The analysis of the translation strategies used in translating Thai food menus of the Michelin Guidebook 2021

Thailand is a tourism destination of the world for vacation, business, medical treatment and especially the food experiences. Millions of tourists fly to Bangkok to taste the authentic Thai dishes. To ensure the tourist’s great experiences, the Michelin Guidebook 2021 is a Thai-English book presenting the must have dishes awarded by the Michelin rating system. This study aimed (1) to indicate the strategies of translation adopted in food menus translation from Thai into English in the Michelin Guidebook 2021 and (2) to clarify the frequency and percentage of each translation strategy of Baker found in the Michelin Guidebook 2021. The 88 Thai food menus presenting in both Thai and English versions in the Michelin Guidebook 2021 were studied regarding the translation strategies adopted. The findings showed that the translation strategies of Baker (1992) could cover all the Thai food menus found in the Michelin Guidebook 2021. The findings also revealed that the translation by illustration was the translation strategy most frequently used, and the translation by more neutral/less expressive words was the least frequently used.