Translation 3: Unit of Translation.ppt

Unit of Translation

1. Unit of Translation
- the linguistic level at which the ST is recodified in the TT
- Firstly the unit is supposed to be the word, which is based on the Saussure’s concept
of the signifier and signified (see 2)
- However, as meaning is dependent context and there is no identical unit of meaning
across language, the unit of translation should also cover the function of the text and
extratextual features. The unit of meaning in English is not necessarily identical with
that of bahasa Indonesia.
parent (word)—orang tua (group)
orphan (word)—anak yatim (group)
impossible (morpheme)—tidak mungkin (word)
be fond of—menyukai (word) she is fond of cats
the man with long beard (group with phrase as Qualifier)—orang yang berjenggot
panjang itu (group with clause as Qualifier)
- Grammatical units based on SFL’s theory
- CLAUSE
- GROUP/PHRASE
- WORD
- MORPHEME

2. Signified and Signified
signified
signifier
{tree}
<tree>

3. Function as Meaning
Meaning is also dependent on the functional aspects of a
linguistic unit. In addition, the extratextual elements (also
intertextual level) are deterministic to meaning.
she always is late ≠ she is always late
selalu saja dia terlambat vs dia selalu terlambat
he is the Robinhood—dia penolong orang miskin, lemah, dan
tidak berdaya
she arrived yesterday—kemarin gadis itu sampai
Harga getah di Jambi naik dan khalifah XX naik dengan
kemakmuran dan ketenteraman seluruh jazirah Arab—as the
price of rubber slab in Jambi rose and the Arab peninsula was
peaceful when the caliph XX rose to power, prosperity and
security requirements for the pilgrimage were fulfilled (intertextual
reference)