An Analysis on ESP Students' Preposition Errors (The Case of Legal Translation)

The article analyzes preposition errors by university students at the introductory course of legal translation, as well as the causes of such errors. The author gives an overview of the legal translation course, including, inter alia, general conditions of teaching, requirements as for selection of legal texts for learning purposes, the groups under study. Students' written translations from Russian into English served as material for analysis. The research incorporates comparative analysis of the system of prepositions in English and Russian based on the typological differences of the languages and the corresponding sublanguages of legal documents in particular. The study relied on the following methods: analysis and synthesis, classification and description, comparative analysis, and continuous sampling technique. The data interpretation provided for description of error zones caused by interlanguage interference, the ontogenetic complexity of preposition usage, and individual difficulties of students. It concludes with the major causes of faults that give rise to errors on the levels of reception, storage, restoration, use, and metacognition. The paper recommends raising students' awareness as a means that can assist in reducing the preposition errors.