A study on translation methods of passive voice from english into vietnamese in the thorn birds

ABSTRACT This research focuses on analyzing passive voices found in the novel-The Thorn Birds and its Vietnamese translation version The objectives are to identify the translation method of passive voice applied in The Thorn Birds, to describe how these methods is used in the specific circumstances in translation version of Pham Manh Hung and suggest some solutions for students to enhance the translation skill This research applies the quantitative method and qualitative descriptive method to collect data of passive voice in the novel and analyze the method being used The data sources include the passive sentences from chapter one to chapter five of The Thorn Birds by COLLEEN McCULLOUGH in 1977 and its translation by Pham Manh Hung in 2010 The results of the study show that there are three main methods of translating passive voice from English into Vietnamese The passive sentences are translated from English into Vietnamese in the form of the passive sentence, the active sentence and the de-transitive sentence From 53 data of passive voice in the Thorn Birds, there are 13 English passive sentences (23%) is translated into the passive sentence, 17 of the total (32%) is transferred into the active sentences and the rest translated into the de-transitive sentences, accounts for 53% The survey shows that the most dominant method which is used by the translator is translating English passive sentence into the de-transitive sentence 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the process of completing this Graduation Paper, I have received a great deal of help, guidance and encouragement from my teachers and friends I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Ms Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, M.A who has generously given me valuable and constructive comments, advices as well as correction of my research paper I would also like to express my special thanks to other teachers of Foreign Language Department for their supportive lectures during four years that have provided me with good background to effectively my Graduation Paper Last but not least, my wholehearted thanks are presented to my family, my friends for their encouragement and assistance in the process of doing this research Ha Noi, April 2018 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATION MA Ph.D PP SL TL Master of Arts Doctor of Philosophy Past Participle Source Language Target Language CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English has become more dominant around the world and is considered as the key instrument of globalization In many countries, English is used in many fields such as economy, commerce, medicine, technology, tourism, ect Thus, it is chosen for being taught in almost schools, universities or institutes However, it is not easy to become master in English because the language barriers can sometimes cause a lot of trouble for learning English, esspecially in translation aspect As a student at Thuongmai university, I find that it is a big reason why many students have more difficulties in understanding English documents relating to their subjects In my graduation paper, I would like to mention to translation of passive voices in documents relating to literary works in general and English stories or novel in particular Reading foreign books is always useful for everyone to broaden their knowledges A novel, for instance, is one of the literary works which is very popular It is used to express feeling or stories written in a book Sometimes, the difference of language becomes a big problem for the readers to understand the content of a novel Here is the role of translator needed Tranlation is the useful tool to transfer the messages in those books Nevertheless, Translating a novel or a book is more difficult than translating academic texts In this case, Translators usually have problems in translating figurative languages (metaphors, similes, personifications, etc.) or idiomatic expressions and speacially in transfering passive voice from English to Vietnames because they should reproduce in the target language (TL) the closest natural equivalence of the source language (ST) message Although translation of passive voice still remains more dificulties, there has not been any official study on this issue before Realizing and thinking highly of the importance of this problem, I decided to pick out “A study on translation methods of passive voice from English into Vietnamese in The Thorn Birds.” as the study of my graduation paper Moreover, being interested in translation and reading novel are also the main reasons which inspire me to carry out this study 6 1.2 Previous studies Linguistic typology of the English and Vietnamese languages is different As a result, there are some ways of rendering English passive voice into Vietnamese And the question is how to transfer English passive sentences into appropriate and natural Vietnamese version That is the reason why some people have conducted studies or reports on this issue These studies have shown common ways of translating passive voice from English into other languages Therefore, I would like to refer to these studies as reference materials for my graduation paper Firstly, this is “a study on modes of translating English passive sentences into Vietnamese” conducted by MA, Bui Thi Dien-Department of Foreign Languages, College of Science- VNU During this study, the researcher uses collecting data and statistical method of the passive sentences in English data for computer science According to the surveyed data, one English passive sentence