NGHIÊN CỨU PHƯƠNG PHÁP DỊCH THÊM VÀ LƯỢC TỪ TRONG BẢN DỊCH "HARRY POTTER VÀ QUẢ CẦU LỬA" CỦA LÝ LAN TỪ GÓC NHÌN CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM TƯ NGÀNH BIÊN PHIÊN DỊCH ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐHQGHN

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
GRADUATION PAPER

ADDITION AND OMISSION APPLIED BY LY LAN
IN TRANSLATING “HARRY POTTER AND THE
GOBLET OF FIRE” FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF
FOURTH-YEAR STUDENTS OF INTERPRETING
AND TRANSLATION OF ULIS, VNU

Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, M.A.
Student: Dong Thi Ngoc
Class: QH2010.F1.E21, K44

HANOI, JUNE 2014


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

NGHIÊN CỨU PHƯƠNG PHÁP DỊCH THÊM VÀ
LƯỢC TỪ TRONG BẢN DỊCH "HARRY POTTER
VÀ QUẢ CẦU LỬA" CỦA LÝ LAN TỪ GĨC NHÌN
CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM TƯ NGÀNH BIÊN PHIÊN
DỊCH ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐHQGHN

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng, M.A.

Sinh viên: Đồng Thị Ngọc
Lớp: QH2010.F1.E21, K44

HÀ NỘI, THÁNG 06 NĂM 2014


I hereby state that I: Dong Thi Ngoc, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor
of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and
use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.
Signature
Date


Acknowledgements
First, I would like to express my gratitude to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hang
M.A., my devoted supervisor who has continuously supported me academically and
mentally during the paper-conducting process.
Second, I am grateful for students of two classes of QH2010.F1.E20 and
QH2010.F1.E21 for the participation in the survey and interviews which provide
essential tools for the paper. Special thanks to my friends Thu Trang, Ngoc Anh,
Van Anh, Thu Yen, and Nhung for their firm support.
In addition, I am beholden to Ms. Ngo Ha Thu, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Van, and
the thesis defense board including Mr. Lam Quang Dong, Mr. Nguyen Ninh Bac,
and Ms. Tong Thi Bich Lien for suggestions of improvement for my paper.
Further, I would like to express my gratitude to the University of Languages
and International Studies for giving me the environment and tools to develop my

skills to the most.
Last but not least, I am indebted to my parents for their accumulated love all
through eternity.
I owe my profound gratitude to all of them for the birth of this graduation
paper.

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ABSTRACT
The study analyzes the applications of translation strategies namely addition
and omission applied by Ly Lan in translating “Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire” from the perspectives of fourth-year students majoring Interpreting and
Translation (IT) of University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS),
Vietnam National University (VNU). The paper begins with a general overview of
addition and omission. Literature review was closely utilized to study the
application of the two strategies in the translated text applied by Ly Lan. Online
and in person survey questionnaire for fourth-year students of IT of ULIS, VNU
and four semi-structured interviews with participants for further discussion provide
data to determine which strategy of translation is more favored by the participants:
addition or non-addition; omission or non-omission and explanations for their
perspectives. The findings show that addition is more preferred in translation than
omission. The most popular types of addition and omission are of noun/ noun
phrase and adjective. Regarding perspectives of students, nearly three fifths of the
participants favor the translated version of Ly Lan for its clarification, familiarity,
etc. However, two fifths of the participants disfavor the comprehension, necessity,
and evident-sufficiency of the translated version of Ly Lan. In short, the study
provided literature review and findings about the application of addition and
omission and perspectives of students majoring Interpreting and Translation in of
ULIS, VNU, which is a reference for further studies in the field.

