SOME DIFFICULTIES AND REQUIRED SUGGESTIONS IN TRANSLATING NEWS STORY

SOME DIFFICULTIES AND REQUIRED SUGGESTIONS IN TRANSLATING NEWS STORY 3.1 Some difficulties in translating news story While Vietnam has gone through ‘renovation” to being a market economy, the people of Vietnam have also gone through various stages, rushing and elbowing their way through to learn an international language as a mean of relating meaningfully to the wider world. This has created what could be could ‘English fever’. The government plans to popularize English until 2010 at schools. Thus, Vietnamese learners of English tend to encounter a lot of difficulties in their acquisition of the target language especially in press. In this paper, I would like to mention about the barriers of culture and language for Vietnamese to understand English news stories. 3.1.1 Cultural difficulty Our culture provides the lens through which we view the world. It refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the milieu in which we live. Culture is a kind of meta- preference, in the sense it tells us what we should want to want. The term ‘culture’, is a complex concept which has been defined in numerous ways often reflecting the writer’s academic orientation. Common to all definitions of culture, however, is that culture is something shared by members of a social group. The system of language is a part of shared cultural knowledge of social groups, and ways of communicating are an important part of the observable behavior of people in social groups. It is clear that there is climate close relationship between language and culture. For example, thinking of the richness if vocabulary to take about relations in languages spoken by people whose culture places a strong emphasis on family ties, such as Pitjantjatjara, Burmeae or Vietnamese, to Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 1 mention only a few. In fact, most linguists today would agree that it is impossible to prove that language determines or only reflects the way we think. Some questions relating to language are raised that if there are any concepts which can’t be translated or expressed in some other languages, especially in press. Answering it briefly, it is clear that there are some concepts which need many words to express into another language. For example, the English word ‘baby-sister’ is central to western cultures in which it is assumed that a baby or a child will from time to time be left in the care of an individual who is not a member of the family, and who undertakes to care for the baby or child usually in return for remuneration. And it may be translated into Vietnamese as ‘cô trông trẻ’, ‘cô nuôi dạy trẻ’ or ‘vú em’… It would be strange to Vietnamese if someone says [22]: “… these which survive may live for twenty years and reach the size of a dinner plate”. Traditionally, Vietnamese might not know what a dinner palate is. We always have meals with bowls and chopsticks and hardly know the size of a dinner plate. Therefore, this group of words is a barrier preventing Vietnamese reader from understanding the text. In conclusion, language consists of a complex system of communication, which enables people to construct the meanings needed to communicate with each other. Culture is the whole complex of ways of acting, believing, valuing and thinking which are shred by group of people and passed on one generation to others. In addition, the cultural differences between Vietnamese and the English speaker are a lot, which causes plenty of difficulties to the Vietnamese learner as well as the translator. Therefore, just by obtaining the knowledge of all aspect, can the reader understand, since translate the news stories well. Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 2 3.1.2 Linguistic difficulty Newspapers impart news by the language. And it is newspaper that is the most typical mean of indicating language as well as indicating any change of language and life. Because language is a mean of human interaction and people are social beings in a society with specific values, norm and cultural traditions, the language people use will be intricately linked to and shaped by their social and cultural practices. In a particular society and culture, the socialization process will include leaning to use language appropriately according to the norms of that society. If not then one needs to learn how to behave linguistically in ways appropriate to society. It is obvious that languages are not the static. They change over time not only in lexicon but also with regard to grammar, pronunciation, spelling or signing. The uses of language also change which will affect meaning. All this makes language learning a complex task. Therefore, the differences between languages: between Vietnamese and English in particular, as well as our use of language is also a factor in preventing us from understanding English newspaper. English preposition is a truly difficult aspect for Vietnamese learners to use preciously. The Vietnamese often says ‘dưới nền nhà’ (under the floor) when the English says ‘on the floor’, we say ‘bơi dưới sông’ (under the river) while the English says ‘in the river’, we