Khóa luận A study on translation of english terms related to weather forecast - Trịnh Xuân Sâm

Nội dung text: Khóa luận A study on translation of english terms related to weather forecast - Trịnh Xuân Sâm

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 TRANSLATION OF ENGLISH TERMS RELATED TO WEATHER FORECAST By: Trịnh Xuân Xâm Class: Na1001 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Hoa, 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: Mã số: 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 In the process of completing the studying, I have received a great deal of help, guidance and encouragement from my teachers and friends. I would like to express my thanks to my supervisor – Miss. Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa, M.A for helping me through this challenging process. I would like to express my special thanks to teachers of Foreign Language Department for their supportive lectures that have provided me with good background to do my research effectively. Hai Phong, May 2010 Student Trinh Xuan Xam
9. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1 PART I: INTRODUCTION 5 1. Rationale of the study 5 2. Aims of the study 6 3. Scope of the study 6 4. Method of the study 6 5. Design of the study 7 PART II: DEVELOPMENT 8 CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 8 I. TRANSLATION THEORE 8 1. Definitions 8 2. Translation methods 9 2.1. The methods closest to the source language 10 2.1.1. Word – for – word translation 10 2.1.2. Literal translation 10 2.1.3. Faithful translation 11 2.1.4. Semantic translation 11 2.2. The methods closest to the target language 11 2.2.1. Adaptation 11
10. 2.2.2. Free translation 12 2.2.3. Idiomatic translation 12 2.2.4. Communicative translation 12 3. Strategies for translation 13 3.1. With non – equivalence at lexical level 13 3.1.1. Translating by a more specific word 13 3.1.2. Translating by a more general word 13 3.1.3. Translating by cultural substitution 13 3.1.4. Translating by using a loan word plus explanation 14 3.1.5. Translating by using a paraphrase 14 3.1.6. Translating by omission 14 3.2. With idioms and set expression 15 3.2.1. In the similar meaning and form 15 3.2.2. In the similar meaning and different form 15 4. Equivalence in translation 15 II. Translation of ESP 18 1. Definition of ESP 18 2. Types of ESP 20 English for Science and Technology (EST) 21 English for Business and Economics (EBE) 21 English for Social Studies (ESS) 21 3. Weather forecast ESP translation 22 4. Definition of technical translation 22 5. Terms in weather forecast field 23 CHAPTER TWO: AN INVESTIGATION ON WEATHER FORECAST TERMS AND THEIR VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENT 26 I. THE POPULAR CONSTRUCTION OF WEATHER TERMS AND STRATEGIES FOR TRANSLATION WEATHER TERM 26
11. 1. Single terms 26 1.1. Single terms are formed by the help of suffixes 27 2. Compound terms 32 2.1. Noun + Noun 32 2.2. Adjective + Noun 35 2.3. Noun + Verb 36 3. Common terms 37 CHAPTER THREE: IMPLICATIONS 44 PART III: CONCLUSION .45 1. Strengths and weakness of the thesis 45 2. Suggestion for the further research 46 3. Conclusion 46 REFERENCE
12. PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time, such as the temperature, and if there is wind, rain, and sun. And weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future and a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since at least the nineteenth century. Weather forecasting then become an essential part of the daily living because it supports for human beings to know and explain what the weather is, how the weather is, and how the life will be without the knowledge about the weather. We often face up with the difficulties in the daily weather phenomenon and worry about how to know what will the weather like tomorrow. So, weather forecasting will help us do it easily. Weather forecasting also support us deal with the unusual kinds of climate to keep the socio – economic innovation in establish. The natural phenomenon such as: rain, sun, hail, typhoon have a serious impact on our life, sometimes they make the difficulties in eating, living, wearing, or planting. So, dealing with the difficulties is necessary. Therefore, understanding and knowing about the weather become more and more important for everyone in business, in daily life, and learning. However, weather forecast terms is not easy because of its complication and difference. Thus, the development of the weather forecast study is an urgent need. The number of Vietnamese learners get trouble in translating weather terms. I myself often become confused with weather forecast terms whenever I deal with them. Hence, it is very necessary for me to acquire accumulation of linguistic and cultural knowledge in both native language and foreign languages. Moreover, I am also interested in translation skills, especially in translation in 1
13. weather forecast terms. That is the main reason inspiring the writer carry out this research. 2. Aims of the study The study on translation of basic weather terms aims to figure out an overview on translation strategies and procedures commonly employed in translation of basic weather terms. In details, my research aims at: ● Collecting and presenting the basic English terms in weather forecast. ● Providing their Vietnamese equivalents or expressions. ● Analyzing translation strategies and procedures employed in the translation of these English terms into Vietnamese. To help readers understand and use the weather information efficiently, and have a certain understanding of some terms in the newsletter as well as the reliability of the forecasts the weather. 3. Scope of the study The terms used in the weather forecast field would be a great amount of effort and time to study. The writer only focuses the study on translation and translation strategies in general, and contrastive analysis between specific basic weather forecast terms in English and in Vietnamese. My thesis is also limited to the presentation and discussion of English terms and their corresponding in Vietnamese collected from the resource mentioned above with initial analysis and comments on strategies employed for the translation of these terms. 4. Method of the study 2
14. This research is carried out with view to help learners enlarge their vocabulary and have general understanding about translation and translation of the astronomy and geography terms. All of English and Vietnamese terms are collected from: Web in Internet, the dictionary of astronomy and geography terms and reference book. I will divide into groups from these data based on their common character and then I carry out my research on procedures used to translate them into Vietnamese. 5. Design of the study My research paper is divided into three parts, in which the second , naturally, is the most important part. ● Part I: is the INTRODUCTION in which reason, aims, scope, method and design of the study are presented. ● Part II: is the DEVELOPMENT that includes 2 chapters: Chapter I is “theoretical background” which focuses on the definition, methods, procedures of translation in general and English for specific Purpose translation, technical translation and definition of terms. Chapter II is an investigation on Weather forecast terms and their equivalents including popular construction of weather forecast terms and popular strategies applied in translating Weather forecast terms into Vietnamese. ● Part III: is the CONCLUSION which include main findings, experience acquired, and suggestions for further studies. 3
15. PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I. TRANSLATION THEORY 1. Definitions Translation has existed in every corner of our life. It is considered as an indispensable part in the field of not only literature, culture and religion but also commercial advertisement, popular entertainment, public administration, immigration and education .Thus, definitions of translation are numerous, and a great numbers of books and articles have written about this subject. The following are some typical definitions that are basic theoretical background for this study. What is translation? Often, though not by any means always, it is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text. Through translation is no longer a strange terminology in daily life, there is hardly any agreement on the definition of it. A great number of books and articles have been written about this debatable subject. The following are some typical definitions that are basic theoretical background for this study. As started by the definition on the website: “Translation is the interpreting 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 to be translated is called the source text, and the language that it is to be translated into is called the target language; the final product is sometimes called the target text.”(Wikipedia) This definition is so long and only show that translation is the interpreting of the meaning and the subsequent production of two texts. One other definition is made by the translator: 4
16. “Translation can be generally defined as the action of interpretation of the meaning of a text, and production of an equivalent text that communicates the same message in another language.”(By Roger T. Bell) He also adds that: “ Translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has been expressed in one language (source language), preserving semantic and stylistic equivalence. (By Roger T. Bell) Roger‟s two definitions are the specific written about translation which indicate translation is the transferring both the form and the meaning from one language to other in equivalence. We continuously consider one definition of Catford: “Translation is the replacement of a text in one language (Source language) by an equivalent text in another language (Target language)” (Catford :1988)). This is the general definition about translation because it is only the replacement one language by an equivalent another language. Although these definitions are different in expression, they share common features that they all emphasize the importance finding the closest equivalence in meaning by the choice of appropriate target language‟s lexical and grammatical structures. Some sorts of movement from one language to another also insist on the different methods of translation which will be taken into consideration in the next part. 2. Translation methods There are various methods by which the text may be translated. The central problem of translating is whether to translate literally or freely. It all depends on some factors such as the purpose of the translation, the nature of readership and the text types. 5
17. As stated by Peter Newmark (1988:45) there are eight methods of translation namely word – for – word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, adaptation, free translation, idiomatic translation and communicative translation. And basing on the degree o emphasis on source language(SL) and target language(TL), he puts it in diagram as below. SL Emphasis: TL Emphasis: Word – for – word Adaptation Literal translation Free translation Faithful translation Idiomatic translation Semantic translation Communicative translation (2.1) The methods closest to the source language (2.1.1) Word – for – word Translation: in which the SL word order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common meanings. Cultural words are translated literally. The main use of this method is either to understand the mechanics of the SL or to construe a difficult text as pre-translation process. For example: Vietnamese: Mời bạn về nhà tôi chơi Word – for – word translation: Invite friend about me play. (The common words of basic English, p:98) (2.1.2) Literal Translation: This is a boarder form of translation, each SL word has a corresponding TL word, but their primary meaning may differ. The SL grammatical forms are converted to their nearest TL equivalents. However, the lexical words are again translated out of context. Literal translation is considered the basic translation step, both in communication and semantic translation, in that translation stars from there. As pre-translation process, it indicates problems to be solved. For example: 6
18. Vietnamese: Nhiều du khách nước ngoài đã giới thiệu cho chúng tôi về khách sạn Hương Giang. Literal translation: Many foreign tourists have introduced us about Huong Giang Hotel. (English – Vietnamese translation practice, 2003, p:200) (2.1.3) Faithful Translation: This method tries to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the original with the constraint of the SL grammatical structures. It transfers cultural words and preserves the degree of grammatical and lexical deviation from SL norms. It attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text realization of the SL writer. For example: Vietnamese: Người ta xem Nguyễn Du là một nhà thơ vĩ đại. Faithful translation: Nguyen Du is considered to be a great poet. (English – Vietnamese translation practice, 2003, p:156) (2.1.4) Semantic translation: It differ from faithful translation only in as far as it must take more account of the aesthesis value of the SL text, compromising on meaning where appropriate so that no assonance, word play or repetition jars in the finished version. It does not rely o cultural equivalent and makes very small concessions to the readership. While “faithful” translation is dogmatic, semantic translation more flexible. New Mark (1982:22) say that : “ .semantic constraints of the TL, to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the author.” For example: Vietnamese: Cụ ấy thường mặc áo sơ mi vải silk màu xanh cỡ nhỏ. Semantic translation: He often wears a small blue silk shirt. (HPU translation text book) (2.2) The methods closest to the target language (2.2.1) Adaptation: This method is the freest form of translation. It is frequently used for plays (comedies) and poetry: themes, characters, SL culture converted 7
19. to TL culture and text is rewritten. Dung Vu (2004) points out that: “Adaptation has a property of lending the ideas of the original to creative a new text used by a new language more than to be faithful to the original. The creation in adaptation is completely objective in content as well as form”. For example: English : Thank for your kind help. Adaptation: Cảm ơn sự giúp đỡ ân tình của bạn. (HPU translation text book) (2.2.2) Free Translation: Free translation is the translation which is not close to the original, but the translation just transmits meaning of the SL in her/his own word. It reproduces the matter without manner, or the content without the form of the original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the original. For example: English: This is my died brother. Free translation: Ông anh đã quá cố đấy. (Tales of Mystery and Imagination, p:96) (2.2.3) Idiomatic Translation: Idiomatic translation is used for colloquialism and idioms whose literalism is the translation, by which the translator does not transfer the literalism of the original, uses the translation of colloquialisms and idioms. Therefore, the advantage is that the text in TL sounds more natural. On the contrary, the disadvantage is that translating is too casual to understand the original because of its freedom. For example: English: Better than never. Idiomatic translation: Thà muộn còn hơn không. (2.2.4) Communicative Translation: Communicative is free and gives priority to the effectiveness of the message to be communicated. It focus on factors such as readability and naturalness, and is appropriate to translations of “pragmatic” text where the actual form of the original is not closely bound to its intended 8
