translation, translators use some levels of equivalence which one of them is equivalence above word level Baker, 2001.
Equivalence above word level is related to the translation of combination of words. These combinations of words are strung together with particular
characteristics and lexical pattern. Equivalence above word level involves collocations as well as idioms and fixed expressions. The focus in this study is the
translation of idiomatic expressions. Idiom is a multi-word expression whose meaning is different from the
meaning of its constituent individually. Idiom is heavily affected by cultural aspects such as the history of society, culture-specific items, superstitions, etc.
Therefore, translating idiom is not an easy task to do because it requires good knowledge of both language and both culture.
Because of that, Baker 2001: 71-77 provides numerous strategies to overcome the difficulties in translating idioms such as: 1 using an idiom of
similar meaning and form, 2 using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form, 3 translation by paraphrase, and 4 translation by omission. This research
discovers what strategies are used in translating idiomatic expressions found in John Green‘s The Fault in our Stars by using Baker‘s theory of above word level
translation strategies. The second objective of this study is to discover the accuracy level of
idiomatic expression translation in the novel. In that respect, this research adopts the theory proposed by Nababan et al in which equivalence can be assessed by
rating the translation according to its accuracy.
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CHAPTER III METHODS OF INVESTIGATION
This chapter explains the details of the method of investigation. It contains the research design, object of the study, data and source data, role of the researcher, as
well as procedure of collecting and analyzing data.
3.1. Research Design
This study employed qualitative descriptive method. Qualitative method was employed because the data of this research were in the form of words, phrases and
clauses. Descriptive method was used to describe the findings of the research, which were the strategies used in translating idiomatic expressions as well as its
level of accuracy. In this research, the writer only collected, classified and analyzed the data, and in the end, drew conclusion based on the data gathered.
This system was in line with what is stated by Lambert Lambert 2013: 256 that qualitative descriptive design is ―purely data-derived‖, ―characterized by
simultaneous data collection and analysis‖, and presented in ―a straight forward descriptive summary of the informational contents of the data that is organized in
a l ogical manner‖.
In addition, this research did not involve any calculation. Bogsan and Biklen 1982, as cited in Sugiyono 2011: 21, claims that the data collected in
qualitative research is in form of words or pictures rather than number. Sugiyono
states that qualitative research concerns with process rather than the products and tends to analyze the data inductively.
The present research investigated the strategies employed in translating idiomatic expressions as well as its level of accuracy. To obtain the required data,
two methods were applied. One of the methods from qualitative research used in this study was content analysis. Leedy and Ormrod
state that content analysis is ―a detailed and systematic examination of the contents of a particular body of
materials for the purpose of identifying patterns, themes, or biases ‖ 2001, as cited
in Williams 2007: 69. This method reviews forms of human communication including books, newspapers, films, etc. Since the data of the study were
idiomatic expressions found in novels, this method was considered appropriate for the aims and the nature of the study.
The other method employed in this study was questionnaire. The questionnaire distributed for this research was in a close format. Close format
questionnaire means that the raters can only fill the questionnaire with pre- determined answers. In this case, the raters could only choose from three levels of
accuracy. The writer collected and analyzed the data gathered from questionnaire in numeric form to know the percentage of the meaning rendering quality based
on a certain scale.
3.2. Object of the Study
The objects of this study are all idiomatic expressions found in The Fault in Our Stars and its Indonesian version. The Fault in Our Stars is a novel written by John
