HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FINAL ASSIGNMENT LANGUAGE AWARENESS Student TRẦN THỊ TÚ UYÊN ID 19F7511649 Class 2 Lecturer Dr TRƯƠNG BẠC[.]
HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FINAL ASSIGNMENT LANGUAGE AWARENESS Student : TRẦN THỊ TÚ UYÊN I D : 19F7511649 Class :2 Lecturer : Dr TRƯƠNG BẠCH LÊ Huế, tháng 12 năm 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION Definition of Translation The Importance of Text Analysis II TEXT ANALYSIS English to Vietnamese 1.1 Word count 1.2 Vocabulary/Word meaning 1.3 Text linking means 1.4 The Articles 1.5 Sentence types/Sentence structures 1.6 Tenses 1.7 Style 1.8 Some micro strategies were used in translating Vietnamese to English 2.1 Word count 2.2 Vocabulary/Word meaning 2.3 Text linking means 2.4 The Articles 2.5 Sentence types/Sentence structures 2.6 Tenses 2.7 Style 2.8 Some micro strategies were used in translating III CONCLUSION REFERENCES 3 4 6 10 11 11 12 13 14 14 17 17 18 19 20 22 23 23 24 Page | I INTRODUCTION Definition of Translation “Translation is the expression in another language of what has been expressed in another, source language, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences” (Bell, 2011) On the other hand, Hatim and Mason (1990) consider translation as “a communicative process which takes place within a social context” In spite of the differences in expression, share common features that they all emphasize the importance of finding the closest equivalence in meaning by the choice of appropriate target language’s lexical, grammatical structures, communication situations and cultural context The importance of Text Analysis “Text analysis is considered with the study of written and spoken texts as language elements strung together in relationships with one another that can be defined It is the study of the formal linguistic devices that distinguish a text from random sentences” (Truong, B.L & Truong, T N T, 2012) Due to linguistic, stylistic and cultural differences, the translation might lose a certain degree of meaning relating to the original text Therefore, the translation should be analyzed comprehensively to ensure that the whole text is fully and correctly understood The way text analysis focused on the vocabulary, the text liking means, the articles, the sentence types, the tenses and the style is important for the translator not only to understand and get a clear overview of the source language (SL) text as well as the target language (TL) text but also makes sure that the translation is acceptable by the readers in the TL Page | II TEXT ANALYSIS English to Vietnamese ENGLISH VERSION (1) Roaring noon (2) In a well-fanned forty-second street cellar I met Gatsby for lunch (3) Blinking away the brightness of the street outside, my eyes picked him out obscurely in the afternoon, talking to another man (4) “Mr Carraway, this is my friend Mr Wolfshiem.” (5) A small, flat-nosed Jew raised his large head and regarded me with two fine growths of a hair which luxuriated in either nostril (6) After a moment I discovered his tiny eyes in the half-darkness (7) “ So I took one look at him” said Mr Wolfshiem, shaking my hand earnestly, “what you think I did” (8) What? I inquired politely (9) But evidently he was not addressing me, for he dropped my hand and covered Gatsby with his expressive nose (10) I handed the money to Katspaugh and I said “All right, Katspaugh don’t pay him a penny till he shuts his mouth” (11) He shut it then and there (12) Gatsby took an arm of each of us and moved forward into the restaurant, whereupon Mr Wolfshiem swallowed a new sentence he was starting and lapsed into a somnambulatory abstraction (13) “Highballs” asked the head waiter (14) “This is a nice restaurant here” said Mr Wolfshiem, looking at the Prebyterian nymphs on the ceiling (15) “But I like across the street better!” Page | (16) “Yes, highballs” agreed Gatsby, and then to Mr Wolfshiem “it’s too hot over there” (17) “Hot and small—yes,” said Mr Wolfshiem, “but full of memories” (18) “What place is that?” I asked (19) “The old Metropole” (20) “The old Metropole,” brooded Mr Wolfshiem gloomily (21) “Filled with faces dead and gone (22) Filled with friends gone now forever (23) I can’t forget so long as I live the night they shot Rosy Rosenthal there (24) It was six of us at the table, the Rosy had eat and drunk a lot all evening (25) When it was almost morning the waiter came up to him with a funny look and says somebody wants to speak to him outside VIETNAMSES VERSION (1) Trưa ồn náo nhiệt (2) Tại tầng hầm nhiều quạt gió phố bốn mưa hai, tơi đến gặp Gatsby để ăn trưa (3) Chớp chớp mắt cho quen dần vừa ngồi sáng bước vào, tơi lờ mờ nhận anh tiền sảnh, nói chuyện với người đàn ơng khác - (4) Ơng Carraway, xin giới thiệu ông Wolfshiem, bạn (5) Một người Do Thái nhỏ thó, mũi tẹt, ngẩng đầu to lên nhìn tơi với hai túm lơng mũi thị q dài (6) Một lúc sau, tơi phát hai mắt ti hí ơng ta ánh sáng lờ mờ (7) … nhìn ta cái, - ơng Wolfshiem nói, hớn hở bắt tay tôi, ông thử nghĩ xem làm gì? - (8) Làm gì? Tơi hỏi, giọng lễ phép - (9) Nhưng tất nhiên ông ta nói với tơi, ơng ta bng tay tơi hếch mũi biểu cảm phía Gatsby Page | (10) Tôi trao tiền cho Katspaugh bảo “Được rồi, Katspaugh này, đừng có mà trả cho dù xu chừng ta chưa câm mồm” (11) Thế câm mồm (12) Gatsby nắm lấy cánh tay người chúng tơi đẩy vào qn ăn, cịn ơng Wolfshiem nuốt ngược vào họng câu nói khác vừa định thả vào trạng thái lơ đãng kẻ mộng du - (13) Whisky- soda ạ? Người quản lý hỏi - (14) Quán tốt đấy, - Wolfshiem, nói, mắt ngước nhìn thánh nữ dịng Prebyte vẽ trần- Nhưng tơi thích bên đường - (15) Ừ, cho Whisky- soda đi, -Gatsby tán thành, quay lưng sang Wolfshiem - bên nóng - (16) Nóng nhỏ quá, thế, đầy kỷ niệm (17) Tôi hỏi: - (18) Nơi thế? - (19) Quán Metropole cũ (20) Wolfshiem vẻ u buồn, nói chậm rãi (21) Quán Metropole cũ (22) Đầy gương mặt chết xa (23) Đầy bạn bè vĩnh viễn (24) Chừng tơi cịn sống tơi chưa thể quên đêm sáu người ngồi ăn Rosy ăn uống nhiều suốt tối (25) Đến gần sáng người hầu bàn đến chỗ cậu với vẻ khó hiểu, bảo có người muốn nói chuyện với cậu ngồi cửa 1.1 Word count While the total number of words in source language is 318, that of target language is 415 The length difference between two versions is 97 words, which means that it is not a good translation in terms of translation length The translation is much longer compared to the SL text Page | 1.2 Vocabulary/ Word Meaning Vocabulary plays an important role in making a good translation Some terms are successfully translated into Vietnamese and some terms need some improvements to sound natural in Vietnamese Roaring (line 1) → ồn náo nhiệt The word roaring is literally translated as the sound of loud noise For example, a noun phrase “a roaring thunder” is translated as “tiếng sét ầm ầm” In the translation, translator uses “ồn náo nhiệt” to make it natural and easy to understand for Vietnamese The translator wants readers to understand the context of a very busy cellar on a hot day In this context, “ồn náo nhiệt” is reasonable and the lexical relation used in this translation is near synonymy Lunch (line 2) → ăn trưa In this translation, there is a shift of word class from a noun to a verb It is reasonable as it sounds clear and original in Vietnamese If translator uses “cho bữa trưa”, it is not clear and natural in Vietnamese My eyes picked him out obscurely (line 3) → lờ mờ nhận anh tiền sảnh “Pick” literally means “to choose somebody/something carefully from a group of people or things” In this translation, “Pick him out” means “to recognize someone among other people” which makes Vietnamese readers easy to understand It is also more natural and familiar in Vietnamese instead of using the meaning of “nhặt” or “chọn” Mr, Caraway, this is my friend Mr Wolfshiem (line 4) →Ông Caraway, xin giới thiệu ông Wolfshiem, bạn In this translation, the translator adds “xin giới thiệu” which is very suitable for Vietnamese speaking style Vietnamese get used to speaking politely with the attitude Page | of respecting other people, especially the older ones It makes the translation natural and original in Vietnam Half-darkness (line 6) → ánh sáng lờ mờ Literally, half-darkness means nửa bóng tối However, in this situation, if the translator translates “tôi phát hai mắt ti hí ơng ta nửa bóng tối”, it does not sound natural and clear for Vietnamese to understand “Anh sáng lờ mờ” makes translation lively, genuine and attractive to Vietnamese readers Tiny (line 6) → ti hí If the translator offers the translation with the literal meaning of “tiny” which means very small in size or amount, it is not as lively and attractive as the word “ti hí” The way the translator uses descriptive language in this translation is very appropriate There is a synonymy of lexical relation in this translation Earnestly (line 7) → hớn hở Literally, “earnestly” means to be in a very serious and sincere way However, it sounds unnatural and incomprehensible if the translation is “nghiêm túc bắt tay tôi” In this case, “hớn hở bắt tay tôi” is a suitable and natural translation to show clearly the attitude of Mr Wolfshiem Drop my hand (line 9) → buông tay The word “drop” means “to fall or allow something to fall by accident” If the translation is “thả”, Vietnamese readers can understand the action in this situation Nevertheless, “buông” makes the translation more natural It means that word choice plays an important role in the success of a good translation …cover Gatsby with his expressive nose (line 9) → hếch mũi biểu cảm phía Gatsby If this sentence is translated literally, it is “nhắm Gatsby với mũi biểu cảm mình” However, Vietnamese readers cannot understand easily and clearly in the literal Page | translation Therefore, the translator uses the word “hếch” which is expressive for the story writing style Mr Wolfshiem swallowed a new sentence he was starting (line 12) → ông Wolfshiem nuốt ngược vào họng câu nói khác vừa định “Swallowed” means “nuốt”, but the translator adds “ngược” that sounds very natural in Vietnamese “nuốt ngược” is a good option in this translation Looking at the Prebyterian nymphs on the ceiling (line 14) → mắt ngước nhìn thánh nữ dòng Prebyte vẽ trần If the translator translates “nhìn thánh nữ”, it is okay to understand for Vietnamese readers However, to make the translation expressive like story writing style, “ngước mắt nhìn” is translated reasonably But I like across the street better (line 15) → Nhưng thích bên đường “Across” is an adverb meaning in a particular direction towards something – “ở bên kia” Nevertheless, if the translation is “ở bên kia”, it is not clear and easy for Vietnamese readers to comprehend Adding “cái” makes the translation clearer and straightforward I can’t forget so long as I live the night (line 23) → Chừng tơi cịn sống tơi chưa thể quên đêm… “so long as” has the meaning of “miễn là” or “với điều kiện là” However, in this translation, “chừng nào” is much more natural and vivid Nevertheless, it seems that the translator missed some phrases in the source text when translating into Vietnamese English A small, flat-nosed Jew raised his large Vietnamese Một người Do Thái nhỏ thó, mũi tẹt head… (line 5) ngẩng cao đầu… “Small” is translated as “nhỏ thó” which is not common and familiar in Vietnamese In this translation, “small” should be translated as “ nhỏ con” Page | … With a funny look…(25) Với vẻ khó hiểu “Khó hiểu” is not a good option in this translation as it is not common and natural in Vietnamese It should be translated as “ lạ” 1.3 Text linking means 1.3.1 Conjunctions Conjunction refers to specific devices for linking one sentence to another There are a number of words – conjunctions and adverbs – which fulfil this function So (line 7) English (causal conjunction) After (line 6) (temporal conjunction) But (line 9) (adversative conjunction) WWhereupon(line 12) (temporal conjunction) Vietnamese Vì Sau Nhưng Và 1.3.2 References “Reference is defined by Halliday and Hasan as “a semantic relation that ensures the continuity of meaning in a text” It involves items that cannot be interpreted in their own right, but which make reference to something else for their interpretation” (Truong, 2012) There are some references found in the text My (line 3) His (line 6) There (line 16) This (line 14) English Của tơi Của anh Ở Cái Vietnamese 1.4 The Articles Page | 10 with two fine growths of a hair which với hai túm lông mũi thò dài luxuriated in either nostril In the source text, there is a relative clause which adds meaning for the noun behind However, the translator omits