Errors in translating english relative clauses into vietnamese by third year english majors at can tho university

CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT *** ERRORS IN TRANSLATING ENGLISH RELATIVE CLAUSES INTO VIETNAMESE BY THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT CANTHO UNIVERSITY B.A Thesis Supervisor Researcher Truong Nguyen Quynh Nhu, MA Tran Thi Ngoc Vien Student ID: 7062935 Class: NN0652A1 Course: 32 Can Tho, May 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my great gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Ms Truong Nguyen Quynh Nhu who gave me valuable instructions, advice and feedback on the drafts of chapters in my study Actually, I could not finish my thesis without her assistance She always gave me encouragement and recommended references me relating to translation field Thank to these references, I have discovered new ideas to make my research more enjoyable My deep gratitude goes to Ms Truong Thi Ngoc Diep for allowing me to administer the test in her classes and also helping me deliver and collect the test responses I gratefully thank for her great support and assistance I also would like to thank Ms Ngo Thi Trang Thao for her useful help with performing descriptive statistical analysis in Statistics Package for the Social Science (SPSS) I sincerely would like to thank all of the students from two classes of Translation and Interpretation in Practice 2, for their help and contribution in my research I would like to thank all of my friends for all of their advice as well as their generous support and assistance They were always with me so as to encourage me when I faced troubles while doing this thesis My deep thanks go to my parents, my sisters and brother who always offered me deep encouragement during the time I conducted the thesis I would like to send my special thanks to all the teachers of English Education Department, School of Education, CanTho University who created the opportunity and supported my work on my thesis CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURE.……………… ……….…………… iv ABSTRACT …………… ……………………………………………… ….v TÓM LƯỢC……………… …………………………………………… .vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………….……………………… 1.1 Rationale…………… …………………………………………… 1.2 Research aims……… …………………………………………… 1.3 Significance of the research………… ………………………… 1.4 Organization of the research………… …………………………… CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………….……… 2.1 Translation…………………………………… ………………… 2.1.1 Definition of translation………………………………… 2.1.2 Translation process………………………… 2.1.3 Translation methods………………………… 2.1.4 Translation errors……………………………………… 2.2 English Relative Clauses………………………………… 2.2.1 Types of relative clauses………………………… 10 2.2.2 Punctuating relative clauses………………………… 11 2.3 Related studies…………………………………………………… 11 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY…………… …………… 13 3.1 Research questions…………………………………… …………13 3.2 Hypotheses…………………………………………… …………13 3.3 Research design………………………………………… ………13 3.4 Participants……………………………………………… ……….14 3.5 Research Instrument……………………………… ………14 3.6 Procedures………………………………………………… …….14 3.6.1 Test development……………………………… …… 14 3.6.2 Test administration …………………………… …16 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS…………………………………… ……………17 4.1 Type error: incomplete sentence………………… ………19 4.2 Type error: misunderstanding of the original sentence………… 20 4.3 Type error: mistranslation……………………………………… 20 4.4 Type error: addition……………………………… 21 4.5 Type error: omission…………………………………………… 21 4.6 Type error: word choice……………………………… 22 4.7 Type error: too freely translated……………………… 22 4.8 Type error: too literal, word for word translation…… 23 4.9 Type error: ambiguity………………………………… .……23 4.10 Type 10 error: grammatical structure……… 24 4.11 Type 11 error: using "mà"……………………………………… 24 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS…… ………………… …… .25 5.1 Discussions……………………………………………………… 25 5.2 Recommendations………………………………………………… 26 5.2.1 Clause Splitting…………………………… …….