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G. Accuracy and Acceptability
a. Accuracy According to Shuttleworth and Cowie 1997:3, accuracy is described as
follows: “A term used in translation evaluation to refer to the extent to which a translation
matches its original. While it usually refers to preservation of the information content of the source text ST in the target text TT, with an accurate translation being
generally literal rather than free, its actual meaning in the context of a given translation must depend on the type of equivalence found in the translation”.
Based on the the description above, it can be concluded that accuracy in translation deals with the message or the content of the SL into the TL. A translation
is considered accurate, if it can transfer the whole message from SL to TL perfectly. In simple words, the faithfulness of the SL message is still maintained in the TL.
b. Acceptability Acceptability of a text refers to the ‘natural sense’ of the translation.
According to Shuttleworth and Cowie 1997:2-3, a translation that learns toward acceptability can thus be thought as fulfilling the requirement of “reading as an
original” written text in the TL rather than that of “reading as the original”. Acceptability relates to the naturalness of the translated text to the target readers. It is
determined by the faithfulness to the linguistics and cultural bounds of the target system. Therefore, the translator has to observe the norms of the SL and the target
system before he she translates the text. The translated text will be considered
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acceptable if it is read as an original text written in TL and sounded natural for the target readers.
H. Problems of Equivalence
The aim of the translator is to produce the equivalent translation that is accurately communicating the same meaning as the SL. However, the different
characteristics between the SL and the TL often create many problems for the translator. Hervey, Higgins, and Haywood claim two reasons why it is hard to
produce equivalent in translation. First, the requirement that the target text TT should affect its recipient in the same way as the source text ST does or did its
original audience raises the difficult problem on how any one particular recipient responds to a text, and of the extent to which text has constant interpretations even for
the same person on two dofferent occasions. ........ Second, the principle of equivalent effect presumes that the theory can cope not only with ST and SL audience, but also
with the impact of a TT on its intended TL audience 1995:14. For those reasons, Nida 1964:159 distinguishes two types of equivalence,
formal and dynamic. Formal equivalence focuses on the message itself, in both the form and content. It aims to allow the readers to have a better understanding about the
TL context. However, this method sometimes produces unnatural translation, that is hard to understand by the target readers.
Meanwhile, dynamic equivalent is based on the principle of equivalent effect, for instance : that the effect of the message of the TL text to the receptor language
should be the same as the message effect of the SL text to the original receivers.
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However, a complete equivalence is impossible because of the cultural gap between the SL and the TL. Thus, information loss and gain in the process of translation can
not be avoided. Sometimes, the purpose of translation is to produce the same effect on the
translation readers as well as the original text readers and this purpose will be achieved when the equivalence occurs between an SL and a TL text. According to
Hatim 2001:28, translation equivalence may be achieved at any or all of the following levels:
1. SL and TL words having similar orthographic or phonological features formal equivalence;
2. SL and TL words referring to the same thing in the real world referential or denotative equivalence;
3. SL and TL words triggering the same or similar associations in the minds of speakers of the two languages connotative equivalence;
4. SL and TL words being used in the same or similar contexts in their respective languages text normative equivalence;
5. SL and TL words having the same effect on their respective readers pragmatic or dynamic equivalence.
Moreover, Nababan 2003:55-60 states that there are four factors affecting problems of equivalence in translation, they are: different systems of SL and TL,
semantic and stylistic complexity, translators competence, and quality of the SL text. 1. Different systems of SL and TL.
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If only all languages in this world had the same system of languages, there would be no problems in term of translation Nababan, 2003:55. Nevertheless, in
fact, there are no languages in this world having the same system of languages. Every system of languages is different in terms of syntactical, lexical, and morpheme
structure. The different system of SL and TL also can be seen from the differences in terms of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.
2. Semantic and stylistic complexity. Semantic field is the most complicated one Nababan, 2003:58. It can be
understood since the meaning has the broad scope and tends to be subjective. The high level of subjectivity in term of meaning is related to the relationship about the
meaning of the words with the socio-cultural aspects of the people using the language. The differences of languages and cultures will cause the serious problem
for the translators, especially if they do not master the cultures of SL and TL well. The stylistic complexity also becomes one of the factors that cause the
problems in translation Nababan, 2003:59. The literature texts, such as poetry, prose, and play, are expressed in the different style from the science texts. Because of
the different culture of SL and TL, the stylistic matters of both languages are also different.
3. Translator’s competence. A translator is the subject in the translation process, and the translator competence
will affect the successfulness of a translation result or not Nababan, 2003:59-60. The competency level of the translator in translating a text will affect the translation
result. A translator with high competency in translation will solve the problems in
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translation process easier. In contrast, a translator with low level of competence will face many kinds of translation problems, and do not know the best ways to solve
those problems. 4. Quality of the SL text.
The low quality level of the SL text can affect the problems in translation process Nababan, 2003:60. As a result, the meaning involved in the SL text can not be
easily understood because of the bad quality of the SL text.
I. Cultural Terms
Newmark 1988:95-102 divided cultural terms into several categories. It may be classified as ecology, material culture artifacts, social culture work and leisure,
organizations, customs, activities, procedures, concepts, and gestures and habits. These categories may be translated into different ways according to their role in the
text and their aims for the target text readers. 1. Ecology
Geographical features can be differentiated from other cultural terms that usually value-free whether in politic or commerce. Nevertheless, their usage depends
on the importance of their country and their degree of specificity. As Newmark 1988:96 stated “geographical features can be normally distinguished from other
cultural terms in that they are usually value-free, politically and commercially. Nevertheless, their diffusion depends on the importance of their country of origin as
well as their degree of specificity”. Many countries have local words, and these words would be translated based on their importance in the source language.
