VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUA GES AND INTERNATIONA L STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

STRATEGIES APPLIED B Y NGOC THU LANG IN

ENGLISH -VIETNAMESE TRANSLATI ON OF SLANG

Supervisor: Ngo Ha Thu, MCS

Student: Hoang Thi Thu Yen

Year of enrollment: QH.2010.F1

Hanoi 4, 2014

KHA

-

Th.S Ng H Thu

Sinh vin:

Kho: QH2010.F1

H N - 2014

DECLARATION

I hereby state that I: Hoang Thi Thu Yen, group QH2010.F1.E21, being a candidate

for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College

relating to 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.

Hanoi, 2014

Hoang Thi Thu Yen

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my

supervisor, Ms. Ngo Ha Thu, MCS for her precious guidance, valuable advice as well

as her encouragement which were the decisive factors assisting me in finishing the

paper on the right track.

My sincere thanks also go to my friend Mai Thi Nga Ly for her special help in

material sources. Without her, this study cannot be completed.

I am also grateful to my classmates whose helpful comments, wholehearted

encouragement throughout the process of this paper.

Finally, I appreciate support and caring from my family and my friends from the

beginning to the end of the research.

ii

ABSTRACT

Slang plays an important role in linguistic system and deserves greater attention.

However, justified significance has not been attached to slangy vocabulary due to

features of vulgarism, in-group identification and inconsistency. Not only have

studies dedicated to slang occupied a small percentage among scientific papers but

most of them have also focused on linguistic aspects of slang. Translation in slang has

not been received appropriate attention. These factors encouraged the researcher to

carry out this paper with objectives of having a look at characteristics of slang and

Vietnamese version translated by Ngoc Thu Lang were chosen as subjects of this

study. Document analysis was adopted as the research method. Slang classification

based on theories offered by Eble (1996) and Mattielo (2008) identified 9 common

types of slang. 79 slang in the novel selected after a purposive sampling process

revealed that 7 among 9 types of slang were detected. Regarding translation strategies,

softening (Blonskyte and Petroniene, 2013) and compensation (Garcarz, 2011) were

the most favorable strategies applied by translator Ngoc Thu Lang.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................ i

Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iii

List of abbreviations .............................................................................................................v

List of tables and figures .................................................................................................... vi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1

1.1. Rationale for the study ............................................................................................... 1

1.2. Aims and Objectives .................................................................................................. 2

1.3. Scope of the study ...................................................................................................... 3

1.4. Significance of the study ............................................................................................ 3

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................5

2.1 Slang ........................................................................................................................... 5

2.1.1 Definitions of slang ............................................................................................... 5

2.1.2 Characteristics of slang ......................................................................................... 7

2.1.3 Classification ........................................................................................................ 8

2.2 Slang translation ....................................................................................................... 13

2.3.1 Translation .......................................................................................................... 13

2.3.2 Difficulties in slang translation ........................................................................... 13

2.3.3 Strategies in slang translation ............................................................................. 15

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................24

3.1. Design of the study ................................................................................................... 24

3.2. Research method ...................................................................................................... 25

3.3. .......................................... 25

3.4. Sample selection ....................................................................................................... 25

3.5. Data collection procedure ......................................................................................... 26

3.6. Data analysis procedure ............................................................................................ 27

CHAPTER IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...........................................................28

iv

4.1. .......................... 28

4.2. Research question 2: T

translation ................................................................................................................... 30

4.2.1. Application of translation strategies in general .................................................. 30

4.2.2. Application of translation strategies in particular types of slang ....................... 35

4.3. Research question 3: Dominant strategies applied by Ngoc Thu Lang ................... 37

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS .....................................................................................42

5.1. Major findings and implications ............................................................................... 42

5.2. Limitations ................................................................................................................ 43

5.3. Recommendation for further study........................................................................... 44

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................45

APPENDIX 1 ....................................................................................................................48

APPENDIX 2 ....................................................................................................................66

v

LIST OF ABBREVIATION S

SL: Source language

TL: Target language

GF: Godfather

BG: B gi

vi

LIST OF TABLES AND F IGURES

Page

Table 2.1. Slang formation 12

Table 2.2. Slang translation strategies 23

Table 4.1. Percentage of translation strategies 38

Figure 4.1. 29

Figure 4.2. Strategies applied with slang of semantic change 35

Figure 4.3. Strategies applied with affixed slang 36

Figure 4.4. Percentage of translation strategies 39

1

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

This initial chapter states the problem of research, aims and objectives, scope of

the study as well as significance of the paper. Above all, three research questions

underlining the whole research are identified in this chapter.

