Abstract:
Translation means to transfer the meaning of the particular text from a source
language to a target language. This study focuses on the common challenges faced
by fourth-year undergraduate students in translating dialectical text from Sinhala
into the Tamil language. This study was conducted at the University of Jaffna. To
undertake this study, the researcher collected data from 20 students of fourth-year
undergraduates of the Department of Translation studies, University of Jaffna,
and were administrated a Sinhala to Tamil translation test, a paragraph with 200-
350 words. In addition, the study tried to investigate the most difficult dialectical
terms that the students faced while translating them. Moreover, it aimed to
explore the student's points of view behind such translation problems. The final
results of this study display that the most common challenges faced by
undergraduates in translating a dialectical text: linguistic, cultural, and contextual.
This paper identified the challenges and suggested solutions and
recommendations for challenges.
