426 EEJ 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 English Education Journal http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/eej Translation Techniques and Quality of Indonesian-English Translation of Captions in Pekalongan Batik Museum Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi1 , Rudi Hartono2, Djoko Sutopo2 DOI : https:// DOI 10.15294/eej.v10i4.38727 1. Seattle International Language School, Indonesia 2. Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia Article Info ________________ Article History: Accepted 20 February 2020 Approved 5 May 2020 Published 23 December 2020 ________________ Keywords: Techniques, Translation Quality, Batik Museum Captions ________________ Abstract This study aims to classify and identify how the translation techniques and quality achieved in Indonesian-English translation of Captions in Pekalongan Batik Museum. The aim is broken down into translation techniques, accuracy, acceptability, readability, and the translation quality influenced by translation techniques. The data of this study were the captions in Pekalongan batik museum written in Indonesian and English. The scope of this study covers up the translation techniques and quality of Indonesian-English Translation of captions in Pekalongan Batik Museum. Descriptive qualitative research is employed in this study. The data gathered through 331 sentences for translation techniques and 30 texts in the form of captions for being investigated in translation quality. The results showed that thirteen of the eighteen translation techniques proposed by Molina and Albir (2002) are chosen by the translator. They are: literal translation, reduction, borrowing, addition, generalization, modulation, established equivalent, transposition, adaptation, particularization, linguistic amplification, linguistic compression, and calque. The result of the analysis in the translation quality showed that the captions in Pekalongan batik museum as accurate, acceptable, and readable translation.  Correspondence Address: Jl Gajah Mada 198 Kec. Batang Kab. Batang, Indonesia E-mail: nurpermadi@gmail.com p-ISSN 2087-0108 e-ISSN 2502-4566 Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 427 INTRODUCTION Nowadays, the effort of the translation process in captions in Indonesia is increasingly necessary. The purpose of translating the captions is introducing the contents to foreigners who visits Indonesia. In the case of written publication, the caption is a collection of written information. There are some kinds of captions such as at the museum, public building, public transportation, etc. Captions are articles that inform the readers about further information about something. The captions are in Indonesian-English. It helps foreigners to understand the information. Therefore, people will be helped and get easier to understand texts by a translator’s help for transferring from one source language (SL) to another target language (TL). There are some theories in translation that were developed time by time such as Nida and Taber (1969), Brislin (1976), Newmark (1988), Bell (1991), and Pym (1992). It can be concluded that translation is an activity of transferring the messages or ideas from the source text into the target text. Besides transferring messages, translation also plays a role in changing form. It is supported by Larson (1984) and Munday (2000). As Catford pointed out, translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL) (cited in Hartono, 2009). On the other hand, Bell in his book Translation and Translating: Theory and Practice define translation as the expression in another language (or target language) of what has been expressed in another source language preserving semantic and stylistic equivalences (1997). Hence, translation is also influenced by culture. Hartono (2009) explained that to produce a high quality of novel translation, translator should keep a basket of masteries of both source and target languages and cultures. Translation quality is similar to translation criticism. Newmark (1988) stated that “translation criticism is an essential link between translation theory and practice”. It means that, in criticizing a translation product, there is always a relationship between the theory of translation and the application of the theory. The translation quality can be judged from several aspects. The first aspect is the accuracy that indicates how faithfully the message of the source text is maintained in the target text. The second aspect is the acceptability that refers to the consistency of the translation to the grammar and culture of the target language. The third aspect is readability showing the understanding of the target readers to the translation. This present research is about the implementation of translation techniques and the quality of Indonesian-English translation of captions in Pekalongan batik museum. The techniques that are used to translate have to be appropriate because the message from the source language (SL) is accurately transferred into the target language (TL). The study aims to give the practical benefit especially by exploring the translation techniques and quality in the captions in Pekalongan batik museum. METHODS This study assumes that there are some translation techniques used to translate