Analysis of English Translation Mistakes in Indonesian Minor Thesis Titles
This study examines common translation errors in minor thesis titles from Indonesian to English in the Business Administration Study Program at Politeknik LPKIA Bandung. Students' struggles with English writing often result in inaccuracies, impacting the intended meaning. Using descriptive analysis, the research aims to serve as a reference guide for future students to avoid similar mistakes.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
You are allowed to download the files provided on this website for personal or commercial use, subject to the condition that they are used lawfully. All files are the property of their respective owners.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
A STUDY OF THE MISTAKES IN THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE INDONESIAN MINOR THESIS TITLES IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION STUDY PROGRAM IN POLITEKNIK LPKIA BANDUNG DRS. TJANG KIAN LIONG, M.M. THE FIFTEENTH CONFERENCE ON APPLIED LINGUISTICS BANDUNG 27-28 SEPTEMBER 2022
DRS. TJANG KIAN LIONG, M.M. POLITEKNIK COMPUTER NIAGA LPKIA (UNTIL 2021) INSTITUT DIGITAL EKONOMI LPKIA (SINCE 2022) JL. SOEKARNO HATTA 456, BANDUNG 40266 Koordinator Bidang Studi Bahasa Inggris Staf Dosen Program Studi Administrasi Bisnis (NIDN 0427086001) S2, STIE PASUNDAN, Program Studi Manajemen, Konsentrasi Manajemen Pemasaran, Bandung (2015) S1, STBA Yayasan Pariwisata Indonesia, Jurusan Bahasa Inggris, Bandung (1988) STM MERDEKA, Jurusan Mesin Umum, Bandung (1980) Sertifikat Kompetensi pada Bidang Workplace Assessment, Badan Nasional Sertifikasi Profesi (2015) Asosiasi Manajemen (AMA) Indonesia, Cab. Bandung, Pengurus Ikatan Sekretaris & Administratif Profesional (ISI), Cab. Jawa Barat, Anggota Aliansi Kungfu Tradisional Indonesia (AKTI), Dewan Pengurus Daerah Jawa Barat. Perhimpunan Indonesia Tionghoa (INTI) Bandung, Divisi Pengembangan Pendidikan KILLCOVID-19 Cabang Bandung, Anggota Bidang Operasional
ABSTRACT Students in the Business Administration Study Program in LPKIA Bandung have to do their final projects as one of the requirements before graduating from the D-3 program in this educational institution. This final project is called minor thesis and is written in the Indonesian language. However, it is a custom practice there that the abstracts and the titles of the minor thesis have to be written in both Indonesian and English languages. As the students mostly have some limitation in their capability to write in English, many of them usually just translate the abstracts and titles, for example by using the Google stranslation services. In this way, there is a great possibility that the translation will be incorrect to a certain extent, and some words or expressions may not be translated correctly to conduct the originally intended meanings of the authors. Additionally, it sometimes happens that students just misperceive the meanings of certain words, for instance, the Indonesian word pengelolaan may simply be used and interpreted as management while students may actually want to discuss about penanganan or handling of a certain task or procedure. This study is conducted using the descriptive analysis method and it aims to find some common translation mistakes encountered in students minor thesis titles and later to serve as a reference for the students or other students in the next academic years to avoid similar mistakes when they have to write minor thesis titles in English.
