Showing posts with label Translation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Translation. Show all posts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Tawaran Terbuka Penerjemahan "Morning Glory"
Dear all,
GagasMedia mengadakan tawaran terbuka penerjemahan buku "Morning Glory" karya LaVyrle Spencer.
File excerpt masing-masing buku ada di Attachment e-mail ini. Klik di sini untuk mendonwload file.
Bagi yang berminat, kami tunggu sampel terjemahan paling lambat hari Jumat, 6 November 2009. Harap setiap file terjemahan diformat seperti ini:
MORNING GLORY_nama Anda.doc
dan e-mail berisi sampel terjemahan dinamai seperti ini:
Terjemahan MORNING GLORY (nama Anda)
Di file terjemahan pun sebaiknya mencantumkan nama penerjemahnya untuk
memudahkan kerja redaksi.
Semua hasil terjemahan akan disimpan redaksi sebagai dokumen dan CV penerjemah.
Harap diperhatikan, bagaimana pun naskah ini adalah novel romance. Selain hasil terjemahan yang rapi, kami juga menilai keputusan Anda dalam memilih kata, dan menata kalimat. Dan kemampuan menghadirkan ambience romantis dalam hasil terjemahan Anda adalah nilai plus yang juga kami pertimbangkan nanti.
Selamat bekerja, kami tunggu kabar baik dari Anda sekalian.
Regards,
Redaksi GagasMedia
redaksi@gagasmedia.net
GagasMedia mengadakan tawaran terbuka penerjemahan buku "Morning Glory" karya LaVyrle Spencer.
File excerpt masing-masing buku ada di Attachment e-mail ini. Klik di sini untuk mendonwload file.
Bagi yang berminat, kami tunggu sampel terjemahan paling lambat hari Jumat, 6 November 2009. Harap setiap file terjemahan diformat seperti ini:
MORNING GLORY_nama Anda.doc
dan e-mail berisi sampel terjemahan dinamai seperti ini:
Terjemahan MORNING GLORY (nama Anda)
Di file terjemahan pun sebaiknya mencantumkan nama penerjemahnya untuk
memudahkan kerja redaksi.
Semua hasil terjemahan akan disimpan redaksi sebagai dokumen dan CV penerjemah.
Harap diperhatikan, bagaimana pun naskah ini adalah novel romance. Selain hasil terjemahan yang rapi, kami juga menilai keputusan Anda dalam memilih kata, dan menata kalimat. Dan kemampuan menghadirkan ambience romantis dalam hasil terjemahan Anda adalah nilai plus yang juga kami pertimbangkan nanti.
Selamat bekerja, kami tunggu kabar baik dari Anda sekalian.
Regards,
Redaksi GagasMedia
redaksi@gagasmedia.net
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tip-Tip Melakukan Interpreting
* Before the conference make a list of the names of all the speakers so you don't have to worry about mispronouncing somebody's name.
*Don't worry about translating every word. Try to grasp the main idea of the speaker and to render it into the target language.
* Have a notepad with you. I wouldn't advice you to note down everything the speaker says as this might be distracting. But it's always good to note down any numbers, dates, titles. Cross ou the information that is no longer needed so you don't get lost in your notes.
* Make sure they give you your own microphone possibly one that you don't have to hold in your hand.
* Try to get a seat as near the speakers as possible. Before the conference present yourself to the speakers as their interpreter. That will remind them that they have to cooperate with you.
* If you feel the speaker is speaking for too long or people are beginning to speak at once don't hesitate to interrupt politely but firmly. Even the nicest speakers seem to forget sometimes that they are interpreted!
* Try to look confident even if you do not feel confident. Speak in a steady pace, not too fast and not to slow.
Keep an eye contact with the audience. The audience won't notice minor errors but will quickly sense hesitation in your voice. Interpreting is a bit like acting!
* And finally even if you feel you have made an error or think you have missed something stay calm and continue.
MORE:
* Start right now producing a concise vocabulary list in all 3 languages of the words you are pretty sure will be used. Just the fact of having done this the day before should fix those words in your short-term memory.
* Don't go for complicated abbreviations at this stage: unless you are used to them, you could panic and not remember in the heat of the moment. If you have shorthand, use it - unlikely but you never know - but if you do, use it in the target language, having already translated the original in your head.
* Above all, before the event, talk to as many people as you can, especially members of the press likely to ask questions, which is what I assume you will be translating. If you relax and listen and ask the right questions, you should get a fair idea of what they will be saying later on. In my experience, such people are already thinking of what they will say and just talking gives them a chance to try out their ideas. All good material for you to store for later use.
* During the session, if something is not clear or you do not catch something for whatever reason, do not hesitate to ask the speaker to repeat. As long as you smile and seem relaxed, it will just seem normal.
* Last but not least, even if you get it all wrong, nobody is going to die, it is not worth worrying about. So relax and enjoy. it could be a fun experience.
AND MORE:
* Drink only plain water, check your breath beforehand, eat light (you don't want to puke, but you don't want your stomach to grumble, either).
* Have a handkerchief handy, check your appearance, talk to the lecturers a few minutes before the conference start to check speech styles and last minute details, and...
Friday, April 11, 2008
[Translation] Translation and Text Understanding
Translation and Text Understanding
By Carolina Orloff
Introduction
“…The literary imagination is not a grace
of life or a diversion: it is the best way we
have found of reaching for the meaning of
existence.”
R.Fulford in The Literary Imagination In our Time.
In the Author’s Note to The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, the Czech writer Milan Kundera asserts that, after thorough revision, ‘French translations have become…more faithful to the Czech originals than the originals themselves’. So much does the author trust these translations that, for the English translation, the book has been translated from the French on Kundera’s advice. ‘I had the pleasure of seeing my text emerge in [Aaron Asher’s] translation as from a miraculous bath. At last I recognized my book.’ In Kundera’s statement, I see the ultimate wish of the translator come true: to understand the original text in such depth, as to reach the original essence of the text even before it became one. That is, to understand the text from within the author’s mind, to become the author’s mind thinking and writing in another language.
The translator assumes a responsibility that not only concerns a book and an author, but an entire culture. Understanding is fundamental in every respect, for beyond the fixed text, there is also a culture to be translated into mirror words of a different language. This essay attempts to look at the many levels of understanding involved in the creation of a ‘good’ translation. We shall only concentrate on examples of literary and philosophical texts.
a. Translation as a Powerful Conductor of Cultures: Understanding Language
“A translation is only a somewhat provisional
way of coming to terms with the foreignness of
languages.”
Walter Benjamin, ‘The Task of the Translator’
“Language: to humbly speak thought.”
J.L.Borges, ‘An Investigation of the Word’
In discerning the ethics of translation, Venutti adopts Berman’s view that a ‘good’ translation is one that ‘opens a dialogue, a cross-breeding, a decentering’, forcing the domestic (i.e. the target) language and culture to acknowledge and even learn from the foreignness of the translated text. The translator aims to portray the understanding of the foreign text through another that may be faithful to the original, even in its foreignness. However, the reader should not be completely marginalized, feeling that a ‘foreignizing’ translation is as unreadable as the untranslated original. If necessary, the translator will have to create a new language, one that renders, to quote Brisset’s examples, the cockney dialogue in Pygmalion or the lunfardo (i.e. local slang) of R. Arlt’s Buenos Aires, and still embraces the richness of the target language and culture.
A good example is S.J.Levine’s translation of M. Puig’s Boquitas Pintadas, literally meaning ‘Little Painted Mouths’ and interestingly translated as Heartbreak Tango. The difficulty within this text lies not only on the use of Argentinian slang, but also in the key use of tango lyrics. In the original text, quotes from tango songs appear as epigraphs before
each chapter. The Argentinian (and Uruguayan, perhaps) would immediately associate that quote with a certain melody and even a sentiment, yet how to translate this effect for an English-speaking readership?
S.J. Levine admits that the author’s deep knowledge of the popular culture of United States helped enormously in their joint creative translation for the North American edition. The translator becomes a craftsman, in the search to find words that are familiar to the Anglo-reader and at the same time evoke the same feelings originally provoked in the Hispanic-reader.
The translation of such culturally loaded texts takes into account the world of the author and needs to anticipate the target readers and universe. The translator must somehow be able to know the readers (the way they think, react, live, remember, feel), in order to predict the effect that words are going to have on them. The understanding of language by the translator must be impeccable on both sides of the text: from the culture of the author to that of the reader. Apart from language and as part of it, what also needs to be portrayed faithfully is the author’s precise and deliberate choice of words. For that, the translator must again understand language to perfection, that is, understand the power of isolated words in both cultures.
In the translator’s preface to Kafka’s stories, J.A.Underwood claims that the (usually translated as) ‘giant bug’ which Gregor Samsa has became in The Metamophosis,
does no justice to the cultural resonance of Kafka’s predilection for ‘ungeheures Ungeziefer’. Although ‘giant bug’ does not capture the social and religious exclusion implicit in Kafka’s choice, the literal ‘monstrous vermin’ would not read well in English. Thus, after the understanding, the compromise.
Another example is Plato’s pharmakon, famously ambiguous, meaning both ‘remedy’ and ‘poison’ in Greek. This is discussed by the French philosopher (and translator) J. Derrida, who sees in this semantic ambivalence the vulnerability of the entire course of Platonism in the hands of translators. Undoubtedly, this is a fundamental ambiguity. One only need think of Socrates’ death to understand the importance of translating the right meaning of a single word.
b. The Inevitable Act of Infidelity: Understanding Style
“It will be our destiny to mould ourselves to syntax, to its
treacherous chain of events, to the imprecision, the maybes,
the too many emphases, the buts, the hemisphere
of lies and of darkness in our speech.”
J.L.Borges, An Investigation of the Word.
The creativity of the translator is not in the choosing of the right words, for language conventions exist and restrict the ways in which a certain word can be held to mean the same in another ‘idiom’. It is with style and the attempt to remain loyal to the author in this, that the art of translation blooms…and despairs! How faithful can the style of the translated text remain to that of the original, without obscuring the sense or making the reading too awkward?
I thought of Marcel Proust’s writings, and how the translator had approached his problematic style. The translator of the Penguin edition, T. Kilmartin, argues that if there is a need for a revision of a previous translation, it is because Proust’s style has been altogether misinterpreted and thus, wrongly portrayed. Although ‘complicated, dense, overloaded’, he argues, ‘…Proust’s style is essentially natural and unaffected, quite free of preciosity, archaism or self-conscious elegance’. Whether he succeeds in maintaining it in English or not, I have not yet had the luxury to find out. Yet, the translator has made the decision to remain faithful to the author. This in itself is already a successful act of the understanding of style.
