Luận văn a translation quality assessment of the vietnamese version of the nover the notebook by petal lê 2010 using peter newmark's model

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES —œMNaa— BÙI THỊ MAI ANH A TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE V

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

—œMNaa—

BÙI THỊ MAI ANH

A TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE VIETNAMESE VERSION OF THE NOVEL THE NOTEBOOK

BY PETAL LE (2010) USING PETER NEWMARK’S MODEL

(Danh gia chất lượng bản dịch tiếng Việt của tiểu thuyết Nhật ký (2010) do

Petal Lê dịch theo mô hình của Peter Newmark)

M.A.MINOR THESIS

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 60.22.02.01

HANOI, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

—œMNaa—

BÙI THỊ MAI ANH

A TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE VIETNAMESE VERSION OF THE NOVEL THE NOTEBOOK

BY PETAL LE (2010) USING PETER NEWMARK’S MODEL

@anh giá chất lượng bản dịch tiếng Việt của tiểu thuyết Nhật ký (2010) do

Petal Lê dịch theo mô hình của Peter Newmark)

MLA MINOR TIIESIS

Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.02.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lé Hang Tién

HANOT, 2014

TECTLARATION OF AUTIIORSIIP

I hereby state that the thesis entitled “A translation quality assessment of the Vietnamese version of the novel The Notebook by Petal Lé (2010) using Peter Newmurk’s model” is the result of my research for the Degree of Masler of Aris at

‘University of Languages and Intemational Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanot, and the thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

‘This study would not have been completed without the support of many people,

to whom I am profoundly grateful

First and foremost, T would like to express my mosl sincere gratitude to Assoc

Prof Dr Lé Hung ‘Tién, my supervisor, for his invaluable advice, fervent guidance and

enthusiastic support during all the stages of this research Without his advice and indefatigable perseverance, I would nol have been able lo complete this paper

Besides, | want to show my appreciation to my mother and my husband whose encouragement represents the best inspiration I have ever had Their energy and onthusiasm always help me move forward, over tiredness and boredom when everything seems to be in the middle of nowhere

This experience would never have been my satisfaction, at least for now, without

my friends and colleagues who gave me helpful advice, suggestions and

encouragement during my exhaustion,

ABSTRACT

‘This thesis examines the translation quality assessment of the Vietnamese

version of the novel The Notebook translated by Petal Lé The Introduction states the

ralionale for the sludy as well as establishes the objectives, scope and methods of the study

The main part of the thesis starts with the theoretical background which presents

issues relevanl Lo the study comprising translation, translation methods, translation

equivalence and translation quality assessment After all the theories have been

introduced, the researcher evaluates the Vietnamese version of the book using Peter

Newmark’s model The five-step model bas been followed sinetly wilh the emphasis

on step 3, also known as the heart of the critique

In the last part of the study, the critic summaries what she has gained after

assessing the translation in order to answer the research questions sel in the (inst part

Suggestions for further studies are also offered,

2 Objectives of the gtudy cseeeeeirerrrie wd

1.2.2.1 Tuliane House's Mođel, à screeiirrrrrrrrrereeree E

2 Evaluation of the Translation basing on Newmark’s Model „12 2.1 A brief analysis of the source language text „12

2.2.2 The translator’s methed

2.2.3, The translation’s likely readership

2.3 Comparison of the translation with the original - - we LF

v

2.3.2.1, Simple sentences vs Compottd senfsnees - „18

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

As the acclaimed translator Edith Grossman writes in the Preface of her book Why Translation Matters (2010), translation has a transcendent significance: “[ranslation not only plays its important traditional role as the means that allows us access to literature originally written in one of the countless languages we cannot read, but it also represents 8 conercte literary presence with the crucial capacity to ease and make more meaningful our relationships lo those with whom we may not have had a connection before Translation always helps us to know, to see from a different angle, to attribute new value to what once

may have been unfamiliar As nations and as individuals, we have a critical need for that kind

of understanding nd insight The allomative is unthinkable.” Literary tras

fictive way to enhance intercultural understanding Not every one has the

tion, on the Lop

of that, is the one

chance to know well even one foreign language to appreciate a literary work that they so year for It is translation and translators that fill the gap and open up new worlds for booklovers to explore

