IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature
Vol. 14 No. 1 (2026): IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Lite

An Analysis of English Language Department Students’ Translation Quality and Error in Translating Scientific Article (SDGs) From Indonesian into English

Muhammad Wira Rizki (Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Sumatera Barat)
Havid Ardi (Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Sumatera Barat)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

Translating global sustainability discourses like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires highly precise scientific communication, yet research on how student translators navigate such specialized texts remains limited. This study aims to analyze the translation errors and quality of English majors in translating SDGs texts from Indonesian into English. Utilizing a descriptive qualitative design, this research involved 17 second-semester English literature students at Universitas Negeri Padang selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected via a translation test and analyzed using Dulay’s Surface Strategy Taxonomy alongside a percentage formula. The results revealed 120 structural and lexical errors: 15 omissions (12.5%), 52 additions (43.3%), 51 misinformations (42.5%), and 2 misorderings (1.7%). Despite the prominence of addition and misinformation errors, the students' overall translation quality is categorized as good. These findings suggest that while undergraduate students demonstrate stable syntactic positioning, explicit pedagogical interventions are required to curb over-generalization and lexical inaccuracy in policy-oriented translations.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ideas

Publisher

Subject

Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

IDEAS Journal is published twice a year in the months of June and December (P-ISSN 2338-4778 and E-ISSN 2548-4192); it presents articles on English language teaching and learning, linguistics, and literature. The contents include analyses, studies and application of theories, research report, ...