STRATEGIES APPLIED IN THE ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF POEMS IN THE POETRY COLLECTION “LOVE & MISADVENTURE” BY LANG LEAV

The aims of this study were to find out the translation strategies applied to translate the poems in the poetry collection Love & Misadventure written by Lang Leav, concerning André Le

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

STRATEGIES APPLIED IN THE ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF POEMS IN THE POETRY COLLECTION

“LOVE & MISADVENTURE” BY LANG LEAV

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Diệu Thuý, M.A Student: Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Phương Course: QH2013.F1.E16

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

CÁC CHIẾN LƯỢC ÁP DỤNG TRONG DỊCH ANH-VIỆT CÁC BÀI THƠ TRONG TUYỂN TẬP THƠ "YÊU LÀ THƯƠNG HAY VẬN RỦI"

CỦA TÁC GIẢ LANG LEAV

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.S Nguyễn Thị Diệu Thuý Sinh viên: Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Phương

Khóa: QH2013.F1.E16

HÀ NỘI – 2017

I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Hoàng Anh Phương, QH2013.E16, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Date

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Nguyễn Thị Diệu Thuý, M.A – Lecturer of Faculty of English Language Teacher Education Had it not been for her helpful guidance and active encouragement over the last months, this graduation paper could not have been successfully completed Her insights and expertise in translation studies and research methodology have greatly assisted me upon carrying out the study

I am also deeply indebted to my family and friends for their solid support during the process of my research Without their mental and financial assistance, I would not have mustered enough motivation to finalise this study

I am heartily thankful to my classmates for their enthusiastic support and valuable suggestions on my thesis A special thank goes to Ms Phạm Hồng Anh for providing me with a source of inspiration, so that I could decide on the topic of this research I am also truly grateful to Ms Nguyễn Thu Nhàn who has wholeheartedly accompanied and motivated me along the process of research conduct

Finally, I would like to offer my warm regards to all the readers of this thesis paper I appreciate your constructive feedback and hope that this study will be of use

to anyone who takes an interest in its topic

ABSTRACT

Poetry translation has always been regarded as a more perplexing task than the translation of any other literary texts due to its intrinsic literary and aesthetic complexity Hence, concerted efforts have been made to identify translation methods

or strategies that can be adopted to preserve the poet’s message and stylistic uniqueness, thus generating equivalent effects in target language The aims of this study were to find out the translation strategies applied to translate the poems in the

poetry collection Love & Misadventure written by Lang Leav, concerning André

Lefevere’s seven strategies (1975), and subsequently draw some lessons about poetry translation from English into Vietnamese The data were obtained from 65 English-

written poems and their Vietnamese translated versions in the bilingual book Love &

Misadventure – Yêu là thương hay vận rủi by means of document observation The

theoretical model used was seven strategies for translating poetry devised by André Lefevere (1975) The researcher opted for a qualitative approach, and the data were analysed descriptively The findings showed that the translator applied three out of seven strategies proposed by Lefevere which were metrical translation, rhymed translation, and blank verse translation Blank verse translation was the most frequently used strategy, followed by metrical translation and rhymed translation These results implied the translator’s tendencies to transfer poetic form and meaning

in her translation, as well as revealing certain gaps in Lefevere’s methodology in the case of translating poetry from English into Vietnamese

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement i

Abstract ii

Table of contents iii

List of tables, figures, and abbreviations v

1 Chapter 1 – Introduction 1

1.1 Statement of problem and rationale 1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 3

1.3 Significance of the study 4

1.4 Scope of the study 5

1.5 Organisation of the paper 5

2 Chapter 2 – Literature review 6

2.1 Poetry translation 6

2.1.1 Definition 6

2.1.2 Characteristics 7

2.1.2.1 Loss of poetic elements 7

2.1.2.2 Particular difficulties in poetry translation 8

2.1.2.3 Translator expertise 9

2.2 Approaches to translating poetry 10

2.2.1 Dryden’s triadic model (1680) 10

2.2.2 Raffel’s four audience-based types of poetry translation (1988) 11

2.2.3 Holmes’ four traditional approaches (1988) 12

2.2.4 Lefevere’s seven strategies for poetry translation (1975) 13

3 Chapter 3 – Methodology 18

3.1 Selection of subjects 18

3.2 Sampling 19

3.3 Data collection procedure 19

3.4 Data analysis procedure 19

4 Chapter 4 – Findings & Discussion 21

4.1 Lefevere’s translation strategies applied in Love & Misadventure 21

4.2 Most dominantly used strategies in Love & Misadventure 22

4.2.1 Blank verse translation 22

4.2.2 Metrical translation 26

4.2.3 Rhymed translation 29

4.3 Some lessons about poetry translation from English into Vietnamese 32

5 Chapter 5 – Conclusion 38

5.1 Summary of major findings 38

5.2 Limitations of the study 39

5.3 Suggestions for further studies 40

5.4 Contributions of the study 40

References 42

Appendix 45

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter specifies the research problem and rationale, objectives of the study and research questions, the scope and the significance of the thesis, as well as the organisation of the whole paper

1.1 Statement of problem and rationale

Literary translation holds an influential position among other types of translation given the complex nature of literary texts One of the most prominent translation scholars, Peter Newmark, states that the greater the quantity of a language's resources (e.g polysemy, word-play, sound-effect, metre, rhyme) a text is charged with, the more challenging it is to be translated, and the more worthwhile (1988) In this sense, a large number of researchers have set out to build a solid foundation for literary translation with regard to both theoretical frameworks and empirical approaches

Within the field of literary translation, poetry rendering seems a more challenging task than translation of other literary modes Poetry is characterised by its distinctive literary and aesthetic features The former consist of rhymth, rhyme, metre, and the latter involve figurative language and rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole Since form and content of poetry are highly interconnected and inseparable, the translator has to take into consideration both these two aspects in the translation process In consequence of such seemingly insurmountable difficulties, the issue of poetry translatability has given rise to considerable theoretical and practical debates among scholars Jacobson (1959) believes that poetry is by definition untranslatable; similarly, Frost (cited in Bassnet

