Revisiting ‘Relay Translation’

Exploring Translated Works of Picture Book Author Hasegawa Yoshifumi

Abstract

“Relay translation” is a concept where a text is translated from one language to another and then subsequently into another language—for example, from Danish to German and then from German to English, as seen in the case of Andersen's fairy tales. The intervening language must serve as a bridge to connect with the ultimate reader, necessitating the involvement of at least three languages. Based on this definition, I delve into the translated works of Yoshifumi Hasegawa. The purpose is to examine Hasegawa’s translation endeavors by describing in detail an interview conducted with Hasegawa himself and to determine whether the concept of “relay translation” can be applied to describe these endeavors.