A study on translation of expression used in some vietnamese dishes into english

HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT --- GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON TRANSLATION OF EXPRESSION USED IN SOME VIETNAMESE DISHES INTO ENGLISH... Total syntagmatic chan

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG

HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

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GRADUATION PAPER

A STUDY ON TRANSLATION OF EXPRESSION USED

IN SOME VIETNAMESE DISHES INTO ENGLISH

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG

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Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp Sinh viên: Mã số:

Lớp: Ngành:

Tên đề tài:

Nhiệm vụ đề tài

1 Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ)

………

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2 Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán ………

………

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3 Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp ………

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CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất:

Họ và tên:

Học hàm, học vị:

Cơ quan công tác:

Nội dung hướng dẫn:

Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên:

Học hàm, học vị:

Cơ quan công tác:

Nội dung hướng dẫn:

Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày 12 tháng 04 năm 2010

Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày 10 tháng 07 năm 2010

Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN

Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010

HIỆU TRƯỞNG

GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị

PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN

1 Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp:

………

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2 Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu…): ………

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3 Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): ………

………

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Cán bộ hướng dẫn

(họ tên và chữ ký)

NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP

1 Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu,

số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài

2 Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện :

(Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ)

Ngày tháng năm 2010

Người chấm phản biện

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the process of completing this Graduation Paper, I have received a great deal of help, guidance and encouragement from my teachers and friends

I would first and foremost like to express my thanks to my supervisor Miss Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa, M.A for helping me through this challenging process

I would also like to express my special thanks to other teachers of Foreign Language Department for their supportive lectures during four years that have provided me with a good background to do effectively

TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

2 Scope of the study

3 Aims of the study

4 Research methods applied in the study

5 Design of the study

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter one: Theoretical background of translation

English for Science and Technology (EST)

English for Business and Economics (EBE)

English for Social Studies (ESS)

5.6 Total syntagmatic changeAdaptation

Chapter two: Translation of some popular Vietnamese dishes into English

1 General introduction of popular Vietnamese dishes

2 How to translate them into English

2 Suggestions for the further study

PART THREE: CONCLUSION

REFERRENCE

APPENDIX: SOME KINDS OF HERB USED TO FLAVOR

THE DISHES

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking associated with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs and vegetables Traditional recipes of Vietnamese people use various herbs such as lemongrass, mint, basil, coriander, and popular meats are pork, chicken, and fish Thus, food Vietnam is increasingly preferred by the fresh ingredients and delicious recipes for health benefits

A foreign expert on cuisine said Vietnam should become a kitchen of the world This shows that Vietnamese food is highly appreciated in the eyes of international friends Unlike other Chinese dishes with recipes with the oil, that of British with butter and sugar, Vietnamese food is admired by the more frugal, less fat and rich nutrition food, especially the popular food

The popular dishes of Vietnamese are formed from very ancient times, even in their difficult life Therefore the dishes are made simple, easy but very delicate and Vietnamese national nature Vietnam is a tropical country, year-round hot and humid rainy weather changing over the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter So, the dishes are different along with per season This difference creates diversity of Vietnamese cuisine

Therefore, the translated name of the dishes is very necessary and important It not only promotes the brand of Vietnamese dishes but that also helps friends in the world to understand more about Vietnamese culture, people and country

However, the translation of the name of popular Vietnamese dishes into English is not simple It requires people to really study hard and have certain knowledge in this field

2 Aims of the study

The study is constructed basing on the following aims:

Collecting, classifying and analyzing the found documents in order to find out the way in translating name of popular Vietnamese dishes into English

Providing knowledge with dear arrangement and attractive illustration

3 Scope of the study

The translation of popular Vietnamese dishes into English is an interesting issue in Surprisingly, no many documents refer to it, so it

is not easy for the writer to collect relevant materials for the thesis

Moreover, due to the limitation of time and knowledge, the study could not cover all the dishes but some most familiar ones in several textbooks, magazines and on internet

4 Research methods applied in the study

Normally, there are many methods used for the thesis studying such as quantitative, qualitative, data and comparative analysis and interpreter method However, the most effective and suitable method for the thesis is qualitative analysis

Firstly, data are collected from various sources, such as textbooks, magazines, internet… even from the writer‟s teachers and friends

Then, from the collected data the writer analyze their features to find the suitable procedures used to translate them

The writer also asks the supervisor to collect and supplement the lacunas in the graduation paper