& Lefevere, 1998) describes poetry as “what gets lost in translation” On the other hand, despite acknowledging the varying degrees of loss of meaning in poetry translation, Newmark (1988) asserts that poetry is by no means unsuitable for translation In fact, poetry has been “superbly and closely translated at various times”,

reflecting a linguistic harmony between the poet and the poet-translator Besides, poetry renderings prove to be a demonstration of the translator’s “suggestive and tactful compensatory sound techniques”

Considering these polarised views on the translatability of poetry, more time and efforts have been dedicated to investigating the problems of translating poetry than any other literary genres Boase-Beier (2009) claims that “far more has been written about the translation of poetry than either prose or drama” Methodological studies of poetry and translation from a non-empirical position are regarded as “most valuable and most needed” by Bassnett (1980) In this regard, translation theorists have proposed various strategies to translate poetry, such as Holmes’ four traditional approaches to verse form translation (1988), or Lefevere’s seven descriptive strategies (1975) Nevertheless, in the context of English-to-Vietnamese translation, it could be noticed that few studies have been conducted in the matter of poetry translation from English into Vietnamese Meanwhile, taking the serious challenges of translating poems into account, there is a clear need for in-depth researches to be conducted into this branch of literary translation, particularly specific strategies to overcome those difficulties

Therefore, this thesis paper is dedicated to contribute to the limited existing research body in the field of translated poetry from English into Vietnamese By testing the application of theories on strategies into real practice of translation, the study expects to offer new insights and corroborate earlier findings in the field of poetry translation in Vietnam As one of the few translated poetry books in Vietnam,

Love & Misadventure – Yêu là thương hay vận rủi has been warmly welcomed by

Vietnamese readers since its publication The reputation of its author (Lang Leav) as

a best-selling contemporary writer and the translator’s credibility (Zelda) as a known writer and poet herself have justified the researcher’s decision to undertake the study into this translated work

well-1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

By investigating the strategies applied by the translator in translating poems based on Lefevere’s seven strategies for translating poetry, the study aims to incorporate the theoretical model proposed by Lefevere to the real practice of translation Specifically, the objectives of the study are:

- to identify all the translation strategies applied in the translated version of the

poetry collection Love & Misadventure

- to identify the most dominantly applied translation strategies in the translated

version of the poetry collection Love & Misadventure

- to draw useful lessons about poetry translation from English to Vietnamese and make recommendations for further researches on translation studies

Also, the study attempts to put forward a strategic approach to poetry translation as a source of reference, which can be of use to future translators working

in the field of literary translation

In order to achieve those objectives, the research aims to answer these following research questions:

1 What are the translation strategies employed in the translation of poems

in “Love & Misadventure” by Lang Leav from English into Vietnamese, concerning Lefevere’s seven strategies of poetry translation?

2 What is the frequency of each translation strategy? What is the most dominantly used strategy by the translator?

3 What lessons about poetry translation from English into Vietnamese can

be drawn from the application of Lefevere’s seven strategies by Zelda in the Vietnamese translated version of the work “Love & Misadventure”?

1.3 Significance of the study

The study aims at supporting translators-to-be of Translation and Interpreting Division, ULIS, VNU as well as novice translators in particular and anyone who has the same interest in literary translation

Firstly, the study is expected to provide readers with a source of reference regarding theories on poetry translation and particularly specific strategies to translate poetry More distinctively, the study presents a theoretical overview of poetry translation including definition, classification, characteristics, and translation strategies with focus on Andre Lefevere’s seven strategies Concepts and uses of Lefevere’s strategies will be delivered to readers through examination of their

application in the Vietnamese version of the poem collection Love & Misadventure

To some extent, this can contribute to enhancing readers’ understanding of particular methodological strategies which can be useful for poetry translation in general

Secondly, readers can find in this research the most dominant translation

strategies properly applied in the Vietnamese version of poems in the collection Love

& Misadventure Thus, the study offers a deep and critical insight into specific poetry

translation strategies useful for professional literary translators and further academic researches on poetry translation

Finally, certain lessons about adopting translation strategies in translating poetic works will be drawn from the application of Lefevere’s proposed strategies in

the Vietnamese version of Love & Misadventure Such suggestions may be of

practical use to translators and anyone interested in the field of literary translation, particularly poetry translation, so that they can decide on the most effective strategies

to employ in their translations Furthermore, the findings of the study will supply researchers with a source of relevant and trustworthy information for their further studies in the future

1.4 Scope of the study

As the title implied, the study focused on the translation of the poem collection

Love & Misadventure from English to Vietnamese by the translator Zelda

Consequently, the researcher clearly mentioned and critically analysed all the main dimensions of Lefevere’s proposed poetry translation strategies consisting of phonemic translation, literal translation, metrical translation, poetry into prose, rhymed translation, blank verse translation, and interpretation

Moreover, the researcher extracted quotations and examples all from the

original English version and Vietnamese translated version of the work Love &

Misadventure

1.5 Organisation of the paper

The structure of the study is as following:

Chapter 1 – Introduction: Provide an overview of the study with rationale,

aims and objectives, significance and organisation of the study

Chapter 2 – Literature review: Provide a theoretical background in the field

of poetry translation and specific methodological strategies to translate poems

Chapter 3 – Methodology: Present methods of the study including selection

of subjects, research instrument, procedures of data collecting and procedures of data analysis

Chapter 4 – Findings and discussion: Discuss the results of the study and

explain how these results are discovered, then justify how they answer the research questions

Chapter 5 – Conclusion: Summarise discussed points, limitations of the study,

suggestions for further researches as well as contributions of the study to this field

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides a theoretical background relating to poetry translation, including its definition and dominant charateristics Besides, an overview of poetry translation strategies proposed by different scholars is also presented in this chapter

2.1 Poetry translation

2.1.1 Definition

Poetry translation may be defined as relaying poetry into another language (Jones, 2011) Besides text transformation, poetry translation also involves cognition, discourse, and action by and between human and textual actors in a physical and social setting Jones (2011) goes further to state that poetry translation is typically overt Poetry translators are concerned to analyse a source poem's layers of meaning,

to relay this interpretation reliably, and/or to “create a poem in the target language which is readable and enjoyable as an independent, literary text.”

