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

GRADUATION PAPER

TRANSLATION PROCEDURES APPLIED IN
ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF
METAPHORS IN 4 SELECTED SHORT STORIES IN
THE BOOK “O.HENRY 100 SELECTED STORIES”

Supervisor : Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, M.A
Student: Tran Duy Quang
Course: QH2010.F1.E21

HANOI – 2014


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TI NG NH

KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

CÁC THỦ THUẬT DỊCH THUẬT ĐƯỢC ÁP DỤNG VÀO
DỊCH ANH-VIỆT PHÉP ẨN DỤ TRONG 4 TRUYỆN
NGẮN ĐƯỢC CHỌN TRONG CUỐN „O.HENRY 100
SELECTED STORIES‟

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: ThS. Nguyễn Thị Diệu Thúy
Sinh viên: Trần Duy Quang

Khoá: QH2010.F1.E21

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2014


DECLARATION
I hereby state that I: Tran Duy Quang, QH2010.F1.E21, being a candidate for
the degree of Bachelor of Arts(TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating
to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.
Hanoi, 2014

Tran Duy Quang


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, the completion of this graduation paper will not have been
possible without valuable guide and assistance I received from my supervisor Ms.
Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, M.A. Also, her sincere advice and inspiration are among the
most important elements helping me to finish this paper in advance.
I would also like to express my special thanks to my friends whose helpful
advice and comments are always beside me whenever needed.
Last but not least, I am truly grateful to acknowledge the care and support that
my family gave me all throughout the process of conducting this paper. To all of them,
thanks you very much.

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ABSTRACT
Metaphor is one of the key elements greatly contributing to the variety and
beauty of literary works, particularly in poetry and stories. There, however, are few
research papers or studies focusing much on the significance of metaphor along with
its types used in these literary works. Although numerous studies have raised and
acknowledged issues relating to metaphor, most of them tend to pay much attention to
the linguistic aspects rather than the translation of metaphor from source language into
target language. Furthermore, in the world without much distance thanks to the
Internet, literary works can reach any regions, nations or continents instead of staying
within their original borders. And that has given a great deal of motivation and
inspiration for the study conductor to write this research paper along with its
objectives of gaining further knowledge about types of metaphor and translation
procedures applied in literary works, especially in short stories. With such objectives,
4 short stories in the book named “O.Henry 100 Selected Stories” and their translated
versions by translator Ngo Vinh Vien have been selected as the core materials of this
study that will use chosen material analysis itself as the research method. 49
metaphorical expressions are listed out, including 3 types of metaphor: Dead
metaphor, faded metaphor and living metaphor. In terms of applying translation
procedures in translated versions, literal translation and modulation in 9 translation
procedures detected are the two most frequently used by translator Ngo Vinh Vien.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ iii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................... v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1
1.1.

Statement of research question ...................................................................... 1

1.2.

Research objectives and research questions ................................................. 2

1.3.

Background and significance ......................................................................... 2

1.4.

Scope of the study ............................................................................................ 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 5
2.1. Key concepts ........................................................................................................ 5
2.1.1. Translation ............................................................................................................................. 5
2.1.2. Metaphors .............................................................................................................................. 9

2.2. Related studies on the definition of metaphor.................................................... 14
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 15
3.1. The design of the study ...................................................................................... 15
3.2. Research method ................................................................................................ 16
3.3. “O.Henry 100 Selected Stories” and its Vietnamese translated version .... 16
3.4. Sample gathering ................................................................................................ 16

3.5. Research instrument ........................................................................................... 17

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3.6. The 4 stories for data collection and analysis .................................................... 17
3.7. Data collection procedure................................................................................... 17
3.8. Data analysis procedure ..................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .................................................. 20
4.1.

Research question no.1 ................................................................................. 20

4.2.

Research question no.2 ................................................................................. 27

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................ 38
5.1.

Major findings and concluding remarks ..................................................... 38

5.2.

Limitations of the study ................................................................................ 39

5.3.

Suggestions for further study ....................................................................... 40


REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 41
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................. 43

iv


LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Page
Table 1: Selected metaphorical expressions in “A Tempered Wind”

20

Table 2: Selected metaphorical expressions in “An Unfinished Story”

22

Table 3: Selected metaphorical expressions in “The Cop and The Anthem”

23

Table 4: Selected metaphorical expressions in “The Gift of The Magi”

25

Table 5: The frequency of applied translation procedures (times)

34

Figure 1: Types of metaphor


26

Figure 2: Translation procedures applied

35

v


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1.

