Chiến lược dịch các thuật ngữ văn hóa liên quan tới trò chơi dân gian việt nam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON THE TRANSLATION OF VIETNAMESE FOLK GAMES Supervisor: Vương Thị Thanh Nhàn Student: Trần Thị Thúy Vượng Course: QH2011.F1.E20 HANOI – 2015 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CHIẾN LƯỢC DỊCH CÁC THUẬT NGỮ VĂN HÓA LIÊN QUAN TỚI TRÒ CHƠI DÂN GIAN VIỆT NAM Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Vương Thị Thanh Nhàn Sinh viên:Trần Thị Thúy Vượng Khóa: QH2011.F1.E20 HÀ NỘI – 2015 ACCEPTANCE I hereby state that I: Trần Thị Thúy Vượng from class 11E20, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University of Languages and International Studies 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: Date: May 31st, 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the completion of this paper, I have appreciated precious support from many people First and foremost, I would like to express sincere gratitude towards my beloved supervisor, M.A Vương Thị Thanh Nhàn for her devoted instruction during the last year Despite her business, she was always willing to give me advice on the thesis She was dedicated to guide me ways to conduct this study and correct each mistake of forms and contents in my work Without her assistance, it would have been so difficult for me to accomplish the paper Secondly, I want to show my deep thankfulness to the lecturer who helped me to carry out an interview for this paper I highly appreciate his invaluable suggestions to my work Furthermore, I am thankful to his advice on enhancing translation and interpretation competence I also desire to say thanks to teachers in charge of guiding students to research and evaluating the progress of their works Owing to their lessons and comments, I knew how to carry out a study and what to improve in my paper Last but not least, my special gratefulness is to my much –loved family At all times, they stood by my side and encouraged me to overcome difficulties in conducting this thesis Thanks to their material and spiritual support, I had more time and motivation to get over the challenge ABSTRACT Translating culture-specific items has permanently been a great challenge to translators As an inevitable consequence, few bilingual books on Vietnamese culture have been published Being a person who is interested in folk cultures and also a translator, the researcher hopes to contribute to conserving traditional cultural values and promoting them to international friends These desires inspired her to conduct the thesis “A Study on The Translation of Vietnamese Folk Games” With an attempt to finger out the most common strategies used in translating culture-specific items related to Vietnamese folk games, the researcher actively sought cultural words on this topic and their translations from available materials The majority of data was exploited from famous works on Vietnamese folk culture by Huu Ngoc, a proficient translator, to guarantee the reliability of results Textual analysis, observation and interview were instruments to collect necessary data Qualitative and quantitative analysis was employed to find answers to research questions Accordingly, paraphrase by using related words and use loan words or more general concepts are the most common strategies to deal with culture-specific items Not only does this paper determine the most used translation strategies to tackle with cultural words but it also gives practical glossaries for readers who are interested in folk culture The researcher does expect that her work will stimulate further studies on the subject LIST OF TABLES, FIGRURES AND ABBREVIATIONS TABLES Table Types of Translation procedures Table Baker’s taxonomy of non-equivalence at the word level (1992) Table Common strategies used by professional translators (Baker, 1992) Table The quantities of culture-specific items Table Typical examples of “social culture” Table Typical examples of “Organizations, customs, ideas” Table Frequency and ratio of translation strategies FIGURES Figure Ratios of translation strategies ABBREVIATIONS TGW Translation by a more general word (superordinate) MNLE Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word TCS Translation by cultural substitution TLW Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation TRW Translation by paraphrase using a related word TUW Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words TO Translation by omission TI Translation by illustration TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i ABSTRACT ii LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem and rationale for the study 1.2 Aims of the study 10 1.3 Scope of the study 10 1.4 Significance of the study 10 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 Translation 12 2.1.1 Definition 12 2.1.2 Types of translation strategies 12 2.2 Equivalence in translation 14 2.3 The problem of non-equivalence 17 2.3.1 The nature of non-equivalence 