This document provides a summary of common translation errors in 3 categories: linguistic errors, comprehension errors, and translation errors. It defines each type of error and provides examples. Linguistic errors include incorrect word forms, grammar, syntax, usage, style, register, and false cognates. Comprehension errors involve misunderstanding the source text or ambiguity. Translation errors include mistranslation, omission, inconsistent terminology, overly free translation, literal translation, and indecision. The document also discusses formatting errors such as incomplete passages, illegible text, incorrect punctuation, improper diacritical marks, spelling errors, and incorrect case.

1. Translation
Errors
Members: Trần Phương Thảo – A32748
Vũ Trọng Thắng – A32701
Nguyễn Nhất Nam – A32704
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Nga – A33768
Mai Thu Hà – A32624

2. Table Of Contents
1. Linguistic Errors
2. Comprehension Errors
3.Translation Errors
2

3. Linguistic Errors
1.

4. Linguistic translation errors
are the failure in using
target language structures
to transfer the meaning and
sense of the source text..
4

5. 1.1. Word From
 Correct word is chosen but an incorrect form of the word is used.
 Three main types of errors with word forms:
1. Wrong word endings
2. Missing word endings
3. Confusion between –ed and –ing adjective endings.
5

6. 6
Examples
1. Wrong word endings
Incorrect: What Are The Benefits Of Using Toys Made Of Nature
Materials?
Correct: What Are The Benefits Of Using Toys Made Of Natural Materials?
2. Missing word endings
Incorrect: How to convince a depress person who refuses treatment?
Correct: How to convince a depressed person who refuses treatment?
3. Confusion between –ed and –ing adjective endings
Incorrect: My friend has the annoyed eating habits
Correct: My friend has the annoying eating habits

7. 1.2. Grammar
7
▪ A sentence in the translation violates the grammatical rules of the target
language.
▪ Include lack of agreement between subject and verb, incorrect verb
inflections, and incorrect declension of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives.

8. 8
Examples
Incorrect: The key to being success is taking calculated risks (noun)
Correct: The key to being successful is taking calculated risks (Adj)
Source Texted: Cô ấy đã làm ra một sai lầm lớn
Translated Texted: She did a huge mistake
Suggested Translation: She made a huge mistake

9. 1.3. Syntax
9
▪ Phrase, clause, sentence, structure: include sentence fragments, lack of
parrallelism, unnatural word order. If incorrect syntax changes the
meaning, the error is more serious.
Incorrect: I decided to open the store not only my hometown but also in my
country.
Correct: I decided to open the store not only in my hometown but also in my
country.
Incorrect: Every day, I get up, go to the kitchen and having breakfast.
Correct: Every day, I get up, go to the kitchen and have breakfast.

10. 1.4. Usage
10
▪ Wrong preposition, collocations
Incorrect: He was forbidden to go in the house.
Correct: He was forbidden to go into the house.
Incorrect: My T-shirt is made with silk.
Correct: My T-shirt is made of silk.

11. 1.5. Style
11
▪ Distinctive manner of expression (flowery, conventional)
→ Reflected in translation
Source Texted: Everything changes at the ends
Translated Text: Mọi thứ thay đổi khi kết thúc
Suggested Translation: Cẩn thận hay có quay xe lắm ( Communicative
Translation)

12. 1.6. Register - Level of formality
12
▪ Two basic forms of register: informal and formal.
Example:
A farmworker explaining a work accident to a doctor, speaking in a register
inappropriate for exchanges between professionals and clients.

13. 1.7. False cognate
13
▪ Two words that are not etymologically related but have similar sounds and
meanings
▪ Bay in Vietnamese mean fly in standard Vietnamese and the Hanoi accent,
is pronounced similar to Bay in English.
▪ Lit is pronounced like lít (means litre)
▪ Bơ gơ is pronounced like Burger

14. COMPREHENSION
ERROR
2.

15. 2.1 Misunderstanding of the ST
15
▪ The misunderstanding of the syntax or the inability to clarify
Examples:
Eg 1: I've had it. Let’s call it a day!
Incorrect: Tôi có được nó rồi. Hãy kết thúc ngày hôm nay tại đây nhé!
Correct: Tôi chịu hết nổi rồi. Nghỉ nhé!

