THE ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES
AND QUALITY OF TRANSLATION
OF THE WEBSITE “FRIENDSTER.COM”
THESIS
Submitted as a Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for Sarjana Sastra Degree at English Department
By:
LAMBANG PRAKOSO C 0305040
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY
THESIS APPROVAL
THE ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES AND QUALITY OF TRANSLATION
OF THE WEBSITE “FRIENDSTER.COM”
Written By:
Lambang Prakoso
C 0305040
Approved to be examined before the Board of Examiners Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University
Thesis Consultant:
Ida Kusumadewi, SS, MA
NIP. 19710525 199802 2 001
Head of English Department
Dr. Djatmika, MA
THE ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATION TERCHNIQUES
AND QUALITY OF TRANSLATION
OF THE WEBSITE “FRIENDSTER.COM”
Written By
:
Lambang Prakoso
C 0305040
Accepted and Approved by the Board of Examiners Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts
Sebelas Maret University On
Position Name Signature
Chairman Dr. Djatmika, MA (………)
NIP. 19670726 199302 1 001
Secretary Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, MA (………....)
NIP. 19670830 199302 1 001
First Examiner Ida Kusuma Dewi, SS, MA (………)
NIP. 19710525 199802 2 001
Second Examiner Dr. Tri Wiratno, MA (………. ..)
NIP. 19610914 198703 1 001
The Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University
Drs. Sudarno, MA
PRONOUNCEMENT
Name : Lambang Prakoso
NIM : C 0305040
Stated wholeheartedly that the thesis entitled “The Analysis of
Translation Techniques and Quality of Translation of the Website
Friendster.com” is originally made by the researcher. It is not plagiarism, nor
made by the others. The things related to other people’s work are written in
quotation and included within the bibliography.
If it is then proved that the researcher cheats, the researcher is ready to
take the responsibility.
Surakarta, Februari 2010
The researcher,
MOTTO
v
“Surely with difficulty is ease. With difficulty is
surely eased.”
(QS: Alam Nasyrah : 5-6)
v
You can if you think you can.
(George Reeves)
v
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to:
Allah SWT, the Lord of the Universe
The Prophet Mohammed, Peace be Upon Him
My beloved Ibu and Bapak
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Bismillahirrohmannirrohim
Alhamdulillah, I want to thank, Allah SWT, for everything given to me.
With all blessing, love, and guidance given to me, I can finish this thesis as a
partial fulfilment of graduating requirement of the Sarjana Degree.
In finishing this thesis, I got supports and helps from people around me.
Therefore, I want to give my deepest gratitude to all the people who have given
important contributions. It goes to:
1. The Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, for approving this thesis.
2. The Head of the English Department, Dr. Djatmika, MA, for his
5. My academic consultant, Taufik Al Makmun, SS, for his assistance during
my study.
6. All the lecturers who have taught and gave me precious knowledge. Thank
you very much for many unforgettable classes we had.
7. The three raters, Mr. Heri Nababan, Mr. Sumardiono, and Mr. Alif for the
valuable contributions in this thesis.
8. The 18 respondents from XII TKJ SMK Negeri 1 Boyolali for being my
respondents.
9. My beloved Ibu (Tutut Daryani) and Bapak (Sukadi) for the big love and
cares. Thank you for your supports and prays. You are wonderful parents
10.Pakdhe Noto. Thank you for your helps and your suggestions. You are
like my second father. Thank you for your inspiring words: “dadi wong ki
sing sabar, kabeh kuwi anggepen prihatin.”, “ora usah meri, rejekine
uwong ki bedo-bedo, bejone uwong ki bedo-bedo.”, and also “pikiran
orang bisa berubah tak hanya dalam hitungan bulan, minggu, hari,
ataupun jam, hanya dalam 1 detik pun pikiran orang bisa berubah.” I will
always remember that.
11.My beloved friends in ED 2005. “Semangat”, who I can not mention one
by one. Thanks for our togetherness guys. It is so nice to have friends like
you all.
12.Mas Edy Triyanto, Mas Edy M Fata, and Mas Najib. Thank you for being
the best brothers. Thanks for your helps. I really appreciate your advices
and your suggestions in making my thesis.
13.My friends in futsal team, Andika, Adwin, Febri, Alwi, si Bo, Tori, Rudy,
Ucup, Danang, etc. Thanks for all of your jokes guys.
14.Mbak Cindy and Mbak Hilda. I think we should make a ‘Trio’.
15.The Pokeran’s Tim, Himawan ‘Pakdhe’, Giwang, Daniel, Jusmar, Makna,
Mbak Pipit, Kang Ipul, etc. Thanks for the happiness guys.
I realize that this thesis is far from being perfect. Any supporting
criticisms and suggestions are welcomed.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Approval by Thesis Consultant ii
Approval by Board of Examiners iii
Pronouncement iv
Motto v
Dedication vi
Acknowledgment vii
Table of Contents ix
List of Tables xii
Abstract xiii
CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION A. Research Background 1 B. Research Limitation 5
C. Problem Statement 5 D. Research Benefits 5 E. Thesis Organization 6
CHAPTER II : LITERATURE REVIEW A. Definition of Translation 7 B. Types of Translation 8
D. Translation Techniques 15
E. Translation Quality Assessment 22
F. Friendster 25
G. Website Localization 26
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Type of Research 29
B. Data Source 29
C. Sample and Sampling Technique 30
D. Method of Data Collection 31
E. Technique Data Analysis 33
F. Research Procedure 34
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS
A. Introduction 35
B. Analysis
1. Translation Techniques 35
2. Accuracy 47
3. Acceptability 53
4. Readability 59
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
A. Conclusion 76
B. Recommendation 77
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1.1 : Addition Technique 37
Table 4.1.2 : Borrowing or Borrowing plus Explanation 38
Table 4.1.3 : Naturalization 39
Table 4.1.4 : Literal Translation 40
Table 4.1.5 : Free Translation 41
Table 4.1.6 : Translation Shifts 45
Table 4.1.7 : Translation Techniques 46
Table 4.2.1 : Accuracy 49
Table 4.2.2 : Acceptability 55
Table 4.2.3 : Readability 60
ABSTRACT
Lambang Prakoso. C0305040. The Analysis of Translation Techniques and Quality of Translation of the Website Friendster.com. Undergraduate Thesis: Surakarta. English Departments, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts. Sebelas Maret University. 2010.
