A STUDY ON COMMON MISTAKES IN VIETNAMESEENGLISH TRANSLATION BY ENGLISHMAJORED STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY

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ABSTRACT
Nowadays, in the context of globalization and international integration, the use
of English is playing an increasingly important role in communication among
countries around the world. The translation helps readers understand, reach and
receive useful knowledge from other countries about different fields such as
economy, policy, health, culture and society, et cetera and then they will use picked
information to apply on work and life.
Due to the high requirements of translation, fluent translators are not only
good at English in grammar, vocabulary, structure, et cetera, but they are also good
at mother language, specialized knowledge and flexible transformation when
translating from the language to another language. Understanding the importance of
translation, Thuongmai University has put translation subjects into operation for
students as bachelor of English faculty.
Notwithstanding, most of these students met several mistakes when they
conducted translation. The problems that students encounter can come from many
different reasons such as poor vocabulary, knowledge or lack of understanding
culture et cetera. To identify certain mistakes when translating from Vietnamese to
English, the researcher has conducted a study on common mistakes in VietnameseEnglish translation by English-majored students at Thuongmai University. The aim
of the study is to find out errors of students in translating from Vietnamese to
English and suggest several solutions to improve students’ translation skills.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the time of making my graduation paper, I have received a lot of support,
assistance and encouragement from my family, teachers, friends who bring me a lot
of motivation to complete my thesis successfully. Thus, I would like to show

acknowledgement to them.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor,
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, for her guidance and encouragement during my study.
Her deep understanding of science as well as her experience are the prerequisites for
completing my thesis. Without her valuable advice and support, this thesis could not
have been completed on schedule.
Secondly, I would like to give big thanks to my teachers of English faculty at
Thuongmai University for their teaching. They had imparted their intensive
knowledge and experience for me. In my four-years of study at Thuongmai
University, the collegue board, principal and teachers have given the best condition
and facilities to us to finish our college curriculum.
Besides, I also want to thank all the teachers and students for spending their
time to answer my survey questions. With their enthusiastic assistance, I have
collected valuable data to complete my survey. Additionally, I also give my
appreciation to all the authors of the books, reliable data sources and other materials
listed in the reference part which have given me helpful consultancy to develop my
graduation paper.
Especially, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my parents and my
family for nurturing and teaching me to be a good person as well as giving me good
conditions to study and develop. They are always my motivation that help me
overcome all difficulties and challenges in life. With limited knowledge and
implementation time, it is inevitable shortcomings. I look forward to receiving the
comments and suggestions of teachers, which will help me perfect my knowledge
later. Sincerely thanks!
Hanoi, April 16th 2021
Student
Nguyen Thi Huong Quynh

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
No
.
1 TMU

Word

Abbreviations

Thuongmai University

2

SL

Source language

3

TL

Target language

4

FDI

Foreign Direct Investment

5


LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1 Rationale
Due to the context of globalization, knowledge and language are key
conditions which allow people to take part in cultural, economic, political and social
activities. However, there is not a single language used in the world. To make
communication and transactions among countries around the world easy, English
language has become a common language used universally in many countries
around the world. In Vietnam, English is considered a second language after only
the native language because it will help the country gain opportunities in cultural
exchange, learning and cooperation. Thus, the demand for translation is extremely
great. However, the translation sector is faced with increasingly stricter
requirements to convey the content and messages accurately and completely to
customers, partners, staff and so on.
In the context of advanced technology development, translating one language
into another language may be easy. People can use some tools in smartphone or
computer and so on to translate into any language that is pre-installed in the system.
Nevertheless, due to differences in language, culture and context, the translation of

these tools sometimes makes mistakes. For instance, the word “mother” or “mom”
in English can be translated into "mẹ, má, u, bầm, bu, mạ, me, mẫu, vú," in
Vietnamese. If using the online translation tool, it only means “mẹ”, but if it is
translated by the translator, it depends on the context, regional culture and historical
period to use the correct words. Before 1975, Hanoians used “mợ” to name “mẹ”;
the Red River Delta provinces used the words “bầm, u, bu”; other people use the
words “mạ, chị cả”. At this time, many people also called “me” (from the French
word “Mère”) or “măng” (from the French word “Maman”).
In recent years, studies of second language acquisition have tended to focus on
learner errors since they allow for prediction of difficulties involved in acquiring a
second language. In this way, teachers can be aware of the errors areas to be
encountered by their students and devote special care and emphasis to them.
Although there have been many studies on error analysis in second language

