Luận văn a study on the vietnamese english translation strategies in the series of bilingual handbooks vietnamese culture frequently asked questions published by the the gioi publisher

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, IIANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PITAM TIIU GIANG A STUDY ON THE VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATION ST

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, IIANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

PHAM TITU GIANG

A STUDY ON THE VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATION

STRATEGLES LN THE SERIES OF BILINGUAL HANDBOOKS

“VIETNAMESE CULTURE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"

PUBLISHED BY THE THE GIO] PUBLISHER

Nghiên cứu phương pháp dịch Việt— Ảnh trong b

ách song ngũ “Những câu

hỏi thường gặp về văn hóa Việt Nam” do Nhà xuất bản Thể Giới ấn hành

MLA MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Ficld: English linguistics

Code: 602215

TTanơi - 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, IIANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

PITAM TIIU GIANG

A STUDY ON THE VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATION STRATEGIES IN THE SERIES OF BILINGUAL HANDBOOKS

“VIETNAMESE CULTURE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"

PUBLISHED BY THE THE G10] PUBLISHER

Nghiên cứu phương pháp dịch Việt — Anh trong bộ sách song ngữ “Những câu

hỏi thường gặp về văn hóa Việt Nam” do Nhà xuất bản Thể Giới ấn hành

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English linguistics

Code: 602215

Supervisor: Dr Tran Xuan Diép

Tlanai - 2010

Aims of the study

Soups of the study

Methodology of the study

Organization of the study

1.3 Forcign language translation

1.4, Translation of cultural texts

Chapter 2: VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATION STRATEGIES

USED IN THE BILINGUAL HANDBOOKS

2 Modified literal translation

2.2 Changes in grammar

2.2.1, Changes in the order of word groups

2.2.2, Changes of grammatical word class

in the Vietnamese culture, The books also offer nseful practice for English native speakers who want to study Vietnamese Thirdly, towist guides and officials of foreign affairs benefit a great deal from the books in their business, Besides, the books are useftl for English tcachors and students with inlctesting contenls and compurativaty simple language The three books, “Popular Theatre”, “Spring Festivals in Northem Viet Nam” and

“Wedding customs”, were chosen with careful thoughts, Chéo, an authentically

‘Vietnamese theatre form, festival and wedding customs are the themes which may involve amany culture-specific terms, conceptions, idioms or allusions which pose considcrabls challenges for the transtators Therefore, the researcher would discover more helpful strategies lo deal with cullure-retated problems which remain very controversial in the arga

of transtation,

‘the "Popular ‘Theatre” covering 99 pages tells stories about chéo with six main parts:

background, popular plays, artists, music, chéo villages, and future development, The

*Wadding Customs" with 83 pages discusses different customs, from the pas! to present,

from the North to the South and some emerging issues i modem wedding sites The

thickest handbook "Spring l'estivals in Norther Viét Nam" with 133 pages describes imany farnaus spring festivals, som of which belong to minority groups such as Tay and

“Thai peoples Over 300 sentence pairs were collected from the three selected handbooks to

examine how and why the strategies are used to produce comprehensible and acceptable

targct language texts

Data analysis:

A mechanical listing of noteworthy and typical examples of translations in the books which, logether, cover a wide range of strategies is done firs The author docs nol solely

depend on the methods and strategies already studied by many researchers presented in the

literature She tries to seek more specific techniques employed by the translators and

in the Vietnamese culture, The books also offer nseful practice for English native speakers who want to study Vietnamese Thirdly, towist guides and officials of foreign affairs benefit a great deal from the books in their business, Besides, the books are useftl for English tcachors and students with inlctesting contenls and compurativaty simple language The three books, “Popular Theatre”, “Spring Festivals in Northem Viet Nam” and

“Wedding customs”, were chosen with careful thoughts, Chéo, an authentically

‘Vietnamese theatre form, festival and wedding customs are the themes which may involve amany culture-specific terms, conceptions, idioms or allusions which pose considcrabls challenges for the transtators Therefore, the researcher would discover more helpful strategies lo deal with cullure-retated problems which remain very controversial in the arga

of transtation,

‘the "Popular ‘Theatre” covering 99 pages tells stories about chéo with six main parts:

background, popular plays, artists, music, chéo villages, and future development, The

