LIMITATION, DISCUSSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.2 Discussion
5.2.3 Syntactic Level
At the syntactic level, the most found technique was Changing Sentences to Phrases and Vice Versa. Thirty-four tokens were found (17.52 percent). This technique focuses on rephrasing problematic sentences or phrases by adapting them to be different from the original format in the source language. So as not to confuse the reader and to be able to explain the problematic text, it is easier for the reader to understand the content that the author wants to convey (Pakawapakpoom, Tipayasuparat, 2015). The analysis is divided into the following five subgroups: changing a sentence or clause into a past participial phrase, changing a sentence or clause into a present participial phrase, changing a sentence or clause into a noun phrase, changing a sentence or clause into an adverbial phrase, changing a sentence or clause into a prepositional phrase, as shown in example 5.
Example 5
Source Language Target Language
ผู้หาบุญไม่แล้ว
my dear deceased wife (Sriburapa, 1973, p. 6) (Barang, 2009, p. 7)ภาพนั้นเป็นดูเป็นภาพธรรมชาติอย่างที่สุด
most ordinary (Sriburapa, 1973, p. 3) (Barang, 2009, p. 5)มิตรภาพพฤกษ์ของเราออกดอกงามสะพรั่งไปทั้งต้น
our friendship in full bloom (Sriburapa, 1973, p. 58) (Barang, 2009, p. 54)
เกรียวกราวไปด้วยเด็กเล็ก
boisterous children (Sriburapa, 1973, p. 63) (Barang, 2009, p. 58)Example 5 shows the subgroup of transforming a sentence or clause into a noun phrase. One of the clearest examples of this is the translator choosing to modify the text in the phrase “
ผู้หาบุญไม่แล้ว
”, which is a particular expression in Thai culture that can be summarized as dead or not breathing. In the source culture, it is associated with Buddhism. For this reason, if translated directly, misunderstandings may occur.To reduce confusion and misunderstanding, the meaning of death is conveyed with the word “deceased” and changed to the phrase “my dear deceased wife” to make it easier for the reader to understand in the target language. In accordance with the present results, previous study done by Pokasamrit (2013) had demonstrated that it is not contrary to the notion that the translated language must be grammatically correct by arranging and adjusting the expressions to be as natural as possible. So, the readers do not feel that they are reading a translation from another language.
The results show that although the group of noun phrases or clauses above did not come from the most found subgroups, they are statistically significant. This study supported evidence from previous observations of Biber and Gray (2010) and Chanwaiwit (2019) that, in Thai literary language, there is a strong tendency for authors to visualize by expanding nouns with different types of clauses rather than phrases.
On the other hand, in terms of modifiers in English terminology, modifiers are often found that amplify nouns inserted in phrases rather than clauses for conciseness, especially in different types of writing. For this reason, the translators have applied this tactic to achieve the most harmonious flow in the target language.
At the syntactic level, Rearranging Word Order was the second most used technique found. It was used for adjusting the way words or phrases are arranged in a sentence. It was found more than 30 times (15. 46 percent). Translations from one language to another often experience differences in grammatical structures, including the ordering of words and thought groups. Consequently, most translators choose this
strategy to adjust the translation to make it more suitable and refined in the target language. The analysis is divided into the following five subgroups: word order of the noun phrases, word order of the noun phrases with the preposition “ of” , adverb order, prepositional phrases order, and other types of clauses and phrases order, as shown in example 6.
Example 6
SL: “
คนใช้สาว ในเครื่องกิโมโนงามหมดจดเรียบร้อย ยืนคอยอยู่ที่ริมบันไดหน้าบ้านและน้อม กายลงค า นับตั้งแต่รถผ่านประตูเข้ามา
” (Sriburapa, 1973, p. 10)TL: “ Neatly dressed in a bright kimono, the servant girl stood waiting by the steps at the front of the house and started to bow low as soon as the car passed through the gate.” (Barang, 2009, p. 11)
Example 6 is from the subgroup that has modified the method of arranging other types of clauses or phrases. In this example, the author wrote in the source language “
คน ใช้สาวในเครื่องกิโมโนงามหมดจดเรียบร้อย ยืนคอยอยู่ที่ริมบันไดหน้าบ้าน
”. The phrase, “ในเครื่องกิโมโน งามหมดจดเรียบร้อย
” is placed in the middle of the main clause. However, the translator has adjusted the sentence using the Past participial phrase, “ Neatly dressed in a bright kimono” by moving it to the start of the sentence then following it by the main clause,“the servant girl stood waiting by the steps at the front of the house”. The discourse in the target language became a Compound- Complex sentence to make it more refined in the translator’ s language. This finding was in line with those of previous research by Deenor (2003) that it helps translators reduce the barriers caused by differences in language structure in terms of arranging the words in a sentence according to the grammatical structure of the target language, and the reader is also entertained in the translated version as a reader from the original itself.
From studying translation problems and translation editing of the Thai literary work “Behind the Picture” written by Sriburapa and translated by Marcel Barang, it was found that the translator used both literal and free translation strategies due to the book’s
fictional nature. This story is complex both in language and multicultural dimensions because of the beliefs of society at that time. Although it is Thai literature, most of the content featured places and stories set in Japan. Most of the translations were literal to convey the story and essence of the original text. Free translations were also found in some parts because the interval between publication and translation was quite far apart, which affected the language used. The translator used various strategies to reduce misunderstandings and to provide a translated version that was elegant, concise, smooth, and uninterrupted. A good translation must be able to maintain the power of the source text to reflect emotions and thoughts to maintain the original flavor naturally (Pinmanee, 2014).