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learning and teaching, very few studies focus on types of analysis made by
Vietnamese university students in translation.
Therefore, I have decided to choose the topic: “A study on Common Mistakes
in Vietnamese-English Translation by English-majored Students at Thuongmai
University” for my graduation paper. The present study aims to fill this gap in the
field of error analysis in Vietnamese-English translation. It is hoped that the present
study will throw light on common types of errors made by English-majored students
in translating different Vietnamese structures. What is more, the problems found in
this present study may help teachers and material designers choose an appropriate
pedagogical method. And I hope the study can help the students have a suitable
learning method to get the best result.
1.2 Previous studies
Seeing that translation plays a vital role in meeting the demand of integration

into the world economy and exchanging of culture with other countries but in fact,
there are many students who make some common errors in translation process.
Therefore, many studies have been carried out to help them recognize their common
errors and give them some useful solutions to find out effective ways in leaning in
order to improve their translation skill. These studies also are made by experienced
students with the detailed number and data. Thus, I would like to depend on these
studies as references materials for my graduation paper.
The first study was made by Bui Thi Kim Phung at Duy Tan University. Her
title was “Common structural errors in Vietnamese – English translation made by
English majored students at Duy Tan University.” The aim of this study was to find
out common errors that Vietnamese students often make in the process of
translating Vietnamese sentence structures into English. The analysis of the
translations showed six frequent types of errors: omission of subject, inappropriate
choice of negative form, inappropriate choice of predicate, inappropriate choice of
subject, inappropriate usage of passive form, and lack of main clause. From the
study, she showed some main reasons for errors vary from student to student:
- Firstly, the main possible cause of students’ errors is the inability to
overcome the negative influence of the mother tongue in language learning.

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- Secondly, it is necessary to be aware that in Vietnamese sentences the subject
is often dropped, but not in English.
- Thirdly, because of “poor language competence”, sometimes students feel
“extremely embarrassed” if they cannot find out any equivalent structure in English
to match to the source language which is Vietnamese.
From the reasons above, some suggestions were made to improve students’
translation skills and to reduce translation errors.
The second one is from Nguyen Thi Thu Hang and Trieu Thu Hang with title

“Vietnamese – English Translation Errors Made by Second Year Translation-Major
Students: An Initial Step towards Enhancing Translation Standards”. This study was
to identify common Vietnamese – English translation errors made by 2nd year
students majoring in Translation and Interpreting and proposing suggestions for the
improvement of the current practice. The major instruments utilized in the study
included document observations, questionnaires and interviews. The combination of
both quantitative and qualitative methods enabled the researchers to triangulate the
data in order to attain the most reliable findings. 81 Vietnamese-English translations
by 2nd-year translation and interpreting major students were collected for analysis
of errors. According to the results of the study, the most common errors students
made was lexical choice, accounting for 24.85% of all errors identified. The
researcher pointed out that the largest number of students, 87.5% made errors due to
the lack of accessibility to translation theories and above 50% of students regarded
poor command of vocabulary and a lack of translation skills. Some suggestions
were presented to overcome common errors for both teachers and students.
Another one is about “An Analysis of Translation Errors: A Case Study of
Vietnamese EFL Students” made by Pham Thi Thu Cuc. The study aimed to analyze
the translation errors committed by Vietnamese EFL students, and identify the
source of errors, then inform some implications of pedagogy to improve the
translation ability of the students. The investigation was collected the data from 36
Vietnamese students, who at the time of the study were studying English as their
major, were subjected to a Vietnamese-English translation test. Translation errors
were analyzed using a threefold perspective proposed by Popescu (2012) including