5 Design of the study

The thesis is divided into three parts, in which the second one is the most important

Part one is the introduction in which rationale, aims, scope, methods

and design are presented

Part two is the development that includes three parts:

Chapter one is the theoretical background which focuses on the definitions, methods, procedures and equivalence of translation in general and ESP translation

Chapter two is the presentation of some popular Vietnamese dishes into English after collecting and analyzing

Chapter three is the implication that the writer gained through the process of studying on translation strategies to seek for English equivalence for the Vietnamese dishes, and some suggestions for the further study

Part three is conclusion which includes the summary of the study,

experiences acquired

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter I: Theoretical background

1 Concepts of translation

There are so many concepts of translation, which are developed by many famous linguistics of translation

Firstly, the writer would like to refer to definition of translation in

Advanced Oxford Dictionary which presented that Translation is the

process of changing something that is written or spoken into another language

More specifically, Wikipedia defined that translation is the interpreting

of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent

text, likewise called a "translation," that communicates the same

message in another language The text to be translated is called the

"source text," and the language that it is to be translated into is called the "target language"; the final product is sometimes called the "target text."

In a similar but more succinct way, David Frank (Wordpress.com)

showed that translation is a text with qualities of equivalence to a prior

text in another language, such that the new text is taken as a substitute for the original

However, according to Catford (1965), translation is the replacement of

textual material in one language (source language) by equivalent textual material in another language (target language)

Relating to equivalence of translation, Pinhhuck (1977) proved that

translation is the process of finding a target language (TL) equivalent

from a source language (SL) utterance

Translation is a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statements in one language by the same message and/or statement in another language in Newmark‟s opinion (1981)

Specifically, Willss (1982) reckoned translation is a transfer process,

which aims at the transformation of a written SL text into an optimally equivalent TL text, and which requires the syntactic, the semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical processing of the SL

Finally, translation is an act of communication which attempts to relay,

across cultural and linguistic boundaries, another act of communication

basing on Hatim and Masson‟s research written in 1997

These concepts support the idea that translation is a complex process The write require theoretical knowledge as well as practical experiences

2 Types of translation

2.1 Word-for-word translation

This is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with the TL immediately below the SL words The SL word-order is preserved and the word translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context Culture words are translated literally The main use of word-for-word translation is either to understand the meaning of the SL or to construct a difficult text as a pre-translation process For example:

Source text: When my young sister was a child, she learned very well Target text: Khi em gái tôi còn nhỏ, nó học rất giỏi

2.2 Literal translation

Literal translation is the translation of text from one language to another

"word-for-word", rather than giving the sense of the original For this

reason, literal translations usually mis-translate idioms

The SL grammatical construction is converted to the nearest TL equivalences but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context For example:

Source text: The project was implemented thank to the assistance of the

of the SL writer For example:

Source text: Today the Vietnamese are, almost no exception, extremely

friendly to Western visitors

Target text: Ngày nay, người Việt Nam, gần như không có ngoại lệ,

đều rất thân thiện với khách du lịch người phương Tây

2.4 Semantic translation

Semantic translation differs from faithful translation only in as far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value of the SL text, compromising on “meaning” where appropriate so that no assonance, word-play or repetition jars in finished version For example:

Source text: We hope you will enjoy your staying with us

Target text: Chúng tôi hy vọng ngài sẽ có một kỳ nghỉ tuyệt vời tại

khách sạn này

2.5 Adaptation translation

This seems to be the freest form of translation It is used mainly for plays and poetry in which the themes, characters and plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the TL culture and text rewritten

by an established dramatist or poet has produced many poor adaptations but other adaptation has “rescued” period plays For example:

Source text: Thà một phút huy hoàng rồi chợt tắt

Còn hơn buồn le lói suốt trăm năm

(Xuân Diệu)

Target text: It would rather the victorious brightness

In an only moment the centenary twinkle

2.6 Free translation

This reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the form of the original Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original, a so-called “intralingua translation”, often prolix and pretentious and not translation at all For example:

Source text: To reduce fertility rate the present 3.7 children per woman

to replacement level of 2

Target text: Tỉ lệ sinh hiện tại của phụ nữ giảm từ 3,7 xuống còn 2 trẻ

2.7 Idiomatic translation

Idiomatic translation reproduces the “message” of the original but tends

to distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and the idiom where these do not exists in the original For example:

Source text: Follow love and it will flee thee, flee love and it will

follow thee

Target text: Theo tình thì tình chạy, trốn tình thì tình theo

2.8 Communicative translation

Communicative translation attempts to reader the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership For example:

Source text: Good morning!

