CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

Translation is transferring the original message of the source language into the

target language so that the readers can obtain the same impact reading it in the target

language as in the source language. The same message can be conveyed in various

ways as long as the aim is to keep the original message constant. To achieve that aim

the translator should study not only the SL itself but also the situational and the

cultural context of the text. When a translator is faced with a text, he should take into

account that the product of his translation is directed at people that came from a

background which is different from the original target audience. When we talk about a

different language, we refer to people with a different history, participating in

different social practices and speaking a different language (Anelo, 2003:1).

Bell (1997:6) states that languages are different from each other; they are

different in form of having distinct codes and rules regulating the construction of

grammatical stretches of language and these forms have different meanings. The

former and the later explanation indicate that in translating, a translator should have

good knowledge of both the SL and TL as well as socio-cultural knowledge of SL and

TL readers, good knowledge of the subject matter discussed in the SL, knowledge of

the world without which a translator would not be able to imagine the situation

alluded to in the SL text (Margono, 2006:2). Nida (1964:1) supports that a translator

needs to have vocational training and academic training. The former focuses mainly

on the practical skills while the later focuses on theoretical components.

1

Dolet in Nida (1964:15) summarizes five fundamental principles of

translation, namely (1) the translator must understand perfectly the content and

intention of the author whom he is translating, (2) the translator should have a perfect

knowledge of the language from which he is translating and an equally excellent

knowledge of the language into which he is translating, (3) the translator should avoid

the tendency to translate word for word, for to do so is to destroy the meaning of the

original and to ruin the beauty of the expression, (4) the translator should employ the

forms of speech in common usage, and (5) through his choice and order of words the

translator should produce a total overall effect with appropriate ‘tone’. An interesting

part of these five principles is pointing to the third principle. This supported by Anelo

(2003:2) who states that one should start translating not only words but also concept

and even contexts.

Douglas in Na’ imah (2005:2) believes that translation involves far more than

finding target language equivalents for source language words and phrases; it also

involves dealing with clients, agencies, employers, networking, research, use of

technology; and generally awareness of the roles in translation plays in society and

society plays in translation. What translation does is, first, to identify and define

translation problem; second, to indicate all the factors that have to be taken into

account in solving the problem; third, to list all the possible translation procedures

plus the appropriate translation. Through this processes, translation is now used as

much to transmit knowledge and to create understanding between groups and nations,

as to transmit cultures. In sum, it adds up to a new discipline, a new profession

engaged in mainly different purposes.

Referring to the above explanation, it is for sure that translation is not an easy

matter. Nida (1964:7) agrees that translation has points of strength and point of

2

weakness. In other words, there is no exact translation and every translation is open to

improvement. Translation as noted by Bell (1997:14) may have raised three key

issues namely (1) the problem of equivalence between texts and the extent to which it

is desirable or even possible to preserve the semantic and/or stylistics characteristics

of the source language text in the course of translating it into target language text, (2)

the notion of rule, the distinction between the constitutive rule which defines an

activity and the regulative rule which seeks to constrain the activity by reference to

predefined norm of behavior which are often assumed rather than explicitly stated,

and (3) the need to recognize the act upon distinction between translation as (a)

process (translating), as (b) product (translated text), and as (c) concept (the overall

notion which subsumes both the activity and the entity).

A true translation succeeds in transferring the message in a text of source

language into its translation text. To reach the goal, a translator should possess

knowledge of language and culture of speakers of both languages. Translation consist

of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation and cultural

context of the source language text, analyzing it in order to determine its meaning and

then reconstructing this same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure

which are appropriate in the receptor language and its cultural context (Larson,

1998:3).

There are two matters to consider when translating pronouns. First the source

language and receptor language systems will be different. The translator needs to

know the meaning components of the two systems in order to translate using the right

receptor language forms. It is important that he not let the source language forms

distort his use of the correct receptor language form. Second, the translator must

remember there are extended usages (secondary senses) of pronouns as well as of

3

nouns and verbs. Whenever a pronoun in the source language is being used in a

secondary sense, there is a potential translation adjustment which will have to be

considered by the translator.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Based on the explanations above, the problem is raised to be discussed:

What is the translation equivalence of person reference which is found in the

subtitles of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”?

