The Use of Passive Voice in Bilingual Story 'a Stranger in The Mirror'.
THE USE OF PASSIVE VOICE IN BILINGUAL STORY “A STRANGER IN THE
MIRROR” AND “SOSOK ASING DALAM CERMIN”
PUTU AYU ASTY SENJA PRATIWI, S.S.,M.HUM
1986012520122002
FACULTY OF ARTS
UDAYANA UNIVERSITY
2016
I.
INTRODUCTION
Each language has its own form and structure. Language has three functional
features. Firstly, language is a medium with which we can describe processes and
activities. Language also functions to establish social relationship between interlocutors –
the speakers, the addressee etc. The third one is to relate to the features of the relevant
1
situations in which it is used. Indonesian and English are two different languages which
have both different system and grammatical structure. The passive construction is a
crucial discourse feature in the English language.
In English, as in many other languages, the passive voice is a grammatical voice
in which the subject receives the action of a transitive verb, and passive refers more
generally to verbs using this construction and the passages in which they are used. In
English, a passive verb is periphrastic; that is, it does not have a one-word form, but
consists of an auxiliary verb plus the past participle of the transitive verb. The auxiliary
verb usually is a form of the verb to be, but other auxiliary verbs, such as get, are
sometimes used.
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not
known; however, who or what is performing the action. This paper talks about the
shifting of passive voice to active voice or vice versa that exist in bilingual EnglishIndonesian novel by Sidney Sheldon entitled A Stranger in the Mirror that is translated
into Sosok Asing dalam Cermin.
II.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
PASSIVE VOICE
As far as the content of the messages is concerned this is categorized by language
into a limited number of process which are manifested in a limited number of structural
2
“modes” such as transitive and intransitive modes. In clauses of transitive type there are
two inherent roles at least –i.e. that of the affected participant and the agent or initiator
(and in some cases the benefactor or recipient of the action). However, in intransitive
type, there is only one inherent role.
Within these, we may find two or more alternative choices that we can choose
from to express different process. One choice that we usually make is the passive
structure where the patient is brought into prominence. Passivisation disassociates the
actor so that it can either be put in focal position at the end or omitted. The actor or the
initiator of the action is brought into perspective but it is not given a central role in the
scene. The passive construction is agent-oriented. When a sentence is written in the
passive voice, the agent of an action can be omitted. Even if the agent of an action is
mentioned in a passive voice sentence, the emphasis is not on the actor, but on the
receiver of the action. The subject slot in a sentence is the starring role. Anyone or
anything relegated to a little sidecar of a prepositional phrase tacked on at the end of the
sentence is not being emphasized at all. In scientific writing, however, passive voice is
more readily accepted since using it allows one to write without using personal pronouns
or the names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences. The construction is
called an active clause or said to be in active voice.
TYPES OF PASSIVE VOICE
Passivisation in Indonesia can be done in two ways, they are using verb attached
by prefix di- and with verb without prefix di-. The first way is constructed by exchanging
subject with object, replacing prefix meng- with di- in the verb and adding the word oleh
3
in front of the actor. The second way is constructed by moving object to the front of the
sentence, then omitting prefix meng- in the predicate, and move the subject to the suitable
place before verb. Oleh is optional, except when the agent does not immediately follow
the verb, in which case it is obligatory.
According to Sneddon (1996: 247) there are two classifications for the type of
passive construction in Indonesian, they are: passive type one and passive type two. In
passive type one the actor is third person that is pronoun dia or mereka, or a noun.
Passive type one is also used if there is no actor is expressed. A third person singular
agent can be expressed by either dia or –nya. They are optionally preceded by oleh. The
pattern of passive voice type one is set out as follows:
Active voice: Subject (actor) + meN-verb + Object (patient)
Passive voice: Subject (patient) + di-verb + (oleh) + Agent
In passive type two the agent is a pronoun or pronoun substitute and comes before
the verb which does not have a prefix. The structure is as follows:
Subject (patient) + Agent (actor) + Verb
Active and passive construction in English involves verb phrase and clause. In
verb phrase, the different between the two voice categories is that the passive adds a form
of the auxiliri and the past participle (-ed form) of the main verb. At the clause level,
passivization involves rearrangement of the two clause elements and one addition. The
active subject becomes the passive agent, the active object becomes the passive subject
4
and the preposition by is introduced before the agent. The prepositional agent phrase of
passive sentence is an optional sentence element.
