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Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh UniversityACKNOWLEDGEMENTSGraduation thesis is an opportunity for students to get firsthand experience in conducting research, and also a challenge for them to overcome. Therefore, to complete my graduation thesis, I would like to express my special thanks to those people who helped me during the important event of my academic life. First and foremost, I would like to show my sincere appreciation towards Department of Foreign Languages for providing me with chance to do my graduation thesis. Secondly, I would like to show my profound gratitude to all the lecturers in the Department of Foreign Languages for tirelessly devoting time and efforts to enrich, broaden and deepen my knowledge as well as share valuable experience in life over the past three years. Besides, I would like to send my gratefulness to Mr. Nguyen Van Nhan, who has provided a good basis for the thesis initially.Additionally, I owe great expression to my supervisor, Mr. Phung Van De, for his important instruction as well as detailed comments during the process of doing my thesis. Frankly, my thesis would not be really successful without his enthusiastic help.Also, my special thankfulness goes to my beloved family for their wholehearted encouragement and support. Concomitantly, I would like to delicate my thanks to my classmates CA09AV, who have supported, cooperated and provided me with valuable suggestions.Finally, I fully express my gratitude to all the people whose direct and indirect support assisted me to accomplish my thesis on time.
Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University APPROVAL SHEET I declare that this thesis does not contain material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university; nor does it contain material previously published or written by any other person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis Page i Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Graduation thesis is an opportunity for students to get first-hand experience in conducting research, and also a challenge for them to overcome Therefore, to complete my graduation thesis, I would like to express my special thanks to those people who helped me during the important event of my academic life First and foremost, I would like to show my sincere appreciation towards Department of Foreign Languages for providing me with chance to my graduation thesis Secondly, I would like to show my profound gratitude to all the lecturers in the Department of Foreign Languages for tirelessly devoting time and efforts to enrich, broaden and deepen my knowledge as well as share valuable experience in life over the past three years Besides, I would like to send my gratefulness to Mr Nguyen Van Nhan, who has provided a good basis for the thesis initially Additionally, I owe great expression to my supervisor, Mr Phung Van De, for his important instruction as well as detailed comments during the process of doing my thesis Frankly, my thesis would not be really successful without his enthusiastic help Also, my special thankfulness goes to my beloved family for their wholehearted encouragement and support Concomitantly, I would like to delicate my thanks to my classmates CA09AV, who have supported, cooperated and provided me with valuable suggestions Finally, I fully express my gratitude to all the people whose direct and indirect support assisted me to accomplish my thesis on time Page ii Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University ABSTRACT The aim of the research is to identify difficulties of English major students in using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation, which are their weaknesses presented in the process of translation studying The survey is conducted on 25 students of English college class 2009 by the questionnaire including 13 questions about both the linguistic and cultural aspect The results of the research show that it is true for the majority of majored students are faced with many difficulties in word equivalence choice Moreover, the findings of the research also point out the students’ good recognition about the importance of seeking equivalence at word level as well as an existence of word nonequivalence in both aspects making their difficulties From those results, the researcher draws some causes of their difficulties or problems and suggests some possible strategies to help them overcome their obstacles Addition to the aim above, this research will possibly take a minor part in solving students’ difficulties in learning languages and set a reliable basis for further research Page iii Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University TÓM TẮT Bài nghiên cứu thực nhằm mục đích xác định khó khăn mà sinh viên chuyên ngành Tiếng anh gặp phải sử dụng từ ngữ tương đương dịch thuật Việt – Anh, điểm yếu sinh viên trình học biên dịch Để đạt mục đích trên, nghiên cứu khảo sát bảng câu hỏi gồm 13 câu thuộc khía cạnh ngôn ngữ văn hóa 25 sinh viên lớp Cao đẳng Anh văn 2009 Kết cho thấy rằng, thật đa phần sinh viên chuyên ngành gặp nhiều khó khăn chon từ ngữ tương đương Hơn nữa, kết cho thấy sinh viên chuyên ngành nhìn nhận tầm quan trọng việc tìm từ ngữ tương đương có tồn từ ngữ không tương đương khía cạnh gây nên nhiều khó khăn cho họ Từ kết này, tác giả đưa số nguyên nhân dẫn đến khó khăn đề giải pháp giúp sinh viên khắc phục khó khăn Ngoài mục đích nói trên, nghiên cứu góp phần nhỏ giúp sinh viên giải khó khăn việc học tập ngôn ngữ tạo nên tảng đáng tin cậy cho nghiên cứu sau Page iv Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL SHEET .i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .viii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 The context of the study 1.2 Aims and Objectives of the study 1.3 Scope of the study .2 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Research questions .3 1.6 Structure of the study report Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .4 2.1 Theoretical background of Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University 2.1.1 The concept of translation equivalence 2.1.2 Different types of equivalence in translation 2.1.2.1 Quantitative approach 2.1.2.2 Meaning-based equivalence 2.1.2.3 Form-based equivalence 2.1.2.4 Function-based equivalence 2.1.3 Word non-equivalence 2.1.4 The importance of finding equivalence at word level 10 2.1.5 Aspects of Vietnamese - English translation .11 2.1.5.1 Linguistic aspect 11 2.1.5.2 Cultural aspect .13 Page v Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University 2.2 Related research on Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University 18 2.3 Justification of the present study 19 Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 20 3.1 Research questions .20 3.2 The Participants 20 3.3 The research instruments 21 3.4 Research Procedures 21 3.5 Data processing method .22 Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 23 4.1 Findings .23 4.1.1 Awareness of the importance and problem of word equivalence in Vietnamese – English translation 23 4.1.2 Students’ difficulties in finding and using word equivalence .24 4.1.2.1 The linguistic aspect .24 4.1.2.2 The cultural aspect .26 4.1.3 Students’ used ways to find word equivalence 28 4.2 Discussions 32 4.2.1 Awareness of the importance and problem of word equivalence in Vietnamese – English translation 32 4.2.2 Students’ difficulties in finding and using word equivalence .33 4.2.3 Students’ ways to find word equivalence 36 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 41 5.1 Conclusion of the study .41 5.2 Implications of the study .41 5.4 Limitations of the study 42 5.5 Recommendations for further research 42 REFERENCES 44 APPENDIX 47 Page vi Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Baker’s categories of non-equivalence at word level (1992) 10 Table 2: Selected categories and examples about Cultural concepts 15 Table 3: Addressing terms used among Vietnamese family members (Duong, 1999) 16 Table 4: Comparison on Addressing terms used among Vietnamese and English family members (Duong, 1999 as cited in Pham, 2010) 17 Table 5: The importance of word equivalence 23 Table 6: Difficult word non - equivalence to translators .24 Table 7: Linguistic knowledge of translators to finding and using word equivalence 25 Table 8: A problem due to word misunderstanding of source language 25 Table 9: Difficulties in semantically complex words to word equivalence 26 Table 10: Vietnamese address and reference system to word equivalence 26 Table 11: Different cultural characteristics to translation obstacles .27 Table 12: Word non equivalence due to different cultural concepts 27 Table 13: Influencing writing styles to word equivalence .28 Table 14: Using based word equivalence on contexts 29 Table 15: Translating relied word equivalence on factors 30 Table 16: Looking at single word to find word equivalence 31 Table 17: Used ways to find word equivalence .31 Page vii Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TVU: Tra Vinh University SL: Source Language TL: Target Language Page viii Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION In translation studies, between two different languages, problems of nonequivalence within levels are inevitable Furthermore, difficulties in using equivalence at word level or problems of word non-equivalence mostly draw attention of translators Because many researchers and scholars note that “word” is a basic unit of meaning in linguistic, addressing non-equivalence at this level will pave the way for the fight against non-equivalence at higher levels (sentence, paragraph, etc) Actually, it is impossible to achieve a full equivalent translation because no translation can be surely conveyed perfectly In the case of Vietnamese-English translation, this phenomenon is unavoidable because Vietnamese culture is Oriental and English culture is Western These are reasons why translators always take into consideration both linguistic and cultural backgrounds in their translation process 1.1 The context of the study Studying translation and interpretation is more and more popular in Universities throughout the nation in general and in South Western provinces in particular due to the needs to develop the country However, in the process of catching up with desires of translators and interpreters, English major students have to face many difficulties According to real states of studying translation and interpretation from English into Vietnamese, as well as, from Vietnamese into English at the university located at a Western province, most majored students make lots of mistakes including word choice, grammatical structures, and so on Especially, in the process of studying Vietnamese - English translation in use, choosing word equivalence is a first typical difficulty Frankly, students still find and use unsuitable words or non-equivalent words in their translation though they understand word meanings To make clear difficulties of choosing word equivalence or problems of word non-equivalence, the researcher begins to carry out the study with topic “Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English Page Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University translation ”, together with participants who are students of an English college class 2009 at this University The researcher really desires to seek for useful answers to help them overcome their difficulties in using equivalence at word level, a basic level in linguistic As a result, the theoretical foundation of this study found in some resources focuses on linguistic and cultural aspects so as to find out solutions overcoming / solving difficulties in using word equivalence or problems of word non-equivalence The study is conducted completely in spite of many limitations 1.2 Aims and Objectives of the study The study aims firstly to provide a theoretical background, ideas and approaches