E-LITRANS TOOL FOR THE BETTER QUALITY OF

STUDENTS’ LITERARY TRANSLATION

Rudi Hartono
English Department, Universitas Negeri Semarang,
Semarang, Indonesia
rudi.hartono@mail.unnes.ac.id

Abstract

Translating literary works is difficult and complicated. It is not only translating forms of language but
also styles. The styles of language in literary works can be a primary problem for translators to render
because the literary texts contain connotative meanings that need the translators’ deep understandings.
The literary texts themselves often load Cultural Specific Items (CSIs) that are difficult, because of the
uniqueness, for translators to transfer from one language to another. The unique meanings also exist
implicitly in many beautiful words like metaphors, similes, personifications, and proverbs. Therefore to
produce better quality of literary translation, E-Litrans tool comes as a solution. It is online literary
translation tool that can help translators translate metaphors, similes, personifications, and proverbs.
Recently we revealed that E-Litrans tool has potential properties as a translation tool in translating the
beautiful words. In this study, to see the translation quality improvement, we applied E-Litrans tool in
translation classes and used it in translating metaphors, similes, personifications, and proverbs from
English into Indonesian and vice versa. We assessed the students’ translation quality from 50 participants
before and after E-Litrans tool application in one action research. To prove the advantages of E-Litrans
tool application, we gained the data from the participants through a test, questionnaire, and interview. It
showed that there was a very high difference score enhancement of translation before and after E-Litrans
tool application. Furthermore, E-Litrans tool significantly improved the students’ translation quality of
metaphors, similes, personifications, and proverbs better. These results suggest that E-Litrans tool has the
potential to increase the translation score and improve the students’ translation quality.

Keywords: E-Litrans tool, translation quality, figurative language, proverbs