Vietnamese – English translation of Vietnamese cultural words in the book “Hanoi’s Ancient Features” by Tran Manh Thuong

Vietnamese – English translation of Vietnamese
cultural words in the book “Hanoi’s Ancient
Features” by Tran Manh Thuong

Nguyễn Thị Xuân Phương


Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ
Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: English Linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15
Người hướng dẫn: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Hung Tien
Năm bảo vệ: 2011


Abstract: The need for the translation of Vietnamese cultural words into English is a
matter-of-fact since the world has become smaller nowadays when countries come
together to exchange not only in terms of economy and technology but also culture. With
the English translation of Vietnamese cultural words in hand, the Vietnamese can
introduce such a diversified but unique culture to the world as well as better preserve the
quintessence of the national culture. However, it is not an easy task at all due to sharp
differences in the culture – specific notions between Vietnam and English – speaking
countries.
Keywords: Dịch; Tiếng Việt; Tiếng Anh; Tác phẩm
Content
PART A – INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Cultural knowledge and cultural differences have been a major focus of translator training and
translation theory for as long as either has been in existence.
Long debate have been held over when to paraphrase, when to use the nearest local equivalent,
when to coin a new word by translating literally, and when to transcribe culture – bound words.
The translation of Vietnamese cultural words is now an inevitable part in our integrating life
since we have become a member of WTO. It is important for any Vietnamese to match cultural

equivalence between English and Vietnamese to introduce our culture into the world. However,
not many empirical studies have been conducted so far on the issue of translation of Vietnamese
cultural words into English.
2. Scope of the study
The researcher focuses only on cultural words occurring in the book “Hanoi’s Ancient Features”
by Tran Manh Thuong. Specifically, the study takes into consideration such major aspects as
follows:
 The most common types of equivalence
 The possible reasons for the non – equivalence
 Their translations.
3. Aims of the study
The main aims of the study are:
 To work out the most common types of equivalence used in the translation of Vietnamese
cultural words.
 To draw out the common problems of equivalence seen in the translation of Vietnamese
cultural words into English.
 To draw out strategies and procedures that may apply to the translation of Vietnamese
cultural words and suggest some implications for the translation of the cultural words.
4. Methodology
4.1. Research questions
The thesis seeks answers for the following research questions:
a. What is the most typical type of equivalence used in the translation of cultural words in the
book “Hanoi’s Ancient Features”?
b. What are the most common problems in translating Vietnamese cultural words into English
that can be seen in the book?
c. What are the common methods used in the translation of Vietnamese cultural words?
4.2. Research methods
 The main method is contrastive analysis.
4.3. Data collection
The Vietnamese cultural words studied are taken from the book “Hanoi’s Ancient Features” and

their equivalents are picked out from the translation by the Vietnamese translator Tran Manh
Thuong.

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