This research belongs to a mixed research of qualitative and quantitative methodology employing descriptive method. It is aimed to describe the translation techniques occurred in the translation and the quality assessment of the translation from the website friendster.com. It is also aimed to find out the quality assessment that covers accuracy, acceptability and readability of the phrases of website friendster.com. This research applies purposive sampling as the sampling technique, since the samples are chosen and determined by the researcher. This research is conducted based on primary and secondary data. The primary data consists of 172 phrases taken from the friendster.com and its translation. The secondary data are taken by distributing questionnaires to some raters and respondents.
The analysis shows that the translation techniques used by the translator in translating the friendster.com are translation shifts, literal translation, naturalization, borrowing or borrowing plus explanation, addition, and free translation.
The analysis on translation accuracy shows that there are 146 data considered to be accurate translation. There 26 data considered to be less accurate with classification It means that, in general, the translation is accurate.
The analysis on translation acceptability shows that there are 157 data considered to be acceptable translation. There are 15 data considered to be less acceptable.
The analysis on translation readability shows that there are 5 data considered to be readable translation with classification A. There are 101 data considered to be less readable with classification B. There are 66 data considered to be unreadable translation with classification C. It means that, in general, the translation is less readable.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background
The use of English as the international language is increasing, in line with
the development of science, technology and literature. This phenomenon is proven
by the large numbers of websites that are growing rapidly recently. In the
globalization era, many people use websites as their part of life. There are many
websites made for different purposes and used by many people in different
countries, and most of websites are written in English. The fact that not all people
in the world speak and understand English as their daily language might raise
problems concerning the way in using websites. In this case, the role of translation
is strongly needed in mediating the publishers of the websites and the users who
do not master English well.
There is a fact that translating websites is different from translating books.
In translating a book, the translator has an opportunity to give some additional
information of the translation because there is no limitation of space, except if
there is limitation from the publisher of the book. In translating websites, on the
contrary, the translator can not be free to give any additional information of the
translation as he or she wants because of the limited space. The structure of the
translation website should be the same as the structure of the original web which
Each website uses different template which has been modified by the
creator. In some parts of websites the texts are written in the box. The translators
can not put any additional information if the texts are written on the box because
of the limited space caused by the box shape. That makes translator unable to
accommodate more texts on it. Meanwhile, for the texts that are written outside of
the box, the translator can put any additional information, even though it can not
be done as freely as translating books due to the limited space of the template of
the website.
Friendster is an online social network website. It has the form like usual
websites that has template containing texts that are written inside and outside of
boxes. Friendster has a language link that can change the displayed text into
Indonesian for the users in Indonesia. It means that there should be translations
from English into Indonesian. However, in the first look of the translation, the
researcher found that some of the translations sound unnatural as Indonesian
expressions. For example, the phrase “dating men” is translated into “pria berkencan”, and “relationship with men” is translated into “hubungan dengan
pria”. Those translations are accurate. The level of acceptability of the
translations, however, is low.
The following are examples taken from friendster which show the
limitation of space caused by the box shape:
View Messages Create Blog
Edit Friends Edit Comments
Customize Page Edit Profile
The above source text is translated as follows:
Lihat Pesan Buat Blog
Edit Teman Edit Komentar
Ubah Halaman Edit Profil
Edit Foto
The following example shows another text of friendster that is not written
in a box:
Source text : Current courses
Translated into: Kelas yang diikuti saat ini.
The above example shows that, the source text is “current courses”, and
then the translator translates it into “Kelas yang diikuti saat ini”. This shows that
the translator has to put additional information to give more understanding
information according to the source text, because the text is not written in the box.
The translator adds “yang diikuti” which makes the translation easier to
understand rather than if it is translated into “kelas saat ini”.
It shows that in translating website, a translator needs to consider not only
the accuracy, the readability, and the acceptability of the translations, but also the
limited space of the website.
The above discussion shows that website translation is something
interesting to investigate. It leads the researcher to analyze the Indonesian
translation of friendster.com.
Friendster is an online social networking service. It is the first online
2002. It is growing very rapidly in recent times and widely used in Asia.
Friendster has over 50 million users worldwide. Friendster is available in many
different languages. It was originally published in English, and then the publisher
created a language link that can change the text displayed on the site to Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Thailand, Indonesian, or Spanish for other users that do not
understand English well. (
www.webupon.com/Social-Networks/The-History-of-Friendster.102 940)
Friendster had been introduced in Indonesia in 2004 and started to be
popular since the website could be accessed in mobile mode since 2006. Even
thought there are other new popular online social networks websites in Indonesia,
friendster still becomes a part of Indonesian lifestyle. According to small project
that the researcher had done in some internet booths, 3 of 5 people that use
internet are still accessing friendster, even though they had another account for
some other online social networks.
Unlike other online social network websites, friendster is relatively easy to
be operated because it uses simple template of website that eases the users in
accessing it. The users also can change the profile background picture or colour
and choose some interesting background by searching from the special website
that the friendster had prepared by forum of friendster. The users can modify the
profile background picture based on the picture that they want by uploading the
picture to certain websites that have relation with the background maker of
B. Research Limitation
The research limitation is needed to keep our research always focus to the
problem statement. The focus of the analysis is only on the phrases (the unit of
translation analyzed) of the website friendster.com. This research is focused on
analyzing the translation techniques that are used by the translator in translating
the phrases of friendster.com and the quality of the translations in terms of
accuracy, acceptability, and readability.