*Wadding Customs" with 83 pages discusses different customs, from the pas! to present,

from the North to the South and some emerging issues i modem wedding sites The

thickest handbook "Spring l'estivals in Norther Viét Nam" with 133 pages describes imany farnaus spring festivals, som of which belong to minority groups such as Tay and

“Thai peoples Over 300 sentence pairs were collected from the three selected handbooks to

examine how and why the strategies are used to produce comprehensible and acceptable

targct language texts

Data analysis:

A mechanical listing of noteworthy and typical examples of translations in the books which, logether, cover a wide range of strategies is done firs The author docs nol solely

depend on the methods and strategies already studied by many researchers presented in the

literature She tries to seek more specific techniques employed by the translators and

in the Vietnamese culture, The books also offer nseful practice for English native speakers who want to study Vietnamese Thirdly, towist guides and officials of foreign affairs benefit a great deal from the books in their business, Besides, the books are useftl for English tcachors and students with inlctesting contenls and compurativaty simple language The three books, “Popular Theatre”, “Spring Festivals in Northem Viet Nam” and

“Wedding customs”, were chosen with careful thoughts, Chéo, an authentically

‘Vietnamese theatre form, festival and wedding customs are the themes which may involve amany culture-specific terms, conceptions, idioms or allusions which pose considcrabls challenges for the transtators Therefore, the researcher would discover more helpful strategies lo deal with cullure-retated problems which remain very controversial in the arga

of transtation,

‘the "Popular ‘Theatre” covering 99 pages tells stories about chéo with six main parts:

background, popular plays, artists, music, chéo villages, and future development, The

*Wadding Customs" with 83 pages discusses different customs, from the pas! to present,

from the North to the South and some emerging issues i modem wedding sites The

thickest handbook "Spring l'estivals in Norther Viét Nam" with 133 pages describes imany farnaus spring festivals, som of which belong to minority groups such as Tay and

“Thai peoples Over 300 sentence pairs were collected from the three selected handbooks to

examine how and why the strategies are used to produce comprehensible and acceptable

targct language texts

Data analysis:

A mechanical listing of noteworthy and typical examples of translations in the books which, logether, cover a wide range of strategies is done firs The author docs nol solely

depend on the methods and strategies already studied by many researchers presented in the

literature She tries to seek more specific techniques employed by the translators and

in the Vietnamese culture, The books also offer nseful practice for English native speakers who want to study Vietnamese Thirdly, towist guides and officials of foreign affairs benefit a great deal from the books in their business, Besides, the books are useftl for English tcachors and students with inlctesting contenls and compurativaty simple language The three books, “Popular Theatre”, “Spring Festivals in Northem Viet Nam” and

“Wedding customs”, were chosen with careful thoughts, Chéo, an authentically

‘Vietnamese theatre form, festival and wedding customs are the themes which may involve amany culture-specific terms, conceptions, idioms or allusions which pose considcrabls challenges for the transtators Therefore, the researcher would discover more helpful strategies lo deal with cullure-retated problems which remain very controversial in the arga

of transtation,

‘the "Popular ‘Theatre” covering 99 pages tells stories about chéo with six main parts:

background, popular plays, artists, music, chéo villages, and future development, The

*Wadding Customs" with 83 pages discusses different customs, from the pas! to present,

from the North to the South and some emerging issues i modem wedding sites The

thickest handbook "Spring l'estivals in Norther Viét Nam" with 133 pages describes imany farnaus spring festivals, som of which belong to minority groups such as Tay and

“Thai peoples Over 300 sentence pairs were collected from the three selected handbooks to

examine how and why the strategies are used to produce comprehensible and acceptable

targct language texts

Data analysis:

A mechanical listing of noteworthy and typical examples of translations in the books which, logether, cover a wide range of strategies is done firs The author docs nol solely

depend on the methods and strategies already studied by many researchers presented in the

literature She tries to seek more specific techniques employed by the translators and

13

Chapter Hf is the main part of the study ‘This chapter providos discnssion on the use of

ted books in terms of modified literal translation,

translation strategies in the thive scl

changes in grammar, choice of vocabulary The author is particularly interested in translations of culture-bound terms, names and titles, This part is ended with some evaluations on the meaning transfer inchiding expressive richness and writing slyte in the

target language

Part iif is Conclusion which recapitulates the main ideas and findings of the study, draws

