Vietnamese english translation errors committed by english majored postgraduate students

BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY HUYNH THI NGOC THAO VIETNAMESE - ENGLISH TRANSLATION ERRORS COMMITTED BY ENGLISH-MAJORED POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES MAJOR CODE: 8220201 MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES BINH DUONG PROVINCE - 2023 BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY HUYNH THI NGOC THAO VIETNAMESE - ENGLISH TRANSLATION ERRORS COMMITTED BY ENGLISH-MAJORED POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES MAJOR CODE: 8220201 MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SUPERVISOR: Dr TRAN THANH DU BINH DUONG PROVINCE - 2023 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that the thesis titled "Vietnamese-English translation errors committed by English-majored postgraduate students" is being written under the supervision of Dr Tran Thanh Du Unless otherwise specified, I confirm that all information presented in this paper is the result of my own efforts, and that no external sources have been used without proper citation Furthermore, I declare that this thesis has not been accepted for any degree or diploma, and is not currently being considered for any other degree or diploma The author Huynh Thi Ngoc Thao i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am appreciative to everyone who aided and supported me during the thesis writing process My supervisor, Dr Tran Thanh Du from Thu Dau Mot University, who made the first recommendations and invaluable assistance, deserves my sincere gratitude He invested a significant portion of his time to reviewing the paper and offering not just resources but also criticism and directions until the full thesis was finished I greatly like his consistent monitoring His dedicated cooperation was vital to the outcome of the study Second, I appreciate the Postgraduate Department's assistance and Dr Tran Thanh Du, Director of the Master's Program in English Language, in permitting and providing me with essays on contrasting linguistic subjects Furthermore, I value interviewers because insight interviews from English linguistics students assisted me in understanding translation issues Their contribution and ideas were really useful to my research Thirdly, I would want to extend my deepest appreciation to postgraduate program instructors and coworkers Their thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and wide knowledge encourage me to continue and finish my thesis To conclude, I would want to convey my sincerest appreciation to my beautiful, supporting family, particularly my parents Overall, I would not have been able to complete my thesis at my difficult period without their assistance ii ABSTRACT This research examined translation errors made by English-majored postgraduate students when translating from Vietnamese to English Qualitative and quantitative methods, including questionnaires, semi-interviews, and document analysis were used to collect data from 50 students, lectures, and students The study aimed to identify common translation errors and improve translation teaching and learning for Vietnamese learners Results showed that grammatical errors (63%) are the most common among lexical and grammatical errors In grammatical errors, passive voice is the most common error (27.08%) Besides, in lexical errors, word choice is the most common error (37.5%) Cultural factors and first language differences contributed to errors To improve translation skills, consistent practice and utilizing resources are necessary Developing a strong foundation in both languages and cultural knowledge is essential for producing accurate and effective translations Keywords: translation, translation errors, common errors, postgraduate students iii TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENT iv LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 The statement of the problem 1.3 The aims of the study 1.4 The scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Research questions of the study 1.7 The organization of the study Summary CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW .8 2.1 Theory of translation .8 2.1.1 Definitions of translation 2.1.2 Translation equivalence 2.1.3 Translation methods .9 2.1.3.1 Word-for-word translation 10 2.1.3.2 Literal translation 12 2.1.3.3 Faithful translation 13 iv 2.1.3.4 Semantic translation 14 2.1.3.5 Communicative translation 15 2.1.3.6 Adaptation 16 2.1.3.7 Free translation 16 2.1.3.8 Idiomatic translation 17 2.1.4 The important of translation in modern world 18 2.1.5 Qualities for a good translation 19 2.2 Factors affecting translation 21 2.2.1 Cultural factors 21 2.2.2 First language factors 23 2.2.3 Personal competence factors 24 2.3 Classification of common errors 25 2.3.1 Vocabulary errors .30 2.3.1.1 Spelling 30 2.3.1.2 Word order 31 2.3.1.3 Word choice 31 2.3.1.4 Idioms 32 2.3.1.5 Cultural terms 33 2.3.2 Grammatical errors 34 2.3.2.1 Passive voice 34 2.3.2.2 Relative clause 35 2.3.2.3 Tense 35 2.3.2.4 Collocation 36 2.4.2.5 Determiner .37 v 2.4 Related studies 37 Summary 40 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 42 3.1 Research design .42 3.2 Course description 43 3.3 Population and sampling .44 3.3.1 Population 44 3.3.2 Sampling .44 3.4 Research instruments 44 3.4.1 Questionnaires .44 3.4.2 Semi-structured interviews 45 3.5 Procedure .46 3.6 Reliability and validity 46 Summary 47 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 48 4.1 Findings 48 4.1.1 The data from the questionnaires .48 4.1.1.1 The data from Part 48 4.1.1.2 The data from Part 49 4.1.2 The data form assignments 64 4.1.3 Data from the semi-structured interviews 69 4.1.3.1 Interview questions with lecturers 69 4.1.3.2 Interview questions with students 69 4.2 Discussion 70 vi 4.2.1 Discussion from questionnaire 70 4.2.2 Discussion from the assignments 71 4.2.3 Discussion of results from semi-interviews 72 4.2.3.1 Discussion of results from semi-interviews with lecturers 72 4.2.3.2 Discussion of results from semi-interviews with students .75 4.2.4 Comparing with other studies 77 Summary 78 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 80 5.1 Summary of the results 80 5.2 Recommendations 80 5.2.1 Recommendations for lecturers 81 5.2.2 Recommendations for students 82 5.2.3 Recommendations for future studies 83 5.3 Limitation 84 Summary 85 REFERENCES .86 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS 92 APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS 103 APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR LECTURERS 104 APPENDIX D: SCRIPT OF INTERVIEW 105 Interview with lecturers 105 Interview with students 107 APPENDIX E: STUDENTS' ASSIGMNETS 109 Student .109 vii Student .115 Student .126 Student .135 Student .144 viii 154 155 156 157 158