Globalization and integration have created great opportunity for a huge amount of foreign literary works to come within reach of Vietnamese readers While booklovers always hunger for new literary works to come out, translators, at the same time, have to cope with enormous workload of translating the originals as fast as possible ‘rhis makes translation a demanding and lough job thal requires not only broad cultural background knowledge but alsa enthusiasm, professional conscicnee and serupulousness However, every now and then, owing to objective and subjective reasons, the translated versions still contain mistakes of various types There are even translated works that canse translation disasters and spark off vigorous debates With thousands of Tilerary banslations published every year by hundreds of publishers in Vietnam, translation quality control seems an impossible task Besides highly appreciated and well-received translation works such as Wuthering Heights and Gone with the Wind vy Duong Tuong, Harry Porter sertes by Ly Lan, The Twilight Saga by Tinh Thủy, there remain works of poor quality, for example, the Viemamese version of Harry Porter and

the Order of the Phoenix by Tran Thing Minh (Văn hóa —Théng tin Publisher, 2003), The da

Vinci Code by BS Thu la (Van hoa — Thông tin Publisher, 2006), The Hlementary Particles

by Cao Vist Diing (Da Ning Publisher, 2006), The Things They Carried by Trin Tién Cao

Dang (Van hoc Publisher, 2011), Seal Team Six by Đoàn Châu Hoài Giang (Alphaboeks

Publisher, 2012) The: ở translalođ versions have reccived a great deal of criticism since their

publication due to their vocabulary, grammar, style, spelling, typing mistakes that even an

ordinary reader cannot bear Therefore, this minor thesis would like to concentrate on the evaluation of one literary translation in order that rzadcrs and booklovers ean have better conception and comprehension of some models of translation quality assessment initiated by notable linguists in the world such as Juliane iouse and Peter Newmark

Since the limitation of a minor thesis, Juliane Tonse’s model and Petsr Newmark’s model will be introduced and Newmark’s will be selected as the main means to evaluate the Vietnamese version of The Notebook by Petal Lé to reveal the good points and bad points of the Wanslated lexis with regards lo the original In addition, the author would like to look inta the outstanding equivalence types the translator has achieved in translabng this popula literary work so that other translators can get some experience from him

2 Objectives of the study

The study covers the following, aims:

* To assess the translation quality of the translated version of the novel The Notebook

in terms of the aspects discovered from theories raised by different scholars including Juliane House and Peter Newmark with Newmark’s model as the main

enicria

« To suggest some implications for the translation of literary works

To successfully achieve the above aims, the thesis socks lo answer the wo rescarcl, questions:

© How good is the Vietnamese version of The Nolebook according to Newmark’s model?

What recommendations can be made fram the translated version?

3 Scope and method of the study

3.1 Scope of the study

The work of fiction Zhe Notebook consists of twelve chapters in total Since this is a

story of logical coherence and requires complete penetration, the researcher finds iis a good idea to evaluate the translation text on a general basis However, due to limitation of time for this study, certain emphasis on highlights of this fiction will be presented

4.2 Method of the study

Sinve this is the sludy to evaluals the lranslated version of The Notehook by Polal Lê, a theoretical insight into some différent translation quality assessment models by different

linguists is necessary Peter Newmark’s model, for its advantages in terms of applications, will bz used as the major criteria for zvaloating the Victnamtese version of the navel

‘The following steps will be taken, Hirsi, the original text will be read meticulously and comprchensively Secondly, the translated text will be read scparatcly Finally, the sours toxt will be compared to its translation under the ffamework of Newmark’s translation quality assessment model, According to his model, there are five main steps towards translation quality assessment and they are gaing to be followed step by step

« Slep 1: A brief awalysis of the ST, lext stressing its intention and ils fimctional aspeels

© Slcp 2: Thz translator's interpretation of the SL text's purpose, his tanstation method and the translation’s likely readership

© Step 3: A solective bul representative dotailod comparison of the translation with the original in terms of both semantics and syntactic

© Step 4: An cvaluation of the translation

© Step 5: Where approptiate, an assessment of the likely place of the translation in the target language culture or discipline

4 Design of the study

The study consists of three mnain parts

arid translalion asscsstcnt

2 Evaluation of the Translation basing on Newmark’s Model

In this part, Newmark’s five-step translation quality assessment model aforementioned

will be applizd in as

author Nicholas Sparks

Part HE: Conclusion

The final part is the discussion of the results of this study It concludes the strengths and

ing the Vietnamese version of The Notebook by the well-known

weaknesses of the translator basing on the application of the model Suggestions and implications for other translators are also offered, especially in the field of literary works

There are some definitions of translation, In Approaches fo Translation, Newmark

(1982:7) states “L'ranslation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message

and/or statement in one language by the same messags and/or statement in another language.” According to Bell, R.T (1991:5), “Translation is the expression in another language (or TL) of what has been expressed in another, SL, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences.”