can be translated into Vietnamese in the form of three following sentences: a passive sentence, an active sentence and a de- transitive sentence The passive sentence ranks first with 65% and followed by the active sentence and the de-transitive sentence with 26% and 9% respectively Translating an English passive sentence into a Vietnamese passive sentence is the easiest way because we don’t need to transfer the structure of English sentence In this method, we use some Vietnamese words such as “bị” with negative meaning and “được” with positive meaning Translating an English passive sentence into a Vietnamese active sentence is the method which the translators must determine the cause of the action to transfer into the active sentence In case the agent is not mentioned, the translator must create them by repeating the agent in the previous sentence or creating another structure Translating an English passive sentence into a de-transitive sentence is a combination between active sentence and passive sentence structure It is another choice for translators if they are not able to translate the passive sentences according to two ways which are mentioned in above paragraphs because they can avoid the 7 errors when they don’t understand that the passive sentences have positive meaning or negative meaning The second study-“Strategies of translating English passive sentences into Vietnamese sentences” is conducted by Ph.D Hoang Cong Binh-Graduate Academy of Social Sciences This study takes a survey of collected data about passive sentences from variable books and gives comments on the alternatives of translating English passive sentences into Vietnamese under the comparability of translation equivalence According to the survey, the result of this study is quite similar to the research findings of MA Bui Thi Dien It also shows three ways of translating passive voice from English into Vietnamese: translating English passive structure into a passive sentence; an active sentence and a de - transitive sentence in Vietnamese Moreover, the researcher mentions to the concept of translation, translation equivalence and give comments on the methods translation of passive sentences from English into Vietnamese according to the aspect of translation equivalence In general, the percentage of English passive sentences which are translated into Vietnamese in different types of fields (Administration - Public Affairs, Science and Literature) are quite different because converting English sentences into Vietnamese ones depends on many factors, in which the semantic factor plays a leading role The last one is “a study of passive voice in English and Vietnamese in practical translation condition” by MA Nguyen Thi Hong Yen This research chooses the research subject about English passive voice and the translation methods from English to Vietnamese The researcher applies the quantitative method and qualitative descriptive method to collect data of passive voice in the novel and analyze the methods being used The data source includes the source text and the target text about passive sentences in other fields to create the common results for almost types of documents The results in this study point out that there are three popular ways in translating passive voice from English into Vietnamese in the form of three types of sentences: the passive sentences, the active sentence and the de-transitive sentences The frequency of using each method is a bit different 8 with two above studies The passive structure ranks first with 45%, the de-transitive structure ranks second with 33% and is followed by the active structure accounting for 22% The research findings also present the typical differences about the structure between two languages and the factors affecting to choosing translation methods such as context, grammar, semantics, word order or vocabulary of the sentences In addition, the study conducts the survey on the common errors of the translators and give some suggestions improve the quality of practical translation 1.3 Aims of the study The study - “A study on translation methods of passive voice from English into Vietnamese in The Thorn Birds.” attempts to: - Introduce the concept of passive voice, translation, translation equivalence and the methods to transfer English passive sentences into Vietnamese - Preliminarily analyze translation methods of passive sentences from English into Vietnamese - Figure out the advantages, disadvantages of each translation method and point out the effective ways in translation - Suggest some suggestion with the hope to avoid the errors or confusion during translating passive voice and improve the quality of translation version I hope this study can provide readers with overall comprehension about knowledge relating to passive voices and support them to translate it effectively 1.4 Research Subject Research subject of study is the translation methods of passive voice from English into Vietnamese and I rely on the materials of the novel-The Thorn Bird by Colleen McCULLOUGH 1.5 Scope of the study Due to limitation of time and the knowledge of translation is very immense, I can not cover all matters about translation of passive voice, factors affecting on translation and all English sentences of passive voice in this novel as well Therefore, in this paper, only translation of passive voice from English into Vietnamese are presented and analyzed I decide to conduct the study on five chapters from chapter one to chapter five of The Thorn Bird 9 1.6 Research methodology The study is conducted with the combination of the following methods: As this study is carried out, the quantitative method and some other