CULTURAL UNTRANSLATABILITY IN INDONESIAN TRANSLATION OF KHALED HOSSEINI’S NOVEL: A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

This study examines the translation of culturally untranslatable terms in A Thousand Splendid Suns and the resulting instances of cultural untranslatability. It aims to analyze the categories of these culturally bound terms, the strategies used to translate them, and the reasons behind the selection of those strategies. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, the research is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Newmark (1988) and Chesterman (1997). The analysis identifies five categories of untranslatable cultural terms in the novel: (1) ecology, (2) material culture, (3) social culture, (4) organizations, customs, activities, , procedures, and concepts, and (5) gestures and habits. The study finds that nine translation strategies were used to handle these terms: (1) transference, (2) naturalization, (3) cultural equivalent, (4) functional equivalent, (5) throughtranslation, (6) shift or transposition, (7) modulation, (8) compensation, and (9)
paraphrase. Additionally, three primary motivations guided the translator’s strategy choices: (1) the intention to meet the expectancy norms of the target language audience, (2) the commitment to the accountability norm, and (3) the goal of ensuring effective communication.