VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES ---H I--- TRAN NGOC MAI SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TRANSLATION OF THE DUMMY – SUBJECT “IT” INTO V
INTRODUCTION
The problem
Languages serve as unique forms of communication, showcasing both distinct expressions and shared similarities among them, reflecting our common humanity.
It in English and its variations in usage is not a special case In contrast with
Vietnamese, it certainly has some similar usages and some different ones, too
Vietnamese students can easily translate the singular third-person pronoun "It" into their language, as there is a corresponding expression in Vietnamese.
Do you know where my cat is? Cậu có biết con mèo của tớ đâu không?
It is over there, under the table Noù ở đằng kia kìa, dưới cái bàn ấy
However, when It plays the role as a Dummy subject in the sentence, it’s usually a difficulty for Vietnamese students to translate the Dummy Subject
It from English into Vietnamese and vice versa Because of the differences in structure and meaning, there may be some confusion and mistakes in translation
In Vietnamese, the pronoun "It" can replace a noun, typically referring to a thing or an animal, and is equivalent to "Nó." However, when "It" functions as a pseudo-subject, it cannot be translated as "Nó" and requires different expressions depending on the context This raises the question of whether there is a universal approach to understanding the various uses of "It" to prevent misinterpretations between the two languages.
There are some books on methods of translation, but it’s probably not enough for students to get a proper way of translation, basing on these things
Vo Liem An & Vo Liem Anh (1995) mentioned almost nothing about Dummy Subject IT in their book “100 Vietnamese – English translations” Similarly,
Le Van Su (2002) and Truong Quang Phu (2001) provided basic patterns involving the Dummy IT construction and its Vietnamese equivalents, but lacked detailed explanations As a result, students often translated the dummy subject "It" solely based on structure, neglecting the semantic and pragmatic nuances of the sentences This oversight sometimes led to amusing translations between English and Vietnamese, as illustrated by the sentence “It’s true that she never comes on time,” which resulted in various humorous interpretations.
*Nó thì đúng cô ta không bao giờ đến đúng giờ
*Đây là sự thật cô ấy không bao giờ đến đúng giờ
If the students had ascertained the grammar and translation techniques, the translation would have been as follows:
Sự thật là cô ấy không bao giờ đến đúng giờ
Or Đúng là cô ấy không bao giờ đến đúng giờ.
Aims of the study and overview of the thesis
This thesis examines the use of the Dummy Subject "IT" to address gaps in understanding within this area The author aims to enhance English teaching and assist Vietnamese learners in mastering the application of this term The analysis of the Dummy Subject "IT" will be approached through the lens of Functional Grammar, focusing on three key aspects: transitivity, mood, and their implications for language use.
This thesis explores the translation of the Dummy-subject "IT" into Vietnamese, addressing its frequent occurrence in English and providing guidelines for its proper usage.
Teachers of English play a crucial role in guiding students to effectively translate into Vietnamese, addressing the significant differences and similarities in sentence structures between the two languages One notable difference is the use of the dummy subject "It," which poses challenges for Vietnamese learners of English This thesis aims to assist students in overcoming these obstacles by providing detailed material from various grammatical perspectives, applicable in teaching writing, translation, and reading Additionally, it serves as a valuable resource for English-speaking foreigners studying Vietnamese.
To address the aforementioned issues, the inductive method is utilized to analyze the data This thesis will explore the guidelines for using the dummy subject "it," based on numerous examples sourced from novels, grammar books, textbooks, magazines, and newspapers.
Scope of the Study
This thesis will concentrate exclusively on the Dummy Subject "It," highlighting its diverse structures and meanings Other forms of "It," including the Dummy Object and idiomatic expressions, will not be addressed in this work.
Design of the study
Beside the introduction, the thesis consists of five chapters:
METHODOLOGY
Research design
A questionnaire was developed to assess students' understanding of the Dummy subject "IT" among sophomore and senior students at Hochiminh City’s Junior Teacher Training College It comprised two main sections: the first gathered demographic information such as age, grade, gender, and high school attended, while the second included 25 English sentences for translation into Vietnamese The sentences were categorized, with sentences 1 to 5 representing the real subject "IT," sentences 6 to 10 as Prop "IT," sentences 11 to 22 featuring anticipatory "It," and the final three as cleft sentences Students were instructed to circle any sentence they found too difficult or unfamiliar instead of translating it.
The survey results indicated that most students struggled to understand the dummy subject "it." This highlights the necessity for further research into these structures in both English and Vietnamese.
Method
The thesis employed a synthesizing and analyzing methodology to collect and evaluate data This analysis was grounded in theoretical frameworks related to a dummy subject, which served as the standard for assessing the students' translation skills.
