A TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF NEOLOGISMS FROM ENGLISH INTO BAHASA INDONESIA IN TV SERIES “SEX AND THE CITY
A TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF NEOLOGISMS FROM ENGLISH INTO BAHASA INDONESIA IN TV SERIES “SEX AND THE CITY SEASON 6” THESIS
Submitted as
A partial Fulfillment of Requirements For The Sarjana Degree in English Department Faculty Of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University
Submitted by : INDAH MULYAWATI
C1307505
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY SURAKARTA 2012
PRONOUNCEMENT
Name : Indah Mulyawati NIM : C1307505
Stated wholeheartedly that the thesis entitled “A Translation Analysis of Neologisms From English Into Bahasa Indonesia In TV Series “Sex And The
City Season 6” is originally made by the researcher. It is not a plagiarism nor made by others. The things related to other people’s work are written in quotation
and included in the bibliography. If it is later discovered and proven that this pronouncement is falsehood, the researcher willingly accepts any penalty from English Department Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University.
Surakarta, April, 2012
Indah Mulyawati
DEDICATION
With all my heart,
Only, I dedicate this thesis for: The worthiest treasure of my life, My parents, Bapak , and Ibu .
MOTTO
“Cultivate your hunger before you idealize, M otivate your anger to make them all realize”
(Courtesy of my heart in “WIND” by AKEBOSHI)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdullillahirrobil „alamin
Here, I’ve got a confession to make, in this long journey, in this long waiting, in the name of God,
I just want to say, “Thanks God”. Firstly, I present
all the praise and gratitude to The Author of My Life, Allah SWT, the Lord who makes me believe in strength within weakness, and the one who becomes my place to take pace a possibility within incapability.
Through His great doing to the completion of this thesis, He makes me thankful in every second I breathe; I’m still in this earth, in His blessed world.
And so, through His graceful plan, I acknowledge that I could not finish this thesis successfully without supports from those below who are kind-hearted in my journey of life. Therefore, in this opportunity, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to these following great hearts:
1. Drs. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed, Ph.D, as the Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts of Sebelas Maret University.
2. Drs. S. Budi Waskito, M.Pd, as the head of English Non-Regular Program of Sebelas Maret University, thank you for the time, advice and guidance.
3. Prof. Drs. M.R Nababan, M.ed, M.A, Ph.D, as my thesis consultant, thank you for advices during the arrangement of this thesis.
4. Dra. Endang S. A, M.S, as my academic consultant. Thank you for the advice and guidance during the academic year.
5. All lecturers of English program, thanks for the knowledge you all share.
6. Pak Heri, Pak Dion, And Bu Yunita who become my raters, thank you so much. Special thank for Pak Dion for validating my data.
7. For my family, thanks for the love, and the special one, for the true Rock and Roll, my parents, Bapak and Ibu, thank you. You teach me so well. Your love is the knowledge all I need. In my eyes, you are the umbrellas which block the rain and calm me down while shivering cold with no shelter. Thanks for showing me to the B-I-
G thing, “A big-girl-in-a-big-world-with-a big-heart”. Every passion needs G thing, “A big-girl-in-a-big-world-with-a big-heart”. Every passion needs
I love you all.
8. All my friends, in English Non-Regular Program especially Translation study and other programs as well. Thanks for being around, and born to my world. I cannot write one by one, but, obviously, you’re written in the courtesy of mytube. Don’t
worry, Guys. Nothing to say, but, you all rock. You are the joy and the love, and you are the sanity and madness (for sure). Dinar, thanks for sharing everything and every moment. Special thanks for Adi Simanjuntak, thanks for your “Patronus” to sweep the “dementors” away. At your presence, at the moment, you raised my inner and outer support up within the support-less me. And to everyone, thanks for being supportive in my last minute blessing.
9. My Past, Present, and Future Tense.
10. To all things that make me feel alive. Finally, I realize that nothing is perfect and this thesis is neither. It is still far from being perfect. Therefore, it still needs comments and suggestions to make it better. Besides, this thesis is expected to be useful to the readers.
Surakarta, April, 2012
Indah Mulyawati
2. Translation Quality
a. Accuracy Scale................................................................................ 68
b. Acceptability Scale.......................................................................... 84
B. Discussion................................................................................................... 96
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusion.................................................................................................. 111
B. Suggestions................................................................................................. 112 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………….. xvi APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………… xvii
ABSTRACT
Indah Mulyawati. 2012. A Translation Analysis of Neologisms From English Into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”. Undergraduate. Thesis: English Department, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts. Sebelas Maret University.
