The Translation of Language Play From English Into Chinese in Schulz's 'Snoopy'.
ABSTRACT
Dalam skripsi ini, saya akan membahas penerjemahan dalam
permainan bahasa yang terdapat dalam seri komik terkenal, Snoopy, yang
ditulis oleh Charles M. Schulz.
Skripsi ini menyoroti jenis-jenis permainan bahasa dalam lima seri komik
Inggris beserta terjemahannya dalam bahasa China. Dalam menganalisis
permainan bahasa, saya menggunakan teori Cook dan Crystal. Aspek-aspek
kebahasaan yang terdapat dalam kajian saya berupa Fonologi, Morfologi,
Semantik, Pragmatik. Sementara itu, teori penerjemahan yang saya gunakan
adalah teori Hatim dan Munday.
Bentuk permainan bahasa yang saya temukan dalam seri komik ini
merupakan kombinasi dari eksploitasi bahasa di mana bahasa digunakan
secara maksimal dan unik/tidak biasa oleh pengguna bahasa serta manipulasi
bahasa yang berupa penyimpangan aturan-aturan tata bahasa. Pada dasarnya,
orang senang bermain dengan bahasa dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Penulis
komik Snoopy, Schulz, juga memasukkan beragam permainan bahasa ke
dalam karyanya sehingga orang sering merasa terhibur dengan permainan
bahasa yang biasanya menimbulkan efek humor/kelucuan.
Tetapi ketika permainan bahasa itu diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa lain
(China), ketidakakuratan penerjemahan sering terjadi baik dalam aspek bentuk
maupun makna kata. Metode penerjemahan yang digunakan oleh penerjemah
juga disoroti dalam skripsi ini sebab sangatlah penting hubungannya dengan
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keakuratan penerjemahan.
Jika teks sumber diterjemahkan secara tidak akurat ke dalam teks
sasaran, efek yang ditimbulkan bagi pembaca akan menjadi berbeda. Bahkan hal
ini mungkin akan menyebabkan hilangnya efek kelucuan yang ditimbulkan dalam
teks sumber. Hasil ini adalah hal yang paling sering ditemui bila salah satu aspek
makna maupun bentuk kata itu tidak diterjemahkan dengan baik dan akurat. Oleh
karena itu, sangatlah penting bagi seorang penerjemah untuk memperhatikan
metode-metode, aspek-aspek, serta pengetahuan yang cukup mendalam tentang
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. i
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ..................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ................................................................... 4
Purpose of the Study .......................................................................... 4
Methods of Research .......................................................................... 4
Organization of the Thesis .................................................................. 5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORIES OF LANGUAGE PLAY
AND TRANSLATION
2.1 Theory of Language Play .............................................................. 6
2.1.1 Definition of Language Play .................................................... 6
2.1.2 Types of Language Play ......................................................... 7
2.1.3 Effects of Using Language Play ............................................ 17
2.2 Theory of Translation .................................................................. 17
2.2.1 Definition of Translation ........................................................ 17
2.2.2 Translation and Translating ................................................... 18
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION
OF LANGUAGE PLAY IN SNOOPY COMIC SERIES ........................... 21
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ............................................................... 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 54
APPENDICES:
Data 1-17 .......................................................................................... 58
Table of Translation of Language Play
in Snoopy Comic Series .................................................................... 75
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APPENDICES
DATA 1 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 10)
58
DATA 2 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 14)
59
DATA 3 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 20)
60
DATA 4 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 84)
61
DATA 5 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 90)
62
DATA 6 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 57)
63
DATA 7 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 37)
64
DATA 8 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 50)
65
DATA 9 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 72)
66
DATA 10 (taken from Life is like a Ten-Speed Bicycle, pg. 28)
67
Data 11 (taken from Life is like a Ten-Speed Bicycle, pg. 41)
68
Data 12 (taken from Whimper, but Don’t Complain, pg. 19)
69
Data 13 (taken from Whimper, but Don’t Complain, pg. 48)
70
Data 14 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 92)
71
Data 15 (taken from I Only Dread One Day at a Time, pg. 15)
72
Data 16 (taken from Whimper, but Don’t Complain, pg. 9)
73
Data 17 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 10)
74
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Language
Play
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
-
X
X
X
Humour
Miscella
neous
X
-
X
-
wǒmen rènwéi, n
(i)
Homonymy
we
-
We believe you
1
need a “CAT
xūyào zuò yī
need
do one time
"māot
sǎomiáo”
(ii)
Homophones
of
Abbreviation
-
Back-translation: “We
think you need a body
scan for cats”
wǒmen
wòwo
we
grasp grasp
(pg. 23)
X
X
X
X
*
péngyou
friend
extending the
fellowship?
