CHAPTER 4:

TRANSLATING RELATIVE CLAUSES

(WITH A FOCUS ON ENGLISH – VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION)

4.1 Introduction
Relative clauses are generally regarded as a point of grammar in European
languages; however, they are often better treated as a point of style when they are
translated into languages, especially East Asian languages. Research into
translating relative clauses has been carried out in many language pairs, such as
English-Thai (Leenakitti & Pongpairoj, 2019), English-Vietnamese (Nguyen,
2002).
According to Nguyen (2002), Vietnamese EFL learners often have
difficulties translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese. They have a
tendency to use connective word mà to join the main clause and the subordinate
clause. This makes the target sentence sound “Western” rather than “pure
Vietnamese”. The problem may come from the mismatch in grammatical issues
between the two languages. Many Vietnamese linguists (e.g., Diệp Quang Ban,
1989; Hoàng Trọng Phiến, 2008) stated that the Vietnamese language does not have
relative pronouns, and that the word mà that EFL learners often used in their
translation was a function word, connecting the two parts of the sentence. However,
although there is no such a relative pronoun in Vietnamese, there are ways of
expressing the relative clause structures.

4.2 An overview of relative clauses in English

This section provides an overview of relative clauses as part of English
grammar. It is adapted from the online sources of British Council Online English
Courses.
A relative clause is adjectival. It comes after the noun or noun phrase to tell
more about the people or things or to join two clauses. There are two types of
relative clauses: defining and non-defining relative clauses.
A defining relative clause tells which people or thing we are talking about:
[4.1] I like the woman who lives next door.
Without “who lives next door” we do not know which woman is being
talked about.
 A non-defining relative clause gives us extra information about something.
We don’t need this information to understand the sentence, but it is good to have
extra information.
[4.2] I live in London, which has some fantastic parks.
Everyone knows London, so “which has some fantastic parks” does not help
to identify London, but add more information about London.
Relative clauses are introduced by WHO, WHICH, WHOM, WHOSE, WHERE and
WHEN. In the next section, different ways of translating relative clauses will be
presented based on the types of relative clauses and the relative words that
introduce the relative clauses.

4.3 Different ways of translating English relative clauses into Vietnamese

As mentioned, the use of connective word mà in the target sentence when
translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese is not effective. For one
thing, it makes the target sentence sound ‘foreign’. For another, the word mà does
not match the grammatical category of those used to introduce the relative clause.
Therefore, it is essential to make adjustments and/or adaptations in translating
relative clauses.

4.3.1 Translating relative clauses with WHERE and WHEN

In most situations, WHERE can be literally translated into Vietnamese words
nơi. However, it is sometimes omitted.
When the SS contains the word PLACE, the word WHERE should be
omitted, because these two words are equivalent to Vietnamese words
nơi.
[4.3] SS: Do you remember the place where we caught the bus?
TS: Anh còn nhớ nơi chúng ta đón xe buýt không?
When the SS contains a word that is generally understood as a place, the
word WHERE is often omitted.
[4.4] SS: Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where Shakespeare was born.
TS1: Stratford-upon-Avon là thị trấn nơi Shakespeare đã ra đời.
TS2: Stratford-upon-Avon là thị trấn Shakespeare đã ra đời.
Similar to WHERE, WHEN can be translated into Vietnamese as khi or omitted
in the Vietnamese sentences.
 When the SS contains the phrase THE TIME, the translated version can be
‘khoảng thời gian khi/lúc’:
[4.5] SS: The time when I was studying at college was the best learning
experience in my life.
TS: Khoảng thời gian khi tôi học đại học là trải nghiệm học hỏi đẹp
nhất của đời tôi.
When the SS contains a word or phrase that is generally used as an
expression of time (e.g., the day, the holiday, summer), WHEN is often
omitted in the TS.
[4.6] SS: I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day when the
tsunami happened.
TS: Tôi vẫn nhớ sinh nhật lần thứ 21 của mình. Hôm ấy là ngày xảy
ra sóng thần.

4.3.2 Translating relative clauses with WHOSE

As WHOSE is a word indicating possessive relation to the antecedent noun,
in most situations, this word is translated into Vietnamese as có.
[4.7] SS: The woman whose car is a BMW is coming tonight.
TS: Người phụ nữ có chiếc xe BMW tối nay sẽ đến.
[4.8] SS: Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?
TS: Bạn có biết thằng bé có mẹ làm y tá không?

4.3.3 Translating relative clause with WHO, WHOM and WHICH

Words like WHO, WHOM and WHICH in English relative clauses are usually
not translated into Vietnamese. The relative clause turns to be a modifier to the
noun in the target sentence.
[4.9] SS: I don’t like people who are big-headed.
TS: Tôi không thích những kẻ kiêu căng.

4.3.4 Other ways translating relative clauses

There are some situations in which other ways of translating are needed
because the omission of the relative words (relative pronouns) may affect the
smoothness and naturalness of the target sentence.
 4.3.4.1 Using an appositive
The non-defining relative clauses sometimes look like appositive clauses
because they appear between two commas and the uses of these two clauses are
somewhat similar. Although Vietnamese grammar does not have relative clauses,
Vietnamese speakers do use appositive clauses. Therefore, it is a useful alternative
providing there is an appropriate adjustment.
[4.10] SS: St Andrew University, which is the oldest university in Scotland,
is the Scottish equivalent of Oxford.
TS: Đại học St Andrew, Đại học cổ kính nhất Scotland, được coi là
bản sao của Đại học Oxford của nước này.
As mentioned, it is important to make adjustments in the target sentence to
avoid unnecessary repetition because the apposition in English often repeats the
key noun or nominal expression, or makes use of a synonym of the key noun.

4.3.4.2 Splitting the source sentence into independent simple sentences

Splitting the SS into independent simple sentences is a good way to handle
the translation of the SS that contain a non-defining clause, as the ideas in the two
clauses are fairly independent.
[4.11] SS: My grandmother, who is 96 now, is a big fan of the Beatles.
TS: Bà tôi là một người hâm mộ cuồng nhiệt của nhóm nhạc Beatles.
Bà năm nay đã 96 tuổi.
This way of translation is also applicable to a relative clause that modifies
the whole idea of the main clause.
[4.12] SS: New Zealand has no snakes or dangerous wild animals, which
makes it the ideal spot for an outdoor vacation.
TS: New Zealand (Tân Tây Lan) không có rắn hoặc các động vật
hoang dã nguy hiểm. Điều đó khiến đất nước này trở thành địa điểm
lý tưởng cho những kỳ nghỉ ngoài trời.

4.4 Practice Exercises

4.4.1 Exercise 1: English - Vietnamese translation

Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese. Pay attention to the intelligible
ways of expressing English relative clauses in the target sentences.
 1. The Ring of Fire, which goes from New Zealand up to Asia and across
the ocean to Alaska, is an enormous chain of volcanoes all around the Pacific
Ocean.
Vành đai núi lửa di chuyển từ New Zeland đến Châu Á và băng qua đại dương đến Alsaka là một chuỗi núi lửa khổng lồ ở khắp Thái Bình
Dương.
2. To many people around the world, Australia is the land of kangaroos and
koala bears, where residents and tourists alike romp on any of thousands of
beaches.
Đối với nhiều người trên thế giới, Úc là xứ sở của những chú chuột túi và gấu koala, nơi người dân cũng như khách du lịch có thể dạo chơi trên
bất kỳ bờ biển nào trong hàng ngàn bãi biển.
3. The coat, which Dan had on yesterday, was made of pure alpaca and cost
a bomb.
Chiếc áo khoác Dan mặc hôm qua làm bằng lông cừu alpaca nguyên chất rất đắt đỏ/ có giá khủng.
4. To calm his angry girlfriend, Joey offered an apology which Francine did
not accept.
Để người yêu nguôi giận, Joey đã xin lỗi, nhưng Francine vẫn không chấp nhận.
5. Brian said goodnight to his roommate Justin, who continued to play video
games until his eyes were blurry with fatigue.
Brian chúc Justin-bạn cùng phòng ngủ ngon, còn Justin vẫn tiếp tục chơi trờ chơi điện tử cho đến khi mắt mờ đi vì mệt.
6. The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked.
Cảnh sát đang tìm kiếm chiếc xe có tài xế đeo mặt nạ.
7. The car, the driver of which jumped out just before the accident, was
completely destroyed.
Tài xế đã nhảy ra khỏi chiếc ô tô trước khi tai nạn xảy ra. Chiếc xe đó hoàn toàn bị phá hủy.
8. The early 1980s was a hard time when most Vietnamese people were very
poor.
Đầu những năm 1980 là một thời kỳ khó khăn khi hầu hết người Việt Nam rất nghèo khổ.
9. The Maya civilization was developed by the Maya peoples in an area that
encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western
portions
Các dân tộc người of Honduras
Maya đã phát triển nền vănand
minhEl Salvador.
của mình trong khu vực gồm miền Đông Nam Mexico, toàn bộ vùng Guatemala và Belize,
các vùng phía Tây của Honduras và ElSalvador
10. The heavy rain, which was unusual for the time of year, destroyed most
of the plants in my garden.
Trận mưa lớn bất thường trong năm đã phá hủy hầu hết các loài thực vật trong vườn của tôi.

4.4.2 Exercise 2: Vietnamese - English translation

Translate the following sentences into English. Note that relative clauses can be
used in the target sentences.
1. Là một siêu sao, Cristiano Ronaldo luôn trở thành tâm điểm của cánh báo
chí. Chính điều này đã khiến cho cuộc sống của anh đôi khi trở nên căng thẳng và
dễ tổn thương.
As a superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo always becomes the focus of the press. This made his life sometimes stressful and vulnerable.
2. Tôi muốn đi Tây Ban Nha vào mùa đông, khi ấy sẽ ít khách du lịch hơn.
I want to go to Spain in winter, when there will be fewer tourists.
3. Anh ấy rất tiếc vì đã không cưới được cô gái tôi yêu tha thiết.
He regrets not having married the girl I love dearly.
4. Đến bây giờ anh ấy vẫn muốn biết lý do vì sao cô ấy từ chối tôi.
Up till now / until now he still wants to know why she has turned down/ refused / rejected me.
5. Chúng tôi tìm kiếm ứng viên là người địa phương hoặc có am hiểu về địa
phương nơi thực hiện dự án.
We are looking for candidates, the local or expert in the locality, where the project is being carried out/ implemented/ conducted
 6. Công viên mở cửa tự do cho dân chúng ngoại trừ một ngày cuối tuần khi
người ta tổ chức trưng bày hoa.
The park is open to the public, except for one weekend day when a flower display is held.
7. Đó là người phụ nữ giàu nhất vùng. Vàng bạc trong nhà của bà ấy bị trộm
hôm qua.
That's the richest woman in the area whose jewelry in her house was stolen yesterday
8. Học viện là nơi có sinh viên từ khắp nơi trên thế giới đến học tiếng Anh
cung
The Academy, cấp rất
the place nhiều
where khóa
students fromhọc linhthehoạt.
all over world come to study English, offers/ brings/ provides a wide range of flexible
courses.
9. Không có con đường bằng phẳng và rộng mở trong khoa học; chỉ những
ai không sợ vất vả, khó khăn mới có thể đạt đến thành tựu cao nhất.
There is no smooth and open road in science. Only those who are not afraid of hard work and difficulties can obtain the highest achievement.
10. Chuyến bay bị hoãn, đồng nghĩa với việc chúng tôi phải chờ thêm 3 tiếng nữa
ở sân bay.
The flight was delayed, which meant we had to wait for another 3 hours at the airport.