Foreignization and Domestication Ideology of Indonesian Cultural Terms in Janda Dari Jirah Translated into English
on
https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/linguistika/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24843/ling.2021.v28.i01.p9
LINGUISTIKA, MARET 2021
p-ISSN: 0854-9613 e-ISSN: 2656-6419
Vol. 28 No.1
Foreignization and Domestication Ideology of Indonesian Cultural Terms in Janda Dari Jirah Translated into English
Putu Cindy Aprilia Devi Denpasar-Indonesia email: [email protected]
I Nengah Sudipa Denpasar-Indonesia email: [email protected]
Ida Ayu Made Puspani
Denpasar-Indonesia email: [email protected]
Abstract – This study aims to identify and analyze the categories, translation methods, and translation ideology of Indonesian cultural terms in the novel Janda Dari Jirah translated into The Widow of Jirah. The method of collecting the data in this study was observation, meanwhile descriptive qualitative method was applied in analyzing the data. The theories of cultural categories, translation methods, and translation ideology were used to analyze the data. There are five categories of cultural terms found in the novel. Moreover, the translation methods applied by the translators were word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, adaptation, free translation, and idiomatic translation. With regards to the translation ideology, foreignization was more dominantly applied than domestication.
Keywords: cultural terms, translation methods, foreignization, domestication
Abstrak – Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi dan menganalisis kategori, metode penerjemahan, dan ideologi penerjemahan istilah-istilah budaya Indonesia dalam novel Janda Dari Jirah yang diterjemahkan menjadi The Widow of Jirah. Metode pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini adalah observasi, sedangkan metode kualitatif deskriptif digunakan untuk menganalisis data. Teori kategori istilah budaya, metode penerjemahan, dan ideology penerjemahan digunakan untuk menganalisis data. Terdapat lima kategori istilah budaya yang ditemukan dalam novel. Selain itu, metode penerjemahan yang digunakan adalah penerjemahan kata per kata, penerjemahan harfiah, penerjemahan setia, penerjemahan semantis, adaptasi, penerjemahan bebas, dan penerjemahan idiomatis. Berkaitan dengan ideologi penerjemahan, forenisasi lebih dominan digunakan daripada domestikasi.
Kata Kunci: istilah-istilah budaya, metode penerjemahan, forenisasi, domestikasi
Vol. 28 No.1
Language as one element of culture plays a very significant role in human life. Since language is a means of describing cultures, therefore to understand a language, people also need to understand its cultures well. Furthermore, culture can be defined as the whole way of life. Halliday (1989: 4) adopted a semantic definition as he said that culture is “a set of semiotic systems, a set of systems of meaning, all of which interrelate”. Therefore, culture embraces all aspects of shared life in a community and these ways might highly be respected by the people who share them. The definitions of language and culture imply that the two are closely connected to each other. On one hand, culture seems so inclusive, it connects to almost every aspect of human life including languages people use. On the other hand, when people need to share a culture, they communicate through language.
There are many languages that exist in this world, and each of which has its own cultures. As a matter of fact, every culture has its own way of expressing something which is different from one another. Something that is considered acceptable and even desirable in one culture could be unsuitable and even taboo in another culture. Since every language reflects its culture and it is no doubt if a language cannot be replaced by another without some of the source language culture being carried over during the process of translation. In this case, translation can be said as a bridge for connecting the two different languages and cultures. Therefore, translation involves at least two languages and two cultures since language is an integral part of culture. Suryasa (2019) shared his idea that culture is the most fundamental thing in translation. The concept of culture must be understood before starting the translation process.
According to Larson (1998: 3), translation is about transferring the meaning of the source language into the receptor language. It is also stated that translation involves studying lexicon, communication situation, grammatical structure, and cultural context of the SL text. Particularly,
translating cultural terms is not an easy task to do for the translators because the terms are too vague and they represent the world view of a society, its beliefs, emotions, and values. Cultural terms can be defined as a set of terms which describes about a tradition, custom, and way of life of a society or ethnics. Newmark (1988: 95) classified cultural terms into five categories, including ecology, material culture, social culture, organization, customs, ideas, and gestures and habits.
