UNIT 1

English – Vietnamese Translation:

Same same but different: Seven ways Hanoi is unlike any other Asian cities
Focused skills:
Pre-translation text analysis
Words in context

I. Vocabulary
Find the Vietnamese equivalents for the following words/ phrases

No. Source text Target text Notes

1 Tourist trap

2 Pastiche

3 A breath of fresh air

4 Leap-of-faith traffic

5 Bungee jumping

6 Precarious

7 Exhilarating

8 Dirt-cheap

9 Unpasteurized beer

10 Swerve

II. English – Vietnamese Translation

1. Pre-translation exercise
Students work in groups and answer the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the text? (to introduce/ describe/ explain/ discuss/ narrate
something)
- What can be the target readers of the text? (General readers/ experts)
- What is the type of language used in the text? (Difficulty level, writing style/ tone).
- Any other issues for translators to consider? (Cultural concepts/ items which have no
equivalence in Vietnamese)
- How do these above factors affect your choice of translation techniques?
2. English – Vietnamese translation exercise
SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT: 7 WAYS HANOI IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER ASIAN CITIES
Traveling in Southeast Asia can get a bit samey-samey after a while. It’s all temples, heat
and tourist traps, right? Until you get to Hanoi. The Vietnamese capital is like a breath of
fresh air. The city is a graceful pastiche of cultural influences from the French and Chinese,
while the Vietnamese have stubbornly retained their local ways. Here are the things that
we love about it most and that makes Hanoi stand out from all other cities in Asia.

Leap-of-faith traffic: Crossing the road in Hanoi is unlike anywhere else. It’s a little bit like
bungee jumping. You just have to believe it when people tell you “it’s going to be alright,
just keep walking” despite all your instincts telling you not to take the leap. Once you do
take that first step off the pavement, there’s no turning back. You can only continue putting
one foot in front of the other and hope that the mopeds will swerve around you instead of
into you. And it always works. The road traffic is crazy in Hanoi, but it is organized chaos
and somehow pedestrians always make it to the other side. On foot it’s a test of faith in
fellow humankind as you step into moped madness, trusting scooters to avoid you as you
cross the road. On the back of a motorbike, it’s like jumping into a river and running the
rapids. Precarious and exhilarating.

Very fresh beer: Hanoi is famous for it’s dirt-cheap, unpasteurized beer made fresh daily —
bia hoi. The official Hanoi bia hoi comes fresh daily from the Habeco factory. It ferments
throughout the day, consequently tasting different at each vendor. The flavor depends on
the rate at which the beer is being sold and how much the seller has decided to water it
down that day. By day’s end, unsold beer goes off and is thrown away. But there’s rarely
any left each evening. The ridiculously cheap price and the fact that it is served out of
plastic cups makes this the perfect anti-yuppie, anti-elitist brew, suited to the ideals of a
socialist country. Find it on every happening Hanoi corner, sometimes paired with food,
other times with a television and karaoke machine offering classic tunes by Abba and
Boney M. The most famous Bia Hoi for travelers are right in the heart of the old quarter
on Bia Hoi Corner at the intersection of Luong Ngoc Quyen and Ta Hien streets.

[Source: CNN]
III. Focused skills: Source text analysis - The role of context in translation

Exercise 1: Compare the following target texts and give possible explanation for the
differences between the translations.

ST1: When going out in public, it is important to stay at least 6 feet away from other people
and wear a mask to slow the spread of COVID-19.
TT1 TT2
Khi tới nơi đông người, hãy nhớ giữ khoảng Khi tới nơi đông người, hãy nhớ giữ khoảng
cách với người khác tối thiểu 6 feet và đeo cách với người khác tối thiểu 2 mét và đeo
khẩu trang để hạn chế sự lây lan của Covid- khẩu trang để hạn chế sự lây lan của Covid-
19. 19.

Answer:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ST2: Like its neighboring countries, Vietnam’s economy has been struggling after months of
fighting against the pandemic. It is nonetheless still an outlier given its effective response
to the Covid-19 outbreak, with impressive growth.

TT1
Cũng giống như các nước láng giềng, nền
kinh tế Việt Nam đã phải lao đao sau nhiều
tháng chống chọi với đại dịch. Tuy nhiên,
quốc gia này vẫn là một ngoại lệ, với mức
tăng trưởng ấn tượng nhờ vào khả năng
ứng phó hiệu quả với Covid-19.
TT2
Cũng giống như các nước láng giềng, nền
kinh tế Việt Nam đã phải lao đao sau nhiều
tháng chống chọi với đại dịch. Tuy nhiên,
nước ta vẫn là một ngoại lệ, với mức tăng
trưởng ấn tượng nhờ vào khả năng ứng
phó hiệu quả với Covid-19

Answer:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Exercise 2: Read the translations and give possible explanation for the choice of the
translators in the underlined parts.