20. meaning. There are texts like advertisements, tourist brochures, product descriptions and instructions, manuals. This method 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. “ But even here the translator still has to respect and work on the form of the source language text as the only material basic for his work.” (Peter Newmark, 1982:39). 3. Strategies for translation: 3.1. With non-equivalence at lexical level 3.1.1. Translating by a more specific word: In some cases, it may be appropriate or necessary to use a more specific word to translate an English word into Vietnamese. This usually involves choosing among several different words, as there may be many Vietnamese words that correspond to the general category or meaning expressed by English word. For instance, Vietnamese has many words that mean “to carry” with distinction being made depending on the size and shape of the object; its animate ( e.g. a child as opposed to a box); and how it is carried (e.g. in the hand, or in the arms ) 3.1.2. Translating by a more general word: In other cases, it may be appropriate to use a more general word to translate an English word with no specific Vietnamese equivalent. For example, English makes distinctions among mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles, the later having larger wheels and engines than both mopeds and scooters. Vietnamese, on the one hand, refers to all two-wheel, motorized vehicles are “xe máy”. Similarly, the English words “paw”, “foot”, or “leg” may all be translated by the Vietnamese word “chân”, which does not suggest any problems of comprehension in Vietnamese, as it should be clear from the context which of these words is meant. 3.1.3. Translating by cultural substitution: 9
21. This strategy involves replacing a culture-specific item or expression with one of the different meanings but similar impact in the translated text. Because of their self-described “respect” for the original text, most Vietnamese translators object to this strategy and tend to translate directly, even though it is an appropriate. For example, a famer‟s manual that has been translated into Vietnamese suggests the planting of different types of fruit trees which are not even grown in Vietnam. The original manual, which was developed in other parts in Asia, was not modified at all for the Vietnamese context. 3.1.4. Translating by using a loan word plus explanation: There is some objection to this strategy in Vietnam, as many translator prefer to coin new words in Vietnamese rather than borrow English words. However, this strategy is very useful when the translator deal with concepts or ideas that are new to Vietnamese audience, culture-specific items, and proper names of diseases or medicines that are widely known in English names. For example, HIV and AIDS are two loan words that are frequently used in Vietnamese. 3.1.5. Translating by using a paraphrase: This strategy can be used when we translate 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.”, the English “alcohol” includes all alcoholic drinks in its meaning. The Vietnamese word “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. 3.1.6. Translating by omission: Though some translators may reject this strategy as too drastic, it is sometimes appropriate to omit words or phrase that are not essential to the meaning or impact of the text. This is especially true for words that would require lengthy 10
22. explanations, awkward paraphrases, or literal and unnatural translations, which would interrupt the flow of the text and could distract the reader from the overall meaning. For example, the sentence: “ Much can be done even without being physically present in the meeting.” is best translated into Vietnamese by, “nhiều việc có thể làm ngay cả khi không có mặt tại cuộc họp” which omit the word “physically” in the translation. The difference in meaning between “being physically present” and “being present” is so minimal. 3.2. With idioms and set expressions 3.2.1. Using an idiom or a set expression of similar meaning and form: It is sometimes possible to find a Vietnamese idiom or expression with a similar meaning to an English idiom or expression, and which is expressed in the same way. One example is the idiom “to fight like cats and dogs”, which is expressed using the same words in Vietnamese: “ cãi nhau như chó với mèo.” It is deal if such a match can be found, but this kind of correspondence is not common, and it is usually necessary to use other strategies in dealing with idioms and set expressions. 3.2.2. Using an idiom or set expression of similar meaning but different form: It is possible and easy to find a Vietnamese idiom with a similar meaning for an English idiom or set expression. A good example can be found is the translation for “to carry coals to Newcastle” = “Chở củi về rừng.”, which is translated as “ to carry firewood to the forest.” The meaning here is clearly the same for both idioms – to bring something to a place that has an abundance of that thing- but the way in which each language expresses is bound to be the culture of that language. 4. Equivalence in translation The dictionary defines equivalence as being the same, similar or interchangeable with something else. In translation terms, equivalence is a term used to refer to the nature and extent of the relationship between SL and TL texts or smaller linguistic units. 11
23. The problem of equivalence is one of the most important issues in the field of translation. It is a question of finding suitable counterparts in target language for expressions in the source language. The comparison of texts in different languages inevitably involves a theory of equivalence. According to Vanessa Leonardo “Equivalence can be said to be the central issue in translation although its definition, relevance, and applicability within the field of translation theory have caused heated controversy, and many different theories of the concept of equivalence have been elaborated within this field in the past fifty years.” Here are some elaborate approaches to translation equivalence: ● Translation equivalence is the similarity between a word (or expression) in one language and its transition in another. This similarity results from overlapping ranges of reference. ● Translation equivalence is a corresponding word or expression in another language. Nida argued that there are two differ types of equivalence, namely formal equivalence – which in the second edition by Nida and Taber (1982) is referred to as “formal correspondence” – and “dynamic equivalence”. Formal correspondence “focuses attention on the message itself, in both form and content”, unlike dynamic equivalence which is based upon „the principle of equivalent effect‟ (1964:159). In the second edition (1982) or their work, the two theorist provide a more detailed explanation of each type of equivalence. Formal correspondence consists of a the TL item which represents the closest equivalent of a SL word or phrase. Nida and Taber make it clear that there are not always formal equivalents between language pairs. They therefore suggest that these formal equivalents should be used wherever possible if the translation aims at achieving formal rather dynamic equivalence. The use of formal equivalents might at times have serious implications in the TT since the 12
24. translation will not be easily understood by the target audience (Fawcett, 1997). Nida and Taber themselves assert that „Typically, formal correspondence distorts the grammatical and stylistic patterns of the receptor language, and hence distorts the message, so as to cause the receptor to misunderstand or to labor unduly hard‟ (ibid: 201). Dynamic equivalence is defined as a translation principle according to which a translator seeks to translate the meaning of the original in such a way that the TL wording will trigger the same impact on the TC audience as the original wording did upon the ST audience. They argue that „Frequently, the form of the original text is changed; but as long as the change follows the rules of back transformation in the source language, of contextual consistency in the transfer, and of transformation in the receptor language, the message is preserved and the translation is faithful‟ (Nida and Taber, 1982:200). Nida (1964) distinguishes formal equivalence and dynamic translation as basic orientations rather than as a binary choices: Formal equivalence is achieved when the SL and TL words have the closest possible match of form and content. Dynamic equivalence is achieved when the SL and TL words have the same effect on their effective readers. Newmark (1988) defined that: “The overriding purpose of any translation should be achieved „equivalence effect‟ i.e. to produce the same effect on the readership of translation as was obtained on the readership of the original”. He also sees equivalence effect as the desirable result rather than the aim of any translation except for two cases: (a) If the purpose of the SL text is to affect and the TL translation is to inform or vice versa; (b) If there is a pronounced cultural gap between the SL and the TL text. Koller (1979) considers five types of equivalence: 13