Another example is the complexity of Dostoyevsky’s style. The translators of Crime and Punishment elucidate the problems of Dostoyevsky’s Russian, from the intricacy of names, to a different calendar, punctuation and other nuances. Nevertheless, they set themselves the task of a literal rendition of the Russian chosen by Dostoyevsky, showing a supreme understanding of the culture as well as the text.
It is a delusion to think that an author’s style will remain intact after translation. However, if the translator has fully understood the language and its universe and has, as it were, entered the mind of the creator, s/he can also understand the logic behind a style, which is never a whimsical matter.
Borges’s most faithful English translator, A. Hurley, has fully captured the author’s logic behind his style. He explains thus:
“Borges’ prose style is characterized by a determined economy of resources in which every word is weighted, every word (every mark of punctuation) “tells”. It is a quiet style, whose effects are achieved not with bombast or pomp, but rather with a single exploding word or phrase, dropped almost as thought offhandedly into a quiet sentence (…) Quietness, subtlety, a laconic terseness –these are the marks of Borges’ style”
With such an understanding of the author’s style, thoughts and implicit intentions, the translator moves on to produce a fine text. “I have rendered Borges in the style that I hear when I listen to him”, admits Hurley to the reader, in the hope that the reader, in turn, shall hear something of the genius of Borges’ storytelling and, indeed, style.
c. Translator’s exile and the miracle of translation: Understanding the translated text
“In translation, the work of thinking is transposed into
the spirit of another language and so undergoes an
inevitable transformation (…) [which] shines a new
light on the fundamental position of the question…”
M. Heidegger
“The power of illumination…is the supreme power of translation”, argues Berman in the idea that translation is, by definition, a clarifying process, for it makes an unintelligible language, readable. The reader becomes ‘illuminated’ by translation, which unveils a new text and, through it, an entire culture.
The responsibility in the hands of the translator (literally) is unfathomable; particularly with regards to non-fictional texts, such as Philosophy, where the essence of ideas have to be rendered on a deeper level than that of the tangible realm of words. Yet, how does the translator approach this final text, after being torn constantly between two languages and cultures, writing and reinventing a text which s/he has never created in his mind? The translator is in exile from his own language, being at the service of another one. This must allow for an enriched perspective, for a deeper final understanding of the text.
The translator is a merciless reader, and as such reading his/her own work, the translator must understand the translation as clearly as s/he understood the original, if not more. It is this second understanding, the enriched ‘bridge’ between one language and the other, that should be portrayed in the final translated text, which is a new version of another final original one.
Conclusion
There are translations that have understood the language and syntax, and have tried to remain loyal to the style, but have failed to understand the final translated text, i.e. the impact that the words the translator has chosen have on the reader. An example of this is P. Blackburn’s translation of J.Cortázar´s Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. In this translation, there are no notes at all. Given the difficulty of the book, even in its original language, this is surprising, for an English reader, for example, will not be able to capture any of the subtle cultural references. I would argue that his translation is culturally irresponsible, that the tranlator has failed to understand his own text.
A.Hurley resorts to an opposite extreme, soaking his translation of Borges text with ‘Notes to the Fictions’, which aim to level the Anglo-reader with the knowledge that a LatinAmerican would have. A certain justice is thus achieved, for although these notes might come across as condescending, the option (to understand more) is there. In that option, lies the possibility of understanding the text in its completeness. For, the translator has already been inside the author’s mind, and is now willing to illuminate us by showing us some doors to the author’s world. The translator has understood that in the essence of what s/he is translating, might lie the very meaning of existence.
Bibliography
Berman, A. (1985) Translation and the Trials of the Foreign. Trans. Venutti, L. In Venuti, L.(ed.) Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 284-298.
Borges, J.L. (1998) Collected Fictions. Trans. Hurley, A. London: Penguin Books.
--------------. (1999) The Homeric Versions. Trans. Weinberger, E. In Weinberger, E. (ed.) The Total Library: Non-Fiction 1922-1986. London: Penguin Books, 69-74.
--------------. (1999) An Investigation of the Word. Trans. Weinberger, E. In Weinberger, E. (ed.) The Total Library: Non-Fiction 1922-1986. London: Penguin Books, 32- 39.
Brisset, A. (1990/96) The Search for a Native Language: Translation and Cultural Identity. Trans. Gannon, R & Gill, R. In Venuti, L.(ed.) Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 345-375.
Cortázar, J. (1994) Cronopios and Famas. Trans. Blackburn, P. London: Marion Boyars.
Derrida, J. (1981) Dissemination. Trans. Johnson, B. London: The Athlone Press.
Dostoevsky, F. (1992) Crime and Punishment. Trans. Pevear, R. & Volokhonsky, L. London: Vintage.
Fulford, R. (1990) The Literary Imagination in Our Time. In Manguel, A. (ed.) Soho Square III. London: Bloomsbury Publishers Ltd.
Kafka, F. (1981) Stories 1904-1924.Trans. Underwood, J.A. London: Abacus.
Kundera, M. (1996) The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Trans. Asher, A. London: Faber and Faber.
Levine, S.J. (1998) Escriba Subversiva: Una Poética de la Traducción. México DF: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Mochulsky, K. (1967) Dostoevsky: His Life and Work. Trans. Minihan, M.A. USA: Princeton University Press.
Nietzsche, F. (1968) The Portable Nietzsche. Trans. Kaufmann, W. (ed.) London: Penguin Books.
Proust, M. (1981) Remembrance of the Things Past. Trans. Scott Moncrieff, C.K. & Kilmartin, T. London: Penguin Books, pp. ix-xii.
Reiss, K. (1971) Type, Kind and Individuality of Text. Decision Making in Translation. Trans. Kitron, S. In Venuti, L.(ed.) Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 160-171.
Venutti, L. (1998) The Formation of Cultural Identities. In The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference. London: Routledge, 67-87.
By Carolina Orloff
Introduction
“…The literary imagination is not a grace
of life or a diversion: it is the best way we
have found of reaching for the meaning of
existence.”
R.Fulford in The Literary Imagination In our Time.
In the Author’s Note to The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, the Czech writer Milan Kundera asserts that, after thorough revision, ‘French translations have become…more faithful to the Czech originals than the originals themselves’. So much does the author trust these translations that, for the English translation, the book has been translated from the French on Kundera’s advice. ‘I had the pleasure of seeing my text emerge in [Aaron Asher’s] translation as from a miraculous bath. At last I recognized my book.’ In Kundera’s statement, I see the ultimate wish of the translator come true: to understand the original text in such depth, as to reach the original essence of the text even before it became one. That is, to understand the text from within the author’s mind, to become the author’s mind thinking and writing in another language.
The translator assumes a responsibility that not only concerns a book and an author, but an entire culture. Understanding is fundamental in every respect, for beyond the fixed text, there is also a culture to be translated into mirror words of a different language. This essay attempts to look at the many levels of understanding involved in the creation of a ‘good’ translation. We shall only concentrate on examples of literary and philosophical texts.
a. Translation as a Powerful Conductor of Cultures: Understanding Language
“A translation is only a somewhat provisional
way of coming to terms with the foreignness of
languages.”
Walter Benjamin, ‘The Task of the Translator’
“Language: to humbly speak thought.”
J.L.Borges, ‘An Investigation of the Word’
In discerning the ethics of translation, Venutti adopts Berman’s view that a ‘good’ translation is one that ‘opens a dialogue, a cross-breeding, a decentering’, forcing the domestic (i.e. the target) language and culture to acknowledge and even learn from the foreignness of the translated text. The translator aims to portray the understanding of the foreign text through another that may be faithful to the original, even in its foreignness. However, the reader should not be completely marginalized, feeling that a ‘foreignizing’ translation is as unreadable as the untranslated original. If necessary, the translator will have to create a new language, one that renders, to quote Brisset’s examples, the cockney dialogue in Pygmalion or the lunfardo (i.e. local slang) of R. Arlt’s Buenos Aires, and still embraces the richness of the target language and culture.
A good example is S.J.Levine’s translation of M. Puig’s Boquitas Pintadas, literally meaning ‘Little Painted Mouths’ and interestingly translated as Heartbreak Tango. The difficulty within this text lies not only on the use of Argentinian slang, but also in the key use of tango lyrics. In the original text, quotes from tango songs appear as epigraphs before
each chapter. The Argentinian (and Uruguayan, perhaps) would immediately associate that quote with a certain melody and even a sentiment, yet how to translate this effect for an English-speaking readership?
S.J. Levine admits that the author’s deep knowledge of the popular culture of United States helped enormously in their joint creative translation for the North American edition. The translator becomes a craftsman, in the search to find words that are familiar to the Anglo-reader and at the same time evoke the same feelings originally provoked in the Hispanic-reader.
The translation of such culturally loaded texts takes into account the world of the author and needs to anticipate the target readers and universe. The translator must somehow be able to know the readers (the way they think, react, live, remember, feel), in order to predict the effect that words are going to have on them. The understanding of language by the translator must be impeccable on both sides of the text: from the culture of the author to that of the reader. Apart from language and as part of it, what also needs to be portrayed faithfully is the author’s precise and deliberate choice of words. For that, the translator must again understand language to perfection, that is, understand the power of isolated words in both cultures.
In the translator’s preface to Kafka’s stories, J.A.Underwood claims that the (usually translated as) ‘giant bug’ which Gregor Samsa has became in The Metamophosis,
does no justice to the cultural resonance of Kafka’s predilection for ‘ungeheures Ungeziefer’. Although ‘giant bug’ does not capture the social and religious exclusion implicit in Kafka’s choice, the literal ‘monstrous vermin’ would not read well in English. Thus, after the understanding, the compromise.
Another example is Plato’s pharmakon, famously ambiguous, meaning both ‘remedy’ and ‘poison’ in Greek. This is discussed by the French philosopher (and translator) J. Derrida, who sees in this semantic ambivalence the vulnerability of the entire course of Platonism in the hands of translators. Undoubtedly, this is a fundamental ambiguity. One only need think of Socrates’ death to understand the importance of translating the right meaning of a single word.
b. The Inevitable Act of Infidelity: Understanding Style
“It will be our destiny to mould ourselves to syntax, to its
treacherous chain of events, to the imprecision, the maybes,
the too many emphases, the buts, the hemisphere
of lies and of darkness in our speech.”
J.L.Borges, An Investigation of the Word.
The creativity of the translator is not in the choosing of the right words, for language conventions exist and restrict the ways in which a certain word can be held to mean the same in another ‘idiom’. It is with style and the attempt to remain loyal to the author in this, that the art of translation blooms…and despairs! How faithful can the style of the translated text remain to that of the original, without obscuring the sense or making the reading too awkward?
