MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HA NOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH HEALTH AND MEDICAL IDIOMS INTO
VIETNAMESE: A STUDY BASED ON ESP MATERIALS AT A
UNIVERSITY OF NURSING
(DỊCH THÀNH NGỮ Y TẾ TIẾNG ANH SANG TIẾNG VIỆT: MỘT
NGHIÊN CỨU DỰA TRÊN CÁC TÀI LIỆU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH
TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC ĐIỀU DƯỠNG)

Filed: English Linguistics
Code: 8220201

Ha Noi, 2018


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HA NOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS
Field: English Language
Code: 8220201

TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH HEALTH AND MEDICAL IDIOMS INTO
VIETNAMESE: A STUDY BASED ON ESP MATERIALS AT A
UNIVERSITY OF NURSING
(DỊCH THÀNH NGỮ Y TẾ TIẾNG ANH SANG TIẾNG VIỆT: MỘT
NGHIÊN CỨU DỰA TRÊN CÁC TÀI LIỆU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH
TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC ĐIỀU DƯỠNG)

VŨ THỊ THU PHƯƠNG
Supervisor: Dr. Tran Thi Thu Hien

Ha Noi, 2018


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report
entitled “Translation of English heath and medical idioms into Vietnamese: A
study based on ESP materials at a university of nursing” submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language.
Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used
without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.
Hanoi, 2018

Vu Thi Thu Phuong

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

Dr. Tran Thi Thu Hien

Date:……………………

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I am indebted to Dr. Tran Thi Thu Hien for her

scholarly knowledge, wholehearted supervision, invaluable guidance and
constructive critical feedback. Without her instruction, this thesis would not have
been completed.
My thanks then go to colleagues who have inspired, encouraged and
supported me during the time I worked on this research.
Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
family and beloved friends for their love, care and encouragement.

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ABSTRACT
In the every work of communication, nurses are required to have certain
understanding of a number of health and medical idioms. Nursing students,
however, find it hard to study and translate such idioms due to various factions.
Conducting an investigation on students’ translation through their ESP materials
is beneficial in building a big picture of English health and medical idioms and
their translation in Vietnamese. The researcher of the study selected English
health and medical in ESP matierials for nursing students, then put them into the
translation tasks done by three hundred second year nursing students at Nam
Dinh Univeristy of Nursing. This study employed quantitative methods by
analyzing data collected from translation tasks assigned for nursing students; and
supporting in-depth interview. The translation tasks included ten parts that were
assigned to nursing students after each ESP class. After each week, the
researcher interviewed some of the students about procedures and strategies used
by them. The in-depth interview was used to clarify some of the students’
procedures, strategies and common errors revealed during their translations of
English health and medical idioms into Vietnamese. The findings of the study
showed that the students applied only some procedures taught in ESP module
and their common errors were word by word translation and cultural translation.

Based on the findings, some suggestions were made for both teacher and the
students. The teachers often remind the students about the translation procesures
and strategies taught in the first week; provide the students more tasks for more
understanding and correct transltion; clarify the translation procedures and
certain cultural knowledge.

iii


Contents
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1
1.1. Rationale ........................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Aims of the study ............................................................................................... 1
1.3. Research questions ............................................................................................ 1
1.4. Methods of the study ......................................................................................... 2
1.5. Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 2
1.6. Significance of the study ................................................................................... 2
1.7. Organization of the study .................................................................................. 2
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 4
2.1. Translation ......................................................................................................... 4
2.1.1. Definitions ...................................................................................................... 4
2.1.2. Translation equivalence ................................................................................. 4
2.1.3. Translation strategies and procedures .......................................................... 9
2.1.3.1.Literal translation ...................................................................................... 10
2.1.3.2.Transference.............................................................................................. 11
2.1.3.3.Naturalisation ............................................................................................ 12
2.1.3.4.Cultural equivalent.................................................................................... 12
2.1.3.5.Functional equivalent................................................................................ 12
2.1.3.6.Descriptive equivalent .............................................................................. 12
2.1.3.7.Synonymy ................................................................................................. 13