1.1. Rationale for the study

unauthorized word, phrase o 1921, p. 9). Some

- perin,

1981) but its linguistic and sociological functions are so undeniable that Adams (2009)

Thanks to its expressiveness and continuous innovation, slang is a vivid

ngs about life and the things they encounter in life

(Hayakawa, 1967

In terms of sociology, the existence of slang meets the social needs, mostly the

, 2009, p.26). In other

words, this special layer of vocabulary is coined to perform the function of identifying

different social groups and distinguishing who is in these groups and who is not.

Several studies have been carried out to examine the nature of slang in linguistic

system. Research by Hayakawa (1967), Eble (1996), Dumas and Lighter (1978), and

Adams (2009) typifies the investigations done in the realm of slangy language.

Nevertheless, the studies on slang up to now have just paid attention to its sociological

importance and how it characterizes a specific social group. Regarding translation,

there has been, however, a limitation in studies on rendering slang and strategies

applied to overcome culture-related obstacles in translating.

Since slang owes its birth to criminal world (Sullivan, 1921), it is more

advantageous and reliable to study the characteristics of slang in crime fiction.

2

Therefore, the researcher chose The Godfather (1969) by Mario Puzo, which was one

of the best seller gangster fictions in the United States and was on the New York Times

best seller list for 67 weeks (Gussow, 1999), as the subject of the investigation on

slang. The novel depicts vividly the underworld in the late 1960s and put Mafia on the

map (Forshaw,

organization and the richness of slangy language, the novel offers favorable conditions

to fulfill the objectives of the research.

The Godfather was translated into Vietnamese several times by Ngoc Thu Lang

(1972), Trinh Huy Ninh and Doan Tu Huyen (1989). However, the version by Ngoc

Thu Lang was likely to be regarded as the best translation. D. T. Huyen, whose another

translation of The Godfather was published in 1989, claimed the excellence of the

version by Ngoc Thu Lang and in his preface he even indicated his acknowledgement

in consulting the translation by Ngoc Thu Lang (Yen, 2004). Hence, the choice of

rendering slang from English into Vietnamese.

All these conditions above offered the researcher a chance to conduct a study

titled in English-Vietnamese translation of

slang

1.2. Aims and Objectives

First, the paper aims at exploring the characteristics of slang deployed in novel

o. Second, an investigation was conducted to shed light

on strategies applied by Ngoc Thu Lang in translating slang from English into

Vietnamese. Finally,

To achieve the aims, these following questions are proposed:

3

1. What are the characteristics of slang

2. Which strategies are applied by Ngoc Thu Lang in translating slang from

3. What is the most dominant strategy applied by Ngoc Thu Lang?

1.3. Scope of the study

The researcher chose the nov published in

1969 and its Vietnamese version translated by Ngoc Thu Lang in 1972 as the samples

of the study. As stated in the previous part, the prime focus of this research is put on

slangy language and strategies applied to transfer slang from English into Vietnamese.

Therefore, the research is expected to just concentrate on the characteristics of slang

existing in the original version and the translation strategies applied in rendering them

into Vietnamese. Besides, to ensure its credibility, the paper investigates the whole

novel and its equivalent translation instead of any sole chapter.

1.4. Significance of the study

Once having been completed, the paper is hoped to serve three main purposes.

First and foremost, the paper is expected to be helpful to students and translators who

have interest in slang translation and provide a closer look into slang usage.

Second, the research is hoped to be of practical value for students and

translators when they expose to academic and professional circumstances. From

procedures and strategies investigated and drawn in the study, students and translators

have wider choice of techniques to apply in order to obtain the best translation.

Besides, the researcher expects the results of the study could partially enhance

the understanding of slang in general. The researcher has no ambition in achieving a

thorough investigation into the linguistic item. Instead, review and knowledge

presented in the study are meant to offer a look into the issue of considerable

controversy and provoke further examination in the topic.

Finally, in the context of limited studies on slang the results of the study are

expected to act as a useful and reliable source of reference for research in the future.

4

The review of previous studies on the field offer a great usefulness for further studies

for those who share the interest in slang as well as slang-related domain.

5

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides an overview of some research on slang, its definition and

word-formation, which gives the study a firm theoretical grounding and offers primary

criteria for the sampling process. The second focus of this chapter is on slang

translation and the discussion about strategies to coin out an appropriate framework for

analysis of translation style applied by Ngoc Thu Lang.

