Từ văn hóa trong tiếng anh và cách dịch sang tiếng việt submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of bachelor of art of english (2017)

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N02
FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY
-----------------

SÁI THỊ HUYỀN TRANG

CULTURAL WORDS IN ENGLISH AND WAYS TO
TRANSLATE THEM INTO VIETNAMESE
(TỪ VĂN HÓA TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ CÁCH DỊCH
SANG TIẾNG VIỆT)
(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ART OF ENGLISH)

BA THESIS IN ENGLISH

HANOI, 2017


HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N02
FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY
-----------------

SÁI THỊ HUYỀN TRANG

CULTURAL WORDS IN ENGLISH AND WAYS TO
TRANSLATE THEM INTO VIETNAMESE
(TỪ VĂN HÓA TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ CÁCH DỊCH
SANG TIẾNG VIỆT)
(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ART OF ENGLISH)

BA THESIS IN ENGLISH

SUPERVISOR: ĐỖ TIẾN ĐỨC, MA

HANOI, 2017


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On the completion of this study, I am greatly indebted to many people.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my
supervisor, Mr. Do Tien Duc for his valuable and prompt advice and help,
without which this paper could be completed.
My thanks also go to all the lecturers of English from Foreign
Languages Faculty, Ha Noi Pedagogical University N02 who has facilitated
me with the best possible conditions during the time I did the study.
Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my family
and friends whose encouragement and assistance are of extreme importance
during my course at the university.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................. iv
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... v
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................... vi
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1
1. Rationale of the study.................................................................................... 1
2. Aims of the study .......................................................................................... 3
3. Scope of the study ......................................................................................... 3

4. Methods of the study ..................................................................................... 3
5. Design of the study........................................................................................ 3
PART II ............................................................................................................. 5
DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 1 ...................................................................................................... 5
CULTURE AND TRANSLATION.................................................................. 5
1.1. Definition of culture ................................................................................... 5
1.2. Culture and language.................................................................................. 7
1.3. Definition of cultural words ..................................................................... 10
1.4. Classification of cultural words in English. ............................................. 12
1.4.1. Geographically cultural words. ............................................................. 12
1.4.2. Materially cultural words. ..................................................................... 13
1.4.3. Socially cultural words.......................................................................... 15
1.5. Definition of translation ........................................................................... 17
1.6. What translation theory is about. ............................................................. 18
1.7. Translation as a process. .......................................................................... 22
1.8. Translation as a product. .......................................................................... 26
1.9. Culture and translation-Some considerations of Anglicist and Vietnamese
cultural differences. ......................................................................................... 28
1.9.1. Linguistic factors ................................................................................... 34

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1.9.2. Geographical factors ............................................................................. 35
TRANSLATION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR TRANSLATING
ENGLISH CULTURAL WORDS INTO VIETNAMESE ............................ 37
2.1. Translation methods ................................................................................. 37
2.1.2. Literal translation .................................................................................. 38
2.1.3. Faithful translation ................................................................................ 38

2.1.4. Semantic translation .............................................................................. 38
2.1.5. Adaptation ............................................................................................. 38
2.1.6. Free translation ...................................................................................... 38
2.1.7. Idiomatic translation.............................................................................. 39
2.1.8. Communicative translation ................................................................... 39
2.2. Techniques for translating ECWs into Vietnamese ................................. 39
2.2.1. Transference and Naturalisation ........................................................... 40
2.2.2. Cultural equivalent ................................................................................ 47
2.2.3. Componential analysis .......................................................................... 50
2.2.4. Recognized translation .......................................................................... 52
2.2.5. Couplets................................................................................................. 53
2.2.6. Notes, additions and glosses. ................................................................ 55
2.3. Limits of translatability ............................................................................ 59
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 64
1. Review of the study ..................................................................................... 64
2. Suggestions for further studies .................................................................... 65
REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 66

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I hereby certify that no part of the thesis entitled:
CULTURAL WORDS IN ENGLISH AND SOME WAYS TO
TRANSLATE THEM INTO VIETNAMESE
has been copied and reproduced from any person‟s work without
acknowledgement and that the study is originally done by me under the
serious guidance from my supervisor.
Date submitted: April, 2017
Student

