the study on application of literal translation and free translation in translating english – vietnamese documents at international at vtcnews

This study is aimed at analyzing the application of free translation andliteral translation methods in tranlating English - Vietnamese documents atinternational at VTCNEWS from 2011-2013

During my research period, I have received great help and support frommany people to implement my research, broaden the ideas and finishthe finalreport

First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor,Mrs Ngo Thi Viet Anh, Lecturer of Foreign Language Faculty, Academy ofFinance for her precious advice and close instructions that guide me throughthis study

Secondly, I myself would like to thank the teachers and supervisors ofthe Faculty of Foreign Languages, Academy of Finance Thanks to therelated subjects such as Translation theory, Semmatic, Grammar, taught bythe lecturers of the faculty, we have been equipped useful knowledge toconduct my study

I also want to send my thanks to Mr Vo Van Viet, Mr Dinh Duc Tungand Ms Do Huong, Journalistic translators of international department fortheir support during my internship Thanks to them, I had chance to practisetranslation jobs and access all necessary documents and articles andopportunity to work with best journalist, editor and translator of VTCNEWS

Ultimately, I owe my sincere thanks to my family and friends Theircontinuous assistance and encouragement helped me a lot during time ofinternship and attempt to finish this study

This study is aimed at analyzing the application of free translation andliteral translation methods in tranlating English - Vietnamese documents atinternational at VTCNEWS from 2011-2013 an then assessing effectiveness,finding out some solutions to its shortcomings and giving somerecommendations to improve quality of translation Data were collected from

5 articles which is published at internationl department so as to analyzeadvantages and disadvantages as well as frequency and area of application oftwo methods Basing on above analysis, I have found that internationaldepartment has gained many achievements such as accuracy, faithfulness,literalness in translated text However, there still exists some problems such

as cultural inequivalence, unclearance in the TL In the end of study are somesolutions that might be applied to solve the problems: Overcoming culturalproblems by using cultural substitution, dealing with culturaluntranslatability

SL Source language

TL Target Language

SV Subject + Verb

SVO Subject+ Verb + Object

SVA Subject+ Verb+ Adverb

SVOO Subject+ Verb+ Direct object+ Indirect Object

TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION I ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II ABSTRACT III ABBREVIATION IV

TABLE OF CONTENT V

INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of study 2

3 Scope of study 3

4 Methods of study 3

5 Organization of study 4

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4

1.1 Translation theory 4

1.1.1Definition of translation 4

1.1.2 Translation equivalence 5

1.1.2.1 Form-based equivalence 6

1.1.2.2 Meaning-based equivalence 6

1.1.2.3 Function-based equivalence 9

1.1.2.3 Quantitative equivalence 10

1.1.3 Translation procedure 12

1.1.3.1 Transference 12

1.1.3.2 Naturalization 13

1.1.3.3 through translation 13

1.1.3.4 Shift or Transposition 13

1.1.3.5 Modulation 14

1.1.3.6 Cultural Equivalent 15

1.1.3.7 Functional Equivalent 15

1.1.3.8 Descriptive Equivalent 16

1.1.4 Technical translation 17

1.1.5 Translation methods 18

1.1.5.1 Literal translation method 18

1.1.5.1.1 Definition 18

1.1.5.1.2 Characteristics 19

1.1.6.2 Free translation method 20

1.1.6.2.1 Definition 20

1.1.6.2.2 Characteristics 21

1.1.7 Some factors making application of translation theory improve 22

1.1.7.1 Extensive knowledge 22

1.1.7.2 Deeply understanding of background knowledge 24

CHAPTER II: THE APPLICATION OF LITERAL TRANSLATION AND FREE TRANSLATION IN TRANSLATING ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE DOCUMENTS AT INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT AT VTCNEWS 25

2.1 Introduction of VTCNEWS 25

2.1.1 History of development 25

2.1.2 Overview of international department at VTCNEWS 26

2.2 The application of literal translation and free translation in translating English – Vietnamese documents at international department at VTCNEWS 27 2.2.2 Literal translation method 27

2.2.2.1 Advantage of application of Literal translation method 31

2.2.2.2 Disadvantage of application of Literal translation 32

2.2.3 Free translation method 33

2.2.3.1 Advantage of application of free translation method 38

2.2.3.2 Disadvantage of application of free translation 39

2.3 Assessment of the application of two translation methods 40

2.3.1 Frequency and area of application of two methods 40

2.3.2 Assessment of effectiveness in applying two translation methods 42

2.3.3 Problems and causes in applying two translation methods 42

CHAPTER III: SOME SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE APPLICATION OF LITERAL TRANSLATION AND FREE TRANSLATION IN TRANSLATING ENGLISH - VIETNAMESE DOCUMENTS AT INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT AT VTCNEWS 44