English tunslators, proscnis limitations of

oul some important dmnplications for Vietarnc

the study and lastly, suggests some ideas for further research,

13

Chapter Hf is the main part of the study ‘This chapter providos discnssion on the use of

ted books in terms of modified literal translation,

translation strategies in the thive scl

changes in grammar, choice of vocabulary The author is particularly interested in translations of culture-bound terms, names and titles, This part is ended with some evaluations on the meaning transfer inchiding expressive richness and writing slyte in the

target language

Part iif is Conclusion which recapitulates the main ideas and findings of the study, draws

English tunslators, proscnis limitations of

oul some important dmnplications for Vietarnc

the study and lastly, suggests some ideas for further research,

13

Chapter Hf is the main part of the study ‘This chapter providos discnssion on the use of

ted books in terms of modified literal translation,

translation strategies in the thive scl

changes in grammar, choice of vocabulary The author is particularly interested in translations of culture-bound terms, names and titles, This part is ended with some evaluations on the meaning transfer inchiding expressive richness and writing slyte in the

target language

Part iif is Conclusion which recapitulates the main ideas and findings of the study, draws

English tunslators, proscnis limitations of

oul some important dmnplications for Vietarnc

the study and lastly, suggests some ideas for further research,

discover their particular challenges, especially those related to culture-bound terms, and

how they overcome their challlnges The author altompls lo reason tlie use of the strategies and, in a few cases, adds some evaluation on the results or the effectiveness of the translations Finally, the author draws a conclusion on the strategies in Vietnamese-nglish

translation of the books and then gi

This study is carried out by the combination of the following methods:

- Deductive and inductive methods Deductive method is the important method used in this research The authar takes the description and intorprctation of the sirategics used in the

es some suggestions for translators and farther studies

translations based on the studies by some famous linguists, translators and other researchers contributing to the field However, the author also needs inductive method to arrive al necessary conehwsions about common stralogics used and Ihe toasons boneath,

- Qualitative and quantitative methods This study is umch more qualitative than quantitative in nature because it heavily depends on the author's own interpretation of translation examples Qualitative method offers the opportunity to gain insight into the translators’ decision-making during their transfer process, thus sccking out the "why" Quantitative method is saraetimes used to add necessary details and figures to the findings + Descriptive and contrastive methods: Descriptive is the main method of this study A detailed description of the translation versions would help the readers acquire profound understanding of the translation strategies For many cases, the author needs to explain the differences between English and Vietnamese lo clarify the translators’ intention hidden in thelr decisionmaking process In other words, the contrastive method helps to explain the effectiveness of the strategies utilized

5, Organization of the study

Part Tis the Introduction which allows the rcadeys to gel the gencral idea of whal the th

is about, It provides the rationale for the study, aims of the study, the scope, the method and the organization of the study

Part His the Development, which consist of threc chapters

Chapter ¡ briefly introduces some necessary theoretical points from different backgrounds

‘the author begins by reviewing different views of translation theories with the focus on trumslation stralogies Following thal a review of forign fanguage translation and translation of cultural texts is undertaken.

10

3 Scope of the study

More than twenty handbooks on “Victnam

‘been released so far The set of the books prominently features Vietnamese culture with different aspects such as arts, festivals, customs, and architecture and so on, Yet, within the

ulus freq

ently asked questions” have

lirnit of the tesearch, Ihe paper is nol supposed lo cover the whole series of the books The

three small books chosen are “Popular Theatre” (Chée), “Spring Festivals in Northem Viét

Nam” and “Wedding Customs” which are all edited by Hint Ngoc and Lady Berton and

published by Thế Gidi Publisher in 2008

Strategy is a broad term which may refer to global strategies (those dealing with whole texts) and lowal strategies (those dealing with text segments) (Bell, 1998) However, within

the Himsil of the minor thesis, the author would Tike fo focus on local strateg

specitic activities attecting micro-units of the text Translation procedures studied by

‘Vinay, Darbelnet, New Mark, Nida are the main source of reference for the author to carry out het research scisntifically Studies by other experts would also be considered when necessary

It is certainly hard for the author to mention a great number of differences between Vieinamese and Tinglish in har analysis The author would not sindy the alteration in the transfer process related to basic grammatical differences such as the order of nouns and adjectives, the possessions, the verb tenses and so on, Har main concem is the strategies which Iranstators, especially Isarners or novice Iranslalors may wot be aware of in their work, such as omission, addition, alteration and so on

4, Methodology of the study

4.1 Research question

‘The main rescarch question raised in the paper is

What translation strategies were used in the three selected book of the series "Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” published by the Gioi Publisher?

