抄録
One of the difficulties in translation is to translate culture-specific words or concepts. This paper explores the issue of “equivalent effect” by cultural sub- stitution, focusing especially on its effectiveness by analysing its advantages and disadvantages in literary texts. Two examples are investigated, both from Donald Keene’s translation of 斜陽 (shayo) by Osamu Dazai. Although the examples discussed in this paper are limited, this study suggests that both benefits and difficulties result from cultural substitution. As is often said, there is no perfect translation. However, when making a decision in translating culture-specific words or concepts, the benefits and difficulties of cultural substitution should be taken into consideration, as it may prove a useful technique in some context.
