Khóa luận A study on the translation of weather terms from English into Vietnamese

Nội dung text: Khóa luận A study on the translation of weather terms from English into Vietnamese

1. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG ISO 9001 : 2008 KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH: NGOẠI NGỮ HẢI PHÒNG - 2010
2. HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON THE TRANSLATION OF WEATHER TERMS FROM ENGLISH INTO VIETNAMESE By: Đàm Thị Hồng Hạnh Class: Na1001 Supervisor: Hoàng Thị Bảy, M.A HAI PHONG - 2010
3. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp Sinh viên: Mãsố: Lớp: Ngành: Tên đề tài:
4. Nhiệm vụ đề tài 1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ). 2. Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán. 3. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp.
5. CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày 12 tháng 04 năm 2010 Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày 10 tháng 07 năm 2010 Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Sinh viên Người hướng dẫn Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 HIỆU TRƯỞNG GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị
6. PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN 1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp: 2. Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu ): 3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 Cán bộ hướng dẫn (họ tên và chữ ký)
7. NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP 1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài. 2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện : (Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ) Ngày tháng năm 2010 Người chấm phản biện
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my sincerity gratitude to Hai Phong Private University where I have chance to study for 4 years. I would like to extend my special gratitude to Ms Hoang Thi Bay (M.A) – my supervisor who has generously given me valuable assistance and guidance during the studying period and preparation of this graduation paper. The success I got through last time would be almost impossible without her enthusiastic supports. My thanks also go to Ms Tran Thi Ngoc Lien (M.A), for her precious advice and encouragement. Finally, I thank for my family and friends who help me so much in studying period.
9. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement Part I: Introduction 1. Rationale 1 2.Aims of the research 1 3. Scope of the research 2 4. Method of the research 2 5. Design of the research 2 Part II: Development Chapter I: Theoretical background of translation 1. Definition of translation 4 2. Kinds of translation 6 2.1 Word to word 6 2.2 Literal translation 6 2.3 Faithful translation 6 2.4 Semantic translation 6 2.5 Free translation 7 2.6 Adaptation 7 2.7 Idiomatic translation 7 2.8 Communicative translation 7 3. Equivalences 7 4. ESP in translation 9 4.1 Concept of ESP 9 4.2 Type of ESP 10 4.3 Weather ESP translation 11 4.4 Definition of technical translation 12 4.5 Translation in area of weather terms 12 Chapter II: Terminology and English weather terms 1. Definition of English terms 14 2. Characteristics of terms 15
10. 2.1 Accurateness 15 2.2 Systematism 16 2.3 Internationalism 16 2.4 Nationalism 17 2.5 Popularity 17 3. The creation of terminology 17 4. The distinction terms and words 18 5. English weather terms 19 5.1 Definition of weather 19 5.2 Weather terms 19 5.2.1 Weather description terms 19 5.2.2 Weather phenomena terms 23 5.2.3 Meteorological terms 26 5.2.4 Abbreviation terms 27 Chapter III: Translation of English weather terms into Vietnamese 1. Some problems in translating English weather terms 29 1.1 Misunderstanding 29 1.2 Difficulties 30 2. Some suggestions for the problems 32 2.1 Some steps to translate 32 2.2 Some ways to translate English weather terms 33 2.2.1 Single terms 33 2.2.2 Compound terms 35 2.2.3 Abbreviation terms 37 Part III: Conclusion 40 Appendix 42 Reference 45
11. PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, English is the dominant international language in communications, science, business, entertainment, diplomacy In order to know more about the world, we need to learn English. Translating English weather terms is a good way to improve our English because it plays an important role in distributing news and information. By the time, it may be an entertainment activity. Because language develops with society, being a good reader is a key to the door of success. I always attract to English weather terms because of its lively and its language features, so, this means that we should study it in order to practice it, first at all, to understand it. Therefore, I conducted this research with the hope that it could help learners have a deep knowledge of English weather terms and could understand it. 2. Aims of the research My research aims at: - Introducing theoretical background of translation, terminology. - Giving an analysis of English weather terms. - Pointing out some difficulties, command mistakes possibly made by Vietnamese learners and suggesting some solutions to avoid misunderstanding when translating it.
12. 3. Scope of the research English weather terms are extremely large of the research. Due to the limitation of time, knowledge, experience, I focus on feature of English weather terms, give some problems when translating English weather terms and give some strategies to apply to translate weather terms. 4. Method of the research In order to achieve the mentioned aims, in my research process, I store knowledge from a lot of different resources: - Some websites, books about translation, terminology and English weather terms to establish the theoretical background for my research. - Collect and analyze some English weather terms. - Give how to translate some English weather terms. 5. Design of the research My paper is divided into 3 parts, the second one is the most important part. Part I: The rationale, aims, methods, scope and design of the research are mentioned in part one with the aim that the readers could have an overview of my research. Part II: Mentions the main content of the research and it is divided into 3 chapters: Chapter I: Theoretical background of translation, English for specific purpose (ESP) Chapter II: Terminology, English weather terms and simply analysis; including definition of term, weather, characteristics of weather terms Chapter III: Some difficulties in translation process and some suggestions for translating English weather terms
13. Part III: Part three summarizes main ideas mentioned in previous parts and gives some suggestions for further research.