SHIFTING
Shifting means the process of going from the source language to the target
language. There are two types of shift: level shift and category shift. Level shift means
that a source language item at one linguistic level has a target language translation
equivalent at a different level. It could be shifting from grammar to lexis or vice versa. In
category shift, we referred to unbounded and rank bound translation. Rank bound
translation only refer to the case where equivalent is deliberately limited to ranks below
the sentence, thus leading “bad translation”; i.e. translation in which the target language
text is either not a normal target language form at all, or is not relatable to the same
situational substance as the source language text. In normal, unbounded translation, the
equivalences may occur between sentences, clauses, groups, words and morphemes. In
category shift there are also changes of structure, changes of class, and changes of term in
systems, etc.
Structure shift is the most frequent category shifts at all ranks in translation; they
occur in phonological and graphological translation as well as in total translation. In
grammar, structure-shift can occur at all ranks and one of the examples is clause-structure
shift. Another example where structure shift can occur at any ranks is group ranks. In
translation between English and other languages, there is often a shift from MH (modifier
+ head) to (M)HQ ((modifier) + head + qualifier).
5
Class shift is grouping of members of a given unit which defined by operation in
the structure of the unit next above. It occurs when the translation equivalent of a source
language item is a member of different class from the original item.
Unit shift means changes of rank – that is departures from formal correspondence
in which the translation equivalent of a unit at one rank in the source language is a unit at
a different rank in the target language.
III.
DATA & ANALYSIS
There are some transitive and intransitive verbs, passive and active voice exists in
the novel. The data and analysis are given below:
1. Let me put it this way. (Page 59, 2nd Paragraph )
Mungkin bisa diumpamakan begini. (Page 81)
The English construction uses active verb that focuses on the actor (“me”);
however, the Indonesian construction transformed the active verb “put” into
passive verb “diumpamakan”. The meaning of the English sentence is clear
enough because the sentence means that someone expresses something or feeling
n such a particular way he/she handle it. At the Indonesian construction, the
meaning might be blurring since the actor seems do not exist, though
actually it expressed explicitly. The marker of passive sentence in the example
above is the use of prefix di- + verb base. At the passive construction above, the
suffix –kan is obligatory. If the suffix –kan is not stated at the sentence, it means
the sentence break the grammatical and morphological rule in Indonesian passive
verb.
6
2. We have a big party. (Page 62, 5th Paragraph, Last Line)
Diadakan pesta besar. (Page 85, 3rd Paragraph)
The example above shows the transformation between active voices in English
version into passive voice in Indonesian version. The focus of the 1 st sentence is
the actor, in this case “we”. However the actor of the 2 nd sentence is not
expressed. There is structure shift in the sentences above.
We
have
a big party
Subject Predicate Object
Diadakan pesta besar
Predicate
Object
Beside there is structure shift, the sentences above also contains group mark shift.
We have a
big
Modifier Qualifier
party
Head
Diadakan
pesta besar
Modifier
Head Qualifier
The source language should be translated into “Kami mengadakan pesta besar”.
The use of passive voice in causes an ambiguity in the target language sentence.
There is no focus of attention stated by the 2nd sentence. Because the actor is not
7
stated, the sentence may raise question such as “who held a big party?” The
meaning can be change if the actor is not expressed in the sentence.
