Abstract :

Background: This study adopts a corpus-based approach to examine translation empirically through parallel corpora. Focusing on the verb “spread” in English–Indonesian data from the OPUS parallel corpus, it identifies empirical equivalents based on frequency and analyzes shifts in valence across languages.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the surface valence and underlying valence of the verb “spread” in an English–Indonesian parallel corpus. It further seeks to identify its empirical equivalents in the target language by analyzing shifts in syntactic structure and argument realization.

Methods: This study employs a corpus-based approach based on Catford’s concept of empirical equivalence, focusing on actual translation usage rather than dictionary-based meanings. The data are drawn from the OPUS English–Indonesian bidirectional parallel corpus (Cooper, 2016), with a focus on medical discourse. A total of 86 instances of the verb “spread” are analyzed to identify recurring translation patterns. These patterns are used to determine empirical equivalents and to examine shifts in surface valence and underlying valence.

Results: The analysis of 86 instances shows that the verb “spread” is predominantly translated as menyebar (Category A), accounting for 80.23% of the data. Other realizations include penyebaran (C) at 10.47%, zero correspondence (0) at 5.81%, menularkan (D) at 2.33%, and memengaruhi (B) at 1.16%. These findings indicate that menyebar functions as the primary empirical equivalent, while the remaining categories reflect less frequent alternatives and instances of structural shift, including nominalization and omission.

Conclusion: This study shows that menyebar emerges as the primary translation of spread in the target language, reflecting its close alignment with the dominant dispersal sense. The findings also indicate that spread, in both the source and target languages, exhibits semantic ambivalence, as its interpretation varies across different contexts and valence realizations.

---

Keywords :

Empirical Equivalent, Frame Semantics, Spread., Valence

---

References :

1. Cooper I. Bidirectional corpora and translation studies. London: Routledge; 2016.
2. Catford J.C. A linguistic theory of translation: An essay in applied linguistics. London: Oxford University Press; 1965.
3. Newmark P. A textbook of translation. New York: Prentice Hall; 1988.
4. Montalt V., González Davies M. Medical translation step by step: Learning by drafting. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing; 2007.
5. Van Valin RD Jr. An introduction to syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2001.
6. Rajeg GPW, Arka IW. Usage-based perspective on argument realisation: A corpus study of Indonesian BUY verbs in applicative construction with -kan. NUSA: Linguistic Studies of Languages in and around Indonesia. Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies; 2023.
7. Rajeg GPW, Rajeg IM. A corpus linguistic study of constructional equivalence for the Indonesian translation of rob and steal based on the Open Subtitles Parallel Corpus. PAROLE: Journal of Linguistics and Education.
8. Tognini-Bonelli E. Corpus linguistics at work. Amsterdam: John Benjamins; 2001.
9. Silverman D. Doing qualitative research. 4th ed. London: SAGE Publications; 2013.
10. Fillmore C.J. Frame semantics and FrameNet. In: The Oxford handbook of linguistic analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2010.
11. Dowty D. Thematic proto-roles and argument selection. 1991;67(3):547–619.
12. AntConc. Version 4.2.0 [computer software]. Tokyo: Waseda University; 2022. Available from: https://www.laurenceanthony.net/software/antconc/
13. OPUS. OPUS: Open Parallel Corpus [Internet]. Uppsala: Uppsala University; 2012– [cited 2026 Apr 20]. Available from: https://opus.nlpl.eu/
14. Levin B. English verb classes and alternations: A preliminary investigation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1993.