The answer to the question will help readers to realize some common Victnamesc-Enalish translation strategies used in the bilingual handbooks “Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” ‘The study may also help sharpen the transfators’ awareness of some outstanding difforsnees belwoou the nalure of English and Vietnamese languagos in use so

‘that they can learn to produce natural-looking texts in their translation

2.3.5, Using different words or phrases

2.4 Transtating culture-bound terms, names and titles, and poems

2.4.1, Translating culturs-bound terms

2.4.2, Translating names and titles

PART I- INTRODUCTION

4, Rationale

In a globalized world, translation has played an indispensable role in facilitating international exchanges and cooperation in various fields, one of the most important of which is cullure because culture is the background af every hrman communication, There have been a large number of studies on translation methods and strategies but many of which just focus on general techniques supposed to be applied to all pairs of languages in

concerned with s]

the world and few works cific problems in cortain pairs of language, especially those related to culture, Even within one pair of languages, first language translatars and foreign language translators encounter different challenges, While the first Janguage translator can depend mach on their long-built habitual usc of the targel Janguages, the second language translators often work with more awareness than feeling,

“more analysis and reasoning than intuition Therefore, to some extent, foreign language translators are more interested in translations strategies which help them do their work rationally,

For those reasons, the study on the translation strategies in the series of Vietnamese- English handbooks “Vielnamese culinre frequently asked questions” published by the Thé Gidi Publisher has been caried out fiom the perspective of a Vietnamese student The books cover different cultural aspects of Vietnam, therefore demonstrating many interesting transtalion strategies in use, especially those lo deal with culture-specific terms

The study is expected lo offer practical advice for Victnamess-Rnglish translalors with detailed and thorough analysis of the strategies used in the set of the books

2 Aims of the study

‘The study is carried ont with the following aims

- Finding out common strategies used in some books of the series "Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions.”

- Taking a close look at oxpressive power and writing styles of the translations to understand the reasons hidden in the translators’ use of certain strategies

- Drawing out some possible implications of the study results for Vietnamese-English

translatars.

2.3.5, Using different words or phrases

2.4 Transtating culture-bound terms, names and titles, and poems

2.4.1, Translating culturs-bound terms

2.4.2, Translating names and titles

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

2.3.5, Using different words or phrases

2.4 Transtating culture-bound terms, names and titles, and poems

2.4.1, Translating culturs-bound terms

2.4.2, Translating names and titles

discover their particular challenges, especially those related to culture-bound terms, and

how they overcome their challlnges The author altompls lo reason tlie use of the strategies and, in a few cases, adds some evaluation on the results or the effectiveness of the translations Finally, the author draws a conclusion on the strategies in Vietnamese-nglish

translation of the books and then gi

This study is carried out by the combination of the following methods:

- Deductive and inductive methods Deductive method is the important method used in this research The authar takes the description and intorprctation of the sirategics used in the

es some suggestions for translators and farther studies

translations based on the studies by some famous linguists, translators and other researchers contributing to the field However, the author also needs inductive method to arrive al necessary conehwsions about common stralogics used and Ihe toasons boneath,

- Qualitative and quantitative methods This study is umch more qualitative than quantitative in nature because it heavily depends on the author's own interpretation of translation examples Qualitative method offers the opportunity to gain insight into the translators’ decision-making during their transfer process, thus sccking out the "why" Quantitative method is saraetimes used to add necessary details and figures to the findings + Descriptive and contrastive methods: Descriptive is the main method of this study A detailed description of the translation versions would help the readers acquire profound understanding of the translation strategies For many cases, the author needs to explain the differences between English and Vietnamese lo clarify the translators’ intention hidden in thelr decisionmaking process In other words, the contrastive method helps to explain the effectiveness of the strategies utilized

5, Organization of the study

Part Tis the Introduction which allows the rcadeys to gel the gencral idea of whal the th

is about, It provides the rationale for the study, aims of the study, the scope, the method and the organization of the study

Part His the Development, which consist of threc chapters

Chapter ¡ briefly introduces some necessary theoretical points from different backgrounds

‘the author begins by reviewing different views of translation theories with the focus on trumslation stralogies Following thal a review of forign fanguage translation and translation of cultural texts is undertaken.