3. …. The story was told in headlines… (Page 3, 3 rd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
….Kisah ini menjadi berita utama…..(Page 12, 2nd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
The 1st construction above is passive construction. In Sidney Sheldon novel
Indonesian version, the construction is changed into active construction. If we
translate the construction word to word, the sentence will be .. “Di berita utama
kisah ini akan diceritakan”. Though the use of passive voice seems more frequent
in Indonesian, but in this case, it is more appropriate to use active voice to
translate the passive voice construction in English sentence. Where a passive
translation would send unnatural, translation by active construction is usually
given in the pattern of the active voice. The pattern of the active voice is: subject
+ men-verb + direct object. Besides the changes of passive sentence to the active,
we also found a structure shift at the sentences. In grammar structure shift can be
occur at all rank. The structure shift of the sentences above:
The story was told in headlines
Subject
Predicate
Adjuct
Kisah ini menjadi berita utama
Subject Predicate Object
We can regard this is a structure shift only on the assumption that there is formal
correspondence between English and Indonesian. The English SPA represents a
8
structure shift insofar as it contains different elements with Indonesian SPO as its
equivalent. There is no group rank shift found at the sentences above. Although
there are some changes from passive into active voice and the structure shift,
there is no change at the meaning of the sentence.
4. ….As he fond of saying….. (Page 9, 2nd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
….Menurut istilah yang suka dipakainya…. (Page 11, 2 nd Paragraph, 3rd Line)
The 1st sentence uses active construction with the actor is the subject that is ‘he’.
While the second sentence is constructed in passive voice. In Indonesian, passive
construction is more frequent than in English. The Indonesian has two different
forms of passive voice and the sentence above is classified into passive type one.
Where the 3rd person singular agent expressed “-nya” have refer to the actor (he)
who carried out the action.
5. A small frowned appeared on the chief purser’s face (Page 11, 3 rd Paragraph, 2nd
Line)
Terlihat dahi Chief Purser agak mengernyit (Page 14, 3rd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
Both of the clauses above are intransitive clauses. However at the 1st sentence
classified into passive construction and the other one is active construction.
Structure shift occur at the sentences above.
A small frowned appeared on the chief’s purser’s face
Subject
Terlihat
Predicate
Complement
dahi Chief Purser agak mengernyit
9
Complement Subject
Predicate
In English, the subject is “a small frowned” and shifted into “dahi Chief Purser”
in Indonesian. In English version, the complement is located at the back of the
clause however it is in initial position in Indonesian version.
6. Everyone had money to spend. (Page 29, 1st Paragraph, 5th Line)
Setiap orang punya uang untuk dibelanjakan. (Page 37, 1st Paragraph, 7th Line)
The 1st sentence is an active sentence because it contains as active verb that is “to
spend”. In Indonesian the verb “to spend” is translated into “dibelanjakan” and
the sentence transformed from active into passive. However the changes do not
make any change in the meaning. A number of “-kan” verbs with emotive
adjective bases usually indicate that the actor undergoes the emotion of the
passive. However, in general a transformation from active to passive has no effect
on suffixes “-i” and “-kan”, which are retained when an active verb is
transformed to a passive.
7. Something out of ordinary was happening. (Page 13, 5th Paragraph 5 Last Line)
Telah terjadi sesuatu yang luar biasa. (Page 18, 1st Paragraph, Last Line)
At the sentences above group mark shifting occurred. At group rank, the shift can
occur from MH (modifier and head) to MHQ (modifier, head and qualifier) or
other construction.
Something out of ordinary was happening
10
Head
Qualifier
Modifier
Telah terjadi sesuatu yang luar biasa
Modifier
Head Qualifier
The use of prefix –ter emphasized more about the state of being indicated by the
verb.
III.
CONCLUSION
Based on the Sidney Sheldon “A Stranger in the Mirror” both in English and
Indonesian version, we can found the examples of the shifting from passive to active or
vice versa. The shifting sometimes change the meaning, but in some other examples the
meaning remain the same.
Generally there are two types of passive consruction in Indonesian that is
characterized by prefix di- and prefix ter-. Prefix di- can also be combined with suffix –
kan and i-. However, at the data presented above, the occurrence of prefix di- is more
often than prefix ter-. Prefix di- emphasize more about the process of the action indicated
by the verb.
11
References
Sheldon, Sidney. 1976. A Stranger in the Mirror. Warner Books. New York and Boston.
Sheldon, Sidney. Alih Bahasa Hidayat Saleh. 1993. Sosok Asing Dalam Cermin.
Gramedia Pustaka.
Sneddon, James Neil. 1996. Indonesian Reference Grammar. Department of
Employment, Education and Training.
