AN ANALYSIS ON THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE
INDONESIAN CULTURAL TERMS IN THE BILINGUAL
TOURISM BOOKLET OF SURAKARTA
THESIS
Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for Sarjana Degree at English Department of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University
By:
MARIA DWI RATNANI WIDHI ASTUTI
C 1308507
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF NON-REGULAR PROGRAM FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS
commit to user SURAKARTA
2010
AN ANALYSIS ON THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE
INDONESIAN CULTURAL TERMS IN THE BILINGUAL
TOURISM BOOKLET OF SURAKARTA
By:
MARIA DWI RATNANI WIDHI ASTUTI C 1308507
Approved to be examined before the Board of Examiners Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University
Thesis Consultant
Dra. Rara Sugiarti, M.Tourism NIP. 196305301990032001
Head of English Department of Non- Regular Program
Drs. S. Budi Waskito, MPd. NIP. 195211081983031001
commit to user
AN ANALYSIS ON THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE
INDONESIAN CULTURAL TERMS IN THE BILINGUAL
TOURISM BOOKLET OF SURAKARTA
By:
MARIA DWI RATNANI WIDHI ASTUTI C 1308507
Accepted and Approved by the Board of Examiners Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University on November, 2010
Chairperson : Dra. Diah Kristina, M.A
(………... ) NIP.195905051986012001
Secretary : Ida Kusuma Dewi, S.S., M.A.
(………... ) NIP. 197105251998022001
First Examiners : Dra. Rara Sugiarti, M.Tourism
(………... ) NIP. 196305301990032001
Second Examiners : Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A
(………... ) NIP. 196708301993021001
Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University
commit to user
PRONOUNCEMENT
Name : Maria Dwi Ratnani W.A.
NIM : C 1308507
State truthfully that the thesis entitled An Analysis on the English Translation of the
Indonesian Cultural Terms in the Bilingual Tourism Booklet of Surakarta is
originally compiled by the researcher. It is neither a plagiarism, nor made by others.
The things related to the other people's works are written in quotation and are
included within bibliography.
If it is then proved that the researcher cheats, the researcher is ready to take the
responsibility.
Surakarta, November 2010
The Researcher
Maria Dwi Ratnani Widhi Astuti
commit to user
MOTTO
DO THE BEST, AND PRAY!
I have strength for every situation through Him who empowers me ...
(Philippians 4 : 13)
Throw all your anxiety upon Him, for His concern is about you. (1 Peter 5: 7)
commit to user
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated into:
My Almighty God who empowers me, Jesus Christ...
My lovely parents and family...
My “lovers”...
commit to user
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all, I would like to be thankful to the Lord of the Universe – my
Lover, my everything – Jesus Christ, for His everlasting love, blessing, guidance,
and strength that empowers me in all my life. I really thank to God for His blessing to
finish this thesis as a partial fulfillment of graduating requirement of Sarjana Degree.
It was a challenging work for me to complete this thesis. It took a lot of energy, time,
and patience. I have actually struggled to finish this thesis. However, I really realized
that without the supports and encouragements from the people surround me, I might
not be able to accomplish this thesis. Therefore, I would like to give my special
thankful to all of people who had given valuable contributions. My gratitude goes to:
1. The Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Drs. Sudarno, M.A., for
approving this thesis.
2. The Head of English Department of Non – Regular Program, Drs. S. Budi
Waskito, M.Pd., for giving me admission for my thesis to examine.
3. My Academic Consultant, Mr. Agus D.P., S.S. , M. Call, for being my advisor
during my time to gain Sarjana Degree through Transfer Program.
4. My Thesis Consultant, Dra. Rara Sugiarti, M. Tourism, for giving me
valuable supports, care, and patience in compiling this thesis. Also, for giving
me the “real example” about the struggle in life to be successful. I'm really
proud to have such a lecturer like you, Mam!
5. Drs. M.R. Nababan, M. Ed, M.A., PhD, for his advice and valuable
knowledge of translation.
6. All of lecturers in English Department who have given the precious
knowledge during my study.
7. My raters: Mr. George, Mr. Douglas, and Mr. Shane, for giving me great
contributions in rating my thesis data.
8. My beloved father and mother, for giving me everlasting love, care, patience,
supports, and prayers in all my days, until I could complete this thesis. Thank
commit to user
9. My lovely brother and family, who always love and support me.
10. My beloved “future family”, the two lovers of mine.
11. All of English Department Students of 2006 and all my translation friends
who give me valuable moments and supports.
12. My 'swadana transfer' friends ’08 for becoming the fighters together in the
effort of accepting Sarjana Degree with me.
13. My beloved friends: Sist Niken, Elysa, Hani, Dinar, Cathy, Rina, and Ringgo,
for the precious supports, love, and care in togetherness and beautiful
friendship.
14. Holy Spirit, for the strength in all my days to be the better person in God.
Finally, I really realized that this thesis is far from being perfect. Therefore, I
look forward for any supporting criticisms and suggestions.
Maria Dwi Ratnani Widhi Astuti
commit to user
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL OF THE THESIS CONSULTANT ...ii
APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS...iii
PRONOUNCEMENT ...iv
F. Translation Techniques in Translating Cultural Terms...23
G. Accuracy and Acceptability...25
H. Problems of Equivalence...26
I. Cultural Terms...29
J. Problems in Translating Cultural Terms...32
commit to user CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Type of Research...37
B. Data and Source of Data...38
C. Sample and Sampling Technique...39
1. The analysis of translation techniques ...45
a. Shift / Transposition ...45
b. Addition ...46
c. Transference / Loan word (Borrowing) ...47
d. Cultural Equivalent ...48
e. Functional Equivalent ...48
f. Reduction ...49
g. Literal Translation ...50
h. Couplet (Transference plus functional equivalent)...50
2. The analysis of translation accuracy ...57
a. Accurate Translation ...62
b. Less Accurate Translation ...63
c. Inaccurate Translation ...65
d. Very Inaccurate ...66
3. The analysis of translation acceptability ...67
commit to user LIST OF THE TABLE
Table 1 : Accuracy of the Translation of Cultural Terms...41
Table 2 : Acceptability of the Translation of Cultural Terms...43
Table 3 : The Distribution of Translation Techniques...52
Table 4 : Accuracy Scale of the Translation of Cultural Terms ...58
Table 5 : Accuracy Score of the Translation of the Cultural Terms ...59
Table 6 : The Classification of Translation Accuracy...67
Table 7 : Acceptability Scale of Translation of Cultural Terms...68
Table 8 : Acceptability Score of the Translation of the Cultural Terms...73
Table 9 : The Classification of Translation Acceptability...76
commit to user CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background
As translation is more widely used as a means to connect the gap in the
inter-lingual communication, it is also related to many aspects to be concerned.
