A study on dificulties of third year studént in vinh university in translating economics terms in englíh articles about stock market

Graduation Thesis

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgements
Abbreviation
Part 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale .........................................................................................................1
2. Aims of the study ...........................................................................................2
3. Scope of the study ..........................................................................................2
4. Methods of the study .......................................................................................2
5. Design of the study .........................................................................................3
Part 2: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: Theoretical Background
1.1 Theory of translation .................................................................................................4
1.1.1 Concept of translation ................................................................................4
1.1.2 Types of translation ....................................................................................4
1.1.2.1 Form-based ……………………………………………………….5
1.1.2.2 Meaning-based ……………………………………………………5
1.1.3 Process of translation ……………………………………………………..5
1.1.3.1 The approach ……………………………………………………..7
1.1.3.2 The textual level ………………………………………………….8
1.1.3.3 The referential level ………………………………………………8
1.1.3.4 The cohesive level ………………………………………………..8
1.1.3.5 The level of naturalness …………………………………………..9
1.1.4. Strategies of translation …………………………………………………10
1.1.4.1 How to deal with non-equivalence at level word ………………..10
1.1.4.1.1 Translation by a more specific word …………………………..10
1.1.4.1.2 Translation by a more general word …………………………..11
1.1.4.1.3 Translation by cultural substitution……………………………12
1.1.4.1.4 Translation using a loan word plus explanation……………….12

1.1.4.1.5 Translation by paraphrase ……………………………………..13
1.1.4.2 How to deal with idioms and fixed expression ………………….14
1.1.4.2.1 Using an idioms or fixed expression of similar meaning and
Form……………………………………………………………………...14
1.1.4.2.2 Using an idiom or fixed expression of similar meaning
but dissimilar form……………………………………………………….14
1.1.4.2.3 Translation by paraphrase…………………………………….. 15
1.1.4.3 How to deal with number and person…………………………… 16
1.1.4.3.1 Number ………………………………………………………..16
1.1.4.3.2 Person ………………………………………………………….17
Chapter 2: Difficulties in translating economics terms in English articles about stock
market.
2.1 Causes ……………………………………………………………………………..18
2.2 Background knowledge limitation………………………………….. …………….18

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2.3 Accuracy in language……………………………………………….. ……………23
2.4 Dealing with complexity of economic field……………………………………….26
2.5 Shortage understanding the source text……………………………………………29
Chapter 3: Data analysis

3.1 Executive summary ……………………………………………………………….32
3.2 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..32
3.3 Methods……………………………………………………………. . ……………32
3.4 Results………………………………………………………………. …………...33
3.5 Interpretation of results……………………………………………………………33
3.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………37
3.7 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………37
Part C: CONCLUSION
1. Review of the major findings……………………………………………………….39
2. Limitations of the study………….. ………………………………………………..40
3. Suggestions for further study……………………………………………………. …40
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

Acknowledgements

F

irst of all, I should like to express my greatest gratitude to M.A
Le Thi Thuy Ha, my supervisor, who has given me precious advice,
valuable materials and enormously essential corrections for the
accomplishment of the thesis.
I am also grateful to my teachers in the Foreign Languages
Department for their helpful suggestions and encouragement during the
time my job has been being carried out.
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Finally, my profound thanks to my loved family and my good
friends whose love, care and help have given me essential energy and
determination without which this thesis would have been impossible
completed.
Vinh, May 2007
Bïi ThÞ Thủ

Part I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
The profession of translation is very old one, which came into existence when the
first contacts were established between human using different languages. It is also one of
the finest professions since its aims to draw individuals together and enable them to
establish a closer understanding of the intention of one another. By eliminating the barrier
that separates them, the translator plays an important role in the world today. They help
people to communicate across language barrier, making people closer. Along the
development of the others, the subject of translation has been step-by-step confirming its
situation with so many necessary contributions to many aspects of human life. On the
other hand, the third-year students in foreign languages department in Vinh university are
dying for being skillful for their translating services in the future.
It is notice that with the help of modern integration movement, international
exchanges in various fields are taking place an increasing rate, and English has been
becoming and international language that being used in those. This tendency requires a
rich source of transmitting the documents from this language into the other one. The

sufficiency of the economics is undeniable, however, it is a fact that the economics is a
both interesting and complex as well. Translating in this field is a good chance to
measure the ability in understanding and analyzing the economics issues. Obtaining a
sufficient awareness of the vivid existence of the difficulties in translation economics
terms.
Article, in the civilized society, has become one of the most popular and powerful
means of communication and nowadays plays a displaceable part in man's life. It is not
only where people get themselves expressed, knowledge-enriched, information-update

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and entertained, but also one of places where a language can interestingly manifest its
own existence with its certain features. Unexceptionally, we can amusingly trace many of
characteristics of English language in English articles. Being interested in English
economics articles about stock market, we find it very interesting, and appropriate also, to
apply related theories into English articles about stock market to identify difficulties
during the translation process.
For all reasons above, we have decided to choose "difficulties in translating
economics terms in English articles about stock market" to be the theme of the thesis.
2. Aims of the study
This thesis has been done with a wish that it could give a small contribution to the

improvement in translating English articles especially in translating economics terms in
articles about stock market. Therefore, when deciding to do this thesis, I aimed at:
Introducing the definition of the translation.
Surveying and analyzing English-Vietnamese translation on terms in stock market branch
of the economics field.
Difficulties are the major part of the paper, in which most types of difficulties that
translators may cope with during translating will be indicated.

