behavior so as to avoid giving offence, except when deliberately intending to

offend (p. 238), concerning death dysphemism as taboos, there are three cases in the

English poem compared to one in Vietnamese and in Vietnamese it is in the title of

the poem. This is because Vietnamese people have to bear in mind a wide range of

social relationships which are a crucial part of their social lives: the self, the other,

the community (Weigand, 2010). It is that when they talk, they have to think of the

other, and they do not often use dysphemism to show respect and to keep harmony.

Needless to say, in Vietnam, it is a history – bounded and the infrastructure –

bounded culture. Therefore, poems are to support the Party and the community,

Vietnamese poets could not directly talk of the death during the Vietnam War. On

the other side, people in the West pay more attention to the self and self-interest

(Weigand, 2010).

Death as a sleep

In all euphemisms of death, the first theme is that death is understood in

terms of a sleep with the peacefulness in mind. Or closely associated with the view

of death as a desirable condition, in English there are three cases in the two poems

―Kissing my Father‖ (Legaspi, 2018) and ―Seasons of Grief‖ (Stotler, 2012): in his

sleep (Legaspi, 2018), lie in eternal peace (Stotler, 2012), into his wake (Legaspi,

2018) but in Vietnamese, there is only one case (mắt đóng – close the eyes) in the

poem ―Chết‖ (Cận, 1940).

This can be explained that these euphemisms show a positive judgement of

death, just that ―into his wake‖ or ―in his sleep‖ (Legaspi, 2018). The underlying

45

notion of all these euphemisms are based on the fact that death is temporary as a

sleep, therefore, death is conceptualized as a temporary event. This

conceptualization provides an effective euphemistic evidence that in English, death

is thought to provide some sort of more relief than that in Vietnamese. This can

find the explanations in the tradition of ancestor worship in Vietnam, and the

tradition of returning favor (báo hiếu) to the old, so they think of the death more as

of a loss and every year they usually have a holiday as ―tảo mộ‖ (sweeping the

graves) and make the offering of food and drinks, clothing, money and so on to the

death to return favor.

Death as a journey

The second theme noted is that death is perceived as a journey. We see that

in English, death is conceptualized as the act of leaving (leave this beauty, life)

(Coke, 1958) or a journey to a peaceful place (journey to that peaceful shore)

(Stotler, 2012) and in Vietnamese it is as not coming back (anh không về nữa đâu)

(Bốn, 2012) or as coming back to astray (anh về đất) (Dũng, 1948) or as not coming

back in line (không về tập hợp) (Thanh, 1968). In this theme, English and

Vietnamese euphemisms share the same universal feature.

Death as particulars

English and Vietnamese euphemisms share some differences. English people

believe that God gives them a convincing reason to accept death through an

embrace of religion. Therefore, in English poetry, death is perceived as a joyful and

peaceful life in the poem ―Seasons of Grief‖ (Stotler, 2012) as ‗lie in eternal peace‘

and ‗journey to that peaceful shore‘ or ―with daisies lie‖ (Dickinson, 1886). Also,

death is regarded as a reunion in the poem ‗Seasons of Grief‘ (Stotler, 2012) as ‗join

you‘, that is when the author dies and joins with the late one. Thirdly, death is the

end in the poem ―Leaving‖ (Coke, 1958) as ―his breath slowed, eased, then quit‖.

Finally, death as a farewell, as ―depart‖, ―parting‖ in the poem ―If I should die‖

(Dickinson, 1886).

Meanwhile, the perception of existence as deeply embedded in family in

Vietnamese culture as opposed to individualist existence among English culture is

extremely important for understanding the way Vietnamese people cope with grief

46

in death and dying. The death in Vietnamese poetry is perceived as a heroic loss in

the poem ―Tây Tiến‖ (Dũng, 1948) as ―gục trên súng mũ bỏ quên đời‖ and ―tay

nhậy đã chia lìa‖ or simply death is conceptualized as a lying-in earth in the poem

―Anh không về nữa đâu‖ (Bốn, 2012) as ―giờ nằm trong đất‖, or case in the poem

―Cúc ơi‖ in which Thanh (1968) described the cold land (đất nâu lạnh lắm) to

denote a rest in the land, a rest in the coffin (ta nằm trong ván) (Dzếnh, 1943). This

is also a loss, not as a peaceful shore or a rest in peace in English.

These findings are in line with Al-Shamali (1997), who suggests that indirect

means of referring to death vary among cultures. Hai-Long (2008) confirms that

because of the social and cultural differences, the forms of euphemism vary among

language users. At this point, we can generally conclude that in English, people

perceive death as more of a journey, a relief, a reunion, an end or peace. Rather, in

Vietnamese, people perceive death as more of a heroic loss, a lying-in earth or a

natural force. This finding lends the explanation in a long tradition of war against

the invadors of Vietnam to promote the heroic spirit, the tradition of ancestor

worship as well as the tradition of returning favor to the old. Vietnamese culture

recognizes fate, spirit, but anchors the existential perspective on family life,

whereas English culture looks to God for individual salvation.

