Luận văn a study on methods to translate medical terms in the textbook english in medicine for the third year students at hai phong medical university

UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES —-csfo___ ĐỖ PHƯƠNG LINH CHI À STLUDY ON METHODS TO TRANSLATE MEDICAL TERMS IN T

VIETNAM NATTONAT UNIVERSITY, HANOT

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

—-csfo _

ĐỖ PHƯƠNG LINH CHI

À STLUDY ON METHODS TO TRANSLATE MEDICAL

TERMS IN THE TEXTBOOK “ENGLISH IN MEDICINE” FOR THE TITRD-YEAR STUDENTS AT

HAIPHONG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Nghiên cứu phương pháp dịch thuật ngữ ngành y khoa trong giáo trình

“English in Medicine" chơ sinh viên năm thứ 3, trường

Đại học V Hai Phong

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Mcthodalngy

Code: 60140111

HANOI, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL, UNIVERSITY, HANOT

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

—eafm—-

ĐỒ PHƯƠNG LINH CHI

A STUDY ON METITIODS TO TRANSLATE MEDICAL

TERMS IN THE TEXTBOOK “ENGLISH IN MEDICINE” FOR TIE TIIRD-YEAR STUDENTS AT

HAIPHONG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Nghiên cứu phương pháp dịch thuật ngữ ngành y khoa trong giáo trình

“English in Medicine” chơ sinh viên năm thứ 3, trường

Đại học Y Hải Phòng

MLA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lé [lang Tién

HANOI, 2014

DECLARATION

L hereby certify that the thesis entitled “4 study on methods to translate medical terms in the textbook “English in Medicine” for third-year

students at Haiphong Medical University” is the result of my Tescarch

for the Degree of Master of Art at University of Foreign Languages and

International Studies, Vietnam National University, Ilanci and the

thesis has not heen submitted for any degrees at any other university or

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Throughout the process of accomplishing the thesis, I have received the support and encouragement of teachers, family and friends

First and foremost, | would like to express my deepest gratitude to my

supervisor, Associate Professor, Doctor Le IIung Tien who gave me

benelits of his wisdom and his expert knowledge in translation as well

as his constant encouragement from the beginning stage of working out the research proposal to the Gnal stage of wriling up the thesis Without

his critical comments and valuable suggestions, lbis study could not be

completed

My special thanks go to all my lecturers in Faculty of Post-graduate

Studies, University of Languages and Intemational Studies, Viclnam

National University, Hanoi for their useful lectures during my MA course

T also take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues at Faculty of

English, University of Languages and International Studics, Vietnam

National University, Hanoi for their various kinds of help and supports Last but not least, 1 would like to express my thankfulness to my family

and friends for their endless love, significant help and encouragement

ABSTRACT

The thesis focuses on translation methods and procedures of English medical terms It 1s aumed at investigating the characteristics of medical terms in order to help the translators and learners have a clear

understanding of the terms Attempts arc alse made to identily methods

as well as procedures used in translating medical terms in the textbook

“English in Medicine” Hopelully, the result of the study will be helpful

to ESP teachers and lcarners who arc interested in medical terms.

ABBREVIATIONS

English for Medical Purposes EMP

‘Target text

2 Objectives of the study - 2

6 Methods of the study

7 Design of the study

1.2 Eponyms that derive from objects 17

1.5 Using the omission of the preposition ‘of - 23

2 Problems in the translation of medical terms 25

3 Suggested solutions for the Translation of medical terms - 26

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown

io become one of the most prominent arcas of EFL teaching today ESP

is now taught in every university and colleges with different purposes such as English for medical professionals, English for waiters, English

for tourism, or English for Business, ctc Among them, English for

Medical Purposes (EMP) is also one of important parts of ESP

As an English tcacher at Haphong Medical University, where EMP is taught, | have recognized the enormous necessity of KMP English for

Medical Purposes (EMEP) is an interesting subject for medical students

or specialists As you know, English is considered as a bridge for cooperation and development, especially in Medical area ‘To advance

careers, doctors must write articles in English for international journals

and take part in conferences held in Knglish everywhere in the world

However, it is also a challenge to them ‘Iranslating medical terms in English medical textbooks or documents is one of the biggest problems

Sometimes, there are many ways of translating for one word or leamers

do not know how to translate these medical terms exactly This

prevents them from studying or reading English medical documents Ta

do this, they need to have translation skills as well as knowledge of English medical terms

In the hope of finding a proper solution to the problem of medical

terms translation in the textbook “English in Medicine” for the students

of Ilaiphong Medical University, I have decided to carry out “A study

on methods to translate medical terms in the textbook “English in

Medicine” for third-ycar students at Haiphong Medical

University” In this sludy, some main characteristics of medical terms are given with methods as well as procedures applied to translate these terms in the textbook From that, the study will support translators and

readers a lot of micresting maicrials lor translauion in EMP

2 Objectives of the study

The study consists of the follawing objcclives

- Investigating medical terms with their characteristics

- Identifying methods and procedures used in translating medical terms

- Drawing oul some problems and solutions for English medical tcrms translation as well as giving some suggestions for teaching and

studying EMP

3 Research questions

‘The above objectives will he achieved through the following questions

- What are the characteristics of medical terms?

