Luận văn an in depth analysis of the english vietnamese translation version of jack london's famous novel the call of the wild

Dimension of language usta e+ HI.2, Dimension of language use TV.Statement of function CHAPTER I]: COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SOURCE TEXT AND LTS VIETNAMESE TRANSLATLON VERSION LL Ove

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST — GRADUATE STUDIKS

NGUYEN TH] HOAN

AN IN-DEPTII ANALYSIS OF TITE ENGLISH — VIETNAMESE

TRANSLATION VERSION OF JACK LONDON’S FAMOUS NOVEL “THE CALL OF TIE WILD”

(PHAN TICH SAU VE BAN DICH ANH - VIET CUON TIEU

THUYET NOI TIENG CUA JACK LONDON

“TIENG GOI NOT HOANG DA”)

MA MINOR THESIS

English Linguistics

60 2215

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNLVERSLTY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST — GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYEN THI HOAN

AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF TITE ENGLISI — VIETNAMESE

TRANSLATION VERSION OF JACK LONDON’S FAMOUS NOVEL “THE CALL OF TITE WILD”

(PHAN TICH SAU VE BAN DICH ANH - VIET CUON TIEU

THUYET NOI TIENG CUA JACK LONDON

“TIENG GOI NOI HOANG DA”)

TT Objectives of the study

ILL Scope of the study

TV.Method of the study

V Organization of the study

CHAPTER 1]— LITERATURE REVIEW

T What is translation?

IL Literary translation

4.1 General characteristics of literary language

IL.2, Problems of literary translation _

Ti = Translation Quality Assessment

41 Proposed models

HIE.1.1, Nida’s response - based approach

1.1.3 Kollers text - based approach wee non om

HIE1.3, Peter Newmark's comprehensive criticism approach

THỊ.1.4 đuhamne House 's functional — pragmatic approach

THỊ.2 Representation dƒ Jhiianne House's TQA mođkk

HE2.1 Covert and Overt Translation

11F.2.2 Representation af J House's model

CHAPTER UI - ANALYSIS OF THE SOURCE TEXT, BASED ON J

IIOUSE’S MODEL

1 Brief introduction of the chapÉeT net

1.1 The audhor back Lon0H, cà ses we vs vies nọ nan e

1.2, The novel “The Caill of the Wild”

1.8 introduction of Chapter 6

2 0S esses es sos vi ve es es ets vie esto

ED, Textual features soc ove cn va oss oe

TL = Analysis of the source text based on J House’s model

HLT Dimension of language usta e+

HI.2, Dimension of language use

TV.Statement of function

CHAPTER I]: COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SOURCE TEXT

AND LTS VIETNAMESE TRANSLATLON VERSION

LL Overtly Erroneous Errors

TIL Statementof Quality and Translation Type

TNTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

Over the past years, translation has been playing a crucial part in bridging two culturcs and has cnabled the advances of modern life and internationalism of around the world In literature, foreign poetry and prose into the curriculum also increasmgly covers much ground, which brings

translation to more atlention However, the translation of literary works is not

aneasy to deal matter and the question of how a gocd translation text is

measured has never ceased to challenge linguists

In fact, Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) has been addressed by

many linguists so far and it remains a controversial topic with many a theory

proposed Among many linguists wha have put forward models to carry out a

comprehensive assessment, J Ilouse is chosen by most researchers because of the best applicability of her model, based mainly on the theory of functional

grammar by K Halliday

The novel “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London is the author’s first

literary work, which helped him rise to the prominence as the top author of

American literature in the carly 20" century The rescarcher has taken the

translation version by Nguyễn Công Ai and Va Tuan Phuong to measure how

well the translation is

The novel also characterizes Jack London’s writing style,

straightforward but formal, which is embraced in each chapter of the novel In

this miner study, Chapter 6 of the novel titled “Kor the love of a man” is

chosen as the data [or the analysis This chaptor is the only anc which reveals

Buck’s passionate love for his master and this love demonstrates the humanity

in the whole novel

Il Objectives of the study

The study aims at investigating the translation quality of the target text

of Chapter 6 in full comparison with the source text, based on J House's

model

At the end of this study, the answers to the following research questions

should be provided

- What are the features of the ST, according lo J House’s model?

- What are the mismatches of the TT in comparison with the ST?

- What kind of translation, covert or overt, is employed?

Ill Scope of the study

As referred to carlicr, J Housc’s model is adopted to assess the quality

of the wanslation in this research This results from the fact that the models

proposed by Peter Newmark and other linguists’ only suit professionals in

translation, whilst J Housc’s madcl can be widely applicd by rescarchers

In terms of the data for analysis, the whole novel should have been adopted to provide the researcher with a sufficient insight into the translation

quality of the Victnamese target text However, duc to its madest scale, this

study is merely confined to chapter 6 of the novel “The Call of the Wild”, which partly features Jack London’s basic writing style m the novel With

such @ limit sct out al the begining of the study, all the analysis and

comparison between the ST and the TT is only restricted in this chapter

IV Method of the study

The principal method employed in the study is Documentary Research,

using the outside sources (the ST and TT of chapter 6 “The Cail of the Wild} to support the whole procedure of translation quality assessment

The researcher also combines both qualitative and quantitative research, analyzing data and providing the readers with deeper insights into the distinclions and value in the ST and TT Some important conclusions can

be drawn from these analyses

Vv Organization of the study

The first chapter of the study will be Literature Review in which some

related concepts of translation theory and typical models of translation quality

assessment are discussed

In the second chapter, the research will introduce an overview of the original lext?s content, and J [Touse’s model applied to analyze the ST

In the third chapter, the researcher will apply J House’s model to

analyze and compare English ST and its Victnamese TT to find out

mismatches and draw a conclusion of what type of translation is employed in

the study

taken into consideration

- ‘Translation is a craft consisting in 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, 1988)

- Translation deals with the signs and attempts to prescrve scmiolic, as

well other pragmatic and communicative, properties which signs display

(Basil Hatim and lan Mason, 1990)

- Translation is ihe replacement of a text in the source language by a

semantically and pragmatically equivalent text in the target language (THouậc, 1977)

- Translation is to produce in the receptor language the closest natural equivalence to the message of the source language, first in meaning and

second in style (Nida, 1975)

- ‘translation means the replacement of a text in one language (Source

Language) by an cquivalent in another language (Target Language)

(Cartford, 1965)

‘The five definitions of Peter Newmark, Basil Hatim and lan Mason, J

House, Nida, and Cartford are expressed in different ways However, they all

share the same essence of translation which lies in the preservation of semantic, pragmatic, and textual aspects of meaning across two different

languages

Ui Literary translation

Literary studies have always, explicitly or implicitly, presupposed a

certain notion of “hterariness” This notion of “literariness” is crucial for the

theoretical thinking about literary translation In the following part, the

rescarcher attempts to put forward some gencral characteristics of literary

language and typical problems of literary translation

IL.1 General characteristics of literary language

Literature is the usc of well-chosen words to tell a story through

narrative, involving characters in conflict, or to express an emotion or idea through artfully arranged images ‘Ihe purpose of literature is to entertain and

instruct (or lo delight or cnlighicn) the reader Uhrough the use of imagination

Literature can shock, amaze or help readers make an escape from the reality tor a while

