Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Murray, Hubert. Jr. Methods for Satisfying the Needs of the Scientist and the Engineer for Scientific
and Technical Communication. Available from
http://www.serv-inf.deusto.es/abaitua/konzeptu/fatiga.htm - Notes. INTERNET
2. Research Objectives
This research aims at finding out how English neologisms in information technology are currently
dealt with as well as analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each technique used. This would
provide translators some tips to translate technical neologisms in the most effective way.
We do hope that this research will make some contributions to English- Vietnamese technical
translation theory and that it will benefit those involving in information technology translation.
3. Sources of Data
3.1 Primary Sources
The primary data for this research are collected from texts translated by a number of
teachers and students who study English as their major and/or information technology.
3.2 Secondary Sources
We have located a number of reference books, articles and research studies on this
field, which are presented in Bibliography.
4. Research Methods
We use content analysis as the principal method to deal with the collected data. The
quantitative method is also used to find out the frequency of translation techniques while
the qualitative aims at analyzing these techniques. After analysis and synthesis, strategies
of translating information technology neologisms will be listed.
5. Structure of the Research
This research study is divided into the introduction, part 1, part 2, part 3 and the
conclusion. The introduction presents the reasons of the research, research objectives, sources
of data and research methods. Part 1 reviews the theoretical background on neologisms and
the previous studies on neologism translation. Part 2 involves analyzing the collected data
with two subsections: data presentation and data analysis. Part 3 discusses the specific
problems including some tips that need to be taken into consideration when translating
technical translation. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the research results.
encyclopaedism.
i) Abbreviations( shortened form of word).
j) Transferred word-words borrowed from other languages and kept only one sense
of their foreign nationality. They are likely to be media or product rather than
technological neologisms.
k) Pseudo-neologisms- generic words standing in for specific words.
l) Internationalisms- words that keeps the same meanings and the same forms in
many countries.
When words found in the source language (SL) do not occur in the target language
(TL), it may be helpful to analyze the SL word to discover its generic component. Then
from this analysis, an adequate equivalent may be found in the TL language when a
generic word is used as the equivalent lexical item and modified to carry the correct
meaning. Four possible modifications may be made:
-
Form is the description of the appearance or action of the referent of the word. For
example, a pencil has the form of being long, pointed at one end, made of wood with
graphite in the middle, and usually having an eraser at one end.
If there is no word or phrase which is available for the translation of the word wine,
it can be modified to its generic meaning a kind of drink with its characteristics as
strong, thus:
Wine a strong drink
-
The function has to do with the significance, the reason for, or the purpose of the thing
or event. For example, the function of an anchor is to make the boat stay. If the concept of
anchor does not exist in a language, it is translated by using a generic term thing plus
a functional equivalent that makes the boat stay:
anchor thing that makes the boat stay
-
modifying the generic word with both the form and the function.
E.g.
in order that they would get stuck in the dirt so the boat would not move
(function)
b.
Transference
Partly transference
Naturalization
Word-to-word translation
Sino-Vietnamese terms
Description of function
8
Transferenceplus
expansion
Partly transference
13%
Naturalization
20%
2.2.
Word-to-word
translation
Transference
Sino-Vietnameseterms
Data analysis
general. Our later interview with them reveals that they have made great effort to consult
dictionaries, books and magazines as well as experts in IT, since they know that technical
terms, though of small number, are very important in the texts.
Secondly, the information collected was a source of reference, helping us to find out
currently used translating techniques and their trends of usage in dealing with IT
neologisms.
2.2.1. Techniques used in IT neologism translation
According to our synthesis, there are seven translating techniques for IT neologism
translation.
Transference (loan words): this technique concerns keeping the source terms
without any modification. It is used more in specialized books and by IT students.
For example:
Router
Router
Cookie
Cookie
Hacker
Hacker
URL
Firewall
URL
Firewall
Phishing Phishing
This strategy does not require translators to understand the referents and find the
target terms; thus, they are not likely to make mistakes when dealing with new
terms. However, it would cause problems for readers to perceive when the terms
are unpopular and unfamiliar to them.
Transference plus expansion: This technique means keeping the terms unchanged
and adding more words to make them clearer. More specifically, a neologism is
translated by modifying a loan word with either a classifier or a description of
form, function or both. It is especially used with acronyms and words with no
equivalents found in the target language.