2.1 Slang

2.1.1 Definitions of slang

To understand strategies to translate slang, the definition of the term should be

taken into great consideration. Although the term has been frequently discussed by

linguists, there has been a divergence in offering a comprehensive definition of slang.

Few linguists have endeavored to satisfactorily define which constitutes slang.

-group property of slang (p. xlix).

However, which criteria should be applied to define high and low life as the definition

stated is not clearly presented. During the compilation of Dictionary of American

[...] is a body of words and expressions used by a large portion of American but not

Nevertheless, the scale of society in which slang is employed is not delineated, which

fails to reflecting the social inclusiveness of the term.

On the ground of aesthetic and social aspects, others follow different approaches

to describe slang. From a stylistic viewpoint, Galperin (1977) has considered slang

-

Stenstro

Slang and Sociability

(1996) has proposed a more elaborate definition of slang that stresses the sociological

6

feature of sla -changing set of colloquial words and phrases that

playful, racy, irreverent or playful language that outlines social in-

other words, slang is an expressive language whose function is to designate who

belongs to a group and who does not. Although these definitions to some extent have

mentioned characteristics of slang, they are not sufficient enough to provide a

linguistically useful frame to distinguish slang from other lexical layer.

Reves (1926) defined that slang is the changing vocabulary of conversation,

which is known by a particular set or class, usually has figurative meaning and

becomes trendy in a short period and then disappears or passes into standard speech (p.

216). In this definition, although fundamental features of slang are mentioned including

instability, limited popularity in a narrow social group, criteria are not well-defined

enough to serve as framework for spot out slang from other lexial layer. Dumas and

Lighter (1978) chose more detailed way to describe slang when they have claimed that

a word can be regarded as true slang if it meets at least two of the following criteria:

1. Its presence will markedly lower [...] the dignity of formal or

serious speech or writing.

2.

or with that less statusful or less responsible class of people who have such

special familiarity and use the term.

3. It is a tabooed term in ordinary discourse with persons of higher

social status or greater responsibility.

4. It is used in place of the well-known conventional synonym,

especially in order (a) to protect the user from the discomfort caused by the

conventional item or (b) to protect the user from the discomfort or annoyance of

further elaboration. (1978, pp. 14-15)

7

The authors have admitted that those words fit the third criterion are

functionally similar to those fit the first and probably the second criterion. The

overlapping makes the researcher adjusts and summarizes those criteria into three

-standard in ordinary

people who use it; (3) its usage can replace conventional synonym to avoid annoyance.

Those revised criteria adequately serve as framework to identify slang.

2.1.2 Characteristics of slang

Despite difficulty in defining slang, the term has some consistent characteristics.

The first one is widely agreed by many linguists that slang is ever-changing. As Eble

o existence and

falling out of use at a much more rapid rate than items of general

in Adams, 2009, p. 16). No word is perpetually slang and many formal words can

adopt slang connotation or experience stylistic misuse and then pass into standard

vocabulary. If a slangy word becomes old it will be replaced by a new one. Due to the

constant supply of new words, slang only enjoys a short time of popularity, as a result

and survive in

language (Galperin, 1977, p. 97).

Slang also serves as social identification, which indicates who is a member of a

group and who is not. Its group-identifying feature also prevents outsiders from

understanding what is being said among members of a social group and prevents the

intrusion of outsiders (Hayakawa, 1967, p. 2). By that means, slang consolidates the

solidarity among the group and ensures the confidentiality. This social identification

does not necessarily belong to only users in criminal world. It may be popular among

those who have reason to hide their illegal activities from authority (drug dealers,

prostitutes) or used by certain subgroups who want to keep secrecy from adult people

(teenagers) (Mattiello, 2008, p. 13)

8

Another characteristic of slang is expressiveness, which Rapoport has referred

and Lighter, 1978, p. 9). American Heritage Dictionary has stated that the

distinguishing feature of slang [...] is the intention to produce rhetorical effect (as cited

in Dumas and Lighter, 1978). Despite being identified under different names as

rhetorical effect or colorfulness, expressiveness of slang implies lively illustration of

ut life thanks to its strong connotation. Slang is not restricted

within denotative meaning. Instead, it is likely to cross its regular boundary to reach

the dimension of intentional aggressiveness and informality.

In addition to ephemerality, in-group function, and expressiveness, slang

reflects disagreement with established authority. In the relationship of opposition rather

than cooperation, subgroups with little politic power (adolescents, college students) or

with secret to hide from authority (prisoners, drug addicts) deliberately deploy slang,

which is deemed non-standard and offensive, to show their disrespect to conventional

social or semantic norm (Sledd, as cited in Dumas and Lighter, 1978, p. 12). This

hostility can range from slight impertinence to clear-cut rebellion (Eble, 1996, p. 124).

