The translation strategies used by english students at phu xuan university to deal with unfamiliar culture based words

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents

Pages

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................ ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................1
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................4
LIST OF CHARTS .............................................................................................................4
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................4
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................4
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................5
1.1. Background of the research ....................................................................................5
1.2. Rationale of the study ..............................................................................................6
1.3. Research aims ...........................................................................................................7
1.4. Research scope .........................................................................................................7
1.5. Research significance ..............................................................................................7
1.6. Structure of the thesis ..............................................................................................7
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................9
2.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................9
2.2. Translation theory ....................................................................................................9
2.2.1. Definition of translation....................................................................................9
2.2.2. Translation strategies ..................................................................................... 11
2.3. Translation and Culture ........................................................................................ 12
2.3.1. Definition of culture ....................................................................................... 12
2.3.2. Definition of culture-based words ............................................................... 14
2.3.3. The importance of culture in translation...................................................... 15
2.4. Procedures of translating culture-based words ................................................. 18
2.5. What are essential skills that any good translator should have? ..................... 21
2.6. Translation and Translator training in Vietnam ................................................ 23

2.6.1. Translation situation in Vietnam .................................................................. 23
2.6.2. Translation training in Vietnam .................................................................... 26

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2.7. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 31
Chapter 3 METHODOLOG Y ..................................................................................... 33
3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 33
3.2. Research approach ................................................................................................ 33
3.3. Research method ................................................................................................... 33
3.3.1. The questionnaire ........................................................................................... 33
3.3.2. The interviews ................................................................................................. 34
3.4. Participants ............................................................................................................. 34
3.5. Research site .......................................................................................................... 35
3.6. Data analysis .......................................................................................................... 35
3.7. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 36
Chapter 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION............................................................. 37
4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 37
4.2. Findings and discussion........................................................................................ 37
4.2.1. The students‟ views towards translating culture-based words ................. 37
4.2.2. The translation strategies used by English students to deal with unfamiliar
culture-based words ................................................................................................... 50
4.3. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 72
Chapter 5 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ............................................... 73
5.1. Summary of the findings ...................................................................................... 73
5.1.1. What are Vietnamese English major students‟ view towards translating
culture-based words? ................................................................................................ 73
5.1.2. What are the strategies in dealing with culture-based words? .................. 74
5.2. Recommendations ................................................................................................. 74

5.2.1. For teachers ..................................................................................................... 74
5.2.2. For students ..................................................................................................... 75
5.2.3. For Policy makers ........................................................................................... 78
5.2.4. For Future Researchers .................................................................................. 79
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 80
APPENDICES

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The culture‟s role in translation................................................................. 37
Table 2: Frequency of translating culture-based words ........................................ 39
Table 3: Frequency of having difficulty translating unfamiliar culture-based words .. 42
Table 4: the amount of knowledge of culture is taught in translation classes .... 65

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1: Frequency of translating culture-based words inaccurately................... 45
Chart 2: The possible consequences due to inaccurate translation of culture based words ................................................................................................ 46
Chart 3: Translation strategies to deal with unfamiliar culture-based words ..... 50
Chart 4: Essential skills that any good translator should have .............................. 59
Chart 5: The ways students do to improve their cultural knowledge................... 68

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Cycle of Translation Program Design and Development
(Gabr 2000:17) ...................................................................... 28

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ABSTRACT
This thesis aims to investigate the English major students‟ views towards
translating culture-based words and students‟ strategies in dealing with these
words in their translation at Phu Xuan University.
The data were collected by means of questionnaires and in-depth interviews.
Forty questionnaires were delivered and returned. In addition, ten interviews were
conducted with 10 students and four interviews were conducted with four
translation teachers.
The findings show that all students were well aware of the significance of
culture in translation and used many different translation strategies in dealing with
unfamiliar culture - based words. However, they did not use the translation
strategies effectively because they did not master the translation theory and did not
pay attention to the readership of the translated work.
Based on the findings, it is suggested the translation teachers need to vary their
teaching methods. In addition, teachers also need to include a translation theory
section in their course. Also, it is essential that students need to translate much more
documents laden with cultures more frequently and make great efforts to overcome
language and culture barriers so that they can improve their translation ability in
general and cultural knowledge in particular.

