English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 1 -

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background to the study
1.1.1 Rationale
It was a milestone in my life when I passed the hard entrance exam
to the English class of my province's high school for gifted students. During my
study there, I had a good chance to be exposed to the English language
environment where I accumulated English a lot. My passionate love for the
English language remains and just grows more strongly day by day during my
time spent at the English Department, Hanoi University of Foreign Studies. In
the last three university terms namely term 6, 7 and 8, English students of the
academic year 2002 including me have been trained in Translation and
Interpretation course, and I immediately took special pleasure in translating,
especially from English into Vietnamese. Within three terms only, we have been
introduced to a wide range of fields that we may encounter in our future jobs
such as diplomacy, politics, economic issues, finance and banking, environment,
social development, etc. We all find these thoroughly selected topics are of great
application to us due to their frequent use in the current affairs locally and
globally. Truly speaking, when practicing translation at class, we have the
feeling that the deeper scopes of life we touch on, the greater challenge we are
confronted with. In fact, the problem may not lie in the language itself but in the
background knowledge containing in the source language text required to
produce a comprehensible and professional translated version. Thus, in the very
initial stage of translation learning, I myself find it extremely hard to deal
successfully with terminologies arising in the English version. In reality, all
professions have their own system of "jargons" and translators normally have no

- Analyzing the translation of credit card terminology Credit card is one small aspect among various bank products and services
nowadays. However, it is not an easy job to understand clearly and profoundly
how it works and benefits individuals and the economies to render correctly and
English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 3 -
understandably all terms related to such industry into Vietnamese. Due to my
limited knowledge and the rapid development of credit card in the dynamic
financial market today, shortcomings and mistakes in credit card terminology
are inevitable. Thus, any comment, correction, and constructive ideas by my
fellow students, teachers and readers to further complete my research are deeply
appreciated.

1.1.3. Methods
In a bid to write a good Graduation Paper, it is vital to start on the right
track and carefully outline a sound and effective method of doing a research.

The research has been conducted on the ground of studies on terminology
by many foreign and Vietnamese linguists and scientists. The theoretical
background is built on the basis of their scientific reports, statements and books
on terminology and the translation of terminology.

In addition, online and offline dictionaries and encyclopedia are also
consulted to build a complete glossary on credit card. I obtain much knowledge
of Credit card and collect additional terms from Reference books, Journals,
Publications by quite a few banks in Vietnam. Especially, I have tried hard to
English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 5 -

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

2.1. An overview of terminology
2.1.1. Definition of terminology
Since the topic of the graduation paper reads "A study of English-
Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card”, apparently the word
"terminology" should appeal to any reader who happens to rest his eyes on the
cover of the research as the core point of the work. A question will then be
raised thereby "what is terminology?" or "Do the word “term” and
“terminology” mean the same thing?" It is necessary to bring these questions to
light within the limited scope of the study.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary, term is "a word or
phrase used as the name of something especially one connected with a
particular type of language." Also this dictionary defines terminology as "a set
of technical words or expressions used in a particular subject." As such,
terminology is broader in meaning compared with term. While terms separately

their own features and are used in certain situation by particular groups of
people. That is also applied to terminology. Đỗ Hữu Châu (1981) in his book Từ
vựng tiếng Việt hiện đại or Modern Vietnamese Vocabulary has defined three
main characteristics of terminology including Accuracy, Systematicality and
Internationality.

• Accuracy
A concept represented a term must be clear and exact. In addition, an
accurate term should not make the reader misunderstand the concept it expresses
with another. Actually the accuracy of terminology is well recognized in both its
form and meaning.
English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 7 -
With respect to the lexical meaning of words, normal word often bear the
characteristics of polysemy and synonym, whereas terminology must keep away
from this. The semantics of ordinary words may change in different usage and
contexts while that of terminology is fixed in specialized fields it is employed in.
For example, a normal and simple noun like "school" in general language has up
to eight shades of meanings when used in different circumstances. However, the
term "pneumonia" in medicine is taken for one single meaning "a serious illness
affecting one or both lungs that makes breathing difficult."

As regards the accuracy of terminology in terms of form, terminology has
no other form or outer cover other than its original one. We can hardly add any
factors like prefix, suffix, etc, to a term to refer to the plural form, antonyms, or
any change in word meaning. For example, the above-mentioned word
"pneumonia" does not allow any transformation to its form. However,
considering systematicality (that will be further discussed in the next part), the

A system of terms not only meets general requirements but also satisfy
particular ones posed by certain specialized it reflects. As a matter of facts, each
field of science has it own systems of solid and finite concepts, expressed by it
own terms. The semantic value of a term is determined by its relation to others
in the same field. Therefore, once isolated, the term may have no or ambiguous
meaning. However, there exist homophones and synonyms among term systems
of different fields. For example, "floor" in architecture means "sàn nhà", while
in banking is defined as "tối thiểu".

