English vietnamese translation of taxation terminology dịch thuật ngữ anh việt về thuế

Recently, tax has been one of the key fields which impacts on the sociodevelopment of each nation. With the development of international trade, EnglishVietnamese translation of taxation documents and relevant materials has received an everincreasing demand for. Though accounting for only small percentage of the whole text‟s length, new terms always need to be mastered first if the translator wants to have a perfect translation. However, not many researches on this topic have been conducted which offers the researcher a chance to study about translation procedures of EnglishVietnamese taxation terminology. To make this study possible, both quantitative and qualitative approaches have been exploited. Firstly, quantitative approach is used to collect English tax terms and Vietnamese equivalents. On the base of data collection with a bank of tax terms, qualitative approach is employed to analyse data. With the above mentioned background, purposes and methodology, the study has revealed that only six common translation procedures are used to deal with tax terms. They are through translation, shift, modulation, cultural equivalence, functional equivalence and expansion. Through translation is the most dominant procedure applied in the translation of tax term whereas functional equivalence is the least one. Illustrations are given to clarify the findings of the study. The results of the research can help translators apply appropriate translation procedures in the translation of taxation terminology. Furthermore, it will benefit the researchers who are interested in the subject.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOIUNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES

AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION

OF TAXATION TERMINOLOGY

SUPERVISOR: ASS.PROF NGUYEN XUAN THOM, PHD

STUDENT: BUI THI HOA YEAR OF ENROLMENT: QH2009

Hanoi, May 2013

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

DỊCH THUẬT NGỮ ANH-VIỆT VỀ THUẾ

Giáo Viên Hướng Dẫn: PGS.TS Nguyễn Xuân Thơm Sinh Viên: Bùi Thị Hòa

Khóa: QH 2009

HÀ NỘI - NĂM 2013

ACCEPTANCE

I hereby state that I: Bùi Thị Hòa, class QH2009.F.1.E25, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Date

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This thesis has benefited greatly from the support of many people that I want

to express my sincerest thanks to

Initially, I would like to thank my supervisor, Ass.Prof Nguyễn Xuân Thơm, PhD., who has given me constant support and valuable comments and suggestions Right from the beginning, he has helped me a lot from the stage of choosing topic

as well as throughout my process of conducting this research

I also would like to thank Ms Nguyen Cam Linh who has had a very positive influence on me from the very beginning of my studies Although not being my supervisors and busy at work, they still took care and enthusiastically answered all

my questions

Furthermore, I owe profound indebtness to all my friends in Class 09E25 who always encourage me to overcome difficulties and give me useful suggestions Last but not least, I would like to thank the librians at cFL Library for their precious source of information

ABSTRACT

Recently, tax has been one of the key fields which impacts on the socio development of each nation With the development of international trade, English-Vietnamese translation of taxation documents and relevant materials has received

-an ever-increasing dem-and for Though accounting for only small percentage of the whole text‟s length, new terms always need to be mastered first if the translator wants to have a perfect translation However, not many researches on this topic have been conducted which offers the researcher a chance to study about translation procedures of English-Vietnamese taxation terminology

To make this study possible, both quantitative and qualitative approaches have been exploited Firstly, quantitative approach is used to collect English tax terms and Vietnamese equivalents On the base of data collection with a bank of tax terms, qualitative approach is employed to analyse data

With the above mentioned background, purposes and methodology, the study has revealed that only six common translation procedures are used to deal with tax terms They are through translation, shift, modulation, cultural equivalence, functional equivalence and expansion Through translation is the most dominant procedure applied in the translation of tax term whereas functional equivalence is the least one Illustrations are given to clarify the findings of the study

The results of the research can help translators apply appropriate translation procedures in the translation of taxation terminology Furthermore, it will benefit the researchers who are interested in the subject

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACCEPTANCE i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENT iv

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATION viii

PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale .1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 2