X
ge
hand, make
How about
right hand of
-
(pg. 21)
shǒu, jiāo
2
cì
“cat body scan”
SCAN”
(pg. 21)
think, you
(iii)
Idiom
-
zěnmeyàng?
how?
*measure word
Back-translation:
“Let’s grasp hands,
how about making
friends?”
(pg. 23)
75
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Aspects
No
Form
Sentence
Language Play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Sentence
n
3
Language
Play
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
huì dé
you will get
tóutòngzhèng de,
headache
*,
jiù xiàng hǎiguī
just like sea turtle
You‟ll get a turtle
headache
(pg. 24)
bèi
(iv)
Metaphor
mēn
zài
being sealed
-
**
ké l
yīyàng
shell in
alike
* particle
**complement
Back-translation: ”You
will get a headache,
like a sea turtle
sealed in its shell”
(pg.24)
76
Simile
X
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Misce
llaneo
us
Language
Play
Sentence
n
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
bù shì huì
you no are can
shàng "hùliáncháo"
Aren‟t you on the
4
internest?
(pg. 26)
on
(v)
Blending
-
“inter(net)nest”
ma?
Blending
* ?
-
*particle
Back-translation: Aren‟t you
able to be on the
“internest”? (pg. 26)
tāmen shuō, dāng n
they
say,
when you
cóng yī p
mǎ
from one *
horse
shàng shuāi xiàlái
on
They say when
you fall off a
5
horse, you should
get right back on.
(pg. 27)
thrown down
de shíhòu, tōngcháng
(vi)
proverb
-
** time,
normally
will
first
huì bèibù xiān
zháo
on
back
dì.
ground.
*measure word
**particle
Back-translation: They say,
when you are thrown
down from a horse,
normally your back will
first hit the ground(pg. 27)
77
-
X
X
X
X
Loses
context
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Misce
llaneo
us
Language
Play
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
gǒuwū?
A beagloo?
6
(pg. 29)
(vii)
blending
dog house?
-
Compound
Back-translation: dog
house?
(pg. 29)
X
X
X
proverb
X
X
X
Loses
context
-
X
X
X
X
-
-ing
Loses
context
dà zhàngfū néng
When I back off, I
7
back off!
(pg. 30)
(viii)
Connotative
and
denotative
meaning
big true man
qū
-
can
néng shēn!
bend can stretch
Back-translation: a
man can bend
stretch (pg.30)
real
and
tā zhèng dài zhe
he
*
wear **
yī d ng róngxiànmào
one *** wool-knitting cap
He’s watching TV
8
with a stocking
cap
(pg.31)
(ix)
Categorical
lexical
ambiguity
kàn
watch
-
diànshì
TV
*adverb
**particle
***measure word
Back-translation: He’s
wearing a wool-knitting
cap and watching TV
(pg.31)
78
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Language
Play
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
X
X
X
-
yǒu wǒ zài zhèr
9
a.) I‟m here to give
have I
*
here
you reassurance
Back-translation: I’m
here (pg. 33)
*in (verb)
(pg. 33)
b.) Be reassured!
hǎole!
fàngxīn
Feel relieved
(pg. 33)
*
!
*tone particle
Back-translation: Be
relieved! (pg. 33)
c.) Who reassures
the reassurer?
(pg. 34)
yòu huì yǒu shuí
(x)
Affixation
Plea
sing
sounds
*
lái
come
will have who
bǎohù
wǒ
protect
me
zhè ge xiǎo gǒu
this
**
little dog
bǎohùzhě ne?
protector
*** ?
*adverb
**measure word
***particle
Back-translation: Who
will come to protect
this little-dog
protector? (pg. 34)
79
-
X
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
(xi)
Idiom
Humour
Miscell
aneous
-
(pg. 36)
Now it‟s
11
(pg. 37)
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
-
X
X
X
X
Loses
context
-
X
X
X
X
Loses
context
Miscella
neous
how
*
zhānq lái
them
de?
**?
*preposition
(xii)
Affixation
-
(xiii)
Idiom
-
(xiv)
Connotative
and
denotative
meaning
** particle
Back-translation: How do
you stick them
together? (pg. 36)
xiànzài jiù jiào
now
*
"māo gǒu
“raining
cats and dogs”!
you
stick together
„unfive‟?
Form
Language
Play
zěnme bǎ tāmen
n
How do you
10
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
“cat
dog
called
-
-
Connotative
and
denotative
meaning
-
-
qí xià"!
pronged”!
*adverb
Idiom
Back-translation:
Now
called “cats and dogs
pronged”! (pg. 37)
zhè shìjiè chōngmǎnle
this world
full of
búquèdìng de
The world is full of
12
whoms!
