Alessandra M Digsmed-Wrem | University of Copenhagen (original) (raw)
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Thesis Chapters by Alessandra M Digsmed-Wrem
Translatin the Sounds of Manga: English Translations of Japanese Sound-Symbolic Words in One Piece, 2016
The present thesis investigates English translations of Japanese sound-symbolic words in official... more The present thesis investigates English translations of Japanese sound-symbolic words in official licensed manga publications as well as in fan-made ‘scanlations’ found online. The thesis argues that sound-symbolic words in manga are often different than the ones found in Western comics in that the Japanese language is rich in sound-symbolism, and it is argued that this constitutes a challenge to translators and that the literature from Translation Studies may benefit from broadening the definition of ‘onomatopoeia’ used in relation to dealing with comic translations in general.
Looking at English translations of all sound-symbolic words found in three volumes of the popular manga series One Piece, it is found that the more recent translations (both licensed publications and scanlations) are translated in a manner that seems more catering towards formal equivalence as opposed to dynamic equivalence. It is found that the scanlations contain far more foreign linguistic elements than the licensed publication, but that the tendency in both translations is moving in the same direction.
The conclusion of this thesis supports the argument presented by other scholars that fans of manga like their manga to be as Japanese as possible and not adapted to the target language and culture in which it is published.
Translatin the Sounds of Manga: English Translations of Japanese Sound-Symbolic Words in One Piece, 2016
The present thesis investigates English translations of Japanese sound-symbolic words in official... more The present thesis investigates English translations of Japanese sound-symbolic words in official licensed manga publications as well as in fan-made ‘scanlations’ found online. The thesis argues that sound-symbolic words in manga are often different than the ones found in Western comics in that the Japanese language is rich in sound-symbolism, and it is argued that this constitutes a challenge to translators and that the literature from Translation Studies may benefit from broadening the definition of ‘onomatopoeia’ used in relation to dealing with comic translations in general.
Looking at English translations of all sound-symbolic words found in three volumes of the popular manga series One Piece, it is found that the more recent translations (both licensed publications and scanlations) are translated in a manner that seems more catering towards formal equivalence as opposed to dynamic equivalence. It is found that the scanlations contain far more foreign linguistic elements than the licensed publication, but that the tendency in both translations is moving in the same direction.
The conclusion of this thesis supports the argument presented by other scholars that fans of manga like their manga to be as Japanese as possible and not adapted to the target language and culture in which it is published.