이창래의 Native Speaker의 한글번역본 비교연구 - 번역가의 두 가지 다른 시선

Abstract

This paper intends to analyze different perspectives of the two translators, reflected into the two versions of Korean translation of Native Speaker (1995), the first novel written by the Korean-American novelist Chang-rae Lee. As literary translation is a product of another form of the translator's personal reading of the text, different versions of translation often indicate different perspectives of translators toward the original text, and these differences become more important to understanding the meaning and value of the work, more than endless debates regarding mistranslation of the text. Hyun's Korean translation of 1995 attempts to situate Lee's novel under the umbrella of Korean literature, considering the theme of the novel as Korean immigrants' nostalgia for Korean culture and identity. This perspective leads to more natural translation with the frequent use of Korean cultural equivalents, trying to remind Korean readers of cultural connection to the author. However, Chung's translation of 2003 views Lee's novel as part of contemporary American literature which deals with the alienated life of immigrants in the multi-cultural society of America in which these immigrants are required to create a new kind of hybrid identity. This perspective is reflected in Chung's careful attention to word choice, sentence structure and stylistic characteristics, often found in poetry translation. However, this difference does not exclusively derive from the translators' personal views on the novel. Rather, it has been critically influenced by the elevated status of the writer as one of the most representative contemporary American writer, not anymore Korean-American writer. Also, more careful attention in Chung's translation to the writer's style and literary identity leads to the translator's efforts to keep Lee's linguistic elegance and literary style intact in the translation, often creating poetic effect. Literary translation is never a form of perfect and omniscient reading of the text by a translator, and, in this sense, analyzing translators' perspectives reflected in the translations of the same novel provides a valuable tool to understanding the text from different perspectives.