Translation of Balinese Culture Terms in the Film Widya: Jemari Jiwaku Menari

Abstract

Language and culture are closely interconnected, making the translation of culture-specific terms a complex process, particularly in audiovisual media such as film. However, limited studies have specifically examined how Balinese cultural terms are translated in film subtitles and how these choices reflect the translator’s ideological orientation. This study aims to identify the types of Balinese cultural terms in the film Widya: Jemari Jiwaku Menari, classify them based on Newmark’s (1988) cultural categories, and analyze the translation procedures using Vinay and Darbelnet’s (1958) framework, as well as Venuti’s (1995) concepts of domestication and foreignization. This research employed a descriptive qualitative method. Data were collected through documentation by analyzing the film’s original dialogues (source language) and their corresponding English subtitles (target language). The findings reveal four categories of cultural terms: gestures and habits (65%), material culture (15%), social organization and religious terms (15%), and social culture (5%). Six translation procedures were identified, with literal translation being the most dominant (50%), followed by borrowing (15%), calque (10%), transposition (10%), modulation (10%), and equivalence (5%). These results indicate a dominant tendency toward foreignization (65%), although domestication is selectively applied to enhance clarity for the target audience. This study highlights the role of translators as cultural mediators and emphasizes the importance of balancing cultural preservation with accessibility in subtitle translation.