an analysis of swearing word translations in the transformers 3 movie

AN ANALYSIS OF SWEARING WORD TRANSLATIONS
IN THE TRANSFORMERS 3 MOVIE
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirement for Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Yustian Doddy Kurniawan
112008006
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
AN ANALYSIS OF SWEARING WORD TRANSLATIONS
IN THE TRANSFORMERS 3 MOVIE
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirement for Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Yustian Doddy Kurniawan
112008006
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
ii
AN ANALYSIS OF SWEARING WORD TRANSLATIONS
IN THE TRANSFORMERS 3 MOVIE
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirement for Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Yustian Doddy Kurniawan
112008006
Approved by:
Maria Christina Eko S., M. Hum.
Christian Rudianto, M. Appling.
Supervisor
Examiner
iii
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or
accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my
knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any other
person except where due reference is made in the text.
Copyright@ 2013. Yustian Doddy Kurniawan and Maria Christina Eko S., M. Hum.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the
permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English Department, Faculty of
Language and Literature. Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga.
Yustian Doddy Kurniawan
iv
PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION
As a member of the (SWCU) Satya Wacana Christian University academic community, I verify that:
Name
Student ID Number
Study Program
Faculty
Kind of Work
: Yustian Doddy Kurniawan
: 112008006
: English Education
: Faculty of Language and Literature
: Undergraduate Thesis
In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide SWCU with a non-exclusive royalty free right for my
intellectual property and the contents therein entitled:
An Analysis of Swearing Word Translations in the Transformers 3 Movie
along with any pertinent equipment.
With this non-royalty free right, SWCU maintains the right to copy, reproduce, print, publish, post,
display, incorporate, store in or scan into a retrieval system or database, transmit, broadcast, barter or sell
my intellectual property, in whole or in part without my express written permission, as long as my name
is still included as the writer.
This declaration is made according to the best of my knowledge.
Made in
Date
: Salatiga
: ____________
Verified by signee
Yustian Doddy Kurniawan
Approved by:
Thesis Supervisor
Thesis Examiner
Maria Christina Eko S., M. Hum.
Christian Rudianto, M. Appling.
v
AN ANALYSIS OF SWEARING WORD TRANSLATIONS
IN THE TRANSFORMERS 3 MOVIE
Yustian Doddy Kurniawan
Abstract
This study discussed about the analysis of the translation of swearing word
in the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie from English to Indonesia. This
study was aimed to answer these research questions, “What are the swearing
words found in the English to Indonesian subtitle of the Transformers 3 Dark of
the Moon movie?” The second one is “What are the types of translation
procedures that translator used to translate swearing word in Transformers 3 Dark
of the Moon movie?” In attempting to answer the research questions, the study
used qualitative method. The research data were obtained from the English to
Indonesian subtitle of the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie. The result of
the study revealed that there are 53 swearing words that were found in the movie.
The study also revealed from 15 types of translation procedure proposed by
Newmark (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007) there are only 7 types of translation
procedure that were used by translator in translating the swearing words found in
the movie. This finding is also supported by the idea from Jensen (2009).
Key words: Translation, swearing word, translation procedure
Introduction
The phenomenon that the movie theater is never quiet shows that watching movie is an
important part in this life. It seems that watching movies is one of the most preferred activities of
adults, young people, children even parents like to watch movie in television or at cinema.
Watching movies become more popular activities supported by the development of technology
and multimedia in the movie theater or cinema. There are many kinds of movies which are
produced each month in the film industry all over the world, for example, action movie,
adventure, documentary, science-fiction, fantasy, thriller, and so on. The result of the research
that was done by Bernschutz (2010) shows the most popular program which is recommended to
be translated is cinema movie. It is also proven from the high demands from television or cinema
house which keep searching for good translator to translate their subtitle.
1
On the other hand, the use of swearing words in movies from time to time is increasing.
The writer assumed that it because of the changing of the culture that cannot be avoided. The
freedom to express the feeling is one of the changes in the culture that emerged recently. This
has caused the use of swearing words are increasing especially in the western culture. Nowadays,
many movies often use swearing word into their dialogue to give emphasizes in order to make
the conversation more interesting, for instance: “She is so damn beautiful”. The use of “damn”
word is to give emphasis on the woman who is very beautiful. This is proven by the statement
from Harvey (2011) that swearing word can emphasize a point of discussion. As time goes by,
the varieties of swearing word that exist in movies are increasing too. There are so many types of
translation procedure used by the translator in translation. Therefore, this study tried to discover
deeply the types of translation procedure used by translator in translating swearing words.
The study that was done by Setiawan (2010), Cipto (2006), Windardeni (2010), and
Kusumayani (2010) shows that the use of swearing word is now more frequently used in the
movies. They also mentioned that there are many problems in defining the meaning of swearing
word in target language. Because of many problems that came from the translation of swearing
word, the writer also use the previous study that aimed at contributing to the effort to figure out
the types of translation procedure as reference to write the study. The previous studies that the
writer has mentioned before functioned as a benchmark for the writer in discovers the translation
of swearing word from English into Indonesian and figure out the types of translation procedure
used by the translator in translating the swearing words from English into Indonesian. The
differences are from the sources and the data of the study which writer used. Therefore, those
things can prove the originality of the study and can probably prove that the study is also worth
doing.
