Cách dịch các thuật ngữ tài chính ngân hàng từ tiếng anh sang tiếng việt trong cuốn tiếng anhtài chính ngân hàng của pgs ts nguyễn xuân thơm

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THE ENGLISH - VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION OF
FINANCIAL AND BANKING TERMINOLOGIES IN
THE BOOK “ENGLISH FOR FINANCE AND
BANKING” BY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR NGUYỄN
XUÂN THƠM

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Nguyễn Xuân Thơm
Student

: Vũ Văn Duy

Course

: 2008

HANOI - 2012
ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI


ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƢ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

CÁCH DỊCH CÁC THUẬT NGỮ TÀI CHÍNH – NGÂN

HÀNG TỪ TIẾNG ANH SANG TIẾNG VIỆT TRONG
CUỐN “TIẾNG ANH TÀI CHÍNH NGÂN HÀNG” CỦA
PGS.TS NGUYỄN XUÂN THƠM

Giáo viên hƣớng dẫn: PGS.TS Nguyễn Xuân Thơm
Sinh viên: Vũ Văn Duy
Khóa: 2008

HÀ NỘI - 2012

STATEMENT OF ACCEPTANCE


I hereby state that I: Vũ Văn Duy, class 08.1.E20, being a candidate for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the
retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.

Signature

May 2 nd, 2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my

supervisor, Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm, who has provided me with
unconditional

invaluable

guidance,

encouragement,

support

and

constructive

comments from the initial to the final step of completing this graduation paper.

Secondly, my sincere thanks would go to respectable lecturers of Faculty of
English Language Teacher Education in University of Languages and International
Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their helpful lessons during my four
academic years at this university. Their devotion to the lectures and kind-heartedness
has inspired and motivated me during writing this paper.

Besides, it is my pleasure to thank the gracious librarians at the Library and
Information Center in Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their supportive
instructions on my searching for materials serving this research.

Lastly, I owe my profound gratitude to my family, relatives and friends who
have given me constant spiritual support as well as useful advice throughout my
completion of this paper.

Vũ Văn Duy


ABSTRACT
This paper investigated the English – Vietnamese translation of financial and
banking terminologies provided in the book “English for Finance and Banking”
written by Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm in 1999. The study was conducted
to find out the translation procedures and the most dominant one that were employed
in translating financial and banking terminologies in the above-mentioned book. To
achieve this aim, qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized. Through data
collection and analysis, the research revealed the translation procedures and the most
dominant one being applied to translate terminologies in the book.
Overall, five translation procedures of calque, literal translation, equivalence,
transposition and borrowing, among which calque was the most dominant, were found
in the English – Vietnamese translation of terminologies in the book. However, there
are still limitations that leave room for improvements in the study. Finally, some
suggestions for further studies were offered.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENT

PAGE

Acknowledgements

i

Abstract

ii

List of tables and figures

v

List of abbreviations

vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study

1

1.2. Aims and objectives of the study

2

1.3. Significance of the study

2

1.4. Scope of the study

3

1.5. Organization of the study

3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. An overview of translation

4

2.1.1. Definition of translation

4

2.1.2. Process of translation

5

2.1.3. Translation procedures

6

2.1.3.1. Borrowing

6

2.1.3.2. Literal translation

8

2.1.3.3. Calque

9

2.1.3.4. Transposition

10

2.1.3.5. Modulation

11

2.1.3.6. Equivalence

12

2.1.3.7. Adaptation

13

2.3. An overview of terminology

13

2.3.1. Definition of terminology

13


2.3.2. Characteristics of terminology

14

2.3.3. Categories of terminology

15

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOG Y

18

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Data and data analysis

20

4.1.1. Borrowing

20

4.1.2. Literal translation

21

4.1.3. Calque

26

4.1.4. Transposition

30

4.1.5. Modulation

33

4.1.6. Equivalence

33

4.1.7. Adaptation

42

4.2. Findings

42

4.3. Discussions

43

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. Conclusion

45

5.2. Limitation of the study

45

5.3. Suggestions for further studies

46

REFERENCES


LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
TABLES
Table 1: Analysis of cases of borrowing procedure being applied in

PAGE
20

chapter I of the book “English for Finance and Banking” by Associate
Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm.
Table 2: Analysis of cases of literal translation procedure being applied

21

in chapter I of the book “English for Finance and Banking” by
Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm.
Table 3: Analysis of cases of calque being applied in chapter I of the

26

book “English for Finance and Banking” by Associate Professor
Nguyễn Xuân Thơm.
Table 4: Analysis of cases of transposition being applied in chapter I of

30

the book “English for Finance and Banking” by Associate Professor
Nguyễn Xuân Thơm.
Table 5: Analysis of cases of literal translation procedure being applied

33

in chapter I of the book “English for Finance and Banking” by
Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm.

