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Paper short abstract

Analysing both original texts and possible translations, my paper discusses the necessity to translate more Japanese multilingual and translingual literary works proposing a methodology based on foundational concepts within translation theory to approach such texts as inherently translational.

Paper long abstract

In this paper, I draw upon my ongoing experience translating Levy Hideo’s work Ten’anmon (1996) and my research findings to discuss why it is necessary to translate more Japanese multilingual texts and to propose a specific methodology based on foundational concepts within Translation Theory, specifically Nida’s principles of formal and functional equivalence and Venuti’s foreignization strategy to achieve such result.

According to my analysis, Japanese multilingual literary texts often include what I call a “hidden translator,” a presence, often disguised as the main character or the narrator, who simultaneously enhances the text’s accessibility for monolingual readers and reflects the author’s emotional engagement with different languages. Such stylistic device marks the original texts as inherently translational with this aspect typically manifesting in two ways which I refer to as Cosmetic Monolingualism and Functional Multilingualism.

Cosmetic Monolingualism allows the text to hint at its multilingual nature without showing it directly, instead relying on translation that happens off the page, Functional Multilingualism openly shows several languages within the text but still caters to readers familiar with only one language through techniques such as using furigana as translations, repeating phrases in multiple languages, or offering sufficient context so readers’ understanding remains unaffected. Consequently, it is essential to approach multilingual texts through the lens of Translation in order to consider the role of multiple languages and scripts in the source text, before proceeding to translate it aiming to faithfully conveying the narrator’s emotional connection to each language.