This paper tries to examine how the Tagalog song

"Ang Huling El Bimbo" is translated to English

according to Peter Newmark's theory on translation.

Communicative translation attempts to

produce on its readers an effect as close
as possible to that obtained on the
readers of the original. Semantic
translation attempts to render, as closely
as the semantic and syntactic structures
of the second language allow, the exact
contextual meaning of the original.
(Newmark 1981: 39)
It is obvious that communicative translation focuses on producing an
equivalent effect on the target readers. On the contrary, semantic
translation remains within the original culture at the author’s linguistic
level.

In Peter Newmark's book, he pointed out that there are three main
factors that determine the tendency of the translation. The type of text
is one of the main factors. In his book Approach to Translation, he
classified the types as follows: expressive discourse, informative
discourse, and vocative discourse. The expressive discourse refers to
literature and authoritative text hence this approach will be used for
this piece.
Kamukha mo si Paraluman / You looked like Paraluman

Nung tayo ay bata pa / When we were still kids

At ang galing-galing mong sumayaw / And you were so good at

dancing

For Newman, in translating expressive texts, the expressive

components should be rendered closely. In the 1st stanza, the TT holds
closely to what the ST is, semantically speaking. The reason is that it
should translate not only all the information of the text but also the
style and rhetoric devices of the text. With this, we can clearly see that
expressive discourse falls into the category of a semantic approach.
Magkahawak ang ating kamay / Our hands held

At walang kamalay-malay / And unconsciously

Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko / You taught my heart

Na umibig ng tunay / How to love truly

In this stanza, we can see that the translator is attempting to render, as

closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the TT allows, the
exact contextual meaning of ST, in order to display the personal
components of the ST and make the TT follow as close to the original as
possible. The aim is to highlight the expressive function of the text.
Lumipas ang maraming taon / Many years passed

Di na tayo nagkita / We didn’t see each other

Balita ko’y may anak ka na / News is you have a child

Ngunit walang asawa / But no husband

Tagahugas ka raw / Word is you’re a dishwasher

Ng pinggan sa may Ermita / in Ermita

At isang gabi nasagasaan / And one night got run over

Sa isang madilim na eskenita / In a dark alley

Newmark also points out that the core of the expressive text is the
author’s status in the process of translation. Having said that, the
author's way of coming up with the TT (as shown from the above
stanza) is through whatever medium is available to him/her during the
process of translation. The focus of expressive texts is the author’s
ideology, which is dedicated to the texts. The author’s personal
components establish the “expressive” elements of an expressive text
and become the idiolect (an individual's distinctive and unique use of
language) which displays the author’s personal language style.
Lastly, Newmark recommends adopting the approach of semantic
translation when translating this type of text. That is, try to render, as
nearly as the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language
allow, the precise contextual meaning of the original, in order to display
the personal components of the text and make the translated text
follow as close to the original as possible. The aim is to highlight the
expressive function of the text.