An investigation into translation procedures of similes and ellipsis in english translational ver

THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

PHẠM THỊ TUYẾT NGÂN

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AN INVESTIGATION INTO TRANSLATION PROCEDURES
OF SIMILES AND ELLIPSIS IN ENGLISH
TRANSLATIONAL VERSIONS FROM
THEIR VIETNAMESE SHORT STORIES

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Major: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
Code: 8220201

MASTER THESIS IN
LINGUISTICS AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF
FOREIGN COUNTRIES

(A SUMMARY)

Da Nang, 2021


The thesis has been completed at University of
Foreign Language Studies, The University of Da Nang

Supervisor: LÊ TẤN THI, Ph.D.

Examiner 1: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Phạm Thị Hồng Nhung

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Examiner 2: Dr. Ngũ Thiện Hùng

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The thesis will be orally defended at the Examining Committee

Time: 29th January 2021
Venue: University of Foreign Language Studies - The University of
Da Nang

This thesis is available for purpose of reference at:
- Library of University of Foreign Languages Studies, The
University of Da Nang
- The Center for Learning Information Resources and
Communication – The University of Da Nang


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Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
1.1. RATIONALE
An anthology of contemporary prose - Love After War titled
in English. It was published by Curbstone, America and released
worldwide through the Internet, then the San Francisco Chronicle
reports voted as one of the 100 best books of 2003. This is the first
time Vietnam's literature introduces himself to the world with the

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most confident way. In this anthology, we recognize the big names

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of contemporary prose from Vietnam. While reading Vietnamese

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short stories and their English translational equivalents in “Love

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After War”, it is noticed that many stylistic devices are used such as
simile, ellipsis etc. They seem to be very effective in bringing

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miracles to Vietnamese short stories. Due to these rhetorical devices,

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the language is peeled off, wearing a new cloak which is more
beautiful, more charming and of course meaningful.

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In order to create favorable conditions for those who want to

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understand more about how Vietnamese stylistic devices are
translated into English in the translational version “Love After War”,
I decided to choose the topic entitled “An Investigation into
Translation Procedures of Similes and Ellipsis in English
Translational Versions from Vietnamese Short Stories‟
1.2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1.2.1. Aims

1.2.2. Objectives


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1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are procedures for translating simile
in Vietnamese short stories into English in
“Love After War”?
2. What are procedures for translating ellipsis
in Vietnamese short stories into English in
“Love After War”?
3. What are the occurrence frequencies of procedures for

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translating simile and ellipsis in Vietnamese short stories into

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English in “Love After War”.

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1.4. SCOPE OF STUDY

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1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Chapter Two

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LITERARURE REVIEW AND
THEORETICAL BACK GROUND

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2.1. PREVIOUS STUDIES

In Vietnamese as well as in English language, some
researches on stylistic devices and translation of stylistic devices
include “ 99 phương tiện và biện pháp tu từ tiếng Việt” by Đinh
Trọng Lạc (1996), “ Stylistics” by Galperin, I. R. (1977), “A Text
book of translation ” by Newmark, P. (1988). In reference with the
dissertations, some theses related to the research are referred to.
All of these studies could be used as the valuable reference
for my research. However, there has been so far no research into the


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stylistic devices, i.e. simile and ellipsis used in Vietnamese short
stories and their English translational equivalents in “Love After
War”. This is the reason why I have decided on the research.
2.2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.2.1. Stylistic Devices
Stylistics studies the special media of language which are

called stylistic devices and expressive means. Expressive means and
stylistic devices form three large groups of phonetic, lexical,

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syntactical means and devices. Each group is further subdivided
according to the principle, purpose and function of a mean or a

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device in an utterance.
2.2.2. Translation procedures
The following are the different translation procedures that

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are proposed by Newmark (1988b: 83, 114) and the examples are

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quoted from Nguyen Thi Hong Ha (2018). They include synonymy,
shifts or transpositions, compensation, reduction, paraphrase,

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literal, expansion, explanation.

