VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THE USE OF SINO-VIETNAMESE VOCABULARY
IN TRANSLATION OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
BY
FOURTH-YEAR STUDENTS OF TRANSLATION AND
INTERPRETING DIVISION, FACULTY OF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Cẩm Linh, M.A
Student: Trần Hà Thu
Year: QH2008

HANOI – 2012


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TỪ HÁN VIỆT
TRONG DỊCH THUẬT CÁC VĂN BẢN CHUYÊN
NGÀNH KINH TẾ CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM CUỐI
NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH PHIÊN DỊCH, KHOA SƯ PHẠM
TIẾNG ANH

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.S Nguyễn Thị Cẩm Linh
Sinh viên: Trần Hà Thu
Khóa: QH 2008

HÀ NỘI - NĂM 2012


I hereby state that I: Trần Hà Thu, class 08E20, being a candidate for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the
retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.

Signature

Hanoi, April 30th, 2012


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first and foremost like to express the deep gratitude to my supervisor,
Nguyễn Thị Cẩm Linh, MA for her support, guidance and considerable
encouragement which are decisive factors to the completion of the study.
Secondly, I would like to show my gratefulness to my family who offered me
continuous support through the past few years so that I could have the motivation to
overcome the difficulty.

In addition, words of thank are addressed to my friends in 08E18, 08E19,
especially 08E20 for their contribution in my research.

i


ABSTRACT

This study reflected the reality of taking advantage of the Sino-Vietnamese
vocabulary in translation of business-related documents by the fourth-year students
in Translator and Interpreting Division, Faculty of English Language Teacher
Education, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies. In addition,
the study was conducted to identify translation strategies and procedures applied to
translate economic terminology from English into Vietnamese using SinoVietnamese vocabulary. To achieve these aims, the data were collected by
questionnaire.
Overall, the exploitation of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in translation of
business-related documents has not been paid proper attention by the students. This
could be explained by the limited vocabulary of Sino-Vietnamese related to
economics of the students. Therefore, the paper concentrated on the appropriate
strategies and procedures in order to translate economic terminology with
Vietnamese Chinese-derived words in Vietnamese and proposed suggestions for the
students to widen their knowledge of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary. However, the
study remained some limitations, which shed light on the further studies.

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT


i

ABSTRACT

ii

LIST OF FIGURES

v

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

vi

LIST OF APPENDIX

vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale

1

1.2. Aims and research questions

2

1.3. Scope of the study


3

1.4. Significance

3

1.4. Methodology

4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Sino-Vietnamese words

6

2.1.1. Origin

6

2.1.2. Classification

7

2.2. Translation

8

2.2.1. Definition

8


2.2.2. Technical translation

9

2.2.2.1. Definition

9

2.2.2.2. Translation methods of technical translation

10

2.2.3. Translation procedures

9

2.3. Terminology

12

2.3.1. Definition

12

2.3.2. General features

12

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1. Samplings

15

3.2. Participants

15
iii


3.3. Data collection instruments

16

3.4. Data collection procedures

18

3.5. Data analysis method

19

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Research question 1

20

4.2. Research question 2

22


4.3. Research question 3

24

4.4. Research question 4

33

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. Major findings of the study

38

5.2. Limitations of the study

39

5.3. Contribution of the study

40

5.4. Suggestions for further studies

41

REFERENCES

42


APPENDIXES

45

iv


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

1

Page

The summary of frequency of using Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary for

21

translating economic texts by the surveyed students
2

The summary of difficulties which the students meet when using

22

Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary for translating specialized terms in
economic texts.
3


The summary of the effects of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in the
translation of economic terms as perceived by the students

v

34


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

FELTE

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education

SL

Source language

ST

Source text

TL

Target language

TT

Target text


TID

Translation and Interpreting Division

ULIS

University of Languages and International Studies

VNU

Vietnam National University

vi


LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix

Page

1

Questionnaire

44

2

Affixes in economic terminology


47

3

Structure of economic compound terms: Classifier/Epithet (Noun) 48
+ Thing

4

Structure

of

economic

compound

(Adjective) + Thing

vii

terms:

Classifier/Epithet 49


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION


1.1. Rationale:
Undergoing a process of selection, adaptation and application during
thousands of years, Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary has become one part of
Vietnamese cultural heritage treasure. They have been used to express the rhetorical
nuances in different styles and functions. Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary is of great
material for scholarly literature, popular literature or other forms of written
documents. It is acknowledged that Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary has a lot of effects
on the texts in terms of nuance of expression, for instance, formality, elegance,
generalization or abstract and classic style.
As the time passes by, the use of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in ordinary
types of written texts or in communication has been less common; however, it is
still made the most use in formal written documents. Particularly, it is mostly
utilized in the systems of professional terminology. According to the survey and
statistics of Vietnamese terminology in different fields in the project Overall
Investigation into Languages Used in Vietnam conducted by Vietnamese Academy
of Social Sciences during the period from 2001 to 2005, Sino-Vietnamese
vocabulary plays an important role in constituting scientific, technical and
commercial terminology. Ha (2009) claimed that among 4, 252 Vietnamese
commercial terms, 46.73% of them are in the form of Sino-Vietnamese words.
Obviously, in the business-related terminology, Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary is
taken advantage in Vietnamese equivalents of English terms. As regards translation
of business-related documents, using Sino-Vietnamese words as equivalents of
English terms is considered the tactics of many translators.
A lot of researchers conducted studies on translation of economic
terminology. Most of them studied the translation methods applied in translating
business-related terminology. Citing the study of Hoang (2005) as an example, the
researcher made a specific classification of economic terminology in the economic
1



textbook Business Law with the UCC Applications and presented methods as well
as strategies in translation of economic terminology at-word-level and above-wordlevel. In addition, Dang (2007) investigated the extent to which metaphor use in
economics discourse differs between English and Vietnamese. Besides, Ly (2010)
analyzed the translation of business-related documents of students in TID, FELTE,
ULIS, VNU; then, the researcher identified the common errors made by the students
in translating texts in this field and suggested some solutions. However, very few
studies are carried out to examine the use of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in
translation of economic terminology. Especially, the application of SinoVietnamese vocabulary in translating economic terms in business-related
documents of fourth-year students in TID, FELTE, ULIS, VNU has not been
investigated. For theses above reasons, the use of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary by
fourth-year students in TID, FELTE, ULIS, VNU for translating specialized terms
in English business-related documents has become the subject of this graduation
paper.

1.2. Aims of the study and research questions
Firstly, this research paper is expected to find out the frequency which SinoVietnamese vocabulary appearing in the sample target texts and the translation of
students in TID, FELTE, ULIS, VNU. Secondly, the researcher also hopes to find
the common difficulties of the students in applying business-related SinoVietnamese vocabulary to translate specialized terms. Thirdly, a closer look will be
taken at the use of Sino-Vietnamese words in translation of English economic terms
by specifying translation strategies and procedures which are commonly employed.
Afterwards, the study has implications for translators in using Sino-Vietnamese
words when translating economic terms. In brief, those objectives could be
summarized into three questions as follows:
1. What is the proportion of the use of business-related Sino-Vietnamese
vocabulary in the translation of economic documents by fourth-year students in
TID, FELTE, ULIS, VNU?
2


2. What are the difficulties faced by fourth-year students in TID, FELTE,

ULIS, VNU when using Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary for translating economic
terms?
3. Which translation procedures are employed to translate economic terms
with the exploitation of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary?
4. What are the implications/suggestions for fourth-year students in TID,
FELTE, ULIS, VNU to utilize Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary when translating
English economic terms?

1.3 Scope of the study
As the title implies, this research paper focuses on the exploitation of SinoVietnamese vocabulary in the translation of English business-related documents.
Therefore, the paper places a stronger emphasis on the utilization of SinoVietnamese vocabulary in the translation of economic documents and its effects in
interpreting the meanings of the source terms.
Moreover, the participants in this research paper are restricted to fourth-year
students in TID, FELTE, ULIS, VNU. Thus, the results of the research paper will
reflect the frequency, difficulties, and strategies of those students in employing
Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in order to translate specialized terms in English
business-related texts.