3.1 Some solutions to cope with the problems in translation at international department at VTCNEWS 44

3.1.1 Overcoming cultural problems by using cultural substitutions 44

3.1.2 Dealing with cultural untranslatability 45

3.1.3 Deeply understanding the of background knowledge 47

3.2 Some recommendations and suggestions to improve quality of translation in translating English - Vietnamese documents at international department at VTCNEWS 48

3.2.1 VTCNEWS and international department 48

3.2.1.1 Organizing monthly meetings for staff 48

3.2.1.2 Holding parties and tours on holidays for staff 49

3.2.1.3 Sending staff to professional training courses 50

3.2.1.4 Setting up a public forum 50

3.2.2 Journalistic translators or Journalists 51

3.2.2.1 Double checking the translated text 51

3.2.2.2 Creating a translation glossary 51

3.2.2.3 Using reliable supporting translation software 52

3.2.3 Future journalistic translators 52

3.2.3.1 Listening to the radio and watching TV everyday 52

3.2.3.2 Reading newspaper, reading books in many fields 53

3.2.3.3 Practising translation 53

3.2.3.4 Doing translation as an extra job 54

3.2.3.5 Participating seminars related to Journalistic translation 54 3.2.3.6 Travelling if possible 55

REFERENCE 56

1 Rationale

In the trend of globalization and dramatic development of science andtechnology, translation in general and application of translation theory inparticular have become extremely necessary and attracted very much attentionfrom translation theorists and researchers

Like many developing countries in the world, in nationalindustrialization and modernization, Vietnam needs continuously develop itsJournalism, one of the most important fields of the Media When the livingcondition is improved increasingly, the need of updating national news aswell as international news becomes an indispensable habit of everybody.Therefore, how can we update international news in Vietnamese while notmuch of us know English well? How can we open vision without updatingnews that daily happening over the world? Then, Journalistic translationbecomes more important than ever The English-Vietnamese translation plays

a very important role in the development of Media in general and Journalism

in particular The application of translation theory, more specific are literaltranslation and free translation method in translating international news intounderstandable and valuable information with the aim of serving readers Theapplication of two translation methods whether is effective or not? Is thereany creativities have applied or problems have existed in target language?And the study of solutions and recommendations that improve the quality oftranslation becomes an attraction to a lot of translators and researchers

VTCNEWS is one of the most efficiently operating branches of VTCONLINE Over past years, the other departments in general and theinternational in particular have achieved certain successes in providing daily

news for the public The international department is responsible for sharinginternational news with readers such as political news, odd stories and a lot ofnoticed international news Despite of reaching high quality in applying oftwo translation methods, the international department of VTCNEWS hasexisted some problems that need to improve efficiency further Thus, theintroduction of some solutions to enhance quality of the application of twotranslation methods in translating English-Vietnamese documents is afrequent and urgent requirement for international department at VTCNEWS.

Because of above reasons, the author decides to carry out a study with

the topic: “The study on application of Literal translation and Free

translation method in translating English – Vietnamese documents at international department at VTCNEWS”.

2 Aim of the study

The study is ultimately aimed at:

 Analyzing the application of two translation methods in translatingEnglish-Vietnamese at international department at VTCNEWS

 Comparing and evaluating two translation methods applied on termssuch as effectiveness, advantages and disadvantages, problems, causes

 Giving some solutions to remove the problems currently exists intranslating English-Vietnamese documents at international department

 Giving some recommendations and suggesstions to improveapplication of two translation methods in translating English-Vietnamese documents at international department

3 Scope of the study

Within limited time, resources, conditions, and the length of the thesis, theresearcher focuses only two translation methods: Literal translation and freetranslation which is applied in international department the most In my study,

I will collect 5 article samples published at international department atVTCNEWS in period 2011-2013 On the basic of analyzing, evaluating andcomparing between two methods, the thesis will point out problems haveexist Then, the study also gives some solutions and recommendations inorder to improve quality of translation for international department atVTCNEWS

4 Methods of the study

Firstly, I will collect typical translated articles in internationaldepartment at VTCNEWS and analyze application of two translationmethods In the process, the study will always estimate and compareapplication of two translation methods in translated versions Throughcombining a number of general research methods such as analysis,comparison, synthesis, the thesis will find out shortcomings and suggestsome solutions and recommendations to enhance quality of application of twotranslation methods

5 Organization structure

 Introduction

 Chapter 1: Theoretical background

 Chapter 2: The application of literal translation and free translationmethod in translating English – Vietnamese documents at internationaldepartment at VTCNEWS

 Chapter 3: Some solutions and recommendations to improveapplication of two translation methods in translating English-Vietnamese documents at international department at VTCNEWS.