Vietnamese Simile and Ellipsis into English

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2.2.3. Syntactic Structures related to the Translation of
Like other units of language in both languages, the
translation of simile as well as ellipsis as stylistic devices in
Vietnamese into English can be transformed by means of syntactic
structures. The English structural equivalents of Vietnamese simile
and ellipsis can be a syntactic category or a phrase, such as a noun,
adjective or verb phrases; or a sentence, i.e. simple, complex or
compound in positive, negative or interrogative forms in active or


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even passive. Thanks to decoding the meaning of English
translational equivalents of Vietnamese simile and ellipsis in such
syntactic constructions, translation procedures can be identified.
2.2.4. Overview of Co-translators and the Book
In these sections, we mention the brief bibliographies of the
co-translators Wayne Karlin and Hồ Anh Thái, the translational
version itself „Love after War‟ and especially opinions of some
authors about the translational version „Love After War‟.

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Chapter Three

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METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES

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3.1. RESEARCH METHODS

In order to reach the goal of the study, we carried out our

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investigation based on the qualitative and quantitative methods.

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The combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches
was applied to collect, classify the data on Vietnamese stylistic

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devices, i.e. simile and ellipsis in Vietnamese short stories and their

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English translational equivalents in “Love After War”. And then on
basis of translation theories, we analyzed and pointed out the
translation procedures for rendering these Vietnamese stylistics
devices into English.

3.2. DATA COLLECTION
Among 50 Vietnamese short stories and their English
translational equivalents in “Love After War”, 13 Vietnamese short
stories and their translated versions were chosen at random for our


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research because they are among the short stories that could be
downloaded from the internet.
In terms of sampling, 86 samples were totally collected from
13 Vietnamese short stories mentioned above and 86 English
translational versions of theirs. Among these samples, there were 35
samples related to the simile in the source language and the same
number in the target language and 51 samples in association with
Vietnamese ellipsis and the equivalent quantity in English

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translational version.
3.3. DATA ANALYSIS

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Data analysis was carried out based on the theories of

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stylistic devices and the theories of translation. The collected data

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were identified and grouped into categories depending on the

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stylistic devices, i.e. simile and ellipsis found in Vietnamese short
War”.

3.4. RESEARCH PROCEDURES

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stories and their English translational equivalents in “Love After

(i) collecting samples of simile and ellipsis as stylistic
devices in 13 Vietnamese short stories and finding their English
translational equivalents in “Love After War”
(ii) classifying, comparing, analyzing, discussing and finding
the results of simile and ellipsis in the source language as well in the
target one in terms of both quantity and quality and in order to find
the procedures for rending these stylistic devices into English.


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(iii) giving some suggestion for translating, teaching and
learning

3.5. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
On the basis of methodology and procedures, the research
result is significant, highly practical and really valid.
CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

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4.1.

TRANSLATION PROCEDURES OF VIETNAMESE

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SIMILE INTO ENGLISH

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4.1.1. Translation Procedures of Vietnamese Simile with
4.1.1.1. Literal

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Marker ‘như’ into English

Literal translation ranges from one word to one word through

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group to group, collocation to collocation, clause to clause, to
sentence to sentence.

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Syntactically, the structure of Vietnamese or English similes

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can be constructed as the simile device plus the immediately
preceding or following components that form a syntactic structure or
sentence element of complete meaning.
Properly, the Vietnamese simile device „như‟ is preceded by
an adjective and followed by a noun or noun phrase. In terms of
translation procedure, the structure of Vietnamese simile device
„như‟ is literally rendered into English.
(a1) Adj + như + N(P) => Adj + as + N(P)


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The Vietnamese simile như in my research is rendered into
English by means of the English simile as. For example:
[4.1a] “Tối hôm qua lưỡi hai đứa lại ngọt như kẹo và mơi rất dính.
Tơi đã khơng gỡ mơi ra để nhắc chuyện cưới xin, tôi biết đấy là lần
hôn cuối.” (Phạm Thị Hoài:6)
[4.1b] Last night our tongues had again been sweet as honey candy
and our lips matched fine. I didn‟t free my lips to talk about
marriage. I knew it would be our last kiss. (Wayne Karlin and Hồ

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Anh Thái:362)

Syntactically, the preposition of simile as in English is

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followed by noun or noun equivalents, i.e. noun phrases or gerund.

