(TIỂU LUẬN) problems in translation of the terminology in economic texts CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

ABSTRACT Nowadays, English is one of the most widely used languages worldwide People use English in various fields Many of them are good at English skill: listening, speaking, reading and even writing However, some others are not really good, they cannot understand what their partner are saying in English English learners usually face difficulties in translation, especially the terminology Translation skill is an extremely necessary skill for us It plays an essential role in learning and working with English In particular, for a foreign language learner, translation skill becomes a necessary and indispensable medium According to some surveys, students say that they have great difficulties in translating the terminology in economic texts This study was conducted to investigate problems in translation of the terminology in economic texts Then, the researcher wants to find a reason for those problems and propose solutions so that students can solve them Eighty people who are final-year English major students at TMU participating in this study Through the research, it is hoped that they will realize the difficulties in English translating skill as well as apply truly effective methods of English translation so as to enhance their English translating proficiency and English translation is no more of their reluctance Therefore, in the hope of improving students’ ability to translate with the enthusiastic help of participants, the researcher hopes this research will be a useful tool for everyone i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During this graduation paper, I received much necessary help, guidance, valuable ideas and encouragement from my teachers, my family and friends I would like to send my sincere and profound thanks to the teachers of the Thuongmai University, especially the teachers in the English faculty during the time when I just started to come to school I thank the teachers for always enabling us to have the opportunity to study in the best and most effective environment With deep gratitude, I would like to thank Mrs Vu Thi Thanh Hoa for enthusiastic guidance and encouragement and valuable guidance so that I can complete this graduation paper I am grateful to final-year students of English faculty at Thuongmai University for their enthusiastic participation Their sharing has become the main sources of data in my research Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to my family, my friends who always stand by and support and become a great motivation to help me overcome difficulties in the process of doing this research In the course of making this graduation paper, although I have tried hard, it is difficult to avoid errors, I hope the teachers will understand At the same time, due to the limited level of reasoning as well as limited scientific research ability I look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions for the perfect of my own graduation paper Thank you sincerely! Hanoi, October 19th 2020 Student Nguyen Thi Xuan ii NO TMU VTM ED IT SL TL Sig KMO iii CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS vi CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Previous studies 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research subjects 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research methodology 1.7 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of terminology 2.1.1 Definition of terminology 2.1.2 Main features of the terminology 2.1.3 The terminology in economic texts 2.2 Translation theory 2.2.1 Definition of translation 2.2.2 Significance of translation 11 2.2.3 Types of translation 12 2.2.4 Criteria for a good translation version 13 2.2.5 Translation strategies and methods 14 2.3 Problems in translation of the terminology in economic texts 16 2.3.1 Misunderstanding about culture 16 2.3.2 Words and choices of word meanings 16 2.3.3 Lack of economic background knowledge 17 2.3.4 Difficulty in translating the abbreviation 17 2.3.5 Difficulty in translating the terminology hardly used 17 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH FINDINDS 18 3.1 Methodology 18 3.1.1 Research questions 18 iv 3.1.2 Participants 18 3.1.3 Data collection method 18 3.1.4 Methods of data analysis 20 3.2 The results of the study 20 3.2.1 The survey questionnaire’s results 20 3.2.1.1 The results from questionnaire 20 3.2.1.2 Statistics of the variables in the scale 29 3.2.1.3 Statistics of reliability 30 3.2.1.4 Analysis of discovery factors EFA 32 3.2.2 Discussion of the findings 34 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .35 4.1 Summary of the study 35 4.2 Possible solutions 35 4.2.1 Suggestions for students 35 4.2.2 Suggestions for teachers and teaching methods of Thuongmai University 39 4.3 Limitations of the study 40 4.4 Suggestions for further research 41 CONCLUSION 42 REFFERENCES 43 APPENDIX: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES 44 v LI NO 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 vi CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English becomes a common language used widely in most countries of the world Nearly 60 countries use English as their primary language, besides their mother tongue and nearly 100 countries use English as their second language With over 1,130 million native speakers, English is the most spoken language in the world However, each country has its own culture and a unique language