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102 

 

 
ELT FORUM 6 (2) (2017) 

 

Journal of English Language Teaching 

 
http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/elt 

 
 

TRANSLATION PROCEDURES OF PHYSICS 

TERMS IN THE PHYSICS BILINGUAL BOOK FOR 

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL YEAR XI 

 

 

Mareta Permata Sari, Issy Yuliasri  
 

English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia  

 

Article Info 
________________  
Article History: 

Received in October 

2017  
Approved in November 

2017 Published in 

December 2017 
________________  
Keywords: translation 
procedures, accuracy, 
physics terms, bilingual 
book 
  
____________________ 

 
Abstract  
___________________________________________________________________ 
This study attempted to analyze the use of translation procedures and their accuracy. The objectives of the 

study were to describe the translation procedures used to translate the Physics terms and to identify their 

accuracy in Physics Bilingual Book for Senior High School Year XI. This research was conducted 

qualitatively. This study applied the theory proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (in Hatim and Munday 

2004:30) about translation procedures and the accuracy criteria of translation assessment by Nababan 

(2012:50). The results of the study showed that there were 119 data of Physics terms and three translation 

procedures found in this study. The three translation procedures were equivalence, calque and 

transposition. The translation procedure mostly used was equivalence, followed by calque and 

transposition. In terms of accuracy, three raters found that around 99.15% of the data were translated 

accurately, whereas the rest 0.84% of the data were inaccurately translated. The translation procedure with 

the highest accuracy was equivalence, followed by calque and transposition. Thus, the equivalence 

procedure was mostly used and had the highest accuracy rating in this research, followed by calque and 

transposition. 

  
 © 2017 Universitas Negeri Semarang 

  


 Correspondent Address: ISSN 2252-6706 
B3 Building FBS Unnes  

Sekaran, Gunungpati, Semarang, 50229  

E-mail: unnes_english@yahoo.com  



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INTRODUCTION 

To begin with, the existence of RSBI (The Pioneering of International Standard School) in 

secondary education has piled up in Indonesia. The use of English in RSBI schools is to make 

students and teachers get used to English. The use of English is in line with the purpose of RSBI 

schools that is to be the International Standard School. RSBI schools use English in teaching 

learning activities. Teachers in RSBI schools are also taught English in order to enable them to 

teach. In order to make the teachers and students acquainted with English, they are equipped with 

supportive textbooks in teaching learning activities. The supportive textbooks mentioned above are 

bilingual books. The bilingual books are provided with two languages Indonesian and English. 

Regarding the use of bilingual textbooks in RSBI schools, I am interested in using Physics bilingual 

book for this research. According to Oxford Advanced Learners’s Dictionary, term is a word or 

phrase used as the name of something, especially one connected with a particular type of language. 

However, Physics is the scientific study of matter and energy and the relationships between them, 

including the study of forces, heat, light, sound, electricity and the structure of atoms. In addition, 

Physics is one of the lessons which is full of scientific terms and complicated formulas. Besides, the 

studies about Physics terms are just few. Those things make Physics more interesting to be studied.  

In this case, in Indonesia the use of bilingual textbook is in line with the need to acknowledge 

English as an International language. Automatically, the secondary education students who are 

acquainted with English in their bilingual textbooks will be at some advantages. First, students can 

obtain the knowledge from the subjects. Second, students will be familiar with the English terms 

related to the subjects. The last, students will be having less difficulty in learning from International 

journals which indeed use English as the language. The publishers of bilingual textbooks need 

translators who are acquainted well with English to translate foreign languages into Indonesian 

language. The translators, at least, should have high proficiency in English. They are demanded to 

have a good ability in translating English textbooks as the source of information in education into 

the target text in Indonesian. Besides, translation work needs translation procedures in which it is 

not an easy task to do. The translation procedure is needed to obtain a high quality of translation in 

target language or at least equal with the source language. There are some procedures of translation 

as the way to gain at least adequate results of translation. Vinay and Darbelnet’s in Hatim and 

Munday (2004:30) categorization of translation procedures is very detailed. They name two 

‘methods’ covering seven procedures including 1) Direct translation, which covers borrowing, 

calque and literal translation, and 2) Oblique translation, which is transposition, modulation, 

equivalence and adaptation. In this case, translators need to be careful to translate such difficult 

source texts, for example, the one which has Physics terms.  

Translators should make the translation work accurate as the intended meaning in the source 

text. In order to know whether a translation is good or not, it would be better if a translation is 

evaluated by experts. The experts can evaluate the accuracy of a translation. According to Nababan 

(2008:86), an assessment toward the quality of a translation mainly focuses on the accuracy. 

