Translation in Non- Linguistik Context

BY :

NAME :MELITA SARI PURBA

REG.NO : 2112121021

CLASS : REGULER B 2011

SUBJECT : TRANSLATION 1

FACULTY ART AND LANGUAGE

STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2012
 Introduction
Nowadays, the development of knowledge, technology and art cause we must have
ability to grasp the using of the many languages through many ways because we can’t take
separate from the development the other nations which be active to pass on the informations
in the world. It means that to get more information we have to able to transfer the meaning
of a text from one language to another or it called translation. In fact, many of books is
written in foreigner language and they aren’t translated yet in indonesia language because we
want that information but we have lack of ability in translating. Actually, the matter is not
only how we can find the right words but also how the translation itself is presented in proper
way so that the result of translation can be understood well. But in this case, we often find
many problem of tranlation because we don’t know the way to translate based on the certain
context. Therefore, when we are translating the source language, we also must pay attention
to the reseptor language or result of our translation.

The important things is the result of the translation must be exact, obvious,accurate,
communicative and natural so it can be understand well by. Therefore, to make the good
translation we also have to know the principles of translation that is knowing the context of
tranlation. The context not only determines how a word to be understood but it is also how it
is to be translate. Context in translation which divided into linguistik context and non-
linguistict context. The linguistic context consist of, syllables, phonetic, sounds, phonems,
letters, words, phrases and grammar. Meanwhile the non-linguistict context consist of, the
context of situation (register), the context of culture (genre) and the context of ideology. In
this paper the writer will explain about the part of the non-linguistict. Nevertheles, the writer
just will explain about how the context of situation or the context culture influence the
translation. Whereas about the ideology context, the writer thought that it isn’t so important.

When we want to translate the text in context of situation and cultural, we have to
know, for who we translate the text and what kind of text we translate and also how about
their cultural. Thus the important thing in translating the language is to grasp the situation and
to aware/understand the cultural of foreigner (receptor language) so that there is no
misunderstanding the public to the result of translation.
 Translation in Non-Linguistic Context
Translation is the general term reffering to the transfer of thoughts and ideas from one
language (source) to another (target). Understanding the resouce meaning involves much
more than what the word refers to. Language should be related to the context in order to
really understand the text. Translation in non-linguistic context is divided into three part that
are the context of situation, the context of cultural and the context of ideology.

The Context of Situation

According to Oxford Dictionary, situation is all the circumtances and things that are
happening at the particular time and in particular place. Situational context is referred
to as register, that is, a variety of language that a language user considers appropriate
for a specific situation. Register is also arrangement of meaning which specially
connected with certain situation like field, tenor and mode.
The situasional context have three features that are :
 Field (medan wacana): an abstract term for “what is going on”.
 Tenor (pelibat wacana) : an abstract term for the relationship between
people taking part in the dircourse.
 Mode (sarana wacana) : it refers to what part the language is playing
(speech, essay or ect) what it is that the participants are expecting the
language to do for them in that situation.

Actually, assessing a text well, the translator have to know the certain things about the
situation. The meaning of text is determined by the writer, the aids and the public. To
translate ,the tranlators have to remember the aid of the text. When the translators
want to use the vocabulary, they also have to know the location or place, age, gender,
social status, education level and the background of public (the readers) because the
writer writes for certain people or group. For example, when we are translating the
text for children, we will not use the form of words which same for student in
university. In society, the teenagers have different vocabulary with the parents,though
like that,the translators must avoid use the vocabulary for certain age and using the
common vocabulary except the writers of source of language intend to show the
certain period. If the readers of receptor language are children in primary school, so
the vocabularies must be simplier. Next, if the readers are teenagers in junior or senior
high school,so there are adding vocabularies. If the readers are students in university,
so the vocabularies are wider. The selection of words between the formal text
(ussually using for friends or parents) and informal text (ussually using in class,
speech, parlements etc.) is different too. For example : “mabuk”,in english it means
“inebriated”(formal), “drunk”(informal) and “stoned”(slang). Another example :
Dr.Rahayu Lubis in formal text and Hayu in informal text. The form formal and
informal have connection with the certain location where we use it. The important
thing is the translators have to remember who will read their receptor language. For
instance, when we translate the bulletin for linguist maybe we use technical term
“leksikon, verba and gramatika” but if we translate it for general reader, we have to
change it into “kamus,kata kerja dan tata bahasa”.

What is the aids of texts? Are they for school, for religion, for medical or for
teenagers? The texts can’t be translated in the same way, the story for jurnal linguistic
must be distinguished with the story for entertainment. The last is abot the time, we
must pay attention in using the time, is it now or not.

