an investigation into cultural factors affecting the translation of idioms from english into vietnamese

THESIS AN INVESTIGATION INTO CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE TRANSLATION OF IDIOMS FROM ENGLISH INTO VIETNAMESE NGHIEN CUU CAC YEU TO VAN HOA ANH HUONG DEN DICH ~ U PAG NGU TU... CERT

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

AN INVESTIGATION INTO CULTURAL FACTORS

ATTON OF IDIOMS

FROM ENGLISH INTO VIETNAMESE

(NGHIEN CUU CAC YEU TO VAN HOA ANH HUONG DEN DICH

THANH NGU (BAC NGU) TU TIENG ANH SANG TIENG VIET)

NGHIEM THANH LICH

Hanoi, 2016

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

AN INVESTIGATION INTO CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE TRANSLATION OF IDIOMS FROM ENGLISH INTO VIETNAMESE

(NGHIEN CUU CAC YEU TO VAN HOA ANH HUONG DEN DICH

~

U (PAG NGU) TU TIENG ANH SANG-TIENG VIET)

NGHIEM THANH LICH

Field: English Language

Code: 60220201

Supervisor: Luu Thi Phuong Lan, PhD

Hanoi, 2016

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE TRANSLATION OF IDIOMS FROM ENGLISH INTO VIETNAMESE submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Hanoi, 2016

Nghiêm Thanh Lịch

Approved by SUPERVISOR

Luu Thi Phuong Lan, PhD

Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Luu Thi Phuong Lan From the point of an advisor and a mentor, she introduced and inspired me to do this research My professional development has been growing increasingly with her precious guidance and

continuous motivation

I owe my family for their constant source of love, support and encouragement I am immensely grateful to them for standing behind me whenever I needed them especially in times of difficulties

I would also want to extend a special shout-out to all the research participants Without your valuable opinions and ideas on the questionnaires, the project would not have been accomplished

Finally, my special thanks go to all my dear friends for their understanding and assistance during thesprocess, ofpreparing fis yescarsh I count each of

A ABBA % Beeld

you as my special blessings

While I am greatly indebted to all of these people for their tireless help to my completion of this thesis, I myself remain responsible for any inadequacies

that are found in this work.

ABSTRACT The present study is a linguistics investigation of equivalence above word level It deals with the difficulties of non-equivalence emerged in translating English idioms which encompass with cultural factors into Vietnamese equivalents and the methods used by the second students to find the suitable equivalent in the target language The aim of this study is to examine the type

of difficulty students of the second-year have to face while translating idioms and tries to suggest solutions and identify strategies that may help to limit or

avoid these difficulties In this area, a questionnaire made up of twelve

English idioms is given to learners to be translated The results of the study show that there are potential problems in the process of translating idioms

from English into Vietnamese Furthermore, the findings indicate that the

context of use helps learners much in guessing the appropriate meaning of idioms They also reveal that, except word for word translation, the learners’

¬ at

use of other translation strategies:is litnitedgg Vig via NO:

ABBREVIATION ELF: English as a foreign language

ESL: English as a second language

SL: Source language

TL: Target language

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Percentage of students’ familiarity and unfamiliarity with English

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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METHODOLOOY G0 0000.0000 00 00 00000 0ø 30 3.1 Research-governing OrIenfafIO'S .‹-‹ << + sssssssssxss 30 3.1.1 Research Questions TS a7 30 3.1.2 Research ii nh a 31 3.1.3 Research approaches - + + + + 111x191 111 11111111111 8 re 32 3.1.4 Principles/ criteria for intended data collection and data analysis 32 3.2 Research methOdS - - - - c1 0210111011101 10 10111010111 vế 32 3.2.1 MajJor methods and supporting methods . -‹‹- «<< << << + 32 3.2.2 Data collection technIQU©S + + ss + << S333 rrea 33

3.3 SUIMIMALY nỘỘ ƠỎ 34 0:7 00.02 35 EFINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS Q0 000m g0 35

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4.2.2.3 Translation by paraphrase (Paraphrasing) - - -«- 52 4.2.2.4 ri) 0A0 0n 53

4.2.3 Implications for 1dioms teaching and translation - - 53

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

The English language is particularly noted for its wealth of idioms - those ways of expressions peculiar to the dialect of a language that frequently disobey logical as well as grammatical rules Idioms are always one of the most precious parts among cultural heritages An idiom not only carries the information they want to convey, but also expresses the special language pleasant impression Thus, translating English idioms is not only an inter-

lingual communication, but a cross-cultural transfer, which involves a

comparative study of the source language culture and target language culture They let the readers think deeply in the spirit they contain Sometimes some