1.3 Purpose of the Study

Generally, the objective of this study is to find out and to analyze of person

reference between English and Indonesian which found in the subtitles of “Harry

Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.

1.4 Scope of the Study

In this study the person reference of English and Indonesian language are

focused. The data are included personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and

possessive pronouns which found disc 1 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

1.5 Data Source

The data were taken from the first sequel of Harry Potter’s movie, entitle

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The first sequel is chosen because it is very

popular and has already translated into Indonesian. The data was taken by using

interlingual subtitling method, transcribe the dialogue within the movie, and select

which utterances contain the person reference and analyze them.

4

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

2.1. Theory of Subtitling

According to Lever, subtitle can be described as ‘transcriptions of film or TV

dialogue, presented simultaneously on the screen’. There are two types of subtitle,

namely; intralingual and interlingual subtitling. Intralingual subtitling is the subtitle

that is intended to help deaf or hard-hearing people, and for language learners, to

understand the movie. This subtitle is in the original language of the movie.

Interlingual subtitling refers to both a change in mode and language, going ‘from one

language into another language, and from spoken dialogue into a written, condensed

translation which appears on the screen (Lever, ____: p. 30). This paper will be

focused on the interlingual subtitling from English to Indonesian in the movie “Harry

Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.

These are some theory in subtitling according to Megalos (2006):

1. Make sure your translations are correct but also succinct. You must do everything

in your power to increase comprehension.

2. Generally it’s better to break up a speech into more, shorter pieces, than into

fewer, longer ones (although not always). A long complex sentence can be easy to

understand if heard, but to read it in a short amount of time might make the

viewers confused.

3. Make line breaks at appropriate places, where they help clarify, i.e. keep phrases

together. Therefore the meaning of the sentence will not be affected by the

breaking. If the line break is in the wrong place, the viewers might find it difficult

to understand the sentence.

5

2.2. Comparison between English and Indonesian Pronouns

Each language has its own system, particularly its unique pronominal system.

Pronouns in each language also have secondary and figurative senses. These two can

become problems for a translator if s/he mismatch the systems or have wrong

perception of the secondary and figurative senses of the pronouns. Therefore, a

translator requires good understanding of pronoun system in both source language and

target language.

Personal pronouns can be categorized into several groups, based on the

number of people referred to, i.e. singular or plural; and on the point of view of the

person, namely first person, second person, or third person. First person is the

speaker, second person is the hearer or someone that is being talked to by the speaker;

and third person is another person, which is being talked about, that is not involved in

the conversation. There are also different kinds of pronouns, such as; demonstrative

pronouns, and possessive pronouns.

2.2.1. Personal Pronouns

Pronouns in English

Table 1 (taken from Larson, 1984, p. 131)

  Singular Plural

1st person I, me We, us

2nd person you

3rd person masculine feminine neuter  

He, him She, her It They, them

6

Pronouns in Indonesian

Table 2

  SINGULAR PLURAL

1st

person

Formal saya inclusive exclusive

kita kami

Informal aku

Slang gua

2nd

person

  masculin

e

feminin

e

neuter masculin

e

feminin

e

neuter

Formal Bapak,

Saudara

Ibu,

Saudari

anda Bapak-

bapak,

Saudara-

saudara

Ibu-ibu,

Saudari-

saudari

Anda-

anda

sekalian,

Saudara-

saudari,

Informal Kamu, (eng)kau kalian

Slang (e)lu

3rd

person

Formal Beliau Beliau-beliau

Informal Ia / dia mereka

From the tables above, we can compare English and Indonesian pronouns.

Both languages distinguish between singular and plural, and they also distinguish

first, second, and third person. There is further division on both language based on

gender. In English, the third person singular is distinguished by masculine (he),

feminine (she), and neuter (it). On the other hand, Indonesian language distinguished

7

its second person pronouns into masculine (bapak, saudara), feminine (ibu, saudari),

and neuter (anda).