3. Scope of the study
Because translation covers such a large area the writer has made no attempts to deal with
the entire range of possible issue. The writer has limited the scope of her study to some
techniques on translation process such as the approach, the textual level, the referential
level, cohesive level, and the level of naturalness. In addition to that, the paper also
mentions the strategies in translation that play a high position in the result of the
translation process.
In this thesis, we write about the difficulties in translating English articles that mostly
download from the website www.investopedia.com which is, in our opinion, one of the
most useful document resource for people that have great love of stock market.
We also conducted a small survey for third-year students in Foreign Language
Department in Vinh university that helps us to investigate the factual difficulties in
translating economics terms in English articles about stock market.

4. Methods of the Study
With the aim to investigate difficulties of the students in translating stock market terms,
during our studying process we have to use different methods but the dominant ones are
as follow:
Review of published related theories.

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Collective method
Investigative method
Analysis and synthesis of the selected data.

5. Design of the study
There are three main parts in this thesis paper
Part A: Introduction
In this part, the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the thesis are introduced.

Part B: Development
This part consists of three chapters:
Chapter 1: Theoretical background
Chapter 2: Difficulties in translating economics terms in articles about stock market.
Chapter 2: Data analysis
Part C: Conclusion
This part is place of summarizing the thesis.
Besides these three main parts, the thesis also consists of the acknowledgement, the table
of content, the abbreviation, the appendix and the references.

Part II: development
CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Theory of translation
1.1.1 Concept of translation

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Translation has been defined by many linguistics. According to Bui Tien Bao
(1999), translation is rendering a written text into another language in the way that the
author intended the text. The question "what is translation?" Cartford translation as "the
replacement of textual material in one language (SL) equivalent textual material in
another language (TL).
Hartman and Stork (1972) believe that " translation is the replacement of a
representation of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a
second language".
On the other hand, Marlon (1988) claims "Translation is the expression in
another language (or target language) of what has been expressed in another source
language, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalence".
Furthermore, Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one
language by a representation of an equivalent text in a second language (By Roger T
Bell).
Translation consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure,
communication situation and cultural context of the source language text. What

translation does is, first, to identify and define a translation problem (no problem - no
translation theory); second, to indicate all the factors that have to be taken into account in
solving the problem; third, to list all the possible translation procedures; finally, to
recommend the most suitable translation procedure, plus the appropriate translation.
Deriving from reality there are more than one type of translation.
1.1.2 Types of translation
It is noticed that stemming at different times and from different contexts include
two factors: The text and the quality of equivalence. Treatment of the two texts
properties, form and meaning, as well as the focus on a particular requirement of
equivalence is the main distinction between the two main types of translation: The formbased and the meaning-based ones (Larson, 1984).
1.1.2.1 Form-based
Translation, by dictionary definition, consists of changing from one state or one
form to another, to turn into one's own or another's language (The Merriam_ Webster
Dictionary, 1974).
Translation is basically a change of form. When we mention to the form of a
language we are referring to the actual words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, etc. the
forms are referred to as the surface structure of a language: It is the structural part of
language which is actually seen in print or heard in speech. In translation, the form of the
source language is replaced by the form of the target language.
In general, the type of Form-based translation is known as literal translation,
attempt to follow the form of the source language text.
1.1.2.2 Meaning-based

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It is important to understand the source text deeply before translation. Translation
must keep the source meaning of the text. Translator can change the form but never
modify the original meaning of the text.
Meaning-based translations, or idiomatic translations, make every effort to
communicate to text receivers the meaning of the source language text in the natural
forms of the target language (Larson, 1984). Idiomatic translations are usually the
translator's goal as this is the reproduction of source language text meaning (The meaning
intended by the original communicator) in the natural form of the target language
(Larson, 1984).
In fact, translations are often a mixture of a literal transfer of the grammatical
units along with some idiomatic translation of the meaning of the text.
1.1.3 Process of translation
In the early days of translation theory, when Fremdsprachen began appearing
(1956) and Eugene Nida wrote two Towards the science of translating (1964), this was
the first time that linguistics began to concern itself with translation. Since then Nida and
Koller have recommended dynamic equivalence as the only true method of translating; In
fact, Nida says that translation is entirely communication whilst Neubert and Kate have
distinguished the invariant (cognitive) and the variant (pragmatic) element in translating.
Remarkable, in the last 2 years we have also had 2 new closely resembling
theories of translation. Harris (1975) has propounded his "natural translation", meaning "
any translation done in everyday circumstances by bilingual people who have no special
training for it. Three-year-olds translate spontaneously in the presence of listeners who
they do not think speak both languages and later develop a criterion of "correct"
translation_ a translation competence in the Chomsky spirit". (Personally I regard
translation as a complex, artificial and unnatural process, requiring an exceptional degree
of intelligence) (Chomsky).