Newmark (1988:173) suggested that that some kind of accuracy must be the only criterion of a good 

translation in the future what kind of accuracy depending first on the type and then the particular 

text that has been translated and that the word 'sub-text’ with its Gricean implications and 

implicatures can be made to cover a multitude of inaccuracies. Moreover, to translate such scientific 

terms, it must be appropriate with the Scientist’s intention. After confirming to the editor of 

Yudhistira, I acknowledge that the editor of the book which is used in this research uses the 

direction of translation from Indonesian into English. The materials in the book were extracted from 

the bibliography. The materials were synchronized with the curriculum for the time being. The 

editor uses the books reference for reference only. Hence, I intend to analyze the translation 



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procedure and accuracy of the translated Physics terms in Physics Bilingual Book For Senior High 

School Year XI published by Yudhistira. The selection of translation procedure in translating 

technical terms was very essential because it affected the validity and accuracy of the data. 

Therefore, this research will contribute to determine whether the Physics Bilingual Book for Senior 

High School Year XI is good enough to be studied as a guide for Physics lesson for secondary 

education students.  

METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH  

This research includes in qualitative research method. Patton (1990) states qualitative research 

methodologies are designed to provide the researcher with the perspective of participants through 

immersion in a culture or situation and direct interaction with those under study. The object of the 

study is the Physics Bilingual Book for Senior High School Year XI. This book contains many 

Physics terms. The object of the study focused on the Physics terms in the form of Indonesian 

language as Source Language and the translation product in the form of English language terms as 

the target language. There were two aspects analyzed in this study. They were the translation 

procedure of the Physics terms and the accuracy of the translated Physics terms. The accuracy of the 

translated Physics terms was evaluated by raters who are expert in Indonesian-English language. In 

conducting this study, there were some stages which should be done in order to obtain the data. The 

stages were collecting all the data from the book, writing down all the data derived from the book in 

a table, identifying and classifying the data based on translation procedures proposed by Vinay and 

Darbelnet, calculating the frequency and percentage of translation procedures in the data in order to 

obtain the information related to the frequent used of translation procedure happen in the data, 

interpreting the result of the assessment of raters in term of accuracy of the translated Physics terms, 

and drawing conclusion from the outcome of the whole analysis. This research took the data from 

Physics bilingual book for Senior High School Year XI which was published by Yudhistira in 2009. 

The data are Physics terms which first being checked in some dictionaries including Oxford 

Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Dictionary of Physics. The translated Physics terms are 

identified and classified based on translation procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet in tables. 

I calculated the frequency and percentage of translation procedures in the data. Then, I gave 

questionnaires to the raters. The questionnaires given contain accuracy criterion to analyze whether 

the translated Physics terms is good or not.  

RESULT AND DISCUSSION 

In this study, there were 119 data of Physics terms contained in the book of Physics Bilingual 

book for Senior High School Year XI. The Physics terms were translated from Indonesian into 

English. There were three translation procedures found in the book. The translation procedures 

found in the book were equivalence, calque, and transposition. The percentages of translation 

procedures in the data were resumed in a table as follows: 

No. Translation Procedure Frequency Percentage 

1. Equivalence 100 84% 

2. Calque 17 14.28% 

3. Transposition 2 1.68% 

Table 3.1 Table of Data Tabulation 

From the data tabulation table, it could be concluded that there were three translation 

procedures from seven translation procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet used in translating 



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the Physics terms in the Physics Bilingual book. There were 119 data analyzed in the book. The 

analysis was as follows: the first translation procedure mostly used was equivalence with the 

frequency of 100 times (84%), followed by calque with the frequency of 17 times (14.28%), and the 

last translation procedure was transposition with the frequency of 2 times (1.68%).  

1. Translation Procedures 

1.1 Equivalence 

Equivalence is where one and the same situation can be rendered by two texts using 

completely different stylistic and structural methods. The classical example of equivalence is given 

by the reaction of an amateur who accidentally hits his finger with a hammer: if he were French his 

cry of pain would be transcribed as ‘Aïe!’, but if he were English this would be interpreted as 

‘Ouch!’. The method of creating equivalences is also frequently applied to idioms. The equivalence 

procedure occurred 100 times with the percentage of 84%. The data of equivalence procedure can be 

seen from the following datum: 

A. Datum no. 1 

Source Text : Sebuah pesawat dari Semarang menuju Jakarta terbang dengan kecepatan 
rata-rata 800 km/jam. 

Target Text : An airplane flies Semarang to Jakarta with the average speed of 800 

km/hour.  

