Common lexical difficulties facing in translation process of senior einglish majors at iuh causes and solutions graduation thesis faculty of foreign languages

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES -  - GRADUATION THESIS COMMON LEXICAL DIFFICULTIES FACING IN TRANSLATION PROCESS OF SENIOR EINGLISH MAJORS AT IUH: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS STUDENT : PHẠM HỮU KHẢI CODE : 17050551 CLASS : DHAV13B COURSE : 2017-2021 SUPERVISOR : Nguyễn Đình Luật, M.A HCMC, 6/2021 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES -  - GRADUATION THESIS COMMON LEXICAL DIFFICULTIES FACING IN TRANSLATION PROCESS OF SENIOR EINGLISH MAJORS AT IUH: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS STUDENT : PHẠM HỮU KHẢI CODE : 17050551 CLASS : DHAV13B COURSE : 2017-2021 SUPERVISOR : Nguyễn Đình Luật, M.A HCMC, 6/2021 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES -  - Student’s name : PHẠM HỮU KHẢI Student’s ID : 17050551 Class : DHAV13B Course : 2017-2021 Supervisor : NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own work and does not involve in plagiarism or collusion It also has not been accepted as part of a submission to another purpose elsewhere I accept serious penalty for any cheating or plagiarism Date submitted : Signed : Word length : word COMMON LEXICAL DIFFICULTIES FACING IN TRANSLATION PROCESS OF SENIOR EINGLISH MAJORS AT IUH: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS ABSTRACT Translation is not an easy task During the translation process, translators and students majoring in English often encounter many difficulties Common among them is the lexical difficulties Therefore, the researcher would like to conduct a study on “Common lexical difficulties facing in translation process of senior English majors at IUH: Causes and solutions.” to explore further into what lexical problems students encounter during the translation process and what causes of these problems Thence, the researcher gives some suggested solutions to improve and enhance student’s translation skills The graduation thesis consists of five chapters Each chapter is designed to deal with a specific aim Chapter I, Introduction, deals with the rationale, research goals, research questions and scope of the study Chapter II, Literature Review, gives a general overview of the lexical problems in translation Chapter III, Research Design, demonstrated a clear and detailed plan to collect adequate and reliable data for analysis including the selection of the place where the researcher investigate, the research methodology and research methods, participants, the procedure of data collection and the procedure of data analysis Chapter IV, Findings and Discussions, mainly deals with finding the results from the survey questionnaire Some discussions about these results can also be found in this chapter Chapter V, Conclusion, summarizes the major findings of the study KEYWORDS Lexical difficulties Senior English majors Translation ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The process of completing this thesis, I have got a large amount of help and support that guide and encourage me to overcome all difficulties and finish my thesis successfully First of all, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to the School Board of Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City and the Faculty of Foreign Languages creating many good conditions for me to complete my thesis Secondly, I sincerely thank to Mr Nguyễn Đình Luật, my supervisor giving me beneficial guidance and advice that assist me to complete my thesis well From these advices, I have developed my thesis into the right way Thirdly, I would like to appreciate my group members, Quách Uyên Nghi and Nguyễn Hoàng Bạch Trúc who often gave me useful advice during the process of working thesis Last but not least, I am grateful to all of lovely participants and lecturers who contributed to help me collect data for my thesis In short, I really appreciate to all people helping me to finish this thesis successfully LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IUH : Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh city FFL : Faculty of Foreign Languages SL : Source Language TL : Target Language TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE 1.2 RESEARCH GOALS 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 DENIFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS/CONCEPTS 2.1.1 Lexical concepts 2.1.1.1 Collocation 2.1.1.2 Idiom 2.1.1.3 Metaphor 2.1.1.4 Proper noun 2.1.1.5 Proverb 2.1.2 Translation 2.1.2.1 Definition 2.1.2.2 Translation methods 10 2.1.3 Causes of lexical problems in translation process 13 2.1.3.1 Vocabulary 13 2.1.3.2 Cultural Issues 13 2.1.3.3 Context 14 2.1.3.4 Figure of speech 14 2.2 RESULTS OF PREVIOUS STUDIES 15 2.2.1 Review previous studies 15 2.2.2 The gap of previous studies 17 2.3 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW 17 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN 19 3.1 RESEARCH SITE 20 3.2 PARTICIPANTS 20 3.