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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the research
Since its inception, translation has not ceased to play its indispensable role of

transferring messages across languages and cultural barriers (Adewuni, 2006). It is
helpful to millions of people of different professions. Thanks to translation, we have
obtained considerable achievements in many fields such as science, technology,
literature, arts, sports, etc which have been applied to our life. Just imagine, if we had no
translations, we would be isolated from the rest of the world and our country would be
covered in the dark of ignorance. We could hardly know Shakespeare, Gorky, Balzac,
Karl Marx, V. I. Lenin and Louis Pasteur... and we would not recognize the development
of science and technology as well as many other marvelous things in the world.
Along with economic development, open-door policy, international trade,
globalization, and the expansion of the mass media and technology, the needs of
translation from English into Vietnamese and vice versa in Vietnam have
significantly increased. A great number of texts, documents, items of news need to
be translated from English into Vietnamese and from Vietnamese into English.
However, training qualified translators at university is a matter of great
concerns

in Vietnam. For example, as Đông (2007a) points out, students lack not

only profound knowledge of linguistics including grammar, pragmatics but also of
awareness of culture relevant to countries, people, lifestyle, and customs of two
peoples. Another serious challenge is that translators neither acquire abundant
vocabulary nor know how to treat the different meanings of the same word in
various contexts. This is a prime matter of concern and draws much attention of
professional translators, lecturers and educators at universities. While translation
work requires translator‟ a good command of language and wide knowledge of
culture and civilization of both source language (SL) and target language (TL), at
present, translator training at universities seemingly provides only linguistic
theoretical knowledge for students (Hiệp &Hương 2007). In addition, most people
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think that if someone is proficient in a foreign language, s/he can work as a translator/
an interpreter without understanding all translation requirements. It is quite a
misconception. Being fluent in a foreign language does not mean to become a
translator/ an interpreter (Đông 2007a). Sharing the same idea, Hiệp & Hương (2007)
point out that few people think after finishing a course, they can become translators
because translation requires many skills and knowledge accumulated for many years.
Like other universities in Vietnam, Phu Xuan has difficulties in training
translators. From my experience in teaching there, I have found that in the translation
class, students lack not only translation theory but also general knowledge of many
subjects such as economy, culture, current affairs, society and education. They are not
well aware of the differences and similarities between two languages in terms of
grammar, semantics and pragmatics. In addition, they tend to use literal translation
which sometimes sounds nonsense and has little communicative value and makes
serious errors. One of the difficulties students face is word collocation. Word
collocation consists of the associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of
words which tend to occur in its environment. Another factor that challenges students
is culture. Students often have difficulties translating things, events, phenomena,
concepts existing in the Anglo-American culture into Vietnamese culture.
1.2. Rationale of the study
As a translation teacher, I always wish to raise the teaching quality of my
class, and improve the translation skills for my students. I have learnt from
experience that students are confused in translating culture - based words and texts
from English to Vietnamese. They often make many errors in the translated text due
to lack of cultural awareness when working with the source text.
As culture - based words play an important part in translation, it is necessary
to do research on this matter to reflect the reality of translation strategies to deal
with unfamiliar culture-based words. Based on the findings of the research, some
suggestions and implications need to be made as a reference source for better
translation of cultural documents.

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1.3. Research aims
This research project attempts to investigate the students‟ views towards
translating unfamiliar culture-based words. It also aims to find out what the
translation strategies are used by English students at Phu Xuan University to deal
with unfamiliar culture-based words.
The project particularly seeks to answer the following questions:
1. How are students‟ views towards translating unfamiliar culture-based words?
2. What are the translation strategies used by English students to deal with
unfamiliar culture-based words?
1.4. Research scope
Within limited time, resources, condition and the length of the thesis, the data
for this project are collected at one university in Hue City and the findings might
not be generalized to other contexts. However, many aspects of the study are still
likely to be applied to other Vietnamese contexts.
1.5. Research significance
As mentioned in research aims, the project is to provide information based on
which suggestions can be offered with a view to improving students‟ translation
ability. Personally, after completion of this research work, I can develop my
knowledge as well as teaching skill. Hopefully, the suggestions can benefit teachers,
trainers and colleagues interested in translation and translation teaching.
1.6. Structure of the thesis
This thesis consists of five chapters.
Chapter 1 has presented a general overview of the study. It states the
background, the reasons, the aims, the scope and the organization of the study.
Chapter 2 will offer an overview of fundamental and theoretical concepts
relevant to the research. Besides, the rationale of the study is included.

Chapter 3 will provide detail description of the research design and
methodology, participants, data collection and data analysis.

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Chapter 4 will describe the findings from questionnaires, interviews with
students and teachers at Phu Xuan University. Based on the findings through the
questionnaires and information from the interviews, this chapter also discusses some
issues relating to the reality of translation strategies to deal with culture-based words.
Chapter 5 will summarize the results of the study. At the same time, this chapter
will focus on the implication of the findings and suggestions for further studies.

