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INTRODUCTION
1. Motivation for the study
It is popularly admitted that language is an indispensable part of our society‟s
cultural richness in particular and of the world‟s in general. However, in order to
keep ourselves on a par with the global standards in the today‟s world which is
called international community, we need to have the understanding of English - an
international language. English is considered as the most popular language popularly
used to exchange information and ideas among different nations and cultures today.
Thanks to their English translated versions, countries are able to have mutual
understanding and a sense of global citizenship in this multilingual world. It is
considered as an effective means to learn how to appreciate different countries‟
cultures, communities and people. By making comparisons, people are able to gain
insight into their own culture and society as well as mutually exchange countries‟
beauty of cultural values. Moreover, English translation makes people understand
each other more in the process of diplomatic relations and economic cooperation and
other fields in today‟s era when countries tend to integrate for the whole
development. As a result, English translation has gradually become an indispensable
and pressing tool which set the path for the global success of individuals,
organizations, and even businesses in the modern time when society is more
developed and competition is relentless. Therefore, nowadays when Vietnam
becomes one of the members of World Trade Organization, it is necessary for
Vietnamese students of English to have expert translation skill in order to meet the
demand of integration into the world economy and exchange of culture with other
countries. As a result, learning translation skill is undoubtedly an advantage for
Vietnamese students‟ ideal future jobs.
However, in reality, Vietnamese-English translation skill is not easy for
Vietnamese students to master, so learners can not avoid mistakes in their translating
prsctice. Perhaps, because of some influence on the differences about cultures or


aquaculture area, a special place in the strategy of economic and social development,
and national security of the country, Dong Thap University has experienced nine
years of establishment and development. It has had great achievements in training
human resources for the Mekong Delta and the country. According to PhD. Nguyen
Van De, Rector of Dong Thap University, one of the main tasks of the school is
training and fostering teachers with professional skills at all educational levels and
highly qualified personnel in other areas in order to contribute to the development of
the Mekong Delta and the country (Đại học Đồng Tháp: Hướng tới “Chất lượng -
Hiệu quả - Uy tín - Chuyên nghiệp - Hiện đại”).
Nowadays, in the integrated period, the school also show special concern for
training English majors who have expert translation skill as well as other skills of
English so that they are able to contribute their own real linguist abilities to the
society‟s development.
To complete this task, understanding the difficulties of Vietnamese students
when learning translation subject, Vietnamese–English translation is considered as a
significant class for Vietnamese students of English major by Dong Thap
University. Students of English major start to take the course of translation in the
second–year. Comprehending the importance of learning Vietnamese–English
translation, the students always want to improve their translation skill. However,
most of the students still have problems in translating. According to Duong Thi
Thuy Hang and Nguyen Thi Cam Xuyen (2010), the students have tended to have
common mistakes on verb tenses and word choices when doing translation from
Vietnamese texts into English ones. They do not know how to avoid those mistakes
to make the text look smooth and fluent which accord with the standard of English.
For those reasons, the researcher decided to choose the study “An analysis of
common errors on verb tenses and word choices in Vietnamese–English
translation by the second-year English majors at Dong Thap University” which

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aims at finding out what the second–year English majors‟ common mistakes on verb

future ideal job.
5. Related previous studies
 “Errors in the translation of topic-comment structures of Vietnamese into
English”, Pham Phu Quynh Na, School of Languages and Literature-
University of Western Syney, Australia.(n.d)
 “Problems in Vietnamese-English translation of the third-year students of
English major at Dong Thap University: cause and solutions” (The B.A
thesis), Nguyen Ngo Minh Tri and Le Thi My Duyen, Dong Thap University,
2009.
 “Common mistakes in learning translation subject by the second-year English
majors at Dong Thap University” (The B.A thesis), Duong Thi Thuy Hang
and Nguyen Thi Cam Xuyen, 2010.
6. Organization of the thesis
This thesis consists of the following parts:

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definition of translation
1.2 The importance of translation
1.3 Types of translation
1.3.1 Literal translation versus idiomatic translation
1.3.2 Translating grammatical features

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1.3.3 Translating lexical features
1.4 Strategies for translation
1.5 The factors influencing translation process
1.5.1 The mother tongue