relative pronoun in the translation as in Vietnamese it is strange to hear such clause “…cái mà thò dài…” don’t pay him a penny till he shuts his đừng có mà trả cho dù xu mouth chừng ta chưa câm mồm If this sentence is translated literally, it is “đừng có mà trả cho dù xu ta câm mồm” Nevertheless, the translator uses adaptation strategy to make the translation explicit and natural for Vietnamese to understand with the translation “… chừng ta chưa câm mồm” I can’t forget so long as I live the night Chừng tơi cịn sống tơi chưa thể quên they shot Rosy Rosenthal there đêm chúng bắn chết Rosy Rosenthal There is a change of clause from the SL to the TL The translation is a good option to make the genuineness and origin 1.6 Tenses This extract is from a story which tells things that have happened already, so the main tense used is past tense However, in the Vietnamese TL text, there is no form change that describes the past tense In spite of that, readers who know Vietnamese can understand clearly those things For example: English Vietnamese I met Gatsby for lunch đến gặp Gatsby He was not addressing me So I took one look at him I handed the money to Katspaugh … khơng phải ơng ta nói với tơi Thế tơi nhìn ta Tôi trao tiền cho Katspaugh… Page | 12 In Vietnamese, according to Cao Xuan Hao, there is no concept of tense Accordingly, to express time relation, temporal adverbials or extra words called temporal markers such as “đã”, “đang”, “sẽ”, “sắp”, “từng”, “chưa”, “vừa”, “mới” are used with the function of indicating tense in some cases For example: English the Rosy had eat and drunk a lot all Vietnamese Rosy ăn uống nhiều suốt tối evening Based on these examples, context is a great importance in showing time relation When translating from English text into Vietnamese text, the translators should consider carefully to make sure they can keep the meaning of the SL text 1.7 Style It is a novel written in informal language, reflecting the ironic writing style of the author In the translation, translator succeeds in conveying the author’s intention It is clear that the characteristic of characters and scenes is maintained by the figurative languages, literary devices and vivid images The translation is considered to be attractive to the readers of the TL To conclude, although there is a need for improvement, in general, the translator still succeeds in preserving the authenticity of the source text as well as conveying the author’s writing style to the readers without losing the accuracy, clarity and naturalness of the translated version 1.8 Some micro strategies were used in translating 1.8.1 Direct transfer of an ST item into the TT - Lunch = ăn trưa Drop my hand = buông tay 1.8.2 Calque - Roaring = ồn náo nhiệt 1.8.3 Direct equivalence of an ST item into the TT Page | 13 - Lunch= ăn trưa - Swallowed = nuốt 1.8.4 Cultural equivalent - roaring = ồn náo nhiệt - haft-darkness = ánh sáng lờ mờ - tiny= ti hí - earnestly= hớn hở 1.8.5 Synonymy - Tiny= ti hí Small= nhỏ 1.8.6 Expansion or paraphrase - This is my friend Mr Wolfshiem = xin giới thiệu đay ông Wolfshiem, bạn Vietnamese to English VIETNAMESE VERSION (Line 1) Thật khơng q tệ đến mức khơng dịm ngó (Line 2) Pascale hay dẫn bạn bè nhà vào sáng chủ nhật sau lễ nhà thờ Saint Jacques (Line 3) Họ dạo Chúa, đồng hương châu Phi (Line 4) Có người quê Cameroon với Pascale, có người đến từ Congo, Madagasca, Benin (Line 5) Vì nhà thờ cách nhà chúng tơi có vài phút (Line 6) Pascale mời bạn bè ghé qua uống café (Line 7) Họ ăn mặc lộng lẫy, nữ khốc trang phục châu Phi sặc sỡ, nam diện veston đàng hoàng (Line 8) - Mấy anh bạn Pascale thích em lắm! (Line 9) Tôi nghếch mặt kể lể với chị Linh qua mạng Skype- (Line 10) Họ khen em dễ thương, xinh xắn, trắng trẻo! Line 11) - Họ đẹp trai không? (Line 12) Linh tròn mắt – (Line 13) Cũng dân nghiên cứu sinh Đại học Liege hả? (Line 14) Cũng trí thức, giảng viên đại học, tiến sĩ tương lai? (Line 15) - Đẹp trai chớ! (Line 16) Có anh cười tươi giống Eddie Murphy, có anh lãng tử giống Will Smith, có anh thơng minh Denzel Washington… (Line 17) - Sao? Chị Linh thất thanh- (Line 18) Mấy tài tử người da đen mà! Page | 14 (Line 19) - Thì nói đồng hương Pascale rồi- (Line 20) Tôi