3 Research questions 2

4 Scope of the study 3

5 Significance of the study 3

6 The organization of the study 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1 Overvie w of t ranslation 5

1.1 Definition of translation 5

1.2 Translation procedures 5

1.2.1 Transference 6

1.2.2 Naturalization 6

1.2.3 Through translation 6

1.2.4 Shift or transposition 7

1.2.5 Modulation 7

1.2.6 Cultural equivalence 8

1.2.7 Functional equivalence 8

1.2.8 Descriptive equivalence 8

1.2.9 Expansion 8

2 Overvie w of termino logy 9

2.1 Definit ion of terminology 9

2.2 Basic features of terminology 10

2.2.1 Accuracy 10

2.2.2 Internationality 11

2.2.3 Systematicality 11

2.3 Classifications of terms 12

2.3.1 Simple terms 12

2.3.2 Pure-compound terms 13

2.3.3 Mixed-compound terms 13

2.3.4 Acronym 14

3 Overvie w of ta x terms .14

3.1 Overvie w of ta x 14

3.2 Basic features of ta x terminology 15

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17

1 Selection of subject 17

2 Data collection instruments .17

3 Procedures 18

3.1 Procedure of data collection 18

3.2 Procedures of data analysis 18

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCCUSION 20

1 Findings 20

1.1 Procedures applied in the English-Vietna mese translation of taxat ion terminology 20

1.1.1 Through translation 20

1.1.2 Shift or transposition 23

1.1.3 Modulation 26

1.1.4 Cultural equivalence .29

1.1.5 Functional equivalence 32

1.1.6 Expansion 33

1.2 The most common procedure applied when translating English -Vietnamese taxation terminology 35

2 Discusion 36

2.1 Through translation 37

2.2 Expansion 37

2.3 Cultura l equivalence 38

2.4 Shift/ transposition and modulation 38

2.5 Functional equivalence 39

3 Summary of the findings .40

PART 3: CONCLUSION 41

1 Conclusion 41

2 Limitations of the study 42

3 Suggestions for further study 42

REFERENCE 43

APPENDIX 45

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES

Table 1 Analysis of cases applying through translation 18 Table 2 Analysis of cases applying shift or transposition 21 Table 3 Analysis of cases applying modulation 24 Table 4 Analysis of cases applying cultural equivalence 27 Table 5 Analysis of cases applying functional equivalence 29 Table 6 Analysis of cases applying expansion 31 Figure 1 The percentage of translation procedures applied in

English-Vietnamese translation of tax terms

33

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

SL Source language In translation, the language that is

translated from

TL Target language In translation, the language to which a

source text is translated into

A term originating from Chinese

A Indo-European term A term borrowed from other

languages, mainly French, English and Russian

Term “taxation” has become very popular in Vietnam, especially since people‟s living standard was raised Nguyen (1999) stated that government taxes are a fact of life, natural and avoidable like the weather Nowadays, the tendency of international integration requires investors, economists, policy-makers and enterprises, etc to deeply understand economics in general, the law of taxes and tax-related documents in particular of as many countries in the world as possible Besides, English has been considered as the global language for a long time As a matter of course, English-Vietnamese translation of taxation documents and relevant materials has received an ever-increasing demand Though accounting for only 5%-10% of the whole text‟s length, new terms always need to be mastered first if the translator wants to have a perfect translation Therefore, the demand for English-Vietnamese translation of taxation terminology has become more and more popular

Addressing the need to investigate the area of taxation, a relatively large body of research to date has been done on a number of sub-areas Much of the

existing academic research has focused on economics-related taxation These include studies on tax reform by Rosen (2012), the ability of technology to solve the tax complexity dilemma by Goolsbee (2002) and some books about taxes, but mainly in terms of economics, including “Macroeconomics” by Mankiw (2001) and “Kinh tế vĩ mô” by Pham (n.d) However, so far not many researches have been conducted on taxation terminology There has been even no study on English-Vietnamese translation of tax terms before though it‟s obvious that such a study would help readers save a lot of time reading all other relevant materials All the conditions above offer the research a chance to conduct a study on “English-Vietnamese translation of taxation terminology”

2 Aims and objectives of the study

Normally, language learners think that the difficulties they have to face with

in translation arise from vocabulary, grammar and cultural barriers that make the two languages distinctive from each other Therefore, in light of the dearth of research in this sub-area, the present study was conducted as an attempt to deal with taxation vocabulary by applying appropriate translation methods to translate tax terms And also, the study aims at finding out the most common methods of translation used in English-Vietnamese translation of tax terminology From this point, translators can have a better access to tax terms in particular and terms of other fields in general