2
The research questions that the writer tries to answer are “what are the swearing words
found in the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie?” and “what are the procedures that
translator used to translate the swearing word in the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie?”.
Those two questions are the main ideas of this study. The study is aimed to discover the swearing
word in the English to Indonesian subtitle of the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie and to
describe the types of translation procedures that translator used to translate swearing word in
Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie.
The study has several purposes to be achieved. First, hopefully the study would give
contribution in translation studies especially in English Department course that is Film
Translation (Subtitling). Second, the finding of the study could enrich the theory of the types of
translation procedure used by the translator in translating swearing words from English to
Indonesian. Third, the result of the study can be useful as it can be additional information for
teacher, especially in translation of swearing words about the types of translation procedure that
most translators used. The last, the result of the study can help the students improve their ability
in translating swearing word based on the types of translation procedure for the professional
translator.
Theoretical Framework
When people are watching movies, usually they are relying on the subtitle that the
movies have; either its English subtitle or Indonesian subtitle. According to Arbogast in Ali
(2011) subtitle is the written translation of film dialogues appearing synchronously with the
corresponding dialogues produced on the screen. The writer can conclude that subtitle is a text
that usually appears in the bottom of the screen and usually the translation can be from native or
3
foreign language. Without subtitle, we must have difficulties to understand the story when we are
watching movies from foreign country. It takes more times for us to understand the movie if
there is no subtitle. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that visual image could speak too and
deliver the information as same as language because usually we can communicate only with the
gestures or body movement. Geduld in Cronin (2009) states that picture which moves is a
universal language. Therefore, it is possible if we could understand the movies from the pictures
only but the weakness is it takes more time. He also stated that translation become visible
recently. In the movies, there are absolutely a lot of lines of dialog between the actors from the
beginning until the end of the movies. From the dialog we can understand what the story is
about, because the actors have to communicate each other using a certain language to make a
conversation. As we know, the language can be used to express and show their feeling. We can
hear from the sound and read from the subtitle a lot of expressions that the actors did. The
examples are the kinds of expression of anger, happiness, loneliness, sadness, etc. Of course in
expressing their feelings, there are a lot of ways to do it; one of them is using swearing word.
Hill (2004) argues that swearing word is a way of speaking that some people use to
express their feeling of anger, annoyance, and frustration or when they want to hurt someone
else’s feelings. The same idea is proposed by Adam & Richard (2002). They state that swearing
word as the unacceptable and rude words of language; they include the strongest and most
offensive words. Usually swearing word is word that show of disrespect, a desecration or
debasement of someone or something, or just the act of expressing intense emotions. Spinney
(2007) as the Harvard Psychologist also states that swearing recruits our expressive faculties to
the fullest. Sanders (2009) also argues that swearing word is unique because they have the link
between the language system and the emotional system. The writer can summarize from those
4
explanations about the meaning of swearing word that swearing word is a word that is uttered to
express their feeling of anger, frustration, etc; or sometimes to mock others with rude words or
just an act to express the emotions.
Bell (1991) explained that translation is the replacement of a representation of a text in
one language by a representation of an equivalent text in a second language. This statement is
also clearly proved by Newmark in his book titled Approaches to Translation (Newmark in
Ordudari, 2007) which has a similar meaning with Bell (1991). Similarly, Venuti (2008) reveals
that translation is a process by which the chain of signifiers that constitute the foreign text is
replaced by a chain of signifiers in the translating language which the translator provides on the
strength of an interpretation. In other word, translation is about the replacement of the foreign
text into the target language text which contains with the translator’s interpretations.
The study used some type of translation procedures that Newmark in Ordudari (2007)
proposes at that time. The following procedures that Newmark proposes are transference,
naturalization, cultural equivalent, functional equivalent, descriptive equivalent, componential
analysis, synonymy, through-translation, shifts or transpositions, modulation, recognized
translation, compensation, paraphrase, couplets, and the last one is notes.
Here is the detailed explanation about the types of translation procedure proposed by
Newmark. The first type of translation procedure is transference. Newmark revealed that
transference is the process of transferring an SL (source language) word to a TL (target
language) text and it includes transliteration. It is the same as what Harvey (2000:5) named
transcription. In other word, transference is transferal of a word or expression from SL directly
into TL without translating it at all (Jensen, 2009). As it is mentioned previously, it is clear that
the translator does not have to translate SL word into SL word. According to Jensen (2009)
5
people’s names and name of the places are usually transferred, for instance Justin Timberlake
and White House.
The second type of translation procedure which is proposed by Newmark is
naturalization. He revealed that naturalization adapts the SL word first to the normal
pronunciation, then to the normal morphology of the TL (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007).
According to Jensen (2009), naturalization is basically tranference in which you apply TL
spelling and morphology (and pronunciation) to the expression or word in question. The writer
argued that it is almost the same as transference but we have to adjust it with TL spelling,
morphology and pronunciation. Jensen (2009) also added that this translation procedure could be
found in the name of the concepts in the humanistic science such as “ism” words, for example
the word individualism.