This research is entitled “A Translation Analysis of Neologisms From English Into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”. The research is conducted, firstly, by identifying neologism-content words/phrases in TV series “Sex And The City Season 6”. By that, the research is aimed at, analyzing translation techniques applied by the translator to translate neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”, and verifying the translation quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability.
The research is a descriptive qualitative research, in which the researcher collects, arranges, and analyzes data due to certain problems in order that the researcher is able to make interpretation of data as well as draw conclusions. From the chosen source data, TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”, the data are in form of words, specifically those which are neologism-content words/ phrases. By employing purposive sampling, regarding the specific criteria of data obtained, the data obtained in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6” are 52 data. Besides, the research also applies questionnaires in compiling facts from three raters concerning translation quality, by that the facts obtained are used as the second data of the research.
After conducting the analysis, the research findings show that there are 7 techniques obtained. It comprises literal translation (44.23%), modulation (11.55%), adaptation (13.46%), compensation (13.46%), equivalence (11.55%), recognized translation (1.92%) and synonymy (3.83%). Lastly, accuracy scale notes 82.69% data are accurate data, 5.76% data are less accurate data, and 11.55% data are inaccurate data, while, the average score of accuracy scale is
1.28. In the other side, the finding of acceptability scale shows that data 80.77% are acceptable data, 11.54% data are less acceptable, and 7.69% data are unacceptable data. 1.24 is noted as the average score of acceptability scale.
SL : Source Language TL
: Target Language CB : Carrie Bradshaw
MH : Miranda Hobbes SJ
: Samantha Jones CY
: Charlotte York JJ
: Jerry Jerrod SB 1 : Steve Brady
B : Big SB 2 : Stanford Blatch
R : Robert SAC : Sex And the City R1
: Rater 1 R2
: Rater 2 R3
: Rater 3
are accurate data, 5.76% data are less accurate data, and 11.55%
Indah Mulyawati 1
2 data are inaccurate data, while, the average score of accuracy scale Prof. Drs. M.R. Nababan, M.Ed. MA. Ph.D is 1.28. In the other side, the finding of acceptability scale shows
that data 80.77% are acceptable data, 11.54% data are less acceptable, and 7.69% data are unacceptable data. 1.24 is noted as
ABSTRACT
the average score of acceptability scale.
2012. Thesis: English Department, Faculty of Letters and Fine
Arts. Sebelas Maret University. This research is entitled “A
Translation Analysis of Neologisms From English Into Bahasa
Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”. The research is conducted, firstly, by identifying neologism-content words/phrases in TV series “Sex And The City Season 6”. By that, the research is aimed at, analyzing translation techniques applied by the translator to translate neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”, and verifying the translation quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability. The research is a descriptive qualitative research, in which the researcher collects, arranges, and analyzes data due to certain problems in order that the researcher is able to make interpretation of data as well as draw conclusions. From the chosen source data, TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”, the data are in form of
words, specifically those which are neologism-content words/
phrases. By employing purposive sampling, regarding the specific
criteria of data obtained, the data obtained in TV Series “Sex And
The City Season 6” are 52 data. Besides, the research also applies
questionnaires in compiling facts from three raters concerning
translation quality, by that the facts obtained are used as the second data of the research. After conducting the analysis, the research findings show that there
are 7 techniques obtained. It comprises literal translation (44.23%),
Mahasiswa Jurusan Sastra Inggris dengan NIM C1307505 2 Dosen Pembimbing
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary notes there are 2.000 new words within its latest release in 2007. New words reflect the changes within a society, more rapid the society changes, more new words are probably created. Therefore, the new words defined as neologisms, are considered to be mirrors of social phenomena.
