VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THỊ MINH CHIÊN
M.A MINOR THESIS
A STUDY ON ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF
VIETNAMESE TRADITIONAL MEDICINE TEXTS

(Nghiên cứu việc dịch các tài liệu
Y học Cổ truyền tiếng Việt sang tiếng Anh)

Field : English Linguistics
Code : 60.22.15
1.2.5 Study of Catford (1996) 7
1.3 Translation methods and procedures 7
1.3.1 Word – for – word translation 7
1.3.2 Literal translation 8
1.3.3 Free translation 8
1.3.4 Idiomatic translation 8
1.3.5 Abbreviations 8
1.3.6 Loan word translation 8
1.4 Translation strategies: Domestication and Foreignization 8
Chapter 2: Current situation of VTM translation and characteristics of language and
English translation of VTM 10
2.1 Brief introduction of VTM 10
2.2 Necessities of VTM translation 11
2.2.1 For the integration of Western scientific medicine and VTM 11

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2.2.2 For the modernization of VTM 12
2.3 Existing problems of English translation of VTM 13
2.3.1 Problems in translating VTM technological terms 13
2.3.2 Problems in translating classics of VTM 16
2.4 Reasons for problems 17
2.4.1 Objective reasons 17
2.4.1.1 Great differences between VTM and Western medicine 17
2.4.1.2 Cultural barriers 20
2.4.1.3 Language barriers 22
2.4.2 Subjective reasons 23
2.5 The characteristics of the language of VTM 25
2.5.1 The Chinese influence on VTM 25
2.5.2 The integration of VTM and ancient philosophy 26
2.5.3 The blending of concepts of VTM and western medicine 26

Summary and results of the study 40
Limitations of the study 41
Suggestions for further study 41
REFERENCES 43
APPENDIX
APPENDIX 1: Terms and phrases causing difficulties for English translation of VTM
APPENDIX 2: Methods used in translating VTM texts
APPENDIX 3: Glossaries
Glossary of acupuncture and moxibusion
Glossary of herbs and prescriptions
Glossary of ancient works
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PART 1: INTRODUCTION

Background
Vietnamese Traditional Medicine (VTM) is regarded as one shining pearl of the greatest
cultural heritages of Vietnamese ancient civilization. It is a comprehensive and unique
scientific system with remarkable curative effects and few side effects during the several
thousand years of medical practice and has proved to be an extremely useful method to
prevent and treat diseases. Because of the characteristics of VTM, World Health
Organization recommended it as useful experience to the world and more and more people
in the world began to realize its importance.
Actually, since the implementation of reform and opening policy in Vietnam, VTM has
developed rapidly together with our country‟s economic property and it has gained world-
wide attention through its amazing achievement.
In spite of the great popularity in the world over last several decades and great amount of
translation work done in the field of the English translation of VTM, there are still many

2. Which translation approach/ strategy to adopted in translating VTM?
3. What are the characteristics of language and English translation of VTM?
4. What causes difficulties for translators in translating VTM? Why?
Scope of the study
Medical translation is a huge field, each branch has its own characteristics, and therefore,
the translator working on any branch of medical translation has to try his best to fulfill the
job. The translation of VTM texts is not an exception. Within the scope of this study, a
study on English translation of VTM texts is very exclusive to talk about. However, due to
the limitation of time and lack of experience, my minor thesis is only limited to dealing
with some problems, characteristics, methods, strategies and recommendations in
translating VTM texts.
Methods of the study
Comparative analysis, quality analysis and conductive approach are used in this research.
Comparative analysis and quality analysis are employed in data collection and analysis
while conductive approach is used in making conclusion: from theoretical background,
previous relevant studies, analysis of collected data and personal observations the author
comes to the conclusion.

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The structure of the study
The main body of this thesis is divided into three chapters, excluding introduction and
conclusion.
Chapter 1: Literature review
Part 1 deals with translation definition of Nida, Cartford, Bell, Hatim & Mason and
Newmark. Each has different dimension and emphasis but they come to a common target:
Equivalence.
Part 2 lists Translation Equivalence studies of Jacobson, Nida, Baker, Vinay & Barbelnet
and Catford in accordance of the time they were published to see that Catford is reasonable
to define equivalence as cultural and linguistic equivalents. Four studies prior Catford
(Jakobson, Nida, Baker, and Vinay & Darbelnet) could be divided into two groups. The

