BAKER’S TRANSLATION STRATEGY ON GOD AND SELF-RELATED WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS IN THE ALCHEMY OF HAPPINESS

Submitted : 15 May 2023 Certain expressions related to something intangible may be difficult to translate and need special translation strategy. The study’s objective is to classify the strategies conducted by translators to translate SL to TL of God and Self-related words and Expressions from English into Indonesian. This research can be a reference for future research on the topic of translation, especially in the discussion of words or above words and expressions. Furthermore, it is insightful research for readers of this research as well as readers of the book to gain some knowledge in translation terms. This qualitative study compares Indonesian and English versions of the book The Alchemy of Happiness. The Indonesian version is translated by Haidar Bagir and the English is the work of Claud field. The results revealed that there were 209 data found. The translation strategies used come from Baker (1992). However, only 3 out of 4 were found in the data. The most strategy used were translation using similar meaning and form with 102 data (48,80%) and the least was translation by paraphrasing with only 27 data (12,92%). The findings show that the translation using similar meaning and form is a functional strategy to translate the God and self-related words and expressions. Moreover, this study has pedagogical implications for translators in general, translators of God-related texts, as well as students and teachers of translation. Accepted : 16 June 2023 Published : 25 July 2023


Introduction
As a discipline, translation studies concept gains popularity because it portrays translation as a broad science that include topics such as interpreting and translator training that has previously been overlooked. In translation, the translator is the subject and has a significant impact on the translation process. Nida and Taber (1982) elaborate the procedure of translation into three stages, i.e. analysis, transfer and restructuring. The surface structure is examined during the analysis stage in terms of the grammatical relationships and the meaning of the individual words and word combinations. The analyzed content is transferred from the source language's translator's mind to the target language during the transfer stage. The information is reorganized during the restructuring step to ensure that the final message will be completely understandable in the target language that the translator is working with.
In describing some ways to translate a text, experts have many similar terms to explain, such as approach, method, strategy, procedure, and technique. However, they define them in various ways. As Richards and Rodgers (1986) explained that the general presumptions about what language is and how language learning works are referred to as an approach. Anthony (1963) also explained that a comprehensive strategy for the systematic presentation of language material that it depends on the strategy adopted and does not deny it in any way is being called as method. Molina and Albir (2002) put up one of the hypotheses on the method of translation. Translation strategy is described as a process to evaluate and categorize how the equivalent translations might be used to translate different linguistic units. Additionally, they claim that translation strategies influence the translation quality and may be applied to different kinds of translation.
There has been more research conducted recently on the expression related to God in various languages and literary works. For example, a study from Olimat (2018) on the development of euphemism translation model in the Quran, Ren et al. or a study from Japhari (2019) on the translation of a hadith book. The study from Olimat (2018) draws the conclusion that euphemisms in the Qur'an should be translated while considering cultural and linguistic differences in the target language and adhering to the syntactic patterns and lexical units of the source language (SL) (TL). Meanwhile, the study from Japhari (2019) revealed that the translator employed six different translation techniques. Although the study concentrated on the Islamic book, its conclusions can also be applied to other texts and will be useful to Swahili translators. Besides, a book entitled The Alchemy of Happiness by Al-Ghazl is considered as the one containing a lot of God and self-related words and expressions. Therefore, there are no studies conducted on translations of God and self-related expression in the book The Alchemy of Happiness or we can call it as Kimiya Assa'dat.
When it comes to idioms, the first challenge a translator faces is being able to tell when they are working with an idiomatic expression. Sometimes, though, it's not so clear. Idioms come in many different forms, some of which are simpler to understand than others. Expressions that defy truth criteria are among those that are obvious. Such as "throw caution to the winds", "storm in a tea cup", "food for thought". Meanwhile fixed expressions, as its name indicates, are often fixed in their patterns. They are, however, typically straightforward in their meaning, unlike idioms. De hecho, which means in fact/as a matter of fact, a pesar de, with the meaning of in spite of, and a quien corresponda, which has the meaning of to whoever it may concern, are some instances of fixed phrases. In the meantime, a proverb is a succinct, memorable statement of a universal truth that distills common experience. make use of the opposite: "Out of sight, out of mind"; "Penny wise, pound foolish"; "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.". Moreover, as Fitriani (2020) said that the linguistic elements that can be examined while assessing translation in written content are its morphology and syntax.
