International Journal of Language and Literature

June 2016, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 228-239

ISSN: 2334-234X (Print), 2334-2358 (Online)
Copyright © The Author(s). 2015. All Rights Reserved.
Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development
DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v4n1a27
URL: https://doi.org/10.15640/ijll.v4n1a27

Translation Quality Assessment of “the 8th Habit: from Effectiveness to Greatness by

Stephen R. Covey” into Indonesian

Roswani Siregar1

Abstract

This study deals with the investigation of the influence of translation ideology on translation quality. The
objective of this study is to find out the translation quality of the 8thHabit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
by Stephen R. Covey” into Indonesian. The type of this study is descriptive-qualitative that focuses on
translation product analysis. The sources of data are text-books, informants, and interview of key informants
and respondent. The collecting of data that consist of word, phrase, clause, and sentence was done with
purposive sampling technique. The collecting of data used questionnaire to find out the translation quality
which was measured into three categories: Accuracy, Acceptability, and Readability. There are 430 data pairs
of text (English and Indonesian) as sample in this study. The key informants are linguist, translation experts,
and Economics’ students. The findings showed the translation accuracy (86.51%), acceptability (94.19%), and
readability (95.58%).

Keywords: translation, ideology, method, technique, quality.

Introduction
Globalization has affected the world of translation. With the media revolution and its string of intangible
exchanges, translators suddenly find themselves involved in every aspect of intercultural communication. The
movement of people around the globe can be seen to mirror the very process of translation. It resulted the translation
product in the form of books, audios, films, etc. According to Abrams (2015), there are 1,400 publishing houses in
Indonesia which publish an average of around 24,000 titles foreign books per year. Not surprisingly, it also has drawn
great attention of scholars in translation study for years.
In addition to its critical role in transfer of knowledge and information for nation building, Murtisari (2015)
proposed that translation is paramount in the development of national languages by enlarging their capacities as a
medium of communication, be it in vocabulary and organization of ideas. As an act of mediated inter lingual
communication, however, translation is far beyond “a pure linguistic transfer”. With language manifested itself with
social, political and cultural values, translation is often positioned at the very frontier in constant negotiation with the
other.
The proposed study focuses on the analysis of translation quality in the process of motivational book
translation. As one of translation products, a translated text is influenced by the target language of the translator
where the source text will be retextulised in accordance with the target text norms and conventions. Lefever (1992)
has emphasized the three elements in terms of the relationship between translation and ideology; (1) network of
forms, (2) conventions, and (3) beliefs are to determine the translator’s decision when producing a text. Because of
translation is not only a linguistic act, it is also an act of communication across cultures. Nida (1964) saw translation as
one of the major means of constructing representations of other cultures.

