UNIT III

TRANSLATION PRINCIPLES

There are no universally accepted principles of translation because the only people
who are qualified to formulate them have never agreed among themselves, but have so often
and for so long contradicted each other that they have bequeathed to us a volume of confused
thought such as the following (Savory, 1969: 49):

1. A translation must give the words of the original.

2. A translation must give the idea of the original.
3. A translation should read like a original
4. A translation should read like a translation.
5. A translation should reflect the style of the original.
6. A translation should possess the style of the translation.
7. A translation should read as a contemporary of the original
8. A translation should read as a contemporary of the translator.
9. A translation may add to or omit from the original.
10. A translation may never add to or omit from the original.
11. A translation of verse should be in verse.
12. A translation of verse should be in prose.

The pair of alternative above can be easily recognized as giving one form of expression to the
distinction between the literal or faithful translation and the idiomatic or free translation.

One reason advocacy of faithfulness is that the translator has never allowed himself to forget
that he is a translator. He is not the original writer and the work in hand was never his own.
He is just an interpreter, one whose duty is to act as a bridge or channel between the mind of
the author and the minds of this readers. Another reason for the advocacy of faithfulness is
that style is the essential characteristic of every piece of writing, the outcome of the writer‟s
personality and his emotions at that time could be preserved in a literal translation.

But the translator who attempts to follow these principles of faithfulness soon runs
into several difficulties. A literal of faithful translation is too difficult a task because in reality
word-for-word, phrase-for-phrase, and even sentence-for-sentence equivalents are often
difficult to maintain if accuracy, clearness and precision are to be achieved. Troubles arise
from gaps in language, which can‟t be filled by translating because a word that may be quite
familiar in one language there is on equivalent in another. Can you translate into English

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Indonesian word or expressions such as jarang kepang, makan, sahur, taraweh, selapanan,
selamat makan? To get all of the intended qualities above a translator could turn at once into
the easier paths of idiomatic of free translation. He would then at attempt to include such
lexical and grammatical adjustments in order to obtain the meaning/concept of the SL text as
closely as possible to the TL equivalent. In free translation you are entirely legitimate to
include in a translation any idiomatic expression that the original may seem to suggest. The
first requisite of an Indonesian translation is that it shall be Indonesian. This kind of
translation should be able to pass itself off as an original and show all the freshness of
original composition so that it can be read with ease and pleasure. If a translation is not easy
and pleasant it will never be read and might as well never have been made.

The choice whether a translation should be literal (faithful) or idiomatic (free) depends on the
intended readers. At least four groups of readers can be distinguished.

1. Those who know nothing all of the original language who read it from curiosity or
genuine interest.
2. The students who are learning the language of the original.
3. The readers who knew the language in the past , but have now forgotten almost the
whole of his early knowledge.
4. The scholars who still know the language.

This concept of reader analysis will demonstrate that each from of translation has its own
function, which it adequately fulfills when used by the type of reader for whom it was
intended. The first group is happy with the free translation. It satisfies their curiosity. They
read it easily without the pains of thought. The second groups are best helped by the most
literal translation. it helps them to grasp the implications of the different constructions of the
language they are studying. The third groups prefer the translation that sounds like a
translation. It brings back more keenly the memories of their early scholarship and gives
them a subconscious impression that they are almost reading the original language. The
fourth, who know both the matter and style of the original, may find pleasure in occasional
touches of scholarship or may, perhaps, enjoy making comments that are more caustic and
critical.

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 UNIT IV

TRANSLATION PROCEDURE

Translation procedures are the technical devices used to transfer the meaning of a text in
one language into a text in another language. They involve essentially adding structural or
lexical elements to those present in the SL or subtracting from them; eliminating elements
that are obligatory in the SL but unnecessary in the TL or with no counterpart there, and
where disparity between the two media goes beyond language patterns, adapting the content
of the message so that the TL text will come as close as possible to the intent of the SL text
and create a similar impact. Examples of these procedures are given below:
1.

