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Translating Children’s Illustrated Story Books: Challenges in Translating

Linguistic and Cultural Aspects by Students of English Diploma 3 Program
UNS at Ganesa Library

Conference Paper · January 2019

DOI: 10.2991/prasasti-19.2019.69

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 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 338
Fifth PRASASTI International Seminar on Linguistics (PRASASTI 2019)

Translating Children’s Illustrated Story Books:

Challenges in Translating Linguistic and Cultural Aspects by Students of English Diploma 3
Program UNS at Ganesa Library

Ardianna Nuraeni
English Department
Universitas Sebelas Maret
Surakarta, Indonesia
[email protected]

Nur Saptaningsih
English Department
Universitas Sebelas Maret
Surakarta, Indonesia
[email protected]

Muhammad Taufiq Al Makmun

English Department
Universitas Sebelas Maret
Surakarta, Indonesia
[email protected]

Abstract— Ganesa Library (GL) is a Non-Government Organization in Central Java that serves local people more than 3,000 books
collection, 70% written in Bahasa Indonesia and 30% in English (http://ganesastudycenter.org/). The latter, which consists of various
types of books such as novels, comics, children’s story books, is directly imported from USA by the founders of the library, Debra Lunn
dan Michael Mrowka (Harjono, 2016). Those books need to be translated into Bahasa Indonesia in order to benefit the community. For
this reason, the availability of human resources of students of English Diploma 3 Program of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), who are
projected to have language competence and translation skills when they graduate from the department, could answer the need of it.
Since 2016, with one student, could translate approximately 15 to 20 books through an internship program, hundreds of GL’s English
children’s story books have been translated by the students. In other words, their translation in the form of bilingual books has already
given advantages to the library visitors. However, the translation produced by the students could not be merely used as a yardstick to
state that they have produced a qualified translation. The absence of qualified translated books risks the reputation of the library and
the self-quality of the students. Considering students’ translation competency, potential of gap between teaching and learning process in
campus and real translation activity, a research to identify and to map linguistic and cultural challenges faced by the students in
translating children’s story books at GL and to propose a general guideline of translating linguistic and cultural issues within children’s
books is necessary to conduct. This study was qualitatively done by conducting Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with 12 students,
interviewing students’ internship supervisor of GL, looking into the students’ final project reports, and analyzing 45 bilingual books
before the objectives of this study were finally determined. Findings show that linguistic difficulties faced by the students cover limited
English vocabulary, inappropriate diction for children, wrong meaning understanding of particular sentences, and the use of the wrong
phrase in books title. Cultural challenges include less understanding of source text cultural context; culture-related onomatopoeias;
high culture-related colloquial phrases; names of flora, fauna, artefact and habit; and community life development. Detailed interesting
findings, completed with examples, could be found in this paper, in line with the proposal of general guidelines in translating linguistic
and cultural items in children’s illustrated story books.

Keywords — translation; children’s story books; linguistic problems; cultural problems

I. INTRODUCTION
Translation activities in Indonesia have been evolving in line with the rapid development of global information and
technology. The development is also supported by the role of both conventional media such as books and modern media such as
internet-based media, making the demand for various translation materials keeps increasing. However, Tuntun Sinaga (2003) said
that translation activities in Indonesia still face several challenges and one of them is due to the lack number of good translators
who are less competent in translating various subject matters. The problem, according to Sinaga, needs a high commitment of
some parties, particularly that of universities, to produce graduates who possess translation competencies covering the mastery of
translation theories, the good possession of translation skills, and professionalism.

Copyright © 2019, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 398
 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 338