2.1.3.8.Through-translation .................................................................................. 13
2.1.3.9.Shift or transpositions ............................................................................... 13
2.1.3.10.Modulation .............................................................................................. 14
2.1.3.11.Componential analysis ............................................................................ 14
2.1.3.12. Others ..................................................................................................... 14
2.2. Idioms ................................................................................................................ 15
2.2.1. Definitions of an idiom ................................................................................... 15
2.2.2. Characteristics of idioms ............................................................................... 17
2.2.3. Types of idioms ............................................................................................... 21
2.3. Technical translation and translation of health and medical idioms ................. 24
2.3.1. Technical style ................................................................................................ 25
2.3.2. Translation of medical and health idioms...................................................... 25
2.4. Previous studies ................................................................................................. 28
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2.5. Summary of chapter .......................................................................................... 29
Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 30
3.1. Setting ............................................................................................................... 30
3.2. Participants ........................................................................................................ 31
3.3. Research method ............................................................................................... 32
3.4. Data collection instruments ............................................................................... 33
3.5. Data collection proceures and analysis ............................................................. 35
3.6. Chapter summary .............................................................................................. 35
Chapter 4: TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH HEALTH AND MEDICAL
IDIOMS INTO VIETNAMESE: A STUDY BASED ON ESP MATERIALS
AT A UNIVERSITY OF NURSING .................................................................... 36
4.1. Procedures and strategies used by the nursing students in translating health
and medical idioms in ESP materials ....................................................................... 36
4.1.1 Literal translation ........................................................................................... 37

4.1.2. Cultural equivalent......................................................................................... 37
4.1.3. At word level .................................................................................................. 38
4.1.4. Above word level ............................................................................................ 40
4.1.5. Translating a source language idiom with a non-idiomatic expression ........ 40
4.1.6. Translating a source language idiom with a target language idiom ............. 44
4.1.7. Translating a source language idiom literally ............................................... 48
4.1.8. Translation by paraphrase ............................................................................. 50
4.2. Common errors of translating health and medical idioms in ESP materials .... 51
4.3. Implication ........................................................................................................ 56
4.4. Chapter summary .............................................................................................. 57
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 59
5.1. Recapitulation ................................................................................................... 59
5.2. Limitations of the study and further studies...................................................... 60
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 61
APPENDIX 1: TRANSLATION TASKS ............................................................ 66
APPENDIX 2: LIST OF ENGLISH HEALTH AND MEDICAL IDIOMS .... 73

v


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
OALD

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

SL

Source langue

TL


Target language

ST

Source text

TT

Target text

vi


Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
Translation has become an activity of enormous importance in recent decades.
We live in an increasingly internationalized world where ever-growing numbers of
individuals are in continuous contact with foreign cultures and languages both in
their professional lives as well as in more informal contexts, usually via mass
media. The more internationalized the world becomes, the greater the importance of
translation and qualified translators also grows. Translation allows us to overcome
cultural and linguistic boundaries and enables communication between different
cultures. Translation is, thus, an extremely topical issue in today's multicultural and
multilingual world.
Since translation has become increasingly important on both national and
global level, it is definitely a subject worth a closer study. Obviously, there is a
wide range of topics which could be investigated in terms of translational aspects.
The present study focuses on the translation of one of the most fascinating and
innovative aspects of language: health and medical idioms. Nowadays nursing

students have a range of ESP materials that cover health and medical idioms. And
they are not very good at translating these idioms as the health and medical idioms
seem rather new to them. That’s why the researcher di this study with the hope of
investigating the common errors made by nursing students and giving suggestions
to help them have skills in translating health and medical idioms.
1.2 Aims of the study
The study aims at studying the translation of English health and medical
idioms made by nursing students at a university of nursing.
1.3 . Research questions
In order to achieve the aforement objectives, the study seeks to answer the two
following questions:
- What the procedures and strategies are used by nursing students in
translating English health and medical idioms into Vietnamese?