1.4. Significance of the study
This research would benefit those who work in translation, those who are
being trained to be future translators, and researchers working on related studies.
As for translators and students whose major is translation, this study raises
their awareness of using Sino-Vietnamese words as equivalents in translation of
Business English, specifically economic terminology. Based on the findings, they
can draw some conclusions of the effectiveness of exploiting Sino-Vietnamese
vocabulary in translation of economic terminology. Therefore, present translators as

3



well as future translators can develop some strategies for utilizing Sino-Vietnamese
words which are equivalent to English economic terminology.
Besides, with regard to foreign language researchers in Vietnam, those who
share the same interest in the study of the application of Sino-Vietnamese
vocabulary in translation not only in economic fields but also in other fields can rely
on this research to find reliable and useful information for their related studies in the
future.

1.4. Methodology
Articles and reports of World Bank (WB) and United Nations Development
Program (UNDP). In addition, the books English for Finance and Banking
compiled by Nguyen Xuan Thom (1999) and Principles of Economics (Third
Edition) written by the famous economic researcher Nicholas Gregory Mankiw are
also used to study the Vietnamese equivalents of economic terms in this research
papers.
To address the research questions, a questionnaire was designed according to
the anticipated responses to the research questions.
Fourth-year students in TID, FELTE, ULIS, VNU were invited to involve in
completing the questionnaires.
As this study is carried out for the sake of the use of business-related SinoVietnamese words in English - Vietnamese translation of economic text, both
quantitative and qualitative methods were applied.
With reference to the procedure, economic terms in the source text and their
Vietnamese equivalents were collected. Then, they were classified into two main
categories: one-word terms and compound-word terms based on their grammatical
compositions. Economic terms in each category which are translated in the form of
Sino-Vietnamese words in the target text are filtered to be used as examples in the
questionnaire. The questionnaire would be delivered to the students to get their
opinions on the exploitation of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in translating economic
terms in English and. Besides, the questionnaire also included some examples to see
4



how the students deal with Sino-Vietnamese words in translating the given terms
related economics.

5


CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Sino-Vietnamese words
2.1.1. Origin
Both Chinese and Vietnamese are languages experiencing a long history.
Since the invasion of Han Dynasty in 111 BC, the contact of these two languages
had begun. During the Chinese domination, Vietnamese vocabulary received a huge
amount of Han vocabulary; however, this process varied in different periods and in
variable forms and degrees. In Tang Dynasty, Vietnamese vocabulary
systematically received a large number Han words through books, these words were
adopted to Vietnamese vocabulary in the form of Tang phonetics. Generally, SinoVietnamese words are elements in Vietnamese language derived from Chinese.
According to the statistics on the occurrence of Sino-Vietnamese words
(Britannica), they account for 60% of Vietnamese vocabulary, not including
naturalized words borrowings from China.
Since then, Vietnamese feudal dynasties chose Han words in their national
official language. Although Chinese words were modified in each Chinese dynasty,
they were still pronounced according to Tang phonology by Vietnamese.
Nowadays, this pronunciation has been maintained, it is called Sino-Vietnamese
pronunciation. Specifically, it is the pronunciation of Chinese words in a
Vietnamese distinct way. In comparison with Chinese phonology in Tang Dynasty,
the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation has been modified to be more natural in

Vietnamese in order to comply with the Vietnamese phonological system. Notably,
all modern written Vietnamese are in the form of Latin-based alphabet which was
adopted in the early 20th century; therefore, Sino-Vietnamese words are now written
with Latin alphabet instead of Chinese characters (Tran, 2010: 2).
Sino-Vietnamese words are frequently used in written documents in formal
context rather than in daily life. They are widely used in various fields such as
medicine, politics, literature, science, education, philosophy, economics, etc.
6


