Translatability and untranslatability of Tae-sok Oh's theater

Abstract

This paper intends to examine the translation strategy of the English translation and publication of Tae-sok Oh's plays. The translation of a less commonly used language into the hegemonic language often requires more than a transfer of the textual dimension because of the differences of cultural hegemony between the languages. Thus, attention should be paid to non-textual factors in translation, including the role of translators, the publication process, book reviews and stage performance, in order to increase the translatability of theater texts. Also, as a theater text is 'an open and moving text' by its very nature, often refusing to be fixed and confined, the textual authority of the source text is subject to challenge. However, the instability of the source text in theater can allow and encourage theater translators to become engaged in the more active deciphering and reconstructing process. A foreign cultural dimension of the text is best transferred with the help of non-verbal language on the stage. These factors will increase the general translatability of a theater text.