3 Research questions

In brief, the study purports to address the following questions:

1 What are translation procedures used to translate English-Vietnamese taxation terminology?

2 What are the most common procedures of translation used when translating taxation terms from English to Vietnamese?

4 Scope of the study

As the title implies, this study focuses on the most common procedures used

in the English-Vietnamese translation of tax terms Materials are taken from various source available in the refrence, including “A textbook of translation” by Newmark (1995), “Machine technology” by Arnold (1994), “California glossary of tax term”, book “English for finance and banking” by Nguyen (1999) and “Từ điển Anh-Việt về thuế” by Nguyen (et al)

5 Significance of the study

As a fresh translator, the language of taxation, both in source language (SL) and target language (TL) seems to be challenging for me to produce an effective translation The point is that how I can apply all the knowledge I have come by at school in this field Only by doing this study can I have the answer for the above two questions Moreover, hopefully, readers can be provided with sufficient knowledge about how to deal with terms encountered in news and documents concerning taxation in Vietnam As a result, readers can save a lot of time reading all other relevant materials Finally, this study is hoped to be useful and practical for those who want to go deeply in the field of taxation translation by making some suggestions for an effective translation of English-Vietnamese taxation terminology

6 The organization of the study

There are totally three parts in the study After Part I, the rest will consist of the following parts:

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1 (Literature review): provides theoretical background of the research,

including the overview of translation, terminology and tax terminology

Chapter 2 (Methodology): describes the sampling method, numbers and

features of collected tax terms, research instruments as well as the procedures of data collection and analysis

Chapter 4 (Results and Discussions): answers the two research questions

mentioned previously and discuss more from the gained results

PART III: CONCLUSION

This part is to summarize the main points, state the conclusions, admit the limitations and suggest for further studies

1.2 Translation procedures

A perfect translated version totally depends on two main factors: The thorough analysis of linguistic of the text to be translated and proper application of translation approaches to that (Nam, 1999) There have been many theories about application of the so-called translation approaches, including translation procedures These theories are all backed up by highly persuasive reasons Among them, the theory of translation procedures set out by Peter Newmark is widely recognized for its significant influences on many successors and professi onal translators Newmark (1988, pp 81-93) also mentioned the differences between translation methods and procedures that while translation methods refer to the whole text, translation procedures are used for sentence and smaller units of language Besides, to deal with taxation terms, translation procedures of terminology set out by Delisle (1999) and his companions are also applied

According to Newmark (1995, pp.81-93), nine procedures of translation are listed below:

1.2.1 Transference

A SL word is directly taken into the TL word with no changes in terms of word form in order to create certain stylistic effect In fact, some original terms are widely popularized that any versions of translation becomes odd and sometimes unaccepted These can serve as typical examples

- IT-related names: Bluetooth, Internet, Blog, Wifi, USB, hacker

- Some other names: MC, DJ, PG, laptop, smartphone, gas

- AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: Hội chứng suy giảm miễn dịch mắc phải

- MOET: Ministry of Education and Training: Bộ Giáo dục và Đào tạo

- MOLISA: Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affair: Bộ Lao động, Thương binh và Xã hội

- APEC: Asian Pacific Economic corporation: Hợp tác kinh tế châu Thái Bình Dương

Á-1.2.4 Shift or transposition

This procedure involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL For example, change from singular to plural, the change required when a specific SL structure does not exist in the TL, change of an SL verb to a TL word, change of an

SL noun group to a TL noun (Newmark, 1988b, p.86) Here are examples of this procedure:

-After his return: sau khi anh ta trở về

- Despite his laziness, he passed the exam: dù anh ta lười học, anh ta vẫn

đỗ

1.2.5 Modulation

Modulation means the variation in the message when it is translated into the

TL due to change in the point of view The following pairs of sentences can be taken as examples for this translation procedure

- One part another

Eg: She cleared the throat before making her speech

 Cô ta hắng giọng trước khi phát biểu

- Passive active

Eg: The roof was damaged by the storm

 Trận bão đã phá hỏng mái nhà

Unwritten contract: Hợp đồng miệng

- Positive double negative

Eg: Flawless: hoàn hảo

1.2.6 Cultural equivalence

A SL cultural word or expression is translated by a TL cultural word considered equivalent to it The illustration for this translation procedure is as follow:

- She graduated after obtaining the degree with high distinction

 Cô ấy tốt nghiệp loại xuất sắc

1.2.7 Functional equivalence

Functional equivalence uses a culture-free word or expression in a

translation for a culture word or expression in a SL The following sentences can be examples of this method:

- Will the Pentagon decide to terminate the program?