14. Part II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1. Definition of translation Translation has existed in every corner of our life. It is considered as an indispensable part in the fields of not only literature, culture, but also entertainment, scientific research, education thus, definition of translation is numerous and a large numbers of writers have written about this subject. In this paper, some concepts of translation have been collected as follow: Translation is the comprehension of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text, likewise called a "translation," that communicates the same message in another language. The text that is translated is called the source text, and the language that it is translated into is called the target language. The product is sometimes called the target text. Translation, when practiced by relatively bilingual individuals but especially when by persons with limited proficiency in one or both languages, involves a risk of spilling-over of idioms and usages from the source language into the target language. On the other hand, inter- linguistic spillages have also served the useful purpose of importing calques and loanwords from a source language into a target language that had previously lacked a concept or a convenient expression for the concept.
15. ( Translation is the process of changing something that is written or spoken into another language. (Advanced Oxford Dictionary) Translation is a bilingual mediated process of communication which ordinarily aims at the production of a TL text that is functionally equivalent to a SL text. (Reiss, 1971:161) Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that author intended the text. (Newmark: 1988) Translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has been expressed in one language (source language), preserving semantic and stylistic equivalencies. (By Roger T.Bell) Translation is the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language (the source text) and the production in another language of equivalent text (the target text) that communicates the same message. (E.A Nida, 1959) Translation is rendering a written text into another language in a way that the author intended the text. (By Bui Tien Bao- Ha Noi National University)
16. Translation, by dictionary definition, consists of changing from one state or form to another, to turn into one’s own or another language. (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1974) 2. Type of translation 2.1 Word to word This is often demonstrated as interline as translation, with the TL immediately below the SL words. The SL word-order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common meaning, out of context. 2.2 Literal translation The SL grammatical construction is converted to the nearest TL equivalent but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context. 2.3 Faithfull translation The translation reproduces the exact contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the grammatical structure of the TL. It transfers cultural words and preserves the degree of grammatical and lexical deviation from SL. It attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text reality of the SL writer. 2.4 Semantic translation It differs from faithful translation only in as far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value of the SL text, compromising on “meaning” where appropriate so that no assonance word-play or repetition jars in finished version. 2.5 Free translation
17. This reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the form of the original, but the translator just transmit meanings of the SL in others expression. Usually, it is a paraphrase much longer than original. Therefore, the text in TL sounds more natural but understands casually. 2.6 Adaptation This seems to be the freest of translation. It’s used mainly for plays, poetry in which the themes, characters and plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to the TL culture and text rewritten. 2.7 Idiomatic translation It reproduces the content of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these don’t exist in the original. 2.8 Communicative translation This attempts to reader the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership. 3. Equivalences Baker explores the notion of equivalence at different levels, in relation to the translation process, including all different aspects of translation and hence putting together the linguistic and the communicative approach. She distinguishes: Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level when translating from one language into another. Baker’s acknowledge that, in a bottom-up approach to translation, equivalence at word level is the first element to be taken into consideration by the translator. In fact,
18. when the translator starts analyzing the ST she looks at the word as single units in order to find a direct equivalence term in the TL. Baker gives a definition of the term word since it should be remembered that a single word can sometimes be assigned different meaning in different language, and might be regarded as being a more complex unit or morpheme. This means that the translator should pay attention to a number of factors when considering a single word, such as number, gender, tense. Grammatical equivalence when referring to the diversity of grammatical categories across language. She notes that grammatical rule may vary across language and this may pose some problems in terms of finding a direct correspondence in the TL. In fact, she claims that different grammatical structure in the SL and TL may cause remarkable changes in the way information or message carried across. The changes may induce the translator either to add or to omit information in the TT because of the lack of particular grammatical devices in the TL itself. Amongst these grammatical devices which might cause problems in translation. Baker focuses on number, tense, aspects, voice, person and gender. Textual equivalence, when referring to the equivalence between SL text and a TL text in terms of information and cohesion. Texture is a very important feature in translation since it provides useful guidelines for the comprehension and analysis of the ST which can help the translator in his or her attempt to produce a cohesive and coherent text for the TC audience in a specific context. It is up to the translator to decide whether or not to maintain the cohesive ties as well as the coherence of the SL text. His or her decision will be guided by 3 main factors that is, the target audience, the purpose of translation and the text type. Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to implicatures and strategies of avoidance during the translation process. Implicatures is not about what
19. is explicitly said but what is implied. Therefore, the translator needs to work out implied meanings in translator in order to get the ST message across. The role of the translator is to create the author’s intention in another culture in such away that enables the TC reader to understand it clearly. 4. ESP in translation 4.1 Concept ESP is the abbreviation for English for specific purpose. It is defined in the other ways. Some people describe ESP as simply being the teaching of English for any purpose that could be specified. Others, however, were more precise describing it as the teaching of English used in academic studies or teaching of English for vocational or professional purpose. Tony Dudley-Evans, co-editor of the ESP journal give an extended definition of ESP in terms of “absolute and variable characteristics”  Absolute: - ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners. - ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves. - ESP is centered on the language appropriate to the activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skill, discourse and genre.  Variable: - ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines. - ESP may use in specific teaching situation, a different methodology from that of general English.
20. - ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at tertiary level institution or in professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary school level. - ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced student. - Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of language systems. 4.2 Types of ESP David Carter (1983) identified 3 types of ESP: - English as a restricted language - English for academic and occupational purposes - English with specific topics The language used by air traffic controllers or by waiters are example of English restricted language. Mackay and Mountford (1987) clearly illustrate the difference between restricted language and language with this statement “ the language of international air-traffic control could be regarded as “special”, in the sense that the repertoire required by the controller is strictly limited and can be accurately determined situation, as might be the linguistic needs of a dining-room waiter or air-hostess. However, much restricted repertoires are not language, just as a tourist phrase book is not grammar. Knowing a restricted “language” would not allow the speaker to communicate effectively in novel situation, or in contexts outside the vocational environment. The second type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English for academic and occupational purposes. In the “tree of ELT” (Hutchinson &Waters, 1987), ESP is broken down into 3 branches: - English for Science and Technology (EST) - English for Business and Economic (EBE)
21. - English for Social Studies (ESS) Each of the subject areas is further divided into 2 branches: - English for Academic purpose (EAP) - English for Occupational purposes (EOP) And example of EOP for the EST branch is “English for technicians” whereas an example of EAP for the EST branch is “English for medical studies”. The third and final type of ESP identified by Cater (1983) is English with special topics. Carter notes that it is only here where emphasis shifts from purpose to topic. This type of ESP is uniquely concerned with anticipated future English needs of, for example, scientists requiring English for post graduate reading studies, attending conferences or working in foreign institutions. 4.3 Weather ESP translation Weather ESP translation is very important because most weather documents are written in English language which needs to understand deeply. And it is impossible to contrast a complete translation that captures the universal meaning of the SL in the weather text without the full understanding about weather terms which is an issue relevant to technical translation. Thus, this part of the study is based on technical translation. 4.4 Definition of technical translation
22. Sofer (1991) as follow distinguishes technical translation from literal translation “the main division in the translation field is between literary and technical translation”. According to him, literal translation covers such areas as fictions, poetry, drama and humanities in general and is done by writers of the same kinds is the TL, or at least by translators with the required literary attitude. Meanwhile, technical translation is done by much greater number of practitioners and is an ever-going and expanding field with excellent opportunities. Newmark (1981) differently distinguishes technical translation from institutional translation: “technical translation is one part of specialized translation, institutional translation, the area of polities, commerce, finance, government etc is the other”. He goes on suggesting that technical translation is potentially non-cultural and universal because benefits of technology are not confined to one speech community. The terms in technical translation, therefore, should be translated. On the contrary, institutional translation is cultural, so, in principle, the terms are transferred unless they are connected with international organization. These two authors, though having different approaches to technical translation they both knew it as specialized translation with its essential element “specialized terms”. 4.5 Translation in the area of weather terms Weather is one of the popular specific fields, like other language, its terminologies can change over time. If we translate in the weather field, we must find the correct terminology used in the translation. Therefore, it would be very helpful for our translation if we are constantly updating glossaries related to the field as a whole, as well as specific weather topics. Besides, translation of weather terms is quite complex, we are required translation skills and domain knowledge to include the field of weather. Moreover, we
23. need to know more deeply about its word building, so the next- term in weather field will show more in detail. Chapter II: TERMINOLOGY AND ENGLISH WEATHER TERMS
24. 1. Definition Up to now there are various definitions of terminology by many linguists. In the Russian Encyclopedia (1976) terminology is defined as “a word or a combination of words that denotes the concept precisely and its relationship with other concepts in specific area. Terminology is a specialized and restricted expression on things, phenomena, characteristics, and the relationship in a specific profession”. Terminology is a word or combination of words that is used in science, technology, politics, art and it has a specific meaning, denotes precise concepts and names of the above-mentioned scientific areas. (Nguyen Van Tu, 1960:176) Terms are specialist words used within a scientific field, a professional or any technological field. (Do Huu Chau 1998) Terminology is a section of special lexis of a language. It consists of fixed words and groups of words which are accurate names of concepts and subjects belonging to different specialized fields of human being. (Nguyen Thien Giap, 1981) Terms are words and compound words that are used in specific contexts. Not to be confused with "terms" in colloquial usages, the shortened form of technical terms (or terms of art) which are defined within a discipline or specific field. ( )
