「한국 무가」(韓國 巫歌)의 영역(英譯) —가독성을 위한 번역전략 및 사례를 중심으로—

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine effective strategies for translating Korean traditional shamatic songs into English. As previously discussed in other previous papers, we face several difficulties when we are involved in the process of translation: the difficulty in translating L1(Korean) into L2(English), the difficulty in translating literature, and lack of specialized knowledge in traditional culture which operates within and around a work of literature. To overcome these difficulties relating to the work of translating Korean shamatic songs into English, translators must understand that more weight has to be put on readability than on faithfulness in translating shamatic songs. The translation strategies introduced in this paper are as follows; first, to ensure readability, lengthy sentences are fragmented into multiple short sentences with various punctuation marks. Second, as to the translation of most conceptually and culturally different words and expressions, they are simplified at either the lexical or phrasal level, without losing the original connotation. Finally, with regard to the translation of most difficult expressions to understand, they are paraphrased with some degree of adjustment at translators’ discretion. Focusing on readability rather than faithfulness in the translation of Korean shamatic songs might disappoint some scholars as well as certain groups of readers. However, by implementing the above strategies, it is expected that the difficulties that continue to bedevil the work of translating traditional shamatic songs into English may be resolved to some extent.