Food Name Translation Practice: A Case Study of Indonesian–English Menus

This paper analyzed the translation practice on chained hotel restaurant menus, especially on Indonesian traditional menu into English. The translation of food names requires translators to consider both the cultural associations embedded in the names, their meaning and function in the source language (SL) as well as the translatability of the terms in the target language (TL). Employing Descriptive Translation Studies, 33 Indonesian traditional food names from five hotel restaurants in Surabaya are analyzed in order to reveal the common practice of Indonesian traditional food name (SL) into English (TL). Out of 33 data, there are 21 traditional food name translation compared and elaborated using Descriptive Translation Studies approach. The translation procedures identified then are grouped based on Kwiecinski. The result indicated that exoticizing procedures only constitute of 9.5%, while rich explicatory procedures accounts for 61.9%. Further, recognized exoticism procedures was found in one data or 4.8%, and assimilative procedures are applied in five data or 23.8%. Thus, the most common practice in translating Indonesian traditional food names into English is mostly by describing the appearance of food completed by a list of side dishes and condiments. Thus, there is an attempt to generalize the unique feature of traditional food which may help target readers to recognize the food. However, the long information provided rarely explains the taste, and weights more into the serving appearance of the traditional food, reducing the potent of introducing the identity of Indonesian traditional food.


