Semantic Translation Errors in English Captions of Indonesian F&B Instagram Accounts- A Qualitative Analysis of Persuasive Language

Abstract

This study examines semantic translation errors in English Instagram captions produced by Indonesian food and beverage businesses, with particular attention to how translation choices influence meaning and persuasive function in digital culinary promotion. Grounded in Descriptive Translation Studies and Translation Quality Assessment, the research focuses on naturally occurring social media texts rather than prescriptive translation norms. The data consist of 19 English-language captions collected from three Indonesian food and beverage Instagram accounts. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the captions were analyzed at the level of words, phrases, and clauses to identify four categories of semantic errors: lexical choice errors, pragmatic misrepresentation, meaning distortion, and collocation errors. Frequency distribution was used to support the qualitative analysis and to identify recurring patterns across the dataset. The findings indicate that lexical choice errors are the most prevalent, particularly in captions involving culture-specific food terms and sensory expressions. Although pragmatic misrepresentation, meaning distortion, and collocation errors occur less frequently, this error types demonstrate how even limited semantic inaccuracies can affect communicative clarity and audience perception in short-form promotional texts. This study contributes to translation studies by highlighting the value of examining microtext translation in real digital marketing contexts. Practically, the findings underscore the importance of balancing cultural authenticity with clarity and target-language norms when translating promotional content for international audiences.