English idioms is easy to translate

them into Vietnai

Vietnamese idioms, there is no corresponding terms exist, and then we should take some means into consideration It is the fact that translation is viewed primarily as an inter-culture communication (Bassnett & Lefevere, 1990) As

can be seen from the discussion above, translation of idioms from English

into Vietnamese equivalents with reference to cultural factors is a large area full of challenge In the frame work of this study, the author only concentrates

on the English idioms filled with cultural identities Since the research 1s carried out against the Vietnamese backgrounds, the corresponding Vietnamese equivalents are also provided The study is so entitled An investigation into the cultural factors affecting the translation of idioms from English into Vietnamese

1.2 Aims of the research

The aim of this study is investigating cultural factors affecting the translation

of idioms from English into Vietnamese in order to improve the idiomatic translation skill of learners of Faculty of English in Hanoi Open University 1.3 Objectives of the research

As an exploratory study of idiomatic translation from the perspective of culture, this thesis pursued the following goals:

** Describing the characteristics of English idioms and Vietnamese idioms

** Pointing out the common difficulties which learners usually have to face with while translating English idioms into Vietnamese

** Suggesting implications for translating idioms from English into Vietnamese in terms of cultural perspectives

1.4 Scope of the research

Theoretically, this research sets a comprehensive understanding of the translation of idioms, attach much importance to cultural factors

Practically, this research also provides English idioms containing cultural factors that are shaped in their Vietnamese to help learners appreciate the influence of cultural elements on the linguistic materials of English idioms as well as Vietnamese translation It expects to fulfill the shortcomings in

translating idioms from English into Vietnamese, which would help learners

at Hanoi Open University to translate them more effectively

1.6 Structural organization of the thesis

The thesis is designed with five chapters as follows:

Chapter I is the introduction that gives the overview of the thesis including rationale, aims, objectives, scope, significance and the organization

Chapter 2 is the literature review that provides the recapitulation of several previous studies and builds up fundamental features of idioms and idiomatic

in translating English'idioms into Vietnamese equivalents:

Chapter 5 is the conclusion that summarizes the major findings of the thesis with proper strategies, the limitations of the study and the suggestions for further study

References and Appendix come at the end of the study

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous studies

Other research works related to the theme under study before the current

thesis

The study by Liu (2012) expressed his point of view that culture plays a vital role in translating idioms from English into his mother tongue - Chinese equivalences He explained more about the differences between Chinese and Western cultures in order to find out the highest possible degree of cultural exchange through translating In general, this research focused on the effects that culture has on translation may help to disclose the aspects of translation that the literarily-based and linguistically-based translation theories have

claimed theoretical system of translation studies is incomplete This contribution focuses on the handling of idioms and will shed light on the translation of other cultural specificities It is intended to usher in further in- depth study of relations between culture and translation

Ren and Yu (2013) also succeed in highlighting characteristics of idioms as well as the importance of cultural context in determination of word-meaning — the coral system theory of the thesis Authors also suggested a range of useful ways for correct comprehension of idioms meaning They divided the translation of idioms into four types based on translation principles of idioms, namely all corresponding English and Chinese idioms and literal translation, half corresponding English and Chinese idioms and adapted translation, uncorresponding English and Chinese idioms and free translation, notation translation They pointed out and claimed English idioms are the production

of culture Idioms are limited by English culture and have exclusive

characteristics of it, contain adequate cultural substance Hence,

understanding English idioms has to take culture into full consideration This study recommended the link between culture and language in relation with the translation of idioms It is encouraged researchers in further study of cross- cultural transfer or intercultural communication through idiomatic translation

In these studies, the authors have examined several issues which focus

attention on the translation of idioms between English and Chinese Basically, idioms are regarded as a form of language reflecting culture in a concentrated

way, therefore, the translation of idioms should be done from cultural

perspective firstly Cultural factors are also mentioned in both researches In Liu’s opinion, he shows readers the importance of culture in translating

idioms, however, he have not explained the factors that make the differences

between the two |

the translation of idioms from communicative approaches They put idioms in

practical cultural contexts Thus, the translation of idioms is cross-cultural

communication However, particular cultural factors which have great

influence on translation still have not been discussed

In the present study, an idiom will be investigated in two main aspects The first one is the cultural way it is formed (cultural factors) and the second one

is the proper translation of it in context in order to ensure that its meaning fit

in Vietnamese culture (translation strategies) It hopes to make the views of other researchers clearer as well as put the cultural factors in the right place when translating English idioms into Vietnamese

2.2 Theoretical background

2.2.1 An overview of English idioms

2.2.1.1 Definitions of English idioms

It is said that a language is a living substance, which evolves under the influence of different factors Over the past 600 years, English has grown from a language of few speakers to become the dominant language of international communication Being very flexible, English language constantly enriches its vocabulary with the words invented by the native speakers, adding more colorful with new idiomatic expressions called

