Slide 2 – Borrowing
Let’s begin with Borrowing, which is the first and simplest translation procedure.
Slide 3 – What is Borrowing in Translation?
Borrowing means transferring a word directly from the source language to the target language.
In other words, no translation is performed.
Slide 4 – Why Do We Borrow Words? (1)
We often borrow words to overcome a lacuna, which is a lexical gap.
For example, when new inventions, technologies, or social trends appear, we may not have a ready-made term in
the target language. That’s why words like virus or karaoke are borrowed directly into Vietnamese.
They help enrich the target languagr and express new concepts clearly and efficiently.
Slide 5 – Why Do We Borrow Words? (2)
Borrowing is also used to preserve local colour — that is, to maintain the cultural tone or authenticity of the original
text. For instance, in Vietnamese texts we often see sushi or áo dài kept in their original forms.
Keeping them helps readers feel the original cultural context. These words carry strong cultural associations that
would be lost if we tried to translate them literally.
Slide 6 – Literary Example
Here is an example from the novel Me Before You.
The book is about Louisa “Lou” Clark, who becomes the caregiver/companion to Will Traynor, a man who lost the
ability to move most of his body after an accident. They gradually develop special feeling for each other . The
cappuccino symbolizes small comfort. - quiet moment that shows her beginning to think differently about herself
and her world.
Slide 8 – Faux Amis Such similarities can easily mislead translators, so we need to be
cautious when dealing with apparent borrowings.
Slide 9 – Calque
Next, we move to the second type of direct translation: Calque, also called loan translation.
Slide 10 – Definition of Calque
According to Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p.85), calque is a “special kind of borrowing” where a language borrows an
expression from another, but translates each of its elements literally.
So, unlike borrowing, the translator replaces the words with their direct equivalents but keeps the structure of the
original phrase.
Slide 11 – Calque Categories
Slide 12 – Lexical Calque
A lexical calque respects the structure of the target language, but introduces a new way of expression.
In Vietnamese, it becomes siêu nhân.
“Super” means “siêu” and “man” means “nhân.” The structure stays the same, but the expression feels natural in
Vietnamese.
Slide 13 – Structural Calque
It introduces a new grammatical or syntactic structure into the target language.
For instance, from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince (1943), the original line is:
Slide 14 – Misuse of Calque
However, a calque can easily be misused if we imitate the source language too closely.
For example, take the English idiom “to have a big mouth.”
If we translate it literally as “có cái miệng to,” it becomes meaningless or even funny in Vietnamese.
The correct translation should be “hay buôn chuyện” or “không giữ bí mật.” As Larson (1998) points out, translators
must always consider the intended meaning, not just the words themselves.
Slide 15 – Literal Translation (Introduction)
Now, let’s move to the third procedure of direct translation: Literal Translation.
Slide16 – Literal Translation Overview
Literal translation — also known as word-for-word translation —
is the direct transfer of a source language text into a target language text that is grammatically and idiomatically
correct.
As Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p.86) explain, literal translation is acceptable only when both languages share similar
structures and meanings.
In short, it’s about keeping the form as close as possible while still sounding natural.
Slide 17 – Example: Wuthering Heights
Let’s look at an example from Wuthering Heights ., Emily Brontë’s (1847).
The English line says:
“He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”
This line is said by Catherine Earnshaw about Heathcliff. In this scene, Catherine tells Nelly Dean,
the housekeeper, how deeply connected she feels to Heathcliff. She says their souls are made of the
same thing — meaning they are one.
It shows that Catherine and Heathcliff’s love is very strong, and impossible to separate, even though
she chooses to marry another man, Edgar Linton.
Here, the translator keeps the sentence structure and meaning almost identical.
It’s faithful to grammar and sense, while maintaining the emotional tone of the original.
Slide 18 – Context and Caution
Literal translation, however, is not always safe. It must respect context and idiomatic usage.
So, translators must always judge when literal translation works and when it does not.