Oleh: Sri Rahmawati 09/280073/SA/14628
Skripsi
dikumpulkan untuk Penguji
sebagai Persyaratan untuk Mendapatkan Gelar Sarjana di Jurusan Sastra Inggris Fakultas Ilmu Budaya
By: Sri Rahmawati 09/280073/SA/14628
A Graduating Paper
Submitted to the Board of Examiners in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Undergraduate Degree in the English Department
Faculty of Cultural Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada
Rahmawati | v This paper is dedicated to:
Rahmawati | vi Alhamdulillahirobbilalamin. First and foremost, I would like to express my
greatest gratitude to Allah SWT for the uncounted bless. My sincere thanks also goes to my supervisor, Amin Basuki, S.S., M.A. for his encouragement. Without his guidance and persistent help, this thesis would not have been possible. Above and beyond, I am deeply indebted to all of lecturers in English Department of Universitas Gadjah Mada for the immense knowledge over the past four years, especially Drs. Djoko Moerdianto, M.A. as my academic supervisor.
My special thanks also goes to all members of English Literature Fellowship (ELF) 2009, especially my best friends Dhian Heyda Agustina, Dewinta Mentari Melodia, Rachmalita Widyaswara, and Dily Maulida Nurisilfi for the stimulating discussions. My deepest appreciation is addressed to my families in MAPAGAMA (Mahasiswa Pencinta Alam Universitas Gadjah Mada), SEMATA WAYANG (Sekumpulan Mahasiswa Pencinta Wayang), KPTY (Komunitas Panjat Tebing Yogyakarta), Laskar Pengadangan (KKN-PPM unit 132 Lombok Timur), and Kost Nirwana for all the fun we have had.
Rahmawati | vii
1.1 Background of Choosing the Subject ... 1
1.2 Research Questions ... 2
2.2.2 The SL concept is not lexicalized in the TL...8
2.2.3 The SL word is semantically complex...8
2.2.4 The SL and the TL makes different distinction in meaning...9
2.2.5 The TL lacks a superordinate...9
2.2.6 The TL lacks a specific term (hyponym)...9
2.2.7 Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective...10
2.2.8 Differences in expressive meaning ...10
Rahmawati | viii
2.3 Translation Strategies... 11
2.3.1 Translation by a more general word (superordinate) ... 11
2.3.2 Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word ... 12
2.3.3 Translation by cultural substitution ... 13
2.3.4 Translation using loan words/ loan words plus explanation ... 13
2.3.5Translation by paraphrase using related words ... 14
2.3.6 Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words ... 15
2.3.7Translation by omission ... 15
2.3.8 Translation by illustration ... 16
Chapter III: The Non-equivalence and the Strategies of Translation at Word Level...17
3.1Translation by a more general word (superordinate) ... 17
3.2 Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word ... 30
3.3 Translation by cultural substitution ... 34
3.4Translation using loan words...37
3.5 Translation using loan words plus explanation ... 38
3.6 Translation by paraphrase using a related word ... 39
3.7Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words ... 43
3.8Translation by omission ... 48
Chapter IV: Conclusion ... 51
Rahmawati | viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
SL : Source Language
ST : Source Text
TL : Source Language
Rahmawati | x ABSTRACT
This research attempts to investigate the translation strategies to deal with non-equivalence in
the English subtitle of Indonesian movie Ada Apa Dengan Cinta at word level. It aims to examine the non-equivalence types and classified the translation strategies applied by the
translator to overcome the non-equivalence. This study used a comparative research method
in which the SL and the TL were compared and grouped based on translation strategies suggested by Baker. The results of this research showed that there were eight translation strategies proposed by Mona Baker which were applied in34 non-equivalence cases which
were classified into seven types of non-equivalence. The most frequent strategy used in the
translation work is translation by a more general word (32.35%) while the rarest strategy is translation by a loan word and loan word plus explanation (2.94%). Considering that the overall translation results have a good quality, it can be concluded that the strategies used by the translator are suitable to solve the non-equivalence problem in Ada Apa Dengan Cinta
movie.
Rahmawati | xi INTISARI
Skripsi ini meneliti tentang strategi terjemahan dalam mengatasi masalah ketidaksetaraan hasil terjemahan bahasa Inggris yang terdapat dalam subtile film Indonesia Ada Apa Dengan Cinta pada tingkat kata. Secara khusus, skripsi ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi jenis-jenis ketidaksetaraan serta mengklasifikasikan strategi yang digunakan si penerjemah untuk mengatasi masalah ketidaksetaraan tersebut. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode perbandingan dengan membandingkan teks bahasa sumber dan bahasa sasaran yang kemudian dikelompokkan berdasarkan strategi penerjemahan yang diusulkan oleh Mona Baker. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa terdapat delapan jenis strategi yang diaplikasikan untuk mengatasi 34 data yang dianggap tidak setara. Ketidaksetaraan tersebut diklasifikasikan menjadi tujuh jenis. Strategi yang paling banyak digunakan adalah strategi terjemahan dengan kata yang lebih umum (32.35%) sedangkan strategi yang paling sedikit digunakan adalah strategi terjemahan dengan kata serapan dan kata serapan yang diikuti penjelasan (2,94%). Dengan pertimbangan bahwa sebagian besar hasil terjemahan dalam film tersebut memiliki kualitas yang bagus, dapat disimpulkan bahwa strategi yang digunakan si penerjemah cukup akurat untuk mengatasi masalah ketidaksetaraan dalam film Ada Apa Dengan Cinta.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of Choosing the Subject
Various forms of pop culture, especially movies, have grown rapidly over recent decades. The demand of movies including foreign language movies with a variety of different genres and plots keeps increasing every year. Thus, inevitably, the role of subtitling is very essential in order to make the foreign language movies comprehensible to the target audiences.
Translation is broadly defined by Nadar (2007: 5) as “a process of transferring idea or concept of source language (SL) into target language (TL)”. Obviously, to be able to transfer the idea or concept and to gain a good quality of translation work, a translator should master both the SL and the TL very well. In more detail, House (1997) explains that “the quality of a translation depends
largely on the translator’s subjective interpretation and transfer decisions, which are based on his linguistic and cultural intuitive knowledge and experience”.
This present research will discuss the translation strategies in dealing with non-equivalence at word level in the translation of Ada Apa Dengan Cinta into What’s Up With Love. The Indonesian title is a play on words, in which
“Cinta” can refer to both love and the name of the main character.
has many friends while Rangga is a loner. Aside from the differences, both Cinta and Rangga are passionate about literature and it brings them together.