Newmark also gave description for the next type of translation procedure which is called
cultural equivalent. He revealed that cultural equivalent means replacing a cultural word in the
SL with a TL one. However, "they are not accurate" (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The writer
assumed that cultural equivalent is like shifting words with the equivalent once which is adapted
to the culture in the target language, although the equivalent is quite different but it still conveys
the same meaning. The writer’s idea is in line with Jensen (2009) idea that translating a
culturally rooted word in the SL with a roughly equivalent culturally rooted word of the TL can
be called as cultural equivalent, for instance the word purchase translated into mengeluarkan
uang untuk membayar instead of membeli.
The fourth type of translation procedure that is proposed by Newmark is functional
equivalent. Newmark revealed that functional equivalent requires the use of a culture-neutral
word. (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). Jensen (2009) adds that functional equivalent is translating
6
a word which has the same meaning or a longer phrase expressing the same concept. According
to the previous explanation, the writer assumed that this type of translation procedure obligates
the translator to find equivalent word in the target language which expresses the same concept,
for example the word driving license could be translated into surat izin mengemudi.
Next, Newmark revealed that the meaning of the CBT is explained in several words
could be classified in descriptive equivalent (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The writer argued
that descriptive equivalent is a type of translation procedure that translating a second language
word in several target language words. The idea is in line with Jensen (2009) idea that translating
a SL word using a description of the concept it refers to in the TL word could be called as
descriptive equivalent, for instance the word E-commerce could be translated into transaksi jual
beli barang dan jasa melalui internet.
The sixth type of translation procedure proposed by Newmark is componential analysis.
The comparison between an SL word and a TL word which has a similar meaning, but it is not
an obvious one-to-one equivalent, by demonstrating first their common and then their differing
sense components can be called componential analysis (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). According
to Jensen (2009), componential analysis means splitting up a lexical unit into meaning atoms and
perhaps analyzing those rather than the unit itself. Moreover, this procedure usually came up
with semantic features which analyze the structure of the meaning of each word. In other word,
one word can have more than 1 meaning depends on the most common word that usually used in
the target language. It also depends on the each cultural context, for example the word woman, it
has componential analysis such as lady, wife, female, and feminine. Those componential analysis
could represent the translation for woman or in Bahasa we tranlated it as wanita.
7
The following type of translation procedure that is proposed by Newmark is synonymy.
Synonymy is a near TL equivalent (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The writer assumed that this
type of translation procedure is to find another meaning in TL word to be as similar as possible
with the SL word. The writer’s idea is in line with Jensen (2009) idea that synonymy is
translating a SL word with a target language expression that is nearly, but not completely,
functionally equivalent, for instance the word amazed can be translated into Indonesian as
kagum, takjub or heran.
The eighth type of translation procedure is through-translation. Through-translation is
the literal translation of common collocations, names of organizations and components of
compounds. It can also be called calque or loan translation (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007).
Moreover, it is reinforces with the argument from Jensen (2009) that through-translation means
literal translation of collocation and combination. The writer can conclude that it is a procedure
that has literal translation such as collocation, name of organization, combination two words into
one word, and component of compounds, for example the writer chose from organization name
World Wildlife Fund.
The next type of translation procedure which proposed by Newmark is shift or
transposition. Here is the detail description of it.
Shifts or transpositions: it involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL, for instance, (i)
change from singular to plural, (ii) the change required when a specific SL structure does not
exist in the TL, (iii) change of an SL verb to a TL word, change of an SL noun group to a TL
noun and so forth. (Newmark, 1988b:86).
According to the previous description, the writer drew a conclusion that shift or transposition is
a procedure which changes the grammatical without losing the meaning. The examples of
grammatical changing are the changing from singular to plural, noun group to noun, verb to noun
and many more. The writer’s idea is in line with Jensen (2009) idea that translation of a SL word
8
into TL word which involves change in grammatical structure, such that a specific target
language structure is used could be called as shift or transposition, for instance the phrase damn
beautiful could be translated as cantik sekali. The previous example showed that the grammatical
SL structure is changed when it was translated into TL word.
The tenth type of translation procedure is modulation. Modulation occurs when the
translator reproduces the message of the original text in the TL text in conformity with the
current norms of the TL, since the SL and the TL may appear dissimilar in terms of perspective
(Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). In other word, modulation means change of viewpoint or
substantial conceptual concept in the translation, for instance, using the name of a category for a
specific member of category, using a part for the whole (and vice versa), active for passive etc
(Jensen, 2009). The writer concluded that this type of translation procedure allows the translator
to bring their own concept based on the culture of TL to change the point of view when it’s
translated but still convey the same idea with SL word, for example the phrase he’s always late
can be translated as dia tidak pernah tepat waktu or in English it changed into he’s never be on
time.
