A study on difficulties in Vietnamese English interpreting encountered by English major students at Thuongmai University

ABSTRACT

Interpreting is one of obligatory subject which was designed for students of
English Department at Thuongmai University. There are two sections of interpreting:
English – Vietnamese interpreting and Vietnamese – English interpreting. The
interpreting course is is taught for the students of English falcuty from the second
year. For many students, the subject of practicing interpreting is a difficult task,
especially the Vietnamese – English interpreting section. This study was conducted to
find out the difficulties which was encountered by English majored students at TMU in
learning Vietnamese – English interpreting. Due to the reason that this subject is only
taught for second and third – year student, the research would focus the students have
been studying for the 2nd and 3rd year. The research methods used in this study are the
questionnaire – a list of questions and the interview questions to find out the
difficulties that students usually face in the learning process. From the results
collected, the researcher would give some recommendations and suggestions for both
students and teachers of English Department at TMU in order to create a appropriate
teaching – learning invironment which brings more effective lessons.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor,
Mrs. Nguyen Bich Hong for her guidance and encouragement during my completing
the graduation paper. With her insight of science as well her experience for many years
are the biggest inspiration for me in completing my thesis. This thesis could not be
done successfully without her valuable advice and support.
Moreover, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the teachers of the
English faculty, Thuongmai University for their dedication to imparting knowledge
during the four years of study.

I also would like to sincerely thank Thuong Mai University, which provides an
active learning environment, that help me obtain various knowledge and methods to
study and research myself. Thanks to that I can complete my graduation paper in the
best way.
Besides, I owe sincere and earnest thankfulness to all the students who spent
their time answering my questionnaire as well as interview questions to help me in my
data collection.
Additionally, I would like to acknowledge my thanks to all the authors of the
books, magazines, and the other materials listed in the reference part for their ideas
that have been reflected and developed in the study.
Especially, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my parents and my
family for nurturing and teaching me to be a good person as well as giving me good
conditions to study and develop.
Once again, I would like to show my wholehearted gratitude to all people
supporting me to finish my graduation paper.
Hanoi, April 11th , 2021
Student - Nguyen Thi Huyen

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.............................................................................................ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.........................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES...................................................................................vi
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY...............................................................1
1.1. Rationale.................................................................................................................1
1.2. Previous studies.......................................................................................................2
1.3. Aims of the study....................................................................................................4

1.4. Research Subjects....................................................................................................4
1.5. Scope of the study...................................................................................................4
1.6. Research methodology............................................................................................4
1.7. Organization of the study........................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................6
2.1. Definition of Vietnamese – English interpreting.....................................................6
2.1.1. Concepts of interpreting.......................................................................................6
2.1.2 The definition of Vietnamese – English interpreting.............................................7
2.2. The importance of Vietnamese – English interpreting............................................7
2.3. Modes of interpreting..............................................................................................8
2.3.1. Consecutive interpreting......................................................................................8
2.3.2. Simultaneous interpreting....................................................................................9
2.4. Interpreting process...............................................................................................10
2.5. Some helpful skills for interpreting.......................................................................11
2.5.1. Hearing ability...................................................................................................11
2.5.2. Public speaking skills.........................................................................................11
2.5.3. Coversion skills..................................................................................................11
2.5.4. Memory skills....................................................................................................12
2.5.5. Note – taking skills............................................................................................12
2.6. The factors influencing interpreting process.........................................................12
2.6.1 Influence of the mother tongue...........................................................................12
2.6.2 Words and choices of word meanings:................................................................13
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2.6.3. Grammartical struture........................................................................................14
2.6.5. Context............................................................................................................... 15
2.7. Common errors in Vietnamese – English interpreting..........................................16
2.7.1. Wrong words order............................................................................................16
2.7.2. Wrong choices of grammartical structure...........................................................16

2.7.3. Cultural error.....................................................................................................17
2.7.4. Errors of interpretation quality...........................................................................18
2.7.5. Wrong note – taking style..................................................................................18
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS......................................................................20
3.1. Results collected from the questionnaire...............................................................20
3.1.1. The student’s attitude towards Vietnamese – English interpreting section.........20
3.1.2. Difficulties in learning V – E interpreting of English majored students............22
3.1.3. The methods of students when studying V – E interpreting...............................24
3.1.4. The influence of teachers on learning V – E interpreting of the students...........26
3.2. Results collected from the interview questions.....................................................27
CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTIONS...................................30
4.1. Suggestions for students.......................................................................................30
4.2. Suggestions for teachers.......................................................................................32
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................34
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................1
APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONARE...................................................................................2
APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTION....................................................................4

