





































Microsoft Word - GRHE-V2N4-p115


Global Research in Higher Education 
ISSN 2576-196X (Print) ISSN 2576-1951 (Online) 

Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 
www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe 

115 
 

Original Paper 

The Preservation of Culture-Specific Items in Translation from 

Vietnamese to English (Note 1) 

Hoang Thi Hue1* & Nguyen Hoang Nguyen1 

1 Hue University of Education, Hue University, Hue city, Viet Nam 
* Hoang Thi Hue, E-mail: hoanghuedhsp@gmail.com; hoangthihue@hueuni.edu.vn 

 

Received: August 21, 2019    Accepted: September 2, 2019    Online Published: October 22, 2019 

doi:10.22158/grhe.v2n4p115               URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/grhe.v2n4p115 

 

Abstract 

The article uses statistical, comparative, quantitative and qualitative methods, to determine the 

frequency of using certain translation strategies for translating CSIs (in the Dumb luck novel). The 

data generated by this method is a statistic showing the frequency of each translation strategy applied. 

From studying the application of CSI translation strategies, the article have been explored to find out 

the handling of cultural issues in translation, whether the translators are able to convey 

culture-specific items from the original to the translation English, and methods to optimize CSI 

translation. This study will provide results that help translators understand better how to use CSI 

translation strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of their work in the best way, how to preserve 

Vietnamese cultural values when translate Vietnamese to English. 

Keywords 

culture-specific items, Dump luck, translation, cultural issues, CSI translation strategies, proper noun 

 

1. Introduction 

Culture is the sum total of what a society has built up from its very past to the present time and does not 

consist of necessarily concrete elements. Culture by its very nature both involves and is influenced by 

historical experiences, religious rituals, agricultural practices, traditions, habits, values, ideas, systems, 

technologies, literary and artistic works, etc. In essence, the culture of a society has its roots in the 

values and traditions of that society. 

Translating from one language into another has never been an easy job even for the most experience 

translators. We often see translation as the basic form to hold the contact and transformation of 

different languages, but in fact it carries the view of contact, collision and interchange between 

different cultures. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

116 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

The target of the translation is not only to translate the words but also the culture, therefore the 

translation of culture-specific items maybe unsatisfactory or even incorrect. Therefore, if the translator 

fails to convey the cultural value of Vietnamese society over a period of time, the values of the work 

will be lost. Understanding the advantages, disadvantages as well as cultural impacts on translation, the 

translators can decide how much important certain cultural aspects are to the text to translate them into 

target language by using appropriate strategies. 

Exploring the translation of culture-specific items in Dump luck (Peter Zinoman and Nguyen Nguyet 

Cam), will give us a better understanding of the value of translating cultural issues, and the influence of 

culture on translating literary works. 

 

2. Research Methodology 

This study employs both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative method is used to 

determine the frequency with which a given translation strategy was used for the translation of CSIs in 

the novel. The data generated by this method are statistics that reveal how frequently each of the 

translation strategies was applied, which strategy was used most often and which strategy was used 

least often. Overall, this method uncovers the pattern of the translation of CSIs. 

 

3. Results and Discussion 

3.1 An Overview 

This chapter focuses on Vu Trong Phung’s masterpiece So do which constitutes the corpus of the 

present study. It will carry out an in-depth analysis of the transfer of CSIs in So do into English in order 

to discuss the joint contribution of the translation of CSIs to the development of a foreignized or 

domesticated text. The chapter finally will present a detailed discussion of the results derived from the 

analysis of the translation of CSIs. 

So do is Vu Trong Phung’s successful novel in terms of content and art form. He generalized the 

picture of contemporary urban society, the miserable urban area in the urbanization of a colony, in a 

country full of idyllic ideals, customs and hybrid. Vu Trong Phung criticized strongly the inhuman, 

deceitful and corrupt nature of the upper society before the August Revolution. By building caricature 

portraits: sex and lust, organizing the plot based on comical scenes, reverse situations, each chapter is a 

comedy. Comedy in every detail: writing, tone, analogy, pun... 

