THE EFFICIENCY IN THE TRANSLATION OF CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL WORDS IN TOER’S BUKAN PASAR MALAM INTO IT’S NOT AN ALL NIGHT FAIR TRANSLATED BY WATSON

  

THE EFFICIENCY IN THE TRANSLATION OF CULTURAL

AND HISTORICAL WORDS IN TOER’S BUKAN PASAR MALAM

  

INTO IT’S NOT AN ALL NIGHT FAIR TRANSLATED BY

WATSON

  AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

PATRICK HIMAWAN PUDYANTO

  Student Number: 024214016

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  

THE EFFICIENCY IN THE TRANSLATION OF CULTURAL

AND HISTORICAL WORDS IN TOER’S BUKAN PASAR MALAM

  

INTO IT’S NOT AN ALL NIGHT FAIR TRANSLATED BY

WATSON

  AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

PATRICK HIMAWAN PUDYANTO

  Student Number: 024214016

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate The sis

  

THE EFFICIENCY IN THE TRANSLATION OF CULTURAL

AND HISTORICAL WORDS IN TOER’S BUKAN PASAR

MALAM INTO IT’S NOT AN ALL NIGHT FAIR TRANSLATED

BY WATSON

  By

PATRICK HIMAWAN PUDYANTO

  Student Number: 024214016 Approved by

  Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum. June 12, 2009 Advisor

  Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. June 12, 2009

  A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

  

THE EFFICIENCY IN THE TRANSLATION OF CULTURAL

AND HISTORICAL WORDS IN TOER’S BUKAN PASAR

MALAM INTO IT’S NOT AN ALL NIGHT FAIR TRANSLATED

  

BY WATSON

  By

  

PATRICK HIMAWAN PUDYANTO

  Student Number: 024214016 Defended before the Board of Examiners on June 24, 2009 and Declared Acceptable

  

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

Name Signature

  Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. ________ Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ________ Member : J. Harris Hermansyah S., S.S., M.Hum. ________ Member : Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum. ________ Member : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. ________ Yogyakarta, June 30, 2006.

  Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University

  Dean

  

Be Humble…

  

LEMBAR PERNYATAA N PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

  Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : Patrick Himawan Pudyanto Nomor Mahasiswa : 024214016 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :

  

“ THE EFFICIENCY IN THE TRANSLATION OF CULTURAL

AND HISTORICAL WORDS IN TOER’S BUKAN PASAR

MALAM INTO IT’S NOT AN ALL NIGHT FAIR TRANSLATED

BY WATSON “

  beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 30 Juli 2009 Yang menyatakan ( Patrick Himawan Pudyanto )

  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to give thanks to Jesus for the blessing during the process of writing this undergraduate thesis. I would like to thank my mother, father and grandmothers for the prayer, support, and, patience, and not to forget my sisters and my relatives for the motivation.

  I am very grateful to my advisor Bu Venti for helping me working on my undergraduate thesis with her guidance, advice, and patience. My gratitude goes to Pak Alip for giving me correction in this thesis. I would like to give many thanks to the Faculty of Letters secretariat staffs especially Mbak Ninik for helping me passing my drafts to Bu Venti.

  Many thanks should be given to all students of English Letters 2002, David, Leo, Sigit, Fitra, Bondan, Sunu, Jati, Galang, Andika, Thomas, Vena, Cecep, Nuke, and all I haven’t mention for the friendship, Mas Ableh, Kampret, Dik Wahyu, Heri, Sidik, Ita, Ipul and all AJ Comp. crew who always let me “invading” their computer and for their companion while working on this thesis, Luki for the outstanding love, support and patience, Yogi, Mbak Uprit, Mbah Kakung and Mbah “Jo” for the spirit (“berkah Dalem”, rest in peace), Pak Eko Kost for the jokes and intermezzos, Pak Eko Dosen for the advices and spiritual guidance. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to all people who are too many to mention that had helped me during my “long” study in Sanata Dharma University.