I thought of Marcel Proust’s writings, and how the translator had approached his problematic style. The translator of the Penguin edition, T. Kilmartin, argues that if there is a need for a revision of a previous translation, it is because Proust’s style has been altogether misinterpreted and thus, wrongly portrayed. Although ‘complicated, dense, overloaded’, he argues, ‘…Proust’s style is essentially natural and unaffected, quite free of preciosity, archaism or self-conscious elegance’. Whether he succeeds in maintaining it in English or not, I have not yet had the luxury to find out. Yet, the translator has made the decision to remain faithful to the author. This in itself is already a successful act of the understanding of style.
Another example is the complexity of Dostoyevsky’s style. The translators of Crime and Punishment elucidate the problems of Dostoyevsky’s Russian, from the intricacy of names, to a different calendar, punctuation and other nuances. Nevertheless, they set themselves the task of a literal rendition of the Russian chosen by Dostoyevsky, showing a supreme understanding of the culture as well as the text.
It is a delusion to think that an author’s style will remain intact after translation. However, if the translator has fully understood the language and its universe and has, as it were, entered the mind of the creator, s/he can also understand the logic behind a style, which is never a whimsical matter.
Borges’s most faithful English translator, A. Hurley, has fully captured the author’s logic behind his style. He explains thus:
“Borges’ prose style is characterized by a determined economy of resources in which every word is weighted, every word (every mark of punctuation) “tells”. It is a quiet style, whose effects are achieved not with bombast or pomp, but rather with a single exploding word or phrase, dropped almost as thought offhandedly into a quiet sentence (…) Quietness, subtlety, a laconic terseness –these are the marks of Borges’ style”
With such an understanding of the author’s style, thoughts and implicit intentions, the translator moves on to produce a fine text. “I have rendered Borges in the style that I hear when I listen to him”, admits Hurley to the reader, in the hope that the reader, in turn, shall hear something of the genius of Borges’ storytelling and, indeed, style.
c. Translator’s exile and the miracle of translation: Understanding the translated text
“In translation, the work of thinking is transposed into
the spirit of another language and so undergoes an
inevitable transformation (…) [which] shines a new
light on the fundamental position of the question…”
M. Heidegger
“The power of illumination…is the supreme power of translation”, argues Berman in the idea that translation is, by definition, a clarifying process, for it makes an unintelligible language, readable. The reader becomes ‘illuminated’ by translation, which unveils a new text and, through it, an entire culture.
The responsibility in the hands of the translator (literally) is unfathomable; particularly with regards to non-fictional texts, such as Philosophy, where the essence of ideas have to be rendered on a deeper level than that of the tangible realm of words. Yet, how does the translator approach this final text, after being torn constantly between two languages and cultures, writing and reinventing a text which s/he has never created in his mind? The translator is in exile from his own language, being at the service of another one. This must allow for an enriched perspective, for a deeper final understanding of the text.
The translator is a merciless reader, and as such reading his/her own work, the translator must understand the translation as clearly as s/he understood the original, if not more. It is this second understanding, the enriched ‘bridge’ between one language and the other, that should be portrayed in the final translated text, which is a new version of another final original one.
Conclusion
There are translations that have understood the language and syntax, and have tried to remain loyal to the style, but have failed to understand the final translated text, i.e. the impact that the words the translator has chosen have on the reader. An example of this is P. Blackburn’s translation of J.Cortázar´s Historias de Cronopios y de Famas. In this translation, there are no notes at all. Given the difficulty of the book, even in its original language, this is surprising, for an English reader, for example, will not be able to capture any of the subtle cultural references. I would argue that his translation is culturally irresponsible, that the tranlator has failed to understand his own text.
A.Hurley resorts to an opposite extreme, soaking his translation of Borges text with ‘Notes to the Fictions’, which aim to level the Anglo-reader with the knowledge that a LatinAmerican would have. A certain justice is thus achieved, for although these notes might come across as condescending, the option (to understand more) is there. In that option, lies the possibility of understanding the text in its completeness. For, the translator has already been inside the author’s mind, and is now willing to illuminate us by showing us some doors to the author’s world. The translator has understood that in the essence of what s/he is translating, might lie the very meaning of existence.
Bibliography
Berman, A. (1985) Translation and the Trials of the Foreign. Trans. Venutti, L. In Venuti, L.(ed.) Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 284-298.
Borges, J.L. (1998) Collected Fictions. Trans. Hurley, A. London: Penguin Books.
--------------. (1999) The Homeric Versions. Trans. Weinberger, E. In Weinberger, E. (ed.) The Total Library: Non-Fiction 1922-1986. London: Penguin Books, 69-74.
--------------. (1999) An Investigation of the Word. Trans. Weinberger, E. In Weinberger, E. (ed.) The Total Library: Non-Fiction 1922-1986. London: Penguin Books, 32- 39.
Brisset, A. (1990/96) The Search for a Native Language: Translation and Cultural Identity. Trans. Gannon, R & Gill, R. In Venuti, L.(ed.) Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 345-375.
Cortázar, J. (1994) Cronopios and Famas. Trans. Blackburn, P. London: Marion Boyars.
Derrida, J. (1981) Dissemination. Trans. Johnson, B. London: The Athlone Press.
Dostoevsky, F. (1992) Crime and Punishment. Trans. Pevear, R. & Volokhonsky, L. London: Vintage.
Fulford, R. (1990) The Literary Imagination in Our Time. In Manguel, A. (ed.) Soho Square III. London: Bloomsbury Publishers Ltd.
Kafka, F. (1981) Stories 1904-1924.Trans. Underwood, J.A. London: Abacus.
Kundera, M. (1996) The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Trans. Asher, A. London: Faber and Faber.
Levine, S.J. (1998) Escriba Subversiva: Una Poética de la Traducción. México DF: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Mochulsky, K. (1967) Dostoevsky: His Life and Work. Trans. Minihan, M.A. USA: Princeton University Press.
Nietzsche, F. (1968) The Portable Nietzsche. Trans. Kaufmann, W. (ed.) London: Penguin Books.
Proust, M. (1981) Remembrance of the Things Past. Trans. Scott Moncrieff, C.K. & Kilmartin, T. London: Penguin Books, pp. ix-xii.
Reiss, K. (1971) Type, Kind and Individuality of Text. Decision Making in Translation. Trans. Kitron, S. In Venuti, L.(ed.) Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 160-171.
Venutti, L. (1998) The Formation of Cultural Identities. In The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference. London: Routledge, 67-87.
[Translation] Business Plans for Translators
Business Plans for Translators
By Kevin Lossner
I suspect that most of us in the business have never written a formal business plan nor seen the need to do so. If work is coming in at a good pace and all the taxes and bills are paid with enough left over for extras, then there is indeed no urgent reason to think about such things. Nonetheless, the insight one can gain from writing a formal business plan may be of great benefit even to a highly successful business. And when things get rough or extra funds are needed for equipment and software investments or other things, then a good business plan can make all the difference?
What is a business plan? Good overview descriptions can be found on Wikipedia and elsewhere. Put simply, a business plan is a statement of goals, the reasons why you think they are relevant and the plan for achieving them. There are no rigid rules for the content, but plans usually include an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the business (aka SWOT analysis) and background on the businesses personnel and other resources. Depending on the purpose of the business plan, financial data (such as profit and loss statements) may be included.
If you are an agency owner with an incorporated business, a number of employees, large cash inflows and outflows, etc. this is possibly all rather familiar. Freelance translators, however, are probably less familiar with the subject. In the country where I live (Germany), it may have been necessary for a freelance translator who used funding from the German federal employment agency for business startups to write a business plan, but even then, many people let their accountants write a minimal plan and scarcely give it a glance. A good business plan, however, is not a one-off effort at the start of a business or just a dog-and-pony show to fool a bank into giving a loan. It is a tool to help you understand your business in its past and present state and to plan where it should be going and how to get there.
Freelancer scenarios
Some specific cases where business plans are of value to a freelance translator might include:
starting the business where funding may be needed for equipment and software
investments in new technology (such as servers or upgraded licenses) for an ongoing business
a loan for building an addition to a home to provide separate office space
detailing possible cooperation with other businesses to form partnerships, etc.
planning a move "up market" to increase the quality of one's customer base
(… fill in your own business quandary to solve here)
A business plan can be a good focus of discussion when taking advice from consultants, your tax advisor or a business mentor. It is another way of showing your professional seriousness and is treated accordingly by lending institutions among others.
My business plans
My first foray into written business planning was many years ago when I was in the process of planning a spin-off from an existing consulting business, and it was necessary to define in detail the responsibilities and ownership shares for each partner in the new business. A lot of the writing at that time was handled by attorneys and my partners with my occasional review and commentary, and I must admit I didn't learn much more than keywords for the whole process. Even creating some educational software on the subject years before that hadn't taught me a lot: there is a world of difference between reading about something and actually doing it.
My first business plan for which I can claim full credit was written in the months during which I planned my transition from a wage slave in my newly adopted country back to an independent businessperson. At first my intention was to qualify for the "transition funding", but I soon found the process so informative and valuable for shaping my future that I continued to develop the plan even after I was told that as a foreigner with only a few months left on his residence visa I didn't qualify. It was sort of like brainstorming, and it opened my eyes to a lot of resources that I had not been consciously aware of before. I ran my freelance translating business according to the plan for the first two years and got off to a very good start.
A few years later I had merged my business with another translator, we were thinking of hiring one or more employees for back office tasks and also considering buying or building a house with enough room for living and business. There were many, many things to consider, bank officers to convince and potential employees to inform of how we work and why and what their roles should be. Once again, time invested in updating the business plan was well spent, and we were surprised to find that our business was better and our risks lower than we had assumed.
Business plan outline
There are numerous free outlines available for writing business plans; I started with one of these from the web site of a local chamber of commerce. There are commercial web sites that are ready and willing to sell you a plan for $30 or so, but I think the free samples are a good enough starting point for most people. Take the template and adapt it to fit your business. The outline that eventually developed for our business plan looked something like this:
0 Summary
0.1 Goals
0.1.1 Objectives of the business plan
0.1.2 Objectives of the company
0.2 Success factors
0.3 Status and plans
1 The company
1.1 Areas of activity
1.2 Legal structure
1.3 Personnel and organization
1.3.1 In-house personnel
1.3.2 External personnel (freelance, consultants, etc.)
1.4 Professional organizations
1.5 Location and technology
2 Market and competitive situation
2.1 Unique selling points of the company
2.2 The domestic and international translation market
2.3 Customers
2.3.1 Customer list (as of )
2.3.2 Classification of the customers
2.3.3 Distribution of business from the customers
2.4 Advertisement
2.4.1 External web sites
2.4.2 Our Internet presence
2.4.3 Participation in newsgroups, online forums, etc.
2.4.4 Future plans for advertising development
3 SWOT analysis
3.1 Strengths
3.2 Weaknesses
3.3 Opportunities
3.4 Threats
4 Finances
4.1 Current situation
4.1.1 Overview of fiscal years XXXX and YYYY
4.1.2 Business accounts
4.2 Desired situation
5 Administration
5.1 Authorized signatories
5.2 Technical tools for management
5.3 Pricing and quotations
6 Insurance policies
6.1 Professional liability, etc.
6.2 Other
7 Business development plans 200X-200Y
7.1 Location:
7.2 Continuing education and qualification
7.3 Internal technical infrastructure
7.4 Cooperative projects
7.5 Other
Appendix 1: Resumes
Appendix 2: Online profiles & Internet site (page printouts)
Appendix 3: Profit & loss statements
Appendix 4: Partnership contract
Appendix 5: Customer letters, certificates, etc.