17 2.3.2 Non-equivalence at word level 18 2.4 Translation and culture 19 2.4.1 Culture from translation perspective 19 2.4.2 Culture-specific items 20 2.4.3 Vietnamese folk games 21 2.5 Related studies 23 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24 3.1 Selection of subjects 24 3.2 Data collection instruments and procedures 24 3.3 Data analysis procedures 26 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 27 4.1 Research question 27 4.1.2 Strategies to translate the group “social culture” 28 4.1.2 Strategies to translate the group “cultural materials” 30 4.1.3 Strategies to translate the group “organizations, customs and ideas” 32 4.1.4 Strategies to translate the group “ecology” 33 4.2 Research question 33 4.3 Inferences from the interview 35 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 37 5.1 Summary of the study 37 5.2 Limitations of the study 37 5.3 Recommendation for further study 38 REFERENCES APPENDIX APPENDIX CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Chapter aims to present the real situation of translating culture –specific items in Vietnam Moreover, it gives explanation for the rationale as well as objectives, scope and significance of this paper 1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Being an important part of Vietnamese culture, folk games have played a crucial role in people’s lives for centuries They have been considered as unique spiritual dishes passed from generation to generation Vietnam, a country with 54 ethnics, is proud of its diverse collection of folk games However, a number of Vietnamese folk games have gradually fallen into oblivion and been in need of preservation as a result of globalization As an approach to maintaining and promoting the cultural value of Vietnam, introducing documents of Vietnamese folk games in English to internal and external readers is essential Nonetheless, translating culture-specific items still remains as a challenge, even to experienced translators Some studies were done on translation of culture-specific items in Vietnam, but they only touched on popular subjects such as cuisine, clothing or famous places but folk games In addition, there are just a few English books on Vietnamese culture Therefore, translators often have difficulty in finding English equivalents of culture-specific items related to folk games Born in a peaceful countryside of Vietnam, the researcher has chances to get access to folk games and nurture a love for the unique form of culture Witnessing the fact that many Vietnamese folk games have become strange to Vietnamese and been under threat of disappearance, the researcher finds herself in charge of contributing to preserving and promoting the traditional kind of entertainment Furthermore, being a future bachelor majoring in translating and interpreting, the researcher has a desire to cope with translating cultural words in general and culture-specific items related to Vietnamese folk games in particular All the above reasons have encouraged the researcher to carry out this paper “A Study on the Translation of Vietnamese Folk Games” 1.2 Aims of the study The research was carried out to reach two main objectives Firstly, it aimed to find out common strategies employed in translating culture-specific items related to Vietnamese folk games and suggest implications for translating cultural words Afterwards, a Vietnamese - English glossary of folk games would be given to help translators to look up equivalents of cultural words about the subject Therefore, it was to answer the two following questions:  What have the strategies been applied to translate culture-specific items related to Vietnamese folk games?  What are the most common strategies to translate culture-specific items related to Vietnamese folk games? 1.3 Scope of the study Within the limitation of time and reference materials, the study addressed common strategies to translate culture-specific items related to Vietnamese folk games In addition, the researcher only focused on cultural words associated with typical Vietnamese folk games The chosen games for analysis satisfied two criteria including cultural values and popularity With these requirements, “chọi gà”, “cờ tướng”, and “bịp mắt bắt dê” were some of the selected games 1.4 Significance of the study The study is conducted to serve students majoring in translation and interpretation in University of Languages and International Studies and anyone who share the same interest in Vietnamese folk games Once having been completed, this paper will be as one of the first documents on translating culture-specific items related to Vietnamese folk games First, it will supply readers with the knowledge of translation, equivalence as well as strategies to deal with translating culture-specific items in general and those related to Vietnamese folk games in particular Then the findings of this paper may inspire other researchers to study further on the problems of