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Translation theory

1.1.1Definition of translation

Kelly, a prominent figure in linguistic circle stated (2004) “Withouttranslation, there is no history of the world” How can it that be? What has hebased on to make such a claim? And what is translation that is of greatimportance as implied by Kelly? In an attempt to find the answer to the lastquestion, I have thrown myself into confusion by quite a few definitionsproposed by different linguists

In general, many different definitions of translation have been made.Newmark is considered at first, He has made an important contribution to the

development of translation Newmark states (1988: 7) “translation is a craft

consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and statement in one language by the same message and/or statement in another language” The

second definition is presented by Catford, He stated (1965: 20) that: “the

replacement of textual material in one language (source language) by an equivalent textual material in other language (target language)” In this

definition, the most important thing is equivalent textual material Yet, it isstill vague in terms of the type of equivalence Culture is not taken intoaccount Very much similar to Catford’s definiton is that by Hartman and

Stork (1972) who maintains that: “translation is the replacement of a

representation of a text in one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a second language” While Hatim and Mason considered to another

factor is social context They (1990) say “translating is a communicative

process which takes place within a social context”.

The above-mentioned different definitions of translation provetranslation is a complicated process Though put different, these definitionsshare one common thing which is to find equivalences that is best or mostappropriately preserve features of the original in terms of semantics,grammatical structures, cultural context as well as communication situationamong other things to be considered.

1.1.2 Translation equivalence

As considered above, equivalence has been put in the heart of almostall the theories about translation A key concept in translation is equivalenceand this helps establish our approach to translation Equivalence centresaround the processes interacting between the original source text andtranslated text Hence, it is understandable that a great attempt has been made

by several linguists in defining equivalence in translation

According to the article “Translation equivalence”, we have a

common definition of translation equivalence: “An expression from a

language which has the same meaning as, or can be used in a similar context

to, one from another language, and can therefore be used to translate it”.

‘Lack of fit’ is also a considered issue in translation equivalence Depending

on different contexts, we have different expressions Thus, the sourcelanguage expression may be a single word, a phrase, or a sentence within atext, but its target language equivalence may have to be rendered at a different

level For instance, “Blood is thicker than water” It is an idiom in English, translator can’t translate with equivalent number of word: “Máu thì dày hơn

nước” Vietnamese has an equivalent idiom for this sentence is that: “Một giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã”.

In conculsion, translation equivalence is the similarity between a word

or expression in one language and its translation in another This similarity

results from overlapping ranges of reference A translation equivalence is acorresponding word or expression in another language.

Translation equivalence can be classified in various ways based on differentfactors Le Hung Tien (2006) presents four common ways of classifyingtranslation equivalence as followed: Form-based equivalence, Meaning-basedequivalence, Function-based equivalence and Quantitative equivalence It isnecessary to consider four main types of translation equivalence

1.1.2.1 Form-based equivalence

The first type of translation equivalence is form – based equivalence.The source language (SL) and target language (TL) have the same formal-aesthetic features-orthographic or phonological features Form – baseequivalence is particularly used in translation of poems, songs and idioms.This equivalence can appear at word level and above word level when

translating from one language into another Take an idiom as a stark example:

“carry coals to Newcastle” we translate into “Chở củi về rừng” In the above

example, the form of the SL has not changed “Newcastle” (name of city in England) has changed into a “forest” in order to create equivalence with a

Vietnamese idiom and the TL becomes more accurate and smooth

1.1.2.2 Meaning-based equivalence

Koller (1979) considers four types of meaning - base equivalence arethat Denotative equivalence, Connotative equivalence, Text-normativeequivalence, Pragmatic equivalence

a Denotative equivalence

Denotative equivalence is one in which the SL and TL words refer tothe same thing in the real world This is the referential identity between SLand TL units This is equivalence of the extra linguistic content of a text,

otherwise called “content invariance” For example, Snake according to Oxford dictionary, Snake is expressed: “A reptile with a very long thin body

and no legs There are many types of snake, many of which are poisonous”

If we think about an animal in real life we can appropriately translate

into Vietnamese: “con rắn” Other example: rabbit: con thỏ, white: màu

trắng.

b Connotative equivalence:

Connotation, on the other hand, refers to the associations that areconnected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word.The connotative meanings of a word exist together with the denotative

meanings For instance, the connotations for the word snake could be translated into Vietnamese: mối nguy hiểm, sự độc ác, quỷ dữ Because Snake often sympolizes danger, evil and fiend Another example is that: White -

Take a commercial letter as an example, Dear Sir or Madam, Yours sincerely,

yours faithful We have a standard for translating this opening and closing

part into Vietnamese: Kính gửi Quí ông/bà, Kính thư, chân thành Another example related to law is that: Article 2 The members, in persuit of the

purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following principles In Vietnamese, “Article” has many meanings such as “bài báo, điều, khoản, mục, mặt hàng, sản phẩm” But in this context, it should be

translated in accordance with standard of law Another word is “principle”, itsmeaning in Vietnamese is “nguyên tắc, nguyên lý, nguồn gốc, định luật”,

and then, we must choose a suitable meaning to translate it Above sample has

been translated into Vietnamese: “Điều 2 Để đạt được những mục đích nêu ở

điều 1, các thành viên phải hành động phù hợp với những nguyên tắc sau đây”.