The translator translated the term ‘kecepatan’ in Indonesian into ‘speed’ in English. In the 

source text, the technical term ‘kecepatan’ was translated by using equivalence procedure. The 

context of the text described an airplane flies Semarang to Jakarta with the average speed of 800 

km/hour. The rate of an airplane movement is best described by the term ‘speed’. In the Dictionary 

of Physics, the technical term ‘speed’ according to Pitt (1977:358) is defined as the rate of increase of 

distance travelled with time. 

1.2 Calque 

A calque is a special kind of borrowing whereby a language borrows an expression form of 

another, and each of its elements is translated literally. Calque is literal translation of a foreign word 

or phrase lexically as well as structurally. The calque technique occurred 4 times with the frequency 

of 3%. The calque procedure can be seen from the following datum:  

A. Datum no. 4 

ST : Vektor satuan adalah suatu vektor yang besarnya satu, tanpa satuan, 

serta arahnya sepanjang sumbu koordinat. 

TT : A unit vector is a vector, which magnitude is one. It has no unit and 

its direction is along the axes of the coordinate. 

The translator translated the term ‘vektor satuan’ in Indonesian into ‘unit vector’ in English. In 

the source text, the technical term ‘vektor satuan’ was translated by using calque procedure. In the 

source language, the first term ‘vektor’ became the second term in the target language and the 

second term became the first term. The term ‘vektor’ was translated into ‘vector’ in the target 

language. The consonant ‘k’ was substituted with the consonant ‘c’ in the target language. The term 

‘satuan’ in the source language was translated into ‘unit’ in the target language.  

1.3 Transposition  



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The method called transposition involves replacing one word class with another without 

changing the meaning of the message. Besides, being a special translation procedure, transposition 

can also be applied within a language. The transposition technique occurred 51 times with the 

frequency of 43%. The data of transposition procedure was shown by the following examples: 

A. Datum no. 44 

ST : Sebuah partikel bergerak harmonik sederhana. Persamaan 

simpangannya dinyatakan dengan y = 10 sin 0,5t dengan t dalam sekon 

dan y dalam cm. Tentukan percepatan partikel pada t = 2,5  sekon! 

TT : A particle undergoes simple harmonic motion. Its vertical displacement 

is stated as y = 10 sin 0.5t, where t is in second and y in cm. Calculate the 

particle’s acceleration at t = 2,5  seconds. 

The translator translated the term ‘bergerak harmonik sederhana’ in Indonesian into ‘simple 

harmonic motion’ in English. In the source text, the technical term ‘bergerak harmonik sederhana’ was 

translated by using transposition procedure. The words ‘bergerak harmonik  sederhana’ in the source 

language which was a Verb turned into ‘simple harmonic motion’ in the target language which was 

a Noun.  

2. Accuracy Score of the Translated Physics Terms 

No Rate of 

Accuracy 

Criteria of 

Accuracy 

Score Data Number Total Percentage 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unanimously 

Rated 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Accurate 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,3,3 

005, 006, 011, 012, 015, 016, 017, 

018, 019, 020, 021, 023, 026, 028, 

029, 031, 032, 034, 037, 038, 039, 

040, 041, 042, 044, 049, 050, 051, 

052, 053, 055, 056, 057, 058, 061, 

063, 065, 068, 069, 070, 073, 074, 

075, 076, 077, 078, 079, 081, 082, 

083, 084, 085, 086, 089, 090, 091, 

092, 093, 094, 095, 099, 102, 104, 

105, 106, 108, 110, 112, 113, 114, 

115, 118, 119 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

73 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

61% 

2. Not 

Quite 

Accurate 

2,2,2 - - - 

3.Inaccurate 1,1,1 - - - 

 

 

 

 

 

2. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not 

Unanimously 

Rated 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Accurate 

 

3,3,2 59 1 0.84% 

3,2,3 07, 33, 46, 67, 100 5 4.2% 

2,3,3 02, 03, 04,08, 09, 10, 13, 24, 25, 

30, 35, 43, 60, 64, 66, 80, 87, 88, 

96, 97, 98, 101, 109, 111, 116, 

117 

 

26 

 

21.8% 

2,2,3 01, 22, 47, 48, 71, 107 6 5% 

2,3,2 54, 72 2 1.68% 

1,3,3 14, 45, 62, 103 4 3.36% 

2,3,1 36 1 0.84% 

2.Inaccurate 1,2,2 27 1 0.84% 



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Table 3.2 Table of Data Tabulation 

From the data tabulation table, it could be concluded that there were two rate of accuracy. 