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Number
1
2
3
4
5
6

7
8
9

Abbreviation
TMU
SL
TL
V–E
EU
EVFTA

Meaning
Thuongmai University
Source language
Target Language
Vietnamese – English
Europe
European Union–Vietnam Free Trade
Agreement
Free Trade Agreement
World Trade Organization
World Health Organization

FTA
WTO
WHO

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LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES

Number
1
2

Table & Chart
Image. The process of interpreting
Table 1: Student’s attitude towards

Page Number
12
23

3

interpreting course at TMU
Table 2. Student’s attitude of V – E

24

4

interpreting section
Pie chart 1. The importance of V – E

24

5

interpreting
Pie chart 2. Frequency of difficulties of

25

6

practicing V – E interpreting
Table 3: The difficultíe students have to

26

face during interpreting Vietnamese into
7

English
Pie chart 3. External difficulties

27

8

influencing V – E interpreting learning
Table 4. The amount of time students

28

usually spend on studying V – E
9

interpreting
Table 5. The ways students apply to

10

improve their V – E interpreting
Pie chart 4. The influence of the

29

11

teachers
Table 6. The ways teachers should

30

apply for teaching and learning V – E
interpreting

6

28-29


CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

1.1. Rationale
In the context of globalization today, people may ask themselves a question: How

am i able to integrate with all the people round the world if we cannot understand what
we are saying? And English is that the right answer to the current question. Through
thousands of years of development, English has played a vital role within the
integration of the whole world. We cannot deny that English is one in every of the keys
which motivated the event of both the economy and society of persons. Although it's
not the foremost used language within the world, it's the foremost versatile and
popular language. English is considered the official language of about 60 countries
round the world. English has been becoming the most popular means of
communication among people.
We all know that people can’t live without communication, and English has been
miraculously performing its bridging role. In fact, there is no way to express our ideas,
feelings, happiness, sadness... without communication. I can understand that the core
principle of communication is using mutual language, so pondering the whole world's
case, I am able to determine English should be the core of world communication. It's
dominating all areas of human social life from economy, politics, entertainment,
culture, and arts….
Nowadays, the majority kinds of documents, business contracts, or international
conventions are written in English. At international meetings or conferences, English
is nearly used as a standard language. Many companies and corporations, whether
large or small within the world, believe that English proficiency could be a necessary
condition in recruiting personnel. For the entire world to be integrated into a typical
environment, we must understand what others want to say and English is that invisible
link. And the foundation of that bond is translation and interpretation. Translation and
interpreting indeed play an irreplaceable role within the process of exchanging
information among countries. It's considered an efficient means to find out a way to
embrace different cultures, communities, and other things from any country or territory
within the world. Through translation and interpretation, citizens of every country can
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understand each other's cultures and move towards mutual integration within the
global multicultural community.
However, with a language as complex and in-depth as Vietnamese, VietnameseEnglish translation and interpretation still has many great challenges. Translating and
interpreting are not simply the substitution of words from one language to a different,
they are the intersection of two different cultures. Therefore, not all learners can avoid
making mistakes. Perhaps,

due to the difference in culture, mother tongue, or

awareness ..., Vietnam's English faculty students normally and English students at
Thuongmai University particularly still make lots of errors within the process of
interpreting documents and bulletins or speech messages from Vietnamese into
English. In fact, there are quite many students making studies on difficulties or
mistakes within the practice of translation, but the topic of interpreting practice has not
yet been carefully explored. As an English major at Thuongmai University, I see the
importance of the practice of translating and look forward to studying it further.
For those reasons, I have got decided to choose the study “A study on difficulties
in Vietnamese - English interpreting encountered by English major students at
Thuongmai University”. I hope this study will contribute to clarify the difficulties of
learning interpreting practice. Additionally, it will help to find out solutions to assist
students of English people department at Thuong Mai University improve their
learning and practice efficiency, contributing to improving their English speaking
skills to support their future work.
1.2. Previous studies
Globalization has become the most popular trend, and Vietnam is not out of this
concept. Global integration means citizens of other countries must have good English
proficiency, however, Vietnamese still face various difficulties to meet these needs. I
found that almost all Vietnamese students studying English can translate and interpret
well content from English to Vietnamese, but from English to Vietnamese, it is quite
weak. Besides, many students are majoring in the English language or majoring in

