Untranslatability
Presented by:
Achmad Rival Azura 33200120
Derryan Syachputra 33200084
Gwen Harmony Situmorang 33200130
Prana Pamungkas 33200114
Shahnas Aulia 33200113
Windiyani 33200057
Unable to be
UNTRANSLATABLE
translated
Untranslatability is a property of a text, or of any
utterance, in one language, for which no equivalent
text or utterance can be found in another language
when translated.
Catford divided
untranslatability into two
categories namely:
1. Linguistic untranslatability
2. Cultural untranslatability
Linguistic Untranslatability
This kind of untranslatability is caused by
linguistic factors. Catford (in Bassnet, 1991:32)
states: “On the linguistic level,
untranslatability occurs when there is no
lexical or syntactical substitute in the Target
Language from a Source Language item"
For example: Snakes and Snaps.
Both words have the same additions of suffix –s. But –s in the word snakes function as plural mark, while in
word snaps, -s function as the mark of the third singular person.
Cultural untranslatability
This kind of untranslatability can not be said to be less frequent to
occur compared to that of linguistic one, since the things dealing
with culture is very wide in range. Eating habit, dressing, custom,
language, ceremonies, cultural events, even painting, sculptures,
building and many others are regarded as the products of culture.
An example in phrase: Home Sweet Home
This phrase cannot be translated easily into
Bahasa Indonesia by finding the equivalence of
the word home
Problems of
untranslatability
According to Nida (1975: 68-77) there are some factors that cause the problems of
untranslatability, namely:
1. Ecological problem arises because there are differences of
living things, season and nature objects between one place
and others (Nida, 1975: 68-69)
Pancuran (Indonesia)
For example: Shower (English)
Continue..
Problems of
untranslatability
2. Social Culture Problem
Social culture covers anything dealing with the life of a
society. Each society has different cultural background. This
background is also reflected through their use of language.
Kebogiro (Indonesia)
For example: Wedding song (English)
3. Material Culture Problem
The problem of material culture correlates to the differences
of material in each place. The material difference deals with
human-made things like foods, building and cloths.
For example: Rice
Continue..
Problems of
untranslatability
4. Religious Culture Problem
An untranslatability problem will occur when the text
contains religious terms of a religion that is not familiar
for people of the target language.
For example: Lebaran
How to solve the problem of
untranslatability
According to Soemarno Setiyaningsih (2002:40),
In solving the problem of untranslatability,
namely:
Translating the definition,
Changing the similar words in
TL linguistic culture,
Taking the words and adding
a footnote.
Besides, in solving the difficulty of translation, a
translator should do the following steps:
Giving an italic printing on
specific terms,
Giving annotation or writing
the terms in TL spelling,
Giving explanation
(descriptive phrase).
Thank You..