1


- What are common errors made by nursing students in translating English
health and medical idioms into Vietnamese?
1.4 . Methods of the study
This study emplpyed quantitative method by analyzing data collected from
translation tasks assigned for nursing students and in-depth interview. The
researcher could draw some conclusions on their procedures and strategies as well
as their common errors in translating English health and medical idioms into their
mother tongue.
1.5 . Scope of the study
The study focuses on finding procedures, strategies, and common errors made
by nursing students through exploring their ESP materials. Other studies aim at
finding out other issues of using ESP materials with students of other majors are out
of the scope of this study.

1.6 . Significance of the study
Theoretically, this research can, to some extend, contribute to the field of
translation by providing suggestions about how to treat language-specific elements
(in this case health and medical idioms) in translation.
Practically, this study may help professional translators discover new, creative
means for translating problematic language-specific expressions as well as to
encourage them to be innovative and creative. This study is also a good reference
for both teachers and students in teaching and studying English health and medical
idioms.
1.7 . Organization of the study
The study is designed into five chapters.
Chapter 1: Introduction presents rationale of the study, aims and objectives of
the research, research questions, research methods, scope of the research,
significance of the research and organization of the resreach.
Chapter 2: Literature Review summarizes, synthesizes and reviews critical
points of relevant published works. Concepts that are mentioned in the theoretical
background

of

interpreting

include:
2

translation,

idioms,

technical



translation.Besides, research related to the study conducted in and out of the country
are also be reviewed.
Chapter 3: Methodology explains the methods used in the study, the setting,
data collection instruments, data collection procedure and analysis.
Chapter 4: Findings and discussions works with procedures, strategies, and
common errors made by nursing students found from data collected and analysed.
Chapter 5: Conclusion recapitulates the main findings of the research which
resolve the two research questions, limitations of the study as well as suggestions
for further research are also proposed.

3


Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Translation
Today, translation plays a key role in promoting the development of science
and technology of developing countries in general and Vietnam in particular since it
helps transfer and convey scientific knowledge written in languages of the
developed and high-tech countries.
2.1.1. Definitions
Interest in translation is practically as old as human civilization, and attempts
to define it have been made by different names at different times. Scholars have
proposed to refer translation as:
“Translation is the expression in another language (or target language) of
what has been expressed in another, source language preserving semantic and
stylistic equivalences” (Bell, 1991:5)
Sharing the view about equivalence, many other liguists agree that translation
is the replacement of a representation in one language by that of an equivalent text

in another language.
Besides, translation can also be viewed as a foreign version of the original
text; it is "a written communication in a second language having the same meaning
as the written communication in a first language.” (WordNet, 2003)
In short, translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the sense of
a text in one language - the source text - and the production of another, equivalent
text in another language - the target text The goal of translation is to establish a
relationship of equivalence between the source and the target texts (that is to say,
both texts communicate the same message), while taking into account the various
constraints placed on the translator. (These constraints include the grammatical
rules of the source language, its writing conventions, its idioms and the like.)
2.1.2. Translation equivalence
The concept of translation equivalence has been concerned as long as the
history of translation since it postulates the relationship between the source

4


language and the target language. In other words, equivalence is the central as well
as one of the most ambiguous concepts in translation studies. Obviously, different
ways to interpret translation equivalence resulted in various types of it such as
content equivalence, stylistic equivalence, formal equivalence, functional
equivalence, textual equivalence, communicative equivalence, etc.
Much of the modem discussion about equivalence starts with Nida’s
advocation of dynamic equivalence (which is achieved when the SL and the TL
words have the closest possible match of form and content) against formal
equivalence. Namely, he is for a translation which is natural TL as close as possible
to the source text and which has as far as possible the same effect on the TL
receivers as the source text had on the SL receivers.
Equivalence is also Koller’s staring point. In his book (Chesterman ed.,

1989:100), Koller differentiates more types and sets out to clarify some of the
confusions surrounding equivalence. According to Koller, there are 5 factors
which can be argued to play a relevant role in the specification of equivalence
types, they are: the extralinguistic content transmitted by a text, the
connotations transmitted by means of the word choice, the text and languag e
norms for given text types, the receiver to whom the translation is directed and
the certain formal-aesthetic features of the SL text. As a result, he classifies the
5 following types of equivalence:
- Denotative equivalence: Both the SL and the TL words denote the same object
or event in the real world. In the achievement of denotative equivalence, the translator
needs to describe the potential equivalence relation between the SL and the TL,
together with the textual factors that determine the choice of a given equivalent in any
specific case. He also needs to analyze correspondences of different types in order to
achieve referential identity between SL and TL unit. Here, lexicon is the central area of
concern since languages are at their most productive to account for ever-changing and
expanding communication needs and aims.
In his study, Le Hoai An (2005:4) introduces the following sub-types of
denotative equivalence:
5