In a later paper (1977) Harris and Sherwood argue that "the data for translatology"
(The scientific study of translating) should come primarily from natural translation rather
than from literary, technical, and other professional or semi professional branches of
translation as in the past. Harris and Sherwood's arguments are mainly concerned with
proving (unsuccessfully I think) that translation is an innate skill in bilinguals.
Translation has to be based on words, sentences, linguistic meaning, and
language. Meaning does not exist without words. Meaning arises from sights (signs,
movements, colors, shape, etc.), sound, smells, tastes, surfaces (touch, feel, texture) as
well as drives, feelings, ideas, images, etc. that reach consciousness, but all these can
only be mediated by words, assisted sporadically by mental images. Certainly, there are
periods when the translators have to suppress their memory of the source language words.
Writer is writing to please himself rather than any reader, or when the translation's
readers as not the same information as the original's reader.
The purpose of this theory is to be of service to the translator. It leads the
translation theory coming to practice, it Translation is a skill and an as well as a science.

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Dynamic equivalence is not possible when the original derives from a translation theory
framework that proposes that when the main purpose of the text is to convey information
and convince the reader a method of translation must be "natural". " Naturalness" is both

grammatical and lexical and is a touchstone at every level of a text, from paragraph to
word, from title to punctuation.
According to Peter Newmark in A textbook of translation, one can be surely
successful with is translation if he follows this figure:

Three language functions

Expressive

Informative

Vocative

Translating theory
Communicative

Semantic

Frame of reference
Contextual factors

Problem

Textual level
Cohesive level

Translation procedures

Theory of translating
Referential level

Level of Naturalness
Translation practice

1.1.3.1 The approach
Translation is for discussion. A translation is something that has to be discussed.
There has not been cast-iron rules so that all one can do is to produce an argument with
translation examples to support it. There are two approaches to translating. Firstly, you
start translating sentence by sentence to get the feel and the feeling tone of the text, and
then you deliberately sit back, review the position and read the rest of the source

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language text. This method maybe suitable for translating literary, but this may let you
with too much revision to do on early part so that it is time wasting. The second method is
that you read the whole text two or three times and find the intention, register, tone, mark
the difficult words and passages and start translating only when you have taken your
bearings. This method can be mechanical.
Which of the two methods can be chosen depending on translator's temperament.
The first maybe applied for a relatively easy text and the second for a harder one.
1.1.3.2 The textual level
The text is the foundation for your translation. This is the level of the literal

translation of the source language into the target language, the level of the translation you
have to eliminate, but it is also acts as a corrective of paraphrase and the pare-down of
synonyms. You transpose the SL grammar into their "ready" TL equivalents and you
translate the lexical units into the sense that appears immediately appropriate in the
context of the sentence by working on the text level.
1.1.3.3 The referential level
All languages have polysemous words and structures that can be finally solved
only on the referential level, beginning with a few multi-purpose, overloaded prepositions
and conjunction, through dangling participles. The referential level, where you mentally
sort out the text, is built up out of based on, the clarification of all linguistic difficulties
and, where appropriate, supplementary information from the 'encyclopedia" _ symbol for
any work of reference or textbook. Building up the referential picture in mind as
transforming the SL into TL text.
We should not read a sentence without seeing it on the referential level whether a
text is technical or literary or institutional, we have to make up our mind, summarily and
continuously, what it is about, what it is in aid of. For each sentence, when it is not clear,
where there is an ambiguity, when the writing is an abstract or figurative, the questions
should be: What is actually happening here? And why? For what reason? On what
ground? For what purpose? Can we see it in our minds? Can we visualize it?
1.1.3.4 The cohesive level
The cohesive level is a regulator. It secures coherence. It adjusts emphasis. This
level follows both the structure and the mood of the text: the structure through the
connective words (conjunction, enumeration, reiteration, definite article, general words,
referential synonyms, punctuation marks) linking the sentences, usually proceeding from
theme to rheme; a proposition, opposition, continuation, reiteration, opposition,
conclusion, therefore the structure follows the train factor moving between positive and
negative, emotive and neutral. It means tracing the thread of a text through its value-laden

