English and Vietnamese collocations

A contrastive analysis

F r a n k Nhat Trinh,
BA.(Hons), Saigon University,
MA.(Hons), Macquarie University

THESIS

submitted for

the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy,

Department of Linguistics,
Macquarie University.

J u n e , 2001
m
MACQUARIE
UN1VERSITY-SVDNCY

HIGHER DEGREE THESIS

AUTHOR'S CONSENT
(DOCTORAL)
This
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being a candidate for the degree of Doctor
Doctor of
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am aware of the policy of the University relating to the retention and use of
higher degree theses as contained in the University's Doctoral Rules
generally, and in particular Rule 7(10).

In the light of this policy and the policy of the above Rules, I agree to allow a
copy of my thesis to be deposited in the University Library for consultation,
loan and photocopying forthwith.

Signatur&ofJ^jtness
^ fjtofcXA
Signature of Candidate

Dated this .<6<U«^.I#y«!^day of JUJL 2Q01

The Academic Senate on 19 J u l y 2 0 0 2 resolved that the candidate

had satisfied requirements for admission to the degree of P h D .
This thesis represents a major part of the prescribed program of study.

T:\PGS\PhDConsent.doc
TABLE O F CONTENTS

CONTENTS i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xxi

ABSTRACT xxv

DECLARATION xxvii

PREFACE xxix

INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 1: The notion of collocation 9

CHAPTER 2: Collocation a n d translation 31

CHAPTER 3: English collocational p a t t e r n i n g 59

CHAPTER 4: Vietnamese collocational p a t t e r n i n g 121

CHAPTER 5: English a n d Vietnamese collocational contrasts 167

CHAPTER 6: Implications for t r a n s l a t o r training 219

CONCLUSION 265

BD3LIOGRAPHY 269

APPENDICES 283
Introduction 1

0.0 A personal encounter 1

0.1 A broadcaster's interest 1

0.2 An examiner's concern 2

0.3 A translator's trap 4

0.4 A foreigner's guide 6

0.5 A researcher's topic 7

0.6 Purpose of this thesis 7

Chapter One

1.0 The notion of collocation 9

1.1 The aim of this chapter 9

1.2 Historical background 9

1.3 Definitions of collocation 10

1.3.1 Co-occurrence of words 11

1.3.2 Habitual co-occurrence of words 11

1.3.3 Fixed, non-idiomatic and recurrent combinations 12

1.3.4 Relatively fixed combinations 12

1.3.5 Collocation overlapping with idiom 13

1.3.6 A dynamic rather than a static phenomenon 13

1.4 Approaches to structure 14

1.4.1 Cowie's coding 14

1.4.2 Newmark's grouping 14

1.4.3 BBFs patterning 15

ii
2.3.2 NAATI language panels 36

2.3.3 NAATI tests 37

2.3.4 NAATI sources of texts 38

2.3.5 NAATI levels of difficulty 38

2.4 Translator training 39

2.4.1 TAFE 39
2.4.2 Tertiary institutions 39
2.5 Translation quality 40
2.5.1 Translation into English 40
2.5.1.1 Literalness 41
2.5.1.2 Grammaticalness 42
2.5.1.3 Idiomaticity 43
2.5.2 Translation into Vietnamese 45
2.5.2.1 Literalness 49
2.5.2.1.1 Body positions 49
2.5.1.1.2 Forms of address 49
2.5.2.2 Grammaticalness 50
2.5.2.2.1 Numerals 50
2.5.2.2.2 Pluralization 51
2.5.2.2.3 Nominaliz ation 51
2.5.2.2.4 Time adverbials 52