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Table 4.1. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Simile with Marker

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„như‟ into English
English

Translation

Equivalents

Procedures

aN

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Vietnamese Simile

Adj + as + N(P)

V + như + N(P)

V + as + N(P)

V/ N + như + Pro

V/ N + like + Pro

V + như + Cl

V + like + N(P)

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Adj + như + Pro

Literal

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Adj + như + N(P)

That + Adj

N + như + Pro

That‟s + N(P)

V + như + Adj

V + Adv

(V/ Cl) + như + Cl

as if + elliptical Cl

Adj + như + N(P)

Adj + Ø

V/ Adj + như + v

(V/ Adj) + Ø

như + N

như + N + Adv

Shift

Reduction


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Vietnamese Simile
V + như + Cl

English

Translation

Equivalents

Procedures

V [V-ing Cl]+ as if + Cl

Adj + như + NP

Expansion

Adv + as + Cl

Adj + như + N(P)/ Cl

as + Adj + as + N(P)/Cl

Verb/Adj + như + Cl

Adj + as if + Cl

V + như + Cl

V + as + Cl + Adv

V + như + Pro

Synonym
Paraphrase

V + Adv

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In consequence, the translation procedures in English that

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can be employed to render the structure of Vietnamese simile device

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„như‟ into English include: literal, shift, reduction, explanation,
synonym and paraphrase.

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4.1.2. Translation Procedures of Vietnamese Simile with
4.1.2.3. Compensation

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Marker ‘hơn’ into English

It occurs when loss of meaning in, one part of a sentence is

P. (1988:90)

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compensated in another part, or in a contiguous sentence. Newmark,
This procedure is used when there is a loss of meaning, sound
effect or pragmatic effect in one part of sentence. One such loss is
compensated in another part, or in a contiguous sentence.
(c1) V + hơn => V + more than + [NP]
[4.31a] Trên một vạt đát bằng phảng người ta dựng lên ba dãy lớp
học làm bằng gianh tre nứa lá có phẩn nào giống một trại ni bị.
Khu nhà giáo viên gán kề ngay đó lợp ngói, vách trát “toocsi” nhưng
khi mưa xuống dột cịn nhiều hơn (Nguyễn Huy Thiệp:3)


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[4.31b] They looked like stables. In those days the neighboring
teacher‟s quarters had tile roofs and plaster walls, but when the rain
fell they leaked more than the thatched buildings. (Wayne Karlin
and Hồ Anh Thái:475)
The noun phrase „the thatched buildings‟ in English simile
structure is used as the translation procedure compensation compared
with the structure of Vietnamese simile.
Table 4.2. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Simile with Marker

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„hơn‟ into English

Vietnamese Simile

Adj + hơn + Pro

N(P)

Adj-er + (NP)

more (Adv) than + Pro
more (Adj) + N(P)

V + more than + N(P)

Literal

Adj + more than + N

Explanation

[Adv]

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V + hơn

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Adj + hơn + N

Procedures

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V + Adv + hơn +

Equivalents

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N(P) + Adj + hơn

Translation

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Adj + hơn + (NP)

English

V + more than + [NP]

Compensation

Consequently, the translation procedures literal, explanation
and compensation are employed to translate the structure of
Vietnamese simile device „hơn‟ into English.

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4.1.3. Translation Procedures of Vietnamese Simile with
Marker ‘nhất’ into English
4.1.3.2. Expansion
(b1) Adj nhất => The most Adj & Adj
[4.35a] Mình phải hầu hạ chúng nó cả một đời, nay chúng nó phải
hầu mình cũng chỉ vài năm chứ mấy. Chả là cái tuổi của chúng tôi
cũng sắp được hầu hạ các cụ tơi rồi"Tơi nghe ơng anh rể nói chỉ
muốn bật kêu lên: "Anh ơi, anh là người đàn ông chung tình nhất.