The movie was a milestone in Indonesian cinematography. It is hugely popular in Indonesia and overseas (Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia) and broke box office record in 2002. In addition, it becomes a teaching material of Indonesian language and Asian Studies as it promotes literature and spreads the use of Jakarta teenage slang which is a part of Indonesian culture. Moreover, it is adopted to a novel entitled Beautiful Days in Japan.
The facts show that the movie has a good quality in many aspects including the translation of the subtitle. For this reason, the writer is interested to observe more deeply about the English translation, especially about the strategies used by translator in overcoming the non-equivalence translation since this issue is almost impossible to avoid in translating two different languages.
1.2 Research Questions
1. How is the equivalence of English translation in the subtitle of Ada Apa Dengan Cinta movie at word level?
2. What strategies used by the translator to solve the translation problems?
1.3 Objectives of the Research
The objectives of this research are:
1. to describe the equivalence and non-equivalence of English translation in the subtitle of Ada Apa dengan Cinta movie at word level
1.4 Scope of the Study
The research focuses on the translation strategies of Ada Apa Dengan Cinta subtitle to deal with non-equivalence problems at word level. As the limitation, the other treatments of non-equivalence at various levels such as above word or the textual one will not be discussed in this research.
1.5 Methodology
1. 5.1 Method of Data Collection
The primary data of this paper is taken from the movie script and the subtitle of Ada Apa Dengan Cinta movie attached on the original DVD. In order to find the non- equivalence translations at world level and the strategies used by the translator to overcome the problems, both the subtitle and the original script were compared and carefully identified.
1.5.2 Method of Data Analysis
This research is analysed qualitatively, in which, most of the data are formed in words. This is considered the most suitable method to be applied in this
study for the reason that, as defined by Myers (1997), “qualitative research was
developed in the social sciences to enable researchers to study social and cultural
phenomena”.
1.5.3 Method of Data Presentation
The data will be grouped based on the types of the non-equivalence and the translation strategies to deal with the non-equivalence at word level. Among the whole data, only several samples would be chosen to be presented in this research. The words representing the non-equivalence translation are highlighted in bold style, both in the SL and the TL.
1.6Literature Review
In academic field, numerous researches about translation strategies to deal with non-equivalence at word level have been completed previously. Wibyaninggar (2013), on her paper entitled “Translation Strategies and Their
Impacts on the Translation of A. Fuadi’s Negeri 5 Menara”, for instance,
examined the strategies used in translating cultural terms in A. Fuadi’s Negeri 5 Menara into The Land of Five Towers and the impacts of using the translation
strategies. The research focuses on the cultural terms found in the novel which are then classified into the translation strategies proposed by Baker (1992). Analysis using semantic properties is also applied in this research to examine the impacts of using translation strategies in translating cultural terms, whether it is loss meaning, gain meaning, wrong translation, accurate translation, or untranslatability.
Binh (2010), on his paper entitled “Strategies to Deal with
Non-equivalence at Word Level in Translation”, selected English-Vietnamese concept
as pronouns, classifier, and word formations as a premise for further analysis about the strategies used by translator to deal with non-equivalence at word level in translating English-Vietnamese text and vice versa, based on Baker’s approach as well. In the last part, the paper provides some suggestions on exercises and a brief conclusion for the whole study.
In conclusion, Baker’s theory about strategies for resolving non
-equivalence problems at word level is found genuinely applicable to the previous research. This theory is also used in the present paper.
Besides the similarity, there are prominent differences between the previous researches and the present research. While the first previous research only focuses on the cultural terms found in the novel, the present research includes all types of non-equivalence proposed by Baker (1992) found in the movie. Lastly, this paper does not provide suggestions on exercise as the second previous research does.
1.7 Presentation
This paper consists of four chapters. Following this chapter, chapter II explains the theoretical framework which becomes the reference of this research,
particularly Baker’s theories. Chapter III explains the data presentation and the
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Theories of Translation
Various definitions of translation are proposed by many experts. Guire
(1980, in Nadar: 6), for instance, argues that translation is “rendering of a source
language (SL) text into the target language (TL) so as to ensure that the surface meaning of the two will be preserved as closely as possible but not so closely that
the TL structures will be distorted.”
Another expert, Newmark (1988, in Nadar 2007: 7), defines translation
as “the process of rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the
way that the author intended the text.”
In addition, Nida (1969, in Nadar, 2007: 7), believes that “translation
consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message first in terms of meaning and secondly in term of
style.”
From the definitions of translation above, it could be concluded that the main concern in rendering languages is communicating the overall meaning of the language. Halliday (1985, in Baker, 1992: 6) believes that “meanings are realized through words, and without a theory of wordings, there is no
2.2 The Non-equivalence at Word Level
Defined loosely, the word is „the smallest unit of language that can be
used by itself’ (Bolinger and Sears, 1968, in Baker, 1992: 11). Word is commonly
considered as the basic meaningful element in a language but in fact, this is not strictly accurate. Meaning can be carried by units smaller than the word. Elements of meaning in English for instance, which are represented by one word may be represented by many words in Indonesian language and vice versa.
Maintaining the equivalence of translation work is quite important to guarantee the overall meaning of the language is delivered well, and as stated by Baker (1992), word is the basic unit to be considered in meaning of translation text. She believes that equivalence at word level is the first element to be taken into consideration by the translator.
Equivalent itself, as noted in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,
means “equal in value, amount, meaning, importance, etc.” So, a translation work
is equivalent when both the SL and TL are equal on those aspects.
However, of course, a perfect equivalence translation is difficult to
achieve because as stated by Bell (1991, in Bahn, 2010: 14), “there is no word
equivalence among languages since even the same language there is no absolute
synonym between words.”
2.2.1 Culture-specific Concept
Each place surely has its own culture which is different to each other. This matter often causes difficulty in translating certain cultural specific concept since the concept existing in the SL is perfectly exotic for the TL. The concept could be both abstract and concrete such as a religious belief, a social custom, or a type of food. Privacy, for instance, is a very “English” concept which is rarely understood by people from other cultures and difficult to translate into other languages (ibid).
2.2.2 The SL is not lexicalized in the TL
Occasionally, a certain idea existing in the SL is known in the target culture. However, sometimes it is hard to find the direct equivalent word representing that concept since it is not allocated or not lexicalized in the TL. Adjective savoury, for instance, expresses an understandable concept but has no equivalent in many languages (ibid).