The Context of Culture

“Culture is the unique life style of particural group of people...cultura is also
communicable of knowledge, learned behavioral traits that era share by participants in
social group and manifested in their institutions and artifacts”(Harris and Moran
1979:57). We must know that a language has its meanings only in the culture, as
Newmark (1981: 183) states that a language is partly the repository and reflection of a
culture. Thus, different languages may content different cultures or different ways of
thingking. Of course, in translating, translators must understand the cultural of
receptor languageRelating to the translation, the connection between language and
culture often becomes problem. For example, the using of the word village. The
village in english is not same with village in bahasa Indonesia because village and
desa have different concept. Village refers to the place smaller than a town where
there are houses and shops and school, meanwhile desa commonly refers to the place
far away out of town with wide farm and an undeveloped place. Therefero, the term
 Jakarta as a big village used by foreigner writer will lost its meaning if it is translated
into desa yang besar. In this matter, a tronslator should treat the resource language
differently, apart from the target language because the way of thingking of the
original writer is very likely to differ from the situation faced by people in the target
language.

Sometimes, we have change the strange term to make the reader understand, like in source
language in Aruaguna is used a illustration in a any paragraph “ dapatkah pohon ara
menghasilkan buah zaitun dan pohon anggur menghasilkan buah ara?”. Both “buah ara” and
“buah zaitun” is not known in Aruaguna language. So, first the translators use the strange
term with modification and they offer to find what pohon ara and zaitun is. Actually it is not
focus to what ara and zaitun is, so the translator change it into “dapatkah buah avocad
menghasilkan buah palma dan pohon anggur menghasilkan buah avocad?”. The text will be
understood well and the main focus of text is not diverged. Another example, “she sees an
angel”, becomes”she sees a delegation from heaven”.

Differences of cultural value are important factor in understanding a series of related

term to avoid or to employ expressions that are culturally insulting. For example, nigger or
negro provide the negative value but black and Afro-American provide the positive value.
The word of “tribe” , it has positive value in England but in Papua Nugini , it has negative
value. Furthermore, the words of “kerempeng (negative)”,”kurus (netral)”, “langsing
(positive)” or “gembrot (negative)”, ” gemuk (netral)”, ”montok (positive)”. On the other
hand, the translators have to think that if there is a question, does it convey the good
meaning? In Vietnam, a person from England has habitation to drink in the morning and ask
his friend from Veitnam,” Would you like to drink tea?”(‘Mau minum teh’),his friend seems
confuse and say ‘No’. Actually this question cause a person from Vietnam thinks “maybe,he
doesn’t want me to drink tea”. The exact form in Vietnam is imperative sentence “take and
drink, please! Thus, we must avoid the literal translation and know the other’s cultural.

The typical vocabulary of certain occupations carries important information about

status and behaviour of people for instance the professional teachers, who often seems to use
the words to reinforce their social status rather than to communicate important information to
clients. The translators must be careful and they not consider that the term between source
language and receptor language have the same meaning. The word of plaza in Spanish has
meaning as “alun-alun kota” but in Mixes it means that “kelompok orang yang menjual
barang and in Indonesia, plaza is connected with high building like Ratu Plaza, Central
Plaza, Indonesia Plaza ect.

In a language we have to know does the words old or not because not all the words
always have netral meaning. If the translators use the old words, maybe it will not use again
if the old humans have died. It’s better if the translator use the common words in translating
so it will be easy to undertand all people. The connotation is different in one cultural and
another because the growing of positive taboo and negative taboo in every culture.
Connotative meaning refers to how the user of the language react whether positively or
negatively to the words and to the combination. Connotation often appear misunderstandind
in any cultural. Therefore we are hoped can use the connotative meaning well. Thus there is
no misleading among all culture in translating.

The Context of Ideology

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Ideology is a set of ideas that an economic or
political system is based on. The context of ideology, we have to translate the text
base on certain side like economic or pilitical. Actually, it is not so important because
it has covered the widest thing. This is the example of translations of words in
economical :
*Banking crisis grips Uruguay
( Krisis perbankan memegang Uruguay) = Literal
( Krisis perbankan mencengkeram Uruguay) = Idiomatic
CONCLUSION
In translation, if we want to translate information from source language well to receptor
language, we have to aware the differences of inter languages, know the certain context and
of course, we have to understand aid of the receptor language and the variety of cultural to
avoid the culturally insulting. We must know the different of situations so that we can make
the result of translation natural, communicative and accurate. On the other hand, we also
must have the extensive knowledge and know the principles of translating and applicating of
languages.
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