An Introduction To Translation Studies

BANKING UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
AN INTRODUCTION TO
TRANSLATION STUDIES
Nguy n Quang Nh t
Nguy n Hoàn V
inh Th Thùy Trang
HO CHI MINH CITY, 09/2019

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Translation has long been seen as a career-oriented discipline to accommodate various processes that
do not strictly belong to the linguistic realm. Hence, this book looks at translation not only as a
linguistic activity but also as a socio-cultural exchange. This coursebook is designed to meet the needs
of students at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Banking University of HCMC. Its fundamental purpose
aims to help students get access to some major concepts, principles, methods, and strategies to solve
a number of issues in translation theories and practices. It is hoped that learners will find the course
useful and practical.
The material presented here borrows from Peter Newmark's “A Textbook of Translation” and Luu Van
Tuan’s “An Introduction into Translation Theories”. It is meant to serve pedagogical purposes with
careful citation and acknowledgements. For reasons of space and consistency, the term “translation”
include both written translation and oral translation (the latter is commonly known as
interpretation), although the overlaps make a clear distinction impossible (cf. Gile 2004).
Good luck and best wishes!

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF TRANSLATION ..................................................................3
I. Definitions of “Translation”............................................................................................... 3
II. Scope of Translation – Science, art and skill ..................................................................... 4
III. Translation typology .......................................................................................................... 5
IV. Codes of ethics ................................................................................................................. 11
V. Translation principles ....................................................................................................... 12
VI. Requirements for a professional translator/interpreter..................................................... 13
VII. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 14
CHAPTER 2: TRANSLATION THEORIES ...............................................................................15
I. Rationale for Translation studies ..................................................................................... 15
II. Descriptive translation studies (DTS) of Holmes ............................................................ 16
III. Historical background of Translation studies .................................................................. 19
IV. Early theories of translation studies ................................................................................. 25
V. Contemporary theories in translation studies ................................................................... 28
VI. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 37
CHAPTER 3: TRANSLATION UNITS, METHODS AND TECHNIQUES ............................40
I. Translation Units (UT) ..................................................................................................... 40
II. Translation methods by Newmark ................................................................................... 42
III. Translation techniques by Vinay and Darbelnet .............................................................. 48
IV. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 55
CHAPTER 4: EQUIVALENCE .....................................................................................................58
I. Untranslatability ............................................................................................................... 58
II. Gain and Loss................................................................................................................... 59
III. Equivalence ...................................................................................................................... 59
IV. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 67
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CHAPTER 5: CULTURAL TERMS AND NON-EQUIVALENCE .........................................67
I. Cultural elements in translation ....................................................................................... 68
II. Non – equivalence at word-level ..................................................................................... 70
III. Suggested strategies for dealing with non-equivalence at word level ............................. 72
IV. Collocations and Non – equivalence above word-level ................................................... 74
V. Suggested strategies for translating idiomatic collocations ............................................. 76
CHAPTER 6: TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT ......................................................80
I. Views for “A good translation” ....................................................................................... 80
II. Main reasons for translation errors .................................................................................. 80
III. Approaches to evaluating a translation ............................................................................ 81
IV. House’s translation Quality Assessment Model .............................................................. 85
V. Steps of House’s translation Quality Assessment Model ................................................ 89
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CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF TRANSLATION
I. Definitions of “Translation”
The English term “Translation”, first attested in around 1340, derives from the Latin word
“translatus” which means “carried across” (Lewis, 2004, p.257).
Translation, by dictionary definition, means turning one‘s own language into another language
(The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1974).
In the field of Linguistics, “Translation” has several meanings:

It is a subject (môn d ch thu t). E.g.: I studied translation at university.
It is a product (b n d ch). E.g.: They published the Arabic translation of the report.
It is the process of producing the translation (d ch thu t). E.g.: translation service.
In the field of Translation studies, there are different definitions:

Translating consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the
source language message, first in terms of meaning and, second in terms of style.
(Nida & Tiber, 1969)
Translation is the replacement of a text in the source language by a semantically and pragmatically
equivalent text in the target language. (House, 1982)
Translation is a craft consisting of the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in
one language by the same message and/or statement in another language. (Peter Newmark, 1998)
Translation is to be understood as the process whereby a message expressed in a specific source
language is linguistically transformed in order to be understood by readers of the target language.
(Houbert, 1998)
As implied in the definitions above, translation in its overall meaning is basically a change of
form to reproduce in the receptor language the closest natural meaning of the source language
message. Only the form changes but the meaning stays the same. Moreover, translation not only
involves understanding the general meaning of the communication but calls upon the ability to
understand the pragmatic elements/culture of the communication as well.
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Task 1: Work in groups and fill in the blanks with appropriate phrases given.
source language, cultural barriers, communicate interculturally, target language,
rendering, oral transfer, message receiver
a. Translation is the process of conveying messages across linguistic and ............... (Ian Tudor, 1987)
b. Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (.................................) by
equivalent textual material in another language (.................................) (Catford, 2000)
c. Translation is ................................ the meaning of a text into into another language in the way that
the author intended the text. (Newmark, 1998)
d. Interpreting is the ................................... of messages between speakers of different languages.
(Gentile et al,1996)
e. To interpret is to ................................. with the message sender and the .......................................
whose languages and cultures are unknown to each other. (Nguy n Qu c Hùng, 2010)
II. Scope of Translation – Science, art and skill

First, translation means more than substitution of words in one language with those from
another language. It is a scientific attempt to bring two cultures together since languages differ from
each other not just in grammatical structure but also the way in which they conceptualize abstractions.
The question of how to bridge these gaps is decided by the aim of the translators and the receivers,
requiring scientific methodology to bring about the most productive outcomes.
Second, translators
a. must be able to cope with the elegancy of expressions and language
b. have to artistically preserve and fit into a different linguistic and social contexts: neutral and
emotional words, archaic words and new coinages, metaphors and similes, foreign borrowings,
dialectal, jargon and slang expressions, stilted phrases and obscenities, proverbs and quotations,
illiterate or inaccurate speech, and so on.
c. have to sensitively tackle complicated specialized descriptions and terminology in specific fields
of study for which appropriate terms have not yet been invented.
Lastly, translation is the bridge into the world of academic, scientific and technical knowledge.
Today most of the scientific and technical literature is written in different languages. Both translation
and interpretation of such works into other languages become even more of a challenge and require
superior language ability in at least two languages. A scientific article in medicine, for example,
cannot be translated only by somebody who has proficiency in two languages as well as at least a
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working knowledge of medicine. Therefore, terms and words have to be chosen carefully for both
major and non-major receivers.
To sum up, it can be said that translation is a combination of science, art, and skill. It is a
science in the sense that it necessitates complete knowledge of the structure and make-up of the two
languages concerned. It is an art since it requires artistic talent to reconstruct the original text in the
form of a product that is presentable to the reader who is not supposed to be familiar with the original.
It is also a skill because it entails the ability to smooth over any difficulty in the translation, and the
ability to provide the translation of something that has no equal in the target language. As a result,
translation plays a very important part in the formation and shaping of any literature or culture, being
a window to the world, helping people to assimilate their sights and sounds while developing a culture
of their own.
III. Translation typology

The process of translation between two different languages involves the changing of an
original text (the source text or ST) in the original verbal language (the source language or SL) into a
written text (the target text or TT) in a different verbal language (the target language or TL):
Source text (ST) v n b n ngu n Target text (TT) v n b n đích

Source language (SL) ngôn ng ngu n Target language (TL) ngôn ng đích
E.g.: When a translator renders a book from English into Vietnamese, the SL is English and the TL is
Vietnamese.
- Source text-oriented translation (b n d ch thiên v b n g c) means rendering the message that is

as close as possible to that of the source text. It can be a “copy” of the original and it clearly
reflects the structure, tone and linguistic structures of the source text.
- Target text oriented translation (b n d ch thiên v ng i đ c/ng i nghe) means conveying the
information contained by the source text to a target text so that is fully comprehensible to the
readers/listeners. This might be altering the original structure, merging two sentences into a single
one or even changing the style of the text.
One goal of an empirical translation theory is to establish a comprehensive translation
typology. There are many kinds of translation, some more typical and widespread than others, and we
need a system of classification both for theoretical and practical purposes. Many scholars have
different ways of classifications. Here are some prominent typology:
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1. Jakobson’s semiotic classification
In his essay “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation”, Jakobson (1896–1982) arrived at three
forms of translation:
1. Intralingual translation / Rewording / Paraphrasing is the transference of verbal signs by
means of other signs of the same language. It occurs when we produce a summary, rephrase or rewrite
a text in the same language.
E.g.: blockchain a digital ledger that records transactions made in Bitcoin or another
cryptocurrency
2. Interlingual translation / Translation proper is the transference from one language into
another linguistic code. This has been the traditional focus of translation studies.
3. Intersemiotic translation /Transmutation is the transference of meaning from a verbal to a
non-verbal sign system. It occurs when a written text is translated into a different mode, such as music,
film or painting.
E.g.: The film Harry Potter was adapted from the same novel of J.K.Rowling.
Task 2: Choose the correct answer for each question.

1. ………… is the translation within the same language
A. Interlingual translation C. Intralingual translation
B. Intersemiotic translation D. Transmutation
2. Translation from one language to another is termed ………
A. Translation proper C. Intralingual translation
B. Intersemiotic translation D. Rewording
3. ……… is the conversion of text from one script to another.
B. Intersemiotic translation D. Transmutation
4. The translation of ‘absolute monopoly” as “đ c quy n tuy t đ i” is termed …………
B. Intersemiotic Translation D. Transmutation
5. The translation of “déjà vu” as “the strange feeling that in some way you have already experienced
what is happening now, but in reality you haven’t” is termed …………
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6. The translation of “t ng s n ph m qu c n i” as “Gross Domestic Product (GDP)” is termed ……..
7. The adaptation of the book “Lords of the Ring” into movie is termed …………….
A. Interlingual translation C. Intralingual translation
8. Which of the following is an example of Transmutation?
A. “Monetary policy” is translated as “chính sách ti n t ”.
B. “Accountability” is translated as “responsibility”.
C. “Accountability” is translated as “trách nhi m (gi i trình)”.
D. “x is more than y” is translated as “x > y”.
9. Which of the following is NOT an example of Transmutation?
A. “ ABC = DEF” is translated as “triangle ABC is congruent to triangle DEF”.
B. f x dx” is translated as “a function whose derivative is f”
C. “2 + 7 = 9” is translated as “two plus seven equals nine”.
D. “A is a subset of B” means “A là t p h p con c a B”.
10. Which of the following is an example of Translation proper?
A. “Spear phishing” is translated as “the fraudulent act of sending emails ostensibly from a different
person's account in order to obtain confidential information”.
B. “Fixed cost” is translated as “chi phí c đ nh”
C. “Aesthetic” is translated as “relating to beauty or refined taste”.
D. “f(x) = x/2” means “f of x equals x divided by 2”.
2. Binary classifications
a) Semantic vs. Communicative translation
- Semantic translation gives highest priority to the meaning and form of the original, and is
appropriate to translations of source texts that have high status, such as religious texts, legal texts,
and ministerial speeches.
- Communicative translation is freer, and gives priority to the effectiveness of the message to be
communicated. These are texts like advertisements, tourist brochures, product descriptions and
instructions, manuals.
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E.g.: I do myself the honor of calling her as soon as after my arrival in Hanoi.
 Semantic translation: Tôi cho phép mình vinh d đ c th m cô y ngay sau chuy n đáp đ n Hà N i.
 Communicative translation: Tôi ghé th m nàng ngay khi tôi đ n Hà N i.
Task 3: Decide if the following translations are Semantic or Communicative.

1. I would like to make a few comments. Tôi mu n bình lu n đôi câu.
2. I have just returned from a visit to my landlord Tôi v a m i tr v t chuy n ghé th m ng i
ch nhà c a tôi.
3. I don’t want to talk to him whom I will be troubled with. Mình ch mu n tôi chuy n v i h n
đâu dây d a r rà l m.
4. V n đ n y không th gi i quy t đ c. This problem cannot be solved.
Task 4: Translate these sentences semantically and communicatively.

1. Nh g i th cho mình nhé.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Hàng hóa n y bán đ t nh tôm t i.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Oh my God! Oil price is rising again!
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. One day you’ll find someone who doesn’t care about your past because they want to be your future.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
b) Covert vs. Overt translation (House)
- Covert translation is a translation intended not to be recognized by target readers as
translations. In other words, it is so natural that they do not seem distinguishable from non-
translated texts of the same kind in the target language.
E.g.: The translations of advertisements and newspaper articles.
- Overt translation is a translation intended to be recognized as translations, because it is more
closely linked with the source culture.
E.g.: The translations of political speeches, songs, poems.
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c) Documentary vs. Instrumental translation (Nord)
- Instrumental translation (d ch công c ) is a translation which functions as an instrument of
communication. It works independently of a source text, and is judged on how well it expresses
its message. It is not to produce a maximally accurate representation of the original text.
E.g.: The translation of a refrigerator manual, the translation of “Cinderalla” for children.
- Documentary translation (d ch t li u) serves as a document of a source culture communication
between the author and the source text recipient. Since the translated version can be used as a
document or reference, it is required to be faithful to the original text.
E.g.: business contract, certificate, Donald Trump’s speech.
d) Written translation vs. Oral translation/Interpretation

- Written translation: is a kind of translation in which a translator studies written material in the
source language and reproduces it in written form in the target language.
- Interpretation: is a kind of translation in which an interpreter listens to a spoken message in the
source language and renders it orally in the target language.
3. Back translation
It means translating a word, phrase, or sentence multiple times between two languages until
both translations yield the same phrase. It has 3 steps:
- Translate from Language 1 to Language 2
- Translate from Language 2 to Language 1
- Repeat until all discrepancies have been fixed
4. Machine translation
Machine translation is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of
software to translate text or speech from one language to another.
Task 5: Choose some appropriate translation types for each kind of documents.
1. Legal documents: ...................................................................................................
2. A recipe ...................................................................................................
3. Laptop manual ...................................................................................................
4. Brochures ...................................................................................................
5. Inauguration speech of Obama..................................................................................................
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Task 6: Match the words with the correct definitions.
A. Intralingual translation B. Interlingual translation C. Semantic translation
D. Intersemiotic translation E. Communicative translation F. Covert translation
G. Documentary translation H. Instrumental translation I. Overt translation
1. It is the transference of meaning from a verbal to a non-verbal sign system.
2. It is a translation intended not to be recognized by target readers as translations.
3. It is the transference of verbal signs by means of other signs of the same language.
4. It gives priority to the effectiveness of the message, focusing on factors such as readability and
naturalness, and is appropriate to translations of “pragmatic” texts where the actual form of the
original is not closely bound to its intended meaning.
5. It is the transference from one language into another or reinterpretation of the message in another
linguistic code.
6. It functions as an instrument of communication, working independently of a source text, and is
judged on how well it expresses its message.
7. It gives highest priority to the meaning and form of the original, and is appropriate to translations
of source texts that have high status.
8. It is a translation intended to be recognized as translation, because it is more closely linked with
the source culture.
9. It is a bit like reported speech, presenting itself as a report of something else.
Task 7: Each word below depicts a characteristic of translation or interpretation. Put them into
the correct column.
fluency, write, dictionaries, speak, real-time, note-taking, business meeting, delayed, verbal,
accuracy, highly aesthetic, time pressure, legal contract, refinement, microphone
…………………………… ……………………………
…………………………… ……………………………
…………………………… ……………………………
…………………………… ……………………………
…………………………… ……………………………
…………………………… ……………………………
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IV. Codes of ethics
1. Accuracy and completeness: Translators/Interpreters have to select the
language that most accurately conveys the content and spirit of the clients’
message. They cannot not alter, make additions to, or omit anything that can
influence the accuracy of the message.
2. Confidentiality: Translators/Interpreters shall respect their clients’ right to privacy and
confidentiality. Confidential information shall not be disclosed without authorization.
3. Impartiality of non-egotism: Translators/Interpreters shall be impartial and unbiased, maintain
professional detachment and refrain from inappropriate self-promotion.
4. No conflict of interest: Translators/Interpreters shall disclose any conflict of interest.
5. Professional development: Translators/Interpreters shall maintain and improve their skills and
knowledge through professional training/education and interactions with colleagues and specialists in
related fields. Translators/Interpreters will refrain from accepting assignments beyond their
professional skills, language fluency, or level of training.
Task 8: Find solutions for each following situation.

a. You have provided a wrong translation of important information in a contract and this might cause
disastrous consequences. What code of ethics is violated?
.............................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................
b. You have just found out that today you have to interpret for your love rival in a big conference.
You really don’t like him. Moreover, he is going with the girl you like. However, you still accept the
assignment. What code of ethics is violated?
.............................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................
c. Your employer wants you to translate part of the Qu’ran Holy Book. In fact, you have little
knowledge and interest in Muslim. What code of ethics is violated?
.............................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................
d. You have added some parts into the translation of a legal document and received some money for
this action. What code of ethics is violated?
.............................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................
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V. Translation principles
An ideal translation should be:
1. Accurate (Tín): Reproducing as exactly as possible the meaning of the source text.
2. Beautiful (Nhã): Using natural forms in a way that is appropriate to the target language.
3. Communicative/Natural ( t): Expressing all aspects of source text in a way that is
understandable to the intended audience.
Task 9: Identify what principle is violated in the following translations.

1. C m ng i đi u khi n các lo i xe có mùi bia r u. It’s forbidden to drive car with alcoholic smell.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. S thi u v n đ ti n hành c nh tranh dài h n là nguyên nhân ch y u đ d n đ n s s p đ c a 80%
s công ty. Cash flow problem for long-term competition is the main cause for the shutdown of
80% of all companies.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. Tuyên d ng công tr ng c a y ban Th ng v Qu c H i. (Article heading). Recognition for
achievements of National Assembly Standing Committee
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. Ng i dân Hu v n gi đ c phong cách tao nhã, v d u dàng và s tr m l ng c a đ t th n kinh.
Hue native people still keep the refined manners, the gentleness and quietness of the crazy land.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. Chúc quý khách th ng l bình an. => Wish you the upper road of peace!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. Justin Bieber re-stuck in a Nipplegate scandal (Article heading -Guardian). => Justine Bieber l i b
dính ch u vào m t v xì c ng đan l hàng.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. It is estimated that profits will increase sharply next year. => Nó đ c c tính r ng doanh thu s
t ng m nh n m t i.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. Cho tr em g p khó kh n đ c bi t! => For extremely difficult children!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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VI. Requirements for a professional translator/interpreter
1. Knowledge competence
Professional translators/interpreters must possess a wealth of general knowledge including:
- Subject/Domain knowledge - Contextual/Situational knowledge - Cultural knowledge
2. Linguistic competence
Linguistic proficiency means a fairly good command of the languages involved. Specifically,
it means acute reading and hearing, large vocabulary, precision and flexibility of expression, etc.
Constant exposure to different variety of English spoken and written texts is indisputably necessary.
3. Communication competence
Interpreters and translators must be skillful in using the right register for a given situation,
choosing the appropriate words to express different aspects of the same concepts, adopting suitable
non-verbal languages (intonation pitches, gestures, ..), recognizing intentional and unintentional
verbal language, as well as manipulating information mining, retrieval and management, etc.
Task 10: Choose the best answer for each question.