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  7. Theories on Meaning ……………………………………………… 18

  3. The translation by a more general word …………………………... 31

  2. The translation using loan words with explanation ……………….. 28

  1. The translation using loan words without explanation ……………. 26

  

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ……………………………………………... 23

A. Object of the Study ……………………………………………………. 23 B. Method of Study ………………………………………………………. 24 C. Data Collection ………………………………………………………... 24 D. Technique of the Analysis …………………………………………….. 25

CHAPTER IV RESULT AND DISCUSSION ….……………………………… 26

A. The Translation of Words and Terms with Cultural and Historical Concepts from the SL into the TL ……………………………………. 26

  B. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………... 22

  8. Assessing Translation ……………………………………………... 19

  6. Equivalence ………………………………………………………... 14

  TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………………………... i APPROVAL PAGE ………………………………………………………………… ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE …………………………………………………………….. iii MOTTO PAGE …………………………………………………………………….. iv DEDICATION PAGE ……………………………………………………………… v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………………………. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………. vii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………....... ix ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………………….. x

  5. Strategy on Translation ………………………………………......... 12

  4. Problem on Translation ……………………………………………... 9

  3. The Translation of Prose ………………………………………......... 7

  2. The Types of Translation …………………………………………… 6

  1. Definition on Translation …………………………………………… 5

  

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………. 1

A. Background of the Study ……………………………………………….. 1 B. Problem Formulation …………………………………………………… 3 C. Objective of the Study ………………………………………………….. 3 D. Definition of Terms …………………………………………………….. 4

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW ……………………………………… 5

A. Review on Related Theories ……………………………………………. 5

  4. The translation by a more neutral or less expressive word ………...34

  7. The translation by paraphrase using unrelated words ……………... 38

  8. The translation by omission ……………………………………….. 40

  9. The translation by illustration ……………………………………... 41

  B. The Efficiency of Meaning ……………………………………………. 43

  1. The Efficient Meaning …………………………………………….. 44

  2. The Less Efficient Meaning ……………………………………….. 48

  

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION …………………………………………………... 53

BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………... 55

APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………………….. 57

  

ABSTRACT

  PATRICK HIMAWAN PUDYANTO. The Efficiency in the Translation of

  

Cultural and Historical Words in Toer’s Bukan Pasar Malam into It’s Not an All

Night Fair Translated by Watson. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters,

Faculty of Letters. Sanata Dharma University. 2009.

  This undergraduate thesis is about the efficiency of meaning in the translation of Bukan Pasar Malam, a novel by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, into It’s not an All

  

Night Fair translated by C.W. Watson. Bukan Pasar Malam is the representation of

  social and historical background in Indonesia especially in Java, whose setting is between the late Dutch colonial period and the early Indonesian independence era. Therefore, many utterances in the novel contain cultural and historical concepts that can be problematic to be translated. It may affect the translated meaning of those utterances in the result of the translation.

  There are two main problems that will be analyzed in this undergraduate thesis. The first problem is how words and terms with cultural and historical concepts in Bukan Pasar Malam are translated into English in It’s not an all Night

  

Fair . The second is how the efficiency of meaning of those words and terms being

translated.

  The method used in this study is library research. It was done firstly to find the data, references and explanatory for the analysis of the study. Secondly, it was done to access the meaning of the words and terms with cultural and historical concepts and their translation to check the equivalence.

  The first finding of the study is the percentage of the data (81 words and terms with cultural and historical concepts) translated according to their translation strategies as follow; 41% translated using loan word with explanation, 19% translated using a related word, 14% translated using paraphrase using unrelated words, 10% translated using a more general word, 6 % translated using a more neutral or less expressive word, 5% translated using loan word without explanation, 2% translated using cultural substitution, 2% translated using omission, and 1% translated using illustration. The discussion of the first problem analysis led into further discussable conclusion about the inconsistent usage of translation strategy that presumably affects the efficiency of meaning being translated, which was the second problem formulation. The second finding of the study is 88% the translation of the meaning of the data are efficient and 12% are less efficient. The translation of those words and terms with cultural and historical concepts can be categorized as an efficient translation. The high percentage on the efficiency of meaning and its harmony with the criterion of good translation justified this finding.

  

ABSTRAK

  PATRICK HIMAWAN PUDYANTO. The Efficiency in the Translation of

  

Cultural and Historical Words in Toer’s Bukan Pasar Malam into It’s Not an All

Night Fair Translated by Watson. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas

Sastra. Universitas Sanata Dharma. 2009.

