Translation Into Indonesian

I was student at the Faculty of Letters (since 2002 its name changed: Faculty of Humanities), University of Indonesia, as Prof. Christiane Nord from the University of Heidelberg held the translation workshop from 15th - 18th February 1993 in our campus. I understand from her that a translator should be diligent. A translator should make an effort to research the meaning of a word or a term in the source language and then try to find the best translation from the target language, which is her or his mother tongue. If need be, a translator should also make a further research in regard to find the best translation. A translator should not translate a word or a term according to her or his own perspective or ideology.

Source Language and Target Language

I learned from that workshop that the ideal translation should be done by the native speaker of the target language, not the native speaker of the source language.

For example, I am Indonesian, therefore I should translate a book which is written in a foreign language (e.g. in German) into Indonesian. It is not suggested that I translate a book which is written in Indonesian into a foreign language. (e.g. into German. The Germans should do that.)

In that workshop we were given an Indonesian translation which was done by a German as one example and what happened? We understood the German text better than the Indonesian translation. Maybe you still remember my experience with my German colleague. Please see Frau Sihombing Doesn't Always Mean Nyonya Sihombing.

So, I am Indonesian and should translate a book which is written in German, for example, into Indonesian, not the other way. The book is called source text (in German: der Ausgangstext) and German is called source language (in German: die Ausgangssprache). My Indonesian translation is called target text (in German: der Zieltext) and Indonesian is called target language (in German: die Zielsprache).

Several Findings

As written above that Indonesians should do the translation into Indonesian, however I often found Indonesian translation which were translated by Indonesian translators according to the own perspective of the translator. This is what I learned from Prof. Nord that a translator should make an effort in regard to find the best translation, not just translating according to her or his own knowledge. An additional research should be done.

I found some words and term, which were translated from Christian terms, but these words and term were translated in Moslem perspective or just translated without researching the most correct term. An Indonesian translator who is not a Christian, should know that between the Indonesien Christians themselves there are also some differences.

Frau Sihombing Doesn't Always Mean Nyonya Sihombing

A German colleague who took care of working agreement as I worked in a German organisation didn't want to hear me as I complained her translation in Indonesian. In the German version of the working agreement I was mentioned as Frau Sihombing, which is correct. But in the Indonesian version I was mentioned as Nyonya Sihombing (in English: Mrs Sihombing), which is completely wrong.

I complained because I am still single. Sihombing is my family name. I am also not a widow, who maybe still uses the family name of her husband or ex husband.

The German colleague only told me that it is already the fixed term. I was disappointed, because I am the Indonesian, the person who knows her language. I would have been happier if I would have been mentioned as Nona Sihombing (in English: Miss Sihombing) rather than Nyonya Sihombing (in English: Mrs Sihombing) on that agreement.

Like "Fraeulein" in German "nona" in Indonesian is also used only for little or young girls. For adult women we can say "ibu", which doesn't show the marital status. You can call an adult woman "ibu" without asking her marital status.

The term "Saudari" (Sdri.) which refers to young women can also replace the term "nyonya" (in English: Mrs). This supposed to be neutral. It doesn't show the marital status either. However this term is rarely used in oral language or daily conversation. It is used more often in written language. So, it is better to use the term "Saudari (Sdri.)" on that agreement.

You have read text 12.

Please read text 13: Translation Into Indonesian

Back to text 11: Ms Sihombing Is Not Fraeulein Sihombing

Ms Sihombing Is Not Fraeulein Sihombing

As I worked in German companies I always put (Ms.) behind my name in my email signature, so that the readers know that I am female and therefore they would reply my email with "Dear Ms Sihombing", not Mr Sihombing.

Someday one of our big boss from Germany came to our office in Jakarta. As we had a chance to chat, he asked me why I put Ms, because Ms means Fraeulein. In German "Fraeulein" is used for little or young girls. For adult woman should be "Frau". However "Frau" doesn't only mean "Mrs" in English. It can also mean "Ms". I told our big boss that Ms doesn't mean Miss (which means Fraeulein in German) in English.

According to my information in the USA there is a new additional title in gender differentiation besides Mrs and Mr. It is Ms. This "Ms" refers to adult women and doesn't show the marital status, which is not important. Just like Mr, it also doesn't show the marital status. This should be an idea from the feminists in the USA.

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Please read text 12: Frau Sihombing Doesn't Always Mean Nyonya Sihombing

Back to text 10: Germans Can Not Understand Our Pronunciation

Germans Can Not Understand Our Pronunciation

Ah, Calvin!

