The Concept of Waterways in Southern Vietnamese Folk Poetry

Southern Vietnam’s cultural aspects have recently been well studied by many researchers and scholars. However, the cognitive domain of WATER/RIVER, especially in the Southern folk songs has not been paid much attention in those studies. This paper explores the cognitive domain of WATER/RIVER in the culture of the South of Vietnam. The results of this study identify some cognitive domains related to water/river such as domains RIVER; WATER, FISH AND FISHING; BOATS AND SHIPS and clarify that Southerners have reflected themselves on the water/river environment and regional nature of the South. To this end, our study helps readers identify the value of Southern regional cultural identities and the close relationship between “language - thinking and culture” through a specific genre - Southern folk songs.