Handbook of Psychological Terminology published in five languages

 

Hanoi (VNA) - A handbook of Psychological Terminology in five different languages has been released in Hanoi under the framework of a multi-cultural cooperation project between the European Union National Institutes for Cultures in Vietnam (EUNIC) and Tri Thuc (Knowledge) Publishing House.

The book launch on September 19 drew the participation of the chief author of the glossary Hoang Hung, as well as his peers and representatives of European cultural institutes and embassies participating in the project.

The book covered nearly 400 psychological terms in Vietnamese, French, English, Italian and Spanish with coherent explanations and simple examples in Vietnamese.

It was translated by a team of translators from the EUNIC project, reviewed and advised by Nguyen Thi Nhu Mai.

The selected terminologies in this glossary consist of basic terms specialised in Modern Psychology, primarily focusing on the ones that have yet to decide what meaning to translate in Vietnamese. Aiming to improve the Vietnamese translation quality of European books on social sciences and humanities, the handbook is a practical reference source for those who begin work on psychology-specialised texts, according to Hung.

Hung is a well-known novelist, teacher and translator. He is the founder and co-ordinator of a collection of educational psychology books entitled Canh Buom (The Sail), owned by Tri Thuc Publishing House. During his career, he translated numerous books in this field.

Psychological studies play a crucial role in policy-making orientation in many developed countries around the world, he said.

These studies lay a firm foundation for a learner-focused education system, for an economy which considers customers' satisfaction as its decisive goals, as well as for the state governance which prioritises its people’s concerns, he added.

In Vietnam, the field of social sciences studies has developed and drawn public attention over the last few years. Therefore, translating both theoretical and applied psychology papers from Western countries will make a significant contribution towards studies, learning and practice in Vietnam, Hung stressed.

Funded by EUNIC Global, the cultural cooperation project successfully organised more than 12 training and knowledge-sharing sessions between a group of young Vietnamese translators and recognised experts in translation – interpretation and social sciences studies, from Vietnam and Europe. Notably, the project was the first-ever forum that gathered various qualified Vietnamese translators in diverse European languages like English, French, Spanish, Italian and German.

With the efforts to promote the publication of social sciences titles in Vietnam, the multi-cultural project was devoted to creating a connecting and knowledge-sharing forum for different generations of Vietnamese translators, together with capacity building for semi-skilled translators in analysing and understanding notions by Western authors./.