A study on translation technical terms in export – import from english into vietnamese of the fourth year students of english department at thuongmai university

ABSTRACT
A study on translation of technical terms used in Export – Import from English
into Vietnamese of the fourth-year English - majored students at ThuongmaiUniversity
The purpose of this study is to investigate some difficulties that the fourth-year
students of English Faculty encounter when translating Export – Import technical
terms and texts as well. To further develop the argument, the thesis works out some
typical error type made by the students. From that, the researcher finds out difficulties
they face in translation process. The participants are 40 English - major students with
the cooperation of teacher of the Faculty. To identify difficulties of the students when
translating Export – Import technical terms, 40 participants are required to take one
translation test which is about Export – Import field. The results reveal that students
frequently face difficulties in understanding concepts and vocabulary, also in choosing
adequate words in Vietnamese. Lack of background knowledge and vocabulary are
main reasons which cause their problems. Besides, due to the difference between
English and Vietnamese, they still made grammatical errors in translation. The thesis
then boldly give recommendations and suggestions for teachers as well as for the
students in order to assist the students to improve their translation skill.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my grateful appreciation to all of those who gave me such
great support and motivation in process of doing the research. I want to give
acknowledge all lecturers at Thuong Mai University (TMU) for their teaching and
especially to my teachers who directly taught me invaluable knowledge during my
study at university, which enables me to complete my graduation paper.
First and foremost, I wish to express my sincerest thank to my supervisor, M.A
Vu Thi Thanh Hoa who helps me a lot in the whole process of my graduation paper.
Her enthusiasm and dedication have stimulated me to complete my graduation paper
successfully.
Secondly, I am indebted to the fourth-year students of English Faculty who
providing necessary materials for me in process of research in order to achieve best

results.
Finally, I would also like to express my appreciation to my family members and
my dear friends who always support and encourage me during the time I do the
research.
Due to the limited time and knowledge as well as other objective reasons, my
graduation paper has inevitable shortcomings. Therefore, all comments are welcomed
to make my research better.
Ha Noi, April 2019
Student
Bui Thi Lan Anh

TABLE OF CONTENTS


How major imported goods of Vietnam fluctuated in the first quarter 2019.............3
APPENDIX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
SL: source language


TG: target language
ESP: English for special purpose

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
1
2

Chart 3.1 Distribution of translation error types
Chart 3.2 Distribution of grammatical problem

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15


3
4
5
6

Chart 3.3 Distribution of lexical errors
Chart 3.4 Difficulties in translating export-import text
Chart 3.5 Factors affecting students when translating Export – Import terms
Chart 3.6 The ways students improve their translating

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23
24
25


CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1. Rationale
In the context of globalization and integration, it can be seen that Viet Nam
has cooperated with many other countries in the world in the field of economy,
culture, education, medicine, construction, security, ect. In order to become a
developed country, Viet Nam has to make more efforts to create opportunities for it,
especially to boost cooperation with some of developed countries such as the United
State, the United Kingdom and other Western countries. For that reason, English is
becoming an international language and it is essential quality to become an

international citizen. Mastering English skill, each person not only has the chance to
develop themselves but also makes contribution to the development of the country
by cooperated business activities, tourism promotion, cultural exchange. Therefore,
English is becoming more and more important to all of us in the era of
globalization.
Except from basic skills in English like speaking, listening, reading, writing
skills, translation is the most essential when studying English and when working in
English-using environment. Nowadays, everyone attaches more importance to
learning translation skill. However, a lot of students and employees have to face
difficulties in translation especially as translating technical terms. In addition, the
improvement of trade leads to higher demand of good exchange and transportation.
Hence, the knowledge of export – import arises, which results in demand of
translation export- import terms.
At present, there are many of researches done to study aspects of translation in
general. However, the number of studies on translation technical terms is few,
especially on export – import sector gaining popularity nowadays.
Thuongmai University specializes in training the field of economy and trade.
Besides, the university has English Faculty which trains students to become would–
be English translators. The departments and lectures have launched many teaching
methods to help their students easily access to knowledge about trade, economy and
translation skill. As a student of English Faculty at Thuongmai University, I am


aware of the problems that English Faculty’ students encounter when studying
translation in general and English – Vietnamese translation in particular. To be good
at export – import translation, students not only have to sharpen their translation
skill but also improve their specialized knowledge.
For these reasons, I choose the topic “A study on translation technical terms in
export – import from English into Vietnamese of the fourth-year students of English
Department at Thuongmai University” for my graduation paper.

