Cognitive Error Analysis On C-E Scientific And Technological Translation

L.Q.Cai and W.D.Dai’s error classification method is adopted on the basis oferror analysis theory in second language acquisition. The thesis aims to explore thecauses of cognitive errors in C-E sci-tech translation and propose relevant strategiesaccordingly.87sophomores of science students in NUAA are taken as researchsubjects and test as well as textual analysis approaches are adopted to carry outresearch on C-E sci-tech examination papers accomplished within required time. Thispaper mainly consists of3parts: vocabulary translation (20items), short sentencetranslation (15items) and long sentence translation (5items).In view of Dr. Cai&Dai, errors are classified into three levels: cognitive errors,linguistic errors and action errors. Cognitive errors reflect learners’ application ofworld knowledge, cognitive capability and cognitive strategies, which delve into theroot of error from the perspective of cognition. Therefore, the thesis just focuses onthe study of cognitive errors. Cognitive errors consist of five types: transitional errors,intralingual errors, interlingual errors, overextension of analogy and transfer errors.Transitional errors, the contrastive error analysis of different phases, reflect learners’errors in various periods. Due to limited time and unclear manifestation, transitionalerrors are beyond the research of this thesis. Moreover, after deep analysis andinvestigation of error classification by L.Q.Cai and W.D.Dai, it is found that transfererrors and overextension of analogy are incorporated into intralingual and interlingualerrors. Therefore, the thesis attempts to discuss only two types of cognitive errors(intralingual errors and interlingual errors).According to the findings of the cognitive analysis, there are three contributingfactors of those errors:1.The negative transfer of mother tongue.(1) The negative transfer of thinking mode. In fact, this negative transfer of thinking is considered to below level and efficiency of cognition. Some students usually copy the thinking ofsource language directly to the target language during the transformation between thetwo languages.(2) The negative transfer of linguistic features. Chinese and Englishhave distinctive characteristics after long time development. Because learners havecomparatively low cognitive ability in the differences between Chinese and English,Chinese language patterns are often applied to the target language by students duringthe translation process.2. Unawareness of target language rules. Through the author’sanalysis on the papers, the majority of the errors are caused by students’ low level ofcognition on the English language rules.3. The unfamiliarity with sci-tech stylisticfeatures. For example, passive voice is often used but personal pronouns are rarelyfound. Unaware of these characteristics, students tend to employ first person pronouns,second person pronouns and subjective voice.According to these reasons, several relevant strategies are proposed to facilitatestudents’ translation capabilities.1. To improve cognitive ability and convert thenegative transfer of mother tongue into the positive transfer.(1) It is advisable to thinkfrom the westerners’ perspective during C-E translation.(2) To tell the differencesbetween Chinese and English and strengthen the cognitive ability to distinguish thetwo languages.2. To learn rudimentary English and grasp linguistic rules. Studentsshould take their own initiative and improve their cognitive level and efficiency ofEnglish3. Be aware of stylistic features of sci-tech writings. Students should activelylearn and summarize the characteristics of sci-tech articles, and read more relevantmaterials in order to heighten the level of cognition on sci-tech writings. As forEnglish teachers, the characteristics and requirements of sci-tech articles should beintroduced to students. Meanwhile, the cultivation of students’ cognitive abilitiesshould also be reinforced.The research has certain theoretical and practical significance. In theory, theapplication of error analysis theory to sci-tech translation deepens and complementstranslation theories. In practice, it provides certain reference to the instruction ofscientific translation.