(LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ) The translation procedures in the Vietnamese version of the book Biology by Campbell, N.A. and Reece, J.B. (2008, 8th ed.)

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
.............***.............

TRẦN THỊ NGỌC QUÝ

THE TRANSLATION PROCEDURES
IN VIETNAMESE VERSION OF THE BOOK BIOLOGY
BY CAMPELL, N.A. AND REECE, J.B. (2008, 8TH ED.)
Các kỹ thuật dịch Anh – Việt qua bản dịch cuốn sách Biology
của Campbell, N.A. và Reece, J.B. (2008, tái bản lần thứ 8)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60220201

Hanoi, 2014

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
.............***.............

TRẦN THỊ NGỌC QUÝ

THE TRANSLATION PROCEDURES

IN VIETNAMESE VERSION OF THE BOOK BIOLOGY
BY CAMPELL, N.A. AND REECE, J.B. (2008, 8TH ED.)
Các kỹ thuật dịch Anh – Việt qua bản dịch cuốn sách Biology
của Campbell, N.A. và Reece, J.B. (2008, tái bản lần thứ 8)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60220201
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lê Hùng Tiến

Hanoi, 2014

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DECLARATION
I, Tran Thi Ngoc Quy, hereby declare that the work in this thesis is the result
of my own research. It is recognized that should this declaration be found to be
false, disciplinary actions could be taken and penalties could be imposed in
accordance with university policies and rules.
Hanoi, December 2014

Trầ n Thi ̣Ngo ̣c Quý

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hung Tien, who inspired me to conduct this
research and spent his time giving me invaluable suggestions, corrections and
improvement, without which I would have been, no doubt, unable to finish the
thesis.
I would also record my thanks to the teachers of Biology especially Ms. Ta
Thi Thu Hien and the students in grade 10A5 at Vinh Phuc Gifted High School,
who assist me a great deal in the field of Biology to help me deeply understand this
field of science in general and the book Biology by Campbell, et al. (2008, 8th ed.)
in particular.
Next, my thanks also go to my classmates in K21C, who lent me materials
and gave me suggestions during carrying out the thesis.
I thank librarians at ELT Resource Center and English Department Library
for their helpfulness when I went there to collect materials for my research.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my family members and friends for
their encouragement, and comments without which I would hardly fulfill my paper
in time.

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ABSTRACT
In the time of integration and globalization, translation plays an extremely
important role in promoting the progress by passing knowledge especially in the
field of science and technology and transmitting culture. Without translation, not
many people in the world could access to masterpieces and knowledge in other
languages. In the past, the readers referred to the translations by some distinguished

scholars as the only reference source. However, with the widespread of English and
the media, many readers can not only read but also evaluate the translation
themselves through reading, comparing and contrasting the two versions, especially
when the original is in English. Therefore, having a good translation is of great
importance. To achieve this goal, application of appropriate translation procedures
is one critical factor. The study „The translation procedures in the Vietnamese
version of the book Biology by Campbell, N.A. and Reece, J.B. (2008, 8th ed.)‟ is
carried out to explore the English-Vietnamese translation procedures used in an
essential book for all teachers and students of biology, Biology by Campbell, et al.
(2008, 8th ed.). It also aims at evaluating the effectiveness of the application of such
procedures so that general rules in translating such texts can be drawn and
improvement can be made in the translation of the book or texts of Biology in
particular and in the translation of technical texts in general.

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ABBREVIATIONS
LSP

Language for Specific Purposes

SL

Source Language

TL

Target Language

TE

Translation Equivalence

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TABLE OF CONTENT
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. i
Abstract .................................................................................................................... ii
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... iii
PART A – INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
1. Rationale for the study .............................................................................. 1
2. Aims of the study ...................................................................................... 2
3. Significance of the study .......................................................................... 3
4. Scope of the study .................................................................................... 3
5. Methods of the study ................................................................................ 3
6. Structure of the study ................................................................................ 4
PART B – DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................. 6
1.1. Translation ............................................................................................. 6
1.2. Non-literary text translation ................................................................... 7
1.3. Translation procedures ........................................................................... 8
1.3.1. Nida (1964) .............................................................................. 8
1.3.2. Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) .................................................... 9
1.3.3. Wilss (1982) ............................................................................. 11

