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material is no longer called ‘translation’ but ‘adaptation’, some others argue that even an extreme domestication can still be categorized as a translation. I will not,
however, further discuss the all-century debate about the fine line between translation and adaptation.
What I emphasize here is what Schlemercher says that domestication method “send the author back home”. It means that the translator is no longer
visible in the translation. The target readers assume that the translation is an original piece of work, not a product of translation, since all foreign elements are
transferred into home culture. The target readers are unaware that what they are reading is a product of translation. A good domesticated method does not leave a
trace of being a translation product. The examples of successful domesticated translation is the English
translation of Ibsen’s works which are originally Norwegian and of Dostoevsky’s works which are Russian. In my personal experience, when reading Ibsen’s The
Pillars of the Community, I was unaware that I was reading a translation product. I realized it some time later. Dostoevsky’s War and Peace is the same. I never
realized that it is a translation from Russian. In Indonesian context, we all know that there is an argument whether
Chairil Anwar is a translator or a poet. Some of his works are heavily similar with other works previously created by foreign poets. His Karawang dan Bekasi is
similar with a poem written by Archibald MacLeish, The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak.
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Another example, we are all familiar with kancil, a fabled animal which is in fact an adaptation from La Fontaine’s malin, which means ‘fox’. When I was a
child until some years later I did not know exactly how kancil looks like. I just knew it was a fox after I was a college student when reading
Venuti’s The Translator’s Invisibility
5. Translation Accuracy Measurement
Since translation should give the readers of TL same response to the text so the readers can get the message delivered, the accuracy of the text plays an
important role in order to get reliable translation. To measure the reliability of the translation, Nababan proposed three instruments of translation quality assessment
to measure the accuracy, the readability, and the acceptability 2004: 54-65. The accuracy-rating contains 4 four scales with its own category.
Nababan focused on the meaning or the translation in these categories as seen in the following page.
Table 1. Nababan’s Accuracy-Rating Instrument Nababan, 2004: 54-65, with modification
Score Accuracy Measurement
1 The term is accurately conveyed in the TL. The term can
be understood clearly. Rewriting is not needed. 2
The term is accurately conveyed in the TL, but rewriting is needed.
3 The term of the SL is not accurately conveyed in the TL.
4 The SL sentence is not translated in the TL sentence,
omitted in purpose.
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Based on the above measurement of accuracy, a translation work will be categorized according to its score. The translation category proposed by Nababan
is as follows.
Table 2. The Accuracy Score and Its Category Nababan, 2004: 54-65, with modification
Score Range Category
1 1.0-1.5 Accurate
2 1.6-2.5 Quite Accurate
3 2.6-3.5 Not Accurate
4 3.6-4.0 Not Translated
6. Translation Readability Measurement
The translation should not only be accurate, but also be easily comprehended and readable. A readable translation makes the readers feel like
not reading a translation text, but like reading the original one. To measure translation readability, this study applies the second instrument, the readability-
rating. The readability-rating instrument is on the following page.
Table 3. Nababan’s Readability-Rating Instrument Nababan, 2004: 54-65, with modification
Score Readability Measurement
1 The TT term is easy to read. The term of the translation
products can be fully understood by the TL readers. 2
The TT term is easy to read. However, the term that cannot be fully understood by the TL readers.
3 The TT word is hard to read. The term cannot be
understood by the TL readers. 4
The TT word is completely hard to read. The term cannot be understood or is not translated deliberately.
The readability of a translation work will be categorized according to its score, like the accuracy, based on the readability measurement above. This is the
translation category proposed by Nababan.