Fixed expression is not always easy to spot. It comes in many different forms, some of which are simpler to understand than others. Those that are obvious include expressions that go against the rules of reality. They also contain expressions that appear improper since they do not adhere to the language's grammatical standards.
As Baker (1992) mentions in her book In Other Words, Idiom translation can be done in four different ways. They are translation by same meaning and form, by similar meaning but different form, translation by paraphrasing, as well as translation by omission. First, translation by same meaning and form, phrase with virtually the same meaning in the target language as the source language and contains analogous lexical elements is one way to use this technique. Second, Using similar meaning but different form. In the target language, it is frequently possible to identify an idiom or fixed expression with a comparable meaning to the source term but composed of separate lexical components. Third, translation by paraphrase. Due to variations in the stylistic preferences model of the source and target languages, the translator employs this strategy if a matching meaning cannot be identified in the language of the target or if it looks unsuitable to utilize idiom in the target text. Last, Translation by omission. An idiom could occasionally be completely left out of the target text, just like with single words. This might be as a result of the TL's lack of an appropriate equivalent, the complexity of P-ISSN 2623-0356 E-ISSN 2654-5586 interpreting its meaning, or stylistic considerations. Additionally, these categories are used in analyzing the data of this research.
Moreover, according to Baker (1992), when translating from one language into another, equivalent might arise at both the word level and above the word level. In a bottom-up translation method, equivalency at the word level is the first factor the translator must take into account, according to Baker. In reality, when the translator begins to analyze the ST, s/he examines the terms individually in an effort to identify a term that is directly "equivalent" in the TL. Given that a single word can occasionally be given distinct meanings in separate languages and may be considered to be a more sophisticated unit or morpheme, Baker provides a definition of the term "word". This implies that the translator should examine a lot of elements, such as number, gender, and tense, when examining a single word.
Additionally, Baker (1992) says that "Equivalence at Word Level" tackles the issue of translating phrases and words for which there are no equivalence in the target language. This is mentioned in the second chapter of Baker's book In Other Words. As a linguistic unit, a word is described by Baker (1992) as "the smallest element of language that may be employed by itself.".
Since non-equivalence comes from several semantic problems, Baker (1992) illustrates how realizing the equivalence will enable the translator to handle nonequivalence at the level of words in a more accurate and organized way. Those semantic problems include ideas that are unique to one culture but not another, words that lack a lexicalized form in the target language, complex semantic words, variations in the distinctions and degrees of meaning, the possibility that the target language lacks a superordinate, the absence of a lexical item that is the hyponym used, variations in physical and interpersonal perspectives, variations in expressive meaning, variations in form generally, and the use of loanwords.
Kimiya Assa'dat's mystical focus on self-discipline and abstinence set it apart from other theological writings of the period. This is a self-improvement book, authored by Abmid Muammad ibn Muammad al-Ghazl, a Persian theologian, philosopher, and prolific Sunni Muslim author recognized as one of Islam's greatest systematic thinkers, is the subject of this research. Near the conclusion of his life, about 499 AH/1105 AD, he wrote the Kimiya Assa'dat. As this book has many unique words related to the topic of this study, Kimiya Assa'dat is the most suitable book to gain the data of God and selfrelated words and expressions. Moreover, this study used the English and Indonesian versions of The Alchemy of Happines. Its English version is translated by Claud Field that was originally published in 1989 by M. E. Sharpe Inc. One of the reviewers said that Al Ghazal's massive Revival of the Religious Sciences, which was originally published in Persian, is summarized in The Alchemy of Happiness. The only entire English translation is found in these two books, which are highly recommended if reader wants to understand Ghazzali's ideas completely. He also said that the Alchemy is a manual for the Islamic path that reveals the underlying rationale for each principle or law, in the most revered Sufic sense, in addition to the theological underpinnings.