FIGURES
Figure: The percentage of translation procedures applied in English Vietnamese translation of financial and banking terminologies in the
book "English for Finance and Banking" by Associate Professor
Nguyen Xuan Thom

45


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

SL

Source language

ST

Source text

TL

Target language

TT

Target text


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
In this part, the statement of the problem, rationale for the study, aims and objectives of the
study together with significance, scope and organization of the study are demonstrated.

1.1. Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study

Vietnam is visibly enjoying a dynamic economy with significant paces of
development thanks to the international economic integration in various sectors such
as industry, agriculture, services, and so on. Along with this, a great number of fields
and jobs, among which is finance and banking, are demonstrating stronger public
attraction than ever before. With a modern and dynamic working environment, high
income, high competitiveness and ample opportunities for promotion, finance and
banking has increasingly sparked the interest of people worldwide in general and
nationwide in particular.
In the meanwhile, greater importance has also been attached to English as a
principal tool of communication in the world trade and commerce. However, if
learning communicative English is challenging enough, learning technical English is
even much tougher. During the course of English for Finance and Banking at
University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University,
Hanoi, the researcher, as a fourth-year fast-track student in the Faculty of English
Language Teacher Education, has encountered some difficulty in understanding as
well as learning financial and banking terminologies, which results from the fact that
finance and banking is not the researcher‟s major. Nonetheless, instead of
discouraging the researcher in the course, the challenges have generated his motivation

to spend more time and efforts acquiring more knowledge about those terminologies.
As a student whose major is English translation and interpretation and particularly has
a genuine passion for English translation, the researcher expresses passionate interest
in the translation of the terminologies provided in the course book the title of which is


“English for Finance and Banking” written by Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân
Thơm in 1999. Consequently, the researcher has made a decision to take further
investigations into this issue by gathering relevant materials.
As a student whose major is neither banking nor finance, the researcher is fully
aware of the significant challenges when carrying out this study. Nevertheless, with a
strong determination to figure out the procedures utilized to translate provided English
financial and banking terms, the researcher sincerely hopes that the study will
contribute to finding out appropriate procedures to apply and thus facilitating the
translation of terminologies in finance and banking for translators in this appealing
field.

1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
This paper aims at investigating the English – Vietnamese translation of
financial and banking terminologies provided in the book “English for Finance and
Banking” written by Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm and published by Thế
Giới Publishers in 1999.
Specifically, this paper focuses on answering the following questions:
-

What translation procedures are used to translate the English financial and
banking terminologies in the book?

-

1.3.

What is the most dominant translation procedure that is applied in the book?

Significance of the study

This paper is expected to provide an overview on the English - Vietnamese
translation of financial and banking terminologies used in the book “English for
Finance and Banking” by Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm. Theoretically, this
paper can be used by readers, especially students of English major, to expand their


knowledge about translation as well as finance and banking. Practically, this paper can
be used as a reference for translators in practicing the translation of financial and
banking terminologies.

1.4.

Scope of the study
This paper centers around the English – Vietnamese translation of financial and

banking terminologies provided in the book “English for Finance and Banking” by
Associate Professor Nguyễn Xuân Thơm in 1999. The main concern of the paper is
about procedures applied to translate provided terms in the book.

1.5.

Organization of the study

The paper consists of five chapters as follows:

Chapter 1 - Introduction presents the rationale, the aims and objectives, the
significance, and the scope of the study.
Chapter 2 – Literature review supplies theoretical backgrounds for the paper.
To be specific, key terms related to the context of the study, i.e. translation and
terminologies would be explained in various aspects and related studies will be
discussed.
Chapter 3 – Methodology introduces the methods such as qualitative and
quantitative methods that are utilized in the study.
Chapter 4 – Results and discussion analyzes the collected data in order to
answer the research questions.
Chapter 5 – Conclusion summarizes the issues discussed in the study, the
limitations of the study as well as suggestions for further studies.


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this section, overviews of translation and terminology are presented.

