Thực hành dịch cơ bản 1 tài liệu học tập dành cho sinh viên tiếng anh

Trang 14 PART 1: TRANSLATING SENTENCES CHAPTER 1 IDENTIFYING AND TRANSLATING PARTS OF A SENTENCE 1.1 Introduction A sentence is, no doubt, the fundamental element of a text.. As often ha

What is translation and how important is it?

Ever since the written literature came into being, translation has been used as a means of communication and information exchange between parties speaking different languages Today, anything that is written can be translated: advertisements, books, games software, legal documents, websites, film subtitles, etc and the list is almost endless

The verb ‘translate’ means to carry across In the context of communication, it is understood as “carrying across a message or a text.” Thus, translation has been considered as a process of communication that involves a sender and a receiver of a message

In this case, the sender sends a message that is coded in the source language (the language being translated from) The code is decoded into the target language (the language being translated to) by a translator before handing over to the receiver of the message Therefore, the purpose of translation is to pass on an understanding to people in their own language and create the same impact as the original text

In the globalized world, the social, economic and technological boundaries between nations have disappeared Translation has become an allied activity, helping to lift up the restrictions between nations Translation has also grown into a major form of communication, a strong channel for the circulation of ideas and opinions, information and influence.

The contents of the book

This course material is written for students of English as a Foreign Language, focusing on the practical aspects of translating familiar topics between English and Vietnamese Theoretical issues will be discussed in simple terms and only where necessary It is designed based on the unit descriptions (2018) for the compulsory course of Translation Practice 1 (course code ANH4172), issued by the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies, Faculty of English Therefore, the objectives of this course material are consonant with the objectives of the mentioned course Particularly, it aims to provide students with the fundamentals of general translation of sentences and short texts; raise students’ awareness of the similarities and differences in sentence structures and meanings between English and Vietnamese; build students’ skills to analyze and reproduce a text of medium length in the most appropriate language and layout

The contents of the course material are divided into two parts Part 1 focuses on translating sentences, providing students with tips of analyzing sentences and translating special segments in the sentence, such as adverbials, or grammatical aspects of sentence structure such as passive voice and relative clauses Part 2 focuses on translating short texts, including topics of Entertainments and Sports, Education and Healthcare and Business and Services

Texts for translation in this course material vary in terms of genres and styles with the view to familiarizing students to the translation of different text types The language of the texts is suitable to learners at the intermediate level of proficiency.

Identifying and translating parts of a sentence

Introduction

A sentence is, no doubt, the fundamental element of a text No matter how long or short the text is, it is made up of sentences Therefore, translating a text is based on translating sentences In general, a sentence is constructed from clauses Identifying componential clauses of a sentence is essential to understand the sentence well before the translation process takes place In this chapter, the basic steps to translating a sentence is presented with tips and techniques.

Identifying the main clause

A sentence, in the simplest term, includes the subject represented by a noun phrase and a finite verb or verb phrase In practice, the noun phrase as the subject is often modified by one or more phrases/clauses, and so is the verb phrase Consider the following sentence:

[1.1] SS: Theo tin từ Bộ Thông tin - Truyền thông, trong giai đoạn từ 2011 đến 2015, nguồn ngân sách nhà nước đầu tư cho phát triển lĩnh vực Thông tin - Truyền thông là 5.000 tỉ đồng

In this sentence, the main idea lies in ‘nguồn ngân sách nhà nước đầu tư cho phát triển lĩnh vực Thông tin - Truyền thông là 5.000 tỉ đồng,’ and thus the main clause of the whole sentence In this main clause, the subject is ‘nguồn ngân sách nhà nước’ and the complement is the amount of VND 5,000 billion

The core part of the sentence is as follows:

TS: The state budget is (worth) VND 5,000 billion.

Identifying the modifiers

There is further a question to solve in the subject of example [1.1]: What is the role of the phrase after the subject (‘đầu tư cho phát triển lĩnh vực Thông tin - Truyền thông’)? Answering this question helps to identify the function as well as the syntactic structure of the phrase in the sentence

The phrase is apparently adjectival It gives particular information about the noun phrase as subject As often happens in an English sentence, this phrase can be structured in the form of a relative clause, a participial phrase or a prepositional phrase: a relative clause: The state budget which is used for the development in the field of Information and Communication a participial phrase: The state budget allocated for the development in the field of Information and Communication a prepositional phrase: The state budget for the development in the field of Information and Communication

The complete main clause of the sentence is

TS: The state budget which is used for/allocated for/for the development of the field of Information and Communication is (worth) VND 5,000 billion

When the main clause is identified and translated, the remaining of the SS will be identified in terms of function and syntactic structure.

Identifying the adverbials

Also take example [1.1], the beginning of the sentence (‘Theo tin từ Bộ Thông tin - Truyền thông, trong giai đoạn từ 2011 đến 2015’) can be divided into two parts as they are separated by a comma The first part (Theo tin từ Bộ Thông tin - Truyền thông’) gives the source from which the information in the main clause comes, which is equivalent to the phrase ‘according to the Ministry of Information and Communication’ in English The second part

(‘trong giai đoạn từ 2011 đến 2015’) is an adverbial of time, equivalent to ‘in the period of 2011 - 2015’, ‘between 2011 and 2015’, or ‘from 2011 to 2015’

The English version for [1.1] is as follows:

TS: According to the Ministry of Information and Communication, in the period of 2011 - 2015, the state budget allocated for the development in the field of Information and Communication is (worth) VND 5,000 billion

The phrases in the English sentence, nonetheless, are not usually in the order as above There should be an adjustment, including re-ordering different parts of the sentence and conjugating the verb in the proper tense Firstly, since the adverbials are subordinate, they often come after the main clause in an unmarked (not showing any particular feature or style) sentence Secondly, an adverbial must appear together with the verb phrase it modifies In the case of SS [1.1], the period of time from 2011 to

2015 indicates the time for the budget allocation, and thus the adverbial must come after the verb ‘allocate’, whereas the prepositional phrase ‘according to the Ministry of Information and Communication’ indicates the source of information for the whole sentence, so it can be used at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence, separated from the sentence by a comma Furthermore, as the period of time is in the past, the main verb must be in the simple past tense:

[1.1] TS: The state budget allocated for the development in the field of Information and Communication in the period of 2011 - 2015 was (worth) VND 5,000 billion, according to the Ministry of Information and Communication.

Summary

These are steps to analyzing and translating sentences:

Breaking down sentences into parts by identifying the main clause, the modifiers and the adverbials

Translating the expression in SL into an equivalent in TL Putting different parts together to make a TS

Refining the TS in terms of syntax and style

Although the example [1.1] has Vietnamese as the SL, these steps are applicable to all sentences no matter what their SL is.