There are more differences on the pronouns system between English and

Indonesian. In Indonesian language, the plural first person is differentiated into

inclusive (kita) and exclusive (kami) whereas English only ave one plural first person

(we). Inclusive means the hearer is included in the topic, and exclusive means the

hearer is not included in the topic. From the tables above, we can see that English

doesn’t have specific pronouns for formal and informal situation, while Indonesian

does. There is one more difference between English and Indonesian pronoun system.

English differentiates the pronoun that is used as subject and object. The pronouns

that are used as a subject are I, you, we, they, he, she, and it. The pronouns that are

used as object namely me, us, them, him, and her. These differences are very

important. A translator should understand all these system before s/he can produce

idiomatic translation.

2.2.2. Demonstrative pronouns

In Indonesian, there are two demonstrative pronouns ini and itu. However, in English,

the demonstrative pronouns can be grouped into singular (this, that) and plural (these,

those). The explanations can be seen from the tables below.

Table 3 (taken from Wikipedia – Indonesian language)

Demonst. Pronoun

Simple Use

English Meaning

Ini Buku ini This bookItu Kucing itu That cat

Table 4 (taken from Wikipedia – Indonesian language)

Demonst. Plural Form (via Noun English

8

Pronoun duplication) Meaning

Ini Buku-buku ini These books

Itu Kucing-kucing itu Those cats

2.2.3. Possessive pronouns

In Indonesian, pronouns that indicate possession do not occur. It usually needs

repetition of the noun, or bound forms, such as; -ku, -mu, -nya, etc., can be used.

English has specific pronouns that are used to indicate possession such as his, her,

my, or your. Below are a detailed explanation on possessive pronouns in Indonesian

and English.

Table 5

Type of

possessive

pronouns

Possessive pronouns Example

of root

word

Example of

derived

word(s)

Indonesian English Indonesian English meja

(table)

mejaku (my

table)First

person

Saya, Aku I -ku My,

mine

Kami (we,

referring to

1st and 3rd

person)

Kita (we,

referring to

1st and 2nd

person)

We ... (milik)

kami/kita

Our,

ours

kursi

(chair)

kursi (milik)

kami, kursi

(milik) kita

(our chair)

Second

person

Kamu You -mu Your,

yours

meja

(table)

mejamu

(your table)

Anda ... (milik)

Anda/Saudar

a

kursi

(chair)

kursi (milik)

Anda/Saudar

a (your

9

chair)

Kalian ... (milik)

kalian

kursi

(chair)

kursi (milik)

kalian (your

chair)

Third

person

Dia, Ia He,

she, it

-nya His, her,

its,

hers

meja

(table)

mejanya (his,

her, its table)

Beliau ... (milik)

Beliau

meja

(table)

meja (milik)

Beliau (his,

her, its table)

Mereka They ... (milik)

mereka

Their,

theirs

kursi

(chair)

kursi (milik)

mereka (their

chair)

10

11

CHAPTER III

DISCUSSION

This chapter is concerned with the analysis of the equivalence of person

reference between English and Indonesian found in the movie of “Harry Potter and

the Sorcerer’s Stone”. The analysis is based on translation theory, that is person

reference which offered by Larson (1984) in order to find the closest equivalent

translation.

The person reference analyzed are as follows:

- Demonstrative pronoun

- Personal pronoun

- Possessive pronoun

1. MCGONAGALLGood evening Professor Dumbledore

Selamat malam Profesor Dumbledore

Professor Dumbledore is remaining translated into Profesor Dumbledore. That is

common that in Indonesia to maintain the word Professor which belong to degree and

Dumbledore is the name of person.

2. MCGONAGALLAnd the boy?

Dan anak itu?

The boy is translated into anak itu. In Indonesian language, there is no difference in

person reference based on the gender. The word anak can be used to describe a girl or

a boy.