Since 2016, English Diploma 3 Program of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) focuses its teaching and learning curriculum on
Translation, i.e. by offering syllabus, subjects, internship activities, and final project reports related to Translation, to produce
quality translators. During the last three years, students of English Diploma 3 Program UNS have been doing internship
(translation) activities at a number of both governmental institutions and private ones. They are creating bilingual content of
tourism website of the city government of Karanganyar, translating objects description displayed at Keris museum and Sangiran
museum, translating tourism brochures of the city government of Surakarta, creating and translating tour package itinerary and
booklets at travel agencies, translating Information Technology (IT) texts at translation agencies, and translating children’s story
books at Ganesa Library (GL). The last, translating children’s story books at GL, takes the biggest percentage of the number of
students doing internship activities in one institution, with approximately 25 students within the last three years. In GL, which is
located on Jalan Raya Songgolangit, Sukoharjo, the students’ main duty is translating English children’s story books into
Indonesian, since 30% of the library’s 3,000 book collections are written in English (http://ganesastudycenter.org/). The
collections have a variety of themes, raging from books on social, political, economic, culinary, and agribusiness; biography;
novels; comics; to children’s stories. All of them are imported or directly brought from the USA by Debra Lunn and Michael
Mrowka, the founders of GL, when they visit Indonesia twice a year (Saputra, 2018). The availability of the English books,
particularly the English children’s story books, requires a translation process into Indonesian so that the books can be enjoyed by
children visitors in Solo and its surroundings. This becomes a big opportunity for English Diploma 3 Program to cooperate with
GL in conducting students’ internship program.
According to the reports of the students who have conducted an internship program at GL, each student could translate 15-20
books during a month. It means that there are hundreds of children's’ story books translated by the students already, which have
surely been enjoyed and are beneficial to the library visitors, particularly to children visitors, who can reach several 100 people
each day (Harjono, 2016). However, the high number of translated books that are displayed in the form of bilingual books could
not be merely used as a yardstick to state that the students have produced a quality translation, i.e. accurate, acceptable, and
readable, remembering that they are possibly lacking translation competency. The absence of quality translated books risks the
reputation of the library, the English Diploma 3 Program, and also the self-quality of the students. Thus, considering the students’
translation competency and potential of gap between teaching and learning process in campus and real translation activity, a
research to identify and to map linguistic and cultural challenges faced by the students in translating children’s story books at GL
and to propose a general guideline of translating linguistic and cultural issues within children’s books is necessary to conduct.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Students, who are novice translators, face challenges in translating children’s storybooks, and this is commonly attributable to
their lack of translation competence. The competence includes knowledge and skills required by a translator for translating (Bell,
1991: 35). According to Bell, knowledge generally consists of factual knowledge (how what) and procedural knowledge (how
how) (p.17). He adds that there are five types of basic knowledge, including SL knowledge, TL knowledge, text-type knowledge,
subject area (real-world) knowledge, and contrastive knowledge (p.36). Completing Bell’s, EMT Expert Group (European
Master’s in Translation) defines competence as a combination of aptitudes, knowledge, behavior, and knowhow, which are
important to be employed by a translator for translating (2009: 3). They include competence in determining translation service,
language competence, cultural competence, competence in digging (searching for) information, competence related to subject
matter (theme), and competence in using technology (p. 4-7). In line with the types of translator competence proposed by EMT
Expert Group, PACTE (2003) categorizes competence for translator into five, namely bilingual competence, extra-linguistic
competence, strategic competence, competence for using translation assisting tools and competence of knowledge on translation.
Of all types of competence, the researchers center the focus on two competences as the main subject matters in this study, but
there is a possibility that we correlate this study with the other competences. First, linguistic competence is required to be
analyzed because language brings about the concept of the world and, in translation, problems may rise when translator conveys
the same concept into different language and culture (Metcalf, 2003: 323). However, related to his research, Metcalf further
mentions that students’ inadequacy of language competence (as the subject of Metcalf’s research) is considered in line with the
characteristics of children’s literary texts since those have simple language and sentence structure, as well as its special topics,
which are children’s daily experiences (ibid). The second competence is cultural competence, which is knowledge about culture in
both source text and target text, and this competence belongs to extra-linguistic competence (PACTE, 2003). The role of
translator bridging the differences between two languages has to be done well, even though a translator often deals with cultural
untranslatability, a condition in which situational feature in the source text is not available in the culture of the target text (Catford
(1965) in Kitamura, 2009). Discussing the cultural factor that is related to the purpose of translation of children’s literature,
Klingbert states that the main objective of translation of children’s literature should enrich reader’s knowledge and understanding
on foreign culture. However, in fact, interventions on the source text—cultural context adaptations, purifications, modernizations,
abridgements, and serious mistranslations—hinder the aims.
Moreover, he proposes translation strategies which maintain the original spirit or values contained in the source text, so that
target readers—in this case, are children—can recognize the original country and culture of the people in the translated texts.
Besides linguistic and cultural challenges, the basic concept of translation of children’s literature should be mastered by the