25. ● Denotative equivalence: the SL and the TL words refer to the same thing in the real world. It is an equivalence of the extra linguistic content of a text. ● Connotative equivalence: This types of equivalence provides additional value and is achieved by the translator‟s choice of synonymous words or expressions. ● Text – normative equivalence: the SL and the TL words are used in the same or similar context in their respective language. ● Pragmatic equivalence: with readership orientation, the SL and TL words have the same effect on their respective readers. ● Formal equivalence: This type of equivalence produces an analogy of form in the translation by either exploiting formal possibilities of TL, or creating new forms in TL. Although equivalence translation is defined with different point of view of theorists, it is the same effective equivalence between SL and TL. II. Translation of English for specific Purpose 1. Definition of English for specific Purpose English for specific Purpose (ESP) is a worldwide subject. However, since the last decade of the twentieth century, English for specific Purpose (ESP) has become a young and developing branch of English Formal Language (EFL) in Vietnam. And for such many years, ESP instruction was limited to training special lexicon and translating texts ineffectively. Entering the new millennium, with the spread of the student – centered approach and continued increase of international contacts in various fields, much attention has been paid to the 14
26. design of ESP courses that prepare students for professional communication. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) note that two key historical periods breathed life into ESP. First, the end of the Second World War brought with it an “ .age of enormous and unprecedented expansion in scientific, technical and economic activity on an international scale – for various reasons, most notably the economic power of the Unites States in the post – war world, the role (of the international language) fell to English”. Second, the Oil Crisis of the early 1970s resulted in Western money and knowledge flowing into the oil- rich countries. The language of this knowledge becomes English. The general effect of all this development was to exert pressure on the language teaching profession to deliver the required goods. Whereas English had previously decided its own destiny, it now became subject to the wishes, needs and demands of people other than language teachers (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p.7). The second key reason cited as having a tremendous impact on the emergence of ESP was a revolution in linguistics .Whereas traditional linguists set out to describe the features of language ,revolutionary pioneers in linguistics began to focus on the ways in which language is used in real communication .Hutchinson and Waters (1987) point out that one significant discovery was in the ways that spoken and written English vary .In other words ,given the particular context in which English is used ,the variant of English will change .This idea was taken one step farther .If language in different situations varies ,then tailoring language instruction to meet the needs of learners in specific contexts is also possible .Hence ,in the late 1960s and the early 1970s there were many attempts to describe English for Science and Technology (EST) .Hutchinson and Waters (1987) identify Ewer and Latorre ,Swales ,Selinker and Trimble as a few of the prominent descriptive EST pioneers . 15
27. The final reason Hutchinson and Waters (1987) cite as having influenced the emergence of ESP has less to do with linguistics and everything to do psychology .Rather than simply focus on the method of language delivery ,more attention was given to the ways in which learners acquire language and the differences in the ways language is acquired .Learners were seen to employ different learning strategies ,use different skills ,enter with different learning schemata ,and be motivated by different needs and interests .Therefore ,focus on the learners‟ needs became equally paramount as the methods employed to disseminate linguistic knowledge .Designing specific courses to better meet these individual needs was a natural extension of this thinking .To this day ,the catchword in ESL circles is learner –centered or learning –centered . As for a broader definition of ESP ,Hutchinson and Waters (1987) theorize , “ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner‟s reason for learning ”.Anthony (1997)notes that ,it is not clear where ESP courses end and general English courses begin ; numerous non –specialist ESL instructors use an ESP approach in that their syllabi are based on analysis of learner needs and their own personal specialist knowledge of using English for real communication . 2. Types of ESP David Carter (1983) identifies three types of ESP : .English as a restricted language .English for Academic and Occupational Purposes .English with specific topics 16
28. The language used by air traffic controllers or by waiters are examples of English as a restricted language .Mackay and Mountord (1978) 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 situational ,as might be the linguistic needs of a dining-room waiter or ari-hostess .However ,such restricted repertoires are not languages ,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 (pp.4-5). 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 three branches :a) English for Science and technology (EST), b)English for Business and Economics (EBE) ,and c)English for Social Studies (ESS). Each of these subject areas is further divided into two branches : English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP).An 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‟. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) do note that there is not a clear-cut distinction between EAP and EOP :”. People can work and study simultaneously ; it is also likely that in many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a study environment will be used later when the student takes up ,or returns to, a job”(p.16).Perhaps this explains Carter‟s rationale for categorizing EAP and EOP under the same type of ESP .It appears that Carter is implying that the end purpose of both EAP and EOP are one in the same :employment .However ,despite the end purpose being identical ,the means taken to achieve the end is 17
29. very different indeed .I contend that EAP and EOP are different in terms of focus on Cummins‟ (1979) notions of cognitive academic proficiency versus basic interpersonal skills .This is examined in further detail below . The third and final type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English with specific 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 postgraduate reading studies ,attending conferences or working in foreign institutions .However ,I argue that this is not a separate type of ESP .Rather it is an integral component of ESP courses or programs which focus on situational language .This situational language has been determined based on the interpretation of results from needs analysis of authentic language used in target workplace settings. 3. Weather forecast ESP translation: Weather forecast ESP translation is really necessary because most Weather forecast news or Weather documents are popularly written in English language which needs understanding deeply. And, it is impossible to contrast a complete translation that captures the universal meaning of the SL in 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 the theoretical background of technical translation. 4. Definition of technical translation Sofer (1991) as follow distinguishes technical translation from literal translation: “The main division in the translation field is between literal and technical translation”. According to him, literal translation covers such areas fiction, poetry, drama and humanities in general and is done by writers of the same kind in the TL, or at least by translators with the required literary aptitude. 18