ST1
Hải: Ông Vĩnh. Ông đi đâu đấy?
Vĩnh: Ồ, Hải. Ông béo ra quá. Tôi không
nhận ra ông.
Hải: Tôi đi Bangkok. Sao ông gầy đi thế?
TT1
Hai: Hello, Vinh. It’s nice to see you.
Vinh: Oh, Hai. You look very healthy. I cannot
recognize you.
Hai: I’m going to Bangkok. I hope you are
getting on well.

ST2
Hà Nội trở thành thủ đô của nước Việt
Nam từ năm 1010 khi vua Lý Thái Tổ
dời đô, lập nên kinh thành Thăng Long.
Trải qua nhiều thế kỷ, tên của thành
phố đã thay đổi cho đến khi vua Tự Đức
đặt tên là Hà Nội năm 1831.
TT2
Hanoi’s position as Vietnam’s capital dates
back to 1010 when Emperor Ly Thai To moved
the capital city from Hoa Lu (in the Northern
province of Ninh Binh now) to this site and
established Thang Long (Ascending Dragon).
Over the centuries, the city’s name changed
several times until Emperor Tu Duc christened
it Hanoi (City in a Bend of the River) in 1831.

Answer:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 3: Read the following text about dog thief in Vietnam and do the tasks

Nguyen Van Cuong, a Hanoian said “It's very difficult to raise a good and intelligent dog”. He
estimates he has lost about 10 animals over the years to professional dognappers. “If I had
caught the thief, I would've beaten him up!” But asked if he would ever eat his own dogs,
Cuong, who has deep-set eyes and a wispy goatee, shook his head fiercely. “If I want dog
meat,” he said, “I go to a restaurant.

- What is the tone of the author? (ironic or sympathetic with the dog owner)
- Translate the text into Vietnamese, trying to convey the tone of the author.

Answer:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 4: Students work in groups and do the tasks

- Identify the target readers of the following text

- Find out the most appropriate Vietnamese equivalent(s) for the highlighted words
in their specific contexts
- Translate the text in Vietnamese

Cinderella
It was the day of the Ball.

The stepsisters put on their dresses ready for the Ball. “May I come too?” asked Cinderella.
“NO, NO, NO!” they shouted.

Cinderella sat down and cried.

Suddenly, her Fairy Godmother appeared. She had wings, and a magic wand. “Do as a I say,
and you shall go to the Ball,” said the Fairly Godmother. “Bring me these things.”

Cinderella brought the Fairy Godmother a pumpkin, six white mice, a brown rat and six green
lizards in a basket.

The Fairy Godmother waved her wand.

In a flash, the pumpkin became a coach, the mice were horses, the rat was a coachman, and
the lizards were the footmen.

Answer:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
 UNIT 2

English – Vietnamese Translation:

Good morning Vietnam
Focused skills:
Dictionary skills in translation
Searching skills in translation

I. Vocabulary
Find the Vietnamese equivalents for the following words/ phrases

No. Source text Target text Notes

1 A cluster of people

2 Ankle-high stools

3 Cauldron

4 Stock

5 Liquorice

6 Cinnamon

7 Full-on sensual experience

8 Medieval

9 Portable restaurant

10 Tiny plastic stool

11 Hover

II. English – Vietnamese Translation

1. Pre-translation exercise
Students work in groups and answer the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the text? (to introduce/ describe/ explain/ discuss/ narrate
something)
- What can be the target readers of the text? (General readers/ experts)
- What is the type of language used in the text? (Difficulty level, writing style/ tone).
- Any other issues for translators to consider? (Cultural concepts/ items which have no
equivalent in Vietnamese)
- Scan the texts in quotation marks and give your possible explanation for this. How can
you translate them?
1. English – Vietnamese Translation exercise
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

At 7am on a cold morning in Hanoi's old town it's not hard to find one of the world's great
breakfasts. You simply keep an eye open for a doorway full of steam and a cluster of people
on ankle-high stools. These are sure signs of a good place for Hanoi's noodle soup - pho.

The aromatic fog that wafts like a banner from the soup cauldron and over the customers is
the stall's advertisement. The pho vapours are, as one Vietnamese poet puts it, 'like the
clouds of incense that make us quicken our steps and climb the mountain in order to arrive
at the pagoda'.

You could bottle that incense and drink it. Under the base of meat or fish stock, there are
whispers of liquorice, onion and cinnamon, smells with the promise of warmth and
comfort. It is the smell of a national obsession. Pho is much more than just breakfast to the
North Vietnamese: it is 'the soul of the nation', a 'contribution to human happiness' and an
addiction 'worse than tobacco'. (It's also an enduring inspiration to Vietnamese writers.)
Pho is a full-on sensual experience - when Vietnamese talk of pho they think of sex. 'We say
that rice is a spouse, whereas pho is a lover,' says my friend. When she was an adolescent,
during Vietnam's famine years, pho was an unaffordable luxury.