1.3.4. Newmark (1995)........................................................................ 12
CHAPTER 2 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ....................................... 19
2.1. Transference ............................................................................................ 19
2.2. Naturalization .......................................................................................... 19
2.3. Literal Translation ................................................................................... 19
2.4. Shifts or Transpositions .......................................................................... 24
2.5. Modulation ............................................................................................. 26
2.6. Compensation.......................................................................................... 28
2.7. Componential Analysis .......................................................................... 28
2.8. Notes, Additions, Glosses ....................................................................... 29

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2.9. Other procedures ..................................................................................... 30
PART C – CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 33
1. Summary of research findings ................................................................... 33
2. Concluding remarks ................................................................................... 33
3. Implications for application of translation procedures ............................ 34
4. Limitations of the research ......................................................................... 36
5. Recommendations for further studies ........................................................ 37
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 38
APPENDIX ................................................................................................................ I

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PART A – INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study
It is acknowledged that translation is extremely important especially in the time of
globalization nowadays as L.G. Kelly indicates „Without translation, there is no
history of the world.’ Were it not for translation, people would hardly approach
knowledge and other fields of life from different sources all over the world.
Newmark (1995:7) states that translation is not only „a transmitter of culture‟ but
also „a transmitter of the truth‟ so translation is „a force for progress.‟ Without
translation, not many people in the world could read the masterpiece „War and
Peace‟ by Tolstoy other than the Russian; the Oscar films like „Slumdog
Millionaire‟ by Danny Boyle would not become so popular outside Englishspeaking countries; students and teachers could not attain so much knowledge in
their field; Vietnamese students and teachers would hardly have anything to learn in
Mathematics, Biology, or even Geography, for example.
In the past, only distinguished scholars knew foreign languages and they were often
the ones who translated the original and the readers seemed to access to these
translations as the only source. However, with the widespread of English and the
media, many readers nowadays have chances to approach both the original,
especially those in English, and the translation and they can evaluate the translation
themselves. According to Newmark (1995:6), a „satisfactory‟ translation is possible
but a „perfect‟, „ideal‟ or „correct‟ translation is out of the question. However, a
translation can be bettered by many ways in which applying appropriate procedures
is one critical. Therefore, exploring and evaluating the English-Vietnamese
translation procedures in the Vietnamese version of the book Biology by Campbell,
et al. (2008, 8th ed.) – an essential book for all teachers and students of Biology –
can greatly help improve the translation.
In addition, the introduction of teaching natural sciences in English especially at
gifted or specialized high schools in Vietnam has been remarkably promoted in the

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recent years in the hope to especially prepare Vietnamese teachers and students for
International Olympiads as well as the globalization and integration. Many
conferences and coaching courses have been held like the ones in May and
December 2013, but the situation seems to be a deadlock due to teachers‟ and
students‟ low proficiency of English. Simultaneously, the book Biology by
Campbell, et al. (2008, 8th ed.), which is written by a team of distinguished
professors and biologists from prosperous universities in the US, is considered an
extremely essential book for all teachers and students of biology to acquire very
systematically basic and wide knowledge of biology ranging from the history of life
evolution to genetic structure and mechanisms of different levels of life. However,
in Vietnam, the book that most biology teachers and students have in hands is the
Vietnamese translation. The Vietnamese version is translated and compiled mainly
by biology professors at universities such as Hanoi National University of
Education. This version is also the source book to compile course books at school
and university in Vietnam. Many readers have said that the Vietnamese version is
especially important to them because of its value but there are some parts of the
book that should be improved. Hence, the study „The translation procedures in the
Vietnamese version of the book Biology by Campbell,N.A. and Reece, J.B. (2008,
8th ed.)‟ is hoped to benefit not only the translators of the book but also the teachers
and students of Biology and the teachers of English who will assist their colleagues
in their teaching and learning Biology in English in the future.
2. Aims of the study
The study aims at:
 Exploring the translation procedures proposed by Newmark applied in
translating the book Biology by Campbell into Vietnamese.
 Evaluating these translation procedures and identifying the appropriate

procedure(s) in the translation of biology texts.
To fully achieve these aims, the study should answer the two following questions.

