The Implication of Culture on Translation Theory and Practice
By Sugeng Hariyanto,
Perum. Joyo Asri Blok X/157, RT 02 - RW 08,
State Polytechnic,
Malang, Indonesia 65144
translanguage@telkom.net
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ABSTRACT
Language
is an expression of culture and individuality of its
speakers. It influences the way the speakers perceive
the world. This principle has a far-reaching implication
fro translation. If language influences thought and
culture, it means that ultimate translation is impossible.
The opposite point of view, however, gives another
perspective. Humboldt’s "inner" and "outer"
forms in language and Chomsky’s "deep" and
"surface" structures imply that ultimate
translation is anyhow possible.
In
practice, however, the possibility depends on the
purpose and how deep the source text is embedded in
the culture. The more source-text-oriented a translation
is, the more difficult it is to do. Similarly, the
deeper a text is embedded in its culture, the more
difficult it is to work on.
Related
to translation, culture manifests in two ways. First,
the concept or reference of the vocabulary items is
somehow specific for the given culture. Second, the
concept or reference is actually general but expressed
in a way specific to the source language culture.
In practice, however, it is suggested that a translator
should take into account the purpose of the translation
in translating the culturally-bound words or expressions.
The translation procedures discussed should also be
considered.
Key
words: culture, language universals, translation purpose,
translation procedure, translation possibility
1. Cultural Consideration in Translation
It has been long taken for granted
that translation deals only with language. Cultural
perspective, however, has never been brought into
discussion. This can be seen in most of the following
definitions.
The first definition is presented
by Catford (1965: 20). He states that translation
is the replacement of textual material in one language
by equivalent textual material in another language.
In this definition, the most important thing is equivalent
textual material. Yet, it is still vague in terms
of the type of equivalence. Culture is not taken into
account.
Very much similar to this definition
is that by Savory (1968) who maintains that translation
is made possible by an equivalent of thought that
lies behind its different verbal expressions.
Next, Nida and Taber (1969) explain
the process of translating as follows.
Translating consists
of reproducing in the receptor language the closest
natural equivalent of the source language message,
first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of
style.
In Translation: Applications and
Research, Brislin (1976: 1) defines translation
as:
"the general
term referring to the transfer of thoughts and ideas
from one language (source) to another (target), whether
the languages are in written or oral form; whether
the languages have established orthographies or do
not have such standardization or whether one or both
languages is based on signs, as with sign languages
of the deaf."
Identical with the above definition
is the one proposed by Pinhhuck (1977: 38). He maintains
that "Translation is a process of finding a TL
equivalent for an SL utterance".
In the definitions appearing in 1960s-1970s,
some similarities have been found: (1) there is a
change of expression from one language to the other,
(2) the meaning and message are rendered in the TL,
and (3) the translator has an obligation to seek for
the closest equivalent in the TL. Yet, there is no
indication that culture is taken into account except
in that of Nida and Taber.
Actually Nida and Taber themselves
do not mention this matter very explicitly. Following
their explanation on "closest natural equivalent",
however, we can infer that cultural consideration
is considered. They maintain that the equivalent sought
after in every effort of translating is the one that
is so close that the meaning/message can be transferred
well.
The concept of closest natural equivalent
is rooted in Nida's concept of dynamic equivalent.
His celebrated example is taken from the Bible, that
is the translation of "Lamb of God" into
the Eskimo language. Here "lamb" symbolizes
innocence, especially in the context of sacrifice.
As a matter of fact, Eskimo culture does not know
"lamb". Thus, the word does not symbolize
anything. Instead of "Lamb of God", he prefers
"Seal of God" to transfer the message. Here
he considers cultural aspects.
The inclusion of cultural perspective
in the definition of translation unfortunately does
not continue. The later ones keep on not touching
this matter. See the following definition.
"Translation
involves the rendering of a source language (SL) text
into the target language (TL) so as to ensure that
(1) the surface meaning of the two will be approximately
similar and (2) the structure of the SL will be preserved
as closely as possible, but not so closely that the
TL structure will be seriously distorted (McGuire,
1980: 2).
