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ELT FORUM 6 (2) (2017) 

 

Journal of English Language Teaching 

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

 
 

TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES AND READABILITY 

OF THE CULTURE SPECIFIC ITEMS IN THE 2007 

INDONESIAN TRANSLATION OF ALICE’S 

ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND 

 

 

Martinda Intan Permatahati, Mohamad Ikhwan Rosyidi  
 

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: culture-specific 
items, translation 
technique, readability, 
Alice’s Adventures in 
Wonderland 
  
____________________ 

 
Abstract  
___________________________________________________________________ 
Translation techniques poses somewhat of challenge. Addressing the potential problems existing in 

translation between English and Indonesian, culture specific item (CSI) is used to translate the 

untranslatable words in the process of translation into target language. The technique that is used to 

translate will affect to the readability level. This research has an objective to find and describe the 

translation techniques that are applied in translating culture-specific items (CSI) in Sri Haryanto’s 

Indonesian translated novel of Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland entitled Petualangan di Negeri Ajaib dan 

Dunia di Balik Cermin by Windi A in 2007 and to explain the readability of culture-specific items (CSI) 

in this translated novel. Qualitative method is used in observing and analyzing the phenomenon which 

affected as an impact of the readability of culture-specific items in the translated text that had found in the 

Indonesian translated novel of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and also making interpretations of the 

meaning of the readability level of culture-specific items in its Indonesian translated novel through the 

readability rating-sheet. From this research, the researcher finds 16 translation techniques that are applied 

in translating the culture-specific items from Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland novel into its 2007 

Indonesian translated novel by Sri Haryanto. Established equivalent translation technique is the highest 

frequency of translation technique that is applied in this novel. It can be concluded that the readability of 

culture-specific items in Sri Haryanto’s Indonesian translated novel of Alice’s in Wonderland is readable. 

  
 © 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 

Translation of Culture-Specific Items (CSIs), which becomes problems for translators, has 

been and still a largely debatable issue in translation study.  Since the concept of culture is essential 

to understanding the implications for literary translation and culture-specific items in translation, 

many translation theorists have dealt with the definition of culture. In 1984, Larson defines culture 

as "a complex of beliefs, attitudes, values, and rules which a group of people share" (Larson, 1984: 

431). He notes that the translator needs to understand beliefs, attitudes, values, and the rules of the 

source language (SL) audience in order to adequately understand the source text (ST) and 

adequately translate it for people who have a different set of beliefs, attitudes, values, and rules. In 

1998, Newmark remarks that culture is "the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a 

community that uses a particular language as its means of expression" (Newmark, 1998: 94). Here, 

he asserts that each language group has its own culturally specific features.  

There are so many different cultures in the world that the exact number is impossible to 

declare (O‟Neil 2006). In other words, there are no strict boundaries within the melting pot of the 

world‟s cultures. To find the best equivalent for culture specific items (CSIs) in translation is, thus, 

one of the main concerns and the hardest part for each translator. The translators need to find an 

equivalent with the same context in the target text (TT). One of the most difficult problems is how to 

find some words or sentences that are not known in the target text (TT). A translator should be able 

to find some possibilities that include the diversities of translation strategies which can solve the 

problem of translating CSIs. 

 The cultural diversity may be noticeable in literary writings. In fiction, the created 

characters originated from certain culture. This is expressed it through various culture-specific items. 

Fictional characters from different cultures may confront, and then, certain misunderstanding can 

occur due to the differences in cultures.  Moreover, the work of fiction is available for a multicultural 

society due to the numerous translations into other languages, which cause a clash between cultures 

because a reader with his/hers own cultural identity reads the book from a different perspective. 

Hence, the writer choose Alice in Wonderland which will be compared with Indonesian translation 

novel Petualangan di Negeri Ajaib dan Dunia di Balik Cermin by Windi A in 2007 in order to identify 

culture-specific items in a literary text and be able to analyze them. 

There are so many fiction novels for children. One of them is The Little Prince. The two books 

are based on the concept of the naïveté and innocence of the minds of young children. The two 

novels are comparable to each other in many different ways. Several of the notably comparable 

aspects of the two stories are detectable in the themes, writing style, character development, and 

voice or tone of the novels. Other aspects include the “hero cycle” and symbolic elements of the two 

books. Though the two stories are completely original in their own right, both authors have either 

similar mindsets or similar inspirations when writing the books.  

Compared to The Little Prince, the symbolic representations of certain aspects of life is more 

prominent in Alice in Wonderland. In the story, most characters represent characteristics of Alice’s 

personality. For example, such character as The Caterpillar not only acts as a mentor, but also 

represents the part of Alice's mind that is wise and can make good decisions. 

 Other characters like the Queen, Duchess, Cook, represent the parts of Alice’s personality that 

are not as helpful, such as greed, anger, jealousy, sadness, and worry. These feelings are usually 

hidden away in a child, as they really do not have any cause to feel them, not until they get older. In 

The Little Prince, the symbols serve a similar purpose to represent aspects of the mind. However, 

instead of a child's mind, the traits are of an adult mind, and rather than focusing on one individual, 

the traits are of all adult minds in general. Each trait is represented as a much exaggerated form of 

what that trait should be, and those individuals, for the most part, do not really have any other 



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unique personalities. The flower represents vanity and self-importance, characteristics that are found 

more in the minds of adults that children. All of the men on the planets represent other parts of the 

mind: excess vanity and self-importance, distraction from important matters, making bad choices, 

unfriendliness and, in the Prince's words, “strangeness” overall.  

