『마당을 나온 암탉』의 아랍어 번역에 관한 고찰

A Study on the Arabic Translation of “The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly”, Arabic Language & Literature

The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly”, a children’s fairy tale by Summi Hwang, has enjoyed continued popularity in Korea since its publication in 2000. Its publication rights have been sold in 29 countries, attesting to its growing international reputation. The Arabic version was translated from the English, not from the original Korean, and published in 2014. This study aims to compare the original and the translated English and Arabic versions and examine their translation strategies for culture specific references, as well as onomatopoeic and mimetic words, which are frequently used in children’s fables to strengthen educational effects. As the background of the book is limited and its characters are animals, Korean culture specific references are not often used. However, the onomatopoeic and mimetic words of animals frequently appear and idiomatic words are present more than usual in the original version. About 80 percent of the onomatopoeias are translated into their Arabic correspondences. Meanwhile, the Arabic translation of the mimetic words failed to achieve equivalent effects in most cases, even without additional description or explanation, as the Arabic language has a relatively small inventory of mimetic words. The findings of this study imply the necessity for further research on how to translate Korean onomatopoeic and mimetic words that have no correspondences in Arabic in order to enhance speakability of children’s books.