Transtation is the procedure which leads fom a vaitfen ST text to an optimally equivalent TL text, and which requires the syntactic, semantic, stylistic and test pragmatic comprehension by the translator of the original text (Wilss, 1982: 112)

‘Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one lenguage by a

representation of another equivalent in a szcond language (Harlan & Stock, 1972)

Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivatent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms

of style (Nida & Taber, 1974:12)

It is observed that the above definitions by difitrent scholars in different times include the two significant factors: the qualities of the original text covering meaning, style, syntactic and pragmatic issucs and the cquivalencs in the translation,

1.1.2 Transiation Methods

Newmark (1988) suggests eight methods of transtation as followed:

Scmantic translation Communicative translation

Word for-word translation: ‘fhe SL word-order is preserved and the words translated

singly by their most common meanings, out of conlexL Cultural words are translated literally

4

Literal translation: ‘he SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest

TL equivalents bul the lexical words are again translated singly, out af coniext

Faithful translation: A faithful translation attempts to reproduce the precise contextual

meaning of the original within the constraints of the I'L grammatical structures It attempts to

be completely faithful to the intentions and the text-realization of the SI writer

Semantic translation; Scmantic translation differs from ‘faithful translation’ only in as

far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value it may translate less important cultural

words by cullurally neutral dhird or functional terms but not by culinral equivalents The distinction between ‘faithful’ and ‘semantic’ translation is that the first is uncompromising and dogmatic, while the second is more flexible, admits the creative exception to 100% Rdelity and allows for the translalor’s intudlive cmpathy with Iho original

Communicative translation; Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership

Idiomatic translation: Idiomatic translation reproduces the ‘message’ of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these

do not exist in the original

Free translation: Frcc translation reproduces the mattcr without the mame, or the content without the form of the original Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original, « so-called Sintracingnal translation’, often prolix and pretentious, and nol transtation

at att

Adaptation: This is the ‘itzest’ form of translation, It is used mainly for plays and

poetry, the themss, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the ‘I'L culture and the (ext rewrittou (1988: 45-47)

equivalence is the most essential in translation: “I'he essence of transiation lies in the preservation of meaning across (wo dt (ferent languages.”

“SL and TL texts or items are translation equivalents when they are interchangeable in a

given situation,” (Catford, 1965:49)

Newmark (1995:48) states that “The averriding purpose of any translation should be ta achicve equivalent effect, i.c to produce the same cffect (or one as close as possible) on the readership of the translation as was obtained on the readership of the original.” In this amen, Newrnark emphasizes the importance of fancticnal equivalence as “lhe overriding

purpose of any translation.”

Koller cited in Readings in Translation Theory (Chesterman, A, 1989) views

equivalence in term of the mainicnance of the SI and TT quality According to him (1979),

the equivalence requirement of a translation to its origin is as follows: “Quality (qualities) X

in the source language text nmst be preserved.” The qualities can be understood as the different characteristics the source text has, which must be preserved in the translation text

‘Those characteristios may include the style, meaning, readership and purpose of the text

According to Baker, equivalence at word level covers a number of factors relating number, gander, and part of speech She claims that different grammatical structures in the ST and TL may cause remarkable changes in the way the information or message is carried across (noun phrase in SL can be translated as verb phrase in Tl)

1.13.2, Types of Equivalence

Translation theorists tend to classify equivalence in accordance with different eritcria and approach Some of the most outstanding ones are form-based, meaning-based, faction based and quantitative equivalence

1.1.3.2.1 Form-based Equivalence

An extremely interesting discussion of the notion of equivalence can be found in Baker (2292) who seems to offer a more detailed list of conditions upon which the concept of equivalonce ean be defined, She distinguishes bet

ME + Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level, when translating from one language into anather This means that the translator should pay attention to a nmmber of factors when considering a single word, such as number, gender and tense (1992: 1-12)

+ Textual equivalence, when referring to the equivalence between a SL text and a TL text in terms of information and cohesion It is up to the translator to decide whether or not to

maintain the cohesive tics as well as the coherence of the ST kext His or her decision will be

gnided by three main factors, that is, the target audience, the purpose of the translation and the text type