Vu Trong Phung lived in the period of society changing from feudal colonial life to Europeanization 

and urbanization, it was the time when the society was full of ludicrous things. To paint such a colorful 

picture, the author puts in his novel a great deal of culture-specific content. A big proportion of the 

CSIs found in the novel are used to name the characters. Others are used to describe their customs 

through idioms, how they work or which way they behave. Many CSIs are names of the characters, 

organizations, or places. In total, 128 CSIs have been found throughout the book. 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

117 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

To deal with such a large number of CSIs, all six strategies proposed in Davies’ taxonomy were 

employed by the translators, though the frequencies with which they were resorted to are markedly 

different from one another. Figure 2 shows the distribution of the six strategies among the 80 CSIs. It is 

evident that the most prominent strategy is preservation, which was used to translate 61, accounting for 

up to 49%, of all the 128 CSIs analyzed. The second most common strategy is addition, used on 53 

CSIs, equivalent to 41%. Meanwhile, the least frequently used strategy is transformation with no CSI 

found. The prevalence of preservation and addition, together with the rarity of transformation, indicates 

the translators’ emphasis on conveying truthfully and adequately the cultural content of the source text 

for English readers. 

Meanwhile, the other three strategies, namely globalization, localization and omission, were used quite 

sporadically, to translate only 8, 4 and 2 CSIs, equivalent to 6%, 3% and 1% respectively. That 

localization and omission were used not often reaffirms the translators’ determination to retain the 

distinctive cultural colors of the source text. The number of CSIs translated by globalization is not 

small. However, this figure proves disproportionate in comparison with the number of CSIs translated 

by preservation. It seems that between anchoring the foreign cultural references into the target 

language’s culture and keeping their exoticness, the translators tended to favor the latter. In other words, 

rather than trying to make the translated text sound as if it originated from the English culture, the 

translators decided to make readers aware that the novel they are reading is set in a culture different 

from theirs. It is noticeable that the prevalence or scantiness of a strategy when it is considered in the 

whole of 128 CSIs does not correspond to the prevalence or scantiness of that strategy if it is 

considered in one of the two subgroups of CSIs. In fact, how the six strategies are distributed among 

the 80 proper noun CSIs is different from how they are distributed among 48 common expression CSIs. 

In the following part, a detailed examination of the translation of these two subgroups of CSIs will be 

given. 

3.2 The Translation of Proper Noun Culture-Specific Items  

The first category of CSIs to be examined is proper nouns. Of the 128 CSIs that are found throughout 

the novel, 80, or more than three-fourths, are proper names. Many of them are names of people and 

places. Some are names of medals, organizations and others. These 80 proper noun CSIs will be 

classified into 5 categories. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

118 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Table 1. Type of Proper Noun CSIs  

Proper noun Frequency 

Human 35 

Places 8 

Medals 6 

Organizations 9 

Others 22 

 

 

Figure 1. Show the Frequency of Proper Noun CSIs in So Do 

 

 

Figure 2. Shows the Frequency with Which Each of Davies’ Six Strategies Was Used to Deal with 

These 80 CSIs 

 

The prevailing method is preservation, which was used to translate 53, or 66%, of all the CSIs in this 

category. The second most common strategy is addition, employed for the translation of 23, equivalent 

to more than 29%, of the 80 CSIs. Meanwhile, only 3 and 1 CSIs, each accounting to almost 5% of the 

number of CSIs in this subgroup, were translated by globalization and localization respectively. No 

CSIs was omitted and only none was translated by transformation. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

119 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

These 80 proper noun CSIs will now be discussed in more detail. They will be grouped into their 

respective strategy. Due to the limited space of this thesis, only examples that are representative will be 

mentioned here. For the full list of all proper name CSIs, together with their translation strategy, please 

refer to Appendix 1. 