the captions. The translation quality of the captions has a different level of accuracy, acceptability, and readability depending on the translation techniques used to transfer the information embedded in the source text. The translation quality of the captions is affected by the use of translations techniques. Since the researcher collected, analyzed, and made a conclusion from the data, so this study can be categorized as a descriptive qualitative research. This study focused on describing the Indonesian- English translation of the captions and how the translation quality is affected by the use of translation techniques. The subject of this study was one translator of the captions in Pekalongan batik museum written in Indonesian and English. The object of this research was the captions in Pekalongan Batik Musem. The researcher employed himself to collect data by selecting and reading the captions. The data being investigated are the captions in Pekalongan batik museum. The unit of analysis was words phrases, and sentences. In gaining the data, the researcher needed an instrument to ease the process of analyzing. The researcher collected the captions and read them. Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 428 Next, the researcher analyzed the data in order to find translation techniques and the last, collected the questionnaire in order to analyze the translation quality. The process of analyzing data consists of (1) identifying (2) classifying (3) analyzing (4) reducing the data. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This section aimed to answer the five main problems of the study. Those related to translation techniques and quality of Indonesian-English translation of captions in Pekalongan Batik Museum. The result can be seen in Table 1. Table 1. Translation Techniques Percentage No Techniques Frequency Percentage Literal Translation 145 43.81 Reduction 57 17.22 Borrowing 37 11.18 Addition 11 3.32 Generalization 9 2.72 Modulation 6 1.81 Established Equivalent 7 2.11 Transposition 3 0.91 Adaptation 3 0.91 Particularization 3 0.91 Linguistic Amplification 2 0.60 Linguistic Compression 1 0.30 Calque 1 0.30 Discursive Creation 0 0.00 Compensation 0 0.00 Description 0 0.00 Substitution 0 0.00 Compensation 0 0.00 Not Translated 46 13.90 Total 331 100 Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 429 From Table 1, the researcher found 13 translation techniques. They are literal translation, reduction, borrowing, addition, generalization, modulation, established equivalent, transposition, adaptation, particularization, linguistic amplification, linguistic compression, and calque. The literal translation is the first dominant technique used by the translator; there are 145 times out of 331 data (43.81%). On the other hand, two techniques get the lowest usage. They are linguistic compression and calque which is occurred 1 time (0.3%) translated based on this technique. Literal Translation The literal translation starts from word- for-word translation and then makes changes to the conformity or source language grammar with target language grammar. (Molina & Albir, 2002, p. 510). It was used 145 times (43.81%). Example : Data 4 : SL : Ir.Soekarno meminta kepada Go Tik Swan, TL : Soekarno asked Go Tik Swan, The grammatical structure from SL to TL is the same. The sentence from the source language is Ir.Soekarno meminta kepada Go Tik Swan, this sentence is translated into Soekarno asked Go Tik Swan, the name in the subject is the same and there is no word change but the verb is translated into Simple Past Tense because it happened in the past time as evidence that this happened in the past. Reduction In this technique, the translator reduces the SL text in the TL but the message is implied in another part of the TL. This technique occurred 57 times (17.22%). Example: Data 3 : SL : Ide ini awalnya dimunculkan oleh Ir.Soekarno, presiden pertama RI dalam rangka persatuan Indonesia. TL : This ide came from Ir.Soekarno, the first President of Indonesia. The datum above shows that the translator uses a reduction technique. It can be seen from data 3 the words “RI” stands for Republik Indonesia are translated into Indonesia. There is a reduction from the SL to TL but the meaning of the SL can be understood. Borrowing Borrowing is a translation technique that takes a word or expression straight from another language. It was used 37 times (11.18%). Example: SL : yaitu Keraton dan Pesisiran, TL : the kraton and pesisir (seaside) style. The translator uses borrowing techniques in order to find the equivalence of the meaning between the text in the source language and target language. Addition The addition is used by a translator in order to make the translation clear by adding some information. This technique occurred 11 times (3.32%). Example: Data 18 : SL : yang dahulu merupakan pusat pemukiman keturunan Cina. TL : A settlement of Chinese and Chinese batik makers. The translator uses addition technique. The translator adds “batik markers” to make the translation clear and this addition words can help the readers to understand this text. If the translator does not add this word, it will make the readers a bit confused to understand the text. Generalization Generalization technique uses the neutral term or general term. (Molina & Albir, 