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translator. In this case, it can be said that students have not had a holistic understanding of the characteristics of children’s
literature so that there is a possibility that they do not consider this aspect when translating. The portrayal of definition, types, and
the purposes of the production of children’s literature is presented below.
One of media for teaching values of life to children is children’s story. Along with the development of the concept of child,
childhood, and literature, the definition of children’s literary works also develops. Hunt (2002: 21) children’s literature—in this
case, is the book for children is defined as one of the categories whose presence relies on its relationship with segmented
readers—children. Oittinen (200:61) children’s literature as literature resulted and designed for children or read by children.
Definition from other experts focuses more on purpose that this type of literature is designed to help children understand and
emphasize on the public point of view and other people’s experience, including the experience of other children.
Meanwhile, Chang (2007) defines children’s literature as everything that is written for and to be read by a group of people—
children—in certain community. Nurgiantoro 2004: 110) underlines that children’s literature does not have to tell about children,
children’s world, and various events which involve children. According to him, children’s literature can tell about anything
related to the life of either human, animal, or plant in the world, and the life of other creatures in the other world. Nevertheless,
he states that no matter how the content is, children’s story should take children’s point of view, from the way children see and
treat thing, and the thing should be within reach of children’s emotional understanding and thought.
Lukes, in Nurgiantoro (2004), without annihilating drama, classifies children’s literature into six categories: realism, formula
fiction, fantasy, traditional literature, poetry, and nonfiction. Livingston and Brown (2017) categorize children’s literature into
some categories: fantasy, fable and story about animal, folktale, myth and legend, poem and rhyme, story about school life,
drama, religious story, and comic and illustrated storybook.
Children’s storybook is written by emphasizing on the aspect of various purposes. Based on the study conducted by Chang,
the aim of children’s story can include entertainment, information and entertainment, empathy, as well as style and quality.
Children’s story is composed by considering entertainment that can be enjoyed by children who read the story, and educative and
moral values contained in the story. Hence, it does make sense that in children’s story, the depiction and figurative language used
(either metaphor or simile) are presented within the reach of children’s thought and emotion. Alivand (2016) in his article
“Children Literature and Translation: Purpose Paradigm as a Case in Point” mentions that children’s story should give
entertainment, communicate literature richness, encourage understanding and provide cultural values, as well as offer experiences.
Further, children’s story transfers knowledge, teaches and enhances imagination and stimulates development.
Translation of storybooks has been widely carried out, particularly translation from English into other languages used by more
limited people, and one of which is the Indonesian language. When translating children’s books, the translator needs to give
certain attention on several specific aspects, particularly the stage of development. The translator has to be sensitive with
linguistic feature and addressing model appropriate for specific age group, as summarized by Anna from Lathey (2011, 199). One
thing that has to be considered by a translator is the possibility of multiple readers—where children and those who do not belong
to children, in this case, are adults, also become the target readers, either for their own purpose or for the purpose of retelling the
stories to their children. Children’s story is also related to ‘asymmetry’—the relationship between the writer, who is adult, and the
readers, who are children (Aida: 2015).
Asiain (2015) in his study entitled “The Translation of Children’s Literature: Ideology and Cultural Adaptations (Captain
Underpants as A Case Study)” gives attention on the ways the translator translates text which contributes to the particularization,
generalization, or meaning shift on the translation of children’s story and the impact on children’s understanding on the translated
text (which is more or less subversive), which provides more dynamic than static system model. Further, this research investigates
the ways the translator negotiates pressures and obstacles—political, historical, editorial, commercial, or linguistic. Suprapto in
his study entitled “Perbandingan Hasil Penerjemahan Buku Cerita Anak-Anak Dongeng Danau Toba dari Bahasa Indonesia ke
Bahasa Inggris Melalui Penerjemah dan Mesin Penerjemah” analyzes and compares children’s storybooks translated by
professional translator with those translated using Goggle Translate. Rohana, Santosa, and Djatmika (2017) in their research
“Gaya Bahasa, Teknik Penerjemahan, dan Kualitas Terjemahan dalam Dongeng Disney Dwibahasa Berjudul “Cinderella: My
Bedtime Story” and “Tinkerbell and The Great Fairy Rescue” describes figurative language (style) of children’s literature in the
form of folktale, translation techniques used by the translators, and the translation quality of both folktales. Established
equivalent, variation, amplification, reduction, transposition, modulation, and linguistic compression techniques are considered
capable of maintaining the figurative language used in the folktales and result in accurate and acceptable translation, although the
level of readability is considered low. Kujundzic (2018) in his study “Putting the Child Reader First: The Croatian Translation of
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Father Christmas Letters” discusses translation strategies and tactics used in translating texts. This study focuses
on the content (cultural terms) and the style of texts.