Supervisor

Sai Thi Huyen Trang

Do Tien Duc, MA

iv


ABSTRACT
This thesis focused on translation methods and techniques suggested by
Newmark for translating English cultural words into Vietnamese.
The classification of cultural words in English mentioned in the thesis
is based on what has been theoretically and critically discussed by the
supervisor and the thesis author.
The thesis also presents the limits of translatability in translating
linguistic difficulty and cultural untranslatability. As far as the study is
concerned, the later will be focused on.
Last but not least, the thesis makes some suggestions for further studies
on cross-cultural translation. It is taken for granted that there should be more
and more practical and specific studies concerning English-Vietnamese and
Vietnamese-English translations of cultural issues to facilitate the friendship
and cooperation between the two nations in the process of globalization.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BC:

Before Christ

CA:

Componential Analysis

ECWs:

English Cultural Words

FN:

Footnote

SL:

Source Language

ST:

Source Language Text

TL:

Target Language

TT:

Target Language Text

OSCE:

Organization for Security and Cooperation of Europe

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PART I
INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
Nowadays, the world is confronted with challenges of development,
with organic, intertwined relations of social, technological, and scientific
revolutions. Consequently, everywhere people are talking about open-door,
integration and cooperation to develop and deal with global issues. Even the
most powerful and wealthy nations cannot stand in isolation. In such a
context, the vital role of culture is better seen than ever before. The whole
world is showing their concern about culture and cultural cooperation for
peaceful and harmonious co-existence. Presumably, almost all countries, in
their development strategies, see the must to include cultural factors and
characteristics to ensure that their social progress is the best connected to the
past and best prepared for the future. In the light of this spirit, the World
Summit on Culture, held in Copenhagen (Denmark) in March, 1995, with the
attendance of 100 heads of the states, came to the declaration that “Cultural
factors are vital to sustainable development serving as an unseparable part of
progress strategies. All economic, political and social policies must be made
from a humane background which upholds man as the centre of
development”.
Vietnam is not an exception from this global trend. Since the
implementation of renovation process and the open-door policies, while

inheriting and promoting traditional cultural values, the country has also been
quite active in absorbing new elements from foreign cultures to enrich its
own. Cultural exchange activities are taking place on an unprecedented scale.
And among the nations with whom Vietnam has cultural contacts, we cannot

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help mentioning Britain. For the past several decades, given the role of
English as an international language, along with the trend of English language
study everywhere, Vietnamese people have been quite familiar to, and
interested in, discovering aspects of Anglicist culture. This enthusiasm was
first brought about through the literacy works of famous English authors like
C. Dickens, G. Byron, Sir C. Doyle, Sir W. Scott, W.M. Thackeray…being
translated and introduced to Vietnamese readers. And today, in the era of
global information booming, Vietnamese people are listening to English
music, watching Premier League, reading English newspapers and other
cultural publications. The appearance of British Council in Vietnam also
signals a significant step in the two countries‟ cultural exchanges. This
situation has given rise to an increasing demand for English- Vietnamese
translation, given the role of translation in transmitting cultures. The activities
of English- Vietnamese translation may take place in various settings of
cultural contacts such as books, newspapers, songs, films, mass media…etc.
Among translation problems reported by both amateur and professional
translators, the matter of dealing with English cultural words emerges as a
huge source of obstacles to comprehension; and a careless handling of those
words may result in misunderstanding, embarrassment, discontent or even
conflict among the involved parties, between the reader and the author
because of the stark differences between Vietnamese and Anglicist cultures.
This context has inspired me to write this paper as an attempt to help

students of English at Ha Noi Pedagogical University No.2 with some useful
techniques when tackling English Cultural Words (ECWs). I ultimately wish
the readers to find something of relevant and practical use to their study and
work with English.