I get up early for my first pho. Though every Hanoi resident has a favourite pho spot, the
best advice is to stop at a stall with a large crowd round it. On this principle, by Dong Xuan
market in the city's medieval merchant's district, I find Thao Van's portable restaurant. She
has set it up on the steps of a shuttered shop, and around her are gathered a dozen
customers, each of them sitting on a tiny plastic stool of the sort you might see in a
kindergarten. Behind these people others queue patiently for their turn. Nearby are motor-
scooters, hovering to deliver takeaways.

[Source: The Guardian]

III. Focused skills: Searching skills in translation

Exercise 1: Students work in groups and discuss the following questions:

 - Name the dictionary/ dictionaries that you are using most frequently (both
monolingual and bilingual)
- Give comments on the advantages and advantages of each type
- Do you think that dictionary is the best tool for translation? Why?

Answer:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Exercise 2: Use your preferred type(s) of dictionary to look up the underlined words/
phrases. Supposed that you could not find them in the dictionary, what would you do to
convey the messages of the source texts? Try to translate the source texts into Vietnamese/
English.

ST1 TT1
Fake news, misinformation, and
conspiracy theories have become
prevalent in the age of social media
and have skyrocketed since the
beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This situation is extremely concerning
because it undermines trust in health
institutions and programmes. “We're
not just fighting a pandemic; we're
fighting an infodemic,” said WHO's
Director-General.
 ST2 TT2
Gradually over the past few years, the
once-ubiquitous discussions about
millennials are being replaced by an
interest in the new kids on the block:
generation Z – or, to give them a
recently assigned alias – “Zoomers”.

ST3 TT3

About 80 percent of postpartum

mothers have the baby blues, which
refer to a short period after giving
birth that’s filled with bouts of
sadness, anxiety, stress, and mood
swings. The baby blues typically strike
within a few days of giving birth, but if
you had an especially tough delivery,
you may notice them even sooner.

ST4 TT4
Từ đầu năm đến nay, Công an tỉnh .
Ninh Bình đã xử lý 66 trường hợp
thanh niên điều khiển xe máy lạng
lách, đánh võng, bốc đầu, với tổng số
tiền xử phạt trên 100 triệu đồng.

ST5 TT5
Theo nhiều nhà xã hội học, quan niệm
về "nữ công gia chánh" của người con
gái xưa khác thời nay rất nhiều. Trước
đây, "nữ công gia chánh" gắn liền với
"công, dung, ngôn, hạnh", "tam tòng
tứ đức".
 ST6 TT6
Theo truyền thống, bánh phu thê
được gói thành từng cặp, buộc lạt hồng
như tơ hồng biểu tượng của tình yêu
chung thủy, là món quà lễ không thể
thiếu trong tục cưới hỏi của người dân
Kinh Bắc.

Exercise 3: Students work in pairs to find the Vietnamese equivalents for the following
words/ phrases. What are the sources that you used to look for these equivalents?

English Vietnamese equivalent(s)

Hash-tag
Live-stream
Show biz
Fan Page
Head hunt
Hit song
Podcast
Debut
Cosplay
Game show

Vietnamese English equivalent(s)

Bệnh lý nền
Miễn dịch cộng đồng
Tâm dịch/ ổ dịch
Truy vết tiếp xúc
Cách ly y tế
Tự cách ly
Cách ly tại nhà
Phản ứng sau tiêm vaccine
Giãn cách xã hội
Phong tỏa
 UNIT 3

English – Vietnamese Translation:

Making college pay off
Focused skills: Transfer skills
Changes in sentence structures from ST to TT

I. Vocabulary
Find the Vietnamese equivalents for the following words/ phrases

No. Source text Target text Notes

1 Graduate

2 Undergraduate

3 Identity

4 Employability

5 Academic performance

6 Be promoted

7 System dependency

8 Dichotomy

9 Anthropology

10 College/ University

II. English – Vietnamese Translation

1. Pre-translation exercise
Students work in groups and answer the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the text? (to introduce/ describe/ explain/ discuss/ narrate
something)
- What can be the target readers of the text? (General readers/ experts)
- What is the type of language used in the text? (Difficulty level, writing style/ tone).
- Any other issues for translators to consider? (Cultural concepts/ items which have no
equivalence in Vietnamese)
- Scan highlight the sentence(s) and try to translate them literally into Vietnamese? How
can you make the translations sound natural?
1. English – Vietnamese Translation exercise
MAKING COLLEGE PAY OFF
College is an experiment in hope. It’s also a risky investment for us all. Whether it is graduate
or undergraduate school, a two-year program or an eight-year program, we entrust our lives in
school for both a new identity and a ticket to the outside world. We come to college with
unspoken anticipation of all that will be done for us. We expect to be made acceptable, valuable,
and finally employable in the eyes of the world. We also hope that magic answers will be
revealed to us through academic study, leading us to guaranteed success in the outside world.
By graduation or completion of our chosen program, we presume everything will be dazzlingly
clear; we will be made brilliant, and all knowledge will be accessible to us.