III. METHOD
The procedure of this research is illustrated in the figure below.

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Fig. 1. Research methodology

Referring to Figure 1, the first stage, that is data collection, has been done, and the results will be presented in the following
chapter. In general, below is the explanation about this stage.
An in-depth interview with Haerul Affandi, the internship supervisor from PG, has been carried out in 23 November 2018 using
recording technique. This activity involves two students recording the process of interview. To obtain information about (1)
procedures in translating children’s storybooks in PG—starting from choosing the books to be translated, the duration of
translation process, translation process and editing, to production of final translation; (2) problems faced by students when
translating children’s storybooks, and (3) suggestions or recommendations to solve the problems in translating storybooks, the
followings are the questions addressed to Haerul Affandi:
a. What were the criteria of children’s storybooks which were translated by students of English Diploma program of UNS in PG?
b. How many books were translated by students and who decided the number of books translated?
c. Were students given the opportunity to choose the books they were going to translate?
d. Who were the target readers of the books translated by students?
e. How long it was the duration for translating a book? (Decided by PG)
f. How was the system for translating storybooks applied in PG until the books were once ready to be given to target readers?
g. How was the translation editing system applied?
h. What were the problems faced by students when translating books?
i. Did students face difficulties in understanding the meaning/message contained in the source text?
j. Did students face difficulties in choosing proper words/expressions in the target text?
k. How did students cope with the problems in translating books in PG?
l. What were supervisor’s suggestions for students regarding the activities of translating storybooks for children?
m. Were there any complaints from visitors related to the results of translation by students?
The results of interview were then processed by categorizing them, sorting (if there were irrelevant information), and
summarizing based on the research objectives. FGD involving students who had conducted internship in PG, translating
storybooks for children, had been done twice resulting in the data of challenges and problems in translating illustrated storybooks
for children from the aspects of linguistic and culture. The first FGD was done on 8 December 2018 with nine students and the
second one was carried out on 15 December 2018 with three students. The students participating in FGD are: Auliya Fahma, Bella
Qurnelia, Merna Syaraswati, Atika Fitri A.H., Annisa Mutia Anggraeni, Luthfi Faatihah Sari, Alini Sanda Wahyu Bintari, Imaniar
Hayyu Sari, Nur Kholif Muttaqin, Anugerah Satria Bangkit Pratama, Vega Tiara Anaditya, and Adinda Brilliani.

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Content analysis of primary data were taken from 45 storybooks for children translated by the students of English Diploma
program of UNS who conducted an internship in PG and from students’ final projects. First, the translated books were categorized
into three based on the level of difficulties and readers’ ages, namely:
a. books for introducing English vocabularies (BKos)
b. storybooks with the topic of simple daily experiences (BCSed), and
c. storybooks with more difficult topics (BCKom).
Second, sentence structure, specific terms, and cultural terms appearing in the storybooks were analyzed by comparing and
contrasting the source texts and the target texts. Third, problems in translating were mapped based on the results of analysis of the
contents of storybooks, the results of FGD and students’ final report.

IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Analysis of data shows that process of translating storybooks for children from English into Indonesian is divided into two: (1)
translation process in general—which includes the overall process/technical activities from selecting books until producing
bilingual books; and (2) translation process in particular—which focuses on the process of translating books in the mind (by
students).
1. The process of translating storybooks for children in PG
Translation process, in general, comprises of seven stages illustrated in Figure 2

Fig. 2. Translation process in general in Ganesa Library

Stage 1 – Selecting books to be translated

The books which were translated were chosen by the students or recommended by the supervisor. The supervisor usually
suggested books which were required by the PG. The books need to have spaces for attaching the translation on to the books so
that readers can enjoy the reading. Students tended to choose “interesting” books under BKos and/or BCSed categories. After
translating those type of books, they chose BCKom with specific themes they designed for the final report. “Interesting” refers to
interesting aspects of appearance, like pop-up, books which have certain parts which can move or three-dimension books
(Nugraha: 2016), the narration of the stories, and benefits they provide, such as scientific books and fact books.
Stage 2 – Translating
This stage includes the activities of translating in the mind of translator, like what have been stated by Nida and Taber (1969),
Larson (1984), and Bell (1991). The process comprises of analysis of the source text, transfer of meaning, and restructuring of
translation.
Stage 3 – Checking translation draft

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After the draft was produced, students conducted peer-review, in which they reviewed the works of other students and gave
feedbacks on the translation. Translation strategies and techniques were discussed to the most proper expressions used in their
translation. They conducted revision to solve the problems by applying translation theories they obtained, solving problems using
parallel texts, searching for equivalences from parallel text and dictionaries, and asking supervisor.
Stage 4 – Discussing
Discussion was carried out by students and supervisor. In this stage, they also did editing process. There were some problems they
found: (1) diction related to culture was less proper in translation, (2) the meaning of diction related to particular field was
improper, (3) sentence structure of the target text was unnatural, (4) the language style was less suitable for children, (5)
onomatopoeia was translated less accurately, and (6) the use of Indonesian language was less proper. The findings show that
students’ linguistic and cultural competences have to be improved.
Stage 5 – Finalizing translation results
After discussing and getting suggestions, besides focusing on the accuracy of meaning, language style, and diction, students were
obliged to pay attention to the technical aspect, selecting font types admired by children. Editing also happened at this stage.
Stage 6 – Printing and Labelling
In this stage, students needed to print out the translation and attach the translation on the books. They were required to learn the
cutting technique so that the cut would be neat and well-shaped. Font size and position of the label also had to be taken into
account so that the label did not cover the pictures. Labelling also included providing book identity, like the name of translator,
institution, and time of translating (month and year). Below are the samples.

Fig. 3. Identity of storybooks for children in Perpustakaan Ganesa

Fig. 4. Students’ translation attached to storybooks

Stage 7 – Displaying
In the last stage, bilingual storybooks for children (in English and Indonesian) were displayed on the shelves. Visitors could
borrow or read the books.
Particular process of translation includes:

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1. Analyzing
Analyzing was carried out by reading the books for several times in order to understand the message and identify words and
expression which were difficult to be translated. Students’ understanding on context was very much helped by the pictures so that
the search of equivalence was done more easily. When reading a book “Going to Town”, Immaniar Hayu Sari (2017: 11)
identified difficult word “calico”. She also found difficult word “collapse” in “The Squeky Door” and she explained that she was
confused at the beginning but after looking at the picture and reading the text for several times, she could get the meaning (ibid).
2. Transferring
In this stage, students conducted in their mind, finding equivalences in the source text and transferring them into the target text.
Students also showed their competence of transferring, by applying translation strategies they had learnt at university. The table
below demonstrates samples of parts of texts which were difficult to be translated, and the ways they transferred meanings of
words and expressions, and strategies they used to solve problems.

TABLE I. PARTS OF STORYBOOKS DIFFICULT TO BE TRANSLATED AND STRATEGIES FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS OF TRANSLATION

Name of translator Book title ST TT Translation strategies

In a Blue Room In blue room, lilacs and Di sebuah kamar 1. Searching for the meaning
lilywhites give off a berwarna biru, bunga of “lilacs” in Google.
gentle scent. Alice lilac and bunga lili 2. Looking for the meaning
twirls around, plops putih mengeluarkan in dictionary
down, and breathes wangi yang lembut. 3. Using borrowing strategy
deep. Alice berputar-putar, to translate it
menghempaskan diri
dan bernafas lega.
Curious George and the In the living room Di ruang tamu, George 1. looking for the meaning
Birthday Surprise George found menemukan beberapa of “noicemakers” in
noisemakers… terompet ulang tahun… dictionary in Google
2. long for the meaning in
Luthfi Faatihah Sari Cambridge dictionary
(2017:16-18) 3. comparing the pictures
of trumpet and
noisemaker in Google.

