Translation strategies from vietnamese to english for names of vietnamese dishes = chiến lược dịch tên món ăn việt nam từ tiếng việt sang tiếng anh

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

GRADUATION PAPER

TRANSLATION STRATEGIES
FROM VIETNAMESE TO ENGLISH FOR NAMES
OF VIETNAMESE DISHES

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Hải Hà, MA
Student: Lương Ánh Vân
Year of Enrollment: QH2017.F1.E22.PDCLC

HANOI, 2021

i


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

CHIẾN LƯỢC DỊCH TÊN MÓN ĂN VIỆT NAM
TỪ TIẾNG VIỆT SANG TIẾNG ANH

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: ThS. Nguyễn Thị Hải Hà
Sinh viên: Lương Ánh Vân
Khóa: QH2017.F1.E22.PDCLC

HÀ NỘI, 2021

ii


ACCEPTANCE PAGE

I hereby state that I: Lương Ánh Vân, class QH.2017.F1.E22.PDCLC, being a
candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts 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

Date: 29/04/2021

iii


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Ms. Nguyễn Thị
Hải Hà (MA) for her invaluable advice, continuous support, and patience during my
paper. Her immense knowledge and plentiful experience have encouraged me in all the
time of my academic research and daily life. I would also like to thank Ms. Vương Thị

Thanh Nhàn (MA) for her support on my study.
Besides, I want to give thanks to all participants of questionnaire and interview
for their cooperation. Their passionate participation in the questionnaires and
interviews played a crucial part in our research.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents and friends,
especially class QH2017F1.E22.PDCLC. Without their tremendous understanding and
encouragement in the past few months, it would be impossible for me to complete my
study.

iv


ABSTRACT

In the era of intensive and extensive globalization and international integration,
Vietnam has proved its position as a rising star of tourism in general and gastronomic
tourism in particular. This context has accented the needs of food translation.
Accordingly, this study was conducted in order to investigate translation
procedures/translation strategies used in translating Vietnamese dish name into
English and their effectiveness. Data collected from questionnaire and semi-structured
interview

showed

that

despite

transference/foreignization,

cultural

the

dominant

used

equivalent/domestication

effective.

v

to

couplet

and

is deemed

more


TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 11

1.1. Research problem and rationale for the study .............................................11
1.2. Aims and objectives .......................................................................................12

1.3. Significance of the study ................................................................................13
1.4. Scope of the study ..........................................................................................13
1.5. Design of the study .........................................................................................13
1.6. Organization ..................................................................................................14
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 15

2.1. Translation .....................................................................................................15
2.2. Translation procedures .................................................................................16
2.3. Translation strategies ....................................................................................18
2.4. Foreignization and domestication .................................................................18
2.5. Skopos theory .................................................................................................19
2.6. Culture in translation ....................................................................................20
2.7. Cultural specified items (CSIs) .....................................................................21
2.8. Translation strategies for CSIs .....................................................................22
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 24

3.1. Research design .............................................................................................24
3.2. Sampling method ...........................................................................................24
3.3. Participants ....................................................................................................25
3.4. Data collection instruments ...........................................................................25
3.4.1. Questionnaire ..........................................................................................25
3.4.2. Interview ..................................................................................................26
3.5. Procedures of data collection ........................................................................27
3.6. Data analysis method .....................................................................................28
3.7. Procedures of data analysis ...........................................................................28
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ....................................................... 30

4.1 Findings ...........................................................................................................30
4.1.1. Question 1 ................................................................................................30
4.1.2. Question 2 ................................................................................................31

vi


4.2. Discussion .......................................................................................................53
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 55

5.1. Summary of the study ...................................................................................55
5.2. Implications of the findings ...........................................................................55
5.3. Limitations of the study .................................................................................56
5.4. Suggestions for further study ........................................................................57
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 58
APPENDIX A. ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF NAMES OF VIETNAMESE DISH . 63
APPENDIX B. EFFECTIVENESS OF TRANSLATION STRATEGIES WITH
VIETNAMESE .................................................................................................................. 73
APPENDIX C. QUESTIONNAIRE ON "TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FROM
VIETNAMESE TO ENGLISH FOR NAMES OF VIETNAMESE DISHES" ............... 89
APPENDIX D. INTERVIEW EXTRACTS .................................................................... 101

vii


LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Taxonomies of procedures related to domestication and foreignization strategies

19

Table 3.1 Description of questionnaire items

26

Table 4.1 Effectiveness of translation procedures (Informative function)

