(123doc) An Assessment of The Vietnamese Translation of Conversational Implicatures From The Main Male Character in The Fault in Our Stars

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
HOÀNG HẢI CHI
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF

CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURES FROM THE MAIN
MALE CHARACTER IN “THE FAULT IN OUR STARS”
(Đánh giá chất lượng bản dịch tiếng Việt các hàm ngôn
của nhân vật nam chính trong tiểu thuyết “Khi lỗi thuộc về những vì sao”)
MINOR MASTER THESIS
FIELD : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

CODE : 8220201.01
Hà Nội - Năm 2021

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
HOÀNG HẢI CHI
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF

CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURES FROM THE MAIN
MALE CHARACTER IN “THE FAULT IN OUR STARS”
Đánh giá chất lượng bản dịch tiếng Việt các hàm ngôn
của nhân vật nam chính trong tiểu thuyết “Khi lỗi thuộc về những vì sao”)
MINOR MASTER THESIS
FIELD : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

CODE : 8220201.01
SUPERVISOR : Asso. Prof. Dr. Lê Hùng Tiến
Hà Nội - Năm 2021

DECLARATION
I, Hoang Hai Chi, hereby state that the thesis, entitled „An assessment of the
Vietnamese translation of conversational implicatures from the main male
character in “The fault in our stars” is the effort and result of my own research. 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. If this
declaration is untrue, all disciplinary actions and penalties could be imposed in
accordance with school rules.
Hanoi, January 2021
Hoàng Hải Chi
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, this study would not have been able to be accomplished
without the guidance and the support of my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hung
Tien. Therefore, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to him. His patience,
critical comments, motivation and immense knowledge gave me a great deal of
inspiration to complete the thesis.
Besides, I would love to express my profound gratitude is my family who have
always encouraged me in the moments I thought I would have given up.
The last thanks would be sent to my friends, especially Loan and Huong for
their kindness and willingness to help me out with their useful advice and
motivating words.
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ABSTRACT
Needless to say, Vietnamese readers today have been approaching to a huge
number of foreign literary works through their translations, and this raises the
questions regarding their quality and requires a wise readership. Therefore, it
attracts the attention of many linguists and translators who have an intense
awareness of the importance of translated works and triggers controversial debates.
The controversy is still on-going, which urges researchers to carry out more
investigations on the quality of translations to find the persuasive answers.
In an attempt to settle the situation, the researcher conducts a study what will
assess the English-Vietnamese translation of conversational implicatures in the
novel The Fault in Our Stars. Instead of investigating the whole novel like many
other papers, the writer focuses on the conversational implicatures, specifically
particularized conversational implicatures, made by Augustus - the main male
character and their translations in Vietnamese. The goal here is performing an
assessment of faithfulness in translation and its manifestations compared to the
original text in terms of the implicatures.
Throughout the study, the explanatory mixed method was adopted. All
qualitative data are firstly collected and analyzed based on the Grice‘s maxims and
Cooperative Principles, and then these results are used for the second phase where
the researcher employs quantitative strategy with Newmark‘s model of translation
quality evaluation to conduct the final results. By this way, the researcher has found
out the certain success of the translation of the implicatures from English into
Vietnamese although it could not avoid some mismatches in comparison with the
target text.
This research hopefully not only boosts the production of qualified translations
but also contributes towards the precious sources of references in respect of the field
of translation for next researchers and anyone who is interested in the issue.
Key words: translation, translation quality assessment, implicature,
particularized conversational implicature, Grice‘s maxims.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ....................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. iii
ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. vii
LIST OF DIAGRAM ............................................................................................. vii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................1
1.1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study .......................................1
1.2. Research aims and research questions ..............................................................2
1.3. Significance of the study ..................................................................................2
1.4. Research methodology......................................................................................3
1.5. Design of the study ...........................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..........................................................5
2.1. Translation theory .............................................................................................5
2.1.1. Concepts of translation ..................................................................................5
2.1.2. Translation methods and procedures .............................................................6
2.1.3. Translation equivalence .................................................................................9
2.2. Literary translation.........................................................................................12
2.2.1. Definition of literary translation ..................................................................12
2.2.2. Challenges in literary translation .................................................................13
2.3. Implicature ......................................................................................................16
2.3.1. Definition of implicature and literary implicature .......................................16
2.3.2. Types of implicatures ..................................................................................17
2.4. Translation quality assessment (TQA) ...........................................................24
2.4.1. Definition of TQA .......................................................................................24
2.4.2. Different approaches to access TQA ...........................................................25
2.4.3. Theory underlying Newmark‘s model .........................................................29
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2.4.4. Operationalization of Newmark‘s model ....................................................31
2.5. Related studies and literary gaps ....................................................................32
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................35
3.1. A brief introduction of The Fault in Our Stars ..............................................35
3.2. Research approach ..........................................................................................36
3.3. Research question ...........................................................................................37
3.4. Data collection procedures and analysis .........................................................38
CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ....................................................40
4.1. Research findings ............................................................................................40
4.1.1. Results of PCIs on Grice‘s theory ..............................................................40
4.1.2. General evaluation of the translation based on Newmark‘s model .............41
4.2. Data analysis ...................................................................................................43
4.3. An evaluation of the translation ......................................................................93
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...............................................................................95
5.1. Key findings. ...................................................................................................95
5.2. Implications ....................................................................................................96
5.3. Limitations and recommendations for further research ..................................98
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................100
APPENDIX ................................................................................................................. I
v
ABBREVIATIONS
SL Source language
TL Target language
ST Source text
TT Target text
TQA Translation quality assessment
PCI Particularized Conversational Implicature
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Translation procedures (Newmark, 1988) .................................................8

Table 2.2. Group C‘s cases of the maxim‘s exploitation ..........................................24
Table 4.1. Groups of PCIs and the translation ..........................................................41
Table 4.2. Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #15 ................................64
Table 4.3: Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #17 ...............................68
Table 4.4: Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #18 ...............................70
LIST OF DIAGRAM
Diagram 1: Data collection procedure and analysis..................................................38
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

In the 21st century, globalization has a considerable influence on the
development of translation. Munday (2005, p.5) thus emphasizes the significance of
written and spoken translations in communication, so that the gap between people
and people from diverse cultures can be shortened. Therefore, there is a great
number of novels from different genres translated into different languages. Among
these, The Fault into Our Stars by John Green has been received positive comments
from the critics and readers. Because of a modern and fresh writing style and fresh
insights into humanity and life of youth, The Fault in Our Stars has obtained its
recognitions since its publishing in 2012. As a result, it is obvious that this novel is
quickly and translated into Vietnamese and introduced to Vietnamese readers.
Besides many different translated versions by unprofessional readers, the translation
Khi lỗi thuộc về những vì sao by Le Hoang Lan (2012) is regarded as the official
one printed Tre Publishing House (Nha Xua Ban Tre). Despite being accepted as
the official version, the agreement about the high quality of the Vietnamese
translation Khi lỗi thuộc về những vì sao has not arrived at a conclusion.
What is more, the main function of language is to exchange information, to
connect and to communicate. However, the process of transferring information is
not always simple. The meaning of the language can be changed based on language
users‘ intention, especially in literary works like poems or novels in which the
implication of the speakers or writers is a challenge. When words are put in
different contexts, their meanings possibly deliver different results. As far as the
practice of translation is concerned, translators must fully comprehend utterances
under particular circumstances. They are expected to understand both literal and
implicit meanings of the source text so that they can successfully convey the
messages in the target language. Translating conversational implicature can be a
typical example as the shift of all linguistic and cultural features of conversational
implicature are signaled and faithfully reflected to the target audience.
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All these aforementioned reasons have motivated the researcher to conduct
the study entitled ―An assessment of the Vietnamese translation of conversational
implicatures from the main male character in “The fault in our stars”.
1.2. Research aims and research questions
The objectives of the study are:
1. to identify the particularized conversational implicatures made by the
main male character in The Fault in our Stars.
2. to show the main male character‘s perception of life implied in these
particularized conversational implicatures.
3. to assess the translation quality of these particularized conversational
implicatures from English to Vietnamese on the model proposed by Newmark.
These aims can be formulated into the following research questions.
1) What PCIs are found in the original novel?
2) How does the main male character show his life perception via the PCIs?
3) How is the Vietnamese translation quality of PCIs according to
Newmark’s model?
1.3. Significance of the study
With the popularity of English in Vietnam, the demand for intercultural
knowledge has fostered the translation growth. It also points out that measuring the
quality of a translated version beyond the official or accepted standard of translation
is still demanding. Accordingly, this study generally can be considered as a useful
reference for non-professionals and even professionals to assess and improve the
translation of literary works. The researcher desires to make a contribution to the
understanding about conversational implicatures of the language users in a
discourse by the application of Grice‘s theory in accordance with the cultural
difference and personal background.
Besides, the study can be used as guidelines for other researchers to carry out
further researches which utilize the value of Newmark‘s model in literary
translation evaluation and even other different genres.
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1.4. Research methodology
This study is to evaluate the translated versions of the conversational
implicatures presented by the main male character Augustus from the novel The
Fault in Our Stars. Therefore, besides the application of Newmark‘s model, it is
vital to mention other different translation quality assessment models as well as
Grice‘s theoretical insight.
The research applies the sequential explanatory mixed method design. The
SL particularized conversational implicatures are identified from the novel and then
analyzed before they are compared to Vietnamese translations. The comparison is
performed under the framework of Newmark‘s translation quality assessment model
with five steps:
- Step 1: A brief analysis of the SL text stressing its intention and its
functional aspects
- Step 2: The translator‘s interpretation of the SL text‘s purpose, his
translation method and the translation‘s likely readership
- Step 3: A selective but representative detailed comparison of the
translation with the original in terms of both semantics and syntactic
- Step 4: An evaluation of the translation
- Step 5: Where appropriate, an assessment of the likely place of the
translation in the target language culture or discipline
1.5. Design of the study
There are five parts presented in this section:
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION identifies the central problems and main
aims of the study. Research questions, methodology and significance of the study
are also clearly stated in this part.
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW represents fundamental theoretical
background that necessitates the formation of the research. A brief overview on
several previous studies is also indicated in this chapter.
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CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY covers the sources of data,
research methods and analytical framework to collect and analyze the data.
CHAPTER 4 – FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION gives the analysis,
presentation and interpretation of the results.
CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION reaches major conclusions, further
implications and proposes recommendations for further research.
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CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This second chapter shed light on the literature review of the study,
especially the definitions of translation, translation equivalence, literary
translation, some translation quality assessment frameworks and it also reviews the
definitions of implicature and particularized conversational implicature and
maxims.
2.1. Translation theory
2.1.1. Concepts of translation
Diverse definitions of translation have been proposed; however, the study
gets focused on the common and radical ones.
Since the early years, translation has been viewed as an act of transformation
of the text‘s content from the source language into a target language (Foster, 1958)
and this notion then has been extended in many more details and more precise ways.
Nida and Tiber (1969) conceptualize translation as the reproduction of textual
material in source language by the closest natural equivalent called the target
language in terms of meaning and style. In the similar fad, as defined by Peter
Newmark (1981), translation is ―a craft‖ demanding an attempt for replacing a
written message and/or statement in a language by another with the unchanged
meaning. It is understood as a faithful rendering of the original text‘s meaning into
another language in the similar way of the author‘s intention. Translation to Bell
(1991) is not different. He states that the translation conveys the target language
what is expressed in the source language without ruining semantic and stylistic
equivalences.
From these viewpoints, from linguistic approach, translation is probably
understood as a transferring process of a source language to a target language,
conducted by a translator or translators. This process carries out transferring the
meaning of the source language into the receptor language, and provides the closest
equivalent in the target language.
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2.1.2. Translation methods and procedures
With regard to translation methods, Newmark‘s approach seems adopted
more frequently. He suggests eight translation methods in his book A text of
translation (1988) as follows:
SL emphasis TL emphasis
Word-for-word translation Adaptation
Literal translation Free translation
Faithful translation Idiomatic translation
Semantic translation Communicative translation
(Newmark, 1988, p. 45)
Newmark puts methods above in the form of a flattened V diagram. The
methods are arranged from the simplest to the most complicated form on the
author‘s own purpose.
- Word-for-word translation is an interlinear translation between SL words
and TL words. The words are translated singly by their most common meanings,
even out of context. The SL word-order is maintained.
- Literal translation considers no contexts and the words are singularly
translated. It converts the grammatical constructions to their nearest TL equivalents.
- Faithful translation is ranked at the higher level that the SL text‘s precise
contextual meaning is allowed ―within the constraints of the TL grammatical
structures‖.
- Semantic translation emphasizes the aesthetic value of the SL text. This
method admits the differences and respects ―the translator‘s intuitive empathy with
the original‖.
- Adaptation is regarded as the ―freest‖ translation form. Its consideration is
because of its dramatic functions. Translators apply it for plays whose themes,
characters and plots are maintained and the translation is possibly a rewritten work.
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- Free translation refers to the TL text called ―intralingual translation‖. This
―free‖ style translation features the matter without the manner or the content
without the SL form. The original is much shorter than paraphrases.
- Idiomatic translation is used when the differences of meaning are distorted
but not influence the original text‘s hidden value. Colloquialism and idioms are
opted for translating what does not exist in the original.
- Communicative translation attempts for rendering the precise contextual
meaning of the SL text so that the TL text can be understandable to the readers. This
method is regularly used for complex documents and texts.
Among those methods, Newmark more highly evaluates the two last ones:
semantic and communicative translation. He states that the two major aims of
translation: accuracy and economy can be successfully achieved by these methods
compared with the other levels.
Avoiding the feasibility of the confusion between translation ―methods‖ and
―procedures‖, Newmark (1988, p.81) addresses that the former associates with the
whole text while the latter focuses on sentences and smaller units of language. He
also supplements sixteen core types of translation procedures in his book‘s new
version published in 1995 so as to further clarify both concepts. These procedures
are illustrated by the following table:
transferring directly an SL word to a TL without any
Transference
alternation
adapting the SL word to the TL‘s normal
Translation procedures
Naturalization
pronunciation, and then the normal morphology
replacing a word in the SL with a TL one with the
Cultural equivalent same function, referring to the different cultures or
countries
Functional equivalent neutralizing or generalizing the SL word
Descriptive explaining word meaning in the TL
equivalent
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comparing an SL word with a TL word that has a
Componential
similar meaning but not a certain one-to-one
analysis
equivalent.
Synonym finding a near TL equivalent
being the literal translation of organizations‘ names,
Through-translation
common collocations and compounds‘ components
including a change from SL to TL regarding the
Shift or transposition
grammar
reproducing the message of the SL in the TL text
Modulation
because of the differences of perspectives
Recognized happening when translators use an official or
translation accepted translation of any institutional term
occurring as a part of a sentence makes up for the
Compensation
loss of meaning in another part
Paraphrase explaining the meaning of the ST
Couplets combining two different procedures
Footnotes adding further information in a translation
Table 2.1. Translation procedures (Newmark, 1988)
Besides, some other authors have introduced their translation procedures.
Nida (1964, p.241) categorizes his translation procedures into technical and
organizational. In technical procedures, the processes of converting an SL text into
a TL text are followed by the translator; particularly, it includes three phases (i)
analyzing SL and TL (ii) studying the SL text and (iii) determining the appropriate
equivalents. Another well-known theory is by Vinay and Darbelnet (1976, in
Munday, 2001), which introduces seven procedures including borrowing, claque,
literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation. In this
approach, the four first procedures focus on linguistic aspects of translation and the
differences of structures while the last three ones are about transferring the cultural
aspects.
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Indeed, the extensive discussion of translation scholars have naturally
diversified translation methods and its procedures, more than those listed above.
However, because of the study‘s aim, the adequately explained procedures are used.
2.1.3. Translation equivalence
In the Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Baker and Sandanha
(1998) list some authors such as Cartford, Nida, Taber and Koller and emphasize
these experts‘ same thought of equivalence as fundamental requirement in
translation. Following their perspective, finding equivalents thus becomes an
indispensable step and equivalence is regarded as a key concept of translation.
When a translator transfers a message from the original into another language,
he/she undertakes a contemporary work in two different cultures. In other words,
translating not only deals with the SL text on the surface of structures and words but
also orients itself towards semantic or functional approach.
However, translation equivalence has caused a heated controversy among
language theorists who conceptualize this term differently, going with the outcome
of various related theories within this field. There are three main flows of opinions.
Authors in the first group consider translation equivalence as a process of
conveying a SL message into TL on the basis of communicative function. The
second group views translation equivalence on the linguistic aspects which require
the transference of meaning units from the SL to the TL mechanically. On the
contrary, the experts in the third group absolutely reject the relation of translation
equivalence. They approve that translation still complete its role in communication
among people using different languages although equivalence can be achieved. In
fact, the difference of viewpoints has existed among groups of authors, but they
seemingly share a vision of translation equivalence with respect to communicative
and linguistic aspect as translation is mentioned.
Equivalence in translation can be approached in the form-oriented
perspective. Baker (1992) introduces his theory that equivalence can be achieved at
word or above word level. He also extends the concept as regards the SL and TT
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similarities and their roles in texts. These mentioned aspects create a related term
―textual equivalence‖.
Koller (1992) is one of many authors who are in favor of meaning-based
approach. As cited in Readings in translation theory (Chesterman, A. 1989), Koller
views equivalence in terms of the preservation of the SL and TT quality, certainly,
the equivalence to its origin - ―Quality X in the source language text must be
preserved." He thus categorizes equivalence into denotative (relate to the similarity
in the real world; or including the extra-linguistic content of a text), connotative
(refer to lexical choices in which both ST and TT words form similar associations
between two languages), text-normative (focus on text-types that ST and TT words
are used in the similar contexts in their respective language), pragmatic (involve the
practical circumstances and the receiver of the text or message) and formal
equivalence (work on the form and aesthetics of the text) (p.186-191). These five
groups aim to deal with equivalent items in certain ST-TT pairs and contexts, which
involves maintaining the style meaning, readership and purpose of the text.
From functional-based perspective, Nida (1964) suggests two types of
equivalence known as dynamic and formal equivalence. Unlike dynamic
equivalence based upon ―the principle of equivalent effect‖ (p.159), formal
equivalence devotes more attention to a message‘s content and forms itself.
Particularly, with dynamic equivalence, a translator seeks for the meaning of the SL
so that the translation can have the same influence on the audience. That means
his/her translation possibly distorts the construction of the SL but preserve the
original information. As opposed to this type, the other signifies the formal
maintenance. Nida asserts that the distorted grammatical and stylistic patterns of the
SL would change the message and cause the misunderstanding of the receptor.
This thesis would not be complete without the reference to Newmark‘s
theory. His theory has a considerable impact on the development of translation as he
steps away from other previous authors‘ ideas and starts a new vision of translation
equivalence. According to Newmark (1995, p.48), "the overriding purpose of any
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translation should be to achieve equivalent effect, i.e. to produce the same effect (or
one as close as possible) on the readership of the translation as was obtained on the
readership of the original.". Therefore, a translator had better exploit the ideas of
communicative and semantic translation. He states that communicative translation
has an attempt for satisfying the readership of the target version by creating a
similar effect as what the original has on readers; while the semantic translation
renders the precise meaning of the original as closely as possible to achieve the
equivalence of both semantic and syntactic structures between the SL and the TL. In
other words, communicative translation looks forwards effect whereas semantic
translation is meant to focus on meaning. Although Newmark divides translation
into two directions as mentioned above, he doesn‘t deny their compatibility in
translation process. During translating a text, for example, a sentence requires
communicative translation but the following one demands a semantic translation.
Basically, Newmark‘s distinguish is developed on the basis of Nida‘s types
of equivalence, but he has more emphasis on the translation purpose. Newmark
realizes that the result cannot be achieved if the SL and the TL text do not share the
same objective or the same cultural equivalents. He views Nida‘s ―equivalents
effect‖ as ―the desirable result, rather than the aim of any translation. […] It is an
unlikely result in two cases: (a) if the purpose of the SL text is to affect and the TL
translation is to inform (or vice versa); (b) if there is a pronounced cultural gap
between the SL and the TL texts.‖ (1988, p.49).
There is another type of translation equivalence by Kade (1968) called
quantitative equivalence. Kade chooses to classify translation equivalence into five
different dimensions on the word level. One-to-one equivalence is a single
expression of the TL equivalents to a single expression of the SL. The higher level
is one-to-many equivalence. The second level stresses on more than one equivalents
of the TL to a single SL expression, whereas many-to-one equivalence functions the
reverse. One-to-part-of-one equivalence demonstrates the cover of a TL expression
on a part of a concept designed by a single SL expression. The last level, nil
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equivalence, may be the simplest as no TL expression is equivalent to a single SL
expression.
As mentioned above, translation equivalence can be understood from various
angles, which forms the difference in its categorizing types. In this study, there are
three concerned approaches including form-based equivalence, meaning-based
equivalence and function-based equivalence.
2.2. Literary translation
2.2.1. Definition of literary translation
Literary translation is distinguished from other categories. Compared with
other types of translation, it basically works for the poetic communicative or
aesthetic functions. According to Reiss (1989), literary texts belong to a different
expressive text type because the writer utilizes the aesthetic preference in language.
As a result, its translation has the different transferring in terms of different features.
For example, Belhagg (1997, p.20) suggests nine traits of literary translation
consisting of expressive, connotative, symbolic, focusing on both form and content,
subjective, allowing multiple interpretation, timeless and universal, using special
devices to heighten communicative effect and tendency to deviate from the language
norms. The complexity of translating a literary work also lies in reflecting all the
characteristics of the SL text such as word selections, figures of speech or sounds
effects, etc. (Riffaterre, 1992, p.204-205). Added to that, Bush (1998, p.127)
indicates that literature translation is the literary translator‘s work which reflects as
well as protects the imagination, intellectualism and intuition of the author‘s
original writing. The literary translator is the one who creates a new pattern in a
different language so that ―this new creation in turn becomes the basis for multiple
readings and interpretations, which will go beyond any intentions of either original
author or translator.‖ (p.218 - 219).
In respect of the work of a literary translator, Lamberts (1998, p.130)
characterizes a published version as ―the fruit of a substantial creative effort‖ to
which the translator devotes. Besides, he affirms the principal role of the translator
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in solving ―the subjective activity and social practice of translation‖. It means that
despite the social and cultural restraints, the literary translator should independently
reach decisions on translation quality and give it an existence to the readers.
In fact, literary translation is a challenging task and it requires different
strategies to approach the equivalence of the literary work like a poem or a fiction.
The equivalent version must preserve esthetically pleasing in translation without
losing the constant tension of the informative functions of language as well as the
reflection of the style, thought, emphasis and rhythm and sound of the original
(Newmark, 1998, p. 201). From Toury‘s point of view (1995, p.12-13), the
equivalence of literary translation between the SL and TL text should be looked
from two concepts i) the translation of texts regarded as ‗literary‘ in the source
culture and ii) the translation of a text accepted as ‗literary‘ product to the recipient
culture. The first concept explains a similarity between literary piece of work and its
translated product on the basis of the source culture; on the other hand, the second
sense refers to the nature of the context concerning traditions and tastes of the target
culture.
Briefly, literary translation is considered as a creative activity of language
and its notion differs slightly from writer to writer. It is also influenced by a
particular work translated because the process of translation partly builds different
theoretical foundations.
2.2.2. Challenges in literary translation
What makes literary translation challenging is its indirectness. There are
always hidden meanings behind the lines, therefore, the translator who does not
attempt for understanding the rules of translation process is like ―the driver of a
Rolls who has no idea what makes the car moves.‖ (Bassnett, 2005, p.82). The
problems for translators when they are working on literary texts are likely to result
from their failure to consider and understand that ―a literary text is made up of a
complex set of systems‖ which are associated with other sets outside its borders.
Therefore, Finlay (1971, p.45) notes in his study that literary translators are mostly
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under more pressure compared to translators of technical, scientific and commercial
texts on account of their foremost concern for the equivalence of linguistic style and
mode of expression rather than ―purely factual material‖. In addition, the difficulty
of translating literary texts lies in the translator‘s negligence on the language and
cultural barriers. Hence, the translators had better broaden their ―knowledge of
literary and non-literary textual criticism‖ if they need to carry out an evaluation of
the text quality before being translated (Newmark, p.5).
2.2.2.1. Cultural translation difficulties
Cultural transference is known as a daunting task of the translators because
―different cultures have different focuses‖ (Larson, 1984, p.95). Harivanto (2003)
shares that it is impossible to have a perfect translation of culturally-bound texts
when the differences between languages still exist and they are unequally endowed.
It can be said that literature has its own limitation in transferring the source text into
the target text. In an example, Newmark (2004) demonstrates the inequality of
translation quality by comparing the translation of literary French and Spanish.
Particularly, the translated literary text from French into Spanish is more accurate
than the reversed one because the first language pair is more closely interrelated.
Another instance is given by Nida (1969). That the words ―Lamb of God‖ from the
Bible are translated into Eskimo language encounters a difficulty in finding a
suitable equivalent. In this situation, Nida translates the phrase into ―Seal of god‖
for delivering the message since the word ―lamb‖ is not symbolized in the Eskimo
language, so it has no meaning to the local people. These two instances address that
―translating without understanding text is non-sense, and understanding text without
understanding its culture is impossible.‖ (Harivanto, 2003).
Literature is frequently thought as a cultural portrait of a country or a
community, therefore, it imposes considerable challenges to the translator who can
be torn between the aesthetic and cultural elements of both the SL and the TL
products to accomplish his/her mission. Consequently, in the act of literary
translation, the translator has to apprehend the culture‘s soul of the SL text before
14
reproducing a text in another language on the basis of different aspects such as
linguistic, musical, rhythmic and visual feasibilities (Schulte, 2010).
2.2.2.2. Stylistic translation difficulties
Each author has his/her own style of writing. The style of a poet is different
from that of a writer because their writing styles leave a certain impression in the
readership, making them distinctive, for example, Shakespearean style, John
Green‘s style, and so forth. Accordingly, the translator needs to adopt or at least
consider the style of the SL‘s author when translating a work or a text.
Nonetheless, this task is actually never straightforward. Take an illustration
from Lander (2001, p.7) to get a closer look into the difficulty of stylistic
translation. In respect of the technical translation, the order of the cars is inessential
if all the cargo arrives intact. However, if this order is metaphorically understood as
the style, there will appear the possible difference between a well-readable
translation and a worse artificial rendering which removes the original‘s artistic and
aesthetic characteristics, even soul. This illustrative explanation implies that the
unqualifiable emotional and attitudinal aspects between the SL author and TL
translator enable the translation not to achieve its must-have equivalence. In other
words, as a result for stylistic switch, an unqualified text may be rendered as a good
text if its original style is appropriately adapted and vice versa, a good product can
be turned into a poor one easily.
In order to reach the primary goal of the translation as well as convey the
content of the original work completely, the translator is advised to have no style
and adapt to the style of the author as long as the translated text is not against the
faithfulness to the context.
2.2.2.3. Linguistic translation difficulties
It goes without saying that the central problem of the translator is to establish
equivalence between the SL text and the TL text. Nevertheless, this equivalence
cannot be obtained completely if the related-linguistic aspects are not guaranteed in
a translated work. Nida (1964) agrees that linguistic problems can cause a great
15
number of translation problems. In this case, the problem of translation is accredited
mainly to the difference in structure and the organization of language elements such
as grammatical structures, syntax, punctuation, semantic prosody, lexical items, etc.
Hence, the success of a translation strongly relies on the linguistic aspects in the
text.
At a more highly complicated level, toward a literary text, its translation
mostly requires more knowledge and responsibility of the translator. Its acceptable
response to this requirement lies in the fact that ―the failure of many translators to
understand that a literary text is made up of a complex set of systems existing in a
dialectical relationship with other sets outside its boundaries has often led them to
focus on particular aspects of a text at the expense of others.‖ The other sets outside
can be words or images which are created in basically different world views and the
translator‘s attention should focus more on not only linguistic elements but also the
modes of thinking and perceiving in groups using the language.
2.3. Implicature
2.3.1. Definition of implicature and literary implicature
Implicature was firstly introduced by Herbert Paul Grice in 1967. He uses
this concept to tackle with communicative situations where the underlined meaning
of the speaker‘s expression is literally shown in a certain utterance. He states that
implicature is ―to account for what a speaker can imply, suggest or mean as distinct
from what speaker literally says‖ (cited in Brown & Yule, 1983, p.31). From this
definition, implicature is used to explain how speakers mean more than what they
actually say in a conversational exchange. This viewpoint then becomes an
inspiration for other linguists and scholars to come up with various definitions of
implicature. Thomas (1996, p.58) is one example. He defines it as an additional
conveyed meaning to indirectly hint, suggest or express some meanings by means
of language. He also says that implicatures are the property of utterances, not of
sentences and they can be varied in difference occasions. Another similar concept
by Laurence (2006) is also discussed here. It is said that implicature is a component
16
of speaker‘s meaning and it helps substitute what is meant in the speaker‘s words
but not be a part of what is said. According to Yule (1996), implicature works as a
study owning four features: studying contextual meaning, comprehending how gets
more complicated than being said, expression of relative closeness and speaker‘s
meaning. From these points of view, it can be considered that implicature is
something implied more than what a speaker says or utters on the surface form of
language.
The nature of implicature is not changed, even itself in literature. However,
its reflection and function though literary reveal somehow differently owning to its
role in determining how nature of written communication solves author and readers‘
attempt for cooperating to each other. Literature authors mostly use figurative
words and sentences to convey their perception that the readers should imply on
their own to understand what is written. However, it is not an easy task for the
readers to get the author‘s intended information in his/her writing, leading to the
potential occurrence of implicature in literary products, especially novels.
2.3.2. Types of implicatures
In Grice‘s book Logic and Conversation (1975), Grice discusses two types of
implicatures, conventional implicature and conversational implicature.
2.3.2.1. Conventional implicature
To define this kind of implicature, Grice suggests two examples. The first
instance ―He‘s an Englishman; he is, therefore, brave‖ implicates that the man‘s
courage literally results from his English origin. ―She is poor, but she is honest.‖ is
the second one implicating that the poverty cannot affect the girl‘s honesty. Both
these sentences are analyzed on the meanings of the words as well as their lexical
independence from on the message context. Yule (1996, p.45) also adds an example
―Ana has not got better yet.‖ His example assumes that Ann suffers from a sickness
by ending the sentence with the word ―yet‖. From this example, he shows the
presence of the conventional implicature in any conversations and this type does not
rely on the contextual condition. In particular, throughout providing these classic
17
examples, Grice or Yule gives an overview of conventional implicature that it
works actively with specific words and results in additional meanings. It often goes
with the conjunctions but, therefore, or yet.
In fact, besides Grice and Yule, some other linguists feel interested in
defining conventional implicature. One of them is Levison (1983) who proves the
non-truth condition of conventional implicatures. According to him, conventional
implicatures do not emerge from super-ordinate pragmatic principles but simply
attached by convention to certain lexical items or expressions (p.127). Grundy
(1995, p.47) and Verschueren (1999, p.34) also share a similar perspective and they
believe the convention of an implicature does not originate from the rules of talking
and always associates with the certain lexical items and conveys a natural meaning.
2.3.2.2. Conversational implicature
Grice (1975) frames a concept of conversational implicature that is generated
by particular aspects of discourses and it explains how speakers mean more than
they literally convey in a certain context. Therefore, from Paltridge (2006, p.70)‘s
standpoint, conversational implicature deals with the hearer‘s inference about the
speaker‘s intended meaning in conversations. Their cooperation definitely
influences the success of the conversation.
Due to the purpose of working out a conversational implicature effectively,
Grice advises that both the speaker and the hearer should receive a guidance of a set
of principles which can function as a support to the conversational process.
Cooperative Principle is thus established. It ―makes your conversational
contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted
purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged‖ (Grice, 1991,
p.26). Within the Cooperative Principle, Grice lists four basic rational maxims:
quality, quantity, relevance and manner to serve as ―a machinism‖ to create
implicatures.
- The maxim of Quantity: It supports your contribution as informative as
required and limits the informative overload.
18
- The maxim of Quality: This maxim allows the language users not to say
what is believed to be false and convey inadequate evidence.
- The maxim of Relation: The speakers‘ contributions are relevant
- The maxim of Manner: The expressions are assured not to be ambiguous
and obscure. It should be orderly and brief.
As confirmed above, to conduct a successful conversation, the participants
need to fulfill and observe these maxims. These maxims are only observed if the
participants respect the authenticity, amount, relevance and the way of transferring
information at each turn of a conversation (Grice, 1975). However, in reality, not all
communication satisfies the Cooperative Principle since on many occasions of daily
contexts, people intentionally or unintentionally fail to observe the maxims (Neito,
2011). This issue can result from many grounds; for example, the speaker has the
difficulty in information transformation or the lack of fluency in communicating a
certain subject because of psychological struggles or intention of hiding some facts.
Sometimes, the hearer shares the responsibility for comprehending the information
given by the speaker. It is the problem of their ineffective interaction (Cheirchia &
McConnel-Ginnet, 1990; Gumpers,1982). Hence, the hearer is advised to strive for
inferring the real meaning of the speech whenever the speaker is noticed to not
follow the maxims. Conversational implicature consists of two types: Generalized
conversational implicature (GCI) and Particularized conversational implicature
(PCI). Concerning the first type, it requires the participants no special contextual
knowledge to grasp the additional conveyed meaning. In other words, this type of
conversational implicatures occurs in the absence of special circumstances of the
context (Levison, 1983, p.126 & Yule, 1996, p.41). Meanwhile, PCI depends on ―a
very specific context in which locally recognized inferences as assumed‖ (Yule,
1996).
In translation of conversational implicatures, translators need to be well
aware of the implied meanings of the original text. Baker (1992) puts emphasis on
the issues raised in the translation process that implied meanings might be translated
19
incorrectly if the translator only literally transfer words in terms of form. Hatim and
Mason (1990) also state that different languages and linguistic systems should not
hold translators back and they had better concern the communicative targets when
conversational implicatures are being translated. Particularly, as far as the concept
of translating conversational implicature is concerned, following Thomas (cited in
Baker, 1992, p.233), a certain type of implicature, for example, the quality
implicature, is hardly created by the speaker of a language or the contexts are
different from one language to another one. Therefore, the key of the message is the
way it is conveyed. Translators sensibly decide the best method to not only transfer
the precise content but also produce the similar effect in translation.
Needless to say, even though translators can opt to directly or indirectly
convey an implicature, applying an appropriate to transfer the intended meaning of
the author is more preferable. In effect, so as to translate a text effectively,
translators mostly find themselves in a situation in which they must understand and
discern discourse of utterances besides culture- and language-bound features. As a
result, translating conversational implicatures is a more challenging duty to
translators because translators might change some parts from the text so that it can
be compatible with the culture and language of the target version. Furthermore, the
work limits the two language of English and Vietnamese and the target translation
moves in the directions of acceptability rather than accuracy.
2.3.2.3. Particularized conversational implicature (PCI)
Taken from Yule (2006, p.131), the following conversation is regarded as the
particular example for the second type of conversational implicature –
Particularized conversational implicature (PCI).
Woman: Do you want to test the potatoes?
Man: Can I just finish this sentence?
Woman: Of course.
The conversation occurs in a kitchen where a married couple is reading
books while preparing for the dinner. The husband‘s question does not look like an
20
answer in this situation. However, his wife can assume that he will check the
potatoes after he finishes a sentence from the book. If the hearer is not in the
context, he/she is possibly out of information and misunderstand the speaker‘s
response.
From the example, PCI works properly as the inferences of the hearer draw
on the specific context of the utterance. Otherwise stated, PCI appears in a
conversation as there exists the particularly contextual understanding of the
participants flouting the Cooperative Principle and its maxims. Following Grice‘s
logical rules of conversation, PCI is considered under the Cooperative Principle as a
follow-up in which the attempt for grasping an utterance by the maxims is
significant. It works as a mode of cooperating conversational contributions and if
this fails, implicatures are resorted to determine the meaning of a part or a whole
conversation.
2.3.2.4. Categories of Particularized Conversational Implicatures
As the result of diverse contexts leading the various meanings of utterance,
Grice construes three groups of examples of how to form a PCI. First of all, group
A contains instances in which no maxim is violated or at least the maxim violation
is not accessible. Group B is the second one where the utterance maxim‘s violation
is explained by the supposition of a clash with another maxim. The following
situation is an example. The doctor says about his patient that ―one of the valves of
his heart has narrowed, and consequently the blood no longer flows well.‖. Instead
of saying ―mitral stenosis‖ for the patient‘s issue, the doctor describes the patient‘s
diagnosis with long expressions. He certainly violates the maxim of Quantity but
fulfill the maxim of Manner ―not to be obscure‖. A clash between these two maxims
occurs in this circumstance.
The last group is Group C that the study pays more attention as its
complexity and variety. In this group, the exploitation of a maxim happens when the
aim of a PCI is accomplished by means of something of the nature of a figure of
speech. Some typical cases of Group C are displayed in the following table.
21
No Maxim Case Example
 (Tautology) War is war
It is implied that the nature of war is
As informative inflicting the considerable damage, and
as required repeating the word ―war‖ supports the
Flouting the speaker‘s emphasis on its impact and his
1 maxim of lament.
Quantity Don‘t give I blocked the alleys, lanes, streets, highways
more and thoroughfares that led to the hideout.
information The expression sounds more poetic but
than is repetitive.
required
 (Irony) He is a fine friend.
The speaker intends something else instead
of a true expression of belief that he is a bad
friend.
 (Metaphor) You are the cream in my
coffee
Don‘t say The truism of what is conveyed comes from
Flouting the
what you the interpretation of what speaker intends the
2 maxim of
believe to be hearer to reach ―you are my pride and joy‖
Quality
false  (Meiosis) He was a little intoxicated.
The speaker implicates that agent was a
madman.
 (Hyperbole) Every nice girl loves a sailor.
The speaker exaggerates the fact by using
―every girl‖ to implicate the attractions of
sailors to girls.
22
Don‘t say (Probability) She is probably deceiving him
what you lack this evening.
adequate The possibility is that the wife is given to
evidence deceiving her husband.
Loss or No A: Mrs. X is an old bag.
existence of B: The weather has been quite delightful this
Flouting the the association summer, hasn’t it?
3 maxim of between what The irrelevant answer of the speaker B
Relation is said and the implies his/her disagreement on A‘s
recent comment on Mrs. X.
information
 Interpretations of an utterance are not
different but overriding.
Never seek to tell thy love/ Love that never
told can be.
Ambiguity
 The straightforwardness is less considered
in one interpretation compared to the other.
“I have Sind” is interpreted into “I have
sinned”.
Flouting the
A: Let’s go to the supermarket.
4 maxim of
B: But an I-C-E C-R-E-A-M should not be on
Manner
the list. (Mey, 2009. P.153)
Obscurity
The speaker wants to keep the secret from the
kids. He makes an utterance obscure but
perceptible.
(A) Miss x sang “Home Sweet Home‖
Failure to be
(B) Miss X produced a series of sounds
brief or
that corresponded closely with the score of
concise
“Home Sweet Home”
23
The speaker B‘s response pictures an
unpleasant performance from Miss X rather
than what is said by the speaker A.
Table 2.2. Group C‟s cases of the maxim‟s exploitation

