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Students’ Translation Techniques and Grammatical Errors in Translating

Narrative Text

Muhammad Ichsan Andi Wahyono, Issy Yuliasri 

English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia

Article Info

________________
Article History:

Received in 25 July

2018

Approved in 29 July

2019

Published in 29 July

2019

________________
Keywords: translation;
translation techniques; students’
translation; grammar;
grammatical errors; narrative

text.____________________

Abstract

___________________________________________________________________
This research attempted to find out the translation techniques and grammatical

errors in students’ Indonesian-English text translation. The objectives of this

research were to describe the choice of translation techniques and grammatical

errors of the students’ translation of a narrative text. This research used descriptive

qualitative method. The translation techniques analysis was done by using Molina

and Albir's (2002) classification of translation techniques while grammatical errors of

the students’ translation were analyzed using the guide for correcting writing errors

by Betty Azar (1941). The translation technique analysis was done by comparing the

students’ translation work with the source text of a narrative entitled Lari Kepagian

then grammatical errors analysis was done to find out their errors in the use of

grammatical rules. The result of the study found that there were 3012 data of

translation techniques and 429 grammatical errors. The data showed that the most

used translation techniques were literal translation technique (30.1%) and

modulation technique (22.6%) and the most grammatical errors made was

capitalization (18.2%) and verb tense (16.6%). The most used translation technique

that resulted in most grammatical errors was modulation technique (17%) in the

translation done by 24 students.

© 2019 Universitas Negeri Semarang

 Correspondent Address: ISSN 2252-6706
B8 Building FBS Unnes

Sekaran, Gunungpati, Semarang, 50229

E-mail: e.teacher.ichsan@gmail.com

ELT FORUM 8 (1) (2019)

Journal of English Language Teaching

http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/elt



Muhammad Ichsan Andi Wahyono & Issy Yuliasri / ELT Forum 8 (1) (2019)

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INTRODUCTION

Translating is not only translating text from source language to target language. It is also not out of

translator’s skill to divert meaning and its aesthetic elements-including in this case is the style of

language. As stated by Nida and Taber (1982: 12) that there are two processes in translation. The

processes are to reproduce both message and style equivalence from the source language. However,

translation in terms of style is something complicated. Nababan (2008: 59) states that the stylistic

complexity is one of the factors causing the difficulty.

To produce a good translation, the translator has to know almost perfectly the language

translate from, and above all, the language to be translated into. There has to be no mystery for the

translator in the original text, has to understand every nuance. Otherwise, he will lose pieces of

information. In other words, translation is not merely the transfer of words in L1 into those L2 or

vice versa.

Most translators used to do equivalence rather than did any theoretical status. Translating

from source language to target language is determining the most appropriate equivalence in the

target language. Baker (1992) proposes that equivalence of translating source language into the target

language often face difficulties for the translator. She divides the equivalence into six levels; they are

equivalence at the word level, equivalence above word level, grammatical equivalence, textual

equivalence, and pragmatic equivalence. As stated by Molina and Albir (2002), in order to classify

the equivalencies, translation techniques can be used as the tool to analyze and classify the

translation equivalence. In addition, the use of translation techniques will help in-depth translators

determine the form and structure of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences of translation.

In order to translate a text properly, a translator requires certain skills in translation or often

referred to as translation competence. Process of Acquisition of Translation Competence and

Evaluation (PACTE) (2011) states that the translation competence consists of several sub-

competencies, namely: bilingual competence, extra linguistic competence, translation knowledge

competence, instrumental competence, strategic competence, & psycho-physiological competence.

The bilingual competence to use two languages well is very much determined by the

communicative competencies they have, which include grammatical competence, sociolinguistic

competence, discourse competence, strategic competence (Bell, 1991: 41). Grammatical competence

is knowledge of language rules which refers to the vocabulary, word formation, pronunciation and

sentence structure. Knowledge of grammatical rules and skill of using translation techniques are very

much needed in understanding and producing translation.

However, foreign language learners often make errors in the use of English grammatical

structure. Due to first language grammatical structure interference, Indonesian students tend to

produce the grammatical errors in almost all of English grammatical aspects. Based on Richards

(1971: 182-88), there are many categories of grammatical errors. The grammatical error

classification proposed by Betty S. Azar (1942) in a guide of guide for correcting writing errors are

singular-plural, word form, word choice, verb tense, add a word, omit a word, word order,

incomplete sentences, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, article, meaning not clear, & run-on

sentence.

