Dubbing films
Dubbing films
From Forum Keadilan
Some people want the dubbing of foreign films and television shows stopped (Forum No.16/IV/1995). The stoppage would run counter to fostering and developing the Indonesian language. It is even more saddening that the more frequent use of Indonesian as a result of the dubbing of foreign languages, is seen as a scapegoat for the decline in domestic film production.
We long for the use of our national language for all foreign mass media products in Indonesia. Just consider the situation in developed countries. Is there an English TV program broadcast in the English language in countries like Germany, France and Italy? Is there a French film shown in the U.S. or Japan using the French language? The showing of all those products is the consistent implementation of each country's national language policy. The consequences are clear: there are new jobs, there is strong development in translation work and increased use of the national language. People become proud of the potential of their language. More importantly, there is a decline of the dependence on foreign culture and a consolidation of national identity.
I see the dubbing of foreign products as a positive effort toward the use of our language. I admit many shortcomings in translation and dubbing, but all that can be improved.
It is not rational to say that dubbing is the cause of morally adverse foreign influences on our nation. If such were the case, the problem is not with the language, the translation or the dubbing, but with the product itself. It is very naive to say that the elimination of dubbing and replacing it by Indonesian subtitles will sort out any negative influences. Intentional sidetracking in translation to sift any negative influences is damaging to the totality of a work and is thus in violation of translation ethics.
It is regrettable that there are still some regulations contrary to article 36 of the 1945 Constitution which says that our country is monolingual. The public use of another language, written or oral, is a clear violation of the letter and spirit of our Constitution.
HARIMURTI KRIDALAKSANA
Depok, West Java