One of those aspects is about the culture. When a translator is faced with cultural
terms and has to look for cultural equivalents between the source language and the
target language, sometimes it becomes a difficult process. The difference between
the source language and the target language, and the variation in their cultures,
makes the process of translating a real challenge.
It is difficult to find the cultural equivalents, since there is the fact that the
target language that is spoken by people of a culture is very different from the
culture of the people who speak the source language. Concerning language and
translation, Newmark (1988:94) defines culture as “the way of life and its
manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as
its means ofexpression”. It means that culture relates to art, custom, and habit of a
society, in which language is used as ameans of communication.
However, Newmark (1988:95) also states that he does not regard language
as a component or feature of culture”. Newmark does not include language as a
part of a culture. Furthermore, the differences between cultures may cause more
severecomplications for the translators than do differences in language culture. It
means that the differences among cultures may cause more difficulties for the
translators than the differences of languages among cultures.
commit to user
Of course, the culture influences in translation are important as well as
lexical concern. Translating the culture is more difficult than translating the word
itself. Larson (1984:33) argues “when a source language text is from a culture
which is very different from the culture in which the receptor language is spoken,
it is often difficult to translate in such a way that the results will communicate the
same message”. From the above quotation, it is clear that the more different the
culture, the more difficult to communicate the messages into the target language.
Furthermore, Basnett (1980:23) points out that “the translator must tackle
the SL (source language) text in such a way that the TL (target language) version
will correspond to the SL version…. to attempt to impose the value system of the
SL culture onto the TL culture is a dangerous ground”. It means that it is
important for a translator to consider not only the lexical terms on the target
language, but also how the cultural aspects be seen and make the translation
accurate and acceptable by the target language readers.
Cultural terms are the very sensitive matters to be translated. As we know,
culture is something related to the “personality” and the “originality” of a nation,
therefore, culture is different from one another. It shows prosperity and greatness
of a nation. Therefore, it is difficult enough to find the equivalence of the cultural
terms from one language to another. For that reason, the proper translation
techniques are required to produce the quality translation, especially in terms of
accuracy and acceptability.
Frequently where there is cultural focus, there is a translation problem due
commit to user
According to Nida (1964), the task of interlingual communication in terms of
translating cultural terms is challenging. It can be said that translating cultural
terms is challenging and unique to do.
As we know, every culture has different ways of communication. Even
though the source language text has been translated into the target language text
concerning the grammatical structure of the target language, the translation may
be still unnatural. Larson (1998:470) states that as a part of culture, translation
from one language to another language cannot be done adequately without having
knowledge about the two cultures as well as the two language structures.
Therefore, the translators should master the knowledge of the two cultures, both
the target language culture and the source language culture, and be able to
translate the cultural terms. Without having good knowledge of the two cultures,
the translators will face many difficulties in translating the cultural terms. Even,
the translators will make many errors in their translation. In addition, those errors
will automatically influence the degrading quality of the translation. Therefore, it
makes the process of translating the cultural terms is uneasy thing to conduct.
Cultural words can be divided into several categories. It may be classified
as ecology, material culture (food terms belong to this group), social culture (work
and leisure), organizations, customs, activities, procedures, concepts, and gestures
and habits. These categories may be translated in different ways according to their
role in the text and their aims for the target - text readers.
The book used as the source of data of this research is the bilingual
commit to user
translation of this bilingual tourism booklet is translated by the related official
staff. The bilingual tourism booklet itself is interesting and challenging to analyze
because it employs many Indonesian cultural terms from the various different
aspects, such as food and beverages, historical terms, entertainment, religious
terms, arts, and attractions. Those aspects are potentially significant to study. This
bilingual tourism booklet, representing the various cultural aspects, should have a
good English translation, especially to be accurate and acceptable for the target
readers.
Moreover, there may be equivalents or there may not be any equivalents
from Indonesian into English. For example, in the Indonesian language, there are
three words padi, beras, and nasi, but in English, they name it into rice. Here are some examples from the bilingual tourism booklet of Profil Wisata Kota Solo: Tourism Profile of Solo:
Example 1
ST (the Indonesian cultural term): ‘gamelan’ (datum no.17) is translated
into TT (English version): ‘Gamelan (a set of Javanese orchestra)’, (Profil Wisata Kota Solo: Tourism Profile of Solo, p.4). From the example above, gamelan is the original cultural term from Indonesia, since there is no cultural equivalent in
English. In this case, the translator applies couplet (transference plus functional
equivalent) technique to transfer the good message into English, to be ‘gamelan (a set of Javanese orchestra)’. By applying this technique, the target readers will
commit to user
Example 2
ST: ‘Karak’ (datum no.77), is translated into TT: ‘rice crackers’, (PWKS: TPS, p.44). The Indonesian cultural term ‘karak’ has hardly any cultural equivalent in English. The translator translates the term by applying functional
equivalent technique into ‘rice crackers’. The translator does not employ the word ‘snack’, but the translator applies the word ‘cracker’. There should be the
differences between snack and cracker. Basically, cracker is a thin, crispy, and
usually salty or savory biscuit (www.wiktionary.org/wiki/crackerdry). Whereas,
snack is a type of food not meant to be eaten as a main meal of the day –
breakfast, lunch, or dinner – but rather to assuage a person's hunger between these
meals, providing a brief supply of energy for the body. It also refers to a food item
consumed between meals purely for the enjoyment of its taste
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/snack). The other definition of snack is a light meal;
an item of food eaten between meals; to eat a light meal; to eat between meals
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snack). From the explanation above, it is clear that
the translator should translate the term ‘karak’ into ‘a kind of snack made from spicy rice which is dried and fried’, because ‘cracker’ refers to a kind of biscuit. In fact, ‘karak’ is not a kind of biscuit, but it is a kind of snack. It usually functions as a food accompaniment in Surakarta culture in this case.
