ABSTRACT
This study looks at the stylistic features and cultural values of the two songs sung and composed by the members of Oh! Caraga band-Ipanumpa Ko and Way Sukod, and examine how they come across in their English translations. The study utilizes a descriptive comparative approach to study how phonological feature, semantics, and culture have been maintained, altered, or abandoned during translation. The study is executed using a detailed textual analysis by the use of a Stylistic Feature Analysis Table, which identifies recurring literary techniques and cultural constructs in both texts. The results of the analysis have shown that the both translations of Ipanumpa ko exhibit varying degrees of authenticity whereas the original lyrics show high levels of artistic cohesiveness, mostly through repetition, metaphor, hyperbole, and culturally-based words. Translation A is closer to the original. For Way Sukod, Translation A holds onto more of those subtle meanings from the original. Translation B maintains the rhymes better than A, but loses some word accuracy. Both translations often lose the patterns of rhymes of the original, which shows how difficult it is to preserve musicality and meaning at the same time. The original lyrics express the cultural values of devotion more clearly, also perseverance, and Filipino relational identity than the translations do. Overall, the study finds that translating Bisaya songs into English requires not only linguistics competence but also deep cultural and stylistic sensitivity. The study’s practical output, an Instructional Material, provides students with a framework for critically assessing how well translated songs preserve the important elements of the original language. The study benefits the field of translation studies, cultural preservation and the broader understanding of Visayan musical tradition.
Keywords: Stylistic Analysis, Song Translation, Bisaya-English Translation, Cultural Values, Oh! Caraga
https://doi.org/10.65494/pinagpalapublishing.297