translation and interpretation researched topics in translation - interpreting practice.
However, for the subject of practice interpreting, the number of studies is still quite
small.
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With a particular issue of difficulties in translating practice, I have collected an
interesting and practical research paper. Thus, I would like to depend on this study as
reference materials for my graduation paper.
The study was conducted by Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Hang – a student of the
Foreign Language faculty at Danang Architecture University in 2019. Her title study
is: “Difficulties in interpreting English for foreign teachers in children's English
classes at English for Success center.” The purpose of the study is to find out the
difficulties when interpreting for foreign teachers in communication English classes at
the English for Success Center. Since then, proposing solutions to overcome those
difficulties to make their translation work better as well as advising students who have
been and are about to perform this interpretation work. The above research topic has
mentioned quite clearly the problems and obstacles when practicing interpreting from
English to Vietnamese and vice versa. However, the downside here is that the topic is
presented entirely in Vietnamese that made the topic lose its professionalism because it
is a topic related to foreign language academic translation and interpretation action.
Besides, the topic was researched by the qualitative method and the subjects were the
teaching assistant of the center, so the conclusion of the study is of a small group of
subjects. The strength of the topic is the practicality of the survey and finding out what
the specific difficulties are due to the working environment in direct contact with
foreigners.
The study's conclusions have shown the following difficulties:
- The first is that listening and understanding skills are not good, so the
interpreting process is hesitant, leading to poor quality of the lessons.
- The second is poor speaking skills and incorrect pronunciation leading to

misunderstandings between foreign couchers, and students.
- The third is that the lack of English vocabulary makes the interpretation
quality not good.
- Sometimes foreign couchers use slang words that make their teaching
assistants confused and unable to accurately translate the content. This is the fourth
difficulty related to cultural factors.

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- The last is a lack of confidence in speaking or giving public presentations.
This is also one of the difficulties that students often encounter.
From the above research results, some suggestions and solutions have been given
to improve the quality of interpreting of the individual researcher as well as other
teaching assistants. I highly appreciate the research direction of the topic as well as its
results and conclusions. This topic will help me complete my graduation thesis and
clarify other issues about Vietnamese - English interpreting. Since then, the results of
this study will be really useful for me as well as for the students of the English
department of Thuongmai University.
1.3. Aims of the study
This thesis is intended to find out the difficulties faced by students of the English
department in the course of studying interpreting practice. The study also aims to
know students' expectations in learning the subject, thereby proposing solutions that
can overcome their problems and satisfy their expectations to enhance and adjust both
ways of learning - teaching styles and methods.
1.4. Research Subjects
Subject: English majored students’difficulties in learning interpreting practices at
Thuongmai University and finding out some solutions to improve the efficiency of
leaning this subject.
1.5. Scope of the study

For students of the Business English Faculty, the practice of translating is an
obligatory subject of the course. This is also one of the most difficult subjects for
students. Starting from the second year, students will be exposed to translation theory
and in the 3rd and 4th years students will learn more deeply into translation and
interpreting. Therefore, this study will focus on 3rd and 4th-year students of the
English department at Thuongmai University.
1.6. Research methodology
One of the decisive factors to the success of the research is that the research
methodology. Today, many resources such as books, newspapers, and especially the
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Internet are used to serve the researches. Besides, there are many research methods
that students can prefer to do their studies. For this thesis on students' difficulties in
learning the practice of interpretation, the two research methods used are qualitative
and quantitative. In order to get accurate results for the research, I created a
randomized questionnaire and examined online 90 students who are of courses 53 and
54 to synthesize data in a short time.
The quantitative method will then be used to collect data to analyze through
displaying ratios and numbers. This is to find out difficulties in the students' translation
process and provide suggestions for teaching and learning Vietnamese-English
interpreting at Thuongmai University.
All comments, recommendations, and conclusions provided within the study
were based on analysis of research data.
1.7. Organization of the study
The study includes four main following chapters:
 Chapter 1: Overview of the study: The first chapter is a description of the
research that provides general information about the study. It consists of seven parts:
rationale, previous studies, aims of the study, research subjects, scope of the study,
research methodology, and organization of the study. This chapter is an overview of

issues related to the research object and specifically here are the difficulties of
members when studying translating practice.
 Chapter 2: Literature review: This is the chapter that synthesizes theoretical
content related to the practice of interpreting. These include definitions, concepts, the
importance of interpreting, modes of interpreting, the process of interpreting, skills,
and common errors when interpreting from Vietnamese into English.
 Chapter 3: Research findings: This chapter describes the process of
researching and provides data analysis, results, and conclusion of the research
procedure.
 Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions: In this chapter, suggestions,
and recommendations of problems are given to help students improve their