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linguistic errors, comprehension errors, and translation errors. Findings showed that
translation errors and linguistic errors are the most common errors, of which errors
related to lexical choice, syntax and collocations are the most frequently committed

by the students. Results were discussed and implications for the improvements of
translation ability and recommendations for future research were presented.
In summary, through these studies above, we sometimes make some common
errors in the translation process such as wrong word choice, poor vocabulary,
structural errors, and so on. Hopefully, after this study, students can find out the
suitable ways to improve translation skills.
1.3 Aims of the study
The primary main aim of the thesis is to figure out the special mistakes in
translation from Vietnamese into English and then to have a good manner of
studying. The study also classifies the mistakes and explains the causes which lead
to the difficulties in translation processes. And then, the study offers some solutions
for students and teachers to overcome the mistakes above and to improve learning
and teaching translation and help them gain best learning methods. It is hoped to
meet the students’ expectation in looking for a method to learn translation
effectively.
1.4 Research Subjects
Translation is a compulsory and important subject. However, many students
still make mistakes and have obstacles in learning this subject. Therefore, the study
is concentrated on common mistakes in Vietnamese-English translation by Englishmajored students at Thuongmai University.
1.5 Scope of the study
At Thuongmai University, translation course is one of obligatory subjects that
juniors in Faculty of English are required to study. In this course, all of the students
have to study both English-Vietnamese translation and Vietnamese- English
translation. This thesis, however, just focuses on studying on common mistakes in
Vietnamese-English translation.
Because of the limited time and the scope of subjects, my survey had 30
participants and answered my questionnaire based on their experiences during the

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learning Vietnamese-English translation. Questions in the survey almost relate to
common mistakes in Vietnamese-English translation the students have to face up as
well as their suggestions to improve these problems. After that, I selected a qualified
questionnaire to analyze data and concluded my thesis.
1.6 Research methodology
In the course of scientific research, research methodology is one of the vital
factors determining the success of a research paper. In today's era of information
technology, many sources of materials such as books, newspapers, and especially
the Internet are made use of. To study students’ errors in translation of Vietnamese
into English, this study was used two research methods: quantitative and qualitative.
To have the most accurate results of the research, I conducted a survey
questionnaire for 30 English-majored students randomly to compile data in rapid
period of time. Besides, test papers were collected in order to identify common
errors.
Then, the quantitative method would be used to gather the data to analyze the
frequent errors through showing rates and numbers. This aims to find the common
mistakes in Vietnamese-English translation process of student and give suggestions
for Vietnamese-English translation teaching and learning at TMU.
All the comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion provided in the
study were based on the data analysis of the study.
1.7 Organization of the study
This study focuses on four primary following chapters, including:
The first chapter is an overview of the study. In this chapter, a brief description
of the study provides general information about the research. The chapter consists
of seven parts such as rationale, previous studies, aims of the study, research
subjects, scope of the study, research methodology and organization of study. The
chapter helps readers understand generally about the study.
The second chapter is literature review. It is divided into three parts. In the
first part, it provides concepts related to the term of translation, theories concerning

Vietnamese-English translation. In the second part, it adds the rationale about error.
In this part, we can answer what is the concept of error? What are common mistakes

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in Vietnamese-English translation. And the third part, it shows us the cause of the
error in the Vietnamese-English translation process.
The third chapter is results and discussion. It is divided into three main parts.
The first part shows results from the survey which was collected from the
questionnaire. The next part, it shows the results from the Vietnamese-English
translations provided by the teacher. The final part is discussion which shows
common mistakes in Vietnamese-English translation.
The last chapter is recommendations and suggestions. After finding out the
common mistakes in Vietnamese-English translation and showing demonstrations
through the results of the survey questionnaire, the research offers several solutions
for both students and teachers to get the most effective learning and teaching
methods in the translation subject. It summarizes the whole study and presents some
limitations of study before ending with some recommendations for further study.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Translation theory
2.1.1 Definition of translation
There are many ways to define translation which depends on how scholars
view language and translation. There are so many concepts of translation and the
several following definitions are typical concepts of translation.
According to Wikipedia, translation is the communication of the meaning of a