techniques are applied With the quantitative method, the novel-The Thorn Bird is used to collect data about passive sentences in the translation version of Pham Manh Hung A qualitative descriptive approach to data collection and analysis is used in this research as well The data are taken from novel-The Thorn Birds by COLLEEN McCULLOUGH and its translation by Pham Manh Hung The novel is read thoroughly both the English and Vietnamese version to get the understanding of the content as a whole The next step is identifying the data, collecting the data, replace them on the paper, selecting the data that are going to be analyzed, marking the sentences containing passive voice, and analyzing the methods that used in the process of translating passive voice from English into Vietnamese In this present research, I limit the analysis by only analyzing passive voice from chapter one to chapter five The contrastive analysis approach is also employed to find out the differences and similarities in structures or style of passive structure between English and Vietnamese Specially, to study the English-Vietnamese translation of passive voice, the following steps are carried out: 1.6.1 Collecting sample A sample survey does not cover all of the units of the whole Therefore, I choose five chapters in this novel to save time, effort and expense The overall sample is the novel- The Thorn Bird and the translation of Pham Manh Hung 1.6.2 Dealing with data After selecting the sample, the researcher will conduct the data collection from the materials which is chosen 1.6.3 Analyzing and comparing After selecting typical passive sentences, I find out the methods that are used in each sentence Then, I give comments, advantages and disadvantages of the translation methods 1.7 Organization of the study - My graduation paper is divided into four chapters: 10 10 sentence The action has positive meaning, thus using the word-“được” is reasonable in this sentences  She was passionately and openly loved, and indulged to the full extent of her father's monetary resources  Nó nhà cưng chiều bố không tiếc tiền mua quà cho - In the Vietnamese translation version, the recipient (nó) and the agent (cả nhà) are presented although the writer does not use the agent in English passive sentence This is a useful way of translator to make translated sentence more natural The word-“được” is used to determine meaning of this sentence  In 1810 he was sent to Van Diemen's Land  Năm 1810 đưa đến xứ Van - In this case, the agent is unknown, we not need to determine the ones who sent him to Van Diemen's Land because the author wants to emphasize on the results of the action The meaning nuance of sentence is identified by the same way in two above sentences Sentences with negative meaning:  Larceny to the tune of more than a shilling was punished on the gallows  Kẻ tội phạm ăn cắp từ silling trở lên bị kết án treo cổ - Adding the recipient for Vietnamese version creates an easy-understanding sentence for readers The agent is understood as judge or the authority The word-“bị” is added to show the negative nuance of being punished on the gallows  But when in 1776 the Americas were closed  Nhưng từ năm 1776, đường sang Mỹ bị tắc - The agent is unknown or less important than action of being closed, so it is removed when translating This sentence has negative meaning because of using “bị” before the main verb  Roderick Armstrong was sentenced to transportation for the term of his natural life  Roderick Armstrong bị án phạt vãng chung thân - It is similar to the above sentence with no agent The word- “bị” is used to show the negative meaning of the sentence  That was just nine years after he had been transported from England 26 26  Tất chuyện sảy sau Roderick bị đẩy khỏi nước Anh chín năm - There is no the agent in this case because it is unidentified clearly in English passive sentence, we not know who had transported Roderick from England Removing the agent during translating is common way to make Vietnamese passive sentence become more natural and proper with the style of Vietnamese - The recipient is identified as Roderick  You are all late, therefore you must all be punished  Tất chúng mày muộn, nghĩa bọn đáng bị trừng phạt - The children always hate being punished, so the translator uses the word-“bị” to show the negative meaning of the sentence - The performer in this sentence can be found in the previous sentences when we read the novel - The recipient is “cả bọn”  A muted rustling as precious sheets of paper were shuffled to one side  Tiếng sột soạt khe khẽ tờ giấy quý báu bị đẩy sang bên - No the agent, the recipent is “những tờ giấy quý báu” - The meaning nuance of the action-shuffling is not really obvious Therefore, using “bị” or “được” is also acceptable  Mum told me Meggie was sent home in disgrace  Mẹ bảo trường Meggie bị trừng phạt bị đuổi nhà - The agent is not mentioned in both English and Vietnamese sentences However we are able to understand that the agent is Meggie’s teacher through the context of the sentence - “Meggie” plays a role as the recipient of the main verb  She thought she ought to have been the only one punished  Nó cho đáng bị trừng phạt - This is the special form of passive voice( past infinitive) with the structure: Must/should/ought to have been+ PP - It has the recipient (nó) and no agent  Her left arm was kept tied to her body for a further two months 27 27  Tay trái bị buộc vào cạnh sườn thêm hai tháng - Both English sentence and Vietnamese sentence not include the agent because the purpose of author is to emphasize on the action - The recipient is “tay trái nó” 3.3.2 Translating English passive voice into Vietnamese active voice During