“idioms”; and from time to time, refills it stocks with the borrowings and

neologisms

English, itself, just amazes by its peculiar linguistic diversity; in which, as

mentioned, idioms hold a notable position As an authentic material in

English language, idioms are akin to a special flavor which season with new-

Dictionary, 2007) According to Dr Chitra F (1996), “Idioms are indivisible

units whose components cannot be varied or varied only within definable limits” From Langacker’s perpective, he also believes “An idiom is a kind of complex lexical item It is a phrase whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meanings of the morphemes it comprises” In his turn, Michael C., (2003:3) says that “Idioms are fixed expressions whose meanings is not immediately obvious from looking at the individual words in the idioms”

Albeit linguistics have different ways to define idioms, it is remarkable that

they refer to idiom with two main features, its constituent elements (syntactic)

and meaning (semantic)

Generally speaking, idioms are explained as relatively stable phrases whose meanings are not deduced from the literal meanings of the words which make them up in the dictionary These characteristics make English idioms like

“hard nut to crack” for learners using English as the second language, “7c use of idioms is a challenge for English language learners because, compared

to standard vocabulary acquisition, understanding these expressions is not clear by simply referring to a dictionary”, says Holleman (2006:45)

It can be seen that idioms are particular pattern of a language that the meaning

of an idiom is based on characterization of a person or a group of itself Hence, English learners usually get confused or stuck when finding the meaning of a certain idiom They cannot acquire the meaning of an idiom by

working out the meanings of separate Components but rat

as a whole

2.2.1.2 Features of English idioms

On the view adopted here, the creation of an idiom involves two parallel

mechanisms, one syntactic and the other semantic

2.2.1.2.1 Syntactic features

“* Set-expressions

To commence with, in term of syntactic features, an idiom is a set-expression Thus, it is not easy for us to change the fixed order of an idiom We can take the idiom ‘spick and span’ as an example The idiom means clean and tidy If

we change it into ‘span and spick’, the idiom would make nonsense

Professor Kunin (2006:45) states, “Idioms have lexical and grammatical stability It implies that they are fixed in their form, hence any substitution and rearranging in their structure can lead to complete loss of their primary meaning”

N +N: ‘donkey work’ (hard work), ‘crocodile tears’ (insincere tears)

N’s +N: ‘donkey’s years’ (in a long time), ‘lion’s share’ (the biggest

part)

time)

N + Adj: ‘hair-raising’ (terrifying), ‘bigheaded’ (conceited, boastful)

N + and + N: ‘a cat and dog life’ (a person in a family frequently or constantly quarreling), ‘neck and neck’ (stand by, next)

Adj + N: ‘red tape’ (unnecessary bureaucracy), ‘black spot’ (a place in

a road where accidents often happen)

N +S.Cl: ‘dogs that chase many hares kill none’ (unfaithfully love)

Verb (V)

V +N: ‘hold water’ (suitable), ‘pop the question’ (make a proposal of marriage)

V+and+ V: ‘hit and miss’ (carelessly, without plan or direction)

V + (one’s) + N + prep: ‘glance one’s eyes down’ (take a very quick superficial look at something)

V +one+N: ‘eat one’s words’ (admit one was wrong)

V +S.Cl: ‘see which way the wind blows’ (see what most people think,

or what is likely to happen before you decide how to act)

Adverb (Ady)

Adv + and + adv: ‘more and less’ (almost, nearly)

Prep + N + or + Prep + N: ‘by hook or by crook’ (by any method,

whether it is honest or not)

Conj + Cl: ‘when pigs fly’ (ampossible to happen)

Adv + prep + N: ‘once in a blue moon’ (very rarely)

“* Grammatical features

In connection with structure, an idiom can have a regular, an irregular or even

a grammatical incorrect structure In his research, Cruse (2000:34) says,

“Idioms and idiomatic expressions do not follow standard grammatical rules, mainly because of the fact that their elements do not have any meaning” In other words, idioms usually violate grammar rules Also, Cruse points out grammatical features of idioms via an example idiom ‘kick the bucket’ (meaning to die):

Elements are not separately modifiable

Mr Lee kicked the bucket

Mr Lee kicked the old bucket

Idioms can be modified only as a whole unit

Mr Lee kicked the bucket unexpectedly

Elements det ot Sanh Dit bane matte constituents

Mr Lee kicked and punched the bucket

Mr Lee kicked the bucket and the pail

Elements cannot take contrastive stress or be the focus of topicalizing

transformations, and the like

It was bucket what Mr Lee kicked

What Mr Lee did to bucket was kick it

Elements cannot be referred back anaphorically

Mr Lee kicked the bucket Jack kicked it, too

An idiom does not survive the substitution of any of its constituent elements by a synonym or a near synonym