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(1) What translation procedures are used in the translation version?
(2) What are appropriate procedures for the translation of biology texts from
English into Vietnamese?
3. Significance of the study
The study is concerned with the translation procedures that Phạm Văn Lập and
other translators have applied in translating the book Biology by Campbell, et al.
(2008, 8th ed.), from which an evaluation of such application of translation
procedures are thoroughly analyzed so that some suggestions to improve the
translation version in particular and other translations in biology field in general.
Besides, this thesis is also beneficial to teachers and students of Biology and
teachers of English in the sense that they can get a better understanding of the
original and the translated versions as well as of English language of Biology so
that they can improve their teaching and learning the subject in English in the near
future.
4. Scope of the study
The book Biology by Campbell, et al. (2008, 8th ed.) includes 8 chapters; however,
the study does not aim at covering all these chapters because of the limit of the
thesis. Some parts of the book including the cell, the mechanism, and the genetics
scattering from chapter 2 to chapter 7 will be purposefully covered for these parts
often pose obstacles to the translators in translating this book. These are also the
parts that Vietnamese teachers and students may find necessary to be improved.
5. Methods of the study

The main methods are descriptive and comparative analysis because through
analyzing the original and the translation, the procedures in the translation of the
book Biology by Campbell, et al. (2008, 8th ed.) are analyzed. In order to accomplish
the thesis, a combination of methods, namely publication reference, collecting,
categorizing and analyzing data, and result description, is flexibly employed.

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Specifically, after the critical literature review to attain a firm background of
translation procedures and related knowledge, the authors read through the texts in
both the original and the translation focusing on the parts having problems in
expression and comprehension. Then, compare and contrast the original and
translated versions by sentence to explore the translation procedures implemented in
the translating process. The evaluation of success of the translation is also carried
out during this phase. All the procedures identified and data related are noted down
to have a more thorough understanding of the study later.
After the original and the translation have been analyzed by sentence and the data
have been documented, an analysis is conducted to discover which procedures are
used and which one is of appropriate use in the Vietnamese version. The procedures
exercised in the translation together with the data related are grouped into categories
basing on the procedures proposed by Newmark (1995). The successful and
unsuccessful translated counterparts are also sorted out and analyzed to identify the
aspects posing the greatest difficulty to the translators in the book translation.
Finally, the aspects analyzed are categorized and the results are described and
discussed to fulfill the study.
6. Structure of the study
The study is divided into 3 parts as follows:

PART A – INTRODUCTION
This part provides the readers with rationale, aims, significance, scope, methods and
structure of the study on translation procedures in Vietnamese version of the book
Biology by Campbell, et al. (2008, 8th ed.)
PART B – DEVELOPMENT
In this part, two chapters are included.

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Chapter 1 Literature review
This chapter details the theoretical background of the study embracing the
notion of translation, non-literary text translation and translation procedures
proposed by different scholars.
Chapter 2 Data analysis and Discussion
This chapter provides a description and an analysis on the Vietnamese
version in comparison with the original version of the book Biology to explore the
translation procedures used in the translation and evaluate their implementation.
PART C – CONCLUSION
This part summarizes the main issues discussed in the study, initiates some
remarks on the results of the study, and suggests some implications for translation
of biology document. The limitations of the research and some suggestions for
further studies are also offered in this part.

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PART B – DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Translation
Translation is considered one of the oldest occupations in the world. According to
Newmark (1988), the first trace of translation dated from 3000 B.C. Translation has
undergone ups and downs through the history and the modern time sees the thrive
of translation as the development in science and technology and globalization pose
the demand and possibility of exchanging culture and knowledge. Through the
history of translation, a number of definitions have been assigned to this field.
According to Cartford (1965: 20), translation can be defined as „the replacement of
textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another
language (TL).‟ He indicates that „textual material‟ does not mean the text only and
„the replacement‟ is not simple replacement of one item in SL with another item in
TL. Instead, there may be some transference and replacement with equivalence(s) –
one important feature in translation that translators have to struggle to find out.
Similarly but more specifically, Wilss (1982:112) proposes „Translation is a
procedure which leads from a written SL text to an optimally equivalent TL text,
and which requires the syntactic, semantic, stylistic and text pragmatic
comprehension by the original text.‟ Once again, the importance of equivalence is
stated and here Wilss depicts the requirements of the translation: comprehension of
the original text in terms of syntactic, semantic, stylistic and text pragmatic features.
Later, translation is briefly defined as „a communicative process which takes place
within a social context‟ by Hatim and Mason (1990:3). This definition shows the
importance of communicative purpose of the translation. Put it differently,
Newmark (1995:5) considers translation as the product of the transference of
meaning through „rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way
that the author intended the text.‟ In short, though different scholars define

