ルイス・キャロルの翻訳をめぐる風景(<特集>文学の翻訳)

概要

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<特集>文学の翻訳The two world-famous works of Lewis Carroll, Alice's adventures in Wonderland and Through the looking glass are considered as some of the most difficult literature to be translated into a foreign language. This is due not only to the works' extraordinary fantasy but also the frequency of linguistic wordplays that are so extravagant and deeply rooted in the author's mother tongue that pose insuperable linguistic barrier to successful translation. These difficulties are significantly higher in the case of translation to the Japanese language due to the latter's profound difference with English. But, it is interesting to note that there are numerous and various translations of these works in Japan. Why do we have so many works of translation in spite of this perceived difficulty? I think the answer lies in the somewhat less rigid linguistic system of the Japanese language. This allows Japanese translators to manipulate the texts with creative imagination. In this essay, the principal Japanese translations will be discussed in the reference of French, German and Russian translations, primarily focusing on the challenges to wordplay difficulties.