cười phá lên-(Line 21) Chị sống phương Tây văn minh lâu mà kì thị chủng tộc hả? (Line 22) - Trời ơi! (Line 23) Mày mà đem người yêu da đen Việt Nam ba mẹ mày té xỉu hết quá! (Line 24) Chị Linh giơ tay lên trời đầu hàng- (Line 25) Mày Hopeless thiệt em ơi! (Line 26) Trước sang Bỉ, chưa tiếp xúc với người châu Phi, thấy họ… đen (Line 27) Nhưng tiếp xúc ngày với Pascale bạn bè chị thấy người châu Phi thân thiện chân thành (Line 28) Tơi có cảm tình với họ người châu Âu vốn khéo léo, ngoại giao giỏi khó gần (Line 29) Nhưng làm bạn với người châu Phi được, làm người yêu lại chuyện khác (Line 30) Người châu Phi người Việt Nam hồn tồn khơng có chút hiểu biết văn hóa ENGLISH VERSION (Line 1) Actually, I wasn’t so ugly that nobody would notice me (Line 2) Pascale liked to bring her friends home on Sunday mornings after returning from Mass at Saint Jacques church (Line 3) They were Christians, and also fellow Africans (Line 4) They were people from Pascale’s country of Cameron, black people from the Congo, from Madagascar, from the Republic of Benin (Line 5) Because the church was only a three minutes walk from our house, Pascale invited her friends to drop in for a cup of coffee (Line 7) They were splendidly dressed, with the women wearing their traditional flashy American dresses, and with the well-dressed men wearing dignified black jackets (Line 8) - “Several of Pascale’s male friends like me a lot” (Line 9) I said, lifting up my head and telling the narrative to Linh over skype (Line 10) “They complement me very pleasantly saying I’m cute, pretty and have fair skin” (Line 11) - “Are they handsome boys?”, (Line 12) Linh asked, rolling her eyes (Line 13) - “Are they among the graduate student population at the University of Liege? Page | 15 (Line 14) - Are they also intellectual, college lectures, and doctoral degree candidates (Line 15) - They are certainly handsome (Line 16) One smiles just like Eddie Murphy, another is romantic the same as Will smith, and another is as intellectual as Denzel Washington (Line 17) - “What” Linh screamed (Line 18) “Those actors are black” (Line 19) - “Certainly, I said they are Pascale’s people” (Line 20) I laughed heartily (Line 21) “You’ve lived in the Western civilization foe a long time already, yet you still have racial prejudice huh?” (Line 22) - “My God! (Line 23) If you bought a black lover back to Vietnam your parents would surely faint!” (Line 24) Linh yelled, raising her hands up to the sky in defeat (Line 25) “You would be hopelessly lost” (Line 26) Before going to Belgium I also saw Africans as being very black because I hadn’t yet had any contact with them! (Line 27) However, when I was in contact with Pascale and her friends every day I found Africans to be friendly and sincere (Line 28) I liked them better than naturally skillful, diplomatic and unapproachable Europeans (Line 29) It was acceptable to become friends with Africans, but become lovers was another matter (Line 30) Africans and Vietnamese had absolutely no knowledge about each other’s cultures 2.1 Word count While the total words in source language (SL) is 360, that of target language (TL) is 367 The length difference between two versions is only words, which means the translation meets one of the requirements of a good translation It is not too long or too short compared to the source text 2.2 Vocabulary/ Word Meaning Vocabulary plays an important role in making a good translation The choice of word is an important issue as it conveys correctly the intention of author For example: Page | 16 Thật Vietnamese English không tệ đến I wasn’t so ugly that… mức… If “tệ” is translated literally, it is “bad” However, in this concept, the author mentions “appearance” Hence, “ugly” is a good translation to convey the intention of the author Họ dạo Chúa, đồng hương They were Christians, and also fellow châu Phi Africans There is a shift of word class from a verb to a noun However, the noun “Christians” is a reasonable translation that sounds natural in English In addition, “cùng đồng hương châu Phi” is behind “Họ dạo chúa” If the translation is “They visited the church”, it is not parallel with the next noun phrase Pascale mời bạn bè ghé qua