www.laits.utexas.edu/wiki/theory defines a term “neologism” was derived from Greek, neos means new and logos means the word, while the suffix ( –ism) forms the noun. The whole term stands for innovation in language. Meanwhile, www.erudit.org/revue/META/2006 points out neologism can also refer to an existing word or phrase which has been assigned a new meaning. Therefore, new words and phrases that are used commonly in speech but are not included in dictionaries are also regarded as neologisms. That is what makes neologisms peculiar
People are able to express their new ideas, feelings, and emotions, by constructing new words. The phenomenon of newly coined words is predictable as argued by Robins, “It is after all conceivable that a habit system should itself change over time, in response to the changing needs of its users” (Robins in Lyons, 1997: 6). It designates that human uses language as a habit system to People are able to express their new ideas, feelings, and emotions, by constructing new words. The phenomenon of newly coined words is predictable as argued by Robins, “It is after all conceivable that a habit system should itself change over time, in response to the changing needs of its users” (Robins in Lyons, 1997: 6). It designates that human uses language as a habit system to
He also adds: It is also important to recognize that, as far as the system is concerned, some kinds of extension and modification are theoretically more interesting than others. For example, the fact that new words can enter the vocabulary of a language at any time is of far less theoretical interest than is the fact that new grammatical constructions can, and do, arise in the
course of time” (ibid).
Humans characterized as language’s users are responsive to their changing needs. For instances, terms “e-mail”, “browse”, “online”, and etc are born since
“internet” is found. ”E-mail”(Electronic Mail), an action of sending mails via
internet is a breakthrough of conventional mail via post. Term “Internet”
(International Net) is coined for naming an international computer network connecting other networks and computers from companies, universities, etc. The discovery of internet, gradually, stimulates the creation of new terms concerning to features within, such as, a word “tweet” which exists in response to the existence of a social network “twitter”, and so on. Thus, it proves that people are capable to extend their vocabularies by coining new words, phrases, and terms, as their responses to their changing and progressive needs. On the other side, human’s creativity enables language to be modifiable by they combining words with others, or mix and match it with something else in accordance with their (International Net) is coined for naming an international computer network connecting other networks and computers from companies, universities, etc. The discovery of internet, gradually, stimulates the creation of new terms concerning to features within, such as, a word “tweet” which exists in response to the existence of a social network “twitter”, and so on. Thus, it proves that people are capable to extend their vocabularies by coining new words, phrases, and terms, as their responses to their changing and progressive needs. On the other side, human’s creativity enables language to be modifiable by they combining words with others, or mix and match it with something else in accordance with their
In Indonesia as well as other countries, such media as television, advertisement, magazines, songs, and so on frequently popularize neologisms. A term “gpl”, an abbreviation of “Ga Pake Lama” is popularized by a fast food advertisement that can be seen in commercial breaks during television’s programs.
The term, in Standard English, has the closest meaning with “A.S.A.P (As Soon
As Possible)”. Another example is a term “Sephia” firstly coined by an Indonesian group band in one of their song title. It refers to a person who becomes
someone’s affair. New words are common phenomena in the world to reflect particular conditions of persons or a society, which can change after one to
another. Thus, it is not bound to people in America or people in Europe, but also those in Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and all over the world. Moreover, the usage of social media nowadays, enables people throughout the world to get connected. At last, the presence of social media has successfully changed how people socialize. Now, people are able to get along with others through both conventional way and virtual one. Undoubtedly, such media enables the users to greatly influence each other by information that they share right away, including new words or expressions. To follow up the phenomenon, Karaveitseva states that
“Neologisms tend to occur more often in cultures which are rapidly changing, or
in a situation where there is easy and fast propagation of informati on” 1 . In line
with it, media, either printed or electronic, highly contribute in the creation of with it, media, either printed or electronic, highly contribute in the creation of
Neologism has been an interesting issue in many fields. In translation field, Newmark argues that neologism is required to take into account as well as other problems such as metaphors, idioms, institutional and cultural terms (1981, p. 32). Translation of neologisms as well as metaphor, and other problems mentioned have been common issues in translation study. Adapted books, movies, and mass media from foreign language that have a progressive culture and information lead to a progressive language too. It can be a tremendous gap since lexical, contextual, social, or even cultural gap between Source Language (SL) and Target Language (TL) is possible. New words sometimes reach its popularity, so that the words are easily accepted by society. By that, they often become common language since they are used as habitual conversation in daily life. However, many cases of new words temporarily survive or even are unknown at all. They are simply left behind and paid no more attention due to its unusual and temporary usage. Thus, irreverent, and new words, identified as neologisms are definitely troublesome for many translators. In this research, the researcher uses film