2.2.3 The SL is semantically complex
2.2.4 The SL and the TL makes different distinctions in meaning
The element which is considered as an essential thing which brings the distinction in meaning of the SL sometimes does not perceive as relevant in the TL. Indonesian words kehujanan and hujan-hujanan, for instance, have
different meaning which in English, perhaps, would be hard to be translated appropriately unless the context makes it clear whether or not the person in question knew that it was raining (ibid).
2.2.5 The TL lacks of a superordinate
Circumstances obviously cause a variant of specific words in one language. As every culture has different circumstance, it possibly causes the absence of specific words or hyponym in another language. Equivalent of facilities (any equipment, building services, etc), which is provided for a particular activity, for instance, is missing in Russian but it has several specific words and expressions which can be thought as types of facilities such as sredstvaperedvizeniya („means of transport’), name („loan’), neobkhodimyepomescheniya („essential accomodation’), and neobhodimoeoborudovanie („essential equipment’) (ibid: 23).
2.2.6 The TL lacks a specific term (hyponym)
A language, sometimes, provides a general word or superordinate but
2.2.7 Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective
Physical perspective affects the language use as well. This perspective considers about where things or people are in relation to one another or to a place. This also has to do with the relationship between participants in the discourse. For example, Japanese has six equivalents for give, depending who gives to whom: yaru, ageru, morau, kureru, itadaku, and kudasaru (McCreary, 1989) (ibid).
2.2.8 Differences in expressive meaning
In translating, the same proportional meaning of the SL might be available in the TL. Yet, it is sometimes different in expressive meaning. The words in the TL could be more or less expressive than the SL. The case is frequently found in sensitive issues such as religion, politics, and sex. Word homosexual, for instance, has more negative sense and quite difficult to use in a neutral context without suggesting strong disapproval when it is rendered in Arabic; hithuthjinsi which literally means sexual perversion (ibid).
2.2.9 Differences in form
2.2.10 Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific forms
Each language has its own characteristic. Even when a particular form has a ready equivalent in the TL, it is not always having the same application with the SL in term of frequency and purpose. English, for instance, uses the continuous –ing form for binding clauses more often than other languages which have equivalent –ing form in a German, Danish, or Swedish target text would result in stilted, unnatural style (ibid: 25).
2.2.11 The use of loan words in the ST
The use of loan word in the ST often causes lost in translation because it is difficult to find a loan word that has the same meaning with the SL. Words au fait, chic, and alfresco in English for instance, are used for their prestige value as the air of their sophistication to the text or its subject matter (ibid).
2.3 Translation Strategies for Dealing with Non-equivalence at Word Level As stated in the previous part, a perfect equivalence is extremly difficult to achieve but gaining the closest equivalence result is not impossible in translation. Baker (1992: 26-42) proposes some strategies used by professional translators for resolving the various types of non-equivalence at word level which have been classified in the previous part. The strategies are divided as follows:
2.3.1 Translation by a more general word (superordinate)
in dealing with many types of non equivalence, especially in the area of proportional meaning. For example:
SL: A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy.
TL: (Back translation from Spanish) A well-known scientist (some say that it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a lecture on astronomy. In it he described how the Earth revolved around the Sun and how the latter in its turn revolved around the centre of a vast collection of stars known as our gala.
In the case above, the translator tries to find a more general word that covers the core propositional meaning of the missing hyponym in the TL.
„Revolving’ is considered as the correct one to replace „orbiting’ which is a types of „revolving’ but it only applies to a smaller object revolving around a larger one
in space (Baker, 1992: 28).
2.3.2 Translation by a more neutral/ less expressive word
There is a warning that this strategy might lead to over interpretation of the source language meaning, which in the majority of cases seems to be more dangerous than over generalization (Binh, 2010: 36). However, in some cases, it may be appropriate or necessary to use a more specific word as seen in the following case:
SL: The panda is something of a zoological mystery.
There is an equivalent for mystery in Chinese, but it is mostly something familiar and appealing as it should have a similar impact on the target reader. For example:
In Britain, cream tea is “an afternoon meal consisting of tea to drink
and scones with jam and clotted cream to eat. It can also include sandwiches and
cakes”. As it has no equivalent in other cultures, the translator replaces it with
pastry, which does not have the same meaning (for one thing, cream tea is a meal
in Britain, whereas pastry is only a type of food). However, pastry is familiar to the Italian reader and therefore provides a good cultural substitution (Baker, 1992: 33).
2.3.4 Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation
when the word in question is repeated several times in the text as it can be used on its own; the reader can understand it and is not distracted by further lengthy explanations. For example:
SL: The shamanic practices we have investigated are rightly seen as an archaic mysticism.
TL: (back-translated from Japanese): The shamanic behavior which we have been researching should rightly be considered as ancient mysticism.
Shaman is a technical word using in religious studies to refer to a priest
or a priest doctor among the northern tribes of Asia. It has no ready equivalent in Japanese. The equivalent word using in the translation is made up of shaman as a loan word, written in katakana script (the script commonly used to transcribe
foreign words into Japanese) plus a Japanese suffix which means „like’ to replace
the -ic ending in English. The Japanese suffix is written in the Kanji script (the Chinese system used to transcribe ordinary Japanese) (ibid: 35).
2.3.5 Translation by paraphrase using a related word
This strategy is used when the concept expressing by the source item is lexicalized in the TL but in a different form, and when the frequency with which a certain form is used in the source text is significantly higher than would be natural in the TL, for example:
SL: Hot and cold food and drinks can be found in the Hornet’s
Nest, overlooking the Alexick Hall.
2.3.6 Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words
Alfresco, “in the open air”, is a loan word in English. The meaning is missing in the TL. The two expressions, alfresco and in the open, have the same
„propositional’ meaning, but the German expression lacks the „evoked’ meaning
of alfresco, which is perhaps inevitable in this case (ibid: 39). 2.3.7 Translation by omission
Omitting a word or expression in some contexts if they are not vital enough to the development of the text in order to justify distracting the reader with lengthy explanations is acceptable. For example:
SL: The panda’s mountain home is rich in plant life and gave us many of the trees, shrubs and herbs most prized in European gardens.
TL: (back-translated from Chinese) The mountain settlements of the panda have rich varieties of plants. There are many kinds of trees, shrubs and herbal plants that are preciously regarded by European gardens.
The ST addresses an European audience, and the use of „gave us’
audience and therefore suppresses the orientation of the ST by omitting expressions which betray its original point of view (ibid: 41).