30. 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 of the part of specialized translation; institutional translation, the areas of politics, commerce, finance, government etc is the other.” He goes on to suggest that technical translation is potentially non- cultural and universal because the benefits on 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. Though having different approaches to technical translation, two authors view it as specialized translation with its essential element – “special terms”. 5. Terms in weather forecast field From Wikipedia: Weather is a set all the phenomena occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the troposphere. Weather refers, generally, today-to- day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the advantage atmosphere conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification, “weather” is understood to be the weather of Earth. Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since at least the nineteenth century. Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere and sing scientific understanding of atmosphere processes to project how the atmosphere will evolve. 19
31. “A weather forecast terms are the ones invented to the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere”. When writing technical articles, it is usually the case that a number of technical terms specific to the subject matter will be prevented. Technical terminology is the specialized vocabulary of a field. These terms have specific definition within the field; which is not necessarily the same as their meaning in common use. (Wikipedia) A term is a word or expression that has a particular meaning or is used in particular activity, job, profession, etc (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1991) Term is the variation of language in the specific condition (Peter Newmark) and he started that the central difficulty in translation is usually the new terminology. Even then, the main problem is likely to be that of some terms in the source text which are relatively context- free, and appear only once. If they are context-bound, you are more likely to understand them by gradually eliminating the less likely versions. The characteristics of terms There is distinction between technical and descriptive terms. The original SL writer may use a descriptive term for a technical object for three reasons: ● The objective is new, and not yet has a name ● The descriptive term is being used as a familiar alternative, to avoid repetition. ● The descriptive term is being used to make a contrast with another one. Normally, you should translate technical and descriptive terms by their counterparts and, in particular, resist the temptation of translating a descriptive by a technical term for showing off your knowledge, there by sacrificing the linguistic force of the SL descriptive term. However, if the SL descriptive term 20
32. is being used either because of the SL writer‟s ignorance or negligence, or because the appropriate technical term does not exist in the SL, and in particular if an object strange to the SL but not to the TL culture is being referred to, then you are justified in translating a descriptive by a technical term. 21
33. CHAPTER TWO: AN INVESTIGATION ON WEATHER FORECAST TERMS AND THEIR VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENT I.THE POPULAR CONSTRUCTION OF WEATHER FORECAST TERMS AND STRATEGIES TO TRANSLATE WEATHER FORECAST TERMS. The terms that make up the language of weather forecast are quite available and its word building are also based on different ways but majority of Weather forecast terminologies are in single terms and compound terms. This study will provide readers some of them using in the Weather forecast terms. Actually, there are many procedures can be applied to translate terms from English into Vietnamese, such as: transference, naturalization, recognized, compensation, couplets . Basing on the writer‟s experimental lessons which the writer gain in process of studying on weather forecasting, readers can employ any procedure to translate weather forecast terms from English into Vietnamese because of its characteristic. Writer also use literal translation, idiomatic translation, communicative translation, and using paraphrase because most of terms are compound and combination word. However, writer also can not because there are many weather forecast concepts which do not have Vietnamese equivalent and readers are hard to understand their meaning. In this case the writer used procedures, such as: notes and glosses, paraphrase. The following are popular procedures applied in the translation of weather forecast terms from English into Vietnamese. 1. Single terms Most single terms in weather forecast field can be broken down into one or more word parts such as: root, prefixes, suffixes, .etc. Also, the single term is mostly formed by the help of suffixes, and that any given term may contain one or all of these parts. 22
34. 1.1. Single terms are formed by the help of suffixes: The single terms usually have its individual meaning and do not change about the meaning in English when they are translated into Vietnamese. The following is the collection of weather forecast terms which are translated into Vietnamese by the way of “keeping its meaning”. In this way, the method which translator use to make the equivalence is one of translation methods – Idiomatic translation. 1.1.1. Adjective – forming suffixes: “y”; “ous”; “al”; “ed”, and none suffixes English Vietnamese Cloudy sky Cloudy Trời nhiều mây A windy day Windy Ngày có gió, lộng gió A sunny day Sunny Ngày có nắng, nhiều nắng A rainy day Rainy Ngày có mưa, nhiều mưa A frosty day Frosty Ngày có nhiều sương giá A showery day Showery Ngày có mưa rào A snowy day Snowy Có tuyết rơi The patchy fog Patchy Sương mù lả tả 23
35. Isolated showers Isolated Mưa rào rải rác Wintry showers Wintry Mưa tuyết Thundery showers Thundery Mưa kèm theo sấm chớp Scattered showers Scatterd Rải rác có mưa rào Occasional precipitation Occasional Thỉnh thoảng có mưa A foggy day Foggy Ngày có nhiều sương mù A light wind Light Gió nhẹ The moderate wind Moderate Gió ôn hòa The fresh wind Fresh Gió mát The fine skies Fine Trời trong xanh, không mưa A overcast day Overcast Ngày âm u, nhiều mây The mild temperature Mild Mát mẻ/ Xe lạnh The choppy sea Choppy Biển động mạnh Widespread shower Widespread Mưa trên diện rộng 24
36. Calm sea Calm Biển lặng Smooth sea Smooth Biển bắt đầu có sóng gợn lăn tăn Slight sea Slight Sóng biển cuộn nhẹ Rough sea Rough Biển động mạnh These terms are single ones and we can understand clearly their meaning in weather forecast field when transferring directly from English into Vietnamese. This is the first prominent feature of these terms. A widespread shower is “the rain over in a large area”. In English, widespread means trên diện rộng and shower means mưa in Vietnamese. In this case, it can be translated as: “Có mưa trên diện rộng.” One other example, the term “Cloudy” is a adjective which means the sky is covered with clouds, with a lots of clouds in English, and it means “Có mây, được bao phủ bởi mây” in Vietnamese. This term can be translated “Có mây”; “Có hiện tượng mây” following word – for – word translation, and this makes the difficulty for reader‟s understanding. We, of course, will realize the unintelligible and insignificant expression. So, we have the expression in Vietnamese “Trời nhiều mây” which follow idiomatic translation. Let‟s see the another example: the term “Fine” is a adjective which means the weather is bright and not raining in English, and “Trời quang, trong xanh và không mưa” is the definition of the term in Vietnamese. Basing on the Vietnamese concept and using idiomatic translation in the transference the form and the meaning of term, we have expression “Trời trong xanh, không mưa”. How do we do to have the expression? In this case, following the Vietnamese concept, “Trời quang, trong xanh và không mưa” like “Fine” in English concept. On the other hand, as the description about the weather between English and Vietnamese we find the expression. It is, of course, the applying of idiomatic 25