The following type of translation procedure proposed by Newmark is recognized
translation. It occurs when the translator normally uses the official or the generally accepted
translation of any institutional term (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). Jensen (2009) also adds that
recognized translation means using a well-known accepted target language translation for a
specific source language institutional term. According to the description previously, the writer
argued that this type of translation procedure usually occurs when translator uses general
translation that exists in TL culture for SL institutional terms, for example the word Interpol
Headquarter which translated into kantor polisi pusat.
9
The twelfth type of translation procedure is compensation. Compensation occurs when
loss of meaning in one part of a sentence is compensated in another part (Newmark in Ordudari,
2007). According to the previous description, the writer argued that compensation happens when
the SL word cannot be translated and the meaning that lost is stated in another part of the text.
The writer’s idea is reinforced by Jensen (2009) idea that compensation means making up for the
loss something in the source text, by adding something else in the target text, for instance he
becomes a road captain in his motorcycle’s club. He leads and coordinates the motorbikes when
run on the road. According to the example previously, the words road captain in the first
sentence described in another part of the text.
The thirteenth type of translation procedure proposed by Newmark is paraphrase. In this
type of translation procedure the meaning of the CBT is explained. Here the explanation is much
more detailed than descriptive equivalent (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). According to the
explanation previously, the writer assumed that paraphrased is a restatement using other words
from the original text. Jensen (2009) reveals that paraphrase is amplification or explanation of
meaning in target text, for example the phrase his pulse is suddenly gone can be translated into
dia sudah mati.
The following type of translation procedure is couplets. It occurs when the translator
combines two different procedures (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). In other word, the translator
might use two or more translation procedures to translate into TL word. Couplet can be found
easily in poetry, for instance the poetry from Shel Silverstein entitled Sick, You say today is...
Saturday? G’bye, I’m going out to play! According to the example previously, the writer has to
translate the meaning of the phrase using 2 translation procedures. The first one was modulation
and functional equivalent.
10
The last type of translation procedure proposed by Newmark is notes. He revealed that
notes are additional information in a translation. (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). According to the
explanation, the writer assumed that notes are additional information that the translator wants to
add for the translation. Various form for notes are (1) within the text; (2) as footnotes; (3) as
endnotes; and (4) notes or glossary at the end of the book (Farghal and Shunnaq, 1999), for
example Karimunjawa (the island in Java sea, located near Jepara, Central Java).
The Study
Research Methodology
The setting of this study is a Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie. Transformers 3
Dark of the Moon movie is the most popular science-fiction movie in the end of 2011. Many
people in this world especially in Indonesia wanted to see Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon
movie at the movie theater at that time. The long lines of people saw in the famous movie theater
all over Indonesia. The writer also experienced in this phenomenon when the writer followed the
long queues in the movie theater. The reason for selecting this movie is the use of swearing
words which appears quite a lot in the dialogue. The use of swearing words usually appears in
the uptight circumstances, for example when there is a war scene. Another reason is because the
Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie is an action movie which interested people who were
watching on this movie. The outstanding places of background that they used to take the scene
also amazed viewers who were watching Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie.
The research data of the study is the printed text of the English and Indonesian subtitle of
the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie. The research data has to fulfill the criteria that the
subtitle must have swearing word and must have the translation from English to Indonesia.
11
Therefore, the writer can analyze and figure out the types of the translation procedure that are
used by translator in translating swearing words in the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie.
In attempting to answer the research questions, the study used Qualitative method which
is to discover the swearing word translations found in the printed text of the Transformers 3
Dark of the Moon movie and to describe the types of translation procedure used by translator in
translating swearing words in the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie. This methodology is
the appropriate methodology for the study because the study tried to explore issues and
understanding phenomena that exist nowadays.
Here are the steps of the data collection. First, the writer searched the subtitle of
Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie both in English and Indonesia. Second, the writer read
the translation of English and Indonesian subtitle of the movie after the writer found it. Next, the
writer made a list of swearing word that was found in the translation from English subtitle of the
Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie. After that, the writer found out the Indonesian
translation of swearing words that were found previously in the subtitle of Transformers 3 Dark
of the Moon movie and then made a list of it.
The analysis was done through several steps. First, the writer made a list of English and
Indonesian translation of swearing words that were found in the subtitle of Transformers 3 Dark
of the Moon movie. After that, the writer classified each of the data one by one from the theory
about the types of translation procedure proposed by Newmark. The last procedure, the writer
gave brief explanation of each types of translation procedure that were used by translator in
translating swearing words and then gave 2 or 3 examples of swearing that found in the subtitle
of the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie.
12
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
The writer found 53 swearing word translations in the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon
movie. As far as the writer analyzed, there are swearing word translations that came up
repeatedly. In this case, the writer wrote it once in the list because the translations are the same.
The writer also found that there were swearing word translations which came up more than twice
but they conveyed different meaning. In addition, the writer also found that there were some
swearing word translations which had no translation in the target language. The list of 53
swearing word translations that were found in the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie can
be seen in the table 1.
The study also revealed that from 15 types of translation procedure proposed by
Newmark in Ordudari (2007) there are only 7 types of translation procedure which translator
used in translating swearing words. Here are the 7 types of translation procedure which are used
by translator.
