Reporting strategies in the novel nỗi buồn chiến tranh and its english translated version the sorrow of war by phan thanh hao and frank palmos a systemic functional comparison

Summary of the findings of the thesis: The research findings show that there are some similarities and differences in using reporting strategies in the source novel and its translated version. Both two versions share the same aim to report the characters’ locutions and ideas and consist of reporting thoughts and reporting speeches. However, three main differences in applying reporting strategies are also found out: in the structure of the clauses in the complexes, in the uses of reporting verbs and in the appearance of nonlinguistics conventions. Practical applicability, if any: The results provide language learners with a better knowledge in the application of systemic functional grammar into translating. Further research directions, if any: No Thesisrelated publications: An article in IGRS 2020: Reporting strategies in the novel Nỗi buồn chiến tranh and its English translated version The Sorrow of War by Phan Thanh Hao and Frank Palmos: A systemic functional comparison

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

VŨ THỊ KIM NGÂN

REPORTING STRATEGIES IN THE NOVEL “NỖI BUỒN CHIẾN TRANH” AND ITS ENGLISH TRANSLATED VERSION “THE SORROW OF WAR” (TRANSLATED BY PHAN THANH HAO AND EDITED BY FRANK PALMOS):

A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL COMPARISON

Các chiến lược thông báo trong tiểu thuyết “Nỗi buồn chiến tranh” và trong bản dịch “The Sorrow of War” của Phan Thanh Hảo và Frank Palmos:

So sánh theo lý thuyết ngữ pháp chức năng hệ thống

M.A MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS CODE: 8220201.01

HA NOI – 2020

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

VŨ THỊ KIM NGÂN

REPORTING STRATEGIES IN THE NOVEL “NỖI BUỒN CHIẾN TRANH” AND ITS ENGLISH TRANSLATED VERSION “THE SORROW OF WAR” (TRANSLATED BY PHAN THANH HAO AND EDITED BY FRANK PALMOS):

A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL COMPARISON

Các chiến lược thông báo trong tiểu thuyết “Nỗi buồn chiến tranh” và trong bản dịch “The Sorrow of War” của Phan Thanh Hảo và Frank Palmos:

So sánh theo lý thuyết ngữ pháp chức năng hệ thống

M.A MINOR THESIS

HA NOI – 2020

DECLARATION

I, Vũ Thị Kim Ngân, hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged which has not been previously included in any thesis or dissertation submitted to this or any other institution for

a degree, diploma or other qualifications Should this declaration be found to be false, disciplinary action could be taken and penalties imposed in accordance with the University policy

Signature

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to place on record my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân for reading with refreshing insight, and fine-grained critical astuteness the various drafts of the thesis His sophisticated theoretical mind and contempt for mediocrity has been instructive and inspiring I am mostly thankful that he afforded me the autonomy and latitude to think my own thoughts, and follow my scholarly instincts

I am also sincerely grateful to all of our generous lecturers at the Faculty

of Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their encouragement and their patience

in my process of studying here

Finally, my endearing and enduring gratitude to my family: my parents,

my husband and my new-born daughter who have remained the bedrock of my scholarly and personal (mis)ad/ventures My special thanks go to my all colleagues, my friends for their support during the completion of the thesis

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Page

Figure 1 : Projection and expansion represented by the conventions

of comic strips

11

Table 2 : Reporting clauses in Vietnamese version and English

version

18

Table 3 : Reported statements in the projection of locution 26 Table 4 : Reported statements in the projection of idea 27 Table 5 : The order of clauses in the complexes in ST and TT 30

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS iv

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rational of the study 1

1.2 Significance of the study 2

1.3 Aims of the study and research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

1.5 Methodology 3

1.6 Organization of the thesis 3

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 5

2.1 Overview of research materials 5

2.1.1 The source novel and the translated version 5

2.1.2 The authors 6

2.1.2.1 The ST Vietnamese author – Bao Ninh 6

2.1.2.2 The TT translator: Phan Thanh Hao and Frank Palmos 6

2.2 Systemic functional grammar and the clause 8

2.3 Above the Clause: The Clause Complex 10

2.3.1 Reports as a kind of projection 11

2.3.1.1 Projection 11

2.3.1.2 Reports 12

2.4 Summary 15

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17

3.1 Research questions 17

3.2 Research method 17

3.2.1 Research data 17

3.2.2 Data collection method 17

3.2.3 Data analysis method 17

3.3 Analytical framework 21

CHAPTER IV: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF REPORTING STRATEGIES IN THE SOURCE NOVEL NỖI BUỒN CHIẾN TRANH AND ITS TRANSLATED VERSION 23

4.1 Introduction 23

4.2 The similarities 25

4.3 The differences 30

4.3.1 Differences in terms of the structure of clauses in the complex 30

4.3.2 Differences in terms of using reporting verbs in the ST and TT 33

4.3.3 Differences in terms of non-linguistic conventions 36

4.4 Summary 37

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 39

1 Recapitulation 39

2 Implications of the study 40

3 Limitations and suggestions for further study 40

REFERENCES 41 SOURCES OF DATA I APPENDIX 1 II APPENDIX 2 XXXIX

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rational of the study

Along with the rapid integration among countries all over the world, there

is an increasingly urgent requirement of sharing a common language to enable people to reach a more profound understanding of each other And English is seen as a global language It cannot be denied the importance of English in the current life because it hasexpressed its central importance in almost aspects of life: politics, economics, education, laws and even daily activities

