Những lỗi phổ biến trong dịch Việt-Anh của phiên dịch Tiếng Anh mới ra nghề tại Công ty Khai Thác Chế Biến Khoáng Sản Núi Pháo

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
*********************


ĐINH THỊ HÒA


COMMON ERRORS IN VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATION
MADE BY ENGLISH TRANSLATOR TRAINEES AT NUI PHAO
MINING COMPANY LIMITED

Những lỗi phổ biến trong dịch Việt-Anh của phiên dịch Tiếng Anh mới ra
nghề tại Công Ty TNHH Khai Thác Chế Biến Khoáng Sản Núi Pháo


M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111






Hanoi, 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
*********************


ĐINH THỊ HÒA


COMMON ERRORS IN VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATION
MADE BY ENGLISH TRANSLATOR TRAINEES AT NUI PHAO
MINING COMPANY LIMITED

Những lỗi phổ biến trong dịch Việt-Anh của phiên dịch Tiếng Anh mới ra
nghề tại Công Ty TNHH Khai Thác Chế Biến Khoáng Sản Núi Pháo

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111
SUPERVISOR: ASSOC. PROF., DR. LÊ HÙNG TIẾN





Hanoi, 2014

i

DECLARATION

I hereby, certify the thesis entitled “Common errors in Vietnamese-English translation
made by English translator trainees at Nui Phao Mining Company Limited” is the result
of my own research for the degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and
International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The thesis has not been
submitted for any degree at any other universities or institutions. I agree that the origin of
my paper deposited in the library can be accessible for the purposes of study and research.

Hanoi, 2014


Đinh Thị Hòa














ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis is not solely my efforts, but, in fact, contains many contributions of
individuals to whom I would like to express my gratitude.
First of all, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Le Hung Tien, for all his
support and encouragement over the past few months and for his valuable comments and
advice on the study. Without his generous help, this study could not have been completed.
Secondly, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Post-Graduate lecturers as well
as officers working at Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and
International studies – VNU for their great help and numerous suggestions concerning this
thesis.
Thirdly, I want to extend my special thanks to my colleagues working at NPMC for
their help and cooperation during my research. I am also grateful to my close friends who
encouraged me a lot when I was conducting my research.
Finally, millions of thanks go to my beloved family for their love, care and support
during my MA course, especially the fulfillment of the thesis.










iii

ABSTRACT

Many studies have been carried out to investigate the strategies and procedures in
translation. However, there have been few studies reporting on the errors in translation

especially in Vietnamese-English translations. The aim of this study was therefore to
investigate the common errors in Vietnamese-English translations of English translator
trainees. In order to achieve this, a case study with 10 English translator trainees working
at Nui Phao Mining Company was carried out to find out the most common errors in
Vietnamese-English translations. They were inexperienced English translators with only
some months to 2 years experience in an English translator role. The data of this study
collected from 30 Vietnamese-English translations of these English translators and the
questionnaires distributed to them. In addition, the interview questions also were used to
get further information for the study from 4 experienced English translators who have had
many years in translating and directly helped English translator trainees review their
translations. Results from errors analysis of 30 Vietnamese-English translations,
questionnaires and interviews showed that English translator trainees often made errors in
using of preposition, word forms, word orders, verb tenses, lexical choice and omission
errors. The study also investigated the causes leading to these errors and the ways to void
them as well as to improve translation skills for English translator trainees via
questionnaires and interview. Finally, some suggestions and recommendations are given
for English translators trainees as well as English learners to make their Vietnamese-
English translations become more perfect and professional.





iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii
LIST OF CHARTS IN THE STUDY viii
LIST OF TABLES IN THE STUDY viii
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study 2
3. Research questions 2
4. Scope of the study 3
5. Methods of the study 3
6. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5
1.1. Error Analysis 5
1.1.1. Definition of error analysis 5
1.1.2. The significance of error analysis 5
1.1.3. The sources and causes of errors 6
1.2. Translation and errors in translation 8
1.2.1. Definition of translation 8
1.2.2. Errors in translation 9
1.2.2.1. Definition of errors in translation 9
1.2.2.2. Categories of translation errors 9
1.2.2.3. Common errors in Vietnamese-English translation 12
1.3. Previous studies in the world and in Viet Nam 15
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17
2.1. Research Questions 17

v

2.2. Settings of the study and participants 17

2.2.1. Setting of the study 17
2.2.2. Participants 17
2.3. Data collection 18
2.3.1. Data collection instruments 18
2.3.1.1. The Vietnamese-English translations analysis 18
2.3.1.2. The questionnaire 18
2.3.1.3. The interview questions 18
2.3.2. Data collection procedures 18
2.3.3. Data analysis procedures 19
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 20
3.1. Personal information of the participants 20
3.1.1. The first group of participants 20
3.1.2. The second group of participants 22
3.2. Difficulties of English translator trainees in translating Vietnamese-English text22
3.3. Common errors on Vietnamese- English translation made by English translator
trainees working at NPMC 23
3.3.1. Overall results from Vietnamese-English translations analysis, questionnaires
and interviews 23
3.3.2. Linguistic errors 25
3.3.2.1. Misuse of prepositions 25
3.3.2.2. Misuse of verb tenses 28
3.3.2.3. Misuse of sentence structure 28
3.3.2.4. Misuse of word orders 29
3.3.2.5. Misuse of word collocations 29
3.3.2.6. Misuse of word forms 30
3.3.3. Translation errors 30
3.3.3.1. Addition or omission 30
3.3.3.2. Distorted meaning of source text 32
3.3.3.3. Too literal translation or too free translation 32
3.3.3.4. Lexical choice 33

3.4. The causes of translation errors 34

vi

3.5. Suggestions to avoid the common errors in translation and improve translation
skills 36
PART C: CONCLUSION 38
1. Summary of the findings 38
2. Concluding remarks 39
REFERENCES 42
APPENDIX I I
APPENDIX II III
APPENDIX III VI
APPENDIX IV VIII
APPENDIX V X

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
EA: Error Analysis
ETT: English translator trainee
EET: Experienced English translator
ESL: English as a second Language
L2: Second Language
NPMC: Nui Phao Mining Company
ST: Source text
TL: Target language

viii

LIST OF CHARTS IN THE STUDY

Charts
Title
Page
1
Total number of common errors made by each ETT
25
2
Types of Preposition errors
26
3
Addition and omission errors
31

LIST OF TABLES IN THE STUDY

Tables
Titles
Page

1
Background of questionnaire participants
20
2
Kinds of text of Vietnamese-English translation
22
3
Topics in Vietnamese-English translation
21
4
The background of interview informants
22
5
Difficulties in Vietnamese-English translation
22
6
Common errors found in 30 Vietnamese-English
translations
24
7
Errors in using of preposition of each ETT
26
8
Errors in lexical choice of each ETT
33
9
Causes of translation errors
35
10
The ways to improve translation skills

37


1

PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
With the continuation of globalization, more and more companies are shifting from just
targeting their local markets to targeting the international markets. Many countries have
considered Vietnam as a potential market for their investment. More and more foreign
companies have come to Vietnam with the belief of having a good market due to the
richness of its workforce and resources. Especially, when Vietnam has become one of the
members of World Trade Organization, this trend has become a mutual impact, many
countries locating their companies in Vietnam with the plenty of experts and in contrary
Vietnam has been searching for the good markets oversea. In addition, many companies
located in Vietnam and owned by Vietnamese but have a great number of experts coming
from many other countries in over the world and dealing with oversea markets to import as
well as export goods and products.
It is undeniable that along with globalization English has become a vital factor making all
countries around the world have the common relationship in many aspects of life such as:
economy, politics, education, science and technology. English is considered as the most
popular language used to exchange information and ideas among different nations and
cultures today. Consequently, English translation has gradually become an indispensable
and pressing tool which set the path for the global success of individuals, organizations,
and even businesses in the modern time when society is of high development and
competition amongst countries is relentless. There is a need for Vietnamese learners of
English to acquire a professional translation skill in order to meet the high demand of
integration into the world economy and exchange of culture with other countries. As a
result, English translator has become an ideal job for those majoring in English. However,
Vietnamese-English translation skill is not easy for Vietnamese learners to master, so