Certainly, those two examples of the Indonesian cultural terms (about
foods terms) above do not have equivalents in English. In that case, the translator
is highly recommended to apply couplet (transference plus functional equivalent)
commit to user
Example 3
ST: ‘tirakatan’ (datum no. 122) is translated into TT: ‘ascetic act’, (PWKS: TPS, p. 61). In this case, the translator used the functional equivalent technique as
stated above. The translation of the term ‘tirakatan‘ into English also seems accurate and acceptable.
Translating Indonesian cultural terms into English is difficult, but
challenging. This research analyzes the techniques applied in translating the
Indonesian cultural terms into English and the translation quality in terms of
accuracy and acceptability of the related matter. Since there are many differences
in cultures and language systems between Indonesian and English, the translation
techniques are selected to be studied in this research.
The application of the proper translation techniques can influence the
quality of the translation whether it is going to be good or bad. Furthermore, the
errors in translating cultural terms can also occur because of the mistakes in
applying the translation techniques. Likewise, the equivalent messages between
the source text and the target text does not guarantee the high quality of the
translation.
The phenomenon above is interresting and challenging to observe because
in translating the cultural terms, the translator should consider the two main
things, the message conveyed by means of proper translation techniques and the
quality of translation. Considering the explanation above, the researcher will
commit to user B. Problem Statement
Based on the research background stated above, the following problem
statements are proposed:
1. What are the techniques applied in translating Indonesian cultural terms into
English?
2. How is the translation quality in translating the Indonesian cultural terms into
English in terms of accuracy and acceptability?
C. Research Objectives
The objectives of the research are:
1. To describe the techniques applied in translating Indonesian cultural terms into
English.
2. To explore the translation quality in translating the Indonesian cultural terms
into English in terms of accuracy and acceptability.
D. Research Limitation
The main objectives of this research are to describe the techniques of
translation applied and translation quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability in
translating the Indonesian cultural terms into English. The data analyzed are in
terms of words and phrases level only. The research is focused on the English
translation of the Indonesian cultural terms.
Additionally, the translation quality in this case is only focused on the
accuracy and acceptability of the translation product. Accuracy means how
commit to user E. Research Benefits
It is expected that this study will be beneficial for:
1. Translators
The findings in this study is expected to be used as an input in translating a
cultural –based text (Indonesian - English and vice versa) in order to have better
quality by applying the good techniques in a translation process.
2. Students of English Department
This research is expected to improve the ability of the English Department
students in translating a cultural–based translation text to be qualified especially
in terms of accuracy and acceptability.
3. Other researchers
This research is expected to be able to provide any information in the field of
translation, especially when they want to analyze similar aspects of the bilingual
tourism booklet.
F. Thesis Organization
The thesis is organized as follows:
Chapter I: Introduction
This chapter covers Research Background, Problem Statement, Research
Limitation, Research Objectives, Research Benefits, and Thesis Organization.
Chapter II: Literature Review
This chapter consists of Definition of Translation, Principles of Translation,
Process of Translation, Types of Translation, Translation Techniques, Translation
commit to user
Bilingual Tourism Booklet.
Chapter III: Research Methodology
This chapter covers Type of Research, Data and Source of Data, Sample and
Sampling Technique, Research Procedure, Technique of Data Collection, and
Technique of Analyzing Data.
Chapter IV: Data Analysis
This chapter consists of Introduction, Data Analysis, and Discussion
Chapter V: Conclusion and Suggestion
This chapter consists of Conclusion and Suggestion
Bibliography
commit to user CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Definition of Translation
There are many definitions of translation proposed by many translation
experts. According to Brislin (1976:1), translation is the general term that reffers to
the transfer of thoughts and ideas from one language (source) to another (target)
whether the languages are in written or oral form. Catford (1965:20) emphasizes the
use of technical terms in translation which are called as source language (SL) and
target language (TL) where the textual material of the source language text is
replaced by the equivalent textual material in target language text.
Furthermore, Nida and Taber define that translating consists of reproducing in
the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message,
first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style (1969:11). Similarly, Bell
(1991) states that translation is a representation of a text in one language by a
representation of an equivalent text in second language. The idea above is supported
by Nida and Taber statement (1974) that the best translation does not sound like a
translation.
According to Bell (1991:13), the word ‘translation’ has three distinguishable
meanings:
1. Translating: the process (to translate; the activity rather than the tangible object).
commit to user
3. Translation: the abstract concept which encompasses both the process of
translating and the product of that process.
Therefore, the term ‘translation’ means both the process and the product.
In addition, Larson defines that translation is transferring the meaning of the
source language text into the target language text (1998:3). In translating, Larson
really concerns that the meaning of the source language should be transferred into
the target language text. It is done by going from the form of the first language to the
form of the second language by way of semantic structure. Then, translation consists
of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural
context of the SL text.
Simply speaking, translation is a process of transferring the message from one
language (source language/ SL) to another language (target language/ TL) done by a
translator. The message should be transferred from SL to TL well, so the target
readers can easily understand the message, which is in context to be the same as when
the original readers understand the SL text.
B. Principles of Translation
The aim of the translator in translating a text is to produce good translation.
