Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper could not have been completed without the help, encouragement and support from a number of people who all deserve my sincerest gratitude and appreciation First of all, I would like to thank Mr Nguyễn Viết Thắng, my supervisor I’m indebted to his inspiration, scholarly supervision and intellectual support throughout the course of writing this graduation paper His continual encouragement, careful reading, critical comments and patient guidance made my work more enjoyable and easier Special words of thank also go to all my informants for their willling participation in the study I greatly appreciate their generosity with their time and efforts in filling in the questionnaire Without them this paper could not have been possible Finally, my deepest gratitude and appreciation go to my family, my friends and my classmates Their love, support and constant encouragement gave me a great deal of strength and determination that help me during the stressful time of writing this paper Nguyễn Thanh Hương Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………1 Chapter I: Introduction I.1 Definition of translation and its role in human communication……… I.2.Relative pronouns and relative clauses in English and in Vietnamese….6 Chapter II: The findings of the survey II.1.Introduction II.2 Students’ knowledge of relative clauses in English………………… 12 II.3 Their translations of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese 13 Chapter III: Theoretical Background III.1.Definition………………………………………………………………15 III.2.Classification………………………………………………………… 15 III.3 Some notes on relative clauses and other cases………………… 18 Chapter IV: Common problems in translating relative clauses and some popular methods for the translation IV.1.Common problems……………………………………………………21 IV.2.Som popular methods…………………………………………………22 Chapter V: Analysis and suggestions for the translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese V.1.Introduction……………………………………………………………28 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese V.2 Analysis and suggestions…………………………………………… 29 Chapter VI: The treatment of relative clauses as a writing device and conclusion VI.1.Introduction………………………………………………… 36 VI.2 Examples and discussion……………………………………………37 VI.3 Conclusion………………………………………………………… 42 References……………………………………………………………………… 44 Appendix………………………………………………………………… 46 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION I.1 DEFINITION OF TRANSLATION AND ITS ROLE IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION First, let’s share the following funny story : “ When the Evita Production Company came to Budapest, Madonna ( an American pop singer) had an interview with the Budapest newspaper Blikk The questions were posed in Hungarian, then translated into English for Madonna, whose replies were then translated back into Hungarian for the paper’s exclusive Soon after, at the request of USA Today, Madonna’s comments were then retranslated from Hungarian back into English for the benefit of that paper’s readers The end result is far from the original but much funnier “I am a woman and not a test- mouse!” The translations have Madonna exclaim.” (http://www.innocentenglish.com/Funny-Translations-Madonna-Interview.html) Do you find it curious and unbelievable? By the way, it’s a real story, if you are interested It’s a mistake made by accident by a careless translator and its consequence may be serious Had Madonna been furious with the newspaper and decided to bring the case to court, a lot of people would have been in trouble In daily life, there have been numerous similarities in which bad versions can cause problems, for instance: failures in business contracts, job fire, or political matters at international level, etc As a result, accurate and successful translation plays a crucial role in effective communication through words between people – an activity only exists in human being Along with the interpretation, translation bridges the gaps between Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese people who live in different nations In other words, translation helps remove the language barrier and make people closer to each other In the discussion about mechanical translation, Voltaire (1694-1778), French writer and historian, said: “Woe to the makers of literal translations, who by rendering every word weaken the meaning! It is indeed by doing so we can say the letter kills and the spirit gives life” (http://www.nonstopenglish.com/reading/quotations/k_Translation.asp) (Thật tai họa dịch giả lại dịch cách máy móc Làm làm giảm ý nghĩa câu chữ Làm huỷ diệt sống mà có ý nghĩa thực đem lại được) Paul Goodman (1911- 1972), the American author, poet and critic runs another way “The problem of translation is to retreat to a simpler tenor of one’s own style and creatively adjust this to one’s author” (http://en.thinkexist.com/search/searchquotation.asp?search=translation&q=author%3A %22Paul+Goodman%22) (Vấn đề dịch thuật phải tạo dịch dễ hiểu phong cách thay đổi cách sáng tạo để phù hợp với tác giả gốc) According to Cervantes, “Translation is the other side of a tapestry” (http://www.nonstopenglish.com/reading/quotations/k_Translation.asp) (Bản