Target text: bác đi đâu đấy ạ!

2.9 Other translations

Besides the above common the types of translation, some of the following types are sometime used during translation process They include: service translation, plum prose translation, information translation, cognitive translation, academic translation

3 Equivalence in translation

3.1 Definition of equivalence

The dictionary defines equivalence as being the same, similar or interchangeable with something else In translation terms, equivalence is

a term used to refer to the nature and extent of the relationship between

SL and TL texts or smaller linguistic units

The problem of equivalence is one of the most important issues in the field of translating It is a question of finding suitable counterparts in target language for expressions in the source language

The comparison of texts in different languages inevitably involves a theory of equivalence According to Vanessa Leonardo “equivalence can

be said to be the central issue in translation although its definition, relevance, and applicability within the field of translation theory have caused heated controversy, and many different theories of the concept of equivalence have been elaborated within this field in the past fifty years” Here are some elaborate approaches to translation equivalence:

• Translation equivalence is the similarity between a word (or expression) in one language and its translation in another This similarity results from overlapping ranges of reference

• Translation equivalence is a corresponding word or expression in another language

Nida argued that there are two different types of equivalence, namely formal equivalence – which in the second edition by Nida and Taber

(1982) is referred to as formal correspondence and dynamic

equivalence Formal correspondence “focuses attention on the message

itself, in both form and content”, unlike dynamic equivalence which is based upon “the principle of equivalent effect” (1964:159), in the second edition (1982) or their work, the two theorists provide a more detailed explanation of each type of equivalence

Formal correspondence consists of a TL item which represents the closest equivalent of a SL word or phrase Nida and Taber make it clear that there are not always formal equivalents between language pairs They therefore suggest that these formal equivalents should be used wherever possible if the translation aims at achieving formal rather than dynamic equivalence The use of formal equivalents might at times have serious implications in the TT since the translation will not be easily understood by the target audience (Fawcett, 1997) Nida and Taber themselves assert that “Typically, formal correspondence distorts the grammatical and stylistic patterns of the receptor language, and hence distorts the message, so as to cause the receptor to misunderstand or to labor unduly hard” (ibid:201)

Dynamic equivalence is defined as a translation principle according to which a translator seeks to translate the meaning of the origin in such a way that the TL wording will trigger the same impact on the TC audience as the original wording did upon the ST audience They argue

that “Frequently, the form of the original text is changed; but as long as the change follows the rules of back transformation in the SL, of contextual consistency in the transfer, and of transformation in the receptor language, the message is preserved and the translation is faithful” (Nida and Taber, 1982:200)

Newmark (1988) defined that: “The overriding purpose of any translation should be achieved „equivalence effect‟ i.e to produce the same effect on the readership of translation as was obtained on the readership of the original” He also sees equivalence effect as the desirable result rather than the aim of any translation except for two cases: (a) If the purpose of the SL text is to affect and the TL translation

is to inform or vice versa; (b) If there is a pronounced cultueral gap between the SL and the TL text

3.2 Types of equivalence

Koller (1979) considers five types of equivalence:

• Denotative equivalence: The SL and the TL words refer to the same

thing in the real world It is an equivalence of the extra linguistic content

of a text

• Connotative equivalence: This type of equivalence provides

additional value and is achieved by the translator‟s choice of synonymous words or expressions

• Text-normative equivalence: The SL and the TL words are used in

the same or similar context in their respective languages

• Pragmatic equivalence: With readership orientation, the SL and TL

words have the same effect on their respective readers

• Formal equivalence: This type of equivalence produces an analogy

of form in the translation by either exploiting formal possibilities of TL,

or creating new forms in TL

Although equivalence translation is defined with different point of view

of theorists, it is the same effective equivalence between SL and TL Baker explores the notion of equivalence at difference levels in the relation to the translation process, including all different aspects of translation, hence putting together the linguistic and the communicative approach She distinguishes:

• Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level when

translating from one language into another Baker acknowledges that, in bottom – up approaching to translation, equivalence at word level is the first element to be taken into consideration by the translator starts analyzing the ST She looks at the word singular units to find a direct