I’ve been a consultant to countless people who all had faith in this magic – many of whom were
disappointed when the expected alchemy never took place. They discovered years later, that
this powerful, magical process just doesn’t “happen”. We have been all conditioned to wait for
things to happen to us, instead of making things happen. Most of is learned that we would excel,
or at least pass, if we did the work assigned to us by our teacher. We learned to find out what
was expected to us, do it, and wait for a response. After we took all the required courses, we
were promoted, say, from first year to second year. But what did we really learn? System
dependency! We learned that the person who knew the greatest number of right answers was
rewarded by being the first in his or her class.

Nothing like this happens in real life. Yet too many of us never recognize it. We are the same
passive students at ten or twenty-five or forty four as we were at fourteen, continuing the
teacher – student dichotomy, which we automatically transfer to the employer – employee
relationship. And we found that though studying history or art or anthropology might have
been interesting, it alone didn’t lead to much else – like new experiences, contacts, or even a
job. Much disappointment has resulted from this “misuse” of college. It’s time to retrain
ourselves to approach school in the same positive, productive, active way that successful
people approach life. College can become all that you wished for – a time for learning, for
broadening horizons, a time to discover who you are and how you work with others, for setting
goals and making things happen. In short, college is a time for you far beyond your college
years, which, even more than your degree, will prepare you for the entrance into the “real”
world. [Source: Master College Reading]
III. Focused skills: Transfer skills - Changes of sentence structures

Exercise 1: Choose the best answer and give possible explanation for your choice

ST1 TT1
The population growth rate A- Tốc độ gia tăng dân số hàng năm đạt 1.7% khiến Việt
of 1.7% annually makes Nam trở thành quốc gia có tỉ lệ gia tăng dân số lớn thứ 7
Vietnam the world’s thế giới.
seventh-fastest-growing
B- Với tốc độ gia tăng dân số hàng năm đạt 1.7%, Việt Nam
nation.
đã trở thành quốc gia có tỉ lệ gia tăng dân số lớn thứ 7 thế
giới
ST2 TT2
The shortcomings in A- Không khó để xác định được những bất cập trong hệ
education are easy to define: thống giáo dục hiện nay: học sinh chỉ học 4 tiếng tại
The school day is only four trường, chỉ bằng ¼ so với hầu hết các quốc gia khác, và
hours long, 25% shorter thời gian một năm học ngắn hơn ít nhất là 20 ngày.
than most countries, and its
B- Những bất cập trong hệ thống giáo dục hiện nay rất dễ
school year is at least 20
xác định: học sinh chỉ học 4 tiếng tại trường, chỉ bằng 25%
days shorter.
so với hầu hết các quốc gia khác, và thời gian một năm học
ngắn hơn ít nhất là 20 ngày.
ST3 TT3
Despite years of war and A- Mặc dù đã trải qua nhiều năm chiến tranh và bị quốc tế
international isolation, cô lập, Việt Nam vẫn đạt được những tiến bộ đáng kể trong
Vietnam has made công tác kế hoạch hóa gia đình, đặc biệt là ở khu vực đô
considerable progress in thị.
Family Planning,
B- Bất chấp nhiều năm chiến tranh và sự cô lập của quốc
particularly in urban areas.
tế, Việt Nam đã đạt được những tiến bộ đáng kể trong kế
hoạch hóa gia đình, đặc biệt là ở các khu vực thành thị
ST4 TT4
The new reports overcame A- Các báo cáo mới đã khắc phục sự ngần ngại trước đó
earlier reluctance on the của một số các quốc gia công nghiệp lớn trong việc cam
part of major industrial kết đặt mức giới hạn về phát thải khí nhà kính.
nations to commit
B- Các báo cáo mới đã thuyết phục được nhiều các quốc
themselves to setting limits
gia công cam kết đặt mức giới hạn về phát thải khí nhà
on production of the gas.
kính.
Exercise 2: Translate the following sentences into Vietnamese, paying attention to the
underlined parts:

ST1 TT1
The chairman of the meeting said: “We have only one
hour for 6 speakers. My job is to make sure each
speaker has 10 minutes to present his or her ideas.
After that time, if you don’t finish, you will be
finished.”

