Strategies for Translating English Passive Sentences into Vietnamese

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte22216

Keywords:

English passive sentences, translation strategies, ‘được’/‘bị’, Vietnamese translation, Vietnamese active structures

Abstract

This study examines some most common strategies for the Vietnamese translation of English passive voice such as “The use of markers ‘được’/‘bị’”, “Change to active”, “Paraphrasing” in order to find out the frequency and the rules for the use of those strategies by collecting and analyzing the data from the English and Vietnamese versions of a novel named “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and a book named “A Brief History of Time”.

And the findings of this study disapproves the view that Vietnamese active sentences are the dominant choice for translating English passive voice since its results indicate that English It-clefts or English agentless passive sentences where the agent of the action is unclear or concerned with generalization rather than specific individuals have a high tendency of being translated into active structures in Vietnamese while using a marker like 'được' or 'bị' and subject-less active sentences are the primary ways for translating other kinds of English agentless passive sentences into Vietnamese.

Besides, the results of the research also indicate that the use of markers 'được'/'bị' is frequently applied to translate agent-included passives, but the position of the agent in Vietnamese sentences varies according to its features.

Author Biography

  • Xuan My Nguyen, Hoa Sen University

    Nguyen Xuan My is a postgraduate studying towards a Master’s degree in English Studies at Hoa Sen University in Viet Nam. He also holds a Master’s degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages and has been working as a Chinese teacher for 10 years. His main research interests are contrastive linguistics, education and translation.

References

Baker, M. (2018). In Other Words (3rd ed.). Oxfordshire: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).

Bilber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Pearson Education Ltd.

Bui, D. T. (2005). Các Phương Thức Chuyển Dịch Câu Bị Động Tiếng Anh Sang Tiếng Việt (Modes of Translating English Passive Sentences into Vietnamese). Tạp Chí Khoa Học ĐHQGHN, Ngoại Ngữ [VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages], 3, 36-42.

Bui, T. M., & Nguyen, L. (2008). A Textbook of Vietnamese Grammar. Ha Noi: Pedagogical University.

Bui, T. L. (2021). The Role of Collocations in the English Teaching and Learning. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 1(2), pp.99-109. EOI: http://eoi.citefactor.org/10.11250/ijte.01.02.006

Bui, T. L. (2021). The Role of Collocations in the English Teaching and Learning. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 1(2), pp.99-109.

Cao , C., & Pham, T. V. (2020). Lược Sử Thời Gian [A Brief History of Time]. Ho Chi Minh: Youth Publisher.

Crystal, D. (2003). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (2nd ed.). New York: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.

Diep, B. Q. (1996). Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt [Vietnamese Grammar] (Vol. 2) (2nd ed.) Ha Noi: Education Press.

Diep, B. Q. (1998). Giáo Trình Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt [A Textbook of Vietnamese Grammar]. Ho Chi Minh: Educational Publisher.

Dinh, D.V. (2001). Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt – Từ Loại [Vietnamese Grammar, Parts of Speech]. Ha Noi: Ha Noi National University Publisher.

Greenbaum, S., & Nelson, G. (2002). An Introduction to English Grammar (2nd ed.). London: Longman.

Hawking, S. (1998). A Brief History of Time. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc.

Hoang, B. C. (2015). Các Phương Thức Dịch Câu Bị Động Tiếng Anh Sang Tiếng Việt (Strategies of Translating English Passive Sentences into Vietnamese). Ngôn Ngữ & Đời Sống (Language and Life), 2(232), 48-53.

Le, H. L., Nguyen, H. T., & Vu, Y. N. (2016). Strategies for Translation of Passive Voice in the Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Document (Graduation Paper). Ha Noi: Ha Noi University of Science and Technology.

Luu, T. T. (2010). Strategies for Translating the Passive Structure in Scientific Discourse. Asian Social Science, 6(7), 97-107.

Ly, L. (2017). Harry Potter và Hòn Đá Phù Thủy [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]. Ho Chi Minh: Youth Publisher.

Marianne, C. M., Diane, L. M., & Williams, H. (1999). The Grammar Book, An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course (2nd ed.). Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

McCarthy, M. (1996). Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers (6th printing). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mohammad, H.K. (2012). Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis. Tehran: Rahnama Press.

Newmark, P. (1998). A Textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Nguyen, C. H. (2009). Vietnamese Passive Sentences from a Typological Perspective. Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, 2, 105-118.

Nguyen, C. H., & Bui, D. T. (2004). Passive Voice and Passive Construction in Vietnamese. Language, 4, 1-17.

Nguyen, C. H., & Bui, D. T. (2008). Dạng Bị Động và Vấn Đề Câu Bị Động trong Tiếng Việt [Passive Voice and Issues about Passive Voice in Vietnamese]. In Ly T. T. (Ed.). Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt – Những Vấn Đề Lí Luận [Vietnamese Grammar, Reasoning Problems]. Ha Noi: Publisher of Society and Science.

Nguyen, H. C. (2004). Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt Thực Hành [A Practical Grammar of Vietnamese]. (2nd ed.) Ha Noi: Ha Noi National University Publisher.

Nguyen, T. T. (2005). A Contrastive Analysis of Passive Voice in English and Vietnamese (MA Thesis). Ha Noi.

Pham, N. T. L. (2021). American English and Vietnamese Use in Public Signs: a Pragmatic Cultural Comparison and Translation. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 1(3), pp. 14-36. EOI: http://eoi.citefactor.org/10.11250/ijte.01.03.002

Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (25th Thus). New York: Scholastic.

Stevenson, A. (Ed.). (2010). Oxford Dictionary of English (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sun, L. Z., & Zhou, Y. (2010). An Advanced Coursebook on English-Chinese Translation. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Researching Press.

To, T. M. (2011). Vai Nghĩa trong Câu Trần Thuật Tiếng Việt và Tiếng Anh [Semantic Roles in Vietnamese and English Declaratives]. Ho Chi Minh: Publishing House of Vietnam National University.

Downloads

Published

20-12-2021

Issue

Section

Research Article

How to Cite

Nguyen, X. M. (2021). Strategies for Translating English Passive Sentences into Vietnamese. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 2(1), 81-104. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte22216

Similar Articles

1-10 of 120

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.