I and Dr. Haug were in a streetcar in Stuttgart (see Interesting Experience in Germany Part 2). We discussed about the church reformation. I was confused why Dr. Haug didn't know whom I was talking about. I spoke about Johannes Calvin, the church reformer from Switzerland. Dr. Haug is theologian, he must know who Johannes Calvin is. I tried to describe more clearly. Then Dr. Haug understood. He said: "ah, Calvin!" The pronunciation is [kalvin] like the English words "very", "verb", "value". Do you know how I pronounced the reformer's name before? I pronounced it in Indonesian way [kalfin], like the English words "full", "father". That was why Dr. Haug didn't understand at the beginning, whom I was talking about. :-(

Garuda's German Speaking Announcer

I was on a Garuda Indonesia plane, on my way back from Germany to Indonesia. As the plane stopped in Bangkok there were new passengers, who want to go to Jakarta. Two German women sat beside me.

During the flight we heard several announcements which were spoken in three languages: Indonesian, English and German. Every time the announcement was spoken I asked the German women how the German announcement was. I hope they would be proud of it. I was surprised as they said that they didn't understand the German. According to them the announcer's pronunciation was not so clear. The announcer was an Indonesian woman. Those two German women told me that they understood the English announcement better.

Tip: Please practice the right German pronunciation well.

You have read text 10.
Please read text 11: Ms Sihombing Is Not Fraeulein Sihombing
Back to text 9: Germans Misunderstand German

Germans Misunderstand German

Jule & Jule (Woman & Dog)

Just to tell you some stories which encourage you to learn German. Don't worry if a German misunderstands your German, because it also can happen that Germans misunderstand their language. :-)

I was in Duver supermarket with Tine's mother. (see Interesting Experience in Germany, Part 2) We met a woman there, who was also buying something at that store. Tine's mother knew this woman. Then they had a little conversation. Tine's mother told the story about Jule, Tine's dog. Then I noticed that Tine's mother just told the woman another story. It was about Tine, who is also called Jule. However the woman was confused, maybe she didn't know that Tine is also called Jule. The woman misunderstood the story. I smiled and told her that Jule is Tine. Tine's mother realized this misunderstanding and she confirmed that it was Tine whom she has spoken about. She didn't speak about the dog anymore.

Hose & Hase (Pants & Rabbit)

I stayed at Nicole's house in Rauenstein. (see Interesting Experience in Germany) In a beautiful evening as we enjoyed the Thuringian sausage which was grilled very good by Nicole's father, Nicole's mother told us a funny story. She laughed and told us that she just had a little conversation with their neighbor. She spoke about pants (in German: Hose), but the neighbor misunderstood, she thought it was rabbit. (in German: Hase) In Rauenstein this word is pronounced [hose]. Let's say it is Rauenstein's dialect. However the pronunciation should be [hase] according to the Standard German "Hochdeutsch". Although living in Rauenstein, Nicole's mother pronounces words according to the Standard German.

Ihr Mann & Ihr Mann (Her Husband & Your Husband)

This conversation took place in Jakarta, in our meeting room of our DAAD Jakarta office. (see Scholarship) Our director (a German) just spoke about one of our woman lecturer. Then one of our colleague asked our director the husband of this lecturer: "how is about her husband?" (in German: ihr Mann) We spoke German in the office. Our director was surprised and asked back: "my husband?" She thought that our colleague asked her her husband (your husband in German: Ihr Mann, with capital i) Our colleague answered: "not yours, hers." :-)

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Please read text 10: Germans Can Not Understand Our Pronunciation

Back to text 8: Interesting Experience in Germany (Part 2)

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Interesting Experience in Germany (Part 2)

1996 (23 May - 23 August 1996)

Visited Places: Bahlburg, Beedenbostel, Betzendorf, Eisleben, Giessen, Hamburg, Harburg, Heidelberg, Herzberg am Harz, Hiddensee island, Luhdorf, Luhmuehlen, Lueneburg, Moellenbeck, Osterode, Putensen, Ruegen island, Salzhausen, Stuttgart, Tuebingen, Winsen an der Luhe.

Thanks to Mr Diedrich who had arranged the tourist visa for me. It took only 2 days. I just needed to pick up the visa on the next day.

So was the trip:

I stayed with family Diedrich in Luhmuehlen. The temperatur was 14 - 17 C. scale. Mrs Diedrich just needed that I introduce her Indonesia and take care of their sons Daniel and baby Carl, especially if she should take care of the horses. However, Tine (Mrs Diedrich) found it is not so effective if she learns Indonesian language, but she is still in Germany. She noticed that I had many friends everywhere in Germany, she just let me go visiting my friends.

I got new friends from the church. Every Sunday I joined the service at Johannis church in Salzhausen (-+ 1 km from Luhmuehlen). It was Marita who the first invited me to a coffee drink at her home in Salzhausen. We met each other at a Sunday school (church service for children). There were Christiane, Gabi and the reverend Heiner Frank.

