Terms and Processes in Translation Between Indonesian and English
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The University of New South Wales Department of Chinese and Indonesian Studies Terms and Processes in Translation between Indonesian and English Richard K. Johnson A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2006 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the inspiration and help from my supervisor, Dr. Rochayah machali, from the very beginning of the work in 1997. In approaching translation, from the mid 1960s I have been indebted to the late Mr. H.W. Emanuels, lecturer in Indonesian, and the late Professor A.R. Davis, who taught me Chinese translation. 2 Synopsis This thesis aims to examine particular problems that the Indonesian language poses for translators, whether translating from Indonesian to English or English to Indonesian. The notation Indonesian~English translation substitutes the swung dash ~ substitutes for the hyphen -. This notation is used in this thesis to indicate translation either from Indonesian to English or from English to Indonesian. It is a convenient way to make it clear when translation is in both directions. A multifaceted approach to translation will enable translation to be viewed in much the same way as the kinds of demands it places on the translator, who needs constantly to be aware of author~reader, source~target culture, syntax, semantics, semiotics, even geography and even politics. The use of metaphor and illustrations to describe the theoretical processes of translation is justified in the same way that imagery is justified in literature. To go a step further, it is important to see through the artificial distinction often made between interpretation and translation, so that translation acquires flexibility and a deeper ethical structure. A symbolic approach may be used by the translator., involving the perception of modules within text, identified with symbols, that can facilitate the process of translation. With Indonesian, the influx of foreign words occurred in three identifiable stages, Sanskrit, Arabic and Dutch/English. In relation to Indonesian~ English translation, the levels of Javanese and the co-existing presence of the Jakarta dialect may be compared to English vocabulary levels, for example Anglo- Saxon versus Latinate forms. This means an awareness of the existence of layers on the part of the translator. It does not imply a match between the layers in each language, philological layers between English and Indonesian, or strict equivalence between one set of borrowings in English and one in Indonesian. The hypothesis put forward is that there are advantages for the translator in being aware of waves of foreign and regional input that are part of the history of Indonesian as well as English, and that there is potential for creative utilisation of the resources of the two languages. Although a match between the layers in each language or strict equivalence between one set of 3 borrowings in English and one in Indonesianis not implied, it is useful to recognise word origins where this may impact on the appropriate translation. Examination of the corpus presented in this thesis has shown that the history of Indonesian words can readily affect their meaning, while the history of English words may affect the choice of terms/. Nevertheless it has proved difficult to demonstrate any particular effect of the history or layer of meaning on the choice of terminology in translation. It seems that once the Indonesian term has been understood, the translation that will emerge will not particularly be bound by reference to the history of English terminology. The hypothesis then may be reduced to an observation that the derivation of Indonesian terms, like that of English terms, is important in fully understanding the scope of meaning of the terms. The other hypothesis in this thesis is that texts or terms can be viewed as a root system containing various nodes content that the translator can respond to and wrap into the translated version, with the form of the target text possibly differing from that of the source text. The process of translation can be compared to a process of unpackaging various semantic and other elements in a unit to be translated and repackaging them for the target version. The undbundling~rebundling hypothesis is in the end a very practical matter. It aims to enlarge the discretion of the translator to carry over content with judicious changes in form. It is fair to summarise examination of the corpus by concluding that evidence of the need for unbundling~rebundling has not been convincingly presented in this thesis. It is also fair to say that in general the English translation has followed the order of the Indonesian original quite closely, and this means that a process of unbundling~rebundling is often