The study: An analysis of common errors on verb tenses and word choices in VietnameseEnglish translation by the secondyear English majors at Dong Thap University

1 INTRODUCTION 1. Motivation for the study It is popularly admitted that language is an indispensable part of our society‟s cultural richness in particular and of the world‟s in general. However, in order to keep ourselves on a par with the global standards in the today‟s world which is called international community, we need to have the understanding of English - an international language. English is considered as the most popular language popularly used to exchange information and ideas among different nations and cultures today. Thanks to their English translated versions, countries are able to have mutual understanding and a sense of global citizenship in this multilingual world. It is considered as an effective means to learn how to appreciate different countries‟ cultures, communities and people. By making comparisons, people are able to gain insight into their own culture and society as well as mutually exchange countries‟ beauty of cultural values. Moreover, English translation makes people understand each other more in the process of diplomatic relations and economic cooperation and other fields in today‟s era when countries tend to integrate for the whole development. As a result, English translation has gradually become an indispensable and pressing tool which set the path for the global success of individuals, organizations, and even businesses in the modern time when society is more developed and competition is relentless. Therefore, nowadays when Vietnam becomes one of the members of World Trade Organization, it is necessary for Vietnamese students of English to have expert translation skill in order to meet the demand of integration into the world economy and exchange of culture with other countries. As a result, learning translation skill is undoubtedly an advantage for Vietnamese students‟ ideal future jobs. However, in reality, Vietnamese-English translation skill is not easy for Vietnamese students to master, so learners can not avoid mistakes in their translating prsctice. Perhaps, because of some influence on the differences about cultures or 2 their own limited language ability, etc, Vietnamese students of English in general still have mistakes on grammar, word choices and so on in translating Vietnamese texts into English. The study Common mistakes in learning translation subject by the second-year English majors at Dong Thap University (Duong Thi Thuy Hang and Nguyen Thi Cam Xuyen, 2010, p.32-p.33) found the followings: Lack of vocabulary causes many problems in translation process, frequently; they could not choose the right word in the context and tried or code it did not know. In the final text for BA English 2006 class, in the part of Vietnamese-to-English translation, there was a phrase: “Đơn xin thị thực”- and the large percentage of the students could not understand the meaning of the phrase. Therefore, they translated with a wrong meaning or skipped it. Many students did not know what “thị thực” means, and they thought that it was a thing related to food, so in many test papers, it is translated into “food” as in the following: “Đơn xin thị thực” The answer is “Visa Application Form”. The translated phrases by the students:  “Declaration going food”  “Enter-exit food”  “Form of beg for food”  “Giving foods form”… The mistakes in tenses as in: “Con bé dường như buồn ngủ” (this sentence was extracted from the first semester final test papers for BA English 2007 class). The key is “The little girl seems sleepy”. But many students translated into: “The little girl is seem sleepy”, they were confused with the verb “to be” and the verb “seem”. In these situations, foreigners will misunderstand, even be not able to understand the meaning of the passage when they read. 3 Located on Mekong Delta which is considered as the agriculture and aquaculture area, a special place in the strategy of economic and social development, and national security of the country, Dong Thap University has experienced nine years of establishment and development. It has had great achievements in training human resources for the Mekong Delta and the country. According to PhD. Nguyen Van De, Rector of Dong Thap University, one of the main tasks of the school is training and fostering teachers with professional skills at all educational levels and highly qualified personnel in other areas in order to contribute to the development of the Mekong Delta and the country (Đại học Đồng Tháp: Hướng tới “Chất lượng - Hiệu quả - Uy tín - Chuyên nghiệp - Hiện đại”). Nowadays, in the integrated period, the school also show special concern for training English majors who have expert translation skill as well as other skills of English so that they are able to contribute their own real linguist abilities to the society‟s development. To complete this task, understanding the difficulties of Vietnamese students when learning translation subject, Vietnamese–English translation is considered as a significant class for Vietnamese students of English major by Dong Thap University. Students of English major start to take the course of translation in the second–year. Comprehending the importance of learning Vietnamese–English translation, the students always want to improve their translation skill. However, most of the students still have problems in translating. According to Duong Thi Thuy Hang and Nguyen Thi Cam Xuyen (2010), the students have tended to have common mistakes on verb tenses and word choices when doing translation from Vietnamese texts into English ones. They do not know how to avoid those mistakes to make the text look smooth and fluent which accord with the standard of English. For those reasons, the researcher decided to choose the study “An analysis of common errors on verb tenses and word choices in Vietnamese–English translation by the second-year English majors at Dong Thap University” which 4 aims at finding out what the second–year English majors‟ common mistakes on verb tenses and word choices, which reasons causing those mistakes as well as how to avoid them. It is a strong hope that the study will be a useful reference helping improve translation skill for not only the second–year students majoring in English at Dong Thap University but also all Vietnamese people who are interested in translation work and really want to become expert translators. 