37. translation.This is a encode between the concept in English and in Vietnamese because translator found the same expression when putting and comparing the meaning in the thinking of English and Vietnamese. We can clearly see that it is grammatically correct and the equivalence in the way to explain about the weather‟s phenomenon, so translator does not need to make any changes other than those that are obviously required by the Vietnamese grammar itself. In addition, no new information and no explanation is added into transference product in Vietnamese. In other words, Vietnamese equivalence used the same expression to translate this term. Because of these features, we call this strategy as idiomatic translation. Many weather forecast terms are translated from English into Vietnamese by using this procedure. 1.1.2) Noun – forming suffixes: “tion”; “y”; “er”; “ing”, and none suffixes With noun, translating is work to transfer directly the meaning of noun from English into Vietnamese because of some reasons. Firstly, the noun itself has no change about the meaning both in English and in Vietnamese. Secondly, there is the same concept, which is used to indicate commonly in meaning, for the expression in English and Vietnamese. The following is the way to express the term into Vietnamese in the equivalence – literal translation: English Vietnamese Forecaster Nhà dự báo thời tiết Precipitation Cơn mưa Aridity Sự khô cằn Condensation (water) Nước ngưng tụ Advection Tầng bình lưu gây mưa Density (air/rain) Mật độ không khí hoặc mưa 26
38. Convection Tầng đối lưu Meteorology Khí tượng thủy văn Deposition Sự lắng đọng Exosphere Tầng khí quyển bên ngoài Evaporation (water) Nước bay hơi Glaciation (water) Nước đóng băng Lighting Sét Magnetosphere Lớp từ quyển Mesosphere Tầng trung lưu Thermometer Nhiệt kế Troposphere Tầng đối lưu Knots Hải lý (đơn vị quy ước đo vận tốc gió) Tornado Lốc xoáy Gale Mức gió mạnh Evaporation refers the process by which a liquid changes into a gas or Condensation means the process of a gas changing to a liquid. These terms have Vietnamese equivalence, Evaporation means “quá trình một lượng chất lỏng chuyển sang dạng hơi” and it is also called “Sự bay hơi”, there is this translation because the suffix “ion” is noun in English and there is a concept which indicate the noun in Vietnamese “Sự” and the word “Evaporate” is the verb which indicate the same kind of word in Vietnamese “Bay hơi”; Condensation means “quá trình một lượng khí chuyển sang dạng lỏng, lắng đọng” and it is called “Sự ngưng tụ”. One other example, the term “Forecaster” means the person who say what is expected to happen, especially 27
39. person whose job is to forecast the weather in English, and we can understand this term “người mà làm về công tác dự báo thời tiết” in Vietanmese. The term, in English, is the combination of verb “Forecast” and noun “er” which have a corresponding word in Vietnamese “Dự báo” and “Người”, “Nhà”. So when the term “Forecaster” appear we can find the correspondence – it is “Người/Nhà dự báo thời tiết” to express. Why is there this translation which transfer completely the form of English word into Vietnamese? (Larson 1984.p.10) As we know, literal translation is a translation that follows closely the form of the source language. Moreover, in this case, there is the similar expression and concept between English and Vietnamese, and there is also a corresponding word in Vietnamese, so the translation is the process of simple transferring the meaning of term from English into Vietnamese. Therefore, with using literal translation, we can easily transfer these terms to Vietnamese from English and realize that each English word, in this case, has a corresponding Vietnamese word. 2. Compound terms Weather forecast terms are majority in compound terms which are formed by joining two or more words together. It is important to be able to recognize how such compounds are formed in order to understand what they mean. Below are the discussions how these Weather forecast compound nouns are formed. Besides, translator will apply one of the translation methods to indicate the equivalence between English and Vietnamese – it is the Idiomatic translation: 2.1. Noun + Noun The terms are the combination of noun with noun and adjective with noun, and some noun with verb. In Vietnamese, there are also many combinations between noun and noun, and the meaning of combination is the same in English and Vietnamese. So, it is easy to compare and transfer directly the meaning of term because of the equivalence both in English and Vietnamese. However, the combination of adjective with noun and noun with verb has quite different from 28
40. English and Vietnamese because of the reason in point of culture, the expression, and the concept. We cannot use the same way in translation for the combination of noun + noun. And to get the equivalence and the similar expression in English and in Vietnamese, translator apply idiomatic translation in this case: English Vietnamese North Latitude Độ vĩ Bắc East Longitude Độ kinh Đông North East Hướng Đông Bắc South East Hướng Đông Nam South West Hướng Tây Nam North West Hướng Tây Bắc Monsoon Gió mùa Thundershower Mưa giông Vành đai bão (phạm vi sẽ nằm trong Storm Belt tầm ảnh hưởng, sứcc tàn phá của bão) Wind Speed Vận tốc gió Storm Centre Tâm bão đi qua Weather Station Trạm khí tượng Weather Balloon Quả cầu báo tình hình thời tiết Weather Vane Chong chóng đo mức gió Wind Ward Hướng gió Force Wind Sức gió Thunderstorm Dông bão 29
41. Snow Storm Trận bão tuyết Weather Cock Máy đo hướng gió Hiện tượng có cầu vồng trong sương Fog Bow mù Anemometer Máy đo sức gió Hail Storm Trận bão kèm theo mưa đá Barometer Phong vũ biểu Rain Bow Hiện tượng cầu vồng Hiện tượng sương muối (sương này Hoarfrost không có vị mặn như muối mà chỉ trắng như muối) Offshore Breeze Gió biển Snow Flake Bông tuyết Summer Solstice Hè chí Winter Solstice Đông chí Hướng đi của gió (là một thiết bị xác Wind Direction định hướng đi của gió) Spring Equinox Xuân phân Hiện tượng mây kéo đến bất chợt gây Cloud Burst mưa Flash Flood Lũ quét Vòi rồng (biểu hiện của các trận lốc Waterspouts xoáy đang xảy ra) Sleet Shower Mưa kèm theo tuyết rơi Sandstorm Bão cát Weather Cock Chong chóng gió 2.2. Adjective + Noun 30
42. English Vietnamese Local Shower Mưa vài nơi Northeast Monsoon Gió mùa Đông Bắc Arctic Air Không khí lạnh Dense Fog Sương mù dày đặc Low Pressure (area) (vùng) áp thấp High Pressure(area) (vùng) áp cao Heavy Rain Mưa rào Intermittent Precipitation Mưa rải rác Brief Precipitation Mưa ngắn (thời gian) Moderate Winds Gió đều Far Visibility Tầm nhìn xa Westerly Wind (hot and dry) Gió Lào Cyclonic Wind Gió xoáy Absolute Humidity Độ ẩm tuyệt đối Continental Air Khí lục địa Relative Humidity Độ ẩm tương đối White Frost Hiện tượng sương trắng Autumnal Equinox Thu phân 31
43. 2.3. Noun + Verb English Vietnamese Landfall Đổ Bộ Snowfall Mưa tuyết rơi Cloudburst Mưa bất chợt All of terms are combination of two nouns, the adjective + the noun, and the noun + the verb. And these terms, in some cases, have both the equivalence and the different between English and Vietnamese, so when idiomatic translation which is used to transfer the meaning of terms will help readers understand clearly and face up these terms without any difficulties. In this case, with some terms we can use literal translation because the meaning and structure will be no change when translating is applied. For example, we have the word “Landfall”, this word can be divided two words “Land” and “Fall”. And in Vietnamese, the word “Land” means “Mảnh đất”; “Khu đất”; and the word “Fall” means “Rơi”; “Rót”, when two words are combined we have concept “Rơi xuống đất”, and no finding the concept “Độ bộ” so we cannot get the equivalence because this is only transferring the meaning of word from English. The equivalence thus only appear when we use idiomatic translation which, in the process of applying, indicate the word “Độ bộ” in Vietnamese. In addition, let‟s consider the term “Westerly wind”. The term is the combination of two words, so we can divide it into the word “Westerly” which can be understand “Phía đằng Tây”; “Ở phía Tây” and the word “Wind” which means “Cơn gió”; “Trận gió”; “Gió”. When the term “Westerly wind” appear we have expression “Gió Tây”; “Gió từ phía Tây thổi”, and not the expression “Gió Lào”. “Where is Gió Lào can find?” The expression “gió Lào” can find because there is a similar which show the wind is blown from the west – “Gió Tây”. However, in Vietnamese concept, the west is a country which is called “Lào”, so the wind is 32