learners can not avoid making errors in the process of translating. Especially, trainee
English translators who have just graduated from university without experience and skills,
they have to face with many difficulties in translating in the real contexts/situations and
they cannot avoid making errors in their translation works.The problems are mainly due to
the differences in linguistic systems and languages. As put by Baker (1992: 20-21) "Errors
and problems in translation mostly result from the non-equivalence between the source and

2

target languages". Ervin and Bower (1953) stated that linguistic problems in translation
may arise: 1) from differences in the meanings of words, 2) from differences in syntactical
differences, and 3) from differences in the cultural context of the readers or hearers.
In Vietnam, many studies have been carried out on error analysis in English learning;
however, there have been few studies using this type of analysis to analyze learner‘s errors
in translation especially Vietnamese- English translation.
For all the reasons above, the researcher decided to choose the study ―Common errors in
Vietnamese-English translation made by English translator trainees at Nui Phao Mining
Company Limited‖ which aims at finding out the most common translation errors in
Vietnamese-English translation of English translator trainees working at NPMC and then
investigating the causes of these errors and finally suggesting the ways to avoid them as
well as the ways to improve translation skills. It is a strong belief that the study will be a
useful reference helping to improve translation skills for not only English translator
trainees at Nui Phao Mining Company but also all Vietnamese people who are interested in
translation work and really want to become an expert translator. It is also expected that this
study will contribute the good material for all teachers teaching English translation and all
students majoring in English especially those who are in the course of English translation.
2. Aims of the study
The study is aimed at:
 finding out common errors in translating Vietnamese into English of English
translator trainees at NPMC.

 exploring the causes of making errors in translating Vietnamese into English.
 helping English translator trainees as well as students majoring in English
translation studies be able to recognize their common errors in translating and self-correct
their errors and find out their own effective ways to improve their translation skills.
 providing pedagogical implications for teachers in teaching English translation
studies for students.
3. Research questions
To obtain the above stated purposes, the study aimed to answer the following questions:
1. What are the common errors in Vietnamese- English translation made by English
translator trainees working at NPMC?

3

2. What are the causes for these errors?
3. What should be done to avoid these errors and to improve translation skills?
4. Scope of the study
There have been a great number of errors made by English learners and translators in both
Vietnamese-English and English-Vietnamese translation. However, due to the limitation of
time, this study only focuses on common errors in Vietnamese-English translation of
English translator trainees at Nui Phao Mining Company Limited. The data for this study
collected from Vietnamese-English translation works done by English translator trainees,
survey questionnaires distributed to them and the interviews done between the author and
four experienced English translators working at NPMC.
5. Methods of the study
This study is carried out as a case study. In order to answer the research questions, the
study uses both qualitative and quantitative method. Survey questionnaires, Vietnamese-
English translations and semi-structured interviews are used to collect data for the study.
Firstly, Vietnamese-English translations of English translator trainees are collected and
then analyzed to find out the common errors. After that, survey questionnaires and
interviews are designed based on the information collected from Vietnamese-English

translations and distributed to English translator trainees to provide more data for the
study.
6. Design of the study
The study is separated into three main parts:
Part A: Introduction- provides rationale, the aims and research questions of the study,
scope and general structure of the study also are specified in this part.
Part B: Development- includes three chapters:
Chapter I: Literature review- states the theoretical background in relation to the topic of the
study including previous studies in the world and Vietnam.
Chapter II: Methodology- presents participants, setting of the study and data collection
which consists of providing data collection instruments, data collection procedures and
data analysis procedures.