2. Aims of the study The primary aim of the thesis is to find out the second-year English majors‟ common errors on verb tenses and word choices in translating Vietnamese texts into English. The study also aims at finding causes of these problems and then suggesting some possible strategies to overcome the problems. The targeted subjects of this thesis are mainly students; nevertheless, all people who are interested in translation work can consider it as a useful reference for improving their translation skills as well. 3. Scope of the study When the second-year students of English major at Dong Thap University (2010-2014 curriculum) translation courses, they have to study both English- Vietnamese translation and Vietnamese-English translation. This thesis focuses on analyzing the errors on verb tenses and word choices found in the Vietnamese- English translation part of the final tests and the extra test papers made by the second-year students of English major at Dong Thap University and making some suggestions to help avoid those errors. 4. Significance of the study The thesis will help the students recognize their common errors on verb tenses and word choices in translating Vietnamese texts into English. The study will be a useful reference with the solutions suggested which help the students be able to self- correct their common mistakes and find out their own effective ways in leaning in 5 order to improve their translation skill. Furthermore, it helps the students not only improve their language learning in general but also have a great advantage for their future ideal job. 5. Related previous studies  “Errors in the translation of topic-comment structures of Vietnamese into English”, Pham Phu Quynh Na, School of Languages and Literature- University of Western Syney, Australia.(n.d)  “Problems in Vietnamese-English translation of the third-year students of English major at Dong Thap University: cause and solutions” (The B.A thesis), Nguyen Ngo Minh Tri and Le Thi My Duyen, Dong Thap University, 2009.  “Common mistakes in learning translation subject by the second-year English majors at Dong Thap University” (The B.A thesis), Duong Thi Thuy Hang and Nguyen Thi Cam Xuyen, 2010. 6. Organization of the thesis This thesis consists of the following parts: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of translation 1.2 The importance of translation 1.3 Types of translation 1.3.1 Literal translation versus idiomatic translation 1.3.2 Translating grammatical features 6 1.3.3 Translating lexical features 1.4 Strategies for translation 1.5 The factors influencing translation process 1.5.1 The mother tongue 1.5.2 Words and choice of word meanings 1.5.3 Grammatical structures 1.5.4 Context 1.5.5 Characteristic of language 1.6 Common errors in Vietnamese-English translation Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research questions: 2.2 Research participant: 2.2.1 The researcher 2.2.2 The subjects 2.3 Research procedure 2.4 Data collect instruments 2.4.1 The test papers analysis and statistic 2.4.2 The questionnaire 2.4.3 The interview questions 2.4.4 Theoretical analysis Chapter 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 7 3.1 Results 3.1.1 Result collected from the questionnaire 3.1.2 Result collected from the interview questions 3.1.3 Result collected from the test papers 3.2 Discussion Chapter 4: CONCLUTION AND SUGGESTION REFERENCES APPENDIX 8 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of translation: Translation has been variously defined. The following definitions are selected because they are typical in some senses. Translation is a transfer process, which aims at the transformation of written source language text into an optimally equivalent target language text, and which requires the syntactic, the semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical processing of the source language. (Wilss, 1982) Translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has been expressed in one language (source language), preserving semantic and stylistic equivalencies. (Bell R., 1991) Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in s second language. (Bell R., 1991) For example, the Vietnamese sentence “Người bắt đầu học ngoại ngữ luôn luôn gặp khó khăn ngay từ bước đầu.” can be translated into the English sentence “Beginners of foreign language always meet difficulties from the outset.” (Tran Van Diem, Dong A Language School, 1998) The author continues, and makes the problems of equivalence very plain: Texts in different languages can be equivalent in different degrees (fully or partially different), in respect of different levels of presentation (in respect of context, of semantics, of grammar, of lexis, etc.) and at different ranks (word-for-word, phrase- for-phrase, sentence-for-sentence). Translation is the transmission of a thought expressed in one language by means of another language. The language used to express the thought directly is called the source language, and the language used to translate that thought is called the target language. (Tu Anh, 2005) 9 In Vietnamese-into-English translation, the Vietnamese is the source language and the English is the target language as in the following example: The source language: Dịch thuật là môn học bắt buộc đối với sinh viên chuyên Anh ngữ. The target language: Translation is a compulsory subject for students of English major. Translation is rendering a written text into another language in the way that the author intended the text. (Bui Tien Bao and Dang xuan Thu, 1997) “Translators are concerned with the written word. They render written texts from one language into another. Translators are required to undertake assignments, which range from simple items, such as birth certificates and driving licenses, to more complex written materials, such as articles in specialized professional journals, business contracts and legal documents.” (Bui Tien Bao and Dang xuan Thu, 1997) Translation, by dictionary definition, consists of changing from one state or form to another, to turn into one’s own or another’s language. (The Merriam- Webster Dictionary, 1974) Translation is basically a change of form. When we speak of the form of a language, we are referring to the actual words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, etc. The forms are referred to as the surface structure of a language. It is the structural part of language which is actually seen in print or heard in speech. In translation the form of the source language is replaced by the form of the receptor/target language. But how is this change accomplished? What determines the choices of form in the translation? 