An english – vietnamese translation quality assessment on the great gatsby by f scott fitzgerald

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  TRIỆU THU HẰNG AN ENGLISH - VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT ON “THE GREAT GATSBY” BY F SCOTT FITZGERALD ĐÁNH GIÁ CHẤT LƯỢNG BẢN DỊCH ANH – VIỆT TÁC PHẨM “ĐẠI GIA GATSBY” CỦA NHÀ VĂN F SCOTT FITZGERALD M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 HANOI – 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  TRIỆU THU HẰNG AN ENGLISH - VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT ON “THE GREAT GATSBY” BY F SCOTT FITZGERALD ĐÁNH GIÁ CHẤT LƯỢNG BẢN DỊCH ANH – VIỆT TÁC PHẨM “ĐẠI GIA GATSBY” CỦA NHÀ VĂN F SCOTT FITZGERALD M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lê Hùng Tiến HANOI – 2015 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled: ―An English-Vietnamese Translation Quality Assessment on The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald‖, which is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, is the result of my own work I have provided fully documented references to the works of others The material in this thesis has not been submitted for any other formal course of study Signature Date: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been made possible without the guidance and the support of individuals who contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study I would like to sincerely express my innermost gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Lê Hùng Tiến who inflames fervent passion inside me towards research topic and research progress Without his continuously constructive feedback and overwhelming encouragement, the graduation paper could not come into being Besides, I wish to thank my warm-hearted family for their immense tenderness, deep empathy, inspiration and support to show me throughout upheavals and realize tremendous ambition I also wish to thank genuine companions and colleagues always beside me ii ABSTRACT Needless to say, people today can approach innumerable foreign literature works through their translations; however, the questions regarding the quality of a good translation still triggers ongoing debates With the deep concerns about the issue, the researcher conducts a study entitled: ―A Vietnamese-English translation quality assessment on the Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald.‖ This study firstly aims at reviewing different models for translation quality assessment all over the world and indicating the comprehensive model for assessing the translation of literary works, which is the model proposed by House (1997) Secondly, based on the model proposed by House (1997), the study assesses the translation quality of ―The Great Gatsby‖ – an American masterpiece translated into a host of different languages including Vietnam The major methods adopted throughout the study include both qualitative and quantitative approaches, which enables the researcher to figure out the similarities and differences between the source text and the translation The findings reveal a number of mismatches in comparison with the source text On the basis of such findings, implications for literary translations are drawn out Hopefully, the study proves beneficial to translators and researchers who share the same topic interest iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF DIAGRAMS vii PART A: INTRODUCTION I Statement of the problem and rationale for the study II Significance of the study III Research aims and research questions IV Scope of the study V Research methodology VI Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I Translation theory Concepts of translation Translation methods and procedures II Literary translation Definition Difficulties in literary translation 10 III Translation quality assessment 12 Definition of TQA 12 Different approaches to TQA 13 IV Related studies and literature gaps 33 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 36 I Research design 36 Case study 36 Qualitative and quantitative approach 38 II Research questions 39 III Analytical framework – House’s model (1997) 22 Theories underlying House’s model (1997) 22 Operation of House’s model (1997) 24 Translation typologies following House’s model (1997) 29 Advantages and shortcomings of House’s model (1997) 31 iv IV Data collection procedures and analysis 39 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 41 I The Profile of the Source Text 41 Field 41 Tenor 57 Mode 62 Genre 64 II Statement of function 64 III Comparison of Target Text and Source Text 66 Covertly erroneous errors 66 Overtly erroneous errors 77 IV Statement of quality 86 PART C: CONCLUSION 88 I Key findings 88 II Implications 90 REFERENCES 92 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ST Source Text AT Target Text SL Source Language TL Target Language TQA Translation Quality Assessment vi LIST OF DIAGRAMS Diagram House’s model for Translation Quality Assessment (1997) Diagram Translation Errors by House’s model (1997) Diagram Data collection procedures and analysis LIST OF TABLES Table Some main approaches in The Great Gatsby Table Alliteration in The Great Gatsby Table Compound words in The Great Gatsby Table Loan words in The Great Gatsby Table Spoken language in The Great Gatsby Table Spoken language in The Great Gatsby Table ST Profile Table Lexical mismatch in Field dimension Table Syntactic mismatch in Field dimension Table 10 Textual mismatch in Field dimension Table 11 Lexical mismatch in Tenor dimension Table 12 Transference of proper names Table 13, 14, 15 Creative translations Table 16 Overtly erroneous errors vii blue Black V APPENDIX C: FIGURATIVE LANGUGES IMAGERY Visually descriptive or figurative language Usually relates to the five senses So with the sunshine and bursts of leaves growing on the trees (p.4) ―and I had just left the country of wide lawns and friendly trees ‖ (p.7) a half acre of deep, pungent roses, and a snub-nosed motor-boat the tide offshore (p 7) Already it was deep summer on roadhouse roofs and in front of wayside garages … (p 20) "The wind had a loud, bright night, with wings beating in the trees and a persistant organ sound as the full belows of the earth blew the frongs full of life." (p 20) His wife was shrill, languid, handsome, and