Translator Nguyen Duy Binh: A person who is not "half-hearted"

(Baonghean) - After completing his doctoral thesis in France, Nguyen Duy Binh received an invitation to teach at Leuven University in Belgium, and had the opportunity to work in Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City... but Binh chose to return and stay with his homeland; Although the context of using French and the position of translated literature in the country in general and Nghe An in particular still has many limitations...

Nguyen Duy Binh (right) at the French Drama Conference in Indochina (held in France, 2013).

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Nguyen Duy Binh has been passionate about Literature and French since he was a child. That passion has grown and become enough to motivate him to overcome all difficulties and obstacles. Born in Thanh Phong commune (Thanh Chuong), not yet

Translator Nguyen Duy Binh

During his high school years, he struggled alone to cook, do the laundry, and fight hunger, but every year Binh was an excellent student in the province in French and Literature. In 1991, Literature teacher Nguyen The Quang cycled from Dung to Vinh City and sent the poem "The Teacher's Bicycle" written by Binh to Nghe An newspaper. As for teacher Nguyen Huu Quyen, the homeroom teacher who wholeheartedly helped and encouraged Duy Binh during his studies, whenever there was a good poem by his favorite student, he would read it in front of the whole school.

Passing the entrance exam to Hue University of Education, Binh was continuously an excellent student in the French department. In 1995, Binh participated in the French language competition organized by the French Embassy and became one of the five contestants nationwide to win the highest prize with a scholarship to go to France for 2 months (from July to September 1995). Binh's love for French and his success were praised by the Ouest France newspaper. In his third year of university, Binh was an officer in charge of French majors sponsored by the Aulpelf-Uref organization: he participated in organizing French extracurricular activities for students majoring in Hue University. In 1997, right after graduating, Nguyen Duy Binh was hired as an assistant to Mr. Jean-Pierre Raveneau, Director of the Hue French Language Center, under the French Embassy in Hanoi. In 1999, Duy Binh continued to win first prize in the literary translation contest organized by the French Embassy. This success further increased his desire to explore the world of French literature right in the homeland of great authors such as Molière, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Albert Camus...

With that success, Duy Binh was granted a scholarship by the French Government to study for a master's degree at Aix-Marseille 1 University, France. Duy Binh said that when he finished his first year of master's study and returned to Vietnam, he was invited by Vinh University to teach and then became an official lecturer. At that time, his wife did not have a job, and his salary as a lecturer was low. To earn money to pay for tuition to study for a doctorate in France, he had to tutor every night. After defending his doctoral thesis in France, Professor José Lambert, a member of the thesis review, invited him to teach at Leuven University (Belgium), but Duy Binh chose to return to Vietnam. Hue University always opened its doors to welcome Nguyen Duy Binh back, and Hanoi National University decided to accept him as an official lecturer at the International Faculty, but his hometown Nghe An was where Duy Binh chose to return.

Persistent with passion

Since he was a student of the French Department, Nguyen Duy Binh soon set foot on the path of translation. Duy Binh's first memorable memories were the times he and Mr. Jean-Pierre Raveneau coordinated the translation of Trinh Cong Son's musical works such as De gio cuon di, Bien nho, Mot coi di ve... During his time working at the Hue French Language Center, Duy Binh also actively participated in organizing Trinh Cong Son's Music Night in French. Once Trinh Cong Son visited Hue, Duy Binh and Jean-Pierre Raveneau went to the Saigon Morin Hotel to meet him. Trinh Cong Son was very excited to listen to his familiar musical works in French. With the enthusiastic help of talented and dedicated teachers such as translator Buu Y (Hue University of Education), Inès Oséki -Depré, Alain Guillemin, Trinh Van Thao (Aix-Marseille 1 University), Nguyen Duy Binh had the opportunity to approach, learn and research French - Vietnamese translated literature in a systematic, methodical and profound way.

Thanks to his fluent French and extensive and new knowledge, along with many prestigious scientific relationships, Nguyen Duy Binh, although at Vinh University, is still able to "globalize" his research and translation works. While teaching and guiding master's theses, he also holds the positions of Vice President and Director of the Institute of Culture and Languages ​​of Vinh University; Vice Director - Head of the Editorial Board of Vinh University Publishing House. He still participates in translation and actively contributes to international scientific conferences on literary exchange.

Nguyen Duy Binh (middle) with professors at the Doctoral Thesis Defense Ceremony in France (2008)

Studying for a master's and doctorate in France, having studied and attended conferences in Europe at least 8 times, Nguyen Duy Binh, his wife and two children still live in a small apartment of his wife's parents in block 12, Quan Bau ward (Vinh city). Looking at his appearance, few people know that the man who goes from the apartment to Vinh University every day by motorbike is the one who is making a significant mark in the field of translated literature with 6 novels: Grey Souls (Philippe Claudel, Women's Publishing House, 2008), Promise at Dawn (Romain, Literature Publishing House, 2009), Love Garden (Marcus Malte, Literature Publishing House, 2010), Fall of Rome (Jérômme Ferrari, Literature Publishing House, 2013), Nam and Sylvie (Pham Duy Khiem), See You There Again (Pierre Lemaître)...

Among them, 2 of his translated novels have been used by students as the topics for their master's thesis in literature. In addition, he has also collaborated in translating and publishing many short stories, poems, and literary research theories from French to Vietnamese in many newspapers and magazines at home and abroad. Translator Nguyen Duy Binh is no stranger to interviews about the field of translated literature in contemporary literary life in newspapers and magazines: Van Nghe Tre, Tia Sang, Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre... When we visited his house, the project that Nguyen Duy Binh was doing was translating short story collections by Nguyen Vinh Nguyen and poems by Nguyen Huu Hong Minh into French.

Not that he does not deeply understand the difficulties and ingratitude of the translation profession, Nguyen Duy Binh is still steadfast in the job he has chosen. In his literary and translation essay book Halfway to Babel by Nguyen Duy Binh (Vinh University Publishing House, 2014), he contemplates: “I look up at the tower of Babel and see the shadow of the Other. I look halfway up and catch a glimpse of the Other. I am the sickly packhorse trying to load up the literary madness and trudge up to the top of the tower to witness the potential existence of the Other in the face of my own absence. I erase my own shadow with the words written in obscurity.

I see the Tower of Babel shrinking and turning into an ivory tower for me to hide in”. In the Bible, the Tower of Babel was built by people who came after the great flood, with the desire to build the top of the tower to reach heaven. Because they were afraid that there would only be one people and one language in the lower world, if they had decided, building the tower to the top would be within their reach. Jehovah and the gods confused the languages ​​of people and scattered them all over the earth. From then on, people had differences, language differences, people did not understand each other, and the Tower of Babel was never completed but was always halfway. That sets the mission of the translator to continue “climbing to the top of the tower”, going up to the tower and building the tower, which is really too difficult! In “Halfway up to Babel”, Duy Binh only admits that he is “a sickly pack horse trying to carry on literary ambitions”, a humble but also very determined way of speaking, knowing there are difficulties but not giving up.

At the age of 40, full of vitality, looking back at what Nguyen Duy Binh has overcome to reach the path he has chosen, we see that translator Nguyen Duy Binh is a person who never stops!

Ngo Kien