Key words: addition, omission, perspectives, Harry Potter

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements..........................................................................................i
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents...........................................................................................iii
List of figures.................................................................................................iv
List of abbreviations......................................................................................iv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................1
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................5
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY..............................................................22
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION..........................................26
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION....................................................................42
REFERENCES.............................................................................................44
APPENDIX 1.................................................................................................47
QUESTIONNAIRE ON ADDITION AND OMISSION STRATEGIES 47
APPENDIX 2.................................................................................................53
TABLE OF APPLICATIONS OF ADDITION AND OMISSION IN
TRANSLATING CHAPTER ONE AND SEVEN OF “HARRY
POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE” BY LY LAN.........................53
APPENDIX 3: IN-DEPTH SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
(Translated)...................................................................................................58

iii

List of figures
Figure

Page

Figure 1. The frequency of addition and omission

35

Figure 2. The frequency of types of addition

36

Figure 3. The frequency of types of omission

37

Figure 4: The perspectives of students on addition

38

Figure 5: The perspectives of students on omission

40

List of abbreviations
IT

Interpreting and Translation

MA

Master of Arts

SL

Source language

TL

Target language

ULIS

University of Languages and International Studies

VNU

Vietnam National University, Hanoi

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study
In the developing diplomatic and economic relations between Vietnam and
the world, the translation of documents from English to Vietnamese and vice versa
is becoming more and more vital in order to transfer messages and knowledge.
Expressing the same opinion considering translation as an instrument of intellectual
transference, Steiner (1998) once stated in his book that translation was the tool for

humans to break the barrier of language and to keep informed, rather than remain
silent in an abandoned world. Translation actually helps build the bridge of
knowledge all around the world. The necessity of upgrading translation skills to
more appropriately convey the ideas is realized by many specialists in the field. The
process of upgrading translation skills requires the translator to excellently apply
translation strategies. The choice of translation strategies shall decide the quality of
the translation. Sensible choice of translation strategies brings the correct and
natural sense of the text; imprudent one shows the translator’s bad taste and makes
the translation more inferior to the original text. Translators always strive for better
translation by applying better translation strategies. Among those strategies, the
researcher specifically favors the applications of addition and omission with
noticed benefits as well as problems. She decides to review a variety of previous
studies on the application of addition and omission and to examine the perspectives
of others on the subject. The examined work was the translation of “Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire” by a highly prestigious translator Ly Lan in the favor of her
arduous effort in forwarding the sense of the original text to the Vietnamese
audience and the application of various strategies including addition and omission.
The researcher’s own interest is the underlying motivation for the choice of the
work.
Besides, owing to the fact that few studies have been carried out to discuss
the application of addition and omission from the perspectives of fourth-year
students of Interpreting and Translation of ULIS, VNU, the researcher decides to
conduct the current study to provide more insights and analyze the applications of

1


addition and omission based on the researcher’s own translating experience in
accordance with opinions and ideas obtained from the perspectives of the chosen
population. As a result, the study titled “Addition and Omission applied by Ly Lan

translating “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” from the perspectives of fourthyear students of Interpreting and Translation of ULIS, VNU” is conducted.
1.2. Objectives and research questions of the study
1.2.1. Objectives of the study
As mentioned above, this study is targeted at two-fold objectives. The first
objective is to analyze the application of addition and omission strategies in the
translation work of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by a widely prestigious
translator Ly Lan based on general knowledge of addition and omission strategies
which contains definitions, classifications, examples, and explanations in previous
studies. In order to attain this objective, the researcher searches for the additions
and omissions used by Ly Lan. The next step is sorting the data into types in the
table designed by the researcher combining the classifications of several
researchers with personal analysis.
Secondly, the perspectives of fourth-year students of Interpreting and
Translation of ULIS, VNU, about the application of addition and omission in the
translated version will be examined to provide more insights on the issue. In
particular, the participants shall receive the questionnaire on their awareness and
use of the strategies and their opinions with the application of addition and
omission. The followed interviews with some participants are the added reference
for data analysis.
1.2.2. Research questions
In order to attain these objectives, two research questions are posed
regarding addition and omission in the translated version of “Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire”.
Question 1: How are addition and omission applied in translating “Harry Potter and
the Goblet of Fire” by Ly Lan?

