The Application of Trauma/PTSD Studies to Translation: Take Several Japanese Novels as an Example

Abstract

This research investigates issues associated with the translation of traumatic literary narratives in different languages. Initially, these narratives are constructed from the traumatic lived experiences of the survivors, serving as a means of recovery and making sense out of their painful experiences. However, in many traumatic literary narratives, when the survivor’s testimonies are represented in different languages and cultures, the foundational social trauma, traumatic aftereffects, and recovery are not adequately conveyed. The absence of a systematic and comprehensive theoretical framework in translation studies may result in translators offering uninformed and insufficient interpretations of traumatic elements in literary works. This issue necessitates a thorough and detailed understanding and perspective to assist translators in recognizing and representing the social trauma within literary works, while also acknowledging their social responsibilities. This study argues that trauma/PTSD studies provides an innovative, most fitting, and practical literary criticism to assist translators in adequately interpreting and appreciating traumatic narratives, as well as other serious literature that has heretofore not been discussed and recognized in psychoanalytical terms, by case studies of the translation examination of five Japanese novels.