Practice Exercises

Break down each of the following sentences into the main clause and the subordinates, then translate them into English

1 Nổi lên với bài hát đầu tay Ướt mi (1957) qua tiếng hát Thanh Thúy, Trịnh Công Sơn trở thành một hiện tượng âm nhạc thời đó

2 Nhờ tính cần cù và ý chí mạnh mẽ, anh ấy đã gây dựng cơ nghiệp từ một số vốn rất khiêm tốn

3 Anh ấy bày tỏ hy vọng là công ty sẽ làm ăn phát đạt trong những năm tới

4 Các tình nguyện viên đã giúp đỡ các em học sinh có hoàn cảnh khó khăn

5 Giáo dục là một trong những cách tốt nhất để loại bỏ các bất bình đẳng xã hội và kinh tế

6 Lũ lụt đã làm ngập nhiều vùng ở duyên hải miền Trung, gây ách tắc giao thông nhiều nơi trên Quốc lộ 1A

7 Ông ấy từ chối tham dự cuộc họp, cho rằng ông không nhận được sự tôn trọng đúng mực

8 Trong 5 năm trở lại đây, khoa Tiếng Nhật, Đại học Hà Nội đã đào tạo được hơn 600 cử nhân chính quy và 260 cử nhân vừa làm vừa học

9 Làn sóng lây lan Covid-19 trên diện rộng ở Tokyo đặt thủ đô của Nhật Bản trước thách thức có thể tổ chức thế vận hội mùa hè vào tháng 7 năm 2021 hay không

10 Theo một nghiên cứu mới được công bố trên tạp chí

Neurology, lượng vitamin E và C trong chế độ ăn có liên quan tỷ lệ nghịch với nguy cơ mắc bệnh Parkinson

Break down each of the following sentences into the main clause and the subordinates, then translate them into English

1 The development of jazz can be seen as part of the larger continuum of American popular music, especially dance music In the twenties, jazz became the hottest new thing in dance music, much as ragtime had at the turn of the century, and as would rhythm and blues in the fifties, rock in the fifties, and disco in the seventies

2 Carnegie Hall, the famous concert hall in New York City, has again undergone a restoration While this is not the first, it is certainly the most extensive in the building’s history As a result of this new restoration, Carnegie Hall once again has the quality of sound that it had when it was first built

3 In some places, people can’t grow crops because the weather is too hot and dry, or too wet This often means that they don’t have enough to eat Sometimes, people can’t buy food because of a war, or a natural disaster like a bad storm Maybe food is too expensive and people don’t have enough money to feed themselves and their families

4 Tobacco is addictive, and smokers need increasingly larger doses to reach the desired effect They become physically and psychologically dependent on it and will suffer severe withdrawal symptoms when they do eventually quit smoking

5 Forbes reports that 72 per cent of Instagram users have bought something when using the app and 70 per cent of Pinterest users use the platform to find new and interesting products Companies can now create posts that allow users to shop directly on social media instead of companies’ own websites This allows retailers to reach their customers more quickly and easily.

Translating different types of Adverbials

Introduction

An adverbial is a group of words that function as an adverb in a sentence There are various types of adverbials in English They can be used to add explanatory detail about how or why things happen In other words, the types of adverbials are corresponding to the types of adverbs In speech practice, a group of words can function differently, and thus being assigned with different types of adverbials

In this chapter, common ways of translating adverbials will be presented, with a special focus on Vietnamese-English translation This is due to the fact that a Vietnamese adverbial can be rendered in many ways in English.

Translating Adverbials of Cause

In Vietnamese, the adverbial of cause is often indicated by the words vì, do, nhờ, etc In translating this, students often think of the clause beginning with the conjunction BECAUSE but there are more ways than just presenting a BECAUSE-clause Take the following sentence as an example

[2.1] SS: Do hiểu được nhu cầu nghiên cứu của sinh viên, khoa tiếng Anh đã bổ sung tủ sách và tân trang lại phòng đọc sách

In this sentence, the first part ‘Do hiểu được nhu cầu nghiên cứu của sinh viên’ is a subordinate clause indicating the cause leading to the action in the main part of the sentence ‘khoa tiếng

Anh đã bổ sung nhiều sách mới và tân trang lại phòng đọc sách’

This adverbial can be expressed in one of the following forms:

A clause beginning with the conjunction BECAUSE:

TS: Because the English Department is aware of students’ need for research, it has supplied several new books and refurbished the reading room

TS: Being aware of students’ need for research, the English Department has supplied several new books and refurbished the reading room

TS: Aware of students’ need for research, the English Department has supplied several new books and refurbished the reading room

TS: The English Department, which is aware of students’ need for research, has supplied several new books and refurbished the reading room

Note that analyzing a sentence before any translation is done is fundamental work It allows the translator to make a sensible choice.

Translating Adverbials of Time

Similar to adverbials of causes, the English adverbials of time can be expressed in many other ways than just a clause beginning with WHEN/WHILE Let us take an example

[2.2] SS: Khi còn nhỏ, anh ấy đã thể hiện tài năng hội họa The most common version for this sentence begins with the conjunction WHEN:

TS: When/while he was still a child, he already showed his talent in painting

There are, nonetheless, other ways of saying ‘khi còn nhỏ’ in

TS: While still a child, he already showed his talent in painting

TS: As a child, he already showed his talent in painting

TS: Being a child, he already showed his talent in painting

In some cases, much consideration should be taken for the choice of the adverbial of time in use because of the cognitive differences in the ways of expression between Vietnamese and English For example,

[2.3] SS: Mãi cho đến khi buổi họp kết thúc, anh ta mới xuất hiện

The problem of translating this sentence into English lies in how to put the phrase “mãi cho đến khi” into English words because there is nothing like *until when in English However, speakers of English often use NOT … UNTIL to express a similar situation, and thus the target sentence for this should be a negative sentence:

TS: He did not turn up until the meeting was over

In this sentence, therefore, we not only translate, but also transfer the meaning of the source sentence into the target sentence, taking into account the differences in the ways of expressing and the structural equivalents in the two languages.

Translating Adverbials of Place

Whereas the English adverbials of place are easily recognizable through conjunctions such as WHERE, WHEREVER, or

EVERYWHERE, the Vietnamese equivalents are often hidden

[2.4] SS: Tôi giấu chiếc chìa khóa ở chỗ không ai có thể tìm ra

In this sentence, the adverbial is complexly indicated through the phrase ở chỗ không ai có thể tìm ra that is literally translated as

“in the place which nobody could find” - a phrase with a relative clause The conjunction WHERE is hidden in the combination “in the place which”

TS: I put the key where nobody would find it

In the English-Vietnamese translation, however, WHERE in the relative clause is often translated as nơi or nơi mà This is a notable mismatch between the process of two-way translation.

