The purpose of this paper is to describe how culture-specific items in the novel 『순이삼촌』 Suni Samch’on by Hyun Ki-young were translated into English in the two translated texts Suni-Samch''on (Lee Jeong-hi''s English version (TT1) and Song Jong Do''s (TT2)). The theoretical framework adopted in this thesis is Gutt''s (2000) relevance-based translation theory in which translation is viewed as an act of communication and the relation between source text and target text is in interpretive resemblance. The two TTs will be analyzed in terms of direct and indirect translation based on how much they resemble their source text and finally how optimally relevant they are. For this purpose, by taking Aixela''s (1996) definition of culture-specific items, cultural categories have been divided into proper nouns, words regarding the specific culture, idioms, the units of weights and measures, and expressions originating from the customary usage of language. Not only are culture specific items examined, but also intratextual, textual, and supratextual parameters are explored in this study.
The results of the analysis of the two TTs will be given quantitatively by means of using two frameworks, a mixed use of direct and indirect translation and indirect translation. What TT1 and TT2 have in common is that indirect translation is dominant, but the ratio of the translation corresponding to optimal relevance is different; the ratio of TT1 is 81% and that of TT2 is 58%. This means that TT1 is better than TT2 in terms of optimal relevance. In addition, the difference suggests that TT1 focuses on the interpretive resemblance as complete as possible because the purpose of translation is to teach foreign students Korean literature and culture. On the other hand, TT2 does not reach the level of optimal relevance as far as the translation of culture specific items is concerned. The primary reason for this is that it fails to take potential readers into consideration as the translator told me(personal communication). The results of these analyses prove that to obtain a translation of optimal relevance, culture-specific items in ST are transferred to TT through direct and/ or indirect translation depending on the situation in which cognitive environments are envisaged between ST and TT.
In conclusion, the main reason culture-specific items in ST are forced to be translated through direct and/ or indirect translation is that optimal relevance can be achieved only through interpretive resemblance resulting from such translation: in the cases where the referent of ST exists in TT, direct translation can be used. On the other hand, indirect translation can be utilized due to semantic and pragmatic loss which cultural differences give rise to between ST and TT.
In spite of drawing these results, this thesis cannot but have a limitation to its study because of its limited data to insist that culture-specific items be compelled to be translated to the target text to gain a translation of optimal relevance through direct and indirect translation, within the relevance-based translation theory. This thesis, however, suggests that in the future the translation of Korean literature be carried out not by a binary but by a mixed strategy of direct and/ or indirect translation so as to transfer not the partial but the overall meaning of the ST.