1. A translator should master a wide knowledge of nutrition and diseases if he has to translate in a
medical setting. What kind of criteria is it?
A. Knowledge competence B. Linguistic competence C. Interpreting competence
2. A translator misused the word “Negro” to indicate the Black people. What criteria did he violate?
3. An interpreter tries to add more information to the interpreting process, explaining what
mitochondria or metabolism is to a group ordinary listeners. What is the requirement of his
professional job and should he do it?
A. Knowledge competence – he shouldn’t do it C. Linguistic competence – he should do it
B. Translating competence – he should and has to do it
4. An interpreter is always speaking with monotonous voice and slow speed. What criteria of
interpretation did he violate?
5. Lý Lan translated Harry Potter by using extensively and beautifully a wide variety of Vietnamese
synonyms to explain fantasy world, such as “T th n th c t ” for “the Death Eaters”. What criteria
of translation did she master?
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VII. Further practice
Task 11: Find 2 examples for each translation issues.
1. Intralingual translation: …………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Intersemiotic translation: …………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Covert translation: …………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Overt translation: …………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Instrumental translation: …………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Documentary translation: …………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Task 12: Read the statements and decide if they are TRUE or FALSE.
1. If you have a good knowledge of two languages, you can translate well.
2. Translators cannot be replaced by computers.
3. Translators just need good dictionaries or reference documents.
4. Translation and interpreting are totally different.
5. I know Portuguese and Finnish, so I can translate those languages well.
6. Translation has existed longer than interpretation.
7. Semantic translation means rendering the message that is as close as possible to that of the target
text.
8. Translation means a change in form and meaning.
9. Translators/Interpreters don’t have to respect their clients’ right to privacy and confidentiality.
10. Criteria for a professional translator are knowledge competence and linguistic competence.
11. Translation is the process of conveying messages across linguistic barriers.
12. The adaptation of the book “Harry Potter” into movie is termed Translation proper.
13. Slogan is an example of covert translation.
14. Documentary translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect as closely as possible to
that obtained on the readers of the original.
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CHAPTER 2: TRANSLATION THEORIES
I. Rationale for Translation studies
The study of translation as an academic subject began in the second half of the twentieth
century. In the English-speaking world, this discipline is now generally known as “translation
studies”, thanks to the Dutch-based scholar James S. Holmes (1924–1986). There are four reasons
explaining why translation studies has become more prominent.
First, there has been a vast expansion in specialized translating and interpreting programs at
both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. These programs are mainly oriented towards training
future professional commercial translators and interpreters and serve as highly valued entry-level
qualifications for the professions. Take the example of 2010, the keyword search “translation”
revealed over twenty institutions offering a combined total of 143 MA programs. These may include
MAs in applied translation studies, scientific and technical translation, conference and bilateral
interpreting, audiovisual translation, sign interpretation, etc.
Second, there have been various conferences, books and journals on translation in many
languages. Longer-standing international translation studies journals such as Babel (the Netherlands)
and Meta (Canada), The Translator (UK) in 1995, etc. can be accessed online freely. There are also
various professional publications dedicated to the practice of translation.
Third, the number of international publications has increased, so has the demand for general
and analytical instruments such as anthologies, databases, encyclopedias, and handbooks. Their
number is ever-growing. Among these are Translation Studies (Bassnett 1980), Contemporary
Translation Theories (Gentzler, 2001), Introducing Translation Studies (Munday, 2008), etc.
Fourth, international organizations have also prospered. In more recent years, translation
studies scholars have banded together nationally and internationally in bodies such as the Canadian
Association for Translation Studies (CATS, founded in Ottawa in 1987), the European Association
for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST, Cardiff, 1995), the American Translation and Interpreting
Studies Association (ATISA, Kent, OH, 2002) and the International Association of Translation and
Intercultural Studies. As a result, international conferences on a wide variety of themes are held in an
increasing number of countries, leading to the development of translation studies.
To sum up, from being a relatively quiet backwater in the early 1980s, translation studies has
now become one of the most active and dynamic new areas of research encompassing an exciting mix
of approaches.
(Adapted from www.routledgetranslationstudiesportal.com)
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II. Descriptive translation studies (DTS) of Holmes
Holmes draws attention to the limitations imposed at the time for this translation studies, and
puts forward an overall framework describing what translation studies covers. This framework was
subsequently presented by the leading Israeli scholar Gideon Toury as in the Figure below.
Figure 2-1: Holme’s map of Translation studies
1. The descriptive branch of “Pure” research in Holmes‘s map is known as Descriptive translation
studies (DTS). It examines: (1) the product; (2) the function; and (3) the process.
- Product-oriented DTS involves the description or analysis of a single ST–TT pair or a
comparative analysis of several TTs of the same ST. These smaller-scale studies can build up into
a larger body of translation analysis looking at a specific period, language or text/discourse type.
Examples would be translation in the twenty-first century, in the English-Vietnamese language
pair, or of scientific reports.
- Function-oriented DTS means the description of the function of translations in the recipient
sociocultural situations. For example, the study of the translation and reception of Shakespeare
into European languages, or the subtitling of contemporary cartoon films into Arabic. Nowadays
it would probably be called the sociology and historiography of translation.
- Process-oriented DTS is concerned with the psychology of translation, i.e. what happens in the
mind of a translator. Work from a cognitive perspective includes think-aloud protocols (where
recordings are made of translators‘verbalization of the translation process as they translate). More
recent research using new technologies such as eye-tracking shows how this area is now being
more systematically analyzed.
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2. As regards Partial theories of translation, there are some basic terms:
- Medium-restricted DTS subdivide according to translation by medium. E.g.: automatic machine
translation, computer-assisted translation, consecutive or simultaneous interpretation.
- Area-restricted DTS are restricted to specific languages, groups of languages, or cultures.
Language-restricted theories (e.g. for the Japanese-English pair) are closely related to work in
contrastive linguistics and stylistics.
- Rank-restricted DTS have been restricted to a level of the words or sentences.
- Text-type restricted DTS look at discourse types and genres. E.g.: literary, business and technical
translation.
- Time-restricted DTS refer to theories and translations limited according to specific time frames
and periods. E.g.: The history of translation in Vietnam.
- Problem-restricted DTS refer to certain problems. E.g.: Non-equivalence between Vietnamese
and English language.
3. The ”Applied‘ branch of Holmes‘s framework concerns applications to the practice of translation:
- Translator training: teaching methods, testing techniques, curriculum design...
- Translation aids: dictionaries, grammars, IT applications.
- Translation criticism: the evaluation of translations, including the marking of student
translations and the reviews of published translations.
(Adapted from “The Name and Nature of Translation Studies” of James S. Holmes)
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Task 1: Answer the following questions
1. Who was the first person that raised the notion of “Translation studies as a discipline”?
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2. List three reasons which make Translation studies more prominent in the contemporary time.
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3. List 3 famous translation works from other languages into Vietnamese.
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4. List three translational categories of James Holmes’ theory.
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5. What are the three branches of Applied translation studies (DTS) in Holmes‘framework? Give 2
examples of each.
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6. What are the five branches of Partial theories of translation studies in Holmes‘framework? Give 2
examples of each.
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7. Which of the following is an advantage of Descriptive translation studies?
A. It is systematic and allows different studies to be compared.
B. It provides a replicable framework for research.
C. It helps to evaluate the quality of a TT.
D. It is used to assess the quality of a translation
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III. Historical background of Translation studies
1. Ancient time
Two of the first translation theorists were Cicero and Horace. Cicero was a Roman philosopher
who translated Greek philosophical works into Latin. He was of the view that translations should
capture the essence of the original (“sense for sense” rendition) rather than ‘word for word’
translation. The other major figure is Horace, the great Roman poet. He stated translation was a mean
of enriching language and literature. He, like Cicero, did not believe in exact rendering of words into
the other language.
It should be remembered that most of the educated Romans knew Greek, so translation from
Greek into Latin was for those who appreciated the beauty of Latin language. There was no need to
translate word for word. It was enough if they were able to reproduce the spirit of the original SL
work. It also worth noting that in this period a certain license in translation was acceptable.
2. The Medieval time
As Christianity flourished, it became necessary to translate the Bible which was originally in
Hebrew into other languages. For example, Wycliffe’s Bible was written in simple English so that it
could be understood by ordinary people. William Tyndale was another figure who translated the Bible
into Greek. These translations strengthened the English language and weakened the position of Latin
as a superior language. In fact, the Bible translations were considered a defiance of the clergy who
believed that the right to understand and interpret the Bible rested only with them. The clergy believed
it was a sin to interfere with the word of God. Consequently, John Wycliffe was the person who had
to face the extreme punishment of burning for his English translation of the Bible. Other translators
were also persecuted by the church.
Besides these religious exercises, secular translations helped in the formation and
standardization of the English language. One major figure was King Alfred the Great of Wessex.
Alfred is primarily remembered for upholding the pride of Anglo-Saxons and resisting the attacks of
the invading Viking tribes. After consolidating his triumphs and establishing a stable kingdom, Alfred
realized that his kingdom did not have much to boast about in terms of culture and literature.
Therefore, he launched a project of translations of classical works into Old English. These translations
had a specific mission to educate ordinary people in morals and to familiarize them with the culture
of other languages. Alfred himself was a translator, and the chief of his works were the Roman
Christian philosopher Boethius’s Consolations of Philosophy and St. Augustine’s Soliloquies. These
works acted like handbooks in moral philosophy, contributing to the evolution of English. They also
instilled the pride of Englishness and the English language in his people.
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On the whole, the translation at this time had to be faithful to the original and the message
had to be accurate. Translations thus had moral and didactic purposes, as different from the classical
times when it was seen as part of the study of rhetoric and aesthetics.
3. The sixteenth century - Elizabethan age
The Elizabethan age played a significant role in the development of English. There were many
sea voyages being undertaken to parts of the globe and translations from other languages into English
became more popular. It should be noted that these translations were undertaken without much
concern about fidelity to the original. The translations were mostly from another translation of the
original, with the result that they were more of recreations of the original. One example is Sir Thomas
North’s translation of Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (1579). North did not know
Latin and translated Plutarch’s work from French. Plutarch was a Roman historian who had written
biographies of famous Greek and Roman men. This translation became an important source book for
Shakespeare when he wrote his historic plays like Julius Caesar.
One of the first person to come up with a theoretical framework for translation was a
Frenchman called Etienne Dolet. In 1540, he wrote a book called How to Translate Well from One
Language into Another with 5 principles on which the translator should operate:
1. The translator should understand the SL text and be able to capture its sense
2. The translator should be competent in both the SL and TL
3. The translator should not be literal in translation
4. The translator should use common idiomatic language
5. The translator should reproduce the correct tone of the original by a careful use of words
 Dolet’s principles reveal a change in attitude to translation. He emphasizes that the translator
should be able to capture the tone of the original text where the translator has to be sensitive to the
cultural differences too. Dolet’s views on translation were considered to be valid by his
contemporaries and are taken seriously by translation theorists today.
4. The seventeenth century
The 17th century emphasised on order and reasoning. The major translators of this age are John
Denham, Alexander Pope, and John Dryden. John Denham believed that the task of the translator was
to extract the essence of the SL text and reproduce it with maximum effect in the TL. He believed that
the translator could take a few liberties in the process. Alexander Pope asserted that translators had a
moral duty to the readers, namely of conveying the spirit of the original texts. Thus, he believed that
it is alright to add to a text if it does not harm its spirit.
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However, the main figure in this time is John Dryden who was an influential critic and poet.
He outlined three basic methods of translation:
1. Metaphrase: Word for word translation
2. Paraphrase: Sense for sense (figurative) translation
3. Imitation: This is like adaptation where the SL text is set aside and recreated in the TL
Dryden personally preferred the paraphrase method which was the middle path between the
other two. He also had a set of criteria to evaluate the skills of a translator/interpreter. The translator
had a moral duty both to his/her original and also to the reader to capture the spirit of the SL text. We
find the notion of the ‘master writer’ and ‘servant translator’ beginning to emerge at this time.
5. The eighteenth century
The concept of translation as a painting and the translator as an imitator are more important
in the 18th century, believing that a translator should be like a painter who depicted the original with
loyalty.
The 18th century also saw the first book on translation theory in English, Alexander Fraser
Tytler’s The Principles of Translation published in 1741. He believed that the translator should
capture “the soul and the body” of the original texts. By the 17th and 18th century translator/interpreter
was expected to be an expert in the SL and its culture. Translation was seen as secondary and expected
to convey the SL text fairly accurately.
6. The Romantic age - late eighteenth century
The Romantic Age, in which Imagination became important in creativity, saw a change in
attitudes to translation. Creativity was valued very much and translation that did not require that much
of creativity was seen as a secondary activity that derived from the primary act of writing poetry. The
poet Shelley was of this view. However, there was a lot of translation activity going on during this
period. German authors like Goethe were translated into English and English writers like Walter Scott
and Lord Byron were translated into French and Italian.
In this context we should remember the German philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768
1834) who was of the view that translations should use a language that retains the “foreignness” of
the original so that readers could get a taste of the original work. Schleiermacher’s model is a much
discussed one in translation theory today.
7. The early nineteenth century
The early nineteenth century believed that the purpose of translation was to bring the readers
close to the original, so the translators had to be completely faithful to the original and should not
allow themselves to be carried away by personal interpretations. For example, Longfellow who
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translated Dante’s Divine Comedy and Rubaiyaat said: “The business of a translator is to report what
the author says, not to explain what he means; that is the work of the commentator”. Another example
is William Morris, a poet. He believed that translations should capture all the peculiarities and
‘foreignness’ of the original and pass them on to the readers. His translations of Homer, therefore, are
difficult to read because they attempted to convey the archaic nature of the texts that he was
translating. But they were very highly regarded by critics and readers of that time.
8. The late nineteenth century (colonial time) to the present
The spread of colonialism drew the world together and discovered unknown languages and
literatures. There were two opposite viewpoints on translation one thought that it was alright to take
liberties and the other viewed that translators had to be faithful to the original work. On one hand,
many translations had a lot of archaisms in it, sometimes the effect was very far from that of the
original. For instance, the American poetic movement called Imagism drew inspiration from classical
Chinese and Japanese poetry an example being the American poet Ezra Pound. His work Cathay
was a translation of Chinese poetry. Although these translations were like a ‘discovery’ of the east by
the west, it often presented a distorted version of the original. The Japanese poetic form of ‘haiku’
was also the source for many Imagists who emphasized images rather than drawn out poetic language.
On the other hands, there were many writers and translators who saw translation as a secondary
activity for scientific and economic purposes to penetrate into the multidimensional world, which does
not require much of creativity. These two viewpoints have still been in debate up to now, and the
major concerns about the autonomy of the text and translators have still existed.
Translation Studies as a discipline started emerging in the second half of the 20th century,
when Catford’s book published in 1965 set the stage for translation studies as a discipline in England.
Today Translation was no longer seen as a secondary activity but it is a discipline itself, drawing from
various fields of study. It should also be noted that the theoretical framework of translation studies is
connected to the practice of translation. The theory of translation studies is informed by the
experiences of translation and this makes the area vibrant and alive.
As for machine translation, efficient though they may be, computers can never really
understand language in all its nuances and subtle variations. Languages are the living expressions of
cultures, of social settings, traditions and the history of the peoples who speak them, a reflection of
the characters and moods of the writers/speakers, their social backgrounds, and their intentions. Only
the brain of a human translator is fit enough to fully grasp the multi-faceted manifestations of the
combinations of these characteristics in a foreign tongue in the respective context and render them
correctly. Hence, the use of machine translation is still limited to a certain extent.
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1. Who were the two outstanding representatives of translation in the Ancient Roman time?
A. Cicero & Horace
B. John Wycliffe & Cicero
C. John Wycliffe & William Tyndale
2. What kind of translation was used in the Ancient Roman time?
A. Sense-for-sense B. Free translation C. Word-for-word
3. Which statement is CORRECT about translation at Ancient Roman time?
A. They translated for aesthetic purpose only.
B. They translated into Latin from Greek.
C. Translators were highly appreciated.
4. In translation theory, what was the contribution of Cicero?
A. He consolidated the word-for-word translation method popular in Ancient Rome.
B. He translated the speeches of Greek orators in a word-for-word fashion.
C. He translated the speeches of Greek orators through creative imitation.
D. He strictly followed the word-for-word translation.
5. What kind of translation was mainly used for the Bible in the Medieval time?
A. Sense-for-sense B. Free translation C. Word-for-word
6. What happened to those who tried to translate the Bible in the Medieval time?
A. They were respected by clergy.
B. They were punished and burnt to death.
C. They were free to do what they liked.
7. What is another name of the sixteenth century?
A. The Medieval time B. The Romantic age C. The Elizabethan age
8. What work was created in the Elizabethan age?
A. Odyssey and Iliad
B. Montaigne
C. How to Translate Well from One Language into Another.
9. Who was the author of the “How to Translate Well from One Language into Another”?
A. George Chapman B. Sir Thomas North C. Etienne Dolet
10. Who raised the idea that a “translator should be able to capture the tone of the original text
where the translator has to be sensitive to the cultural differences too”?
A. Etienne Dolet B. Alexander Pope C. Alexander Fraser Tytler
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11. What CANNOT be assumed about the 17th century?
A. This era emphasized on order and reason.
B. The main figure of this time was Sir John Denham.
C. John Dryden outlined three basic methods of translation
12. Which of the following is the most important point of Tytler’s “laws of translation”?
A. Accuracy to the source text content
B. Preservation of the author’s way of writing
C. Naturalness of target language expression
13. What does it mean “paraphrase” by John Dryden?
A. Word-for-word B. Sense-for-sense C. Free translation
14. is translating an author word-by-word and line-by-line from one language to another.
A. Metaphrase B. Paraphrase C. Imitation
15. At what time did the notion of “foreignness” first appear?
A. The early 18th century B. the late 18th century C. the 19th century
16. At what time emerged the idea that “a translator should be like a painter who depicted the
original with loyalty”?
A. the 17th century B. the 18th century C. the 19th century
17. Which statement is CORRECT about the colonial time?
A. There were two diametrically opposite viewpoints on translation.
B. The translators had to be completely faithful to the original.
C. The translation could not have any archaisms in it
18. What could be assumed about the Translation Studies today?
A. How to translate a work literally or figuratively is still in debate.
B. Many scholars still do not consider Translation Studies as a discipline.
C. Translation should be considered as a secondary activity.
19. in translation is being faithful and accurate to the SL text.
A. Distortion B. Fidelity C. Decoding
20. Which statement is CORRECT about the translation studies in the 20th century?
A. There is still a debate between faithfulness and creativity in translation
B. Machine translation will soon substitute human beings.
C. Translation is still considered as a secondary activity
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IV. Early theories of translation studies
1. Formalism (Hình th c lu n)
Formalism refers to an early 20th-century literary movement in Russia whose theoreticians
believed that a literary text has to be considered by itself based on its structural aspects of language
and grammar without the preoccupations with the intrinsic meaning or deep structure of a text. They
also subscribed to the concept of “defamiliarization” - which is the ability to make even the most
ordinary things new by special use of language. They believed that the literary quality of a text is
determined by the language it uses. Early translation theorists also believed in defamiliarization in
that they did not take efforts to smoothen the translation by catering to TL readers. They also asserted
that translators could arrive at the meaning of a text if they had a purpose clearly outlined. This theory
appears naive and uninformed today, but it still is the guiding principle for most translators who
believe that their task is to communicate meaning from one language to another and that it can be
done, provided one understood what the “real” meaning of that text is.
2. Czech and Slovak influence
Jirí Levý and Anton Popovic could be seen as two scholars who provided the link between the
early and later phases of translation theory. Jirí Levý (1926 – 1967) was a Czech theorist who is
primarily known for his work Literary Translation published in 1963. He was influenced by the
principles of Russian Formalism, but he went beyond them. He believed that the translation should
succeed in producing the same effect in its receptor language culture as the SL text had in its own.
Language was seen as a code that followed certain rules. Levy's concept of translation involved not
just superficial code-changing but also interpretation. However, his focus was more on surface
structure of language like stylistic features than meaning. In his concept of translation, the literary
components could be isolated and recoded in another language system. This by itself is not a problem
in a monolingual situation, but this acquires another dimension in the context of translation. The
meaning that is constituted by one language need not be the same when it is transcribed in another
language. The translated text thus becomes unstable; it is not a unified work, but one that is full of
tension and contradictions because the content is intertextually constructed.
Popovic (1933 – 1984), a Slovak theorist, is known for the concept of “shifts” in translation
theories. His perspective was more comprehensive in that he acknowledged the losses and gains that
inhered in the translation process and analyzed the changes that occurred in the translated text.
Popovic was of the view that shifts occur because of cultural and linguistic differences. The translators
had to make compromises in translation to recapture something of the original in the translated text.
These shifts have to be analyzed for they tell a lot about the SL text as well as the translator and the
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process of translation. His theory, in addition to the focus on structural aspects, also had a cultural
dimension to it.
The drawback of the theories of Levý and Popovic was this emphasis on structure rather than
content. These theories might work well with modernist texts in which language plays a major role,
but they might be inadequate to deal with older texts where language and linguistic elements alone
did not make a work of art. Moreover, the emphasis on form rather than content could lead the way
to a complete dissociation of the text from its socio-cultural aspects and thus lead to its consideration
as an autonomous entity without reference to an external reality.
3. André Lefevere
Lefevere's Translating Poetry: Seven Strategies and a Blueprint published in 1975 showed a
pragmatic approach to the issue of translation. He described seven different methods of translation:
1. Phonemic translation: It tries to reproduce the sound of the SL in the TL, simultaneously
attempting to capture the sense. This is effective in translating onomatopoeic words but can often
become very awkward as the meaning gets lost in the process.
2. Literal translation: Word-for-word translation that might distort the meaning as well as the
stylistic aspects of the original.
3. Metrical translation: Translation in which there is an attempt at metrical reproduction. Like
literal translation, concentrating on the metre might result in distortion of sense and the overall
qualities of the text as a whole.
4. Poetry into prose: This can capture the sense, but the poetic qualities tend to get lost.
5. Rhymed translation: The translation tries to retain the rhyme scheme and metre of the original.
This can end up in very clumsy translation that does no justice to the source text.
6. Blank verse translation: The restrictions imposed by metre can distort the text. But Lefevere also
notes that this translation can achieve greater degree of accuracy.
7. Interpretation: Lefevere discusses versions and imitations under this head. Versions are those in
which the substance of the SL text is retained and the form is changed. Imitation is that in which
the translator produces a poem that is only marginally related to the SL text. Both are receptor-
friendly texts but they acquire that quality at the expense of the original text.
Lefevere preferred a translation that would impact the readers like the original with the SL
readers. He believed that the translator's task is precisely to render the source text, the original
author's interpretation of a given theme expressed in a number of variations, accessible to readers not
familiar with these variations, by replacing the original author's variation with their equivalents in a
different language, time place and tradition .
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4. Susan Bassnett
Susan Bassnett's Translation Studies published in 1980 demonstrates the reception of the early
scholars of the field. The book was and still is one of the best introductory works on the topic. Bassnett
seems to agree with two concepts of the early theorists:
- There is no single correct way of translating a text
- The translation has to be based on the comparison of the SL text's function or purpose in its
own context and the receptor-language context
Her approach is somewhat similar to the Russian Formalist concepts. She broadened the
reader's concept about what a translation should be, but she essentially seemed to accept the Formalist
idea of defamiliarization by which a translator could adopt foreign' terms and usages to preserve the
impact of the original. She is also one of the earliest theorists to have taken to the cultural turn in
Translation Studies, along with Lefevere.
5. Evaluation of Early theories
Despite differences in approach, all of them were of the view that the translated text must be
studied with reference to the source text in terms of similarities and differences. They tried to come
up with objective criteria to analyze the translation process. Their approach was a combination of the
synchronic and diachronic approaches in that it studied the text in itself and also looked at the
intertextual and socio-cultural aspects of the text. This demanded a lot of capability from the
individual translator and led to the collaboration of effort that we see in the field of translation studies
today. Scholars from various fields like linguistics, literature and socio-cultural theory are active in
the effort to evolve a systematic approach to the field.
From this phase onwards, translation theory is more focused on the process of translation and
we see a host of disparate fields coming together. Before this phase, writings on translation were
described as “intuitive” or they believed in the intuition of the translator to come up with an adequate
translation. However, the emergence of scholars like Lefevere and Holmes demanded a more
systematic approach to translation. The cultural aspect that has been factored into translation studies
today can also be traced back to these early scholars.
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V. Contemporary theories in translation studies
1. Linguistic approach
According to linguistic approach, any translation should be considered from the point of view
of its fundamental units; that is, the words, the syntactic structure and the sentences. Thus, scholars
who are concerned with this approach try to translate from one language to the other in order to
reproduce in the target language a message that is equivalent to that of the source text. One example
is the work of Vinay and Dabel, who classified the translation techniques into 7 small subsets (see
Chapter 3). The linguistic approach also introduced the notion of equivalence which sees the source
text as what determines the nature of the target text.
One major shortcoming of linguistic theory is that they do not pay much attention to the
contribution of the context to the understanding of the whole message or text. Studies conducted
within a linguistic-based approach to translation concentrated on the systematic relations between
units of the language systems, but often abstracted from aspects of their contextual use. A chosen TL-
form may well be correct according to the rules of the language system, but this does not mean that
the text appropriately fulfils its communicative function in the TL situation and culture.
E.g.: Th ng bé trông “th y ghét” ch a kìa! How damned the baby looks! (not appropriate in terms
of cultural context)
2. The hermeneutic approach
Hermeneutics can be defined as the science and methodology of interpreting texts. The
hermeneutic approach is mainly based on the work of George Steiner, who believes that any human
communication is a translation. In his book entitled “After Babel” (1975), Steiner explains that
translation is not a science but an “exact art”. He stated that a true translator should be capable of
becoming a writer in order to capture what the author of the original text “means to say.” The writer
may be an editor and that he may have used sources so that he could integrate subjectivity, corporeality
and creativity during the translation process. As a result, it can create an ideal translational practice
which focuses on translating meanings, not words.
George Steiner suggested three things should be taken. First, translators must take into account
the writer's purpose as well as the culture. Secondly, one must consider the narrator in the writing who
is usually different from the writer. Sometimes he is a real person, sometimes fictional. One must
determine his purpose in speaking and his cultural milieu, taking into consideration the fact that he
may be omnipresent and omniscient. One must also take into consideration the narratee within the
story and how he hears. One must reckon with the person or persons to whom the writing is addressed;
the reader, not always the same as the one to whom the writing is addressed; and later readers. Thirdly,
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one must consider the setting of writing, the genre (whether poetry, narrative, prophecy, etc.), the
figures of speech; the devices used, and, finally, the plot.
In conclusion, modern ideas on hermeneutics hold that that understanding and interpreting the
meaning of a source text involves actually three factors: the author, the text (or speech) and the
receptor. A proper understanding of these three factors is the first and foremost step of any translation
and must all be counted in so that meaning is best determined and a perfect piece of translation is
produced.
3. The sociolinguistic approach and Gideon Toury’s theory
a) The sociolinguistic approach
According to the sociolinguistic approach, the social context defines what is and is not
translatable, and what is or is not acceptable through selection, filtering and even censorship. Scholars
who favour this approach focus on setting up prototypes of genres, trying to identify parallel texts
across languages and cultures by doing a systematic comparison of genres in both the source culture
and the target culture (Schaeffner, 2001). This enables translators to adapt the text to the conventions
of the target culture. Thus, scholars believe that a translation goes beyond language to cultural
considerations. This approach is associated with the School of Tel Aviv and figures such as Annie
Brisset and Guideon Toury.
E.g.: N m 1750, ông đ c th ng ch c Th ng Th B L i. In 1750, he was promoted to be
Thuong Thu Bo Lai – equal to the position of a Minister of Home Affairs.
b) Gideon Toury’s theory
Toury believed that translations were somewhere in the middle between two opposing poles –
that of complete equivalence or correspondence with the source text, and of complete acceptability in
the target language. He maintained that no translation can ever be completely acceptable in a receptor
culture as it will have many new elements that cannot easily be assimilated. The converse is also true
that no translation can ever be completely true to the source language as it will be governed by
different cultural norms.
c) Toury's Concept of Translation Norms
Norms can defined as a system of interrelated factors including linguistic-cultural- historical
rules that determine translation products. These norms derive from both the source language and target
language perspectives. Toury focused on the actual relationships between the source text and the
translation. According to him, there will be a set of multiple norms in any society at a particular period
in time. This means that there might be some different translations of the same text in different time
periods in the same culture.
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d) Three Kinds of Norms
- Preliminary norms are those which influence the translation strategy, for example: those factors
that govern the choice of text types; the directness of translation, to what extent the audience of the
target language can tolerate. These are the preliminary norms in the process of translation, and lie
outside the personal preference of the translator.
- Initial norms are the personal decisions that translators have to make with respect to translation
strategy. For instance, should translators remain close to the source text or should they be more
loyal to the target language?
- Operational norms are those rules directing the decisions made during the act of translation. This
is influenced by the position occupied by the translated text in the target culture.
e) Contributions of Toury’s theory
Toury's theory has contributed to translation studies in many ways. His theories brought in
socio-cultural factors that were largely ignored in the process of translation. The biggest advantage of
Toury's theory was that translation is considered an empirical activity undertaken in the real world,
and that translators are people driven by their ideology in their choice of translations. Translation then
becomes an activity that spreads beyond the purely linguistic and literary realms with far-reaching
implications in the actual world.
4. Eugene Nida’s theory
The journey of Translation Studies towards a more scientific and systematic methodology was
pioneered by Eugene Nida, an influential force in the field of translation theory in the U.S. Nida in his
essay “Theories of Translation” outlined four major perspectives in translation theory, and these
categories are not always antagonistic but complementary and supplementary.
a) Philological Perspective
It is concerned about the accuracy of translations and the “faithfulness' to the SL text. This
became a primary focus especially in the case of Bible translations. Nida says that practitioners of this
approach realized the narrowness of its focus and acknowledged that other linguistic and cultural
aspects need to be factored into the process of translation.
b) Linguistic Perspective
This focuses on finding the equivalence by means of linguistic elements such as rules of
grammar, content, meaning, etc. It is also valuable for computer-aided machine translation. This
encouraged interest in the ordinary use of language and helped to avoid a naive belief in the reliability
of natural language.
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c) Communicative Perspective
Nida points out that an understanding of the ways in which language is used in interpersonal
relationships in any given society is crucial to the act of translation. Emphasis on the communicative
aspects would also mean that the translator is primarily concerned about the translatability of
languages. The functions of language (informative, expressive, imperative, and cognitive) have great
influence on translation. In this context Nida points out how, contrary to popular perception, the
informative function is perhaps the least important of all functions of language. According to Nida,
the minimal requirement for adequacy of a translation would be that the receptor language readers are
made aware of the emotional and cognitive responses of the source language readers to the text.
Maximal requirement would be that the responses of the receptor language readers are similar to those
of the source language ones.
d) Sociosemiotic perspective
This perspective views communication as an act that involves numerous codes embedded in
the socio-cultural context and communication will be influenced by all these factors. For example, the
impact of a verbal message is not that of words alone, but of extralinguistic and paralinguistic aspects
like the background of the speaker, his/her sincerity, knowledge and expertise etc. Here, Ttranslation
that takes all these factors into account will be sensitive to source and receptor socio-lingual codes.
Nida outlines the advantages of the sociosemiotic approach:
- It perceives language as the offshoot of a host of socio-cultural factors and hence rooted in the
everyday world of reality, rather than in an ideal speaker community.
- It can be verbally creative as its focus is on actually spoken language; it is not bound by reductive
rules of language.
- It does not conceive of language as a rigid system with clear cut boundaries and a well
established meaning underlying it. It acknowledges the malleability of language and the
indeterminacy of meaning.
- It takes into account the interdisciplinary nature of codes, which tends to expand the boundaries
of translation activity.
a) Contributions of Nida s theory
Nida is one of the many influential translation theorists. He gave a theoretical and scientific
bent to translation that was thought to be a secondary and derivative activity in the U.S. Nida has
made valuable contribution to translation theory. He helped to focus attention on the socio-cultural
contexts of language and literary texts. His concepts of formal and dynamic equivalence remain useful
and relevant even today. However, he does not trust his readers to understand the text by themselves
31
and polishes it according to his tastes. The result is a text that is doctored to avoid the inherent
ambiguities and instabilities of all literary works. In other words, Nida provides an excellent model
for translation for a manipulative purpose (like the translation of the Bible) but that his theory fails to
become a science.
5. The literary approach and polysystem theory
In the 1970s, the literary approach to translation theory emerged, partly as a response to the
linguistic theories. According to the literary approach, a translation should not be considered a
linguistic endeavor but a literary one. Language has an “energy”: this is manifested through words,
which are the result of experiencing a culture. This change is what gives translation strength and
ultimately, meaning: this is what the translation-writer should translate.
Key elements of this new literary approach are the writings of the Manipulation School;
systems theories; and Gideon Toury’s Descriptive translation studies (DTS), which tries to identify
laws in translation. At the Leuven Conference in 1976, Even-Zohar presented a paper entitled “The
Position of Translated Literature in the Literary Polysystem” where he considers the position of
translated literature within the literary, cultural and historical contexts of the target culture. He does
not advocate the study of individual translations but rather views the body of translated works as a
system working within and reacting to a literary system, which, in turn, is working within and
reacting to the historical, social and cultural systems of the particular target audience. Therefore,
the notion of polysystem emerged.
a) Polysystem theory (thuy t đa h th ng)
This theory views translations from a more comprehensive perspective by locating them within
the context of the literature and of the receptor language. System in this context means a total
combination of all literary traditions, genres, social conventions, prejudices, and even a literary work,
etc. A literary work is not studied in isolation but as part of a literary system (social, cultural, literary
and historical framework), and a translated literature which is being imported to a country can
influence the native writings.
b) The position of translation and its influence on receptor culture
The literature of every country consists of “original” writings and “translated” writing. Each
of these kinds can occupy the central position (primary position) or peripheral one (secondary
position) in the literary system of a country. Moreover, different literatures and genres, including
translated and non-translated works, compete for dominance. Therefore, translated literature not only
is as an integral system within any literary system, but as a most active system within it.
32
- The primary position
There are three situations in which translated literature would maintain a primary position:
(a) When an emerging literature from a relatively new culture adopts translations from more
established literatures in order to fill the gaps within its own system, due to it being unable to instantly
create a wide range of text types and genres. Translated literature introduces features and techniques
that did not previously exist, such as new poetic structures.
(b) When a smaller nation is dominated by the culture of a larger nation, it may rely on imported
literature from the dominant culture in order to keep its literary system dynamic, as well as being
possibly the only source available for the creation of new genres. For example, the influence of Tang
poetry (Th ng lu t) on Vietnamese poetic system.
(c) When there are turning points in literary history, such as when established forms lose popularity
or when there is no existing model. This could conceivably be the role that Harry Potter occupies in
Chinese Mandarin.
In the first two cases translations play an important part because the language/literature is
inadequate to express a wide range of experiences in the contemporary world. Translations can also
bring in a whole new set of literary genres that are nonexistent in the literature of that language. Even-
Zohar believed that this is true of translations into a language like Hebrew. Here translated works were
not only sources of new ideas, but also the works to which the creative writers in that language looked
up to.
- The secondary position
This case happens when translation occupies a secondary position in strong literary traditions
like English or French. In such situations, there has already existed norms and translations tend to
follow them rather than set a pattern of their own. This is because the receptor culture is strong enough
to have well-developed traditions of literature and would not welcome new norms. The translation
will thus adjust to the receptor culture and not vice versa.
In short, translations that occupy primary position will try to retain the flavor of the original
and will emphasize their faithfulness to the original. Translations that are considered secondary, on
the other hand, will be eager to please the receptor culture and cannot afford to be like the original. It
will have to be “smoothed over” by making it more like the receptor culture. As a result, they will not
be faithful to the original.
c) Contributions of Polysystem theory
Polysystem theory is important because it moves translation away from the traditional ST-TT
linguistic comparisons of shift and equivalence towards the viewing of translation in a social, cultural
33
and historical context. There is also a change from the study of individual texts as a systemic approach
which tries to uncover the universal laws and principles that govern translation. It is also quite
significant because it can be applied to other systems besides strictly literary systems (e.g. television
programming and politics).
d) Shortcomings of Polysystem theory
Polysystem theory has been criticised on a number of issues:
- The universal laws are too abstract, and little thought has been given to limitations placed on
translation and texts.
- Translating literature generally occupies a role of secondary importance in the target culture because
“it downplays their creative and formative aspect” (Hermans, 1999, p.154). Translated literature also
remains a separate entity within the target culture.
- It doesn’t provide concrete evidence, doesn’t venture into specifics, or offer functioning
examples. No mention is made of the concept of overt and covert translations.
6. The functionalist approach and Skopos theory
a) The functionalist approach
The second half of the 20th century witnessed some paradigm shift in translation studies,
especially with the publication in German of Katharina Reiss and Hans Vermeer’s Foundation for a
General Theory of Translation and Justa Holz-Manttari’s Translatorial Action: Theory and Method,
both in 1984. These works set the pace for what is later known as functionalist approach to translation,
which sees translation as “a communicative action carried out by an expert in intercultural
communication (the translator), playing the role of a text producer and aiming at some communicative
purpose” (Nord, 2001, p.151).
Quite a good number of translation scholars subscribe to functionalism like Vermeer (1978);
Reiss and Vermeer (1984); Nord (1997), etc. Functionalists believe that a text can be intended for a
variety of functions, and the function of a text in the target culture determines the method of
translation. According to Jakobson (1960), there are four basic textual functions:
(a) Referential function (i.e. reference to objects and phenomena of the world). Some
subfunctions: informative function (object: e.g. a traffic accident), metalinguistic function
(object: e.g. a particular use of language), instructive function (object: e.g. the correct way of
handling a washing machine), teaching function (object: e.g. Geography) etc.
(b) Expressive function (i.e. expression of the sender's attitude or feelings towards the objects and
phenomena). Some subfunctions: emotive function (expression of feelings, e.g. in
interjections), evaluative function (.g. in a political commentary).
34
(c) Appellative function (i.e. appealing to the recipients’ experience, feelings, knowledge,
sensitivity etc. in order to induce them to react in a specific way). Some subfunctions:
illustrative function (intended reaction: recognition of something known), persuasive function
(intended reaction: adopt the sender's viewpoint), imperative function (intended reaction: do
what the sender is asking for), pedagogical function (intended reaction: learn certain forms of
behaviour), advertising function (intended reaction: buy the product).
(d) Phatic function (i.e. establishing, maintaining or finishing social contact). Some subfunctions:
salutational function, “small talk” function, “peg” function (e.g. text introductions).
The essence of the functionalist concept of translation which was first brought forward by
Hans Vermeer in 1978 under the label of “Skopstheorie”.
b) Shortcomings of functionalist approach
The functionalist approach has received a lot of criticisms, especially from scholars of the
linguistic-based approaches. Critics of Skopos theory argue that not all target texts based on a source
text can be called translations, that Skopos theory makes no distinction between a real translation and
adaptation or non-translation. One other controversy surrounding functionalism is the myriad of
terminologies introduced and used differently. Indeed many of these criticisms still go on to this day.
However, despite the various controversies surrounding the development and thrust of functionalist
approaches, their contributions to the study of translation are remarkable.
c) Contributions of functionalist approach
One major contribution of this approach is that it addresses the “eternal dilemmas of free vs
faithful translations, dynamic vs formal equivalence, good translators vs slavish translators, and so
on”. Thus, a translation may be free of faithful depending on its purposes. Translators no longer have
to go back to the source text to solve translational problems, rather they base their translation on the
function of the text in the target culture.
Functionalist approach also liberates translation from theories that impose linguistic rules upon
every translational decision. Theorists recognise that the translation process involves more than
languages involved and requires the consideration of extra-textual and extra-linguistic factors. They
look forward to the function of the text in the target culture as the major determining factor for how
the translation is done. Thus, they introduced the cultural dimension to translation studies.
Functionalist approaches are also flexible and general enough to account for a wide range of
translational situations (i.e. cultures, subject domains, text types and genres). Interestingly, the
consideration of extra-textual factors in the translational process accentuates the multidisciplinary
nature of translation studies. A text does not have a stable intrinsic meaning, but that meaning is
35
affected by the subjective translator as well as by the cultural, historical, ideological and historical
circumstances surrounding the production of the text.
In short, functional approach bridges the gap between theory and the practice of translation,
as it suggests practical ways of dealing with translational problems (see Chapter 4 and 5).
d) Skopos theory
Skopos is the Greek word for "aim" or "purpose" and was introduced by Hans J. Vermeer.
According to Skopos theory, any translational action is intentional and purposeful. Translators must
know what they are doing, what the effect of a text created will be in the target culture and how much
the effect will differ from that of the source text. It then follows that the translation should be produced
to suit the purpose for which it is needed in the target culture.
. Three rules of the Skopos theory
1. The purposeful rule
It means translating in a way that enables the translation to function in the situation in which
it is used and with the people who want to use it and precisely in the way they want it to function.
E.g: BMW" was an acronym for Bayerishe Motoren Werke (the German famous auto company's
name). It has no meaning but shows the place where the car come from. However, the translation of
it into Chinese language is, " " (b o m ), which " " means "precious" and " " means “horse”.
The reason for this translation is that it can reach the purpose of arousing the customers' association
of the swift horse and implies this kind of cars can go a long way with a high speed, thus facilitating
the revenues of BMW.
2. The coherence rule
This rule emphasizes that the translation must be adequately coherent to allow the intended
users to comprehend it. What the translator can do, and what he should do, is to produce a text that is
at least likely to be meaningful to target-culture receivers.
E.g.: "Safeguard", a brand for soap and bathing lotion, means security and guardian. It is
transliterated as " ". Here " " means "comfort", " " means "skin" and " ³" means "good
quality". So this translation will leave the impression on people that this soap or lotion with good
quality can bring comfort to the skin. Furthermore, Chinese people will have a basic conception about
what kind of product it is and understand it very well when they first saw the translation.
3. The fidelity rule
The fidelity rule stresses that some relationship must remain between the target-text and
source-text once the overriding principle of Skopos and the rule of coherence have been satisfied.
36
E.g.: "Crown"(the trademark of a car) is translated literally into Chinese " ” whether it is in
English or in Chinese. "Crown" and " "both represent the superior social status. The Chinese
version can well express that the car is in good condition, the style is grand and the quality is first-
rate. It is faithful to its original meaning of the brand which is and will undoubtedly be accepted by
the consumers in China just the same as in the original country.
4. Contributions of Skopos theory
Skopos theory considers translation as a complicated interactive behavior. According to the
specific translation requirements such as the writer's intended aims and expectations as well as
interactive needs of readers, etc. translators/interpreters can determine any tactics, and does not have
to care about the equality of translated text to the original text, for which would weaken the interactive
functions in the environment of target language. Therefore, with the guide of translation purposes, the
translators/interpreters can consider the relative factors comprehensively and then decide the most
suitable methods and strategies. "Translators can take any appropriate tactics in order to achieve
different goals" (Yin Xiaohong, 2006:171). In short, this is a theory that could be applicable to the
translation of every text since not only the linguistic aspect, but also the cultural ones would be taken
into account.
VI. Further practice
Task 3: Answer the following questions.
1. How many prominent theories of the Early Translation Studies are there? ……………………..
2. Are the Early Translation Studies theorists mainly in favor of source text-oriented or target text-
oriented translation? .......................................................................................................................
3. What is INCORRECT about the Formalism theory?