The central problem of translating cultural terms has always been whether to translate literally or freely. Newmark (1988) offered some translation methods to translate the SL cultural terms into the TL. It refers to the way a particular translation process is carried out in terms of the translator’s goal that affects the whole text. From this definition it can be said that the translation results are largely determined by the translation method used by the translator because of the intention, purpose, and aim that the translator tended, therefore it affects the results of the overall translation products. Newmark (1988: 45) went on to refer to the following translation methods. There are eight translation methods which can be adopted by the translators in carrying out their duties to produce a product of translation, including word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, adaptation, free translation, idiomatic translation, and communicative translation. The methods can be classified into two: the first four of them emphasize the source language (SL Emphasis) and the other four are oriented toward the target language (TL Emphasis).
In addition, the translation methods which have been employed will eventually underlie the translation ideology adopted by the translator. It is important to identify the translation methods in order to be able to determine the translation ideology. Translation is not only a semantic production but it has ideological, aesthetic, and political aspects as well (Elnemr, 2020). An ideology becomes useful if the translator is able to understand both the cultures that exist during the
Vol. 28 No.1
process of translation. The ideology of translation is a principle or belief about right or wrong in translation.
In this case, Venuti (1995) introduced the concepts of foreignization and domestication to represent the translation ideology, regarding the degree to which translators make a text conform to the target language culture. Accordingly, the translators have a tendency to determine one choice in order to produce a product of translation that is easily understood by readers.
Foreignization is the ideology of retaining information from the source language text, and involves deliberately introducing foreign cultures to the target language readers. Meanwhile, domestication is the ideology of making the text closely conform to the culture of target language, which may involve the loss of information from the source language text. The purposes are to minimize the strangeness of source language text and to produce the target language text as naturally as possible. The ideology chosen by the translator will be closely related to the translation methods which have been applied. As a decision maker, the translator’s ideology will determine the choice of word within the translation process
The researches about translation of cultural terms have been conducted by the the previous researchers. Rachman (2018) discussed about cultural terms in Using language and its translation procedures into English. She found out that the most frequent translation procedure applied was modulation influenced by cultural and linguistic factors. Another research was conducted by Utami (2018). She analysed the invisibility of the translator in translating the cultural terms which was traced through the application of translation procedures. The findings showed that the translator tended to be visible to his reader for retaining the foreignness of the original text. The difference of their study and the present study was the scope of discussion. They analysed the translation procedures of cultural terms, while this study was focused on identifying the translation methods and ideology of cultural terms.
Based upon the uniqueness of cultural terms and the problems in translating them, therefore this study attempts to classify the Indonesian cultural terms in bilingual novel, analyse their translation methods, and identify the translation ideology applied by the translator.
The data of the study were taken from an Indonesian novel entitled Janda Dari Jirah written by Sawitri in 2007. The original novel was translated into the English version with the title The Widow of Jirah by Boentaran, et al. in 2014. The novel was selected as the data source of this study because it contains a lot of data which are relevant to the problems discussed in this study. Therefore, the data were in the form of the Indonesian cultural terms in the level of words and phrases and their English translation.
The method used in collecting data of this study was observation method by observing thoroughly the SL cultural terms and their translations in the TL. The technique used was note taking technique. First, reading the SL text comprehensively. After that marking words or phrases which contain cultural terms in the SL as well as comparing with their translations in the TL. The next steps were to note down the cultural terms found in the novel and the data were classified based on cultural terms categories.
Descriptive qualitative method was applied in analyzing the data of the study. The method of descriptive qualitative is aimed at describing the characteristics and correlations among the phenomena systematically, factually, and accurately (Djajasudarma, 1993: 101). As for this study, the words or phrases containing cultural terms were categorized based on Newmark (1988) cultural categories, which are ecology, material culture, social culture, organization, customs, ideas, gestures and habits. After that, the translations of the cultural terms in the target language text were analysed in order to find out translation methods applied. This was done using Newmark (1988) theory of translation methods,
Vol. 28 No.1
including word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, adaptation, free translation, idiomatic translation, and communicative translation. Last, the data were analysed based on Venuti (1995) translation ideology. The identification was based on the methods previously analysed.
