Translating Japanese Onomatopoeias and Mimesis

New Research in Translation and Interpreting StudiesOctober 20-21, 2006, Tarragona

University of GranadaTranslation and Interpretation Dept.Hiroko INOSE

Structure of the presentation 1) Research question 2) Japanese onomatopoeias and mimesis 3) Methodology 4) Result and analysis 5) Conclusions

Research Question

Which methods do translators adopt in translating Japanese onomatopoeias and mimesis into English and Spanish?

Categorisation and comparison of various methods.

Japanese onomatopoeias and mimesis Onomatopoeias (giongo)

- Words that imitate sounds: human / animal voices or inanimate sounds

Mimesis (gitaigo)

-Words that describe the states that do not produce sounds : emotions, movements or states of the things

- Quite original feature of Japanese language

Japanese onomatopoeias and mimesis Very widely used in all levels of the language Effects: express subtle nuance of the phrase, give

more life to the description of things Very similar in forms and considered as belonging to

the same group of words/expressions, but mimesis have broader grammatical functions

Normally adverbs. Mimesis sometimes function as verbs, adjectives and nouns as well.

One of the challenges to the translators of Japanese literature

Japanese onomatopoeias and mimesis Just one example: warau (to laugh)NIKONIKO warau = to smile (m)KUSUKUSU warau = to chuckle, to giggle (o)GERAGERA warau = to roar with laughter (o) Creation of a verb from mimesis: add the

generic verb, suru (to do)NIKONIKO suru = to smile, to beam (m) …and many other variations to express the

nuance of the basic action

Japanese onomatopoeias and mimesis Forms: specific forms for onomatopoeias /

mimesis. e.g: CVCVCVCV Sound symbolism: Hamano(1998),

Tanno(2005)…association between certain syllables / their combinations and certain images

New words easily created and immediately

understood by native speakers

Methodology

Material: Sputnik no koibito by Haruki Murakami (1999) and its translations into Spanish and English

Author: possibly most famous Japanese contemporary writer, in and out of Japan.

Novel: 16 chapters, 318 pages (original) Data: listing up onomatopoeic and mimetic

expressions in the original, and translations of those phrases in Spanish / English versions

Methodology

Categorising the data by: language, chapter, order of appearance, page, onomatopoeia / mimesis, word class (in the original) and method adopted for the translation (in the translations)

Analysing the methods of translation

Results and Analysis

28 onomatopoeias and 267 mimesis (tot.295) Of which, 78.5% was adverbs in the original, but

only 21.0% (Spanish) and 15.9% (English) in the translations.

9 methods of translation were identified: 1) adverbs 6) idioms 2) adjectives 7) onomatopoeias 3) verbs 8) words combinations 4) nouns 9) omissions or complete 5) paraphrases changes

Results and Analysis

Some of the methods: require more effort of translators than the others

Adverbs/adjectives : most frequent, both modifiers

Verbs: verbs or adverbs in the original Nouns: by itself or with the preposition “con”

or “with” (adverbial function ).And when there is no one word (of any word

class) equivalent in its meaning…

Results and Analysis

Paraphrases: explain the mimesis, but danger of having a redundant phrase, and impose translator’s interpretation.

Cap.14-3 Original: Shikkari to dakishimete ageru beki datttanoda. (Should have held her tightly.) English: …then I should hold her, give her what comfort I could. Spanish…estrecharla fuertemente entre mis brazos…

Results and Analysis

Onomatopoeias: some onomatopoeias in the original are translated by onomatopoeias of TL, but with less variety.

Cap:11-13 Original: Pokipokipokipoki Spanish: ¡Crac!¡Crac!¡Crac!¡Crac! Cap: 11-28 Original : Kotsun. Spanish: ¡Crac!

Results and Analysis

Words combinations: combine / repeat adjectives etc.

Cap.1-1

Original : Kojinmari to shita shiritsu daigaku

(small private college)

English: …cosy little private college.

Very effective, but the translator has to really understand the meaning of the mimesis

Results and Analysis

Omissions: 19% in both translations -Not when those expressions carry the

essential information of the phrases (e.g. as a verb), but only when used as modifiers.

-Still, the omission can cause the loss of complimentary or important information.

Effects: emphasis, visual descriptions, movements, emotions, sounds, nuance of the situations or personalities of the characters…

Results and Analysis

Cap.8-15

Original: Sono te kara kara ni natta gurasu o sotto

toriagete…

(Softly taking her empty glass…)

English: ..taking her empty glass

Spanish. …tomé de su mano la copa vacía.

Conclusion and Further Studies Of 9 methods identified, some (paraphrases,

words combinations, idioms) show more clearly the effort of the translators.

Omission causes the loss of complementary but possibly important information.

Further studies: How are they translated in Manga, the media in which these expressions are used very heavily?