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NAME : YULIANTI
REG. NUMBER : 40300113140
SUBJECT : English and Literature Department of Alauddin Islamic
State University Makassar
TITLE : REFERENTIAL MISTAKE IN TRANSLATION
PRODUCED BY FIFTH SEMESTER STUDENTS AT
ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT OF
ADAB AND HUMANITY FACULTY OF ALAUDDIN
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MAKASSAR
Consultant I : Sardian Maharani Asnur, S.Pd., M.Pd.
Consultant II : RabiatulAdawiah, S.Pd., M.Hum.

A. INTRODUCTION

1. Study Background

The action or process in changing source language to others is translation.

It means that words have been changed from one language into a different language

or words have been translated. With the translation, people can recognize and know

the meaning of the language that they dont understand before and people can

understand any text that they read. Translation is important because it is a type of

communication that used to get and to deliver information. Newmark (1988:28)

says that translation is transferring the meaning of a text into another language in

the way that the author intended the text. In short, the translators have to make

meaning of source text similar with the authors aim. Translation is not only move

the source language to the target language but translation involves understanding

process, explanation, analysis and interpretation. And then the translators should

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undestand about source text without relieve meaning sense of author means,

recreating and re-describing the same massage in meaning or style.

By the ideas above, translation makes reader or listener understands about

the second language. The translators are the important one who relate

communication but they do not always make source text in the same meaning with

target text because sometimes the translators do mistake in translation. Commonly,

many people make mistake in translation. People often confront mistake in

grammatical and diction. In the same manner as done by Rosmita (2016), 28

students as participants did mistake in translation at PPNI Kendari. It is caused of

the students translated word by word in translation text. Next, there is National

Online News Site, namely Detik Forum by Kingtrans (23:10,4th November 2012)

contained about translation mistake in translation. The word mokusatsu was

translated become we will not be care about the trush ultimatum but the correct

translation is give time to think. And sometimes, the translators make mistake in

semantics such as connotative and denotative meaning. The translators transfer

source text to target text without hint to evidence that result translation mistake.

Furthermore, the researcher would like to correlate translation mistake to

the verse of holy Quran and Hadits as integrity to Islamic views. Allah said in QS.

Al-Alaq (1-5):

Translation is:
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Bacalah dengan menyebut nama Tuhanmu yang menciptakan. Dia yang

menciptakan manusia dari segumpal darah. Bacalah dan Tuhanmu-lah yang maha

pemurah. Dia mengajarkan perantaran kalam. Dia mengajarkan manusia apa yang

tidak diketahuinya.

And Rasulullah SAW also said in HR. Ath-Tirmidzi :

Every descendant of Adam did a mistake and as well as person did mistake

is a person who repent.

Based on verse of holy Quran and HR. Ath-Tirmidzi above, it is really clear

that Allah asks to human for read and teach human something that they did not

know. Islam as the one religion that understand human mistake because human did

not escape from mistake.

Reader needs to know there are two absolute mistakes according to

Newmark (1988:189); they are referential mistake and language mistake.

Referential mistake means mistake in giving meaning hint for source text that hint

to fact (place name, noun name, historical event) and fill proposition (statement that

the truth logically actually can judged directly). And then language mistake means

mistake in translating words, phrase or clause and move idiom term with

collocation.

It means, referential mistake will occur when the translators do not catch

context and situation are incompatible to source text and authors objective.

Mistake in transferring meaning of source text which the truth can be tested

logically. While, language mistake happens because the translators do not pay

attention to the right grammar when arranges the sentence, clause and phrase. The
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translators do not comprehend grammar until translation become incomplete or

incorrect. Language mistake are usually happened when the translators difficult to

have the meaning of idiom and mistake in giving meaning collocation.

According to Nabanan (2008:54) translation mistake appears on account of

source language system are different with target language system, the difficulties

of semantic and stylistic of source language and target language, the translators

ability levels and the quality of source text are low. In other words, mistake occurs

because the differences of structural of word, phrase, clause and sentence. Like a

nominal sentence in Indonesian, the word adalah does not need to accur in

sentence such as dia adalah adik saya instead of dia adik saya. While, English

has to use to be such as am, is, are, was and were. For example, he is my brother.

Meaning of culture is hard to understand because source text and target text have

different culture. And it will be more complicated if the translators have low

translation competence. Also, source text has low quality such as having many

grammatical mistakes that will be difficult to be understood by the translators.

The researcher supposes that the translators have to comprehend structural

of source text and target text. Beside that, the culture is very influential in translation

until the translators have to understand about the culture of source text and target

text. The translators who have comporehensive translation competence will result

good translation quality. Newmark (1988) stated that the translators should translate

based their skill and fields to avoid translation mistake.

Based on previous study, there are still many mistakes in translation. It is

the reason why the researcher wants to discuss about translation mistake especially
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referential mistake in translation. And actually previous researchers still infrequent

discuss about referential mistake. For the chance the researcher wants to analyze

referential mistake produced by fifth semester students at English and Literature

Department, Adab and Humanity Faculty. The researcher chooses fifth semester

students because fifth semester students have studied about translation. Their ability

are more suitable to appreciated because they are judged able in translating. In

contrast, the researcher does not choose first and third semester students because

they have not studied about translation. If the researcher finds error produced by

them, that is not mistake but error because they have not studied about

translation. After conducting this study, the researcher hopes that the students will

know about translation mistake and the teacher also recognizes limitedness of their

students so that they will give necessary of knowledge for students.

2. Research Question

Based on the background above there is problem arise.

a. How are referential mistakes produced by fifth semester students at

English and Literature Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of

Alauddin State Islamic University ?

3. Research Objective

Following the research question above, this research has the aim to

know referential mistake which is produced by fifth semester students.

4. Research Significance

The researcher hopes that this research will add more information

knowledge which is useful for researcher herself and also for the teacher.
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By this research, the teachers know about referential mistake in translation.

Therefore, the teacher will focus on difficult subject for students or teacher

change teaching method so students can comprehend easily. For students,

by this research students are expected to achieve information and

understanding about referential mistake especially in text of translation. For

other researchers, this research can be a reference for them and the

researchers can give some additions in this research.

5. Research Scope

This research focus on studying referential mistakes.They could be

produced by fifth semester students in translation. And this research will

examine the way of those students in producing those mistakes. The students

have studied about translation in particular method or technique of

translation. The researcher will use the related theory that is propose by

Newmark(1988). The theory is referential mistake which means mistake in

transferring meaning to the facts and general truth from source language to

target language.