4

Chapter III: Findings and discussion- offers findings drawn from data analysis, then
discuss the pedagogical implications for both teachers and students who are involved in
English translation studies.
Part C: Conclusion-summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the limitations and
provides some suggestions for further study.
REFERENCES
APPENDICES

5

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Error Analysis
1.1.1. Definition of error analysis
So far, there have been plenty of definitions of error analysis made by linguists. According
to James, (1988) he defines Error Analysis (EA) is one of the most influential theories of
second language acquisition. It is concerned with the analysis of the errors committed by
L2 learners by comparing the learners‘ acquired norms with the target language norms and
explaining the identified errors. For Crystal (1999, p. 108) Error Analysis in language
teaching and learning is the study of the unacceptable forms produced by someone learning
a language, especially a foreign language.
Another definition of error analysis is given by Brown (as cited in Ridha, 2012, p. 26). He
defines error analysis as "the process to observe, analyze, and classify the deviations of the
rules of the second languages and then to reveal the systems operated by learner". As
stated by AbiSamara (2003), Error Analysis can be viewed as " a type of linguistic analysis
that focuses on errors committed by learners".
Corder (1967) views errors as valuable information for three beneficiaries: for teachers, it
clues them on the progress of the students; for researchers, it provides evidence as to how

language is acquired or learned; for learners themselves, it gives them resources in order to
learn.
Corder (ibid), argues that "what has come to be known as error analysis has to do with the
investigation of the language of second language learners." One of the main aims of error
analysis is to help teachers assess more accurately what remedial work would be necessary
for English as a Second Language (ESL) students preparing for an English Language test,
so as to help students avoid the most common errors.
Error analysis is a type of linguistic analysis that focuses on the errors learners make. It
consists of a comparison between the errors made in the Target Language (TL) and that
Target Language itself.
1.1.2. The significance of error analysis
Error Analysis is significant in the process of teaching and learning second language
because it reveals to us -teachers, syllabus designers and textbook writers of what the

6

problem areas are so that we could design remedial exercises in accordance with these
errors and focus more attention on the‗trouble shooting‘ areas.
Corder (1967) also states that learner‘s errors can ―provide to the researcher evidence of
how language is learned or acquired, what strategies or procedures the learner is employing
in the discovery of the language. He also indicates the usefulness of error analysis in three
respects: the researcher or linguist, to the teacher and to the learner himself. While analyses
of learners‘ errors provide insights into the nature of language, especially into the innate
nature of the learner‘s system, they provide more insights into the process of language
teaching and learning.
Corder, (1974) verifies error analysis has two objects: one theoretical and another applied.
The theoretical object serves to ‗elucidate what and how a learner learns when he studies a
second language.‘ And the applied object serves to enable the learner ‗to learn more
efficiently by exploiting our knowledge of his dialect for pedagogical purposes‘
According to Ancker, (2000), making mistakes or errors is anatural process of learning and

must be considered as part of cognition.
Weireesh, (1991) considers learners‘ errors to be of particular importancebecause making of
errors is a device the learners use in order to learn.
Weireesh, (ibid.) says EA is a valuable aid to identify and explain difficultiesfaced by
learners. He goes on to say that EA serves as a reliable feedback todesign a remedial
teaching method. This emphasises the fact that problematicas the errors may be, when they
are identified, learners get helped and teachersfind it easy to do remedial work.
Sercombe, (2000) explains that EA serves three purposes. Firstly, to find outthe level of
language proficiency the learner has reached. Secondly, to obtain information about
common difficulties in language learning, and thirdly, tofind out how people learn a
language. From this statement it can be concluded that the study of errors should also be
looked at as something positive both forlearners and teachers.
According to James (1998), ―Error Analysis developed out of the belief that errors indicate
the learner‘s stage of language learning and acquisition. The learner is seen as an active
participant in the development of hypotheses regarding the rules of the target language just
as is a young child learning the first language. Errors are considered to be evidence of the
learner‘s strategy as he or she builds competence in the target language‖.
1.1.3. The sources and causes of errors