44. called “Gió Lào”. It is the application of idiomatic translation to make the equivalence in Vietnamese, especially about Vietnamese concept. One other example, we have the word “sandstorm”, and this word can be divided two words “Sand” and “Storm” which means “Đất” or “Cát” and “Cơn bão” in Vietnamese. In this case, when the word “Sandstorm” appear we have a corresponding word “Cơn bão cát” to show the meaning of the word. There is a transference because we can find the same concept about the word in Vietnamese. Literal translation used for the similar expression. However, this translation can be applied in the case of equivalence. Overall, with all terms, idiomatic translation is better. There are not many changes between the word in English and in Vietnamese because idiomatic translation will help to deal with the non – equivalence to get the similarity in expression in two languages. 3. Common terms English Vietnamese Humid Air Khí ẩm (lượng khí chứa hơi nước) Nóng ẩm (trong bản tin dự báo thời tiết hoặc trong các tư liệu liên quan dùng Hot and humid để dự báo, xác định kiểu thời tiết khi hậu) Siêu bão (khi sức gió của cơn bão vượt Super Typhoon quá mức đo cao nhất về tốc độ gió) Nắng đẹp (trời có nắng nhẹ, không gay Fair gắt, nhiệt độ trong ngày hầu như không thay đổi) Mát mẻ/ trong xanh trở lại (sau những Refreshing cơn mưa đến hoặc sau những ngày nắng gay gắt kéo dài) Mắt bão (vùng tâm của cơn bão, tại đây sức gió của bão là nhỏ nhất, và có The eye of hurricane thể xác định sức gió thông qua độ rõ hoặc mờ của tâm bão) 33
45. The highest temperature Nhiệt độ cao trong ngày The lowest temperature Nhiệt độ thấp trong ngày Gió giật trên cấp (xác định sức gió khi Wind with gust up có hiện tượng xảy ra bão hoặc lốc) Triều cường (nước biển dâng lên do Flood Tide lực hút của Mặt trăng) Tuyết rơi thành từng bông tuyết (hiện Snow Flake tượng có mưa tuyết thành bông) Mostly Sunny Trời không mưa, ít mây, nhiều nắng Fơn ( hiện tượng gió vượt đèo, từ bên kia gió thổi lên không khí lạnh dần đi Foehn rồi ngưng kết nên chút bớt ẩm nhưng cũng thu thêm nhiệt do ngưng kết tỏa ra, sau khi qua đỉnh rồi thổi xuống) Không khí lạnh tăng cường (một đợt Cold air increased khí lạnh đến ngay sau một đợt khí lạnh đến trước tạo ra rét kéo dài hơn) These terms are the feature example of using general word strategy to translate weather forecast terms. May be we can see that this procedure is a little bit the same with literal translation strategy because the word The eye means mắt and Hurricane means cơn bão in Vietnamese. Hence, there is no difficulty for translator to find the correspondence of The eye of hurricane in English is Mắt bão in Vietnamese. However, if translator just stop at translating like that to make the short and specific expression about weather forecast field which will be impossible to understand by a word. Besides, translator adds some more information about this term in brackets for reader to understand deeply: (là vùng tâm của cơn bão, tại đây sức gió của bão là nhỏ nhất, và có thể xác định sức gió thông qua độ rõ hoặc mờ của tâm bão). We can see this translation through example following: the term “Super Typhoon”. The word “Super” means “vượt trội”; “phi thường”; “siêu”, and the word “Typhoon” means “cơn bão”; “trận bão”. It is called “Super Typhoon” when the power of typhoon‟s wind is higher than the highest wind speed – “Siêu bão”; (khi sức gió của cơn 34
46. bão vượt quá mức đo cao nhất về tốc độ gió). When translator only express by a word “Siêu bão”. It also makes the clear and general showing. However, in reader‟s understanding, they will be easy to fall in the common and lack of the deep knowledge about the term. So, the detail information in brackets is added to explain more and more about the term in domain, and reader will not worry about the specific character of the term. The method of explanation by get common word basing on the expand detail information in brackets for the word like this case is called Using general word. Using a paraphrase This is the translation procedure reflects the grammatical change that occurs in translation from English into Vietnamese. English Vietnamese Fine, cloudy later Trời nắng về chiều muộn có mây bao phủ, trời chuyển âm u. Fine, cloudy later refers the weather phenomenon – it is fine and then cloudy at the late afternoon. In Vietnamese, this term can be understood as “Trời nắng và sau đó sẽ có mây vào lúc chiều muộn”. If translating by word – for – word, it means “nắng, mây bao phủ sau”, so it will make difficulty for explain and misunderstanding what the weather like. However, if taking a careful analysis for this term, readers can easily recognize that all words can be considered as the adjective paraphrase. Therefore, after translator‟s applying a paraphrase to translate this term, it changes into a sense or utterance. So, it means “Trời nắng, về chiều muộn có mây bao phủ trời chuyển sang âm u”. The English often express the kind of weather by using adjective paraphrase for the short and simple concept, but in Vietnamese to express the kind of weather we cannot apply adjective paraphrase because the concept of Vietnamese people 35
47. is specific and clear and have a sentence including subject + predication. And “Trời nắng, về chiều muộn có mây bao phủ trời chuyển sang âm u” is the Vietnamese expression with the equivalent about the lexical meaning and linguistic meaning between English and Vietnamese. The suitable different is the changing of term from “adjective paraphrase” in English to “paraphrase” and the adding function word in Vietnamese to make clearly for readers and to get the equivalence between two languages. This strategy refers to using a paraphrase. In the process of looking for equivalence between English and Vietnamese, we will discover that using a paraphrase can be exploited in various illustrations. The following is the collection of weather forecast terms which are translated into Vietnamese with the same method: English Vietnamese Cloudy, occasionally rain Trời nhiều mây và đôi lúc có mưa Cloudy, partly rain Trời nhiều mây và mưa vài nơi Trời có thể có mưa hoặc có thể không Probability of Rain có mưa. Light shower and possible Mưa rào nhẹ và dông thunderstorm Trời nhiều mây cùng với tuyết rơi nhẹ Cloudy with sleet (thường xảy ra vào mùa đông) Trời nhiều mây cùng với mưa tuyết Cloudy with heavy snow (xảy ra vào mùa đông) Communicative translation The following are the symbols which are always used in weather forecast. And the weather description from these symbols by the term are the inference to make the equivalence between the image and words or terms. 36
48. STT Weather Description 1 Cloudy, no rain 2 Medium rain, heavy rain 3 There are showers and thunderstorms 4 Rain 5 Light Showers 6 Less cloudy, sunny 7 Clouds change, sunny 8 Possible rain 9 There are showers 10 Fog 11 Drizzle with rain 12 Cold sky 13 Sunny 14 Clear nights 15 Night clouds 16 Cloudy nights 17 Night with shower 37
49. STT Mô tả thời tiết 1 Nhiều mây, không mưa 2 Có mưa vừa, mưa to 3 Có mưa rào và dông 4 Có mưa 5 Mưa rào nhẹ 6 Ít mây, trời nắng 7 Nhiều mây, trời nắng 8 Có lúc có mưa 9 Có mưa rào 10 Có sương mù 11 Có mưa phùn 12 Trời rét 13 Trời nắng nóng 14 Không mưa về đêm 15 Có mây về đêm và rạng sáng 16 Có nhiều mây về đêm và rạng sáng 17 Có mưa rào về đêm và rạng sáng These above symbols are the images of weather phenomenon. When we see the symbol like , in our mind, we think about the “Sun” which bring the shines and warm the ground and the Sun is very hot, so the concept “Trời nắng 38
