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AN ANALYSIS ON THE TRANSLATION OF IDIOMS

USED IN THE DIALOGUES OF SUPERNATURAL

Abstract

American TV series, especially the popular ones, are often sold in Indonesia in the form
of DVDs. One of those series, which is also a hit these days in America, is Supernatural.
Being set in the present-day-America, the dialogues among the characters contain present-
day-American-idioms. The DVDs sold in Indonesia have both the English and Indonesian
subtitles. This paper tries to analyze the translation of the idioms through the Indonesian
subtitle of several of the episodes of Supernatural Season 1. The finding reveals that the
Indonesian subtitle is not equivalent to the meaning of the idioms in their original language.

I. INTRODUCTION

Translation, according to www.brainyquote.com, is a transfer of meaning in a


word or phrase. To be more specific, translation is a written communication in a
second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first
language. The previous definition stated by www.wordnet.princeton.edu is supported
by a definition found in Wikipedia, namely translation is the interpreting of the
meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text, likewise called
a ‘translation’ that communicates the same message in another language.

Larson distinguished translation into seven types. One of them, often


considered the goal of every translator, is idiomatic translation. Idiomatic translation
is a type of translation which uses the natural forms of the receptor language, both in
the grammatical constructions and in the choice of words. It does not sound like a
translation. It sounds like it was written originally in the target language, instead
(Larson, 1997: 19). This kind of translation is to be used in translating subtitles of
movies and TV series because it will convey the message of the dialogues even

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though it has to take on different forms in the target language from those of the source
language.

There are many TV series from America which have been distributed and sold
in Indonesia in the form of DVDs. Being sold in Indonesia; these DVDs have both the
English and Indonesian subtitles. This paper will focus on an American TV series
which is a hit among American youngsters, Supernatural. The analysis of this paper
takes several episodes as the source of analysis. They are Pilot, Wendigo, Death in
The Water, Bloody Mary, Hookman, Home, Asylum, Scarecrow, Route 666,
Nightmare.

There are many idioms used in the dialogues. There must be some losses in
translating the idioms from English to Indonesian language. Facing this kind of
problem, some translators tend to use the literal translation of the idioms instead of
taking the hard way by researching the meaning of the idioms using books,
dictionaries, and/or the circumstances in which the idioms are stated. This paper tries
to find out what kind of meaning is lost when the American idioms are translated into
Indonesian language. In addition, this analysis also tries to find the proper way of
translating such idioms because it is not an easy process. It includes the context and
circumstance in which the lines are said. Nevertheless, due to the limitation of space,
this analysis does not discuss every error in the translation of idioms throughout the
series but takes examples form certain episodes.

II. THEORETICAL APPROACHES

Idioms, as to quote www.lingenio.de, are linguistic expressions which are typical


for a language and which often cannot be translated literally into a different language.
According to Wikipedia, “an idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by
the literal definition of the phrase itself, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is
known only through common use.”

Idiomatic expressions can be the most difficult part of any language because, being
part of a culture instead of a language, idioms take root in a nation’s custom, history,

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religion, and even geography. As a part of culture, idioms are often not useful outside of
the local context and their literal definitions seem nonsensical. An idiom can be translated
word by word if a similar idiom in the target language exists. If not, some idioms can be
translated using the same picture but with a different structure, but still some idioms
cannot be translated with an idiom but only with their literal meaning if an equivalent
idiom does not exist in the target language.

A translator’s job is to extract the figurative meaning contained in the idioms and
to find parallel expressions in the target language. This is why idiomatic translation is the
most appropriate type of translation for translating idioms. A translator should never omit
an idiomatic expression when it is used in the source language, instead they should be
prepared to conduct linguistic and cultural research until they find an appropriate
equivalent in the target language. Translators who take the time to study carefully the
source language text, to write a semantic analysis of it, and then look for the equivalent
way in which the same message is expressed naturally in the target language, will be able
to provide an adequate, sometimes brilliant, translation (Larson, 1997: 25).

III. ANALYSIS

In order to convey the meanings of the dialogues, which is the main function of
subtitles, translators should create subtitles which will be able to convey the meaning of
the dialogues, in this case idioms, in the natural form of the source language. However,
there are still subtitles that are not equivalent based on the context of the idioms used in
the dialogues. Some idioms are translated word-by-word, which means the meaning of
the idioms is not conveyed. The data are analyzed below.

