The Analysis of Translation in Scott Pilgrim vs the World Movie

F i n a l T a s k o f T r a n s l a t i o n | 1

The Analysis of Translation in Scott Pilgrim vs The World Movie

Yozar Firdaus Amrullah

NIM: 13020212410004

[email protected]

Introduction

People around the world use different language in communication, both written and

spoken. Consequently, in order to understand the meaning, concept, and even the culture of

other people in text form, translation is needed. Larson (1984:3) defined Translation as

transferring the meaning of the source language into the receptor. This is done by going from

the form of the first language to the form of the second language by way of semantic

structure. It is meaning which is being transferred and must be held constant, only the form

changes.

To catch the closest meaning amongst the languages in translation, a translators have to

understand not just the literal meaning of Source Language (SL), but also the meaning behind

the context, and then transferred them to the Target Language (TL) using approriate method.

However, in some cases, exact equal term amongst languages cannot be found, then

sometimes there will be non-equivalency in the translation.

The problem of non-equivalency may be found in various types of text. One of it is in

the subtitle of a movie or film. As cited from wikipedia, subtitles are textual versions of the

dialog or commentary in films, television programs, video games, and the like, usually

dispalyed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a

dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of a dialog in the same language, with or

without added information to help viewers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing to follow the

dialog, or people who cannot understand the spoken dialogue or who have accent recognition

problems. The equivalence in subtitling a film can be essential in order to make the viewers

could understand the meaning and enjoy the story. However, since sometimes language could

not always be in apple to apple form, then there will be non-equivalency in the translation

amongst words. Baker said (1992:20) non-equivalence at word level means that the target

language has no direct equivalence for a word which occurs in the source text. Dealing with

the term ‘equivalence’, this study is conducted to find out the translation strategies which are

used to translate the Scott Pilgrim vs The World Movie from English into Bahasa Indonesia.


Review of The Study

As proposed by Baker (1992: 26-42) in her book, In Other Words, there are 8 (eight)

strategies used by professional translators to deal with non-equivalence problems of

translation at word level:

1. Translation by a more general word (superordinate)

This type works equally well in most, if not all, languages, particularly in the area of

propositional meaning.

2. Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word

Sometimes there is a noticeable difference between the expressive meaning of the SL

and its nearest TL equivalent. To avoid conveying wrong expressive meaning,

translater opted for a more general word.

3. Translation by cultural substitution

The strategy involves replacing a culture-specific item or expression with a target-

language item which does not have the same propositional meaning but is likely to have

similar impact on the target reader. It gives the reader a concept which s/he can

identify, something familiar and appealing.

4. Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation

This type particularly common in dealing with culture-specific items, modern concepts,

and buzz words.

5. Translation by paraphrase using a related word

The strategy tends to be used when the concept expressed by the source item is

lexicalized in the target language, but in different form, and when the frequency with a

certain form is used in the source text is significantly higher than would be natural in

the target language.

6. Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words

This strategy is making paraphrase that is based on modifying a superordinate or simply

on unpacking the meaning of the source item, particularly if the item in question is

semantically complex.

7. Translation by omission

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,

translator can simply omit translating the word or expression in question.


8. Translation by illustration

This strategy is used if the word which lacks an equivalent in the target language refers

to a physical entity which can be illustrated, particularly if there are restricitons on

space and if the text has to remain short, concise, and to the point.

Data and Data Collecting Procedures

There are 2 groups of data that I use to conduct this study. The first is the English

transcription of Scott Pilgrim vs The World Movie that I downloaded from subtitle sharing

website subscene.com on April 30th

, 2013. Then, the second is the Bahasa Indonesia subtitle

of Scott Pilgrim vs The World Movie in the form of text file that I retrieved also from

subscene.com on the same date. It could be noted that the translation of the subtitle is not

from the English transcript, but directly from the audio of the movie.

Considering the length of the movie, I took only the first 5 minutes for the study. The

descriptive qualitative approach is used for the analysis. It is aimed to give description of the

facts, features, and also the relationship in the material being investigated in sistematic,

factual, and accurate way. In the first step of the analysis, I placed the data in table. It is in

form of sentence to sentence, in order to compare and easily find oud the translation. Then, I

made analysis based on Baker’s non-equivalence strategy of translation at word level. The

transcript reveals 81 lines that I presented as follows:

Data

Number

Source Language

(English)

Target Language

(Bahasa Indonesia) Strategy of Translation

1 NOT SO LONG AGO… BEBERAPA WAKTU

YANG LALU…

Using more neutral

word/less expressive word

2 IN THE MYSTERIOUS

LAND…

DI PULAU YANG

MISTERIUS…

Using more neutral


3 OF TORONTO, CANADA TORONTO, CANADA… -

4

SCOTT PILGRIM WAS

DATING A HIGH

SCHOOLER

SCOTT PILGRIM

BERPACARAN DENGAN

ANAK SMA

Using more neutral


5 Scott Pilgrim is dating a

high-schooler?

