This thesis started from a burning question of how a translator manages terms which include an author’s intention. An author’s intention is reflected in the graduation of meanings of words in a text, which has positivity, neutrality, and negativity. Korean suffixes also have such graduation of meanings. Therefore, through the use of Korean suffixes which have graduation of meanings, a translator may express an author''s intention.
In this study, this author tried to find that a translator actually used Korean suffixes to express an author''s intention. To analyze the hypothesis, this author chose Moby-Dick as a case study text. To define which Korean suffixes have graduation of meanings, Appraisal Theory based on Systemic Functional Linguistics was used. Since the Appraisal Theory classifies expressions by meanings, one can easily match and compare the expressions between Korean and English in spite of the different grammatical systems.
Moby-Dick has a lot of symbolized expressions in the text, so a translator has to find proper words which have the same graduation of meanings. In Moby-Dick, the writer divides the concept of nature, a whale, and people of various races into two. The divided concepts are expressed as good or bad objects. The divided concepts are essential to the story because the writer shows that the binary concepts are not real, and the object is always one. Therefore, expressing binary concepts is really important for a translator when they translate Moby-Dick into Korean.
In the actual case studies, a translator used Korean suffixes to express the binary feelings of Moby-dick, too. To show the divided concept, the translator used Korean suffixes frequently. They are used for expressing the dreadful power of nature, contrasting images of whales, appearance of whales, and social prejudices of racially diverse people.
In the case studies, when the translator kept consistency of story and words, the Korean suffixes which have graduation of meanings expressed an author''s intention successfully.