TRANSLATION ERROR

 An error refers to the production of incorrect forms in speech and writing by a non-native
speaker of the target language, due to the incomplete knowledge of the rules of that target
language.
 According to Pym (1992) states that errors come from different levels of language,
pragmatics, or culture.
 Besides those kinds of error, Wongranu (2017) added some types of error in translation.
The three types of error in translation are syntactic error, semantic error, and
miscellaneous errors.
 On the other hand, another study found different kinds of translation error. Lexical error,
morphological error, and syntax errors were found by Silalahi, Rafli, and Rasyid (2018).
 Five types of error were found in this translation application, those five errors are
inversion of meaning, addition of meaning, omission of meaning, deviation of meaning,
and modification of meaning (Salam, Akil, & Rahman, 2017).

ERROR CATEGORIES

1. Addition (A): An addition error occurs when the translator introduces superfluous

information or stylistic effects. Candidates should generally resist the tendency to
insert “clarifying” material. Explicitation is permissible. Explicitation is defined as “A
translation procedure where the translator introduces precise semantic details into the
target text for clarification or due to constraints imposed by the target language that were
not expressed in the source text, but which are available from contextual knowledge or
the situation described in the source text.” (Translation Terminology, p. 139)

2. Ambiguity (AMB): An ambiguity error occurs when either the source or target text

segment allows for more than one semantic interpretation, where its counterpart in the
other language does not.

3. Capitalization (C): A capitalization error occurs when the conventions of the target

language concerning upper and lower case usage are not followed. NOTE: In the
Framework grid, the C error is a sub-category of Spelling/Character (SP/CH) errors.
4. Cohesion (COH): A cohesion error occurs when a text is hard to follow because of
inconsistent use of terminology, misuse of pronouns, inappropriate conjunctions, or other
structural errors. Cohesion is the network of lexical, grammatical, and other relations
which provide formal links between various parts of a text. These links assist the reader
in navigating within the text. Although cohesion is a feature of the text as a whole,
graders will mark an error for the individual element that disrupts the cohesion.

5. Diacritical marks / Accents (D): A diacritical marks error occurs when the target-

language conventions of accents and diacritical marks are not followed. If incorrect or
missing diacritical marks obscure meaning (sense), the error is more serious. NOTE: In
the Framework grid, the D error is a sub-category of Spelling/Character (SP/CH) errors.

6. Faithfulness (F): A faithfulness error occurs when the target text does not respect the
meaning of the source text as much as possible. Candidates are asked to translate the
meaning and intent of the source text, not to rewrite it or improve upon it. The grader will
carefully compare the translation to the source text. If a “creative” rendition changes the
meaning, an error will be marked. If recasting a sentence or paragraph—i.e., altering the
order of its major elements—destroys the flow, changes the emphasis, or obscures the
author’s intent, an error may be marked.

7. Faux ami (FA): A faux ami error occurs when words of similar form but dissimilar
meaning across the language pair are confused. Faux amis, also known as false friends,
are words in two or more languages that probably are derived from similar roots and that
have very similar or identical forms, but that have different meanings, at least in some
contexts.

8. Grammar (G): A grammar error occurs when a sentence in the translation violates

the grammatical rules of the target language. Grammar errors include lack of agreement
between subject and verb, incorrect verb inflections, and incorrect declension of nouns,
pronouns, or adjectives. NOTES: (a) In applicable cases, the G error should be sub-
categorized as SYN (Syntax) or WF/PS (Word Form/Part of Speech); see explanations
below. (b) If a verb form is grammatically correct in the sentence but changes the
meaning of the source text because of  its tense, aspect, mood, etc., the category VT
(Verb Tense) should be used; see explanation below.

9. Illegibility (ILL): An illegibility error occurs when graders cannot read what the

candidate has written. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that the graders can
clearly discern what is written. Candidates are instructed to use pen or dark pencil and to
write firmly enough to produce legible photocopies. Deletions, insertions, and revisions
are acceptable if they do not make the intent unclear.

10. Indecision (IND): An indecision error occurs when the candidate gives more than
one option for a given translation unit. Graders will not choose the right word for the
candidate. Even if both options are correct, an error will be marked. More points will be
deducted if one or both options are incorrect.

