18 meaning. Adjustments such as deleting or adding some words may occur as long
as it does not change the meaning. Second, the translation is clear when it communicates the meaning to the
receptor of the TL. The form can be changed based on the natural form of the TL. Accordingly, it makes the translation understandable by the receptor of the TL.
The third criterion is the translation should use the natural forms of the receptor of the TL. The naturalness can be achieved by using the grammatical
forms that are normally used in the target language. Translating word for word is not necessarily done because it makes the sentence less natural.
4. Strategies for Translating Idioms
Recognizing idiom and giving an appropriate interpretation are necessary. As Larson 1984 states that it could be a danger if idioms are not translated
appropriately because it will not make sense in the TL. Thus, to achieve an accurate, clear, and natural translation, there are several strategies for translating
idioms that can be applied. Baker 2011 declares five strategies for translating idioms.
The first strategy is using an idiom of similar meaning and form
. The translation has similar meaning with the SL idiom. Moreover, the lexical items of
the SL and TL idioms are equivalent. For example, the idiom
there are plenty more fish in the sea
has the similar meaning and form in Indonesian with the idiom
masih ada banyak ikan di laut.
Both of the SL and TL idioms mean there are many people or things that are as good as the one that is failed to get.
19 The second strategy is using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar
form. In this strategy, the TL idiom has different lexical components, but carries the same meaning as in the SL idiom. For example, the idiom
kill two birds with one stone
means to achieve two things at the same time with one action. It has
similar meaning with the idiom
sekali merengkuh dayung, dua tiga pulau terlampau
in Bahasa Indonesia. The SL and TL idioms are totally different in form and words. However, the idioms share similarity in the words
kill two birds
and
dua tiga pulau terlampaui
to describe that the achievements are more than one.
The third strategy is borrowing the SL idiom. In other words, the SL idiom does not undergo any change in the TL. This strategy is used for culture-specific
items, such as in an art gallery. An example of idiom given by Baker 2011 is
out of this world
which means fantastic. The idiom is present in the leaflet of the art exhibition and is transferred directly. Besides, Vinay and Darbelnet note
“of course, in some technical fields
there is much borrowing of terms” as cited in
Munday, 2016, p. 89. This means borrowing strategy is also used to translate technical terms.
The fourth strategy is translation by paraphrase. When the match of the SL idiom cannot be found in the TL, paraphrase strategy is used. This strategy
paraphrase does produce a translation with idiom in the TL. However, the translation delivers the same meaning as the SL. For example,
keep your chin up
does not have the idiom of similar meaning in Indonesian. If it is translated
