ii Universitas Kristen Maranatha
ABSTRACT
Dalam skripsi ini, saya akan membahas penerjemahan dalam
permainan bahasa yang terdapat dalam seri komik terkenal, Snoopy, yang
ditulis oleh Charles M. Schulz.
Skripsi ini menyoroti jenis-jenis permainan bahasa dalam lima seri komik
Inggris beserta terjemahannya dalam bahasa China. Dalam menganalisis
permainan bahasa, saya menggunakan teori Cook dan Crystal. Aspek-aspek
kebahasaan yang terdapat dalam kajian saya berupa Fonologi, Morfologi,
Semantik, Pragmatik. Sementara itu, teori penerjemahan yang saya gunakan
adalah teori Hatim dan Munday.
Bentuk permainan bahasa yang saya temukan dalam seri komik ini
merupakan kombinasi dari eksploitasi bahasa di mana bahasa digunakan
secara maksimal dan unik/tidak biasa oleh pengguna bahasa serta manipulasi
bahasa yang berupa penyimpangan aturan-aturan tata bahasa. Pada dasarnya,
orang senang bermain dengan bahasa dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Penulis
komik Snoopy, Schulz, juga memasukkan beragam permainan bahasa ke
dalam karyanya sehingga orang sering merasa terhibur dengan permainan
bahasa yang biasanya menimbulkan efek humor/kelucuan.
Tetapi ketika permainan bahasa itu diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa lain
(China), ketidakakuratan penerjemahan sering terjadi baik dalam aspek bentuk
maupun makna kata. Metode penerjemahan yang digunakan oleh penerjemah
iii Universitas Kristen Maranatha
keakuratan penerjemahan.
Jika teks sumber diterjemahkan secara tidak akurat ke dalam teks
sasaran, efek yang ditimbulkan bagi pembaca akan menjadi berbeda. Bahkan hal
ini mungkin akan menyebabkan hilangnya efek kelucuan yang ditimbulkan dalam
teks sumber. Hasil ini adalah hal yang paling sering ditemui bila salah satu aspek
makna maupun bentuk kata itu tidak diterjemahkan dengan baik dan akurat. Oleh
karena itu, sangatlah penting bagi seorang penerjemah untuk memperhatikan
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... i
ABSTRACT ... ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study ... 1
Statement of the Problem ... 4
Purpose of the Study ... 4
Methods of Research ... 4
Organization of the Thesis ... 5
CHAPTER TWO: THEORIES OF LANGUAGE PLAY AND TRANSLATION 2.1 Theory of Language Play ... 6
2.1.1 Definition of Language Play ... 6
2.1.2 Types of Language Play ... 7
2.1.3 Effects of Using Language Play ... 17
2.2 Theory of Translation ... 17
2.2.1 Definition of Translation ... 17
2.2.2 Translation and Translating ... 18
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION OF LANGUAGE PLAY IN SNOOPY COMIC SERIES ... 21
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ... 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 54
APPENDICES: Data 1-17 ... 58
58
APPENDICES
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
75
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
HumourMiscella
neous
Sentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 1
We believe you need a “CAT SCAN”
(pg. 21)
(i)
Homonymy -
wǒmen rènwéi, n we think, you
xūyào zuò yī cì
need do one time
"māot sǎomiáo”
“cat body scan”
Back-translation: “We think you need a body scan for cats”
(pg. 21)
- X X X
X -
(ii)
Homophones of Abbreviation
- - X X X
2
How about
extending the
right hand of
fellowship?
(pg. 23)
(iii)
Idiom -
wǒmen wòwo
we grasp grasp
shǒu, jiāo ge
hand, make *
péngyou friend zěnmeyàng? how? *measure word Back-translation:
“Let’s grasp hands, how about making friends?”