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and value -free passages which may be expressed by objects or nouns, as well as
adjectives or qualities.
1.1.3.5 The level of naturalness
For the vast of majority of texts, you have to ensure:
+) That your translation makes sense.
+) That it reads naturally, that is written in ordinary language, the common order
grammar, idioms and words that meet that kind of situation.( Peter Newmark A textbook
of translation, p.24)
When you are facing with an innovatory expressive text you have to try to gauge
the degree of its deviation from naturalness, from ordinary language and reflect this
degree in your translation. Thus in translating any type of text you have to sense
"naturalness", usually for the purpose of reproducing, sometime for the purpose of
deviating from naturalness. In a serious text, you have to bear in mind that the level of
naturalness of natural usage is grammatical as well as lexical (i.e., the most frequent
syntactic structures, idioms, and words that are likely to be appropriated found in that
kind of stylistic context) and, via appropriate sentence connectives, may extent to the
entire text.
"Naturalness" is a necessary tool for all translators as translating an informative
text (The Times, The Economist), a notice (Science reports), or an advert (The Saturday
night). Naturalness is easily defined, not so easy to be concrete about. Natural usage
comprises a variety of idioms or styles or registers determined primarily by the setting of

the text, i.e. where it is typically published or found, secondarily by the author, topic and
readership, all of whom are usually dependent on the setting (Quoted in Peter Newmark
The process of translating, p.26).
We must distinguish the natural usage from 'ordinary language'. "Natural
translation can be contrasted with 'casual' language (Voegelin), where word order
syntactic structures, collocations and words are predictable." (Peter Newmark, The
process of translating, p.26). However, naturalness is not something we are able to
acquire by instinct. We have to work towards it by small progressive stages, working
from the most common to the less common features. Because there is not a universal
naturalness so that naturalness depends on the relationship between the writer and the
readership and the readership and the topic or situation.
Here we have four levels of translation, and each of them has its own functions
and characteristics as well, so that we should combine the four levels in translating. They
are distinct from but frequently impinge on and may be in conflict with each other, but
we should keep in parallel the four levels to have a successful translated text.
1.1.4.1 Strategies of translation
1.1.4.1.1 How to deal with non-equivalence at level word

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It is undeniable that no direct equivalent can be found in Vietnamese for English

words. This phenomenon is really difficult to understand and explain; as well due to it is
a new concept in general. In some situation that concept is known or readily understood
but it is impossible to find out specific word to illustrate it. Furthermore, some words
possess special connotations that are not conveyed by the target language for the same
thing.
1.1.4.1.1 Translation by a more specific word
In some case, it is better to use a more specific word to translate an English word
into Vietnamese. The first and the most obvious use of Componential Analysis is in
handling words that denote combinations of qualities, or combinations of actions and
qualities, that appear to show up a lexical gap in the target language. (Peter Newmark, A
textbook of translation, p.117)
Many dictionaries, even the best, monolingual as well as bilingual, tend to
enumerate synonyms rather than state the semantic components of a word. Thus for "
cringe" combines behavior ("drawback", "bow down") with an emotion ("servility",
"cowardice", "timidity") which is always negative. This neutral translation such as secular
misses the point. The translators have to choose many several different words, as there
maybe many Vietnamese words that correspond to the general category or meaning
expressed by the English terms.
For example: Vietnamese has many words that mean "to take" with distinctions being
made depending on the situation and the object they talk about. In some case " To take"
means to carry somebody or something or accompany somebody from one place to
another, but in the other case it means to get or lay hold of somebody/ something with the
hand, arm, ect or with an instrument. The meaning of the word decided by the context or
situation it belongs to.
For example: Using a combination of our models and classical support resistance
identification, we try to place orders or take outright positions before important economic
data releases. "Release" here can be understood that people report the economic data or
the economic data is revealed.
Similarly, the English words for "rice" can be translated by many different Vietnamese
words, depending on whether one is planting it, harvesting it, cooking it, or eating it.

For example:

She is planting rice.
Cô ấy đang trồng lúa.
She is eating rice.
Cô ấy đang ăn cơm.

In these cases, the English words alone is not enough to determine the appropriate
Vietnamese translation, and it is necessary to examine the English context in deciding
which Vietnamese word is to be used.

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1.4.1.2 Translation by a more general word
In other cases, it maybe appropriate to use a mire general word to translate an
English word with no specific Vietnamese equivalent. The word includes many aspects of
meaning in target language so that translator must choose a more general word for
transmitting the meaning it refers to. " What is the relationship between the phenomena
observed through the senses and the words that are used to refer to those phenomena"
(Roger T.Bell, Translation and translating, p.80).

Modern linguistics during the last hundred years has taken as its starting point in
any discussion of meaning. The conventionalist acceptance of the need for the
relationship between words and object to be an indirect one mediated by a concept.
For example: English makes distinctions among mopeds, scooter, and
motorcycles, the latter having large wheels and engines than both mopeds and scooters;
Vietnamese on the other hand, refers to all two-wheel, motorized vehicles as "xe m¸y".
Similarly, the English " paw", "foot" and "leg" may all be translated by the Vietnamese "
ch©n", which does not prevent problems of comprehension in Vietnamese, as it should be
clear from the context which of these words is meant.
1.1.4.1.3 Translation by cultural substitution
It is necessary to replace a culture-specific item or expression with one of
different meaning but similar impact in the translated text. Because of their self-describe
"respect" for the original text, most Vietnamese translators object to this strategy and
tend to translate directly, even when it may be highly inappropriate (Bui Tien Bao et al).
The use of a componential analysis is in translating cultural words that the readership
unlikely to understand; whether CA is accompanied by an accepted translation (which
must be used in all but the most informal text), transference, functional equivalent,
cultural equivalent and so on will depend, firstly, on the particular text-type; secondly, on
the usual characteristics of the text-type, and thirdly on the importance of the cultural
word in the text.
For example: There is one type f plant that grown in other parts of Asia excepting
for Vietnamese that was not modified at all for the Vietnamese context. That farmers'
manual is considered as some different kinds of fruit and fuel trees as translating into
Vietnamese. It is acceptable for translators to change the text in this way, and in some
case it is the best solution, however, some other translators argue that it is not
responsibility of the translators. In fact, the translator plays an important role in this
situation, both translators and editor. In addition, field-testing of documents will elicit
useful feedback on cultural appropriateness.
Translators should be encouraged to question the appropriateness of the
documents they are translating and suggest changes to make them more culturally