2.3.8 Translation by illustration
CHAPTER III
The Non-equivalence and the Strategies of Translation at Word Level
In this chapter, the researcher classifies 34 of 58 non-equivalence cases into eight categorize of translation strategies applied by the translator in the movie which are grouped into seven non-equivalence types proposed by Baker. The analysis of the non-equivalence types would show that in translating different languages, various problems regarding equivalence are unavoidable. Meanwhile, by analysing the result of the translation, the accuracy of the strategies applied could be identified.
3.1 Translation by a more general word 3.1.1 Culture-specific concepts
(1) ST: Ya kamu. Biasanya ngomongnya loe-gue?
TT: You said: “You”. Usually you use the colloquial “you”.
Loe, sometimes spelled as lo/elu/lu, which means “you” and gue, sometimes spelled as gua, which means “I”, are Jakartanese forms from Chinese culture which are used massively by people in several big cities in Indonesia (Muhadjir, 2000: 25). These pronouns are also known as Indonesian slang.
has a very special position since the pronouns could be used to show affection. For this reason, pronoun aku and kamu are usually used by those who have very close relation; between husband and wife or boy and girlfriend, for instance.
In the dialogue above, Rangga shows his surprise when Cinta uses pronoun kamu instead of loe when she talks to him, as second person singular kamu, is used in very informal speech among teenagers and adults in flirtatious or romantic context (Zimman, 2014: 85), whereas they often involve in fighting.
The switch of the pronoun could indicate that Cinta starts having affection for Rangga. She keeps using pronoun kamu until one day they engage in a conflict that makes her switch the aku-kamu into elo-gue.
In conclusion, the use of pronoun aku-kamu and elo-gue, especially
in big cities such as Jakarta, could indicate the addresser’s feeling to the
addressee. In contrary, the TL does not make distinction in using first and second
pronouns. For this reason, the translator applied “translation with a more general word” strategy which is seemingly the most appropriate strategy to overcome the
non-equivalence.
(2) ST: Cinta, sudah dengerin nggak lagu buat Cinta waktu itu dari Memet?
TT: Cinta! Did you listen to the song I wrote for you?
The dialogue above is spoken by Memet. He uses personal name to address himself instead of using first pronoun such as gue, like the other
teenagers in the movie do. He also mentions the addressee’s name instead of
Those who commonly using personal name to address the first person are children (male and female), female teenagers, and transsexual people while personal name to refer to the second person can be used by all people, but it is commonly used by young people, transsexual and male teenagers (Roselani, in Basuki, 1995:124).
Using personal name, whether as first or second person pronoun is a common thing to do in the SL culture. It is used in informal situation to show intimacy, for instance to address those who have lower status (age and social status) or those who are older than the speaker including family terms such as
„bapak’ or „bu’ before the name (ibid).
In addition, Wardaugh (1986, in Djenar: 33) states that it has been pointed out that the use of a person’s name for address indicates intimacy or a desire for intimacy. One might propose that the same applies to its use for self reference.
In the dialogue above, the speaker is a boy. It is not common to use personal name as first person pronoun by a male except for a certain purpose. In this case, Memet uses personal name because he tries to build intimacy as he has affection for Cinta. When talking to the other friends, Memet switches the pronouns into elo-gue.
This concept actually exists in the TL culture as well but it is commonly used by children only. When teenagers, moreover adults, using
personal name or known as “talking in third person”, the readers will find it very
If the dialogue is translated precisely like the source text, it would be: Cinta! Did Cinta listen to the song Memet wrote for Cinta? It obviously sounds weird and unnatural. Hence, the translator prefers to use pronouns I and you instead of personal names. So, translation with a more general word is seemingly the best strategy in this case.
3.1.2 The SL and TL makes distinction in meaning
(3) ST: Aduh, aduh. Pedes banget lho, sumpah. TT: It’s incredibly hot, I swear.
Pedes is derived from formal Indonesian pedas which is defined by
Kamus Besar Bahasa In donesia as “taste like chili or pepper”. In the target language, it is translated into hot which according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary means “having a high temperature or (food) containing pepper or
spices, and producing a burning sensation when tasted”.
The dialogue above is spoken by Cinta when she was slicing onion. She feels smarting on eyes and shedding tears because of the onion. So, the adjective pedes on the dialogue above modifies noun eye which is collocationally incorrect. The correct one should be pedih (a sharp pain). So, it would be, “Aduh, aduh. Pedih banget lho, sumpah.”
audiences confuse because as stated above, hot refers to “a high temperature or
(food) containing pepper or spices, and producing a burning sensation when
tasted”, not refers to “a sharp pain”. So, the strategy applied here is less
appropriate.
(4) SL: Aduh, Maura dah nggak sabar pingin beli baju baru. TL: I can’t wait to get a new outfit!
Proportionally, baju, as defined by Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia
means “a piece of clothing worn on the upper part of body” while outfit according
to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary means “clothes worn together as a set,
especially for a particular occasion or purpose”.
From the definition, it is obvious that outfit is more general than baju as it refers to clothes in general, not only clothes worn in a certain part of body.
However, in this context, noun baju actually refers to general clothes. It could be shirt, jacket, sweater, blouse, even trouser or skirt. The speaker in the dialogue uses noun baju to refer to the clothes because it is more commonly used in daily conversation than pakaian (defined by Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia as
“things worn; shirt, trouser, etc”) which sounds somewhat formal.
So, using a more general word strategy in this case is seemingly appropriate to achieve the same message as the SL.
3.1.3 The TL lacks a specific term (hyponym)
(5) ST: Angan, debur dan emosi bersatu dalam jubah terpautan
TT: Imaginings, sounds, emotions, mingled together weaving one
robe around us
Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, defines debur as “imitation sound of a large object falling into water” while Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines sound as “a sensation detected by the ear caused by the vibration of the air
surrounding it”.
By considering the definitions, it is clear that those two words are different in meaning. Word debur refers to “the sound of a large thing falling into
water” while sound, may refer to “anything detected by ear, whether it is a big or
small thing.” In other words, debur is one of the specific terms of sounds.
The other hyponyms of sound are thud (a sound like the one which is made when a heavy object hit something else), noise (a sound, especially when it is loud, unpleasant, or disturbing), crash (sudden loud noise made),etc. but none of them can represent the exact meaning of debur. That is why the strategy applied here is seemingly suitable to overcome the non-equivalence.
TT: What are you saying? If he has a bad attitude, let me confront him!