The systematicality also requires a term itself to be systematic in its own
meaning. To this end, terms are usually short in form. For instance, "chứng lang
thang trong tình trạng mê ngủ" is named "mộng du", "người lái máy bay" is
called "phi công", or terms like "affix, prefix, infix, suffix" represent bound
morphemes that are added to different positions within a word.

English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 9 -
In sum, systematicality makes terms the insiders of a particular field and
helps us understand concepts that terms express.

• Internationality
The internationality is recognized in both form and meaning of
terminology.

With respect to such characteristics of terminology in term of meaning,
terminology denotes common scientific concepts shared and equally understood
by speakers of different cultures. This feature is an important property that helps
distinguish terminology from other layers of vocabulary such as slang, dialect,

Máy ATM, ATM stands for automatic telling machine

Finally, the internationality could make terms quickly shift into normal
words and become non-standardized language. The internationality of terms
helps promote and accelerate the irreversible trend of global integration today in
term of language as well as other fields. Because language is actually the bridge
linking people of nations in the world and the popularity of a common language
through terms contributes to the transfer of science and technology worldwide.

Terminology on credit cards bears all these common features of
terminology. It is above-mentioned specific characteristics of terminology in
source language (English) that determine suitable translation methods applied to
produce exact Vietnamese terms.

2.1.3. Norms of Vietnamese terminology
Controversy has risen upon which standards Vietnamese terminology
should follow. L.K Kế in his book “Tiếng Việt và dạy học bằng tiếng Việt”
(Vietnamese and teaching in Vietnamese) puts it that Vietnamese terminology,
English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 11 -
in the first place should be scientific, accurate, systematic, then popular,
applicable, and of native language in accordance with characteristics of
Vietnamese. Meanwhile, according to L.V Thới, a noun that is used in particular
subject must belong to such field linguistically and practically, and as concise
and simple as possible. Therefore, he said, the noun must be monosemy (has one
meaning) and a concept should be expressed by one noun.

In the final analysis, the conference on terminology held in Ha Noi, 1967


• Sino-Vietnamese words are Vietnamese words of Chinese
derivation. During a thousand years under the domination of China,
Vietnamese language absorbed a great number of Mandarin lexical items.
Gradually, Vietnamese language was assimilated, and it received
Mandarin lexicon through both communication and education. Sino-
Vietnamese words account for a great proportion of Vietnamese
vocabulary and has been used widely in daily life. For example: xạ thủ,
hoàng thượng, lãi suất tối thiểu, thấu chi, etc.

Above features of Vietnamese terminology has helped translator a lot in
deciding most suitable methods of translation when it comes to handling
difficult terms in general and terms on credit card in particular. Notably, the use
of Sino-Vietnamese word has been especially exploited in their translation work.

Within limited scope of this Graduation Paper, only the use of Sino-
Vietnamese in the translation of terminology, especially credit card terminology
is considered in details. English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 13 -
2.1.4. The importance of study of terminology translation
Although terminology, according to Peter Newmark, accounts for only 5-
10% of words in a written or oral text, I think, the mastery of such tiny
percentage terminology will determine the success of the translating work. Only
two following reason can possibly illustrate such idea.



Evidently, the study of terminology in a specific field will enrich our
vocabulary, helps us to use them in an accurate, concise, flexible manner and
finally results in professional and effective translation. Therefore, translators
should be skilled in dealing with terminology to smooth their work. Anyway, 5-
10% is just statistical figures on average. In fact, the frequency of terminology
appearance in some areas is much higher or lower than others. Thus, the study of
terminology is of great importance, especially when translators are about to
undertake jobs in a brand new field.

2.2. The translation of terminology
2.2.1. The technical translation
The translation style dealing with terminology in specific fields such as
politics, economics, banking and finance, law and so on is called technical
translation. According to Peter Newmark (1995), "technical translation is
primarily distinguished from other forms of translation by terminology. Its
characteristics, its grammatical features merge with other varieties of language.
Its characteristics format is technical report, but it also includes instructions,
manuals, notices, publicity, which put more emphasis on forms of address and
use of the second person." He divides technical translation into three levels that
he finds of great application: Academic, Professional, and Popular
English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 15 -
• Academic
This includes transferred Latin and Greek words associated with academic

them an easy and systematic access to new terms in the source language and
those in the target language as well.

2.2.2. Method of terminology translation
There has been controversy since at least the first century B.C. over
whether to translate literally or freely. Many favour free translation, something
like the spirit not the letter; the sense not the words; the message rather than the
form; the matter not the manner. However, when the study of cultural
anthropology suggested that the linguistic barriers are insurmountable, the view
that translation must be as literal as possible gains approval.

Though controversy remains, eight methods of translation proposed by
Peter Newmark (1995: 45-47) have long known to translators. They are:

word-for-word translation Adaptation
Literal translation Free translation
Faithful translation Idiomatic translation
Semantic translation Communicative translation

• Word-for-word translation: an interlinear translation, with the target
language immediately follows the source language words. For this
mode, word order is preserved; words are singly translated by their
most common meanings out of the context.