Another definition of poetry translation is given by Mathews (1966) (cited in Wilss, 2001) He equates translating a whole poem with composing another poem A whole translation will be faithful to the matter, and it will “approximate the form” of the original The translated poem will have a life of its own, which is the voice of the translator

Both Jones and Mathews point out what action is involved in the translation of poems, but neither of them provides an insight into the nature of poetry translation Boase-Beier (2009) fills this gap by addressing three dimensions of poetry to be reproduced in translation: semantic content, aesthetic form, and pragmatic effect On the semantic level, it is “some message or statement about the real world or the author’s reaction to it” that must be reproduced in any translation Regarding aesthetic

or stylistic features, many scholars emphasise the necessary preservation of rhymes, metre, and poetic forms in translated poetry Finally, the pragmatic dimension of a

poem refers to its ability “to arouse sentiment and to produce emotional effect” (Boase-Beier, 2009), which is considered the most difficult to account for in translation Overall, Boase-Beier’s discussion has helped to further clarify the fundamental nature of poetry translation

2.1.2 Characteristics

Researches have indicated that poetry translation is characterised by the inevitable loss of certain poetic elements, peculiar difficulties in translating poems, and special requirements of translator expertise

2.1.2.1 Loss of poetic elements

One of the most dominant characteristics of poetry translation is the inevitable loss of basic poetic qualities as stated by Longfellow and Martindale (cited in Brower, 1966) According to Frost (1969), the main characteristic of poetic discourse that distinguishes it from common discourse is that in poetry form and content are inseparable Therefore, poetry translators must strive to reproduce both poetic form and content, which is certainly not a simple task

Regarding the transference of poetic features, Venuti (2004) holds quite a pessimistic view about both form and content reproduction in the translation of poetry

He goes further to state that in general “the form is usually sacrificed for the sake of the content.” In contrast to Venuti’s content-emphasized approach, Nida (1964) calls for “a greater focus of attention upon formal elements” in poetry He points out the necessary sacrifice of content in translation of poetry and stresses the unavoidable formal restrictions on poetic content

Overall, as languages do not share the same phonology, syntactic structures, vocabulary, literary history, prosody or poetics (Attwater, 2013), certain aspects are bound to be missing in the translation of poetry

2.1.2.2 Particular difficulties in poetry translation

The special literary features of poetry often pose special problems to translators

in this field According to Raffel (2010), there are five significant aspects of the original literary work which cannot be reproduced in the new language, including phonology, syntactic structures, vocabulary, literary history, and prosody Raffel’s categorisation seems to put an increased emphasis on the linguistic and literary facets

of poetry translation

Meanwhile, Hariyanto (n.d.) proposes a different classification of problems inherent in poetry translation, which is built on Raffel’s work and improved by adding one more aspect According to Hariyanto (n.d.), the problems in translating poetry can be categorised into linguistic problems, literary or aesthetic problems, and socio-cultural problems

The linguistic aspect deals with collocations and obscured (non-standard) syntactical structures in poetry Collocations in poetry fall into two classes: syntagmatic or horizontal, and pragmatic or vertical Where there is an accepted collocation in the SL, the translator must find and use its equivalent in the TL if it exists Meanwhile, a closer attention should also be paid to the collocation with similar form but different meaning in the SL and TL Obscured (non-standard) syntactic structures may be intentionally adopted in a poem to perform the expressive function of the text Hence, such structures should be rendered as closely as possible

Literary or aesthetic factors include poetic structure, metaphorical expressions, and sound (rhyme, rhythm, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc.) Poetic structure includes the plan of theoriginal poem as a whole, as well as the shape and the balance of individual sentences in each line Metaphorical expressions, as the second factor, mean any constructions evoking visual, sounds, touch, and taste images, the traditional metaphors, direct comparisons without the words "like' and "as if", and all figurative languages The last of literary or aesthetic factors is sound which is

anything connected with sound cultivation including rhyme, rhythm, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc The job of poetry translators is to maintain these aesthetic factors

as much as possible in their rendering in order to successfully convey the feeling and the hidden message of poems

In terms of socio-cultural aspect, it is culturally-bound words or expressions that create certain problems to poetry translators The socio-cultural problems exist in the phrases, clauses, or sentences containing word(s) related to the four major cultural

categories, namely: ideas, behavior, product, and ecology (Said, 1994) The "ideas"

involves belief, values, and institution; "behavior" involves customs or habits;

"products" involves art, music, and artifacts; and "ecology" involves flora, fauna, plains, winds, and weather Due to the wide gap between some cultures, the task of translating these culturally-bound words in the poetic context becomes increasingly challenging

Overall, in comparison with Raffel’s categorisation, Hariyanto’s appears to be more comprehensive as it takes into consideration the socio-cultural factor of poetic works together with linguistic and literary/aesthetic elements These three aspects summarise the specific difficulties that translators may encounter when they translate poetry

2.1.2.3 Translator expertise

Due to its peculiar difficulties, poetry translation requires special expertise in order to produce a satisfactory poetic rendition Not only do translators have to possess linguistic competence but they must also acquire a sound knowledge of poetic discourse

Dryden (cited in Miremadi, 1995), one of the greatest English poets of the seventeenth century and a poetry translator, pioneers by asserting that “to render a poem, the translator should be a poet him/herself.”