10

3 Scope of the study

More than twenty handbooks on “Victnam

‘been released so far The set of the books prominently features Vietnamese culture with different aspects such as arts, festivals, customs, and architecture and so on, Yet, within the

ulus freq

ently asked questions” have

lirnit of the tesearch, Ihe paper is nol supposed lo cover the whole series of the books The

three small books chosen are “Popular Theatre” (Chée), “Spring Festivals in Northem Viét

Nam” and “Wedding Customs” which are all edited by Hint Ngoc and Lady Berton and

published by Thế Gidi Publisher in 2008

Strategy is a broad term which may refer to global strategies (those dealing with whole texts) and lowal strategies (those dealing with text segments) (Bell, 1998) However, within

the Himsil of the minor thesis, the author would Tike fo focus on local strateg

specitic activities attecting micro-units of the text Translation procedures studied by

‘Vinay, Darbelnet, New Mark, Nida are the main source of reference for the author to carry out het research scisntifically Studies by other experts would also be considered when necessary

It is certainly hard for the author to mention a great number of differences between Vieinamese and Tinglish in har analysis The author would not sindy the alteration in the transfer process related to basic grammatical differences such as the order of nouns and adjectives, the possessions, the verb tenses and so on, Har main concem is the strategies which Iranstators, especially Isarners or novice Iranslalors may wot be aware of in their work, such as omission, addition, alteration and so on

4, Methodology of the study

4.1 Research question

‘The main rescarch question raised in the paper is

What translation strategies were used in the three selected book of the series "Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” published by the Gioi Publisher?

The answer to the question will help readers to realize some common Victnamesc-Enalish translation strategies used in the bilingual handbooks “Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” ‘The study may also help sharpen the transfators’ awareness of some outstanding difforsnees belwoou the nalure of English and Vietnamese languagos in use so

‘that they can learn to produce natural-looking texts in their translation

discover their particular challenges, especially those related to culture-bound terms, and

how they overcome their challlnges The author altompls lo reason tlie use of the strategies and, in a few cases, adds some evaluation on the results or the effectiveness of the translations Finally, the author draws a conclusion on the strategies in Vietnamese-nglish

translation of the books and then gi

This study is carried out by the combination of the following methods:

- Deductive and inductive methods Deductive method is the important method used in this research The authar takes the description and intorprctation of the sirategics used in the

es some suggestions for translators and farther studies

translations based on the studies by some famous linguists, translators and other researchers contributing to the field However, the author also needs inductive method to arrive al necessary conehwsions about common stralogics used and Ihe toasons boneath,

- Qualitative and quantitative methods This study is umch more qualitative than quantitative in nature because it heavily depends on the author's own interpretation of translation examples Qualitative method offers the opportunity to gain insight into the translators’ decision-making during their transfer process, thus sccking out the "why" Quantitative method is saraetimes used to add necessary details and figures to the findings + Descriptive and contrastive methods: Descriptive is the main method of this study A detailed description of the translation versions would help the readers acquire profound understanding of the translation strategies For many cases, the author needs to explain the differences between English and Vietnamese lo clarify the translators’ intention hidden in thelr decisionmaking process In other words, the contrastive method helps to explain the effectiveness of the strategies utilized

5, Organization of the study

Part Tis the Introduction which allows the rcadeys to gel the gencral idea of whal the th

is about, It provides the rationale for the study, aims of the study, the scope, the method and the organization of the study

Part His the Development, which consist of threc chapters

Chapter ¡ briefly introduces some necessary theoretical points from different backgrounds

‘the author begins by reviewing different views of translation theories with the focus on trumslation stralogies Following thal a review of forign fanguage translation and translation of cultural texts is undertaken.