translating cultural words Finally, a Vietnamese - English glossary of folk games will be a useful source for those who are interested in Vietnamese folk games and expect to introduce them to international friends 1.5 Organization of the study Firstly, she expected more papers on equivalence in translating cultural words related to Vietnamese folk games in the future This will contribute to increasing the quality of translations on folk culture, preserving Vietnamese cultural values and promoting its image to international friends Secondly, different sources of materials such as those from interpretation should be exploited in similar papers because an expansion in data will improve reliability Last but not least, interviews with various famous scholars and readers ought to be conducted for more objective suggestions It is an effective way to authenticate and strengthen findings REFERENCES Books: Aixela, J F (1996) Translation, Power, Subversion UK: WBC Book Manufactures Ltd Baker, M (1992) In Other Words A Coursebook on Translation London: Loutledge Bolinger, D & Sears, D (1968) Aspects of Language New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Bruvand, J H (1998) The Study of American Folkfore: An Introduction NewYork: Norton Catford, J C (1965) A Linguistic Theory of Translation Oxford: Oxford University Press David, K (2003) Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and Mediators Manchester: St Jerome Publishing House, J (1997) Translation Quality Assessment: A Model Revisited Tübingen: Narr Jakobson, R (1959/2000) On linguistics aspects of translation London and New York: Routledge Jan, B (1978) The Study of American Folklore: An Introduction New York: W.W.Norton Kade, O (1968) Zufall und Gesetzmässigkeit in der Ubersetzung Leipzig: Enzyklopädie Koller, W (1979) Einführung in die Übersetzungswissenschaft Heidelberg: Quelle and Meyer Loescher, W (1991) Translation performance, translation process and translation strategies Tuebingen: Guten Narr Newmark, P (1982) Approaches to Translation Oxford: Pergamon Press Ltd Newmark, P (1988) A Textbook of Translation New York: TiceHall Press Nguyen, H (1999) 100 Trò Chơi Dân Gian Việt Nam Hồ Chí Minh: Nxb Trẻ TP Hồ Chí Minh Nguyen, H N.(1998) Wandering Through Vietnamese Culture Hanoi: The Gioi Publisher Nida, E & Taber, C R (1969) The Theory and Practice of Translation Leiden: E.J Brill Nida, E A (1964) Toward a Science of Translating Leiden: E J Brill Snell-Hornby, M (1988) Translation Studies: An Integrated Approach Amsterdam and Philadelphia: J Benjamins Publishing House Vu, N K (2009) Trò Chơi Dân Gian Việt Nam Hà nội: Nxb Giáo Dục Việt Nam Dictionaries: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2005) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press Dissertations: Ngo, T H (2012) Procedures and Strategies in Translation of CultureSpecific Items.University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi Pham, T T C (2011) Some Common Strategies to Deal with NonEquivalence in the Translation of Vietnamese traditional Costumes University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi Vu, T T (2011) Procedures to Translate Names of Famous Places in Hanoi’s Centre Into English University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi Bach, H A (2007) Equivalence in the Translation of Vietnamese Cultural Words in The Book “Wandering through Vietnamese Culture” by Huu Ngoc University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi Webpages: Asia Pacific Travel (n.d.) Retrieved from January 6, 2015, from http://www Vietnam tourism.info/fascination/culture/festivals/boat-racing.htm Dulichvietnam (n.d.) Retrieved from December 16, 2014, from http://www Dulich vietnam.com.vn/cuop-cau.html Green Trail Tour (n.d.) Retrieved from January 1, 2015, from http:// www.greentrailtours.com.vn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15 54:the-pull-of-naturalforces-keo-co&catid=58:festival-games-and-folkgames&Itemid=85 MaxReading.com.(n.d.) Retrieved from November 24, 2014, from http://maxreading C om/ sach-hay/tro-choi-dan-gian Vietnamtourism (n.d.) Retrieved from December 10, 2014, from 16, 2014, from http://www.Vietnam tourism.com/en/index.php/about/cat/0510 Vietnam.Tourism (n.d.) Retrieved from December http://www.Vietnamtourism.org.vn/attractions/culture/festivals/boatracing.html APPENDIX 1 Glossary of Social Culture 1.1 Vietnamese folk games’ names Vietnamese English Equivalents (earthen /clay) pot beating Beating rice pots Đập niêu Blindfold to beat pots Đánh đáo Throwing a coin at a target Đanh quay Spinning tops Đáo cọc Coin in a post Đáo lỗ Coin in a hole Đấu vật The art of traditional wrestling / wrestling Đi cà kheo Walking on stilts / stilt walking Đua thuyền Boat racing Kéo chữ Word arrangement Kéo co The pull of natural forces/ tug of war Mèo đuổi chuột Cat and mouse game Ném còn/ tung Throwing a sacred ball through the ring Nhảy bao bố Bag jump Jumping bags Nhảy lò cò Hopping Nhảy sạp