Bassnett (1998) and Folkart (2007) both agrees that translators need to be expert source-poem readers and expert target-poem writers The job of poetry translation demands crosslanguage expertise so that the translators are able to find appropriate counterparts for complexes of source-poem features In case no equivalence is found, poetry translators have to make the literary judgement as to

“what to reproduce, what to recreate more loosely, and what to abandon.”

Rose (1981) further supports this point by emphasising the importance of the translator’s knowledge of “the source language's cultural matrices, its etymologies, syntax, and grammar, as well as its poetic tradition.” He also adds that the translator needs to culturally and politically identify him/herself wholeheartedly with the original poet Besides, the expectations and sensibilities of the poetic tradition of the target language must be successfully met in order to make the translation become a poem In general, the most successful translators of poetry are frequently “bilingual and bicultural and, above all, poets in the target language.”

2.2 Approaches to translating poetry

Fully aware of the tough challenges translators encounter when they translate poetry, researchers and scholars have tried to develop relevant strategies and methods

to face them Throughout history, valiant attempts have been made at establishing a methodological framework for translating poetry

2.2.1 Dryden’s triadic model (1680)

One of the first schools of translation theories is formulated by Dryden (cited

in Hopkins, 2013) As a distinguished poet and translator, Dryden, in the Preface to

Ovid’s Epistles (1680), proposed his tripartite division of translation into metaphrase,

paraphrase, and imitation This trichotomy of terms is respectively linked with the

more common terms in use today: word for word, sense for sense and free translation

Metaphrase is rejected by Dryden on the grounds that it produces “unidiomatic and obscure renderings” and fails to convey the spirit of the original Also, imitation

is not considered a desirable approach because it gives the translator so much liberty that the results stand a high chance of being “original compositions than translations” Dryden comes to the conclusion that paraphrase is the most appropriate style of translation, compromising between the two unacceptable extremes

2.2.2 Raffel’s four audience-based types of poetry translation (1988)

For Raffel (1988), translation of poetry can be classified into four broad types

on the basis of different target audiences These types are listed below:

(1) Formal translation

Formal translation is aimed primarily at scholars and those taught by scholars, largely for scholarly rather than literary purposes It deals with scholarship works including examining, classifying, categorising, even comparing Accordingly, the formal translators opt for “literal”, or “faithful” translation of the original, which means an exact reproduction of literary form, prosody and so on They make every effort to avoid any kind of interference between the original and their rendering and prove perfectly willing to sacrifice literary for scholarly values

(2) Interpretive translation

Interpretive translation is aimed primarily at a general audience who reads for literary reasons In order to serve this group of audience, the translators try to remain faithful to the original poetic features such as the sequence of images, the rhythms, and the tone Their main goal is “to recreate something roughly equivalent in the new language” which can be considered good poetry and successful in conveying “a reasonable measure of the force and flavour of the original”

(3) Expansive (or "free") translation

Expansive translation is aimed at those who usually prefer to read something, anything, new rather than anything old It allows translators freedom to do essentially whatever they like with the original in their own individual way rather than the original poet’s way, such as adding, clarifying, and rearranging information However, Raffel (1988) considers such practice a destruction of the basic purpose of translation, and comments that not many translators adopt this approach

(4) Imitative translation

Imitative translation is aimed at an audience who wants the work of the particular translator rather than the work of the original poet Raffel (1988) criticises this approach as “barely translation at all” The so-called translation is self-sufficient and separate from its sources Lines are dropped, stanzas are moved, images are changed, and metre and intent are altered

Raffel admits that there exists some inevitable overlapping among these categories, and most translators, as well as writers of translation, are unlikely to approve of his classifications Also, contrary to the prevailing viewpoint of most commentators on translation, Raffel argues that no single type of translation is "best" for each and every audience The translators need to be aware of the existence of linguistic and cultural matters during the translation process

2.2.3 Holmes’ four traditional approaches (1988)

Regarding poetry translation, Holmes (1988) believes that the kind of verse form translators choose and the kind of effect their translation produces are closely connected According to him, there are four traditional approaches that translators have adopted for the translation of poetry into poetry

The first approach is “mimetic form”, which is usually described as “retaining the form of the original” Holmes bases this method on the idea that no verse form in one language can be completely identical to a verse form in any other, “however

similar their nomenclatures and however cognate the languages” The translators who adopt this approach will try to imitate the form of the original as best as they can, resulting in a translation bearing a fundamental similarity with the form of the ST The mimetic form is associated with foreignisation and poetry in translation of the nineteenth century

The next approach is the “analogical form”, which substitutes the SL poetic tradition for a TL poetic tradition of a parallel function This method is directly related

to domesticating strategies and translated poetry of the eighteenth century Both the mimetic form and the analogical form are classified by Holmes as “form-derivative” forms as they both seek some kind of formal equivalence between the ST and the TT

The third approach is called the “content–derivative form” or “organic form”, which allows the translation to take its own poetic shape from the original semantic material Holmes (1988) describes this method as “fundamentally pessimistic” about the possibility of form transfer and associates it with the twentieth century

Finally, there is the “deviant form” or “extraneous form” This form does not derive from the original poem at all, and the TT is put in a form that bears no relation

to the form or content of the ST It has been resorted to since the seventeenth century

by translators who “lean in the direction of imitation”

Holmes’ theory shows an acknowledgement of both form and content rendition

in the translation of poetry However, he has yet to explain in details how poetry translation should be conducted to transfer poetic form and content in each approach

2.2.4 Lefevere’s seven strategies for poetry translation (1975)

Despite the above-mentioned different approaches towards poetry translation, few theoretical frameworks for specific strategies on translating poetry have been established By investigating seven English translations of a Latin text – Poem 64 by

Catullus, Lefevere (1975) proposes seven corresponding strategies for translating poetry

(1) Phonemic translation

This strategy attempts to reproduce the SL sound in the TL while at the same time producing an acceptable paraphrase of the sense However, such results are rarely achieved The sounds of source and target texts usually diverge too widely; hence, it seems almost impossible to obtain an acceptable rendering of the source-language sound in the target text