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

2.3.5, Using different words or phrases

2.4 Transtating culture-bound terms, names and titles, and poems

2.4.1, Translating culturs-bound terms

2.4.2, Translating names and titles

in the Vietnamese culture, The books also offer nseful practice for English native speakers who want to study Vietnamese Thirdly, towist guides and officials of foreign affairs benefit a great deal from the books in their business, Besides, the books are useftl for English tcachors and students with inlctesting contenls and compurativaty simple language The three books, “Popular Theatre”, “Spring Festivals in Northem Viet Nam” and

“Wedding customs”, were chosen with careful thoughts, Chéo, an authentically

‘Vietnamese theatre form, festival and wedding customs are the themes which may involve amany culture-specific terms, conceptions, idioms or allusions which pose considcrabls challenges for the transtators Therefore, the researcher would discover more helpful strategies lo deal with cullure-retated problems which remain very controversial in the arga

of transtation,

‘the "Popular ‘Theatre” covering 99 pages tells stories about chéo with six main parts:

background, popular plays, artists, music, chéo villages, and future development, The

*Wadding Customs" with 83 pages discusses different customs, from the pas! to present,

from the North to the South and some emerging issues i modem wedding sites The

thickest handbook "Spring l'estivals in Norther Viét Nam" with 133 pages describes imany farnaus spring festivals, som of which belong to minority groups such as Tay and

“Thai peoples Over 300 sentence pairs were collected from the three selected handbooks to

examine how and why the strategies are used to produce comprehensible and acceptable

targct language texts

Data analysis:

A mechanical listing of noteworthy and typical examples of translations in the books which, logether, cover a wide range of strategies is done firs The author docs nol solely

depend on the methods and strategies already studied by many researchers presented in the

literature She tries to seek more specific techniques employed by the translators and

10

3 Scope of the study

More than twenty handbooks on “Victnam

‘been released so far The set of the books prominently features Vietnamese culture with different aspects such as arts, festivals, customs, and architecture and so on, Yet, within the

ulus freq

ently asked questions” have

lirnit of the tesearch, Ihe paper is nol supposed lo cover the whole series of the books The

three small books chosen are “Popular Theatre” (Chée), “Spring Festivals in Northem Viét

Nam” and “Wedding Customs” which are all edited by Hint Ngoc and Lady Berton and

published by Thế Gidi Publisher in 2008

Strategy is a broad term which may refer to global strategies (those dealing with whole texts) and lowal strategies (those dealing with text segments) (Bell, 1998) However, within

the Himsil of the minor thesis, the author would Tike fo focus on local strateg

specitic activities attecting micro-units of the text Translation procedures studied by

‘Vinay, Darbelnet, New Mark, Nida are the main source of reference for the author to carry out het research scisntifically Studies by other experts would also be considered when necessary

It is certainly hard for the author to mention a great number of differences between Vieinamese and Tinglish in har analysis The author would not sindy the alteration in the transfer process related to basic grammatical differences such as the order of nouns and adjectives, the possessions, the verb tenses and so on, Har main concem is the strategies which Iranstators, especially Isarners or novice Iranslalors may wot be aware of in their work, such as omission, addition, alteration and so on

4, Methodology of the study

4.1 Research question

‘The main rescarch question raised in the paper is

What translation strategies were used in the three selected book of the series "Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” published by the Gioi Publisher?

The answer to the question will help readers to realize some common Victnamesc-Enalish translation strategies used in the bilingual handbooks “Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” ‘The study may also help sharpen the transfators’ awareness of some outstanding difforsnees belwoou the nalure of English and Vietnamese languagos in use so

‘that they can learn to produce natural-looking texts in their translation

13

Chapter Hf is the main part of the study ‘This chapter providos discnssion on the use of

ted books in terms of modified literal translation,

translation strategies in the thive scl

changes in grammar, choice of vocabulary The author is particularly interested in translations of culture-bound terms, names and titles, This part is ended with some evaluations on the meaning transfer inchiding expressive richness and writing slyte in the

target language

Part iif is Conclusion which recapitulates the main ideas and findings of the study, draws