… 26 5.2.2 Using compound sentences…………………… 26 5.2.3 Using noun apposition………………………………… 27 5.2.4 Translating the relative clause as an adjective…… …27 5.2.5 The appropriate use of discourse marker ―mà‖…… ………… 27 5.2.6 Using communicative translation…………………… 27 5.3 Pedagogical Implications …………… ……………………… 28 CHAPTER 6: LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH………………………………………………………………… 30 6.1 Limitations……………………………………………… 30 6.2 Suggestions for further research………………………………… 30 6.3 Conclusions……………………………………………………… 31 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………… 32 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………… 35 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 2.2.1 The functions, forms and uses of relative pronouns Table Criteria for marking errors Table 4.1 Frequencies of marking errors Table 4.1.1 Frequencies of type error: incomplete sentence Table 4.1.2 Frequencies of type error: misunderstanding the original text Table 4.1.3 Frequencies of type error: mistranslation Table 4.1.4 Frequencies of type error: addition Table 4.1.5 Frequencies of type error: omission Table 4.1.6 Frequencies of type error: word choice Table 4.1.7 Frequencies of type error: too freely translated Table 4.1.8 Frequencies of type error: too literal, word for word translation Table 4.1.9 Frequencies of type error: ambiguity Table 4.1.10 Frequencies of type 10 error: grammatical structure Table 4.1.11 Frequencies of type 11 error: using "mà” Figure Nida‘s model of translation process ABSTRACT This thesis deals with the English – Vietnamese translation in terms of English relative clauses The research is conducted to investigate the errors that students made in translating sentences with relative clauses, to come up with suggestion of some ways to avoid these errors and to suggest that students should pay attention to translating sentences with relative clauses The participants of the study are 50 students from a course of Translation and Interpretation in Practice at Can Tho University The data was collected from a translation test consisting of 20 singlesentence items This is a descriptive, qualitative and quantitative research, in which the data were treated by Statistics Package for the Social Science (SPSS) The statistical results showed that students made all of the following translation errors: (1) incomplete sentences, (2) misunderstanding of the original text, (3) mistranslation, (4) addition, (5) omission, (6) word choice, (7) too freely translated, (8) too literal, wordfor-word translation, (9) ambiguity, (10) grammatical structure, (11) using ―mà‖ Among these, 86% of the students made Type error: misunderstanding of the original text and 84% of the students made Type 10 error: grammatical structure 14% of the students made Type error: ambiguity On the basis of the findings, the researcher proposed suggestions to help student translators to improve these errors The suggestions include: (1) clause splitting, (2) using compound sentences (3) using noun apposition, (4) translating the relative clause as an adjective and (5) using communicative translation TÓM LƯỢC Luận văn nghiên cứu vấn đề dịch mệnh đề quan hệ từ tiếng Anh sang tiếng Việt Nghiên cứu tiến hành nhằm lỗi dịch thuật mà học sinh mắc phải dịch câu có chứa mệnh đề quan hệ, hướng đến đề nghị số cách khắc phục lỗi đề nghị sinh viên nên ý dịch câu có chứa mệnh đề quan hệ Đối tượng nghiên cứu 50 sinh viên đến từ lớp Dịch thực hành trường Đại học Cần Thơ Số liệu nghiên cứu thu thập thông qua dịch kiểm tra bao gồm 20 câu đơn lẻ Bằng hình thức mô tả kết hợp với phương pháp định tính định lượng, số liệu đựợc xử lí SPSS Kết phân tích số liệu cho thấy sinh viên mắc lỗi sau đây: (1) không hoàn thành câu dịch (incomplete sentences), (2) hiểu sai văn nguồn (misunderstanding of the original text), (3) dịch sai (mistranslation), (4) thêm lời văn (addition), (5) dịch thiếu (omission), (6) cách dùng từ (word choice), (7) dịch thoát (too freely translated), (8) dịch từ (too literal, word-for-word translation), (9) tối nghĩa (ambiguity), (10) cấu trúc ngữ pháp (grammatical structure), (11) sử dụng từ ―mà‖ (using ―mà‖) Trong lỗi này, 86% sinh viên mắc lỗi hiểu sai văn nguồn 84% sinh viên phạm lỗi cấu trúc ngữ pháp, có 14% sinh viên mắc lỗi đa nghĩa Dựa kết nghiên cứu, tác giả đưa số đề nghị nhằm giúp người dịch sinh viên cải thiện lỗi sau: (1) tách câu (clause splitting), (2) sử dụng câu phức (using compound sentence), (3) sử dụng danh từ bổ nghĩa (using noun apposition), (4) dịch mệnh đề quan hệ tính từ (translating the relative clause as an adjective) (5) sử dụng phương pháp dịch giao tiếp (using communicative translation) CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter will present rationale and the aims of the research Significance and organizations of the research are also included in the chapter 1.1 Rationale Communicating with people from different countries is becoming more and more important Overcoming the language barrier is thus becoming one of the most critical issues