This document discusses problems that can occur with non-equivalence at the word level when translating between languages and strategies that can be used to deal with these problems. Some common problems identified are culture-specific concepts, words with complex semantics, and differences in meaning distinctions between languages. Strategies proposed to address non-equivalence include using more general words, neutral terms, cultural substitutions, loan words, and various types of paraphrasing.

1. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
& STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH THEM
PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
1. Culture- specific concept
2. The SL concept is not lexicalized the target language( TL)
3. The source language( SL) word is semantically complex
4. The SL and the TL make different distinction in meaning
5. The TL lacks a superordinate
6. The TL lacks a specific term(hyponym)
7. Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective
8. Difference in expressive meaning
9. Differences in form
10. Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific forms
11. The use of loan words in the SL

2. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
1. Culture- specific concept
-The SL word may express a concept which is totally unknown in
the target culture
- the concept may be abstract or concrete, related to religious
belief , social custom or even a type of food .such concepts are
often referred to as “culture specific”
Eg: The VNese use the word “ông mãnh” to refer to a young
died man.
the other countries people couldn’t know what “ông
mãnh” is if they don’t understand this Vneses’ custom.

3. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
2. The SL concept is not lexicalized the target language( TL)
-The SL word may express a concept which is known in the
target culture but it isn’t allocated a TL to express it.
Ex: The word: “quân tử” refers to a talented and straight
forward man who possesses many good quality in accordance
with Confucian. There is no equivalent word in E. sometimes it
can be translated as “gentleman” but it is restricted in certain
circumstance.
Or: the concept “mặc cả”- put the price up expecting people to
bargain

4. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
3. The SL word is semantically complex
This is a fairly common problem in translation. Words do
not have to be morphologically complex to be
semantically complex( Bolinger and Scars, 1968). In other
word which consists of single morpheme can sometimes
express a more complex set of meanings than a whole
sentence.
Eg: In Vietnamese“tôi tiễn anh ta ” the word “ tiễn”
means “ I take him out the door and say goodbye”.

5. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
4. The SL& TL make different distinctions in meaning
The TL may make more or fewer distinctions in meaning
than the SL.
Ex:
Vnese: aunt: cô, dì, thím, mợ, bác gái.
uncle: chú, cậu, dượng, bác trai
When translator translates from English to Vnese, he
gets some difficulties, he has to depend on the
context to translate it accurately.

6. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
5. The TL lacks a superordinate
The TL may have specific words but no superordinate
word(general word) to head the semantic field.
Ex: Vietnamese doesn’t have the general word for
“rice’’. It is translated as “ mạ, lúa, thóc, gạo, cơm,
cốm, bỏng…” depending on the context
Or: English doesn’t have the general word for “đàn”,
depending on the kind of animal to use different word
such as: a flock of bird/sheep, a pride of lions/ deer, a
pack of dog and so on

7. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
6. The TL lacks a specific term(hyponym)
The TL may have superordinate words(general word) but
lacks specific words.
Ex1: “to wear”
- Eng: depend on the context to understand its meaning
-Vnese: many hyponyms for it: mặc( quần áo), đi(tất, giày), để(
râu), đội( mũ), bôi( son) and so on….
Ex2: “cooking”
-Eng: many hyponyms:
boil, roast, bake, brew, braise, simmer, poach, grill, seal, glaze, prick
, brown.
-Vnese: sào, nấu, quay, rán, hấp, luộc => lacks words to express

8. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
7. Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective
- Physicalperspective: concerns the location of the
things or people of the context with others
Ex: Vnese: to “come/go” – “đi”
English: + Come: means getting closer the speaker
+ Go: means getting away from the speaker
-Interpersonal perspective: drawn the attention to
the relationship among participants in the discourse.
Ex: English: “to give”- present voluntarily and without
expecting compensation
Vnese: biếu, tặng, cống, nạp, đưa, cho…

9. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
8. Differences in expressive meaning
A word has different expressive meaning between SL and TL
Ex1: “sexy”
-Eng: it means attractive which has positive, complementary
meaning(praise)
-Vnese: it means wearing erotically ( khiêu gợi), has negative
meaning
Ex2: “exotic”
-Eng: it means unusual and exciting because of coming from a
distant country, has neutral and positive meaning.
-Vnese: it often conveys a disapproving meaning( ngoại lai)

10. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
9. Differences in form
There is no equivalence in TL for a particular form in SL
text. Prefixes & suffixes in E often have no equivalent in
other languages.
Ex: “employer”, “ creditor”, transferee”
The suffixes “er, or, ee”… Vnese have no direct
equivalent in producing such as form so it is often
replaced by paraphrase depending on the meaning they
convey.

11. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
10. Differences in frequency and purpose of using of
specific forms
A particular form does have equivalent in TL but there
may be a difference in the frequency with which it is
used or purpose for which it is used.
Ex: - Eng: “_ing” form in English is used differently
from using in gerund

12. PROBLEMS WITH NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
11. The use of loan words in the source text
The source text use loan words, so it is difficult to find loan
words in TL
Ex: “sơn hào, hải vị” are 2 loan word from chinese
Eng has no equivalent loan word.

13. Strategies for non-equivalence at word level
1. Translation by a more general word( superordinate)
2. Translation by more neutral/less expressive word
3. Translation by cultural substitution
4. Translation using a loan word or loan word plus
explanation
5. Translation by paraphrase using a related word
6. Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words
7. Translation by omission
8. Translation by illustration

14. Strategies for non-equivalence at word level
1. Translation by a more general word
This strategy uses a more general word(superordinate) to
replace the more specific one. It’s the commonest strategies
for dealing many types of non-equivalence, particularly in
the area of propositional meaning.
Ex:
- Eng: makes distinctions among mopeds, scooters and
motorcycles depending on wheels and engines.
- Vnese: use the general word“xe máy” for all

15. Strategies for non-equivalence at word level
2. Translation by more neutral/less expressive word
The strategy uses more neutral/ less word to replace words
which don’t have equivalent words. It is particularly useful to
an expressive word.
Ex1: The word “sexy” should be transferred as “quyến rũ” in
Vnese since it is more neutral and not likely to convey a
disapproving meaning as “gợi tình”
Ex2: Oversea Vietnamese was delighted with remarkable
change in the motherland.
Should be translated: Việt kiều vui mừng trước sự thay đổi
của quê hương
It is better than “mẫu quốc”

16. STRATEGIES FOR NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
3. Translation by cultural substitution
-This strategy involves replacing a cultural- specific item or
express with one of the different meanings but similar impact
in the translated text.
- this strategy gives the reader a concept which they can
identify and understand, familiar and appealing to them.
-most Vietnamese translators dislike this strategy and prefer
direct translation claiming that is a way for the original text.
*Eg: In English “the baby weights six pounds”
Translate into Vietnamese, instead of “ đứa bé nặng 6 cân
anh” we say “ đứa bé nặng 2,7 kg”
* Eg2: “ mother day” in English is translated as “ ngày lễ vu
lan” in Vietnam. Because both are a day to honor mother
and motherhood in both countries.

17. STRATEGIES FOR NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
4. Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation
-This strategy is particularly deal with culture- specific items,
modern concepts, and buzz words.
-this strategy is very useful when the translator deal with concepts
or ideas that are new to target audience, culture- specific items,
and proper names of diseases or medicines that a widely known in
English names.
Eg: “HIV and AIDS” are two familiar concepts with most
people in the word. Therefore they often used as in the SL
without accompanying explanation

18. STRATEGIES FOR NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
5.Translation by paraphrase using a related words
This strategy tends to be used when the concept expressed
by the source item is lexical in the TL but in a different form,
and when the frequency with which a certain form is used
in the source text is significantly higher than would be
natural in the TL.
Ex:- In English: “the integrated resorts are fully opened, gaming
areas will take up less than 3 per cent of the Gross Floor Area for
Marina Bay Sands.”
-In Vnese: “Các khu nghỉ dưỡng kết hợp đa chức năng mở cửa
hoàn toàn, khu vực sòng bài chỉ chiếm chưa tới 3% tổng diện
tích mặt bằng của Marina Bay Sands.”
As in dictionary, “ integrated” is an adj referring to the stated of
combining many different parts are closely connected and work
successfully together, but it is not lexicalized clearly in Vnese.

19. 6.Translation by paraphrase using a unrelated words
If the concept expressed by the source item is not lexicalized at
all the TL, the paraphrase strategy can still be used in some
context. Instead of a related word, the paraphrase may be base
on modifying a superordinate or simply on unpacking the
meaning the source item.
Eg. In English” Compulsory school attendance was only through
grade five.”
the word “attendance “ in Vietnamese means “ sự tham dự”
it seems to be not appropriate here. Therefore we translate in
to Vnese “giáo dục bắt buộc chỉ hết lớp năm.”

20. STRATEGIES FOR NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
7. Translation by omission
-If the meaning conveyed by a particular item or expression
is not vital enough to the development of the text to justify
distracting the reader with lengthy explanations, translators
can often do simply omit translating the word or expression
in question
Eg: - SL” long hours and shared stress at work are leading to office
romance.”
the word “ romance” in English can be translated as “ tình/chuyện
tình/chuyện tình lãng mạn/ mối tình lãng mạn” the shorter version,
though can convey the implication which is enough for the reader to
understand. Therefore we translate the SL in to Vietnamese as
“thời gian làm việc chung lâu và sự chia sẻ khó khăn khi làm việc là tác
nhân cho tình công sở”

21. STRATEGIES FOR NON-EQUIVALENCE AT WORD LEVEL
8.Traslation by illustration
This is a useful option if the word which lacks an
equivalent in the TL refers to a physical entity which can
be illustrated, particularly if there are restrictions on
space and if the text has to remain short, concise, and to
the point.
Eg: In Vietnam, having toys named “ tò he” which made
from colored rice dough. It is made to depict different heroes
and ordinary people of daily life, symbolic animal. It is
difficult for a foreigner readers to visualize what exactly a “ tò
he” is showing a photo of it.