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translation in different ways, they all emphasize the importance of equivalence and
communicative effects of the translation.
1.2. Non-literary text translation
According to Wilss (1982:112), the need of massive exchange of information in the
field of science and technology after 1945 triggered the appearance of non-literary
text, or LSP (language for specific purposes) as he called it, translation on the
international scale. Though this type of translation emerged later and more
emphasis seems to be put on translation of literary texts because of its complexity,
yet it is estimated that the majority of translation is of non-literary texts, not literary
texts as common belief. Wilss also makes a clear distinction between literary and
non-literary texts. In his opinion, non-literary text is the SL- and TL-oriented text.
LSP texts target at the description and explanation of scientific and technological
topics. The function of LSP texts is not to decode unknown things by triggering
inborn capabilities of divination but to spread scientific and technical knowledge
through analytical approach to LSP texts in a specific field of theoretical or applied
research. The characteristic feature of LSP texts is „normativity‟, which means the
ubiquitous correspondence between notional aspects and linguistic (superficial)
realizations. This means that what LSP translation focuses is conceptual/notional
precision of the material which is subject to „the functional rules and habits of
pragmatic communication.‟ In this type of translation, the representational frame of
reference of the text is the primary focus of the translation, not its connotative
meaning. Thus, he states that regardless of the inequality of two translators‟
linguistic and extralinguistic or referential knowledge, the source and the target
texts are quite symmetrical. This can be proved in the „co-extensionality‟ between
the surface structure – how a text is to be read and the underlying semantic
representation – how it is to be understood. Thus, one important requirement of LSP

translation is of a comparable extralinguistic knowledge. However, LSP translation
cannot be reduced to the dimension of simple terminological substitutions. What
LSP translation aims at is not the perfection of the interpretation of a text but the

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cognitive equivalence between SL and TL texts which can be achieved through
normative character of LSP terms.
Newmark (1995) shares with Wilss the idea of LSP translation and put it
differently: whilst all texts have connotations, an aura of ideas and feelings
suggested by lexical words, the main theoretical factor to distinguish translation of
these two types of texts is that in a non-literary text, the denotations of a word
normally come before its connotations while in a literary text, priority to its
connotations should be given.
1.3. Translation procedures
There have been some scholars such as Nida, Vinay and Darbelnet, Wilss, or
Newmark mention translation procedures as one important part of translation
studies. Newmark (1995) defines translation procedures as the ways in which
translators replace the SL textual material by TL textual material at the level of
sentences and the smaller units of language.
1.3.1. Nida (1964)
Having quite different but general ideas, Nida (1964) proposes translation
procedures including two main ones: technical procedures and organizational
procedures. The technical procedures concern the processes that the translators
implement in transferring a SL text into a TL text. Technical procedures include
three phases: (1) analysis of the source and target languages; (2) a thorough study of
the source language text before making attempts to translate it; (3) making

judgments of the semantic and syntactic approximations. The organizational
procedures involve the general organization of the transferred work, whether in
terms of a single translator or a staff of translators. Organizational procedures may
include constant reevaluation of the attempt made; contrasting it with the available
translations of the same text done by other translators, and checking the text's
communicative effectiveness by asking the target language readers to evaluate its
accuracy and effectiveness and studying their reactions.

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1.3.2. Vinay and Darbelnet (1958)
Before Nida, Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) classifies translation procedures into two
main categories: direct or literal translation, and indirect or oblique translation. The
literal translation may happen when a SL message can be transferred perfectly into a
TL message because it is based on parallel categories (structural parallelism) or on
parallel concepts (metalinguistic parallelism). Oblique translation procedures are the
ones, because of structural or metalinguistic differences, that may be used when
certain stylistic effects cannot be transferred to the TL without radical semantic or
lexical changes.
While direct translation includes borrowing, calque and literal translation, indirect
translation embraces transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation.
Borrowing
Borrowing is regarded as the simplest translation procedure or even not a translation
procedure if the translator did not occasionally need to create some particular
stylistic effect. For example, such words as Internet or catwalk can easily be spotted
on the newspapers in Vietnam without any change to the form and the meaning of
the words. Many such words become part of the lexis of the borrowing language

without appearance as loans.
Calque
A calque is a special kind of borrowing whereby an expression form of a language
is borrowed and then is translated literally. The result is either a lexical calque, a
new mode of expression respecting the syntactic structure of the TL, or a structural
calque, a new construction into the TL. For example, „superman‟ translated into
„siêu nhân‟ is a lexical calque while „black market‟ into „chợ đen‟ is a structural
calque. There are many fixed calques which become a part of the language after a
period of time. These words or phrases even expressions may experience semantic
changes.