This study was done to answer the following questions: (1) What translation techniques are

used by students in translating narrative text? (2) What kinds of grammatical errors are made by

students in translating narrative text? (3) Which translation technique does cause most grammatical

error?



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METHODS

This research was a case study which investigated the students’ translation work. This study focused

on students’ translation techniques and their grammatical errors. This research used descriptive

qualitative method, using a content analysis approach.

The data were collected by assessing students to translate a narrative text, which were around

3 pages. In order to collect students’ translation work, contacting the lecturer was chosen to ask their

permission to conduct the research of collecting data from Indonesian – English translation class of

English Department of Universitas Negeri Semarang. There were twenty four students. For the

execution, first, the Indonesian short story entitled "Lari Kepagian" was given to the students. After

the text was given, they were asked to read the text carefully and asked to translate the text into

English. After their translation result was collected, then analyzing their translation results was

started in a lot of varieties of translation techniques proposed by Molina and Albir (2002) they used

and occurred grammatical errors proposed by Betty Azar (1992). Then, the students' translation

works were classified to represent the general findings because it was impossible to presents all of the

translation techniques and grammatical errors were founded.

The translation technique analysis was conducted by using a translation technique proposed

by Molina and Albir (2002). There are adaptation, amplification, borrowing, calque, compensation,

description, discursive creation, established equivalent, generalization, literal translation,

modulation, particularization, reduction, substitution, transposition, and variation.

The grammatical error analysis was conducted using a guide of guide for correcting writing

errors proposed by Betty Azar (1941). There are singular-plural, word form, word choice, verb tense,

add a word, omit a word, word order, incomplete sentences, spelling, punctuation, capitalization,

article, meaning not clear, & run-on sentence.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The data analyzed in this study were the translation techniques and grammatical errors found in the

translated short story written by the fifth semester of English Education Program in Indonesian-

English Translation Class of English Department 2017/2018 which had taken a part of their

learning experience in translating text from Indonesian into English. There were 24 students had

made their own translation by their self as the subjects of the research. After the data were identified,

it was found that the majority of the subjects made errors in the use of grammar (subject, verb, tenses

and pronoun) in their letters. The names of the applicants were pseudonyms. Below are the

examples of the errors analysis of motivation letters.

This part shows the result of data analysis, which is expected to be the answer to problems in

this research. This analysis will answer the question of types of translation techniques and

grammatical errors aspects which are occurred in Indonesian-English Class of English Department

2017/2018. The number of translation techniques founded can be shown in the table below:

Table 1. Translation techniques used

Technique %

Literal Translation 30

Modulation 22.6

Reduction 10.9

Established Equivalent 8.4

Borrowing 6.7

Linguistic Amplification 5.7

Amplification 4.3



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Adaptation 3.8

Linguistic Compression 2.7

Transposition 2.3

Compensation 1.4

Particularization/
Generalization

1.3

The table 1 above was the result of the counting the number of all the translation techniques

analyzed that was founded. The most used translation technique by the students is literal translation

technique (30%), followed by modulation technique (22.6%) and the others. The lowest used

translation technique is particular/generalization technique (1.3%).

Table 2. Grammatical errors occurred

Grammatical Error %

Capitalization 18.2

Verb Tense 16.6

Punctuation 11.4

Word Form 11.2

Spelling 8.6

Word Choice 8.2

Add/omit a word 7.5

Article 5.4

Word Order 4.9

Meaning Not Clear 2.6

Singular Plural 2.4

Incomplete sentence 2.1

Run-on Sentence 1.2

The table 1 above was the result of the counting the number of all the grammatical errors

analysis that was founded. The most used translation technique by the students is capitalization

error (18.2%), followed by verb tense error (16.6%) and the others. The lowest occurred grammatical

error is run on-sentence (1.2%).

The combination of the translation techniques and students’ grammatical errors might not be

simple or so easy correlated. Therefore, the fact was one of translation technique could have many

counts of grammatical errors more than its translation technique count. In other words, one

translation technique could have many grammatical errors.

The followings are the detailed description of each translation technique found in the students

translation. The detailed description is also provided with some examples.

