Top 5 Best Compositions on From Common Language to Personal Speech (Literature 11)

Practice:

Exercise 1 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

+ The word 'thôi' originally means to stop or end an activity.

+ In the two lines of poetry, 'thôi' takes on a new meaning: Nguyễn Khuyến uses it to signify the end of a life.

Exercise 2 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

- This is an unusual structure in the poem:

+ The noun phrases (rêu từng đám, đá mấy hòn): the main noun (rêu, đá) precedes the modifiers (từng đám, mấy hòn).

+ The predicate verbs (xiên ngang mặt đất, đâm toạc chân mây) come before the subject nouns (rêu từng đám, đá mấy hòn).

- The effect:

+ Creates a strong, impactful rhythm.

+ Highlights the imagery more vividly.

Exercise 3 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

Example:

+ The author uses a creative transformation, employing common words to create new word combinations, adjusting sentence structure, or omitting words...

“ Mộng anh hường

tim môi em bói đỏ

Giàn trầu già

khua

những át cơ rơi”

(Át cơ)

+ Some lines of poetry invert word order, such as:

“Đẹp vô cùng Tổ quốc ta ơi!” (Tố Hữu)

“Lom khom dưới núi, tiều vài chú

Lác đác bên sông, chợ mấy nhà” (Bà Huyện Thanh Quan)

Question 1 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1)

- The word 'thôi' originally means to end or stop an action or activity.

- In the poem "Khóc Dương Khuê", the word 'thôi' is used in a figurative sense to express loss and grief. It is a softening word used by Nguyễn Khuyến to convey his sorrow upon hearing of his friend's death, a way of minimizing the overwhelming pain that cannot be healed.

Question 2 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1)

- The arrangement of words:

+ Word order inversion: xiên ngang - mặt đất, rêu - từng đám

+ Antithesis: xiên ngang >< đâm toạc, mặt đất >< chân mây

- Effect: Hồ Xuân Hương’s arrangement brings the natural imagery in the poem to life with sharpness and personality. It creates rhythm, emphasizes poetic imagery, and reflects the emotional state of the lyrical character, showcasing Hồ Xuân Hương’s unique flair and precision.

Question 3 (page 9, Literature 11, Volume 1)

Example:

Sương chùng chình qua ngõ/Hình như thu đã về (Sang thu - Hữu Thỉnh)

=> The word 'chùng chình' (dragging) is used by Hữu Thỉnh to delicately evoke the slow, leisurely movement of the mist and the transition from summer to autumn.

=> Poets and writers, drawing from the common linguistic pool of society, use unique word combinations and creative associations to craft expressions that bear the distinctive mark of personal style.

I. Language - A Shared Resource of Society

1. Common Elements in Community Language:

- Sounds and tones (vowels, consonants, intonation...)
- Syllables formed from the combination of sounds and tones.
- Words (simple words, compound words)
- Fixed expressions (idioms, colloquialisms...)

2. General Rules and Methods:
- General rules: Rules for word and phrase construction (phrases, sentences, paragraphs...)
- Methods of meaning transfer (from literal to figurative meanings)

II. Speech – The Unique Product of the Individual
- The uniqueness in personal speech is reflected through:
+ Personal voice
+ Individual vocabulary
+ Creative use of familiar words
+ Creation of new words
+ Flexible, innovative application of general rules and methods.
- The clearest expression of individuality in speech is the personal linguistic style.

III. Practice (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1)
Question 1 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):
- The word 'thôi' originally means to end or stop an activity.
- The bold 'thôi' used by Nguyễn Khuyến signifies the end of a life.
⇒ This is Nguyễn Khuyến’s creative use of the word 'thôi' to soften the grief of losing a close friend, Dương Khuê.

Question 2 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):
- In these verses, Hồ Xuân Hương employs the technique of inversion.
- In noun phrases, the main noun is placed before the modifiers: noun + modifier: rêu + từng đám, đá + mấy hòn
- The predicate is placed before the subject: “Xiên ngang mặt đất, rêu từng đám” (Từng đám rêu, xiên ngang mặt đất)
- Strong verb phrases such as “Xiên ngang mặt đất” and “đâm toạc chân mây” are placed as the predicate.
⇒ This creates a powerful rhythm, highlighting both the natural force and the emotional intensity of the speaker.