After reading both stories, it is possible to view The Little Prince as having been inspired by 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Both novels center on growing older, and more cynical and aware of 

the world‟s surroundings. They both state that childhood must be preserved, and not tarnished by 

the adult world until it is time. These two classic novels are turning points in the literary genre; 

classic examples of books that will be remembered for their wise and thoughtful insights into the 

minds of children, and how the rest of the world is affected by them. 

Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was mathematician, 

photographer, Anglican deacon, and also logician (as cited from: www.encyclopedia.com/article-

1G2-3443000011/caroll-lewis-1832-1898.html). He lived in religious family. His best seller novel 

was dedicated for his childhood, Alice Liddell. Carroll mentioned that naturally his novel made 

reference to bible. He wants to educate moral toward the children but in simple way through story. 

It claimed that some parts of the novel remind the reader toward bible. This rumor attracts the 

research to analyze this novel compare to others to prove the CSI that Lewis brought in his writing.  

METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH  

The researcher had identified and analyzed the data from the novel and found 413 culture 

specific-items in Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland. Those culture specific-items were divided into 

six categories based on Newmark‟s categorization. Those are: ecology, material culture, social 

culture, organization, gesture and habits, and proper name.  

 Based on those research result and analysis, 115 culture-specific items words categorized as 

ecology, 141 in material culture, 31 in social culture, 21 in organization, 49 in gestures and habits, 

and 56 from proper name. From these categories, the most frequent occurrence is the material 

culture with 141 data. In contrast to material culture category, organization is the fewest categories 

found with 20 data. 

The first research question of his study was what translation techniques were applied in 

translating the culture specific items (CSI) in Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland into the 2007 

Indonesian translation of Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland. To answer the first research question, 

besides providing the result of categories and sub-categories of culture-specific items used in this 

research, the researcher also provided the complete result of what translation techniques that were 

used by Khairi Rumantati in translating the Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland. In this research, the 

researcher used eighteen translation techniques proposed by Mollina and Albir in analysing them.  

 Out of eighteen translation techniques proposed by Mollina and Albir, the researcher found 

that Sri Haryanto just applied fifteen of them in translating 413 cuture-specific items in Alice‟s 

Adventures in Wonderland novel into the target language. The results of translation techniques 

applying classifications are: 30 data were translated using adaptation (7.21%), 17 data were 

translated using amplification (5.05%), 59 data were translated using borrowing (14.18%), 13 data 

were translated using calque (3.13%), one data were translated using compensation (0.24%), 3 data 

were translated using description (0.72%), 15 data were translated using discursive creation (3.61%), 

211 data were translated using established equivalent (50.72%), 13 data were translated using 

generalization (3.13%), 7 data were translated using literal translation (1.68%), 7 data were 

translated using modulation (1.68%), 2 data were translated using particularization (0.48%), 21 data 

were translated using reduction (5.05%), 2 data were translated using transposition (0.48%), and one 

data were translated using variation (0.24%), 13 data were deleted (3.13%).The researcher found that 



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the most used translation technique in translating culture-specific items in the 2007 Indonesian 

translation of Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland; Alice in Wonderland is the established equivalent 

technique.  

RESULT AND DISCUSSION 

The research result showed that the translation technique that was mostly used by Sri 

Haryanto in translating culture- specific items in Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland into the target 

language was established equivalent technique with 211 (50,72%) of applying. While the most 

infrequently used were compensation and variation with one (0.24%) applying for each.  

 In this research, material culture is the highest number of culture-specific itmes category 

with 34.14% and established equivalent translation technique is the most frequently used to translate 

the culture-specific items with 50,72%.  

Established equivalence got the first position and became the most frequent translation 

technique to translate Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland novel. Established equivalence occurs 

when the translator adapting the text to the target language syntactic rules, with minimal 

adjustments, so that it sounds both correct and idiomatic. The researcher found 211 (50.72%) in 

2007 version of Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland, Petualangan di Dunia Ajaib dan Dunia di Balik 

Cermin by Sri Haryanto. The highest number was from ecology category. There were 73 out of 211 

culture specific items, eleven from flora, fourty  from fauna, eleven from plains, eight from 

geography, two from geology and one from winds. The second number was from material culture 

category. Fifteen from food, eleven from clothes, twenty three from artifacts, and fifteen from houses 

and three from places sub-category.  From social category, there were 15 culture specific items that 

translated using established equivalence. Nine from education and 5 from occupation sub-category. 

Ten out of 211 were from organization. There were one from customs, two from religious, and 

seven from institutional terms. 33 out of 211 were from gestures and habits category, 26 from 

gestures and the rest were from habits. Proper name also translated using established equivalence 

technique. There were eleven from proper name.  