In the following definition, Newmark
does not state anything about culture.
"Translation is a craft consisting
in the attempt to replace a written message and/or
statement in one language by the same message and/or
statement in another language" (Newmark, 1981:
7).
Finally, Wills defines translation
more or less similarly as follows.
"Translation is a transfer process
which aims at the transformation of a written SL text
into an optimally equivalent TL text, and which requires
the syntactic, the semantic and the pragmatic understanding
and analytical processing of the SL" (Wills in
Noss, 1982: 3).
It is known that out of 8 definitions
above only one takes cultural aspects into account,
the one by Nida and Taber. This definition is actually
a specific one, rooted from the practice of the Bible
translation. By nature, it is understood that the
translation should be done to every language. As the
content addresses all walks of life and culture plays
an important role in human life, culture, therefore,
should be considered.
The other definitions, however, are
meant to explain the experts' view on translation
theory to be applied in the translation of all types
of material, including scientific or technical texts
which are not deeply embedded in any culture. Thus,
it can be momentarily hypothesized that cultural consideration
must be taken if the material to translate is related
to culture. For material that is not very much embedded
into a specific culture, cultural consideration may
not be necessary.
According to Snell-Hornby (1988: 39),
however, this exclusion of cultural aspect from the
discussion of translation theory is due to the view
of the traditional approach in linguistics which draws
a sharp dividing-line between language and "extralinguistic
reality" (culture, situation, etc.). The contemporary
approach, according to her, sees language as an integral
part of culture. This view can be seen in Hymes (1964)
and Halliday and Hasan (1985), for example.
2. Language and Culture
Culture in this discussion should
be seen in a broad sense, as in anthropological studies.
Culture is not only understood as the advanced intellectual
development of mankind as reflected in the arts, but
it refers to all socially conditioned aspects of human
life (cf. Snell-Hornby, 1988: Hymes, 1964). In practical
wordings, Goodenough (1964: 36) puts:
"As I see it,
a society's culture consists of whatever it is one
has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner
acceptable to its members, and do so in any role that
they accept for any one of themselves. Culture, being
what people have to learn as distinct from their biological
heritage, must consist of the end product of learning:
knowledge, in a most general, if relative, sense of
the term. By definition, we should note that culture
is not material phenomenon; it does not consist of
things, people, behavior, or emotions. It is rather
an organization of these things. It is the forms of
things that people have in mind, their models of perceiving
and dealing with their circumstances. To one who knows
their culture, these things and events are also signs
signifying the cultural forms or models of which they
are material representation."
It can be summarized that this definition
suggests three things: (a) culture seen as a totality
of knowledge and model for perceiving things, (b)
immediate connection between culture and behavior
and events, and (c) culture's dependence on norms.
It should be noted also that some other definitions
claim that both knowledge and material things
are parts of culture. See, for example, Koentjaraningrat
(1996: 80-81) and Hoijer (1967: 106)
According to Snell-Hornby (1988: 40),
the connection between language and culture was first
formally formulated by Wilhelm Von Humboldt. For this
German philosopher, language was something dynamic:
it was an activity (energia) rather than a static
inventory of items as the product of activity (ergon).
At the same time language is an expression of culture
and individuality of the speakers, who perceive the
world through language. Related to Goodenough's idea
on culture as the totality of knowledge, this present
idea may see language as the knowledge representation
in the mind.
In 1973, Humboldt's view was echoed
by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in their Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis. This principle states that thought does
not "precede" language, but on the contrary
thought is conditioned by it. The system of honorific
style used in Javanese, for example, affects the speakers'
concepts of social status.
Halliday (in Halliday and Hasan (1985:
5) states that there was the theory of context before
the theory of text. In other words, context precedes
text. Context here means context of situation and
culture (Halliday and Hasan, 1985: 7). This context
is necessary for adequate understanding of the text,
which becomes the first requirement for translating.
Thus, translating without understanding text is non-sense,
and understanding text without understanding its culture
is impossible.
