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34ЯЗЫКОЗНАНИЕ И ЛИТЕРАТУРОВЕДЕНИЕ LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDIES
УДК 821.531
ЧОН ХЕНДЖУ
Университет Синхан, г. Сеул, Республика Корея
ПОИСК СТРАТЕГИЙ ПЕРЕВОДА КОРЕЙСКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ: ДОМЕСТИКАЦИЯ И ФОРЕНИЗАЦИЯ
Чон Хенджу, канд. перевод. наук, доцент, Кафедра иностранных языков, Университет Синхан E-mail: transju@shinhan.ac.kr
Аннотация. В этой статье обсуждается работа ведущего корейского писателя, Хён Джин Геона (1900-1943) «Жена бедняка», а также стратегия перевода, примененная в ее тексте для перевода на английский язык. В этой работе, выпущенной в 1921-100 лет назад, главный герой показал воплощение интеллектуалов 1920-х годов, которым пришлось страдать от экономических лишений и душевных страданий из-за отказа от социальных изменений и ценностей карьеризма и материализма. Сюжетная линия обладает достаточным потенциалом, чтобы привлечь широкий круг целевых читателей и побудить их принять произведение и восстановить в нем свой автопортрет сегодня. Чтобы диагностировать возможность появления читателей в 2020-х годах за пределами временного промежутка в 100 лет, он ищет способы расширить читательскую аудиторию целевой культуры за счет перевода. С этой целью мы обсуждаем специфику культурологии (CSI), отражающие историческую ситуацию и персонажей, психологическое описание исходного текста и их перевод, в котором воплощены намерения автора и различные метафоры. В частности, он исследует степень расширения восприятия читателями того, что переводчики явно или незримо применяли намерения автора, уделяя особое внимание стратегиям перевода на иностранный язык и одомашнивание. Таким образом, имеет смысл изучить возможность расширения зарубежной читательской аудитории корейской литературы и эффективные стратегии перевода для этого.
Ключевые слова и фразы: стратегия перевода, доместикация, форенизация, специфика культурологии, Бин-чео, Жена бедняка, корейская литература, корееведение.
Благодарности: Данная работа осуществлялась при поддержке Базовой университетской программы исследований Кореи через Министерство образования Республики Корея и Службы содействия развитию корееведения Академии корееведения (AKS-2019-0LU-2250001).
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Для цитирования: Чон Хенджу. Поиск стратегий перевода корейской литературы: доместикация и форенизация // Корееведение в России: направление и развитие. 2021. Т. 2. № 3. С. 6-12.
CHUN HYUNJU
Shinhan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
SEARCHING FOR TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FOR KOREAN LITERATURE: FOCUSING ON FOREIGNIZATION AND DOMESTICATION
Chun Hyunju, Ph.D of Translation Studies, associate professor, Department of International Language, Shinhan University
E-mail: transju@shinhan.ac.kr
Abstract. This paper discusses a leading Korean novelist, Hyun Jin-geon (1900-1943)'s "Poor Man's Wife", and the translation strategy applied in its English translation text. This work released in 1921--100 years ago, the protagonist 'I' showed the epitome of intellectuals in the 1920s, who had to suffer from economic deprivation and mental agony because of rejecting the social changes and values of careerism and materialism. The storyline has enough potential to attract a wide range of target readers and leads them to accept the work and restore it to their self-portrait today. In order to diagnose the possibility of readers in the 2020s beyond the time gap of 100 years, it seeks ways to expand the readership of the target culture through translation. To this end, we discuss cultural specific items (CSI) reflecting the historical situation and the characters, the psychological description of source text, and their translation in which the author's intentions and various metaphors are embodied. In particular, it examines the degree to expand the acceptance of readers that translators applied author's intentions visibly or invisibly, focusing on foreignization and domestication translation strategies. Through this, it is meaningful to explore the possibility of expanding Korean literature's overseas readership and efficient translation strategies for this.