 Liệu Bộ Quốc Phòng Mĩ có quyết định dừng chương trình?

1.2.8 Descriptive equivalence

This means the meaning of the original word is explained by a phrase or sentence It is frequently used with transference to translate a cultural word or expression These sentences can serve as an example for this method of translation:

- To attend the barbecue, you must have a student ID

 Khi đi dự tiệc Barbecue (bữa tiệc tổ chức, đồ ăn cũng được mang ở bên

ngoài), bạn vẫn phải mang theo thẻ sinh viên

1.2.9 Expansion

Expansion or implification refers to the case where the translator exceeds the number of words of the SL taxts in translation Further, expansion procedure also occurs when the translator tries to move from the implicit into the explicit According to Delisle (1999), expansion means “to use more words in the Target Text in order to re-express an idea or to reinforce the sense of a ST word because

his correspondence in the TL cannot be expressed concisely” For example: Annual report of earnings- Mẫu báo cáo do sở an sinh xã hội gửi cho ng nhận lợi tức an sinh xã hội vào tháng 1 mỗi năm If it is literally translated into “mẫu báo cáo hàng năm về thu nhập”, the meaning of the original terms is changed

Another translation procedure, mentioned by Delisle (1999), is paraphrasing which means amplification or explanation of the meaning of a segment of the text For Delisle (1999), paraphrase is “the result of amplifying a TT by replacing a word from the ST with a group of words or phrasal expression that has the equivalent sense” Therefore, in this study, paraphrase or explaination is considered as expansion

2 Overview of terminology

2.1 Definition of terminology

According to Newmark (1995), terminology is the very central difficulty in translating any kind of text Though accounting for only 5%-10% of the whole text‟s length, new terms always need to be mastered first if the translator wants to have a good translation Let‟s take a look at the example: “The enterprise is standing at the break-event” In this situation, if we don‟t know the meaning of the term “break-event” as “điểm hòa vốn”, we can meet difficulty with such a simple sentence or even misunderstand it Arnold, Balkan, Meijer, Humphreys and Sadler (1994) stated that “when a word (or collection of words in several languages) designates a single concept in this way, it is called a term” and “examples of terms

do not only include the names for material objects, but for abstract things also” (p.101) Besides, both simple words and multiword expressions can be terms For example, “balance”, “bill”, “tax exemption”, “tax liability” and (to) “adjust itemized deductions”, etc are all terms of tax On the other hand, Nguyen (1985) claimed that terminology is a special part of a language which includes words and fixed expressions used as exact names for concept and subjects in different

specialized areas He gave examples such as “integral” in math, “surplus, and elasticity” in economics, “syllable”, “phoneme” in linguistics, etc to have a clearer picture of terminology definition, terms below can serve as typical exampl es of terms ( in taxation)

Income tax Thuế thu nhập

Sales tax Thuế mua hàng

Estate and gift tax Thuế bất động sản và quà tặng Turnover tax Thuế doanh thu

2.2 Basic features of terminology

As a special part of a language, terms have a number of features that other layers of vocabulary do not According to Nguyen (1985) and Do (1981), there are three features of terminology, including accuracy, internationality and systematicality

terms used in a particular area can direct the readers to that thing or phenomenon Besides, with their accuracy, terms are free of connotative meaning and can avoid polysemy and homonymy As mentioned earlier, a technical term should denote only one concept in an area However, different concepts in different areas may be defined by a common term Let‟s take a look at the term “deduction” In the two sentences “After deductions, my taxable income is $20000” and “All we can do is

to make deductions from the available facts”, “deduction” has totally different meaning In the former sentence, it means “expenses on which tax does not have to

be paid” while the latter denotes the meaning “answers formed by thinking carefully about” So this feature requires that terms‟ form should be very concise and brief to prevent misunderstandings

