AN ANALYSIS OF JOKE TRANSLATION

IN DATE NIGHT MOVIE

THESIS

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirements

for the Sarjana Degree in English Department

Faculty of Cultural Sciences

Sebelas Maret University

By:

NADIA RIMADHANI GIUSTI

CO310041

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF CULTURAL SCIENCES

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2015

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PRONOUNCEMENT

Name : Nadia Rimadhani Giusti

NIM : C0310041

I stated truthfully that this thesis entitled An Analysis of Joke Translation

in Date Night Movie is originally written by me. It is neither a plagiarism nor

written by others. The information of previous works related to the thesis is all

referred in quotations and it is included in the bibliography. If later this

pronouncement is proved incorrect, I am ready to take any responsibility.

Surakarta, 12 November 2015

The Researcher

Nadia Rimadhani Giusti

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MOTTO

Surround yourself with the things you love, discard the rest

- Anonymous -

Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels

But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young

- Albus Dumbledore -

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times,

If one only remembers to turn on the light

- Albus Dumbledore -

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DEDICATION

This thesis is whole-heartedly dedicated to:

My beloved parents

Drs. Agus Nur Setyawan, M.Hum and Dra. Dwi Hastuti BW

My dearest companion

Audi Chairul Firdaus, S.T and Intan Nur Afifah

and

My thesis supervisor

Bayu Budiharjo, S.S., M.Hum

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillahirabbil’alamiin

First of all, I would like to thank to Allah SWT for His blessing and

guiding in completing this thesis entitled: AN ANALYSIS OF JOKE

TRANSLATION IN DATE NIGHT MOVIE from the beginning to the end.

I realize that this thesis will never be accomplished without the support,

help, and assistance from many individuals and institutions. Therefore, I would

like to utter my sincere gratitude to:

1. Prof. Drs. Riyadi Santosa, M.Ed., Ph.D – as the Dean of Faculty of Cultural

Sciences, University of Sebelas Maret Surakarta.

2. Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A., Ph.D – as the Head of English Department,

Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Sebelas Maret Surakarta.

3. Bayu Budiharjo, S.S., M.Hum – as my thesis supervisor for the guidance,

help and advices. I would like to give my special thanks and gratitude for

always giving me times to share my problems and thoughts during finishing

my thesis.

4. Prof. Dr Djatmika,M.A – as my academic supervisor, for the assistance

during my study. I also want to express my gratitude for the help in verifying

my data as my validator.

5. All of English Department Lectures, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University

of Sebelas Maret Surakarta, for the valuable knowledge and experience that

have been given during my study.

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6. Bayu Dewa Murti, S.S., M.Hum – as my rater, for the time in analyzing my

data, and also for giving me guidance and thoughts in understanding

translation quality assessment.

7. Umi Dwi Lestari, S.S., M.Hum – as my rater, for the time in analyzing my

data and discussing the translation quality assessment of my data.

8. Sumardiono, S.S., M.Hum – as my rater, for the time in analyzing my data,

and also advice, suggestion, and explanation in understanding jokes.

9. My beloved parents and sisters for the unlimited support, guidance, and

prayer to me every single day.

10. My dearest and lovely partner in life, Audi Chairul Firdaus, for the support

both mentally and physically. This thesis would never be finished without

him standing beside me.

11. My beloved and cute sister, Intan Nur Afifah, for always being there when I

needed company and assistance in completing this thesis.

12. My super kind and generous classmates; Dian, Ajeng, Putri, kak Dewi Ratih,

Agachi, Mifta, and others, for being helpful and giving me much information

in finishing my thesis, and for the time of our discussions about many things

related to translation and thesis. Many thanks to Dian that was always ready

when I needed a hand at finding references and when I needed a partner to

discuss everything related to my thesis, my comrade-in-arms.

Lastly, I hope this thesis brings benefit for readers and other researchers on

the similar research.