REFERENCES
APPENDIX

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CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Definition of translation:
Translation has been variously defined. The following definitions are selected
because they are typical in some senses.
Translation is a transfer process, which aims at the transformation of written
source language text into an optimally equivalent target language text, and which
requires the syntactic, the semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical
processing of the source language. (Wilss, 1982)
Translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has
been expressed in one language (source language), preserving semantic and stylistic
equivalencies. (Bell R., 1991)
Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a
representation of an equivalent text in s second language. (Bell R., 1991)

Webster Dictionary, 1974) Translation is basically a change of form. When we
speak of the form of a language, we are referring to the actual words, phrases,
sentences, paragraphs, etc. The forms are referred to as the surface structure of a
language. It is the structural part of language which is actually seen in print or heard
in speech. In translation the form of the source language is replaced by the form of
the receptor/target language. But how is this change accomplished? What
determines the choices of form in the translation?
1.2 The importance of translation
Even with the most up-to-date and sophisticated communication system, we
can never know how many languages man uses today in the world; let alone how
many languages man has used during the course of his development. Some sources
say there are some two or three thousand languages being used in the world, but

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some others say the number may be as large as eight thousand. What a habit man
has that of speaking different tongues! And thus he offers himself difficulties and
obstacles.
Since communication within only one community is not enough, certainly there
has a great number of times arisen a situation in which some individuals are unable
to understand the words or expressions of some others. This phenomenon creates a
barrier to understanding whenever man tries to communicate across a great distance
of space or across a great interval of time. Something has to be done to overcome
this restriction. One way to cope with the restriction is for individuals to know the
foreign language. But this is not the final solution because apparently no individual
in the world can know all the languages in use. The best polyglot so far knows only
about twenty five languages, and still people want to read what other people write
and what people say. Translation and interpreting may be considered as the most
universally accepted solution for surmounting the obstacle. And thus there is a need
for professional translators and interpreters. (Bui Tien Bao and Dang Xuan Thu,
1997)

meaning of the source language text in the natural forms of the receptor language.
Such translation is called idiomatic translation. An interlinear translation is a
completely literal translation. For some purposes, it is desirable to reproduce the
linguistic features of the source text; as for example, in a linguistic study of that
language. Literal translation can be considered as a very low level of translation. A
literal translation sounds like nonsense and has little communication value.
For example:
Vietnamese: Mời bạn về nhà tôi chơi.
Literal translation: Invite friend about my house play. (nonsense)

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This literal translation makes little sense in English. The appropriate translation
could be a question: Would you like to come to my house?
Idiomatic translations use the natural forms of the receptor language, both in
the grammatical constructions and in the choice of lexical items. A truly idiomatic
translation does not sound like a translation. It sounds like it was written originally
in the receptor language. Therefore, a good translator will try to translate
idiomatically. This is his goal. However, translations are often a mixture of a literal
transfer of the grammatical units along with some idiomatic translation of the
meaning of the text. It is not easy to consistently translate.
In one translation, the source text said, “Nhiều du khách nước ngoài đã giới
thiệu cho chúng tôi về khách sạn Hương Giang”. It was translated, “Many foreign
tourists have introduced us about Huong Giang Hotel.” (literal translation) It would
have been translated idiomatically, “Huong Giang Hotel has been recommended to
us by a number of foreign tourists.”
The translator‟s goal should be to reproduce in a receptor language a text which
communicates the same message as the source language but using the natural
grammatical and lexical choices of the receptor language. The basic overriding
principle is that an idiomatic translation reproduces the meaning of the source
language in the natural form of the receptor language.

different than the meaning conveyed by the individual words. In English to say that
someone is “bullheaded” means that the person is “stubborn”. The meaning has
little to do with “bull” or “head”. Similarly, in Vietnamese to say that someone is
“cứng đầu, cứng cổ” means that the person is “stubborn”. The meaning has little to
do with “đầu” or “cổ”. Languages abound in such idioms. The following are a few
English idioms using in and into: run into debt, rush into print, step into a practice,