33

Table 4.2 Effectiveness of translation procedures with foreigners (Informative function)

33

Table 4.3 Effectiveness of couplets (Informative function)

34

Table 4.4 Effectiveness of couplets with foreigners (Informative function)

34

Table 4.5 Effectiveness of literal translation (Informative function)

35

Table 4.6 Effectiveness of literal translation with foreigners (Informative function)

35

Table 4.7 Effectiveness of translation strategies (Informative function)

35

Table 4.8 Effectiveness of translation strategies with foreigners (Informative function)

36

Table 4.9 Effectiveness of translation procedures (Aesthetic function)

37

Table 4.10 Effectiveness of translation procedures with foreigners (Aesthetic function)

38

Table 4.11 Effectiveness of is couplets (Aesthetic function)

39

Table 4.12 Effectiveness of couplets with foreigners (Aesthetic function)

40

Table 4.13 Effectiveness of literal translation (Aesthetic function)

40

Table 4.14 Effectiveness of literal translation with foreigners (Aesthetic function)

41

Table 4.15 Effectiveness of translation strategies (Aesthetic function)

41

Table 4.16 Effectiveness of translation strategies with foreigners (Aesthetic function)

42

Table 4.17 Effectiveness of translation procedures (Commercial function)

43

Table 4.18 Effectiveness of translation procedures with foreigners (Commercial function)

44

Table 4.19 Effectiveness of couplets (Commercial function)

45

Table 4.20 Effectiveness of couplets with foreigners (Commercial function)

45

Table 4.21 Effectiveness of literal translation (Commercial function)

46

Table 4.22 Effectiveness of literal translation with foreigners (Commercial function)

46

Table 4.23 Effectiveness of translation strategies (Commercial function)

47

viii


Table 4.24 Effectiveness of translation strategies (Commercial function)

47

Table 4.25 Effectiveness of translation procedures (Cultural function)

48

Table 4.26 Effectiveness of translation procedures with foreigners (Cultural function)

49

Table 4.27 Effectiveness of couplets (Cultural function)

50

Table 4.28 Effectiveness of couplets with foreigners (Cultural function)

50

Table 4.29 Effectiveness of literal translation (Cultural function)

51

Table 4.30 Effectiveness of literal translation with foreigners (Cultural function)

51

Table 4.31 Effectiveness of translation strategies (Cultural function)

51

Table 4.32 Effectiveness of translation strategies with foreigners (Cultural function)

52

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1 The translation procedures used to translate Vietnamese dish names into English

30

Figure 4.2 The translation strategies used to translate Vietnamese dish names into English

31

ix


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
SL

Source language

TL

Target language

CSI

Cultural specified item

CBT

Culture-bound term

x


CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides an overview of the research, which consists of six
main points (1) statement of the problem and rationale for the study, (2) aims
and objectives, (3) method of the study, (4) significance of the study, (5) scope
of the study and (6) organization of the study.
1.1. Research problem and rationale for the study
In the context of globalization and international integration, Vietnam has
risen as a popular tourist destination. According to the statistics from Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism, in 2019, Vietnam attracted 18 million
foreign visitors and 85 million domestic visitors (more than 1:5). In 2020,
Vietnam has been named as the Leading Heritage Destination, Leading Cultural
Destination and Leading Culinary Destination of Asia at the prestigious World
Travel Awards (WTA) 2020. Vietnam has been honored in these three
categories in two consecutive years, proving that culture, heritage and cuisine
are salient points in Vietnamese tourism (vovworld, 2020). Regarding
gastronomic tourism, Vietnam was recognized as “Asia’s Leading Culinary

Destination” in two consecutive years (2019 and 2020) and voted as World’s
Leading Culinary Destination at the WTA Asia and Oceania Gala Ceremony
2019 (Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, 2020).
It is widely said that culinary is an indispensable part of a nation’s
culture and a focus of tourism. A myriad of studies (e.g. Counihan & Esterik,
2008) stressed the relationship between food, culture, globalization and
translation. Thus, cultural translation also observes significant strides,
especially dish name translation to satisfy the increasing need of cultural
exchange and cross-cultural communication. However, the Vietnamese cuisine
translation is uneven in terms of quality and has no standard to assess.