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2. Aims of the study
The study has the following aims:
• Reviewing translation theories and theoretical translation methods
and techniques established by famous authors.
• Providing a rudimentary overview of culture and translation as well
as Anglicist- Vietnamese cultural differences.
• Classifying ECWs and suggesting some practical techniques in
translating them into Vietnamese.
3. Scope of the study
This study takes a focus on suggesting some techniques of translating
English cultural words into Vietnamese under the framework of translation
theory. It is not intended to cover details of methods for larger linguistic units,
such as expressions, sentences, paragraphs or texts.
4. Methods of the study
The following working methods are used in this study:
• Synthesizing theoretical documents on translation.
• Analyzing available translation materials in published books and
newspapers.
• Consulting experienced people on the matter concerned.
5. Design of the study
The study is divided into two chapters.
Chapter 1 attempts to look into the nature of culture, culture in relation

with language, the focused on the classification of cultural words in English.
Later the chapter presents an overview of translation theories developed by
well-known authors with certain basic theoretical items such as definition of
translation; translation as a process; translation as a product. The chapter ends
by taking the relation between culture and translation into consideration as

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well as presenting some presumable linguistic and geographical factors which
determine the unsimilarities between Anglicist and Vietnamese culture.
Chapter 2 mentions some of the translation methods and discusses the
practical application of some the most frequently-used translation techniques
for translating ECWs into Vietnamese. The priories, criteria, and advantages
as well as disadvantages of each translation technique are also discreetly
included. The chapter ends by presenting the limits of translatability in
translating cultural words in one language into a foreign language.

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PART II
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1
CULTURE AND TRANSLATION
1.1. Definition of culture
Culture is a familiar topic, so familiar that we almost take it for
granted; as if there were nothing more to discuss or argue over. It is as certain
as the air we breathe everyday. Since, almost everyday the prevalence of
“culture” can be seen in many utterances such as: cultural level, cultural life,

education culture, social culture, traditional culture, socialist culture, capitalist
culture, and recently post-industrial culture, politics culture….In short, what
is culture? It may come as a surprise to us all that the answer to this question
is very complicated. The evidence of culture‟s complication is presented by
hundreds of known definitions worldwide.
In Webster‟s New World College Dictionary (1996), “culture” is
defined as follows:
1. Cultivation of soil. 2. Production, development, or improvement of a
particular plant, animal, commodity, etc…3. a, The growth of bacteria
microorganisms, or other plant and animal cells in a specially prepared
nourishing fluid or solid. b, a colony of microorganisms or cells thus
grown. 4. a, development, improvement, or refinement of the intellect,
emotions, interest, manners, and taste. b, the result of this: refined ways of
thinking, talking and acting. 5. Development, or improvement of physical
qualities by special training or care (body culture, voice culture). 6. a, the
ideas, customs, skills, arts, etc…of a people or a group, that are
transferred, communicated, or passed as long as in or to succeeding
generations. b, such ideas, customs, etc…of a particular people or group in

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a particular period; civilization. c, the particular people or group of such
ideas, customs, etc…

One may find these definitions so bewildering, as they cover so many
aspects of the world‟s lexical meaning. However, on the other hand, these
definitions are sufficient and unsatisfactory because they fail to present an
overall imagine of what culture is.
Taylor (1973: 53) claimed:

“Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts,
morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man
as a member of a society”.
The British anthropologist made this definition in 19th century. In the
20th century, we witnessed another definition of anthropological culture by
Fernando (1997), which specified Taylor‟s idea: “Culture is everything that
people have, think and do as a member of a society”.
The above definition can be instructive because the three verbs
correspond to the three major components of culture. That is, everything that
people have refer to material possessions; everything that people think refers
to the things they carry around their head, such as ideas, values and attitudes;
and everything that people do refers to behavior patterns. Thus, all cultures
comprise material objects, ideas, values, and attitudes and patterned ways of
behaving.
From different directions, methods, purposes, and points of view,
culture can be comprehended and defined variously. For the purpose of the
research, I would base my study on the definitions by Newmark (1988: 94)
because it best serves in defining and categorizing cultural words. The
definition is as follows: “I define culture as the way of life its manifestations