4.2.2. Sex euphemisms used in English and Vietnamese poems

Disguising the mention of sex roots from an ancient practice, euphemism is

still an important part of language, especially language regarding sex. Nowadays, it

can be more generally acceptable to discuss sex openly, but it is still something out

of politeness. Those wanting to sensor their dirty deeds may resort to using a variety

of ways to choose from, and it is time when sex is changed into something more

poetic and euphemism is employed as a bridge.

Concerning features of English and Vietnamese euphemism, what becomes

interesting to the researcher when analyzing sex euphemism is that the poets were

determined and successfully used euphemism to describe the sexual arousal process

and sexual intercourse. Greene (2001) found out that the use of sex euphemism

differs between cultures. At a quick glance, we have seen that English and

Vietnamese sex euphemism have some common. Firstly, the authors all used

47

euphemism to lessen or avoid taboos. Secondly, the poets employed metaphors as a

communicative means to successfully describe sex. Thirdly, in poetry, sex

euphemism is used as a strategic mechanism to maintain face. However, all English

euphemisms are in abstraction form, there are two cases of Vietnamese euphemism

in borrowing form when Vietnamese poets resorted to utilizing foreign terms as

dysphemism on sex. We can conclude that in Vietnamese, people try to use few

dysphemisms or use them foreignly to keep the harmony and communicate

strategically.

Lexical processes

Two common lexical processes used in the creation of sex euphemism are

the use of places, prepositional phrases of place and description. Firstly, in English,

there is only one case of ―the place‖ in the poem ―The Floating Poem,

Unnumbered‖ (Rich, 1978). It is like a vague word to blur the undesirable

associations of tabooed terms and produce euphemistic effect. Meanwhile, in

Vietnamese, there are cases of ambiguous use of place euphemism. Ambiguity is,

therefore, inevitable when we speak euphemistically (Nerlich & Domínguez, 1999).

They are the cases of using picturesque euphemism such as ―đôi bờ‖ and ―khe cửa‖

or ―triền đê‖ in the poem ―Nằm Nghiêng‖ (Thư, 2000), and ―Trụ đen‖ and ―động

Phong Nha‖ in the poem ―Sư tử buồn‖ (Linh, 2000). Secondly, both in Vietnamese

and English prepositional phrases are used to form euphemism. It is the case of

―inside‖ in the poem ―The Watcher‖ (PerfumeandTaffy, 2018) and ―chỗ trọng tâm

giữa gót và đầu‖ in the poem ―Buồn gì đâu‖ (Vịnh, 1982).

Sex as companionship

Companionship is the first and most prominent theme of sex euphemism. It

is when the effect of the sense of touch during sexual intercourse as the male and

female genitalia coming into contact. It is clearly shown in the table below.

Table 6: Euphemisms of sex as a companionship

English euphemisms Vietnamese euphemisms

your touch on me (Rich, 1978)

48

fingers find their way lao vào nhau (Linh, 2000)

(PerfumeandTaffy, 2018)

your travelled generous thighs (Rich, lọt tận cùng (Linh, 2000)

1978)

slips inside (PerfumeandTaffy, 2018) rúc vào ẩm nồng mềm mại (Linh,

2000)

puting the finishing touches on (Olds, Băng qua địa cầu (Linh, 2000)

1987)

Generally speaking, both in English and Vietnamese, intercourse is

perceived as a companionship. This is also confirmed in Bantu language as ―sexual

intercourse is designed to be pleasurable and to bring people close together‖

(Gathigia et al., 2015, p. 32).

Sex as a war

The second theme is that sex is a war. The researcher recognized the

examples in English: ―arrows‖ (Bynner, 1968) and ―shot‖ (Bynner, 1968) or

―making love, not war‖ (Shetty, 2015). Sex euphemism is considered in a view of

sex in terms of hostility, violence and dominance or Fernández (2006) confirms the

lover is the enemy while the penis is the weapon. This is not the case in Vietnamese

poetry when sexual activity is not allowed to talk of and discuss in public.

Sex as romance

The third theme is of sex as romance both in English and Vietnamese poetry.

The woman‘s vagina is thought of as a romantic ―rose-wet cave‖ (Rich, 1978) or

the arousal is described as a dance in ―dance of your nipples in my mouth‖ (Rich,

1978). What‘s more, in Vietnamese, the author borrowed an old Chinese poem,

which was translated into Vietnamese for many generations as ‗hồng diện‘ and

―trường túc‖ (Vịnh, 1982), it is to talk of the beauty of a woman as a sign of strong

sexual desire. Other cases are ―cỏ bồng thi mùa non‖, ―bờ nõn‖ (Tạo, 2014) or ―một

toà hoa‖ (Khê, 2004).