2.1.2. Classification
Vietnamese vocabulary consists of two groups of words which are native and
non-native (Le 2010). Non-native group in Vietnamese refers to words borrowed
from other languages such as Indian, Japanese, French, etc, including Chinesederived words. In the long history of the contact between Chinese and Vietnamese,
there are two remarkable periods which are the early Tang Dynasty (8th century) and
the late Tang Dynasty (8th – 10th century). Mai, et al (1997) divided Chinese-derived
words into two sub-groups according to these major periods: Old Chinese words
and Sino-Vietnamese words.
Firstly, Old Chinese words are Chinese-derived words adopted to
Vietnamese in the first period. After a long time of adoption, these words has
become more familiar with Vietnamese language and culture; for instance: chè, ngà,
chén, buồm, mùi, mùa, etc. Obviously, in the modern time, Vietnamese frequently
use those words in their daily communication; yet, they are not regarded as original
Chinese words.
Secondly, Sino-Vietnamese words are also Chinese-derived words imported
to Vietnamese vocabulary in the second period. Basically, Vietnamese pronounce
these words based on the Chinese phonology in Tang Dynasty; nevertheless, their
pronunciation is gradually adjusted to be in accordance with Vietnamese
phonology; for example: trà, mã, trọng, khinh, vượng, cận, nam, nữ, etc. The name
‘Sino-Vietnamese words’ also involves words which Chinese borrowed from other

languages, then Vietnamese make use of them and pronounce them like other SinoVietnamese sounds. Particularly, several words are Japanese-originated such as
trường hợp, nghĩa vụ, phục tùng, kinh tế , or European- originated like Mạc Tư
Khoa, Anh Cát Lợi, etc.
2.2. Translation
2.2.1. Definition
Translation is considered to be an ‘art’ which requires great effort and
proficiency of the translators. A lot of viewpoints were given on the definition of
translation by linguistics in the world.
7


Newmark (1981, pp.7) stated that ‘Translation is a craft consisting in the
attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in one language by the same
message and/or statement in another language’. Translation is a process consisting
of studying the lexicon, grammar and cultural context of a source language text,
then analyzing the text to determine the suitable meaning, and finally reconstructing
the meaning in the lexicon, grammar cultural context which were appropriate in the
target language.
According to Cartford (1965), translation is ‘the replacement of a text in one
language (SL) by an equivalent text in another language (TL)’. Catford shared the
same ideas with Newmark on the equivalence of the target text in comparison with
the source text. The target text is considered to be corresponding to the source text
when the message is conveyed fully with the same form and meaning
Similarly, Bell (1991: 5) defined ‘translation is the expression in another
language (or TL) of what has been expressed in another, SL, preserving semantic
and stylistic equivalences’. Accordingly, he put an emphasis on the stylistic
equivalence of the target text; this meant the translation must convey the stylistic
features to the readers in the language of the receptor. Hatim & Mason (1990: 3),
however, paid more attention to the communicative purpose of translation rather
than the semantic and stylistic features by claiming that ‘translation is a

communicative process which takes place within a social context’.
All of these above definitions were introduced by different linguistics with
variable viewpoints but the same focuses. They implied that the translation of a
source text obligatorily preserves the semantics, lexis, grammar and especially, the
cultural context and the communicative purpose in some situations.

2.2.2. Technical translation
2.2.2.1. Definition:
According to Newmark (1988), ‘Technical translation is one part of
specialized translation; it is primarily distinguished from other forms of translation by
terminology, although terminology usually only makes up about 5-10% of a text’.
8


Sofer (1991) claimed that technical translation is used when there is a need for
specialized terms of a specific field in the translation.
Both definitions of technical translation clarifies that the occurrence of
specialized terminology in a target text is the signal of technical translation. In
addition, Newmark (1995: 152) go further when identifying three varieties or levels
of technical language:
 Academic style associated with academic papers
 Professional style which refers to formal terms used by experts
 The popular one including familiar alternative terms.
2.2.2.2. Translation method of technical translation
Newmark (1988a) suggested some useful procedures to apply in technical
translation. Foremost, reading the text thoroughly is very important to understand and
evaluate it in terms of formality, intention, cultural and professional differences
between the readership and the original one. It is required that the translators must
take every details in the source text into consideration. Particularly, Newmark
(1988a) advised translators to take notice of words with prefixes and suffixes, semiempty words, verbs required a recasting of the TL sentence and pun words.