Translation has a very wide range of connotations (Tien, L.H, 2006). It may even
cover interpretation and machine translation. Different linguists have put the
definition in various ways. And obviously, it is a real challenge to give a precise one.
The difficulty is not the fact that they are conflicting but as Nida (1976) who is
recognizably the leading scholar of translation, says that their focuses are different. In
order to have the relatively overall picture of translation, outstanding figures‟ names
in translation studies should be put forward. Cartford (1996) sees translation as “the
replacement of a text in one language (SL) by an equivalent text in another language
(TL). Equivalent text in Bell‟s translation definition (1991) is defined more detailed
“translation is the expression in another language (or TL) of what has been expressed
in another, SL, preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences”. Hatim & Masonn
(1990), however, focuses more on the communication purpose of translation rather
than the semantic and stylistic features: “Translation is a communicative process
which takes place within a social context”. Meaning is the emphasis in Nida‟s
definition (1975): “Translating consists of producing in the receptor language the
closest natural equivalent to the message of the SL, first in meaning and secondly in
style”. More simply, Newmark (1988) defines translation as “the rendering of a
written text into another language in the way the author intended in the text”.
In spite of differences in the expressions, the above definitions share common feature,
which is to find equivalents that best preserve features of the original by the choice of
appropriate TL‟s semantic, lexical, grammatical structures, cultural context or even
communication situation.
1.2 Translation equivalence
Translation defined by many scholars from different notions of view. Some of
translation scholars defined their theories a source-oriented theory, others regarded
the target-oriented theories. There are also theorists who chose a place in between;

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however, all translation theories are related to the notion of equivalence in one way or
another. Hence, equivalence plays a crucial role in translation.

Catford (1996) in the revision of his book introduces a very perfect taxonomy towards
translation. His approach to translation equivalence clearly differs from that adopted
by Nida since Catford has a preference for a more linguistic-based approach to
translation and this approach is based on the linguistic work of Firth and Halliday. His
main contribution in the field of translation theory is the introduction of the concepts
of types and shifts translation. Catfrod proposes very broad types translation in terms
of three criteria:
1. The extent of translation (full translation vs partial translation).
2. The grammatical rank at which the translation equivalence is established
(rank bound translation vs. unbounded translation).
3. The levels of language involved in translation (total translation vs. restricted
translation).
Catford (1996) studies the equivalence and finds out that there are two factors which
affects the equivalence. They are linguistic and cultural factors. These two factors
brought two equivalents. They are linguistic and cultural equivalents. This finding of
Caford is very significant because it consists of both important approaches toward
equivalence, namely, linguistic and cultural approaches.
1.3 Translation methods and procedures
The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate literally or
freely. Newmark, P (1988) points out that the differences in the emphasis (SL or TL)
have resulted in a variety of translation methods and procedures.
Due to time constraint and within the framework of the thesis, the author presents
only translation methods, procedures and strategies that match the content of the study,
or can serve as a firm foundation for the research according to the study of Newmark
(1988).
1.3.1 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 words translated singly by
their most common meanings, out of context. Cultural words are translated literally.
The main use of word – for – word translation is either to understand the mechanics of

linked to questions of ethics, too: If target-cultural conventions are followed in the
translation process, the text will be readily acceptable in the target culture, but it will
inevitably lose some of the characteristics that would have given it a foreign or even
exotic feeling.
Translating is not a value-free action and choices are made at all the stages of the
process: what to translate, to whom, how, etc. as Venuti (1998) puts in:

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Translation is often regarded with suspicion because it inevitably domesticates
foreign texts, inscribing them with linguistic and cultural values that are intelligible to
specific domestic constituencies. This process of inscription operates a every stage in
the production, circulation, and reception of the translation. It is initiated by the very
choice of a foreign text to translate, always an exclusion of other foreign texts and
literatures, which answers to particular domestic interests. It continues most
forcefully in the development of a translation strategy that rewrites the foreign text in
domestic dialects and discourses, always choice of certain domestic values to the
exclusion of others. And it is further complicated by the diverse forms in which the
translation is published, reviewed, read, and taught, producing cultural and political
effects that vary with different institutional contexts and social positions.
In short, domestication refers to the target – culture oriented translation strategy by
which unusual expressions to the TL are abandoned and turned out into some familiar
ones so as to make the translated text intelligible and easy for the target readers.
Foreignization is a source – culture oriented translation strategy that strives to
preserve the foreign flavor as much as possible in order to transfer the SL and source
– culture into the target ones.
In the past history of translation studies, many translation theorists held a one-sided
attitude towards domestication and foreignization by viewing the two as incompatible
and denouncing one in favor of the other. As a matter of fact, drastic criticisms in
either domestication or foreignization can only do harm to the study of the two
strategies rather than advance the research. The selection of translation strategies is

practitioners would use a more practical approach and concentrate less on theory.
The cornerstone of VTM theories is based on the observed effects of qi (energy).
Although there are as many different forms of qi as there are different kinds of
functions (Source or Essence qi, Food qi, qi of the Mind or Shen, etc.), they are all
related to the original Source or Essence and Food qi. The Essence is inherited from
our parents, while Food qi is extracted from food. Furthermore, we see that qi
encompasses more than just Energy. It is also blood and “fuel” gathered and stored by
the body. So, qi is also the substance we call matter. As in Einstein‟s theory of energy
and matter, that E=MC2, or that matter is essentially energy. Blood and qi are like
matter and energy; they are different states of the same element (Thai, 2003)
VTM‟s major theories are: Yin and Yang, Five Elements, 12 Organs and 14 regular
meridians. These theories are often combined to explain a health condition. I will be