transferring the messages from source language into target language, I find that English passive sentences are translated into Vietnamese active sentences with the maintenance, restoration or remove of the performer in the sentence However, they are just equivalent in terms of semantic, but not structurally equivalent According to the terms of language, this form of translation changes the value, expressiveness and style of messages Translators tend to take on active sentences instead of using passive sentences because this translation method is quite popular and can reduce the rate of passive structure in Vietnamese compared to the original It ensures a logical and consistent translation version for the Vietnamese readers In 53 English passive sentences, the survey shows that 17 passive sentences in English are translated into parallel active sentences in Vietnamese, accounting for 32% For examples: - Vegetables and fruit were eaten because they were good for you  Họ ăn rau ngon In this case, the agent (the actor of verb) - “họ” is the subject of the translated sentence and the passive structure being transferred into active structure is more natural than being translated into passive sentence When the agent is not mentioned in English passive sentence but it is presented in the previous or following sentences in paragraph, we can use this agent to transfer into the subject in the Vietnamese active sentence For example: - After the breakfast, dishes were put away  Sau bữa ăn sáng, Megggie thu dọn bát đĩa Sometimes, there is no agent in the passive sentence, we can form active sentence but remain the obvious meaning of the SL - Something had to be done 28 28  Cần phải tìm cách Here are some specific examples of translating English passive sentences into Vietnamese active sentences in The Thorn Birds:  She did as she was told, hiccuping noisily as her tears dried  Meggie nghe lời, nước mắt khơ khó cất lên tiếng, tiếng nấc bật - The two above sentences have no agent However, this does not cause confusion for the readers because they can determine the actor in the previous sentences - The the recipient (she) is used to become the subject of the Vietnamese active sentence (Meggie)  Frank was squatted before the stove  Cậu ngồi xổm trước bếp lò - “Squat” is not only transitive verb but also intransitive verb Therefore, using both the active structure and the passive structure are also reasonable in English sentence In this example, the author priors to use the English passive sentence because this structure is more popular in English than in Vietnamese - The past participle is transferred into the active verb with parallel meaning and the recipient (Frank) is used as the subject of the Vietnamese active sentence  How did they manage to be refreshed after the kind of night they had passed  Không hiểu chúng có cách tài tình mà sáng sáng chồm dậy hoàn toàn tỉnh táo sau giấc ngủ - The translator uses another verb to replace the passive verb - To be refreshed => chồm dậy hoàn toàn tỉnh táo, - The past participle is transferred into the active verb with parallel meaning - “They” plays a role as the recipient of the English sentence and the subject of the Vietnamese sentence  From the Armstrong point of view, Fee could only be said to have contracted a shocking mesalliance  Theo quan điểm họ, vụ gả chồng cho Fiona hôn nhân không tương xứng, đáng xấu hổ - The passive sentence does not mention to the agent because this is dummy subject and is less important to the meaning of the sentence Therefore, the translated 29 29 sentence includes a new subject-“vụ gả chồng cho Fiona” and new structure with the main verb is “là”  Until 1776 over a thousand British petty felons were shipped each year to Virginia and the Carolinas  Trước năm 1776, hàng năm tàu Anh trở sang Viecgini, sang bắc nam Karolin ngàn kẻ phạm tội lặt vặt - The new subject - “tàu Anh” is added to make the Vietnamese active sentence with obvious meaning - The passive structure-“to be shipped” is changed into the active structure with the main verb-“ship”  He was shipped to Norfolk Island  Người ta tống y đảo Norfolk - A dummy subject-“người ta” is used to modify the recipient-“ y” - The way to transfer this English passive sentence into the Vietnamese active sentence is similar to these above sentences We take the past participle (PP) and change it into active verb The agent and the recipient are mentioned to create an actives sentence with full meaning  He nodded his head as if to tell her she must as she was told  Thằng anh gật đầu ý: đi, người ta bảo em mà - The ways to translate the previous English passive sentences is still repeated in this case - The translator also uses an extra dummy subject-“người ta” in Vietnamese active sentence  There were still two hours to go before school was dismissed  Còn hai tan học - Both the agent and the recipient are not mentioned in the transferred sentence However, the main messages of SL remain unchanged and are conveyed in a proper way, in line with the context of the paragraph  Meggie's head was cradled on Frank's smooth bare chest  Meghi áp đầu vào ngực trần nhẵn nhụi anh - The subject of the Vietnamese active sentence-“Meggie” is taken from the subject of English passive sentence 30 30 - The translator replaces the passive structure by adding an active verb-“áp” in the active sentence  We're supposed to lick her boots  Bà ta tưởng liếm ghót bà ta - The structure “to be supposed to” is a special type of passive voice It is used to show that you think that a claim, statement or way of describing somebody/something is not true or correct - In this case, the translator does not use the dummy subject as usual Instead of