The first rate of accuracy was unanimously rated and not unanimously rated. Based on the Oxford 

Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, unanimously rated is defined as ‘if a decision or an opinion is 

unanimous, it is agreed or shared by everyone in a group. In unanimously rated data, the raters rated 

the data similarly. The raters rated the data by giving similar score. In unanimously rated data, there 

were three criteria of accuracy. They are accurate, not quite accurate and inaccurate. The accurate 

data were given score 3 by the three raters. The not quite accurate data were given score 2 by the 

three raters. Then, inaccurate data were given score 1 by the three raters. However, in this research, I 

only found the accurate data for unanimously rated data. There were 73 data were found ‘accurate’ 

from 119 data with the percentage of 61.34%. The 73 data were accurate because the three raters 

gave the score 3. The 73 data included in ‘unanimously rated’ data. 

The second rate of accuracy was not unanimously rated.  It was the reverse of unanimously 

rated. The data became not unanimously rated because the raters were not unanimous in giving 

score for the data. It means that there were differences on assessment of raters who rated the 

accuracy of the data. There were data which assessed differently. In not unanimously rated data, 

there were also three criteria of accuracy. They are accurate, not quite accurate and inaccurate. The 

accurate data was suitable based on the dictionary of Physics and the raters’s perspectives on their 

assessment. The not quite accurate data was suitable based on the dictionary of Physics, but they 

were rather differently with the raters’ assessment. Then, the inaccurate data was not suitable based 

on the dictionary of Physics. However, in this research, I found the various score forms included in 

‘not unanimously rated’ data. The difference score forms happened because the three raters gave 

different score for each Physics term. The data which included in accurate data was the first score 

variant 3,3,2 with the frequency of 1 time (0.84%). The second score variant was 3,2,3 with the 

frequency of 5 times (4.2%). The third score variant was 2,3,3 with the frequency of 26 times 

(21.8%). The fourth score variant was 2,2,3 with the frequency of 6 times (5%). The fifth score 

variant was 2,3,2 with the frequency of 2 times (1.68%). The sixth score variant was 1,3,3 with the 

frequency of 4 times (3.36%). The seventh score variant was 2,3,1 with the frequency of 1 time 

(0.84%). ‘Then, the last data was ‘inaccurate’ data with the frequency of 1 time (0.84%). There were 

45 data were found ‘accurate’ from 119 data with the percentage of 37.81%. The 45 data included in 

‘not unanimously rated’ data. The inaccurate datum score was 1,2,2 given by the three raters.    

Based on the analysis above, there were two criteria of accuracy found in this study. They 

were accurate and inaccurate criteria. The accurate data was gained by calculating the accurate data 

from ‘unanimously rated’ data and ‘not unanimously rated’ data. The accurate data from 

‘unanimously rated’ data was 73 data with the percentage of 61.34%. The accurate data from ‘not 

unanimously rated’ data was 45 data with the percentage of 37.81%. Thus, the total of accurate data 

was 118 data with the percentage of 99.15%. However, the ‘inaccurate’ data was 1 datum with the 

percentage of 0.84%. The analysis showed that around 99.15% of the data were translated 

accurately, whereas the rest 0.84% of the data was inaccurately translated. 

2.1 Unanimously Rated  

2.1.1 Accurate Criteria   

The data became unanimously rated because the raters were unanimous in giving score for 

the data. It means that there was similarity on assessment of raters who rated the accuracy of the 

data. There were data which assessed similarly. The accurate data was suitable based on the 

dictionary of Physics and the raters’s perspectives on their assessment. The criteria of accurate 

translation were given the score of 3 by the three raters. There were 73 data from 119 data or 61% in 

this research. The data of accurate data can be seen from the following datum: 



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A. Datum no. 6  

ST : Perubahan kecepatan tiap satuan waktu disebut sebagai percepatan. 

TT : The change of velocity per unit of time is called acceleration. 

The score given by each rater was 3. Each rater gave score 3 toward the translated Physics 

term above. In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘acceleration’ according to Pitt (1977:12) 

is defined as the rate of increase of velocity with time expressed in metres per second (m s-2) or other 

similar units. Thus, the meaning of ‘acceleration’ described the same situation as ‘percepatan’. It 

indicated that the translated Physics term of ‘percepatan’ from Indonesian (source language) into 

‘acceleration’ in English (target language) was accurate without distortion of meaning. The three 

raters also thought that the term ‘percepatan’ should be translated into term ‘acceleration’ in the 

target text. 

2.2 Not Unanimously Rated  

2.2.1 Accurate Criteria  

2.2.1.1 Accurate data (Score 3, 3, and 2 by the three raters) 

The example data for ‘accurate’ data with the score 3 by the first rater, score 3 by the second 

rater, and score 2 by the third rater can be seen from the following datum: 

A. Datum no. 59 

ST : Hukum kekekalan momentum menyatakan bahwa jumlah momentum 

sebelum tumbukan sama dengan jumlah momentum setelah tumbukan. 

