2025/1 Translation

First of all, translators should be aware of the fact that incorrect comprehension of a text considerably decreases the quality of the translation. We must, therefore, use reading comprehension strategies for translation (underlining words, detecting translation difficulties, contextualizing lexical items—never isolating them -, adapting, analyzing, and so on.) This initial step must be carefully done, otherwise translator’s poor comprehension will cause translationese, which of course result in poor translation and customer’s dissatisfaction. 

In reading the texts, translators may find difficulties when they encounter cultural words. Cultural words carry significant meaning for the culture because they reflect the cultural point of view and practices. Nida (2001:73) posits that “the conceptual world of a particular culture may include hundreds of presuppositions that significantly order the manner in which people reason, and many of these underlying cultural concepts seem almost nonsensical to people in other cultures”. Thriveni (2001) says that “cultural meanings are intricately woven into the texture of the language”. Two different cultures may have different ways of looking at experiences as reflected in their different languages. This difference may hinder communication. As communication mediator, a translator needs to find appropriate ways to say things in another language. To make an effective cultural transfer, the translator must be sensitive and aware of both cultures, or “bilingual and bicultural”, as Vermeer put it. 

 A translator’s ignorance of the ST and TT cultures may lead to misreading in translation. Ke (1999:133-134) argues that “misreading in translation is often caused by translator’s presuppositions about the reality of the source language community. These presuppositions are usually culturally-derived. Cultural presuppositions refer to underlying assumptions, beliefs, and ideas that are culturally rooted, widespread, but rarely if ever described or defined because they seem so basic and obvious as not to require verbal formulation”. Further, he distinguishes four different subsystems in the culture that may evoke different cultural presuppositions across different cultures. They are: 

 1) Techno-economic system: Ecology (flora, fauna, climate, etc) Means of production, exchange and distribution of goods Crafts, technology, and science Artifacts Translators should be aware of the cultural presuppositions related to this subsystem, for example, plants and animals have different cultural significance in Javanese and English-speaking cultures. Birds have profound cultural significance in Javanese culture. They are symbols in art, story, and dance. They have been symbols of war, peace, wisdom, love, evil, hope and luck and associations that birds carry are culturespecific. For example, perkutut (morning dove) symbolises one of man’s symbols of success in the Javanese tradition. For the Egyptians, the ibis is the reincarnation of Toth, the god of wisdom, while the falcon personifies Horus, the protector of royalty (Andreu et al, 1997). Assuming that these culturespecific associations are the same across cultures will lead to misreading in translation. 

2) Social System: Social classes and groups Kinship system (typology, sex and marriage, procreation and paternity, size of family, etc) Politics and law Education Sports and entertainment Customs General history 

 Ke (1999) points out that cultural presupposition deserves special attention from translators because they can substantially and systematically affect their interpretation of facts and events in the source text without their even knowing it. For example, the idea of courtesy may be universal, but people from different cultures employ different expressions to denote courtesy. Javanese people always greet a friend by asking “Where are you going?”, “What are you doing?” or “Have you eaten yet?”, while Westerners will say “Hello”, “How are you?” or “It’s such a lovely day, isn’t it?”. Clearly, greetings have pragmatic force and should not be translated literally. 

3) Ideational System Cosmology Religion Magic and witchcraft Folklore Artistic creations as images Values (moral, aesthetic, etc) Cognitive focus and thinking Patterns Ideology Some Javanese still believe in superstition. There are days that are considered sacred, when they can perform certain cultural duties, such as marriage, cleaning or circumcision. 

Some folklore also has significant roles in Javanese culture and provides references and guidance for what is good or not good to do. For example, when there was no electricity, legend said that a ghost would roam around the village to kidnap children who were still playing outside. Therefore, parents would require their children to be inside the house after dark. Translators must be aware of the cultural presuppositions behind these cultural values. 

 The Javanese concept of time is different from that of English-speaking culture. Becker (1995:23-70) strongly argues that in the Javanese concept, spatial order is more paramount than temporal order in phenomenological organization. The word besok “tomorrow” can refer to “the day after today” or “sometime in the indefinite future”. Likewise, the word kemarin “yesterday” may refer to “the day before today”, “a week ago”, or “a year ago”. 

4) Linguistic Systems: Phonology and graphemics Grammar (morphology and syntax) Semantics and pragmatics 

 Comparable words in different languages carry strikingly different associations. In Javanese, for instance, to be called a “dog” can be insulting and may initiate a fight. For Americans, however, “dog” may not be associated with bad name-calling. 

Ke (1999) posits that translators and foreignlanguage teachers need to become fully aware of cultural presuppositions. First, a correct interpretation of the source message relies on an understanding of the relevant features of the source culture. The presuppositions a translator harbours about the ST may be based upon the realities of his or her own culture. Cultural values such as individualism and privacy are seen as selfishness by a translator growing up in a culture where collectivism is the backbone of the society. Second, communicative errors are usually more covert and harder to detect than grammatical errors and may therefore cause serious misunderstanding in the target readers. Javanese people who grew up in a society where frankness means rudeness may be taken aback by the bluntness of Westerners. 

 Every aspect of culture can lead to presuppositions that are fundamentally different from those bred by other cultures. Nida (2001:73) concludes that “without the knowledge of the beliefs and practices of other cultures, a translator’s perspective of the world is tragically restricted. And it is not surprising that the most serious mistakes in translation are made because of ignorance about the views and values of other cultures.” Thus, to avoid misreading in translation, the translator must be aware of these cultural presuppositions in order to understand and make others understand so that cross-cultural communication can take place smoothly.