“equivalent” term in the TL Baker gives a definition of the term word since it should be remembered that a single word can sometimes be assigned different meanings in different languages and might be regard

as being a more complex units or morpheme This means that the

translator should pay attention to a number of factors when considering

a single word, such as number, gender and tense

• Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of

grammatical categories across languages She note that grammatical rules may vary across languages and this may pose some problems in term of finding a direct correspondence in the TL In fact, she claim that different grammatical structures in the SL and TL may cause remarkable change in the way of information or message is carried across This changes may induce the translator either add or omit information in the

TL because of the lack of particular grammatical devices in the TL itself Among these grammatical devices which cause problems in translation, baker focus on number, tense , aspects, voice , person ad gender

• Textual equivalence, when referring the equivalence between SL text

and TL text in term of information and cohesion Texture is a very important feature in translation since it provides useful guidelines for the comprehension and analysis of the SL which can help the translator in his or her attempt to product a cohesive and coherent text for the target culture audience in the special context It is up to the translator to decide whether or not to maintain the cohesive ties as well as the coherence of

SL text His or her decision will be guided by tree main factors, that is, the target audience, the purpose of translation and the text type

• Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to the implications and

strategies of avoidance during the translation process Implication is not about the explicitly said but what is implied Therefore, the translator needs to work out implied meaning in translation in order to get SL message across The role of the translator is to create the author„s intention in another culture in such a way that enable the TC reader to understand it clearly

4 ESP in translation

4.1 Concepts of ESP

English for Specific Purpose (ESP) is a worldwide subject However, since the last decade of the twentieth century, English for Specific Purpose (ESP) has become a young and developing branch of EFT in Viet Nam And for such many years, ESP instruction was limited to training special lexicon and translating texts ineffectively as a result, of course, such methods motivation and poor participation Entering the new millennium, with the spread of the student-centered approach and the continued increase of international contacts in various fields, much attention has been paid to the design of ESP courses that prepare student for professional communication

As for broader definition of ESP, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) theorize, “ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learners‟ reason for learning” (p.19) Anthony (1997) noted that, it is not clear where ESP course end and general English courses begin; numerous non-specialist EPC instructors use an ESP approach in that their syllabi are based on analysis of learners‟ needs and their own personal specialist knowledge

of using English for real communication

4.2 Types of ESP

David Cater (1983) identifies three types of ESP:

• English as a restricted language

• English for Academic and Occupational Purpose

• English with specific topic

The language used by air traffic controllers or by waiters are examples

of English a restricted language Mackay and Mountford (1978) clearly illustrate the difference between restricted language and language with this statement:

“… The language of international air-traffic control could be regarded as

„special‟, in the sense that the repertoire required by the controller is strictly limited and can be accurately determined in situation, as might

be the linguistic needs of a dining-room waiter or air-hostess However, such restricted repertoires are not languages, just as a tourist phrase book

is not grammar Knowing a restricted „language‟ would not allow the speaker to communicate effectively in novel situation or in contexts outside the vocational environment” (p.4-5)

The second type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English for Academic and Occupational purposes In the “Tree of ESP” (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987), ESP is broken down into three branches:

• English for Science and Technology (EST)

• English for Business and Economics (EBE)

• English for Social Studies (ESS)

Each of these subject areas is further divided into two branches: English for Academic purpose (EAP) and English for Occupational purpose (EOP) An example of EOP for the EST branch is „English for Technicians‟ whereas an example of EAP for the EST branch is „English for Medical Studies‟

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) note that there is not a clear-cut distinction between EAP and EOP: “people can work and study simultaneously; it is also likely that in many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a study environment will be used later when the student takes up, or returns to a job” (p.16) Perhaps this explains Carter‟s rationale for categorizing EAP and EOP under the same type of ESP It appears that Carter is implying that the end purpose of both EAP and EOP are one in the same: employment However, despite the end purpose being identical, the means taken to achieve the end is very different indeed It contends that EAP and EOP are different in terms of focusing on Commins (1979) notion of cognitive academic proficiency versus basic interpersonal skills This is examined in further detail below

The third and final type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) in English with specific topics, Carter notes that it is only here where emphasis shifts from purpose to topic This type of ESP is uniquely concerned with anticipated future English need of, for example, scientists requiring English for post graduate reading studies, attending conferences or working in foreign institutions However, I argue that this is not a separate type of ESP Rather it is an integral component of ESP courses

or programs which focus on situational language This situational language has been determined based on the interpretation of results from needs analysis of authentic language used in target workplace setting