Cultural Equivalent
The study revealed that there are 6 swearing word translations which belong to cultural
equivalent. Those swearing word translations are in line with the theory about the type of
translation procedure proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007). Newmark revealed that cultural
equivalent replaces a cultural word in the SL with a TL one. The writer can conclude based on
the theory that this type of translation procedure allowed translator to shift the words with the
equivalent TL culture words although the equivalent is quite different but it still conveyed the
same meaning. In other words, the translation of the 6 swearing words found in the Transformers
3 Dark of the Moon movie reflected typical words in Indonesian culture which does not exist in
other countries.
13
Table. 1 Swearing words found in the movie
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
English
Fuck
Gross
Fricking
Creepy
Shit (1)
Hauled ass
Sucks (1)
Sucks (2)
Piece of shit
Hell
WTF
Life-sucking
Suck up
Dumbass
Shit
Up my ass
Hoochie
Kick your ass
Shit (2)
Up in my shit
Gaylord
Bitch (1)
Smartass
A-hole
Fucking Awesome
Bitching robot
Rich bastard
Suck (3)
Punk
Killer shit
Heck
Assholes (1)
Wanker
What the hell
My ass
Damn
Assholes (2)
Such a dick
Damn thing
A hell of a time
Scary-ass
Kicking ass
Moving your ass
Holy shit
On your ass
Fat ass
Good shit
Bullshit
Scum
Sucked me in
Looking for your ass
Wack
Bitch (2)
Indonesian
Hebat
Menyebalkan
Aneh
Sial
Istirahat
Menyebalkan
Rongsokan
Terserah apa itu
Dalam
Menjilat
Bodoh
Menyelidiki
Kutendang kau
Ini
Mengincarku
Homo
Jalang
Sok pintar
Sial
Sangat keren
Robot yang luar biasa
Kaya sekali
Payah
Hancur
Hal hebat
Kurang ajar
Apa
Aku
Brengsek
Brengsek
Pesawat itu
Banyak waktu
Menakutkan
Cepat bergerak
Sial
Mengejar
Benda bagus
Omong kosong
Rendah
Dia menghisapku
Mencarimu
Menyedihkan
Bawahan
14
Here are some examples of the data:
(1) SL words: piece of shit translated into TL word: rongsokan
The first data showed that the translator used equivalent word in Bahasa to translate the
swearing word. The writer assumed that the translator preferred to use the equivalent word
rongsokan instead of barang bekas because the equivalent word is more culturally rooted word
in Indonesia. In other word, rongsokan can reflect the typical word in Indonesian. This is proved
by Jensen’s (2009) idea that cultural equivalent is translating a culturally rooted word of SL with
the roughly equivalent culturally rooted word in TL. In other word, as the writer mentioned
previously that this type of translation procedure is like shifting the words with the equivalent TL
culture words although the equivalent is quite different but it still conveyed the same meaning.
(2) SL words: fucking awesome translated into TL words: sangat keren
The second data also showed that the translator used equivalent word in Bahasa to
translate the swearing word. The writer argued that the translator decided to use the equivalent
word sangat keren because the equivalent word could represent the typical word in Indonesian
culture even more. In other word, keren is a typical word in Indonesian. Therefore, the data is in
line with the theory about the type of translation procedure that is proposed by Newmark in
Ordudari (2007) and reinforced by Jensen’s (2009) idea like the previous explanation.
(3) SL words: such a dick translated into TL word: brengsek
The third data is like the previous example which also belongs to cultural equivalent. The
writer argued that the translator used the equivalent word brengsek to translate the SL word such
a dick because the equivalent word is the culturally rooted word in Indonesia. In other word,
brengsek is included in Indonesian typical word. Therefore, the data is in accordance with the
theory about the type of translation procedure that is proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007)
15
and reinforced by Jensen’s (2009) idea which shift the SL words with the equivalent TL culture
words; although the equivalent is quite different but it still conveyed the same meaning. This can
belong to cultural equivalent.
Functional Equivalent
The analysis showed that there are 12 swearing word translations that belong to
functional equivalent. Those swearing word translations are in accordance with the theory about
the type of translation procedure by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) which revealed that if the
translation requires the use of TL culture-neutral word, it could belong to functional equivalent.
In other word, the translation of the 12 swearing words found in the Transformers 3 Dark of the
Moon movie synchronized with the word which has the same meaning in the TL word and the
translation is more neutral or more commonly used. Here are some examples of the data:
(4) SL word: gross translated into TL word: menyebalkan
The first data revealed that the swearing word translation used equivalent word that was
commonly used in the target language to get the intended meaning. The writer assumed that the
translator used the translation menyebalkan to translate the SL word gross because the translator
adjusts with someone’s attitude that is annoying. The translator used the TL word menyebalkan
that is more neutral and more commonly used in Indonesian culture, especially in normal
conversation based on the context in the movie. Therefore, the data is in line with the theory
about the type of translation procedure by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) that if the translation
requires the use of a culture neutral word, it can belong to functional equivalent.
