THE TRANSLATION OF INDONESIAN CULTURAL ASPECTS INTO ENGLISH IN DIORAMA TEXTS

Oleh: Ridwan ArifinLT– PPs UNJ

(A Qualitative Content Analysis in History Museum of the National Monument Jakarta)

Background of the Research

Translation plays most important role in tourism sector

MONAS is one of the tourism objects visited easily by foreign visitors

A lot of tourism objects in Indonesia Especially Jakarta

It was identified a phenomenon of mistranslated cultural words in diorama texts. E.g.Palapa (rice with side dishes)

Needed further analysis and investigation about diorama texts in History Museum MONAS

Foreign Visitors are interested in Indonesian culture and history

Identification of the Research

• How is the translation of Indonesian cultural aspects into English in National Monument Museum (MONAS) Jakarta?

Formulation of the Research

1. What translation techniques are applied by the translator?2. What ideology is applied by the translator in translating the texts? 3. What are the non-equivalent or mistranslated Indonesian cultural words and phrases in the target language? 4. What types of translation employed by the translator in translating the cultural texts? 5. How frequent do the non-equivalent Indonesian cultural words and phrases in the target language occur in the text?

Purpose of the Research Aims at analysing and investigating the target text and

examining the translation equivalence of the texts revealing ways of translating the Indonesian cultural

words into English and the techniques of translating the texts are applied then

Significance of the Research

Knowing more about the techniques/ basic principles of translating the Indonesian cultural words into target language. Having the approximate equivalence for the Indonesian cultural words into target language.

CHAPTER IITHEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Definition of Translation by Newmark, Catford, Nida and Taber, Chesterman, Larson.

C. Kinds of TranslationVery a literal, to a literal, to modified literal, to near idiomatic, to idiomatic, and then may even move on to be unduly freeFull, Total, Partial and Restricted Translations

B. Ideology of Translation

Foreignization and Domestication

E. Cultural Translation and Equivalence The translator must strive for equivalence rather than the identity.

Equivalence is a very close similarity in meaning. The translator has three basic choices: to keep the source language (SL) culture; to convert to the target language (TL) culture; or to select a neutral international, inter-cultural term.

D. Techniques of TranslationTransposition, modulation, description, contextual conditioning, footnote, phonological translation, formal/ official translation, left-untranslatable translation and cultural equivalent.

CHAPTER IIIRESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Specific Purpose of the Research Revealing the result of translation in the target text on the subject of the Indonesian cultural words in which equivalently translated into English

B. Setting of the Research Place: History Museum in National Monument JakartaDate: June 2009

C. Method of the Research Qualitative Content analysis

D. Focus of the Research – focusing on the translation of Indonesian cultural aspects into English1. What are the techniques of translation applied by the translators?2. What kinds of translations are these whole texts?3. What are the non-equivalent words and phrases in the texts?

Continued…

F. Data and Data Source The texts in four sides of diorama texts in the History Museum of National Monument Museum (MONAS) Jakarta. The texts are displayed in two languages; Indonesian texts are translated into English. The data sources are derived from the diorama texts, data of interview, the documentation taken by a digital camera, brochures of MONAS and the National Monument Book

E. Research Questions 1. What kinds of techniques are appropriate in the translation of

materials for tourists applied by the translator? 2. What resources were used by the translator to render some

Indonesian cultural words or phrases into target language? 3. How did the translator look up the English version for rendering

Indonesian cultural words on the purpose of translation equivalent? 4. How does this match the needs of the sector of tourism?5. What techniques are mostly applied by the translators?6. Are there any syntactic or paragraph changes in the target language?

Continued…

G. Technique of Data Collecting

– Observation: the texts documents analysis – Interview the translator and visitors– Documentation: having record of the text documents

H. Data Analysis: (1) data collection, (2) data reduction, (3) data display,

(4) data conclusion/verifying

Chapter IV Research Findings

A. Techniques Applied by the Translator

Literal Translation, Description translation, Phonological translation, transposition

•Hasil budaya megalithikum yang terpenting adalah alat serpih, dolmen, menhir, sarchopagus, kubur batu, punden berundak dan arca.

•Its cultural remains-flakes, pebbles and bones, stone pillars and tables, sarchopaga, stone coffins, little houses of workship and even statues- are scattered over the whole of Indonesia.

Continued…

• …maka untuk membela keutuhan Negara Majapahit dia bersumpah untuk tidak makan palapa sebelum Nusantara dapat dipersatukan.

• Gajah Mada, the famous Vicegerent of Majapahit Kingdom, pledged not to eat palapa (rice with side dishes) before Nusantara (Indonesian archipelago) has been united under the reign of Majapahit.

Technique:Description Translationor descriptive translation

Continued…

• Sebagai reaksi, Ki Hajar Dewantara menidirikan perguruan Taman Siswa di Yogyakarta yang kemudian berkembang dengan pesat sehingga mengkhawatirkan Belanda.

• A national education institute Taman Siswa was set up by Ki Hajar Dewantara in Yogyakarta in order to counter-act the colonial educational system, and therefore it was regarded a threat to the Dutch.

Technique: Contextual conditioning

Continued…

• Pada tanggal 22 Agustus 1945 Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia menetapakan pembentukan Barisan Keamanan Rakyat untuk memelihara keamanan dan ketertibaan umum di daerahnya masing-masing.