1,1.3.2.2, Meaning-based Equivalence

Kaller (1979) considers five types of equivalence

* Denotative equivalence: the SI and the TT words refer to the same thing in the real world + Connolalive equivalence: this type of equivalence provides additional valucs besides denotative value and is achieved by the translator's choice of synonymous words or expressions

+ Text-normative equivadence: The SL and the TL words are used in the same or similar

context in their respective languages

+ Pragmatic equivalence: With 1zadership oricnlalion, the ST and TT words have the same effect on their respective readers

+ Formal equivalence: This type of equivalence produces an analogy of form in the translation by their exploiting formal possibilities of TL, or creating new forms in TL

+ Nil equivalence: no TL expression is cqivalant to a single ST expression, therefore,

loaned/borrowed equivalents should be used

~3

1.2 Translation Quality Assessment

1.2.1 Definition

In his book, 4 Texibook of Translation, Peter Newmark, naming translation quality assessment as translation criticism, defines it as essential link between translation theory and its practice

Another scholar, Malcolm Williams at University of Ottawa, gives a more apparent definition of transtation quality assessment according to several aspects; evaluating sources (their usefulness and aulhenticity), evaluating authors and their Iranslators (heir aesthetic,

their influences and how this informs their work), evaluating source texts and evaluating

target texts Therefore, translation quality assessment is a type of evaluation It can be

quantitative or qualitative: il can Le based on mathcratical/stalistical measurement (as in the

case of most academic instruments) or on reader response, interviews and questionnaires (e.2 Nida) Translation quality assessment can be diagnostic (determining areas for mprovement

at the outset of a course of study), formative (measuring progress and giving feedback during

a course of study) or stovmative (mcasuring the results of leaning) He finally concludes that

whether our focus is on products, performance or competence, we are essentially trying to

determine degrees of goodness when we perform translation quality assessment The

approach can be prescriptive, asscssing tianslation against criteria of acsthetic effect, usability, and intrinsic compliance with standards of target language correctness and fidelity

1.2.2, Transtation Quality Assessment Models

Models of transtation quality ass

authors such as Wilss (1974), Koller (1974), or Reiss (1974), Among them, Peter Newmark

(1995) and Juliane [lonse (1997) are the two brilliant researchers who create their own

men have been proposed by a number of famous,

moilels lo repair the deficiency and limitation of the preceding authors,

1.2.2.1 Juliane House's Model

Juliane lious2’s model was first designed in the mid-1970s (Louse, 1977, 2d.ed.1981)

and recently revisited (House, 1997)

In House’s functional-pragmatic model of translation evaluation which is based on 4 theory of translation as re-contextnalization, transtation texts are daubily contextualty bound

to Iheir originals and to the new recipients’ contextual conditions Tins double tirikage is the basis of the equivalence relation the conceptual heart of translation, Since appropriate use of

language in communicative performance is what matters most in translation, it is fietetional

pragmatic equivalence which ix crucial This typo of equivalence undorpins this functional

translation model ‘The model explicates the way semantic, pragmatic and textual meaning are

re-constilulcd across different contexts

Translation is conceived as the replacement of an LI text by a semantically and

pragmatically equivalent L2 text An adequate translation is then a pragmatically and

semantically equivalent one

— A first requixement for this oquivalcnoc is that a translation text has a function equivalent to that of its original

= The function of a lax — with its ideational and interpersonal components — is simply the application of a text in a particular context, and there is a systematic relationship between context and the fimctional organization of langnage-in-text, which can be revealed by brouking down conlcxt inlo a manageable sct of “contextual parameters’ To grasp a texts meaning, it umust be referred to the particufar ‘context of situation’ which envelops it,

Such a view of function and context-text undeilies the analytic flamework of the model

(2006), the model of translation quality assessment has a

According to Lé Iling Ti

clear linguistically theoretical basc and concrete, detailed steps However, this model also requires linguistic knowledge and high professional skills of the eritics and the criticism mainly aims at researching languages and translation Therefore, this modal has not been applicd widely and just at experimental level in Translation Studics,

1.2.2.2, Peter Newmark's Modet

Peter Newtnark mare an attempt in 1988 to propound a theory of translation pedagogy