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that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means
of expression”.
1.2. Culture and language
From the definitions of culture discussed in the first section of the
chapter it would be easily seen that language is a key part of culture. It is one
of the “capabilities acquired by man as a member of society” (Taylor, 1973).
The interrelation of language and culture is so close that no part of the culture

of a particular group can properly be studied without reference to the
linguistic symbol in use. No proper translation of one language can be made
without looking into its culture. So it is difficult to separate one from another.
If it were desirable to separate the two, the significance of either language or
culture would be lost. Sapir (1963: 207) stated:
“Language has a setting. The people that speak it belong to a race (or a
number of the races), that is, to a group which is set off by physical
characteristics from another groups. Again, language does not exist apart
from culture, that is, from the socially inherited assemblage of practices and
beliefs that determines the texture of our lives”. (We can see a vivid example
in the case of Esperanto. Though it was created with the aim of serving as a
tool for international communication, its use nowadays is confined to only a
small group of users (about 1 million). The reason is that Esperanto is a
language without culture).
Language is the key component, the heritage and reflection of culture:
while culture is the product and heritage of a society. No culture can come
into being and develop in an empty space. It is created by members of a
society. It is stored and transferred from generation to generation. It has been
developing ceaselessly. In their shared community, people have to

7


communicate, all the time, with each other. They use language as the main
and most helpful way of communication.
With spoken language, the speaker and the hearer can have a successful
social interaction. The writer can convey information to the reader by written
language. By reading written works or being told by others, human beings
today, can imagine what our forefathers‟ lives were like, how they behaved,
how they enjoyed themselves, what their beliefs and customs were. Through

language we can leave our cultural heritage to future generations. What is
more, people are not bound to knowledge of their own cultures. Modern
means of communication, especially the Internet and Satellite television, as
well as transport, have developed rapidly, enabling us to co-operate, and
exchange ideas. While travelling, co-operating and exchanging ideas, people
also exchange their cultures. The deeper their inter-cultural understanding is,
the more successful their discussion will be. And to know the language of a
particular society means to have the definitive key to discover that culture.
Languages may spread far beyond their original home, invading the
territory of new races and of new culture spheres. A language may even die
out in its primary area (Sapir, 1963). The cultural heritage is equal for all
members of a society. However, it is obvious that not all the members can
enjoy their culture at the same level. Cultural understanding depends on age,
expensive, knowledge of the language. It is a certainly that parents are likely
to understand their culture better than their children, when the latter are still
home-bound and have little social interaction. Yet, when the children grow
up, they develop physically, psychologically, and biophysically, and if they
develop their linguistic knowledge well, they also absorb their culture well.
Gradually, by reading, travelling, joining social interactions, the children may

8


even have a better understanding of cultures and sub-cultures than their
elders.
In fact, the knowledge of language can help one communicate with
others. But, without cultural background, communication is unlikely to be
successful, as cross-cultural misunderstanding may occur. This is particularly
the case when words are used with different meanings. For instance, what is
called an omelette, in fact, in British-English is called a fried egg. Therefore,

it is humorous to hear that a Vietnamese visitor went to an English restaurant
and ordered an omelette, he was surprised somewhat annoyed when the waiter
brought him a fried egg. Similarly a Turkish visitor to the United States
refused to eat a hot dog because it was against his religious beliefs to eat dog
meat.
Surely, differences in cultural meanings across languages cause
communication problems for people of different cultures. That is why
speakers of the same language may misunderstand one another, because they
belong to different cultures. For example, British humor is not always
appreciated by Americans, even though the language is quite similar.
(Conversely, two nations with a lot of cultural similarities may have different
languages. This point is, two some extent, illustrated in the case of Vietnam
and China).
The English language provides a prominent example of the differences
between cultures that share the same language. While both speaking English
as their mother tongue, the British and American people have different ways
of behaving, talking, feeling, and judging. They also have different customs.
However, we cannot deny that possession of a common language facilitates
mutual cultural understanding. But there are many other factors leading to
cultural differences. As Sapir (1963:215) pointed out:

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“A common language cannot definitely set the seal on a common culture
when the geographical, political, and economic determinants of the culture
are no longer the same throughout its areas”.
Sapir (1963) also wondered whether language and culture are, in any
true sense, casually related. He believed that culture is “what a society does
and thinks” and language is the means of expressing thought. He also said that

language and culture are not necessarily correlated, but the content of
language is intimately related to culture. When a new thing is introduced to a
culture which does not have any name for it, a word for the newly introduced
thing must be invented or borrowed. In the sense that the vocabulary of a
language more or less reflects the culture whose purposes it serves, it is true
that the history of language and that of culture move along parallel lines.
In conclusion, language and culture cannot develop in separation from
each other. Language is the reflection of culture, it is the chief way by which
the members of a group communicate and create their culture. Furthermore,
the close relationship between culture and language justifies the statement that
when you know the language, you get hold of the key to explore the culture.
1.3. Definition of cultural words
In defining cultural words, it is necessary to come back to the accepted
definition of culture by Newmark. In his book “A textbook of translation”
(1988:94) Newmark says: “I defined 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”. From his definition, it can be initially
deduced that cultural words are those that belong to a “particular language”
and express “peculiar manifestations” of a culture.
More specifically, we need to distinguish “cultural” from “universal”
and “personal” language. This, „die‟, „live‟, „star‟, „sky‟, „swim‟ and even

10


almost virtually ubiquitous artifacts like „bed‟, „chair‟, „mirror‟ are universals
and usually there is no translation problem here. Meanwhile, „bungalow‟,
„cottage‟, „pudding‟, „áo dài‟, „phở‟ are cultural words and there will be a
translation problem unless there is cultural overlap between the source
language (SL) and the target language (TL) (and its readership).

Certainly, the “universal”, “personal” and “cultural” are merely broad
and fuzzy distinctions. We can have several cultures (and sub-cultures) within
one language: kilt (Scottish skirt for men), Mother‟s day (an American
festival), dingo (wild dogs in Australia) are all cultural words which may need
translation within English. When a speech community focuses its attention on
a particular topic (this is usually named “cultural focus”), it spawns a large
bulk of words to designate its special language or terminology, for example
the English on sports, notably the crazy cricket words (“a maiden over”, “silly
mid-on”, “howzat”), the French in wines and cheese, the Germans on
sausages, Spaniards on bull-fighting, Arabs on camels, Vietnamese on wet
rice, English and French on sex in mutual recrimination. Many cultures have
their words for cheap liquor for the poor and desperate “vodka”, “grappa”,
“slivovitz”, “sake”, “schnapps”, “gin”. Frequently, where there is cultural
focus, there is translation problem due to the cultural gap and distance
between the SL and TL.
Furthermore, the more specific a language becomes for natural
phenomena (e.g. flora and fauna), the more embedded it becomes in cultural
features and therefore crates translation problem.
Most cultural words are easy to detect, since they are associated with a
particular language (English in this study) and cannot be literally translated,
(for example the historical term father of the chapel would be meaningless
and misleading if it is translated literally as cha xứ in Vietnamese). But many

11


cultural customs are described in ordinary language (“topping out a building”,
“time, gentlemen, please”, “mud in your eyes”, “xông nhà”, “mừng tuổi”)
where literal translation would distort the meaning and a translation may
include an appropriate descriptive-functional equivalent. Cultural objects may

be referred to by a relatively cultural-free generic term and classifier (e.g.
“tea”) plus the various additions on different cultures, and we have to account
for these additions (“rum”, “lemon”, “milk”, “biscuits”, “cake” and other
courses, at various times of day) which may appear in the course of the SL text.
1.4. Classification of cultural words in English.
In this study, in order to meet the need of research and translating
English Cultural Words (ECWs) into Vietnamese, this thesis author
personally classifies ECWs into three categories as follows:
1.4.1. Geographically cultural words.
This category consists of words that designate the British ecological
features particularly in terms of flora, fauna, winds, plains, hills…The typical
words for this group are: downs, loch, dune, snowdrop, honeysuckle, daisy,
pansy, grassland, cliff, moor, highland, bluebell, drizzle, Scots pine, yew,
primrose.
Geographical features can be normally distinguished from other
cultural terms in that they are usually value-free, politically and
commercially. Nevertheless, their diffusions depend on the importance of the
degree of specificity. All of English geographical terms can normally be
translated into Vietnamese by using functional equivalent, with the addition
of a brief cultural-free third term where necessary in the text.
The same criteria apply to other ecological features, unless they are
important academically and scientifically, particularly in case of flora and
fauna. Just consider “daisy”, for instance. This English flower is translated