  Skripsi ini membahas tentang efisiensi makna dalam terjemahan kata-kata dan istilah-istilah dengan konsep budaya dan sejarah di dalam Bukan Pasar Malam, sebuah novel karya Pramoedya Ananta Toer, ke dalam It’s not an All Night Fair yang diterjemahkan oleh C.W. Watson. Bukan Pasar Malam adalah gambaran latar belakang sosial dan sejarah di Indonesia khususnya di Jawa yang terjadi pada akhir masa kependudukan Belanda dan awal era kemerdekaan Indonesia. Oleh karena itu, banyak kata-kata bermuatan konsep budaya dan sejarah yang menimbulkan permasalahan saat diterjemahkan. Hal ini dapat mempengaruhi makna yang diterjemahkan dari kata-kata tersebut pada hasil terjemahan.

  Ada dua permasalahan yang akan dibahas dalam skripsi ini. Masalah pertama adalah bagaimana kata-kata dan istilah-istilah dengan konsep budaya dan sejarah di dalam Bukan Pasar Malam diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Inggris di It’s not an All

  

Night Fair . Masalah kedua adalah bagaimana efisiensi makna dari kata-kata dan

istilah-istilah tersebut yang diterjemahkan.

  Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kajian pustaka. Pertama, kajian pustaka dilakukan untuk memperoleh data, acuan, dan penjelasan untuk analisis dalam penelitian ini. Kedua, hal ini dilakukan untuk mengakses makna dari kata-kata dan istilah-istilah dengan konsep budaya dan sejarah dan terjemahannya yang bertujuan untuk menguji kesamaannya.

  Hasil pertama dari penelitian ini adalah prosentase data (81 kata-kata dan istilah-istilah dengan konsep budaya dan sejarah) yang diterjemahkan sesuai dengan strategi penerjemahkannya sebagai berikut; 41% data yang diterjemahkan menggunakan kata pinjaman disertai penjelasan, 19% diterjemahkan menggunakan kata yang berhubungan, 14% diterjemahkan menggunakan uraian dengan kata-kata yang tidak berhubungan, 10% diterjemahkan menggunakan kata yang lebih umum, 6% diterjemahkan menggunakan kata yang netral atau kurang ekspresif, 5% diterjemahkan menggunakan kata pinjaman yang tidak disertai penjelasan, 2% diterjemahkan menggunakan padanan budaya, 2% diterjemahkan menggunakan penghilanggan, dan 1% diterjemahkan menggunakan ilustrasi. Penjabaran perumusan masalah pertama juga menuntun kepada kesimpulan yang dapat dijabarkan lebih lanjut yaitu tentang ketidakteraturan dalam penggunaan strategi penerjemahan dapat mempengaruhi efesiensi makna terjemahan, yang menjadi perumusan masalah kedua. Hasil kedua dari penelitian ini yaitu 88% terjemahan makna dari data adalah efisien dan 12% kurang efisien. Penerjemahan dari kata-kata dan istilah-istilah dengan konsep budaya dan sejarah tersebut dapat digolongkan sebagai penerjemahan yang efisien. Prosentase yang tinggi dari effisiensi makna dan keharmonisannya

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study The usage of translation is important. It is the mediator between languages to

  be understood by people around the globe. The exchange of information in every aspect of life is done everyday worldwide. Hence, translation plays an important role in human life. However, translation between languages, especially in written languages and the implication within such as cultural diversity has never been an easy case to handle. It requires comprehensive knowledge on both the source language (SL) and the target language (TL) to achieve a better result of translation.

  It is interesting to discuss a translated work, in dealing the problems in transferring one meaning into another. Broader knowledge about translation theories will certainly be helpful in discussing it. However, there is no absolute theory on how translation should be because there have been so many theories on the study of translation. Linguists suggest their opinions on translation. The debate on translation should not reach a single absolute criterion. Theories suggested by linguists should be used to complete one another to enrich the knowledge about translation. It makes a researcher should learn as much as possible the theories on translation to discuss a translated work. It is certainly valuable as the references in discussing a work on translation.

  The work on translation to be analyzed is Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s It’s Not Watson. Therefore, the source language (SL) in this thesis is referring to Bukan

  

Pasar Malam and the target language (TL) is It’s Not an All Night Fair. Bukan Pasar

Malam is the representation of social and historical background in Indonesia

  especially in Java. The set is in between the late Dutch colonialism period and the early Indonesian independence era. Therefore, many utterances in the novel hold cultural and historical concepts that can be problematic when they are translated from the SL into the TL.

