View of A STUDY OF TRANSLATION BASED MEANING VARIATIONS AS REFLECTED IN JOHN STEINBECK’S OF MICE AND MEN AND PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER’S TIKUS DAN MANUSIA

  

A STUDY OF TRANSLATION BASED MEANING VARIATIONS AS

REFLECTED IN JOHN STEINBECK’S OF MICE AND MEN AND

PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER’S TIKUS DAN MANUSIA

  

Chusna Apriyanti

Dosen STKIP PGRI Pacitan

E-mail: chusna.apriyanti@ gmail.com

  Abstract:

  The objectives of this research were to find out the meaning variations between John Steinbeck’s of Mice and Men (original version) and Premoedya Ananta Toer’s Tikus dan Manusia (translated version) and the probable reasons that motivate the occurrence of meaning variations between John Steinbeck’s of Mice and Men (original version) and Premoedya Ananta Toer’s Tikus dan Manusia (translated version). This research was descriptive quantitative research. The data were gathered through reading both of

  

the novels and putting the clauses into the table to be analyzed. The results showed

  that the meaning differences between SL and TL were classified into seven levels of meaning differences: the lowest differences, very low differences, low differences, medium differences, high differences, very high differences, and the highest differences. The meaning differences were caused by eleven factors, namely the element and clause omission, the element and clause addition, the changing of word, the different sense of word, the use of informal word in SL and the formal word in TL, the deletion of marking relationship/conjunction between clauses, the use of idioms, the use of active formation in SL and passive formation in TL, the changing of back and forth formation or structure shift.

  Keywords: meaning differences, interpersonal meanings, novel Abstrak:

  Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mencari variasi makna dalam novel berjudul Of Mice and Men karya John Steinbeck dan novel terjamahan berjudul Of Mice and Men karya terjemahan Pramoedya Ananta Toer dan juga mencari kemungkinan penyebab variasi makna diantara kedua novel tersebut. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian deskriptif kualitatif. Data diambil melalui kegiatan membaca kedua jenis novel, kemudian memasukkan klausa ke dalam tabel analisis data. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perbedaan makna antara nove asli dan novel terjemahan dikasifikasikan menjadi tujuh tingkatan makna, yaitu perbedaan paling rendah, perbedaan sangat rendah, perbedaan rendah, perbedaan sedang, perbedaan tinggi, perbedaan sangat tinggi, dan perbedaan tertinggi. Perbedaan makna tersebut disebabkan oleh sebelas faktor yaitu: pengurangan kata dan klausa, penambahan kata dan klausa, pergantian kata, perbedaan arti kata, penggunaan kata informal di bahasa sumber dan kata formal di bahasa sasaran, penghilangan penanda hubungan/penghubung antar klausa, penggunaan idiom, penggunaan bentuk kalimat

  

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  Chusna Apriyanti, A Study of Translation Based Meaning Variations, ... 1073

  Literature is permeating endlessly. It means there is no “expired date” for its development. Nowadays, the reader still can read the classic literary works that are written in Elizabethan period. Literary work is also developed globally around the world. Even though the setting of the literary work may be limited in the particular place and period, the story or content inside the literary work can be read widespread in long period of time.

  Due to the factors above, literary works are possible to be translated into many languages to widen the readers’ scope. For example, Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist is translated into 40 languages around the world. In recent years, it has been admitted that translation plays an important role in human lives because it helps the people from different culture and linguistic background read the text from the different languages.

  Talking about translation, Bell states that translation includes two terms; they are the process of translation and the product of translation (1991: 13). Generally, the process of translation is the act of giving the meaning (written or spoken) into another language. The most important aspect in the process of translation is transferring the meaning. It means that the process of translation is not creating a new meaning, but recreating the original meaning into another form of language. The wide differences in meaning between Source Language (SL) and Target Language (TL) should be avoided because it can create the different perspectives among the readers.

  Nida and Taber st at e t hat in t he translation process, the translator should focus firstly in terms of meaning and second in terms of style (1982:13). When the meaning in SL can be transferred accurately into TL, the problem is not ended there because the translator should also care of the form (style). For example, traditional way because the naturalness of the translated text is more important in translation. In this case, the translator should not only master in both of languages, but also know the other elements (contextual elements) of the two texts such as culture and situation (Butt et al, 2003: 3). Here, to keep the accurate meaning between text 1 and text 2, the translator may change the form.

  Sometimes, a translator cannot fulfill all the criteria for the acceptable translation because of many factors. Those factors may include, (1) the ability of the translator that includes the lack of vocabulary knowledge, (2) the complex language system of each language that differ from one to another in terms of many ways and not just in grammar subjects, (3) the type of source text. All of these factors can influence the product of translation.