as source data. Sometimes, neologisms in a film reflect phenomena and references in the film that do not conceptualize a worldwide acceptance by public, which is in contrary in the case of invention of technology. In this case, to enable Target Readers to understand the film story as Source Readers do, sensibility is Neologism has been an interesting issue in many fields. In translation field, Newmark argues that neologism is required to take into account as well as other problems such as metaphors, idioms, institutional and cultural terms (1981, p. 32). Translation of neologisms as well as metaphor, and other problems mentioned have been common issues in translation study. Adapted books, movies, and mass media from foreign language that have a progressive culture and information lead to a progressive language too. It can be a tremendous gap since lexical, contextual, social, or even cultural gap between Source Language (SL) and Target Language (TL) is possible. New words sometimes reach its popularity, so that the words are easily accepted by society. By that, they often become common language since they are used as habitual conversation in daily life. However, many cases of new words temporarily survive or even are unknown at all. They are simply left behind and paid no more attention due to its unusual and temporary usage. Thus, irreverent, and new words, identified as neologisms are definitely troublesome for many translators. In this research, the researcher uses film as source data. Sometimes, neologisms in a film reflect phenomena and references in the film that do not conceptualize a worldwide acceptance by public, which is in contrary in the case of invention of technology. In this case, to enable Target Readers to understand the film story as Source Readers do, sensibility is
Neologism is basically an everyday phenomenon. It can be part of cultural communication within a country as well as among countries. As a means for mass entertainment, television nowadays offers a wide variety of programs. Those cover both feature film and TV series, and some other kinds of entertainment. The exchange of information through such media seems to increase over years. Besides, the entertainment world touches many areas in our life, such as, through television, magazines, newspapers, etc. The exchange of information can be
encountered through many ways, like distribution of CD’s, VCD’s, or DVD’s from a country entering to a country outside. The distribution of those kinds of home entertainment tends to be preferable for some people due to many factors, such as an economical reason in which a person is able to watch a film in a VCD bought in home rather than in a theater. Concerning with this, distribution of film
VCD’s from world entertainment industries, such as Hollywood, HBO (Home Box Office), etc and those from U.S becomes most wanted including in Indonesia.
A great variety of story, motion picture technology, and worldwide strategy of promotion lead them into a major of popularity. In a mass production, many producers have been aware of language variety, regarding from which language of
a film is produced, and where it is re-distributed. The story can only be understood if it is translated into consumers’ language. This is expected that
people are able to understand the film story in the language they speak. Film translation or subtitling commonly applied in VCDs or television programs is people are able to understand the film story in the language they speak. Film translation or subtitling commonly applied in VCDs or television programs is
Subtitling version of film is identified through written forms of language appearing in the bottom of screen. It appears in a synchronized way to the running images. In this method, the original dialogues remain available, at the same time, the written or translated version of verbal expressions that the characters speak appears in a written form. By that, through the change of medium, from spoken to written form, the form of translation is called as subtitling, In addition to the
medium, the “subtitler” have to synchronize between the dialogues spoken, the image on the screen and the subtitles in order that the viewers can understand the
story. Linguistics and cultural values will always be inevitable problems in written translation. In film translation, it gets more critical. It is true while seen through the limitation of time and space. Moreover, the translated version should be synchronized to scenes while the image is in progress. Therefore, both factors have to be considered more. Each factor has norms, such as the amount of characters, line, and time. It is patterned that two lines are the maximal line to be allowed with 30-35 characters for each line. Meanwhile, a line should range only in 2-3 seconds, so that it is approximately 5-6 seconds for two lines. Sometimes, the image goes faster, and at the moment, the problem goes worse as well. If some information is reduced, it is the only solution to overcome the problems. Furthermore, other aspects in translation previously mentioned are not easy to handle too.
Dealing with this interest, the researcher proposes TV Series “Sex and
The City Season 6” as source data of this research. Translation study dealing with The City Season 6” as source data of this research. Translation study dealing with
neologisms, dialogue about women, and their problematic life. In “Sex And The
City”, despite, it is fictitious, its neologisms commonly deal with reality since the experiences the characters have can be other young women’s experience in a real life too. The phenomena within the series portrait self-sufficient women getting through their life, such as falling in love, disappointment, broken heart, making friend, which those are verbalized into women’s subjectivity-based point of views,
etc. The characters are used to un/consciously coin uncommon and unique words, which are even peculiar to them selves, but make sense, to express their ideas about trivial things into serious one.
Concerning to neologisms in the series, one of its data acquired in this research is as follows: Example I:
00:14:T20/IV/019/SAC-CB/SL
With her high school boyfriend, Charlotte doodled. With Harry, she jewdled.