ST2
Many of us are annoyed by telephone solicitors
who call us day and night trying to sell us
everything from magazine subscriptions to vacation
homes. These electronic intruders don’t seem to care
how much they are inconveniencing us and refuse to
take “no” for an answer.

ST3 TT3
Speaking of the merits of the Royal Airforce during .
World Was II, British Prime Minister Churchill said”
Never before in the entire history of the United
Kingdom has so much been owed by so many to so
few.”

ST4 TT4
Sleep is a natural process, and although a lot has
been written about the subject, it is still
surrounded by mystery. It is used by some as an
escape from the world, and regarded by others as an
irritating waste of time. It is widely believed that
sleep repairs the body and make good the damage
caused by being awake.

ST5 TT5
Whichever party is in power, houses will have to be
built, bought, heated, and lit; people will have to be
clothed, fed, doctored, and buried, children will
have to be reared and educated, taxes will have to
be paid; food will have to be grown and processed.
 UNIT 4

English – Vietnamese Translation:

Vietnamese ghosts are hungry for Iphone
Focused skills: Transfer skills
Dealing with non-equivalence in translation

I. Vocabulary
Find the Vietnamese equivalents for the following words/ phrases

No. Source text Target text Notes

1 Hungry Ghost Festival

2 Taoists and Buddhists

3 Manoeuvre

4 Anarchist

5 Unhinged

6 Labyrinthine

7 Incineration

8 Offering

9 Cardboard replicas

10 The deceased

II. English – Vietnamese Translation

1. Pre-translation exercise
Students work in groups and answer the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the text? (to introduce/ describe/ explain/ discuss/ narrate
something)
- What can be the target readers of the text? (General readers/ experts)
- What is the type of language used in the text? (Difficulty level, writing style/ tone).
- Any other issues for translators to consider? (Cultural concepts/ items which have no
equivalence in Vietnamese)
1. English – Vietnamese Translation exercise
VIETNAMESE GHOSTS ARE HUNGRY FOR GHOST
It’s 8pm in Hanoi’s labyrinthine Old Quarter and a shop-owner places her last $100 bill on
the crackling street-side fire. I’ve watched her burn through thousands of dollars, but it’s
still not enough. Crouched over the blaze and dripping with sweat, she has exhausted the
cash. So she unpacks a box of personal items, pre-prepared for incineration: a gold Rolex, a
pair of designer sunglasses, a pack of Cuban cigars and an iPhone X. Finally, she turns to a
black Toyota Camry. The car is larger so getting the flames to catch is more of a challenge,
but after a few careful manoeuvres, it’s ablaze. Smoke drifts into passing traffic, but aside
from a few glances, passers-by pay little attention.

Hien, 38, isn’t an anarchist. Nor is she unhinged. She’s safeguarding the fortunes of her
business and family. The day of my visit, August 15th, is the beginning of the Hungry Ghost
Festival, an annual month-long event celebrated by Taoists and Buddhists across East Asia.
It takes place during the seventh month of the lunar calendar – usually starting in August –
and marks the opening of the gates of hell, when the dead roam free and cause trouble for
the living.

Many Vietnamese people burn offerings to their ancestors throughout the year, but during
the festival these ceremonies ramp up. They are also extended to appease other spirits: lost
souls that have led sinful or greedy lives. Hien is one of many believers burning offerings
for these spirits, which are only honoured during the festival. Fake money and
cardboard replicas of modern-day luxuries are commonly thrown onto the fires, and are
meant to waft into the afterlife, materialising as usable gifts for the dead.

“It’s just like people in the West at church,” Hien says, poking the fake cardboard car with a
long stick. “People pray there because they believe that something bad will happen if they
don’t. This is no different. Nobody wants bad luck.” Few Vietnamese know exactly where
the tradition comes from, and academics disagree on its origins. But Hien is just one of
thousands of believers who are conducting their own burning ceremonies across Hanoi’s
Old Quarter.

Traditionally, roaming souls were satisfied with cremated fake money. But Vietnam’s dead
are becoming increasingly demanding, so ceremonies are more elaborate than ever. “After
people die, they need the same things in the afterlife that they had in this world,” explains
Hien after the ceremony, wiping sweat from her brow with a damp cloth. “Much like the
living, the recently deceased want iPhones and cars.” [Source: The Economist]
III. Focused skills: Transfer skills (Dealing with non-equivalence)

Exercise 1: Read the source texts with given translations and identify which strategies are
used to translate the underlined parts:

ST1
Vao đem giao thưa, cac thanh vien gia
đình quay quan ben mam cơm vơi
nhưng mon an truyen thong như giò,
dưa hành, bánh chưng, xôi gấc.
ST2
Theo trình tự truyền thống, lễ dạm
ngõ là nghi thức đầu tiên trong đám
cưới truyền thống của Việt Nam. Tuy
nhiên, trong bối cảnh xã hội Việt Nam
chịu ảnh hưởng của văn hóa phương
Tây, nghi thức có thể được gỡ bỏ. Đây
là cuộc gặp gỡ chính thức của hai gia
đình.
ST3
Cách đây 76 năm, ngày 2 tháng 9 năm
1945, tại cuộc mít tinh trên Quảng
trường Ba Đình lịch sử, Chủ tịch Hồ
Chí Minh - Anh hùng giải phóng dân
tộc, Danh nhân văn hóa thế giới , đã
đọc bản Tuyên ngôn Độc lập, tuyên bố
trước quốc dân đồng bào và toàn thế
giới sự ra đời của nước Việt Nam dân
chủ Cộng hòa, nay là nước Cộng hòa
xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam.
TT1
On New Year’s Eve, family members gather for a
dinner of traditional food lick giò (pork pie),
dưa hành (salted shallots), bánh chưng
(square cakes made of sticky rice stuffed
with beans and pork) and xôi gấc
(momordica sticky rice)
TT2
In the traditional sequence, the marriage
proposal is the first ritual in the traditional
wedding Vietnam. However, in the context of
Vietnam society when there are many European
cultures imported, the ritual can be removed. It
is the official meeting of two families.
TT3
76 years ago, on 2 September 1945, at the grand
assembly on the historic Ba Dinh Square,
President Ho Chi Minh, our national hero and
cultural sage of the world, read the
Declaration of Independence, proclaiming before
the nation and the world at large the birth of the
Democratic Republic of Viet Nam – the Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam today.

Answer:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Exercise 2: Translate the following texts into Vietnamese, paying attention to the
underlined parts:

ST1 TT1
The country of Vietnam is developing so fast,
they need to change the attitude and the
conduct of the people, but it is not going to
happen in one day," he said. Drivers typically
don't look before darting into traffic or
cutting across multiple lanes of cars,
motorbikes and bicycles in a "you-look-out-
for-me" driving culture.

ST2 TT2
The Olympic motto "Faster, Higher,
Stronger" was updated to "Faster,
Higher, Stronger - Together" to reflect
solidarity across the world at the time of
Covid-19.

ST3 TT3
The term “smiling depression”—appearing
happy to others while internally suffering
depressive symptoms—has become
increasingly popular. Articles on the topic
have crept up in the popular literature, and
the number of Google searches for the
condition has increased dramatically.

ST4 TT4
Basically, a covidiot doesn’t take COVID-19
and the risks of the virus seriously, despite
what government officials and the global
health community says. At the same time,
they may also engage in selfish behavior that
doesn’t look out for the greater good when it
comes to slowing down and stopping the
spread of the coronavirus.
 ST5 TT5

Reachable in 12 hours from London, Hanoi is

a large and hectic city with roads that can be
notoriously difficult to cross thanks to
swarms of mopeds at every turn (if in doubt,
just cross confidently and whatever you do,
don’t stop). It pays to have a central base
within easy reach of the main sights,
something that means you also get to avoid
Hanoi’s taxi drivers, not all of whom
graduated from charm school.

ST6 ST6

The Monkey Buffet Festival is held annually

in Lopburi, Thailand. The festival was
described as one of the strangest festivals by
London's Guardian newspaper along with
Spain's baby-jumping festival.
 UNIT 5

English – Vietnamese Translation:

Agent Orange Exposed: How US chemical warfare in Vietnam unleashed a
slow-moving disaster
Focused skills: Post-editing skills
Editing translation by Google Translate

I. Vocabulary
Find the Vietnamese equivalents for the following words/ phrases

No. Source text Target text Notes

1 Agent Orange

2 Chemical welfare

3 Napalm

4 Birth defect

5 Deformed limbs

6 Hardwood forests

7 Mangrove swamps

8 The Mekong Delta

9 Residual dioxin

10 Joint remediation program

II. English – Vietnamese Translation

1. Pre-translation exercise
Students work in groups and answer the following questions:
- What is the purpose of the text? (to introduce/ describe/ explain/ discuss/ narrate
something)
- What can be the target readers of the text? (General readers/ experts)
- What is the type of language used in the text? (Difficulty level, writing style/ tone).
- Any other issues for translators to consider? (Cultural concepts/ items which have no
equivalence in Vietnamese)

2. English – Vietnamese Translation exercise

AGENT ORANGE, EXPOSED: HOW U.S. CHEMICAL WARFARE IN VIETNAM UNLEASHED A
SLOW-MOVING DISASTER

More than 10 years of U.S. chemical warfare in Vietnam exposed an estimated 2.1 to 4.8 million
Vietnamese people to Agent Orange. More than 40 years on, the impact on their health has been
staggering. [… ]

Unlike the effects of another chemical weapon used in Vietnam – namely napalm, which caused
painful death by burns or asphyxiation – Agent Orange exposure did not affect its victims
immediately. In the first generation, the impacts were mostly visible in high rates of various
forms of cancer among both U.S. soldiers and Vietnam residents.