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS 20 3.4 PROCEDURES 21 3.5 DATA ANALYSIS 22 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 23 4.1 FINDINGS 24 4.1.1 General information 24 4.1.2 Student’s methods in translation process 25 4.1.3 Frequency of lexical problems 26 4.1.4 Lexical aspects students most encounter 27 4.1.5 Lexical aspects that most difficult for students 28 4.1.6 Causes of lexical problems 29 4.1.7 Solutions for lexical problems 30 4.1.8 Student’s confidence of Translation 31 4.2 DISCUSSION 31 4.2.1 Common translation methods used by students 31 4.2.2 Common lexical difficulties that students encounter in the translation process 33 4.2.3 Causes of lexical difficulties 34 4.2.4 Solutions to overcome the lexical difficulties 35 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 37 5.1 SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS 38 5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS 38 5.2.1 Suggestions for FFL’s lecturers 39 5.2.2 Suggestions for FFL’s students 39 5.3 LIMITATIONS 39 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SUPERVISOR’S EVALUATION FORM Student’s name: Phạm Hữu Khải Student ID No.: 17050551 Supervisor’s name: Nguyễn Đình Luật, M.A Written Graduation Thesis (70) Oral Presentation (10) Supervisor’s Appraisal (10) Supervisor’s Appraisal on teamwork (05) Peer evaluation on teamwork (05) CRITERIA Format (3) Format And Coherence and Organization (4) Language Use Grammar mistakes (3) Introduction Research topic and objectives of research (5) Research questions (5) Literature Definitions of key terms/concepts (5) Review Review of previous studies (5) Referencing (5) Methodology Research Methodology (10) Research Collecting and analyzing data (5) Findings Relevance between research findings and objectives (5) Evaluating and discussing the findings (5) Conclusions Conclusions & recommendation (10) Content (3) Performance (3) Time management (10 minutes) (2) Questions response (2) Communication skill (2) Punctuality (2) Continuous improvement (6) SCORE Group Decision &Planning Roles & Distribution Establish Goals Meeting Minutes Contribution to the team project Taking responsibility Working with others Other Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Page 50 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 comments TOTAL SCORES ………./100 Date: …………………………… Signature ……………………………… Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Page 51 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EXAMINER’S EVALUATION FORM Student’s name: Phạm Hữu Khải Student ID No.: 17050551 Examiner’s name: …………………………………………………………………………… CRITERIA Format (3) Coherence and Organization (4) Grammar mistakes(3) Introduction Rationale and objectives of research (5) Research questions (5) Written Literature Definitions of key terms/concepts (5) Graduation Review Review of previous studies (10) Thesis Referencing (5) Methodology Research Methodology & Methods (10) (80) Research Collecting and analyzing data (5) Findings Relevance between research findings and objectives (5) Evaluating and discussing the findings (10) Conclusions Conclusions & Recommendation (10) Content (6) Oral Presentation Performance (6) Time management (10 minutes) (4) (20) Questions responses (4) SCORE Format And Language Use Other comments TOTAL SCORES ……… /100 Date: ………………………… Signature ……………………………… Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Page 52 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 Updated in July 2017 Prepared by: Le Thi Thuy, M.A Head of the Division: Tran Kieu My An, Ph.D August 29, 2020 Second revision Vice Dean: Phan Thi Tuyet Nga, Ph.D Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Page 53 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 Rubrics for Written Graduation Thesis (70%) Item/ Weight Format (3) 10 Coherence and Organization (4) Grammar mistakes (3) Rationale and objectives of research (5) Introdu ction 10 15 Unsatisfactory There are consistent mistakes in the required format The development of paper is vague; no apparent logical order of presentation There are consistent spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper The rationale of the research topic area is unclearly described Little evidence shows the significance and objectives of the research topic Developing There are several mistakes in the required format Satisfactory There are minor mistakes in the required format Exemplary 10 There are hardly any mistakes in the required format The paper is presented with connected concept and ideas, clear transitions The paper is presented in logical sequence and well organized The paper is clearly stated, well-developed and well organized There are several spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper There are minor spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper The rationale of the research topic is presented and the significance and objectives of the paper is justified The rationale of the research topic is adequately defined The significance and objectives of the paper is well justified There are hardly any spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper The rationale of the research topic is introduced in a coherent and interesting manner The significance and