49

Sex as function

Al-Shamali (1997) believes that bodily functions are considered as one of the

most severe taboos in many situations. Therefore, people usually refer to such

words euphemistically since any violation is considered to be a sign of

impoliteness. It is the case of ―come‖ (PerfumeandTaffy, 2018) to mean ―ejaculate‖.

A similar finding was reached by Murphy (2001), he states that the penis is a

mechanical device engineered to pour liquids and can thus be included in the

sexual-intercourse-as-a-machine conceptual equation (Murphy, 2001, p. 21). This is

not the case in Vietnamese poetry when most of the metaphorical sex euphemism

are conceptualized as structural images as ‗one concept is metaphorically structured

in terms of another (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 14).

Sex as nature

The last theme is that sex is perceived as function and as a natural routine

activity that fulfils a utilitarian function. The implication is that sexual intercourse is

designed to be pleasurable and biologically, the sperm and the egg come into

contact for fertilization such as ―waterfall‖ (Bynner, 1968), ―pearly slick‖, ―zenith‖

and ―come‖ (PerfumeandTaffy, 2018) and it is the same in Vietnamese such as

―dòng ấm‖, ―nước lũ‖ (Thư, 2000), ―hành lạc‖ (Vịnh, 1982) and ―một đêm cực

diệu‖ (Linh, 2000).

To conclude, the study found out that in English, sex is often conceptualized

as a war or function. Whereas, in Vietnamese, sex euphemism is often used in

poems as nature and companionship. This can be explained in the ideologies of the

two regions when English people often think of their individual and the self first

(Weigand, 2010), so they will act on the basis of the self, then to the other bias on

self-interest. However, in Vietnamese, it is more like a ―task‖ to have sex on the

basis of the other, the community first and foremost then to the self and harmony

(Weigand, 2010).

50

Chapter 5

CONCLUSION

Euphemism is a common linguistic phenomenon, which is bounded to

cultural backgrounds as well as life styles. A short introduction to euphemism and

an extant literature review were presented in Chapter I and II. In the two next

chapters, methodology as well as the findings and discussion were proposed. This

chapter is about to summarize key findings of the present study in order to suggest

some implications and further research.

5.1. Summary

This present study analyzed ten English poems and ten Vietnamese

counterparts that contain euphemisms of death and sex. The main findings show

that both English and Vietnamese euphemisms share certain common features. As a

mirror of culture, euphemism reflects the differences between English and

Vietnamese.

Generally speaking, English and Vietnamese euphemism is employed as a

face-keeping and taboo-avoiding function. These two functions are universal among

cultures.

Besides, there are significant differences. English people tend to use more

dysphemism to talk of the death. However, in Vietnamese culture, poetry is to

support the infrastructure and community, the use of death taboos is usually

avoided. When comparing our results from cultural perspective, it can be concluded

that in English, death is more perceived as relief, peace, a reunion, a sleep or an end

while in Vietnamese, death is perceived as a heroic loss or as a natural force.

Sex euphemism and other types of euphemism likewise have gone from

everday language to poetry and from poetry to every language. They may have been

used as a way to avoid linguistic taboos but, nowadays, they are used in a variety of

different situations. Sex euphemism is motivated from the wish or need to bypass

51

the ban or punishment to the innate human desire in verbal language, especially in

written language and more particularly in poetry in both English and Vietnamese.

However, the findings of sex euphemism in this paper cast a new light on the

differences. It is that in English, sex is often perceived as a war and function.

Whereas, in Vietnamese, sex is often conceptualized as nature or companionship.

5.2. Implications

This present study sheds light on cultural universalities vs. particularities in

the use of euphemistic expressions in English and Vietnamese poems. From a

theoretical perspective, this present study provides more detailed and fuller

understanding of euphemism; provides a synthesized analytical framework to

emphasize significant differences in the two cultures. It is also of interest that the

findings fulfil the gaps in the existing literature.

From a practical perspective, because of the growing cross-cultural

communication, intercultural communicative competence seems necessary

nowadays. In this regard, all sides of an interaction should improve this

competence. One aspect of this competence is to maintain the face of each other.

We know that successful communication should go under the principle of

cooperation. Therefore, teachers and learners of English may benefit hugely from

the understanding and findings of euphemism. Such preoccupation about

euphemism can help avoid some embarrassments in intercultural communication;

euphemism affects our daily communication and makes our daily conversation go

harmoniously.

Obviously, in the teaching of vocabulary, it is crucial for teachers to draw

students‘ attention to the use of words with strong cultural connotations; as for

some sensitive words and expressions, teachers may as well consult relevant

sources, in order that students might avoid cultural shocks or communication

breakdowns. This is in line with Vásquez and Fioramonte (2011), they emphasize

that mastering euphemism is central to successful communication. This lends

52

support to Zizheng (2005) who suggests that euphemism teaching can promote

students‘ cross-cultural awareness and communicative competence.

This may raise concerns about an awareness of the different cultural norms

and attitudes. Therefore, it becomes necessary to have clear knowledge of the

characteristic elements to communicate, overcome sociolinguitic difficulties and

achieve acceptance.