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explaining these theories in 2.4.1.1 while giving the reasons for the difficulties in
translating VTM into English.
2.2 Necessities of VTM translation
2.2.1 For the integration of Western scientific medicine and VTM
VTM is a unique medical system in the world. It was established on the basic
concepts of the correspondence between man and nature, the integrity of the human
body and mind, and maintenance of a dynamic balance of life activities under the
influences of the internal and external environments. Now, in coordination with
modern medicine, it presents the advantages and distinguishing features of
Vietnamese care. The curative techniques as herbal medication, acupuncture,
moxibustion (application of heat to the acupuncture points by burning a piece of the
Vietnamese plant named Artmisia moxa (ngải or ngải cứu) on the skin by
acupuncture needles) and diet-therapy, as well as the theory of maintaining good
health – integration between man and nature, harmonization between body and mind,
and combination of action and stability, are attracting attention among medical circles
all over the world.

acupuncture is neither sufficient nor well designed, but rather based on the
observation of the practitioners.
As more and more scholars show interest in VTM and its theories, various attempts
have been made to prove VTM theories with Western laboratory techniques. For
instance, the ancient medical men found that most patients felt easy in the early
morning and even better before late afternoon, and felt painful in the dusk and even
worse at night. This is because of “in the morning the vital qi begins to grow stronger
while pathogenic factors become weaker; at midday the vital qi is predominant over
the pathogenic factors; in the late afternoon the vital qi is weakened while the
pathogenic factors grow stronger; at midnight, the vital qi restores to the internal
organs, thus the pathogenic factors come into the leading place.” (Wu Changguo,
2002). Though these statements sound like mere guess-work to westerners, it is
observed by modern scientists that there exist biorhythms in the human body of the
pulse conditions, temperature, and the amount of oxygen consumed, carbon dioxide
release and hormone secreted during the 24 hours of a day.
Additionally, new progress has been made in the investigation of folk prescriptions, in
planting and processing herbal medicines and in the development of drugs. Now,
more cooperation with international medical circle is desired to eliminate bias against
VTM and to modernize it.

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It goes without saying that translation plays an essential role in the process of
cooperation. The more efforts we put into VTM translation, the better the world will
understand VTM and the faster VTM will approach modernization.
2.3 Existing problems of English translation of VTM
2.3.1 Problems in translating VTM technological terms
Due to its long history and complex cultural background, VTM is incredibly hard to
be perfect and time consuming to understand. Poor translation of the basic VTM
concepts sometimes causes malpractice and thus does harm to the acceptance and
development of VTM.

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(2) internal dispersion <thirst>: one form of dispersion
thirst (a disease characterized by thirst and emaciation)
Thất tình (1) seven affects: joy, anger, anxiety, though, sorrow,
fear and fright.
(2) seven relations: seven relationships or interactions
of medicinal herbs, namely: going alone, mutual need,
empowering, fear, aversion, killing and clashing.
Hạ khí (1) lower body qi
(2) precipitate qi
The pulse terms provide another example for the inconstancy in VTM translation on
the aspect that different translators use different terms in translating VTM terms. The
following table shows pulse names taken from five different sources, as follow:
(1) Hoàng Duy Tân. (2006). Vietnamese Dictionary on Acupunture Terms. Dong Nai
Publishers.
(2) Hữu Ngọc, Lady Borton. (2008). Traditional Medicine. Hanoi: Thế Giới Publishers .
(3) Vietnamese Traditional Medicine. (1999). Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers.
(4) Hoàng Bảo Châu (1998). Present Situation of Vietnamese Integrated Medicine.
Chinese Journal of Integrated Medicine , 64-78.
(5) David Wang & Joseph F.Audette. (2008). Acupuncture in Pain Management. In
Contemporary Pain Medicine (pp. 379-416).
(2) Renderings of Pulse Terms

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Hoãn
Moderate

Empty
Deficiency
Empty
Depleted
Vacuous
Thực
Full
Excess
Full
-
Replete
Hoạt
Smooth
Rolling
Slippery
-
Slippery
Xát
Rough
Hesitant
Choppy
-
Rough
Hồng
Swollen
-
-
Vast
Surging
Tế

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Nhu
Soft
-
Weak-
floating
Soft
Soggy
Nhược
Weak
Weak
Weak
Weak
Weak
Vi
Subtle
-
Minute
Feeble
Faint
Đại
Large
-
-
Large
Large