In this case, equivalence is very needed. Actually, there are some conditions that
should be considered in order to produce a good translation. All of the principles of
translation are emphasizing the same thing that the translators should communicate
According to Etienne Dolet in Nida (1964:15), there are some fundamental
principles of translation, as follows:
1. The translator must understand perfectly the content and intention of the author
whom he is translating.
2. The translator should have a perfect knowledge of the language from which he is
translating and an equally excellent knowledge of the language into which he is
translating.
3. The translator should avoid the tendency to translate word for word, for to do so is
to destroy the meaning of the original and to ruin the beauty of the expression.
4. The translator should employ the forms of speech in common usage.
5. Through his choice and order of words, the translator should produce a total overall
effect with appropriate tone.
From the principles above, it can be seen that Dolet highlights the
reproduction of the sense and suggests to avoid word-for-word translation.
Furthermore, it is important to produce natural translation without ignoring the
important of the equivalence of the translation. Moreover, Tytler in Bassnett
(1991:63) describes three basic principles of translation :
1. The translation should give a complete transcript of the idea of the original work.
2. The style and manner of writing should be in the same character as that of the
original.
commit to user
Those principles are related to what a translator has to do with the source text. The
idea, style, and manner of writing of the source text are some aspects that should be
considered in order to produce a good translation.
According to Savory (1968:50), there are some principles of translation, as
follows:
1. A translation must give the words of the original.
2. A translation must give the ideas of the original.
3. A translation should be read like an original work.
4. A translation should not be read like a translation.
5. A translation should reflect the style of the original.
6. A translation should possess the style of the translator.
7. A translation should be read as a contemporary of the original.
8. A translation should be read as a comtemporary of the translator.
9. A translation may add to or omit from the original.
10. A translation may never add to or omit from the original.
11. A translation in verse should be in prose.
12. A translation in verse should be in verse.
It emphasizes that the message, meaning, and the content of the source
language should be transferred correctly and completely into the target language in
order to be understood easily by the target readers.
Besides, Kridalaksana (1985:77) states that there are some factors as the
requirements for a translator to produce a good translation. It is said that a translator
master the methods and techniques of translation. Therefore, a translator should have
many skills in translating the text in order to produce a good translation.
C. Process of Translation
Translation process is an activity of a translator when doing translation. In this
case, Nida (1975:80) has three steps of translation process that can be used by the
translator: 1). Analysis, 2). Transferring, 3). Restructuring. The scheme can be seen
as follows:
Source Language Receptor Language
Text Translation
Analysis Restructuring
Transfer
Process of Translation (Nida, 1975:80)
The process of analysis are, however, relatively complex, for they involve at
least three different sets of features: the grammatical relationships between
constituent parts, the referential meanings of the semantic units, and the connotative
commit to user 1. Analysis
In this case, the translator should understand the message and the meaning of the SL
text based on the context, to decide the right word in traslating. Therefore, the
translator must have the knowledge of the SL and TL culturally and linguistically.
2. Transfer
A translator translates the analyzed meaning of the original language into the target
language.
3. Restructuring
A translator checks the transferred text or message in the target language. Therefore,
it will sound natural and readable for the target reader.
D. Types of Translation
Actually, it is possible for the translator to apply more than one type of
translation in translating one language to another. There are eight types of translation
suggested by Newmark, with some types emphasize on the SL and the other
emphasize on the TL, as follows:
SL emphasis TL emphasis
Word-for-word translation Adaptation
Literal Translation Free Translation Faithful Translation Idiomatic Translation Semantic Translation Communicative Translation
Newmark criticizes that equivalent effect is “illusory”. The conflict of
loyalties, the gap between emphasis on the SL and TL will always remain as the
overriding problem in translation theory and practice. He suggests narrowing the gap
by applying semantic and communicative translation. He affirms that only semantic
and communicative translation fulfill the two main aims of translation, which are
accuracy and economy.
There are also other classifications of the types of translation. Larson
(1998:17) classifies the two types of translation, literal and idiomatic translation.
Literal translation is the form-based translation that follows the form of the SL, both
in the grammatical and in the diction. Meanwhile, idiomatic translation is the
meaning-based translation that attempts to communicate the meaning of the SL text
in the natural form of the TL.
E. Translation Techniques
There are many kinds of translation techniques with the different ideas from
the different translation experts. According to Hurtado Albir and Molina (2002:499),
translation techniques allow us to describe the actual steps taken by the translators in
each textual micro-unit and obtain clear data about the general methodological option
chosen. Techniques describe the result obtained and can be used to classify different
types of translation solutions.
Actually, there is a difference between translation methods and translation
techniques. The translation methods affect the whole text, but the translation
commit to user
strategy is that the strategies open the way to find a suitable solution for a translation
unit. The solution will be materialized by using a particular technique. Therefore,
strategies and techniques occupy different places in problem solving: strategies are
part of the process, and techniques affect the result. For example, paraphrasing can be
used as the strategy of translation, and it can be an amplification as the technique
used in the translated text.
There are five basic characteristics of translation techniques stated by Hurtado
Albir and Molina (2002:509), as follows: • They affect the result of the translation
• They are classified by comparison with the original
• They affect micro-units of the text
• They are by nature discursive and contextual
• They are functional
In simple words, translation techniques are the procedures to analyze and
classify the way of equivalence happens and it can be applied in whatever lingual
terms. However, translation techniques are called as the realization of the decision
making process, where the product can be identified on the translation result. Below
are the kinds of translation techniques that are proposed by Newmark (1988: 81-91)
as follows:
1. Shift/ Transposition
Shift (Catford’s term) or Transposition (Vinay and Dalbernet’s term) is a
(Newmark,1988: 85). One of the type of shift found based on the data is stucture
shift. This is a shift in grammatical structure including change in word order. Struture
shift occurs when an SL grammatical structure does not exist in the TL.
Here is the example of the datum that belongs to this category:
SL : Sebagian besar dari zaman Majapahit (1293-1476) dan Mataram (1586-1755)
masa kekaisaran, tarian topeng klasik, wayang orang, pakaian, wayang kulit dan
wayang kayu, patung-patung keagamaan, perhiasan, dan benda-benda antik serta
pusaka-pusaka lainnya.