The article explores the use of the inductive method in data analysis, defined as a logical reasoning approach that derives general laws from specific examples, as noted in The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics and McMillan Dictionary It focuses on the rules governing the use of the dummy subject "it," which are established through careful observation of various examples from novels, grammar books, textbooks, magazines, and newspapers.
LITERATURE REVIEW
THE TRANSLATION THEORY
There are a lot of things related to translation techniques, however, in the extent of this thesis, only the ones that can be applied are mentioned
Translation problems encompass a broad and often debated category within linguistics It is essential to highlight key concepts that can help both teachers and learners of grammar and translation understand the essence of translation.
The absence of equivalent structures for the Dummy Subject "It" in Vietnamese poses a significant challenge for learners Basil Hakim and Ian Mason (1997:7) highlight that translators often encounter issues related to the levels of equivalence between the source and target languages.
Dr Nguyen Tien Hung, in his book *A Course in the Theory of Translation* (1986), highlights the challenges of translation related to semantic and pragmatic aspects While some source and target languages share similarities in meaning and structure, facilitating straightforward translations—such as "I usually get up at 6 o’clock" to "Toâi thường dậy lỳc 6 giơứ"—this is not always the case Translators often need to apply their pragmatic skills to interpret language components based on context or specific situations, ensuring an equivalent translation that accurately conveys the intended meaning.
Translating sentences like "It's raining" into Vietnamese as "Trời mưa" illustrates the complexity of language translation In different contexts, the word "It" may require various expressions to convey the same meaning Translators must employ diverse techniques to accurately transform the source language into the target language while preserving the original intent of the message.
Untranslatability, a concept closely related to non-equivalence, occurs in linguistics when there is no direct lexical or syntactical equivalent in the target language for a source language item Consequently, translators must decode the source text and reconstruct it to fit the target language As noted by Nida (1975: 80) and Nguyen Tien Hung, the appropriate technique to address this challenge is paraphrasing.
To prevent interlingual errors, Nguyen Tien Hung (1986:16) recommended substituting sentence types during translation He noted that translating from English to Vietnamese often requires converting English structures with non-finite verbal forms into subordinate clauses, effectively transforming simple sentences into complex ones and vice versa.
The general’s a good man to away from (S Heym The Crusaders)
Mặc dù ông tướng là người tốt nhưng tốt hơn hết là chúng ta nên tránh xa oâng aáy ra
A student unfamiliar with translation techniques might incorrectly translate the sentence as, "The general is a good person to stay away from!" This clearly results in a nonsensical translation.
In addition to the previously mentioned translation techniques, this study also employs transposition, which Nguyen Tien Hung defines as a modification in the sequence of linguistic elements.
In translation, the order of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences may differ from the source language to the target language This rearrangement is essential to maintain the original meaning while adhering to the norms of the target language This technique is particularly common in translations involving anticipatory "It."
[1] Isn’t it a shame THAT THEY LOST THE GAME?
Chẳng phải VIỆC HỌ THUA CUỘC là một sự ô nhục hay sao?
Or [2] It’s our wedding anniversary NEXT MONTH
THÁNG TỚI là kỷ niệm ngày cưới của chúng tôi
All the things that have been mentioned above indicate that translation is really a complicated process The translator needs to allow for many aspects to make his work the best.
PREVIOUS LITERATURE ON IT AS A SUBJECT
At first sight, learners of English may be confused with the usages of
The pronoun "It" is often perceived solely as a third-person singular pronoun referring to objects or animals; however, its usage in formal written English is significantly more prevalent, appearing approximately 400-600 times per million for cleft "It" and up to 28% in conversation or 17% in academic writing This highlights the necessity of distinguishing between two syntactic roles of "It": the "Real" subject and the "Dummy" subject Numerous linguists, including A Downing, D Biber, R Quirk, J Eastwood, and M Swan, have explored these distinctions Additionally, several Vietnamese authors, such as Le Van Su (2003), have proposed formulas for translating these sentence structures into Vietnamese.
Truong Quang Phu and Tran Quang Man (2001) provided practical methods for translation equivalence but did not ground their approaches in linguistic theory This thesis aims to address this gap by applying translation and linguistic theories to enhance understanding of the translation process.
In addition, only It as a grammatical subject was studied in this thesis Other functions of It were not involved
EXPRESSIONS OF “IT” IN ENGLISH
REAL SUBJECT “IT”
According to Downing (1992), the Subject is identified through syntactic features such as position, concord, pronominalization, and reflection in tag questions Semantically, it can represent various participant roles and can be expressed through diverse groups and clauses Notably, when "it" serves as the subject, it functions as a neuter singular third-person pronoun for inanimate or non-human entities, such as "table," "dog," or "car."