■ One-to-one: There is a single expression in the TL for a single expression in

the SL.
■ One-to-many: There is more than one expression in the TL for a single SL

word.
■ Many-to-one: There is more than one expression in the SL but there is only a

single expression in the TL which is equivalent to them.

■ Many-to-many: There is more than one expression in the SL and these

expressions equal to more than one equivalents in the TL.
■ Whole-to-part/ Part-to-whole: A TL expression is only equivalent to part of

the concept designated by a single expression in the SL, or the equivalent in the TL
has a broader meaning than the concept in the SL.
■ One-to-zero: There is no expression in the TL for a single expression in the

SL.
Denotative equivalence is a typical type of specialized language; especially,
one-to-zero equivalence has caused a lot of controversy and difficulties in the
translation of English health and medical idioms.
- Connotative equivalence: This type of equivalence indicates that individual
expressions in the textual context not only have a denotative meaning but additional
values are transmitted as well. And a single denotative meaning can be interpreted
in various ways. To achieve this, the translator has to characterize the connotative
dimensions of individual languages (that are connotations of speech level,
connotations of determined social usage, connotations of geographical relation or
origin, connotations of medium, connotations of stylistic effect, connotations of
frequency, connotations of register, connotations of evaluation, and connotations of
emotion, etc), to analyze their features and structural elements and then relate these
to the connotative dimensions of a given target language. It is apparent that
connotative equivalence is a language entity that, on the one hand, makes it various
and diverse, on the other hand, brings complexity. Fortunately, connotative
equivalence plays a relatively light role in the translation of English health and
medical idioms since languages for specific purposes focus on defined and
6



definable terms and the content of the concept is the most decisive factor. An
English health and medical idiom concept or an English health and medical idiom
term is only considered comprehensible if it is viewed on the basis of the system it
belongs to.
- Text-normative equivalence: This type of equivalence is relationship
oriented to features of text types. In order to achieve it, the SL and the TL words are
used in the same or similar contexts. Particularly, the description and correlation of
lexical and syntactic norms of selection and speech usage in particular text types are
important goals of a translation theory oriented the SL and TL. Thus, in theory,
translation does not change pragmatic function but probably alter some style
features of the text.
- Pragmatic equivalence: The achievement of pragmatic equivalence
means translating a text for a particular readership. For example, a legal text
must be translated or exactly edited to make it comprehensible to not only the
legal experts but also the general readers. In this case, the TL text does not
follow the usage norms and the text must be translated in such a way that it can
reach the comprehension of the intended readers. The case of translating the
text for a particular readership may result in deviating from the requirements of
text-normative, connotative or even denotative equivalence. From that point of
view, translation theory should define the communicative conditions
appropriate for different reader groups in different language-pairs and texts,
and establish the principles and procedures whereby pragmatic equivalence can
be achieved.
- Formal equivalence: To achieve this type of equivalence in a TL is to
produce an “analog of form” in translation by either exploiting the formal
possibilities of creating new forms in the TL. Here, in the translation process,
possibilities of formal equivalence with the respect to categories such as rhyme,
verse forms, lexis, syntax, styles and structures are analyzed and manipulated in
such a way that they bring about the target language an aesthetic effect which is
analogous to the expressive individual character of the source text.