Venuti, Lawrence. 2000. The Translation Studies Reader. Routledge. London and New
York.
12
MIRROR” AND “SOSOK ASING DALAM CERMIN”
PUTU AYU ASTY SENJA PRATIWI, S.S.,M.HUM
1986012520122002
FACULTY OF ARTS
UDAYANA UNIVERSITY
2016
I.
INTRODUCTION
Each language has its own form and structure. Language has three functional
features. Firstly, language is a medium with which we can describe processes and
activities. Language also functions to establish social relationship between interlocutors –
the speakers, the addressee etc. The third one is to relate to the features of the relevant
1
situations in which it is used. Indonesian and English are two different languages which
have both different system and grammatical structure. The passive construction is a
crucial discourse feature in the English language.
In English, as in many other languages, the passive voice is a grammatical voice
in which the subject receives the action of a transitive verb, and passive refers more
generally to verbs using this construction and the passages in which they are used. In
English, a passive verb is periphrastic; that is, it does not have a one-word form, but
consists of an auxiliary verb plus the past participle of the transitive verb. The auxiliary
verb usually is a form of the verb to be, but other auxiliary verbs, such as get, are
sometimes used.
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not
known; however, who or what is performing the action. This paper talks about the
shifting of passive voice to active voice or vice versa that exist in bilingual EnglishIndonesian novel by Sidney Sheldon entitled A Stranger in the Mirror that is translated
into Sosok Asing dalam Cermin.
II.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
PASSIVE VOICE
As far as the content of the messages is concerned this is categorized by language
into a limited number of process which are manifested in a limited number of structural
2
“modes” such as transitive and intransitive modes. In clauses of transitive type there are
two inherent roles at least –i.e. that of the affected participant and the agent or initiator
(and in some cases the benefactor or recipient of the action). However, in intransitive
type, there is only one inherent role.
Within these, we may find two or more alternative choices that we can choose
from to express different process. One choice that we usually make is the passive
structure where the patient is brought into prominence. Passivisation disassociates the
actor so that it can either be put in focal position at the end or omitted. The actor or the
initiator of the action is brought into perspective but it is not given a central role in the
scene. The passive construction is agent-oriented. When a sentence is written in the
passive voice, the agent of an action can be omitted. Even if the agent of an action is
mentioned in a passive voice sentence, the emphasis is not on the actor, but on the
receiver of the action. The subject slot in a sentence is the starring role. Anyone or
anything relegated to a little sidecar of a prepositional phrase tacked on at the end of the
sentence is not being emphasized at all. In scientific writing, however, passive voice is
more readily accepted since using it allows one to write without using personal pronouns
or the names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences. The construction is
called an active clause or said to be in active voice.
TYPES OF PASSIVE VOICE
Passivisation in Indonesia can be done in two ways, they are using verb attached
by prefix di- and with verb without prefix di-. The first way is constructed by exchanging
subject with object, replacing prefix meng- with di- in the verb and adding the word oleh
3
in front of the actor. The second way is constructed by moving object to the front of the
sentence, then omitting prefix meng- in the predicate, and move the subject to the suitable
place before verb. Oleh is optional, except when the agent does not immediately follow
the verb, in which case it is obligatory.
According to Sneddon (1996: 247) there are two classifications for the type of
passive construction in Indonesian, they are: passive type one and passive type two. In
passive type one the actor is third person that is pronoun dia or mereka, or a noun.
Passive type one is also used if there is no actor is expressed. A third person singular
agent can be expressed by either dia or –nya. They are optionally preceded by oleh. The
pattern of passive voice type one is set out as follows:
Active voice: Subject (actor) + meN-verb + Object (patient)
Passive voice: Subject (patient) + di-verb + (oleh) + Agent
In passive type two the agent is a pronoun or pronoun substitute and comes before
the verb which does not have a prefix. The structure is as follows:
Subject (patient) + Agent (actor) + Verb
Active and passive construction in English involves verb phrase and clause. In
verb phrase, the different between the two voice categories is that the passive adds a form
of the auxiliri and the past participle (-ed form) of the main verb. At the clause level,
passivization involves rearrangement of the two clause elements and one addition. The
active subject becomes the passive agent, the active object becomes the passive subject
4
and the preposition by is introduced before the agent. The prepositional agent phrase of
passive sentence is an optional sentence element.
