Translating for Children: A Case Study of Korean-to-English Picture Books

The publication of picture books in Korea has been greatly increased since 2000. As the quality of the picture books improves, they began to export to other English-speaking countries. Following Klingberg s (1986) cultural adaptation categories, this study examined how Korean-into-English translated picture books were culturally adapted in different ways. With 18 source texts (STs) and 19 target texts (TTs), seven ways to cultural context adaptation were found. Explanation outside the text was the most frequently used, followed by explanation within the text and explanatory translation. In addition, features specifically related to picture books were also examined. As the present study targets picture books, one can assume that illustrations can suggest better understandings to potential foreign readers despite their different cultural background. Thus, further studies on how books for children are culturally mediated without illustrations or with the combination of illustration and translated cultural elements are expected.