요새 취미가 필요한 터라 요새 큰 프로젝트를 하나 시도합니다.
바로 제가 제일 좋아하는 판타지 작가 이영도의 작품, 폴라리스 랩소디를 영어로 번역하기로 마음먹었습니다. 누군가로부터 의뢰를 받은것도 아니고 그냥 팬심에서 제가 그야말로 '그냥' 번역을 하고 있습니다.
워낙에 제가 아끼는 작품인 만큼, 신중을 가해서 번역을 시작합니다. 결과가 좋으면 진짜 번역 출판이 되어서 이 작품을 영미권에 알리는 계기가 되었으면 하는 제 소박한 바람이고요.
일단 저는 캐나다에 살고 있고, 한 몇년간 번역 코스를 여기 토론토에서 가르친 적도 있습니다. 그래도 전문 번역가는 아니다 보니 많이 부족하지만 꾸역꾸역 짬을 내며 번역을 시작했습니다. 그리고 주변에 지인 둘(전혀 한글을 모르지만 글을 쓰는 친구들)에게 보여주면서 자문을 구하는 방식으로 추진해나가고 있습니다.
일단 첫 소절 조금 여기 올려 보겠습니다.
POLARIS RHAPSODY
A sailor hanging on a mast, that is who I am.
Stole my captain’s pie while he’s away.
Angry as he can be, my captain yells at me,
You! You! May Kie Draven take away your soul.
And soon enough, the famous pirate attacked our ship.
Kie Draven, an infamous pirate with a big bounty to his name.
Steals everything he can as long as it’s on the sea.
The notorious pirate yelled as he captured my captain.
Ha! Hee! Ho! Bring out the wooden plank!
My poor captain nearly peed his pants.
Long spread a plank on the deck.
My captain, trembling. Kie Draven poked his back.
Leaving only a scream, the captain splashed into the sea.
Ha! Hee! Ho! The ship must follow the captain!
Oh our poor ship, they punctured a hole in its hull.
I managed to survive, thanks to the mast.
Roamed the vast sea on the broken wood.
When I saw a mast from the horizons I gave a shout;
“Help! Please help! Help this poor wet sailor on a mast!”
Got back on land thanks to a Zamarsian cargo ship.
Looking at the clouds and learning the wind,
They say that life of a boatman is really nice.
But here’s what I have to say
It’s much better singing sailor songs in a pub!
How will you ever survive holding on to a freakin mast!
The imperial year 1024
About a quarter century past the millennium, this was a year that brought lots of memorable moments and also an abundance of uncertainty to those living through it. After a long war against the Great Wizard Hinox, this was an optimistic period of revival and reconciliation for the empire. But over on the ocean, thanks to the fact that major fleets of various nations had completely been devastated, the Great Pirate Kie ‘Northwind’ Draven commenced indiscriminate raids on the ships belonging to the empire. The Great Pirate’s violence was at a scale that no one could handle.
But ironically, this turned out to be a great time for those working in the sea, since it ended up making the costs of shipping and wages for the sailors skyrocket. As it is commonly known, those ‘superstitious-to-the-bone’ seamen aren’t very afraid of concrete, tangible fears like typhoons or pirates. There is a phrase that goes: if you want to scare seamen, it is better to take a big white sheet to cover yourself with, rather than taking a fleet of well armed ships. So as strange as it may be, the southern seaway was going through an unprecedented golden era of prosperity, thanks to Kie Draven.
And in the spring of year 1024, a beautiful princess was on that southern seaway, on her way to marry a knight commander in a country far away. Juliana Karmilkar; a beauty so extravagant that it created waves of chatter and rumble across various high social circles from an early age. She was the third princess of King Rahimton, the ruler of Karmilkar Kingdom.
The rumor that she was finally getting married, and especially to the commanding knight of The Holy Pilmarion Knighthood, was a sensational story and it spread like wildfire to all of those in the empire. It spread so much that even the most common of the commoners would hear of it.
일단 관심을 가져주셔서 감사합니다. 좀 많은 양이 쌓이면 번역물을 온라인 게시판에 연재하고 싶네요.