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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Introduction
This chapter first presents some definitions of translation, culture, culturebased words and the importance of culture in translation. Secondly, procedures of
translating culture laden words are explained and analyzed to provide a general
understanding of translation strategies of culture-based words. Thirdly, translation
and translator training in Vietnam are discussed. In the conclusion, the need for this
study will be highlighted.
2.2. Translation theory
2.2.1. Definition of translation
Translation has been a subject which attracts much interest, passion and
research of not only linguists, professional and amateur translators, and language
teachers but also scientists and electronic engineers. Every year, a great number of
books and articles have been translated in many different fields. More attention is

paid to translation especially in the age of information explosion. However, the
definition of what is meant by translation is not easy.
It can be said that translation has been defined from different aspects by famous
scholars such as Jakobson (1959), Nida (1964), Firth (1965), Wilss (1982), Hatim &
Mason (1990), Bell (1991), Larson (1984), and Tittone… In Vietnam many researchers
such as Cẩn (2007), Vân (1997), Dũng (2002), and Đông (2007)… are much
interested in translation.
Whatever the difficulty in the translation process, procedures must aim at the
content of the message and faithfulness to the meaning of the source language text
being transferred to the target language text. With such a view, Nida & Taber
(1974) assert,
“Translation consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest
natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning
and secondly in terms of style.” (Nida & Taber, 1974, p.12)
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According to Nida & Taber (1974), translation should not be stuck so closely
to stylistic details that translating is hardly ever done. This is considered a crucial
point because there are always cultural differences between the source language
(SL) and the target language (TL) and it would be difficult to preserve the style of
the source language text. It may occur in translation practice when a word in this
language can be conveyed by a phrase or even a clause in another language.
Besides, Nida & Taber (1974) lays a great emphasis on readers‟ understanding as a
fundamental issue in translation.
When a high percentage of people misunderstanding a rendering, it
cannot be regarded as a legitimate translation, (Nida & Taber 1974, p.2)
Catford (1965) defined translation from different perspective:
Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language
(SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL).

(Catford, 1965, p.20)
In his definition, Catford (1965) focuses on two important points such as
“textual material” and “equivalence”. Catford (1965) maintains that not the
linguistic entirety of a source language is translated, but is replaced by target
language equivalents, which may take place at one or more levels of language. In
his further explanation, the classification of translation types is useful because the
translator will have to decide the kind of translation which s/he thinks may be
appropriate for his/her purpose.
Wilss (1982) has a more thorough definition.
Translation is a transfer process which aims at the transformation
of a written source language text into an optimally equivalent
target language text, and which requires the syntactic, the
semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical
processing of the source language text. (Wilss, 1982, p.3)
Wilss (1982) uses the words “transfer process” to refer to complicated work
which requires great considerations to obtain “an optimally equivalent target
language text”. Moreover, in his definition, translation takes place when the
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translator must have syntactic, the semantic and the pragmatic understanding and
analytical processing. Sharing the same idea with Wilss, Hatim and Mason (1990)
define translation as: “a communicative process which takes place within a social
context” (1990, p.3).
Unlike other scholars, Hatim & Mason (1990) pay much attention to
“communicative process” and “social context”. In further discussion, Hatim &
Mason clarify that translators should not translate words, phrases or even sentences
but go beyond words and their combinations to what lies behind them. Besides,
context is fully recognized as a crucial point in translation.
In sum, although translation is considered from different aspects by various

famous theorists, those definitions share one common thing, which aims at finding
the best equivalents that preserve features of source language text in terms of
semantics, syntactic, pragmatics, cultural contexts and communicative situation
among other things to be considered.
2.2.2. Translation strategies
The concept of translation strategies has been mentioned in many studies.
Krings (1986, p.18) considers translation strategy as “translator's potentially
conscious plans for solving concrete translation problems in the framework of a
concrete translation task".
Seguinot (1989) explains more about translation strategy when stating that
there are at least three global strategies such as (i) translating without inter ruption
for as long as possible; (ii) correcting surface errors immediately; (iii) leaving the
monitoring for qualitative or stylistic errors in the text to the revision stage.
Seguinot‟s definition seems to provide a simple and easy-to-understand concept of
translation strategy.
Specifically, Venuti (1998, p.240) asserts, “translation strategies involve the
basic tasks of choosing the foreign text to be translated and developing a method to
translate it." In his further explanation, he also reveals the concepts of domesticating
and foreignizing to refer to translation strategies.