this, the new subject-“bà ta” is added in the Vietnamese active sentence In general, the method of translating the English passive sentence into the Vietnamese active sentence requires the translator to have deep knowledge about other aspects of SL and TL, especially in structure of two language because this aspect is usually changed when we transfer the passive structure into the active structure 3.3.3 Translating English passive voice into Vietnamese a de- transitive voice Apart from two ways of passive sentence translation above, we can translate the English passive sentences into the Vietnamese de-transitive sentences This structure is a combination between active sentence and passive sentence structure The similarities between the passive structure and the de-transitive structure are that they use the recipient for the new subject in the translated sentence However, electing two words (bị, được) in the de- transitive sentence is the main difference of two sentence types The survey shows that 24 passive sentences in English are translated into parallel de-transitive sentences in Vietnamese, accounting for 45% Here are some specific examples of translating English passive sentences into Vietnamese active sentences in The Thorn Birds:  Her dusky mouth was parted slightly to show tiny white teeth  Cái miệng đỏ thắm mở, phơ hàng nhỏ xíu trắng muốt - The recipient of English passive sentence becomes the subject of the de-transitive sentence 31 31 - The past participle is transferred into the active form with the similar meaning  She wasn't given to impractical birthday presents  Mẹ hồn tồn khơng thích tặng q khơng thực tế vào ngày sinh nhật  Her hair was tangled and loose  Kiểu tóc sổ hết, tóc rối bù  Her face was swollen  Khuôn mặt bé sưng húp lên  His chest and arms were covered in a matted golden fuzz  Cả tay ngực đầy lông xoăn vàng ánh  The plates were big ones, and they were literally heaped with food  Những đĩa lớn đầy ắp kèm theo thịt đơng  As Daddy says, when a man's hands are callused you know he's honest  Con biết đấy, bố nói người có đơi tay u chai người lương thiện  His white arm was roped with prominent veins  Trên da trắng phía khủy tay hằn lên đường ven  Jack and Hughie were almost braided together in the next room  Jec Hughie bó vào với These sentences are grammatical correct In term of semantic, these sounds illogic because the subject of the de-transitive sentence can be human or things which can not carry out the action itself in the context of sentences In understanding these sentences, the reader and the hearer need to be conscious that there are passive meanings A de-transitive sentence is a proper choice for translators if they are not able to translate the passive sentences according to two ways which are mentioned in above paragraphs because they can avoid the errors when they don’t understand that the passive sentences have positive meaning or negative meaning Summary English- Vietnamese 32 Total 32 Percent (%) A passive sentence 12 23 An active sentence 17 32 A de-transitive sentence 24 45 Total 53 100 Table 2: The results of the translation methods of passive sentences from English into Vietnamese in The Thorn Birds The results show that those passive sentences are translated from English into Vietnamese by using three structures: a passive structure, an active structure and a de-transitive structure During conducting this survey I find that there are some differences in the percentage of each translation method compared to the previous studies In The Thorn Birds, the English passive sentences which are translated into the de-transitive sentence accounts for 45% of the total and is followed by the active sentence and the passive sentence with 32%, 23%, respectively These differences may depend on the the type and context of source text In the novel or any literary works, it is common to use the active structure or the de-transitive structure to make translation version more natural and easy-understanding for the Vietnamese readers 33 33 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 Research summary On the basis of translation equivalence, the translation methods of passive sentences from English into Vietnamese are quite different which are affected by equivalent levels such as structure, semantics and vocabulary Translating the different types of texts also shows that the choosing the translation methods is a complex and creative work Therefore, the translators must understand about the knowledge of foreign languages, linguistics and context of source text to create a good translation version According to the results of some surveys, we can find that English passive sentences can be translated into Vietnamese sentence as: the passive sentences; the active sentences and the de-transitive sentences In each study, the researchers use variable documents from different fields such technology, economy, politic, education, etc Generally, in some previous studies, the usage of Vietnamese passive sentences is the most popular way to translate English passive sentences Moreover, using the Vietnamese active sentences is usually considered to be the second useful way in translating passive structure and the rest is the method of using the detransitive sentences In my study, I use the passive sentences in a novel which is related to language of literature Therefore, the percentage of using each method is quite different from others In The Thorn Birds, the English passive sentences which are translated into the de-transitive sentence accounts for 45% of the total and is followed by the active sentence and the passive sentence with 32%, 23%, respectively The translator uses the method by