uống café Pascale invited her friends to drop in for a cup of coffee There is also a shift of word class from a verb to a noun However, if the translation is “… for drinking coffee”, it does not sound natural in English Just by “a cup of coffee”, English readers can understand that “Pascale invited her friends to drop in for enjoy coffee” without the verb “drinking” Họ ăn mặc lộng lẫy They were splendidly dressed Vietnamese tend to say “ăn mặc” but the true meaning is “dress” The change of word class from a verb to an adjective is suitable with English writing style …có anh lãng tử giống Will Smith another is romantic the same as Will smith There is a cohesive device used in this translation “Romantic” means “lãng mạn” but is suitable to translate in this sentence The lexical relation between “lãng mạn” and “lãng tử” is near synonymy … mà kì thị chủng tộc hả? …yet you still have racial prejudice huh? The shift of word class from a verb to a noun makes the translation sounds natural If translated literally, it is “…you still discriminate race” However, it does not make sense in English Tôi cười phá lên I laughed heartily “phá lên” is translated into “heartily” which means “nồng nhiệt” This translation is quite good as it can convey the intention of author “the elating and surprising attitude Page | 17 of the character” Tôi có cảm tình với họ … I liked them better than…… There is a shift of word class from a noun to a verb For literal translation, it is “I had sympathy with them…” However “ I liked them ” in the translation is reasonable as it indicates the liking of the character toward Africans” 2.3 Text linking means 2.3.1 Conjunctions Conjunction refers to specific devices for linking one sentence to another There are some conjunctions in SL and TL extract Vietnamese English Và (line 27, 28) And (additive conjunction) Mà(line 21 ) Yet( adversative conjunction) Nhưng (line 29) But (adversative conjunction) Nhưng …(line 27 ) However (adversative conjunction) From these examples above, it is clear that in this extract, the conjunctions are translated with their most common meanings (literal translation) 2.3.2 References Vietnamese Họ (line 3,7,11) Chúng (line 5) Ba mẹ mày…(line 23) Của chị (line 27) English They Our Your parents Her friends The references are present many times in the text due to the need of keeping the cohesion Without the references, some words could be repeated again and again It is clear that the references in Vietnamese are translated literally into English Nevertheless, the translator adds possessive identifiers (personal references) that the translation sounds natural, original and cohesive in English Vietnamese Pascale hay dẫn bạn bè nhà English Pascale liked to bring her friends home Page | 18 Tôi nghếch mặt kể lể Linh tròn mắt I said, lifting up my head Linh asked, rolling her eyes Chị Linh giơ tay lên trời đầu hàng Linh yelled, raising her hands up to the sky in defeat To sum up, the way translator uses personal reference (cohesive devices) in a proper way keeps the cohesion of the target text as well as the faithfulness of the original text 2.4 The Articles As previously mentioned, articles not exist in Vietnamese, therefore classifiers (cái, con, tờ…), demonstratives (markers of deixis) (này), numerals (or numbers), determiners (định ngữ) are chosen to modify noun phrases However, in this Vietnamese extract, there is no classifier found The translator adds the articles including indefinite articles (a, an) and definite article (the) to make the translation sounds natural and explicit in English For example: Vietnamese English Pascale mời bạn bè ghé qua uống café Pascale invited her friends to drop in for a cup of coffee Nam diện veston đàng hoàng The well-dressed men wearing dignified Mày mà đem người yêu da đen… black jackets If you bought a black lover… Chị sống phương Tây văn minh rồi… lâu You’ve lived in the Western civilization for a long time… The articles are in front of the nouns and make the nouns clearer and more obvious so that readers can understand As a result, when translating, depending on the context and meaning of the word, the translator needs to choose an appropriate article in Page | 19