The difficulty is identified to a word in bold and italic. “Jewdled” is an
irreverent word coined by one of characters in the series, Carrie Bradshaw, in her monologue. The possible difficulty is that the word itself is unknown in common language so that it is not understandable to the translator. If it happens, all s/he can do to define its meaning is by going for related references elsewhere or its construction, where the word is attached. In this regard, the possible meaning has to be decided since the information is required to exist. The speaker, however, irreverent word coined by one of characters in the series, Carrie Bradshaw, in her monologue. The possible difficulty is that the word itself is unknown in common language so that it is not understandable to the translator. If it happens, all s/he can do to define its meaning is by going for related references elsewhere or its construction, where the word is attached. In this regard, the possible meaning has to be decided since the information is required to exist. The speaker, however,
an important role to convey the message as the speaker intends to. It becomes problematic for the translator since s/he probably misinterprets the correct meaning of the word. Just in case, the word is not identified in any dictionaries, no question, it leads the translator into confusions. How comes a translated word is understandable to target readers definitely relies upon how a translator makes decision. If the translator misunderstands, the viewers will do too automatically.
In relation to the case above, Majava in Sorvali suggests: Every utterance is the product of interaction between speakers and the social situation in which the utterance is produced. It is thus the social environment, which is regarded as the most important element. This is quite obvious for a moder n translator, in fact, so that the principle that “the social environment gives people words and control their verbal reactions”
has also become an important one in translating (1996).
Based on the statement, it is clear that supportive aspects are alternatively
thinkable. The utterance is produced based on many factors. The sentence “With Harry, she jewdled” is a sentence with referential-bound. Meaning of the word can only be clarified by a reference within paragraphs or somewhere else, excluded the sentence. Referential phenomena are inseparable to context of situation as the speaker’s response toward phenomenon she faces in the scene. Majava (in Sorvali) clearly mentions social situation. In the case above, “jewdled” is seemingly intended to make rhyme of the line. However, it is not thinkable. The utterance is produced based on many factors. The sentence “With Harry, she jewdled” is a sentence with referential-bound. Meaning of the word can only be clarified by a reference within paragraphs or somewhere else, excluded the sentence. Referential phenomena are inseparable to context of situation as the speaker’s response toward phenomenon she faces in the scene. Majava (in Sorvali) clearly mentions social situation. In the case above, “jewdled” is seemingly intended to make rhyme of the line. However, it is not
Apparently, in the series, the phenomena of translation of neologisms tend to be lexical with referential-bound. In relation to this, in his book, Newmark
suggests, “he must finally make some kind of guess at the word he cannot find, some compromise between the most likely contextual meaning of the word, and
the meaning suggested by the morph ology or form of the word, if such exists” (1988, 183). According to him, neologisms are “unfindable” words which are
obviously not going to be an easy duty to trace their meanings. Play with language does not denote Play with meaning. Nevertheless, Newmar k’s suggestion will be the fresh air to the translator. S/he is suggested to be sensible and think far outside as it is seen. In simple way, the translator’s duty is to translate ideas or messages of neologisms. To make equivalent effects as SL readers get, the translator has to make an accurate conveyed message in TL, in other side, it is acceptable too. S/he has to consider such aspects as topic of the scene, the speaker’s way of thinking, style of writing, and all relatable referential
phenomena in the series to have an accurate interpretation, and adjust some aspects such as TL grammatical structure and cultural background to make an acceptable translated text. Therefore, this research is aimed at identifying translation procedures applied by the translator concerning to neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV series “Sex And The City Season 6”, as well phenomena in the series to have an accurate interpretation, and adjust some aspects such as TL grammatical structure and cultural background to make an acceptable translated text. Therefore, this research is aimed at identifying translation procedures applied by the translator concerning to neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV series “Sex And The City Season 6”, as well
be given. Constraints in film translation as well as linguistic and cultural gap have challenged translators in creating perfect ideas of information. S/he has to communicate what the SL speaker s/he represents intends to communicate in such
a way as the SL speaker does to the SL viewers. In translation of neologism, a problem like loss in meaning is possible to occur. Nevertheless, like any other problems, they should be handled. Whether it is correct or not and whether it makes sense or not, these will be verified in this research.
B. Problem Statement
In this research, the researcher proposes these following problem statements:
1. What are the translation techniques applied in the translation of
neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And
The City Season 6”?
2. How is the quality of translation of neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6” in terms of
C. Research Objective
Research objectives of this research are as follows:
1. To analyze the translation techniques employed by the translator in the translation of neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series
“Sex And The City Season 6”.