As [ar as we know, literary language is a part of general linguistics

Thus, almost linguistic features used in literary texts are taken from general

linguistics However, literary language possesses some typical characteristics

Literary language possesses all the features that assist in realizing the descriptive goal of literary texts As Peter Mark (1995: 13) states, there is “an

cmphasis linking verbs, adjective, and adjectival nouns.” Besides, literary

texts consist of the linguistic particularities relating to “major topics as cohesion, manning patterns, modality, and evaluation, the structure of

narratives, the recording of character specch and thought, clause processes

and participants, and the dynamic of dialogue, presupposition and textual revision.” (Michael Toolan — 1998)

Literary tcxts, espevially in poetry, also carry the metrical and para-

metrical features of language This is an adaptation of the linguistic form

which is called the prosodic phonological form A linguistic form which is

also used in literary language is parallelism in syntax, semantics, and lexis

With regards to narrative, one of the aspects of narrative form which

exists independently of language is the macro-strecture, or large-scale

structure As far as we know, it seems generally agreed upon that the structure

of the stories cannot adequately be accounted for in terms of their sentence

structures alone Notions such as plot, scheme, theme, and plan have been

used, both in classical lilerary scholarship and in structural analysis of myths,

folktales and other simple stories, in order to denote more global narrative

structures

In addition, literary language is closely related to cultural elements

‘These cultural elements marked out the patterns and threads in the narrative

whereby the overall cullural gap thal has to be bridged and gauged, and some

consideration can also be given to the balance of items to be domesticated and

foreignised Moreover, these elements provide insights to the author and an

understanding of the undercurrents in the nevel Tt ts, thus, clear that cultural elements are central to any translation To support this idea, Nord (1997:11) states that “ a translation theory cannot draw on a linguistic theory alone

What il necds is a theory of culture to explain the specificity of

conununicative situations and the relationship between verbalized and non-

verbalized situational elements.”

U.2 Problems of litcrary translation

In order to create a good translation, a translator has to deal with many challenges, especially regarding literary translation where a number of

problems remain

Long — standing debates mainly consider finding equivalents not just

for lexis, syntax, or concopls, but also for [oaturos like style genre, figurative

language, historical stylistic dimensions, polyvalence, connotations as well as

denotations, cultural items and culture-specific concepts and values Options

made by translators such as whether to relain stylistic dimension of the

original become critical in literary translation As regards poetry translation, it

is neccessary for the translator to determine whether the versc should be

translated into verse, or into free verse or into prose In poetry, the form of

linguistic units cannot be modified without a corresponding change in

semantic, pragmalic, textual meaning Since the form cannot be detached

from ils meaning, this meaning cannot be expressed in another ways such as

paraphrases explanations and borrowing of new words is impossible in a

translation of a poctic-aesthetic work of art

One of the prominent problems in translating literary texts is the

differences between cultures It is easily recognized by a translator who uses a

cultural approach that each language contains elements which are derived from its culture In addition, every text is anchored in a specific culture, and

conventions af text production and reception vary from culture to culture In

fact, translation is considered as a form of intercultural communication which

poses the problems not merely at verbal level or linguistic level ‘The

awareness that one docs not scck barely verbal equivalents but also for

cultural equivalents, if there are any, comes in handy in prompting the

translator to decide the strategics he or she has to use Accordingly,

translation is no longer a matter of finding verbal cquivalents but also

interpreting a text encoded in one semiotic system with the assistance of another ‘The whole enterprise of finding cultural equivalents raises awareness

of the difference and similarilics belween cultures It alsa brings inte focus the critical question of cultural identity Apparently, literary translation exerts

great influence on the target culture, and at the same time, the target culture

has never stopped restraining the process of literary translation It is held that

“there is always a context in which the translation takes place, always in a

history from which a text merges and into which a text is transposed”

(Lafervere: 1990: 11) As a matter of fact, literary translation is embedded with the constraints of a certain target cultural context

OI = Translation Quality Assessment

Translation Quality Assessment does not only deal with the ideal case

of integral communicative performance, in which target language aims at the

closest equivalence as regards the conceptual content, linguistic form and

communicative function of a SL text The practice of translation is subject to

a great many conditions which determine that such an integral communicative

performance cannot, or even should not, be achieved Thcodore Savory

(Readings in translation theories, 1957: 49) listed ten translation principles

gleaned from the titerature, some of which are directly contradictory while

others arc mutually complementary They provide an abundance of opinions

on what a good translation should be like

TIL.1 Proposed models

Over long history of translation quality assessment, linguists have kept

on putting forward their approaches to reach the best assessment for the

quality of translation

III.1.1 Nida’s response — based approach

Nida’s concern centered on a systematic approach to translation He

suggested three programmatic and general criteria (1964: 182) for quality

assessment of a translation, including general efficiency of the

conununication process, comprehension of imtent and equivalence of

response The third and most significant crilcrion is obviously close to Nida’s

basic principle of “Dynamic (or Functional) Equivalence of a translation’ In

other words, the manner the receptor of the translation text responds to the

translation text must be cquivalent to the manner in which the receptors of the

source text respond to the source text Nida and Taber (1969: 173) proposed three similar criteria: the correctness with which the receptors understand the

message of the original, the case of comprehension and the involvement a

person experiences as a result of the adequacy in the form of translation

However, these hehavioral criteria need to be further explained and put to the

practice Lests

TIL.1.2 Koller’s text — based approach

Koller (1974) acknowledges the importance of a linguistic model of

translation quality assessment, which is portrayed in three straighUorward

stages introduced by him The first stage is to consider the transferability of

the original text If the original text is transferable, the most equivalent

translation can be created If the onginal text is untransferable, no equivalence

or translation is possible The source text should be kept the same The second stage is to retranslate the target text into the source language A translation is

a

:ptable if the target Lext is similar im meaning with (he source Lext aller ro-

translation The third stage is to let the native speakers proofread the

translation ‘The translator is expected to satisfy the readers of the target

language, which means they have no difficully interpreting the translation

In brief, in spite of his stimulating ideas, Koller does not go beyond a

very general outline with no suggestion for operationalization Criteria that

the transferability of a text based have not been mentioned in his model What’s more, the approach does not provide us with adequate details so that it

can be applied to a real translation Hence, il needs lo be further developed

into a workable model of TQA

III.1.3 Peter Newmark’s comprehensive criticism approach

As Newmark puts it, translation critism is an essential component in a

translation course He gives three reasons lo explain for this idea Firsily, it

painlessly improves your competence as a translator Secondly, it expands

your knowledge and understanding of your own and foreign language, as well

as the insight of the (opie Thirdly, it will help you form your idcas about

translation As an academic discipline, translation criticism ought to be the

keystone of any course in comparative literature, or litcrature in translation,

»

and a component of any professional translation course with the appropriate

text-type (e.g legal, engineering, and so on.} as an exercise for criticism and

discussion

Peter Newmark states thal any comprehensive crilicism should cover

five topics to criticize a text:

1 A brief analysis of Si text stressing its intention and its functional aspects

2 The translator’s interpretation of the SL text’s purpose, his translation

method and the translation’s likely readership

3 A selective but representative detailed comparison of the translation with the original

4 An evaluation of the lranslation: im the translalion’s terms and in the

critics’ terms

5 An assessment of the likely place of the translation in the target

language culture or discipline

11.1.4, Julianne House's functional — pragmatic approach

Translation, as realized by Julianne [ouse, means the preservation of

“meaning” across two languages, which is elaborated into three aspects,

namely semantic, pragmatic, and textual In other wards, translation may be

defined as the replacement of a text in the source language by a semantically and pragmatically equivalent text in the target language

Tlouse’s model for translation assessment is based on pragmatic theories of language use It concerns semantic field, pragmatic aspect and

lextual aspect In the definition of translation, the lerm “equivalent” is the key

term The concept of “equivalence” may also be taken as the fundamental

criterion of translation quality Thus, an adequate translation text is a somantically and pragmatically cquivalent one

TH.2 Representation of Julianne House’s TQA model

TH.2.1 Coyert and Overt Translation

House (1977) discusses shouL the conocpL oÏ two translation (ypcs overt and covert translation

In an overt translation, the ‘I'l’ audience is not directly addressed and

there is, therefore, no need al all Lo alternpt to recreale a second original text

since an overt translation must overtly a translation In overt translation, the

8

work of the translator is important and visible Since it is the translator’s task

to give target culture members access to the original text and its cultural impact on source culture members Also, the translator puts culture members

in @ position to observe and judge this text from vulside Thus the major

difficulty in translating overtly is finding linguistic cultural equivalents

particularly along the dimension of ‘lenor and its characterization of the

aulhor’s temporal, social and geographical provenance

Covert translation, on the other hand, means the production of a text

which is functionally equivalont to the ST In this type of translation, the

translator has to attempt to recreate an equivalent speech event Consequently, the function of a covert translation is to reproduce in the target text the funelion thal the original has in its frame and discourse world It is the translator's expression task to betray the original and to hide behind the transformation of the original Thus, the work of translator is clearly less

visible, if not totally absent

In short, covert translation is less complex and more deceptive than

overt Wanslaiion In evaluating a Uanslalion, it is thus essential that the

fundamental differences between overt and covert translation be taken into account These two types of translation clearly make different demands on translation criticism

TH.2.2 Representation of J House’s model

Tlouse adopts Ialliday’s term ideational and interpersonal as labels for the referential and the non-referential functional components

House’s model consists off two scctions: dimensions of language user

and dimensions of language use, possibly broken down into the following

4 Social Attitude

Province

To elaborated, these terms can he understood as follows

Geographical Origin: regional dialect

Social Class: Social class dialect

Medium: may be either simple, i.e written to be read, or complex, e.g written to be spoken as if not written (as in a play), or simply written to be

spoken (as ina draft of'a speech or sermon)

Participation may also simple or complex Simple refers to a

monologue or dialogue, complex relors Wo various ways of “participalion

elicitation” and indirect addressee participation in a monologue manifest

linguistically e.g, in the specific use of pronouns, presence of contact

parentheses, ele

Social Role Relationship between addresser and addressees may be

symmetrical or asymmetrical according as some kind of authority relationship

differentiates them

Social Aititude describes the degrees of social distance or proximity

resulting in relative formality or informality Joos’ (1961) disctinction of five

different styles or degrees of formality: frozen, formal, consultative, casual,

and intimate

Province is broadly defined: it refers not only to the text producer’s

occupational and professional activity but also to the field or topic of the text

in its widest sense of “area of opcralion” of the language activity, as well as

details of the text production as far as these can be deduced from the text itself

CHAPTER II:

OF THE SOURCE TEXT, BASED

N J HOUSE’S MODEL

L Bricf introduction of the chapter

Il The author Jack London

Jack London was the most successful authors in the early 20" century,

gaining, widespread recognition subsequent to the publication of the novel

‘The call of the wild” in 1903

His vigorous stories of men and animals against the environment and

survival against hardships were drawn mainly from his own experience His

straightforward style created many famous literary work such as “The call of

the wild”, “White fang", The sea walf” and many others

£2 The novel “The call af the wild”

“The call of the wild” is the story of Buck, a domesticated dog which is snatched cruelly out of his beloved home and thrown into a hostile world of

clubs and fang, where he has to learn the hard way lo survive lis passionate

love for John Thornton seems to draw him back into the civilization, but the

impcrious and luring sounding of the wild attracts him and leaves him no

reluctance to join it after John Thornton is killed

1.3 Introduction of Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of the navel, titled “Kor the love af a man” is the only part

which portraits the intimate relalionship between Buck and his master, John

Thornton The chapter elaborates on Buck’s overwhelming love for Thornton and his heroic actions to save Thornton from tensc and cven fatal situations

IL Discourse featurcs of the source text

IL.1 Syntactic features

ITIL Clause and Clause Complexes

The chapter is comprised of 227 clauses, breaking down into numerous

smaller units, 52 of which are clause simplexes, whereas the remaining are

complex clauses with a huge number of clauses with rather intricate

relationship between clauses

The number of clause simplexcs is relevant in this kind of narrative, where the plot of the story unfolds in a series of events In this chapter, many clause simplexes are utilized to describe Buck’s great love for ‘Thornton

“(53) Thornion alone held him (54) The resi of mankind was as nothing”

“(58) Kor Thornton, however, his love seemed to grow and grow (59)

He, alone among men, could put a pack upon Buck's back in the summer

travelling.”

The clausc simplexes convey a distinct contrast, regarding the

significance of Thornton in Buck's heart, as opposed to other people

Clause sumplexes also prove particularly effective in describing events which arc intended lo evoke lhe nervousness and cxeilemenl im readers 35 clause simplexes are employed in the last challenge and victory where Buck scores to rescue Thornton It is the intense competition between Thornton and Mathewson, who bets that Buck cannot move a thousand pounds and walk with it for a hundred yards The curiosity of the crowd watch the competition

is conveyed in short simple sentences

“The crowd was watching curiously The affair was growing

mysterious It seemed like a corguration.”

More importantly, Buck’s attempt is recorded

“Buck duplicated the maneuver, this time to the lefi_ ””

“The sled was broken out.”

“The sled swayed and trembled, half’ — started forward.”

Lach of Buck’s movements seems to be portrayed in details via the use

of short sentences, which cause worry and excitement in readers during the

course of the competition

The ending passage was Gilled with short simple complexes, which

convey Buck and Thornton’s touching moments after Buck has helped

‘Thornton win the competition

“Thornian rose to his feel His eyes were wet The tears were streaming Frankly down his cheek.”

These three clausc simplexcs demonstrate Thorntor

s happiness and

thankfulness to Buck since he understand Buck’s extraordinary attempt is for him

Whilst clause simplexcs only account for over 25% of the total clauses

of the chapter, the clause complexes, as usual, constitute the majority in the chapter Various relationships are employed, namely elaboration, extension and cnhancement, which are ollen typical of lwo kinds of clauses: Paralaxis and hypotaxis

a Klaboration

Elaboration is conveyed m an effective way via the use of relative

clauses, which are often used to modify and elaborate the nouns before them

So uscful was it that morc than one time in the chapter that the readers sec the

relative clauses to describe Buck's love for Thornton

“{16) But love, that was feverish and burning, that was adoration, that was madness, it had taken John Thornton to arouse.”

