Translation
skills are vital in language learning as they help convey meaning, tone, and
style from one language to another. According to Nida (2020), effective
translation prioritizes natural meaning and style in the target language. For
language students, especially at Khairun University, mastering
translation—particularly of recount texts—is crucial for developing language
competence. Translation also supports the four key language skills and plays a
key role in transferring information. Toury (2016) adds that translation
follows cultural and social norms, which learners must understand to produce
accurate and contextually appropriate translations. Mastery of these norms
helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures effective communication.
1.
Definition
of Error
Errors
in language learning are a natural manifestation of the second language
acquisition process, reflecting the learner’s difficulty in adapting to the
norms and rules of the target language. These errors are not simply a form of
failure, but rather the result of a complex interaction between interlingual
factors, such as the influence of the mother tongue, and intralingual factors,
such as overgeneralization or misapplication of rules.
2.
Error
Analysis
Error analysis is the study and analysis of
errors made by second language learners. Error analysis can also be done to;
(a) Identify the strategies used by learners in learning; (b) Try to identify
the causes of learner errors;(c) Obtain information about common
difficulties in learning, as an aid to teaching or in the preparation of
teaching materials. Error analysis was developed as a branch of applied
linguistics in the 1960s, and began to show that many learner errors were not
caused by the learner's native language but reflected universal learning
strategies. Error analysis was therefore offered as an alternative to
contrastive analysis ( Ortega
2015).
3.
The
Kinds of Error
In the context of language learning, provide
a taxonomy of surface strategies in terms of misclassification in sentences.
The four main types of errors they identify omission, addition, misformation, and misordering highlight
common challenges in sentence construction and demonstrate the patterns in
which learners make errors (Bailey & Fahad 2021)
a.
Omission errors are
characterized by the absence of an item that should appear in a well-formed
utterance. These omissions can affect various elements of a sentence, and
although any morpheme or word may be omitted, some types of morphemes are more
frequently omitted than others. For example, in the sentence "I
tired," the auxiliary verb "am" is missing, which results in a
sentence that lacks the necessary grammatical structure. emphasize that
omission errors often occur with functional elements like auxiliary verbs or
to-be forms, which are crucial for tense and aspect in English.
b.
Addition errors occur when
unnecessary elements are included in an utterance. This contrasts with omission
errors, where elements are left out. In the case of addition, the learner may
insert a word or morpheme that does not belong in the sentence. For example,
"She can sings" contains the unnecessary "s" at the end of
"sings note that these errors often arise from overgeneralization, where
learners apply familiar grammatical rules to structures where they do not
apply.
c.
Misformation errors occur when
incorrect morphemes or structures are used in a sentence. These errors
typically involve substituting a correct morpheme or structure with an
incorrect one. For instance, a learner might say "She don't know"
instead of "She doesn't know." According to, misformation errors
often result from learners' attempts to apply patterns from their native
language or generalize English grammar rules incorrectly, leading to the use of
incorrect structures.
d.
Misordering errors involve the
incorrect arrangement of words or morphemes in a sentence. This can affect the
order of subject, verb, object, or other sentence components. For example, a
learner might say "She always sings beautifully" as "Always she
sings beautifully," which disrupts the usual word order of English.)
highlight that misordering errors reflect the challenges learners face when
trying to map their native language syntax onto the target language.
e. The Causes of Error There are three main causes of errors, namely
Mother tongue intervention, Overgeneralization, and Errors driven by teaching
materials or methods. These causes explain the errors learners make due to the
influence of their native language or incorrect learning strategies. Richards
(2020) categorizes the sources of errors into various types, including
interlanguage transfer, intralingual transfer, learning context, and
communication strategies.
4.
Types of Error Causes
In addition to these categories, the causes of errors can
also be classified into three types: carelessness, first language interference,
and translation errors. Richards (2020) elaborates on these sources of errors
and how they impact language learners.
a. Carelessness: Often linked to a lack
of motivation, carelessness in language learning occurs when learners fail to
focus on accuracy, leading to simple mistakes. Many teachers recognize that if
students lose interest in the material or if the teaching method is not
engaging, this can lead to careless errors. notes that motivation plays a key
role in preventing such errors.
b. First Language Interference:
Learning a new language often involves replacing old habits with new ones.
However, learners' first language habits can interfere with their attempts to
learn a new language, leading to errors. This is referred to as mother tongue
interference. explains that errors caused by first language interference are
some of the most common mistakes language learners make.
c. Translation Errors: Translation
errors occur when learners directly translate sentences or phrases from their
native language into the target language, often resulting in word-for-word
errors that do not align with the syntax or vocabulary of the target language.
This type of error is common, especially when learners lack sufficient
proficiency in the target language to express themselves naturally.),
translation errors are frequent, especially among learners who rely heavily on
their first language in the learning process.
5.
Three Types of Sources of Errors
According to
Richards (2020), errors can also be attributed to three main sources:
a. Interference Errors: These occur
when elements from one language are mistakenly used in another language. This
is a direct result of the influence of the learner's first language on their
second language use.
b. Intralingual Errors: These errors
reflect the overall challenges of learning rules in a language, such as
generalizing rules incorrectly, applying them incompletely, or failing to learn
the conditions under which certain rules apply. This often leads to errors like
overgeneralization.
c. Developmental Errors: These errors
happen as learners form hypotheses about the target language based on limited
exposure and experience. As learners attempt to predict and apply language
rules, they may make incorrect generalizations or conclusions.
Based on
the description above, the researcher aims to find out students’
competence in translating recount text in the
title “Students’ Competence In Translating Recount Text at Fifth Semester
Students of Khairun University”