CHAPTER II A BRIEF VIEW OF TRANSLATION
2.1 Definitions of Translation.
There are many theories that define translation. Some experts and theorist had already given some definitions of translation to make us understand the
essential meaning of translation. Here are some of the definitions that had been composed by some experts:
Catford 1965 : 20 states in his book A Linguistic Theory that “Translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent
textual material in another language”. It can be said that translation is a way to find the equivalent in another language of one textual material.
Larson 1984: 10 in Meaning-Based Translation states that “Translation consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation
and cultural context of the source language, analyzing it in order to determine its meaning, then reconstructing the same meaning using the lexicon and
grammatical structure which appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context”.
The conclusion is that in doing translation there are three steps that are followed namely studying source text, analyzing it, and reconstructing the
meaning. In the Theory and Practice of Translation, Nida and Taber 1974 : 12
states that “Translating consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of
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meaning and secondly in terms of style”. From here it can be concluded that in reproducing or transferring the message, there is an equivalent relationship
between SL and TL. In the nineteenth century, some scholars such as Savory McGuire, 1987:
4, defines translation as an ‘art’; others, such as Jacobsen, define it as a ‘craft’; whilst others, perhaps more sensibly, borrow from the German and describe it as
‘science’. Newmark 1984: 28 in his book A Textbook of Translation says
“Translation is rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text”. Here, Newmark said that the message and
meaning transferred should be the same with the original author meaning and message”.
According to Lefevere McGuire, 1987:2, what is generally known as translation involves the rendering of a source language SL text into the target
language TL so as to ensure that 1 the surface meaning of the two will be approximately similar and 2 the structures of the SL will be preserved as closely
as possible but not so closely that the TL structures will be seriously distorted. Levy 1967 : 148 implies that “Translation is a process of communication
whose objective is to import the knowledge of the original to the foreign reader.” While Pinhhuck 1977 : 38 defined translations as “a process of finding a TL
equivalent for an SL utterance”. Simatupang 1992: 2 in his book Pengantar Teori Terjemahan states
“Menerjemah adalah mengalihkan makna yang terdapat dalam bahasa sumber ke dalam bahasa sasaran dan mewujudkannya kembali di dalam bahasa sasaran
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dengan bentuk-bentuk sewajar mungkin menurut aturan-aturan yang berlaku dalam bahasa sasaran”. Translation tries to transfer the meaning in SL to TL in
the form that best fit with the rules of TL. As the conclusion of translation based on those definitions above, it can be
said that translation is a process of transferring the original message of the original author into another language by using the exact meaning of words or the
equivalent one. It is not an easy task to do a translation because every language has their own ways and words to say some terms that might be different with
another language.
2.2 Function of Translation.
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