(pg. 23)
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
76
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence Language Play Humour Miscella
neous Sentence
Language
Play Content
Form
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 3
You‟ll get a turtle headache
(pg. 24)
(iv)
Metaphor -
n huì dé
you will get
tóutòngzhèng de,
headache * ,
jiù xiàng hǎiguī
just like sea turtle
bèi mēn zài
being sealed **
ké l yīyàng
shell in alike * particle **complement
Back-translation: ”You will get a headache, like a sea turtle sealed in its shell”
(pg.24)
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
77
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour Misce llaneo usSentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 4
Aren‟t you on the
internest?
(pg. 26)
(v)
Blending -
n bù shì huì
you no are can
shàng "hùliáncháo"
on “inter(net)nest”
ma?
* ?
*particle
Back-translation: Aren‟t you able to be on the
“internest”?(pg. 26)
Blending -
5
They say when
you fall off a
horse, you should
get right back on.
(pg. 27)
(vi)
proverb -
tāmen shuō, dāng n
they say, when you cóng yī p mǎ
from one * horse
shàng shuāi xiàlái
on thrown down
de shíhòu, tōngcháng
** time, normally
huì bèibù xiān
will back first
zháo dì.
on ground.
*measure word **particle
Back-translation: They say,
when you are thrown down from a horse, normally your back will first hit the ground(pg. 27)
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
78
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
Humour Misce llaneo usSentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play
6 A beagloo? (pg. 29)
(vii)
blending -
gǒuwū?
dog house?
Back-translation: dog house?
(pg. 29)
Compound
-ing
X X X Loses context
7
When I back off, I
back off!
(pg. 30) (viii) Connotative and denotative meaning -
dà zhàngfū néng
big true man can
qū néng shēn!
bend can stretch
Back-translation: a real
man can bend and
stretch (pg.30)
proverb X X X contextLoses
8
He’s watching TV with a stocking
cap (pg.31) (ix) Categorical lexical ambiguity -
tā zhèng dài zhe
he * wear **
yī d ng róngxiànmào
one *** wool-knitting cap
kàn diànshì
watch TV
*adverb **particle ***measure word
Back-translation: He’s
wearing a wool-knitting cap and watching TV
(pg.31)
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
79
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
HumourMiscella
neous
Sentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 9
a.) I‟m here to give you reassurance
(pg. 33)
(x)
Affixation
Plea sing sounds
yǒu wǒ zài zhèr
have I * here *in (verb)
Back-translation: I’m
here (pg. 33)
- X X X X -
b.) Be reassured!
(pg. 33)
fàngxīn hǎole!
Feel relieved * ! *tone particle
Back-translation: Be
relieved! (pg. 33)
c.) Who reassures
the reassurer? (pg. 34)
yòu huì yǒu shuí
* will have who
lái bǎohù wǒ
come protect me
zhè ge xiǎo gǒu
this ** little dog
bǎohùzhě ne?
protector *** ?
*adverb
**measure word
***particle
Back-translation: Who will come to protect
this little-dog
Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
80
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
HumourMiscell
aneous
Sentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 10
How do you „unfive‟?
(pg. 36)
(xi)
Idiom
-
n zěnme bǎ tāmen
you how * them
zhānq lái de?
stick together **? *preposition
** particle
Back-translation: How do you stick them
together? (pg. 36)
- X X X X Loses
context
(xii)
Affixation - - X X X X Loses
context
11
Now it‟s “raining cats and dogs”!
(pg. 37)
(xiii)
Idiom -
xiànzài jiù jiào
now * called
"māo gǒu qí xià"!
“cat dog pronged”! *adverb
Back-translation: Now
called “cats and dogs pronged”! (pg. 37)
Idiom -
(xiv) Connotative and denotative meaning - Connotative and denotative meaning - 12
The world is full of
whoms! (pg. 39) (xv) Misuse of word -
zhè shìjiè chōngmǎnle
this world full of
búquèdìng de
uncertain * shōuxìnrén!
recipient of letter!
*particle
Back-translation: This world is full of uncertain recipients! (pg. 39)
-Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
81
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
HumourMiscell
aneous
Sentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 13
Then I saw this
teeny tiny dog..