3.3 Preservation 

Preservation refers to the retention of a CSI in the TT. There are two types of preservation as formal 

and semantic preservation. The first means preserving the form of a CSI in the target text. Accordingly, 

a ST item is either transliterated or kept unchanged in the TT. The latter means preserving the literal 

meaning of a CSI in the TT. Accordingly, a ST item is literally translated into the TT without any 

explanation (Davies, 2003). Both formal and semantic preservation will be analyzed under the heading 

of preservation.  

Preservation is found to be the most common method used to translate proper name CSIs in the novel 

So do, with 53 items subjected to this strategy. A systematic application of preservation means that the 

translator will be able to preserve the exoticness of the source text. Encountering names that are 

distinctively foreign, readers will be reminded that the story happens in a country and a culture that are 

different from theirs. This strategy was particularly often employed in the translation of names of 

characters or places that do not bear any significant historical or cultural associations. Below are some 

examples. 

 

Table 2. Examples of Preservation Applied in Translating CSIs 

 Vietnamese English 

1 Số đào hoa của Xuân tóc đỏ Red-Haired Xuân’s Luck in Love 

2 Lòng thương người của Bà Phó Đoan The Compassion of Mrs. Deputy 

Customs Officer 

3 Cặp vợ chồng Văn Minh khẽ cúi đầu đáp, 

nhưng bà Phó Đoan nguẩy một cái. 

Mr. and Mrs. Civilization nodded their heads in 

acknowledgment, but Mrs. Deputy Customs 

Officer turned away in disgust. 

4 Chung quanh cổ, một cái vòng vàng đeo 

nặng chĩu, một chiếc khánh vàng với một 

cái gối quạ. Thấy tiếng chị ba nói như van 

lơn: 

-Cậu Phước mặc quần vào, đi. 

Around his neck was a thick gold choker on 

which hung a small pendant and a huge gold 

medallion. The plaintive wail of Miss Three 

echoed from the other room: 

“Master Blessing! Master Blessing! Please put on 

your pants!” 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

120 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

5 Ông Victor Ban kinh hãi cúi đầu rất thấp, 

bắt tay Xuân Tóc Ðỏ xong thì đứng ngây 

mặt ra như người bằng gỗ. 

Victor Ban bowed his head low and shook hands 

with Xuan, who stood frozen in place like a 

wooden statue. 

6 Cụ Hồng chưa kịp đáp đã giữ lấy ngực để 

ho sù sụ lên một hồi dài ghê gớm như sặc 

thuốc lào. 

Before he could reply, Grandpa Hồng was seized 

by a fit of violent coughing. 

7 Giữa lúc ấy, cô Tuyết bước vào. Cô này là 

con gái út cụ Hồng, mới 18 tuổi đúng, rất 

có nhan sắc, lại cũng lãng mạn theo cái lối 

tân tiến rởm... 

As the debate heated up, Miss Snow-Grandpa 

Hồng’s eighteen-year-old baby daughter-entered 

the room. She was beautiful and possessed a 

frivolous romantic quality that was fashionable 

for the time. 

 

The translators keep as must as they can of the original reference. The obvious example here is the 

treatment of Victor Ban, ông Joseph Thiết. They do not have any special historical or cultural 

associations with them, although the way they sound to Vietnamese speaking readers must be different 

from the way they sound to readers who do not speak Vietnamese. 

In the English translation of So do, to make the readers recognize the proper names, the translator 

borrow which has the same meaning in the T.T. Proper names such as Xuân Tóc Đỏ, bà Phó Đoan, bà 

Văn Minh, ông Văn Minh, cậu Phước are treated. In this way, readers can read as well as simplify the 

names. In his taxonomy, Davies (2003) distinguished between two types of preservation: formal 

preservation and semantic preservation. All the examples shown above are cases of formal preservation 

where the CSIs were kept exactly like they are in the source text.  

