AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS DIFFICULTIES IN TRANSLATING NARRATIVE TEXT

(A case study at eleventh grade of SMK Hass Ashabulyamin Cianjur)

By
ERRY SILVIANA
Reg.No. 08220072/PBS ENGLISH 2008
Email: silvianaeri@yahoo.co.id

English Education Study program Language and Arts Department

(STKIP) Siliwangi Bandung

ABSTRACT

The objective of this research entitled An Analysis of Students Difficulties in Translating Narrative
Text (A case study at eleventh grade of SMK Hass Ashabulyamin Cianjur) was to find out what the
difficulties of students in translating narrative text were. This research applied the descriptive qualitative
method. The subject of this research was twenty of the eleventh grade students of accountant class in SMK
Hass Ashabulyamin Cianjur. The writer used the test as an instrument. In collecting data the students
translated the narrative text from Indonesian into English to find out difficulties that students faced in
translating narrative text. The results of this research showed that the students found some difficulties in: (1)
using verbs 21, 9%, using adverbs 20%, using nouns 20%. And in: (2) writing nouns 20%, writing verbs 18,
1%, and writing adverb 0%.

Key word: Difficulties Translating

A. Introduction B. Theoretical Foundation

English is everywhere. This fact implies that people
all over the world, including Indonesians should master
English for diverse purposes. For Indonesians, English
is learned mainly for the absorption and development or
relation with other nations. The function of English is a
medium that students can improve their abilities in
science, technology, art and culture so that they will not
feel neglected in their society.
On the other hand, the goal of study English is to
develop culture and profit able science and technology
that the developing countries have. We can obtain the
information and study it easily so that we are able to
translate the information from English into Indonesian.
For this reason, translation skill has to be given to
the students in Senior High School where the students
obtain English course in the class. This is important for
the students to take a course and how to understand
questions in English as well.
1. Definition of Difficulties
According to Brown (2000:216) mistakes,
misjudgments, miscalculations, and error form an
important aspect of learning in acquiring
information.
Difficulties in translating is when someone who
translates the text, but does not understand how to use
adverb, verb, noun so that the sentences are not perfect.
Difficulties are usually compared with impotence. In
order to analyze the learner language in an appropriate
perspective, it is crucial to make a distinction between
difficulties and impotence. In details, the two terms
may be distinguished if they are viewed from the
students existing knowledge. For example, a student
translates kemarin mereka tidak membeli buku into
they is not buying book yesterday while the student
only knows that tidak membeli is is not buying, so
the student has difficulties translating that sentence
because he or she does not know how to choose that
correct adverb according to the context.