say ‘trên trời’ (on the sky), meanwhile the English says ‘in the sky’. In addition, in Vietnamese there are phrases or clauses that need no preposition. But its equivalent clauses in English need one. The Vietnamese says ‘buổi sáng’ (the morning), ‘buổi tối’ (the evening), but the English says ‘in the morning’ and ‘in the evening’. Here, the preposition ‘in’ is placed before a noun phrase ‘the morning’ and ‘the evening’. In Vietnamese, we say Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 3 ‘lúc đi học’ (without preposition) but in English, it is ‘on the way to shool’ (with preposition ‘on’). Eg: In Vietnamese: đường tới vinh quang (without preposition) In English : on the road to the glory (with preposition ‘on’) Moreover, in Vietnamese-English translation, the word ‘President’ can be translated as ‘tổng thống’ if the article refers to the position in USA or Russia ( eg: President George Bush= Tổng thống George Bush). On the contrary, the word must be translated as ‘Chủ tịch nước’ if the position taken by a Vietnamese or Cuban official (President Trần Đức Lương = Chủ tịch nước Trần Đức Lương, or President Fidel Castro = Chủ tịch Fidel Castro) In Vietnamese – English translate, the world ‘Thủ tướng’ can be translate as ‘Prime Minister’ or ‘Premier’ if the position holders are Vietnamese, Thailand official. However, it must be translated as ‘Chancellor’ if the position belongs to the German official (Chancellor Helmut Kohl). Sometimes, paraphrases can make the readers or translators embarrassed. For example, the word ‘alcohol’ in English includes all alcoholic beverages in its meaning. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese word for this generally understood as ‘rượu’ and it does not include beer in its definition. As a result, the Vietnamese translators should add the word ‘beer’ in its definition to convey the full meaning of the English word. Otherwise, using an idiom of fixed expression of similar meaning but different form is also one difficult for Vietnamese readers of translators to find its equivalents in Vietnamese. Eg - To toil and moil : Bán mặt cho đất, bán lưng cho trời - Sell like hot cakes : Đắt như tôm tươi - To pick and choose : Kén cá chọn canh Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 4 Since idiomatic expressions are culture-bound, they can not be understood and translated exactly. In search for idiomatic equivalence when reading or translating, we should concentrate on expression and transfer from one culture to another. In summary, the society in which we live and the culture of that society can influence how we use language in these major functions. Knowing how to use language in a culturally appropriate way is something we acquire as part of the socialization process for our first language. When learning a second or subsequent language or receiving a language, this process is not only more conscious but also more difficult because the learners are often not familiar with the cultural practices associated with the language they learn. 3.2. Some required suggestions for translation It is very necessary to point out of some requirements that translators should possess in translating news story. Unfortunately, some persons fail to recognize the need for basic processes in translating news story. They think that some knowledge of a source language and a good bilingual dictionary is all that is required. In fact, there are four basic procedures in translating news story which must be taken into consideration analysis, transferring, restructuring and testing. Analysis consists of essentially of determining the meaning of the whole story. In other words, all the content of the story must be considered in analysis. Transfer consists of a shift from the source language story to the target language. It is the task of translators to restructure the form of the news story so as to make it appropriate for the presumed readers. Translation is a process of reproducing in the target language, the closed natural equivalence of source language story, firstly in terms of meaning and secondly lies in terms of style. The process of reproducing equivalence includes all the elements which constitute the interaction between the two languages; i.e, the Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 5 two cultures. The skills of the translators, therefore, extent far beyond the linguistic skills and include the capacity to be a journalist. 3.2.1 Language skills Language is certainly the main components of the core skills of a translator. When doing news story translation, the translator is required to master at least two languages in terms of their structure usage and expressive potential. Language competence for a translator originates from the above described competence and then proceeds to other elements such as the transfer competence. That is the ability to produce a variety of synonymous or analogous expressions in both languages, the ability to capture and reproduce register variations, and the ability to recognize and reproduce domain-specific expressions in a form which will be regarded as “natural” by the respective users. 