English vietnamese translation of proper names and personal pronouns in howl’s moving castle novel

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI University of Languages and International Studies FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION Graduation paper ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF PROPER NAMES AND PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE NOVEL Supervisor: Vuong Thi Thanh Nhan Student: Trinh Lan Anh Year of enrolment: QH2009 Ha Noi, May 2013 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CÁCH DỊCH ANH-VIỆT ĐỐI VỚI DANH TỪ RIÊNG VÀ ĐẠI TỪ NHÂN XƯNG TRONG TIỂU THUYẾT HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE GVHD: Vương Thị Thanh Nhàn Sinh viên: Trịnh Lan Anh Khoá: QH2009 HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2013 ACCEPTANCE PAGE I hereby state that I: Trinh Lan Anh, class QH2009.F.1.E23, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Date i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The researcher wishes to express deepest gratitude and warmest appreciation towards these following people, who have contributed and inspired the researcher to the overall success, in spite of time limitation and working under the pressure: To Mrs Vuong Thi Thanh Nhan, for her guidance and support in the duration of the study Without her enthusiastic help, the researcher would not finish this work To Author Diana Wynne Jones for writing such a marvelous novel that keeps the researcher curious and entertaining all the time, and to the two translators Dang Kim Tram and Mit Hong Dao (mhd) for their good quality translations—all of these help the researcher survive through the hardest of data analysis To Ms Van Thi Thanh Binh, lecturers at University of Languages and International Studies, for providing the researcher with meaningful insights into the topic when necessary To Ms Ngo Ha Thu and Ms Nguyen Thi Cam Linh for their enthusiasm and tolerance To my valuable friends, who are always by my side, sharing with me laughters, warmth and happiness And, last but not least, to my beloved family members, who never fail to ensure me care, encouragement and support since the very beginning of my being ii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examining the English-Vietnamese translations used for two different linguistic phenomena (proper names and personal pronouns) found in Howl‘s Moving Castle by Diana Wayne Jones The study goes into analyzing the way how two translators – Dang Kim Tram and Mit Hong Dao (mhd) – fulfilling the task of choosing Vietnamese equivalences for the objects mentioned After the research is done, determinants of finding equivalences are revealed At its best, the research wishes to be a helpful material for students majoring translating and interpreting at Faculty of English Teacher Education, University of Language and International Studies to find a reasonable approach when dealing with literary texts iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acceptance Page i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv Lists of tables and figures vi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the research 1.2 Aims and research questions 1.3 Scope 1.4 Methodology 1.5 Organization of the Research Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Translation 2.2 Proper names and Personal pronouns 12 2.3 The novel and its Vietnamese translations 12 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Selection of subjects 19 3.2 Research instruments 20 3.3 Procedure of data collection 20 3.4 Procedure of data analysis 21 Chapter 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Proper names 22 4.2 Personal pronouns 27 4.3 Determinants of equivalence formation 40 iv Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of the findings 42 5.2 Limitations of the current research 42 5.3 Suggestions for Further Researche 43 REFERENCES 44 APPENDIX v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure mhd‘s translation of proper names indicating places 23 Figure Dang Kim Tram's translation of proper