Belagu is an Indonesian slang which means arrogant or proud, roughly equivalent to the standard Indonesian sombong. Someone who is considered belagu is often, quite simply, one who refuses to bergaul or socializes with others (Wallach, 2008: 156). It is quite matched to label Rangga, the one being talked about in the dialogue as he does not want to socializes with others.
In the TL, the translator renders word belagu to a more general word, i.e. bad attitude which is defined by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as “bad way of behaving toward somebody or something”. Bad attitude is obviously
more general than belagu as there is no specific detail about what kind of bad behaviour is done. It could refer to any bad behaviour such as dishonest, impolite, rough, temperamental, etc.
This generalization is seemingly appropriate in this context because direct equivalent words that have the same meaning as belagu which conveys more than one meaning is difficult to find in the TL. If it is rendered into arrogant, which is the equivalent for belagu, the audience might get the message wrong because word belagu it self could refer to two different contexts; the first one is,
as has been explained above; “people who refused to socialized” and the second one is “behaving in a proud and superior manner or showing too much pride in
When it is rendered to arrogant, the audience must consider the provide a distinction between them in terms of social variables such as formality, neutrality, and intimacy, namely saya, aku-kamu, and elo-gue. It gives a very clear portrait of how Indonesian and English make distinctions in this concept. (7) Cinta:
In addition, the pronoun saya is normally used when speaking with older people and person whom one does not know well (Wallach, 2008: 85). It is used to respect the interlocutor for certain reasons, such as because he is older or has a higher social status.
In the case above, the dialogue occurs between Cinta and pak Wardiman who works as an office boy at the school. Cinta uses pronoun saya because the addressee is older than her. Pak Wardiman also uses pronoun saya even though the addressee is younger than him to show respect because the social status of the addressee is higher than him.
In other words, pronoun saya is used when the addresser and the addressee has intermediate or distant relation. For instance, between two people who just met or between them who do not know the identity or the status of the addressee. It is supported by Sneddon by saying that the use of saya indicates the absence of an intimate relationship (Djenar: 2006: 25). Englebretson (2007: 84) also says that when speaker using saya in informal conversation, they are shifting their stance: they are using this form to construct social distance or formality at a particular point in the on going interaction. It can be seen in the male character of the movie, Rangga.
The first pronoun saya has the same level with second pronoun anda. However, in the movie, pronound anda is absent. In the dialogue above, for instance, the speaker uses kinship terms followed by name (i.e Pak Wardiman and Neng Cinta) rather than pronoun anda. This is because anda is usually used in formal situation, whereas saya can be used both in formal and informal situation.
(8a) ST: Bilangin aku lagi nggak ada Bu. TT: Tell him I am not here.
(8b) SL: Heh monyet, katanya kamu mau masak. Jadi nggak?
TL: Hey, Ape boy, you said you were going to cook. Have you done it?
Aku (I) is an informal Indonesian first person pronoun. As an informal
pronoun, aku can be used between adults and children, or between equals who have a close relationship or share a similar social status (Mintz, 1994; Sneddon, 1996; Kaswanti Purwo, 1984 in Djenar, 2007: 24). In a certain case, in family for instance, it is acceptable to use aku although the addressee is older, as seen in (8a). In the dialogue, the speaker is Cinta while the addressee is her mother.
Similar to aku, kamu (you) is used when the addressee has the same age or younger than the speaker but it will be considered offensive when kamu is used to address the older addressee. Kamu is used by people who have higher status (older/richer/etc.) to address people who have lower status, as seen in (8b). In the second dialogue (8b), the addressor is Mr. Yosrizal while the addressee is his son, Rangga.
(9) ST: Gimana sih, gue ngejelasin ke elo semua?
TT: How can I explain it to you all?
Pronouns gue (I) and elo (you), as stated before, are not Indonesian standard words which are usually used by teenagers when they converse to their mates in informal situation as seen in the dialogue above. They are familiar, sometimes rude or offensive, depends on the situation. .
The dialogue is spoken by Alya when she was sharing her problem to her best friend, Cinta. The use of the pronoun shows the closeness of their relation.
The pronouns can also used between them who have distance relation if they have the same age or social status. The positive impact, the interlocutor will feel that the addresser has accepted him/her as a close acquaintance and is ready to start a friendship.
transportation, for instance, they will use pronoun gue-elo because those pronouns are consider as the most coarse pronouns.
In summary, each forms of first and second person pronoun in Indonesian such as saya-anda, aku-kamu, and elo-gue are used differently depends on the addresser, the addressee, the situation, etc. However, in the TL, there is only one form to refer to first and second person pronoun namely I and you. So, the strategy applied here is seemingly appropriate to overcome the
problem.
3.1.5 Differences in expressive meaning
(10) ST: Siapa tau, Yuki ngelirik gue.
TT: Who knows, the singer may notice me, right?
Ngelirik (melirik) as defined by Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia
means “glancing sharply to left or right side”. However, it has different
connotation in some contexts. In the context above, in which the speaker tries to
tease the referent’s attention by wearing a new outfit, the literal meaning of
ngelirik seemingly does not work. It likely means “noticing and attracted to the
object that being looked”.
somebody or something” is seemingly more appropriate to use to replace ngelirik because the impact of verb notice is stronger than the other words that have closest meaning such as stare, see, etc.
So, the strategy used in this case, namely translation with a more general word is appropriate as it could bring the closest impact to the TL audience.
3.1.6 Differences in form
(11) ST: Mmm, yaudah nanti ditelepon dulu, sorean. TT: I’ll call you later
Sorean is an -an suffixation whose stem is sore (afternoon; the period
from 3 p.m. until about 6 p.m). The suffix -an here conveys comparison more which is in the SL usually says agak or lebih, so it becomes agak/lebih sore. The other words for instance; pagi, becomes pagian, siang becomes siangan, and malam becomes malaman.
It is difficult to mention the exact time showing by word sorean, but sure thing, it is still in the period of afternoon and is closer to the end of the afternoon period.
3.2 Translation by a more/ less expressive word 3.2.3 Differences in expressive meaning
(12) ST: Ya ampun Cinta. Ha, apa gue nggak salah dengar nih? Loe pergi sama Rangga? Loe, bukannya loe sebel sama dia?
TL: My goodness, Cinta! Am I hearing you correctly? You went out with Rangga? I thought you hated him.
Sebel (sebal), as defined by Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, means
“irritate (because disappointed, dislike, etc to sth/sb)” while hate, according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,means “dislike sb/sth intensely.”
