This document provides 8 definitions of translation from various scholars: 1) Translation involves reproducing the source language message in the target language in terms of meaning and style (Nida, 1969). 2) Translation is replacing textual material in one language with equivalent material in another language (Catford, 1978). 3) Translation transfers meaning from the source language to the target language while maintaining the same semantic structure (Larson, 1984). 4) Translation involves transferring the author's intended meaning from one language to another through using dictionaries, grammar and extra-linguistic criteria (Newmark, 1988).

1. Definitions of Translation
Prof. Dr. Rudi Hartono, S.S., M.Pd.

2. Definition 1 (Nida, 1969: 12)
• “Translation consists of reproducing
in the receptor language the closest
natural equivalence of the source
language message, first in terms of
meaning and secondly in terms of
style.”

3. Definition 2 (Catford, 1978: 20)
• “Translation is the replacement of
textual material in one language
(SL) by equivalent textual
material in another language
(TL).”

4. • “Translation is transferring the meaning
of the source language into the receptor
language. This is done by going from the
form of the first language to the form of
a second language by way of semantic
structure. It is meaning which is being
transferred and must be held constant.”
Definition 3 (Larson, 1984: 3)

5. •“Translation is rendering
the meaning of a text into
another language in the
way that the author
intended the text.”
Definition 4 (Newmark, 1988: 5)

6. • “Translation involves the transfer of
‘meaning’ contained in one set of
language signs into another set of
language through competent use of the
dictionary and grammar, the process
involves a whole set of extralinguistic
criteria also.”
Definition 5 (Hawkes in Basnett-McGuire ,1991:13)

7. • “Translation is the replacement of
a representation of a text in one
language by a representation of
an equivalent text in a second
language.”
Definition 6 (Sperber and Wilson in Bell (1991:6))

8. Definition 7 (Toury in James, 2000)
•“Translation is a kind of
activity which inevitably
involves at least two
languages and two cultural
traditions.”

9. Definition 8 (Steiner in Choliludin, 2006: 5)
• “Translation can be seen as (co)
generation of texts under specific
constraints that is relative stability of
some situational factors and,
therefore, register, and classically,
change of language and (context of)
culture.”