Bamboo dancing Pháo đất Mud banger / Clay firecrackers Rồng rắn lên mây The game of the dragon-snake Dragon-snake soaring to the clouds Thả chim Releasing pigeons/ pigeon freeing Thả diều Flying the kite Thi thổi cơm Rice - cooking competition Tung còn/ném A game of throwing a cloth ball Vật cù Vietnamese rugby Bắn bi Playing marbles Xóc đĩa Shaking the bowl Dệt vải Weaving cloth Thả đỉa ba ba Releasing the leech Catching small eels in a big jar Bắt chạch chum Catching lamprey in a jar (bắt chạch chum) Vieing for ball Cướp cầu Stealing the ball Cướp cầu match (disputing the ball ) Chơi chuyền Bamboo jacks Oẳn One-two-three Bịp mắt bắt dê Ơ ăn quan Blind man's buff (catching a goat while blindfolded ) The game of squares Mandarin square capturing Tam cúc Card game / Tam cúc (three chrysanthemums) Đánh khăng Playing the game of sticks Đánh đu/ Nhún đu Swinging Đánh phết Đánh phết Chi chi chành chành Chi chi chanh chanh Nu na nu nống Nu na nu nống Tổ tơm Shrimp Nest plus picture 1.2 Work Ơ quan Mandarins' squares Quân cờ Vietnamese Quân tướng Hai Bà Trưng Chess piece English Equivalents General (tướng) The Trưng Sisters Advisor (sĩ) Vua Hùng The Hùng Kings Quân sĩ Scholar (Sĩ) Đại Việt Sử Kí Tồn Đại Việt Sử Kí Tồn Thư ( A Complete History of Đại Mandarin (Sĩ) Thư Việt) Quân tượng Elephant (tượng) Âu Cơ Âu Cơ (The Queen of Birds) Quân pháo Cannon (pháo) Lạc Long Quân Lạc Long Quân (The King of Dragons) Quân xe Vehicle/chariot (xe) Witchdoctor ( in some ethnic minorities in North Thầy Quânmo mã Horse (mã) Vietnam) Người cầm trịch The commander ( cầm trịch) Lạc tướng a military official called Lạc tướng Tuần phủ a province chief ( in feudal times) Bô lão The elders Đô vật wrestler (đô vật) Hịch tướng sĩ Proclamation to the Officers and Soldiers ( Hịch tướng sĩ ) Glossary of Cultural Materials 2.1 Tools Vietnamese English Equivalent Linh kê Divine cock Hùng kê Powerful cock Thần kê Magic cock Peasants' square Ô dân Fish pond Rice field Quân chốt Sodier (chốt) Vạn Vạn (10 000) Văn Văn (coin) Nọc nọc ( the dead hand) Sách Sách (binding) Niêu cơm A cooking pot Quả A cloth ball Quả cầu Thuyền Thúng Sọt Boat Basket Kiềng Tripod ( for a cooking pot) Chõ xôi Steamer (for steaming sticky rice ) Miếng vật Tactic (miếng vật) Con quay Top Tù Horn Mõ Wooden bell 2.2 Clothing Vietnamese clothing English Equivalents Áo the Tunic Khăn xếp Ready-to-wear turban Xà cạp Leggings Áo tứ than Áo tứ thân (four- panel dresses) 2.3 Food Vietnamese English Equivalents Gạo Rice Nước mắm Fish brine Xôi Sticky rice Oản Truncated cone of sticky rice Truncated-cone-shaped cake (made of roast glutinous rice flour) Chè Sweet porridge Glossary of Organizations, Customs, and Ideas Vietnamese English Equivalents Thờ cúng Worship/ make offerings Tín ngưỡng Belief Duyên Predestined affinity Phật Buddha Cao sơn đại vương (Sơn Tinh) The God of Mountains Thủy Bá Đại Vương (Thủy Tinh) The God of Water Hương ước Village convention / Communal regulations Giáp Hamlet Entertain victorious soldiers /feast victorious Khao quân soldiers Fertility cult Phồn thực Cult of fertility Tutelary god (of a village) Thành Hoàng làng Tutelary genie Inauguration of the furrow/ inaugurating Khai hạ ceremonies Tết nguyên đán Vietnamese Lunar New Year Nguyên đán Original Morn Phúc Happiness Thọ Longevity Khang Health Phú Wealth Quý Honour Ninh Security Sự trinh tiết Virginity Đồng dao Folk song Glossary of Ecology Vietnamese English Equivalents Con trai A shell fish Con hến An oyster Tre Bamboo Con trạch Lamprey APPENDIX Transcription of the interview The interview was conducted on April 6, 2015 at his office in University of Languages and International Studies Researcher: Hello, teacher Thank you for helping me with the interview Interviewee: You are welcome Researcher: As I told you in advance, my thesis is “A Study on The Translation of Vietnamese Folk Games” One of the most important reasons prompted me to choose the subject is that translating culture-specific items is always challenging to translators, even professional ones Therefore, I hope to receive your advice and suggestions on this field in the interview The first question I want to ask is what factors translators should consider to choose suitable translation strategies when conveying culturespecific items Interviewee: To answer this question, let me mention the concept “cultural words” proposed by Peter Newmark “Cultural words” are things which appear in a culture but another one Hence, translating them is very complicated For example, “Văn Miếu” only exists in Vietnamese culture and there are two ways to render it The first is to transfer it or transcribe phonetically “Translate” is the second solution, which uses equivalents to replace the original word “Transfer” or “ borrowing” means transiting the form, for instance, “ Văn Miếu” is replaced with “ Văn Miêu” probably plus notes However, the shortcoming of this method is it is impossible to express ideas inside this concept “Văn Miếu” is attached to