C. Problem Statements
In this research, the researcher proposes the following problems:
1. What translation techniques are used by the translator in translating phrases of
the website friendster.com?
2. How do the techniques influence the quality of translation in terms of
accuracy, acceptability, and readability of the web friendster.com?
D. Research Benefits
The researcher expects that this research will be useful for:
1. The publisher,
The publisher of friendster.com can make improvement in their translation.
2. English department student,
The research expects that this research can be an additional input in the study
3. Other researchers,
The research expects that this research can be an additional input as a
reference in conducting similar researches.
E. Thesis Organization
The present thesis is organized as follows:
Chapter I: Introduction, containing: research background, research limitation
problem statements, research objectives, research benefits, and thesis
organization.
Chapter II: Literature Review, containing: definition of translation, types of
translation, accuracy, acceptability, readability in translation, translation
strategy, and about friendster.
Chapter III: Research Methodology, consisting: type of research, data source,
sample and sampling technique, method of data collection, technique data
analysis, and research procedure.
Chapter IV: Data Analysis, consisting: introduction, translation techniques
analysis, accuracy analysis, acceptability analysis, and readability analysis,
discussion.
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Definition of Translation
Experts propose different definitions of translation. The most famous are
Nida and Taber, Larson, Peter Newmark and Roger T. Bell. Nida and Taber in
their book entitled The Theory and Practice of Translation, the definition of
translation as follows “Translating consist of reproducing the receptor language
the closest natural equivalence of the source language, first in terms of meaning
and secondly in terms of style” (1974:14).
Peter Newmark defines translation as “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.” (1988:7). In this definition, Newmark
focuses only on the replacement of written message, and/or statement without
considering the style used in the text.
Bell states “translation is the expression in another language (or target
language) of what has been expressed in another, source language, preserving
semantic and stylistic equivalences” (1991:5). Larson defines that, “Translation
consists of transferring the meaning of the source language in the receptor
language.” (1984:3). Based on the explanation above, the TL should have the
B. Types of Translation
According to Nababan (2003), there are ten types of translation. The use of
different types of translation is caused by several factors, which are (1) the
differences of the source and target language systems, (2) the differences of the
fields of the translated texts, (3) consideration that translation is a means of
communication and (4) the differences of the purposes of the translation.
1. Word for word translation
Using this type of translation, translator only replaces source language
words with their equivalences in target language. The arrangement of the words in
source text is the same as that in the target text.
Example: I bought a book yesterday.
Saya membeli sebuah buku kemarin.
The example above shows that the sentence is translated word by word.
It can happen because the sentence structure between source text and target text
are the same.
2. Free translation
Catford states “A free translation is always abounded-equivalences shunt
up and down the rank scale, tend to be at the higher ranks sometimes between
larger units than the sentences” (1965:25). In free translation, equivalences are not
achieved at word or sentence level but at a paragraph or a discourse level.
discourse thoroughly and then express the message in target language. Free
translation is usually used to translate idiomatic expressions and proverbs.
Example: killing two birds with one stone
Sekali merengkuh dayung, dua tiga pulau terlampaui
The example above shows that in free translation the priority is the
equivalence of the meaning rather the form. The translator freely expresses the
translated sentences in target language as long as the message is currently
transferred.
3. Literal translation
Literal translation is similar to word for word translation but they are
different in the way that in this type of translation, translator does not simply
replace words in source language with their equivalences but he or she also
adjusts the arrangement of the words to word arrangement rule in the target
language.
Example: good time
waktu yang tepat
In this translation, the adjective “good” which comes before the noun
“time” is re-arranged and placed after the noun in target language. It is because in
Indonesian language, the rule for this kind of construction is that the adjective
4. Dynamic translation
In this type of translation, message from source language is expressed in
natural expressions in target language.
Example: the writer has organized his book for one year
penulis telah menyusun bukunya selama satu tahun
In this translation, the translator prefers to translate “organized” into
“menyusun” rather than into “mengorganisasi”. It makes the translation sound
natural.
5. Pragmatic translation
This type of translation emphasizes on the accuracy of the message in
target language which is appropriate with the use in the source language.
Pragmatic translation does not focus on the aesthetic aspect of the sentences in the
source language.
Example: for baby: after bathing, dust generously over the skin, taking
special care where the skin folds and creases. Use after baby’s
bath and every change
(untuk bayi: taburkan bedak pada seluruh kulit sehabis mandi,
terutama pada bagian-bagian lipatan kulit. Gunakan pada
setiap menggantikan popok dan sehabis mandi).
6. Aesthetic-poetic translation
This type of translation is different from pragmatic translation. If
pragmatic translation emphasizes only on the accuracy of the message,
aesthetic-poetic translation emphasizes on the accuracy of the message as well as the
impression, emotion and feeling aroused by the text and the beauty of the
language.
Example: Di luar salju terus. Hampir pagi.
Tubuhmu terbit dari berahi.
Angin menembus. Hilang lagi.
Nafasmu membayang dalam dingin. Mencari.
Outside snow falls. Almost morning.
Your body shaped in sensual feeling.
The wind pierces. And is clearing.
Your breath a shadow in the cold. Searching.
(Machali, 2000:80)
The translation of the poetry attempts to preserve the beauty of the text by
producing regular rhymed –i in the target text. Also, the translator emphasizes
his/her intention in the accuracy and the diction of translation due to the feeling,
emotion, and impression from the source text.
7. Linguistic translation
Linguistic translation refers to translation attempting to make implicit
linguistic information in source language become explicit. This type of translation
uses back-transformation and meaning component analysis to fulfill its objective.
Translator finds linguistic information, such as morphemes, words, phrases,
clauses and sentences and makes the information explicit.
Example: They are sailing boats. (a)
They are now sailing boats. (b)
They are the sailing boats. (c)
Sentence (a) is ambiguous since it may mean a declarative sentence stating
that “they”, referring to persons, are sailing boats on water at present and it may
also mean a declarative sentence indicating several sailing boats. Sentences (b)
and (c) make the information explicit.