(pg. 39)
(xv)
Misuse of
word
uncertain
-
*
shōuxìnrén!
recipient of letter!
*particle
Back-translation: This
world is full of uncertain
recipients! (pg. 39)
80
X
X
X
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
(xvi)
Alliteration
Humour
Miscell
aneous
plea-
-
sing
sound
teeny tiny dog..
(pg. 41)
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
jiēzhe wǒ kàn dào yì
then I
saw *
zhī zhème
**
this very
one
xiǎo
-
X
X
-
X
-
X
X
-
X
-
X
X
X
X
-
small
de gǒu
Then I saw this
13
Language
Play
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
(xvii)
Rhyming
pair
*** dog
*complement
**measure word
***particle
plea-
-
sing
sound
Back-translation: Then I
saw this very small dog
(pg. 41)
wǒ cónglái
jiù
I
*
always
bú dānxīn
I‟m never minding
14
(pg. 42)
no
(xviii)
Homonymy
-
worry
*adverb
Back-translation: I never
worry
(pg. 42)
81
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscell
aneous
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Language
Play
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Compound
-ing
X
X
X
Loses
context
Lánggǒu!!
Wolfhound!!
Werebeagle!!
15
(pg. 44)
(xix)
Blending
-
Back-translation:
wolfhound!!
(pg. 44)
wǒ zài “wúfǎ huídá
I
de wèntí
sea of
*
question of sea
unanswered
li
nì shu
in drowning
questions…
16
at unable answer
I‟m drowning in a
(pg. 46)
(xx)
Metaphor
zhī hǎi”
le…
*…
*particle
-
Metaphor
Back-translation: I am
drowning in “a sea of
inability of answering
the question”…
(pg. 46)
82
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscell
aneous
Sentence
biè
I
It‟s not worth it to
know you‟re not
17
worth it.
(pg. 47)
(xxi)
Homonymy
-
Language
Play
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
X
X
X
Miscella
neous
gēn wǒ shuō
don’t with me*
wǒ
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
tell
bùzhí nàge jià
not worth that price
*I (personal pronoun as
object)
-
-
Back-translation: don’t
tell me that I am not
worth that price.
(pg. 47)
: keep the aspect
X : lose the aspect
- : none
83
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Language, a way of people communicating with one another, is an
important means to express their ideas and feelings to one another. Therefore,
human beings find that it is important to master the language they use in the
circle of their society, just like a proverb which says: “If you master the language,
you master the world”. However, it is apparently difficult to master all languages
in the world. Words which exist in a language may not exist in another language.
For instance, the Indonesian words arisan and lotek do not exist in English
vocabulary. There is often no equivalent in the target language for the same form
in the source text (Baker 24).
One language may differ in terms of form and content from another
language; hence, human beings need a tool to help them understand another
language. This tool is translation. According to Newmark, “translation is a craft
consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in one
language by the same message and/or statement in another language”(87). A
translator may choose what kind of methods that they are going to apply in
translating a text. However, to translate a text is not as easy as we think because
there are many aspects that a translator has to consider whether to keep both the
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content and the form, either the content or the form, or neither the content nor the
form. To transfer the same content from the source language into the target
language is seemingly hard, but to transfer the same form of the text is obviously
harder than that. That is why to translate accurately is not an easy job.
Language play is one clear example of the translation difficulty which
shows that both the content and form are equally important. For instance, “an
elephant that has a trunk is sitting on an old trunk”. The form of language play
here is homonymy. The meanings of the homonymous words are 1) Long flexible
nose of elephant etc.; 2) Large box with hinged lid, for carrying clothes etc. on
journey (Fowler 1247). If we translate only the content of the English text into
Indonesian text, it becomes “Seekor gajah yang memiliki belalai sedang duduk di
atas peti besar yang tua”. It contains the same meaning but does not contain any
form of language play.
In daily life, people love to play with language or responds to language
play (Crystal 1). The way people use language determines the function of the
language used. People often neglect language play as part of linguistics;
however, the playful function of language should be seen important “for the
appreciation of language as a whole” (Crystal 1). Mostly, language play is
created as a source of fun or enjoyment (Crystal 1). Language can be either
manipulated or exploited by language users.
The topic of my thesis is the translation of language play from English into
Chinese in Schulz’s Snoopy. I am interested in analysing how the language play
in Schulz’s Snoopy comic series is translated from English into Chinese. I find
this topic very challenging because it is difficult to translate language play. Even if
the language play is translatable, we have to ensure whether the Target Text
(TT) is as humorous as in the Source Text (ST). When a translator fails to
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transfer the same content and form of a text, it most probably fails to transfer the
effect of humour as well. To measure the ability of the translator, we can see
from his/her capability of transferring its content as well the form from ST into TT.