Nadia Rimadhani Giusti

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER ....................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL OF THE THESIS SUPERVISOR ......................................... ii

APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS ................................... iii

PRONOUNCEMENT ................................................................................. iv

MOTTO ...................................................................................................... v

DEDICATION ............................................................................................ vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ ix

LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................... xii

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................... xiii

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ xv

I. CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................... 1

A. Research Background.......................................................... 1

B. Research Limitation ............................................................ 6

C. Problem Statements ............................................................. 6

D. Research Objectives ............................................................ 7

E. Research Benefit ................................................................. 7

F. Thesis Organization ............................................................ 9

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II. CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................... 11

A. Definition of Translation ..................................................... 11

B. Equivalence in Translation .................................................. 13

C. Problems in Translation ...................................................... 15

D. Translation Techniques ....................................................... 18

E. Translation Quality and Translation Quality

Assessment (TQA) .............................................................. 27

F. Subtitling ............................................................................. 31

G. Comedy, Humor, and Joke Theory ..................................... 38

H. Types of Joke ...................................................................... 44

I. Humor Translation .............................................................. 48

J. Date Night ........................................................................... 53

K. Relevant Research ............................................................... 55

III. CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................... 57

A. Research Type and Design .................................................. 57

B. Data and Source of Data ..................................................... 58

C. Sampling Technique............................................................ 60

D. Method of Data Collection .................................................. 61

E. Technique of Data Analysis ................................................ 65

F. Research Procedure ............................................................. 67

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IV. CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .... 70

A. Introduction ......................................................................... 70

B. Findings ............................................................................... 70

1. Translation Technique Used by the Translator to

Translate International Joke and National-culture-and-

institutions Joke Found in A Movie Entitled

Date Night ..................................................................... 70

1.1. Types of Jokes ........................................................ 71

1.2. Translation Technique ............................................ 80

1. Single Techniques............................................ 81

2. Multiple Techniques ....................................... 85

2. The Impact of Techniques Used in the Translation to

the Quality, in Terms of Accuracy and Acceptability .. 111

A. Accuracy ................................................................. 111

Accurate Translation ............................................... 113

Less Accurate Translation ....................................... 121

B. Acceptability ........................................................... 131

Acceptable Translation............................................ 132

Less Acceptable Translation ................................... 140

C. Discussion ........................................................................... 147

V. CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ...... 151

A. Conclusion .......................................................................... 151

B. Recommendation................................................................. 155

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 157

APPENDICES

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Translation Techniques by Gottlieb, based on Bobby

Michael (n.d.) .............................................................................................. 20

Table 3.1 Scoring System of Accuracy Point, based on Nababan, Nuraeni,

and Sumardiono (2012) ............................................................................... 64

Table 3.2 Scoring System of Acceptability Point, based on Nababan,

Nuraeni, and Sumardiono (2012) ................................................................ 64

Table 4.1 Translation Techniques Used to Translate International Joke

and National-culture-and-institutions Joke Found in Date Night Movie .... 80

Table 4.2 Translation Quality in Accuracy Point........................................ 112

Table 4.3 Translation Quality in Acceptability Point ................................. 132

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1 Example 1 of International Joke ................................................ 72

Figure 4.2 Example 2 of International Joke ................................................ 73

Figure 4.3 Example 3 of International Joke ................................................ 74

Figure 4.4 Example 1 of National-culture-and-institutions Joke ................ 75

Figure 4.5 Example 2 of National-culture-and-institutions Joke ................ 77

Figure 4.6 Example 3 of National-culture-and-institutions Joke ................ 79

Figure 4.7 Example 1 of Single Technique Application ............................. 81

Figure 4.8 Example 2 of Single Technique Application ............................. 82

Figure 4.9 Example 3 of Single Technique Application ............................. 83

Figure 4.10 Example 4 of Single Technique Application ........................... 85

Figure 4.11 Example 1 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 86

Figure 4.12 Example 2 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 87

Figure 4.13 Example 3 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 88

Figure 4.14 Example 4 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 90

Figure 4.15 Example 5 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 91

Figure 4.16 Example 6 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 93

Figure 4.17 Example 7 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 95

Figure 4.18 Example 8 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 96

Figure 4.19 Example 9 of Multiple Techniques Application ...................... 98

Figure 4.20 Example 10 of Multiple Techniques Application .................... 100

Figure 4.21 Example 11 of Multiple Techniques Application .................... 101

Figure 4.22 Example 12 of Multiple Techniques Application .................... 103