3. DUMBLEDOREHagrid is bringing him

Hagrid sedang membawanya

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Him is translated into –nya. In Indonesia language the form of third person singular

are dia, ia and the suffixed form of pronoun -nya. So here, him in Hagrid is bringing

him, refers to Harry which replaced by -nya

4. DUMBLEDOREAh, Prof. I would trust Hagrid with my life

Prof., aku akan mempercayakan hidupku pada Hagrid

My is translated into ku. The bound forms of singular person aku, namely ku can

occur as possessive pronoun my in English. So the utterance of Dumbledore, I would

Hagrid with my life is equivalence with hidupku in which my life means

Dumbledore’s life

5. HAGRID Proffesor Dumbledore, sir.

Proffesor Dumbledore, Pak.

Sir ‘Tuan’ has a much more limited role in modern Indonesian than in the past but are

still used by some people, especially to foreigners. The abbreviated form Pak can be

used as pronoun substitute to replace sir instead of tuan because Proffesor

Dumbledore is considered familiar for Hagrid.

6. HAGRID Little tyke fell asleep as we were flying over Bristol. Try not to

wake him.

Anak itu tertidur saat kami terbang melintasi Bristol. Aku berusaha agar ia tak terbangun.

We is translated into kami. The exclusive first plural kami is used where the person

being spoken to is excluded, that is, Hagrid and others but not you.

While, him is translated into ia which refers to Little tyke. The third person ia is

restricted in occurrence to pre-verbal position.

7. MCGONAGALL

13

Albus, do really think it’s safe leaving him with these people? I’ve

watched them all day.

Albus, menurutmu apakah aman membiarkan dia bersama orang-orang ini? Aku mengamati mereka seharian.

Him is translated into dia. Dia can occur in all position, including object or agent

following a verb, following a preposition, as predicate and as possessive.

While, them is translated into mereka. Them here refers to these people, so it is

socially neutral as being translated into third plural, mereka.

8. DUMBLEDOREThe only family he has.

Satu-satunya keluarga yang ia miliki.

He is translated into ia. The third person singular ia and dia in Indonesian language

both mean he and she. So in Indonesia language, there is no division of gender for

third person singular. Either he or she is being translated into ia in Indonesian.

9. MCGONAGALLThis boy will be famous. There won’t be a child in our world who

doesn’t know his name.

Ia akan menjadi ternama. Tak satu anak pun di dunia yang tak mengenal namanya

The equivalence of This boy in Indonesian is anak ini but the translator prefer to

choose the third singular ia to replace it since this boy had already replaced by child in

further sentence.

10. DUDLEYWake up cousin! We’re going to the zoo

Bangun sepupu! Kita akan ke kebun binatang

We as first person plural may be translated into kami and kita in Indonesian. But here,

the translator choose kita, for we in this sentence is inclusive and is included Dudley

and his cousin. 11. UNCLE VERNON

Hurry up! Bring my coffee boy!

14

Cepat bawakan kopiku, bocah!

Boy in the sentence, ‘Bring my coffee boy!” is translated into bocah in Indonesian

which has similar meaning with a child or vocation for a child. The translator use

bocah than anak, in order to create the translation idiomatically and considering that

the relationship between the speaker, namely uncle Vernon and the boy is rather non

intimate.

12. AUNT PETUNIA

Aren’t they wonderful darling?

Hadiah-hadiahnya menakjubkan sayang?

They as third person plural could replace animate and inanimate in English. Here, they

refers to inanimate, that is the presents. It sound idiomatic if translated into hadiah

instead of mereka. While, the equivalence of darling in Indonesian is sayang which

designation for a lover or the beloved one. Here darling refers to Dudley, her son.

13. AUNT PETUNIANow, now, now, this is what we’re going to do. Is that when we go out

we’re going to buy 2 new presents. How’s that pumpkin?

Begini saja. Nanti kami akan belikan kau dua hadiah lagi. Bagaimana, manis?

The first plural we, here is exclusive. We which means kami, where the person being

spoken to is excluded, namely Aunt Petunia and the others she talked with, not

include the audience.

Pumpkin here is associated with designation for someone sweet like pumpkin fruit. It

more available for kid than adult. So, the meaning of pumpkin itself is more idiomatic

when it replaced by manis in Indonesia for addressing the sweet kid.