Scott Pilgrim berpacaran

dengan anak SMA?

Using more neutral


6 Really? Is she hot? Benarkah? Apa dia sexy? Translation using a loan

word

7 How old are you now,

Scott? Like, 28?

Berapa usiamu sekarang,

Scott? 28? Translation by omission


Data

Number

Source Language

(English)

Target Language


8 I'm not playing your little

games, kids.

Aku tidak bermain

permainan kecilmu, anak-

anak.

Translation by a more

general word

(superordinate)

9 So, you've been out of high

school for, like, 13 years.

Jadi, kamu sudah keluar

dari SMA, sekitar 13 tahun

lalu.

Using more neutral


10 I'm 22. Twenty-two. Aku 22 tahun. Dua puluh

dua. -

11

And you're dating a high-

school girl. Not bad, not

bad.

Dan kamu berpacaran

dengan anak SMA.

Lumayan, lumayan.


general word

(superordinate)

12

And you're dating a high-

school girl. Not bad, not

bad.

Dan kamu berpacaran

dengan anak SMA.

Lumayan, lumayan.

Using more neutral


13 Thank you, thank you. Terima kasih, terima kasih. -

14 So, did you guys, like, you

know, do it yet?

Jadi, apa kalian sudah

melakukannya? Translation by omission

15 We have done many things. Kita sudah melakukan

banyak hal. -

16 We ride the bus together. Kita naik bis bersama. -

17

And we have meaningful

conversations about how

yearbook club went

Dan kita melakukan

pembicaraan penuh arti

tentang bagaimana klub

buku tahunan berjalan

-

18 and about her friends.. and,

you know, drama.

dan tentang temannya dan,

kamu tahu, drama. -

19 Have you even kissed her? Sudahkah kamu

menciumnya?

Using more neutral


20

We almost held hands once,

but then she got

embarrassed.

Kita hampir berpegangan

tangan sekali, tapi

kemudian dia tersipu malu.

Translation by paraphrase

using a related word

21 Well, aren't you pleased as

punch.

Apa kamu benar-benar

senang?



22 I don't know what you're

talking about.

Aku tidak tahu apa yang

kamu bicarakan. -

23 So, what's her name? Jadi, siapa namanya? -

24 Knives Chau. Knives Chau. -

25 She's Chinese. Dia orang China. -

26 Wicked. Hebat. -

27 So, when do we get to meet

her?

Jadi, kapan kita bisa

bertemu dengannya?

Using more neutral


28 Oh, please, let it be soon. Oh, tolong, semoga

secepatnya.


using unrelated words

29 That's for me. Itu untukku. -

30 Hi. Hai. -


Data

Number

Source Language

(English)

Target Language


31 You promise to be good? Kamu berjanji akan

bersikap baik?



32 Of course I'll be good. Tentu saja aku akan

bersikap baik.



33 Seriously, please be good. Serius, tolong bersikap

baik.



34 Am I normally not? Apa biasanya aku tidak? -

35

Hey, Knives, this is

Stephen. Stills. He's the

talent.

Hey, Knives, ini Stephen.

Stills. Dia yang berbakat. -

36 Hey. Hey. -

37 Is she gonna geek out on

us?

Apa dia akan bersikap gokil

pada kita?

Translation by cultural

substitution

38 She'll just sit in the corner,

man.

Dia hanya akan duduk di

pojok, kawan.


substitution

39 I mean, I want her to geek

out on us.

Maksudku, aku ingin dia

bersikap gokil pada kita.


substitution

40 She'll geek. She geeks. Dia akan bersikap gokil.

Dia gokil.


substitution

41 She has the capacity to

geek.

Dia punya kapasitas

menjadi gokil.


substitution

42 Okay. Ok. -

43 You're good. Kamu boleh masuk. Using more neutral


44 Wow. Wow. -

45 Here, let me get your coat. Sini, biarku ambil jaketmu. -

46 Hi. Hai. -

47 Knives, that's Kim. Knives, itu Kim. -

48 Sorry, what was your

name? Maaf, siapa tadi namamu? -

49 Kim. Kim. -

50 And you play the drums? Dan kamu bermain drum? -

51 Yes. Ya. -

52 That is so awesome. Itu sangat hebat. -

53 Knives, that's Young Neil. Knives, itu Young Neil. -

54 Hi. Hai. -

55 Hi. Hai. -

56 What do you play? Apa yang kamu mainkan? -

57 Wow, Zelda, Tetris. Wow, Zelda, Tetris. -

58 That's kind of a big

question.

Itu seperti pertanyaan yang

berat.

Using more neutral


59 Okay, let's start with

Launchpad McQuack.