TL : Most of them were from Majapahit era (1293-1478) and Mataram era
(1586-1755) at the time of the empire, classical mask dance, human wayang (drama),
dresses, leather puppet and wooden puppet, religious statues, jewelry, and antique
matters, also other valuable heirlooms. (p.3)
SL (Indonesian) : Wayang Kulit H M
TL (English) : Leather Puppet
M H
In Indonesian, the word “Wayang” must precede its modifier “Kulit”. Meanwhile, in
English, the word “Leather” that functions as modifier precedes the word “Puppet”
having functions as the head in the noun phrase.
2. Naturalisation
This is a kind of translation technique that succeeds the borrowing (transference)
technique. According to Newmark (1988: 82), this technique succeeds transference
commit to user
morphology (word-form) of the TL, for example: computer (English) to be komputer
(Indonesian).
3. Transference/ Loan word (Borrowing)
This translation techniques is commonly called borrowing. Newmark calls
this technique as transference. This technique is usually applied when there is not yet
an equivalent of the certain word or it is applied to appreciate the SL word /term. It is
done simply by using a loan word from the SL and putting it into the TL. Generally,
only cultural “object” or concept that should be transferred (Newmark, 1988:81).
Here is the example of the datum related to this category:
SL: Pura Mangkunegaran (datum no. 005) menyimpan koleksi yang tak ternilai
harganya. (p. 3)
TL: Pura Mangkunegaran has invaluable collections.
Borrowing (transference) can be for different reasons, with the examples
below being taken from usage rather than translated texts:
• the target language has no (generally used) equivalent. For example, the first
man-made satellites were Soviet, so for a time they were known in English as
"sputniks".
• the source language word sounds "better" (more specific, fashionable, exotic
or just accepted), even though it can be translated. For example, Indonesian IT
is full of terms like "soft[ware]", and Indonesian accountants talk of
4. Cultural equivalent
This is a translation technique applied to find the equivalence of the cultural
terms. Newmark states that this technique is applied when the SL cultural word is
translated by a TL cultural word (Newmark,1988:83). As we know, the term that is
related to cultural matters are the serious problem to find the equivalence. It also
depends on translators’ competence to produce the good result of translation. Here is
the example of the datum related to the category:
SL: Klenteng (datum no. 49) yang berada tepat di seberang Pasar Gede ini sudah
berdiri sejak tahun 1746 M. (p. 7)
TL: The t emple is located across the Pasar Gede was built in 1746 AD.
5. Literal Translation
This techniques is applied by translating word-for word translation. Newmark
prefers to call it as “through translation”. Normally, literal translation should be used
only when they are already recognized terms (Newmark, 1988:85). The example is
the sentence I will call you that is translated into Saya akan menelpon Anda. Again,
sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. The other example from the bilingual
tourism booklet is “Raja Paku Buwono II” (datum no. 002) as the Indonesian cultural
term that is translated in English into “King Paku Buwono the 2nd”.
6. Functional Equivalent
This technique is used when a SL cultural word has no TL equivalent. This is
applied to cultural matters and requires the use of a culture free word (Newmark,
commit to user The example of this category is:
SL : Wayang orang Sriwedari telah berjasa besar dalam ikut melestarikan
kebudayaan bangsa, yaitu seni wayang orang, seni tari, seni busana, seni suara, serta
seni karawitan (datum no. 025, p.12 )
TL : Human Wayang of Sriwedari has given a huge contribution for conservating
traditional culture, such as human watang art, dabcing art, fashion art, singing art, and
Javanese orchestra art.
7. Reduction
This is a technique in which the information/ message is given implicitly in
the TL. In contrast, the SL information is explicit one. This technique is in contrast
with amplification technique. This is rather imprecise translation techniques practiced
intuitively in some cases (Newmark, 1988:90). It is to suppress a SL into item in TL.
Here is the example of this category
Sl : Gladag Langen Bogan (datum no. 055) sebuah penguat bagi sebutan Solo
sebagai kota yang tak pernah tidur. (p. 34)
TL : Galaboemphazises more the so – called Solo as the city that never sleep
8. Synonymy
Newmark states that the word 'synonym' is used in the sense of a near TL
equivalent to an SL word in a context, where a precise equivalent may or may not
exist (1988: 84). This technique is used for an SL word where there is no clear
one-to-one equivalent, and the word is not important in the text, in particular for
compromise, in order to translate more important segments of the text and the
meaning more accurately.
Example:
SL (Indonesian) : Dia adalah seorang pria sejati.
TL (English) : He is a gentleman.
From the example above, the word 'gentleman' is translated into 'pria sejati' since
there is no one-to-one equivalent in the TL. In here, the translator considers that 'pria
sejati' in Indonesian has the same meaning as the word 'gentleman' in English.
9. Modulation
As cited in Newmark (1988:88), Vinay and Dalbernet defines that
'modulation' is 'a variation through a change of viewpoint, of perspective and very
often of category of thought'. The translators usually use this technique when the TL
rejects literal translation.
Example:
SL (Indonesian) : Dia akan menjadi seorang bapak.
TL (English) : He is going to have a child.
In this case, the translator tries to find the point of view of the word ' akan menjadi
seorang bapak' to be 'is going to have a child'. Based on the literal meaning, the words
'akan menjadi seorang bapak' should be translated literally into 'is going to be a
father'. However, in this case the translator translates it into the same meaning 'is
commit to user 10. Addition
This technique is commonly used by using additional information. It is
usually applied in cultural-based translation (Newmark, 1988: 92). Additional
information in translation may take various forms:
1. within the text
2. notes at bottom of pages
3. notes at end of chapter
4. notes or glossary at end of book
Example:
SL (Indonesian) : Sebuah taman rekreasi di Jl. Ir. Sutami yang terletak di tepi
Bengawan Solo (datum no 034, p. 18)
TL (English) : A recreation park in Jl. Ir. Sutami which located at the side of
Bengawan Solo river
In this case, the additional word 'river' in the English translation adds the clearer
information about what Bengawan Solo is as the Indonesian term.
