DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLISH-VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION FACED BY ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

This paper presents a study into difficulties in English – Vietnamese translation faced by English-majored students. Although basic knowledge of English with four main skills is delivered to the students at the beginning of their academic courses at university, translation in general causes tons of troubles for them. Therefore, this research was conducted to figure out what makes translating, especially English-Vietnamese written translation, rather difficult for English majors in their acquisition of knowledge. Besides that, this paper also aims to suggest some feasible ways – an initial step towards enhancing students’ translation quality. The research was conducted with a survey and the data were analyzed quantitatively. A questionnaire of 10 questions and a list of 20 English words for translation practice were employed to find out the student’s attitudes and strategies to translate specialized English. The results show that most of the surveyed students found it hard to translate from specialized English into Vietnamese. This is because specialized English is quite different from everyday English and the students are only familiar with the basic meanings of their vocabulary. This paper is a practical reference for students and it can help teachers better understand their students’ weaknesses and difficulties in translation.