dịch mặt bên thảm hoa.) Unlike such vivid sayings of famous figures, in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th edition, A S Hornby defines translation as the following: Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese “Translation (is) the process of changing something that is written or spoken into another language.” (Dịch trình chuyển văn dạng viết nói từ ngôn ngữ sang ngôn ngữ khác) Bùi Tiến Bảo and Đặng Xuân Thu in their “Interpresting and Translation Course Book”, (1997) pointed out another interesting way for the definition “ Translation is rendering a written text into another language in the way that the author intended in the text” (Dịch việc chuyển văn viết từ ngôn ngữ sang ngôn ngữ khác theo ý tác giả gốc) In short, translation field is immense and requires a lot of studies and discussion This paper only looks at one respect of it: translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese and tackling problems relating to this process I.2 RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND RELATIVE CLAUSES IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE In Vietnamese we don’t have the concept of “ relative pronouns” Only the definition of pronoun exists According to Đinh Văn Đức in his “Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt” ( p.199), “ Đại từ từ loại từ có chức thay thế”( pronoun is a kind of words having the function of replacement.) Bùi Ý (Basic English sentence patterns, 1980) presents that in Vietnamese grammar, relative pronouns are rarely seen Sometimes we use “mà” which is called “ connector” or “conjunction” (Đinh Văn Đức, Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt (Từ Loại), p.207.) E.g: The boy whom you see at the door is his brother (Đứa bé mà anh trông thấy cửa em đấy.) Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese ( Bùi Ý, Basic English sentence patterns, 1980, p.111) Due to the complexity of words and parts of speech in Vietnamese, in this section we only take “who” as an example for the transformation of English relative pronouns into Vietnamse ones in terms of the name Consider the following example and compare “who” and its equivalent in Vietnamese E.g: They are talking about the pupil who often skips school (Họ nói cậu học sinh thường xuyên trốn học) = (Họ nói cậu học sinh Cái cậu học sinh thường xuyên trốn học.) So, “who”( relative pronoun) in English actually means “Cái cậu học sinh ấy” ( noun phrase) in Vietnamese Nguyễn Tài Cẩn ( Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt, 1999, p.229) refers to “Cái cậu học sinh ấy” as “danh ngữ”or “ đoản ngữ có danh từ làm trung tâm” Similarly, “ mệnh đề quan hệ” is not popular in Vietnamese language In fact, we only have the concept of clause ( mệnh đề) Also in Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt ( p.148), Nguyễn Tài Cẩn defines “ mệnh đề” as “ tổ hợp gồm hai trung tâm nối liền với quan hệ tường thuật”( a group consisting of two parts connected by the description relation.) E.g: Cuốn sách vừa mua hôm qua mệnh đề( clause) It depends on the context that “mệnh đề” and “ mệnh đề quan hệ” are the same in Vietnamese, like in above example To sum up, in spite of different names in two systems, English relative pronouns and relative clauses have the equivalent ones in Vietnamese For that reason, people Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese often find easy to translate English sentences with relative clauses into Vietnamese However, in Vietnamse, relative clauses are not popular and typical, which is different from in English As a result, Vietnamese students’ translations of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese often sound awkward Moreover, their renderings may be correct and understandable but monotonous and gloomy and of course, these versions weaken the meaning, even ruin the stylistic purpose of English original text This is also one of my big concerns since I took my first steps in learning English to date With the aim to improve the quality of translating relative clauses into Vietnamese as well as to help learners deal with matters concerned, I hope my paper is useful especially for: - Students learning English at Hanoi University of Foreign Studies - English learners in other academic subjects in other schools, colleges or universities - People interested in translating My paper is based on two procedures: - The survey on students learning English at HUFS - The findings of mistakes in some English grammar materials So, the study will deal with common problems both in real learning process of our students and in the books readers might use And you will see that knowing relative clauses in English is a matter, understanding and accurately translating them into Vietnamese is another one which is not as easy as some people might think Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese CHAPTER II: FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY II.1.INTRODUCTION Following is the findings of the questionnaire survey which is carried out with 100 students in all levels from junior to senior The survey has purposes: First, to test students’ knowledge of relative clauses in English (the first five questions) Second, to see how they translate relative clauses from English into Vietnamese (the next five questions) Let’s see the results Do you encounter relative clauses during your study in English? Often (60%) Always (20%) Sometimes (20%) Rarely (0%) What are the other names of relative clauses? Adverbial clause (40%) Adjective clause (30%) Appositive clause (20%) Attributive clause (30%) Which ones are relative clauses in the following? Mr John, for whom I was working, was very generous about overtime payments.