TT : The law of momentum conservation states that the sum of momentum 

before collision equals to the sum of momentum after collision. 

In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘the law of momentum conservation’ according to 

Pitt (1977:80) is defined as ‘in any system of mutually interacting or impinging particles, the linear 

momentum in any fixed direction remains unaltered unless there is an external force acting in that 

direction. Besides, I also confirmed to the first, second and the third rater about their perspectives on 

the ‘the law of momentum conservation’ term. The first rater thought that ‘the law of momentum 

conservation’ term was accurate without distortion of meaning. The second rater also thought that ‘the 

law of momentum conservation’ term was accurate without distortion of meaning. The third rater which 

gave score 2 in the first time changed her perspective on the technical term after realizing her 

mistake in giving assessment. The third rater then said that the term of ‘the law of momentum 

conservation’ was accurate.  

2.2.1.2 Accurate data (Score 3, 2, and 3 by three raters) 

The example data for ‘accurate’ data with the score 3 by the first rater, score 2 by the second 

rater, and score 3 by the third rater can be seen from the following data: 

A. Datum no. 33 

ST : Energi potensial pegas (Ep) dapat diperoleh dengan menghitung luas 

daerah di bawah kurva. 

TT : The area in the graph indicates the potential energy of the spring (Ep). 

In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘potential energy’ according to Pitt 

(1977:171) is defined as ‘the energy possessed by a body or system by virtue of position, 



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equal to the work done in changing the system from some standard configuration to its 

existing state’. The first and third rater gave score 3 to the technical term. It means they 

agreed that the term of ‘potential energy’ was accurate. Meanwhile, the second rater gave 

score 2 to the technical term. Then, I confirmed to the second rater about her 

perspective on the ‘potential energy’ term. The second rater had doubts about the 

technical term.  The second rater thought that the term ‘potential energy’ was a little less 

accurate but did not change the original meaning. However, in the dictionary of 

Physics, the term of ‘potential energy’ existed. Thus, the term of ‘potential energy’ included 

in accurate data. 

2.2.1.3 Accurate data (Score 2, 3, and 3 by the three raters) 
  The example data for ‘accurate’ data with the score 2 by the first rater, score 3 by the second 

rater, and score 3 by the third rater can be seen from the following data: 

A. Datum no. 4 

ST : Vektor satuan adalah suatu vektor yang besarnya satu, tanpa satuan, 

serta arahnya sepanjang sumbu koordinat. 

TT : A unit vector is a vector, which magnitude is one. It has no unit and its 

direction is along the axes of the coordinate. 

In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘unit vector’ according to Pitt (1977:402) is 

defined as ‘vectors, usually written i, j, and k, that have unit length and lie along the x-, y-, and z- 

axes respectively’. The second and third rater gave score 3 to the technical term. It means they 

agreed that the term of ‘unit vector’ was accurate. Meanwhile, the first rater gave score 2 to the 

technical term. The first rater which gave score 2 in the first time changed his perspective on the 

technical term after realizing his mistake in giving assessment. The first rater then said that the term 

of ‘unit vector’ was accurate. Meanwhile, in the dictionary of Physics, the term of ‘unit vector’ existed. 

I also thought that the term of ‘unit vector’ was accurate based on the dictionary of Physics and the 

dominant score by the second and third rater.  

2.2.1.4 Accurate data (Score 2, 2, and 3 by the three raters) 

The example data for ‘accurate’ data with the score 2 by the first rater, score 2 by the second 

rater, and score 3 by the third rater can be seen from the following data: 

A. Datum no. 22 

ST : Medan gravitasi didefinisikan sebagai daerah yang masih mendapat 

pengaruh gaya gravitasi. 

TT : Gravitational field is defined as the region that is still affected by 

gravity. 

In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘gravitational field’ according to Pitt (1977:171) 

is defined as ‘the space surrounding a massive body in which another massive body experiences a 

force of attraction’. The third rater gave score 3 to the technical term. It means the third rater agreed 

that the term of ‘gravitational field’ was accurate. Meanwhile, the first and second rater gave score 2 to 

the technical term. The first and second rater had doubts about the technical term. The first rater 

thought that the term was not far from the translation target. The second rater thought that the 

technical term was a little less accurate. Meanwhile, in the dictionary of Physics, the term of 

‘gravitational field’ existed. Then, I confirmed to a Physics lecturer in Semarang State University 



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about the ‘gravitational field’ term. She thought that the term of ‘gravitational field’ was accurate. Thus, 

the term of ‘gravitational field’ included in accurate data. 

