Publications
Publication details [#9866]
Wakabayashi, Judy. 2005. Representations of translators and translation in Japanese fiction. In Delabastita, Dirk and Rainier Grutman, eds. Fictionalising translation and multilingualism. Special issue of Linguistica Antverpiensia: New Series 4: 155–169.
Publication type
Article in Special issue
Publication language
English
Keywords
Source language
Target language
Abstract
This paper examines some 40 Japanese fictional works containing portrayals of translators or translation (here understood as including interpreting). It explores Japanese writers’ use of translation as a metafictional device, the extent to which these works (mis)represent reality, whether they are positive or negative depictions, and the insights they provide into how translators and translation are regarded by Japanese authors and, by extension, the Japanese public. Recurring themes are analyzed, such as marginality and identity issues, power and fidelity, author/translator relations, attitudes toward translators, and translation as a profession and business. Of particular interest is the question of how Japanese depictions might differ from those by Anglo-American writers.
Source : Abstract in journal