8. Communicative translation
Like the other types of translation, communicative translation emphasizes
on the transfer of message. Newmark in Nababan (2003) regards translation as
social phenomenon having multi-dimension. Source and target languages, culture,
source text writer, translator and readers need to be considered. Communicative
translation also concerns about the effectiveness of the translation and the effect it
Example: Open the door, please.
Open the door!
Both sentences have different effects and will result different response.
Therefore, they must be translated into different expressions. They should be
translated into “Tolong tutup pintunya.” and “Tutup pintunya!”.
C. Equivalence
A translation activity cannot be separated from finding out the source language equivalences in the target language. Equivalence, as pointed out by Barnstone in Nababan (2003:99), is the core of translation. It means that transferring message of a text is always dealt with equivalence.
1. Equivalence at word level
The first attention of the translator, in translation process, is related to the meaning of word in the source language text. Word, defined by Bolinger and Sears in Mona Baker (1992:11), is the smallest unit of language that can be used by it. This is possible because every word conveys a certain meaning. As the smallest unit of language conveying the meaning, words become a starting point for the translator to understand the whole message of the text. Equivalence at word level is related to the lexical meaning of a word. This lexical meaning can be thought as the specific value the word has in a particular linguistic system. It means that every word has specific meaning that differentiates it from the other words.
2. Equivalence above word level
When co-occur with other words, words can reproduce a particular meaning in form of phrase, expression or idiom and these are called collocation. Collocation explained by Mona Baker (1992:47) as the tendency of certain words to co-occur regularly in a given language, has a pattern or form, which is arbitrary in building a certain meaning. However, when two words collocate, the relationship can hold among all or several of their various forms, combined in any
grammatically acceptable order. Dry, for instance, can be easily explained what it means and it is potential to collocate with such words as voice, humour becoming new words with new meaning such as dry voice, dry humour. The collocational meaning of dry voice is different from the prepositional meaning of dry and voice. Dry voice means ‘cold speaking in the sense of not expressing emotion. The translator will be considered fail to catch the meaning of dry voice if he/she translates this as ‘a voice which is not moist’. Generally speaking, collocations are fairly flexible patterns of language, which allow several variations in form. In it’s extend, collocation produces idiom such as good morning, merry Christmas.
3. Grammatical equivalence
Grammar, explained by Mona Baker (1992:83), is organized among two main dimensions; morphology and syntax. The first one covers the structure of words, the way in which the form of a word changes to indicate specific contrast in the grammatical system. The last covers the grammatical structure of groups, clauses, and sentences. The syntactic structure of a language determines certain restrictions on the way messages may be organized in that language. Grammatical equivalence is dealing with how the translator transfers the grammatical meaning of the source language to the target language. This is how he/she interprets, for instance, the use of tense, number or gender into another language.
D. Translation Techniques
As translator, in translating process the translator should apply techniques
the translated text in relation to the source text. Translation technique is a specific
textual procedure for translating a particular structure or linguistic item.
Translation technique is the special techniques used by translators when
transferring the message of the source language into the target language, includes
the choice of equivalents. Translation technique is a procedure to analyze and
classify how the translation equivalence happens and to be applied on different
linguistic unit. (http://www.emanueltov.info/docs/papers/16.trans.techn.1999.pdf)
1. Addition.
Addition can be divided into two types: the first is addition for
structural reason and the second is addition for semantic reason. Addition
for structural reason means that the translator adds certain word in the
target text due to the difference structure of the source and target language.
The second type is addition for semantic reason. This technique is
applied for the sake of meaning clarity. The translator, in this case, adds
some additional information to the text because of the consideration that
the reader would need that information and without it they would have
difficulties in understanding the text. The additional information can be
put within the text, at the bottom of the text as notes, at the end of the
chapter or at the end of the book (Newmark, 1988).
Example:
Source Text: The skin, which is hard and scaly, is grayish in color,
Target Text: Kulitnya, yang keras dan bersisik, berwarna abu-abu.
Dengan demikian, kulit ini membantunya berkamuflase, menyesuaikan diri
dengan keadaan lingkungan untuk menyelamatkan diri dari predator,
hewan pemangsa, jika berada di dalam air.
(Taken from Suryawinata, 2000: 75).
In above example, the translator gives additional information to the
biological term in the text. Translator adds the phrase menyesuaikan diri
dengan keadaan lingkungan to the word camouflage and hewan pemangsa
to explain the word predator.
2. Borrowing or borrowing plus explanation.
This technique is particularly common in dealing with culture-specific items and modern concepts. The loan word with 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; the readers can understand it and is not distracted by further lengthy explanation. Mona Baker (1992).
Example: SL: Transferring and exchanging information Bluetooth wireless technology
TL: Memindahkan dan saling menukar informasi teknologi tanpa kabel Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a new technology and it does not have the equivalence in Indonesian language. The way to solve the problem is by borrowing the word without translating it.
3. Naturalization.
This technique succeeds transference and adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation, then to the normal morphology (word-forms) of the TL (Newmark, 1988).
Example: SL: Taxi TL: Taksi
SL: Mall TL: Mal
4. Literal Translation.
Literal translation is a translation that follows closely the form of the
source text, known as word-for-word translation (Larson: 1984). It focuses
on the form and structure of the source text.
SL : I bought a book yesterday.
TL :Saya membeli sebuah buku kemarin.
5. Deletion (omission).
This technique may sound rather drastic, but in fact it does no harm to omit translating a word or expression in some contexts. If the meaning conveyed by a particular item or expression is not vital enough to the development of the text to justify distracting the reader with lengthy explanations, translators can and often do simply omit translating the word or expression in question.
Example: SL : Mobile phone can be used, for example, to send
message and to make call.
TL : Telepon genggam dapat digunakan untuk mengirim
pesan dan menelepon.