1.2. Previous studies
There are some of studies which are related to translation that I have collected.
Due to the limitation of time, I just present several studies relating to English –
Vietnamese translation in general and English – Vietnamese translation of
terminologies in particular. The following studies are collected from internet
resource.
Topic for the first study is “English-Vietnamese translation of terminologies
on Human Resource Management” implemented by Ngo Thanh Huong, a student of
Hai Phong private university. The study aims to provide a general overview about
Human Resource Management terms as well as strategies to help students and
people who are working on Human Resource Management field improve their
translation skill. In the study, the researcher uses main methods like analysis,
interview, questionnaire to collect primary and secondary information. The study
gives an overall look on Human Resource Management, then the overview of
Human Resource Management terms. The main part presents the study on
translating Human Resource Management terms into Vietnamese, analysis of
equivalence and some problems in translation process. According to the thesis, there
are two popular problems in Human Resource Management including linguistic
problem and cultural difference. At the last chapter, some suggestions given by the
researcher in order to help learners overcome the difficulties in translating process.
The advantage of this study is that: firstly, the topic of thesis is clear and related to
an urgent problem in Vietnam; secondly, the study is done in concrete space and
time and implemented with a variety of flexible methods; thirdly, theoretical basis is
clear, divided into specific issues. The study made contributions to teaching in


Vietnam and provide practical solutions for learners to overcome difficulties when
studying translation.
1.3. Aims of the study
The study is conducted to survey and evaluate English-majored students in

translation skills. It then finds out difficulties which the fourth-year students
encounter as well as mistakes that they made when translating. From that, the study
gives some solutions that can help the students to overcome difficulties also to limit
mistakes in translating process and improve their translation skills.
1.4. Research Subject
In my study, the research subject is the export- import technical term
translating skill from English into Vietnamese of the fourth-year English-major
students at Thuongmai University. With the research subject, I will focus on current
situation of students while translating, mistakes they made, difficulties they
encounter. The study is conducted through interview and questionnaire.
1.5. Scope of the study
In order that the researcher can implement conveniently and gain accurate
results, the study is carried out at Thuongmai University with the participants of 40
fourth-year students of English Faculty.
1.6. Research methodology
The study aims at addressing the following questions:
1. What are the difficulties the fourth-year students of English Faculty
encounter when translating export - import terms from English into Vietnamese?
2. What are the reasons for the problems?
3. What are solutions suggested to deal with the difficulties and to improve
translation skills of the fourth-year students?
To clear these questions up, the research is combined simultaneously both
qualitative and quantitative approach so that the researcher can compare, evaluate,
supplement and produce the adequate outcomes. About quantitative research
method, the questionnaire was conducted. Collected data is cleaned, processed,
encrypted using software support, then synthesized and analyzed. About qualitative
research method, from the results obtained in the questionnaire, the researcher


makes judgment about the nature of the answers and expresses the logic of the

answers.
Data collection instruments
1.6.1.1. Interview
With the aim of investigating and evaluating translation skills, also to find out
solutions for the fourth-year students to sharpen their skill, this method will support
for collecting appropriate as well as accurate answers so that can gain real results
for the study. From that, the interviewer also makes the study more reliable and
information more objective.
The objects of the interview are teachers and students of English Faculty. And
the interview was conducted in Vietnamese so as to receive free responses from
respondents and avoid misunderstanding. Note-taking is one of the vital skills in
interview because it was convenient for both the interviewer and respondents and
help the interviewer not to forget the important information when the interview
ended.
1.6.1.2. Practical observation
This method has one advantage is that the researcher can save time and money
because the observer can evaluate through translation lessons. Practical observation
was conducted in 4 times per week.
1.6.1.3. Questionnaire
The questionnaire is a very common instrument when doing research. The
questionnaire will be conducted online. It aims at finding out the student’s attitude
towards translation subject, difficulties, causes as well as the way that can help them
to improve their skill. The questionnaire also helps to look for necessary
information for the study as well as gives appreciated solutions. The questionnaire
is laid-out in the form of multiple-choice items for answering and consisting of
closed-ended and open-ended questions. In the study, there are 10 questions which
are about translation in general and English-Vietnamese in particular, the
importance of export-import, technical term translation.
1.7. Organization of the study
The thesis consists of the four following chapters:

+ Chapter 1: Overview of the study
The first part is overview of the study which includes rationale, previous
studies, aims of the study, research subject, scope of the study, research
methodology, organization of the study.
+ Chapter 2: Literature review
This is the most important part that gives knowledge about translation,
technical terms, export – import, export – import terminologies, difficulties in
translating process.
+ Chapter 3: Research findings
Research findings give results of ability to translate of the fourth-year Englishmajored students.
+ Chapter 4: Recommendations and suggestions
Based on the results, the researcher gives suggested solutions to help the
students overcome difficulties when translating as well as improve their translation
skill.


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature is an important part in research because it helps researchers gain
fundamental knowledge about the problem focused on. Therefore, with the chosen
topic, this chapter introduces some basic definitions and analysis related to technical
terminologies, terms used in export – import. Then the researcher discusses in
translation theory such as definition of translation, definition of English –
Vietnamese translation, equivalence in translation, factors affecting translation
process.
2.1. Related concepts in translation
2.1.1. Definitions of translation
There are variety of concepts of translation. Translation is the replacement of
textual material in one language(source language) by equivalent textual material in

anotherlanguage(target language), according to Catford (1965). This definition
show that translation is a process in the sense that is an activity. Performed by
people through time, when expressions are translated into simpler ones in the same
language. It can be done also from one language to another different language.
According to Peter Newmark (1988), translation is rendering a written text
into another language in the way that the author intended the text. The translators
are required to undertake assignments which range from simple items to more
complex written materials.
Besides, there are a lot of other concepts of translation such as:
Translation is the process of finding a target language (TL) equivalentfrom a
source language (SL) utterance.(Pinhhuck)
Translation is a transfer process, which aims at the transformation of awritten
SL text into an optimally equivalent TL text, and which requiresthe syntactic, the
semantic and the pragmatic understanding andanalytical processing of the SL.(Wilss
- 1982)
Translation is the act of transferring through which the content of a textis
transferred from the SL into the TL. (Foster - 1958)


Translation is to be understood as the process whereby a messageexpressed in
a specific source language is linguistically transformed inorder to be understood by
readers of the “target language”. ( Houbert - 1998)
2.1.2. Types of translation
2.1.2.1. Word-for-word translation
This is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with the TL immediately
below the SL words. The SL word-order is preserved and theword translated singly
by their most common meanings, out of context.Culture words are translated
literally. The main use of word-for-wordtranslation is either to understand the
meaning of the SL or to construct adifficult text as a pre-translation process.
2.1.2.2. Literal translation

The SL grammatical construction is converted to the nearest TL equivalents
but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context.
2.1.2.3. Faithful translation
A faithful translation is used when translators want to reproduce theprecise
contextual meaning of the SL within the restriction of the TL grammatical
structures. It converts cultural words but reserves the degree of grammatical and
lexical “abnormality” in the translation. It attempts to be completely faithful to the
intentions and text-realization of the SL writer.
2.1.2.4. Semantic translation
Semantic translation differs from faithful translation only in as far asit must
take more account of the aesthetic value of the SL text,compromising on “meaning”
where appropriate so that no assonance,word-play or repetition jars in finished
version.
2.1.2.5. Adaptation translation
This seems to be the freest form of translation. It is used mainly forplays and
poetry in which the themes, characters and plots are usuallypreserved, the SL
culture converted to the TL culture and text rewritten byan established dramatist or
poet has produced many poor adaptations butother adaptation has “rescued” period
plays.