The relationship between above-mentioned clauses is elaboration, coupled with extension, in the way that three relative clauses are posited the same in significance Ruck’s love for Thornton is claborated in a straightforward way, and also is multiplied via the addition of stronger and stronger feeling embedded in the three clauses

The readers can sce 4 number of relative claus

es in an allemmpl lo

đeseribe the love and intimacy between Thornton and Buck

"(17) This man had saved his life, which was something; but further, he

was the ideal master.”

(21} He had a way of taking Buck's head roughly between his hands,

and resting his own head upon Buck’s, of shaking him back and forth, the

while calling him ill names, that to Buck were love names

Apparently, im these clauses, the relationship is not only elaboration,

but also extension which proves uscful in extending the level of intimacy

between Buck and Thornton lo a higher posilion

b — Extension and enhancement

Non — finite clauses seem to appear much in the chapter to describe a

series of actions or the record a story

‘This is the time when Buck rest totally to win back his strength after he

is saved by Thornton.

“(3) And here, lying by the river bank through the long spring days,

watching the running waier, listening lazily to the songs of birds and the hum

of nature, Buck slowh: won back his strength.”

The use of non finite verbs describes Buck’s loafing time with

Thornton and his two dogs, which is absolutely his drcam aftcr boing

exhausted for a long time

“(29) He would lie by the hour, eager, alert, at Thornton's feet, looking

up into his face, dwelling upon it, studying it, following with keenest interest each fleeting expression, every movement or change of feature.”

Many non — finile verbs arc employed in this clausc, such as looking,

dwelling, studving, following, following the main verb lie Embedded by the

extension relationship between clauses, it reveals the Buck’s thorough and

sharp observation of every moment and [eeling of Thornton, which proves his

passionate love for his master

In the passage where Buck saved Thorton from drowning, Lhe author

also uses plenty of clause complexes with extension as a major relationship

“(90) When he felt him grasp his tail Buck headed for the bank,

swimming with ail his splendid strength”

“(116) Strangling, suffocating, sometimes one uppermost and

sometimes the other, dragging over the jagged bottom, smashing against rock and snags, they veered in to the bank.”

A series of non — finite verbs such as strangling, suffocating, dragging,

smashing come before lhe main verb veered really impress readers about

Buck’s sacrifice and courage to save Thornton

Apart from relative clauses and non-finite clauses, many types of

clauses are also used in the chapter to create the diversity in the way story is described, typically independent clauses with extension and enhancement

relationship embedded

“(218) Lead was against head, and he was shaking him back and forth

(219) Those who hurried up heard him cursing Buck, and he cursed him long

and feverently, and softly and lovingly.”

The rclationship In these clauses is also cxtension, which means clauses support each other in a way that the meaning is conveyed in the increasing

level The level of intimacy of ‘Thornton and Buck is increasing within

clauses

7.1.2 Transitivity

The majority of clauses in the chapter 6 is covered with material

process, which is relevant to a narrative story like the novel By means of

material verbs, the chapter is aimed at describing the heroic and touching actions performed by Buck in many times to rescue ‘Thornton from dangerous situation The typical one is when John Thornion fell off the boal and Buck virtually sacrifices his life to save his master A variety of verbs are used in

order to portrait Buck’s actions

(89) ||| Buck had sprung in on the mstant; || and at the end of three hundred yards, amid a mad swirl of water, he over-hauled Thornton.”

“(£13) ||| Buck held on | till he was on a line straight above Thornton: ||

then he turned, and || with the speed of an express train headed down upan him.”

‘The material verbs also denote the intimate moment between Buck and Thornton:

(223) The tears were streaming frankly down his cheeks (225) Buck

seize Tharnion’s hand in ns teeth, (226) Thornton shook him back and forih”

Not appearing as often as material process, relational process and

behavioral process also greatly contribule to the elaboration of love between

Buck and Thornton Whereas the relational process describes the inside

feeling and burning love for ‘Thorton, the behavioral process demonstrate

those feelings out

More than one lime dovs Buck’s adoraon for Thornton is showed

(17) ||| This man had saved his life, which was something; | but,

further, he was the ideal master

In some cases, the love is elaborated through increasingly waves of

fockings inside Buck

“But love, that was feverish and burning, that was adoration, that was

madness, it had taken John Thornton to arouse.”

Furthermore, by means of behavioral process, the passionate love for

Thornton is also conveyed clearly through Buck’s behaviors:

(29) | He would lie by the hour, eager, alert, at Thornton's feei,

looking up into his face, ‘| dwelling upon it, || studying it, || following with keenest interest each fleeting expression, every movement or change of

feature

(30) ||| Or, as chance might have it, he would lie farther away, ta the

side or rear, watching the outlines of the man and the occasional movements of his body.”

Despite its infrequent appearance in the chapter, verbal process mainly

deals with the intimacy Thornton gives Buck in another way Sometimes,

Thornton “exclaim” because of his understanding of Buck’s love lor him whereas in some other times, “whispered” and “murmured” with love words

to Buck uring the chapter, verbal verbs do not appear much, but it also

plays an important role in portraying Thorntn’s love for Buck

Monial and cxistcnlial processes only account for a minor part in the

chapter In consideration of the main aim of the chapter, which deals with the

love between Buck and his master, the small percentage of these two

processes is understandable

THỊ 1.3 Mood

In terms of mood choice, 99% of clauses in the chapter are declarative, which ts relevant in this kind of narrative There are only two clauses of

inlerrogalive im the form of a Wh-queslion and a Yes/No queslion, and two

clauses of imperative when Thornton ordered Buck to return ashore: “Go! Buck! Go”

Lying in the Mood structure, finite also plays an important part In this

novel, especially in chapter 6, past tense is used to narrate the story of Buck,

particularly its heroic exploits towards Thomton A mixture of tenses is used,

of which perfect tenses are used such as past perfect and present perfect tense

This allows the readers to comprohend the strictness in the author’s language

in order to describe the story plot in the chapter

As the mood structure is investigaled more closely, the relationship and

order of Subject, finite and Residue should be taken into consideration The

majority of clauses in chapter 6 have Subject as simple noun phrases or

nouns; however, in some clauses, the Subject is represented by a clause

“(19) and to sit down for a long talk with them—|| "gas" he called it ||

was as much his delight as theirs

(32) ||| 11s transient masters '| since he had come into the Northland

had bred in him a fear that || no master could be permanent

(48) ||| Kill or | be killed || eat or || be eaten, was the law.”

Using the clause as the Subject of a clause is one of the features of

formalily in texts Another feature of formalily is inversion, which appears

much in this chapter The part of clause which is inversed prior to Subject may be the Complement or Adjunct

“This” is pul al the beginning of ihe clausc io emphasize Buck’s

passionate love for Thornton, which he had never experienced in Judge Miller’s house

“(14) ||| This he had never experienced at Judge Miller's dawn in the

sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley”

Or Adjunct + Operator structure “So peremptorily did” is put before

Subject to describe the luring attraction of the sounding of the wild life to

Buck:

“(51) ||, So peremptorily did these shades beckon him, || that each day

mankind and the claims of mankind slipped farther from him.”