Humboldt's idea, Sapir-Whorf hypothesis,
and Halliday's idea have a far-reaching implications
for translation. In its extreme, the notion that language
conditions thought and that language and thought is
bound up with the individual culture of the given
community would mean that translation is impossible.
We cannot translate one's thought which is affected
by and stated in language specific for a certain community
to another different language because the system of
thought in the two languages (cultures) must be different.
Each language is unique. If it influences the thought
and, therefore, the culture, it would mean that ultimate
translation is impossible.
Another point of view, however, asserts
the opposite. Ironically this also goes back to Humboldt's
idea bout inner and outer forms of language. Later
it is developed into the concepts of deep structure
and surface structure by Chomsky. Inner form and deep
structure is what generally known as idea. Following
this concepts, all ideas are universal. What is different
is only the surface structure, the outer from. If
it is so, translation is only a change of surface
structure to represent the universal deep structure.
Accordingly, translation is theoretically always possible.
All in all, we are faced with two
extremes. Which one is right? The answer, according
to Snell-Hornby (1988: 41) lies not in choosing any
of the two. If the extremes are put at the ends of
a cline, the answer lies between the two. In brief,
theoretically the degree of probability for perfect
translation depends on how far the source language
text (SLT) is embedded in its culture and the greater
the distance between the culture between SLT and target
language text (TLT), the higher is the degree of impossibility.
See the following excerpts for illustration. The source
language (SL) is Indonesian and the target language
(TL) is English.
(1.) SL: Sebuah lembaga penelitian
mengadakan penelitian tentang jumlah tabungan perbulan
dari para buruh sebuah perusahaan negara di ibukota.
Penelitian tersebut menggunakan sampel yang terdiri
dari 100 keluarga dan hasilnya dinyatakan sebagai
persentasi dari jumlah pendapatan per bulan. (Anto
Dajan, 1974: 18)
TL: A research institution conducted
a research on the amount of saving deposited by workers
of a company located in a capital city. The research
took 100 family as a sample and the result was presented
in percentage of their monthly wages.
(2) SL: Dalam masyarakat Jawa bila
seseorang wanita atau istri sedang hamil, menurut
tradisi perlu diadakan bermacam-macam selamatan dan
upacara-upacara lainnya. Hal ini perlu dilaksanakan
dengan maksud agar bayi yang dikandung akan lahir
dengan mudah dan selamat sehingga si anak akan mendapat
kebahagiaan hidup dikemudian hari. (Bratawidjaja,
1996: 11).
TL: In a Javanese community, based
on traditions, a pregnant woman or wife should be
celebrated with various kinds of selamatan
(traditional fiest?) and rituals. These should
be done so that she can give a birth to a child easily
and safely and the newly-born will get happy life
later.
(3) SL: Upacara siraman dilakukan
pada pagi hari sekitar pukul 09.00. Upacara siraman
dilakukan oleh ibu dari anak yang diruwat dengan air
kembang setaman. Setelah dibersihkan anak itu mengenakan
busana adat Jawa yang secara khusus dibuat. Anak yang
diruwat diajak oleh Ki Dalang serta didampingi oleh
para pisisepuh (neneknya, budenya, dan lain sebagainya)
untuk bersujud di hadapan ayah dan ibunya (Bratawidjaja,
1996: 49)
TL: Siraman (showering?)
ceremony is held in the morning around 09:00 o’clock.
This ritual is led by the mother of the child being
"ruwat" (cleansed?) by showering
him with "kembang setaman" (flower??)
water. After being cleansed, the child is dresed in
Javanese traditional clothes specially designed for
him. The ("ruwat") child is then
guided by Ki Dalang (the puppeteer??)
and accompnied by the elders (the grandmother, aunts,
etc.) to pay a homage to by bowing down to earth in
front of the father and mother.
Reading the texts, we can imagine
that translating the first text is easier than the
second, and the second is easier than the last. The
difficulty is caused by the culturally-bound words
(concepts) found in each text.
Practically, however, the depth of
embededness of a text into its culture is not the
first consideration. The purpose of translating is
the first determinant. If the purpose of translating
text (2) and (3), for example, is to give general
introduction of a certain type of text or culture,
the TL should not carry all the meaning possessed
by the SLT. The words underlined and put in the brackets
will do. In this case there are a lot of possibilities
for the TL.
