Introduction:

Translation is a vital part of communication in our modern world, with

businesses and individuals alike needing to convey their messages across
different languages. Translating sentences in the simple past tense from
English to Vietnamese can be a complex and challenging task that
requires great skill and knowledge of both languages. For this research
topic, we will investigate the difficulties of translating sentences in the
simple past tense from English into Vietnamese, analyzing the
challenges faced by translators and proposing possible solutions.

Background:

Vietnamese is a tonal language, meaning a single word can have

different meanings depending on intonation. The grammatical
construction of Vietnamese is also different from English, with the use
of particles, markers, and complex sentence structures. In contrast, the
simple past tense in English is relatively straightforward, using new
forms or preterit of most verbs. These differences can create challenges
when translating from English to Vietnamese.

Methodology:

To gain a clear understanding of the difficulties in translating sentences

in the simple past tense from English into Vietnamese, we will use the
following methodology:

Literature review: For this research, we will review relevant academic

journals, books, and publications related to translation and the
complexities of translating past tense sentences from English into
Vietnamese. We will focus on some of the common issues documented
in these resources to identify the most significant challenges.
Data collection: We will collect a sample of ten past tense sentences in
English, ranging in complexity, and translate them into Vietnamese
using ten different translators. The translators will have varying levels of
experience, from beginners to experts, to evaluate the level of difficulty
in translating past tense sentences. We will also ask the translators to
explain the specific challenges they faced during the translation process.

Data analysis: We will analyze the results of our data collection using
both quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the most common
issues found during the translation of simple past tense sentences.

Results:

The literature review identified some significant difficulties faced by

translators when translating past tense sentences from English into
Vietnamese. The most common of these are:

Word Order: Vietnamese sentence structures are not the same as those in
English. Vietnamese often use subject-verb-object (SVO) constructions,
so English speakers may need to rearrange phrases in a sentence to make
it correct.

Tenses: Vietnamese and English have different tenses, and it can be

challenging to match the correct form in the target language.

Particles and Markers: Vietnamese has many particles and markers,

which provide essential information that English speakers may not be
familiar with.
Verb Conjugation: Vietnamese verbs are not conjugated in the same way
as English verbs, so it can be difficult to agree on the verb tense and
form.

In our data collection, the use of ten different translators, ranging from
beginners to experts, provided us with a broad range of results. We
found that overall, the more experienced translators had fewer
difficulties in translating simple past tense sentences than the beginners.

The most common issues encountered by the translators were word

order, verb conjugation, and particle and marker usage, consistent with
the literature review. Many translators reported difficulties matching the
correct tense to the different contexts in the sentences. Additionally,
some had trouble with the irregular past tense verbs in English, like
'went', 'ate' and 'saw', which do not have an equivalent in Vietnamese.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, translating sentences in the simple past tense from

English to Vietnamese is a challenging task. Difficulties arise from the
grammatical differences and unique characteristics of both languages.
Translators often face issues with word order, verb conjugation, and
particles and markers during the translation process. Understanding
these difficulties and addressing them is vital to achieving successful
translations. In the future, better education, resources, and training
programs can help mitigate these difficulties and promote the growth of
the translation industry. Further research is needed to develop new
approaches and techniques to overcome the challenges and help
translators produce more accurate and fluent translations