Topic analyzed the data from an experiment, a questionnaire and the results of participants in studying Translation at school

After having a threemonth period of internship at Thien Ha NhaTrangCo.ltd, I have found difficulties in translating, especially when I work with sale contracts and finding some ways to solve these difficulties. For that reason, the researcher aims to give some strategies of English majored students in The Saigon International University when they translate sale contracts from Vietnamese into English, Vietnamese into Chinese and help them improve their study. To carry out this study, the researcher collected and analyzed the data from an experiment, a questionnaire and the results of participants in studying Translation at school. The experiment is a sample paragraph and the participants were asked to translate it. After process of assessing and discussing, students will straightforwardly translate the text with their ideal perceptions at the end of the thesis. They also get suggestions from the researcher to solve those problems effectively. Finally, the researcher hopes that this research will be a useful document for readers as well as Englishmajored students when finding some strategies in translating sales contracts.

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 i

COMMITMENT

I, Nguyen Thi Yen Anh, hereby declare that the work presented in this Graduation

Thesis is completely prepared by myself I guarantee that all dataset collected and analysis

used in the report are correct and report should not coincide with any other researches I also

confirm that, this thesis is not for any purposes but my university graduation requirements It

might not be used with the interest of the opposite party of the corporation

NhaTrang, March 4th,2019

Student

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to thanks all Teachers and Staffs of The Saigon International

University for four years teaching and caring, they have always given students the best

learning environment Actually, specialized lectures and useful life experiences along with a

professional learning environment have helped me become a better me like today Thank you

for all these good things for the past 4 years

Especially Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Chung – My supervisor, who has always taught and

guided me during my studies at the university and process in completing my internship and

thesis Thank you for your valuable lessons and dedication in the past, and useful knowledge

as well as experience for my future career that you have given out

Finally, I sincerely thank to Thien Ha NhaTrangCo.ltd, for helping me foster more

professional knowledge and more practical work experience by participated in the company,

engage activities and for sharing work experience and willing to help me improving this

thesis

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 iii

SUPERVISOR’S COMMENT

Mark:

Signed:

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 iv

ABSTRACT

After having a three-month period of internship at Thien Ha NhaTrangCo.ltd, I have

found difficulties in translating, especially when I work with sale contracts and finding some

ways to solve these difficulties For that reason, the researcher aims to give some strategies of

English - majored students in The Saigon International University when they translate sale

contracts from Vietnamese into English, Vietnamese into Chinese and help them improve

their study

To carry out this study, the researcher collected and analyzed the data from an

experiment, a questionnaire and the results of participants in studying Translation at school

The experiment is a sample paragraph and the participants were asked to translate it After

process of assessing and discussing, students will straightforwardly translate the text with their

ideal perceptions at the end of the thesis They also get suggestions from the researcher to

solve those problems effectively

Finally, the researcher hopes that this research will be a useful document for readers

as well as English-majored students when finding some strategies in translating sales

contracts

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 v

Contents

COMMITMENT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

SUPERVISOR’S COMMENT iii

ABSTRACT iv

CONTENTS v

LIST OF CHARTS viii

LIST OF FIGURE ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x

CHAPTER 1 1

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 RATIONALE 2

1.2 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 2

1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 3

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION 3

CHAPTER 2 4

LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS 5

2.1.1 Translation 5

2.1.2 Translation and Interpretation 6

2.1.3 Translation process 8

2.1.4 Pre-translation 10

2.1.5 While – translation 12

2.1.6 Post – translation 15

2.1.7 Translation methods 15

2.1.8 Literal translation method 15

2.1.9 Word – for – Word translation method 15

2.1.10 Free translation method 16

2.1.11 Adaptation 16

2.1.12 Semantic translation 16

2.1.13 Faithful translation 17

2.1.14 Idiomatic translation 17

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2.1.15 Communicative translation 17