Carole, whom I also met in the church, lived in the neighborhood in Luhmuehlen. What a surprise. She invited me to dine on grilled steak at her home. I met Reinhold, her husband, their daughters Amy & Alice. There were also Juergen & his wife Susanne, whom I already knew before. They lived next door to Carole. Juergen & Susanne invited me also to a grill on the other day.

Further there were Holger & June from the neighborhood, who invited me also to a dinner. June, Holger's wife, is an Indonesian. What a surprise! In a small village Luehmuhlen I could find an Indonesian. Christiane, a friend I knew from the Sunday school at the church in Salzhausen, invited me also to a coffee drink & dinner at her home in Garstedt.

These new friends were very friendly. They invited me not just for once, but often. Reinhold & family had once invited me to their family gathering & journey in Lopausee, which was ended in Betzendorf to play football: Betzendorf vs Lueneburg. It made a lot of fun.

It was a pleasure that I could visit my old and new friends, Indonesians & Germans, in Tuebingen, Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Giessen & Hamburg. They were Avi, Lely, Erwin, Faby, Faisal, Ilona & her friend Christiane, Betsie, family Diederich, the family of Dr Matthias Diederich, my previous lecturer at University of Indonesia, who was assigned to be my skripsi advisor. (skripsi is the paper as a final task, which should be prepared by students at universities in Indonesia to achieve their title)

Interesting Experience in Germany

I share with you some of my experience related to my stay in Germany. Maybe you find some places you never visit before and therefore you are interested in visiting those places.

Thank God that I could go to Germany. I never expected it before. Thanks to my boss as I worked in DAAD Jakarta. She permitted me to go there for 3 months. It was my first trip to Germany. Thanks also to my Alma mater, German Dept., Faculty of  Letters, University of Indonesia which thought of me and offered me to go to Germany.

Further, I also never expected that after the first trip I easily could decide to go again to Germany. This has happened 3 times. Not because of a scholarship, not because the Company sent me there due to a business trip. I myself have made it. Thank God.

Especially for you, who will study in Germany, I hope my experience can motivate you more in learning German, until finally your dream comes true: studying in Germany. Enjoy the story!

2006 (28 April - 12 May 2006)

Visited places: Karlsruhe, Bodelshausen, Stuttgart, Greven, Garstedt, Salzhausen, Putensen, Winsen an der Luhe, Lueneburg, Luhmuehlen, Hildesheim, Giessen.

Thanks to Reinhold who had taken care of the sponsorship from Germany for me, which enabled me to apply a tourist visa without any problems in the German embassy Jakarta.

So was the trip:

In Karlsruhe: Family Engelhardt invited me to see "Das Leben der Anderen" in a cinema. It was an interesting film, which shows how the life was under control of the government of the East Germany. On the other day the family took me to Rheinland-Strandsbad, Karlsruhe. In Karlsruhe I joined the Sunday service in the Stadtkirche.

In Bodelshausen near Tuebingen: to visit Ilona & Ruprecht, who invited me to dinner in a bavarian restaurant.

In Stuttgart: to visit Karstadt Dept. Store, as I was an employee of KarstadtQuelle Jakarta.

In Greven near Muenster: to attend Ita & Stefan's wedding. Never danced European dance before, nevertheless nice gentlemen asked me to dance with them respectively: Jan (our business partner), Olliver (Stefan's brother in law), Theo (Stefan's father) and a guest of the party.

In Winsen an der Luhe: Christiane & her daughter Franzi took me visiting Landesgartenschau. Marita bought Indonesian vegetables in an Asian shop. We wanted to make gado-gado (a kind of Indonesian food which consist of various kind of vegetables with peanut sauce). I already brought the peanut sauce from Indonesia.

In Salzhausen: to attend Sunday service in Johanniskirche.

In Lueneburg: Christiane bought so many presents for me & my family in Karstadt Dept. Store.

In Hildesheim: Dr Wehmann took me to see Andreaskirche, Michaeliskirche, Marie Himmelfahrt-Dom.

Do You Know, that ... ?

... It's Roentgen, Not Ronsen?

The young female doctor in Puskesmas Cengkareng (Puskesmas is a state small clinic, which spread out in districts in Indonesia) looked at me strangely as she heard me saying Roentgen with German pronunciation. Then she confirmed, "ronsen!" We just spoke about a result of Roentgen photo. Of course, I didn't have time to "teach" her German at that time, how to pronounce the umlaut o. We, Indonesian, don't know this German sound. But it is strange why "roentgen" is pronounced [ronsen]. Why does [g] become [s]? It is difficult for us to say the umlaut o [oe], but we still can say [g]. Therefore the possible Indonesian pronunciation of "roentgen" would be [ron-gen] or [ronggen], because it is also difficult for us, Indonesian, to pronounce 3 consonants [ntg] respectively.

As I worked in KarstadtQuelle Jakarta, I have once asked my German boss, whether my pronunciation of [roentgen] is right. He confirmed then my right pronunciation [roentgen]. So, it is not [ronsen].

