The semantics of above and its equivalences in Vietnamese translation

Abstract

“Above” is among the four English lexemes (over, above, under, and below) which represent a systematic division of the vertical axis into four distinct spatial locations. Although above shares some common semantic features with other spatial particles involving the vertical axis, its functional element distinguishes it from the others. Besides, the equivalences of “above” in Vietnamese translation are numerous, and furthermore the meaning can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on the context. In this paper, I carry out a survey of the semantics of “above” in the complete Sherlock Holmes and their equivalence in the officially published Vietnamese version (Literature Publishing House). The result of this will be used to compare and contrast the similarities and differences in the meanings of “above”.