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Literal translation
Literal, or word for word, translation in Vinay‟s and Barbelnet‟s idea is „the direct
transfer of a SL text into a grammatically and idiomatically appropriate TL text in
which the translators‟ task is limited to observing the adherence to the linguistic
servitudes of the TL.‟ In their opinion, this procedure is often applied when
translating two languages of the same family like French and Italian. Nevertheless,
non-literary text translation, as Wilss (1982) and Newmark (1995) indicate, also
commonly sees the application of this translation procedure. For example, „Themes
connect the concepts of biology‟ is translated into „Các chủ đề kết nối các khái niệm
sinh học‟ (Biology by Campbell, et al. 8th ed. Translated by Phạm Văn Lập‟s, et al.).
If translation involved only direct translation procedures, there would be no need for
human beings to be involved because translation machine can take up the task.
However, translation, most of the time, requires more challenging procedures that
Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) refer to as indirect or oblique translation.

Transposition
Transposition is the procedure of replacing one word class with another without
changing the meaning of the message. This procedure can also be applied within a
language for what is often called paraphrasing. In translation, transposition is either
obligatory or optional. For example, „Buck did not read the newspapers, or he
would have known that trouble was brewing‟ (London, 1960) is translated into „Bấc
không hề đọc báo, chứ nếu có đọc thì hẳn đã biết là sắp gay go đến nơi rồi.‟ Here
the noun „trouble‟ in English is transposed into the adjective „gay go‟ in Vietnamese
but the meaning of the message is still remained.
Modulation
Modulation is a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in the
point of view. Modulation is used when a literal or even transposed translation may
lead to a grammatically correct but unsuitable, unidiomatic or awkward utterance in
the TL. Like transposition, modulations may fall into either free/optional

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modulations or fixed/obligatory modulations. Fixed modulations can clearly be
illustrated when the structure with empty subject „it‟ in English is translated into
Vietnamese, for example, „It was true, there were other dogs.‟ (Dĩ nhiên cũng cịn
có những con chó khác.) (London, 1960)
Equivalence
Equivalence is the procedure used when two texts of completely different style and
structure are dealt with. For example, in English if a person‟s finger accidentally
hits a needle, s/he will cry „Ouch!‟ which will be translated „Á‟ in Vietnamese. Most
equivalence is fixed and belongs to a phraseological repertoire such as idioms,
clichés, proverbs, nominal or adjectival phrases, etc. For instance, „as strong as a

horse‟ is equivalent to „khỏe như voi/trâu‟ or „better late than never‟ to „muộn cịn
hơn khơng.‟
Adaptation
Adaptation is at the extreme limit of translation where the type of situation in the SL
message is unknown in the TL culture so the translator has to create a new situation
to make the SL message equivalent. Thus, adaptation can be regarded as a special
kind of equivalence, a situational equivalence. For example, the title of the film,
„Memmoirs of a Geisha‟ is successfully translated into „Đời kỹ nữ‟ with the
adaptation procedure applied in creating a new situation to make the SL text
„Geisha‟ into its equivalence „kỹ nữ‟.
These seven procedures can be applied in separate or combined ways at different
degrees. That several of these procedures can be used within the same sentence is
obvious so it is not always easy to distinguish the procedure(s) used in the
translation.
1.3.3. Wilss (1982)
Wilss (1982) shares the opinion of translation procedures with Vinay and Darbelnet
(1958) in some way but he put it a bit differently. For example, he uses the same

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term literal translation as Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) but he also employs other
terms such as true-to-the-word, SL-oriented, or retrospective translation.
According to Wilss (1982:86) „Literal translation designates concrete, linguistically
analyzable transfer procedures working straight from SL surface to TL surface or
changing the SL surface structure syntactically and/or semantically according to TL
needs in a way which can be specified in each particular case.‟ Literal translation
also includes three procedures namely emprunt (borrowing in Vinay and

