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universal and personal language. Universal words usually cause no translation problem, such as
the o ds die , li e , sta , s i , i o , a d ta le . Universal words usually cover universal function, yet not the cultural
description of the referent. In cultural words, however, there will be a translation problem unless there is cultural overlap between the SL and TL. Newmark 1988:
gi es the o ds o soo , steppe , tagliatelle as the e a ples of ultu al words. Newmark explains that it is broad and fuzzy to be put what should be in
the cultural words. Within one language, there are several cultures and su ultu es, fo i sta e, Jause Aust ia tea , a d Juge d eihe Aust ia
ceremony for twelve years old. Moreover, dialect words are not part of cultural o ds if the desig ate u i e sal, su h as lo h a d oo s . Fu the o e, a
speech community, when focuses its attention on a particular topic could cause a very large amount of new words to designate special language. It is usually called
ultu al fo us . O E glish spo t, fo e a ple, the e a e so e az i ket words, suc
h as a aide o e , sill id-o , ho zzat . In conclusion, culture is a complex collection and scopes an enormous
subject. It covers almost everything in the world. Therefore, Newmark classifies cultural words into some categories and provides examples for each. Further
discussion will be in the following sub-chapter.
2.4.2 Cultural Words
Bake i Ne a k,
: p o ides the defi itio of ultu all -bound
e p essio , hi h she alls ultu e-spe ifi o ept as follo s. The “L o d may express a concept which is totally unknown in the TL. The concept in
question may be abstract or concrete; it may relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or even a type of food. Such concepts are often referred to as culture-
specific. A o di g to Ne
a k, ultu al o ds a e eas to dete t si e the a e associated with particular language and cannot be literally translated. However,
many cultural customs are translated in ordinary language, where literal
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translation would distort the meaning Newmark, 1988: 96. It is categorized into five, namely:
a. Ecology. Ecological features such as flora, fauna, winds, plain and hills are
not similar in different areas. Newmark 1988: 96 gives examples of e ologi al featu es i te s of plai s; p ai ies , steppes , tu d as ,
pa pas , sa a ahs , lla os , ush , eld . b.
Material culture. It is more complicated than ecological culture. Material ultu e is thi gs ade people that efle t the so iet s ultu al alue.
According Newmark 1988: 97-98, material culture consists of many kinds of artifacts, food, clothes, houses and towns, transport, etc.
c. Social Culture. It is a culture possessed by a particular society which is
different from another. Newmark 1988: 95-98 lists some work terms, fo e a ple the people , the o
o people , the asses , the o ki g lass , the plo eta iat , a d the hoi polloi .
d. Organization, customs, ideas: political, social, legal, religious, artistic.
These are categorized as cultural words. There are some terms that are grouped in this category such as terms of social organizations political
and administrative, religious terms, and artistic terms. e.
Gestures and habits. Newmark argues that another problem faced by some translators is cultural word relate to gestures and habits. It is
because there is a distinction between description and function that can be made necessary in ambiguous case Newmark, 1988: 102, such as
kiss fi ge tips to g eet o to p aise a d gi e a thu s-up to sig al OK .
All those gestures and habits only exist in some cultures.
2.5 Translation Techniques