  Unlike translating other texts, translating literary works need much attention. There are many problems related to translating literary works. The translator should play attention to the intrinsic and extrinsic elements of the novel. In Indonesia, there are many translators of foreign literary works. For example, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Asrul Sani, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Trisno Sumardjo, and Chairil Anwar. They translated many English literary works into Indonesian language. Indonesian readers can read novels through the translated version if they have no ability in English language. One example is a novel entitled “of Mice and Men” written by John Steinbeck that was translated into Bahasa Indonesia entitled “Tikus dan Manusia” by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. In this novel, there are many variations in meaning between SL and TL.

  METHOD

  This research was descriptive quantitative research. The data were collected from English

  original novel of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck and the Indonesian translated novel

  aktif di bahasa sumber dan kalimat pasif di bahasa sasaran, dan perubahan susunan kata atau pergeserak struktur kalimat.

  Kata kunci:

  perbedaan makna, makna interpersonal, novel

  1074 Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan, Vol. 7, Nomor 1, Juni 2015, hlm. 1043-1124

entitled Tikus dan Manusia by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The data in this research were gathered

through reading both of the novels (the original version and the translated version) and putting the

clauses into the table to be analyzed. After the data were collected, the researcher analyzed them

in several steps: (1) selecting the clause in text 1 and text, (2) analyzing the data by using the table

instrument, (3) recording and counting the result of the data analysis in the tables into the statistic

table, (4) explaining the result of the table, (5) interpreting the motivating factors of variations, (6)

drawing the conclusion.

  Table 1: the parameter used for analyzing the data.

  Functional Element Variations 0=lowest 1=very low 2=low 3=medium 4=high 5=very high 6=highest Degree of No Clauses Meaning Variation in Variation

  Interpersonal Meaning SL

  TL = SL

  TL

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  

  1 Same number of functional element between SL and TL Same number of functional element between SL and TL

  2 One different number of functional element  One different number of functional element

  

  3 Two different number of functional elements Two different number of functional elements

  4 Three different number of functional elements  Three different number of functional elements

  

  5 Four different number of functional elements Four different number of functional elements

  

  6 Five different number of functional elements Five different number of functional elements

  7 Six or more different number of functional elements  Six or more different number of functional elements

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

  Table 2: Level of Meaning Differences

  Meaning Variations

LEVEL OF MEANING DIFFERENCES

  The analysis of interpersonal meaning

  CHAP-

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6  TER differences is divided into six levels of differences.

  1 372 229

  46

  14

  1 18 680

  They are “0” or the lowest differences, “1” or very low differences, “2” or low differences, “3”

  2 560 212

  61

  19

  5

  4 37 898

  or medium differences, “4” or high differences,

  3 566 544 168

  51

  18

  8 64 1418

  “5” or very high differences, and “6” or the

  4 483 175

  46

  8 6 103 821

  highest differences. Each criterion of these levels

  5 578 214

  64

  15

  10 5 204 1090

  is described in the table of data instrument in

  2559 1373 385 107

  40 17 426 4908 

  chapter III. The result of the analysis is presented

  52.14

  27.98

  7.85

  2.18

  0.81

  0.36 8.68 100

  in the table below:

  % % % % % % % %

• --- --- --- ---

  Nyonya,”

  A S F/P C “5” meaning difference

  minor clause adjunct

   “4” meaning difference

  The “4” scale means that the clause in SL and the one in TL have four different functional elements. Here is an example of “4” meaning difference:

  Chapter 5 SL ‘Nother time I met a guy an’he was in pitchers

  A S F/P C A S F A TL Suatu pagi aku bertemu dgn seorang seniman.

  Chapter 4 SL ------ I Never knew ----- ---- till long later

  The “5” scale means that the clause in SL and the one in TL have five different functional elements. Here is an example of “5” meaning difference:

• S A F/P A TL Waktu

  Chapter 4 SL “Yes, ma’am,” and his voice was toneless -------- minor clause adjunct subject finite comple- ment TL “Ya,

  itu aku tak tahu sebab- nya

  Dan lama kemudian aku me- nger ti

  A S A F/P C A A S F/P “6” meaning difference

  The “6” scale means that the clause in SL and the one in TL have one or more different functional elements or no realization in SL or TL. Here is the example of “6” meaning difference:

• adjunct ------- (finite) predicator Adjunct

   “3” meaning difference

  The “3” scale means that the clause in SL and the one in TL have three different functional elements. Here is an example of “3” scale of meaning difference:

  TL ------- kemudian ------- meng- hampiri Kedung

  Chapter 1 SL and then he stepped to the pool adjunct adjunct subject (finite) predicator Adjunct

  The “2” scale means that the clause in SL and the one in TL have two different functional elements. Here is an example of “2” scale of meaning difference:

   “2” meaning difference

  TL dan Aku Membilangi --------- Lagi adjunct Subject (finite) predicator adjunct

  Chapter 1 SL and I Tell you Again adjunct Subject (finite) predicator complement Adjunct

  The “1” scale means that the clause in SL and the one in TL have one different functional element. Here is an example:

  “1” meaning difference

  Chapter 1 SL George unslung his bindle Subject (finite) predicator Complement TL George melepaskan Bawaannya Subject (finite) predicator Complement

  “0” meaning difference The “0” scale means that the clause has the same functional elements both in SL and the one in TL.. Here is an example of “0” difference:

  According to the data above, the analysis is divided into six scales of differences. The explanation is presented below:

  Chusna Apriyanti, A Study of Translation Based Meaning Variations, ... 1075

  Chapter 5 SL Ever’body likes that TL No clause realization The data above are drawn into the chart: Figure 2: Chart of Meaning Differences in

• ------ --------- ------- ---------- dengan suara kosong.

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  Chapter 5 SL Maybe if I took this pup out and throwed him away TL Barangkali kalau aku buang bangkai ini

  Chapter 5 SL Sniveled finite/predicator TL Ia Menelan sedan subject finite/predicator adjunct

  Element addition means that the translator adds one or more elements in translating SL into TL. In this case, the TL is longer than SL. Here is an example of element addition:

  The addition Element Addition

  There are many expressions in SL that use the conjunction in the clauses. In TL, the use of conjunction between clauses is reduced and the translator prefers to combine two actions into one action.\

  SL Lennie sat in the hay and looked at a little dead puppy that lay in front of him. TL Lennie duduk melihat bangkai anak anjing yang ada di depannya.

  Another example:

  The analysis above is the example of clause omission. The translator combines two clauses in SL into one clause in TL. The TL is simpler than SL because the translator reduces one action “took”. For the TL’s readers or the readers of translated version, this clause is quite unimportant and it can be deleted from the text without reducing complex important meaning. The readers can imagine they throw something. Before that, they take the dead body. Therefore, without mentioning or translating the clause “took this pup out”, the reader still can accept the original meaning from SL.

  Clause omission means that the translator omits one or more clauses in translating SL into TL. Sometimes, the translator combines two or more clauses into one clause. Here is an example of clause omission:

  The percentage of meaning differences: Figure 3: Percentage of Meaning Differences in

  Clause Omission

  Chapter 5 SL Lennie sat in the hay Subject finite/predicator Adjunct TL Lennie duduk Subject finite/predicator The analysis above is the example of element omission. SL consists of three elements: Lennie (as the subject), sat (as the finite/ predicator), and in the hay (as the adjunct), while TL consists of two elements: Lennie (as the subject) and duduk (as the finite/predicator). This makes the differences in meaning in SL and in the one in TL. It makes the readers of TL or the translated version not knows the place of Lennie because the translator omits the adjunct of place (in the hay).

  TL. Here is an example of element omission:

  Element Omission Element omission means the translator omit one or more elements in translating SL into

  The omission

  The motivating factors are the factors that motivate the existence of differences in SL and TL. Based on the research finding, it can be concluded that the differences between SL and TL is very low. It is supported by the number of “0” differences or the lowest differences between SL and TL (52.14%). Besides, it is also supported by the number of SL=TL degree differences as the majority degree (52.22%). Those conditions are caused by eleven factors. They are:

  Probable Factors for having Meaning Differences

  Interpersonal Meaning

  The analysis above is the example of element addition. SL consists of one element: sniveled (as the finite/predicator) and TL consists

  Chusna Apriyanti, A Study of Translation Based Meaning Variations, ... 1077

  of three elements: ia (as the subject), menelan (as the finite/predicator) and sedan (as the adjunct). This makes the meaning in SL different from the meaning in TL.

  Clause addition

  Clause addition means that the translator adds one or more clauses in translating SL into TL. Here is an example of clause addition:

  Chapter 5 SL When she didn’t answer TLWaktu dilihatnya bahwa perempuan itu tak

  Chapter 2 SL and looked underneath it. TL dan memeriksa bawahnya. In this example, the word “looked” is translated into memeriksa. This does not cause any meaning differences between SL and TL. However, it makes the sense of word different. The word memeriksa needs detail action of looking but the word “looked” does not need detail action.