In the chapter, it is also obvious that ellipsis is also uscd The Subject

(Buck) is omitted the beginning clauses because of its reference in the last

clause

“3) ||| And here, lying by the river bank through the long spring days,

|| watching the running water, || listening lazily to the songs af birds and the

hum of nature, || Buck slowly won back his strength

In other cases, the Subjcct + Operator + Predivator structure (it had

been) is left out without the obscurity of the meaning in the clause:

17

(15} ||| With the Judge's sons, hunting and tramping, it had heen a

working partnership; || with the Judge's grandsons, a sort of pantpous

guardianship; || and with the Judge himself a stately and dignified friendship

Or the Predicator is omitted only:

(23) ||| And when, released, he sprang to his feet, || his mouth laughing,

|| Ris eves eloquent, || his throat vibrant with unuttered sound, || and in that

fashion remained without movement, || John Thornton would reverentlp exclaim, | "God! you can all but speak!"

Although the ellipsis is the signal of informal texts, the formality in the chapter is still retained because the clauses with ellipsis embedded is in narrative style and no effort is made lo undersland the meaning of the clause based on the preceding or subsequent clauses

Modality is also a part of mood struclure, which is of significance to

create the illocutionary force in the chapter

“(4) It must be confessed that || Buck waxed lazy as | his wounds healed, || his muscles swelled out, | and the flesh came back to cover his bones

(23) "God! You can all but speak!"

(46) | | He must master or || be mastered; || while to show merey was a weakness.”

In this chapter, modality does not play an important role since the

chapter is in narrative style and the purpose of the author is to portrait the fact

and give the chapter much experiential meaning olher than interpersonal meaning,

As regards voice, it is found without difficulty that the passive voice is

favored in the chapter, among the clauses with active voice to describe the

plot of the story The regular usc of passive voice bespcaks the formality in

the chapter:

(98) He swam powerfully and was dragged ashore by Pete and

(103) he was jerked under the surface, and under the surface he remained till his body struck against the bank and he was hauled out

(105} He was hatf drowned,

IL2 Textual features

113.1 Thematfizatiort

The chapter is made up of various kinds of themes Regarding simple

and multiple theme, 70 percent of clauses is unmarked simple theme, while nearly 30% is marked multiple theme, which is often composed of textual and

topical theme

The topical theme is characterized by Adjunct phrascs

(3) And here, lying by the river bank through the long spring days,

watching the running water, listening lazily to the songs of birds and the hum

of nature, Buck slowly won back his strength

(10} To Buck's surprise, these dogs manifested na jealousy toward him

(15) With the Judge's sons, hunting and tramping, it had been a

working partnership; with the Judge's grandsons, a sort of pampous

guardianship; and with the Judge himself a stately and dignified friendship

In some other cases, the topical theme is Complement, which

conflates with the inversion pattern discussed above:

(14) This he had never experienced at Judge Miller's down in the sun- hissed Santa Clara Valley

(16} But love that was feverish and burning, that was adoration, thai was madness, it had taken John Thornion to arouse

11.2.2 Cohesion

Cohesion is one of the prominent features to create the coherence in a discourse and Jack London has made full use of the cohesive devices to

maintain the formality for the novel in general and the chapler 6 in particular

The utilization of cohesive devices is specified as follows

a — Reference

Reference is once of the most cfficicnt tools of cohesion in any discourse This chapter is no exception The chapter employs personals, demonstratives, and comparatives as the prominent devices of reference when ercating the conneclion belween clauses As usual reference is most denoted

by personal devices One outstanding feature of the personal devices is that

the animals in the chapter such as Buck, Skeet and Nick are personalized

through the use of pronouns referring to human like him, her:

(26} For the most part, however, Buck's love was expressed in

adoration (27) While he went wild with happiness when Thornton touched

him or spoke to him, he did not seek these tokens

(10} Ta Buck's surprise these dogs manifested no jealousy toward him

(11) They seemed to share the kindliness and largeness of John Thornton

Less frequently but also effective, comparatives such as comparative

words, such, other and next are also used in some clauses:

(9) Nig, equally friendly though less demonstrative, was a huge black

dog, half-bloodhound and half-deerhound, with eyes | that laughed and a

boundless good nature

The demonstratives like this also bear the same occurrence as comparatives:

(48) Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, was the law: and this mandate, down out of the depths of time, he obeyed

b Ellipsis and Substitution

‘The ellipsis employed in the chapter nearly limit itself in clauses, which

climinate the subject of the subscquent or prior clauses and there exists only

one subject in the last or first clause This is not the case where ellipsis in conversation is dealt with, which would signal the informal and spoken

language This elimmation of subject in multiple clauses in a sentence is

highly visible in formal writing,

Substitution, olherwise, should be considered as the common way of

creating the cohesion in the discourse In this chapter, such words as this, so

replace the whole clauses or part of clauses before

(14} This he had never experienced at Judge Miller's down in the sun-

kissed Santa Clara Valley

(132) Sa saying, he slammed a sack of gold dust of the size of a

bologna sausage down upon the bar

“ Conjunction

The wide variely of conjunctions used is onc important feature in the

formal wriling Most of conjunctions in chapter 6 convey the meaning of

extension among clauses, which can be broken down into addition, adversative and variation The rclationship between clauses is characterized

by addition with the employment of “and”, “besides”, “further”:

{23) And when, released, he sprang to his feet, his mouth laughing, his

eves eloquent, his throat vibrant with unuitered sound,

(43} Skeet and Nig were too good-natured for quarreling — besides,

they belonged to John Thornton

{141} Further, he had no thousand dollars: nor had Hans and Pete

Lying in the second afier addilion is the adversative, denoting the

opposite meaning among clauses with the use of “but”, “however”, and

“yet”:

(26) For the most part, however, Buck's love was expressed in adoration

(38) But in spite of this great love he bore John Thornton, which

seemed to bespeak the soft civilising influence, the strain of the primitive,

which the Northland had aroused in him, remained alive and active

(39} Faithfulness and devotion, things born of fire and raof, were his;

yet he retained his wildness and wiliness

Since the chapter aims al Lolling a slory, spalio — lemporal conjunctions

appear much in the chapter, especially time conjunctions:

(36) When Thornton's partners, Hans and Pete, arrived on the long-

expected raft, Buck refused to notice them Hill he learned they were close to Thornton, after that he tolerated them

(113) Buck held on till he was on a line straight above Thornton; then

he turned, and with the speed of an express train headed down upon him

ad Lexical cohesion

Connecting clauses by using lexical cohesion involves the employment

of many means of lexical wording such as repetition, synonyms, collocation

Considered as the most common way of lexical cohesion, the repetition

of words is uscd much in the chapter

(46) He must master or be mastered; while to show mercy was a

weakness (47) Mercy did not exist in the primordial life

Regarding semantic meaning among words across clauses, meronymy

is favored The author uses many words such as the muscles, fur, great chest,

head, feet, and claws in order to describe the beauty of Buck denoted in the

phrase “his whole body’:

(205) His whole body was gathered compactly together in the

tremendous effort, the muscles writhing and knotting like live things under the silky fur (206) His great chest was low to the ground, his head forward

and down, while his feet were flying like mad, the claws scarring the hard-

packed snow in parallel grooves

Besides synonyms, the callocations refer to sets of words which are

supposed to posit together in order to create the link across clauses The

relationship between “his eyes”, “his cheeks” and “the tears” cxamples of

collocations:

(221) Thornion rose to his feet (222) Llis eyes were wet (223) Lhe tears were streaming frankly down his cheeks

In brief, the chapter uses an abundance of cohesive devices to

demonstrate the connection among clauses ‘This reflects the formality of the

chapler, which is oflen created by the close connection among clauses in the

discourse

Il Analysis of the original text based on J House’s model

TIL1 Dimension of language user

Geographical Origin: Non — marked, standard American English

Social class: non marked, educated middle class

22

Time: The novel was published in 1903

111.2 Dimension of language usc

+ Virtual absence of anacolutha, contact parentheses and comment

parentheses typical of spoken modes

i Strict use of tense mixture, especially perfect tenses such as present

perfect and past perfect, which are supposed to signify the written

language

Hit Virtual absence of incomplete sentence Only one clause is incomplete

in the form of an exclamation “Haifa ton!” The others includes short commands by John Thornton in Buck’s last heroic exploit such as

“Now, Buck”, “Gee”, “Haw", ‘Now, MUSH” These words do not

come up much in the chapter

iv Absence of parenthetical and apposilional structures

v Frequent presence of inversion, which is commonly seen in formal

writing,

vi Frequent present of passive voice throughoul the chapter

Lexical means

‡ Virtual absence of interjections as one of spoken language features

Hardly can these be found in the chapter, only in two cases, namcly

Ilan’s exclamation “Py Jingo!”"(Wow!), “Well” by Mathewson, and

“Gad, Sir! Gad! Sir!” by Skookum Bench King

H Presence of “must” instead of “have io” Apparently, “must” is uscd

preferably in writing whereas “have io” is seen more commonly in

speech

iii Frequent use of conjunction “and? and “buf” introducing both

coordinated and subordinate clauses

iy Absence of slang words ‘(he readers are under the impression that the

lexical ilems in the chapter undergo careful sclection, which is shown

23

ni

through the abundance of formal or literary wards, listed in the

Appendix Lexical Tormality

High lexical density, which measures the ratio of content words to

grammatical words In th chapter, most clauscs arc closcly and

densely packed, using precise but intricate lexicon to convey meaning Textual means

Absence of redundancy in the chapter

Logical and highly — planned clause structure The full use of a number

of clauses, which bear various relationships, namely elaboration, extension and enhancement

A wide variety of theme siruclures, namely simple/multiple theme,

unmarked and marked theme, which couple with each other in the

sourec text Tn particular, the frequent use of multiple unmarked themes

proves the complexity and intricateness of clause structure in the text

41.2.2 Participation

Because of its typical fealurc as a narrative and as author’s role as a

storyteller, the participation elicited in the chapter is mostly indirect and the

involvement of the characters in the chapter is portrayed through the voice of

author

i

Syntactic means

Predominant use of monologues and scare appearance of dialogues,

which prove the text's simplicity in addresser and address’s

participation

Overwhelming dominance of declarative clause aver imperative and

interrogative, owing to the narrative feature of the text

Lexical means

‘There is an abundant use of third person pronouns such as she, he, they whilst the first and second person pronouns only appear in interragative and imperative clauses, which, as mentioned above, is proved to be little in the

chapter

H1.2.3 Social Role Relationship

T.ike other narrative stories, there cxist two kinds of role relationship in

the source text: The writer and readers, and situational relation among characters in the chapter, which will not be discussed much because of few

conversation and therefore scare inlcraclion between characters in the chapler

The relationship which is more worth investigating is between the writer and

reader, implicitly demonstrated in the source text

confessed that

force imposed by the writer, denoting his personal comment

in the sentence (4) demonstrates an illocutionary

Lite presence of conversations and hence, nol much implication of

relationship among interlocutors in the chapter The chapter predominantly deals with the narrative flow, in the voice of the author himself

Little presence of interrogative and imperative, indicating little transitional role of the interlocutors in the chapter ‘here is not much

interaction among characters in the chaplor wheroas the voice and lone

of the writer occupies most of the space in the chapter

Lexical means

Presence of reference Kor example, proper names such as Huck,

Thornton, Skeet, Nig, cle arc replaced by personal pronouns, typically

he, she, they

Little presence of first and second pronouns (/, you) in conversations, which has been proved scare in the chapter

HI.2.4 Social attitude

‘The chapter is the mixture of various formality levels, ranging from

Absence of elliptical clauses, anacolutha and contractions

Strict use of lenses, especially perlect ienscs, namely present and past

perfect tenses (cf Medium above)

Frequent use of passive voice (cf, Medium above)

25

Ví,

viii,

Absence of incomplete sentences (cf’ Vicdium above)

Frequent use of phrasal verbs and idioms

Some examples for phrasal verbs and idioms in the chapter are:

Phrasal verbs: Il was misunderslood Jor fear, and such misunderstandings made for death

idioms: Or, as chance might have it, he would lie farther away

They were of the same large lype as John Thornton, living close to the

earth, thinking simply

Ample use of inversion throughout the chapter to emphasize some certain 1đea

Ample use of figurative language, notably simile, such as “hard as iron”, “like an electric shack", “like a battering ram”, “like the laeth

of an enormous comb", “as a mother cat washes her kittens”, “like a pistol shot” It must be confessed, however, that these similes are quite

familiar with a wide varicty of readership

Occasional presence of impersonal structure, beginning with “it” marking the formality in English language

Lexical means

Absence of subjectivity qualifying modal adverbials, interjections, and

other emotive markers (cf Medium above)

Frequent use of formal or literary lexicon instead of everyday words, as

rolerred Wo in Lexical Formality in Appendix

Textual means

Comprehensive representation of a well-structured, elaborate, logically

sequenced and strongly cohesive text, signified by the various means of

cohesion such as reference, substitution, conjunction and lexical cohesion,

J11.2.5 Province

This chapter is excerpted from the whole novel “The call of the wild”

written by Jack London As a part of this literary masterpiece, the Lexi aims at

portraying the passionate love between Buck and Thornton by demonstrating

not only his fecling but also various actions to save John Thornton from

dangerous or difficult situation As a narrative, the chapter is characterized by the descriptive language to create images in the readers’ mind and enhance

the story As a resull, various linguistic means arc used in the chapter

26

ø — Syntacfic means

i _ Use of past tenses in most of the chapter

nH Frequent use of simile as a prominent figure of speech in the chapter

impression of readers towards the story plot

Lexical means

proving that the author himself is the storyteller

H Frequency of aclion verbs and nouns, predominantly conveying the

intimate interaction between Buck and Thornton

- Action: shake, seize, pet, sweep, churn, grapple, drag, strike, clutch

averhaul, scrape, clutch, crack, etc

- Body movement: spring, embrace, close, shove, nudge, statk, stand, lie,

creep, rise up, prawl, swing, writhe, knot, jerk, etc

- Sound: bark, yelp, rear, whine, bubble, growl, etc

ti Judicious usc of adjectives and adverbs

- Adjectives:

I Appearance: broad — breasted, white — fanged, long — furred, shaggy

(neck), half bristled (mane), heavy (legs), hard as iron (muscles), silky (fur)

| Personality: friendly, demonsirative, urgent, prompting, evil —

tempered, malicious, etc,

+ Feelings and attitudes: feverish and burning (love), eager, alert,

worried, anxious (Buck)

+ Body: eloquent (eyes), vibrant (throat)

+ Sound: crisp (crackling)

- Adverbs: (closc) fiercely, (growled) furiously, (struggling) desperately,

(swam) powerfully, intensely (unconscious), (curse) long and fervently, and softly and lovingly

i — Frequent use of active nouns, which perform actions

For example

(2) even the slight limp left him

(63) A thoughtless whim seized Thornton,

(135) He could feel a flush of warm blood creeping up his face

27

(150) The Rldorado emptied its occupanis into the streat to see the test

(223) The tears were streaming frankly down his cheeks

Textual means

4 Frequency of spatio temporal cohesive devices such as then, after

thai, now that, and conjunction to refer Lo the scrics of an event such as

and, but, etc

ii A wide variety of theme system, such as multiple and simple theme,

marked and unmarked (heme, resulting in the various ways of scnlonee

beginning

TI Statement of function

The function of the source text, in Halliday (1973)'s terms, falls into two

categories, namely “ideational” and “interpersonal” ‘Vhe source text presents the

portrayal of Buck's love for his master and his heroic aclions to save John

Thornton

In the dimension of Medium, a simple, written — to — be — read language

supports the idcational compononl by providing the readers a condensed

information flow, typified by the overwhelming employment of declaratives over interrogatives and imperatives

In the dimension of Participauion, predominanily monologous, non-

participatory character of the text, which allows for a fully-premeditated , non-

alternating, and well-organized flow of information, supports the idcational

component as well

On the dimension of Social Role Relationship, little interpersonal impact 1s

crcated duc lo its characteristic as a lilerary work whose aim is lo entertain the

readers However, the illocutionary force which is embedded in the some

conversations in the chapter also demonstrates the relationship among characters

On the Social Atlilude dimension, the deliberate wniing style ranging from

consullative to frozen supports the interpersonal functional component, since it widens the proximity between the addresser and addressees (readers)

Regarding the dimension of Province, as a lilerary work, the source text

impresses the readers by the employment of various imagery lexical wordings,

figurative language, and numerous cohesive devices ‘This dimension nat only

caries the interpersonal funcion, but also fully foregrounds the idcational

function

CHAPTER III:

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SOURCE TEXT

AND ITS VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION

I Comparison between the source text and the target text based an J

House’s model

In full comparison with the ST, mismatches are found in the TT in torms of all five dimensions of language use

The TT adds some comment and contact parentheses as a result of the

author’s attempt to explain or provide additional information for the readers’ better understanding

(69) "Not mineself either."

(80) A “miner meeling” called on

the spot, decided that the dog had

sufficient provocation, and Buck

was discharged

la, tôi cũng chả dám

Một “cuộc hội ý của những người khai

mỏ” được triệu lập ngay lại chỗ đã

phân xử rằng cuộc tắn công của con chó

có ÿÿ do chính đẳng, vì bị khiêu khích tới

mức phải phản ứng, và Bde được tha

miễn

(161) and now that he looked at

the sled itself the concrete fact,

with the regular team of len

dogs

dn mat nhin

và bâp giờ đây lúc anh

vào chính chiếc xe trượt ấy, cải sự vật cụ

thé rành rành, với 1 đèn chó kéo xe 10

con (số lượng theo thường lệ)

‘This addition of information on the one hand, assists the readers’ comprehension as the story progresses, on the other hand, it proves that the

TT nears the spoken slyle rather than wrilten style in the ST

The appearance of exclamation in the TT also differentiates the ST and TT:

(4) A rest comes very good after one | That không còn gì bằng được nghỉ has traveled three thousand miles | ngơi sau cuộc hành trình những 3000

(53) Thornton alane held him Chỉ vì méi_mét minh Thornton ma no

còn ở lại

(95) and from a toa va khi_ gdp phdi mét_ngudi_qud vd

demonstrative man he would gel up vập quân quýi thì nó thường đứng day

and walk away vd bé di

In general, the addition of clauses or information enables the target

readers to gasp lhe message more accuraicly; othcrwisc, the [ormality which

is typical of a written work is not completely retained in TT The target readers, hence, is less selective than S'l’ and the readership seems to be expand further in TT than in ST

1.2 Participation

As the author of a narrative literary work, Jack London plays a mere

role as a storyteller and keeps all the characters in third person pronouns such

as he, she, they In TT, those pronouns are rolaincd well, though some

connotations are added For example, Skeet is favorably referred to as “cd a”

or “cé nang” due to this character’s femaleness whilst Buck or Nig are

mentioned with a more neutral pronoun “nd Some other characters also

seem to bear certain characteristics with the use of pronouns such as “tén

30

này”, “hẳn” for “Rlack” Burton or “gd” for Matthewson Tt is obvious that the storyteller does prove his disliking for these characters

Apart from the usage of pronouns, participation in the IT is also

revealed through his demonstration of fecling or allitude whereas this is rarcly

shown in the ST The adding of lexicon denoting feelings or attitudes in some

sentences shows the attitude of the storyteller:

(56) after that he tolerated them khi dá nỗ mới chịu khoan thứ với họ

in @ passive sorL of way, theo mét kiéu thy động chấp nhận những

accepting favors from them as sw chiéu cỗ của ho ni thé chinh vi nd

though he favored them by chiếu cô họ và chấp nhận dây thôi

accepting

(19) And he saw fiather Và anh còn chăm sóc nhiều hơn nữa kia

(50) He sai by Jobn Thormons Nó ngôi cạnh bếp lửa cia John

fire, a broad-breasted dog, white- Thornton, nd day, con ché ite nở rộng,

fanged and long-fuurred nanh tring va léng mao dai ram

Apparently, such words or phrases as “ddy thai”, “nita kia” and the

comment parenthesis “nd ddy” reduce the neutrality performed in the ST and

adds some foclings or attitudes of the storyteller to the TT In thesc examples,

arespect for John Thornton, an admiration for Buck’s magnificent appearance and cold attitude towards chance travelers are made up in the TT As mentioned, the intervention of the storyteller in the I'l also makes a

considerable contribution Lo the Joss of neutrality created in the ST

Only in one case do we meet a rhetorical question, which is inserted

into the TT, which proves the participation of the author into the flow of the

story

(144} He did not know what to say Anh biét noi thé ndo bay gid?