A. It appeared in the early 20th century
B. A literary text has to be based on its structural aspects of language and grammar.
C. They believed in the concept of “defamiliarization”.
D. It is naive since it cannot communicate meaning from one language to another.
4. Who are the Czech and Slovak theorists of the Early Translation Studies?
A. Jirí Levý and Anton Popovic C. James Holmes and Anton Popovic
B. Lefevere and James Holmes d. Lefevere and Susan Bassnett
5. What is CORRECT about Czech influence?
A. Translation cannot produce the same effect in its receptor language culture as the SL text had
in its own.
37
B. It is superficially code-changing only in written translation.
C. His focus was more on surface structure of language than meaning.
D. His book Literary Translation was unknown by many scholars in this field.
6. What can be inferred about Popovic?
A. He was Czech.
B. He was known for the concept of “Shifts”.
C. He paid no attention to cultural aspects of the target language.
D. He was a modern translation theorist.
7. What are the seven different translation methods of André Lefevere?
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
8. What are the three kinds of translation norms in Toury‘s concepts? Do you agree with his
concepts of norms? Why?
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
9. What are the 4 kinds of perspectives of Nida‘s theory? What are his contributions to Translation
Studies?
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
38
1. Whats does “Skopos” mean? What are the three rules of the Skopos theory?
.................................................................................................................................................................
2. When Procter and Gamble (P&G) introduced its shampoo Rejoice (which means “happy and
relaxed”) in the Hong Kong market in the 80s, it adopted the Chinese name (which means "soft
and smooth”). What rule of the Skopos theory was it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
3. Liberty is the trademark of one vehicle product. In China, it is translated into " " which
means “freedom”. What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
4. Coca-Cola is the trademark of a beverage company. In China, it is translated into “ (k

k u k lè)” which means “Tasty Fun”. What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
5. Nike is the trademark of a footwear company. In China, it is translated into “ (nài kè)” which
means “Enduring and Persevering”. What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
6. Microsoft is the trademark of a computer company. In China, it is translated into “ (W iru n)”
which means “Wei= small, ru n = soft”. What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
7. Mercedez is the trademark of a car company. In China, it is translated into “ - B nchí” which
means “Dashing Speed” or “Running fast”. What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
8. Boeing” as “ (Bo Yin), “Sony” as “ (Suo Ni), “Adidas” as “ (A Di Da Si),
“Motorala” as “ ” (Mo Tuo Luo La). These words are just copied from the corporation’
names or are coined words. What rule of the Skopos theory are they followed. What rule of the Skopos
theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
9. “Pepsi”, and its Chinese name is “Bai Shi Ke Le”, which means “make you happy in all matters”.
What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
10. “Shifu” is translated into Vietnamese as ‘s ph ”. What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
11. “Sushi” is translated into Vietnamese as ‘c m cu n”. What rule of the Skopos theory is it
followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
12. “Takoyaki (Tako: octopus, yaki: fried)” is translated into Vietnamese as ‘bánh b ch tu c chiên”.
What rule of the Skopos theory is it followed?
.................................................................................................................................................................
39
CHAPTER 3: TRANSLATION UNITS, METHODS AND
TECHNIQUES
I. Translation Units
Translation units can be classified as follows:
1. At the level of morpheme: project+s nh ng d án, fluent+ly m t cách l u loát.
2. At the word level: cat mèo, tree cây
3. At the phrase level: by the way ti n th , foot-and-mouth disease b nh tay chân mi ng
4. At the clause level: It is worth noting that ... áng chú ý là …
5. At the sentence level:
E.g.: a) Proverbs: Diamond cut diamond. K c p g p bà già/49 g p 50/ V quít dày g p móng
tay nh n
b) Announcements: Authorized only! – Không ph n s mi n vào!
6. At text level: when a word translated depends on near/narrow context:
E.g.: Translation of poetry
Xin th y th l i cho con trai tôi. Tôi s r n d y cháu c n th n h n. Please forgive my little
child. I will make him behave properly.
7. At intertextual level: Extralinguistic factors often require from the translators/interpreters either
general or specialized knowledge without which an adequate translation is impossible. In certain cases
this group of independencies determines the introduction into the text of loan translations.
E.g. The White House in Russia – Nhà tr ng Nga (translator has to add more information such
as: nhà riêng dành cho gia đình Th t ng Nga, khác v i Nhà Tr ng M )
Task 1: Identify the meaning of the underlined morphemes in Vietnamese.
1 multicultural 6 oversupply
2 cybersafety 7 hypermarket
3 impossible 8 ultraviolet
4 nationalize 9 macroeconomics
5 pre-war 10 misunderstand
40
Task 2: Decide at which level the following translation units were utilized.
1. business cycle chu k kinh doanh ................................................
2. Yours faithfully Trân tr ng ................................................
3. cánh đ ng b t t n Floating lives ................................................
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Ng a h tàng long ................................................
5. kinh t th tr ng market economy ................................................
6. corner the market l ng đo n th tr ng ................................................
7. Man propses, God disposes M u s t i nhân, thành s t i thiên. ...............................................
8. Oh, Sugar! Ch t ti t! ................................................
9. As far as I am concerned Theo ý tôi ................................................
10. You reap what you sow Gieo gió g t bão. ................................................
11. Th ng bé trông “th y ghét” ch a! How cutie the boy is! ................................................
12. The best friend a man has in a world may turn against him and become his enemy. Ng i b n
t t nh t mà con ng i có th có đ c trên th gi i này có th m t ngày nào đó hóa ra là k thù ch ng
l i chúng ta. . ................................................
Task 3: Translate the following titles and decide at which level the following translation units
were utilized.
1. L Lem: ………………………………………………………….
2. Chi c lá cu i cùng: ………………………………………………………….
3. Tôi th y hoa vàng trên c xanh: ………………………………………………………….
4. Không ph i d ng v a đâu: ………………………………………………………….
5. Tây Du Ký: ………………………………………………………….
6. Ashes of Love: ………………………………………………………….
7. H t gi ng tâm h n: ………………………………………………………….
8. Bí m t t duy tri u phú: ………………………………………………………….
9. c nhân tâm: ………………………………………………………….
10. Chi n tranh ti n t : ………………………………………………………….
11. The Journey of Flower: ………………………………………………………….
12. Three Kingdoms: ………………………………………………………….
13. The Tale of Kieu: ………………………………………………………….
41
II. Translation methods by Newmark
1. Word-for-word translation (d ch t đ i t ): The source language word order is preserved and the
words are translated by their common meanings out of context (không quan tâm ng c nh). This kind
of method is mainly used for difficult texts such as legal documents, contracts, or business agreements.
E.g.: golden lion Kim s , facebook m t sách
He is a boy. Anh y là m t c u bé.
Task 4: Translate the following sentences word by word.
1. the rate of malnutrition in children. …………………………………………………
2. He was chosen to be the CEO of the company. …………………………………………………
3. Buy very cheap and sell very dear. …………………………………………………
4. About 80% of the vehicles built in the UK are exported.
……………………………………………...…………………………………………………………..
5. M i ng i đ u khát khao hòa bình và h nh phúc. ………………………………………………..
6. Gian khó không th khi n anh ta b cu c. …………………………………………………
7. K giàu th ng khinh khi ng i nghèo. …………………………………………………
8. Hút thu c lá thì r t có h i cho s c kh e. …………………………………………………
2. Literal translation (d ch nguyên v n): The source language grammatical constructions are
converted to their target language equivalent but the lexical words are translated out of context. Literal
translations follow very closely the grammatical and lexical forms of the source text language
E.g.: He is a big liar Anh ta là m t k nói d i l n.
He looked up at the Milky Way.  Anh y nhìn lên vào con đ ng màu s a.
Task 5: Translate the following phrases/ sentences with the Literal translation.
1. floating exchange rate. ………………………………………………….
2. Business Registration Certificate. ………………………………………………….
3. Investment portfolio management .…………………………………………………
4. socialist-oriented market economy .…………………………………………………
5. Nhi u doanh nghi p niêm y t bi n m t đ u n m nay.
……………………………………………...…………………………………………………………...
6. Two nations cooperate on the basis of respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial
integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs.
……………………………………………...…………………………………………………………...
42
3. Faithful translation (d ch trung thành): A faithful translation requires a faithful precision in
meaning and grammar structure of the original. However, we can also transmit the source language
text into the target language more flexibly basing on its contextual meaning (có tính đ n ng c nh hay
tình hu ng c a câu nói).
E.g.: They were as much alike as two balls of cotton. Hai anh em gi ng nhau nh 2 trái banh v i
Task 6: Translate the following sentences faithfully.

1. Yes, Your Majesty! I will do anything to please you! (a lady talks to the King).
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Mom said to my father, “Darling! The baby’s coming!”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. “Anh đ n Vi t Nam đ bi n nh ng c m hoang d i nh t c a anh thành s th t”. ( Mai tính)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. “Bitch! How dare you betray me?” Tong Giang said to his wife Diem Ba Tich. (The Water Margin).
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Adaptation (d ch phóng tác): Adaptation has a property of lending the ideas of the original to
create a new text used by a new language more than to be faithful to the original. The creation in
adaptation is completely objective in content as well as form.
This method is used mainly for plays and poems in which the text is converted to the target
language culture while the characters, themes, and plots are preserved.
E.g.: “Ng n c gió đùa” by Ho Bieu Chanh and “The Miserables” by Victor Hugo.
“The Tale of Kieu” by Nguyen Du and “Kim Van Kieu” by Qingxin Cairen.
B t oán thiên, b t v u nhân, h h c nhi th ng đ t.
(Không oán tr i, không trách đ t, phàm làm ng i nên hi u
s m nh) Come to terms with your written fate (hàm ý là
ph i t bi t ch p nh n s ph n đã dành s n cho mình).
Có khi nào trên đ ng đ i t p l p/ Ta vô tình đi v i b c qua nhau. Someone you pass on
the street may already be the love of your life. (T Huy)
Qu c gia h ng vong, th t phu h u trách. Even the humble citizen must share responsibility
in the prosperity or decadence of his country.
43
Task 7: Find the original Vietnamese saying from these Adaptation translations.
1. Those who get up late never become rich
Those who are drunk day and night never stand in high social position.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. The father’s beneficences are as great as a giant mountain
And the mother’s are as infinite as water flowing from a source.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. As unsalted fish is soon rotten,
So the disobedient child will be spoiled
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. Building a nine-story stupa
Bears no comparison to helping an unfortunate person.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. As immense as sky and ocean, are the cares given by parents to their children
But the latter count every care they give their parents.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. Wealth earned by work is safe at home
That earned by gambling stays in the yard
Ephemeral acquisitions lie outdoors.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. After a hundred years, the stone stele will be worn out,
After a thousand years, the verbal tradition will still be alive.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
44
5. Free translation (d ch t do): Free translation focuses on the content of the target text rather than
the form, which means that the same content is expressed in the target text but with very different
grammatical structures. It is used in translating slogan, prose, lyrics, etc.
In free translation, the linguistic structure of the source language is ignored, and equivalence is
found based upon the meaning it conveys. The disadvantage of this type is that translating is too casual
to understand the original because of its freedom
E.g.: a. Business is business Công vi c là công vi c, tình c m là tình c m, không th l n l n đ c
b. Yggdrasil Cây càn khôn.
b. Slogan: Generation next S l a ch n c a th h tr (Pepsi)
Tide in, dirt out Tide, thách th c m i v t b n (Tide)
Good food, good life Cho bé yêu ngày càng l n gi i (Nestle)
Task 8: Translate the following slogans, using the method of Free translation.
1. Duy nh t đ u nành. Riêng dành cho b n – VinaSoy
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Không ng ng v n xa - Vinaphone
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Mãi mãi tinh th n kh i nghi p - VinGroup
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. V n cao Vi t Nam - Vinamilk
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Idiomatic translation (d ch thành ng ): This method is concerned with communicating the