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From a different perspective, Bell (1998, p.188) gives out two strategies such
as global (those dealing with whole texts) and local (those dealing with text
segments) strategies. According to him, this distinction results from various kinds
of translation problems.
However, the best working definition is one by Jaaskelainen (1999):
Strategy is a series of competencies, a set of steps or processes
that favor the acquisition, storage, and/or utilization of

information." He maintains that strategies are "heuristic and
flexible in nature, and their adoption implies a decision
influenced by amendments in the translator's objectives.
(Jaaskelainen, 1999, p.71)
In further study, Jaaskelainen (2005, cited in Ordudari, 2007) divides
strategies into two major categories: some strategies relate to what happens to texts,
while other strategies relate to what happens in the process:
Product-related strategies involve the basic tasks of choosing the SL text and
developing a method to translate it.
Process-related strategies are a set of (loosely formulated) rules or principles
which a translator uses to reach the goals determined by the translating situation
As well as Bell (1998), Jaaskelainen (2005, cited in Ordudari, 2007, p.3) divides
this into two types, namely global strategies and local strategies: "global strategies refer
to general principles and modes of action and local strategies refer to specific activities
in relation to the translator's problem-solving and decision-making."
In sum, when translating, translators often face difficulties of two -language
and two-culture differences and translation strategies, purposeful plans help them
overcome difficulties and make the translation process faster and more effective.
2.3. Translation and Culture
2.3.1. Definition of culture
Defining culture is no easy task because it means many different things to
many people. There are so many definitions of „culture‟ as there are cultures in the
world. As Harrison and Huntington (2000, p.XV) note, “the term „culture,‟ of
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course, has had multiple meanings in different disciplines and different contexts.”
Culture is considered from various aspects, which is the reason why there is no
exact definition of culture as the definition of mathematics.
Marsella (1992) explains more about culture when stating:

Culture is shared learned behavior which is transmitted from one
generation to another for purposes of promoting individual and
social survival, adaptation, and growth and development. Culture
has both external (e.g., artifacts, roles, institutions) and internal
representations (e.g., values, attitudes, beliefs, cognitive/affective/
sensory styles, consciousness patterns, and epistemologies).
(Marsella, 1992, pp.166-167)
According to Marsella‟s definition, culture nearly appears everywhere and
greatly influences every aspect in life. In addition, culture is kept and transmitted
from one generation to another and supplemented with “adaptation, and growth and
development”. In other words, people from different areas, countries have different
identities presented through their different cultures.
Sharing the same ideas with Marsella, Harrison and Huntington (2000, p. XV)
assert that the elements of culture such as “values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations,
and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in society” and Huntington
(1996, p. 28) gives a brief and condensed viewpoint on culture: “The heart of the
culture involves language, religion, values, tradition, and customs.”
In Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity presented on the General
Conference

of

the

United

Nations

Educational,

Scientific

and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) at its thirty-first session on 2 November 2001, culture
should be regarded as:
The set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional
features of society or a social group and that it encompasses, in
addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together,
value systems, traditions and beliefs. (p.1)
In addition to sharing the same viewpoint on elements of culture such as life style,
value systems, traditions and beliefs, this definition still mentions to intellectual
13


features and ways of living together. Culture is represented by code of conduct,
educational level and harmonious relationship among people of same culture.
From the definitions, it is crystal clear that culture covers nearly all aspects of
life from spiritual to material features and no one is free from his cultural influences
of the place where he is living. As a result, it should be noted that culture plays a
very dominant role in shaping and molding people‟s behaviors, values, ideas and
even lifestyles.
2.3.2. Definition of culture-based words
Culture-based words have different names by different researchers. Harvey
(2000, p.2) defines culture-bound terms as the terms which “refer to concepts,
institutions and personnel which are specific to the SL culture”.
Sharing the same idea, an anonymous official newsletter (2009, cited in blog
of CyberText Consulting - technical communication specialists) gives a more
concise definition:
Culturally specific terms are typically those commonly known

within one country but not another. Within a country, it can refer
to terms known to one region but not another, or words spoken
by different „tribes‟ (e.g. differences in terms used in
generational groups, industry groups, ethnic groups, etc.) (p. 1)
In further explanation, some culturally specific terms are easy to identify
names of foods and beverages, for example (pop, soda, coke, soft drink…). But
other times they are not so easy, especially if readers do not even realize that the
term or phrase might not be known by others.
As mentioned above, culture differs from country to another, from this region
to another; therefore, culturally specific terms are commonly known in this country
but are quite strange in others.
In real life, on hearing names of food, or costumes someone is wearing, people
can easily identify where food or someone come from. Concretely, pizza and
spaghetti come from Italy; kimono is a national costume of Japanese people while
hanbok comes from South Korea and ao dai belongs to the Vietnamese traditional
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costume. However, so many culturally specific terms appear to be common terms to
these ones are not so common to others or in other contexts. For example, when
talking about the United States, people often refer to salad bowl or melting pot;
however, quite a few people have not heard or even understood them.
Jandt (2004, p.91) states “...one culture as not better or worse than another but
as merely different…,” Culturally specific terms are the same. They are popular in
this culture but difficult-to-understand in different cultures. Therefore, many
culturally specific terms are untranslatable because they cannot be found the most
equivalent words in TL.
Wierzbicka (1997), a famous linguist, explains more about culturally specific terms
when trying to demonstrate that every language has key words that reflect the core values
of a given culture. She provides four criteria for selection of culturally specific terms:

they have to be (1) common, (2) frequently used in one particular semantic domain, (3) at
the centre of a whole phraseological cluster, and (4) frequently used in proverbs, sayings,
popular songs, book titles, and so on (Wierzbicka, 1997, p.16).
Wierzbicka‟s explanation provides thorough and easy-to-understand criteria of
culturally specific terms as they are. In fact, culturally specific terms must be
commonly used and understood by an ethnic group, must convey particular
meanings and often appear in daily life such as proverbs, sayings, movies, music,
books and so on.
In conclusion, there are many different terms but they have the same content
such as “culture-based words”, “culture-bound terms”, “culture-embedded words”
or “culturally specific terms”. Throughout this thesis, “culture-based words” are
used to refer to words or phrases that have meaning for members of a cultural
group, but have limited meaning, no meaning, or some other meaning for people
outside that group.
2.3.3. The importance of culture in translation
It should be noted that language and culture are closely linked to each other.
As mentioned above, culture is largely present at everywhere and language is an
essential means to convey the cultural elements.
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More specifically concerned with language and translation, Newmark (1988,
p.94) defines culture as "the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a
community that uses a particular language as its means of expression".
Lotman (1978, pp.211-212) states that "no language can exist unless it is
steeped in the context of culture; and no culture can exist which does not have at its
centre, the structure of natural language". Bassnett (1980, p.13) emphasizes the
importance of this double consideration when translating by asserting that language
is "the heart within the body of culture,” the survival of both aspects being
interdependent.

The close relationship between translation and culture is supported by in
Thriveni (2001), who says, “Cultural meanings are intricately woven into the
texture of the language” (p.1).

From this view, he stresses the importance of

translating cultural meanings and affirms, “The creative writer's ability to capture
and project them is of primary importance for, and should be reflected in, the
translated work” (Thriveni, 2001, p.1).
Sharing the same idea with Thriveni, James (2002) gives out profound
remarks to clarify that not only lexical but also cultural factors sho uld be taken into
consideration in translation. He notes:
Linguistic notions of transferring meaning are seen as being only
part of the translation process…thus, when translating, it is
important to consider not only the lexical impact on the TL reader,
but also the manner in which cultural aspects may be perceived
and make translating decisions accordingly. (James, 2002, p.2)
This view is also supported by Karamanian (2001), who concludes:
When trying to comprehend a text before finally translating it, we are
not just dealing with words written in a certain time, space and
sociopolitical situation; most importantly it is the "cultural" aspect of
the text that we should take into account. (Karamanian, 2001, p.1)
With respect to the importance of culture in translation, Carter (2009) has a
similar view. Additionally, he further asserts that once the culture of target language
should not be taken into account, misunderstandings are possibly unavoidable.
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Translation is not simply replacing words with similar meaning
but of finding appropriate ways of saying things in another

language. For accurate translation from the source language to
the target language importance must be given to the culture of the
target language. It is the cultural aspect only that can help in
communicating the message in the way it should be. Plus, it also
helps in avoiding misunderstandings.
(Carter, 2009, p.2)
Sharing the idea by Carter, Kalim (2009) takes the degree of politeness used in
a language for example:
The Japanese, who place a high degree of importance on being
polite while Americans generally prefer to be relatively direct
about matters. These attitudes percolate into their language and
their documents. So a person who is involved in translating
between American English to Japanese has to make sure that the
translation not only conveys the intended meaning but is also
accepted by the reader as comfortably as their original language.
Such translations are what we refer to as accurate and authentic in
other words and a high quality language translation they cannot be
achieved without having substantial knowledge about culture.
(Kalim, 2009, p.1)
Taking a deeper look, Carter (2009) points out a number of key cultural
elements to consider while translating:
1. Customs and tradition are part of a culture and for translating a translator
must be aware of these aspects. Be it a marriage or a funeral, a festival or
some vows, any translator can get into problems if he/she translates without
comprehending or understanding the significance behind the occasion. For
example, in a Christian marriage, the exchange of kisses is part of the
ceremony while the same would be totally inappropriate. Even expressing
feelings in public is outrageous here.
2. It is important to verify the connotation of the product name in a foreign
language, as there might be different meanings of the same word in different

languages. This is even more important when the translation is done for a
global marketing campaign.