  Reading the content of the TL and comparing it to the SL, readers will notice the indication of literal translation. Elements such words, particular terms, phrases, and sentences imply the sense of literal translation. As an example, the expression

  

mataku yang buruk is translated as my rotten eyes. The TL translation is also

  provided notes for a certain consideration, which says: “by rotten, I think, is meant

  

the fact that his eyes are small and dull, irregularly placed, since most Indonesians

find this unattractive and prefer eyes that are large and open.” The consideration to

  give notes may be caused by the problem of acceptability of the term my rotten eyes in the TL. C.W. Watson himself in the translator’s introduction said that he tried to be as literal as possible in the translation, but he had been most concerned with the effort to convey the nuances and connotation of Indonesian that sometimes require paraphrase in English (Toer; 2001:XV). This case can be seen in the word menumbuk

  

tepung , which is translated as pounding grain [into flour]. Here, the translation

  requires paraphrase because the TL culture is unfamiliar with the term pounding

  

flour if it is translated word for word. Another problem lies in the translation of such can be seen in the word kain which is translated as the original as kain and given notes a standard piece of cloth so that it is understandable in the TL.

  Choosing a literary work to be discussed in the field of translation certainly will involve cultural implication, rhyme, beauty, style, and personal mode. However, in this study, the discussion will only focus on the translation of words and terms with cultural and historical concepts, that might be considered problematic to be translated. It will be then related to the efficiency of meaning being translated from the SL into the TL as a kind of justification to the translation of those words and terms.

  B. Problem Formulation

  1. How are words and terms with cultural and historical concepts in Bukan Pasar

  Malam translated into English in It’s Not an All Night Fair?

  2. How is the efficiency of meaning of words and terms with cultural and historical concepts in Bukan Pasar Malam translated into English in It’s Not an All Night

  Fair ?

  C. Objective of the study

  The aims of this research are to analyze the translation of words and terms with cultural and historical concepts in Bukan Pasar Malam into It’s Not an All

  

Night Fair , and to distinguish how is the efficiency of meaning of those words and

terms being translated.

D. Definition of Terms

  1. Translation According to Nida and Taber (1974:12) translation is a reproduction in a receptor language of the closest natural equivalent of the source language, first in terms of meaning, and secondly in terms of style.

  2. Cultural and Historical Concepts According to Mildred Larson in Meaning Based Translation (1984:431), culture is s complex of beliefs, attitudes, rules, and values shared by a group of people. The SL concepts of culture may have no lexical equivalence in the TL because of differences in geography, customs, beliefs, worldview, and various other factors (1984:163). In this study, various other factors refer to the historical background of the SL.

  3. Efficiency According to Eugene A. Nida in Toward a Science of Translation (1964:182), efficiency in translation is closely related to semantics, which is a study of meaning in the context. Nida suggests that efficiency is the best meaning, which is the one that adds least neither reduces the total meaning of the context.

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review on Related Theory

1. Definition on Translation

  Here is one example of theory on the definition of translation as suggested by Peter Newmark (1981:38): A translation must give the words of the original.

  A translation must give the ideas of the original. A translation should read like an original work. A translation should read like a translation. A translation should reflect the style of the original. A translation should process the style of the translation. A translation should read as a contemporary of the original. A translation should read as a contemporary of the translation. A translation may add to or omit from the original. A translation may never add to or omit from the original. A translation of prose should be in prose. A translation of verse should be in verse.

  Those many definitions of translation suggest the opinion that translation should be based on single absolute definition and/or criterion.

  According to Nida and Taber (1974:12), translation is a reproduction in a receptor language of the closest natural equivalent of the source language, first in terms of meaning, and secondly in terms of style.

  Bell (1997:13) tries to define three distinguishable meanings for the word translation: a. Translation; the abstract concept which encompasses both the process of translating and the product of that process. object.

  c. A translation; the product of the process of translating.

2. The Types of Translation

  According to Peter Newmark (in Rochayah Machali’s book Pedoman Bagi

  

Penerjemah ), there are eight types of translation that can be classified into two

  groups, the SL emphasis translation and the TL emphasis translation (2000:49). In the SL emphasis translation, the translator tries to deliver the precise contextual meaning of the SL. In the TL emphasis translation, the translator tries to make the same impact toward the readers that the author of the SL wants to create.

  a. The SL Emphasis Translation 1) Word-for-word Translation

  The TL words are put below the SL words in the text. These words are translated one by one without considering the context. This is commonly used in a pre-translation process to comprehend a difficult text. 2) Literal Translation

  The SL words are translated without considering the context, but the grammatical construction is the closest to the TL equivalent.

