Dubbing issue

Dubbing issue

Since the television dubbing proposal is still opens to public
discussion (The Jakarta Post, May 7, 1996), I'd like to give my
views regarding this matter.

Though this idea is intended to boost the use of the
Indonesian language, the issue is not as simple as one might
think. The current Indonesian dialog in dubbed films is sometimes
laughable because the literal translations sound awkward. Such
translations are usually far from what we would commonly use in
everyday life.

Based on the prevailing dubbed films that are aired on
television, I am not sure that the viewers will enjoy dubbed
films as much as the original ones. I don't think that we can
easily find the correct Indonesian equivalents for foreign
language idioms (particularly in English). Hence, some idioms are
often awkwardly translated into Indonesian.

The benefit of watching subtitled films is that people
learning English will hear how certain idioms or expressions are
used in particular situations. They can pick up words direct from
native speakers.

I am not a television film fan, but, as far as I know,
watching the films is not merely following the stories. We can
also follow and enjoy the original dialog.

I cannot deny that most of the Indonesian audience enjoys
watching foreign films dubbed in Indonesian, but there is no
guarantee that the dubbers have used standard Indonesian in the
first place.

WAHYUNI RIZKIANA KAMAH

Jakarta