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into Vietnamese by “hoa diên vỹ”, which sounds somewhat strange and
exotic; therefore sometimes the neutral term is added here as „chrysanthemum
leucanthemum‟. This neutral term is a cultural-free, Latin scientific term,

which is rarely used except for learnt readership.
Nida (1964) pointed out that certain ecological features, particularly the
seasons, rain, hills of various sizes (cultural words: downs, moor, dune), when
they are irregular or unknown, may not be understood denotatively or
figuratively in translation. However, here television will soon be a worldwide
clarifying force.
1.4.2. Materially cultural words.
Material concerns with the physical aspects of the culture including
food and drinks, clothes, towns, transport and communication. Among that
food is for many the most sensitive and important expression of national
culture. Food terms are subject to the wildest variety of translation procedures
in various settings: menu-straight, multilingual, glosses, cookbooks, food
guides, tourist brochures.
Journalism increasingly contains foreign food terms. It is often said that
Britain and good food are two things, which are not commonly associated.
Visitors to Britain have widely varying opinions about all sorts of aspects of
the country but most of them seem to agree that the food is terrible.
This helps to explain the fact that while commercial and prestige
interests remain strong, the necessary use of French words for British cuisine
is still prevalent for prestige reason. However, there are some English
ubiquitous expressions: salad mixture, starters, first course, light course
between two heavy courses, desserts, toast, bun, pudding, sandwich, pizza,
chip, French fries, porridge, mustard, pancake, toffee, haggis, custard.

13


In principle, it is recommended to translate food words with recognized
terms, one-to-one equivalents and transference, plus a neutral term or
functional-equivalent (as “the pasta dish”-cannelloni) for general readership.

Traditionally, clothes of upper-class men are English (smoking jacket,
topper, oxford, waistcoat, boaters, bowler hat, blazer, jacket, tights,
Wellington, deerstalker hat, preppy, pill-box) and that of women are French
(note slip, bra, blouse) but national costumes when distinctive (like áo dài in
Vietnam, sari in India, kimono, yukata in Japan) are not translated. Thus in
Vietnam we often hear of words like vest, pyjamas, complets, jeans, bikini,
jacket as they are in English.
Clothes as cultural terms may be sufficiently explained for TL
(Vietnamese) general readership if the generic noun and classifier is added,
e.g. wellington becomes ủng wellington, cardigan as áo cardigan, oxford as
giày oxford, pill-box as mũ pill-box.
Like many other language communities, in English, we can find a
typical house, which for general purpose, can only be explained rather than
translated, for example cottage as nhà nghỉ ở nông thôn, bungalow as nhà một
tầng có gác xép, or boongalô, tower as công trình xây cao để phòng thủ hoặc
làm nhà giam or tháp. British also show cultural focus on towns by having
borough, shire, country, township.
In addition, in English we can find a lot of words related to transport
with strong cultural elements such as lay-by, round-about, barge, surrey,
underground (subway), double-deck, cab, cart, steam engine, diesel engine,
rocket engine, jumbo jet. In fiction the names of the various carriages are
often used to provide local color and to connote prestige. In textbook on
transportation an accurate description has to be appended to the transferred
word. Now the names of British planes and cars are often near

14


internationalisms for educated readership: Concord, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce,
Limousine, Cadillac, Lincol Continental, Ferrari, Mini.