14. AUNT PETUNIAIt should be a lovely day at the zoo. I’m really looking forward to

it

Ini pasti menyenangkan. Aku menantikan piknik ini. It which belong to third singular for inanimate. But it in I’m looking forward to it

refers to an activity, that is picnic at the zoo. So it is make sense if it replaced by

piknik.

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15. DUDLEY Make it move

Buat dia bergerak

It usually used for thing, animal, and not for human. It which belong to third singular

in Make it move refers to animal, that is a snake. The writer prefer to chose dia for the

audience has already know that dia refer to snake, and dia is equivalence translation

for it.

16. HARRY

Sorry about him. He doesn't understand what it's like …….Maaf soal anak itu. Dia tak mengerti apa rasanya ……….

Him in this sentence refers to Dudley. In translating the sentence into Indonesian, the

translator prefers to use the word anak itu to specify the object because in Indonesian

there is no difference in gender for the third person pronouns. If the word translated

into dia which is the equivalence of him, the viewers might get confused on which

person him refers to.

17. PETUNIA

It's all right sweetheart. We'll get you out of these terrible clothes.Tenang, manis. Ayo tanggalkan bajumu yang dingin ini.

The equivalence of sweetheart in Indonesian is kekasih which can mean lover.

However, sweetheart here is used to refer to her beloved son. Therefore, the word

manis is more idiomatic because in Indonesia, people use that word to refer to lovely

children.

18. HARRYHey give it back! It's mine!Itu suratku.The word it refers to the letter that Harry got. In Indonesian, there is no equivalence

of it, so the word surat (letter) must be used to make it understandable. Moreover,

there are no specific possessive pronouns in Indonesian like in English. Indonesian

only used bound forms of the personal pronouns like –ku, -mu, -nya. The whole

16

sentence It’s mine can be translated idiomatically into Itu suratku. Itu is used to

demonstrate the ‘letter’ (surat) that is taken by Harry’s uncle.

19. UNCLE VERNONRight you are Harry. No post on Sunday. Ha! No blasted letters today! No, sir!Kau benar, Harry. Tak ada pos di hari Minggu. Tak ada surat sialan hari ini? Tak ada, Pak.

The equivalence of Sir in Indonesian is Tuan. It is used to address someone respected,

might be because he is older or because of his higher position. However, Sir in this

sentence does not refer to anyone. The speaker muttered the sentence to himself.

Therefore it is better to use the word Pak instead of Tuan.

20. HARRYGet off! They're my letters! Let go of me!Lepaskan! Semua suratku! Lepaskan aku!

As what have been explained in chapter two, Indonesian language does not

distinguished its personal pronouns into subject and object as in English. Me is the

derived form of I if it acts as an object. In Indonesia it is translated into the same word

aku although it acts as an object.

21. UNCLE VERNONThat's it! We're going away, far away! Where they can't find us!

Cukup. Kita akan pergi. Pergi jauh.. dimana mereka tak bisa temukan kita.

We in this sentence is inclusive. It involves the speaker and the hearers. Consequently,

the best equivalence in Indonesian is kita. Us, the object form of we is translated into

kita because Indonesian does not distinguish the personal pronouns based on the role

it has in the sentence, whether as a subject or object.

22. UNCLE VERNONI demand that you leave at once. You are breaking and entering.

Kuminta anda angkat kaki, Pak. Anda merusak dan melanggar masuk.

17

English does not differentiate its pronouns based on formal or informal situations

unlike Indonesian. You in this sentence refers to a person that the speaker not familiar

of. In Indonesia, it is common to address someone that is not familiar to us in a more

polite way. So, the word anda is a better choice than kamu because it is more polite.

23. UNCLE VERNONHe will not be going! We swore when we took him in that we would put

a stop to all of this rubbish!

Dia takkan kesana. Kami bersumpah saat memungutnya kami akan hentikan omong kosong ini.

The word we is translated into kami in Indonesian language instead of kita because

kami is used when the addressee is excluded, while kita is used when the addressee is

included.

24. HARRYYou knew? We knew all along and you never told me?

Kalian tahu? Kau sudah lama tahu dan tak pernah memberitahuku?