2.5.2.2.5 Passive construction 52

2.5.2.2.6 Law of continuity 53

2.5.2.3 Idiomaticity 53
2.5.2.3.1 Positiveness vs negativeness

2.5.2.3.2 Hyponymy vs super-ordinateness 54

2.5.2.3.3 Fertility 55

2.5.2.3.4 Sex and sexuality 56

2.6 Summary 57

Chapter Three 59

3.0 English collocational patterning 59

3.1 The aim of this chapter 59

3.2 Data collection 59

3.2.1 Sources 59

3.2.2 Method 60

3.2.3.1 Process 60

3.2.3.2 Storage 61

3.2.3.3 Retrieval 62

3.3 Structural aspects of collocation 64

3.3.1 Regular patterns 64

3.3.1.1 Adjective-noun 65

3.3.1.2 Noun-noun 71

3.3.1.3 Verb-noun 73

3.3.1.4 Noun-o/"-noun 77

3.3.1.5 Noun-verb 79

3.3.1.6 Verb-adverb 80

3.3.1.7 Verb-and-verb 80
3.3.1.8 Adverb-adjective 81

3.3.1.9 Adjective-arai-adjective 81

3.3.1.10 Noun-and-noun 81

3.3.1.11 Adverb-and-adverb 82

3.3.2 Non-regular items 83

3.3.2.1 Sayings 82

3.3.2.2 Idioms 83

3.3.2.3 Catchphrases 83

3.2.2.4 Similes 83

3.2.2.5 Folkverses 84

3.4 Semantic aspects of collocation 84

3.4.1 Semantic fields 87

3.4.1.1 People 87

3.4.1.1.1 Appearance 87

3.4.1.1.2 Character 87

3.4.1.1.3 Life and prospects 87

3.4.1.1.4 Human actions 89

3.4.1.1.5 Feelings and emotions 90

3.4.1.2.6 Relationships 91

3.4.1.2.7 Mishaps 91

3.4.1.2 Nature 92

3.4.1.2.1 Weather 92

3.4.1.2.2 Places 92

3.4.1.2.3 Objects 92

VI
3.4.2 Semantic ranges 92

3.4.2.1 Unrestricted collocation 93

3.4.2.2 Semi-restricted collocatioi 93

3.4.2.3 Restricted collocation 94

Thematic aspects of colloc 94

3.5

3.5.1 Colour 94

3.5.1.1 Beauty 94

3.5.1.2 Feelings 95

3.5.1.3 Injuries 95

3.5.1.4 Road safety 96

3.5.1.5 Luck 96

3.5.1.6 Beliefs 97

3.5.1.7 Human character 97

3.5.1.8 Social class 98

3.5.2 Time 98

3.5.2.1 Measurement 99

3.5.2.2 Values 99

3.5.2.3 Prevention 99

3.5.2.4 Competition 100

3.5.2.5 Periods of a person's life 100

3.5.3 Appearance 100

3.5.3.1 Clothing 101

3.5.3.2 Race 102

3.5.3.3. Shape and size 103

VII
1.4.4 Nguyen's categorization 16

1.5 Issues related to the study of collocation 17

1.5.1 Meaning 17

1.5.2 Habituality 20

1.5.3 Naturalness 20

1.5.4 Distance 21

1.5.5 Idiomaticity 22

1.5.6 Fixity 23

1.5.7 Ranges 24

1.6 Studies focussing on collocation 25

1.6.1 Cowie, Mackin and McCaig 25

1.6.2 BBI 27

1.6.3 COBUILD 28

1.7 Summary 30

Chapter Two 31

2.0 Collocation and translation 31

2.1 The aim of this chapter 31

2.2 Translation practice 31

2.2.1 Historical background 31

2.2.2 Multicultural policy 32

2.2.3 Translation needs 33

2.3 Translator/Interpreter accreditation 36

2.3.1 NAATI accreditation 36

in
3.5.3.4 Beauty 103

3.5.4 Weather 104

3.5.4.1 Greeting 104

3.5.4.2 Forecasting 105

3.5.4.3 Feelings 105

3.5.4.4 Temperature 106

3.5.5 Relationships 106

3.5.5.1 Love 106

3.5.5.2 Marriage 107

3.5.5.3 Sex 108

3.5.5.4 Divorce 109

3.5.5.5 Old age 109

3.5.6 Faith 110

3.5.6.1 Religions 110

3.5.6.2 Occultism 111

3.5.6.3 Government 111

3.5.6.4 Politics 112

3.5.7 Entertainment 113

3.5.7.1 Gambling 113

3.5.7.2 Sport 114

3.5.7.3 Eating and drinking 115

3.5.8 Appreciation 117

3.5.8.1 The Arts 117

3.5.8.2 Sport 119

Vlll
3.5.8.3 Charity work 119

3.6 Summary 120

Chapter Four 121

4.0 Vietnamese collocational patterning 121

4.1 The aim of this chapter 121

4.2 Data collection 121

4.2.1 Sources 121

4.2.1.1 Radio talks 122

4.2.1.2 Press articles 122

4.2.1.3 Literary works 122

4.2.1.4 Examination papers 124

4.2.2 Method 125

4.2.2.1 Process 125

4.2.2.2 Storage 125

4.2.2.3 Retrieval 126

4.3 Structural aspects of collocation 129