In this thesis, the fields of linguistics which my topic belongs to are
translation and language play. For the language play, it will mainly cover
Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics. I will use two sources of theories of
language play, Crystal’s and Cook’s. For the translation, I will use Hatim &
Munday’s theory.
This topic is significant because both English and Chinese are considered
international languages which have been widely used in the world of
communication; therefore, it becomes worth studying to analyze the translation of
these two languages. I find it also significant for translators so that they will be
aware of translating forms of language play for they have to consider transferring
the content as well as the form of language play from ST into TT. Ideally, neither
the content nor the form can be left behind in translating language play.
After reading my thesis, hopefully the readers will have some background
knowledge of what a good translation needs. They will find the forms of language
play which exist in Schulz’s Snoopy and be aware that a good translation should
contain both the equivalent form and content of a text.
(790 words)
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Statement of the Problem
Based on the topic that I choose, I would like to discuss the following three
problems:
1. What is the language play found in the English text of Snoopy comic series?
2. How does the translator translate the language play in the English text into
the Chinese text?
3. Which does the translator keep: the form, the content, the form and the
content, or neither the form nor the content?
4. How does the Chinese translation of the language play affect the readers?
Purpose of the Study
In this thesis, I would like to show:
1. The kind of language play used in the English text of the Snoopy comic
series.
2. The way of the translator translating the language play in the English text into
the Chinese text.
3. The aspect that the translator keeps: the form, the content, the form and the
content, or neither the form nor the content.
4. The effects of the Chinese translation of the language play on the readers
Method of Research
The method I use in writing this thesis is divided into six steps. First, I
began the research of this thesis by identifying the linguistic features that contain
language play in the English text of Schulz’s Snoopy comic series. Second, I
analyzed the language play found in the English text and its effect on the
readers. Third, I analyzed the way of translation which was used by the translator
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in translating the English text into the Chinese text. Fourth, I analyzed the
aspects of form and content of the language play that the translator kept and
abandoned. Fifth, I analyzed the effects of reading the translation text on the
readers. Finally, I wrote the research report.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One, the Introduction,
contains the Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the
Study, Method of Research, and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two, the
Theoretical Framework, provides the linguistic theories used to discuss the
translation of language play. Chapter Three, the Analysis, contains the
discussion on the translation of language play used in Schulz’s Snoopy comic
series. Chapter Four, the Conclusion, presents my personal opinions and
comments on the discussion. This thesis ends with the Bibliography and the
Appendices.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References:
Bauer, Laurie. English Word-Formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1983.
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Cambridge. Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Singapore: Cambridge
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Cook, Guy. Language Play, Language Learning. USA: Oxford University Press,
2000.
Crane, L.Ben, Edward Yeager, Randal L. Whitman. An Introduction to Linguistics.
Canada: Little Brown and Company, Ltd, 1981.
Crystal, David. Language Play. London: The Penguin Group, 1998.
Fowler, H.W. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English. UK: Oxford
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Fromkin, V. & R. Rodman. An Introduction to Language. Orlando: Harcourt Brace
College Publishers, 1974.
Hatim, Basil, and J. Munday. Translation: an Advanced Resources Book. London
& New York: Routledge, 2004.
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Herjanto, Rinariani G. The Translation of Language Play in Roald Dahl’s Charlie
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Hornby, A.S. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English. UK:
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Manser, Martin H. Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary. London:
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Tanto, Trisnowati. The Pragmatic Implication of Language Play in English
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Wales, Katie. A Dictionary of Stylistics. London and New York: Longman, 1989.
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Electronic Publications:
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tools.eu.
14
August
2010.
Evans, Randolph W., and Ninan T. Mathew. Handbook of Headache. 326. 06
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.
Jamal, Munira. What is a Proverb? Theoretical Remarks. 20 March 2010.
Johnson, H. & H. A. Dry. OLAC Discourse Type Vocabulary. 24 March 2010.
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New Oxford American Dictionary. 3rd ed. Mobile Phone Software. Oxford: Oxford
UP, 2010.
NJstar Chinese Word Processor. Computer Software. NJstar Software Corp.
1991-2009.
Thesaurus. “acquaintanceship”. 02 April 2010.
.
56
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Pince, Penelope. “Falling Off Your Financial Horse: If You’ve Never Fallen Off a
Horse, You Just Haven’t Ridden Enough.” Pecuniarities. 28 March 2010.
.
Zhang, Qing, and Wang Jiaqi. “Application of Functional Equivalence Theory in
English Translation of Chinese Idioms.” Journal of Language Teaching
and Research Vol. 1 No. 5, pp. 880-888 (Nov 2010). 12 May 2011.