1 The individual style or idiolect of the SL author

2 The conventional grammatical and lexical usage for the type of SL text, depending

on the topic and the situation

3 Content items referring specifically lo the ST culture

4, The typical format of a SL language text in a book, penodival, newspaper, etc., as influenced by the tradition at the time

S ‘The expectations of the putative readership, bearing in mind their estimated knewlcdge of the topic and the style of language they use, expressed in terms af the largest common factor

6 ‘the conventional grammatical and lexical usage for the type of TL text, depending

on the topic and the situation

7 Content items referring specifically to the TL culture

8 The typical format of a IL text in a boak, periodical, newspaper, etc,, as influenced

by the tradi

9, What is being described ot reported, ascertained or veritied

10 'Phe views and prejudices of the translator, which may be personal and subjective,

10

making processes carry the misleading underlying message of ideal, one-to-one and perfect imalches between languages

His theory is also based on an unrealistic three-level activity process, by which

translators receive, analyse the SL text and then transfer it into the TL llowever, professional

translators and scholars alike have demonstrated that translators do not first receive and

analyze an SL text and then transfer it into the TL, but that the process of reccption and

analysis operate according to the purpose of translation Thus, the translator does not receive

and analyze the SL in a neutral way, but wilh a view to translating il for a

erlain purpose The eclectic approach proposes a five-step leaming process of translation to help students tackle the source text and its translation more confidently and with more and better arguments

to account for their decisions Therefore, rather than gelting students lo proc

ed following a linear structure (receive analyze transfer), they leam to approach the text fiom difitrent angles and perceive the different factors existing in the translation such as Hingusstic, extra- linguistic, pragmatic or professional

Newmark (1988) gives his own model of translation quality asscssment called

“comprehensive criticism of a translation” including five practical steps which will be apphed

in evatuating a specific translated version in this thesis

© Step I: A brief analysis of the SL text stressing its intention and its functional aspects

This may include a stalerncnt of the aulhor’s purpose, thal is, the altitude họ lakos lowards the topic; characterization of the readership; an indication of its category and type

Step 2: the translator’s interpretation of the SL text's purpose, his translation method and

the translation’s likely readership

* Step 3: A selective but representative detailed comparison of the translation with the

original in terms of both semantics and syntactic You do not take the points successively: you group them selectively under general heads: the title; the structure, including the

paragraphing and sentence connectives; proper names; cultural words; shifty metaphors;

translationese; neologisms; ‘untranslatable’ words; ambignity, level of language; and,

where relevanl, mela-language, puns, sound-effect

© Step 4: an evaluation of the translation: — (a) in the translator’s terms, (b) in the critic’s terms, (c) as 4 picce of writing, independently of ils original

© Step 5: Where appropriate, an assessment of the likely place of the translation in the target

language culture or discipline In the casc of a scrious text, say a novel, a pocim, or an

important book, you assess the work’s potential importance within the target Janguage

culture.

2 Evaluation of the Translation basing on Newmark’s Model

In this purl, the rescarcher evaluates the translated version of the novel The Notebook by following five steps in Peter Newmark’s model precisely as follows:

2.1 A brief analysis of the source language text

Newmark in his textbook states that “In your analysis of the SI text, yon may incnds a statement of the author’s purpose, that is, the attitude he takes towards the topic, characterization of the readership; an indication of its category and type You assess the quality of the language lo determine the translator's degree of license, assuminys for exarnple that he can reduce cliché to natural language in infounative but not in authoritative texts You briefly state the topic or themes, but do not précis the text and do not ‘plot-monger” (painfully rotell the plot)” (1988186) From dis theary, the

statement of the author’s purpose, characterization of the readership, and the topic of the

archer will give a brio? anutysis of

chosen literary work

2.1.1 The author's purpose

Review from the largest and most popular online retailer Amacon.com indicates that Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with nearly 80 million copies in print worldwide, in over 45 languages, including over 50 million copies in the United States alonc, and his popularity continues to soar For this novel in particular, the author himself revealed, “Phe Notebook was originally mspired by the story of my wife’s grandparents They had a vars and beautiful Tolationship, one thal withslood the lest of time and cireumstance When T first met thom, they had been married over sixty years, and I remember marveling at how much they still seemed

to care for each other The Natebook attempts to portray such a love That said, The Notebook

is a novel, nol a memoir, Many changes were made regarding their story, in order lo make the novel more universal, while staying committed to my original intent,”