of current time In this context, translation serves as a universal effective means of communication (Newmark, 1988) No one can deny the importance of translation in human‘s communication system at the present era of globalization, except those who are interested in learning to use a foreign language rather than understanding the intention of the communication through an apparent translation However, it is impossible for one to learn all of different languages in use because there are a great number of languages in the world Translation is a demanding and challenging task; it requires the translator‘s linguistic knowledge of both the source language and the target language, the appropriate choice of translation method, professional translation skills, cross-culture perspectives and translation evaluation skills (Newmark, 2001) Translation would be a far more difficult task in the context in which source language and target language not share similar grammar and syntax This is the case of English Vietnamese translation In English grammar, relative clauses are very complex and have many principles to follow Also, both Celce-Murcia and Larsen Freeman (1999) state that the acquisition of relative clauses are important because of their complex form and function, high frequency in both spoken and written texts Conversely, relative clauses are non-existent in Vietnamese There are even no specific concepts of relative clauses in Vietnamese grammar According to Nguyễn (1999), a relative clause is defined as ―một tổ hợp gồm hai trung tâm nối liền với quan hệ tường thuật”(p.148) (a group consisting of two parts connected in terms of the descriptive relation) Similarly, Đinh (2001) describes a relative clause “mệnh đề quan hệ từ loại từ có chức thay thế”(p.199) (relative clauses are a kind of words having the function of replacement) Also, Bùi Ý (1980) indicates that relative pronouns are rarely seen in Vietnamese grammar Instead, a clause connector or conjunction (i.e.―mà‖, “nhưng”, “vì”, mặc dù”, “cho nên”, “song”) is used in the place of a relative pronoun For instance: The boy whom you see at the door is his brother (p.111) (Đứa bé mà anh trông thấy cửa em đấy.) In the Vietnamese sentence, ―mà” is used to indicate ―đứa bé” In brief, due to the non-existence of relative clauses in Vietnamese grammar, Vietnamese translators may face many difficulties in translating sentences containing English relative clauses In other word, they may commit translation errors concerning grammatical structures, lexical inadequacies and mistranslations Nonetheless, the success of the translation depends above all on achieving equivalent response (Nida 1964, as cited in Munday, 2001) On the basic of these potential problems in translation of English relative clauses, the research was conducted to investigate common translation errors in translating English relative clauses into Vietnamese made by third-year English majors at Can Tho University 1.2 Research aims The research has two aims First, the research aims to investigate translation errors, which third-year English majors make in translating English relative clauses into Vietnamese Second, on the basis of the findings, possible strategies to minimize and improve these translation errors are provided 1.3 Significance of the research The study is an early attempt at investigating common errors in English relative clauses translation The findings of the study, first of all, are of value in terms of insights into translation practices at CTU Second, the study raises awareness among teachers and students of English at CTU of translation errors resulting from nonexistence or non-equivalence between the source language (i.e., English) and the target language (i.e., Vietnamese) Third, suggestions to improve the quality of translation can serve as a useful reference for English students, as well as novice translators 1.4 Organization of the research The thesis consists of main chapters Chapter Introduction provides the rationale, aims, hypothesis and organization of the research Chapter Literature review covers the theory of translation consisting of definition of translation, translation process, translation methods and translation errors Besides, theory of English relative clauses and an overview of research studies are also presented in this chapter Chapter Research methodology reports the research method employed in my study including the descriptions of research questions, research design, research instruments, participants and procedures Chapter