2.2.2 Internationality

According to Do (1981), terms are international in both meaning and form Firstly, it‟s obvious that terms have internationality in meaning because of common knowledge shared between people in the world Especially with the international economic integration, economic terms in general and tax terms in particular are globally recognized Secondly, there are similarities among the forms of many terms in different languages “A-xít” in Vietnamese, “acid” in English, in French and in Spain can serve as example of this characteristic And thirdly, the internationality of terms is also reflected by the fact that some terms in a language

is translated from another language For example, the term “direct tax” and

“indirect tax” in English are translated into “thuế trực thu” and “thuế gián thu” in Vietnamese

2.2.3 Systematicality

In reality, “objects and events exist in a certain system with certain internal relations These relations determine their appearance, existence, working mechanism, etc.” (Nguyen, 2005, p.17) Therefore, when terms are used to depict

these objects, they are also put into a systematic order Besides, “each term occupies a given position in a whole definition system and be longs to a terminology system” (Nguyen, 2002, p.270) A term‟s value is determined by its relations with other terms in the same system Being put separately, its technical meaning will no longer exist

in economics Sino-Vietnamese terms are Vietnamese words originating from Chinese, such as “thị trường”, “thuế gián thu”, “khấu hao”, etc This kind of word accounts for a large percentage in Vietnamese language and terms Using such words creates formal style Lastly, Indo-European words are words borrowed from Indo-European languages such as “xe buyt”, “bê tông”, etc

2.3.1 Simple terms

Simple terms are terms consisting only one simple word, regardless of the

SL text that words come from There are three sub-types in this kind of terms, including Pure-Vietnamese, Sino-Vietnamese and Indo-European terms

A Pure-Vietnamese term is formed by a simple pure Vietnamese word like

“thuế” (tax), “mua” (buy), “bán” (sell) This type, though is very easy to be absorbed, it is said to fail to ensure three basic features of terminology A Sino -Vietnamese term is a term originating from chinese and a Pure-Indo-European term

is a term borrowed from other languages, mainly French, English and Russian such

as “meo” (meow), “quăc” (quark), etc Both of them contain only one component

2.3.2 Pure-compound terms

Pure-compound terms contain two components of the same original language and consist of three sub-types, including V-V terms, H-H terms and A-A terms V-V terms are combined from two Pure-Vietnamese components such as

“trao đổi” (exchange), “mua bán” (trade), “gửi tiền” (deposit), etc H-H term consist of two Sino-Vietnamese components, such as “thuế suất” (tax rate”, “thuế quan” (tariff), “hạn ngạch” (quota), etc because of their systematic, concise and formal characteristics, H-H terms are rather common in a wide range of areas Finally, A-A terms is the combination of two Indo-European words, such as “la-ze” (lazer), “ga-ra” (garage), etc

2.3.3 Mixed-compound terms

Mixed-compound terms, unlike compound terms, are the combination of more than two different original languages The table below is drawn by Nguyen (2005, p.22) as examples for eight sub-types of mixed-compound terms:

H-A Electronic theory Thuyết hạt nhân

H-V Contraction Sự co

A-V Dish antenna Ăng ten đĩa

A-H Photodiode Đi-ốt quang

H/V-A-A/V Overall gama Hệ gama chung

A-V/H-A Gamma-ray photo

3 Overview of tax terms

3.1 Overview of tax

Tax, defined as “money paid to the government, which is based on the income or the costs of goods and services you have bought” in the Cambridge Advanced Learner‟s dictionary, plays an important role in the socioeconomic development of every nations There are hundred kinds of taxes, but these following kinds are the primary sources of income for governments, given by Nguyen (1999)

- Sales tax: This tax is considered as a method for governments to raise revenue for themselves Customers make purchaises at the retail level and pay a tax that is a percentage of the sales prices Governments vary the rates they charge, and the rates also vary based on the products

- Income tax: Most governments rely heavily on income tax This is a tax that citizens have to pay on their income, which is usually higher for people with larger income

- Excise tax: Tax imposed on the domestic manufacture sale, or consumption

of specific commodities, or on licenses to pursur certian occupations and exercise certain corporate priviledges