7

 Sources of errors:
It can be seen that there are many reasons for how learners make errors. Myles (2002) states
that the errors take root from both social factors and cognitive factors.
Selinker (1972) reported five sources of errors:
(1) Language transfer. There is positive transfer that helps the learning of second
language. There is also negative transfer, that hinders the learning of second language.
Language transfer involves pronunciation, word order and grammars, semantic transfer,
transfer in writing, pragmatic transfer and culture transfer.
(2) Transfer of training. Transfer of training occurs whenever the effects of prior

learning influence the performance of a later activity. Transfer of training is the influence
of prior learning on performance in a new situation.
(3) Strategies of second language learning. This is an attempt to develop linguistic and
sociolinguistic competence in the target language.
(4) Strategies of second language communication. This consists of attempts to deal
with problems of communication that have arisen in interaction.
(5) Overgeneralization of the target language (TL) linguistic material. This happens
when a second language leaner applies a grammatical rule across all members of a
grammatical class without making the appropriate exception.
In addition, Brown (1980:173-181) classifies sources of error into, 1) interlingual transfer,
that is the negative influence of the mother tongue of learner, 2) intralingual transfer, that
is the negative transfer of items within the target language. In order words, the incorrect
generalization of rules within the target language; 3) context of learning, which overlaps
both types of transfer, for example, the classroom with its teacher and its materials in the
case of school learning or the social situation in the case of untutored second language
learning. In a classroom context the teacher or the textbook can lead the learner to make
wrong generalization about the language; 4) communication strategies. It is obvious that
communication strategy is the conscious employment of verbal mechanisms for
communicating an idea when linguistic forms are not available to the learner for some
reasons.
 Causes of errors
Norrish (1983:21-26) classifies causes of error into three types that is carelessness, first
language interference, and translation.

8

Another expert who discusses the sources of error is Richards in Schummann and Stenson
(1978 : 32) in his article ―Error Analysis and Second language Strategies‖ . He classifies
sources of errors into (1) interference that is an error resulting from the transfer of
grammatical and/or stylistic elements from the source language to the target language; (2)

overgeneralization, that is an error caused by extension of target language rules to areas
where they do not apply; (3) performance error, that is unsystematic error that occurs as the
result of such thing as memory lapses, fatigue, confusion, or strong emotion; (4) markers
of transitional competence, that is an error that results from a natural and perhaps
inevitable development sequence in the second language learning process (by analogy with
first language acquisition); (5) strategy of communication and assimilation that is an error
resulting from the attempt to communicate in the target language without having completely
acquired the grammatical form necessary to do so; and (6) teacher-induced error, that is an
error resulting from pedagogical procedures contained in the text or employed bythe teacher.
In another article ―A Non-Contrastive Approach to Error Analysis‖, Richards (1971:19-22)
classifies causes of error into 1) overgeneralization, 2) incomplete application of rules, 3) false
concepts hypothesized, and 4) ignorance of rule restriction.
1.2. Translation and errors in translation
1.2.1. Definition of translation
There have been a great number of definitions of translation made by many linguists during
the long history of translation development. The following definitions taken from different
sources will give more understanding about this aspect:
Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (source language) by
equivalent textual material in another language (target language). (Catford 1965:20).
Translation is the expression in another language (or target language) of what has been
expressed in another (source language), preserving semantic and stylist equivalencies.
(Dubois 1973, cited in Bell 1991:5).
Translation is a transfer process, which aims at the transformation of written source
language text into an optimally equivalent target language text, and which requires the
syntactic, the semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical processing of the
source language. (Wilss, 1982).