But then the children were born. It is estimated that, in total, tens of thousands of people have
suffered serious birth defects – spina bifida, cerebral palsy, physical and intellectual disabilities
and missing or deformed limbs. Because the effects of the chemical are passed from one
generation to the next, Agent Orange is now debilitating its third and fourth generation.

During the 10-year campaign, U.S. aircraft targeted 4.5 million acres across 30 different
provinces in the area below the 17th parallel and in the Mekong Delta, destroying inland
hardwood forests and coastal mangrove swamps as they sprayed. The most heavily exposed
locations – among them Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Thua Thien Hue and Kontum – were sprayed
multiple times. Toxic hotspots also remain at several former U.S. air force bases. And while
research in those areas is limited – an extensive 2003 study was canceled in 2005 due to a
reported “lack of mutual understanding” between the U.S. and the Vietnamese governments –
evidence suggests that the heavily polluted soil and water in these locations have yet to
recover.

The dangerous quantity of residual dioxin in the earth thwarts the normal growth of crops and
trees, while continuing to poison the food chain. Vietnam’s natural defenses were also
debilitated. Nearly 50 percent of the country’s mangroves, which protect shorelines from
typhoons and tsunamis, were destroyed.

On a positive note, the Vietnamese government and both local and international organizations
are making strides toward restoring this critical landscape. The U.S. and Vietnam are also
undertaking a joint remediation program to deal with dioxin-contaminated soil and water.
[Source: The Conversation]
III. Focused skills: Post-editing skills

Exercise 1: Students work in groups and do the tasks

- Use Google Translate to translate the text into Vietnamese

- Highlight the translated texts that are not accurate (the source text messages are
misunderstood) or not natural (the target texts sound foreign to Vietnamese
readers)
- Give your suggestions for the problematic translations.
Answer:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
………………………………...……………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………...………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 2: Below are Vietnamese translations done by different translation tools. Compare
the translations and choose the best one with possible explanation.

ST: Vietnam’s rapid growth and industrialization have had detrimental impacts on the
environment and natural assets. Electricity consumption has tripled over the past
decade, growing faster than output. Given the increasing reliance of fossil fuels, the
power sector itself accounts for nearly two-thirds of the country’s greenhouse gas
emissions. (Source: World Bank)

Google Translate Systrans Microsoft

Tốc độ phát triển và công
nghiệp hóa nhanh chóng
của Việt Nam đã có những
tác động bất lợi đến môi
trường và tài sản thiên
nhiên. Tiêu thụ điện đã
tăng gấp ba lần trong thập
kỷ qua, tăng nhanh hơn
sản lượng. Do sự phụ
thuộc ngày càng nhiều vào
nhiên liệu hóa thạch, bản
thân ngành điện chiếm
gần 2/3 lượng phát thải
khí nhà kính của đất nước.
Tốc độ tăng trưởng và công
nghiệp hóa nhanh của Việt
Nam đã có những tác động
bất lợi đến môi trường và
tài sản thiên nhiên. Tiêu
thụ điện năng tăng gấp ba
trong thập kỷ qua, nhanh
hơn sản lượng. Do sự phụ
thuộc ngày càng tăng của
nhiên liệu hóa thạch, ngành
điện tự nó chiếm gần hai
phần ba lượng khí thải nhà
kính của đất nước.
Sự tăng trưởng và công
nghiệp hóa nhanh chóng của
Việt Nam đã có những tác
động bất lợi đến môi trường
và tài sản thiên nhiên. Tiêu
thụ điện đã tăng gấp ba lần
trong thập kỷ qua, tăng
trưởng nhanh hơn sản lượng.
Với sự phụ thuộc ngày càng
tăng của nhiên liệu hóa
thạch, bản thân ngành điện
chiếm gần hai phần ba lượng
khí thải nhà kính của đất
nước.

Việt Nam có tốc độ tăng trưởng nhanh và CNH có gây hại đến môi trường và tài nguyên thiên nhiên
quý giá. Lượng điện tiêu thụ tăng 3 lần trong 1 thập kỉ. Ngành điện VN sản sinh 2/3 lượng khí nhà
kính bởi sự phụ thuộc nhiên liệu hoá thạch.
Answer:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…

Exercise 3: Students work in groups and do the tasks.