source language text by means of an equivalent target language text. The text to be
translated is called the "source text," and the language that it is to be translated into
is called the "target language"; the final product is sometimes called the "target
text."
In Translation: Applications and Research, Brislin (1976: 1) defines
translation as: "the general term referring to the transfer of thoughts and ideas from
one language (source) to another (target), whether the languages are in written or
oral form; whether the languages have established orthographies or do not have
such standardization or whether one or both languages is based on signs, as with
sign languages of the deaf."
Wills (1982: 3) defines translation as a transfer process which aims at the
transformation of a written SL text into an optimally equivalent TL text, and which
requires the syntactic, the semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical
processing of the SL. Part of the difficulty in translation arises due to the lexical gap
and syntactical, semantic and pragmatic differences between the source language
and the target language, especially between two languages belonging to different
language families. Therefore, Wills focuses on not only the process of transferring
the written text but also the optimal equivalence about the syntactic, semantic and
pragmatic understanding and analytical processing between source language and
target language.
Roger Thomas Bell (1991) says that translation is the expression in another
language (target language) of what has been expressed in one language (source
language), preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences. Translation is the
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replacement of a presentation of a text in one language by a representation of an
equivalent text in a second language. He focuses on the expression that has been
expressed in the written text such as thoughts or feelings of the author that
translators have to take responsibility to preserve semantic and stylistic

equivalencies.
In the four above definitions, we can see that the definition of wikipedia is the
most basic definition. The above concepts are aimed at conveying the meaning of
the source text to the target text to help the listener fully and completely grasp the
main content of the source text. However, compared with the basic concept of
wikipedia, the other three concepts of scholars have different elements. In Mr.
Brislin's translation concept, this concept not only refers to the community of the
source text, but it is also related to the process and method to convey the source text
into the target text. The important factor when doing the translation process is focus
on signs, as with sign languages of the deaf. In the definition of Mr. Will, the
translation expresses the exact contextual meaning of the original with grammatical
structures, syntactic, the semantic and pragmatic understanding and analytical
processing. This translation will help readers to deeply understand the aesthetic
value of the source language text and also make the target translation more
elaborate. In Mr. Roger's concept, the Translation should reveal honestly the
thoughts and feelings of the author. The translation not only makes the reader grasp
the main idea of the original text, but also must capture the expressed thoughts and
feelings. This translation is mainly used in novels that help listeners to fully step
into the real space that the author has drawn.
In short, these definitions of translation mentioned above have three main
similar ideas. First of all, translation is a process of rendering meaning, ideas or
messages of a text from one language to other language (from source language to
target language). The aim of translation is to find the equivalent meaning of the
source language expression in the target language. Thus, the meaning of translation
is very important and it must be held constant. Secondly, the meaning of the written
text that the author intended the text has to be remained. The last one is that
translators have to preserve the equivalencies between two languages. These

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definitions of translation can help us understand the concept of translation to obtain
an overall picture of the translation process. Translation consists of studying the
lexis, grammatical structure, communication situation and cultural context of the
source language.
2.1.2 Translation methods
In “A textbook of translation” of Peter Newmark, he has presented specific
translation methods. According to the theory, we can consult it for our translation
methods.
SL emphasis

TL
emphasis

Word-for-word translation
Literal translation
Faithful translation
Semantic translation

Adaptation
Free translation
Idiomatic translation
Communicative translation

Diagram 1: Translation method V-Diagram
2.1.2.1. Word-for-word translation
Word-for-word translation is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with
the target language immediately the source language words. The source language
word order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common
meanings, out of context. Cultural words are translated literally. The main use of

word-for-word translation is either to understand the mechanics of the source
language or to construe a difficult text as pre – translation process.
E.g:
-

Tơi biết chơi bóng chuyền.

