Name : Zulaihatul Karomah

Student Number/ class : 15320116/ C class

REALIA

1. Background

Language is one of the important aspects of human being. People will be difficult to have
interaction with others when there is no language. This case also becomes the distinction
between human being and other features in this life. To define language, some experts have their
own definitions about language itself. The first definition of language is a system of
communication by sound, operating through the organs of speech, among members of a given
community, and using vocal symbols possessing arbitrary conventional meaning (Pei, 1996). On
the other hand, other expert defines language as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for
human communication (Wardhaugh, 1972).

Because of the importance of language, there is study which focuses on language namely
“Linguistics”. Linguistics is derived from the Latin “lingua” meaning language, the French
language “langage-langue”, Italian “lingua”, Spanish “lengua” and English “language”. While
the suffix “ics” in linguistics serves to indicate the name of a science. Therefore, we can define
linguistics as the scientific study of language concerned with developing theories that account for
and explain the phenomena of language and language use.

Furthermore, these purposes of study are theory development, testing and making
generalization about language. Besides that, linguistic also concerns in the translation field or
specifically in translating culture specific items named “Realia”.

According to Peter Newmark, he divided cultural into some categories. Those are ecology,
material culture (artifact), social culture, social organization-political and administrative, and
gestures and habits. Because of that, he used different way to translate each category. In general,
there are some translation procedures to solve this translation (Realia). Those are: 1).
Transference. 2). Cultural equivalence. 3). Neutralisation. 4). Literal translation. 5). Label. 6).
Naturalisation. 7). Componential analysis. 8). Deletion (of redundant stretches of language in
non-authoritative texts, especially metaphors and imensifiers). 9). Couplet. 10). Accepted
standard translation. 11). Paraphrase, gloss, notes, etc. 12). Classifier.

Realia are words, phrases, and expressions for culture-specific items. In this case, realia
becomes a challenge for translators because translating realia or some customs or cultures is
difficult thing. The translators cannot be confused with terminology, as it is mainly used in
scientific literature to designate things that pertain to scientific sphere, and usually appears in
other kinds of texts to serve a very specific stylistic purpose. However, it doesn’t mean that realia
cannot be translated. In fact, along the lines of some translation scholars, particularly those of the
Leipzig school (Kade, Jager, Neubert), all languages can say the same things, but, as a rule, all of
them say it in different way. The translators can have resource to several devices for solving the
problem of bridging the gap across cultures, providing that she/he is culturally aware of those
differences. She/he can rely on various procedures, techniques or strategies to deal with such
translation problems. In other words, Realia are born in popular culture and increasingly found in
very diverse kinds of texts. As for its purpose, it is to convey an exotic touch (fiction).

As for its types, Realia has three types. The first type is geography. This type includes
physical geography, for example: pampa, fjord, mistral, steppe, tornado, tsunami. The next is
geographic objects tied to man’s activity. The example of it is polder. The last is endemic species,
for example: kiwi, kola, and sequoia. The second type is Ethnography which includes: 1.
Everyday life, for example: paprika, spaghetti, empanada, sauna, kimono, etc. 2. Work, the
examples are carabinieri, concierge, machete, trade unions, etc. 3. Art and culture, for example:
tarantella, banjo, gong, commedia, murals, allegro, Santa Claus, vampire, etc. 4. Measures and
money, for example: mile, kilometer, lira, peseta, talent, etc. 5. Ethnic characterizations, for
example: cockney, gringo, and yankee. The third type is politics and society. This type includes
several aspects. The first aspect is administrative divisions, for example: region, province,
county, department, state, bidonville, arrondissement, souk, and promenade. The second aspect is
political and social life, the examples are peronist, Ku Klux Klan, partigiani, lobbying, lord,
untouchables, samurai, etc. The third aspect is military, for example: cohort, phalanx, marines.
The last aspect is organs and functions, such as: agora, forum, duma, senate, chamcellor, tzar,
pharaoh, ayatollah, etc.