(5) SL words: hauled ass translated into TL word: istirahat
The following data showed that the use of more neutral or common word in translating
swearing words is also used in this word. The translator wants to describe the situation in the
16
movie that someone needs a break for a while. The translator used the TL word istirahat in
translating hauled ass because the translator wanted to get the intended meaning that expressed
the same concept which in accordance with the situation and the context in the movie (Jensen,
2009). Therefore, the data is in line with the theory proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007)
about the type of translation procedure functional equivalent.
(6) SL words: bitching robot translated into TL words: robot yang luar biasa
The third data showed that the use of more neutral or common word in translating
swearing words also came up in this word. The context of the movie in this part is someone who
amazed with the big robot that he has never seen before. The writer assumed that the translator
preferred to use longer phrase such as robot yang luar biasa in translating SL words bitching
robot because the translator wanted to express the same meaning of the swearing words that is
used to emphasize something (Jensen, 2009). In other word, the data is in accordance with the
theory proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) like the previous data.
(7) SL words: move your ass translated into TL words: cepat bergerak
This swearing word also belongs to functional equivalent like the previous data. The
context of the movie in this part is the commander who gives command to all soldiers to move
faster. So, the translator translated move your ass into cepat bergerak which is in accordance
with the context. Based from the previous explanation, the writer assumed that the translator
decided to use more neutral word in translating move your ass (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007).
The theory reinforced with the Jensen (2009) idea that translating a SL word with functionally
equivalent culture-free TL can belong to functional equivalent, such as the translation for TL
words cepat bergerak.
17
Descriptive Equivalent
The study revealed that there is only one swearing word translation that belongs to
descriptive equivalent. The swearing word translation is in line with the theory about the type of
translation procedure by Newmark in Ordudari (2007). Newmark revealed that in the descriptive
equivalent the translation is explained in several words. In other word, the translation of the
swearing word could be described in several words to reach the intended meaning in the target
language. Here is the swearing word that classified in descriptive equivalent:
(8) SL word: WTF translated into TL words: terserah apa itu
The data showed that the swearing word is formed in the acronym form and the
translation is explained in several TL words which equivalent with the SL word. In other word,
the data is in line with Jensen (2009) idea of translating SL word using description of the concept
it refers to in the TL can belong to descriptive equivalent.
Synonymy
The writer found that there are 3 swearing word translations that belong to synonymy.
The swearing word translations are in accordance with the theory about the type of translation
procedure by Newmark in Ordudari (2007). Newmark proposed that synonymy is a near TL
equivalent word. In other word, this type of translation procedure is finding the closest meaning.
Here are all of the data which belong to synonymy:
(9) SL words: suck up translated into TL word: menjilat
The first data showed that the swearing word translation belongs to synonymy because the
translation used near TL equivalent word (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The writer assumed that
the translator have to find out the near and most suitable TL word to express the swearing word.
The writer’s idea was in line with the Jensen (2009) idea that the challenge for synonymy is to
18
figure out which target word is the most appropriate one. Therefore, the translation of suck up
could be translated into menjilat in which the synonym of the swearing word is lick up. The
meaning of SL and TL words are near because they both describe the use of the tongue.
(10) SL word: dumbass translated into TL word: bodoh
The second data revealed like the previous data that belongs to synonymy because the
translation used near TL equivalent word (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The writer found that
the synonym of the swearing word dumbass which was translated into bodoh was stupid. In other
word, the meaning of SL and TL words are near because they both still deal with brain.
Therefore, the data is in line with the theory about the type of translation procedure that was
proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) which was also reinforced by the Jensen’s (2009) idea
that translating a SL word with a TL word that is near can belong to synonymy.
(11) SL word: bullshit translated into TL words: omong kosong
The following data is still the same with the previous one. The data can belongs to
synonymy because the translation used near TL equivalent word (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007)
and also proved with the idea from Jensen (2009). In here, the writer figured out that the
synonym of the swearing word bullshit which translated into omong kosong was nonsense. The
meaning of SL and TL words are near because they both still deal with something that is not
qualified enough.
Through-translation
The analysis showed that there are 6 swearing word translations that belong to throughtranslation. The swearing word translations that were found are in line with the theory about
through-translation by Newmark in Ordudari (2007). Newmark proposed that throughtranslation is a type of translation procedure which has literal translation such as collocation,
19
name of organizations, components of compounds and combinations. Here are some examples of
the swearing word translations which classified in through-translation:
(12) SL word: assholes translated into TL word: brengsek
The first data showed that the swearing word consists of two words that always occur
together. If the words pop up alone then the meaning has changed for example the word assholes
could be divided into ass (pantat) and holes (lubang) which has different meaning if they stand
together. In other word, this swearing word can belong to through-translation because the words
consist of two words which are combined into one phrase. The data being showed is also in line
with the idea from Jensen (2009) that through-translation is about literal translation of
collocations and combination of two words into one.
(13) SL word: smartass translated into TL words: sok pintar
The next data revealed as the same as the previous data. This swearing word also
consisted from two words that combined into one word. The swearing word smartass could be
divided into smart (pintar) and ass (pantat). The swearing word can have different meaning if
they stand together. In other word, this swearing word can belong to through-translation because
of its combination words (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The data is also in accordance with the
Jensen’s (2009) idea that literal translation of collocations and combination of two words into
one phrase could be classified into through-translation.
