expressions and the equivalent of the translation. The differences lie on the discussion of translating object. While Pasangka’s thesis uses Nida’s theory to
analyze the equivalence of the English idiom, the present thesis chooses Larson ’s
theory to analyze the equivalence of translation and idiomatic expressions.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Translation Strategy
Idiomatic in translation occasionally means that idiom should not be translated by another idiom. Sometimes the search for the target language idiom
may be all in vain. In English, as in many other languages, there may be no idiomatic concepts. There are some opinions about the translation of idioms.
Mona Baker, in her book
In Other Words
1992, defines the following strategies for translating idiomatic expressions:
a. Translation by Using an Idiom with Similar Form and Meaning
The first translation strategy by Baker is translation using an idiom very similar in its form and meaning to the source language. This strategy involves
using an idiom in the target language which conveys the same meaning as that of the source language idiom and init must convey roughly the same meaning and be
of equivalent lexical items. An idiom should be similar not only in its form but also in meaning, because sometimes an idiom that is of the same form may
convey totally different meaning. As an example, an English idiom “two-faced” is
translated into the Indonesian idiom
bermuka dua
. Both idioms have the same meaning, which is saying one thing and meaning another.
b. Translation by Using an Idiom of Similar Meaning but Dissimilar Form
Another strategy suggested by Baker is translation of idiom by using an idiom with similar meaning but dissimilar form in the target language. In this
case, the lexical items of an idiom are not preserved; it is translated as a semantic equivalent. It conveys roughly the same meaning withthe English idiom. As an
example, the English idiom “use your mind” is translated into the Indonesian
idiom
bermain dengan akal
. Both idioms have similar meaning but different lexical item. These idioms are pointed to a condition of people who use their brain
to do something. The difference is that English idiom equipped the word “use”
in English while in Indonesian idiom it is equipped with
bermain
.
c. Translation by Paraphrase
Paraphrase is one of the most common strategies in translating idioms. As sometimes it is impossible to find the right equivalent or any idiom in target
language, therefore, a translator can use translation by paraphrase. Using this kind of strategy, a translator transfers the meaning of an idiom using a single word or a
group of words which roughly corresponds to the meaning of an idiom but is not an idiom itself. This can be seen in the example of English idioms that are
translated more neutrally into Bahasa Indonesia by a group of words which are not. However, the use of this strategy involves certain disadvantages of losing
quality and stylistic flavor. Newmark, 1988: 109 says that while using this strategy not only components of sense will be missing or added, but the emotive
or pragmatic impact will be reduced or lost. Still, paraphrase is usually descriptive and explanatory; sometimes it preserves the style of the original idiom as well.
Therefore, it is relevant for this thesis to distinguish two types of paraphrase: stylistic paraphrase and explanatory paraphrase. As an example, the English idiom
“red alert” is translated into
bahaya
. This idiom is translated into the Indonesian word
bahaya
because both of them have similar context.
d. Translation by Omission
This strategy implies that sometimes an idiom may be omitted, leaving no traces in the target language. Omission is allowed only in some cases: first, when
there is no close equivalent in the target language; second, when it is difficult to paraphrase; and finally, an idiom may be omitted for stylistic reasons Baker,
1992: 77. This strategy is not used frequently. However, in a worst case the translator may omit some idiom if it is not possible to translate it using strategy by
compensation, where he can put an idiom in another place of the clause, thus preserving the stylistic effect of idiom usage in the source text. As an example, the
English idiom “if I had a nickel for everytime that happened, I would be rich” is
not translated into Indonesian because this idiom has no close match in the Indonesian language as the target language.
2. Theory of Equivalence
Based on Larson, theory of equivalence is divided into two parts, the first part is figurative equivalent. Figurative sense is based on associative relations
with the primary sense Beekman and Callow, 1974:94. Primary sense is the sense which will come to the minds of most speakers of the language when the
word is cited in isolation. The second part is non-figurative sense, it is the opposite of figurative sense because it used the secondary sense. Secondary sense
