Background of the Study

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter encompasses four parts. The first part is the background of the study which describes the topic, the rationale behind choosing the topic, and the current information surrounding the topic. The second part is the problem formulation that consists of research questions to convey the research problems shown in the title of this study. The third part is the objectives of the study which state the function of this study and are in accordance with the research questions. The final part is the definition of terms that provides explanations of essential terms related to the topic of this study.

A. Background of the Study

In bilingual communication, translators are the main actors who bridge the communication. The error of apprehending a source language SL message and then converting it into a target language TL is capable of damaging the communication. Translators must have sufficient competence to be able to transform the SL into the TL properly. As a means of communication, translation plays a genuinely significant role in transferring the notion of human being. From time to time, translation has been consistently developed and done in a variety of products, i.e. written, spoken, printed, published, on a screen, etc. Therefore, the world of translation has been being used as a tool in terms of spoken and written in communication activities. 2 Translation is a process of transferring a written or spoken message from the SL into the TL by a translator. Brislin defines translation as the general term referring to the transfer of thoughts and ideas from one language source to another target, whether the languages are in written or oral form; whether the languages have established orthographies or do not have such standardization or whether one or both languages is based on signs, as with sign languages of the deaf 1976: 1. In the definition above, Brislin provides extensive limits on the term of translation involving the transfer of thoughts or ideas. Moreover, it implies that translators are behind the translation products. Translation visibility is seen as a simple activity, which is to convert one language the SL into another language the TL. What actually happens, however, is a complex cognitive process. In a translation process, translators might find a variety of issues in relation to the pursuit of equivalent meaning in the TL. Furthermore, translators are required to be able to take appropriate decisions in order to avoid a distortion of the extensive meaning. Therefore, so significant is the role of translators in the bilingual communication that it demands reconstruction methods of the translation process so as to do recommendations at certain stages that need further improvement. One of the methods for reconstructing the translation process is think-aloud protocol TAP. TAP is an introspective method which requires subjects to verbalize the cognitive process while they are translating. When translators render a certain text, there must be such problems that arise whether in the middle of the process of translating it or thereafter. According to Larson, one of the most difficult problems that translators face due to the 3 difference of geography, customs, beliefs, worldview, and various other factors is a problem related to the cultural differences 1984: 163. In addition, because of different backgrounds and experiences, translators might apply different tactics even to cope with similar problems. Consequently, how different people with different backgrounds translate a text is a remarkably fascinating topic to study. This study focuses on the observation of the translation process done by subjects in which it emphasizes their ways to solve the problems they might undergo in undertaking a written translation task. The ways might include decision-making towards particular translation strategies applied during the translation process. Such an activity is recorded using a screen recording method SRM, for later being transcribed and scrutinized in depth to look for which stage where a discrepancy between the SL and TL happens. The subjects of this study are an English Letters student of semester seven from Sanata Dharma University and an English Education student of semester seven from Yogyakarta State University. They are assigned to translate a text type, i.e. a literary text. Each of them has some experience of translating literary texts. This research attempts to observe the dissimilarities in their processes of translating the text caused by different academic, cultural, or other backgrounds. This research is worth studying as readers can observe translation problems that translators might encounter during the translation process. In addition, translators can comprehend and solve the translation problems. Then, they can have enhanced awareness on a person’s mental process while translating. 4

B. Problem Formulation