For each Vietnamese term, there are differences in the English terms used. Some
translators use the same term but there is little consistency between two or more
translators over the whole field. Taking the words at face value (as of course many

vô lực and nhược and consistently use the same English terms, they might as well not
bother making any distinction in name at all.
Until now, the methods of translation in VTM are still varied, such as literal or free
translation, word – for – word or loan word translation, or so on. In order to translate
VTM Vietnamese into English properly, a discussion concerning the standards of
translation should be raised.
2.3.2 Problems in translating classics of VTM
The Sino-Vietnamese language, commonly used in VTM documents, poses another
difficulty for translators. Vietnamese ancient language tends to be highly
comprehensive. The modern Vietnamese has great differences from the ancient one.
Thus an ancient text, especially when it loads scientific information, is beyond
comprehension for the one that has little knowledge about Vietnamese ancient
language. This will definitely pose great difficulties for the westerners who are
relatively unfamiliar with the content. A translator with a good sense of responsibility
may accurately transcode the language by trying his best, but it is not at all an easy
job.
Furthermore, translating VTM text would be a time consuming task and even an
impossible task if the translator wishes the target texts could accomplishing the same
literary achievement as that of the source, since modern Vietnamese and English have
distinctively different conventions in language use.
Take tắc in âm thịnh tắc hàn, dương thịnh tắc nhiệt for example. If the translator has
no idea that the Sino-Vietnamese tắc in this case means cause he fails to translate
these two phrases correctly into predominance of yin causes coldness and
predominance of yang causes heat.

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2.4 Reasons for problems
2.4.1 Objective reasons
2.4.1.1 Great differences between VTM and Western medicine
VTM has a very long history of several thousand years. The practice of VTM, highly

have similar symbolic relationships, are paired. In the light of all these relationships,
the heart and small intestine are considered Fire. The stomach, pancreas and spleen
are designated as Earth. The lungs and colon are Metal. The kidneys and reproductive
system are Water. The Liver and the Gall Bladder represent Wood. (See the figure
below).

Interaction of the Five Elements
(
These elements together can create a creat (constructive/ generative) – positive
influence (sinh) or destroy (destructive) - negative influence (khắc). In the positive
cycle: Wood burns to generate Fire, which produces ashes that generate Earth; Earth
generates Metal, which contributes to the production of Water (possibly via
consideration on the cold surface), which promotes the growth of plants, thereby
generating Wood. In the negative cycle: plants (represented by Wood) destoy Earth

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by breaking up soil with their roots and depleting its nutrients; Earth destroys Water
by soiling its clarity after mixing in; Water subjugates Fire by extinguishing it, while
Fire destroys Metal by melting it, and Metal subjugates Wood by cutting it. The vital
organs, and physiological and psychological functions of the body, are related to the
Five Elements according to the Five Elements theory.
For example ancient Vietnamese associated liver with Wood because they believed
liver promote the spreading of qi and blood vessels like a tree spreading out freely.
Trees produce green leaves, so green corresponds to Wood. Immature fruit, green in
color, is usually sour, and so sourness is related to Wood. Trees germinate in spring,
and the weather in spring is neither too hot nor too cold, but is often windy. So spring
is the season pertaining to Wood, and wind is also related to Wood. The eyes and
tendon all pertain to Wood, because the condition of the liver can be reflected in the
eyes. And the liver controls the tendons. Anger is apt to impair the liver, and patients
with liver troubles are usually irascible. Therefore, among the various emotions, anger

the millennia VTM has developed mainly through personal investigations and passed
on generation by generation. Western medicine is a relatively independent branch of
western science while VTM is a dispensable part of Vietnamese culture. These make
VTM and western medicine greatly different from each other, and pose as a great
challenge to the VTM translators, who must be expert in VTM and Vietnamese, both
modern and ancient.
2.4.1.2 Cultural barriers
VTM is a part of Vietnamese culture and has a long history in Vietnam. A VTM text,
even a word in a VTM, not only carries medical information, but also Vietnamese
cultural information. Therefore, translating VTM texts is translating both medical and
culture.
The VTM language is closely related to traditional Vietnamese philosophical thoughts,
and in turn, they further stimulated philosophical thoughts. For instance, the concept
of qi can be philosophically and medically understood. It is stated in Huangdi’s
Canon of Medicine that human life originates in the qi of Heaven and Earth, and
develops according to the normal order of the four seasons. That is, human life is
endowed with the qi of nature. According to ancient Vietnamese philosophy, qi serves
as a symbol for the primordial substance that is thought to constitute the universe. It is
believed to be invisible, constantly moving and changing, and giving rise to energy
and activities. Without the actions and changes of qi there would be no life activities.