A pragmatic approach to the study of English/Arabic/English translation errors

Abstract

The main aim of this research is to find out the reasons that lead translation students at the Department of Translation, Mentouri University, Constantine 1, to produce pragmatic errors in their translations. Many of them cannot appropriately translate texts in which the pragmatic and cultural content of the source text does not plainly coincide with that of the target text. It is hypothesized that this would be caused by failure to understand the pragmatic and cultural dimensions of utterances. In an attempt to test this hypothesis two research instruments are used, a questionnaire is administered to a sample of translation teachers and two translation tests to a sample of translation students. The research findings show that most translation students are unaware of the importance of the pragmatic and cultural dimensions of a text and this is reflected in the inadequate translation they produce. Hence, integrating teaching pragmatics in the teaching syllabus at the Department of Translation may help improve the students’ pragmatic skills and enhance their pragmatic competence in translation.