5.3. Limitations and further research

Despite careful planning of the research design, there were some inevitable

issues that restricted and necessitated some minor alteration: the main scope of this

study was limited to two euphemism topics as death and sex and the data collection

process was met with a lot of difficulties to find a rich data source for analysis.

The second limitation was that euphemism is embedded in broad linguistic

categories such as styles, registers, situations, events, speech act, and pronunciation.

However, it does not seem possibly to do so with written poems. Research is needed

to investigate euphemism in English and Vietnamese with more topics and in

different areas other than poetry as well as in daily life. It is to compare and contrast

the degrees to which certain euphemism, dysphemism, and doublespeak are

employed.

Another area of more research needed is an investigation of levels of

awareness of euphemism used by teachers in Vietnam in a second language

classroom. There is also of a need to investigate how teachers employ euphemsism

in a multilingual context to overcome cross-cultural barriers and achieve

international acceptance.

53

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61

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: English and Vietnamese poems of death

Kissing My Father by Joseph O. Legaspi

Three days into his wake my father has not risen.

He remains encased in pine, hollowed-

out, his body unsealed, organs

harvested, then zippered

shut like a purse.

How strange to see one‘s face inside

a coffin. The son at my most peaceful.

The father at his most peaceful.

Not even the loud chorus

of wailing family members

can rid us of our sleep.

My mother sits front center.

Regal in black, her eyes sharpened

as Cleopatra‘s. Her children, grown

and groaning, quietly moan beside a white

copse of trumpeting flowers.

The church is forested

with immigrants, spent after their long journey

to another country

to die.

Before the casket

I

is to be closed, we all rise

to bid our final farewells.

My mother lowers herself,

kisses the trinity of the forehead

and cheeks, then motions her obedient

children to follow. One by one my

siblings hover, perch, and peck.

I stand over my father

as I had done on occasions

of safe approach: in his sleep, or splayed

like a crushed toad on the floor, drunk.

I study him, planetary,

distant presence both bodily

and otherworldly, a deceptive

kind of knowledge.

His beauty has waned

but not faded, face surface

of a moon, not ours, I turn pale,

shivering, I place my hand

on his, amphibious.

While my mother places her hand warm on the cradle

of my back, where I bend to fit into my body.

Her burning eyes speak, Do it for me, they

urge, Kiss your father goodbye.

I refuse.

II

Leaving by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke

No matter how he wrested himself silent in night,

six days post-stroke he woke fluent in former languages,

backtracking this time here.

Mercy nurses, attendants, remedied in their own.

Once he registered, all he cawed out was

if it‘s too far gone, we need to talk.

All of this, what I am, doesn‘t know how to die.

All I know how to do is survive. All I ever done.

If it‘s time, tell me, tell me, give me four days.

I‘d like to have that blanket Dustin designed.

Damnit, I hate to leave this beauty, life.

On the fourth, came the Pendleton, delivered

right on time. His breath slowed, eased, then quit.

That was it.

After some hours the rest of us slept.

Some of us sleep still left.

Seasons Of Grief by Belinda Stotler

Shall I wither and fall like an autumn leaf,

From this deep sorrow - from this painful grief?

How can I go on or find a way to be strong?

Will I ever again enjoy life's sweet song?

III

Sometimes a warm memory sheds light in the dark

And eases the pain like the song of a Meadow Lark.

Then it flits away on silent wings and I'm alone;

Hungering for more of the light it had shone.

Shall grief's bitter cold sadness consume me,

Like a winter storm on the vast angry sea?

How can I fill the void and deep desperate need

To replant my heart with hope's lovely seed?

Then I look at a photo of your playful smiling face

And for a moment I escape to a serene happy place;

Remembering the laughter and all you would do,

Cherishing the honest, caring, loving spirit of you.

Shall spring's cheerful flowers bring life anew

And allow me to forget the agony of missing you?

Will spring's burst of new life bring fresh hope

And teach my grieving soul how to cope?

Sometimes I'll read a treasured card you had given me

And each word's special meaning makes me see,

The precious gift of love I was fortunate to receive,

And I realize you'd never want to see me grieve.

Shall summer's warm brilliant sun bring new light,

And free my anguished mind of its terrible plight?

Will its gentle breezes chase grief's dark clouds away,

And show me a clear path towards a better day?

IV

When I visit the grave where you lie in eternal peace,

I know that death and heaven brought you release;

I try to envision your joy on that shore across the sea,

And, until I join you, that'll have to be enough for me.

For all the remaining seasons of my life on earth,

There'll be days I'll miss your merriment and mirth,

And sometimes I'll sadly long for all the yesterdays;

Missing our chats and your gentle understanding ways.

Yet, the lessons of kindness and love you taught me,

And the good things in life you've helped me to see;

Linger as lasting gifts that comfort and will sustain,

Until I journey to that peaceful shore and see you again.