names indicating places 24 Figure Translations of proper names indicating peoples 27 Figure Calcifer‘s image in the novel and movie 32 Table Translations of proper names indicating events 25 Table Translations of proper names indicating objects 26 Table Howl refer by characters living in the castle 29 Table Howl referred by other side characters 30 Table Sophie referred by characters living in the castle 31 Table Miss Angorian – personal pronouns ‗she‘ and ‗her‘ 33 Table Female characters – personal pronoun ‗she‘ and ‗her‘ 34 Table Male side characters – personal pronouns ‗he‘ and ‗him‘ 36 Table Howl and Sophie – personal pronouns ‗I‘ and ‗you‘ 37 Table 10 Sophie and Calcifer – personal pronouns ‗I‘ and ‗you‘ 38 Table 11 Sophie and Michae – personal pronouns ‗I‘ and ‗you‘ 39 Table 12 Howl and Michael – personal pronouns ‗I‘ and ‗you‘ 39 vi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the research Imagination, according to Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all times, is ―more important than knowledge‖, as imagination has no limitations and can even open new horizons for inventions A notable product of human imagination is fantasy literature From ancient myths to recent fictions which are well received, the genre has proved its intense vitality and irresistible attractiveness Also, these stories share authors‘ opinions or messages on friendship, morality, and so on According to Phan Hon Nhien on Sai Gon tiep thi magazine, because of these features, fantasy novels receive enthusiastic responses from youngsters – those who have unlimited imagination as well as the eagerness to discover the world, those who believe in miracle and good things in life Hence, this kind of literature is very important in nourishing young adults‘ spiritual life As a matter of fact, in the context of Vietnam society, there is a shortage of authors writing fantasy literature for our young generation Only few names of fantasy novel authors can be mentioned: Nguyen Nhat Anh with the Lang Biang series ( huy n x ang Biang), and Phan Hon Nhien with Rare Blood ( Eyes ( h ng ( uy n th i u hi ), Cold t l nh), The Azoth Necklace ( hu i h t zoth and Penetration ) Still, looking on the bright side, translation is present to fix the situation Several fantasy novels have been translated into Vietnamese, mostly from English— for example, lice‟s dventures in Wonderland, Coraline, Peter Pan, or series like Harry Porter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Charlie Bone, Chrestomanci, and much more Indeed, this proves the importance of English-Vietnamese fiction translations as well as their translators However, due to the difference between these two languages, the translating process is difficult, even for professional translators On the other side, for translator trainees, studying this process can shed light on the process itself as well as its difficulties and how to overcome them In a scale of a graduation paper, this research will only focus on the EnglishVietnamese translations of proper nouns and personal pronouns, from a particular novel ―Howl‘s Moving Castle‖ Firstly, Howl‘s Moving Castle is a famous fantasy novel among not only literature but also anime (Japanese animated movie) lovers as it was written by Diana Wynne Jones (the author whose writing style caused great impact on J K Rowling) and was adapted into an anime of the same title by renowned Director Hayao Miyazaki Secondly, the personal pronouns of English and Vietnamese show distinctive features: while English personal pronouns are quite neutral, Vietnamese ones can show speakers‘ attitude to the ones mentioned In the case of literature, Vietnamese personal pronouns can directly express author‘s or other characters‘ attitude towards a particular character Hence, there is an extra task for translators: they must read between the lines to find out these attitudes and convey them properly and appropriately in target language In addition, for a fantasy novel, proper names are indeed interesting and sometimes ‗attractive‘ as they need to push readers‘ imagination to the