meaning of the source text by using the natural grammatical and lexical idioms of the target language.
The source text might or might not use the idioms, and the idioms in the target text might have the
same form or different form with those in the source text. Therefore, this method can somehow distort
the nuances of the source message.
E.g.: a. “C ng là l m t l m hai/ á vàng sao n ép nài mây m a”. (Nguy n Du, Truy n Ki u)
“Something has gone awry-how could I force/ your sterling virtue into games of love?”
b. No guide, no realization Không th y đ mày làm nên.
c. A sow is no match for a goose. a m c mà chòi mâm son/ a đòi đeo chân h c.
45
Task 9: Translate the following phrases with the method of Idiomatic translation.
1. i bán mu i/ ngo o/ đi ch u ông bà : …………………………………………………………
2. D nh n cháo : …………………………………………………………
3. Tr ng nh tuy t : …………………………………………………………
4. 24/7: …………………………………………………………
5. Bite the bullet: …………………………………………………………
6. With age comes wisdom: …………………………………………………………
7. Father scratches child’s back: …………………………………………………………
8. A honey tongue a heart of gall: …………………………………………………………
7. Semantic translation (d ch ng ngh a): This method takes into account the aesthetic value of the
source texts. It, within the base syntactic and semantic constraints of the target language, attempts to
reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the author.
E.g.: Beauty is the first present Nature gives to women and the first take away. S c đ p là t ng
ph m mà T o hóa ban cho ng i đàn bà, c ng là th đ u tiên mà T o hóa c p đi.
Task 10: You are required to translate for a Chinese fantasy movie (phim tiên hi p). Use the
Semantic translation to translate these terms into Vietnamese.
1. Endless Energy ………………………………………………….
2. Spiritual energy ………………………………………………….
3. Eternal Life ………………………………………………….
4. Medicinal drugs ………………………………………………….
5. Against the Gods ………………………………………………….
6. Sky Crasher ………………………………………………….
7. This is the land where the strong make the rules and the weak have to obey.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Communicative translation (d ch giao ti p): This method renders the exact contextual meaning
of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehension
to the readers.
E.g.: Her face is all her fortune Con y ch đ c m i cái xinh.
46
Task 11: Adopt the communicative approach and translate the following sentences.
1. Guests are reminded that no visitors are permitted in the room after 10 p.m.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. This is a place of worship. Silence is requested during services.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Xin h i Toa let đâu ?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. L y ch ng nghèo thì c p đ t mà n à?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Task 12: Match the translation methods and its corresponding examples.
A. Tôi đã th m t l n c nhìn nh n tình hu ng theo cách nhìn c a cô ta
1. Word-for-word translation I tried for a moment to see the situation through her eyes. (Deignan)
2. Literal translation B. One man’s meat is another man’s poison ám c i nhà ta, đám ma
3. Faithful translation
nhà ng i.
4. Semantic translation
C. a nào mu n đ ng t i cô y thì b c qua xác tao đã Whoever wants
5. Adaptation
to hurt her shall first go over my corpse.
6. Free translation
D. All worldly things may change with time, but the impression of the first
7. Idiomatic translation
love will remain a vivid as ever. T t c m i v t trên th gian có th
8. Communicative
thay đ i v i th i gian, nh ng n t ng v m i tình đ u s t n t i mãi
translation
mãi.
E. Thà m t phút huy hoàng r i ch t t i/ Còn h n bu n le lói su t tr m n m
It would rather the victorious brightness in an only moment than the
centenary twinkle.
F. Nó v a n c p v a la làng He carries fire in one hand and water in
the other.
G. Ng i đ u c u n c trong nh l c/ ng bên c u c m c còn non
Below the bridge runs the current pure and clear/And there the grass
grows soft, by the bridge.
H. Thôi thì h t h n ghen và gi n d i/ c gi n h n sung s ng bi t bao
nhiêu (Xuân Di u) Well, it’s all with jealousies and sulks/What fun
to be in the sulk. (V ng Trung Hi u)
47
III. Translation techniques by Vinay and Darbelnet
1. Direct translation (d ch tr c ti p)
There are 3 subsets:
a) Direct borrowing (vay m n tr c ti p)
The SL word is transferred directly to the TL.
There are 3 kinds of direct borrowing:
1) Pure loanwords: there is no change of meaning and form. E.g.: email, Internet.
2) Mix loans: there is a change in form but no change in meaning. E.g: cool kul, canteen c n tin.
3) Loan blends: there is a mixture of the SL and TL. E.g: internet provider nhà cung c p internet.
Task 13: Decide what type of direct borrowing technique is normally used in each following
situation when they are translated into Vietnamese modern language.
bill, marketing, cheque, dollar, MC, hotgirl, bulloong, spa, canteen, mannequin, Internet banking,
ozone layer, Wall Street, tennis, Dow Jones index, massage, garage, sushi, scandal, beefsteak,
zombie enterprise, Black Friday, domino effect, sushi bond, logistics, Bolero.
Pure loanwords Mix loans Loan blends
………………………………. ………………………………. ……………………………….
………………………………. ………………………………. ……………………………….
………………………………. ………………………………. ……………………………….
………………………………. ………………………………. ……………………………….
………………………………. ………………………………. ……………………………….
Task 14: Which language does each set of borrowing words come from?
Malay, Arabic. Japanese, Korean, German, Russian, French, Chinese, Italian, Hebrew.
1. karaoke, bonsai, haiku, sushi, karate:
2. pizza, latte, cappuccino, bravo, diva, solo:
3. biscuit, vaccine, baguette, taxi, sandal, ragout, ballet:
4. Alzheimer, diesel, hamster, waltz:
5. cotton, zero, artichoke, coffee, safari, sofa:
6. dim sum, taichi, kungfu, tofu, danmei, shuai ge:
7. Taekwondo, soju, Hanbok, kimchi:
8. mammoth, vodka, balalaika, taiga, Soviet:
9. sarong, kaya, gong:
48
b) Calque/Loan translation (sao ph ng)
It is a technique to ‘borrow’ the SL expression or structure and then transfer it in a literal
translation. There are two kinds of Calque:
1) Lexical calque: respects the syntactic structure of the TL while introducing a new mode of
expression. (đ a thêm t m i vào kho t v ng TL).
E.g.: panda g u trúc
Task 15: Translate the following words/ phrases into Vietnamese with the technique of Calque.
1. Adam's apple: ……………… 2. Braille: ………………
3. Caesararian birth: ……………… 4. Faustian bargain: ………………
5. Murphy's law: ……………… 6. Force Majeure: ………………
7. quota: ……………… 8. Forget-me-not: ………………
9. Pyrrhic victory: ……………… 10. economies of scale: ………………
2) Structural calque: introduces a new structure into the TL (đ a c u trúc ng pháp m i vào TL).
E.g.: science-fiction khoa h c vi n t ng, white-collar worker công nhân c c n tr ng
user-friendly thân thi n v i ng i dùng (d s d ng)
Common collocations, names of organizations, components of chemical compounds are
usually translated based on this technique.
Task 16: Provide the original words of each following acronyms in economics and translate them
into Vietnamese.
English versions Vietnamese translated versions
1 NAV Net asset value
2 GDP
3 FDI
5 IMF
6 CPU
7 MLM
8 EU
9 EBIT
10 EPS
11 FIFO
49
c) Literal translation
It is a translation strategy used ‘most common between languages of the same family and
culture’ and is used for phrases or more. It is a translation that is as close as possible to the original
while still ensuring TL grammaticality (but not naturalness).
E.g: Asiatic mode of production ph ng th c s n xu t châu Á
Task 17: Translate the following phrases into Vietnamese, using the literal translation.
1. private land ownership:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. to improve social welfare for the disadvantaged:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. a bill to normalize the trade relation with VN:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. those who laid down for the country’s independence:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. planning in a phased manner:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. on the basis of mutual belief and respect:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Oblique Translation (d ch xiên)
a) Transposition (chuy n đ i t lo i)
It involves replacing one word class with another without changing the meaning of the
message or change simple words to phrases. There are 2 kinds of transposition:
a. Obligatory transposition: E.g.: the prepositional phrase “Upon his arriving home” is translated
into Vietnamese clause “Khi anh y v đ n nhà” since Vietnamese language does not use
prepositional phrase.
b. Optional transposition: E.g: the Vietnamese clause “Khi anh y v đ n nhà” can be translated into
English “When he arrived home” (keep the same word class, the same structure) or “On his
arriving home” (change into a prepositional phrase)
Types of transposition:
a. Simple word Complex word/ phrase or vice versa:
E.g.: tomorrow (t đ n) ngày mai (t ghép)
high-handedly (t ghép) kiêu (t đ n)
50
b. Adverb Verb: Tôi ch t v mà thôi. I only defended myself. I did nothing but defend
myself.
c. Adverb Noun: Tôi đã vi t th cho b n đ u n m nay. I wrote to you early this year. I
wrote to you at the beginning of the year.
d. Adjective Noun: Tôi g p khó kh n trong vi c s p x p cho chuy n du l ch. I had difficulty
making the arrangements for the trip.
e. Verb Noun: Tôi đã đ nh k cho b n toàn b s th t. My intention was to tell you the whole
truth.
f. Noun Clause: Our belief is that Vietnam’s economy will be at the top-ten of the world.
Chúng tôi tin r ng n n kinh t Vi t Nam s đ c x p vào 10 n c đ ng đ u th gi i.
g. Phrase Clause or vice versa: Upon his arriving home …. Khi anh y v đ n nhà ….
h. Changing the position of some elements in the sentence:
E.g.: to wipe the area around your mouth every few minutes. Ch c ch c b n hãy dùng kh n n lau
quanh mi ng.
Task 18: Identify the sub-types of Transposition technique in the following statements.
1. self-financed tài chính đ c l p …………………………………………………………
2. ledger s cái …………………………………………………………
3. It is estimated that c tính r ng… …………………………………………………………
4. Loan shark ng i cho vay n ng lãi …………………………………………………………
5. Due to his failure to come, … Vì anh y không th đ n, …
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Kathy không tin vào ng i môi gi i ch ng khoán đó. Kathy had no faith in that stockbroker.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. Ki m vi c làm m i tu i 40 r t khó. It’s so difficult to find a new job at the age of 40.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. N u nó c l i bi ng nh th mãi, thì v sau ch c s ph i kh su t đ i. His life will be miserable
if he continues to be lazy like this.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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b) Modulation (Bi n thái)
Modulation means translating something from a different perspective. It is used when the other
techniques would generate a text that is grammatically correct but unsuitable or awkward.
Types of modulation
1. Abstract Concrete: narrow-eyedly (h p m t) thi n c n, th tr ng xu ng giá bear market,
available assets tài s n ti n m t.
2. Concrete Abstract: sexually transmitted disease (STD) b nh hoa li u (disease + flower +
willow, which probably comes from the Japanese word karyukai “the flower and willow world”
implying the elegant, high culture world of geisha); wholeheartedly (toàn qu tim) toàn tâm
toàn ý, infant industry ngành công nghi p non tr .
3. A part The whole: eye-catching thu hút s chú ý; heavy-heartedly (n ng tim) lòng n ng
tr u.
4. The whole A part: sleepwalking m ng du (walking in the dream, dream is a part of sleep),
hydrothorax (thorax ng c) tràn d ch màng ph i (màng ph i: part of the thorax)
5. A part Another part: I know the city like the back of my hand. Tôi rành thành ph nh lòng
bàn tay, head tax thu thân, axe head l i rìu.
6. A Negation of not A: fainting b t t nh (un + conscious not + not faitning), lao đ ng gi n
đ n / ph thông unskilled labour, hàng d h ng non-durable (goods).
7. Negation of not A A: insanity lo n tâm th n (in + sanity in + not mental illness);
incorruptibly (không tham nh ng) thanh liêm, không h i môi tr ng environment-friendly.
8. One metaphor Another metaphor: tapeworm (tape-shaped worm) sán x mít (a worm
resembling the edible bulbs of ripe
jackfruits)
goosebump n i da gà
pigheadedly (đ u heo) đ ul a
9. Metaphor Non-metaphor: pigheadedly (đ u heo) c ng đ u, highhandedly (cao bàn tay)
h ng hách
10. Non-metaphor Metaphor: epidemic parotitis b nh quai b (bag-shaped swoolen jaw disease),
hair-raising n i/s n gai óc, bogus company công ty ma, tanned skin da bánh m t.
11. One color Another color: pinkeye đau m t đ , grey hair tóc b c, the Red Army
H ng quân (Liên Xô)
52
Task 19: Put the words into the correct columns with appropriate Modulation technique.
bear cheque séc vô danh, head office tr s chính, pie chart bi u đ tròn, graveyard market
th tr ng xu ng giá, golden hello ti n th ng đ u quân, clicks-and-mortar company công
ty kinh doanh qua Internet, brain drain ch y máu ch t xám, sunrise industry ngành công nghi p
đang lên, industrial relations m i quan h gi a ch và th , unwritten contract h p đ ng mi ng,
entertainment cost chi phí ti p khách, non-manual worker lao đ ng trí th c, widow-and-orphan
stock c phi u giá tr cao, bare contract h p đ ng không đ n bù.
……………………………………………………………
1. Concrete Abstract: ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
2. Abtract Concrete: ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
3. One part Another part: ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
4. Negation of not A A: ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
5. A Negation of not A: ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
6. One Metaphor Non- Metaphor ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………
53
c) Equivalence (t t ng đ ng)
Equivalence refers to suitable and appropriate counterparts in the target language for
expressions in the source language.
E.g.: The first saying when someone picks up the telephone is “Hello” in English, but should be
translated into “Wei” in Chinese or “A lô” in Vietnamese.
Task 20: Find a Vietnamese equivalence for the word “followers” in each context:
1. Religion in general: ……………… 2. Buddhism: ………………

3. Christianity: ……………… 4. Islam: ………………
5. Politics: ……………… 6. Police: ………………
7. Love (slang): ……………… 8. Facebooker: ………………
d) Adaptation (d ch thoát)
It refers to a method ‘used in those cases where the type of situation being referred to by the
SL message is unknown in the TL culture’. It is also used when the limit to translation is been reached,
i.e. when a simple translation would not work or it would produce a result that is shocking in the target
language and culture.
E.g.: Madame Bovary Phan Kim Liên, A plain Jane Chung Vô Di m, Th N
H Long cách Th đô Hà N i 160 km. Halong city is 160km from Hanoi (about 3.5 hours
driving).
N n kinh t n c ta đã có nh ng b c ti n v t b c trong nh ng n m qua. Vietnamese
economy has had great achievements in recent years.
Task 21: Translate the following sentences with Adaptation technique.

1. Despite his looks, he’s said to be something of a Don Juan.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. I don’t want our love will be like Romeo and Juliet.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Ng i Sài Gòn c ng l m k m làm L c Vân Tiên gi a đ i th ng.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Giá vàng hi n nay kho ng 35 tri u đ ng/l ng. (tael).
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Xin l i tao đi không đ c ch ng tao có máu Ho n Th ghê l m.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
54
6. The two houses are 110 yards apart.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. After a tunnel of 6.5 miles long, you will get to the other side of the mountain.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. She announced she is 20-weeks pregnant.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
IV. Further practice
Task 22: Choose the best anwer for each question.
1. Which of the following is an example of Calque?
A. “panic selling” is translated as “bán tháo”.
B. “gig job” is translated as “công vi c th i v ”.
C. “painted skin” is translated as “h a bì”
D. “flea market” is translated as “ch tr i”
2. The translation of “bogus company” as “công ty ma” is an example of ______.
A. Adaptation B. Modultation C. Transposition D. Literal translation
3. Which techniques are used in the translation of “Shakepeare in love” as “Shakespeare đang yêu”?
A. Calque and Literal translation C. Literal translation and Transposition
B. Literal translation and Modulation D. Borrowing and Calque
4. Which type of modulation is used in the translation of “sleepwalking” as “m ng du”?
A. Concrete Abstract C. Abstract Concrete
B. Whole part D. Part Whole
5. Which translation technique is used in the translation of “in the black” as “làm n có l i”?
A. Adaptation C. Equivalence
B. Modultation D. Transposition
6. Which technique is used in the translation of “quality assurance” as “ki m đ nh ch t l ng”?
A. Calque C. Literal translation
B. Modulation D. Transposition
7. “Nó l y tôi vì ti n He married me to get my money” is an example of ______.
A. Calque B. Modultation C. Transposition D. Equivalence
8. “Monkey King” translated as “Tôn Ng Không” is an example of ______.
A. Calque B. Adaptation C. Modulation D. Equivalence
9. “Teenage rebellion” translated as Tu i n i lo n” is an example of ______.
A. Calque B. Transposition C. Modulation D. Literal
55
10. “Gió đông translated as spring wind” is an example of ______.
A. Calque B. Transposition C. Modulation D. Equivalence
11. “No guide, no realization translated as Không th y đ mày làm nên” is an example of ______.
A. Faithful translation C. Communicative translation
B. Adaptation D. Idiomatic translation
12. Which type of modultation is used in the translation of “bogus company” as “công ty ma”?
A. Metaphor Non-metaphor C. Non-metaphor Metaphor
B. Cause Effect D. Effect Cause
13. What type of modulation is used in the translation of “goosebump” as “n i da gà”?
A. Abstract Concrete C. Cause Effect
B. A part the whole D. Metaphor Metaphor
14. The term “xài b c l n” translated as “swear/ use foul language” is analyzed in terms of ______.
A. Textual level B. Intertextual level C. phrase level D. word level
Task 23: Correct the mistakes in the following statements.
1. “What on earth is it?” should be analyzed at phrase level.
2. The term “ o tam cang” should be translated in terms of phrase level.
3. The translation of “As far as I am concerned” should be analysed at the phrase level.
4. The translation of “Sailor Moon” as “Th y th m t tr ng” should be analysed at the phrase level.
5. The translation of “M nh phi giá đáo” as “Mengfi comes across” is analysed at the sentence level.
6. The translation of “nipplegate scandal” as “xì c ng đan l hàng” includes the technique of Calque and
Modulation.
7. “Loan market” translated as “th tr ng v n vay” is an example of Calque.
8. “Painted skin” translated as “H a bì” is an example of Modulation.
9. The technique of Equivalence is used in the translation of “head tax” as “thu thân”.
10. The relationship between “The Tale of Kieu” by Nguyen Du and “Kim Van Kieu” by Qingxin Cairen
could be seen as an example of Modulation.
11. The translation of “Generation next” (Pepsi’ slogan) as “S l a ch n c a th h tr ” adopted the
Communicative translation method.
12. The translation of “Wall Street” should be adopted by the technique of Mix loan.
13. “Mannequin” is normally rendered into Vietnamese with the technique of Loan blend.
14. The translation of “COD” (Cash on Delivery) as “Thanh toán khi giao hàng” is an example of Literal
translation.
56
15. The translation of “Upon his arriving home” as “Khi anh y v đ n nhà” adopted the technique of
Optional Transposition.
16. The translation of “pinkeye” as “b nh đau m t đ ” adopted the Modulation technique from One color
to Metaphor.
17. The translation of “brain drain” as “ch y máu ch t xám” adopted the Modulation technique from A
part The whole.
18. The translation of “fainting” as “b t t nh” adopted the Modulation technique from Metaphor
Negation of not A.
19. The translation technique called Calque involves changing one word class with another without
changing the meaning of the message.
20. Borrowing is a special kind of translation technique whereby a language borrows an expression form
from another, then the translator translates literally each of its elements.
21. The translation of “dimsum bond” as “trái phi u dimsum” includes the technique of Calque and
Literal Translation.
57
CHAPTER 4: EQUIVALENCE
I. Untranslatability (B t kh d ch)
Problems in translation also occur because of fundamental differences between two language
systems that differ in their very basic sense. This situation is called untranslatability. There are two
types of untranslatability:
1. Linguistic untranslatability: occurs when there are no grammatical or syntactic equivalents in
the TL.
E.g.: Tr i t i r i, mình v đi heng?
H c xong t i mình t i mình đi n chè nhá!
2. Cultural untransalatability: occurs when there are cultural differences.
E.g.: meraki: to do something with soul, creativity and love, to put all your soul into your work
trái tho, thánh ch i, du miên, ngôn tình, đa đoan
Gigil (Fillipino): The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute
1. Give 2 examples of linguistic untranslatability: ……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Give 2 examples of cultural untranslatability: ………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Task 2: These English words are untranslatebale in some languages. Work in groups and find the
Vietnamese equivalence if possible.
1. ahedonia the inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences
2. amfisbitophobia someone who does not like to argue, non-confrontational, peace-loving
3. forelsket the feeling of falling in love
4. leptosome a person with a slender, thin, or frail body
5. sapiosexual attracted to intelligence or the human mind
6. torpe a man who is in love with a lady, but cannot admit his feelings or approach her
7. zoilist A rude or dishonest person that enjoys finding faults in others
8. singletasker someone who excels at one task at a time
9. boregasm the peak/ climax of boredom and disinterest
10. déjàbrew a slow remembering of something we did while we were drunk
11. mantrum a childish raged displayed by a grown man when he does not get what he wants
12. tidsoptimist a person who is always late because they think they have more time than they do
58
II. Gain and Loss ( c và M t/ Thêm và B t)
a) Gain: can be understood as the the addition of a small part in the target text as compared with
the source text.
E.g.: a shoe m t chi c gi y, Red River Civilisation n n v n minh sông H ng
He wanted neither wine nor juice. Anh y ch ng mu n u ng r u hay n c hoa qu gì c .
b) Loss: can be understood as the absence or omission of a small part in the target text as compared
with the source text.
E.g.: khu v c kinh t t nhân private sector
bad debt in the real estate market n x u b t đ ng s n
2 kinds of Loss:
- Inevitable Loss: Due to the divergent systems of the two languages, the translator cannot
establish equivalence and therefore resorts to compensatory strategies.
- Avertable Loss: it attributes to translator’s failure to find appropriate equivalence.
Reasons for Gain and Loss:

- Due to lexical and semantic differences
- Due to grammatical and syntactic differences
- Due to stylistic differences
- Due to the incompetence of the translator.
III. Equivalence
1. Definition of equivalence
Equivalence is the relationship between the SL and the TL that allows the TT to be considered
as a translation of the ST. If a specific linguistic unit in one language carries the same intended
meaning / message encoded in a specific linguistic medium in another, then these two units are
considered to be equivalent.
The domain of equivalents covers linguistic units such as morphemes, words, phrases, clauses,
idioms and proverbs. Therefore, finding equivalents is the most problematic stage of translation. It is
worth mentioning, however, that translators could not always find one-to-one categorically or
structurally equivalent units in the two languages, that is, sometimes two different linguistic units in
different languages carry the same function
59
2. Classifications of Equivalence
a) Quantity-based approach of Munday (2001) (T ng đ ng d a trên s l ng các ph n t ng
đ ng)
 One-to-one equivalence: A single expression in TL is equivalent to a single expression in SL.
E.g.: Information Technology công ngh thông tin
 One-to-many equivalence: More than one TL expressions are equivalent to a single SL
expression.
E.g.: Nuôi to breed, to feed, to raise, to keep, to support
Bamboo Tre, N a, Tróc, Mai, Vâu
 Many- to-one equivalence: there is more than one expression in the source language but there is
a single expression in target language which is equivalence to them.
E.g.: g o, lúa rice
 One-to-part-of-one equivalence: A TL expression covers part of a concept designated by a single
SL expression.
E.g.: “Bush’ in Australian English implies faraway area where few people arrive, but in Vietnamese
it is translated into “th o nguyên” which is just one part equivalence of “bush”.
 Nil equivalence: no TL expression is equivalent to a single SL expression loaned/borrowed
equivalents should be used.
E.g.: Modem Mô đem, Ph pho, ¸o dài aodai
Task 3: Find 3 equivalents for each word

1. Công ty: ................................................................................................................
2. X lí: ...............................................................................................................
3. Hàng hóa: ................................................................................................................
4. Yêu c u: ................................................................................................................
5. Cung c p: ................................................................................................................
6. Subject: ................................................................................................................
7. Target: ...............................................................................................................
8. Mistake: ................................................................................................................
9. Appreciate: ...............................................................................................................
10. Challenge: ................................................................................................................
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Task 4: Fill in the table with correct words
English term Business-related meaning Common meaning
1. …………………….. H i phi u, l nh rút ti n B n th o, nháp
2. Securities …………………….. An ninh
3. Agreement …………………….. S đ ng ý
4. …………………….. Tín d ng S tin c y
5. Collection …………………….. S ut p
6. Quotation …………………….. trích d n
7. Honor Nh n thanh toán (chi phi u) ……………………..
8. …………………….. Ti n lãi S quan tâm
9. Offer …………………….. ngh
10. Policy …………………….. Chính sách
11. Term i u kho n ……………………..
12. Promotion …………………….. Lên ch c, th ng ti n
b) Meaning-based equivalence of Koller (1979): (T ng đ ng d a trên ý ngh a)

 Denotative equivalence (T ng đ ng bi u v t): the SL and the TL words refer to the same thing
in the real world.
E.g: rabbit, (tù zi) con th
 Connotative equivalence (T ng đ ng bi u c m): this type of equivalence provides additional

values besides denotative value and is achieved by the translator’s choice of synonymous words
or expressions.
E.g.: die ch t (neutral), pass away đi xa, qua đ i (formal)
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kick the bucket bán mu i, toi đ i, đi ch u ông bà (slang)
the poor ng i nghèo (neutral), the underprivileged (euphemism) ng i c nh ,
nh ng m nh đ i b t h nh
 Text-normative equivalence (T ng đ ng qui chu n c a v n b n): The SL and the TL words

are used in the same or similar context in their respective languages.
E.g.: Dear Anne, Anne thân m n!
Yours sincerely, Kính th !
 Pragmatic equivalence (t ng đ ng ng d ng): the SL and TL words have the same effect on
their respective readers.
E.g.: Children go to school every morning. M i bu i sáng tr em thi nhau t i tr ng.
 Formal equivalence (T ng đ ng hình th c): This type produces an analogy of form in the
translation by their exploiting formal possibilities of TL, or creating new forms in TL.
E.g.: Children go to school every morning. Tr em đi h c m i bu i sáng.
Task 5: Match the words in Column A with their euphemisms in column B.