10
For example:
URL
a ch URL
Phishing Nn la o Phishing
Firewall Phn mm firewall
This technique again saves much effort for translators, since it just requires
them to have general idea about the referents, which can be gained by finding in
dictionaries, books and magazines or consulting an expert in the field. This time,
readers can have a general notion about the concept, but it is not sufficient,
especially for the layman. Accordingly, they may not fully understand the text .
Partly transferred terms: Technical terms include both single words and a
combination of words. This technique is mainly used to deal with terms of the
latter kind. Usually, part of the term is kept unchanged and the rest is translated.
For example:
Persistent cookie
Pop-up ad
Qung co pop-up
Like transference plus expansion, this strategy makes it easier for translators to do
their job but more difficult for readers to perceive.
Anti-hijacking
Router
B chn ng (router)
Phishing
11
This strategy helps the readers in the target language have a total understanding
of the term as those of the source text. However, to use this strategy effectively,
translators must have a deep knowledge about the referent so that they will not
produce a wrong description. Moreover, the phrases used to describe them are
usually long, wordy and complicated.
T ng la
Antispyware
Hch-c
Virus
Vi-rt
Again, this strategy can help translators to avoid mistakes, to which they are
vulnerable when the concepts are unpopular in the target language.
Sino-Vietnamese terms: this technique is often used when translators can not find a
suitable Vietnamese term for the neologism, while a Sino Vietnamese would work
12
well because of their compactness and preciseness; thus, it can transfer the whole
meaning of the source term exactly and briefly.
For example:
Router
B nh tuyn /B tip vn
Gateway
Khai l
Adapter
B iu hp
This strategy can cause trouble because Sino-Vietnamese terms are, sometimes,
too brief and unfamiliar. Therefore, readers may find it difficult to understand the
text.
2.2.2. Translating technique trends
Regarding the quantitative uses of the techniques mentioned above, a conclusion could
be drawn that the most preferable method in dealing with information technology
neologisms is describing the function of the referent and putting the source term in
bracket. The use of this strategy accounts for forty percent, followed by word-to-word
translation at twenty-two, and transference at fourteen. Only two percent terms are
translated by naturalization. The higher percentage is for transference plus expansion
(12%) and partly transference (10%) (See the chart above).
The data analysis has shown us that the form (refers to the translating technique) and
the content (i.e. the meaning) of the information technology translated neologism were
different among the three translator groups. Besides background knowledge, it can be said
that the search for the meaning of the new term accounts much for the quality (the
accuracy and the naturalness) of the meaning of the translated neologism. Another
conclusion from the research is that translators have different techniques (strategies) to
deal with a neologism in information technology. However, each technique has its
advantages and disadvantages: there are some factors that will often rule out some
strategies and favour others . This explains why translators still find it difficult to choose
the best technique when translating.
13
Part 3. Suggestions
Based on the data analysis, we can now begin to outline some hints for dealing with
the common difficulties for the translator. It is virtually impossible to offer specific
guidelines for translating the various types of English technical neologisms in information
technology. The most can be done in this part, therefore, is to suggest tips that should be
taken into consideration when translating.
3.1. Key words
In dealing with any kind of technical neologisms, it is important first of all to assess
their significance in a given context. Not every instance of neologisms we encounter is
going to be significant. It is neither possible nor desirable to reproduce every aspect of
meaning for every word in a source text. This is because almost every text to be
translated will have some key words. According to Mildred Larson, key words are one
of the special problems in finding lexical equivalents. He defined key words as
words which are used over and over in the text and are crucial to the theme or topic
under discussion.[Larson 177].
Thus, it is suggested that the translator identify key words and a single lexical
equivalent Vietnamese lexical item on each occurrence of a key word. As the
translator studies the source text, he should note the key words and gives special
attention to finding adequate lexical equivalents before the actual drafting process of
translation.
For example, the terms phishing and phisher are key words in the following text:
Phishing scams try to con people out of personal information such as credit card
numbers and bank security codes. Phishers defraud their victims by setting up Web
sites designed to resemble those run by legitimate companies. Then they lure people to
those fake sites via e-mail that pretends to be from major e-commerce firms such as
Best Buy, EBay, and Citybank. The fake Web sites ask victims to confirm personal
and account information- and then the phishers them off
14
Here is one translated text in which the translator used the technique description of
function with the loan word in bracket:
Bn cht ca cc v la o qua th in t (phishing) l c gng la phnh
ngi s dng ly cp thng tin c nhn nh s th tn dng hoc m s ti khon
ngn hng. Nhng k trm qua th loi ny (phisher) thng la nn nhn bng
cch xy dng cc a ch ti nguyn trn mng ging nh a ch ca cc cng ty hp
php
The translator tried to explain the meaning of these non-equivalent terms and kept
the transferred words in bracket so that the reader can access the terms in the source
text easily if he wishes further explore their meaning.
