e-ISSN: 2455-6726
Annals of Education
Vol. 1(1), December 2015: 18-23
Journal’s URL: http://www.crsdindia.com/aoe.html
Email: crsdindia@gmail.com
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Errors in the Usage of Preposition in Translation from English to Urdu Language at
Secondary Level
Aysha Akram, Abdul Bari Khan
1
, Hafiza Sana Mansoor
2
, Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary
and Muhammad Shafqat
The University of Lahore, Sargodha Campus, Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan
Email:
1
a.barikhan43@yahoo.com,
2
Sanamansoor966@yahoo.com
Received: 20
th
Nov. 2015, Revised: 22
nd
Nov. 2015, Accepted: 23
rd
Nov. 2015
ABSTRACT
It is observed that Pakistani students have some serious concerns in translation of ideas from English
into Urdu language and vice versa from elementary level to secondary level schooling .The study
indicates that the students are facing some serious challenges in recognition and usage of correct
prepositional words for suitable Urdu words. The present study was conducted on 75 randomly
selected students from government secondary schools of District Muzaffar Garh, Punjab, Pakistan. A
questionnaire consisting of multiple choice questions of secondary level is conducted by the students
and prepositional mistakes are highlighted to fulfill the requirement of the research.
Key words: Prepositions, Prepositions of movement, place and time, problem analysis, traditional,
collocation, prototype.
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INTRODUCTION
Language is the most powerful source of communication and self-expression through
which we express our feelings, emotions and share ideas (Saeed, 1998). It is an effective
tool through which we transmit and transfer knowledge to various people. All the
activities from entertainment to highly scientific projects are delivered in English. English
is no more a lingua fraca in Pakistan; rather it has replaced Urdu as official language de
facto. In Pakistan, it is taught from the very first day of schooling to graduate level as a
compulsory subject. Its matchless value can be observed from the fact that intelligent
level, maturity, status, prestige- all these aspects revolve around the English
comprehension and implementation. In short, it has become true lynch pin of Pakistani
society. That is the reason, in Pakistan, there is a strong and robust full demand for having
a sound grasp over English language. Despite of all these valuable facts, errors in English
pronunciation, articles mistakes, spelling errors, usage of traditional vocabulary in spoken
and written form and above all of these- preposition mistakes- are clearly observable
from first day of schooling to Master level. These problems are faced because of influence
of mother tongue over Target language. For Example, after checking essays of students, I
find problems in the usage of "on", "in", "at" "off" and "from" mostly. It is due to the
difference in words selection and usage of mother tongue and target language.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
English Language has attained significant place in educational setup of Pakistan. As
presented earlier it has uplifted itself as an official language of Pakistan. The
correspondence in defense institutes, educational institutes, business, public as well as
private sector and day to day official matters are discussed in English Language. It
obviously needs strong grip over Language, free from common mistakes. Gardner (1985)
holds the view that the social and cultural milieus in which learners grow up determine
their attitudes and motivational orientation towards the target language.
Annals
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