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effectiveness in translating practice and also help teachers improve teaching efficiency.
These suggestions and recommendations are based on the research results of chapter 3.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Definition of Vietnamese – English interpreting
2.1.1. Concepts of interpreting
Writers defined interpreting in different ways, their concepts depend on how they
view language and interpreting. There are so many concepts of interpreting and the
following definitions have been selected because of being really typical in some sense.
According to Cambridge Dictionary, interpreting is simply defined as the
changing what someone is saying from one source language into the words of another
language (target language).
Freeman Tilden (1957) indicated that: “Interpreting is an educational activity
which aims to reveal meanings and relationships through the use of original objects, by
firsthand experience, and by illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate

factual information.”
Another concept of interpreting given by Interpretation Canada – the Canada's
national association for heritage interpreters, interpretive guides and museum
educators is that:"Interpretation is a communication process, designed to reveal
meanings and relationships of our cultural and natural heritage, through involvement
with objects, artifacts, landscapes and sites."
In general, these definitions of interpretation mentioned above have three main
similar ideas. First of all, interpretation is a process of rendering meaning, ideas, or
messages from one language into another language (from the source language to the
target language) by means of speaking. The aim of interpretation is to find the
equivalent meaning of the source language expression in the target language. Thus, the
meaning is being interpreted is very important and it must be kept consecutively.
Secondly, interpreting is an immediate action, and cultural interaction is an extremely
important thing in the process of this action. Therefore each interpreter needs to pay
attention to and study carefully before doing their interpretation.The last one is that
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interpreters have to preserve the equivalencies between two languages. The above
definitions can help us understand the concept of interpreting to obtain an overall
picture of the interpreting process.
2.1.2 The definition of Vietnamese – English interpreting
From the definition of translation, we can indicate that Vietnamese - English
interpreting is a small branch in the process of interpreting in general. It is a
communication action performed to convert information and messages from the
Vietnamese language into the English language by the spoken means. This process
must ensure the accuracy of the information converted through careful study of the
word equivalence as well as the cultural exchange between Vietnam and Englishspeaking countries.
For instance, the Vietnamese idiom: “ Đứng núi này trông núi nọ.” can be
interpreted into English as: “The grass always looks greener on the other side of the

fence”. In this situation, if the interpreter does not understand both two languages
deeply, he can interpret like this: “Stand in this mountain and see another mountain.” If
this happens, the listener will misunderstand the original meaning of the Vietnamese
idiom.
2.2. The importance of Vietnamese – English interpreting
Nowadays, with global integration, the requirement of using a common language
for the whole world becomes more essential than ever. Therefore, English has been
chosen and considered as a common language system for most countries. We are
always aiming for interference and integration, what is the prerequisite for achieving
them? It is cultural understanding, linguistic understanding, and more specifically
understanding what we are thinking and saying? From the above reasons, I can
recognize translating and interpreting as the origin of this interference. For a simple
example, when we travel to a foreign country we will often have to hire a tour guide.
In this case, the tour guide is our interpreter, he or she helps us understand the culture
of the country and, more importantly, understand the voices and customs of the
indigenous people.

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With a country on the impetus of integration like Vietnam, translation and
interpretation have become even more necessary and especially the aspect of
Vietnamese-English translation. More and more foreign companies choose to do
business in Vietnam and of course, they will have to recruit staff with English skills to
serve the most basic need that is communication. That is why we young Vietnamese
today need to have English proficiency, especially Vietnamese English interpreting so
that we can express our own thoughts and show the world the good qualities and
culture of Vietnamese people.
For education, especially teaching and learning English, Vietnamese English
interpreting becomes even more important. If students lack Vietnamese English