2


Question 2: From the perspectives of fourth-year students of ULIS majoring in

Translation and Interpreting, which strategies of translating Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire is more favored by students: addition or non-addition; omission or
non-omission?
1.3. Significance of the study
The critical significance of the study is that it will provide a synthesis of
literature of the strategies of addition and omission in accordance with the benefits
and problems. More knowledge on the field is provided to consequently better the
translating skill of the audience. Secondly, the analysis of the applications of
addition and omission in the translated version by Ly Lan verifies and examines
previous literature and assesses the quality of the translation based on the literature
review. Thirdly, the study provides audience some valuable insights about the
perspectives of fourth-year students of ULIS majoring in IT to further study the
applications of addition and omission. In other words, the study helps understand
the perspectives of audience on a translated version applying addition and
omission, which is helpful in evaluating the quality of the translation.
1.4. Scope of the study
The researcher primarily focuses on studying the translation strategies of
addition and omission applied by Ly Lan in translating “Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire” from the perspectives of fourth-year students of Interpreting and
Translation of ULIS, VNU in order to more clearly study the usage of addition and
omission. Being acutely aware of the difficulties faced including limited time and
experience of the researcher, the scope of the study is set. Based on the
convenience of time and content, only the first and seventh chapters of the novel
were randomly chosen to be studied. These two chapters have particular
illustrations of addition and omission. Regarding participants of the study, only
fourth-year students of Interpreting and Translation of ULIS, VNU were examined
because they have obtained advanced knowledge in the translation skills and
certain experience in translating. They were expected to present critical opinions
and valuable insights on the issue to contribute to the confidence of the thesis.

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1.5. Organization
The main text of the study consists of 5 chapters, reference, and appendix.
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter will introduce briefly the theoretical background including the
statement of the problem, the rationale, the objectives, two research questions,
significance, the scope as well as the organization of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Theoretical background is presented including translation, translation strategies
with definitions and examples, critical discussion on the definition and
classification of addition, omission.
Chapter 3: Methodology
This part includes the instruments including questionnaires and short semistructured interviews, mixed approach of data collection and procedures of data
analysis.
Chapter 4: Results and discussion
Results from the questionnaires and interviews and analysis will be performed
regarding addition, omission, and students’ perspectives.
Chapter 5: Conclusions
This chapter will state a summary of the thesis with findings and its implications,
limitations as well as suggestions for further study.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Translation
Translation includes two important elements of message transference and
context influence. Hatim and Munday (2004) defined translation as “the process of

transferring a written text from SL to TL, conducted by a translator, or translators,
in a specific socio-cultural context” (p. 6). Translation is an eye-opening journey
which people of different languages in the world find it essential to make. In the
first aspect, it was clearly stated by Nogueira (2001, p.1) that translating is “an
enriching intellectual experience and you should end a job as a different person.”
Indeed, the act of translation helps the translator understand deeply on the text
including the content, its context, and academic, cultural, and social background. In
addition, the professional skill of translating should be consequently enhanced as
well. These things are supposed to better the “intellectual experience” (Nogueira,
2001, p.1) of the translator after each translation. Regarding the second aspect of
translation as adventurous, Umberto Eco, a prestigious writer, professor, and
researcher whose ideas were highly appreciated by its profoundness also expressed
his idea. According to Eco (2003), when translating, the translator faced a clear
breakdown of the quality of the translation. He was aware that the translated
version was always inferior to the original one in terms of forms, author’s identity,
etc.
As it transfers the messages of knowledge and cultures worldwide to target
audience, the indispensability of translation is widely recognized. In the example of
the translation of the Bible, according to the research by Wycliffe Global Alliance
in 2013, the Bible has already had versions of over 2,800 languages; therefore,
people speaking these languages have the ability to understand the messages of
knowledge and cultures taught in the Scripture. More than 2,000 active translation
projects in nearly 2,000 languages are currently carried out. Hence, translation is an
endlessly necessary activity all around the world.
Overall, translation is the process of conveying the messages from one
language to another with the serious attempt of a translator or translators to remain