  3) Faithful Translation This type tries to reproduce the contextual meaning of the SL words within the constraint of the SL grammatical structure. Cultural words are translated into the

  TL, but errors in grammars and choice of words are not yet corrected.

  4) Semantic Translation This type is more natural and flexible than the faithful translation type. It considers aesthetic values and naturalness of the SL.

  b. The SL Emphasis Translation 1) Adaptation

  Adaptation is the freest translation type that usually used to translate poems or plays. The SL text is rewritten according to the TL culture without changing the important elements of the original such as theme, plot, and characters. 2) Free Translation

  The priority of free translation is the content without considering the original form. Usually, it is a paraphrase which may longer or shorter than the original form.

  3) Idiomatic Translation Idiomatic translation reproduces the message in the SL text using idiomatic expressions that do not exist in the original to give intimate sense in the TL text.

  4) Communicative Translation Communicative translation attempts to reproduce the contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are comprehensible for the readers without difficulties.

3. The Translation of Prose

  In 1540, Dolet published a short outline of translation principle entitled How

  

to Translate Well from One Language into Another, and established five principles a. The translator must fully understand the sense and meaning of the original author intention, although he has liberty to clarify obscurities. The translator must understand perfectly the content and the intention of the original author to whom he/she is translating.

  b. The translator should have a perfect knowledge of both the SL and the TL. The translator should have excellent knowledge of the language from which he/she is translating and equally excellent knowledge of the language into which he/she is translating.

  c. The translator should avoid word for word renderings. The translator should not translate word for word in the translation. It is meant to avoid destroying the meaning of the original and ruining the beauty of the expression.

  d. The translator should use form of speech in common use. The translator should not be affected by the SL form of language, but he should use the TL common form of language.

  e. The translator should choose and order the word appropriately to produce the total effect with the correct tone.

  Hilaire Belloc in Susan Bassnett’s Translation Studies lies down six general rules for the translator of prose texts (1996:116) as follow: a. The translator should not plod on, word by word or sentence by sentence but should always block out his work. The translator should consider the work as an integral unit and translate it in section.

  b. The translator should render idiom by idiom. Idioms of their nature require literally. Its translation should be in a form of idiom that commonly used in the TL and has the closest equivalent in meaning.

  c. The translator should render intention by intention. The intention of a phrase in one language may be less emphatic than the form of a phrase or it may be more emphatic. A given expression in the SL text may be disproportionate if translated literary into the TL text. The translation of intention is often necessary to add words not in the original to conform the intention in another language.

  d. Some words or structures may appear to correspond in both the SL text and the TL text, but actually do not. The translator should use the common structure accepted in the TL.

  e. The translator is advised to “transmute boldly”. Belloc suggests that the essence of translating is “the resurrection of an alien thing in a native body”. The translator is encouraged to translate as clear as possible for the benefit of the TL readers.

  f. The translator should never embellish. A translator should not exaggerate the translation. The translator should maintain the original form and meaning in the translation.

4. Problem on Translation

  There are four problems of equivalence according to Popovic in Translation

  Studies by Susan Bassnett (1996:25):

  a. Linguistic equivalence; there is homogeneity on the linguistic level of both the b. Paradigmatic equivalence; there is equivalence of the element of a paradigmatic expressive alliance, i.e. element of grammar, a higher categories than lexical equivalence.

  c. Stylistic (translational) equivalence; there is functional equivalence of equivalence in both original and translation aiming at an expressive identity with an invariant of identical meaning.

  d. Textual (syntagmatic) equivalence; there is equivalence of the syntagmatic structuring of a text, i.e. equivalence of form and shape.

  Another problem on translation is loss and gain according to Susan Bassnett in Translation Studies (1996:30). The questions of loss and gain in translation arise with the principle that sameness cannot exist between two languages. It is against the indication in translation that a lot of times had been spent on discussing what is lost while ignoring what can be gained also in the translation from the SL into the TL. Loss and gain cannot be avoided because in the process of translation there is a time when the translator enriches or clarifies the SL text and looses the essence of it.