interpreting skills, how can they integrate and interact with students around the world
and how can they show their abilities and knowledge.
Freeman Tilden said that: "Through interpretation, understanding; through
understanding, appreciation; through appreciation, protection." I completely agree with
his observation. If we - young Vietnamese students want to show our international
friends our values and capabilities or, moreover, protect the image of Vietnam and the
Vietnamese in the international arena, we need to be proficient in our VietnameseEnglish translation skills.
2.3. Modes of interpreting
There are two modes of interpreting recognized by the interpreting profession
and have been adopted in federal and state statutes and court rules: simultaneous
interpreting, consecutive interpreting, and sight translation. Each mode fits particular
needs and circumstances in the judicial process and in legal and quasilegal settings.
2.3.1. Consecutive interpreting
In a consecutive interpreting situtaion, the interpreter waits until the speaker has
finished before rendering speech into another language. The interpreter must give s
structured and accurate rendering of the meaning of the statement with no major
distortions of meaning, changes to the logical order of the statement or serious
omissions detail. Consecutive interpreting is used for accompanying a non – English
speaking group within a large garthering English speakers at a trade fair or exposition.
8


In addition, consecutive interpreting may be used for conferences where smaller
working parties meet in room without interpreting facilities, and interpreters will sit
alongside speakers and interpret at intermission of the speakers.
Consecutive interpreting is devided clearly into two different modes: unilateral
and bilateral.
 Unilateral interpreting is that while the interpreting process, the interpreter
must rendering sentence by sentence or paragraph by paragraph of the speaker into the
target language and most of speech in this case may last five, ten minutes, up to half an

hour or an hour.
 Bilateral interpreting or liaison interpreting often used by interpreters which
work in or out of two languages. And in Vietnam , one of languages must be
Vietnamese. This kind of interpreting is often used in business meetings, profession
conferences and so on.
To performing a good consecutive interpretation, interpreters need these
following qualities:
 Proficiency in two languages and two cultures
 Quickness of speech and mind
 Good techniques in memorizing verbal utterances and converting them
rapidly,and accuratly
 Ability of concentration
 High moral standards
 Responsibility with your interpretation
 Knowledge of a wide range of specific terms and siituation such as health,
education, legal, etc.
 Note- taking skills of a very high order
 Ability of working under stressful conditions
2.3.2. Simultaneous interpreting
Simultaneuos interpreting is a process in which interpreters do not wait the
speakers to complete a segment and pause before beginning to interpret but follow the

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speaker and interpret what the speaker is saying. Simultaneous interpreting helps peple
save much of time and limit disruption of the interpreting process.
Simultaneous interpreting is common used at international conferences and
forums. This mode of interpreting requires equipment for interpreters and interpreters
are paid higher for simultaneous interpretation.

Simultaneous interpreting includes three different types: sight translation,
whispered interpretation and electronic hook – up.
 Sight translation means a written SL text is read aloud as if written in the TL
text
 Whispered interpretation is often used at a meeting without interpreting
equipment or in court
 Electronic hook – up is often used at a conference with microphones and
headsets and booths for interpreters.
2.4. Interpreting process

Image. The process of interpreting
The process of interpreting includes seven main stages: input stage,
understanding, deciphering, tranference, context and culture, output 1 and output 2.
 I – Input stage. During this stage, the interpreter must hear carefully and
receive the message from the speaker without interference

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 U – Understanding. This is the most stage of interpreting process. The
interpreter must understand accurately the meaning of the message received. Not
understanding will result in a breakdown of communication
 D – Deciphering . At this stage, the interpreter gets rrid of all the words,
retaining the concept, the idea.
 T – Transference. The concept or idea is transferred into the other language.
 C + C – Context and Culture. It is considered as a part of the transference
stage. The interpreter converts the meaning of message under contextual and cultural
considerations.
 O1 – Output 1. During this stage, the interpreter finds an equivalent idiomatic
expression.

 O2 – Output 2. The last stage, the interpreter transfers meaning in target
language by his/her voice.
2.5. Some helpful skills for interpreting
For interpreters, giving out the most accurate and perfect interpretation is very
difficult. They have to go through a long process of learning and training to obtain a
wide range of knowledge for themselves. Especially with Vietnamese - English
interpretation, students need more practice to master the skills needed to be able to
serve study as well as work in the future. Following are the skills that are critical and
necessary for Vietnamese - English interpreting.
2.5.1. Hearing ability
In translating and interpreting, hearing ability is a very important thing that
translators must practice. In fact, students often think that listening skills in English
Vietnamese interpreting are more important than Vietnamese English interpreting.
However, when translating from Vietnamese to English, we also need to have good
listening skills because the local language is one of the barriers in listening and
interpreting. For example, in many regions of Vietnam, people often pronounce the "n"
sound and "l" sound incorrectly. If the interpreter does not have a good hearing ability,
it will lead to incorrect interpretation.

