THE TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSSIONS IN THE FILM ENTITLED TROPIC THUNDER.

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viii

Page of Approval Statement of Authorship

Preface iii

Abstract iv

Acknowledgements v

Table of Contents viii

List of Chart, Figure, and Tables xi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Research Questions 4

1.3 Aims of the Study 5

1.4 Significance of Study 5

1.5 Research Method 6

1.6 Data Collection 6

1.7 Data Resources 7

1.8 Organization of the Paper 7

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FOUNDATION 9

2.1 Translation Studies 9

2.1.1 Definitions of Translation 9

2.1.2 Methods of Translation 11

2.2 Idioms 15

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2.2.2 Types of Idioms 17

2.3 Subtitling 19

2.3.1 Definitions of Subtitling 19

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21

3.1 Method of the Research 28

3.2 Object of the Study 24

3.3 Data Collection Technique 24

3.4 Data Analysis Technique 26

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 28

4.1 Findings 28

4.1.1 Idiomatic Expressions Found in the Film Script 28

4.1.1.1 Substitute Classification 31 4.1.1.2 Proper Names Classification 31

4.1.1.3 Abbreviation Classification 32 4.1.1.4 English Phrasal Compounds Classification 32 4.1.1.5 Figures of Speech Classification 33 4.1.1.6 Slang Classification 33

4.1.2 Translation Methods 34

4.1.2.1 Translation Methods in Substitute Classification 34 4.1.2.2 Translation Methods in Proper Names Classification 35 4.1.2.3 Translation Methods in Abbreviation Classification 38 4.1.2.4 Translation Methods in English Phrasal Compound 40

Classification

4.1.2.5 Translation Methods in Figures of Speech Classification 41 4.1.2.6 Translation Methods in Slang Classification 43

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CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 51

5.1 Conclusions 51

5.2 Suggestions 52

Bibliography Appendices Profile

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background

Distribution of films keeps growing until today. As the world’s famous film factory, Hollywood, USA, releases so many world-class films. Such Hollywood films recently released are: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hancock, Body Of Lies, Kungfu Panda, Tropic Thunder, and many more. The distribution of these films is not only to American and European countries which use English as native language, but also to worldwide which many countries speak non-English. In overcoming the language barrier for those who have not use English as their first language, language transfer is involved to facilitate people’s comprehension about the source language (SL) of one film into the target language (TL). Therefore, it should be translated in order that people understand the idea, story and message delivered by the film.

There are two main forms of film translation or “language transfer” in film or television: subtitling and dubbing. Subtitling is “the written translation of the spoken language (source language) of a television program or film into the language of the viewing audience (the target language); the translated text usually appears in two lines at the foot of the screen simultaneously with the dialogue or narration in the source language” (www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/subtitling/subtitling). Dubbing is “a voice over which closely approximates the lip movement of the original picture; to place an existing visual talking head in a foreign language”

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(www.alsintl.com/services/subtitling). This simultaneous provision of meaning in two different languages, one in oral and the other in written text, is thus a new form of language transfer created by film and further developed by television.

When a foreign film is released in a country that uses different language, subtitle is sometimes added to the film. Furthermore, subtitle is a written translation of the spoken language or “language transfer” at the bottom of the screen during the scenes of a film or television show in a foreign language. This is due to in broadening the selling market of the film. The demand for subtitling was growing in the mid-1990s outside North America, especially in Europe. In 1994, one company, the Subtitling International Group centered in Stockholm with branches in six capital cities, produced 26,000 hours of subtitles for cinema, video and television.

The aim of subtitling and dubbing is to make people comprehend the idea, story and message from the original film which makes equivalent into the target language (TL). Idiom or an idiomatic expression is one of terms which are not understood by the viewers.

Idiom is a phrase or sentence whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up. In fact, there are a lot of idiomatic expressions whose meanings are found in a film. Idioms are unique to each language (usually hard to translate into other languages). To make people understand about idioms, it needs help of subtitling to convey the message into the target language (TL). Thus, in translating those idioms appropriately in terms of subtitling, a certain technique is needed so as to be understood by the viewers.

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The English language has many idiomatic expressions. Idiomatic expressions are expression whose meaning is completely different from the literal meaning; do not follow any grammatical rules of a language or from the usual meaning of its constituent elements. However, idioms and idiomatic expressions have become widely used because they convey clear and meaningful messages in very few words that would otherwise be lengthy to explain in non-idiomatic manner. Idioms are previously considered informal expressions but because of their widespread use idiomatic expressions have found acceptance in formal communications as well. In addition, a figurative expression that can usually be interpreted literally but that takes a non-literal meaning when used in a specific context is refers to an idiom. Therefore, idioms cannot be translated word-for-word because they are different from the individual word-for-words forming it.