10

Mr Lee kicked the pail

Mr Lee pulled his sister’s arm

Accordingly, Baker (1992:63) provides a list of what a speaker or writer cannot do with an idiom:

e To change a word order:

‘Safe and sound’ > Sound and safe

® To delete a word:

‘The apple of one’s eye’ > The apple of one’s

e To add a word:

‘Let the cat out of the bag’ > Let the cat out of the beautiful bag

® To replace a word with another:

wh r 4 3 VV Nan i vA xi he ÔN os M Q

‘Sell like hot Lukes” Sei tke load T”

e Change its grammatical structure:

‘Caught a cold’ > Catch a cold

However, as some other idioms are more flexible than others, we can make

some changes if idioms do not lose their idiomatic meanings As in the idiom

‘spill the beans’ (give secret), we possibly use it in several different tenses and its individual constituents can be replaced or referred to utilizing a pronoun If this idiom is used in a question like “Who spilled the beans?”, the tense has been altered The question might be the answered with “They were spilled by Ethel’; therefore, replacing the beans with pronoun that refers back

to the ‘beans’ in the question This means that idioms are only in some of

their part, but not all

lãi

“* Recognition

An idiom is the special chemical mixture of all components, which is

completely in new quality From that, Bell (1974:2) remarks some critical syntactic features of idioms for learners to realize them easily

Firstly, he mentions alteration of grammatical rules as one of identities The idiomatic expressions are not always grammatical, but they are established, accepted and utilized by native speakers of the language with a fixed structure and meaning For example, “/t’s ages since we met” (singular with a plural

noun)

Secondly, conventional phrase is taken into account Idioms are extraordinary sayings which are almost known and admitted by all the members of a specific community To illustrate, the idiom ‘smell a rat’ (to become

Suspicious, to s

problem or diffic

absorbed by the people in the same culture

Last but not least, alteration of word order is considered In English idioms,

the word order is usually violated Let’s have a look at the examples:

e It may be well ahead of time (normal word order)

e It may well be ahead of time (probably — idiomatic expression)

That is to say, syntactic features of idioms are relatively diverse from fixed phrases to structural forms with prominent characteristics Each of these factors combines with others harmoniously to affect idioms’ formation

2.2.1.2.2 Semantic features

Idioms are integral units It literally means that idioms possess indivisible completeness, so all the components are bound within one idiom

12

s* Literal and figurative meanings

Literal and figurative meanings are two possible meanings of all idioms Albeit, in most cases, the literal meaning is illogical because idioms often do not obey standard rules of syntax and semantic This is why Glucksberg (2001:69) states that “There is generally no logical relation between an idiom and its semantic meaning, idioms may be seen as long ordinary words, whose semantics are indiscriminate and learned by memorizing” There are some typical illustrations:

The idiom ‘stick to one’s gun’ is used when you want to talk about a person who always maintains his or her opinion Such as in the sentence, “Kate always sticks to her gun in all discussions’, if the audience understand this situation by its literal meaning, they may feel it seems ridiculous

Similarly, the idiom ‘a veritable couch potato’ is usually used to talk about a

LGU Vien Vien dl MIO Ha OL

very lazy person, not anything relates to the dish * “potato”

Likewise, ‘have got egg on one’s face’ does not mention “real egg”, it means

someone has made a fool

The above examples direct the meanings of idioms cannot be derived from the component words as well as they vary from the same as that of the set phrase

“* Positive, neutral and negative meanings

One more semantic feature of idioms is that they feasibly convey positive, neutral or negative meanings

A majority of idioms have a positive meaning, in particular, ‘head and shoulders over the others’ (better than others), ‘go like a bomb’ (very

successful), ‘whole-hearted’ (helpful, generous, well-behave), etc

13

Idioms with neutral meaning such as ‘by and large’ (in general), ‘short and sweet’ (talk in short way), ‘to watch the world go by’ (to observe happening events while doing nothing), etc

Negative idioms also take a part with a range of comments about people or thing, namely ‘all fingers and thumbs’ (very clumsy, awkward), ‘pigheaded’ (stubborn), ‘cooking the books’ (cheat in working), ‘take you for a ride’

(cheat someone) and so on

To put it simply, all above instances are justify for the diverse and complicated meanings of idiomatic expressions

