The translation of environmental terminology from English into Vietnamese

The translation of environmental terminology
from English into Vietnamese


Nguyễn Thị Vân Anh

University of Languages and International Studies
M.A Thesis: English Linguistics; Code: 60 22 15
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lê Hùng Tiến
Year of graduation: 2011

Abstract. The thesis focuses on the translation of English environmental terms into
Vietnamese. It is aimed at investigating their features and structural patterns in the
light of functional grammar proposed by Halliday in order to help the translator and
readership have a clear understanding of the terms. Attempts are also made to
identify the procedures and strategies commonly used by teachers in the lessons on
English for Environmental Science and translators for rendering environmental
terms. Hopefully, the result of the study will be of some help to people who are in
charge of teaching and translating English for Environmental Science materials.

Keywords. Tiếng Anh; Dịch; Thuật ngữ; Môi trường

Content

PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Research question
Given the hindrances behind the translation of environmental terms, the research question is
raised: “What are the common strategies and procedures for the translation of English
environmental terms into Vietnamese?”.
2. Aims of the study
The study is aimed at investigating features of English environmental terms and their

compositions in the light of functional grammar proposed by Halliday, then, identifying the
procedures and strategies commonly used by teachers in the lessons on English for
Environment and translators for rendering environmental terms.
3. Scope of the study
Since the research serves the need of the teaching of English for Environmental Science and
rendering English enviromental terms, it mainly focuses on environmental terms derived
from materials currently used in well-known universities of science and technology which
offer environmental English as a subject.
However, the study cannot cover all terms which appear in these sources, only typical terms
with high frequency of occurrence are chosen. It is the author‟s purpose to conduct a study on
the translation of environmental terms at word-level and above-word-level terms based on the
grammatical and semantic features of the terms investigated.
4. Method of the study
This is a descriptive research as this kind of research is aimed at answering “what?”
questions, but not “why?” questions. As Wisker (2001: 118) points out, the purpose of
descriptive study is to “find out more about a phenomenon and to capture it with detailed
information”. Often the capturing and description is only true for that moment in time, hence,
ideally, the description should be repeated several times so that stability or change could be
noted. However, in the framework of a thesis, the study proposes to focus on the present
condition of English environmental terms and their common translation strategies and
procedures into Vietnamese, which still helps us to understand more about the phenomenon
under question.
Descriptive data is collected by observing and noting only aspects which are of interest for
the research because descriptive research, as stated by Seliger and Shohamy (2000: 127)
begins with a premise about what to look for in the observation, that is to say the research
question. In a more detailed way, English environmental terms belonging to two categories:
one-word and above-word-level terms are collected from the study corpus. Afterwards, the
translation of these two groups and their subgoups are analyzed to identify appropriate
transalation procedures and strategies.
The study is carried out through five steps: first, reviewing environment materials from

different realiable sources; second, collecting English environmental terms from these
materials; third, classifying collected terms into two groups: one-word terms and above-
word-level terms; fourth, analyzing the translation of typical examples of above-mentioned
groups in order to find out the significant strategies and procedures for the translation of
environmental terms and finally, suggesting some implications for translation of
environmental terms.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE
LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Terminology
Through the definitions of terminology by a great deal of prominent authors such as
Valeontis and Mantzari (2006: 1), Nguyen Thien Giap (1981: 308-309), it is clear that
terminology is a special lexicon of a language. The particularity is that terminology is words
and phrases which accurately denote concepts of a specialized field”.
1.2. Translation theory
1.2.1. Definitions of translation
Generally speaking, the definitions proposed by Nida and Taber (1969: 12), Marlone (1988,
in Bell, 1991: 5) and others reveal basic features of translation, including the conversion from
source language (SL) to target language (TL), the equivalent and the preservation of meaning
and style of original text.
1.2.2. Translation equivalence
Based on varied factors, translation equivalence can be categorized in various ways. Le Hung
Tien (2006: 54-55) presents four common ways of sorting translation equivalence as
followed:
 Function-based equivalence: dynamic and formal equivalence (Nida)
 Meaning-based equivalence: denotative, connotative, pragmatic and formal
equivalence (Koller)
 Quantity based equivalence: one-to-one equivalence, one-to-many equivalence, one-
to-part-of-one equivalence and nil equivalence (Kade).