These countries that not use English, must know two languages simultaneously to communicate with international friends The English translation industry was born to help the people who have difficulties learning or acquiring a second language English is a language taught in a lot of universities in the world, the language of international communication, science, aviation It is used as the language of international business Recently, with the development of our society as well as other countries in the world, economic and trade sector has become one indispensable field in the economy in general, development of the countries in particular, including our Vietnam Successful economic and trade cooperation requires many factors, of which mutual understanding is the most importance Therefore, the translation of economic and trade texts plays an important role and is of the greatest concern Recognizing the importance of translation, Thuongmai University has introduced Translation into the subject The teachers teach the students how to translate English into Vietnamese and how to translate Vietnamese into English The teachers instruct students how to translate documents such as social, economic business, culture, education, foreign affairs, health care, etc and specialized texts However, most students often find that they have a lot of difficulties in translating the terminology in economic texts In this research, I will investigate the difficulties in translation of the terminology in economic texts encountered by the final-year English major students at Thuongmai University and suggest some solutions to this problem Therefore, I would like to conduct the study entitled “Common difficulties in translation of the terminology in economic texts encountered by final-year students of English faculty, Thuongmai University” I hope this study will help the senior students find out their difficulties and provide them some solutions to translate the terminology in economic texts more easily 1.2 Previous studies Research topics on issues “the difficulties of learners in English translation” have been studied by many different researchers around the world in general and in Vietnam in particular 1.2.1 In the world Through surveying the research on translation issues, I see that there have been many books, many works by foreign authors on this issue A study named “Difficulties and some problems in translating legal documents” by Ivanka Sakareva The paper aims at revealing the difficulties in translating legal documents In order to make a full characteristic of these problems, Ivanka Sakareva has described the actual process of translating the rules that should be observed by the translators, the translation strategy in translating documents as well as the importance of the cultural transfer How does the legal translation differ from the literal one? Is it an easy task to translate specialized texts? Another study named “Analysis of Translation Difficulties for the Fourth Semester Students of English Department of IKIP Gunungsitoli Year 2013/2014” with the objective of the research is to find out and to describe translation difficulties for the fourth semester students of English department of IKIP Gunungsitol The researcher uses two kinds of research instruments that are questionnaires which consist of a test as the source of content analysis applied as a part of qualitative research method And others: “A Linguistic Theory of Translation” by Catford (1965 Oxford University Publishing House, Oxford); "Contemporary Translation Theories" by Hay Gentzler (1993 Roudledge Publishing House, London & New York); “Discourse and the Translator” by Hatim and Mason (1990 Longman Publishing House, UK); Jakobson's "On Linguistic Aspects of translation" (1959 Article published in The Translation Studies Reader, L Venuti (ed.) Roudledge, London & New York, 1998); "A Textbook of Translation" by Newmark (1988 Prentice Hall Publishing House, London 1988) 1.2.2 In Vietnam A study named “Difficulties in Learning the Translation of Students majoring in International Relations” The purpose of the research is to identify and explain these difficulties, and to provide some methods for students to be good at translating and have their own experience in the following working process The researcher limited his research subjects to students of TA39A and TA39B classes, English department, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Another research, “A study on the translation of economic terminology”, conducted by Hoang Thi Bay, her MA minor-thesis, has been carried out with the hope of finding out the common, appropriate and preferable ways to make the translation of economic terms from English into Vietnamese sound original and natural The major concern of this paper is to give the answer to the question: “What are the common translation strategies and procedures used in the translation of economic terms in the economic textbook “Business Law?” Based on the results from the study, some suggestions are given, that can be of some use to those who are responsible for teaching English for economics and translating documents in this field Additionally, a MA minor thesis of Pham Thi Minh Chien, “A study on English translation of Vietnamese traditional medicine texts” It aims at clarifying and discussing some characteristics of VTM texts and then giving suggestions on strategy and techniques used in translating VTM texts and standardization of English translation of VTM It also analyzes some common mistakes