Hockett (1958:310-318) points out types of idioms based on the forms. In this case, he divides them into six types: Substitutes, Proper Names, Abbreviations, English Phrasal Compounds, Figures of Speech and Slang. The writer found the application of idiomatic expressions in the film subtitle.

Based on the explanation above, it encourages the writer to do the translation analysis of idiomatic expressions in the film entitled Tropic Thunder directed by Ben Stiller.

The subject of this study is a show-business satire comedy film entitled Tropic Thunder. It was directed by Ben Stiller from DreamWorks Pictures and performed by Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey, Jr., and Tom Cruise. The casts are notable names in Hollywood, and the film has original story about Hollywood film-making which mostly load huge budgets.

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Tropic Thunder is a 2008 Hollywood satire comedy film directed by Ben Stiller and written by Etan Cohen, Ben Stiller, and Justin Theroux. It was a box-office hit and gained many positive acknowledgements by film critics. The story tells about five actors set out to make the most expensive war film. After accidentally loses one of the most hefty-budget scene, the project are forced to be turned down. The frustrated director who is responsible refuses to stop shooting, and find a solution by leading his casts into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real-time war with Asian drug-manufacturing gang.

The writer chooses this film as the research subject because the film was very popular as one of the best comedy film in 2008. This film placed at the 19th widest release in the United States for 2008. The film also won “Hollywood Comedy of the Year Award” at the 12th annual Hollywood Film Festival on October 27, 2008. And Robert Downey Jr., as one of the casts, was nominated in 81st Annual Academy Award 2009 as “The Best Supporting Actors”. After releasing the film on August 13, 2008, Tropic Thunder reached more than $180 million gross worldwide.

Related to the film, the research is limited to identify, list, classify, and describe the idiomatic expressions available in the film entitled Tropic Thunder based on Hockett’s (1958) theory of types of idioms.

1.2Research Questions

The following research questions are proposed to be answered. They are:

1) What types of idiomatic expressions are found in the film entitled Tropic Thunder?

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2) What translation methods are employed by the translator in translating the idiomatic expressions in the film entitled Tropic Thunder?

1.3Aims of the Study

Answering the questions above, the aims of the study are:

1) To find out the types of idiomatic expressions which are mostly found in the film entitled Tropic Thunder.

2) To find out the methods of translation employed by the translator in translating the idiomatic expressions in the film entitled Tropic Thunder based on Newmark’s criteria of translation methods.

1.4Significance of the study

This study is expected to investigate about idiomatic expressions. Thus, the result of the study is expected:

1) To make people through idiomatic expressions learn English as second language learners.

2) To give valuable information for people who are interested in learning English and using idiomatic expression both in speaking and writing.

3) To analyze the types of idiomatic expressions and translation methods used in the film Tropic Thunder subtitle.

4) To give other researchers information used as an additional reference especially for those who conduct a study on the idiomatic translation.

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6 1.5Research Method

In conducting a research, deciding an appropriate method is of great importance. Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say refers to qualitative research. According to Frankel and Wallen (1993:380) qualitative research is understood as a research studies that investigate the quality of relationships, activities, situations, or materials.

In this case, a descriptive one is the methodology used to conduct this research in the process of analyzing the data. Gal R.L. as cited in Anggraeni (2004) says that a method of research that involves collecting data in order to test hypothesis or to answer question concerning the current status of the subject of the study is defined as descriptive method. In addition, as quoted from Alwasilah (2002):

Peneliti kualitatif lazimnya berkonsentrasi pada sejumlah orang atau situasi yang relatif sedikit dan perhatiannya terkuras ‘habis-habisan’ pada analisis kekhasan kelompok atau situasi ini saja (p. 108)

Para peneliti berupaya untuk lebih memahami proses (daripada produk) kejadian atau kegiatan yang diamati. Proses yang membantu permujudan fenomena itulah yang paling berkesan, bukannya fenomena itu sendiri.

Thus, it is believed that descriptive method is the appropriate method because the goal of this research is systematically, factually, and accurately describes or illustrates the fact, characteristics and relationship of the researched elements.

1.6Data Collection

In conducting the research, there are several steps to be taken: 1) Watching the Tropic Thunder DVD.

2) Copying the English film script from the film dialogue, both the English and Indonesian version.

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3) Reading the script of Tropic Thunder and its translation.

4) Compiling, classifying, and describing the usage of idiomatic expression on film subtitle of Tropic Thunder.

5) Doing library research in order to get relevant theories.