1
Universitas Al-Azhar Medan, Indonesia.
Roswani Siregar 229

He clearly recognized that translation always involves both different languages and different cultures simply
because the two cannot be neatly separated. Thus, translation quality assessment means both retrospectively assessing
the worth of a translation and prospectively ensuring its quality.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Translation
Etymologically, "translation is a "carrying across" or "bringing across": the Latin translation derives from
transferee (trans = "across" + ferre = "to carry" or "to bring")" (Translation, 2005:1). Lewis (1958:265) writes that
"translate" is formed from the Latin "trans+latus", which means "carried across". Translation, whose beginning can
be traced back to the Tower of Babel (Finlay, 1971:17), is defined as "a bilingual mediated process of communication
which ordinarily aims at the production of a TL text that is functionally equivalent to a SL text" (Reiss, 1971:161).
Furthermore, regarding the definition of translation, Brislin (1976: 1) notes the general term referring to the transfer
of thoughts and ideas from one language (source) to another (target), whether the languages are in written or oral
form; whether the languages have established orthographies or do not have such standardization or whether one or
both languages is based on signs, as with sign languages of the deaf. Translation has a great contribution to the nation;
therefore, the translator must be really realizing his duties. According to Nida (1975:79), translation consists of
reproducing the message of the source language in target language firstly in terms of meaning, secondly in terms of
style. Translating can be simply defined as transferring the message from the source language (SL) into the target
language (TL), both in terms of meaning and style. So the ideal translation should make sense and be easily
understood by the target readers. However, the message in the TL should be equivalent with that in the SL. The
structure of a given language determines the way in which the speakers of that language view the world.
2.1.1 Translation Procedure
For the procedure of translation that might be observable in the data the theory of Vinay and Darbelnet (in
Venuti: 2000), and the phenomena of loss and gain of information in translation, the concept is proposed by Nida
(1975). The theory proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti: 2000:84) is used to identify and describe which
procedure is adopted by the translator to establish the closest translation equivalent. They propose seven procedures
of translation such as:
1) Borrowing is usually used in terms of new technical or unknown concepts, to overcome a gap, usually a Meta
linguistic one. Borrowing is the simplest of all translation methods. Borrowing is mostly applied to introduce the
flavor of the source language color is a matter of style, but at the same time it may have a significant effects on the
message contained,
2) Calque is a special kind of borrowing whereby a language borrows an expression from another, but the
translator translates literally each of its elements. The result is either a lexical calque i.e. one which respects the syntactic
structure of the target language while introducing a new mode of expression,
3) Literal translation is a direct transfer of the source text into grammatical and idiomatically appropriate target
text.
4) Transposition is a procedure which involves replacing one word class with another class without changing the
message. There are two types of transposition, namely obligatory and optional transposition. Obligatory transposition
occurs when the target language has no other choices because of the language system.
5) Modulation is the varying of the language, obtained by a change in the point of view, this change can be
justified, although literal even transposed. There are two types of modulation, namely free or optional is generally
adopted because of nonlinguistic reason. It is mostly used to stress the meaning, to affect coherence or to find out
natural form in the TL.
6) Equivalent is often desirable for the translator to use an entirely different structure with different meaning
from that of the source language text so long as it is considered appropriate in the communicative situational
equivalent to that of the source language text.
7) Adaptation is the extreme limit of translation which is used in cases the translator has to create a new
situation that can be considered equivalent.
230 International Journal of Language and Literature, Vol. 4(1), June 2016

2.1.2 Shift in Translation

Baker (2000:226) mentions that the term shifts is used in the literature to refer to changes which occur or may
occur in the process of translating. Since translating is a type of language use, the notion of shift belongs to the
domain of linguistic performance, as opposed to that of theories of competence. Hence, the shifts of translation can
be distinguished from the systemic differences which exist between SL and TL and culture. According to Catford
(1965:73), a shift is departures from formal correspondence in the process of going from the SL (source language) to
TL (target language). Shifts can be occurred in grammatical and lexical levels.
2.1.3 Translation Ideology
The main question in the history of translation theory has been the nature of translation. What is more
important to create a text which will be accepted in a target cultural environment or to preserve the formal and
aesthetic original in order to evoke interest in a foreign culture? This dilemma offers two primary methods of dealing
with translation: domesticated (emphasis on the language and culture of the target text) and foreignized (emphasis on
the language and culture of the source text) translation ideology. One of the most famous theorists of natural,
domesticated translation is Nida Eugene, an American specialist of Bible translations. He is considered to be a
follower of Martin Luther, who translated the Bible into the common German language and declared the priority of
content above form. Domesticated translation is also described as target language (TL) or “reader-to-author”
approach, while foreignized as source language (SL) or “author-to-reader.”Venuti (1998) sees foreignization as a
strategy which points out linguistic and cultural differences of a foreign text and challenges the dominant aesthetics of
the translating culture. Venuti (1995:20) defines domesticated translation as “an ethnocentric reduction of the foreign
text to target language cultural values, bringing the author back home.” In this case, translator should erase every
shred of foreignness and create a familiarized and immediately recognizable text, adjusted to the target text’s linguistic
and cultural dimensions.
2.1.4 Translation Method
New mark (1988b: 81) writes that the translation methods relate to whole texts, translation procedures are
used for sentences and the smaller units of language. New mark proposed the following methods of translation:
1) Word-for-word translation: in which the SL word order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most
common meanings, out of context.
2) Literal translation: in which the SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents, but
the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context.
3) Faithful translation: it attempts to produce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints
of the TL grammatical structures.
4) Semantic translation: which differs from 'faithful translation' only in as far as it must take more account of the
aesthetic value of the SL text.
5) Adaptation: which is the freest form of translation, and is used mainly for plays (comedies) and poetry; the
themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture is converted to the TL culture and the text is rewritten.
6) Free translation: it produces the TL text without the style, form, or content of the original.
7) Idiomatic translation: it reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by
preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the original.
8) Communicative translation: it attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that
both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership (1988b: 45-47).
Larson (1984:15) divided translation method into two categories. First category is from-based or literal
translation. Secondly, it is meaning based or idiomatic translation. By literal translations, he means, the translation
faithfully follows the form of the SL. On the other hand, the idiomatic translation tries to convey the meaning
intended by the SL writer in a natural form of the receptor language.
Roswani Siregar 231

