ISSN: 2302-920X

Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud

Vol 16.2 Agustus 2016: 22-30

TRANSLATION OF BALINESE CULTURAL TERMS IN “BALI: ADAT” BOOK

I Gde Putu Agustia Sanjaya

English Department, Faculty of Letters and Culture, Udayana University

Goestia_Dreamlight@yahoo.co.id *

*Corresponding Author

ABSTRAK

Jurnal ini mengangkat tema penerjemahan istilah-istilah Budaya Bali ke dalam Bahasa Inggris di sebuah buku berjudul “Bali: Adat” yang ditulis oleh Graham Sheilʼs. Penelitian jurnal ini menggunakan metode penelitian kajian pustaka dan pemaparan hasil secara kualitatif. Dalam menganalisis data, penelitian ini manggunakan teori dari Peter Newmark untuk menganalisis kategori kebudayaan pada data-data yang ditemukan.

Teori dari Nida digunakan untuk menganalisis komponen-komponen yang membentuk makna pada sebuah istilah dalam hal ini istilah-istilah dalam kebudayaan Bali. Studi ini menemukan tiga jenis istilah Bali berdasarkan kategori kebudayaan dari Peter Newmark yaitu, Materi Budaya, Sosial Budaya dan Agama dan Organisasi Sosial. Beberapa contoh istilah tersebut adalah gamelan, ngaben (proses kremasi) dan pemangku adat. Jurnal ini juga menganalisis proses perubahan sebuah istilah dari bahasa sumber ke bahasa target dengan prinsip-prinsip penerjemahan yang dibuat Nida. Terdapat sebuah proses dimana penerjemah merubah bentuk istilah agar mendapatkan padanan yang tepat seperti, padanan formal dimana pencarian padanan kata dalam bahasa target tetap menjaga elemen-elemen yang terdapat pada bahasa sumber.

Selain itu terdapat padanan dinamis dimana bentuk istilah dari bahasa sumber akan berubah untuk mencapai padanan yang paling tepat dan biasa digunakan dalam bahsa target. Jurnal ini terfokus pada proses padanan dinamis karena proses ini yang paling banyak digunakan untuk membentuk kembali sebuah istilah dalam bahasa target.

Kata kunci: penerjemahan, istilah, budaya.

  • 1.    Background of Study

English essentially is a foreign language and most of the people in the world study.

English as their second language or foreign language in Indonesia, English is studied

from elementary school up to University beside Indonesian language. As foreign language there are many difficulties found in studying English. Therefore, many books are translated into Indonesian.

The work of translation plays important role, because people are often faced with some texts, which need to be translated into our language. The text could be found in articles, books, mass media, or literary works. In learning language, especially learning foreign language, translation is needed to understand the meaning of sentences. For example, when we want to translate the English text into Indonesian we must know the rules and the process of translation.

The process of translating aims at transferring as accurately as possible meaning and messages in one language into another. The fundamental problems found in such a process are related to lexical, textual, grammatical structure, situational communication and socio-cultural meaning of the source language text. In conveying the lexical meanings in cultural context, a translator often find that there is no exact equivalence between the word of the source language (SL) and the words of receptor language (RL).

For this reason, translating cultural lexical terms is relatively difficult, and therefore to get a good translation, a translator has to consider not only the two languages but also the two cultures besides being supported by sufficient translation theories. There should also be adjustments based on transferring of meaning from the source language (SL) into the receptor language (RL).

From the statement above, we realize that translation is not an easy thing to do. Besides transferring the form of the language, translation also, consist of transferring meaning from the source language to the target language. Since translation involves culture, therefore, besides mastering the language, translator should also know about the culture of both languages in order to transferring the cultural term of the source language.

This study chose one of foreign-written books about Bali. The book that this study chooses is Graham Sheil’s entitled “Bali: Adat” which was written in Melbourne, 1991. This play centers on the Puputan of the Raja of Badung and his court in their fighting

against the Dutch colonialism Bali: Adat is a fictionalized account based on historical records. Although events have been condensed, the Raja (king) of Badung and his greataunts (Biyang) are historical figures. The changes in the Dutch administration provoked by the Puputan were real. The book is in English and additionally with the Indonesian translation by Indrawati Firdaus. The book is chosen because it is loaded with Balinese cultural words, which are useful of the completion of this study. For this study, only the cultural term classified as objects (noun) level of word and phrases are taken

  • 2.    Problem

Based on the above background the research problems can be formulated as follows:

  • 1.    What kinds of Balinese Cultural Terms are applied in the Bali: Adat book?

