earticle

영어

Because of Japan’s 50-year colonization of Korea and similarities between Korean and Japanese languages, there are a number of Koreans who can speak Japanese very fluently. Therefore, a general perception has developed that Japanese-Korean translation do not need to be performed by a professional translator. Because of this belief and practice, texts that lack consistency in terms of content and style have often been produced. However, significantly important is a translation’s ‘evaluation’ by its readers. This paper studies the acceptability of translations based on the reader’s preference of translation style rather than merely comparing the source text to the target text. The data used in this study are eight elements of a Japanese text translated into Korean by two different translators at two different periods. Results of this study, which show that specific styles of translation are more preferred by readers, may have implications for future translation studies research as the focus and interest of research in translation studies has been shifting from ‘internal structure’ to ‘effects’ of the product and the product itself.