번역, 현상과 실제: 번역의 실질적 가치

Abstract

Translating is a process of converting one language to another which might not be compatible at all with one another, due to divers inherent differences that are identifiable between languages. This difficulty in converting one language to another mainly stems from differences in the uses of vocabularies unique, customary and traditional, and also to an extent in the uses of honorifications. The paper addresses the problems of translators in converting languages without conventional inherent honorific system such as English to Korean. English as language does not use the honorific system per se, while it is used in certain circumstances and situations as addressing someone with title or to show respect, it is not a norm. Translating from a language which does not use an honorifical mode to a language that does is a delicate process, because it ultimately becomes a question of tradition and to a certain degree questions in portrayal of gender and its representation. The problems in translating dramatical texts are far different from any other literary genre in that dramatic texts are dialogues that are meant to be pronounced by an actor/actress on stage in actual time in front of a live audience. Drama achieves reality only when the dialogues presented are accepted as ‘reality’ in itself. In this sense, the dramatic dialogue should and has to be an exact copy of the actual reality that the work is representing and should not be modified in translation trying to conform to the translators language, traditions, culture and customs. In conclusion, translating from one language system to another where the two systems have no common ground poses problems and must be engaged based on the cultural and linguistic consideration of the original work to deliver the ‘nuance’ that the original work tried to convey. This paper addresses the above situations and the subsequent questions of value that may arise in translating a dramatic text from one language to another.