11. Literalness (L): A literalness error occurs when a translation that follows the source
text word for word results in awkward, unidiomatic, or incorrect renditions.

12. Mistranslation (MT): See under the category Other Errors (OTH) below.

13. Misunderstanding (MU): A misunderstanding error occurs when the grader can

see that the error arises from misreading a word, for example, or misinterpreting the
syntax of a sentence.

14. Omission (O): An omission error occurs when an element of information in the

source text is left out of the target text. This covers not only textual information but also
the author's intention (irony, outrage). Missing titles, headings, or sentences within a
passage may be marked as one or more errors of omission, depending on how much is
omitted. Implicitation is permissible. Implicitation is defined as “A translation procedure
intended to increase the economy of the target text and achieved by not explicitly
rendering elements of information from the source text in the target text when they are
evident from the context or the described situation and can be readily inferred by the
speakers of the target language.” (Translation Terminology, p. 145)

15. Punctuation (P): A punctuation error occurs when the conventions of the target

language regarding punctuation are not followed, including those governing the use of
quotation marks, commas, semicolons, and colons. Incorrect or unclear paragraphing is
also counted as a punctuation error.

16. Register (R): See below under Text Type (TT).

17. Spelling (SP) / Character (CH) for non-alphabetic languages:

A spelling/character error occurs when a word or character in the translation is
spelled/used incorrectly according to target-language conventions. A spelling/character
error that causes confusion about the intended meaning is more serious and may be
classified as a different type of error using the Flowchart and Framework. If a word has
alternate acceptable spellings, the candidate should be consistent throughout the passage.
NOTE: In applicable cases, the SP/CH error should be sub-categorized as C
(Capitalization) or D (Diacritic); see explanations above.

18.Style (ST): See below under Text Type (TT).

19. Syntax (SYN): A syntax error occurs when the arrangement of words or other

elements of a sentence does not conform to the syntactic rules of the target language.
Errors in this category include improper modification, lack of parallelism, unnatural word
order, and run-on structure. If incorrect syntax changes or obscures the meaning, the error
is more serious and may be classified as a different type of error using the Flowchart and
Framework. NOTE: In the Framework grid, the SYN error is a sub-category of Grammar
(G) errors.

20. Terminology (T): A terminology error occurs when a term appropriate to a specific

subject field is not used when the corresponding term is used in the source text. This type
of error applies to terms used in various technical fields, but can also apply to more
general texts. In the latter, a Terminology error can occur whenever the candidate
chooses a content word or phrase (noun, verb, modifier) with an incorrect or
inappropriate meaning. NOTE: If the word choice violates conventions of collocation
(e.g., subject-verb or adjective-noun combinations that are specific to the target
language), then a Usage (U) error should be marked.

21. Text Type (TT): A text type error occurs when some component of the translation
fails to meet specifications listed or implied in the Translation Instructions (TIs). This
category includes the former categories of Register ("when the language level or degree
of formality is not appropriate for the target audience or medium specified in the TIs")
and Style ("when the style [e.g., tone, method of exposition] of the translation is
inappropriate for publication or professional use as specified by the TIs"). A TT error can
also be marked when the translation fails to adhere to terms or spellings specified in the
TIs. Examples of the above three types are: (a) in an academic textbook: "Some years, El
Niño comes on with a vengeance" (instead of "occurs with particular intensity"); (b) in
step-by-step instructions: the use of imperative verbs, when infinitives are standard for
that text type in the target language; (c) the place name "Saigon" when the TIs specify
"Ho Chi Minh City."

22. Unfinished (UNF): A substantially unfinished passage is not graded. Missing titles,

headings, or sentences within a passage may be marked as one or more errors of
omission, depending on how much is omitted.