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2.5.2. Public speaking skills
For obvious reasons, the interpreter need to have a clear, well – modulated voice
and a smooth style of delivery. The professional interpreters need to transfer their
interpretation confidently with a confident and rhythmic voice that was neither too fast
nor too slow. Leaners who feel insecure when speaking in public might consider
joining a club to develop their speaking skills.
2.5.3. Coversion skills
Interpreting is an immediate process so that interpreters must have ability of

thinking quickly and “on their feet”. If the interpreters do not have the ability to
convert quickly, the interpreting process will be interrupted and make the listener not
really believe in the accuracy of the interpretation.
2.5.4. Memory skills
The short – term memory skill is used for the temporary storage of segments of
speech so that they can be decoded and re-encoded. To improve short – term memory
and speaking style, students should practice exercises such as news paper translation,
translating from speech, translating from radio news, and practicing interpreting with
friends.
2.5.5. Note – taking skills
This is an important skill for interpreters because it giúp them from missing
information when interpreting. Interpreters should begin taking notes as soon as the
speaker starts speaking. However, the interpreter needs to take notes properly to get
enough information without distracting himself too much from taking notes. Each
interpreter should make his/ her own note taking system. A system of arrows is often
an intergral component of a general system of notes. For example:
 Some symbols can be used to replace words while writing:
: this sign can be replaced for some words such as tendency, towards, trend, turn
to, transfer,etc.
 Some mathematical are useful, e.g. +(plus or addition), =(means the same) and
so on.
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 Some abbreviations are also used such as EU, ENFTA, FTA, WTO, WHO,… .
2.6. The factors influencing interpreting process
2.6.1 Influence of the mother tongue
During the process of learning a foreign language, our mother tongue has a big
influence on our way of thinking and, to some extent, our use of the target language
(word order, word choice). Thanks to the translation, we understand better the

interference of the mother tongue when learning a foreign language. We will be able to
explore the potential of both languages – their merits and shortcoming – by using
contrastive analysis. The following example is used to illustrate more about the
differences between word orders in Vietnamese and English:
“Anh ấy là một công dân tốt. Tên của anh ấy là Nam”.
In the first underline phrase, “công dân” is a noun, “tốt” is an adjective. In the
later, “tên” is a noun, and “của anh ấy” is possessive adjective. As we seen in
Vietnamese, an adjective or possessive adjective follows a noun. However, in English,
an adjective precedes a noun and the same position for possessive adjective as in the
following formula:
 Vietnamese: N + Adjective/ N + possessive Adjective
 English: Adjective + N/ possessive Adjective + N
Therefore, the phrases above is rewritten in English as:
“He is a good citizen. His
Adj

name is Nam”.

Noun Possessive Noun

Adj

2.6.2 Words and choices of word meanings:
Words play a crucial role for any language learners to build their own vocabulary
system to get advantages in their language learning. Vocabulary is the fundamental
component of communication. The more vocabulary one has, the more advantages for
him to obtain effective communication. Developing this basic tool with create many
opportunities in learning translation subject well within a translation text. If learners
have no difficulty in new words, it will be easy for them to translate into the target
13

language text. In contrast, they seem to fail translating. Most of English words have
many meanings, so choosing a suitable and appropriate word, which has the exact
meaning to apply into the target language text sometimes, create many confusing for
interpreters. The exact meaning of one word can be expressed only in context, as in the
following example:
“My uncle ran for governor so he was a fair game for the press. The reporters
dug back into his past and printed things about him that happened way back in
childhood. But they found nothing that looked too bad and he did get elected”. The
word “ran” is the past and past participle of “run” means “chạy”, “vận hành”, “chạy
trốn”, „tranh cử”, „bò”, etc, and the meanings of the word “dig” which is the present of
“dug” in dictionary are “đào bới”, “xới”, “khơi”, “khai quật”, etc .
If the meaning of these words is not selected carefully and appropriately,
translator will have a bad interpretation in consequence like in the following sentence:
“Ơng cậu của tơi chạy trốn Thống đốc vì thế ông là mục tiêu đáng chú ý cho báo
giới soi mói. Các phóng viên đã quay lại bới móc cái q khứ của ơng và đăng ra
những gì đã xảy ra trong thời thơ ấu. Nhưng họ khơng tìm thấy được cái gì q xấu và
chú tơi đã đắc cử”.
Suggested version:
“ Ơng cậu tơi ra tranh cử vào chức vụ thống đốc, vì thế các phóng viên đã quay
lại khơi dậy lại quá khứ của ông. Tuy nhiên, họ không tìm thấy được điều gì q tệ về
ơng và cậu tôi đã đắc cử”.
Obviously, vocabulary is one of the most important parts helping interpreters
create a good interpretation. The more meanings of a word we know, the more
advantages we have in interpreting process. Paying attention to meanings of word will
partly help translation products sound smoother and more exactly.
2.6.3. Grammartical struture
Grammar or grammatical structure is another special means to make
interpretation meaningful. Insufficient knowledge on either of the two areas may lead