2.2.1.5 Accurate data (Score 2, 3, and 2 by the three raters) 

The example data for ‘accurate’ data with the score 2 by the first rater, score 3 by the second 

rater, and score 2 by the third rater can be seen from the following data: 

A. Datum no. 72 

ST : Resultan semua gaya gravitasi (gaya berat) partikel-partikel penyusun 

benda berada pada titik tertentu. Titik itu merupakan titik tangkap gaya 

berat atau sering disebut sebagai titik berat atau titik pusat massa. 

TT : The resultant of all gravitational forces (weight forces) of the particles that 

make up an object is located at a certain point. The capture point of the 

gravitational force is called the center of gravity or the center of mass of 

an object. 

In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘center of mass’ according to Pitt (1977:62) is 

defined as ‘a point such that if any plane passes through it, the sum of the products of the masses of 

the constituent particles by their perpendicular distances from the plane (the sum of the mass 

moments) is zero’. The second rater gave score 3 to the technical term. It means the second rater 

agreed that the term of ‘center of mass’ was accurate. Meanwhile, the first and third rater gave score 2 

to the technical term. The first and third rater had doubts about the technical term. The first rater 

thought that the term was not far from the translation target. The third rater which gave score 2 in 

the first time changed her perspective on the technical term after realizing her mistake in giving 

assessment. The third rater then said that the term of ‘center of mass’ was accurate. Meanwhile, in the 

dictionary of Physics, the term of ‘center of mass’ existed. Then, I confirmed to a Physics lecturer in 

Semarang State University about the ‘center of mass’ term. She thought that the term of ‘center of mass’ 

was accurate.  

2.2.1.6 Accurate data (Score 1, 3, and 3 by the three raters) 

The example data for ‘accurate’ data with the score 1 by the first rater, score 3 by the second 

rater, and score 3 by the third rater can be seen from the following data: 

A Datum no. 45 

ST : Dua buah partikel melakukan gerakan harmonik pada saat garis lurus. 

Keduanya berangkat dari titik kesetimbangan pada saat dan arah yang sama. 

Periodenya masing-masing 1/4 s dan 1/7 s. Berapa beda fasenya setelah 

kedua partikel itu bergerak selama 0,1 s? 

TT : Two particles are undergoing harmonic motion in the same straight line. Both 

of them start from the equilibrium at the same time and direction. The periods 

are 1/4 s and 1/7 s respectively. What much is the phase difference between 

the two particles after 0.1 s? 

In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘phase difference’ according to Pitt (1977:278) is 

defined as ‘the difference of phrase between two sinusoidal quantities that have the same frequency’. 

The second and third rater gave score 3 to the technical term. It means they agreed that the term of 

‘phase difference’ was accurate. Meanwhile, the first rater gave score 1 to the technical term. The first 

rater had doubts about the technical term. The first rater then changed his perspective and said that 

the term of ‘phase difference’ was a little less accurate but did not change the original meaning. The 

technical term still delivered the meaning well. Meanwhile, in the dictionary of Physics, the term of 



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‘phase difference’ existed. Then, I confirmed to a Physics lecturer in Semarang State University about 

the ‘phase difference’ term. She thought that the term of ‘phase difference’ was accurate. Thus, the term 

of ‘phase difference’ included in accurate data. 

2.2.1.7 Accurate data (Score 2, 3, and 1 by the three raters) 

The example data for ‘accurate’ data with the score 2 by the first rater, score 3 by the second 

rater, and score 1 by the third rater can be seen from the following data: 

A. Datum no. 36 

ST : Simpangan adalah jarak antara posisi beban terhadap titik 

kesetimbangan. 

TT : Displacement is the distance between the position of the weight and the 

equilibrium point. 

In the Dictionary of Physics, the technical term ‘displacement’ according to Pitt (1977:110) is 

defined as ‘a change in position; the distance moved by a given particle of a system from its position 

of rest when acted upon by a disturbing force’. The second rater gave score 3 to the technical term. It 

means the second rater agreed that the term of ‘displacement’ was accurate. Meanwhile, the first rater 

gave score 2 to the technical term and the third rater gave score 1 to the technical term. The first 

rater thought that the technical term was not quite accurate. However, the first rater also thought 

that the technical term still delivered the meaning well. The third rater thought that the term of 

‘displacement’ was not too good translation of ‘simpangan’. The third rater thought that the 

translation of ‘simpangan’ was ‘deviation’. However, based on the dictionary of Physics, the term 

‘deviation’ according to Pitt (1977:100) is defined as ‘the difference between an observation and its 

true value’. The meaning of the ‘deviation’ term was not suitable with the term referred in the target 

text. The third rater suggested me to ask the Physics lecturer. Then, I confirmed to a Physics lecturer 

in Semarang State University about the ‘displacement’ term. She thought that the term of 

‘displacement’ was accurate. Then, in the dictionary of Physics, the term of ‘displacement’ existed. 