Literal Translation

According to Molina and Albir’s (2002), the literal translation is a technique that the translator

translates a word or an expression in SL by word for word. There were 905 times or about 30.05% of

literal translation was found in analyzing the translation technique. An example of the literal

translation data is presented below:



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(1.) Student number 4, datum number 101
ST : Ia berlari pagi saat orang-orang masih tertidur lelap.
TT : He ran early while the people were still slept soundly.
Reconstruction : He ran early when the people still slept soundly.

The sentence in ST above was translated using the word by word techniques into TT. The

translator translates the sentence ‘Ia berlari pagi saat orang-orang masih tertidur lelap.’ (He was running

in the morning while people was still sleeping) into ‘He ran early while the people were still slept

soundly.’ by literal translation technique. The one should be emphasized by an explanation was

‘tertidur’ that was being got asleep by something or someone translated as ‘sleep’ passively which

was ‘slept’ & ‘were’ to adjust the source text grammar into target text grammar, so the translation

became ’the people still slept’. It still belonged to literal translation because the source text was

directly translated word by word. This translation was in one way with the explanation of literal

translation by Molina and Albir (2002).

The grammatical use of both phrases in the simple past tense and the simple past tense in the

passive form were considered that the translator must use ‘when’ since both the 2 clauses are in the

simple past form & the function of the ‘while” as the time reference. The sentence should be “He ran

early when the people were still asleep soundly.”

Modulation

Modulation is a technique that is the change a point of view, focus or cognitive category of the

translator; it can be lexical or structural (Molina and Albir, 2002). The researchers finds out there are

679 times or about 22.54% of modulation in analyzing the translation technique. The following data

are some examples of modulation.

Capitalization is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 19.18% in the modulation technique. And meaning not clear, word

order, and spelling is the least frequent error made by the students with a percentage of 2.74%%.

The change of focus, the point of view, & cognitive categorization in modulation technique was

found in some samples below:

For the first mention by the researcher, I would like to mention is the modulation which is the

change of focus. The students from the translation class change the source text main focus into the

other focus on the target text such as below:

(2.) Student number 2, datum number 39
ST : Bayangan itu berjalan menuju ke arahnya! (The shadow walks toward

him)
TT : The shadow approached him close and close!
Reconstruction : The shadow approached him closely and closely!

(3.) Student number 5, datum number 61
ST : “Ooh, jadi kamu yang meleparku yaa?” ujar Nenek Ranta.
TT : "Ooh. So you're the one who threw the pebble at me, aren't you?" said

Grandma Ranta.
Reconstruction : "Ooh. So you're someone who threw the pebble over me, aren't

you?" said Grandma Ranta.

In sample 7, the phrase ‘berjalan menuju ke arahnya’ (‘walked into her’) is translated into

‘approached him close and close’ and in sample 8,the phrase ‘jadi kamu yang meleparku’(Ooh, so you

throw me, don’t you? said Granny Ranta.) is translated into ‘the one who threw the pebble at me’.

Although the meaning of the translation will be affected with shifting a little bit in a different way,

the manner of both phrase use is still enough appropriate with the target language. Therefore, the



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translator changed the focus of the source text becomes ‘approached him close and close’. This

translation is in accordance with the definition of modulation by Molina and Albir (2002) that

changes the focus in translation.

Reduction

The next technique used is reduction, which occurs 13 times. In this translation technique, the

information item in the TL is compressed by the translator (Molina and Albir, 2002). The translator

omits word(s) or phrase because probably he thinks it is not important. The researcher finds out

there are 328 times or about 10.89% of reduction in analyzing the translation technique.

Word choice is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 25% in the reduction technique. An example of the reduction

technique data presented below:

(4.) Student numbers 1, datum number 39
ST : Bayangan itu berjalan menuju ke arahnya!
TT : The shadow walked to him.
Reconstruction : The shadow walked into him!

In the sample above, the word ‘menuju’(‘aim’) is not translated into the target language. The

translator omitted the word because the meaning is still conveyed in the target language.

The translation above does have some grammatical error. It can found in the particle of phrase

‘walked to’. The students might think that s/he is possible to use the particle ‘to’ in the ‘The shadow

walked to him.’

Then, some grammatical errors were founded. They are punctuation and word choice. The

particle of ‘walked’ should be ‘into’ and the punctuation of the end sentence should be ‘!’ as the

emphasizing of the source text message story.