[1] Look at that bird It always comes to my window in the morning
According to Quirk, R (1985; 353) It is the pronoun which is used if we want to corefer to a singular generic noun phrase with zero article
Music is my favorite subject Is it yours? (participant)
The term "It" serves as a real subject in sentences, functioning as an anaphora to replace previously mentioned entities This versatile pronoun can represent an animal, an object, or an abstract concept, fulfilling various roles in communication.
[1] Look at that bird It always comes to my window in the morning (agent)
This is my dog It is intelligent (experiencer)
Your baby is drinking its milk in the room, isn’t it? (benefactive)
In this context, "It" serves as a third-person singular noun and functions as a real subject, fulfilling all criteria necessary for a genuine subject Consequently, when translated into Vietnamese, "It" can be interpreted as "Noù" when referring to an object or an animal.
Nhìn con chim hay bay đến cửa sổ nhà tôi vào buổi sáng Đây là con chó của tôi, nó rất thông minh Đứa trẻ nhà bạn đang uống sữa trong phòng, phải không?
In various situations, speakers can opt for personal pronouns (he, she) or non-personal pronouns (it), with personal references indicating a closer connection and non-personal references conveying a sense of detachment This choice is particularly significant in four specific semantic domains Notably, the non-personal option also addresses issues related to the unknown or irrelevant gender of the referenced living being.
One three-month-old [baby] managed to talk its parents into sending Santa a letter asking for some clothes (NEWS)
To heal our inner child, we must provide the nurturing it lacked in the past Meanwhile, a baby lies peacefully in his crib, embodying contentment and innocence.
Poor [infant]! Why on earth did her people park such a kid as that at boarding school? (FICT)
You know that [cat] it scratched me (CONV)
The dog purchased in London from Ross and Mangles was the strongest and most savage available In contrast, the ship's cat was perfectly suited to its environment, often moving in a nautical crawl with its stomach close to the deck.
Only the [dog]’s determination to be reunited with her master kept her going (NEWS)
In the following examples the choices is between feminine and non-personal only:
Italy has recalled its ambassador to Romania for consultations Citizens can contribute to the nation's progress by engaging in the material revolution, which includes various actions such as conspiracies and plots that Italy undertakes to achieve its objectives.
The ship's bow was punctured, creating an eighty-two-foot gash along the port side due to its high forward speed In contrast, a derelict ship rests gracefully on its keel, while a Thames barge must find a specific way to rise and maintain its dignity.
• It is used to substitute a whole clause or a fact
Besides referring to things, animals, ideas … that are mentioned above, Prop It also stands for a whole idea, a fact or is used for introducing someone or something:
B: Yes, so I hear Isn’t it a shame?
(It = that they lost the game)
[2] A: Where did you first meet her?
B: It must have been here
(It= the place where you first met her)
[3] The bell rang, and I went to the door It was Dr Long
The substitution is used here to avoid repletion of known information by a “filler” word, in this case It refers to a whole clause or a fact
In the case of substitution for the whole clause, It can be translated as
“Đó, Điều đó…” and replace an idea mentioned before or after it, depending on whether the clause is an anaphora or cataphora:
[4] That's just it- I can’t work when you're making so much noise
Vậy đó – tôi không thể làm việc được khi các cậu làm ồn đến như vậy
‘ It’ is also used to emphasize as follows:
[5] It was a nice day (S-V) Đó là một ngày đẹp trời (C-V)
The two sentences share identical structures, allowing for a direct word-for-word substitution due to the equivalence of their components.
It can be used to answer the questions whose subject is “that”, “this”
It is used to identify a person, a thing:
[7] “What’s this?” – “It’s a new kind of watch.”
[8] “Is that Mary over there?”- “No, it’s Susane.”
[9] Who’s that? – It’s me, your grandson
[10] Is life worth living? - It depends
In these cases, structurally, “ It ” functions as a subject, but semantically,
It doesn’t refer to the things, so we cannot use “ Nó ” to translate into
In Vietnamese, the expression "It is " translates to "Đó là ", "Đấy là ", " đây", or " đấy", serving as a way to identify or answer the questions "Who is that?" or "What is this?".
“Ai đó?” – “Đó là John”/ “John đây.”
[7a] “What’s this?” – “It’s a new kind of watch.”
“Cái gì vậy?”- “Đó là một loại đồng hồ mới”
[8a] “Is that Mary over there?”- “No, it’s Susane.”
“Có phải Mary ở đó không?” – “Không, đấy là Susane/ Susane đấy”
[9a] Who’s that? – It’s me, your grandson
Ai đó? – Cháu đây, cháu của bà đây
[10a] Is life worth living? - It depends Đời có đáng sống không?- Cái đó còn tùy
The classification of "It" in English varies among linguists, primarily falling into two categories: Real Subjects and Dummy Subjects Within the realm of Dummy Subjects, opinions can be categorized into two main types: Anticipatory It and Dummy Subject It in cleft sentences This distinction aims to clarify the study of these expressions.
DISCUSSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Chapter IV highlights the key findings regarding students' difficulties in translating structures with Dummy Subject It from English to Vietnamese Additionally, it offers teaching recommendations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of English language instruction and learning.
Chapter V draws conlusions on the implications of the findings and suggests an approach to teaching translating and writing to enhance students’ ability to use English correctly
This chapter outlines the design and methodology of the study, beginning with the research design that justifies the thesis It aims to assess students' understanding of the Dummy Subject "It" and to identify their translation habits and challenges The second section introduces the methodology employed to address these issues, utilizing a synthesizing and analyzing approach Finally, the chapter concludes with a description of the study's procedures.
A questionnaire was developed to assess students' understanding of the Dummy subject "IT" among sophomore and senior students at Hochiminh City’s Junior Teacher Training College It comprised two main sections: the first gathered demographic information such as age, grade, gender, and high school attended, while the second included 25 English sentences for translation into Vietnamese The sentences were categorized, with the first five representing the real subject "IT," sentences six to ten as Prop "IT," sentences eleven to twenty-two as anticipatory "It," and the final three as cleft sentences Students were instructed to circle any sentence they found too difficult or unfamiliar instead of translating it.
The survey results indicated that most students struggled to understand the dummy subject "it." This highlights the necessity for further research into these structures in both English and Vietnamese.
The thesis employed a synthesizing and analyzing methodology to collect and evaluate data This analysis was grounded in theoretical frameworks related to a dummy subject, which served as the standard for assessing students' translation skills.
The article explores the use of the inductive method in data analysis, defined as a logical reasoning approach that derives general laws from specific examples, as noted in The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics and McMillan Dictionary It focuses on the rules governing the use of the dummy subject "it," which are established through the examination of various examples from novels, grammar books, textbooks, magazines, and newspapers.
Theories on translation errors and problems were thoroughly examined, alongside various linguists' perspectives on the Dummy Subject "It." This foundational research served as a basis for identifying an appropriate translation for the Dummy Subject "It."
The Dummy Subject It was considered in three aspects: syntax, semantics and pragmatics And so was its Vietnamese version Many different
17 examples were observed, compared with their structures, order of words, semantic roles, and the stance of the language user
The analysis of the questionnaire data, along with the examination of structures featuring the Dummy Subject "It" and their Vietnamese equivalents, leads to valuable conclusions that can enhance English teaching and learning.
There are a lot of things related to translation techniques, however, in the extent of this thesis, only the ones that can be applied are mentioned
Translation problems encompass a broad and often debated area within linguistics It is essential to highlight key concepts that can help both teachers and learners of grammar and translation understand the essence of translation.
The absence of equivalent structures for the Dummy Subject "It" in Vietnamese poses a significant challenge for learners Basil Hakim and Ian Mason (1997:7) highlight that translators often encounter issues related to the levels of equivalence between the source and target languages.
Dr Nguyen Tien Hung, in his book *A Course in the Theory of Translation* (1986), highlights the challenges of translation related to semantic and pragmatic aspects While some source and target languages share similarities in meaning and structure, facilitating straightforward translations—such as "I usually get up at 6 o’clock" to "Toâi thường dậy lỳc 6 giơứ"—this is not always the case Translators often need to apply their pragmatic skills to interpret language components based on context or specific situations, ensuring an equivalent translation that accurately conveys the intended meaning.
Translating sentences like "It's raining" into Vietnamese as "Trời mưa" illustrates the complexity of language translation In different contexts, the word "It" may require various expressions to convey the same meaning Translators must employ diverse techniques to accurately transform the source language into the target language while preserving the original intent of the message.
Untranslatability refers to a linguistic phenomenon where there is no direct lexical or syntactical equivalent in the target language for a source language item This necessitates that the translator decode, transfer, and reconstruct the original text to fit the target language As noted by Nida (1975: 80) and Nguyen Tien Hung, the appropriate technique to address this challenge is paraphrasing.
To prevent interlingual errors, Nguyen Tien Hung (1986:16) recommended substituting sentence types during translation He noted that translating from English to Vietnamese often requires converting English structures with non-finite verbal forms into subordinate clauses, thereby transforming simple sentences into complex ones and vice versa.
The general’s a good man to away from (S Heym The Crusaders)
Mặc dù ông tướng là người tốt nhưng tốt hơn hết là chúng ta nên tránh xa oâng aáy ra
A student unfamiliar with translation techniques might incorrectly translate the sentence as, "The general is a good person to avoid!" This clearly results in a nonsensical translation.