Appendix 6: Insurance documentation
Appendix 7: Hardware, software, and reference inventories
This outline structure is by no means optimized; it is presented merely as an example. But it should give you some idea of how a business plan for a small translation partnership might look.
Filling in the details
This is the hard part, of course, but this is where you really get to know the "hidden" aspects of your business. Details for my business plan were drawn from many sources. My accounting software provided some nice, easy-to-understand graphs about the earnings from my top customers (showing the spread of risk); ProZ charts for rates showed the relationship of my rates to others working the online market; web statistics showed how many hits my web sites received and how these might relate to other activities like published articles, courses taught, etc. How much time and effort you invest here will depend on how you plan to use the business plan. You might very well have different plans with different levels of detail for various purposes.
Conclusion
Writing a business plan can be hard. And, unlike translation work, nobody pays you to do it – or do they? I firmly believe that the clearer understanding you gain from a well-formulated plan helps you focus and work better, identify weaknesses in your business (oh gee – maybe I need written terms and conditions for my customers!) and correct them, explain your business to people who may need to understand it (really, Uncle Moneybanks, I can repay that home loan!) and overall become more professional in planning and performing your work.
By Kevin Lossner
I suspect that most of us in the business have never written a formal business plan nor seen the need to do so. If work is coming in at a good pace and all the taxes and bills are paid with enough left over for extras, then there is indeed no urgent reason to think about such things. Nonetheless, the insight one can gain from writing a formal business plan may be of great benefit even to a highly successful business. And when things get rough or extra funds are needed for equipment and software investments or other things, then a good business plan can make all the difference?
What is a business plan? Good overview descriptions can be found on Wikipedia and elsewhere. Put simply, a business plan is a statement of goals, the reasons why you think they are relevant and the plan for achieving them. There are no rigid rules for the content, but plans usually include an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the business (aka SWOT analysis) and background on the businesses personnel and other resources. Depending on the purpose of the business plan, financial data (such as profit and loss statements) may be included.
If you are an agency owner with an incorporated business, a number of employees, large cash inflows and outflows, etc. this is possibly all rather familiar. Freelance translators, however, are probably less familiar with the subject. In the country where I live (Germany), it may have been necessary for a freelance translator who used funding from the German federal employment agency for business startups to write a business plan, but even then, many people let their accountants write a minimal plan and scarcely give it a glance. A good business plan, however, is not a one-off effort at the start of a business or just a dog-and-pony show to fool a bank into giving a loan. It is a tool to help you understand your business in its past and present state and to plan where it should be going and how to get there.
Freelancer scenarios
Some specific cases where business plans are of value to a freelance translator might include:
starting the business where funding may be needed for equipment and software
investments in new technology (such as servers or upgraded licenses) for an ongoing business
a loan for building an addition to a home to provide separate office space
detailing possible cooperation with other businesses to form partnerships, etc.
planning a move "up market" to increase the quality of one's customer base
(… fill in your own business quandary to solve here)
A business plan can be a good focus of discussion when taking advice from consultants, your tax advisor or a business mentor. It is another way of showing your professional seriousness and is treated accordingly by lending institutions among others.
My business plans
My first foray into written business planning was many years ago when I was in the process of planning a spin-off from an existing consulting business, and it was necessary to define in detail the responsibilities and ownership shares for each partner in the new business. A lot of the writing at that time was handled by attorneys and my partners with my occasional review and commentary, and I must admit I didn't learn much more than keywords for the whole process. Even creating some educational software on the subject years before that hadn't taught me a lot: there is a world of difference between reading about something and actually doing it.
My first business plan for which I can claim full credit was written in the months during which I planned my transition from a wage slave in my newly adopted country back to an independent businessperson. At first my intention was to qualify for the "transition funding", but I soon found the process so informative and valuable for shaping my future that I continued to develop the plan even after I was told that as a foreigner with only a few months left on his residence visa I didn't qualify. It was sort of like brainstorming, and it opened my eyes to a lot of resources that I had not been consciously aware of before. I ran my freelance translating business according to the plan for the first two years and got off to a very good start.
A few years later I had merged my business with another translator, we were thinking of hiring one or more employees for back office tasks and also considering buying or building a house with enough room for living and business. There were many, many things to consider, bank officers to convince and potential employees to inform of how we work and why and what their roles should be. Once again, time invested in updating the business plan was well spent, and we were surprised to find that our business was better and our risks lower than we had assumed.
Business plan outline
There are numerous free outlines available for writing business plans; I started with one of these from the web site of a local chamber of commerce. There are commercial web sites that are ready and willing to sell you a plan for $30 or so, but I think the free samples are a good enough starting point for most people. Take the template and adapt it to fit your business. The outline that eventually developed for our business plan looked something like this:
0 Summary
0.1 Goals
0.1.1 Objectives of the business plan
0.1.2 Objectives of the company
0.2 Success factors
0.3 Status and plans
1 The company
1.1 Areas of activity
1.2 Legal structure
1.3 Personnel and organization
1.3.1 In-house personnel
1.3.2 External personnel (freelance, consultants, etc.)
1.4 Professional organizations
1.5 Location and technology
2 Market and competitive situation
2.1 Unique selling points of the company
2.2 The domestic and international translation market
2.3 Customers
2.3.1 Customer list (as of )
2.3.2 Classification of the customers
2.3.3 Distribution of business from the customers
2.4 Advertisement
2.4.1 External web sites
2.4.2 Our Internet presence
2.4.3 Participation in newsgroups, online forums, etc.
2.4.4 Future plans for advertising development
3 SWOT analysis
3.1 Strengths
3.2 Weaknesses
3.3 Opportunities
3.4 Threats
4 Finances
4.1 Current situation
4.1.1 Overview of fiscal years XXXX and YYYY
4.1.2 Business accounts
4.2 Desired situation
5 Administration
5.1 Authorized signatories
5.2 Technical tools for management
5.3 Pricing and quotations
6 Insurance policies
6.1 Professional liability, etc.
6.2 Other
7 Business development plans 200X-200Y
7.1 Location:
7.2 Continuing education and qualification
7.3 Internal technical infrastructure
7.4 Cooperative projects
7.5 Other
Appendix 1: Resumes
Appendix 2: Online profiles & Internet site (page printouts)
Appendix 3: Profit & loss statements
Appendix 4: Partnership contract
Appendix 5: Customer letters, certificates, etc.
Appendix 6: Insurance documentation
Appendix 7: Hardware, software, and reference inventories
This outline structure is by no means optimized; it is presented merely as an example. But it should give you some idea of how a business plan for a small translation partnership might look.
Filling in the details
This is the hard part, of course, but this is where you really get to know the "hidden" aspects of your business. Details for my business plan were drawn from many sources. My accounting software provided some nice, easy-to-understand graphs about the earnings from my top customers (showing the spread of risk); ProZ charts for rates showed the relationship of my rates to others working the online market; web statistics showed how many hits my web sites received and how these might relate to other activities like published articles, courses taught, etc. How much time and effort you invest here will depend on how you plan to use the business plan. You might very well have different plans with different levels of detail for various purposes.
Conclusion
Writing a business plan can be hard. And, unlike translation work, nobody pays you to do it – or do they? I firmly believe that the clearer understanding you gain from a well-formulated plan helps you focus and work better, identify weaknesses in your business (oh gee – maybe I need written terms and conditions for my customers!) and correct them, explain your business to people who may need to understand it (really, Uncle Moneybanks, I can repay that home loan!) and overall become more professional in planning and performing your work.
[Translation] Dealing with Quality Issues on the Translation Process
Dealing with Quality Issues on the Translation Process
By Manuel Martín-Iguacel
The following is just a quick overview and not an exhaustive analysis.
Premise:
It is an imperative key principle not only to fulfil the customer’s needs but also to exceed their expectations so that they are happy and willing to create a long-lasting working relationship. In order to make this possible, we should address the quality issues in the most effective way.
There might be several reasons for explaining common quality issues. These are listed at random below.
1. Guidelines/instructions factor
Unclear guidelines and/or instructions regarding terminology and terminological priorities. Sometimes instructions are unnecessarily long and yet the same time not so informative. They contain references to “old battles” (issues), which do no longer apply and take an awful lot of space. Obviously, this may discourage many translators from reading on further. I am, personally, in favour of providing the translator with long initial instructions for reference only at the beginning of the project/collaboration and then providing them with short and concrete updates containing relevant information related to the potential issues in the future.
2. Time factor: Unrealistic or extremely tight deadlines.
They (the final clients) always want unrealistic deadlines: “I want it for yesterday”. Well, unfortunately this is they way it is, but it does not mean it is the way it should be. The truth is that very few final clients bother to try and understand the fact that the translation process, when carried out properly and professionally, must take a bit longer than just a tiny while.
3. Translator factor
Sometimes so-called experienced translators are just very enthusiastic junior translators with no proven track record or an unfinished educational background, i.e. they are not so experienced at all in the end.
Cheap translators are a very inviting and dangerous temptation. We all know that quality demands a price! Trying to save money at the initial stage (the translation itself) proves to make the whole localisation process in the end more expensive.
4. Project size factor (huge projects) – Teams of translators
When too many different translators work simultaneously on the same huge project, this endangers its consistency, accuracy and quality. This is a very common practice due to the commonly so unrealistic/extremely tight deadlines of huge size projects. If this working procedure is applied, then: 1. the use of common basic reference material and 2. a very thorough proofreading stage are absolutely vital.
5. Sub-contracting factor
Some translators might, illegally, sub-contract projects or parts of them assigned by a specific agency to third parties. If a translator wishes to sub-contract any work, this must be agreed to and permitted by that agency. Also, before delivery, the translator should always read the translation s/he has commissioned to a different translator in order to make sure it complies with the expected/desired level of quality.