50. nóng” appear and we can understand that the image of sun is present the kind of weather “It is hot and fine”. And this is the communicative function of symbol. Another example, we can see the term Medium rain, heavy rain in English and we also see the term Có mưa vừa, mưa to in Vietnamese. Actually, there is no appearance of the word Có in English. In this case, translator used strategy paraphrase in the process of translating because there is specific non- equivalence and to make readers have the clear expression and deep understanding. And another example, . It is “Possible rain” which refers the weather may be rain or not, and the word Possible means Có thể and rain means mưa, but we cannot say that rain or not – it is possible because in weather forecast do not allow to say something in common. So, có lúc có mưa in Vietnamese is the way to express for readers really understand about the happening of weather. Moreover, when we see the symbols about the weather and do not need the description and the definition we can image or understand what the symbols say? We also know how the weather is. This is the feature of symbols which has a communicative function. So, translator use the best way in translation – it is the communicative translation – to change the meaning of term in English into Vietnamese. 39
51. CHAPTER THREE: IMPLICATIONS Through the chapter two – An investigation on Weather forecast terms and their equivalent studying on the popular construction of Weather forecast term, we can find that different translation procedures are employed to translate technical terms in weather forecast field. We should pay attention in translation by update the changeable words and combination words because there are many weather forecast words which are the same meaning and can be replaceable. In weather forecast field, you can translate word-for-word, literally, technically to understand what do they mean. However, to translate accurately the meaning of the weather forecast terms you should use the technical translation. Moreover, there are many weather forecast terms which are popular in Vietnamese language and not in English, so it is hard for you to translate correctly. Thus, when you translate them, you should understand clearly and put them in the situation what the writer use and provide for us. There are some phrases which are the combination of words when you translate them into Vietnamese with using many words to express. For example: Cloudy, occasionally rain  Trời nhiều mây và đôi lúc có mưa. Cloudy, partly rain  Trời nhiều mây và có mưa vài nơi. Light and scattered showers  Mưa rào nhẹ rải rác A sudden storm, the storm No.2  Tin bão khẩn cấp, cơn bão số 2. ( From website No.5) And in the weather forecast, you have to translate the combination words or phrases because there are many kinds of phenomenon which occur together or are adjoining. 40
52. PART III: CONCLUSION This chapter provides a conclusion for this thesis. Firstly, the strengths and weakness of the thesis discussed . Secondly, suggestions for further research and a final comment are made. And the third for conclusion. 1. Difficulties in translation of weather forecast terms: Though there are many books on translation so far, few of them discuss English – Vietnamese translation and particularly. This thesis, however discuss in detail the issues with relevant examples. It is organized in a way that helps readers find it easy to get general ideas about it. Translation is evaluated as a field which requires learners and researchers not only to study hard but also to try their best to improve knowledge in every sector in daily life. Especially, translations of a specialist field like weather forecasting relations will be much more difficult and complicated. The following are some problems I had when studying the process of translation from English into Vietnamese. Nevertheless, there are some limitations in this study that may affect the final results. Firstly, due to the limited time of research, this thesis just studies on the basic weather forecast terms which are often met in weather forecast news and weather forecast documents, and the terms in the study are not all analysised in particular context or at deeper level. Hence, the analysis can hardly provide a comprehensive approach to the issue. Secondly, due to the research‟s limited knowledge in the realm of linguistics and translation studies, mistakes in the course of analysis are unavoidable. Finally, a part of terms selected for analysis are somewhat not updated, which might affect comprehensiveness of the study in terms of translation quality. 41
53. 2. Suggestions for the further research and final comments In the process of studying, I myself have to face up with the above difficulties and the following are some suggestions for those problems: Translator should spend time improving translator‟s shallow knowledge in terms of weather forecasting. There are many ways to do that. We can read Vietnamese books, newspaper, other documents related to weather forecasting or watch the program on TV about weather forecasting news. We can also take part in weather forecasting activities like a part – time job in National Center Meteorology. By doing that, we can not only collect many Vietnamese terms, their meaning, the way to use them but also understand deeply about weather forecasting in Vietnamese and in many other countries on the world. Therefore, we will be able to translate weather forecasting documentation not only precisely but also smoothly and easy to get reader‟s understanding. With the phenomenon such as: rain, sun, wind, storm, and so on which occur daily and affect our living, it makes cycle of nature and often is interesting for the learner when studying about it. The progress requires translations of high quality. In conclusion, I hope this thesis will be a document to the study of English- Vietnamese translations in universities and on the media. In my opinion, it can be considered a companion of all people who are seeking to improve their English- Vietnamese translation skills as well as the quality of their translation. Hopefully, this study should be considered as generation of weather forecast terms which can be used as reference for students of English major, students learn English, English teachers and any one be interested in this field. 3. Conclusion: In the integrating period, Vietnamese has been interested in by the word about every field such as economy, politic, culture, so weather forecasting is more and more concerned leading to a part of the development of society and education, especially in translating of the English weather forecast into Vietnamese. Writer also choose this field for the thesis in order to study further 42
54. about Vietnamese weather forecast terms as well as help people who are excited to them to understand more that. To build a clear and effective study, the writer divides it into three main parts. Part one is introduction including rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study on purpose that giving the reader some initial understanding about the thesis. Part two is divided three chapters in which the second one is the most important with development of the weather forecast terms that is presented bilingually. However, due to limitation of time and knowledge, writer cannot cover all weather forecast terms but some most familiar, popular and special ones. In this part, writer also give some implications for further study basing on the own experiences learning lesson from studying. The study is expected to become an interested and useful product and is welcomed in the next learners‟ study. 43
55. REFERENCE A. English 1. Kisten Gate House, Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes ( ESP) Curriculum Development. 2. Hewing, M. (1999). Advanced Grammar in Use: A self – study reference and practice book for advanced learners of English. Cambridge: CUP. 3. David Gordon, (1985). Translation theory. FBA Guidelines, Basic Principles and Procedures for translation. 4. Newmark, P. (1995). A text book of translation. New York: Prentice – Hall International. 5. Longman Dictionary of English. (2001). London & New York: Longman. 6. Quirk, R & Greenbaum, S. (1987). A University grammar of English. London & New York: Longman. 7. Thomson, A.J. & Martinet, A.V. (2003). A practical English Grammar (Fourth edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. B Vietnamese 1. Lê, H.T. (2006). Lý thuyết và thực tiễn dịch thuật Anh – Việt: Một số vấn đề lý luận va phương pháp căn bản. (Theory and practice of English – Vietnamese translation: Issues on arguments and basic methods). Sciencetific research at Vietnam national University‟s level. C Websites : Retrieved from 1. ( May 2nd, 2010) 2. ( May 5th, 2010) 3. ( May 10th, 2010) 4. ( May 10th, 2010) 5. d=646. ( May 10th, 2010) 6. ( June 1st, 2010) 44