4.3.1 Regular patterns 129

4.3.1.1 Noun-adjective 130

4.3.1.2 Verb-noun 130

4.3.1.3 Noun-noun 131

4.3.1.4 Verb-adjective 132

4.3.1.5 Noun-verb 133

4.3.1.6 Adjective-noun 133

IX
4.3.1.7 Verb-verb

4.3.2 Non-regular items 135

4.3.2.1 Similes 135

4.3.2.2 Idioms 136

4.3.2.3 Sayings 136

4.3.2.4 Folkverses 137

4.3.2.5 Catch-phrases 137

4.4 Semantic aspects of collocation 137

4.4.1 Semantic fields 137

4.4.1.1 People 138

4.4.1.1.1 Appearance 138

4.4.1.1.2 Character 138

4.4.1.1.3 Life and death 139

4.4.1.1.4 Feelings and emotions 140

4.4.1.1.5 Bodily functions 141

4.4.1.1.6 Law and order 141

4.4.1.2 Nature 141

4.4.1.2.1 Weather 141

4.4.1.2.2 Flora 142

4.4.1.2.3 Fauna 142

4.4.1.2.4 Objects 142

4.4.1.2.5 Events 143

4.4.2 Semantic ranges 143

4.4.2.1 Unrestricted collocation 143

4.4.2.2 Semi-restricted collocation

4.4.2.3 Restricted collocation 144

4.5 Thematic aspects of collocation 144

4.5.1 Colour 144

4.5.1.1 Beauty 144

4.5.1.2 Feelings 145

4.5.1.3 Luck 145

4.5.1.4 Beliefs 145

4.5.2 Time 147

4.5.2.1 Measurement 147

4.5.2.2 Values 148

4.5.3 Appearance 148

4.5.3.1 Clothing 148

4.5.3.2 Beauty 150

4.5.4 Weather 151

4.5.4.1 Vagaries 151

4.5.4.2 Forecasting 151

4.5.4.3 Temperature 152

4.5.5 Relationships 152

4.5.5.1 Family values 153

4.5.5.2 Love 153

4.5.5.3 Marriage 154

4.5.5.4 Sex 155

4.5.6 Faith 156

XI
4.5.6.1 Religions 156

4.5.6.2 Occultism 157

4.5.6.3 Politics 159

4.5.7 Entertainment 159

4.5.7.1 Sport 159

4.5.7.2 Gambling 160

4.5.7.3 Eating and drinking 161

4.5.8 Education 162

4.5.8.1 Social class 163

4.5.8.2 Respect for scholarship 163

4.5.9 Work 165

4.6 Summary 165

Chapter Five 167

5.0 English and Vietnamese collocational contrasts 167

5.1. The aim of this chapter 167

5.2 Collocation comparison 167

5.2.1 Similarities 167

5.2.1.1 Similar patterning 167

5.2.1.1.1 Structural patterning 167

5.2.1.1.2 Semantic patterning 168

5.2.1.1.2.1 Semantic fields 168

5.2.1.1.2.2 Semantic ranges 169

5.2.1.1.2.2.1 Unrestricted 169

xu
5.2.1.1.2.2.2 Semi-restricted 172

5.2.1.1.2.2.3 Restricted 173

5.2.1.1.3 Thematic patterning 174

5.2.1.2 Similar form 176

5.2.1.2.1 Regular items 176

5.2.1.2.1.1 English-Vietnamese 176

5.2.1.2.1.1.1 Adjective-noun 176

5.2.1.2.1.1.2 Noun-noun 177

5.2.1.2.1.1.3 Verb-noun 177

5.2.1.2.1.1.4 Noun-verb 178

5.2.1.2.1.1.5 Noun-o/-noun 178

5.2.1.2.1.1.6 Noun-and-noun 178

5.2.1.2.1.1.7 Verb-adverb 179

5.2.1.2.1.1.8 Verb-and-verb 179

5.2.1.2.1.1.9 Adverb-adjective 180

5.2.1.2.1.1.10 Adjective-arad-adjective 180

5.2.1.2.1.2 Vietnamese-English 180

5.2.1.2.1.2.1 Noun-adjective 180

5.2.1.2.1.2.2 Verb-noun 181

5.2.1.2.1.2.3 Noun-noun 182

5.2.1.2.1.2.4 Verb-adjective 182

5.2.1.2.1.2.5 Noun-verb 183

5.2.1.2.1.2.6 Adjective-noun 183

5.2.1.2.1.2.7 Verb-verb 183

Xlll
5.2.1.2.2 Non-regular items 184

5.2.2 Differences 185

5.2.2.1 Different patterning 186

5.2.2.1.1 Structural patterning 186

5.2.2.1.2 Semantic patterning 187

5.2.2.1.2.1 Semantic fields 187

5.2.2.1.2.2 Semantic ranges 188

5.2.2.1.2.2.1 Unrestricted 188

5.2.2.1.2.2.2 Semi-restricted 190

5.2.2.1.2.2.3 Restricted 191

5.2.2.1.3 Thematic patterning 193

5.2.2.2 Different form 196

5.2.2.2.1 Regular items 196

5.2.2.2.1.1 English-Vietnamese 196

5.2.2.2.1.1.1 Adjective-noun 196

5.2.2.2.1.1.2 Noun-noun 199

5.2.2.2.1.1.3 Verb-noun 200

5.2.2.2.1.1.4 Noun-verb 201

5.2.2.2.1.1.5 Noun-o/-noun 201

5.2.2.2.1.1.6 Noun-arcd-noun 202

5.2.2.2.1.1.7 Verb-adverb 202

5.2.2.2.1.1.8 Verb-and-verb 203

5.2.2.2.1.1.9 Adverb-adjective 204