- What are the methods and procedures applied for medical terms

translation?

- What causes difficulties for translators im translating medical terms?

4, Scopes of the study

The study is conducted on Medical terms in the 1extbook “English in

Modicine” (or third-year students al Haiphong Medical University

5, Significance of the study

This study will give readers general views about methods of translation

In addition, it will also support FMP teachers and learners knowledge

of medical terms with solutions for translating medical terms

Methods of the study

First of all, Descriptive method is used for describing characteristics of

modical terms as well as methods and procedures applied in translating,

2

these Lerms In this thesis, Comparative analysis is also used for data

collection and analysis Hesides, making conclusion is hased on

Conductive approach During doing this thesis I also collect the

relevant information, documents from the books, articles or Internet

7 Design of the study

This study is divided into two main parts

Part A is the Intreduction which includes rationale, objectives, scope,

significance, methods and the design of the study

Part B is the Development with two main chapters:

- Chapter 1 is the Literature review which gives general information of Translation theory, Terminology and Medical terms

- Chapter 2 is the Translation methods and procedures of medical terms

with the solutions for the problems This is the main part of the study Part C is the Conclusion with a summary of the groups of terms with

translation methods and procedures used to translate them Besides,

there are some limitations and suggestions for teaching and translation

of medical terms ‘There are also some suggestions for further studies

The last one is the Reference and Appendixes of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Translation theory

Definitiuns of Translatiun

‘lranslation has been approached from a scientific point of view by linguists through times, so it has been defined variously The following

are some typical definitions

® The tem translation itsel’ has several meanings: 1 can reler to the

general subject field, the product (the text that has been translated) or the process (the act of producing the translation, otherwise known a

translating) The process of translation between two different written

languages involves the translator changing an original written text (the source language or SL) into a written text (the target text or TT) in a

different verbal language (the target language or ‘I1.) (Jakobson

1959/2000:114)

* ‘Translating is rendering the meaning of a text into one language in the

way the author intended the text (Newmark)

« Translating is the replacement of textual material in one language (SL)

by equivalent textual material in another language (TL) (Catford)

* Translating is an art that involves the re-creation of a work in another

language for readers with a different background (Cowley)

In summary, translation is a challenging task that requires a strong

knowledge of language, good writing skills and knowledge of a speculiv

subject ‘Ihe texts are changed into another language, but translators do not change the content, tone or style of the massage in those texts

1.2 Methods of Translation

1.2.1 Larson

According to Larson (1984:15) translation is divided into two

calogories Thoy are from-based or literal translation and moaning

based or idiomatic translation [he methods spread in the continuum from very literal, to literal, to modified literal, to near idiomatic,

idiomatic, and unduly free The continuum is drawn as follow:

* Very Iiteral is an inlerbncar translation For some purposes, iL is

desirable to reproduce the linguistic features of the source text, as for example, in a linguistic study of that language:

© Literal translation is a translation which its sounds like nonsense and

has little communicative value It may be very useful for the purposes related to the study of the source language, they are of little help to

speakers of the receptor language who are interested in the meaning of

the source language text;

* Modified literal methods are a way to modify order and grammar of the source language in an acceptable sentence structure in the receptor language [lowever, the lexical items are translated literally

* Inconsistent mixture mixes literal and idiomatic translation in the final draft of translation

* Near idiomatic reproduces the meaning of the source language (that is (he moaning intended by the original communicator) in reecptor Janguage without losing the natural form of the source language

* Idiomatic translation reproduces the meaning of the source language

(that is the meaning intended by the original communicator) in the

natural form of receptor language

1.2.2

‘The unduly free translation adds extraneous information, which is not

stated in the source text It changes the meaning of SL; it distorts the

fact of the historical and cultural scttmg of the source text (Larson 1984: 16-18)

Newmark

Newmark (1988: 45-47) uses cight terms in his classification They are

word-for-word, literal, faithful, semantic, communicative, idiomatic,

free, and adaptation thal divided into two scopes — the methods closest

to the source language or literal translation and the methods closest to the target language or communicative translation