Question 3 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):
Example: In fish, there are common traits like living underwater and breathing through gills. However, each fish has unique characteristics such as size, color, and weight. While most fish lay eggs, dolphins and seahorses give birth to live young.

Practice

Question 1 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

In the sentence “Bác Dương thôi đã thôi rồi,” the bold 'thôi' is used in a figurative sense, meaning to pass away.

Question 2 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

- In the two verses above, word order inversion is used: the main noun precedes the modifier and the noun class (rêu từng đám, đá mấy hòn); the word order is also inverted, with the predicate preceding the subject.

- This arrangement creates a strong impression: the moss and stones seem to possess vitality, asserting their existence in the space of nature in a unique and distinctive way.

- Furthermore, this structure reflects the bold and distinctive artistic style of Hồ Xuân Hương.

Question 3 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

Example:

- A line from Xuân Diệu in his poem “Đây mùa thu tới”:

“The willow grove stands in mourning
Its sad hair drapes down like tears”

- A sentence from Thạch Lam in the short story “Hai đứa trẻ”:

“The sky had begun to fall into night, a summer night as soft as velvet, with a cool breeze passing by. The streets and alleys slowly filled with darkness.”

⇒ Poets and writers, drawing from the collective linguistic pool of society, use unusual word combinations and unique associations to craft expressions that leave a personal mark on their style.

I. Language - A Shared Resource of Society

1. Common Elements in Community Language:

- Sounds and tones (vowels, consonants, intonations...)

- Syllables formed from the combination of sounds and tones.

- Words (simple, compound)

- Fixed expressions (idioms, colloquialisms...)

2. General Rules and Methods:

- Rules for sentence construction. For example: creating compound sentences to express cause-and-effect relationships...

- Methods for shifting meanings (from literal to figurative meanings)

Additionally, there are many other general rules and methods related to phonetics, vocabulary, grammar, and style in language.

II. Speech – The Unique Product of the Individual

The individuality in personal speech is reflected through:

1. Personal voice

2. Personal vocabulary

3. Creative use of familiar words

4. Creation of new words

5. Flexible and creative application of general rules and methods.

The clearest expression of individuality in speech is the personal linguistic style.

EXERCISES

Question 1 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

“Bác Dương thôi đã thôi rồi,”

“Nước mây man mác ngậm ngùi lòng ta”

(Nguyễn Khuyến, Khóc Dương Khuê)

The word "thôi" originally means to end or stop an activity. However, in this poem, Nguyễn Khuyến creatively uses "thôi" to mean loss and grief. The word "thôi" is a filler used by Nguyễn Khuyến to express his sorrow upon hearing about his friend's death, as well as a way to soften the overwhelming sense of loss. This use is a creative redefinition of the word "thôi" and clearly reflects Nguyễn Khuyến's personal style of expression.

Question 2 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

Regarding the word arrangement in the two verses:

“Xiên ngang mặt đất, rêu từng đám”

“Đâm toạc chân mây, đá mấy hòn”

(Hồ Xuân Hương – Tự tình)

Hồ Xuân Hương's two verses use familiar words, but their arrangement and combination reveal the poet’s own unique creativity:

- Noun phrases (rêu từng đám, đá mấy hòn) invert the typical order, placing the main noun before the adjective and noun class.

- The syntax of the lines is also inverted, with the verb phrase (verb + complement: xiên ngang – mặt đất, đâm toạc – chân mây) placed before the subject (rêu từng đám, đá mấy hòn).

Hồ Xuân Hương’s arrangement allows the natural landscape depicted in the verses to emerge vividly, full of personality. It not only creates a rhythm but also highlights the poetic imagery and powerfully expresses the inner emotions of the speaker.

Question 3 (page 13, Literature 11, Volume 1):

Example:

In the excerpt from *Vào phủ chúa Trịnh*, the Chánh đường official uses specific terminology in court: The heir = the king’s son, thánh thượng = the king, thánh chỉ = the king’s command...

Examples can also be drawn to illustrate the relationship between a species and its individual members (such as between a fish and its species...)