THE PROBLEM OF TRANSLATING BAHASA-ENGLISH

Translation is a challenging job Translation is not an easy work. It needs a serious attention and concentration. It can be said that the core of translation is a transfer of message. The translator should be careful in replacing the meaning from Source Language (SL) to Target Language (TL).

The translator must keep the “mission” in the Source Language then transfer them to target one. If the translator can translate well semantically but can not move the closest mission, the result of translation is unsatisfied. Therefore, to solve this problem the translator should master not only linguistics and the materials that will be translated but also theory of translation and the right context of discourse.

The Problem of Translating Indonesian-english In general, Indonesian or Bahasa is used freely by its users both in oral and written form. This means that the use of the language is in practice deviates or misleads from what is prescribed by the Tata bahasa Indonesia Baku.

This violation is also occurs in written form, where the language used must actually be formal. This deviation applies in a word choice, word collocation, sentence pattern and discourse pattern. Even if the use follows the rules, there are still other problems, one of which is ambiguity as asserted by Gunawan (2001).

An instance: What’s the best translation for this sentence? Cucu laki-laki presiden yang kaya itu” When this translated in English, it can be either, “The rich grandson of the president” or the grandson of rich president. Which one is the rich? The president or the grandson of the president? This case is similar to “Istri tentara yang genit itu” Which one is “genit/coquette/firtatious”?

Other instances Dia sangat membencinya This sentence can be translated into: 1. he hates him very much. 2. he hates her very much. 3. she hates her very much. 4. she hates him very much.

Funny but saddening These following translation are “funny but saddening” and also “Sad but True” Saya ingin berkonsultasi dengan anda “I want consultation with you” Mengandung vitamin “Pregnant vitamin” Rumah-rumah di Jakarta Bagus-bagus “Houses in Jakarta are handsome”

Other confusion Commonly, most of the students translate even when they speak and write. This means that they write in Indonesia first what they want to say in English. Then they translate it. This of course produces problems in their translation as their Indonesian is itself still bad.

Wierdo logics

It’s shameful/it’s a shame…

A paradox

Ku ingat or kuingat?

1) Guru bahasa Indonesia mengingatkan kepada muridnya agar rajin membaca. (the word “kepada” is unnecessary). 2) Dia sudah saling memaafkan. (it is not clear with whom they both forgive each other) 3) Di antara kedua sahabatnya itu memiliki sifat yang berbeda. (the phrase “di antara” is unnecessary) 4) Bagi generasi muda Indonesia tidak sepatutnya menulis dalam bahasa Alay. (the preposition of “bagi” is unnecessary). One can easily see how badly the sentence is constructed in Indonesian in the first place, this resulting in the translation being also wrong.

Funny but saddening

Sad but true

Wrong translation

Jauhi = Hide?

Cita-cita=aspiration?

Construction or contraction?

Mangstab English ^_^

This is the correct one^_^

BOHOT SUKRIYYA TESEKKUR EDERIM MATUR NUWUN THANK YOU VERY MUCH