In this context, Cinta who becomes one of bulletin board members of
her school, needs to cover Rangga’s profile who won the poetry competition but
he refuses. He says that he is not the winner as he never entered the competition. It then makes Cinta feels irritated to him.
Seeing the context, it is more suitable to use word sebel rather than benci (hate) because it has an insignificant level of disappointment. Both sebal
and benci (hate) actually has the same proportional meaning i.e. dislike sb/sth, however adverb intensely makes the element of hate feels stronger than sebal. Perhaps benci is caused by very deep disappointment or anger over a fatal mistake done by someone or others.
Perhaps, word irritate which is defined by Oxford Advance’s Learner
Dictionary as “to make somebody angry, annoyed or impatient” could bring a
(13) SL: Tangan kita terikat, lidah kita menyatu maka setiap apa yang terucap adalah sabda pandita ratu.
TL: Our hands join, our lips form in unison, every word we say is the command of the high priest.
Sabda, according to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, means
“statement (of God, prophet, king, etc)” while command, as defined by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is “an authoritative order”.
Although both sabda and command are said by exalted people, they convey different sense. Command is an order, so it needs to be fulfilled by those being ordered while sabda is an utterance which should be believed.
Above is a poetry line read by Cinta. In the context, word sabda follows religious term; pandita ratu (high priest). As it is commonly used in religious term, in a holy book for instance, it sounds more sacred that is why when it is used in non-religious term, it would rather weird. For example; Pak Taufik bersabda bahwa Rangga berhak menjadi pemenang lomba puisi.
However, word command sounds more general and can be used both in religious and non-religious term. For example; (1) Mengasihi sesama merupakan salah satu perintah Tuhan and (2) Ia datang lebih awal karena
perintah atasannya. The first sentence is a religious context while the second
one is not.
If we try to find a direct equivalent word to translate word sabda, utterance might be the correct one. However, it is not suitable in this context
brief, it is difficult to find a word which has the same expressive meaning in the TL. For that reason, the strategy applied here is seemingly appropriate.
(14) ST: Nak, taksinya untuk ibu bisa nggak nak ya? Ibu kemaleman. Bisa ya?
TT: I’m sorry son, can I take this taxi? It’s really late, please?
The dialogue is spoken by a stranger to Rangga when he tries to get a taxi to take him home. The woman uses kinship term ibu as the first person pronoun even though they have no kinship at all.
Kinship terms are usually used in informal conversation to show intimacy. The term ibu in the dialogue is actually can be replaced by first pronoun saya but it will erodes the intimacy sense. So, ibu is seemingly the best to term to use in this context because it will be easier to win a negotiation when the interlocutor feels confortable.
In the TL, the kinship term ibu is altered by a more neutral pronoun i.e. I because if term ibu is translated literary, it sounds somewhat weird unless the term ibu is used by the addressee’s mother so the translated would be “Can Mom take this taxi” And if the term ibu refers to someone else, not the
addressee’s mother, as seen in the dialogue above, it is translated literary as
madam which sounds less neutral if it used in the context above as in I’m sorry son, can Madam take this taxi? It’s really late, please?
(15) Bosan aku dengan penat, enyah saja kau pekat
I’m bored with being tired, I want to get rid of you, darkness …
Kenapa tak kau goyangkan saja loncengnya biar terdera Why not just swing the bell until it winces!
Above are some lines of poem found in the movie. Pronoun kau is used to refer the second person instead of the others second person pronoun such as kamu. To replace the pronoun kau, the translator uses a more neutral word i.e. you.
3.3 Translation by cultural substitution 3.3.1 Culture-specific Concepts
(16) ST: Lho, masak saya suruh manggil-manggil neng Cinta kayak cowok kelas tiga aja?
TT: Excuse me, I don’t like to tease Miss Cinta like the Class III boys do.
The dialogue is spoken by Pak Wardiman, the school guard, while the interlocutor is Cinta. In the case above, the speaker uses term neng before the
interlocutor’s surname.
Neng (eneng) is a Sundanese term used to address (1) a girl who is younger than the addresser, (2) an unmarried female addressee who has higher social status then the speaker, (3) a female addressee who the speaker just met, and (4) as a familiar name from family to a girl.
Besides to bring intimacy sense in informal conversation, the term neng also makes the hearer feels honour.
As it is a cultural term, the translator applied cultural substitution strategy by translating neng into miss. Miss, as noted in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is (1) a title used with the name of woman who is not
married, or kept by married woman, e.g. for professional reason, (2) used as a polite form of address to a young woman, e.g. by the driver of a bus or by a hotel staff, miss with last name in education without differentiate whether they are married or not.
Comparing the function of the both terms, it can be concluded that miss is suitable to substitute neng because it brings the same impact in the TL (audience) culture. In other words, the strategy applied in this case is seemingly appropriate.
(17) ST: Eh Ta, loe makan deh bakso tuh enak banget, elo tau nggak? TT: Cinta, don’t forget that meatball soup. It’s really delicious.
Bakso is a loan word from Chinese. The Chinese loanwords are usually concerned with cuisine, trade or often just exclusively things Chinese (Leo 1975:3). However, Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia defines bakso as “kind of Indonesian food made from meat, shrimp and fish that is hacked and poured with starches flour and protein, usually in round shape”. It is commonly translated as meatball soup.
Meatball can be found in some countries which is not the same one
and another. In Indonesia, it is usually served in a bowl, like soup, with noodles, bean curd (tofu), egg, siomay/steamed meat dumpling, and crispy while in another country, in India for instance, it is normally cooked in a spicy curry and sometimes with whole pre-boiled eggs.
The difference of the culture causes different point of views. People from other countries who have never seen Indonesian meatball are probably difficult to imagine how bakso looks like. When it is translated as meatball soup, they would imagine the meatball soup which exists in their culture.
meatball soup is apparently the most acceptable term to substitute bakso. So, the
strategy used in this case is seemingly appropriate.
(18) ST: Rese’! Apa dia itu super star?
TT: What a jerk! He acts like he’s a super star!
The strategy used in this case is categorized into translation with cultural substitution because swear words are usually different in each place, depends on the culture or habit existing at that place.
Rese’! is an Indonesian slang using to express anger. It conveys various meaning depends on the context. Generally, it is defined as bothering others by doing something not desired. However, in this context, it tends to refer to irritating act of Rangga who does not want to be interviewed for his winning in poetry competition. As it is hard to claim the exact meaning of rese’, the equivalent word in the SL is also difficult to find.
