Translating Scandinavia : Scandinavian Literature in Italian and German Translation, 1918-1945

Bibliographies are like haystacks: we engage in endless searches hunting for the needle we think must be there. Sometimes we find what we were looking for; other times, sifting through bibliographical data, all we come across is a lot of “unwanted” information. And yet perhaps we might, just once, turn the issue upside down? If for a moment we shift our gaze from what we are looking for (the needle) to instead consider our surroundings (the haystack), we may discover that the hay in itself is a source for new directions in research. Bibliographies may thus not only help us to solidify our understandingon our initial topic, they may also contextualise it and offer new avenues for research. The examples presented in this article deal with earlier work on specific topics in which bibliographies were initially used for locating statistical information. The problems encountered in the course of these searches ultimately led the scholar to pose new questions. An attempt to survey translation flows led to studies on personal agency or ideological or market pressures, and the search for retranslated literature turned into a study of categorization and classification problems when defining the object, retranslations – which, for its part, engendered a study of revision. Thus, while learning to cope with inaccurate or even misleading sources, we may also learn to see wider implications of the issue in question.</p

Suomentaminen, korjailu, toimittaminen: esimerkkinä Les Misérables -romaanin suomennokset

Translating, Revising, Editing: Finnish translations of Les Misérables The present article examines the translation and retranslation of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables into Finnish. Several problems of the textual comparison of translations come into focus: identification of translations and their source or mediating texts, locating the texts, establishing connections between texts, and contextualizing research. One of the findings (and problems) is the mismatch between textual changes and paratextual clues. This phenomenon is connected to the larger theoretical and methodological issue of categorizing textual manipulation in translation research. Translating, retranslating, editing, and abbreviating are forms of textual change which are generally considered separately, even if they often overlap. Even the very process of determining what are valid categories can be questioned. Furthermore, the agents involved; publishers, translators and editors, as well as readers, may have had different aims and opinions about translating, which then lead to widely diverging conceptions about the nature of textual manipulation

Arki löytyy arkistosta: arkistot ja niiden käyttö käännöstutkimuksessa

To write about past translators, we need to rely on archival material. This article sets out to look at Finnish archives and how they can be used in translation research to produce a microhistory of translators and translations. Archives are first discussed on a more general level and examples are then given to illustrate the different aspects of translators’ lives that become visible through archival study. The examples are from different archives and by different translators and are based on previous research of the present author. The aim is, thus, to give an overview of the aspects that a microhistory of translators and translations might consist of, rather than present an in-depth study of one single translator. The examples have been chosen to shed light on the Finnish translators’ working decisions and practices but also on their friendships, hardships, family matters and joys. The material used consists of letters, notes and manuscripts.To write about past translators, we need to rely on archival material. This article sets out to look at Finnish archives and how they can be used in translation research to produce a microhistory of translators and translations. Archives are first discussed on a more general level and examples are then given to illustrate the different aspects of translators’ lives that become visible through archival study. The examples are from different archives and by different translators and are based on previous research of the present author. The aim is, thus, to give an overview of the aspects that a microhistory of translators and translations might consist of, rather than present an in-depth study of one single translator. The examples have been chosen to shed light on the Finnish translators’ working decisions and practices but also on their friendships, hardships, family matters and joys. The material used consists of letters, notes and manuscripts

Kääntämisen hinta: Kääntäjistä, käännöstyöstä ja työn hinnasta 1800-luvun Suomessa

What was the price of translation in the 19th century? How were translators remunerated in Finland in the early days of literary and governmental translation? Practices and functions of translating have varied throughout history, and so have fees and salaries. It is impossible to talk about translation as a single, easily definable process and of translations as calculable, well-defined entities. However, with the help of archival data it is possible to observe and study translation culture, translation practices and payment negotiations. This article reports a study of Finnish 19th century discourses on remuneration of translating and links these discourses to the emergent translation culture. The material consists mostly of translators’ correspondence with their publisher in an attempt to locate negotiation on fees and pay. This material is complemented with a look at institutional sources to study the position of state-employed translators. Questions of pay and remuneration are crucial to understanding how translation practice is carried out in societies and how translation culture evolves.What was the price of translation in the 19th century? How were translators remunerated in Finland in the early days of literary and governmental translation? Practices and functions of translating have varied throughout history, and so have fees and salaries. It is impossible to talk about translation as a single, easily definable process and of translations as calculable, well-defined entities. However, with the help of archival data it is possible to observe and study translation culture, translation practices and payment negotiations. This article reports a study of Finnish 19th century discourses on remuneration of translating and links these discourses to the emergent translation culture. The material consists mostly of translators’ correspondence with their publisher in an attempt to locate negotiation on fees and pay. This material is complemented with a look at institutional sources to study the position of state-employed translators. Questions of pay and remuneration are crucial to understanding how translation practice is carried out in societies and how translation culture evolves

Suomentaja kansanvalistajana: Karl Gustaf Samuli Suomalainen ja Suuret keksinnöt

In this article, I will look at the practice of translating popular scientific works in Finland in the 1880’s through the example of Suuret keksinnöt [Great inventions], a translation by K. G. S. Suomalainen. The book, which was an adaptation of the German Louis Thomas’ Die denkwürdigsten Erfindungen im neunzehnten Jahrhundert, not only included a great number of added details in the text itself, there was also a wholly new section on four more inventions that Suomalainen considered important (steel pencil, sewing machine, needle and, interestingly, the metric system). The emerging technologies combined the quest for a better life with a sense of ’nation-ness’: through weaving technology into culture and history, a holistic and cultural image of the nation was created.Tarkastelen aikansa monitoimimiehen K. G. S. Suomalaisen vuonna 1885 suomentamaa teosta Suuret keksinnöt (alkuteos saksalaisen Louis Thomasin Die denkwürdigsten Erfindungen im neunzehnten Jahrhundert) ja pyrin sijoittamaan sen osaksi Suomalaisen muuta toimintaa ja teknologian ja tieteen kansantajuistamiseen liittyvää työtä. Suomalaisen teokseen tekemät lisäykset kertovat sekä suomentajasta itsestään että siitä, miten tekniikkaa tuotiin osaksi suomalaisuutta ja koko kulttuuria 1880-luvulla