It is possible to translate Realia by using various strategies. Some of the strategies are
transliteration, equivalency, and explanation. Transliteration or transcription means translating
letter by letter or character by character when the original word is written in different alphabet.
For example: cafe- kafe, restaurant-restoran, apple-apel. The second strategy is explanation.
Using this strategy is by creating explanation and the explanation should maintain the original
meaning of realia. However, this strategy is sometimes confusing. Some examples of this
strategy are: angkot (public transportation minivan), rukun iman (six pillars of faith), and so on.
The third strategy is equivalency. This strategy translates by comparing to something similar in
target language. However, we have to make sure that two items compared exactly have similar
meaning when using this strategy. For example: gado-gado (salad with peanut sauce).

Other strategies that are also used are: 1. Transcription according to the TL pronunciation
rules. For example, the Hindi word Kasmir becomes Cachemire in French. 2. Creation of a new
word or calque, for example: the English word flea market is inspired by the French Marche aux
puces. 3. Creation of new word, analogous to the original one, but which has a more local sound
and appearance. The example from this strategy is muezzin which is from the Arabic mu’adhzin.
4. Making the explicit meaning, such as Jewish temple for synagogue. 5. Replacement of the
word with a similar, local one, such as the French art nouveau (literally “new art”) for
Jugendstil. 6. Use of a different but related word from the SL, pretending it is the original word.
For example, the Italian word cappuccino is often translated into English as latte, which means
“milk” in Italian. 7. Translation of the overall meaning. The example is “does the National
Health Service cover this drug?” (English) could become “is this drug expensive?” (American).
8. Addition of an adjective to help the reader in identifying the origin of Realia, as in the
Argentine pampa. 9. Replacement of the word with one that is more generic or international,
such as red wine for Beaujolais.

2. Findings

In this case, I have found several Realia in the tourism brochure of Pesona Indonesia. For
the first realia, the realia which appears in the brochure comes from Yogyakarta city. The realia
written in the brochure is “Try the Gudeg, a special cooking of traditional Javanese recipe. Taste
the Bakpia, a traditional snack with many enticing flavors”. This realia is included into
ethnography type which uses an explanation strategy to translate realia. The second one is
written of Semarang tourism brochure. The realia stated there is “the one thing that you
definitely must try in Semarang’s Chinatown is the famous Lumpia (springrool) Semarang”. As
for this realia, it is included as also ethnography type which uses equivalency strategy to translate
it. It is considered as equivalency because the word “lumpia” is compared by “spring roll” which
is originated of Chinese. Meanwhile, those two things are originated of the same items and have
same shape.

Other realia that I have found is from Pramoedya Ananta Noer’s novel which is under the
title “Blora”. The first realia is word “Agus” which includes ethnography type (ethnic
characterization) and it is translated by using explanation strategy. That is “Javanese term of
address used by an elderly person speaking to a younger male. As is seen below, “Agus” is
commonly shortened to “Gus”. The next realia is word “Nasi jagung”. The type of realia is
ethnography which also uses explanation strategy “Nasi jagung is a dish made from rice mixed
with cornmeal, which is often eaten during periods when rice is relatively scarce”. I also found
realia of word “kain” that refers to the grandmother. This realia is included as ethnography type
of everyday life and translated by explanation strategy. That is “a batik cloth that is wrapped
around a woman’s lower body as part of of traditional Javanese dress”.

To sum up, I think that realia which is included of ethnography type and the thing is very
local or traditional which becomes an icon of some place will be translated by using explanation
strategy. It is done because sometimes we will be difficult to find another thing to be compared
with. However, it is possible to use other strategy to translate ethnography type of realia.

3. References
Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. Great Britain. Pearson Education
Limited.

Toury,G. (1985). A Rationale for Descriptive Translation Stusies. In Theo Hermans (ed.).
The Manipulation of Literature: Studies in Literary Translation. London, Sydney: Croom
Helm.

https://www.hawaii.edu/sealit/Downloads/blora.pdf

http://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en