There are more than eight previous studies. Those are "Investigating the Translation of Euphemism in the Quran from Arabic into English" Alqahtani (2018), "Translation of the Book Titled 'Authentication of Hadith: Redefining the Criteria' From English Into Swahili: An Analysis of Translation Procedures. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation from Japhari (2019) Language. Journal in Humanities from Erguvan (2018), Translating Hebrews 8: 13 into English accurately: some of the difficulties of Bible translation from Allen (2020), Translation Techniques of Islamic Terminologies in Bilingual Children Story Books from Nila & Octavitri (2020), Developing a model for translating euphemism in the Qur'an: An intratextual-and contextual-based approach from Olimat (2018) (2022) focused on such as God and self-related expression in Quran and other literary works but none of them were conducted in a self-motivated book like The Alchemy of Happiness. This book is considered having a unique gentle words and phrases referring self-reflection related to God.
In addition, past research has given close attention to the God or self-related terms employed by foreign language learners from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. However, those terms employed by Indonesia EFL learners in response to specific situations have received little attention. Furthermore, intercultural studies comparing the use of God and self-related terms by native and non-native speakers, and also the tactics they use, have received little attention. As a result, the goal of this study is to look at English euphemisms and it Indonesian from a linguistic and translational standpoint.
Based on the reasons that there are no studies discussing God and self-related expression in The Alchemy of Happiness, this study was conducted to complete the vacant space and gave a contribution to translation and linguistics studies. This research focused on Indonesian words or phrases that are classified as God and self-related expression in the source book The Alchemy of Happiness and its English version along with its strategy used by the translator. This study is anticipated to provide the translators insightful information about the appropriate strategies used in translating the God and self-related words and expressions. Besides, it is also helpful for the readers of the Indonesian version of the book The Alchemy of Happiness. By knowing the strategies of translating those polite sentences and how some words are being translated, readers are able to have better understanding. This research is also theoretically an insightful literature for the translators. They can have an additional reference on the translation strategies, especially when they conduct a work on Mona Baker's strategy. This study contains an explanation on each strategy to support translators' comprehension on it.

Research Method
A descriptive-qualitative design was adopted in this research. This study employed a descriptive-qualitative design. The researcher played the most significant function in doing this research in terms of data collection and analysis, or we might say as the main instrument of it. Despite lacking a statistical basis and frequently favoring more qualitative methods, it can also include quantitative data. Naturally, this kind of design has an interest in meanings, perspectives and understanding. In this design, the researcher gathering and collecting, organizing and connecting, coding, analysing the data descriptively and communicating the findings using words rather than numbers for insights, and reporting on the insight derived from the analysis.
The Alchemy of Happiness (Al Ghazal, 1873) in English and Indonesian version was the source of the current study's data. The English version was translated by Claud Field that was published in 1989, it is 49 pages long in PDF version. Meanwhile its Indonesian version is the translation work by Haidar Bagir that was published in 1995 P-ISSN 2623-0356 E-ISSN 2654-5586 with 52 pages long in PDF version. This version is translated from The Alchemy of Happiness English version. The chapters are divided into eight.
The data were obtained by reading the English versions of The Alchemy of Happiness then identifying the God and self-related words and expressions in The Alchemy of Happiness by highlighting each words and phrases. After the data were being identified, the researcher looked for its translation in Indonesian text version. After obtaining the God and self-related words in English and Indonesian, the researcher copy paste the data into a table.
For the steps, after the data have been collected, the researcher analysed them through some steps. First, classifying the English and Indonesian translation into Godrelated expression and self-related expression in the form of idioms, fixed expressions, proverbs, and other expressions. Second, comparing the Indonesian version (TL) and the English version (SL) to find the translation strategy based on the classification by Baker (1992) using the rubric adapted from Mona Baker (1992). Next, recording the result of step 2 into a table. Last, drawing the conclusion about the translation strategies adopted in the translation of God and self-related words as found in the Alchemy of Happiness from English into Indonesian.

Result and Discussion
The data are classified based on the idioms and fixed expression translation strategies by Baker (1992) that in this context the God and self-related expression. She classified the strategy on translating Euphemistic Expression into 4. Those are; 1) Translation by using an idiom with similar meaning and form 2) Translation by using an idiom of similar meaning but different form, 3) Translation by paraphrasing, and 4) Translation by omission. Not all of those four strategies are found in this book, translation by omission translation strategy is not found in the data. Moreover, the data is displayed below in the following table. There were only three of four God and Self-related Expression translation strategy by Baker (1992) found in the Alchemy of Happiness. The table implies that the most strategy used in translating the expression was translation using similar meaning and form P-ISSN 2623-0356 E-ISSN 2654-5586 with 48,80%. Meanwhile, for the least strategy used was translation by paraphrase with only 12,92%

1)
Translation by using similar meaning and form This method involves translating grammatical constructions from the source language to their closest equivalent in the target language. It is happened when the source and target languages have similar euphemisms.