2002, p. 510). It was used 9 times (2.72%). Example: Data 19 : SL : Juragan-juragan keturunan Cina di daerah ini membuat batik untuk mereka yang berselera Cina dengan ragam hias lambang kebudayaan Cina. TL : Their batiks are made for customers who prefer motifs reflecting Chinese culture. The words “Juragan-juragan keturunan Cina di daerah ini membuat batik” in the source Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 430 text is translated into “Their batiks are made”. The translator did not translate all the words in the subject in SL. The translator generalized the subject into “Their”. Modulation Modulation changes the point of view in relation to the source text. It can be lexical or structural. (Molina & Albir, 2002, p. 510). It was used 6 times (1.81%). Example: Data 93 : SL : Kain ini menggambarkan pola buketan pada bagian kepala, TL : The head of this cloth displays bouquet pattern The datum above uses modulation technique since the translator changes the focus or point of view between the source language and the target language. The subject of the sentence in the SL is “kain ini menggambarkan” but the translator changes the focus of the TL in to “the head of the cloth”. The translator changes the object of the SL as a subject in the TL. The use of modulation in this sentence is appropriate. Established Equivalent Molina and Albir (2002) state, “Established equivalent is to use a term or expression recognized (by dictionaries or language in use) as an equivalent in the TL.”.This technique occurred 7 times (2.11%). Example: Data 173 : SL : Kain ini menggambarkan pohon hayat yang tumbuh dibebatuan, berwarna ungu. TL : This cloth displays tree of life which is growing on purple colored rocks. The translator used a term or expression recognized as an equivalent in the TL. The expression “menggambarkan pohon hayat” is translated into “displays tree of life,” In English, there is not an expression or term that has the same meaning with SL. So, the translator translated the meaning of SL. Transposition Molina and Albir (2002) state that “Transposition is to change a grammatical category.” It was used 3 times (0.91%). Example: Data 234 : SL :Pengusaha batik Pekalongan keturunan Cina yang terkenal antara lain The Tie Siet, Oey Soe Tjoen, Lim Ping Wie, Lim Boe in, dan lainnya. TL : Some of popular Chinesse crossbreed batik makers in Pekalongan are The Tie Siet, Oey Soe Tjoen, Lim Ping Wie, Lim Boe in, etc In the datum above, the translator uses transposition. It can be seen from the words “keturunan Cina”. These words are translated into “Chinese crossbreed batik makers”. The translator transposes the grammar from the source language into the target language. Adaptation Molina and Albir (2002) defined adaptation as a technique to replace a ST (Source Target) cultural element with one from the target culture. This technique occurred 3 times (0.91%). Example: Data 88 : SL : Biasanya bisa dilihat ekornya yang meliuk-liuk. TL : Usually can be seen from the winding tail In data 88 the word “meliuk-liuk” is used to describe the appearance of something. In these sentences, the word meliuk-liuk describe the appearance of the birds’ tail. The word meliuk-liuk is translated into winding. Particularization It is the use of a more precise or concrete term, e.g., to translate window in English as guichet (jendelatoko) in French (Hartono, 2011). This technique occurred 3 times (0.91%). Example: Data 242: SL : Selanjutnya juga menampilkan motif cerita dalam selembar kain batik seperti kisah Cinderella, Snow Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 431 White, Little Red Riding Hood dan lainnya. TL :Next, dutch influenced batik also displays fairy tale story on its motif such as Cinderella, Show White, Little Red Riding Hood, etc. The translator uses the particularization technique to translate the text. It can be seen from the words “cerita” in the SL. The translator uses more concrete or precision terms to be “Fairy tale story”. These words are more precise to the target readers. The translator uses the particularization technique to make the translation more qualified. Linguistic Amplification This is often used in consecutive interpreting and dubbing. It is in opposition to linguistic compression. It was used 2 times (0.60%). Example: Data 22 : SL : Beberapa ragam hias batik yang unik dan terkenal di daerah Cirebon, yang diilhami oleh alam sekitarnya serta kepercayaan setempat antara lain adalah TL : Following is a description of several distinctively Cirebon motifs inspired by the natural surroundings and belief of the people The translator uses established linguistic amplification. It can be seen from the expression “serta kepercayaan setempat antara lain adalah:” is translated into “and belief of the people:”. The translator uses fewer words than the SL instead of using an expression with the same number of words. Linguistic Compression It means to synthesize linguistic elements in the TL (Target Language). This technique occurred 1 time (0.30%). Example: Data 27: SL : untuk mendekatkan diri kepada Yang Maha Pencipta. TL : And in order to come closer to their Creator. The clause ‘untuk mendekatkan diri kepada Yang Maha Pencipta’ in data 27 is translated into ‘And in order to come closer to their Creator’. The clause that is translated into