EQUIVALENCE IN TRANSLATION: A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH–INDONESIAN TRANSLATION
Keywords:
translation equivalence, English–Indonesian translation, lexical equivalence, grammatical equivalence, translation shiftsAbstract
Translation plays an important role in transferring meaning across languages and cultures. One of the key concepts in translation studies is equivalence, which refers to the relationship between a source text and its translated version in conveying similar meaning. This study examines equivalence in English–Indonesian translation from a linguistic perspective, focusing on lexical equivalence, grammatical equivalence, and linguistic shifts occurring during the translation process. The research employs a qualitative descriptive approach using sentence-level translation pairs taken from bilingual texts as the primary data. The analysis was conducted by comparing English source sentences with their Indonesian translations to identify patterns of equivalence and translation shifts. The findings indicate that lexical equivalence is achieved through direct translation, paraphrasing, and contextual adaptation depending on the availability of equivalent lexical items in the target language. Grammatical equivalence is commonly realized through structural adjustments due to differences between English and Indonesian grammatical systems, particularly in tense, sentence structure, and voice. The results also show that linguistic shifts, including structural and lexical shifts, frequently occur as translators adapt the source text to the linguistic norms of the target language. These shifts function as necessary strategies to maintain functional equivalence and ensure naturalness in the translated text. Overall, the study highlights the dynamic nature of translation in balancing semantic accuracy and linguistic appropriateness.
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