American elections hold frequently and almost continuously from the lowest levels at districts and state to the federal government. As the U.S itself is a democratic nation, these elections play an important role in the U.S culture in specific and in the globe in general due to the power of the country.

Vietnamese Americans (Vietnamese: Người Mỹ gốc Việt) make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese (Vietnamese: Người Việt hải ngoại) and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Indian Americans (Freeman, 2009). The Vietnamese community in the United States was minimal until South Vietnamese immigration to the country following the Vietnam War which ended in 1975. More than half of Vietnamese Americans reside in the two most populous states of California and Texas, primarily their large urban areas (Southeast Asian Americans State Populations 2010 U.S. Census, 2014).

The above geopolitical features had made the requirements for translations of information on the elections in specific and in many other state and federal governments' information, announcements and orders, in general, become crucial and essential for the Vietnamese communities in the U.S. However, it had never been as easy as it is to translate texts from English to Vietnamese (overseas variant) or vice versa. As a result of the post-Vietnam War emigration mentioned above, significant political, cultural, and linguistic divisions have developed between the Vietnamese population in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and those living outside Vietnam in what I will refer to as the diaspora.

From translation and proofreading issues...
Several debates currently exist among English<>Vietnamese translators about quality and understandability in translation and proofreading, ranging from the friendliest to the most aggressive controversies with deeply embedded political implications. These issues involve differences in translation as practiced by language service providers in Vietnam and those living in the diaspora. Unlike the minor differences in accent and vocabulary among Vietnamese used in different English-speaking countries, there are significant differences in word use and style between Vietnamese as currently spoken in Vietnam and Vietnamese in the diaspora. Here are some examples:

Differences in vocabulary

Differences in accent

There are some slight differences in domestic Vietnamese and overseas Vietnamese in terms of accent, most commonly between the word Chính – Chánh (in “Administration” (chính quyền)) (same word but with slightly different pronunciation).

Administration: Chính quyền  – Chánh quyền

Amendment: Tu chính – Tu chánh

Administrator: Quản lý hành chính – Quản lý hành chánh

Political issues

Among the factors that brought about the changes just described, non-linguistic political elements have become the most problematic. Frequently, English <-> Vietnamese translators who use domestic Vietnamese are heavily criticized by those who use overseas Vietnamese as the norm. Past political events and opposing positions regarding the current Vietnamese government and ruling party significantly contributed to the controversy as well. Reviewers who use overseas Vietnamese criticize domestic Vietnamese language translators for “using communist-style wording” and require the use of their own Vietnamese, which they believe to be the only correct form.

What follows is a typical example of “communist-style wording.” Based on my experience and discussions with those who have been criticized, a common word literally translated to “government official” in domestic Vietnamese style (cán bộ), instead of overseas Vietnamese style (nhân viên chính phủ, “government employees”) by domestic English <-> Vietnamese translators provides a good case study. First, “government official” in domestic Vietnamese style has a slightly different meaning; it refers to a government employee with unlimited-time payroll (i.e., a government employee, usually with communist party membership, who will not be fired due to performance reasons). As this is a unique product of communist countries, there is no equivalent in overseas Vietnamese, and Vietnamese translators in the diaspora often feel uncomfortable with this term. Since they are in favor of the Western/U.S system, they will use nhân viên chánh phủ for government employee.

However, cán bộ is usually a government employee with communist party membership and is implicitly more powerful than a normal government employee. Thus, using nhân viên chánh phủ for a government official in current-day Vietnam would be inappropriate to the sense. From this perspective, linguistically, if a document to be translated refers to government employees, it is reasonable to use cán bộ, whereas it is certainly proper to change it to nhân viên (“staff”) if the document is referring to a private company or organization.

Many domestic Vietnamese language translators (and users) born after 1975 learned this term in early childhood and thus use it naturally without awareness of its variant in overseas Vietnamese (nhân viên chính phủ) or the sensitive political issues surrounding it. It is thus unreasonable to criticize them for translating incorrectly, improperly, or in particular, “in communist wording and style.”

To conclude this part of the discussion, both sides should learn more about each other’s variant, style, wording, and culture and should have a more neutral and friendly attitude when commenting and suggesting alternatives. For domestic Vietnamese language translators (and users), it is advisable to inform their potential clients whether they are familiar with the wording of overseas Vietnamese language and taboos (communist-related affairs); this should avoid undesirable negative criticism and political discussions. For those overseas Vietnamese language translators who found ways out of Vietnam to escape what they do not believe in and are living currently in the diaspora, the author hopes that they can read this article with goodwill and an open mind. Many domestic translators have told me that they have never intended to make fun of the tragedy of Vietnamese refugees and they have no interest in politics, especially who is right or wrong about the Vietnam War, at least while translating documents. These ordinary citizens of Vietnam are only trying to earn additional income by providing translation and related services. If you as an editor find that a translator needs to adjust their translation because they do not know the overseas Vietnamese variant, please avoid subjective comments such as “communist wording.”

(To be continued ...)

1.  James M. Freeman. Vietnamese Americans. Microsoft Encarta Online. Encyclopedia 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
2. "Southeast Asian Americans State Populations 2010 U.S. Census". Retrieved 2014-01-02.