• Literal translation: The source language's grammatical
constructions are converted to their nearest target language equivalents
but the lexical words are again translated singly out of context.

English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card


English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 18 -
As defined, terminology includes all lexical items used in connection with
a particular scientific field and by professionals of this field. Due to the
characteristics of terminology (accuracy, systematicality) as well as norms for it
in target language, the translation is appropriately based on the literal
translation, that is The source language's grammatical constructions are
converted to their nearest target language equivalents but the lexical words are
again translated singly out of context.

For example:
Cash letter of credit : thư tín dụng tiền mặt
Annual fee : phí thường niên
Digital signature : chữ ký kỹ thuật số

Normally, terminology is considered an invariant element in translation.
However, in the context of a specific field's language, a term may have several
variants. Therefore, in some cases, it is hard for translators to employ literal
translation. Instead, they should transpose terms in a precisely explanatory but
intelligible manner. The communicative method that attempts to render the
exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and
language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership
seems to be of great use in this circumstance.

In addition to literal and communicative translation, the use of
equivalences namely paraphrase; transference; connotative and denotative
equivalence; implicit and explicit components of lexical meaning is exploited in
translating terminology in general. As for the translation of terminology on

many merchants now accept verbal authorizations via telephone and electronic
authorization using the internet.
English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 20 -
Electronic verification systems allow merchants (using a strip of
magnetized material on the card holding information in a similar manner to
magnetic tape or a floppy disk) to verify that the card is valid and the credit card
customer has sufficient credit to cover the purchase in a few seconds, allowing
the verification to happen at time of purchase. Other variations of verification
systems are used by ecommerce merchants to determine if the user's account is
valid and able to accept the charge.

Each month, the credit card user is sent a statement indicating the
purchases undertaken with the card, and the total amount owed. The cardholder
must then pay a minimum proportion of the bill by a due date, and may choose
to pay the entire amount owed or more. The credit provider charges interest on
the amount owed (typically at a much higher rate than most other forms of
debt). Some financial institutions can arrange for automatic payments to be
deducted from the user's accounts.

Credit card issuers usually waive interest charges if the balance is paid in
full each month, but typically will charge full interest on the entire outstanding
balance from the date of each purchase if the total balance is not paid.

1.2. The birth and development of credit card
• The birth of credit card
The concept of paying merchants using a card was invented in 1950 by
Ralph Schneider and Frank X. McNamara in order to consolidate multiple cards.

1.3. Types of credit cards
Credit cards are diversified in type. Credit card can be classified into five
major types according to its production technology, issuer, payment
characteristics, geographical distribution, and cardholders. English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 22 -
• In terms of production technology, there are three main type:
- Embossing card (thẻ khắc chữ nổi): credit cards in it early days
were produced by this method. However, such technology that
was easy to imitate has become quickly obsolete.
- Magnetic stripe (thẻ băng từ): is employed with two magnetic
stripes on the back of the card and has been in use for the past 20
years. However, the technology has revealed quite a few
weaknesses.
- Smart card (thẻ vi mạch): is the latest advance of credit card
having the same characteristics with a complete computer.

• With regard to the issuer of credit cards, we have two types:
- Credit cards issued by Banks (Visa Card, Master Card)
- Credit cards issued by non-bank institutions (cards of giant
businesses, economic groups like Diner’s Club card)

• Considering payment characteristics, there are 3 types:
- Credit cards: the most popular one that allows users to
purchase goods, services within a credit limit granted by the
issuer. In other words, users spend without paying in advance.

system has been renovated rapidly with new banking products and services
developed in line with the economic growth of the country. In 1990, for the first
time, Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) became the settlement
banks for VisaCard. In 1991, under the agreement between Vietcombank and
Malaysia Banking and Finance Institution, Mastercard was officially accepted
in Vietnam. Later, JCB, a Japan-originated credit card, Amex credit card of
American Express also presented in the country.

English-Vietnamese translation of terminology on credit card - 24 -
The Vietnam’s credit card market really grew vigorous and boisterous in
1995. In addition to Vietcombank, another nine banks also went in the credit
card
business, namely ACB, First Vina, Sacombank, ANZ, Eximbank, Hongkong
bank, etc. In 1996, Vietcombank became the member of VISACARD and
MASTERCARD, and acted as the issuing bank of the two world-leading credit
card organizations. Currently some other banks are also chosen to issue and
settle international cards like ACB and VIBank. Besides, almost all commercial
banks in Vietnam offer their customers domestic cards that are in use within
Vietnam territory to purchase goods and services or withdraw cash.

Thanks to the national economic stable growth, the wave of tourism,
foreign investment to Vietnam, Vietnam’s credit card industry will surely grow
considerably in years to come.

3. Credit card terminology overview.
Credit card is a banking product; however, its terminology is not purely
related to the scope of banking and finance. In fact, terms on credit card have a