Thus, the term of ‘displacement’ included in accurate data. 

 

2.2.2 Inaccurate Criteria  

The inaccurate data was not suitable based on the dictionary of Physics. The term which I 

found in the data was different from the term in the dictionary of Physics. The datum of ‘inaccurate’ 

data was given the score 1 by the first rater, score 2 by the second rater, and score 2 by the third 

rater. The datum of inaccurate data can be seen from the following datum: 

A. Datum no. 27 

ST : Hukum kekekalan energi mekanik dapat digunakan untuk menentukan 

kecepatan lepas (escape velocity) suatu benda. 

TT : The law of mechanical energy conservation can be used to determine the 

escape velocity of an object. 

In the target text I found the term ‘energy conservation’. However, in the Dictionary of Physics, 

the technical term should be ‘conservation of energy’. The term ‘conservation of energy’ according to 

Pitt (1977:80) is defined as ‘the principle of the total energy in any system is constant’.  Besides, I 

also confirmed to the first, second and the third rater about their perspectives on the ‘energy 

conservation’ term. The first rater thought that the term of ‘energy conservation’ was inaccurate or the 

translation of technical term is inaccurate (or deleted). The second rater thought that the ‘energy 

conservation’ term changed the original meaning of the technical term. Then, the second rater thought 



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112 

 

that the term should not be ‘energy conservation’ but ‘conservation of energy’ because there were 

differences on cultural background between people who are mastering in Physics and English 

lecturers. The second rater thought that sometimes the use of ‘energy conservation’ term was not a 

problem for English lecturers or English students. However, it might cost difference for people who 

are studying Physics. The third rater had the same perspective as the second rater. The third rater 

also thought that the term ‘energy conservation’ should be ‘conservation of energy’.  The third rater 

thought that the term ‘conservation of energy’ was the term which usually being used by people who 

are studying Physics. I also thought that the term ‘conservation of energy’ was the most suitable term to 

replace the ‘energy conservation’ term. Thus, the term of ‘displacement’ in the target text included in 

inaccurate data. 

3. The relation between Accuracy Rating and Translation Procedures  

 

No Translation 

Procedure 

Level of 

Accuracy 

Rating 

Rater 1 Rater 2 Rater 3 

Frequency Data 

Number 

Frequency Data 

Number 

Frequency Data 

Number 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equivalence 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a.Accurate 

(score 3) 

66 6, 7, 11, 

12, 15, 

16, 17, 

18, 19, 

20, 21, 

23, 26, 

28, 29, 

31, 32, 

33, 34, 

37, 38, 

39, 40, 

46, 49, 

50, 51, 

55, 56, 

57, 59, 

61, 65, 

67, 68, 

69, 70, 

73, 74, 

75, 76, 

77, 78, 

79, 81, 

82, 83, 

84, 85, 

86, 89, 

90, 91, 

92, 93, 

94, 100, 

104, 

105, 

106, 

108, 

112, 

113, 

114, 

115 

91 

 

 

2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 

10, 11, 12, 

13, 14, 15, 

16, 17, 18, 

19, 20, 21, 

23, 24, 26, 

28, 29, 31, 

32, 34, 35, 

36, 37, 38, 

39, 40, 43, 

49, 50, 51, 

54, 55, 56, 

57, 59, 60, 

61, 62, 64, 

65, 66, 68, 

69, 70, 72, 

73, 74, 75, 

76, 77, 78, 

79, 80, 81, 

82, 83, 84 

,85, 86, 87, 

88, 89, 90, 

91, 92, 93, 

94, 96, 97, 

98, 101, 103, 

104, 105, 

106, 108, 

109, 111, 

112, 113, 

114, 115, 

116, 117, 

118, 119 

96 1, 2, 3, 6, 

7, 8, 9, 10, 

11, 12, 13, 

14, 15, 16, 

17, 18, 19, 

20, 21, 22, 

23, 24, 26, 

28, 29, 31, 

32, 33, 34, 

35, 37, 38, 

39, 40, 43, 

46, 47, 48, 

49, 50, 51, 

55, 56, 57, 

60, 61, 62, 

64, 65, 66, 

67, 68, 69, 

70, 71, 73, 

74, 75, 76, 

77, 78, 79, 

80, 81, 82, 

83, 84, 85, 

86, 87, 88, 

89, 90, 91, 

92, 93, 94, 

96, 97, 98, 

100, 101, 

103, 104, 

105, 106, 

107, 108, 

109, 111, 

112, 113, 

114, 115, 

116, 117 

b.Not quite 31 1, 2, 3, 11 1, 7, 22, 33, 3 54, 59, 72 



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113 

 

accurate 

(Score 2) 