The general rule seems to be that if a name or part of a name has meaning, it will be semantically 

preserved, whereas if it does not have any meaning, it will be formally preserved. Semantic 

preservation did not happen in the translation of proper name CSIs. The translators fail in transferring 

all the meanings of the names like the humorous textual effects carried by certain proper names, 

acronyms or puns. Below are some examples: 

 

Table 3. Some Wordplays of Proper Name CSIs 

1 Xuân Tóc Đỏ Red-Haired Xuan 

2 Bà Phó Đoan Mrs. Deputy Customs Officer 

3 Cậu Phước Master Blessing 

4 Ông TYPN (Tôi Yêu Phụ Nữ) Mr. ILL (I Love Ladies) 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

121 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Red-Haired Xuan is the central character with typical traits of the so-called “Europeanization”. Vu 

Trong Phung’s language is very consistent in re-enacting this central character but at the same time the 

writer always uses contradictions to show the multifaceted character. Even the name “Red Haired 

Xuan” has opposite meanings. Red haired is a typical sign to identify this character, the result of the 

miserable years of miserable life: “Damn, I’ve never bought a hat before, but my hair is red”. But with 

the modern couple in Bong Lai Hotel rejoiced: “Damn, your hair is very beautiful, very fashionable”. 

“Xuân has red hair because it is sunburn. Red refers to his nature: hooliganism, homeless, uneducated. 

Red also refers to luck “đỏ”, xuân’s luck. Due to the hooliganism in accordance with the social nature, 

he quickly infiltrate the upper society to become a phony learner, a phony doctor. Red-Haired Xuan yet 

to convey the meaning of this hidden meaning. 

Bà Phó Đoan, Đoan is the husband’s name, it means decent and respectable. On the other hand, Bà Phó 

Đoan is completely opposite. A fat and erotic woman, who always want to be raped. Fashion designer 

However, the cultural content in the source text has not been fully conveyed, the reader may not 

understand all the artistic intentions of writer Vu Trong Phung. In translated texts, this translation 

strategy can generally be used quite commonly. With Vu Trong Phung’s in So Do, the cultural meaning 

of the author’s name has not been shown. For example, in Mrs. Pho Doan, in addition to the meaning 

of the husband’s name, it also means expressing the respect and respect of a woman. But the name is 

like that, and her true nature is a lecherous woman, unconcerned, ignoring. Vu Trong Phung named it 

to emphasize her lecherous nature, and at the same time highlighted the laughable and despicable 

character of Mrs. Doan Doan. Mr. TYPN used to fabricate very bold women’s clothes with names that 

Dậy thì, Ngừng tay, Ỡm ờ,... but scold his wife for wearing modern clothes. So do repeating cultural 

movements, political trends, literary trends, artistic movement ... In So do, Vu Trong Phung mimics 

how many “turns” of a chaotic society: europeanization, popularization, romance, urbanization, 

abstraction, politicization ... 

Opposing details exist in the same character, each name contains epigrammatic and humorous elements. 

Vu Trong Phung wanted to point out the truth of ridiculous lies of the men who are known as the noble, 

civilized and modern civilians, which are actually scum, teratogens of the colonial society in the 

country before the August revolution. 

The translators attempt to preserve the form of original items but they also prevent readers from having 

a chance to discover the implication meaning or hidden message which are underlying those proper 

names. It could be said that as globalization takes place at an increasing speed and American people 

experience more exposure to Asia cultures in general and Vietnamese culture in particular, people feel 

more comfortable reading texts with names that are not English and therefore the need for translators to 

adapt the names has become less relevant. The naming is not simply a symbol of the character, but 

rather a way of expressing a vision, an attitude of the narrator to the character. The So Do is a laugh 

that mimics the “Europeanized” society of Vietnamese urban under the rule of French colonial rule. 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

122 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Table 4. Some Proper Nouns of Places  

1 Đường Cổ Ngự Old Fish Road 

2 Hồ Tây West Lake 

3 Hồ Trúc Bạch White Bamboo Lake 

4 Đền Bia Bia Pagoda 

 

The preservation of the meaning of a cultural element may lead to loss of its other aspects such as 

connotations whereas the preservation of the form may lead to loss of its recognizable meaning (Davies, 

2003, p. 75). Except from the last example, all the phrases have been literally translated into English. 

Cổ Ngư, Hồ Tây, Hồ Trúc Bạch are place names and they do not have any implication in Vietnamese 

context and these names does not interfere with reading experience. As a result, the translators should 

use repetition to preserve all these names in the target text.  