V

If I should die by Emily Dickinson

If I should die,

And you should live,

And time should gurgle on,

And morn should beam,

And noon should burn,

As it has usual done;

If birds should build as early,

And bees as bustling go,

One might depart at option

From enterprise below!

‗T is sweet to know that stocks will stand

When we with daisies lie,

That commerce will continue,

And trades as briskly fly.

It makes the parting tranquil

And keeps the soul serene,

That gentlemen so sprightly

Conduct the pleasing scene!

VI

My Memory Library by Sarah Blackstone

Imagine if I was given one moment,

just a single slice of my past.

I could hold it close forever,

and that moment would always last.

I'd put the moment in a safe,

within my heart's abode.

I could open it when I wanted,

and only I would know the code.

I could choose a time of laughing,

a time of happiness and fun.

I could choose a time that tried me

through everything I've done.

I sat and thought about what moment

would always make me smile.

One that would always push me

to walk that extra mile.

If I'm feeling sad and low,

if I'm struggling with what to do,

I can go and open my little safe

and watch my moment through.

There are moments I can think of

that would lift my spirits every time.

The moments when you picked me up,

when the road was hard to climb.

VII

For me to only pick one moment

to cherish, save and keep

is proving really difficult,

as I've gathered up a heap!

I've dug deep inside my heart,

found the safe and looked inside

There was room for lots of moments;

in fact, hundreds if I tried.

I'm building my own little library,

embedded in my heart,

for all the moments spent with you

before you had to part.

I can open it up whenever I like,

pick a moment and watch it through,

My little library acts as a promise

I'll never ever forget you.

VIII

Tây Tiến by Quang Dũng

Sông Mã xa rồi Tây Tiến ơi!

Nhớ về rừng núi, nhớ chơi vơi Người đi Châu Mộc chiều sương ấy

Sài Khao sương lấp đoàn quân mỏi Có thấy hồn lau nẻo bến bờ

Mường Lát hoa về trong đêm hơi Có nhớ dáng người trên độc mộc

Trôi dòng nước lũ hoa đong đưa

Dốc lên khúc khuỷu dốc thăm thẳm

Heo hút cồn mây, súng ngửi trời Tây Tiến đoàn binh không mọc tóc

Ngàn thước lên cao, ngàn thước Quân xanh màu lá dữ oai hùm

xuống Mắt trừng gửi mộng qua biên giới

Nhà ai Pha Luông mưa xa khơi Đêm mơ Hà Nội dáng kiều thơm

Anh bạn dãi dầu không bước nữa Rải rác biên cương mồ viễn xứ

Gục lên súng mũ bỏ quên đời! Chiến trường đi chẳng tiếc đời xanh

Chiều chiều oai linh thác gầm thét Áo bào thay chiếu, anh về đất

Đêm đêm Mường Hịch cọp trêu người Sông Mã gầm lên khúc độc hành

Nhớ ôi Tây Tiến cơm lên khói Tây Tiến người đi không hẹn ước

Mai Châu mùa em thơm nếp xôi Đường lên thăm thẳm một chia phôi

Doanh trại bừng lên hội đuốc hoa Ai lên Tây Tiến mùa xuân ấy

Kìa em xiêm áo tự bao giờ Hồn về Sầm Nứa chẳng về xuôi.

Khèn lên man điệu nàng e ấp

Nhạc về Viên Chăn xây hồn thơ

IX

Anh Không Về Nữa Đâu by Đồng Đức Bốn

Cỏ xanh rờn mộ chí Anh không về nữa đâu

Đợi làm gì em nhỉ Vườn trước và ngõ sau

Anh không về nữa đâu Hoa tàn hoa lại nở

Bao nhiêu đêm trăng tỏ

Tháng bảy mưa ngâu

Anh dắt em đi đâu Tháng mười rét đến

Giờ nằm trong đất sâu Trời giăng đầy tơ nhện

Anh chẳng còn được biết Cho lòng ai vấn vương

Tiếc mình không đi hết

Gần em chỉ thấy thương Những vui buồn trong em

Xa em thì lại nhớ

Suốt một đời dang dở

Chẳng đêm nào ngủ yên

X

Chết by Huy Cận

Chân quấn quít rồi đến ngày nghỉ bước;

Miệng trao lời rồi đến buổi làm thinh;

Thân có đôi chờ lúc ngủ một mình,

Không bạn lứa cũng không mền ấm nóng;

Tai dưới đất để nghe chừng tiếng sóng

Ở trên đời; - đầu ấy ngửng lên cao

Sẽ nằm im! Ôi đau đớn chừng nào;

Thân bay nhảy giam trong mồ nhỏ tí,

Một dáng điệu suốt trăm nghìn thế kỷ!

Ngày sẽ về, gió sẽ mát, hoa tươi,

Muôn trai tơ đi hái vạn môi cười,

Làn nắng ấm vào khua trong lá sắc;

Nhưng mắt đóng trong đêm câm dằng dặc,

Còn biết gì trời đất ở bên kia;

Bướm bay chi! tay nhậy đã chia lìa;

Tình gọi đó, nhưng lòng thôi bắt mộng.