English tunslators, proscnis limitations of

oul some important dmnplications for Vietarnc

the study and lastly, suggests some ideas for further research,

13

Chapter Hf is the main part of the study ‘This chapter providos discnssion on the use of

ted books in terms of modified literal translation,

translation strategies in the thive scl

changes in grammar, choice of vocabulary The author is particularly interested in translations of culture-bound terms, names and titles, This part is ended with some evaluations on the meaning transfer inchiding expressive richness and writing slyte in the

target language

Part iif is Conclusion which recapitulates the main ideas and findings of the study, draws

English tunslators, proscnis limitations of

oul some important dmnplications for Vietarnc

the study and lastly, suggests some ideas for further research,

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

10

3 Scope of the study

More than twenty handbooks on “Victnam

‘been released so far The set of the books prominently features Vietnamese culture with different aspects such as arts, festivals, customs, and architecture and so on, Yet, within the

ulus freq

ently asked questions” have

lirnit of the tesearch, Ihe paper is nol supposed lo cover the whole series of the books The

three small books chosen are “Popular Theatre” (Chée), “Spring Festivals in Northem Viét

Nam” and “Wedding Customs” which are all edited by Hint Ngoc and Lady Berton and

published by Thế Gidi Publisher in 2008

Strategy is a broad term which may refer to global strategies (those dealing with whole texts) and lowal strategies (those dealing with text segments) (Bell, 1998) However, within

the Himsil of the minor thesis, the author would Tike fo focus on local strateg

specitic activities attecting micro-units of the text Translation procedures studied by

‘Vinay, Darbelnet, New Mark, Nida are the main source of reference for the author to carry out het research scisntifically Studies by other experts would also be considered when necessary

It is certainly hard for the author to mention a great number of differences between Vieinamese and Tinglish in har analysis The author would not sindy the alteration in the transfer process related to basic grammatical differences such as the order of nouns and adjectives, the possessions, the verb tenses and so on, Har main concem is the strategies which Iranstators, especially Isarners or novice Iranslalors may wot be aware of in their work, such as omission, addition, alteration and so on

4, Methodology of the study

4.1 Research question

‘The main rescarch question raised in the paper is

What translation strategies were used in the three selected book of the series "Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” published by the Gioi Publisher?

The answer to the question will help readers to realize some common Victnamesc-Enalish translation strategies used in the bilingual handbooks “Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” ‘The study may also help sharpen the transfators’ awareness of some outstanding difforsnees belwoou the nalure of English and Vietnamese languagos in use so

‘that they can learn to produce natural-looking texts in their translation

10

3 Scope of the study

More than twenty handbooks on “Victnam

‘been released so far The set of the books prominently features Vietnamese culture with different aspects such as arts, festivals, customs, and architecture and so on, Yet, within the

ulus freq

ently asked questions” have

lirnit of the tesearch, Ihe paper is nol supposed lo cover the whole series of the books The

three small books chosen are “Popular Theatre” (Chée), “Spring Festivals in Northem Viét

Nam” and “Wedding Customs” which are all edited by Hint Ngoc and Lady Berton and

published by Thế Gidi Publisher in 2008

Strategy is a broad term which may refer to global strategies (those dealing with whole texts) and lowal strategies (those dealing with text segments) (Bell, 1998) However, within

the Himsil of the minor thesis, the author would Tike fo focus on local strateg

specitic activities attecting micro-units of the text Translation procedures studied by

‘Vinay, Darbelnet, New Mark, Nida are the main source of reference for the author to carry out het research scisntifically Studies by other experts would also be considered when necessary

It is certainly hard for the author to mention a great number of differences between Vieinamese and Tinglish in har analysis The author would not sindy the alteration in the transfer process related to basic grammatical differences such as the order of nouns and adjectives, the possessions, the verb tenses and so on, Har main concem is the strategies which Iranstators, especially Isarners or novice Iranslalors may wot be aware of in their work, such as omission, addition, alteration and so on

4, Methodology of the study

4.1 Research question

‘The main rescarch question raised in the paper is

What translation strategies were used in the three selected book of the series "Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” published by the Gioi Publisher?