Established Equivalent

According to Molina and Albir (2002), in established equivalent translator uses a familiar term or

expression (according to dictionaries or language in daily use) as an equivalent in the TL. The

researcher finds out there are 254 times or about 8.43% of established equivalent in analyzing the

translation technique. Here are several established equivalent used.

Word form, word choice, & verb tense are the most frequent errors made by the students fifth

semester of English Department with the percentage 13.79% in the established equivalent technique.

Spelling and word order are the least frequent error made by the students with the percentage 3.45%.

An example of the established equivalent technique data can be shown below:

(5.) Student number 6, datum number 35
ST : Tapi seorang diri di kebun yang gelap begini, siapa tahaan?
TT : But if he had to be alone in the dark garden, who braved?
Reconstruction : But if he was alone in the dark garden, who braved?

The student of the translation sample above chose to translate the phrase ‘siapa tahan’(who can

stand it?) into ‘who braved’ by establishing the equivalent. The student might thought that the ‘who

braved’ was common used as the target language meaning transfer, so the reader could understand

s/he translation.

Then, It might be reconstructed as the right grammatical translation in the correct grammatical

form. The reconstruction is ‘But if he was alone in the dark garden, who braved?’



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Borrowing

According to Molina and Albir (2002), borrowing is to take a word or expression directly from SL

text. The borrowing can be pure or naturalized. If the translator uses pure borrowing, he takes the

word exactly the same without any changes. The naturalized borrowing is adjusted the phonetic and

morphology in TL. The researcher finds out there are 201 times or about 6.67% of borrowing in

analyzing the translation technique. The following data are the examples of borrowing found.

Capitalization is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 40.48% in the borrowing technique. And spelling is the least

frequent error made by the students with the percentage 2.38%.

In the analyzing the borrowing technique in the students’ translation, I found that some

students translated some source text by directly translated it without changing the spelling of the

word. Then, the word that was translated by some students by borrowing is just ‘serabi’. They

translate the word without change into another word or modify the word’s morpheme. Then, a

sample of data contained borrowing technique is below:

(6.) Student number 15, datum number 60
ST : Setiap pagi Nenek Ranta berjualan kue serabi di pertigaan jalan kampung.
TT : Every morning grandmother is selling “kue serabi” at a intersection

in the village road.
Reconstruction : Every morning grandmother was selling “kue serabi” at

the intersection in the village road.

There are some grammatical errors in the sentence ‘Every morning grandmother is selling “kue

serabi” at a intersection in the village road.’. They are verb tense and article. Like the other students,

this student translates the sour text into the target text in inappropriate tenses form. S/he might think

that every tense in the narrative text can be present tense and the use of determiner and article is the

same.

Then, The sentence should be reconstructed to be ‘Every morning grandmother was selling

“kue serabi” at the intersection in the village road.’ . The reason is as the narrative text as the target

text, the context of the text should be using past tense, and for the determiner of the explained object

should use determiner.

Linguistic Amplification

According to Molina and Albir (2002), linguistic amplification is adding linguistic elements in the

TL. This technique is often used in consecutive interpreting and dubbing. The researcher finds out

there are 170 times or about 5.64% of linguistic amplification in analyzing the translation technique.

Here are some examples of this technique found in this short story.

Verb tense is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English department

with the percentage 20.83% in the linguistic amplification technique. And singular plural, article,

and meaning not clear are the least frequent error made by the students with the percentage 4.17%.

An example of the linguistic technique data can be shown as below:

(7.) Student number 12, datum number 5
ST : Berarti sudah pagi.
TT : It meant morning was coming.
Reconstruction : It meant that the morning was coming.

The student translated the phrase ‘Berarti sudah pagi.’(‘Means It was already morning’) was

translated into ‘It meant morning was coming.’. The translation can be seen that the student was

trying to give clarification from the source text by giving ‘coming’. The student added some



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linguistic element to clarify the meaning from the sour text into the target text. The student tried to

make the target text clear and understandable for the target text reader.

S/he can add a clause conjunction and determiner in the target text as ‘It meant that the

morning was coming.’. The reason is the use of the conjunction and the determiner can make the

target text to be making sense. The function of determiner in this reconstruction is to refer a thing in

general or to explain someone mean and ‘that’ as apart to introduce part of sentence.