and figures out the reasons for this present chaotic situation There are some previous studies on translation skill of university students All these studies show that different aspects of the problem give the reader a more multidimensional view and to recognize the importance of improving English translation skill 1.3 Aims of the study CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 Summary of the study As stated earlier, the thesis focuses on researching the difficulties in translation of the terminology in economic texts encountered by the final-year English major students at Thuongmai University In addition, the study aims at some factors affecting translating economic terminology in order to find out some effective methods to help students improve their English skills and have a good translation skill To reach the target of the researcher, the study consisted of four chapters The first chapter has briefly described the general theories of the research Chapter focuses on the literature review of the study related to translation skill and the terminology such as: the definition of translation, significance of translation, types of translation, criteria for a good translation version, translation strategies and methods, problems in translation of the terminology in economic texts The basic concepts which were discussed in this chapter provide the readers with essential theories critical to the analysis of the study Chapter – methodology mentions the research methods applied in the study, including research methodology, research questions, participants, data collection methods and methods of data analysis The researcher makes a survey to collect information from the students of the final-year English major students at Thuongmai University Then the researcher started to analyze and did statistics on the responses to questionnaire to get the final results and discussion At the end of this thesis, the researcher also suggests some possible solutions to help students deal with difficulties in studying as well as make some suggestions for teachers on meeting the students' expectations in learning translation subject which is believed to be hard to master 4.2 Possible solutions 4.2.1 Suggestions for students a Suggestions to improving economic terminology 36 The terminology in economic texts is hard for learners to learn by heart Unless the students remember, they cannot translate the texts The following mentioned solutions help students learn vocabulary quickly in an easy way One of the fastest ways to learn the terminology is arranging them according to alphabet First of all, it is important to remember that there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, the economic terms usually start from A to Z The second is to rely on the alphabet to learn economic terms, learners will benefit from the following advantages: Easy to manage the amount of vocabulary (in words: a, b, c, d, e, ); easy to remember (due to scientific storage); easy to take out and use when needed (in pocket dictionary), According to this method, the letters "a", "b", "c" have words with specific economic meanings The alphabetical listing is a way of remembering at the same time as a way of learning However, if the terms are put into context, for example, in a sentence, their meaning will be correct and used in the correct context A good idea to learn more words faster is to put them in the context From that, you know how the word is used in real life For example, "advance" when standing independently often gives many meanings, it makes the reader/translator understand ambiguous meaning (due to a word with many meanings) Finding the tools that work for learners is good method to learn terminology Everyone learns differently, so if learners not already know what works for themselves, try as many different ways as possible: flashcards, apps, lists, games, or post-its, are great ways to memorize terminology Some people want to set apart a specific time, others learn more spontaneously No matter which approaches learners choose, be sure to get into some kind of rhythm Practice makes perfect, after all b Suggestions to understanding about business culture One of the hardest difficulties when translating are the barriers of languages due to cultural differences Languages are complex and translators require a deep understanding of cultural awareness when translating or the translation may not 37 make sense The best way of improving this skill is observing and practicing with native speakers Learning about different cultures can be a great way of developing an understanding of cultural diversity To translate economic terminology correctly in the specific context, the translator has to have wide knowledge of business culture about one country It can be very easy to stick to what they know, rather than try to meet people who are different from them However, actively trying to understand and embrace cultural differences can open them up to a whole world of experiences From that, the student can interpret the economic terminology easily thanks to cultural experiences Doing a spot of research online or through books, and studying some of the business history and traditions of other business cultures are two good ways to learn more about other cultures Talking to someone from a different cultural background is another way Try and get to know someone from a different cultural background better In fact, you can make friends with people in the different culture related to your work The more you