Obviously, the implicitness to the addressees embedded in the ST is lessened in the TT Therefore, the level of intimacy between the addresser and addressees in the I'l is higher than in the ST

31

13 Social Role Relaionsbhin

Due to the remarkably limited conversation in both ST and ‘Tl, few traces of relationship among characters are shown, [Towever, some signals of

the relationship in the last part of the chapter are worth investigating

(142) "I've got a sled sianding “Tôi có một chiếc xe trượt tuyết đang

ouiside now, with twenty /jfiy- nằm ngoài kia, chờ dùng 20 bao bội mũ,

pound sacks of flour on it," ., "so mdi bao 30 pao, ., Xin mời cứ tự nhiên

don't let that hinder you." cho,

(176) “Gai sir! Gad sir!” “Twyét qué, thea ngài Tuyệt quả! — bên

stuttered a member of the latest tai Thornton lập cập tiếng nói lắp của

dynasty, a king of the Skookum một gã các vàng thuộc nhóm phú ông mới

Benches "7 alftr vau eight phat lén gan day nhất (nhóm Scuum

hundred for him, sir, before the Henso) — Ngài để lại cho tối con chó, tôi

test " xin nộp ngdi 800, ngay trude khí vào

cuộc thử thách

{178} "Fou must stand off from “Ong dig xa ra nhé! Matthewson phan

him," Matthewson protested adi

In consideration of the social status of the characters in those examples, the I'l lacks some of illocutionary force deliberately brought about in the ST

One side is a group of rich and arrogant mon typilicd by Matihewson and

another side is John Thornton, an ordinary man, who is needy and therefore

possesses no power Consequently, the illocutionary force created in the ‘I'l’ is

proved to be much milder and inappropriale compared to that in the ST

In the first example, the imperative “So don’t let that hinder you” is

apparently a saying of a provocation whereas the translation “Win mdi cur te

nhién cho” is an invitation Second example also bears little equivalence between the declarative “7 offer vou ” and “Tôi xin nộp ngải ” In the

third example, the strong demand by Matthewson which is provoked by the

use af “must” is diminished by tho TT translation “Ong dig xa ra nhé”.

In brief, the TT fails to dcmonstratc correctly thc social status and relationship among characters in the chapter, which is predominantly portrayed through the use of mood and modality system

14 Social attitude

The social attitude deals mainly with the text writer’s attilude towards

the readers, demonstrated by means of linguistic formality or informality

Tuc to the significant differences between English and Vietnamese, the

TT somehow cannot bear the complete formality which the ST carries The use of active voice instead of passive voice in some cases in the chapter is one

of the signals of informality While numerous clauses in the ST is in passive

voice, in the TT, the active voice is used otherwise:

(201) The sled was breken out Chiếc xe đã bung ra được khỏi băng

giá

(81) But his reputation was made, Ay thé la Bắc bắt đầu nỗi tiếng

The second example starting with “dy thé 14” also presents another

feature of informality which is embedded in the TT as opposed to Tl Many

clauses in the chapler either slarl or end with phrases characlerizing spoken

(18) he saw to the welfare of his con John Thornion thi cham sóc chó

as if they were his own children, của mình như thể chủng là con cải của

(19) „Ind he sau fúther anh vậy Và anh còn chăm sóc nhiều

hơn nữa kia

(56) accepting favors from them chap nhan những sự chiếu cố của họ

as though he favored them by như thể chính vì nó chiếu cổ họ và

33

‘The inserting of the unnecessary phrases or words such as "đấp thôi”,

“nita kia” and tho usc of redundancy (“ngéi dung" and “ché lam gi” carry

virtually the same meaning) work together to make the TT less formal and

narrow the proximity between the ‘I'l’ and the readers

Another perceptible feature of formality concerns the textual structure

of TT compared with ST ST is characterized by densely-packed and highly cohesive clauses In the ‘I, in many cases, one sentence with many clauses is

dchberately broken down into many diferent sentences

ST

(7) She had the doctor trai

which some dogs possess: and

as a mother cat washes her

TT

C6 nang Skit cé cới nét đặc sắc của thây thuốc mà người ta thường thấy ở mội số con chó Công như mỘt con mèo mẹ liễm

kiem, so she washed and lông cho con, cô nàng đã hiểm và làm sạch

cleansed Buck's wounds những vất thương của Bắc

Relative clauses, in particular, are dealt in different ways in the Tl In most cases, they can be mainlained within the clauses as in ST, bul retain the connection with the main clause by connecting words like “md” or without any connectors In some other cases, the relative clauses are broken down into

other independent sentences or otherwise, are Lransferred under the form af a

comment parenthesis

(28) Unlike Skeet, who was wont

ta shove her nose under

Thornton's hand and nudge and

nudge till petted or Nig, who

would stalk up and rest his great

head on Thornton's knee, Buck

to adore at a

was content

distance

"ắc khác với Xkit va cling khae vei Nich

Xi có thôi quan thọc cái mũi của nó vào

đưới bàn tay của ThorHlon rồi hích, hích mãi cho tới khi được vỗ về Nich tht hién ngang bước tới rôi tựa cái đầu to lớn của

nỗ lên đầu gối Thornion Còn Bắc thì bằng lòng với việc dứng cách Ì quãng

mà tôn thờ an

(38) But in spite of this great Nhưng mặc dù Hắc mang mỗi tình cảm

love he bore John Thornton | sâu nặng như vậy với John ThorHfon — whicb seemed io bespeadk the sofi | mà điều này hình như chứng tổ ảnh civitizing influence, the strain qƒ| hưởng hiển hòa của sự văn mình hóa —

lhe primilive, which the | nhưng huyết thông của nguyên [ủy mà

Northland had aroused ín Inm, | vùng đất phương Bắc đã khơi đậy bên

remained alive and active trong nó, vẫn tấn tại và sông động

Besides the Uansference of relative clause, the fonmalily is also

lessened in the TT due to the switch of noun phrases in the ST into clauses in the TT

had come into the Northland từ khi nó vào vùng đất phương Bắc

(97) throwing his head high, as cất cao đầu như để nhìn anh lần

though for a last look cuối

(118) His first glance was for Anh lap tire nhìn sang phia Bắc,

Buck,

So often are noun phrases in the ST swilehed into vorb phrases in the

TI, which clearly identifies the TT as much more informal because the

employment of noun phrases in Knglish means high formality in every

discourse

In short, formality level denotes the proximity between the text creator

and its reader ‘Therefore, the ‘I'l’ in this case seems to be closer to the readers

than lhe ST as a result of its dramatic loss of formalily m the ST

L5 Province

As the brainchild of Jack London, the novel, with chapter 6 included,

demonstrates a judicious sclection of wordings, especially lexical items which

arouse lively images in readers’ mind The TT creators, hence, face many difficulties in translating these items into Vietnamese without losing its

connolations Duc to the distinct differences between two languages, the

35

mismatchos in the TT in comparison with the ST arc casily shown, rogarding,

both Lexical means and Textual means

One of the significant mismatches between the ST and the ‘I'l is the

dehberate addition of words, or phrases in licu ofa word in ST

The ST is especially filled with single action verbs, which often result

in the combination of many verbs together in the ‘I'l ‘The purpose of the

translator is obviously to enable the TT readers fully understand the exact

meaning of the words used in the ST

ST

(23) he sprang lo his feet

(65)

dragging them back

Hans and Pete were

Tr

nó bài dây đứng thẳng lên

Hendơ và Pii đang gò người kéo cả

Bắc cứ quanh quản, lượn tới lượn lạ,

gdm vit hung ton

Anh vat lon quyết liệt đễ bám vào một

tang da, nhung truot

(95) the roar of the

churning water shouted:

Hước Cuỗn tung tée

(133) Nobody spoke

In some cases, the verbs are

whereas SY’ carries no verbs at all:

sr

(62) Buck at his shoulder

Không ai hé răng nói nủa lỏi, also inserted into the phrases in the TT