A B
1. tell lies A. economically disadvantaged/underresourced
2. poor/developing B. landfill
3. trash cleaner C. manage stakeholders
4. dump D. visually impaired
5. lobby or bribe E. economical with the truth
6. slum F. downsize the workforce
7. old person G. substandard house
8. fire/dismiss H. the underpriviledged
9. cancer I. senior citizen
10. the poor J. intellectually challenged
11. blind K. pre-owned/preloved
12. stupid L. custodian engineer
13. unemployed M. has the big C
14. secondhand/used N. between jobs
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Task 6: Find the Textual equivalence of the following phrases/sentences in a formal letter.
1. Kính g i: …………………………………………….
2. Mong nh n đ c th h i âm c a ông s m. …………………………………………….
3. Xin đính kèm theo th là … …………………………………………….
4. Trân tr ng. …………………………………………….
5. Xin vui lòng liên h s đi n tho i … …………………………………………….
6. Tôi r t vui đ c thông báo v i b n r ng … …………………………………………….
7. Chúng tôi r t ti c ph i thông báo r ng… …………………………………………….
8. Xin chân thành c m n đã đ c th này. …………………………………………….
Task 7: Find the Textual equivalence of the following signs.

1. Không ph n s mi n vào: …………… 5. Không d m lên c : ……………
2. B h : …………… 6. C m x rác: ……………
3. Coi ch ng chó d : …………… 7. M t gi y t : ……………
4. L i thoát hi m: …………… 8. Xin đ ng làm phi n: ……………
Task 8: Find the Pragmatic equivalence of the following situations.

1. When you meet your old friend: …………………………………………….
2. When everybody drinks beer: …………………………………………….
3. When you want everyone to smile for photographing: ………………………………………
4. When someone is sneezing: …………………………………………….
5. When you want to pay the money. …………………………………………….
c) Form-based equivalence of Baker (1992): (T ng đ ng d a trên d ng th c)

 Equivalence at word level: means that the translator should pay attention to a number of factors when
considering a single word, such as number, gender and tense.
 Equivalence above the word level: appears in collocation, idioms and fixed expressions.
 Grammatical equivalence: deals with thediversity of grammatical categories.
 Textual equivalence: deals with thematic and information structures, focuses on cohesion
externalized by substitution and ellipsis, and mergingsyntacticstructures by conjunctions, ...
 Pragmatic equivalence: deals with coherence, implicature or the process of interpretation and
translation strategies. It implies how texts are used in communicative situations that involve variables
such as writers, readers, and cultural context.
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d) Function-based equivalence of Nida (1964): (T ng đ ng d a trên ch c n ng)
 Formal equivalence (t ng đ ng hình th c) is achieved when the SL and TL words have the closest
possible match of form and content. Formal equivalence attempts to translate the words lietrally.
E.g.: Oh my god L y chúa tôi, ôi chúa tôi!
 Dynamic equivalence (t ng đ ng đ ng): is achieved when the SL and TL words have the same
effect on their effective readers. In other words, translators attempt to convey the meaning in the way
that has the same influence on the target audience as it does on the source language.
E.g.: Oh my God Ôi gi i i, ôi m i! (mi n B c); Ôi th n linh i! ( n )
e) Lexical equivalence: (T ng đ ng v ng v ng)

 Complete equivalence/Absolute equivalence: Complete correspondence of lexical units of two
languages can rarely be found. As a rule they belong to the following lexical groups:
- proper names and geographical denominations:
- scientific and technical terms (with the exception of terminological polysemy).
E.g.: artificial intelligence trí tu nhân t o (trí tu : intelligence; nhân t o: artificial)
body language ngôn ng hình th (language: ngôn ng , body: hình th )
nanny state nhà n c b o m u (nanny: b o m u, state: nhà n c)
brand-new-in-the-box m i toanh trong thùng (brand-new: m i toanh, in-the-box: trong thùng)
 Partial equivalence: means that the equivalent used in translation is not an absolute counterpart to the
original expression.
E.g.: online tr c tuy n (tuy n: line, “tr c’ is not equivalent to “on”)
highminded cao th ng (high: cao, minded: not equivalent to “th ng”)
Shadow Cabinet N i các đ i l p (Cabinet: N i các, shadow; not equivalent to “đ i l p”)
collateral damage thi t h i ngoài d ki n (damage: thi t h i, collateral: tài s n th ch p/v t
b o lãnh, not equivalent to “ngo i d ki n”)
 Inclusion equivalence: means a term merges into another.
E.g.: heavy-hearted l ng n ng tr u (heavy: n ng tr u, lòng: includes “heart”)
s c trang ph c (s c l hàng) wardrobe malfunction (malfunction: s c , wardrobe:
includes “trang ph c”)
business transfer sang ti m (transfer: sang/ chuy n đ i, business: includes “ti m/shop”)
 Nil equivalence/Non-equivalence: no part of the translation is equivalent to the source text.
E.g.: spring roll ch giò, Secretary of State Ngo i tr ng M , capital goods t li u s n xu t
centerlink c quan phúc l i xã h i (Úc), bottom line đi m m u ch t
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1. The translation of “off-balance sheet transaction” as “giao d ch ngoài báo cáo tài chính” is an
example of .
A. Complete equivalence C. Partial equivalence
B. Inclusion equivalence D. Nil equivalence
2. The translation of “greenhouse effect” as “hi u ng nhà kính” is an example of .
3. The translation of “cash on delivery” as “thanh toán khi giao hàng” is an example of .
4. The translation of “purchasing order” as “đ n đ t hàng” is an instance of .
5. The translation of “sustainable development” as ‘phát tri n b n v ng” is an example of .
6. The translation of “intellectual approach” as “ph ng pháp t duy” is an example of .
7. The translation of “goose stepping” as “đi duy t binh” is an instance of .
8. The translation of “para-professional” as “bán chuyên nghi p” is an instance of .
9. The translation of “chargeback” as ‘công n tính l i” is an example of .
10. The translation of “sweetbread”as “lá lách” is an example of .
11. The translation of “special economic zone” as “đ c khu kinh t ” is an example of .
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12. The translation of “social securities” as “an sinh xã h i” is an instance of .
13. The translation of “on-us transaction” as “giao d ch n i m ng” is an instance of .
14. The translation of “snakefish” as “cá lóc” is an instance of .
15. The translation of “netizen” as “c dân m ng” is an instance of .
16. The translation of “tulip mania” as “c n s t hoa tulip/u t kim h ng” is an instance of .
17. The translation of “economic bubble” as “bong bóng kinh t ” is an instance of .
18. The translation of “lý thuy t không ch ” as “capture theory” is an instance of .
19. The translation of “proxy war” as “chi n tranh y nhi m” is an instance of .
20. The translation of “black swan theory” as “thuy t thiên nga đen” is an instance of .
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IV. Further practice
Task 10: Match the correct type of equivalence in A comlumn with its definitionin B column:
A B
1. Denotative equivalence A. provides additional values besides denotative value and is achieved by
2. Connotative equivalence the translator’s choice of synonymous words or expressions.
3. Formal equivalence B. produces an analogy of form in the translation by their exploiting formal
4. Text-normative possibilities of TL, or creating new forms in TL
equivalence C. the SL and the TL words refer to the same thing in the real world.
5. Dynamic equivalence D. when the SL and TL words have the closest possible match of form and
content.
E. when the SL and TL words have the same effect on their effective readers

1. The translation of “rainbow” as “c u v ng” is an example of Complete equivalence.
2. The translation of “netizen” as “c dân m ng” is an example of Inclusion equivalence.
3. The translation of “heartbroken” as “đau lòng” is an example of Partial equivalence.
4. The relationship between “die, pass away, and kick the bucket” is the Text-normative equivalence.
5. The relationship between “rabbit, (tù zi), and con th ” is the Pragmatic equivalence.
6. According to the Formal equivalence, the sign/sentence “Không ph n s mi n vào” should be
translated as “Authorised Only!”
7. The relationship between “artificial intelligence” and “trí tu nhân t o” is the Partial equivalence.
8. The relationship between “high-minded” and “cao th ng” is the Nil equivalence.
9. The translation of “sweetbread” as “lá lách” is an example of Inclusion equivalence.
10. The relationship between “individualism” and “ch ngh a cá nhân” is the Partial equivalence.
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CHAPTER 5: CULTURAL TERMS AND
NON-EQUIVALENCE
I. Cultural elements in translation
According to Newmark (1998), there are 7 kinds of cultural elements:
1. Ecology: includes words about flora, fauna, plains, hills, etc.
E.g.: ru ng b c thang terraced field, lúa n c wet rice, gió mùa đông b c northeast monsoon,
gió m u d ch trade wind, gió Lào Foehn wind, hoa b ng n Mandala, etc.
2. Material culture: includes material words about food, clothes, houses, towns, transport, etc.
E.g.: nón lá conical hat, nhà rông communal house, nhà sàn stilt house, Tháp Chàm Temple
of Champa, thuy n ba lá sampal, áo t thân four-panel dress, etc.
3. Social and lifestyle culture: includes words about work, leisure and arts.
E.g.: dân ca quan h quan h folksong, crop rotation luân canh.
4. Organizational and hierarchical culture: includes words about politics, administration, history,
international relations and religions.
E.g.: th i kì quá đ transitional phase, giai c p vô s n proletariat, nghi p/nghi p l c (Ph t giáo)
Karma, luân h i transmigration of souls/round of rebirths, Ni t Bàn Nirvana, etc.
5. Norms, values, and customs: include underlying beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors within a group of
people. E.g.: individualism ch ngh a cá nhân, sính ngo i xenophilia.
6. Non-verbal language: includes all behaviors, customs, attributes, objects, body language and habits
that supplement words to communicate messages with social meaning. E.g.: In business negotiation,
when Japanese says “Yes”, it means “I understand in English what you say but it doesn’t mean I agree
with you or accept your offer”.
7. Proper nouns: Proper nouns are divided into 5 categories:
- Proper names. E.g.: Cinderella, Ramadan, Uncle Sam, …
- Historical institutional terms. E.g.: tri u Nguy n Nguyen Dynasty, Phong trào C n V ng
Can V ng (Aid the King) movement, M t tr n gi i phóng mi n Nam Southern Vietnam
National Liberation Front …
- International institutional terms. E.g.: WHO, EU, …
- National institutional terms. E.g.: Socialist Republic of Vietnam N c C ng hoà XHCN Vi t
Nam, oàn thanh niên C ng s n H Chí Minh Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.
- Cultural terms. E.g.: nhã nh c cung đình Hu Hue Royal court music.
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Task 1: Find the English equivalents of the following cultural terms.
1. Pacific Rim: ………………………… 2. Indochina Peninsula:…………………………

3. Paracel Islands: ………………………… 4. Spratly Islands: …………………………
5. Vesak: ………………………… 6. Politburo member: …………………………
7. áp th p nhi t đ i: ………………………… 8. đ t phù sa: …………………………
9. rét nàng Bân: ………………………… 10. c m lam: …………………………
11. v tuy n th 17: …………………………. 12. c u kh : …………………………

1. List 5 Vietnamese traditional musical instruments: ………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. List 5 Vietnamese traditional types/forms of folksongs:..…………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. List 5 Vietnamese heritage sites and 4 intangible cultural heritages:.………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. List 5 Buddhist terms: ………………………………………….......................................................
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Task 3: Match the following public celebrations in Vietnam with their dates.
1. Vietnam Women's Day A. 15/04 (Lunar)

2. Piety Day B. 15/07 (Lunar)
3. Ancestral Anniversary C. 20/10
4. Buddha's Birthday = Vesak D. 10/03 (Lunar)
5. Kitchen Guardians’ Day E. 23/12 (Lunar)
6. Midyear Festival F. 27/07
7. Reunification Day G. 28/06
8. Vietnamese Family’s Day H. 30/04
9. Lantern Festival I. 15/01 (Lunar)
10. Mid-Autumn Festival J. 05/05 (Lunar)
11. Qingming Festival = Tomb Sweeping Festival K. 15/08 (Lunar)
12. Vietnamese War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day L. 03/03 (Lunar)
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II. Non – equivalence at word-level
Non-equivalence means that the target language has no direct equivalent for a word which
occurs in the source text, and the translator cannot find a suitable equivalent in the target language.
1. The source-language word expresses a concept which is unknown in the target culture.
E.g.: đ o D a, bún thang; đi u xàng xê, giày Gia nh, balaclava, muckup day, Guy Fawkes Night,
Continental breakfast, …
2. The source language word expresses a concept which is known in the target culture but there
is no equivalent.
E.g.: nói thách, câu th n t nh m khang, quý phi, New Year's resolution, drag racing, meat pie, drag
queen, fair go, de facto partner, MICE tour, milk-porridge …
3. The SL word is semantically complex: it expresses a series of actions or concepts.

E.g.: tu n ti t commit suicide to express fidelity to the dead husband
bán cái to shift responsibility to someone else.
Brexit Vi c Anh rút kh i Liên minh EU
replevin tr l i tài s n b t ch biên nh m.
platform capitalism mô hình kinh doanh d a trên n n t ng công ngh
4. The source and target languages make different distinctions in meaning

E.g.: Kê cao g i: Vietnamese traditional pillow is hard while Western pillow is soft.
“quota”: English: a fixed, limited amount or number that is officially allowed
Vietnamese: commercial limit of import or export (h n ng ch)
“shuai ge”: Chinese: it means “handsome”.
Vietnamese: it conveys the meaning of a man with 5 qualities: handsome, rich,
romantic, faithful, and intelligent (soái ca)
5. The target language lacks a superordinate

The target language may have specific words (hyponyms) but no general word (superordinate).
E.g.: English doesn’t have the general word for “đàn”, depending on the kind of animal to use
different words such as: đàn qu a murder of crows, đàn chó a pack of dog.
Vietnamese doesn’t have the general word for “rice’’. It is translated as “m , lúa, thóc, g o,
c m, c m, b ng”, depending on the context.
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6. The target language lacks a specific term (hyponyms)
E . g . : English has no equivalent for the specific terms of “cô, dì, thím, m , bác gái”.
English has no equivalent for the specific terms of “chùa, t nh xá, thi n vi n, t nh th t, am”.
7. Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective

Physical perspective: concerns the location of the things or people of the context with others.
E.g.: Vietnamese: “come/go” are translated as “đi” without differnces in meaning
English: + come: means getting closer the speaker.
+ go: means getting away from the speaker.
a. Interpersonal perspective: drawn the attention to the relationship among participants.
E.g.: English: “to give”- present voluntarily and without expecting compensation
Vietnamese: bi u, t ng, c ng, n p, đ a, cho…
8. Differences in expressive meaning: There may be a target-language word which has the same
propositional meaning as the source-language word, but it has a different expressive meaning.
E.g.: “sexy”: Engish: it means attractive and has positive, complementary meaning (praise)
Vietnamese: it means wearing erotically (khiêu g i) and has negative meaning.
9. Differences in form: Certain suffixes and prefixes have no direct equivalents in other languages.
E.g.: Affixes such as washateria, carpeteria, journalese, and translationese are difficult to translate.
10. The use of loan words in the source text

E.g.: “au fait, chic, déjà vu, tweet” are often used for their prestige value, but they are difficult to
translate into Vietnamese.
“s n hào, h i v ” are 2 loan words from Chinese and English has no equivalents.
11. Influences of temporal, geographical, and social elements

E.g.: Temporal: “Thiên th ” (in the poem “Nam qu c s n hà”) should be translated as Holy scroll or
Heaven’s scroll because papermaking was traced to China about AD 105.
Geographical: “Qu c H i” is translated as “Parliament” in English political system, as “National
Assembly” in Vietnamese context, and as “Congress” in the US system.
Social: “r u” is translated as ‘alcohol” for the formal/neutral situation and “booze” as a
colloquialism for the non-upper class.
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III. Suggested strategies for dealing with non-equivalence at word level
1. Using a more general word: This strategy uses a more general word (superordinate) to replace
the more specific one. It’s the commonest strategiesfor dealing many types of non-equivalence.
E.g.: “moped, scooter, motorcycle, and bike” are translated as “xe máy”.
2. Using a more neutral word/ less expressive word: This strategy is particularly useful to translate
an expressive word.
E.g.: The word “sexy” should be transferred as “quy n r ” in Vietnamese since it is more neutral and
not likely to convey adisapproving meaning as “g i tình”.
3. Transference (Using a loan word with/without clarification). The words remain unchanged from
the source language to the target language with/without explanation in brackets.
E.g.: Banh canh Trang Bang (a thick Vietnamese noodle made in the southeastern Vietnamese town
of Trang Bang, served with boiled pork, tapioca noodles, and local herbs)
Open day (Ngày nhà tr ng m c a gi i thi u sinh ho t, ti n nghi c s v t ch t cho công
chúng vào tham quan, hay có th d ch ng n g n h n là "Ngày gi i thi u tr ng”)
Ramadan (tháng n chay Ramadan c a ng i H i giáo)
The Dong Son culture (a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centred at the Red River
Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the first century AD)
4. Paraphrase/Literal translation with or without clarification:
E.g.: integrated resort khu ngh d ng ph c h p đa ch c n ng
Phong trào 3 khoan three-delay movement (a movement arising in the 1960s encouraged
people to delay finding lovers, getting married and having babies so that everybody could spend all
their time and efforts on the revolution and unification of Vietnam)
Ch i h i “Hui” scheme/ Chit funds/ tontine – a scheme for raising capital and saving money
the baby boom generation. th h baby boom (c n s t đ con sau Th chi n II)
5. Adaptation/ Cultural substitution:
E.g.: South China Sea Bi n ông
My father is Hatam Taaei Cha tôi là m t nhà h o tâm/ M nh Th ng Quân hay làm t thi n
(in the Persian culture, Hatam Taaei - the name of a very generous man in Iranian stories - is
a symbol of generosity for good causes)
Doubting Thomas a nghi Tào Tháo; Achilles’ heel i m y u, nh c đi m trí m ng.
6. Illustration: This is a useful option if the word which lacks an equivalent in the TL refers to a
physical entity which can be illustrated.
7. Ommission
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Task 4: Use appropriate strategies to translate the following terms.
1. Tam tòng t đ c:
2. R u hoàng hoa:
3. ng phòng hoa chúc:
4. Vàng mã:
5. Cháu đích tôn:
6. Nhà th t :
7. Long m ch:
8. y tháng:
9. Xông đ t:
10. Anh em c t chèo:
11. L tr t ch:
Task 5: These words are translated differently based on the geographical condition. Translate
them into British and American English.
BRITISH ENGLISH AMERICAN ENGLISH
1. Qu c h i ………………………………… …………………………………
2. Thang máy ………………………………… …………………………………
3. TD ………………………………… …………………………………
4. Qu n tây ………………………………… …………………………………
5. Thùng rác ………………………………… …………………………………
6. Kí túc xá ………………………………… …………………………………
7. Tr m đ x ng ………………………………… …………………………………
8. R p chi u phim ………………………………… …………………………………
9. Mùa thu ………………………………… …………………………………
10. ng cao t c ………………………………… …………………………………
11. H chung c ………………………………… …………………………………
12. Bánh quy ………………………………… …………………………………
13. Bãi đ u xe ………………………………… …………………………………
14. V a hè ………………………………… …………………………………
15. Ngã t ………………………………… …………………………………
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Task 6: Translate the following superordinates/hyponyms.
1. n i (chu i), chùm (nho), bó (hoa): ……………….
2. đàn (sói) ………………, đàn (ong) ………………, đàn (ki n) ……………, đàn (c u)
………………, đàn (ng a) …………………, đàn (chim) ……………, đàn (s t )
………………, đàn (cá) ………………
3. nhóm (sinh viên) ………………, nhóm (lính) ………………, nhóm (chuyên gia)
………………, nhóm (toán c nh sát) ………………
4. wear (pants) ………………, wear (a dress) ………………, wear (a handbag)
………………, wear (perfume) ………………, wear (lipstick) ………………, wear (makeup)
………………, wear (a hat) ………………, wear (a headscarf) ……………….
5. lose (a game) ………………, lose (face) ………………, lose (way) ………………, lose
(weight) ………………, lose (the war) ………………, lose (love) ……………….
6. (thu c) gi ………………………………, (r ng) gi ………………………………, (k t hôn)
gi ………………………………, (ti n) gi ………………………………, (n trang) gi
………………………………, (tranh) gi ………………………………,, (gi y t ) gi
………………………………, (tên) gi ………………………………, (vàng) gi
………………………………, (chân tay) gi ……………………………….
IV. Collocations and Non – equivalence above word-level
1. Collocations
“Collocations” are combinations of words that frequently go together and sound "right" to
native English speakers whereas other combinations sound "wrong" and unnatural.
E.g.: Natural English: the fast train, fast food, a quick shower, a quick meal, biological mother.
Unnatural English: the quick train, quick food, a fast shower, a fast meal, intestinal mother.
Categories for collocations
a. Idioms: are expressions whose meanings do not reflect the meanings of their component parts. E.g.:
go to the dogs l m chân l c l i, to make a mountain out of a molehill chuy n bé xé ra to, to
carry coals to Newcastle ch c i v r ng, to have cold feet l nh tóc gáy, to drop a brick ph m
l i, familiarity breeds contempt quen quá hóa l n/b t chùa nhà không thiêng...
b. Fixed collocations: are expressions whose meanings reflect the meaning of their constituent parts
but they spring to mind readily to be psychologically salient (in contrast to free combinations. E.g.:
tóc r tre, con gái r u, lên xe hoa, kh m t n i, nói tóm l i, as a matter of fact (th t ra), all the best
(chúc bình an vô s ), crime does not pay (thiên b t dung gian), waste not want not (phí c a Tr i),
rancid butter (b có mùi).
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c. Free/Weak collocations: are expressions that co-occur with a greater than random frequency. E.g.:
“murder” can be used with many verbs (to analyze, boast of, condemn, discuss, (etc.) a murder), and
these verbs, in turn, combine freely with other nouns.
d. Medium-strength collocations: are words that go together with a greater frequency than weak
collocations. E.g.: hold a meeting; carry out a study.
Task 7: Translate into Vietnamese with correct collocations.
1. the horse runs: .......................... 2. the dog runs: ..........................
3. the tap runs: .......................... 4. the nose runs: ..........................
5. the vine runs: .......................... 6. black horse: ..........................
7. black dog: .......................... 8. black cat: ..........................
9. black ink: .......................... 10. black hair: ..........................
11. black buffalo: .......................... 12. black trousers: ..........................
13. instant coffee: .......................... 14. instant success: ..........................
15. instant scratchies: .......................... 16. heavy drinker ..........................
17. heavy crop: .......................... 18. heavy fate: ..........................
19. strong tea: .......................... 20. wash hair: ..........................
21. deliver a baby: .......................... 22. beat shyness: ..........................
Task 8: Find the equivalent proverbs in Vietnamese.
1. Out of sight, out of mind. .................................................
2. A leopard never changes its spots. .................................................
3. The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill. .................................................
4. Birds of a feather flock together. .................................................
5. Beauty is only skin-deep. .................................................
6. Half a loaf is better than none. .................................................
7. Jack of all trades is the master of none. .................................................
8. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. .................................................
9. To err is human. .................................................
10. Gratitude is the sign of noblesouls. .................................................
11. Every cloud has a silver lining. .................................................
12. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. .................................................
13. He that knows nothing doubts nothing .................................................
14. A miss is as good as a mile. .................................................
15. Man proposes, God disposes. .................................................
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Task 9: Translate the following sentences into English, using the proverbs above.
1. C u nên kiên nh n. Có công mài s t có ngày nên kim.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. ng tính cua trong l , đã ch c gì có ng i mua hàng c a c u.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Tôi ngh anh quá l i r i, đã là con ng i thì có ai toàn di n đâu/nhân vô th p toàn mà.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Theo ch , em không nên h c cùng m t lúc hai ba tr ng nh th . Cái gì c ng bi t thì s ch ng bi t
đ n n i đ n ch n đâu.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. ng đ n đo nhi u quá, m u s t i nhân, thành s t i thiên mà.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Th t b i trong kinh doanh là chuy n th ng tình. Tôi tin nh t đ nh sau c n m a tr i s sáng.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Non – equivalence above word-level
a) There are no exact equivalents in the target language
E.g.: n sách đèn, Nh t d phu thê bách d ân, gi c m ng hoàng l ng,…
b) There are differences in the contexts of use

E.g.: cháy nhà ra m t chu t (do bi n đ ng x y ra mà l cái x u v n có, không che đ y gi u gi m đ c
n a, nh ng tính x u là gì thì không nói) rats desert a sinking ship (ng i x u khi h u s thì b
ch y lo l y mình, không màng l i giúp đ ng i khác, tính x u đó là tính ích k , ch bi t lo l y mình,
khi g p n n b ng i khác s ng ch t m c bay)
c) The collocations carry both denotative and connotative meaning

E.g.: Mary, a 9-year old girl in England was found positive with HIV, and he family and the school
decided to "to send Mary to Coventry” (a town in the northernwest of London). The collocations "to
send someone to Coventry” in this situation has both literal and connotative meaning, i.e.: (1) She was
sent to the Coventry town; (2) She was abandoned.
V. Suggested strategies for translating idiomatic collocations
a) Using a direct, non-figurative form in the target language
E.g.: He is a big cheese! Anh y là m t nhân v t c b / ng i có quy n l c.
Anh ta v n cái tính th đ nh th ng l . He is still as cowardly as ever.
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The youngest daughter is the apple of her mother’s eye. Cô gái út là c c c ng c a bà m .
Ta v ta t m ao ta, dù trong dù đ c ao nhà v n h n. East or West, home is best.
b) Using an idiom with similar meaning in the target language