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3. Anything humorous must be treated carefully as the target audience might
not appreciate the way it has been written or even understand it. Thus,
translation and linguistic expression must be viewed within the wider societal
and cultural environment.
4. Keeping in mind the target audience, the grammar, punctuation and vocabulary
should be used as it impacts the style of the language.
5. Also consider other cultural factors too such as pictures, symbols and colors
as the same picture might have negative connotation in some other country.
For example the color white is associated with mourning in Japan but in most
of the European countries it is the black color that represents mourning. In
the same way even pictures can have cultural or political implications and
can sometimes cause a problem with the target audience.
(Carter, 2009, pp. 2-3)
From what Carter (2009) has pointed out, cultural elements such as tradition,
customs, names, humor, symbols, pictures, colors… play an essential role and
substantial impact on translation. No cultures are the same in every detail, therefore;
cultural elements should be taken into careful account in translation to avoid
distortion of source language texts and regretful misunderstandings of target
language audience. Đông (2007b) asserts that cultural sensitivity is also an
important aspect in “sensitivity” criterion of a translator. As many translators stress
that a translator must be a cultural bridge among speakers of different languages.
Short of cultural knowledge and sensitivity, a translator is very difficult to perform
his task or causes regretful problems.
2.4. Procedures of translating culture-based words

Harvey (2000, pp.2-6) presents four main techniques for translating culturebound terms. According to him, the term “equivalence” does not imply one-to-one
correspondence, but has the more pragmatic meaning here of a possible translation,
the acceptability of which is subject to a number of variables.
1. Functional Equivalence: It means using a referent in the TL culture whose
function is similar to that of the SL referent. Examples are the Cour d‟
Assises – roughly the equivalent of “the English Crown Court”; Garde des
18


Sceaux = “Lord Chancellor”. However, this technique is still controversial
because there are many divergent opinions. Weston (1991, p.23, cited in
Harvey, 2000, p.2) describes it as "the ideal method of translation," while
Sarcevic (1985, p.131, cited in Harvey, 2000, p.2) asserts that it is
"misleading and should be avoided." According to Harvey, there will
inevitably be connotational or denotational differences between the SL and
TL term; the translator should be satisfied that the referents are sufficiently
close for the purposes of the TL text and should double-check both
denotation and connotation before resorting to a functional equivalent.
2. Formal Equivalence or 'linguistic equivalence': It means a 'word-for-word'
translation. Such examples are Conseil constitutionnel = Constitutional
Council; notaire= notary. Since a formal equivalent can be a neologism, the
translator should check the term in a reliable source to avoid calques such as
preventive detention for d tention pr ventive or Correctional Court for
tribunal correctional.
3. Transcription or 'borrowing' (i.e, reproducing or, where necessary,
transliterating the original term): It stands at the far end of SL-oriented
strategies. If the term is formally transparent or is explained in the context, it
may be used alone. In other cases, particularly where no knowledge of the
SL by the reader is presumed, transcription is accompanied by an explanation
or a translator's note.

4. Descriptive or self-explanatory translation: It uses generic terms than
culture-bound terms to convey the meaning. For example, to render the
tripartite division, it is appropriate in a wide variety of contexts where formal
equivalence is considered insufficiently clear. In a text aimed at a specialized
reader, it can be helpful to add the original SL term to avoid ambiguity.
Newmark (1988b) proposes the different translation procedures:
·

Transference: it is the process of transferring an SL word to a TL text. It
includes transliteration and is the same as what Harvey (2000, p.5) named
"transcription."

·

Naturalization: it adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation, then
to the normal morphology of the TL.

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·

Cultural equivalent: it means replacing a cultural word in the SL with a TL
one. However, "they are not accurate".

·

Functional equivalent: it requires the use of a culture-neutral word.

·

Descriptive equivalent: in this procedure the meaning of the culture-bound
terms is explained in several words.

·

Componential analysis: it means "comparing an SL word with a TL word
which has a similar meaning but is not an obvious one-to-one equivalent, by
demonstrating

first

their

common and then their

differing sense

components".
·

Synonymy: it is a "near TL equivalent." Here economy trumps accuracy.

·

Through-translation: it is the literal translation of common collocations,
names of organizations and components of compounds. It can also be called:
calque or loan translation.