“* Types of idioms based on semantic meanings

A V Kunin (2006) emphasizes “/dioms as a stable combination of word with

a fully or partially figurative meaning” This idea mentions two inherent and

important features-of the-idior

Genuinely, researchers interested in idioms have tried to classify them into different kinds according to the degree of idiomaticity that an idiom carries Semantically, idioms are categorized in a continuum from transparent to opaque called the spectrum of idiomaticity Therefore, idioms can be divided

into four sections:

Transparent idioms

Transparent idioms are those idioms that can be move easily derived These idioms have a very close meaning to that of the literal one Hence, transparent idioms are usually not difficult to understand and translate, because their meanings can be easily inferred from the meanings of their constituents, both components have a direct meaning but the combination acquires figurative

sense (Fernando, 1996)

14

Example: see the light = to understand

lend me hand = help somebody

be deeply in love = love each other very much

Semi-transparent idioms

The idiom usually contains a metaphorical sense that could not be known only through common use The meaning of its parts has a little role to play in understanding the entire meaning (Baker, 1992)

Example: break the ice = relieve the tension

crack of dawn = very early in the morning

beauty is only skin-deep = how a person looks is less important than

their character

Semi-opaque idioms

This type refers to those idioms in which the figurative meaning is not joined

to that of the constituent words of the idiom Thus, the expression is separated into two parts; a part with a literal meaning, and another part with a figurative sense Palmer (1996) says that, “However idiomatic meaning cannot be predicted from the word of an idiom, sometimes its meaning is closely related

to one word of an idiom”

Examples: know the rope = know how a particular job should be done

pass the buck = pass responsibility

pass with flying colours = pass easily

Opaque idioms

Baker states that opaque idioms (pure idioms) are the most difficult kind of idioms since the meaning of the idiom is never that of the literal meanings of

15

its parts So, it would be impossible to infer the actual meaning of the idiom from the meaning of its components because of the presence of items having cultural references These culture-specific items have a great influence on the comprehensibility of idiomatic expressions

Examples: a white elephant = useless and expensive thing

a China shop in the showroom = knocking everything over

let sleeping dogs lie = avoid talking about passed things

To sum up, a good understanding of the features helped the researcher in designing the written test and analyzing the data collected to answer the research questions

There have been various definitions of translation, and following are some of

them

16

Translation, by dictionary definition, consists of changing from one state or form to another, to turn into one’s own or another’s language (The Merriam- Webster Dictionary, 1974) According to Nida and Taber (1982:12),

“Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closet natural equivalence of the source language (SL) message firstly, in terms of meaning and secondly, in terms of style” In his turn, Zagy (2000) considers the translation aim as transferring the meaning to the target language (TL) rather than converting the words and grammatical forms of the original language Catford, on the other hand, defines the translation process as “the replacement of textual material in one language, by equivalent textual material in another language”’

In general, most authors agree that translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has been expressed in one language

definition was used by the researcher due to its suitability to the nature of this study, which enabled her to find the answers to the research questions

2.2.2.2 Features of translation

2.2.2.2.1 Types of translation

Different strategies or different methods of translation produce different kinds

of translation In the history of translation development, there have been a

great number of terms: literal, free, literary, non-literary, borrowing, equivalence, figurative, so on and so forth Actually, the classifications of translation types are many according to different points of view, based on either structure, function, or semantics of language; however, according to Huong (2010), there are nine main types: word-for-word translation, literal

translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, communicative

17

translation, idiomatic translation, free translation, adaptation translation, gist translation

2.2.2.2.2 Criteria

** Equivalence in translation

Equivalence is a term used by many writers to describe the nature and the extent of the relationship which exist between the SL and TL text Nida (1964:9) defined the equivalence nature and conditions are considered as

the main objectives of translation studies Therefore, translation focuses

attention on the messages itself in both form and content Its purpose is being as faithful as possible to the source culture and it lets the reader

“knows as much as he can of the customs, manner of thought and means of expression” and it aims at complete naturalness of expressions It is the fact that “full equivalence is rare”, but the translator had to look for the

differences at the cultural, grammatical, lexical or stylistic levels

According to Baker (1992), non-equivalence may be at the level of word

or above it Non-equivalence at word level can occur because of “the absence in the target culture of a relevant situational feature for the source language text” (Bassnett, 1980:39) This is because the concept may be lexicalized in the SL and not in the TL This phenomenon can be illustrated by the word ‘snow’ European countries have many words, phrases, idioms for snow because it falls many times in the year, whereas

in other countries, like Vietnam, that lexicalized only one type of snow It

is highly mentioned to culture

18

Non-equivalence also appears above word level, since words do not occur

on their own, but they “almost occur on the company of other words” (Baker, 1992:46) Frequently, the comprehension of a word meaning is impossible until it 1s combined with other words to form stretches of language Hence, non-equivalence above word level characterizes notions like metaphors, collocations and particularly, idioms