Results presents summaries of data collected from the test and analyzes the statistic results Chapter Discussions, Recommendations and Pedagogical implications discusses findings to the two research questions Suggestions to improve translation errors and pedagogical implications also reported in this chapter Chapter Limitations and Suggestions for further research addresses limitations of the study and suggestions for the further research target language reader Furthermore, communicative translation concentrates on the message and the main force of the text and is always written in a natural style Due to these strengths, it is highly recommended that communicative translation should be employed by translators to produce a better translation In summary, in order to better translate English relative clause which not have equivalent structure in Vietnamese, it is imperative that translators grasp the stylistic purpose of the relative clause and not mechanically transfer the syntactic structure into the target language when a structure might be more suitable In other words, an effective translation requires translator‘s understanding of the source text to select appropriate structures in the target language for the translation (Larson, 1984) If the translator simply mechanically transforms a relative clause from English into Vietnamese, then the translation will sound awkward due to its unnaturalness 5.3 Pedagogical Implications On the basic of the findings, pedagogical implications for classroom application are provided as follows: Translation exercises or practices should be done in pairs or in small groups rather than individuals According to Razmjou (2002), groupwork and cooperation with peers can always lead the translating process to better results Students who practise translation with their peers will be able to solve problems more easily and will more rapidly develop self-confidence and decision-making techniques Razmjou (2002) states that ―writing" skills, i.e the ability to write smoothly and correctly in both source and target languages, is also important Writing is in fact the main job of a translator Therefore, students are encouraged to write extensively in both English and Vietnamese so that the students will develop their writing skills which helps them translation work more easily Newmark (1995) regards translation criticism or translation quality assessment (TQA) as a crucial link between translation theory and its practice and as ‗the keystone of any course in comparative literature, or literature in translation, and a component of any professional translation course with the appropriate text-types as an exercise for criticism and discussion Therefore, it is strongly recommended that translation evaluation should be an essential component in a translation course Then, students have opportunities to practice evaluating their translation and to be trained to become an independent evaluator The following are criteria to quality of the translation proposed by The Institute of Linguists‘(IoL) Diploma in Translation: 30 Accuracy: the correct transfer of information and evidence of complete comprehension The appropriate choice of vocabulary, idiom, terminology and register: Cohesion, coherence and organization: Accuracy in technical aspects of punctuation, etc According to Newmark (2001) translators should spend on revising 50-70% of the time on translating depending on the level of the source text In brief, a good translation must be accurate in meaning and natural in target language forms used so that a intended audience who is unfamiliar with the source text is able to understand the translation easily The success of a translation is measured by how closed it measures up to the source language texts (Larson, 1991; Newmark, 2001) 31 CHAPTER LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 6.1 Limitations This study was conducted by a novice student researcher; limitations on the design of the study and the research procedures are thus unavoidable First, the design of the study is restricted concerning the sample size and the validity of the findings That is to say, the study was conducted with a quite small sized sample (n=50) at one university; therefore, the findings may not generalize to other universities or language institutions Likewise, the findings were not valid or reliable to a larger population Another limitation was the interpretation of the data As the test responses were not scored to award partial credit as common practice, a large number of