Bỏ chung chạ để nằm khô một bóng;

Chẳng ai vào an ủi nắm bàn tay:

Khổ bao nhiêu cho một kẻ hằng ngày

Tìm thế giới để làm khuây lẻ chiếc!

XI

Cúc ơi by Yến Thanh

Tiểu đội đã xếp một hàng ngang Cúc ơi! em ở đâu?

Cúc ơi em ở đâu không về tập hợp? Về với bọn anh tắm nước sông Ngàn

Chín bạn đã quây quần đủ hết Phố

Nhỏ - Xuân - Hà - Hường - Hợi - Ăn quýt đỏ Sơn Bằng

Rạng - Xuân - Xanh Chăn trâu cắt cỏ

A trưởng Võ Thị Tần điểm danh Bài toán lớp Năm em còn chưa nhớ

Chỉ thiếu mình em Gối còn thêu dở

(Chín bỏ làm mười răng được!) Cơm chiều chưa ăn.

Bọn anh đã bới tìm vẹt cuốc Ở đâu hỡi Cúc

Đất sâu bao nhiêu bọn anh không cần Đồng đội tìm em

Chỉ sợ em đau nên nhát cuốc chùng Đũa găm cơm úp

Cúc ơi! em ở đâu? Gọi em

Đất nâu lạnh lắm Gào em

Da em xanh Khan cổ cả rồi

Áo em thì mỏng! Cúc ơi!

XII

Tưởng chuyện ngàn sau by Hồ Dzếch

Nằm đây, tưởng chuyện ngàn sau,

Lung linh nến cháy hai đầu áo quan.

Gió lìa cành lá không vang,

Tin ta vĩnh quyết trần gian hững hờ!

Bao nhiêu dáng ảnh tôn thờ,

Xa nhau lâu quá bây giờ lạnh nhau.

Người về gối rét, nằm đau,

Nghe trên thước đất phai màu nhớ thương.

Chiều nào mây vọng hồn chuông,

Ngừng chân đôi kẻ trên đường mãi mê.

Nghe tin ta lỗi câu thề,

Nghìn thu xa vắng, ra về trước ai.

Ngậm ngùi nhớ trắng rừng mai,

Cảm thương sông nước, ghi bài điếu tang!

Ngựa gầy bóng gió mênh mang,

Cờ đen lối cũ, cây vàng nẻo xa...

Ta nằm trong ván trông ra,

Tủi thân vì thấy người hoa vẫn cười!

Ta toan... giận dỗi xa đời,

Chợt hay: khăn liệm quanh người vẫn thơm.

Nát thân, không nát nỗi hồn,

Lẫn trong cái chết vẫn còn cái đau!

XIII

Appendix 2: English and Vietnamese poems of sex

At the Touch of You by Witter Bynner

At the touch of you,

As if you were an archer with your swift hand at the bow,

The arrows of delight shot through my body.

You were spring,

And I the edge of a cliff,

And a shining waterfall rushed over me.

The Floating Poem, Unnumbered by Adrienne Rich

Whatever happens with us, your body

will haunt mine — tender, delicate

your lovemaking, like the half-curled frond

of the fiddlehead firm in forests

just washed by sun. Your travelled, generous thighs

between which my whole face has come and come –

the innocence and wisdom of the place my tongue has found there –

the live, insatiate dance of your nipples in my mouth —

your touch on me, firm, protective, searching

me out, your strong tongue and slender fingers

reaching where I had been waiting years for you

in my rose-wet cave — whatever happens, this is.

XIV

The Watcher by PerfumeandTaffy

The raven‘s eye He is hard and bold

In the feral night And when he slips inside

Always there My pearly slick

Always I explode.

Watching...while he waits… He

Poignantly beautiful, Is

Straddling the metal The center of all

Of a blunt, black Harley The zenith of beauty

Swathed in the heaviness He doesn‘t know

Of male musk, the heady I‘ve come

Scent of sex Soft, sweet, absolute

In the dead of night Too soon…

I move at the edge of a picnic table I would surrender all

And his fingers find their way But I know the raven watches

Inside And soon he will be gone

I forget to breathe Never too close he comes

The world awash in silence And never too far I stray

XV

After Making Love In Winter by Sharon Olds

At first, I cannot even have a sheet on me,

anything at all is painful,

a plate of
iron laid down on my nerves,

I lie there in the
air as if flying rapidly without moving,

and
slowly I cool off – hot,

warm, cool, cold, icy,

till the
skin all over my body is ice

except at those points our bodies touch like

blooms of fire. Around the door

loose in its frame, and around the transom, the

light from the hall burns in straight lines and

casts up narrow beams on the ceiling, a

figure throwing up its arms for joy.