E.g.: Talk of the devil! I was just telling everyone about your promotion. Thiêng th t (v a nh c
Tào Tháo là Tào Tháo có m t)! Tôi m i k cho m i ng i vi c anh đ c th ng ch c đ y.
Her voice was like melting honey. Gi ng cô ng t nh mía lùi.
I was made the scapegoat, but it was another person who made the loss. Mình là ng i gi
đ u ch u báng ch ng i gây thi t h i là ng i khác kia.
His life hangs on the thread. i h n nh ch mành treo chuông.
c) The non-idiomatic collocations in the source language are transferred into idiomatic forms
in the target language
E.g.: Ch a bao gi tôi bu n đ n v y! I got so down-hearted!
d) Paraphrase
E.g.: I don’t mean to bring up the elephant in the room. Tôi không đ nh h i khó anh đâu.
e) Omission
E.g.: Although the price of success, as a matter of fact, is a lot higher … M c dù cái giá c a s
thành công thì còn cao h n nhi u …
Các con đã nghe b o “M t đ n m t, r ng đ n r ng”. You have heard that it was said: An eye
for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. (Bible)
Task 10: Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese with appropriate techniques.
1. He is sleeping like a rock. (ng say nh ch t)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. The man Bonita met at the party was kind, but he was not her cup of tea. (không ph i gu)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. James and John are as different as day and night. (khác nhau tr i v c)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. I realy hate those kind of guys who eat like a horse. ( n thùng u ng v i, n nh thu ng lu ng)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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1. Non-equivalence of Vietnamese words with concepts that are unknown in Western culture:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Non-equivalence of Vietnamese words expressing concepts which are known in the target culture
but there are no equivalent:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese ecology and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese organizational and hierarchical structures and their
translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese food and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese social and lifestyle culture and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese traditional musical instruments and their translated
versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese traditional types of folksongs and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese clothes and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese houses and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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11. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese intangible cultural heritages and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
12. Cultural-specific terms for Western modern words and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese movements and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
14. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese political organizations and their translated versions:
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1. Nirvana (Ni t bàn), Karma (nghi p l c), or Sutra (Kinh Ph t) belong to terms of Material culture.
2. Terms of Material culture include words about work, leisure and arts which are specific to a group
of community or a country.
3. Terms of Ecology include words about food, clothes, houses, towns, and transport which are
specific to a group of community or a country.
4. “Qu c h i Vi t Nam” is translated as “Vietnam’s Parliament”.
5. “Con gái r u” is a medium-strength collocation.
6. Peter Newmark divided Proper nouns into 7 categories as part of the cultural-specific items.
7. Social and lifestyle culture includes all behaviors, attributes, objects, body language and habits that
supplement words to communicate messages with social meaning.
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CHAPTER 6: TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT
I. Views for “A good translation”
Massoud (1988) sets criteria for a good translation as follows:
- A good translation is easily understood.
- A good translation is fluent and smooth.
- A good translation is idiomatic.
- A good translation conveys, to some extent, the literary subtleties of the original.
- A good translation distinguishes between the metaphorical and the literal.
- A good translation reconstructs the cultural/historical context of the original.
- A good translation makes explicit what is implicit in abbreviations, and in allusions to sayings,
songs, and nursery rhymes.
- A good translation will convey, as much as possible, the meaning of the original text.
II. Reasons for translation errors

1. Incompetence in the source language
“Men seeking spiritual wholeness came to the Temple to visit priestesses – or hierodules –
with whom they made love” (The Da Vinci Code, p. 411) “... nh ng ng i đàn ông tìm ki m s
tr n v n v tinh th n đ n n th đ vi ng th m nh ng th y t t ho c ng i h u trong đ n cùng v i
ng i mà h yêu...” (M t mã Da Vinci, trang 373)
2. Incompetence in the target language

E.g.: He asked: “Are you from the US?” Sophie shook her head: “No. Paris’”.
Ông ta h i, “Cô đ n t n c M ph i không?” Sophie l c đ u: ‘Không. T Paris’”.
(A better translation should be: “Cô là ng i M ph i không?”, “Không, tôi là dân Paris”)
3. Lack of domain knowledge

E.g.: Secretary of State. Th kí nhà n c (The correct translation should be “Ngo i tr ng M )
a culture of cholera germs v n hóa/m t nhóm vi trùng b nh t (The correct translation should
be “vi c nuôi c y vi trùng b nh t ”)
Crowd work công vi c đám đ ng (The correct translation should be “vi c làm t p th tr c
tuy n”)
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Task 1: What kind of reason was violated in each translation?
1. He has a big family to support. Anh ta có m t gia đình l n đ nuôi d ng. (A better translation
should be “Anh ta ph i nuôi nhi u mi ng n”)
2. The King of Romania c vua n c La mã (The correct translation is “ c vua Rumani”)
3. (xin di hen hao) tâm đ a r t t t (A better translation should be “b n tính r t t t”)
4. She had a terrible experience with this customer. Cô ta có m t kinh nghi m kinh kh ng v i v
khách hàng này. (A better translation should be “Cô ta đã g p m t ca khó nh n v i v khách này”)
5. (wei sheng (v sinh) bu (b )) B v sinh (The correct translation is “B Y t ”)
6. President of Vietnam T ng th ng Vi t Nam (The correct translation is “Ch t ch n c Vi t Nam”)

7. Way to go! i theo l i này! (The correct translation is “Hay quá!”)
8. Book of Poetry Sách v thi ca (The correct translation is “Kinh thi”)
9. He is doing porridge for fraudulent. Anh ta đang n u cháo đ l a đ o. (The correct translation
is “Gã đang tù vì t i l a đ o”)
10. The transition from the Tran to the Le Dynasty itself was considered a historic turn from a regime
of feudal land with serfs to a regime of relations betweeen landlord and serfs. Chính s chuy n đ i
t nhà Tr n sang nhà Lê đ c coi là b c ngo t l ch s t ch đ phong ki n v i nông nô sang ch
đ quan h gi a ch đ t và nông nô (The correct translation is “Ngay nh quá trình chuy n đ i t th i
Tr n sang th i Lê đ c xem là m t b c ngo t t đi n trang thái p v i ch đ nông nô sang quan h
đ a ch tá đi n”).
III. Approaches to evaluating a translation

1. Mentalist Views
This approach includes subjective and intuitive evaluations of a translation such as ‘how good
or how bad a normal person finds a translation’. In the majority of cases, these judgements are based
on simple impressions and feelings, and as such they are prone to lead to global, undifferentiated
valuations like the following: ‘The translation doesn’t capture the spirit of the original’, ‘The tone of
the original is somehow lost in the translation’, or, more positively, ‘This translation is as good as or
even better than the original.’
Often such vague and common-place statements about the quality of a translation are linked
to the translator, whose personality is supposed to be similar to that of the author and the potential
reader. Most mentalist approaches to translation evaluation emphasize the belief that the quality of a
translation depends largely on the translator’s subjective decisions, which in turn are based on his
experience.
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An example of mentalist view could be found in the grading rubrics developed by American
Translators Association (ATA, 2013) with four following levels:
 Strong: Translated text conveys meaning fully and accurately as specified by Translation
Instructions.
 Acceptable: Translated text conveys meaning well enough to be useful to intended reader;
occasional mistranslations, omissions or additions may slightly obscure meaning.
 Deficient: Translated text does not convey meaning well enough to be useful to the intended
reader; mistranslations, omissions or additions may obscure meaning.
 Minimal: Translated text would be nearly useless to intended reader; frequent and/or serious
mistranslations, omissions or additions obscure or change meaning.
2. Response-based Approaches
a) Behavioristic View
This approach was influenced is associated with Nida (1964) whose concern centered on a
systematic approach to translation. Three criteria suggested by Nida (1964, p. 182) for assessing
quality of a translation are: (1) general efficiency of the communication process; (2) comprehension
of intent; and (3) equivalence of response. The most important criterion is the third one, which is
closely to Nida‘s well-known basic principle of Dynamic Equivalence of a translation. This implies
that how receptors respond to the translation text must be equivalent to the manner in which the
receptors of the source text respond to the source text. Later, Nida and Taber (1969, p.173) suggested
three similar criteria: (1) the correctness with which the receptors understand the message of the
original, (2) the ease of comprehension and (1) the involvement a person experiences as a result of the
adequacy of the form of the translation.
As opposed to mentalist approach to translation evaluation, the behaviorist view aims at a
more “scientific” way of evaluating translations by dismissing the mental actions. Within this
approach, several imaginative tests were suggested, such as reading aloud techniques, and various
cloze and rating tasks, all of which took observable responses to a translation as measuring its quality.
These behavioural tests used broad criteria such as ‘intelligibility’ and ‘informativeness’, and they
were based on the belief that a ‘good’ translation is one leading to ‘equivalence of response’. However,
these tests ultimately failed because they were unable to capture such a complex phenomenon as the
“quality of a translation.” Further, the source text is largely ignored in all these methods, which means
that nothing can be said about the relationship between original and translation, nor about whether a
translation is in fact a translation and not another secondary text derived via a different textual
operation.
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b) Functionalistic approach
Juliane House (1977) is in favour of semantic and pragmatic equivalence and argues that ST
and TT should match one another in function. The scholar suggests that it is possible to characterize
the function of a text by determining the situational dimensions of the ST. In fact, according to her
theory, every text is in itself is placed within a particular situation which has to be correctly identified
and taken into account by the translator. If the ST and the TT differ substantially on situational
features, then they are not functionally equivalent, and the translation is not of a high quality. In fact,
she acknowledges that a translation text should not only match its source text in function, but employ
equivalent situational-dimensional means to achieve that function.
Juliane House gives a model for Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) which is based on
pragmatic theories of language. In this model, there is an analysis of linguistic-situational
particularities of the source and target texts, a comparison of the two texts, and an assessment of their
mismatch. The basic requirement for equivalence is that the translation should have a function which
is equivalent to that of the original, and should also employ equivalent pragmatic means for achieving
that function. An initial analysis of the original according to a set of situational dimensions for which
linguistic correlates are established will be made. Then, there will be a comparison of both the
original‘s and the translation‘s textual profiles and functions. In this comparison, some mismatches
will occur.
There are two kinds of mismatches: Dimensional mismatches (pragmatic errors that have to
do with language users and language use), and Non-dimensional mismatches (in the denotative
meanings of original and translation elements and breaches of the target language system at various
levels). The final qualitative judgment consists of a listing of both types of errors and of a statement
of the relative match of the two functional components (see sub-section 3 for more details).
3. Text and Discourse Based Approaches
a) Literature-oriented Approach
This approach is oriented towards literary translation in a way that a translation is evaluated
predominantly in terms of its forms and functions inside the system of the receiving culture and
literature (cf. Toury 1995). Equivalence is regarded as of little importance, and the main focus is the
retrospective from translation to original. This means all attempts aim to “neutrally” describe the
characteristics of that text as they are perceived on the basis of receptors’ knowledge of comparable
texts in the same genre. Translations are seen as cultural facts, and translation activities are both norm-
governed and seen as having cultural significance.Translation equivalence refers to a number of
relationships established as distinguishing appropriate modes of translation performance for the
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particular culture in which the translation must operate. However, this approach fails to provide
criteria for judging the merits and weaknesses of a particular translation assignments. For example,
the questions of “Why is a translation good or bad?” or “How should a person judge a translation?” is
left unanswered.
b) Post-modernist and Deconstructionist Thinking
. This approach tries to examine critically translation practices from a psycho-philosophical
and socio-political stance in an attempt to unmask unequal power relations, injustices and different
kinds of manipulations in the textual material. First, one needs to engage in a micro-perspective, i.e.
conduct detailed, theoretically informed analyses of the linguistic forms and their functions in the
texts. Then, they adopt a critical stance from the macroperspective and emphasis is placed on which
texts are chosen for translation and why, and how and why an original text is distorted in favour of
powerful ideologies, reflecting certain group and individual interests.
Other scholars in the field of post-colonialism and post-modernism (cf. e.g. Robinson 1997)
are interested in how the translation of texts can be seen as a sociopolitical act, and how interventions
in acts of translation can contribute to a more ethical practice in producing and reading translations.
The critical stance taken in this approach and its emphasis on the socio-cultural context in which any
act of translation takes place often abstracts from or passes over the fact that translation is also an act
of linguistic transfer.
Deconstructionist and post-structural approaches can be characterized as throwing into
question basic concepts in translation such as ‘meaning’, and other basic notions involving language,
texts and communication that have so far been taken tacitly for granted. These approaches also look
at how texts, when examined closely, undermine supposedly fixed assumptions and reveal internal
contradictions. One of the leading figures of the deconstruction movement is Jacques Derrida (1985),
whose term différance is supposed to indicate that meaning is always unstable, processual, deferred,
and lacking any stable linguistic identity. In Derrida’s opinion, for instance, a commentary is also a
translation.
With respect to the three criteria (relationship between original and translation, between the
texts and human agents, and delimitation of translation and other textual operations), the post-
modernist approaches are most relevant in their attempts to find answers to the first, and also to the
second. However, no answers are sought for the question of when a text is a translation, and when a
text belongs to a different textual operation.
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c) Linguistically-oriented approaches
Pioneering linguistic work in linguistically-oriented approaches includes the contributions of
Catford (1965), Reiss (1971), Wilss (1974), Koller (1979) and the scholars of the Leipzig school. In
the early works, however, no specific procedures for assessing the quality of a translation were
offered. In more recent times, several linguistically-oriented works on translation such as Baker
(1992), Doherty (1993), Hatim and Mason (1997), Hickey (1998), Gerzymisch-Arbogast and
Mudersbach (1998) and Steiner (1998) have made valuable contributions to evaluating a translation
by widening the scope of translation studies to include concerns with discourse analysis,
pragmalinguistics and sociopragmatics. In general, linguistic approaches attempt to explicate the
relationship between the features of a text and how these are perceived by authors, translators and
readers, but they differ in their capacity to provide detailed procedures for analysis and evaluation.
d) Comprehensive crititism approach
Koller (1974) introduced a comprehensive crititism approach of translation quality
assessment. Three steps for TQA has been introduced by the scholar. The first step is to consider the
transferability of the original text. If the original text is transferable, we have the most equivalent
translation. If the original text is untransferable, we have no equivalence or no translation is made.
The source text should be remained the same. The second step is to retranslate the target text into the
source language. A translation is acceptable if the target text is similar in meaning with the source text
after it is re-translated. And the third step is to have the translation proof-read by native speakers of
the target language. A translation must satisfy readers as native speakers of the target language. It
means they can interpret the translation without difficulties.
In general, in spite of presenting stimulating ideas, Koller does not go beyond a very general
outline with no suggestions for operationalization. Criteria that the transferability of a text based have
not been mentioned in his model. Moreover, the approach does not provide us with specific ways so
that it can be applied to a real translation. Thus, it needs to be further developed and made more
concrete in order to form a workable model of TQA.
IV. House’s translation Quality Assessment Model

The assessment model (House 1997) is based on Hallidayan systemic-functional theory, but
also draws eclectically on Prague school ideas, speech act theory, pragmatics, discourse analysis and
corpus-based distinctions between spoken and written language. It provides for the analysis and
comparison of an original and its translation on three different levels: the levels of Language/Text,
Register (Field, Mode and Tenor) and Genre.
85
House states that translation quality assessment has two steps:
+ An analysis of source text in term of semantic, stylistic, functional and pragmatic qualities
+ A comparison between the source text and target text
The analytic model is displayed in Figure 1:
a) Function
- Ideational function: reveals a speaker's or writer's experience of the world and how they conceive
of the external world together with a revelation of the inner feelings, beliefs, attitude, etc.
- Interpersonal function: is used to establish, maintain and signal relationship between people.
- Expressive function: is the function through which speakers signal information about their opinions,
prejudices, past experiences and so forth.
- Textual function: is used for creating written and spoken texts.
b) Field
- Subject Matter: It can be a Novel, Poem, Play,… .
- Social Action: It can be Specialized, General, Popular, … .
c) Tenor: refers to the nature of the participants and their relationship such as social power,
distance and emotional change.
- Writer's or Translator's Provenance and Stance: temporal, geographical, social provenance +
intellectual, emotional or affective stance
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- Social Role Relationship: Symmetrical (means the text contains features indicating solidarity and
equality between addresser and addressees); and Asymmetrical (means the text contains features
indicating authority relationship between addresser and addressees).
- Social Attitude: includes five styles of formality: frozen, formal, consultative, casual and intimate.
d) Mode: reflects the medium of the interactive process of language.
- Medium/Channel: Simple if it is written to be read + Complex if it is written to be heard.
- Participation: is Simple if it means monologue or Complex if it means addressing a large
community;
e) Errors
- Covert errors: those which result from a mismatch of one situational dimension with a similar one
in TT
- Overt errors: those which result from a non-dimensional mismatch. Such errors can be divided into
seven categories of:
 “Not translated” error
E.g.: “Where the hell were you?” Johnny asked. Johnny h i: “Mày đi mà đâu gi này v ?”
 “Slight change in meaning” error: Loss of connotative meanings, Loss of formality
E.g.: The discretionary spending of U.S. households had become excessive – setting the stage for
America’s most severe consumer – led recession. S chi tiêu vô t i v c a M
đã tr nên quá m c, t o ti n đ cho m t cu c suy thoái do tiêu dùng tr m tr ng nh t
l ch s n c M . (not formal)
 “Significant change in meaning” error
E.g.: He was a failure in the stock market. Ông y là m t th t b i trong th tr ng ch ng khoán.
Andre Vernet, according to official records, was a model citizen. Andre Vernet, đ cb
sung vào h s chính th c, là m t công dân hi n đ i. (The correct translation is:
Theo nh h s chính quy n, Andre Vernet là m t công dân ki u m u).
He knew how to have a good time. Anh y bi t th nào đ s ng không màng th t c.
Ð t tên c u m là gì nào? How shall we call the blessed boy? (Nguy n Ng c Thu n – “V a
nh m m t v a m c a s )
 “Distortion of meaning” error
E.g.: A U.S judge has rejected Apple's plea to ban sales of Samsung's smartphones that violate its
patents. M t th m phán Hoa K v a bác b yêu c u c a Apple và c m Samsung
bán m t hàng đi n tho i thông minh v i cáo bu c vi ph m b n quy n.
It's time to cut red tape. Ph i ch ng đã đ n lúc chúng ta ph i ch ng l i thói quan liêu?
87
 “Breach of the SL system” error
.E.g.: A mite of a little woman with blood thinned by California zephyrs was hardly fair game for
the red fisted, short-breathed old duffer. Ng i con gái nh v n đã m t máu vì
nh ng gió Tây California thì l ra không đáng cho m t k b t tài già nua b n tâm
đ n. (“nh ng gió Tây” is a breach of the TL since it should have the classifier “đ t”
or “c n” between the article “nh ng” and the head noun “gió tây”)
The young man who is helping my father is my new secretary. Ngu i thanh niên mà giúp
ba tôi là th ký m i c a tôi.
 “Creative translation” error
E.g.: It was estimated that the inflation rate could be kept at around 4%. Các chuyên gia kinh t
hàng đ u t i Vi t Nam u c tính t l l m phát có th đ c gi m c kho ng 4%.
Cheating is common in schools in remote rural areas in India where seats in college courses
are few but competition is fierce. (The Washington post) Hi n t ng gian l n
trong thi c đã và đang di n ra m t cách ph bi n, th m chí nh m t “trào l u”
không th ki m soát t i các vùng nông thôn Ân , n i h c sinh r t đông nh ng s
l ng tuy n sinh t i các tr ng đ i h c l i quá ít d n đ n t l ch i r t kh c nghi t.
(Dân trí)
 Cultural filtering
E.g.: Sonny was about six feet, and his crop of bushy, curly hair made him look much taller.
Sonny c th c tám nh ng nh m tóc qu n dày c m trông cao h n nhi u.
Task 2: Identify the type of overt errors in the following translation.

1. Cultural differences affecting transactions: From the Western perspective.
Khác bi t v n hóa nh h ng đ n kinh doanh: Nhìn t quan đi m ph ng Tây.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. When Vietnamese people negotiate a deal with business people from a Western culture, basic issues
of cultural miscomprehension still remain
Khi ng i Vi t đàm phán v i các th ng nhân đ n t ph ng Tây thì hi u l m do khác bi t v n
hóa v n t n t i.
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3. Simple concepts can have different connotations.
M t khái ni m đ n gi n c ng có th hi u theo nhi u ngh a khác nhau.
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4. Vi t Nam c n đa d ng hóa quan h đ i ngo i c a mình.
It is said that Vietnam needs to diversify its foreign relations.
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5. Given the Obama Administration’s foreign policy woes, this issue is likely to be stuck on the back
burner.
N u xét nh ng r c r i mà chính sách ngo i giao c a chính quy n Obama g p ph i thì v n đ này
ch c ch n s b t m gác sang m t bên trong m t th i gian n a. (Newsweek 8/2011)
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6. Social media criticism went into overdrive this week after authorities started cutting down some
500 of the 6,700 trees as it considered dangerous in the leafy metropolis often dubbed the “Paris of
Asia”. (Reuters)
Các ph ng ti n truy n thông xã h i đã đi vào ch trích khi chính quy n b t tay ch t đ n 500 trong
t ng s 6.700 cây xanh trong thành ph đ c m nh là “Paris c a châu Á”. (ANTG)
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V. Steps of House’s translation Quality Assessment Model
House’s model undergoes the following steps:
1. Doing a register analysis to get the source text profile
2. Describing source text genre realized in register
3. Giving a statement of function to the source text related with ideational and interpersonal meaning
4. Treating the target text in the same way as the source text was treated above
5. Comparing the two text profiles to produce a statement of “in-equivalence” which is categoried
according to the genre and the situational dimension of the genre and register. The errors found
are categorized into “covertly erroneous errors” and “covert erroneous errors”
6. Providing a statement of quality with reference to the translation result
7. Categorizing the translation result into two kinds: overt translation and covert translation
E.g.: the example below is the endeavor to apply House’s TQA model to discern two types of
errors - “covertly erroneous errors” and “covert erroneous errors”- in the English translation of the
short poem “Nam qu c s n hà” of Ly Thuong Kiet.
1. Nam qu c s n hà Nam đ c (Over the Southern Land reigns the Southern Emperor
Ti t nhiên đ nh ph n t i Thiên th As it stands destined forever in the Heaven’s Scroll
Nh hà ngh ch l lai xâm ph m If the barbarians sinfully dare to trespass
Nh đ ng hành khan th b i h . Thou shall, without pity, be succumbed in dishonor)
(Lý Th ng Ki t) (Hu nh Sanh Thông)
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Source text profile: Target text profile:
- Field: Subject matter: short poem - Field: Subject matter: short poem
Social action: Specific and popular Social action: Specific and popular
- Tenor: Writer's Provenance and Stance - Tenor: Translator's Provenance and Stance
Social Role Relationship: Asymmetrical Social Role Relationship: Asymmetrical
Social Attitude: Formal Social Attitude: Formal
- Mode: Medium: Complex - Mode: Medium: Complex
Participation: Complex Participation: Complex
Social Attitude: Formal Social Attitude: Formal
- Genre: short poem - Genre: short poem
- Function: Ideational - Function: Ideational
 A covertly erroneous discerned here is the mismatch between the Writer's Provenance and Stance
and the Translator's Provenance and Stance
Certain examples of overt errors are:

 “Not translated” error type
Nam qu c s n hà Nam đ c . Over the Southern Land reigns the Southern Emperor. (the
phrase “s n hà” is overlooked)
 Slight change in meaning
Nam qu c s n hà Nam đ c . Over the Southern Land reigns the Southern Emperor.
(“Southern Land” refers a slight change compared with “Nam qu c (Southern country))
 Significant change in meaning
Nh hà ngh ch l lai xâm ph m. If the barbarians sinfully dare to trespass. (“ngh ch l ” is
quite diferent from “sinfully dare”, but they both refers to the an action that goes against the destined
rule of the God)
 Distortion in meaning
.Nam qu c s n hà Nam đ c Over the Southern Land reigns the Southern Emperor (There
is no semnatic rendezvous between “c (live)” and “reign”)
Nh đ ng hành khan th b i h . Thou shall, without pity, be succumbed in dishonor.
Ti t nhiên đ nh ph n t i Thiên Th . As it stands destined forever in the Heaven’s Scroll.
(during the ancient time the book was made of bamboo, therefore “Scroll” was a better translation)
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Task 3: Using House’s TQA model, appraise the quality of the following English translation.
L y tr i m a xu ng Pray Heaven let it rain
L yn c tôi u ng To give us water to drink
L y ru ng tôi cày To fertilize our rice fields,
Cho đ y n i c m. And so to fill our rice pots.
(Nursery rhymes) (Translated by D ng ình Khuê)
- Field: Subject matter: ………………… - Field: Subject matter: …………………...
Social action: …………………... Social action: ……………………..
- Tenor: ………………………………… - Tenor: …………………………………….
Social Role Relationship: ……………… Social Role Relationship: ………………..
Social Attitude: ………………………… Social Attitude: …………………………...
- Mode: Medium: ………………………. - Mode: Medium: ………………………….
Participation: ………………….. Participation: ……………………..
Social Attitude: …………………. Social Attitude: ……………………
- Genre: ………………………………… - Genre: ……………………………………
- Function: ……………………………… - Function: ……………………………
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ánh cho đ dài tóc, (Fight for the rights to grow our hair long
ánh cho đ đen r ng, (Fight for the rights to dye our teeth black
ánh cho nó chích luân b t ph n, (Fight so they never dare to challenge us
ánh cho nó phi n giáp b t hoàn. (Fight until their armors turn to dust
ánh cho s tri Nam qu c anh (Fight to teach them a lesson, enshrined in our history,
hùng chi h u ch ! that the heroes of the South shall always reign supreme!)
(Nguy n Hu ) (https://freedomforvietnam.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/)
- Tenor: ………………………………… - Tenor: …………………………………….
- Genre: ………………………………… - Genre: ……………………………………
- Function: ……………………………… - Function: ………………………………
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Task 5: Using House’s TQA model, appraise the quality of the following translation.
Ng i ph trách thi t k c a hãng Kia, ông Peter Schreyer, đã đ c b nhi m làm tân lãnh
đ o thi t k cho t p đoàn Hyundai Motor. Ông Schreyer, ng i tr c đây t ng làm vi c cho các hãng
Audi và Volkswagen, s s p x p các ho t đ ng thi t k và tìm ki m s k t h p gi a hai th ng hi u
xe h i c a Hàn Qu c. Ba tu n tr c, nhà thi t k ng i c này đã đ c b nhi m làm ch t ch ng i
n c ngoài đ u tiên c a Kia. Quan ch c lãnh đ o c a Hyundai, Yang Woong-Chul, cho hay đ ng thái
này mang tính b t bu c đ đ m b o kh n ng c nh tranh lâu dài và giúp nâng cao giá tr th ng hi u.
Kia's design Peter Schreyer has been appointed as the new chief designer for the well-known
Hyundai Motor Group. Schreyer, who previously worked for Audi and Volkswagen from 2002 to
2008, will change the design operation and seek synergy between the two Korean brands which he is
working for. Three weeks ago, the German was named Kia's leading foreign president. Hyundai's
Woong-Chul Yang said the move was compulsory to secure long-term competitiveness and to help
maintain their brand value.
(Source: BBC Ti ng Vi t)
- Tenor: ………………………………… - Tenor: …………………………………….
- Genre: ………………………………… - Genre: ……………………………………
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Hãng hãng không giá r Easyjet thông báo r ng Ch t ch hãng này, Mike Rake, s t ch c vào
mùa hè. ng thái này di n ra sau m t cu c chi n kéo dài gi a Easyjet và ng i sáng l p c a nó,
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, xung quanh vi c m r ng quy mô c a hãng. u tu n này, Stelios gi m c ph n
c a ông trong Easyjet và đe d a s bán c ph n mà ông n m gi , n u công ty đ t hàng thêm máy bay.
Low-price airline Easyjet has announced that its chairman, Mr. Mike Rake, will quit his job
this summer. The move follows a long battle between the company and one of its founder, Sir Stelios
Haji-Ioannou, over the airline's expansion in Asia. Earlier this week, Stelios sold his stake in Easyjet
and threatened to sell more of his shares if the firm placed an order for more jet planes.
- Tenor: ………………………………… - Tenor: …………………………………….
- Genre: ………………………………… - Genre: ……………………………………
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REFERENCES
Baker, M. (1992). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. New York: Routledge.
Bassnett, S. (2002). Translation Studies (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge
Bell, Roger T. (1994). Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. New York: Routledge.
Catford, J. C. (2000). A Linguistic Theory of Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Even-Zohar, I. (2004). The Position of Translated Literature within the Literary Polysystem. In
Lawrence Venuti (Ed.). The Translation Studies Reader. (pp. 199-204). New York: Routledge.
Gentzler, E. (2001). Contemporary Translation Theories (2nd ed.). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Fenton, S. (1995). Lectures on Interpreting and Translating. Hanoi University of Foreign Languages
and Commonwealth Office.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1985/1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London, Melbourne and
Auckland: Edward Arnold.
Hatim, B. & Munday, J. (2004). Translation: An Advanced Resource Book. New York: Routledge.
Holmes, J. (2004). The Name and Nature of Translation Studies. In Lawrence Venuti (Ed.). The
Translation Studies Reader. (pp. 180-192). New York: Routledge.
House, J. (1997/2011). Translation Quality Assessment: A Model Revisited. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
L u Tr ng Tu n. (2012). An Introduction into Translation Studies. HCMC: Vietnam National
University - HCMC Publishing House.
Munday, Jeremy. (2008). Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications (2nd ed.). New
York: Routledge.
Newmark, P. (1998). A Textbook of Translation. Singapore: Prentice Hall.
Nord, C. (2005). Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology, and Didactic Application of a
Model for Translation-oriented Text Analysis (2nd ed.) Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Nida, E. A. & Charles Taber, R. (1969). The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: Brill.
Pym, A. (2010). Exploring Translation Theories. New York: Routledge.

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Reiss, K. (1977/1989). Text-types, Translation-types, and Translation Assessment. In Andrew
Chesterman (Ed.). Readings in Translation Theory (pp. 105-115). Helsinki: Finn Lectura.
Shuttleworth, M. & M. Cowie. (1997). Dictionary of Translation Studies. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Toury, G. (1995). Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Venuti, L. (2008). The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. New York: Routledge.
Vinay, J. P & Darbelnet, J. (1958/ 1995). A Methodology for Translation. In L. Venuti (Ed.), The
Translation Studies Reader (pp. 84-93). London: Routledge.
Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms. (1984). Merriam-Webster Inc. Publishers. Springfield,
Massachusetts, USA.
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SUGGESTED ANSWERS
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CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF TRANSLATION
Task 1: Work in groups and fill in the blanks with appropriate phrases given.
a. cultural barriers b. source language/ target language c. rendering
d. oral transfer e. communicate interculturally/ message receiver
Task 2: Choose the correct answer for each question.

1. C 2. A 3. B 4. A
5. C 6. A 7. B 8. D
9. D 10. B
Task 3: Decide if the following translations are semantic or communicative.

1. Communicative translation
2. Semantic translation
3. Communicative translation
4. Semantic tr
anslation
Task 4: Translate these sentences semantically and communicatively.
1. Nh g i th cho mình nhé.
 Semantic translation: Remember to send me a letter.
 Communicative translation: Drop me a line!
2. Hàng hóa n y bán đ t nh tôm t i.
 Semantic translation: This product is sold as much as fresh shrimps..
 Communicative translation: This product is selling like hot cakes.
3. Oh my God! Oil price is rising again!
 Semantic translation: Tr i i, giá x ng đ u l i t ng n a r i!
 Communicative translation: Tr i . X ng l i t ng giá n a!
4. One day you’ll find someone who doesn’t care about your past because they want to be your future.
 Semantic translation: M t ngày nào đó b n s tìm th y m t ng i nào đó không quan tâm quá kh
c a b n b i vì h mu n là t ng lai c a b n.
 Communicative translation: R i s có m t ngày em s tìm đ c ng i ch ng màng đ n quá kh
c a em mà ch mong mu n đ c sánh b c bên em trong suôt cu c đ i.
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Task 5: Choose some appropriate translation types for each kind of documents.
1. Legal documents: Semantic translation, Documentary translation, Overt translation, Written
translation
2. A recipe: Communicative translation, Instrumental translation, Overt translation, Written
translation
3. Laptop manual: Communicative translation, Instrumental translation, Overt translation, Written
translation
4. Brochures: Communicative translation, Covert translation, Instrumental translation, Written
translation
5. Inauguration speech of Obama: Semantic translation, Oral translation, Documentary translation,
Overt translation
Task 6: Match the words with the correct definitions.

1. Intersemiotic translation 6. Instrumental translation
2. Covert translation 7. Semantic translation
3. Intralingual translation 8. Overt translation
4. Communicative translation 9. Documentary translation
5. Interlingual translation
Task 7: Each word below depicts a characteristic of translation or interpretation. Put them into
the correct column.
write, dictionaries, accuracy, highly fluency, speak, real-time, note-taking,

aesthetic, legal contract, refinement, business meeting, delayed, verbal, time
pressure, microphone
Task 8: Find solutions for each following situation.

a. Accuracy and completeness
b. No conflict of interest...
c. Professional development
d. Accuracy and completeness, No conflict of interest
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Task 9: Identify what principle is violated in the following translations.
1. Accurate. 5. Communicative!
2. Accurate. 6. Beautiful
3. Accurate. 7. Beautiful
4. Accurate/ Communicative. 8. Accurate

1. A 2. B. ` 3. B 4. C 5. B
1. Intralingual translation:
- blockchain a digital ledger that records transactions made in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.
- déjà vu the strange feeling that in some way you have already experienced what is happening
now, but in reality you haven’t
2. Intersemiotic translation:
- The film Harry Potter was adapted from the same novel of J.K.Rowling
-“x is more than y” “x > y”
3. Covert translation:
- The translations of advertisements
- The translations of newspaper articles
4. Overt translation:
- The translations of political speeches
- The translations of poems
5. Instrumental translation:
- The translation of a refrigerator manual
- The translation of a aptop manual
6. Documentary translation:
- The translation of a business contract
- The translation of a certificate
Task 12: Read the statements and decide if they are TRUE or FALSE.
1. False 4. True
2. True 5. False
3. False 6. False
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7. True 11. False
8. False 12. False
9. False 13. True
10. False 14. False
CHAPTER 2: TRANSLATION THEORIES

Task 1: Answer the following questions
1. James S. Holmes
2. a vast expansion in specialized translating and interpreting programs, a boom in conferences,
books and journals on translation, the increasing the demand for general and analytical
instruments, a prosper in international organizations
3. Journey to the West, the Bible, Les Miserables, etc.
4. Product-oriented DTS, Function-oriented DTS, Process-oriented DTS
5. Translator training: teaching methods, testing techniques, curriculum design...
Translation aids: dictionaries, grammars, IT applications.
Translation criticism: the marking of student translations and the reviews of published translations
6. Product-oriented DTS, Function-oriented DTS, Process-oriented DTS
7. Medium-restricted DTS: automatic machine translation, computer-assisted translation,
consecutive or simultaneous interpretation.
Area-restricted DTS: specific languages, groups of languages, cultures, contrastive linguistics and
stylistics.
Rank-restricted DTS: the level of the words or sentences.
Text-type restricted DTS: literary, business and technical translation.
Time-restricted DTS: The history of translation in Vietnam, history of interpretation all over the
world
Problem-restricted DTS: Non-equivalence between Vietnamese and English language, Adaptation
between Vietnamese and Chinese language
8. B
1. A 2. A 3. B 4. C 5. C
6. B 7. C 8. B 9. C 10. A
11. B 12. B 13. B 14. C 15. B
16. B 17. A 18. A 19. B 20. A
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1. 4
2. source text-oriented
3. D
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. Phonemic translation, Literal translation, Metrical translation, Poetry into prose, Rhymed
translation, Blank verse translation, Interpretation.
8. Preliminary norms, Initial norms, Operational norms.
9. Philological Perspective, Linguistic Perspective, Communicative Perspective, Sociosemiotic
perspective. He helped to focus attention on the socio-cultural contexts of language and literary
texts. His concepts of formal and dynamic equivalence remain useful and relevant even today.
Nida provides an excellent model for translation for a manipulative purpose (like the translation
of the Bible).
1. Skopos means purpose. 3 rules include purposeful rule, coherence rule, and fidelity rule.
2. purposeful rule 8. fidelity rule
3. fidelity rule 9. purposeful rule
4. coherence rule 10. fidelity rule
5. coherence rule 11. coherence rule
6. fidelity rule 12. fidelity rule
7. coherence rule
CHAPTER 3: TRANSLATION UNITS, METHODS AND

TECHNIQUES
1 multicultural đa 6 oversupply quá/v t
2 cybersafety m ng (máy tính) 7 hypermarket siêu
3 impossible không/ b t/phi/vô 8 ultraviolet c c
4 nationalize hóa 9 macroeconomics v
5 pre-war ti n 10 misunderstand nh m/ sai
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Task 2: Decide at which level the following translation units were utilized.
1. business cycle chu k kinh doanh: word level
2. Yours faithfully Trân tr ng: text level
3. cánh đ ng b t t n floating lives: text level
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Ng a h tàng long : word level
5. kinh t th tr ng market economy: word level
6. corner the market l ng đo n th tr ng: phrase level
7. Man propses, God disposes M u s t i nhân, thành s t i thiên: sentence level
8. Oh, Sugar! Ch t ti t!: intertextual level
9. As far as I am concerned Theo ý tôi: clause level
10. You reap what you sow Gieo gió g t bão: sentence level
11. Th ng bé trông “th y ghét” ch a! How cutie the boy is!: intertextual level
12. The best friend a man has in a world may turn against him and become his enemy. Ng i b n
t t nh t mà con ng i có th có đ c trên th gi i này có th m t ngày nào đó hóa ra là k thù
ch ng l i chúng ta: text level
Task 3: Translate the following titles and decide at which level the following translation units
were utilized.
1. L Lem: Cinderella: Text level
2. Chi c lá cu i cùng: The last leaf: word level
3. Tôi th y hoa vàng trên c xanh: I see yellow flowers in the green grass: word level
4. Không ph i d ng v a đâu: I’m really quite something: sentence level.
5. Tây Du Ký: Journey to the West: word level
6. Ashes of Love: H ng m t t a khói s ng: Intertexttual level
7. H t gi ng tâm h n: Chicken soup for the souls: Intertexttual level
8. Bí m t t duy tri u phú: Secrets of the Millionnaire Mind: word level
9. c nhân tâm: How to Win Friends and Influence People: Text level
10. Chi n tranh ti n t : Currency wars: word level
11. The Journey of Flower: Hoa thiên c t: text level
12. Three Kingdoms: tam qu c chí: word level
13. The Tale of Kieu: Truy n Ki u: word level
Task 4: Translate the following sentences word by word.
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1. the rate of malnutrition in children: t l suy dinh d ng tr em
2. He was chosen to be the CEO of the company: Anh y đ c ch n làm ch t ch công ty
3. Buy very cheap and sell very dear: Mua r t r và bán r t đ t
4. About 80% of the vehicles built in the UK are exported: Kho ng 80% xe c s n xu t t i Anh đ c
xu t kh u.
5. M i ng i đ u khát khao hòa bình và h nh phúc: Everyone desires peace and happiness.
6. Gian khó không th khi n anh ta b cu c: Hardship can't make him give up/surrender.
7. K giàu th ng khinh khi ng i nghèo.: The rich often despise the poor.
8. Hút thu c lá thì r t có h i cho s c kh e.: Smoking is very harmful to health
Task 5: Translate the following phrases/ sentences with the Literal translation.
1. floating exchange rate. t giá h i đoái th n i
2. Business Registration Certificate. Gi y ch ng nh n đ ng ký kinh doanh
3. Investment portfolio management Qu n lý danh m c đ u t
4. socialist-oriented market economy n n kinh t th tr ng đ nh h ng XHCN
5. Nhi u doanh nghi p niêm y t bi n m t đ u n m nay.: Many listed businesses disappeared earlier
this year.
6. Two nations cooperate on the basis of respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty,
territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs.: Hai qu c gia h p tác trên c s
tôn tr ng s đ c l p, ch quy n, toàn v n lãnh th và không can thi p vào các v n đ n i b c a
nhau.
Task 6: Translate the following sentences faithfully.

1. Yes, Your Majesty! I will do anything to please you! (a lady talks to the King).
Muôn tâu b h ! Th n/ Thi p s làm b t c đi u gì đ làm hài lòng Ng i/Ngài!
2. Mom said to my father, “Darling! The baby’s coming!”
M nói v i b : Anh i/ Ông xã! a bé/Con nó s p ra r i!
3. “Anh đ n Vi t Nam đ bi n nh ng c m hoang d i nh t c a anh thành s th t”. ( Mai tính)
I come to Vietnam to make my wildest dreams come true
4. “Bitch! How dare you betray me?” Tong Giang said to his wife Diem Ba Tich. (The Water Margin).
“Ti n nhân! Sao ng i/mi dám ph n b i ta?”
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Task 7: Find the original Vietnamese saying from these Adaptation translations.
1. Giàu đâu nh ng k ng tr a/ Sang đâu nh ng k say s a t i ngày.
2. Công cha nh núi Thái S n. Ngh a m nh n c trong ngu n ch y ra.
3. Cá không n mu i cá n, con cãi cha m tr m đ ng con h .
4. Dù xây chín b c phù đ , không b ng làm phúc c u cho m t ng i.
5. Cha m nuôi con bi n h lai láng. Con nuôi cha m tính tháng tính ngày.
6. C a làm ra đ trên gác, c a c b c đ ngoài sân, c a phù vân đ ngoài ngõ.
7. Tr m n m bia đá c ng mòn, ngàn n m bia mi ng v n còn tr tr .
Task 8: Translate the following slogans, using the method of Free translation.
1. Duy nh t đ u nành. Riêng dành cho b n – VinaSoy
Soymilk specially for you!
2. Không ng ng v n xa - Vinaphone
Expand all the time!
3. Mãi mãi tinh th n kh i nghi p - VinGroup
Forever Entrepreneurial Spirit
4. V n cao Vi t Nam - Vinamilk
Growing and developing Vietnam
Task 9: Translate the following phrases with the method of Idiomatic translation.
1. kick the bucket
2. a piece of cake
3. as white as cucumber
4. to be broke
5. round the clock
6. n m m t n m gai, ng m đ ng nu t cay
7. tr n tránh trách nhi m, ném đá gi u tay
8. g ng càng già càng cay
9. M hát con khen hay.
10. Kh u ph t tâm xà, mi ng nam mô b ng b dao g m.
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Task 10: You are required to translate for a Chinese fantasy movie (phim tiên hi p). Use the
Semantic translation to translate these terms into Vietnamese.
1. Endless Energy Vô L ng Huy n công.
2. Spiritual energy Linh l c
3. Eternal Life V nh Sinh
4. Medicinal drugs đan d c
5. Against the Gods Ngh ch thiên
6. Sky Crasher Phá thiên khung
7. This is the land where the strong make the rules and the weak have to obey: ây lá n i mà y u
nhân vi nh c, c ng gi vi tôn.
Task 11: Adopt the communicative approach and translate the following sentences.
1. Guests are reminded that no visitors are permitted in the room after 10 p.m.
Quý khách vui lòng không ti p khách trong phòng sau 10 gi đêm
2. This is a place of worship. Silence is requested during services.
N i tôn nghiêm. Xin vui lòng gi yên l ng.
4. Xin h i Toa let đâu ?
Excuse me, where can I wash my hands, please?
5. L y ch ng nghèo thì c p đ t mà n à?
How can I live with such a poor husband?
Task 12: Match the translation methods and its corresponding examples.
1. D 5. E
2. A 6. F
3. C 7. B
4. G 8. H
Task 13: Decide what type of direct borrowing technique is normally used in each following
situation when they are translated into Vietnamese modern language.
Pure loanwords Mix loans Loan blends
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bill, marketing, MC, hotgirl, spa, cheque, dollar, bulloong, Internet banking, ozone layer,
canteen, tennis, massage, sushi, canteen, mannequin, tennis, Wall Street, Dow Jones index,
Black Friday, logistics, Bolero. massage, garage, scandal, zombie enterprise, domino
beefsteak, effect, sushi bond,
Task 14: Which language does each set of borrowing words come from?
1. Japanese 5. Arabic
2. Italian 6. Chinese
3. French 7. Korean
4. German 8. Russian
9. Malay
Task 15: Translate the following words/ phrases into Vietnamese with the technique of Calque.
1. Adam's apple: y t h u, trái kh 2. Braille: ch n i Braille
3. Caesararian birth: sinh m 4. Faustian bargain: th a c v i qu , áp phe
5. Murphy's law: đ nh lu t bánh b 6. Force Majeure: Tr ng h p b t kh kháng
7. quota: h n ng ch 8. Forget-me-not: hoa l u ly
9. Pyrrhic victory: chi n th ng cay đ ng 10. economies of scale: L i th kinh t nh quy mô
Task 16: Provide the original words of each following acronyms in economics and translate them
into Vietnamese.
English versions Vietnamese translated versions
1 NAV Net asset value giá tr tài s n ròng
2 GDP Gross Domestic Products T ng s n ph m qu c n i
3 FDI Foreign Direct Investment u t tr c ti p n c ngoài
5 IMF International Monetary Fund Qu ti n t qu c t
6 CPU Cost Per Unit n giá
7 MLM Multi-Level Marketing Kinh doanh đa c p/ Kinh doanh theo
m ng
8 EU European Union Liên minh châu Âu
9 EBIT Earnings before interest and taxes L i nhu n tr c thu và lãi

10 EPS Earnings per share T su t l i nhu n trên c ph n
11 FIFO First in First out Nh p tr c xu t tr c
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Task 17: Translate the following phrases into Vietnamese, using the literal translation.
1. private land ownership: quy n s h u t nhân v ru ng đ t
2. to improve social welfare for the disadvantaged: c i thi n phúc l i xã h i cho ng i có hoàn
c nh khó kh n
3. a bill to normalize the trade relation with VN: d lu t bình th ng hóa quan h th ng m i v i
VN
4. those who laid down for the country’s independence: nh ng ng i n m xu ng vì s đ c l p c a
đ tn c
5. planning in a phased manner: quy ho ch cu n chi u
6. on the basis of mutual belief and respect: trên c s tin t ng và tôn tr ng l n nhau
Task 18: Identify the sub-types of Transposition technique in the following statements.
1. self-financed tài chính đ c l p Simple word Complex word/ phrase:
2. ledger s cái Simple word Complex word/ phrase:
3. It is estimated that c tính r ng… Clause Verb
4. Loan shark ng i cho vay n ng lãi …………………………………………………………
5. Due to his failure to come, … Vì anh y không th đ n, …
Phrase Clause
6. Kathy không tin vào ng i môi gi i ch ng khoán đó. Kathy had no faith in that stockbroker.
Verb Noun
7. Ki m vi c làm m i tu i 40 r t khó. It’s so difficult to find a new job at the age of 40.:
Changing the position of some elements in the sentence
8. N u nó c l i bi ng nh th mãi, thì v sau ch c s ph i kh su t đ i. His life will be miserable
if he continues to be lazy like this: Changing the position of some elements in the sentence
Task 19: Put the words into the correct columns with appropriate Modulation technique.
bear cheque séc vô danh, clicks-and-mortar company công ty
1. Concrete Abstract: kinh doanh qua Internet
entertainment cost chi phí ti p khách, industrial relations m i
2. Abtract Concrete: quan h gi a ch và th
pie chart bi u đ tròn, brain drain ch y máu ch t xám,
3. One part Another part:
non-manual worker lao đ ng trí th c, unwritten contract h p
4. Negation of not A A: đ ng mi ng
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bare contract h p đ ng không đ n bù
5. A Negation of not A:
golden hello ti n th ng đ u quân, widow-and-orphan stock
6. One Metaphor Non c phi u giá tr cao, graveyard market th tr ng xu ng giá, head
Metaphor office tr s chính, sunrise industry ngành công nghi p đang
lên,
Task 20: Find a Vietnamese equivalence for the word “followers” in each context:
1. Religion in general: tín đ 2. Buddhism: Ph t t

3. Christianity: con chiên 4. Islam: tín đ H i giáo
5. Politics: ng viên 6. Police: k bám đuôi
7. Love (slang): v tinh, ng i theo đu i 8. Facebooker: followers/ ng i theo dõi
Task 21: Translate the following sentences with Adaptation technique.
1. Despite his looks, he’s said to be something of a Don Juan. S Khanh
2. I don’t want our love will be like Romeo and Juliet. Lan và i p
3. Ng i Sài Gòn c ng l m k m làm L c Vân Tiên gi a đ i th ng. Superman
4. Giá vàng hi n nay kho ng 35 tri u đ ng/l ng. (tael) 1800 USD/ounce
5. Xin l i tao đi không đ c ch ng tao có máu Ho n Th ghê l m. Othello
6. The two houses are 110 yards apart. 100 mét
7. After a tunnel of 6.5 miles long, you will get to the other side of the mountain. 10 km
8. She announced she is 20-weeks pregnant. 5 tháng
1. C 8. B
2. B 9. C
3. D 10. D
4. C 11. D
5. C 12. C
6. C 13. D
7. C 14. B

1. sentence level 3. clause level
2. Intertextual level 4. word level.
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5. word level 14. Calque.
6. Borrowing and Modulation. 15. Obligatory Transposition
7. literal translation 16. One colour to Another color
8. Calque 17. The whole A part
9. Modulation 18. A Negation of not A
10. Adaptation 19. Transposition
11. Free translation method 20. Calque.
12. Loan blend 21. Borrowing and Literal Translation
13. Pure loanword.
CHAPTER 4: EQUIVALENCE
1. Give 2 examples of linguistic untranslatability: heng, nhá, h , m , …
2. Give 2 examples of cultural untranslatability: trái tho, thánh ch i,
Task 2: These English words are untranslatebale in some languages. Work in groups and find the
Vietnamese equivalence if possible.
1. ahedonia lãnh c m
2. amfisbitophobia th o mai
3. forelsket say n ng
4. leptosome ma c i, ng i 2 m t, con mình dây
5. sapiosexual ái trí
6. torpe ng i nhát gái
7. zoilist thánh soi
8. singletasker ng i ch làm đ c t ng vi c m t
9. boregasm chán ch ng c c h n
10. déjàbrew d n dà nh l i vi c làm khi say x n
11. mantrum n ml n nv
12. tidsoptimist ng i xài gi dây thun
Task 3: Find 3 equivalents for each word

1. Công ty: firm, enterprise, corporation, company, business, consortium, association
2. X lí: solve, handle, deal with, address, tackle
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3. Hàng hóa: goods, merchandise, ware, stock, commodity, product, article, cargo
4. Yêu c u: request, ask, desire, posit, call for, demand
5. Cung c p: provide, supply, accommodate, cater
6. Subject: môn h c, đ i t ng, ch th , v n đ , b t bu c
7. Target: m c tiêu, đ i t ng, đích nh m
8. Mistake: sai sót, sai l m, ph m l i, l m l n.
9. Appreciate: đánh giá, bi t n, c m kích, nhan th c rõ.
10. Challenge: thách th c, khó kh n, th thách, đ ng đ u, ph n t .
Task 4: Fill in the table with correct words
English term Business-related meaning Common meaning
1. Draft H i phi u, l nh rút ti n B n th o, nháp
2. Securities ch ng khoán An ninh
3. Agreement h p đ ng, hi p c S đ ng ý
4. Trust Tín d ng S tin c y
5. Collection Thu h , đòi n thuê S ut p
6. Quotation b ng báo giá trích d n
7. Honor Nh n thanh toán (chi phi u) danh d
8. Interest Ti n lãi S quan tâm
9. Offer Chào giá ngh
10. Policy H p đ ng b o hi m Chính sách
11. Term i u kho n khóa h c, giai đo n
12. Promotion Hàng khuy n mãi Lên ch c, th ng ti n
Task 5: Match the words in Column A with their euphemisms in column B.