2.1. An overview of translation

2.1.1. Definition of translation

Translation can be perceived as either a process or a product. In the Oxford
Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, translation is defined as “the process of changing
something that is written or spoken into another language” and “a text or work has
been changed from one language into another”.
According to Eugene Nida (1964, p. 83), translation consists in “reproducing
the receptor language the natural equivalent of the source language message, first in
terms of meaning and second in terms of style”.
In the viewpoint of Catford (1965, p. 20), translation lies in “the replacement of
textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another

language (TL)”.
Peter Newmark (1981, p. 7) considers 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 another language”.
Besides, Crystal (1991, p. 346) defines translation as a process in which “the
meaning and expression in one language (source) is tuned with the meaning of another
(target) whether the medium is spoken, written or signed”.
As perceived by Bassnett (2002), translation involves
…the rendering of a source language (SL) text into the target language (TL) so as to
ensure that (1) the surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar and (2)


the structures of the SL will be preserved as closely as possible but not so closely that
the TL structures will be seriously distorted. (Bassnett, 2002, p. 13)

2.1.2. Process of translation
Newmark (1995, pp. 23-24) argues that there are four levels “more or less
consciously” in the mind of the translator during translating summarized as follows:
(1)

The textual level: at this level, the translator may make certain

„conversions‟ by permuting the SL grammar into their „ready‟ TL equivalents and
translating lexical units into the sense that appears immediately in the context of the
sentence. This is considered the base level.
(2)

The referential level: this is the level of objects and events, whether real

or imaginary, that the translator progressively has to visualize and build up. This level

accompanies the textual level and is an essential part, first of the comprehension, then
of the reproduction process.
(3)

The cohesive level: this level links the first and the second level,

following both the structure and the moods of the text. It traces the train of thought, the
feeling tone (positive or negative) and the various presuppositions of the SL text. This
level encompasses both comprehension and reproduction: it presents an overall
picture, to which the translator may have to adjust the language level (the lengths of
paragraphs and sentences; the formulation of the title; the tone of the conclusion) to
secure coherence and adjust emphasis.
(4)

The level of naturalness: at this level, the appropriateness of language in

a certain situation is to be checked. This level of naturalness is concerned only with
reproduction. This level cannot be acquired by instinct but only by the translator‟s
working towards it by small progressive stages, working from the most common to the
less common features. There is no universal naturalness because naturalness depends
on the relationship between the writer and the readership and the topic or situation.


What is natural in one situation may be unnatural in another. One way to check the
naturalness is to read representative texts and talk with representative TL speakers, or
maybe representative TV and radio and then get corrections.
Those four above-mentioned levels constitute a complete translation process
suggested by Newmark. Those four levels are said to be kept in parallel because they
differ but constantly affect and may be in conflict with each other.

2.1.3. Translation procedures

Due to the fact that studies on translation procedures are too varied and the
number of translation procedures suggested by worldwide scholars is too large, it is
beyond the researcher‟s ability to review the literature of all of them in the scope of
this study. Moreover, it can be observed that those provided procedures may either
partially overlap or just differ in terms of names. Hence, only seven most commonly
recognized translation procedures, which were put forward by Vinay and Darbelnet
(1995), have been selected for literature review in order to avoid complexity and
confusion for the author himself and the readers as well.

2.1.3.1 Borrowing

It is undeniable that changes are unavoidable in the lexis of any language as a
result of the influence of the ceaseless development of society because lexis must
constantly be responsive to new ideas, concepts, objects and inventions of extralinguistic reality. Hardly any words can be developed without closely connecting to
the extra-linguistic reality. On the contrary, many new words are coined and shaped by
other languages and cultures that they are in contact with. For that reason, it is not
unfamiliar to see a great many words being used the same worldwide like Internet,


blog, web and so on. They are called loan words. In terms of translation, this is a
product resulting from borrowing procedure.
In Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, borrowing is defined as “a word, a
phrase or an idea that somebody has taken from another person‟s work or from another
language and used in their own”.
Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p. 31) consider borrowing to be the simplest of all
translation procedures and used to bridge a gap, usually a metalinguistic one like a
new technical process or unknown concept. It is sometimes used to produce a stylistic
effect to introduce the flavor of the SL culture into translation by means of foreign

terms.
Newmark (1995, p. 81) calls this procedure as “transference” and defines it as
“the process of transferring a SL word to a TL text”. He emphasizes that this
procedure is advisable for translating
…names of all living [...] and most dead people; geographical and topographical
names including newly independent countries [...] unless they already have recognized
translations; names of periodicals and newspapers; titles of as yet untranslated literary
works, plays, films; names of private companies and institutions; names of public or
nationalized

institutions, unless they have recognized translations; street names,

address, etc. (Newmark, 1995, p. 82)

