AN ANALYSIS ON TRANSLATION PROCEDURES FROM VIETNAMESE TO ENGLISH FOR NAMES OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN VIETNAM =

Abstract

ABSTRACT During the integration into global education, higher education institutions (HEIs) constantly pursue better worldwide reputations reflected in their branding. In the context of Vietnam, most HEIs have been independently translating their names into English without following any standard directives, which causes inconsistency in administrative procedures as well as misunderstanding of their prestige. Since there has been little research on this problem, the researcher is motivated to conduct a study titled “An analysis on translation procedures from Vietnamese to English for names of higher education institutions in Vietnam”. This research aims to identify and analyze procedures employed for translating English names of HEIs in Vietnam based on the theoretical framework of translation procedures by Newmark (1988). Besides, a further comparison with names of HEIs in the U.S. has been developed to draw out the implications from the research findings. The major methods adopted throughout the study consist of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. 120 representatives of Vietnamese HEIs have been selected using purposive sampling method with their names collected from their official websites as primary data. The findings reveal the trend of four main procedures, dominated by literal translation. Grounded on the findings, the implications were finally drawn out, concerning name structures and concepts of HEI type as well as variations in the translation of descriptive elements.