2.1.3 Classification

Not only is defining slang a challenging task but classification of slang is also

never easy. In fact, there has been no study categorizing slang or presenting widely

recognized classification of the term. Among existing research in slang, only Eble

(1996) and Mattielo (2008) have discussed about slang formation process as an

approach of classification. Both of them have divided slang into 8 types, some of

which see correlation. However, neither of these taxonomies satisfactorily covers all

occurrence of slang formation. Therefore, the researcher decides to present a new

framework which consists of 9 groups based on reviewing the development process of

slang by Mattiello (2008) and Eble (1996).

2.1.3.1. Affixation involves using prefixes and suffixes. Suffixed slang can be

formed grammatically regularly as standard portion of vocabulary such as -er (the one

9

or that which) as in bummer (that which bums one out (Eble,

1996, p.33). Some suffixes in slang are novel (e.g. -o/oo) or used differently from

Standard English (e.g. -ed) (Mattielo, 2008, p.20). Suffix -o (and its graphic variant -

oo dumbo)

person w sicko: a disturbing and unsavory

person) (Mattielo, 2008, p.20). In the case of suffix -ed, instead of using as an

inflectional morpheme to indicate past tense, it is frequently attached to noun to form

box - boxed:

marijuana intoxicated). Affixation process also involves the formation Mattielo has

Prefixoids and suffixoids are abbreviations of other words functioning as prefixes and

suffixes usually as intensifier (e.g. buttocks (bottoms) butt- butt-ugly (extremely

ugly)

2.1.3.2. Compounding process is identified by both the researchers as a

combination of two elements. Compounding can be created from individual words of

various parts of speech: noun+noun (air bag: an imaginary guitar played by rock music

fan); noun+verb (facerape: kiss passionately) (Eble, 1996, p.31) or the assimilation

(e.g. alright from the exclamation all right) or haplology (the elimination of a syllable

when two consecutive identical or similar syllables occur) (e.g. dimbo from dim bimbo)

(Mattielo, 2008, p.21). Both researchers also have agreed that although combination is

straightforward (word+word=compound), that simplicity often causes complexity in

meaning or semantic ambiguity (cake-hole (the mouth), air guitar (an imaginary guitar

played by rock music fans) because of the lack of meaning transparency of one or both

elements (Eble, 1996; Mattielo, 2008).

2.1.3.3. In slang, conversion or functional shift is the shift from this part of

speech to another without undergoing an alteration in form (Eble, 2008). For example,

adjectives can take additional function as nouns (e.g. previous: criminal record), or

prepositions can act as adjectives (e.g. out: publicly and openly homosexual).

10

2.1.3.4. Shortening in slang segment of vocabulary can be obtained from

clipping process in which the first letter or a part of a word is retained (H: heroin, bro:

brother) (Eble, 1996). This process is similar to abbreviation proposed by Mattielo

(2008) which includes partial blending (e.g. gaydar from gay and radar: the perceived

or real ability of one homosexual to sense intuitively that another person is

homosexual)

2.1.3.5. The process of inversion includes back-slang (yob: boy, ecaf: face)

and spoonerism (fitshaced: shitfaced). This formation has not been realized by Eble

(1996) as a word-building process.

2.1.3.6. Eble (1996) also regards borrowing from foreign language as a type

of slang word-building although it is not a worth-noticing feature. That can be

explained by the nature of slang which is group-identification and of low dignity. Loan

words from Greek or Latin increasing the formality of words have no place in slang.

Eble has stated that foreign borrowings are confined to greetings or playful

mispronunciations. She has also asserted that Yiddish is the most noticeable

contributor of slang borrowings for American English (p.75-76)

2.1.3.7. The process of reduplication usually exhibits the vowel gradation or

vowel alternation (e.g. crisscross: amphetamine, wishy-washy: feeble, week). Eble

2.1.3.8. Infixation is unknown in Standard English. It is a peculiarity of slang

with infixes such as -bloody- and -fucking- inserted in a word to emphasize the

fan-

fucking-tastic, abso-bloody-lutely.