created by famous researchers and scholars, as well as, to stress the significance of equivalence in translation process Moreover, it will be an interest of raising readers’ awareness on the matter of non-equivalence Secondly, the study aims at finding the difficulties in using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese-English translation of students of English College class 2009 Concomitantly, throughout these findings conducted by questionnaire, the researcher will suggest several effective strategies based on the mentioned studies to help them overcome their difficulties 1.3 Scope of the study Due to the characteristics of the thesis and the limitation of time and experience, this study is only conducted in a small number of participants from only one group of students Therefore, the results of the study then will be possibly used to improve study of translation of students of that level of education in general and to help students to find a better word equivalence when translating from Vietnamese-English translation in particular 1.4 Significance of the study The study focuses on making clear what difficulties English majored students have in using word equivalence and finding suggested solutions to help them and the researcher tackle those difficulties Furthermore, finding Page Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University no culture or society in the world which has not developed a kind of language in which to communicate This paper has sought to look at some of the difficulties in the area of culture specific concepts that translators have to overcome when translating from English into Croatian, and vice versa It is extremely important for the translator to be keenly aware of the differences existing between the source culture and the target culture The current study finds the difficulty of students in this aspect Frankly, seeking and using word equivalence of English majors have Vietnamese styles For this illustration, when seeking English meaning words in a Vietnamese sentence, they try their best to find these words having the same meanings As the data Table 13 above, the most frequently mentioned of the aspects of writing style is formality A clear and general definition of “formality” is not obvious in most linguistic distinction between formal and informal manners of expression In other words, almost everybody instinctively has in mind a set of words they believe is not proper use in formal circumstances and another set to utilize only in casual situations This finding has the same problem as in the study of Nida (1964) as cited in Zaky (2001), which one of the most serious problems that face a translator is to properly match the stylistic levels of two different languages According to the major students’ reality, it is not actually easy for them to use word equivalence Because they also affect Vietnamese style dramatically, using these in Vietnamese-English translation will influence the level of meaning conveying Moreover, sometimes when translating a text in their mother tongue into foreign language, the improper words chosen then make the whole text a mixture of styles, which makes readers feel confused The phenomenon is frequently seen in students’ translations The decrease on this influence level can be, hence, a long process so that they can adapt to such new styles 4.2.3 Students’ ways to find word equivalence Jakobson also admits that a translator may face the problem of not finding a equivalent translation in the TL These problems are difficulties Page 36 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University which cause them stop the process of translating to think, rewrite or look up meanings in dictionaries, etc In case, when a translator does not find the equivalent, it is up to him/her to find the most suitable way to cope with it and to find an accurate and reliable solution in the target text (as cited in Sochnova, 2007) Generally, almost all students have the same opinion about this It’s possibly to state that the meaning(s) that a word refers to are culturally bound, and in most cases the meaning(s) of a word can only be understood through its context of use Before talking about the ways majored students use to find word equivalence, the researcher has discussions in detail on factor (s) they rely on for their using word equivalence First of all, through the analyzed consequence, it is clear to evaluate that the majority of students determine “context” which is a factor for their using word equivalence Actually, every translation in general and every Vietnamese – English translation in particular has a different and special context Many words used in this context cannot be suitable for another one despite their similarly basic meanings According to the reality, the barriers of finding word equivalence in Vietnamese – English translation are remarkable From Vietnamese stylistic writings, expressive forms, and so on to word using present the national character, so chosen meanings are not sure whether they are appropriate for any context in translations Evenly, to find word equivalence, English majors have to scan the whole content of texts or paragraphs sometimes Thereby, “context” plays an important role in finding and using equivalence at word level in translation This factor enables English majors to deeply comprehend which words has nice and find meanings in contents of translations However, some students (equivalent to 16.7%) say “meaning” is a factor for theirs When finding as well as using equivalent words, it is good for them to rely on “meaning’ due to their request of finding exact meaning words Furthermore, this also shows for their consideration that the more a person uses many abundant and exact words, the better translation are Besides, there are a small number of students combining more than a factor Page 37 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University for their word choices because they think “context” or “meaning” is not enough to support their finding and using equivalence at word level In fact, two English students chose “form and context”, one relies on “function and context”, and another says “form, function and context” This reflects finding and using word equivalence not only relies on a factor, but also combining other factors depended on individuals’ own ways For example, “form or function” can be more appropriate in this person than ones in that person Besides, most students usually look at single word to find every equivalent word, which is easy to recognize in their translation For one thing, in a Vietnamese – English translation, they try to scan the whole text so as to find difficult words they don’t know, and then they look up their mind or dictionaries to get meanings Evenly, it is obvious for them to set up those words having the same meanings in their translation As a consequence, their translation can convey information equivalently and suitably due to those words in the same meaning but not using On the contrary, Newmark (1988:73) as cited in Boubidi (2009-2010) said that translators should focus on words when translating a sentence or a text Because he thinks that they are deceiving themselves since what the source language text consists of is words that are all that is on the page So, what translators have on the page are words to translate and they have to account for each of them in the target language text This presents it is necessary to reconsider whether this students’ habit is acceptable or deniable However, in this study the researcher’s finding is expressed in the reality of English majors Also, the evaluation of their tests in class can say that looking at every single word to find word equivalence or translate is unsuitable Actually, English majors with the percentage of 58.3% use “a loaned word and explanation” which is one of good ways When using this, not only transferred information is easily understandable, but it also enables students to practice ways how to explanation There is a small similarity to Pham (2010)’strategy of using a loan word which can, and very often even should, be followed with an explanation The author applies this strategy in dealing with Page 38 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University culture-specific items According to the author, when the reader does not have problems with understanding it and his attention is not distracted by other lengthy explanations Many translators prefer to select new words in Vietnamese rather than borrow English words However, the author also notices that this strategy is very useful when the translator deal with concepts or ideas that are new to Vietnamese audience, culture- specific items, and proper names of diseases or medicines that are widely known in English names Furthermore, translating by a general meaning is a chosen way with 25%, which presents that it is nice for students to choose this way because specific words in Vietnamese are abundant Clearly, students use a more general word or a more commonly known to replace the more specific one When English equivalence cannot be found, paraphrasing may be a good way The main disadvantage of this way is that it usually involves replacing one item with an explanation consisting of several items This way requires comprehending what contents needed conveying, after translators can rewrite effectively Thus, there are only students using this way Additionally, translating by a less expressive meaning is a choice of only students It is particular useful when students encounter an expressive word Also, there are cases even the translator picks up a word which seems to equivalent but perceived differently in the TL If carelessly, they might fail to convey the true meaning or even cause misunderstanding Finally, only one student combines three ways such as translating by a loaned word and explanation, and paraphrasing, which expresses finding equivalence at word level is really difficult for them From the analysis, the general problem is that the majority of students use their own ways to find word equivalence, but it is still not very good and effective In brief for all the discussed information in this chapter, students’ difficulties in using equivalence at word level on linguistic and cultural aspects are collected in copies of the questionnaire, as well as, their solutions for finding closet equivalence That is considered as groundwork for strategies Page 39 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University which can propose for them overcome their difficulties However, to demonstrate difficulties in using word equivalence, the mentioned information above cannot say “enough”, which are also this study’s limitations In this chapter, the researcher cannot cover all most all the situation for the discussed problems Thus, it is really desirable that the study can be useful for someone to find her/his similar difficulties of problems as what the study is taking efforts In addition, it is hopeful that this study cannot be contributed to a small idea for someone who is interested in this topic From that, s/he can complete her/his study more effectively when having additional information unlike this study Page 40 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusion of the study The research is an exploratory study to find out the real practices of word equivalence in Vietnamese-English translation, including difficulties students have and their hands-on solutions to deal with the difficulties by themselves Due to the characteristic of the research, data were collected through questionnaires designed based on background basis provided in the literature The results of the research show that the majority of participants recognize their difficulties in linguistic and cultural aspects, as well as, the occurrence of word non-equivalence, and the influences of respects in their finding equivalence at word level In this study, the researcher