appropriate.

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1.1.4.1.4 Translation using a loan word plus explanation
It is a fact that we are borrowing many foreign words both in translating and in
reality. As using a loan word we need an explanation either in parentheses or a footnote.
There is another suggestion to this strategy in Vietnamese, as instead of using the
borrowed English words the translators creating new Vietnamese ones. But in case, that
words refer to a new concepts or ideas to Vietnamese, or cultural-specific items, and
proper names of diseases or medicines that are known by their English names in
common, this strategy is able to confirm its position.
For example: HIV and AIDS are two loan words that are frequently used in
Vietnamese, as they are referred to by their English names in most of the world. These
words are becoming Vietnamese in meaning; people use them in English form without
any explanation. In reality, as the speaker says these two words the listeners will be able
to understand the speaker is referring one common type of disease although the speaker
does not give further information any more. These two words have been in common spent
in Vietnam for some time now so that it is unnecessary to add any explanation.
1.1.4.1.5 Translation by paraphrase

Paraphrase " is an amplification or explanation of the meaning of a segment of the
text. It is used in an "anonymous" text when it is poorly written, or has important
applicators and omissions (Peter Newmark, A textbook of translation, p.90)
This strategy can be used when translating an English word or concept that does
not exist in Vietnamese, or when the Vietnamese term for it does not include all the
meanings conveyed by the English term for the same concept. Sometimes the translators
must use their knowledge in that field to express the full meaning of that word or apply
his ability in analyzing that text to make readers understand the source text.
For example: Out of context the word " Murky" means " dark", " cloudy", "dizzy",
" fuzzy", "rainy", "dirty", "unclear"
Concentrating on the sentence " Children should be protected from abuse and
neglect" we can see clearly that as following the meaning in dictionary is will be simply
as " TrỴ em phải đợc bảo vệ khỏi sự lạm dụng và lơ lµ"; however, this translated sentence
does not meet the requirements for the full meanings of the source one that must be
deeply in meaning for better understanding. To answer these requirements the translators
must give out more details in meaning in the translated sentence. In this situation the best
way should be applied is paraphrasing. There is another translated text for the above
sentence that is considered transmitting the whole meaning: " Trẻ em cần đợc bảo vệ
chống lại mọi hình thức bạo lực gây tổn thơng hay xúc phạm, bỏ mặc hay sao nhÃng
trong việc chăm sóc"
To have a more clearly view for this point we can move to this instance: "
Pregnant women should avoid alcohol". The English word "alcoholic" in Vietnamese just
only to be "rỵu" while in English it's meaning contain some other alcoholics beverages

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kinds. It can be a mistake if the translator does not add other aspect of the word
"alcoholic" in Vietnamese such as "bia" in his translated text to express the full meaning.
1.1.4.2 How to deal with idioms and fixed expression
An idiom such as buries the hatchet (" to become friendly again after a
disagreement or a quarrel") or the long and the short of it (' the basic facts of the
situation") allows no variation in form under normal circumstances. As their name
suggests, fixed expressions such as having said that, as a matter of fact, and all the best,
as well as proverbs such as practice what you preach and waste not want not, allow little
or no variation in form (Mona Baker, in other words, p.63 64). The difficulty of
translators as facing with idioms will become twice because translator may not realize
that he or she is dealing with an idiomatic expression, since more idioms may make sense
when translated literally.
1.1.4.2.1 Using an idiom or fixed expression of similar meaning and form
It is sometimes possible to find a Vietnamese idiom or expression with a similar
meaning to an English idiom or expression, and which is expressed in the same way. An
idiom or fixed expression may have a similar counterpart in the target language, but its
context of use may be different: the two expressions may have different connotations
(Mona Baker, in other words, p.68). Facing with idioms always makes translators confused
because of its meaning and answering the question " How to translate it?" In any language
idioms are various sources in both form and meaning but in order to find out which one is
the most equivalent to an idiom or expression in this language is not easy. Sometimes, the
idioms in target language make readers misunderstand the author's intend. However, it is
really ideal when translator can use an idiom as translating another idiom.
For instance: " Better late than never" can not find out which one is more suitable
than " Muén còn hơn không". But it is seldom to use an equivalent idiom for an idiom, so

translators need another way in translating idiom or fixed expressions.
1.1.4.2.2. Using an idiom or fixed expression of similar meaning but dissimilar form
Once an idiom or fixed expression has been recognized and interpreted correctly,
the next step is to decide how to translate it into the target language. One language may
express a given meaning by means of a single word, another may express it by means
transparent fixed expression, a third may express it by means of an idiom, and so on. It is
therefore unrealistic to expect to find equivalent idioms and expression in the target
language as a matter of course (Mona Baker, In other words, p.68). Idiomatic translation
reproduces the "massage" of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by
preferring colloquialism and idioms where there does not exist in the original. It is also
possible and usually easier to find out an idiom with a similar meaning to the original
one, but which is expressed differently. If the translator tries to translate the idiom word_