2.1.16 Techniques of translation 17

2.1.17 Transcription 18

2.1.18 Transliteration 18

2.1.19 Borrowing 18

2.1.20 Literal 19

2.1.21 Transposition 19

2.1.22 Modulation 19

2.1.23 Adaptation 19

2.2 DEFINITION OF SALE CONTRACTS 20

2.2.1 A sale contract 20

2.2.2 The begin of the contract 20

2.2.3 What is formulaic language? 20

2.2.4 The middle of the contract 21

2.2.5 The end of the contract 22

2.2.6 The importance of translation in business 22

2.2.7 Some Strategies in Translation 23

Tip 1 Do change verbs and tenses 23

Tip 2 Use shall properly (if at all) 24

Tip 3 Use hereby properly (if at all) 24

Tip 4 Recast, a lot, especially to active voice 25

Tip 5 Be specific and consistent (even when the source text isn’t) 28

Tip 6 Use only ‘useful’ legalese 29

Tip 7 Decide on the register of the noticeable bits 29

CHAPTER 3 31

METHODOLOGY 31

3.1 PLACE OF THE INVESTIGATION 32

3.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS 32

3.2.1 Research methodology 32

3.2.2 Research methods 32

3.2.3 Participants 33

3.2.4 Procedures 33

3.2.5 Doing experiment 33

3.2.6 Scoring 34

3.2.7 Questionnaire 34

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 vii

3.2.8 Benchmark 34

3.3 DATA ANALYSIS 34

CHAPTER 4 35

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 35

4.1 FINDINGS FROM SAMPLE TRANSLATION 36

4.2 FINDINGS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE 37

CHAPTER 5 40

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 40

5.1 CONCLUSION 41

5.2 RECOMMENDATION 42

5.3 LIMITATION 43

APPENDIXES 47

I The sample paragraph 47

II Some Translations of Students 47

1 English translation: 47

2 Chinese Translation: 49

III The questionnaire 50

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 viii

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1 Eugene Nida’s Model of Translation Process 9

Chart 2 Tou’s Model of Translation Process 10

Chart 3 Sample translation results 37

Chart 4 Completion rate of participants who have ever translated document 38

Chart 5 Problems of participants in translating 39

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 ix

LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 1.Clauses in active voice in an English contract (Horse purchase contract) Error! Bookmark not defined

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CI: Consecutive Interpreting

OALD: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

SDL trados: Translation & documentation software

SI: Simultaneous Interpretation

SIU: The Saigon International University

SL: Source Language

Thien Ha Nha Trang Co.ltd: Thien Ha Nha Trang Limited Liability Company

TL: Target Language

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 xi

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 2

1.1 RATIONALE

Translator is understood simply as translating a language into another language by

speaking Foreign language is clearly the key to unlocking the barriers of nations in today's

globalization As we know the importance of English in life so far, because it is the common

language of the world And in recent years Chinese is also beginning to become important,

because China's population and strong growth make Chinese users more and more, and

Chinese people are also present in many countries today Therefore, translation is becoming

more important not only for individuals but also for companies and organizations So how

does this profession have difficulties and benefits? After three months of internship as a

translator at the Thien Ha NhaTrangCo.Ltd, I realize this profession has a lot of difficulties

for a newcomer like me And because of its current importance, many people are attracted to

this work So I want to contribute a small part of my knowledge to those who are passionate

or want to approach this job in the first days, especially are the English major students of the

Saigon international university

1.2 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

As I mentioned above, in today's globalization,in general, countries in the world are

economically or politically linked Besides, many entrepreneurs go abroad to invest So which

means for us to communicate, learn and develop? The answer is language Of course not all

but language is essential to bring people together That's how this topic attracted me, this work,

too

Related to the translation profession, Everyone seems to be confused about concepts

like: General knowledge, language skills, translation capability Therefore, people often think

that if you are good at one language, you can completely translate But actually when you are

good at a language,it is not certain that you will translate that language well People may lack

of professional knowledge, or it may be inadequate to translate Translation skills are

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 3

something that we have to train, have to put in the real situation, and there must be people

who are very experienced in guiding us

Otherwise, it is difficult to self-study, because obviously there must be an audience for

you to interact And our country Viet Nam now, as you can see, there are many foreign

companies currently investing In recent years, Vietnam's tourism industry is also working

hard to develop, with the desire to compete with countries such as: Philippines, Singapore,

Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, etc The translation profession is still being interested by many

young people That is why this topic needs to be born immediately I hope it will solve some

of your difficulties

1.3 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This research is researched about some strategies to solve difficulties when we

translateVietnamese to English, and Vietnamese to Chinese in sale contracts

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION

This research is carried out on English majored seniors of The Saigon International

University (SIU) to answer a following question:

1 What strategies should be applied to translate Vietnamese sale contracts into

English, and Vietnamese to Chinese become easier?