SHIFTING
Shifting means the process of going from the source language to the target
language. There are two types of shift: level shift and category shift. Level shift means
that a source language item at one linguistic level has a target language translation
equivalent at a different level. It could be shifting from grammar to lexis or vice versa. In
category shift, we referred to unbounded and rank bound translation. Rank bound
translation only refer to the case where equivalent is deliberately limited to ranks below
the sentence, thus leading “bad translation”; i.e. translation in which the target language
text is either not a normal target language form at all, or is not relatable to the same
situational substance as the source language text. In normal, unbounded translation, the
equivalences may occur between sentences, clauses, groups, words and morphemes. In
category shift there are also changes of structure, changes of class, and changes of term in
systems, etc.
Structure shift is the most frequent category shifts at all ranks in translation; they
occur in phonological and graphological translation as well as in total translation. In
grammar, structure-shift can occur at all ranks and one of the examples is clause-structure
shift. Another example where structure shift can occur at any ranks is group ranks. In
translation between English and other languages, there is often a shift from MH (modifier
+ head) to (M)HQ ((modifier) + head + qualifier).
5
Class shift is grouping of members of a given unit which defined by operation in
the structure of the unit next above. It occurs when the translation equivalent of a source
language item is a member of different class from the original item.
Unit shift means changes of rank – that is departures from formal correspondence
in which the translation equivalent of a unit at one rank in the source language is a unit at
a different rank in the target language.
III.
DATA & ANALYSIS
There are some transitive and intransitive verbs, passive and active voice exists in
the novel. The data and analysis are given below:
1. Let me put it this way. (Page 59, 2nd Paragraph )
Mungkin bisa diumpamakan begini. (Page 81)
The English construction uses active verb that focuses on the actor (“me”);
however, the Indonesian construction transformed the active verb “put” into
passive verb “diumpamakan”. The meaning of the English sentence is clear
enough because the sentence means that someone expresses something or feeling
n such a particular way he/she handle it. At the Indonesian construction, the
meaning might be blurring since the actor seems do not exist, though
actually it expressed explicitly. The marker of passive sentence in the example
above is the use of prefix di- + verb base. At the passive construction above, the
suffix –kan is obligatory. If the suffix –kan is not stated at the sentence, it means
the sentence break the grammatical and morphological rule in Indonesian passive
verb.
6
2. We have a big party. (Page 62, 5th Paragraph, Last Line)
Diadakan pesta besar. (Page 85, 3rd Paragraph)
The example above shows the transformation between active voices in English
version into passive voice in Indonesian version. The focus of the 1 st sentence is
the actor, in this case “we”. However the actor of the 2 nd sentence is not
expressed. There is structure shift in the sentences above.
We
have
a big party
Subject Predicate Object
Diadakan pesta besar
Predicate
Object
Beside there is structure shift, the sentences above also contains group mark shift.
We have a
big
Modifier Qualifier
party
Head
Diadakan
pesta besar
Modifier
Head Qualifier
The source language should be translated into “Kami mengadakan pesta besar”.
The use of passive voice in causes an ambiguity in the target language sentence.
There is no focus of attention stated by the 2nd sentence. Because the actor is not
7
stated, the sentence may raise question such as “who held a big party?” The
meaning can be change if the actor is not expressed in the sentence.
3. …. The story was told in headlines… (Page 3, 3 rd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
….Kisah ini menjadi berita utama…..(Page 12, 2nd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
The 1st construction above is passive construction. In Sidney Sheldon novel
Indonesian version, the construction is changed into active construction. If we
translate the construction word to word, the sentence will be .. “Di berita utama
kisah ini akan diceritakan”. Though the use of passive voice seems more frequent
in Indonesian, but in this case, it is more appropriate to use active voice to
translate the passive voice construction in English sentence. Where a passive
translation would send unnatural, translation by active construction is usually
given in the pattern of the active voice. The pattern of the active voice is: subject
+ men-verb + direct object. Besides the changes of passive sentence to the active,
we also found a structure shift at the sentences. In grammar structure shift can be
occur at all rank. The structure shift of the sentences above:
The story was told in headlines
Subject
Predicate
Adjuct
Kisah ini menjadi berita utama
Subject Predicate Object
We can regard this is a structure shift only on the assumption that there is formal
correspondence between English and Indonesian. The English SPA represents a
8
structure shift insofar as it contains different elements with Indonesian SPO as its
equivalent. There is no group rank shift found at the sentences above. Although
there are some changes from passive into active voice and the structure shift,
there is no change at the meaning of the sentence.