2.1.2.6. Free translation
This reproduces the matter without the manner, or the contentwithout the form
of the original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longerthan the original, a so-called
“intralingua translation”, often prolix andpretentious and not translation at all.
2.1.2.7. Idiomatic translation
Idiomatic translation reproduces the “message” of the original buttends to
distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and theidiom where these
do not exist in the original.
2.1.2.8. Communicative translation

Communicative translation attempts to reader the exact contextualmeaning of
the original in such a way that both content and language arereadily acceptable and
comprehensible to the readership.
2.1.3. Equivalence in translation
According to Vanessa Leonardo “equivalence canbe said to be the central issue
in translation although its definition, relevance, and applicability within the field of
translation theory have caused heated controversy, and many different theories of
the concept of equivalence have been elaborated within this field in the past fifty
years”.
Catford (1965) believes that the central problem of translation is that of
finding target language equivalence. Halverson (1997) defines equivalence is a
relationship existing between two entities, and the relationship is described as one
of likeness/ sameness/ similarity/ equality in terms of any of a number of potential
qualities. In conclusion, translation equivalence is the similarity between a word or
expression in one language and its translation in another. In other word, a
translation is a corresponding word or expression in another language.
2.2. Technical translation
2.2.1. Translation of English for special purpose (ESP)
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) theorize, “ESP is an approach to language
teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learners‟
reason for learning” (p.19). Anthony (1997) noted that, it is not clear where ESP
course end and general English courses begin; numerous non-specialist EPC
instructors use an ESP approach in that their syllabi are based on analysis of


learners‟ needs and their own personal specialist knowledge of using English for
real communication.
Types of ESP: David Carter (1983) identifies three types of ESP:
• English as a restricted language: Knowing a restricted language would not
allow the speaker to communicate effectively in a novel situation outside of a very

specific environment (airline stewardess, waiter, air traffic controller etc)
• English for Academic (EAP) and Occupational Purpose (EOP). EAP serves
an educational purpose (studying literature, science, social studies, math, business,
economic etc). Occupational Purposes (EOP) serves a vocational or professional
purpose (medical technician, stewardess etc)
• English with specific topics identified by Carter (1983). Carter notes that it is
only here where emphasis shifts from purpose to topic. This type of ESP is uniquely
concerned with anticipated future English needs of, for example, scientists requiring
English for postgraduate reading studies, attending conferences or working in
foreign institutions. The second type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English
for Academic and Occupational Purposes. In the 'Tree of ELT' (Hutchinson &
Waters, 1987), ESP is broken down into three branches: English for Science and
Technology (EST), English for Business and Economics (EBE), English for Social
Studies (ESS). Each of these subject areas is further divided into two branches:
English for Academic Purposes (EAP), English for Occupational Purposes (EOP).
2.2.2. Definitions of technical translation
The translation style dealing with terminology in specific fields such as:
politics, economic, banking and finance, law etc is called technical 14 translation.
According to Peter Newmark (1995) “technical translation is primarily
distinguished from other forms of translation by terminology. Its characteristics,
grammatical features merge with other varieties of language. Its characteristic
format is technical report, but also includes instruction, manuals, notices, publicity,
which put more emphasis on forms of address and use of the second person.” He
divides technical translation into three levels that he find of great application:
Academic, Professional and Popular.
Academic: it includes transferred Greek and Latin words associated with
academic paper such as scientific writing or university student´s textbook.
For examples: In medicine
Pediatrics: khoa nhi

Geriatrics: khoa nội tiết
Professional: former terms used by experts. However, they may be
understandable for others.
For examples: In jurisprudence
Criminal court: tòa hình sự
Civil court: tòa dân sự
Popular: Layman vocabulary, which may includes familiar alternative terms.
For examples: In construction
Tile: ngói, đá lát
Mortar and Plaster: hồ, vữa
These are general categories in which the translation of terms is often
classified. Thus, whether translators would like to take such classification seriously
or just take it for reference only, these categories will certainly offer them an easy
and systematic assess to new terms in the source language and those in the target
language as well.
2.2.3. Technical terms (terms)
2.2.3.1. Definition of technical terms
Term is a variation of language in a specific condition (Peter Newmark) and he
stated that the central difficulty in translation is usually the new terminology. Even
then, the main problem is likely to be that of someterms in the source text which are
relatively content-free, and appearonly once. If they are context-bound, you are
more likely to understand them by gradually eliminating the less likely versions.
Technical terminology, which is the specialized vocabulary of a field. These terms
have specific definitions within the field, which is not necessarily the same as their
meaning in common use.

