Beyond the literal: Challenges and strategies in translating idiomatic expressions from popular English songs into Indonesian
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Abstract
The translation of song lyrics involves not only linguistic conversion but also the preservation of cultural nuances, emotional resonance, and figurative meanings. This study explores the complexities of translating English idiomatic expressions into Indonesian, focusing on how literal translations fail to convey the source text's true essence. Employing a qualitative research design with a document study method, this research analyzes the complete lyrics of Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off“ and Katy Perry‘s “Wide Awake.“ The idioms embedded within these tracks were systematically identified and evaluated against potential literal translations to demonstrate their semantic inadequacy. The findings reveal that literal translations distort the songwriters' underlying messages, causing syntactic awkwardness and pragmatic loss. Consequently, alternative translation strategies, such as paraphrasing and idiomatic equivalence, are required to ensure naturalness and accuracy in the target language. This study highlights the imperative role of cultural awareness and functional equivalence in song translation, proving that a word-for-word approach diminishes the artistic and communicative value of musical texts.
Keywords:
cultural equivalence idiom translation literal translation failure song lyrics qualitative analysisReferences
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