The writer will transfer the film dialogues into script both film dialogues and subtitle script, and then try to analyze and find out the types of idiomatic expressions, the methods of translation employed by the translator in translating the idiomatic expressions and the implications of using the idioms in the film entitled Tropic Thunder. The sources of the data used by the writer were taken from the film entitled Tropic Thunder and related information.

1.7Data Resources

The main data of the research is taken from the DVD of comedy film “Tropic Thunder”. Its script is taken from the film’s dialogues and the subtitle script is also taken from the film. The researcher transfers both dialogues and subtitle into written text.

1.8 Organization of the Paper

The organization of the paper is divided into five chapters as follows.

Chapter I which presents introduction which is divided into background, limitation of the study, significance of the study, research questions, the aims of the study, research method, data collection and data resources, and organization of the paper.

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Chapter II contains with literature review, which serves a set of the relevant theories as a basis for investigating the research problem, which relate to the study of translation, the definition of translation, translation method, idioms, types of idiom, definition of idiom, and subtitling.

The procedures of the research consisting of method of the research, subject of the research, research problem, data collection and data analysis technique presents at Chapter III.

Chapter IV reports the data analysis including the findings and the discussions and Chapter V contains the conclusion of the paper, and some suggestions.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter simplifies the procedures of the research used by the writer. It contains method of the research, object of the research, data collection and data analysis techniques.

3.1 Method of the Research

The method of the research of the study will be using the qualitative research. Research studies that investigate the quality of relationships, activities, situations, or materials are frequently referred to as qualitative research (Frankel and Wallen (1993:380).

One aim of the qualitative research is to extract the meanings of the phenomena. In addition, Alwasilah (2002:111) writes that in the qualitative research, context or local situation are determining the meaning of an event. The data is soundless if it does not consider the context.

Robert Bogdan and Sari Knopp Biklen (1992) in Frankel and Wallen (1993:380-381) describe five features that characterize qualitative research as follows:

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1) The natural setting is the direct source of data, and the researcher is the key instrument in qualitative research.

Qualitative researchers go directly to the particular setting in which they are interested to observe and collect their data. As Bogdan and Biklen point out, qualitative researchers go to the particular setting of the interest because they are concerned with context—they feel that activities can be understood in the actual settings in which they occur.

2) Qualitative data are collected in the form or words or pictures rather than numbers.

The kinds of data collected in qualitative research include interview transcripts, field notes, photographs, audio recordings, videotapes, diaries, personal comments, memos, official records, textbook passages, and anything else that can convey the actual words or actions of people.

3) Qualitative researchers are concerned with process as well as product. Qualitative researchers are especially interested in how things occur. Hence they are likely to observe how people interact with each other; how certain kinds of questions are answered; the meanings that people give to certain words and actions; how people’s attitudes are translated into actions; how students seem to be affected by a teacher’s manner, or gestures, or comments; and the like.

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4) Qualitative researchers tend to analyze their data inductively.

As Bogdan and Biklen suggest, qualitative researchers are not putting together a puzzle whose picture they already know. They are constructing a picture that takes shape as they collect and examine the parts.

5) How people make sense out of their lives is a major concern to qualitative researchers.

A special interest of qualitative researchers lies in the perspectives of the subjects of a study. Qualitative researchers want to know what the participants in a study are thinking and why they think what they do. Assumptions, motives, reasons, goals and values—all are of interest and likely to be the focus of the researcher’s questions.

Moreover, according to Maxwell (1996) in Alwasilah (2002:107-109), there are five characteristics of qualitative research:

1. Understanding the meaning, of the participants in the study, the events, situations, and actions involved with and the accounts of their life and experiences.

2. Understanding the particular context within which the participants act and the influence that this context has on their actions.

3. Identifying unanticipated phenomena and influences, and generating new grounded theories.

4. Understanding the process by which events and actions take place. 5. Developing causal explanations.

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A descriptive method is used in presenting the data. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1993:23), descriptive method is a method used to explain, analyse and classify something through various techniques, survey, interview, questionnaires, observation and text. The purpose of descriptive research is to describe current condition without them being influenced by the investigator.

Descriptive research may also help to point out the extent of a problem and indicate how serious and widespread it is. Descriptive method would systematically and factually describe and illustrate the characteristics of and the connection between the phenomena studied (Gay 1987).

3.2 Object of the Study

The object of this study is a film script of comedy film entitled Tropic Thunder directed by Ben Stiller. This film tells about five actors named Tugg Speedman, Jeff Portnoy, Kirk Lazarus, Alpa Chino, and Kevin Sandusky who have to save their big budget film from cancellation after one fatal scene accident. Their director tries to keep the movie released by putting the actor to the real war shooting scene in some South Asian jungle. However, they really face the real enemy beyond the script which is a drug-manufacturing gang.