(80%) I like the idea that students can become independent learners (60%) Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese The manufacturers soon stopped marketing the drug, which was found to have serious side effects (60%) There wasn’t one boy in the class but knew exactly what the teacher was referring to (0%) They went to the same hotel as we always stay at (10%) The news that the teacher is ill is not true (30%) Which ones are not relative clauses? He told his wife, who then passed on the information to a neighbour (20%) He told the story to his wife, who is a great lover of gossip (10%) I used to listen to the radio when I was young (80%) He spoke of the time when he was a boy (50%) Which sentences follow can we omit relative pronouns? A woman whom my sister knows has just bought the house next door.(80%) Have you got anything that will clean this carpet? (10%) I’m sorry for people who haven’t got a sense of humour.(10%) The doctor who treated me didn’t know what he was doing.(0%) Do you come up with problems in understanding and translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese? Never (0%) Always (30%) Often (50%) Rarely (20%) 10 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese would help this process a lot The examples and analysis mentioned above are some typical ones which are aimed to assist students in dealing with problems in translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese Students and people in general who are interested in the subject in question would be attracted by the final chapter of this paper: relative clauses using in English literatureHarry Potter Harry Potter is one of the most favourite books for children, which becomes an indispenable part of book shelves of millions of homes in the world It is also the book that makes its author, K Rowling world-famous and widely loved by lots of readers in many countries Also readers would have a chance to enjoy part of the successful version in Vietnamese (by Lý Lan), which is highly appreciated by many experts in literature 35 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese CHAPTER VI: THE TREATMENT OF RELATIVE CLAUSES AS A WRITING DEVICE AND CONCLUSION VI.1 INTRODUCTION In previous chapters, we see how relative clauses are used in English through a grammatical point This chapter will deal with the case in which they are exploited from another angle: stylistic function Readers will have a chance to see how relative clauses are actually used in English literature and what dramatic effects brought about by such using, then the success of the Vietnamese translation (by Lý Lan) of one of the most favourite books for children ever: Harry Potter Till now, Harry Potter includes books Each book is a school year of Harry Potter and his friends with exciting adventures due to the amazing and impressive way of telling story of K Rowling What a mistake if we don’t mention the stylistic devices used by the author, which play a major part in the book’s success The following examples are extracted from Harry Potter book entitled: Harry Potter and the philosophy stone The three examples are all about Basilisk, a gigantic snake, which can harm any one It only gives in to the crowing of the rooster It is extremely dangerous and deadly and the description of the Basilisk is one of the most exciting pages One outstanding feature of this writing is the heavy use of relative clauses (clauses using “ which “ or “that”) Through in-depth reading the passages involving such using by Rowling you will see that the grammatical explanations are almost useless in analysing how relative clauses are used in writing Let’s enjoy the following examples 36 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese VI.2 EXAMPLES AND DISCUSSION E.g1: (Restrictive relative clause) Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk We shall not look at this example from the grammatical angles which are mentioned a lot in grammar books We would introspect deeper into the way how it is really used and the effects created by this stylistic device The “obligatory” relative clause in this example is actually an occasion to add a dramatic flourish Rather than write “ Of the many beasts and monsters that are hanging around our place” or whatever else comes to mind, Rowling writes “ Of the many beasts and monsters that roam our land” The relative is used to impart the alarming information that “ many beasts and monsters are roaming our land” A point of grammar thus becomes a point of style Moreover, “Of the many beasts and monsters that roam our land” is not simply a phrase containing a restrictive relative clause It provides a dramatic backdrop to the description of the Basilisk See