Analysis of Translation Strategy and Quality of Illocutionary Acts in The Amazing Digital Circus Dubbing

This study aims at analysing the translation strategies and translation quality of illocutionary acts in the dubbing of the cartoon The Amazing Digital Circus. The background of this research lies in the growing consumption of audiovisual media, particularly indie cartoons distributed via YouTube, and the translation challenges arising in the dubbing process, especially in maintaining the meaning and pragmatic function of the original dialogue. This research applied Searle’s (1969) speech act theory, Tekin’s (2019) translation strategies, and the Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) framework by Miggiani (2022). The data consist of verb phrases collected from the original English audio script and its Indonesian dubbed version. This study employed a descriptive qualitative method by content analysis and focused group discussions (FGD) to assess translation quality based on error parameters. The findings revealed that various types of verb phrases and illocutionary acts were translated by applying different translation strategies, such as Exact Translation, Close Translation, and Adaptation. Several translation errors, including mistranslation, omission, addition, and awkward rendering, were identified as factors affecting equivalence of meaning and pragmatic function. The results are expected to offer practical insights for translation practitioners, especially in dubbing, to improve the overall quality of audiovisual translation so that it remains communicative and contextually faithful to the source dialogue’s intended force.