Sångöversättning – någonstans mellan respekt och slagkraft

Abstract (Song translation. Balancing between respect and hit capacity): The article discusses song translation by posing questions relevant to the study, practice, and assessment of translating/translated song: Is song translation really translation? Do non-singable translations count? Can we distinguish between free and faithful song translation? Are there untranslatable (aspects of) songs? etc. Three song translations between Finnish and Swedish are analyzed in the discussion: one made for a booklet to a recording, which in spite of the evident documentary purpose is fairly singable, one that is a national transplantation, which moves the sung story to the target country but even so is fairly faithful, and one that is considered respectful to its source, became a target culture hit, but perhaps because of the subtle changes in content. Changes can be seen as caused by a particular translation brief, as manipulations negotiating a cultural difference, or as examples of how (liberally) the craft of song translation is exercised. An amateur translation of the same song, made by the article’s author, is deemed dysfunctional for having put emphasis merely on semantic accuracy and rhymes, neglecting other aspects of the craft. The article suggests that singability is a relative concept, that stylistic/intertextual values matter a great deal in song and exert significant influence on song translation, and that source and target attentions in this area can be discussed as a much variable vacillation between a stance of respect and an aim for hit capacity.