2.1.5 Translation Techniques

Translation technique is the way of translator to render the source text into the receptor language. According
to Newmark (1988:81) translation procedures or translation techniques are used for sentences and the smaller units of
language, while the translation method is related to the whole texts. Meanwhile, Molina and Albir (2002:499) state that
translation techniques are used to describe how the result of translation functions related to the corresponding units in
the source text. In this case, Molina and Albir use the translation technique as a tool to analyze the result of the
translation.
A. Direct Translation
Direct translations are used when structural and conceptual elements of the source language can be
transposed into the target language. Direct translation techniques include: Borrowing, Calque, and Literal Translation.
1) Borrowing Technique
Borrowing is when words are taken from one language to another without any translation. This is seen in
English frequently, when using words such menu as menu in bahasa Indonesia. Borrowing is also used when there is
no word available in the target language to express the same idea; this can be seen when new concepts or technology
are described.
2) Calque
A calque or loan translation (itself a calque of German Lehnubersetzung) is a phrase borrowed from another
language and translated literally word-for-word. A calque is when an entire phrase is borrowed from another language
and translated word-for-word instead of conceptually. Oftentimes when various idioms, metaphors, and phrases are
translated from one language to another word-for-word, the original meaning of the sentence is completely lost.
3) Literal Translation
A word-for-word translation can be used in some languages and not others dependent on the sentence
structure. A literal translation can be used between some languages but not others. Literal translation, although it
seems like it, is not a word-for-word translation. It is only used when the structures and concepts of the language run
parallel to each other, allowing the proper imagery and style to come through. In addition, because one sentence can
be translated literally across languages does not mean that all sentences can be translated literally.
B. Oblique Translation
Oblique translations are used when the structural or conceptual elements of the source language cannot be
directly translated without altering meaning or upsetting the grammatical and stylistics elements of the target language.
Oblique translation techniques include Transposition, Modulation, Reformulation or Equivalence, Adaptation,
Compensation, Transposition.
1) Transposition
Transposition is where the location of various parts of speech within a sentence are switched based on the
particular language. In English sentences, the verb is often closer to the beginning of the sentence. Yet in Spanish
sentences, the verb is often closer to the end of the sentence. In order to translate one to the other, the placement of
the verb must be altered. It is also possible to change the word class without changing the overall meaning of the
sentence. For example, changing “eating is very important” to “to eat is very important” does not affect the meaning.
2) Modulation
Modulation consists of altering a phrase from one language to another to convey the same meaning. This is
commonly used when the translation of a phrase from one language to another is awkward. For example, a translator
may change “it is not complicated to learn how to eat” to “it is easy to learn how to eat.” Although the two phrases
mean the same thing, the latter suggests that learning how to eat is easy, as opposed to the former which suggests that
it was initially thought to be a difficult task.
232 International Journal of Language and Literature, Vol. 4(1), June 2016