 Form-based equivalence: equivalence at word, sentence and text level (Baker)
1.2.3. Non-equivalence at word level and above word level
1.2.3.1. Non-equivalence at word level
In view of Baker (1992: 20), “non-equivalence at word level means that the TL has no direct
equivalent for a word which occurs in the source text”. She presents some common types of
non-equivalence at word level such as the SL concept is not lexicalized in the TL, the SL is
semantically complex and the use of loan words in the source text.
1.2.3.2. Non-equivalence above word level
Collocation is concerned with the company that a word keeps contributes to its interpretation.
The meaning of a word, as Baker (1992: 53) puts it, depends largely on its patterns of
collocation and is not something that the word possesses in isolation. It is, therefore, crucial
to take account of collocational meaning rather than substituting individual words with their
dictionary equivalents.
1.2.4. Translation procedures
Translation procedures, as stated by Newmark (1995: 81), are used for the translation of
sentences and the smaller units of language.
1.2.4.1. Literal translation
Literal translation ranges from one word to one word, through group to group, collocation to
collocation, clause to clause, to sentence to sentence.
1.2.4.2. Transference
As Newmark (1995: 81) puts it, transference (loan word, transcription) refers to the process
of transferring a SL word to a TL text. The word then becomes a „loan word‟.
1.2.4.3. Naturalization
This succeeds transference and adapts the SL first to the normal pronunciation, then, to the
normal morphology of the TL.
1.2.4.4. Cultural equivalence
In Baker‟s terms (1992: 31), this procedure involves replacing a culture-specific item or
expression with a TL item which does not have the same propositional meaning but is likely
to have a similar impact on the target reader.
1.2.4.5. Functional equivalent

According to Newmark (1995: 83), as a cultural componential analysis, this procedure is the
most accurate way of translating, that is to say deculturalising a cultural word.
1.2.4.6. Descriptive equivalent
Description and function are essential elements in explanation and therefore in translation.
1.2.4.7. Shifts or transpositions
“A „shift‟ or „transposition‟ involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL” (Newmark,
1995: 85). There are four main types of shift. The first type of change may be from singular
to plural or in the position of the adjective, which is automatic and offers the translator no
choice. The second type of shift is required when an SL grammatical structure does not exist
in the TL. The third type of shift is the one where literal translation is grammatically possible
but may not accord with natural usage in the TL. As Vinay and Darbelnet see it, transposition
means the replacing of one word-class by another, without changing the meaning of the
message (Newmark, 1995: 86). The fourth type of transposition is the replacement of a
virtual lexical gap by a grammatical structure.
1.2.4.8. Recognized translation
The translator is advised to use the official or the generally accepted translation of any
institutional term, and he can gloss it if he wants to show his disagreement with this official
version.
1.2.4.9. Paraphrase
This is an amplification or explanation of the meaning of an item.
1.2.4.10. Omission
If the meaning conveyed by a particular item or expression is not vital enough to the
development of the text to justify distracting the reader with lengthy explanation, translators
can and often do simply omit translating the word or expression in question.
1.2.4.11. Couplets
Newmark (1995) presents that couplets, triplets, quadruplets combine two, three or four of
the above-mentioned procedures respectively for dealing with a single problem.
1.3. Technical translation
1.3.1. Definitions of technical translation and its characteristics
Both Newmark (1995) and Sofer (1999) believe that specialised terms in a text being

translated is the first signal of technical translation though they usually only make up about
five to ten per cent of a text. Newmark (1995: 152) also states that the central difficulty in
technical translation is usually the new terminology.
1.3.2. Translation of neologisms
As Newmark (1995: 140) states, “neologisms can be defined as newly coined lexical units or
existing lexical units that acquire a new sense”. He also proposes types of neologisms
including old words with new senses, new coinages, derived words, collocations, eponyms,
transferred words and acronyms and the way to deal with each type in translation.
1.4. Environmental terms
Environmental terms can be classified into two groups in accordance with their grammatical
composition including one-word terms and above-word-level terms. One-word terms are
made up of one word and neologisms can be new coinages, eponyms, acronyms, and
measuring units. Besides, there are terms which are composed of two or more than two
words; these words, which are of different parts of speech, combine together and create terms
that have the form of nominal group as proposed by Halliday (1985) (classifier + thing,
classifier/epithet + thing, thing + qualifier (prepositional phrase/relative clause).
1.5. Summary
In this chapter, the study considers the issues of terminology, translation theory in general
and technical translation in particular. Furthermore, there is an attempt to classify and divide
environmental terms into groups namely one-word and above-word-level terms. The
classification of these terms will be of great importance with regards to the translation of
environmental terms in the next chapter.