(1) The methods closest to the souree language - Literal translation

Word-[or-word Translation: The Source Language is translated word

by word

Literal Translation: The ST grammatical forms are converted to their

nearest target language equivalent However, the lexical words are translated out of context

Faithful Translation: This method tries to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the orginal within the constraint of the TL grammatical structures It transfers cultural words and faithfully follows the SL grammatical forms

Semantic Translation: This method concerns the aesthetic value-that is

Uhe beauliful and natural sound-of the SL text In addition, the method compromises on an appropriate meaning So, that no assonance, or

repelition jars in the translation

(2) The methods closest to the target language - Communicative

translation

* Free ‘Iranslation: Free translation is the translation, which is not, bonded structure and manner

* Adaptation: ‘This methed is the freest form of translation It is frequently used for plays (comedies) and poetry

* Idiomatic Translation’ Idiomatic translation reproduces the message of

ihe source text bul lend (0 disiort nuances of meaning by preferring

colloquialisms and idioms

*® Communicative translation: ‘his method attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and

language arc readily acceptable and comprehensible lo the readership

1.3 Translation Procedures

1.3.1 Vinay & Darhelnet

There are two main translation strategies, direct and oblique translation, covering all together seven concrete procedures

Direct translation

* Borrowing: The SI, word is transferred dircetly to the TI, (Mfunday,

2001, p56)

* Calque: It is a strategy to ‘borrow’ the SI expression or structure and

then transfer it in a literal translation (Vinay &Darbelnet, 2004,p 129) This is a spevial kind of borrowing,

© Literal translation: A word-for-word translation Il is a translation

strategy used ‘most common between languages of the same family and

culture’ (Vinay &Darbelnet, 2004, p.130)

Oblique wanslation

‘Transposition: ‘Ihe method involves ‘replacing one word class with

another without changing the meaning of the message’ (Vinay

&Darboinct 2004, p 132)

Modulation: It refers 10 ‘a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in the point of view’ (Vinay & Darbelnet 2004, p.133)

Equivalence: It refers to a strategy to describe the same situation by

‘using completely different stylistic or structural methods’ for

producing ‘equivalent texts’ (Vinay & Darbelnet 2004, p.134)

Adaptation: It refers 10 a method ‘used in those cases where the type off

situation being referred to by the SL message is unkown in the TL culture’ (Vinay & Darbelnet 2004, p.134)

1.3.2 Newmark

The following are the different translation procedures that Newmark (1988) proposes:

Transference: it is the process of transferring an SL word to a LL text

It includes transliteration and is the same as whal Ilarvey (2000:5}

named "transcription."

Naturalization: it adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation,

then to the normal morphology of the TL (Newmark, 1988-82)

Cultural equivalent: it means replacing a cultural word in the ST with a

TL one however, "they are not accurate’ (Newmark, 1988:83)

Functional equivalent: it requires the usc of a culture-neutral word

(Newmark, 1988-83)

Descriptive equivalent: in this procedure the meaning of the CLT is explained in several words (Newmark, 1988:83)

Componential analysis: il means "comparing an SL word with a TL

word which has a similar meaning but is not an obvious one-to-one

equivalent, by demonstrating first their common and then their

differmg sense components." (Newmark, 1988-114)

Synonymy: it is a "near ‘TL equivalent." Here economy trumps

accuracy (Newmark, 1988:84)

Through-translation, it 1s the litcral translation of common

collocations, names of organizations and components of compounds It

can also be called: calque or lean translation (Newmark, 1988/84)

Shifts or transpositions: it involves a change in the grammar from SI to

TL, for instance, (i) change from singular to plural, (ii) the change

required when a specific ST structure docs not exist in the TL, (iii)

change of an SI verb to aT’ word, change of an SI noun group to a

TL noun and so forth (Newmark, 1988:86)

Modulation: it occurs when the translator reproduces the message of

the original text in the ‘I'L text in conformity with the current norms of the TL, since the SL and the TL may appear dissimilar in terms of perspective (Newmark, 1988-88)

Recognized translatiow: it occurs when the translator "normally uses

the official or the generally accepted translation of any institulional

term." (Newmark, 1988:89)

Compensation: it occurs when loss of meaning in one part of a sentence

is compensated in another part (Newmark, 1988:90)

Paraphrase: in this procedure the meaning of the CBT is explained Ilere the explanation is much more detailed than that of descriptive

equivalent (Newmark, 1988:91)

* Couplets: it occurs when the translator combines two different procedures (Newmark, 1988-91)

+ Notes: notes are additional information in a translation (Newmark, 1988:91)