3) Equivalence
When translating difficult phrases such as idioms, the translator needs to understand the meaning behind the
idiom (or cliche, or proverb, etc). For example, the idiom “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” would be lost on
someone of another language if it was directly translated. Because of this, translators often translate these phrases into
easy-to-understand equivalents. The phrase “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” may be translated to “keep your
options open” in order to be understood in various languages. There are phrases in some languages that simply
cannot be expressed directly in other languages, which is where equivalence comes into play.
4) Adaptation
Adaptation is when something that is expressed in one culture is expressed in a completely different way in
another culture. This is often used when translating texts such as poetry or advertising, and is commonly seen in
references to pop culture.
2.2 Translation Quality Assessment
Quality of a translation is a serious concern for Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) approaches. The main
issue is how to measure and express this quality. There have been many attempts to find the way(s) in order to tackle
these issues and evaluate the quality of a translated work. However, it seems that among these many approaches, only
a few of them sound promising. One of the promising approaches was the model provided in (1996) by the German
scholar Juliane House. In analysing and comparing original and translation text, House (in Sinar, 2002:124) proposed
the Hallidayan trinity dimension; they are field, tenor, and mode. Field is referring to the nature of the social action in
the text; it captures the field of activity, the content of the text and its degree of generality and specificity. Tenor refers
to the participants, i.e., the author and his personal stance vis-à-vis the content as well as the relationship between
author and addressees in terms of social power distance and affect. And mode captures the degrees of “spokenness”
and “writtenness” (orality and literality), and the text’s texture or the ‘make-up’ of the text. Translation quality
assessment is a type of evaluation. Michael Scriven defines that evaluation was taken to mean the determination of
merit, worth, or significance. (Scriven, 2007, in Williams, 2009). This definition itself presents a problem - how value
or worth is to be defined, be it moral, aesthetic, or utilitarian?
According to House (1977), the equivalence sought should be an equivalence of function that is both source
and translated texts must present the same function and the text's function can only be made explicit through a
detailed analysis of the text itself. In attempt to perform the translation quality assessment, the following questions are
presented: 1) does the text read fluently? 2) Is the translation grammatically correct? 3) Is the spelling correct? 3) Are
there unjustified inferences? 4) Is vocabulary adequate? 5) Is the overall result satisfying? In addition 6) Is the
translation performed according to assignment?
Larson (1984:490-501) suggest the ways in assessing translation quality are as follows:
2.2.1 Accuracy
Accuracy test means to check whether the meaning of source text (ST) is similar with the target text (TT). A
translator should not ignore, add, or reduce the message contained in ST. Larson (1984:490) states the main objectives
of accuracy test are as follows; a) to check the equivalence of information in a text, b) to find another problems by
comparing ST and TT, after he/she is sure about the existence of the information need. It means that this test intends
to ensure that the meaning and dynamic of ST are conveyed well in TT. The best technique in accuracy test is by
making draft with two spaces and wide margin, so there is a space that can be used to edit the text.
2.2.2 Readability
Readability test is intended to ensure whether the meaning of translated text can be understood. A text with a
higher readability is easier to read than a lower one and vice versa. Readability test can be done by asking someone to
read a part of translated text loudly. If she/he stops and reread a sentence, it means that there is a readability problem
on the translated text. A text is readable because it is good writing, which is it has pleasing style, a good rhythm, and
move along at an acceptable pace.
Roswani Siregar 233