All in all, examples given by Grice (1989) point out the marked influence of
figures of speech on generating particularized conversational implicatures. The
hearer must depend on particular facts about the context of the utterance to achieve
the speaker‘s intention when he/she uses figures of speech to create an utterance. In
other contexts, the same sentence would generate a different implicature or none at
all. The implicatures here are particularized with respect of context-dependent
feature.
2.4. Translation quality assessment (TQA)
2.4.1. Definition of TQA
In the academic sphere, TQA has received much attention of popular names
such as House 1997, Nord 1997, Lauscher 2000, Brunette 2000; Colina 2008 and
William 2009. This gives a variety of the comprehensive and updated treatment of
translation evaluations as well as shows that the need for a translation to be
evaluated ―good‖ ―satisfactory‖ and ―acceptable‖ is undeniable.
Basically, TQA makes explicit the grounds of value judgement and
emphasizes its attempts for setting out ―the interpretative potential of translation
seen in the light of an established interpretative framework whose origin lies in the
source text.‖ (Lawson, 2012, p.6). It is simplified that TQA is a type of evaluation
based on criterial of goodness used to measure the quality of the translated work.
Concerning roles of TQA, as presented by Peter Newmark (1998, p.184),
translation criticism is a necessary component in a translation course due to its
connection between theory and practice. He addresses the importance of TQA for
three major bases. Translators‘ competences will be perfected by criticizing others‘
translation and from that achieve professional experiences. In addition, thanks to
TQA, translators possibly expand their knowledge and linguistic understanding with
24
respect to their mother tongues and foreign language in the topics discussed in the
translation. The last reason is that it creates a great chance for translators to
reorganize and sharpen their comprehension of translation theories and principles in
order to stand on the position of a professional translator. Schiaffino (2005) also
added some more benefits of TQA such as fostering language proficiency,
understanding topics related to the translation, minimizing poor quality, improving
customer satisfaction and so forth.
2.4.2. Different approaches to access TQA
TQA models are produced from the different schools of thoughts. Scholars
are thus divided into different groups of TQA approaches.
2.4.2.1. Functionalist – “Skopos”- Related approach
Following this approach, the common names such as Reiss (1971), Skopos
Theories (1991), E. Steiner (1998), House (1977, 1986, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2009,
2015) cannot be forgotten.
Functionalist approach is believed to carry the purpose of the text producer
in intercultural communication, which can be understood that the aim of a text in
the target culture determines the translation methods. According to Reiss (1971),
assessing a translated product should begin with the establishment of text types
because the different kinds of texts lead to the difference in text functions and
treatments. She identifies four principle text-types including content- focused
(news, scientific-technical texts), form-focused (poems and other literary texts),
appeal- focused (advertisements and rhetorical texts) and audio medical texts
(operas and songs). Although Reiss states the role of text types in translation
equivalence, she does not suggest any steps to establish the desired function.
Among functionalist approaches, the most common is ―Skopos‖ (purpose)
theory developed by a German scholar Hans Vermeer (1978). Vermeer argues that
the ST is produced for a situation in the source culture which may be different from
the target culture. It then follows that the translation should suit the purpose for
which it is needed in the target culture: On the basis of the ―Skopos‖ theory, Nord
25
(1991) understands that either maintaining all semantic and formal features of the
original or adapting the ST is affected by the function of the target text as well as
the translation‘s demands. Because of that, she grades types of translation on a scale
ranked from extreme fidelity to extreme liberty. Grading the translation from
―literal‖ to ―free‖ statements helps reduce errors during the translating process.
Furthermore, she proposes an analytical framework with four steps for literary
documents. Firstly, the TT is analyzed in terms of intra- and extra-textual factors
(such as grammatical, lexical coherence, pragmatic dimensions of time, place and
so forth). Secondly, the translator analyzes the ST regarding the model of
translation-relevant text analysis. This step works effectively only if the critic
carefully evaluates potential problems such as coherence deficiencies or
inconsistent terminology. The next stage is comparing the TT and ST. There is a TT
profile that is created for the comparison. However, this model confronts with a
question of how an overall evaluation is made when the judgement is based on the
nature of errors without specific numbers.
Generally, functionalist approaches give the focus towards the extra-
linguistic setting and the ―skopos‖ is an indispensable element in translation.
Nevertheless, this approach seems not adequate when it is tackling the assessment
of a translation.
2.4.1.3. Quantitative approach
Quantitative approach, a quality measurement system by Sical (1986),
originates from the qualification of errors. Particularly, texts are ranked based on
the number of minor and major errors. The major errors are caused when the
meaning of words is translated wrongly or the language is incomprehensive and
inappropriate (Williams, 1989, p.26). The quality ratings range from A to B as
follows: A superior (0 major errors/maximum of 6 minor); B: fully acceptable
(0/12); C: revisable (1/18); and D: unacceptable.
Regarding this approach, Waddington (2001) should be listed here. While
exploring TQA, he suggests four methods. Method A is about feasible errors in
26
terms of three categories and their impacts: unsuitable translation to the
understanding of the ST or the expression in the TT, and inadequate translation to
the transmission of either the main function or secondary functions of the ST.
Method B is developed on the foundation of Kussmaul‘s work (1995) and
Waddigton‘s. To ensure the accuracy of the assessment, the evaluator determines
whether language mistake (-1 point) or translation mistake (-2 points) causes the
mistake, then the final assessment is calculated in the similar way of method A. A
holistic method of assessment is mentioned as the method C. The last method is
combined by the method B and C‘s analysis of errors in the proportion of 70/30.
However, these methods have expressed the limitations and faced to the
dissatisfaction of other scholars due to their highly academic, ignorance of
translation shifts, the different judgements, the over-assessment of the TT, level of
ST difficulties and so forth.
2.4.1.4. Linguistically oriented approach
Going with the development of TQA is the presence of linguistically oriented
studies. Some popular works introduced by Baker (1992), Steiner (1998), Munday
and Hatim (2004) or Munday (2008) have changed many viewpoints towards TQA.
There are three important factors in assessing a translated text: Field, Tenor
and Mode. Field relates to subject matter, social activities and objective orientations
while Tenor‘s concentration is on social/ agentive roles, effects and social distance.
Mode is the last aspect which solves the role of language, discourse channel and its
medium.
The accomplishment of this approach is partly from House‘s model
published in 1977. The model takes use of Field, Tenor and Mode for TQA, with
other assessment components such as register theory, stylistics, discourse analysis,
pragmatics, systemic linguistics and some concepts. It is based on Halliday‘s (1973)
perspective to the function of language as well as situational dimensions of texts
proposed by Crytal and Davy‘s (1969). After the original version, House has
updated her TQA model to six new versions, but the basis does not change. The key
27
point is the comparison of the ST – TT function. In order to thoroughly categorize
the text‘s functions, House established two dimensions characterized in terms of
―occurrence of use, source and a communicative purpose or any combination‖. She
also boosters its application for examining a text on a higher level by four
categories: Function, Register, Language and Genre. Her model has two kinds of
translation, respectively, covert translation and over translation. A translator uses
covert translation as ―original source texts in the target culture‖ (House, 1977,
p.69). The translated work intentionally addresses its audience as similarly as the
ST to its source culture community. On the basis of covert translation, the concept
―culture filter‖ appears to supports the TT audience to comprehend the ST better
through the perspectives of the target culture individuals. On the contrary, overt
translation is adopted when the target audience are not directly addressed because
they have a firm connection to their local culture and language community. This
causes a mismatch between the original text and translated text in function.
In short, linguistically oriented approach has broadened the scope of
translation and TQA in respect of act theory, discourse analysis, pragmalinguistics
and sociopragmatics.
2.4.1.5. Behavioristic approach
Nida and Taber (1969) have a close association with this approach.
Behavioristic approach gives a viewpoint into a more specific way of translation
assessment. Behavioral tests are created on the basis of Nida‘s principle of
―dynamic equivalence‖. They help formulate more ―objective‖ statements about the
quality of a translation in various forms such as reading aloud techniques, rating
tasks or all kinds of tests having observable responses to a translation. Nonetheless,
they impose a limitation on obtaining the fulfillment of the ―overall quality of a
translation‖ (House, 2009).
2.4.1.6. Comparative approach
Peter Newmark is the representative of comparative approach. He creates his
model of criticism including five practical steps. His model deals with the relation
28
between ST and TT, compares them and gives comments on the translation‘s
potential role. This model and Newmark‘s viewpoint will be discussed in depth in
the next section of this chapter.
2.4.3. Theory underlying Newmark‟s model
Working as both a translation theorist and a translator, Peter Newmark is
acutely aware of the significance of the relation between translation theory and its
practice. Following that, translation quality criticism becomes a key point to link
what is written/ said to what is done/ carried out.
As stated by Newmark, the difference of translations of a text depends on the
translator‘s methods and this results in the question of which version is better
translated. He also points out that values of accuracy and economy to a translation
need to be relative and absolute, which must be reconsidered in various cultural
contexts. Satisfying the (self) viewpoints, Newmark suggests two translation
methods before establishing a suitable TQA model, respectively, semantic
translation and communicative translation. While semantic translation focuses on
meaning, communicative one directs to effect. The first method is for accurately
reproducing the author‘s original meaning as it remains within the original culture.
It often appears in a translation of literary, autobiography, quotations or definitions
and explanation. By comparison, communicative translation has a different color. It
directs to the target readers in the same effect as that obtained on the readers of the
original. In other words, the focus of this method is to convey information in terms
of the target language‘s culture, language and style, rather than copy all from the
original text. It is easy to see communicative translation in non-literary writings,
textbooks, etc. Indeed, there are wide differences between two methods (p.39).
However, it is undeniable how effective both methods have achieved in producing
accurate and smooth translation.
Using an assessment framework is thus essential because it guides translators
to conduct a successful translated work. Newmark introduces his model
―comprehensive criticism of a translation‖. This model is considered superior
29
compared to other TQA models with regard to its realistic application. It is simpler
for a critic/ translator to follow the steps of the model‘s process when all of these
steps come from the real experiences. In his book, Newmark suggests five steps for
assessing the quality of a translation.
Step 1: A brief analysis of the SL text emphasizing its intention and
functional aspects. In the first step, the quality of language is assessed to determine
the translator‘s degree but not his/her irrelevant information like personal life or
other works. This step should be generally informative. To analyze the original text,
a translator must follow several extra minor steps:
- Reading the text: doing both general and specific reading.
- The intention of the text and the translator: searching for the text‘s
intention and translator‘s viewpoint compared to the intention of the SL
- Text styles: identifying four types of (literary and non-literary) texts
include narrative, description, discussion and dialogue.
- The readership: characterizing the readership of the SL and the SL before
deciding the degree of attention to the TL readers.
- Stylistic scales: using the scales of formality and emotional tone
- Attitude & Setting: evaluating the standards of the writer and assuming
some aspects ―Where would the text be published in the TL? What is the TL
equivalent of the SL newspaper, textbook, journal, etc? Who is the client of the
translation?‖
- The quality of the writing: judging the writing‘s quality and the text‘s
authority.
- Connotations and denotations: working on the text‘s connotation.
- The last reading: noting the cultural elements (e.g. cultural words) of the
SL text.
Take account of the translational principle, analyzing the SL text is the first
stage of translation and the basis of translation assessment. Despite this, not all parts of
the text need to be on the analysis because it may be unnecessary in a particular text.
30
Step 2: An analysis on the translator‘s purpose, translation methods and
possible readership.
Step 3: A selective but representative comparison of the TT with the
original. How the translator deals with certain problems of the SL text is significant
in this step. It is viewed as the heart of the evaluation because that any text diverges
from literal translation in grammatical and lexical elements causes a problem so that
the critic must justify a solution.
Step 4: An evaluation of the translation by the translator‘s standards, the
pragmatic and referential accuracy. The translated work should be considered as a
piece of writing which is independent of its original.
Step 5: An attempt of the translation critic to ―place‖ the translation in its
unfamiliar situations. In the case of a novel, the work‘s value within the target
culture will be assessed by answering the questions such as whether it is worth
translating or not, what kinds of impact it has on the language, etc.
Despite the fact that Newmark‘s model has been criticized to be
―predominant‖ in translating training (Schaffner, 1997, p.1), it has its own benefits
regarding application. First of all, this model has been widely applied in the
literature for assessing translations, and coping with particular translation matters.
Five stages are actually initiated from the translators‘ practical experiences,
therefore, feasible problems and translators‘ concerns during translating process can
be easily carried out. For that reason, it makes appropriate for the comparison
between/among works (Mashhady, H., Pourgalavi, M. & Fatollahi, M., 2015).
Secondly, it can be applied to evaluate the quality of the translation in different text-
types. Newmark (2003, p.40) shows a scheme of various text types which are
characteristic for each category (function, core, author‘s status, type) in details. This
feature obviously meets the demand of the study, giving assistance to analyze and
translate the studied work.
2.4.4. Operationalization of Newmark‟s model
At first sight, it looks less appropriate to use Newmark‘s model for this study
as its target objective is the translation of particularized conversational implicatures.
31
However, with the mentioned benefits, the researcher also finds Newmark‘s model
suitable to the study. As a comprehensive criticism of a translation, the model can
also narrow its scope from a full work into more particular utterances.
The following steps are operationalized from the original model.
Step 1: The critic has a general evaluation of the translation in terms of the
original text (including the author‘s purpose, the readers‘ characterization and the
topic) and the Vietnamese translation (stating translator‘s method and the target
readership)
Step 2: The critic concerns how the translator has solved the relevant
problems of particularized conversational implicatures. All semantic and syntactic
aspects to the quality of translating PCIs such as sentence structure, metaphors,
untranslated words cultural words, sentence connectives, etc. are compared between
the SL and the TL.
Step 3: An evaluation of the referential and pragmatic accuracy of the
translation is conducted. The critic evaluates whether or not the PCIs are preserved
in the translation. From this, the strengths and weaknesses of the translation are
addressed.
Step 4: Such questions as ―Was it in fact worth translating?‖, ―Does it have
any influence on the target language‘s literature and culture?‖ are answered.
2.5. Related studies and literary gaps
Several researchers attempted to explore the issue of TQA based on
Newmark‘s model and TQA on implicatures:
- Challenging issues in translating conversational implicature from English
into Arabic. Vol 5, No 2. Muna Ahmad Al-Shawi, 2017.
- Interpretable implicatures in the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung‘s speech at the 62nd un general assembly session. Trần Thanh Tú, 2010.
- A translation quality assessment of the Vietnamese version of the novel
the notebook by petal Lê (2010) using peter Newmark's model. Bùi Thị Mai Anh,
2014.
32
- Research on translating metaphor in Martin Luther King s speeches from
English into Vietnamese. Đặng Vinh, 2015.
- Implications conversation in Vietnam folk jokes in relation to the maxim
of quantity. Nguyễn Hoàng Yến, 2014.
- An investigation into some Pragmatic and cultural problems in translating
Arabic implicature into English. A case study of Jaradat's" Habilat Bishra ".
Muntaha Samardali, 2013.
- The pragmatic equivalence of the implicature in the English translation of
the Prophet Muhammad‘s jokes. Fahman Amin, 2013.
- Problems Encountered in Translating Conversational Implicatures in the
Holy Qurʾān into English. Mohammed Saad Al Ananzeh, 2015.
Exploring the same issue, this research is hopefully an attempt to contribute
to previous studies due to three grounds.
Firstly, the majority of the researchers developed their studies from either
translation quality assessment or implicatures. The combination of two issues is still
ignored. This research attempted to investigate the translation quality assessment on
particularized conversational implicatures from the novel The Fault in Our stars
based on Newmark‘s model. With this application, the research can yield
consideration results for the development of the translation.
Secondly, the critical review on the previous TQA approaches is
purposefully indicated to justify for the adoption of Newmark‘s model. It is obvious
that Nida (1964)‘s tests mainly leave the ST out during the translation evaluation
and the quantitative approach by Sical (1986) does not show its practicality. For
functionalist approach, Reiss (1971, 1973) did not indicate clearly the functions in
her theory; ―skopos‖ did not help critics evaluate the work in general. Although
linguistically oriented approach has many benefits, its complexity is not suitable to
the study which has the high practice and the focus only on conversational
implicatures.
33
Lastly, unlike the previous studies, this study answers the research questions
from the integration of quantitative with qualitative methods. In the related previous
studies, the research methodology was generally neglected and the mixed methods
are not applied in the majority of the researches. This could be a more special
feature of this research. The detailed justification of the mixed methods will be
discussed in the next chapter.
34
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents a detailed description of how the method is adopted in