c Pragmatic equivalence

With readership orientation, the SL and TL words have the same effect ontheir respective readers This type of equivalence is applied in the case ofserving specific readership Translator may forget used standard in the SL and

TL in order to create new translation which is understandable and thensatisfies the reader most For instance, translation of science and technologytext offers for unprofessional readers Moreover, in this type, translator canalso show personal idea or express point of view in the new text with the aim

at persuading or effecting on the readers As an example, in some short

stories, the author often uses pronoun “He” to hint at a character, then, the

translator can translate into many different expressions depending on her/hispoint of view as well as personal attitude to this character

Anh (Tôn trọng, thái độ tích cực)

a Formal equivalence

This type of equivalence produces an analogy of form in the translation

by their exploiting formal possibilities of TL, or creating new forms in TL.Formal possibilities conclude wordplay, comparison, metaphor, and otherpersonal styles of the author Formal equivalence is achieved when the SLand TL words have the closest possible match of form and content This is anindispensable type of equivalence in translating literal texts or songs in whichthe meaning is created through form of text Using formal equivalence thetranslator attempts to render as literal translation of the original text aspossible As much as possible, the translator will retain the word order andgrammatical structure as possible Formal equivalence retains much of thewriting style and beauty of the original scripture as well as retaining difficult

theological terminology As an example, lyrics in the “love story”: “Where

do I begin? To tell the story of how greatful love can be The sweet love story that is older than the sea” It can be translated based on the formal

equivalence into Vietnamese: “Tôi phải bắt đầu từ đâu? Để kể câu chuyện về

tình yêu ấy, về sự kỳ diệu đến vô cùng của tình yêu mà tôi được thấy Một

chuyện tình ngọt ngào, một chuyện tình còn lâu đời hơn biển cả” The

rhetorical question and comparison are remained in the TL The Vietnamesemeaning becomes more literal and attractive without losing beauty of the SL

b Dynamic equivalence

According to Nida (1964, p.166) “Dynamic Equivalence is described

as the closest natural equivalent to the source language message” Dynamic

equivalence is achieved when the SL and TL words have the same effect ontheir effective readers He said that, in this type of equivalence, the order ofwords as well as form can change if necessary but the message in the original

translation must be remained in the target language “We will by all means

find the scoundrel and will hold him liable for leaving a child in danger” it

can be translated basing on dynamic equivalence into Vietnamese: “Bằng giá

nào, chúng tôi cũng sẽ tìm ra lái xe và buộc tôi anh ta vì đã để một đứa trẻ gặp nguy hiểm” In the TL, the order of word has changed which shows the

emphatic function of the adverb and keeps the message of the author in the

TL In addition, “the scoundrel” in the SL has been translated: “lái xe” so

that it can be more suitable to the context

1.1.2.3 Quantitative equivalence

Kade (1968) and Hann (1992), regarding lexical equivalence, dividedequivalence into 4 categories: One-to-one equivalence, One-to-manyequivalence, One-to-part-of-one equivalence, Nil-equivalence

a One-to-one equivalence

A single expression in TL is only equivalent to a single expression in

SL The equivalence type often appears in terminology For instance,

“information technology”, there is only expression for it in Vietnamese:

“công nghệ thông tin”, similarly, we have other examples: Human resource – nguồn nhân lực, Science and Technology – Khoa học Kỷ thuật.

b One-to-many equivalence

More than one TL expressions are equivalent to a single SL expression

As a example, “Bamboo” in English can translate into many different expressions in Vietnamese: “tre/nứa/trúc/mai/vầu” Another example is

“Nuôi” in Vietnamese have many equivalent word in English: “to feed/ raise/

grow/breed/ support”.

c One-to-part-of-one equivalence

A TL expression part of a concept designated by a single SLexpression It means that the TL has just expressed a meanging among many

meanings in SL Take “card games” as a stark example, mentioning “card

games”, westerners could refer immediately to bridge, poker and whist It is translated into Vietnamese “Tam cúc” Take “rồng” in Vietnamese and

“dragon” in English as another example : The Vietnamese dragon is created

by different small parts of many different animals: “mình rắn, vẩy cá chép,

mắt quỷ, sừng nai, tai thú, trán lạc đà, chân cá sấu, móng chim ưng” (Dương

Kỳ Đức, 2001) (snake body, calf scale, devil eyes, deer stark, mammal ears,

camel forehead, crocodile legs and hawk claws) but , when translating into

English, it is used “ Dragon” in common.

