An Analysis of Translation Errors: A Case Study of Vietnamese EFL Students

Abstract

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. To this end, 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 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. The source of the errors could be attributed to inter-lingual, intra-lingual interference or errors can be the integration of the source. Results were discussed and implications for the improvements of translation ability and recommendations for future research were presented.