have many relationships with foreigners, the more knowledge of culture you have You not necessarily have to ask them directly about their culture, but by getting to know them as a friend or peer, you will automatically find out more about their life and experiences Just being curious and open-minded can be helpful You could try to have a chat or catch-up with an acquaintance, friend or coworker that you have wanted to get to know better Remember to treat them just like you would, and not think of them only as a way to get to know about other cultural backgrounds This is also a great way to practice your language skills if you are learning a language c Suggestions to get economic background knowledge Reading as much as possible is only thing you have to Read in target language is great Reading is extremely important as it helps grow your vocabulary and increase knowledge of language, both of which are essential when translating Read the newspaper, magazines, the dictionary, … which relates to the economic knowledge Reading will help your word choice and sentence structure when translating and 38 have economic background knowledge From that, translating economic terminology becomes easier and easier If a person gets into the habit of reading, then a person is exposed to new words Always make it a habit to underline the new terminology and refer to them in the context section and try to understand their meaning By doing this, you will remember the words and will be able to make its correct usage d Suggestions to practice translating economic terminology Reading and practicing translating from economic newspapers, magazines, articles is a great way to practice translating economic terminology That is also the secret of success when you want to learn in translating English Work hard to read and read everything about every topic that interests you whenever possible And not forget to remember important information While reading, if there is any unclear place, it is best to skip to not hinder the process of reading And of course, you will come back and study more Expand background knowledge by regularly reading newspapers, magazines and books Be interested in world events Things that seem to be "out of range" in your area of interest can be very useful for your translating later Thanks to the process of reading economic newspapers and magazines, translators not only acquire and expand their background knowledge but also get used to translating the abbreviation Therefore, translating abbreviation is no longer difficult for translators Carve out time daily to practice translation is good way to improve translation skill, especially economic terminology No one is a perfect translator All translators must spend much time practicing to improve Remember that “Practice makes perfect” When you make a mistake, keep track of them and learn from them so that you not make the same mistakes again, try back-translation or translating documents vice-versa If you are used to translating English to another language, practice the opposite way Back translation will help you learn the other language better and increase your fluency 39 In order to improve economic terminology translation skill, I recommend a Youtube channel that learners can use to practice translation That is VOA special learning English That channel specializes in economic translation audio attached transcript for each video It is good for students to practice translation terminology in economic texts e Suggestions to improving English grammar when translating Grammar is a subject that makes many students stressed-out, because it can be quite confusing and complicated However, correct grammar is essential for your translation It is thus crucial to know some simple methods to improve your grammar skills There are many brilliant resources, both online and printed issues, conductive to improving your grammar skills A quick Internet search will reveal a multitude of websites that offer grammar exercises Students can access the webpage http://www.tienganh123.com, which is very common to students at every level of English learning Moreover, the students should look for a reliable grammar book that offers answer keys and clear explanations for each grammar topic The best sale “Oxford Practice Grammar with Answers” (Norman Coe, Mark Harrison, Ken Paterson, first published 1992 (reprinted nine times), second edition 1999) and the series book consist of Grammar Practice for Elementary Students, for Pre-intermediate Students, for Intermediate Students, and Grammar Practice for Upper Intermediate Students (Elaine walker, Steve Elsworth) can be considered as helpful tools for those who want to improve their grammar quickly and effectively A famous book which English learners are really into is English Grammar In Use When translating economic texts, the sophisticated grammar makes it difficult for students in determining the meaning of terminology So that, students should check ambiguous grammar point and learn it more carefully 4.2.2 Suggestions for teachers and teaching methods of Thuongmai University 40 The researcher wants to emphasize that the teachers' attitude directly has influence on the quality of studying However, every teacher has his own way of teaching, a friendly atmosphere in the classroom is believed to bring a great impulse for studying Therefore, during the teaching time, the teacher should make an accommodating atmosphere to help the student study under no pressure and have a chance to exchange their opinions freely