the difference between what Rowling writes and a more straightforward version Rowling: Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk A straightforward version: None of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land is more curious or deadly than the Basilisk Let’s see how Lý Lan, the Vietnamese writer and translator handles this sentence 37 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese Trong số ác thú quái vật lang thang mảnh đất chúng ta, nguy hiểm Basilisk ( Among the terrible wild beasts and monsters that wander through our land, there is none that is stranger or more dangerous than the Basilisk.) The Vietnamese version follows so close to the original text while still keeping the stylistic purpose of the author That is due to Lý Lan’s excellent ability to grasp how the construction is exploited by writer like Rowling As a consequence, the translation version sounds so smooth and natural A person who doesn’t know English at all can easily enjoy the Vietnamese version without any obstacles in dealing with words and structure used That’s the art of translation E.g2: (Non-restrictive relative clause) This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad Through the first glimpse of anyone, this case looks like a normal type of a nonrestrictive relative clause tacking on additional information However, this could not be further from the truth In fact, the information that “ the Basilisk may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years” is no less important than the information that it is “born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad” There is no reason why Rowling could not have written: This snake, which is born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad, may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years 38 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese So, here the writer’s use of a non- restrictive relative clause has one purpose: to add stylistic variety to the sentence It is a much more interesting alternative to the straightforward and monotonous way as follows: This snake may reach a gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years It is born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad As a result, in translating this sentence, it is important to recognize the stylistic function, not merely the grammatical See how Lý Lan deals with this sentence: Con rắn sống đến nhiều trăm năm, đạt tới kích thước lớn kinh hồn Nó phôi thai trứng gà, cóc ấp nở ( This snake can live for hundreds of years, and reach amazingly large dimensions It is conceived in a hen’s egg but is hatched by a toad.) If in English, using relative clauses is very popular and gradually it becomes a stylistic device in writing, the same case doesn’t exist in Vietnamese The way Lý Lan makes use of in translating is mentioned in chapter III of this paper It is a method combined the splitting ( tách câu) and changing into compound sentence (chuyển thành câu ghép) Specifically, “ Which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years” is transformed into one independent sentence “This snake is born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad” is in fact a sentence omitted “which” The full sentence may be “ This snake is born from a chicken’s egg, which hatched beneath a toad” However, “which” is also used previously in the sentence So, the second clause is reduced to a V-ed form In Vietnamese version, Lý Lan tactfully adds the conjunctions “và” (and) , “nhưng” ( but) and commas This demonstrates her in-depth knowledge in both languages because in the source language, two pieces of information are equally 39 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese important, so the splitting the original sentence into independent ones is very logical and suitable E.g3: ( Non-restrictive relative clause) This non-restrictive relative clause is perhaps the most interesting of the lot Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it This is a good example of how writers use grammatical structures in ways that trancend the purely grammatical Although it takes the form of a relative clause, almost casually attached to the end, the final clause “ which is fatal to it” performs a similar function to the clause “for it is their mortal enemy” earlier in the sentence The information is an explanation for the behaviour of the Basilisk, not a casual observation The author could just as well have written: The Basilisk flees from the crowing of the rooster, for this is fatal to it However, “for” in “ for it is their mortal enemy” is previously in the sentence, so “which is fatal to it” is a reasonable replacement in terms of structure At first sight readers are striken by special arrangement of words Compare the two structure: The original: Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it A straightforward version: Spiders flee before the Basilisk because it is their mortal enemy And the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster because the crowing of the rooster is fatal to it 40 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese It is obvious that no one wants to read such wordy and gloomy sentences like in the straightforward