2. To rate the quality of translation of neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6” in terms of accuracy, and acceptability.
D. Research Limitation
To avoid the expansion of the research, the researcher highlights the research on the translation techniques applied in the translation neologisms from English into Bahasa Indonesia in TV Series “Sex And The City Season 6”. Besides, the researcher intends to rate the translation quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability. In short, the research limitation of this research is embodied in the problem statements mentioned in the previous sub chapter.
This research, hopefully, will be beneficial for these following parties:
1. For the students of English Department, this thesis is expected to expand their knowledge and capability concerning translation studies. Besides, this research will inspire other students to give more concerns and awareness to English neologisms.
2. For the translator, the thesis is expected to give additional reference as problem solving reference so that they are able to decide a proper strategy dealing with neologism.
3. For other researchers, the thesis is expected to stimulate them in conducting further research related to English neologisms translated into Bahasa Indonesia. They are hopefully inspired to make a fresh idea related to the translation studies along with a varied and a new direction of research in translation
F. Thesis Organization
In this occasion, the researcher organizes this thesis based on these following formats: CHAPTER I :
INTRODUCTION, the chapter consists of background, problem statement, objective, problem limitation, research benefit, and thesis organization.
CHAPTER II : LITERATURE REVIEW, the chapter discusses the definition of translation, translation process, translation method, problems in equivalence, translation technique, subtitling, about “Sex and The City”, and neologism.
CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, the chapter presents about type of research, data and data source, sample and sampling technique, technique of data collection, technique of data analysis, and research procedure.
CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS, the chapter covers analysis of translation technique, the translation quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability.
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION, the chapter covers the conclusion and suggestions.
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is going to explain some literature reviews obtained from books, journals, and other literatures either published or unpublished by many parties. This chapter is aimed at supporting the research done by the researcher related to the analysis. It will be explained based on these following sub chapters.
A. Definition of Translation
Brislin in his book entitled “Application and Research” defines that
translation is 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 (1976, p. 1).
Besides, Pedersen more closely sees, “translation is generally believed
to the ‟transfer‟ of the „content‟ or „meaning‟ of given SL-text to a similar or „equivalent‟ TL-text (Pedersen, 1988: 13).
In translation, there are three important aspects to consider, they are
„transfer‟, „content‟/ „idea, and „equivalent‟. In a simple way, translation deals with finding equivalents from one language (source language) to another (target
language), to transfer a message/idea, which represents content of source text from which language are taken. This thus is expected to enable people who do not have any idea about what it is written or spoken in a language to be then language), to transfer a message/idea, which represents content of source text from which language are taken. This thus is expected to enable people who do not have any idea about what it is written or spoken in a language to be then
B. Translation process
Translation can be seen as a product or a process. Bell defines
translation as a process, translating is the process to translate; the activity rather than the tangible object (1991, p. 13).
This diagram below shows the process of translation which is adapted from Larson:
The translation process (1998, p. 4)
From the diagram, there are some steps in the process of translation. First of all to concern is the text to be translated. Knowing first what the text genre is purposively helpful in the case of what the translator deals with. This is aimed for anticipating difficulties and problems within the text. Second, the translator has to
1.Text to be translated
2. Discover the meaning
Meaning
4. Translation
3.Re- express the meaning 3.Re- express the meaning
translation without a term called “transfer”. The process ranges from the meanings/messages kept on the mind of the translator, which are thus re-
expressed into target language by taking many considerations of cultures and grammar in written form or spoken one. This step is figured on step number three.
The transfer deals with source language‟s equivalent in target language form. If the step is committed, the best thing the translator should do after all is re-reading the translated text to do some checking and quality control. This is concerned to minimize the occurrence of possible errors and mistakes during the transfer process. Besides, some such aspect as accuracy, acceptability, and readability are definitely required to be a substantial agenda in this process of translation. Hence, the translated text is produced. The translation is then completed.
C. Translation Methods
Translation methods are classified based on two emphases. They are SL emphasis and TL emphasis as proposed by Newmark. He puts it in the form of a flattened V diagram:
(1988, p. 45)
SL Emphasis TL
Word-for-word translation Adaptation Literal translation Free translation
Faithful translation Idiomatic translation Semantic translation Communicative translation
The concepts of each category will be given in these following explanations:
1. Word-for-word translation This is often demonstrated as interlinear translation, with the TL immediately below the SL words. The SL word order is preserved and the words are translated singly by their most common meanings, out of contexts.