Keywords and phrases: translation strategy, domestication, foreignization, CSI, Bincheo, Poor Man's Wife, Korean Literature, Korean Studies.
Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of the Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2019-0LU-2250001).
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For citation: Chun Hyunju. Searching for Translation Strategies for Korean Literature: focusing on Foreignization and Domestication // The Journal of Direction and Development of Korean Studies in Russia. 2021. Vol. 2, № 3. P. 6-12.
1. Introduction
Translation strategies, in general, which respect the source language (SL) and its cultural specific items (CSI) or style, and cultural elements as much as possible are commonly applied when discussing the translation of a literary work, as well as the author's intention and expression of the source text (ST), such as the story plot and structure of the work, the characteristics of the characters and the background of the time and space. In addition, various translation strategies can be applied to literary works by many variables, such as the recognition of the author or ST, their first introduction to the target culture (TC), or the translator's recognition and comprehension of ST, and his or her preferred translation strategy. Furthermore, many variables intervene in the translation strategy, such as when the target language (TL) is the translator's native tongue or not, the degree of bilingual proficiency, or when a translator from SC or TC performs translation
tasks by himself or jointly with other translators. Reflecting these perspectives, the paper discusses the translation strategy applied in the English version of Korean literature and the aspect of applying the general principles of literary translation aiming at ST-oriented translation.
In order to do a concrete discussion, the method and strategy of translation are explored; focusing on the case applied to the translated text (TT) and on CSI that describes the periodic situation and the characteristics of the characters of Poor Man's Wife (1921) among modern Korean literature works. In particular, it examines the degree to which the translator has realized the visible or invisible intention to expand the target reader's acceptance by applying the foreignization and domestication translation methods. Through this, it will be meaningful in finding the possibility of expanding target readers of Korean literature's, searching for
works to be translated, and seeking more efficient translation strategies.
To this end, the author and translator of ST and TT of the work to be analyzed, and the reasons for selecting the work to be analyzed are briefly reviewed first in the next chapter. In addition, cases are discussed by applying the theory of foreignization and domestication to discuss translation methods and strategies. Lastly, this paper discusses the overall translation strategy of the work, considerations that can be applied more universally in non-English translations, and future tasks.
2. Translation Strategies for Korean Literature
By inferring the basis for the discovery of highly preferred translation targets and differentiated translation strategies for individual language through a close review of the existing translations, it can be used to seek ways to expand the target readers of Korean literature. Therefore, this chapter looks at the translation methods and strategies applied to the TT, focusing on ST to be analyzed.
2.1. ST and TT of Bincheo; Poor Man's Wife
Novelist Hyun Jin-geon (1900-1943) wrote his short novel, Poor Man's Wife and published it in journal <Gaebyeok> in 1921, exactly 100 years ago from now. This work is an autobiographical novel based on the experience as a poor nameless artist, and depicts the emotions of the characters very delicately in the process of pursuing spiritual values in a poverty reality. The reason why this work was selected as a work for analysis of translation strategy is, first, that the situation in the work published a century ago is highly compatible with today's reality. In addition, as Poor Man's Wife encompasses various elements that can spread consensus with more readers from around the world by transcending language barriers, it is necessary to provide an opportunity for a new reevaluation of the artistry. Furthermore, it is also very meaningful to lead the trend of the times to more actively secure the readership of the TC through multilingual translation projects of Korean literature as well as the relevant works.
Based on these motivations, we will comprehensively discuss matters to be considered when translating into various TLs after applying the translation strategy with related theories after comparing and analyzing the ST and TT.
