Translating Indonesian Technical Terms and Figurative Language Into English in Storylines at Dayu Cluster of Sangiran Early Man Museum

Oleh :
Dwi Natalia Putri - V0123014 - Sekolah Vokasi

This report describes my two-month internship at Dayu Cluster of Sangiran Early Man Museum from January 13 to March 6, 2026. The internship aimed to apply the translation knowledge and skills that I learned in the English Diploma Program in a professional museum environment. My main activity was translating 2,083 words of exhibition storyline texts from Indonesian into English. My supporting activities included creating English subtitles for an educational video entitled Dendang Gambus di Tanah Purba, translating a book entitled Mengenal Cara Penyelamatan Fosil di Situs Sangiran, assisting museum educators during visitor services, and serving as a note-taker during the RCE (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed), or Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Preventive Conservation Workshop. In translating the exhibition storyline texts, I followed the translation process proposed by Nida and Taber, which consists of analysis, transferring, and restructuring. I also discussed difficult parts of the texts with Wuri Hatmani, my internship supervisor, and used online dictionaries, academic articles, and other supporting references. The findings show that the main challenges are understanding archaeological and geological terms, maintaining consistent terminology across the exhibition panels, and translating figurative expressions into natural and understandable English. To overcome these challenges, I analysed the context, searched for appropriate English equivalents, consulted my supervisor, and revised the translations to improve their accuracy and readability. The supporting activities also trained me to adjust translations to different visitor. Through this internship, I improved my translation, terminology research, subtitling, listening, note-taking, and professional communication skills. The translated materials are also expected to help international visitors understand the information presented at Sangiran Early Man Museum more easily.