2.1.3.9. Also considered one of processes particularly suited to slang,

semantic change or change in meaning refers to the extension of existing forms to the

new meanings (Mattielo, 2008). Slang produced by semantic change are simply more

specific meaning of existing words which become part of in-group language (dope or

11

stuff: drugs and narcotics). Some provided slang evoke new concepts in the same

semantic fields (e.g. bombed out, hammered, smashed, etc. for being drunk or under

influence of drugs belong to semantic field of destruction). Figurative language

(metaphor, metonym, irony, etc.) is also exploited in enrichment of slang vocabulary.

The above-mentioned word formations are summarized in the following table.

12

Table 2.1. Slang formation

Slang

formations

Suggested by Example Explanation and meaning of

example

1. Affixation Eble (1996)

Mattielo (2008)

Dumbo

Sicko

Earache

Dumb + o: a stupid person

Headache -ache ear + ache:

a very talkative person

2. Compounding Eble (1996)

Mattielo (2008)

Cake-hole Cake + hole: the mouth

3. Conversion

(functional shift)

Mattielo (2008)

(Eble (1996))

Previous Previous (adjective) previous

(noun): a criminal record

4. Shortening

Eble (1996) H

BYO

Gaydar

Heroin

Bring Your Own

Gay + radar: the perceived or real

ability of one homosexual to sense

intuitively that another person is

homosexual

5. Inversion Mattielo (2008) Yob Boy yob

6. Borrowing Eble (1996)

Oy vey! (from Yiddish) used for

expressing surprise

7. Reduplication Mattielo (2008) Wishy-

washy

(i-o alternation) feeble, weak

8. Infixation Mattielo (2008) Fan-

fucking-

tastic

Fantastic + fucking

9. Semantic

change

Eble (1996)

Mattielo (2008)

Hammered Being drunk or under influence of

drugs

13

2.2 Slang translation

2.3.1 Translation

The concept of translation has attracted the academic attention from scholars for

a long time. Translation can be regarded as the product (the translated text) or the

process (the act of producing the translation, also known as translating) (Munday,

vii).

Williams (2013) has mentioned a widely held definition of translation regarding

is replaced by one word in another language, despite the type of text, its purpose, and

its readership (p. 1). This definition partly negates the significance of knowledge in

comprehensive text analysis to ensure that the source text has been entirely and

correctly understood (Nord, 2005).

Based on the criterion of equivalence, Nida and Taber (2003) have defined

equivalent of the source-

12). This approach has been previously stated by House (1997) as she has described

tr

Reviewing those definitions about translation, translation is a process of

transferring a text in one language into another language with the most proper form and

meaning. In other words, the transferring of text from language into language must be

accompanied by the preservation of semantic and stylistic equivalent.

2.3.2 Difficulties in slang translation

Kenny argued that the translation of non-standard language as slang poses one

of the most challenging tasks for translators: the equivalence, which is the central

concept but also controversial one in translation theory (as cited in Baker, 1998). To

14

preserve the equivalent effect, Nida (1964) has presented two different types of

equivalence: formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Formal equivalence

the receptor language should match as closely as possible the different elements in the

of Newmark, which attempts to maintain the similarity between effects on original

readers and that on target readers (as cited in Munday, 2001). Meanwhile, dynamic

sustainably the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the

translation in trying to keep both form and meaning of the source text (as cited in

Munday, 2001).

Nida claimed that translators attempting to achieve formal equivalence have to

face several formal elements including (1) grammatical units, (2) consistency in word

usage, and (3) meanings in terms of the source context. Grammatical units involve (a)

translating nouns by nouns, verbs by verbs, etc, (b) keeping all phrases and sentences

intact and (c) preserving all formal indicators (as cited in Venuti, 2000, p. 134). This

discouraging task requires careful text analysis and thorough understanding of both

source and target languages but perhaps is not always obtained due to the linguistic and

cultural disparity, which is peculiar to slang vocabulary.

In contrast, some translators may choose translation oriented toward dynamic

equivalence which is expected to contain (1) equivalence, (2) naturalness and (3)

closeness to avoid vulgarism and offensiveness of slangy vocabulary. However, these

translation probably fall into the error of sacrificing naturalness and expressiveness of

slang for complicated and technical phrases. (Nida, as cited in Venuti, 2000, p. 138)

15

2.3.3 Strategies in slang translation

a. ategies

(1) Word-for-word translation

In word-for-word translation, the SL word-order is preserved and the words are

translated individually by their most common meaning, out of context. Word-for-word

translation is useful in understanding mechanics of SL or difficult text as a pre-

translation process. The following example as well as

E.g. Johnny sat on the floor with his face in his hands

(GF, p.4)

Johnny i trn sn nh vi c a anh ta khun mt trong c a anh ta

cc bn tay

translation)

(2) Literal translation

Literal translation retains the grammatical constructions of SL text but words are

still translated out of context. Like word-for-word, literal translation serves as a pre-

translation process to identify the problems that need to be solved.