25. 2. Characteristics As a special unit in the lexical system of language, terminology has its own distinctive features. According to many linguists, terminology should have the following qualities: accurateness, systematism, internationalism, nationalism, popularity. 2.1 Accurateness The first quality if terminology is accurateness, that is, it expresses a specific concept or definition concretely and precisely so that it can help to avoid the misunderstanding one concept for another. It is necessary for each term in a typical professional scale, denotes only one concept in that system. The meaning of a term is normally the combination of linguistic signals not only the sum of its component’s meaning. Luu Van Lang (1977) claimed that each linguistic signal poses one basic nuclear meaning and vice versa a concept also has a typical linguistic signal in a concrete situation. New Mark (1998) also said that concept-words are notorious for their different meanings in various technologies. Therefore, when a term is created in a specific field, it is necessary to take into account its homophone or synonymy which is often seen in linguistics. 2.2 Systematism It is the second criterion of a scientific term. As a part of a language, each term has its own position in the system of concepts and belongs to a terminological system. Each term requires its meaning in the relationship with
26. other terms in its system. Once separated from its system, its meaning in vague. Therefore, systematism is seen as one of the most important features of terminology. There is the difference in the viewpoints about the characteristics of terminology among terminologists. Some say the typical characteristic of terminology is the systematic formation, whilst others claim that it is the feature of content. However, it is the combination of both content and expression form. It is impossible to separate a concept from the system to make a term but it determines its position in the system. 2.3 Internationalism As mentioned above, terms are special words expressing common scientific concepts together with the development, cooperation and scientific, technological exchanges among countries throughout the world, terms are internationalized. The globalization enables terminology to be used more popularity in different languages so as to make the international science develop faster. As a result of this process, there are exists a number of terms being internationalized in different languages namely medicine (names of illness, medicine, physic, telecom ).Based on the criteria of terminology, each language may require other principles in accordance with its culture. Accordingly, terminology in Vietnamese is not an exception, it has its typical characteristics including nationalism and popularity. 2.4 Nationalism It is undeniable that term is special linguistic unit of a language used in specific profession, it clearly belongs to national language. As a result, terminology in Vietnam should be imbued with Vietnamese culture, and
27. characteristics of Vietnamese language. They should be appropriate to Vietnamese people from the lexicology to the grammatical composition. 2.5 Popularity It is characteristic of terminology which can bring scientific and technological progress to all people. As a component of linguistics, terminology plays an important role in pushing up the development of science, hence it should be comprehensible to all people in its way of reading, writing, speaking and memorizing. In summary, the general characteristics of terminology have been reviewed. They are the vital principles in the creation and existence of terminology in science and technology. 3. The creation of terminology According to the International Standardization Organization (ISO, 1988), the following factors of essential consideration in the creation of terminology are: Firstly, terms must be persistently show typical features of the concept they denote so as to bring about the exact reference. In addition, they need to be economical to avoid giving rise to homonymy. Besides, terms should be lexically systematic and conform to the phonological and morphological rules of the language. Furthermore, terms should follow the common rules of word- formation of the language, that is, they should allow composition and derivation where are necessary. Lastly, the meaning of term should be context-free. Term creation including primary and secondary, is under various influences and subject to different motivation. When a new concept appears, primary term formation is created meanwhile secondary term formation appears to name monolingual revision of a given terminology or the term in the TL after a process of transferring knowledge from one linguistic community to another.