2.2.3.2. The characteristics of terms
There is distinction between technical and descriptive terms. The original
source language writer may use a descriptive term for a technical object for three

reasons:
- The objective is new and not yet has a name.
- The descriptive term is being used as a familiar alternative, to avoid
repetition.


- The descriptive term is being used to make a contrast with another one.
Normally, you should translate technical and descriptive terms by their counterparts
and, in particular, resist the temptation of translating a technical term for showing
off your knowledge, there by sacrificing the linguistic force of the SL descriptive
term. However, if the SL descriptive term is being used either because of the SL
writer’s ignorance or negligence, or because the appropriate technical term does
notexist in the SL, and in particular if an object strange to the SL but not to theTL
culture is being referred to, then you are justified in translating adescriptive by a
technical term.
Terminology makes up perhaps 5-10 % of a text. The rest is “language”
usually a natural style of language; and there you normally find an authoritative text
aspires to such a style; if it does not, you gently convert it to natural and elegant
language-the writer will be grateful to you.
2.3. Difficulties in English – Vietnamese translation
When doing translation from English into Vietnamese, we find it difficult to
convert many texts naturally and we can identify two main problems in linguistic
difference and cultural difference.
First, in term of linguistic different between English and Vietnamese: the two
languages have various differences in terms of vocabulary and grammatical rules
can be named as below:
Inflexible English grammar
English has very strict grammar rules while Vietnamese is much more flexible.
For instance, Vietnamese does not always use articles and the rules are not as clear
as those of English.

Phrasal verbs
While English does not have so many grammatical inflections, English verbs
can pose problems. They are peculiar to English such as turn on, turn off, set up, run
out, look into, look after, ect. In Vietnamese, specific verbs are used in place of the
English phrasal verbs.
Peculiar English vocabulary


A word in English may mean a lot of words in Vietnamese. For example, we
may translate the word problem into vấn đề, vấn nạn, tệ nạn, khó khăn, trục trặc,
thắc mắc,ect. depending on the context.
Second, in term of cultural difference, Asian culture in general and
Vietnamese culture in particular has few things in common with Western and
American culture. Unless translators are capable of breaking through decayed
barriers of their own culture and opening their mind to new and sometimes alien
concepts, their translation cannot be considered successful and natural. Difficulties
occur when we have to translate foreign notions like New Year’s revolution, fair go,
wife swapping, ect. because they are typical of the culture in English-speaking
countries but not in Vietnam.


CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS
3.1. Research method
There are three main methods used to deal with the problem of this topic. The
researcher evaluates the results through translation test, questionnaire and interview.
The first method requires 50 fourth-year students from English Faculty to
translate an English newspaper into Vietnamese. 50 test papers were printed and
delivered to the students with the limited time is 60 minutes, similar to the time to
do a mid-term test for translation subject.
The second method is filling out a questionnaire. In this study, the

questionnaire is designed with 10 questions which consist of closed questions,
multiple-choice questions and opened questions. These questions focus on gathering
information in objective opinions of respondents on general translation, EnglishVietnamese translation, importance of Export-Import, difficulties in translating
Export-Import terms.
The third one is an interview. An interview is a process of contact between two
individuals, in which the interviewer attempt to collect information, responses and
views of the interviewee about these main points: importance of Export-Import in
the context of globalization and integration, technical terms, Export-Import
technical terms, general translation, English-Vietnamese translation. The aim of the
interview is to find out difficulties in studying translation subject, difficulties in
translating technical terms especially Export-Import terms, some common errors
made by the fourth-year English-majored students when translating from English
into Vietnamese. And then find out causes for these difficulties. From that, the
researcher may make some suggestions and solutions to help the interviewees solve
their problems in learning process.
3.2. Analysis of data
3.2.1. Results of the translation test
The translation error types which were made by the students in their
translation tests are described in the following chart.