- Highlight the translated parts that are not accurate or not natural.
- Identify the type(s) of translation mistakes
- Give your suggestions to improve the given translation

ST1 TT1
As part of Covid-19 Là một phần của hạn chế Covid-19, Hàn Quốc cấm các
restrictions, South Korea bans phòng tập thể dục chơi nhạc với hơn 120 nhịp mỗi phút
gyms from playing music with trong khi tập thể dục nhóm để ngăn những người đi tập
more than 120 beats per thể dục thở quá mạnh hoặc đổ mồ hôi vào người khác,
minute during group exercise nhưng người khổng lồ K-pop BTS sẽ vẫn trên danh sách
to stop gym-goers from phát.
breathing too hard or
splashing sweat on others, but
K-pop giants BTS will remain
on the playlist.

ST2
Goats are a seemingly unlikely
but increasingly popular
weapon in California's fight
against wildfires, which rage
through the western US state
every year. Herds of the
animals chomp through bone-
dry vegetation that could go up
in flames and threaten
surrounding homes.
TT2
Dê là một vũ khí dường như không thể xảy ra nhưng
ngày càng phổ biến trong cuộc chiến chống cháy rừng
của California, vốn hoành hành khắp bang miền Tây
Hoa Kỳ hàng năm. Các đàn động vật chen chúc trong
thảm thực vật khô như xương có thể bốc cháy và đe dọa
những ngôi nhà xung quanh.
 ST3
Ho Chi Minh City is a bustling,
dynamic and industrious
center, the economic capital
and the cultural trendsetter
of Vietnam. The streets, where
much of the city's life takes
place, is a myriad of shops,
stalls, stands-on-wheels and
vendors selling wares spread
out on sidewalks. The city
churns, ferments, bubbles
and fumes. Yet within the
teeming metropolis are the
timeless traditions and
beauty of an ancient culture.
ST4
The public lecture is organised
as part of the overall efforts to
increase understanding and
visibility of the EU in Vietnam,
and to encourage reflection
and discussion on the EU's
policies, its guiding
fundamental values and its
external relations' agenda.
ST5
The coronavirus might top the
risks at the Tokyo Olympics, but
organisers in Japan have other
deadly, unpredictable threats to
contend with: natural disasters.
Individuals can now refresh
their hazard awareness at
disaster simulation centres,
where visitors experience
artificial jolts and evacuation
through smoke-filled rooms.
TT3
Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh là một trung tâm sầm uất, năng
động và cần cù, là thủ đô kinh tế và đầu tàu văn hóa của
Việt Nam. Các đường phố, nơi diễn ra phần lớn nhịp
sống của thành phố, có vô số cửa hàng, quầy hàng, quầy
hàng và những người bán đồ gốm trải dài trên vỉa hè.
Thành phố khuấy động, lên men, bong bóng và khói.
Tuy nhiên, bên trong đô thị đông đúc là những truyền
thống vượt thời gian và vẻ đẹp của một nền văn hóa cổ
đại. được ví là
Thành phố HCM một trung tâm sầm uất, năng động và siêng năng, là đầu tàu KT và văn
hóa của Việt Nam. Đường phố là nơi nhịp sống của thành phố diễn ra, có vô vàn cửa
hàng, quầy hàng di động trên các vỉa hè. Thành phố sôi động, men say, bay bổng và lan
toả. Tuy nhiên, ẩn bên trong đô thị sầm uất đó vẫn có những nét truyền thống trường tồn
và vẻ đẹp của một nền văn hóa giàu bản sắc.
TT4
Buổi diễn thuyết được tổ chức như một phần của nỗ lực
chung để tăng cường hiểu biết và tầm nhìn của EU tại
Việt Nam, và khuyến khích sự phản ánh và thảo luận về
các chính sách, cũng như đưa ra những trao đổi về quan
hệ đối ngoại của EU - Việt Nam.
TT5
irus coronavirus có thể gây rủi ro hàng đầu tại Thế vận
hội Tokyo, nhưng các nhà tổ chức ở Nhật Bản có những
mối đe dọa chết người không thể đoán trước khác phải
đối mặt: thiên tai. Các cá nhân hiện có thể nâng cao
nhận thức về mối nguy hiểm của họ tại các trung tâm
mô phỏng thảm họa, nơi du khách trải nghiệm những cú
xóc nhân tạo và sơ tán qua những căn phòng đầy khói.
Vi-rút corona có thể là mối đe dọa hàng đầu tại Thế vận hội Tokyo, nhưng các nhà tổ
chức Nhật Bản còn đối mặt với những mối đe dọa khó lường khác từ tự nhiên đó là thiên
tai. Mọi người có thể tìm hiểu các nguy cơ tại các trung tâm mô phỏng thiên tai và trải
nghiệm những nỗi sợ có xếp đặt và sơ tán qua những phòng nghi ngút khói