28. It is common knowledge that technical terminology is volatile due to the changes and continual development of science and technology. Both primary and secondary term formation in technology is affected by a proliferation of variants and synonyms which occur to satisfy the need for popular version of scientific term and product differentiation. 4. The distinction between term and word It is necessary to distinguish between terminology and ordinary words. Baker (1998) claims that “terms differ from words in that they are endowed a word with a special form of reference, namely that they refer to discrete conceptual entities, properties, activities or relations which constitute the knowledge space of a particular subject field”. In addition, meanwhile words function in general reference or a variety of subject fields, terms have special reference within a particular discipline and they keep their lives and meaning s only when they serve the system of knowledge that create them. Despite the distinction between term and word mentioned above, the boundary between them is not a clear cut, as many terms become ordinary words when they are closed to daily life and used with high frequency and many words become terms when they are used in specialized field. 5. English weather terms 5.1 Definition of weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere as measured on a scale of hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or storm, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in
29. the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day- to-day temperature and precipitation activity, where as climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, "weather" is understood to be the weather of Earth. ( 5.2 Weather terms Weather terms that describe weather under a number of headings that include, weather description terms, weather phenomena terms, meteorological terms and abbreviation terms. 5.2.1 Weather description terms These terms are often adjectives, describe characteristics of weather. In the following tables, it is some forms of description terms. . Adjective: English Vietnamese Clear Trong s¸ng Dull U ¸m
30. Cold L¹nh Hot Nãng Wet ¢m •ít Cool M¸t mÎ Fine §Ñp Inclement Kh¾c nghiÖt Clement ¤n hoµ Muggy Oi bøc Tropical Thuéc nhiÖt ®íi Over cast NhiÒu m©y Bland DÔ chÞu, dÞu nhÑ Raw RÐt c¨m c¨m mild ¤n hoµ Dry Kh«, hanh . Noun + suffix “y”: English Vietnamese
31. Balmy DÞu, ªm dÞu(giã) Blustery Cã giã d÷ déi Breezy Cã giã hiu hiu Drizzly Cã m•a phïn Icy Cã b¨ng Misty Cã s•¬ng mï Foggy Cã s•¬ng mï Nippy L¹nh cãng, tª buèt Rainy Cã m•a Sunny Cã n¾ng Showery Cã m•a rµo Snowy Cã tuyÕt Stormy Cã b·o Cloudy Cã m©y Thundery Cã d«ng Windy Cã giã . Verb + suffix “ing”: English Vietnamese Freezing B¨ng gi¸ Perishing RÐt cãng Scorching Nãng nh• thiªu . Some other terms are derived words such as: arid from aridity, humid from humidity English Vietnamese Arid Kh« c»n
32. Humid Èm •ít Moist Èm thÊp Frigid L¹nh lÏo 5.2.2 Weather phenomena terms: These terms are nouns, compound nouns . Noun :
33. English Vietnamese Drought H¹n h¸n Flood Lò Tsunami Sãng thÇn Tornado Vßi rång zephr Giã t©y Avalanche TuyÕt lë Deluge §¹i hång thuû Typhoon B·o nhiÖt ®íi Gust C¬n giã m¹nh Lightning Chíp, sÐt Gale Giã (cÊp 7-10) Hurricance B·o Sleet M•a tuyÕt Cyclone Lèc, giã xo¸y Simoon Giã sa m¹c Squall Giã giËt Mist S•¬ng mï Thunder SÊm Storm B·o . Compound noun:  Noun + Noun: English Vietnamese Rain- storm M•a d«ng
34. Sand storm B·o c¸t Snow storm B·o tuyÕt Whirl wind Giã cuèn Autumn wind Giã heo may Land-breeze Giã lôc ®Þa Snow flood Lò tuyÕt Heat wave §ît nãng Water spout Vßi rång Dust devil Giã xo¸y mang bôi Dust storm C¬n b·o bôi Light rain M•a bãng m©y Dust air Kh«ng khÝ nhiÔm bÈn  Adjective + Noun: English Vietnamese Heavy rain M•a nÆng h¹t South wind Giã nåm Diluvial rain M•a lò Acid rain M•a a-xÝt Tidal wave Sãng cån(lín)  V-ing + Noun: English Vietnamese Lasting rain M•a dÇm Drizzling rain M•a phïn
35. 5.2.3 Meteorological terms: Meteorological terms describe as instrument for gathering weather data, measuring level of weather phenomena and convention used in weather map. English Vietnamese
36. Aerosol Sol khÝ Altitude §é cao so víi mÆt n•íc biÓn Atmospheric pressure Ap suÊt kh«ng khÝ Convection §èi l•u Dew-point §é nhiÖt ng•ng Cold front Fr«ng l¹nh(kh«ng khÝ l¹nh) Warm front Fr«ng nãng(kh«ng khÝ nãng) Isobar §•êng ®¼ng ¸p Barometic pressure KhÝ ¸p Evaporation Sù bay h¬i Knot Tèc ®é giã Trough Vïng ¸p suÊt thÊp Thermal Luång khÝ nãng ridge Vïng ¸p suÊt cao kÐo dµi Temperature lapse rate §o¹n nhiÖt Occluded front Fr«ng bÝt( kh«ng khÝ tÜnh) Condensation Sù ng•ng tô Confluence Sù héi tô 5.2.4 Abbreviation terms: Abbreviation terms are words or phrases that have been abbreviated. They are used in written or spoken communication in weather field to save time and space. Abbreviation terms sometimes represent the first letter of several
37. words or the first letter of just one word. This study will provide you with some the most common accepted abbreviation terms using in weather. Abbreviation Full of form Vietnamese NWS National weather Côc thêi tiÕt quèc gia service NOAA National C¬ quan qu¶n lÝ h¶i d•¬ng oceanographic & häc vµ khÝ quyÓn quèc gia atmospheric administration MSL Mean sea level Mùc n•íc biÓn SST Sea surface NhiÖt ®é mÆt n•íc biÓn temperature CB Cumulonimbus M©y vò tÝch cloud NHC National hurricance Trung t©m b·o quèc gia center WFO Weather forecast C¬ quan dù b¸o thêi tiÕt office SPC Storm prediction Trung t©m dù b¸o b·o center MSLP Mean sea level Ap suÊt mùc n•íc biÓn pressure GFS Global forecast HÖ thèng dù b¸o toµn cÇu system CFW Coastal flood C¶nh b¸o lò ven biÓn warning SCO Seasonal climate KhÝ hËu theo mïa
