CHAPTER 4: EQUIVALENCE

Task 1: Answer the following questions.

1. Give 2 examples of linguistic untranslatability
2. Give 2 examples of cultural untranslatability

Task 2: These English words are untranslatebale in some languages. Work in groups and find the
Vietnamese equivalence if possible.
1. ahedonia → the inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences
2. amfisbitophobia → someone who does not like to argue, non-confrontational, peace-loving
3. forelsket → the feeling of falling in love
4. leptosome → a person with a slender, thin, or frail body
5. sapiosexual → attracted to intelligence or the human mind
6. torpe → a man who is in love with a lady, but cannot admit his feelings or approach her
7. zoilist → A rude or dishonest person that enjoys finding faults in others
8. singletasker → someone who excels at one task at a time
9. boregasm → the peak/ climax of boredom and disinterest
10. déjàbrew → a slow remembering of something we did while we were drunk
11. mantrum → a childish raged displayed by a grown man when he does not get what he wants
12. tidsoptimist → a person who is always late because they think they have more time than they do

Task 3: Find 3 equivalents for each word

1. Công ty: ..............................................................................................................................................
2. Xử lí: ...................................................................................................................................................
3. Hàng
hóa: ............................................................................................................................................
4. Yêu
cầu: ...............................................................................................................................................
5. Cung
cấp: .............................................................................................................................................
 6. Subject: ...............................................................................................................................................
.
7. Target: ............................................................................................................ ...................................
.
8. Mistake: ....................................................................................................... ......................................
.
9. Appreciate: ................................................................................................... .....................................
..
10. Challenge: .................................................................................................. .....................................
.

Task 4: Fill in the table with correct words

English term Business-related meaning Common meaning
1. ................................. Hối phiếu, lệnh rút tiền Bản thảo, nháp
2. Securities ................................. An ninh
3. Agreement ................................. Sự đồng ý
4. ................................. Tín dụng Sự tin cậy
5. Collection ................................. Sưu tập
6. Quotation ................................. trích dẫn
7. Honor Nhận thanh toán (chi phiếu) .................................
8. ................................. Tiền lãi Sự quan tâm
9. Offer ................................. Đề nghị
10. Policy ................................. Chính sách
11. Term Điều khoản .................................
12. Promotion ................................. Lên chức, thăng tiến

Task 5: Match the words in Column A with their euphemisms in column B.

A B
1. tell lies A. economically disadvantaged/underresourced
2. poor/developing B. landfill
 3. trash cleaner C. manage stakeholders
4. dump D. visually impaired
5. lobby or bribe E. economical with the truth
6. slum F. downsize the workforce
7. old person G. substandard house
8. fire/dismiss H. the underpriviledged
9. cancer I. senior citizen
10. the poor J. intellectually challenged
11. blind K. pre-owned/preloved
12. stupid L. custodian engineer
13. unemployed M. has the big C
14. secondhand/used N. between jobs

Task 6: Find the Textual equivalence of the following phrases/sentences in a formal letter.
1. Kính gửi: …………………………………………….
2. Mong nhận được thư hồi âm của ông sớm. …………………………………………….
3. Xin đính kèm theo thư là … …………………………………………….
4. Trân trọng. …………………………………………….
5. Xin vui lòng liên hệ số điện thoại … …………………………………………….
6. Tôi rất vui được thông báo với bạn rằng … …………………………………………….
7. Chúng tôi rất tiếc phải thông báo rằng… …………………………………………….
8. Xin chân thành cảm ơn đã đọc thư này. …………………………………………….

Task 7: Find the Textual equivalence of the following signs.

1. Không phận sự miễn vào: ……………
2. Bị hư: ……………
3. Lối thoát hiểm: ……………
4. Coi chừng chó dữ: ……………
5. Không dẫm lên cỏ: ……………
6. Cấm xả rác: ……………
7. Mất giấy tờ: ……………
 8. Xin đừng làm phiền: ……………

Task 8: Find the Pragmatic equivalence of the following situations.

1. When you meet your old friend: …………………………………………….
2. When everybody drinks beer: ……………………………………………. 3
3. When you want everyone to smile for photographing: ………………………………………
4. When someone is sneezing: …………………………………………….
5. When you want to pay the money. …………………………………………….

Task 9: Choose the best answer for each question.

1. The translation of “off-balance sheet transaction” as “giao dịch ngoài báo cáo tài chính” is an example
of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
2. The translation of “greenhouse effect” as “hiệu ứng nhà kính” is an example of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
3. The translation of “cash on delivery” as “thanh toán khi giao hàng” is an example of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
4. The translation of “purchasing order” as “đơn đặt hàng” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
5. The translation of “sustainable development” as ‘phát triển bền vững” is an example of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
6. The translation of “intellectual approach” as “phương pháp tư duy” is an example of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
7. The translation of “goose stepping” as “đi duyệt binh” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
8. The translation of “para-professional” as “bán chuyên nghiệp” is an instance of .
 A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
9. The translation of “chargeback” as ‘công nợ tính lại” is an example of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
10. The translation of “sweetbread”as “lá lách” is an example of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
11. The translation of “special economic zone” as “đặc khu kinh tế” is an example of .66
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
12. The translation of “social securities” as “an sinh xã hội” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
13. The translation of “on-us transaction” as “giao dịch nội mạng” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
14. The translation of “snakefish” as “cá lóc” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
15. The translation of “netizen” as “cư dân mạng” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
16. The translation of “tulip mania” as “cơn sớt hoa tulip/uất kim hương” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
17. The translation of “economic bubble” as “bong bóng kinh tế” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
18. he translation of “lý thuyết không chế” as “capture theory” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
19. The translation of “proxy war” as “chiến tranh ủy nhiệm” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence
20. The translation of “black swan theory” as “thuyết thiên nga đen” is an instance of .
A. Complete B. Inclusion equivalence C. Partial equivalence D. Nil equivalence
equivalence

Task 10: Match the correct type of equivalence in A column with its definition in B column:
A B
1. Denotative A. provides additional values besides denotative value and is
equivalence achieved by the translator’s choice of synonymous words or
2. Connotative expressions.
equivalence B. produces an analogy of form in the translation by their
3. Formal exploiting formal possibilities of TL, or creating new forms
equivalence in TL
4. Text-normative C. the SL and the TL words refer to the same thing in the real
equivalence world.
5. Dynamic D. when the SL and TL words have the closest possible match
equivalence of form and content.
E. when the SL and TL words have the same effect on their
effective readers

Task 11: Correct the mistakes in the following statements.

1. The translation of “rainbow” as “cầu vồng” is an example of Complete equivalence.
2. The translation of “netizen” as “cư dân mạng” is an example of Inclusion equivalence.
3. The translation of “heartbroken” as “đau lòng” is an example of Partial equivalence.
4. The relationship between “die, pass away, and kick the bucket” is the Text-normative
equivalence.
5. The relationship between “rabbit, 兔子 (tù zi), and con thỏ” is the Pragmatic equivalence.
6. According to the Formal equivalence, the sign/sentence “Không phận sự miễn vào” should be
translated as “Authorised Only!”
7. The relationship between “artificial intelligence” and “trí tuệ nhân tạo” is the Partial equivalence.
8. The relationship between “high-minded” and “cao thượng” is the Nil equivalence.
9. The translation of “sweetbread” as “lá lách” is an example of Inclusion equivalence.
 10. The relationship between “individualism” and “chủ nghĩa cá nhân” is the Partial
equivalence.