This study delves into the universe of sijo, classical Korean chant poetry, through a formal and thematic analysis of the anthological work “Sijô: Poesiacanto Coreana Clássica”, the only sijo compendium translated into Brazilian Portuguese by Yun Jung In and Alberto Marsicano in 1994. The research explores the origin of sijo, its recurring themes and examines its musical aspect and graphic layout. Based on the compilation by Yun Jung Im and Alberto Marsicano, the work seeks to uncover the most important characteristics of this poetic genre, revealing its beauty and cultural richness. In this case, the translation of the work in question plays a crucial role as a tool of intertextuality. By introducing sijo to the Brazilian public, the translation opens doors to cultural dialogue and to the formation of cultural identities of chant poetry in Brazil. Therefore, this work also seeks to examine, through an intertextual-cultural analysis, how the translation of sijo can inspire new translators to venture into this poetic genre. The theoretical basis will be Kristeva (1974) on intertextuality and translation as an intertextual process; Bakhtin (2003) on translation as dialogue; Bassnett (2002) on the role of translation in fostering intercultural dialogue involving peripheral cultures; and Venuti (1998) on the formation of cultural identities. At the end of the research, we hope to be able to affirm that, by having access to concrete, high-quality examples, Brazilian translators can be inspired by the forms and techniques of sijo, expanding the range of poetic possibilities in our language and that the translation of sijo contributes to expanding knowledge about Korean culture, stimulating intercultural dialog and opening the way to new poetic creations.

Toward the end of her recently published Eloge de la traduction, protesting in typically rebellious mode against the inhumanity of the migrant camps in Calais, the distinguished French Hellenist, philologist, and theorist of the ‘untranslatable’, Barbara Cassin, reflects on the deeply apposite word ‘entre’ in French, split as it is between the prepositional Latin root inter-, -- thus pivotal to any thinking of difference and translation, or of any interval between two -- and as an imperative form of the verb entrer (to enter); in the context of migration and the refugee crisis, it becomes thus for her the most hospitable word on the border separating insider from outsider, while at the same time figuring translation at the heart of the deeply ambivalent nature of hospitality.

Somewhat surprisingly, readers of Tony Hillerman’s extraordinary Diné/Navajo crime novels have never paid attention to the fascinating role that translation, more often untranslatability, plays in many of them. This often comes at quite pivotal moments in the plot and is crucial to the process of interpreting and reading, both metaphorically and literally, as the two central characters and tribal policemen, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, set out to solve the most puzzling and seemingly impenetrable of crimes, in the time-honoured mode of detection as decryption.

As well as thrilling and compelling story-telling, I see Hillerman’s novels as culturally significant in their treatment of the complex question of communicability between contemporary Native American communities (principally Diné, Hopi and Zuni), and their richly diverse language, myths, spiritual beliefs and ceremonies (notably what can or cannot be spoken about), and the non-Native world that surrounds them. The novels also dramatize the forms of protest available to these communities in the context of the longer devastating history of American colonial oppression and cultural eradication. I will focus my own reading on two such ‘scenes of translation’, from Talking God (1989) and Coyote Waits (1990), arguing that alongside translation and untranslatability, the shape-shifting figure of anamorphosis is mobilised to powerful and telling narrative effect by Hillerman.

References

Barbara Cassin, Vocabulaire européen des philosophies : Dictionnaire des intraduisibles : Paris : Seuil/Le Robert, 2004. [English translation, Emily Apter et al eds, Dictionary of Untranslatables, Princeton University Press, 2014).

Barbara Cassin, Eloge de la traduction [In praise of Translation]. Paris : Fayard, 2016.

Tony HIllerman, Talking God. New York: Harper Collins, 1989.

Tony Hillerman, Coyote Waits. New York: Harper Collins, 1990.

The Book of Changes is the oldest and most profound classic in China. It is philosophical and literary, concise and implicit in language, and has three connotations of words, images and meanings. The hexagrams and lines are full of vivid interpretation images. Since the 17th century, the Book of Changes has been translated and introduced to Europe, and has been widely spread. According to the currently available references, Portuguese Jesuit Álvaro de Semedo was a pioneer in introducing the Book of Changes to the West. Although his understanding was not very deep, he laid the foundation for cultural exchange between China and the West. Subsequently, many missionaries, Sinologists, and scholars from the Portuguese-speaking world began to translate and study the Book of Changes, breaking through religious barriers and exerting a sustained and widespread influence in Portuguese-speaking regions. From the translation of the famous contemporary Portuguese sinologist Joaquim A. de Guerra, it can be seen that he is committed to cultural communication between China and Portugal, integrating the understanding and interpretation of the translated texts by Chinese and Western scholars, paying attention to the relationship between The Self and the Other, exploring the richness of culture, and making his cultural communication between China and Portugal have distinct cultural interpretation characteristics. Although there are still areas for debate regarding Joaquim Guerra’s translation methods and techniques, given his understanding of Chinese philosophical thought, his translated interpretations can help Portuguese readers understand the culture and wisdom of the Chinese nation, and also influence the creations of Portuguese linguists. Through the analysis of the novel Ovelhas Negras of Caio Fernando Abreu and the poetry collections O Sol, a Lua e a Via do Fio de Seda: Uma leitura do Yi Jing of Fernanda Dias, Para ter onde ir of Max Martins, and O Ex-estranho of Paulo Leminski, it can be seen that the symbolism and the dialectical unity of “yin” and “yang” in the Book of Changes have resonated emotionally with Portuguese-speaking writers. From creative conception to expression techniques, from content form to language style, all reflect the literary and artistic elements of the Book of Changes in the Portuguese-speaking world.