1.4 Translation Equivalence

1.4.1 Jakobson

Jakubson (1959) makes a contribution to the theorctical analysis of translation He introduces the concept of equivalence in difference He

suggests three kinds of equivalence known as:

- Intralingual (within one language, i.e rewording or paraphrase)

- Interhngual (between two languages)

- Intersemiotic (between sign systems)

1.4.2 Baker

Baker (1992) defines four kinds of equivalents as follows:

- Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level, when translating from one language into another

- Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of

grammatical categories across languages

- Textual equivalence when referring to the equivalence belween a SL

text and a ‘Tl text in terms of information and cohesion

- Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to imprimaturs and strategies of

avoidance during the translation process

1.4.3 Nida

Nida's theory of translation is characterized by the distinction between two

types of cquivalence: formal cquivalence and dynamic equivalence For

10

formal equivalence, the translator focuses on the message itself, that is,

its form and content, and there should be a close similarity between the

ST and the TT message (Nida, 1964)

Conceming dynamic cquivalence, Nida mentons that this type is based

on "the principle of equivalent cffect", in which "the relationship

between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptor and the

all, we will have a look at two concepts ‘terminology’ and ‘term’

According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary, term is "a word or

phrase uscd as tho name of somcthing especially onc comnecied with a

particular type of language." Also this dictionary defines terminology

as “a set of technical words or expressions used in a particular subject."

As such, terminology is broader in meaning compared with term While

terms separately refer to discrete conceptual entities, properties that constitute the knowledge of a particular field, terminology refers to the

system of all concepts and definitions conceming a specific technical

area In brief, unlike ordimary words, terminology or a set of terms are

11

regarded as scientific words and each tarm demoles a convepl in a particular field such as economics, biology, chemistry, and so on

Terminology is the language used to describe a specific thing, or the

language used within a specific field

2.2 Medical terminology

Medival terminology is one of the main parts of terminology “Medical

terminology is the professional language of those who are directly or

indirectly engaged in the art of healing (Frenay and Mahoney, 1998).”

Most medical terms have Greck or Latin origins, though some are derived from modem languages, particularly German, Krench, and

English In general, terms dealing with diagnosis and surgery have

Grock origins, whercas anatomical terms have Latin origins

As other terminologies, medical terminology also has general

characteristics of terminology such as Accurateness, Internationalism,

Systematic and Popularity and Nationality (190 Haw Chau, 1981) I will

give more specific explanation as follows:

Accurateness

First of all, a term needs to be accurate and clear because it refers to an

exact concept of a science Medical terms are too A medical term must

be elear and cxacL In addition, it should not make the readers

misunderstand the concept it expresses with another ‘lhese terms often have one-one relation lo the concepts Uhat they concern

For cxamples,

® ‘pneumonia’ (viém phdi): is taken for one single meaning ‘a scricus

illness affecting one or both kings that makes breathing difficult.’

‘allergy’ (di img): is an abnormally high sensitivity to certain

substances, such as food, drug, weather, etc

Internativnalism

Medical terminology is used all over the world In other words, these

terms are used internationally They are special words expressing

common scientific concepts lo people of different languages It gives

the concepts understood by speakers of different cultures ‘Ihis feature

is an important property that helps distinguish terminology from other

layers of vocabulary such as slang, dialect, otc The internationality 1s

also seen in the form of terms Sometimes it is very interesting to know

that many terms uscd by dilTorent countries have similar phonetic form

English Vietnamese French Germany

vitamin vitamin vitamine vitamin

or expressions used m a particular subject." This means terminology of

a specific profession should include terms that are closely related to

each other and reflect a system of concepts of the profession and

medical terminology is, too It consists

nervous thuộc thần kinh hỗi hộp, lo lắng

Table 2: Systematic of medical terms

Popularity

Many medical terms are so popular that they are not considered as

terminology In contrast, they become common words which arc used

in daily life It becomes easy to remember, easy to understand It is very casy to find out these words

Structural characteristics

Medical terminology alsa has some specific characteristics in structure

and word forms As above, most medical terms have Greek or Latin

origin They are formed from word root, prefixes and suflixes This is a

conumon feature of medical terms We can find out many examples for this in medial toxls Here I will show some typical cxamples in the

textbook ‘English in Medicine’

For example:

medical term root prefixes suffixes

(viêm bao tim) (heart) (around) (inflammation)

Table 4: Characteristic of structure of medical terns

In summary, an understanding of the structure of medical terms, and an

ability lo break down a medical Lerm into its parts helps you gel the most out of using a medical dictionary, and makes dealing with medical

terminology less challenging than it first appears