1.2 The importance of translation Even with the most up-to-date and sophisticated communication system, we can never know how many languages man uses today in the world; let alone how many languages man has used during the course of his development. Some sources say there are some two or three thousand languages being used in the world, but 10 some others say the number may be as large as eight thousand. What a habit man has that of speaking different tongues! And thus he offers himself difficulties and obstacles. Since communication within only one community is not enough, certainly there has a great number of times arisen a situation in which some individuals are unable to understand the words or expressions of some others. This phenomenon creates a barrier to understanding whenever man tries to communicate across a great distance of space or across a great interval of time. Something has to be done to overcome this restriction. One way to cope with the restriction is for individuals to know the foreign language. But this is not the final solution because apparently no individual in the world can know all the languages in use. The best polyglot so far knows only about twenty five languages, and still people want to read what other people write and what people say. Translation and interpreting may be considered as the most universally accepted solution for surmounting the obstacle. And thus there is a need for professional translators and interpreters. (Bui Tien Bao and Dang Xuan Thu, 1997) Stuart stated that translation as the product of language learning projected onto an interlanguage framework. Therefore, translation skills should be evaluated according to the state of learners‟ interlanguage in any stage of its development. (Stuart Campbell, 1980) Translation is a real-life, natural activity and increasingly necessary in a global environment. Many learners living in either their own countries or a new one need to translate language on a daily basis, both informally and formally. This is even more important with the growing importance of online information. Translation can be support for the writing process, especially at lower levels. Research has shown that learners seem able to access more information in their own L1, which they can then translate. (Stuart Campbell, 1980) [...]... must often be resolved to keep the intended meaning in the context of communication In short, there are four typical types of translation: literal translation, idiomatic translation, translation grammatical features, and translation lexical features However, one of them, literal translation, should be avoided because it will make the translation meaningless or nonsense Idiomatic translation, in contract,... role of translation was attached importantly to every field in society 1.3 Types of translation 1.3.1 Literal translation versus idiomatic translation Because a text has both form and meaning, there are two main kinds of translation One is form-based and the other is meaning-based Form-based translation attempts to follow the form of the source language and is known as literal translation Meaning-based... our world Translation is understood as an act of carrying the meaning of a text from one language to another one This process involves interpretation of meaning of the source text and producing the same meaning in another language Texts however, cannot exist out of context By context what is meant is the entire environment in which the word or sentence is expressed or stated Any word in the text is... stopped by the policeman John wax stopped by the bookstand 30 In the first sentence, by is used to signal the meaning that the policeman is the agent of the action In the second sentence, by is used to signal that the bookstand is the location We have seen that one form may express many meanings On the other hand, another characteristic of language is that a single meaning may be expressed in a variety... Meaning-based translation makes every effort to communicate the meaning of the source language text in the natural forms of the receptor language Such translation is called idiomatic translation An interlinear translation is a completely literal translation For some purposes, it is desirable to reproduce the linguistic features of the source text; as for example, in a linguistic study of that language Literal translation. .. present in isolation but interacts with other words in the text and with the whole text at large This interaction among words determines their meaning rather than its isolated meaning For example, the uses of the word “work” in the following sentences: (i) I work at Ministry of education and training (ii) Kieu story is a famous work (iii) After graduating, I will look for work The word “work” in example... translation would be possible But the fact is that a language a complex set of skewed relationship between meaning (semantics) and form (lexicon and grammar) Each language has its own distinctive forms for representing the meaning Therefore, in translation the same meaning may have to be expressed in another language by a very different form 1.6 Common errors in Vietnamese -English translation The following... wrong & funny for his readers In order to avoid the misuse, the translator should carefully take the synonyms into consideration before using them In addition, it would be better for the translator to consider the differences of the pairs of synonyms when translating Spelling errors: Spelling errors in translation are also the common errors like spelling errors in writing When people have to translate... looking at any good dictionary For instance, the Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary give 33 senses for the verb “run” Most words have more than one meaning There will be a primary meaning – the one which usually comes to mind when the word is said in isolation – and the contextual/secondary meaning – the additional meanings, which a word has in other contexts with other words in certain orders In English, ... all these combinations, one cannot say the following break into debt, fall into print, rush into a fight or dive into debt The combinations are fixed as to form and their meaning comes from their combination A literal wordfor -word translation of these idioms into another language will not make sense The form cannot be kept, but the receptor language word or phrase which has the equivalent meaning will . choose the study An analysis of common errors on verb tenses and word choices in Vietnamese English translation by the second-year English majors at Dong Thap University which 4 aims at finding. LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of translation 1.2 The importance of translation 1.3 Types of translation 1.3.1 Literal translation versus idiomatic translation 1.3.2 Translating grammatical. communication. In short, there are four typical types of translation: literal translation, idiomatic translation, translation grammatical features, and translation lexical features. However, one of them,