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for _word with an explanation this would unduly interrupt the flow of the text and greatly
diminish the idiom's impact. By substituting a similar one the flow and the impact of the
original text are retained in the translation.
For example: the best translated one for " To carry coals to Newcastle" is " Chë
cđi vỊ rõng" rather better than " To carry firewood to the forest". The meaning here is
clearly the same for both idiom _ to bring something to a place that already has an

abundance of that thing, but the way in which each language expresses it is bound to the
culture of that language. Substitution may be an acceptable solution as facing with
complex idioms. Fernando and Flavell are correct in warning us against the ' strong
unconscious urge in most translators to search hard for an idiom in the receptor language, however inappropriate it may be' (1981,82).
1.1.4.2.3 Translation by paraphrase
Paraphrase " is an amplification or explanation of the meaning of a segment of the
text. It is used in an "anonymous" text when it is poorly written, or has important
applicators and omissions (Peter Newmark, A textbook of translation, p.90). Finding an
idiom of similar meaning and similar form in the target language may seem to offer the
ideal solution but that is not necessarily always the case. In some cases paraphrasing may
be the best solution that can transform all aspects of meaning from the original idiom into
the target one. "Translation is an exacting art. Idiom more than any other feature of
language demands that the translator be not only accurate but highly sensitive to the
rhetorical nuances of the language." (Fernando and Flavell, 1981.85). The way in which
an idiom or fixed expression can be translated into another language depends on many
factors. It is not only a question of whether an idiom with a similar meaning is available
in the target language. Using idioms in English is very much a matter of style thus to
transform them into target language is not easy.
For example: A good example can be found in an article on maternal mortality,
which includes the sentence, "But before the new estimates replace the old as a way of
packing up the problem, it should be said that a mistake has been made in allowing
statistics such as these to slip into easy language." The expression "packing up the
problem" presented problems in translation, as is was misinterpreted to mean
"assembling" or "gathering together". However, even if this phrase were clearly
understood, it would be difficult to find a concise equivalent in Vietnamese; in fact, it
would be difficult to re-state concisely in English. This phrase is best dealt with by
paraphrasing, which in English should read something like, "summing up the problem by
referring to it simply as a number, which does not reflect its true magnitude or impact."
A person's competence in actively using the idioms and fixed expressions of a
foreign language hardly ever matches that of a native speaker. The majority of translators

working into a foreign language cannot hope to achieve the same sensitivity that native
speakers to have for judging when and how an idiom can be manipulated. This lends
support to the argument that translators should only work into their language of habitual

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use or mother tongue. The Code of Professional Ethics of the Translators' Guild of Great
Britain states:
A translator shall work only into the language (in exceptional cases this may include a
second language) of which he has native knowledge. 'Native knowledge' is defined as the
ability to speak and write a language so fluently that the expression of thought is
structurally, grammatically and idiomatically correct.
(Quoted in Meuss, 1981: 278: my emphasis)
1.1.4.3 How to deal with number and person
1.1.4.3.1 Number
Though both languages have similar notions of number and count ability, each
language has its own way to express these notions. In English, number is expressed as a
grammar category; that is, there are different grammatical forms for singular and plural
nouns. In Vietnamese, however, no such distinction is grammatical made.
For example: Phơ n÷ = can mean either woman or women.
In Vietnamese, some plural markers such as "c¸c", "những", "tất cả", "mọi",

"mỗi" can be used in addition to the noun, "c¸c" generally means all of the given
category of things, whereas "nh÷ng" refers only to some of the total number of things
being discussed. "Mỗi" emphasizes the identity of the individual member of the category
without indicating anything of their totality; "Mäi" expresses both the individuality of the
items and the totality of the category. If it is clear from the English context which of
these plural markers should be used in the Vietnamese, then the translator should choose
accordingly.
For instance: most women in the meeting agreed that they are very happy when
their men helped them to do housework; however, each of them has their own feedback
for this action.
1.1.4.3.2 Person
Participant's roles and forms of address are expressed in Vietnamese through a
very complicated system of personal pronouns based largely on kinship terms. Unlike
English pronouns, Vietnamese pronouns bear a number of semantic components
depending on the relationship within a family, age, sex, familiarity, social status, and
even ones' particular mood or attitude in a given situation. These distinctions are not
always explicitly expressed in English and can usually be determined by the context in
which the language operates. If it is not possible to determine the distinctions of the
English pronouns, the attention should be focused on the tone and the overall purpose of
the text to be translated.
For example: A book on health-care contains many sections written especially for
children and adults. In the sections for the children the pronoun "you" is translated as
"em" or "c¸c em". In the sections for adults, 'you" should be translated as "chóng ta".