Lefevere considers this phonemic approach to be moderately successful in the translation of onomatopoeia and proper names Nevertheless, the concentration on sound alone leads to “a fairly constant distortion of the sense of the source text”, and the overall result is clumsy and often devoid of sense altogether

(2) Literal translation

As the name suggests, literal translation aims for word-for-word equivalence, placing emphasis on fidelity to the meaning of the ST From a literary point of view, Lefevere deems literal translation an undesirable approach in the context of poetic translation It focuses on translating each word of the ST rather than conveying the meaning of each expression or sentence using words that sound natural Therefore, literal translation poses various problems to the work of literary translators, two of which are listed by Lefevere: lack of accuracy or comprehensiveness and deprivation

of communicative value of certain words due to the search for a sense equivalent

On the other hand, Lefevere defends the literal translation method as one major strategy that can serve translators at the preliminary stage of poetry translation It offers a fully exact rendition of the source text, forming a basis of meaning on which the translators can comprehend the text and later on construct their own translation

(3) Metrical translation

The metrical translation strategy emphasises the recreation of the original metre into the TL By this dominant criterion of the SL metre reproduction, this strategy proposes an easy way to remain as faithful as possible to the original text

However, since each language has its own specific stress patterns and unique pronunciation systems, the translation where metrical strategy is applied may end up inappropriate in terms of meaning and structure The metrical translators focus their attention exclusively on the metrical features of the source text, thus subduing other poetic features and destroying the balanced structure of that text Lefevere concludes that, like literal translation, this method concentrates on one aspect of the SL text at the expense of the text as a whole

(4) Poetry into prose

Prose translation involves the reproduction of the ST poem in another literary genre different in form, ignoring the rhyme scheme and the metre of the ST and TT Translations of poetry into prose prove to be “fairly elegant in language, avoiding most of the distortions and verbal antics in verse translations” while maintaining accuracy and closeness to the source text (Lefevere, 1975)

Nevertheless, this method entails the loss of some of the sense, communicative value and syntax of the ST, as well as failure to preserve the beauty of the original poem and its artistic tone Such losses result from the distinctive features of translating poetry into prose Since prose translation shows different organisations of words in the target texts, it is incapable of directing the reader's attention towards certain words like the poetry can In addition, as the prose translators try to the preserve ST content closely by rendering individual words with the same communicative value in the original, eventually they have to resort to using more words and longer sentences In this sense, syntax will be weighed down and the original poetic form will be lost

(5) Rhymed translation

The rhyming translation method emphasizes the transfer of the rhyme of the original poem into the translation in the TL To be more specific, translators have to rhyme the translation according to the schemes of the source language This type of translation requires not only a profound understanding of ST poetic material, but also

a full awareness of the author’s creative process and the search for the most suitable words to produce a poetic effect and flavor in the target culture

Despite the poetic flavour brought by this strategy, rhyme imposes a constraint upon the translators regarding the choice of words The matter may become more serious when the translator is forced to distort not just a word but an entire line to achieve the rhyming effect of the translation

(6) Blank verse translation

Blank verse is another type of translation strategy discussed by Lefevere in his analysis of the translations of poems by Catullus It is a form of poetic rendition usually with no rhyming scheme but with a predominant metrical pattern, whether the traditional iambic pentameter or a freer form This implies that blank verse translators will therefore attempt to strike a balance between adhering to a scheme and disregarding it, between the rule and the exception

Lefevere sees blank verse translation as a strategy which exhibits the characteristics of poetic features in the TL culture Although the restrictions imposed

on the translator by the choice of structure are inevitable, greater accuracy and higher degree of literalness can be obtained by application of this method

(7) Interpretation approach

Interpretation is the last strategy proposed by Lefevere, in which the translator uses a new form for the translated original poem, yet retaining its original sense A

translator who chooses to interpret the ST must be a master of both languages, and must understand both the characteristics and spirit of the original author, as well as following the aesthetic principles of the target culture

In this strategy, Lefevere discusses the difference between translation, version, and imitation based on the degree of interpretation The translation proper is content

to “render the original author's interpretation of a theme accessible to a different

audience” Upon producing versions, the translator retains the substance of the source

text, but changes its form In this sense, a version of a poem in the TL will be semantically identical to the original, but physically very different, which is later

referred by Lefevere as “basically an exercise in rewriting” The writer of imitation

produces a poem of his own which has “only title and point of departure, if those, in common with the source text” In other words, an imitation is a different poem but shares the same title, topic, and starting point with the original Therefore, imitation bears little relation to translation, and to Lefevere, “the imitator writes a different work, using the ST merely as a source of inspiration.”

Overall, Lefevere has established quite a descriptive methodology for translating poetry in terms of specific strategies However, Connally (1991) comments that it is rare to find any of these discussed strategies used exclusively in practice It is thus recommended that the translator attempt to use several methods together to achieve the optimal results (Attwater, 2013)

In the present study, the researcher has chosen Lefevere’s (1975) seven strategies for poetry translation as the main theoretical framework Lefevere’s seven strategies are comprehensive enough since they address both the two main poetic components: form and content Literal, metrical, and rhymed translations emphasise the "form" or "poetic structure" of the poem while the other types emphasise the transfer of the precise meaning into the TL Moreover, the elaboration on each strategy is well-defined, which can further facilitate the progress of the study

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

This chapter clarifies the selection of research subjects, as well as presenting data collection instrument, data collection and analysis procedures of the current study

3.1 Selection of subjects

The main research subject of the study is the poetry collection Love &

Misadventure by Lang Leav and its Vietnamese version translated by Zelda under the

title of Yêu là thương hay vận rủi Both these two versions are printed in a bilingual

book, published by Thế Giới Publishers in mid-2016 This study was methodologically conducted by collecting, analysing, and interpreting data on cases

of poetry translation strategies employed by the translator in the translation The

poetic work Love & Misadventure was chosen for the following reasons:

Firstly, Lang Leav is the best-selling author of four poetry collections: Love &

Misadventure, Lullabies, Memories, and The Universe of Us She is a Sydney-based

contemporary author and artist whose imagination stretches across a variety of disciplines including art, poetry, and books Leav is also the recipient of The Qantas Spirit of Youth Award which recognises outstanding young Australians for their creative talent This has confirmed her remarkable artistic capability and hence motivated the researcher to investigate her works

Secondly, Love & Misadventure is the only poetry collection by Lang Leav

translated and published in Vietnam, bearing the most dominant characteristics of her writing style The original book is a best-selling work in the US, and Leav’s contemporary style of poetry proves to strongly appeal to young people’s taste

Judging by this fact, the Vietnamese version of Love & Misadventure is worth

researching in order to produce more insight into translation of contemporary poetry which so far has not been studied thoroughly

Thirdly, the translator – Zelda – is a poet herself with her own published poetry collection and other writing works in Vietnamese Thus, her literary understanding

and direct experience of poetic conventions can justify the translation quality of Love

& Misadventure from English to Vietnamese

3.2 Sampling

In order to ensure the reliability of the study, the researcher intended to choose

all the poems in Love & Misadventure for investigation In total, there are 74 poems

in the poetry collection, including 65 verse poems and 9 prose poems However, since Lefevere’s theoretical framework only addresses strategies to translate verse poetry,

it is not applicable to prose poetry Therefore, the researcher employed purposive sampling as the sampling method to exclude 9 prose poems from the study The sample size then was reduced to 65 poems out of 74

3.3 Data collection procedure

Observation of documents was the main data collection method to be applied

in the study First of all, the English original versions of 65 poems and their

corresponding Vietnamese translations in the bilingual book Love & Misadventure

were collected and put in comparison Next, both the source text and the target text were read carefully and critically After a process of comprehending and highlighting the most noticeable expressions, all dimensions of Lefevere’s poetry translation strategies were identified from each translated poem Then, the result obtained became the subject for further research of the study

3.4 Data analysis procedure

When the data collection process had been completed, the set of collected data was analysed through the following phases:

Step 1: Coding

In this phase, the researcher applied the content data analysis method All data from the data collection process were analysed in depth to find out all translation strategies used by the translator In case more than one strategy was adopted in a translated version of a poem, all the applied strategies were considered The result of this phase answered research question 1: What are the translation strategies employed

in translating the poems in Love & Misadventure from English into Vietnamese,

concerning Lefevere’s seven strategies of poetry translation?

Step 2: Grouping

The coded data then were grouped into different categories in terms of seven poetry translation strategies proposed by Lefevere In this phase, the quantitative analysis method was employed as the researcher counted the identified strategies to figure out their frequencies The data were transferred into numerical statistics and presented in tables and charts The result of this phase answered research question 2: What are the most common translation strategies used by the translator?

Step 3: Analysing

Finally, the researcher applied qualitative analysis method again to analyse the choice of the translator regarding translation strategies, considering the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy described in the theoretical framework Then, the researcher drew some implications for translation of poetry from English to Vietnamese based on the application of Lefevere’s strategies, as well as suggesting a possible approach to the issue of translating poetry from English into Vietnamese The result of this phase answered research question 3: What lessons about poetry translation from English into Vietnamese can be drawn from the application of Lefevere’s seven strategies by Zelda in the Vietnamese translated version of the work

Love & Misadventure?

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the major findings of the study in order to answer the research questions, discusses the main points in the findings and draws some implications for poetry translation

4.1 Lefevere’s translation strategies applied in Love & Misadventure

According to Lefevere (1975), there are 7 translation strategies which can be applied in translating poems The translation strategies are phonemic translation, literal translation, metrical translation, poetry-into-prose translation, rhymed translation, blank verse translation, and interpretation However, in translating Lang Leav’s poems, the researcher found that there are only 3 out of 7 strategies employed The following Table 4.1 presents the number and percentage of each translation

strategy applied by the translator in translating Lang Leav’s poems in Love &

Misadventure

Table.4.1 The translation strategies applied in translating Lang Leav’s poems

No Translation strategies Total Percentage (%)

Blank verse translation was the most frequently applied strategy whose dimensions were identified in 33 translated poems (50.8%) The translator also adopted metrical translation with high frequency; this strategy was used in 27 poems (41.5%) Lastly, the frequency count of rhymed translation was 5, accounting for

7.7% of all translated poems in Love & Misadventure The other translation strategies

proposed by Lefevere (1975) including phonemic translation, literal translation, poetry-into-prose translation, and interpretation were not employed by the translator

in the translating process

4.2 Most dominantly used strategies in Love & Misadventure

4.2.1 Blank verse translation

Blank verse translation, as described by Lefevere (1975), is a form of poetic rendition usually with no rhyming scheme but with a predominant metrical pattern, whether the traditional iambic pentameter or a freer form In the case of poetry translation from English to Vietnamese, blank verse translation implies the use of a particular metrical pattern in the target language with no rhymed syllables at the end

of lines

Some examples of blank verse translation strategy applied in Love &

Misadventure are provided below

Example 1: (No 16)

Wallflower

Shrinking in a corner,

pressed into the wall;

do they know I'm present,

am I here at all?

Hoa đinh hương vàng

Run rẩy trong góc

ép sát vào tường

họ có biết được tôi đang ở đây?

Is there a written rule book,

that tells you how to be—

all the right things to talk about—

that everyone has but me?