7


Besides, some other linguists also view translation equivalence in four
perspectives as follows:
• Phonetic equivalence
• Grammar equivalence
• Semantic equivalence
• Pragmatic equivalence

The appearance or the absence of the four above types help to distinguish
translation equivalence into the two main groups: Absolute equivalence and partwhole equivalence. These two groups can then be divided into totally absolute
equivalence, relatively absolute equivalence, grammar-semantic equivalence, etc.
To sum up, the requirement of translation equivalence is to preserve the
qualities and features of the original text. However, it is apparent that the idea of
total equivalence is a chimera. Texts in different languages can be equivalent in
different degrees (i.e. fully or partially equivalent) because languages are different
from one another. To shift from one language to another is to alter the forms of the
language. As a matter of fact, there is no absolute synonymy word in the same
language needless to say between the languages. Thus, to achieve translation
equivalence means the SL content, form, style, function, etc must be preserved or at
least the translation must seek to preserve them as far as possible.
An extremely interesting discussion of the notion of equivalence can be found
in Baker (1992) who seems to offer a more detailed list of conditions upon which
the concept of equivalence can be defined. She explores the notion of equivalence at
different levels, in relation to the translation process, including all different aspects
of translation and hence putting together the linguistic and the communicative
approach. She distinguishes between:
- Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level, when
translating from one language into another. Baker acknowledges that, in a bottomup approach to translation, equivalence at word level is the first element to be taken

into consideration by the translator. In fact, when the translator starts analyzing the
ST s/he looks at the words as single units in order to find a direct 'equivalent' term
8


in the TL. Baker gives a definition of the term word since it should be remembered
that a single word can sometimes be assigned different meanings in different
languages and might be regarded as being a more complex unit or morpheme. This
means that the translator should pay attention to a number of factors when
considering a single word, such as number, gender and tense (ibid.:11-12).
- Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of grammatical
categories across languages. She notes that grammatical rules may vary across
languages and this may pose some problems in terms of finding a direct
correspondence in the TL. In fact, she claims that different grammatical structures
in the SL and TL may cause remarkable changes in the way the information or
message is carried across. These changes may induce the translator either to add or
to omit information in the TT because of the lack of particular grammatical devices
in the TL itself. Amongst these grammatical devices which might cause problems in
translation Baker focuses on number, tense and aspects, voice, person and gender.
- Textual equivalence, when referring to the equivalence between a SL text
and a TL text in terms of information and cohesion. Texture is a very important
feature in translation since it provides useful guidelines for the comprehension and
analysis of the ST which can help the translator in his or her attempt to produce a
cohesive and coherent text for the TC audience in a specific context. It is up to the
translator to decide whether or not to maintain the cohesive ties as well as the
coherence of the SL text. His or her decision will be guided by three main factors,
that is, the target audience, the purpose of the translation and the text type.
- Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to implicatures and strategies of
avoidance during the translation process. Implicature is not about what is explicitly
said but what is implied. Therefore, the translator needs to work out implied

meanings in translation in order to get the ST message across. The role of the
translator is to recreate the author's intention in another culture in such a way that
enables the TC reader to understand it clearly.
2.1.3. Translation strategies and procedures
Translation strategies and procedures, to some extent, are not very different
9


since they both express the idea that the way the translator approaches the text and
tries his best to have a good and effective translation.
As far as translation strategies and procedures are concerned, Newmark (1995)
has proposed the following translation strategies and procedures:
2.1.3.1. Literal translation
Peter Newmark (1995:68) believes literal translation to be the basic translation
procedure, both in communicative and semantic translation. He is for the idea that
literal translation is correct and must not be avoided if it secures referential and
pragmatic equivalence to the original.
In his book (1995:69), Newmark distinguishes literal translation from wordfor-word and one-to-one translation. In word-for-word translation, SL grammar,
word order and primary meanings of all the SL words are transferred into
translation. This type of translation is normally effective only for brief simple
neutral sentences. Besides, one-to-one translation is a broader form of translation, in
which each SL word has a corresponding TL word but their primary (isolated)
meaning may differ. Newmark also argues that one-to-one translation is more
common than word-for-word translation since it normally respects collocational
meanings, which are the most powerful contextual influence on translation.
Literal translation ranges from one word to one word, collocation to
collocation, clause to clause to and sentence to sentence. And it is important to note
that the longer the unit, the rarer the one-to-one equivalence relationship.
However, above the word level, literal translation becomes increasingly
difficult. It is the only correct procedure if the SL and the TL meaning correspond,

or at least correspond more closely than any alternative. It means that the referent
and the pragmatic effects are equivalent. In other words, the word not only refers to
the same object or event but also has similar associations and appears frequently in
this type of text. What is more, the meaning of the SL word is not affected by its
context in such a way that the meaning of the TL does not correspond to it. As a
general rule, the more specific or technical a word the more it is free from the
context (Newmark, 1995:70)
10