In addition, he affirms that:
…in regional novels and essays (and advertisements, e.g., gites), cultural words are
often transferred to give local colour, to attract the reader, to give a sense of intimacy between
the text and the reader – sometimes the sound or the evoked image appears attractive.
(Newmark, 1995, p. 82)


Besides, Vetuni (2000, p. 85) claims that there are some long-standing
borrowings that are no longer regarded as such since they have integrated into their
respective TL lexicon (for example: English words such as “menu”, “déjà vu”, “enfant
terrible”, etc. are no longer considered as borrowings). However, in any language,
some new borrowings are much more appealing from a translator‟s point of view.
Regarding the use of this procedure, Abu-Ssaydeh (1993, p. 14) says that it can
be used when “the content of the term is typical for the area in which the source
language is spoken and is therefore difficult to translate”. Rey (1995, p. 105) adds that
although being the most obvious and “laziest” solution, it is still “the internationally

most efficient one” because it “partially neutralizes interlingual differences and thus
respects the original concept” and can easily be applied.
However, this procedure is still a controversy. It is denied as a translation
procedure by some people who say that the translator‟s job is to translate and explain.
However, some argue in favor of it that it shows respect for the SL country‟s culture.
Regarding this matter, Newmark (1995, p. 81) claims “no other term is appropriate if a
translator decides to use a SL word for his text”.

2.1.3.2. Literal translation
According to Wikipedia, literal translation, or directed translation, is “the
rendering of text from one language to another “word-for-word” rather than conveying
the sense of the original”.
Newmark (1998, p. 75) regards literal translation as “a coincidental procedure,
used when the SL term is transparent or semantically motivated and is in standardized
language”. He holds a belief that this procedure is a basic one and translation initiates
from this procedure. His two noticeable affirmations for such belief include:


A good translator abandons a literal version only when it is plainly inexact, or, in the
case of a vocative or informative text, badly written. A bad translator will always do
his best to avoid translating word-for-word. (Newmark, 1995, p. 76)

In the wider sense, all translation must be as „literal‟, i.e. as close to the original as
possible. In the narrower, „word-for-word‟ sense, literal translation is only useful as a
preliminary techinique for discovering an acceptable translation. (Newmark, 1998, p.
138)

However, he claims, at a higher level than the word level, literal translation gets
more and more difficult, and if there is any translation problem, this procedure is often
(not all the time) impossible. He stresses that literal translation above the word level

can only be appropriate if:
…the SL and TL meaning correspond, or correspond more closely than any
alternative; that means that the referent and the pragmatic effect are equivalent, i.e.
that the words not only refer to the same „thing‟ but have similar associations [...] and
appear to be equally frequent in this type of text; further, that the meaning of the SL
unit is not affected by its context in such a way that the meaning of the TL does not
correspond to it. (Newmark, 1995, p. 70)

Newmark (1995, p. 76) also puts forward one useful piece of advice on dealing
with this translation procedure is that “it is sometimes advisable to retreat from literal
translation when faced with SL general words for which there are no „satisfactory‟
one-to-one TL equivalents even though one is over-translating”.

2.1.3.3. Calque


The Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary also calls calque as “loan
translation” and defines it as “a word or expression in a language that is a translation
of a word or expression in another language”.
Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p. 32) categorize calque into lexical and structural
calque. The former respects the syntactic structure of the TL while introducing a new
mode of expression whereas the latter introduces a new construction into the language.
The two scholars also encourage translators to coin new words, or neologize, rather
than merely imitate SL ones.
Newmark (1995, p. 84) prefers to call this “through-translation” and defines it
as “the literal translation of common collocations, names of organizations, the
components of compounds [...] and perhaps phrases…”. Names of international
organizations consisting of „universal‟ words are referred by him as typical examples
of this procedure. He also stresses that this procedure should only be applied for
recognized terms.