9

Translation is the expression in another language (target language) of what has been

expressed in one language (source language), preserving semantic and stylistic
equivalencies. (Bell R., 1991).
Translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a
representation of an equivalent text in s second language. (Bell R., 1991).
Translation is ultimately a human activity which enables human beings to exchange ideas
and thoughts regardless of the different tongues used (Antar, 2002: 2). Translation is a
channel through which ideas and cultures pass (Hatem and Mason, 1990: 30).
1.2.2. Errors in translation
1.2.2.1. Definition of errors in translation
Errors in translation are also referred to as defects (Pym 1991), mistranslations(Lauscher
2000) and mismatches (Hatim and Mason 1997). Pym (1992: 281) defines errors as a
manifestation of a defect in any of the factors entering into the two skills of:
• The ability to generate a target-text series of more than one viable term (targetext ' , target
text2, target text3) for a source text.
• The ability to select only one target text from this series.
"Errors in translation mostly result from the non-equivalence between the source and the
target languages. " (Baker, 1992).
Albir (1995 in Waddington 2001) presents s list of possible errors in translations as
follows:
- Inappropriate renderings which affect the understanding of the ST. These are
divided into eight categories: countersense, faux sense, nonsense, addition, omission,
unresolved extralinguistic references, loss of meaning and inappropriate linguistic variation
(register, style, dialect, etc)
- Inappropriate renderings, which affect expression in the TL. These are divided into
five categories: spelling, grammar, lexical items, text and style.
- Inappropriate renderings, which affect the transmission of either the main function
or secondary function of the ST.
1.2.2.2. Categories of translation errors
According to Pym (1991), errors fall into two categories; 'binary' and 'non-binary'. A
binary error, he explains, opposes a wrong answer to the right answer, whereas non-binary

errors can be judged as correct with some weakness, not demonstrably right or wrong.

10

Binary errors, as Pym puts it, belong to the level of grammar, morphology, system, and
lexis, i.e. language features. Non-binary errors are more translation-based phenomena,
based on the misapplication of strategies such as addition, omission, selection and
ordering. Kussmaul (1995:129) also distinguishes between binary and non-binary errors in
the same way. In assessing his own translation from Swedish to English, Weinstock (1988)
says he makes two categories of error: intellectual errors and dictionary errors. Under the
former he says, "are included errors of comprehension, portions of text that I have simply
misunderstood. By dictionary errors I mean cases where I have been led astray by my
reference materials".
Although in the field of teaching translation lists of descriptions of errors in translation are
more detailed, from a different perspective the two distinction categorization is also
common. For example, Steinbach (1981) and Sager (1983) adopt the two distinction
approach, dividing them according to the type of error and the level of error. Following the
traditional levels of linguistic description, Steinbach (1981: 251) classifies errors in
orthography, grammar (morphology and syntax) and lexis according to established criteria
such as non-acceptable spelling, grammatical or lexical choice. Classifying by type
involves the following: addition, omission, selection, ordering. Steinbach adopts a rating
from, what he describes as two parallelviewpoint, in classifying and describing translation
errors: one level of analysis (lexis) is constituted by the given meaning in Li and the related
choice in L2, whilst a second level (grammar) covers acceptability in L2 independent of
the meaning in Li (ibid. 250). What is problematic about this system of classification is the
exclusive distinction between L1 and L2 errors as the case is not always either/or.
Alternatively, Sager's (1983) model involves five categories, each working at a linguistic,
semantic or pragmatic level. The five types of errors are:
1. Invention of meaning.
2. Omission.

3. Addition.
4. Deviation.
5. Modification.
On the other hand, Mauriello (1992: 64) proposes what she calls a taxonomical list of
abbreviations denoting the most frequent errors in translations at university level.
1. Nonsense (N)