transferring the English passive sentences into the Vietnamese de-transitive sentence most This method is common in the translation version of Pham Manh Hung because it makes the English passive sentences become more natural and proper with the culture of Vietnamese- not preferring using passive structure much in speaking or writing languages and helps translators avoid the errors when they not understand that the passive sentences have positive meaning or negative meaning However, this method is not an easy way for many translators as they must take more consideration on the context of 34 34 sentences, notion of culture in the novel to ensure that the content and language which is presented in the SL is fully acceptable and comprehensive to the TL readers 4.2 Suggestions Translation is becoming more important in the development of the world Most of the fields such as construction, health, finance or tourism use specialized materials in both Vietnamese and English In the aspect of economy, translation supports the companies to solve the problems happening in dealing with documents, contracts of international partners or communicating with foreign customers Moreover, translation also plays an important role in education A lot of literary works, philosophical materials need being translated from other languages into Vietnamese Each work has its own set of contexts and cultures so it requires the translator to have a specialized knowledge and understand the language There are some aspects that should be considered about translating other documents in general and translating passive voice from English into Vietnamese in particular Those aspects may become problem in translating passive structure, if the translator does not have sufficient skill in translating The problems may relate to the differences of semantic and grammatical features between SL and TL Semantically, the translation should be considered based on lexical and contextual meaning It concerns the meaning of linguistics expression and it has to make the use of contextual clues and enriches the information provided by words and grammatical construction While grammatically, the translator has to ensure that the changes in the sentence form in the translation of the SL into the TL are done properly and without distorting the semantic meaning of the ST Therefore, we must pay attention to different aspects of SL during translating to make the translated sentences comprehensive for the readers or the hearers Through the importance, the difficulties of translation and the results of studies about translating the passive voice from English into Vietnamese, I would like to suggest some solutions to raise the effectiveness of translation procedure for students and give some suggestions for teachers and the authority to help students in translating foreign languages 35 35 4.2.1 Students Firstly, Students need to read the document thoroughly before translation to identify the main content, context of the source texts, the audience of the translation and the style that the translation should convey, the different expressions in the English style and the Vietnamese style It is also very different by two cultures Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study the materials before proceeding to translate English into Vietnamese or vice versa Secondly, it is better to choose the right methods for each type of document Having an appropriate translation method will help students to improve your English translation skills In particular, when students translate passive voice in a novel, they should choose the method of translating the English passive sentences into the de-transitive sentence or the active sentence because these methods help translators create the translation version with easy-understanding content and being close with the style of Vietnamese In addition, many points show that there is no passive voice in Vietnamese Using passives structure in Vietnamese translation version seems to be unnatural and decreases the quality of literary translation On the other hand, they should not only be imposed on a popular method which is used by many translators because this depends on the ability of each individual and the difficulty degree of the documents For example, students always want to use the Vietnamese active sentences or the de-transitive sentences during translating to make the sentence more clear and natural This is quite unreasonable if they have lack of translation skills or knowledge about the culture of SL and TL This causes the errors and changes the meaning of English sentences Thus, using the Vietnamese passive sentences is the good way for this case Thirdly, Students need to be practiced in an academic environment in which they can work on both practical tasks under the supervision of their teachers and theoretical aspects to enhance their knowledge In an academic environment, recently published articles, journals and books on translation are available to them to translate Students can become good translators by reading the translation versions of famous translators and then comparing them with the original texts In this way, they will develop their power of observation, insight, and decision36 36 making, which in turn will lead them to enhance their motivation and improve their translating skills Lastly, Practicing and taking plenty of exercises is the key factor for everyone affecting to improvement in learning any English skills Students need try to read hard, translate everything on every favorite subject whenever they can And not forge to memorize the important information While reading, if there are some difficult sentences, students may