version And there is no doubt that Harry Potter couldn’t so be interesting if such stylistic devices are kept out of the text Although in Vietnamese version, this dramatic effect can’t be directly demonstrated, translator Lý Lan did a good job: Nhền nhện thường trốn chạy trước Tử Xà xuất hiện, kẻ tử thù chúng Và Tử Xà bỏ chạy nghe tiếng gáy gà trống, tiếng gà trống gáy tai hoạ chí tử Tử Xà ( Spiders often flee before the Death Snake appears because it is their deadly enemy And the Death Snake will only flee when it hears the crowing of the rooster The sound of the rooster crowing is a fatal calamity for the Death Snake.) The translation used a roundabout way to express the idea Accordingly, the version is successful owing to two reasons First, it displays full information of the original text in the way that the author intended Second, to Vietnamese it is easy to understand It also sounds smooth to the ears It is a good one because any translation should be considered to be successful if readers identify it as an original text, not a translation ∗ Summing up These three examples of relative clauses found in the Harry Potter book exemplify the crucial difference between “grammatical function” and “ stylistic function” The first relative clause adds to the impressive introduction to the Basilisk The second is a stylistic device used to tack variety onto what would otherwise be a straightforward string of sentences The third is used to give a reason or cause for the 41 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese preceding statement It is important to note that in translation it is essential to grasp the difference between the relative clause as a grammatical device and what it is being used for A purely literal transposition of the English device into the target language will not necessarily achieve the same effect as the original The success of the translation is due to the reason that the Vietnamese translator, writer Lý Lan has grasped the function of the relative clause in each context and reflected it in her translation in the right way If you are interested in this subject, you can visit the following webpage to have more information about Harry Potter and the stylistic devices used in it by Rowling.http://www.cjvlang.com/Hpotter/unicode/basilisrelcl.html VI.3 CONCLUSION As far as I know, using relative clauses often causes considerable concern for non-native speakers of English so much that they are often avoided completely And during my preparation for this paper, many students asked me: Why are relative clauses used in English? And why they encounter awkwardness in translating some clauses which look like “ a piece of cake” on the surface? Well, the answer is: relative clauses exist for an important reason In English, you cannot premodify nouns very much It means that you cannot place complex modifications before the noun You have to put such modifications after the noun - and that is what relative clauses are for For this reason, avoiding the use of relative clauses in writing will limit you to simple structures which are unlikely to be adequate to express complex ideas and which will detract from the overall style of your writing Besides, it also makes you unfamiliar with relative clauses and inexperienced when handling with the translation of this subordinate clause Try using relative clauses (as you can see like I in this study ) naturally and you would discover many interesting 42 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese things Certainly, you should care about your using and avoid the redundancies caused by the abuse of relative pronouns and clauses According to Bathrobe, “Translation is not an academic exercise It is a serious matter of producing an acceptable text of a high standard” (http://www.nakedtranslations.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=409) Hence, translating process is not as easy as the sipping champagne on a yatch at all It requires you a lot of efforts and practice everyday In order to get good results in translation in general and translation of relative clauses in particular, you have to consider the following: - Reading comprehension ability - Good command of languages ( both mother tongue and foreign language) - Flexibility in transforming the source language into target language This paper is aimed at helping students approach relative clauses in a more comprehensive way in which you see obviously two aspects of them: grammatical function and stylistic function Whether you the translation for your learning or for your career in literature fields, for instance, being good at English grammar first, then much reading, observation and practice would be a big help for you because there are no common rules for this job at all Luckily, however, due to no formula for every case, translating in general and the translating being discussed are challenging but very exciting and worth your trying I hope that my small study will be beneficial to students and readers who are interested in translating, especially those encounter obstacles in dealing with relative clauses Let this paper come to an end with Mark Twain’s saying: “ The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work” 