Chart 3.1 Distribution of translation error types

The result illustrates that the background knowledge is a decisive factor which
affects students most when translating. The proportion of errors made due to
students' lack of background knowledge is 52.1%.Of two other difficulties in
vocabulary and grammar, the number of students who make mistakes about
vocabulary is higher than this number of grammatical errors. The percentages of
two types are 30.8% and 17.1%, respectively. In next sections, each type of
problems will be described in detail.

3.2.1.1. Grammatical problem


Chart 3.2 Distribution of grammatical problem

Chart 3.2 describes the distribution and percentage of grammatical errors
made by fourth-year students in translating Export-Import expertised text from
English into Vietnamese. Of all grammatical errors made by students, verb errors
appear frequently most and occupy the highest proportion (37%). The second
popular error type that the students usually made are errors of tense with the rate of
25.06%. Following this error type are noun errors. The number for this problem
accounted for 18%. The lowest percentages are about passsive voice and
preposition. The rates are 12.1% and 7.3%, respectively.
Nouns
From the results, we can see that noun errors are found in the translation test
accounted for 18%. These nouns are in plural form. However, not all the time the
nouns which added "s" or "es" are translated as "những, các" in Vietnamese. As it
can be seen from this example: "import turnover of computers, electronic products
and parts increased US$1.36 billion, machinery, equipment, tools and accessories
increased by US$991 million, crude oil increased by US$860 million, CBU cars
increased by US$765 million, and coal increased by US$428 million". In some
tests, students still added "những" before all of nouns such as "tools, accessories,
CBU cars". The thing that students added "các, những" before these nouns may


cause lack of comprehension and lack of unnaturalness of the sentence. In some
cases, types of goods are often in plural forms, but it is not necessary to translate
these words in plural form. For instance, "imports" or "exports" remains in plural
form, that means "giá trị nhập khẩu" or "giá trị xuất khẩu"
Tenses

In English, tense is very important to understand and used. English has very
strict rules when using tenses. However, in Vietnamese, it is more flexible. For that
reason, the students do not encounter difficulties when translating the sentences
which are related to tenses. It can be seen in these examples.
"By the end of the first quarter, the commodity groups that had the largest
import turnover were computers, electronic products and parts; machinery,
equipment, tools and accessories; materials of textile, leather, shoes". The verb was
used in past simple tense, but when translating, we should not add "đã" before the
verb. However, in some cases, the students still made mistakes like in this sentence.
"Most petroleum products that Vietnam imported in the first quarter were from
Malaysia translated as " Hầu hết các sản phẩm dầu mỏ Việt Nam đã nhập khẩu
trong quý 1 là từ Malaysia". In this case, it is not necessary to add "đã" before the
verb.
Verbs
Overall, students do not face much problems with verbs.
In English, verb has varying forms such as "to infinitive", "bare infinitive",
"gerund", "irregular verbs". In Vietnamese, verb do not have many forms, adverbs
"đã, sẽ, đang" is added before verbs to indicate the time actions happen. Except
from the case of "to verb" may indicate the aim of actions. Noticeably, phrasal verb
is very popular in English and Vietnamese learner have to learn it by heart as well
as its meaning.
Passive Voice
In English written style, passive voice is used frequently. However,
Vietnamese written style is reverse. Vietnamese prefer using active voice in their
texts. Therefore, when translating from English into Vietnamese, the translators


should be more flexible in using appropriate words so that the sentence is logical
and natural. The following examples will illustrate this note.
"Chemicals and chemical products were mainly imported into Vietnam from

China, Taiwan, and South Korea". As cited from some tests, the sentense was
translated as " Chất hóa học và các sản phẩm hóa học được nhập khẩu vào Việt
Nam chủ yếu là từ Trung Quốc, Đài Loan và Hàn Quốc". The students should
translate "...Việt Nam nhập khẩu" in stead of "được nhập khẩu vào Việt Nam".
Preposition
Errors that students made when translating preposition occupied the lowest
proportion. This mean almost of the students understand different meaning of
preposition at different context. Specifically, students should pay attention to the
preposition used before numbers, statistics. For instance, the phrase "deceased by
2%" means "a proportion of 2% reduced".
3.2.1.2. Lexical problem
The percentage calculus of each lexical error type is based on its frequency
and percentage of all lexical error types in the translation test which are counted by
the researcher. These lexical errors are idiom, technical term, multi-meaning words.
These errors will be described in the following chart.
Chart 3.3 Distribution of lexical errors