3.3 Data Collection Techniques

The main data of the research is taken from the DVD of comedy film entitled “Tropic Thunder”. Its script is taken from the film’s dialogues and the

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subtitle script is also taken from the film. The dialogues and subtitle are transferred into written text.

As explained in chapter two, the writer has classified the data found into translation methods offered by Newmark. The writer has categorized the data into six types of idiom based on Hockett (1958:310-318) types of idioms.

In conducting this research, some steps are taken in collecting the data; those steps are as follows:

1. Watching the Tropic Thunder DVD.

The researcher watched the DVD of “Tropic Thunder” several times in order to see the connection between the film’s dialogue and the subtitling script. The researcher believes that watching the film several times is an important process to understand the whole conversation and it becomes the basic step before analyzing the methods of translation.

2. Copying the script from the film dialogue.

This step is conducted by the researcher in order to obtain the textual data for this research.

3. Reading the script of Tropic Thunder and its translation.

In this step, the researcher reads and compares every dialogue in the original script of the film with the English-Indonesia subtitle to determine the methods of translation that is used by translator. It is also done to search out the types of idioms based on Hockett (1958) classifications of idioms.

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4. Collecting, classifying, and describing the usage of idiomatic expression on subtitle of Tropic Thunder.

In this step, the researcher will collect, classify and describe the usage of idiomatic expression found in the movie into the methods of translation offered by Newmark (1988) and types of idioms based on Hockett (1958) types of idioms.

3.4 Data Analysis Technique

In the process of analyzing the data, the writer abbreviates each type of idiom and translation methods into tables as described below.

Table 3.1 TYPES OF IDIOMS (Hockett 1958:310-318)

Types of Idioms Abbreviation

Substitute S

Proper Names PN

Abbreviation A

English Phrasal Compounds EPC

Figures of Speech FS

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27 Table 3.2

METHODS OF TRANSLATION (Newmark 1988:45-47)

Translation Method Abbreviation

Word-for-Word translation W

Literal translation L

Faithful translation Fa

Semantic translation S

Adaptation A

Free translation Fr

Idiomatic translation I

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter presents conclusions and suggestions. The conclusions are taken from findings and discussions in the previous chapter. In addition, the suggestions contain some supportive opinions of the researcher that are intended for those who are interested in reading the paper as well as conducting the further research related to idiomatic expressions.

5.1 Conclusions

Idiomatic expressions (idioms) are a group of words, phrases or sentences which have different meaning from the individual words that make it up.

Translating the idioms is one of the toughest tasks for translators since the meaning of SL text should be appropriately transferred into TL text. Therefore, idioms cannot be translated word-for-word because they are different from the individual words forming it.

Based on the classification of idioms by Hockett (1958:310-318), the finding shows that there are six types of idioms substitute, proper names, abbreviation, English phrasal compounds, figures of speech and slang. Specifically, the idiomatic expressions mostly found in the film entitled Tropic Thunder were those belonging to slang classification at 43%.

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There are several kinds of methods of translating proposed by Newmark (1988:45-47), which are applied by the translator in translating the idiomatic expressions. Those methods are literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, and communicative translation.

Based on this finding, there are some methods frequently employed by the translator in every classification of idiomatic expressions. Literal translation method frequently appears in substitute classification at 50%. Literal translation method also shown frequently in proper name classification at 60%, and 75% in abbreviation classification. Meanwhile, semantic translation method frequently appears in English phrasal compounds classification at 38%. Communicative translation method frequently appears in figures of speech classification at 34%, and semantic translation method frequently appears in slang classification at 38%.

Finally, an important thing in doing the translation work is deciding an appropriate word in translating idioms by using an appropriate method of translation. The translator should watch the film several times in order to understand the idea, story and message delivered in the film. The researcher should also choose the right film which contains numerous of idioms in the dialogue. Thus, it helps the researcher to compile and classify the idioms as much as possible.

5.2 Suggestions

The writer tries to put forward some points that should be noted by the next researchers who are interested in reading this research paper as well as conducting this

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study for the improvement and the development for further research related to the way of this study. The suggestions are as follows:

1. Further research should investigate the procedures or strategies of translating idioms in other fields since this research is still concentrated in its scope and depth.

2. Further research should also apply other theories of idiomatic expressions since this research already uses one theory which is considered have to be improved.

3. In translating idioms in the film, translators should have adequate knowledge of cultural background or origin of the film because this is helpful to transfer the idiomatic expressions into the target language.

4. Since each idiom has different meaning, it is suggested that the translation research also finds out the context of idiomatic expressions used in the film.

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