5.2.2.2.1.1.10 Adjective-and-adjective 205

XIV
5.2.2.2.1.2 Vietnamese-English

5.2.2.2.1.2.1 Noun-adjective 205

5.2.2.2.1.2.2 Verb-noun 206

5.2.2.2.1.2.3 Noun-noun 208

5.2.2.2.1.2.4 Verb-adjective 208

5.2.2.2.1.2.5 Noun-verb 209

5.2.2.2.1.2.6 Adjective-noun 210

5.2.2.2.1.2.7 Verb-verb 211

5.2.2.2.2 Non-regular items 211

5.2.2.3 Different context of use 214

5.2.2.3.1 Regular items 214

5.2.2.3.2 Non-regular items 215

5.2.2.4 Different form and context of use 216

5.2.2.4.1 Regular items 216

5.2.2.4.2 Non-regular items 217

5.3 Summary 218

Chapter Six 219

6.0 Implications for translator training 219

6.1 The aim of the chapter 219

6.2 Vocabulary and collocation teaching 219

6.2.1 Historical background 219

6.2.2 Later developments 221

6.3 Vocabulary and collocation testing 222

XV
6.3.2 Mackin 224

6.3.3 Hussein 225

6.3.4 Channel 226

6.3.5 Trinh 226

6.3.5.1 Hanoi group 227

6.3.5.1.1 Good response 227

6.3.5.1.2 Medium response 228

6.3.5.1.3 Poor response 229

6.3.5.2 Sydney group 232

6.4 Problems of non-direct equivalence 233

6.4.1 Different collocational patterns 234

6.4.1.1 'Gia' 234

6.4.1.2 'Den' 235

6.4.1.3 'Ru6t' 236

6.4.1.4 'Instant' 236

6.4.1.5 'Heavy' 237

6.4.2 Different fixed or idiomatic expressions 238

6.4.2.1 Teu cho cho Mm mat' 239

6.4.3 Collocational gaps 240

6.4.3.1 'To carry coal to Newcastle' 240

6.4.3.2 'Ndsachden' 241

6.4.4 Different context of use 241

6.4.4.1 To go to the dogs' 241

6.4.4.2 'Chay nha ra mat chu6t' 242

XVI
6.4.4.2 'Chay nha ra mat chu6t' 242

6.4.3 Use of both literal and idiomatic senses 243

6.5 Collocation in translation 244

6.5.1 Transference 244

6.5.2 Naturalization 245

6.5.3 Cultural equivalence 246

6.5.4 Functional equivalence 248

6.5.5 Descriptive equivalence 249

6.5.6 Caique 251

6.6 Sample text 254

6.6.1 Translator's analysis 255

6.6.1.1 General problems 255

6.6.1.1.1.1 Title 255

6.6.1.1.1.2 Intention 255

6.6.1.1.1.3 Type of text 255

6.6.1.1.1.4 Readership 255

6.6.1.1.1.5 Language 255

6.6.1.1.1.6 Intention of the translator 255

6.6.1.1.1.7 Method 255

6.6.1.2 Particular problems 256

6.6.1.2.1 Saigon, Thang ngay troi ndi 256

6.6.1.2.2 Ngaygiaiphong 257

6.6.1.2.3 TrudngVokhoaThuEhic 257

6.6.1.2.4 Cai dem horn £y dem gi? 257

XVll
6.6.1.2.7 Ngu si hudng thai binh

6.6.1.2.8 Vovem6tm6i 259

6.6.1.2.9 Dombdngke'ttrai 260

6.6.1.2.10 Nguoi ngoai dao 260

6.6.1.2.11 Vai thua khong che duoc mat thanh 260

6.6.1.2.12 Bdi long tim v^t 261

6.6.1.2.13 Kinh can day c6m 261

6.6.1.2.14 Thichannhau 261

6.6.1.2.15 Thichchonhaunucudi 262

6.6.1.2.16 Sanphamtritue 262

6.6.1.2.17 Loivangngoc 262

6.6.1.2.18 Nguoidu-athu- 262

6.6.1.2.19 Tarn chu"dng trich cu 263

6.6.1.2.20 Ong chac se chi cudi Tdia' 263

CONCLUSION 265

BIBLIOGRAPHY 271

APPENDICES 285

APPENDIX 1 Daylight Robbery 285

APPENDDC2 Manufacture of fake pharmaceuticals 287

APPENDDC 3 Collocational competence test 289

APPENDDC 4 Collocational competence test results 293

APPENDIX 5 A sample of English regular items 295

APPENDK 6 A sample of Vietnamese regular items 307

XVlll
APPENDED 7 A sample of English non-regular items 315

APPENDDC 8 A sample of Vietnamese non-regular items 317

APPENDIX 9 A Vietnamese source text 321

APPENDIX 10 An English target text 323

APPENDIX 11 Translation of Nhat Tien's short story 325

APPENDDC 12 Translation of Nguyen Huy Thiep's short stories 331

XIX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

On the completion of this thesis I owe a big debt of gratitude to many people and