43 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese References ∗ A S Hornby, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English, Seventh edition, Oxford University Press, 2005 ∗ B D Graver, Advanced English Practice, Oxford University Press, 1997 ∗ Bùi Tiến Bảo-Đặng Xuân Thu, Interpreting and Translation Course Book, Nhà xuất Giáo dục ∗ Bùi Ý, Những mẫu câu Tiếng Anh, Nhà xuất Giáo Dục, 1980 ∗ Đinh Văn Đức, Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt( Từ loại), Nhà xuất Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội, 2001 ∗ Hồ Văn Hiệp-Ninh Hùng, Văn phạm Anh ngữ thực hành, Nhà xuất Thống kê, 2004 ∗ Michael Swan and Catherine Walter, How English works, Oxford University Press ∗ Nguyễn Khuê, Ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh, Nhà xuất Đại học Sư phạm, 2003 ∗ Nguyễn Tài Cẩn, Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt, Nhà xuất Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội, 1999 ∗ Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, A University Grammar of English, Longman Group Limited, 1987 ∗ Xuân Bá, Cẩm nang sử dụng Tiếng Anh, Nhà xuất Đại học Sư phạm, Hà Nội, 2004 http://www.cjvlang.com/Hpotter/unicode/basilisrelcl.html http://www.nakedtranslations.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=409 http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/eap/2004/u6/relativeclauses.htmhttp://en.thinkexist.com/searc h/searchquotation.asp?search=translation&q=author%3A%22Paul+Goodman%22 44 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/studyskills/wr/wr_se_pa_pro_rel.html http://www.innocentenglish.com/Funny-Translations-Madonna-Interview.html http://www.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar/lecture_11/relative.html http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/relativeclause.htm http://www.nonstopenglish.com/reading/quotations/k_Translation.asp 45 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese Appendix Questionnaire Hi, students ! I’m a senior student of English at HUFS I am doing Graduation Paper on “Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese” Could you please me a favour in five to ten minutes by giving a tick ( √ ) next to your best choice! Thank you! Do you encounter relative clauses during your study in English? Often Always Sometimes Rarely What are the other names of relative clauses? Adverbial clause Adjective clause Appositive clause Attributive clause Which ones are relative clauses in the following? Mr John, for whom I was working, was very generous about overtime payments I like the idea that students can become independent learners 46 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese The manufacturers soon stopped marketing the drug, which was found to have serious side effects There wasn’t one boy in the class but knew exactly what the teacher was referring to They went to the same hotel as we always stay at The news that the teacher is ill is not true Which ones are not relative clauses? He told his wife, who then passed on the information to a neighbour He told the story to his wife, who is a great lover of gossip I used to listen to the radio when I was young He spoke of the time when he was a boy Which sentences follow can we omit relative pronouns? A woman whom my sister knows has just bought the house next door Have you got anything that will clean this carpet? I’m sorry for people who haven’t got a sense of humour The doctor who treated me didn’t know what he was doing Do you come up with problems in understanding and translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese? Never Always Sometimes Rarely 47 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese How you translate the following sentences ? Bill has a son, who is a doctor Bill có cậu trai làm nghề bác sĩ Bill có cậu trai cậu bác sĩ Trong số cậu trai Bill có cậu làm bác sĩ Bill làm nghề bác sĩ có cậu trai The man dived fully into the river to save the boy, for which he later received a commendation for bravery Vì khen ngợi người dũng cảm người đàn ông chẳng ngần ngại để quần áo nhảy xuống sông cứu cậu bé Người đàn ông để nguyên quần áo nhảy xuống sông cứu cậu bé- điều mà sau ca ngợi dũng cảm Người đàn ông người ca ngợi lòng dũng cảm để nguyên quần áo nhảy xuống sông cứu cậu bé Người đàn ông để nguyên quần áo nhảy xuống sông cứu cậu bé sau người khen ngợi dũng cảm No one puts any faith in the Government’s promises, which they have frequently gone back on in the past Việc người không tin vào lời hứa phủ điều thường xảy khứ Chẳng tin vào lời hứa hẹn phủ, người thường xuyên thất hứa khứ 48 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS Translation of relative clauses from English into Vietnamese Do phủ thường xuyên thất hứa khứ nên chẳng tin vào lời hứa hẹn họ Chính phủ không tin vào lời hứa người thường xuyên thất hứa khứ 10.Mr Jones, for whom I was working, was very generous about overtime payments Ông Jones, người mà làm việc, hào phóng việc trả tiền lương làm việc Ông Jones, người mà làm việc cùng, hào phóng việc trả tiền lương làm việc Ông Jones, người mà làm việc cho, hào phóng việc trả tiền lương làm việc Ông chủ Jones hào phóng việc trả tiền lương làm việc 49 Nguyễn Thanh Hương.7A-02.HUFS