Abstract
The essay examines Sartre’s literary works published before 1950. It first provides an overview of the Japanese and Chinese translations of these works in East Asia between 1938 and 1975, before delving into a detailed analysis of some of the works that have been translated multiple times. The differences among different versions of translation in the case of Japanese translations of Sartre’s works can be attributed to various interpretations of specific terms as well as different linguistic conventions and sentence segmentation styles. In the case of Chinese translations of Sartre’s works, the divergences between versions are much greater than the case of Japanese translations, and the divergences primarily stem from distinct translation strategies, variations in source material, and the uneven impact of war situations to the translators, with the latter two factors closely intertwined with the translators’ experiences during the Second World War and/or the Cold War. Conversely, this phenomenon also reflects the varying experiences of displacement or even diaspora of the translators during the war periods. By conducting these investigations, this essay aims to outline the East Asian translators’ wartime experiences and understand the implications of these experiences on their translation strategies when working on Sartre’s fictions, especially in the case of Chinese translations.
Presenters
Sabrina, Choi Kit YeungAssistant Professor, Chinese, The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, China
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—Traveling Concepts: The Transfer and Translation of Ideas in the Humanities
KEYWORDS
Jean-Paul Sartre; East Asia; Wartime Experiences; Diaspora; Translation