38. outlook AWIPS Advanced weather HÖ thèng th«ng tin thêi tiÕt information tiªn tiÕn processing system ISA International KhÝ quyÓn tiªu chuÈn quèc Standard tÕ Atmosphere UV Ultra violet Tia cùc tÝm Chapter III: TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH WEATHER TERMS INTO VIETNAMESE
39. 1. Some problems in translating English weather terms 1.1 Misunderstanding This is common situation in translation. Words in general English can carry different meanings and express new concepts in specific English. It is a cause leading to misunderstanding in translation process. Firstly, the translators often misunderstand the meaning of word between general English and specific English or among fields. Example: “Fair” in general English has meaning “th¼ng th¾n”, “®óng”, but in specific English- weather term, “fair weather” we understand that it means “ thêi tiÕt tèt/®Ñp”. Another example, “precipitation”, it carries 3 meanings. In general English it is “sù véi v·”, in chemical term it means “sù kÕt tña/sù l¾ng ®äng”, in meteorological term it is “l­îng m­a”. There are different between specific fields. When we translate, it causes misunderstanding and lead to incorrect translation. Secondly, in a certain field, a word can carry 2 or more than 2 things, thus it is reason why the translators often misunderstand the meanings of word even in a field. Example: “precipitation” in weather field has 2 meanings A heavy precipitation: mét trËn m•a d÷ déi Average precipitation: l•îng m•a trung b×nh
40. Surely, translators will have confusion how to use exactly and flexibly Vietnamese equivalent to avoid misunderstanding. 1.2 Difficulties Due to limitation of knowledge about the specific field and the variety of both SL and TL, the translator surely has difficulties in the process of translating terms. Many new terms with the completely new concepts which are produced during the working process. Some terms have not listed in dictionary yet. For example, many weather terms especially weather phenomena terms are discovered and it is hard to translate into Vietnamese. Example: El Niño, La Niña- 2 phenomena terms You can see that these terms are not translated into Vietnamese in weather forecast news. May be, there are many people who hear these terms but it is hard to translate exactly these meanings. We can understand these terms such as: El Niño/ La Niña is characterized by warming/cooling of surface waters in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Many compound terms and phrases mentioned are easily translated and guessed the meaning basing on the meaning of each word. On the contrary, there are a lot of compound terms and phrases which we can translate individually however, it is difficult to guess the meaning of whole term or focus on a word or compound word in Vietnamese equivalence. Example: Some compound terms we can translate easily such as: English Vietnamese Acid rain M•a a-xÝt Heavy rain M•a nÆng h¹t
41. Sand storm B·o c¸t Snow storm B·o tuyÕt Atmospheric pressure Ap suÊt kh«ng khÝ Whirl wind Giã cuèn Autumn wind Giã heo may Land-breeze Giã lôc ®Þa Snow flood Lò tuyÕt Water spout Vßi rång On the contrary, such as: The term “Green Flash”, you can translate individual word “green” and “flash” but it is difficult to guess the meaning of the whole term. Green Flash (r¸ng chiÒu) If the translators have limited knowledge about the matter, understanding the meaning of these terms are not completely simple. Moreover, they fail to find the convert meaning of word in dictionary if they are not equipped themselves with their experience and knowledge about the translation matter. 2. Suggestions for translation 2.1 Some steps to translation
42. The most difficulty to translate ESP is terminology which is often translated practically and exactly in requirement. Generally, the best translation should be performed according to some following steps: - The translators should try to understand new terms in the whole content and intention of the text which they are translating. The principal way to reach it is reading all sentences or the text completely to give the idea that we want to say in the TL because the most important characteristic of this technique is translating the message as clearly and naturally as possible. By this way, translators can get the meaning of word in the detail content. Moreover, it is necessary to look up new word in dictionary. Most of terms are created from original word in general English. - Secondly, the translators should search the knowledge about the translation matter in order to, at least understand the concept of terms and use them correctly and decrease all the difficulties stated above. By doing this, translators can choose the best equivalence in Vietnamese and avoid the misunderstanding. - Thirdly, the translator should avoid the tendency to translate word by word because that will destroy the meaning of the original word and ruin the beauty of the expression. Basically most of terms are translated by using general word. However, sometimes, it is necessary to translate an English word by a long phrase or even a whole sentence to help reader understand. 2.2 Some ways to translate English weather terms 2.2.1 Single terms There are many ways applied to translate single terms. However, due to the limited time and knowledge, this paper concentrates on one of the most popular ways: recognized translation.