Saya - Guru

I am Teacher

( adding )

2.

Harry - Tidak Merokok

Harry Does Not smoke

( adding )

3.

Saya Kembali Tidak Rumah

I Returned Not Home

(Subtracting)

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4.

Paul Is A Bookworm

Paul - - kutubuku

( subtracting + adapting )

5.

- Perlu Di ketahui Bahwa……

It‟s Necessary Need That

( adding + adapting )

6.

Saya Mau - Melihat Jaran kepang

I need to see Jaran kepang

( adding + untranslatable )

From the examples above you can see that the change from SL into TL calls for addition,
subtraction, adaption, and untranslatable.
Translation in the every broad sense of the term can be listed in terms of different levels of
complexity ( Pinchuck, 1977:188 ). The procedures can be in the form of:

1. Transcription
This means rendering the sounds of an SL into a TL from, e.g.

Indonesian English
Achmed Ahmed
Betawi Batavia
Orang hutan orangutan

2. Transliteration

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 This is the process of rendering the letters of one alphabet into the letters of another with a
different alphabetical system, for example from the Russian Cyrillic alphabets into the Latin
alphabets and from Arabic into Latin. No transliteration takes place between Indonesian and
English since both uses the Latin alphabets.

3. Borrowing
Many types of borrowing are made from one language to another. A procedure often used
when the TL has no equivalent for the SL units is to adopt them without change but
sometimes with spelling or pronunciation adjustments. Look at the examples below:

Indonesian English
Sampan sampan
Kampung kampung
Durian durian
Sandal sandal
Kapuk kapok

English Indonesian
Memo memo
Atom atom
NATO NATO
Astronaut astronot
Taxi taxi

4. Literal

This is one – to – one structural and conceptual correspondence. It can include borrowings
and word-for- word translation. This presupposes a kind of interlingua synonymy. Look at
the examples below:
Indonesia English

(a ) 5 buku - 5 books
Mary telah datang - mary has come
John sedang menyanyi - john is singing

(b ) opelet - jitney

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 Danta - ivory
Kepinding - bedbug
Limas - pyramid
Garuk - scratch
Keok - defeated
Peri - nymph

5. Transposition

This is one of the most common procedures used in translation. It involves replacing a
grammatical structure in the SL with one of a different type in the TL in order to achieve the
same effect. This grammatical adjustment will be dealt with more intensively in module two.

6. Modulation

Modulation and transposition are the two main process in translation. Modulation entails
a change in the lexical elements, a shift in the point of view. Transposition and modulation
may take place at the same time.

Examples :

- Time is money - waktu itu sangat berharga

7. Adaptation

This procedure is used when the others do not suffice. It involves modifying the
concept, or using a situation analogous to the SL situation though not identical to it. An
adaptation may at the same time entail modulation and transposition. It goes beyond
language. You can read Dicken‟s The Great Expectation in its adapted from more easily and
understandingly.

In translating from one language into another language transposition and modulation
are obviously the most important procedures that should be taken into account by the
translator. Normally he should always study the text as a whole before he begins to translate
it. After obtaining a picture of the whole he can break it up into its parts. The analysis will

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move in the opposite direction from the fragments to the whole, from the simpler to the more
complex. The smallest unit of equivalence is ascending order are as follows:

1. Substitution of printed letter for printed letter. For examples from Arabic into Roman,

from Japanese, or from Chinese into Roman.

2. Substitution of morpheme for morpheme. Examples:

Kerja - work
Pekerja - worker
Bekerja - work / works / worked

3. Substitution of word for word. Examples:

Careful - hati – hati

Open - terbuka
University - universitas

4. Substitution of phrase for phrase. Examples:

A careful worker - seorang pekerja yang hati – hati

Open University - universitas terbuka

5. Substitution of sentence for sentence. Example:

Mariani is a careful worker in the Open University

Mariani seorang pekerja yang hati - hati di UT

6. Substitution of paragraph for paragraph.

7. Substitution of discourse of discourse.

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