Translation Analysis of Metaphors in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women

Abstract

This study examines how metaphors are translated in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and its two Indonesian translations, Gadis-gadis March and Istri-Istri yang Baik, applying Peter Newmark's metaphor translation procedures.  The study also aims to discover the procedures used to convey metaphors from English into Indonesian and to analyze how these procedures affect the preservation of literary meaning and emotional depth. This study takes a qualitative descriptive approach, concentrating on chosen metaphorical terms from both the source and target texts. The study discovers that translators use a variety of procedures to maintain the clarity, accuracy, and literary quality of the text. Some metaphors are explicitly retained, while others are modified to fit Indonesian language and cultural contexts. The most procedure that is used is reproducing the same image in the target text with 12 data (45%). The findings also highlight the inherent challenge in metaphor translation, especially in literary texts where metaphorical language has great emotional and cultural value. This study helps to a better understanding of how metaphor translation shapes readers' perspectives while also retaining literary values.  

Keywords: Metaphor; translation; Little Women; translation procedures.