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jump into a fight, dive into a book, stumble into acquaintance, fall in love, break into
society, etc. In spite of all these combinations, one cannot say the following break
into debt, fall into print, rush into a fight or dive into debt. The combinations are
fixed as to form and their meaning comes from their combination. A literal word-
for-word translation of these idioms into another language will not make sense. The
form cannot be kept, but the receptor language word or phrase which has the
equivalent meaning will be the correct one to use in the translation.
For example, the Vietnamese idiom “mạnh như trâu” is literally translated into
English as in the first column and is idiomatically as in the second column. The
literal English is misleading.
Literal Idiomatic
He is as strong as a buffalo. He is as strong as a horse.
Translators who want to make a good idiomatic translation often find figures of
speech especially challenging. A little translation of “strong as a horse” might
sound really strange in a language where the comparison between a strong person
and a horse has never been used as a figure of speech. In Vietnamese it would be
more natural to say “strong as a buffalo”. Similarly, a literal translation of “blind as
a bat” might sound really strange in a language where the comparison between a
blind person and a bat has never been used as a figure of speech.
Names of animals are used metaphorically in most languages. But the
comparison is often different and so the figure will be misunderstood unless aome
adjustment is made. For example, when someone is called a pig in English, it

English word for “rice” can be translated by many different Vietnamese words (hạt
lúa, hạt thóc, hạt gạo, cơm), depending on whether one is planning it, harvesting it,
cooking it, or eating it. In these cases, the English word alone is not enough to

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determine the appropriate Vietnamese translation, and it is necessary to examine the
English context in deciding which Vietnamese word is to be used.
Translating by a more general word
In other cases, it may be appropriate to use a more general word to translate
English with no specific Vietnamese equivalent. For instance, English makes
distinctions among mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles, the latter having larger
wheels and engines than both mopeds and scooters; Vietnamese, on the order hand,
refers to all two-wheel, motorized vehicles as “xe máy”. Similarly, the English
words “paw”, “foot”, and “leg” may all be translated by the Vietnamese word
“chân”, which does not suggest any problem of comprehension in Vietnamese, as it
should be clear from the context which of these words is meant.
Translating by paraphrase
This strategy can be used when translating an English word or concept that
does not exist in Vietnamese, or when the Vietnamese term for it does not include
all the meanings conveyed by the English term for the same concept. For example,
in the sentence “Pregnant women should avoid alcohol.” In English the word
“alcohol” includes all alcoholic beverages in its meaning. However, the Vietnamese
word for alcohol, “rượu”, does not include beer in its definition, so the Vietnamese
translation should add the word beer to reflect the full meaning of the source
language sentence “Phụ nữ mang thai nên tránh uống rượu, bia.”
Strategy 2: How to deal with idioms and fixed expressions
According to English Idioms in Use (McCarthy & O‟Dell, 2004, p.6), an idiom
is defined as a fixed expression which “has a meaning that is not obvious from the
individual words”. In other words, words have lost their individual identity in the
idiom. The structure of the idiom is, to a large extent, fixed and unchangeable. Every

carry firewood to the forest”. However, in English “to carry firewood to the forest”
is not an idiom and does not have the meaning as the Vietnamese idiom “chở củi về

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rừng”. The correct English equivalent of the Vietnamese idiom is “to carry coals to
Newcastle”. The meaning here is clearly the same for both idioms - to bring
something to a place that already has an abundance of that thing - but the way in
which each language expresses it is bound to the culture of that language. It would
be far more cumbersome to translate this idiom word-for-word into Vietnamese with
an explanation that Newcastle is a well-known coal-producing city in England (as
was suggested by some Vietnamese translators), which would unduly interrupt the
flow of the text and greatly diminish the idiom‟s impact. By substituting a similar
Vietnamese idiom, then, the flow and the impact of the original text are retained in
the translation.
Translating by paraphrase
When Vietnamese equivalents cannot be found, paraphrasing may be the best
way to deal with an idiom or fixed expression. A good example can be found in an
article on maternal mortality, which includes the sentence, “But before the new
estimates replace the old as a way of packaging up the problem, it should be said
that a mistake has been made in allowing statistics such as these to slip into easy
language”. The expression “packaging up the problem” presented problems in
translation, as it was misinterpreted to mean “assembling” or “gathering together”.
However, even if this phrase were clearly understood, it would be difficult to find a
concise equivalent in Vietnamese; in fact, it would be difficult to re-state concisely
in English. This phrase is best dealt with by paraphrasing, which in English should
read something like, “summing up the problem by referring to it simply as number,
which does not reflect its true magnitude or impact”. The expression “to slip into
easy usage” is problematic for the same reasons, and is also best dealt with by
paraphrasing, as a direct translation into Vietnamese would nonsensical.
Strategy 3: How to deal with voice, number and person

