Abstract
Error is an important aspect to consider, among other news elements, in order to overcome mistranslation. This is due to the fact that news translation encounters language and cultural barriers that may hinder total understanding of a news message (Conway, 2010). Error analysis is a method to document language errors that occur in a specific language. Therefore, this error analysis research is conducted to identify and pinpoint common translation errors that occur in online news feature. This research data is comprised of 859 quotations extracted from news feature published online by BERNAMA, the Malaysian national news agency. Kussmaul’s five categories of error is utilized in analyzing news feature data. Findings indicate that translation errors occur in news feature translations. Even though literal translation is widely used in translating news feature, certain facts and meanings cannot be conveyed in the target news language which subsequently create problems among target readers in understanding the news feature main messages. These translation errors can be categorized into five categories, i.e. cultural adequacy, situational adequacy, speech act, word meaning and language. Among these, errors in language received the highest frequency (35%) and the least frequent common error is cultural adequacy (1.6%). Hence, this study gives insights towards the type of translation errors that occur in news feature translation and have potential implications for news agencies and news translators. Both parties may use these findings in improving news feature translation process and enhance the final news feature product quality.
Highlights
Online communication starts in the 1970s and began to grow more rapidly in the 1990s (Gunter, 2003)
The findings of this study reveal that there are many factors that contribute towards error in news feature translation, i.e, the journalists and translators lack of competency in writing and translating news feature, differences in grammar and spelling systems between Malay and English language, direct and indirect quotation style, and news agency preference in writing news feature
The errors can be classified into five categories, namely, cultural adequacy, situational adequacy, speech act, word meaning and language
Summary
Online communication starts in the 1970s and began to grow more rapidly in the 1990s (Gunter, 2003). The term online is used to describe access to digital information, acquisition and dissemination of information (Ward, 2002). In Malaysia, the use of technology in the mass media industry has developed and increased rapidly since the 1980s. New media through the existence of technology brings fresh dimension in conveying messages and boosts up the method of delivering information to the public (Alivi, Ghazali, Tamam, & Osman, 2018). It provides an alternative way to gather information in place of traditional and conventional media. News agencies and newspaper companies began to apply computer technology in the news writing and production processes. In addition to print news, Malaysian newspaper companies started to introduce online newspaper services to the public
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