Amplification

According to Molina and Albir (2002), amplification is a technique that adds the detail information

that does not exist in the SL text such as explicative paraphrasing. Amplification is the opposite of

reduction. The researcher finds out there are 129 times or about 4.28% of amplification in analyzing

the translation technique. The following data are some examples of amplification.

Word form is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 35.29% in the amplification technique. Incomplete sentence is the

least frequent error made by the students with the percentage 3.33%. An example of the

amplification technique data can be shown as below:

(8.) Student number 4, datum number 25
ST : Rasa heran Piyun muncul lagi.
TT : Piyu’s sense of wonder come up some more again.
Reconstruction : Piyun’s sense of wonder came up some more again.

The student of this sample translated the source text ‘Rasa heran Piyun muncul lagi.’ (It was a

wonder Piyun appeared again.) into ‘Piyu’s sense of wonder come up some more.’ It was seemed

using amplification techniques because the student translate the phrase ‘muncul lagi’ into ‘come up

some more again’. S/he did paraphrase to clarify the meaning.

Then, the grammatical error should be solved to be ‘Piyun’s sense of wonder came up some

more again.’. The changes are in the verb tense of the target text and the spelling of the character

name.

Adaptation

Adaptation is to replace the cultural element in SL text with another acceptable and familiar term in

TL (Molina and Albir, 2002). The researcher finds out there are 114 times or about 3.78% of

adaptation in analyzing the translation technique. The following are several example used of

adaptation in the students’ translation.

Word form is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 20.83% in the adaptation technique. An example of the adaptation

data can be shown as below:

(9.) Student numbers 16, datum number 2
ST : Kukuruyuuuuuuk…..!!
TT : Cock a doodle doo……!!!
Reconstruction : Cock-a-doodle-doo……!!!

The onomatopoeia of chicken sound ‘Kukuruyuuuuuuk…..!!’ in Indonesian version translated

into English version ‘Cock a doodle doo……!!!’ It was belonged to adaptation technique according

to the definition of amplification by Molina and Albir (2002).

The translation above seems having one grammatical error in the onomatopoeia word. It is

punctuation error which is losing hyphens. Generally, hyphens are used to connect two words or



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parts of a word while avoiding confusion or ambiguity. Opening the dictionary is important to make

sure whether a hyphen is needed in compound words.

Linguistic Compression

According to Molina and Albir (2002), in linguistic compression the translator compresses linguistic

elements in the TT. This is often used in simultaneous interpreting and in sub-titling when using this

technique. The researcher finds out there are 81 times or about 2.69% of linguistic compression in

analyzing the translation technique. The following data are some examples of linguistic compression.

Capitalization is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 35.90% in the linguistic compression technique. An example of the

linguistic compression data can be seen as below:

(10.) Student number 5, datum number 21
ST : Tapi sekarang tak seorang pun yang terlihat,” kata Piyun dalam hati.
TT : but now, no one does,“ Said Piyun silently.
Reconstruction : But now, no one does.“ Said Piyun silently.

The context of the text can be understood with the previous sentence. Then, The student

translate the phrase ‘tak seorangpun terlihat’ (no one is seen, into ‘no one does’. S/he tried to reduce

some words into the simpler one. The student was synthesizing existing linguistic elements to be

simpler because it can be understood. It was belonged to linguistic compression technique according

to the definition of amplification by Molina and Albir (2002).

Then, It can be reconstructed to be ‘But now, no one does.“ Said Piyun silently. ’. It has been

fixed by adding the capital letter and full stop punctuation.

Transposition

Based on Molina and Albir’s Translation Technique, the grammatical category in the SL is changed

into another form of grammar in the TL. The researcher finds out there are 70 times or about 2.32%

of transposition in analyzing the translation technique. The following data are some examples of

transposition.

Capitalization is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 35.90% in the transposition technique. An example of the

transposition techniques can be seen as below:

(11.) Student number 3 initially GAT, datum number 20
ST : “Aneh, biasanya setiap hari Minggu banyak orang lari pagi.
TT : “It’s weird; usually there are lots of people do the morning every

Sunday
Reconstruction : “It’s weird, usually there are lots of people do the

morning run every Sunday

The translation above changed the function of word ‘minggu’ (‘Sunday’) from initially as the

noun into adverb of time. There is a change. This change is in line with the definition of

transposition by Molina and Albir (2002) that is a change of grammatical category.

