Lexical Interference Problems that EFL Undergraduate Students in Jordan Encounter when Translating General Texts from Arabic into English

Abstract

The interfernce  of one language into the other during translation is common among language students. This study was  devoted to the lexical interference problems that English major undergraduate students in Jordanian universities encounter when translating Arabic texts into English. Twenty five of males and twenty five of females Fifty participants students were are chosen to take the translation test, the responses were are collected, analyzed and categorized into six lexical categories: collocation, polysemy, redundancy, synonyms, metaphors, and prepositions. The results showed that the students committed lexical interference due to determining sources including students’ lack of the first language (L1) and the second language ( L2) awareness including lack of L2 vocabulary, misuse of dictionaries, use of translation machines and carelessness. The study recommended  holding an efficiency exam for the students, preparing special intensive reading skill for school and post-graduated students and paying more attention to language interference when teaching translation courses.