Curious George and the Still, George was Meski begitu, George 1. adding information by
Birthday Surprise curious about the masih penasaran analyzing context of
surprise. And what was tentang kejutan itu. Tapi situation
that good smell coming bau enak apa ini
from the kitchen? datangnya dari dapur?
George followed his George mengikuti arah
nose. bau enak itu.
DIG! Mr. Rally drives a big Pak Rally mengendarai 1. finding the meaning in
yellow backhoe. sebuah backhoe besar dictionary
berwarna kuning. 2. asking friends
(Backhoe: sejenis alat 3. searching for the picture in
berat untuk penggalian Google
tanah) Google
Merna Syaraswati 4. using borrowing and
(2017:15-16) addition techniques
Missing One Stuffed They even checked the Mereka bahkan 1. translating literally
Rabbit Lost and Found memeriksa di Bagian 2. looking for parallel texts
Department three Informasi sampai tiga
times. kali.

3. Restructuring
In this stage, translation was rechecked by students by focusing on two aspects of translation quality assessment, acceptability and
readability. Those were to ensure that the translation was acceptable in Indonesian culture, natural in terms of figurative language
for children, using simple Indonesian language that was understandable for children. Besides, according to Immaniar (2017: 17),

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this stage was also in order to minimize mistyping and wrong punctuation. Adinda Brilliani (2017: 12-13) mentioned that she
misused and mistyped punctuation: she forgot typing period (.) at the end of a sentence, typing the same words twice so that
deletion had to be done, and revising sentences which were less readable and less acceptable. The followings are the examples:
(1) ST : I bet he ate a hundred pounds of vegetables every day.
TT 1 : Aku bertaruh dinosaurus makan ratusan kilo sayuran setiap hari.
TT 2 (edited) : Aku yakin dinosaurus makan ratusan kilo sayuran setiap hari.

(2) ST : She and Baron stayed close and warm together all winter long.
TT 1 : Fluffy and Baron tetap dekat dan hangat bersama sepanjang
musim salju.
TT 2 (edited) : Sepanjang musim dingin, Fluffy dan Baron dekat dan bersama.
2. Linguistic and cultural challenges faced by students
When translating, students faced linguistic and cultural challenges. Students did not have adequate knowledge and skills in
translating. Conveying message requires linguistic and cultural competences to ensure that the meaning rendered is easily read by
the readers. In this case, the readers are children who have limited vocabularies. The cultural aspect is important because when
translating children’s literature, this aspect is a knowledge for children to learn the difference among cultures in the source text.
Based on the information obtained from students about their experiences in translating storybooks, it can be concluded that:
(1) limited vocabularies in ST, (2) Diction on TT that are understandable for children, (3) understanding of meaning in a sentence
in ST holistically, and (4) determination of terms or phrase which are proper in TT when translating titles so that the titles are
clear and interesting for children, as well as represent content.
The cultural challenges in translating storybooks include: (1) inadequate understanding of culture in ST, (2) less accurate
translation of onomatopoeia which is rich of cultural content, (3) less proper translation of phrases containing colloquial,
particularly those containing cultural contents of ST, (4) unnatural translation of names of plants, animals, tools, habits, etc.
closely related to culture, and (5) limited understanding of development in society.
Linguistic challenges in translating children’s storybooks lie on students’ ability in understanding message contained in the
source text and delivering the message in the target text using proper words. The main challenge is understanding of words and
expressions in the source text and selecting diction in target text. The cases below are the samples.
Example 1
ST TT
We are stuck to the sticks,” said Pooh. “Tongkat-tongkat ini melekat pada kita,“ kata
“I will get help,” said Piglet. Pooh.
“I will get the Super Sleuths.” “Aku akan mendapat pertolongan,” kata Piglet.
“Aku akan memperoleh detektif-detektif yang
hebat.”
In Example 1 in the story of “The Case of the Sticky Sticks”, expression “I will get help” was expressed by Piglet to tell Pooh that
he would find help. However, this expression was translated literally by students into “Aku akan mendapat pertolongan,” and the
meaning contained in the source text was not delivered properly in the target text. The proper equivalence is “Aku akan mencari
bantuan”.
Example 2
ST TT
He spent most of his time sitting in the corner, next Dia menghabiskan sebagian besar waktunya duduk
to the old ball and the wooden locomotive. dipojokkan, di sebelah bola tua dan kereta kayu.