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A menu is a text designed for a specific purpose and for specific readers
which has a double function. Firstly, it should provide the customers with
necessary information about the served dishes. At the same time, it works as an
advertisement of the restaurant’s image and the culture of the home country
(Jurate, 2006). The same idea is shared by Zwicky (19780) who examined the
informative and advertising functions of the menu. Several prior studies
suggested the standard for the menu language. Wallace (1981) mentioned the
criteria of style: simple, informal, personal, reader-friendly, not to mention
good uses of descriptive adjectives, verbs, adverbs and nouns in order to make a
good impression. Ambiguous and erroneous description is believed to be unfair
and a factor causing the dissatisfaction in diners (Kotschevar & Withrow, 2007).
Consequently, the need of professional translation results from the fact that
translating menus and food terms is not as easy a task as one may think. The
greatest challenge may lie in the cultural gap existing between the source
culture and the target culture, which requires a deep sense of localization along
with the knowledge of both languages. (Al Tanero, 2005). Most of the previous

case studies on the translation of menus showed that menu translators were nonprofessionals who could not fill the cultural gap (Ghafarian et al., 2016).
Considering the aforementioned problems and difficulties, bridging the
cultural gap and preventing misunderstanding in cuisine translation is of great
importance. Thus, taking into account that Vietnam is a tourist attraction
famous for the abundance of tasty specialities, this study aimed at working on
the English translation of Vietnamese dish names to find their main patterns in
translation strategies.
1.2. Aims and objectives
The researcher aimed at investigating the translation strategies applied in
the English translation of Vietnamese dish names. Moreover, through collecting
answers and assessment of English speakers, the adequacy of these translations

12


can be partly revealed. These objectives can be achieved by answering two
following research questions:
1. What are translation strategies used to translate Vietnamese dish
names into English?
2. How do the translation strategies of translating Vietnamese dish
names into English fulfill the four functions (informative, aesthetic, cultural and
commercial) based on the skopos theory?
1.3. Significance of the study
The researcher expected to gain an overview of common translation
strategies used in gastronomic tourism in Vietnam as well as problems with
these strategies. The final result will be one of helpful sources for interested
researchers and translators working in the tourism field. In addition, the
findings can enhance the awareness about an adequate translation of food
names and help improve the translation quality in general.
1.4. Scope of the study

In this study, the researcher delineated translation procedures/strategies
adopted in the English translation of 150 Vietnamese dish names included in
the Food topic on the English website of Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism and Charming Vietnam section on English website of Vietnam
National Administration of Tourism. In terms of participants, the study consists
of 10 English-speakers (3 natives and 7 non-natives) and 10 Vietnamese
students of English (3 of which have translation background).
1.5. Design of the study
The research was implemented under the form of a case study including
both qualitative and quantitative approach. Collected data from the
questionnaire paved the way for researchers to answer the research questions,
which in this case related to translation strategies applied in translation

13


Vietnamese dish name and their functions. Data from the interview deepened
the understanding on significant unsolved outcomes of the questionnaire.
1.6. Organization
The following chapters are included correspondingly in this research
paper.
Chapter 2: Literature review - provides the key term’s definition and the
review of related studies.
Chapter 3: Methodology - describes the application of a specific process
tocollect data
Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion - presents and discusses the findings
Chapter 5: Conclusion - summarizes the findings, implications and
limitations of the study and recommendations for further studies.
Following these chapters are References and Appendices.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter lays the theoretical foundation for the research by critically
reviewing literature about translation, translation procedures, translation
strategies of cultural specific items, skospos theory and culture in translation.
2.1. Translation
According to Foster (1958), “Translation is a mental activity in which a
meaning of given linguistic discourse is rendered from one language to another.
It is the act of transferring the linguistic entities from one language into their
equivalents i to another language. Translation is an act through which the
content of a text is transferred from the source language into the target
language”. In this process, source language (SL) is the original verbal language,
and target language (TL) is the language to be arrived at. Catford (1965)
construed this concept as “the replacement of textual material in one language
(SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL)”. Larson (1984)
and Nababan (2008) agreed thattranslation means converting consistently
messages from SL to TL based on the semantic structure so that the accuracy of
the messages is assured. Concurring with this statement, Newmark (1988)
focused on the equivalence where the intention of the author is maintained
(1988). Additionally, a French theorist Dubois (1973) offered another definition
by presenting that “translation is the expression in another language (or TL) of
what has been expressed in another, SL, preserving semantic and stylistic
equivalences” (in Bell, 1991). Keeping a similar perspective, Nida and Taber
(1982) implied that translation is characterized by the precise equivalence of
semantic and stylistic features of the translation.
All in all, despite the existing dissimilarities among the aforementioned
definitions, academics agree on some features and characteristics of translation:
the SL and the TL, and that translation is the process of reproducing the