has discovered remarkable difficulties most students had That is word non-equivalence due to linguistic knowledge, semantically complex word, word misunderstanding, as well as cultural concepts, cultural characteristics, Vietnamese’s system of address and reference, and writing style Along with these difficulties, the researcher also found techniques English majors employed to respond to the situations when there was no word in TL which had the same meaning as one in SL, as well as some factors they relied on to use word equivalence 5.2 Implications of the study As the results shows it is clear to determine that most English major students had difficulties in finding and using equivalence at word level Not only the linguistic aspect but also the culture aspect among languages creates the possibility of difficulties in Vietnamese – English translation Therefore, it can be implied from the results that during the process of studying translation at school, students may need providing with more knowledge about finding equivalence not only at word level, but also at phrase or sentence levels through courses of translation theories Page 41 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University 5.4 Limitations of the study This is the researcher’s first hand research, thus, that there are a number of limitations are unavoidable Firstly, due to the restriction of time, the shortage of reference materials and books related to investigation Secondly, the study has only covered a very small population, 25 English major students in a class, so different levels of linguistic knowledge and competence still have been more intensive Thirdly, using questionnaire to gather real data is limited For example, because the questionnaire is conducted while the researcher is in completing her practicum report, a few of questions are not diversity Besides, questions’ contents have not been specific, so the researcher has to waste of much time to explain for supporting participants’ answers Finally, it is better for the study to be surveyed by interview as instrument When interview, the researcher can get more additional information which is really valuable for the study To sum up, it is inevitable for limitations of the study, which is also considered as proposals for further research 5.5 Recommendations for further research As shown in the results section, the research provides valuable situational data on students’ difficulties and their hands-on techniques to remove these difficulties, there need to be further research to get a broader and deeper view of the situation Particularly, further research should be done on larger participants, so that the result would be more representative Also, the researcher should design a more specific and comprehensive questionnaire in order to reach deeper information or to provide readers with a clearer understanding about the nature of students’ solutions of non-equivalence Additionally, the further research should be combined the questionnaire with some interviews to enable participants to give more ideas about difficulties in using equivalence at word level, as well as, to help them have opportunities Page 42 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University to share good ways or strategies for their difficulties in finding word equivalence Or , there should be exploratory and experimental research to find out more about the nature of students’ employment of equivalence and to provide learners with effective techniques of finding equivalence in translation Page 43 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University REFERENCES In English: Baker.M (1992) In Other Words: a Coursebook on Translation London: Routledge, p 10 Bach, A H (2007) Equivalence in Translation of Vietnamese Cultural Words in the book Wandering through Vietnamese Cultural M.A Minor Thesis, College of Foreign Languages (VHUN) Postgraduate Studies Retrieved February 8, 2012 from http://data.ulis.vnu.edu.vn/jspui/handle/123456789/432 Boubidi A (2009-2010) The Misunderstanding of Word Meaning within a Context in English – Arabic Translation The Case of First Year Master Students of English – University of Constantine Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://bu.umc.edu.dz/theses/anglais/BOU1205.pdf Leonardi, V (2000) Equivalence in Translation Translation Theory Translation Journal Vol 4, No Retrieved March 13, 2012 from http://accurapid.com/journal/14equiv.htm Ngo T (2006) Translation of Vietnamese Terms of Address and Reference Translation Nuts & Bolts Translation Journal Vol 10 No Retrieved February 8, 2012 from http: //www.bokorlang.com/journal/38viet.htm Ghadi A S (2009), (n.d.) Translation Equivalence in Scientific Text MA Student of Translation, Fars Science and Research University, Iran Retrieved March 13, 2012 from http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/TranslationEquivalence-in-Scientific-Text Heidary J (2009) Cultural Equivalence and Linguistic Equivalence M.A Student of Translation, Fars Science and Research University, Shiraz, Iran Retrieved April, 8, 2012, http://www.translationdirectory.com/articles/article1990.php Pavlović N (1998) British Cultural Studies: Cross-Cultural Challenges, pp 157-168 University of Zagreb, Croatia Intercultural Studies Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http: www.pfri.uniri.hr/~bopri/documents/pavbac.pdf Pham T B (2010) Strategies to Deal with Non-equivalence at Word Level in Translation Graduation Thesis of Student of English Department, Ha Page 44 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University Noi University Retrieved February 21, 2012 from http: web.hanu.vn/dec/file.php/1/Non-equivalent-Binh.pdf Sochnova G, (2007) Translation into a Foreign Language B.A Major Thesis, Masaryk University Retrieved April, 20, 2012 from http://is.muni.cz/th/146777/ff_b/Gabriela_Sochnova.txt Thriveni C (2002) Cultural Elements in Translation Literary Translations Translation Journal Volume No Retrieved April, 3, 2012, from http://accurapid.com/journal/19culture.htm Tran T K T (2009) Terms of Address in English and Vietnamese Graduation Thesis of Student of Ho Chi Minh University Retrieved April 19, 2012 from http: khoaanh.net/_ /5CQBT_Tran_Thi_Kim_Thoa_Term Xiang Y (2011) Equivalence in Translation: Features and Necessity International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol No 10; August 2011 Retrieved March, 13, 2012, from http:// www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_1_No /19.pdf Xuanmin L (1999) Linguistic Contributions to the Development of Translation Studies in China Translators' Journal, vol 44, n° 1, 1999, p 101-109 Zainurrahman (2010) Five Translation Competencies ZPJ: Free Journal Retrieved April 22, 2012 from http://zainurrahmans.