horrible‖ (p 30) the late afternoon VI window for a moment like the blue honey of the Mediterranean (p 34) make a Gatsby's enormous garden (p.40) The tears coursed down her cheeks- not freely, however, when they came into contact with her heavily beaded eyelashes they and pursued in slow black rivolets‖ (p 51) Under the dripping bare lilac-trees … (p 84) Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes (p 86) And I sat there, brooding on the old unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when the green dock He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it He did not know that it VII was already behind him, somewhere bắt Ơng khơng biết back in that vast obscurity beyond the sau lưng ông rồi, nơi city, where the dark fields of the phía sau, mờ mịt mênh mang republic rolled on under the night (p phía bên thành phố, nơi cánh 189) đồng sẫm tối nước cộng hoà nhấp nhô trải dài trời đêm SI M IL E Simile refers to a comparison of two things using like or as Instead of being the warm center of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe … (p 3) They stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint (p 4) A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags (p 8) as wind does on the sea (p 8) and so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the treesjust as things from in movies (p 8) As cool as their white dress (p 13) V II I Then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk (p.14) A fantastic farm, where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens (p 23) The late afternoon sky bloomed in the window for a moment like the blue honey of the Mediterranean (p 34) Mr McKee was asleep on a chair with his fists clenched in his lap, like a photograph of a man of action (p 36) In his blue gardens, men and women came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars (p 39) His station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains (p 39) Like an angry diamond (p 56) Flipped up their noses like goats (p 66) He was running down like an overwound clock (p 93) IX HYPERBOLE ST The eyes of Doctor T J Eckleburg are blue and gigantic - their retinas are one yard high (p 23) I'm paralyzed with happiness (p 8) But his heart was in constant, turbulent riot (p 99) PERSONIFICATION Personification refers to the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimated objects or abstract notions ST I wanted the world to be in uniform (p 2) The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door (p 6) young breath-giving air (p 8) the groan of a picture (p 8) until the air is alive with chatter and laughter (p 40) occasionally a line of gray cars crawls a Ford which crouched in a dim corner (p 25) X her voice glowing and singing (p 14) ONOMATOPOEIA When a word is formed from a sound ST Boom of the bass drum … (p 49) A-h-h-h (p 59) Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows XI APPENDIX D COMPOUND WORDS No Compound word Well-to-do Hard-boiled Counter-raid Weather-beaten Breath-giving Straw-haired Snub-nosed Motor-boat Well-rounded 10 Wine-colored 11 Wedding-cake 12 Sun-strained 13 Rosy-colored 14 Autumn-leaf 15 Gas-pumps 16 railroad 17 Ash- gray 18 drawbridge 19 All- night 20 Dust- covered 21 Crepe-de-chine 22 News-stand 23 Drug- store 24 Up- stairs XII 25 homecoming 26 neighborhood 27 Apartment- houses 82 Living-room 83 bedroom 84 Dog-biscuits 85 Eye-brows 86 cheekbone 87 Twenty-seven 88 Cream-colored 89 whereupon 90 gasoline 91 overheard 92 gentleman 93 Shirt-front 94 Bath-room 95 Motor-boats 96 Week-ends 97 Scrubbing-brushes 98 Garden-shears 99 Hors-d’oeuvre 100 Up-stairs 101 Cocktails 102 Sea-change 103 Auto-mobiles 104 Passers-by XIII 105 To-night 106 Sixty-five 107 Important-looking 108 Owl-eyed 109 Middle-aged 166 Book-cases 167 Book-shelves 168 Bona-fide 169 Finger-bowls 170 Nineteen-eighteen 171 Machine-gun 172 Many-windowed 173 Red-haired 174 Good-bye 175 Taxi-cabs 176 Semi-final 177 Sun-strained 178 Slow-thinking 179 Golf-links 180 Tea-table 181 Half-knowing 182 Half-bewildered 183 Dog-leash XIV APPENDIX E LOAN WORDS No Loan words Hotel de Ville Front vista divan sofa cadet verandas Louisville silhouette Crepe de chine 10 Versailles 11 Whiskey 12 bureau 13 chiffon 14 hauteur 15 Monte Carlo 16 Marseilles 17 kyke XV APPENDIX F ALLITERATION IN THE GREAT GATSBY bond business (p 7) we walk (p 7) high hallway (p 7) breeze blew (p 7) blown back (p 7) riding clothes power of that body.‖ (p 7) “people played polo‖ (p 10) a low white washed railroad fence (p 28) "Evidently some wild wag of them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens" (20) “she smiled slowly‖ (p 30) “cream-colored chiffon‖ (p 30) At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d’oeuvre, XVI against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold (p 32) The moon had risen higher in the sound was a triangle of silver scales, trembling a little to the stiff, tiny drip (p 47) A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms (p 52) ―sun-strained eyes‖ (p 63) While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange,and blue Suddenly, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily.‖ (p 71) Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily (p 93) For Daisy was young and her artificial world XVII was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and the rhythm the sadness and suggestiveness of new tunes All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the Beale Street Blues while h silver slippers shuffles the shining dust (p.116) someone splashing after us over the soggy ground (p.131) And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock." (p 136) current, borne back ceaselessly into the past (p 136) XVIII ... of the translations All these aforementioned reasons have motivated the researcher to conduct the study entitled ―A Vietnamese -English translation quality assessment on the Great Gatsby by F Scott. .. to be a beneficial reference to any Vietnamese readers who fancy romantic novel and are fans of ? ?The Great Gatsby? ?? for a high -quality translation IV Scope of the study First, the theoretical... text In faithful translation, words are translated in context but uncompromising to the TL Semantic translation is more flexible than faithful translation and greatly focuses on the aesthetic