Sarcouncil Journal of Arts and Literature Aims & Scope

Abstract: Translation plays a crucial role in enabling cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication, particularly in creative texts such as song lyrics, where meaning, emotion, and musicality must be conveyed simultaneously. One major challenge in song translation is the occurrence of translation shifts caused by structural and grammatical differences between the source language and the target language. Although translation shifts have been widely studied in literary texts and audiovisual media, research focusing on English–Indonesian song lyrics remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the types and distribution of translation shifts found in the Indonesian translation of the song “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen, based on J.C. Catford’s theory of translation shifts. This study employs a descriptive qualitative research design, using document analysis as the data collection technique. The data consist of English song lyrics as the source language and Indonesian subtitle lyrics as the target language. The analysis is conducted through phrase-by-phrase comparison and classified into level shifts and category shifts, including structure, unit, class, and intra-system shifts. The findings reveal that unit shifts and structure shifts are the most dominant types, indicating that the translator prioritizes naturalness, simplicity, and lyrical fluency in the target language. Level shifts are also significant, particularly in the translation of tense and aspect. Overall, the study concludes that translation shifts function as strategic and inevitable adjustments to preserve meaning, emotional expression, and musical compatibility in song translation.