3.2.2. Cultural competence The second element of required skills in translations is a group of components defined as cultural competence. It relates to extra-linguistic knowledge about the world of the respective writers and it requires through relevant elements of the cultures. Culturally, the translator is required to have trough knowledge on both cultures and an ability to transfer at least to introduce one culture to the other. 3.2.3 Journalism When dealing with the news stories, the translator is always expected to have a certain understanding of journalism. He is not necessary journalism, but his knowledge on journalism must be large enough to analyze the story both in their forms and contents. While translating the news story of news, the Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 6 translator plays a role as a journalist. He has to understand the techniques of a writer to draw attention of readership linguistically and non-linguistically. These show that the translator must have a large background, knowledge not only in language, culture and journalism but also in other fields, such as politics, economics, electronics etc, since the stories of news are not always on private lives of film stars or famous politicians. That is why translation appears to be an always new field with own challenges and rewards. The translator must improve himself in the challenging subjects. Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 7 PART C: CONCLUSION Since the English language became the key foreign language in Vietnam, the bilingual press is an obvious phenomenon. And the more developed the society is, the more important the press is. However, it is not easy for the Vietnamese leaner to read and understand the newspaper in general and news story in particular. Therefore, I decided to choose the subject on structural features of English news story. From that background, I studied the problems of the headline, the topic sentence (with its form features and content features), the structures of news story’s body, the sub-title and then mentioned some difficulties, some required suggestions in translating news story. I wish to give out some basic knowledge on the field of the news story to the reader since better their insight to the changing-world. Due to the limitation of time, I can not delve into other aspects of news story. If having enough condition, I would study all of the linguistic features of English news story and Vietnamese news story and point out their similarities and differences. This is the first time I have done such a scientific research work, so all remarks, comment and suggestions are well-received and highly appreciated. Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 8 APPENDIX SOME QUOTED ARTICLES USED AS THE EXAMPLES IN THE STUDY E.g.1.2.1.b: North Korea threatens South with destruction By Choe Sang-Hun Published: March 31, 2008 After several days of escalating oratory against South Korea, Pyong-yang issued one of its toughest warnings in many years, threatening to turn its neighbor into “ashes” with a “pre-emptive” military strike. In one of its harshest warnings in years, amid rapidly chilling relations on the divided Korean Peninsula, North Korea warned Sunday that it may make a “pre-emptive” military strike that would reduce South Korea to “ashes” The statement, made by an unnamed military affairs commentator at Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, also reiterated the North’s threat to end all inter-Korean government contacts unless Seoul apologized for what Pyongyang called a “warmongering” remark by the new head of the South’s Joint Chief of Staff. “Everything will be in ashes, not just a sea of fire, if our advanced pre- emptive strike once begins” the commentator was quoted as saying, in an allusion to the North’s unconfirmed nuclear-weapons capabilities. At the height of a 1993-94 crisis over the North’s efforts to build nuclear weapons, North Korea threatened to turn Seoul into “a sea of fire”, triggering a panic in the South that prompted householders to rush to stock up on food. North Korea, one of the world’s most militarized states, typically makes provocative statements toward the United States and South Korea when … Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 9 E.g.1.2.2.b Confused over the credit crisis? You are not the only one By David Leonhardt Published: March 19, 2008 Raise your hand if you don’t quite understand this whole financial crisis. It has been going on for seven months now, and many people probably feel as if they should understand it. But they don’t, not really. The part about the U.S. housing crash seems simple enough. With banks whispering sweet encouragement, people bought homes they couldn’t afford, and now they are falling behind on their mortgages. But the overwhelming majority of homeowners are still doing just fine. So how is it that a mess concentrated in one part of the mortgage business - subprime loans - has frozen the credit markets, sent stock markets gyrating, caused the collapse of Bear Stearns, left the U.S. economy on the brink of the worst recession in a generation and forced the Federal Reserve to take its boldest action since the Depression? I'm