Translating Adverbials of Manner

While the adverbials of manner in English are easily realized through AS, AS IF, AS THOUGH, HOW, JUST AS, or THE WAY THAT, the Vietnamese counterparts are often hidden The most common sign of an adverbial of manner in Vietnamese is the word như in the sentence

[2.5] SS: Cuộc sống bình lặng ở ngôi làng này vẫn trôi qua như nó vẫn vậy

TS: The quiet life of the village still goes by as it does

Sometimes, the expression như thế nào or nhường nào that appears after an experession that describes a characteristic or feeling is seen as an expression of manner:

[2.6] SS: Hãy chiêm ngưỡng 20 bức ảnh ấn này để biết thế giới quanh ta thú vị đến nhường nào

TS: Let’s (Please) admire these 20 impressive photos to see how interesting the world around us is

Adverbials of manner do not cause as much trouble to the process of Vietnamese-English translation as other types of adverbials may do.

Translating Adverbial of Condition

The conditional clause in an English sentence is introduced with the conjunction IF, or its similar forms such as UNLESS, IN CASE, PROVIDING, etc In Vietnamese, this adverbial is introduced with words and phrases such as nếu (‘if’), với điều kiện là (‘on the condition that ’), chỉ khi (‘only when’) etc The last expression chỉ khi (‘only when’) is sometimes used in the adverbial of time, which makes it very confusing to make a choice between the two types of adverbials in translating from Vietnamese into English

[2.7] SS: Nếu bị tuyên là có tội, ông ấy có thể đối diện mức án 10 năm tù

When the condition is emphasized, the IF-clause or its reduced clause is used

TS: If he is convicted, he may face a sentence of ten years (or, ten years in prison)

TS: If convicted, he may face a sentence of ten years (or, ten years in prison)

When the condition is not emphasized, a participial phrase can be used, which can be understood either as “if convicted” or as “when convicted”:

TS: Convicted, he may face a sentence of ten years (or, ten years in prison).

Translating Adverbials of Purpose

Adverbials of Purpose in Vietnamese are indicated by two words để and nhằm, which can be rendered in English by a variety of expressions: a prepositional phrase with FOR, an infinitive phrase with TO/IN ORDER TO, and a clause with SO THAT/IN ORDER THAT The following are examples of adverbials of purposes:

[2.8] SS: Họ nuôi bò để lấy thịt

For this sentence, the adverbial is often in the form of a prepositional phrase or an infinitive phrase:

TS: They raise cows for meat/to have meat

In other cases, a clause is more suitable

[2.9] SS: Trong phòng thi, bàn được xếp cách khá xa nhau để sinh viên không gian lận

TS: In the exam room, tables and chairs are arranged at a good distance so that the students cannot cheat

Sometimes, there are adverbials in Vietnamese in between the condition and the purpose This is the case of ‘muốn cần phải ’

[2.10] SS: Muốn có được một công việc tốt sau này, bây giờ các em cần phải trang bị cho mình các kỹ năng mềm bên cạnh việc nâng cao trình độ

The adverbial ‘muốn có được một công việc tốt sau này’ can be considered either as a condition or a purpose, and thus can be translated into English as follows:

TS: If you want to get a good job later, you now have to be prepared with soft skills in addition to widening your knowledge

TS: In order to get a good job later, you now have to be prepared with soft skills in addition to widening your knowledge

The four types of adverbials as listed above are common adverbials often encountered in doing translation There are, of course, several other types of adverbials as well as various ways of expressing them in the daily language use.

Translating Adverbials of Result

An adverbial of result sets the result of what happens when an activity is conducted In Vietnamese the adverbials of result often contain the words such as nên, khiến, làm cho, etc

[2.11] SS: Ngoài các bài đọc có chủ đề quen thuộc, quyển sách còn có hơn 100 hình ảnh minh họa bắt mắt nên nó nhanh chóng trở thành quyển sách bán chạy nhất

In English, the adverbials of result are often introduced by

A clause with the co-ordinative conjunction SO:

TS: In addition to the reading texts on familiar topics, the book contains more than 100 illustrations, so it soon becomes a best-seller

TS: In addition to the reading texts on familiar topics, the book contains more than 100 illustrations, making it soon a best-seller

TS: In addition to the reading texts on familiar topics, the book contains more than 100 illustrations, which makes it soon a best-seller

An independent clause, beginning with THIS:

In addition to the reading texts on familiar topics, the book contains more than 100 illustrations This makes it soon a best-seller

The way of using an independent clause in place of an adverbial of result implies that translation is not just a way of rendering words and phrases in the source language equivalents in the target language It is a process of transforming and transferring.

Translating Adverbials of Contrast

Adverbials of contrast (or concession) are used to show the difference between two ideas or actions, beginning with

ALTHOUGH, THOUGH, EVEN THOUGH, IN SPITE OF, DESPITE, WHILE and WHEREAS

In Vietnamese, the adverbials of contrast are signaled by dù, mặc dù, cho dù, which are often rendered by ALTHOUGH, THOUGH,

IN SPITE OF, or DESPITE in English

[2.12] SS: Bọn trẻ rất thích buổi cắm trại dù cuối buổi chiều trời mưa to

The adverbial of contrast is expressed in a clause:

TS: The children really enjoyed the camping although/though it rained heavily late in the afternoon

THOUGH and ALTHOUGH mean the same They are used with clauses giving unexpected results THOUGH can be used in any part of the sentence but ALTHOUGH cannot be used in the end of a sentence

TS: The children really enjoyed the camping, it rained heavily late in the afternoon, though

The adverbial of contrast is expressed in a nominal phrase:

TS: The children really enjoyed the camping, despite/in spite of heavy rain late in the afternoon

EVEN THOUGH is a slightly stronger form of ALTHOUGH It is often used in unexpected circumstances:

[2.13] SS: Chúng tôi quyết định mua nhà cho dù chúng tôi không có đủ tiền

TS: We decided to buy the house even though we didn’t really have enough money

The adverbials of contrast are also started with WHEREAS and

WHILE if the two ideas are opposite facts It does not matter that the two ideas must be negative and positive meaning

[2.14] SS: Hầu hết các máy tính bàn mới đều có nhiều cổng

USB, nhưng các loại máy cũ thì chỉ có một cổng

TS: Whereas most new PCs have several USB slots, older ones often only had one

Note that WHILE used in adverbial of time has a completely different meaning In English-Vietnamese translation, the contrastive indicator WHILE is often translated as trong khi đó This makes it easy for the reader to mistake it for the time indicator WHILE It is recommended that WHEREAS and WHILE should also be translated as mặc dù or cho dù to avoid such mistake when WHEREAS and

WHILE begin the sentences, and as nhưng if the clauses begun with

WHEREAS and WHILE come before the main clauses

[2.15] SS: While there was no conclusive evidence, most people thought he was guilty

TS: Mặc dù không có các bằng chứng chắc chắn, hầu hết mọi người đều nghĩ rằng anh ấy có tội

In case emphasis is needed, EVEN IF can be used In English,

EVEN IF is used to emphasize that it will not change a situation (although something may happen or may be true):

[2.16] SS: Tôi sẽ không bao giờ nói cho anh biết cho dù tôi biết

TS: I would never tell you even if I knew.