Slowly I am withering—

a flower deprived of sun;

longing to belong to—

somewhere or someone

có sách nào chỉ dạy

phải trái như thế nào

nói mọi chuyện đúng sai

chỉ mình tôi không có

Chậm rãi tàn úa do hoa tôi thiếu ánh trời mong mỏi được thuộc về một nơi hay một người

It is obvious that the translator attempted to apply the four- and five-syllable verse form in her translation of the poem The count of syllables in each line of the original text ranges from 5 to 8, which was not recreated in the translated version While the first stanza was rendered using the four-syllable form, the translator applied the five-syllable for the other two

The title of the original poem Wallflower is the name of a garden plant with

yellow, orange or red flowers with a sweet smell (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary) Figuratively, it also refers to a person who, because of shyness, unpopularity, or lack

of a partner, remains at the side at a party or dance However, the translation Hoa đinh

hương vàng only expressed the very first literal layer of meaning of this word

The first stanza was translated quite accurately in terms of meaning although

run rẩy did not fully cover the original definition becoming smaller in size of shrinking In the next stanza, not all the components of the ST were transferred to the

TT, but in general the translation did achieve an acceptable degree of accuracy For

example, a written rule book was reduced to sách only; similarly, everyone on the

fourth line was clearly not transferred to the translation However, such omission did not seriously affect the main content of the poetic lines There were also some other

additions and changes in the Vietnamese version; for example, how to be was further

clarified in its Vietnamese version phải trái như thế nào The translation of all the

right things to talk about was slightly different in structure (nói mọi chuyện đúng sai),

but readers could still perceive the original idea

In the translation of the last stanza, the translator managed to reproduce both form and content of the source text All the key elements of poetic meaning were fully

and accurately transferred: slowly – chậm rãi, withering – tàn úa, flower – hoa tôi,

sun – ánh trời, longing – mong mỏi Furthermore, the translator also recreated the

rhyme scheme of the ST sun and someone (line 2 & 4) into trời and người (line 2 &

4)

Overall, the translation could be considered successful concerning the fact that all the essential shades of meaning were fully conveyed and presented in a TL verse form, indicating the translator’s use of blank verse translation strategy

Example 2: (No 8)

Sea of Strangers

In a sea of strangers,

you've longed to know me

Your life spent sailing

to my shores

The arms that yearn

to someday hold me,

will ache beneath

the heavy oars

Please take your time

and take it slowly;

Đại dương người lạ

Giữa đại dương người lạ

anh lại muốn biết em

cả đời anh chỉ để dong buồm về bờ em

Cánh tay này đeo đuổi mong ôm em một ngày

sẽ đớn đau tất thảy dưới mái chèo nặng tay

Xin anh hãy chậm lại

và hãy thật từ từ

as all you do

will run its course

And nothing else

can take what only—

was always meant

The original poem does not have a fixed metre, yet its translation was written

in five-syllable verse form Some ending rhymes could be identified, for example:

thảy and tay in the second stanza, từ and thứ in the third stanza Still, the dominant

translation strategy applied by the translator for the whole poem was blank verse translation

In the first stanza, the phrase a sea of strangers was translated quite literally into đại dương người lạ Instead of choosing the more common equivalent of sea in Vietnamese, which is biển, the translator opted for đại dương This word triggers a feeling of vastness, thus enhancing the communicative value of the expression a sea

of strangers On the second line of the first stanza, the translation of longed into muốn

did not fully express the connonative meaning of the ST word To long means to want

something very much especially if it does not seem likely to happen soon (Oxford

Learner’s Dictionary) whereas the word muốn in Vietnamese sounds neutral and does not convey a strong desire like long in English The last two second lines were translated quite successfully The translator deliberately moved sailing on the third line in ST to the fourth line in TT (dong buồm) in order to balance the number of

syllables in each line and maintain the metrical pattern (five-syllable verse form)

In the second stanza, the word yearn was rendered into đeo đuổi, which is a better translation than the case of long and muốn Đeo đuổi in Vietnamese means to

pursue something with determination despite difficulties, and this equates to the

meaning of yearn in English There were also some changes in word positions within

a line and between lines For example, the TT version for someday hold me was ôm

em một ngày; it is clear that the translator switched someday and hold me in her

translation The underlying reason might be to rhyme ngày with thảy and tay on the third and fourth line The phrase tất thảy was also added in the TT for rhyming effects

even though the ST does not contain such meaning

In the third stanza, the first two lines were translated quite closely to the

original version On the third line, you do was missing from the translation tất cả mọi

thứ, but the whole meaning was not seriously affected The translator deliberately

used the phrase tất cả mọi thứ to rhyme thứ with từ at the end of the second line Run

its course on the fourth line means to develop in the usual way and come to the usual end Considering its translation chẳng đi lạc đâu, the translator managed to capture

the spirit of the context and expressed the author’s idea in a different yet still comprehensible way

The last stanza does not contain difficult words or phrases in terms of linguistic and cultural meaning Therefore, readers were provided with a faithful translation which showed great accuracy and high degree of literalness This also implies the proper use of blank verse translation strategy by Zelda in this poem

4.2.2 Metrical translation

Metrical translation involves the work of recreating the original metre of ST into TT, which includes the count and the character of syllables in each SL verse line This method concentrates on the formal aspect of the SL text, and the translation bears

a strong resemblance to the original in terms of form However, due to differences in prosodic features between English and Vietnamese, the English stress cannot be exactly rendered to Vietnamese, so the translator could only reproduce the number of syllables on each line

to brush and floss

Nhân quả của anh

Anh khiến tôi xoay khiến tôi chao đảo

lời anh khiến tôi

lạc vào mất mát

Anh khiến tôi đỏ mặt

Anh khiến tôi muốn

chải chuốt đẹp mắt

The original poem consists of four-syllable verse lines, which was almost perfectly recreated in the translation Except for the fifth line, all the other lines of the translated poem contained four syllables

As can be clearly seen from this example, the translator faithfully followed the word order of the original verse lines in her translation In the first two lines, the

author made use of the phrase toss and turn which means to constantly move and be

unable to sleep because of worrying This described the woman’s restlessness when

she was deeply in love with the man However, the translation did not completely convey this word play to readers because there is no equivalent of such expression in

Vietnamese The translator only literally translated turn into xoay and toss into chao