In this part, the classification of cultural terms found in the novel Janda Dari Jirah was descriptively explained using Newmark (1988) cultural categories. Furthermore, this study also identified the translation methods and ideology applied in translating the cultural terms based on Newmark (1988) translation methods and Venuti (1995) translation ideology. Followings are some examples of Indonesian cultural terms found and their translations into English.
Ecology relates to some characteristics of natural habitat, such as animals, plants, winds, plains, hills, nature, weather, etc. (Newmark, 1988).
[3-1]
SL: Hanya lima belas depa dari pohon
Kepuh, pintu menghadap barat,
terlihat jelas oleh keduanya, pintu utama memasuki Kabikuan Jirah. (Sawitri, 2007: 3)
TL: They were only fifteen depa away from
the Kepuh tree. The main entrance to the Kabikuan of Jirah looked clear to them, a gate facing the west side. (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 3)
The terms pohon kepuh in data [3-1] is categorized as ecology category, particularly flora. It is also known as kelumpang (Latin: Sterculia foetida). In SL culture, pohon kepuh is generally related to something mystical because this tree is usually found growing in cemetery. Artawan
-
(2016) explained that the tree is not an ordinary tree for most people in Bali, being considered as one of the most sacred plants on the island. Myths and legends surround the presence of this kind of tree, which is said to be the home to a large variety of spirits. Similarly, in Javanese belief, Sterculia foetida or pohon kepuh has been accused as one of the house of Goblins, or in local mystical language, the creature is called Genderuwo, an invisible and scary giant monster that attacks the local people at night.
The SL cultural terms pohon kepuh was translated into kepuh tree using the method of faithful translation. It can be seen from the term kepuh that still appears in the TL, showing the translators’ fidelity to the SL culture. In this case, the translators maintained the foreign cultural term for the sake of accuracy. Moreover, by applying the method of faithful translation, it showed that the translators used the foreignization ideology for introducing the SL ecology to the TL readers as well as showing the tendency towards the SL text.
[3-2]
SL: Saat itulah, di seberang sungai, di
tengah hujan deras, Jaran Guyang, murid utama Jirah berpayung daun pisang, bertopi anyaman bambu mengetok pintu pondok tetua dusun Buangan…(Sawitri, 2007: 41)
TL: At that time, in the middle of a heavy rain, wearing a wide bamboo hat, Jaran Guyang, one of the chosen students of Jirah, was walking to Buangan village with a banana leaf to protect him from the rain. He knocked on the door of the village elder… (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 39)
The SL ecology daun pisang is the leaf of banana plant which is very useful for human life. The leaf has a wide range of use because it is large, flexible, waterproof, and decorative. In addition, the leaf is multipurpose and commonly used for
Vol. 28 No.1
wrapping food and even for protection from the rain. Moreover, the local people in Bali often use daun pisang for decorative and symbolic purposes in numerous ceremonies.
Based on data [3-2] presented above, the terms daun pisang in SL was translated into banana leaf in the TL. However, the translators seemed to add some more information which does not exist in the original text, especially the expressions of to protect him from the rain. It was done to render the term berpayung in the SL into another expression in the TL but still relatable in the context. Therefore, the translators applied free translation method in translating the SL ecology berpayung daun pisang into with a banana leaf to protect him from the rain. This attempt was done to make the translation is readable to the TL readers. The translation emphasized the TL; therefore the domestication ideology was applied by the translators.
Material culture refers to all real and concrete creations and findings of society. According to Newmark (1988), material culture includes food, clothes, houses and towns, as well as means of transportation and communication.
[3-3]
SL: Tambur dibunyikan. Bharadah
melayang dengan kendi ditangan. (Sawitri, 2007: 104)
TL: The noise of tambourines was again
heard. Bharadah floated by with a water jug in his hand. (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 100)
The SL material culture kendi is one of the Indonesian traditional earthenware vessels. According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI), the term kendi means water vessel like a teapot which is made up out of clay. Etymologically, the term kendi is believed to be derived from the word kundi, which in turn came
from the Hindu word kundika, meaning ‘water vessel’. Every Indonesian kendi is unique in shape and vessels with figurative and zoomorphic motifs hold additional symbolic meanings. Since ancient times, it has played a significant role in the rituals and people’s daily life. The purposes of the kendi are extensive and range from serving water or wines to a ritual vessel placed on altars or used in religious ceremonies as the symbol of purity.