E.g. Johnny sat on the floor with his face in his hands

(GF, p.4)

Johnny ng i trn sn v i khun mt c a anh ta trong hai bn tay ca anh

ta

(3) Faithful translation

In faithful translation, words are translated in context but uncompromising to

TL. A faithful translation attempts to be faithful to intentions and text-realization of the

SL writer.

16

E.g., He did not have the heavy, Cupid-shaped face of the other children

(GF, p.8)

N khng c khun m t r n Cupid a con khc

(4) Semantic translation

Semantic translation takes more account of aesthetic value (the beauty and

naturalness of the SL text) at expense of meaning if necessary. Unlike faithful

translation, a semantic translation is of higher flexibility.

E.g. He too was not expected to inherit the family business

(GF, p.7)

i Fred ch ng ph i tr i sinh ra ch huy

(BG, p.13)

(5) Communicative translation

Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of

the original text with great focus on readability and naturalness. Both the content and

the language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the reader.

E.g., He performs those miracles for strangers

(GF, p.8)

Ci th i ngoi

(BG, p.15)

(6) Idiomatic translation

Idiomatic translation endeavors to produce a lively and natural translation to

retain the massage of the original. It prefers colloquialisms and idioms that do not exist

in the original.

17

E.g.,

Bonasera said Let them suffer as she suffers

(GF, p.22)

- c? Con nh cn s mu sao n?

Bonasera c v t vt:

- ng tr mi ng v y?

(BG, p.34)

(7) Free translation

Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content

without the form of the original. Usually, it is a paraphrase which is much larger than

the SL text. Free translation is applied in rendering informative texts or in-house

publication.

(8) Adaptation

This is the freest form of translation. It is mainly used for plays, comedies and

poetry; theme, plots, characters are preserved and the SL culture is converted into the

TL culture and the text is rewritten.

b.

With respect to non-equivalence in translating cross-cultural items as slang,

Baker (1998) has presented eight strategies applied by professional translators.

(1) Translation by a more general word (superordinate)

This is one of the most common strategies to overcome the non-equivalence in

translation because hierarchical structure of lexical fields is of universal feature in

many languages.

18

E.g. When the doctor asked why, Michael grinned

(GF, p.277)

Bc c m c t i sao n khng chu lm cho r i th Michael ch

i lm k ni

(BG, p.437)

nto

(2) Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word

This strategy is particularly useful when the translator encounters an expressive

word to avoid misunderstanding and obtain high naturalness in the TL translation.

E.g. hell was

fucking

(GF, p.4)

Johnny l nh h gi

N bung m v i trai

(BG, p.8)

v

(3) Translation by cultural substitution

This strategy involves replacing a culture-specific item or expression in SL text

with a TL item which does not have the same meaning as the original but produce the

gives the TL reader the item or the concept which is familiar and comprehensible to

them.

19

E.g. Sonny Corleone was tall for a first-generation American of Italian

parentage, almost six feet, and his crop of bushy, curly hair made him

look even taller

(GF, p.7)

G c , m i nh p t ch dn M c m n c

th g i l l n con: Sonny c c tm m m

u.

(BG, p.12)

ry

is more familiar to the TL reader.

(4) Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation

This is another effective strategy to deal with culture-specific items, modern

terms or newly introduced concepts. The loan word can be followed by an explanation

when the word is repeated several times in the text. Once provided with explanation,

the reader has no difficulty understanding the term and thereafter cannot be distracted

by lengthy explanation.

E.g. A young man named Nino Valenti picked up a discarded mandolin, put

his left foot up on a chair and began to sing a coarse Sicilian love song.

(GF, p.11)

Lc b y gi th ng Nino Valenti mi nh l y m t chi c

mandoline r i chn tri gh ch ln mt chi c gh , n v a gn

c bi u di n m t b a dn Sicily.

(BG, p.19)

(5) Translation by paraphrasing

This strategy is appropriate in coping with concepts that are lexicalized in the

TL but in different form. The paraphrase strategy is also applicable when SL terms

cannot be lexicalized whatsoever in the TL. In this case, the SL item can be

20

paraphrased by using unrelated words or unpacking the meaning of the SL item to

make it easier to understand.