2.2.3 Naturalness
The aim of naturalness test is to confirm whether the form of translated text is natural and equivalent with
the TT. A text can be determined as natural if conforms to these criteria: 1) The meaning in ST is conveyed accurately;
2) The meaning in TT uses a standard grammatical pattern and vocabulary; 3) Translated text should represent an
ordinary context in TT.
3. Findings
3.1 Translation Accuracy Level
The accuracy questionnaire is given to check whether the meaning of source text (ST) is similar with the
target text (TT). By comparing ST and TT, the informant measuring translation accuracy, by investigate the incidence
of various types of errors and defects in the translated material. It is involved the investigation some evidents, such as
errors of meaning, errors of form, and errors of compliance.
Moreover, the informant should regard the add or reduce the message contained in ST. In order to rate the
accuracy aspect, the Accurate criteria (weighted = 3) is given to data pair that consist of word, technical term, phrase,
clause or sentence of source text that accurately transferred into the target text without distortion of meaning. Less
Accurate criteria (weighted = 2) is given to data pair where most of its content, such as words technical term, phrase,
clause or sentence is transferred accurately into the target text, but still needs the improvement. However, the
distortion of meaning still found in the target text that disrupts the integrity of the message. Finally the inaccurate
criteria (weighted = 1) is given to data pair where the source text inaccurately transferred into the target text. It
includes the deletion and elimination of important information of source text.
3.1.1 Accurate Translation
Based on the questionnaire analysis and result, the out of 430 data pairs, there are 372 data pairs (86, 51%) are
identified as accurate. The accurate criteria are most identified as Literal Technique 181 (48.66%).Based on the data
the literal technique is high enough to produce an accurate translation, although some of them need the improvement.
The examples of accurate translation identified as literal technique are shown as follows:
Table 1: Literal technique identified as Accurate Translation
No Data Source Text Target Text Technique
001 Chapter 5 Bab 5 Literal
Express Your Voice: Vision, Discipline, Ekspresikan Suara Anda: Visi, Disiplin,
Passion And Conscience Gairah, dan Nurani
003 WHEN YOU STUDY the lives of all BILA ANDA MENGKAJI kehidupan Literal
great achievers - those who have had the semua orang yang mencapai prestasi
greatest influence on others, those who gemilang—yaitu orang-orang yang
have made significant contributions, memiliki pengaruh besar terhadap
those who have simply made things sesamanya, mereka yang telah berjasa
happen—you will find a pattern. besar, dan orang-orang yang telah
mewujudkan hal-hal yang luar biasa—
Anda akan menemukan sebuah pola.
056 Mother Teresa dedicated herself Bunda Teresa membaktikan dirinya Literal
wholeheartedly, freely and uncondi- sepenuh hati, dengan bebas dan tanpa
tionally to the service of the poor. syarat untuk melayani kaum miskin.
3.1.2 Less Accurate Translation
Out of 430 data pairs, 54(12.56%) are categorized as Less Accurate. Based on the result of data, the
translation techniques that contributed to Less Accurate criteria are Additions, Modulation, and Equivalence. Several
other techniques are also slightly contributed on these criteria, such as adaptation and deletion.
234 International Journal of Language and Literature, Vol. 4(1), June 2016

Table 2: Data Pairs Categorized as Less Accurate Translation

No Data Source Text Target Text Technique
006 These manifestations also represent our Perwujudan ini juga merupakan sarana kita Modulation
highest means of expressing our voice. yang paling ampuh untuk mengekspresikan
suara kita.
017 Passion arises when human need overlaps Gairah muncul bila kebutuhan bertemu Modulation
unique human talent. dengan bakat unik kita.
100 I was only forty-eight and had no reason Kalau saat itu tiba, umur saya baru akan Addition
to live. empat puluh delapan, dan saya tak punya
alasan lagi untuk hidup.
350 During my second month of nursing Pada bulan kedua di sekolah keperawatan, Equivalence
school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. dosen saya memberikan kuis dadakan.
Table 3.2 above shows that some parts of the data pairs are considered Less Accurate. For example,
implementation of Addition techniques in data 057, kepadaorganisasinya, does not reflect the orginal message of
source text. As well as data 006, represent translated as sarana. Thus, this modulation technique has changed the
nature of target text and its meaning.
3.1.3 Inaccurate Translation
Out of 430 data, only 4 (0.93%) data pairs are considered as inaccurate translation. Inaccurate categories
found in data pairs no: 327, 328, 330, and 331 as listed below:
Table 3: Data Pairs Identifed as Inaccurate Translation
No Data Source Text Target Text Technique
327 The biggest men and women with the Bila engkau mendapat ketenangan dan Adaptation
biggest ideas can be shot down by the kebahagiaan, mungkin saja orang lain
smallest men and women with the smallest jadi iri; bagaimanapun, berbahagialah.,
minds. Think big anyway.
328 People favor underdogs but follow only ---- Deletion
top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs
anyway.
330 People really need help but may attack you Engkau lihat, akhirnya ini adalah urusan Adaptation
if you do help them. Help people anyway. antara engkau dan Tuhanmu;
bagaimanapun ini bukan urusan antara
engkau dan mereka,
331 Give the world the best you have and ---- Deletion
you'll get kicked in the teeth.
As shown on the table, two of them (data pairs no 327 and 330) belong to Adaptation translation technique,
while the rest (data 328 and 331) are Omission/deletion technique. The inaccute of four data pairs are caused by
deletion/omission and inappropriate message transfer of source text into target text.
3.1.4 Translation Accuracy Overview
Based on the analysis of translation accuracy, we come up with overview of finding:
Table 4: Distribution of Accuracy Level
Accuracy Level Frequency Percentage
Accurate 372 86.51
Less Accurate 54 12.56
Inaccurate 4 0.93
Total data 430 100
Roswani Siregar 235