organizations for their help. Firstly, I must thank four very special men of

learning: the late Mr. Le Minh Thinh, the late Father Le Van Ly, Dr. Hoang Gia

Linh, and the late Professor Nguyen Dinh Hoa who influenced me in my formative

years and set me on the path to my lifelong fascination with English, Linguistics,

and Translation.

Since I arrived in Australia in 1974, I have become an avid reader of The Daily

Telegraph newspaper, as well as ethnic Vietnamese-language newspapers. I also

watched television shows such as 'Good Morning Sydney' and The Today Show',

as well as listened to Vietnamese broadcasts on 2EA, 3EA, and SBS Radio

Stations. To these media outlets, I owe much to the honing of my bilingual skills

as they apply to the everyday world. I am particularly indebted to the Viet Nam

Thdi Nay (Vietnam News Today) and Viet Nam Nhat Boo (Vietnam Daily News)

newspapers for carrying a series of my articles on community information

translation during the 1998-99 period and the Sydney Vietnamese Program of

SBS Radio for broadcasting, in early 1999, a series of interviews in which I

discussed the search for translation equivalence between English and

Vietnamese.

Other organizations that have afforded me tremendous help are the libraries of

University of Western Sydney Macarthur (UWSM), Monash University, and

Macquarie University. Also the libraries of London University's School of

Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Georgetown University in Washington

xxi
D.C., as well as the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and

Interpreters' (NAATI) samples of translation test papers, the Macquarie

University's English Corpus (Ozcorp), and the Cobuild Project at the University

of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. I must also thank UWSM, and the many

language as well as interpreting and translation students I had contact with for

15 years, for allowing me the forum to gain feedback from my work, and in helping

me to become a more competent and resourceful teacher.

The many people with whom I had dialogue and consultations include Gwyneth

Fox and Stephen Bullon from the Collins Cobuilt English Dictionary Editorial

Team, Professor Huynh Sanh Thong of Yale University, Dr. Buu Khai of Edith

Cowan University in Western Australia, Dr. Peter Paul of Monash University,

and Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Phach of Deakin University in Victoria. Professor Colin L.

Yallop, my former supervisor, Mr. David Blair, my former associate supervisor,

and Dr. Eddie Ronowicz, my current supervisor, are owed much credit for their

comments and expert guidance.

No work such as this could have come to fruition without the help of the most

important people of all—the people who helped to put it all together. They are

often 'unsung heroes', but I owe my heartfelt thanks to the efforts they have

made. Firstly, my nephew Tran Dinh Phudc whose skills in word-processing, as

well as formatting, coding and typing Vietnamese data, have proven invaluable.

Then, Mr. Philip Coen, a friend and colleague, with his excellent command of

Vietnamese and computer expertise, helped me devise a code for storing and

retrieving Vietnamese data from the computer system. Mrs. Tran Thi Trong, a

Mathematics teacher at Wiley Park Girls' High School, helped compile

xxii
collocational competence test results into graph form.

Ms. Lorraine Patrick, an ESL teacher and a former student of Vietnamese, helped

with the typing of a large part of my English data and thesis. Mrs. Elaine

Sheppard, a former school principal, helped and urged me ever onward with her

constant support, consultations, proof-reading and stylistic corrections in her

capacity as a native speaker of English. Whatever oversights may be encountered

in this work are fully my responsibility.

Finally, my devoted wife Anh Thu, who has always given me moral support and

encouragement, both at home and on overseas trips. Her sacrifice and patience

during the seemingly never ending period when I attempted this thesis, is surely

appreciated. Our daughters, Michelle My-Duyen and Pamela-Anne, are also no

doubt a good source of encouragement. To my late parents for the wonderful love

and care they gave to their only son, for I know they are smiling with pride from

the Isles of the Blessed.

To these organizations and people that have helped shape my destiny, thank you.

I trust that my work will justify the faith you placed in me when I first began this

long journey exploring the ever-changing world of languages, in particular,

learning how to have 'a way with words'.