In the mirror, the angles of the room are calm, it is the

hour when you can see that the angle itself is blessed,

and the dark globes of the chandelier,

suspended in the mirror, are motionless—I can

feel my ovaries deep in my body, I

gaze at the silvery bulbs, maybe I am

looking at my ovaries, it is

clear everything I look at is real

and good. We have come to the end of questions,

you run your palm, warm, large,

dry, back along my face over and

over, over and over, like God

putting the finishing touches on, before

sending me down to be born.

XVI

Make War, Not Love by Sahith Shetty

Graze your fingers

against my skin let your moans

like a soldier sound like gunfire

crossing a landmine and your breath

throw your kisses

feel like death

like grenades I'll come into the trenches unarmed of my mouth if you promise

carve bullet holes

to destroy me

onto my chest

make war and remind me

not love of where it hurts

XVII

Nằm Nghiêng by Phan Huyền Thư

Nằm nghiêng ở trần thương kiếp nàng Bân

ngón tay rỉ máu. Nằm nghiêng

khe cửa ùa ra một dòng ấm

cô đơn. Nằm nghiêng

cùng sương triền đê đôi bờ

ỡm ờ nước lũ.

Nằm nghiêng lạnh

hơi lạnh cũ. Ngoài đường khô tiếng ngáy.

Nằm nghiêng. Mùa đông

nằm nghiêng trên thảm gió mùa. Nằm nghiêng

nứt nẻ khóe môi

đã lâu không vồ vập răng lưỡi.

Nằm nghiêng

xứ sở bốn mùa nhiệt đới, tự dưng nhói đau

sau lần áo lót có đệm mút dầy

nằm nghiêng

về đây.

XVIII

Buồn Gì Đâu by Bùi Chí Vịnh

Làm thơ mà chẳng bị tù

Là nhờ kiếp trước đã tu nghìn đời Mà ta thì giỏi nghề họ Mã

Uống ly cà phê trong quán cóc Chưa Giám Sinh cũng đủ lẩy Kiều

Ngẩng đầu lên và ngó ra đường Có đêm bủn rủn hai mắt cá

Các em thất tiết nhiều hơn trước Gối mòn chân mỏi cũng vì yêu

Bộ ngực nào cũng nhuốm phong

sương Có đêm chỉ biết phều phào thở

Ta có thói quen nhìn khoảng giữa Lõm xương vai, lồi hết xương sườn

Chỗ trọng tâm giữa gót và đầu Chuyện đời hành lạc từ kim cổ

Kẻ có rơm còn người có lửa Vốn mùi như em hát cải lương

Mắt mờ mà chân mở, lạ sao

Uống ly cà phê trong quán cóc

Tại các em cứ hay khiêu khích Ngẩng đầu lên và ngó ra đường

Dáng thì xà tướng, mắt thì dâm Các em thất tiết nhiều hơn trước

Tại các em cứ hay tinh nghịch Bộ ngực nào cũng nhuốm phong

Hồng diện "căng", trường túc lại sương...

"đầm"

XIX

Sư Tử Buồn by Vi Thùy Linh

Thật dịu dàng trong cơn cuồng nộ

Chúng mình lao vào nhau từ rất lâu

Chấn động gấp nhiều vụ khủng bố làm sụp đổ chấn động thế giới

Những sinh vật tuyệt chủng bỗng bật dậy tính dục

Vẫn còn trên từng tế bào em

Dư chấn cơ thể anh

Con sư tử kiêu hùng và đơn độc

Luôn muốn rúc vào ẩm nồng mềm mại

Tạc gương mặt tuấn kiệt giữa Vũ trụ đen

Sự thèm khát truy nã chúng ta

Thế giới đại loạn trong tiếng rên hoan lạc triệu năm còn âm ỉ

Chúng ta nghe thấy tiếng rên ấy bằng cái nhìn dựng đứng bức tranh cực thực

Chúng ta không phát tiếng bằng tự do quá vãng của ngôn từ, mà dồn lắng bằng trạng

thái quẫn bách được báo trước của nhân loại

Ðêm ngày tháo đáy bổn phận

Chúng ta sống hoài nghi ngờ vực như thể đấy là xung động nguyên uỷ

Râm ran khắp nơi tiếng thều thào của mặt đất hẹp, đại dương ô nhiễm, những cánh

rừng khô trụi bầu trời đầy không tặc

Ðang cố níu giữ sự sống bằng sự cưu mang Vũ trụ

Em đang xiết anh dưới vòm động Phong Nha trong tấm ảnh

Và anh biết được (với xung năng khuếch đại) tín hiệu mùi của hoa Thùy Linh

Ðộng kỳ vĩ nhất mang ánh sáng, độ ẩm, nhịp đàn hồi của người đàn bà đang yêu cực độ

Hầm hập núi vú cơn cuồng hoan bền bỉ

Ðã thống trị những quy luật bất trị

Người ta cần nhận ra nhau bằng khải tín trong chìm xuống dâng lên mặt biển

Ngày không khóc như chang chang biển nhật lệ cuồn cuộn những con rồng sóng sóng

Ðêm không buồn như xanh miết đường thành Huế mơn man những hàng cây đắm đuối

XX

Em yêu anh trên tất cả những danh phận xác lập

Sư tử dũng mãnh và vĩ đại !