I. INTRODUCTION
Names of dishes, as signs of national identity and self-identity, can describe people by what they eat. Brillat-Savarin said 'Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you who you are.' The aphorism clearly illustrated that food that we consume could define who we are. Thus, the way we translate our traditional food may define us as Indonesians. In fact, each nation is associated with certain dish. In her article, Stovianova [1] gave several examples. "The Greeks are known for their dolmades (stuffed grape leaves); an egg and lemon soup called avgolemono; meat, spinach, and cheese pies; moussaka (a meat and eggplant dish); souvlaki (lamb on a skewer) and baklava (nut-and honey pastry wrapped in layers of thin dough called phyllo). The Italians are famous throughout the world for pizza, pasta, and tomato sauce, and two uniquely Japanese foods are sushi (fresh raw seafood with rice) and sashimi, a fresh raw seafood with soy sauce". Then, how about Indonesia? People often associate Indonesia with nasi Padang or nasi rendang which is one of traditional dish from West Sumatra.
Traditional dishes are a legacy of a tribe in a specific region [2]. They usually have distinct taste following the appetite of the people living in the region. In addition, traditional dishes such as rendang or ketupat also carry certain philosophy reflected from their ingredients, cooking process, appearance and serving performance [3]. Thus, offering traditional food in a restaurant menu and translating it into another language is not an easy process since it is not simply transferring one language into another, but more into introducing a concept into another culture.
It is generally agreed that translation is not only a linguistic activity but a cultural one as well [4]. Further, Nida [5] noted that "differences between cultures may cause more severe complications for the translator than do differences in language structure". Translating dish names becomes more delicate since Rianti, Novenia, Christopher, Lestari, & Parassih [3] say that cultures are considered precious and play an important role in representing the national identity of Indonesia. Thus, as the focus of this study is Indonesian traditional menu translation, the cultural element is extremely important because often times it is impossible to find an exact equivalent for those menu items that belong exclusively to the source culture which is Indonesia into English.
According to Stovianova [1] in relation to menu translation method, there are three of the most frequently applied ones: transliteration, loan translation (calque), and descriptive translation. Transliteration is the process rendering the letters of one alphabet in terms of the letters of another with a different alphabetical system [6]. For example, Chinese dish which is written in pin yin is translated into English which is a roman language. Usually, the pronunciation is adapted to the target language which introduces the exotic flavor to the target readers. According to Webster online dictionary [7], one definition of exotic as an adjective is strikingly, excitingly, or mysteriously different or unusual, for example exotic flavors. Thus, exotic refers to something different from the target language.
While loan translation (calque) is a phrase borrowed from another language and translated literally word-for-word [8]. Loan translation preserves the semantics of the culinary term as well as the exotic language, but it often fails to render the national flavor. For example, Es Manado is translated into Manado ice. The English speaking people may recognize that it is a kind of dessert or drink from the literal translation of es into ice without knowing that its main ingredient is soursop meat. The loan word Manado may indicate nothing and provide no information related to the food for foreigners. It seems that the noun ice maybe considered suffice to indicate the kind of food since it has universal meaning of frozen water.
Then, descriptive refers to the use of several generic terms to convey the meaning in the source language [9]. For example, pecel is translated as a traditional Javanese salad, consisting of a mixed vegetable in peanut sauce dressing, usually served with steamed rice or sometimes with lontong or ketupat, compressed rice cake [10]. It can be seen that there are the mentioning of ingredients and the appearance of the food which consist of generic terms such as salad, vegetable, peanut sauce. As a consequence, Volume 2, Number 2, November 2020 p. 70-79 descriptive method is definitely longer than the SL that only consist of one word.
Thus, it can be seen that if translations are to be functional or to fulfill a certain communicative purpose in the target situation and culture, translators must have not only a good command of the languages involved but also good knowledge of the field the text belongs to and some background knowledge about the source and target cultures [11]. This is also highlighted by Siregar [12] that enhanced cultural awareness can avoid the occurrence of mistranslation.
Since the launch of Wonderful Indonesia program in 2011, many tourism facilities equipped themselves with bilingual information, especially Indonesian -English. As culinary destination, restaurants, especially in hotels in Indonesia, they always provide bilingual menus. In fact, because restaurants serve a diverse customer base, and hotel restaurants often visited by foreigners, having menus in only one language is often a hindrance. Thus, since traditional food is one of landmark of a nation, it is quite interesting to observe how these traditional foods translated into English considering the exclusivity of food as one element of culture. In addition, it is also worth analyzing the common practice in food name translation in Indonesian-English menus in hotel restaurants which guests are often foreigners who are not likely familiar with Indonesian culture.
This study belongs to Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS). According to Pym[13], in general, the aim of DTS is 'to describe what translations actually are, rather than simply prescribing how they should be'. Thus, DTS can be seen as trying to establish probable expectations of translation behavior by examining the practice of translation.
There is a comparative analysis of several English target texts (TTs) of the same Indonesian source text (ST) in order to establish the common practice of traditional food name translation. The analysis is directed toward the translation procedures applied in culinary translation, especially Indonesian traditional food name into English.
According to Chesterman in [14] the term 'strategy' often refers to other terms in translation studies: 'procedures', 'techniques of adjustment', 'transformations', 'transfer operations' etc. However, according to Jean Delisle [15], translation procedures are methods applied by translators when they formulate an equivalence for the purpose of transferring elements of meaning from the Source Text (ST) to the Target Text (TT). In addition, Munday [16] stated that a strategy is the overall orientation of a translated text while a procedure is a specific technique used at a given point.
In order to illustrate the common practice of traditional food translation, Vinay [17] and Dalbernet procedures of translation are applied. They proposed seven methods or procedures which are borrowing, calque, literal translation, transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation. When the SL word is transferred directly to the TL it is called borrowing procedure. While calque is the strategy to 'borrow' the SL expressions or structure and then transfer it in a literal translation. Literal translation is also called 'word for word; translation. Transposition happens when one-word class is replaced with another yet the meaning of the message does not change. However, if there is a change of point of view, it means the procedure used is modulation. Equivalence and adaptation are procedures that involve a quite radical change on the structure in order to transfer the message of the SL. The change includes style and structure.
On the other hand, Newmark [18] categorized food as part of culture and may have 'culturemes' formalized, socially and judicially embedded phenomena that exist in a particular form or function in only one of the two cultures being compared [19]. In describing the practice of food name translation from Indonesian into English, this paper employs Kwiecinski four groupings of translating culturemes: 'exoticizing procedures', 'rich explicatory procedures', 'recognised exotizsation' and 'assimilative procedures' which is elaborated in [19].
'Exoticising procedures' is similar to borrowing which makes possible use of foreign term into the target language (falafel, macho, Weltanschauung, burka).

