My Fair Lady på skandinaviska : En studie i funktionell sångöversättning

The dissertation presents a functional model for analysis of song translation. The model is developed on the basis of an examination of theatrical songs and a comparison of three translations: the songs of the Broadway musical My Fair Lady (Lerner and Loewe, 1956), made for the premiere productions (1959–1960) in Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian. The analysis explores the three challenges of a song translator: the fitting of a text to existing music, the consideration of a prospective sung performance, and the verbal approximation of the content of the source lyric. The theoretical foundation is based on a functional approach to translation studies (Christiane Nord) and a structuralist/semiotic analysis of a theatrical message (Ivo Osolsobě, building on Roman Jakobson). Thus, three functional levels in the fitting of a text to music are explored: first, a prosodic/phonetic format; secondly, a poetic/rhetoric format; and thirdly, semantic/reflexive values (verbalizing musical expression). Similarly, three functional levels in the textual connections to a prospective performance are explored: first, a presentational goal; secondly, the theatrical potential; and thirdly, dramaturgic values (for example dramatic information and linguistic register). The functionality of Broadway musical theatre songs is analyzed, and the song score of My Fair Lady, source and target lyrics, is studied, with an in-depth analysis of seven of the songs. The three translations were all considered very well-made and are used in productions of the musical to this day. The study finds that the song translators appear to have worked from an understanding of the presentational goal, designed their target texts on the prosodic and poetic shape of the music, and pursued the theatrical functionality of the song, not by copying, but by recreating connections to relevant contexts, partly independently of the source lyrics, using the resources of the target languages. Besides metaphrases (closest possible transfer), paraphrases and additions seem normally to be expected in song translation, but song translators may also follow highly individual strategies – for example, the Norwegian translator is consistently more verbally faithful than the Danish and Swedish translators. As a conclusion, it is suggested that although linguistic and cultural difference play a significant role, a translator’s solution must nevertheless be arrived at, and assessed, in relation to the song as a multimedial piece of material. As far as a song can be considered a theatrical message – singers representing the voice, person, and situation of the song – the descriptive model presented in the study is also applicable to the translation of other types of song.

Hur och värför ändras Mumin med tiden? : Adaptationer i Tove Janssons muminböcker

Tutkimuksessa olen tarkastellut Tove Janssonin muumikirjojen adaptaatioita, eli uudelleen kirjoitettuja muumikirjoja. Työn tavoitteena on ollut selvittää, miten ja miksi Tove Jansson on muokannut alkuperäisiä muumikirjojaan. Lisäksi työssä on pohdittu, onko uudelleen kirjoittamisella ollut tietty tavoite eli, ovatko muutokset samansuuntaisia kaikissa uudelleen kirjoitetuissa muumikirjoissa. Aineistona minulla on ollut neljä Tove Janssonin alkuperäistä ja neljä uudelleenkirjoitettua muumikirjaa: Kometjakten (1946) ja uudelleen kirjoitettu Kometen kommer (1968), Trollkarlens hatt (1948, 1968), Muminpappans Bravader (1950) ja uudelleen kirjoitettu Muminpappans memoarer (1968) sekä Farlig midsommar (1954, 1969). Olen tarkastellut, millaisia kielellisiä ja kuvallisia eroja alkuperäisten ja uudelleen kirjoitettujen muumikirjojen välillä on. Koska materiaali on niin laaja, olen rajannut tutkimustani. Uudelleen kirjoitetut Farlig midsommar (1969) ja Trollkarlens hatt (1968) eivät sisällä yhtä paljon adaptaatioita kuin kirjat Muminpappans memoarer (1968) ja Kometen kommer (1968). Sen vuoksi olen käyttänyt kirjojen analysoinnissa erilaista tutkimusmenetelmää. Kirjoja Farlig midsommarja Trollkarlens hatt olen tutkinut kokonaisuudessaan. Kirjojen Kometen kommer sekä Muminpappans memoarer kohdalla olen puolestaan käyttänyt kvalitatiivista metodia. Kyseisten kirjojen kohdalla olen ottanut otoksia kirjojen alusta, keskeltä ja lopusta. Kaikkien kielellisten adaptaatioden kuvaamisessa, vertailussa ja analysoimisessa olen käyttänyt apuna sanakirjoja ja aikasempaa tutkimusta. Kuvatutkimuksesa olen keskittynyt tarkastelemaan kuvien näkyvyyttä muumikirjoissa. Olen tarkastellut kuvien sijoittelua, kokoa, määrää ja osittain sisältöä alkuperäisten ja uudelleen kirjoitettujen muumikirjojen välillä. Kielelliset adaptaatiot on jaettu niiden pituuden ja rakenteen mukaan kolmeen luokkaan: parafraasit, lisäykset ja poistot. Jaottelu perustuu osittain omiin havaintoihini materiaalista ja osittain aiempaan tutkimukseen. Tutkimuksessa kävi ilmi, että Tove Jansson on tehnyt samankaltaisia muutoksia kaikissa uudelleen kirjoittamissaan muumikirjoissa. Kaikki uudelleen kirjoitetut kirjat sisältävät niin parafraaseja, lisäyksiä kuin poistojakin. Muutoksilla onmyös samankaltaisia funktioita kaikissa kirjoissa. Parafraasit tekevät kirjoista muun muassa ajanmukaisia ja helppolukuisia. Lisäyksillä on ennen kaikkea selittävä funktio. Poistojen avulla taas lastenkirjallisuuteen soveltumattomia sanoja ja tapahtumia on karsittu. Myös kuvien muutokset ovat samankaltaisia kaikissa uudelleenkirjoitetuissa muumikirjoissa. Ensinnäkin kuvien sijoittelun muutokset ovat parantaneet kuvan ja tekstin vuorovaikutusta kaikissa uudelleen kirjoitetuissa muumikirjoissa. Muokatuissa muumikirjoissa teksti ja kuvat ovat keskimäärin lähempänä toisiaan ja vastaavat tarkemmin toisiaan kuin alkuperäisissä muumikirjoissa. Toiseksi kuvien koon ja lukumäärään muutokset tekevät uudelleen kirjoitetut kirjat visuaalisesti nautittavammiksi kuin alkuperäiset kirjat. Kaiken kaikkiaan adaptaatiot uudenaikaistavat muumikirjoja ja tekevät ne uudelle kohderyhmälle paremmin soveltuviksi. Adaptaatioiden avulla Tove Jansson on luonut jatkumon muumikirjojensa välille, minkä ansiosta ensimmäiset muumikirjat ja myöhemmin kirjoitetut muumikirjat eivät ole ristiriitaisia, vaan ne ovat yhtenäisiä niin sisällön, henkilöiden, kirjoitustyylin ja kuvituksen suhteen. Vaikuttaa siltä, että adaptaatiot ovat hyvin yleinen kielellinen ilmiö. Lähes jokainen kirjoittaja joutuu jossain vaiheessa muokkaamaan omaa tekstiään. Uusien versioiden julkaiseminen on kuitenkin harvinaisempaa. Ottaen huomioon, kuinka kielteisesti adaptaatioihin yleisesti suhtaudutaan, on mielenkiintoista, että nimenomaan uudelleen kirjoitetut muumikirjat ovat saaneet "aitojen" muumikirjojen aseman. Moni ei todennäköisesti tiedä lukevansa muokattua muumikirjaa. Mielenkiintoista onkin, että suomenkieliset käännökset on käännetty ainoastaan alkuperäisistä muumikirjoista. Pohdittavaksi jääkin, millainen kuva suomenkielisellä lukijalla on esimerkiksi muumikirjojen yhtenäisyydestä. Kun jo lähdeteoksia on muokattu niin paljon kuin tämä työ on osoittanut, olisi ehkä käännöksiäkin jo korkea aika päivittää.

