Errors in vietnamese english collocation translation made by students at the university of languages and international studies ulis

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER ERRORS IN VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH COLLOCATION TRANSLATION MADE BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (ULIS) Supervisor: Nguyen Viet Ky, M.A Student: Vu Thi Kim Lien Year of enrolment : QH 2009 Hanoi, May 2013 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CÁC LỖI DỊCH CỤM KẾT HỢP TỪ VIỆT-ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ-ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Ths Nguyễn Việt Kỳ Sinh viên: Vũ Thị Kim Liên Khoá: QH.2009 HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2013 ACCEPTANCE I hereby state that I: Vu Thi Kim Lien, class QH2009.F1.E25, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Hanoi, April 24th, 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and for most, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr Nguyen Viet Ky, M.A for his valuable suggestions, critical comments and great support Also, I am profoundly grateful to Ms Nguyen Thi Cam Linh, Ms Ngo Ha Thu, and Ms Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy for their substantial assistance In addition, I am much obliged to all the students in Translation and Interpreting Division, ULIS, especially the two interviewees for providing me with their translations and spending time participating in the interviews Last but not least, I am eternally indebted to my parents and my friends who always stand by me and offer me considerable encouragement so as for me to be able to complete this research i ABSTRACT Collocation is one of the most challenging problems to the majority of English students It is quite difficult for students to render a collocation from the SL into the TL due to the non-equivalence between two languages As a result, students with limited linguistic competence often make mistakes when rendering collocations It is necessary for them to be aware of these mistakes and know ways to tackle them This study investigates errors in the translation of Vietnamese collocations into English collocations made by students majoring in English translation and interpreting at the University of Languages and International Studies The study also comes up with translation procedures which are deployed to produce good translation of collocations Data analysis and interview are used to collect and analyze common collocation translation errors made by students and the procedures they use to create appropriate word combinations The results of the research show that the participants frequently make such errors as ignorance of rule restrictions, using improper synonyms and literally rendering the collocations Findings from data analysis and interview reveal that paraphrase, using lexical synonymy and shift or transposition are recommended as effective translation procedures for rendering collocations The conclusion can also be drawn that students should comprehensively read and listen to both authentic Vietnamese and English resources so that they will have adequate linguistic competence and be able to avoid making collocation translation mistakes ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the research proposal and practical rationale for the study Aims and objectives of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Definitions of translation Definition, collocation types and characteristics of collocations 2.1 Definitions of collocations 2.2 English collocation types 2.3 Vietnamese collocation types 10 2.4 Characteristics of collocations 11 Collocation errors 12 iii 3.1 Definitions of collocation errors 12 3.2 Types of errors 13 3.3 Sources of collocation errors 15 Procedures deployed in collocation translation 17 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19 Selection of subjects 19 1.1 Setting 19 1.2 Participants 19 1.3 Materials 20 Data collection instruments 20 2.1 Semi-structured individual interview 20 2.2 Content and statistic analysis 21 Procedures of data collection 21 Procedures of data analysis 22 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 24 English corresponding collocation patterns for each type of Vietnamese collocations translated 24 Common collocation translation errors made by the ULIS students 25 2.1 Ignorance of rule restrictions 26 2.2 Improper synonyms 27 2.3 Literal translation 29 2.4 Overgeneralization/ false analogy 30 iv 2.5 Addition 31 2.6 Spelling 33 2.7 Word coinage 34 2.8 Summary of the findings 35 Good translated English collocations and the translation procedures deployed 35 3.1 Paraphrase 35 3.2 Shift or transposition 37 3.3 Reduction or expansion 38 3.4 Lexical synonymy 39 3.5 Modulation 40 3.6 Summary of the findings 41 Further discussion of collocation translation errors made by students 41 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 43 Summary of the findings 43 Limitations of the study 44 Suggestions for English collocation learning and teaching as well as directions for further research 44 REFERENCES 46 APPENDIX 49 APPENDIX 65 APPENDIX 71 v APPENDIX 73 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS adj Adjective adv Adverd BĐKH Biến đổi khí hậu n noun prep preposition SL Source language TL Target language ULIS University of Languages and International Studies v Verb vii Interviewee: I can‟t say very clearly which are the most serious errors caused by the inappropriate collocations translated by students Interviewer: Well, I mean which errors change the meaning of the source text most seriously? Interviewee: Yes, you mean that which errors may distort the message in the translation? Interviewer: Yes, that‟s what I mean Interviewee: I can‟t say for sure If it is an error, it means that the message has been a little bit change from the original message For the example here, I think perhaps addition or overgeneralization is not very serious… I can‟t say for sure which one is the most serious Interviewer: Alright thank you So now we come to a very significant question, what are the sources of those collocation translation errors? Interviewee: Yes, I think for students in general, the major reason that they make these errors is that they don‟t have a lot of vocabulary or collocations in authentic English That‟s why when they have to translate Vietnamese collocations into English ones, they just use simple words, phrases or sentences to translate Interviewer: And is that the main source? Interviewee: Yes, from what I have seen Interviewer: Besides collocation competence as you‟ve said, are there any other sources? For example, students are strongly affected by their mother tongue, specifically here Vietnamese, and they tend to translate in the same way they think in Vietnamese? 74 Interviewee: Yes because surely they are affected by their mother tongue but no because most teachers make them be aware that they should not use the way they in Vietnamese to translate collocations into English So they have that awareness Interviewer: Is there any situation in which students are well aware that they are making mistakes but they still have to that because they have to choose between naturalness and accuracy? Interviewee: I think so too because if they not have enough time to look up the collocations in dictionary or if they have to work under time pressure, I think they will give priority to accuracy in terms of meaning, not the naturalness Interviewer: Well so thank you Another question, in your teaching, you raise your students‟ awareness of collocations? Interviewee: Yes, particularly for fourth-year students because they will have to make their translations original and native-like So that‟s why we strongly advise students to use collocations Interviewer: And how to you that? Interviewee: Through everyday teaching or through class activities And it‟s a longterm goal Normally, you may assume that we only raise students‟ awareness for Vietnamese-English collocation lesson only But actually, when we teach students to translate English into Vietnamese, we try to analyze the original English texts, and we make them be aware of the authentic collocations in the English texts In so doing, we teach English-Vietnamese translation but actually we also provide them with the opportunity to be exposed to English collocations Interviewer: Alright, in your opinion, which translation procedures are frequently deployed by students? 75 Interviewee: They use through translation quite a lot for proper names They may use paraphrase for difficult expressions They may also use shift or transposition and expansion Interviewer: What about modulation? Interviewee: Yes, for longer phrases, they may use modulation or even transference I think it also depends on the genre of the text Interviewer: Well so thank you So what are the criteria to assess a collocation, whether it is good or bad, proper or improper? Interviewee: It‟s hard to say The first criterion I can think of is whether the collocation is suitable for the context Even if it is a very good, sophisticated collocation, but it may be inappropriate if the text is just for the general readers, and the whole message for translation is communicative for example, and the level of the readers is much lower than the level of the writer So the collocation, though it‟s sophisticated, is still not relevant Therefore, it depends on the context, whether the collocation serves the purpose of the context Interviewer: Well thank you, so that last question for you Do you explicitly suggest your students some strategies to translate collocations and what are they? Interviewee: Yes, check the dictionary It‟s a combined a process, not just checking the dictionary, it‟s also about reading comprehension And it‟s also about our habit to pick up a collocation, whenever we find a collocation interesting or new It‟s not just collocations in particular but it can also be other original English phenomenons like metaphors or technical terms and so on Interviewer: Do you recommend your students a procedure to find out a proper collocation? 