objectives of the paper is well justified Research questions (5) Research questions are not successfully defined Research questions are defined Research questions are coherently and clearly defined Definitions of key terms/concepts (5) Definition of key concepts is insufficient Key concepts are recognized The key concepts related to the research topic are defined Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Research questions are scientifically meaningful and challenging The key concepts related to the research topic are also clearly defined Page 54 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI Review of previous studies (5) The previous studies are inadequately relevant with the research topic and inappropriatel y summarized References are of poor quality The format and layout are inconsistent and not in line with APA style The previous studies are relevant with the research topic and summarized The referencing is in a proper manner but the layout of the bibliography is consistent with APA style There are, however, a number of inconsistencies The referencing is in a proper manner and the layout of the bibliography is largely in line with APA style Research Methodology and Methods (10) The author displays such a low level of research methodology and methods that it can be regarded as unacceptable The author correctly presents the research methods and shows good organization and application of research methodology The author justifies his/her choice of analysis methods and demonstrates effective application of relevant research methodology Collecting and analyzing data (5) The author describes the data collecting and analyzing stages but the description does not form a coherent and logical whole The analysis methods are mainly chosen to answer the The author correctly presents the data collecting and analyzing stages and also outlines the analysis The analysis demonstrates a good command and reliable use of the method The author presents the data collecting and analyzing stages clearly The author makes good use of the data in the analysis The author chooses the methods sensibly to summarize the Referencing (5) 10 Researc h findings 15 ID Number: 17050551 Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A The previous studies are quite relevant with the research topic and appropriately summarized The previous studies are adequately relevant with the research topic and appropriately summarized The referencing is in a proper and extensive manner The format and layout of the bibliography are correct and in line with APA style The author justifies his/ her choice of research methods systematically and demonstrates a deep understanding in the application of relevant research methodology The author presents the data collecting and analyzing stages correctly and clearly The author makes great use of the data in the analysis The author chooses the relevant methods to best Page 55 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 research questions, but the author has an insufficient command of the methods Relevance between research findings and objectives (5) Evaluating and discussing the findings (5) 10 Conclusion & Reconmmendati on (10) The author demonstrates a poor level of understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings are inadequate in meeting objectives of study The thesis does not succeed in making contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and field of study No logical conclusions are reached Answers to research questions studied and discussion about them is almost entirely missing or it is unconnected information provided by the data summarize the information provided by the data The author demonstrates a satisfactory understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings may be adequate but not as described The author demonstrates adequate levels of understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings are adequate relevant to the objectives of the study The author demonstrates advanced levels of understanding in the analysis of the research findings The research findings are relevant to the objectives of the study The research findings make a minor contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and field of study The research findings make a good contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and field of study The conclusions are partially logical The link between the conclusions and research questions is left somewhat unclear The final summary only partially communicates the purpose and findings of the The conclusions are presented logically and answers to research questions are explained in a good manner The final summary communicates the purpose and The research findings make a significant contribution to the knowledge base of the discipline and field of study The conclusions are presented logically and answers to research questions are explained in a coherent manner The final summary is relevant and communicates Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Page 56 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI from the perspective of the research The final summary