-1.1.3 Translation procedure

Translation procedures are methods applied by translators when theyformulate equivalence for the purpose of transferring elements of meaningfrom the SL to the TL In contrast to translation strategies (the translators’global approach or plan of action on a given text, according to their intention),translation procedures are used for sentences and smaller units of languagewithin that text Besides, Newmark (1988) clearly distinguishes translation

methods with translation procedures: “While translation methods relate to

whole texts, translation procedures are used for sentences and the smaller units of language”.

In conclusion, translation strategy can be basically understood as ways

of choosing appropriate translation methods and procedures applied inparticular cases The following translation procedures by Newmark (1988)are typical ones in translation theory

1.1.3.1 Transference

Newmark (1988) defines “transference (loan word, transcription) is

the process of transferring a SL word to a TL text with no translation” It

means that transference of a word or expression from the source languagedirectly into the target text without translating it Many cases applied thisprocedure such as People's names and place names, names of periodicals andnewspapers: titles of literary works, plays, films, names of private companiesand institutions, names of public or nationalized institutions, street names, andaddresses Transference is also the first step in the process of one language

acquiring loan words from another For instance, MC, Hollywood, Wall

Street, blog, web, internet, McDonald, when translating these words, we just

transfer it into Vietnamese without translating

1.1.3.2 Naturalization

Newmark (1988) says: “The procedure succeeds transference and

adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation, then to the normal morphology of the TL” More detailed, transference in which you apply target

language spelling and morphology and pronunciation to the expression or

word in question Take ‘Coffee’ as a stark example, its meaning in Vietnamese is: Cà Phê Not only is the SL transfered to TL but it also applies

the TL spelling, morphology and pronunciation to the expression, other

similar examples: Turbine (English) – Tua bin (Vietnamese), Show (English)

– Sô (Vietnamese)

1.1.3.3 through translation

According to Newmark (1988), the literal translation of commoncollocations, names of organizations, the components of compounds andperhaps phrases, is known as calque or loan translation or through translation.The most obvious examples of through-translations are the names ofinternational organizations which often consist of universal words which may

be transparent for English, Romance languages, and semantically motivatedfor Germanica and Slavonic In addition, international organizations are often

known by their acronym For instance, UNDP (United Nations development

programme): Chương trình phát triển Liên Hiệp Quốc, PPP (Private – Public Partner): Đối tác công tư, AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome): Hội chứng suy giảm miễn dịch mắc phải.

1.1.3.4 Shift or Transposition

Newmark (1988) defines “shift or transposition is a translation

procedure involving a change in the grammar from SL to TL” There are four

main types The first type is the change from singular to plural or in theposition of adjectives, nouns, adverbs The second type is used when a SL

grammatical structures does not exist in the TL The third one is requiredwhen literal translation is grammatically possible but may not accord withnatural usage in the TL The fourth type of transposition is the replacement of

a virtual lexical gap by a grammatical structure As it is stated by Newmark(1988b:85), “transposition is the only translation procedure concerned withgrammar, and most translators make transpositions intuitively” For examle:

All we felt sad due to his failure to come: Mọi người đều thấy buồn vì anh ấy không đến Grammatical structure in the TL has changed in order to create

clear and literal text for the reader Similarly, the following examples areillustration for this procedure:

She is a great cinema-goer: Cô ấy rất hay đi xem phim

Help will come: Sẽ có người tới giúp.

1.1.3.5 Modulation

When mentioning modulation procedure, Newmark (1988) analysesVinay and Darbelnet’s definition of the procedure Vinay and Darbelnet

(1965) coin the term “modulation” to define “a variation through a change of

viewpoint, of perspective and very often of category of thought” They divide

modulations into “eleven rather random categories” However, in Newmark’sopinion the “negated contrary” category, only important one, is not discussed

by Vinay and Darbelnet The “negated contrary” category or “positive fordouble negative” (or “double negative for positive”) is a “concrete translationprocedure which can be applied in principle to any actions (verb) or qualities(adjective or adverb)”

Vinay and Darbelnet (1965) give several types of modulation Someexamples are: abstract for concrete, cause for effect, one part for another,reversal of terms, active for passive, space for time, intervals and limits,change of symbols

Take Active for passive as an example:

100 people were died by a homemade boom last night.

Một quả bom tự chế đã làm 100 người thiệt mạng tối qua.

Positive for double negative:

The vase is not totally worthless

Cái bình vẫn còn giá trị.

1.1.3.6 Cultural Equivalent

As it is stated by Newmark (1988), the procedure is “an approximate

translation where a SL cultural word is translated by TL cultural words” For

instance, evaluating of bachelor in Vietnamese has 5 levels: trung bình, trung

bình khá, khá, giỏi, xuất sắc, in English, it has 5 cultural approximate words

are: Ordinary, average good, good, very good, excellent A stark example is

that:

He graduated after obtaining a degree with excellent.

Anh ta tốt nghiệp loại xuất sắc

1.1.3.7 Functional Equivalent

Newmark (1988) states the procedure is usually applied to cultural words, “It

requires the use of a culture-free word, sometimes with a new specific term”.