5

the sense of naturalness, fullness, and the identity of the author as much as possible
in the light of the inferiority of the translated text. Obviously, translation plays an
important role in the borderless communication.
2.2. Translation Strategies
In the practice of translation, the translator has to make a choice of
translation strategies or methods to apply for translated texts. Translation strategies
mean “the basic tasks of choosing the foreign text to be translated and developing a
method to translate it” (Venuti, 1998, p. 240). The right choice of the strategies
may decide the quality of the translation. Yet, there exists no best or perfect
strategies. The important factor that matters is the skillfulness and flexibility of the
translator in using the strategies.
This study looks carefully at the classification of translation strategies
mentioned in the paper of Wing Bo Tso. In his study, Tso (2010) has provided his
organizational explanation of the strategies with examples of English-Chinese
translation. The researcher inserts her own examples of English-Vietnamese
translation to illustrate the strategies. Tso’s (2010) study presented the following
classification including 9 types of translation strategies.
(1) Addition
The first type of strategy is addition, which will then be investigated more
detailed in the current study. Berman (1985/2000) commented that addition applied
in the target text is often the over-translation of the ST. When addition is applied, it
may break the rhythms or confuse readers with more information than the source
text. Eco (2003) asserted that, to ensure the sufficiency of the information provided,
occasionally, the translator provided more information or explanation in the
translation than the original. Yet, the usage of addition can be a double-edged
sword. It can also be a threat to the translation when certain implications of the
author might be unconsciously left out. “One should never try to make the source
text literally ‘better’”, Eco (2003, p.51) alerted, “Even bad style, clumsiness,
careless repetitions must be respected.” Addition is applied in the example below.

6


English source text: Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a wide kingdom.
He lived with his queen and his beautiful princess.
Vietnamese translation with addition (bold parts): Ngày xửa ngày xưa, có một vị
vua nọ cai quản cả một vương quốc rộng lớn. Vị vua sống trong cung điện cùng với
hồng hậu cùng nàng cơng chúa xinh đẹp tuyệt trần.
Back-translation: Once upon a time, there was a king who had a big kingdom. He
lived in a palace with his queen and his princess with peerless beauty.
The addition parts in the Vietnamese translation are “trong cung điện” and “tuyệt
trần” or “in a palace” and “with peerless beauty” respectively. The aim of the
addition is to add common used expressions in the Vietnamese fairy tales in the
translation. However, certain information is added that can lead to change in
meaning. The part “tuyệt trần” or “with peerless beauty” may not be correct if the
princess, according to the author’s intention, is beautiful, but not the most. Besides,
the quality of the addition is based on the readers’ taste, too. Some prefer this
change; some do not.
(2) Omission
The second type of strategy is omission. Compared with addition in
translation, omission is less preferred. The obvious disadvantage is that part of the
information or message of the source text has been left out. Maybe the source text
just does not have an equal expression. Omission is applied in the example below.
English source text: Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a wide kingdom
living in a palace. He lived with his queen and his princess with peerless beauty.
Vietnamese translation with omission: Ngày xửa ngàyxưa, có một vị vua nọ cai
quản cả một vương quốc rộng lớn. Vị vua sống với hồng hậu cùng nàng cơng chúa
xinh đẹp.
Back-translation: Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a wide kingdom.
He lived with his queen and his beautiful princess.

The omission parts in the Vietnamese translation are “living in a palace” and “with
peerless beauty”. The aim of the omission is to delete unnecessary expressions in
the source text. However, certain information is lost that can lead to change in

7


meaning. The part “with peerless beauty” is left out, which leads to change in
meaning when the author emphasizes that the princess is be the most beautiful one.
(3) Explicitation
Klaudy (1998) mentioned explicitation with the description of “the technique of
making explicit in the target text information that is implicit in the source text” (p.
80). Explicitation is applied in the example below.
English source text: “He’s gone,” groaned Liz.
Vietnamese translation with omission: “Vậy là anh ấy đã ra đi,” Liz than thở.
Back-translation: “So he’s gone,” groaned Liz.
The explicitation parts in the Vietnamese translation are “So” or “Vậy là”. The
explicitation is “the connection between the event described by that sentence and a
previous one in the text is made more explicit in the translation.”
(4) Implicitation
Vinay and Darbelnet (1958/1995) considered implicitation as “the process of
allowing the target language situation or context to define certain details which
were explicit in the source language” (p. 10), similar to omission. Implicitation is
applied in the example below.
English source text: “Mai and Hoa were students of teacher Minh,” told Ngan.
Vietnamese translation with omission: “Mai và Hoa là học trò của thầy Minh,” Ngân kể.
Back-translation: “Mai and Hoa [are] [students] of teacher Minh,” told Ngan.
In this case, following the rule of Vietnamese grammar, implicitation is essential to drop
tense and number. Past tense “were” is made implicit, becoming present tense in
Vietnamese version; plural form “students” is made implicit, becoming singular because