43. A large number of words can be translated based on original words in general text. Due to the multi-lexical meaning of word and type of translation field, word still carries the original meaning and has slight change in meaning which translators can easily realize and find the closest meaning of the word in TL. Example: English Vietnamese Clear Trong s¸ng Dull U ¸m Cold L¹nh Hot Nãng Wet Èm •ít Cool M¸t mÎ Fine §Ñp Inclement Kh¾c nghiÖt Clement ¤n hoµ Drought H¹n h¸n Flood Lò Tsunami Sãng thÇn Convection Sù ®èi l•u Condensation Sù ng•ng tô Confluence Sù héi tô Nippy L¹nh cãng, tª buèt Rainy Cã m•a Sunny Cã n¾ng Showery Cã m•a rµo Snowy Cã tuyÕt Foggy Cã s•¬ng mï
44. Tropical Thuéc nhiÖt ®íi Wind Giã Drizzly Cã m•a phïn Bland DÔ chÞu, dÞu nhÑ Raw RÐt c¨m c¨m mild ¤n hoµ Dry Kh«, hanh Stormy Cã b·o Cloudy Cã m©y Thundery Cã d«ng Windy Cã giã Tornado Vßi rång zephr Giã t©y Avalanche TuyÕt lë Deluge §¹i hång thuû Typhoon B·o nhiÖt ®íi Gust C¬n giã m¹nh Lightning Chíp, sÐt Gale Giã (cÊp 7-10) Hurricance B·o Sleet M•a tuyÕt Cyclone Lèc, giã xo¸y Simoon Giã sa m¹c Squall Giã giËt Mist S•¬ng mï Thunder SÊm Storm B·o
45. 2.2.2 Compound terms Automatic shift translation That is one type of translation which has change in the word order, and offers translators no choice. The following example will provide readers the feature of automatic shift translation. The compound word “sand storm” is formed by 2 nouns. “Sand” means “c¸t”, “storm” means “b·o” in Vietnamese equivalent. And “sand storm” is translated as “b·o c¸t”. It is clear that the position between 2 words has changed in TL. In English the word “sand” stands before the noun “storm”, however this order of these words has changed conversely in Vietnamese TT. The automatic shift translation is flexibly applied in translation and all words in the term are naturally converted from English into Vietnamese without adding any expression. A number of compound nouns are also translated according to this strategy. Example: English Vietnamese Acid rain M•a a-xÝt Heavy rain M•a nÆng h¹t Sand storm B·o c¸t Snow storm B·o tuyÕt Atmospheric pressure Ap suÊt kh«ng khÝ Whirl wind Giã cuèn Autumn wind Giã heo may Land-breeze Giã lôc ®Þa Snow flood Lò tuyÕt Water spout Vßi rång
46. Rank-shift translation The other case, also, involves the change in grammar from SL to TL. However, the TL is added or omitted words comparing with SL. Example: lasting rain m•a dÇm V-ing + noun noun + adjective We can see that in SL, “lasting rain” is composed by V-ing and Noun, but V- ing “lasting” becomes adjective when this term is translated into TL. We also can see that there is changing in the grammar of the word from SL to TL. Dust air kh«ng khÝ bÞ nhiÔm bÈn Noun+ noun noun + verb+ adjective In the TT, you can see that it is added word “bÞ nhiÔm” comparing with SL. Adding words make readers understand clearer and more exactly about the terms. Example: English Vietnamese Dust devil Giã xo¸y mang bôi Dust air Kh«ng khÝ nhiÔm bÈn Lasting rain M•a dÇm Drizzling rain M•a phïn 2.2.3 Translation of abbreviation by using loan words
47. Loan words have increased in the process of human working and studying and occupied a large amount of vocabulary to enrich the human language. In the recent decays, Vietnamese language has added more new loan words originating from English such as: chat(nãi chuyÖn), copy(sao chÐp), menu(danh s¸ch), list(danh s¸ch) and in the weather field, loan words are mainly the case of abbreviation. An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase. For example, the word “abbreviation” can itself be represented by the abbreviation “abbr” or “abbrev”. Normally, name of organizations are written in form of abbreviation such as: ATC Bank, WTO, ASEAN, NATO Abbreviations of this field have the most common type: acronyms Acronyms are the words built from the initial of several words. Obviously, that is useful way to simplify terms or make them to be shortened and avoid the redundancy. The following attached reference table is illustration about abbreviation in order that readers can closely approach with this strategy: Abbreviation Full of form Vietnamese NWS National weather NSW(Côc thêi tiÕt quèc service gia) NOAA National NOAA(C¬ quan qu¶n lÝ oceanographic & h¶i d•¬ng häc vµ khÝ