Simply understansing, functional equivalent is a process of translating a word

in the source language with a functionally equivalent culture-free targetlanguage word or expression Therefore, it generalizes or neutralizes the SLword This procedure is the most accurate way of translating by decentralizing

a cultural word For example:

The pentago have decided to determine the program

Bộ Quốc phòng Mỹ đã quyết dịnh dừng chương trình này lại.

“The pentago” is a flat shape with five straight sides and five angles

(lầu năm góc), it is built near Washington DC which is the headquaters of the

US Department of Defense and the military leaders Basing on the its function

“The pentago” is also considered as US Department of Defense Another

example is that:

The Federal Reserve badly damaged because of financial crisis.

Ngân hàng trung ương Hoa Kỳ đã thiệt hại nặng nề vì khủng hoảng tài chính

1.1.3.8 Descriptive Equivalent

According to Newmark (1988), “in translation, description sometimes

has to be weighed against function” The meaning of the original word is

explained in several words Moreover, functional procedure and descriptiveone can be simultaneously used in translation It is reasonable when he says

“description and function are essential elements in explanation and therefore

in translation” and “in translation discussion, functions used to be neglected,now it tends to be overplayed”.For example:

To attend barbecue at school, you must have a student ID.

Để tham dự tiệc barbecue (bữa tiệc ngoài trời có thịt nướng), bạn phải

có thẻ sinh viên.

Barbecue itself has meaning is “a metal frame for cooking food on over

an open fire outdoors” It is clear that the functional and descriptive

equivalent have been applied in the TL Another example is that:

Many Divas has attended the music festival tonight.

Rất nhiều Diva (người phụ nữ có tài năng xuất chúng trong âm nhạc) đến tham dự lễ hội âm nhạc tối nay.

1.1.4 Technical translation

Newmark (1988) defines technical translation as “one part ofspecialized translation; institutional translation, the area of politics,commerce, finance, government In his opinion, technical translation ispotentially (but far from actually) non-cultural, therefore “universal”, thebenefits of technology are not confined to one speech community

Technical term translation is part of technical translation As it is stated

by Newmark (1988), “the central difficulty in technical translation is usuallythe new terminology” Therefore, the first requirement of translating technicaltexts is to comprehend technical terminology This is really a challengingtask In technical texts particularly those which are translated from otherlanguages, descriptive terms usually occur to denote technical objects forthree reasons (Newmark, 1988) The first reason is that the object is new, andhas not yet got a name Another reason is that the descriptive term is beingused as a familiar alternative, to avoid repetition Last but not least, thedescriptive term is being used to make a contrast with another one In caseswhere there is a TL technical equivalent, the translator may translate a SLdescriptive term by a TL technical term This shows off the translator’sknowledge and acclimatizes the professional reader Conversely, in caseswhere the translator does not find TL equivalent for an SL technical term, heshould use a descriptive term

One of the most important requirements for a translator to become acompetent technical translator is that he has to have much knowledge oflinguistics and background knowledge of the specific field (a particulartechnical field)

1.1.5 Translation methods

There is argument about different translation methods which can beappropriate to this context but inappropriate to other contexts Newmark(1988) presents eight main methods of translation including each method’sfeatures and applications

Due to time constraint and within the framework of the thesis, we willpresent only two translation methods: Literal translation methods and freetranslation methods They are also two methods used in the Journal field themost

1.1.5.1 Literal translation method

1.1.5.1.1 Definition

It would be useful to study word-for-word translation before having alook at what literal translation is Word-for-word translation, according toNewmark (1995), transfers SL grammar and word order, as well as theprimary meanings of all the SL words into the translation This translation issupposed to be effective only for brief simple neutral sentence As it is stated

by Newmark (1988), we have definition of Literal translation: “The SL

grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context”.

In his opinion, Literal translation belongs to semantic translation, inwhich concerns the aesthetic value that is the beautiful and natural sound ofthe SL text In addition, the method compromises on an appropriate meaning.Above the word level, literal translation becomes increasingly difficult Whenthere is any kind of translation problem, literal translation is normally out ofthe question Literal translation above the word level is the only correct

procedure if the SL and TL meaning correspond, or correspond more closelythan any alternative That means the referent and the pragmatic effect areequivalent, for exapmle, the words not only refer to the same thing but havesimilar associations and appear to be equally frequent in this type of text.