15


meaning of the SL text into that of the TL text with equivalents in the two
languages.
2.2. Translation procedures
Newmark (1988) stated that compared to translation methods, the subject
of translation procedures are sentences and the smaller units of language. There
exists a variety of theory on types of translation procedures, for instanceVinay
and Darbelnet (1989) who proposed seven translation procedures namely
borrowing, calque, literal, transposition, modulation, equivalence, adaptation.
They believed that if literal translation or direct translation was impossible, the
translator would have to resort to what they termed oblique translation.
In this paper, researcher adopts Newmark (1988)’s model which has
proved its reliability and comprehensiveness.


Literal translation: Literal translation occurs when the translator converts
the SL grammatical constructions into their nearest TL equivalents, but
the lexical words are again translated individually. Translation with this
procedure can achieve high accuracy when the SL word and the TL
meaning refer to the same concept.



Transference (emprunt, loan word, transcription): This is the process of
transferring an SL word to a TL text when the translator uses the SL
word in TL without any adjustments. It also includes transliteration, the
act or process of writing words using a different alphabet.



Naturalization: While transference is transferring SL words or phrases
into TL without changes, this procedure converts SL words, firstly in
terms of pronunciation, then morphology or the word forms to fit the TL
rules.



Cultural equivalent: This procedure occurs when a cultural word in the
SL is replaced by a TL one.

16




Functional equivalent: This means the translator selects a culture-neutral
word in TL to convey the meaning of SL word.



Descriptive equivalent: Application of this procedure is when the
translation of a certain term goes along with some descriptions.



Synonymy: It refers to the use of a “near TL equivalent” when there is
no clear one-to-one equivalent and the word plays a minor role in the

text.



Through translation (calque, loan translation): it is the literal translation
of common collocations, official or institutional names of organizations
and components of compounds.



Shift/transposition: This includes a change in the grammar from SL to
TL in some situations, for example (i) change from singular to plural, (ii)
the change required when a specific SL structure does not exist in the TL,
(iii) change of an SL verb to a TL word, change of an SL noun group to
a TL noun and so on.



Modulation: This happens when the translator reproduces the message of
the original text in conformity with the current norms of the TL, due to
the appearance of dissimilarities in terms of perspective.



Reduction and expansion: This refers to vague translation procedures
with the intuitive practice of the translator to make some adjustments
either by reducing or expanding the translation.



Paraphrase: In this procedure the meaning of the cultural word is
explained by a more detailed way compared to descriptive equivalent.



Couplets: The combination of two, three or four procedures is
respectively described as couplets, triplets and quadruplets.



Notes, Additions, glosses: Further information under various forms, such
as within the text, notes at bottom of page, notes at end of chapter, notes
or glossary at end of book is considered application of this procedure.

17




Translation label: It is a temporary translation, usually of a new
institutional term, which should be put in inverted commas.



Compensation: This procedure means loss of meaning, sound
or pragmatic effect in one part is compensated in another part.



Recognized translation: This procedure is commonly applied if there is

the official or the generally accepted translation of any institutional
term.



Componential analysis: It means “comparing an SL word with a TL
word which has a similar meaning but is not an obvious one-to-one
equivalent, by demonstrating first their common and then their differing
sense components” (Newmark, 1988)

2.3. Translation strategies
In general, translation strategies and translation procedures can be used
to refer to the same things (Chesterman, 2005). Lörscher shared the same idea
when developing a descriptive definition of this concept as “a potentially
conscious procedure for the solution of a problem which an individual is faced
with when translating a text segment from one language into another” (1991).
2.4. Foreignization and domestication
Foreignization and domestication are two main translation strategies
made by Venuti (1995). Foreignization is a source culture-oriented translation
aiming to maintain the exoticness of the SL and culture (Feng, 1993) while
domestication refers to the target culture-oriented one in which alien
expressions to the target culture are adapted to make the translated text easier to
be understood by the target readers.

