Translation Techniques

1. Translation Techniques

After doing the research, the researcher finds out that both translators use some of the seven techniques which are mentioned in chapter II to translate the similes of the novel. However, there are some similarities and differences in applying the techniques for each datum. These are the techniques to translate similes which are applied by each translator:

Table 5 The Comparative Table of Translation Techniques Used by the Translators

NO

Translation Techniques

Dian Vita Ellyati

Yuni Kristianingsih Pramudhaningrat

Total

Percentage

Total Percentage

1 Keeping

the

image of the simile of the source language

other image which is familiar in the target language

7 13,73%

2 3,92%

3 Translating the simile

4 Translating the simile

5 Translating the simile without comparison

6 11,76%

2 3,92%

TOTAL

51 100

51 100

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Dian Vita Ellyati uses this technique to translate most similes which are found in the novel. There are 33 similes which are translated using this technique. In this technique, she keeps the image of the similes of the source language into the target language. These are three examples of the data which are translated using this technique: Example 1:

I can remember you throwing me into the bow where the wet coiled lines were and feeling the whole boat shiver and the noise of you clubbing him like chopping a tree down and the sweet blood smell all over me.

03/SL/13 Aku ingat Bapak melemparkanku ke dalam haluan tempat bergulung

– gulung tali basah diletakkan. Aku merasa seluruh bagian perahu bergetar dan suara berisik terdengar ketika Bapak memukul jatuh ikan itu seperti menumbangkan sebatang pohon, lalu bau amis darah tercium di seluruh badanku .

03/TL/A/7

The context of situation of the sentence is when the boy tries to recall his unforgettable experience with Santiago, the old man (the main character of the novel). The experience is about catching a very big and heavy fish. The simile above is the figurative style to compare the noise of clubbing a big fish and the noise of chopping a tree down.

In this case, it can be seen that Dian keeps the image of the simile. The image “chopping a tree down” which is translated into “menumbangkan sebuah pohon ” has no problem. It can be kept because all contents of the simile are accepted in the target society and the translation can convey the sense of the

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able to understand or imagine that the noise when the old man clubbed the fish is similar to the noise of chopping a tree down. Therefore, the readers can automatically guess that the caught fish must be very big and heavy. Example 2:

The clouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it.

11/SL/38 Awan di atas daratan sekarang, muncul seperti gunung, dan pantai

nampak hanya sebagai garis panjang berwarna hijau dengan bukit – bukit berwarna biru kelabu di latar belakangnya .

11/TL/A/31 The context of situation of the sentence above is when Santiago, the old man, enjoys the panorama of the sky on the first day of his long journey. The

author wants to compare the beauty of the clouds on the day with the beauty of mountains. The topic of the simile is “the clouds” and the image is “mountains”.

This image can be kept because there is no problem with the contents of the simile in the target language. It is okay if the clouds are compared to mountains. Therefore, Dian chooses to keep the original image of the simile. It can be seen that the image “mountains” is directly translated into “gunung” with no change or

addition or reduction. Even though the word “mountains” is only translated into a singular word “gunung” not “gunung - gunung”, it does not belong to reduction technique. It is

because in Indonesian, plural words are not needed to form plural nouns or phrases. For instance, the noun phrase “two yellow cars” must be translated into “dua mobil kuning”. It will be incorrect if the translator translates it into “dua

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English and Indonesian are different. Example 3:

Now that he had seen him once, he could picture the fish swimming in the water with his purple pectoral fins set wide as wings and the great erect tail slicing through the dark.

26/SL/74 Sekarang setelah melihatnya satu kali, ia dapat membayangkan ikan

itu berenang di dalam air dengan sirip dadanya yang berwarna ungu mengembang lebar laksana sayap dan ekor tajamnya mengiris kegelapan air .

26/TL/A/67 The context of situation of the sentence above is when Santiago, the old

man, can see his mysterious caught fish once. Because the old man sails alone at that moment, he is too weak to remove the mysterious and extremely big fish which he has caught from the water into his boat. From this example, it can be seen that the translator also uses the technique of keeping the image of the simile of the source language into the target language. The topic of the simile above is

“his purple pectoral fins” which is compared to “wings”. The image “wings” can

be directly translated into “sayap” because it is familiar for the target readers.

Similar to the previous example, the plural word “wings” can be only translated into a singular form “sayap”. This change is not a reduction because it

must be done due to the different grammatical rules between the source and target language.

Besides, Yuni Kristianingsih Pramudhaningrat also uses this technique to translate almost all similes which are found in the novel. There are 42 similes which are translated using this technique. In this technique, she keeps the image of

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examples of the data which are translated using this technique: Example 1:

His shirt had been patched so many times that it was like the sail

and the patches were faded to many different shades by the sun.

04/SL/20 Baju terlalu sering ditambal sebagaimana layar perahunya dan

tambalan – tambalan itu telah memudar dengan beragam bentuk yang berbeda akibat pengaruh terpaan sinar matahari .

04/TL/B/19 The sentence above is the description of the old man’s clothes appearance.

The simile of the sentence is intended to compare th e old man’s clothes appearance to his sail. Therefore, the topic of the simile is the old man’s shirt and

the image is his sail. The point of similarity between “his shirt” and “the sail” is that both of them have been patched a lot of times.

Yuni uses the technique of keeping the image of the simile of the source language. She translates the image “the sail” into “layar perahunya” originally with no addition or reduction. It is different from Dian’s translation which has

been previously explained. She tran slates the image “the sail” with an addition into “layar kapal yang dipenuhi tambalan yang makin memudar karena matahari ”.

Example 2: The clouds over the land now rose like mountains and the coast

was only a long green line with the gray blue hills behind it.

11/SL/38

Awan yang menaungi daratan kini muncul seperti gunung –

gunung, dan pantai hanya terlihat berupa garis hijau panjang dengan bukit – bukit berwarna kelabu kebiruan di belakangnya.

11/TL/B/38

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above is when the old man enjoys the panorama of the sky on the first day of his long journey. The simile of the sentence compares the beauty of the clouds on the day to the beauty of mountains. Therefore, the topic of the simile is “the clouds” and the image is “mountains”.

Similar to Dian, Yuni also keeps the original image of the simile. She translates the image “mountains” into “gunung - gunung”. The image can be kept

because it has no problem in the target language. It is okay if the clouds are compared to mountains. However, Yuni makes a little difference in translating the image of the simile. She keeps the plural form of the image. The plural image “mountains” is translated into “gunung - gunung” which is also plural in Indonesian. On the other hand, Dian translates the plural image into a singular image in the target language. It can be seen that the image “mountains” is translated into “gunung” which is singular in the target language.

Example 3:

I am as clear as the stars that are my brothers. 28/SL/ 85

Aku sejernih bintang – bintang yang merupakan saudaraku.

28/TL/B/85 The context of situation of the sentence above is in the middle of the old

man’s long journey. At that time, he feels very tired. He needs to take a rest. Therefore, he tries to sleep. However, he cannot sleep at all. Even though he is not

able to sleep, he tries to convince himself that he is okay. The simile of the sentence compares the old man’s physical condition to the stars on the sky at the

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image is “the stars that are my brothers”. Yuni uses the technique of keeping the image of the simile of the source

language in translating the simile. She keeps and translates it originally into “bintang – bintang yang merupakan saudaraku”. Besides, all contents in the

simile are also translated originally with no addition or reduction. The change is only about the plural form of the phrase “my brothers” which is translated into a

singular form “saudaraku” in the target language. Still it does not belong to the reduction technique.