1. a. Sam, get a move on!

b. Sam, mendapatkan suatu berjalan terus!

The idiom get a move on is said when a character called Jess asks another character
called Sam to hurry because they are late for a Halloween party and Sam hasn’t put
his costume on. Jess tells him to get ready for the party so they won’t have to waste

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more time. Considering the context, the translation of sentence (1a) should be
sentence (1c) below.

c. Sam, cepat bersiap-siap!

2. a. You think that has anything to do with Constance?

b. Anda berpikir itu mempunyai urusan dengan Constance?

This line is stated by Constance’s husband when Sam utters his suspicion that
Constance’s spirit might be related to several murders happened around the
neighborhood. Constance’s husband asks the question mentioned above to make sure
of Sam’s utterance. However, mempunyai urusan will be unnatural if used in this kind
of context because the that is an abstract object. Another sentence that will sound
more natural is sentence (2c) below.

c. Anda berpikir hal itu ada kaitannya dengan Constance?

3. a. You just suck.

b. Anda baru saja menghisap.

This utterance is uttered by a character called Dean to mock Sam when Sam
complains about failing to do something. It is obvious that the translation is not
equivalent at all. Thus, sentence (3b) should be replaced by sentence (3c) below.

c. Kau hanya payah.

4. a. Bull!

b. Banteng!

Bull is correctly translated into banteng. However, this word is said by a ranger when
Dean tells a lie – showing that the ranger knows Dean is lying. Bull in phrase (4a) is a
shorter form of bullshit and they both have exactly the same meaning. That is why the
correct translation is sentence (4c) below.

c. Omong kosong!

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5. a. How is it going?

b. Bagaimana itu pergi?

Sentence (5a) is said when Dean greets a friend of his. If translated as bagaimana itu
pergi the notion of greeting will be lost. On the other hand, the sentence how is life
going is very commonly used as a replacement for how are you. Since sentence (5a) is
just another form of how is it going, it should be translated into sentence (5c) below.

c. Apa kabar?

6. a. Chicks dig artists.

b. Anak ayam menggali seniman.

This line is stated by Dean who is complementing a friend if his whose hobby is
drawing. If translated into anak ayam menggali seniman, the meaning of the idiom is
lost completely. Chick is slang for girl and dig is slang means to understand or to like
something so much. Therefore, sentence (6a) should be translated into sentence (6c)
below.

c. Gadis-gadis menyukai para seniman.

7. a. Maybe Bloody Marry got him.

b. Barangkali Bloody Mary mendapat dia.

Sentence (7a) is uttered to express a suspicion that a man’s murder is done by Bloody
Mary, a ghost from an American urban legend. So, instead of mendapat dia, the
translation should be sentence (7c) below.

c. Barangkali Bloody Mary yang membunuhnya.

8. a. Super hot!

b. Sangat panas!

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The phrase is said to refer to a very attractive girl. Hot in the phrase doesn’t refer to
hot in temperature, which is usually used for foods, drinks, weather, or even gossips,
but to attractiveness physically and/or sexually. Considering the context, sentence (8a)
should be translated into sentence (8c) below.

c. Sangat seksi!

9. a. This place has its issues.

b. Tempat ini mempunyai isunya.

The line is stated when a woman complains about several problems occurred in an old
house she has just moved into, which is why sentence (9b) should be replaced with
sentence (9c) below.

c. Ada beberapa masalah pada rumah ini.

10. a. Don’t you worry about a thing.

b. Tidakkah kau cemas akan suatu hal.

Firstly, sentence (10a) is not a question, so the word don’t shouldn’t be translated into
tidakkah. Secondly, this sentence is used in a scene where a psychic reassure a man
who is worried about his wife having an affair with another man. To be more specific,
this sentence is a slang originated from Black American’s dialect. So the suitable
Indonesian translation for sentence (10a) is sentence (10c) below.

c. Kau tidak perlu mengkhawatirkan apapun.

11. a. I ain’t got all day.

b. Aku bukan mendapat sepanjang hari.