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ước gì bọn em được tốt như các anh. (Nguyễn Khải:5)

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[4.35b] “We served our children all their lives; now they have to

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serve us. It‟s only for a few years anyway; at our age we‟re nearly

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ready to go to the other world and serve our ancestors.” Hearing my
cousin-in law‟s words, I wanted to say: “My dear cousin; you are the

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most faithful and generous man in the world. I only wish I could be

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like you.” (Wayne Karlin and Hồ Anh Thái:550)
In the above example, the adjective generous in the English

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translational version <the most faithful and generous> is expanded in

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comparison with the source language text.


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Table 4.3. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Simile with Marker
„nhất‟ into English
Vietnamese Simile
Adj + nhất

English

Translation

Equivalents

Procedures

The most Adj

N + Adj + nhất

The Adj-est + N

Adj + nhất

Literal

The irregular
superlative
The most Adj & Adj

Expansion

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Adj nhất

In consequence, in order to transfer the structure of

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Vietnamese simile device „nhất‟ into English, in our research, the
reduction and expansion.

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following three the translation procedures can be used; i.e. literal,
Among English transferring equivalents of the Vietnamese

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similes in terms of syntactic structures, the Vietnamese simile device

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như is most varied with 17 different structures in the source
language and the same number in the target language. It shows the

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highest proportion of 63.1%. The second is the Vietnamese simile
hơn with a rate of 22.3% (6 different structures). The lowest
percentage is the Vietnamese simile nhất. It makes up 14.6% with 4
different structures.


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Table 4.4. The Occurrence Frequencies of Procedures of Translating
Vietnamese Simile into English
Translation

Occurrences

Rates

Literal

10

28.6%

Shift

5

14.3%

Reduction

7

20%

Expansion

6

17.2%

Synonym

3

8.6%

Paraphrase

2

5.7%

Explanation

1

2.8%

Compensation

1

2.8%

35

100%

Procedures

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Total

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4.1.4. Summary
In respect to the English translational equivalents of the
structures of Vietnamese simile device như, hơn and nhất, various
translation procedures, i.e. literal, shift, reduction, explanation,
synonym, compensation, expansion and paraphrase are used for the
effectiveness of translation. It is thanks to the characteristics of
syntactic structures as well as their meaning in both languages that
translation procedures are applied for the analysis of the translation.
As we have discussed, the translation procedures for English
structural equivalents of the structures of Vietnamese similes are
varied. The Vietnamese simile structures that include the simile
devices như, hơn, nhất are structurally transferred into English so
that the meaning in the target language is as much identical with the
source language as possible. With regard to the occurrence

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frequencies of translation procedure are used to render the structure

4.2. TRANSLATION

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of Vietnamese similes như, hơn and nhất into English, the literal
translation procedure accounts for the highest proportion of 28.6%.
The second rank is reduction that has the rate of 20 %. The
procedures expansion and shift procedures are slightly lower than
reduction which makes up 17.2% and 14.3%, respectively. The
translation procedure synonym amounts to 8.6%. The procedure
paraphrase stands at just 5.7%. The procedures explanation and
compensation share the lowest percentage of 2.8%.
It can be predicted that literal is one of the effective ways
that can be applied for transferring a Vietnamese ellipsis structure
into English one. As a result, the least favorable translation
procedure which is employed in order to translate a Vietnamese
ellipsis structure into English could be compensation.
PROCEDURES

OF

VIETNAMESE

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ELLIPSIS INTO ENGLISH

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4.2.1. Translation procedures of Vietnamese Adjective
4.2.1.2. Paraphrase

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(b1) Adj P => Simple sentence

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Phrases as Ellipsis into English

