A Study on Korean-into-German Translation of Cultural References by Texttyp, Textsorte and Cultural Category

This study analyzed the translation pattern by Texttypen, centered around cultural references. Reiß (1971) argued that translation strategies differ depending on the function of texts and attempted to come up with text typology, suggesting four Texttypen, which are informative, expressive, operative and multi-medial Texttyp. Based on the text typology, a number of studies have been carried out on translation strategies for each text in the field of translation study.
However, there have been only a few studies that analyze translation strategies by comparing various texts. Since different strategies are applied depending on Texttyp, it is expected that the functions, characteristics and translation methods of each Texttyp will become more obvious if translation aspects of various texts are compared. Aside from this, diverse variables including Textsorten, themes and mediums are expected to affect translation strategies. To figure this out, this study analyzed translation strategies in relation to Texttyp and Textsorte, centered around cultural references.
Cultural references refer to vocabularies that characterize a society and possess cultural aspects to which members of other societies could be unfamiliar. Therefore, cultural references that only exist in one cultural area can cause difficulties in translation. As it is presumed that various strategies are used in translating cultural references which cause difficulties in translation, the study focused on cultural references.
The following texts are selected as targets of the study: Texts from Korea Tourism Organization and KOREANA were selected for informative texts; Novel texts (『Land』, 『Der Gast』, 『Der entstellte Held』) for expressive texts; and Movie texts (『War of the Wizards - Das Duell der Magier hat begonnen』, 『Untold Scandal』, 『War of the Arrows』, 『Blades of Blood』, 『JSA - Joint Security Area』, 『The Berlin File』, 『Shiri』, 『Brotherhood』, 『The Big Swindle』, 『Memories of Murder』, 『My Mother, the Mermaid』, 『Friend』) for multi-medial texts.
This study classified cultural references by cultural categories suggested by Bierstedt (1957). Based on the translation model suggested by Aixela, this study simplified and restructured the translation model to study translation aspects of cultural references in various Texttypen and Textsorten.
In 4.1, the study looked at the dispersion of cultural references by each cultural catagory. This could be understood as a preliminary step of analyzing translation of cultural references. In 4.2, the study analyzed the translation aspects of cultural references in each Texttyp and Textsorte. Two strategies have been identified: ‘Conservation Strategy’ which aims to maintain the original form and meaning of cultural references and ‘Substitution Strategy’ which aims to change cultural references into more familiar words of target countries. Depending on Texttyp and Textsorte, the use rates of the two strategies differed. In 4.3, this study analyzed on which strategies the translation of cultural references are based. Through this analysis, it was found that not only Texttyp but also each Textsorte included in each Texttyp have influence on translation aspects.
In 4.4, the study looked at the correlations among Texttypen, cultural catagories and cultural references. As a result, it was revealed that translation strategies of cultural references that belong to specific cultural category are similar to each other, regardless of Texttyp.
In 4.5, translation aspects of cultural references that appear when texts are categorized by the initial text typology theory by Reiß were compared and analyzed. Afterwards, the translation aspects of cultural references were compared by putting multi-medial texts with audiovisual elements as a subtype based on the revised text typology theory by Reiß. The analysis confirmed that there are differences in translation methods of Textsorten of each Texttyp. Then, subject texts of this study were realigned by the types of media and translation aspects of cultural references in print media, audiovisual media and electronic media were studied.
By this study, the functionalist translation theory that argues translation aspects differ by Texttypen was confirmed. Furthermore, it was learned that translation of Textsorten of each Texttypen is affected by various elements such as function, theme and media. In addition, elements including cultural catagory, lexical characteristic, time and spatial constraints also have an impact on the translation. This study result is expected to contribute to studies on translation of cultural references, Korean-to-German translation and education as well as interpretation and translation practices.