16. Eg 2: I couldn’t care less about the upcoming exam
Incorrect: Tôi không thể nào ngừng quan tâm (không thể quan tâm ít
hơn) đến bài kiểm tra sắp tới
Correct: Tôi không hề quan tâm đến bài kiểm tra sắp tới
Eg 3: My mom took me to the hospital just in time
Incorrect: Mẹ tôi đưa tôi đến bệnh viện đúng giờ
Correct: Mẹ tôi đưa tôi đến bệnh viện kịp thời (trước khi quá muộn)
Eg 4: Little do you know
Incorrect: điều nhỏ bé ấy anh có biết
Correct: anh không hề biết rằng 16

17. 2.2 Ambiguity
17
▪ Occurs when a sentence can be understood more than one way or meaning.
▪ Usually has a word, phrase, or statement that consists of more than one
meaning.

18. 18
Examples
Eg 1: She looks hot
=> She looks beautiful
=> She looks sweaty
Eg 2: I fed her cat food
=> I fed her the food for cat
=> I fed her cat with the food
Eg 3: I called the girl with a phone
=> I made a phone call with the girl
=> I notified the girl who is using the phone

19. 19
Eg 4: The ball was nice!
=> The dancing festival was nice!
=> The ball as in football was nice!
Eg 5: The man sat at the table with a broken leg
=> The man whose leg was broken sat at the table
=> The man sat at the table of which the leg was broken
Eg 6: The teacher said on Thursday he would take a quick test
=> The teacher said to the class the test would occur on Thursday
=> The teacher made an announcement on Thursday that the class would have a
test later on.

20. Translation errors
3.

21. 3.1. Mistranslation into the TL
21
▪ This kind of error has arguably the worst consequences. Language is so
creative and the ways to express the same things are many. But sometimes
a translator may misread a sentence, which leads to a mistranslation.
▪ This can happen due to a translator’s lack of knowledge in the subject
area, homographs (words that are spelled the same, but have different
meanings) that are read as the wrong word, or simple human error.

22. 22
Example
Source Texted: Wanna buy some coke?
Incorrect: Muốn mua một ít cocain chứ?
Correct: Muốn mua một ít coca-cola chứ?

23. 3.2. Omission
23
▪ Omission means dropping a word or words from the SLT while translating.
This procedure can be the outcome of the cultural clashes that exist
between the source language and the target language. In fact, it is in
subtitling translations where omission attains its peak in use. The
translator omits words that do not have equivalents in the TT, or that may
raise the hostility of the receptor.
Example:
Source Texted: Kill yourself, you son of a bitch.
Translated Text: Chết đi thằng khốn kiếp.

24. 3.3. Terminology
24
▪ Your business has its own culture, and whether you have deliberately chosen
specific terminology, or it has developed naturally, you likely have a specific
way to refer to things associated with your business. When that specific,
familiar terminology is not used, it can stand out, send the wrong brand
message, and even feel uncomfortable.

25. 3.4. Inconsitency
25
▪ Improper use of tone, incorrect use of slangs & jargon and wrong
placement of words are what lead to inconsistency in the translated
material. If the work being translated is technical in nature, then the tone
and words used should be professional and formal. Informal language and
tone do not have any place in the material.

26. 3.5. Too freely translation
26
▪ An error that occurs when a translator tries to rewrite or improve the
original message to their liking, resulting in a complete change in the
original meaning.
Example:
Source Texted: A tropical paradise of lush forest and unparalleled high rates
of endemism in both flora and fauna.
Translated Text: Một rừng nhiệt đới với một rừng cây sum xuê và vẻ đẹp tuyệt
vời của các loài sinh vật bao gồm cả thực vật và động vật.

27. 3.6. Literal Translation
27
▪ This is a frequent failure that consists of translating every single word,
overlooking grammatical differences between the languages.
▪ is a very easy mistake to make because it may be because we don't read
the whole sentence/paragraph in advance, but translate it quickly, or when
we're done translating, we don't re-read it carefully.