3.4 Addition 

The translators use the above-mentioned procedures, but considers it necessary to offer some explanation 

of the meaning or implications of the CSIs. At the same time, it does not legitimate or convenient to mix 

this explanation with the text. The decision, then, is to distinguish the gloss by marking it as such 

(footnote, endnote, glossary, commentary/translation in brackets, in italics, etc.) 

Of the 80 proper noun CSIs found in the novel So do, 23 items were translated by addition. This 

strategy was usually employed when simple preservation of the CSIs would cause obscurity in meaning. 

By providing readers with more background information, addition helps to ensure that readers are well 

informed enough to have a comfortable reading experience.  

Information can be added inside the text or outside the text as a footnote. There are examples of both 

types in the 23 instances of addition to proper name CSIs found in the novel. Below are some 

examples. 

 

Table 5. Examples of Addition Applied in Translating CSIs 

 Vietnamese English 

1 Xuân Tóc Đỏ không ngờ rằng khi xưa, lúc 

nó ngồi đọc quảng cáo cho một hiệu thuốc 

vào phóng thanh, và ngồi trên mũi ô tô với 

bộ quần áo Charlot và cái mặt nạ thổi loa 

khắp phố phường […]. 

How could Xuân have guessed the benefit he 

was to derive from an old part-time job for 

which he was paid to sit on the hood of a car, 

made up as Charlot, [9] and bark out 

advertisements over a loudspeaker […] 

2 Một khi Hoạn Thư đã nổi giận. The Anger of Hoạn Thư [1] 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

123 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

3 Ông Văn Minh ngửa đầu tựa thành ghế lấy 

điếu thuốc Ăng-lê thứ mười tám ra để lên 

miệng, oai vệ quệt diêm. 

Mr. Civilization leaned back in his chair and 

looked up at the ceiling. He put the eighteenth 

Ăng-lê [2] cigarette of the day into his mouth 

and struck a match. 

4 Cụ cũng tiu nghỉu ở chỗ con cụ không kiếm 

nổi mảnh văn bằng nào, nhưng khi nghe con 

cụ cãi rằng: “Học thức không ở văn bằng. 

Những người như Phạm Quỳnh hay Nguyễn 

Văn Vĩnh, mà khảo đến bằng, thì thành ra 

vô học hay sao?” thì cụ lại được yên tâm. 

While disappointed that his son had returned 

home without a diploma, he was reassured by 

the argument that “education does not come 

from a diploma. If it did, then even Phạm 

Quỳnh and Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh are uneducated”. 

[6] 

5 Xưa kia, cụ là một ông phán. Sau khi hưu 

trí, nghiệm rằng cụ đã giúp nước phò vua 

trong 30 năm tròn, Nhà nước bèn ân thưởng 

cho cụ cái Hồng lô tự thiếu khanh. 

Following retirement, the state acknowledged 

his thirty years of service to the king and the 

country by awarding him the Hồng lô tự thiếu 

khanh medal. [3] 

6 Ngần ấy điều kiện đã khiến cụ Hồng trung 

thành với ông con trai đã Pháp du của cụ 

cũng như trung thành với nước Đại Pháp. 

Cụ đã xưng toa moa với con, hết sức hoan 

nghênh đủ mọi việc và đủ mọi cử chỉ Tây 

Tầu của con cụ. 

Just as he was faithful to Great France, Grandpa 

Hồng was fiercely loyal to his son, a fidelity he 

demonstrated by adopting all of his son’s many 

foreign affectations, such as using the pronouns 

toa and moa. [7] 

 

Footnotes were resorted to only when the references require lengthy explanations that cannot be 

incorporated into the text. For example, to enlighten readers about Hoạn Thư, the translators added the 

following footnote: “Character from Nguyễn Du’s celebrated verse narrative Kim Vân Kiều, renowned 

for her jealousy”. Likewise, with Phạm Quỳnh và Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh, the translators supplemented: 

“Phạm Quỳnh (1898-1945) and Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh (1882-1936) were prominent francophone 

intellectuals and journalists during the interwar era”. With 23 footnotes made for the total of 80 proper 

noun CSIs, the translators seem to have been careful in opting for this method, which is understandable 

as too many footnotes may disturb readers’ experience or, more dangerously, disengage them from the 

narrative. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

124 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Table 6. Examples of Transliteration Applied in Translating CSIs 

1 Một người đi qua, ông gọi lại chán nản mà 

rằng: 

-Này, thầy min đơ thầy có buồn không! 