A huge challenge posed to people around the world is the ability of mastering English as their mother tongue language As a linguistic learner for nearly ten years, I find the supreme importance of applying grammar in the process of learning and studying a new language, English is not out of this circle The history of linguistics has witnessed many different grammatical approaches which attempts to understand how English works Of all the grammatical approaches, the theory of systemic functional grammar (SFG) developed by M.A.K Halliday represents the function of language to interact with other people in order to establish and maintain the relationship between them as well as to reflect the writer’s attitude towards the subject matter (Halliday, 2004) SFG can also be a useful grammatical source “to say sensible and useful things about any text, spoken or written’ (Halliday, 2004: xv) Functional grammar seems to be the most successful trends of grammar because

it not only mentions form and meaning of language but also the relationship between them (Thompson, 1996: 6) There is no “right” or “wrong” in terms of structure like in functional grammar, but functional grammarians only consider something “appropriate: or “inappropriate” to achieve high effectiveness in language (Eggins, 2004: 22)

Amongst the various interesting aspects of SFL, my present thesis focuses

on analyzing a specific phenomenon – reporting strategies which belong to projection relation between clauses in clause complexes There are various reasons for choosing this topic, but translating reports in novels in the approach

of SFG seems to be prominent Foremost, the source novel Nỗi buồn chiến tranh

is one of the most attractive novels in the war which won the Independent

Foreign Fiction Prize Each bare picture in the war seems to be captured completely by a talented writer Secondly, the translated version by Phan Thanh Hao and Frank Palmos which was listed in Best 50 Translations of 20th Century

by Society of Authors in London in 2010 is highly evaluated And thirdly, SFG

is an effective tool to explore the differences in the process of translation to recognize reporting strategies between the source novel and the translated one

1.2 Significance of the study

The significance of the study not only lies in the theoretical findings, but

it is expected that it will also emerge as a practical application to translation Furthermore, the contrastive analysis of the source and the translated novel is hoped to be useful in translating and serving as a reference to be employed in ESL linguistics courses where Halliday’s theory of SFG is introduced

1.3 Aims of the study and research questions

The overarching aim of this study is to explore the similarities and differences in reporting strategies employed by the author of the source

language text (hereafter referred to as ST) Nỗi buồn chiến tranh and the translator of the target language text (TT) The Sorrow of War, using systemic

functional grammar (SFG) as the analytical framework To fulfill this aim, three questions are raised for exploration:

(i) What reporting strategies does the writer employ to construct the source language text?

(ii) What reporting strategies does the translator employ to construct the target language text?

(iii) What are the similarities and differences between the source language text and target language text in terms of reporting strategies?

1.4 Scope of the study

The study aims to make comparison of using reporting strategies under SFG theory in a Vietnamese novel and its translated version In order to make task manageable in keeping with the aims of the paper, there are some limitations:

- Only issues relating to above the clause, specifically reports as one kind

of projection, are taken into consideration

- The approach of grammar used to analyze in the paper is Systemic Functional Grammar developed by M.A.K Halliday

- Given the scope of this minor thesis, only Chapter 1 of the original text (which is 37 pages long) and its corresponding chapter (Chapter 1) of the translated version (which is 31 pages long) are taken as data for comparison

1.5 Methodology

This is a comparative study; hence, the following steps should be taken so

as to make full analysis of the research paper

Firstly, the ST and the TT are analysed for reporting clause complexes, using SFG as the analytical framework

Secondly, the reporting clause complexes in the ST and TT are further analysed to reveal reporting strategies in the two texts

Finally, the reporting strategies in the ST and TT are compared to reveal similarities and differences

In order to achieve the goals of the study, two successive methods will be applied for better research results They are descriptive and analytical The general research methodology adopted in the paper is inductive

1.6 Organization of the thesis

The thesis is designed in five main chapters

Chapter I, Introduction, presents the rationale for choosing the topic, the aims, scope of the study and methods to be applied in the paper and how the study is designed

Chapter II, Theoretical background, provides an overview of research materials including the novel – Vietnamese version and English version and general information of the author and translators; and the concepts of systemic functional grammar, in particular, to the examination of the notion of projection, reports

Chapter III, Research methodology, shows a guiding framework on which the research is based on It consists of research questions, research method and analytical framework

Chapter IV, provides a detailed description of data analysis Some comparisons including the similarities and differences and some interpretations

of the findings of the study are also presented

Chapter V, Conclusion, gives a summary of the results of the study It pays much attention to answering three research questions The most importantly, the similarities and differences between the source novel and the translated version, in terms of reporting strategies are also recapitulated in this part Some implications for translating and some suggestions for further study are mentioned

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

This chapter presents briefly the ST and its author, TT and its translators and provides an overview of SFG To be more specific, it will review background knowledge on systemic functional grammar and concepts relevant

to the study such as clause complexes, projection and reports The main content

of this chapter is the notion of reporting

2.1 Overview of research materials

2.1.1 The source novel and the translated version

As almost an autobiographical story, the novel Nỗi buồn chiến tranh does

not deal with tormenting memories in war with lots of untold sufferings and

deaths but lingers on the human derangement after war The novel Nỗi buồn chiến tranh was written by Bao Ninh in 1987 with the first name Thân phận của tình yêu It was Bao Ninh’s graduation project at the Nguyen Du Writing

School The novel soon became a hit on the Vietnamese literary scene and has later been translated into many languages and published in many regions and countries Many of them was translated from Palmos English version, three others were directly translated from the Vietnamese including the French version by Phan Huy Đường in 2004, the Japanese version by Okawa Hitoshi in

1999 and the Chinese one by Xia Lu in 2019 The novel has gained lots of awards: The Vietnam Writers’ Association Award in 1991, the 2016 Shim Hun Literary Award in South Korea, the 2011 Asia Literature Award from Nihon Keizai Shimbun in Japan, as well as the 2018 Asia Literature Award It also won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize - a British literary award It is recognized

as “the most touching novel about the war in Vietnam”, “the biggest achievement of Vietnam’s reformed literature”, and “touching the hearts of humans” In this thesis, the chosen English version is translated by Phan Thanh Hao and edited by Frank Palmos - an Australian journalist It was published in