Translation Accuracy Level

0.93%
12.56%
Accurate
Less accurate
Inaccurate

86.51%

Figure 1: Translation Accuracy Level

3.2 Translation Acceptability Level
Acceptability in translation related to the reasonableness of the translation, the use of words and terms that
are standard and familiar for its disciplinary. The aim of acceptability is to assess the naturalness of translation,
whether the form of translated text is natural and equivalent with the target text. A text can be determined as
acceptable if conforms to these criteria when the meaning in ST is conveyed accurately; the meaning in target text uses
a standard grammatical pattern and vocabulary; and translated text should represent an ordinary context in target text.
Therefore, this assessment involves the informants who are considered qualified in social discipline and proficient
both in English and Indonesian.
As for mentioned above, the assessment of translation acceptability is performed by scoring the data pairs.
The score 3 is given to acceptable translation. An acceptable translation feels natural; where the technical term has
been commonly used and familiar to the reader; while the phrases, clauses, and sentences used are not conform with
Indonesian standard.
Next, the less acceptable translation is weighted 2. It characterized with naturalness, but the technical term is
not commonly used, or contains slight grammatical errors. Finally, the unacceptable translation is scored 1, where the
target text feels unnatural, technical terms used is uncommonly used and unfamiliar to the reader; the phrases, clauses
and sentences are not conform the Indonesian standard. In addition, the unacceptable translation also characterized in
deletion or omission of important information on target text.
3.2.1 Acceptable Translation
Based on the questionnaire analysis and result, out of 430 data pairs, there are 405 (94.19%) data pairs
categorized as acceptable translation. Some of identified data pairs of acceptable translation is provided in the
following table:
Table 5: Some of Data Pairs of Acceptable Translation
No Data Source Text Target Text
006 These manifestations also represent our Perwujudan ini juga merupakan sarana kita yang paling
highest means of expressing our voice. ampuh untuk mengekspresikan suara kita.
028 The best leaders operate in four Para pemimpin yang terbaik beroperasi dalam empat
dimensions: vision, reality, ethics and dimensi: visi, realitas, etika, dan keberanian.
courage.
080 When vision, discipline and passion are Ketika visi, disiplin dan gairah hidup diarahkan oleh
governed by formal authority void of kekuasaan formal yang tidak memiliki nurani atau
conscience or moral authority, it also kewibawaan moral, dunia juga akan berubah karenanya,
changes the world, but not for good, tetapi bukan demi kebaikan, melainkan demi
rather for evil. keburukan.
236 International Journal of Language and Literature, Vol. 4(1), June 2016