collecting and analyzing the data. It accounts for methods, the samples and a
justification of Grice’s theory and the analytical framework by Newmark. The data
collection procedures are also indicated.
3.1. A brief introduction of The Fault in Our Stars
The target object in this research is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
which was first published by Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA)
Inc. in 2012. This novel contains 25 chapters and there are 313-page thickness. This
novel is about a tragic-romance story of two cancer teenagers who find the meaning
of love and life since they met. Hazel Grace Lancaster (main female character) who
is battling with thyroid cancer meets Augustus Waters (main male character) in the
occasion of Support Group meeting where several cancer survivors meet to share
their cancer fighting survival stories. Augustus loses a quarter of his leg due to
osteosarcoma. Since the first meeting, they have got a closer relationship. They
share a common interest in reading, then swap their favourite books, have more
meetings and conversations until finally they fall in love each other. Augustus plans
a trip to Amsterdam with Hazel by using his ―Cancer Wish‖ to actualize her dream
of seeing her favourite novel writer and then they have unforgettably romantic
moments together. However, the happiness does not last so long. Augustus relapses
into his cancer and Hazel with him struggle with the pain until he passes away.
Coping with the tragic loss of Augustus‘s death, Hazel comforts herself with the
strength of the family love and the letter that Augustus wrote before he is gone.
Since the publishing date, The Faults in Our stars has drawn a lot of readers‘
attentions all around the world and achieved a good reputation. Furthermore, it has
obtained several honorable awards, for example, #1 New York Times Bestseller, #1
Wall Street Journal Bestseller, #9 The Bookseller (UK) Bestseller and New York
Times Book Review Editor‘s Choice. Following its fame, many republished
35
versions have appeared on the shelves of world-wide bookstores and its translations
in numerous languages have been welcomed by a large number of readers,
especially young people. However, the great number of translated copies does not
go with the number of studies on the assessment of its translation or concentrates on
analyzing translated excerpts of a character within implicatures. Hence, it will be
more meaningful if there is any examination on the novel and its translation Khi lỗi
thuộc về những vì sao or other aspects related to the novel.
3.2. Research approach
The researcher uses the mixed-method approach to accomplish this study.
Mixed methods have increased in popularity in recent years because it is referenced
as an effective tool by many advocators. In the full process of research, quantitative
approach neutrally accompanies with the qualitative approach to reach the valuable
collection and analysis for the research questions. In other words, mixed methods
highlight the importance of both quantitative and qualitative within a single study or
in multiple phases of a study, which goes into complex systems and explores the
processes and the outcomes. While the hallmark of quantitative method is its
mathematically-based tools that allow the researchers work with statistical data,
qualitative research is concerned with logical description and the insight of the issue
throughout texts, images or objects. Therefore, the integration of these two
traditional methods obviously creates a mixing or blending of data, providing a
more profound understanding of the study‘s problems. (Creswell & Plano Clark,
2011; Greene, 2007; Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2009;
Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2010; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009).
Depending on different fields, several types of mixed methods are thus
developed. Given that the goal of the study highlights a need for richer explanations
behinds the main male character‘s PCIs and more initial assessment to their
translation, the researcher considers the suitability of the sequential explanatory
mixed method design. This strategy possesses key strengths and one of them is its
straightforward nature. At the first consideration, the sequential explanatory design
36
brings a logical structure for a single study and lets every stage fall into clear and
easily accessible. Particularly, the results from one data collection procedure affect
the data collection approach of the other procedure (Fetters et all., 2013); therefore,
it faces no difficulty in reaching conclusions from the collected findings. Secondly,
this method is beneficial in some situations when the researcher expects to reach the
quantitative findings in depth, categorize them and investigate these groups with
qualitative phase. This leads to new insights under investigation and specifics a
deeper understanding of the findings.
In this method, the quantitative phase typically takes higher priority;
however, this is not in the case where the researcher puts more emphasis on the
second phase. This variant gets the reference as it is noticed to be worthwhile to
―qualitatively examine a phenomenon but need initial quantitative results to identify
and purposefully select the best participants‖ (Creswell & Plano Clark, p.86). It can
be stated that a more attention is placed on the qualitative procedure to focus on
completely detailed explanations of the results. Then, from such interpretation, the
researcher can reach the final evaluation.
Following this approach, the researcher employs a two-phase procedure in
which the findings from quantitative data are analyzed to plan for the second
qualitative stage (Creswell et al. 2003). More specifically, quantitative collections
and analysis are first completed before following up qualitative data. The text data
are acquired and analyzed in the sequence as well as elaborate what have been
obtained in the first phase. In this study, besides exploring both quantitative and
qualitative data of the novel, the study evaluates the quality of the translated
version. Therefore, the researcher modified the mixed-method model that will be
described in the fourth section of this chapter.
3.3. Research question
What particularized conversational implicatures are found in the original
novel?
How does the main male character show his life perception via the PCIs?
37
How is the Vietnamese translation quality of PCIs according to Newmark‘s
model?
3.4. Data collection procedures and analysis
The modified process of the research was diagramed, as follows:
The character's utterances The utterances PCIs are

are collected. are analyzed to categorized into
(monologues & dialogues) achieve PCIs. three groups
A statement of The comparison

PCI groups are
quality is made of between ST &
analyzed.
the translation TT utterances
Diagram 1: Data collection procedure and analysis.