The above example shows that the word “for example” is omitted. It
does not distort the message since the word omitted does not give a
significant meaning.
6. Free Translation.
Free translation is translation technique that places meaning as the highest priority. It means that the translator task is to deliver meaning exactly the same as the original although with totally different structure and wording.
Catford (1965), who distinguishes formal correspondence, which exists
place in their respective systems, and translational equivalence, which
holds between two portions of texts that are actually translations of each
other. A shift has occurred if there are “departures from formal
correspondence” (p.73) between source and target texts, i.e. if translational
equivalents are not formal correspondents.
According to Catford, there are two major types of shifts: level shifts and category shifts. Level shifts are shifts between grammar and lexis, e.g. the translation of verbal aspect by means of an adverb or vice versa. Category shifts are further subdivided into structure shifts (e.g. a change in clause structure), class shifts (e.g. a change in word class), unit shifts (e.g. translating a phrase with a clause), and intra-system shifts (e.g. a change in number even though the languages have the same number system). (Cyrus: 2006)
a. StructureShifts.
This type involves a grammatical change between the structure of the ST and TT. Catford (1965) states that this shift, can occur at all rank of grammar; at group rank and at clause ranks.
Example: SL: green shirt TL: kaos hijau
The example of SL is a noun phrase and the structure is M (green) and H (shirt), whereas the TL noun phrase structure is H (kaos) and M (hijau). The example above shows the structural shift is found at the group rank. The structure of English noun phrase will automatically change as it shown in the example above, if it is translated into Indonesian.
From the example above, the syntactic function of the SL clause is: ‘he’ as Subject, ‘took’ as finite/predicator, ‘that stone’ as complement. Meanwhile, in TL there are some changes. The TL clause syntactic function is: “batu ini” as subject, “diambil” as predicator, “-nya” as complement. In SL, the position of the word ‘he’ is as subject. The word ‘he’ is replaced by the word “-nya” in TL and it has position as complement. In SL, the phrase ‘that stone’ functions as complement. Meanwhile, the phrase itself changes into the phrase “batu ini” in TL and its position as subject. The syntactic function of the SL clause is S - F/P - C, whereas the syntactic function of the TL clause is C - P - S. The example shows a structural shift at clause rank.
b. Class shifts or Category shift).
Translation shift is called class shift when a SL item is translated with a TL item which belongs to different grammatical class. As stated by Catford (1965) class shift occurs when the translation equivalent of a SL item is a member of a different class from the original item.
Example: SL: He’s in danger
TL: Dia dalam keadaan bahaya
The word “danger” in the SL has syntactic category as Noun, and translated/changes into “bahaya” in the TL. The word “bahaya” in syntactic category is an adjective. The example shows a class shift from noun into adjective.
c. Unit shifts (is similar to level shift; is similar to rank shifts).
This type of translation shift involves change in rank. As stated by Catford (1965:79) that unit shift occurs when the translation equivalent of a unit at one rank in the SL is a member of a different rank in the TL.
Example:
SL: He walks slowly
TL: Dia berjalan dengan lamban
From the example, it can be seen that the adverb “slowly” in the SL is replaced by the prepositional phrase “dengan pelan” in the TL. There is unit shift from word “slowly” into “dengan pelan”.
E. Translation Quality Assessment
Nababan (2003: 83) states that “assessing the quality of a translation
means criticizing a literature work.” As there is neither a definitive reading of a
text or a perfect rendering which achieves the goals of ST, translation quality
assessment and criticism could go forever. The aim of criticizing a literature work
is to find out the strengths and the weaknesses of a translation.
(http://www.erudit.org/revue/meta/2000/v45/n3/001878ar.pdf)
Larson (1998) mentions that a translation must be examined since a
translator needs to make sure the accuracy, the clarity and the nature of a
translation. This is similar to the procedure employed by Nababan (2004) in his
research on translation process, practices, and products of professional Indonesian
translator. Indirectly, a good translation shows that the translator has a good
capability to translate and vice versa. (Nababan, 2003) The quality assessment
that acceptability as the third factor that is considered important in assessing
translation quality.
1. Accuracy
Shuttleworth and Cowie (1997) define accuracy as a term used in translation evaluation to refer to the extent to which a translation matches its original. The accuracy of the message is an important thing in translation. Accuracy is a factor determining the quality of translation. Accuracy also means that the message of the source text is transferred into target text correctly and the translation can be understood by the target readers easily. A translation is considered to be accurate if it conveys the meaning of the source language to the target language correctly. The target readers of the translation should have the same interpretation, information, understanding, and feeling as the writers or the readers from the source of the texts.
From the statement, it can be seen that preservation of meaning is a very
important aspect in translation. The sameness in meaning is one of the factors
determining the quality of a translation. Therefore, a translator has to be able to
preserve the meaning or message of the original text.
In conclusion, to be able to produce accurate translations, a translator has
to preserve the meaning contained in the source text, attempt to create equivalent
response and purpose through the translation he or she produces as well as
produce translations which have similar style and manner of writing as the source
texts.
2. Acceptability
Acceptability of a text refers to the natural “feel” of the translation. A
translation which leans toward acceptability can thus be thought as fulfilling the
requirement of “reading as an original” that is written in target language rather
than that of “reading as the original”. (Shuttleworth and Cowie, 1997)
A translation must be acceptable for its readers. A translator should be able
good translation is a translation which does not replicate the characteristics of
source language (Sadtono, 1985). A translator should express the message he or
she translates appropriate with the literary norms of target language.
(Suryawinata: 2000).
3. Readability
“Readability refers to how naturally and easily a translation can be read.”
(www.geocities.com). Readability is important in translation because translation
cannot be separated from reading activity (Nababan: 2003). Therefore, a translator
has to pay attention to this aspect. It is because readability influences the readers’
understanding of the message of a translation. A translation will be easier to
understand if it is easy to read.