Sentence (11a) is another sentence originated from Black American’s dialect. The
sentence which has the closest meaning, and also has the same suggestion, with
sentence (11a) is I don’t have much time. Therefore, the translation of sentence (11a)
is supposed to be sentence (11c) below.

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c. Aku tidak punya banyak waktu.

12. a. I ran like hell.

b. Aku berlari seperti neraka.

Sentence (12a) is used in a scene where a boy tells Sam about his encounter with a
ghost and how he was very frightened and he ran as fast as he could to get away from
the ghost. Like hell in the sentence is used to strengthen and to exaggerate the activity
mentioned in the sentence. Thus, berlari seperti neraka is neither equivalent nor
natural if applied in Indonesian language. Sentence (12b) must be replaced with
sentence (12c) below, which is commonly used in Indonesian language..

c. Aku berlari terbirit-birit.

13. a. Yahtzee!

b. Yahtzee!

It seems like yahtzee is not even a real word mentioned in any dictionary. However,
the word is used when Dean express his approval of Sam’s idea. Another word in
English that will suggest the same meaning and notion contained in yahtzee is exactly.
So the subtitle should be sentence (13c) below instead of sentence (13b), which
practically not a translation at all.

c. Kau benar!

14. a. She dumped you.

b. Dia membuang kamu.

Dumped in this sentence means to break up with, which suits the context of the
sentence since sentence (14a) is stated by Sam who is referring to Dean’s ex girlfriend
who left Dean. Besides, Indonesian language doesn’t use membuang as a predicate
when the object is a grown-up human. Therefore, sentence (14b) would be better
replaced with sentence (14c) below.

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c. Dia memutuskan hubungan denganmu.

15. a. She never lifts a finger to protect her son.

b. Dia tidak pernah mengangkat satu jari untuk melindungi anaknya.

Never lift a finger cannot be translated word-by-word into tidak pernah mengangkat
satu jari because of two reasons. One, Indonesian language doesn’t know such
expression so when translated word-by-word the result will not sound natural to
Indonesian language speakers. Two, the result of word-by-word translation will
neither convey the message nor make any sense at all. The phrase never lift a finger is
used to suggest an effortlessness – since literally, lifting a finger needs only a little
effort, if not effortless. So the phrase is used to give the idea that the subject never
made a single smallest effort to do something, in this case to protect her son. In
Indonesian language, sentence (15a) is going to be better translated into sentence
(15c) below than sentence (15b).

c. Dia tidak pernah sedikitpun berusaha untuk melindungi puteranya.

IV. CONCLUSION

A translator’s ability in producing idiomatic translation is very important for


translating idiomatic expressions and providing a good translation. A translator needs
to have a good understanding of the source and target language, culture and context in
order to correctly translate idioms. In the correct sense of translating, a translator is
deriving the meaning of a source language word or phrase that implies the same
meaning in the target language. When the target language text conveys the same
meaning as the source language in the most natural form and usage, a translator can
be regarded successful. However, unless a translator understands the meaning of the
idiom as a whole and not word-by-word, the result of the translation will be not
equivalent, sometimes nonsensical, and the meaning will be lost.

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BIBILIOGRAPHY

Larson, L. Mildred. Meaning-Based Translation. Second Edition, 1997.

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 101, Pilot. DVD. Warner Brothers,
(tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 102, Wendigo. DVD. Warner Brothers,
(tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 103, Death in the Water. DVD. Warner
Brothers, (tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 105, Bloody Mary. DVD. Warner
Brothers, (tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 107, Hookman. DVD. Warner Brothers,
(tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 109, Home. DVD. Warner Brothers,
(tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 110, Asylum. DVD. Warner Brothers,
(tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 111, Scarecrow. DVD. Warner
Brothers, (tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 113, Route 666. DVD. Warner
Brothers, (tahun beredar).

Supernatural. Dir. (sutradara). (tahun produksi). Eps. 114, Nightmare. DVD. Warner
Brothers, (tahun beredar).

http:// www.brainyquote.com/

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.lingenio.de/English/Products/Translation-Software/translate/translate-
idioms.htm

http://72.14.235.132/search?
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http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2009/01/22/10-idioms-in-translation/

http://www.translationandinterpretationblog.com/2009/03/take-on-idiom-challenge.html

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