Darbelnet‟s words), calque, and traduction littérale (literal translation in Vinay and
Darbelnet‟s words). Non-literal translation or free/ TL-oriented/ prospective
translation as Wilss (1982:96) defines „only happens when the translator divorces
himself so completely from the syntax or semantics of the SL formulation that the TL
textual segment takes on its own unmistakable shape.‟ Non-literal translation also
includes four procedures: transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation as
Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) offer. Wilss (1982) is only different from Vinay and
Darbelnet (1958) in that while Vinay and Darbelnet (1958) use the terms word-forword and literal translation synonymously, Wilss (1982:87) makes a distinction
between them. In his opinion, word-for-word translation „follows the syntactic
structures of SL, while preserving semantic TE between the SL and TL segments‟
whereas literal translation „follows the system of syntactic rules (on the level of
system and norm) found in the TL, while preserving semantic TE between SL and
TL textual segments.‟ He concludes that word-for-word translation is often used in
LSP or machine translation or between closely related languages such as English
and German while literal translation still can happen totally acceptable stylistically
when no genuine alternative to a literal translation procedure exists. However, he
emphasizes that there is a blur line between word-for-word translation and literal
translation as well as between literal translation and non-literal translation.
1.3.4. Newmark (1995)
Also sharing some ideas with former scholars in translation procedures, Newmark
(1995) illustrates with some different and more detailed ones.

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Transference
Transference (borrowing, emprunt, loan word, transcription) is a translation
procedure used in transferring a SL word to a TL text. Transference often happens

with cultural „objects‟ or „concepts‟ such as pyjamas, or susi. In regional novels and
essays, transference of cultural words gives local colour, impresses the reader and
gives a sense of intimacy between the text and the reader. With „semi-cultural‟
words, they should be translated with the functional equivalent added in brackets.
For example, it should be written in English version like „Sticky-rice square cakes
(Bánh chưng) is one of the traditional dish during Tet holiday.‟
Naturalisation (Calque)
Naturalisation (Calque) succeeds the transference with some adaptation of the SL
word in terms of pronunciation or morphology of the TL. For example, such words
as mít tinh, xe buýt, or xe công ten nơ.
Literal translation
Newmark (1995) distinguishes literal from word-for-word and one-to-one
translation. In his opinion, word-for-word translation transfers grammar, word
order, and primary meanings of all the SL words into the translation, and it is
normally effective only for brief simple neutral sentences: „He came late‟ (Anh ta
đến muộn). In one-to-one translation, a broader form of translation, each SL word
has a corresponding TL word, but their primary (isolated) meanings may differ.
Thus in passer un examen - 'take an exam', the two verb couplets can be said to
correspond with each other, but, out of context, they are not semantic equivalents.
Since one-to-one translation normally respects collocational meanings, which exerts
the most powerful contextual influence on translation, it is more common than
word-for-word translation. Literal translation goes beyond one-to-one translation,
which is particularly applicable to languages that do not have definite and/or
indefinite articles.

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Literal translation ranges from one word to one word (and for two days and nights
Buck neither ate nor drank – và suốt 2 ngày đêm ấy, Bấc không ăn không uống), to
group to group (It was the pleading cry of a strong man in distress – Đó là tiếng kêu
van vỉ của một người đàn ông khoẻ mạnh trong lúc tuyệt vọng („Love of life‟ by
Jack London translated by Đắc Lê), collocation to collocation (trong thời hạn từ
một năm đến ba năm – within a period of one year to three years), clause to clause
(It was all very silly, he knew – Tất cả những điều đó đều rất dớ dẩn, nó biết vậy),
or sentence to sentence (In his anger he had met the first advances of the express
messengers with growls – Lòng chứa chất căm giận Bấc đã đáp lại thái độ làm thân
của những nhân viên hãng tốc hành bằng những tiếng gầm gừ)(London, 1960). The
smaller the unit, the more common the one-to-one, following basic translation
procedures. If there are any translational problems, ambiguities, or uncertainties,
literal translation is out of the question. Above the word level, literal translation
becomes increasingly difficult. Above the word level, literal translation procedure is
used only correctly if (i) the SL and TL meaning correspond, or correspond more
closely than any alternative; (ii) the meaning of the SL unit is not affected by its
context. Normally, the more specific or technical a word, the less it is likely to be
affected by context.
Shifts or transpositions
A „shift‟ (Catford‟s term) or „transposition‟ (Vinay and Darbelnet) is defined as a
translation procedure involving a change in the grammar from SL to TL,
specifically from singular to plural, from adjective to noun, or from a gerund to a
noun or a clause and vice versa. For example, the word „high-handedly‟ is a
multiple word but can be translated to „kiêu‟ – a single word.
Modulation
Modulation is the term coined by Vinay and Darbelnet to define „a variation
through a change of viewpoint, of perspective and very often of category of
thought.‟ This procedure involves transferring texts from concrete to abstract, whole