limit As a result, researching these aspects can provide translators-to-be with lots of precious lessons 1.2 Aims and research questions 1.2.1 Aims This research has two main aims The first one is to provide trainee translators in particular and English learners in general the theoretical background on translation, proper names as well as the pronoun system, especially personal pronouns Secondly, the research would like to compare and show differences between two translations of the original novel that are available in Vietnamese: one by translator Dang Kim Tram (issued by Nha Nam Publishing and Communications JSC) and one by an amateur translator with nickname mhd (appeared on truyentranh.com) In addition, the research also wants to discuss the determinants of translators‘ choices in translation personal pronouns pair ‗ta‘ – ‗lão‘, and Calcifer will use ‗tôi‘ – ‗b ‘ in their conversations with each other In addition, from chapter 19 on, when everyone in the castle admitted that they had already knew that Sophie was in fact younger than her appearance, Calcifer called Sophie ‗tôi‘ – ‗cô‘ in both translations  Sophie and Michael Sophie – Michael Michael – Sophie Original version DKT‘s translation mhd‘s translation I – you Ta – c u Tôi – c u Ta – cháu Bà – cháu Cháu – bà Cháu – bà I – you Table 11: Sophie and Michae – personal pronouns „I‟ and „you‟ Both of the two translator let Michael call Sophie as ‗b ‘ and refer to himself as ‗ch u‘ in their translations About Sophie, in Dang Kim Tram‘s translation, she used the personal pronouns pair ‗ta‘ – ‗c u‘, and mhd used ‗b ‘ – ‗ch u‘ or ‗tôi‘ – ‗c u‘ in her translated version of the novel One special moment is when Michael told about his sad part (that his mother died and his father was drowned by the ocean), as Sophie felt sorry for him, she called him ‗ch u‘ in the translation of Dang Kim Tram  Howl and Michael Original version Dang Kim Tram‘s Mhd‘s translation translation Howl – Michael Michael – Howl I – you I – you Ta – c u Tôi – c u Tôi – c u Anh – c u Cháu – ông Em – anh Table 12: Howl and Michael – personal pronouns „I‟ and „you‟ From the table above, it can be seen that Howl and Michael share the relationship of brotherhood in mhd‘s translation, but in Dang Kim Tram‘s translation it is merely between a wizard and his apprentice In addition, the translators should pay attention to the ages of Howl and Michael As stated in the literature review, Howl was 39 27, and Michael was 15; hence, it would be inappropriate if translator lets Michael refer to Howl as ‗ông‘, which makes Howl a lot older than Michael  Summary Towards any literature work, firstly translators approach it in the standpoint of readers, and each reader has their own way in understanding a text This results in the differences in the translations of Dang Kim Tram and mhd On evaluation, the researcher cannot directly point out which understanding is right or wrong, and she can only state that to her mind which one is more appropriate and receives more of her sympathy This is similar to Newmark‘s (1988b:192) opinion that there is always ―a small element of uncertainty and subjectivity in any judgment about a translation‖; still, translation criticism still maintains its usefulness and necessity 4.3 Determinants of equivalence formation for proper names and personal pronouns By carefully evaluating the choices of each translator in finding the appropriate Vietnamese equivalence for proper names and personal pronouns, the researcher finds out three factors influencing the formation of equivalence for these linguistic devices:  Translators’ linguistic styles - Dang Kim Tram: her style is suitable for formal writings, but does not work well with a humor story like Howl‘s Moving Castle - Mhd: she translated the novel with the passion after watching the animated movie, posted it online with the simple purpose of sharing, and her style is nearly as humorous as the original novel  Translators’ background Translators‘ background influences a lot on their understanding towards a literature work 40  Translators’ approach to the