2.2.3 The translation of idioms

As idioms are important part of languages, understanding of a language requires understanding of its idioms and the tactics for idioms translation Translation is no easy job, especially the translation of idioms because idioms are the most difficult part to render In general, translating idioms is conceived of as an inter-lingual communication as well as a process of cultural transfer and translators are almost always required to be both

bilingually and ˆ culturally “competent: ’ For~ truly’ ‘expert translating,

biculturalism matters even more than bilingualism, as words only have meaning in terms of the culture in which they operate, and the understanding

of the source-language text is influenced and conditioned by the culture On the other hand, the translator, as a special type of reader and an insider of his own culture, cannot always be a passkey to opening all the cultural locks He cannot completely transcend the boundaries of his own cultural heritage into the world of the other He sometimes may be too locked into his own culture way of thinking to be able to share other cultures Hence, the degree of difficulty and the quality of translation have more to do with culture than with language itself

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2.2.4 Characteristics of English culture and Vietnamese culture

Every language has its own idioms, a special kind of set expressions that have developed within a language English and Vietnamese are abundant in idioms

As an important part of the general vocabulary of every language, idioms are the gems of a language, which have been described as the crystallization of human wit and wisdom Exploring idioms means exploring another culture Therefore, translator knows that translating idioms from English into Vietnamese means comparing cultures This comparison indicates that the translator interprets source-culture phenomena (English idioms) in the light of his own culture-specific knowledge (Vietnamese equivalence) The concepts

of his own culture will thus be used as the touchstones for the perception of otherness Actually, comparing cultures embraces both cultural similarities and differences

Culture and lang

culture is that of part to whole Different cultures have different perceptions and appropriateness in language production It is the fact that English belongs

to Western culture whereas Vietnamese is Orient one Absolutely, English

and Vietnamese are different, therefore, it is hypothesized that the discourse

relation patterns of idioms might vary from country to another, although the tendency and nature of speech might be universal similar As a sequence, the origin of the two languages creates more differences than similarities in terms

of cultural factors

2.2.4.1 Characteristics of English culture — individualist cultures

In Britain, people place great importance on individually, independent, and self-reliance It can be seen that the pivotal unit is the individual Therefore, communication tends to be directly Accordingly, English prefers direct,

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clear, and explicit messages Correspondingly, linear, cause-and-effect thought patterns are emphasized by almost all Western people That individualist culture values explain why they expect their refusal to reflect the personal reasons firstly In addition, due to personal accountability, English messages are expected to capture personal opinion This reason also leads them to brief, precise and straightforward expression in refusing an invitation

It is true that English is trained from very early in their life to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situation

on their life and their own destinies They are not trained to see group, tribe, nation, or any other collectivity

2.2.4.2 Characteristics of Vietnamese culture — collective cultures

In sharp contrast to individualist culture, Vietnamese people belong to collective culture — which communication is indirectly Collectivism attaches much importance to group where members see themselves as elements in a closely-knit network with others; they are part of a strong cohesive unit that protect and support them throughout their lives in exchange for their loyalty Values cherished by collective culture are harmony, personal dignity or

“face”, filial piety and respect for elders, equitable distribution of rewards among the group, and fulfillment of the needs of others Thus, explicit and direct communication is less important in collective culture On the other hand, indirect, and ambiguous messages are appreciated Meaning is often implicit, inferred, and transmitted “between the lines” because the underlying belief is that communication should not be used only to deliver content; it should nurture the relationship, maintain harmony, and prevent loss of the face (personal identity or dignity) by diffusing personal responsibility Hence, Vietnamese choose circuitous logic to explain for their absence They seldom

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employ linear or cause-and-effect reasons like English With them, situations

or problem are presented holistically, within a larger context So, communicators from collective cultures may seem to favor rambling or metaphorical statements

It can be seen that the divide between Vietnamese culture and Western culture rank quite high with the greatest number of cultural factors subject to variation and the least commonality Hence, it is much more difficult for translators to transfer English idioms into Vietnamese equivalent However, culture is also the important key which can help translator to find the nearest meaning as well as attain a profound translation in target language

In some cases, for instance, Orients will definitely feel at a loss when they

hear about the idiom ‘to carry coals to Newcastle’ because they may wonder where Newcastle or what this idiom means This idiom comes from a place of England, where supplies a huge amount of coals for the country In literal meaning, it has taken on a meaning to emphasize that to carry something to a place where it is already plentiful With the specific cultural connotation considered, it is better rendered as ‘Cho cui vé rieng’ to make it meaningful in Vietnamese Likewise, culture also evolves with particular characteristics They are the product of society and differ in each country Some idioms with reference to a particular name of a place or character pose a challenge to translation For example, if the English idiom ‘as patient as Job’ is translated

literally into Vietnamese, unaware of the cultural connotation, as “kiên nhan

nhu Job’, it might make readers confused and ask who is Job, why is he patient, how patient is he, etc Actually, Job is a popular name used for hard working person and this idiom advice people to attempt to achieve something