E.g. Tom Hagen was thirty-five years old, a tall crew-cut man, very slender,

very ordinary-looking

(GF, p.39)

i, cao ro, dong dng. R t nhanh nhu v trng b

ngoi ch c bi t

(BG, p.63)

- ngoi chng

c bi

(6) Translation by omission

If it is not necessary to convey the meaning of a particular item or expression or

other translation strategies are incompatible, the translator can simply skip that item or

expression. Omission strategy is practical to avoid redundancy or awkwardness if it has

no harm to the fluency and meaningfulness of the text.

E.g. the hell

(GF, p.4)

Johnny l nh h gi

(BG, p.8)

affecting the meaning

of the whole sentence.

(7) Translation by illustration

This strategy is employed when the SL text refers to a physical entity which

requires lengthy text in the TL to explain. In this case, the choice of illustration still

ensures the conveying of meaning with minimum effort and ambiguity.

21

E.g. A young man named Nino Valenti picked up a discarded mandolin, put

his left foot up on a chair and began to sing a coarse Sicilian love song.

(GF, p.11)

using loan word as represented

previously or combining loan word with an explanation. However, for readers who are

not familiar with musical instruments, it may be hard to visualize it. Therefore, in some

cases, the best way to explain to the reader is showing an illustration of mandolin.

c. Discussion

-equivalence at word level,

both approaches are unlikely to cover all problems in translating non-standard language

as slang. Therefore, the researcher proposes a different framework of strategies on the

platform of reviewing strategies suggested by Newmark (1988), Baker (1998), Garcarz

(2011) and Blonskyte and Petroniene (2013). The framework comprises five strategies

according to three criteria: (a) meaning (the faithfulness of SL text is preserved or not),

(b) form or consistency in word usage (the SL slang is translated into slang in TL or

not) and (c) expressiveness or rhetoric value which is typical of slang. The correlation

between a SL slang and its equivalent in TL in preserving three above features

determines which translation strategy is applied in conveying slang items.

22

(1) Preservation

Preservation offered by Blonskyte and Petroniene (2013) or word-for-word

translation as named by Garcarz (2011) refers to the maintenance of faithfulness of

slang. Ideally, a SL slang is kept intact in both form and meaning. However, in some

cases, preservation means meaning and expressiveness of SL slang are priotized while

the form of SL slang can be transferred into either slang or neutral word in TL.

(2) Softening

Softening strategy suggested by Blonskyte and Petroniene (2013) involves using

more neutral words or less expressive words in the TL compared to the original ones in

the SL. This leads to the change in form and diminish of colloquialism of SL slang,

which is quite similar to description. However, what distinguishes softening from

description strategy is the maintenance of meaning. Specifically, the meaning of a SL

slang is accurately translated into TL by less rude vocabulary.

(3) Description

This strategy is proposed by Garcarz (2011). If there is no slang in the TL

equivalent to an item in the SL, translators often explain its content in more neutral

word or paraphrase the content by unrelated words. As a result, expressiveness of SL

slang is minimized and TL equivalent of a word has longer form such as phrase or

clause.

(4) Omission

This strategy is put forward by Baker (1998), Garcarz (2011) and Blonskyte and

Petroniene (2013).

(Harvey & Higgins, as cited in Blonskyte & Petroniene, 2013, p. 64) in which a slang

in SL is omitted and not transferred into the TL.

(5) Compensation

Compensation strategy is mentioned in research of Garcarz (2011) and

Blonskyte and Petroniene (2013).

23

in Blonskyte & Petroniene, 2013, p. 64), Compensation is employed when the

translator prefers the offensive effect of a SL slang over form and meaning. Five

strategies are presented in the following table.

Table 2. 2. Slang translation strategies

Strategy Suggested by Explanation (1) (2) (3)

Preservation Garcarz (2011) maintaining of

faithfulness of slang /

Softening Blonskyte and

Petroniene

(2013)

using more neutral

words or less

expressive words in the

TL compared to the

original ones in the SL

Description Garcarz (2011) explaining content in

more neutral word or

paraphrase the content

by unrelated words

(longer)

Omission Baker (1998),

Garcarz (2011)

and Blonskyte

and Petroniene

(2013)

Omitting and not

translating a SL slang

in SL into the TL

Compensation Garcarz (2011)

Blonskyte and

Petroniene

(2013)

recreating a similar

effect in the TL text

Note: (1) Meaning; (2) Form; (3) Expressiveness

24

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY

This chapter aims to define the research design, which guides the choice of

research method, sampling strategy, data collection method and data analysis method.

This chapter also provides the description of the subject, sampling steps, data

collection procedure and data analysis procedure.

