An Investigation into Hufi English- Majored Students’ Issues with Translation and Interpretation

English Language programs that seek to offer learners adequate English skills and translate strategies to conduct in multilingual environments include translation and interpretation. However, translating effectively is not a simple task because English language skills are not the only factor to consider; other factors also play a role. Owing to their poor language proficiency and comprehension of translation methods, many HUFI English-majored students have no experience with translation and interpretation. Therefore, this paper looked at how HUFI English-majored students approach translation and interpretation tasks and how successful those translated versions are in relation to the original Vietnamese documents. The results showed many incorrect translated items caused by “word -by- word” translation or meta phrase technique and the influence of the Vietnamese language on two translated texts and talks from ten participants. Teachers of translation and interpretation subjects and students will get advice on improving the curriculum and teaching methods.


Introduction 1
In the era of globalization, English is the most popular language which is spoken by a large number of people in the world, Which leads to the growing number of people who learn English for finding more opportunites in many worldwide establishments. In HUFI, the Department of paediatrics has relalized the importance of learning a language; therefore, they have developed some English language programs which admit their students to discover English language aspects. In the curriculum of English-majored students, there are three courses for translation and interpretation, which gives learners the necessary knowledge of the English Language and some techniques that are useful for their learning of translation and interpretation subjects. In these courses, students learn some theories and practice many tasks that relate to translation and interpretation. There are many issues with translation and interpretation that English-majored students at HUFI have to deal with. One of them is due to their limited English proficiency and inexperience. Learners perform poorly in their translation tasks for various reasons, including the lack of background knowledge, poor grammar and vocabulary, and just a few opportunities to practice translation tasks authentically. Furthermore, inefficiencies in teaching and learning at their institution do not help learners' translation skills. To gain a better understanding of those learners' current translation practices, I will examine What translation is referred to and some factors which make translation practice better in order to help my students improve their r ability of translation and interpretation

Definition of translation
Generally, translation and interpretation are not the same. They are different. This part would consider the definition of those two to see where they overlap and where they diverge. It is also worth noting that this paper focuses solely on the former.
Both translation and interpretation are quite well-known due to their popularity. Therefore, there have been a lot of definitions of these two fields. According to Heim and Tymowski (2006) , they refined that translation is the act that changes a text from one language to another language. As can be seen, this definition is too general and wide as a text might be made in both written and speaking forms, which requires many different translation techniques. To understand translation more deeply, Jone (2002) and Commission (2009) have based on the types of texts to make their definitions. They stated that the difference between the two terms is quite simple, as translation and interpretation both refer to changing message from the source language to the target language. However, translation tends to aim for written language while interpretation focuses on spoken language. The types of texts and messages that people exchange while changing from one language to another have clarified the key differences between translation and interpretation. Differences in text forms lead to different criteria which require qualified translation and interpretation. The following section will illustrate how to translate effectively and some necessary criteria for a good translator. Jones (2002) claims that translation entails more than merely transferring words from one language to another. Indeed, translation should be linked to messages that are meaningful and natural in the target language. The translation should give the idea that it is not a translation, but rather that it was written in that language initially. Jones (2002) concentrated on the coherence and cohesion of the translation, whereas Commission (2009) emphasized the accuracy of contents. It is also argued that due to their content accuracy, translated papers should be given the same legal value as the original. Consequently, adequate translation necessitates content correctness, coherence, and cohesion in order to ensure that translated writings are readable and understandable.

Expectations for translation
Certain criteria for translators have been established as a result of the points mentioned above of good translation. According to Jones (2002), this researcher said that because translation is a form of writing, translators should build a firm foundation of writing and editing skills to be able to provide high-quality translations. Good language skills, on the other hand, are insufficient. Commission (2009)conducted extensive research on the qualities of good translators, dispelling myths about what makes a good translator. For example, getting to know more than one language does not guarantee the competence to translate messages between the languages. A qualified translator needs to be able to understand the message they translate, which is especially true in the case of specialized translation Jones (2002), where translators work on literature from specialized fields including nursing, engineering, and sociology. These fields necessitate specialized knowledge to translate correctly. Jones (2002) requires that more information be sought by the translators about what they will translate after receiving the translation assignments to make sure that they have a thorough understanding of the original texts' concepts. Since translation involves changes from the source language to the target language, cultural aspects are also considered because language and culture are inextricably linked Jiang (2000). Translators should gain cultural awareness to offer clarifications for slang and colloquialisms may or may not be translated literally. Translators should take advantage of many chances to edit translated drafts into final versions to produce high-quality translations.
Because there are high standards for translation quality, being a professional translator is a lengthy practising process and effort. As Jones (2002) and Robinson (2007) mentioned, they went on to discuss professional training for those aspiring to be translators, emphasizing things that training programs need to provide to translators in the future. A person who does translate work may specialize in a specific area, such as judicial, literary, conference, or even escort translation. Identifying what field translators are interested in may help translators use time wisely and acquire language skills. Also, having specific expertise in that sector is much more vital. Those who desire to diversify their translation profession by working in a number of fields should put in extra effort to gain a thorough understanding of various fields as well as The ability to communicate in English, which includes terminology.
Another consideration is localization, which necessitates translators immersing in situations of both the original and translated task. This convoluted piece of advice is intended to aid translators in properly comprehending the meaning presented and delivering an understandable message to the audience. According to Robinson (2007), training programs should educate translators' ethics. As a link between individuals who speak various languages, translators must maintain high ethical standards in their work to ensure that the meaning of the original texts is not altered. Robinson (2007) described the concept of professional translator engagement, which is based on the premise of life-long learning and experience. To put it another way, translators should become members of a professional association in their speciality to share their knowledge and gain practice opportunities.
As can be seen, what establishments or organizations of translation we are from, conferences we take part in, training courses we take and how we network with other translators in our region and language pair are all topics of little or no significance to translation users, but they are vital to translators (s). These "involvements" can occasionally assist translators in producing better translations, which is crucial for users and, as a result, for our pride in reliability. More significantly, they make us feel better about ourselves as translators; they enhance our professional self-esteem, which is often what keeps us going through monotonous, low-paying work (p.25). Jones (2002) Due to all the abovementioned points, doing a good translation and becoming a qualified translator is quite demanding and unquestionably challenging. The question is how well individuals who are being trained to be competent translators are aware of these characteristics and how they are reflected in their translation assignments. The following section examines Vietnamese EFL college students' ability to provide good translation outputs as well as the reasons implied in their translation.