2.2.3. Translation procedures
According to Nida (1982), there are four translation procedures namely
changes of order, omission, structure, addition.
Vinay and Darbelnet (1973) proposed seven procedures including loan
calque, literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence and adaptation.
Newmark (1988b: 81-93) mentioned the difference between translation
methods and translation procedures. He indicated that while translation methods
relate to the whole text, translation procedures are used for sentences and smaller
units of language. He referred to the following procedures:
 Transference
A SL word is directly taken in to the TL text with no changes in terms of word
form in order to create certain stylistic effect.
E.g:
9


- Names of newspapers: Financial Times, CNN.
- Names of streets: Downing Street, Wall Street.
- Technical terms related to information technology: internet, blog, Bluetooth.
 Naturalization
A transferred word is adapted to the TL (maintaining the pronunciation and
phonology)
E.g:
- Coffee: cà phê
- Turbine: tua bin
 Through translation
In this procedure, a word or normally an expression is literally translated into
the TL. Through translation should be used for already recognized terms.
E.g: Names of organizations, diseases
AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: Hội chứng suy giảm miễn

dịch mắc phải.
 Shift or transposition
This procedure involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL; for
instance, change from singular to plural, the change required when a specific SL
structure does not exist in the TL, change of an SL verb to a TL word, change of an
SL noun group to a TL noun (Newmark, 1988b: 86).
E.g:
The information of the rise in petrol price are now common knowledge.
Giờ thì ai cũng biết tin xăng tăng giá.
 Modulation
Modulation means the variation in the message when it is translated into the
TL due to a change in the point of view.
- One part ↔ another
E.g:
She cleared the throat before she began her speech.
10


Cô ấy hắng giọng trước khi phát biểu.
- Passive ↔ active
E.g:
The roof was damaged by the storm.
Trận bão đã phá hỏng mái nhà.
- Positive ↔ double negative
E.g:
The vase is totally worthless.
Cái bình này cũng có chút giá trị.
 Cultural equivalence
A SL cultural word or expression is translated by a TL cultural word
considered equivalent to it.

E.g:
She graduated after obtaining the degree with high distinction.
Cô ấy tốt nghiệp loại xuất sắc.
 Functional equivalence
Functional equivalence is using a culture-free word or expression in a
translation for a cultural word or expression in the SL.
E.g:
Will the Pentagon decide to terminate the program?
Liệu Bộ quốc phòng Mỹ có quyết định ngừng chương trình này khơng?
 Descriptive equivalence
This means the meaning of the original word is explained by a phrase or
sentence. It is frequently used with transference to translate a cultural word or
expression.
E.g:
To attend the barbecue, you must have a student ID
Khi đi dự tiệc barbecue (bữa tiệc tổ chức ngoài trời, đồ ăn cũng được nướng ở
bên ngoài), bạn cần mang theo thẻ sinh viên.
2.3. Terminology
11


2.3.1. Definition
There are also a lot of definitions of terminology provided by linguistics. In
online Merriam Webster dictionary, terminology is defined as ‘the technical or
special terms used in business, art, science or special subject’. Besides, terminology
is defined as ‘a word or a combination of words that denotes the concept precisely
and its relationship with other concepts in a specific area. Terminology is a
specialized and restricted expression on things, phenomena, characteristics, and the
relationship in a specific profession.’ (Russian Encyclopedia, 1976).
This definition shares many common features with those approached by