Adapted from Explanatory Mixed Method Design from Qualitative Inquiry
& Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, by J. W. Creswell, 2007,
p.73. Copyright 2007 by J.W. Creswell. Reprinted with permission.
The mixed-method design begins with the quantitative collection and
analysis. Data collection would be in a form of listing the main male character‘s
utterances in monologues and dialogues. The Cooperative Principle and the maxims
were applied so as to analyze the data indicated as particularized conversational
implicatures of the whole chapters from the order of the novel. The same task was
also carried out to translated excerpts of these utterances.
With a view to analyze the data in a systematic, logical and sequent manner,
the follow-up qualitatively classifies all PCIs from the previous phase into three
groups for both English and Vietnamese languages. Some more minor practical
steps were for the data analysis. The listed extracts of the PCIs were arranged in
two-column tables, one for English and one for its translation. In order to improve
data accuracy, the Double Entry method was applied afterwards. The researcher
38
asked her partner Lã Thị Phương Loan, who got a MA degree in Linguistics to enter
the data a second time then both checked again whether all identified PCIs match or
not. Following that, the researcher analyzed them to achieve the intended meanings
what Augustus conveyed to his life perception. The researcher did not also forget to
compare these PCIs to their translated excerpts under the operationalized
framework of Newmark‘s Translation Quality Assessment model. Among four
steps, the second and third ones were essential. The research as the critic considered
how the translator solved the specific problems of the SL conversational
implicatures, for instance, sentence connectives, metaphors, culture words, etc. as
well as evaluated the referential and pragmatic accuracy in terms of PCI theory.
Finally, an assessment on the quality of the translation was made by the researcher
as the conclusion.
39
CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter represents the application of Grice’s theoretical notions of PCI
and Newmark’s model in assessing the quality of translated “Faults into our stars”
in conversational excerpts which are produced by the main male character,
Augustus. This provides the answer of two research problems that have been
mentioned in the first chapter.
4.1. Research findings
4.1.1. Results of PCIs on Grice‟s theory
The researcher collected all particularized conversational implicatures that
the main male character creates and demonstrated them into the table.
Categorizes
(flouting/ violating
Original excerpts Translation
maxims)
Group Situations
Do not say what is
believed to be false Patrick: Và giờ cậu thấy
Patrick: And how are
(using metaphor) thế nào?"
you feelings?
(the first maxim of Augustus: Ồ, khỏe như
Augustus: Oh, I'm
C Quality) vâm. Tôi đang ngồi trên
grand. I'm on a roller
Give redundant một chiếc tàu lượn siêu
coaster that only goes
information (the tốc mà chỉ thẳng hướng đi
up, my friend. (p. 11)
second maxim of lên, ông anh à." (p.16)
Quantity)
Patrick: Augustus, Violate the maxim Patrick: Augustus, có lẽ
perhaps you'd like to of Quantity (giving cậu muốn chia sẻ với
share your fears with more information nhóm về nỗi sợ hãi của
B
the group. than it is required) cậu.
Augustus: My fears? to observe the Augustus: Nỗi sợ hãi của
Patrick: Yes maxim of Manner tôi ư?"
40
Augustus: I fear (avoid obscurity) Patrick: Ừ
oblivion. I fear it like Augustus: Tôi sợ bị chìm
the proverbial blind vào quên lãng. Tôi sợ điều
man who's afraid of the đó giống như một người
dark. (p.11-12) mù sợ bóng tối. (p. 17)
Hazel‘s dad: And how‘s The maxim of Hazel‘s dad: Vậy giờ sức
your healthy now? Quality and the khỏe của cháu thế nào
Augustus: NEC for maxim of Manner rồi?
A
fourteen months. (p.83) are observed but Augustus: Cháu được xác
they are not clear. nhận NEC trong mười
bốn tháng rồi. (p. 98)
Table 4.1. Groups of PCIs and the translation
The number of particularized conversational implicatures is 70 utterances in
total, including the dominance of Group C implicatures. The presentations of data
analysis will be shown, adding the analysis of their Vietnamese translation to have
the specific comparison.
4.1.2. General evaluation of the translation based on Newmark‟s model
Although the study does not explore the entire novel for assessing the whole
translation, it respects Newmark‘s pathway and does not forget general analytical
steps before forwarding the details.
4.1.2.1. A brief analysis of the SL text and the target character
Newmark states in his textbook that to accomplish the analysis of the SL
text, the assessor may take account of the author‘s purpose, the readership‘s
characterization, an indication of its category and type. He explains that the
language quality can be assessed to determine the translator‘s degree of license, for
instance, ―he can reduce cliché to natural language in informative but not in
authoritative texts‖ and it is necessary to give a brief description of the topic and
themes but not retell the story. On the basis of his theory, the researcher will shortly
analyze the author‘s purpose, the portrayal of the readership and the topic of the
chosen literary work.
41
The author’s purpose
John Green is not a new name in the world of romantic novels. He is the
New York Times bestselling authors of several works including The Fault in Our
stars which brings him a prize in Printz Award for this fourth solo novel, is ranked
at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2012 and makes its film
adaption in 2014. As revealed by John Green, The Fault in Our stars was originally
inspired by the story of his friend‘s death due to thyroid cancer. His friend
introduced numerous ideas for the book and redefined him the process of dying
young. Writing about this topic was fairly uncommon in the reading community,
and making a difference was what John Green chose. He expected that his book
could reach more readers‘ thoughts and hearts about the message of life gratefulness
and positivity to everyone, especially unlucky individuals. The novel attempts to
portray this underlying meaning and that said, ―I felt very differently about whether
a short life could be a rich life."
Characterization of the readership
Like other same kind of books, The Fault in Our stars fascinates a wide
range of readers although its target topic directs the young adults in a battle against
cancers or life-threatening diseases. Any educated readers whose interest is reading
books would certainly have no hesitation in discovering this bestseller fiction of
The New York Times. The author of the novel is known with ―the John Green
effect‖, therefore, his writing has a remarked influence on the novel readers and
they would not miss the opportunity to hold ―the Fault in Our stars‖ in their hand.
The topic
The book was first published in January 2012 by American writer John
Green and it was based on a true story. The topic of the novel was a new step in the
writing career of the author. It conveys the message of gratitude and the hidden
meaning of life and even death.
4.1.2.2. The translator’s method and likely readership
Another step belonging to Newmark‘s model is evaluating the translating
method adapted for the novel. It can be seen that the novel is written by an easily
42
intelligible language; as a result, translating it is not a hard job. This can be
approved by the translated product by Le Hoang Lan. She bases on the original‘s
features in order to reproduce readily acceptable The Fault in Our stars in
Vietnamese. By applying the semantic translation method, following closely the
content and using language flexibly, she does not disappoint Vietnamese readers‘
expectation. Any other way, this is a long literary work and working on the complex
word structures is unavoidable. Thus, it is not surprising if the translator has to
combine some different methods of translation along with a major method, for
instance, literal translation and faithful translation methods.
With the spirit of the original, the translated version also aims at general readers,
especially young individuals and ones who are unlikely infected by cancers. The
translator strives for various targeted readership: every gender, every class and age.
4.2. Data analysis
This section takes over the analysis of PCIs collected from the novel and
performs the comparison of the translation with the original.
# Situation 1: (See more Appendix, p.I)
SL TL
Patrick: And how are you feeling? Patrick: Và giờ cậu thấy thế nào?
Augustus: Oh, I’m grand. I’m on a roller Augustus: Ồ, khỏe như vâm. Tôi đang ngồi
coaster that only goes up, my friend. trên một chiếc tàu lượn siêu tốc mà chỉ
thẳng hường đi lên, ông bạn ạ.
English version
Augustus was first at the Support Group, a special group for young cancer
victims in various conditions of tumor-driven unwellness. It functions as a
supportive psychological destination for both young survivors from the disease.
Patrick was the leader of the Group wondered Augustus how his healthy state was
now. Augustus smiled and answered by a low and smoky voice.
This situation is put in Group C. In this utterance, the first maxim of Manner
is flouted because Augustus does not express his points briefly. It is enough for him
43
to say ―I‘m grand‖, but he describes his feelings by adding the image of the roller
coaster. This image is also a metaphor which is indicated that Augustus‘s well-
being is positive. A roller coaster is a track at a fairground that is designed to move
up or down very steep slopes and people ride on it for entertainment. In the same
conversation, Augustus also flouts the second maxim of Quality by applying this
metaphor. He aims to emphasize that he is healthy and in a good mood.
Vietnamese translation
In terms of the structural details, the Vietnamese version omits the subject
―I‖ in the sentence ―I‘m grand‖ and it is only translated by a Vietnamese idiom
―khỏe như vâm‖ instead. ―Vâm‖ can be understood as an elephant. In Vietnamese
culture, elephants are regarded as sacred animals which depict the strength and
power. The translator deliberately chooses this idiom to replace the original
expression ―I‘m grand‖ in order to picture how good his health is compared to the
normal people. For the metaphor, the translator uses literal translating strategy to
convert the nearest TL equivalents most the lexical words are translated singly.
There is a change of subject from ―my friend‖ into ―ông bạn ạ.‖. This causes a
change of the relationship gap between two people despite the fact that this is the
first time Augustus and Patrick met each other. Hoang Lan‘s use of the particle ―ạ‖
at the end of the sentence shows clearly the hierarchy that Patrick is older than
Augustus.
# Situation 2: (See more Appendix, p. I)
SL TL
Augustus: I fear oblivion. I fear it like Augustus: Tôi sợ bị chìm vào quên lãng.
the proverbial blind man who’s afraid Tôi sợ điều đó giống như một người mù sợ
of the dark. bóng tối
English version
The topic of the Support Group today was fears. As Augustus’s turn came,
without hesitation, he shared with the group the fear of oblivion.
44
Here are obviously two flouts of the maxim of quantity and quality, which
are put in Group C. Although Patrick‘s given information is not in form of a
question, ―perhaps you‘d like to share your fears with the group‖ is clearly
recognized as an indirect question or a polite offer. Augustus understands that, but
instead of answering immediately, he repeated Patrick‘s suggestion with the
purpose of emphasis. This unintentionally flouts the second maxim of quantity:
more informative than it is required. This flouting is noticed by Patrick, which
becomes obvious when he responds. The implicature that arises from Augustus‘
flout thus is not hard to determine. Added to that, the way Augustus answers makes
him more ―metaphorical‖ via the second flouting of the second maxim of quality.
One more time, Augustus uses the image of a blind man to compare with his fears.
This sounds ambiguous because a blind man who cannot see will not be afraid of
the dark, nevertheless, a seeing person is probably frightened by the darkness as
same as the ―proverbial‖ blind man. The adjective ―proverbial‖ is commonly used
to show what a speaker refers to a particular proverb or phrase. Augustus uses it to
imply his fear is an apparent feeling. His fear of oblivion is undefined but it never
fades away in his mind, or even anyone like him who experienced a terrible illness.
He scares the unclear vision of his future and the ―life‖ after his death. Using
metaphors gives Augustus depth and his language more interesting to the readers.
This translation has changed some details as opposed to the original. The
position of translated words in Patrick‘s invitation are arranged differently: ―share
your fears with the group‖ and ―chia sẻ với nhóm về nỗi sợ hãi của cậu.‖ This
arrangement causes the sense of priority between sharing the fear as the main topic
and sharing any information to the group. In the second response, the sentence ―I
fear oblivion‖ originally is an active sentence, on the other hand, its translated
version is formed by passive voice ―bị chìm‖ like the statement of drowning, which
also turns out a metaphor. The translator makes the readers probably visualize the
picture of the oblivion as similar as the immensity and loneliness of the ocean.
45
―Oblivion‖ is an abstract term if there is no explanation. Augustus understands its
ambiguity; thus, he explains by using a comparative sentence as an implicature.
Even though the implicature is translated closely, the word ―proverbial‖ is not in the
translator‘s purpose. She omits the presence of this word here.
# Situation 3: (See more Appendix, p. I)
SL TL
Augustus: We are literally in the Augustus: Thì tụi mình đang ở trong trái tim của
heart of Jesus, I thought we were Chúa Giêsu, theo đúng nghĩa đen. Anh cứ tưởng
in a church basement, but we are mọi người họp dưới tầng hầm nhà thờ thôi, ai dè
literally in the heart of Jesus. đúng là tụi mình đang ở trong trái tim Chúa.
… …
Augustus: I would tell Him myself, Augustus: Đích thân anh sẽ nói với Ngài, nhưng
but unfortunately, I am literally tiếc là anh đang mắc kẹt bên trong trái tim của
stuck inside of His heart, so He Ngài, nên Ngài sẽ không thể nghe thấu lời anh.
won’t be able to hear me.
English version
Augustus and Hazel were finished the meeting at the Supportive Group.
Because of being impressed by Hazel, Augustus tried to make friend with her. He
opened their personal conversation by telling her where they truly were at the
moment.
This situation is from Group C. Augustus flouts the maxim of Manner
throughout giving something ambiguous and less succinct. Repeating the word
―literally‖ three times encouraging the participation of tautology and using the
metaphorical expressions among the utterances also generates a flouting of the
second maxim of quality. Consequently, the meaning of the utterances becomes less
obvious. ―We are literally in the heart of Jesus‖ carries Augustus‘s implicit
intentions. Indeed, the cancer fighters of the Support Group are in the basement of a
stone-walled Episcopal church shaped like a cross and sit where the two lines of the
cross meet. Because of this, their Support Group leaders refers to the group as the
―literal heart of Jesus‖. Therefore, it is firstly believed that Augustus truly talks
46
about their position now. Another related understanding is that both Augustus and
Hazel are receiving His love and protection. Jesus is the central figure of
Christianity, who is known by the suffering from a painful and agonizing death.
This sacrifice for human units all hearts with His in a fusion of joy and mystical
love. Hazel‘s joking that it is dangerous to store children like them in His heart
connects closely to Augustus‘s implication in the second reply. His reply indicates
that his illness pulls him closer to God because the death can knock his door
anytime and his chance to meet Him thus is higher. Hence, the Heart of Jesus is a
suffocating place where he are defined by his illness.
In this translation, the word ―literally‖ is not repeatedly translated three
times. It is translated only in the firstly Augustus‘ utterance and written in the end.
This omission possibly reduces the effect of the metaphor and discard the role of
tautology in this implicature. However, the words that build the metaphor are
translated to target language with the associated meaning in the target language,
conveying the intention of the speaker without any distortion.
The next analyzed feature is translating the subject ―we‖ into two meanings.
In Vietnamese language, participants‘ roles and forms of address are expressed
throughout a complex system of personal pronouns based widely on kinship terms,
relationships, social status, and even one‘s particular mood and attitude in a
intended situation. Meanwhile, these distinctions are not always clear in English. A
translator must rely on the context, tone and overall purpose of the conversational
participants in order that the personal pronoun can have an accurate translation.
Back to this case, the translator understands the author‘s intention, therefore, she
makes this choice to translate ―we‖ as ―tụi mình‖ meaning ―you and I‖ (Augustus
and Hazel) and ―mọi người‖ meaning ―other people‖/ ―everyone‖. This change
reflects the cultural difference through languages.
47
# Situation 4: (See more Appendix, p. II)
SL TL
Augustus: Because you‘re beautiful. I enjoy Augustus: Bởi vì em đẹp. Anh thích nhìn
looking at beautiful people, and I decided người dẹp, và cách đây một giây anh
a while ago not to deny myself the simpler quyết định sẽ không chối từ thú vui trần
pleasures of existence. tục đó.
English version:
Standing at the door of the church, Augustus took a glance at Hazel that
made her wonder why he had this behavior. This following utterance is Augustus’s
response.
Augustus creates a particularized conversational implicature by flouting the
maxim of manner. This case thus belongs to Group C. His compliment on Hazel‘s
beauty is lengthy and less succinct. He shows his interest in looking at Hazel and her
appearance leaves him with the feeling of comfort such as a familiar thing. He does
not use a complicated and tremendous praise to get to know Hazel. Instead, Augustus
admires her as if he is enjoying the cheerfulness, even this is an ordinary demand. In
this lovely way, Augustus cleverly indirectly expresses his affection to Hazel. His
implicature also works effectively to strengthen a positive impression on her.
There is a fact that the translator‘s choice of word deepens Augustus‘s
thought. Getting the author‘s viewpoint, she successfully maintains the underlying
meaning of the utterance in the close translating to the original words but the
translation is still suitable for the Vietnamese readers to understand.
Notwithstanding, translating ―the simpler pleasures of existence‖ by ―thú vui trần
tục đó‖ sounds less positive in the eyes of Vietnamese people. The term ―trần tục‖
basically refers to something too ordinary and mundane which possibly provokes
people‘s unexpected thoughts and behaviors. Sometimes, it is thought as the lowest
level of human needs, on the other hand, Augustus regards looking at Hazel as the
simple happiness.
48
In addition, there are two noticed aspects of translation. Firstly, the personal
pronoun ―myself‖, originally showing the higher emphasis of what the character
conveys, is excluded in the Vietnamese version. Secondly, ―a while ago‖ does not
have an accurate definition but relates to the past. It means the period of past time,
so it can be an hour, a day, a week or a couple of months, depending on a particular
contextual situation where the speaker uses the expression in purpose. Therefore, it
takes an unspecified length of time. However, the novel translator defines this
phrase as ―cách đây một giây‖ certainly.
# Situation 5: (See more Appendix, p. II)
SL TL
Augustus: You’re like a millennial Augustus: Em giống y đúc ngôi sao Natalie
Natalie Portman. … Portman...
Augustus: Pixie-haired gorgeous girl Augustus: Một cô gái tuyệt đẹp với mái tóc
dislikes authority. It’s your thiên thần không thích chế độ độc tài và không
autobiography, so far as I can tell. thể ngăn mình yêu một chàng trai mà cô biết là
rắc rối to. Mô tả về em đấy, theo như anh quan
sát nãy giờ.
English version:
After listening to the reason why Augustus had that look, Hazel denied. She
is aware of what she looks like. Augustus then added his more words.
The implicatures in this situation are formed by the feature of Group C. First
of all, the maxim of relation is flouted because Augustus deliberately changes the
direction of the conversation. He realizes a possibility that Hazel will not accept his
compliment; therefore, he quickly mentions the character of a movie. He compares
Hazel with the physical attractive actress Natalie Portman in the movie V for
Vendetta (2006). He describes her by the depiction of the female character in the
movie he knows well and then affirms that his observation is as exact as Hazel‘s
autobiography. The first maxim of quality: do not say what you believe to false is
observed since Hazel and Natalie Portman are two distinctive individuals. Despite
knowing this, Augustus blatantly unfollows the maxim of quality in order to his
49
comparison is more descriptive and convincing. He expects Hazel to trust what he
says about her beauty in his eyes.
In terms of pragmatic aspect, the translator does not break the intention
conveyed by the author. It shows a warm humorous Augustus who wants to upgrade
his acquaintance with Hazel after the boring meeting at the Supportive Group, and
the result is his flirting words comforts Hazel. Concerning structural elements, the
translated one addresses some noticeable points. The word ―like‖ is known as an
alternative for other different ways of comparison, which means ―similar to‖ or ―the
same as‖. Choosing the suitable Vietnamese word which can properly reflect the
original meaning is not straightforward. Vietnamese translator‘s choice puts the
similarity between Hazel and the actress to a higher degree. It implies that there is
no physical difference between Hazel and Natalie Portman. Moreover, ‗authority‖ is
equally translated into ―chế độ độc tài‖ even though it simply defines an
organization where powerful people make decisions and take responsibility in a
country or region. In the original, the writer gives no adjective in front of the noun
―authority‖. This differs from its translation because the translator focuses her
attention to the characteristic of this ―authority‖ rather than describe generally. She
must understand the content of the movie V for Vendetta if she wants to translate
correctly. The last marked words here ―autobiography‖ and ―tell‖ are translated
differently. The story of a person‘s life written by himself is called autobiography
(tự truyện) which should be told. Meanwhile, in Hoang Lan‘s translation, it is
limited as a description by observing.
# Situation 6: (See more Appendix, p. III)
SL TL
Augustus: Quick, give me a throw pillow Augustus: Ồ, ba mau đưa con một
and some thread because that needs to be cái gối cũ cùng mấy cuộn chỉ để con
an Encouragement. thêu câu này làm Lời động viên nào.
50
English version
Augustus’s father commented on how nice the human harmony and the sense
of community were. This utterance is what Augustus drolly reacted.
This case categorizes the PCI into group C due to the flouting of the maxim
of Relation. Augustus produces an obviously irrelevant and uncooperative reaction
to his father‘s comment. Augustus‘s father‘s opinion about the Lord suggests that
they cling onto religion to cope with Augustus‘s cancer. However, Augustus pushes
back against his faith by an ironic-sound way in which he is challenging his parents
as if he is developing his own beliefs.
With the aim of preserving Augustus‘s implication, the translator has made
some changes regarding both lexical and semantic aspects. In the original, the word
―father‖ or ―dad‖ is not applied when Augustus asks for a favor. His utterance is
basically an imperative sentence where the speaker does not need the subject if
he/she gives an order. This is not acceptable in Vietnamese because of the
hierarchical feature of the society, so the translator adds a personal pronoun ―ba‖ in
her translation. Besides that, the character‘s attitude is expressed more concisely
and strongly as a exclamatory word ―ồ‖ is applied instead of the word ―quick‖ in the
original. It helps the readers feel Augustus‘s humor and little sarcasm in this
situation. Another detail should be considered that is translating ―because that needs
to be an Encouragement‖. If the word-by-word translation strategy is adapted, what
Augustus says will be certainly vague to the readers. The translator flexibly gives
more words to explain the reason why Augustus needs some thread.
SL TL
Augustus: So, what‘s your story? … Augustus: Vậy còn chuyện của em?...
Augustus: No, not your cancer story. Augustus: Không, không phải chuyện ung
Your story. thư. Câu chuyện của chính em cơ.
51
English version
The following conversation occurs at the basement of Augustus’s house. He
asks Hazel to tell her story. She began telling him about her diagnosis but he
stopped her.
Another PCI is formed in the above communicating exchange. It looks as if
the maxim of quantity giving inadequate information is flouted; nevertheless, no
maxim is violated. The speaker (Augustus) implicates that which he must be
assumed to believe in order to maintain the assumption that he is observing all the
maxims. This results in an arrangement for Group A. Augustus‘s concern is that
Hazel‘s cancer is shaping her individual identity. As an immediate natural reaction,
when being asked for a personal story, Hazel chooses to talk about her cancer
diagnosis. Her cancer seemingly does impact on the way she exists and this bothers
Augustus. He stresses ―your story‖, not the cancer story. His response can carry the
assumption that Hazel should talk about her personal things such as her hobbies,
passions or even strange faiths, not her illness.
This conversation is translated without struggling. The translator goes
closely to its conversational intention and conveys its implicature. ―Your story‖
matches with ―câu chuyện của chính em‖.
SL TL
Augustus: There! Hazel Grace, you are Augustus: Đó, thấy chưa! Hazel Grace, em
the only teenager in America who là thiếu nữ duy nhất ở nước Mỹ này thích
prefers reading poetry to writing it. This đọc thơ hơn là làm thơ. Điều này cho anh
tells me so much. You read a lot of biết thêm nhiều điều về em đấy. Có phải
capital-G great books, don’t you? em đọc rất nhiều cuốn siêu phẩm với chữ
S viết hoa không?
English version
Apart from reading books as a hobby, her story has nothing. Accordingly,
Hazel believes that she is an unextraordinary person. Augustus disagrees this
opinion.
52
Augustus‘s utterance flouts the maxim of quality, since he obviously has not
said what Hazel is claiming. His hyperbole, that she is the only special teenager in
America who has more passion for reading than writing, aims to encourage Hazel to
find her ego and understand what she really fancies. His hyperbole also makes his
saying more interesting and humorous. Furthermore, this utterance flouts the maxim
of quantity as it provides more information than required. It can be said to flout the
maxim of manner due to its long-winded expression. Whichever the case, this
flouting generated a Group C implicature.
This is a good example of Group C. Augustus‘s humor is clearly reflected in
this translation. Its implication is maintained in comparison with the original one.
As regards sentence structures, while relative pronounce ―who‖ is utilized in the
original ―…the only teenager in America who prefers…‖, it is omitted in the target
translation. This shortens the sentence as well as makes Augustus‘s point clearer in
translating language. Literal translating method is workable but it does not go with
word-by-word translation, which helps reduce some unnecessary details. However,
the second sentence does not follow this. The translator even uses more words to
increase the pointing effect. ―This tells me so much‖ is not an obvious statement
because it does not tell exactly what Augustus understands. The Vietnamese version,
on the other hand, manifests his point that he gets further information about Hazel.
Tag questions are principally statements following by phrase for checking
information and ask for a confirmation. It functions as Yes/ No questions. Their
special construction in English is easily broken when a tag question is translated
into another language. Hence, in Vietnamese, which item (such as có phải, đúng
không, hả or nhỉ) should be used for translating a tag question relies on the purposes
of the speaker and the context. So as not to distort the original meaning, tag
question is translated to ―Có phải‖ and arranged at the beginning of the sentence.
This word choice of the translator satisfies the intended state that is getting
information.
53
As defined by Oxford Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary, the word ―great‖
means ―extremely good in quality therefore admired by many people‖ or
―impressive‖. This word is thus acceptable to describe a work of art, for example, a
book or a movie. Its translation ―siêu phẩm‖ seemingly refers to something more
excellent as a masterpiece.
# Situation 9: (See more Appendix, p. IV)
SL TL
Augustus: But you don‘t even have my Augustus: Nhưng em còn chưa có số điện
phone number. … thoại của anh mà.…
Augustus: And you say we don’t know Augustus: Vậy mà e bảo là chúng ta không
each other. biết nhau.
English version
When Augustus and Hazel arrived at her house, Augustus showed that it was
a pleasure to make her acquaintance and asked if he could see her again tomorrow.
Hazel said that she would call him back after she finished the book that he gave her.
The first utterance belongs to group A because there is a shift in the direction
of the speech which indicates a violation of the cooperative principle. Despite the
fact that Hazel suggests to call back, she does not have his phone number. Besides,
it assumes that the listener (Augustus) has got what the speaker (Hazel) implies.
Accordingly, Augustus implies that to be in touch with again, Hazel should ask
Augustus for his phone number.
In this example of Group C, Augustus exploited the maxim of relation. Hazel
has a strong double about that Augustus wrote his phone number in the book he
gives her. Her statement is also an indirect question for his confirmation;
nonetheless, he does not choose a normal response like ―you‘re right!‖ or ―yes, I
did‖. He creates a particularized conversational implicature, so his answer to Hazel
seems to have no relevance on a surface level. The implied meaning of his phrase is
actually that he secretly wrote his phone number in the book before giving her it,
that Hazel is a stranger to him is untrue and they are interested in each other.
54
This translation is equivalent with the original version. There has no change
in terms of the structure. Using personal pronouns ―anh‖ - ―em‖ for ―you‖-―I‖
appear in most of conversations between Hazel and Augustus. In the target text, the
pronouns are translated flexibly in different cases which denotes the relationship
between characters and the main male character‘s attitude towards Hazel whereas
this seldom appears in the source text. It can be noticed in the translation that
because of the female role and the first stage of a relationship, Hazel understands
that she should keep a certain distance to Augustus. The translation thus translates
her pronoun into ―tôi‖, on the other hand, Augustus does not care. He is more
comfortable and expects to be closer to her.
SL TL
As I recall, you promised to CALL when Theo anh nhớ thì em hứa sẽ GỌI sau khi đọc
you finished the book, not text. hết truyện, chứ không phải nhắn tin.
English version
As Hazel again read her favourite novel An Imperial Affliction, she
wondered what Augustus thought of it. Therefore, she texted him, also commenting
that The Price of Dawn had too many bodies and not enough adjectives. The
following conversation would state how Augustus answered her question via text.
The maxim of relation is flouted by Augustus for the reason that instead of
phoning him as promised, Hazel texts him. He ignores her question about how AIA
is and reminds her about a phone call.
Vietnamese version
The translator does not keep the format of the sentence. While the author
uses a compound sentence with a subordinate clause, the translator little modifies its
structure and turns it into a simple sentence. In spite of that, she still treats the same
way as the source text, especially transmitting the main idea.
55
SL TL
Augustus: Feel better?… Augustus: Thấy đỡ hơn chưa mày?…
Augustus: That’s the thing about pain. It Augustus: Đó chính là nỗi đau. Nỗi đau cần
demands to be felt. được cảm nhận.
English version
Augustus’s best friend is Issac whose cancer forced him to cut his eyes out.
His girlfriend, Monica, broke up with him because she could not handle this
dreadful truth. Before he was blind, she dumped him. Augustus sympathetically
encouraged Issac to lash out in anger. Being extremely devastated, Issac began
hitting the gaming chair, beating pillows and even smashing Augustus’s trophies.
After the trophies were smashed, Augustus asked him if he felt better.
The situation here is a particular example of PCIs in Group C. Augustus
believes that Issac learns an important lesson through his breakup with Monica
about the realities of love and relationships in the adult world. His utterance is also
an encouragement to Issac who is feeling immense pain. In term of linguistic angle,
―It demands to be felt‖ is a personification. The pain is primarily the feelings of
being hurt as well as experiencing mental and emotional difficulty, which is then
personalized to the human needs of the individual person. It needs to be concerned
and listened as a real person as it is apparent and unavoidable. This implicature
produced by flouting the second maxim of quality also points out a thoughtful and
grown-up Augustus toward the life.
Additionally, the maxim of quantity is flouted as Augustus gives more
information that required. The conversation does not need to continue right after
Issac says ―no‖.
The pain is repeated twice in the translation. This repetition helps to create a
double feeling of what the characters are suffering. It is basically an emphasis at
which the translator aims: being hurt is one of adulthood. The word ―demand‖ in the
original which means ―to make a very strong request for something‖ as a command.
56
On the other hand, the word ―need‖ (cần) means something required because of its
necessity, leading to two different shades of the utterance. This translation does not
totally match with its source text.
SL TL
Augustus: During the kiss?... Augustus: Trong khi hôn á?...
Augustus: Oh, Caroline is no longer suffering Augutus: À. Caroline không còn bị nỗi
from personhood… thống khổ của kiếp người hành hạ nữa…
Augustus: Not your fault, Hazel Grace. We‘re Augustus: Không phải lỗi của em, Hazel
all just side effects, right? Grace à. Tất cả chúng ta chỉ là tác dụng
phụ, phải không nào?
English version
In a phone call, Augustus asked Hazel about her last kiss, then he shared
that his was with the ex-girlfriend, Caroline Mathers, who died of cancer. Hazel
asked what happened then and apologized to Augustus.
Augustus respectively flouts the maxim of relation, the maxim of quality and
the maxim of quantity, resulting in the existence of particular conversational
implicatures in group C. The first implicature is formed by Augustus‘s irrelevant
response to Hazel‘s question. She concerns his relationship with his ex-girlfriend
and what happened in the time they are in love. However, Augustus still assumes
that they are talking about kissing topic. The next case is the flouting of the second
maxim of quality. Augustus uses a euphemism to ease a painful truth that Caroline
passed away by substituting a mild and indirect way of speaking for the word ―die‖.
Her cancer-related death thus becomes less tragic. The word ―personhood‖ carries
an ironical meaning as if being alive is a disease and now, she is cured of this
affliction in death.
The maxim of quantity is also violated as Augustus quote AIA ―We‘re all
just side effects‖. He gives more information than it is required, and this
infringement can be explained that Augustus is aware that to be more informative
57
would be to say something that violates the second maxim of manner: avoiding
ambiguity. Therefore, this mentioned implicature belongs to Group B.
The translation manifests the implicatures from the conversation and their
general meaning is not distorted. In terms of lexical aspects, the difference between
word orders and word choices in two languages can be noticed from the second
PCI. In Vietnamese translation, the sentence items are differently arranged owning
to the influence of the mother tongue, reversing the ―personhood‖ and ―suffering
from‖. In addition, the translator intentionally adds ―nỗi thống khổ‖ meaning
unhappiness and misery because it is able to make Augustus‘s implication less
abstract but not reduce its depth. She also purposely chooses the alternative words
―hành hạ‖, ―kiếp người‖ ―side effects‖ for ―suffering‖, ―personhood‖ and ―tác dụng
phụ‖ without changing the original intention of the speaker. Another notice is using
―à‖ and ―nào‖ in Vietnamese which does not exist in English. Because of cultural
feature and uniqueness of the language, these words function as tonal creators for
the utterances to demonstrate the different attitude of the speaker.
Taking consideration about grammatical structures, active voice in
Augustus‘s second saying has been ignored by the translator and translated as
passive voice. This brings the feeling that Caroline‘s death is caused by her brain
cancer and she does not fight for her life; on the other hand, the original draws a
picture of an active and even heroic Caroline before she escapes herself from this
miserable life.
SL TL
Augustus: During the kiss?… Augustus: Trong khi hôn á?…
Augustus: Oh, Caroline is no longer Augutus: À. Caroline không còn bị nỗi thống
suffering from personhood.… khổ của kiếp người hành hạ nữa.…
Augustus: Not your fault, Hazel Augustus: Không phải lỗi của em, Hazel Grace à.
Grace. We’re all just side effects, Tất cả chúng ta chỉ là tác dụng phụ, phải
right? không nào?
58
English version
On Wednesday during class, Hazel got a text from Augustus telling her that
Issac was officially NEC, no evidence of cancer. Unfortunately, he was completely
blind. The following conversation is a text exchanging between Hazel and Augustus.
It is obvious that Augustus violates the second maxim of quantity in both his
replies in order to explain for the clash of another maxim: the maxim of quality. The
particularized conversational implicatures he generates here are put in Group B. He
provides Hazel with more information than what Hazel‘s question requires, but it
avoids flouting the maxim of quality since Augustus does not know the exact
information. For example, in the second utterance, ―few days‖ is enough to answer
how long Issac stays at the hospital; however, his information seems lack of the
certainty. Augustus then provides possibilities.
This translated version well reflects the meaning of the PCIs in this
conversation. From Augustus‘ responses, the readers can understand that Issac‘s
situation is bitter sweet. In spite of being free of cancer, it has come at the price of
his sight, addressing that fighting cancer is not always valiant and inspirational,
especially it goes with the pain of the breakup. Thus, it is sometimes simply tragic.
Regarding personal pronouns, Isaac and Monica are the objects of the
conversation, and hence ―he‖ and ―she‖ are used to call these two characters as the
third people. For Vietnamese, there have more diverse ways to call someone bases
on some factors such as age, attitude of the speaker and dialect. The translator takes
uses of this variety to enrich the conversation and she utilizes ―ảnh‖/ ―hắn‖ (he) and
―nàng‖ (she). These personal pronouns show not only the neutral attitude of the
speakers (both Augustus and Hazel) or the translator throughout the speaker‘s
position but also the influence of dialect of the southern regions in Vietnam.
Augustus calls ―hắn‖ because of his close relationship with Isaac without the
disrespect or unpleasure.
For the structural aspects, the first original utterance is a complex sentence
which is separated into two sentences in the translated version. Moreover, the
59
translator has a change in the choice of words, adds/ omits several words and their
translation. In the first case of PCI, ―the seriousness of his ability‖ is translated into
―thực tế phũ phàng là mình đã bị mù vĩnh viễn‖. The source phrase is ignored and
replaced by a new expression which more vividly describes Issac‘s condition by
adjectives ―phũ phàng‖ (nearly similar to harsh or ruthless) and ―vĩnh viễn‖
(meaning permanent). With respect to semantic features, the comparative
expression ―care more about‖ turns into ―chăm chăm nghĩ đến‖ - pay much
attention to someone or somebody; or the orders of words are not the same, for
example, ―getting dumped by Monica‖ is into ―bị nàng Monica đá‖. Noticeably,
these substitutes note the distinctions between the utterances. In the other utterance
by Augustus, adding words which are not mentioned in the SL also triggers the little
different description of Isaac‘s condition. As opposed to the SL, going to the rehab
becomes an essential even compulsory thing since the translator uses ―phải‖
meaning have to. The position of words is also reordered to be more suitable for
Vietnamese daily language. For example, ―he gets to sleep at home‖ is translated
―hắn dược về nhà ngủ‖. This example, on the one hand, shows a switch from active
to passive statement of the object.
# Situation 14: (See more Appendix, p. V)
SL TL
Augustus: I am. I didn’t cut this fella off Augustus: Dạ đúng ạ. Cháu chưa cắt đuôi
for the sheer unadulterated pleasure of được cái gã ung thư này để tận hưởng niềm
it, although it is an excellent weight- vui trọn vẹn mặc dù gã là một chiến lược
loss strategy. Legs are heavy!… giảm cân tuyệt vời. Chân cẳng thì nặng nề
Augustus: NEC for fourteen months. lắm ạ!
Augustus: Cháu được xác nhận NEC trong
mười bốn tháng rồi.
60
English version
When Hazel got home, Augustus had been sitting on the front steps and
asked if she wanted to have a picnic. Waiting for Hazel to put flowers in her room,
Augustus was talking to Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster, Hazel’s parents about his
recovery from cancer. He told them he has been diagnosed to be NEC for 14
months.
Considering the first response, Augustus blatantly flouts the second maxim
of quantity and the maxim of manner because his information is extra rather than
what the question expects and therefore, it becomes lengthy. Augustus hits it off
with Hazel‘s parents, which is a big step in their relationship. His responses to Mr.
Lancaster show his confidence in this relationship and his interest in Hazel. Besides
the purpose of flouting the maxim of quantity, what helps him to receive a good
impression is another flouting of the second maxim of quality. In spite of the cancer
loss, Augustus talks about his condition positively and humorously through using
both euphemism and personification. He compares his cancer with a ―fella‖ as a
constant companion to imply that he can face to the danger anytime even though he
is a good example of cancer survivors. However, he does not push it into intense. In
a humorous (or little ironic) way of speaking, he even describes this disease as ―an
excellent weight-loss strategy‖ from which he could benefit. Also, he avoids the
seriousness of the cancer consequence by euphemism and tells that his legs are
heavy to carry. In short, these implicatures follows Group C.
In terms of the second response, it is included in Group A. It seemingly
contains an infringement of the maxim of quantity: give too little information. To
answer for Mr. Lancaster‘s concerns about his current health, Augustus does not
explain a lot (opposite to the previous answer) except for saying NEC for fourteen
months. This is an enough reply in order to announce that he has no evidence of
canner for fourteen months.
This situation is not much different from the others analyzed above as the
main responsibility of the translator is the maintenance of the content and the
61
characters‘ implications: Augustus is filled with a sense of well-being as a cancer
survivor and he understands its value to his life. In Vietnamese, the implicatures are
well reflected but if they are analyzed based on the structural aspects, there are
some considerations.
Because the topic of the conversation is about Augustus‘ cancer, ―this fella‖
can be understood to be related to this disease. It is translated into ―cái gã ung thư‖.
Vietnamese has a variety of personal pronouns which illustrates different attitudes
of the speaker and in this case, the word ―cái gã‖ states the negativity compared to
the original. What is more, the switch between conversational participants you and I
is noticeable. Depending on the context of this conversation, each character‘s social
role determines his/ her personal pronoun. Augustus is much younger than Mr. and
Mrs. Lancaster, as a result, it is appropriate for his pronounce to be translated into
―cháu‖ in Vietnamese.
The translator‘s choice of words is also an important point. She closely
translates the original words ―cut off‖, ―sheer unadulterated pleasure‖, ―weight-loss
strategy‖ and opts out suitable alternatives ―cắt đuôi‖, ―niềm vui trọn vẹn‖, ―chiến
lược giảm cân‖ which match the meaning of the context and also the description of
a humorous Augustus.
As regards grammatical characteristics, in the source language, Augustus
uses ―didn‘t cut this fella off‖ to refer to the past. Such a past simple sentence, it is
completely finished. Meanwhile, the translation adapts the present perfect form
―chưa cắt đuôi được‖ which shows the cancer fight is still taking place. The
reception of the situation is thus different. For the second response, Augustus
answers shortly without the sentence subject but it is formed with a full simple
sentence in the translated version. Possibly due to the hierarchically social
relationship, in Vietnamese, it would be impolite for Augustus to say to Hazel‘s
father without a subject and a verb. Obviously, the translator extends the sentence
and gives it a full form.
62
# Situation 15: (See more Appendix, p.VI)
SL TL
(1) …The Grim Reaper was staring you in (1) … Thần Chết lởn vởn trước mặt em cùng
the face and the fear of dying with your nỗi sợ sẽ sớm lìa đời mà vẫn chưa sử dụng
Wish still in your proverbial pocket, … Điều Ước trong túi khiến …
(2) I am in the midst of a soliloquy! I wrote (2) Anh chưa xong bài độc thoại mà.! Anh đã
this out and memorized it and if you viết bài phát biểu hùng hồn này ra giấy và học
interrupt me, I will completely screw it up. thuộc lòng nó. Nên nếu em cắt lời anh thì anh
sẽ quên sạch sành sanh.
English version
Augustus drove Hazel from the house to a park where a bunch of artists had
made sculptures. Sitting before a large sculpture of skeleton, watching the kids
jumping from bone to bone, Hazel suspected that Augustus had something up his
sleeve that is about Amsterdam where she desires to visit her favourite writer-Van
Houten. Eventually, Augustus began his “soliloquy” about the shame of using Wish
on a theme park.
Concerning (1), Augustus flouted the maxim of manner and quantity,
consequently, these created implicated are put in Group C. Augustus generally
wants Hazel to understand that she made a hasty and unthoughtful decision. She
deserves more than an ordinary and cliché theme park which has nothing except for
a momentary and artificial enjoyment. However, his expression is wordy and more
informative than it requires. What is more, the utterances here purposely go against
the rule of the maxim of quality. The image ―Grim Reaper‖ as a personification
associates to the death and it implies that her fear of being dead invisibly rushes
Hazel into the quick option. In the utterance (2), there is a flout of the maxim of
relation. The PCI happens when Hazel interrupts Augustus‘s monologue and this
makes him complain about the possible failure of his soliloquy.
Basically, the messages from the implicatures are not changed.
Notwithstanding, some aspects which form the utterances differ from the ST into
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the TT in both PCIs (1) and (2). Regarding the first utterances (1), the translator
adapts synonyms of some phrases or words such as ―lìa đời‖ for ―dying‖ and ―Thần
Chết‖ for ―The Grim Reaper‖. Death is frequently personified and it goes with The
Grim Reaper who is depicted as a character causing the lost or the death of its
victims by collecting the soul. This character adheres to cultural and religious
grounds, so if the translator has lack of related knowledge, she cannot find a
suitable translation for this case. Another synonym using ―lìa đời‖ for ―dying‖ states
a less painful death and this translation directs more attention to the result rather the
process as the word ―dying‖.
Here are further marked changes in translating words which create a different
degree of the meaning.
No English version Vietnamese translation
1. great affection một tình cảm chân thành
2. hastily (not adding ―very‖) quá vội vàng
3. little care chẳng bận tâm (deny totally)
4. consequences (general, plural) hậu quả sau đó (general, singular)
5. The Grim Reaper Thần Chết
6. staring you in the face (look, see) lởn vởn trước mặt em (move)
7. the fear of dying nỗi sợ sẽ sớm lìa đời
8. ungranted (omitted)
9. proverbial (omitted)
10. the first Wish you could think of một thứ đầu tiên em nghĩ ra trong
đầu
11. the cold and artificial pleasures niềm vui tầm thường và giả tạo
12. in the midst of a soliloquy chưa xong bài độc thoại
13. (not in the original text) bài phát biểu hùng hồn
14. completely screw it up quên sạch sành sanh
Table 4.2. Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #15
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It can be noticed that the translation makes some adaptations for original
words so that it can be suitable for cultural features and Vietnamese language. The
addition and omission of the words or phrases such as the examples 2, 4, 8, 9, 10,
13 have no significant impact on the general meaning of the quoted sentences. As
illustrated by the example 2, the author does not use ―very‖ or the similar adverbs
before ―hastily‖; however, the translator adds ―rất‖ to emphasize the problem. The
translator may suppose that conveying the whole meaning of the passage is more
essential than translating every word. In fact, because its influence on the target
readers‘ understanding is immaterial and the readers can still get the gist of the test,
this kind of translating is acceptable in this case. In terms of the order of words, the
translator flexibly transposes the position of the words to make them more
understandable and natural. This happens to the instances 6 and 10.
Although the translator‘s great knowledge of translation, linguistic aspects
and the differences between two cultures, the mistranslation cannot avoid. ―Great
affection‖ in the first example means a lot of feelings of love or care about someone
or something but it is limited in ―một‖. ―Chân thành‖ is normally understood as
honestly and sincerely, which differs from ―great‖ in the original.
In number 3, ―little‖ (smaller than others) is translated ―chẳng‖ that means
nothing. Its translation thus denies totally Hazel‘s care about her Wish, meanwhile,
the original does not convey this.
As opposed to English where plural words principally end with -s or -es,
Vietnamese plurals go with measure words such as numbers, containers, etc.
―Consequences‖ in the example 4 is translated into ―hậu quả sau đó‖ in a singular
form.
―Staring you in the face‖ and ―lởn vởn trước mặt em‖ exist in the example 6.
The English version is an idiom in this situation talks about a certainty of what will
happen while the translation describes the action of hovering and staying close to
someone. This is a case of mistranslation from the ST to the TT.
65
In the example 10, to complain that Hazel choose a too ordinary pleasure,
Augustus uses the word ―cold‖ to describe a fact with nothing added to be more
interesting or pleasant or something unfriendly and unemotional. The translated
word ―tầm thường‖ expresses another different meaning.
―Completely screw it up‖ in the last instance shows all the soliloquy
Augustus has prepared will be spoiled thoroughly. On the other hand, it is specified
in the translation by the phrase including an alliterative expression ―quên sạch sành
sanh‖ (forget completely).
# Situation 16: (See more Appendix, p.VI)
SL TL
Augustus: To be fair, you still look pretty Augustus: Công bằng mà nói trông em vẫn
bad… còn thê thảm lắm…
Augustus: Is that so? I‘d always thought Augustus: Vậy sao? Anh thì nghĩ thế giới này
the world was a wish-granting factory. là một công xưởng sản xuất điều ước.
Hazel: Turns out that is not the case. Hazel: Nhưng hóa ra không phải vậy.
English version
Hazel was treated owning to her sudden chest pain at night. Augustus came
into the room to visit her in the hospital.
In Augustus‘s first turn of exchanging information, the maxim of relation is
flouted. He comments on Hazel‘s appearance although she thanks for not
witnessing her terrible current situation. At this point, his saying does not
intentionally let Hazel down, in contrast, it displays his humor and she does not feel
disappointed.
As mentioned in theory of Group C, metaphorical language counts as flouts
of the maxim of quality, as metaphors express meaning which are not literally true.
In the second reply, Augustus creates the particularized conversational implicature
that considers the world as ―wish-granting factory‖. He himself understands that life
is tough and this world certainly cannot grant people wishes. Despite that, Augustus
hopes to motivate Hazel to build more trust in wishes for a better life.
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Apart from the similar aspects related to translation which are mentioned in
the previous excerpts, this translation marks the use of synonym and the tense
change between the ST and the TT. In the first utterance, Augustus uses ―pretty
bad‖ to describe Hazel‘s general look. The word ―bad‖ has many ways of
understanding and in order to match the context, the translator translates it into ―thê
thảm lắm‖ (pretty – lắm, bad – thê thảm). This choice of words affects what the
readers can imagine more clearly about Hazel‘s appearance at the moment,
compared to the original. Additionally, it points that while the original utterance
concentrates the influence of past time by using past perfect tense ―had thought‖,
the translated one uses present simple. The difference of two tenses can lead the
readers to a different understanding of the speaker‘s implication. Particularly, the
past perfect tense indicates that ―the world was a wish-granting factory‖ was
believed by Augustus at some point in the past before he released that the world was
not. Meanwhile, the translation stresses on his long-held belief all the time.
# Situation 17: (See more Appendix, p. VIII)
SL TL
Augustus: Okay, please draw a circle. Now Augustus: Vậy em hãy vẽ một vòng tròn Giờ
draw a smaller circle within that circle. vẽ thêm một vòng tròn nhỏ hơn trong đó.
The larger circle is virgins. The smaller Vòng tròn lớn hơn là hội những người còn
circle is seventeen-year-old guys with one "gin". Còn vòng tròn nhỏ hơn là hội những
leg. anh chàng "mười bảy bẻ gãy sừng trâu" chỉ
còn một chân.
English version
In a phone call, Hazel told that she could not go to Amsterdam. As a joke, he
moaned that he could not take advantage of this trip and he was going to die a
virgin. Hazel was surprised and asked him if he was really a virgin. The following
is his answer.
Apparently, Augustus‘s answer is a PCI as on purpose, it flouts the first
maxim of quantity and the maxim of manner. Instead of giving enough information
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Yes/ No for the question, Augustus choses a roundabout and long answer with the
aim of making it more interesting, surprising and especially less direct due to its
sensitivity. There is also the existence of a flout of the maxim of quality. Circles and
their different layers refer to the density of individuals and the boundaries between
being a virgin or not. Augustus says that he belongs to the smallest circle which has
a 17-year-old virgin with one leg. Shortly, Augustus has a good sense of humor and
knows how to attract others; therefore, he would not say something too directly and
easily that he is a virgin.
There is no surprise at the omission or addition of the words in a translation.
When being translated, this excerpt replaces some words and substitutes them with
more culturally suitable ones. In order to convey the translated expressions in a
natural way without any relative influence on the meaning, this is unavoidable.
These changes are demonstrated as follows.
do you have a pen and a piece of em có giấy viết ở đó không?
1.
paper?
2. please draw a circle. Vậy em hãy vẽ một vòng tròn.
3. virgin (a noun/ an adjective) ―gin‖ (an adjective)
The larger circle is virgins. Vòng tròn lớn hơn là hội những người
4.
còn "gin".
5. guys những anh chàng
The smaller circle is seventeen- Còn vòng tròn nhỏ hơn là hội những
6. year-old guys with one leg. anh chàng "mười bảy bẻ gãy sừng
trâu" chỉ còn một chân
Table 4.3: Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #17
Look at the first example, the translator mistranslates ―a pen‖ and then
exchanges an imperative into a complete sentence to give a command or an
instruction. In the fundamental constructions of English imperatives, the subject is
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omitted and merely they are formed by verbs. This is different from Vietnamese
which possibly requires pronouns, proper nouns or commons nouns to add emotive
factors to the orders and in some cases, they help decrease the intensity. Due to this
feature, the translator adds a pronoun ―em‖ instead of rigidly translating ―làm ơn
hãy vẽ một vòng tròn‖.
The word ―virgin‖ functions as a noun but it is regarded as an adjective in the
translation to explain a person who has no sexual intercourse. The word ―còn gin‖
has the similar meaning which refers something new, unexplored or someone pure.
In the example 5, the SL sentence simply points that Augustus is one of
virgin seventeen-year-old boys with one leg. In the translation, his image is
described more vividly by a Vietnamese idiom ―mười bảy vẻ gãy sừng trâu‖. This
idiom means that being seventeen is the best stage of a human life because at this
age, an individual can have enough strength and the energy of youth to start new
things and get first achievements. The description about Augustus in the original
and the translation, therefore, creates a particular difference. Besides, translating
―guys‖ into ―hội những anh chàng‖ pictures a group of strong young boys.
# Situation 18:
English version
Augustus and Hazel were in a flight to Amsterdam to fulfill their wish. Being
astonished and excited about the view outside the plane window, Augustus couldn’t
stop himself from admiring the beauty of the sky as the sun sets. He quoted a line
from AIA “The risen sun too bright in her losing eyes”, however, Hazel noted that
the sun was setting but he assured that it is rising somewhere.
In the first utterance in Group C, Augustus blatantly flouts the maxim of
quantity. His answer gives more information than the situation‘s command.
Augustus sounds an idealistic and romantic boy; hence, he does not stop the
discussion without further interesting details. This leads to the flout and generates a
new particularized conversational implicature. Added to that, Augustus infringes the
second maxim of quality since he says what he believes it is false. While Hazel has
69
a practical point of view that the sun is setting, Augustus sees it another way, noting
that it is a sunrise. After that, he imagines a incredible circumstance when a
superfast airplane could chase the sunrise around the world. Indeed, these
implicatures share Augustus‘s hope for a better life where impossible things become
possible, as similar as the sunrise.
In the example (2), the speaker intentionally breaks the maxim of relation.
The situation shows that Hazel‘s detailed analysis about living longer with the
relativity makes Augustus excitedly comment on the college girls‘ intelligence.
Indirectly, he compliments that Hazel is a college girl and she is as smart as others.
Nonetheless, his praise is irrelevant and uncooperative to Hazel‘s information.
In the translated version, the main content of the conversation is preserved.
The character Augustus shows his romance and positivity throughout his responses
to Hazel in the flight to Amsterdam. Thanks to the flexibility in using language, the
translator also addresses Augustus‘s excitement about the first trip with the girl he is
interested in.
With regard to the word level, there are some differences, being
demonstrated in the following table:
1. It‘s rising somewhere Mặt trời đang mọc ở một nơi nào đó.
It would be awesome to fly in a Thật tuyệt nếu được du hành trong
superfast airplane that could chase môt chiếc máy bay siêu nhanh để có thể
2.
the sunrise around the world for a đuổi theo mặt trời mọc ở vòng quanh
while. thế giới hen!
College chicks. They’re so smart. Quà nhiên là "gái" đại học, nói chuyện
3.
cũng thông minh hẳn
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It remarks that the readers have little difficulty in defining what the object
―it‖ is if they catch the context within the conversation. Nevertheless, without
specific name in Vietnamese, ―it‖ will be an abstract object and impact the readers‘
comprehension. Understanding this, the translator decides to employ ―Mặt trời‖
instead in the first example.
Considering the second one, both the subject and verb of the SL sentence are
omitted in the translated version. The translator realizes that this change does not
affect much the transmission of information. This also happens to the omission also
occurs to ―for a while‖ in the sentence.
To find a corresponding expression in the target language requires the
translator must think carefully. The reason here is that lexical choice can have an
impact on the mood or the tone of a given piece of writing. The connotation of
words may be different, for example, ―fly‖ in the second instance has ―du hành‖ as
its translation which invokes a feeling of freedom and exploration in comparison
with the original.
The last example is a particular case of structural switch in sentences. While
the SL includes simple sentences, the translation combines them into one sentence.
This translation also adds some more words ―quả nhiên‖ and ―nói chuyện cũng‖ as
well as ignores the presence of the subject in the translated sentence. There is a
change of word order because of the linguistic difference: ―college chicks‖ and
――gái‖ đại học‖.
It is quite clear that the translator has proven her flexibility and competence
for the changes. However, it seems insupportable in other cases not translating the
whole sentences, which feasibly affects the sequence of understanding of readers
who only have opportunity to touch the Vietnamese version of the novel.
71
# Situation 19: (See more Appendix, p. IX)
SL TL
I am. I‘m in love with you, and I‘m not in Anh yêu em và chẳng việc gì anh phải chối
the business of denying myself the simple bỏ niềm vui được nói ra sự thật đó. Anh
pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love đang yêu em và anh biết tình yêu này vô
with you, and I know that love is just a vọng, chắc chắn sẽ bị lãng quên, rằng
shout into the void, and that oblivion is chúng ra dều có số phận bi đát và rằng sẽ
inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and đến một ngày mọi nỗ lực của hai ta đều
that there will come a day when all our trở về với cát bụi. Anh cũng biết mặt trời
labor has been returned to dust, and I rồi sẽ nuốt chửng hành tinh xanh của
know the sun will swallow the only earth chúng ta nhưng anh vẫn yêu em.
we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.
English version
On the flight to Amsterdam, while Mrs. Lancaster fell asleep, Hazel read and
recited some poetry to Augustus. Unexpectedly, he then told her that he was in love
with her and all the oblivion and coming pain in this tough life is not his concern
anymore. Augustus emotionally shared his thinking and confessed his true affection
to her.
First of all, Augustus is flouting the maxim of manner and the maxim of
quantity by giving wordy information and saying more than required. The context
gives rise to the implicatures which make the flouts obvious. He faithfully repeats
that he falls in love with Hazel three times. His repetition is a confirmation of his
feeling. Another feature that generate the implicature is his lengthy expression. The
maxim of manner is unintentionally or intentionally infringed since Augustus has
the need of being empathized and listened by Hazel, thus, it becomes necessary in
this situation.
Secondly, the implicatures are produced thanks to the infringement of the
maxim of the quality. The second maxim is flouted by a series of metaphors and
personification for the description of love, death, cancer. These non-literal
expressions Augustus adapts is to express his thought that the fear of the oblivion
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and the death is inevitable but impossibly stops him from saying true things and his
love. Augustus toes the line of not denying himself from simple pleasures, looking
at beautiful things and now concealing the truths. This attitude goes hand in hand
with his desire to accomplish his existence in this life although he knows that the
human destiny is fragile and to cancer victims like him or Hazel, the death can
come anytime. The PCIs are noticeable as ―love‖ is compared with ―a shout into the
void‖ (metaphor), ―our labor‖ goes with ―returned to dust‖ (metaphor) and ―the
sun‖ can ―swallow the only earth‖ (personification). These figures of speech exploit
the maxim of quality, nonetheless, the PCIs allow the readers to understand that
behind the image of an eloquent and confident teenager frequently speaking in a
flowery language, Augustus is a thoughtful and mature man.
In this translation, the study focuses on translating the figures of speech
whose roles are creating PCIs. Besides, it will point out some differences in lexical
choice and the structural grammar.
and I‘m not in the business of và chẳng việc gì anh phải chối bỏ niềm
1. denying myself the simple vui được nói ra sự thật đó.
pleasure of saying true things.
I‘m in love with you, and I know Anh đang yêu em và anh biết tình yêu
2. that love is just a shout into the này vô vọng,
void
3. and that oblivion is inevitable chắc chắn sẽ bị lãng quên
4. we’re all doomed chúng ta đều có số phận bị đát
and I know the sun will shallow Anh cũng biết mặt trời rồi sẽ nuốt
5.
the only earth we‘ll ever have chửng hành tinh xanh của chúng ta
6. and I am in love with you nhưng anh vẫn yêu em.
73
It shows that there are some omissions in the translated version, for example,
the sentences 1 and 2. ―Denying myself the simple pleasure‖ is not accurately
translated as ―myself‖ and ―simple‖ do not appear in the translation. The translator
shortens the speaker‘s intention and gives the main point by saying ―chối bỏ niềm
vui‖. For the second, the metaphorical implication is not appreciated entirely in the
translation. It is probably because the image that is used in the metaphor is
unfamiliar in the target language or there has no equivalence. Obviously, the
translator flexibly employs the similar expressions for the sake of preserving the
metaphorical images and making it more imaginable to the target readers. The
metaphor ―love is just a shout into the void‖ demands the readers an in-depth
understanding about the linguistic and cultural matters where this language is used.
Otherwise, they must handle a tough challenge of understanding the utterance‘s
ambiguity. That is the reason why the translator gives a literal expression ―tình yêu
này vô vọng‖ for the metaphor which normally implies that this love would be
hopeless.
In terms of the mistranslation, the translated version has had a few changes
compared to the original. Firstly, in the fourth example, instead of saying ―being
dead or destroyed certainly‖, like other analyzed situations, the translator adapts a
euphemism for minimizing the loss and the discomfort. She translated ―we‘re all
doomed‖ into ―chúng ta đều có số phận bị đát‖. The second concern is the matter of
the example 5: ―and I know‖ verse ―Anh cũng biết‖ and ―the only earth‖ verse
―hành tinh xanh‖. This inequivalence, as a matter of fact, does not negatively affects
Augustus‘s intention when he says these words. However, the mistranslation in the
example 6, from ―and‖ to ―nhưng‖, can profoundly changes the implication of the
speaker. The word ―nhưng‖ frequently shows a higher degree of certainty and may
deny all things. As opposed to the original, the translated utterance addresses that
although the immense pain and the indefinite future may take place, the love
Augustus for Hazel is always boundless.
74
The third example reverses the position of ―‘oblivion‖ and ―inevitable‖,
hence, the translation seems not to have any subject. Consequently, without the
connection to the previous phrase or the clause, this translated utterance will be
obscure. This example is also transformed from an active into a passive form where
that ―the oblivion‖ plays a role as a noun is viewed as a verb in passive voice. This
change may result from the translator‘s purpose that the content maintenance is
more necessary than the structural disciplines.
# Situation 20: (See more Appendix, p. IX)
SL TL
(1) It‘s not my funeral suit, when I first (1) Đây không phải là bộ suit dự tang lễ của
found out I was sick - I mean, they told me I anh. Khi anh mới phát hiện ra bệnh - ý
had like an eighty-five percent chance of anh là khi các bác sĩ đang nói cho anh biết
cure. I know those are great odds, but I kept anh có khoảng tám mươi lăm phần trăm
thinking it was a game of Russian roulette. cơ hội chữa khỏi bệnh. Anh biết tỷ lệ như
… vậy là cao nhưng anh vẫn nghĩ đây là trò
(2) … We bought a plot in Crown Hill, and đánh bài ru-lét của Nga. …
I walked around with my dad one day and (2) … Nhà anh đã mua một lô đất ở nghĩa
picked out a spot…and then right before the trang Crown Hill, và anh đã rảo một vòng
surgery, I asked my parents if I could buy a với ba và chọn được một chỗ ưng ý… Rồi
suit, like a really nice suit,… ngày trước khi phẫu thuật, anh hỏi ba mẹ
liệu anh có thể mua một bộ suit, ….
English version
While waiting for the tram to have dinner at Oranjee in a fancy part of town,
Hazel asked whether Augustus’s suit was what he wore to funerals. The following is
his response.
Regarding Group C, Augustus‘s common flouts are related to the maxim of
quantity. This situation is not an exception because his utterance gives more
required information. His statement is obviously roundabout although it indirectly
associates with the context. The implicature that his utterance generates is also tied
to the fact of what he wears as his death suit.
75
This flout may actually be seen as exploiting more than just the maxim of
quantity. It is also the flout of the maxim of manner due to the great length of
Augustus‘s response. He connects many details of the story to state his reason for
the suit.
Vietnamese version
One of the primary aspects displayed from this conversation is the existence
of untranslated words. In other words, the translator has chosen to transfer some
words to its purity, for example, the word ―suit‖ is kept in the translation. This
preservation is acceptable sometimes because more and more people nowadays
have some knowledge about English. Newmark (1988, p.216) suggests that being
updated to all terms in the most recent atlas or gazetteer is vital. The translator must
appreciate a country‘s wish to determine its own choice of names for its own
geographical features as well as distinguish between names in addresses and
toponyms when they are transferred. According to Newmark, some classifiers such
as mountains, church, streets, etc. can be translated.
As a result, throughout the translated version of the novel, Hoang Lan has
litle changed some words‘ original form because they are borrowed words and
geographical names:
It‘s not my funeral suit, when I first Đây không phải là bộ suit dự tang lễ của
1.
found out I was sick anh.
I kept thinking it was a game of Anh biết tỷ lệ như vậy là cao nhưng anh
2. Russian roulette vẫn nghĩ đây là trò đánh bài ru-lét của
Nga.
3. Crown Hill nghĩa trang Crown Hill
76
In the first example, the translated word ―suit‖ has the similar spelling in the
source language, which has been widely accepted and used daily in the target
language. Thus, there is no difficulty in understanding the meaning of this word and
the things it refers to. As a borrowed word like the term ―suit‖, Russian roulette is a
relatively common card game in Russia but it is seemingly unfamiliar to the target
readers, particularly, the majority of Vietnamese readers. The translator also notices
that seeking for a replacement is a hard job, therefore, her solution is combining
both two tasks: defining the term and translating it. This helps readers fully
comprehend the word in the text.
Concerning the third instance, the name of the cemetery Crown Hill is the
same in both two versions. However, without an additional definition, not many
target readers can understand what kind of places Crown Hill is.
Besides the discussed majors, the utterances face to the differently translated
pronouns owning to the social hierarchy and minor changes of word.
# Situation 21 (See more Appendix, p. X)
SL TL
Just before you went into the ICU, I Ngay trước khi em vào phòng chăm sóc đặc
started to feel this ache in my hip… biệt ICU, anh đã bắt đầu thấy đau ở hông…
So I went in for a PET scan. I lit up like Augustus: Thế nên anh đã đi chụp cắt lớp.
a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace. The Anh cháy sáng như một cây thông Noel, Hazel
lining of my chest, my left hip, my Grace. Từ lồng ngực đến hông trái rồi xuống
liver, everywhere. gan, khắp toàn thân
English version
Augustus revealed to Hazel that just before they left for Amsterdam, he had a
PET scan. His pain was diagnosed as cancer return and tumors spread through his
body.
Personification is used by Augustus when he describes the cancer tumors in
his body. Therefore, the utterance here is put in Group C for a flout of the second
maxim of quality. Augustus personifies his body as a Christmas tree decorated with
77
cancer tumors as small light bulbs from the top to the toes. His statement also
sounds ironical and painful as he has to confront this tragic circumstance.
It also flouts the maxim of quantity since the utterance gives a bit more
information than required. It can even be said to exploit the maxim of manner
because it is a bit long-winded, which is unnecessary if it is for an announcement.
However, the implicature is aimed to tell Augustus‘s attempt on controlling his
emotion and limiting the sadness of the news; hence, he reveals his health problem
indirectly to Hazel.
In the translation, the implicature is well preserved and does not affect the
character‘s indication. It still reflects the fact that Augustus‘s cancer is destroying
him by the widespread of tumors. His personification ―lit up like a Christmas tree‖
is closely translated in Vietnamese ―cháy sáng như một cây thông Noel‖. Relating
to this personification, Hoang Lan does not translate the Christmas tree as ―cây
Giáng Sinh‖; perhaps, she takes a consideration about its comprehensive ability to
some groups of readers. In the countries, before Christmas Day, people frequently
put a pine tree in the center of the house because it is originally a traditional object.
The translator borrows the word ―Noel‖ as a synonym of Christmas for the
translation.
A case of mistranslation is PET scan as a medical term. If the term did not
have a suitable translation, it would be a demanding task to the target readers.
Understanding this possibility, the novel translator defines PET scan as ―chụp cắt
lớp‖ which refers to a test that allows a check-up for diseases in the body
throughout detailed three-dimensional images.
In the process of translation, the translator cannot minimize the significance
of the context. Thus, she may flexibly employ the different sentence elements to
match the target reader‘s cognition. The linking words ―từ‖ ―rồi‖ ―đến‖ are added in
the translation of ―the lining‖ so as to describe the full and rapid development of the
tumors in his body.
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# Situation 22: (See more Appendix, p. X)
SL TL
He specialized in the murder of dreams, Thầy ấy là dũng sĩ giệt giấc mơ đó Hazel
Hazel Grace, let me tell you. You think Grace. Để anh kể em nghe. Em nghĩ núi lửa
volcanoes are awesome? Tell that to the ten có tuyệt không? Thế có còn tuyệt nữa không
thousand screaming corpses at Pompeii.… khi nó đã chôn vùi mười ngàn người tại
thành cổ Pompeii…
English version
The conversation is on the flight home, Augustus said that he had always
thought of having fun to live on a cloud until his Science teacher ruined this dream
and took the mafic out of the world. Hazel commented on his teacher’s opinion and
Augustus continues what he was saying.
Clearly, Augustus is saying more than required for the audience to
understand his utterance on the semantic level, and since he is confronting with the
cancer relapse and it seems like a verbal outbreak of his thoughts, Augustus allows
the readers to conclude that his utterance is intended to be indirect. The implicature
arises from the context. The fact that Augustus‘s story about the cloud depicts the
way being grown up involves accepting the difficult realities of the world. He
knows unavoidable results including the death would come one day like the disaster
in Pompeii. It can be included that the implicature is generated by the flouting of the
maxim of both quantity and manner as the given utterance is roundabout and wordy.
The facts and questions are mentioned by Augustus in purpose, which is as similar
as a lead-in.
The aim of the critic is to present key examples showing the difference
between the two languages in the two versions. In this utterance, this goal is not
changed. There are some outstanding linguistic elements, comprising change of
subject and some other minor issues.
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He specialized in the murder of Thầy ấy là dũng sĩ giệt giấc mơ đó
1.
dreams
Tell that to the ten thousand Thế có còn tuyệt nữa không khi nó đã
2. screaming corpses at Pompeii. chôn vùi mười ngàn người tại thành
cổ Pompeii.
You still secretly believe that there Em vẫn thầm tin rằng thế giới này do
3. is an element of magic to this phép thuật tạo ra?
world?
As well you should, because they Em cũng nên nghĩ đến việc đó đi, vì
4. will be worm food in the fullness trước sau gì họ cũng bị dòi ăn thôi.
of time.
Table 9: Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #22
The first case is the examples of the subject change. In the story, Augustus
tells about his Science teacher, thus, the translator writes ―thầy ấy‖ for the pronoun
―he‖ in the sentence 1. In the example 3, the structure ―There is‖ showing that
something exists in the original has not been maintained in the translated version.
Instead, ―this world‖ playing a role as an object in the original becomes the subject
of the translation. This change also associates with the emotional degree of the
character in two different versions. The original focuses on the presence of the fact;
meanwhile, the translation regards it as the truth‘s impact on the human life and
―thế giới‖ as an active subject in the sentence.
No matter what the translator aims at, this utterance solves some minor
issues in the translation. Example 1 points out the mistranslation between ―the
murder‖ and ―dũng si‖ which contain a crucial distinction in terms of meaning. The
murder is a negative word, describing the crime of intentionally killing somebody,
meanwhile ―dung sĩ‖ refers to a hero admired by many people. It might be that
translating this word is also for the translator‘s aim since she uses ―dung sĩ giệt ước
mơ‖ to reflect Augustus‘s irony (although it does not show that in the original).
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Active and passive form is the second concern in the fourth example. The
source language text produces an active sentence ―they will be worm food‖, but the
target language is a passive voice.
The geographical name ―Pompeii‖ is preserved in the number 2. There are
still some of the readers who do not know what exactly this site is and its historic
event many years ago. The definition ―thành cổ‖ is hence adapted.
The next instance is a discovery of omission/ addition. So as to create a
connect to the previous detail that the volcanoes are awesome, the translator
determines to add ―Thế có còn tuyệt nữa không‖ and make this sentence become a
question. At the same time, she ignores ―screaming corpses‖ and translate it into
―chôn vùi mười ngàn người‖. Compared to the translated version, the original one
partly emphasizes the disastrous event and the death of ten thousand victims rather
than the number of dead people.
# Situation 23: (See more Appendix, p. XI)
SL TL
Augustus: It’s my last shred of dignity. Augustus: Đó là mảnh tự tôn cuối cùng
It’s very small. của anh. Nó rất nhỏ.
English version
In the late stages of the cancer, Augustus was no longer muscular and
gorgeous. When he came home from the hospital a few days later, he was in worse
shape than ever. One day while Hazel was with him, Augustus pointed at the
laundry basket and said something about his “dignity”.
The flout of the maxim of quality is apparently generated by Augustus‘s
hyperbole. Even though he knows that the existence of a concrete item next to the
laundry basket is from his imagination, he attempts to ask Hazel for it. He also
visualizes his ―last shred of dignity‖ by its position and ―very small‖ size. The
implicature of this exaggeration reflects Augustus‘s recognition of the loss. All self-
sufficiency that Augustus used to have is now becoming more reduced and his
illness is physically and mentally killing him day by day.
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The implicature is also related to the infringement of the maxim of quantity
as well as the maxim of manner. At this point, Augustus‘s answer is less
informative and ambiguous; consequently, Hazel is confused to catch his point.
―My last shred of dignity‖ brings the ambiguity and the readers have to understand
the character‘s feature and his condition to guess the underlying thoughts. Because
of these flouts of the maxim, the implicature from the utterance 23 belongs to
Group C.
The analysis of this utterance between two versions in two languages does
not take much time. It shows that the translator mainly focuses on carrying the
major implication by the character. She employs the faith translation method for the
sake of not distorting the indirect viewpoint. Additionally, there is no significant
difference between the structure and content in the sentences, showing that the
translator has almost exactly followed formal equivalence. For instance, translating
―my last shred of dignity‖ to ‗manh tự tôn cuối cùng của anh‖ is close to the
original. The understanding of the words ―shred‖ (describing a very small amount
of something) and ―dignity‖ (referring to a sense of someone‘s own importance and
value) helps the translator choose the closely related words but not much effect the
character‘s original intention.
In terms of the structure, English possessive pronouns are always in front of
a noun or a noun phrase. This is a contrast to Vietnamese pronouns. This case is
proved by ―my last shred of dignity‖ where the front position of the possessive
pronoun ―my‖ is moved to the back position in this translation ―mảnh tự tôn cuối
cùng của anh‖. Added to this, there is a difference in the combination of a noun and
an adjective. Normally, English arranges adjective(s) before a noun, but Vietnamese
reverses this arrangement. In the example, ―last shred of dignity‖ is translated
―mảnh tự tôn cuối cùng‖. The word ―last‖ stands behind ―shred of dignity‖ in the
translation.
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# Situation 24: (See more Appendix, p. XII)
SL TL
Augustus: I’m hopeful I’ll get to attend as Augustus: Anh đang hy vọng lúc đó anh sẽ
a ghost, but just to make sure, … tham dự với tư cách một linh hồn, nhưng
Augustus: Would you believe they leave để chắc ăn, …
the door open all night? Augustus: Thế em có tin là hộ để cửa mở
suốt đêm không?
English version
After Augustus’s call to Hazel for a eulogy, she came to the church. When
she reached the bottom floor, she found Augustus sitting at the center of the circle
of the chairs in his wheelchair. Augustus told her that he wanted to attend his own
funeral so he had this pre-funeral and asked her then if she could speak at his real
funeral.
Similar to other examples in Group B, firstly, Augustus flouts the maxim of
quantity and manner because his expression in this utterance is quite roundabout
and lengthy. The maxim of manner is flouted once by Augustus and it occurs
together with a flout of the maxim of quantity. Augustus wants to explain for his
presence at the church and the reason why the attendance of Hazel and Issac is
important to him. Augustus desires to attend his own funeral and listening to his
friends‘ eulogies will give him insight into whether he will be remembered. In other
words, he wants to know what will happen after his death. Nevertheless, he does not
provide the major purpose without a lead-in. Consequently, he flouts the maxim of
manner owning to the abundant information.
Adding to the first flout is the second implicature arising from the maxim of
manner. The maxim of manner is flouted twice in this conversation. Hazel is
confused how Augustus could get in the church and to reply her question, he gives a
rhetorical question. Hence, the implied meaning of the utterance is ambiguous since
it does not point out that whether the church really opens all night or he is permitted
by the church.
83
It can be said that the cancer is destroying Augustus‘s physical body day
after day, but it cannot change his sense of humor and positive feelings. The flouts
complete their job of creating Augustus‘ implicatures and throughout that, allowing
the readers to feel his present condition less seriously.
The expression of verbal tenses from English to Vietnamese is considered in
this utterance. A Vietnamese verb is ―timeless in itself, […] only linguistic and
situational context provides a clue to relative time‖ (Nguyễn, 1997, p.108), as a
result, verbal tense is not spoken in Vietnamese grammar category. Vietnamese
adverbs such as đã, sẽ, sắp, đang, vừa, mới, etc. are normally employed to express
features of continuity, completeness or continual repetition. On the contrary,
grammatical tense in English can be directly demonstrated on verbs. In this utterance,
the translator seems not to concern this aspect much since she uses present-related
words to indicate Augustus‘s thought and his plan before the speaking time, which
should have been in past tense. The examples are listed as follows:
1. I‘m hopeful Anh đang hy vọng lúc đó
I thought I‘d—well, not to put you anh nghĩ mình nên - à, anh không có ý
on the spot, but I just this afternoon đẩy em lên sân khấu đâu, nhưng chiều
2.
thought I could arrange a nay anh chợt nghĩ mình có thể tổng
prefuneral duyệt trước lễ tang,