2.1.2 Characteristic of the readership

The readership can be of large population Any eduealed readers who like reading books, especially love stories and romance, would certainly be interested in reading this bastsellar novel of The New Fark Times The author of the novel has heen so popular that paople who have already read his other novels would not miss the chance lo read such a classic story of love depicted in Fhe Notebook These readers may possess a great passion for books, for understanding westem culture, for enriching their own knowledge and souls

2.1.3 The topic

12

The Notebaokis a 1996 ramantic novel by American novelist Nicholas Sparks, based on

a frue story There are vations ideas aboul the topic or the theme of the novel, bul the most outstanding one is that true love ean conquer all The novel is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us fo laughter and tears and makes us believe in trus love all over again

2.2 The translator's interpretation

In this second step, the researcher reviews whether the translator has omitted any section of the original text and whether il affecis the message thal the author wishes to express, In addition, the researcher also wishes to find out the translator’s method and the translation’s likely readership

2.2.1 Omission of original text

After the original novel and its translated version in Vietnamese by translator Petal Lê are rend and analyzed carefully, it is discovered that some phrases and sentences in the

original somehow have not been translated

1 Tam a common man with common | (untranslated)

thoughts, and I've led a common life

‘there are no monuments dedicated to me

and my name will soon be forgotien

" Instead 1 slip it beneath my am and

continuc on my way tothe place I must go

Tai kẹp nó đưới nách và đi tiếp đến chỗ tôi cân phải đến (p11)

Th my mind its a he bit of both, and no

matter how you choose to view it in the

end, it docs not change the fact that it

involves a great deal of my life and the

path I’ve chosen te follow

Trong tâm ti tôi, nd co chut gi đó của cả

hai, và đủ cuối củng bạn muỗn nhìn nhận

thổ nào thì cũng không thể thay đối được

thực 46 14 né lin quan sat nhiều đến cuộc

đời tôi và oon đường tôi đã chon (p10)

Te knsw he'd spent almost his entire

‘ings on the house and would have to

find a job again soon

Anh biết mình đã Hiên gan hét các khoản

tiết kiệm vào ngôi nhà và sẽ sớm phải đã

tìm việc làm, (pl7}

The seat had been slightly damp when

she sat dawn:

Chỗ ngôi nãy hơi am, (p26)

Tis years im The

toughened him to this type of labor, and

he worked hard

Tumberyard had Những năm tháng làm việc ở kho gỗ đã

khiến anh đầy dạn với kiểu lao đông này,

và anh sit chim chi (p37)

13

Five weeks later ke found himself in

boot camp While there, he received a

letter fom Goldman thanking him for his

work, together with a copy of a certificate

entitling him to a small percentage of the

scrap yard if il ever suld

The houss hud changed dramatically

fiom what she remembered

Wim tudn sau anh nhin duge mot bite thư

te Goldman gửi lời cảm ơn vi những gì anh đã làm, củng một bản sao chứng

nhận cho phép anh hưởng mây phần trăm của bãi phê thải nếu nó được bản đi

(p10) Ngôi nhà đá thay đổi đứng kể so với sô còn nhớ (b48)

She stepped on the dock and if creaked

under her foot

She could feel lis closeness, his warmth,

How aboul culling up some vegetables

for the fryer

Cất ít rau nhé 172)

He answered as he made himself

comfortable

By the way, Pve heen meuning to avk,

do you still paint?

Anh tìm tư thê ngôi cho thoải mai (p75)

Ä mủ cm còn võ không? (b82)

Twas so uncxpcctsd, yel uplilling, and ax

the words began to replay in her mind,

she realized how sorry she would have

been had she decided not to sce him again,

Điều ấy thật bắt ngờ, mà cũng thật khích

E, cô nhận ra minh s& hai tiếc biết bao

nếu quyết định không gặp lai anh nữa

(p109)

She had known # once before, and again

she forgetting

something as imporlanl as creating beauty,

Her feelings this moming had confirmed

it, and she knew that whatever happened,

cursed herself for

she was going to give it another shot

Trước đây cô dã từng biết, va lai mot ln

nữa cô tự mắng mình vỉ đã quên một việc

quan trọng như việo lạo ra cải đẹp (p[33) Những cảm giác cô có sáng nay đã Khẳng định điểu đó, và cô biết ring di có gì xảy

ra thì cô cũng sẽ cho nỏ một eø hội (p132)