The translators translated the SL material culture kendi into a familiar and natural term water jug in the TL. In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word jug means a container with a handle and a lip, for holding and pouring liquids. However, unlike the SL material culture kendi, the water jug is too general and it can be made of metal, ceramic, glass, or even plastic is now common. Furthermore, water jug is not commonly used in ritual ceremonies. Therefore, it can be recognized that the translators applied the method of adaptation in translating the SL kendi into TL water jug due to the foreignness of the SL as well as to conform the TL culture. By adapting the SL material culture into the TL, the translators applied domestication ideology.
[3-4]
SL: “Antara sadar dan tidak, aku mendengar
suara kentongan dipukul, lalu suara orangorang bangun, gemuruh gamelan.” (Sawitri, 2007: 99)
TL: “In a state of semi consciousness I heard the
sound of the wooden clapper being struck, then the sound of people waking up, the peal of the gamelan.” (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 97)
The specific cultural term gamelan is classified as material culture in the SL. Gamelan is the term for a traditional musical ensemble in Indonesia. Unlike what is found in Western orchestra, the majority of instruments in most gamelan are percussive. The word gamelan is derived from the Javanese root gamel, meaning to
Vol. 28 No.1
hammer or strike (Pranoto, 2013). Gamelan music is often used as the main musical instruments especially in Java, which is different than Balinese gamelan in sound and characteristics. In addition, the use of gamelan music has been identified with the ritual or religious aspects of Indonesian culture.
In this case, the SL cultural terms gemuruh gamelan was translated into the peal of the gamelan. Although the word gamelan is such an unfamiliar term to most of the TL readers, the translators kept retaining the foreignness of SL gamelan with some structural adjustments in the TL. It was done by applying the faithful translation method. Other than that, the translators had also used the translation ideology of foreignization which involves introducing foreign cultures to the TL readers.
Newmark (1988) explained that social culture relates to work and leisure activities. The usage of fictive kinship address term and title are also included in this category.
[3-5]
SL: “Ada yang datang, Ibu.” (Sawitri, 2007: 1)
TL: “We have visitors, Ibu.” (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 1)
In the SL, the social culture Ibu is a polite address of respect for a female who is or was married. All languages have their own ways of addressing people; however, in some languages people may directly address others in a polite form.
Based on data [3-5], the term Ibu was translated into exactly the same form in the TL using faithful translation method. Instead of translating the term literally or finding a more familiar term in the TL, the translators were faithful to retain the Indonesian address term Ibu in order to indicate the emotional relationship between the characters. By translating the SL cultural term faithfully, foreignization ideology
was applied by the translators, indicating that the translation was oriented toward the SL.
This category of cultural terms includes political and administrative subcategories, social organization, religious terms, and artistic terms (Newmark, 1988).
[3-6]
SL: Disaksikan tetua dusun, ia telungkup lurus di atas permukaan tanah. (Sawitri, 2007: 42)
TL: As witnessed by the village elder, he laid flat on the ground and measured the area of his future hut. (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 39)
The SL cultural term tetua dusun can be categorized into social organization. The expression of tetua dusun in the SL is the name given to the elderly people who play important roles in a society. These people were once involved in social organization in their village and they still, in fact, hold their traditional values, customs, and traditions. Therefore, they are always asked for any suggestion and opinion regarding the problems in the village. It is due to the characteristics of Indonesians as a collectivist society where the villages keep close-knit communities and take care of each other.
The term tetua dusun in the SL was literally translated into village elder in the TL using literal translation method. The translators translated the SL social organization term tetua dusun into the most common meaning in the TL and the result was made to adjust to the structure of English phrase which is village elder. By translating the SL expression literally, the translators used the translation ideology of foreignization in order to retain the original information from the SL while introducing foreign cultures to the TL readers.
Vol. 28 No.1
[3-7]
SL: Memeriksa seluruh penjuru, hanya
menyaksikan sisa-sisa pembakaran mayat dan tanda penyucian. (Sawitri, 2007: 84)
TL: There were remains of cremations and
purifications in all directions. (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 80)
The SL cultural term pembakaran mayat can be categorized as religious culture. Furthermore, in SL culture especially Balinese culture, pembakaran mayat or as the local people call it, ngaben, is the final ritual performed to the death by burning the dead bodies.