11

2. Misunderstanding (M)
3. Tense (T)
4. Structure (Str)
5. Grammar (G)
6. Topology (Top)
7. Overtranslation (Un)
8. Omission (V)
9. Word (W)
10. Form (F)
11. Style (St)
Furthermore, according to Roomy (2006), translation errors can be classified into four
broad types, namely, (i) grammatical errors; (ii) mistranslations; (iii) localization errors,
and (iv) errors of inconsistency.
He also gives more details for the four above errors as follows:
 Grammatical errors would be characterized as errors dealing with the grammar of
the target language, including errors of usage, collocation, syntax and tense.
 Mistranslation errors are simply an oversight or an arrogant act or plain ignorance
on part of the translator.
 The errors pertaining to localization take place due to the fact that the term to be
translated normally does not exist as a concept in the target language.
 Errors of inconsistency could create major problems in certain kinds of translation,

whereas they may not be important in other types of translation but at the highest levels of
professionalism, a translator should not commit any of these errors.
In addition, according to Nowak (2006) translation errors include:
1) mistranslating terms and phraseological units (including collocations, word
combinations or syntagms)
2) terminological errors
3) grammatical errors spotted include inflexion errors (e.g. incorrect stem or
desinence) and incorrect syntax (e.g. government, concord, prepositions, or word order)
4) inappropriate style (stylistic inadequacy)
5) punctuation errors: (i) the lack of a punctuation mark; (ii) an incorrect punctuation
mark; and (iii) an excessive punctuation mark

12

6) nonsense and opposite meaning
Meanwhile, American Translators Association (ATA) suggests a list of 22 types of errors
that should be used as criteria for evaluating work done by professional translators:
1) Incomplete passage, 2) Illegible handwriting, 3) Misunderstanding of the original text, 4)
Mistranslation into target language, 5) Addition or omission, 6) terminology, word choice, 7)
Register, 8) Too freely translated, 9) Too literal, word-for-word translation, 10) False
cognate, 11) Indecision in word choice, 12) Inconsistent, 13) Ambiguity, 14) Grammar, 15)
Syntax, 16) Punctuation, 17) Spelling, 18) Accents, 19) Case (upper case/lower case), 21)
word form and 22) Style.
1.2.2.3.Common errors in Vietnamese-English translation
Na (2007) suggests the model of analyzing errors based on the learning model and content
of translation training in Vietnam which includes comprehension errors, linguistic errors
and translation errors. She explained that comprehension errors happen when the learners
misunderstand the syntax of a certain sentence of the source text, or misread a word and
their translations were accordingly based on a misunderstood source text. Linguistic errors
include grammatical errors, syntactic errors, morphological errors, collocational errors and

word form. Translation errors include omission, addition, inaccurate rendition of individual
text items, distorted meaning of the source text, too free translation, too literal translation,
pragmatic error, wrong lexical choice.
Comprehension errors: these errors happen when the learners misunderstand the syntax
of a certain sentence of the source text or misread a word and their translations were
accordingly based on a misunderstood source text.
Linguistic errors consist of grammatical errors, syntactic errors, morphological errors,
collocational errors and word form.
Grammatical errors: errors occur in the handling of word structure, including lack of
agreement between subject and verb, incorrect verb tenses or verb forms, incorrect case of
nouns, pronouns, or adjectives, and use of an adjective where an adverb is
needed.[American Translators Association (ATA) Framework for Standard Error Making].
For example:
Vietnamese: ―Anh ta nói chuyện thân mật với tôi.‖
English: ―He talked with me friendly‖. (Incorrect)

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(Hữu Ngọc, 2009)
The error of this example is the way of using the adjective ―friendly‖. Although ―friendly‖
is suffixed by ―ly‖ but it is an adjective not adverb. Therefore, this sentence should be
translated ―He talked with me in a friendly manner‖.
Syntactic errors: errors made when learners have to handle any items larger than word, i.e.
phrase, clause or sentence (James 1998). Errors in this category include sentence
fragments, improper modification, lack of parallelism, and unnatural word
order.[American Translators Association (ATA) Framework for Standard Error Making].
For example:
Vietnamese: ―Cô ấy là một cô gái rất tốt‖
English: ―She is a girl very nice‖ (Incorrect)
This sentence should be corrected into ―She is a very nice girl‖.

