Translation Quality Assessment of the Vietnamese Translation of The Da Vinci Code Using House’s Model
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60087/jklst.vol4.n4.010Keywords:
overt translation, covert translation, translation quality assessment, Juliane House, literary translation, Vietnamese translationAbstract
This study investigates the interplay of overt and covert translation in the Vietnamese translation of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, rendered into Vietnamese by Đỗ Thu Hà, within the framework of Juliane House’s Translation Quality Assessment model. It aims to identify the dominant translational orientation of the Vietnamese version and to examine how source-text features are preserved or adjusted across the dimensions of Field, Tenor, and Mode. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study combines qualitative textual analysis with quantitative support through the comparison of selected source-text and target-text pairs. The findings indicate that the Vietnamese translation is predominantly oriented towards overt translation, as it largely retains the cultural specificity, interpersonal meanings, and discourse organization of the original text. At the same time, certain covert adjustments are observable in order to enhance naturalness, readability, and accessibility for Vietnamese readers. Overall, the translation reflects a careful negotiation between fidelity to the source text and adaptation to the linguistic and cultural expectations of the target readership. The study highlights the applicability of House’s model to literary translation assessment and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how culturally embedded and stylistically marked texts are mediated in translation.
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