Corpus-focused Analysis of Spelling Errors in Saudi Learners’ English Translations
Keywords:
spelling errors, translation, L1 transfer, lexical knowledge, error analysisAbstract
The English language plays a significant role in Saudi Arabia at the local and international levels. Spelling errors, as one of the challenging elements in writing confronted by Saudi learners of English, have a negative effect on the quality of their written translation products (Ababneh, 2019). Therefore, more analytical studies are needed to scrutinize spelling errors through multiple categories to reveal the reasons behind these errors in a specific cultural context. The primary objective of this study is to examine the types of spelling errors in the translations of English majors at a Saudi University, using a comprehensive classification system of spelling errors developed particularly for this study. A corpus of 105 translation texts were collected, and the identified errors were sorted into eleven categories. The frequency of each type of error was calculated and, consequently, the most common errors were determined statistically using frequency analysis. The results revealed that capitalization and omission errors were the most common types of spelling errors among the students. Furthermore, interlingual and intralingual factors were the main reason behind the occurrence of spelling errors. Based on the findings, the study makes a number of recommendations for English language instructors to develop suitable pedagogical solutions to the issue of spelling errors in their students’ translations.
References
Ababneh, I. (2019). Errors in Arabic-English translation among Saudi students: comparative study between two groups of students. Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies, 3 (4), 118-129. http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol3no4.10
Agriani, T., Nababan, M. R., & Djatmika, D. (2018). Translation quality on words containing spelling, punctuation and grammatical error. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 5 (5), 224-240. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v5i5.314
Ahmed, I. A. (2017). Different types of spelling errors made by Kurdish EFL learners and their potential causes. International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 3 (2), 93-110. https://doi.org/10.21600/ijoks.334146
Albalawi, F. S. (2016). Analytical study of the most common spelling errors among Saudi female learners of English: causes and remedies. Asian Journal of Educational Research, 4 (3), 48-62. http://multidisciplinaryjournals.com/ajer-vol-4-no-3-2016/
Albalawi, M. J. (2016). The academic writing performance and spelling errors of English as foreign language students at Tabuk University: a case of the introductory year students. Asian Journal of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, 4 (1), 1-8. https://multidisciplinaryjournals.com/ajsah-vol-4-no-1-2016/
Albesher, K. B. (2018). Saudi EFL adult learners’ spelling errors: reasons and remedial strategies to raise their writing proficiency level. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 7 (7), 131-141. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.7p.131
Alhaisoni, M. (2012). An analysis of article errors among Saudi female EFL students: a case study. Asian Social Science-Canadian Center of Science and Education, 8 (12), 55-66. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v8n12p55
Alhaisoni, E. M., Al-Zuoud, K. M., & Gaudel, D. R. (2015). Analysis of spelling errors of Saudi beginner learners of English enrolled in an intensive English language program. English Language Teaching, 8 (3), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v8n3p185
Al-Jarf, R. (2010). Spelling error corpora in EFL. Sino-US English Teaching, 7 (1), 6-15. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267834979
Allen, M. (Ed.). (2017). The SAGE encyclopedia of communication research methods. Sage Publications.
Aloglah, T. M. (2018). Spelling errors among Arab English speakers. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9 (4), 746-753. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0904.10
Altamimi, D., & Rashid, R. A. (2019). Spelling problems and causes among Saudi English language undergraduates. Arab World English Journal, 10 (3) 178- 191. https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no3.12
Alzamil, A. (2020). An Investigation of Writing Errors Made by Saudi English-Major Students. International Journal of English Linguistics, 10 (2). https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v10n2p92
Al-Zuoud, K., &Kabilan, M. (2013). Investigating Jordanian EFL students' spelling errors at tertiary level. International Journal of Linguistics, 5 (3), 164-176. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v5i3.3932
Benyo, A. F. (2014). English spelling problems among students at the University of Dongola, Sudan. International Research Journal. Educational Research, 5 (9), 476-484. https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJEEL/article/view/1907
Bowen, H. (2011). Spelling it out! Accounting for spelling difficulties for Arab learners of English. In T. Smith (Ed.), Foundations for the future: Focus on vocabulary, 85-98. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/
Cook,V.(1999). Teaching spelling. http://www.viviancook.uk/Writings/Papers/TeachingSpelling.htm
Cook, V. J. (2014). The English writing system. Routledge.
Corder, S. P. (1974). Error analysis. In J. Allen & S. Corder (Eds.), Techniques in applied linguistics (pp. 122-154). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Galinskaya, I., Gusev, V., Mescheryakova, E., & Shmatova, M. (2014). Measuring the impact of spelling errors on the quality of machine translation. LREC, 2683-2689. http://www.lrec-conf.org
Hameed, P. (2016). A Study of the spelling errors committed by students of English in Saudi Arabia: exploration and remedial measures. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7 (1), 203-207. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.1p.203
James, C. (2013). Errors in language learning and use: Exploring error analysis. Routledge.
Llach, M. P.A. (2011). Lexical errors and accuracy in foreign language writing. UK; USA; Canada: Multilingual Matters.
Llach, M. P.A. (2017). Vocabulary teaching: insights from lexical errors. TESOL International Journal, 12 (1), 63-74. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1247791.pdf
Mantasiah, Y. J., & Yusri, J. (2018). The development of grammar teaching material using error and contrastive analysis (A linguistic approach in foreign language teaching). TESOL International Journal, 13 (3), 9-18. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1247441.pdf
Othman, A.Kh.A. (2018). An Investigation of the most common spelling errors in English writing committed by English-major male students: At the University of Tabuk. Journal of Education and Practice, 9 (1), 17-22. https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JEP/article/view/40733
Richards, J. C. (2015). Error analysis: Perspectives on second language acquisition. Routledge.
Shalaby, A. N., Yahya, N., & El-Komi, M. (2009). Analysis of lexical errors in Saudi college students’ compositions. Journal of the Saudi Association of Languages and Translation, 2 (3), 65-93. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc
Watson, J. C. (2002). The phonology and morphology of Arabic. Oxford University Press on Demand.
Younes, Z. B., & Albalawi, F. S. (2015). Exploring the most common types of writing problems among English language and translation major sophomore female students at Tabuk University. Asian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 3 (2), 7-26. http://www.multidisciplinaryjournals.com
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 International TESOL Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.