STRATEGIES OF TRANSLATING PROVERBS

SYAHRON LUBIS

POSTGRADUATE STUDIES OF ENGLISH

FACULTY OF CULTURAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA
 TRANSLATING AND TRANSLATION

●Translation as a process is understood as an act of

transferring the meaning of a source text to the target text
by following a procedure. The process is called translating
and its result is called translation.
●The source text can be in written or oral language and it
can be in symbols
●Translating is done from language A to language B or vice
versa
●Translating is not limited to the translation from a foreign
language to a mother tongue as from English to bahasa
Indonesia (Indonesian) but it can be also done between two
related languages like Javanese and Sundanese or Malay
and Indonesian
 Text genre is not limited either, descriptive, argumentative, narrative,
procedural, literary, poetic, advertisements, and even anecdotes can be
translated.
 Text substances are not either limited. Texts concerning science,
technology, politics, culture, literature, religion, art etc can be translated.
 PROVERB

 In the variety of the text substances, there is a kind of

text called proverb. Proverbs belong to idiomatic or
figurative expressions, expressions whose meaning in
general, cannot be transferred literally.
 Proverbs in general symbolize natural facts, life

experiences, beliefs, and human’s views about the

nature and the human beings itself.
 Since proverbs symbolize natural facts, human experiences, beliefs,
proverbs can be found in any society. However because
experiences, views and beliefs of one society may be different from
another society’s, the proverbs in the two societies may be different
as well.
 Proverbs symbolizing natural facts are easy to find in many
societies. For example, proverbs which have the same meaning as
An apple falls not far from its tree, can be also found in Indonesian
as Buah jatuh tidak jauh dari pohonnya, in Mandailing as Muda
singkam tungkona, singkamma tunasna (Literally:When the trunk is
singkam(a kind of tree), its shoot is also singkam) and in Toba as
Dang dao tubis sian bonana (Literally:the bamboo shoot is not far
from its tree).
 Strategies of Translating Proverbs

 Since cultural experiences, beliefs and views may differ from one society
to another, so proverbs as symbols can be different as well. Even cultural
experiences, beliefs, and views on nature and life of Society A cannot be
found in society B.
 Therefore, translating proverbs needs strategies and priorities as shown in
the diagram below.

Priority 1 Find equivalent in meaning and form

Priority 2 Find equivalent in meaning even though the

form is different
Priority 3 If both cannot be found, do paraphrasing
 Priority 1 which means both meaning and form are equivalent is the most accurate
because the readers of the translation have been familiar with the proverb. For
example, the English proverb Like the water off the duck’s back is equivalent both
in meaning and form to Indonesian proverb Bagai air di daun keladi or another
English proverb To find a needle in a haystack is equivalent to Indonesian Mencari
kutu dalam ijuk.
 Occasionally an equivalent in the target language can be found which looks like a
literal translation from a source language. For example, Tong kosong nyaring
bunyinya is literally equivalent to Empty vessel makes most sound. In this case, in
my opinion, we would better use our original proverb as Air beriak tanda tak dalam
which has long been familiar and famous or Cucuran atap jatuhnya ke pelimbahan
juga rather than Buah jatuh tidak jauh dari pohonnya as the equivalent to An apple
falls not far from its tree.
 If Priority 1 does not work, we apply Priority 2 to find an equivalent which has
similar meaning with that of the proverb in the source language even though the
form is different as the English Speak of the devil which is equivalent to Panjang
umur or To hit the jackpot which is equivalent to Mendapat durian runtuh.
 When Priority 2 (similar meaning but different form) is not found either, we
use Priority 3 that is paraphrasing. This is done by explaining the meaning
of the proverb using the words of the target language. For example, the
English proverb Drain the radiator is paraphrased into Buang air kecil, or
Storm in a tea cup is paraphrased into Pertikaian besar hanya karena sebab
sederhana. We can explain the meaning in the way we like as long as the
meaning can be accurately conveyed.
 Paraphrasing is the only method we can use because Priority 1 and Priority 2
cannot be found in the target language even though the idea or the view is
contrary to the cultural values of the target language. For example, in
Mandailing culture there is a classic but very well-known proverb: Maranak
sapulu pitu marboru sapulu onom which literally means in bahasa Indonesia
‘Beranak sepuluh tujuh (17), berputri sepuluh enam (16)’ or ‘To have 17 sons
and 16 daughters’ in English. In a country or a society where family planning
has long been practiced the view is of course not accepted.
Thank you for your attention