(pg. 41)
(xvi)
Alliteration - plea- sing sound
jiēzhe wǒ kàn dào yì
then I saw * one
zhī zhème xiǎo
** this very small
de gǒu
*** dog
*complement **measure word ***particle
Back-translation: Then I saw this very small dog (pg. 41)
- X X - X
(xvii) Rhyming
pair -
plea-sing sound
- X X - X
14
I‟m never minding
(pg. 42)
(xviii)
Homonymy -
wǒ cónglái jiù
I always *
bú dānxīn
no worry
*adverb
Back-translation: I never worry
(pg. 42)
[image:27.792.32.775.63.483.2]-Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
82
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
HumourMiscell
aneous
Sentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 15 Werebeagle!! (pg. 44) (xix)
Blending -
Lánggǒu!! Wolfhound!! Back-translation: wolfhound!! (pg. 44) Compound
-ing X X X
Loses context
16
I‟m drowning in a sea of
unanswered
questions…
(pg. 46)
(xx)
Metaphor -
wǒ zài “wúfǎ huídá
I at unable answer
de wèntí zhī hǎi”
* question of sea li nì shu le…
in drowning *…
*particle
Back-translation: I am
drowning in “a sea of
inability of answering the question”…
(pg. 46)
[image:28.792.36.776.57.556.2]Table of Translation of Language Play in Snoopy Comic Series
83
No
English
Effects of
English text
Chinese
Aspects
Effects of
Chinese
Transl.
Sentence
Language
Play
HumourMiscell
aneous
Sentence
Language
Play
ContentForm
Humour Miscella neous Existence of language play Same type of language play 17
It‟s not worth it to know you‟re not
worth it.
(pg. 47)
(xxi)
Homonymy -
biè gēn wǒ shuō
don’t with me* tell
wǒ bùzhí nàge jià
I not worth that price
*I (personal pronoun as object)
Back-translation: don’t
tell me that I am not worth that price.
(pg. 47)
- X X X
- : keep the aspect
X : lose the aspect
1 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Language, a way of people communicating with one another, is an
important means to express their ideas and feelings to one another. Therefore,
human beings find that it is important to master the language they use in the
circle of their society, just like a proverb which says: “If you master the language,
you master the world”. However, it is apparently difficult to master all languages
in the world. Words which exist in a language may not exist in another language.
For instance, the Indonesian words arisan and lotek do not exist in English
vocabulary. There is often no equivalent in the target language for the same form
in the source text (Baker 24).
One language may differ in terms of form and content from another
language; hence, human beings need a tool to help them understand another
language. This tool is translation. According to Newmark, “translation is a craft
consisting in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in one
language by the same message and/or statement in another language”(87). A
translator may choose what kind of methods that they are going to apply in
translating a text. However, to translate a text is not as easy as we think because
2 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
content and the form, either the content or the form, or neither the content nor the
form. To transfer the same content from the source language into the target
language is seemingly hard, but to transfer the same form of the text is obviously
harder than that. That is why to translate accurately is not an easy job.
Language play is one clear example of the translation difficulty which
shows that both the content and form are equally important. For instance, “an
elephant that has a trunk is sitting on an old trunk”. The form of language play
here is homonymy. The meanings of the homonymous words are 1)Long flexible
nose of elephant etc.; 2) Large box with hinged lid, for carrying clothes etc. on
journey (Fowler 1247). If we translate only the content of the English text into
Indonesian text, it becomes “Seekor gajah yang memiliki belalai sedang duduk di
atas peti besaryang tua”. It contains the same meaning but does not contain any
form of language play.
In daily life, people love to play with language or responds to language
play (Crystal 1). The way people use language determines the function of the
language used. People often neglect language play as part of linguistics;
however, the playful function of language should be seen important “for the
appreciation of language as a whole” (Crystal 1). Mostly, language play is
created as a source of fun or enjoyment (Crystal 1). Language can be either
manipulated or exploited by language users.