There are many factors influencing the readability of a text. Basically,
there are four main factors. The first factor is the diction used in a text. This factor
includes the use of new words, foreign words and ambiguous words. The second
one is related to sentences which a translator writes. This factor includes (1) the
use of foreign sentences, ambiguous sentences and incomplete sentences, (2) the
length of the sentences and (3) the complexity of the sentences. The next factor is
how the translator arranges the idea of his or her translation. The last factor
includes other factors than which have been mentioned. They are (1) the content
of a text, (2) the appearance of a text and (3) the ability of both the translator and
F. Friendster
Friendster is an online social networking service. It was founded in
California by Jonathan Abrams in the year of 2002. Friendster is a privately
owned internet social networking website and the first online social network.
Its headquarters are in Mountain View, CA, US. Friendster is one of the
oldest and first of the popular social networking sites boom. The concept of
friendster is based on a circle of friends and various friends’ techniques for
individuals to social network within virtual communities. Friendster is focused on
helping people meet new friends, stay in touch with old ones and sharing online
content and media. The website is also used for dating and discovering new
events, bands, hobbies, and more. Users can share content including videos,
photos, messages and comments with friends via their profile and their network.
Friendster is widely used in Asia. It has over 50 million users worldwide.
MySpace took over Friendster's number one position in popular social networking
sites when it was introduced in 2004. Now the social networking site known as
friendster has competition from every angle. There are new social networking
sites growing everyday. Averages of 90% of young people are participating in
social networking sites daily. Google offered to buy the social network called
Friendster in the year of 2003 but Friendster declined. Today, that decision not to
sell to Google is considered as one of the biggest financial mistakes to many
individuals. The amount of 53 million was funded to Friendster by Kleiner
was awarded the prestigious patent in the year of 2006 for their method of
calculating and displaying relationships in a social network.
It was dubbed with the name of Web of Friends due to the circles
displayed of individual friends profile pictures. Each circle has a line drawn
similar to a web connecting them to another contact on your friend list. It was
very creative and crafty of them. Friendster is available in many different
languages. Friendster has a language link that can change the text displayed on the
site to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thailand, Indonesia, or Spanish for other users.
(http://www.webupon.com/Social-Networks/The-History-of-Friendster.102940)
G. Website Localization
With the rise in ownership of computers and internet usage growing daily,
the internet is fast becoming the primary port of call for information, shopping
and services. In addition, those computer and internet users are increasingly from
non-English speaking countries. At the end of 2002, it was estimated that 32% of
internet users were non-native English speakers. This figure is constantly rising.
In response, businesses have quickly become aware of the benefits of website
localization.
Website localization is the process of modifying an existing website to
make it accessible, usable and culturally suitable to a target audience. Website
localization is a multi-layered process needing both programming expertise and
linguistic/cultural knowledge. If either is missing, the chances are that a
of linguistic and cultural input that lets a website localization project down. In
order to give an insight into the impact culture has on website localization the
following examples depict areas in which a solid understanding of the target
culture is necessary.
Translating a website from English into another language is not as simple
as it may appear. There are numerous factors that have to be taken into
consideration when translating a websites’ content. One must analyze the style of
the language and the target audience. If the audience is foreign business
personnel, the vocabulary, grammar and punctuation must reflect this. If the
audience is informal or youth orientated then a more relaxed language must used.
Just as we in the UK would identify the difference between a site using ‘posh
English’ and ‘street English’, other cultures will have the same perceptions of
language. Using the wrong language for the wrong reader in your localization
project will lead to a misunderstanding of the site or company.
It is essential to assess what information is necessary to carry over into the
new site. Do not assume that all information on the English site is automatically
transferred over. One must evaluate the target culture and society.
CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS
A. INTRODUCTION
Chapter four presents analysis data to answer the problem statements as
mentioned in the chapter one. This chapter consists of two main parts. The first
part is the introduction, which provides the illustration of what would be analyzed
in this research. The second part is the analysis of the data.
First, the analysis deals with the techniques used by the translator in
translating the friendster website. Then, the second analysis would be about the
quality of the translation. It presents the analysis of the accuracy, acceptability,
and readability of the translation. It would provide the findings of the research
based on the questionnaires which were completed by the raters and respondents.
B. ANALYSIS
This section presents the techniques applied by the translator to translate
the website in English version into Indonesian version. There are some techniques
found in translating the website.
1.Translation Techniques
The first part of this chapter is analysis about the translation techniques
that are used by the translator in translating the friendster.com. After analyzing all
translator to translate text from source language into the target language. They are
addition, borrowing, naturalization, literal, deletion, free, and structural shift from
plural into singular, structural shift from modifier-head (M-H) into head-modifier
(H-M), unit shift from phrase into word, and unit shift from word into phrase.
1.1. Addition.
Addition is a technique where the translator adds some information in
the translation to give a clearer translation to the reader. There are 7 data that are
translated using addition technique.
Example from the data:
Example 1:
076. Friend requests
076. Permintaan Menjadi Teman
Example 2:
102. Newsletter updates
102. Pembaruan Buletin Berkala
Example 3:
167. Current courses
167. Kelas yang diikuti saat ini
The examples above show that there are additions of some words. Those
examples use addition translation technique for semantic reason, since the purpose
of the addition is to make the translation more easily to be understood by the
users. The translator put the addition words ‘menjadi’, ‘berkala’, and ‘yang
diikuti’, within phrases of the examples. The additions of words, however, do not
The data numbers of this technique can be seen in the table:
Table 4.1.1 Addition
Technique Data numbers Total
Addition 048, 064, 076, 084, 102, 144, 167 7
1. 2. Borrowing or borrowing plus explanation.
In this technique, the translator transfers the words from the source
language into the target language without any modification. This technique is
usually used to translate specific terms, names, places, and scientific terms. The
translator can borrow the SL words and give explanation about the borrowed
words. There are 21 data that are translated using borrowing technique.
