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Even they are allowed to create terms which may not be in line with the language standard.
This is the case in Toer’s novel Bumi Manusia. He uses the term larsa for a kind of shoes instead of lars which has been admitted in Kamus Besar Bahasa
Indonesia. From the context, it is known that larsa might be lars itself, that is, “sepatu yg bagian atasnya menutupi betis hampir sampai ke lutut”. The
translator seems to have no problem in transferring the material into the target culture. He simply translates it into ‘boot’, “a covering usually of leather or rubber
for the entire foot and the lower part of the leg” Merriam-Webster’s Learner Online Dictionary.
Data ST
Data TT
Score
67STCov T191
Segera aku berlutut di hadapannya dan
mencabut larsa dari kakinya.
67TTCov T173
I quickly knelt before him and took off his
boots. 1
The term is accurate since the source material can be wholly replaced into the target material without any ambiguity. It is proved also from the semantic
features both materials share as follows:
ST – larsa TT – boots
+ trousers for riding a horse + trousers for riding a horse
+ trousers for a horse to collect its excrement
- trousers for a horse to collect its excrement
+ colourful - colourful
g. Talam-Tray
The translation of talam into ‘tray’ is actually rather problematic. According to KBBI Daring, it means “dulang yg tidak berkaki” while dulang
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itself means “nampan yg biasanya berbibir pd tepinya dan berkaki, dibuat dr kayu”. It is remarkable that the translator, who is not an Indonesian native, is able
to understand the term talam. A vast encyclopedic knowledge of source culture is needed to differentiate between talam, nampan, and dulang.
However, due to the many-to-one-correspondence nature of those terms, the translator seems easily to translate it as ‘tray’, meaning “an open receptacle
with a flat bottom and a low rim for holding, carrying, or exhibiting articles” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Data ST
Data TT
Score
113STDT 85
Keluarlah aku menanting talam.
113TTDT 82
I came out carrying a tray.
1.3
The score given by the respondents is 1.3 or accurate. The score 1.3 actually indicates that there is a certain disagreement among respondents. There is
one respondent who gives score 2. This respondent does not quite agree with the other two respondents. When asked why giving score 2, she answered that ‘tray’
is not quite the same as talam. However, she could not give a suggestion. She just felt that it was not quite right.
To see whether or not talam and ‘tray’ share the same semantic properties, we can see the following table:
ST – Talam TT – tray
+ usually made from wood +- usually made from wood
+ having edges +- having edges
- having legs +- having legs
- having low rim for carrying + having low rim for carrying
+ used to carry dishes, glasses, etc for serving meal
+ used to carry dishes, glasses, etc for serving meal
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From the table we can see that there are certain types of ‘tray’ which are similar to talam. The decision to translate talam into ‘tray’ is right because as a
whole it does not matter what kind of tray used in the story.
h. Sitje-Settee
The term sitje is not found in KBBI Daring because perhaps the term is a naturalisation from Dutch, zitje, meaning ‘seat’. At that time, many Indonesian
intellectuals, including writers, were proud of showing that they were literate and belonged to a high-class community by using Dutch terms.
All respondents agree that ‘settee’ is an accurate translation of sitje. Seeing the context indicating that the living rooms are luxurious, the translator specifies
one kind of seat, ‘settee’, as the equivalence of sitje. ‘Settee’ according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is “a medium-sized sofa with arms and a
back”, not just a general term seat. ‘Settee’ usually is placed in a luxurious living room.
Data ST
Data TT
Score
73STHT 14
Permadani di bawah sitje bergambarkan
motif yang tak pernah kutemui.
73TTHT 26
The carpet under the settee was decorated
with a motif I’d never come across
before. 1
The following table clarifies the semantic properties of the two materials:
ST – Sitje TT – Settee
+ medium-sized sofa + medium-sized sofa
+ having back + having back
+ having arms + having arms