XXlll

i
xxiv
ABSTRACT

English and Vietnamese collocations

A contrastive analysis

This thesis aims at searching for a way to improve the translator's skills in

English and Vietnamese by enhancing their knowledge of word-combinations. An

attempt has been made in this study to illustrate that lack of a solid knowledge

of collocations in translation results in the loss of naturalness of the target

language. Numerous collocational mismatches made by professional translators

have been detected in learned journals as well as in community information

publications. This thesis also makes observations on different aspects of

collocational patterning of English and Vietnamese based on random samples of

the data collected. Research results show instances of a wide range of non-direct

translation equivalence inherent in word-combinations of the languages under

investigation.

This thesis starts off with a journey through personal experience to the

realization that the knowledge of collocation is a necessary pre-requisite leading

to competence in translation. Chapter One provides greater insight into the

notion of collocation by reviewing the literature on related studies, which results

in the choice of a broader definition of collocation for this research. Chapter Two

highlights the cause-to-effect relationship between collocation and translation in

the Australian translation scene. Chapters Three and Four deal with the

structural, semantic, and thematic aspects of collocational patterning of English

and Vietnamese, based on a survey of fixed and relatively fixed expressions.

XXV

i
Chapter Five provides a contrastive perspective of collocation patterning

between the two languages under investigation with particular reference to non-

comparable collocational patterns. Chapter Six outlines some of the implications

for the future training of professional translators with special emphasis on the

teaching of vocabulary in 'chunks' of words. Various types of vocabulary and

collocation exercises and tests were mentioned, including a special collocational

competence test which was designed and conducted in Hanoi for Vietnamese

students and for native and near-native English speakers in Sydney.

XXVI
DECLARATION

I certify that this work has not

been submitted for the award of

any other degree to any other

university or institution.

<fJM£2Jl.
Frank N.Trinh

XXVH
xxviii
PREFACE

The foundation of this work was stimulated by my desire, as a translator, to have

access to combinations of English words at my fingertips, which was later

reinforced by the work of Sinclair and his Cobuild Project.

Based on its research into corpus linguistics, the Cobuild Project, a joint

initiative of the University of Birmingham and the Collins Publishing house, has

produced a series of state-of-the-art publications. Among these, mention can be

made of the Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary (1987) and the Collins

Cobuild English Grammar (1990), which were based on the latest optical

scanning computer technology, in compiling and examining a corpus of

150,000,000 words of contemporary English, as well as the BBC English

Dictionary (1991), which was based on a corpus of 70,000,000 words from BBC

World Service programs and 10,000,000 words from American Public Radio

Network program.

My interest in combinations of words was not fulfilled by Sinclair's novel

methodology in lexicography, as I had no access to his Project corpus. However, I

was fortunate enough to have a hands-on experience in establishing concordance

by using the 20,000,000-word Macquarie University's English Corpus (Ozcorp),

which helped me occasionally access the collocability of a particular 'node'. My

own repertoire, as well as my first-hand knowledge of word-combinations in both

English and Vietnamese, have been applied to my data collection. This is not a

grand-scale corpus, a la Sinclair, but a limited one, established for the purpose of

writing this thesis on collocation.

xxix
The data collection had a somewhat 'serendipity' quality about it, and I found

great delight and fascination in finding those interesting combinations. Along the

road to writing this thesis, I have encountered obstacles which have added much

to my understanding as to why a project such as this has not been previously

attempted for Vietnamese. The reason is that there is no international standard

in computer technology to deal with Vietnamese tone and other diacritical marks.

This lack of uniformity means a machine cannot read them accurately. However,

my biggest problem was that, working alone, I became so deeply involved in

collecting data that I found myself unable to fully realise my original ambition,

as I had set a monumental task which had no ending. At the same time I had

been immersing myself in translating approximately 45,000 words of text into

English and approxiately 5,000 words of mostly NAATI translation texts into

Vietnamese for my own interest. This work may have been time-consuming, but

ultimately led to a greater insight into the problems encountered by the

translator.

Sinclair again became my inspiration, for his work in the setting-up of parallel

and comparable corpora, made me also realize the importance of finishing my

work. His approach of scanning hundreds of millions of words of text has been

now used in building up parallel and comparable corpora in seven other

languages, and is supported by the Council of Europe.

So, while waiting for computer technology to catch up, as a translator, I have

developed my own comparable corpus. It is only a small slice, with my research

focused on a manageable amount of lexical items and their combinations. I have

gone far beyond my initial fascination with words, and am now thinking about

XXX
developing a bi-directional bilingual dictionary of English and Vietnamese

collocations, after my doctoral dissertation has been completed. The time spent

gathering data has not been wasted, for it is not just the basis for my thesis, it is

also the backbone of my proposed dictionary project as well as for many valuable

language and translator training programs of the future.

I hope my efforts will be of benefit to many people. I am confident that language

learners and teachers, lexicologists, lexicographers, translators and interpreters,

and those cross-cultural researchers of Vietnamese and English will find

something of value in my work. It has been a long, hard labour, but it has also

been a 'labour of love'.