  • 2.    What kinds of problem that occur in relation to loss, gain and skewed

information in translating Balinese Cultural Terms?

  • 3.    Aims

This study was conducted in a way to broaden the knowledge in translation

study. Specifically it was done for the following purposes:

  • 1.    To find and classify Balinese Cultural Terms applied in the text.

  • 2.    To analyze problem occurring related to loss, gain, and skewing information

in translating Balinese Cultural Terms in the text.

  • 4.    Research Method

The data source I chose one of foreign-written books about Bali. The book that I

chose is Graham Sheil’s play entitled “Bali:Adat”. The play “Bali: Adat” was

written in Melbourne, 1991. This play “Bali: Adat” is a fiction about the Puputan of the Raja of Badung and his court in their fighting against the Dutch colonialism. The book was in English and additionally with the Indonesian translation by Indrawati Firdaus. Method and technique of collecting data, the data was collected through reading all the pages of book and this process was accompanied by note taking. Then the page number wasquoted down at the end of the data. The next step was classifying the data and continued to data analysis to find the translation equivalence of the entire Balinese Cultural Term in Indonesian language. Method and technique of analysis data, After classifying the data based on Cultural Categories (Newmark) and Nida in “componential Analysis of meaning”(1975: 32) , it is followed by analyzing the data. The collected data was descriptively analyzed based on the scope and the theoretical framework and based on the theory of translation.

  • 5.    Result and Discussion

  • 1.    Classification of Balinese Cultural Terms and their equivalence, related to the problem, then the first task in this chapter is classifying the Balinese Cultural Terms occurring in the text. Classifying is done by grouping or classifying the data in the pattern of position or could be among phenomenon to make a dynamic step appear. It is aimed to see the position of each occurrence in the entire framework, in this case Peter Newmark’s Cultural Categories. Here the data would be classified in a systematic way. In the chapter, the data is classified and grouped into each Cultural Categories that preserved by Peter Newmark. The Balinese Cultural Terms

collected in the observation are classified based on the categories above. The results of the classification are described below.

  • 1.    Ecology

The terms classified here is the terms that terms have features and from as geographical, ecological, flora and fauna. However, there are no related terms occurring in the text.

  • 2.    Material culture

The terms classified here is the terms that have features as a thing(s) or materials that exist in the Balinese Culture and used by its function. (Gamelan, sarung, udeng, rokok kretek, wayang, gong, keris, sesajen, pura karang, pura)

  • 3.    Social Culture

The terms classified here is the terms that have features as work, leisure or traditions that exist in the Balinese Culture and held in Balinese occasion. (Ngaben, tari-tarian di pura, gambelan baris, musik wayang, Anak Agung Made, Raja Badung)

  • 4.    Social Organizations and Religious

The terms classified here is the terms that have features and form as the product of Balinese social religious institution or organization. (Sang Hyang Widhi, Pemangku Adat, orang pindah agama, kasta, dalang)

  • 5.    Gestures and habits

The terms classified here is the terms related to Balinese people signature gestures and habits. There is no occurrence related to this term in the text.

  • 2.    The Balinese Cultural Terms in “Bali: Adat”

  • a.    SL: The stage is illuminated and a gamelan orchestra plays the rippling music of a wayang shadow play. (page 3)

RL: Lampu pentas dinyalakan dan suara gamelan menggalun seperti pada pertunjukan wayang.

The phrase ‘gamelan orchestra’ in RL without additional information. In the transfer, we can see that the word orchestra is deleted and there is no additional information added for this term.

Based on the Balinese-English dictionary, the term ‘gamelan’ is equivalent with ‘traditional music instrumentʼ (Sutjaja, 2003). Therefore in this case the translator doesn’t need to transfer the word orchestra and add more information related to the terms because the it is already known and familiar in RL’s culture that ‘gamelan orchestraʼ is referred to the traditional music instrument Gamelan. Therefore, there is no problem related to loss, gain, and skewing information revealed in the translation.