• The Indonesian Independence Preparatory Committee decided to set up the organization of People’s Security Body at its meeting on August 22, 1945.

Technique:Transposition

Contiued…

• Penyerangan terhadap kapal Belanda Onrust di Lontartur dilakukan oleh Pangeran Suropati, saudara Pangeran Antasari.

• His brother, Prince Suropati led a successful attack on Dutch ship Onrust.

Technique: Cultural substances

Continued…

• Dalam KMB di Den Haag, pemerintah Belanda mengakui kedaulatan di Indonesia pada Republik Indonesia Serikat.

• The result of the Round Table Conference, held at the Hague, Netherlands, was that…

Technique: Transcription

B. “Ideology” of translation in the diorama texts

• Foreignization = SL words/culture > TL words/ culture in the TL. It deals with substances or values.

• Proofs:

Foreignization/ Transference

• The Indonesian people who are Pancasilaists were immediately aware that the September 30 Movement by the Indonesian Communist Party in 1965 were aimed at destroying Pancasila State Philosophy and the 1945 State Constitution.

• Tanam Paksa = Forced Planting• … makan palapa sebelum Nusantara dapat

dipersatukan.• …not to eat palapa (rice with side dishes) before

Nusantara (Indonesian archipelago) has been united …

Continued…• Domestication (TL words is culturally dominant in TL Text) proofs:

C. The Non-Equivalent or Mistranslated Indonesian Cultural words and Phrases in the Target Language

• Menhir = stone pillars and tables

• Dolmen = pebbles and bones

• Sarchopagus = sarchopaga

Continued…

• Megalithikum = neolithic• Punden Berundak = little houses of workship• Palapa = palapa (rice with side dishes)• …dilakukan oleh Pangeran Suropati, saudara

Pangeran Antasari = His brother, Prince Suropati led a successful attack on…

• Cita-cita dr. Wahidin untuk menghimpun…= The ideals of DR. Wahidin Sudiro Husodo to…

• …keadaan kehidupan masyarakat tidak sesuai…= the people was led by Tuanku Imam Bonjol in

• Perlawanan rakyat semesta = popular up risings in Indonesia

D. Types of Translation Employed by the Translator in Translating the Cultural Texts

• Official documents based on its register because the example is history documents.

• This text translation is an idiomatic translation.

• This indicates Partial Translation. • These texts of translations are thought to be a

translation as a science and a craft.

E. The Frequency of the Non-Equivalent Indonesian Cultural Words and Phrases in the Target language

• There are 26 texts out of 51 texts in the diorama taken to be sample of the data. From 26 texts, there are 7 texts containing non-equivalent or mistranslation words/ phrases in the TL.

• It is implied that there are more or less 11 non-equivalent or mistranslation words and phrases.

• It may be inferred that the non-equivalent and mistranslation of Indonesian cultural words/ phrases in the TL are likely to tend to be frequent or quite often made by the translator.

A. Techniques Applied by the Translator1. Description Translation or descriptive translation. By Newmark Or called Amplification by Moentaha

…pendidikan di pesantren atau … oleh guru-guru agama, kiai-kiai atau ulama =The Pesantrens (Muslim boarding schools) and Muslim religious leaders represent ...

Supposed: The Pesantren (Islamic Boarding Schools)Guru agama/ Kiai/ Ulama (religious teachers/ religious figures/ Islamic scholar)

Chapter V

Discussion of the Research Findings

Continued…

2. Transposition (Hoed)Tanam Paksa = Forced Plantingsupposed : Tanam Paksa = The Forced Planting

System3. Cultural Substances (Hoed and Newmark)

Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang = Letters of Javanese Princess.

supposed: Letters of a Javanese Princess

• Megalithikum = neolithic = Megalithic (context matters)

• Punden Berundak = little houses of workship = pyramidal worshiping structures (cultural substances)

• Palapa = palapa (rice with side dishes) = fruit like coconut(cultural substances)

• …dilakukan oleh Pangeran Suropati, saudara Pangeran Antasari = His brother, Prince Suropati led a successful attack on… (Context and Cultural Substances)

• Cita-cita dr. Wahidin untuk menghimpun…= The ideals of DR. Wahidin Sudiro Husodo to… (Proper Name Matters) = dr. Wahidin

• …keadaan kehidupan masyarakat tidak sesuai…= the people was = were led by Tuanku Imam Bonjol in (structural matters)

• Perlawanan rakyat semesta = popular up risings in Indonesia

Chapter VISummary and Suggestions

A. Summary

It is generally concluded that the translator used some of the techniques of translation as many more or less ten techniques. They were literal translation, description translation, phonological translation, transposition, left untranslatable, deletion, cultural substances, modulation, transcription and contextual conditioning.

It is also deduced that most of the texts tended to be ‘foreignisation’ translation. Besides, there were some mistranslated cultural words and misspelling of the Indonesian words. Along with this, there were also some incorrect English grammar and structure. At last, the translator appeared to focus more on the words to be translated instead of the context and content itself.

B. Suggestions

These had better be revised and re-labeled of the entire dioramas. The story told in the texts should represent and synchronize the dioramas. The history is also should be revised referring to the new version of history of Indonesia.

The TL should also consist of the Indonesian cultural words or phrase. It means that the Indonesian cultural words are not rendered to the English version instead of writing the description of the terminology of Indonesian into English.

The translator recommends the Department of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia revising the label as immediate as possible

Thank you !!!