many Vietnamese linguists such as the one proposed in Do (1998) claims ‘Terms
are specialist words used within a scientific field, a profession or any technological
field’. According to Nguyen (1998), ‘Terminology is a section of special lexis of a
language. It consists of fixed words and groups of words which are accurate names
of concepts and subjects belonging to different specialized fields of human beings’.
Clearly, those definitions pointed out the typical characteristics of
terminology. Terminology consists of fixed expressions which are constituted by
words or phrases in a professional field. Despite the restriction of terminology in
each area, it contributes to explain the concepts accurately.
2.3.2. General features
2.3.2.1. Accurateness
The first feature of terminology is the accurateness because it is created to
explain specialized concepts or definitions precisely in order to avoid
misunderstanding one concept for another belonging to other field. One term in a
certain field denotes only one concept in that area as it probably has another
meaning in the other one. Luu (1977) claimed that each linguistic signal poses one
basic nuclear meaning and vice versa; a concept also has a typical linguistic signal
in a concrete situation. Newmark (1988) also mentioned that concept-words are
notorious for their different meanings in various technologies. Thus, in translation
of terminology, it is necessary to consider the homophones or the synonyms of
terms to decide the appropriate meaning in the particular context. For example, in
12


education, credit is translated as tín chỉ which expresses a unit of study at college or
university. Yet, in economics, it is understood as tín dụng in Vietnamese so as to
refer to the receipt of goods, services or money in advance of the requirement to pay
or repay. In general, one-to-one equivalence is applied in translation of terminology
in any field.
2.3.2.2. Systematicism

The second criterion of terminology is the systematicism. This is considered to
be the most important feature of terminology, especially in English. There exist
certain terms having the relationship with others in the system of terminology in a
specialized field. If those terms are separated from their systems, their meaning may
become ambiguous and difficult to find an equivalent in the TL. In the system of
economic terms, suffixes such as –ee, -er, -or are used to refer to people; for
instance, manager, transferee, creditor.
2.3.2.3. Internationalism
In the global context, multilateral and diversified integration has been
promoted in various fields such as culture, technology, economy, etc. Therefore,
there has been a need for internationalizing the terminology of each area. This
creates the consistency for specialized terms used globally and facilitates the
exchanges among countries. As a result, a lot of terms have been globalized,
especially in the field of medicine, technology, climatology, etc. In business,
economic abbreviations such as GDP (Gross Domestic Products), GNP (Gross
National Products), VAT (Value Added Tax), ATM (Automated Teller Machine),
etc. can be understood by people all over the world.
2.3.2.4. Nationalism
As regards nationalism, terminology follows compulsorily the principles of
the culture of one distinct nation and characteristics of its language. Accordingly,
terminology in Vietnamese should reflect the cultural and lexical elements of
Vietnamese. For example, in economics, the term right certificate means a
certificate of one’s right to make their own decisions; it could be converted into
chứng quyền in Vietnamese. Evidentially, that translated terms not only conform
13


Vietnamese grammatical and lexical rules but also accord the cultural features in
Vietnamese language.


14


CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

In the previous chapter, the hypothesis is supplied for the paper. Moving to
the feasible area, the study strictly sticks by reasonable methods of data collection
and analysis for ensuring its credibility and trustworthiness.

3.1. Sampling:
Articles and reports of World Bank (WB) and United Nations Development
Program (UNDP). They are collected from official websites of WB, UNDP and
IMF, namely: www.worldbank.org, www.undp.org.vn, www.imf.org. All of these
articles and reports were written by the native and covered many aspects of
economic performance such as exports, stocks, finance, and so forth. Therefore,
these selected documents are considered to be significant to represent the common
topics of business. In addition, the books English for Finance and Banking
compiled by Nguyen Xuan Thom (1999) and Principles of Economics (Third
Edition) written by the famous economic researcher Nicholas Gregory Mankiw are
also used to study the Vietnamese equivalents of economic terms in this research
papers.
All selected documents have both English and Vietnamese versions. English
versions are the source texts, and Vietnamese ones are the target texts. The selection
was decided when the English texts definitely had the corresponding versions in the
SL which is Vietnamese.

3.2 Participants:
As previously mentioned, one of the target participants of this research was
fourth year students in DIT; thus, the participation of those students played an
essential role in this study.

Fourth year students were selected because they were supposed to have
knowledge of translation procedures through the lessons of Translation Theory and
have some experience of translating business-related documents. Actually, in the
15