Practice Exercises

Identify the adverbials in the following sentences and then translate the sentences into English For each sentence, provide at least two English versions of the adverbials

1 Vì không nói được tiếng Anh, ông ấy phải làm điệu bộ để diễn đạt điều ông ấy muốn nói

2 Ấn Độ đã đạt được những thành tích ngoạn mục trong ngành công nghệ thông tin nhờ sự đầu tư đúng đắn của chính phủ vào hệ thống giáo dục

3 Để sản phẩm cạnh tranh được với hàng ngoại nhập, chúng ta phải cải tiến mẫu mã và chất lượng

4 Một chương trình ca nhạc hai đêm để tưởng niệm cố nhạc sĩ Trịnh Công Sơn đã diễn ra tại L’Espace, Hà Nội, nhân kỷ niệm ngày sinh của ông

5 Nếu bạn muốn đi nhanh, hãy đi một mình Nếu bạn muốn đi xa, hãy đi cùng nhau

6 Vì bạn có những trải nghiệm tôi không có và tôi có những trải nghiệm bạn không có, chúng ta luôn tạo được tiềm năng cho những ý tưởng tuyệt vời khi chúng ta cùng nhau

7 Dù bức tranh của em không phải là một kiệc tác, thầy phải thừa nhận màu sắc em sử dụng thật sự gây ấn tượng với thầy

8 Nếu hệ thống thoát nước không được cải thiện, đường phố sẽ ngập lụt trong mùa mưa

9 Đường đến nhà em anh chỉ mất có 20 phút, nhưng đường đến tim em anh phải mất đến 2 năm

10 Nếu bệnh dịch không được ngăn chặn kịp thời, nguy cơ lây nhiễm ở trẻ em sẽ rất cao

Identify the adverbials in the following sentences and then translate the sentences into Vietnamese

1 In the days of Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the music industry had been mainly about making music and selling records

2 Japan’s Emperor Akihito formally abdicated Tuesday, 30 April, 2019 during a historic ceremony in Tokyo, becoming the country’s first monarch to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne in two centuries

3 If you are a beachcombing visitor to the Hebrides Islands or Scotland’s western coast, you might be surprised by what the sea offers up in the way of beach treasures

4 Because New Zealand lies in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are the reverse of those in the Northern Hemisphere Our summer is their winter, and the farther north one travels in New Zealand, the warmer it gets

5 When the Polynesian navigator Kupe came across New Zealand in about 950 A.D., he called it Aotearoa – the Land of the Long White Cloud

6 While the number of families with access to the Internet and cable television has risen sharply in the past decade, what tends to be overlooked is that a significant proportion of households are unable to afford the fees for these services

7 In Britain the hottest month of the year is July, while in

Australia it is usually the coldest

8 In most Western nations, Christmas Day is the least active day of the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity (more than any other day of the year), whether laws require such or not

9 The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was first built between 220–206 BC It began as independent walls for different states when it was first built, and did not become the “Great” wall until the Qin

10 Emperor Qin Shihuang succeeded in his effort to have the walls joined together to serve as fortification to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from invasion

Afterwards it was rebuilt and maintained over the years, between the 5th century BC and the 16th century.

Translating English Prepositional Phrases

Introduction

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition followed by a noun phrase or a nominal phrase

[3.1] into the house after them on the table in the street

A prepositional phrase never occurs alone because it functions as a modifier in the sentence However, it is flexibly placed in several positions in a sentence:

When it is placed at the beginning of a sentence, it is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma

[3.2] SS: In the meeting, many executive members express their disappointment to the turnover rate

TS: Trong cuộc họp, các thành viên quản trị thể hiện sự thất vọng đối với tỷ lệ doanh thu

The prepositional phrase can occur in the middle or at the end of the sentence

[3.3] Lizza is in the garden taking care of the roses

Lizza đang ở trong vườn chăm sóc những chậu hoa hồng [3.4] I go on a diet with low-carb

Tôi giảm cân với thực đơn ít tinh bột

In this chapter, prepositional phrases will be introduced in terms of their functions in sentences, and the translation of these phrases will be analyzed based on the common mistakes that come from students’ translation work The focus is the translation of English prepositional phrases into Vietnamese because prepositional phrases are language-specific of English and there is no counterpart in Vietnamese.

The Functions of Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases occur with high frequency in English texts because they have several functions

3.2.1 Prepositional phrases as adjectival phrases

One of the functions of the prepositional phrase is to modify a noun to it clear, specific:

[3.5] SS: The rose is a flower of great beauty

TS: Hoa hồng là loài hoa tuyệt đẹp

[3.6] SS: I have passed a night without sleep

TS: Tôi vừa có một đêm không ngủ

When the prepositional phrase functions as an adjectival phrase in the sentence, the preposition is sometimes not translated as in [3.5]

A prepositional phrase can add some information to make a verb, an adjective or even an adverb clearer and more precise In example [3.7] the prepositional phrase functions as an adverb to modify the verb

[3.7] SS: She arranged the porcelain plates with care

TS: Cô ấy sắp xếp những chiếc đĩa sứ [rất] cẩn thận

Prepositional phrases can go after an adjective, as in [3.8], and after an adverb, as in [3.9], as follows:

[3.8] SS: Her face was pale with fright

TS: Cô ấy xanh mặt vì hoảng sợ

[3.9] SS: The plane arrived late in the afternoon

TS: Máy bay hạ cánh lúc chiều muộn

Similar to a prepositional phrase as an adjectival phrase, when the prepositional phrase functions as an adverbial in the sentence, the preposition is sometimes not translated as in [3.7].