2. Literal translation The SL grammatical constructions are converted to the nearest TL equivalents but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context.
3. Faithful translation
A faithful translation attempts to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures. It transfers cultural words and preserves the degree of grammatical and
lexical „abnormality‟ (deviation from SL norms) in the translation. It attempts to be completely faithful to the intentions and the text-realisation
of the SL writer.
4. Semantic translation Semantic translation differs from „faithful translation‟ only in as far as it 4. Semantic translation Semantic translation differs from „faithful translation‟ only in as far as it
finished versions. The distinction between „faithful‟ and „semantic‟ translation is that the first is uncompromising and dogmatic, while the
second is more flexible, adits the creative exception to 100% fidelity and allows for the tra nslator‟s intuitive empathy with the original.
5. Adaptation This is the freest form of translation. It is used mainly for plays (comedies) and poetry; the theme; characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture converted to TL culture and the text rewritten. The deplorable practice of having a play or poem literally translated and then rewritten by an established dramatists or poet has produced many poor adaptations, but other adaptations have „rescued‟ period play.
6. Free translation Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the form of the original. Usually, it is a paraphrase much longer than the original, a so- called „intralingual translation‟, often prolix and pretentious, and not translation at all.
7. Idiomatic translation Idiomatic translation reproduces the „message‟ of the original but tends to
distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialism and idioms where these do not exist in the original.
8. Communicative translation Communicative translation attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership.
(Newmark, 1988: 45- 47)
D. Problems in equivalence
Finding equivalents is a very important thing during the translation process. This is along with Catford (1965, p. 21) who says, “the central problem
of translation practice is that of finding TL translation-equivalents. A central task of translation theory is that defining the nature and conditions of translation equivalence”. The success of a translator is when he is able to find the proper and
understandable equivalents to the readers. In doing this job, it is not easy since some problems in equivalence probably emerge during translation process.
A good translation is a combination between two aspects, called meaning and style, as stated below: “…translators are talking about an equivalence that goes far beyond either
word-for-word or sentence-by-sentence translation –an equivalence which includes the content message of a total text, the intention of the author, and an equivalence of genre and style. This concept of overall equivalence is thought to produce a more accurate translated text which naturally communicates in a literally style that is pleasing and understandable to the receptor language reading audience” (Hohulin in Noss, 2005: p. 101).
Nida in Bassnett (2002, p. 33) distinguishes two types of equivalence, Nida in Bassnett (2002, p. 33) distinguishes two types of equivalence,
Nida calls this type of translation a „gloss translation‟, which aims to allow the reader to understand as much of the source language context as possible. Dynamic
equivalence is based on the principle of equivalent effect, i.e. that the relationship between receiver and message should aim at being the same as that between the original receivers and the source language message.
Baker (1992) investigates that there are some common problems on non- equivalence in translation especially in word level. Those problems are going to
be explained as follows:
a. Culture-specific concepts Th is problem is described as “the source-language word may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target language; it may relate to a
religious belief, a special custom, or even a type of food” (Baker, 1992: p. 21).
Example: Cultural terms, such as “sekaten”, “mitoni”, and “selapanan”, and type of food, like, “gudeg” are only known among Javanese. They have become a hand-on tradition in Javanese culture which can not be found in other traditions in Indonesia, moreover, in other countries.
b. The source-language concept is not lexicalized in the target language. Baker states that this kind of problem is as “the source-language word may
express a concept which is known in the target language but simply not lexicalized, that is not „allocated‟ a target-language to express it.” (Baker,
Example: Terms like “Jet lag” and “Vandalism”. “Jet lag” is a flight syndrome; a common phenomenon for persons who go through a journey in a flight, like headache, confusion, so on. The concept of vandalism tends to be less disciplinary and destructive actions of few communities toward public facilities in England in early twentieth century. Both concept are known in Indonesia, but, to represent the situation, there is no
a perfect equivalent, except, by naturalization.
c. The source-language word is semantically complex. It happens whenever a single word of source language expresses a more complex set of meanings than a whole sentence. Or, the source-language word may be semantically complex. (Baker, 1992: p. 22) Example: An English word, “recyclable” has more than one component of meaning in Indonesia. Its meaning is traced by each morpheme, “re”, “cycle”, and, “able”. By then, the word can be translated into “bisa didaur ulang.” This means that a word in one language can not always be considered to be one word in another language.