In the example 1, a statement is given to describe Augustus‘s expectation. Its
Vietnamese translation contains the word ―đang‖ to imply the present moments, and
unexpectedly transforms the adjective ―hopeful‖ into a verb ―hy vọng. On the other
hand, the next one does not guarantee this aspect. While the original words show
the past, the target version limits this characteristic: the past words like ―thought‖
and ―could‖ are changed in the present, which does not address the process of
Augustus‘s thought before his prefuneral.
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Another consideration is the change of pronouns. Although this feature is
analyzed in some previous utterances, changing the subject ―I‖ here has a new
point. Because the analyzed utterances are from Augustus, the subject ―I‖ is
basically translated ―Anh‖; nonetheless, it is turned into ―mình‖ to imply the
personal position.
Mistranslation is unavoidable in the translating works, including this novel.
―I‘m hopeful I‘ll get to attend as a Anh đang hy vọng lúc đó anh sẽ tham dự
1.
ghost với tư cách một linh hồn,
I thought I‘d—well, not to put you anh nghĩ mình nên - à, anh không có ý
on the spot, but I just this afternoon đẩy em lên sân khấu đâu, nhưng chiều
1. thought I could arrange a nay anh chợt nghĩ mình có thể tổng
prefuneral and I figured since I‘m duyệt trước lễ tang, và nhân thấy hiện
in reasonably good spirits nay tinh thần anh còn khá minh mẫn