Simple sentence is chosen as the English structural
equivalent of the Vietnamese adjective phrase as ellipsis, for
example:
[4.40a] Những ngày thế này không ai làm chủ được bản thân. Cáu
kỉnh, nóng nảy và đột ngột chán chường. Tuấn ngủ gà ngủ gật. Cịn
Mi, cơ bạn gái thân của tơi đang nhìn qua cửa sổ xe. (Lê Minh
Khuê:1)


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[4.40b] On such days, people lose control of themselves. They often

become bad tempered, restless, and unreasonably depressed. Tuan
was nodding off and Mi, my close friend, was looking out the
window of the car. (Wayne Karlin and Hồ Anh Thái:119)
Table 4.5. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Adjective Phrases
as Ellipsis into English
Vietnamese

English Equivalents

Translation

Adjectives as

Procedures

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Ellipsis

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Adj P

Adj P
Literal

P + Adj

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Exclamatory word + Adj

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Simple sentence

Adj P + tag question?

Paraphrase

Adj P

Synonym

Simple sentence
Adj P

Simple sentence

Adj P

Ø

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Adj P

Sentence element

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Adj P

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Simple sentence

Expansion
Reduction

Consequently, the Vietnamese adjective phrase as ellipsis
can be transferred into English structural equivalents as shown in the
above Table 4.5. by means of the translation procedures such as
literal, paraphrase, synonym, expansion and reduction.
4.2.2. Translation procedures of the Vietnamese Verb Phrases
as Ellipsis into English


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4.2.2.2. Synonym
(b1) VP => Simple sentence
The

English

translation

procedure

synonym

of

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Vietnamese verbs or verb phrases as ellipsis can be conveyed via the
following English structure simple sentence.
[4.49a] Sáng hơm sau tơi đến cơ quan sớm. Ơng giám đốc công ty
báo tin đồ án thiết kế của nhóm chúng tơi đã được chấp nhận. Cơng
ty được ba triệu. Dự định thưởng cho nhóm một triệu. (Lê Minh

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Khuê:8)

[4.49b] The next morning, I went to the office early. The director of

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our agency told us that our design project had been approved and

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we‟d receive three million. He was planning to award one of those

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millions to our group. (Wayne Karlin and Hồ Anh Thái:134)

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Table 4.6. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Verb Phrases as
Vietnamese Verb

English Equivalents

Ellipsis
PP

Simple sentence
Complex sentence

VP?
VP

Procedures

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VP
VP

Translation

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Phrases as

aN

Ellipsis into English

Simple sentence?

Synonym

Yes ?
Relative clause
Complex sentence

Paraphrase


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Vietnamese Verb

English Equivalents

Phrases as

Translation
Procedures

Ellipsis
Simple sentence
VP

VP

V

N

VP

Simple sentence

Shift

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VP

VP

Simple sentence

Explanation

Ø

Reduction

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VP

Literal

Complex sentence

As a result, the English Syntactic equivalents of the

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Vietnamese verb phrases as ellipsis can be seen in the above Table

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4.6 by means of the translation procedures such as synonym,

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paraphrase, literal, shift, explannation and reduction.
4.2.3. Translation procedures of Vietnamese Noun Phrases as

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4.2.3.1. Shift

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Ellipsis into English

As mentioned in the discussion of the translation procedure
of shift in the section of Verbal Constructions as Ellipsis, shift that is
also called transposition can be classified into unit shift, class shift

and so forth, for instance.
(a1) NP => Simple sentence
[4.64a] Tôi chăm chú nhìn những móng tay dài cáu bẩn, nhìn những
con ruồi to tướng trên miệng lọ đường, những cục đá dính đầy trấu.
Thời gian khá lâu. (Lê Minh Khuê:2)


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[4.64b] I fixed my eyes on her long, dirty nails, then glanced at the
fat flied perched on the mouth of the sugar jar and at the chunks of
ice cover with rice husks to keep them from melting. She took a
while. (Wayne Karlin and Hồ Anh Thái:122)
The simple sentence „She took a while‟ can be employed for
the English translational equivalents of the Vietnamese noun phrase
as ellipsis „Thời gian khá lâu‟; therefore, it is identified as a unit
shift. As stated by Newmark, P. (1988) a syntactic category, i.e. noun

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or verb in the source language that can be constructed as a clause or
sentence in the target language, it can be identified as a unit shift.