F. Translation Techniques in Translating Cultural Terms
Translating cultural terms (cultural–bound terms) is a serious matter to be
concerned. Harvey (2000:2) defines culture-bound terms as the terms which "refer to
concepts, institutions and personnel which are specific to the SL culture".
Furthermore, Harvey (2000:2-6) puts forward the following four major techniques for
equivalent or ‘linguistic equivalent’, transcription or ‘borrowing’, descriptive or self
explanatory translation.
1. Functional Equivalent
This techniques are applied by using a referent in the target language (TL) culture
having similar function to the source language (SL) referent. Weston (1991:23)
describes it as "the ideal method of translation," while Sarcevic (1985:131) asserts
that it is "misleading and should be avoided." Actually, some of the translators still
applies the technique.
2. Formal Equivalent or 'linguistic equivalent'
It means a 'word-for-word' translation or literal translation.
3. Transcription or 'borrowing' (i.e. reproducing or, where necessary, transliterating
the original term)
According to Harvey (2000:4), transcription is a translation technique where the
translator borrows a word or lexical term of the SL. If the term is formally transparent
or is explained in the context, it may be used alone. In other cases, particularly where
no knowledge of the SL by the reader is presumed, transcription is accompanied by
an explanation or a translator's note.
4. Descriptive or self-explanatory translation
Descriptive uses generic terms (not cultural-bound terms) to convey the meaning of
the source text (Harvey 2000:5). It is appropriate to use in a wide variety of contexts
where formal equivalence is considered insufficiently clear. In a text aimed at a
commit to user
G. Accuracy and Acceptability a. Accuracy
According to Shuttleworth and Cowie (1997:3), accuracy is described as
follows:
“A term used in translation evaluation to refer to the extent to which a translation
matches its original. While it usually refers to preservation of the information content
of the source text (ST) in the target text (TT), with an accurate translation being
generally literal rather than free, its actual meaning in the context of a given
translation must depend on the type of equivalence found in the translation”.
Based on the the description above, it can be concluded that accuracy in
translation deals with the message or the content of the SL into the TL. A translation
is considered accurate, if it can transfer the whole message from SL to TL perfectly.
In simple words, the faithfulness of the SL message is still maintained in the TL.
b. Acceptability
Acceptability of a text refers to the ‘natural sense’ of the translation.
According to Shuttleworth and Cowie (1997:2-3), a translation that learns toward
acceptability can thus be thought as fulfilling the requirement of “reading as an
original” written text in the TL rather than that of “reading as the original”.
Acceptability relates to the naturalness of the translated text to the target readers. It is
determined by the faithfulness to the linguistics and cultural bounds of the target
system. Therefore, the translator has to observe the norms of the SL and the target
acceptable if it is read as an original text written in TL and sounded natural for the
target readers.
H. Problems of Equivalence
The aim of the translator is to produce the equivalent translation that is
accurately communicating the same meaning as the SL. However, the different
characteristics between the SL and the TL often create many problems for the
translator. Hervey, Higgins, and Haywood claim two reasons why it is hard to
produce equivalent in translation. First, the requirement that the target text (TT)
should affect its recipient in the same way as the source text (ST) does (or did) its
original audience raises the difficult problem on how any one particular recipient
responds to a text, and of the extent to which text has constant interpretations even for
the same person on two dofferent occasions. ... Second, the principle of equivalent
effect presumes that the theory can cope not only with ST and SL audience, but also
with the impact of a TT on its intended TL audience (1995:14).
For those reasons, Nida (1964:159) distinguishes two types of equivalence,
formal and dynamic. Formal equivalence focuses on the message itself, in both the
form and content. It aims to allow the readers to have a better understanding about the
TL context. However, this method sometimes produces unnatural translation, that is
hard to understand by the target readers.
Meanwhile, dynamic equivalent is based on the principle of equivalent effect,
for instance : that the effect of the message of the TL text to the receptor language
commit to user
However, a complete equivalence is impossible because of the cultural gap between
the SL and the TL. Thus, information loss and gain in the process of translation can
not be avoided.
Sometimes, the purpose of translation is to produce the same effect on the
translation readers as well as the original text readers and this purpose will be
achieved when the equivalence occurs between an SL and a TL text. According to
Hatim (2001:28), translation equivalence may be achieved at any or all of the
following levels:
1. SL and TL words having similar orthographic or phonological features (formal
equivalence;
2. SL and TL words referring to the same thing in the real world (referential or
denotative equivalence);
3. SL and TL words triggering the same or similar associations in the minds of
speakers of the two languages (connotative equivalence);
4. SL and TL words being used in the same or similar contexts in their respective
languages (text normative equivalence);
5. SL and TL words having the same effect on their respective readers (pragmatic or
dynamic equivalence).
Moreover, Nababan (2003:55-60) states that there are four factors affecting
problems of equivalence in translation, they are: different systems of SL and TL,
semantic and stylistic complexity, translator's competence, and quality of the SL text.
If only all languages in this world had the same system of languages, there
would be no problems in term of translation (Nababan, 2003:55). Nevertheless, in
fact, there are no languages in this world having the same system of languages. Every
system of languages is different in terms of syntactical, lexical, and morpheme
structure. The different system of SL and TL also can be seen from the differences in
terms of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences.
2. Semantic and stylistic complexity.
Semantic field is the most complicated one (Nababan, 2003:58). It can be
understood since the meaning has the broad scope and tends to be subjective. The
high level of subjectivity in term of meaning is related to the relationship about the
meaning of the words with the socio-cultural aspects of the people using the
language. The differences of languages and cultures will cause the serious problem
for the translators, especially if they do not master the cultures of SL and TL well.