The information above demonstrates that the translator's preferred method of translation is similar meaning and form. When both source and target language had similar expressions, it would not be hard to translate. In this case, as its instruments and servants are converted to the target language's connotation, sebagai alat dan pelayannya. With minimal alteration, it is rendered to the intended text or we can say, without any grammatical changes. As a result, the translation's final product retains the original text's meaning and does not change its author's intentions.
[Datum 64] SL : ..and becomes capable of association with angels. TL : ..sehingga dapat bergabung dengan para malaikat. The expression of the data expressed above demonstrates that the literal translation is used. This expression means that if someone has a beautiful heart s/he is able to be gathered with those pure hearts and capable to be with angels in the end of the day. This is categorized as the self-related expression to motivate readers in always doing great wherever and whenever as God promised a victory for them who is successful in doing it. Thus, the translator chose the appropriate strategy as the meaning is delivered well.

2)
Translation by using similar meaning but different form The lexical elements of the expression are not conserved in this case; instead, a semantic equivalent is translated.
[Datum 21] SL : ..or whether that thou shouldest subdue them, and in thy upward progress.. TL : ..alih alih ditundukkan keduanya, kau harus mengendalikan mereka.. In this case, the target text shows that translator used the target meaning in translating. Furthermore, to get a more desired meaning, the word subdue is translated into ditundukkan. To reach the gentle intended meaning, instead of using the word diperbudak or making someone to be a janitor The translator strongly keeps the original text's flavor by changing the word to the one that have more affective but still understandable by the target audience. : ..for the sake of merchandise.. TL : ..untuk berdagang.. The word merchandise was translated into berdagang that it clearly has the different part of speech. Merchandise is a noun and berdagang is a verb. It clearly means that this word was translated using similar meaning but different form translation strategy. However, it has similar meaning that in this context means to all of human beings are created to come to this earth as a traveller that to stay alive they should keep doing a trading of everything he has, especially the deeds. We live to change our good deeds to gain something promised by Allah the Almighty.

3)
Translation by paraphrase When the target language lacks an appropriate translation or euphemism, translators will often resort to paraphrasing. A translator may be able to express an idiom's meaning by utilizing a single word or a phrase that approximately correspond to the meaning of the idiom but are not idioms themselves.
[Datum 18] SL : ..and be delivered from the thraldom of lust.. TL : ..serta terbebas dari perbudakan syahwat dan amarah By retaining the original's flavor in this instance, the translator is capable to effectively transmit the meaning. The word Lust means a powerful sexual desire then it translated by the translator using the word syahwat dan amarah. It will still be enough when s/he translated the word by only using the word syahwat but the translator seems wanted to make the meaning clearer for the target audience by adding the word amarah. Amarah in the intended language reinforce the word syahwat. Thus the translation result shows that the combination translation strategy is used to render the source text. It is such an effective phrase, as the author prefers to use it rather that berahi or libido.
Observed from the data is that the translator used the paraphrase strategy as it is translated by adding more explanation for the source text. If the phrase prone to plunder on its own account is translated literally, it will be rentan menjajah diri but the translator added a few words to explain the meaning of it using selalu ingin merampas segala hal demi kepentingan sendiri. The words tell us what is passion looks like. The translator succeeds in making the meaning clearer in this case. The translator used the more effective phrase. Instead of using the word menginjak-nginjak it uses the word merampas followed by explanation that could lead readers to more positive context.