4. ….As he fond of saying….. (Page 9, 2nd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
….Menurut istilah yang suka dipakainya…. (Page 11, 2 nd Paragraph, 3rd Line)
The 1st sentence uses active construction with the actor is the subject that is ‘he’.
While the second sentence is constructed in passive voice. In Indonesian, passive
construction is more frequent than in English. The Indonesian has two different
forms of passive voice and the sentence above is classified into passive type one.
Where the 3rd person singular agent expressed “-nya” have refer to the actor (he)
who carried out the action.
5. A small frowned appeared on the chief purser’s face (Page 11, 3 rd Paragraph, 2nd
Line)
Terlihat dahi Chief Purser agak mengernyit (Page 14, 3rd Paragraph, 2nd Line)
Both of the clauses above are intransitive clauses. However at the 1st sentence
classified into passive construction and the other one is active construction.
Structure shift occur at the sentences above.
A small frowned appeared on the chief’s purser’s face
Subject
Terlihat
Predicate
Complement
dahi Chief Purser agak mengernyit
9
Complement Subject
Predicate
In English, the subject is “a small frowned” and shifted into “dahi Chief Purser”
in Indonesian. In English version, the complement is located at the back of the
clause however it is in initial position in Indonesian version.
6. Everyone had money to spend. (Page 29, 1st Paragraph, 5th Line)
Setiap orang punya uang untuk dibelanjakan. (Page 37, 1st Paragraph, 7th Line)
The 1st sentence is an active sentence because it contains as active verb that is “to
spend”. In Indonesian the verb “to spend” is translated into “dibelanjakan” and
the sentence transformed from active into passive. However the changes do not
make any change in the meaning. A number of “-kan” verbs with emotive
adjective bases usually indicate that the actor undergoes the emotion of the
passive. However, in general a transformation from active to passive has no effect
on suffixes “-i” and “-kan”, which are retained when an active verb is
transformed to a passive.
7. Something out of ordinary was happening. (Page 13, 5th Paragraph 5 Last Line)
Telah terjadi sesuatu yang luar biasa. (Page 18, 1st Paragraph, Last Line)
At the sentences above group mark shifting occurred. At group rank, the shift can
occur from MH (modifier and head) to MHQ (modifier, head and qualifier) or
other construction.
Something out of ordinary was happening
10
Head
Qualifier
Modifier
Telah terjadi sesuatu yang luar biasa
Modifier
Head Qualifier
The use of prefix –ter emphasized more about the state of being indicated by the
verb.
III.
CONCLUSION
Based on the Sidney Sheldon “A Stranger in the Mirror” both in English and
Indonesian version, we can found the examples of the shifting from passive to active or
vice versa. The shifting sometimes change the meaning, but in some other examples the
meaning remain the same.
Generally there are two types of passive consruction in Indonesian that is
characterized by prefix di- and prefix ter-. Prefix di- can also be combined with suffix –
kan and i-. However, at the data presented above, the occurrence of prefix di- is more
often than prefix ter-. Prefix di- emphasize more about the process of the action indicated
by the verb.
11
References
Sheldon, Sidney. 1976. A Stranger in the Mirror. Warner Books. New York and Boston.
Sheldon, Sidney. Alih Bahasa Hidayat Saleh. 1993. Sosok Asing Dalam Cermin.
Gramedia Pustaka.
Sneddon, James Neil. 1996. Indonesian Reference Grammar. Department of
Employment, Education and Training.
Venuti, Lawrence. 2000. The Translation Studies Reader. Routledge. London and New
York.
12