Common mistakes in translating Prepositional Phrases

It is clear that the prepositional phrase is widely used in everyday English, and thus prepositional phrases are undoubtedly part of the common things to translate The problem lies in the grammatical mismatch between the two languages

Each preposition in Vietnamese has its own meaning that is not affected by the noun, adjective or verb that goes with it On the contrary, the meaning of a preposition in English depends on the words it goes with The difference explains the mistakes that EFL learners often make when they do the translation

For example, the preposition AT, which is often rendered in Vietnamese as tại, ở (for place) and lúc (for time) However, it depends on

[3.10] SS: It was love at first sight, and he proposed to me six weeks later

TS: *Chúng tôi đã yêu nhau tại cái nhìn đầu tiên, và anh ấy đã cầu hôn tôi sáu tuần sau đó

TS: Chúng tôi đã yêu nhau từ cái nhìn đầu tiên, và anh ấy đã cầu hôn tôi sáu tuần sau đó

[3.11] SS: John just wants to win at any price

TS: *John muốn thắng tại/ở bất cứ giá nào

TS: John muốn thắng bằng bất cứ giá nào (= bằng mọi giá)

3.3.2 Translating without considering idiomatic meaning

In English, there is no rule of prepositional collocations The same preposition can have different meaning if it combines with words of different grammatical categories These combinations often occur in idioms, which requires the translator to have a good command of the idioms in use For example,

[3.12] SS: She says she’s leaving him for good

TS: *Cô ấy nói rằng cô ấy rời bỏ anh ấy để cho tốt TS: Cô ấy nói rằng cô ấy sẽ rời bỏ anh ấy mãi mãi

It is rare to have a combination in which an adjective follows a preposition as in ‘for good’ A good observation will help the translator figure out this combination to be idiomatic This means that a close look up in the dictionary is necessary for a precise meaning Similarly, the expression ‘at length’ has the idiomatic meaning of “having a lot of details” in the following example:

[3.13] SS: He quoted at length from the report

TS: * Anh ấy đã trích dẫn dài từ bản báo cáo

TS: Anh ấy đã trích dẫn chi tiết từ bản báo cáo.

Practice Exercise

Identify the prepositional phrases in the following sentences and try to translate the sentences into Vietnamese

1 My grandma has been under the weather

2 Tom is such a playful boy He can play outside till the cows come home

3 Students must discuss their proposals in depth with their advisers

4 He showed up at our house out of the blue

5 Brian will be out of town this weekend

6 Bob made raspberry cupcakes from scratch

7 To achieve this agreement, there has been a lot of negotiation behind the scene

8 The villages are no more than a mile apart as the crow flies

9 It was regretful that she had made the decision on the spur of the moment

10 His measures brought the country to the verge of economic collapse

11 Within reason, the provincial authorities do what they can to prevent traffic accidents

12 They still haven’t said if I’ve got the job The decision is up in the air at the moment

13 The local government has come under fire from the media that they have done too little to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus

14 Stephen’s proposal is beside the point of our project It is unrealistic!

15 After hearing the news, she felt in a daze

Translate the following sentences into English Pay attention to the use of appropriate prepositions

1 Tham gia hoạt động ngoại khoá là việc làm rất tốt đối với sinh viên

2 Bảo tàng chứng tích chiến tranh mở cửa cho tất cả các du khách

3 Thầy giáo ấy rất được học sinh yêu thích vì thầy có phương pháp dạy học hay

4 Cô ấy có vẻ không nghiêm túc trong việc tham dự khoá đào tạo biên dịch viên

5 Thằng bé rất hứng thú về chuyến đi chơi Nha Trang vào tuần tới

6 Chúng ta nên đọc cảnh báo về sự lây lan của bệnh dịch

7 Dự án này có được thực hiện hay không tuỳ thuộc vào quyết định của thủ tướng chính phủ

8 Cô ấy đã gọi điện chúc mừng tôi vì tôi giành giải nhất cuộc thi

9 Tôi nghĩ bạn không nên tiêu quá nhiều tiền vào việc hát karaoke hàng tuần

10 Quang là một thanh niên đầy ắp những ý tưởng mới trong đầu

11 Họ chiến đấu hết sức dũng cảm

12 Trước mặt mọi người anh ấy ủng hộ kế hoạch của tôi, nhưng anh ấy chỉ trích kế hoạch đó khi gặp riêng tôi

13 Không ai có thể nói một cách chắc chắn tương lai chúng ta sẽ như thế nào trong mười năm tới

14 Điều này, xét một cách tích cực nhất, cũng chỉ là một giải pháp tạm thời

15 Thật đáng tiếc là kết quả đã hoàn toàn trái ngược với kỳ vọng của anh ta.

Translating Relative Clauses

Introduction

Relative clauses are generally regarded as a point of grammar in European languages; however, they are often better treated as a point of style when they are translated into languages, especially East Asian languages Research into translating relative clauses has been carried out in many language pairs, such as English-Thai (Leenakitti & Pongpairoj, 2019), English-Vietnamese (Nguyen,

According to Nguyen (2002), Vietnamese EFL learners often have difficulties translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese They tend to use the connective word mà to join the main clause and the subordinate clause This makes the target sentence sound “Western” rather than “pure Vietnamese” The problem may come from the mismatch in grammatical issues between the two languages Many Vietnamese linguists (e.g., Diệp Quang Ban, 1989); Hoàng Trọng Phiến, 2009) stated that the Vietnamese language does not have relative pronouns, and that the word mà that EFL learners often used in their translation was a function word, connecting the two parts of the sentence However, although there is no such a relative pronoun in Vietnamese, there are ways of expressing the relative clause structures.

An overview of relative clauses in English

This section provides an overview of relative clauses as part of English grammar It is adapted from the online sources of British Council Online English Courses

A relative clause is adjectival It comes after the noun or noun phrase to tell more about the people or things or to join two clauses There are two types of relative clauses: defining and non-defining relative clauses

A defining relative clause tells which people or thing we are talking about:

[4.1] I like the woman who lives next door

Without “who lives next door” we do not know which woman is being talked about

A non-defining relative clause gives us extra information about something We don’t need this information to understand the sentence, but it is good to have extra information

[4.2] I live in London, which has some fantastic parks

Everyone knows London, so “which has some fantastic parks” does not help to identify London, but add more information about London

Relative clauses are introduced by WHO, WHICH, WHOM, WHOSE,

WHERE and WHEN In the next section, different ways of translating relative clauses will be presented based on the types of relative clauses and the relative words that introduce the relative clauses.

Ways of translating English relative clauses

As mentioned, the use of connective word mà in the target sentence when translating relative clauses from English into Vietnamese is not effective For one thing, it makes the target sentence sound ‘foreign’ For another, the word mà does not match the grammatical category of those used to introduce the relative clause Therefore, it is essential to adjust and/or adapt the translation of relative clauses

4.3.1 Translating clauses with WHERE and WHEN

In most situations, WHERE can be literally translated into Vietnamese words nơi However, it is sometimes omitted

When the SS contains the word PLACE, the word WHERE should be omitted, because these two words are equivalent to Vietnamese words nơi

[4.3] SS: Do you remember the place where we caught the bus?