48. atmospheric quyÓn quèc gia) administration MSL Mean sea level MSL(Mùc n•íc biÓn) SST Sea surface SST(NhiÖt ®é mÆt n•íc temperature biÓn) CB Cumulonimbus cloud CB (M©y vò tÝch) NHC National hurricance NHC (Trung t©m b·o quèc center gia) WFO Weather forecast office WFO (C¬ quan dù b¸o thêi tiÕt) SPC Storm prediction SPC (Trung t©m dù b¸o center b·o) MSLP Mean sea level MSLP (¸p suÊt mùc n•íc pressure biÓn) GFS Global forecast system GFS (HÖ thèng dù b¸o toµn cÇu) CFW Coastal flood warning CFW (C¶nh b¸o lò ven biÓn) ISA International Standard ISA(khÝ quyÓn tiªu chuÈn Atmosphere quèc tÕ) UV Ultra violet UV(Tia cùc tÝm) ASOS Automated Surface ASOS (HÖ thèng quan s¸t Observing System thêi tiÕt tù ®éng) ENSO El Nino-Southern ENSO (Dao ®éng nam Oscillation Th¸i B×nh D•¬ng) SCO Seasonal climate SCO (KhÝ hËu theo mïa) outlook AWIPS Advanced weather AWIPS (HÖ thèng th«ng information processing tin thêi tiÕt tiªn tiÕn) system
49. UVI Ultra violet index UVI (chØ sè ®o tia cùc tÝm) MJO Maddan Julian MJO (dao ®éng MJ) Oscillation Part III: CONCLUSION
50. Nowadays, using English frequently has become a common situation and gradually obligate in offices. The important role of English is illustrated in every field of human life such as: economy, science, politics, medical, education therefore, terms of English for specific purpose plays a crucial role. That is the reason for the conduction of this graduation paper with 3 parts: The rationale, aims, methods, scope and design of the research are mentioned in part one with the aim that the readers could have an overview of may research. Part two includes three chapters. Based on the theoretical background of translation in chapter I, chapter II simply analyzes terminology; including definition of term, weather, characteristics of weather terms. Then, some difficulties in translation process and some suggestions are given in chapter III. Part three summarizes main ideas mentioned in previous parts and gives some suggestions for further research. From this research, it can be concluded that English weather terms is very interesting but very large thesis to study. Some suggestions drawn from this research for further research: study English in weather forecast, weather in idiom At last, due to the limitation of time and knowledge, and the poor experience, mistakes are unavoidable in this paper. All remarks, contribution are deeply welcome and highly appreciated. In conclusion, I would like to contribute to the study of English-Vietnamese translation in universities and on the media this thesis. In my opinion, it can be considered a companion of all people who are seeking to improve their English-Vietnamese translation. Hopefully, the readers of this thesis can find it usefulness in their future work and study or at least see it as a reference worth looking at.
51. Appendix English Vietnamese Balmy DÞu, ªm dÞu(giã)
52. Blustery Cã giã d÷ déi Breezy Cã giã hiu hiu Drizzly Cã m•a phïn Icy Cã b¨ng Misty Cã s•¬ng mï Foggy Cã s•¬ng mï Nippy L¹nh cãng, tª buèt Rainy Cã m•a Sunny Cã n¾ng Showery Cã m•a rµo Snowy Cã tuyÕt Stormy Cã b·o Thundery Cã d«ng Arid Kh« c»n Clement ¤n hoµ Sticky Nåm Hot and stuffy N¾ng oi Dreich M•a nh• trót muggy Oi bøc Over cast NhiÒu m©y Rain- storm M•a d«ng Sand storm B·o c¸t Snow storm B·o tuyÕt Whirl wind Giã cuèn Autumn wind Giã heo may Land-breeze Giã lôc ®Þa Snow flood Lò tuyÕt Heat wave §ît nãng Water spout Vßi rång
53. Dust devil Giã xo¸y mang bôi Dust storm C¬n b·o bôi Light rain M•a bãng m©y Drought H¹n h¸n Flood Lò Tsunami Sãng thÇn Tornado Vßi rång zephr Giã t©y Avalanche TuyÕt lë Deluge §¹i hång thuû Typhoon B·o nhiÖt ®íi Gust C¬n giã m¹nh Lightning Chíp, sÐt Gale Giã (cÊp 7-10) Hurricance B·o Sleet M•a tuyÕt Cyclone Lèc, giã xo¸y Simoon Giã sa m¹c Squall Giã giËt Mist S•¬ng mï Thunder SÊm Thermal Luång khÝ nãng ridge Vïng ¸p suÊt cao kÐo dµi Temperature lapse rate §o¹n nhiÖt Occluded front Fr«ng bÝt Condensation Ng•ng tô Aerosol Sol khÝ Altitude §é cao so víi mÆt n•íc biÓn Atmospheric pressure Ap suÊt kh«ng khÝ
54. Convection §èi l•u Dew-point §é nhiÖt ng•ng Cold front Fr«ng l¹nh(kh«ng khÝ l¹nh) Warm front Fr«ng nãng(kh«ng khÝ nãng) Isobar §•êng ®¼ng ¸p Barometic pressure KhÝ ¸p Evaporation Sù bay h¬i Knot Tèc ®é giã Trough Vïng ¸p suÊt thÊp References - Baker (1992) in other words: a course book on translation, London and New York; Routlege
55. - Bright (1992), international encyclopedia of linguistics, volume 1, New York and Oxford: Oxford University press - Do Huu Chau (1998), co so ngu nghia hoc tu vung, NXB Giao Duc - Dudly-Evans, Tony (1998) Development in English for specific purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach, Cambridge University press - Hutchison, Tom and Waters, Alan (1987), English for specific purpose: A leaner-centered approach, Cambridge University press - Roger T. Bell (1991), translation and translating: Theory and practice, New York: Longman Inc Links from internet: