Translating Chinese four-letter phrases into Vietnamese (through the original and translation of the Dream of Red Mansions)

Abstract

The four-letter phrases (四字格) is a unique linguistic phenomenon in Chinese. These can be the fixed phrases such as idioms, or unfixed phrases put together. The Chinese four- letter phrases have different functions and are an important component of a sentence. In this article, we apply the linguistic culture theory of Shen Xiaolong (申小龙) and combine the knowledge that we have accumulated to contrast the translation of Chinese four-letter phrases into Vietnamese through the original and translation of the Dream of Red Mansions. The survey results show that the Chinese four-letter phrases that are translated into Vietnamese may retain their four-letter structure or have their structure broken (more or less than four letters). On these bases, we find out the similarities and differences between Chinese and Vietnamese, and propose a new perspective on how to translate Chinese into Vietnamese.