like Chinese, Vietnamese is not mark with tense and number.
(5) Domestication
According to Venuti (1995), domestication was “an ethnocentric reduction of the
foreign text to [Anglo-American] target language cultural values” (p. 20). In EnglishVietnamese domestication, readers have chance to access more Vietnamese text in terms
of pronunciation, words, grammar, etc.
To be clearer, here are examples of translating a foreign name into Vietnamese one
with. “Moscow” can be domesticated to be “Mạc Tư Khoa” and Napoleon as “Nã Phá

8


Luân.” Familiarizing sounds here is an attempt to domesticate the translation in the ears of
the readers.
(6) Foreignization
Venuti (1997) defined foreignization as a strategy which “entail[ed] choosing a
foreign text and developing a translation method along lines which [were] excluded
by dominant cultural values in the target language” (p. 242).
The foreignization strategy can be easily exemplified in the transference of English
names in Vietnamese translated version such as Harold, Matthew, and William. Quite a
few Vietnamese are unfamiliar with spelling of these names. Another instance is the
translation of the English idiom “The early bird catches the worm” into Vietnamese one as
“Chim dậy sớm bắt được sâu”. The translation of this idiom is not familiar in Vietnamese
sayings, therefore, not preferred. Instead, the more familiar, reader-friendly domesticated
one should be “Trâu chậm uống nước đục.”
(7) Formality Change
According to Heylighen and Dewaele (1999), surface formality “is characterized by
attention to form for the sake of convention or form itself” (p. 3) in such occurrence of
weddings or funerals. Deep formality was defined as “avoidance of ambiguity by
minimizing the context-dependence and fuzziness of expressions” (Heylighen and
Dewaele, 1999, p. 1).

The change of formality can be recognized through the example of the researcher.
Considering the following sentences:
(1) He will meet her at the station.
(2) Michael will meet Jane at the station.
Both sentences convey the same amount of information. However, when reading
sentence (1), readers cannot understand the content immediately without context. Sentence
(2) provides enough information for readers to know the subject. Therefore, sentence (2) is
a formalized description of sentence (1) applying deep formality.
(8) Speech Act Change
Austin (1962) termed ‘locutionary act’, ‘illocutionary act’ and ‘perlocutionary act’,
which later on become common terms in the study of speech acts. Locutionary act is the
utterance itself being said. Illocutionary act is the act performed in producing an utterance
usually consisting of the performative verbs. Bach and Harnish (1979) classified four most
important categories of illocutionary act with constatives, directives, commissives and

9


acknowledgements. Perlocutionary act is the expected act of the hearer after listening to
the utterance, sometimes the perlocutionary act and the results are the same. Sometimes,
they are not.

Speech act change is applied in the example below.
English source text: Mary, would you please close the door?
Locutionary act: The utterance of saying “Mary, would you please close the door?”
Illocutionay act: The request of closing the door
Perlocutionary (expected): Mary comes to the door and closes it.
(9) Transediting
Transediting includes “translating” and “editing”. Therefore, the translator’s
jobs are to translate and then edit or rewrite the text to better the source text or to

help readers understand the text more. Tso (2010) asserted that:
The most common ways of re-writing include addition, deletion,
(Hursti, 2001), re-organizing the order of presentation, adjusting the
focus,

eliminating confusing redundancies, creating connections and

coherence (Mossop, 2007), correcting factual errors, improving awkward
style, (Chesterman, 2000) etc. (p.36)
It can be understood that transediting is the use of different strategies to improve
the quality of the source text, exemplified in the translation of a title as below.
English source text: Mid-Autumn Festival
Vietnamese translation with transediting: Trung thu- Tết đoàn viên
Back translation: Mid-Autumn Festival, Tet of family gathering
In the translation, the researcher uses addition “Tết đoàn viên” or “Tet of family
gathering” to add more explanation for the source text. Therefore, readers can
understand the content of the following text which is family gathering.
Among those strategies, addition and omission are the ones to be closely
analyzed to serve the objectives of the studied and to fulfill the research’s specific
favor regarding certain noticed benefits as well as problems.
The following part will discuss addition, omission, and their classifications
in greater details as they are two strategies analyzed in the translated version of
“Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire”.
10