d. The source and the languages make different distinctions in meaning. Baker explains that the target language may make more of fewer distinctions in meaning in the source-language. (Baker, 1992: p. 22) Example: In Indonesia, the concept of “mengalah” is completely different with “kalah”. Whereas, in English, it is difficult to find a word representing a concept of “mengalah”, while, to find the concept of “kalah” is easier. “Mengalah” in Indonesia is a concept of consciously d. The source and the languages make different distinctions in meaning. Baker explains that the target language may make more of fewer distinctions in meaning in the source-language. (Baker, 1992: p. 22) Example: In Indonesia, the concept of “mengalah” is completely different with “kalah”. Whereas, in English, it is difficult to find a word representing a concept of “mengalah”, while, to find the concept of “kalah” is easier. “Mengalah” in Indonesia is a concept of consciously
word „facilities‟, which means any equipment, building, services, and etc. in fact, it has several specific words and expression that can be said as types of facilities.
Example: sredstva peredvizheniya („means of transportation‟), neobkhodimye pomeschcheniya („essential accomodation‟), and neobkhodimoe aorudovanie („essential equipment‟) (Baker, 1992: p. 22, 23).
f. The target language lacks a specific term (hyponym). This problem is explained as “languages tend to have general words
(superordinate), but lack specific ones (hyponyms), since each language makes only those distinctions in meaning which seems relevant to its particular environment”. (Baker, 1992: p. 23)
Example: In English, there are many words in specific forms that are difficult to find the equivalence in many languages, such as „house‟ has many hyponyms; they are bungalow, cottage, croft, chalet, lodge, hut, mansion, manor, villa, and hall.
g. Different in physical or interpersonal perspective.
Baker (1992, p. 23) states that “physical perspective has to do with where things or people are in relation to one another or to place”. Perspective may also have relation between participants in the discourse (tenor). Example: Indonesia is rich with vernacular language, for example, Javanese language. In Javanese language, there is a hierarchical rule in which people should pay attention to whom they speak, whether they are in the same age, younger or older one. They are called as “ngoko”, “krama madya”, “krama alus” In simple way, “ngoko” is used for those toward their younger age or at the same age in casual conversation,
“krama madya” is used by those at the same age and to their older age in semi-formal occasion, and “krama alus” is used for those toward someone they should respect, like parents, etc, or used in a formal situation like Javanese wedding ceremony. For example, an Indonesia word, “tidur”, has three equivalents in Javanese language. They are “turu” (ngoko), “tilem” (krama madya), “sare” (krama alus).
h. Differences in expressive meaning. There may be a target language word that has the same propositional meaning as the source language, but it may have different expressive meaning. If the target language equivalent is neutral compared to source language item, a translator may add the evaluative element to make the word more expressive. (Baker, 1992: p. 23) Example: English word, “rage” is known as an expression of uncontrolled emotion of anger, and when it is translated into Indonesia, it is less expressive, if it is simply translated into “kemarahan”. It will be more h. Differences in expressive meaning. There may be a target language word that has the same propositional meaning as the source language, but it may have different expressive meaning. If the target language equivalent is neutral compared to source language item, a translator may add the evaluative element to make the word more expressive. (Baker, 1992: p. 23) Example: English word, “rage” is known as an expression of uncontrolled emotion of anger, and when it is translated into Indonesia, it is less expressive, if it is simply translated into “kemarahan”. It will be more
E. Translation technique
The translation techniques are listed as follows:
1. Literal Translation Literal translation and word- for -word translation are distinguishable.
Word for word translation transfers SL grammar and word order, as well as the primary meaning of the SL word, into the translation, and it is normally effective only for brief simple neutral sentences (Newmark, 1988: 69). Meanwhile, literal translation tends to be grammatically accepted to target language. For example: “He takes a break, is translated into “Dia berisirahat.” In this grammatical structure, “take a break” is literally translated into “beristirahat.” On the other hand, in this sentence, “he breaks the rules”, the word, “break”, literally means “melanggar.”
2. Transference This procedure is the process of transferring a SL word to a TL text as a
translation procedure (Ne wmark, 1988: 81). The word then becomes a “loan word.” For example, “He sent me an email, is translated into “Dia mengirim email padaku .” Transference is applied in term, “email.” “Email” has its Indonesia‟s equivalent, “Surel”, people commonly use its adopted word, “email”,
instead.