Statement of research question
I have decided to choose the application of procedures in the translation of

metaphors as an area of study in Translation and Interpreting for the 4 following
reasons:
First of all, metaphors always play a crucial role in books, particularly in both
original and translated works of literature as they carry the message or the meaning the
authors want the readers to comprehend it with their feelings, emotions and thoughts.
And on the global scale in which cross-culture is bringing people from different
cultures much closer, translated books and publications are a special tool which
contributes to enhancing people’s knowledge of different cultures and to leading them
to more morally valuable experiences of cultures than they ever know.
Secondly, the translation of metaphors in works of literature crucially depends
on the age of the readership, which is seemingly a major obstacle for translators. In
most cases, a translated book for kids and teenagers is significantly different from a
translated one for adults, so the language used to transfer the author’s messages to the
readership often varies a lot. Furthermore, translators can leave lasting impressions on
the readership through a smoothly and naturally translated version of a book along

with meaningful lessons. As a result, the readership will warmly welcome a good
translated version of a book with high respect and appreciation.
Thirdly, translators often face many challenges when they are doing the
translation of metaphors in books in general and in works of literature in particular.
Such challenges are the recognition of metaphors, the equivalence of metaphors from
source language to target language, the recreation of metaphors needed to smoothly
translate them into target language, etc. Besides, cultural differences can generate
many unexpected problems like cultural misunderstanding of behaviors and customs if
a translator does not have a deep comprehension of the two cultures (the source

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language and the target language). Then, the necessity of a study in the area of
metaphors is worth doing.
Last but not least, the study aims to find out how translator Ngo Vinh Vien
applies translation procedures in the translation of metaphors in 4 selected short stories
in the book named “O.Henry 100 Selected Stories”. This study also includes some
conclusions and findings that are helpful for students learning Translation and
Interpreting as their major and for those who are concerned with this area of metaphor
translation.
1.2.

Research objectives and research questions
The study aims to concentrate on the translation of metaphors with the use of

New Mark translation procedures in 4 selected short stories in the book named
“O.Henry 100 Selected Stories”. And the 4 selected short stories in the book named
“100 selected stories” are translated by translator Ngo Vinh Vien. With such goal, here
are the 2 following questions used as research questions in this study:

• What types of metaphors are used in the 4 selected stories?
• What are the translation procedures applied in Ngo Vinh Vien’s translation of
metaphors in the 4 selected stories?
1.3.

Background and significance
The translation of metaphors has been considered as part of the more general

problem of the “Untranslatability”. This trend builds on the fact that metaphors in
general are associated with the 'indirectness,' which in turn contributes to the difficulty
levels of translation. Different theories and approaches have been proposed with
regard to metaphor translation, each of which has dealt with this problem from a
different point of view. Regardless of its popularity and mechanism of operation,
metaphor as a linguistic device exists in all human languages. The word 'metaphor'
comes from Greek metapherein, meaning 'to transfer' or to 'carry over.' Reference to

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this universal linguistic phenomenon can be found in the writings of Greek
philosophers and rhetoricians, as well as of contemporary linguists. Metaphors are
studied as instances of figurative (as opposite to literal) language, where words gain
extra features over their referential ones. Therefore, the meaning of any of these
lexical constituents cannot be predicted from their referential meaning. It is
unfortunate that the translator has to suffer twice when he approaches these metaphoric
expressions. First, she/he has to work out their figurative meaning intralingually (i.e. in
the language in which a metaphor is recorded). Second, she/he has to find out
equivalent meanings and similar functions of these expressions in the target language.
There are a large number of studies conducted on metaphor that have been
largely dedicated to issues such as the meaning, forms, components, typologies and the

role of metaphors as speech components and meaning-enhancing analogies. These
studies go far away from the application of translation procedures in metaphor
translation as well as the exploration of the continuous connection of metaphors as
mental or picturesque representations of the real world and the language used to
realize these pictures in words in storybooks and many works of literature. Despite a
large amount of literature available on the literary aspects of this linguistic
phenomenon - metaphors, very little research has been done on the translation of
metaphors using translation procedures. Therefore, this study intends to show how
metaphors are transferred through the process of translating them from the SL to the
TL and how culture differences are reflected through the translating process. In
particular, this study is much favor of a cognitive and acknowledged approach in the
translation of metaphors, especially between culturally distinct languages, such as
English and Vietnamese. It is hopeful that the study of the metaphoric expressions of a
given culture would give the conductor and anyone who concerns a chance to see how
metaphors are smoothly translated into the native language. Since one of the basic
assumptions is that culture similarities and differences influence the translation of
metaphoric expressions in an important way, the conduction of a study on “Translation