XXXI
Introduction

0.0 A personal encounter

This introduction will explore a journey through personal experience to the

realisation that the knowledge of collocation is a necessary pre-requisite leading

to competence in translation.

0.1 A broadcaster's interest

My interest in what I now understand as 'collocation' began when I was employed

by the BBC World Service, Vietnamese Section in the early 1980s as a translator

and broadcaster. This position was based in London. It involved, in part,

translating news items, news dispatches, commentaries, and other material into

the Vietnamese language for broadcasting to Vietnam. Although much of my

waking time was spent translating into the Vietnamese language, I also devoted

considerable time to reading English-language newspapers, listening to English-

language radio broadcasts and watching English television.

At this time, I was developing an interest in the way in which some words seemed

to me to combine together in a seemingly unusual, but meaningful, way. The

domino effect, an uphill straggle and a runaway success were some of the

combinations which I noted. At the time my activity in noting and thinking about

these matters was in the nature of a hobby, and so I would put it aside when more

pressing matters arose. Nevertheless, I continued to have an interest in the

phenomenon.
0.2 An examiner's concern
Upon returning to Australia, I obtained a university lecturer's position which

involved training Vietnamese interpreters and translators and later I was

appointed as an examiner by a national body that accredits professional

translators and interpreters. This, among other things, meant marking

translation assignments submitted by my students as well as marking

translation papers from and into English done by NAATI candidates. In the

discharge of my duty, without a native English speaker's intuition, I sometimes

found myself at a loss in determining which combinations of English words in a

given text were acceptable translations and which were not. I remember once

giving my students a passage (APPENDIX 1) to translate into English which

described the actions of a man who went to a market and grabbed everything in

sight without paying. When demand was made for payment, he then apologized

to the merchants for what he did and promised them that he would pay for the

goods when he became rich. In his apology he said:

(1) Lua tham no boc len md cd hai con mdt

fire greed it rise up blur both CLASS eye

Two students, in particular, rendered the following translations:

(la) *The fire of greed has evaporated and made me blind. And
(lb) *The flame ofgreed has made both of my eyes blurred.

Neither of these sentences violates the basic patterns of English grammar; but,

with my familiarity with English and in consultation with native speakers of

English, I made the following comments to those students concerned:

In sentence (la): (greed) has made me blind is correct. However, the expression

(greed) has made me blind to my faults would be more semantically appropriate

2
and collocationally typical. In fact, a better translation would be (greed) has

clouded my vision. The word 'evaporate' does not co-occur with 'fire'. This word is

used when describing gaseous or steamy substances. The phrase the fire of greed

is a more acceptable, although unusual collocation, than the flame of greed.

Sentence (lb): (greed) has made both of my eyes blurred would not be an expression

used by native speakers. Native speakers might say my eyes became blurry or

my eyes were blurry, and less typically my eyes became blurred or my eyes were

blurred. Also native speakers would not say "both of my eyes, even though this is

an acceptable expression in Vietnamese. 'Eyes', in its plural form, is used by

native speakers, indicating Tboth eyes'. The flame of greed is an unusual

collocation, as 'flame' is commonly used in association with 'passion', 'anger', or

'desire'. Therefore, even though the words flame of greed or fire of greed may be

acceptable collocations, a native speaker of English would probably just say

greed. And the whole sentence could be translated as greed blinded me, or greed

has blinded me.

During the course of my public examination marking, I came across a Vietnamese

passage (APPENDIX 2) relating to the distribution of fake everyday

pharmaceuticals throughout the world which had caused numerous deaths and

disabilities because of impurities. The title of the passage was:

(2) Tinh-trang che-tao thuoc men gid

situation manufacture medicine fake

which was rendered by some candidates as:

(2a) The manufacture of * false medicine

(2b) The manufacture of *counterfeit drugs

3
Would it have been better, if *false medicine, *'counterfeit drugs had been

translated as fake medicine or fake pharmaceuticals?

The problem faced by most candidates lies in the fact that the Vietnamese word

'gia', in combination with a wide range of words, could be translated as having the

meaning of 'artificial', 'assumed', 'bogus', 'copied', 'counterfeit', 'fake', 'false',

'forged', 'imitation', 'prosthetic', 'replica', 'sham' and all other words associated

with something 'not being genuine'. It is therefore evident that in translating the

above text, the Vietnamese translator faces the dilemma of having to decide

which of the words at his or her disposal is the most typical in English.

In (2a), 'false' does co-occur with 'medicine' in English, but this co-occurrence is

used to mean the practice by someone who takes on the role of a 'charlatan' or

'fake doctor', promising cures which he or she cannot effect.

In (2b), 'counterfeit' is used particularly in describing 'official coinage' or

'banknotes', and not with 'drugs'. Although the term 'drugs' can be used in the

sense of 'medicines', it is also used to denote 'substances that some people smoke

or inject into their blood to induce stimulating effects'. Its use therefore should be

avoided as it might create ambiguity in this particular context.