According to data [3-7], the translator applied semantic translation method in translating the SL religious term pembakaran mayat into the neutral expression cremations in the TL. However, different from the cremation in other cultures, pembakaran mayat is not just about burning the dead bodies; there are a lot of customary rituals to follow before and after the ceremony. Accordingly not all the meaning components of the SL term were translated into TL since the meaning of the cultural term cannot be fully transferred. The translation of SL term pembakaran mayat into neutral expression cremations in the TL implied that the translators applied foreignization ideology and resulted in SL-oriented translation.
Newmark (1988) mentioned every culture has its own way of expressing something through body movements and gestures. However, the same gestures and habits might have different meaning in different countries.
[3-8]
SL: Melihat Kuturan melangkah ke
arahnya Bharadah menjadi salah
tingkah, segera menghaturkan sembah… (Sawitri, 2007: 98)
TL: Bharadah felt uneasy when Kuturan
approached him. He immediately knelt and said… (Boentaran, et al., 2014: 93)
In the SL, the phrase segera menghaturkan sembah belongs to the category of gestures. In Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI), the word sembah literally means the statement of respect and solemnity by putting the palms together solemnly just like to pray while bowing slightly. It is commonly addressed to the exalted person. This kind of gesture is very common in Indonesian culture as a way of showing respect. This cultural gesture seems unfamiliar in the TL culture. In this case, the translators tried to replace the foreign term into a familiar one in accordance with the TL culture. It was done by translating the phrase segera menghaturkan sembah into immediately knelt using adaptation method. The word knelt means to have one or both knees on the ground. Due to the foreignness of the SL in the TL, the translators domesticated the SL cultural term by implementing the translation ideology of domestication.
Based on the analysis of the data above, all categories of cultural terms were found in the data, which include ecology, material culture, social culture, organization, customs, ideas, and gestures and habits. The data of cultural terms found in the novel were dominated by material culture, followed by organization, customs, and ideas. In terms of translation methods, the findings showed that the translators applied the methods of word-for-word translation, literal translation, faithful translation, semantic translation, adaptation, free translation, and idiomatic translation in translating the SL cultural terms into the TL. The majority of the translation methods were oriented towards the SL text. Therefore, it was revealed that the translation ideology of foreignization was more dominantly applied than the translation ideology of domestication.
Vol. 28 No.1
References
Artawan, Eka J. 2016. Sight: ‘Kepuh Agung’ – “A sacred tree by Ngurah Rai International Airport” Available at https://www.thejakartapost.com/news. [Retrieved on January 06, 2021]
Djajasudarma. 1993. Metode Linguistik - Rancangan Metode Penelitian dan Kajian. Bandung: Eresco.
Elnemr, Mahmoud I. 2020. The Ideological Impact on the English Translations of the Qur’an: A Case Study of Muhammad Asad’s Translation. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation. 3(7), 30-41.
Halliday, M. A. K. 1989. Spoken and written language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Horby, A.S. 2003. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. London: Oxford University Press.
Larson, M.L. 1998. Meaning Based Translation: A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence. New York: University Press of America.
Newmark, P. 1988. A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice-Hall International.
Pranoto, Henry S. 2013. Sacrilegious Aspect of Javanese Gamelan: Past and Future. Available at https://journal.unnes.ac.id/. [Retrieved on January 06, 2021]
Rachman, D.K. 2018. “The Translation of Cultural Terms in Using Folklore” (thesis). Denpasar: Udayana University.
Sawitri, Cok. 2007. Janda Dari Jirah. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Sawitri, Cok. 2014. The Widow of Jirah. (Suliati Boentaran, et al.). Michigan: DiggyPOD.
Sugono, D. et al. 2008. Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia. Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa Departemen Pendidikan Nasional.
Suryasa, I Wayan. 2019. Translation of Krsna Text and Ideology. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(1), 36-47.
Utami, C.M.D. 2018. “Invisibility in Translation of Cultural Terms in Perburuan and its Translation Fugitive” (thesis). Denpasar: Udayana University.
Venuti, L. 1995. The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. London and New York: Routledg
104
Discussion and feedback