3


procedures applied in the translation of metaphors in 4 selected short stories in the
book named “O.Henry 100 Selected Stories” is necessary and useful for further indepth study of the metaphor translation using translation procedures. The conductor
also hopes that new methods and techniques in translating metaphors will be added
and new experiences in translation will be offered.
1.4.

Scope of the study
As the title of the study suggests, this study aims at the application of


translation procedures in translating English-Vietnamese metaphors in 4 selected short
stories in the book named “O.Henry 100 Selected Stories”. It is impossible for the
writer to cover all kinds of metaphor given by different scholars, linguists all over the
world so the study only focuses on 3 three kinds of metaphors which are living
metaphor, faded metaphor and dead metaphor classified by Hoa Nguyen (2001).

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter 2 will review and explain all the key concepts: “translation”,
“translation procedures” and “metaphors” as the main focus on the study. Related
studies will be mentioned and detailed at the end of this chapter in order to visualize
the gap among studies and researches as well as to reaffirm the thesis of this study.
2.1. Key concepts
2.1.1. Translation
First of all, the study conductor mentions the importance of having a deep
understanding of the general concept “translation” as the base for the whole study.
Then, the study will be developed through a more specific concept “translation
procedure” along with all of its types.
2.1.1.1. The definition of translation
There are many authors and scholars writing about the definition of the concept
“translation” with their own different points of view all over the world. And in general,
“translation” can be defined as a skill or a process. Considering “translation” as a
process, Catford (1965) wrote,
Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by
equivalent textual material in another language (TL).
With further support from Larson (1984), translation as a process can be better
understood as,
Translation is studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication

situation, and cultural context of the source language text, analyzing it in order to
determine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same meaning using lexicon and

5


grammatical structure which are appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural
context.
The two above scholars, on behalf of many others having the same idea, bring
the concept “translation” closer to the readers by developing a process in which
“translation” starts from the source language (SL) and ends in target language (TL).
However, many others authors, educationists, scholars consider “translation” as a skill.
According to Newmark (1988:5),
Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way
that the author intended the text.
Newmark develops his viewpoint of the definition of translation with more detailed
and specific statement in the book named Approaches to Translation saying,
Translation is a craft consisting of the attempt to replace a written message
and/or statement in one language by the same message and/or statement in another
language.
In his above statement, Newmark uses the two words “attempt” and “craft” to
depict that translation requires certain skills to transfer SL to TL.
There exist the differences between the two points of view, but both share a
common idea that translation transfers the meaning of the SL into TL regarding of the
original intention of source texts.
2.1.1.2. Translation procedures
Translation procedures are differently classified among authors, educationists,
scholars such as Nida, Vinay and Darbelnet, Newmark, etc. Despite the scope of this
study, the study conductor will mainly focus on translation procedures given by
Newmark as the base for the translation of metaphors in the late part.


6


According to Newmark (1988), “translation procedures are used for sentences
and the smaller units of language.”
Newmark also categorizes translation procedures into the following types:
1. Literal translation: Ranges from word to word; group to group; collocation to
collocation; clause to clause, to sentence to sentence.
2. Transference: it is the process of transferring an SL word to a TL text. It
includes transliteration and is the same as "transcription."
3. Naturalization: it adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation, then to
the normal morphology of the TL. (Newmark, 1988b:82)
4. Cultural equivalent: it means replacing a cultural word in the SL with a TL
one. however, "they are not accurate" (Newmark, 1988b:83)
5. Functional equivalent: it requires the use of a culture-neutral word.
(Newmark, 1988b:83)
6. Descriptive equivalent: in this procedure, the meaning of the CBT is explained
in several words. (Newmark, 1988b:83)
7. Componential analysis: it means "comparing an SL word with a TL word
which has a similar meaning but is not an obvious one-to-one equivalent, by
demonstrating first their common and then their differing sense components."
(Newmark, 1988b:114)
8. Synonymy: it is a "near TL equivalent." Here economy trumps accuracy.
(Newmark, 1988b:84)
9. Through-translation: it is the literal translation of common collocations,
names of organizations and components of compounds. It can also be called:
calque or loan translation. (Newmark, 1988b:84)
10. Shifts or transpositions: it involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL,
for instance, (i) change from singular to plural, (ii) the change required when a

specific SL structure does not exist in the TL, (iii) change of an SL verb to a TL