2004 under the title The Sorrow of War It is considered as the best translation of

all

In The Sorrow of War, North Vietnam’s most famous living writer – an

ex-soldier himself – transmogrifies, with passion and honesty, his nation’s conflict with South Vietnam and with the United States into a timeless elegy Its singularity is this “The pain of the Vietnam conflict has been told and retold in

the West A few propaganda films apart, North Vietnam has remained silent Until now” (The Economist)

The Sorrow of War – by turns bleak and poetic, pellucid and cunning –

opens with Kien, an infantry cadre form Hanoi, engaged in the grim business of retrieving and burying the dead at the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the war From here, the novel ranges back to Kien’s youth and the pains of adolescent love and moves forward to his attempts, as a struggling writer in postwar Hanoi, to come to grips with the savageries he has witnessed, to make sense of death, love, and loss and of his own survival

2.1.2 The authors

2.1.2.1 The ST Vietnamese author – Bao Ninh

Bao Ninh, the real name is Hoàng Ấu Phương who was born on 18thOctober, 1952 in Nghe An, is a Vietnamese novelist, essayist and writer of short

stories He is best known for his first novel, published in English as The Sorrow

of War When he was seventeen years old, he joined the war and served in the

Glorious 27th Youth Brigade Of the five hundred who went to war with the brigade in 1969, Ninh was one of ten who survived The memory of fierce battles and the fear of Vietnamese soldiers during the war appearing in his imagination were described: “While the bombs were falling, only a stone wouldn’t be terrified If the Americans noticed movement in the forest, they would eliminate the forest Who knows how much money was spent? American taxpayers’ money If a cluster of napalm bombs were dropped, the jungle would turn into a sea of fire Can you imagine a sea of fire?”

Although the readers just know Bao Ninh as the author of “The Sorrow of War”, he also has some works in other literary fields: a collection of short stories Camp of Seven Dwarves in 1987, a short story "A Marker on the Side of

the Boat” (Khắc dấu mạn thuyền)

2.1.2.2 The TT translator: Phan Thanh Hao and Frank Palmos

Phan Thanh Hao, who was born in 1950, is well - known as a translator with the works of various genres: historical fiction, war fiction, war stories, action and adventure fiction, personal narratives, biographies In her career until now, there are totally 17 works in 50 publications in 3 languages and 2,157 library holdings Phan Thanh Hao is a woman translator who has a grand passion for wars in Vietnam, for Vietnamese women soldiers’ life in war and post-war Some of her widely translated works include The Sorrow of War (12

editions published between 1993 and 2018 in English), Even the women must fight (by Karen Turner-Gottschang with 6 editions published between 1998 and

1999 in English), Behind the red mist (by Hồ Anh Thái with 2 editions published between 1998 and 2007 in English), Against the flood (by Ma Văn Kháng with 4 editions published in 2000 in English), Hidden warriors: women

on the Ho Chi Minh Trail (1 edition published in 2004 in English) Becoming

one of fifty Best Translations of the 20th Century, The Sorrow of War is seen as

a highlight in her career The translated novel is also broastcast as serial over

Vietnam National Radio from 1990 to 1991 The Sorrow of War is also the first

book introduced to American readers Apart from working as a translator, Phan Thanh Hao is also known as one of the largest contributor to introducing Vietnamese literature into the USA She, along with four Vietnamese authors including Hồ Anh Thái, Lê Minh Khuê, Nguyễn Quang Thiều and Nguyễn Nguyệt Cầm, in the 1990s, together brings Vietnamese literature works to America In 2003, Phan Thanh Hao, Wayne Karlin, Hồ Anh Thái and Lê Minh Khuê published a Vietnamese literary collection with 50 excellent translated short stories, named Love after war (Tình yêu thời hậu chiến) which is recognized as one of the 100 best books of 2003 by The Annals of San Francisco

Frank Palmos, who works as a journalist, author, and translator, is known for his work in South East Asia After graduated from Journalism and Indonesian Studies from University of Melbourne, he was appointed at 24 years

well-of age Australia's youngest Foreign Correspondent to South East Asia in 1964

He founded the first foreign newspaper bureau in the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta (non-wire service) and served as its bureau chief for the Sydney Morning Herald-Sun groups, which represented ten Australian and numerous overseas daily newspapers He was the Dean of Foreign Correspondents, Co-Founder and President of the Djakarta Foreign Correspondents Club from 1965 to 1969 In

addition, he is known as a special writer for The New York Time, Washington Post, The Economist, London, the Groene Amsterdammer, Vrij Nederland

During the period from 1964 to 1966, he was an honorary and simultaneous translator to first Indonesian President Sukarno and political party leaders During the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1968, Palmos served as a war correspondent He was the sole survivor of a Viet Cong ambush of five western war correspondents in Cholon on 5 May 1968 during the second Tet Offensive

He documented his missions, the ambush and two-year investigative search

reports between 1988 - 1990 in his autobiography, called “Ridding the Devils” Later, Palmos served as a foundation trustee for the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation and was a contributor to the book ‘Requiem’ (Random House, 1997) edited by Horst Faas and Tim Page, as a memorial to 135 photographers and correspondents killed in the Indochina Wars ending in 1975 To be highly assessed in his career, Frank Palmos wins numerous awards in many fields of art and literary In 1971-1972, he gained The Australian Winston Churchill Fellow for Pioneering Journalism in Asia Then, he was Television Journalism Logie winner 1974 with Current Affair Channel 9 team, coverages included Cyclone Tracy (Camera: Kevin Wiggins) and four highlight films Executive Producer Michael Schildberger (1938-2010), Producer Graham Coddington, co-Reporter John Hounslow (1946-2010), Research Andrea Lee-Steere, GTV9 Studios, Richmond, Victoria