3.1. Design of the study

Qualitative approach was employed in conducting the study. According to

people have constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the

get better understanding of the subject matter (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). Concerning

the materials and practice, Denzin and Lincoln (2005) have also stated that a wide

range of interconnected interpretive practice is employed in qualitative research and

empirical materials such as case study, personal experience, life story, interviews, and

cultural texts are involved in qualitative research. Besides, the nature of qualitative

research allows more flexible and responsive approach to the changing conditions of

the study in progress (Merriam, 2009). Based on the type of research data, Nkwi,

Nyamongo, and Ryan (2001 involves any research

(p.1). In other words, qualitative

involves collecting or working with texts, images or sounds.

On the platform of definition of qualitative research, qualitative research was an

appropriate choice for this study. The qualitative approach helped the researcher get

highly in-depth comprehension of the issue being investigated. It facilitated the

researcher with flexible approach to response to variable conditions during the study

and enabled the researcher to answer the proposed research questions thoroughly. The

selection of qualitative research determined the choice of subject, sample selection

method and data analysis procedure in the study.

25

3.2. Research method

Document analysis was used as the main data collection method in this study.

Document source refers to written, oral and visual document and cultural artifacts.

Public records, personal documents or physical materials are types of documents

available for analysis. Merriam (2002) has claimed the convenience of document as a

data source as it already exists in the situation and is independent from human

cooperation which is essential in interview or observation method.

Due to the aim of the study to investigate on strategies applied in translating the

appropriate research method.

3.3.

The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo,

originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious

Mafia family based in New York City (and Long Beach, New York), headed by Don

Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel covers the

years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the back story of Vito Corleone from early

childhood to adulthood.

The novel was translated into Vietnamese by Ngoc Thu Lang and published in

1972 by Tre Publishing House.

3.4. Sample selection

Purposive sampling was deployed to choose samples for the study. As its name

suggest, purposive or criteria-based sampling requires determining essential criteria in

choosing object to be studied (Merriam, 2009). The established criteria directly reflect

the purpose of the study and serve as the guidance in identifying items that fit the

research.

In this paper, purposive sampling was applied to detect appropriate items for the

study. Accordingly, the slang

equivalents in the translation by Ngoc Thu Lang were chosen to be investigated. Slang

26

words were identified when they fitted the criteria and characteristics of slang

mentioned in the chapter of literature review. When one slang was detected, the

researcher rechecked by looking it up in American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

by Richard A. Spears (2000), The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang

Dictionary 8th (2010), which were the most accessible and consulted other online

dictionaries. Which words were labeled slang or informal or listed among slang and

expressive words were selected.

During sampling process, the researcher found the repetition of a large portion

of slang. Some repeated items were treated with the same strategy while some were

tackled differently depending on the context. To ensure the feasibility of the study, the

researcher left out repeated slang and filtered out 79 items for data corpus.

3.5. Data collection procedure

Data collection procedure was divided into three steps:

Step 1: collecting English slang in the original and Vietnamese equivalents in

the translated version

This step was based on the criteria established in the section of sample selection.

The process of collecting English slang occurred simultaneously with the process of

collecting the equivalents in Vietnamese translation.

Step 2: categorizing collected English slang

Given slang classification in chapter II, English slang collected in step 1 was

categorize into set group and transcribed into table to prepare for answering the first

research question about the characteristics of slang in the novel.

Step 3: categorizing Vietnamese equivalents in the translated version

After having collected Vietnamese equivalents in the first step, the researcher

carried out the identification and classification of strategies detected to draw

conclusion of strategies used by the translator in rendering the original. This step relied

27

on the framework of translation strategies the researcher proposed in the chapter II

based on revision of previous studies.

3.6. Data analysis procedure

After the phase of data collection, the data set in the study consists of English

slang and their Vietnamese correspondence that were classified and grouped.

With English slang, from table of categorization, text information was

transcribed into numerical data. Specifically, the number of a slang type were counted

and transferred into chart to see the frequency of the type. This step provided answer

for the first research question about the characteristics of slang in the original.

Vietnamese equivalents undergo the same process. The number of Vietnamese

translation of original slang that were grouped into six types of strategies were tallied

and calculated. Then the statistic was shown in chart to illustrate the occurrence of each

strategy applied by the translator. The analysis of three most remarkable types of slang

were also carried out to find out the pattern of translation strategies applied with these

slang types. Finally, based on the chart, the researcher drew the conclusion on which

strategy dominates the style of the translator in rendering slang from the original

version.