-

I know play volleyball.
Or:

- Fuel, however, is not alone, electricity is also an important input.
-

Nhiên liệu tuy nhiên không cô đơn, điện là cũng một đầu vào quan trọng.
The above instance uses the word for word translation method. In the first
sentence, the translator has translated word for word, regardless of whether the
grammar structure is correct or not. It used two verbs “know” and “play” which are
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next to each other. The grammatical structure is wrong. To accurately convey the
source text correctly, it can be translated as “I know how to play volleyball” or “I
can play volleyball”. And in the second example, it is meaningless. Translating
word for word makes the listener not only unable to understand the meaning of the
sentence but also the wrong context of the word. We can translate it as “Tuy nhiên
khơng chỉ có nhiên liệu mà điện cũng mà một đầu vào quan trọng”. In brief, word
for word translation make the source text mess and incorrect grammar.
2.1.2.2. Literal translation

The SL grammatical constructions are translated to their nearest language
(TL). A literal translation sounds like nonsense and has little communicative values.
The lexical words are again translated singly, out of context. The literal translation
used for pre-translation process to identify problems and basis of poetry translation
for poet who does not understand SL.
Because the literal translation focuses on forms of language, it sometimes
misses some of the meaning of those forms of individual words, but also in
relationships among words, phrases, idiomatic uses of words, and influences of
speakers – heater, cultural, and historical contexts.
E.g:
-

Blood is thicker than water

-

Máu đặc hơn nước
In this example, we can see that the translation is completely grammatically
correct. The sentence uses a more comparable structure of water and blood which is
translated as “máu đặc hơn nước”. It is difficult to understand the accurate meaning
of the sentence though readers may have gotten the context or not. When only
reading this translation, the readers completely do not understand its meaning.
Therefore, this is called a literal translation.
2.1.2.3. Faithful translation
A faithful translation tries to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the
original within the constraints of the target language grammatical structures. It
transfers cultural words and preserves the degree of grammatical and lexical
“abnormality” (deviation from the source language norms) in the translation. It

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attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text realization of the
source language writer. This kind of translation is used for literary translation,
authoritative texts, draft.
E.g:

- Although Ms. Gomez was eager to sell her home, she considered the latest offer
-

from the buyer to be insufficient
Mặc dù cô Gomez rất háo hức để bán nhà của mình, nhưng cơ cho rằng lời đề nghị
mới nhất từ người mua là không đủ
In this example, the translation mentioned the main content of the original
text, so that the listener can grasp the content of the original. However, the
translation is very rough, making the reader feel very awkward. The translation tried
to translate all the words from the original and combine it to give the proper
meaning, but the tone is not good. Thus, it is called as faithful translation.
2.1.2.4. Semantic translation
Semantic translation must take more account of the aesthetic value (the
beautiful and natural sound) of the SL text.
The following are the characteristics of this approach:

•

More flexible than faithful translation

•

Naturalize a bit while faithful translation is uncompromising (but in order to

achieve aesthetic effect), for instance, it may translate cultural words with neutral or
functional items.

•

Great focus on aesthetic features of source text (at expense of meaning if
necessary).
This kind of translation used for texts that have high status (religion texts,
legal texts, politicians’ speeches), expressive texts (literature)
E.g:

- “May what come, you will always be in my mind.”
- “Cho dù điều gì xảy ra, em vẫn mãi ở trong tim anh.”
This translation is similar to the original in both content and grammar. The
translation helps readers to deeply understand the content of the source text without
losing the naturalness of the target text. If some words are translated into literal