Primary text:
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: Years are like Candy Bars. USA: United Feature
Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons. USA:
United Feature Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: Life is like a Ten-Speed Bicycle. USA: United Feature
Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: Whimper, but Don’t Complain. USA: United Feature
Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: I Only Dread One Day at a Time. USA: United
Feature Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
57
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Dalam skripsi ini, saya akan membahas penerjemahan dalam
permainan bahasa yang terdapat dalam seri komik terkenal, Snoopy, yang
ditulis oleh Charles M. Schulz.
Skripsi ini menyoroti jenis-jenis permainan bahasa dalam lima seri komik
Inggris beserta terjemahannya dalam bahasa China. Dalam menganalisis
permainan bahasa, saya menggunakan teori Cook dan Crystal. Aspek-aspek
kebahasaan yang terdapat dalam kajian saya berupa Fonologi, Morfologi,
Semantik, Pragmatik. Sementara itu, teori penerjemahan yang saya gunakan
adalah teori Hatim dan Munday.
Bentuk permainan bahasa yang saya temukan dalam seri komik ini
merupakan kombinasi dari eksploitasi bahasa di mana bahasa digunakan
secara maksimal dan unik/tidak biasa oleh pengguna bahasa serta manipulasi
bahasa yang berupa penyimpangan aturan-aturan tata bahasa. Pada dasarnya,
orang senang bermain dengan bahasa dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Penulis
komik Snoopy, Schulz, juga memasukkan beragam permainan bahasa ke
dalam karyanya sehingga orang sering merasa terhibur dengan permainan
bahasa yang biasanya menimbulkan efek humor/kelucuan.
Tetapi ketika permainan bahasa itu diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa lain
(China), ketidakakuratan penerjemahan sering terjadi baik dalam aspek bentuk
maupun makna kata. Metode penerjemahan yang digunakan oleh penerjemah
juga disoroti dalam skripsi ini sebab sangatlah penting hubungannya dengan
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Universitas Kristen Maranatha
keakuratan penerjemahan.
Jika teks sumber diterjemahkan secara tidak akurat ke dalam teks
sasaran, efek yang ditimbulkan bagi pembaca akan menjadi berbeda. Bahkan hal
ini mungkin akan menyebabkan hilangnya efek kelucuan yang ditimbulkan dalam
teks sumber. Hasil ini adalah hal yang paling sering ditemui bila salah satu aspek
makna maupun bentuk kata itu tidak diterjemahkan dengan baik dan akurat. Oleh
karena itu, sangatlah penting bagi seorang penerjemah untuk memperhatikan
metode-metode, aspek-aspek, serta pengetahuan yang cukup mendalam tentang
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Universitas Kristen Maranatha
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. i
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ..................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ................................................................... 4
Purpose of the Study .......................................................................... 4
Methods of Research .......................................................................... 4
Organization of the Thesis .................................................................. 5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORIES OF LANGUAGE PLAY
AND TRANSLATION
2.1 Theory of Language Play .............................................................. 6
2.1.1 Definition of Language Play .................................................... 6
2.1.2 Types of Language Play ......................................................... 7
2.1.3 Effects of Using Language Play ............................................ 17
2.2 Theory of Translation .................................................................. 17
2.2.1 Definition of Translation ........................................................ 17
2.2.2 Translation and Translating ................................................... 18
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION
OF LANGUAGE PLAY IN SNOOPY COMIC SERIES ........................... 21
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ............................................................... 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 54
APPENDICES:
Data 1-17 .......................................................................................... 58
Table of Translation of Language Play
in Snoopy Comic Series .................................................................... 75
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Universitas Kristen Maranatha
APPENDICES
DATA 1 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 10)
58
DATA 2 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 14)
59
DATA 3 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 20)
60
DATA 4 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 84)
61
DATA 5 (taken from Years are like Candy Bars, pg. 90)
62
DATA 6 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 57)
63
DATA 7 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 37)
64
DATA 8 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 50)
65
DATA 9 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 72)
66
DATA 10 (taken from Life is like a Ten-Speed Bicycle, pg. 28)
67
Data 11 (taken from Life is like a Ten-Speed Bicycle, pg. 41)
68
Data 12 (taken from Whimper, but Don’t Complain, pg. 19)
69
Data 13 (taken from Whimper, but Don’t Complain, pg. 48)
70
Data 14 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 92)
71
Data 15 (taken from I Only Dread One Day at a Time, pg. 15)
72
Data 16 (taken from Whimper, but Don’t Complain, pg. 9)
73
Data 17 (taken from I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons, pg. 10)
74
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Language
Play
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
-
X
X
X
Humour
Miscella
neous
X
-
X
-
wǒmen rènwéi, n
(i)
Homonymy
we
-
We believe you
1
need a “CAT
xūyào zuò yī
need
do one time
"māot
sǎomiáo”
(ii)
Homophones
of
Abbreviation
-
Back-translation: “We
think you need a body
scan for cats”
wǒmen
wòwo
we
grasp grasp
(pg. 23)
X
X
X
X
*
péngyou
friend
extending the
fellowship?