Example from the data:
Example 1:
007. Email address
007. Alamat email
Example 2:
119. Your URL
119. URL Anda
Example 3:
152. Friendster skins
152. Skin friendster
From the examples above, it can be seen that the translator borrowed some
words from the source language in the target language. The examples show that
word ‘skin’ can be translated into “kulit” in the TL, but the users may not be familiar with the word “kulit”. It makes the translator prefers to keep the original
word.
The data numbers of this technique can be seen in the table:
Table 4.1.2
This technique succeeds transference and adapts the source language word,
first to the normal pronunciation, then to the normal morphology of the target
language. There are 33 data that are translated using naturalization technique.
From the three examples above, it can be seen that the translator employed
naturalization in translating some words. In the first example, the words
‘bulletins’, ‘horoscope’, and ‘zodiac’ are absorbed into Bahasa Indonesia as
“buletin”, “horoskop”, and “zodiak”. The ST words are adopted into Bahasa
Indonesia by changing some consonants of the source language words. To
translate word “bulletin”, the consonants of double -l- are changed into one -l- to adjust the Indonesian language system. In the word ‘horoscope’ and ‘zodiac’, the
consonant -c- is changed into -k-, also for the word ‘horoscope’, the last vowel –e
is deleted.
The data numbers of this technique can be seen in the table:
Table 4.1.3 Naturalization
Technique Data numbers Total
Naturalization
004, 019, 022, 027, 028, 039, 052, 058, 059,
060, 065, 079, 082, 083, 085, 089, 091, 097
099, 105, 106, 109, 112, 118, 125, 126, 127,
129, 132, 147, 148, 159, 162
33
1. 4. Literal Translation.
Literal translation is a translation that follows closely the form of the
source text, known as word-for-word translation (Larson 1984:10). It focuses on
the form and structure of the target text. It is a SL oriented translation technique.
Example from the data:
From those three examples, it can be seen clearly that the translator applies
the literal technique by translating the phrases word for word and keep the
structure of sentence of the SL.
The data numbers of this technique can be seen in the table:
Table 4.1.4
Free translation is translation technique that places meaning as the highest
original although with very different structure and wording. There are 10 data that
167. Kelas yang diikuti saat ini
Those three examples show that the translator uses free translation to
translate the phrases. As seen in the example 1, the translator translates ‘terms of service’ freely into “Syarat dan Layanan” rather than “Ketentuan Layanan”
which is the literal translation of ‘terms of service’. In the example 2, the translator translates ‘maiden’ freely into “gadis”. In the example 3, the translator translates ‘courses’ freely into “kelas”.
The data numbers of this technique can be seen in the table:
1. 6. Translation Shifts.
This technique is used in order to overcome problems related to the
different language system between SL and TL. Shift is a translation technique
involving a change in the grammar from the source language into the target
language. There are two types of shift found in the data, they are structure shifts
and unit shifts.
a) Structure Shifts.
This type involves a grammatical change between the structure of the SL
and TL. Catford (1965:77) states that this shift, in grammar, can occur at all rank;
at group rank and at clause rank.
1. Shift from Plural into Singular.
This is the kind of shift that changes the structure of the word and phrase
of the SL after being translated into TL from plural into singular. There are 35
data that are translated using this technique.
Example 1:
022. NEW Bulletins
022. Buletin BARU
Example 2:
123. LâmβânK's Friends
123. Teman dari LamBank
Example 3:
129. Favorite musics
In the three examples above, some plural forms are changed into singular
forms. In datum number 022 the translator changes the words ‘bulletins’ (plural)
into “bulletin” (singular). The same case also happen in the data number 123 and
129 where the words ‘friends’ and ‘musics’ (plural) are translated into “teman”
and “musik” rather than “teman-teman” and “music-music”, the plural forms in
Indonesian language.
2. Shift from Modifier - Head (M - H) into Head - Modifier (H - M).
This kind of translation shifts that change of the structure of phrase
because of different system of grammar between SL and TL. There are 101 data
that are translated using this technique.
Example 1:
007. Email address à Alamat Email
H M M H
Example 2:
073. Continent List à Daftar Benua
H M M H
Example 3:
170. School name à Nama sekolah
H M M H
Those examples of SL are phrases with modifiers ‘address’, ‘list’, and
‘name’, while the heads are ‘email’, ‘continent’, and ‘school’. The TL phrase
structures are different in which the modifiers are “alamat”, “daftar”, and
“nama”, while the heads are “email”, “benua”, and “sekolah”. The example
phrase will automatically change if it is translated into Indonesian as shown in the
example above.
The three examples above show that the position of adjective is changed.
In English structure, adjective functions as modifier, so its position must be in
front of the head. It is different from the structure of Bahasa Indonesia where
adjective must be preceded by noun. Thus, the translation of email address, continent list, and school name (M-H) are alamat email, daftar benua, and nama
sekolah (H-M).
b) Unit Shifts.
This type of translation shift involves change in rank. As stated by Catford
(1965:79) that unit shift occurs when the translation equivalent of a unit at one
rank in the SL is a member of a different rank in the TL.
1. Shift from word into phrase.
This is the kind of shift that changes the rank from word into phrase. There
are 11 data that are translated using this technique.
Example 1:
053. College search
113. Pencarian perguruan tinggi
Example 2:
113. More searches
113. Lebih banyak pencarian
also be seen in datum number 113 where the word ‘more’ is translated into “lebih banyak”.