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/five-translationcompetencies/ Zaky M M (2001) Translation & Language Varieties Translation Theory Translation journal Volume 5, No.3 Retrieved May 21, 2012 from http://accurapid.com/journal/17theory.htm In Vietnamese: Vu, N C (2007) Các khó khăn dịch phương hướng khắc phục Ngôn ngữ & Đời sống Số (142) - 2007 Retrieved February 15, 2012 from http: www.vietstudies.info/VuNgocCan_KhoKhanTrongDich.htm Page 45 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University Page 46 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is done for a graduation thesis with the topic Difficulties in - and strategies for - using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University The questionnaire aims at collecting data to find out difficulties in using word equivalence in translation of English major students From that, recommended strategies will help them overcome their difficulties Therefore, the answers you provide will support in completing the researcher’s thesis only, not for any other purposes Moreover, your answers and time are highly appreciated by the researcher Please, circle the letters which are your answers, and write your opinion in questions and if you have another choice Translation equivalence occurs when source language and target language texts or items are related to (at least some of) the same relevant features of situation substance In translation, equivalence at the word level would mean that a source language word and a target language word refer to the same (non-linguistic) object in the real world Equivalence at word level is one of important criteria to launch a good translation Do you agree with this? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree Using word equivalence is a thing which is based on different contexts or source language by almost all translators? Do you agree with this? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree Page 47 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University e strongly disagree Non – equivalence at word level is a first difficulty to almost all translators Do you agree with this? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree When using word equivalence to translate the source language (Vietnamese) into the target language (English), which factor you rely on? a meaning c function b form d context e others Do you think word misunderstanding of the source language is a problem of using word equivalence? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree Do you think different cultural characteristics between the source language and the target language lead to many obstacles in translation process? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree Cultural concepts between different languages cause non – equivalence at word level in translation Do you agree with this? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree Page 48 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University Do you think writing style of Vietnamese and English influence using word equivalence? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree In your Vietnamese – English translation, when there is no word in target language which has the same meaning as one in the source language, what way(s) you use? a translate by a loaned word b translate with a general meaning c translate by using a loaned word and explanation d translate by paraphrasing e translate by a less expressive meaning word f others………………………………………………………………… 10 In your translation, when starting to translate, you usually look at every single word in order to find every equivalent word in the target language Do you agree with this? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree 11 Do you think words in the source language are semantically complex, causing difficulties in choosing word equivalence in the target language? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree Page 49 Difficulties in – and strategies for – using equivalence at word level in Vietnamese – English translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University 12 Do you think linguistic knowledge of a translator can influence finding and using word equivalence? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree 13 The source language (Vietnamese)’s system of address and reference is diversified and abundant, leading to remarkable difficulties in choosing equivalence at word level for the target language (English) Do you agree with this? a strongly agree b agree c uncertain d disagree e strongly disagree Thanks very much for your help! Page 50 ... translation of students of English college class 2009 at Tra Vinh University TÓM TẮT Bài nghiên cứu thực nhằm mục đích xác định khó khăn mà sinh viên chuyên ngành Tiếng anh gặp phải sử dụng từ ngữ... khó khăn Ngoài mục đích nói trên, nghiên cứu góp phần nhỏ giúp sinh viên giải khó khăn việc học tập ngôn ngữ tạo nên tảng đáng tin cậy cho nghiên cứu sau Page iv Difficulties in – and strategies... Thành Uỷ Access And Equity Nghề bán cháo phổi Drag Queens Quân tử Traditional Muck up Day Tết Hàn Thực practices New Year's Resolution Cây Nêu Clothes Political regime Occupation Câu đối Ethical