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terms, they will make the target text coarse, but with this translation it chooses the
right words to do the natural translation. Thus, with this translation not only helps
the reader to fully understand the meaning of the original translation and has the
grammar equivalent to the original translation, but it also brings the most
naturalness possible to the target translation.
2.1.2.5. Adaptation
Adaptation is used mainly for plays (comedies) and poetry; the themes,
characters and plots are usually preserved, the source language culture converted to
the target language culture and the text is rewritten. The deplorable practice of
having a play or a poem literally translated and then rewritten by an established

dramatist or poet has produced many poor adaptations, but other adaptations have
'rescued' period plays.
2.1.2.6. Free translation
Free translation produces the matter without the manner, or the content
without the form of the original. Usually it is a paraphrase much longer than the
original. Free translation focuses on the content of the target text rather than the
form, which means that the same content is expressed in the target text but with
very different grammatical structures if need be.
E.g:

- Business is business.
- Công việc và tình cảm khơng thể lẫn lộn được.
This translation does not accurately and completely translate all words and
meanings of the original, it is a free translation with the implied content of the
original. The translation is completely flexible and its purpose is to convey the
content and implications of the source text. The translator has provided a target text
with the similar content, but word choice is not literal and grammar is not
equivalent. Therefore, free translation is to convey the content of source without
caring about the form of the source text.
2.1.2.7. Idiomatic translation
Idiomatic translation reproduces the “message” of the original but tends to
distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms. Idiomatic

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translation makes use of idioms and colloquialisms that do not exist in the source
text. It is where the meaning of the original is translated into forms which
accurately and naturally preserve the meaning of the original forms. Idiomatic refers
to being in the common language of average speakers, using the natural phrasings

and idioms of the language.
E.g:

- Every day is not Sunday.
- Cuộc sống của chúng ta đều có những thăng trầm. Hơm nay là một ngày tồi tệ
nhưng ngày mai có thể sẽ là một ngày may mắn.
In this example, the source text is wordy, but its main meaning is that is very
short and concise. That is why the translator used idioms to talk about the content of
the source text. Thus, the idiomatic translation method helps the translation have
more expressive nuances to make the text more interesting.
2.1.2.8. Communicative translation
Communicative translation tries to render the exact contextual meaning of the
original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and
comprehensible to the readership. It focuses on factors such as readability and
naturalness. This kind of translation used for informative texts.
E.g:

- Safe stopping distance
- Giữ khoảng cách an toàn
The source text is an adjective structured noun phrase (adjective + gerund +
noun) which is intended to remind drivers and riders to keep a safe distance from
vehicles on the road to ensure safety. Although the translation has a different
grammar from the original, the content wants to convey to the readers the same.
Signboards are used in Vietnam mainly as imperative and in source language
mainly noun phrases.
2.1.3 Criteria of a good translation
Translation is an intricate and often subjective process that goes far beyond a
simplistic word-for-word exchange. A good translation needs to carry the meaning
and the tone of the original text, while still remaining culturally sensitive and

19


appropriate to the target audience. So, what are the qualities that go into making a
good translation?
A good translation must convey all the ideas as well as the structural and
cultural characteristics of the original text. Massoud (1988) put forward the
following criteria to determine a good translation:
•

A good translation is easily comprehensible.

•

A good translation is concise and coherent.

•

A good translation uses common expressions or idioms.

•

A good translation conveys, to a certain extent, the subtlety of the original.

•

A good translation is able to distinguish between metaphorical expressions and
literary language.

•

A good translation renders the cultural/historical context of the original.

•

A good translation clearly translates acronyms, indefinite words and phrases, songs,
and rhymes.

•

A good translation communicates as much as possible the meaning of the original
text.
El Shafey, another linguist, suggested a different set of criteria for a good
translation, including 3 key principles:

•

The knowledge of the source language grammar, vocabulary knowledge, and a good
understanding of the original text.

•

The ability of the translator to render the text required translation (the source
language text) into the target language.

