earticle

영어

This study, which finds its theoretic building blocks in polysystem theory, translator invisibility, domestication/foreignization, is aimed at exploring translator invisibility by analyzing book reviews of Please Look After Mom, an immensely acclaimed translation in the English speaking world. With regard to the polysystem theory, the present study reaffirms Even-Zohar comments that translators tend to use existing target-culture models for the TT, when translated literature occupies a secondary position in the polysystem(Even-Zohar, 2000). Put differently, a translator is likely to, or pressured to, accept the literary norms of the target-culture, which, in turn, reduces the translator to an invisible being. This study presents the following as its research findings and suggestions. First, a wide range of reviews(both domestic and international) of Please Look After Mom exhibit a marked preference and high evaluation for a fluent, transparent, smooth translation. Venuti's comments about ‘invisibility of translator’ and ‘the ethnocentric violence of translation’ seems to be born out in this study(Venuti, 1995, p. 1 & p. 16). Such a finding leads us to suggest that the domestication/foreignization is not simply a matter of personal choice on part of the translator, but rather a matter which is influenced and controlled by much bigger social factors. Secondly, this paper hopes to further stimulate academic interest in translation book reviews, as they can serve as sources to assess the general expectations and opinions towards translation in a given society. Literary reviews of Please Look After Mom largely lack comments about translation and even when such comments were offered, reviewers restricted themselves to commenting on a superficial level. It is hoped that reviewers will adopt a wider spectrum of perspectives on translation and incorporate translation theories into the practice of reviewing.