Chart 3.3 describes the distribution and percentage of lexical errors which are
made by the students’ translation test. Among all of the lexical errors, the number of
the errors that were made by the students in understanding and translating technical
terms accounted for 87.8%, the lower proportion is about multi-meaning words and
occupied 70%.
Multi-meaning word
Multi-meaning word is one of the reasons which cause misunderstanding of
the students, so meaning of word used may be inappropriate to the context.
According to the study, this type of error accounted for 22%. It would be clearer to
see the following example.
Duty: import duty, export duty, antidumping duty
In economic newspapers, "duty" means tax or tariff.

Place: place an order
Offer: quotation
Advance: deposit
Inquiry: buying request, order request
Technical terms
Technical terms are important to understand an specialized text. In ExportImport field, there is a variety of technical term to learn about export-import in
general, international payment methods, shipment, transportation, customs, kinds of
exporting-importing commodities, export-import document.
In terms of lexical construction, Export - Import terms are mainly comprised
by: single terms, compound terms, phrases, abbreviations.
Export - Import
Single terms:
Processing: hoạt động gia công
Customs: Hải quan
Inbound: Hàng nhập
Outbound: Hàng xuất
Compound terms:
Customs declaration: khai báo hải quan


Customs clearance: thông quan
General Department: tổng cục
Sub-department: chi cục
Logistics-supply chain: logistics -chuỗi cung ứng
Temporary import/re-export: tạm nhập-tái xuất
Temporary export/re-import: tạm xuất-tái nhập
Non-tariff zones: khu phi thuế quan
Duty-free shop: cửa hàng miễn thuế
Export-import turnover: kim ngạch xuất nhập khẩu
Documentation staff (Docs): nhân viên chứng từ

Logistics coodinator: nhân viên điều vận
Abbreviation:
WCO –World Customs Organization: Hội đồng hải quan thế giới
GSP – Generalized System prefered: Hệ thống thuế quan ưu đãi phổ cập
GSTP – Global system of Trade preferences: hệ thống ưu đãi thuế quan toàn
cầu
OEM: original equipment manufacturer: nhà sản xuất thiết bị gốc
ODM: original designs manufacturer: nhà thiết kế và chế tạo theo đơn đặt
hàng
VAT: value added tax: thuế giá trị gia tăng
International transportation
Single terms
Airway: đường hàng không
Seaway: đường biển
Road: vận tải đường bộ
Railway: vận tải đường sắt
Pipelines: đường ống
Liner: tàu chợ
Voyage: tàu chuyến
Bulk vessel: tàu rời
Forklift: xe nâng


Detention: phí lưu container tại kho riêng
Demurrrage: phí lưu contaner tại bãi
Storage: phí lưu bãi của cảng
Free hand: hàng thường (shipper tự book tàu)
Nominated: hàng chỉ định
Charterer: người thuê tàu
Compound terms:

Inland waterway: vận tải đường sông, thủy nội địa
Container Yard – CY: bãi container
Job number: mã nghiệp vụ (forwarder)
Departure date: ngày khởi hành
Port-port: giao từ cảng đến cảng
Door-Door: giao từ kho đến kho
Bulk Cargo: Hàng rời
Phrases:
Means of conveyance: phương tiện vận tải
Estimated time of Departure (ETD): thời gian dự kiến tàu chạy
Estimated time of arrival (ETA): thời gian dự kiến tàu đến
Inland clearance deport: Cảng thông quan nội địa
Abbreviations:
FCL – Full container load: hàng nguyên container
FTL: Full truck load: hàng giao nguyên xe tải
LTL: Less than truck load: hàng lẻ không đầy xe tải
LCL – Less than container load: hàng lẻ container
IMO: International Maritime Organization: Tổ chức hàng hải quốc tế
International payment methods
Single terms
Discrepancy: bất đồng chứng từ
Domestic L/C: thư tín dụng nội địa
Import L/C: thư tín dụng nhập khẩu
Beneficiary: người thụ hưởng