A comparative analysis of the English and Slovene translations of Mieko Kawakami's Chichi to Ran and Natsu Monogatari : magistrsko delo

Barovič Božjak, Laura (author), Currie, Oliver (mentor), Hmeljak Sangawa, Kristina (mentor)

Japanese literature has been translated into English since at least the mid-19th century, while Slovene translations came later and were often indirectly translated through other languages. Japanese literature has experienced a boom in the last few years. This includes Mieko Kawakami’s works, such as her novel Natsu Monogatari (夏物語; lit. ‘Summer Stories’ or ‘Natsu’s Story’), which was translated into English in 2020 as Breasts and Eggs, and into Slovene in 2022 as Vsa moja poletja (lit. ‘All of my Summers’). The first half of the novel is a rewritten version of the 2008 novella Chichi to Ran (乳と卵; lit. ‘Breasts and Eggs’). The two translations of Natsu Monogatari were chosen for this analysis as they are both direct translations of contemporary Japanese literature and were published only two years apart. The aim of this thesis is to determine how different translators handle the same text, with a focus on the handling of culture-specific items (CSIs), regional dialects, as well as stylistic choices. CSIs were analyzed through Aixelá’s theory of strategies for translating CSIs. The analysis showed that both translations used a similar mixture of conservation and substitution strategies but differed in how they explained certain CSIs to readers, e.g., with extratextual glosses which only the Slovene version used. Both also used a standard dialect when translating the Osaka dialect from the source text. As a result, a partial translation of the novella Chichi to Ran was included in this analysis, as the translator chose to use a Mancunian dialect which they deemed equivalent to the Osaka dialect. Paratextual choices were also considered to determine the status of the translators and whether a translation is overt or covert. The analysis, although limited in scope, sought to compare two literary markets and their impact on individual translations.

• Language: English
• Keywords: translation, culture-specific items, paratext, Japanese, English
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: [Barovič Božjak, L.]
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 143 str.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-174641
• UDC: 81'25(=521)
• COBISS.SI-ID: 256502019
• Publication date in RUL: 08.10.2025

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Primerjalna analiza angleških in slovenskih prevodov del Chichi to Ran in Natsu Monogatari avtorice Mieko Kawakami

Abstract

Japonska literatura se v angleščino prevaja že vsaj od sredine 19. stoletja, prevajanje v slovenščino pa se je začelo pozneje, prevodi pa so pogosto bili ustvarjeni posredno prek drugih jezikov. Japonska literatura je v zadnjih letih doživela pravi razcvet, kar vključuje tudi dela avtorice Mieko Kawakami. Njen roman Natsu Monogatari (夏物語; dobesedno »Poletne zgodbe« ali »Natsujina zgodba«) je bil leta 2020 preveden v angleščino pod naslovom Breasts and Eggs (dobesedno »Prsi in jajčeca«), leta 2022 pa v slovenščino pod naslovom Vsa moja poletja. Prva polovica romana je predelana različica novele Chichi to Ran (乳と卵; dobesedno »Prsi in jajčeca«) iz leta 2008. Za cilje te naloge sta bila izbrana prevoda romana Natsu Monogatari, ker sta oba neposredna prevoda sodobne japonske literature ter ker sta bila objavljena le dve leti narazen. Z analizo prevodov sem raziskala kako različni prevajalci obravnavajo isto besedilo, s poudarkom na kulturno specifičnih izrazih, regionalnih narečjih in stilističnih izbirah. Kulturno specifični izrazi so bili analizirani z teorijo raziskovalca Aixelá za strategije prevajanja kulturno specifičnih izrazov. Analiza je pokazala, da sta oba prevoda uporabila podobno mešanico strategij ohranjanja in zamenjave, vendar sta se razlikovala v tem, kako sta bralcem pojasnila določene kulturno specifične izraze, npr. z zunajbesedilnimi glosarji, ki jih je uporabila le slovenska različica. Oba sta pri prevajanju osaškega narečja iz izvornega besedila uporabila standardno različico jezika, zato je bil v to analizo vključen delni prevod novele Chichi to Ran, v katerem se je prevajalka odločila za uporabo manchestrskega narečja. Upoštevane so bile tudi paratekstualne izbire, da bi se določilo status prevajalcev in ali je prevod odkrit ali prikrit. Analiza, čeprav omejena, je primerjala dva literarna trga in njun vpliv na posamezne prevode.

• Keywords: prevajalstvo, kulturno specifični izrazi, paratekst, japonščina, angleščina