2025/1 Translation

Culture-specific concepts, according to Baker (1992:21), refers to a concept which is totally unknown in the target culture. The concept may be abstract or concrete and relate to a religious belief, a social custom, or even a type of food. Examples of culture-specific concepts are the English word “privacy”, the Javanese “pekewuh”, the Indonesian word “segan.” Graedler (2000:3) quoted in Ordudari (2004) puts forth some procedures of translating CSCs: 

 1. Making up a new word. 

 2. Explaining the meaning of the SL expression in lieu of translating it. 

 3. Preserving the SL term intact. 

 4. Opting for a word in the TL which seems similar to or has the same "relevance" as the SL term. 

 Defining culture-bound terms (CBTs) as the terms which "refer to concepts, institutions and personnel which are specific to the SL culture" (p.2), Harvey (2000:2-6) quoted in Ordudari (2004) puts forward the following four major techniques for translating CBTs: 

 1. Functional Equivalence: It means using a referent in the TL culture whose function is similar to that of the source language (SL) referent. As Harvey (2000:2) quoted in Ordudari (2004) writes, authors are divided over the merits of this technique: 

 2. Formal Equivalence or 'linguistic equivalence': It means a 'word-for-word' translation. 

 3. Transcription or 'borrowing' (i.e. reproducing or, where necessary, transliterating the original term): It stands at the far end of SL-oriented strategies. If the term is formally transparent or is explained in the context, it may be used alone. In other cases, particularly where no knowledge of the SL by the reader is presumed, transcription is accompanied by an explanation or a translator's note. 

 4. Descriptive or self-explanatory translation: It uses generic terms (not CBTs) to convey the meaning. It is appropriate in a wide variety of contexts where formal equivalence is considered insufficiently clear. In a text aimed at a specialized reader, it can be helpful to add the original SL term to avoid ambiguity.