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Table 2.1 Taxonomies of procedures related to domestication and foreignization
strategies
Domestication

Foreignization

Proposed by

Omission, Exoticism, Updating,

Transcription of the

Georges L. Bastin

Situational equivalence

original, Expansion

Proposed by

Simplification, Avoidance of

Laviosa-

repetition, Explication,

Braithwaite

Normalization, Discourse transfer,
Distinctive distribution of lexical
items

Proposed by Vinay Transposition, Modulation,

Borrowing, Calque,

and Darbelnet (as

Equivalence, Adaptation

Literal translation

Proposed by

Functional Equivalence,

Formal Equivalence,

Harvey

Descriptive or self-explanatory

Transcription

cited in Munday)

translation
Proposed by

Synonymy, Limited

Repetition, Orthographic

Aixelá

universalization, Absolute

adaptation, Linguistic

universalization, Naturalization,

translation, Extratextual

Deletion, Autonomous creation

gloss, Intratextual gloss

2. 5. Skopos theory
“Skopos”

is

a

Greek

word

which

means

“purpose”.

Paul

Kussmauldescribed skopos theory as “the functional approach has a great
affinity with skopos theory. The function of a translation depends on the
knowledge, expectations, values and norms of the target readers, who are again
influenced by the situation they are in and by the culture. These factors
19


determine whether the function of the source text or passages in the source text
can be preserved or have to be modified or even changed” (1997).
Ying (2008) tried to draw a link between the skopos theory and
translation of dish names. He postulated that a menu translation is expected to
achieve four main functions that show the basics of the skopos theory: the
informative, aesthetic, commercial and cultural functions. To be more specific,
a translated dish name should keep the characteristics and the style of the dish
(informative function), be done as a work of art (aesthetic function). Moreover,
it should bridge the cultural gap (cultural function) while being communicative
and appealing (commercial function).
2.6. Culture in translation
Theorists in the 1950s-1960s conducting studies in translation explored
and considered both from the linguistic and political perspectives. A huge
“cultural turn in translation” which started with Snell-Hornby’s idea in the
1990s initiated a new translation approach. It set the focus of translation on
cultural and historical approaches. According to Nida (2001), “For truly a
successful translation, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism,
since words only have meanings in terms of cultures in which they function.”
The concept of culture is never easy to describe. Larson (1984) defined
culture as a collection of beliefs, attitudes, values, and rules among a group of

people. Therefore, he asserted that the translator needs to understand these
features of the SL reader in order to adequately understand the source text and
translate it for TL audience. In 1998, Newmark termed culture in a more
general way as “the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a
community that uses a particular language as its means of expression” and
highlighted the culturally specific features in different groups.
Nida and Taber coined the concept of cultural translation which is “a
translation in which the content of the message is changed to conform to the

20


receptor culture in some way, and/or in which information is introduced which
is not linguistically implicit in the original” (Nida and Taber, 1969/1982).In
1964, Nida listed four basic factors which make the translation of a message
from one language and culture to another possible. These are: 1) the similarity
of mental processes of all people, 2) similarity of somatic reactions (similar
physical responses to emotional stimulus), 3) the range of common cultural
experience, and 4) the capacity for adjustment to the behavioral patterns of
others. Adding to Nida’s point, Larson (1984) noted that both the meaning of a
given text and the response to that text are culturally conditioned. Therefore,
each society will interpret a message in terms of its own culture. That the
reason why he came to the conclusion that:
When the cultures are similar, there is less difficulty in translating. This
is because both languages will probably have terms that are more or less
equivalent for the various aspects of the culture. When the cultures are
very different, it is often difficult to find equivalent lexical items. (pp.
95-96)
2.7. Cultural specified items (CSIs)
Harvey (2000) proposed culture-bound terms (CBTs) as the terms which

“refer to concepts, institutions and personnel which are specific to the SL
culture”.
Sharing some similarities is the term ‘cultural word’ introduced by
Newmark in 1988. Baker refers to such cultural words and agreed that the
source culture may possess concepts which are totally unknown to the TL
readers. She concluded that these concepts may be “abstract or concrete, it may
relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or even a type of food.” Baker
called such concepts “culture-specific items” (CSI) (Baker, 1992). In
mentioning the same idea, Nord uses the term “cultureme”. He conceptualized
cultureme as “a cultural phenomenon that is present in culture X but not present

21


(in the same way) in culture Y” (Nord, 1997). Gambier (2004) also refers to
such concepts as ‘culture-specific references’ and states that they connote
different aspects of life.
Culture-specific references connoting different aspects of everyday life
such as education, politics, history, art, institutions, legal systems, units
of measurement, place names, foods and drinks, sports and national
pastimes, as experienced in different countries and nations of the world.
(p. 159)
Among those researchers, Newmark (1988) first proposes five domains
for classifying foreign cultural words. These domains are: 1) Ecology (flora,
fauna, winds, plains, hills) 2) Material culture (food, clothes, houses and towns,
transport) 3) Social culture (work and leisure) 4) Organizations, customs,
activities, procedures, concepts (political and administrative, religious, artistic
5) Gesture and habits
Tomalin and Stempleski decision on these concepts are 1) Ideas: values,
beliefs, institutions, 2) Products: customs, habits, food, dress, lifestyles, 3)