in no way communicates the purpose and findings of the study The author demonstrates inadequate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research ID Number: 17050551 study The author demonstrates quite adequate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research findings of the study The author demonstrates adequate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research the objectives and findings of the study The author demonstrates good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his/her own research August 29, 2020 Second Revision Vice Dean: Phan Thi Tuyet Nga, Ph.D Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Page 57 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 Rubrics for Oral Presentation (10%) Unsatisfactory Developing Satisfactory Exemplary Organizational structure present but unclear with underdeveloped introduction, body and conclusion Transitions are awkward Organizational structure present clearly with introduction, body and conclusion A few transitions Appropriate organizational pattern used and easy to follow with developed introduction, understandable body part and satisfying conclusion Main points are smoothly connected with transitions Performance (3) Very little gestures or eye contact Monotone voice or insufficient volume Reading of notes only Speech is often unintelligible Adequate use of gestures, eye contact, language, and voice Limited oral fillers and nonverbal distractions Uses a wide range of pronunciation features Time management (10minutes) (2) No regard for time constraints six or seven minutes above or below the allotted time Little gestures or eye contact Monotone voice or insufficient volume Little poise Heavy reliance on notes Abundant oral fillers and nonverbal distractions Mispronunciatio ns are frequent and cause some difficulty for the listener Presentation given within four or five minutes above or below the allotted time 10 Organizational pattern is compelling and moves audience through speech with ease Introduction draws in the audience and conclusion is satisfying Main points are clearly made and smoothly connected with transitions Effective use of gestures, eye contact, vivid language, and voice to add interest to speech Poised with use of notes for reference only No oral fillers and nonverbal distractions Clear pronunciation Item/ Weight Content (3) Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Presentation given within two or three minutes above or below the allotted time Presentation given within time constraints (from 9-11 minutes) Page 58 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI Questions response (2) Unable to respond many questions ID Number: 17050551 Most questions are responded competently Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Nearly all questions are responded knowledgably and respectively All questions are responded knowledgably and respectively Page 59 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 Rubrics for Supervisor’s Appraisal (10%) Item/ Weight Developing Satisfactory Students show a weak communication skill in meetings with the supervisor and group members Students show an adequate communication skill in meetings with the supervisor and group members Punctuality (2) Students are always late in meetings with the supervisor Students are sometimes late in meetings with the supervisor Continuous improveme nt (6) Students show an unwilling attitude towards assigned work, complete work late often and make no reference from the supervisor Students show a positive attitude towards assigned work, complete work late sometimes and can make a relevant reference from the supervisor Students show a good communication skill in meetings with the supervisor and group members Students are usually punctual in meetings with the supervisor Students show a positive attitude towards assigned work, complete work on time or make alternative arrangement and make a good reference from the supervisor Communic ation skill (2) Unsatisfactory Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Exemplary 10 Students show a very good communication skill in meetings with the supervisor and group members Students are always punctual in meetings with the supervisor Students show a willing attitude towards assigned work, complete work on time or make alternative arrangement and make a good reference from the supervisor Page 60 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 Rubrics for Teamwork (10%) Rubrics for Supervisor’s Appraisal (5%) Rubrics for Peer Evaluation (5%) Rubrics for Supervisor’s Appraisal (5%) Student’s name: _Phạm Hữu Khải _ Student code: 17050551 _ Item/ Weight Unsatisfactory Group Planning & Decision There is no planning& decision making process, decisions are made by individuals Developing A procedure for planning& making decisions is established by the group, but it is not clear and/or it focuses on individuals The group establishes informal roles for each member The workload could be distributed more equally Scheduled meetings minutes Scheduled meetings are often recorded minutes are rarely and the recorded and the contribution of efforts