1
2. Analysis of Translation
According to Nida:
Translating simply the act of transferring the
meaning of a text from one language into another or
does is it depend on some theory of similarities and
contrast between languages? In order to analyze and
to direct such as activity, a number of specialists in
translating have elaborated numerous theories:
linguistic, sociolinguistic, communicative, free,
literal, hermeneutic, semiotic, relevant, Marxist,
transformational, and even gender-to mention only a
few.
According to Larson (1991:1) translation is a
process base on the theory that is possible to abstract
the meaning of text from its forms and reproduces that
meaning with the very different form the second
language.
Nidas (1969:484) model of the translation process
is on his hypothesis that:
a careful analysis of what on in the process of
translatinghas shown that, instead of going directly
from one set of surface structures to another the
competent translator actually goes through seemingly
roundabout process of analysis, transfer, and
restructuring.
The first step in the process of analysis in
identification of difficulties, it crucially depends on
correct interpretation of the learners intentions. It can
be solved by authoritative or plausible interpretation.
The second step is describing the difficulties. It
begins only when an identification stage has taken
place. The description of learner is difficult involves a
comparison of the learners idiosyncratic utterances
with a reconstruction of those utterances in the target
language. It requires, therefore, an attention to the
surface of properties of the learners utterance.
Finally, the last step in the process of analysis is the
explanation of that which can be regarded as a
linguistic problem. This step attempts to account for
how and why the learners difficulty happens.
The criteria of a good translation:
a. Accurate: reproducing as exactly as possible the
meaning of the source text.
b. Clear/communicative: expressing all aspects of the
meaning in a way that is readily understand able to
the intended audience.
c. Natural, using natural forms of the receptor
language in a way that is appropriate to the kind of
text being translating.
2
3. Meaning of Narrative Text
Narrative text is a text about story that can be in the
form of: folklore, animal story (fable), legend or short
story, novels, etc. There are some kinds of conflict,
social problems amusement in narrative text. So readers
would be amused or tense when reading them.
Narrative has dealing with social problematic events or
that has to find solution besides amusement.
Narrative text is one type of text used to entertain
with event or problems that led to a crisis that
eventually find a solution.
According to Keraf (2001:136) The narrative is a
form of discourse which attempted to narrate an event
or events that it seems as if the reader see or experience
the events. Therefore, the most important element in a
narrative is the element of the act or acts.
According to Yudantoro (1996:7) narrative text is
story which can be fable style or folktale style, myth,
and legend.
Based on the above explanation narrative can be
defined as a form of plant in the main target of the
doings of the braided and woven into an event that
occurred in a unit time. Or it can also be formulated in
another way: the narrative is a form of discourse that
attempted to describe very clearly to the reader of an
event that occurred.
But, as it was already stated above, the story has
always a difference, at least concerning the purpose or
goal. There is a narrative that aims to provide
information to the readers, to his knowledge expanded
the narrative.
The students especially students in Senior High
School level must deal with many kinds of text that
must be learned by the students is narrative text. Mean
while the text should be learned through a meaningful
activity. One kind of the effective activity is by
translation from Indonesia into English. The aims of the
research were to improve students writing narrative
text ability and to step students ability in to
translations. That case is described and analyzed in
term of the differing norms governing the source and
the target language culture and literatures.
Lexicon grammatical in narrative text features:
a. Focus on specific and usually individualize
participants
b. Use of material processes, behavior and processes
c. Use of relational processes and mental processes
d. Use of past tense
e. Nouns phrases as subject or object
f. Past verbs (reigned, ordered, cursed, turned, etc)
g. Time sequence conjunctions (then, before, that, after difficulties categories and calculated based them on the
that, soon, when, finally, first, etc) following formula:
h. Time expressions (once upon a time, long ago, one
day, etc).
P=
C. Research Methodology
1. The Method of Research Where:
In this research the writer used the descriptive P = Percentage
qualitative research methodology. Using descriptive F = Frequency of students difficult
qualitative method explains the problem solving. This N = Sum of students difficult
research is not only sample colleting the data, but
covers data analysis, and interpretation to the research 3. Research Instrument
problem. a) Interview
The writer interviewed the English teacher to know
2. Research Technique the activity of English teaching about the difficulty in
The writer used the data surface strategy of English lesson.
taxonomy to analyze students in translation, then
collected and conducted through the following steps: b) Test
a. Scoring system The writer used the test as an instrument. In
1) Reading on incorrect sentences or difficulties in collecting or gathering data the students translate the
sentences narrative text from Indonesian into English to find out
2) Marking on incorrect sentences or difficulties difficulties that students face in translating narrative
sentences text.
3) Analyzing the wrong sentences and classifying them
based on the kinds and difficult categories 4. Sample
4) Giving score 1 to each mistake The sample of this research was twenty the students
5) Drawing the table to present the difficulties to know of eleventh grade of accountant class in SMK Hass
many difficulties students in translating narrative Ashabulyamin Cianjur.
text.