- Payroll tax: A business firm pays taxes based on its payroll The most important payroll tax is used to finance the gov's social security program Payroll taxes are also used to pay for social insurance programs adn unemployment insurance

- Property tax: this is a tax based on value of an asset, such as home, cars, boats, etc

3.2 Basic features of tax terminology

As in other areas, tax terms are formed from three kinds of components: Pure Vietnamese (V), Sino-Vietnamese (H) and Indo-European (A)

-Stated by Nguyen (1968, p.211), Pure-Vietnamese words are Vietnamese words that have existed for ages Many Pure-Vietnamese tax terms came into existence years ago, such as thuế (tax), thuế mua bán (sales tax), etc

Sino-Vietnamese tax terms, originating from Chinese, are very popular due to their long time of existence and also their prevalence in the language They are used in

a vast majority of tax field Examples are illustrated in the following table:

equivalents

1 Real estate tax Thuế bất động sản

2 Accelerated deductions Khấu hao gia tốc

3 Progressive tax Thuế lũy tiến

4 Occupational tax Lệ phí hành nghề

5 Amount realized Khoản hiện kim

6 Registration tax Thuế trước bạ

There are a lot of Vietnamese terms also originating from Indo-European language However, in the tax field, this kind of terms accounts for an extremely small percentage Almost none of the Indo-European terms are found in any tax-related documents

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

1 Selection of subject

Materials are taken from two sources available in the reference, including

the dictionaries “California glossary of tax term” by Franchise Tax Board (2006),

“Từ điển Anh-Việt về thuế” published by Thống Kê publisher and the book

“Finance and banking” by Nguyễn Xuân Thơm (1999) Then, tax-related terms

will be collected to study the translation procedures of taxation from English into Vietnamese This selection is on purpose because both of them contain various English tax terms with Vietnamese translation versions Besides, while the

dictionaries “California glossary of tax term”and “Từ điển Anh-Việt về thuế” have

a wide range of tax terms, the book “Finance and Banking” is written by the

famous economic researcher, PhD Nguyen Xuan Thom

2 Data collection instruments

The instrument to get data is accessing to the dictionary “California glossary of tax

term” by Franchise Tax Board (2006) and the book “Finance and banking” by

Nguyen Xuan Thom (1999) Then, all tax terms in these two materials are analysed after being collected By applying this data collection instrument, the researcher can answer both following research questions:

1 What are translation procedures used to translate English-Vietnamese taxation terminology?

2 What are the most common procedures of translation applied when translating taxation terms from English to Vietnamese?

3 Procedures

In order to make this study possible, several methods have been used appropriately and flexibly Firstly, the researcher will use quantitative approach

to collect data Then, on the base of quantitative approach‟s results, qualitative

approach will be employed in order to analyze collected terms

3.1 Procedure of data collection

Quantitative approach will be applied to collect English-Vietnamese taxation terminology Firstly, the researcher should read relevant materials and synthesize all knowledge relating to general translation and technical translation, general terminology and taxation terminology to form a theoretical background for the study Then, a bank of tax terms in both English and Vietnamese translation versions need collecting Finally, the researcher should calculate the prevalence of each translation procedure

3.2 Procedures of data analysis

On the base of the data collection procedures with a bank of Vietnamese tax terms, qualitative approach will be employed to analyse data The first step in the data analysis procedure is to analyse what translation procedures are applied in translating tax terms from English into Vietnamese

English-No English tax term Vietnamese

equivalent

Translation procedure

Table 1: classification of procedures

Then, basing on the statistics collected when calculating the prevalence of each translation procedure, the research will find out the mostly applied translation procedures for an effective English-Vietnamese translation of taxation terminology Finally, further analysis of the most common procedures found and more illustrations to clarify them are needed

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCCUSION

1.1.1 Through translation

With the scope of 204 tax terms, 85 terms applying through translation procedure were detected, accounting for 41.2%

