Journal of English Language and Education
Vol 11, No 4 (2026)

Strategies for Preserving Cultural Elements in Translating Wilde’s the Selfish Giant

Marshanda Marshanda (Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka Raya)
Najwa Rizki Amalia (Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka Raya)
Nisrina Farida Ramadhanti (Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka Raya)
Diar Mukti Asri (Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka Raya)
Raysha Ramadhani (Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka raya)
Abdul Syahid (Universitas Islam Negeri Palangka Raya)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Jul 2026

Abstract

Translation plays an important role in bridging linguistic and cultural differences, especially in literary texts where meanings are closely connected to cultural symbols and values. However, previous studies have mainly focused on non-literary translation or the classification of translation strategies, leaving the preservation of deeper symbolic and cultural meanings in literary works underexplored. This study aims to analyze the translation strategies used in preserving culture-specific items (CSIs) in Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant and its Indonesian translation Raksasa Egois translated by Clara Ng and published by Fiksi Lotus in 2013. A qualitative comparative text analysis was employed by comparing the source text and target text to identify CSIs and examine the translation strategies applied. The findings reveal that literal translation, cultural equivalence, and adaptation were the main strategies used, with literal translation being the most dominant, particularly in ecological elements such as seasons and natural phenomena. While literal translation effectively preserves lexical meaning, it is less successful in maintaining deeper symbolic and cultural meanings embedded in the literary text. In contrast, cultural equivalence proves to be more effective in preserving religious meanings, while adaptation improves readability but reduces cultural specificity. In conclusion, the effectiveness of translation strategies depends on the type and cultural embeddedness of CSIs.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jele

Publisher

Subject

Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Other

Description

Journal of English Language and Education (pISSN: 2597-6850 and eISSN: 2502-4132) is a journal that focuses on researching or documenting issues in education, language education, applied linguistics, English education, English language teaching, English Literature, language assessment and ...