76 Interviewee: Yes, to deal with hard-to-translate collocations, I recommend them to find the key in the collocations like the noun or the verb and then check the dictionary for this In many cases, when students have to translate collocations into Vietnamese, they try to evaluate a word or a phrase separately without relating to other elements of the sentence or even the message of the whole text So I recommend them to first, try to find the meaning from the context, which is the contextual meaning And second, if they have to look up the dictionary, try to find the key like the nouns or verbs And the last, if they fail to find the contextual meaning or even after looking up the dictionary, I recommend them to consult to other sources like the native speakers Interviewer: Yes I think only native speakers can have the most proper assessment of the collocations Interviewee: It‟s not 100%, perhaps many collocations take roots in the old English and perhaps most native speakers cannot know that Even for Vietnamese, we just take many collocations in daily language for granted, but in written language, we don‟t know for sure Interviewer: Thank you very much for attending this interview! 77 Interview with the second teacher Interviewer: Firstly, I would like to express my sincerest thanks to you for attending this interview As you know, this interview is being conducted to find out common collocation translation errors as well as good collocations translated by students The first question I would like to ask you is that in your opinion, to what extend is collocation translation difficult to students and why they find it difficult? Interviewee: Well, a really tough question, because you ask a lecturer about the difficulties of students It‟s very difficult for me to tell from students‟ perspective But I think it depends on students‟ linguistic ability If they are fluent users of English, they understand the grammar rules, the way to combine words or I may say they have good linguistic ability, they will find no difficulty translating collocations But very few students can so, even me when I was a student So the main problem is that they can‟t understand very well the grammar of English, the features of the target and source languages Even some of them cannot understand why there is such collocation in Vietnamese So they make mistakes, mainly because of the grammar, poor vocabulary, failing to find the right words So that‟s the direct result of lazy reading, choosing inappropriate reading, not focusing on academic books or literary books which can widen their vocabulary and collocations, so they have poor translation of collocations Interviewer: The second question, which collocation translation errors in the provided list are frequently made by students? Interviewee: Once again, it depends on students‟ linguistic ability With those who have poor linguistic skills, they make all these kinds of sources Because they can‟t understand the source words and then they provide a total different word So literal translation, ignorance of rules, addition or I should call redundancy when they keep repeating the words, and the spelling as well are common errors I myself find it hard 78 to explain for students why I chose “foster talent” rather than “grow talent” because they can‟t understand All I can say is that because native speakers use those words, it‟s my gut feeling, I feel that it‟s right because I experience or see it somewhere in the native newspapers for example I see that they use it, so I use it and recommend them to use it But sometimes I can‟t give the precise reason so they can‟t remember and use it later Interviewer: So which errors are the most serious mistakes, I mean those which can change the meaning of the source texts? Interviewee: Well, I as far as I remember knowledge from discourse analysis, every sentence has certain parts, so even when foreign speakers use the wrong word, everyone can still understand with such certain parts I remember that it‟s the proposition So like the improper synonyms, although students use the wrong words, we or even the foreigners can still understand the meaning Only with overgeneralization, people can understand wrongly; and spelling of course because you create a total different word For other errors, readers can still understand Interviewer: So now coming to a significant question, what are the sources of those errors? Interviewee: Well, as I‟ve already mentioned, the poor vocabulary and grammar understanding of both SL and TL, so students can‟t understand the meaning of the Vietnamese words and they can‟t figure out the exact meaning of the word and then literally transfer into English and therefore make mistakes Interviewer: Are there any other sources? Interviewee: So you have to take into consideration every factor Usually, when you have time, or all kinds of supporting sources like the dictionary or internet, you can hardly make the mistakes because you can cross check But under time pressure like 79 when you sit for an exam, and a lot of noise and stress, so properly, you make mistakes Or due to the memory, you just feel, I see this word somewhere and then use it, but later you realize that it‟s wrong Interviewer: What about the effect of the source language on students? I mean, Vietnamese students tend to think in Vietnamese way and then they literally translate into English So can you elaborate it? Interviewee: For example like this one, we tend to use a lot of common nouns, and students