Noone can deny the effort of the translator in publishing a high-quality
product, but some details here sound enigmatic in the target language. This is
displayed in the above table with two examples 3 and 4. The example 3 has ―a
ghost‖ whose definition, according to Cambridge Dictionary, is ―con ma‖.
However, it is translated into ―một linh hồn‖ which has more definitions referring to
the soul or sprit after the death or a particular person.
In the fourth instance, the word ―thought‖ has ―chợt nghĩ‖ as its matching
translation, but while the original one focuses on the result, the translated version
directs to the process. ―Chợt nghĩ‖ shows a quick formation of the ideas in
someone‘s mind. Besides, translating ―arrange a prefuneral‖ into ―tổng duyệt trước
lế tang‖ sounds not close in meaning. ―Arrange‖ is understood as making plans or
decisions and it is ―sắp xếp‖ or ―sửa soạn‖ in Vietnamese, as opposed to ―tổng
duyệt‖ which assoicates to the rehearsal before a performance or an official event.
The last concerned detail is the lack of matching between ―good‖ and ―minh mẫn‖.
85
in particular, the word ―good‖ shows something generally in an acceptable standard,
meanwhile, the translated word defines the lucidity.
Briefly, in this utterance, the translator changes some details compared to the
source version. She should have been more precise and meticulous in doing her job
although these are minor mistakes.
# Situation 25: (See more Appendix, p. XIII)
SL TL
Part 1: Phần 1:
Van Houten, Ông Van Houten,
I‘m a good person but a shitty writer. You‘re Tôi là một người tốt nhưng lại là một nhà
a shitty person but a good writer. We‘d văn tồi. Ông là một kẻ tồi nhưng lại là một
make a good team. … nhà văn tốt. Hợp lại chúng ta có thể là một
đội tuyệt vời. ...
Part 2: Phần 2:
Almost everyone is obsessed with leaving a Hầu như tất cả mọi người bị ám ảnh với việc
mark upon the world. Bequeathing a để lại một dấu ấn trên cõi đời này. Truyền
legacy. Outlasting death. … lại một di sản. Khiến cái chết tồn tại lâu hơn.
…We are like a bunch of dogs squirting …
on fire hydrants. …—but I am an animal Chúng ta giống như một bầy chó tè bậy lên
like any other. vòi nước cứu hỏa,…—nhưng tôi là một con
thú như bất kì người nào khác.
Part 3: Phần 3:
… It‘s heroic. Isn‘t that the real heroism? …Đó mới thực sự là anh hùng. Chẳng lẽ
Like the doctors say: First, do no harm. không phải là chủ nghĩa anh hùng thực sự
The real heroes anyway aren‘t the people hay sao? Giống như các bác sĩ thường nói:
doing things; the real heroes are the people Trước tiên là không gây hại gì.
NOTICING things, paying attention. … Dù sao đi nữa, anh hùng thực sự không phỉa
là người làm nên việc, mà chính là người
NHẬN THẤY được sự việc và để ý đến nó.
…
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English version
Augustus sent to Van Houten a letter and asked him to write for Hazel a
eulogy. He wrote that everyone tried to leave a mark as a scar and asserted that
Hazel has a different point of view. His letter was the last message of the novel and
showed his life perception before death.
Because of the length, the analysis of the letter is selective and separated into
three parts: Augustus‘s expectation for a eulogy for Hazel, Augustus‘s insight into
human scars and Augustus‘s thought about Hazel.
Part 1: Augustus asked Van Houten if he could write a eulogy for Hazel.
Augustus does not have a good impression about Van Houten, the author of
AIA – Hazel‘s favourite book after the trip to Amsterdam. However, he admits that
Van Houten is a talented writer and his writing ability would help write a good
eulogy. In general, Augustus‘s key purpose through this letter obviously is to ask
Van Houten for a favor. On the other hand, the way he expresses this suggestion is
fairly long-winded and informatively abundant. A clash-flouting is thus happening
in the case. This is not a surprise as Augustus‘s flout of the maxim of both manner
and quantity becomes clear and it derives an implicature in Group B. Augustus
gives more information that the situation requires, and flouting the maxim of
quantity shows that he tries to persuade Van Houten to approve his idea.
Furthermore, flouting the maxim of manner creates more solidarity for this
persuasion.
Part 2: Augustus realized that anyone has a wish to leave a mark in this
world. They long for being remembered by others after their life comes to the end.
This utterance is a long excerpt and there exists some Group C implicatures
which are conducted by flouts of the maxims of quantity and quantity.
Seemingly, Augustus‘s preference is presenting his viewpoints symbolically.
For example, ―a mark‖, ―scars‖, ―stars‖ and ―dogs‖ are respectively written in his
letter as metaphorical images. Augustus intentionally uses these words in the
context to imply more than their literal definitions. He sends a message of sarcasm
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related to humans‘ selfishness. Humans mostly are selfish creatures as they just
want to leave a mark on the world but have no worry about sadness they bring to
this world. In an unexpected side, they are truly fostering scars rather than a
valuable heritage. Augustus understands that he is not different. He follows the
majority of people who hope for being remembered and known as the stars but still
in an attempt to survive from the diseases. He also compares humans with dogs
marking everything with ―toxic piss‖ to indirectly humiliate this ordinariness of
humans‘ desires. He does not address the point directly, but his implicatures can
highlight the issue via the infringement of the maxim of quality.
Although Augustus provides an expected amount of information to
strengthen his perspective, it flouts the maxim of quantity. He hopes to show the
cliché problem among the community but with more information than it truly needs.
He could clearly have shortened it without an influence on the content.
Nevertheless, it is certain that the additional information including examples makes
his point be more persuasive.
Part 3: Augustus’s attitude and thought about Hazel is mentioned in this
part. In Augustus’s eyes, Hazel was different because she showed him a different
life perception.
Still in the coherence of the letter, Augustus writes about Hazel as an
atypical but in a positive way. Hazel makes him notice that being loved deeply is
more precious than being loved widely. He thinks that Hazel is a hero as she pays
attention to the universe and notices the significance of little harm to other people.
The implicatures are created to reflect these meanings from Augustus‘s sayings.
It is important to keep in mind that Augustus is the one who prefers giving
much information. He also exemplifies or explains his points by long-winded
expressions in most of his conversations or talks. This utterance is not exceptional
as Augustus again causes a clash-flouting of the maxim of quantity and manner. He
is implying how special Hazel is to him. What is more, the maxim of quality is also
exploited here as Augustus indirectly compares Hazel with real heroes. Indeed,
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Augustus knows Hazel is a normal individual, but he still reckons that what she
thinks and acts proves the heroism and victory.
In these three parts, the critic hopefully presents major points showing the
dissimilarity between two languages in two versions.
Firstly, there has modified the original structures of some sentences to make
them more suitable and reachable in the target version.
I‘m a good person but a shitty Tôi là một người tốt nhưng là một nhà văn tồi.
writer. You’re a shitty person but Ông là một kẻ tồi nhưng lại là một nhà văn tốt.
a good writer. We’d make a good Hợp lại chúng ta có thể là một đội tuyệt vời.
team.
Almost everyone is obsessed with Hầu như tất cả mọi người bị ám ảnh với việc
leaving a mark upon the world. để lại một dấu ấn trên cõi đời này.
You build a hideous minimall or Ta xây dựng một siêu thị mini cổ quái, giật dây
start a coup or try to become a một cuộc đảo chính hoặc cố gắng trở thành ngôi
rock star and you think, ―They‘ll sao nhạc rock và nghĩ rằng, "Họ sẽ nhớ đến
remember me now,‖ mình",
We are like a bunch of dogs Chúng ta giống như một bầy chó tè bậy lên voi
squirting on fire hydrants. nước cứu hỏa,…
People will say it‘s sad that she Mọi người sẽ nói thật buồn cười khi cô ấy để
leaves a lesser scar, that fewer lại một vết sẹo mờ nhạt hơn, khi ít người nhớ
remember her, that she was loved đến cô ấy hơn, khi cô ấy được yêu sâu sắc bởi
deeply but not widely. một số người chứ không rộng rãi.
He just noticed that people with …, ông ấy chỉ đơn giản nhận thấy rằng những
cowpox didn‘t get smallpox. người bị bệnh đậu mùa ở súc vật thì miễn
nhiễm với bệnh đậu mùa.
From the first example, instead of keeping the format of the sentences in the
original, the translator changes the original from a complex sentence into a
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compound sentence using the conjunction ―and‖. On the other hand, the translation
in the second instance combines two sentences to construct a complex sentence
which shares the same subject and makes Augustus‘s expression more coherent.
The last example shows the translator does not follow the original structure.
There is a change from two sentences into one sentence by using a comma.
Secondly, translating pronouns and names is investigated. In the letter, the
pronouns I, you, we, he, she, they and objective pronouns her, me, you are translated
differently in the target language. For example, the pronoun you is translated into
ông as Augustus implies the author Van Houten; whereas, in another case, it is
understood as ta. To the indefinite pronoun everyone in the example 3, the translator
bases on its meaning to have a translation tất cả chúng ta. The pronoun we is also
used with this meaning chúng ta.
A minor difference here is translating people‘s names. The names of
characters: Van Houten and Hazel are mentioned without any spelling changes.
However, the hierarchical system of Vietnamese cannot be neglected while
translating. The elements such as age or social status has to be clear. In this case,
Van Houten is far elder than Augustus. As a result, the translation must show the
hierarchy and the word ông is used before his name.
Other typical names are transferred to pure Vietnamese, for instance, the
medical terms cowpox, and smallpox are bệnh đậu mùa in Vietnamese. This way of
Hương Lan‘s translation is comprehensive for the readers.
Generally, the translator has chosen to flexibly transfer English pronouns and
proper names to Vietnamese ones based on culture features and context.
What is mentioned here as the third aspect is the use of antonym. It is
showed below:
People will say it’s sad that she Mọi người sẽ nói thật buồn cười khi
1.
leaves a lesser scar cô ấy để lại một vết sẹo mờ nhạt hơn
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Instead of translating the present words that the author uses, Hoang Lan
conveys the connotation by using antonym of the words in the translated version.
This helps the utterance become colloquial in the target language.
The fourth difference is in terms of word choice and expression. In the
translated version, there are some mistranslations and different expressions
compared to the original text.
.I‘ve got notes and everything, Tôi đã ghi đầy đủ các ý nhưng liệu ông có
but if you could just make it into a thể sắp xếp chúng thành một câu chuyện
1.
coherent whole or whatever? hoàn chỉnh và mạch lạc hay sao đó
không?
Almost everyone is obsessed with Hầu như tất cả mọi người bị ám ảnh với
2.
leaving a mark upon the world. việc để lại một dấu ấn trên cõi đời này.
That‘s what bothers me most, is Nên chuyện làm tôi băn khoăn nhất, là bị
being another unremembered lãng quên trong cuôc chiến chống lại
3.
casualty in the ancient and bệnh tật xưa như Trái Đất và chẳng mấy
inglorious war against diseases. vẻ vang này.
You build a hideous minimall or Ta xây dựng một siêu thị mini cổ quái,
4.
start a coup… giật dây một cuộc đảo chính…
…all you leave behind are more … tất cả những gì ta dể lại hậu thế càng
5.
scars. giống vết sẹo hơn.
But I can‘t pull my ideas together, Nhưng tôi không thể gom các ý tưởng của
Van Houten. My thoughts are mình lại với nhau, ông Van Houten ạ. Suy
6. stars I can’t fathom into nghĩ của tôi như những ngôi sao rời rạc
constellations và tôi không có cách nào gom chúng
thành từng chòm được.
Hazel is different. She walks Hazel thì khác. Cô ấy đi đứng thật nhẹ
7.
lightly, old man. nhàng, ông nhà văn ạ.
8. She walks lightly upon the earth. Cô ấy cứ đi lại khoan thai trên hành tinh
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này.
We’re as likely to hurt the Sức phá hoại của chúng ta đối với vũ
universe as we are to help it, and trụ này ngang ngửa với khả năng hàn gắn
9.
we‘re not likely to do either. cảu nó, và có vẻ như chúng ta chẳng chịu
làm gì.
People will say it’s sad that she Mọi người sẽ nói thật buồn cười khi cô ấy
10.
leaves a lesser scar để lại một vết sẹo mờ nhạt hơn
The guy who invented the Người phát minh ra thuốc chủng ngừa
smallpox vaccine didn‘t actually bệnh đậu mùa đã không thực sự phát
invent anything. He just noticed minh ra bất cứ thứ gì, ông ấy chỉ đơn giản
11.
that people with cowpox didn‘t nhận thấy rằng những người bị bệnh đậu
get smallpox. mùa ở súc vật thì miễn nhiễm với bệnh
đậu mùa.