In Vietnamese, it is understood as “Có công mài sốt, có ngày nên kim' although the reader cannot see any pieces of mental or needle

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2.2.5 Categories of English and Vietnamese idioms according to cultural

characteristics

Both English and Vietnamese languages have a great number of idioms What are the equivalents of English idioms in Vietnamese then? Why are the interpretations different in English-Vietnamese dictionaries?

Considered as the national treasure of each culture, idioms are always highly specialized in meaning and associated with typical cultural features and attitudes The cultural features of a nation, including its national psychology, aesthetic perspectives and values are surely reflected in its language The cultural identities of a language refer to not only the connotations of ‘culture’ but also the extension of the concept ‘culture’ — the nation’s history, geographical conditions, economy, social system, religion and customs reflected and recorded in its language The origin of idioms can be traced back to ancient time A great majority of idioms originated from people’s daily verbal communication, their birthplace can be found with the clues left behind them Given the knowledge of the categories of idioms, we can comprehend and understand them more easily

2.2.5.1 Religions and beliefs

When we discuss elements that have shaped our language, we cannot afford

to neglect an extremely important one — religion Christianity rules over behavior and ideas of almost English people Thus, God has the mighty power and we meet a great number of idioms contain ‘God’ as follow: man proposes, God disposes, put the fear of God into somebody, sure as God made little green apples, God willing and the creek don’t rise, etc.(Lijie, 2010)

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Whereas, Buddhism was brought into Vietnam from early and has exerted great influence on Vietnamese culture over two thousand years It has shaped

Vietnamese language, diet, arts, etc, and greatly stimulated the development

of Vietnamese literature The large number of words and idioms derived from Buddhism is one of the manifestation of its influence such as vdi thua che mat thánh; Miệng nam mô, bụng một bô dao găm; Có thờ có thiêng, có kiêng có

lành; Ăn chay niệm Phát; Khẩu phát tâm xà, etc (Hành, 2008)

2.2.5.2 Living circumstance

** Geographical environment

The United Kingdom, constitutional monarchy in Northwestern Europe, is officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Great

Britain is the largest island in the cluster of island, or archipelago, known as

the British Isles England is the largest and most populous division of the island of Great Britain, making the South and East Wales is on the West and Scotland is to the North Northern Ireland is located in the Northeast corner of

Ireland, the second largest island in the British Isles The United Kingdom is

an island country It means that a large number of people live along sea coast and their livelihood is dependent on the sea Hence, people regard British culture as ‘sea culture’ In Britain, people’s love for the sea can be seen in the following examples: all at sea, in a calm sea, every man is a pilot, the frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean, as close as an oyster, half seas over, never offer to teach fish to swim, etc In the battle with nature, a man who fears difficulties can only reap the scum and rubbish floating on the surface of the ocean, but a man who can bear hardship reaps pearls and other treasures lying deep in the bottom of the ocean: still waters run deep, all

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rivers run into the sea, it’s hard sailing when there is no wind, etc .(Lijie,

which there are many idioms connected with rice, fish, boat, etc: bắt cá hai

tay, kén cá chọn canh, cùng hội cùng thuyên, đất lành chim đậu, etc (Minh,

2007)

s* C|imate

Since the United Kingdom is located in the western hemisphere, with North Temperate Zone and marine climate, so west wind symbolizes spring The west wind blows from the Atlantic Ocean as warm and gentle as Vietnamese east wind and brings voluminous rain to this area Thus, there are some English idioms concerning rainy season: rain cats and dogs, as right as rain,

make hay while the sun shines, etc Moreover, this country is usually known

as a country of cold winter; hence, it is not difficult to find idioms concerning

fog, namely in a fog or not have the foggiest idea Spring up like mushrooms may become incomprehensible to Vietnamese learner if he is unaware that this idiom implies the richness of mushroom growing in the wet area in Britain just as bamboo in Vietnam, and as plentiful as blackberries also indicates the ecological environment in Britain, for blackberries are easily available in England (Lijie, 2010)

In contrast to the United Kingdom, Vietnam is located in tropical monsoon

climate: humid and drizzly in spring, hot and rainy in summer, cool in fall,

cold and dry in winter So, idioms deal with climate are found: mura thudn gid

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hòa, dâm mưa đãi năng, mưa dâm thâm lâu, năng như đồ lựa, etc (Hành, 2008)