Vietnamese knowledge while English hardly knows anything about it Consequently, translators should add footnotes or explanations to make readers understand what it is The second method is “translate”, using various strategies to convey its content For instance, “ Văn” is “ Literature” and “ Miếu “ is “ Temple” Then, “ Văn Miếu” is replaced with “ Temple of Literature” However, all contents cannot be expressed yet Loss is unavoidable in translation Researcher: In my thesis, I classified culture-specific items according to Newmark’s taxonomy and based on strategies suggested by Baker in the book “In other words” to identify the most common strategies The result I get is that paraphrase by using related words is most used It is respectively followed by using general words and loan words Translating by a cultural substitution, illustration or omission is applied at least Do you find the findings acceptable based on your experiences and theoretical bases? Interviewee: I think it is okay because there are no different ways which can be more effective It can be resulted from the translators’ experience and ability In my opinion, it depends more on experience The more they practice, the more experience they can gain when observing readers’ comprehension If translators try to help readers understand the items with too long translations, this can affect the text’s form Otherwise, readers cannot make sense of them Researcher: So translators mainly depend on his lessons to decide suitable translations Interviewee: Experience No one can teach it There are only common principles but specific ones Under each circumstance, translators have to base on receivers’ reactions because their final target is readers or listeners If they don’t understand, such a strategy cannot be employed Researcher: I agree An item can have various versions, but how can translators ensure accuracy and local color when rendering cultural concepts such as “ Nu na nu nống”, the name of a Vietnamese folk game, or social positions like “ tuần phủ” or “ quan huyện” ? Interviewee: Translators usually have to sacrifice something when translating Importantly, experienced people know what to omit Sacrificing the form, they can reach comprehension If omitting comprehension, it doesn’t mean translation They always depend on receivers’ comprehension For people knowing “Văn Miếu” already, translators can only transfer into “Văn Miếu” while they have to explain so much that translation is turned into interpretation for tourists without knowledge of “Văn Miếu” Researcher: Is using loan words plus explanations or related words plus loan words is a good strategy for the words in texts? Interviewee: Maybe but bear in mind what readership here is If they know that target receivers have good knowledge of these items, they can translate and note concisely In contrast, they have to use many different solutions Please notice that translation is also determined by text types Specifically, brochures require conciseness and they cannot quote the whole history of “Văn Miếu” If the place is not important, there is no need of footnotes below a poem In case the text is a tourist guideline in a thick document, translators have a more favorable condition So translators have to consider their target receivers and publishing forms to decide what strategy is suitable No common principles exist here Researcher: Can you give undergraduate students some necessary suggestions on translation in general and translation of cultural words in particular as being an experienced translator? Interviewee: A good question but let me return to “experience” to answer it It is only accumulated through practice because schools just provide you principles and working methods Your mission is translating texts, guiding tours or interpreting a lot for his own experience A 4-year basic course cannot guarantee that you will be able to work immediately after graduating The key is you have to study hard and practice actively Researcher: Thank you for this help once again Interviewee: It’s my pleasure * Note: This is the English translation of this interview The original version is in Vietnam, so it is translated into English to attach in the study according to the university guidelines for graduation paper If you want to listen to authentic material, please contact the researcher at 0982758447 ... QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CHIẾN LƯỢC DỊCH CÁC THUẬT NGỮ VĂN HÓA LIÊN QUAN TỚI TRÒ CHƠI DÂN GIAN VIỆT NAM Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Vương Thị... Vietnamese documents on folk games, such as ? ?Trò chơi dân gian Việt Nam? ?? by Vu Ngoc Khanh To guarantee accuracy of the results, the chosen materials were collected from National Library of Vietnam... Amsterdam and Philadelphia: J Benjamins Publishing House Vu, N K (2009) Trò Chơi Dân Gian Việt Nam Hà nội: Nxb Giáo Dục Việt Nam Dictionaries: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2005) Cambridge,