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to part, metaphor to non-metaphor, from active to passive and vice versa, etc. In
Newmark‟s opinion, this procedure specially benefits in translating „positive for
double negative‟ or „double negative for positive‟ and this procedure should only be
used when the translation is not natural unless it is used. For example:
 Concrete  abstract
Weak-minded (trí não yếu)

=> thiếu quyết tâm

Narrow-eyed (mắt hẹp)

=> thiển cận

 Whole  part
Heavy-hearted (tim nặng)

=> lòng nặng trĩu

 Metaphor  non-metaphor
Pigheaded (đầu con heo )

=> cứng đầu

 Non-metaphor  metaphor
Hair-raising (mọc tóc )

=> dựng tóc gáy
(Quoted from Võ Tú Phương, 2011)

Regarding to Equivalence and Adaptation by Vinay and Darbelnet, Newmark
(1995) believes that these two procedures are not really usable because they only
come handy when dealing with fixed expressions such as proverbs or idioms and
cultural equivalence. In contrast, he proposes some other following procedures that
he finds useful to translators.
Cultural equivalent
Cultural equivalent is an approximate translation where a SL cultural word is
translated by a TL cultural word. For example, the „tea-break‟ can be equal, though
not completely, to „nghỉ giải lao.‟ Although their translation uses are limited, they
can be used in general texts, publicity, and propaganda, as well as for brief
explanation to readers ignorant of the relevant SL culture. The introduction of this
procedure is a support or supplement to a couplet.

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Functional equivalent
Functional equivalent, applied to cultural words, requires a new specific term or the
use of a cultural-free word. For example, GCSE can be translated into „kì thi tốt
nghiệp THPT.‟ This procedure is the most accurate way of translating or
deculturalising a cultural word. When a SL technical word has no TL equivalent, a
similar procedure is also applied.
Descriptive equivalent
In translation, function sometimes has to be sacrificed for description. For example,
Samurai is described as „the Japanese aristocracy from the eleventh to the

nineteenth century‟ neglecting its function as „to provide officers and
administrators‟.
Synonymy
Synonymy is a near TL equivalent used to a SL word in a context, where a precise
equivalent may or may not exist (though Buck‟s hair involuntarily bristled at touch
of the hand – và mặc dù lơng Bấc vơ tình dựng ngược cả lên mỗi khi bàn tay ấy
chạm vào nó) (London, 1960). A synonymy should only be applied where literal
translation is impossible and the word is not critical enough to analyze
componentially so here accuracy is preceded by economy. Thus, it should be
noticed that the abuse of synonymy can cause a poor translation.
Through-translation
Through-translation is the literal translation of common collocations, names of
organizations, the components of compounds and phrases such as WHO or
UNESCO. Incorrect through-translations can easily be spotted in translated
brochures, guide-books and tourist material. It is suggested that translators should
not initiate a through-translation until the term is already recognized.

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Recognized translation
Recognized translation is the use of generally accepted translation of any
institutional term like Cục sở hữu trí tuệ VN (National Office of Intellectual
Property).
Translation labels
Translation label is a provisional translation, usually a new institutional term which
can later be discreetly withdrawn like Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội (Vietnam National
University, Hanoi)

Compensation
Compensation is used when a loss of meaning, sound-effect, metaphor or pragmatic
effect occurs in one part of a sentence.
Componential analysis
Componential analysis is the splitting up of a lexical unit into its sense components,
often one-to-two, -three or -four translations.
Reduction and Expansion
Reduction and Expansion are rather imprecise translation procedures, which you
practise intuitively in some cases especially in poorly written texts.
Paraphrase
Paraphrase is an amplification or explanation of the meaning of a segment of the
text.
Couplets
Couplets, triplets, or quadruplets combine two, three or four of the above
procedures to deal with a single problem.
Note, Additions, Glosses
Note, Additions, Glosses is to supply additional information in a translation.

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