Setyaningsih, Retno Wuandari
Food Name Translation Practice: A Case Study of Indonesian -English Menus 73 Newmark [18] considered this procedure offers local color and atmosphere.
Then, 'rich explicatory procedures'. The main aim is to insert an extra term or two which will help readers to be aware of the context, often through a local analogy, to guide them towards a more equivalent cognition. Examples of possible procedures are the use of explanatory brackets, such as 'Knesset (the Israeli Parliament)', or through adjectivizing the source term, as in 'hot cotechino sausage'. According to Katan[19] the emphasis on when, where and how to explicate depends on the translator's acute sensitivity to reader uptake.
The third grouping is 'recognized exoticism'. Famous or world-wide recognized geographical and personal names and titles have 'accepted translations' according to language: Geneva (English) is Genève (French), Genf (German) or Ginevra (Italian), not to be confused with Genova, which is Italian for the English Genoa. There are more exceptions than rules concerning exoticism and 'recognition' is not only debatable but also ever changing.
Finally, 'assimilative' procedures transform text from the original into close functionally equivalent target terms, or it is even deleted if not considered central. So, premier ministre and presidente del gobierno are French and Spanish cultural equivalents of prime minister, even though their powers and responsibilities are not exactly the same. The fact, though, that partial or even complete equivalents exist does not in itself mean that assimilation or domestication is the best translation strategy. Like all the other procedures above, they form part of the resources available from which a translator may choose.

II. METHODOLOGY
This paper is using a case study to gain in-depth understanding regarding the subject, focusing more on the process rather than the outcome, on discovery rather than confirmation [20]. There is elaborate description on the subject. It offers insights and demonstrates meanings that broaden its readers' experience.
The data for this paper is derived from five different menus taken from five three star hotels in Surabaya. Indonesian traditional food names are identified from the menus and compared to their English translations. The data are collected in order to map the translation of traditional food names and to illustrate the most common practice of food translation in the data.
In analyzing the data collected, first there is a need to categorize the item based on their similar food names. Then, English translations for those names from different restaurants are compared to see the practice of translation. At the same time, the procedures from different restaurants are identified and elaborated.

III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
From the five menus examined, there are 33 traditional food names, including beverages, identified. However, there are only nine similar food names found in those menus that consists of 21 data which are discussed in this paper. Those food names are; gado-gado, kikil, sop buntut, rawon, nasi goreng, soto, nasi campur, iga and sate.

Traditional food naming common practice
It is already mentioned that traditional food or dishes are a legacy of a tribe in a specific region [2]. In Indonesia, there is a tendency to insert name of person or place, main ingredient(s) or cooking method (s) as a part of food name. For example, Gudeg Yu Djum in Jogjakarta, Central Java or Lontong Balap Surabaya in East Java. Yu Djum is an abbreviation of Djuwariyah who sold the gudeg in 1951 [21] and the name gudeg itself comes from the way the food is processes which is diudeg or stir continuously [22]. While Lontong Balap Surabaya refers to the way the sellers carry the food. They had to race to Surabaya zoo to get customers [23]. Considering that traditional food names are culturally bound, it is quite interesting to see how the traditional dish names are translated into English in a bid to see the common practice and the functionality of the translation in the target language culture. Table 1 shows that in the SL, from 21 data gathered, 7 items are in a form of description. One example is data 27D which written Nasi rawon atau bakar. Disajikan dengan nasi putih, telur asin, tempe dan kerupuk udang. The traditional food name rawon is defined as masakan (lauk) berkuah dibuat dari irisan daging dengan bumbu utamanya keluak, ditambah rempah-Volume 2, Number 2, November 2020 p. 70-79 rempah lain [24]. Rawon is considered as a traditional food from East Java and its characteristic is its black color from keluak [25].
Another way of presenting traditional food name is SL is by putting the traditional food name plus name of place, appearance, ingredients and cooking method; with the mentioning of name of place as the most frequently appeared. Seven out of 14 Table 1 the common practice of traditional food naming in SL Therefore, from the SL data analyzed, it can be said that the tendency of food naming in the three stars hotels is providing the description of the food or adding the supposedly familiar name of place. It can be seen that the provider of the menu regards the readers as already familiar with the Indonesian context. It can be seen also from the fact that none of the food names include the taste of the food.