Table 4.1.6 Translation Shift
Technique Data numbers Total
Structure
Shifts
Shift from
plural into
singular
002, 005, 009, 020, 022, 023, 024, 025, 031, 038, 041, 045, 048, 058, 061, 065, 066, 067, 076, 077, 083, 092, 094, 096, 097, 099, 100, 101, 102, 122, 123, 125, 127, 134, 150
(M-Translation Techniques
No Techniques Number
of data Percentage
1 Addition 7 2.76 %
2 Borrowing or borrowing plus explanation 21 7.24 %
3 Naturalization 33 11.38 %
4 Literal 34 11.72 %
5 Free Translation 10 3.45%
6 Structure Shifts:
Shift from plural into singular 35 12.07 %
Shift from (M-H) into (H-M) 138 47.59 %
frequently used by the translator is structure shift from (M-H) into (H-M). It has
been used to translate 138 data or 47.59% from the overall data. It is followed by
structure shift from plural into singular that has been used to translate 35 data or
12.07% from the overall data. It followed by literal translation that has been used
to translate 34 data or 11.72% from the overall data, then naturalization with 33
data or 11.38% from the overall data. The next is borrowing or borrowing plus
explanation with 21 data or 7.24% from the overall data, then unit shift from word
into phrase 11 data or 3.79% from the overall data, free translation with 10 data or
3.45% from the overall data, , and addition with 7 data or 2.76% from the overall
2. Translation Quality Assessment
2.1. Accuracy
This section presents the analysis of the accuracy level of the translation of
the website friendster.com.
The researcher involves three raters who have certain qualifications to
assess the accuracy and the acceptability of the translation. The three raters were
asked to complete the questionnaires to determine the accuracy and acceptability
of the message transfer of the translation. The questionnaires are in form of close
and open-ended questionnaire. In this form of questionnaires, firstly, the raters
determine the accuracy of the translation by giving mark to the translation and
then, secondly, they may give their comments or suggestions related to the
accuracy of message transfer of the translation.
The accuracy of message transfer of the translation is measured based on
the following scale:
Scale Description
1 Accurate, the content of the original text is perfectly conveyed into the target text. The translation is clear and no rewriting is needed.
2
Less Accurate, the content of the original text is less perfectly conveyed into the target text. The translation can be clearly
understood, but some rewriting and some changes in word order are
needed.
items and with the relationships between phrase and sentence
elements.
4 Very Inaccurate, the content of the original texts is not conveyed at all, .e. it is omitted or deleted.
After the raters complete all of the questionnaires, the researcher makes
statistical calculation to determine the mean of each datum with a formula.
Data
Number Rater 1 Rater 2 Rater 3 Total Mean
01 score score score total Total score
Total raters
358 score score score total Total score
Total raters
When the statistical calculation is finished, the data are classified into four
groups, as can be seen below:
1. Classification A: Accurate, includes the data with score mean 1.00.
2. Classification B: Less Accurate includes the data with score mean
1.01 – 2.00.
3. Classification C: Inaccurate, includes the data with score mean 2.01 –
3.99.
4. Classification D: Very Inaccurate includes the data with score mean
4.00.
Based on the table of accuracy in appendix, of 172 data, 146 data (84.88%)
categorized in classification B or less accurate, with no data that was categorized in classification C or inaccurate and D or very inaccurate.
D 0 0
Total 172
1. Classification A: Accurate Translation.
All data classified in this classification are accurate. The mean score of the
data is 1.00. There are 146 data (84.88%) considered to be accurate. It means
content of original text is accurately conveyed and it does not need any rewriting.
Some of the data are presented below:
Example 1:
015. My blocked user
015. Pengguna saya yang diblokir
Example 2:
093. Two degrees
093. Dua gelar
Example 3:
116. Activity partners
116. Mitra aktivitas
Those three examples are considered to be accurate. All of the three raters
gave score 1.00. Datum 015 applies structure shift from H–M into M–H
translation technique. Datum number 093 applies structure shift from plural into
singular translation technique. Datum 116 applies structure shift from H–M into
M–H and structure shift from plural into singular translation technique. The data
are accurate according to three raters with the mean score 1.00 because the
2. Classification B: Less Accurate.
All data classified in this classification are less accurate. The mean score
of the data is 1.01 into 2.00. There are 26 data (15.12%). The data are classified
less accurate, if the content of original text is less accurately conveyed and some
rewritings are needed.
Some of the data are presented below:
Example 1:
023. NEW Birthdays
023. Ulang Tahun BARU
Different judgment is given toward this translation. Both of two raters,
rater 2 and 3, gave score 1, while the rater 1 gave score 2. The judgment result for
this translation is 1.33 for the mean of translation. Rater 2 and rater 3 argue that
the message of this text is accurately conveyed and it has appropriate meaning of
the text. Different opinion proposed by rater 1. According to the rater 1, the
message of the original text is not accurately conveyed.
Example 2:
139. Dating Men
139. Pria Berkencan
Different judgment was given toward this translation. All of three raters
gave different opinion about the score of accuracy of this translation. Rater 1 gave
score 3, rater 2 gave score 2, and rater 3 gave score 1. The judgment result for this
this text is inaccurately conveyed and it has appropriate meaning of the phrase.
Different opinion is proposed by rater 2 and rater 3. According to the rater 2, the
accuracy level of this translation is less accurate, and the rater 3 argues that this
translation is accurate. In addition, rater 1 and 2 mentioned that there is a
rewriting needed. Rater 2 gave opinion that the phrase ‘dating men’ should be translated into “pria untuk teman berkencan”rather than “pria berkencan”. The
researcher, then, agree with the rater 2’s opinion. It really needs a rewriting for
this translation.
Example 3:
140. Dating Women
140. Wanita berkencan
Different judgment was given toward this translation. All of three raters
gave different opinion about the score of accuracy of this translation. Rater 1 gave
score 3, rater 2 gave score 2, and rater 3 gave score 1. The judgment result for this
translation is 2.00 for the mean of translation. Rater 1 argued that the message of
this text is inaccurately conveyed and it has appropriate meaning of the phrase.
Different opinion is proposed by rater 2 and rater 3. According to the rater 2, the
accuracy level of this translation is less accurate, and the rater 3 argues that this
translation is accurate. In addition, rater 1 and 2 mentioned that there is a
rewriting needed. Rater 2 gave opinion that the phrase ‘dating women’ should be translated into “wanita untuk teman berkencan”rather than “wanita berkencan”.