·

Shifts or transpositions: it involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL,
for instance, (i) change from singular to plural, (ii) the change required when
a specific SL structure does not exist in the TL, (iii) change of an SL verb to
a TL word, change of an SL noun group to a TL noun and so forth.

·

Modulation: it occurs when the translator reproduces the message of the
original text in the TL text in conformity with the current norms of the TL,
since the SL and the TL may appear dissimilar in terms of perspective.

·

Recognized translation: it occurs when the translator "normally uses the
official or the generally accepted translation of any institutional term."

·

Compensation: it occurs when loss of meaning in one part of a sentence is
compensated in another part.

·

Paraphrase: in this procedure the meaning of the culture-bound terms is
explained. Here the explanation is much more detailed than that of
Descriptive Equivalent.

·

Couplets: it occurs when the translator combines two different procedures.

·

Notes: notes are additional information in a translation.
(Newmark, 1988b cited in Ordudari, 2007, pp.4-5)
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As Newmark has pointed out, translation procedure of culture-based words is
rather abundant. However, the differences between SL texts and TL ones in terms of
structures and cultures make translation a real challenge. Each procedure has its
own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it depends on the situation to use the
most appropriate procedure.
2.5. What are essential skills that any good translator should have?
Delisle (1981, cited in Gerding-Salas, 2000, p.3) has his own view on
translation:
Translation is an arduous job that mortifies you, puts you in a
state of despair at times, but also an enriching and indispensable
work, that demands honesty and modesty.
According to Delisle, translation is hard work where sometimes the translator
is in a stalemate of finding the closest equivalents when two cultures and two
languages are distinctly different. Therefore, translation requires translator‟s
devotion and creation. The quality of translation largely depends on the ability of
translator. In other words, Gerding-Salas (2000, p.4) asserts, “the quality of the
translator, i.e. on her/his knowledge, skills, training, cultural background, expertise,
and even mood” will decide the quality of translation.
Newmark (1995, cited in Gerding-Salas, 2000, p.4) distinguishes some
essential skills that any good translator should have:
·

Reading comprehension ability in a foreign language

·

Knowledge of the subject

·

Sensitivity to language (both mother tongue and foreign language)

·

Competence to write the target language dexterously, clearly, economically
and resourcefully

From what Newmark has presented, it is important for a translator to have reading
comprehension ability in a foreign language and sound linguistic knowledge of two
languages to understand both source and target communication in order to translate
the text accurately. However, a misconception is that knowing two languages can
translate properly. Banishing this idea, Delisle (1980, cited in Gerding-Salas, 2000,
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p.5) states it clearly: “Linguistic competence is a necessary condition, but not yet
sufficient for the professional practice of translation”.
Apart from a comprehensive knowledge of both source and target
languages, one of the most important points to consider in the act of translating is
the understanding of a deeply cultural background of two languages to preserve
the underlying cultural values hidden in the source language. To develop this

understanding, the translator must be aware of the cultural differences between the
source and target languages to convey intended ideas in the source language to
readers of target language without cultural distortion, regretful misunderstandings
or bias. Therefore, a good translator ought to be familiar with the culture, customs,
and social settings of the source and target language. S/he should also be familiar
with different registers, styles of speaking, and social context of both languages.
To a great extent, this socio-cultural awareness can improve the quality of the
translator‟s translations. Besides, specialized knowledge of the subject plays a
very important role. If a translator does not know the specialized knowledge, s/he
realizes that it is difficult to find the closest equivalents and convey the meanings
naturally and exactly. Also, a good translator cannot help being good at writing
skill. S/he ought to master to write smoothly and correctly in both source and
target languages. Clearly enough, the same meaning can be conveyed in different
ways. However, the poor writing skill will detract the quality of translation.
In short, to be a good translator is not made overnight but with painstaking and
arduous task which requires the translator‟s great effort and large investment in both
source and target languages. A comprehensive bilingual linguistic understanding adds
to cultural awareness, proficient writing skill of two languages and at the same time a
clever application of translation theory to practice, which helps the translator successful
in translation as Thriveni, (2001, p.3) asserts, “Thorough knowledge of a foreign
language, its vocabulary, and grammar is not sufficient to make one competent as a
translator. One should be familiar with one's own culture and be aware of the sourcelanguage culture before attempting to build any bridge between them”.