The translation has adapted different expressions in most of the listed
examples.
The first sentence is one of the examples of mistranslation. Translating notes
and everything seems complex, therefore, she transforms the phrase into đầy đủ các
ý. Generally, this expression is subtly different from the original. The adjective đầy
đủ is added even though it does not exist in the SL. This matter also happens in the
examples 2, 3, 4, 5, 10. In example 4, the word ―start‖ means making something
happen at first or beginning. It is translated into ―giật dây‖ which implies more than
its literal definition.
Look at the examples 7 and 8, both examples‘ description is about Hazel‘s
walking manner. ―She walks lightly‖ is, on the other hand, translated in ―Cô ấy đi
đứng thật nhẹ nhàng‖ (example 7) or ―Cô ấy cứ đi lại khoan thai‖ (example 8). This
difference may result from the translator‘s aim of avoiding a boring repetition.
The example 11 is the case of medical terms which are translated based on
the general knowledge of target readers. Smallpox is defined to be a serious disease
92
causing a high temperature and leaving permanents marks on the skin of the patient;
it even leads to death. Cowpox is another disease caused by virus on cows and its
virus is used to make vaccines against smallpox. With these long definitions, the
translator definitely seeks appropriate Vietnamese alternatives. In Vietnamese
version, they are respectively called bệnh đậu mùa and bệnh đậu mùa ở súc vật. The
translation of cowpox, however, is not wholly accurate because súc vật contains
more different animals rather than only cows.
4.3. An evaluation of the translation
This step is for assessing the referential and pragmatic accuracy of the
translation on the basis of the translator‘s standards (Newmark, 1988, p.188). The
main key here is the quality and extent of the semantic deficiencies in the
translation and its inevitability. The translator of the novel The Fault in Our Stars
has chosen semantic translation method as one of his primary methods, which is
exhibited in excerpts by the male character Augustus. Accordingly, the referential
and pragmatic accuracy is viewed as both denotative and connotative accuracy, with
the concentration on the sentence and context level meaning accuracy.
In this study, the translation quality of PCIs produced by the main male
character is particularly concerned. Regarding the data analysis, most PCIs are
literally translated with accurate meaning since the translator concerns on how the
utterances or sentences are delivered in context and how readers interpret them
(Baker, 1992). The researcher found twenty-five PCIs belonging to Group C,
exploiting the maxim of quality and the maxim of quantity more than others. The
other cases from Group A and Group B less occur. Besides, Augustus violates both
the maxims of quantity and manner in some utterances, leading to clashes for Group
B. The translator carefully translates the PCIs so as to preserve their informative
value to the readers and convey specific characteristics of the main male character.
Via these PCIs, Augustus appears as an optimist who is full of humor but
thoughtfulness although he is on the verge of the cancer death. The translator has
attempted to build up a same image of Augustus in the target readers‘ eyes.
93
Although the translation does not provide all necessary clues which enable readers
to infer the implicatures, it conveys what the character implies and how he views
the life.
The translator seemingly has many experiences in translating literary works.
By natural and flexible way, she closely approaches the general context of novel
and understands the particular conversations between Augustus and other
characters. She has definitely proven her flexibility and competences in conveying
the original meanings of twenty-five excerpts despite the changes/ differences in
word choice, changes of subject or structural sentences, etc. Proper names and
hierarchical pronouns are translated quite accurately. Notwithstanding satisfactory
features of the translation, it cannot avoid mistranslations of words or phrases,
probably caused by the time limit for the workload or the translator‘s blatant
disregard for the original details. She might think of them as obscure and vague
details to the Vietnamese readers without suitable expressions. Furthermore,
additions and omissions of words or phrases are addressed in the analysis. The
finding proves that, in an unintentionally or deliberately, the translator left out or
added quite many words and phrases. In these cases, fortunately, the omission or
addition has no significant impact on the general intended meaning of the
utterances.
In short, the analysis of the SL and TT has revealed a number of mismatches
along the structural and lexical dimensions but successfully conveyed authorial
meanings of the original version. The PCIs have been found on three groups which
are established on the basis of flouting or violating maxims of quality, quantity,
relation and manners. The translation of the utterances/ texts involving the PCIs are
also discovered on differences of contextual cultures and distinctive styles of
language use. The translated version can be evaluated as a successful work of the
translator.
94
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
This part reaches to conclude the key findings, the implications as well as the
contribution of the study to the field. Several implications during the course of the
study will be demonstrated. Recommendations will be the final step proposed to
draw out some guidelines for future research.
5.1. Key findings.
To set firm theoretical background for the study, a critical literature reviewed
has been made. Translated-related concepts involving PCI maxims and TQA
models are explored. Thanks to critical viewpoints of the previous studies and
literature gaps, adopting Newmark‘s model with Grice‘s theory to the research is
indicated in details. The study is also conducted following case study method from
the qualitative, descriptive and contrastive approaches in order to assess the
translation quality of all PCIs by Augustus.
With regard to the first question, it can be concluded that the majority of the
particularized conversational implicatures belong to Group C. These implicatures
are the results of a maxim flouting individually: maxim of quality, maxim of
quantity, maxim of relation and maxim of manner. Flouting the maxim of quantity
becomes the main type of maxim infringement. The character shows himself as a
thoughtful but talkative person who wants to fully and deeply express himself. The
next most flouted is the maxim of quality. As said by Augustus, his life reflects
metaphors and he is interested in using metaphorical expressions/ implications
when he talks. On the other hand, the maxim of relation flouting rarely occurs since
Augustus prefers using vocal language to provide information. What is more, some
of Augustus‘s implicatures are arranged into Group A and Group B. Group B
contains the examples of clashes between two violations of maxims.
The second concern of this study is about the character‘s life perception.
Thanks to the analysis of PCIs, Augustus‘s life perception is well reflected. He is
described as an optimistic person since he gives a positive reinforcement in his life
95
and remains his hope with a life-threatening disease. His positive viewpoints and
emotional maturity are revealed through his conversational implicatures in
conversations. He places value in the thought of doing something heroic with his
life because he wants others to acknowledge his importance. He thinks only by
being remembered will make his life more meaningful, as his importance to the
world wouldn‘t simply end with his death.
Augustus‘s life perception is well presented in the translation. In other
words, the translated version is of good quality. The third question is dealt with
here. Regarding pragmatic characteristic, the translation has effectively denoted the
character‘s life message via his implicatures. With respect to semantics and
syntactics, it has succeeded in using a wide range of vocabulary and structures. In
particular, target language words and expressions are chosen carefully so that they
can be suitable for the context and Vietnamese culture. English sentence structures
are translated flexibly and naturally, producing a complete work with
understandable and attractive language to the audience.
On the other hand, existing with notable achievements, the translation
acknowledges several shortcomings. First and foremost, the translator has ignored
some words and phrases in comparison with the original; therefore, these words are
omitted. She should have examined the original version more thoroughly so that it
does not fail to discern the readers. The second drawback is mistranslation. In the
process of translation, it is possible for any mistakes. The reason may stem from the
willful ignorance of the translator or her lack of linguistic knowledge. Whatever the
cause is, this problem needs to be fixed with the aim of preventing confusion and
misunderstanding. Otherwise speaking, the translation should be revised in
upcoming editions. Lastly and most notably, the translator‘s use of words and
structures should be reconsidered although most of them have been transferred quite
agreeably in order to upgrade the quality of the translated work.
5.2. Implications
First of all, the study‘s findings serve as a beneficial reference for the
publisher and the translator to enhance the translation quality of the novel The Fault
96
in Our Stars in general and other related elements in particular. What is essential for
the translator is entirely mastering the writing style of the SL author in order that
there will have more appropriate selections of lexical, syntactic and textual means in
her work. This not only helps her achieve the same effect of the original author to
the target readers but also provides the publishers with proper modifications to the
translated version of the novel for the sake of the author‘s intention.
Another implication that can be concluded from the research is associated to
literary translation. A literary work is often tied in a specific manner to the SL
community and its culture; hence, in the translation, it requires distinctive features
and styles of the SL author. Moreover, a thorough review of the critic relating to the
SL text should be appreciated since the general meaning of the whole sentences or
utterances may be influenced if there are some small details removed. Generally,
translators should be cautious when translating any works from the SL into the TL.
In addition, the results of this study can guide to focus on the translation of
the maxims. It is recommended to understand the implied meanings of the intended
implicature and use appropriate methods. Translation students, trainee translators
and even experienced translators should keep updating translation strategies in
transferring conversational implicatures as well as communicate with the target
readers. Translating maxims demands a good knowledge of Cooperative Principle
and the circumstances of maxim violations in order to make a comprehensible
translation of implicatures. The translators also need to analyze the particularized
conversational implicatures carefully because an utterance may contain more than
one maxim. Furthermore, the researcher advises translators to give more attention
on translating intended messages and find themselves in a situation in which they
attempt for discerning, as much as possible, the author‘s intention. This helps
process the translation more effectively.
Toward the further research in the realm of English-Vietnamese translation,
more studies should be carried out to identify and cope with common problems in
translating the maxims of the PCIs from the source language to the target language.
97
Mistakes are mainly from the cultural and linguistic differences, future translators
should be aware that incorrect comprehension of a text significantly decreases the
quality of translation, and more attention to these obstacles is necessary. To produce
a qualified work, the translators should consider the context of the conversational
implicatures and flexibly translate them.
The fifth lesson yielded from the findings is the application of Newmark‘s
framework in TQA. Theories underlying the model and its operation are all
discussed in the study. Students majoring in Translation Studies and other
researchers can widen knowledge and step to evaluate the quality of a translation
from English to Vietnamese and vice versa. Newmark‘s model of TQA is seen to be
accessible for the critics to follow and assess a literary work. It helps have a deep
insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the translation. However, it does not
mean the critic skips the theory and practice in Translation Studies. Understanding
different concepts of different theories while practicing betters the process of
assessment.
5.3. Limitations and recommendations for further research
The study is conducted by the combination of Newmark‘s model and Grice‘s
theory although the main key refers to translation quality assessment. Utilizing
effectively these approaches in one a challenging task: the critic respectively
analyzes the implicatures and assesses their translated version in terms of linguistic
aspects. Hence, it is not surprising that the study has limits. It would be more
demanding if the novel has more than 400 pages because it will probably work on a
great number of implicatures and the workload for translation assessment will
obviously increase. In order to ensure the representativeness, further researches on
many novels should only observe the effectiveness of Newmark‘s model in TQA.
In addition, the study only places the focus on a character while other
characters, especially the main female one, are potential options for the analysis.
Therefore, further researchers who have an interest in conducting a study with the
98
similar topic might investigate the particularized conversational implicatures of
other characters and apply Peter Newmark‘s theory or any models they regard.
The researchers are also suggested to replicate the study by comparing other
languages, texts and cultures. It may produce different outcome if the text types are
changed, for instance, religious texts not literary texts.
99
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APPENDIX
Particularized conversational implicatures in English and Vietnamese
Situation SL TL
Patrick: And how are you Patrick: Và giờ cậu thấy thế nào?
feeling? Augustus: (Cười) Ồ, khỏe như
1 Augustus: (Smile) Oh, I‘m grand. vâm. Tôi đang ngồi trên một chiếc
(p.11) I‘m on a roller coaster that only tàu lượn siêu tốc mà chỉ thẳng
goes up, my friend. hường đi lên, ông bạn ạ.
Patrick: Augustus, perhaps you'd Patrick: Augustus, có lẽ cậu muốn