The word you is translated into kalian in Indonesian language because English doesn’t

have a specific word for kalian, and you could be translated into kamu (singular) and

kalian (plural). Here, it is translated into kalian because the addressees are more than

one.

25. AUNT PETUNIAOf course we knew. How could you not be? My perfect being who she

was. Oh I remember the day she got her letter. My parents were so

proud. We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful? I was the

only one who saw her for what she was... a freak. And then she met

that Potter, and then she had you and I knew you would be the same

just as strange just as abnormal. And then, if you please, she got

herself blown up, and we got landed with you.

Tentu saja aku tahu. Bagaimana bisa tidak? Adikku yang sempurna, itu masalahnya.Ibu dan ayahku amat bangga saat ia menerima surat itu. “Kami punya seorang penyihir dalam keluarga. Hebat kan?” Hanya aku yang mengerti seperti apa dia. Orang aneh. Lalu dia bertemu si Potter dan aku segera tahu kau

18

sama saja dengannya. Sama anehnya, …sama abnormalnya. Kemudian, dia dibunuh dan kami harus menanggungmu.

The word she is translated into ia in Indonesian language because Indonesian only has

dia or ia for she or he. So the word dia could mean she or he in English. While in the

sentence above she means dia (a woman).

26. HARRYBlown up?! You told me my parents died in a car crash!

Dibunuh? Bibi bilang orangtuaku mati dalam kecelakaan mobil.

Here, the word you is translated into bibi in Indonesian instead of kamu or Anda to

make it clear that he talked to his aunt. So you here refers to his aunt.

27. HAGRIDNon-magic folk. This boy's had his name down since he were born. He's

going to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world.

And he'll be under the finest headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen,

Albus Dumbledore...

Manusia non-penyihir. Anak ini telah terdaftar sejak dia lahir. Dia akan belajar di sekolah penyihir terbaik di dunia dibawah pimpinan kepala sekolah Hogwarts terbaik yang pernah ada. Albus Dumbledore

The word boy is translated into anak in Indonesian language because anak in

Indonesian could mean a boy or a girl, which in this case means a boy. In Indonesian

language, there is no difference in person reference based on the gender

28. HAGRIDHello, professor I didn't see you there. Harry Professor Quirrell

will be your defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Halo prof. Aku tak melihat Anda disitu. Ini Prof Quirrell. Dia akan jadi guru Pertahanan terhadap Ilmu Hitam di HogwartsThe word you is translated into Anda in Indonesian language instead of kamu because

Anda is more polite than kamu, where both have the same meaning.

29. HARRYOh, nice to meet you

19

Senang berkenalan dengan Bapak

The word you is translated into Bapak in Indonesian language instead of kamu

because Bapak is more polite than kamu, where you refers to someone that he

respects.

20

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

From the discussion in the previous chapter, Indonesian and English have the

following differences which affect translation.

First, the Indonesian first-person plural pronoun distinguishes between kita

(inclusive) and kami (exclusive), but English has simply one word, we. Kita is used

when the speaker refers to himself and the listener, whereas kami is used to refer to

the speaker and other people excluding the listener. We can see the examples in no.

10, 21, 23.

Second, the Indonesian second-person pronoun has two forms, formal (bapak,

ibu, saudara, anda) and informal (kamu) when translating the English pronoun you

into Indonesian, as we can see in example no. 19, 22, 28, and 29. In English there is

no distinction between the formal and informal forms of the pronoun.

Third, English differentiate the personal pronouns based on its role in the

sentence, whether it is a subject or an object. For example; I become me, he become

him, she become her, we become us, etc. or it can be replaced by a name. Indonesian

does not distinguish the pronouns like that. It uses the same pronouns, either it is a

subject or an object. The examples given are in no.1, 3, 6, 11, 20, and 18.

Fourth, English has two words he and she which distinguish gender, whereas

the Indonesian third-person pronoun has two words with the same meaning ia/dia

without distinguishing between masculine and feminine. It can be seen in example

no.15 and 25.

Fifth, there are special pronouns to indicate possession in English like her, his,

ours, etc. However in Indonesian, only -nya is used to indicate possession. The

examples can be seen in no.9.

21