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 4

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

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2.1 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

2.1.1 Translation

According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, “Translation” is “the process of changing something that is written or spoken into another language” It’s playing the most important role in the economy today The work of transferring words/ sentences in this language into

another language with equivalent meaning and full expression helps every one worldwide

understand and have business transactions as they want Besides, Catford (1969:20) quoted:

“Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL)” Pinkchuck (1977:38) also definite that Translation is a process of finding a TL equivalent for a SL utterance

From the 3 definitions, translation can be defined as a process of transferring various

types of texts and speeches from source language into target language with equivalent

expression and meaning Those types of material resources can be in forms like letters,

datasheets, newspapers, magazines, contracts, business reports, etc The process of translation

makes the gap between nations shorter and bring everyone together

Besides the definitions above, Mc Guire (1980:2) pointed out that: “Translation is the

rendering of a source language (SL) text into the target language (TL) so as to ensure that the

surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar and the structure of the SL will be

preserved as closely as possible, but not so closely that the TL structures will be seriously

distorted.” As reviewed as this writer, when translating, the meaning of TL may not be completely exact to SL Translators can adjust as possible the meaning and express them in

their own way but they must sure correct grammar and main idea of objects in SL Therefore,

no one can translate in the same way with the same version of SL materials For instance,

translator A is working with an article in “The Times” At the same time, translator B is also

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 6

working with the same article of translator A They are working in different companies and

they have their own writing styles with the aim to make the article as short as possible (news

is usually short to save time) These translators, for sure will create different versions of the

article and no matter they release different texts, the article in TL must meet the requirements

of both the same meaning and correct structures in SL Thus, translation requires everyone to

be carefully and too prepared in order to express completely correct make the opinions, the

ideas or the contents of source materials

2.1.2 Translation and Interpretation

There are so many people do not recognize what translation is and what interpretation

is In Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, “Interpretation” is defined as “the particular way in which something is understood or explained” It must be similar to translation when both of them translate SL into TL Translation and interpretation are all the same in field of linguistic

knowledge, they work with language, transfer this language to other languages but they are

completely different At first glance, the difference between translation and interpretation lies

in the different types of SL: interpreters translate spoken language orally, while translators

translate the written word Translators usually work with material resources in forms of letters,

datasheets, newspapers, magazines, contracts, business reports, etc Interpreters usually work

with conferences and meetings, medical appointments, legal proceedings, live TV coverage,

sign language, etc

Interpretation has two different kinds: consecutive interpretation and simultaneous

interpretation

The first one – simultaneous means ‘at the same time’ For example, the person starts

talking and the interpreter wait a little bit until he/ she understand the concept and then go

ahead and start interpreting at the same time they are talking So they’re talking and

Nguyen Thi Yen Anh – 97011501032 7

interpreting at the same time There is often a little bit of a delay but they are still working at

the same time

The second one – consecutive means following one after another in a series, without

interruption (OALD) For example, the persons say a few sentences or one or two concepts

and then they pause and the interpreter goes ahead and interpret Then, it goes back and they

talk and interpret Therefore, in simultaneous interpreting, interpretation’s happened at the same time and in consecutive interpreting, the interpretation’s does not have any “stops” According to Wikipedia: “Simultaneous interpretation (SI) suffers the disadvantage that

if a person is performing the service the interpreter must do the best he or she can within the

time permitted by the pace of source speech.” Or in other words, the interpreter transfers the message in the target-language as quickly as he/ she can formulate it from the source language,

while the source-language speaker continuously speaks In the ideal setting for this type of

interpretation, the interpreter must sit in “a small sound box” which is equipped with electric equipment like headphone, speaker, computer, screen, etc and the interpreter must speak

(interpret) into a microphone when he/ she clearly sees and hears the source-language speaker

via headphone and computer’s screen

“In consecutive interpreting (CI), the interpreter starts to interpret when the speaker pauses Therefore, the time needed is much greater (possibly double the time needed).”

“Consecutive interpretation can be conducted in a pattern of short or long segments according

to the interpreter's preference.” And the interpreter sits or stands beside the SL speaker, listens

and take notes When the speaker pauses or finishes speaking, the interpreter then renders a

portion of the message or the entire message in the TL

In addition, interpretation causes more pressure than translation because the interpreter

is required to transfer the messages of speaker in a limited time while he/ she is listening to