2.2.5.3 Historical allusion

s* Historical events

All nations have their own distinct history and historical events, and English people also The United Kingdom has a history of more than one thousand years, so the English language is not very rich in the idioms related to historical events Here are some instances: meet one’s Waterloo — is from the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, which means ‘to be completely defeated’; Dunkirk evacuation comes from the Second World War and originally meant ‘the retreat in disorder’ (Lijie, 2010)

Vietnamese also have their own different legends and anecdotes about historical figures which are used as materials for idioms such as van hay chữ

tot — comes from the history of Cao Ba Quat (Minh 2007: 510), ba que xo Ia —

appears in French colonial period (Minh 2007: 51), etc Furthermore, there are

a lot of Vietnamese idioms which are from Chinese historical events: tram hay không bằng tay quen (a story about Tran Nghiéu Tu in Song Dynasty), tu tai gia (a story about Duong Pht in Ming Dynasty) (Minh 2007:473), etc

** Fables and mythologies

English language is greatly affected by Greek and Roman civilizations;

therefore, English idioms, to some extent, have been enriched by the Greek

and the Roman mythologies In fact, the majority of English allusions are believed to come from the Bible and the Greek Roman myth For instance, a chilles’ heel which is from the Greek mythology has meaning ‘the one weak

spot in a man’s circumstances or character’, a Pandora’s box which means

‘the origin of all evils’ is also from Greek mythology (Lijie, 2010)

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The following Vietnamese idioms are from Vietnamese historical works and ancient fables and fairy tales They are vivid with profound meanings, namely

đô Lý Thông, niêu cơm Thạch Sanh, như vợ chông Nedu, etc (Minh, 2007) 2.2.5.4 Traditions and customs

** Food and cooking

In Britain and almost of European countries, bread, butter, jam, cheese, etc

are usual kinds of food in daily meals It is the reason why there are several English idioms concerning food, namely bread and butter, to earn one’s

bread, to butter both side of one’s bread, etc (Lijie, 2010)

Whereas, in Vietnam, rice is grown in most of the country, so many idioms

have to do with dishes related to rice: com lanh canh ngọt, cơm hàng cháo

chợ, cơm bung nước rót, etc Moreover, Vietnam is well-known for the long

history of cooking and cuisines Vietnamese attach great importance to their

food, as it reflected in the idioms such as: ndt nhu tuong, mêm như bún, nem

công chả phượng.etc (Hành, 2007)

s* Animals

The English traditionally have their own opinions of animals like ‘dog’, they appreciate the dog and regard it as a faithful friend Thus, ‘dog’ appears in some idioms like a dog’s life, the dog days, a dog’s breakfast, etc Likewise, the lion is also highly appreciated as in majestic as a lion, regal as a lion, etc

In addition, owl implies wisdom and calmness In the West The idiom as wise

as an owl shows that the English people associate wisdom with this bird Another instance is turkey On Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, turkey

is always the main dish in every English family, which is different in Vietnamese family However, turkey is mentioned in a range of idioms namely cold turkey, swell like a turkey cock, etc (Lijie, 2010)

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In Vietnam, people often despise animals such as dogs, pigs, cows, chickens, etc; therefore, these animals are usually associated with derogatory senses: ngu nhw bd, ga qué ăn quần cối xay, nhấm nhăng như chó cắn ma, ete Another case in this view is the dragon Vietnamese admire and workship this imagined animal It is the symbol of authority, strength and good fortune So,

it is mentioned in several idioms: réng bay phượng múa, con rồng cháu tiên,

ăn như rồng cuốn, nói như rồng leo,etc Other animals such as tigers, bee, horses, birds, etc are also found in Vietnamese idioms: thăng như ruỘt ngựa,

lúng túng như gà mắc tóc, như đỉa phải vôi, dữ như hồ (cọp), etc (Hanh,

2007)

s* Laboring

In the United Kingdom, large areas of level or gently rolling land provide ideal conditions for large scale agriculture Therefore, the role of agriculture and industry work is partly reflected in English idioms: as alike as no peas in

a pod, sow one’s wild oats English idioms also shows a detailed division of social labor, they come from different trades and professions: cut the coat

according to the cloth, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, a stitch in time saves nine, etc (Lijie, 2010)

Sharing the same agricultural one with the United Kingdom, Vietnam’s famous products are rice, vegetables and fish Living in an agricultural country has created democracy and hierarchy, unity, and collective and independent spirit in Vietnamese people Several Vietnamese idioms reflect the importance of agriculture, the methods of rice cultivation and fishing: dém

cua trong lỗ, bán mặt cho đất, bán lưng cho trời, bắt chạch dang dudi, etc

(Hanh, 2007)

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