(14) SL words: scary-ass translated into TL word: menakutkan
The following data also similar to the previous one in which the swearing word that
consisted of two words then combined into one word could be classified in through-translation
(Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The swearing word scary-ass derived from the word scary (takut)
and ass (pantat). The writer argued that the swearing word has different meaning if they stand
20
together like the previous data. If those words combined into one phrase, they could have
different meaning, which was menakutkan. This data is in accordance with the Jensen’s (2009)
idea that through-translation is literal translation of collocations and combination of two words
into one.
Shift or transposition
The study revealed that there are 10 swearing word translations that belong to shift or
transposition. The swearing word translations that were found are in accordance with Newmark
in Ordudari (2007) theory about the type of translation procedure. Newmark revealed that shift
or transpostion involves the changing of grammatical form from SL word into TL word. Here
are some examples of swearing word translations that belong to shift or transposition:
(15) SL word: fuck translated into TL word: hebat
The first data revealed that the swearing word translation belongs to shift or transposition
because the grammatical stucture of the SL word was changing to the TL translation word
(Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The grammatical structure of the swearing word translation fuck
was shifted from verb into adjective. The data comes from the sentence what the fuck! which
translated into hebat!. The writer argued that it was clear that there was a grammatical structure
changed from the swearing word and the translation. The writer idea was in line with the
Jensen’s (2009) idea that shift or transposition is about translation of SL word into TL word
which involves change in grammatical structure.
(16) SL word: shit translated into TL word: sial
The second data showed a changing of grammatical structure as same as the previous
data. The grammatical structure of the swearing word translation shit was shifted from noun into
adjective. The data comes from the sentence shit, I seen this one which translated into ah sial,
21
aku pernah melihatnya. It was clear that the data was in line with the theory about type of
translation procedure shif or transposition proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) like the
previous one.
(17) SL word: punk translated into TL word: hancur
The theory proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) about the changing of grammatical
structure from SL word to TL word also appeared in this swearing word. The grammatical
structure of the swearing word translation punk shifted from adjective into verb. The swearing
word derived from the sentence decepticon punk! which translated into decepticon, hancur!. The
data also proved that the idea from Jensen (2009) about the translation of SL expression into TL
involves change in grammatical structure is also applied in this swearing word.
Modulation
The writer found that from 53 swearing word translations found in the Transformers 3
Dark of the Moon movie, there are 18 swearing word translations that belong to modulation. The
swearing words that were found are in line with the theory about the type of translation
procedure by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) that brought an own concept and perspective based
on the translator’s culture to change the point of view in translation can belong to modulation.
Here are some examples of the data:
(18) SL words: rich bastard translated into TL words: kaya sekali
The first data showed that this swearing word translation belongs to modulation because
the translation was from the translator’s own concept to change the point of view but it still
convey the intended meaning which based on the situation in the Transformers 3 Dark of the
Moon movie (Newmark in Ordudari, 2007). The swearing word rich bastard translated using the
viewpoint of the translator into kaya sekali. The writer assumed that in here the swearing word
22
used for strengthen and emphasize the following argument, not for swearing the other people.
The idea was also proved by Jensen’s (2009) idea that this type of translation procedure was
about the change of viewpoint or concept in the translation.
(19) SL words: Killer shit translated into TL words: hal hebat
The theory proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007) about the use of the own concept
by the translator to change the point of view to get the intended meaning also came up in this
data. The swearing word killer shit translated into hal hebat. The writer assumed that the
changing of the viewpoint in here was used for strengthen and emphasize the following
argument, not for swear other people. The idea proved by Jensen’s (2009) idea that this type of
translation procedure was about the change of viewpoint or concept in the translation.
(20) SL word: Bitch (2) translated into TL word: bawahan
The following data is similar to the previous one which revealed the use of the
translator’s own concept to change the point of view to get the intended meaning (Newmark in
Ordudari, 2007). The swearing word bitch was translated into bawahan, which was certainly
translated using the translator’s point of view. The writer assumed that the changing of the
viewpoint in here was used for indicated the intended position of human level, but the context
was still for swear other people. Jensen’s (2009) idea also proved the same data as the previous
one that the change of viewpoint or concept in the translation can belong to modulation.
Conclusion
This study is aimed to discover the swearing word translation in the English to
Indonesian subtitle of the Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon movie and to describe the types of
translation procedures that translator used to translate swearing word in Transformers 3 Dark of
the Moon movie. This study found that there are 53 swearing word translations in Transformers
23
3 Dark of the Moon movie. However, the analysis showed that from 15 types of translation
procedure proposed by Newmark in Ordudari (2007), there are only 7 types of translation
procedure that the translator used in translating the swearing words found in the Transformers 3
Dark of the Moon movie. First, cultural equivalent which replaces a cultural word in SL with a
TL one. Second, functional equivalent which requires the use of a culture-neutral word. Third,
descriptive equivalent which the TL translation explained in several words. Fourth, synonymy
which searches a near TL equivalent. Fifth, through-translation which includes a literal
translation of collocations, name of organization, combination, and component of compounds.