6. Source text factor
Last but not least, the style and composition of the source text is quite often far from consistent and clear. The authors are experts on engineering, automotive, trucks, backhoe loaders, information technology, intelligent software, etc., but for whatever reason they do not have the time to write properly or they simply do not care. It is quite common to see the use of different words and expressions for the same concept, technical part, etc. Also, the construction of the sentences is too complex or unnecessarily long. To be fair with the technical authors, I must admit that they also experience time constraints, which obviously affect the final result in the negative way that everyone involved in the translation business has already noticed. Furthermore, sometimes the alleged source is also a translation, which raises unnecessary problems, leading to confusion and generating potential issues and queries.
Suggestions:
The ideal translation process I try to implement, by all means wherever is possible, is pretty comprehensive:
Translation + two Proofreading stages (un/formatted) + DTP format check
Initial and continuous reward to good/consistent and punctual translators is better than later punishment to not so good translators.
Giving frequent and positive feedback to the translators is as good and important or even better than only giving not so good feedback when it is too late...
Unfortunately it is quite difficult to find the time to send any feedback at all, unless something goes pretty wrong (there is a catastrophe…). This practice, however, should be established. It would contribute to creating and strengthening a bond between the agency and the translators/proofreaders, who would feel closer and more willing to deliver good work to the agency.
The practice of providing the translator with the formatted source text for reference has proven (to be) very useful, also as a potential problem-solving strategy.
Communication with the client.
It is essential to get the client used to maintaining an active channel/line of communication.
Frequent and quick feedback from the client concerning the translators’ queries can speed up considerably the translation and correction processes. It can also be helpful to share the queries generated by different the translators of different languages, when multilingual projects.
Educating the final client.
This is almost a “mission impossible”, but it might be a serious option to consider. Making the client aware that 1. the translation process and 2. a high quality final product requires reasonable deadlines to be properly and professionally implemented. Otherwise, and we all know that, the consequences can be fatal. Murphy is a quite hyperactive kind of guy and does not need much sleep.
Good luck!
¡Hasta la vista y saludo!
By Manuel Martín-Iguacel
The following is just a quick overview and not an exhaustive analysis.
Premise:
It is an imperative key principle not only to fulfil the customer’s needs but also to exceed their expectations so that they are happy and willing to create a long-lasting working relationship. In order to make this possible, we should address the quality issues in the most effective way.
There might be several reasons for explaining common quality issues. These are listed at random below.
1. Guidelines/instructions factor
Unclear guidelines and/or instructions regarding terminology and terminological priorities. Sometimes instructions are unnecessarily long and yet the same time not so informative. They contain references to “old battles” (issues), which do no longer apply and take an awful lot of space. Obviously, this may discourage many translators from reading on further. I am, personally, in favour of providing the translator with long initial instructions for reference only at the beginning of the project/collaboration and then providing them with short and concrete updates containing relevant information related to the potential issues in the future.
2. Time factor: Unrealistic or extremely tight deadlines.
They (the final clients) always want unrealistic deadlines: “I want it for yesterday”. Well, unfortunately this is they way it is, but it does not mean it is the way it should be. The truth is that very few final clients bother to try and understand the fact that the translation process, when carried out properly and professionally, must take a bit longer than just a tiny while.
3. Translator factor
Sometimes so-called experienced translators are just very enthusiastic junior translators with no proven track record or an unfinished educational background, i.e. they are not so experienced at all in the end.
Cheap translators are a very inviting and dangerous temptation. We all know that quality demands a price! Trying to save money at the initial stage (the translation itself) proves to make the whole localisation process in the end more expensive.
4. Project size factor (huge projects) – Teams of translators
When too many different translators work simultaneously on the same huge project, this endangers its consistency, accuracy and quality. This is a very common practice due to the commonly so unrealistic/extremely tight deadlines of huge size projects. If this working procedure is applied, then: 1. the use of common basic reference material and 2. a very thorough proofreading stage are absolutely vital.
5. Sub-contracting factor
Some translators might, illegally, sub-contract projects or parts of them assigned by a specific agency to third parties. If a translator wishes to sub-contract any work, this must be agreed to and permitted by that agency. Also, before delivery, the translator should always read the translation s/he has commissioned to a different translator in order to make sure it complies with the expected/desired level of quality.
6. Source text factor
Last but not least, the style and composition of the source text is quite often far from consistent and clear. The authors are experts on engineering, automotive, trucks, backhoe loaders, information technology, intelligent software, etc., but for whatever reason they do not have the time to write properly or they simply do not care. It is quite common to see the use of different words and expressions for the same concept, technical part, etc. Also, the construction of the sentences is too complex or unnecessarily long. To be fair with the technical authors, I must admit that they also experience time constraints, which obviously affect the final result in the negative way that everyone involved in the translation business has already noticed. Furthermore, sometimes the alleged source is also a translation, which raises unnecessary problems, leading to confusion and generating potential issues and queries.
Suggestions:
The ideal translation process I try to implement, by all means wherever is possible, is pretty comprehensive:
Translation + two Proofreading stages (un/formatted) + DTP format check
Initial and continuous reward to good/consistent and punctual translators is better than later punishment to not so good translators.
Giving frequent and positive feedback to the translators is as good and important or even better than only giving not so good feedback when it is too late...
Unfortunately it is quite difficult to find the time to send any feedback at all, unless something goes pretty wrong (there is a catastrophe…). This practice, however, should be established. It would contribute to creating and strengthening a bond between the agency and the translators/proofreaders, who would feel closer and more willing to deliver good work to the agency.
The practice of providing the translator with the formatted source text for reference has proven (to be) very useful, also as a potential problem-solving strategy.
Communication with the client.
It is essential to get the client used to maintaining an active channel/line of communication.
Frequent and quick feedback from the client concerning the translators’ queries can speed up considerably the translation and correction processes. It can also be helpful to share the queries generated by different the translators of different languages, when multilingual projects.
Educating the final client.
This is almost a “mission impossible”, but it might be a serious option to consider. Making the client aware that 1. the translation process and 2. a high quality final product requires reasonable deadlines to be properly and professionally implemented. Otherwise, and we all know that, the consequences can be fatal. Murphy is a quite hyperactive kind of guy and does not need much sleep.
Good luck!
¡Hasta la vista y saludo!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
[Translation] Preparing a Project
Preparing a Project for Translation
By Kim Vitray, Operations Manager, Ralph McElroy Translation Company, Austin, Texas
This article assumes you have already completed the first step in successful translation purchasing —identifying a qualified translation vendor with whom you can develop a good working relationship and a body of experience. Better yet, you have more than one such translation vendor in a pool of possibilities, from which you can make the best choice for a particular project’s timeframe, size and content. Now, how can you help the selected translation vendor provide the best possible product, that meets your needs for timeframe, quality and cost?
If you have control over the content of the document to be translated (that is, it’s something you or your company are writing), examine that content carefully for words and phrases that won’t translate well, such as slang or colloquial expressions. For example, on our Web site we refer to our General Manager as our “head honcho” — after all, we are in Texas! — and our Systems Administrator as our “number one computer guru.” But when we localized our Web site into multiple languages, we reviewed the text and revised phrases such as these, realizing they would
present difficulties in word choice for the translator and in meaning for the target audience. Be sure your text is as clear, concise and complete as possible, even if you have to hire a professional editor.
If at all possible, be sure the text is finalized and all “tweaking” is finished before you submit it for translation. Revisions to source documents after the translation process has begun require extra time to organize, coordinate and implement, and increase the potential for the misunderstanding and miscommunication that cause errors. Time is money — and the time it takes to manage even a single revision of a source document being translated into multiple languages is substantial.
You may be involved with translation projects over which you have no content control. In this circumstance, keep in mind that the translation will only be as good as the source, particularly with technical documents. If the source is complex and poorly written, the translation will reflect that reality. The translation vendor will, of course, attempt to make the translation as comprehensible and readable as possible, but producing a quality localized product will be more
challenging. Also, translators must carefully balance providing a well-written translation against adhering to the integrity of the source document.
Identify and communicate to the translation vendor the target audience for the translation. Are there government requirements to be met? What is the reading and comprehension level of the anticipated user? What country will it be used in? The target audience most likely will not affect the quality, schedule or cost of the translation, but its “fitness for use” — a key concept in making one word choice over another — may be greatly affected. When you write professionally, you
consider who you’re writing to and for, and the practice of translation is no different.
One of my favorite moments during the work day is when a project manager “oohs” and “aahs” over an incoming project that a client has carefully and thoughtfully organized. When that happens, we know we can provide our very best product. Following are some things you can do to ensure your vendor’s delight, which means you will also be pleased with your translation.
• Locate and provide electronic source files, if they exist. You should send only the electronic files you want to be translated, no more and no less. If you send additional electronic files as reference material, clearly indicate that’s what they are. Name the source files something that will have meaning for both you and the translation vendor. If you reference the source files in your correspondence, use their exact filenames. This is also the ideal time to inform your vendor of any special file-naming conventions you (or your technical personnel) may have
for target-language files.
• Be sure that any paper copy you send matches the corresponding electronic file — exactly. With multiple source files, post-it notes on the paper copies indicating their correlating filenames are very helpful, saving time and ensuring against mishap.
• Provide reference material and/or a terminology list, if available. If a terminology list is not readily available, the time taken to develop even a brief one, especially of terms, acronyms and abbreviations specific to your organization, is well worth the investment.
• Tend to the administrative details on your end in advance, such as obtaining a purchase order or arranging for a confidentiality agreement to be signed.
• Send a complete “package” all at once — written instructions, paper copy, electronic copy, reference material, terminology list, and contact information. Although your vendor may know who you are and what you want from the briefest of e-mail messages, complete information saves time in the long run and insures efficient order processing. The translation of graphics can be more complex and problematic than text — ask your vendor about this and expect to speak with a project manager who will have very specific questions. Are electronic files available? What software were they created in? What format are they? Are they editable? Do you need electronic target files? Fonts also need special attention. If particular fonts
are required for your document’s layout, can you provide them, or is the translation vendor to purchase them or substitute similar ones? Are they for the Macintosh or the Windows operating system? If the target translation is to be in a double-byte character language such as Japanese or Chinese or a bidirectional language such as Arabic or Hebrew, do you have the fonts and software to correctly display and print it? There are good and easy solutions to most graphics and font situations, and the translation vendor will be knowledgeable about them — just let them know the issues exist in your project.
Most importantly, clearly and explicitly communicate your expectations, requirements, and instructions to the translation vendor in writing. If you are unsure of the answers to the following questions, they can help you decide what’s best for your needs.
• What are the target languages?
• In what locale will each language be used?
• What is the deliverable? Paper copy? Electronic copy, and what format — Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, PDF, Quark, or something else?
• Do you need an estimate? This should be provided in writing from the translation vendor, and you should also confirm acceptance of the estimate in writing.
• What is the delivery method? Overnight courier? Disk? CD? E-mail? Fax? FTP? A
combination of methods?