Tràn bơm đầy mình nàng hai mươi hai tuổi

Không cần cùng 40 tên cướp, anh đã cướp nàng đi khỏi sự thăng bằng - không bao giờ

có nổi

Ðể Nàng phải cong rồi dựng đứng

Yêu anh hân hoan náo nức

Cánh cửa chỉ cho anh

Bên trong là kho báu

Không vàng bạc kim cương đá quý

Không mở bằng thần chú

Mở cánh cửa bằng trục nóng của anh - trục Vũ trụ

Vừa lọt tận cùng đã mắc kẹt vĩnh viễn

Ở cánh cửa Linh

Tóc bạc râu bạc bật tung sự chênh lệch

Tinh khí làm mềm những sự vật hoá thạch

Sư tử

Ðắm hai màu trắng-đen thân thể nàng

Một đêm cực diệu tinh khí anh tròn nơi bụng em Tương lai

Sư tử buồn của em !

Băng qua địa cầu bằng tiếng gầm kinh động

Núi vú lại cương lên sự sống

Những cặp chân khoá chặt nhau khước từ chân lý !

XXI

Thèm được anh viết thơ lên ngực by Nguyễn Trọng Tạo

\

Thèm được anh viết thơ lên cặp vú Những cánh buồm nghiêng ngả trời

nóng ran xanh

Nhũ hồng rân rấn Những con chữ khóc òa hạnh phúc

Thèm lưỡi anh chạm rốn Những con chữ xiết em chớp giật

Chữ liếm mơn man trên cơ thể em. Cơn địa chấn tủy xương

Thèm Phun trào nham thạch

Ngón tay anh viết thơ lên đùi em Em tan ra hổn hển gió hát. Thèm…

Mịn và trắng Mười ngón thiên thần

Viết dần vào Miên man chữ

Cỏ bồng thi mùa non Love

Dần vào Đôi cánh ái tình

Bờ nõn… Bay quanh bờ mi khép…

Em ngạt thở môi anh Và ngón tay anh mãi viết

Lấp đầy khoảng trống Bài thơ tình bất tận thân thể em

Em ngạt thở thơ anh Giấy tuyết

Chữ cắm vào trào sóng Ướp hoa hồng.

Quảng Trị, 6.12.2014

XXII

Tranh Loã Thể by Bích Khê

Dáng tầm xuân uốn trong tranh Tố Nữ,

Ô tiên nương! nàng lại ngự nơi nầy?

Nàng ở mô? Xiêm áo bỏ đâu đây?

Ðến triển lãm cả tấm thân kiều diễm.

Nàng là tuyết hay da nàng tuyết điểm?

Nàng là hương hay nhan sắc lên hương?

Mắt ngời châu rung ánh sóng nghê thường;

Lệ tích lại sắp tuôn hàng đũa ngọc.

Ðêm u huyền ngủ mơ trên mái tóc.

Vài chút trăng say đọng ở làn môi.

Hai vú nàng! hai vú nàng! chao ôi!

Cho tôi nút một dòng sâm ngọt lộng.

Ôi lồ lộ một toà hoa nghiêm động!

Tôi run run hãm lại cánh hồn si...

Ồ hai tay rơi chén ngọc lưu ly,

Ồ hai chân nở màu sen ẻo lả,

Cho tôi nàng! cho tôi nàng! tất cả.

Tôi miên man uống lại mộng quỳnh dao

Cho đê mê, chới với, hồn lên cao,

Một tinh cầu sẽ tan ra biển lệ.

Tiên nương hỡi! nàng sống trên thế hệ,

Bóng thời gian phải quỵ dưới chân nàng

Xuân muôn đời di dưỡng giữa vùng tang!

Gương phép tắc suốt soi ngàn mộng ảnh!

Cớ làm sao nâng niu bầu giá lạnh,

Ấp tranh người, lơ đãng ngắm thi nhân?

XXIII

Hay nàng nhớ nhung các phượng đền lân?

Hay nàng ước mơ tình trong trắng ngọc?

Ôi! nàng ôi! Làm sao nàng chẳng khóc

Người thi nhân, vẻ đẹp của khiêu dâm

Trăng thanh tịnh còn lóng trong thơ câm,

Nhạc vô minh hằng sôi trên nét chữ?

Ôi! Nàng ôi! thốt lên, lời ngọc nữ,

Lời trân châu rúng cả phiếm lòng tôi...

Ngọc Kiều! Ngọc Kiều! Ðến cặp song đôi

Cho tôi đọ vẽ hương trời sắc nước,

Vẽ huyền diệu ứ men say lướt mướt,

Vẽ yêu tinh dồn giận thấu vô gan,

Ta thiếp đi - trong một phút mê loàn

Xuống muôn đợt rồi bay lên tột bực...

XXIV