8, 9, 10, 

13, 22, 

24, 35, 

36, 43, 

47, 48, 

54, 60, 

64, 66, 

71, 72, 

80, 87, 

88, 96, 

97, 98, 

101, 

107, 

109, 

111, 

117 

46, 47, 48, 

67, 71, 100, 

107 

c.Inaccurate 

(score 1) 

3 14, 62, 

103 

- - 1 36 

 

 

 

2. 

 

 

 

Calque 

a.Accurate 

(score 3) 

13 5, 41, 

42, 52, 

53, 58, 

63, 95, 

99, 102, 

110, 

118, 

119 

14 4, 5, 25, 30, 

41, 42, 52, 

53, 58, 63, 

95, 99, 102, 

110 

16 4, 5, 25, 

30, 41, 42, 

52, 53, 58, 

63, 95, 99, 

102, 110, 

118, 119 

b.Not quite 

accurate 

(Score 2) 

3 4, 25, 

30 

1 27 1 27 

c.Inaccurate 

(score 1) 

1 27 - - - - 

 

 

 

3. 

 

 

 

Transpo 

sition 

a.Accurate 

(score 3) 

1 44 2 44, 45 2 44, 45 

b.Not quite 

accurate 

(Score 2) 

- - - - - - 

c.Inaccurate 

(score 1) 

1 45 - - - - 

Total 119  119  119  

Table 3.3 Recapitulation of Accuracy Rating 

Based on the table above, there were three translation procedures applied in the data by the 

translator. The three translation procedures were equivalence procedure, calque procedure and 

transposition procedure. The table showed that the number of accurate data was dominated by 

equivalence procedure, followed by calque procedure and transposition procedure. Even though 

some of the accuracy data of each rater were different, but mostly the accurate data were dominated 

by equivalence procedure in each rater’s assessment as shown in the table.                 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             



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114 

 

CONCLUSIONS 

Based on the thorough analysis, I found that in translating Physics term from Indonesian into 

English need to apply equivalence procedure. The reason was because in translating technical terms 

such as Physics terms, the translator found the equivalence in the source language and in the target 

language. The data in this research showed the Physics terms in Indonesian as the source language 

were translated into English as the target language. Even though in this research Indonesian as the 

source language, but many Physics terms in Indonesian borrowed the Physics terms from foreign 

language especially English and not the reverse.  The importance in using equivalence in this 

research was to respect the origin of the Physics terms. Based on the reason mentioned beforehand, 

the equivalence procedure was the most accurate procedure to be applied in this research. The other 

translation procedures which were found in translating Physics terms in this research were calque 

procedure and transposition procedure. Each technical term was translated differently based on 

translation procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet. There were 119 data were analyzed in the 

book. The translation procedure mostly used was equivalence procedure with the frequency of 100 

times (84%), followed by calque procedure with the frequency of 17 times (14.28%) and 

transposition procedure with the frequency of 2 times (1.68%). The application of equivalence 

procedure in the data was appropriate. It made the translation of Physics terms was accurate without 

distortion of meaning.  

Beside the translation procedures, the technical term was assessed for its accuracy. The 

assessment of accuracy itself was done by three raters. The three raters found that around 99.15% of 

the data were translated accurately, whereas the rest 0.84% of the data were inaccurately translated. 

The data was gained by the following description; the accuracy of the equivalence procedure was 

84.03%, followed by calque procedure with the accuracy 13.44%, and transposition procedure with 

the accuracy 1.68%. Thus, the equivalence procedure was mostly used and had the highest accuracy 

rating in this research. As overall, the Physics terms were translated accurately. The accuracy of the 

translation was 99.15% from 118 data. It means that almost all the data was accurate. In this case, 

the translator applied the proper translation procedures in the data so the translation of Physics term 

in Physics Bilingual Book for Senior High School Year XI was accurate without distortion of 

meaning. The application of translation procedures was very important because it affected the result 

of the translation. The selection of translation procedure in translating technical terms was very 

essential because it affected the validity of the data. Therefore, translator’s competence and cautious 

work were really needed. Besides, the outcome of the data in this research was considered good 

enough. 

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