7


word, change of an SL noun group to a TL noun and so forth. (Newmark,
1988b:86)
11. Modulation: it occurs when the translator reproduces the message of the
original text in the TL text in conformity with the current norms of the TL,
since the SL and the TL may appear dissimilar in terms of perspective.
(Newmark, 1988b:88) – different points of view
12. Recognized translation: it occurs when the translator "normally uses the
official or the generally accepted translation of any institutional term."
(Newmark, 1988b:89)
13. Compensation: it occurs when loss of meaning in one part of a sentence is
compensated in another part. (Newmark, 1988b:90)
14. Paraphrase: in this procedure the meaning of the CBT is explained.
15. Couplets: it occurs when the translator combines two different procedures.
(Newmark, 1988b:91)
16. Notes: notes are additional information in a translation. (Newmark, 1988b:91)
17. Synonymy: This procedure is used for a SL word where there is no clear oneto-one equivalent, and the word is not important in the text, in particular for
adjectives or adverbs of quality.
18. Paraphrase: This is an amplification or explanation of the meaning of a
segment of the text. It is used in an 'anonymous' text when it is poorly written,
or has important implications and omissions.
19. Translation label: This is a provisional translation, usually of a new
institutional term, which should be made in inverted commas, which can later
be discreetly withdrawn. It could be done through literal translation.
20. Reduction and Expansion: These are rather imprecise translation procedures,
which you practise intuitively in some cases, ad Aoc in others. However, for

each there is at least one shift which you may' like to bear in mind, particularly
in poorly written texts.

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2.1.2. Metaphors
2.1.2.1. The definition of metaphor
There are a huge number of linguistic definitions of metaphors, and one of the
most obvious and briefest definition of metaphor is given by the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary (2007, p.925),
“Metaphor is a word or phrase used to describe somebody or something else,
in a way that is different from its normal use, in order to show that the two things have
the same qualities and to make the description more powerful”.
And according to Dinh, L.T and Nguyen, H.T (1995, p.194), “Metaphor is the
transference of meaning from one object to another based on similarity between these
two objects.”Afterward, Do, H.C (1996, p.87) gives his support to Dinh’s definition of
metaphor by the viewpoint, “The symbolic name of one object, which is based on
similarity, realistic or imaginary, between the identified object called “A” and the
object called “B” of which the name is transferred to “A”.
From cognitive point of view, another definition of “metaphor” helps to make it
clearer about the meaning transference. According to Barcelona (2000:3), “Metaphor
is the cognitive mechanism whereby one experimental domain is partially mapped or
projected onto a different experimental domain so that the second domain is partially
understood in terms of the first one.”
In general, there also exists many different ways to define the concept
“metaphor” from educationists, authors, scholars and linguists, but all share one thing
in common that is metaphor is considered as the transference of meaning from one
object to another and the similarity of these two objects. In other words, metaphor is
the transference of name based on the similar associations and relations. There is also


9


a necessity to list all kinds of metaphor and to compare and distinguish metaphor and
metonymy because of their close relation in the speech acts.
2.1.2.2. Classification of metaphors
Metaphors, like all stylistic devices, can be variously categorized from different
perspectives. According to the Wikipedia (2009), there are 4 common kinds of
metaphor:
● Dead metaphors are metaphors that do not have the image transfers. Since dead
metaphors are used frequently in everyday life, people tend not to regard those as
metaphors. For example, “to break the ice”.
● Extended metaphors are mainly based on the comparisons between the two
subjects, the subject and the comparable subject. For example, “anger is a fire” is an
extended metaphor of whose main subject is “anger” and of whose comparable subject
is “fire”.
● Mixed metaphors are a succession of two or more than two metaphors. For
example, “if we can hit that bull’s eye then the rest of the dominoes will fall like a
house of cards”.
● Absolute metaphors express concepts that cannot be understood by any other ways
but its only way. For example, talking about “light”, people will never think about
unfairness or untruths but justice and rightness.
From a different point of view, Hoa Nguyen (2001) states that there are three
kinds of metaphor: Living metaphor, faded metaphor and dead metaphor.
● Living metaphor:

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Words or phrases used with unusual metaphorical sense or the metaphor created
and used by an individual belong to living metaphor. Therefore, interpreting living
metaphor is not the matter of comprehending each word literally; instead, they must be
understood indirectly.
For instance, “She is the apple of her parents’ eyes” should be interpreted that she is
her parents’ favorite child or they love her very much.
● Faded metaphor:
Faded metaphor is the metaphor which lost its novelty because of long use and
became customary. “Golden youth” is a good example of faded metaphor. People often
use words or phrases like that as a habit without being aware of the fact that they are
metaphors.
● Dead metaphor:
Metaphoric sense is not felt in dead metaphors. The original sentence meaning
is bypassed and the sentence acquires a new literal meaning identical with the former
metaphorical meaning. This is a shift from the metaphorical utterance to the literal
utterance. Words have lost their direct meaning and are used only figuratively in dead
metaphor. For example, the word “to ponder” originally meant “to weight” but now it
merely means “to meditate”, “to think or to consider carefully.” It is said that all our
words are dead metaphor. In a linguistic metaphor, especially when it is dead as a
result of long use, the comparison is completely forgotten and the thing named often
has no other name, for instance, foot (of a mountain), leg (of a table), back (of a book),
etc.
There are many other ways of categorizing metaphors based on different angles,
such as form, structure and style. However, the paper merely raises the classification
of metaphors according to Hoa Nguyen’s due to time limit. Also, while the former is

11


easy to understand, the latter has some drawbacks that there is no clear cut between

living, faded and dead metaphor. Therefore, this dissertation will lay a stronger focus
on the first way of sorting metaphors to study metaphor in translation.
2.1.2.3. The comparison between metaphor and metonymy
Metaphor and metonymy are the two concepts that are often confused by many
English language learners. Despite the fact that English language learners can have a
good comprehension of the concept “metaphor”; they still find it difficult to clearly
distinguish metaphor and metonymy. In the attempt to depict metaphors in many areas
of language and thought, scholars and educationists often fail to differentiate these
different transfers for both metaphor and metonymy.
① The similarities
First of all, both metaphor and metonymy are highly popular in language. There
exists many linguistic evidence of the wide use of metaphor and metonymy (e.g.,
Lakoff and Jonhson 1980). The second similarity is that metonymy and metaphor play
a significant role in language changes, notably in word sense extension. Last but not
least, metaphor and metonymy are non-literal.
② The differences
Firstly, what differentiates metaphor from metonymy is the nature relationship
between the two elements entering into the substitutions. While a metaphorical term is
connected with what for which it is substituted on the basis of similarity, metonymy is
based on contiguity or closeness. Metonyms tend to suggest that they are directly
connected with reality in contrast to the mere iconicity or symbolism of metaphor.
(Jakobson & Halle 1956). Jakobson stated that metaphor and metonymy are two basic
axes of language and communication. Metaphor is a paradigmatic dimension (vertical,
based on selection, substitution and similarity) and metonymy is a syntagmatic

12


dimension (horizontal, based on combination, contexture and contiguity) (Jakobson &
Halle 1956, pp.90-96).

According to Galperin I.R (1977, p.146), metaphor and metonymy differ also in
the way they are read. In the process of revealing the meaning implied in a metaphor,
one image excludes the other. For example, the metaphoric idiom “a fat cat”, when
read, means a person who earns a lot of money. Although there is a definite interplay
of meaning, only one object known as person with a lot of money is perceived. This is
not the case with metonymy. Metonymy, while presenting one object to our mind,
does not exclude each other. Example is in “the teacher wanted some new faces to do
the exercises”. Here, new faces and the “new” students themselves are both perceived
by the mind.
Metaphor and metonymy is also regarded to have different functions. The
function of a metaphor is the understanding while the function of a metonymy is the
reference. According to Lakoff & Johnson (1980, p.36), thus, conceive of metaphor as
having primarily a function of understanding, which is a way of conceiving of one
thing in terms of another; and metonymy as having primarily a referential function
which allows us to use one entity to stand for another.
It is a common knowledge that both metaphor and metonymy are considered as
the transference of meaning; thus, distinguishing the two concepts is not an easy task
to solve. To a certain extent, however, the above mentioned educationists, linguists
and theorists have drawn quite a clear distinction between the two types of
transference: metaphor and metonymy.

