Saturday, May 18, 2013

Chanil Kim/Classification essay/Tue 9AM

There has been a massive influx of English and American literature into South Korea, and imagine that Korean would not have any access to translated works of them. Those who lack of English ability may wonder how then they can enjoy literature written in English. In reality, however, the Korean public do not have to worry about the idea; there are a lot more supply of English translator than actually demanded. So, the questions is how an English translator in Korea can be more competitive and gain more opportunities to translate literary works written in English. Here are three features that most of successful English translators have in common in Korea.

The first characteristic is supposed to be language proficiency in both English and Korean. With the number of aspiring literary translators in Korea on the rise, there has been a widespread misunderstanding among them: they do not need to improve their Korean ability just because Korean is their mother tongue.  Almost all of them seem to recognize the importance of English as a foreign language, but they tend to take their Korean proficiency for granted, thus making no effort to improve their Korean skills. Many professional literary translators have put a great emphasis on the importance of mother tongue, pointing out that the most ideal direction of literary translation is from a foreign language to a native language. In other words, Koreans translating English or American literature should be focus on how the works can be expressed best naturally in Korean. 

Secondly, background information is so much important as is language itself. The very first step of literary translation is to fully understand an English text. If a Korean cannot fully understand the original text, it means that he is not yet ready to translate the work. For example, in order to translate 1984 by George Orwell, a translator should be well aware of the social and historical situation at the time when it was written, especially involved with the advent of socialism or communism.  Unless the translator do have good knowledge of the specific information, it is almost impossible for him to convey the important message reflected by the author to Korean readers. In this respect, it is one of high priorities for literary translators to make sure he completely understand the background information regarding literature written in English. 

In the end, getting more than a Master's degree in either English and American literature or English translation itself is the other indispensable condition for would-be translators in Korea. It is essential not just because during the process of higher education, Koreans improve their translation skills connected with two features mentioned above; but because it is also the way to prove their literary translation capacities. There is no license for translators in Korea, nor is there any tests to certify them. But there a plenty of graduate schools well known for the relevant majors; for example, graduate schools of interpretation and translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Ewha Womans University are extraordinarily specialized in translation education. To go on to one of the two graduate school is the fastest and most effective way to prove how much a Korean is qualified for an English translator.

If a Korean hopes to be a well-known translator of English or American literature, he is supposed to be extraordinarily fluent in both languages, have a wide range of background information, and attain a master's or doctor's degree in related English majors. An language is the core of a country's culture through which the beauty of its whole culture is well represented. And literature of a country is the most tangible symbol of its language. In this sense, Koreans may find it difficult to appreciate the English and American culture without enjoying literature of two countries. Therefore, we cannot stress the importance of literary translator's role too much as the bridge between Korean, English and American culture.

4 comments:

  1. From Seonyoung Hwang to Chanil Kim

    1. Does the introduction include backgrund information about the topic? Yes. "...the questions is how an English translator in Korea can be more competitive and gain more opportunities to translate literary works written in English. " seems to be the background information of the reason why Chanil chose the topic.

    2. Does the thesis statement have a unifying principle? Yes. "...Here are three features that most of successful English translators have in common in Korea." is a unifying principle regarding the features required to be a better translator.

    3. Does each body paragraph include a distinct category? Each body paragraph is talking about language proficiency, importance of background knowledge, and obtaining a master's degree in the field respectively. My question here though is the first and the second paragraph seems to be redundant when it comes to the first sentence. Although both contain different ideas, the first sentence of second paragraph seems to be a run on sentence of the first paragraph.

    4. Are the supporting details for each paragraph sufficient? Yes. Well organized and I enjoyed that he gave specific examples of graduate schools to enhance credibility.

    5. Does the conclusion restate the three categories? Yes.

    6. Is there advice, a prediction, or a general statement in the conclusion? Yes. I believe the writer chose general statement to wrap up his writing.

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  2. From Yujin Song to Chanil Kim

    1. Yes. " there are a lot more supply of English translator than actually demanded."

    2. Yes. "Here are three features that most of successful English translators have in common in Korea."

    3. Yes. language proficiency, background information and more than a Master's degree in English literature or English translation.

    4. Yes, each paragraph has the supporting details. I like each one has specific examples such as 1984 of George Owell and graduate schools.

    5. Yes

    6. Yes, I think there are a general statement and kind of a prediction.

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  3. Here is my final draft.

    One Gatsby in the United States but 50 different Gatsbys in South Korea — it is amazing that 50 Koreans have translated just one American novel each differently. With the film version of the Great Gatsby recently appear on the Korean box office, publishers are competitively mass-producing the translated books in an attempt to take advantage of the popularity of the movie. One interesting thing here is the fact that there are as many as 50 English-Korean translators who are ready to translate a literary work written in English. Then, the question is how an English-Korean translator can be outstanding enough to be picked up among so many others and have a chance to translate English or American literature. There are three characteristics that most successful literary translators in Korea have in common.

    The first characteristic is the remarkable ability in Korean. A number of aspiring English-Korean translators seem to recognize the importance of English as a foreign language, so most of them have as good English ability as that of native speakers. Their great English proficiency, however, does not necessarily guarantee all of them an opportunity to translate a literary work; the key difference between those given the chance and those not is their Korean competence. What make poems of Robert Frost widely enjoyed throughout the world is not just messages hidden in his poems but also how beautifully he expressed them. In order to impress Korean readers with the same beauty of the original poems, an English-Korean translator should be capable of re-expressing Robert Frost’s poems so beautifully and naturally in Korean.

    The next feature is sufficient background information, which is as much important as language itself. The actual process of translation should be preceded by the correct understanding of original literature written in Engilsh. Without background information of a literary work, an English-Korean translator cannot fully grasp the real meaning of the work. The necessary information for literary translation can include the historical background at the time of the publication, the author’s distinct writing style and even private life. For example, when translating The Dubliners by James Joyce, a translator should be well aware of the history of Ireland before its independence from the Britain and the author’s personal experience under the British rule. Many English-Korean translator tend to pay less attention to those background information than to language. Before translating a literary work, an English-Korean translator must be familiar with background information beyond the matter of language.

    In the end, a master’s or doctor’s degree in either English and American literature or English translation itself is the other quality common among well-known literary translators in Korea. On one hand, it is quite essential condition for would-be literary translator because Korean students can build up advanced knowledge of English and American literature and improve their translation skills. On the other hand, the master’s or doctor’s degree is the surest way for an English-Korean translator to show how qualified he is in terms of literary translation. In Korea, there is not any licenses for English-Korean translators, nor is there any tests to certify their literary translation skills. Hence, many choose to go on to well-known graduate schools in an attempt to prove their translation capacities to publishers. For instances, Those credited for literary translation in Korea mostly agree that graduate schools of interpretation and translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Ewha Womans University are the two best institutions to achieve the goal.

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  4. If an English-Korean translator hopes to get as many opportunities to translate literary works as possible, he is supposed to be extraordinarily fluent in Korean, have a wide range of background information, and attain a master’s or doctor’s degree in related English majors. An language is the core of a country’s culture through which the beauty of its whole culture is well represented. And literature of a country is the most tangible symbol of its language. In this sense, Koreans may find it difficult to appreciate the English and American culture without enjoying literature of two countries. Therefore, we cannot stress the importance of literary translator’s role too much as the bridge between Korean, English and American culture.

    ReplyDelete