In Example 2 in the story of “Ragged Bear”, bear doll spent its time in the corner of the room. However, the translator chose
improper word. Instead of using “di pojok” which means “in the corner”, she used “dipojokkan” which means “be putted aside
into improper position/rank”. This possibly happened because the translator was less observant to difference of words having
nearly similar letters.

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3. Review of syllabus for “Translation of Fictions”

This course is a compulsory course for students. By joining this course, students are expected to be able to translate literary
works from English into Indonesian with high level of accuracy, acceptability, and readability, and equivalent language style. The
competences taught include describing characteristics and style of literature, translating direct and indirect speech and address
names (proper names), translating expressions using colloquial, translating simile, metaphor, and personification, translating
idiom, translating teen-lit, translating storybooks for children, and translating novels.
In general, those final competences have accommodated students’ basic materials for translating fictions. However, time
allocation for practice in the class is limited, only 200 minutes for each competence, and the portion for translating children’s
literature is only a half of the total time. In the real practice, there are various problems dealing with language features when
translating storybooks for children, such as onomatopoeia, nursery rhymes, cultural terms related to ecology and geography,
translating title, etc. Students’ knowledge and technique for research for finding equivalences need to be improved.
Restructuration is required for minimizing errors in translating. The duration for practice has to be made longer due to those
reasons. Improve their sensitiveness on language style, selecting words suitable for children, delivering moral values, examining
children’s world, and looking for equivalences cannot be mastered only in 6.5 hours. Moreover, it is also found that students have
not considered pictures which play a role in supporting the context of situation and plot of the story. The negligence of that aspect
is proven, causing deviation of meaning and unnaturalness of meaning. Thus, syllabus for this course has to be revisited, related to
the aspects of variances of materials and time allocation for practice. This study has not yet provided guidance for translating
fictions for the data obtained are less adequate to be formulated as guidance.

V. CONCLUSION
The activity of translating children’s storybooks from English to Indonesian is not easy for students of English Diploma
program of UNS. They were exposed with difficulties related to linguistic and cultural aspects. Despite the fact that Translation of
Fictions course has been given to students, with syllabus regulating about “translating storybooks for children” along with the
linguistic features which have to be considered, including idiom, politeness, moral values, figurative languages, address name,
colloquial, and direct and indirect speech. One of obvious factors is limited time allocation for translation practice.
Moreover, attention has to be given to consider pictures in the books when translating, so that distortion of meaning can be
minimized. In other words, discussion on the context of situation built by the pictures and dialogues has to be included in the
syllabus. Challenges faced by students are caused by their lack of linguistic and cultural competences. Students’ limited
knowledge and curiosity to find information using references and parallel texts become challenges in producing a good
translation. Sensitivity in expressing meaning to produce highly readable translation is low.
Moreover, stages of the translation process in PG have to be improved. Editing and quality assurance should be provided so
that discussion and monitoring processes can be done more deeply. Internship supervisor should work together with other team
members to perform editing and quality assurance so that the translation process can be done holistically and the translation is
produced with a high level of accuracy, acceptability, and readability. This is so in order to provide visitors with quality reading
materials. Thus, cooperation between English Diploma Program of UNS and PG should be improved and strengthen. English
Diploma Program can provide human resources for editing and quality assurance, guidance and counselling for intern students in
PG (students from various universities conducting an internship in PG), and providing translators—alumni of English Diploma

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Program—having good competence in translation. PG can play a role in providing storybooks and facilities required for the
programs.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

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