Translation of Theme in Fiction with the Case of ‘Please Look after Mom’

Abstract

In literary translation, fluent flow of reading is an important factor for the reader's immersion into the literary world the author creates. Linguistic interference in literary translation may be regarded as translationese, especially in the culture where fluency tradition is firmly established as a convention. However, in the process of transferring a text into such a culture, a literary theme may be reduced or erased in an effort to produce a fluent translation. Especially when lexical or syntactic devices are employed to convey the theme in connection with cultural memories already formed in the consciousness of the source text reader, fluent translation without consideration of such memories may cause bigger loss. This paper explores how such a fluent strategy may reduce or erase the literary theme using an example of the translations of “eomma-reul-ireobeorin” in Korean novel Please Look after Mom. The phrase “eomma-reul-ireobeorin” is one of the devices through which the author tries to convey the theme. When the phrase enter the relationship with cultural memories already formed in the consciousness of the Korean reader, it conveys another dimension of theme, but this dimension is reduced or erased in an effort to avoid linguistic interference. This paper asserts that translators need to adopt more creative approaches to translation of the literary theme.