The stylistic complexity also becomes one of the factors that cause the
problems in translation (Nababan, 2003:59). The literature texts, such as poetry,
prose, and play, are expressed in the different style from the science texts. Because of
the different culture of SL and TL, the stylistic matters of both languages are also
different.
3. Translator’s competence.
A translator is the subject in the translation process, and the translator competence
will affect the successfulness of a translation result or not (Nababan, 2003:59-60).
commit to user
translation process easier. In contrast, a translator with low level of competence will
face many kinds of translation problems, and do not know the best ways to solve
those problems.
4. Quality of the SL text.
The low quality level of the SL text can affect the problems in translation process
(Nababan, 2003:60). As a result, the meaning involved in the SL text can not be
easily understood because of the bad quality of the SL text.
I. Cultural Terms
Newmark (1988:95-102) divided cultural terms into several categories. It may
be classified as ecology, material culture (artifacts), social culture (work and leisure),
organizations, customs, activities, procedures, concepts, and gestures and habits.
These categories may be translated into different ways according to their role in the
text and their aims for the target text readers.
1. Ecology
Geographical features can be differentiated from other cultural terms that
usually value-free whether in politic or commerce. Nevertheless, their usage depends
on the importance of their country and their degree of specificity. As Newmark
(1988:96) stated “geographical features can be normally distinguished from other
cultural terms in that they are usually value-free, politically and commercially.
Nevertheless, their diffusion depends on the importance of their country of origin as
well as their degree of specificity”. Many countries have local words, and these words
2. Material Culture
Food is the most sensitive and important expression of national culture for
many countries because food has the widest variety in translation procedures.
Newmark (1988:97) stated that “food is for many the most sensitive and important
expression of national culture; food terms are subject to the widest variety of
translation procedures”. It means material culture especially food need to be
translated appropriately because it is an expression of a national culture. Someone can
recommend for words with recognized equivalents and transference, plus a neutral
term for the readers in general.
3. Social Culture
The translators should know the denotative and connotative meaning of every
country, in order to produce an acceptable translation. Newmark (1988:98) stated that
“in considering social culture one has to distinguish between denotative and
connotation problems of translation.” Connotative meaning in each country is
different; a word may have a positive connotative meaning in one culture but not in
another. That is why the translator should pay attention and be careful in translating
it. Furthermore, Larson (1984:131) explained that “connotative meaning is often
culturally conditioned. A word, which has a positive connotation in one culture, may
actually have a negative connotation in another.
4. Organizations, Customs, Activities, Procedures, Concepts
Concerning the translation of social organization terms, the translators should
commit to user
first, a translator should build a recognized translation and secondly the readers and
take an appropriate setting should understand the translation. The translation process
of cultural organization is also divided into two categories; they are formal and
informal informative (colloquial) texts. In formal informative text, the translators
should translate the cultural organization terms, Newmark (1988:100) stated that in a
formal informative text, the name should be transferred, and a functional, culture-free
equivalent given. On the contrary, Newmark (1988:100) explained that “If the
informative text is informal or colloquial it may not be necessary to transfer the
organization’s name”. Therefore, if the text is informal informative text, it is not
necessary for the translators to translate the cultural organization.
5. Gestures and Habits
Gestures and habits are symbolic actions of a country having meaning and
function. It is important for the translators to translate it appropriately because if these
actions simply translated literally, it may make wrong meaning. Larson (1984:138)
stated that “In every culture, there will be certain actions which will be symbolic”.
Gestures and habits in the form of an action sometimes have different function in the
receptor language, that is why it is sometimes difficult to translate gestures and
habits. Newmark (1988:102) also added that “for gestures and habits there is a
distinction between description and function which made where necessary in
J. Problems in Translating Cultural Terms
A cultural-based translation often affect the difficult problems for the
translators because there is a matter called ‘cultural untranslatable’. As a result, the
translation will be inaccurate. Gerver (1976) cites six types of inaccuracies in
translation: a) simple omission; b) escape, or cutting off the input with simultaneous
talk; c) error, or incorrect processing; d) queuing, or delaying response during heavy
loads and catching up during lulls; e) filtering, or systematic omission of certain types
of information; and f) approximation, or less precise renderings of information than
the original contained.
According to Toury (1978:200), translation is a kind of activity which
inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions." Related to this
statement, translators are permanently faced with the problem of how to treat the
cultural aspects implicit in a source text and of finding the most appropriate technique
of successfully conveying these aspects in the target language. These problems may
vary in scope depending on the cultural and linguistic gap between the two (or more)
languages concerned (Nida, 1964:130). The important aspect is to determine how
much missing background information should be provided by the translator.
The cultural problems for translation may take several forms ranging from
lexical content and syntax to ideologies and ways of life in a given culture. The
translator also has to decide on the importance given to certain cultural aspects and to
what extent it is necessary or desirable to translate them into the TL. The notion of
commit to user
appear to be inseparable. Discussing the problems of correspondence in translation,
Nida confers equal importance to both linguistic and cultural differences between the
SL and the TL and concludes that "differences between cultures may cause more
severe complications for the translator than do differences in language structure"
(Nida, 1964:130). It is further explained that parallels in culture often provide a
common understanding despite significant formal shifts in the translation. The
cultural implications for translation are thus of significant importance as well as
lexical concerns.
Newmark (1988:96) proposes two opposing methods: transference and
componential analysis, when considering the translation of cultural words and
notions. As Newmark mentions, transference gives "local colour," keeping cultural
names and concepts. Nida's definitions of formal and dynamic equivalence (Nida,
1964:129) may also be seen to apply when considering cultural problems for
translation. According to Nida, a "gloss translation" mostly typifies formal
equivalence where form and content are reproduced as faithfully as possible and the
TL reader is able to "understand as much as he can of the customs, manner of
thought, and means of expression" of the SL context (Nida, 1964:129). Contrasting
with this idea, dynamic equivalence "tries to relate the receptor to modes of behaviour
relevant within the context of his own culture" without insisting that he "understand
the cultural patterns of the source-language context".