the responses contained incomplete sentences This could be either accounted for the fact that (a) the student participants did not perform at their best or (b) incomplete sentence actually was a translation error Third limitation is that the study is attended to investigation of the quantity and quality of the translation errors on translation of English relative clauses, rather than the sources or causes This limitation hinders insights into these sources of the translation errors 6.2 Suggestions for further research Due to the limitations of the study, it is believed that future research should attempt to address the following issues: A large sample size should be put into investigation in other that the findings of the study may lead to generalization to a more diverse population across colleges, universities and language institutions in Vietnam With respect to data collection and data analysis, it is imperative that data should be gathered from tests which are part of the translation course assessment (e.g., progress tests) rather than the translation test constructed and administrated by the researcher According to Bachman and Palmer (1997), the evaluation of the test responses in terms of scores or grades motivates test takers perform at the best It is thus more likely that the number of the incomplete test responses that were unable to be analyzed could be restricted, thereby increasing validity of the findings of the study Due to the limitation in the design of the study (i.e., the sole investigation into the translation errors in translating English relative clauses), there should be 32 another study to thoroughly investigate the causes and effects of these translation errors on the quality of the translation, as well as students‘ translation skills 6.3 Conclusions In conclusion, the aim of the study is to investigate translation errors which thirdyear English major made in translating English relative clauses into Vietnamese The study results reported that the students made all of eleven errors: (1) incomplete sentence, (2) misunderstanding of the original text, (3) mistranslation, (4) addition, (5) omission, (6) word choice, (7) too freely translated, (8) too literal, word-for-word translation, (9) ambiguity, (10) grammatical structure, (11) using “mà” On the basis of the findings, the researcher suggests strategies to minimize these translation errors as follows: (a) clause splitting, (b) using compound sentences, (c) using noun appositions, (d) translating the relative clause as an adjective, (e) the appropriate use of discourse marker “mà”, (f) using communicative translation Finally, for further research, the researcher suggested that there should be another study to investigate the causes and effects of these translation errors on the quality of the translation, as well as students‘ translation skills 33 REFERENCES Bachman, L F.,& Palmer, A S (1997) Language Testing in Practice: designing and Developing Useful Language Test Oxford: Oxford University Press Baker, M (1992) In other word: A course book on translation London and New York : Ruotledge Bell, R.T (1991) Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice London: Longman Bùi, T B., & Đặng, X T (1997) Interpreting and Translation Course Book, Nxb Bản Giáo Dục Catford, J C.(1965) A Linguistic Theory of Translation London: Longman Translation and Interpreting London: Sage Publications, 1997 Celce-Murcia, M., & Hilles, S (1988) Techniques and resources in teaching grammar Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press Celce-Murcia, M., & Larsen-Freeman, D (1999) The grammar book Boston: Heinle & Heinle Dart, A.K (1982) ESL grammar handbook Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Đinh, V D (2001), Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt, Nxb Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội Hervey, S., Higgins, I., & Haywood, L M (1995) Thinking Spanish Translation: A Course in Translation Method: Spanish into English London; New York: Routledge Larsen-Freeman, D (1997) Grammar dimensions: Books three and four Boston: Heinle & Heinle Larson, M.L.