not be able to focus on a document for more than an hour so students should choose a certain time of the day when they feel most comfortable and ready to translate anything 4.2.2 Teachers Firstly, teachers play a critical role in supporting to improve language skills for students They need to help their students have obvious awareness of the translation methods in different documents in various fields, show the usage of each method in the specific circumstance It is also important for teachers to point out the common errors during translating English passive voice and give the ways for students to improve the quality of translation or avoid repeating those mistakes Secondly, translation requires a lot of knowledge about vocabulary, grammar, phonics, translation theory The need to understand these aspects of language is very important during translation Therefore, teachers should have the proper training method to identify and teach for their students about the similarities, differences about grammar, structure and vocabulary between English and Vietnamese because these are the main factors which affect to the translation procedure and the reasons causes many errors for students Thirdly, teachers need to stimulate their students work in a group and discuss the difficulties with their partners Group work and cooperation with friends can always create better results in translation process Students who practice translation with their peers will be able to solve problems more easily and will also more rapidly develop self-confidence and decision-making techniques Although there is a possibility of making mistakes during group work, the experience of making, detecting, and correcting mistakes will make the students’ minds open and improve their translation skill easier 37 37 Finally, It is useful for teachers to select various translation materials that are proper with the ability of students, help them expand their knowledge in many fields and give students more opportunities to use the different translation methods in practical translation condition Teachers also need to create the comfortable environment in classroom to raise the interest of students in their subjects 4.2.3 The authority The leaders in the universities should provide learning and teaching schedules which are consistent with teachers and students to improve the quality of lessons Specifically, the proposal of reducing the number of students in a class should be implemented As such, teachers can cover the entire class and help students solve problems in the subject more easily In addition, the school can equip additional facilities such as books, reference materials to support students in the finding information related to the subject and discussion in group 38 38 CONCLUSION In my graduation paper, we have covered the study on methods of translating passive voice from English into Vietnamese The main parts of this research paper are divided into four chapters, namely overview of the study, literature review, research findings, recommendation and suggestions The theoretical background about the translation and passive voice are presented in chapter one and chapter two The most important chapter of this study shows the results of study about translation methods in translating passive voice Some suggestions for students, teachers and the authorities in the universities in order to increase the quality of learning and teaching are mentioned in chapter four With the help of supervisor, teachers, family and friends, my graduation paper has been complete at least Due to the limitation of time and comprehensive knowledge in this field, there are certainly weaknesses in this research paper Hope that all the weaknesses would receive thoughtful consideration and generous view Once again, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, MA, as well as all of my teachers in Foreign Language Department for their guidance and comments 39 39 REFERENCES “A study on modes of translating English passive sentences into Vietnamese” by Bui Thi Dien, MA “Strategies of translating English passive sentences into Vietnamese sentences” by Hoang Cong Binh, Ph.D “A study of passive voice in English and Vietnamese in practical translation condition” by Nguyen Thi Hong Yen, Ph.D The Thorn Birds- English version down02.putclub.com/virtual/backup/update/ /THE%20THORN%20BIRDS.pdf The Thorn Birds-Vietnamese translation version by Pham Manh Hung- Van Hoc publishing house The methods of translation (https://www.slideshare.net/dr.shadiabanjar/methods-of-translationpresentation) The definition of translation, Houbert (1998:1) The definition of translation, The Advanced Oxford Dictionary The definition of translation, Hatim & Mason (1990:3) 10 The definition of translation, Newmark (1995:5) 11 The definition of translation, Willss (1982:3) 12 The definition of translation, Dubois (1973) 13 The definition of voice, Crystal (2002) 14 The definition of passive voice, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice) 15 The definition of passive voice, English Passive Voice (2009) 40 40 ... Translation shift enables translators to create a natural translation of SL into TL 3.3 Discussion on the translation methods of passive voice from English into Vietnamese in The Thorn Birds According... that are going to be analyzed, marking the sentences containing passive voice, and analyzing the methods that used in the process of translating passive voice from English into Vietnamese In. .. translation methods of passive voice from English into Vietnamese in The Thorn Birds. ” as the study of my graduation paper Moreover, being interested in translation and reading novel are also the main