By Kim Seong-kon, Professor of English Literature

Many misunderstandings arise due to language barriers and cultural differences. That is why good and precise translation is so difficult, but extremely important. One cannot possibly perceive and fully render so many cultural implications latent in foreign words and expressions. Sometimes misunderstandings can come about even between people using the same language.

A few days ago, a security guard in my apartment complex hurriedly called me on the intercom, saying,"Excuse me, sir, but there is a fire in your car."

"What?" I almost screamed. It was a brand new car that I had bought only a few weeks ago. Naturally, I was stunned and appalled. I yelled at him,"What was that again?"

The security guard repeated,"I said, fire is on in your car, sir." Greatly surprised, I rushed down to the basement parking lot, expecting my car to be burning in flame and smoke. But there was no fire; only the small headlamp near the rearview mirror was on. Then I realized that in the Korean language there is no distinction between"fire" and"light," both of which are called"bul."

Native English speakers who try to translate Korean literature into English would often encounter similar problems and confusions, especially if they were not fluent in the Korean language or quite familiar with Korean culture. For example, a foreigner would translate,"The king did kichim" ("wang keseo kichim hasyotta") into"The king coughed." In fact, however, the expression usually means,"The king woke up," for the Korean word"kichim" means not only coughing but also getting out of bed, especially when the vocabulary is used as an honorific expression. Likewise, the Korean word"aebi" refers to both a father and a married son who has a child. So when the late poet So Chong-ju wrote in his poem,"Aebi was a serf," he meant,"My father was a serf." But when another poet Kim Chi-ha wrote,"Aebi!" in his poem, he meant,"My son!" Another example is the celebrated Korean"Idong Galbi." It could easily be translated into"moving galbi" by a foreign translator because the Korean word"idong" means"moving." In fact, however, it refers to the famous galbi (beef ribs) produced in Idong county. Even native speakers of Korean could be confused by these complicated words. How then, can foreigners understand different usages or render the subtle nuance?

The same thing could happen to Korean translators of foreign languages. In Korean translations of English texts, one can find numerous wrong translations due to the lack of the translator's cultural understanding. For example,"churchyard," which is a graveyard, is frequently mistranslated as a"church garden.""Knock on wood," which means"wish good luck," has been frequently translated as"hit the wood." I have also found that"Mason & Dixon" is wrongfully translated as"two infamous outlaws in Wild West." But the two are actually British surveyors who came to America to survey the colony and eventually drew the line that divided the North and South in the States during the colonial period.

There are many other mistranslations as well. For instance,"prairie dog" is often translated as"wild dog.""Assistant D.A." which is equivalent to a prosecutor in Korea, is almost always translated as"assistant to prosecutor.""Between you and me and the post" which means,"This is a secret between us" is awkwardly interpreted as"There are many obstacles between us." Korean translators tend to translate"Say the magic word" (Say"please") as"Make an incantation,""fall guy" as"a man who loves fall,""full metal jacket" as a metal jacket instead of"a bullet." Recently, a Korean translator translated"Mitsubishi in the swim" as"Mitsubishi is swimming." Obviously, he did not know that"in the swim" means"join the trend,""be fashionable," or"be a faddist."

Due to cultural differences, people sometimes use different words to describe the same situation. When a wife cheats on her husband, for example, Koreans are likely to say that she has lost chastity. But English speaking people would say that she has lost fidelity. This indicates that in Korea"chastity" is the primary concern, whereas in English speaking country"faithfulness" to her spouse, seems more important than simply losing her chastity. Other times, the concept of a word varies depending on countries. For instance, many Koreans confuse"sympathizing with North Korea" with progressivism, and"violent demonstrations" with democratization.

In the past, a translator simply translated a foreign text word by word. Consequently, wrong translations were inevitable and rampant. Today's translators, however, should comprehend the whole context and render the cultural implications hidden beneath words and expressions more fully. This implies that translators should be an expert not only on the target language but also on the culture and psychology of the people who speak the language. Today, a translator is no longer considered a traitor, but a cultural mediator. It definitely is not easy to mediate cultures, and yet we should try very hard to do so.