are easily affected by this Like this one “lượng mưa” when we have the term “rainfall” or “precipitation” in English, but to some students, they tend to translate as “the amount of rainfall” and they think that it‟s the right collocation and a very precise way to translate So they are easily affected by the word “lượng” Yes, as earlier I told you that students today are quite lazy at reading, it‟s just like the fast-food culture, so they get any word that comes into their minds without thinking or cross-checking with other people, even when they sit in front of the computer, but they don‟t cross-check with Google, just write down the word they have in their minds Interviewer: Well, in your teaching, you often raise your students‟ awareness of collocations? Interviewee: Yes, I try to Although sometimes I don‟t speak straightforwardly like collocation is very important so you have to use it But I try to emphasize that if you want to make your translation sound native-like, that‟s the way you should do, this word goes better with this word, or you shouldn‟t use that word because no native speaker uses it So rarely I say that you have to learn collocations, because they are not pupils any more, if they find that it‟s necessary, they will learn it on their own So I don‟t force them to learn, just recommend them to learn Interviewer: So the next question, in your opinion, which collocation translation procedures in the provided list are frequently deployed by students? 80 Interviewee: I think lexical synonymy Actually, I encourage them to use this procedure, especially under time pressure when they have to sit for an exam But if they have time, just find the exact collocations And the paraphrase as well The shift or transposition is just common among students who are quicker and have better vocabulary and grammar understanding because they can switch back and forth the structures of the sentence, so they are quite active And until now I encourage all students to change or break down the structures of the sentences, try to think of various ways to translate, not just focus on the original words, as long as you can express the message So to conclude, common procedures include lexical synonymy, paraphrase, shift or transposition and modulation Interviewer: What about reduction and expansion? Interviewee: Well usually reduction, because they can‟t understand, so they cut it out For expansion, I don‟t see them add more words to the source collocations, only after being recommended by teachers Interviewer: Yes, I see, because adding words may lead to overgeneralization Interviewee: Yes, overgeneralization or too specific So they are scared, because sometimes they don‟t understand as they fail to read the source text properly Therefore, they hesitate to paraphrase or use the right word to express their ideas So, only with fixed collocations like the grammatical collocations or everything related to grammar, I require them to be precise But with the more flexible one, if they have another way to translate, I encourage them as long as I find the translated collocations acceptable Interviewer: So in your opinion, what are the criteria to assess a collocation, whether it is proper or improper? Interviewee: Yep, it‟s really hard to say Because as I told you, it depends on the context, the ability and how deep your understanding about the collocation is Maybe I will depend on my gut feeling and check the internet to find out the frequency of the 81 word combinations If the frequency is not high, I may not accept it It‟s also quite hard to assess because we are not the native speakers, we just depend on our feelings Interviewer: What about the accuracy or naturalness? Interviewee: Yes, as I told you, accuracy is very important But naturalness is something very ambiguous Interviewer: Yes, so now come to the last question Do you explicitly suggest your students some strategies to make good collocations? Interviewee: Strategies? I encourage them to read more They have to read documents written in both Vietnamese and authentic English They have to choose reliable sources They have to learn Vietnamese first and revise their English capacity as well Sometimes they don‟t understand the writing style, whether a document is academic, literary, formal, informal They just automatically use the collocations like a machine without thinking whether it is suitable in the context Therefore, I force them to read, but it‟s just the first step It takes time and depends on the students as well The second one is dictionary, it‟s a must When we are not native speakers, we have to depend on the dictionary and the internet which are reliable sources to check Other strategies, I think, when they translate, if they translate from Vietnamese into English, I encourage them to focus on the messages, don‟t be affected by fixed terms or the new words as long as they can understand So sometimes I just ask students to read orally, close the books, retell what they have said so far You know, I try to separate them from what is written in the book If they understand, they can translate it, so they can forget all the redundant words and translate well Besides, they should learn fixed terms, the idioms, and revise their translation, cross check with the internet Interviewer: Thank you very much for your participation in this interview! 