here to urge you not to feel sheepish. This may not be entirely comforting, but any confusion you might have is shared by many people who are in the middle of the crisis. "We're exposing parts of the capital markets that most of us had never heard of" Ethan Harris, a top Lehman Brothers economist, said last week. Robert Rubin, the former Treasury Secretary and current Citigroup executive, has said that he hadn't heard of "liquidity puts" an obscure financial contract, until they started causing big problems for Citigroup. I spent a good part of the last few days calling people on Wall Street and in the government to ask one question: "Can you try to explain this to me?" When they finished, I often had a highly sophisticated follow-up question: "Can you try again?" … Trinh Thi Ha – K11C 10 [...]... nation's economic influence far beyond its borders The law, which goes into effect on Aug 1, is intended to strengthen an existing set of antitrust regulations the Chinese originally established in 1993 It will make China a third sphere of regulatory influence, matching the power of the European Union and the United States, according to legal specialists in this country and in China who have studied... Justice Department gave military interrogators broad authority in 2003 to use extreme methods in questioning detainees and argued that wartime powers largely exempted interrogators from laws banning harsh treatment, according to a publicly disclosed memorandum In a sweeping legal brief written in March 2003, when the Pentagon was struggling to determine limits for its interrogators, the Justice Department... outmoded technology and political infighting have hobbled the giant company, which employs 374,000 people in more than 100 countries Even within Citigroup, many have rejected Weill’s grand vision of a globe-spanning financial supermarket, an agglomeration of investment and commercial banking, insurance and fund management that could prosper in both good time and bad The company has even abandoned its Weill-era... the president of Indonesia and the prime ministers of Poland and Denmark, have decided to join forces in a coordination group at the highest political level Our goal is to facilitate an ambitious climate change agreement in Copenhagen in 2009 We intend to push for action, keep up momentum, maintain strategic guidance and provide a channel for the engagement of the top political level in support of the... export sales And Brenton Fry, who heads the import-export operation of an old Australian winemaker, Yalumba, is fighting to hold town retail prices for wine sold in the United State by cutting profit margins All three have a common worry: The sliding value of the U.S dollar against most global currencies is putting them under increasing financial pressure… Eg.2.1.1k1: Olympic torch arrives in Beijing amid... to inflame the controversy over the way that Merck and Schering-Plough handled the Enhance trial, as well as their heavy promotion of Vytoin and Zetia The drugs are used to lower cholesterol and are among the most widely prescribed medicines in the United States, with sales of $5 billion last year Shares of Merck and Schering plunged Monday The Enhance investigator, Dr John Kastelein, also complained... with the Chinese cargo ship Yao Hai in water northwest of Hong Kong’s outlying Lantau Island Six Ukrainians and a Chinese citizen were rescued But 18 Ukrainian sailors were trapped in the capsized vessel’s hull Ip said rescuers would continue their efforts until the vessel was retrieved and the bodies were recovered The Neftegaz 67 has a history of safety problems, and port authorities detained the ship... E.g.2.1.1.j1: Dollar is bludgeoned, and Asia feels its pain Businesses and workers are suffering By Donald Greenlees, Martin Foster and Tim Johnston Published March 27, 2008 Anthony del Rosario, who crews an oil tanker plying the route between the Middle East and South Korea, is sending home less money to his family in the Philippines Takeshi Okada, a shoe manufacture in Japan, is concerned about the... might find winding through the backwoods of Vermont of sunflower fields in the French provinces On Leusa, 70, who lives near the road, calls it “deluxe” As a young woman, she traded opium and tiger bones along the road, which was then nothing more than a horse trail On Monday, the prime ministers of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam will officially inaugurate the former opium smuggling... Despite spending 28 years together, at this moment a touch of fear is understandable for the trio (The fourth member, the drummer, Bill Berry, left the band in 1997, after a brain aneurysm.) From its debut in 1981 until the mid 1992s R.E.M was a definitive American rock band, but its sales and influence have steadily declined in the last decade “Accelerate” is a very debate response to an internal crisis . SOME DIFFICULTIES AND REQUIRED SUGGESTIONS IN TRANSLATING NEWS STORY 3.1 Some difficulties in translating news story While Vietnam. structures of news story s body, the sub-title and then mentioned some difficulties, some required suggestions in translating news story. I wish to give out some