  Difficulties are encountered by the translator when he or she is facing the terms and concepts in the SL that do not exist in the TL text.

  Danger of subjectivity in translating as suggested by Nida in Toward a

  

Science of Translating (1964:154) is also a problem in translation. A translator

  cannot avoid personal involvement in his or her work on the interpretation of the SL message, the selection of corresponding word and grammatical form, the choice of stylistic equivalent. Translator will be influenced by his empathy with the original meaning employed by the author will affect and be affected by the translator corresponding value, which cannot be instantly the same as the author. Intellectual honesty requires the translator to be as free as possible from personal intrusion in the communication process. The translator should never tack on his or her own impression or distort the message to fit his or her own intellectual and emotion outlook. At the same time, translator inevitably leaves his or her own personality on the translation he makes. He must exert every effort to reduce any intrusion which is not in harmony with the intent of the original author message.

  J.C. Catford in A Linguistic Theory on Translation mentions a problem in translation namely untranslatability. Untranslatability occurs when it is impossible to build functionally relevant features of the situation into the contextual meaning of the TL text (1974:94). Catford (1974:98-99) distinguishes two kinds of untranslatability, i.e. linguistic untranslatability and cultural untranslatability. Linguistic untranslatability is on the linguistic differences within the SL text and the TL text.

  On the other hand, cultural untranslatability is on the absence of the TL text culture in a relevant situational feature in SL text.

  Benjamin in The Task of the Translator (1968:81) says that untranslatability may be caused by the looseness of meaning of the SL text. He discusses untranslatability as follows: “Translations prove to be untranslatable not because of any inherent difficulty, but because of the looseness with which meaning attaches to them”.

  According to Harvey and Higgins (1992:24), the transfer of meaning in the is the TL text will be always lack of certain cultural relevant features that are presented in the SL text. They also mention that the translator can concentrate on the realistic aims of cutting down on translation loss, rather than the unrealistic one of seeking the ultimate translation of the SL text. Harvey and Higgins also add their opinion as follows:

  The challenge to the translator is thus not to eliminate translation loss altogether, but to reduce it by deciding which of the relevant feature in the SL is not important to preserve, and which can most legitimately be sacrificed in preserving them. The translator is striving to reduce translation loss, to minimize difference rather than to maximize sameness. (Harvey and Higgins, 1992:25)

5. Strategy on Translation

  In the book entitled In Other Words: A Course Book on Translation (1992:26-42) Baker suggests several strategies to cope with the problem on translation.

  a. Translation by a more general word or supper-ordinate This strategy is commonly used in dealing with many types of non equivalent particularly in the area of proportional meaning. A translator may need to go up a level in a given semantic field to find a more general word that covers the core proportional meaning of the missing hyponym in the TL text. For example, kain in the SL is translated as cloth in the TL. Kain is more than just an ordinary cloth.

  b. Translation by a more neutral or less expressive word The tone of a word should be included in the translation process. However, regarding the lack of expressive words in the TL may force the translator to ignore it. harsh tone of bajingan is missing the translation as thieve.

  c. Translation by Cultural Substitution This strategy involves replacing a culture-specific expression into an expression which does not have the same proportional meaning, but likely to have the same impact on the reader. The advantage of using this strategy is the degree of familiarity in the TL. For example, the SL addresses a follower as sapi (cow), but the TL translation may use the word sheep, because in the TL culture a follower is described as a sheep for the sake of TL reader.

  d. Translation Using a Loan word and/or a Loan Word plus Explanation This strategy is common in dealing with culture-specific concept, modem, and buzzword. Following the loan words with an explanation is very useful when the word in question is repeated several times in the text. Once explained, the loan word can then be used on its own. For example, becak in the SL is translated as the original with notes provided that says; a betjak is a pedicab or a kind of trishaw in which the pedaler is at the back of the carriage.

  e. Translation Using a Related Word This strategy tends to be used when the concept in the SL is lexicalized in a different form in the TL. The purpose of this strategy is to avoid unnaturalness in the

  TL as the result of repeated word in the SL. For example, doklonyo in the SL is translated as eau-de-cologne in the TL.

  f. Translation by Paraphrase using Unrelated Words The paraphrase strategy is used when the concept of the SL is not lexicalized meaning. The usage of this strategy is particularly when the concept in the SL is semantically complex. For example, bedug in the SL is translated as big mosque

  drum in the TL.