Attitudes towards indirect translation in Finland and translators’ strategies: Compilative and collaborative translation

In Finland, indirect translation (ITr) played an important role as early as the sixteenth century in the formation of literary language. In the late nineteenth century, the first signs of critics condemning ITr began to appear. The stigma of ITr and the focus on the original have cast into obscurity the agency of translators and publishers, but archival material since the nineteenth century shows that publishers gave a free hand to translators doing ITr, who resorted to compilative translation. Kyllikki Villa, an important mediating agent and a translator of Modern Greek literature into Finnish during the second half of the twentieth century, discussed ITr as both translator and critic. Her archival material offers a rich insight into how her attitude towards ITr changed with her role: as a critic, she was wary of ITr; as a translator, she used and advocated compilative and collaborative translation as strategies for dealing with ITr.</p

New directions for retranslation research: Lessons learned from the archaeology of retranslations in the Finnish literary system

In this article, we discuss the archaeological phase of our research into retranslating in the Finnish literary system. We address the issue from the point of view of the past and future development on retranslation research, focusing on methodology. We argue that for our understanding of the phenomenon to advance, the traditional case study orientation of retranslation research needs to be complemented with other, macro level approaches. We discuss what kinds of research questions our archaeological data allowed us to generate, how collecting bibliographical information of a larger set of translations allowed us to place individual case studies within the bigger picture, and how it allowed us to compare our findings to similar, macro level research done by other scholars. The next step for retranslation research will, we believe, consist of studies asking new questions on the basis of such macro level empirical evidence (tested on new, targeted data sets or case studies) and comparisons between these studies completed in different cultural, historical and literary contexts. </p

New Directions for retranslations research: Lessons Learned from the archaeology of retranslations in the finnish literary system

In this article, we discuss the archaeological phase of our research into retranslating in the Finnish literary system. We address the issue from the point of view of the past and future development on retranslation research, focusing on methodology. We argue that for our understanding of the phenomenon to advance, the traditional case study orientation of retranslation research needs to be complemented with other, macro level approaches. We discuss what kinds of research questions our archaeological data allowed us to generate, how collecting bibliographical information of a larger set of translations allowed us to place individual case studies within the bigger picture, and how it allowed us to compare our findings to similar, macro level research done by other scholars. The next step for retranslation research will, we believe, consist of studies asking new questions on the basis of such macro level empirical evidence (tested on new, targeted data sets or case studies) and comparisons between these studies completed in different cultural, historical and literary contexts

Antiikin tekstien varhaisten suomennosten kontekstipiirteitä

Kreikan- ja latinankielisen kirjallisuuden suomentamisen varhaisvaiheet asettuvat pääosin samaan aikakauteen kuin muunkin kaunokirjallisen suomennostoiminnan alku, 1800-luvun alkupuolelle. Suomentaminen oli aluksi hajanaista kahdellakin tapaa. Suomennosten julkaisukonteksteja oli useita erityyppisiä (sanomalehdet, kokoomateokset, akateemiset opinnäytteet) ja toisekseen, kaikki suomennokset tässä alkuvaiheessa olivat osasuomennoksia; kokonaisia teoksia ei vielä suomen kielelle käännetty. Toisaalta suomennokset tehtiin suoraan alkukielistä, ja tässä näkyykin klassisen sivistyksen arvostus: latinaa ja kreikkaa osattiin toisin kuin monia uusia kieliä; esimerkiksi englannista ja ranskasta suomennokset tehtiin 1800-luvun alkupuolella välikielten – yleensä ruotsin ja joskus myös saksan – kautta. Malleja kääntämiseen ja erityisesti teosvalintoihin kyllä saatettiin ottaa RuotsistaSuomennosten tavoitteina oli kehittää suomen kieltä antiikin kirjallisuuden erityistarpeisiin – erityisesti alkuperäisiin runomittoihin – ja myös tuottaa suomenkielistä lukemistoa. Niitä saatettiin käyttää myös keskustelupuheenvuoroina kielikysymyksessä. Varhaisvaiheissa aktiiviset antiikin kielistä (pääasiassa kreikasta) suomentajat olivat tyypillisesti muutenkin aktiivisia suomen kielen asiamiehiä, kuten K. A. Gottlund, W. S. Schildt, A. W. Ingman ja Elias Lönnrot. Antiikin kirjallisuuden arvostus oli yleiseurooppalaista perua, ja suomentaminen oli siksikin luontevaa ja perusteltua; samalla se toi arvovaltaa suomen kielen käytölle, kun suomennokset nähtiin sivistyksen merkkinä. Suomennetun kirjallisuuden määrä ei kuitenkaan koskaan noussut suureksi; käsittelemällämme ajanjaksolla suomenkielinen lukijakunta oli vielä pieni ja kirjallisuuden painatus ja jakelukin hakivat väyliään. Kiinnostavaa antiikin teosten suomennoksissa on myös vastaanotto. Ajoittain kärkkääksikin yltynyt kiistely sanomalehdissä kertoo varsin erilaisista kielikäsityksistä ja osittain myös arvostuksista: mikä sopii suomalaisille, mikä ei.</p