For overcoming those grammatical errors, the target text might be reconstructed to be “It’s

weird, usually there are lots of people do the morning run every Sunday’. The correction is on the

word ‘run every Sunday’ and addition of some punctuation, then they makes the meaning clear.



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Compensation

It is to introduce ST (Source Text) element of information or stylistic effect in another place in the

TT (Target Text) because it cannot be reflected in the same place as in the ST (Source Text). There

are 42 data found or about 1.39% using compensation technique. The following data are some

examples of amplification.

Capitalization is the most frequent errors made by the students fifth semester of English

department with the percentage 30.00% in the compensation technique. An example of the

compensation techniques can be seen as below:

(12.) Student number 1 initially HH , datum number 73
ST : “Iya. Kamu bukan lari pagi, tapi lari kepagian!
TT : “Yes, you didn’t run in the morning, but you run while a lot of

people still asleep tightly!
Reconstruction : “Yes, you didn’t run in the morning, but you run while a

lot of people still were asleep tight!

The phrase ‘lari kepagian’(running too early morning) is translated into ‘but you run while a lot

of people still asleep tightly!’. The translation changed the stylistic effect by attaching information

elements or other stylistic effects to the target text because it is not placed in the same position as the

source text. The translation is still good enough to understand

In order to correct the grammatical errors that are occurred, the target text is reconstructed to

be “Yes, you didn’t run in the morning, but you run while a lot of people still were asleep tight!’ It

has been fixed the verb tense error and word form error.

Particularization/Generalization

Particularization is used when the translator transferences the term in TL that is using more specific,

suitable, concrete or special (Molina and Albir, 2002). This technique is the opposite of

generalization. Generalization is defined as using a more general/common or neutral term in the

target language. The researcher finds out there are 39 times or about 1.29% of

particularization/generalization Technique in analyzing the translation technique. The following

data are some examples of particularization/generalization Technique.

Spelling and punctuation are the least frequent error made by the students with the percentage

8.33%. One of the examples of the particularization/ generalization techniques can be seen as below:

(13.) Student numbers 2 initially P , datum number 32
ST : Bulu tengkuknya berdiri .(His nape hair stood.)
TT : His hair stand end on.
Reconstruction : His hair stood on end.

The sentence above is translated using generalization technique when it was transferred into TT.

The translator translates the phrase ‘Bulu tengkuknya’(his nape hair) into ‘his hair’ by generalization

technique. Moreover, translator may translate it into other words but s/he still want to make the

proper translation which more easy to understand in the target language. This Translation is one

way with Molina and Albir’s generalization technique.

The grammatical use of the sample sentence was considered that the translator must use ‘stood’

in order to make the sentence in the past tense which more appropriate. And also the position of

‘end’ or the word order should be ‘stood on end’. The sentence should be “His hair stood on end.”

The relation between translation techniques and grammatical errors needs to be spread out their

counts. Then counting table below will clearly show how the errors occurred in the translation

techniques occurred in the students translation.



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Tabel 3. The relation between error and translation techniques
T (f) Grammatical Errors

SP WF WC D AO WO IS S P C A MNC RS

Ad 24 0 5 0 2 3 0 0 3 4 3 2 2 0
Am 30 0 6 5 5 0 3 1 4 3 0 3 0 0

Bo 42 0 2 0 6 3 2 2 1 4 17 5 0 0
Co 20 0 3 0 3 2 2 0 2 2 6 0 0 0

Es 29 3 4 4 4 2 1 0 2 3 2 2 2 0

Li 24 1 1 3 5 3 0 0 3 4 2 1 1 0
Lic 44 0 5 3 5 5 3 0 2 6 9 2 2 2

Lit 70 2 7 2 19 7 2 0 15 7 9 0 0 0
Mo 73 0 5 11 9 4 2 6 2 11 14 4 2 3

Pg 12 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 1 1 2 2 0 0
Re 22 4 2 5 2 3 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0