1. E 2. A 3. L 4. B 5. C 6. G
7. I 8. F 9. M 10. H 11. D 12. J
13. N 14. K
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Task 6: Find the Textual equivalence of the following phrases/sentences in a formal letter.
1. Kính g i: Dear Sir/Madam
2. Mong nh n đ c th h i âm c a ông s m. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon
3. Xin đính kèm theo th là … Please find hereby the attached …
4. Trân tr ng. Repectfullly
5. Xin vui lòng liên h s đi n tho i … Should you need any further information, please do not
hesitate to contact me on …
6. Tôi r t vui đ c thông báo v i b n r ng … Please be informed that …
7. Chúng tôi r t ti c ph i thông báo r ng… We regret to inform you that...
8. Xin chân thành c m n đã đ c th này. Thank you very much for your time and
consideration
Task 7: Find the Textual equivalence of the following signs.

1. Không ph n s mi n vào: Authorised only! 5. Không d m lên c : Keep off the grass!
2. B h : Out of order! 6. C m x rác: No littering!
3. Coi ch ng chó d : Beware of dogs! 7. M t gi y t : Lost!
4. L i thoát hi m: Fire exit! 8. Xin đ ng làm phi n: Silence, please!/
No disturbing
Task 8: Find the Pragmatic equivalence of the following situations.
1. When you meet your old friend: Long time no see! = ã lâu không g p.
2. When everybody drinks beer: Bottom up! = Tr m ph n tr m, Cheers = Dzô!
3. When you want everyone to smile for photographing: Say cheese! = C i lên nào!
4. When someone is sneezing: Bless you! = Mong b n mau kh e!
5. When you want to pay the money. My treat! = tôi tr
1. A 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. A 6. B
7. D 8. A 9. D 10. D 11. A 12. A
13. C 14. C 15. A 16. A 17. A 18. B
19. A 20. A
Task 10: Match the correct type of equivalence in A comlumn with its definitionin B column:
1. C 2. A 3. B 4. D 5. E
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1. Nil equivalence 6. Pragmatic equivalence
2. Complete equivalence. 7. Complete equivalence
3. Inclusion equivalence 8. Partial equivalence:
4. Connotative equivalence. 9. Nil equivalence.
5. Denotative equivalence. 10. Complete equivalence.
CHAPTER 5: CULTURAL TERMS AND

NON-EQUIVALENCE
Task 1: Find the English equivalents of the following cultural terms.
1. Pacific Rim: Vành đai Thái Bình D ng 2. Indochina Peninsula: Bán đ o ông D ng
3. Paracel Islands: Qu n đ o Hoàng Sa 4. Spratly Islands: Qu n đ o Tr ng Sa
5. Vesak: l Ph t đ n 6. Politburo member: y viên B chính tr
7. áp th p nhi t đ i: tropical depression 8. đ t phù sa: alluvial soil
9. rét nàng Bân: the cold in the third lunar month 10. c m lam: bamboo-tube rice
11. v tuy n th 17: the 17th parallel 12. c u kh : foot bridge, rope bridge

1. List 5 Vietnamese traditional musical instruments: àn đáy, đàn tranh, đàn nh , đàn b u, đàn t r ng,
khèn
2. List 5 Vietnamese traditional types/forms of folksongs: hát ru (lullaby), hò (chanty) , quan h
folksong, trong quan folksong, xoan folksong, ví gi m folksong, Hue royal court music, bài chòi
folksong, hát x m folksong, ch u v n folksong, and ca trù folksong.
3. List 5 Vietnamese heritage sites and 4 intangible cultural heritages:
Heritage sites” Hoi an Ancient Town, Imperial City of Hue, My son Holy land, Phong Nha cave, and
Ha Long Bay.
Intangible cultural heritages: Hue Court music, Ca tru, Quan Ho, and Space of gong culture.
4. List 5 Buddhist terms: hereafter (n) : ki p sau, secular (a) : th t c, ignorant (a) : ngu d t, b vô
minh che đ y, attendant (n) : th gi , salvation (n) : s gi i thoát, altar : bàn th , enlightenment (n) :
s giác ng , Four Noble Truths : T di u đ , meditation (n) : thi n đ nh, Nirvana (n) : Ni t bàn, Noble
Eightfold Path : Bát chánh đ o, wheel of the Law : bánh xe Chánh pháp, Bodhi Tree: cây B đ , The
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Brotherhood: giáo h i, Pass on the good tidings: Ho ng d ng ph t pháp, Law of Cause and Effect:
Lu t nhân qu , Heart Sutra = bát nhã tâm kinh, Sutra: Kinh, Amitabha = A Di à Ph t,
Avalokiteshvara = Quán th âm B Tát, Bodhisattva = b tát, 12 links = 12 nhân duyên, Taking refuge
in the Three Jewels = Quy y tam b o (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), cyclic existence = luân h i,
disciple = đ t , discourse = bài pháp, …
Task 3: Match the following public celebrations in Vietnam with their dates.
1. C 2. B C. D 4. A 5. E 6. J
7. H 8. G 9. I 10. K 11. L 12. F
Task 4: Use appropriate strategies to translate the following terms.

1. Tam tòng t đ c: three subordinations and four virtues
2. R u hoàng hoa: farewell wine
3. ng phòng hoa chúc: consummation
4. Vàng mã: joss paper
5. Cháu đích tôn: first paternal grandson/ the chosen heir by default the eldest son of one's eldest son,
entrusted with the responsibility of perpetuating the family lineage.
6. Nhà th t : lineage hall / clan ancestral house/ house of cult
7. Long m ch: good layer of earth (supposed to have a decisive influence on a man"s fate), geomantic
vein of fortune
8. y tháng: Full moon celebration
9. Xông đ t: first-footer, first caller, be the first New Year"s caller, to first foot
10. Anh em c t chèo: brothers-in-law
11. L tr t ch: Lunar New year’s Eve
Task 5: These words are translated differently based on the geographical condition. Translate
them into British and American English.
BRITISH ENGLISH AMERICAN ENGLISH
1. Qu c h i Parliament Congress
2. Thang máy lift elevator
3. TD mobile phone cellphone
4. Qu n tây trousers pants
5. Thùng rác trash bin recycle bin, garbage bin
6. Kí túc xá Hall of Residence Dormitory
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7. Tr m đ x ng filling station petrol station
8. R p chi u phim cinema the picture
9. Mùa thu autumn fall
10. ng cao t c highway express way
11. H chung c apartment flat
12. Bánh quy biscuit cookies
13. Bãi đ u xe parking lot car park
14. V a hè pavement sidewalk
15. Ngã t crosssroad junction
Task 6: Translate the following superordinates/hyponyms.

1. n i (chu i), chùm (nho), bó (hoa): bunch
2. đàn (sói) pack, đàn (ong) swamp, đàn (ki n) army, đàn (c u) flock, đàn (ng a) stud,
đàn (chim) flock, đàn (s t ) pride, đàn (cá) school
3. nhóm (sinh viên) group, nhóm (lính) army/troop, nhóm (chuyên gia) team, nhóm (toán
c nh sát) patrol
4. wear (pants) m c, wear (a dress) mang/m c, wear (a handbag) đeo, wear (perfume)
x c, wear (lipstick) tô/thoa/trét, wear (makeup) trang đi m, wear (a hat) đ i, , wear (a
headscarf) choàng.
5. lose (a game) thua, lose (face) m t, lose (way) l c, lose (weight) gi m/s t, lose (the
war) thua, lose (love) th t (tình), lose (a game) ………………
6. (thu c) gi fake pharmaceutical products, (r ng) gi false teeth, (k t hôn) gi
bogus/sham/fake marriage, (ti n) gi counterfeit notes, (n trang) gi imitation jewellery,
(tranh) gi reproduction painting,, (gi y t ) gi forged papers, (tên) gi assumed/false name,
(vàng) gi replica gold nugget, (chân tay) gi artificial/prosthetic limbs
Task 8: Translate into Vietnamese with correct collocations.

1. the horse runs: ng a phi 2. the dog runs: .chó r t/chó đu i
3. the tap runs: .vòi n cr 4. the nose runs: m i nh y/m i r
5. the vine runs: dây bò 6. black horse: .ng a ô
7. black dog: chó m c 8. black cat: mèo mun
9. black ink: m c tàu 10. black hair: tóc huy n
11. black buffalo: trâu m c 12. black trousers: qu n l nh
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13. instant coffee: cà phê hòa tan 14. instant success: thành công t c th i
15. instant scratchies: vé cào trúng th ng 16. heavy drinker sâu r u
17. heavy crop: mùa m ng b i thu 18. heavy fate: s ph n h m hiu/
long đong
19. strong tea: trà đ m. 20. wash hair: g i đ u.
21. deliver a baby: sinh con 22. beat shyness: ch a th n
Task 9: Find the equivalent proverbs in Vietnamese.

1. Out of sight, out of mind. Xa m t cách lòng
2. A leopard never changes its spots. Giang s n d đ i, b n tính khó d i/
Ng a quen đ ng c
3. The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill. ng núi này trông núi n
4. Birds of a feather flock together. Ng u t m ng u mã t m mã/ ng
thanh t ng ng, đ ng khí t ng c u
5. Beauty is only skin-deep. Tót g h n t t n cs n
6. Half a loaf is better than none. Có còn h n không
7. Jack of all trades is the master of none M t ngh thì s ng, đ ng ngh thì
ch t/ M t ngh cho chin còn h n chin ngh / Bá ngh tri v chi bá láp
8. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Có chí thì nên/ Có công mài s t có
ngày nên kim
9. To err is human Nhân vô th p toàn
10. Gratitude is the sign of noble souls n qu nh k tr ng cây
11. Every cloud has a silver lining H t c n b c c t i h i thái lai/ Sau c n
m a tr i l i sáng
12. One drop of poison infects the whole of wine Con sâu làm s u n i canh
13. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched Ch a đ ông nghè đã đe hàng t ng,
/ Nói tr cb c không qua.
14. He that knows nothing doubts nothing : i c không s súng
15. A miss is as good as a mile Sai m t li đi m t d m
16. Man proposes, God disposes M u s t i nhân, thành s t i thiên
Task 10: Translate the following sentences into English, using the proverbs above.
1. You should be patient. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
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2. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. What if no one buys your products?
3. Tôi ngh anh quá l i r i, đã là con ng i thì có ai toàn di n đâu/nhân vô th p toàn mà.
You are overestimating me! To err is human!
4. You should not study at two schools at the same time because Jack of all trades is the master of
none.
5. ng đ n đo nhi u quá, m u s t i nhân, thành s t i thiên mà.
Don’t think too much. Man proposes, God disposes.
6. Failure in business is common. I believe every cloud has a silver lining.
Task 11: Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese with appropriate techniques.
1. Anh ta ng say nh ch t
2. Ng i đàn ông Bonita g p trong b a ti c r t t t b ng, nh ng ti c là anh ta không không ph i gu
c a cô y.
3. James và John khác nhau tr i v c.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Tôi chúa ghét nh ng k n thùng u ng v i/ n nh h m.
1. Non-equivalence of Vietnamese words with concepts that are unknown in Western culture: đ o
D a, bún thang
2. Non-equivalence of Vietnamese words expressing concepts which are known in the target culture
but there are no equivalent: nói thách, câu th n t nh m khang
3. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese ecology and their translated versions: ru ng b c thang
terraced field, lúa n c wet rice
4. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese organizational and hierarchical structures and their
translated versions: th i kì quá đ transitional phase, giai c p vô s n proletariat …
5. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese food and their translated versions: bánh ch ng Chung
cake/ square sticky rice cake; ph Pho
6. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese social and lifestyle culture and their translated versions:
dân ca quan h quan h folksong, 2. crop rotation luân canh
7. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese traditional musical instruments and their translated
versions: àn cò – Vietnamese one-string guitar, àn tranh – Vietnamese 16-string zither
8. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese traditional types of folksongs and their translated versions:
dân ca quan h quan h folksong, hát ví gi m Vi Giam folksong
120
9. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese clothes and their translated versions: áo dài Aodai, áo
t thân four-panel dress
10. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese houses and their translated versions: nhà rông
communal house, nhà sàn stilt house
11. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese intangible cultural heritages and their translated versions:
hát ca trù Ca tru singing, Không gian v n hóa c ng chiêng Space of gong culture
12. Cultural-specific terms for Western modern words and their translated versions:
Individualism ch ngh a cá nhân, xenopholia s sính ngo i.
13. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese movements and their translated versions:
Phong Trào ông Du Dong Du (Eastern Study) movement
Phong trào C n V ng Can V ng (Aid the King) movement
14. Cultural-specific terms for Vietnamese political organizations and their translated versions:
ng C ng s n Vi t Nam Communist Party of Vietnam
oàn thanh niên C ng s n H Chí Minh Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union

1. Organizational and hierarchical culture.
2. Social and lifestyle culture.
3. …. of Material culture.
4. “Qu c h i Vi t Nam” is translated as “Vietnam’s National Assembly”.
5. fixed collocation
6. Peter Newmark divided Proper nouns into 5 categories as part of the cultural-specific items.
7. Non-verbal language.
CHAPTER 6: TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Task 1: What kind of reason was violated in each translation?
121
Task 2: Identify the type of overt errors in the following translation.
1. “Slight change in meaning” error
2. “Not translated” error
3. “Not translated” error, “Slight change in meaning” error: Loss of connotative meanings, Loss of
formality, “Significant change in meaning” error
4. “Not translated” error
5. “Breach of the SL system” error, “Creative translation” error
6. Cultural filtering
L y tr i m a xu ng Pray Heaven let it rain
L yn c tôi u ng To give us water to drink
L y ru ng tôi cày To fertilize our rice fields,
(Nursery rhymes) (Translated by D ng ình Khuê)
- Field: Subject matter: rhyme - Field: Subject matter: rhyme
Social action: popular Social action: popular
Social Role Relationship: Symmetrical Social Role Relationship: Asymmetrical
Social Attitude: Informal Social Attitude: Informal
- Mode: Medium: Complex - Mode: Medium: Complex
Participation: Simple Participation: Simple
Social Attitude: Informal Social Attitude: Informal
- Genre: rhym/ short poem - Genre: rhym/ short poem
L y tr i m a xu ng. Pray Heaven let it rain. (the word “xu ng” is overlooked)
122
L yn c tôi u ng. To give us water to drink. (“us” refers a slight change compared with
“tôi (I))
L y ru ng tôi cày. To fertilize our rice fields. (“cày” is quite diferent from “fertilize”)
ánh cho đ dài tóc, (Fight for the rights to grow our hair long
ánh cho đ đen r ng, (Fight for the rights to dye our teeth black
ánh cho nó chích luân b t ph n, (Fight so they never dare to challenge us
ánh cho nó phi n giáp b t hoàn. (Fight until their armors turn to dust
ánh cho s tri Nam qu c anh (Fight to teach them a lesson, enshrined in our history,
hùng chi h u ch ! that the heroes of the South shall always reign supreme!)
(Nguy n Hu ) (https://freedomforvietnam.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/)
- Field: Subject matter: proclamation - Field: Subject matter: proclamation
Social action: Specialized Social action: Specialized
Social Role Relationship: Asymmetrical Social Role Relationship: Asymmetrical
Social Attitude: formal and requesting Social Attitude: formal and requesting
- Mode: Medium: Complex - Mode: Medium: Simple
Social Attitude: formal and requesting Social Attitude: formal and requesting
- Genre: formal, archaic - Genre: formal, archaic
- Function: Interpersonal and Expressive - Function: Interpersonal and Expressive
and the Translator's Provenance and Stance, and the mismatch between Mode of Complex and
Simple

123
ánh cho s tri Nam qu c anh hùng chi h u ch ! Fight to teach them a lesson, enshrined
in our history, that the heroes of the South shall always reign supreme!
ánh cho đ dài tóc. Fight for the rights to grow our hair long.
ánh cho nó phi n giáp b t hoàn. Fight until their armors turn to dust.
ánh cho đ dài tóc. Fight for the rights to grow our hair long.
ánh cho s tri Nam qu c anh hùng chi h u ch ! Fight to teach them a lesson, enshrined in
our history, that the heroes of the South shall always reign supreme!
ánh cho đ đen r ng. Fight for the rights to dye our teeth black.
Ng i ph trách thi t k c a hãng Kia, ông Peter Schreyer, đã đ c b nhi m làm tân lãnh
đ o thi t k cho t p đoàn Hyundai Motor. Ông Schreyer, ng i tr c đây t ng làm vi c cho các hãng
Audi và Volkswagen, s s p x p các ho t đ ng thi t k và tìm ki m s k t h p gi a hai th ng hi u
xe h i c a Hàn Qu c. Ba tu n tr c, nhà thi t k ng i c này đã đ c b nhi m làm ch t ch ng i
n c ngoài đ u tiên c a Kia. Quan ch c lãnh đ o c a Hyundai, Yang Woong-Chul, cho hay đ ng thái
này mang tính b t bu c đ đ m b o kh n ng c nh tranh lâu dài và giúp nâng cao giá tr th ng hi u.
Kia's design Peter Schreyer has been appointed as the new chief designer for the well-known
Hyundai Motor Group. Schreyer, who previously worked for Audi and Volkswagen from 2002 to
2008, will change the design operation and seek synergy between the two Korean brands which he is
working for. Three weeks ago, the German was named Kia's leading foreign president. Hyundai's
Woong-Chul Yang said the move was compulsory to secure long-term competitiveness and to help
maintain their brand value.
Source text profile: - Mode: Medium: Simple
- Field: Subject matter: short article Participation: Complex
Social action: Specialized Social Attitude: Neutral and Formal
- Tenor: Writer's Provenance and Stance - Genre: journalistic article
Social Role Relationship: Symmetrical - Function: Ideational
Social Attitude: formal Target text profile:
124
- Field: Subject matter: short article - Mode: Medium: Simple
Social action: Specialized Participation: Complex
- Tenor: Translator's Provenance and Stance Social Attitude: Neutral and Formal
Social Role Relationship: Symmetrical - Genre: journalistic article
Social Attitude: formal - Function: Ideational
Ng i ph trách thi t k c a hãng Kia, ông Peter Schreyer, Kia's design Peter Schreyer …
Quan ch c lãnh đ o c a Hyundai, Yang Woong-Chul, cho hay Hyundai's Woong-Chul
Yang said …
Ba tu n tr c, nhà thi t k ng i c này đã đ c b nhi m làm ch t ch ng in c ngoài đ u
tiên c a Kia. Three weeks ago, the German was named Kia's leading foreign president
Ông Schreyer, ng i tr c đây t ng làm vi c cho các hãng Audi và Volkswagen, s s p x p các
ho t đ ng thi t k Schreyer, who previously worked for Audi and Volkswagen from 2002 to 2008,
will change the design operation
 Distortion in meaning
giúp nâng cao giá tr th ng hi u to help maintain their brand value.
…đ c b nhi m làm tân lãnh đ o thi t k cho t p đoàn Hyundai Motor. … as the new chief
designer for the well-known Hyundai Motor Group.
Ông Schreyer, ng i tr c đây t ng làm vi c cho các hãng Audi và Volkswagen, … Schreyer,
who previously worked for Audi and Volkswagen from 2002 to 2008,
mùa hè. ng thái này di n ra sau m t cu c chi n kéo dài gi a Easyjet và ng i sáng l p c a nó,
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, xung quanh vi c m r ng quy mô c a hãng. u tu n này, Stelios gi m c ph n
c a ông trong Easyjet và đe d a s bán c ph n mà ông n m gi , n u công ty đ t hàng thêm máy bay.
125
Low-price airline Easyjet has announced that its chairman, Mr. Mike Rake, will quit his job
this summer. The move follows a long battle between the company and one of its founder, Sir Stelios
Haji-Ioannou, over the airline's expansion in Asia. Earlier this week, Stelios sold his stake in Easyjet
and threatened to sell more of his shares if the firm placed an order for more jet planes.
- Field: Subject matter: short article - Field: Subject matter: short article
Social action: Specialized Social action: Specialized
Social Role Relationship: Symmetrical Social Role Relationship: Symmetrical
Social Attitude: formal Social Attitude: formal
- Mode: Medium: Simple - Mode: Medium: Simple
Social Attitude: Neutral and Formal Social Attitude: Neutral and Formal
- Genre: journalistic article - Genre: journalistic article
ng thái này di n ra sau m t cu c chi n kéo dài … The move follows a long battle …
mùa hè. Low-price airline Easyjet has announced that its chairman, Mr. Mike Rake, will quit his
job this summer.
u tu n này, Stelios gi m c ph n c a ông trong Easyjet. Earlier this week, Stelios sold
his stake in Easyjet …
ng thái này di n ra sau m t cu c chi n kéo dài gi a Easyjet và ng i sáng l p c a nó, Stelios
Haji-Ioannou, xung quanh vi c m r ng quy mô c a hãng. The move follows a long battle between
the company and one of its founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, over the airline's expansion in Asia.
126

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BANKING UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

HO CHI MINH CITY, 09/2019

useful and practical.

Good luck and best wishes!

II. Scope of Translation – Science, art and skill ..................................................................... 4

III. Translation typology .......................................................................................................... 5

IV. Codes of ethics ................................................................................................................. 11

V. Translation principles ....................................................................................................... 12

VI. Requirements for a professional translator/interpreter..................................................... 13

VII. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 14

CHAPTER 2: TRANSLATION THEORIES ...............................................................................15

I. Rationale for Translation studies ..................................................................................... 15

II. Descriptive translation studies (DTS) of Holmes ............................................................ 16

III. Historical background of Translation studies .................................................................. 19

IV. Early theories of translation studies ................................................................................. 25

V. Contemporary theories in translation studies ................................................................... 28

VI. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 37

CHAPTER 3: TRANSLATION UNITS, METHODS AND TECHNIQUES ............................40

I. Translation Units (UT) ..................................................................................................... 40

II. Translation methods by Newmark ................................................................................... 42

III. Translation techniques by Vinay and Darbelnet .............................................................. 48

IV. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 55

CHAPTER 4: EQUIVALENCE .....................................................................................................58

II. Gain and Loss................................................................................................................... 59

III. Equivalence ...................................................................................................................... 59

IV. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 67

I. Cultural elements in translation ....................................................................................... 68

II. Non – equivalence at word-level ..................................................................................... 70

IV. Collocations and Non – equivalence above word-level ................................................... 74

V. Suggested strategies for translating idiomatic collocations ............................................. 76

VI. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 78

CHAPTER 6: TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT ......................................................80

I. Views for “A good translation” ....................................................................................... 80

II. Main reasons for translation errors .................................................................................. 80

III. Approaches to evaluating a translation ............................................................................ 81

IV. House’s translation Quality Assessment Model .............................................................. 85

V. Steps of House’s translation Quality Assessment Model ................................................ 89

VI. Further practice ................................................................................................................ 91

In the field of Linguistics, “Translation” has several meanings:

In the field of Translation studies, there are different definitions:

II. Scope of Translation – Science, art and skill

III. Translation typology

Source text (ST) v n b n ngu n Target text (TT) v n b n đích

- Source text-oriented translation (b n d ch thiên v b n g c) means rendering the message that is

Task 2: Choose the correct answer for each question.

Task 3: Decide if the following translations are Semantic or Communicative.

Task 4: Translate these sentences semantically and communicatively.

d) Written translation vs. Oral translation/Interpretation

Task 8: Find solutions for each following situation.

Task 9: Identify what principle is violated in the following translations.

Task 10: Choose the best answer for each question.

Figure 2-1: Holme’s map of Translation studies

3. What is INCORRECT about the Formalism theory?

4. Coca-Cola is the trademark of a beverage company. In China, it is translated into “ (k

Task 1: Identify the meaning of the underlined morphemes in Vietnamese.

Task 6: Translate the following sentences faithfully.

6. Idiomatic translation (d ch thành ng ): This method is concerned with communicating the

1. Religion in general: ……………… 2. Buddhism: ………………

Task 21: Translate the following sentences with Adaptation technique.

Reasons for Gain and Loss:

Task 3: Find 3 equivalents for each word

English term Business-related meaning Common meaning