1.1.5.1.2 Characteristics

Literal translation attempts to renders, as closely as the semantic andsyntactic structures of the second language allow, the exact contextualmeaning of the original

According to Newmark, literal translation has following characteristics.First characteristic is translation unit, literal translation takes sentences as itsbasic units and the whole text into consideration at the same time in thecourse of translation Second characteristic is meaning, meaning in process oftranslation mainly based on the primary meaning or normal meaning indictionary without paying attention to context Another factor is culture;culture in the SL has been translated directly to the TL It means that, theculture is hardly concerned in process in translation Furthemore, form andstructure is unforgetable characteristic In the literal translation, the form andstructure have been remained unchanged in process of translation That is tosay, literal translation strives to reproduce both the ideological content andstyle of the entire literary work and retain as much as possible the figures ofspeech and such main sentence structures or patterns as SV, SVO, SVA, andSVOO The order of word in the SL is respected but it can be changed ifneccessary Last factor is criterian for evaluation, reproduction of thesignificance of SL must be accurate, kept the spirit and style of the author.For example:

Speech is silver, silence is golden

Translating into Vietnamese:

“Lời nói là bạc, im lặng là vàng”

In the above example, translator doesn’t change the structure of thesentences The sentences keep the same pattern from the original, even thewords are copied one by one Literal translation can reproduce the spirit of theoriginal, keep the style and tone as well as the author’s thought of the

original Some people may know several jokes about translation such as, “lie

on one’s back”, if someone applied the literal translation, they can translate it

into Vietnamese: “Ngồi trên lưng ai” while the accurate meaning is an idiom:

“Nói xấu sau lưng” Therefore, in translation, when the text is not suitable to

be literally translated, translator may consider other methods, such as freetranslation

1.1.6.2 Free translation method

1.1.6.2.1 Definition

Simply understanding, free translation is way of reproducing the matterwithout manner or form of the original Usually, it is a paraphrase muchlonger than the original

This method belongs to communicative translation group, in whichattempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a waythat both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible tothe readership The translator is not strictly constrained by the type of the text

or context or the direct and available meaning of words and phrases We cantranslate it the way we understand

1.1.6.2.2 Characteristics

Newmark has also given some following characteristics of freetranslation method First characteristic is translation unit, free translation ismainly applied to the sentence and paraphrase unit Another feature is formand structure, the translator often changes the form and structure so as toeppress clearly and understandably into expressing clear and understandable

to the reader The third characteristic is meaning, the nornal meaning indictionary is considerd as foudation in order that the translator fined a suitableexpression or close alternative to translate the message of the author.Moreover, culture is the indispensable factor; culture in SL will be concerned

on process of translation into the target language culture In addition, context

or time and origin are important factor In free translation, translator requires

a comprehension of SL context so that it can transfer accurate message of theauthor The last factor is criterian for evaluation, reproduction of thesignificance of SL must be accurate, simpler, clearer, more direct andconventional Take some examples:

“He is green with jealousy” “green” here lose its colors meaning It

means “extremely envious” Therefore, applying the free translation, we can

translate into “Anh ta là chúa hay ghen” Another example is that: “Be

Greek to me” Greek is an ancient language which is difficult for people to

understand It’s a metaphor here, Greek means something uneasy to

understand then, and we translate it into “thật không thể nào hiểu được” Take cultural factor as another example, “As fast as Kangaroo” if we neglect culture, that sentence will be translated into “nhanh như một con kang gu

ru” But in Vietnam, there is no sentence like that It means that the meaning

is unsuitable to culture In case, if the translator applied free translation inwhich culture is concerned they have accurate and understandable meaning is

“Nhanh như gió” or “Nhanh như sóc”.

In above examples, literal translation may not be suitable in using here,because the language differences exist in Vietnamese and English Such asgrammar, sentence structure and so on Therefore, you can’t just copy thewords simply one by one You must deal well with various problems intranslating by using free translation method

1.1.7 Some factors making application of translation theory improve

How can we be an excellent translator? Is there any secrets help usimprove application of translation theory? Someone say that we just need beexcellent in two languages (Source language and Target language).Excellence means that they are fluent in four skills including listening,speaking, reading and writing It is the fact that between SL and TL alwaysexist gaps concluding difference off language, grammar, culture and so on.Thus, translation is not just the activity of translating word by word from thesource language to another language Translation job require a extensiveknowledge of cultura as well as background knowledge in both SL and TL

have to look out for the lexical content and syntax, as well as ideologies,value systems and ways of life in a given culture translators need to knowtheir audience in both languages and also consider the variants of the targetlanguage, like European French and Canadian French, among other things.There are a variety of cultural elements to take into consideration whenstarting a translation:

In the first place, customs and tradition are part of a culture and fortranslating a translator must be aware of these aspects Any translator can getinto problems if he/she translates without comprehending or understandingthe significance behind the occasion For example, in a Christian marriage,the exchange of kisses is part of the ceremony while the same would betotally inappropriate Even expressing feelings in public is outrageous here Inthe second place, it is important to verify the connotation of the product name

in a foreign language, as there might be different meanings of the same word

in different languages This is even more important when the translation isdone for a global marketing campaign In the third place, anything humorousmust be treated carefully as the target audience might not appreciate the way

it has been written or even understand it Thus, translation and linguisticexpression must be viewed within the wider social and cultural environment.Last but not least, translator should consider other cultural factors such aspictures, symbols and colors as the same picture might have negativeconnotation in some other country For example the color white is associatedwith mourning in Japan but in most of the European countries it is the blackcolor that represents mourning In the same way even pictures can havecultural or political implications and can sometimes cause a problem with thetarget audience

In conclusion, for a good translator, it is important for him or her tounderstand the culture of the source language as well as that of the targetlanguage.

