Role of Translation in the Rise of Asian Graphic Novels

Abstract

Accessibility is the key that unlocks the diversity of world literature and translation is the cornerstone upon which accessibility depends. Translation has been and still is a nexus between varied cultures, traditions and land, which paves the way for cultural synthesis. Graphic novel is one among the harbingers of this cultural synthesis. Mini stories illustrated through animated sketches and dialogues, graphic novels, a rising genre in literature, with the aid of translation, pass on histories, cultures, traditions and also foreground many social issues which exist within different nations. This work focuses upon the history of graphic novels, the contribution of translation in the genre’s rise, and the analysis of two representative graphic novels, “Grass” originally written in Korean by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim and translated by Janet Hong and “My Brother’s Husband” initially written in Japanese by GengorohTagame and translated by Anne Ishii. Through this, the paper provides a better understanding on how translation assisted the growth of Asian graphic novels and thereby carried across the voices of the unheard. The fact that a broader picture of culture, histories and social issues are illustrated through translation is portrayed in the analysis, thereby stating its importance in a reading public and growing economy.