중한 선협 웹소설의 문화소 번역 연구 : 거래비용 모델을 중심으로

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study investigates the translation patterns of culture-specific items （CSIs） in Korean translations of Chinese xianxia web novels from the perspective of transaction costs, with particular attention to how readability influences translators' selection of translation strategies and the applicability of the existing transaction cost model.
Given that the ultimate goal of translation is to overcome cultural differences, this study defines CSIs as cultural elements that may hinder communication owing to differences in cultural background.
Building on the classification frameworks proposed by Nida, Newmark, and Lee Seok-cheol （2021）, this study classifies CSIs into seven categories by additionally introducing proper nouns to reflect the characteristics of web novel translation. It further adopts Aixela's （1996） taxonomy of CSI translation strategies, classifying them into three major types: preservation, substitution, and omission.
The corpus of this study consists of three representative Chinese xianxia web novels—Three Lives Three Worlds: Bu Sheng Lian II: Shenqi （三生三世步生蓮·貳：神祇）, Heaven Official's Blessing （天官赐福）, and Lost You Forever I: As First Meeting （长相思1：如初见）—together with their Korean translations. Selected excerpts were analyzed to identify CSIs and examine their translation patterns. Both lexical items and multi-word expressions were included, and repeated occurrences translated differently were treated as independent cases.
The findings show that linguistic CSIs constitute the largest category and that substitution accounts for 76% of all translation strategies. This suggests that translators actively prioritize readability by reducing readers' cognitive burden, indicating that readability is a major factor influencing the selection of CSI translation strategies.
Unlike conventional literary translation, web novel translation requires translators not only to convey meaning accurately but also to improve readability by adjusting sentence length, paragraph organization, punctuation, and other textual features. These interventions are intended to enhance readers' immersion and reading continuity beyond ensuring basic comprehensibility, yet they cannot be adequately explained by the existing concepts of information processing cost and information comprehension cost alone.
To address this limitation, this study proposes a new concept—information comprehension optimization cost—which refers to the additional cost incurred by translators to enhance readers' reading experience after semantic transfer has been successfully achieved. Unlike information processing cost, it is an optional cost associated with strategic interventions that improve readability, reduce readers' cognitive burden, and maintain reading continuity. Rather than replacing existing transaction cost concepts, it complements and extends the current model by accounting for the distinctive characteristics of web novel translation.
Information comprehension optimization cost should not be regarded as a replacement for either information processing cost or information comprehension cost. Rather, it complements and extends the existing transaction cost model by accounting for the distinctive characteristics of web novel translation. While the conventional transaction cost model primarily explains the costs involved in the production and comprehension of translated texts, the newly proposed concept accounts for the additional interventions undertaken by translators to improve readers' reading experience. Its primary function is to reduce readers' information comprehension cost while enhancing readability. Given that sustained reader engagement is crucial in web novels, translators are required not only to transfer information from the source text but also to modify the translated text so that readers can consume, read, and understand the information more quickly and effortlessly. Such interventions—including the adjustment of CSIs, sentence length, information condensation, paragraph organization, and punctuation—may all be regarded as manifestations of information comprehension optimization cost.
Accordingly, the proposed concept expands the explanatory scope of the transaction cost model and suggests its applicability to translation studies involving digital and online content.
Nevertheless, this study has several limitations. Because the corpus was limited to a small number of texts, it could not fully account for differences in individual translators' stylistic preferences or linguistic habits. In addition, the classification of CSIs inevitably involved subjective judgment and may have omitted certain categories. Furthermore, since information comprehension optimization cost is proposed for the first time in this study, its validity should be further examined through analyses of a wider range of genres and translation cases. Future research may extend the analysis to other web novel genres, such as wuxia and romance fantasy, or empirically investigate the relationship between information comprehension optimization cost and readers' actual reception through reader-response studies.
The findings provide useful implications for the selection of translation strategies in Korean translations of Chinese xianxia web novels and contribute to the advancement of web novel translation studies.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. 서론 1
• 1.1 연구 목적 1
• 1.2 선행 연구 3
• 1.3 연구 대상과 연구 방법 8
• 2. 이론적 배경 14
• 2.1 선협 웹소설 문화소의 번역 14
• 2.2 번역에서의 거래비용 이론 33
• 3. 문화소와 번역전략 39
• 3.1 문화소 분포 39
• 3.2 문화소 번역전략 사용 빈도 45
• 4. 문화소 번역전략과 거래비용 53
• 4.1 문화소 번역전략 비용 분석 53
• 4.1.1 고유명사 53
• 4.1.2 생태문화소 59
• 4.1.3 물질문화소 65
• 4.1.4 제도문화소 73
• 4.1.5 관습문화소 80
• 4.1.6 관념문화소 88
• 4.1.7 언어문화소 96
• 4.2 선협 웹소설에서의 거래비용 모델 112
• 5. 결론 122
• 참고문헌 129
• ABSTRACT 136