Table 1 Table 2
In the Following Table The Sample at Accountant Class of SMK Hass
No. Kinds of Difficult Categories Total
Ashabulyamin Cianjur
Difficulties
N Subject Mail Famale Populasi Sample
Using Writing o.
1. Accounta 4 26 30 20
1 adverb nt class
2 Verb Total 4 26 30 20
3 Noun
Total D. Research Finding
1. Preparations
The difficult categories which were used in this a. Making the observation letter
research were based on the adverb, verb, and noun. Firstly, after the writer put forward the article of
The difficulties are divided into two. They were as research, the writer to get the recommendation from
follows: STKIP Siliwangi Bandung.
1) Using : where they do not know how to use Second, the writer comes into contact with the
words in sentence` headmaster all at the once he was submitting permitted
2) Written : where they make errors in writing a letter of research and then comes to see the teachers of
word. English to explain about the objective and goal about
b. Percentage of students difficulties the condition of the students in learning English
To know often the students met difficulties, the process.
writer gave score 1 for each mistake of all kinds
3
b. Interviewing the English Teacher 19 BB 1 3 2 6
The writer interviewed the English teachers to know 20 CC 4 1 2 4 3 14
the activity of English teaching processes at SMK Hass 42 46 38 42 42 210
Ashabulyamin Cianjur. The writer made some 42/ 0 46/ 38/ 42/ 42/ 100
dialogues about in the difficulty in English lesson. 20 % 21,9 18,1 20 20
c. Making observation schedule % % % % %
1) first meeting on May 14th, 2012 : interviewing the
English teachers E.Conclusions and Suggestions
2) second on May 16th, 2012 : explaining to students 1. Conclusions
After analyzing data about translating narrative text
about the kinds of text
3) third on May 17th , 2012 : collecting the data at eleventh grade of SMK HASS ASHABULYAMIN
CIANJUR, so that conclusions of the writer such as:
2. Collecting Data
The writer collected the data and analyzed it. To 1. The writer had found some 210 difficulties of the
analyze and classify the students difficulties, some of students difficulties in translating the narrative texts
at the eleventh grade of SMK HASS
the procedures were used by the writer as the following:
ASHABULYAMIN CIANJUR. The difficulties
a. Collecting the data
b. Read the students translation carefully were categorized into using verbs 21, 9%, using
adverbs 20%, and using nouns 20%.
c. Classifying the students difficulties by quoting the
sentences.
The difficult categories which were used in this
research were based on the adverb, verb, and noun.
The difficulties are divided into two. They were as
follows:
c. Using : where they do not know how to use
words in sentence`
d. Written : where they make errors in writing a
word.

Table 3
The Results of Research of The Students
Difficulties
No Na Adverb Verb Noun Total
. me Us W Us Wr Us Wr Graphic 1:
r Using Difficulties
1 D 3 3 3 3 3 15
2 E 4 5 4 2 4 19
3 F 2 2 2 2 2 10 2. The students difficulties were categorized into
4 H 3 2 1 3 9 writing nouns 20% difficulties, writing verbs 18, 1%
5 I 3 2 2 1 2 10 difficulties, and writing adverb 0% difficult.
6 J 2 3 2 2 3 12
7 K 3 1 1 3 2 10
8 L 1 2 2 5
9 M 3 2 3 2 1 11
10 N 3 3 2 2 1 11
11 R 1 3 2 2 2 10
12 S 3 1 1 2 1 8
13 O 3 2 2 3 2 12
14 T 1 3 3 3 10
15 U 3 2 2 7
16 V 3 4 1 3 11
17 DD 1 3 3 2 2 11
18 AA 2 1 1 3 2 9
4
 BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Keraf, gorys. (2001). Argumentasi dan Narasi.

Jakarta:Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Larson, Mildred L. (1991:1). Translation theory and

practice. Binghamton:University of New York

Nida. (1969). The Translation Performance, translation

process, and translation Strategies.
Germany:Gunter Narr Verlag Tubingen

Yudantoro, Elang. (1996). Rangkuman Bahasa

Inggris.Bandung
Graphic 2:
Writing Difficulties

2. Sugesstions
As a closing report of this research, the writer
would like to contribute some suggestion to be
hopefully considered as a good input for further
learning of translating. The suggestions from the writer
as follows:
1. Suggestions to the lecture
a. The teacher must give more activities about
translating, give the kinds of text and learning
motivation.
b. In every activity given, the teacher must do an
examination and inform errors to the students
c. To enhance the quality of students translation, it is
necessary for them to evaluate the difficulties the
students.
d. To improve the quality of students it is suggested to
make special therapy such as giving extra training
for the students.
e. The teacher and headmaster must give more medium
to increase the students English ability especially in
translating narrative text.
2. Suggestions to the learners
a. The students should practice English repeatedly in
school or at home to decrease the influence of
grammar and vocabulary mastery.
b. The students are suggested to read a lot of book to
increase the knowledge of English lesson especially
in translating narrative text.
c. The students are supposed to discuss the translating
sentences with their classmate
d. The students have to enrich vocabulary to improve
their translation skill. It can be done by reading
English text, such as newspaper, comic, magazine
etc.