like to share your fears with the chia sẻ với nhóm về nỗi sợ hãi của
group. cậu.
2 Augustus: My fears? Augustus: Nỗi sợ hãi của tôi ư?
(p.12) Patrick: Yes. Patrick: Ừ
Augustus: I fear oblivion. I fear it Augustus: Tôi sợ bị chìm vào quên
like the proverbial blind man lãng. Tôi sợ điều đó giống như một
who‘s afraid of the dark. người mù sợ bóng tối.
Augustus: We are literally in the Augustus: Thì tụi mình đang ở
heart of Jesus, I thought we were trong trái tim của Chúa Giêsu, theo
in a church basement, but we are đúng nghĩa đen. Anh cứ tưởng mọi
literally in the heart of Jesus. người họp dưới tầng hầm nhà thờ
Hazel: Someone should tell Jesus, thôi, ai dè đúng là tụi mình đang ở
3 I mean, it‘s gotta be dangerous, trong trái tim Chúa.
(p.16-17) storing children with cancer in Hazel: Ai đó nên mách lại với
your heart. Chúa Tôi muốn nói là thật nguy
Augustus: I would tell Him hiểm khi dung chứa một đám trẻ
myself, but unfortunately, I am mắc bệnh ung thư ngay trong trái
literally stuck inside of His heart, tim mình.
so He won‘t be able to hear me. Augustus: Đích thân anh sẽ nói với
I
Ngài, nhưng tiếc là anh đang mắc
kẹt bên trong trái tim của Ngài, nên
Ngài sẽ không thể nghe thấu lời
anh.
Hazel: Why are you looking at Hazel: Sao anh cứ nhìn tôi như
me like that? thế?"
Augustus: Because you‘re Augustus: Bởi vì em đẹp. Anh
4
beautiful. I enjoy looking at thích nhìn người dẹp, và cách đây
(p.17)
beautiful people, and I decided a một giây anh quyết định sẽ không
while ago not to deny myself the chối từ thú vui trần tục đó.
simpler pleasures of existence.
Hazel: I‘m not beau— Hazel: Tôi không đệ-
Augustus: You‘re like a Augustus: Em giống y đúc ngôi sao
millennial Natalie Portman. Like Natalie Portman. Natalie Portman
V for Vendetta Natalie Portman. trong phim V for Vendetta.
Hazel: Never seen it. Hazel: Chưa bao giờ xem phim đó.
5 Augustus: Really? Pixie-haired Augustus: Thật không? Một cô gái
(p.17) gorgeous girl dislikes authority. tuyệt đẹp với mái tóc thiên thần
It‘s your autobiography, so far as không thích chế độ độc tài và
I can tell. không thể ngăn mình yêu một
chàng trai mà cô biết là rắc rối to.
Mô tả về em đấy, theo như anh
quan sát nãy giờ."
Augustus‘ father: In the darkest Augutus‘s father: Trong những
days, the Lord puts the best ngày đen tối nhất, Chúa sẽ mang
6 people into your life. đến cho ta những người bạn chân
(p.28) Augustus: Quick, give me a thành nhất."
throw pillow and some thread Augustus: Ồ, ba mau đưa con một
because that needs to be an cái gối cũ cùng mấy cuộn chỉ để
II
Encouragement,‖ con thêu câu này làm Lời động
viên nào.
Augustus: So, what‘s your story? Augustus: Vậy còn chuyện của
Hazel: I already told you my em?
story. I was diagnosed when — Hazel: Tôi kể rồi mà, tôi được
7
Augustus: No, not your cancer chuẩn đoán khi—
(p.32-33)
story. Your story. Augustus: Không, không phải
chuyện ung thư. Câu chuyện của
chính em cơ.
Augustus: Do you write poetry, Augustus: Thế em cũng làm thơ
too? chứ?"
Hazel: No. I don‘t write. Hazel: Không. Tôi không làm thơ."
Augustus: There! Hazel Grace, Augustus: Đó, thấy chưa! Hazel
8 you are the only teenager in Grace, em là thiếu nữ duy nhất ở
(p.33) America who prefers reading nước Mỹ này thích đọc thơ hơn là
poetry to writing it. This tells me làm thơ. Điều này cho anh biết
so much. You read a lot of thêm nhiều điều về em đấy. Có
capital-G great books, don‘t you? phải em đọc rất nhiều cuốn siêu
phẩm với chữ S viết hoa không?
Hazel: You don‘t even know me. Hazel: Anh thậm chí còn không
How about I call you when I biết tôi. Hay tôi sẽ gọi anh khi đọc
finish this? hết quyển này nhé?
Augustus: But you don‘t even Augustus: Nhưng em còn chưa có
9
have my phone number. số điện thoại của anh mà.
(p.37)
Hazel: I strongly suspect you Hazel: Tôi tin là anh đã viết nó
wrote it in the book. trong quyển truyện này rồi.
Augustus: And you say we don‘t Augustus: Vậy mà e bảo là chúng
know each other. ta không biết nhau.
10 Hazel: Price of Dawn review: Hazel: Nhận xét về Cái giá của
III
(p.51) Too many bodies. Not enough bình minh: Đầy rẫy người chết.
adjectives. How‘s AIA? Không đủ vốn từ miêu tả. Còn
Augustus: As I recall, you NĐTC thì sao?
promised to CALL when you Augustus: Theo anh nhớ thì em
finished the book, not text. hứa sẽ GỌI sau khi đọc hết truyện,
chứ không phải nhắn tin.
Augustus: Feel better? Augustus: Thấy đỡ hơn chưa mày?
11 Issac: No. Issac: Chưa.
(p.63) Augustus: That‘s the thing about Augustus: Đó chính là nỗi đau. Nỗi
pain. It demands to be felt. đau cần được cảm nhận.
Hazel: What happened? Hazel: Chuyện gì đã xảy ra?
Augustus: During the kiss? Augustus: Trong khi hôn á?
Hazel: No, with you and Hazel: Không, với anh và Caroline
Caroline. kìa.
Augustus: Oh, Caroline is no Augutus: À. Caroline không còn bị
longer suffering from nỗi thống khổ của kiếp người hành
12
personhood. hạ nữa.
(p.72)
… …
Hazel: I‘m sorry. Hazel: Tôi xin lỗi.
Augustus: Not your fault, Hazel Augustus: Không phải lỗi của em,
Grace. We‘re all just side effects, Hazel Grace à. Tất cả chúng ta chỉ
right? là tác dụng phụ, phải không nào?
Hazel: How‘s he doing? Hazel: Anh Issac như thế nào rồi?
Augustus: I can‘t tell if he‘s just Augustus: Anh không rõ là phải
13 not ready to confront the chăng hắn chưa sẵn sàng để đối
(p.80) seriousness of his disability or if mặt với thực tế phũ phàng là mình
he really does care more about đã bị mù vĩnh viễn, hay là hắn chỉ
getting dumped by Monica, but chăm chăm nghĩ đến việc bị nàng
IV
he won‘t talk about anything else. Monica đá. Nhưng hắn chẳng nói
Hazel: Yeah. How long‘s he gì khác hơn ngoài chuyện đó.
gonna be in the hospital? Hazel: Ừa. Ảnh còn nằm viện trong
Augustus: Few days. Then he bao lâu vậy?
goes to this rehab or something Augustus: Vài ngày à. Sau đó hắn
for a while, but he gets to sleep at phải đến trung tâm phục hồi gì đó
home, I think. một thời gian, nhưng hắn được về
nhà ngủ, anh nghĩ vậy.
Mr. Lancaster: You‘re a survivor Mr. Lancaster: Cháu cũng là bệnh
yourself, then? nhân ung thư à?
Augustus: I am. I didn‘t cut this Augustus: Dạ đúng ạ. Cháu chưa
fella off for the sheer cắt đuôi được cái gã ung thư này để
unadulterated pleasure of it, tận hưởng niềm vui trọn vẹn mặc
although it is an excellent weight- dù gã là một chiến lược giảm cân
loss strategy. Legs are heavy! tuyệt vời. Chân cẳng thì nặng nề
14
Mr. Lancaster: And how‘s your lắm ạ!
(p.83)
health now? Mr. Lancaster: Vậy giờ sức khỏe
Augustus: NEC for fourteen của cháu thế nào rồi?
months. Augustus: Cháu được xác nhận
Mrs. Lancaster: That‘s NEC trong mười bốn tháng rồi.
wonderful. The treatment options Mrs. Lancaster: Thật tuyệt. Những
these days—it really is phương pháp điều trị ngày nay -
remarkable. thực sự đáng nể.
(1) Augustus: Hazel Grace, (1) Augustus: Hazel Grace,
like so many children before giống như nhiều đứa trẻ em trước
15 you—and I say this with great đó - anh xin nói điều này bằng một
(p.88-89) affection—you spent your Wish tình cảm chân thành - là em đã sử
hastily, with little care for the dụng Điều ước quá vội vàng mà
consequences. The Grim Reaper chẳng bận tâm đến hậu quả sau đó.
V
was staring you in the face and Thần Chết lởn vởn trước mặt em
the fear of dying with your Wish cùng nỗi sợ sẽ sớm lìa đời mà vẫn
still in your proverbial pocket, chưa sử dụng Điều Ước trong túi
ungranted, led you to rush toward khiến em vội vàng chọn một thứ
the first Wish you could think of, đầu tiên em nghĩ ra trong đầu. Và
and you, like so many others, em, cũng như mọi đứa trẻ khác, đã
chose the cold and artificial chọn niềm vui tầm thường và giả
pleasures of the theme park. tạo của một công viên giải trí.
Hazel: I actually had a great time Hazel: Tôi thực sự đã có một
on that trip. I met Goofy and khoảng thời gian tuyệt vời trong
Minn— chuyến đi đó. Tôi đã gặp Goofy và
(2) Augustus: I am in the Minn -
midst of a soliloquy! I wrote this (2) Augustus: Anh chưa xong
out and memorized it and if you bài độc thoại mà.! Anh đã viết bài
interrupt me, I will completely phát biểu hùng hồn này ra giấy và
screw it up. học thuộc lòng nó. Nên nếu em cắt
lời anh thì anh sẽ quên sạch sành
sanh.
Hazel: Thanks for not trying to Hazel: Cảm ơn vì đã không cố tình
see me when I looked like hell. gặp tôi khi tôi trong bệ rạc, thảm
Augustus: To be fair, you still thương.
look pretty bad. Augustus: Công bằng mà nói trông
Hazel: (laugh) I missed you, too. em vẫn còn thê thảm lắm.
16
I just don‘t want you to see . . . all Hazel: Tôi cũng nhớ anh. Chỉ là tôi
(p.110)
this. I just want, like . . . It không muốn anh nhìn thấy bộ dạng
doesn‘t matter. You don‘t always này. Tôi chỉ muốn, những lúc như
get what you want. là…Mà thôi, cũng chẳng quan
Augustus: Is that so? I‘d always trọng nữa, không phải ai cũng luôn
thought the world was a wish- có cái mình muốn"
VI
granting factory. Augustus: Vậy sao? Anh thì nghĩ
Hazel: Turns out that is not the thế giới này là một công xưởng sản
case. xuất điều ước.
Hazel: Nhưng hóa ra không phải
vậy.
Augustus: I‘m gonna die a virgin. Augustus: Anh sẽ chết mà còn
Hazel: You‘re a virgin? "gin".
Augustus: Hazel Grace, do you Hazel: Anh còn "gin" á?
have a pen and a piece of paper? Augustus: Hazel Grace, em có giấy
17 Okay, please draw a circle. Now viết ở đó không? (Hazel: Có).
(p.118- draw a smaller circle within that Okay. Vậy em hãy vẽ một vòng
119) circle. The larger circle is virgins. tròn" "Giờ vẽ thêm một vòng tròn
The smaller circle is seventeen- nhỏ hơn trong đó. "Vòng tròn lớn
year-old guys with one leg. hơn là hội những người còn "gin".
Còn vòng tròn nhỏ hơn là hội
những anh chàng "mười bảy bẻ gãy
sừng trâu" chỉ còn một chân.
Hazel: But it‘d not rising. Hazel: Nhưng giờ không phải là
(1) Augustus: It‘s rising bình minh"
somewhere. Observation: It Augustus: Mặt trời đang mọc ở
would be awesome to fly in a một nơi nào đó. Nhận xét: Thật
superfast airplane that could tuyệt nếu được du hành trong môt
18 chase the sunrise around the chiếc máy bay siêu nhanh để có thể
(p.149) world for a while. đuổi theo mặt trời mọc ở vòng
Hazel: Also I‘d live longer. You quanh thế giới hen!
know, because of relativity or Hazel: Khi đó ta có thể sống lâu
whatever. We age slower when hơn. Anh biết không, theo thuyết
we move quickly versus standing tương đương hay gì đó. Chúng ta
still. So right now time is passing chậm lão hóa hơn khi di chuyển
VII
slower for us than for people on với tốc độ nhanh hơn so với đứng
the ground. yên. Nên ngay bây giờ, thời gian
(2) Augustus: College chicks. trôi qua chậm hơn với chúng ta so
They‘re so smart. với những người trên mặt đất.
Augustus: Quà nhiên là "gái" đại
học, nói chuyện cũng thông minh
hẳn.
Augustus: I am. I‘m in love with Augustus: Anh yêu em và chẳng
you, and I‘m not in the business việc gì anh phải chối bỏ niềm vui
of denying myself the simple được nói ra sự thật đó. Anh đang
pleasure of saying true things. yêu em và anh biết tình yêu này vô
I‘m in love with you, and I know vọng, chắc chắn sẽ bị lãng quên,
that love is just a shout into the rằng chúng ra dều có số phận bi đát
19 void, and that oblivion is và rằng sẽ đến một ngày mọi nỗ
(p.153) inevitable, and that we‘re all lực của hai ta đều trở về với cát
doomed and that there will come bụi. Anh cũng biết mặt trời rồi sẽ
a day when all our labor has been nuốt chửng hành tinh xanh của
returned to dust, and I know the chúng ta nhưng anh vẫn yêu em.
sun will swallow the only earth
we‘ll ever have, and I am in love
with you.
(1) Augustus: It‘s not my funeral (1) Augustus: Đây không phải là
suit, when I first found out I was bộ suit dự tang lễ của anh. Khi anh
sick - I mean, they told me I had mới phát hiện ra bệnh - ý anh là khi
20
like an eighty-five percent chance các bác sĩ đang nói cho anh biết
(p.166)
of cure. I know those are great anh có khoảng tám mươi lăm phần
odds, but I kept thinking it was a trăm cơ hội chữa khỏi bệnh. Anh
game of Russian roulette. I mean, biết tỷ lệ như vậy là cao nhưng anh
I was going to have to go through vẫn nghĩ đây là trò đánh bài ru-lét
VIII
hell for six months or a year and của Nga. Ý anh là, anh sẽ trải qua
lose my leg and then at the end, it địa ngục trong sáu tháng hoặc một
still might not work, you know? năm, bị cụt một chân và rồi cuối
Hazel: I know cùng, vẫn không chữa khỏi, em
(2) Auguutus: Right, so I went hiểu không?"
through this whole thing about Hazel: Em hiểu.
wanting to be ready. We bought a (2) Augustus: Phải, vì vậy anh đối
plot in Crown Hill, and I walked mặt bằng cách chuẩn bị sẵn sàng.
around with my dad one day and Nhà anh đã mua một lô đất ở nghĩa
picked out a spot. And I had my trang Crown Hill, và anh đã rảo
whole funeral planned out and một vòng với ba và chọn được một
everything, and then right before chỗ ưng ý. Anh đã lên kế hoạch
the surgery, I asked my parents if toàn bộ cho đám tang của mình và
I could buy a suit, like a really mọi chi tiết khác. Rồi ngày trước
nice suit, just in case I bit it. khi phẫu thuật, anh hỏi ba mẹ liệu
Anyway, I‘ve never had occasion anh có thể mua một bộ suit, đại loại
to wear it. Until tonight. là một bộ suit thật sự oách phòng
Hazel: So it‘s your death suit.‖ trường hợp anh không qua khỏi
không. Dù sao thì anh vẫn chưa
bao giờ có dịp mặc nó. Cho đến tận
tối nay."
Hazel: Hóa ra đây là bộ suit tự
phục của anh.
Augustus: Just before you went Augustus: Ngay trước khi em vào
into the ICU, I started to feel this phòng chăm sóc đặc biệt ICU, anh
21
ache in my hip.‖ đã bắt đầu thấy đau ở hông.
(p.213-
Hazel: No Hazel: Không đâu.
214)
Augustus: So I went in for a PET Augustus: Thế nên anh đã đi chụp
scan. I lit up like a Christmas cắt lớp. Anh cháy sáng như một
IX
tree, Hazel Grace. The lining of cây thông Noel, Hazel Grace. Từ
my chest, my left hip, my liver, lồng ngực đến hông trái rồi xuống
everywhere. gan, khắp toàn thân
Augustus: He specialized in the Augustus: Thầy ấy là dũng sĩ giệt

murder of dreams, Hazel Grace, giấc mơ đó Hazel Grace. Để anh kể
let me tell you. You think em nghe. Em nghĩ núi lửa có tuyệt
volcanoes are awesome? Tell that không? Thế có còn tuyệt nữa
to the ten thousand screaming không khi nó đã chôn vùi mười
corpses at Pompeii. You still ngàn người tại thành cổ Pompeii.
22 secretly believe that there is an Em vẫn thầm tin rằng thế giới này
(p.219- element of magic to this world? do phép thuật tạo ra? Đó chỉ là các
220) It‘s all just soulless molecules phân tử không có linh hồn và vào
bouncing against each other nhau một cách ngẫu nhiên thôi. Em
randomly. Do you worry about có lo lắng xem ai sẽ chăm sóc mình
who will take care of you if your nếu ba mẹ em mất đi không? Em
parents die? As well you should, cũng nên nghĩ đến việc đó đi, vì
because they will be worm food trước sau gì họ cũng bị dòi ăn thôi.
in the fullness of time.
Augustus: What‘s that? Augustus: Đó là gì vậy?
Hazel: That laundry basket? Hazel: Đó là giỏi đụng quần áo?
23 Augustus: No, next to it. Augustus: Không, bên cạnh nó kìa.
(p.248) Hazel: I don‘t see anything next Hazel: Em chẳng nhìn thấy bất kì
to it. cái gì bên cạnh nó cả.
Augustus: It‘s my last shred of Augustus: Đó là mảnh tự tôn cuối
dignity. It‘s very small. cùng của anh. Nó rất nhỏ.
Augustus: I‘m hopeful I‘ll get to Augustus: Anh đang hy vọng lúc
24
attend as a ghost, but just to make đó anh sẽ tham dự với tư cách một
(p.248)
sure, I thought I‘d—well, not to linh hồn, nhưng để chắc ăn, anh
X
put you on the spot, but I just this nghĩ mình nên - à, anh không có ý
afternoon thought I could arrange đẩy em lên sân khấu đâu, nhưng
a prefuneral, and I figured since chiều nay anh chợt nghĩ mình có
I‘m in reasonably good spirits, thể tổng duyệt trước lễ tang, và
there‘s no time like the present. nhận thấy hiện nay tinh thần anh
Hazel: How did you even get in còn khá minh mẫn nên đây là lúc
here? thích hợp nhất cho việc này.
Augustus: Would you believe Hazel: Làm sao anh vào được đây?
they leave the door open all Augustus: Thế em có tin là hộ để
night? cửa mở suốt đêm không?
Part 1: Phần 1:
Van Houten, Ông Van Houten,
I‘m a good person but a shitty Tôi là một người tốt nhưng lại là
writer. You‘re a shitty person but một nhà văn tồi. Ông là một kẻ tồi
a good writer. We‘d make a good nhưng lại là một nhà văn tốt. Hợp
team. I don‘t want to ask you any lại chúng ta có thể là một đội tuyệt
favors, but if you have time—and vời. Tôi không muốn xin ân huệ gì
from what I saw, you have ở ông hết, nhưng nếu ông có thời
25
plenty—I was wondering if you gian— và từ những gì tôi quan sát
(p.310 –
could write a eulogy for Hazel. thì ông có rất nhiều thời gian— tôi
312)
I‘ve got notes and everything, but đang tự hỏi liệu ông có thể viết một
if you could just make it into a bài điều văn cho Hazel không. Tôi
coherent whole or whatever? Or đã ghi đầy đủ các ý nhưng liệu ông
even just tell me what I should có thể sắp xếp chúng thành một câu
say differently. chuyện hoàn chỉnh và mạch lạc hay
sao đó không? Hoặc thậm chí chỉ
Part 2: cần cho tôi biết tôi cần nói theo
Almost everyone is obsessed with cách nào khác.
XI
leaving a mark upon the world.
Bequeathing a legacy. Outlasting Phần 2:
death. We all want to be Hầu như tất cả mọi người bị ám
remembered. I do, too. That‘s ảnh với việc để lại một dấu ấn trên
what bothers me most, is being cõi đời này. Truyền lại một di sản.
another unremembered casualty Khiến cái chết tồn tại lâu hơn. Tất
in the ancient and inglorious war cả chúng ta đều muốn người khác
against disease. nhớ đến. Tôi cũng thế. Nên chuyện
I want to leave a mark. làm tôi băn khoăn nhất, là bị lãng
But Van Houten: The marks quên trong cuộc chiến chống lại
humans leave are too often scars. bệnh tật xưa như Trái Đất và chẳng
You build a hideous minimall or mấy vẻ vang nữa.
start a coup or try to become a Tôi muốn để lại một giấu ấn.
rock star and you think, ―They‘ll Nhưng ông Van Houten này: Dấu
remember me now,‖ but (a) they ấn mà con người để lại thường là
don‘t remember you, and (b) all vết sẹo. Ta xây dựng một siêu thị
you leave behind are more scars. mini cổ quái, giật dây một cuộc
Your coup becomes a đảo chính hoặc cố gắng trở thành
dictatorship. Your minimall ngôi sao nhạc rock và nghĩ rằng,
becomes a lesion. ―Họ sẽ nhớ đến mình,‖ nhưng (a)
(Okay, maybe I‘m not such a họ không nhớ tới ta, và (b) tất cả
shitty writer. But I can‘t pull my những gì ta để lại hậu thế càng
ideas together, Van Houten. My giống vết sẹo hơn. Cuộc đảo chính
thoughts are stars I can‘t fathom của ta sẽ trở thành một chế độ độc
into constellations.) We are like a tài. Siêu thị của ta sẽ trở thành một
bunch of dogs squirting on fire thứ phế phẩm.
hydrants. We poison the (Được rồi, có lẽ tôi không phỉa một
groundwater with our toxic piss, nhà văn tồi. Nhưng tôi không thể
marking everything MINE in a gom các ý tưởng của mình lại với
XII
ridiculous attempt to survive our nhau, ông Van Houten ạ. Suy nghĩ
deaths. I can‘t stop pissing on fire của tôi như những ngôi sao rời rạc
hydrants. I know it‘s silly and và tôi không có cách nào gom
useless—epically useless in my chúng thành từng chòm được)
current state—but I am an animal Chúng ta giống như một bầy chó tè
like any other. bậy lên vòi nước cứu hỏa, đầu độc
mạch nước ngầm với thứ nước tiểu
Part 3: độc hại của mình, cố đánh dấu CÁI
Hazel is different. She walks GỌI LÀ CỦA TÔI lên tất cả mọi
lightly, old man. She walks thứ trong một nỗ lực lố bịch để
lightly upon the earth. Hazel vượt qua caisc hết. Tôi không thể
knows the truth: We‘re as likely ngừng tè lên vòi nước cứu hỏa. Tôi
to hurt the universe as we are to biết chuyện nghe thật ngớ ngẩn và
help it, and we‘re not likely to do vô dụng—vô dụng một cách bi
either. thương với tình trạng của tôi—
People will say it‘s sad that she nhưng tôi là một con thú như bất kì
leaves a lesser scar, that fewer người nào khác.
remember her, that she was loved
deeply but not widely. But it‘s Phần 3:
not sad, Van Houten. It‘s Hazel thì khác. Cô ấy đi đứng
triumphant. It‘s heroic. Isn‘t that khoan thai trên hành tinh này.
the real heroism? Like the doctors Hazel biết được sự thật rằng: Sức
say: First, do no harm. phá hoại của chúng ta đối với vũ
The real heroes anyway aren‘t the trụ này ngang ngửa với khả năng
people doing things; the real hàn gắn của nó, và có vẻ như
heroes are the people NOTICING chúng ta chẳng chịu làm gì.
things, paying attention. The guy Mọi người sẽ nói thật buồn cười
who invented the smallpox khi cô ấy để lại một vết sẹo mờ
vaccine didn‘t actually invent nhạt hơn, khi ít người nhớ đến cô
XIII
anything. He just noticed that ấy hơn, khi cô ấy được yêu sâu sắc
people with cowpox didn‘t get bởi số ít người chứ không rộng rãi.
smallpox. Nhưng chuyện đó không đáng
buồn ông Van Houten ạ. Đó mới
thực là chiến thắng. Đó mới thực
sự là anh hùng. Chẳng lẽ không
phải là chủ nghĩa anh hùng thực sự
hay sao? Giống như các bác sĩ
thường nói: Trước tiên là không
gây hại gì.
Dù sao đi nữa, anh hùng thực sự
không phỉa là người làm nên việc,
mà chính là người NHẬN THẤY
được sự việc và để ý đến nó. Người
phát minh ra thuốc chủng ngừa
bệnh đầu mà đã không thực sự phát
minh ra bất cứ thứ gì, ông ấy chỉ
đơn giản nhận thấy rằng những
người bị bệnh đậu mùa ở súc vật
thì miễn nhiềm với bệnh đậu mùa.
XIV

(123doc) An Assessment of The Vietnamese Translation of Conversational Implicatures From The Main Male Character in The Fault in Our Stars

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(123doc) An Assessment of The Vietnamese Translation of Conversational Implicatures From The Main Male Character in The Fault in Our Stars

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

HOÀNG HẢI CHI

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF

MINOR MASTER THESIS

FIELD : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

Hà Nội - Năm 2021

HOÀNG HẢI CHI

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF

MINOR MASTER THESIS

FIELD : ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

Hà Nội - Năm 2021

Hanoi, January 2021

Hoàng Hải Chi

Table 2.1. Translation procedures (Newmark, 1988) .................................................8

Diagram 1: Data collection procedure and analysis..................................................38

1.1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

Table 2.2. Group C‟s cases of the maxim‟s exploitation

This chapter presents a detailed description of how the method is adopted in

The character's utterances The utterances PCIs are

A statement of The comparison

Diagram 1: Data collection procedure and analysis.

Table 4.5. Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #19

Table 4.6. Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #20

Table 4.7. Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #24

Table 4.8. Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #24

Table 4.9. Transference of words/ phrases in the situation #25

Patrick: Augustus, perhaps you'd Patrick: Augustus, có lẽ cậu muốn

Augustus: He specialized in the Augustus: Thầy ấy là dũng sĩ giệt

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