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2. Material Culture Food is the most sensitive and important expression of national culture for
many countries because food has the widest variety in translation procedures. Newmark 1988:97 stated that “food is for many the most sensitive and important
expression of national culture; food terms are subject to the widest variety of translation procedures”. It means material culture especially food need to be
translated appropriately because it is an expression of a national culture. Someone can recommend for words with recognized equivalents and transference, plus a neutral
term for the readers in general.
3. Social Culture
The translators should know the denotative and connotative meaning of every country, in order to produce an acceptable translation. Newmark 1988:98 stated that
“in considering social culture one has to distinguish between denotative and connotation problems of translation.” Connotative meaning in each country is
different; a word may have a positive connotative meaning in one culture but not in another. That is why the translator should pay attention and be careful in translating
it. Furthermore, Larson 1984:131 explained that “connotative meaning is often culturally conditioned. A word, which has a positive connotation in one culture, may
actually have a negative connotation in another. 4. Organizations, Customs, Activities, Procedures, Concepts
Concerning the translation of social organization terms, the translators should decide that the term is recognized and understood by the readers. In addition, the
translators should pay attention on the setting too. In translating social organization,
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first, a translator should build a recognized translation and secondly the readers and take an appropriate setting should understand the translation. The translation process
of cultural organization is also divided into two categories; they are formal and informal informative colloquial texts. In formal informative text, the translators
should translate the cultural organization terms, Newmark 1988:100 stated that in a formal informative text, the name should be transferred, and a functional, culture-free
equivalent given. On the contrary, Newmark 1988:100 explained that “If the informative text is informal or colloquial it may not be necessary to transfer the
organization’s name”. Therefore, if the text is informal informative text, it is not necessary for the translators to translate the cultural organization.
5. Gestures and Habits Gestures and habits are symbolic actions of a country having meaning and
function. It is important for the translators to translate it appropriately because if these actions simply translated literally, it may make wrong meaning. Larson 1984:138
stated that “In every culture, there will be certain actions which will be symbolic”. Gestures and habits in the form of an action sometimes have different function in the
receptor language, that is why it is sometimes difficult to translate gestures and habits. Newmark 1988:102 also added that “for gestures and habits there is a
distinction between description and function which made where necessary in ambiguous case”.
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J. Problems in Translating Cultural Terms
A cultural-based translation often affect the difficult problems for the translators because there is a matter called ‘cultural untranslatable’. As a result, the
translation will be inaccurate. Gerver 1976 cites six types of inaccuracies in translation: a simple omission; b escape, or cutting off the input with simultaneous
talk; c error, or incorrect processing; d queuing, or delaying response during heavy loads and catching up during lulls; e filtering, or systematic omission of certain types
of information; and f approximation, or less precise renderings of information than the original contained.
According to Toury 1978:200, translation is a kind of activity which inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions. Related to this
statement, translators are permanently faced with the problem of how to treat the cultural aspects implicit in a source text and of finding the most appropriate technique
of successfully conveying these aspects in the target language. These problems may vary in scope depending on the cultural and linguistic gap between the two or more
languages concerned Nida, 1964:130. The important aspect is to determine how much missing background information should be provided by the translator.
The cultural problems for translation may take several forms ranging from lexical content and syntax to ideologies and ways of life in a given culture. The
translator also has to decide on the importance given to certain cultural aspects and to what extent it is necessary or desirable to translate them into the TL. The notion of
culture is essential to considering the implications for translation and, despite the differences in opinion as to whether language is part of culture or not, the two notions
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appear to be inseparable. Discussing the problems of correspondence in translation, Nida confers equal importance to both linguistic and cultural differences between the
SL and the TL and concludes that differences between cultures may cause more severe complications for the translator than do differences in language structure
Nida, 1964:130. It is further explained that parallels in culture often provide a common understanding despite significant formal shifts in the translation. The
cultural implications for translation are thus of significant importance as well as lexical concerns.
Newmark 1988:96 proposes two opposing methods: transference and componential analysis, when considering the translation of cultural words and
notions. As Newmark mentions, transference gives local colour, keeping cultural names and concepts. Nidas definitions of formal and dynamic equivalence Nida,
1964:129 may also be seen to apply when considering cultural problems for translation. According to Nida, a gloss translation mostly typifies formal
equivalence where form and content are reproduced as faithfully as possible and the TL reader is able to understand as much as he can of the customs, manner of
thought, and means of expression of the SL context Nida, 1964:129. Contrasting with this idea, dynamic equivalence tries to relate the receptor to modes of behaviour
relevant within the context of his own culture without insisting that he understand the cultural patterns of the source-language context.
In this case, the writer underlines that the problems in translating cultural terms can be differentiated into many things as stated above. However, there is the
basic problems in translating cultural terms, that is the problems of “no-equivalence”.
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It is usual when there are no cultural equivalents from the SL into TL because there are no languages in this world having the same language systems. The researcher
considers that the notion from Newmark to keep the transference method in translating cultural terms is wise to do. It is useful to appreciate the original terms of
the SL. However, the researcher also considers that the transference method in translating cultural terms is highly recommended to be added with the cultural or
functional equivalent as the proper way to solve the problems of translating cultural terms.
K. The Bilingual Tourism Booklet
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