This dissertation investigated how tense and aspect items were transferred into Vietnamese via the contrasting of the expressions of tenses and aspects. Practically, the main aim of the study was to find Vietnamese linguistic means or markers applicable to convey the English tenses and aspects. Then, the second aim of the study was to find out the implications of the Vietnamese linguistic means or markers used in translating English tenses and aspects. The data collected from the novel in the English language entitled the Great Gatsby by the U.S’s famous novelist, Francis Scott Fitzgerald comprise of 2,493 English sentences. The rest of 7,479 Vietnamese translated sentences were taken from the three novels in Vietnamese namely “Con người hào hoa”, “Gatsby vĩ đại”, “Đại gia Gatsby” by three prominent Vietnamese translators namely Mặc Đỗ, Hoàng Cường and Trịnh Lữ respectively.
The research employed mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative strategy as a methodology approach. Besides, various research methods such as the descriptive and analytical methods and contrasting methods also used. The library research method was to collect related materials and data to construct a theoretical background for the study by reviewing related theories such as tenses, aspects and equivalence in translation. Moreover, qualitative approach was employed to assist the description, explanation, clarification and synthesis of the quantitative results of the research. Similarly, to analyze qualitatively the target texts, the research employed Vietnamese temporal and aspectual markers mentioned in the literature reviews.
The study discovered that the employment of overt linguistic markers indicating tenses and aspects was infrequent in translated texts in Vietnamese. In reality, locating temporal manner of a situation in Vietnamese is mostly deduced from the context of the situation itself. The information indicating aspects of a situation is mostly inferred from the context and situation types of the verbs. Besides, it can be overtly indentified through certain Vietnamese linguistic markers. Contrary to that, tense is a matter of the fact in all finite sentences and openly transfers the temporal manner of a situation.
The results of the research are of considerable significance helping solve the controversies over whether Vietnamese has tenses and aspects or not. Besides, translators of English may take these results as a practical reference assisting the translating work. Furthermore, teachers and learners of English can employ these results in their studying and educating and English in common and translation in specific.