MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M. THESIS A TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE TRANSLATION “HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE” BY LY LAN (Đánh giá chất lượng tác phẩm dịch”Harry Potter và Hòn Đá Phù Thủy” của Lý Lan”) ĐINH TRỌNG NGHĨA Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Assoc. Dr Hoang Tuyet Minh Hanoi – 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M. THESIS A TRANSLATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE TRANSLATION “HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE” BY LY LAN (Đánh giá chất lượng tác phẩm dịch”Harry Potter và Hòn Đá Phù Thủy” của Lý Lan”) ĐINH TRỌNG NGHĨA Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Assoc.
Dr Hoang Tuyet Minh Hanoi – 2023 “CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY” I confirm that the current thesis is my own academic work. I have never published this study in any elsewhere before my thesis defense. The thesis contains no resources from other scholarly works, except for what is cited in the main text and listed in the reference list. Hanoi, 2023 Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, it is an honor for me to be supervised by Assoc.
Dr … who devoted most invaluable time and effort in counseling me by the completion of this study. If it had not been for such support, the thesis would not have been completed on time. Secondly, I am thankful for all lecturers at Hanoi Open University, who instructed me how to write academically and conduct a minor thesis. Thirdly, I thank my colleagues and friends who encouraged me to complete the Master’s course.
Their encouragement is invaluable to my thesis. Finally, a special thank should be given to my mom and dad who are always beside me to help me overcome difficulties. Their support motivated me a lot so that I could be able to complete this research. ii ABSTRACT Translation is an important life domain, and research into translation quality needs further conducting.
The current research aims to assess the quality of a translation of Chapter 7 of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. By using the theoretical model by Newmark (1988), the researcher determined that “Ly Lan” the key translator of this literary translation achieved her great success in the work, in terms of language use and “semantic and communicative translation strategies”, notwithstanding a few errors in translation work. The findings revealed that the translator used effective translation techniques (semantic and communicative translation) to make the original text sound more comprehensible to Vietnamese readers. The results can be useful for many translators in this fantasy novel and the critics of the literary translation.
Key words: translation, translation strategies, translation quality, translation quality assessment, iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SL: Source language ST: Source text TL: Target language TQA: Translation quality assessment TT: Target text iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. Aim and objectives. Scope of the study.
Significance of the study. Method of the study. Structure of thesis. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Common problems existing in literary translation. “Text specific problems”. “Translation quality assessment” (TQA). The functions of TQA.
Theoretical models of TQA. The first model. The second model. The third model.
The fourth model. 19 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. The study materials. Data analysis procedure.
25 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The main results. The first step. The second step.
The third step. The fourth step. 37 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. For the literary translation of the novel.
For critics of the translation. Recommendations for further studies. 42 vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The chapter introduces the whole thesis, including the rationale behind the study, its goals and objectives, the research questions, the scope, and the thesis’ structure. Rationale Individuals around the world are becoming more united as a result of a variety of factors, including the publication of works of literature.
Individuals are able to appreciate a wider range of cultures and participate in the exploration of those cultures without having to leave the convenience of their own homes. It is to be expected that not everyone will be able to read the text in its original form. Readers have a favorable reaction to works that have been translated. The ever-increasing volume of works that have been translated makes it necessary to evaluate the quality of these translations in order to ensure that readers will be satisfied.
In light of the situation at hand, methodologies for evaluating translation quality have been concentrating on ways to evaluate the quality of a particular translation. On the other hand, there has been a significant amount of discussion regarding the theoretical frameworks that are best suited for determining the quality of translation. Several academics believe that translation should adhere to three primary principles: “fidelity,” which refers to the level of accuracy and faithfulness of the translation to the “source text;” “normative,” which refers to the acceptable standards of the translation; and “best writing style,” which refers to the “aesthetic values” of the writing. On the other hand, some researchers evaluate the effectiveness of a translation by using theoretical frameworks that were developed by researchers in other countries (Vu, 2020).
As a result, it is essential to have a conversation about relevant theoretical models in order to evaluate the quality of a particular piece of literary translation work. According to Newmark (1988), the “Translation Quality Assessment” (TQA), which is also referred to as “translation criticism,” is an essential component in courses that are related to “comparative literature and literature in translation.” In addition, the utilization of appropriate text genres for evaluation and discourse activities is an essential component of any formal training program designed for professionals in the field of translation. According to Newmark's argument, any educational program that wants to investigate the connection between translation theory and its application in the real world needs to incorporate translation quality assessment (TQA) as an essential component. The theoretical model of TAQ that Newmark developed seems to have two advantages: the first is that it is feasible, with clear procedural steps; the second is that it includes core elements in the assessment (Newmark, 1995).