The original German alphabet for this umlaut [oe] is described by "o" with two dots on it. But if such alphabet is not available in your computer, you may describe it by "oe".

Further, if you speak about Prof. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, the finder of X ray, with a German, she or he wouldn't understand whom you are talking about, if you pronounce his name [ronsen].

(the umlaut o in his name "Roentgen" is originally described by the original German alphabet of umlaut o)

How can you produce this umlaut o? Please say [e], then hold your tongue. With this tongue position then please round your lips and say [o], that will sound [oe], the umlaut o.

Now, you know how to pronounce the following cities in Germany: Koeln, Goettingen, Goeppingen. (all umlauts o of those 3 cities are described by the original German alphabet of umlaut o)

... The Unity of Alphabets e and i Describes Diphthong ai?

A female reverend just mentioned the name of the famous German physicist, Albert Einstein, in her sermon. She pronounced it [einstein] not [ainstain]. After the Sunday service finished, I asked her why she didn't pronounce it rightly. She knew the right pronunciation, because she had taken a German course at Goethe-Institut. She answered that she just didn't want to do that. It is strange. To pronounce [ainstain] is easier than to pronounce [roentgen].

The other reverend was different. This young male reverend likes to learn. As he pronounced the name of the famous German reverend, theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was against Hitler at that time; he asked me how the right pronunciation is. I told him and he tried to pronounce it rightly.

If you find the alphabet e and i together in German words, the pronunciation should be [ai], because they describe the diphthong ai.

Now, you know how to pronounce the following cities in Germany: Freiburg, Heidelberg, Hildesheim, Mannheim.

... Nouns Have 3 Kinds of Gender?

A Conversation in A German Lesson

Pupil:

What? Nouns have gender? Chair is masculine, flower is feminine, and book is neutral? It is strange. I just heard that nouns have gender.

Teacher:

That is so in German. But, no need to worry. You like the language, you will have fun in learning that. Try to learn 2 nouns of each gender including the plural form, everyday. Then you will be amazed there are so many nouns you have learnt.

Pupil: I don't think I can do that.

Teacher:

Don't say that. Try first what I told you, then we'll see whether you can do that or you can't. Besides, it is an interesting thing you never knew before. I'm sure you will learn it with pleasure, Think of this: you want to study in Germany. Isn't it your dream? Now, open the next page and we will hear a German song.

... There Are Some Learning Materials You Can Use?

Study Books

Here some good books you can use for learning German: Studio d, Passwort Deutsch, Themen Aktuell. Usually there are course books, exercise books and test books.

You can also visit this Schubert publisher and try to do the provided exercises online. Interesting.

Dictionary

Need an online dictionary? Please visit this Hueber dictionary.

You have read text 6.
Please read text 7: Interesting Experience in Germany
Back to text 5: Scholarship

Scholarship

Studying in Germany is maybe a dream of some people. The fact is: some people can financially afford to do that, however there are lots of people who financially cannot afford that. They need scholarship. However, it is also not easy to get scholarship. There are some requirements to be fulfilled.

As I worked for DAAD* Jakarta, 1995 - 1996, I had no chance to apply for a scholarship from DAAD. The scholarship was determined for university lecturers, especially from state universities and private universities, which had the status of "disamakan", and for researchers from governmental institutions. However it is not useless to check whether DAAD extends its scholarship scope. Maybe you have chance to apply for a scholarship from DAAD.

Thanks to the modern technology you can further seek so many information on scholarship in internet.

Not only in Germany, you can also study in Austria and Switzerland, because they are German speaking countries. However in Switzerland there are certain regions, where people speak German.

In Autumn 2003 German time I applied for a scholarship from the Embassy of Switzerland, Jakarta. Its scholarship was more restricted than DAAD scholarship. If DAAD Jakarta offered the scholarship to the whole Indonesia, Switzerland offered it only to regions, which involved some countries. It means Indonesia get only a few percent of the whole portion. Further, it means also that you should compete with other applicants from other countries in the determined region. Unfortunately, the confirmation letter from Professor  Dr.Dr. Hess-Luettich of the University of Bern dated 8 October 2003 and 2 reference letters from 2 lecturers of my Alma mater, German Dept., Faculty of Letters, University of Indonesia, (J. Darman, M.A. & Dr. Setiawati Darmojuwono) could not accompany me to Bern, since I didn't get the scholarship.

You may contact the Embassy of Switzerland, Jakarta, for further information. Maybe you are more lucky than me. For the Austrian scholarship please visit the website of OeAD (Oesterreichischer Austauschdienst). And of course, you can search more information on scholarship in internet.


*DAAD = Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst / German Academic Exchange Service

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Please read text 6: Do You Know, that ... ?
Back to text 4: Preparation for Trip to Germany