2.3. Addition
Many scholars have discussed the definition of addition and yet omission at
the same time. To be focused on the former, Shapa (2009) provided a rather general
definition of addition as the method of adding up “a word or a word-combination to

specify the meaning” (p. 7). This definition simply states the meaning of the word
“addition” with no further explanation. Studying more detailed discussions on the
subject, generally, there exist two opposite sides when defining addition in
translation. In the positive way, addition is a technique; in the negative way,
addition is a translator’s mistake.
Sharing the positive point of view, Klaudy (2003) defined addition as a
strategy of translators adding more information to the original version when
translating. This explanation reveals the core of addition which is to put “new
meaningful elements” (Klaudy, 2003) in the targeted text to make the targeted
audience understand the message of the author more clearly. At this point,
additions provided the target text with more explicit meanings to make the target
text clearer to comprehend.
For a negative perspective on addition, addition is not encouraged by some
researchers. In their opinion, by addition, “the important and meaningful reticence
or ambiguity in the ST might be lost” (Tso, 2010, p.26). Eco (2003, p.51) stated
that, “One should never try to make the source text literally ‘better’. Even bad
style, clumsiness, careless repetitions must be respected.” It is to say sometimes,
addition can distract the original intention of the author. Ly Lan, the translator of
Harry Potter series into Vietnamese once shared that she could not stand any
changes of the without permission (Ly Lan, 2007/2014). In a nutshell, she
suggested having a conversation with the author and discussed changes, including
addition to be made as a mark of respect to the author (Ly Lan, 2007/2014).
Addition is studied by different researchers and they have divided addition
into different categories. In the part of classifications of addition, two
classifications of addition are mentioned which also suggest the use of addition for
different contexts of the translation.

11

2.4. Classifications of addition
Classifications of addition were introduced by Klaudy and Milhac.
Regarding the first classification, Klaudy (2003) invested his study on outlining the
classification of addition in the English-Hungarian translation. He affirmed that
adding meanings or omitting them is for the sake of the dissimilarity raised in the
“background knowledge of the SL and TL readers” (Klaudy, 2003). Klaudy’s
(2003) classification includes explanation and examples of Englishp-Hungarian
translations. The researcher uses those examples as references and adds examples
of English-Vietnamese translation. Bold parts are applications of addition
strategies.
(1) Addition in the case of brand names
Based on the example introduced by Klaudy (2003), the brand names which
are unfamiliar to the targeted readers need to be clarified by adding its product
which may be specific types of foods, beverages, clothing or furniture.
Example:
English source text: Two Edds, a kilo of Vio.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Hai gói kẹo Edds, một cân chè Vio.
Back translation: Two packs of Edds candy, a kilo of Vio tea.
(Bold parts are additions in the case of brand names.)
(2) Addition in the case of toponyms
Toponym is the name of a place. In the source text, the author usually
assumes that readers are acquainted to those toponyms. However, explanatory
additions are necessary for target audience of the target text. They are commonly
used for geographical names (common in travel books) to help audience to
understand the particular land mentioned in the source text whether the place
mentioned is a lake, a river, a mountain, a park or a district.
Example:
English source text: I walked along the Thames.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Tơi đi bộ dọc dịng sông Thames.
Back translation: I walked along the Thames River.

12


(Bold parts are additions in the case of toponyms.)
(3) Addition in the case of institutional names
Similar to the above, translators try to provide target language readers with
more understanding when it comes to institutional names a restaurant or a school.
Example:
English source text: Let’s go to Kyle tonight.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Tối nay cùng đi ăn ở nhà hàng Kyle nhé.
Back translation: Let’s go to the restaurant of Kyle tonight.
(Bold parts are additions in the case of institutional names.)
(4) Addition in the case of historical realia
Historical realia includes events, personalities, and historical garments.
Target audience could be familiar to those in the source text or not; therefore,
translators must assist them by adding explanation.
Example:
English source text: The people never forget 11-9 in the US.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Mọi người không bao giờ quên vụ khủng bố
ngày 11-9 tại Mỹ.
Back translation: The people never forget the terror attacks on 11-9 in the US.
(Bold parts are additions in the case of historical realia.)
(5) Addition of names of the parts of the body
Klaudy (2003) noted that “the only lexical addition, which [was] not
triggered by cultural differences but linguistic ones, [was] the addition of names of
parts of the body when in one language; parts of the body [were] used in the saying,
in another one, that would be redundant”.
Example:
English source text: He nods in agreement.