The topic of my thesis is the translation of language play from English into
Chinese in Schulz’s Snoopy. I am interested in analysing how the language play
in Schulz’s Snoopy comic series is translated from English into Chinese. I find
this topic very challenging because it is difficult to translate language play. Even if
the language play is translatable, we have to ensure whether the Target Text
3 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
transfer the same content and form of a text, it most probably fails to transfer the
effect of humour as well. To measure the ability of the translator, we can see
from his/her capability of transferring its content as well the form from ST into TT.
In this thesis, the fields of linguistics which my topic belongs to are
translation and language play. For the language play, it will mainly cover
Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics. I will use two sources of theories of
language play, Crystal’s and Cook’s. For the translation, I will use Hatim &
Munday’s theory.
This topic is significant because both English and Chinese are considered
international languages which have been widely used in the world of
communication; therefore, it becomes worth studying to analyze the translation of
these two languages. I find it also significant for translators so that they will be
aware of translating forms of language play for they have to consider transferring
the content as well as the form of language play from ST into TT. Ideally, neither
the content nor the form can be left behind in translating language play.
After reading my thesis, hopefully the readers will have some background
knowledge of what a good translation needs. They will find the forms of language
play which exist in Schulz’s Snoopy and be aware that a good translation should
contain both the equivalent form and content of a text.
4 Universitas Kristen Maranatha Statement of the Problem
Based on the topic that I choose, I would like to discuss the following three
problems:
1. What is the language play found in the English text of Snoopy comic series?
2. How does the translator translate the language play in the English text into
the Chinese text?
3. Which does the translator keep: the form, the content, the form and the
content, or neither the form nor the content?
4. How does the Chinese translation of the language play affect the readers?
Purpose of the Study
In this thesis, I would like to show:
1. The kind of language play used in the English text of the Snoopy comic
series.
2. The way of the translator translating the language play in the English text into
the Chinese text.
3. The aspect that the translator keeps: the form, the content, the form and the
content, or neither the form nor the content.
4. The effects of the Chinese translation of the language play on the readers
Method of Research
The method I use in writing this thesis is divided into six steps. First, I
began the research of this thesis by identifying the linguistic features that contain
language play in the English text of Schulz’s Snoopy comic series. Second, I
analyzed the language play found in the English text and its effect on the
5 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
in translating the English text into the Chinese text. Fourth, I analyzed the
aspects of form and content of the language play that the translator kept and
abandoned. Fifth, I analyzed the effects of reading the translation text on the
readers. Finally, I wrote the research report.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One, the Introduction,
contains the Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the
Study, Method of Research, and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two, the
Theoretical Framework, provides the linguistic theories used to discuss the
translation of language play. Chapter Three, the Analysis, contains the
discussion on the translation of language play used in Schulz’s Snoopy comic
series. Chapter Four, the Conclusion, presents my personal opinions and
comments on the discussion. This thesis ends with the Bibliography and the
Appendices.
54 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Herjanto, Rinariani G. The Translation of Language Play in Roald Dahl’s Charlie
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Hornby, A.S. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English. UK:
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Thesaurus. “acquaintanceship”. 02 April 2010.
57 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Pince, Penelope. “Falling Off Your Financial Horse: If You’ve Never Fallen Off a
Horse, You Just Haven’t Ridden Enough.” Pecuniarities. 28 March 2010.
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Zhang, Qing, and Wang Jiaqi. “Application of Functional Equivalence Theory in
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Primary text:
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: Years are like Candy Bars. USA: United Feature
Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: I’ve Been Thinking of Giving Sleeping Lessons. USA:
United Feature Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: Life is like a Ten-Speed Bicycle. USA: United Feature
Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: Whimper, but Don’t Complain. USA: United Feature
Syndicate,Inc., 2006.
Schulz, Charles M. Snoopy: I Only Dread One Day at a Time. USA: United