In this case, the writer underlines that the problems in translating cultural
terms can be differentiated into many things as stated above. However, there is the
It is usual when there are no cultural equivalents from the SL into TL because there
are no languages in this world having the same language systems. The researcher
considers that the notion from Newmark to keep the transference method in
translating cultural terms is wise to do. It is useful to appreciate the original terms of
the SL. However, the researcher also considers that the transference method in
translating cultural terms is highly recommended to be added with the cultural or
functional equivalent as the proper way to solve the problems of translating cultural
terms.
K. The Bilingual Tourism Booklet
Tourism, broadly defined, is regarded as the world's largest industry and one
of the fastest - growing, accounting for over one-third of the value of total
world-wide services. At the start of the new millennium, tourism has been stated as the
number one industry in many countries and the fastest-growing economic sector in
terms of foreign exchange earnings and job creation (WTO, 2005). Tourism is a multi
sector, and as a means of economic and social cultural exchange, it has many aspects
and types (Mowforth & Munt, 2003). Because of its various forms, tourism
researchers have been incapable of reaching either a conceptual or operational unity
over a consensus definition (Mill & Morrison, 2002). Harrill & Potts (2003: 233)
states, “tourism is an invisible industry, encompassing transportation, loading, and
entertainment. Unfortunately, tourism is also invisible to many planners, so tourism
commit to user
Tourism is the term given to the activity that occurs when people travel (Mill &
Morrison, 2002).
Tourism can be defined as the theories and practices for being a tourist. This
involves traveling and visiting places for leisure-related purposes. Tourism comprises
the ideas and opinions people hold which share their decisions about going on trips,
about where to go and where not to go and what to do or not to do about how to relate
other tourists, locals, and service personnel. It is all the behavioral manifestations of
those ideas (Leiper, 2004:44). Leiper (1990) also states that tourism system is a
framework that identifies tourism as being made up of a number of components, often
taken to include the tourist, the tourist generating region, the transit route region, the
tourist destination and the tourism industry.
Moreover, WTO (World Tourism Organization) defines that tourism
comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their
usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and
other purposes. Tourism is also a dynamic and competitive industry that requires the
ability to constantly adapt to customers' changing needs and desires, as the customer's
satisfaction, safety, and enjoyment are particularly the focus of tourism businesses.
Simply speaking, tourism can be explained as a temporary travel from one place to
another place with the goal not to earn money or to do business in the place visited,
but to enjoy the journey based on the various needs or pleasures.
Booklet is a small book usually having a paper cover
(www.thefreedictionary.com/booklet). Therefore, booklet is a book often with paper
of booklet. Tourism booklet is a small tourism book with paper covers. There are two
kinds of tourism booklet; they are monolingual tourism booklet and bilingual tourism
booklet. Bilingual is using or able to use two languages, especially with equal or
nearly equal fluency (www.thefreedictionary.com/bilingual). Therefore, bilingual
tourism booklet is the small book related to tourism field with paper covers
containing two languages as the content inside of it.
The bilingual tourism booklet which was analyzed contains the prospective
data about the tourism aspect, especially the Indonesian cultural terms. The title of the
bilingual tourism booklet is “Profil Wisata Kota Solo: Tourism Profile of Solo”. The
tourism booklet is compiled by the Tourism and Cultural Office of Surakarta. The
English translation in the bilingual booklet is also translated by the related official
staff. The bilingual tourism booklet contains many kinds of beneficial tourism
information, especially Indonesian cultural terms about Surakarta including related
terms of historical places as well as the culinary aspects. This is the complete guiding
book of the tourists when they want to find the special characteristics and other
cultural attractions in Solo. The information about the complete profile of Solo can be
commit to user CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Type of Research
This research is focused on the study of the cultural terms, the translation
techniques applied, and the quality of the translation in terms of accuracy and
acceptability of a tourism booklet entitled Profil Wisata Kota Solo: Tourism Profile of
Solo. Therefore, descriptive qualitative method is the best strategy to be applied in
this research. Descriptive method involves collecting the data, analyzing data, finding
the models, and drawing the conclusion based on the data without taking account into
general conclusion (Hadi, 1989).
The researcher firstly collects the data from the bilingual tourism booklet.
The data are about the Indonesian cultural terms and their English translation. Then,
the researcher analyzes the data stated above and finds the results of the data analysis.
Finally, the researcher draws the conclusion based on the data analysis.
Additionally, Cresswell (1998:10) states that qualitative research is an inquiry
process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that
explore a social or human problem. Therefore, the researcher will analyze about the
matter of translating cultural terms in qualitative way. The researcher will build a
complex, holistic picture, analyzes words, reports detailed views of informants, and
conducts the study in a natural setting. It will also focus on the description (Sutopo,
2002:35). Therefore, the forms of the data collected are words, sentences, or pictures
having more meaning than numbers or frequencies.
B. Data and Source of Data
The source of data of this research is the bilingual tourism booklet entitled
Profil Wisata Kota Solo: Tourism Profile of Solo published by Tourism and Cultural
Office of Surakarta. The researcher decides to take the bilingual tourism booklet as
the sources of data because it is interesting to study about the cultural terms in the
related source of data, for the cultural terms are the significant matters to analyze.
Moreover, all things about cultural matters are “difficult & serious” terms to translate,
for they are “sensitive” terms and they relate to the characteristics of a nation. It is
also very challenging to analyze the translation techniques of the cultural terms
applied, and to analyze the translation quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability.
Absolutely, all things about translating cultural terms are challenging, interesting, and
unique.
The data of the research are divided into two. They are the Indonesian cultural
terms and their translations, and the information provided by the informants
evaluating the quality of translation in terms of accuracy and acceptability. The
informants evaluating the quality of translation of the data are called the raters. They
are the foreigners. They will evaluate the quality of translation in terms of accuracy
and acceptability. Absolutely, the raters are chosen as if they become the target
readers of the related tourism booklet. With their foreigners status (not the
Indonesians), they are expected to be the proper raters in evaluating the quality of the