However, if the purpose is to present
the Javanese culture before the English readership,
the italicized words should be used and accompanied
with a lot of explanation. Supposed the two paragraphs
are parts of a novel, and the translator wants to
keep the local color, only the italicized words should
be used. These different purposes govern the choice
of translation procedures. Yet, if the purpose of
translating text (2) and (3) is to present all
the meaning, beauty, and style contained in it, then,
translation is impossible.
3. Translation Procedures to Translate
Culturally-bound Words or Expressions
From the previous discussion, it is
known that perfect translation of culturally-bound
text is impossible. The translation focusing on the
purpose of the SL text writing is, however, always
possible. This can be proven with the translation
of so many literary works into other languages. One
of them is the translation of Mangunwijaya's Burung-burung
Manyar into English by Thomas M. Hunter. Hariyanto
(1997) surveys both groups of SL and TL readers and
comes up with the result saying that the readers get
the same impressions in terms of the meaning, message
and style.
Based on the result, Hariyanto (1999)
studied further the appropriate procedures used to
translate culturally-bound sentences, words, and expressions
which are embedded in Javanese culture into English
using the same novel translation as a case. The result
shows that to translate culturally-bound words or
expressions, the translator used addition, componential
analysis, cultural equivalent, descriptive equivalent,
literal translation, modulation, recognized translation,
reduction, synonymy, transference, deletion, and
combination. Some, however, are typically appropriate
for certain classification of cultural words. For
detailed description about the translation procedures,
see Newmark (1988) or Hariyanto (1999). The brief
description on the procedures can be seen in Appendix
1.
On the appropriateness of the procedures
to translate culturally-bound words and expressions,
these conclusions are taken.
Recognized translation is
best used to translate institutional terms whose translation
are already recognized, such as TNI, kabupaten,
kecamatan, and Kowilhan. The use of new
translation with whatever procedure will make the
readers may misinterpret, especially if they already
have some degree of knowledge of the source language.
The establishment of this recognized translation by
the Indonesian Language Center or the people themselves
has, of course, undergone a certain process of creation
and acceptance. When something about language has
been accepted, it means it is a convention: that is
the heart of language or vocabulary.
Professions are appropriately translated
with cultural equivalents as they exist in
both Javanese and English cultures. There are some
differences between the two, but they are so minute.
The examples can be seen in the following quotations.
The SL is Indonesian and the TL is English.
SL: Dan Nah, tentu saja tak mau ketinggalan
si gelatik cantik tetapi pencuri-pencuri padi
yang nakal itu, dengan pipinya putih dan picinya biru
hitam. (p. 17)
TL: And not to be left out were the
Java finches. With their white cheeks and their velvet-like
caps of deep blue, they were lovely to look at, but
as rice thieves they were a troublesome bunch.
(p. 27)
The other professions and the translation
found in the novel are the following.
|
The SL words |
The translation |
|
(4/1) babu-babu |
nursemaids |
|
(8/1) sepandri |
privates |
|
(22/4) jongos |
bellhop |
|
(24/1) sepandri atau serdadu
krocuk |
corporals or privates |
|
(36/2) abdi dalem |
maid servants |
|
(85/2) abdi |
servant |
|
(101/2) pencuri- pencuri padi |
rice thieves |
|
(103/2) penjahit |
tailor |
|
(106/1) pemburu angkatan
udara
|
air force fighter |
|
(122/1) tukang kebun |
gardener |
|
(124/1) garong, perampok |
thieves and robbers |
|
(135/5) Pak Lurah |
village chief |
|
(145/2) jongos |
servant |
|
(157/1) carik |
clerk |
|
(157/2) ulu-ulu |
the waterworks overseer |
|
(178/1) Pak Bupati |
the regent |
|
(178/2) bupati penjabat |
acting regent |
|
(191/2) maling |
thief |
Descriptive equivalents are
appropriate to translate culturally-bound words or
expressions that are not found in the English culture
but considered important enough in the text. When
they are not, synonyms will do. See this example.