CHAPTER TWO
THE TRANSLATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS
2.1. The appropriate strategies and procedures in translating English environmental
terms
Group 1: New coinages
Strategies: Transference
Group 2: Eponyms derived from persons

Strategies: Proper names are transferred while common nouns are translated
Group 3: Acronyms
Strategies: Transference
Group 4: Terms that have two possible equivalents in Vietnamese: loan word and
Vietnamese term
Strategies: Choosing which of the two terms depends on the readership: those who have some
knowledge of the field and professionals prefer the loan word while laymen prefer the
Vietnamese one.
Group 5: Terms referring to concepts that are not lexicalized in Vietnamese
Strategies: Naturalization, which can be coupled with functional-descriptive equivalent if
necessary.
Group 6: Terms that are international measuring units
Strategies: Transference.
Group 7: Terms that are units of the imperial system
Strategies: Either transference or cultural substitution.
Group 8: Eponyms derived from the periods of time making up the geologic time scale
Strategies: Naturalization coupled with a classifier
Group 9: Terms consisting of: noun + noun, adjective + noun, noun + noun + noun,
adjective + noun + noun, present participle + noun
Strategies: Transposition which involves the automatic change in the word order from SL to
TL
Group 10: Terms consisting of: noun + present participle + noun, noun + past participle +
noun
Strategies: Translated by a rank-shift (SL nominal group = TL clause)
Group 11: Terms consisting of past participle + noun
Strategies: Translated by either automatic transposition (SL nominal group = TL nominal
group) or rank-shift (SL nominal group = TL clause)
Group 12: Terms consisting of Thing + Qualifier (relative clause)
Strategies: Transpotion (replacing word class, zero linking device, apposition and
syntagmatic change)

Group 13: Terms consisting of Thing + Qualifier ( „of‟ prepositional phrase)
Strategies: Translated with the omission of the preposition „of‟
Group 14: Semantically complex terms
Strategies: Translated by paraphrase
2.2. Discussion
2.2.1. Problems in the translation of environmental terms
2.2.1.1. Lexical issue
First, a large number of environmental terms are not used in everyday language, thus they
are difficult for the translator without specialized knowledge. Second, problematic translation
occurs when the translator just translates a sub-technical term with its general meaning, being
unaware of its specialized meaning, hence, does not convey the exact message of SL text.
The problem may be partly dealt with by consulting specialist dictionaries. However, using
dictionaries to translate technical texts has its own limitations, for example, data in
dictionaries become out-of-date compared to new coinages and more than one translations for
a dictionary entry lead to the translator‟s confusion about choosing one appropriate meaning.
Additionally, after selecting one nuance of meaning, the translator should take the
consistency in translation into consideration, that is to say, he sticks to one translated version
of a term thoughout a text or even texts in a book.
In short, the underlying reason for most of above-mentioned lexical problems is the issue of
grasping concepts.
2.2.1.2. Conceptual issue
The first problem is that without specialist knowledge, the translator may come to a standstill
even when knowing all words as well as grammatical structures. In this situation, there are
only two solutions, studying those concepts and consulting experts. The second issue is the
development of new concepts which might be difficult to understand and translate. In order to
handle this problem, the translator also asks for help from experts and even the author.
Ideally, a combination of an engineer and a high level of foreign language will create the best
background for a technical translator. However, if a person does not meet such ideal
demands, but is outfitted with some specialist knowledge, theory of translation, experience in
translating and a good command of foreign language, he could do the translation well.

2.2.2. Suggestions for translation strategies and procedures
2.2.2.1. Suggestions for translation by the use of loan words
Although the use of loan word has gained much popularity and preference in the translation
of environmental terms, this strategy, naturally enough, has both advantages and
disadvantages.
In terms of the advantages, it is of great help in dealing with non-equivalence since the
concept has not yet been lexicalized in Vietnamese. Another advantage is that the loan term
vividly represents one of the main characteristics of terminology, internationalism as it
appears in the same or similar form with the same meaning in different languages. In
addition, it enables the translator to give a short, precise translation easily without having to
go deeply into the meaning of term, hence avoiding false translation, especially when the
term in question is completely new. Particularly, when the borrowed term is accompanied
with functional-descriptive explanation, the concern that it is impossible for the readership to
induce the meaning of the term will no longer exist. What is more, this strategy helps to
enrich lexis of the borrowing language by adding more and more new terms and new
concepts.
Regarding the disadvantages, the task of preserving the purity and clarity of Vietnamese and
avoid attacking the national characteristic of terminology appear to be harder than ever if
borrowed or loan words are used frequently. Another disadvantage lies in the way these terms
are read and written. If the written form of the loan word is kept the same in the TL, it can be
easy for the writer/translator but difficult for the reader. If they are Vietnamized, there might
be a lack of unification in the way they are read and written.
On balance, in spite of disadvantages of this strategy, many translators and specialist readers
are really in favour of loan words. Meanwhile, non-technical translators and laymen would
choose the Vietnamese alternative, which has more suggestive power.
2.2.2.2. Suggestions for transposition procedure
Many groups of terms are translated by different types of transposition. Undoubtedly, it is a
useful translation procedure in the sense that it can help deal with non-equivalence due to the
differences of word formation and structural patterns between the two languages.
2.2.2.3. Suggestions for paraphrase strategy