This translation is acceptable because the translation does not raise confusions for the readers. The word gamelan itself is familiar in Indonesian culture.

The phrase ‘wayang shadow playʼ translated into ‘pertunjukan wayangʼ. If it is translated literally, the phrase wayang shadow play will be permainan bayangan wayang, but it seems the translator eliminated the words shadow because the concept wayang is already familiar in the RL’s culture as a shadow played doll or puppets and the translator does not need

to add any further descriptive information about the term. Therefore, there is no loss, gain or skewing information occurs in the information.

This translation also acceptable for the readers. Apart from not raising confusion, the product of the transfer is also easy to understand because the RL’s phrases are simpler than the literal translation. The translator find the closest natural equivalence in this translation.

There are some other lexical choices for the term wayang shadow play that I can propose as options: permainan wayang or wayang.

  • b.    SL: The wayang music increase in tempo and volume. A spot illuminates the storyteller, downstage right. (page 3)

RL: The gambelan meningkat, dalam nada dan iramanya. Lampu sorot muncul di pentas bagian bawah kanan, menyinari tokoh Pelipur Lara.(page 2)

In this translation, we can see that the phrase ʻthe wayang musicʼ translated into ‘music gamelanʼ. The RL phrase ʻmusic gambelanʼ is not the exact translation of the phrase ʻthe wayang musicʼ. If we literally translated it into Indonesia, the phrase will be music wayang in the RL. It seems that the translator choose in using word gamelan because the translator is already familiar with the RL culture. As we know, in Indonesia the wayang shadow play supported with the music of gamelan. That is way the translator used the word choosing in translating the phrase the wayang music into gamelan. The semantic analysis below maybe can explain the semantic components of both phrases.

SL


RL


The wayang music


music gamelan


Music played                      ++

Played in wayang

Shadow play                        ++

Consisting gamelan                   +/_+

We can see from the semantic analysis above, the RL term bring more information to the reader about the form of the wayang music. It is useful for the readers who do not know or does not have any ideas about the wayang shadow play. The translation is acceptable. However based on the context, this study finds more translation options. There are some other options for the translationthat is music wayang, gamelan, music pengiring or gamelan pengiring. The options related contextually with the sentence. However, in the translation the RL’s readers gain information about the form of the wayang music.

  • 6.    Conclution

The kinds of Balinese Cultural Terms that occur in the text are mostly related with the Pater Newmark’s Cultural Categories. Only three kinds of Balinese Cultural Terms Categories of Peter Newmark’s Cultural Categories are occurred in the text they arematerial culture, social culture, and social organization and religious related term. The term occurred more than once.Translating Cultural Terms in this case Balinese Cultural Terms, would rise some problem related to loss, gain and

skewing information in the process. There are some problems related to loss, gain and skewing information in the text. As the consequence, some of the translation cannot bring the exact message from the SL text into RL text and some of the translations bring more information rather than helping the RL readers to understand the SL meaning of Balinese Cultural Terms that occur. The cause can be unfamiliarity with the terms, wrong assumption and interpretation, and the nonexistence of word that represent the meaning of SL message in the RL culture. Since the aim of translation is to retain the SL message to the RL readers, loss of information should be minimal.

  • 7.    Bibliography

Catford J.C. 1965. A Linguistic Theory of Translation. London: Oxford University Press.

Homby, A.S. 1982. Oxford Advanced Learnerʼs Dictionary of Current English. London: Oxford University Press.

Larson, Mildred.L. 1998. Meaning-Based Translation. New York: University Press.

Newmark, Peter. 1989. a textbook of translation.

Nida, Eugene A. and Charles R. Taber.1974.The Theory and Practice of Translation. The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, Leiden.

Nida, Eugene A. 1975. Language Structure and Translation. California: Stanford University Press.

Nida, Eugene. Principles of Correspondence in venuti (ed). 2000. The Translation Studies Readers. New York: Rout edge.

Sheil, Graham. 1991. Bali: Adat. Australia: Currency Press.

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