linguistic compression is ‘Yang Maha Pencipta’ into ‘Creator’. The translator is not translated the text word for word, but the translator only focuses on one point of the sentences. So, those are evidence that linguistic compression is applied in those sentences. Calque Calque is a literal translation of a foreign word or phrase; it can be lexical or structural. It is a foreign word or phrase translated and incorporated into another language (Molina and Albir, 2002). This technique occurred 1 time (0.30%). Example: Data 1: SL : Batik Indonesia merupakan perpaduan dari dua gaya / type TL : Indonesian batik style blends two major batik style, The datum above shows that the translator uses a calque. It can be seen from the phrase “Batik Indonesia” are translated into “Indonesian Batik”. The translator translates the phrase in the source language into the target language literally. Based on the analysis above, it can be concluded that the translation technique that is used the most to translate the captions in Pekalongan batik museum is the literal translation. Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 432 Table 2. The Translation Quality Text Translation Quality Accuracy Acceptability Readability 2.33 2.33 2.33 2.67 2.33 2.67 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.67 2.33 2.67 3.00 2.67 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.33 2.33 2.33 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.67 2.67 2.67 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.67 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 2.67 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.67 2.67 2.67 3.00 3.00 3.00 Mean 2.83 2.79 2.83 The Accuracy of Indonesian-English Translation of Captions in Pekalongan Batik Museum Accuracy is a term used in evaluating translations to refer to whether the source language text and target language text are equivalent or not (Nababan, 2012). Accurate Translation Accurate translation means that the messages in the source text are transferred well in the target text. Example SL : Kain ini menggambarkan pola buketan pada bagian kepala. TL : The head of this cloth displays bouquet pattern. The datum above is taken from text 14. The translator changed the point of view in the sentences appropriately. It can be considered that the use of the modulation technique is very appropriate. The message in the source language is translated accurately in the target language because the message in the SL is conveyed to TL correctly and there is no distortion of meaning in the target language. Less Accurate translation The data included in this category are the data that have some distortions in meaning that affect the completeness of the whole message. Example: SL : Ide ini awalnya dimunculkan oleh Ir.Soekarno, presiden pertama RI dalam rangka persatuan Indonesia. TL : This ide came from Ir.Soekarno, the first President of Indonesia. The datum above is taken from text 1. The translator used the reduction technique. There are some messages that reduced by the translator. It can be seen from the example above that “dalam rangka persatuan Indonesia” is not translated into TL. This text is considered as less accurate because there was a distortion of meaning in translation this text from SL to TL and the mean score is 2,33. From the analysis above, the raters and the respondent found that the accuracy of the translation considered less accurate. The researcher found that the translator makes 28 accurate translations (93%) and 2 less accurate translations (7%). The translation techniques that are used by the translator are appropriate. The translator can maintain the meaning or message of the SL. The foreigners as respondents and the raters found there are some messages that are conveyed to the target language correctly. The translator provides accurate information and there is no distortion. As a conclusion, the researcher considered the Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 433 translation of captions in Pekalongan batik museum as an accurate translation. The Acceptability of Indonesian-English Translation of Captions in Pekalongan Batik Museum Nababan (2012) said that the term acceptability refers to whether a translation has been disclosed in accordance with the norms, norms, and cultures prevailing in the target language or not, either at the micro-level or at the macro level. Acceptable Translation Acceptable means that the target text sound natural and also the diction is appropriate with the principle of the target language. Example 1: SL : Kain ini menggambarkan pola buketan pada bagian kepala. TL : The head of this cloth displays bouquet pattern. In assessing the acceptability aspect of translation in text 14. The translator applied the modulation technique. The translator changes the point of view in relevance with the SL. The raters and the respondent found that the use of modulation techniques to translate this text is appropriate. As a result, readers will understand the text easily. Less Acceptable Translation Less acceptable means that the target text sounds unnatural and it is also not precise with the principle of the target language. Example : SL : Daerah pembatikan seperti Trusmi, Plumbon, Kali Tengah, dan Kunduran banyak menerima pesanan dari Kraton TL : The areas where batiking