to poor quality of interpreting. If compared to other languages, English is a very
flexible language. It goes by very strict structures while the Vietnamese language is
much more flexible by the way it does not always use articles. However, in practice in
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Vietnamese English interpreting, it is very difficult to ensure the correct structure,
especially in the case where the speaker uses the abbreviated structures or the
structures which are not equivalent. Therefore, the interpreter needs to know how to
change the structure to match between Vietnamese and English. In English, there are
many tenses being used with a particular structure. In case, an untrue tense is used,
readers can not understand or misunderstand its meaning.
For instance:
“Tôi đã sống trong căn nhà này 10 năm nay”.
Suggested version:
“I have lived in this house for 10 years”.
The tense of the verb is the present perfect tense, it shows an action which
happened in the past and up to now or in the future. However, there are no rules of
using the different verb forms to express the time when an action happens in
Vietnamese. With the present perfect tenses above, the sentence can be translated as:
“Tôi đã sống trong căn nhà này được 10 năm rồi”.
In this way, the verb “sống” has no inflection and the meaning of the sentence is
maintained.
In short, grammatical structures in English are so complicated and not easy to
master. There is no way to master it without practice. It requires the learners have to
find on effective way of learning to study and practice more if they want to limit
grammar errors in using English in general and specially in studying translation
subject to become a skilled translator.
2.6.4. Pronunciation
Pronunciation is one of the factors determining the success of the translator.

Translators may have a good vocabulary and grammar and the ability to convert
quickly, but if their pronunciation is not correct, the listener will not understand the
translation. For example in the following scenario:
"Cô ấy đã sống ở đây 3 năm trước"
You can translate it like this: "She lived here three years ago." But if the
translator incorrectly pronounce the word "lived" to "leaved", the meaning of the

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sentence changes completely: "She leaved here three years ago” (Cô ấy đã rời khỏi đây
3 năm trước).
2.6.5. Context
Language plays a crucial role in conveying information; it is the vehicle of our
ideas, thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of our world. Interpreting is considered
being a process of carrying the meaning of s speech from one language to another
language. This process involves interpretation of the meaning of the source text and
producing the same meaning of this text by mean of another language. Meaning is the
entire environment in which the word or sentence is expressed or stated by the context.
For example:
- The uses of the word “work” in the following sentences:
+ I work at Ministry of Education and Training..
+ Kieu story is a famous work.
+ After graduating, I will look for work.
The “work” in the first example is a normal verb. It means the activity by which
one makes a living. In the second one, “work” means the output of a creative writer
whereas “work” in the last example has another different meaning, that is a noun
relating to a job or an employment.
Context is really important and necessary in helping us decide which word
should be chosen to obtain the suitable meaning in our interpreting. If we

misunderstand the context, it leads to choosing of inappropriate meanings of words. It,
therefore, results in a bad interpreting. Context partly contributes to create a true
interpreted output that is considered the most important requirement of interpreting.
2.7. Common errors in Vietnamese – English interpreting
2.7.1. Wrong words order
The order of words in a interpretation also has a great influence on its meaning.
The different order will lead to the very different meaning of a speech. For example:
Tim hit his classmate on the nose.
 Tim đánh vào mũi bạn cậu ta.
Only Tim hit his classmate on the nose.
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 Chỉ có Tim đánh bạn cậu ta vào mũi.
Tim only hit his classmate on the nose.
 Tim chỉ đánh bạn cậu ta vào mũi thôi.
Tim hit only his classmate on the nose.
 Tim chỉ đánh mình bạn cậu ta vào mũi.
2.7.2. Wrong choices of grammartical structure
Grammar errors are some common errors related to tenses, the form of words, the
sentence structures found in the interpretation product.. .
The grammar errors that are related to the misuse of verb forms often occur when
the interpreters keep Vietnamese structures to interpret the Vietnamese sentence into
English. The following sentence is considered to have grammatical error because the
interpreter misused the voice.
“Đổi mới giáo dục là con đường tất yếu, nhưng đổi mới như thế nào vẫn còn là
một câu hỏi đặt ra cho nhiều nhà giáo dục học.”
 “Educational innovation is absolutely essential, but how should it innovate is
still a big question which pose for many educators.”
The errors of this example is the verb “innovate” and “pose” which is in active

form. It must be in passive form “be innovated” and “is posed” because education can
not innovate by itself and question can not itself pose for educators.
the Vietnamese sentence should be interpreted as: “Educational innovation is
absolutely essential, but how should it be innovated is still a big question posed for
many translators.”
Besides, there are also grammartical errors related to converting Vietnamese
tense into English tense. The following example describes how interpreters make
mistake with tense.
“Cô ấy đã sống ở căn nhà đó 5 năm và rời đi cách đây 2 năm”
In Vietnamese, the two part of this sentence both belong to the past tense but
when interpreting this sentence into English interpreter must used two types of tense
including past perfect tense and simple past tense. Therefore, this sentence should be

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interpreted as: “She had lived in that house for 5 years and then left there two years
ago.”
These above two examples demonstrate some of the grammartical errors which
may be caused during the interpreting process.
2.7.3. Cultural error
Culture can partly affect the interpreting process. Misunderstanding of culture
can lead to bad interpreting products and sometimes makes it funny and even insulting
to readers of the target language. The example of “ao dai”- the traditional costume of
Vietnamese women can be considered as a good example of this kind of error. It is
commonly known that “ao dai” is a traditional costume of Vietnamese women and we
can never find any equivalent word in English to translate “ao dai”.
However, some interpreters translate it mechanically into “a dress”, which leads
to misunderstanding the symbol of a costume that has two long flaps and have to be
worn combining with long trousers. In this case, the Vietnamese word “ao dai” must

be unchanged when being translated into the English version.
For example, the Vietnamese sentence “Trang phục truyền thống của người phụ
nữ Việt Nam là chiếc áo dài, tượng trưng cho sự duyên dáng.” should be interpreted
into English version as “The traditional costume of the Vietnamese women is “ao dai”
which symbolized the grace.”.
Interpreting is a kind of activity, which inevitably involves at least two languages
and two cultural traditions. Therefore, translators are permanently faced with the
problem of how to treat the cultural aspects implicit in a source language and of
finding the most appropriate technique of successfully conveying these aspects in the
target language. These problems may vary from country to country depending on the
cultural and linguistic gap between the two (or more) languages concerned. It is
suggested that before beginning the interpreting work, it is essential for the interpreters
to do some researches on the lexical content and syntax of the target language along
with the ideologies, value systems, and ways of life in a given culture. This process
can partly help the interpreters to have an idea and knowledge about the readers in
both languages and avoid the mistake of culture while interpreting.

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2.7.4. Errors of interpretation quality
Errors in interpreting quality can include errors such as slow interpreting speed,
unnatural interpreting, or lack of information given by the speaker.
Slow translation speed and unnatural translation are common errors encountered
by Vietnamese English translation students. This error usually occurs when students
practice interpreting with too long information. In addition, because students do not
have the complete vocabulary and the unflexible response to words, it will cause the
interpreting flow to be too slow.
For Vietnamese English interpreting, students often have the advantage of
listening to Vietnamese more. However, listening to too much information at the same

time will easily make them unable to memorize and they will interpret incompletely
the information that the speaker gives out.
2.7.5. Wrong note – taking style
This is one of the basic mistakes that students studying translation make. Due to
their habit of taking notes as soon as they hear the speaker's words and the anxiety that
they will lack information. Therefore, students who learn interpreting practicing will
try to take note of as much information as they can, they do not know how to note
enough information.
Besides, students also make one mistake that is listening to Vietnamese and then
interpreting and making notes in English. This is a serious mistake because when the
interpreter tries to translate some first information into English, it distracts them. The
rest information will be missed by the interpreter, resulting in inaccurate and complete
translation results. Wrong taking note will lead to errors related to the quality of the
interpreting outlined above. Therefore, each student needs to build their own the most
suitable and understandable note-taking system that will help you avoid the above
errors and perform their interpreting work most effectively.

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