28. Examples
28
Ex1: Source Texted: You were called from the number 228.
Translated Text: Bạn được số 228 gọi đến.
Suggested Translation: Bạn nhận được cuộc gọi từ số 228.
Ex2: Source Texted: How many big wins will be won on 21 March 2017?
Translated Text: Bao nhiêu chiến thắng lớn sẽ được giành vào ngày 21 tháng
3 năm 2017?
Suggested Translation: Sẽ có bao nhiêu chiến thắng lớn giành được vào ngày
21 tháng 3 năm 2017?

29. 3.7 Indecision
29
▪ An indecision error occurs when the translator gives more than one option
for a given translation unit. they 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.

30. Formatting Errors
4.

31. 4.1 Incomplete Passage
31
▪ Missing titles, headings, or sentences within a passage - may be minus
points or even not graded.

32. Examples
▪ Source Texted: Có thể nói, ấn tượng ban đầu của du khách trên khắp thế
giới khi đặt chân đến Đà Nẵng không chỉ dừng lại ở cảnh đẹp mà còn bởi sự
thân thiện, hòa nhã của những con người nơi đây. Tính cách người Đà Nẵng
xưa nay vẫn không hề thay đổi, những con người ấy vẫn chịu thương chịu
khó cùng bản chất thân thiện, hòa nhã, mặc cho thành phố có phát triển
hiện đại đến đâu.
Translated Text: It can be said that the first impression of tourists around the
world when arriving in Da Nang is not only the beautiful scenery but also the
friendliness and gentleness of the people here.
(The character of Da Nang people has never changed, these people are still
patient and hard working with their friendly and gentle nature, no matter how
modern the city develops.)
32

33. 4.2 Illegible
33
▪ The writer make translation text become difficultly to read because they
delete, insert or revice... - Writing should be clearly understood.

34. 4.3. Punctuation
34
▪ Quotation marks, commas, semicolons, colons- important ingredient in the
format.
▪ Lack of punctuation can alter meaning and/or result in ambiguity.

35. Examples
Ex1:
Source Texted: Do ảnh hưởng của đại dịch Covid-19, các doanh nghiệp chế
biến gỗ gặp rất nhiều khó khăn trong việc xuất khẩu gỗ. Tuy vậy vẫn có sự khả
quan khi giá trị sản xuất vẫn đạt 25.300 tỷ đồng, tăng 3,04% so với 2018.
Translated Text: Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, wood
processing enterprises face many difficulties in exporting wood. However,
there is still optimism when the production value still reaches VND 25.300
billion, up 3,04% over the same period in 2018.
Ex2:
Source Texted: Vẻ đẹp tự tin, quyến rũ đã thu hút ánh nhìn của chúng tôi.
Translated Text: The confident, seductive,* beauty caught my eye.
-> The confident, seductive beauty caught me eye. 35
25,300
3.04

36. 4.4. Diacritical marks
36
▪ Hội An* Ancient Town is a well-known city in Quảng Nam* province, an old
town with over 1000 architectural monuments ranging from streets,
dwellings, assembly halls, community houses, pagodas, shrines, ethnic
churches, ancient wells... to traditional dishes and the people's souls.
Visitors will be captivated by Hội An's ageless charm, which is incredibly
rustic and beautiful.
Hội An => Hoi An
Quảng Nam => Quang Nam

37. 4.5. Spelling
37
▪ To spell a word wrongly.
▪ Be very important in any language.
North

38. 38
Source Texted: Khi chốt đơn trong livestream này, mọi người sẽ được giảm
10% và được miễn phí phí giao hàng cho mỗi hoá đơn.
Translated Text: When closing orders in this livestream, everone will get
10% off and fre shipping for each bill.
Everone → Everyone
Fre → Free
Examples

39. 4.6. Case (upper/lower)
39
▪ The rule of the translation text ( personal name, percentage, etc.) should
be followed.

40. 40
Examples
Source Texted: Chủ tịch Hồ Chí Minh là vị lãnh tụ vĩ đại của dân tộc Việt Nam
Translated Text: President ho chi minh is the great leader of the vietnamese
nation.
ho chi minh → Ho Chi Minh
vietnameses → Vietnamese
Source Texted: Bosch là thương hiệu hàng đầu tại Châu Âu chuyên về các thiết bị
gia dụng nhà bếp.
Translated Text: BOSCH is the leading brand in EUROPE specializing in kitchen
appliances.
BOSCH → Bosch
EUROPE → Europe

41. Thanks for
listening
41