Vietnamese translation with addition: Anh ta gật đầu đồng ý.
Back translation: He nods his head in agreement.
(Bold parts are additions in the case of the body.)

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This classification pointed out a range of proper names’ addition. The
researcher supposes that the use of this one focuses on the culture-related texts or
so in which a lot of culture-specific proper nouns including places, people, food
and so on. In the fantasy world in the novel of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire”, almost everything is unreal created by J.K Rowling’s imagination. Therefore,
it is assumed that most of proper nouns including places, people, food, and so on
should not be referred to any where else but inside the novels. The classification is
applied restrictedly here in the study on the novel.
Second, Mailhac (2007) also gave his own classification of addition
considering lexical procedures illustrated by the English-French translation. The
researcher changes the examples into English-Vietnamese or adds some new
examples for better convenience. Bold parts are applications of addition strategies.
- Addition of noun
English source expression: hers
Vietnamese translation: Cô Jane
Back translation: Miss Jane
- Addition of adverb or adverbial phrase
English source expression: I love her.
Vietnamese translation: Tôi thực sự yêu cô ấy
Back translation: I love her indeed.
- Addition of interjection
English source expression: I do not know where they moved to.
Vietnamese translation: Xin lỗi, tôi không biết họ chuyển đi đâu.

Back translation: Sorry, I do not know where they moved to.
- Addition of particle
English source expression: Ladies and gentlemen!
Vietnamese translation: Kính thưa các q ơng, q bà!
Back translation: (All) Ladies and gentlemen!
- Addition of adjective or adjectival phrase
English source expression: The king ruled a kingdom.

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Vietnamese translation: Ông vua nọ cai quản một vương quốc rộng lớn.
Back translation: The king ruled a wide kingdom.
- Addition of verb
English source expression: The enemy beat him.
Vietnamese translation: Kẻ thù đánh đập, tra tấn anh ấy.
Back translation: The enemy beat and tortured him.
- Addition of conjunction
English source expression: Who are you?
Vietnamese translation: Vậy anh là ai?
Back translation: So who are you?
This classification is more specific and closely related to all kinds of
translated texts as it mentions the most basic elements of a sentence namely noun,
adverb or adverbial phrase, interjection, particle, adjective or adjectival phrase,
verb, conjunction, and lexical sequence. Hence, the list of additions will be put into
a table with such those types for the data to be easily analyzed. However, one
question is raised by the researcher whether additions of the rest parts of speech in
English with pronoun, determiner, or even a whole sentence exist in general and in
the novels analyzed in particular. The question shall be answered to some extent in
the findings of the thesis. Besides, the additions of censorship and standardization

(dialect) are inferred by the researcher when the classification of omission does
include censorship, standardization (dialect, accent, style, and register).
Above are the definitions of addition and its classifications. Hence, the next
part introduces about the definitions of omission raised by different researchers of
the field. Each of them looked at omission in a different angle; yet, they shared
certain opinions.
2.5. Omission
Regarding omission, the situation of two contrasting ideas arises from
researchers’ angles. The positive way of judgment is that omission is a strategy
used by the translator as “a standard transfer operation whereby meaningful lexical
elements of the SL text are dropped” (Klaudy, 2003). Shapa (2009) also stated in

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her presentation that omission is “leaving out some important details for the sake of
an important fact”. Zakhir (2008) said that omission would “reduce a number of
elements in the source text”. Zakhir (2008) also discussed that the translator has his
purposes of omission due to several reasons stated below:
The translator omits words that do not have equivalents in the TT, or that may raise
the hostility of the receptor. For example, Arab translators usually omit English
taboo words such as ‘fuck off’ and ‘shit’, while translating films into Arabic, just
for the sake of respecting the Arab receptors, who may not tolerate the use of these
words because of their culture. (p.1)