23. Usage (U): A usage error occurs when conventions of wording in the target language
are not followed. Correct and idiomatic usage of the target language is
expected. This category includes the use of prepositions (e.g., "married with" instead of
"to"), collocations ("performed a crime" instead of "committed"), and definite/indefinite
articles.
 24. Verb Tense (VT): A verb tense error occurs when the translation includes a verb in
the grammatically correct form (person, number, gender, etc.) but conjugated in a tense
(and/or mood, aspect, etc.) that conveys a different meaning from the source text.
Examples: (a) "I lived there for 20 years" instead of "I have lived there for 20 years." (b)
"When he arrived, she made tea" instead of "When he arrived, she was making tea." (c)
"It is difficult to succeed" instead of "It would be difficult to succeed." NOTE: If a verb is
incorrectly inflected (for person, number, gender, etc.), the error G (Grammar) should be
marked; see explanation above.

25. Word form / Part of speech (WF/PS): A word form error occurs when the root of
the word is correct, but the form of the word is incorrect or nonexistent in the target
language (e.g., “conspiration” instead of “conspiracy”). A part of speech error occurs
when the grammatical form (adjective, adverb, verb, etc.) is incorrect
(e.g., “conspire” instead of “conspiracy”). NOTE: In the Framework grid, the WF/PS
error is a sub-category of Grammar (G) errors.

26. Other Errors: For errors that do not clearly fit the descriptions above, use the
Framework categories OTH-MT (for meaning transfer errors that change or distort the
content of the source text) and OTH-ME (for mechanical errors).

CAUSES OF TRANSLATION ERRORS

1. Limitation of translation training

 Kafipour & Jahanshahi (2015) stated that possible reason the error exists due to the
translation training which does not give sufficient material.

2. Lack of linguistic knowledge of the ST and TT

 Popescu (2013) added another factor caused translation errors among translators was the
lack of linguistic knowledge.
  Error in translation faced by the translators is not only because they lack of knowledge of
the target language, but they seemly lack of knowledge in both source and target
language such as the structure, vocabulary, and punctuation (Youfi 2014).
 Seguinot (1989) also argues that errors as the effect of misunderstanding the source text
or incapability of translators in producing toward target text (as cited in Kafipour &
Jahanshahi, 2015).

3. Interference of the mother tongue

 The interference of mother tongue (intra-lingual interference) of the translator can lead
the error of translation and also the lack of knowledge of the target language causes
translation error (Cúc, 2018), (Utami, 2017).

4. Employing translation machine

 Silalahi, Rafli, and Rasyid (2018) presented some further causes which led the translators
did errors while translating. They said there were six causes of error, those are lack of
knowledge, unable to compose correct grammar of the target language, not consulting
with dictionary or employing translation machine
 Halimah (2018) in her paper presented three types of error found in Google Translate.
The three types of error are semantic error, syntactic error.

5. Source text

 The researchers also added that the causes of translation did not always came
from the translators. The source text also can cause the translation error, such as
bad quality of the source text, unclear sentences, and incoherent idea of the
source text.

6. Carelessness

 Wongranu (2017) gave another perspective about the causes of error. Carelesness
which includes misreading and interference of background knowledge, low self-
 confidence, and the main cause affected the translation errors which was
experienced by the translators was their anxiety.

Ways to reduce translation errors

Learning and understanding the minute grammatical and syntax differences between languages
will help translators avoid simple spelling & grammar errors. Additionally, avoiding literal
translations will help preserve the integrity of the work.
1. Do thorough research
 Reading books, listening to audio files, perusing grammar books and even
observing body language will help translators understand what words and
sentences mean. This will help translators get a better picture about the way
language is used in a particular country and it will help reduce errors due to
mistranslation and misuse of words.
2. Proper proofing
 Reading and re-reading the material will help translators spot mistakes in spelling
& grammar and identify any inconsistency in the translation. Translators should
also add end-notes post-translation to help readers understand what a word means
or why it has been used. This will improve overall quality.
3. Installing translation quality assurance tools
 Quality tools such as spellchecker and CAT tools can help identify errors at a
much faster rate. These tools will help translators identify which parts of the
translated piece are below the level of acceptance. Additionally, having a
dedicated team of quality assurance professionals will help ensure there is a four-
eye check of the final translated material.

References
Errors In Translation: Find Out How They Happen And Fix The ...
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Explanation of Error Categories – American Translators ...
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Putri, T. (2019). An analysis of the types and causes….Retrievedfrom
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