TS: Anh còn nhớ nơi chúng ta đón xe buýt không?

When the SS contains a word that is generally understood as a place, the word WHERE is often omitted

[4.4] SS: Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where Shakespeare was born

TS1: Stratford-upon-Avon là thị trấn nơi Shakespeare đã ra đời

TS2: Stratford-upon-Avon là thị trấn Shakespeare đã ra đời

Similar to WHERE, WHEN can be translated into Vietnamese as khi or omitted in the Vietnamese sentences

When the SS contains the phrase THE TIME, the translated version can be ‘khoảng thời gian khi/lúc’:

[4.5] SS: The time when I was studying at college was the best learning experience in my life

TS: Khoảng thời gian khi tôi học đại học là trải nghiệm học hỏi đẹp nhất của đời tôi

When the SS contains a word or phrase that is generally used as an expression of time (e.g., the day, the holiday, summer), WHEN is often omitted in the TS

[4.6] SS: I remember my twentieth birthday It was the day when the tsunami happened

TS: Tôi vẫn nhớ sinh nhật lần thứ 21 của mình Hôm ấy là ngày xảy ra sóng thần

As WHOSE is a word indicating possessive relation to the antecedent noun, in most situations, this word is translated into Vietnamese as có

[4.7] SS: The woman whose car is a BMW is coming tonight

TS: Người phụ nữ có chiếc xe BMW tối nay sẽ đến [4.8] SS: Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse? TS: Bạn có biết thằng bé có mẹ làm y tá không?

4.3.3 Translating clauses with WHO / WHOM and WHICH

Words like WHO, WHOM and WHICH in English relative clauses are usually not translated into Vietnamese The relative clause turns to be a modifier to the noun in the target sentence

[4.9] SS: I don’t like people who are big-headed

TS: Tôi không thích những kẻ kiêu căng

4.3.4 Other ways of translating relative clauses

There are some situations in which other ways of translating are needed because the omission of the relative words (relative pronouns) may affect the smoothness and naturalness of the target sentence

The non-defining relative clauses sometimes look like appositive clauses because they appear between two commas and the uses of these two clauses are somewhat similar Although

Vietnamese grammar does not have relative clauses, Vietnamese speakers do use appositive clauses Therefore, it is a useful alternative providing there is an appropriate adjustment

[4.10] SS: St Andrew University, which is the oldest university in Scotland, is the Scottish equivalent of Oxford

TS: Đại học St Andrew, Đại học cổ kính nhất Scotland, được coi là bản sao của Đại học Oxford của nước này

As mentioned, it is important to adjust the target sentence to avoid unnecessary repetition because the apposition in English often repeats the key noun or nominal expression, or makes use of a synonym of the key noun

4.3.4.2 Splitting the source sentence into independent simple sentences

Splitting the SS into independent simple sentences is a good way to handle the translation of the SS that contain a non-defining clause, as the ideas in the two clauses are fairly independent

[4.11] SS: My grandmother, who is 96 now, is a big fan of the

TS: Bà tôi là một người hâm mộ cuồng nhiệt của nhóm nhạc Beatles Bà năm nay đã 96 tuổi

This way of translation is also applicable to a relative clause that modifies the whole idea of the main clause

[4.12] SS: New Zealand has no snakes or dangerous wild animals, which makes it the ideal spot for an outdoor vacation

TS: New Zealand (Tân Tây Lan) không có rắn hoặc các động vật hoang dã nguy hiểm Điều đó khiến đất nước này trở thành địa điểm lý tưởng cho những kỳ nghỉ ngoài trời.

Practice Exercises

Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese Pay attention to the intelligible ways of expressing English relative clauses in the target sentences

1 The Ring of Fire, which goes from New Zealand up to Asia and across the ocean to Alaska, is an enormous chain of volcanoes all around the Pacific Ocean

2 To many people around the world, Australia is the land of kangaroos and koala bears, where residents and tourists alike romp on any of thousands of beaches

3 The coat, which Dan had on yesterday, was made of pure alpaca and cost a bomb

4 To calm his angry girlfriend, Joey offered an apology which Francine did not accept

5 Brian said goodnight to his roommate Justin, who continued to play video games until his eyes were blurry with fatigue

6 The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked

7 The car, the driver of which jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed

8 The early 1980s was a hard time when most Vietnamese people were very poor

9 The Maya civilization was developed by the Maya peoples in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador

10 The heavy rain, which was unusual for the time of year, destroyed most of the plants in my garden

Translate the following sentences into English Note that relative clauses can be used in the target sentences

1 Là một siêu sao, Cristiano Ronaldo luôn trở thành tâm điểm của cánh báo chí Chính điều này đã khiến cho cuộc sống của anh đôi khi trở nên căng thẳng và dễ tổn thương

2 Tôi muốn đi Tây Ban Nha vào mùa đông, khi ấy sẽ ít khách du lịch hơn

3 Anh ấy rất tiếc vì đã không cưới được cô gái tôi yêu tha thiết

4 Đến bây giờ anh ấy vẫn muốn biết lý do vì sao cô ấy từ chối tôi

5 Chúng tôi tìm kiếm ứng viên là người địa phương hoặc có am hiểu về địa phương nơi thực hiện dự án

6 Công viên mở cửa tự do cho dân chúng ngoại trừ một ngày cuối tuần khi người ta tổ chức trưng bày hoa

7 Đó là người phụ nữ giàu nhất vùng Vàng bạc trong nhà của bà ấy bị trộm hôm qua

8 Học viện là nơi có sinh viên từ khắp nơi trên thế giới đến học tiếng Anh cung cấp rất nhiều khóa học linh hoạt

9 Không có con đường bằng phẳng và rộng mở trong khoa học; chỉ những ai không sợ vất vả, khó khăn mới có thể đạt đến thành tựu cao nhất

10 Chuyến bay bị hoãn, đồng nghĩa với việc chúng tôi phải chờ thêm 3 tiếng nữa ở sân bay.

Translating Passive Voice

Introduction

Passive voice is a natural part of English grammar There has been much controversy about its use because it sometimes causes difficulty to even native speakers of English However, it is undeniable that it is useful in some specific genres

In English, the passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action Toyota (2009) described the English passive voice as follows:

It is commonly divided into two constructions, the verbal passive and the adjectival passive The distinction is made according to the characteristics of the past participle When it behaves like the verb, the construction is considered to be the verbal passive and when it shows adjectival characteristics, the adjectival passive” (p 476-477)

For the verbal passive, the sentence structure pattern comprises:

SUBJECT [ RECIPIENT OF ACTION ]+ BE + PAST PARTICIPLE

Many EFL speakers often translate ‘by’ into Vietnamese as bởi, retaining the structure of the English sentence This translation is acceptable among English users while it sounds strange to the ears of non-English users

On the part of Vietnamese, it is often thought that the passive notion is often presented through the use of được or bị, which means ‘receiving the positive or negative effect’, respectively Consider the following English source sentences (SS) and the Vietnamese target sentences (TS)

[5.1] SS: Jill was given a bar of chocolate

TS: Jill được cho một thanh sô-cô-la

[5.2] SS: A bar of chocolate was given to Jill

TS: *Một thanh sô-cô-la được đưa cho Jill

The Vietnamese sentence in [3.2] does not sound natural in Vietnamese A remedy in this situation is that we change it into active voice by adding an indefinite person subject người ta, có người or ai đó:

Người ta đưa một thanh sô-cô-la cho Jill or, Có người đưa một thanh sô-cô-la cho Jill

There are certain difficulties for the translation from Vietnamese to English, too This is due to the differences in the way of expressing and the category of verbs For example, it is natural for a Vietnamese to say ‘Tôi được biết là anh đã chuyển vào thành phố Hồ Chí Minh sinh sống’ In this sentence, the word được does not mean anything passive, so the passive target sentence does not make any sense to the target audience: *I am known that you have moved to Ho Chi Minh City

In fact, the phrase được biết means that the speaker happens to know something The following sentence should be a better translated version:

[5.3] TS: I heard that you moved to Ho Chi Minh City

In the following sections, particular ways of translating passive voice will be presented with the view to helping students deal with their translation more effectively.

Ways of translating passive sentences into Vietnamese

When the action is emphasized, passive sentences can be translated into Vietnamese as cần phải or nên

[5.4] SS: Preventive measures should be taken to reduce crime in the area

TS: Cần phải áp dụng các biện pháp phòng tránh để giảm tội phạm trong khu vực

When the passive sentence comes in the causative form, that is, someone else will make the action happen, the Vietnamese equivalent depends on the context In most situations, the Vietnamese expressions should be cho (làm gì) as in [3.4] and đi (làm gì) as in [3.5]

[5.5] SS: She will have an air-conditioner installed in the dining room

TS: Bà ấy sẽ cho lắp đặt một máy điều hòa trong phòng ăn

[5.6] SS: I had my hair cut yesterday

TS: Hôm qua tôi đi cắt tóc

Sometimes, the Vietnamese sentence does not have any indication of the source sentence being passive:

[5.7] SS: I had this photo taken when I went on holiday in

TS: Tôi chụp ảnh này khi đi nghỉ hè ở Đức

When the source sentence begins with the passive structure:

IT IS + PAST PARTICIPLE + THAT + CLAUSE the target sentence often begins with an active reporting clause: người ta rằng

If the source sentence begins with IT IS EXPECTED THAT the target sentence can be expressed in an impersonal way: Dự báo/dự kiến rằng

[5.8] SS: It is supposed that thieves doped a guard dog and stole $10, 000 worth of goods

TS: Người ta cho rằng kẻ trộm đã đánh thuốc chó bảo vệ và lấy đi món hàng có giá trị 10.000 đô-la

[5.9] SS: It is expected that there will be over ten million

Vietnamese travelling abroad via aviation next year

TS: Dự báo trong năm tới sẽ có hơn mười triệu khách Việt Nam đi du lịch nước ngoài bằng máy bay/qua đường hàng không

In some situations, you need to understand the action, the actor and the reason behind the action to produce a sound translated version For example,

[5.10] Something must be done (Consider in which context can the sentence be used, who can do something, why it is done, etc.)

[5.11] This system is already being introduced (Consider what system it could be, who introduces it, to whom it is introduced, where it is introduced, etc.)

[5.12] Transport must be felt reliable, convenient and comfortable (Consider in which context, who feels reliable, convenient and comfortable, etc.)

Ways of translating passive sentences into English

As mentioned, Vietnamese sentences containing the word được are not necessarily passive sentences The translation of these sentences, therefore, needs a special consideration The optimal remedy is to make the English sentence active For example,

[5.13] SS: Chúng tôi đến sân vận động sớm để được thưởng thức không khí vui nhộn

TS: *We arrived at the stadium early to be enjoyed the exciting atmosphere

The word được in this situation can be considered as a filler or can mean “an opportunity to do something.” The source sentence, in this sense, should be translated as it is an active sentence

TS: We arrived at the stadium early to enjoy the exciting atmosphere

In some cases, the word được connotes a benefit as a result of a certain activity Therefore, translating a Vietnamese sentence containing được should sometimes be a transfer of the meaning, which requires a change of the main verb as in the target sentence [5.3] above.

Practice Exercises

Passive voice is used in almost every sentence in the following texts Translate the texts into Vietnamese, make sure passive voice is appropriately expressed in the target texts

Once Birmingham and Sheffield, two of the largest towns in England, began to quarrel The quarrel started as each of them claimed to be able to produce the most skillful piece of work

A special jury was chosen to decide which city would show the greatest skill The day arrived A steel spider with long thin legs was produced by representatives of Sheffield The spider was made by the best workers It was as small as a pea It ran about on the table as if it were alive A wonderful mechanism had been put in that little body Everybody was sure that the first place would be given to Sheffield Then a sewing needle was laid on the table by representatives of Birmingham A smile appeared on the lips of the jury when the needle was noticed

Then the top of the needle was screwed off and 4 needles were drawn out, one from another The first needle, as it was, had been the case of the four other needles The needles were handed over to each member and examined with great interest In whose favour did the jury decide?

The hamburger is the most eaten food in the whole world The first hamburgers were made and sold in Connecticut in 1895 by an American called Louis Lassen Louis called them hamburgers because he was given the recipe by sailors from Hambourg in Germany

Hamburgers became a favourite meal in America in the early part of the twentieth century Their popularity grew even more after the second world war, when they were bought in large quantities by teenagers who preferred fast food to family meals In 1948, a hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California was opened by two brothers Dick and Mac Donald

Since then over 25,000 McDonald’s restaurants have been opened worldwide Now 35 million MacDonald’s hamburgers are eaten every day in 115 countries from India to the Artic Circle

Translate the following sentences into English Note that the use of

‘được’ and ‘bị’ sometimes does not have to be expressed in passive voice in English, while some Vietnamese ways of speaking require passive voice expressions in English

1 Sinh viên theo học tại khoa tiếng Anh sẽ được học với đội ngũ giảng viên có kinh nghiệm, nhiệt tình trong môi trường năng động, và hệ thống cơ sở vật chất hiện đại