3.2.1 Less Acceptable Translation

Less acceptable translation characterized with less naturalness, and the technical term is not commonly used,
or contains the slight grammatical errors. Out of 430 data pairs, 21 (4.88%) data categorized into Less Acceptable
translation. Although those informants revealed the different total of scores, however the average score and
percentage for this category is 20.8. The samples of Less Acceptable Translation are listed in the following table.
Table 6: Less Acceptable Translation
No Data Source Text Target Text
123 How could I waste my life, with that directive Dengan petunjuk seperti itu dalam nurani saya,
on my conscience? I don't think I could. bagaimana mungkin saya akan memboroskan hidup
saya untuk hal yang tak berguna? Saya kira saya tak
akan bisa.
225 It is the fuel at the heart of vision and discipline. Itu adalah bahan bakar di pusat visi dan disiplin.
249 Of course not; the thought of being told when Tentu saja tidak; pikiran bahwa Anda perlu diberi
and how to do it would have been insulting. tahu kapan dan bagaimana melakukannya saja
sudah cukup Anda rasakan sebagai pelecehan.
3.2.3 Unacceptable Translation
Regarding this criteria, the main reason for unacceptable translation is omission and deletion of importance
information in target text. From 430 data pairs, only 4 (0.93%) data are considered as unacceptable. The following
table shows the evident of unacceptable translation.
Table 7: Data Pairs Categorized as Unacceptable Translation.
No Data Source Text Target Text
327 The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas Bila engkau mendapat ketenangan dan
can be shot down by the smallest men and women kebahagiaan,
with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. mungkin saja orang lain jadi iri; bagaimanapun,
berbabagialah.
328 People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. --
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
330 People really need help but may attack you if you do Engkau lihat,akhirnya ini adalah urusan antara
help them. Help people anyway. engkau dan Tuhanmu;bagaimanapun ini bukan
urusan antara engkau dan mereka,
331 Give the world the best you have and you'll get ---
kicked in the teeth.
3.2.4. Translation Acceptability Overview
Based on the average score of questionnaire, the acceptable translation level is 94.5%. The acceptability is
shown as follows.
Table 8: Distribution of Translation Acceptability
Acceptability Level Frequency Percentage
Acceptable 405 94.19
Less Acceptable 21 4.88
Unacceptable 4 0.93
Total data 430 100
Roswani Siregar 237

Translation Acceptable Level

0.93%
4.88%

Acceptable
Less Acceptable
Unacceptable

94.19%

Figure 2: Translation Acceptability Level

3.3 Translation Readability Level
Readability is related to level of fluency in target text. To the extent a translation successfully achieves a
natural rhythm, it is marked as readability of translation. The high readable translation is scored 3, where the text
(words, phrases, clauses and sentences) can be understood easily. While, the less readable is scored 2, where in general,
the text can be understood, but there are certain parts should be re-read to comprehend. And finally the unreadable
translation is scored 1, where the text is difficult to comprehend.
3.3.1 High Readability
Out of the 430 data pairs used as target text, the analysis results show that 411 (95.58%) are scored as high
readability criteria.
Table 9: Some of Data Pairs of High Readability Target Text
No Data Target Text
009 Sebagaimana pernah dikatakan oleh William Blake, "Apa yang sekarang
terbukti, dulu hanya dibayangkan atau diangan-angankan."
070 Begitu saya berkuasa, tugas saya yang pertama dan utama adalah melenyapkan
orang-orang Yahudi. ADOLF HITLER
340 Kebijaksanaan mengacu pada pengupayaan pencapaian tujuan-tujuan yang
paling baik dengan cara-cara terbaik.
FRANCES HUTCHESON
3.3.2 Moderate Readability
Out of the 430 data pair used as target text, the analysis results show that 17 (3.95%) are scored as moderate
readability criteria.
Table 10: Some of Moderate Readability Data Pairs
No Data Target Text
012 Disiplin inilah yang menangani fakta keras dan pragmatis dari realitas kehidupan kita,
dan melakukan apa saja yang diperlukan agar sesuatu bisa terwujud.
225 Itu adalah bahan bakar di pusat visi dan disiplin.
231 Falsafah Yunani, "Kenalilah dirimu, kendalikan dirimu, berikan dirimu" disusun
dengan sangat indah dan bijak.
399 Ada jurang menganga antara "sadar akan masalah dan tantangan besar di tempat
kerja" dan "pengembangan kekuatan batin dan kewibawaan moral untuk
memecahkan masalah tersebut dan menjadi bagian dari kekuatan yang memecahkan
masalah tersebut."
238 International Journal of Language and Literature, Vol. 4(1), June 2016