What a jerk! is the alternative expression chosen by the translator to
alter Rese’! Merriam Webster defines jerk as “an unlikable person, esp; one who
is cruel, rude, small minded”. For the similarity in meaning, what a jerk! is
3.4 Translation using a loan word 3.4.1 Culture-specific Concepts
(19) ST: Pak Wardiman! Lho, Pak Wardiman kok cuek sih sama saya.
TT: Pak Wardiman, why are you ignoring me?
The dialogue is said by Cinta to her school guard, pak Wardiman. She uses kinship term pak to show honorific because the interlocutor is older then her.
The kinship term pak can be used between them who have both kinship and non-kinship. Kinship term between them who have no kinship is usually followed by personal name, as seen in the dialogue.
In this case, the translator maintains the form pak whereas in the TL, the equivalent word is available, i.e. Mr. The reason to maintain the original form is seemingly because the title pak is considered one form with the surname so it does need to be translated.
3.5 Translation using a loan word plus explanation 3.5.1 Culture-specific Concept
(20) ST: Anak-anak, tujuan lomba menulis puisi yang setiap taun telah kita adakan adalah agar kita tetap sadar bahwa kita memiliki satu kekayaan yang tidak ternilai harganya, yaitu bahasa Indonesia.
TL: Everyone! The purpose of the poetry competition that is held each year is to keep us aware that we have a treasure the value of which cannot be measured. And that is our national language- Bahasa Indonesia.
On the dialogue above, the translator maintains the form bahasa Indonesia in the TL to refer Indonesian language. Actually, it is familiar to say Indonesian language but the translator prefer to use the official form; bahasa
Indonesia. To make it clearer, the translator adds some explanations by inserting our national language.
The term of Bahasa Indonesia is occasionally found in English.
English speakers also use “Bahasa” to refer to both the standard languages of
3.6 Translation by paraphrase using a related word
3.6.1 The SL and the TL makes different distincion in meaning
(21) ST: Eh, kalau kau suka puisi-puisinya Chairil Anwar yang lainnya ada. Tuh di toko buku langganan saya.
TT: If you like Chairil Anwar and other poetry you can find them at a bookstore that I visit regularly.
Noun langganan according to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia means
“people who buy (or use) thing regularly”. However, besides referring to the
people who buy thing, word langganan can also refer to the people who provide thing, as seen in the dialogue above.
Word langganan in “... Tuh di toko buku langganan saya.” refers to the book shop but in another context, word langganan can be used to refer to the
buyer. For example, the book shop owner said, “Rangga adalah langganan saya” (Rangga is my customer); in this context, the one who acts as langganan is the buyer.
In the TL, the word customer cannot be used to refer the both sides, the buyer and the provider. It merely refers to the buyer instead. For example, the book shop owner could say, Rangga is my customer. However, Rangga cannot say, This is my customer book shop.
3.6.2 The TL lacks a specific term
(22) ST: Oh ini? Kemarin, waktu turun di bus Bulak Rante, trus ada tawuran. Trus, dikeroyokin kayak gini.
TT: Yesterday I got off a bus in Bulak Ranti and there were two school gangs fighting. Then they ganged up on me.
Tawuran, according to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, means “a
fighting between groups”. This, for instance, involves two different schools,
football supporters, etc.
In the dialogue above, the translator uses a more general word i.e. fighting, which actually cannot replace tawuran directly because fighting might
involve only two persons or more while tawuran, obviously involves more than two persons. In addition, tawuran only refers to physical fighting while fighting could be both physical and non-physical fighting. In other words, fighting is more general than tawuran.
To make it clear, the translator adds two school gangs preceding the word fighting although there is no direct detail in the source language dialogue showing that the fighting occurs between two schools. However it makes sense to put two school gangs considering that the speaker is a student.
has no direct equivalents to refer tawuran. So, the strategy applied in this case is seemingly suitable.
3.6.3 Differences in form
(23) ST: Tapi satu, nggak usah ada maaf-maafan lagi. Saya setuju kita nggak usah berhubungan lagi.
TT: But one thing is sure. We should stop apologizing each other. I agree, we don’t have to see each other again.
Maaf-maafan is a partial reduplication formed by doubling the stem,
which is maaf, and followed by suffix –an. Reduplication in the case above changes the word-class. Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia categorizes maaf as a
noun which means “an exemption of someone from punishment (prosecution,
fine, etc) because a mistake”. It is also defined as (1) “an expression of apologize or regret” and (2) “an expression of requesting for permission to do something”. When it changes into reduplication with suffix –an, the word-class, as listed in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, changes to a verb.
(24) ST: Seperti berjelaga jika ku sendiri TT: I feel covered with soot if I am alone.
Berjelaga is formed from a stem word jelaga and prefix ber- . Jelaga
is translated into English soot, which is defined by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as “black powder in the smoke of wood, coal, etc.”, while prefix ber- changes the class of word from noun into adjective. As it is difficult to find the direct equivalent for adjective berjelaga, is then paraphrased into covered with soot. As it uses word soot in the paraphrase, it is consider as paraphrase using a
related word.
Actually, the direct equivalent of berjelaga could be formed in English by adding suffix –ty so that the noun soot changes into adjective sooty. However, in this case, the translator seemingly tries to avoid ambiguity because sooty, as defined by Merriam Webster, conveys two different meanings; (1) “relating to,
or producing soot” and (2) “soiled with soot”. Amongst the definitions, “soiled
with soot” is seemingly the meaning referred in the context above. All in all,
paraphrase using a related word is apparently the best strategy to overcome the problem.
(25) ST: Ketika tunas ini tumbuh serupa tubuh yang mengakar TT: When this bud grows like a body taking root.
reason, mengakar is translated by paraphrase into taking root which is defined
by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as “develop a root or roots”.
It is considered as paraphrase using a related word because it uses word root in the paraphrase. As paraphrase could bring the same meaning with the SL,
it is considered as the best strategy to apply in this case.
3.7 Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words
3.7.1 The TL lacks a specific term
(26) ST: Kamu entar, kalau misalnya mandi, trus ada macan, kamu buka celana kamu. Kamu nungging, ngomong macan-macan.
TL: So when you stand you take off your pants like this, and you wiggle your butt!
Nungging (tungging), as defined by Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia,
means “bending head down and rise butt up” while wiggle, according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, means “move or make something move (in this case is butt), from side to side with rapid short movements”. Considering the
definition, the word wiggle of course could not represent nungging because they are two different activities.