“Hey, Officer Min đơ!” [1] he called out 

glumly. “Is this pathetic or what?” 

2 Ông Văn Minh ngửa đầu tựa thành ghế lấy 

điếu thuốc Ăng-lê thứ mười tám ra để lên 

miệng, oai vệ quệt diêm. 

 

Mr. Civilization leaned back in his chair and 

looked up at the ceiling. He put the eighteenth 

Ăng-lê [2] cigarette of the day into his mouth 

and struck a match. 

3 Bà Văn Minh ẻo lả hai bàn tay ngọc khẽ vỗ 

vào nhau  

-Được lắm! Dernières créations! 

Mrs. Civilization clapped her elegant hands 

together. 

“Very good! Derniere creation!” [2] 

4 -Thưa ngài, tôi rất được hân hạnh nếu ngài 

cho tôi hầu ngài vài séc. 

“I would be honored if you would play a séc 

[2] with me,” he said. 

 

In descriptive equivalent, the meaning of the culture bound term is explained in several words. The 

proper names in the ST have been transliterated by the formal preservation strategy. For example, the 

ST item Dernières créations and proper name Min đơ have been transliterated in the TT. The concept 

of Dernières créations literally means “most recent creation”, the translators make it more visible to the 

target readers as they retain the phrase in the ST and provide explanation with footnotes and in italics. 

The other instances are transliterated in the same way. The translators exactly bring the ST item into 

the TT along with footnotes. Most of the times, these footnotes are very brief because adding a lengthy 

note may cause divergence from the original and lead to discrepancy in length between the source text 

and the translation. 

It is noticeable that intratextual additions, meaning additions made inside the text, and footnotes are not 

incompatible with each other. There are many instances where the translators used both in translating 

one CSI. For example, with Hồng lô tự thiếu khanh, the translators added both an intratextual addition, 

medal, and a footnote. 

3.5 Omission 

Omission is the deletion of a CSI in the TT so that the target readers will be totally unaware of its 

existence. A CSI may be omitted for several reasons such as the lack of an equivalent term in the target 

language and the inability to interpret the meaning of the original item. Although the omission of an ST 

item may result in the complete loss of the original reference, it may ensure a smooth reading process 

for the target audience. 

Of the six strategies proposed by Davies, omission could be said to be the most radical one. While the 

other five strategies allow readers of the translated text to access, to varying degrees, to the cultural 

implications inherent in the original CSIs, omission totally stripes the readers of this opportunity by 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

125 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

actually removing the CSIs from the translation. 

No omission is found in the translation of a total of 80 proper noun CSIs. Aware of the loss that this 

strategy may very likely cause, the translators must have tried their best to avoid it by opting for other 

strategies instead. 

3.6 Globalization 

Globalization is the replacement of a CSI with a more neutral or generic term in order to reach and 

attract a wider readership. When a CSI is globalized into a more general term or a superordinate, it may 

lead to some loss of the cultural associations or characteristic attributions of the original item. There are 

totally 3 cases of globalization in the translation of proper name CSIs in So do. They are presented in 

the table below. 

 

Table 7. Examples of Globalization Applied in Translating CSIs 

 Vietnamese English 

1 -Bần tăng xin phép... Thưa ngài, bần tăng đã 

cam chịu khổ hạnh, vất vả đến nỗi bần tăng 

lại còn làm chủ nhiệm một tờ báo nữa, tờ 

báo Gõ mõ ... A Di Ðà Phật! 