Figure 4.23 Example 13 of Multiple Techniques Application .................... 104

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Figure 4.24 Example 14 of Multiple Techniques Application .................... 107

Figure 4.25 Example 15 of Multiple Techniques Application .................... 108

Figure 4.26 Example 1 of Accurate Translation ......................................... 113

Figure 4.27 Example 2 of Accurate Translation ......................................... 115

Figure 4.28 Example 3 of Accurate Translation ......................................... 117

Figure 4.29 Example 4 of Accurate Translation ......................................... 119

Figure 4.30 Example 1 of Less Accurate Translation ................................. 121

Figure 4.31 Example 2 of Less Accurate Translation ................................. 123

Figure 4.32 Example 3 of Less Accurate Translation ................................. 126

Figure 4.33 Example 4 of Less Accurate Translation ................................. 128

Figure 4.34 Example 1 of Acceptable Translation ..................................... 133

Figure 4.35 Example 2 of Acceptable Translation ..................................... 134

Figure 4.36 Example 3 of Acceptable Translation ..................................... 136

Figure 4.37 Example 4 of Acceptable Translation ..................................... 138

Figure 4.38 Example 1 of Less Acceptable Translation ............................. 140

Figure 4.39 Example 2 of Less Acceptable Translation ............................. 142

Figure 4.40 Example 3 of Less Acceptable Translation ............................. 144

Figure 4.41 Example 4 of Less Acceptable Translation ............................. 145

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ABSTRACT

Nadia Rimadhani Giusti. C0310041. 2015. An Analysis of Joke Translation in

Date Night Movie. English Department. Faculty of Cultural Sciences. Sebelas

Maret University Surakarta.

This is a descriptive qualitative research which focuses on analyzing

translation techniques and quality of international joke and national-culture-and-

institutions joke found in a movie entitled Date Night. It aims at (1) explicating

international joke and national-culture-and-institutions joke, (2) finding out the

translation techniques applied by the translator to translate international joke and

national-culture-and-institutions joke, and (3) explaining how the techniques

affect the translation quality of international joke and national-culture-and-

institutions joke, in terms of accuracy and acceptability.

This research employs purposive sampling technique. Date Night is

chosen as the source of data with international jokes and national-culture-and-

institutions jokes taken as the data. The total data are 79 data which consist of 58

international jokes and 21 national-culture-and-institutions jokes. The other data

are in the forms of information taken from the result of questionnaire given to the

three raters and in-depth interview with them.

The analysis of translation techniques shows that there are eight

techniques used by the translator to translate international jokes and national-

culture-and-institutions jokes, namely transfer, paraphrase, imitation,

transcription, expansion, deletion, condensation, and decimation. Those

techniques are applied as single techniques or combination of two to six

techniques. There are 13 (16.46%) data translated using single techniques and 66

(83.54%) data translated using multiple techniques.

The findings of the research in terms of translation quality show that 47

(59.49%) data of international joke are accurate, 11 (13.93%) data of international

joke are less accurate, 14 (17.72%) data of national-culture-and-institutions joke

are accurate, and seven (8.86%) data of national-culture-and-institutions joke are

less accurate. The analysis on the acceptability reveals that 47 (59.49%) data of

international joke are considered acceptable, 11 (13.93%) data of international

joke are considered less acceptable, 16 (20.25%) data of national-culture-and-

institutions joke are categorized into acceptable, and five (6.33%) data of national-

culture-and-institutions joke are categorized into less acceptable.

The technique which produces the largest number of accurate translation is

transfer, as many as 61 (77.22%) data. Meanwhile, decimation produces the

largest number of less accurate translation, as many as 11 (13.93%) data. Transfer

is also the most dominant technique which results in acceptable translation, as

many as 62 (78.48%) data. Meanwhile, less acceptable translation results from the

use of uncommon terminologies, inappropriate dictions, unnatural expressions,

and incomplete punctuation mark used by the translator.

From the result, the translator has successfully translated most of the

jokes. However, some jokes are less accurately or less acceptably translated

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because the translator uses wrong techniques or uses incomplete punctuation

mark, inappropriate dictions, unnatural expressions, or uncommon terminologies.

Keywords: joke translation, humor translation, types of joke, translation quality,

translation technique