Actually, there are some words in English which nearly show the same action as nungging; bow for instance. However, in this context, these words are not suitable to replace nungging. Bow, as noted in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary means (1) to bend the head or body as a sign of respect or
tease while bow is done to show respect or as greeting. Meanwhile, in the second meaning, “cause something to bend”, the offensive sense is absent because nungging emphasizes the “rise butt up” action.
However, by seeing the action shows by the speaker when saying the
dialogue, “wiggle your butt” is still acceptable to replace the word nungging
because the speaker also wiggle her butt. so, the strategy applied here is still acceptable.
(27) ST: Diem loe berdua! Giliran gue ngomong sekarang. Gue tau, gue paling tulalit. Loe semua nganggep gue badut, terserah!
TT: Stop it, you two! It’s my turn to talk! I know I’m not that bright.You all think I’m a clown. I don’t care.
Tulalit is an Indonesian slang describing someone who always takes
longer time to understand something than others. This word is adopted from the sound of a phone when the number being called is inactive. Any message cannot be delivered when the phone is disconnected. This concept is then adapted to term tulalit.
The dialogue above is spoken by Milly, the member of Cinta’s gang.
Among the gang, Milly is the most tulalit one because she is the one who understands everything late after the others. For instance, in the movie, the girls
are talking about Rangga’s arrogance. They said he deserve to be categorized into “the must avoid boy”. They all agree about that, including Milly. But, in the end,
actually?) She has been involved in the chat for a long time but she does not even know the one they were talking about.
In the SL, the late response called tulalit which seems difficult to find the exact word brings the same impact. Word stupid, for instance, seemingly sounds harsher while not that bright, as seen in the TL, is considered as euphemism or softener that makes it more polite. However the strategy applied here is seemingly appropriate even though the effect is not the same as they are different in the expressive meaning.
(28) SL: Elo nggak ada acara?
TL: Don’t you have anything to do tonight?
Acara, as noted in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, has various
meaning such as “agenda, program, judicial procedure and jurisdiction”.
However, in this context, acara refers to program which is according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionarymeans “a plan of future events, activities, etc”. In
3.7.2 Differences in form
(29) ST: Aduh, sori Ta. Barusan gue kelepasan. TT: I’m sorry Ta, I didn’t mean it that way.
Kelepasan is formed by word lepas and infix ke- and –an, which conveys the sense of unintentionality. So, words that are attached by that infix show accidental actions as seen in the dialogue above.
On the dialogue, the speaker, which is Maura, asks for an apology from Cinta because she has said something ruthless that hurts Cinta. She actually does not want to hurt Cinta by saying such words but her madness drives her out of control. Gone too far in saying something or saying something that cannot be undone is called kelepasan.
The concept is quite familiar in the TL but its direct equivalent word is difficult to find in the TL. It is usually formed in paraphrase using words that could bring the similar meaning like what has been written in the TL above. So, the strategy applied here is seemingly appropriate to overcome the problem. (30) SL: Gue bawa bungkus CD buat baca contekan
TL: Look, I brought this CD cover. I can sing along with the band.
means (1)” the result of doing cheat or” (2)” the object that being copied”. In this
case, contekan refers to the second meaning; “the object that being copied”. Noun contekan is not lexicalized in the TL. Hence, the translator applies paraphrase that could bring the similar message with the SL. This strategy is seemingly the best way to overcome the problem.
3.7.3 The use of loanwords in the ST
(31) ST: Udahlah Ta. Kalo ngomongin soal hikmah, tindakan bodoh gue ini mulanya dari nyokap gue.
TT: Don’t worry, Ta. Look at it from the bright side. My foolish action has convinced my Mum.
Hikmah is a one of loan words from Arabic i.e. Ar-hikma. The
loanwords from Arabic are mainly concerned with religion, in particular with Islam. Ar-hikma is defined as “supernatural power or magical” (Wehr, 1961:196) while Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia describes it as “deeper
meaning”.
3.8 Translation by omission 3.8.1 Culture-specific Concepts
(32) ST: Tolong tenang dulu… pemenangnya adalah Rangga, siswa kelas III IPA A.
TT: Quiet please! The winner is Rangga, a student in class IIIA
In the SL culture, high school level covers three years of education; year I, II, and III which are nowadays called as year 10, 11, and 12. In year 10, the students should take all of the subjects but when they already in class 11 and 12, they are divided into three disciplines: Natural Sciences (IPA) Social Sciences (IPS), and Languages (Bahasa). The purpose of this classification is to help the student to determine which university department to enter after graduating from the high school. Due to the huge number of the students, each program is usually divided again to some classes which are signed by numeral or alphabet. It would be, for instance, IPA A, IPA B, or IPS 1, IPS 2, etc.
In the dialogue above, the translator does not deliver the whole
information explaining Rangga’s class. The major where Rangga belongs to,
Language program as in Indonesian culture. For that reason, the omission strategy used in this case seems acceptable in order to adjust the target audience culture.
(33) ST: (marah) Rese’! Apa dia itu super star? Sekalian aja gue wawancara Duta Sheila On 7 atau konsernya Dewa kek.Gila, nyebelin banget, tau nggak loe?
TT: What a jerk! He acts like he’s a super star! When all I wanted to do was interview him. Crazy! What a stupid idiot!
There are some information being omitted in the TL; Duta Sheila On 7 and konsernya Dewa which both are the names of Indonesian outstanding
bands in „90s. Omitting information is not allowed in translation unless, as states
by Baker (1992: 40), “the word or expression is not vital enough to the
development of the text”.
Considering this, it seems that the strategy is less appropriate to be applied in this case since the words being omitted have important rule in the context. Beside the fact that necessary information should be delivered to the TL audience, the information also could emphasis that Rangga, the one who become the referent in the dialogue, is no one compared to those people. The speaker wants to show that she could even interview famous people if necessary.
capability in social life so that they have a lot of friends”. Yet, in this context, the
meaning of anak gaul changes. It refers to young people who involved in modern lifestyle which tend to be consumptive and hedonic.
It is apparently difficult to find the equivalent words conveying the same meaning as anak-anak gaul, therefore it is omitted in the TL. In consequent, the nuance of the TL is little bit eroded since word anak-anak gaul brings information about what kind of person the addressee is.
In addition, by saying “…anak-anak gaul kayak kamu dan teman-teman kamu”, the speaker wants to contrast himself with the interlocutor. In other