• Who is the completed work to be delivered to?
• What is the specific date or general timeframe for completion of the translation? If it is a large project, do you want it delivered in parts as they are finished, or complete at the end?
• Are there any special formatting requirements or other instructions?
• Who should the vendor contact with questions, and how and when is that person best
reached?
If you are new to the translation process, have the vendor explain it to you, ask a lot of questions, provide as much information as you can, and allow adequate time for completion of the work. Keep in mind that a change in scope of the project, such as adding or replacing documents or languages, will affect the timeframe and cost; and hastening the due date may also affect cost. And beware of the following “myths”1 about translation:
• Anyone with two years of high school language, or who lived in another country for three years during early childhood, or who can type in a foreign language, can translate. (Truth: Writing in another language, which is what translating really is, requires the same education and immersion as writing in the original language.)
• Translators can translate both ways just as easily. (Truth: Translators normally translate only into, not out of, their native language, and most translators only have one native language.)
• A good translator doesn’t need any reference literature. (Truth: Reference literature is enormously beneficial in understanding meaning and making good word choices.)
• A good translator gets it right the first time, without any editing or proofreading. (Truth: Do you get your articles, memos or reports right the first time, without any editing or proofreading?)
• Translators will soon be replaced by computers. (Truth: Yes, as soon as functional artificial intelligence is developed and widely implemented.)
• A 100-page technical manual that took four months and three persons to write can be translated by one translator in two days. (Truth: Let’s assume that a 100-page manual averages 250 words per page, for a total of 25,000 words to be translated. Let’s also assume that a full-time, experienced translator can translate 3,000 words per day. Simple math informs us that the project will take at least eight days for translation, not including editing or proofreading, or formatting. And this formula can be adversely affected by a large number of factors, such as the quality, complexity and subject matter of the source document, the actual number of words, the “popularity” of the source and target languages, and the translator’s
schedule and previous commitments. The point is that good translation work takes a
reasonable amount of time.)
• Translating is just replacing each word in the source language with the same word in the target language. (Truth: Alaskan Indians have numerous words for snow in their native languages; English has one — and in Texas, none!)
• Spanish is Spanish, all around the world. (Truth: The Spanish in Mexico is different from the Spanish in Spain; the French in Canada is different from the French in France; and the Portuguese in Brazil is different from the Portuguese in Portugal.)
“Quality” is a concern for many translation buyers — if you can’t read the target language, how do you evaluate the product? Ask the translation vendor what their quality process is— translations should always be translated and edited by a native speaker of the target language. You may also want to arrange for an “in-country review” by someone in your company who lives and works in the target locale. This native speaker of the target language will add value with their knowledge of jargon and nuance particular to your industry, your company, and your market position. Ask the translation vendor if they would be willing to coordinate this process for you,
among reviewers you select, by refereeing feedback and implementing revisions. Note that a frequently requested, although usually ineffective, method for testing translation quality is the “back translation,” where a translation from language A to language B is translated back to language A by a different translator. However, most clients are confused and disappointed by the result, because the original wording is not the result. Word choice can be both accurate and subjective, and often there are no “right” or “wrong” answers.
In summary, thorough upfront project organization and clear and complete communication with the translation vendor about the scope of work, including timeframe and cost, are the contributions you, the client, can make toward ensuring a successful translation project. And having done your part, you can relax and be comfortable with your right to expect timely, high-quality and as-specified execution by the translation vendor. For more information, download Translation: Getting It Right—A Guide to Buying Translations, produced by the Institute of
Translation & Interpreting and available in PDF format at ww.iti.org.uk.
1Morry Sofer, The Translator’s Handbook, 4th ed. (Rockville, MD: Schreiber Publishing, 2002), p. 42.
This article was published in the January/February 2003 issue of MultiLingual Computing & Technology, #53 Volume 14 Issue 1.
Ralph McElroy Translation Company
910 West Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone 800-531-9977
512-472-6753
Fax 512-472-4591
www.mcelroytranslation.com
By Kim Vitray, Operations Manager, Ralph McElroy Translation Company, Austin, Texas
This article assumes you have already completed the first step in successful translation purchasing —identifying a qualified translation vendor with whom you can develop a good working relationship and a body of experience. Better yet, you have more than one such translation vendor in a pool of possibilities, from which you can make the best choice for a particular project’s timeframe, size and content. Now, how can you help the selected translation vendor provide the best possible product, that meets your needs for timeframe, quality and cost?
If you have control over the content of the document to be translated (that is, it’s something you or your company are writing), examine that content carefully for words and phrases that won’t translate well, such as slang or colloquial expressions. For example, on our Web site we refer to our General Manager as our “head honcho” — after all, we are in Texas! — and our Systems Administrator as our “number one computer guru.” But when we localized our Web site into multiple languages, we reviewed the text and revised phrases such as these, realizing they would
present difficulties in word choice for the translator and in meaning for the target audience. Be sure your text is as clear, concise and complete as possible, even if you have to hire a professional editor.
If at all possible, be sure the text is finalized and all “tweaking” is finished before you submit it for translation. Revisions to source documents after the translation process has begun require extra time to organize, coordinate and implement, and increase the potential for the misunderstanding and miscommunication that cause errors. Time is money — and the time it takes to manage even a single revision of a source document being translated into multiple languages is substantial.
You may be involved with translation projects over which you have no content control. In this circumstance, keep in mind that the translation will only be as good as the source, particularly with technical documents. If the source is complex and poorly written, the translation will reflect that reality. The translation vendor will, of course, attempt to make the translation as comprehensible and readable as possible, but producing a quality localized product will be more
challenging. Also, translators must carefully balance providing a well-written translation against adhering to the integrity of the source document.
Identify and communicate to the translation vendor the target audience for the translation. Are there government requirements to be met? What is the reading and comprehension level of the anticipated user? What country will it be used in? The target audience most likely will not affect the quality, schedule or cost of the translation, but its “fitness for use” — a key concept in making one word choice over another — may be greatly affected. When you write professionally, you
consider who you’re writing to and for, and the practice of translation is no different.
One of my favorite moments during the work day is when a project manager “oohs” and “aahs” over an incoming project that a client has carefully and thoughtfully organized. When that happens, we know we can provide our very best product. Following are some things you can do to ensure your vendor’s delight, which means you will also be pleased with your translation.
• Locate and provide electronic source files, if they exist. You should send only the electronic files you want to be translated, no more and no less. If you send additional electronic files as reference material, clearly indicate that’s what they are. Name the source files something that will have meaning for both you and the translation vendor. If you reference the source files in your correspondence, use their exact filenames. This is also the ideal time to inform your vendor of any special file-naming conventions you (or your technical personnel) may have
for target-language files.
• Be sure that any paper copy you send matches the corresponding electronic file — exactly. With multiple source files, post-it notes on the paper copies indicating their correlating filenames are very helpful, saving time and ensuring against mishap.
• Provide reference material and/or a terminology list, if available. If a terminology list is not readily available, the time taken to develop even a brief one, especially of terms, acronyms and abbreviations specific to your organization, is well worth the investment.
• Tend to the administrative details on your end in advance, such as obtaining a purchase order or arranging for a confidentiality agreement to be signed.
• Send a complete “package” all at once — written instructions, paper copy, electronic copy, reference material, terminology list, and contact information. Although your vendor may know who you are and what you want from the briefest of e-mail messages, complete information saves time in the long run and insures efficient order processing. The translation of graphics can be more complex and problematic than text — ask your vendor about this and expect to speak with a project manager who will have very specific questions. Are electronic files available? What software were they created in? What format are they? Are they editable? Do you need electronic target files? Fonts also need special attention. If particular fonts
are required for your document’s layout, can you provide them, or is the translation vendor to purchase them or substitute similar ones? Are they for the Macintosh or the Windows operating system? If the target translation is to be in a double-byte character language such as Japanese or Chinese or a bidirectional language such as Arabic or Hebrew, do you have the fonts and software to correctly display and print it? There are good and easy solutions to most graphics and font situations, and the translation vendor will be knowledgeable about them — just let them know the issues exist in your project.
Most importantly, clearly and explicitly communicate your expectations, requirements, and instructions to the translation vendor in writing. If you are unsure of the answers to the following questions, they can help you decide what’s best for your needs.
• What are the target languages?
• In what locale will each language be used?
• What is the deliverable? Paper copy? Electronic copy, and what format — Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, PDF, Quark, or something else?
• Do you need an estimate? This should be provided in writing from the translation vendor, and you should also confirm acceptance of the estimate in writing.
• What is the delivery method? Overnight courier? Disk? CD? E-mail? Fax? FTP? A
combination of methods?
• Who is the completed work to be delivered to?
• What is the specific date or general timeframe for completion of the translation? If it is a large project, do you want it delivered in parts as they are finished, or complete at the end?
• Are there any special formatting requirements or other instructions?
• Who should the vendor contact with questions, and how and when is that person best
reached?
If you are new to the translation process, have the vendor explain it to you, ask a lot of questions, provide as much information as you can, and allow adequate time for completion of the work. Keep in mind that a change in scope of the project, such as adding or replacing documents or languages, will affect the timeframe and cost; and hastening the due date may also affect cost. And beware of the following “myths”1 about translation:
• Anyone with two years of high school language, or who lived in another country for three years during early childhood, or who can type in a foreign language, can translate. (Truth: Writing in another language, which is what translating really is, requires the same education and immersion as writing in the original language.)
• Translators can translate both ways just as easily. (Truth: Translators normally translate only into, not out of, their native language, and most translators only have one native language.)
• A good translator doesn’t need any reference literature. (Truth: Reference literature is enormously beneficial in understanding meaning and making good word choices.)
• A good translator gets it right the first time, without any editing or proofreading. (Truth: Do you get your articles, memos or reports right the first time, without any editing or proofreading?)
• Translators will soon be replaced by computers. (Truth: Yes, as soon as functional artificial intelligence is developed and widely implemented.)
• A 100-page technical manual that took four months and three persons to write can be translated by one translator in two days. (Truth: Let’s assume that a 100-page manual averages 250 words per page, for a total of 25,000 words to be translated. Let’s also assume that a full-time, experienced translator can translate 3,000 words per day. Simple math informs us that the project will take at least eight days for translation, not including editing or proofreading, or formatting. And this formula can be adversely affected by a large number of factors, such as the quality, complexity and subject matter of the source document, the actual number of words, the “popularity” of the source and target languages, and the translator’s
schedule and previous commitments. The point is that good translation work takes a
reasonable amount of time.)
• Translating is just replacing each word in the source language with the same word in the target language. (Truth: Alaskan Indians have numerous words for snow in their native languages; English has one — and in Texas, none!)