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In English, age is not important in the addressing system. And there is no
distinction between the relatives of mother's side or father's side.
For example: In Vietnamese there is a distinction between our mother's mother
and our father's mother but in English the shared noun used in common that named
"grandmother";
In Vietnamese we use different nouns to refer to men in different age such as
"ông", "bác", "chú", "anh", "hắn" and "nó" meanwhile, in English we mostly use one
noun to indicate those ones that is "he".

CHAPTER 2: DIFFICULTIES IN TRANSLATING ECONOMICS
TERMS IN ARTICLES ABOUT STOCK MARKET
2.1 Causes
Discussion of the differences between English and Vietnamese vocabulary has the
same time revealed areas of likely difficulties for Vietnamese English as a foreign
languages students in translating economic articles about stock market.
Needless to say, Vietnamese translators of English are severely disadvantaged in
all kinds of anticipating translating. Not only are they unfamiliar with the information
transmitted in those articles, but the language used and shared knowledge on which its
use is based are probably unfamiliar as well. In other words, their failure in translating
English - Vietnamese flexibly is most likely to be due to lack of background knowledge,
the requirement of accurate language, complexity of the economic field, and limited
vocabulary in the target language.
2.2 Background knowledge limitation
Lack of background knowledge has been pointed out in questionnaire responses
as the greatest problem for Vietnamese translators. They lack of not only background

knowledge of the content area of the text they are translating but background knowledge
of the translated text in the target language.
We can see clearly that most translators graduated from Foreign Languages
Department so that the main subjects they studied relating to linguistics, while the field
they pen in here is stock market that sometimes very strange to some translators. There
are some people that felt difficult to understand those articles evenly written in mother
tongue. They are not able to understand the core of the content in the articles. They could
not know what they are about. After reading they felt how complex the articles are. The
example given below can illustrate this fact:

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Example 1: Some may ask, "If times are hard or if things are getting shaky, why
would anyone even want to own a stock? Why not just go for the safety of a Treasury bill,
which essentially has a risk-free rate of return?" The answer is quite simply that fear and
greed can often drive the markets.
The readers in this case would have some trouble in understanding the meaning of
the above example although these words are not new to them. The given question may
relate to the two terms: Treasury bill and risk-free rate of return.
The readers certainly know the meaning of the words "treasury" means "kho bạc,
ngân khố" and "bill" is "hoá ®¬n" but in this sentence they are not able image that it is a

short-term debt obligation backed by the U.S. government with a maturity of less than
one year. T-bills are sold in denominations of $1,000 up to a maximum purchase of $5
million and commonly have maturities of one month (four weeks), three months (13
weeks) or six months (26 weeks). T-bills are issued through a competitive bidding
process at a discount from par, which means that rather than paying fixed interest
payments like conventional bonds, the appreciation of the bond provides the return to the
holder.
For example, you buy a 13-week T-bill priced at $9,800. Essentially, the U.S.
government (and its nearly bulletproof credit rating) writes you an IOU for $10,000 that it
agrees to pay back in three months. You will not receive regular payments as you would
with a coupon bond, for example. Instead, the appreciation - and, therefore, the value to
you - comes from the difference between the discounted value you originally paid and the
amount you receive back ($10,000). In this case, the T-bill pays a 2.04% interest rate
($200/$9,800 = 2.04%) over a three-month period.
In Vietnamese it means trái phiếu kho bạc ngắn hạn
The question: "What does risk free rate of return mean?" is not easy to answer to
many translators. They are able to understand the meaning of each word but to achieve
meaning of this term is not a simple task. It is written in the context of article about stock
market so they need some information about stock market in general. They must
understand that the theoretical rate of return attributed to an investment with zero
risk. The risk-free rate represents the interest on an investor's money that he or she would
expect from an absolutely risk-free investment over a specified period of time. In theory,
the risk-free rate is the minimum return an investor should expect for any investment, as
any amount of risk would not be tolerated unless the expected rate of return was greater
than the risk-free rate. In practice, however, the risk-free rate does not technically exist;
even the safest investments carry a very small amount of risk. Thus, investors commonly
use the interest rate on a three-month U.S. Treasury bill as a proxy for the risk-free rate
because short-term government-issued securities have virtually zero risk of default.
How can the translator render the above sentence correctly into the target
language text, if he or she has known nothing about this information about T-bill? The

thing they must do is stop their translating process in a short time and spend time on
researching information about T-bill. This affects on the result of the translation very
much because in some case the result of that finding process is zero.