Despite the fact that this framework cannot be too closely related to the socio-pragmatic and linguistic aspects, when compared to the “response-based approach” developed by Nida and Taber (1969), the “text-based approach” developed by Reiss (1970) and Koller (1974), and the model developed by House (1997), it is still able to demonstrate a number of advantages that are particularly noteworthy in the context of its practical application. According to Tran 1 (2016), making use of this theoretical framework can contribute both theoretical and practical value to the ongoing investigation. A number of previous studies, including Thaicharoen (2007), Wang (2015), Tran (2015), Trieu (2015), Hoang (2019), Kamalizad (2018), Dorri (2020), and Ma and Wang (2020), have aimed to utilize various frameworks in order to assess the quality of a particular literary translation. This is not a very new research topic.
Nevertheless, the search for the most feasible model of TQA has continued in the academic world, as noted by Vu (2020). All of this provides the current researcher with the inspiration necessary to select the theoretical framework proposed by Newmark (1988) in order to carry out a TQA on a particular piece of literature. Aim and objectives This thesis evaluates the quality of a translation from English to Vietnamese of a single chapter of a well-known volume from the successful novel series “Harry Potter”, which is a popular novel series. The specific objective of the current thesis is to analyze the quality of the seventh chapter of a Vietnamese translation “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by Ly Lan, published by “Tre Publishing House” in 2000.
Thanks to this TAQ, the researcher could determine to what extent the translation is effective. Scope of the study This study focuses on the assessment of a translation from English to Vietnamese of a single chapter in the famous fantasy work “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. The study would be limited to assessing the quality of the translation in terms of its overall quality based on the Newmark’s TQA framework (with four main steps) and possible problems if founded concerning “cultural, linguistics, stylistic, and text specific problems”. Additionally, to reduce workload, only one single chapter was used for this assessment, “Chapter 7” of the work.
This could help the researcher save time and effort in data analysis. The researcher also has the personal interest in this chapter. Significance of the study The results of this evaluation would shed light on the translator's comprehension of the ST as well as their capacity to convey the meaning of the text in an accurate and efficient manner in the target language. In addition, it would test the translator's knowledge of the culture to which they are translating, as well as their capability to translate cultural references in an appropriate manner.
It helps to provide a comprehensive assessment of the translation quality of a chapter from Harry Potter, as well as to contribute to the field of translation studies by offering insights into the challenges and complexities of translating popular culture, as well as by providing a case study that illustrates the application of translation quality assessment methods and criteria. Additionally, it contributes to the field of translation studies by offering insights into the challenges and complexities of translating popular culture. 2 The fields of translation studies and cultural studies can learn a lot from this study thanks to the significant implications it has. It brings to light the difficulties and complexities associated with translating popular culture, particularly in a context in which cultural and linguistic differences are present.
In addition, the research intends to make a contribution to the development of translation quality assessment methods and criteria, which are essential for ensuring that translated texts are accurate and effective. The purpose of this thesis is to make a contribution to the understanding of translation quality assessment and the difficulties associated with translating popular culture. In addition to this, it intends to offer insightful information that can be useful to translators, language professionals, and researchers working in the fields of cultural studies and translation studies. Research questions Based on the objective noted above, the study poses the following research question: To what degree does the translation of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” in its “Chapter 7” align with the dimensions outlined in Newmark’s model for “Translation Quality Assessment” (TQA)? 1.
Method of the study In the process of assessment, contrastive analysis is utilized to compare the translated to the original. The English is treated as the original and the Vietnamese as the translation. Based on the original text and Newmark’s model of the TQA, the translation is assessed in terms of its quality. Structure of thesis The present thesis is structured into four distinct chapters.
The first chapter of this study (“Introduction”) provides an overview of the research, including the justification for the study, its goals and objectives, the research questions, the scope, and the study's structure. The second chapter (“Literature Review”) provides a comprehensive review of literature related to the field of translation, including studies that examine terminologies and previous studies. The third chapter (“Research Methodology”) presents the proposed methodology for analysis. The methods utilized in this study are drawn from previous research studies.
The fourth chapter (“Results and Discussion”) reports the results and subsequent discussion of the study's key findings. The final chapter serves as the conclusion, providing a comprehensive summary of the entire content. Furthermore, this section provides an overview of the limitations of the study and recommendations for future research. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter reports the theoretical foundations on the current TAQ, including underlying definitions and principles of these terms: “translation”, “literary translation”, “translation strategies”, “equivalence”, “Contrastive Analysis”, and “translation quality assessment”.