Considering the findings of this research, not all of the translation strategies by Baker (1992) are found. There was no data using translating by omission strategy. Omission strategy is considered having a hard level challenge to the translator where Baker (1992) also mentioned that this strategy is not usually employed. Additionally, as far as the observation of the researcher, lack of a counterpart in the intended language might be one of the biggest challenges for the translator. Finding a complement with the same meaning and form in the intended language is quite challenging, according to Mona P-ISSN 2623-0356 E-ISSN 2654-5586 Baker (1992), who notes that various languages communicate meanings through diverse linguistic ways such as fixed phrases, idioms such as euphemism, vocabulary, etc. Furthermore, in this case, to solve the problems, according to Strakšiene (2009) when the translator feels that maintaining the originality of the source text is not fundamental, he or she can "bring the text to the reader," which usually involves changing the text in some way.
In observing all the analyzed data, the researcher is supported by the previous study in processing it and gaining literacy about theories by experts in translation strategy of God and Self-related words and Expressions.
In response to the concerns, it is important to set aside certain upcoming challenges and then outline potential remedies. This challenge was also pointed out by Baker (1992).
Surprisingly, according to this study's findings, not all of the translation strategies by Baker (1992) are found. There was no data using translating by omission strategy. Omission strategy is considered having a hard level challenge to the translator where Baker (1992) also mentioned that this strategy is not usually employed. Additionally, as far as the observation of the researcher, lack of counterpart in the intended language might be one of the biggest challenges for the translator. Finding a complement with the same meaning and form in the intended language is quite challenging, according to Mona Baker (1992), who notes that various languages communicate meanings through diverse linguistic ways such as fixed phrases, idioms such as euphemism, vocabulary, etc. Furthermore, in this case, to solve the problems, according to Strakšiene (2009) when the translator feels that maintaining the originality of the source text is inessential, he or she can "bring the text to the reader," which usually involves changing the text in some way.
In In Other Words book, Baker (1992) discusses the "equivalence at word level and above-word level". She discusses the kinds of meaning. Those are lexical, expressive, propositional, presupposed, and evoked meaning. Lexical words, often referred to as content words, have specific meanings independent of how they are used in a phrase. These terms refer to objects, individuals, behaviors, acts, descriptions, or other concepts that go beyond grammatical usage. A distinct idea or object that they refer to makes their message obvious. The lexical words Furthermore, in above-word level chapter, she mentioned collocation, markedness and register, and also the translation of idioms and fixed expression. Moreover, without intending to make a joke or play on words, the translator frequently cannot do any of the following: 1) Rearrange the word order; 2) Remove one of the words; 3) Adding a new term; 4) Changing one word for another; 5) Modify the grammatical construction.
Furthermore, Akat & Kumbul (2022) also used the translation strategy by baker (1992) about the translation of culture-bound items. Surprisingly, they mentioned that the reason of using her strategy was based on Pedersen (2015) contention that Baker's strategy is centered on "descriptive observations of norms" that can be used to any other translation fields. The language problem is undoubtedly a complicated one since depending on translator's perspective either everything or just certain things are entirely intra linguistic. It means that this model excludes the study of intra linguistic cultural reference, such as idioms, proverbs, slang, and dialects, even if it is feasible to modify the model to include the study of such as well. It has been found that the strategy of 'paraphrase' is the most often employed.
They mentioned the example in their research of the translation using paraphrase. There is no Turkish equivalent of the expression "Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" from English. Here, one might use the paraphrasing technique to translate this idiom as P-ISSN 2623-0356 E-ISSN 2654-5586 "Sen bana yardm et, ben de sana edeyim." Another illustration would be the idiomatic expression "elephant in the room," which could be transferred into Turkish as "kimsenin konuşmak istemedii ciddi bir sorun" without losing any of the original phrase's idioms. This is because it is hard to attain one-to-one correspondence at the idiomatic standard in the target language for this particular idiom.

Conclusion
This study investigated the translation strategies applied by the translators in translating the God and Self-related Expression found in the book The Alchemy of Happiness. Furthermore, the applied theory of the translation strategy is adapted from Baker (1992). Those are; 1) using similar form and meaning; 2) using similar meaning but different form; 3) by paraphrasing; and 4) by omission. However, the last strategy cannot be found in the data. Due to the great quantity of the data, the discussions of the data in findings only serve two for each. The original book of The Alchemy of Happiness is written in Persian that is translated into English then into Indonesian. As this study was not conducted on its original version but the translated works, obviously God and Self-related words and expressions are mostly translated Literal or we can say using similar meaning and form. However, when it is compared to the study on its original book, most likely the results will be different.