was done as Trusmi, Plumbon, Kali Tengah and Kunduran received many order from the kratons In assessing the acceptability aspect of translation in text 1. The researcher considered the text as less acceptable. The words “pembatikan seperti Trusmi, Plumbon, Kali Tengah, dan Kunduran” is translated into “The areas where batiking was done as Trusmi, Plumbon, Kali Tengah and Kunduran” are the evidence that the translator used borrowing technique to translate several words. The use of borrowing techniques by the translator in this text needs to be improved. It can be concluded that the text considered as less acceptable. From the analysis above, the raters and the respondent found that the acceptability of the translation considered acceptable. The researcher found that the translator makes 26 acceptable translation (87%) and 4 less acceptable translation (13%). The use of translation techniques is very appropriate to make the readers understand the text easily. The researcher found that the use of the translation techniques is very appropriate. The Readability of Indonesian-English Translation of Captions in Pekalongan Batik Museum According to Nababan (2012) readability or in English is readability, referring to the degree of the case of writing to be understood. Readable Translation Readable translation means that the content of the text can be understood easily by the raters. Example 2: SL : Kata Bledhak sendiri yang berarti putih atau suci. TL : The term bledhak means white or pure. The datum is taken from text 7 which is also considered as readable translation because the mean of this text is 3. In the datum, the translator used the literal translation technique that is used in the word “Kata Bledhak sendiri yang berarti putih atau suci”. The translator translated the source language word by word and the sentence structure from SL to TL does not change. The use of the literal translation technique is appropriate. Less Readable Translation The data in this category are considered as less readable translation since the raters are not easy to understand the content. Example 1: SL : Warna latar kuning gading yang merupakan warna khas Cirebon dinamakan warna kuning Cirebon. Erwin Dwi Nurpermadi, et al./ English Education Journal 10 (4) (2020) 426-435 434 TL : The ivory background, also called kuning Cirebon is distinctive feature of Cirebon batik. The datum above is taken from text 1. The use of borrowing techniques is not appropriate because the word “kuning” in SL is translated into “kuning” in the TL. This word is not translated into TL because the translator used the borrowing technique to translate this text. But in the TL, there is a word that can translate the word “kuning”. Overall, this text considered as less readable because the mean is 2,33. The analysis of translation techniques and quality of translation shows that the most techniques used in translating captions in Pekalongan batik museum are the literal translation. It can be seen that this translation technique gives more positive contributions to the quality of translation comparing to the other techniques. These techniques mostly produce qualified translation. Meanwhile, the techniques which give a negative contribution or produce the low quality of translation in terms of accuracy, acceptability, and readability are reduction and established equivalence. CONCLUSIONS Based on the analysis described above, the writer draws the conclusion as follows: First, the analysis of the translation technique shows that it uses thirteen translation techniques. They are literal translation, reduction, borrowing, addition, generalization, modulation, established equivalent, transposition, adaptation, particularization, linguistic amplification, linguistic compression, and calque. The literal translation is the most frequent technique used. On the other hand, the linguistic compression and calque are the lowest percentages of the technique. Second, the result of the analysis in the translation quality in terms of accuracy presented in finding shows that the translator makes 28 accurate translations (93%) and 2 less accurate translations (7%). As a conclusion, the researcher considered the translation of captions in Pekalongan batik museum as an accurate translation. Third, the result of the analysis in the translation quality in terms of acceptability presented in finding shows that the translator produces 26 acceptable translations (87%) and 4 less acceptable translation (13%). It can be concluded that the captions in Pekalongan batik museum considered as acceptable. Fourth, the result of the analysis in the translation quality in terms of readability presented in finding shows that the translator makes 28 readable translation (93%) and 2 less readable translations (7%). As a result of the analysis, the raters and the respondent considered the text as readable. Fifth, the result of the analysis in the translation quality influenced by the translation techniques presented in finding shows that the appropriate techniques in translating captions in Pekalongan batik museum are literal translation. It can be concluded that the translator applied the appropriate techniques to translate the captions in Pekalongan batik museum. REFERENCES Bell, Roger. 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