Traditional food name translation practice
In relation to translation product, from the 21 TTs analyzed, similar to Stovianova [1] finding, the tendency is using descriptive method. Further, the most significant procedure applied is couplet or a combination of two or more procedures [18].
One example is data 26D sop buntut rebus atau goreng which is translated into Oxtail soup or fried served with steamed rice and crackers. It is clear that the traditional food name sop buntut is literally translated into oxtail soup. The transposition procedure is applied to adapt to the English grammar in which the modifier is placed in front of the noun. Next is addition in a form of a description of the side dishes that come with the main traditional food. This kind of translation can be said as the general rule of the data analyzed.
It is already mentioned that food is a part of culture which is exclusive [18]. As a consequence, there are difficulties in finding the equivalence and the translation tends toward adapting the concept into target language by way of using general or common terms. Table 2 illustrates the tendency of traditional food name translation practice from Indonesian into English.  Table 2 the translation strategies of traditional food name As illustrated on table 2, there are only two data employs exoticizing or borrowing Indonesian food name into English. In fact, the borrowing strategy used is accompanied by a series of additional information that lessen the exotic nuance of the food name borrowed. One example is data 10B Soto Basra which is translated into Choice of Indonesian chicken or beef soto served with steamed rice, emping crackers, and lime. It is clear that the traditional dish name soto is not translated but directly transferred or borrowed in the TL with additional information on the side dishes and condiment. This kind of translation may trigger curiosity, but does not provide crucial information about the main dish itself. There is no information about soto, what kind of food is that? How is it like? How does it taste?
In fact, KBBI defined soto as masakan yang kuahnya dimasak tersendiri dan rangkaian isinya antara lain daging, kentang, bawang goreng yang dimasukkan kemudian, pada waktu akan dihidangkan [26]. Soto is prevalent in Java Island and it roots centuries ago so that it is an old recipe. The use of the country name Indonesia and the borrowing of the food name, soto, indicate that the dish is a signature gourmet. Unfortunately, the exoticizing procedures used fail to inform the kind of dish offered and this situation may cause misunderstanding on the target readers.
Other than borrowing the food name, some TL also add one specific cracker name, emping. The noun emping, which is crispy, fried snack chips made from Setyaningsih, Retno Wuandari Food Name Translation Practice: A Case Study of Indonesian -English Menus 75 melinjo seed is often inserted in the TL even though it is not mentioned in the SL Data, 7B and 10B, place emping in the translation instead of saying crackers which is a generalization strategy. President Obama in his visit in 2000 remarked this chips as 'enak' (delicious) [27]. It may illustrate that this cracker is an inseparable part of Indonesian food and its taste is welcomed by westerners. The addition of emping, as a condiment, in many Indonesian food is considered important to be included in the translated menu and thus illustrates the 'exotic' side of the food since this flattened seed emping is one of signature food of Java. As mentioned by Umamaheshwari [8] borrowing is conducted when the translator uses the foreign term to add flavor to the target text (TT).
On the other hand, the most preferred procedures identified from the data is rich explicatory procedures. The product of this kind of translation is indicated by addition of an extra term or two purposed to help the readers to be aware of the context so that they may have more equivalent cognition [19].
For example, data 7B, Sop Buntut (Kuah/Goreng/Bakar) which is elaborated as traditional beef oxtail available for soup, fried or grill served with steamed rice, sambal, emping crackers and lime. The translation tends to be descriptive which refers to the use of several generic terms to convey the meaning in the source language [9].
The translation strategies identified from data 7B are literal translation; Sop Buntut is rendered into Oxtail Soup, plus additional information beef to ensure the main ingredient of the food. There is also additional info in a form of a list of side dishes; steamed rice, sambal, emping, crackers and lime. It can be seen that the translation informs the target readers about the kind of dish; soup, the main ingredients; beef, and the side dishes. Thus, the readers can imagine the appearance of the food.
Other example is data 30E Nasi Campur Bali which is translated into Steamed rice served with sate lilit, fried chicken, vegetable and condiments. It can be seen that the original food name is deleted and replaced by a description of the food. The main ingredient nasi (steamed rice) is maintained while the verb Campur which means mixed into one is explicated or explained through a series of side dishes accompanying the rice; sate lilit, fried chicken, vegetable and condiments. The name of place, Bali, is indicated by the very mention of sate lilit which is considered as Bali's top culinary delight [28].
Unfortunately, the additional information provided on the translation of data 30E include specific instead of generic terms which may hinder communication. There is no guarantee that the target readers know that sate lilit is Balinese style satay and the generic terms of vegetable and condiments may lead to further confusion. Without any visual aid or picture accompanying the translation of data 30E it is most likely that the target readers skip this traditional food.
Considering that 61.9% of the data belong to rich explicatory procedures, it can be said that the most common practice of translating traditional food name into English is literal translation with addition of side dishes and cooking method. As a consequence, the TL becomes longer and more informative compared to the SL. However, only one TL mentions the taste of the food, spicy, while others do not include information about the food taste at all.
Other than explaining the traditional food, recognized exoticism is applied in data 2A Sate ayam yang disajikan dengan nasi which is translated into Grilled chicken satay with peanut sauce and steamed rice. In this case, the food name sate or satai is borrowed and naturalized into English and becomes satay. The definition of both nouns are the same which is small pieces of meat marinated and grilled on a skewer and served with a spicy sauce usually of peanuts. Since it is an already recognized food item, the TL only adjust the pronunciation and the target readers are most likely familiar with this kind of food.
Another attempt of recognized exoticism is seen in the borrowing of the term sambal. Defined as a condiment made typically of peppers, pickles, grated coconut, salt fish, or fish roe and eaten especially with curry and rice in and around Indonesia and Malay , sambal is already associated with Indonesia. Thus, instead of explaining the ingredients, the TL borrows this term in data 23D, 7B. 13B, 17C or around 19% of the data which is actually not considered as significant.
'Assimilative' procedures transform text from the original into close functionally equivalent target terms, or it is even deleted if not considered central [19]. One example is the translation of data 9B Gado-gado siram into fresh mixed and cooked vegetables served with peanut sauce, potato, rice cake and crackers. The SL put the name of the food, gado-gado plus the Volume 2, Number 2, November 2020 p. 70-79 appearance siram or pour which indicates the way the sauce put on the dish. On the other case of data 9B, the TL deleted the name completely, but retain the food concept by mentioning the main ingredients; mixed and cooked vegetables that are served with peanut sauce, potato, rice cake, and crackers. The description resembles the appearance of salad for westerners. Salad is defined as raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing [30]. Data 9B is categorized into assimilative because it equates gado-gado with salad by mentioning the main ingredients which are vegetables and the dressing which is peanut sauce. Thus, the readers can easily connect the description with the food concept already familiar with them.
Other example is data 6B, rawon daging which is adapted in the TL into traditional black soup served with steamed rice, salty egg, baby bean sprout, and shrimp crackers. This kind of adaptation is actually quite adequate because rawon overall appearance is similar to soup despite its black color which due to kluwek nut. Unfortunately, meat as the main ingredient was left out even though the implicit message may mean that soup is equal to meat broth. Merriam Webster Online dictionary [30] defined soup as a liquid food especially with a meat, fish, or vegetable stock as a base and often containing pieces of solid food. Thus, it can be assumed that the TL relies on the readers' understanding about soup in general.
Further, data 31E Soto Ayam Gubeng is translated into Traditional Spiced Chicken Soup. In Indonesian, kbbi [26] defined soto as masakan yang kuahnya dimasak tersendiri dan rangkaian isinya antara lain daging, kentang, bawang goreng yang dimasukkan kemudian, pada waktu akan dihidangkan. The definition elaborates that the dish consists of meat broth which is prepared separately from its side dishes that consist of shredded meat, potato cuts and fried garlic which are added before serving. Thus, the concept is equal to soup as mentioned earlier.
According to Waliński [31] equivalence or reformulation is a procedure that produces an equivalent text in the target language by using completely different stylistic and structural methods.
The previous examples belong to assimilative since the translator tries to find equivalent dish in the target language, at least on the appearance so that the target reader could relate the dish with their own which is soup.
This assimilative group can be said as functional translation because it builds good communication and understanding between the sender of the message and the receiver. Just like Hrubá [32] statement that menu is a means of communication between a restaurant and its customers, using assimilative may hinder miscommunication and misunderstanding between the restaurant and its customers. However, only five out of 21 traditional food names are translated using assimilative procedures.

