12. General – Specific Strategy.
Translating strategy using general-specific style is the opposite of the previously mentioned strategy and is used when it is quite difficult for the translator to find a lexical meaning of a word or
expression with a general cultural concept in source language that can be easily understood in target language so that it is translated by using more specific cultural concept. This strategy is also applied
by the translator to create a proper lexical equivalent of a word or expression which has unknown concept in the target language
13. Paraphrase strategy This strategy is used when the concept explained in source language has lexical meaning in
receptor language but it has different type, and when the words appear more frequently in source language. Translating by paraphrasing can be done in two ways, i.e. by using
different words or by using a sentence to reveal the word meaning in source language
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. 14. Registry strategy
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B. Culture
Koentjaraningrat divides culture into three categories; ideas, behavior or custom, and things or products like artifact. In general, words that contain cultural elements are easy to
detect as long as those words are associated with certain language.
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According to Newmark, words or expressions containing cultural elements are divided into five categories; ecology,
material culture artifact, socio-culture, organization, and custom. Words or expressions
11
Baker, Mona, In Other Words, New York : Routledge, 1992, P.45
12
Newmark, Peter, A text Book of Translation. Hertfordshire : Prentice Hall International Ltd, 1988 , P.81-93
13
Widyamartaya,A, Seni Menerjemahkan, Yogyakarta : Karnisius, 1994, P.9 11
containing cultural elements are difficult to translate into a target language because the concept containing in them is very typical to the related culture.
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The translating procedures offered by Newmark can also become a reference for translating slang
words or slang
phrases which are unknown
in the receptor language.
15
The procedures are general. It means that those are not specialized for certain kind of script. It is
how deep those procedures are implemented by a translator to translate unknown concepts since he does not specifically offer and explain what sort of script the procedures are for.
According to Mona Baker, translating strategies for unknown words or phrases in the receptor language may include:
1. Translating by using more general words. 2. Translating by using more neutral words.
3. Translating by using cultural replacement. 4. Translating by using an absorbed word or the one followed by explanation.
5. Paraphrased translating.
C. Why Word in Source Language Has No Direct Lexical Meaning in Target Language
Words with no lexical equivalent are source language words which have no direct lexical meaning in target language. Type and level of difficulty in finding direct lexical
meaning of those words depend on the character, context, and purpose of translating the words.
14
Newmark, Peter, A text Book of Translation. Hertfordshire : Prentice Hall International Ltd, 1988 , P.95
15
Newmark, Peter, A text Book of Translation. Hertfordshire : Prentice Hall International Ltd, 1988 , P.81-93 12
Every word which has no direct lexical meaning has another different translating strategy as well.
The following are several types of common problems why words in source language have no direct lexical meaning in target language:
1. If that word is relating to culture. Word in source language probably will reveal a concept that is totally unknown in
target language. The concept is either abstract or concrete, for example a concept relating to faith or religion, custom of a society, types of food, and so on. Those
concepts are classified into cultural specification.
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2. If the language structure of source language is semantically complex. This is very common in translating, where a single word may consist of several
morphemes. A single word sometimes has several meanings which could be more complex, compared to a single sentence.
3. If receptor language has no general word. 4. If receptor language has no specific word.
5. If there is a different physical perspective. Physical perspective is a a person or thing related to another person or thing
expressed in a word; b the relationship among speakers in a discourse tenor.
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Baker, Mona, In Other Words, New York : Routledge, 1992, P.46 13
6. If there is a difference in expressing the meaning. Perhaps there are some words, in receptor language, which have same meanings in
source language, but with different expressions. 7. If there is a difference in word form.
Receptor language often has no lexical equivalent for certain word forms in source language. For instance, certain prefixes or suffixes with words that build some word
forms which have no lexical equivalent in receptor language.
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8. If source language is using absorbed words. The usage of absorbed words in source language becomes a problem in translating
because may be receptor language not always has absorbed words which have the same meanings.
17
Larsen. Mildred, Meaninng-Based Translation. A Guide to cross Language Equivalence.Lanham :University Press of America,1984, p.163-165
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CHAPTER III RESEARCH FINDINGS