3.3.3 Poor Readability

Poor readability is considered as difficult by readers by giving score 1 for data pairs that identified as low level
of ratability. Often the translation has some terms that are less understood and less coherent sentence. Of 430 of data
pairs, only 2 (0.47%) are considered met this category. Data 328 and 331 are left blank on target text data column.
3.3.4. Readability Level Overview
Table 11: Average Distribution of Readability Text
Readability Level Frequency Percentage
High Readablility 411 95.58
Moderate Readability 17 3.95
Poor Readability 2 0.47
Total data

Translation Readability Level

3.95%
0.47%

High Readability
Moderate Readability
Poor Readability

95.58%

Figure 3: Target Text Readability Level

Based on the readability result, the readers show the high level of readability. However, it influenced by the
translation techniques used by translator.
4. Conclusion
As for mentioned, the final purpose of this study is to find out the translation quality that measured in the
term of accuracy, acceptability, and readability.
First, the Translation Accuracy is measured into 3 categories, namely Accurate, Less Accurate and Inaccurate.
Based on the analysis findings, the Accurate Translation category was evident in 372 data pairs (86.51%), the Less
Accurate was found in 54 data pairs (12.56%), and the rest was found in 4 data pairs (0.93%).
Second, the Translation Acceptability also measured into 3 categories, namely Acceptable, Less Acceptable,
and Unacceptable. Based on the findings, the Acceptable Translation was evident in 405 data pairs (94.19%), Less
Acceptable in 21 data pairs (4.88%), and Unacceptable in 4 data pairs (0.93%).
The third, the Translation Readability classified into 3 categories, namely High Readability, Moderate
Readability, and Poor Readability. Based on the findings, the High Readability was evident in 411 data pairs (95.58%),
Moderate Readability in 17 data pairs (3.95%), and Poor Readability in 2 data pairs (0.47%).
Roswani Siregar 239

References

Baker, M. Ed. (2000). Encyclopedia of translation studies.(p.226) London: Routledge.

Brata, W. S. and Zein, I. (2002).The 8th Habit: Melampaui Efektivitas, Menggapai Keagungan. (pp. 95 – 140.) Jakarta:
Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Catford, J. C. (1965). A Linguistic Theory of Translation.(p. 73) London: Oxford University Press.
Covey, S. R. (2004).The The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. (pp.64 – 93). New York: Free Press.
Finlay, I. F. (1971).Translating. (p.17). Edinburgh: The English University Press.
House, J. (1977). A Model for Translation Quality Assesment. Tubingen: Gunter Narr.
Larson, Mildred. (1984).Meaning-Based Translation: A Guide to Cross-Language Equivalence. (p. 15) University Press of
America.
Long, L. (1996).Discarding Illusions for practical work. Linguistics Journal, 222., 38-44.
Nida, E. A. (1964). Toward a Science of Translating, with Special Reference to Principles and Procedures Involved in Bible Translating,
Leiden: Brill.
Nida, E. A. (1975). Exploring semantic structures.(p.79) Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munchen.
Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. (p. 81) Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall.
Reiss, K. (1989). Text types, translation types and translation assessment. In Chesterman, A. Ed., Readings in translation
theory.(pp. 105-15). Helsinki: Oy Finn Lectura Ab.
Shuttleworth, M. and Cowie, M. (2004).Dictionary of Translation Studies. (p.62). Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language
Education Press.
Venuti, Lawrence. 1995. The Translator‘s Invisibility: A History of Translation. (p.20)London and New York: Routledge.
Vinay, J.P. & J. Darbelnet.(1989) “Translation Procedures.”Readings in Translation Theory.(Ed). A. Chesterman. (pp. 61-
69) Loimaa: Finn Lectura.

Website Sources

Abrams, Dennis. "Is Indonesia a “Land Without Readers?”." Publishing Perspective. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
http://publishingperspectives.com/ 2015/06/is-indonesia-a-land-without-readers/.
Murtisari, E.T. (2015). Indonesian and Translation: National Identity in the Global Border Contests. [Online]
Available.http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/indonesian-studies- journal/files/2015/04/Indonesian-and-
translation.pdf (April, 2015)