The English translation of ST, Bincheo was published in 2013 by Sora Kim-Russell as Poor Man's
Wife with the support of the Literature Translation Institute of Korean (LTIK) [11]. In addition to this work, she has translated a number of Korean literary works, including Hyeon Jin-geon's Home, Kim Un-su's The Plotters, and Hwang Sok-yong's At Dusk [14]. She is a writer who has not only translated modern and contemporary literary works, but is also engaged in creative activities [13]. Poor Man's Wife is included in the list of 51 books of '20th Century Korean Modern Literature Works' provided by LTIK and is listed as an electronic book service. However, the translation tasks of it did not done more actively than expected. Except for the English version and the Chinese translation of Kwon Hyuk-ryul published in 2010 [10], no more record was found in other languages. Therefore, the discussion of this paper would be an opportunity to review the cause of the poorly published translation of the work.
2.2. Analysis of translation methods and strategies applied to Poor Man's Wife
2.2.1 Foreignization and Domestication Translation Strategies
Venuti clarified Schleiermacher's concept of translation method related to whether to take target readers to the author of ST or the author of ST to the target readers, and the former is referred to as foreignization and the latter domestication (Venuti, 1995: 7). In other words, it was divided into 'foreignization' and 'domestication' translation methods according to the method and degree of translating the exotic elements from different languages and cultures contained in ST.
In order to recognize the exoticism of ST and to perform translations faithfully to ST, the frequency of TT that do not conform to the norms of the TL increases. In the end, from the perspective of the TT readers, they may get the impression of the exotic text experience and awkward translation. On the other hand, domestication translation refers to a smooth translation that is read naturally, taking into account the readability of the TT readers, and, as a result, a translation in which the exotic elements of ST are neutralized.
Of course, there is no text that can only be translated by one of these two methods, but it is possible to assess how this translation method worked in analyzed text. With this in mind, this study compares ST and TT of Poor Man's Wife and discusses how the translation strategy of foreignization and domestication is applied.
2.2.2 Text Analysis and Translation Strategies
While comparing ST and TT, we will look at examples of translation focusing on the elements related to 'cultural-specific items' (CSI). 'CSI' is a specific vocabulary or language usage custom derived from the unique culture of a community that speaks SL, and translation difficulties arise when CSI is inevitably a foreign and unfamiliar element for readers of TT who lack understanding of the SC (Aixela 1996: 58). For this reason, translators are contemplating whether to make use of the heterogeneity to allow readers to experience foreign cultures or to neutralize it to enhance the readability of the text. When the functions and implied meanings in ST are transferred to TT, we will examine what strategies the translator applied, focusing on examples related to proper nouns, names and terms for family members, and common nouns:
1) Proper noun, 'jeogori' and 'durumagi'
First, 'jeogori', a proper noun representing the traditional Korean costume culture, is a representative case belonging to CSI, and when it is transferred to 'jacket,' the exotic element completely disappears. Meanwhile, in the case of 'mobondan', it was expressed as 'Chinese silk' as a common noun, that expresses the material of the fabric. 'Mobondan' belongs to a kind of silk, but when used together with 'jeogori', it is accepted like a compound noun. Since it may cause adverse effects, more active consideration of the translator is required.
1) ST: xoa|7h am ......."
TT: "I thought I still had a jacket left, the one made from Chinese silk..."
On the other hand, looking at the translation case of 'durumagi', which is another example of CSI representing Korea's costume culture, it has been moved to 'durumagi overcoat' unlike 'jeogori' above, and 'durumagi' is transliterated as it is pronounced. After its transliteration, a translation strategy was applied to highlight exotic elements by marking it in italics. In addition, an overcoat was additionally specified to convey the purpose of 'durumagi,' and at the same time, the readability of target readers was improved as follows.
2) ST: nam om q tEpf ofy ^aq a^ ^ ao| ^DPI-P- sac.
TT: But it wouldn't be right for me not to go, so I reluctantly put on my long durumagi overcoat.
Another example of CSI is 'danghye', which was worn by women in the Joseon Dynasty, and simply
translated it as 'shoes', fading the exotic elements of ST as much as possible.
