TECHNIQUES AND QUALITY OF VERB PHRASE TRANSLATION IN MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2 GAME

This study has the purpose to analyse translation techniques and quality from verb phrase in subtitles of instructions from interactions between characters on Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The topic is chosen due to game popularity in Indonesia as the first Spider-Man game that supports Indonesian as its official subtitle, which instruction to progress further story often disclosed through interaction formed as verbal communication between characters and not directly from in-game interface. The analysis conducted with three-frameworks of theory: types of verb phrase by Greenbaum (1996), translation techniques by Molina and Albir (2002), and translation quality by Nababan, et al (2012). The study used descriptive qualitative method with content analysis on game subtitles and assessing translation quality in acceptability and readability aspects with Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The study acquired a total of 94 data, with 83 data identified as finite verb phrase and 11 data identified as non-finite verb phrase. The frequently used translation technique is Literal Translation with 55 data. Verb phrase translation quality acceptability aspect acquired average 2.70, identified as “less acceptable” and readability aspect acquired average 2.79, identified as “less readable” according to Nababan, et al. (2012) scoring parameter. The study may contribute knowledge to translation studies, particularly in game localisation as well as provide input for developer to improve the translation quality in the future game releases, especially in Spider-Man game.