2 Ngoài các chương trình học tập chính khóa, sinh viên được tham gia vào các hoạt động ngoại khóa, các câu lạc bộ để rèn luyện các kỹ năng mềm và tạo kết nối xã hội

3 Tổng điều tra dân số và nhà ở năm 2019 được tiến hành vào ngày 01/4/2019 theo Quyết định số 772/QĐ-TTg ngày 26/6/2018

4 Mặc dù tỉ lệ hút thuốc đang giảm tại nhiều nước trên thế giới, ước tính đến năm 2025 vẫn có khoảng 18 triệu người hút thuốc tại Việt Nam, chiếm 23% dân số cả nước

5 Triều Tiên đang cho lắp đặt lại nhiều loa tuyên truyền cỡ lớn ở các khu vực dọc biên giới liên Triều Những chiêc loa này đã từng dỡ bỏ theo thỏa thuận vào năm 2018 với Hàn Quốc

6 Khoảng 30% người Việt Nam trưởng thành bị mất ngủ và không thể làm tốt công việc trong ngày hôm sau

7 Khán giả VTV sẽ được thưởng thức một chương trình nghệ thuật đặc sắc chào mừng Tết Độc lập của đất nước

8 Khi bạn tham gia các hoạt động tình nguyện bạn sẽ được gặp gỡ với nhiều bạn đồng trang lứa hoặc các anh chị lớn hơn để học hỏi kinh nghiệm trong học tập và cuộc sống

9 Chính quyền thành phố vừa cho nâng cấp hệ thống thoát nước để chống ngập lụt vào mùa mưa

10 Người ta cho rằng có quá nhiều trở ngại đối với tiến trình hoà bình tại Trung Đông

CHAPTER 6 TRANSLATING TEXTS OF SPORTS AND

The theme Sports and Entertainments most often appears in the form of media stories Translating media stories is both interesting and challenging It is interesting because it has a number of visual elements that may help the translator specify the meaning in context It is challenging because it has its own way of expression and in certain cases, punctuation had to change In other words, the biggest challenge in translating such stories is finding the appropriate language for the audience

In translating texts of the theme Sports and Entertainments between English and Vietnamese, there is also the terminological difficulty as certain sports and entertainment forms are too foreign to the target audience This requires the translator to understand the subject matter as well as get well-prepared for the glossary These can be accomplished by researching the subject matter prior to the translation

6.2 Building vocabulary for ‘Sports and Entertainments’

For texts on the theme of Sports and Entertainments, it is necessary to read the text carefully to make sure you understand the text and make a list of special terms related to the subject matter in the text Pay attention to the media nickname, especially in internationally-recognized sports such as football or tennis When you check the equivalents of these terms in the target language, keep in mind that the terms can be borrowed and reused in the target text and, if necessary, there should be a footnote to explain or give further information The following tasks will provide you with some basic topic-related vocabulary

Task 1: Use the words/phrases below to label the football pitch, then provide a Vietnamese equivalent for each word/phrase centre circle goal line corner area penalty spot centre line goal box half-way line penalty area centre spot touch line

A Football Pitch (photo taken from the Internet)

Task 2: Match a sport term in column A with a description in column B, then provide a Vietnamese equivalent for each term

1 arena (n) A events of running, jumping, throwing, etc

2 amateur (n) B to shout encouragement to a team or a player

3 athlete (n) C the person one competes against in a contest or a game

5 beat (n) E a shot that is hit in a high arc, usually over the opponent’s head

6 captain (n) F a level area for holding sports events, surrounded by seats for spectators

7 cheer on (v) G to defeat someone in a game or a competition

8 lob (n.) H an attitude of fairness, respect for opponents, and graciousness in winning or losing

9 offside (n) I a person who trains for and competes in a sport

K In an illegal position ahead of the ball (in football, rugby, hockey, etc.)

12 draw (n) L the leader of a team

Task 3: Complete the crossword puzzle with words or phrases related to entertainment

1 a group of people, sometimes with trained animals, who perform acts with skill in a show that travels around to different places

3 a small piece of paper or card for admission to an event

4 a musical play in which most of the words are sung

7 someone who moves their feet and body to music

10 someone who creates artistic pictures

13 a building where objects of historical interest are kept

14 where people can watch a performance or other activity

15 someone who is skilled in playing an instrument

1 a building where games are played for money

5 a performance with different characters acting out a story

6 someone who performs in films or plays

8 a sign indicating that you are on a social media app

11 a group of people gathered together to watch or listen to a performance

12 a building where people pay to watch films

Task 4: Complete the sentences with the words in the right column, then translate them into Vietnamese

1 Did you hear that his last film made an absolute ? a change

2 I have to renew my to Film Monthly next month b income

3.You have to have a star in your film if you want success c industry

4 I watch TV more now because the cinema has become quite d spending

5 Unless her next film makes a good , her career will be in trouble e expense

6 The producers decided that it wouldn’t be

to film in the Caribbean f commercial

7 The cinema has started to half-price for students and pensioners g fee

8 The shop refused to exchange the video unless I could find the h fortunate

9 The star was annoyed when he had to attend the film premiere at his own i fund

10 A survey shows that on cinema- going has increased by ten per cent j economical

11 A new film studio has opened up in the old

area outside the town k dear

12 He became incredibly when he invested in a film that won five Oscars l profit

13 Most directors work hard to find producers to their next film m subscription

14 The actress demanded an increase in her

when they made her part longer n receipt

15 My has dropped since I changed job so I can’t really afford luxuries like the cinema o wealthy

(Adapted from Mann & Taylore-Knowles, 2003)

Activity 1: Read the text below and answer these questions

1 What is the text about?

2 What kind of language is used in the text?

3 What is the tone of the text?

As stated in the text, ‘cầu mây’ is not of British origin, and thus it has no English name When you encounter a concept that is foreign to both source and target language, you can use the term in its original language, in this case, sepak takraw Note that when a foreign term is used, it must be italicized in the text

Activity 2: Translate the text into English Take into consideration the issues discussed in Activity 1

Translating texts of Sports and Entertainment

Introduction

The theme Sports and Entertainments most often appears in the form of media stories Translating media stories is both interesting and challenging It is interesting because it has a number of visual elements that may help the translator specify the meaning in context It is challenging because it has its own way of expression and in certain cases, punctuation had to change In other words, the biggest challenge in translating such stories is finding the appropriate language for the audience

In translating texts of the theme Sports and Entertainments between English and Vietnamese, there is also the terminological difficulty as certain sports and entertainment forms are too foreign to the target audience This requires the translator to understand the subject matter as well as get well-prepared for the glossary These can be accomplished by researching the subject matter prior to the translation.

Building vocabulary for ‘Sports and Entertainments’