Tradução, cultura e fandom : um estudo das scanlations e da tradução comercial de Kimetsu no Yaiba

Abstract

This study aims to comparatively analyze the translation strategies found in the commercial translation and in fan translations (scanlations) of the manga Kimetsu no Yaiba, by Koyoharu Gotouge. It is based on the assumption that different production contexts, editorial and non-institutional, directly influence translation choices and, consequently, the way cultural elements from the source text are presented to the reader. The research is characterized as qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive, grounded in Franco-Aixelá’s (2013) model of culture-specific items and in the descriptive approach proposed by Lambert and Van Gorp (2014). The corpus consists of the Brazilian commercial translation, published by Panini, and scanlations produced by fan groups, from which 13 excerpts from the first volumes were selected based on the presence of cultural markers, idiomatic expressions, and features of orality. The results reveal significant differences between the versions: scanlations tend to favor adaptation and simplification strategies, bringing the text closer to the target culture, whereas the commercial translation shows a stronger tendency to preserve cultural elements from the source text, albeit with adaptations and explanations. It is concluded that translation choices are shaped by factors such as target audience, production time, and circulation context, reinforcing translation as a situated cultural practice.