  g. Translation by Omission This strategy may sound rather drastic, but in fact, it does not destructive at all to omit translation of a word or expression in some context. If the meaning conveyed by a particular word or expression is not vital enough to the development of the text and distracting the readers with lengthy explanation, translators can and often omit the word or expression. For example, melela in the SL can be translated as

  

burst in the TL or simply being omitted when it is only used as an adverb to

  complete another adverb for example sekilas melela kenangan lama that can be translated as momentarily reminiscence old memory.

  h. Translation by illustration This strategy is an option when a word in the SL has lack of equivalent in the

  TL. The physical entity of the word can be illustrated. For example, mataku yang

  

buruk in the SL is translated as my rotten eyes in the TL with illustration in the form

  of description as follows; by rotten, I think, it is meant to the fact that his eyes are

  

small and dull, irregularly placed, since most Indonesians find this unattractive and

prefer eyes which are large and open .

6. Equivalence

  According to Mona Baker in her book In Other Words: A Course Book on level of complexity; equivalence at word level, equivalence above word level, grammatical equivalence, textual equivalence, pragmatic equivalence (Baker;1992:5). Grammatical and textual equivalence are excluded from the discussion in this study. Dynamic equivalence and adjustment as suggested by Nida and summarized by Hatim in Discourse and the Translator (1994:19) are the equivalence theories that will be used.

  a. Equivalence at Word Level Equivalence at word level is gained by exploring the meaning of a single word in the SL and replacing it with the TL word, which expresses the same meaning as the word in the SL. The problem in translating the SL can arise from non- equivalence at word level. “Non-equivalence at word level means the TL has no direct equivalent for a word that occurs in the SL.” (Baker;1992:20). There are some common non-equivalences at word level suggested by Baker (Baker;1992:20-25).

  1) Culture-specific concepts The SL may express a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture.

  The concept may be a concrete object such as a type of food, or abstract such as a concept related to religious belief and social custom.

  2) Semantically complex SL word A single word in the SL which consists of one morpheme can sometimes express a complex set of meanings, for example pendopo which express a complex meaning of a part of a house in term of form, usage, and culture. 3) The lack of superordinate in TL

  (superordinate) in the semantic field. 4) The lack of a specific term (hyponym) in TL

  The TL often has superordinate, but lacks of specific word or hyponym, for example for a big bats that in SL can be described as kalong. There is no specific word for big bats. 5) Differences in expressive meaning

  The TL may have the word with the same proportional meaning as the SL word, but the expressive meaning is not definitely yet the same. This case often happen in translating a text related to sensitive issue such as religion, politic, and sex, for example in the translation of bajingan mobil into car thief.

  6) The use of loan word in the SL The usage of loan word in the SL can add the atmosphere of sophistication that almost can not be transferred into the TL. Another problem is called false friend.

  “False friend is words or expressions that have the same form in two or more languages, but convey different in meaning.” (Baker;1992:25). Word or expression which is borrowed from another language will develop in meaning. It rarely has the same meaning as the original.

  b. Equivalence above Word Level Equivalence above word level is gained by exploring the meaning of the combination of words and phrases. This type of equivalence covers collocations, idioms and fixed expressions.

  Collocation means “the tendency of certain words to co-occur regularly in a

  

a visit . It is common to say break regulations, perform a visit, or squandering time.

  The meaning of a word in a collocation often depend on its association with certain collocates. Like individual words, collocation patterns carry meaning and can be culture-specific. A collocation may point concept which is not easily accessible to the target reader.

  Unlike the collocation, an idiom such as “burry the hatchet” allows no variation in form under formal circumstances. Fixed expression also allows little or no variation in form. Although they behave familiarly, the meaning of idiom cannot be easily seen from the words that form it, while the meaning of fixed expression is transparent. An idiom or fixed expression may have no equivalent in the TL, or have a similar counterpart, but different in the context of usage. An idiom can also be used in the SL in both its literal and idiomatic sense at the same time.

  c. Pragmatic Equivalence The discussion on pragmatic equivalence is on the question of “making sense” for the TL. Coherence is highlighted aspect at this level. Coherence is complicated. It refers to the network of conceptual relations which underlie the surface text. The meaning of the response to a text depends on the context of the text itself.