Loan Wording vs Cultural Substitution: Study of Thai University Students’ Perception of Translation Techniques Used in Translated Literature ‘The Happiness of Kati’

บทคัดย่อ

In the past decade, the demand for the English translation of Thai literature has increased due to the effect of globalization. To efficiently translate one language to another, translation techniques are commonly employed by translators (Larson, 1998). However, the prejudice toward a specific variation of English and translation techniques could limit the options to produce truly beautiful and understandable translation works. Therefore, this study aims to investigate students' perception of two types of translation techniques namely loan wording and cultural substitution. The objectives of the study are to answer three research questions: 1) Which version of translated excerpts that the majority of the students found to be more comprehensible?, 2) Between loan wording and cultural substitution, what is the most suitable strategy according to the students’ opinion?, and 3) What are the main reasons for the selection of a specific version? The study compares 10 excerpts (short text) that are English translations of text from the Thai novel 'The Happiness of Kati' in terms of their comprehensibility. The participants consisted of 2 male and 2 female third-year English major students from the faculty of humanities and social sciences, at Khon Kaen University.            The instruments used in this study were a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The study employed the use of a mixed-method design for gathering and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. The result shows that the majority of the students disagreed with the use of the loan wording technique while the cultural substitution technique was usually seen as an appropriate choice regardless of the translator's knowledge, experience, and well-established background. The reasons behind the students’ decisions are mainly the understandability of foreign readers who are not familiar with the Thai language or culture, the preservation of the Thai culture's cultural undertone in the translated text, and the need for sufficient description and appropriateness in an international context.