đảo On the fourth line, the idiom at a loss was used by the poet to reveal the woman’s

dishevelled mood and inability to communicate properly in front of the man she loved dearly Such meaning, nevertheless, was not successfully imparted through its literal

translation: lạc vào mất mát Indeed, this phrase sounded quite obscure and unnatural

in Vietnamese, which might cause difficulties for TL readers to fully understand the

author’s intention On the last line, brush and floss are what people usually do to have

healthy and white teeth It is totally understandable for a woman to try to look attractive in the eyes of the man she loves; besides, the author also intended to rhyme

brush with blush (line 5) and floss with loss (line 4) The phrase brush and floss was

rendered into chải chuốt đẹp mắt, which showed the translator’s efforts to convey the author’s original message to TL readers Moreover, the word mắt also added sound effects to the translated poem by rhyming with mặt on the fifth line

Although some nuances of meaning were not successfully rendered, this translation was an exemplary case of metrical translation strategy which emphasises the reproduction of the original metre

Example 4: (No 62)

Golden Cage

A bird who hurt her wing,

now forgotten how to fly

A song she used to sing,

but can't remember why

A breath she caught and kept—

that left her in a sigh

It hurts her so to love you,

but she won't say good-bye

The meaning of the first two lines was fully and accurately conveyed in the

translation The phrase hurt her wing might be literally translated as làm tổn thương

cánh của mình; the translator used a shorter expression for this idea: tự thương ở cánh

in order to align the number of syllables in the translation with that in the original Comparing the third line in ST and TT, it could be easily noticed that the translator

added hay in her translation even though the ST does not contain such meaning This might lie in her intention to create a rhyming effect between bay (line 2) and hay (line 3) The same reason could also be applied to explain the translation of why into nguồn

cơn, so that cơn (line 4) would rhyme with lớn (line 7) On the sixth line, a sigh was

rendered into tiếng thở dài tan tác Obviously, the translator deliberately added meaning to the original phrase, with tan tác emphasising the woman’s grief and frustration The word order of the seventh line was reversed: it hurts her so – tổn

thương lớn and to love you – yêu anh, yet the meaning remained the same The

translator used quite a complicated expression in TL không thác lời từ to translate

won’t say goodbye Thác in Vietnamese means to make up excuses in order not to do something; lời từ can be understood as goodbye (từ as used in từ biệt) Despite the

complexity in word choice, the content is still proper and comprehensible to readers

Moreover, it might be the translator’s deliberate intention to use the word thác so that

it would rhyme with tác at the end of line 6, which offered a more balanced and

melodious tone to the verse

On the whole, the translation has succeeded in conveying the original message and offering a rhythmical sense by adopting rhymed translation strategy

4.2.3 Rhymed translation

Rhymed translation refers to the reproduction of the rhyme scheme of the source poem in the target poem Choosing this method, the translators aim to convey poetic flavour to readers of the translations However, due to striking differences between English and Vietnamese rhymes, rhymed translation strategy imposes a

constraint upon the translators regarding the choice of words Therefore, without an intimate knowledge of ST and TT poetic materials, it will be a tough challenge for any translator who tries to apply this translation method

Example 5: (No 47)

Swan Song

Her heart is played

like well-worn strings;

in her eyes,

the sadness sings—

of one who was destined

for better things

Bài ca thiên nga

Trái tim cô chơi

như vĩ thanh mòn

đôi mắt buông lời

buồn hát héo hon

về người được định

những điều tốt hơn

In the TL text, the syllables at the end of line 2, 4, 6 (strings, sings, things)

rhyme with each other This rhyming scheme was transferred exactly to the translation

of the poem; the ending rhymes were situated on line 2, 4, 6 in the Vietnamese version

Regarding the content aspect, the first line was not translated accurately in

accordance with the author’s intention The original text Her heart is played was

written in passive voice; meanwhile, the translator changed it into active voice yet

still kept the same subject Trái tim cô chơi The back translation of the TT should be

Her heart plays, not is played like the original verse line The author compared her heart with a musical instrument which has well-worn strings and can be played

However, considering strings translated as vĩ thanh, it seems that the translator did not successfully communicate this idea to TL readers Vĩ thanh means the last sound

or note in a song or a musical play, hence not matching with strings On the other

hand, the next two translated lines were not only accurate in terms of meaning but also evoked a literary flavour All the components in the ST were fully rendered in

the TT: her eyes – đôi mắt, sadness – buồn, sings – hát The translator, besides, also added some other factors to fulfil the four-syllable metrical pattern such as buông lời

and héo hon Those words contributed to bringing a feeling of deep sorrow to the

poem and helping TL readers to better understand the character’s sentiments Apart

from that, héo hon was particularly chosen by the translator also because it would produce a rhyming effect with mòn (line 2) and hơn (line 6) The last two lines did

not pose any special challenges regarding figurative meaning, thus a faithful translation within the restriction of four syllables each line

Generally speaking, the translation has reflected the translator’s determined effort to faithfully reproduce the ST rhyme scheme and bring emotivity to language though some original senses were not accurately transferred

Example 6: (No 61)

Written in Traffic

A quiet gladness,

in the busy sadness;

inside the final tussle,

of love and its madness

Its goodness and badness,

its hustle and bustle

Viết giữa dòng người Mừng rỡ trong lặng yên giữa nỗi buồn liên miên

trong trận chiến cùng cuối

của ái tình và điên

Tình xấu xa tốt hiền

bon chen và náo nhiệt

The rhyming scheme in this example is more complicated than the previous

one Not only do the ending syllables on line 1, 2, 4, 5 (gladness, sadness, madness,

badness) rhyme with each other, but those on line 3 and 6 (tussle, bustle) also form a

rhyming pattern In her translation, Zelda recreated the ending rhymes on line 1, 2, 4,

5 (yên, miên, điên, hiền) to match the pattern in the original poem Though the ending

rhymes on line 3 and 6 were not transferred, it is obvious that the translator attempted

to adopt rhymed translation strategy in translating Written in Traffic