1. Full name: Ta Thi Thu Hang                                                   2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: 17 July 1990                                                         4. Place of birth:  Phu Tho, Viet nam

5. Admission Decision number: 2331/QĐ_ĐHNN issued by the President of VNU University of Languages and International Studies, dated 23 December 2016

6. Changes in academic process: Revising the thesis title

7. Official thesis title:

The Images of Mother in English and Vietnamese Song Lyrics – A Study Based on Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach

8. Major: English linguistics.                                                         

9. Code: 9220201.01

10. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Van          

11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

This dissertation has been the first one that figure the images of mother through experiential and interpersonal meanings in English and Vietnamese song lyrics.

The study has generalized the images of mother in English and Vietnamese war and peace mother song lyrics. Simultaneously, similarities and differences in employing experiential meaning realized through Transitivity resources and interpersonal meaning realized through Mood system to depict the images of mother in selected songs have been presented.

With regard to the images of mother in English and Vietnamese war mother songs, although mothers’ love for their children is great and unconditional, their images in English and Vietnamese war songs are different. The images of mother in English war songs are portrayed with three prominent features: (i) Mothers are the spiritual support for soldiers in the battle; (ii) Mothers always turn their heart towards their children in the battle; (iii) Mothers raise their voice protesting against the war to protect their children. For Vietnamese war songs, three distinctive features can be found: (i) Mothers show enormous devotion to their children as soldiers and their country by direct engagement; (ii) Mothers always turn towards their children; and (iii) Mothers are the symbol of heroic sacrifice and the soldiers’ strong motivation. It can be seen that the images of mother in English and Vietnamese war song shares one common point in the way of expressing. It is the second feature in each language. To depict these listed images in both languages, the writers have deployed Transitivity system including process types, participants and circumstances as well as Mood system with Mood and Modality. In terms of Transitivity system, out of six process types, the majority of material processes are employed in both languages despite the fact that they show different representation. While material clauses are used to illustrate the soldiers’ activities in the war in English, Vietnamese material clauses depict the direct contribution of mothers. After material process are mental and relational processes that are used to depict the feelings and emotions of mothers in the songs. In terms of Mood system, declarative clauses take up the largest proportion in both languages, which shows that the writers and the main characters in the songs would like to tell their stories or convey their message. They do not intend to ask or command the audience. Speaking of modality patterns, the number of modality expressions in English is higher than that of Vietnamese. It proves the characters (mothers/soldiers) in English songs express their attitudes in statements.

With relation to the images of mother in English and Vietnamese peace songs, there are  lot of similarities found. The mothers in English and Vietnamese peace songs are featured as devoted people and an indispensable part in children’s life. Mostly, three process types are employed to show the images including material, mental and relational processes. Moving on to mood types, declarative clauses mainly appear in song lyrics in both languages. However, one noticeable difference is the presence of interrogative and exclamative clauses in Vietnamese songs. Despite accounting for a small number, two types of process are effective in conveying the content of songs. Regarding modality, readers witness a higher number of modality in English than in Vietnamese. It is a good means to show the attitude of the speaker and enable listeners/readers to better understand the inner thoughts of mothers/children.

12. Practical applicability, if any:

- The research can be a fruitful reference resource to explore Vietnamese in the light of Systemic Functional Linguistics.

- The research can be helpful for anyone who are interested in Systemic Functional Linguistics and get access to comparative studies between English and Vietnamese in the light of Systemic Functional Linguistics.

13. Further research directions, if any:

- Further researches into another aspect of metafunctions names textual meaning and songs with different topics or different genres can be implemented to achieve a comprehensive view of languages used in English and Vietnamese.

14. Thesis-related publications:

(1). Ta, T.T.H.  (2016). So sánh hình ảnh người mẹ trong các bài hát tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt theo quan điểm ngôn ngữ học chức năng hệ thống. Tạp chí KHXH & NV, 2(2b), 268-276.

(2). Ta, T.T.H. (2021). An Analysis of Songs about Mother by Nguyen Van Ty from Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 37(4), 39-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4688

Conference proceedings:

(1). Ta, T.T.H. (2015, November 30 – December 2), Mother in English and Vietnamese songs from systemic linguistics perspective [Conference presentation]. Inter-Academia Asia, Hotel Associa Shizuoka.

(2). Ta, T.T.H.  (2017). The representation of mother image in English and Vietnamese songs from systemic linguistics perspective. Proceedings of 2017 National  Graduate Research Symposium on Linguistics, Foreign Language Education Interdisciplinary Fields,140-150 . Hanoi, 2017. Hanoi: Vietnam. 

(3). Ta, T.T.H. (2018). An analysis of interpersonal meaning used in selected mother songs by Trinh Cong Son. Proceedings of 2018 International Graduate Research Symposium on Linguistics, Foreign Language Education Interdisciplinary Fields, 160-173. Hanoi, 2018. Hanoi: Vietnam. 

(4). Ta, T.T.H. (2021). “Nhat ki cua me” by Nguyen Van Chung and the English Translation by Ta Nguyen Tan Truong – a Systemic Functional Comparison. Proceedings of 2021 National Conference on Linguistics, Foreign Language Education Interdisciplinary Fields, 803-814.  Hanoi, 2021. Hanoi: Vietnam.