(1984) Meaning-Based Translation: A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence Lanham: University Press of America Le, V S (2003) Translation and Grammar Hanoi: Culture and Information Publishing House Le, P.L (2006) Unnaturalness in English- Vietnamese translation: Causes and Cures Retrieved January: 9, 2010, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/21561452/Unnaturalness-in-English-VietnameseTranslation-Le-Phuong-Lan-s-Thesis Mai, L.H (n.d.) A Study on The Translation Of English Sentences With Relative Clauses And Some Ways To Avoid Unnaturalness In The Vietnamese Version Retrieved December: 16, 2009, from http://www.cfl.udn.vn/uploads/uploads/svnckh2009/PHUONG_MAI_LAN.doc Mason, R (1988) Art education and multiculturalism New York: Methuen 34 Melis, N M., & Albir, A H (2001) Assessment In Translation Studies: Research Needs Meta: translator‟s Journal, 46 (2), pp 272-287 Retrieved November 11, 2008 from http://id.erudit.org/edrudit/003624ar Munday, J (2001) Introducing Translation Studies London and New York: Routledge Newmark, P.( 1988) A Textbook of Translation New York: Prentice-Hall International Newmark, P (1981) Approaches to Translation New York: Prentice Hall Newmark, P (1995) A Textbook of Translation New York and London: Prentice Hall Newmark, P (2001) A Textbook of Translation New York: Prentice Hall Neubert, A.,& Shereve, G.M.(1992) Translation as text Kent, Ohio & London, England: the Kent State University Press Nida, E A.(1964) Towards a Science of Translating Leiden: Brill Nida, E.A., & Taber Ch (1974) The Theory and Practice of Translating Leiden: Brill Nida, E.A., & Taber Ch (1969) The Theory and Practice of Translation Leiden: Brill Nguyen, T.H (n.d.) Translation of Relative Clauses from English into Vietnamese Retrieved January: 18, 2010, from http://www.docjax.com/search/translationrelative-clauses-clauses-from-english-into-vietnamese/ Nguyễn ,T.C (1999), Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt, Nxb Bản Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội Nguyễn ,Q H.(2005), Hướng dẫn kỹ thuật dịch Anh - Việt Hanoi: Social Sciences Publishing House Pinchuck, I (1975) Scientific and Technical Translation California: W&Y Mackey Limited Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J (1985) A comprehensive grammar of the English language New York: Longman Razmjou, L (2002) Developing Guidelines for a New Curriculum for the English Translation BA Program in Iranian Universities Online Translation Journal, V 6, No.2 http://accurapid.com/journal/20edu1.htm Seliger, H.W.,& Shohamy, E (2000) Second Language Research Methods Oxford: Oxford University Press Thomson, A J., & Martinet, A V (2003) A practical English Grammar (Four edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press Wiebke, Ramm (2005) Dispensing with subordination in Translation – consequence on discourse structure, University of Osolo 35 Zabalbeascoa, P (2000) ―From techniques to types of solutions‖ In Beeby, A., Ensinger, D., and Presas, M (eds.) Investigating Translating Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 117-127 36 APPENDIX Name:………………………… Class: ……… Course: ……………………… TRANSLATION TEST Time allotted: 30 minutes Direction: Translate the following sentences with relative clauses from English into Vietnamese The man whose computer they borrowed works at bakery ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Bill has a son, who is a doctor ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… A few days ago I met someone whose brother I went to school with ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… The London Team, which played so well last season, has done badly this season ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Spring flowers, which grow in a variety of wonderful color, are a delight to the eye ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… The 8.15 train, which is usually very punctual, was late today ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Shakespeare, who wrote Romeo and Juliet, died in 1616 ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 37 That block, which cost £ million to build, has been empty for years ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… I met a girl whose eyes were blue ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 10 The film is about a spy whose wife betrays him ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 11 This is Peter Taylor, who works with my sister ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 12 I know the man whose bicycle was stolen ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 13 The headmaster, with whom the parents had discussed their son‘s future, advised the boy to take up engineering ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 14 Anyone who wants to the exam must enter before next Friday ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 15 Where is the cheese which was in the fridge? ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 16 Foreigners often take some time to get used to English breakfast, which is often quite an important meal ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 38 17 No one puts any faith in the Government‘s promises, which they have frequently gone back on in the past ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 18 Mr Brown, whose son won the spelling contest, is very proud of his son achievement ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 19 It is now know that water, which is essential to life, does not exist on the moon ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 20 Peter, who everyone suspected, turned out to be innocent ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… THANK FOR YOUR PARTICIPANT! 39 APPENDIX SUGGESTED TRANSLATION The man whose computer they borrowed works at bakery Người đàn ông cho họ mượn máy tính làm việc tiệm bánh Bill has a son, who is a doctor Bill có cậu trai làm nghề bác sĩ A few days ago I met someone whose brother I went to school with Vài ngày trước gặp người có em trai học chung với The London Team, which played so well last season, has done badly this season Đội bóng London chơi tốt mùa trước mùa chơi tệ Spring flowers, which grow in a variety of wonderful color, are a delight to the eye Thật thích mắt ngắm nhìn hoa mùa xuân đầy màu sắc rực rở The 8.15 train, which is usually very punctual, was late today Chuyến xe lửa 8.15 ngày hôm đến muộn Shakespeare, who wrote Romeo and Juliet, died in 1616 Shakespeare, tác giả kịch Romeo Juliet năm 1616 That block, which cost £ million to build, has been empty for years Toà nhà với chi phí xây dựng triệu bảng Anh, bị bỏ trống nhiều năm I met a girl whose eyes were blue Tôi gặp cô gái có đôi mắt màu xanh biếc 10 The film is about a spy whose wife betrays him Bộ phim nói thám tử bị vợ phản bội 11 This is Peter Taylor, who works with my sister Đây Peter Taylor, đồng nghiệp chị 12 I know the man whose bicycle was stolen Tôi biết người đàn ông bị xe 40 13 The headmaster, with whom the parents had discussed their son‘s future, advised the boy to take up engineering Thầy hiệu trưởng bàn với phụ huynh học sinh nghề nghiệp trai họ ông khuyên cậu trai nên theo ngành kĩ sư 14 Anyone who wants to the exam must enter before next Friday Ai muốn dự thi phải đăng kí trước thứ sáu tuần tới 15 Where is the cheese which was in the fridge? Miếng phô mát tủ lạnh đâu rồi? 16 Foreigners often take some time to get used to English breakfast, which is often quite important meal Người nước thường phải khoảng thời gian để quen với bữa sáng người Anh Bữa ăn quan trọng 17 No one puts any faith in the Government‘s promises, which they have frequently gone back on in the past Do phủ thường xuyên thất hứa thời gian qua, chẳng tin vào lời hứa hẹn họ 18 Mr Brown, whose son won the spelling contest, is very proud of his son achievement Con trai ông Brown thắng thi viết tả ông hãnh diện điều 19 It is now know that water, which is essential to life, does not exist on the moon Giờ người ta biết nước-một thứ thiết yếu sống, không tồn mặt trăng 20 Peter, who everyone suspected, turned out to be innocent Peter- người mà người hồ nghi, hoá lại vô tội 41 APPENDIX DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF THE FREQUENCIES OF ERRORS ON TRANSLATING SENTENCES WITH RELATIVE CLAUSES Incomplete sentence Valid x Total Frequency 24 26 50 Percent 48.0 52.0 100.0 Valid Percent 48.0 52.0 100.0 Misunderstanding of the original text Valid x Total Frequency 43 50 Percent 14.0 86.0 100.0 Valid Percent 14.0 86.0 100.0 Mistranslation into target language Valid x Total Frequency 32 18 50 Percent 64.0 36.0 100.0 Valid Percent 64.0 36.0 100.0 Addition Valid x Total Frequency 33 17 50 Percent 66.0 34.0 100.0 42 Valid Percent 66.0 34.0 100.0 Omission Valid x Total Frequency 23 27 50 Percent 46.0 54.0 100.0 Valid Percent 46.0 54.0 100.0 Word choice Valid x Total Frequency 10 40 50 Percent 20.0 80.0 100.0 Valid Percent 20.0 80.0 100.0 Too freely translated Valid x Total Frequency Percent Valid Percent 29 21 50 58.0 42.0 100.0 58.0 42.0 100.0 Too literal, word for word translation Valid x Total Frequency 20 30 50 Percent 40.0 60.0 100.0 Valid Percent 40.0 60.0 100.0 Ambiguity Valid x Total Frequency 43 50 Percent 86.0 14.0 100.0 43 Valid Percent 86.0 14.0 100.0 Grammatical structure Valid x Total Frequency 42 50 Percent 16.0 84.0 100.0 Valid Percent 16.0 84.0 100.0 Using "mà" Valid x Total Frequency 28 22 50 Percent 56.0 44.0 100.0 44 Valid Percent 56.0 44.0 100.0