3) ST: cm^ ^ qnm C H
e^S ai is- vs va^q oq^ & ^s
TT: Nearly all of the other women out were dressed in silk and wearing fine shoes, but my wife alone was shabbily dressed in rough cotton and trudging along in cheap shoes. It made me so sad to see her!
Taking the above examples together, in the case of proper nouns, the translator's translation strategy can be seen as applying both localized and exotic translation strategies at the same time. Instead, more consideration that is active is required in terms of maintaining consistency.
2) Name and Title
One of the remarkable and important features of Poor Man's Wife is that the names of characters in the works are not specifically mentioned throughout the work. For example, the protagonist 'I' and his acquaintance are referred to only as alphabet, F and T instead of their Korean full name, and all other characters are described only by terms for family members such as wife, wife, husband, sister-in-law, brother or sister, brother-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, grandmother, etc. The method of referring to names as T and K (the main character of the work, 'I') is to highlight the exotic effect of the work that can gauge the traces of the introduction of Western culture in Korean literature based on the sentiment of Korean society 100 years ago. It was used as an important device to deliberately reveal the intentions of the author. However, the intention of the author or the effect of ST is not revealed at all in TT. The author's intention is inevitably more invisible, as ST does not even show an example of the Korean way of marking naming systems. T and F are just T and F. The Korean protagonists F and T in Korean culture have meaning in their own way of referring to family names by using the English alphabet instead of Korean, but F and T in English translations are a kind of 'post-CSI' in the elements of ST are only described very plainly.
4) st: cm^ ph -soian sac.
TT: ... T, who works at Hanseong Bank, came to visit.
In the above example, the protagonist's close acquaintance, T, has a markedly reduced discrimination in TT. Instead, the fact that the name
of the bank is specifically referred to as 'Hansung Bank' to highlight the economic situation and material importance rather than T is also a significant device reflecting the intention of the author to be aware of when appreciating the work. Then, as shown in the following example, the name of the protagonist was also changed to 'K', just like T.
5) ST: KM £ #
TT: But K (that's me) is good for nothing. He thinks he's going to be some famous writer of Joseon just because he can throw a few fancy words together and scribble a little nonsense!
'K', like 'T' above, was diluted with the author's intention to highlight 'exoticism' in the translation. 'Joseon' is the name of Korea 100 years ago, which is the background era of the work, and it was translated as 'Joseon' without any specific mention of proper nouns. For this reason, 'Joseon' is recognized as a common noun to TT readers who do not have background knowledge of Korean history, so the intention of the author is not revealed at all.
Subsequently, regarding the title, 'ochon dangsuk' and 'sister-in-law' were translated into 'my paternal first cousin' and 'sister-in-law', respectively, focusing on conveying each meaning. Therefore, the distinctive features of Korean terms for family members and relatives were neutralized. This is presumed to be due to the translator's strategy to relieve the burden of readability of TT readers.
6) ST: Q|3 S^h №
TT: My paternal first cousin once removed said that about us.
7) ST: n^ oMMq. m ^ mq^
TT: That was my sister-in-law, who was three years older than my wife.
3) Common Nouns
Among the common nouns described in ST, a translator can find traces of trying to realize the equivalent of meaning in the vocabulary selection process in a case. For example, 'linoleum', which corresponds to 'jangpan', is an indoor (floor) rug, and a localized translation strategy is applied that has been converted into a vocabulary familiar to readers of TC.
8) ST: s^xiq qQ|£Q| 4* M^M
ft ££ ^ ££ ££££
SB I^S^.
TT: Her face changed color, and she stared at me aghast. Then she slowly lowered her head, and
first one tear, and then another tear, and then drop after drop fell to the linoleum.