“With your permission ... Sir, I am a poor monk 

who lives but an ascetic and onerous existence. 

In addition, I am the publisher of a newspaper 

called the Wooden Fish Drum. Amitabha!” 

2 Chắc rồi đức Kim Thượng sẽ được thoã ý, 

nếu ngài đánh đổ mấy cây quần vợt quán 

quân của Trung Kỳ, Nam Kỳ, rồi đại biểu 

cho Ðông Dương để đi Xiêm. 

Our Majesty will be so pleased if you defeat the 

champions of Annam and Cochinchina and go 

on to represent Indochina in Siam. 

3 Hồ Trúc Bạch cứ là một thứ hàn thử biểu, 

thời khắc biểu về những bi kịch mới cũ 

xung đột, cá nhân, gia đình, hy sinh, giác 

ngộ, áp chế, giải phóng mãi mãi, mãi mãi, 

nếu không có một nhà thương yêu nòi giống 

xây ngay trên bờ hồ ấy một khách sạn mà 

Tây phương có lẽ cũng thèm muốn, là 

khách sạn Bồng Lai. 

The White Bamboo Lake might have remained 

forever and ever little more than a contemporary 

barometer of tragic conflict between the Old and 

the New, the Individual and the Family, 

Self-Sacrifice and Political Awakening, and 

Oppression and Liberation, had not a great 

patriot decided to construct on its banks an 

irresistible (even to the French) lakeside inn 

known as the Fairyland Hotel. 

 

With the application of globalization, a CSI is substituted by a more neutral, widely accessible term, 

thanks to which its essential meaning is kept and readers of the translation will not feel that something 

has been lost when they encounter the term. 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

126 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Mõ, literary meaning wooden fish drum is a wooden percussion instrument. The wooden fish drum is 

used by monks and lay people in the Buddhist tradition. Also, “Gõ mõ” is the job of the one who to has 

to drum and announce according to the orders of dignitaries in ancient Vietnamese villages. His job is 

to go around the village knocking on villagers to gather at the courtyard to hear the news that happened 

in the village. In fact, “Thằng mõ” is often a very poor person and is overlooked by the villagers. Gõ 

mõ is considered the most primitive media in Vietnamese traditional society, this “communication 

system” existed until the middle of the twentieth century and contributed a certain value in bringing 

information to the villagers. Vu Trong Phung used “Gõ mõ” with a sarcastic meaning, exposing the evil 

nature of the newspaper to create laugh. The ST item tờ báo Gõ mõ has been translated as a more 

general term the Wooden Fish Drum. This globalization of the translator have failed in delivering the 

hidden message which are underlying the proper name. 

The phrase Bồng Lai literally meaning “Paradise view” has been translated as a more general term 

Fairyland into English. Although this translation neutralizes the religious content of this CSI, it still 

gives its essential meaning. Thus, the translation here does not disturb the smooth flow of reading as a 

result of the globalization strategy. 

3.7 Localization 

Localization has been rarely applied in the translation of proper name CSIs in So do, with only 1 CSI 

localized. 

 

Table 8. Examples of Localization Applied in Translating CSIs 

Vietnamese English Back translation 

Thật vậy, chính sự nghiệp của 

ông, cũng là kỳ lạ, từ khi ông 

làm Vua Thuốc Lậu và chủ 

tiệm Bồng Lai 

Just like Xuan, Victor Ban had also 

recently reinvented himself-from 

the King of Venereal Disease 

Treatment to the owner of the 

Fairyland Hotel 

Vua điều trị bệnh 

hoa liễu 

 

The ST item Thuốc Lậu has been rendered as Venereal Disease in the TT. The translators have also 

inserted Treatment into the TT in order to clarify what this proper noun refers to. However, thuốc lậu, a 

Vietnamese noun usually used to denote the counterfeit of herbs. It is not the name of Gonorrhea 

medicine. The translators who may have been motivated by the desire to familiarize the target readers 

with the source culture. Due to misunderstanding, they have delivered the wrong translation. 