For instance, to translate the words banh chung, pho into English, they are kept origin instead of translating of stuffed sticky rice cake, rice

noodles This might be best translation, by retaining the Vietnamese

terms rather than by searching for some more or less felicitous equivalent title in the English legal system

5.2 Calque

A calque is a loan translation of a particular kind: a complete syntagma (syntactic unit) is borrowed, but its elements are translated literally The result may be a calque of expression, which preserves the syntactic structure of the SL while introducing a new mode of expression

translator has not needed to make any changes other than those that are obviously required by the TL grammar itself

For instance, the word “love story” is still translated “câu chuyện tình yêu” This translation is quite simple and reduced to a univocal transfer from SL to TL

5.4 Transposition

Transposition means the replacing of one word-class by another, without changing the meaning of the message The translation procedure is used

to change or replace a word from verb to noun, from noun to adjective…

to make new syntactic structure keeping the meaning

Example: Alternative media: phương tiện truyền thông thay thế Adjective Noun Noun Verb

5.5 Modulation

Modulation means a variation in the message due to a change in the point of view: seeing something in a different light It is justified when a literal or transposed translation results in a form which is grammatically correct but not quite natural, going against the feeling of the TL

5.6 Total syntagmatic change

Two texts may account for the same situation by means of very different stylist and structural devices A classical example is the reaction of an amateur banging in a nail and hitting his finger by mistake: if he is

French he will say Aie!, but if he is English he will say Ouch!

This means there are many different expressions in the same situation depending on each culture

5.7 Adaptation

It is used in cases where the situation to which the message refers does not exit at all in the TL and must thus be created by reference to a new situation, which is judged to be equivalent

Example:

English say: Good morning!

It means: Bác đi chơi đấy ạ? Or Anh đi đâu đấy? in Vietnamese

Chapter two: Translation of some popular Vietnamese dishes into

English

1 General introduction of popular Vietnamese dishes

Most of the popular Vietnamese dishes have appeared from ancient times when people had a poor life, so cooking process was quite simple and less time; ingredients of food were also easy to search, mostly available food products in each family such as fish, shrimp, egg, pork, etc… The popular Vietnamese dishes are specially used many kinds of herb such as basil, lemon grass, peppermint, dill, etc…

Nowadays, life has become increasingly advanced, but not so that people have forgotten food to feed all the people of this generation by generation, otherwise, people still enjoy the dishes like a way to reverse

to the original point and regard them as a culinary art Gradually, the popular Vietnamese dishes are paid attention, developed and become specific characteristics of Vietnamese culture

If the dishes are called the popular ones, it is because it is easy to make,

to enjoy, but nutritious, low in fat and are sold in the popular restaurants, vendors or small shift shops Especially, people often think about a peaceful and simple life while enjoying the dishes which makes them forget the hard life at the moment All these things create the beauty and

unique of the popular Vietnamese dishes

Normally, there are two ways to translate the popular Vietnamese dishes into English, those are to translate by keeping origin Vietnamese name

with out spelling signs and to translate totally

The dishes which are translated by keeping origin are often familiar to both Vietnamese and foreigners When the names of the dishes are reminded, all the eaters know what they are with out any specific

descriptions A remarkable example is Pho, particularly Hanoi Pho, which is known as the name Pho in Vietnamese rather than the name

rice noodles in English Another one is Banh Chung (Chung cake), one

traditional cake is served on Tet holiday, is translated Banh Chung into English Many Vietnamese dishes are translated similarly such as bánh tét ( banh tet), xôi ( xoi), nước mắm( nuoc mam),nem chua( nem chua), tương (tuong) …

Although this way in translation makes people difficult to understand meaning of the dishes at first because of differences of language, it can remain Vietnamese names, express Vietnamese culture and has no confusion like translation by borrowing words

However, the second which translate the dishes through describing of the dishes‟ ingredients, recipe and features is used more popularly because it is straightforward and quickly imageable Sometimes, first name of each dish is often accompanied by Vietnamese such as Vietnamese pancake (bánh xèo), Vietnamese blood pudding ( tiết canh), etc…

The main type of translation that is used to translate the name of the popular Vietnamese dishes into English is word-for-word translation The dishes are described in target language basing on the name of the dishes in source language correctly The SL word-order is preserved and the word translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context For example:

Source text: Bánh cốm

Target text: Young rice cake

2 How to translate them into English