Sixth, shift or transposition which involves a change in the grammar from SL to TL word. The
last that is, modulation which changes a viewpoint or substantial conceptual concept in the
translation. Out of the seven types of the translation procedure, there is one type which is mostly
used in translating swearing words, that is modulation. There are 18 swearing word translations
that belong to modulation. The writer assumed that it happens because of the use of translator’s
own concept and perspectives which are based on the translator’s culture to change the point of
view in translation that is used very often. The writer argued that it might be the most appropriate
type of translation procedure which is usually used by translators in translating swearing words.
The study found that there are 53 swearing word translations found in the Transformers 3
Dark of the Moon movie. The analysis showed that there were some swearing word translations
which came up more than twice and conveyed different translation. The writer argued that it
occurred because of the cultural differences between SL culture and TL culture which can affect
the translation of the swearing word. The writer also found some swearing words which have no
TL translation. The writer assumed, it is because the swearing words have no equivalent word in
the TL, so the translator decided not to translate them. The writer suggested that this theory could
24
be applied if there is no translation which could represent the swearing word that found by the
translator. The study also revealed that many swearing words found in the movie used for
swearing other people. Usually, they used it to express their feeling of anger. This finding is in
accordance with Hill (2004) idea that swearing word is a way of speaking to express feeling of
anger, annoyance and frustration. But not all the swearing word is used to swear other people.
The writer also found that it can be used to strengthen and emphasize the following words.
The analysis showed that only 7 types of translation procedure which translator used to
translate swearing words. The writer suggested that the 7 types of translation procedure can be
prioritized to be taught to the students first before the rest of the 8 types of it. However, this
study still has limitation. The limitation is from the movie that the writer chose to analyze.
Another genre of movies may provide more variety data and findings. The genre of the movie
that writer chose to analyze is from sci-fi or science-fiction movie. The writer believes that
another genre movie will give us more variety data. Thus, the writer gives suggestion for further
research to find another genre of the movie to get more variety in the result of the data.
Acknowledgement
I would like to send my greatest thank to Jesus Christ for His abundant gifts, blessings,
loves, strengths, and for always reminding me to finish my thesis. I also would not be able to
finish this thesis without the help and support from several people around me. First, I would like
to deliver my biggest gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs. Maria Christina Eko S, M.Hum for the
supervision, the support, and the helpful suggestions given to me, and also to my examiner, Mr.
Christian Rudianto, M.Appling for the time and the guidance during the completion of this
thesis.
I am very thankful to my parents and my brother for their endless prayers, motivation,
love, and support so that I would be able to finish my study, especially in completing this thesis.
25
A special thank goes to Arlene for her help in sharing her knowledge in writing this thesis. I also
want to say thank you to several people around me: 1) my best friend, Febrika and Tyak for their
help and sharing of experiences, 2) my friends in ED 2008ers for the togetherness, joy, laughter,
and lesson to be learned during my study in FLL, 3) my friends from younger angkatan for the
prayers and the motivation to graduate soon. Last but not least, I am very grateful to all of the
teachers and staffs in Faculty of Language and Literature who have been taught, educated, and
helped me during my study in FLL, SWCU.
References:
Adam King, R. F. (2002). Glossary. Using English. Retrieved January 23rd, 2012.
Bell, R. T. (1991). Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice. London and New York:
Longman.
Bernschutz, M. (2010). Empirical Study of Subtitled Movies. Translation Journal. Retrieved
April 4th, 2012 at 21.04.
Cronin, M. (2009). Translation Goes to The Movies. London & New York: Routledge Taylor &
Francis Group.
Farghal, M. and Shunnaq, A. (1999) Translation with Reference to English and Arabic. Irbid:
Dar Al-Hilal for Translation.
Fernandez, M. (2006). Screen Translation A Case Study. The Translation of Swearing in the
Dubbing of the Film South Park into Spanish. Retrieved April 4th, 2012 at 20.25.
Harvey, P. (2011, June 17). Why we swear. Eureka Street, p41-42, Retrieved February 16th,
2012.
Hill, J. (2004). Swearing – Using Bad Words. South Australia: Women's and Children's Health
Network. Retrieved January 25th, 2012.
Jensen, K.E (2009). Translation Procedure. Text Revision and Translation, 1-2.
26
Mailhac, J-. (2007). Formulating Strategies for the Translator. Translation Journal. Retrieved
April 4th, 2012 at 20.15.
Newmark, P. (1981). Approaches To Translation. Oxford: Pergamon Institute of English.
Ordudari, M. (2007). Translation Procedures, Strategies, and Methods. Translation Journal.
Retrieved April 4th, 2012 at 21.02.
Sanders, L. (2009, January 8). %&*#$! Makes You Feel Better. Science News Vol. 176, Issue 3.
Retrieved February 16th, 2012.
Spinney, L. (2007, December 22). The Science of Swearing. New Scientist Vol. 196, Issue
2635/2636. Retrieved February 16th, 2012.
Venuti, L. (2008). The Translator's Invisibility: A history of Translation (Second Edition).
London and Newyork: Routledge.
27