X
ge
hand, make
How about
right hand of
-
(pg. 21)
shǒu, jiāo
2
cì
“cat body scan”
SCAN”
(pg. 21)
think, you
(iii)
Idiom
-
zěnmeyàng?
how?
*measure word
Back-translation:
“Let’s grasp hands,
how about making
friends?”
(pg. 23)
75
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Aspects
No
Form
Sentence
Language Play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Sentence
n
3
Language
Play
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
huì dé
you will get
tóutòngzhèng de,
headache
*,
jiù xiàng hǎiguī
just like sea turtle
You‟ll get a turtle
headache
(pg. 24)
bèi
(iv)
Metaphor
mēn
zài
being sealed
-
**
ké l
yīyàng
shell in
alike
* particle
**complement
Back-translation: ”You
will get a headache,
like a sea turtle
sealed in its shell”
(pg.24)
76
Simile
X
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Misce
llaneo
us
Language
Play
Sentence
n
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
bù shì huì
you no are can
shàng "hùliáncháo"
Aren‟t you on the
4
internest?
(pg. 26)
on
(v)
Blending
-
“inter(net)nest”
ma?
Blending
* ?
-
*particle
Back-translation: Aren‟t you
able to be on the
“internest”? (pg. 26)
tāmen shuō, dāng n
they
say,
when you
cóng yī p
mǎ
from one *
horse
shàng shuāi xiàlái
on
They say when
you fall off a
5
horse, you should
get right back on.
(pg. 27)
thrown down
de shíhòu, tōngcháng
(vi)
proverb
-
** time,
normally
will
first
huì bèibù xiān
zháo
on
back
dì.
ground.
*measure word
**particle
Back-translation: They say,
when you are thrown
down from a horse,
normally your back will
first hit the ground(pg. 27)
77
-
X
X
X
X
Loses
context
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Misce
llaneo
us
Language
Play
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
gǒuwū?
A beagloo?
6
(pg. 29)
(vii)
blending
dog house?
-
Compound
Back-translation: dog
house?
(pg. 29)
X
X
X
proverb
X
X
X
Loses
context
-
X
X
X
X
-
-ing
Loses
context
dà zhàngfū néng
When I back off, I
7
back off!
(pg. 30)
(viii)
Connotative
and
denotative
meaning
big true man
qū
-
can
néng shēn!
bend can stretch
Back-translation: a
man can bend
stretch (pg.30)
real
and
tā zhèng dài zhe
he
*
wear **
yī d ng róngxiànmào
one *** wool-knitting cap
He’s watching TV
8
with a stocking
cap
(pg.31)
(ix)
Categorical
lexical
ambiguity
kàn
watch
-
diànshì
TV
*adverb
**particle
***measure word
Back-translation: He’s
wearing a wool-knitting
cap and watching TV
(pg.31)
78
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Language
Play
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
X
X
X
-
yǒu wǒ zài zhèr
9
a.) I‟m here to give
have I
*
here
you reassurance
Back-translation: I’m
here (pg. 33)
*in (verb)
(pg. 33)
b.) Be reassured!
hǎole!
fàngxīn
Feel relieved
(pg. 33)
*
!
*tone particle
Back-translation: Be
relieved! (pg. 33)
c.) Who reassures
the reassurer?
(pg. 34)
yòu huì yǒu shuí
(x)
Affixation
Plea
sing
sounds
*
lái
come
will have who
bǎohù
wǒ
protect
me
zhè ge xiǎo gǒu
this
**
little dog
bǎohùzhě ne?
protector
*** ?
*adverb
**measure word
***particle
Back-translation: Who
will come to protect
this little-dog
protector? (pg. 34)
79
-
X
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
(xi)
Idiom
Humour
Miscell
aneous
-
(pg. 36)
Now it‟s
11
(pg. 37)
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
-
X
X
X
X
Loses
context
-
X
X
X
X
Loses
context
Miscella
neous
how
*
zhānq lái
them
de?
**?
*preposition
(xii)
Affixation
-
(xiii)
Idiom
-
(xiv)
Connotative
and
denotative
meaning
** particle
Back-translation: How do
you stick them
together? (pg. 36)
xiànzài jiù jiào
now
*
"māo gǒu
“raining
cats and dogs”!
you
stick together
„unfive‟?