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2.6. Translation and Translator training in Vietnam
2.6.1. Translation situation in Vietnam
2.6.1.1. Market demand
Vietnam has undergone substantially comprehensively political, economic, cultural,

social and educational changes in recent years, which brings the most influential driving
force in the nationwide development of English teaching and learning.
Sharing this view, Lan (2000) comments:
At the present time, after joining ASEAN (Association of
Southeast Asian Nations), Vietnam can be listed as one of the
Expanding Circle countries, where English is taught and learned
as a foreign language. The new “open door” economic policy of
renovation (known as “Doi Moi” in Vietnamese) has resulted in
rapidly expanding economic and commercial activity, and thus
produced a great need for the teaching and learning of foreign
languages in general and for the teaching of English (TEFL) in
particular. The government now officially requires all
government workers at all levels to attain certain levels of
English proficiency in response to the new situation….Public
opinion holds that learning English is not only a “fashion” but
also a “passport” for people to travel, earn scholarships, get
better jobs, and so on. (Lan, 2000, p. 27)
Since Vietnam successfully gained its accession to WTO, and was granted
with Permanent Normal Trading Status (PNTR) by the Bush administration, a wide
range of worldwide enterprises has been expected to be here. Therefore, a demand
for translation work in many fields has been inevitable and dramatically increasing
than ever before.
Đông (2007a) points out that the Vietnam translation market demand is on the
increase with following clear examples. The mass media such as radio, television
broadcasting and press needs translating news from foreign languages into
Vietnamese to transmit to the public. The much more contracts, projects, documents
in administrative, commercial transactions, international cooperation and so on which
are necessarily translated are rocketing up. The foreign films need caption or
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Vietnamese subtitles. Computer software needs Vietnamizing to bring convenience to
users. It is crystal clear that there are various countless demands for translation at
present which are more and more abundant, increasing and greatly increasing by far.
2.6.1.2. The quality of translations
With the sharply increasing translation market demand, are there enough
qualified translators to create translations of quality for the purpose of meeting such
a demand?
In order to have the translations of high quality, it is essential to have qualified
translators above all. To this issue, Đông (2007a) provides some elaborate
comments. A number of translators capable of assuming translation with high
quality are only a few. The well-known generation of translators Do Duc Hieu, Thai
Ba Tan, Thuy Toan and so on, who has greatly contributed to translating typical
Russian, French, British, German, Chinese…literary works, is too old to perform
stress and quick wittedness- laden translation. The second generation who focuses
on interpretation more than translation is taking important positions in Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Department of International Cooperation, other Ministries, or
universities is too busy to take charge of translation. The third generation works as
university lecturers teaching a very large number of students and swamped with
heavy workload; therefore, not many lecturers have regular conditions for
translation. The current generation in charge of translation including literary works
is carried out by the great number of people proficient in foreign languages. Đông
(2007a) also admits that they have made great efforts and their translation products
account for a huge number.
As assumed by Đông (2007a) nearly all current translations are carried out by
those who have graduated from university for a few years and those who are
competent at foreign languages. However, as discussed in the previous part,
knowing a foreign language is not a sufficient condition to be a good translator.
Those translators are not trained properly to be professional ones. As a result, their
translations cannot reach the quality to some extent and fall short of social

expectation.
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With respect to translation quality, Tùng (2006), a famous aged translator,
expresses his concern about the quality of current translators and of their translations.
According to him, the translator force is not only scarce but also unqualified. The
majority of current translators take up translation because of purely means of
subsistence; besides, their knowledge of foreign languages is acquired through
demand for work. They are not equipped with expertise in translation and consider
translation as a simple task. How can they assume a great mission in such spirit?
When considering translation as a whole, Đông (2007a) continues to
demonstrate his clear and straightforward idea about of translation situation. He
thinks that lack of professionalism in translation has resulted in regretful and
even serious consequences. He illustrates with some true examples. An article
“The minister saved the interpreter” in The Investment (Dau tu) wrote that the
interpreter interpreted about the Proctor and Gambles: “We do business here like
a gamble”. In fact, Gambles is a name of the company which does not concern
gamble (việc đánh bạc) at all. Another example is mentioned here is that Java, a
programming language is translated into “we tested this software in Java
(Indonesia)”. To make worse, the following example proves “a miss is as good
as a mile”. While trying to express the lecturer‟s anger to an urgent matter, the
interpreter used bloody, a very impolite word in a formal context. This made all
foreign representatives burst out laughing whereas the Vietnamese lecturer did
not understand what had been said which made foreign representatives react
quite differently from the Vietnamese ones.
In short, the translation market demand is on the increase whereas the number
of current qualified translators is rather scarce and the quality of translation is far
from meeting social expectation. This is a matter of prime concern drawing much
attention from translators, educators, educational policy-makers, readers, university

students and so on. To find a solution to this matter, a question raised here is that
how training translators at Vietnamese universities is.

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