Inevitably, the less context-bound the technical terms, the more likely a literal
translation; so together with the needs of technology development and transfer
today, there is always a proper place for literal translation as one of the most
important procedures in a good translation.
In addition to literal translation, Newmark (1995:81) proposes other
translation strategies and procedures as follows:

2.1.3.2. Transference
Transference is the process in which the translator decides to use an SL word
for his text in TL; the word then becomes a loan word. Generally, the names of SL
cultural objects or concepts related to the small group of culture should be
transferred and imported into the TL community and they should be creatively,
preferably and authoritatively translated. Particularly, most neologisms, brand
names have to be transferred. Translators tend to transfer cultural words to give
local colours, to attract readers or to give a sense of intimacy between the text and
the reader - the sound or the evoked images sometimes appear attractive. These
words, if they are likely to remain in the TL culture, have to be finally translated in
non- literary texts.
In principles, the names of all living and nearly all dead people, geographical
and topographical names including newly independent countries, names of

periodicals and newspapers, titles of yet untranslated literary works, plays, films,
names of privates companies and institutions, names of public or nationalised
institutions, street names, addresses are normally transferred from the SL into the
TL. In all these cases, a correspondence type of readership is assumed and where
appropriate, a culturally neutral TL third term (a functional equivalent) should be
added.
However, problems may be caused by semi-cultural words, i.e. abstract mental
words which are related to a particular period, country or individual. As a general
rule, these words should first be translated with transferred words and the functional
equivalents are added in brackets, until the translator can assure that the readership
recognises and understand the words. Unluckily, such terms are often transferred
11


because they are untranslatable; but the translator’s role is to make people, to some
extend, understand the ideas by this or that way. Thus, the argument against
transference is that it is the translator’s job to translate and explain why those who
are in favour of transference think that it shows respect for the SL country’s culture.

2.1.3.3. Naturalisation
This translation procedure succeeds transference and adapts the SL word to
the normal pronunciation and then to the normal morphology of the TL.

2.1.3.4. Cultural equivalent
This is the translation procedure which replaces a SL cultural word with an
approximate TL cultural equivalent. Although the translation of the TL culture
equivalents are not broad since they are not totally accurate, they can be used in
general texts, publicity and propaganda as well as for brief explanation to readers
who do not pay much attention to the relevant SL culture. These equivalents have
greater impact than culturally neutral terms. Sometimes they may be purely

functional, hardly descriptive equivalents. Admittedly, functional cultural
equivalents are very restricted in translation; they may occasionally be used if the
terms are of little importance in some popular articles but they receive relative
concerns in drama as they can create an immediate effect. However, the main
purpose of this procedure is to support or supplement another procedure in a
couplet.

2.1.3.5. Functional equivalent
This procedure is a cultural componential analysis and it is the most accurate
way of translating i.e. deculturaling a cultural word. Particularly, it requires the use
of a culture-free word, sometimes with a new specific terms; in fact, it neutralises or
genralises the SL word.
For cultural terms, this procedure is often combined transference and it usually
occupies in the middle between the SL/culture and the TL /culture.

2.1.3.6. Descriptive equivalent
Description and function are essential elements in explanation and translation.
Sometimes, the translator has to combine them but in some cases description has to
12


be weighed against function in order to gain translation effect.

2.1.3.7. Synonymy
Synonymy is intended in the sense of a near TL equivalent to an SL word in a
particular context where precise equivalent may or may not exist. This procedure is
applied when economy precedes accuracy in the translation of a text. Namely, it is
used for a SL word when there is no one-to-one equivalent, the word is not
important in the text (e.g. adjectives or adverbs of quality which in principle are less
important than other components of a sentence.)