82 Interview with the first student Interviewer: Firstly, I would like to express my sincerest thanks to you for attending this interview As you know, this interview is being conducted to find out common collocation translation errors as well as good collocations translated by students So the first question for you In your opinion, which types of collocations in the provided collocation classification table you find most challenging to translate? Interviewee: I find that "verb-adverb" and "adjective-noun" are the most challenging types for me when translating Interviewer: Can you specify the reason why? Interviewee: Because I have to find the most suitable adv or adjective in Vietnamese I find that many adv and adjective in English does not have equivalents in Vietnamese Or sometimes if I keep their meanings, the translated phrase will sound very funny Interviewer: What you mean by "funny", you mean “strange” or “weird”? Interviewee: Yep I mean the words will not sound natural Interviewer: Yes, I see Interviewer: So the next question for you, which collocation translation errors in the provided list of errors you frequently make? Interviewee: I think they are improper synonyms and literal translation Therefore, finding a synonym in another language, I think, is difficult So if I don't have dictionary I will translate them literally or use improper synonyms So I think they are the two errors that I often make Interviewer: Yes, thank you so much Now for the third question, in your opinion, what are the reasons leading to your errors in collocation translation? 83 Interviewee: I think the first one is new word in the collocation As I said, if I don't have a dictionary when I meet a new word, actually I can guess the meaning However, not all my guesses are correct, so new word is the first reason Interviewer: Yes, I can see that the main cause is the linguistic competence right? Interviewee: Yes You're right Interviewee: Secondly, I misunderstand the meaning of the words, not new words If you can master English, can use it as fluently as your Vietnamese, I think that those errors will be reduced a lot Interviewer: Yep, I see Are there any other reasons, like the influence of mother tongue on your translation? Interviewee: Yep, sometimes I find that sometimes Vietnamese words we often use are not used in English in the collocations Interviewer: Ok, thank you, coming to the next question What are your strategies to deal with those mistakes? Interviewee: I often use dictionary, especially collocation dictionary when I have to translate from Vietnamese into English It's easy for me to look up the collocation dictionary to find the finest collocations However, translating from English into Vietnamese is more difficult because we don't have Vietnamese collocation dictionary So I use the Internet I search my translation on Google and choose the most frequently used result I also read books or newspapers that may contain collocations or ask my friends and teachers for help Interviewer: As I see that the biggest problem is linguistic competence So what have you done to enhance your competence? In other words, what have you done to create authentic English collocations when translating Vietnamese collocations into English collocations? 84 Interviewee: I have a notebook I write the words that I translated correctly or are checked by my teachers in the notebooks and learn by heart I often learn the collocation by heart I think linguistic competence is just a part of this problem If you can remember as many collocations as possible, you can reduce your errors Interviewer: Yes, thank you Do you read or listen a lot to make yourself familiar with authentic English so that you can use it spontaneously and therefore be able to make suitable collocations? Interviewee: Not really I read more than listen I can learn best by seeing and writing So I often read and then write down what I read to remember them When listening, I not pay much attention to the information as when reading Interviewer: Now the last question for you Which translation procedures in the provided list you often use in translating collocations? Interviewee: I often use shift or transposition to translate collocations In English, noun is preferred while in Vietnamese, verb is preferred Therefore, when translating, to have the best collocations in the target text, I often use this procedure The next procedure I often use is through translation Because in the texts I needed to translate, there were many names of organization Cultural equivalent is also often used It helps me make my translation sound natural Interviewer: Thank you very much for attending this interview! 