Re: Protocol,interface,...

[H N Chau <h.n.chau@mad.scientist.com>]

Cha`o ca'c anh,

In some cases our language borrows some words from others but not because
of that we all the time employ foreign languages to express a word if we
are not clear about its meaning in Vietnamese. It is ridiculous to
translate a brand name such as Coca Cola, McDonald.. but when it comes to
languages it is not. Otherwise, there would be no existence of Vietnamese
or other languages but English. 

When there's a new technical word it doesn't mean that we have to use it as
original. When computer was first mentioned ,for instance, we didn't call
it computer but ma'y vi ti'nh. Now, why shouldn't we translate such basic
words such as protocol, scenario and interface. 

I think that there is much debate about the meanings of these words because
that no context was given. If you just look at any word in a  dictionary
..."get" for example you will see that it has about 15 or 16 meanings. Each
meaning is associated with a different circumstance in which a person may
be in. 

Translating from one language to another require not just translating the
word by itself but the whole culture behind it. It is not an easy task. It
is difficult but we have to do it. It is not just because we want other
people to understand what we mean but because we want to keep our VALUE,
our tradition and our IDENTITY as a Vietnamese.

I found this in my EN-VN dictionary :

Protocol = giao thu*'c (in IT); Le^~ ta^n, nghi thu*'c, nghi. ddi.nh thu*
(in diplomatic)

Scenario = co^'t truye^.n (in film, drama); su*. ddoa'n ve^`ca'c bie^'n
co^' tu*o*ng lai (others)

Interface = Giao die^.n (in IT) ; ta'c ddo^.ng qua la.i ; tie^'p die^.n

Tha^n,
H N Chau

h.n.chau@mad.scientist.com