The design of the study
I propose the following research questions to investigate how HUFI English-majored students address their translation tasks and if their outputs of translation agree with the criteria mentioned above: -How do HUFI English-majored students approach translation projects? -How well are the translation projects being completed?? -What are the motivations behind their translation ways?
To collect data for this paper, two different texts and talks from two different course books were given to 10 Englishedmannered students in HUFI, then the students were asked to translate the two texts and talk into English or Vietnamese, which depended on the requirements of the texts and talks. The student would do the tasks in 60 minutes. When the timer ran out, the results were compiled and presented as tables with illustrations of common mistakes that the students made during their translation process. After the students finished their translation, I asked the lecturers of those Translation courses to cross-check the participants' translated texts as well. They were teaching Translation courses at HUFI ; hence, they had extensive teaching experience. They also participated in a variety of Translation training programs at HUFI. Their evaluation was valuable and reliable because they were experienced and well-trained. The translated texts were compared to the original Vietnamese document to identify inappropriate translations. Then, for more in-depth ideas on translation procedures, I conducted interviews with those participants to learn more about the problems they had to face during their translation and interpretation courses.

The sample of the study
The study was conducted by the participation of ten English-major students in their junior years when data were collected. Those participants were chosen because they had completed the Introduction to Translation and Translation courses as part of their training program. Before participating in this study, it is assumed that they already leant the theories and techniques of translation. According to the reports, those participants had some background knowledge of translation which means they had a good ability of English language skills and had some understanding of translation techniques. All the participants were asked to translate into English a Vietnamese folk chant from the students' textbook on page 141 from Yen (2016),. The students were also asked to practise a situation of oral interpretation from Hung (2012). (See Appendix). It was seen that the participants were familiar with the chant and the situation.

The instrument of the study
The instrument used in this study is based on a Vietnamese chant from Hung (2012). and a situation from Yen (2016). In task 1, the students were asked to translate from Vietnamese to English. In task 2, they were asked to play a role of an interpreter; therefore, they had to translate the text both in English and Vietnamese. Both tasks were chosen to check the students' translation and interpretation competence. Then, I interviewed those participants to learn more about their difficulties during their translation and interpretation courses.

Translated texts
The participants' translations were found to have significant problems due to their word-by-word translation methodology and the influence of the Vietnamese language, which resulted in incorrect word choices. Furthermore, a lack of understanding of the context expressed in the original language resulted in an incorrect translation.

Number
Original words Participants' translation Comments 1 Hôi tanh smelling A number of participants mistranslated this because it should be interpreted as "undefiled" in this case. However, the inability to place the word in the appropriate context resulted in this incorrect translation.

Ý chí bền bỉ
Hard-working efforts A number of participants mistranslated this because it should be interpreted as "strong effort/ great will" in this case. The inability to place the word in the proper context, however, resulted in this incorrect translation.

Luxurious and worship places
This is an example of word-for-word translation technique. The original text means "holly places." However, the phrase was devided and each word was translated, such as "luxurious" for "cao quý" and "worship" for "thiêng liêng'

4
Trên chất liệu tằm cao cấtp Base on high-quality silk One more example of word-for-word translation technique, with no regard for context. In this case, 'dựa trên' means "weaved on," but the participants distorted the meaning of the phrase by translating each word.

5
Tận mắt thấy See in your eyes Several participants mistranslated this because it should be read as "see for yourself" in this case. The inability to place the word in the proper context, however, resulted in this incorrect translation.