In communication, there are some English words that are usually purely
transferred into Vietnamese, for example: telephone, mobile phone, fax,
Internet, website, ADSL, online, admin, server, hacker, nickname, e-mail.
These words have become very popular in many Vietnamese newspapers,
magazines, periodicals, books.
1.4.3. Socially cultural words.
In this category, there are ECWs in relation to work and leisure
activities, political and social life. In regarding to work, we have difficulties
with words like: the people, the common people, the mass, the working class,
the proletariat. Proletariat was always used mainly for its emotive effect and
now can hardly be used seriously, since the majorities in developed countries,
including Britain, are property-owning. The mass and the people can be used
positively and negatively but again the more rarely used the mass have
become swallowed up in collocations such as mass media, mass market.
Ironically, the referent of these terms is no longer the poor, a toilet or a
factory worker. The poor remain the out-of-work community. The political
terms have been replaced by the rank and file, the grass roots, the bottom of
the bureaucracies.
The obvious cultural words that denote leisure activities in Britain are
the national sports with their lexical sets: football (soccer), tennis, squash,
badminton, rugby, snooker, boxing, cricket, hockey, ice-hockey, horse-race,
golf, rounder, foxhunting, poker, bridge and personal hobbies: chat, GO
(games online), shopping, picnic, dancing, disco, karaoke.
The political and social life of Britain is reflected in its institutional
terms. Prominent examples are the titles of heads of state (Queen, King,

15


Prime Minister) or the names of its parliament branches (House of Lords,

House of Commons). Its government inner circle is called cabinet and may
informally be referred to by the name of the capital city- London. Some
ministries and other political institutions may be referred to by their familiar
alternative terms, the names of the buildings: Westminster, (10) Downing
Street, Buckingham, Whitehall.
Following are some ministries‟ names and public bodies or
organizations, which needs careful handling when translated into Vietnamese:
British Court of Exchequer, Treasury, High Court of Justice, Queen Bench
Division, Home Office, Social Affairs, British Council, National Trust, Privy
Council, Arts Council, Scotland Yard.
Apart from above-mentioned modern institutional terms, it is necessary
to pay attention to historical institutional terms such as: Producer-general,
duke, earl, viscount, duchess, viscountess, baron, peer, Black Rod, Lord
temporal, Lord spiritual, Lord High chancellor, Lord Protector, Lord
Chamberlain, Lord Lieutenant, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Spring Seal, public
school, father of chapel, Whig, Tory, Doomsday Book, Magna Carta,
Apartheid.
In academic texts and educated writing, they are usually transferred,
with, where appropriate a functional or descriptive term with as details as it is
required. In popular texts, the transferred word can be replaced by the
functional or descriptive term.
Artistic terms: The translation of artistic terms referring to
movements, processes and organizations generally depend on the putative
knowledge of the readership. The transparent names: State orchestra, the
London, the Manchester philharmonic orchestras…are usually translated.
Names of buildings, museums, theatres, opera houses are likely to be

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translated as well as translated since they come from part of street plans and
addresses. English artistic terms tend to transference when they are regarded
as cultural features and to naturalization if their universality is accepted.
Religious terms: In religious language in English, the proselytizing
activities of Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church and the Baptists,
the Protestant, the Methodist, the Presbyterian, the kirk of Scotland are
reflected in manifold translation. The language of the other world religions in
Britain tends to be transferred or paraphrased when it becomes of TL interest.
English Bible Scholars and linguists have been particularly exercised by
cultural connotation due to the translation of similes of fruit and husbandry
into languages where they are in appropriate. It is advisable to explain the
religious term in translation. For example, religious terms of Christianity in
English language: Sacramental Agent, Baptism, Easter, Holy Communion, the
Holy City, the Holy Father, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Land, holy orders, the
Holy See, Holy Week, Holy Writ, Eucharist, Lord‟s supper, Lord‟s Prayer,
Lord‟s Day, confirmation, Anointing of the Sick, penance. What is more, it is
necessary to include a lot of religious festivals in Britain such as: Christmas,
Halloween, Easter, Orangemen Day, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, Ash
Wednesday, Good Friday, Spring Bank Holiday.
1.5. Definition of translation
Though the role and history of translation can be easily agreed upon, it
is almost impossible to find an undisputed definition of translation. From
different directions, there can be various definitions. Particularly, translation
can be defined as the activity of changing something spoken or especially
written in one language into another language. Newmark (1988:7) by defining
translation as a “craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message
and/or statement in one language by the same message and/or statement in

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