This translation strategy is one of the effective options in dealing with non-equivalence
problem. The concept the writer wishes to convey to the readership does not exist in the TL,
and if it is dealt by some other translation strategies, a certain loss of meaning may not be
avoided. Meanwhile, this strategy might help clarify the meaning and make the term in
question comprehensible to the reader.
2.3. Summary
In a nutshell, the translator is required to make a smart choice of a translation procedure so as
to render the terms in questions appropriately in terms of the intended readership, and
accurately with regards to the message wished to be conveyed. To this end, transference,
naturalization, transposition, paraphrase and omission are the choice of the translator in
different situations or for different groups of terms.

PART C: CONCLUSION
The research is an attempt to study the translation of English environmental terminology. It is
kept on the right track to find the answer for the research question. The concepts in
translation that are relevant to the study are revised in chapter one, literature review, to
establish the ground for the research. Particularly, the theory of translation procedures and
strategies sheds light on the aspects under investigation during the study. In addition, the
notion of environmental terms is touched upon to set the ground for the study analysis. In the
remaining chapter, the study comes up with the typically recommended translation
procedures and strategies of English environmental terms according to the aims of the study.
In this part, the major findings are briefly summarized, followed by some implications for the
translation of environmental terms.
1. Major findings
As the environmental science develops, new concepts come to life, which accounts for the
occurrence of both one-word and above-word-level terms. It is recognized that the translation
of terms in the environmental field makes use of several strategies.
Firstly, transference is adopted when there is a lack of standardized equivalent term in the TL
for a new concept in the SL and also when acronyms and eponyms are translated. Meanwhile,
naturalization is reflected in the translation of terms referring to concepts that are not

lexicalized in Vietnamese or that are lexicalized in Vietnamese, terms that mean measuring
units and periods of time making up the geologic time scale. This is seen to be an
increasingly common strategy applied to most types of terms, one-word or above-word-level,
in environmental materials under observation.
Secondly, transposition is seen to be the most common strategy applied to almost all types of
above-word-level terms presented in environmental texts. Specifically, typical nominal
groups with the structure of Premodifier + Thing in studied matertials are translated by
transposition which involves the automatic change in word order from the SL to the TL or
rank-shift. Moreover, transposition procedure is also applied in the translation of nominal
groups which contain Thing + relative clause as Qualifier or Postmodifier. Since the concept
of relative clauses does not exist in Vietnamese, the translator has to resort to other means to
render this grammatical category from the SL into the TL. This kind of nominal group can be
dealt with by means of using linking words like mà, nơi mà, by means of zero linking device,
apposition or by syntagmatic change. This strategy largely depends on the translator‟s
expertise and his mastery of Vietnamese language.
Thirdly, translation by omission is resorted to in translating terms in the form of a nominal
group which takes „of‟ prepositional phrase as the Qualifier. This helps make translated
version sound natural in the TL.
Finally, translation by paraphrase is applied in the translation of terms which are semantically
complex. Accordingly, a SL may be translated by a TL phrase, clause, sentence or even
several sentences.
2. Implications for the translation of environmental terms
On the basis of the investigation into translation strategies, it is critical to further consider the
translation of environmental terms.
In general, as the the translation involves a number of language skills of both SL and TL, the
translator has to be a master of language skills. Additionally, in dealing with the
environmental field, the translator himself should accumulate specialist knowledge in order to
manage specialized materials successfully.
3. Suggestions for further studies
Because of the scope of the thesis, the study is conducted to investigate only the English -

Vietnamese translation of the environmental terminology based on the analysis of
grammatical and semantic features of the terms in this field. Therefore, further studies may
take on other aspects such as the standardization of Vietnamese environmental terminology
or English - Vietnamese translation of clauses and sentences in environmental materials.
It is hoped that the study would be useful for providing some ideas on the translation of
environmental terminology to translators, teachers and learners, particularly those interested
in English for Specific Purposes. Due to time condition and the author‟s limited experience
and knowledge, shortcomings are inevitable. Therefore, all comments as well as
recommendations for better performance are of high appreciation.


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