In the following extract, the term pop-up ad and script are, however, not the key
terms:
WebWhasher 3.2 beta is among the most powerful and thorough ad blockers. It
uses multiple techniques to determine whether static images should be blocked, checking
ad dimensions as well as both internal and user-defined lists. It also tries to block pop-up
ads, some or all actions taken by scripts, and web bugs.
In the translated version, the translator paid too much detail on explaining the term,
thus distracted the reader from the main theme of the whole text, which is about some
functions of the new software:
WebWasher 3.2 l mt trong nhng phn mm ngn chn qung co mnh nht.
N s dng nhiu k thut khc nhau c th quyt nh nn ngn chn bc nh tnh
no, kim tra kch thc ca cc mu qung co, cng nh cc danh sch ni b v cc
danh sch ngi s dng. N cng c tnh nng ngn chn qung co pop-up (mt loi
qung co m cc ca s c t ng bt ra khi bn vo mt trang Web no , m
khng c s cho php ca bn), ng thi ngn chn c tt c hoc mt s cc
script (ngn ng lp trnh kch bn trong mt s cc ngn ng lp trnh Web)
3.2. Search procedure
15
When a technical neologism is identified, especially when it serves as a key word, the
translator should try his best to find an accurate meaning of the word. This is undoubtedly a
painstaking process, especially for those without some basic knowledge of the specialty.
However, it is essential for translators to know where and how to find information. Technical
neologisms, especially brand new words, are normally unfindable words and tracing them
can be even more difficult. As Peter Newmark mentioned, in his search for the unfindable
word, the translator will try at some time or other to consult the SL text writer and, failing that,
appropriate technical experts or SL informants[Newmark 177]. However, when there is not
sufficient time available, dictionaries, encyclopedias, search engines and other documents
related are the first and most important sources. This helps us to avoid giving a wrong meaning
of the term, which is probably the worst mistake, if any, for a translator. Therefore, when not
sure about the meaning of the new term, even after a thorough search procedure, the translator
should transfer the source language term.
As deduced from the fourth feature of technical neologism, that is a single source
term may have different translated versions, we have to accept the fact that there is
rarely a single correct translation of a SL neologism[Newmark 141]. Still, the matter
should be noted here is the recognized translation, which should not be overlooked.
Though the term is new and cannot be found in bilingual dictionaries, the translator
should not hurry to create his own translation for the word. Usually, once a new term
about new a computer technology or concept appears, there would be immediately a
translation for it on daily specialized newspapers or magazines online (e.g. the PC
World Vietnam, some websites as www.VnExpress.com, www.Vietnam.net, etc.). If
there are different translated versions of a new word (e.g., the case of phishing), it is
suggested that the translator supply some additional information such as using brackets,
inverted commas or footnotes, etc. depending on the requirements and types of readership.
Additional information in the translation may take various forms and it is discussed
in details in A textbook of translation by Peter Newmark.
3.3 Readership
16
17
Conclusion
This research focuses on Vietnamese-English translation of neologisms in information
technology, a rapidly growing area. The translation of neologisms in general, and of IT
neologisms in particular, is a translators most difficult task due to their characteristic of
newness. Because they are new, the translator has to find ways to transfer the whole
denotation of the terms into the target language so that receptors can understand.
This study has synthesized seven main strategies currently used to deal with IT
neologisms. These strategies include transference, transference plus expansion, partly
transferred terms, description of function, word-to-word translation, naturalization, and
Sino-Vietnamese terms. From our observation, the advantages and disadvantages of each
strategy and their trend of usage have also been discussed and analyzed.
Based on a discussion about the use of each technique in the latter part, a number of
suggestions have been listed. Key terms, search procedure and readership are the three
recommended factors that translator should bear in mind when translating.
We hope that this research will make some contributions to the theory of VietnameseEnglish translation of information technology neologisms. We also hope it will be a basis
for further studies on technical neologism translation.
18
19