TEGUH TRANSLATION SERVICES

ENGLISH - INDONESIAN TRANSLATION, EDITING, & PROOFREADING

Dependable, Professional, Expert - and Certified for Technical - Translation Services Provider


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Our motto in work is:

 

...Apapun juga yang kamu perbuat, perbuatlah dengan segenap hatimu seperti untuk Tuhan dan bukan untuk manusia...

 

~o~

 

...Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men...

 

-Colossians 3:23

 

About us 

 

We are based in Purwokerto, a fast growing town in the southern part of Central Java, somewhat near the southern point of the North-South axis of Indonesia. It is a town located on the feet of mount Slamet, the highest mountain in Central Java, so it has got cool weather most of the time, but is always sunny all through the year.

 

We are a team of mainly two translators, which can be expanded when necessary, with different educational background, but with the same passion: translation. Combined, we have more than 32 years of experience in the field of translation.

 

Below is the personal linguistic background of the lead translator, Teguh Irawan.

 

Background

 

As is the case with most Indonesians, who have two native languages: their respective ethnic language and bahasa Indonesia (the national language), I also have two native languages: Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) and  Javanese (Basa Jawa). I use these two languages plus English together daily. English is my third language. I master written English much better than written Javanese, and master spoken English somewhat equally as well as the spoken Javanese. But I have a network of excellent Javanese native-speakers who are excellent writers in Javanese. Such persons are becoming rarer and rarer, as Javanese is becoming sort of 'marginalized' by Indonesian.

 

I come from a Javanese 'linguistic-enthusiast' family. My relatives include multi-linguists who speak Javanese, Indonesian, English, Arabic, French and Dutch. Some of them work as foreign language lecturers and translators. Language-related achievements, in the translation industry in my case, is therefore my main pursuit. In fact, it is my lifetime pursuit. 

 

Such is my enthusiasm in translation that during my college (majoring in English language & literature) I preferred translation as my part-time job to earn my pocket money, while most of my friends preferred teaching English, which in fact, might be 'easier' to do. However, although part-time, I did quite a lot of translation works, initially from friends studying in other departments in a few universities, then from agencies, publishers, and other organizations.

 

Almost every business day in my professional time has been spent translating, English into Indonesian, and sometimes Indonesian into English. The simple reason is, I enjoy doing it. I do feel that it is my inclination. Thus, I have no reason not to take pride in this work and in getting the most accurate and fluent, or simply the best, translation for every passage that I translate. I do not translate word for word, but translate the gist, spirit and content of a text, but that every subtlety being conveyed in the Indonesian translation is always a must for me.

 

In my opinion, translation is not a trade that can be achieved solely through learning. It requires an aptitude, a talent, an inclination, which not everyone may have. It is a gift. It can be honed through education, training, and experience, but it cannot be acquired, in my humble opinion. Those who are entrusted with such a gift might not prefer to become translators, while those who don't have such a gift might instead be 'forced' to become translators. Thus, there are people who are not professional translators but are able to translate well and do enjoy doing it, and there are those who claim themselves to be professional translators but translate not sufficiently professionally and do not really enjoy doing it.

 

Well, I am not going to particularly write an article about the theory and science of translation, but that if what you need is 'mature' translation, which is an adaptation, conveyance of a 'message' written in English to the contemporary native-Indonesian audience, who are to read it in their mother tongue and perceive it exactly as it is originally intended to be perceived, you will need an 'up-to-date' Indonesian native speaker, well-talented, well-trained, competent, and experienced in the translation industry, and sufficiently resourced to perform the work; one of whom you can find here.

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