Ok, kita mulai dengan

Launchpad McQuack. -


Data

Number

Source Language

(English)

Target Language


60 That's not the actuaI title of

the…

Itu bukan judul sebenarnya

dari… -

61 We are Sex Bob-Omb! Kita adalah Sex Bob-Omb! -

62 One, two, three, four! Satu, dua, tiga, empat! -

63 Yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah -


65 Laminate the stasis Laminate the stasis -

66 Mama, mama serpentine Mama, mama serpentine -

67 I got a breathalyzer I got a breathalyzer -

68 And my body's clean And my body's clean -

69 Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! -

70 Thank you! Thank you! -

71 Get ready Get ready -

72 Yeah Yeah -



75 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah -

76 Yeah! Yeah! -

77 You guys are so amazing. Kalian sangat…

mengagumkan.


general word

(superordinate)

78 She seems nice. Dia terlihat baik. -

79 Yeah. Ya. -

80 Yeah, she seems awesome. Ya, dia terlihat hebat. -

81 Yeah. Ya. -

Findings and Discussions

From the list of transcription, there are 27 non-equivalence at word level translation

found. The strategy which is often used is translation using more neutral word/less expressive

word. More details of the list is presented in the table as follows:

No. Type of Strategies Number of

Words Percentage

1. Using more neutral word/less expressive word 10 37 %

2. Translation by paraphrase using a related word 5 18,5 %

3. Translation by cultural substitution 5 18,5 %

4. Translation by a more general word (superordinate) 3 11,1 %

5. Translation by omission 2 7,4 %


No. Type of Strategies Number of

Words Percentage

6. Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words 1 3,7%

7. Translation using a loan word 1 3,7%

Total Non Equivalence 27 100%

As shown from the table above, I found there are 10 cases using more neutral word/less

expressive word strategy, 5 cases of Translation by paraphrase using a related word strategy,

5 cases of Translation by cultural substitution strategy, 3 cases of Translation by a more

general word (superordinate), 2 cases of Translation by omission strategy, 1 case of

Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words, and 1 case of Translation using a loan

word. The findings are described as follows:

1. Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word

Data 1

(SL) NOT SO LONG AGO….

(TL) BEBERAPA WAKTU YANG LALU…

The equivalence meaning for long is panjang. It is translated into beberapa to make the

sentence natural in Indonesian context.

Data 2

(SL) IN THE MYSTERIOUS LAND…

(TL) DI PULAU YANG MISTERIUS…

The equivalence meaning for long is tanah. It is translated into pulau to make the

sentence natural in Indonesian context.

Data 4

(SL) SCOTT PILGRIM WAS DATING A HIGH SCHOOLER

(TL) SCOTT PILGRIM BERPACARAN DENGAN ANAK SMA


Data 5

(SL) Scott Pilgrim is dating a high-schooler?

(TL) Scott Pilgrim berpacaran dengan anak SMA?

High schooler is a slang word that refer to high school students. Therefore to make the

translation natural in Indonesian context, it should be translated into anak SMA.

Data 9

(SL) So, you've been out of high school for, like, 13 years.

(TL) Jadi, kamu sudah keluar dari SMA, sekitar 13 tahun lalu.

In order to maintain the sense of the sentence, word sekitar is used instead of using

seperti.

Data 12

(SL) And you're dating a high-school girl. Not bad, not bad.

(TL) Dan kamu berpacaran dengan anak SMA. Lumayan, lumayan.

The equivalence meaning for Not bad is tidak buruk. To make the sentence natural in

Indonesian context, it is translated into lumayan.

Data 19

(SL) Have you even kissed her?

(TL) Sudahkah kamu menciumnya?

The equivalence meaning for kissed her should be mencium gadis itu. It is translated

into menciumnya to make the sentence natural in Indonesian context.

Data 27

(SL) So, when do we get to meet her?

(TL) Jadi, kapan kita bisa bertemu dengannya?


The equivalence meaning for get is memperoleh or mendapatkan, but the translator

choose to translate it into bisa to make the sentence natural in Indonesian context.

Data 43

(SL) You're good.

(TL) Kamu boleh masuk.

good means baik in Indonesia, but the translator choose to translated it into boleh

masuk concerning the context of the story.

Data 58

(SL) That's kind of a big question.

(TL) Itu seperti pertanyaan yang berat.

The equivalence meaning for big is besar. To make the sentence natural in Indonesian

context, it is translated into berat.

2. Translation by paraphrase using a related word

Data 20

(SL) We almost held hands once, but then she got embarrassed.

(TL) Kita hampir berpegangan tangan sekali, tapi kemudian dia tersipu malu.

The real translation for embarrassed in this sentence is shy, but to achieve a high level

of precision in meaning tersipu malu is used.

Data 21

(SL) Well, aren't you pleased as punch.