SL: Langsung ia berbahasa ngoko
kepadanya, seperti kepada jongos (Mangunwijaya, 1989:
106-107)
TL: He rudely ordered Karjo about,
using language that one might use with a servant.
(Mangunwijaya, 1993: 136)
The
example of this case is berbahasa ngoko which
is translated into with language that one might
use with a servant. If this expression was not
considered very important, the synonym with hostile
language could be used.
Literal translation can be
used to translate a Javanese word that refers to a
general meaning such as sinyo Londo, which
is translated into a Dutch boy. This procedure,
however, should not be used to translate proper name.
Expansion is found not very
significant. It means that without it, the translation
was still acceptable. See the following quotation.
SL: Mana Si Karjo. Dikunjungi malah
lari. Mandi barangkali. Atau menggodog teh barangkali
(p. 156)
TL: Where was Karjo? A person comes
to visit and he disappears. May be he was taking a
bath, or boiling water for tea?
In the above example, instead
of translating menggodog teh into boiling
water for tea, the translator actually could translates
it into preparing for tea, which is more idiomatic.
Reduction is found to be
useful to translate traditional address + proper name
constructions as the terms of address are not found
in the TL and an explanation is not possible. The
examples are the translation of Kang Glati
into Glati. See the following excerpt.
SL: Pelpolisi Belanda dan resisir
mantri polisi dengan cepat melacak Si Bajingan dan
Kang Glati masuk bui. (p. 111)
TL: ... the Dutch detectives and constables
had tracked him down and thrown Glati into Jail. (p.
141)
Transference is very useful
to translate tradition title, terms of address, and
proper name. In the context, a reduction of the title
or term of address would naturally distort the meaning
or message. Few of the examples can be seen below:
|
The SL words |
The translation |
|
(37/1) Gusti Nurul |
Gusti Nurul |
|
(43/2) Den Ayu |
Den Ayu |
|
(53/3) Mbok Naya |
Mbok Naya |
|
(57/1) Mbok Ranu |
Mbok Ranu |
|
(119/1) Meener Antana |
Meener Antana |
|
(123/1) Mbok Nem |
Mbok Nem |
Next, modulation can be used
best to handle a word that has no exact equivalent
in the TL and the context demands the translator to
emphasize the economy and smoothness of the sentence
flow. This situation usually happens in a direct quotation
where cultural notes are impossible. In addition,
with this procedure the translator can still recreate
the smooth flow and beauty of the text. The example
is the translation of mbak ayu into you
and kakangmu into I.
SL: Mbakayu itu macam-macam saja usulnya.
(p. 15)
TL: You do come up with some strange
suggestions sometimes," Mbok Ranu commented.
SL: Maka Kakangmu pikir: ah, tidak
baik membebani orang dengan perkara-perkara yang lebih
memberatkan (p. 160)
TL: So I thought to myself that it
wouldn't be right to do something that might make
even more trouble. (p. 196)
In the following example the translator
also employs modulation and the combination
of modulation and addition. Read it
closely.
SL: Bila mereka berkomentar ayam itu
gemuk dan bertanya apa betul itu ayam Kedu sungguh,
maka petang harinya seorang anak disuruh ayahnya mempersembahkan
ayam itu kepada mereka. Tetapi bagaimana bila mereka
memuji Si Tinem atau Piyah cantik? (p. 109)
TL: Or if one said that a certain
hen looked plump and ready for the pot, that same
evening the owner would order his son or daughter
to offer the chicken to the soldiers. And, because
it hadn't been possible to evacuate all the young
women of the village, what about when the soldiers
began to praise one of the marriage-age girls? (p.
139)
Ayam Kedu in the SLT which
means a type of chicken renown for its tasty meat
is replaced with ready for the pot. One sense
is replaced with another; this is an example of modulation.
In the following sentence, the modulation is
combined with addition. The reason for the
action is added in. Si Tinem or Si Piyah
are general names which are here used to refer to
grown-up single women. The translator replaces them
with the referent marriage-age girls.