DISPLAYING SOME PHENOMENA What do you have in mind when reading these phrases: ADMINISTRATION PAIR RETURN ELECTRICITY ADMINISTRASI PASANG KEMBALI LISTRIK ARCHIEVE MASTER SUBSCRIPTION ARSIP INDUK LANGGANAN OFFICIAL TRAVEL SUBMISSION PENGAJUAN PERJALANAN DINAS PART GOVERNANCE ADMINISTRATION BAGIAN TATA KELOLA ADMINISTRASI
SORTS & PERCENTAGE OF COMMON MISTAKES Total of Minor Thesis Titles = 164 Period: 2019-2021 Three Top Common Mistakes: Choice of Words = 54 cases / 164 Positions of Adjectives = 45 / 164 Use of Preposition OF = 16 / 164
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (1) 1. Pengelolaan 2. Pengajuan 3. Masuk 4. Bagian 5. Umum 6. Bidang 7. Penghapusan
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (2) Pengelolaan The word pengelolaan is used in 33 titles. In 26 titles (79%) pengelolaan is translated as management . In 7 titles (21%) it is is translated as handling . Most dictionaries or online translators, for example https://translate.google.co.id also translate pengelolaan as management . In Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia the word kelola is a verb which means menyelenggarakan (pemerintahan), mengurus (perusahaan, proyek), menjalankan yayasan or to manage (a government), to run (a company, project), to manage (a foundation). (Balai Pustaka, 1996). The definition of management is a joint effort to attain some organizational goals, having the functions of planning, organizing, actuating and controling (Terry, 2012). Its functions are often abbreviated as POAC.
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (3) Pengelolaan Many students translate the word pengelolaan into management in their minor thesis titles, but many of them do not actually mean to discuss about POAC. This can be seen in the following title examples, Administrasi Pengelolaan Barang . After reading the minor thesis, it is found that the author actually intends to talk only about how administration is done, handled or executed in relations to the goods stored in the warehouse being discussed. Hence, Administrasi Pengelolaan Barang is better translated into the Administration of Goods Handling and not the Administration of Goods Management . The word kelola is translated as carry out or execute a job etc. in Kamus Indonesia Inggris by John M. Echols and Hassan Shadily (Echols & Shadily, 1992). Thus, Pengelolaan Administrasi Kepegawaian can be translated as the Execution of Personnel Administration Conclusion: Pengelolaan can better be translated as handling or execution than management
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (4) Pengajuan The word pengajuan is used at least in five theses and translated by students as submission Examples: - administrasipengajuan perjalanan dinas official travel submission administration - pengajuran cuti tahunan submission of annual leave - pengajuran dana kegiatan submission of activities funds - pengajuran pembelian barang submission of goods purchase mengajukan is translated as set forward, propose in Kamus Indonesia Inggris (Echols & Shadily, 1992). Thus, pengajuran cuti tahunan is better translated as the proposalof annual leave and not the submission of annual leave because the author is discussing more than just the action of submitting a document.
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (5) Masuk The word masuk is used at least twice and translated as entry , i.e. in phrases: surat masuk , translated as entry letter , and barang masuk , translated as goods entry Whereas the better translation would be as follows: surat masuk incoming letter Reference: Incoming mail refers to the mail, packages, or similar items which are received through postal service, private carrier or courier services (Law Insider, 2022)
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (6) Masuk The translation of barang masuk should be as follows: barang masuk received goods , incoming goods Reference: 1. Received goods refers to the goods which is received by a seller for which the seller has not yet been invoiced. (Law Insider, 2022) 2. Incoming goods barang yang masuk (tr-ex.me, 2022) So, the translation of barang masuk should NOT be goods entry in such case.
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (7) Bagian The word bagian is translated twice as part : - Administrative Governance Part (Bagian Tata Kelola Administrasi) - Part Governance Administration (Bagian Tata Kelola Administrasi) Bagian means cabang dari sesuatu pekerjaan, jawatan dan sebagainya (a branch of a job, office and the kind) (Poerwadarminta, 1985). So bagian here actually refers to any of the work division in an organization and may be translated as department , division , or section . In students thesis titles, bagian which is translated twice as part should then be translated as department , division , or section .
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (8) Bagian dictionary.cambridge.org: A department is a part of an organization that deals with a particular area of work, for example: the Sales Department A division is a separate part of a large organization, for example: the Sales Division. A section is one of the parts of an organization, for example: the Accounting and Finance Section.