unlikely to be necessary. Nevertheless the validity of the unbundling~rebundling approach remains, and if a text requires this kind of analysis there is ample justification for its use. 4 Contents Chapter One Introduction 1.1 Aim of the Thesis 8 1.2 Communication Models 9 1.3 The Translation Process 13 1.4 Indonesian~English Translation 20 Chapter Two Literature Review 2.1 Purpose of the Literature Review 25 2.2 Translation Method and the Practice of Translation 25 2.3 First and Second Language Translation 39 2.4 Concepts and Translation 31 2.5 Culture and Translation 38 2.6 Social Aspects 39 2.7 Conflicts in Language Use 47 2.8 Textual Issues 53 2.9 Symbolic Treatment 56 2.10 Language as Art 75 Chapter Three Hypothetical Framework 3.1 Propositions 84 3.2 Hypotheses 86 3.3 Layering 86 5 Chapter Four Methodology 4.1 General Approaches 88 4.2 Methods of Research and Analysis 90 4.3 Ethnographic Methodology 95 4.4 Explanation and Prediction of Translation Processes 96 4.5 Characteristics of English 97 4.6 English as Metalanguage 101 4.7 Characteristics of Indonesian 103 4.8 Semantic and Pragmatic Frames 107 4.9 Culture and Translation 118 4.10 Translation and the Creation of Myth 124 4.11 Translation Style 126 4.12 Selection of Texts 135 129 Chapter Five Case Examples 5.1 Beyond Word Equivalents and Basic Grammar 131 5.2 Options in Indonesian News Reports 136 5.3 Translation of Material on Islamic and Political Issues 142 5.4 Defining Unlisted Terms 159 5.5 Style 162 5.6 The Social Role of Rhetoric 163 5.7 Abbreviations and Acronyms 164 5.8 Translations of Indonesian Documents 171 5.9 Translation from English 179 5.10 Opaque Indonesian Text 180 5.11 Humour 183 6 Chapter Six The Potential Impact of Translated Items 6.1 Religious and Political Issues 187 6.2 Rules of Rhetoric 189 6.3 Affixes 192 6.4 Translation of Formal Phrases 201 6.5 Poetry 203 6.6 Translation of English Fiction 215 6.7 Indonesian Writing in English 218 6.8 Pramoedya Ananta Toer 222 6.9 Unbundling and Rebundling 228 6.10 Layering 231 Chapter Seven Analysis 7.1 Dimensions of Vocabulary 240 7.2 Undbundling-Rebundling 243 7.3 Symbols, Concepts and Intuitive Factors 248 7.4 The Transeme 250 7.5 Philological Layering and Linguistic Interfaces 262 7.6 The Background of English 266 7.7 Differences Between Indonesian and English 269 7.8 Influences on the Translation Process 270 7.9 Symbols and Culture 272 Chapter Eight Conclusion 8.1 The Layering Hypothesis 284 8.2 The Level of Indonesian~English Translation 287 8.3 Literal Translation and Interpretive Translation 289 8.4 Drafting the Translation 291 8.5 Unbundling~Rebundling 302 8.6 Issues for Indonesian~English Translation 303 Bibliography 309 7 Figures Figure 1.1 Schramm’s Communication Model 9 Figure 1.2 A Translation Model 11 Figure 1.3 An Overview of the Translation Process 13 Figure 1.4 The Actual Process of Translation 15 Figure 2.1 Depth of Field 108 Figure 2.3 Fractal Images 111 Figure 2.4 Gunungan 115 46gure 7.1 Bundled Sticks 246 Figure 7.2 Symbols, Concepts and Intutive Factors 249 Figure 7.3 Transeme Root System 251 Figure 7.4 Identification of Relevant Meaning 252 Figure 7.5 Nodes of Elements in a Root System 253 Figure 7.6 Root Systems 253 Figure 7.7 Differing Root Systems and Foliage 254 Figure 7.8 Nodes of Various Kinds 281 Figure 8.1 Analogies of Translation Processes 305 8 Chapter One Introduction 1.1 Aim of the Thesis This thesis aims to examine particular problems that the Indonesian language poses for translators, whether translating from Indonesian to English or English to Indonesian. The notation Indonesian~English translation substitutes the swung dash ~ substitutes for the hyphen -. This notation is used in this thesis to indicate translation either from Indonesian to English or from English to Indonesian. It is a convenient way to make it clear when translation is in both directions. Apart from an introductory study of classic translation difficulties in Indonesian, the approach uses contemporary materials where there is considerable contact between the two languages and where new concepts and terminology often emerge. Indonesian magazines and newspapers, and the Internet, are key sources. Some Indonesian poetry is examined as a genre that tests the limits of translation. The thesis puts forward a framework for understanding key elements in translation between Indonesian and English, and for diagnosing errors in translation and misunderstandings of cultural events between the Indonesian and Western culture. The unbundling~rebundling hypothesis developed here provides a picture of the workings of the translator’s mind during translation that give a translator confidence in personal ability to undertake translation effectively. The thesis, focusing on concepts and structure in translation between Indonesian and English, also aims to examine problems faced by translators generally.