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We can translate the above example in this way: Một số ngời đặt ra câu hỏi
rằng:"Những thời điểm khó khăn hoặc thị trờng bất ổn tại sao mọi ngời vẫn muốn sở hữu
một cổ phiếu? Tại sao không chọn giải pháp an toàn nh một trái phiếu ngắn hạn kho bạc,
vật sở hữu sự cái gì đó có giá trị hơn?" Câu trả lời khá đơn giản đó là do nỗi lo sợ và sự
tham lam thờng đIều phối thÞ trêng.
Lack of background knowledge is very serious to a translator because he or she
must understand deeply what is it about? What is the intention of the author? In some
cases, they may find out the meaning of that term in Vietnamese but in fact they know
nothing about its function and content. Here is one of them:
Example 2: Devising a plan may be more difficult than you'd expect. First, you'll
need to set the maximum gain you will accept and the maximum loss you will tolerate for
your investments, but these maximums and minimums shouldn't necessarily be the same
for every stock. For example, a blue chip stock is more unlikely to rise or fall by 10%
within any given year as compared to a small-cap growth stock, which will exhibit more
volatility. In other words, you must analyze each stock individually to estimate how much

it is likely to move in either direction.
Blue-chip shares that were considered to be stable such as FPT, REE, STB, PPC
and BMP sustained the largest decreases, ranging from between 20,000 VND to 6,000
each share.
Nearly 5 million stocks and investment fund certificates worth more than 577 billion
VND (over 36 million USD) were traded at the center.
/>param=article&catid=05&id=0fbccca781aa1c
The translator may recognize that blue chip stock (cỉ phiÕu xanh), small-cap (mị
nhá), and growth stock (cỉ phiếu tăng trởng) are three kinds of stocks but they could not
verify the characteristic of each one. Hardly can they have enough information to make
sure that they can translate the above paragraph fluently, correctly both in form and in
meaning. To approach to the best translated one they must know that 'blue chip stock" is
stock of a well-established and financially sound company that has demonstrated its
ability to pay dividends in both good and bad times; small-cap means stocks with a
relatively small market capitalization. The definition of small cap can vary among
brokerages, but generally it is a company with a market capitalization of between $300
billion and $200 billion. The translators should keep in mind that classifications such as
"large cap - mò réng" or "small cap - mò nhá" are only approximations that change over
time. The above example can be translated that: "§Ĩ phân chia một kế hoạch có lẽ sẽ khó
hơn bạn trông đợi. Trớc hết bạn cần đặt ra lợi nhuận cũng rủi ro tối đa về mặt kinh tế
cho sự đầu t của mình, tuy nhiên giá trị tối thiểu và tối đa không nhất thiết là nh nhau
cho mọi loại cổ phiếu. Chẳng hạn nh đối với một cổ phiếu có khả năng sinh lợi lớn thì s
giao động sẽ không quá 10% ở bất cứ thời điểm nào trong năm so với cổ phiếu trung bình
hay cổ phiếu ít có khả năng sinh lời, những cổ phiếu đợc cho là dễ mất giá. Nói tóm lại

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bạn phải phân tích riêng mỗi loại cổ phiếu ®Ĩ íc tÝnh nã sÏ giao ®éng nh thÕ nµo trong
tõng trêng hỵp."
Also, the exact definition can vary between brokerage houses; meanwhile, the
meaning of growth stock is shared in a company whose earnings are expected to grow at
an above average rate relative to the market, and also known as glamour stock. A growth
stock usually does not pay a dividend, as the company would prefer to reinvest retained
earnings in capital projects. Most technology companies are growth stocks. Note that a
growth company's stock is not always classified as growth stock. In fact, a growth
company's stock is often overvalued.
Example 3: A takeover, or acquisition, happens when a smaller company is
purchased by a bigger one. Owning shares in the smaller target company can be a big
boon if it is purchased. That's because, in most instances, the purchasing company offers
a price premium for the target company's shares.
/>ener.asp
There are only two terms in the above example but it can prevent translators from
coming to the goal. In dictionary "acquisition" means the action or process of acquiring
something, it is "vật thu đợc, vật hữu ích"; however, in this instance we must look at this
word in other aspect. Acquisitions can be either friendly or unfriendly. Friendly
acquisitions occur when the target firm agrees to be acquired; unfriendly acquisitions do
not have the same agreement from the target firm. "Acquisition" in this context is when
one company purchases a majority interest in the acquired. So that the example 3 was
translated as: "Mét sù tiếp quản, hay một sự chuyển nhợng xảy ra khi một công ty lớn
mua một công ty nhỏ hơn. Sở hữu cổ phần của công ty nhỏ bị mua có thể là một mối lợi
lớn trong trờng hợp nó đợc mua vào. Nguyên nhân là do trong hầu hết mọi trờng hợp các

công ty mua bán đều yêu cầu một sự chênh lệch về giá cả đối với cổ phần của các công ty
đợc mua.
Looking at the map below we can understand more about how difficult to
understand the information about stock market, especially the stock market terms.
Clearly, there are profits to be made from spotting a potential takeover target. But ideally,
investors need to own shares of the target before market rumblings about a possible
acquisition push up the price of the stock. Of course, you can still buy the stock after an
acquisition deal is announced, but by then much of the upside will already be factored
into the share price.

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