So far, we have looked at the translator's translation strategy for each case, focusing on CSI-related vocabulary items. In this regard, the translator applied the localization and foreignization translation strategies with maximum latitude in relation to the translation methods in general. For this reason, the author's intentions or important implications of the work were often diluted or neutralized. It is presumed to be the best option that actively considers the understanding of the works of the translator as the most active reader, and the acceptance of target readers. In this regard, referring to the translator of the work, Sora Kim-Russell's translation viewpoint, seems to be references for this presumption. Of course, it is not only applied to the relevant work, but the inconsistency of the translation strategy seems to guarantee the persuasive power in the translation viewpoint, where the translator tries to reflect the author's intention as much as possible and tries to approach the translated publication as a public forum shared with the public.
3. Conclusion and Further Implications
Regarding the translation strategy of Korean literature, the translator does not seem to be biased toward either of the exotic and localized translation strategies, nor did the translation of the work have been performed with a specific translation strategy in mind. In particular, it is necessary to avoid applying an inconsistent translation strategy in relation to CSIs. However, as is discussed above, the translator must select and translate the vocabularies or expressions of SC or TC carefully when he or she meets translation problems by using various strategies. Therefore, a different translation strategy should be established in consideration of the level of background knowledge or capacity to accept the contents of ST (Chun 2009: 164). In other words, according to the translator's translation strategy, the method in which the visibility of the author and the translator, as well as ST and TT, is realized through the work can be applied in various ways depending on the background of the time and place, and the acceptance of the readers. In the case of literary works, there are no exceptions.
In the course of examining the translation strategy of Poor Man's Wife, this paper suggests some additional considerations: 1) Can readers in TC infer the historical background of ST or feel
the originality? 2) What are the language-specific or comprehensive considerations when translating into languages other than English? 3) What are the translation strategies that can maintain or narrow the temporal gap with ST? 4) Ultimately, does the work have the artistry that can expand the global readership of the 21st century? 5) If so, what is the strategy that
can further enhance such artistry? There is a need to further discuss these considerations in the future. This is because it is our task to continuously seek efficient methods for the overall spread of Korean literature works that have not yet been discovered their real value and potentials in the global arena.
Список литературы
1. Aixelá, J. F. Culture-Specific Items in Translation. In Román Alvarez and M. Carmen-Africa Vidal. (Eds.). Translation, Power, Subversion. - Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 1996. - С. 52-78.
2. Chun, Hyunju. A study on the status and its significance of translated works by Korean literary writer, Park Kyung-Ri, - The Journal of Direction and Development of Korean Studies in Russia 2(2), 2021. - С. 6-16.
3. Chun, Hyunju. Suggestions on the Status and Application Strategy of Korean-Russian Literature Translation Projects Funded by LTIK (Literature Translation Institute of Korea) since 2000. - Modern Oriental Studies 2(1), 2020. -С. 18-36.
4. Chun, Hyunju. A Study on the Establishment of Korean Studies Archives: Focusing on the Korean Government-oriented Translation Projects. - Modern Oriental Studies 4(2), 2020. - С. 10-17
5. Chun, Hyunju. Translators' (In) Visibility: Focused on Translators' Epilogues, - Interpreting and Translation Studies 12-2, 2009. - С. 211-229
6. Chun, Hyunju. Interrelationships between High (Low) Context Cultural Theories and Translation Strategies, -The Journal of Interpretation and Translation Education 7(2), 2009. - С. 163-183
7. Schleiermacher, F. On the different methods of translating. In Rainer Schulte and John Biguenet (eds.). Theories of Translation. - Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
8. Venuti, L. The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference. - London and New York: Routledge, 1998. - 224 с.
9. Venuti, L. The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation. - London and New York: Routledge, 1995. -366 с.
10. Poor Man's Wife // Digital Library of Korean Literature: [website]. - URL: https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/ node/12168 (дата обращения 26.03.2020). - Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей. - Текст: электронный.
11. English version of Poor Man's Wife // ISSUU: [website]. - URL: https://issuu.com/ltilibrary/docs/poor_man_s_ wife (дата обращения 26.03.2020). - Режим доступа: свободный. - Текст: электронный.