(TL) Apa kamu benar-benar senang?

The literal translation for pleased as punch is happy like a hit. In this context, the

translator might think it is not suitable for the target language, thus he paraphrases it

into benar-benar senang.


Data 31

(SL) You promise to be good?

(TL) Kamu berjanji akan bersikap baik?

Data 32

(SL) Of course I'll be good.

(TL) Tentu saja aku akan bersikap baik.

Data 33

(SL) Seriously, please be good.

(TL) Serius, tolong bersikap baik.

The equivalence meaning for good is baik, but to achieve a high level of precision in

meaning bersikap baik is used.

3. Translation by cultural substitution

Data 37

(SL) Is she gonna geek out on us?

(TL) Apa dia akan bersikap gokil pada kita?

Data 39

(SL) I mean, I want her to geek out on us.

(TL) Maksudku, aku ingin dia bersikap gokil pada kita.

Data 40

(SL) She'll geek. She geeks.

(TL) Dia akan bersikap gokil. Dia gokil.

Data 41

(SL) She has the capacity to geek.

(TL) Dia punya kapasitas menjadi gokil.

geek out and geek is a slang which means odd or non-mainstream people, with

different connotations ranging from “an expert or enthusiast” to “a person heaviliy


intererst in a hobby”. In this context it may means show enthusiasm, in which there is

no literal translation in bahasa Indonesia. Nevertheless, the translator try to translate it

into Indonesian slang word, the cultural subtition that is bersikap gokil and gokil.

Data 38

(SL) She'll just sit in the corner, man.

(TL) Dia hanya akan duduk di pojok, kawan.

Literally man means a male person, but in this context the meaning is buddy, thus the

translator use cultural subtition word that is kawan.

4. Translation by a more general word (superordinate)

Data 8

(SL) I'm not playing your little games, kids.

(TL) Aku tidak bermain permainan kecilmu, anak-anak.

kids is a slang word that refer to friends or buddies. To make the translation more

general in Indonesian context, the translator choose to translate it into anak-anak.

Data 11

(SL) And you're dating a high-school girl. Not bad, not bad.

(TL) Dan kamu berpacaran dengan anak SMA. Lumayan, lumayan..

The equivalence meaning for a high-school girl should be gadis SMA, but the

translator choose more general term in Indonesian context that is anak SMA.

Data 77

(SL) You guys are so amazing.

(TL) Kalian sangat… mengagumkan..

Literally, according to Oxford Basic English Dictionary, ‘guy’ means a man. In this

context, You guys is a slang word that refer to all of you. The translator choose to

translate it into kalian to make the translation more general in Indonesian context.


5. Translation by omission

Data 7

(SL) How old are you now, Scott? Like, 28?

(TL) Berapa usiamu sekarang, Scott? 28?

The omission of word Like in this sentence does not change the meaning, therefore the

translator did this strategy to simplify the text.

Data 14

(SL) So, did you guys, like, you know, do it yet?

(TL) Jadi, apa kalian sudah melakukannya?

There is inevitable some loss of meaning in this case. The word like, you know in this

sentence convey the idea of to ascertain a condition, and this is lost in translation.

6. Translation by paraphrase using unrelated words

Data 28

(SL) Oh, please, let it be soon.

(TL) Oh, tolong, semoga secepatnya.

The real translation for let it be is allowing or biarkan in Indonesian, but to achieve a

high level of precision in meaning semoga is used

7. Translation using a loan word or loan word plus explanation

Data 6

(SL) Really? Is she hot?

(TL) Benarkah? Apa dia sexy?

Literally, according to Oxford Basic English Dictionary, ‘hot’ means having a high

temperature. The word sexy is a loan word from word in source language sexy as

replacement of the original word, hot. It is used because it sounds more modern and

youthful.


Conclusion

To catch the closest meaning in the translation of one language into another, a

translator need to know the lexical and the meaning behind the context. Although there is

always non-equivalency at word level that could be found, he may uses appropriate strategies

as proposed by Baker. As revealed from the analysis, there are 7 strategies which is used by

the translator to deal with non-equivalency at word level problem. The most strategy used by

the translator is Translation by a more neutral/less expressive word (37 %). That means the

literal translation of the word maybe available in Bahasa Indonesia, but it may need to be

adjusted in order to make the translation natural in Indonesian context.

References

Baker, Mona. 1992. In Other Words : a Coursebook on Translation. London : Routledge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtitle

Larson, M. L. 1984. Meaning-Based Translation: a Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence,

Larham: University Press of America

Oxford Basic English Dictionary 3rd

Edition. 2006. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Subscene.com for Scott Pilgrim vs The World Movie Bahasa Indonesia subtitle, and Scott

Pilgrim vs The World Movie English transcript.

The Analysis of Translation in Scott Pilgrim vs the World Movie

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