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (9) Umum The word umum in the phrase Bagian Umum is translated as Public in a student s thesis title. It should be translated as General Affairs Department . Reference: General Affairs Department , translated as Departemen Urusan Umum (https://tr-ex.me/translation/english- indonesian/general+affairs+department/c:11759540) So the translation of Bagian Umum should not be Public Department
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (10) Bidang The word bidang is used several times in phrases like: - Sub Bidang SDM - Bidang Kepegawaian dan Umum - Bidang Usaha Kecil - Bidang Sekretariat Students mostly translate the word bidang as field , and this is also the translation given by dictionaries and online electronic translation services, e.g. Google Translate. However, from the context it is quite clear that the word bidang means a work division, so perhaps it is better to translate the phrases above as, for examples: HR Sub Division , Personnel and General Affairs Department , Small Business Section , and Secretarial Department .
MOST FREQUENTLY MISTRANSLATED WORDS (11) Pengeluaran The word pengeluaran in the phrase Pengeluaran Bahan Baku is translated as Expenditure . Hence, it becomes raw material expenditure . The word expenditure means the total amount of money spent by a person or an organization (dictionary.cambridge.org) The author who writes the phrase pengeluaran bahan baku above actually intends to discuss about the job of moving the goods out of the warehouse The concept which means pengeluaran bahan baku from a warehouse is hard to find in the English language. The best expression that can be found so far is raw material distribution , raw material releasing . Reference: https://translate.google.co.id/?hl=en&tab=rT&sl=id&tl=en&text=pengeluaran%20bara ng%20dari%20gudang&op=translate
SORTS & PERCENTAGE OF COMMON MISTAKES Total of Minor Thesis Titles = 164 Period: 2019-2021 Three Top Common Mistakes: Choice of Words = 54 cases / 164 Positions of Adjectives = 45 / 164 Use of Preposition OF = 16 / 164
PREPOSITIONS OF ADJECTIVES (1) This research reveals that in 45 out of 164 theses titles (28%) students misplaced the adjectives, for examples: Wrong positions of adjectives: o selection employees, o Department Operational, o Administrative Sales Procedure. The correct positions of adjectives should be: employee selection, Operation Department, Sales Administration Procedure.
PREPOSITIONS OF ADJECTIVES (2) Reasons for the mistakes: - Position of an adjective in English before the noun Learn English (British Council, 2022) explains that most adjectives can be used in front of a noun e.g.: expensive car, Operational Department, administration procedure - The D-M rule states that in a compound word or sentence it is necessary to mention the word that is being explained before the word that explains (Andri Mulyo, 2018). e.g.: mobil mahal, Departemen Operasional, prosedur administrasi Position of an adjective in Indonesian after the noun
SORTS & PERCENTAGE OF COMMON MISTAKES Total of Minor Thesis Titles = 164 Period: 2019-2021 Three Top Common Mistakes: Choice of Words = 54 cases / 164 Positions of Adjectives = 45 / 164 Use of Preposition OF = 16 / 164
USE OF PREPOSITION OF (1) In English, the preposition of is used for belonging to, relating to, or connected with; used to indicate reference; and used to indicate an amount or number . (TALKENGLISH.com, 2022). Examples: the first page of the book; the rule of the game This pattern the + noun + of + noun can be found very commonly used in English. Where as in Bahasa Indonesia, similar pattern as such is not always used; although some people still use similar pattern with the Indonesian word dari but this is actually less standard. English : - the name of the manager (Correct) - the name the manager (Incorrect) Indonesian: - nama manajer (Correct) - nama dari manajer (Less standard)
USE OF PREPOSITION OF (2) This research unveils that 16 titles (11%) fail to use the the + noun + OF + noun pettern, e.g.: o The administration procedure employee s annual leave, o The administration vehicle sales, o The administration procedure outgoing letters The correct versions should be: The administration procedure OF employee s annual leave, The administration OF vehicle sales, The administration procedure OF outgoing letters
CONCLUSIONS The three most common mistakes found in theses titles written by students in the Business Administration Study Program in IDE LPKIA Bandung are (1) choice of correct words, (2) position of adjectives, which should come before nouns, and (3) the use of preposition of in such phrases as administration of letters . These mistakes arise when students try to translate the titles from Indonesian to English. It is recommended that information related to the three common mistakes discussed above be given intentionally to students who will write or translate their theses titles in English, so that in the future students can produce better theses with better English titles.