are each team scattered members are NOT identified The group does not establish roles for each member Roles & and/or the Distribution workload is unequally distributed Meeting Minutes Satisfactory Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A A clear procedure for planning & making decisions in research work is informally established by all members of the group Exemplary 10 A clear procedure for planning & making decisions in research work is formally established by all members of the group The group establishes clear and formal roles for each member and distributes the workload equally The group establishes and documents clear and formal roles for each member and distributes the workload equally Scheduled meetings minutes are usually recorded and the contribution of each team members are identified Scheduled meetings minutes are always recorded and the contribution of each team members are identified Page 61 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 Rubrics for Teamwork (10%) Rubrics for Peer Evaluation (5%) Name of member: _Phạm Hữu Khải _ Item/ Weight Unsatisfactory Does not collect any relevant Contribution information; no to the team useful suggestions project to address team's needs; Does not perform assigned tasks; often misses meetings and, when present, Taking does not have responsibility anything constructive to say; relies on others to the work; Rarely listens to, shares with, and Working with supports the others efforts of others; often uses inappropriate language; often is not a good team member Developing Satisfactory Collects information when prodded; tries to offer some ideas, but not well developed, and not clearly expressed, to meet team's needs; Performs assigned tasks but needs many reminders; attends meetings regularly but generally does not say anything constructive; sometimes expects others to his/her work; Usually listens to others but sometimes does not pay much attention when others talk, and assumes their ideas will not work; Collects basic, useful information related to the research, occasionally offers useful ideas to meet the team's needs; Exemplary 10 Collects and presents to the team a great deal of relevant information; offers well-developed and clearly expressed ideas directly related to the group's topic Performs all assigned tasks; attends meetings regularly and usually participates effectively; Performs all tasks very effectively; attends all meetings and participates enthusiastically; Generally listens to others' points of view; always uses appropriate and respectful language; tries to make a definite effort to understand others' ideas; Almost always listens to others and their ideas; helps them develop their ideas while giving them full credit Evaluator's name: Nguyen Hoang Bach Truc Date of evaluation: 19/6/2021 Updated in July 2019 Prepared by: Le Thi Thuy, M.A Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Head of the Division: Tran Kieu My An, Ph.D Page 62 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI ID Number: 17050551 Rubrics for Teamwork (10%) Rubrics for Peer Evaluation (5%) Name of member: _Phạm Hữu Khải _ Item/ Weight Unsatisfactory Does not collect any relevant Contribution information; no to the team useful suggestions project to address team's needs; Does not perform assigned tasks; often misses meetings and, when present, Taking does not have responsibility anything constructive to say; relies on others to the work; Rarely listens to, shares with, and Working with supports the others efforts of others; often uses inappropriate language; often is not a good team member Developing Satisfactory Collects information when prodded; tries to offer some ideas, but not well developed, and not clearly expressed, to meet team's needs; Performs assigned tasks but needs many reminders; attends meetings regularly but generally does not say anything constructive; sometimes expects others to his/her work; Usually listens to others but sometimes does not pay much attention when others talk, and assumes their ideas will not work; Collects basic, useful information related to the research, occasionally offers useful ideas to meet the team's needs; Exemplary 10 Collects and presents to the team a great deal of relevant information; offers well-developed and clearly expressed ideas directly related to the group's topic Performs all assigned tasks; attends meetings regularly and usually participates effectively; Performs all tasks very effectively; attends all meetings and participates enthusiastically; Generally listens to others' points of view; always uses appropriate and respectful language; tries to make a definite effort to understand others' ideas; Almost always listens to others and their ideas; helps them develop their ideas while giving them full credit Evaluator's name: Quach Uyen Nghi Date of evaluation: _19/6/2021 _ Updated in July 2019 Prepared by: Le Thi Thuy, M.A Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A Head of the Division: Tran Kieu My An, Ph.D Page 63 Student’s name: PHẠM HỮU KHẢI Supervisor: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH LUẬT, M.A ID Number: 17050551 Page 64