Translation error analysis: a systemic functional grammar approach

This article presents a small-scale pilot project designed to investigate a systematic way of analysing translation errors using systemic functional grammar (SFG). Based on the shared focus on meaning between translation studies and SFG, the study investigates how SFG-based text analysis can be used for translation and translation teaching. The research finds that it is possible to describe and classify errors in target texts based on meaning systems and, more importantly, that the resulting error classification allows a precise articulation of the nature of errors that would otherwise be explained simply as translations which “sound awkward”. The article discusses the research background, method, data analysis and implications for translation teachers and translators.