6
Đại Đài Bắc Big Taipei Another example of literal translation. The phrase "Greater Taipei " appears in the original text. The phrase. However, the inability to place the word in the appropriate context resulted in this incorrect translation.

Develop in height and in width
This is an example of meta-phrase in interpretation. Some participants didn't know the phrase "grow vertically and horrizontally". Consequently, they used the inproper words.

8
Chuyển đổi nhanh chóng Quick change This was also a case of literal translation with no regard for context. In this case, " chuyển đổi nhanh chóng" means "the rapid transformation," but the participants distorted the meaning of the phrase by translating each word individually.
Other examples extracted from the participants' translations demonstrated the inequivalence in translation caused by the wordby-word technique. In the above descriptions, I used numbers to illustrate how all the participants used a word-for-word translation technique based on the Vietnamese text.

Participant's translation:
In pond, nothing is as beautiful as lotus.
To make the sentence flow smoothly, the participant translated each word without regard for sentence transformation. Another case in which word-for-word translation muddled the sentence is as follows.
Original text: -Gần bùn mà chẳng hôi tanh mùi bùn Participant's translation: Near mud, but it is not as smelling as the mud. (1) Suggested translation: Shining and undefiled by the mud it emerged from.

Participant's translation:
Taipei is a medium city .

Participant's translation:
The city is starting to combine its near areas Suggested translation: The city is starting to swallow up its neighboring areas -Tôi đảm bảo với ông rằng đi bộ đến bất cứ đâu ở Đài Bắc đều rất an toàn Participant's translation: I'm sure you that walking everywhere in Taipei is very safe.
As can be seen, there was an insufficient translation, which distorted the meaning of the original messages and resulted in incomprehensible translated texts.

Interviews
An interview was done to offer insight into the translation technique of participants. Students who used the word-to-word translation technique said they did not know how to use coherent and cohesive tools to rewrite the translated ideas. Therefore, they would choose the words to form the source language and then translate them into the target language. On the other hand, the others admitted that they were unsure whether the transformation was correct or not, then they prefered sticking to the orders in the Vietnamese language and a few changes in sentence structure were made.
Thanks to the interview, some students said they did not care about the meaning conveyed in the original texts. Some of them stated that they could not understand the Vietnamese sentences, but they did not clarify. Consequently, they just based on their own opinion and then translated equivalently to the original text's meaning.
A few participants told me that due to their limited knowledge of language proficiency, they found it difficult to translate well. A good example of this was that one of my students said that he could understand the meaning of the text in the source language but he still did not know how to translate those into the target language because he did not know many words. He also stated that he was not sure if he had the right choice of words.
One participant mentioned that the cause was also due to the time limits and the quality of translations. It was because she did not have much time to do the translation. Moreover, the quality of the translation should not be too highly expected. According to Iverson (2004), time and quality were in a relationship. It was clear that a translator could not revise their work in the limit of time, and the high quality could not be expected this time.
Although all the participants have gained some achievements in their translation and interpretation courses, they could not effectively do the document translation in some fields. Last but not least, due to the ignorance of the meaning of the original texts, the accuracy of contents could not be assured. Moreover, the students used too many word-to-word translation techniques, which led them stuck to Vietnamese versions in order to avoid the distortion of contents.

Conclusion
According to the above research questions, "How do HUFI English-majored students approach translation projects?", " How well are the translation projects being completed?" and "What are the motivations behind their translation ways?". This paper aimed to investigate the students of translation class' problems in translating texts and the translation problems' causal factors, as seen clearly from the results, several translation issues, including word-choice, grammatical, rhetorical, and cultural issues. Furthermore, in response to the research question about translation issues, several words and phrases from the Vietnamese source language text were not clearly translated into target language English because the words chosen did not reveal the intended meaning of the Vietnamese source language.
Furthermore, grammar issues, such as selecting the appropriate words or phrases, arise when translating texts from the Vietnamese source language into the target language English. Because the intended meaning of the source language written in Vietnamese was not really revealed when it came to the target language English, the purpose or the real messages of the source text were not transferred, causing pragmatic problems on both sides. First, the failure of the translators' students to interpret the intended meaning of the source text, and then the target readers received the information written in the target text based on what the translators interpreted in the source language into the target language. In other words, the paper demonstrates that translation was incomplete because of the students' limit of understanding the meaning conveyed in the source language, the lack of English proficiency, the abuse of word-to-word or meta-phrase translation technique as the feeling of confidence in transforming sentences. As a result, educators must use various resources to help their students improve their language proficiency and background knowledge.
Furthermore, more opportunities for translation practice should be provided so that students can gain confidence and experience. As Robinson (2007) suggested, some translation clubs or chat groups should be established in the university for students and teachers to exchange their experiences and practise translation and interpretation. There, the university should also invite some experienced translators to offer their students valuable experiences. To become professional translators, people need a lot of hard work and dedication. Consequently, both educators and students must make courses more practical by providing ample opportunities for practice to improve their translation skills.
Funding: This research received no external funding.