original novel Normally, any translator will approach a literature work through its story line and details, and the same rule is well applied to translator mhd and Dang Kim Tram However, as translator mhd had watched the novel‘s adapted movie before she read it, her opinion on Calcifer is a little bit inappropriate  Summary and Researcher’s suggestion In order to translate personal pronouns reasonably, the translators should read the original novel carefully and pay attention to the most trivial and minor details in the story line to know author‘s or other character‘s attitudes about a certain character as well as that character‘s age, gender, social status and also the relationship among them and others 41 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of the Findings The research focuses at examining the English-Vietnamese translations of proper names and personal pronouns appeared in Howl‘s Moving Castle, trying to explain the factors influencing translators‘ choices of Vietnamese equivalences, as well as suggesting some recommendations for translation At this moment, the research has been completely conducted Furthermore, it now answered all of the two research questions addressed at the first places in that:  It has pointed out the differences in two translated versions by the selected translators: mhd and Dang Kim Tram  It has shed light on readers the determinants of finding equivalence—mainly resulted from the different ways two translators used to understand and approach the original text Also, it has provided some suggestions for proper names and personal pronouns appearing in the original novel From the findings of the research, the researcher would like to state that: in order to have a proper approach towards any literature work, translators need to analyze the original texts carefully, pay attention to even the smallest or most trivial details to find out authors‘ intention under their words as well as characters‘ feeling and position For translators, in order to valid their judgment on a certain work, they can look for its review to have an overview on how the work is accepted by the general readership 5.2 Limitations of the Current Research In the scale of a scientific research, the study has gained the basic requirements However, it still has some certain shortcomings due to the limitation of time, materials, and budgets Firstly, it can only go into two linguistic features appearing in the novel: 42 proper names and personal pronouns Secondly, the cases chosen for evaluating in the findings part are only the most typical ones 5.3 Suggestions for Further Research On evaluating the translation for personal pronouns, the researcher realizes that by adding the word ‗ta‘ after a third personal pronoun like ‗anh‘ and ‗cô‘, the emotional tone appeared slightly changes as it becomes colder Besides, adding regional feature into personal pronouns can make them more humorous as it seems to the researcher that ‗tui‘ is more humorous than ‗tôi‘ Still, the researcher wonders whether this is only her personal opinion or not, and survey on small population of 20 can validate this point In addition, future studies like this research paper can choose to analyze the same linguistic features extracted from another novel, or go into assessment of the whole original novel of Howl‘s Moving Castle Also, in further research, their linguistic features like stylistic scales and colloquialism can be exploited 43 REFERENCES Books English Catford, J.C (1965) A Linguistic Theory of Translation Oxford: OUP Jones, D W (2001) Howl‟s oving astle London: HarperCollins Halverson, S (1997) The Concept of Equivalence in Translation Studies Target1-2 (1997), 207-233 Hartman, R.R.K and F.C Stock (1972) Dictionary of Language and Linguistics In Bell, R.T (1991), Translation and Translating, London: Longman Hatim, B and I Mason (1990 Discourse and the Translator London: Longman Koller, W (1979) Equivalence in Translation Theory Heidelberg: Quelle und Meyer Langan, J (1997) English Skills with Readings Newyork: McGraw-Hill Larson, M.L (1984) Meaning-based Translation Laham: University Press of America Newmark, P (1988a) Approaches to Translation Oxford: Pergamon 10 Newmark, P (1988b) A Textbook of Translation New York: Prentice-Hall International 11 Nida, E A (1977) Translating means communicating: A sociolinguistic theory of communication In Muriel Saville-Troike, ed., Linguistics and anthropology Washington: Georgetown University Press, 213-229 12 Nord, C (2003) Proper Names in Translations for Children Translation for Children, 48 (2) 13 Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech G., and Svartvik J (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language London: Longman 44 Vietnamese Jones, D W (2008) âu ài ay Ph p sư Howl Ho Chi Minh City: Saigon Cultural Publishing House & Nha Nam Publishing and Communications JSC Lê Hùng Ti n, Đỗ Minh Ho ng, Nguyễn Phƣơng Tr (2006), ý thuy t thực tiễn dịch thuật nh- i t: ột số v n ề lý luận phương ph p ản Ha Noi: University of Languages and International Studies Quang, N (1996) Hình th c xưng h ti ng i t góc ộ ng dụng học, Ngoại ngữ, 2, 1996, 5-9 DHNN, DHQGHN Quang, N (1997) Hình th c xưng h ti ng nh- ỹ góc ộ ng dụng học, Ngoại ngữ, 3, 1997, 5-9 DHNN, DHQGHN Websites âu ài i t i, retrieved from the World Wide Web on 1st November, 2012 at http://www.mediafire.com/?ozzzfmonqnl Oxford advanced learner‟s online dictionary, retrieved from the World Wide Web on 7th December, 2012 at http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/proper+name#propernoun Lê Đ nh Tƣ, i t ch ng i ti ng i t, retrieved from the World Wide Web on 7th November, 2012 at http://ngnnghc.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/d%E1%BA%A1i-t%E1%BB%ABch%E1%BB%89-ngoi-ti%E1%BA%BFng-vi%E1%BB%87t/ Nguyễn Vinh, “ ăn học kỳ ảo p ng tâm lý ti p nhận người trẻ!”, retrieved from the World Wide Web on 7th November, 2012 at http://sgtt.vn/Van-hoa/148910/%E2%80%9CVan-hoc-ky-ao-dap-ung-tam-lytiep-nhan-cua-nguoi-tre%E2%80%9D.html Tr nh Y Thƣ, i iều dịch thuật, retrieved from the World Wide Web on 7th November, 2012 at http://www.diendantheky.net/2012/11/trinh-y-thu-oi-ieu-ve-dich-thuat.html 45 Đại từ nhân xƣng d ch thu t Anh – Vi t, retrieved from the World Wide Web on 4th April, 2013 at http://asentranslation.com/index.php/Can-biet/dai-tu-nhan-xung-trong-dichthuat-anh-viet-p3.html 46 APPENDIX English Personal Pronouns Singular Subject Object Plural Possessive Possessive determiner noun Reflexive Subject Object Possessive Possessive determiner noun Reflexive First I me my mine myself we us our ours ourselves Second you you your yours yourself you you your yours yourselves they them their their themselves T Masculine He him his his himself hi Feminine She her her hers herself rd Neuter It it its - itself 47 Proper names indicating people Stt English Vietnamese Vietnamese Translation procedures Sophie Hatter Sophie Hatter Sophie Hatter Transference Transference Ugly Sisters hai cô ch Lọ Lem hai ch em ghẻ xấu x Cultural equiv Functional equiv (M ) Phù thuỷ xứ Waste (M ) Phù Th y c a vùng Literal translation Literal translation (nhân v t truy n Lọ Lem) the Witch of the ất Hoang ph Waste (M /B ) Phù Th y vùng Hoang Ph The King of Ingary Đức Vua xứ Ingary Đức Vua c a Ingary Literal translation Wizard Suliman Ph p sƣ Sulliman Ph p sƣ Sulliman Literal translation The Mayor Quan Đốc Lý th trƣ ng Cultural equiv Wizard Howl Ph p sƣ Howl ph p sƣ Howl Literal translation Bluebeard Yêu râu xanh Yêu râu xanh Cultural equiv (1 nv truy n cổ t ch) 48 Literal Cultural equiv the Count of b tƣớc Catterack B tƣớc Catterack Literal translation Hoàng thân Justin Ho ng tử Justin – nh c lại Cultural equiv Literal translation Cultural equiv Literal trans Catterack 10 Prince Justin l ‗ho ng thân‘ (con vua) Vƣơng gia Justin (em vua) 11 Chancellor quan Chƣ ng Ấn Đại Ph p Quan (ngƣời giữ ấn cho vua) (chức quan c a Anh) 12 The Sorcerer (Ng i) Phù th y Ph p sƣ Literal trans 13 Mrs Witch B Phù Th y Quý B Phù Th y Literal trans Literal trans 14 Madam Sorceress B Ph p sƣ Phu Nhân Ph p Sƣ Literal trans Cultural equiv B Phù th y Ph p Sƣ Phu Nhân Đức B hạ Đức Ho ng Thƣợng Tối Cultural equiv Cultural equiv 15 His Royal Majesty Cao 16 Sorcerer Jenkins Phù th y Jenkins Thu t sĩ Jenkins Literal trans 17 Wizard Pendragon Ph p sƣ Pendragon Ph p sƣ Pendragon Literal trans 18 Horrible Howl Howl Kh ng p Howl Hung Ác Descriptive equiv 19 Royal Magician Ph p sƣ Ho ng gia Ph p Sƣ Ho ng Gia Literal trans 20 Mrs Nose B Tọc Mạch B Mũi D i Descriptive equiv 21 Michael Fisher Michael Fisher Michael Fisher Transference 49 22 Lily Angorian Lily Angorian Lily Angorian Transference 23 Fairfax Fairfax Fairfax Transference http://www.meaning-of-names.com/englishnames/fairfax.asp Fairfax = fair haired 24 Count Whatsit B tƣớc Whatsit B tƣớc G ó 25 Wizard Pendragon Ph p sƣ Pendragon Ph p sƣ Pendragon Literal trans Synonymy Literal trans Pendragon = dragon‘s head 26 Pentstemmon Pentstemmon Pentstemmon Transference 27 Jane Farrier Jane Farrier Jane Farrier Transference (Farrier: Thợ óng móng ngựa) 28 Majesty B hạ B hạ / Ho ng thƣợng Cultural equivalence 29 Princess Valeria Công chúa Valeria Công chúa Valeria Literal translation 30 Mrs Moralizer B Dạy Đời B Đạo Đức Descriptive equiv Descriptive equiv 31 Mrs Longnose B Tọc Mạch B Mũi D i Descriptive equiv Literal translation 32 Mrs Snoop B Tọc Mạch Bà Rình Mị Descriptive equiv 33 Aunt Jenkins Dì Jenkins Bà Cô Jenkins Literal trans 34 Cesari Cesari Cesari Transference 50 35 Mad Scientist Khoa Học Gia Điên Rồ B Khoa Học Điên Literal Translation 36 Nosy Parker C i tọc mạch Đồ tò mò Functional Functional equivalence equivalence a person who meddles in the affairs of others http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nosyparker 37 Mrs Sacheverell Bà Sacheverell Smith Smith 38 Your Royal Sacheverell Smith phu Literal trans nhân Đức Ho ng thân Hoàng tử Cultural equivalence Highness 39 Sylvester Oak Sylvester Oak Sylvester Oak Transference 40 Fanny Hatter Fanny Hatter Fanny Hatter Transference 41 Lettie Hatter Lettie Hatter Lettie Hatter Transference 42 Martha Hatter Martha Hatter Martha Hatter Transference 51 Cultural equiv Proper names indicating places Vietnamese Ingary Stt English Ingary Vietnamese Ingary (the land of Ingary) Market Chipping (xứ s Ingary) th trấn Chợ Chipping (vùng ất Ingary) th trấn Market Chipping (a prosperous town) Kingsbury Chợ Chipping Kingsbury Market Chipping Kingsbury The Waste Xứ Waste Vùng ất hoang Transference Transference Suggestion: kinh ô Kingsbury Functional equiv Functional equiv Quảng trƣờng Chợ Vùng Hoang Ph Market Square Literal transference + functional Literal Literal Functional equiv Transference Transference Transference Market Square Note Transference Transference Literal Transference Quảng trƣờng 10 11 The Folding Valley Upper Folding Cesari‘s The Fair Porthaven Marsh Folding Thung lũng Folding Folding Thƣợng Chỗ Cesari Folding Valley Upper Folding Cesari‘s hi u b nh Cesari Ti m Cesari ti m b nh Cesari Lễ hội Mùa Xuân Porthaven Hội chợ Porthaven Functional equiv Transference vùng ầm lầy Sug: seaside village  l ng cảng Porthaven Literal Functional Đầm lầy Folding 52 Func Literal 12 13 14 15 16 The Milky Way High Norland Strangia The Palace Porthaven Marshes Dải Ngân h High Norland Strangia Cung i n Dãy Ngân Hà High Norland Strangia cung i n Đầm lầy Porthaven Hoàng cung Porthaven Marshes Đầm lầy 17 H JENKINS FRESH FLOWERS DAILY HOA TƢƠI HÀNG NGÀY H JENKINS Transposition (số nhiều  số t) Porthaven bãi ầm lầy ngo i Porthaven H JENKINS HOA TƢƠI HÀNG NGÀY 53 Cultural equiv Transference Transference Literal Transference Functional Literal Literal ... Selection of subjects The study involves evaluating the choices for English- Vietnamese translations of proper nouns and personal pronouns from the novel Howl‘s Moving Castle in two Vietnamese versions:... names indicating places 23 Figure Dang Kim Tram's translation of proper names indicating places 24 Figure Translations of proper names indicating peoples 27 Figure Calcifer‘s image in the novel and. .. Command Table 2: translations of proper names indicating objects 4.1.4 Proper names of people For proper names indicating people, transference and literal translation are the most common translation