Sociolinguistic differences between Japanese and English as seen through English translations of Manga

honors thesisCollege of HumanitiesWorld Languages & CulturesMamiko SuzukiManga (Japanese graphic novels) is a growing market in the United States and allows readers from foreign countries access to literature in a way that is enjoyable and easily accessible. However, translating manga from Japanese to English provides an interesting challenge as the Japanese language encodes several sociolinguistic features such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, etc. (Hofstede) that are not as heavily encoded in English. Important features may be lacking in the English translation and may cause learners to miss out on something a Japancese reader might not have. How do translators choose to interpret the original text and present it? Should native English learners of Japanese only use these materials when studying? Manga that display either a Western setting or Japanese setting will be evaluated first in the original Japanese text for lexical items and situations that express one of Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Equivalents will then be searched for in the English text. Factors such as the American publishing company, individual American translators, the Japanese publishing company, and the original Japanese author will not be taken into consideration unless a pattern emerges