1.1.7.2 Deeply understanding of background knowledge

A lot of definitions of background knowledge can be found in theinternet For example, Stevens (1890) defines background knowledge quite

simply as “what one already knows about a subject”, another definition of

background knowledge found in the artical “definition of background”:

“background knowledge is information that is essential to understanding a

situation or problem” Although these definitions are expressed by different

words, they describe the same basic concept that background knowledgecontains many specific knowledge dimensions and it is known knowledgeused to construct new knowledge

It is known by all translators and students taking translation classes thatbackground knowledge is a necessary factor in translation process Yet, to themost of them, the question of how much important background knowledge is

in translation and why it plays such an important role in translation success isnot easy to answer Understanding the source written text is the mostimportant stage in translation process and background knowledge has decisiveeffect on understanding a text Lack of knowledge of some or just one detail

in the text can result in failure of understanding the meaning of the whole text

or sentence

CHAPTER II: THE APPLICATION OF LITERAL TRANSLATION AND FREE TRANSLATION IN TRANSLATING ENGLISH- VIETNAMESE DOCUMENTS AT INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT

Undergoing more than 5 years of operation and development with a lot

of difficulties and challenges VTCNEWS has now achieved outstandingstrides with the number of visits reachs 800.000 daily The centre set up amain website vtc.vn in Febuary, 2006 when almost information was comefrom outside Now, it is thanks to effort of staff as well as good orientation ofeditors that the number of news to serve the public drammatically increases.VTCNEWS has been responsible for providing reliable news in the fields ofproduction, business, updating information of technology and internationalmarket, national news, politics over the world In addition, it has given deepcomments and evaluations weekly, overview of information in both nationaland international news

In the next years, VTCNEWS is setting target to become one of theleading multimedia communication companys in Vietnam In order to reachthe target, VTCNEWS needs professional reporters, good and enthusiatic co-

ordinator as well as creative and gifted editors Moreover, director general ofVTC, Mr Thái Minh Tần, has always broadened the area with a lot of newcreations and innovations so that the news become more various andattractive to readers over the country VTCNEWS has been put into top 10online news which has quick and steady development.

2.1.2 Overview of international department at VTCNEWS

Among VTCNEWS, International departmen is one of the leadingdepartments, with the highest number of daily articles It is also departmentthat is related to translating English-Vietnamese documents the most

International department was born at the the initial establishment ofVTCNEWS With the main target is quickly providing to readers allinformation over the world such as odd stories, political news and otherattractive international information International department equips readerswith broad vision of the world Every day, the reporters and co-ornidators try

to find the best news on the abroad website such as CNN, BBC, RT, Yahooand so on, then, they translate the international news into Vietnamese basing

on translation skill as well as working experience in order to create the bestarticles for the readers The news can be from variety of languages such asChina, France, and Russia and so on After having done the article, the editor

of international department will check and edit it again before publishing By

virtue of the professional staff, enthusiatic and dynamic co-ordinators,international department becomes stronger and stronger with the view timesreach more 1, 9 million times a week

During the period of my internship at international department, I haveopportunity to experience reality from practising translation English news intoVietnamese as well as learning translation methods applied in process oftranslation But, in my thesis, I just study the application of literal translation

and free translation methods which are applied at international department themost Basing on the basic analysis of article samples at internationaldepartment I will evaluate and compare two methods as well as point outproblems that have existed Then, the study also suggests some solutions to itsshortcomings and gives recommendations in order to improve quality oftranslation for international department at VTCNEWS.

2.2 The application of literal translation and free translation in translating English – Vietnamese documents at international department

at VTCNEWS

2.2.1 Data collection procedures

There are many articles published at international department, withvariety of topics and authors In order to serve the purpose of my study, I willextract at ramdom 5 paragraphs in 5 articles both Vietnamese and Englishversion Basing on the basic analysis, I will estimate the application of twotranslation methods on 2 aspects are form and structure, meaning Advantagesand disadvantages of each method are also found out later

2.2.2 Literal translation method

As considered in the chapter I, Literal translation refers to translating asentence originally; keeping the original message form, includingconstruction of sentence, meaning of the original words, and metaphor of theoriginal and so on Translation would be fluent and easy to comprehend bytarget language readers It means that the translation is faithful to the formwhile it conveys the meaning; both deep and surface structures are rendered

Because the literal translation is just applied in the sentence unit,therefore I has citied English sentences as a sample in the source language