Morphological errors: errors which involve a failure to comply with the noun in supplying
any part of any instance of these word classes: six book*; aboli*shment…are noun
morphology errors.
Collocational errors: errors committed in the idiomatic usage of the target language. The
errors in grammatical collocation (wrong use of preposition, ect.) are treated as
grammatical errors, not as collocation error.
For example: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.
Incorrect word form refers to cases where the the root of the word is correct, but the wrong
form is used.
For example, the leaner uses the noun instead of the adjective to express in the target
language or uses the noun instead of the verb:
Vietnamese: ―Người có đầu óc hài hước thường dễ tạo được sự cảm thông của người
khác‖.
English: ―People with the sense of humor easily make others sympathy.‖ (Nguyễn Thành
Đức, 2009)
In this example, the translator use incorrect word form. The word ―sympathy‖ should be
used as an adjective in the sentence structure ―to make + somebody +adjective‖. The

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correct sentence should be: ―People with the sense of humor easily make others
sympathetic”
Translation errors: These errors happen when the students show the inability to render
the original meaning of the source text into the target text. In other words, a sentence is
considered to have ‗translation errors‘ when it shows traces of distortions of the source
text, although the sentence may be grammatically correct. Translation errors include
omission, addition, inaccurate rendition of individual text items, distorted meaning of the

source text, too free translation, too literal translation, pragmatic error, wrong lexical
choice.
Tuan (2006) suggests common errors made by Vietnamese students when translating as in
the following table:
Type of error
Example
Vietnamese
English
Linguistic errors
Lexical errors
Text
a. Kha Luân Bố đã
tìm ra Tân thế giới vào
năm 1842.
b. Tôi đang tìm cuốn
sách.
c. Michael Faraday
đã tìm ra máy phát điện.

a. The New World
was discovered by
Christopher.
b. I am looking for
my book.
c. Michael
Faraday invented the
generator.
Word collocation
a. Đàn chim/ cừu
b. Đàn gia súc/ trâu

c. Đàn cá/ gà

a. A flock of birds/
sheep
b. A herd of cattle/
buffaloes
c. A school of fish/
chickens
Misuse of
personal pronouns
& prepositions
a. thất vọng về
b. quan tâm về
c. nhấn mạnh về
a. be disappointed
in
b. be interested in
c. lay emphasis/
stress on
Misuse of
synonyms
Con sông này sâu lắm
This river is very
profound.
(unacceptable)
This river is deep.
Idioms &
terminology
Khỏe như trâu
As strong as a buffalo.

(Incorrect).
As strong as a horse
(Correct).

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Structural errors
Tôi mất mười phút để đi
đến đó.
I go there in ten
minutes. (Incorrect)
It takes me ten minutes
to go there. (Correct)
Style errors

Nếu chúng tôi đặt hang
với số lượng lớn, liệu
doanh nghiệp anh có bán
với giá rẻ không?
If we place substantial
orders, can your
enterprise get us with
soft price?
It is impossible to use
informal style in a
business letter. It should
be ―cheaper price‖
Cultural errors

Áo Dài

Should be translated as
―ao dai‖ not ― a dress‖

1.3. Previous studies in the world and in Viet Nam
Translation and errors analysis have been researched by many linguists in the world as well
as in Vietnam. Especially translation errors from one source language into another target
language have been dug out by many studies.
Naqvy (2006) shows four types of translation errors in his article which he provides guide
for beginners in translation area. He suggests that translation errors include grammatical
errors, mistranslations, localization errors and errors of inconsistency. Zakia (2005)
provides a ranked taxonomy of problems in translating from English to Arabic that was
developed through two empirical studies.
Hassan and Aref (2013) analyze some linguistic problems in translation between Arabic
and English to indicate fundamental weaknesses among students in grammar causing them
great hardship in comprehending and translating sentences from English into Arabic and
vice versa.
Nowak (2006) presents a selection of translation errors and mistakes which have been
noticed in Polish versions of EU legal texts.