Translation Methods

Newmark (1988b) mentions the difference between translation methods and translation procedures. He writes that, "[w]hile translation methods relate to whole texts, translation procedures are used for sentences and the smaller units of language" (p.81). He goes on to refer to the following methods of translation:

a. Word-for-word translation
In which the SL word order is preserved and the words translated singly by their most common meanings, out of context. In another word, this methods translate the text word by word by their most common meaning is out of context. It is normally effective only for phrase and simple sentence.

For example: “I love you” can be translated into Indonesia “aku cinta kamu”. But it cannot be translated into Japanese because Japanese has different basic sentence pattern Subject (S) + Object (O) + Verb (V) while English has Subject (S) + Verb (V) + (Object).

b. Literal translation
In which the SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest TL equivalents, but the lexical words are again translated singly, out of context. The source language grammar pattern is changed to equivalent target language, but lexical words like idioms and proverbs are literary translated. So the meaning are out of context.
For example “Ade is playing football” can be translated in Indonesia “Ade sedang bermain sepak bola”. But lexical words like “look after” cannot be translated “melihat setelah”

c. Faithful translation
It attempts to produce the precise contextual meaning of the original within the constraints of the TL grammatical structures. Faithful translation simply means the translator aims to convey the author's intention of the text (what the author was intending to communicate) as faithfully as possible into another language
For example “I was caught red-handed by my teacher” can be translated “Saya tadi tertangkap basah oleh guru saya” 

d. Semantic translationWhich differs from 'faithful translation' only in as far as it must take more account of the aesthetic value of the SL text. Semantic translation also means that the central concern of the translation is to convey the meaning of the phrase and sentenceFor example “I was caught red-handed by my teacher” sematic translated “Saya tadi tertangkap sedang melakukan kecurangan obeh guru saya”

e. AdaptationWhich is the freest form of translation, and is used mainly for plays (comedies) and poetry; the themes, characters, plots are usually preserved, the SL culture is converted to the TL culture and the text is rewritten. Adaptation translation simply means about communicating meaning through “adapting” the translation for a particular style or culture.
For example “The plane lands in airport” can be translated “Pesawat mendarat di bandar udara” Another example is “I am reading Malin Kundang story” can be translated into Malay “Saya sedang membaca Si Tenggang”

f. Free translation
It produces the TL text without the style, form, or content of the original. Free translation reproduces the content without the manner, or the content without the form of the original. Usually it is paraphrase much longer than the original. And it is more likely not translation at all.For example: “Are you sleepy?” can be translated “Ngantuk?”

g. Idiomatic translation
It reproduces the 'message' of the original but tends to distort nuances of meaning by preferring colloquialisms and idioms where these do not exist in the original.
For example: Proverb "No man is an island". We take the meaning and can be translated into “Kita tidak dapat hidup sendiri. Setiap orang butuh bantuan dari orang lain”.

h. Communicative translation
It attempts to render the exact contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership (1988b: 45-47). Communicative translation is used for informative and vocative text.
For example: “awas anjing galak!” It can translate become: “Beware of dog!”, instead of “Beware of the vicious dog!” Because the first sentence is already has a meaning that the dog is vicious and we must be carefull. Another example is “Keep off the grass!” can be translated into “Jangan injak rumputnya!