0.3 A translator's trap

Problems in word distributional range are not only confronted by aspiring

translators who are in this case my students and the candidates concerned, but

they are even encountered by translators of international standard of any

language into English. In his book, The Third Language (1981), Alan Duff writes

about imperfections found in writing in learned journals and the work of

4
professional translators working for EEC organisations. Among the examples of

various types mentioned in his book, many can be identified as collocational

mismatches. Let's consider the following examples:

(3) David Oistrakh, one of the world's *ace violinists, is among the few who
happily combine all these merits. (Duff: 31)

The translated phrase "ace violinists should be better rendered as top violinists as

the word ace is used for sporting situations, and would not be used in the world of

the Arts, particularly in the field of classical music.

(4) In other words, to be able to take collective security measures for the
restoration of peace and international security, it is not "indispensably
necessary that aggression had been committed. (Duff: 23)

The combination "indispensably necessary does not occur in English, for indeed, if

something is "indispensably necessary, then it must be simply 'necessary'.

However, absolutely necessary is possible.

(5) The situation "opened a wedge between the intellectuals and the
masses—a wound that, in the case of Argentina at least, "healed poorly
and late. (Duff: 16)

Here the word 'wedge' is incorrectly used alongside 'open'. A wound can open, but

a wedge is introduced or is driven. However, even if the translator had used

driven/introduced a wedge to be collocationally appropriate, he should have

perceived that this phrase is not used in an abstract sense as required in this

context. The phrase 'caused a rift' would be a better semantic replacement. The

expression 'a wound *healed poorly and late' would sound less typical of

translationese had it been rendered as 'a wound healed badly'.

(6) People are eager to change their life. They yearn for knowledge and
struggle to get it. Knowledge means economic improvement for the
"recipient. (Duff: 17)

5
The term 'recipient' does mean 'one who receives', but what is received is usually

in some way tangible; ie. an award, a present, a telegram, or news. One can,

certainly, receive an education, but knowledge is acquired. The phrase 'for the

recipient' could be omitted without any loss of meaning.

For an advanced translator, Newmark once noted,

Translation is sometimes a continual struggle to find appropriate

collocations... If grammar is the bones of a text, collocations are the nerves,
more subtle and multiple and specific in denoting meaning, and lexis is the
flesh. (Newmark, 1988: 213).

0.4 A foreigner's guide

Non-native speakers cannot cope with some collocational types which are

arbitrary and non-predictable and they must have a guide to help them choose

between the typical (ie. make an estimate, commit treason) and the untypical (ie.

*make an estimation, *commit treachery) combinations, given the fact that

'estimate' and 'estimation' are synonymous, so are 'treason' and 'treachery'.

Even native speakers may need at times to revert to a list of collocations to

decide which verbs collocate with such nouns as in 'acquittal', 'counsel', 'copyright'

(BBI, 1986: xxxi). The truth of the matter is one can make/cause/announce/bring

in an acquittal or give/offer/provide counsel. While copyright is granted or

registered, one can infringe or hold copyright.

For a foreign language learner, Newmark once wrote,

A foreigner appears to go on making collocational mistakes however long he

lives in his adopted country, possibly because he has never distinguished
between grammar and lexicology. An educated native will also make
mistakes in collocation, particularly if he is under the influence of
interference, but he will correct himself intuitively. (Newmark, 1981: 180).

6
0.5 A researcher's topic
This thesis recognises the importance of collocation and a growing awareness that

words are complex entities, particularly in the context of translation. The thesis

explores the subtlety, the multiplicity and the specificity of word combinations in

English and Vietnamese languages. Recent bibliographies on collocation reveal

that Vietnamese studies on this subject have never been attempted. Some

studies of English collocations and their applications have been published in the

form of monolingual English dictionaries: Dictionary of English Style (1920), The

Idiomatic and Syntactic English Dictionary (1942), Oxford Dictionary of Current

Idiomatic English (1975, 1979, 1983), BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English

(1986), Collins Cobuild English Collocations on CD-ROM (1995). The situation is

less commendable in bilingual dictionaries; so far, only two collocational

dictionaries have been produced involving the Russian and Arabic languages (Al-

Kasami: 1981; Abu-Ssaydeh: 1994).

0.6 Purpose of this thesis

This thesis will serve the purpose of (1) demonstrating through personal

experience that a solid knowledge of collocation is essential to competence in

translation; (2) reviewing literature on the notion of collocation; (3) providing an

overview of translation problems in relation to collocation in the Australian

context; (4) making a survey of English and Vietnamese collocational patterning;

(5) examining the collocational patterning contrasts of both languages in relation

to translation; and (6) outlining some of the implications for future training of

professional translators.
8