Table 1: Analysis of cases applying through translation

No English term Vietnamese

equivalent

Analysis

Accelerated

depreciation

Khấu hao gia tốc Depreciation is defined as “when

something looses value”, which is equivalent to “khấu hao” And

“accelerated” which means

“happening or making something faster and sooner” is equivalent to

“gia tốc” “Khấu hao gia tốc” is a Sino-vietnamese term

Alimony Tiền cấp dưỡng cho

vợ hoặc chồng sau

Alimony, defined as “a regular amount of money that a court of

li hôn law orders a person to pay to their

partner after a divorce”, is translated into “Tiền cấp dưỡng cho vơ hoặc chồng sau li hôn” This term is literally translated, which proves that through translation procedure is applied here

“minimum” and “alternative” This is a V-H term with “lợi tức” and “tối thiểu” are Sino-

Vietnamese phrases, “thuế” and

“có thể thay thế” are Vietnamese phrases

pure-Delinquent

taxpayer

Người đóng thuế trễ hạn

The word “taxpayer” is translated into “người đóng thuế” in

Vietnamese And the adjective

“delinquent” which means „being late (in paying money owned) is equivalent to “trễ hạn” therefore, the term “người đóng thuế trễ hạn” is literally translated from

of land or buildings” is equivalent

to “bất động sản‟, a Vietnamese phrase So, “thuế bất

Sino-động sản và quà tặng”, a V-H term applies through translation procedure

Gross income Lợi tức tổng quát “Lợi tức”, a Sino-Vietnamese

phrase is equivalent to “Income” and “gross”, defining as „total” is equivalent to “tổng quát” in Vietnamese “Lợi tức tổng quát”,

a Sino-Vietnamese term has adopted through translation procedure

Income tax Thuế thu nhập “Income” and “tax” has literally

translated into “thu nhập” and

“thuế” respectivelly, which proves that through translation procedure, is applied here “Thuế thu nhập” is a V-H term

“thuế” respectively

Standard

deduction

Khấu trừ tiêu chuẩn Deduction is literally equivalent

to „khấu trừ” and „standard” is literally translated into “tiêu chuẩn” in Vietnamese “Khấu trừ tiêu chuẩn”, a Sino-Vietnamese term has adopted through translation procedure

Summary of

income and

deduction

Bản tóm tắt của lợi túc và khấu hao

“Summary” is literally translated into „bản tóm tắt” Similarly,

“income” and “deduction” are

literally equivalent to “lợi tức” and “khấu hao” respectivelly

“Bản tóm tắt của lợi tức và khấu hao”, a V-H term has applied through translation procedure Tax bill Hóa đơn tiền thuế “Bill” and “tax” are literally

translated into “hóa đơn” and

“tiền thuế”, which proves that through translationn has been adopted here “Hóa đơn tiền thuế” is a V-H term

Tax court Tòa án thuế vụ “Court” and “tax” are literally

equivalent to “tòa án” and “thuế vụ” in Vietnamese

1.1.2 Shift or transposition

Shift or transposition is applied in English-Vietnamese translation of tax terminology with 17 terms out of 204 collected terms, occupying 8.3%

Table 2: Analysis of cases applying shift or transposition procedure

This is a noun phrase in English with “deduction” as the main noun The two adjectives

“adjusted” and “itemized” are modifiers However, when translated into Vietnamese, this

term becomes a verb phrase

“adjusted”, an adjective in English is equivalent to “điều chỉnh”, a verb in Vietnamese So,

it involves a grammatical change, from an English noun phrase to a Vietnamese verb phrase which proves that shift or transposition

is applied here

2 Assessment

of tax

Định mức tiền thuế

This translated term involve a shift in grammar from a noun phrase in SL to a verb phrase in

TG “Assessment”, an English noun is equivalent to “định mức”,

a Sino-Vietnamese verb “Định mức tiền thuế” is a Vietnamese verb term

3 Bankruptcy Phá sản “Bankruptcy”, defined as “a

situation in which a business or a person comes bankrupt”, is an English noun However, its Vietnamese equivalent “phá sản”

is a Sino-Vietnamese verb This term involves a change in grammar, from a noun in English

to a verb in Vietnamese, which proves that shift or transposition

is applied here

4 Estimated

tax

Ước tính tiền thuế

“Estimated tax” is a noun phrase

“Tax” is the main noun and

“estimated” is an adjective modifying the main noun However, “ước tính tiền thuế”, the equivalent of “estimated tax”

in Vietnamese is a verb phrase

“Estimated”, an English adjective

is equivalent to “ước tính”, a Vietnamese verb This term involves a grammatical change form a SL noun phrase to a TL verb phrase