Behaviors: folklore, music, art, literature
CSIs as proposed by Espindola and Vasconcellos are 1) Toponyms 2)
Anthroponyms 3) Forms of entertainment 4) Means of transportation 5)
Fictional character 6) Legal system7) Local institution 8) Measuring system 9)
Food and drink 10) Scholastic reference 11) Religious celebration 12) Dialect
2.8. Translation strategies for CSIs
Graedler (2000) puts forth some procedures of translating CSIs: Making
up a new word, Explaining the meaning of the SL expression in lieu of
translating it, Preserving the SL term intact, Opting for a word in the TL which
seems similar to or has the same "relevance" as the SL term.
Harvey (2000) puts forward the following four major techniques for
translating CBIs: Functional equivalence, Formal equivalence (linguistic

22


equivalence), Transcription/borrowing (i.e. reproducing or, where necessary,
transliterating the original term), Descriptive or self-explanatory translation.
Translation procedures of Newmarks (1988) which are considered common
in translation of CSIs are:
1. Transference
2. Cultural equivalent
3. Neutralization (i.e. functional or descriptive equivalent)
4. Literal translation
5. Label
6. Naturalization
7. Componential analysis
8. Deletion (of redundant stretches of language in non-authoritative texts,
especially metaphors and imensifiers)
9. Couplet

10. Accepted standard translation
11. Paraphrase, gloss, notes, etc
12. Classifier

23


CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
This chapter provides detailed information about the methodological
issues including the descriptions and justifications of research design,
participants, data collection instruments, data collection and analysis procedures
for the research question “Translation strategies from Vietnamese to English for
Names of Vietnamese Dishes”.
3.1. Research design
The research was implemented under the form of a case study of dish
names appearing in the Food topic on the English website of Ministry of
Culture, Sports and Tourism and Charming Vietnam section on English website
of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. In this research, the researcher
employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. To answer the first
research question, the English translation was analyzed in terms of Newmark’s
translation procedures and Venuti’s strategies, then frequency of these
procedures and strategies would be counted to have descriptive data. The
second question will be answered via questionnaire and interview to test the
four main functions (informative, aesthetic, commercial and cultural functions)
under skopos theory.
3.2. Sampling method
In the first stage, the sample is of dish names appearing in the Food topic
on the English website of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and
Charming Vietnam section on English website of Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism. These names are collected by purposive sampling.

In the second phase, the participants of survey and interview are selected
through convenience sampling. The questionnaire will be distributed to 10
foreigners and 10 Vietnamese English learners. After having gathered statistical
data, interviews can be conducted to collect more detailed data about the
participants’ opinions.

24


3.3. Participants
Regarding Vietnamese learners of English, students who are at B1 or
higher level of English proficiency constitute the population of the research.
Among this group, there are 3 students with translation background. Firstly, this
helps assure a good understanding of English translations and quality answers.
Secondly, they are easy to approach, which enables the researchers to conduct
the data collection process more effectively. Thirdly, the proportion of students
with translation background can highlight the potential difference in their
perspectives.
In terms of foreign English speakers, the population is made up with 7
non-native and 3 native English speakers. This group can provide an authentic
insight of how translation strategies affect their understanding and impression
through the difference in cultural backgrounds and sense of language.
The interviewees are 2 students with translation experience. Their
perceptions can support the analysis of reasons for the choice of translation
strategies.
3.4. Data collection instruments
3.4.1. Questionnaire
The researcher utilized a questionnaire to effectively collect beliefs and
opinions (Griffee, 2012), which provides an overview of how effective the
translation strategies are in the eyes of different groups. The questionnaire was

developed by the researcher after carefully considering the text functions
required in the translation and 4 functions under skopos theory.
At the beginning of the questionnaire is the researchers’ brief
introduction. At the end, there is a thank-you note. The questionnaire was
divided into 2 major sections (A and B) with 19 items. 2 question of section A
served to obtain some background knowledge about the participants. Section B
includes 4 parts, investigating four aforementioned functions. The first part of

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