The answer to the question will help readers to realize some common Victnamesc-Enalish translation strategies used in the bilingual handbooks “Vietnamese culture frequently asked questions” ‘The study may also help sharpen the transfators’ awareness of some outstanding difforsnees belwoou the nalure of English and Vietnamese languagos in use so

‘that they can learn to produce natural-looking texts in their translation

discover their particular challenges, especially those related to culture-bound terms, and

how they overcome their challlnges The author altompls lo reason tlie use of the strategies and, in a few cases, adds some evaluation on the results or the effectiveness of the translations Finally, the author draws a conclusion on the strategies in Vietnamese-nglish

translation of the books and then gi

This study is carried out by the combination of the following methods:

- Deductive and inductive methods Deductive method is the important method used in this research The authar takes the description and intorprctation of the sirategics used in the

es some suggestions for translators and farther studies

translations based on the studies by some famous linguists, translators and other researchers contributing to the field However, the author also needs inductive method to arrive al necessary conehwsions about common stralogics used and Ihe toasons boneath,

- Qualitative and quantitative methods This study is umch more qualitative than quantitative in nature because it heavily depends on the author's own interpretation of translation examples Qualitative method offers the opportunity to gain insight into the translators’ decision-making during their transfer process, thus sccking out the "why" Quantitative method is saraetimes used to add necessary details and figures to the findings + Descriptive and contrastive methods: Descriptive is the main method of this study A detailed description of the translation versions would help the readers acquire profound understanding of the translation strategies For many cases, the author needs to explain the differences between English and Vietnamese lo clarify the translators’ intention hidden in thelr decisionmaking process In other words, the contrastive method helps to explain the effectiveness of the strategies utilized

5, Organization of the study

Part Tis the Introduction which allows the rcadeys to gel the gencral idea of whal the th

is about, It provides the rationale for the study, aims of the study, the scope, the method and the organization of the study

Part His the Development, which consist of threc chapters

Chapter ¡ briefly introduces some necessary theoretical points from different backgrounds

‘the author begins by reviewing different views of translation theories with the focus on trumslation stralogies Following thal a review of forign fanguage translation and translation of cultural texts is undertaken.

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

discover their particular challenges, especially those related to culture-bound terms, and

how they overcome their challlnges The author altompls lo reason tlie use of the strategies and, in a few cases, adds some evaluation on the results or the effectiveness of the translations Finally, the author draws a conclusion on the strategies in Vietnamese-nglish

translation of the books and then gi

This study is carried out by the combination of the following methods:

- Deductive and inductive methods Deductive method is the important method used in this research The authar takes the description and intorprctation of the sirategics used in the

es some suggestions for translators and farther studies

translations based on the studies by some famous linguists, translators and other researchers contributing to the field However, the author also needs inductive method to arrive al necessary conehwsions about common stralogics used and Ihe toasons boneath,

- Qualitative and quantitative methods This study is umch more qualitative than quantitative in nature because it heavily depends on the author's own interpretation of translation examples Qualitative method offers the opportunity to gain insight into the translators’ decision-making during their transfer process, thus sccking out the "why" Quantitative method is saraetimes used to add necessary details and figures to the findings + Descriptive and contrastive methods: Descriptive is the main method of this study A detailed description of the translation versions would help the readers acquire profound understanding of the translation strategies For many cases, the author needs to explain the differences between English and Vietnamese lo clarify the translators’ intention hidden in thelr decisionmaking process In other words, the contrastive method helps to explain the effectiveness of the strategies utilized

5, Organization of the study

Part Tis the Introduction which allows the rcadeys to gel the gencral idea of whal the th

is about, It provides the rationale for the study, aims of the study, the scope, the method and the organization of the study

Part His the Development, which consist of threc chapters

Chapter ¡ briefly introduces some necessary theoretical points from different backgrounds

‘the author begins by reviewing different views of translation theories with the focus on trumslation stralogies Following thal a review of forign fanguage translation and translation of cultural texts is undertaken.

Target language text

"Popular Theale”

"Wedding Customs"

"Spring Festival in Nơrthem Việt Nam"

13

Chapter Hf is the main part of the study ‘This chapter providos discnssion on the use of

ted books in terms of modified literal translation,

translation strategies in the thive scl

changes in grammar, choice of vocabulary The author is particularly interested in translations of culture-bound terms, names and titles, This part is ended with some evaluations on the meaning transfer inchiding expressive richness and writing slyte in the

target language

Part iif is Conclusion which recapitulates the main ideas and findings of the study, draws

English tunslators, proscnis limitations of

oul some important dmnplications for Vietarnc

the study and lastly, suggests some ideas for further research,