5 Late

payment

penalty

Tiền phạt vì trả tiền thuế trễ

This translated term also involves

a grammatical change from SL to

TL “Late payment” is a noun phrase in English However, when translated into Vietnamese, it is equivalent to “trả tiền thuế trễ”, a Vietnamese verb phrase

6 Payment

arrangement

Trả tiền theo sự dàn xếp

This translated term involves a grammatical change of noun phrase to verb phrase from English to Vietnamese

“Payment”, an English noun is normally equivalent to “sự trả tiền” However, when translated into Vietnamese, it becomes “trả tiền” and this term turns into a verb phrase

7 Personal

exemptions

Miễn thuế cá nhân

This translated term involves a shift in grammar from SL noun phrase to TL verb phrase

“Exemption”, an English noun is translated into “miễn thuế”, a Sino-Vietnamese verb “Miễn thuế cá nhân” is a verb phrase in Vietnamese

1.1.3 Modulation

This procedure is fairly favoured in translating tax terms with only 9 deteted terms out of 240 tax terms, occupying 4.9% According to Newmark (1988b, p.88), modulation occurs when the translator reproduces the message of the original text in the TL text in conformity with the current norms of the TL, since the SL and the TL may appear dissimilar in terms of perspective When applying this procedure, the translated terms can be more natural However, points of view can vary between the SL terms and TL terms Consider the following examples:

Table 3: Analysis of cases applying modulation

term

Vietnamese equivalent

2 Itemized

deduction

Khấu trừ ghi theo từng khoản

“Itemized”, a past participle has

a passive meaning of “được ghi theo từng khoản” However, when translating the term

“Itemized deductions” into Vietnamese, “itemized” is equivalent to “ghi theo từng khoản” With the change from passive to active meaning, this translated term applies

modulation procedure

3 Property tax Thuế nhà “Property”, defined as “objects

that belong to someone”, is normally translated into “tài sản” in Vietnamese However,

in this case, “property” is equivalent to “nhà” Actually,

“house” or “nhà” belongs to and

is only a part of “property” or

“tài sản” It is possible to say that there is a variation from one part to another, which proves that modulation is applied here

4 Qualified Đủ điều kiện “Qualified” is a past participle

with passive meaning However, in this case, it is equivalent to “đủ điều kiện”, a Vietnamese active term There

is a variation from passive to active term, which proves that modulation is applied here

5 Tax exempt

property

Bất động sản không phải chịu thuế

This translated term has a variation from positive to double negative Normally, “tax exempt” is equivalent to “miễn

thuế” in Vietnamese However,

in this case, tax exempt” is translated into “không phải chịu thuế”, a double negative of

“miễn thuế” Therefore, it can

be said that modulation procedure is applied here

6 Taxable

estate

Di sản chịu thuế There is a variation from active

to passive meaning in this translated term “Taxable” has a active meaning: “có thể đánh thuế” However, in this case,

“taxable” is equivalent to “chịu thuế”

In the Cambridge Advanced Learner‟s dictionary, “dependent child” is defined as “ who was

Dependent

children

(AFDc)

dưới 18 tuổi determined by the juvenile court

to need protection and services” and hence, can be liteally translated as “những người được tòa án vị thành niên xác định là cần được bảo hộ” However, this kind of children refers to “trẻ em/con em dưới 18 tuổi in Vietnamese culture Therefore,

“Aids to families with dependent children” can be translated into

“chương trình trợ cấp cho gia đình có con dưới 18 tuổi”

2 License tax Thuế môn bài A “license tax” is defined as “a

fee paid to the Government for the privilege of being licensed to

do something”, and hence can be literally translated as “thuế trả cho chính phủ để được trao đặc quyền làm gì đó However, this kind of tax is reffered as “thuế môn bài”, a Sino-Vietnamese term in Vietamese culture

MFN (most favored nation” can

be literally translated into “quốc gia được hưởng ưu đãi nhất However, in Vietnam, this