•

The translation should capture the style or manner of the original text, and deliver
the message of such text.
According to David Colmer, a good translation goes further and achieves the

self-evidence and urgency of the original. It sings, whispers, hums in the ear and
swears like the original text and leaves the reader thrilled, disturbed and amused in
the same way as the original text. A good translation does not have to be impeccably
starched and ironed, but dares to be ragged and frantic when appropriate. The voice
of a good translation is as distinctive in English as the author’s voice in the original
language.
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2.1.4 The factors influence the translation process
In fact, there are many factors affecting directly in translation process, and the
following elements are universal.
2.1.4.1. Influence of the mother tongue
In the process of learning a foreign language, our mother tongue has a big
effect on the way of thinking as well as our use of the target language (word order,
word choice). Thanks to the translation, we can understand the interference with the
mother language when learning a foreign language. We will be able to discover the
potential of both languages - their advantages and disadvantages - by using contrast
analysis.
We will analysis the below example to recognize the differences between word
orders in Vietnamese and English:
“Cô gái ấy là một giáo viên tốt. Tên của cô ấy là Thanh Trúc.”
In the first underline phrase, “giáo viên” is a noun, “tốt” is an adjective. In the
later, “Tên” is a noun, and “của cô ấy” is possessive adjective.
From the instance above, we see that in Vietnamese, an adjective or possessive
adjective follows a noun. So, what about in English? The phrases above will be
translated into English to have more detailed proof:
“She is a good teacher. Her name is Thanh Truc.”
As we can see, in this sentence, “good” is an adjective, “teacher” is a noun,
“her” is possessive adjective, and “name” is a noun. From Vietnamese and English

example, we realize the specific word orders:
•

Vietnamese: N + Adjective/ N + possessive Adjective

•

English: Adjective + N/ possessive Adjective + N
2.1.4.2. Grammatical structure
Translation requires not only vocabulary but also grammatical structure to
make sentences meaningful. If you do not have enough knowledge on either of the
two areas, your translation will be led to poor quality. Compared to other language,
English is a very flexible language. In English, there are many tenses being used
with a particular structure. In case, an untrue tense is used, readers cannot
understand or misunderstand its meaning.
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For example:
In Vietnamese:

- “Tôi đã sống ở đây được 20 năm rồi”
In English:

- “I have lived here for 20 years”
In the English sentence above, the tense of the verb is the present perfect
tense, it shows an action which happened in the past and up to now or in the future.
However, in Vietnamese, there are no rules of the using of the different verb forms
to express the time when an action happens.
In general, grammatical structure in English is rather complicated, it requires

us have to find the suitable way of learning as well as practice every single day so
that we can master it.
2.1.4.3. Context
A language is one of the best ways to see and understand the world. It is the
vehicle of our ideas, thoughts and perspectives of our world. This process involves
in explaining the meaning of the source text and creating the same meaning in
another language. However, the text cannot exist outside of context. It is a clear
illustration of how context is important when translating. For good translation, it is
important to always let your translators know the context of the text you have
provided. The context influences the meaning of a phrase or sentence. It is linked to
the environment in which the communication takes place. In translation, the context
is very important: one word may mean a different thing depending the context in
which it is used.
For example:
The uses of the word “book” in the following sentences:
•

I put a book on the table.

•

I want to book a table for three at this restaurant.
The “book” in the first example is a noun, it is a written text that can be
published in printed or electronic form. In the second one, “book” is a normal verb,
it means the arrangement to have a seat, room, performer, etc. at a particular time in
the future.
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In short, depending on the aim of translator and on context, the meaning of

word will be different. If we misunderstand the context, it leads to choosing of
inappropriate meanings of words. Therefore, the readers cannot understand what we
want to convey. Context partly contributes to create a true translated output that is
considered the most important requirement of translation.
2.2. Mistakes/ Errors
2.2.1. Definitions of mistakes / errors
According to Neubert (1995) describes a translation error as: "What rightly
appears to be linguistically equivalent may very frequently qualify as
‘translationally’ nonequivalent. And this is so because the complex demands on
adequacy in translation involve subject factors and transfer conventions that
typically run counter to considerations about ‘surface’ linguistic equivalence."
(1995:415)
This statement partially describes the complication and difficulty in defining
and identifying translation errors. In the case of second language learners,
identifying translation errors is harder, as translation errors may be mixed up with
linguistic errors.
Sager (1983) agrees that the most serious errors are those resulting from the
incompetence in a second language. He also claims that in the field of written
translation, errors resulting from misinterpretation of the text are one of the two
major concerns of quality assessment.
Thus we can see that errors in translation influence the quality of the final
product and the degree of miscomprehension from the reader. Accordingly,
translation errors are often judged based on their importance and frequency.
2.2.2. Common mistakes in Vietnamese-English translation
2.2.2.1. Mistakes in language
The following errors are usually found in Vietnamese-English translation.