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Table 4.7. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Noun Phrases as

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Ellipsis into English
English Equivalents

Translation
Procedures

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Phrases as Ellipsis

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Vietnamese Noun

aN

NP

Simple sentence

Sentence element
Cl

NP

Simple sentence

N

Sentence?

Synonym

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NP

Shift

Explanation

In consequence, the English syntactic equivalents of the
Vietnamese noun phrases as ellipsis can be found in the above Table
4.7 by means of the translation procedures such as synonym, shift and
explannation.


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4.2.4. Translation procedures of Vietnamese Clauses as
Ellipsis into English
4.2.4.4. Reduction
The English translation procedure which is chosen in order
to render Vietnamese clauses as ellipsis into English by means of
structure is a clause with a reduced element.
Table 4.8. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Clauses as Ellipsis
into English
Translation
Procedures

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Vietnamese Clauses English Equivalents
as Ellipsis
Simple sentence
Cl
Compound sentence
Passive simple
sentence
Cl?
Simple sentence ?
Cl
Cl
Pseudo compound
sentence
Cl
Cl

Paraphrase

Cl

Compound sentence
Simple sentence

Cl

Complex sentence
Cl + Ø

Literal

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aN

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Synonym

Explanation
Reduction

Accordingly, the English syntactic equivalents of the
Vietnamese clauses as ellipsis are listed in the above Table 4.8 by
means of the translation procedures such as synonym, paraphrase,
literal, explannation and reduction.


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4.2.5. Translation procedures of Vietnamese Prepositional
Phrases as Ellipsis into English
Table 4.9. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Prepositional

Phrases as Ellipsis into English
Vietnamese
Prepositional

English Equivalents

Phrases as Ellipsis

Translation
Procedures

Compound sentence

Synonym

PP

Simple sentence

Explanation

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PP

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Thus, the English structural syntactic of the Vietnamese
clauses as ellipsis are put in the above Table 4.9 by means of the

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translation procedures such as synonym and explannation.

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4.2.6. Translation procedures of Vietnamese Question Words

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as Ellipsis into English

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Table 4.10. Procedures of Translating Vietnamese Question Words
as Ellipsis into English
Question Words as

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Vietnamese

English Equivalents

Procedures

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Ellipsis
Question word?

Question word?

Translation

Interrogative

Literal
Paraphrase

sentence?

Wh word?

Ø

Question word +

Question word + Ø

Adv?

Reduction


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Table 4.11. The Occurrence Frequency of Procedures of Translating
Vietnamese Ellipsis into English
Occurrences

Rates

Synonym

18

35.3%

Literal

9

17.7%

Paraphrase

9

17.7%

Explanation

6

12%

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Translation

Reduction

5

6%

Shift

3

6%

Expansion

1

2%

51

100%

Procedures

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4.2.7. Summary

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Total

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In terms of the in English translational equivalents of the
adjective, noun, verb, preposition and clause ellipsis in Vietnamese,

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the translation procedures, such as synonym, literal, paraphrase,
explannation, reduction, shift and expansion are means of the

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effectiveness of translation. It is the translation equivalents in terms
of syntactic structure as well as the structure meaning between the
ellipsis constructions in Vietnamese and those in English that
translation procedures can be found with regard to translation
analysis. It should bear in mind that like the translation procedures
for English structural equivalents of the structures of Vietnamese
similes, the Vietnamese ellipsis constructions of adjective, noun,
verb, prepositional phrases as well as that of clauses are structurally


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transformed into English in order that the meaning in English
language is as much similar to that in Vietnamese as possible.