A synonymy is suggested when literal translation is not possible and when the
word is not important enough for componential analysis.

2.1.3.8. Through-translation
The term through-translation refers to loan translation that is usually applied to
the translation of the names of international organizations (e.g. NATO, UNESCO
WHO, etc) that can consist of‘universal’ words which often switch in various
languages. Normally, through-translation should be used only for already
recognized terms.

2.1.3.9. Shift or transpositions
Catford uses the terms ‘shift’ and Vinay and Darbelnet use the terms
‘transposition’ (Newmarks, 1995: 85) for the same translation, which involves the
change in grammar from SL to TL. They divide this translation procedure into four
sub-types as follows:
• One type is used when there is a change from singular into plural (e.g.

‘software’ is an uncountable noun in English but in Vietnamese it appears in plural
form) or in the position of adjectives (e.g. ‘the white house’ and ‘nha trang ’) from
the SL to the TL.
• The second type is required when an SL grammatical structure does not

exist in the TL.
• The third type is applied when literal translation is grammatically possible

but may not correspond with the natural usage in the TL.
• The fourth type of transposition is the replacement of the virtual lexical gap

13



in the SL by a grammatical structure in the TL. For instance, a complex sentence in
the source text may be converted to a co-ordinate sentence or two simple sentences
in the TL text.
Apparently, transposition is the only translation procedure concerned with
grammar or exactly it illustrates a frequent tension between grammar and stress.

2.1.3.10. Modulation
According to Vinay and Darbelnet, (Newmarks, 1995:88) modulation is a term
refers to “a variation through a change of viewpoint, of perspective and very often
of category of thought”. They provide concepts of standard modulations, which are
recorded in bilingual dictionaries vs. free modulations, which are used by translator
when the TL rejects literal translation. Furthermore, Vinay and Darbelnet
(Newmark, 1995:89) also divide modulation into rather random categories as ‘part
for the whole’, ‘abstract for concrete’, ‘cause for effect’, ‘one part for another’,
‘reversal of terms’, ‘active for passive’, ‘space for time’, ‘intervals and limits’ and
‘change of symbols’.
Although Newmark (1995:89) finds the above categorisation of modulation
unconvincing, he admits that their abundant translation examples are always
stimulating.

2.1.3.11. Componential analysis
As Newmark (1995:114) states the basic process in translation componential
analysis is to compare a SL word with a TL word which has a similar meaning but
is not an obvious one-to-one equivalent.
Normally, the SL word is the one that has a more specific meaning and in
order to produce a closer approximation of meaning the translator has to add one or
two TL sense components to the corresponding TL word.

2.1.3.12. Others

Beside the above translation strategies and procedures, there are other types
that also work effectively in the translation from SL into TL and vice versa. They
include recognized translation, translation label, compensation, reduction and
expansion, paraphrase, etc.
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2.2. Idioms
2.2.1. Definitions of an idiom
The term 'idiom' is generally used in a variety of different senses. According
to Cacciari (1993: 27), this is due to the fact that idioms are somewhat difficult to
define. Hence, there is some disagreement over what kind of expressions should be
counted as idioms. The purpose of this section is to introduce some common
definitions of idioms, both by dictionaries and scholars. Since scholars have not
managed to reach an agreement on the absolutely essential characteristics of idioms,
in this chapter the researcher will only introduce idioms in their most basic
definements - in other words, the researcher will try to keep things as simple as
possible at this point. Because of the complexity of the term, the researcher will first
introduce how an idiom is defined in its simplest sense, after which she may move
on to discuss the more specific properties of idioms in greater detail.
The Oxford English dictionary (1989: 624) provides five different senses for
the term idiom, of which sense 3a is the most quoted one: "a form of expression,
grammatical construction, phrase, etc., peculiar to a language; a peculiarity of
phraseology approved by the usage of a language, and often having a signification
other than its grammatical or logical one." The OED definition is worth considering
n in this context, seeing as Fernando (1996: 16) argues that the influence of the
OED definition can be seen in the vast majority of idiom definitions provided by
scholars. According to Fernando (1996: 95), the popularity of the OED definition is
due to the fact that it captures an extensive range of different kinds of expressions,
thus providing a useful framework for categorizing idiomaticity.