• Spanish is Spanish, all around the world. (Truth: The Spanish in Mexico is different from the Spanish in Spain; the French in Canada is different from the French in France; and the Portuguese in Brazil is different from the Portuguese in Portugal.)
“Quality” is a concern for many translation buyers — if you can’t read the target language, how do you evaluate the product? Ask the translation vendor what their quality process is— translations should always be translated and edited by a native speaker of the target language. You may also want to arrange for an “in-country review” by someone in your company who lives and works in the target locale. This native speaker of the target language will add value with their knowledge of jargon and nuance particular to your industry, your company, and your market position. Ask the translation vendor if they would be willing to coordinate this process for you,
among reviewers you select, by refereeing feedback and implementing revisions. Note that a frequently requested, although usually ineffective, method for testing translation quality is the “back translation,” where a translation from language A to language B is translated back to language A by a different translator. However, most clients are confused and disappointed by the result, because the original wording is not the result. Word choice can be both accurate and subjective, and often there are no “right” or “wrong” answers.
In summary, thorough upfront project organization and clear and complete communication with the translation vendor about the scope of work, including timeframe and cost, are the contributions you, the client, can make toward ensuring a successful translation project. And having done your part, you can relax and be comfortable with your right to expect timely, high-quality and as-specified execution by the translation vendor. For more information, download Translation: Getting It Right—A Guide to Buying Translations, produced by the Institute of
Translation & Interpreting and available in PDF format at ww.iti.org.uk.
1Morry Sofer, The Translator’s Handbook, 4th ed. (Rockville, MD: Schreiber Publishing, 2002), p. 42.
This article was published in the January/February 2003 issue of MultiLingual Computing & Technology, #53 Volume 14 Issue 1.
Ralph McElroy Translation Company
910 West Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone 800-531-9977
512-472-6753
Fax 512-472-4591
www.mcelroytranslation.com
[Translation] Konsep Tidak Dikenal dalam Bahasa Sasaran
STRATEGI PENERJEMAHAN UNTUK KONSEP YANG TIDAK DIKENAL DALAM BAHASA SASARAN
(Sebuah Kajian tentang Strategi Penerjemahan dari Bahasa Indonesia ke Bahasa Inggris)
Mashadi Said, Daniek Supriana, Aris Wuryantoro, Ira Miranti
Universitas Gunadarma, Jakarta
Makalah ini bertujuan untuk mengemukakan strategi penerjemahan yang ditempuh oleh penerjemah profesional dalam menerjemahkan kata/ungkapan yang tidak memiliki padanan langsung dalam bahasa sasaran, dalam hal ini dari bahasa Indonesia ke bahasa Inggris.
Pendahuluan
Strategi penerjemahan untuk konsep yang tidak dikenal dalam bahasa sasaran telah menjadi salah satu pusat perhatian pada ahli penerjemahan. Baker (1992), Newmark (1981, 1988), dan Larson (1984) misalnya, mengidentifikasi konsep-konsep yang tidak dikenal dalam bahasa sasaran, seperti kata/ungkapan yang sangat khas pada kebudayaan tertentu (culture-specific concept). Untuk menangani hal itu, mereka menawarkan strategi penerjemahan seperti penerjemahan dengan 1) menggunakan kata yang lebih umum; 2) menggunakan kata yang lebih netral/lebih tidak ekspresif; 3) pengganti kebudayaan; 4) menggunakan kata pinjaman atau kata pinjaman ditambah penjelasan; 5 parafrase; 6) transposisi; 7) dimodifikasi dengan pemerian bentuk; 8) modifikasi dengan pemerian fungsi; 9) modifikasi dengan pemerian bentuk dan fungsi; 10) ilustrasi; 11) catatan/keterangan.
Makalah ini dimaksudkan untuk mendeskripsikan sejauh mana penerjemah profesional menggunakan strategi itu untuk menangani kata/ungkapan yang tidak memiliki padanan langsung dalam bahasa sasaran dari bahasa Indonesia ke bahasa Inggris. Untuk mengungkap hal tersebut, sumber data yang digunakan adalah 1) On Foreign Shores, terjemahan oleh John Mc Glynn; 2) Trouser Doll terjemahan oleh Linda Owens dan Harry Aveling, 2002; 3) The Rape of Sukreni terjemahan oleh George Quinn, 1998; 4) The Barber terjemahan oleh Justine Fitzrald, Anna Netheim, dan Linda Owens, 2002.
Kata/Ungkapan yang tidak Memiliki Padanan Langsung
Dari sumber data, diidentifikasi 86 kata/ungkapan yang tidak memiliki padanan langsung yang dapat digolongkan dalam kategori kebudayaan sebagai berikut.
Ide dan gagasan
Wujud kebudayaan ini terdapat dalam alam pikiran manusia. Ide dan gagasan manusia yang hidup bersama dalam suatu masyarakat memberi jiwa kepada masyarakat itu. Kata/ungkapan yang tergolong dalam kategori ini adalah sebagai berikut.
| Sistem religi | Sistem pelapisan sosial | Sistem organi-sasi | Kesenian | Sapaan | Pekerjaan/mata pencaharian |
| Tawakal, toya tirta, sapta gangga, Batara Sri, Dewa, Mantera Palasik, Ilmu pelintuh, Widi | Wesia, Sateria Jaba, Sengguhu, Orang Jaba. | arisan | Bapak Pocung, Dandanggula, Megatruh blues, Dangdut, Kuda lumping, Sabung ayam, Megatruh | Junjungan, emak, laki | Tukang becak, Kernet Peronda, Ustad, Pencari beling, Kerama desa, Punggawa, Tukang panjat, Kaki tangan Penggawa kota, Satpam, Juru tulis |
Kebiasaan/Aktivitas
Aktivitas adalah tindakan berpola, digolongkan dalam wujud sistem sosial, terdiri dari aktivitas manusia yang berinteraksi, berhubungan serta bergaul dengan sesamanya dari waktu ke waktu menurut pola-pola tertentu. Kata/ungkapan yang tergolong dalam wujud kebudayaan ini meliputi:
| Upacara | Tolong menolong antar warga | Kebiasaan atau tindakan |
| Aben, Palebuhan | Bekerja rodi | Berpupur, gengsot, bersila |
Artifak
Artifak dapat berupa benda-benda hasil karya manusia yang meliputi:
| Peralatan | Makanan/minuman/ selingan | Pakaian | Bangunan |
| Guci tuak, Lampu minyak tanah, Tepak sirih, Jimat, Keris, Belati, Sembilu, Tungku, Lampu sentir, Sanggul, Gamelan, Getek, Badik,Becak,Pusaka | Kerupuk, Bayuan, Arak, Rokok kretek, Kapur sirih | Senteng, Bulang, Kain lepas, Kebaya Kerudung, Kain kafan, Ikat kepala cara Buleleng,Telengkung | Balai-balai, Balai lumbung, Lumbung, Kedai |
Lingkungan/Ekologi
Kata/ungkapan yang mengandung konsep lingkungan/ekologi adalah:
| Tumbuhan | Hewan | Lingkungan/tempat | Keadaan/sifat alam |
| Daun ketapang,Manggis Gayam,Kangkung Toge,Rotan | Bengkarung, Kutu busuk | Wonosari | Sundari |
Strategi Penerjemahan
Strategi yang digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk menerjemahkan kata/ungkapan spesifik dalam kebudayaan Indonesia meliputi 10 strategi, yaitu padanan deskriptif, padanan budaya, pola khusus-umum, kata serapan (dengan dan tanpa modifikasi), modifikasi dengan ciri dan bentuk, penerjemahan harfiah, modifikasi dengan pernyataan fungsi, pentransferan, modifikasi dengan bentuk dan fungsi, dan pola umum-khusus.
Strategi penerjemahan dengan menggunakan padanan deskriptif
Strategi padanan deskriptif adalah strategi yang paling sering digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk menangani kata/ungkapan yang tidak dikenal dalam bahasa sasaran. Dari 86 kata yang teridentifikasi tidak memiliki padanan langsung dalam bahasa Inggris, penerjemah menggunakan pola tersebut terhadap 31 (36.04%) kata/ungkapan untuk mengungkapkan padanannya dalam bahasa Inggris. Keduapuluhdelapan kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut:
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran | Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. Tukang panjat 2. Bayuan 3. Pelebuan 4. Kernet 5. Bersila 6. Megatruh 7. Bapak pocung 8. Dandanggula 9. Bekerja rodi 10. Lampu minyak tanah 11. Panakawan 12. Juru tulis 13. Kaki tangan 14. Ilmu pelintuh 15. Telengkung 16. Tawakal | the men who climbed the trees wine from last night royal cremation ceremony driver’s assistant cross legged/sit in lotus position traditional Javanese blues ancient verses ancient song collective task ancient kerosene lamp pack of clown one who works in office faithful servant Type of witching power Girl’s prayer robes Prepared to follow will of God | 17. Toya tirta 18. Orang Jaba 19. Rokok kretek 20. Kerupuk 21. Balai lumbung 22. Berpupur 23. Toge 24. Ustad 25. Palasik 26. Tukang becak 27. Gengsot 28. Pusaka 29. Arak 30. Punggawa kota 31. Kutu busuk | Holy water Outer, commoner caste Clove cigarette Shrimp crackers Storeroom floor Thick with face powder Bean sprout Prayer teacher The devil worshipper Pedicab driver Chug a leg Goods and heirlooms Rice beer Town authorities Rotten parasite |
Kata/ungkapan di atas diterjemahkan secara deskriptif untuk mengkomunikasikan makna secara akurat. Umpamanya, tukang panjat tidak memiliki padanan langsung dalam bahasa Inggris sehingga diterjemahkan dengan the men who climbed the trees. Bayuan adalah tuak yang didiamkan selama semalam diterjemahkan dengan wine from last night. Pelebuan adalah upacara pembakaran mayat khusus untuk orang-orang berkasta tinggi diterjemahkan dengan royal cremation ceremony, demikian seterusnya.