Some Concerns Regarding Food Translation Practice
From previous discussion, it can be seen that there is a tendency of describing food appearance to English target readers. There is also an indication that the sender of the message, the menu owner, believe that the target readers are familiar with the food. As a result, specific terms often appear which may hinder the understanding which is not the goal of a menu [32].
Nord [11] states that if translations are to be functional or to fulfill a certain communicative purpose in the target situation and culture, translators must have not only a good command of the languages involved but also good knowledge of the field the text belongs to and some background knowledge about the source and target cultures.
From the data analyzed there are problems detected in relation to the description of cooking method and main ingredients. It is already mentioned that translating dishes is similar to translating culture so that the translator should have the knowledge about gourmet world. Even The translator capability in mastering culinary language is necessary because language plays an important role in maintaining and preserving human existence in communication [33].
On table 3. the traditional dish kikil is adapted into beef meat which has totally different meaning. Kikil is defined as daging pada kaki kerbau, sapi, atau kambing [34] or the meat on cow, buffalo or goat legs. However, it is actually the tendon on cow, buffalo or goat legs or trotters instead of the meat which is referred to as kikil in culinary world.
Further, braised is defined as to cook slowly in fat and a small amount of liquid in a closed pot [35]. Thus, the result of this kind of food is a bit dry. On

