Translation equivalence of terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs

Translation equivalence of terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs Vương Thị Thanh Nhàn Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: English teaching methodology; Mã số: 60 14 10 Ngườ

Translation equivalence of terms in Quan Ho

Bac Ninh folk songs Vương Thị Thanh Nhàn

Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: English teaching methodology; Mã số: 60 14 10

Người hướng dẫn: Assoc Prof Dr Lê Hùng Tiến

Năm bảo vệ: 2012

Abstract The UNESCO recognition of Quan Ho Bac Nink folk songs as an intangible

cultural heritage of humanity has highlighted an urgent need for safeguarding, with translation of Vietnamese documents into English as an important task The current study entitled “Translation equivalence of terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs” underlined the problem of non-equivalence caused by Quan Ho terms as culture-specific concepts A variety of methods including document review, observation and interviews were employed as effective tools for data collection The findings of this study revealed six most common strategies for translation of Quan Ho terms, namely transference, literal translation, reduction, cultural equivalent, descriptive equivalent and couplets In addition, a glossary of key terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs was provided,

making a small contribution to translators as well as future researches in this field Keywords Tiếng Anh; Ngôn ngữ; Dịch thuật; Dân ca; Quan họ Bắc Ninh

Content

I Identification of the problem and rationales for the study

Quan Ho Bac Ninh singing was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity at the

fourth session of the UNESCO International Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage, which took place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from September 28 to October 2, 2010 After that, Vietnam snapped into action to protect its indigenous art form In October 2011, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism claimed that Quan Ho singing had been listed as a cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding Among the measures taken to preserve and promote the heritage, introducing Quan Ho Bac Ninh documents in English to international friends is an indispensable part However, the translation process has encountered a number of challenges due to the following reasons:

 As a cultural heritage of humanity, Quan Ho Bac Ninh is characterized by its distinction

in local customs, musical features and singing outfits Then the terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh are considered culture-specific concepts In translation theory, non-equivalence caused by culture-specific items has put an unanswered question and this issue calls for more researches from translators as well as theorists to figure out better solutions

 Remarkable efforts in the field have been made with the introduction of many articles and journals about Quan Ho Bac Ninh written in English However, terminological inconsistency

has existed among those documents A glossary will help to standardize the way Quan Ho terms are translated and increase the quality of products made by different translators Once

the glossary is provided, confusion among the target readership will not occur when they have access to a variety of materials about Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs

As a child growing up with the sweet melody of Quan Ho songs, the researcher has nurtured a great love for the folk Bac Ninh is famous for traditional festivals held constantly around the year so the researcher has chances to join many social events in Quan Ho hometown A period of time working with experts on Quan Ho folk songs has also brought the researcher particular understanding about this unique type of music In addition, it is expected that the researcher’s experience as a translation practitioner will set firm background for related studies

These above grounds have encouraged the researcher to conduct a study on “Translation Equivalence of Terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh Folk Songs” The study is hoped to be a modest

contribution to the field

II Aims of the study

The study is firstly aimed at examining the problem of non-equivalence caused by culture-specific concepts like Quan Ho Bac Ninh terms so that solutions to overcome the difficulties will

be worked out Then, the study will highlight a number of strategies to deal with Quan Ho Bac Ninh terms as culture-specific items Finally, several suggested translations of key terms in Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs will be given

In brief, these aims can be summarized into two research questions as follows:

- What are the strategies to form equivalents of terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs?

- What are the suggested equivalents of terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs?

III Scope of the study

Within the limitation of time and reference materials, the study will address the problem of non-equivalence rather than stretching efforts in other differnt aspects of translation non-equivalence In addition, the researcher will not focus on all the terms used in Quan Ho singing documents Only

some key terms related to the following points will be discussed:

- Quan Ho singing origin and social practice (with major focus on several customs)

- Quan Ho singing forms

- Quan Ho singing tunes

- Quan Ho singing techniques

- Quan Ho singing outfits

IV Significance of the study

Once being completed, the study will serve as one of the initial small-scale researches on the non-equivalence in translation of Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk terms with different strategies to cope with the problem

When the findings of the study are revealed, there might be several implications for those working on translating Quan Ho singing documents to take them into consideration The glossary

of key terms in Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk songs will certainly be an effective supporting tool for those who take interest in this type of music and want to introduce it to international friends

The proposed study is also expected to be a practical guide and benefit future researchers in related fields There might be opening doors to other aspects of translation that need to be explored

V Organization of the study

The study is divided into three main parts:

Part A - Introduction identifies the central problem and introduces major objectives of the study

which are shown in the two research questions The scope and significance of the study are also

stated Part B – Development is covered by three chapters Chapter 1 – Literature review presents a review of relevant researches associated with the problem addressed Chapter 2 –

Research methods describes the research methods used for data collection and analysis Chapter

3 – Findings and discussion contains an analysis of the data and presentation of the results Part

C - Conclusion offers a summary of the study's findings, implications for practice, and

recommendations for future research

References

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In Vietnamese:

Đặng Văn Lung (1937) Quan Họ, nguồn gốc và quá trình phát triển Khoa học xã hội, 1978 –

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Không gian văn hóa Quan Họ (2011) Trung tâm văn hóa tỉnh Bắc Ninh

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Translated documents:

Bắc Ninh Department of Culture and Information, 2006 Không gian văn hóa Quan họ Bắc Ninh,

bảo tồn và phát huy [The Space of Quan họ Bắc Ninh Culture , Safeguarding and Promotion, The proceedings of International Conference held by Ministry of Culture and

Information and Bắc Ninh province People Committee in Hanoi , March, 2006 Hanoi: Institute of Culture and Information and Bắc Ninh Department of Culture and Information

Chu Ngo ̣c Chi, 1928 Hát Quan họ [Quan họ Singing] Hanoi: Thụy Ký published

Department of Culture of Hà Bắc province, 1972 Một số vấn đề dân ca quan họ Bắc Ninh [Some

issues on Quan họ folk songs] Department of Culture of Hà Bắc province

Đặng Văn Lung, Trần Linh Quý, Hồng Thao, 1978 Quan họ, nguồn gốc và quá trình phát triển

[Quan họ, Origin and Development] Hanoi: Social Sciences Publisher

Hồng Thao, 1997 Dân ca Quan họ [Quan họ Folk Songs] Hanoi: Musical Publishing House Minh Trúc, 1937 Hát Quan họ [Quan họ singing] Hanoi: Trung Bắc Tân văn , Issues no 5962,

5963, 5964, 5967, 5969, 5971, 5974, 5976

Lê Danh Khiêm, 2001 Dân ca Quan họ, lời ca và bình giải [Quan ho ̣ Folk Songs , Lyrics and Comments] Bắc Ninh: Center for Quan họ Culture

Lưu Hữu Phước , Nguyễn Viêm , Tú Ngọc, Nguyễn Văn Phú , 1962 Dân ca Quan họ Bắc Ninh

[Quan họ Bắc Ninh Folk Songs] Hanoi: Cultural publishing House

Nguyễn Tro ̣ng Ánh, 2005 Những đặc điểm nghệ thuật Quan họ [The Characteristics of Quan họ

Arts] PhD Dissertation Hanoi: Vietnam Academy of Music