T saw the article, toa, and f saw your

reachor

He kisscd hor gently, and they embraced

as they had when she first got out of her

car two days ago Finally Allie tet him go

and wiped her tears

Me đã đọc bài báo đó, và mẹ đã nhìn thay phản ứng của con (B165)

Anh nhọ nhàng hôn cô và họ ôm chằm lây nhau như lẩn đâu tiên cô ra khỏi xe hai ngày trước (pl 76)

19 She asks the obvious Ba hai (p196)

20 ‘There's no way to tell how fast it will | Không có cách nào biết được nó sẽ tiến

progress if differs from person to | trién nhanh hay châm ra sao (p207)

person F wish T knew more

21 Pm strong and proud, and the luckiest | Toi lại khỏe ranh, tụ hào, là người đàn

man alive, and I keep on feeling that way | öng may mắn nhất còn sông, tôi cử tiếp

for a long time across the table tuc cam thay thé mat luc lau (p235)

22 “You can’t see them? (untranslated)

‘No,’ I say, and she thinks for a moment

23 I stand and cross the room to her bed Tôi đi ngang qua phỏng đên giường bã

(p239)

24 1genly trace the outline of het cheek, fen | Tời nhẹ nhàng lần tin đường nét cằm bà

take her hand in mine I kiss her lips, her | zy, va Ving nghe khi bà ay hit mét hai

cheeks, and listen as she takes a breath, sâu (p267)

us to have overlooked

In addition Ly leaving sentences untranslated, (he translator s

clauses and phrases in some other sentences The illustration of this is observable in examples 5,7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21 and 24 In examples 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18 and 24, clauses

of the sentences have been omission with no translation in the Victnamesc version Especially

in example 18, a whole sentence disappears in the translated version Examples 11, 19 and 21

demonstrate the missing of some phrases in the sentences

Last but not feast, in his frans version, the franslalor has not translated some words

as well These words may be of negligible significance, yet, same play the key role in conveying the message ftom the author Examples 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17 and 23 are evidonwe far this In examples 2, 3 and 4, the untranslated words may be of minor importance, however, in example 6, the translator has omitted the main verb of the clause; in example 8, the relative pronoun what of the subordinate clause, making the translated sentence sound irrational Exceptionally, in example 9, the translator has excluded the subject of the second clausc, turning the sentence into onc-subjcot sentenec, thercforc, making the translated text

1s

sound ineredibly Rmmy in example 15, the translator has eliminated the object it of the verb known, Pxasuples 16 and 17 have been translated with rio translation of the word another end too, therefore, not conveying fully the meaning of the sentence Lastly, there are two verbs stand and cross in example 23, however, the translated version has displayed only one verb cross, with no mentioning of the verb stand,

From all the above-mentioned texts, it can be seen that the translator has unintentionally

or deliberalely lef onl quite mmmy words, phrases and even sentences in [he translation of an

approximately-tifty-thousand-word novel As pointed out above, along with the indication of the missing ttanslated texts, in some cases, the omission of the words or phrases has no significant impact on the general meaning of the quoted sentences or paragraphs ‘The tanslalor may suppose thal conveying the whole meaning of the passage is more important than translating every word And since the iniluence of this on the readers’ understanding is immaterial and the readers can still prasp the major gist of the text, this kind of translating is stilt acceptable However, it scems insupportable in other cascs not, translating the whol: sentences, which affects the sequence of understanding of readers who only have chance to touch the Vietnamese version of the novel This may result from literary transtation where the translator has to comply with (he principles of the targel language, hence, he might nat be able

to maintain the format of the original version

2.2.2 The translator's method

Poople tove reading Nicholas Sparks? books because they are simple and say lo read

He uses language that is easily understood, Therefore, translating a Nicholas Sparks’ work is

no hard job ‘This can be seen in the translated version by Petal Lê Generally speaking, he has stuck to the somantic transtation method, making {he content and language readily aveoplable and comprehensible to the readership On the other hand, in a long work like a novel, the complexity of word structures is inevitable; therefore, the translator surely has t0 combine some methods of translation along with a chief method Spscifically, in this novel, literal translation and faithful transtation methods arc also utilized

2.2.3 The transiation’s likely readership

Resemibting the original, the translated version also aims at general toaders who love reading foreign literary works, especially love story and romance, From the methods and language the translator has used, it can be suggested that the targeted readarship is vatied, young and old, men and women, though usually young girls and women are those who show

ore inferes| in finding this kind of hook.