2.2 Systemic functional grammar and the clause

Systemic functional grammar is a grammatical model developed by M.A.K Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) In their book, the authors explained that their grammar is called functional because “the conceptual framework on which it is based is a functional one rather than a formal one It is functional in three distinct although closely related senses: in its representation (1) of texts, (2) of the system, and (3) of the elements of linguistics structures” According to Halliday, language is functional in sense that it is designed to account for how language is used and language has evolved to satisfy human needs Therefore, the fundamental components of meaning in language are functional components and each element in a language is explained by reference to its function in the total linguistic system Halliday’s grammar model is also called systemic because he developed the detailed system networks named mood type for many areas of English grammar The theory shows that language performs three main functions which are called metafunctions:

- The ideational function is to organize speaker’s or writer’ experience of the real world, including the inner world of his own consciousness

- The interpersonal function is to indicate, establish or maintain social relationship between people

- The textual function is to provide links with language itself and with the features of the situation in which it is used

(Hoang Van Van, 2006: 28)

Each of these is realized by different set of systems The first function is realized through the system of Transitivity which is defined as the grammar of processes – material, mental, relational, verbal, behavioral, existential; the participants in the processes and the attendant circumstances The second function, interpersonal, is realized through the system of Mood structure As an exchange, a clause consists of two components: Mood and Residue Mood is the component whose function is to carry the syntactic burden of the exchange and

to carry the argument forward Mood consists of two elements; Subject and Finite Subject is a nominal component while Finite is a verbal component which has the function of making the proposition finite The remainder of the clause is the Residue which consists of three functional components: the Predicator, the Complement, and the Adjunct The predicator is realized by a verbal group The complement is an element which has the potential of being a subject and typically realized by a nominal group The adjunct is often known as

an adverbial group The third function of language, under Systemic Functional Grammar perspective, the textual function is realized by the system of Thematic structure which includes Theme and Rheme Theme is considered the point of departure of the message which is coincided with the initial element of the clause Theme provides the settings for the remainder of the sentence – Rheme Rheme is the remainder of the message in a clause in which Theme is developed Rheme provides the additional information added to the starting point and which is available for subsequent development in the text Theme may

be realized by a nominal group, prepositional phrase, an adverbial group or even

a clause Halliday and Matthiessen claim that the three types of meanings presented in language are not accidental but are necessarily in place because we need them to perform functions in social life

Hoang Van Van (2006: 161) states that systemic functional linguistics owns “a very rich pool of analytical instruments which help researchers tackle not only phonological but also grammatical (syntax), semantic and discoursal problems of a text” This theory encompasses all levels of language: phonology, lexico-grammar, semantics and context of situation where language occurs In terms of phonology, it studies the resources of intonation, rhythm, and syllabic and phonemic articulation Lexico-grammar includes lexis or vocabulary and grammar in a unified system Semantics is concerned with the system of meaning Unlike other grammatical theories, this theory develops a model for

contextual analysis which consists of three components or parameters: field, tenor and mode

From the point of view of functional grammarians, in any kinds of language, there exists the notion “rank scale” which relates to “constituency”

“whereby larger units are made up out of smaller ones”; however, it differs from this language to others In English grammar, the rank scale is described as below:

2.3 Above the Clause: The Clause Complex

A clause is seen as the highest unit in the rank scale From Halliday’s theory, a clause simplex can be expanded to form a clause simplexes and clause complexes Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) defines a clause simplex includes only one clause while a clause complex is a combination of “a Head clause and (o)ther clauses that modifying it” Traditional grammar sees the notion of a

“clause” as a “sentence”; however, sentence is just “a constituent of writing”, but a clause complex is a “constituent of grammar” (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004: 216) The term sentence is used to refer only to the “highest – ranking graphological unit of punctuation” while “the notion of “clause complex’ enables us to account in full for the grammatical combination of clauses” (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004: 371, 372) According to Halliday and Matthiessen (2004: 373), clauses are interrelated in terms of the degree of interdependency or taxis and the logico-semantic relationship

In the scope this thesis, the author will pay attention to only the semantic relation of clauses which includes expansion and projection While expansion is the relationship in which the secondary clause expands the primary clause by elaborating or extending or enhancing it; in projection, the secondary clause is projected through the primary clause, which instates it as a locution or

logico-an idea

This basic logico-sematic relation made by the grammar has come to be reflected in the conventions of comic strips, as illustrated schematically:

of projection (hypotactic reporting vs paratactic reporting) and the speech function (reported proposition vs projected proposal)

The figure below clarifies the relationship among variants in the network

of projection

Figure 2

System network of pojection (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004: 445)

There are three systems involved in the differentiation of three kinds of projection: (i) the level of projection (idea [mental] vs locution [verbal]); (ii) mode of projection (reporting [hypotactic] vs quoting [paratactic]) and (iii) speech function (proposition [statements and questions] vs proposal [offers and commands]) In the scope of the thesis, I will devote exclusively to exemplifying reports as a kind of projection

2.3.1.2 Reports

Language, not all the time, expresses by wording; thinking also creates language Hence, a process of thinking in a “mental” clause will serve to project The uses of this kind of projecting nexus include the speakers’ thinking in dialogues, the addressee’s thinking in dialogue, the character’s consciousness in narrative, the institutional or expert’s opinions and beliefs in news reporting and scientific discourse and the speaker’s angle in scientific discourse In nexuses projecting locutions, nexuses projecting ideas consist of a phenomenon – the projecting clause – and a metaphenomenon – the ‘content’ of the projecting clause It is clarified in this below example:

Some experts believed that people someday will have their

unique genetic code on smart cards

The phenomenon – the projecting

clause

The meta-phenomenon – the projected clause which contains ‘content’ of the

projecting clause

(Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004: 449) The difference between quoting and reporting is that in reporting, the projecting clause is a “mental” process clause, more specifically one of cognition, rather than a “verbal” one and the projected clause represents a meaning rather than a wording Halliday and Matthiessen (2004: 452, 453) also present the difference between hypotactic projection (reporting) that preserves the deictic orientation of the projecting clause, which is that of the speaker; whereas in paratactic projection (quoting) the deixis shifts and takes on the orientation of the Sayer And while paratactic projection can represent any dialogue features of what was said, hypotactic projection cannot It is obvious that we use language not only to talk but also to think, hence, hypotactic projection is the most typical applied to mental process with two sub-types: (1) cognition and (2) desideration

voice of clauses For example:

(a) Like type

|||I notice || that Eve’s disloyalty and ingratitude must be contagious! |||

commands are projected, their speech functions may be obscured and is

therefore explicit in the reporting verbs

In hypotactic projection, apart from some general reporting verbs employed, there are also some verbs for elaborated speech functions which are listed in the following table

Table 1

Verbs used to report (Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004: 450)

Statement [indirect declarative clause:

(that)…]

Question [indirect interrogative clause:

whether/ if;

who, which, when…]

[perfective non-finite clause, or modulated indirect declarative clause]

cognitive ‘like’ type believe, guess,

think, know, image, doubt, remember, forget, dream, predict

wonder, doubt;

consider; find out, ascertain, check;

determine, judge;

predict, know, remember

The table gives two different sets of verbs which are associated with two types of a projected clause: an indirect statement or an indirect question In a statement, it is fixed with respect to the polarity and the elements of transitivity

(realized by an indirect declarative clause introduced by that) However, in a

question, it is open with respect the polarity (realized by an indirect yes/no

interrogative clause introduced by whether or if) or one or more of the elements

of transitivity (realized by an indirect wh- interrogative clause introduced by

who, which, when, where, etc.) As a result, mental clauses representing an

‘undecided’ state of mind are used to project indirect questions These include clauses of wondering and doubting, finding out and checking, and contemplating which are characterized by special lexical verbs such as wonder, ascertain They may also include uncertainty clauses which are represented grammatically by a feature of negative polarity or interrogative mood, or by projection or expansion within the verbal group serving as Process, or by perfective aspect in a purpose clause

A projected phenomenon as a meaning is still a phenomenon of language which is referred as a ‘metaphenomenon’, but it is presented at a level of semantic, not of lexicogrammatical This phenomenon has already been

‘processed’ by the linguistic system – it is a phenomenon of experience that has been construed as a meaning; but processed only once, not twice as in the case

of a wording, where a phenomenon of experience is construed first as a meaning and then in turn as a wording

In short, in reporting, there exist two unequal status clauses This can be applied for both mental and verbal process

British literary award The Sorrow of War, written in the stream of

consciousness style, opens with a depiction of soldiers on a postwar mission to collect the bones of fallen comrades for reburial Thus begins the non-linear narrative by Kien, a North Vietnamese soldier during the Vietnam War, chronicling his loss of innocence, his love, and his anguish at the memories of war The author – Bao Ninh, who is a Vietnamese novelist, essayist and writer

of short stories, is well-known for his first novel – Nỗi buồn chiến tranh which was published in English The Sorrow of War The translator Phan Thanh Hao

has a grand passion for wars in Vietnam, for Vietnamese women soldiers’ life in war and post-war with some famous works: The Sorrow of War, Even the women must fight, Behind the red mist, Against the flood, Hidden warriors: women on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

More significantly, in the chapter, an overview of SFG according to Halliday’s theory has also been reviewed Unlike other approaches to grammar, SFG puts much more emphasize on meaning of a language or the functions of language than its form and structure SFG is a model of language in context which has three strands of meaning (metafunctions): ideational function, interpersonal function and textual function Each metafunction is recognized by

a different system: the ideational metafunction realized through the transitivity system, the second metafunction realized through the system of mood structure and the last metafunction realized through the system of Thematic structure These metafunctions are interrelated to each other and they are corresponding to clause as representation, clause as exchange and clause as message Besides, the concepts of clause, especially clause complexes and their logico-semantic relationship have been introduced

The focus of the paper is the notion of reports as a kind of projection in order to explore the reporting strategies employed in the source novel and its translation In this kind of projection, the projected clause depends on the projecting one Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) call the projected clause as a metaphenomenon because it is a phenomenon of language And this clause mainly focuses on the meaning

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter aims at providing the reader with an effective, helpful and guiding framework on which the research is based in order to ensure the validity and reliability for the findings and conclusion

3.1 Research questions

The present study attempts to address there following research questions:

i What reporting strategies does the writer employ to construct the source language text?

ii What reporting strategies does the translator employ to construct the target language text?

iii What are the similarities and differences between the source language text and target language text in terms of reporting strategies?

3.2 Research method

3.2.1 Research data

The sources of the data in this study are the source novel Nỗi buồn chiến tranh and the translated version The Sorrow of War However, in scope of the minor thesis, the author only examines on Chapter 1 of the original text (which

is 37 pages long) and its corresponding chapter (Chapter 1) of the translated version (which is 31 pages long)

3.2.2 Data collection method

The main purpose of this study is to determine how reporting strategies are applied in Vietnamese novel and its English version, then to show their

similarities and differences in translating these reports Thus, the report

complexes have been selected and classified into groups to ensure the reliability

of the data After being processed, the reporting strategies are examined in the group of reporting speeches or reporting thoughts in ST and TT so that they can

be easily analyzed and discussed

3.2.3 Data analysis method

Two research approaches of descriptive and analytical are employed in this study To begin with, the author collects the data, finds out the report

complexes which are used in ST and TT and classifies them into group of

reporting speeches and reporting thoughts in Vietnamese and English

respectively The results are then described in the following table:

Table 2

Reporting clauses in Vietnamese version and English version

1 st ||| α Kiên nghe kể || “β đi đêm ở

vùng này có thể nghe thấy chim

chóc khóc than như người |||

||| α Kien was told || “β that passing this area at night one could hear birds crying like human beings |||

2 nd || “β Đã có người nom thấy

những quầng sáng đom đóm lớn

tày cái mũ cối, có khi hơn ||

||| α Some said || “β they’d seen firefly lights rise before them as big as a steel helmet – some said bigger than helmets |||

tám, ven các cánh rừng dọc

theo triền suối này hoa hồng ma

nở rộ trong mưa, đâm bông

trắng xoá, thở hương thơm

ngát ||

||| α Kien recalls: ||‘β At that time

of our first stay here it was late August ||| || Between the jungle and the forest along this stream, rosa canina blossomed in the rain, whitened everywhere, its perfume filling the air, especially at night

||

sau mới khám phá được || ‘β

rằng nguyên nhân của những

cơn ảo giác đêm khuya ở vùng

này là hương thơm của hồng

ma |||

||| α It took us months to discover||‘β that our nightly passion frenzied freams were caused by the canina perfume |||

5 th ||| “β Chúng gây độc còn có thể

hơn cả loài cá ráu chuyên ăn

mã tiền, || α người ta bảo thế

|||

||| α The local people say ||“β canina thrives in graveyards or any area carrying the scent of death |||

tanh máu từ chúng ||

[…]|||α or imaged|| ‘β they smelled the stench of their own blood |||

7 th || “β Nhiều người đã chính mắt

nom thấy những toán lính da

đen không đầu chơi trò rước

đèn ở ven rừng ||

||| α Many said ||| “β they saw groups of headless black American soldiers carrying lantern aloft, walking through in India file |||

8 th ||| α Người ta ngờ ||‘β rằng ấy

là tiếng hú gọi đàn của bầy

vượn người thái cổ cuối cùng

trên hành tinh mà sự tồn tại

của các tổ tiên này ở Tây

Nguyên đã từng được đồn đại

từ nhiều năm trước |||

||| […]α thinking || ‘β they were the howls of pain from the last group of orange-utans said to have lived in the Central Highlands in former times |||

mênh mang, vô tận những nấm

mồ bộ đội mọc lên nhấp nhô

tựa sóng cồn…” bên bếp lửa

đàn ghita bập bùng, quân lính

thời 74 hát, lời ca khốc liệt làm

ớn lạnh những đêm trường ||

||| α Some of those waiting found

||‘β they were hearing a musical air in their heads, the sound of guitars rising and falling with the sounds of the Kontum carnage |||

cả đôi bờ ||

[…], as if ||| α it wished ||‘β to wash the banks away |||

12 th ||| ‘β Anh đón đợi cái chết,

nhưng ngay cả nó, cái chết

cũng tầm thường và vô vị |||

||| α Kien waited for death, calmly recognizing ||‘β that it would be ugly and inelegant |||

13 th ||| α […]||để thông báo || “β

anh được xếp vào danh sách đi

||| […] and || α told ||“β he was on the list of officers selected to

học dài hạn trường Sĩ quan Lục

quân |||

attend a long-term training course

at the Infantry Institute near Hanoi |||

15 th ||‘β Thế mà hổi nhỏ tôi đã suýt

thi đỗ vào trường dòng đấy ||

|||α And to think|| ‘β that as a child I wanted to take orders and

sao Can chết: bị giết hay bị kiệt

sức giữa luồng nước lũ, hay là

tự sát, mà cũng không ai thèm

kết tội Can làm gì nữa |||

||| α No one bothered to find out ||

‘β why he had died, whether he was killed or had just exhausted himself in the jungle, or whether he’d committed suicide |||

19 th ||| “α Tiếng hú của loài ma núi,

trong khu trại tang gia của

huyện đội 67 đã nhiều năm bị

22 nd ||| ‘α “Nhưng hãy nghĩ nhanh

đến một cái gì khác đi, hãy nghĩ

đến một cái gì khác!” || – β

Tâm tưởng anh thổn thức kêu

lên |||

||| α In his dream he knew ||‘β that

he was dreaming and he would writhe, trying to change the images, trying to get away from the pain and desolation he suffered from knowing it was all

a dream |||

23 rd ||‘β Song le, tính phi lý và tội

lỗi quá đậm trong mối duyên

tình chung đụng dan díu san sẻ

của những người con gái, con

trai mà nay tất cả đều đã khuất

rồi ấy.||

|||But the love|| α he knew||‘β had been within him seemed now to have drained away |||

and discussed to determine what kinds of reporting strategies are employed in

ST and TT From these results, a contrastive analysis is used to discover the similarities and differences between the source language text and target

language text in terms of reporting strategies Along with this step, some

evaluations on the effectiveness of the differences are also given As a result of which, it can be possible to make conclusion and identify the answers for three questions above

3.3 Analytical framework

The analytical frameworks for this study are based on the features of

reports which are given in the SFG theory of Halliday and Matthiessen (2004)

In their theory, report, which is as a kind of projection, uses to present (i) the representation of the speakers’ thinking in dialogue, (ii) the representation of the addressee’s thinking in dialogue, (iii) the character’s consciousness in narrative, (iv) the institutional or expert’s opinions and beliefs in news reporting and (v) scientific discourse and the speaker’s angle in scientific discourse Regarding the structure of a report, Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) shows its two main

clauses including a reporting clause – a phenomenon and a reported clause – a metaphenomenon

CHAPTER IV: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF REPORTING

STRATEGIES IN THE SOURCE NOVEL NỖI BUỒN CHIẾN TRANH

AND ITS TRANSLATED VERSION

The previous chapter provides a brief overview of the issues of SFG relevant to the analysis of our study This chapter focuses on presenting an analysis of reporting strategies applied in the Vietnamese novel and English translated version to fulfill the aim of the study The analyzed chapter of the novel and its translation are provided in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2

4.1 Introduction

The analysis in Appendix 3 shows that the ST Nỗi buồn chiến tranh

contains 24 instances of reporting mode Among them, there are 10 reporting clauses standing before reported clauses which are 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 16th,

8 th : ||| α Người ta ngờ ||‘β rằng ấy là tiếng hú gọi đàn của bầy vượn người thái

cổ cuối cùng trên hành tinh mà sự tồn tại của các tổ tiên này ở Tây Nguyên đã từng được đồn đại từ nhiều năm trước |||

13th: ||| α […]||để thông báo ||“β anh được xếp vào danh sách đi học dài hạn trường Sĩ quan Lục quân |||

14th: ||| α Đài họ loan thế, bảo là || “β to chưa từng thấy |||

16th: ||| α Tôi thường tự hỏi, ||‘β mình vào đây làm gì|||

17th: ||| α Tôi biết ||‘β anh là người tốt|||

18th: ||| α Chẳng ai tìm hiểu ||‘β vì sao Can chết: bị giết hay bị kiệt sức giữa

luồng nước lũ, hay là tự sát, mà cũng không ai thèm kết tội Can làm gì nữa |||

20th: ||| […],α Kiên biết, ||‘β dưới cái lũng âm u, hoang vắng nọ, trong khu trại tang gia của huyện đội 67 đã nhiều năm bị bỏ quên […]|||

3 others, including clause 19th, 22nd, 24th, reporting clauses follow

reported clauses:

19th: |||| “α Tiếng hú của loài ma núi, || β người ta bảo thế

22nd: ||| ‘β “Nhưng hãy nghĩ nhanh đến một cái gì khác đi, hãy nghĩ đến một cái

gì khác!” || – α Tâm tưởng anh thổn thức kêu lên |||

24 th : |||‘ β Có người! || – α Anh nghĩ nhanh nhưng… |||

Moreover, it is noticeable that there are 10 clause complexes in ST without reporting clauses:

2nd: || “β Đã có người nom thấy những quầng sáng đom đóm lớn tày cái mũ cối,

có khi hơn ||

3rd: ||‘β Hồi đó, vào độ cuối tháng tám, ven các cánh rừng dọc theo triền suối

này hoa hồng ma nở rộ trong mưa, đâm bông trắng xoá, thở hương thơm ngát ||

6th: […] và ||‘β họ ngửi thấy mùi tanh máu từ chúng ||

7th: || “β Nhiều người đã chính mắt nom thấy những toán lính da đen không đầu chơi trò rước đèn ở ven rừng ||

9th: ||| […], || ‘β ai nấy nơm nớp một lệnh hành quân ứng chiến, cấp tập quăng

mình vào cõi một sống một chết |||

mọc lên nhấp nhô tựa sóng cồn…” bên bếp lửa đàn ghita bập bùng, quân lính thời 74 hát, lời ca khốc liệt làm ớn lạnh những đêm trường ||

11 th : || […]‘β như chực cuốn văng đi cả đôi bờ ||

12 th : ||| ‘β Anh đón đợi cái chết, nhưng ngay cả nó, cái chết cũng tầm thường và

vô vị |||

15 th : ||‘β Thế mà hổi nhỏ tôi đã suýt thi đỗ vào trường dòng đấy ||

23rd: ||‘β Song le, tính phi lý và tội lỗi quá đậm trong mối duyên tình chung đụng dan díu san sẻ của những người con gái, con trai mà nay tất cả đều đã khuất rồi ấy.||

And in clause 21st, the reported clause does not exist in the complex

From the Appendix 3, it can be seen that in TT, there also appear 24 clause complexes containing reporting ideas In all complexes, there exists a full structure of a reporting mode which consists of reporting clauses and reported clauses and all obey the structure: reporting clauses precede reported clauses For instances:

1st: ||| α Kien was told || “β that passing this area at night one could hear birds crying like human beings |||

2nd: ||| α Some said || “β they’d seen firefly lights rise before them as big as a steel helmet – some said bigger than helmets |||

8th: ||| […]α thinking || ‘β they were the howls of pain from the last group of orange-utans said to have lived in the Central Highlands in former times |||

16th: ||| α I used to ask myself ||‘β why I’m down here|||

In short, in both ST and TT, there are 24 clause complexes which contain reporting contents

4.2 The similarities

In all 24 reports in ST and TT, the author Bao Ninh and Phan Thanh Hao share the same aim at projecting what character’s words and ideas For instances,

3rd: Hồi đó, vào độ cuối tháng tám, ven các cánh rừng dọc theo triền suối này hoa hồng ma nở rộ trong mưa, đâm bông trắng xoá, thở hương thơm ngát

Kien recalls: At that time of our first stay here it was late August Between the jungle and the forest along this stream, rosa canina blossomed in the rain, whitened everywhere, its perfume filling the air, especially at night

The complex 3rd in ST and TT project Kien’s reminiscence of the forest and jungle along the stream where he garrisoned with the blossom of rosa canina Both two versions depict Kien’s anguish at the memories of war He and his comrades together experiences the hardship time with lots of dreadful sights and terrifying stories: birds crying like human beings or big firefly lights like steel helmet or the canina perfume causing their nightly passion frenzied freams The second similarity is that both ST and TT consist of reporting speeches and reporting thoughts These are shown in these tables

Table 3

Reported statements in the projection of locution

1 st ||| α Kiên nghe kể || “β đi đêm ở

vùng này có thể nghe thấy chim

chóc khóc than như người |||

||| α Kien was told || “β that passing this area at night one could hear birds crying like human beings |||

2 nd || “β Đã có người nom thấy

những quầng sáng đom đóm lớn

tày cái mũ cối, có khi hơn ||

||| α Some said || “β they’d seen firefly lights rise before them as big as a steel helmet – some said bigger than helmets |||

5 th ||| “β Chúng gây độc còn có thể

hơn cả loài cá ráu chuyên ăn

mã tiền, || α người ta bảo thế |||

||| α The local people say ||“β canina thrives in graveyards or any area carrying the scent of death |||

7 th || “β Nhiều người đã chính mắt

nom thấy những toán lính da

đen không đầu chơi trò rước đèn

ở ven rừng ||

||| α Many said ||| “β they saw groups of headless black American soldiers carrying lantern aloft, walking through in India file |||

13 th ||| α […]||để thông báo || “β anh

được xếp vào danh sách đi học

dài hạn trường Sĩ quan Lục

quân |||

||| […] and || α told ||“β he was

on the list of officers selected to attend a long-term training course at the Infantry Institute near Hanoi |||

Table 4

Reported statements in the projection of idea

3 rd ||‘β Hồi đó, vào độ cuối tháng

tám, ven các cánh rừng dọc theo

triền suối này hoa hồng ma nở

rộ trong mưa, đâm bông trắng

xoá, thở hương thơm ngát ||

||| α Kien recalls: ||‘β At that time of our first stay here it was late August ||| || Between the jungle and the forest along this stream, rosa canina blossomed

in the rain, whitened everywhere, its perfume filling the air,

especially at night ||

sau mới khám phá được || ‘β

rằng nguyên nhân của những

cơn ảo giác đêm khuya ở vùng

này là hương thơm của hồng ma

|||

||| α It took us months to discover||‘β that our nightly passion frenzied freams were caused by the canina perfume |||

tanh máu từ chúng ||

[…]|||α or imaged|| ‘β they smelled the stench of their own blood |||

8 th ||| α Người ta ngờ ||‘β rằng ấy

là tiếng hú gọi đàn của bầy vượn

người thái cổ cuối cùng trên

hành tinh mà sự tồn tại của các

tổ tiên này ở Tây Nguyên đã

từng được đồn đại từ nhiều năm

trước |||

||| […]α thinking || ‘β they were the howls of pain from the last group of orange-utans said to have lived in the Central Highlands in former times |||

death |||

10 th ||‘β “Chân trời chết chóc mở ra

mênh mang, vô tận những nấm

mồ bộ đội mọc lên nhấp nhô tựa

||| α Some of those waiting found

||‘β they were hearing a musical air in their heads, the sound of guitars rising and falling with the sounds of the Kontum carnage |||

12 th ||| ‘β Anh đón đợi cái chết,

nhưng ngay cả nó, cái chết cũng

tầm thường và vô vị |||

||| α Kien waited for death, calmly recognizing ||‘β that it would be ugly and inelegant |||

15 th ||‘β Thế mà hổi nhỏ tôi đã suýt

thi đỗ vào trường dòng đấy ||

|||α And to think|| ‘β that as a child I wanted to take orders and

sao Can chết: bị giết hay bị kiệt

sức giữa luồng nước lũ, hay là tự

sát, mà cũng không ai thèm kết

tội Can làm gì nữa |||

||| α No one bothered to find out

|| ‘β why he had died, whether he was killed or had just exhausted himself in the jungle, or whether he’d committed suicide |||

20 th ||| […],α Kiên biết, ||‘β dưới cái ||| α He now recalled ||‘β there

lũng âm u, hoang vắng nọ, trong

khu trại tang gia của huyện đội

67 đã nhiều năm bị bỏ quên

[…]|||

had been a prosperous farm there by a waterfall, before the war had spread inland |||

21 st || α Biết hết.|||

|||[…] || α he now knew || ‘β what was happening and ||that

he understood their feelings |||

22 nd ||| ‘α “Nhưng hãy nghĩ nhanh

đến một cái gì khác đi, hãy nghĩ

a dream |||

23 rd ||‘β Song le, tính phi lý và tội lỗi

quá đậm trong mối duyên tình

chung đụng dan díu san sẻ của

những người con gái, con trai

mà nay tất cả đều đã khuất rồi

However, there are some differences in expressing reporting strategies in terms of the structure of clauses in the complex; in terms of using reporting verbs; and in terms of non-linguistic conventions In this thesis, the differences

in using reporting strategies between ST and TT are considered as a key part

4.3 The differences

4.3.1 Differences in terms of the structure of clauses in the complex

As presented above, there are 24 reports used in the source extract and the translation one, in which:

Table 5

The order of clauses in the complexes in ST and TT

Reporting clause precedes reported clause

Reporting clause follows reported clause

Clause complex does not exist reporting clause

Clause complex does not exist reported clause

Table 5 shows a big difference in positioning the reporting or reported clauses in the clause complex in ST Unlike the simplicity of employing the structure of a reporting statement in TT: reporting clause precedes reported clause (100% clause complexes using this structure), the ST expresses its complexity in applying the reporting structure Reporting clauses, in ST, stand at different positions: sometimes before reported clauses like:

1st: Kiên nghe kể đi đêm ở vùng này có thể nghe thấy chim chóc khóc than như người

8 th : Người ta ngờ rằng ấy là tiếng hú gọi đàn của bầy vượn người thái cổ cuối cùng trên hành tinh mà sự tồn tại của các tổ tiên này ở Tây Nguyên đã từng được đồn đại từ nhiều năm trước

16 th : Tôi thường tự hỏi, mình vào đây làm gì

20th: Kiên biết, dưới cái lũng âm u, hoang vắng nọ, trong khu trại tang gia của

sometimes after reported clauses, for example:

19th: Tiếng hú của loài ma núi, người ta bảo thế

24th: Có người! - Anh nghĩ nhanh nhưng…

It is more complicated that the author, in some reporting statements, depletes the reporting or reported clauses While in ST, Bao Ninh only uses 10 clause