The Longman dictionary of the English language (1991: 784) seems to be
somewhat influenced by the OED definition, as it offers the following three senses
for the term idiom: "the language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or
class; a dialect", "syntactic, grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language",
and "an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either
grammatically or especially in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the
sum of the meanings of its elements." The Cambridge international dictionary of
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English (1995: 701), on the other hand, provides a more simplified definition of an
idiom, stating that an idiom is a "group of words in a fixed order having a particular
meaning, different from the meanings of each word understood on its own."
A number of scholars also seem to accept the OED definition of an idiom in
one form or another. Makkai (1972: 122) reserves the term 'idiom' for multiword
expressions whose meaning is not predictable from their component parts. A
definition offered by Fraser (1970, as quoted by Fernando 1996: 8) is fairly similar,
as he defines an idiom as a "constituent or a series of constituents for which the
semantic interpretation is not a compositional function of the formatives of which it
is composed." The fact that the meaning of an idiom cannot be deducted from the
meanings of its individual components, is therefore in central place in both
Makkai’s and Fraser’s definitions of an idiom.
Fernando’s (1996: 38) definition of an idiom, on the other hand, is three-fold.
Firstly, she defines idioms as conventionalized multiword expressions. Secondly,
she states that idioms are almost always non-literal. Thirdly, she determines that
idioms are "indivisible units whose components cannot be varied or varied only
within definable limits" (ibid.: 30). Conventionality, non-literalness and
fixity/unvariability are therefore the cornerstones of Fernando’s definition of an
idiom. Weinreich (1969: 42), on the other hand, pays attention to subsenses that
idioms carry, as he defines an idiom as a "phraseological unit that involves at least

two polysemous constituents, and in which there is a reciprocal contextual selection
of subsenses."
Strässler’s (1982) definition of an idiom differs from various other definitions
in respect of its exclusion of expressions which consist of 'a verb plus an adverbial
particle or preposition'. According to Strässler (1982: 79), an idiom is "a
concatenation of more than one lexeme whose meaning is not derived from the
meanings of its constituents and which does not consist of a verb plus adverbial
particle or preposition." Strässler bases his decision not to include phrasal verbs as
idioms on the fact that the second parts of these phrases are semantically empty.

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2.2.2. Characteristics of idioms
According to Fernando (1996:3), the three most commonly mentioned
characteristics of idioms are their compositeness, institutionalization/conventionality
and semantic opacity. However, on the basis of the theoretical literature which I
have acquainted myself with, I consider it necessary to complement Fernando’s
statement by a few additions. In addition to the characteristics outlined by
Fernando, various scholars also seem to define lexical fixity, collocability and
semantic unity as the essential characteristics of idioms. Furthermore, ambiguity (or
disinformation potential) could also be counted as one feature, although it is closely
related to the concept of semantic opacity. The researcher will now take a closer
look at these characteristics.
Compositeness means that idioms are multiword expressions which function
just like single-word expressions. For instance Makkai (1972), Cowie and Mackin
(1975), Strässler (1982) and Weinreich (1969) underline that idioms are composed
of a minimum of two words. Cowie and Mackin (1975:viii) define an idiom as "a
combination of two or more words", Makkai (1972:122) states that an idiom is
made up of "more than one minimal free form or word", and Weinreich (1969: 42)

concludes that only multiword expressions are acceptable as idioms. However,
Fernando (1996: 3) also notes that there are some scholars according to whom
single- word expressions can also qualify as idioms.
Institutionalization, on the other hand, refers to the fact that idioms are
conventionalized expressions (Fernando 1996: 3). The expression must be wellestablished and conventionally fixed in order to qualify as an idiom.
Institutionalization is one of Makkai’s (1972) and Fernando's (1996) salient criteria
for identifying idioms.
Semantic opacity or non-literalness can perhaps be considered as the most
frequently mentioned feature of idioms. Semantic opacity means that idioms are
often non- literal, which is why their meaning cannot be deducted from the
meanings of the individual words of the idiom. Hence, the individual words which

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