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2.2. Related studies on the definition of metaphor
Metaphors have been recognized as an important part of language use since the
time of Aristotle, and today there is a large body of work in research on metaphors.
What is perhaps most fascinating about metaphors is that, despite decades or even
centuries of research into this aspect of language production and use, there are still
many questions that remain unanswered and many questions with opposing answers.

According to John I Saeed (2003), “metaphor has been viewed as the most
important form of figurative language use.” Metaphor has been regarded as a special
phenomenon of language since the term was started in the ancient Greece.
Furthermore, Gillian Lazar (2003) explains metaphor involves “a carrying a cross of
meaning from one object to another and identification is made between two apparently
dissimilar things, so that some of the characteristics of the one are carried over to the
other.”
Saeed I John (2003) also stated that metaphor is “like simile that involves the
identification of resemblances, but metaphor goes further causing transference, where
properties are transferred from one concept to another.” The other definition is
explained by Dickin (2005), he explained that metaphor is “a figure of speech in which
a word or phrase is used in a non basic-sense and it is suggesting a likeness or analogy
with another more basic of the same word or phrase”.
From quite a different point of view, Knowles and Moon (2005) defines
“metaphor is using language that refers to something other than it original or what it
literally means, in order to suggest some resemblance or make a connection between
the two things.”
There is considerable debate on the definition of metaphor. In his book,
Newmark (1988) stated that metaphor consists of any figurative expression. Or it can

14


be said that any figurative language is metaphor and it is not only a kind of figurative
language. And in his point of view, Sayogie Frans (2009) also noted that in the world
of translation any types of figurative language can be classified as a metaphor, this due
to the basic characteristic of figurative language which transfers the feature of one
object to other. Then, he reaffirmed that some definitions of simile, metonymy and
personification can obscure the real definition of metaphor.


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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
The previous chapter has brought about an overview of related studies that have
chosen metaphor as the main topic for research purposes as well as the 20 translation
procedures presented by Newmark (1988). This chapter will continue to identify the
design of the research that includes research method, selected sampling strategy, data
collection method and data analysis method along with steps divided during the
process of carrying out the act of taking samples for study, data collection and analysis
procedures.
3.1. The design of the study
The study is divided into 5 chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction, chapter 2:
Literature review, chapter 3: Methodology, Chapter 4: Findings and discussion and
chapter 5: Conclusions.
Chapter 1: Introduction provides the statement of research question, research
objectives and research questions, background and significance, the scope of the study.
The very first chapter functions as the leading direction for this whole study, including
the reason why it is conducted, what is the purpose of conducting it, what matters it
mainly focuses on, how it is carried and organized.
Chapter 2: Literature review acknowledges some related studies conducted
previously and reveal the thesis in deeper details. It is important to have an overview
on metaphor in general with its definition, its classifications before going into
mentioning and discussing three selected types of metaphor: Dead metaphor, faded
metaphor and living metaphor.
Chapter 3: Methodology is described at the beginning of this chapter, it mainly
focuses on the design of the research, including research method, selected sampling

15



strategy, data collection method and data analysis method along with steps divided
during the process of carrying out the act of taking samples for study, data collection
and analysis procedures
Chapter 4: Findings and discussion reveals the key findings of this study, after
the process of collecting samples and analyzing samples, which respond to give
answers to research questions. Also, some raising findings spotted during the process
of analyzing data will be discussed.
Chapter 5: Conclusions summarizes all of the key findings of this study along
with its limitations. Lastly, suggestions for further study part is also included in case
news ideas for research and study are detected and conveyed.
3.2. Research method
This study uses the material analysis as its main data collection and data
analysis methods. The samples about specific cases of three mentioned types of
metaphor will be collected from 4 selected stories in the book named “O.Henry 100
Selected Stories”, then their translated versions by Ngo Vinh Vien will be picked up
for material analysis that is most appropriate for the research method of this study.
3.3. “O.Henry 100 Selected Stories” and its Vietnamese translated version
The book “O.Henry 100 Selected Stories” was published by Wordsworth
Classics Publisher in 1995. It consists of 100 stories written by O.Henry that was
translated into Vietnamese version by Ngo Vinh Vien and published in 2012 by Van
Hoc Publishing House.
3.4. Sample gathering
The research conductor will collect metaphors in 4 selected stories in “O.Henry
100 Selected Stories” which are translated by translator Ngo Vinh Vien. Metaphors are

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