Those situations of omission in translation are so common that many
translators have to consider to omit or not for the sake of the readers and the author
of the source text.
On the other hand, there exist negative responses towards omission. The first
criticism is of Delisle, Jahnke, and Cormier (1999) who considered unaccepted

omission as a “failure to render a necessary element of information ([which should]
not to be confused with implicitation which involves the justified exclusion of a ST
element)”. Second, Tso (2010, p.27) raised his opinion that omission in translation
was “normally considered unfavorable because during the process of omission,
some information or effect in the ST will be omitted and therefore lost”
which affected negatively the idea of the source text. He also exemplified with
another case when omission deleted the “dialectic and informal tone” (Tso, 2010)
when some words such as ““kinda”, “yer”, “ain’t”, and “ma’am” were omitted
when translating into Chinese. This resulted in the lost of the informality of the
speaker in the source text. The analysis of Tso was easy-to-understand and in-depth
for any researcher; even starters in the field could use it as a reference due to its
clear examples and explanations.
Generally, the definitions share the same point that the technique of
omission involves the skipping of part of the text due to priority of specific
purposes. In sum, a note to be made is that omission can have both benefits and
problems whether the content of the text shall be inferiorly translated or improved.
The translator needs to consider carefully when using the technique without
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torturing the source text. Therefore, they must utilize omission considering a
variety of omission categories which are stated in the next part.
2.6. Classifications of omission
Similar to the classifications of addition, Klaudy presented his idea that the
reason of omission was “the difference in background knowledge in SL and TL
readers” (Klaudy, 2003). Depending on this criterion, Klaudy (2003) outlined seven
types of omission and provided explanation and examples of Englishp-Hungarian
translations. The researcher uses those examples as references and adds examples
of English-Vietnamese translation. Bold parts are applications of addition
strategies.

(1) Omission of brand names
Addition of brand names might give the explanation for readers to understand the
context. In contrast, sometimes, the explanation and the bizarre brand name can
confuse readers. Considering that, translators have to analyze to put the brand
names in the target text or not.
English source text: Two Edds, a kilo of Vio.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Hai gói kẹo và một cân chè.
Back translation: Two packs of candy, a kilo of tea.
(Bold parts are omission of brand names.)
(2) Omission of toponyms
Example:
English source text: I walked along the Thames River.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Tơi đi bộ dọc dịng sông.
Back translation: I walked along the river.
(Bold parts are omission of toponyms)
(3) Omission of toponyms and ethnonyms used in attributive function
The translator, often the times, omits toponyms and ethnonyms used in attributive
function such as names of countries, cities or nations used as attributes. The reason
is to avoid “negative connotation” (Klaudy, 2003).
Example:

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English source text: You Persian evil!
Vietnamese translation with addition: Đồ xấu xa!
Back translation: You evil!
(Bold parts are omission of toponyms and ethnonyms used in attributive function)
(4) Omission of institutional names
Example:

English source text: Let’s go to Bently tonight.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Tối nay cùng đi ăn ở nhà hàng nhé.
Back translation: Let’s go to the restaurant tonight.
(Bold parts are omission of institutional names.)
(5) Omission of forms of address
Klaudy (2003) stated that forms of addresses and forms of courtesy featured
part of the source text’s culture. Thus, they should be left out. Along with forms of
addresses and forms of courtesy, the translation usually does not include prizes,
honors and medals.
Example:
English source text: Barrack Richard Chandler lived with his son until 1999.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Ông Chandler sống cùng con trai đến năm
1999.
Back translation: Let’s go to the restaurant tonight.
(Bold parts are omission of forms of address.)
(6) Omission of references to SL
Translators frequently omit SL references that would be incomprehensible to the
TL reader.
Example:
English source text: Let’s me introduce Peterson, the FedCup prize winning
player.
Vietnamese translation with addition: Xin giới thiệu ông Peterson.
Back translation: Let’s me introduce Peterson.
(Bold parts are omission of references to SL.)

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