Strategi Penerjemahan dengan Menggunakan Padanan Budaya
Strategi padanan budaya adalah strategi yang juga sering digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk menangani kata/ungkapan yang tidak dikenal dalam bahasa sasaran. Dari 86 kata yang teridentifikasi tidak memiliki padanan langsung dalam bahasa Inggris, penerjemah menggunakan pola tersebut terhadap 17 (19.76%) kata/ungkapan untuk mengungkapkan padanannya dalam bahasa Inggris. Keduapuluhempat kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut:
Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran | Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. Satpam 2. Aben 3. Tungku 4. Getek 5. Becak 6. Junjungan 7. Kangkung 8. Jimat 9. Dewa | Security Guard Cremation Campfires the raft pedicab husband spinach amulets God | 10. Samadi Pasifik 11. Peronda 12. Arisan 13. Kanda 14. Peronda 15. Punggawa 16. Penggawa kota 17. Kedai | The Pacific Ocean Patrolman playing cards dearest patrolman officer town authorities food stall |
Dalam bahasa sumber, satpam adalah singkatan dari Satuan Pengamanan, dalam bahasa Inggris padanan yang menyerupai Satpam adalah Security Guard. Aben termasuk dalam upacara pembakaran mayat di Bali. Penerjemah menggunakan cremation sebagai padanan untuk kata itu karena kata cremation maknanya hampir sama dalam kebudayaan Inggris. Tungku adalah salah satu sarana dapur yang menggunakan kayu sebagai bahan bakarnya dan berfungsi sebagai perapian untuk memasak, sehingga diterjemahkan dengan campfire yang bentuknya mirip dengan tungku.
c. Strategi Penerjemahan dengan Menggunakan Pola Khusus-Umum
Strategi pola khusus-umum digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk menangani kata/ungkapan yang tidak dikenal dalam bahasa sasaran terhadap 10 (11.62%) kata/ungkapan. Kedelapan kata/ungkapan itu adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa sasaran | Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa sasaran |
| 1. Belati 2. Sembilu 3. Daun ketapang 4. Wonosari 5. Lampu sentir | Knife Knife Leaves Indonesia Lamp | 6. Sanggul 7. Kebaya 8. Gayam 9. Bengkarung 10. Kerudung | Hair Blouse Fruit Lizard Cover |
Belati merupakan sejenis senjata tajam yang digunakan untuk membela diri atau menyerang orang lain. “Belati” adalah salah satu senjata khas dari Indonesia yang mungkin karena bentuk dan ukurannya, belati tidak ada padanannya dalam bahasa Inggris, sehingga untuk kata belati, knife lebih sesuai karena knife (pisau) adalah kata yang lebih umum dari belati. “Daun ketapang” merupakan salah satu jenis daun yang tidak dijumpai pada lingkungan Inggris. Karena kata ini tidak mempunyai padanan dalam bahasa Inggris, maka cara untuk menerjemahkannya adalah dengan menggunakan kata generik yaitu leaves yang berarti daun secara umum.
d. Strategi penerjemahan dengan menggunakan kata serapan
Strategi penerjemahan dengan kata serapan dilakukan oleh penerjemah profesional dengan dua cara yaitu:
1) Kata Serapan dengan Modifikasi
Strategi ini hanya digunakan untuk 2 kata (2.32%). Kata itu adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| Wolon Batara Sri | Wolon, the resting period Lady Sri, the goddess of rice |
Kata “wolon” diserap ke dalam bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa sasaran, kemudian diberi penjelasan sebagai modifikasi kata wolon.
2) Kata Serapan tanpa Modifikasi
Strategi ini digunakan untuk 8 kata/ungkapan (9.30%). Kata/ungkapan itu adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran | Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. Manggis 2. Saptagangg 3. Jaba 4. Wesia | Manggis Saptagangga jaba wesia | 5. Sateria 6. Sengguhu 7. Gamelan 8. Dangdut | sateria sengguhu gamelan dangdut |
Penerjemah menyerap kata/ungkapan yang tidak memiliki padanan langsung itu secara langsung tanpa memberikan suatu penjelasan. Kata sengguhu, dangdut, gamelan langsung diserap ke dalam naskah sasaran tanpa modifikasi.
e. Dimodifikasi dengan ciri dan bentuk
Strategi penerjemahan dengan menjelaskan ciri dan bentuk kata/ungkapan digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk 4 (4.65%) kata/ungkapan. Keempat kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. Kapur sirih 2. Lumbung 3. Ikat kepala cara Buleleng 4. Sundari | A wad of betel The raised rice barn A head cloth A magic of bamboo singing |
Kapur sirih diterjemahkan sesuai dengan ciri dan bentuknya. Demikian pula kata lumbung, ikat kepala cara Buleleng dan sundari
Strategi Penerjemahan Transposisi
Strategi penerjemahan transposisi digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk 4 (4.65%) kata/ungkapan. Keempat kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. Tepak sirih 2. Kerama desa 3. Sabung ayam 4. Kuda lumping | betel box village elder cockfight straw horse* |
Tepak sirih, kerama desa, dan sabung ayam diterjemahkan langsung secara kata per kata dengan menyesuaikan struktur bahasa Inggris dalam bahasa sasaran.
tepak - box ; sirih - betel
kerama - elder ; desa - village
sabung - fight ; ayam - cock
*Dahulu, kuda lumping terbuat dari kulit sapi atau kulit kerbau yang keras dan telah dikeringkan. Seiring dengan perkembangan zaman, kulit sapi dan kerbau keras itu semakin mahal untuk dijadikan sebagai bahan dasar pembuatan kuda lumping, sehingga masyarakat menggunakan “jerami” sebagai gantinya, tetapi Kuda Lumping tetap dinamakan Kuda Lumping, bukan Kuda Jerami. Hal inilah yang mendasari penerjemah untuk menerjemahkan kata lumping menjadi “straw”.
Dimodifikasi dengan pernyataan fungsi
Strategi penerjemahan dengan modifikasi pernyataan fungsi digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk 4 (4.65%) kata/ungkapan. Ketiga kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. Guci tuak 2. Kain kafan 3. Bulang 4. Senteng | Jars of coconut wine Funeral/burial clothe Breast clothe Waist cloth |
Guci tuak adalah guci atau kendi yang digunakan untuk menyimpan tuak, sehingga diterjemahkan dengan Jars of coconut wine . Kain kafan adalah sejenis kain yang digunakan untuk pemakaman sehingga diterjemahkan dengan funeral/burial clothe. Bulang adalah kain penutup dada yang digunakan oleh para wanita Bali, sehingga diterjemahkan dengan breast clothe.
Strategi Penerjemahan dengan Pentransferan
Strategi penerjemahan dengan pentransferan digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional untuk 3 (3.48%) kata/ungkapan. Ketiga kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. Keris 2. Mantera 3. Rotan | kris mantra rattan |
Kata “keris”, umpamanya, ditransfer ke dalam bahasa Inggris dengan menyesuaikan pelafalan dalam bahasa Inggris, yaitu “kris”.
Dimodifikasi dengan bentuk dan fungsi
Strategi penerjemahan dengan modifikasi bentuk dan fungsi digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional hanya untuk 1 (1.16%) kata/ungkapan. Kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| balai-balai | the sleeping platform |
Balai-balai adalah sejenis bangku yang berbentuk seperti panggung dan digunakan untuk istirahat atau tidur, sehingga diterjemahkan dengan the sleeping platform.
Strategi Penerjemahan dengan menggunakan Pola Umum-Khusus
Strategi penerjemahan dengan pola umum-khusus digunakan oleh penerjemah profesional hanya untuk 2 (2.32%) kata/ungkapan. Kata/ungkapan tersebut adalah sebagai berikut.
| Bahasa Sumber | Bahasa Sasaran |
| 1. (Pencari) beling 2. Kain lepas | bottle (collector) sarong |
Beling mengandung makna yang lebih umum. Beling mencakup botol, keramik, dan sejenisnya. Penerjemah hanya memilih salah satu cakupan makna beling, yaitu botol, sehingga padanan untuk pencari beling adalah bottle collector.
Kesimpulan dan Saran
1. Dalam menangani kata/ungkapan yang tidak memiliki padanan langsung dalam bahasa sasaran (dari bahasa Indonesia ke bahasa Inggris), penerjemah profesional juga menggunakan strategi yang ditawakan Baker dan Larson, tetapi ada dua strategi yang paling sering digunakan, yaitu padanan deskriptif dan budaya.
2. Strategi penerjemahan dengan pola umum-khusus, yang tidak disinggung oleh Baker, Newmark, dan Larson, digunakan oleh penerjemah pada jumlah kata yang sangat terbatas.
3. Makalah ini tidak berusaha mengungkap alasan apa yang mendasari penerjemah menggunakan strategi penerjemahan tertentu untuk kata/ungkapan tertentu. Penelitian lanjutan masih perlu dilakukan untuk mengungkap rahasia tersebut.
4. Sumber data makalah ini menggunakan dua jenis naskah (genre), yaitu puisi dan cerpen. Makalah ini tidak berusaha untuk mengungkap perbedaan penerjemahan untuk kata yang tidak dikenal dalam kedua jenis naskah tersebut. Penelitian lanjutan perlu dilakukan.
Biodata
1. Mashadi Said menyelesaikan S-1 dalam bidang Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris pada tahun 1984 di IKIP Ujung Pandang. Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Linguistics di Regional Language Center (RELC) di Singapura tahun 1990. Magister Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris di IKIP Malang tahun 1994 dan Doktor Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris di IKIP Malang tahun 1998. Sejak tahun 2001 ia adalah Sekretaris Program Magister Sastra, Peminatan Penerjemahan Universitas Gunadarma Jakarta.
2. Daniek Supriana menyelesaikan S-1 dalam bidang Sastra Inggris pada tahun 1999 di Universitas Gunadarma Jakarta. Kini sebagai mahasiswa Program Magister Sastra, Peminatan Penerjemahan Universitas Gunadarma Jakarta.
3. Aris Wuryantoro menyelesaikan S-1 dalam bidang Sastra Inggris pada tahun 1999 di Universitas Gunadarma Jakarta. Kini sebagai mahasiswa Program Magister Sastra, Peminatan Penerjemahan Universitas Gunadarma Jakarta.
4. Ira Miranti menyelesaikan S-1 dalam bidang Sastra Inggris pada tahun 2002 di Universitas Gunadarma Jakarta. Kini sebagai mahasiswa Program Magister Sastra, Peminatan Penerjemahan Universitas Gunadarma Jakarta.
Daftar Pustaka
Baker, Mona. 1998.Routlegde Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London: TJ International Ltd.
Bell, Roger T. 1991. Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. England: Longman Group UK Ltd.
Budick, Sanford and Wolfgang Iser. 1996.The Translatability of Cultures. USA: Stanford University Press.
Duff, Alan. 1981. The Third Language: Recurrent Problems of Translation into English. England: Pergamon Press.
Hatim, Basil. 2001.Teaching and Researching Translation. London: Pearson Education Ltd.
Larson, Mildred. 1984. Meaning-Based Translation. A Guide to Cross Language Equivalence. Lanham. University Press of America.
Newmark, Peter. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall International Ltd.
Newmark, Peter. 1981. Approaches to Translation. England: Pegamon Press.
Said, Mashadi. 1984. Sociocultural Problems in the Translation of Indonesian Poems into English: A Case Study on “On Foreign Shores”, Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Fakultas Pascasarjana IKIP Malang.
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