a. Vocabulary errors
 Word collocation
Word collocation is defined as a sequence of words or terms which co-occur

more often than would be expected by chance. Each of language has its own

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principle in word collocation. For example, the word “pretty” often goes with girls
and women, while the word “handsome” often goes with boys or men. Some
translators do not realize this, which leads to wrong and funny collocation. For
instance, in Vietnamese the word “uống” (drink) can go with many different kinds
of liquid including water, beer, alcohol, medicine and even poison. It is incorrect to
say “drink medicine” in English there are clear distinctions as follows:

- Drink beer/ water/ wine/ coffee.
But:

- Take medicine/ poison.
 Misuse of synonyms
Some translators depend largely on the meaning in dictionary picking out the
synonyms without paying much to context. In fact, the pairs of synonyms share at
least one sense in common, but they do not share all their senses. To some extent,
they can hardly substitute for each other. The misuse of synonyms makes the
meaning of one of the following sentences unacceptable.
In this example, “home” and “house” are places where one lives, meaning
“nhà” in Vietnamese. However, in terms of the connotation meaning they are quite
different. “House” refers to the building or structure while “home” refers to the
atmosphere feeling found in the house.
Example:

- “There is no place like home.”
- “Home is where the heart is.”

Most of the synonyms have the same meaning in certain context. If a translator
uses synonyms without referring to the context, translators can make wrong &
funny for his readers. In order to avoid the misuse, the translator should carefully
take the synonyms into consideration before using them. In addition, it would be
better for the translator to consider the differences of the pairs of synonyms when
translating.

 Spelling errors:
Spelling errors in translation are also the common errors like spelling errors in
writing. When people have to translate a Vietnamese text into English in a short

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period of time, surely they do not have much time to read their translation products
before they submit it. Sometimes, people are so careless that they dare to write out
the words which they have not used for a long time. Moreover, the misuse of the
two similar words in written form can also lead to spelling errors.
All in all, some inexperienced translators committed the vocabulary errors
mentioned above in concluding those of word collocation, misuse of prepositions,
misuse of synonyms, and spelling errors. They are committed by those who have
little knowledge of target language. At the same time, they thought that although
English is different from Vietnamese, both languages have a correlation about
lexical items. In practice, in terms of translation, it can be chosen the only one
appropriate equivalent from this into that language. Even more, that equivalent
hardly keeps the meaning of the word itself but that of context.
Another problem is that some translators did not realize the linking meaning of
word units. It is obvious that these units link together to create a larger unit of
meaning in a given text to be translated. The linking meaning itself does not exist in
separate word units but in the link of the units constituting the whole text.

b. Grammar errors
Grammar errors are also common in Vietnamese-English translation. They are
error related to tenses, the forms of words, the sentence structures found in the
translated text. These errors are caused by the misuse of verb forms, the misuse of
relative pronoun, and the misuse of part of speech

 Misuse of verb forms
The grammar errors which are related to the misuse of verb forms often occur
when the translators keep Vietnamese structures to translate the Vietnamese
sentences into English.

 Misuse of relative pronouns
The grammar errors related to the misuse of relative pronouns often occur
when the complex Vietnamese sentences are translated into English.
2.2.2.2. Mistakes in translation
Culture is also a factor causing fundamental errors because it could be
understood as the total set of beliefs, attitude, customs, behavior, social habits, etc.
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