about the lessons Besides, creating a closer relationship in which the teachers play an essential role as students who understand their difficulties and sympathize with their psychological tensions is really important for every teacher to Additionally, providing students with useful knowledge as well as answering or explaining students' questions enthusiastically are things teachers can to help both teachers and students make progress in teaching and studying In addition, teaching materials are also estimated as an important part of every subject According to students’ responses, most of them like translating documents related to some social topics that they feel interested in such as lifestyle, health, education and entertainment because these topics are quite close to their daily life, and they have enough knowledge to understand and translate it Moreover, they can deal with vocabulary related to these fields easier than other topics like science, politics, philosophy or psychology In addition, teaching materials should be various in topic and suitable for students' ability Teachers should give students many enjoyable and attractive materials with the aims of helping them practice and learn some things from it Educational aims can be inserted in each translation passage through a lesson, a story, or a piece of knowledge The level of difficulty should be raised gradually from the beginning to the end of the course Certainly, students will be interested in every translation passage and no one can be bored or feel difficult when they can study with such appropriate and attractive materials like this 4.3 Limitations of the study 41 In spite of considerable devotion of time and efforts, limited time, lack of sources, and the ability of the researcher, the study cannot avoid some shortcomings and mistakes which can be mentioned as below: Firstly, it is the small number of participants Only 80 students of English Department at Thuongmai University were selected by the researcher with her own criteria Therefore, the results obtained may not be generalized to the whole people who have translated Secondly, during the research process, the researcher conducts the questionnaire but cannot conduct other methods such as case-study, classroom observation which can make the results obtained more reliably Thirdly, in the questionnaire, the researcher did not question for the learning environment, learning tools, and there are no specific translations to see the real difficulties in translation Finally, the techniques suggested in this research are selected from different reliable but limited sources 4.4 Suggestions for further research The study only investigated the difficulties in translating terminology in economic texts of 80 students who are the final-year English majors at Thuongmai University Therefore, for further studies, the researcher suggests conducting the survey as well as interviewing more students with different background in order to gain deeper and clearer data about the problems which students experienced with translating economic terminology translation skills and causes of these problems Moreover, further researchers should also change the research method by observing students' learning through interviewing teachers to have a deeper insight into the translation difficulties and strategies 42 CONCLUSION The importance of translation in the past few decades can be denied by no one when this activity has been boosted because of rising international trade, increased migration, globalization and the expansion of the mass media and technology For those reasons, the translator plays an important role as a bilingual or multi-lingual cross-cultural transmitter of culture and ideas by attempting to transfer the text as faithfully and accurately as possible However, it is not so easy for the students of English major to master translation skills as well as to become professional translators Facing difficulties as well as making mistakes in studying translation are unavoidable Therefore, issues related to students' difficulties and their expectations are the objectives and the focuses of this thesis What the researcher attempts to in this thesis is to find out the students' difficulties and to meet their expectations in studying translation subjects in their early academic years From there give some useful suggestions and solutions to help them surmount difficulties and to improve the quality of training methods at Thuongmai University It is a strong hope that the study with all suggestions above will be a useful reference to help improve the quality of both learning and training at Thuongmai University Hopefully, the study will also be a helpful companion for all those who are interested in translation and want to be a professional translator Nevertheless, this is the first time we have had a chance to a research, getting mistakes during the study is unavoidable Due to the limited time of the research, it is so difficult for us to arrange a suitable time for interviewing questions as well as get much more information about the students' expectation Moreover, to please everyone is not really easy, some expectations collected above cannot reflect all the students’ needs It is, therefore, one of the most limitations of the study However, the researcher believes that the thesis named “Common difficulties in translation of the terminology in economic texts encountered by final-year students of English faculty, Thuongmai University” will be able to contribute its