Tr 39 0 8 2 7 0 2 0 0 2 14 2 2 0

∑ 429 10 48 35 71 32 21 9 37 49 78 23 11 5

Note :
Ad : Adaptation Lc : Linguistic Compression SP : Singular Plural S : Spelling
Am : Amplification Lt : Literal Translation WF : Word Form P : Punctuation
Bo : Borrowing Mo : Modulation WC : Word Choice C :
Capitalization
Co : Compensation Re : Reduction D : Verb Tense A : Article
Tr : Transposition Es : Established Equivalent AO : Add/omit a word MC: Meaning
Not Clear
LA : Linguistic Amplification WO: Word Order RS : Run-on
Sentence
Pg : Particularization/ Generalization IS : Incomplete sentence T :
Technique

The total grammatical errors that were founded are 429. Then it will be simplified as the table

below:

Tabel 4. Techniques resulting error

Technique %

Modulation 17

Literal Translation 16.3

Linguistic Compression 10.3

Borrowing 9.8

Transposition 9.1

Amplification 7

Established Equivalent 6.8

Adaptation 5.6

Linguistic Amplification 5.6

Reduction 5.2

Compensation 4.7
Particularization/
Generalization 2.8



Muhammad Ichsan Andi Wahyono & Issy Yuliasri / ELT Forum 8 (1) (2019)

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It can be seen from the table above that the most translation techniques occurred grammatical

errors is modulation technique (17%). The table also shows that he lowest translation technique

occurred grammatical error is particularization/generalization technique (2.8%).

Discussion

The most used technique is literal Translation occurred 905 times and represented 30.05%. The

lowest used translation techniques are particularization & generalization occurred 39 times and

represented 1.29%. Therefore, those percentages would be 100% in total. Comparing this finding

with the other researcher, Lestiyawati (2014), the findings indicate that, after analyzing and

interpreting 225 sentences, literal translation is dominantly used as a technique in translating the

source text with the highest used technique in which 149 of 225 sentences applied the technique. The

result is same with this research found, which is the most used translation technique is literal

translation.

In order to find the relation with the other research, the educational translation product

research, A’yun (2013) conducted a research about translation techniques that used in academic

product, the result were 113 complex sentences found in chapter five and six of the bilingual

textbook BIOLOGY 1 for Senior High School Year X Published by Yudhistira. There were only

nine translation techniques; they were literal translation, borrowing, adaptation, reduction,

particularization, amplification, generalization, transposition, and description. It can be concluded

that literal translation dominated the translation techniques used by the translator. The researcher

found is same with this research found which is the most frequent of using techniques is literal

translation.

Based on the calculation above, it can be explained that the total errors of capitalization was

the most frequent errors was made by the students’ fifth semester of English Department with the

percentage 18.18%, and incomplete sentence and run-on sentence were the least frequent error were

made by the students with the percentage 2.10% and 1.17%. The result of the analysis showed is

almost same with the research result conducted by Koman (2019). The result of his research showed

that there were 21 translation errors of 26 error categories according to ATA’s Framework for

Standardized Error Making. In conclusion, the three most prominent error categories made by the

students were grammar, syntax, and faithfulness error. In addition, grammatical error was also an

errors that almost made by students. This finding is different with the other research whereas

grammatical errors in translation are also can be found in not only the students’ product but also in

the translation machine. The research conducted by Adam (2016) also showed that statistical

method of Google Translate, the inability of Google Translate to understand the contexts of the texts

beyond sentence, and errors in the source texts that carried into translation errors in the target texts

were the causes of translation errors found in the data.

From the finding, we could find out that the most used translation technique that have a lot of

errors was literal translation technique in the first place and then followed by modulation technique

in the second place. Furthermore, this finding is not be found the comparison and relation with the

previous studies because there is no previous research discuss this kind of research which means this

is the new research.

CONCLUSION

The types of translation techniques and the types of grammatical errors were made by the students in

translating Indonesian text into English were classified as follows: The most used type translation

technique was literal translation (30%) and modulation technique (22.6%). The most frequent error

made by the students in translating Indonesian text into English text is errors in capitalization



Muhammad Ichsan Andi Wahyono & Issy Yuliasri / ELT Forum 8 (1) (2019)

13

(18.2%) and verb tense (16.6%). Furthermore, the translation technique that is mostly occurring

grammatical errors was modulation technique (17%).

SUGGESTION

Hopefully, the results of the study may be useful for future researchers in translation study. The

researcher hopes that this research can be the source for making research in the future.

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