85 Interview with the second student Interviewer: Firstly, I would like to express my sincerest thanks to you for attending this interview As you know, this interview is being conducted to find out common collocation translation errors as well as good collocations translated by students So the first question for you In your opinion, which types of collocations in the provided collocation classification table you find most challenging to translate? Interviewee: It's hard to say, you know Normally I not classify types of collocations So I not know which one is the most difficult, but in the provided table I think noun-noun is the most difficult one Interviewer: Can you specify the reason why? Interviewee: I think maybe I don‟t know when to use Adjective-Noun when to use Noun-Noun for a Vietnamese Noun – Noun Interviewer: So the next question for you, which collocation translation errors in the provided list of errors you frequently make? Interviewee: I think it must be addition because Vietnamese is quite lengthy while you know English is concise When translating, I tend to think like a Vietnamese, hence I will preserve the original word order I mean, if the original says “hôm ngày đẹp trời”, I will translate like “it's such a very beautiful day” you know Another error might be improper synonyms as I‟m not an English Like the example in the table, even now I think that many Vietnamese translate like “grow talents”, it sounds ok For others, I don‟t think I committed such errors Spelling, no, we have spelling checking right? I am not confident enough to create new words; literal, sometimes but not a big deal Ignorance of rule restriction, no, never, I don‟t think a translator can translate like “recently years”, you know, that's stupid 86 Interviewer: But you know, most of my objects are students, some of them, especially second-year students often make this mistake because they are not careful Interviewee: Yes, I got it Interviewer: Yes, thank you so much Now for the third question, in your opinion, what are the reasons leading to your errors in collocation translation? Interviewee: I think due to the lack of background knowledge, I mean terminology, idioms, etc We not know them all in English Hence, it's unavoidable to commit those errors You know, for experienced translators, they have them all so they translate correctly, I think so Besides, as you said before, it might be because students are careless They not check their translations carefully However, I think background knowledge must be the major cause That's all Interviewer: Have you ever misunderstood the SL collocations and therefore make the wrong translation into English? Interviewee: I don‟t think that I mistranslate words due to misunderstanding the source text If so, I would translate the text wrongly, I mean the idea Interviewer: I mean, if you misunderstand the SL text, you can transfer the wrong message Interviewee: Yep, sometimes we still translate words and word phrase correctly but wrong ideas Interviewer: Ok, thank you Coming to the next question, what are your strategies to deal with those mistakes? Interviewee: You know, using collocation dictionary, that's all I mean, I just look up words there and choose suitable words, there's no other secret when I translate I look 87 up words and words that can go with them then choose I not translate like wordfor-word from Vietnamese into English Collocation dictionary is my only tool Interviewer: Do you read or listen a lot to authentic English so that you can make yourself familiar with English and therefore can make right collocations spontaneously? Interviewee: Oh, no, I'm not that hard-working, you know Reading, I think, just broadens your knowledge, I mean general knowledge For words and structures, you must use them I don‟t think you can learn 100 words via reading, you learn those 100 via using them So reading is not helpful for me When translating, I just read what I translate and look up words; by that way I remember some words and structures for other translation Interviewer: Now the last question for you Which translation procedures in the provided list you often use in translating collocations? Interviewee: As I said I look up words in dictionary and then translate them, through translation is the procedure I use most Besides, I think functional equivalence for things like Adjective-Verb, then it might be modulation, you know, English prefers passive voice to active Interviewer: What about other procedures like lexical synonymy or paraphrase, like when you don‟t remember or can‟t find the exact collocation, you can explain it Or use the words which share the same meaning with it Interviewee: Yes, I also use paraphrase for long and complicated phrases Lexical synonymy, yep, sometimes; actually, when I have to translate under time pressure and without the help of translation tools, I prefer these two procedures Interviewer: Thank you very much for attending this interview! 88 ... investigates errors in the translation of Vietnamese collocations into English collocations made by students majoring in English translation and interpreting at the University of Languages and International. .. Languages and International Studies (ULIS) ” This study aims at investigating mistakes in Vietnamese- English collocation translation made by students at the University of Languages and International Studies. .. errors in Vietnamese- English collocation translation made by ULIS students? What are the procedures that ULIS students use in the translation of Vietnamese collocations into good English collocations?