reality and helpfulness to both the students and teachers in adjusting the learning and teaching method 43 REFFERENCES Hoang Thi Bay, (2005), A study on the translation of economic terminology, Vietnam National University College of Foreign Languages Pham Thi Minh Chien, (2010), A study on English translation of Vietnamese traditional medicine texts, University of Languages and International Studies Catford, (1965), A Linguistic Theory of Translation, Oxford University Publishing House, Oxford Hatim and Mason, (1990), Discourse and the Translator, Longman Publishing House, UK Hay Gentzler, (1993), Contemporary Translation Theories, Roudledge Publishing House, London & New York Ivanka Sakareva, Difficulties and some problems in translating legal documents Jakobson, (1959), On Linguistic Aspects of translation, Article published in The Translation Studies Reader, L Venuti (ed.) Roudledge, London & New York, (1998) Newmark, Peter, (1988), A Textbook of Translation, Prentice Hall Newmark, Peter, (1982), Approaches to Translation, Pergamon Press 10 Albert Sydney Hornby, (1942), Oxford learner Dictionaries 11 Theory of interpreting and translation, Thuongmai University 12 Yasminar Amaerita Telaubanua, (2014), Analysis of Translation Difficulties for the Fourth Semester Students of English Department of IKIP Gunungsitoli Year 2013/2014 13 http://luanvan.net.vn/luan-van/de-tai-a-study-on-translation-of-economic- and-trade-terminology-from-english-into-vietnamese-71632/ 14 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326716636_CHALLENGES_IN_TRANS LATING_EDUCATIONAL_TERMINOLOGY 44 APPENDIX: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES This survey aims to find out difficulties in translation of the terminology in economic texts encountered by final-year students of English faculty, Thuongmai University I would really appreciate it if you could take some time to fill out this questionnaire Many thanks! First of all, please translate following terminologies: NO English meaning Balance of trade Circulation commodity Compound interest Underground economy Allowances and expenses for corporatio tax The openness of the economy Absolute monopoly Budget deficit INCOTERMS 10 Break-even Question In your opinion, learning translation is……… ☐ Interesting and helpful ☐ Difficult but interesting 45 ☐ Difficult and boring ☐ Easy and helpless Question The reason why students study translation is … (you can choose more than one answer) ☐ Because it is a compulsory subject ☐ Because it is interesting ☐ Because it is helpful, I can expand knowledge, learn a lot of information ☐ Because I want to study more skills to make myself more perfect Question In your opinion, studying translation can help you… (you can choose more than one answer) ☐ Enlarge your vocabulary ☐ Improve language skills ☐ Use grammar structures more flexibly ☐ Expand knowledge ☐ Work or study effectively Others: ………………………………………………………………………… Question How much time you usually spend studying translating the terminology in economic texts (as self-study)? ☐ or hours per week ☐ About hours per week ☐ About 10 hours per week ☐ More than 10 hours per week 46 Question How often you have difficulties when translating the terminology in economic texts? ☐ Frequently ☐ Sometimes ☐ Seldom ☐ Never Question What is the biggest challenge you have to face when translating the terminology in economic texts? ☐ Words and choices of word meanings ☐ Misunderstanding about culture ☐ Lack of economic background knowledge ☐ Difficulty translating the abbreviation ☐ Difficulty translating the terminology you hardly use Others: ……………………………………………………………… Question What you often when you encounter new terms? ☐ Look up its meaning by using a dictionary or Google Translate tool ☐ Ignore it and translate other words, then go back to guess its meaning in the context ☐ Skip it and translate others ☐ Ask your friends or your teacher Others: ………………………………………………………………… Question What you often after you finish your translation? 47 ☐ Share with your friends ☐ Read it again to correct some mistakes if there are ☐ Read it again and try to translate it in another way ☐ Wait for your teacher’s feedback Others: ……………………………………………………………………… Question What has a great influence on your interest in translating the terminology in economic texts? ☐ Teaching method ☐ Teaching material ☐ Topic of translation ☐ Your own ability Others: ………………………………………………………………… Question 10 What you often to improve your translation of the terminology in economic texts? ☐ Learning vocabulary ☐ Reviewing your teacher’s feedback to learn vocabulary, grammar and way of using vocabulary ☐ Reading and practicing translating business newspapers or economic magazines ☐ Do nothing Others: ………………………………………………………………………… Question 11 Please indicate your level of consent to the statements below with the convention as follows: 48 Not very Not disagreeabl e disagreeable Neutral Agreeable Strongly agreeable NO 49 ... 2 .1 Overview of terminology 2 .1. 1 Definition of terminology 2 .1. 2 Main features of the terminology 2 .1. 3 The terminology in economic texts 2.2 Translation theory... students often find that they have a lot of difficulties in translating the terminology in economic texts In this research, I will investigate the difficulties in translation of the terminology in economic. .. difficulties in translation of the terminology in economic texts with the participation of 80 seniors who are learning Business English 1. 5 Scope of the study The study focuses on the translation skill of