 

 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

127 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

4. Conclusions 

The present study aims to carries out a comparative analysis of Vu Trong Phung’s So do (1936) and its 

English translation entitled Dump Luck (2002) done by by Nguyen Nguyet Cam and Peter Zinoman in 

terms of the translation of CSIs. There are a considerable number of Vietnamese CSIs scattered on the 

pages of the novel which may be challenging for readers from outside the Vietnamese culture.  

In the light of the theoretical framework discussed in the first, the study examines closely the 

translation of CSI in the So Do into the English to determine which strategies proposed by Davies 

(2003) have been used in the transfer of CSIs in So do into English. When a CSI in the So Do refers to 

the names of people, places, organizations, etc., the translators have opted to either preserve them in 

English with the minimum of adaptation or to supplement them with explanatory information in the 

English to facilitate readers’ familiarity with such references. Therefore, the cultural peculiarities of So 

do is retained and reflected in the English translation Dumb Luck, for the majority of the CSIs in the So 

Do are kept almost unchanged and imported into the English and the flavor of the original culture is 

imparted to the receiving culture.  

As the translators have opted to stay closer to the So Do, the target readers, in one way or another, learn 

about the source culture. Accordingly, readers of the English who continually encounter alien 

references and items belonging to the Vietnamese culture journey through a Vietnamese epic and 

human encyclopedia of nearly 200 pages. The article uses statistical, comparative, quantitative and 

qualitative methods, to determine the frequency of using certain translation strategies for translating 

CSIs in the Dumb luck novel. The data generated by this method is a statistic showing the frequency of 

each translation strategy applied.  

From studying the application of CSI translation strategies, the article have been explored to find out 

the handling of cultural issues in translation, whether the translators are able to convey culture-specific 

items from the original to the translation English, and methods to optimize CSI translation. This study 

will provide results that help translators understand better how to use CSI translation strategies and 

evaluate the effectiveness of their work in the best way.  

We would like to thank the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development Fund 

-Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam (NAFOSTED FUND Code project: 602.05-2016.01), 

because sponsored for this article science. 

 

References 

Aixela, J. F. (1996). Culture-specific items in translation. In R. Alvarez, & M. Carmen Africa Vidal 

(Eds.), Translation, power, subversion (pp. 52-78). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 

Aixela, J. F. (1996). Culture-specific items in translation.pdf, Uploaded by E Wigmans. Retrieved 

February 10, 2019, from 

https://www.Aixela.%2C+J.+F.+1996.+Culturespecific+items+in+translation.pdf&aqs=chrome..6

9i57j69i60l2j0.1846j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/grhe            Global Research in Higher Education                  Vol. 2, No. 4, 2019 

128 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Bahumaid, S. (2010). Investigating cultural competence in English-Arabic translator training programs. 

Meta: Journal des traducteurs, 55(3), 569. https://doi.org/10.7202/045078ar 

Calvo, E. (2011). Translation and/or translator skills as organising principles for curriculum 

development practice. The journal of Specialized Translation, 16, 5-25.  

Diana, B., & Vilmantė, L. (2016). Culture-Specific Items (CSI) and their Translation Strategies in 

Martin Lindstrom’s Brand Sense. Research Journal Studies about Languages, 42-57.  

Hansen, G. (2006). Retrospection methods in translator training and translation research. Journal of 

Specialized Translation, 5, 2-40.  

Lotman and Uspensky. (1987). The Semiotics of Russial Culture, ed. A. Shukman (Book Review), 

Stupples, Peter. New Zealand Slavonic Journal, 207. 

Micaela, M. C. (2010-05-01). Translation and Cultural Identity: Selected Essays on Translation and 

Cross-Cultural Communication. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; New edition (2010-05-01) 

(1656). 

Vu Trong, P. (2002). (first published October 7th 1936), Dumb Luck (Z. Peter, Editor & Translator, N. 

C. Nguyễn, Translator). University of Michigan Press. 

 

Notes 

Note 1. This article science was sponsored by NAFOSTED FUND (National Foundation for Science 

and Technology Development Fund)-Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam. Code project: 

602.05-2016.01. 

 

 