Form
Language
Play
zěnme bǎ tāmen
n
How do you
10
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
“cat
dog
called
-
-
Connotative
and
denotative
meaning
-
-
qí xià"!
pronged”!
*adverb
Idiom
Back-translation:
Now
called “cats and dogs
pronged”! (pg. 37)
zhè shìjiè chōngmǎnle
this world
full of
búquèdìng de
The world is full of
12
whoms!
(pg. 39)
(xv)
Misuse of
word
uncertain
-
*
shōuxìnrén!
recipient of letter!
*particle
Back-translation: This
world is full of uncertain
recipients! (pg. 39)
80
X
X
X
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
(xvi)
Alliteration
Humour
Miscell
aneous
plea-
-
sing
sound
teeny tiny dog..
(pg. 41)
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
jiēzhe wǒ kàn dào yì
then I
saw *
zhī zhème
**
this very
one
xiǎo
-
X
X
-
X
-
X
X
-
X
-
X
X
X
X
-
small
de gǒu
Then I saw this
13
Language
Play
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
(xvii)
Rhyming
pair
*** dog
*complement
**measure word
***particle
plea-
-
sing
sound
Back-translation: Then I
saw this very small dog
(pg. 41)
wǒ cónglái
jiù
I
*
always
bú dānxīn
I‟m never minding
14
(pg. 42)
no
(xviii)
Homonymy
-
worry
*adverb
Back-translation: I never
worry
(pg. 42)
81
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscell
aneous
Sentence
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Form
Language
Play
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
Miscella
neous
Compound
-ing
X
X
X
Loses
context
Lánggǒu!!
Wolfhound!!
Werebeagle!!
15
(pg. 44)
(xix)
Blending
-
Back-translation:
wolfhound!!
(pg. 44)
wǒ zài “wúfǎ huídá
I
de wèntí
sea of
*
question of sea
unanswered
li
nì shu
in drowning
questions…
16
at unable answer
I‟m drowning in a
(pg. 46)
(xx)
Metaphor
zhī hǎi”
le…
*…
*particle
-
Metaphor
Back-translation: I am
drowning in “a sea of
inability of answering
the question”…
(pg. 46)
82
-
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
Effects of
English text
English
Chinese
Aspects
No
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour
Miscell
aneous
Sentence
biè
I
It‟s not worth it to
know you‟re not
17
worth it.
(pg. 47)
(xxi)
Homonymy
-
Language
Play
Form
Content
Existence
of language
play
Same type
of language
play
Humour
X
X
X
Miscella
neous
gēn wǒ shuō
don’t with me*
wǒ
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
tell
bùzhí nàge jià
not worth that price
*I (personal pronoun as
object)
-
-
Back-translation: don’t
tell me that I am not
worth that price.
(pg. 47)
: keep the aspect
X : lose the aspect
- : none
83
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Language, a way of people communicating with one another, is an
important means to express their ideas and feelings to one another. Therefore,
human beings find that it is important to master the language they use in the
circle of their society, just like a proverb which says: “If you master the language,
you master the world”. However, it is apparently difficult to master all languages
in the world. Words which exist in a language may not exist in another language.
For instance, the Indonesian words arisan and lotek do not exist in English
vocabulary. There is often no equivalent in the target language for the same form
in the source text (Baker 24).
One language may differ in terms of form and content from another
language; hence, human beings need a tool to help them understand another
language. This tool is translation. According to Newmark, “translation is a craft
consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in one
language by the same message and/or statement in another language”(87). A
translator may choose what kind of methods that they are going to apply in
translating a text. However, to translate a text is not as easy as we think because
there are many aspects that a translator has to consider whether to keep both the
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Universitas Kristen Maranatha
content and the form, either the content or the form, or neither the content nor the
form. To transfer the same content from the source language into the target
language is seemingly hard, but to transfer the same form of the text is obviously
harder than that. That is why to translate accurately is not an easy job.
Language play is one clear example of the translation difficulty which
shows that both the content and form are equally important. For instance, “an
elephant that has a trunk is sitting on an old trunk”. The form of language play
here is homonymy. The meanings of the homonymous words are 1) Long flexible
nose of elephant etc.; 2) Large box with hinged lid, for carrying clothes etc. on
journey (Fowler 1247). If we translate only the content of the English text into
Indonesian text, it becomes “Seekor gajah yang memiliki belalai sedang duduk di
atas peti besar yang tua”. It contains the same meaning but does not contain any
form of language play.
In daily life, people love to play with language or responds to language
play (Crystal 1). The way people use language determines the function of the
language used. People often neglect language play as part of linguistics;
however, the playful function of language should be seen important “for the
appreciation of language as a whole” (Crystal 1). Mostly, language play is
created as a source of fun or enjoyment (Crystal 1). Language can be either
manipulated or exploited by language users.