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= Ai đó đã làm vỡ chiếc đĩa CD rồi.
= The CD has been broken.
The positive and negative connotation is often conveyed in English, it can be
difficult to know which verb to use in the Vietnamese.
For example: English: The children were given injections.
Vietnamese: “Các cháu được tiêm” or “Các cháu bị tiêm.”
Depending on whether receiving shots was considered a positive or negative
experience. On the other hand, when the positive or negative connotation of the
sentence is clear, it is more appropriate to retain the passive voice in the Vietnamese.
For example:
English: The H‟Mong people do not like to be called Meo,
they prefer to be called H‟Mong.
Vietnamese: Người dân tộc Hơ Mông không thích bị gọi là dân tộc
Mèo, họ thích được gọi là dân tộc Hơ Mông hơn.
Note: In Vietnamese, there are some cases where you see the word bị/được,
but there are not passive sentences in English at all.
For example:
- Anh ấy bị ngã = He falls.
- Chị Lan bị ho = Lan has a cough.
- Hôm nay chúng ta được đánh chén no nê.
= We have an enormous and fantastic meal today.
NUMBER: Through both languages have similar notions of number and
countability, each language expresses this in very different ways. In Vietnamese,
number is often not expressed at all. In English, number is expressed as a
grammatical category, that is, there are different grammatical forms for the singular

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and plural nouns. In Vietnamese, however, no such distinction is made
grammatically. For example, “Phụ nữ” can mean either woman or women. In

Chú, bác = uncle
Cô, dì, bác gái = aunt
Strategy 4: How to deal with proper names
Geographical terms: either translated into another word in English or
translated phonologically („s‟ becomes „x‟) or remained unchanged.
Example:
- Bắc Kinh = Beijing
- Vương quốc = Kingdom
- Singapore or Xingapo = Singapore
- Liên bang, Liên hiệp, Khối thịnh vượng = Commonwealth
- Úc or Ôxtraylia = Australia
- Xã hội chủ nghĩa = Socialist
- Braxin = Brazil
Names of organizations: Translation from Vietnamese into English: often
using the reverse order or adjective + noun or noun +preposition + noun.
“Bộ”, “Sở” = Ministry of …, Department of …
“Ngân hàng” = Bank for …, or Adjective + Bank
“Tổng công ty” = Corporation
Example:
Ngân hàng phục vụ người nghèo = Bank for the poor
Ngân hàng công thương Việt Nam = Vietnam industrial and Commercial Bank

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Sở giao thông công chính = Department of transport and public works
Văn phòng chính phủ = Government office
Tổng cục thống kê = General Statistic Office
Bộ kế hoạch và đầu tư = Ministry of Planning and investment
Strategy 5: How to deal with non-subject sentences
In Vietnamese-written passages, some non-subject sentences are often come
across. In this case, the following techniques of translation can be used:

As we know, in Vietnamese, an adjective or possessive follows a noun. In
contrast, an adjective precedes a noun or possessive adjective has the same position.
And the above phrases are written:
“He is a good student. His name is Nam.”

adj

n

possessive

n
However, because of the influence of the mother tongue, many beginners
hardly avoid the mistakes – wrong English word orders, as in the example below:
(ii) “Tuy nhiên, một số hãng phần mềm vi tính lại lo ngại về phần mềm mã
nguồn mở.”
Beginners sometimes translate in this way:
“However, some companies software computer worry about software open
source.”
Suggested English version:
“However, some computer software companies worry about opened source
software.”

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1.5.2 Words and choices of word meanings
Words are necessary for any language learners to build their own vocabulary to
get advantages in their language learning. Vocabulary is the fundamental component
of communication; it carries with the ability to communicate effectively. Developing
this basic tool will open up opportunities in learning translation subject well. With a
translation text, when learners have no difficulty in new words, it is easy for them to