12. Chinese version of Poor Man's Wife // Digital Library of Korean Literature: [website]. - URL: https://library. ltikorea.or.kr/node/8599 (дата обращения 26.03.2020). - Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей. - Текст: электронный.
13. Things I've Translated // Sora Kim-Russell: [website]. - URL: https://sorakimrussell.com/short-fiction.html (дата обращения 26.03.2020). - Режим доступа: свободный. - Текст: электронный
14. Jessica, Esa. Meet the Translator: Sora Kim-Russell (Korean to English) // Books & Bao: [website]. - URL: https://booksandbao.com/meet-the-translator-sora-kim-russell-korean-to-english/ (дата обращения 28.03.2020). - Режим доступа: свободный. - Текст: электронный.
References
1. Aixelá, J. F. Culture-Specific Items in Translation. In Román Alvarez and M. Carmen-Africa Vidal. (Eds.). Translation, Power, Subversion. - Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 1996. - S. 52-78.
2. Chun, Hyunju. A study on the status and its significance of translated works by Korean literary writer, Park Kyung-Ri, - The Journal of Direction and Development of Korean Studies in Russia 2(2), 2021. - S. 6-16.
3. Chun, Hyunju. Suggestions on the Status and Application Strategy of Korean-Russian Literature Translation Projects Funded by LTIK (Literature Translation Institute of Korea) since 2000, - Modern Oriental Studies 2(1), 2020. - S. 18-36.
4. Chun, Hyunju. A Study on the Establishment of Korean Studies Archives: Focusing on the Korean Government-oriented Translation Projects. - Modern Oriental Studies 4(2), 2020. - S. 10-17
5. Chun, Hyunju. Translators' (In) Visibility: Focused on Translators' Epilogues, - Interpreting and Translation Studies 12-2, 2009. - S. 211-229
6. Chun, Hyunju. Interrelationships between High (Low) Context Cultural Theories and Translation Strategies, -The Journal of Interpretation and Translation Education 7(2), 2009. - S. 163-183
7. Schleiermacher, F. On the different methods of translating. In Rainer Schulte and John Biguenet (eds.). Theories of Translation. - Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
8. Venuti, L. The Scandals of Translation: Towards an Ethics of Difference. - London and New York: Routledge, 1998. - 224 s.
9. Venuti, L. The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation. - London and New York: Routledge, 1995. -366 s.
10. Poor Man's Wife // Digital Library of Korean Literature: [website]. - URL: https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/ node/12168 (data obrashhenija 26.03.2020). - Rezhim dostupa: dlja avtoriz. pol'zovate-lej. - Tekst: jelektronnyj.
11. English version of Poor Man's Wife // ISSUU: [website]. - URL: https://issuu.com/ltilibrary/docs/poor_man_s_ wife (data obrashhenija 26.03.2020). - Rezhim dostupa: svobodnyj. - Tekst: jelektronnyj.
12. Chinese version of Poor Man's Wife // Digital Library of Korean Literature: [website]. - URL: https://library. ltikorea.or.kr/node/8599 (data obrashhenija 26.03.2020). - Rezhim dostupa: dlja avtoriz. pol'zovate-lej. - Tekst: jelektronnyj.
13. Things I've Translated // Sora Kim-Russell: [website]. - URL: https://sorakimrussell.com/short-fiction.html (data obrashhenija 26.03.2020). - Rezhim dostupa: svobodnyj. - Tekst: jelektronnyj
14. Jessica, Esa. Meet the Translator: Sora Kim-Russell (Korean to English) // Books & Bao: [website]. - URL: https://booksandbao.com/meet-the-translator-sora-kim-russell-korean-to-english/ (data obrashhenija 28.03.2020). -Rezhim dostupa: svobodnyj. - Tekst: jelektronnyj.
Дата поступления / Received 01.04.2021 Дата принятия в печать /Accepted 19.04.2021
© Чон Хенджу, 2021 © Chun Hyunju, 2021