Setyaningsih, Retno Wuandari
Food Name Translation Practice: A Case Study of Indonesian -English Menus 77 the other hand, kikil is usually made into a kind of think soup due to the candlenuts and the collagen of the tendon. Thus, the cooking method chosen is inappropriate and fail to describe the traditional dish.

SL TL 12B
Kikil Basra Braised beef meat with traditional recipe served with rice cake and sambal 27D Nasi rawon atau bakar Dark beef soup served with steam rice, salted egg, bean cake, bean sprout, and shrimps crackers Table 3 examples of inappropriate traditional food translation Other example is nasi rawon which is described as dark beef soup served with steam rice…. The translation render rawon into dark beef soup which indicates the type of food, soup. Then, the translator informs the broth color and the main ingredient which results in a noun phrase dark beef soup. In culinary world, the noun phrase dark beef is associated with dark cutting beef. It is likened to vacuum packed beef which will not "bloom" after the package is open. Dark cutting beef may spoil faster, and is not sold at retail stores [36].
In fact, the significant feature of rawon is its dark color which comes from kluwek nut. Nevertheless, none of the translation put forward these unique ingredients nor its taste. It seems that the translation of traditional food name weights more on delivering the appearance of the food rather than the unique taste that the target readers may experience. This is actually unavoidable as Zurriyati & Sinar [37] pointed out in their article that even local people often do not know or they have less knowledge about the process of making traditional food such as kuah pliek and timphan in Aceh.

IV. CONCLUSION
It is already elaborated that from five restaurant menus observed, there are 33 traditional food names identified. Yet, there are only nine similar name found that consist of 21 traditional dish names. By meticulously describing and comparing the English translation of Indonesian traditional food name, it can be said that describing the appearance of the food is preferred by the producer of the menu. It tries to show the richness of food through a list of side dishes. Similar attitude is also adopted by the translator of the food name in a bid to provide information about the food. The target readers who are westerners may find the translation of food name useful to imagine the food but not the taste.
Thus, the nature of the translation of food name is functional, describing the appearance of the food, the main ingredient(s) and/or the cooking process understandable for English readers. Yet, the translation does not highlight the fact that Indonesian food is different from western food. As a consequence, the attempt to introduce Indonesian traditional food as an identity is unfortunately minimal.
However, considering the limited data analyzed in this paper, bigger and more varied source of data will result in a more concrete and valid description of common practice in food name translation. In addition, evaluating the translation by way of interviewing the target readers will surely beneficial in an attempt to formulate a guideline in more functional food translation. Last, focusing on different segments, research on food translation may be directed toward suggesting proper ways to present Indonesian traditional food menus in English.