Some other modulations are
of different types. See the following example.
SL: Mereka meminta Mbok Rukem, janda
nakal yang biasanya mereka gerutui untuk menampung
lahar birahi tentara itu. (p. 109)
TL: They went to Mbok Rukem, a divorcee
whose rumored or real dalliances had so often been
the target of their complaints, and asked her assistance
in soothing the soldiers' passion. (p. 139)
In the example above, the phrase mereka
gerutui is an action, a cause. In the translation
the translator gives the effect, the consequence of
the action, i.e. the target of their complaints.
This is also a modulation.
Finally, there are some culturally-bound
words deleted or dropped during the translation process.
The translator seems to take this strategy if the
word's meaning is not found in the TL culture and
the importance is minor. Anyhow, he should try to
transfer to meaning or message, especially if it is
not merely terms of address. Such words or expressions
that have been deleted are:
The SL words
(160/4) ngono ya ngono, ning aja ngono
(168/3) lamat-lamat
(179/1) kepangrehannya
(213/1) basa-basi
(213/2) jiwa raga
(223/4) akal trenggiling
(235/1) berambut ijuk
(236/2) bermata bandeng
4. Conclusions
Finally, it can be concluded that
theoretically a text which is embedded in its culture
is both possible and impossible to translate into
other languages. If practicality is considered first,
however, every translation is possible. The degree
of its closeness to its source culture and the extent
to which the meaning of its source text to be retained
is very much determined by the purpose of the translation.
To close, it is suggested that in the translator considered
the procedures explained above to translate culturally-bound
words or expressions.
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APPENDIX 1
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
TRANSLATION PROCEDURES
TO TRANSLATE CULTURALLY-BOUND
WORDS OR PHRASES
Translation procedures defined below
do not have a clear-cut division from one another.
A particular procedure may contain in some degrees
the characteristics of other procedures. The procedure
is named based on its dominant characteristics. When
more than one procedures, through their characteristics,
equally dominate the translation of a word or expression,
the procedure is called combination procedure.
1. Transference
-The SL word is brought into the target
language text (TLT).
2. Naturalization
-The SL word is brought
into the TLT and the writing is adjusted to the TLT
writing system.
3. Using cultural equivalent
-The SL word is replaced with the
TL cultural word.
4. Using synonym
-The SL word is translated into neutral
TL word.
5. Using descriptive equivalent
The translator explains
the description and/or function of the idea embodied
in the SL word. Usually it results in long wording.
6. Using recognized translation
The SL word is replaced
with previously recognized translation of the SL word
in the TL.
7. Using componential analysis
SL word is replaced
with a more general TL word plus one or more TL sense
components to complete the meaning which is not embodied
within the first TL word. At a glance it is like descriptive
equivalent, but much shorter and does not involve
the function of the idea of the SL word.
8. Reduction
SL word or phrase,
as a translation unit, is replaced with a TL word
or phrase which does not embrace part of the SL word
meaning.
9. Expansion
Sl word or phrase
as a translation unit, is replaced with a TL word
or phrase which covers the SL word meaning plus something
else.
10. Addition and note
An addition or note is added after
the translation of the TL word or phrase. This addition
is clearly not a part of the translation.
11. Deletion
SL word or phrase, as a translation
unit, is dropped in the TLT.
12. Modulation
The SL word or phrase, as a translation
unit, is translated into a TL word or phrase; and
this involves change in the point of view.
The translator sees the phrase from
different point of view, perspective or very often
category of thought in translating it.
The general types:
(a) abstract for concrete
(‘sleep in the open’ for ‘tidur beratap
langit’)
(b) cause for effect (‘you are
a stranger’ for ‘saya tak mengenal Anda’)
(c) one part for another (‘from
cover to cover’ for ‘dari halaman pertama sampai
halaman terakhir’)
(d) reversal of term (the French ‘assurance-maladie’
for English ‘health insurance’).
13. Literal translation
If a SL word or phrase, as
a translation unit, is translated into a TL word or
phrase, without breaking the TL syntactic rules.
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