2.1.3.4. Transposition

Newmark (1995) and Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) share the same viewpoint
that transposition involves a change of the grammatical category in the TL in
comparison with that in the SL. Newmark (1995, pp. 85-87) suggests four types: the
first type is required is when “the change from singular to plural [...]; or in the position
of the adjective is automatic and offers the translator no choice”; the second one is
used when “a SL grammatical structure does not exist in the TL”; the third is “where
literal translation is grammatically possible but may not accord with the natural usage
in the TL”; and the fourth one is “the replacement of a virtual lexical gap by a
grammatical structure”. He also claims that transposition demonstrates “a frequent
tension between grammar and stress” and “is the only translation procedure concerned
with grammar, and most translators make transpositions intuitively”.


In addition, according to Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p. 35), transposition is
comprised of not only change of parts of speech but also syntactic transformations.
They classify transpositions into obligatory and optional and seemingly try to focus on
practical translation without analyzing the circumstances and motivations of the
transposition.

2.1.3.5. Modulation
Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p. 36) define this procedure as “a variation through
a change of viewpoint, of perspective and very often of category of thought”. They
argue that this procedure should be applied when a literal or transposed translation
results in a grammatical sentence but still somewhat unsuitable, unidiomatic or
awkward in the TL.
Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, pp. 89-90) postulate eleven categories based on the
substitutions as follows: (a) abstract and concrete; (b) cause and effect; (c) means and

result; (d) the part for the whole: (e) the whole for a part: (f) reversal of the point of
view; (g) intervals and limits (or duration and date; distance and destination); (h) sense
modulation; (i) form, aspect, usage; (j) geographical modulation; (k) change of
comparison or symbol.
Moreover, they distinguish between obligatory (or fixed) and optional (or free)
modulations. The former ones are caused by an objectively dissimilar structure and
usage of two languages. The latter ones represent single instances not yet fixed and
sanctioned by usage and hence must be performed again each time. Free modulations
can become „unique‟ translation and necessary rather than optional if readers of a
translation where these modulations are utilized immediately feels the naturalness of
expression. In this case, free modulations may become fixed ones.
As regards the difference between transposition and modulation, Salkie argues
that:


Whereas with transposition the translator‟s primary concern is the grammatical
resources available in the TT, with modulation the principal consideration is the events
or states of affairs that the words refer to. In the case of transposition, the guiding
question is „how would the target language naturally express it?‟; with modulation the
question is „how would a speaker of target language naturally conceive of it? (Salkie,
cited in Thelen 2001, p. 437)

Salkie (cited in Thelen 2001, p. 439) also suggests that a reader of a text often
establishes a mental representation after the interpretative process. Therefore,
modulation can be perceived as a relation between two texts and it produces the same
mental representation but through a different interpretation process.

2.1.3.6. Equivalence

Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p. 37) employ this term to refer to circumstances

where language describing the same situation by different stylistic and structural
means. Equivalence is said to be often used by translators who want to create a
completely different structure with a different meaning from that of the SL text
providing it is regarded appropriate in the communicative situational equivalent to that
of the SL text.
Newmark (1995, pp. 82-83) distinguishes clearly three types of equivalents,
namely cultural, functional and descriptive equivalents.
Cultural equivalent is defined as “an approximate translation where a SL
cultural word is translated by a TL cultural word”. However, the use of these cultural
equivalents is said to be under restriction because those equivalents are not precise,
and can be utilized in “general texts, publicity and propaganda, as well as for brief
explanation to readers who are ignorant of the relevant SL culture”.
Functional equivalent is employed for cultural words and “requires the use of a
culture-free word, sometimes with a new specific term; it therefore neutralizes or


generalizes the SL word…” In addition, this procedure is claimed to take up “the
middle, sometimes the universal, area between the source language or culture and the
target language or culture” and be “the most accurate way of translating i.e.
deculturalising a cultural word”. Newmark also suggests combining this procedure
with transference during translating cultural words, which he refers as a “couplet”
procedure.
As regards descriptive equivalent, this procedure is used to describe a SL
expression and sometimes may affect the function of that expression. Newmark‟s
argument in favor of this procedure is that: “In translation, description sometimes has
to be weighed against function. [...]. Description and function are essential elements in
explanation and therefore in translation…”

2.1.3.7. Adaptation

Vinay and Darbelnet (1995, p.39) ranks adaptation as an oblique translation
procedure that is used “in those cases where the type of situation referred to by the SL
message is unknown in the TL culture”. Such cases necessitate re-creating a new
situation that can be considered equivalent. Therefore, Vinay and Darbelnet regard
adaptation as a special type of equivalence, which is called a situational equivalence,
between the ST and TT and claim that it is natural for the receiver. It can also be seen
that in the view of these two French scholars, bridging a cultural gap between two
languages is a primary issue in adaptation.
Newmark (1995, p. 91) has the same opinion that adaptation rests on “the use of
a recognized equivalent between two situations” and considers it “a matter of cultural
equivalence”. However, he claims that adaptation as well as equivalence are not
“usable” procedures and recommends other ones to translators.