The topic of my thesis is the translation of language play from English into
Chinese in Schulz’s Snoopy. I am interested in analysing how the language play
in Schulz’s Snoopy comic series is translated from English into Chinese. I find
this topic very challenging because it is difficult to translate language play. Even if
the language play is translatable, we have to ensure whether the Target Text
(TT) is as humorous as in the Source Text (ST). When a translator fails to
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Universitas Kristen Maranatha
transfer the same content and form of a text, it most probably fails to transfer the
effect of humour as well. To measure the ability of the translator, we can see
from his/her capability of transferring its content as well the form from ST into TT.
In this thesis, the fields of linguistics which my topic belongs to are
translation and language play. For the language play, it will mainly cover
Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics. I will use two sources of theories of
language play, Crystal’s and Cook’s. For the translation, I will use Hatim &
Munday’s theory.
This topic is significant because both English and Chinese are considered
international languages which have been widely used in the world of
communication; therefore, it becomes worth studying to analyze the translation of
these two languages. I find it also significant for translators so that they will be
aware of translating forms of language play for they have to consider transferring
the content as well as the form of language play from ST into TT. Ideally, neither
the content nor the form can be left behind in translating language play.
After reading my thesis, hopefully the readers will have some background
knowledge of what a good translation needs. They will find the forms of language
play which exist in Schulz’s Snoopy and be aware that a good translation should
contain both the equivalent form and content of a text.
(790 words)
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Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Statement of the Problem
Based on the topic that I choose, I would like to discuss the following three
problems:
1. What is the language play found in the English text of Snoopy comic series?
2. How does the translator translate the language play in the English text into
the Chinese text?
3. Which does the translator keep: the form, the content, the form and the
content, or neither the form nor the content?
4. How does the Chinese translation of the language play affect the readers?
Purpose of the Study
In this thesis, I would like to show:
1. The kind of language play used in the English text of the Snoopy comic
series.
2. The way of the translator translating the language play in the English text into
the Chinese text.
3. The aspect that the translator keeps: the form, the content, the form and the
content, or neither the form nor the content.
4. The effects of the Chinese translation of the language play on the readers
Method of Research
The method I use in writing this thesis is divided into six steps. First, I
began the research of this thesis by identifying the linguistic features that contain
language play in the English text of Schulz’s Snoopy comic series. Second, I
analyzed the language play found in the English text and its effect on the
readers. Third, I analyzed the way of translation which was used by the translator
4
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in translating the English text into the Chinese text. Fourth, I analyzed the
aspects of form and content of the language play that the translator kept and
abandoned. Fifth, I analyzed the effects of reading the translation text on the
readers. Finally, I wrote the research report.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One, the Introduction,
contains the Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the
Study, Method of Research, and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two, the
Theoretical Framework, provides the linguistic theories used to discuss the
translation of language play. Chapter Three, the Analysis, contains the
discussion on the translation of language play used in Schulz’s Snoopy comic
series. Chapter Four, the Conclusion, presents my personal opinions and
comments on the discussion. This thesis ends with the Bibliography and the
Appendices.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References:
Bauer, Laurie. English Word-Formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1983.
Baker, Mona. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. UK: Taylor & Francis
Limited, 1992.
Bell, Roger T. Translation and Translating. London & New York: Longman, 1991.
Cambridge. Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Singapore: Cambridge
University Press, 2008
Cook, Guy. Language Play, Language Learning. USA: Oxford University Press,
2000.
Crane, L.Ben, Edward Yeager, Randal L. Whitman. An Introduction to Linguistics.
Canada: Little Brown and Company, Ltd, 1981.
Crystal, David. Language Play. London: The Penguin Group, 1998.
Fowler, H.W. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English. UK: Oxford
University Press, 1964.
Fromkin, V. & R. Rodman. An Introduction to Language. Orlando: Harcourt Brace
College Publishers, 1974.
Hatim, Basil, and J. Munday. Translation: an Advanced Resources Book. London
& New York: Routledge, 2004.
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Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Herjanto, Rinariani G. The Translation of Language Play in Roald Dahl’s Charlie
and the Great Glass Elevator and The Witches. Bandung: Maranatha
Christian University, 2007.
Hornby, A.S. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English. UK:
Oxford University Press, 1974.
Leech, G. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. Essex :Longman Group Ltd, 1991.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. UK: Pearson Education Limited,
1978.
Manser, Martin H. Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary. London:
Oxford University Press, 1992.
Murphy, M.J. Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the
English Novel. London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd, 1972.
Newmark, Peter. Approaches to Translation. London: Pergamon Press, 1982.
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