Chapter 2 SL George turned on Lennie. TL George memandang Lennie. In this example, the word “turned on” is

  The synonym Changing the Word

  Changing t he word means t hat t he translator changes the exact literal meaning of SL in translating into TL. The translator sometimes changes it into the more general word or more specific word.

  Chapter 2 SL I told his old lady TL aku berkata pada emaknya In this example, the ‘old lady” in SL is translated into “emaknya” in TL. Actually, this does not cause meaning differences in the analysis between SL and TL. However, it reduces the value of subject because “old lady” is general and “emaknya” is more specific.

  Another example:

  The analysis above is the example of clause addition. The translator translates one clause in SL into two clauses in TL. The word “dilihatnya” in TL has no synonym in SL. This process makes TL longer and more complex than SL.

  juga menjawab

  translated into memandang. This does not cause any meaning differences in SL and TL. However, it makes the sense of word different. The word

  memandang implies that the action involves the

  eye, but in the word “turned on” implies that the action is more complex. The readers in TL need to turn their body beside looking of Lennie.

  Chapter 2 SL You was gonna leave your big fl apper shut TL Katanya kau menutup mulut In this example, the word “big flapper” is translated into the word “mulut”. Actually, in Indonesian, the word “flapper” is “katup”. Therefore, it sounds harsh to the reader that the translator changes it into “mulut”.

  Informal vs. Formal Word

  Informal vs. formal word means that the translator uses formal word in translating SL into TL even though the author of SL uses many informal words.

  Chapter 1 SL Jus’ gonna stan’ there.” TL Cuma berdiri saja.” In the example above, it is clear that the author of SL prefers to use informal word. There are many examples found in SL.

  Idiom

  The translator changes the idiom in SL into the common expression in TL. Here is the example of idiom:

  Chapter 2 SL Yes sir. Jesus, we had fun. TL Ya, tuan. Ya rasul, alangkah senang. In this example,”Jesus” is translated into “Rasul”. Different sense of the word Different sense of word means that the translator changes the synonym of TL into different lexical meaning. The words in SL are changed into more general or more specific words. Here is an example of different sense of word:

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  Chapter 5 SL Don’t try to put nothing over on me.’ TL jangan bohongi The other example: Chapter 1 SL You keep me in hot water all the time. TL “Engkau cencang aku ini dengan kesusahan.”

  The author uses many idioms in the novel and the translator changes them into more general sentences.

  Different Formation and Arrangement Active-passive

  The differences in using voice are found in SL and TL. The author uses active voice and the translator changes it into passive voice. Here is the example of active-passive changing:

Chapter 2 SL He hooked his thumbs in his belt TL Disangkutkan jempolnya pada gesper

  The arrangement and formation in SL and TL is different. SL is in the active clause form and TL is in the passive clause form. Usually, Indonesian people prefer to use the passive form. This does not make any differences in meaning.

  Back and Forth Formation

  Back and forth formation means that the translator changes the position of elements in translating SL and TL.

  Chapter 5 SL Lennie explained patiently. TL sabar Lennie menerangkan. This example does not cause the meaning differences in SL and TL because it is only the position of element that is changed. In SL, the formation is subject+ finite/predicator + adjunct, TL is adjunct in the beginning, and it is followed by subject+ finite/predicator.

  sabuk

  Based on the result of the research, here are the conclusions that can be drawn: 1) the results of this research showed that the meaning differences between SL and TL were classified into seven levels of meaning differences: the “0” or the lowest differences (52.14%), “1” or very low differences (27.98%), “2” or low differences (7.85%), “3” or medium differences (2.18%), “4” or high differences (0.81%), “5” or very high differences (0.36%), and “6” or the highest differences (8.68); 2) the meaning differences between SL and TL are caused by eleven factors. They are: (1) the omission of elements and the omission of clauses from the expression of SL into TL; (2) the addition of elements and the addition of clauses from the expression of SL into TL; (3) the use of synonym of words from SL to TL that does not cause high differences; (4) the use of informal words in SL and formal words in TL; (5) the use of marking (connectors) between clauses in SL; (6) the use of idioms in SL that change into usual expressions in TL; (7) the different formation between SL and TL (SL use active form and TL use passive form) and the changing of back and forth formation.

  Suggestions

  The researcher suggests the research for the following parties: 1) translator, the translator should be careful in translating literary works especially novel. He should limit the variations between the original novel and translation novel. The great number of variations or differences can change different messages and contents of the original novel. It means that the readers of translated version novel cannot get the same information as the one in the original novel; 2) other Researchers; there are still many other fields in the translation of literary works that can be researched. The other researchers can research other features of translation.

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