2.2. An overview of terminology


2.2.1. Definition of terminology
In the Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, terminology is defined as “the
set of technical words or expressions used in a particular subject”.
In order to understand the definition of terminology more thoroughly, a contrast
between terminology and words is necessary. Sager (1990) claims that:

The items which are characterized by special reference within a discipline are the
„terms‟ of that discipline, and collectively they form its „terminology‟; those which
function in general reference over a variety of sublanguages are simply called „words‟,
and their totality the „vocabulary‟. (Sager 1990, p. 19)

Besides, terminology is also defined as the study of terms. Sager (cited in Baker
1998, p. 259) perceives it as “a discipline which straddles both theoretical and applied
linguistics and uses texts only as one of a range of source materials in one of its many

applications”. However, in the scope of this study, it is terminology as “the set of
technical words or expressions used in a particular subject” rather than the study of
terms that is the researcher‟s focus.

2.2.2. Characteristics of terminology
Sager (cited in Baker 1998, p. 261) holds an opinion that terms “refer
deliberately to specific concepts within particular subject fields and therefore
constitute a sub-system of knowledge.” Each term presents a specific concept in a
particular subject field and that concept is systematically related to other concepts that
construct the knowledge structure of the text or discourse in question. The basic
function of terms is claimed to express more clearly intended meanings identified as


necessary within a particular domain by the complexity and number of concepts that
have to be clearly distinguished. He also claims that there are also cases in which a
term has no parallel variant in a TL of translation.
Sager (1990, p. 3) views terminology from two perspectives:
From an etymological point of view, “terminology is a polysemous misnomer,
i.e. a word with several senses, none of which correspond precisely to the analysis of
traditional meaning of its constituent meaning.”
From a historical point of view, terminology is referred a technical vocabulary,
i.e. a collection of terms, which is somewhat coherent because it belongs to a single
subject area. It is now also used somewhat more narrowly to refer to an internally
consistent and coherent set of terms belonging to a single subject field, as identified by
the result of a particular terminological activity, e.g. the compilation of systematic
glossaries.
According to Cabré, characteristics of terminologies are as follows:
“Terms are the set of linguistic signs which constitute a subset within the lexicon of
the speaker‟s grammar. Terms are units of the lexicon of grammar and they pertain to
the ideal speaker-hearer‟s competence. This competence can be general (common to

all speakers) and specialized (related only to certain groups of speakers). Special
terminology (and not the trivialized and fundamental one that constitutes the common
stem of technical and scientific subject fields) would be part of the specialized
competence. For linguistics, terms are a way of knowing how.” (Cabré, cited in Sager
& Somers 1996, p. 17)

2.2.3. Categories of terminology

According to Sofer (1999, pp. 99-101), there are three categories of
terminology, namely main subject area, organizational language, and acronyms and
initialisms.


In main subject area, it is claimed that each field of human knowledge and
activity has its own terminology. The same word used in one field may have a
different meaning in another field.
Organizational

language

refers

to

major

corporations,

not-for-profit

organizations, and government agencies, all of whom develop their own terminology,
which is highly important in doing translation work. Large organizations often produce
their own glossaries, word lists, lists of acronyms, and so on. An important aspect of
organizational language is “preferential usage” and “corporate style”. This is not a
matter of right or wrong terminology, but of the choice of words and the style of
writing of a particular organization. The best way to master a specific corporate style
is to read a few documents generated by that organization prior to embarking on a
translation assignment.
As regards acronyms and initialisms, they appear quite frequently in documents
today. Some are universally known, and are used daily in the media like UN, NATO,
UNESCO, etc. Some are known to translators working in a specific area, for example:
a translator of computer literature is bound to know the meaning of CD-ROM, RAM,
etc. A great many, however, are either too „esoteric‟, or only used by one particular
organization, or are too recent to be widely known. Therefore, it is important to make
lists of acronyms and abbreviations and organizing them in a systematic and accessible
manner.
Paepcke (cited in Newmark 1995, p. 153) distinguishes four varieties of
technical language:
+ Scientific
+ Workshop level
+ Everyday usage level
+ Publicity/sales.