  

Readability Level 

In this research, the researcher used readability rating sheet to measure the readability level of 

the translated culture-specific items in the 2007 Indonesian translation of Alice‟s Adventures in 

Wonderland. The readability rating sheet was filled by 20 respondents after reading Alice in 

Wonderland. They were from high school. 

There were three indicators or more recisely the regulations of the readability rating sheet. If it 

was not difficult to understand the translated culture-specific items in Alice in Wonderland, they 

shoud give score 3 or give a sign of check in the column of number 3. If there was a little difficult to 

understand the translated culture-specific items in Alice in Wonderland, they shoud give score 2 or 

give a sign of check in the column of number 2. It meant that they did not really understand them. 

While if it was difficult to understand the translated culture-specific items in Alice in Wonderland, 

they should give score 1 or give a sign of check in the column of number 1 which meant that they 

did not understand at all.  All of the respondents of in this research were asked to rate the translated 

culture-specific items in Alice in Wonderland.  

Based on the readability rating sheet calculation result, the readability score of each culture-

specific item category can be concluded as follows: ecology culture-specific item category got 1529 

on high readability, 448 on the middle readability, and 243 on the low readability with 115 culture-

specific items. By comparison, the material culture got 1837 on high readability, 615 on the middle 

readability and 368 on low readability with 141 culture-specific items. Furthermore, the third 



M. Intan Permatahati & M. Ikhwan Rosyidi / Journal of English Language Teaching 6 (2) (2017) 

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category used in this study, the social culture got 411 on high readability, 120 on middle readability 

and 89 on low readability with 31 culture-specific items. The next category, the organization got 259 

on high readability, 104 on middle readability, and 57 on low readability with 21 culture-specific 

items. The fifth category in this study, the gestures and habits got 604 on high readability, 210 on 

middle readability, and 106 on low readability with 49 culture-specific items. The last category, the 

proper name got 513 on high readability, 247 on middle readability, and 240 on low readability with 

56 culture-specific items. The complete results can be seen in appendix 3. 

 Based on the research result above, each culture-specific items category got different 

readability level. It can be concluded that the culture-specific items in the 2007 Indonesian 

translation of Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice di Negeri Ajaib, overall was readable. 

Relation among Culture-specific items, Translation techniques, and Readability 

Based on the connection among culture-specific items, translation techniques and readability 

analysis, the researcher found that every culture-specific items category required different translation 

technique.  

From the analysis, it can be found that established equivalent is more dominant and suitable 

in translating the items from ecology category, especially in fauna-sub category, and material culture 

category, especially in artifacts-sub category, there were also several word that the raters only gave 

one score. For example, the sentence in flora sub-category, “Did you say „pig‟ or „fig‟?”. The word 

pig and fig were almost the same when we heard it, but it had different meaning and Sri Haryanto 

only translated the word pig and fig into Bahasa. So the raters did not understand, thirteen person 

gave one score, five students gave two score and two students gave three scores. From this result, it 

can be concluded that using literal translation for the words “Pig and Fig” were not suitable and it 

was not readable. 

 Using established equivalence to translate institutional terms sub-category was suitable. The 

readers rated high readability for the institutional terms that translated using established equvalence. 

Another research finding showed that using adaptation technique to translate health was very 

suitable. The raters gave high readability rating for this. Three out of 4 borrowing technique were 

used to translate education sub-category used in translating the culture specific items from this 

category.  

There were 56 culture specific items categorized as proper name. 30 out of 56 were translated 

using borrowing technique. The translator used borrowing technique in translating the CSI from this 

category, since it mostly consists of name of the characters. 

 

 From the explanation above, it can be summarized that the readability of culture specific 

items in the 2007 Indonesian translation of Alice‟s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice di Negeri 

Ajaib was measured by using readability rating sheet with total score 5153 on high readability, score 

1744 on medium readability and  score 1103 on low readability. Based on the score, it can be 

inferred that the culture specific items in the 2007 Indonesian translation of Alice‟s Adventures in 

Wonderland, Alice di Negeri Ajaib overall was readable. Moreover, from the research results, it can 

be inferred that each subcategory also had its own translation technique suitability. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Based on the result of the research analysis, the researcher found 413 cultural-specific items 

from the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland novel which were classified into six categories. Those item 

were translated eighteen translation techniques proposed by Mollina and Albir. The reseracher 

found that Sri Haryanto applied fifteen of them in translating those cuture-specific items into the 



M. Intan Permatahati & M. Ikhwan Rosyidi / Journal of English Language Teaching 6 (2) (2017) 

121 

 

target language. The the mostly used translation technique in translating culture-specific items in the 

2007 Indonesian translation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; Alice in Wonderland is the established 

equivalent technique. Based on those research result and analysis, the material culture category got 

the highest frequency with 141 out of 413 items while the lowest frequency was from organization 

with 21 out of 413 items. 

Based on the research result, the culture-specific items in the 2007 Indonesian translation  of 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice di Negeri Ajaib got a high readability score, 5153 on high 

readability, score 1744 on medium readability and  score 1103 on low readability. It can be 

concluded that those items were quite readable. 

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