In reference to the occurrence frequencies of translation
procedures that are employed to translate the Vietnamese ellipsis
constructions into English, it is found that the largest rate is synonym
which makes up 35.3%. The other two translation procedures, i.e.
literal and paraphrase share the same rate of 17.7% for each case.
The translation procedure takes the fourth rank is explanation with

D

the proportion of 11.7%. The procedure reduction is slightly lower
than explanation which makes up 9.8%. The translation procedures

ai

of shift amount to 5.9%. The lowest rate of 1.9% is found in the

H

translation procedure of expansion. It can be concluded that the least

oc

favourable translation procedure which is employed in order to

D

translate a Vietnamese ellipsis structure into English can be

aN

expansion. Otherwise, one of the most effective ways that can be
applied for transferring a Vietnamese ellipsis structure into English

Chapter Five

g

an

one is synonym.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
5.1. CONCLUSION
In order to answer the research questions, the two research
methods, i.e. qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied to
find out the qualitative as well as quantitative results of the two
stylistic devices, simile and ellipsis in terms of translation
procedures. 86 samples were collected from 13 Vietnamese short


22
stories to compare with their 82 English translational versions of
theirs in order to find out the translation procedures used to render
simile and ellipsis in the source language into the target one. Among
82 samples, there were 51 samples in relation to ellipsis and 35
samples in connection with simile.
In respect to the English translational equivalents of the
structures of Vietnamese simile device như, hơn and nhất, various
translation procedures, i.e. literal, shift, reduction, explanation,

D

synonym, compensation, expansion and paraphrase are used for the
effectiveness of translation. It is thanks to the characteristics of

ai

syntactic structures as well as their meaning in both languages that

H

translation procedures are applied for the analysis of the translation.

oc

As we have discussed, the translation procedures for English

D

structural equivalents of the structures of Vietnamese similes are
varied. The Vietnamese simile structures that include the simile

aN

devices như, hơn, nhất are structurally transferred into English so
that the meaning in the target language is as much identical with the

an

source language as possible. With regard to the occurrence

g

frequencies of translation procedure are used to render the structure
of Vietnamese similes như, hơn and nhất into English, the literal
translation procedure accounts for the highest proportion of 37.1%.
The second ranks are shift and expansion procedures that share the
same rate of 14.5%. The procedure reduction is slightly lower than
shift and expansion which makes up 11.3%. The translation
procedures, synonym and paraphrase take the third ranks of 7.5%.
The procedures explanation and compensation have the lowest
percentage of 3.8%.


23
It can be predicted that literal is one of the effective ways
that can be applied for transferring a Vietnamese ellipsis structure
into English one. As a result, the least favourable translation
procedure which is employed in order to translate a Vietnamese
ellipsis structure into English could be compensation.
In terms of the in English translational equivalents of the
adjective, noun, verb, preposition and clause ellipsis in Vietnamese,
the translation procedures, such as synonym, literal, paraphrase,
explannation, reduction, shift and expansion are means of the

D

effectiveness of translation. It is the translation equivalents in terms

ai

of syntactic structure as well as the structure meaning between the

H

ellipsis constructions in Vietnamese and those in English that
translation procedures can be found with regard to translation

oc

analysis. In reference to the occurrence frequencies of translation

D

procedures that are employed to translate the Vietnamese ellipsis

aN

constructions into English, it is found that the largest rate is synonym
which makes up 35%. The other two translation procedures, i.e.

an

literal and paraphrase, share the same rate of 19.5% for each case.
The translation procedure takes the fourth rank is explanation with

g

the proportion of 12%. The translation procedures of reduction and
shift equally amount to 6% for each. The lowest rate of 2% is found

in the translation procedure of expansion.
5.2. IMPLICATIONS FOR FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
Learners of English who are interested in the use of stylistic
devices in source language and their translational version can find
the result of this study beneficial. Understanding the rendering of
stylistic devices or simile and ellipsis particularly can help students
in their study of translation as well as decode the use and the