Newmark’s semantic and communicative translation as the complementary theory. The data are analyzed and the equivalence of each title is classified into
formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence, along with the explanation based on the theory. The result of analysis of the equivalence is shown from the chart
below:
The data above shows that there are 19 translations which are considered as formal equivalence. In formal equivalence, the translation is focused on the
lexical meaning, while the structural form of the ST is maintained. Meanwhile, there are 14 translations which are considered as dynamic equivalence. In dynamic
equivalence, the translation is focused on the effect of TL readers in receiving sentences with different structural form of TT but conveyed the same meaning as
ST.
58 42
5
10 15
20
Formal Equivalence
Dynamic Equivalence
Chart 1. The Result of Equivalence in the Translation of Agatha Christies Book Titles in Percentage
1. Formal Equivalence
Based on the translation of the titles, there are 21 translations that are included into formal equivalence. The example of the translation considered as
formal equivalence is shown below: Table 7. The Example of Formal Equivalence in the Translation of Agatha
Christie’s Book Titles Code
SL Title Code
TL Title
2SLAD Appointment with
Death 2TLPM
Perjanjian dengan Maut
7SLDA Death in the Air
7TLMU Maut di Udara
8SLDN Death on the Nile
8TLPSN Pembunuhan di Sungai
Nil 9SLDW
Dumb Witness 9TLSB
Saksi Bisu 12SLHP
Halloween Party 12TLPH
Pesta Halloween 16SLMMD
Mrs McGinty’s Dead 16TLMMS Mrs McGinty Sudah Mati
20SLMOE Murder on the Orient
Express 20TLPAO
Pembunuhan di Atas Orient Express
21SLOTB One, Two, Buckle My
Shoe 21TLSDP
Satu, Dua, Pasang Gesper Sepatunya
30SLTMB The Mystery of the
Blue Train 30TLMKA
Misteri Kereta Api Biru
31SLTG Third Girl
31TLGK Gadis Ketiga
32SLTAT Three Act Tragedy
32TLTTB Tragedi Tiga Babak
From the data above, the translations with formal equivalence are maintained as close as possible to match lexical, grammatical, and structural form
between SL and TL. In other word, the TL text will be maintained as closely as possible to the SL text. The structural form in the Target Language is not much
different from the title in the Source Language. Ideas and thoughts of the translator are not involved in this type of equivalence.
i. Data 2
Code SL Title
Code TL Title
2SLAD Appointment with Death
2TLPM Perjanjian dengan Maut
In this example, the title is translated word-by-word by their literal and lexical meaning. The word Appointment is literally translated into Perjanjian.
Both Appointment and Perjanjian are having the similar characteristics that refer to something which is agreed by more than one party. Death is also literally
translated into Maut. The meaning of Death and Maut are both dealing with the end of the life of a person or organism. Thus, the lexical and structural form are
maintained in the TL which supports the characteristic of formal equivalence.
ii. Data 7
Code SL Title
Code TL Title
7SLDA Death in the Air
7TLMU Maut di Udara
This translation is translated by its literal and lexical meaning. Death is translated into Maut. The meaning of Death and Maut are both dealing with the
end of the life of a person or organism. The word Air is also literally translated into Udara. The meaning of Air in this title is the space above the earth Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. This is in accordance with the meaning of the word Udara which is also related with the space above the earth Kamus Besar
Bahasa Indonesia. Furthermore, the structural form is also maintained in the TL. Thus, formal equivalence is achieved.
iii. Data 8
Code SL Title
Code TL Title
8SLDN Death on the Nile
8TLPSN Pembunuhan di Sungai
Nil
The translator translates the title from SL into TL in their literal and lexical meaning. The word Death is translated into Pembunuhan. Both of them have
lexical meaning that is dealing with the fact of somebody being killed. Moreover, the word Nile is translated into Sungai Nil. The translator is adding the word
Sungai to introduce more detailed information about Nile to the readers. This is done by the translator to adjust the grammatical form in the TL.
In its SL form, the word Nile itself is carrying the meaning of the name of a river. Therefore, it is not a must to include the word River in the original title
such as Death on the Nile River. This translation is in accordance with the theory of formal equivalence because the lexical and grammatical form between SL and
TL are maintained.
iv. Data 9
Code SL Title
Code TL Title
9SLDW Dumb Witness
9TLSB Saksi Bisu
This translation is categorized as formal equivalence since the title is translated by its lexical meaning and the grammatical form is adjusted to meet the