Översättningsforskning och framtidsskapande proaktivitet

Abstract (Translation studies and the possibility of future-creating proactivity): Translation researchers often and quite eagerly emphasise the practice-orientedness and usefulness of their field of knowledge as well as the proactive impact which their findings have or will have on modern translation practice. This article adopts, however, a critical view of that kind of a goal for proactive action within translation studies, and advocates a different conception and facet of proactivity. Hence, the question of future-orientedness of translation research is approached and explored from two vantage points: first, from the three Peircean modalities, namely possibility (may-be), (f)actuality (actually-is), and tendenciality (must-be or shouldbe)and second, from a futures semiotic view, according to which a future can be invented, made, or discovered.

Det översättande jaget: homo significans – homo interpres

Abstract (The translating subject: Homo significans – homo interpres): A whole discipline, translation studies, is built around the translator’s acts and the translating event. What is the translating subject? How is (s)he working and why? I discuss some aspects of the translating subject, analyzed from literary translators’ descriptions of themselves in anthologies. Within the theoretical framework of semiotics and hermeneutics, I comment on the creative processes of literary translators, where they act as a medium in the translator’s space: an encounter of the author, the translator, and the reader. With respect to reading, interpreting, and translating a text, the translating subject is a homo interpres, i.e. a homo significans producing meaning. The goal of the translating subject is the chiasm of semiosis, the dynamic process when meaning is manifested in the semiosphere. The mission for the translating subject is to deal with the paradox: to create the same but other text. For the complexity of the act of reading, interpreting, and translating texts, I use the concept of palimpsest.

SFL och översättningsforskning

Abstract (SFL and translation studies): In this paper, the study of translation is seen as a study of texts and discourses. It is argued that systemic-functional linguistics gives both a theoretical framework to discuss variation in text and variation in situational and cultural context, as well as an analytical toolkit to use to compare texts with each other. The same systemic-functional framework can hence be used to analyse both directly written texts and translations.

Looking-Glass Reflections : Norms in translating Lewis Carroll

This thesis in the field of translation studies focusses on the role of norms in the work of a literary translator. Norms are seen as guidelines for the translator; they also reflect the way the target audience either accepts or rejects the translation. Thus they are of an intersubjective nature. The theoretical background of the study is based on the views on norms of Andrew Chesterman and Gideon Toury. The writer makes use of her own editing and publishing experience, as well as her experience in translating Lewis Carroll, considering these in respect to theoretical views of norms and vice versa. The aim is also to bring to light some of the tacit knowledge related to translating, editing and publishing in Finland. The study has three angles. First, the writer introduces the norms of Finnish literary translation as gathered from her own working experience. The sources from which these norms arise and which affect them are briefly described. Six central translation norms emerge; they are described and exemplified through cases of Carroll translation. Secondly, a small-scale questionnaire study is presented. This was carried out in order to sound the normative views of other translators and to limit the role of subjectivity. The views of the informants largely support the set of norms presented by the writer, although the norms of quotability and harmony between translation and illustration do not arise. Instead, the answers give rise to a seventh, ethical norm, which is labelled the norm of integrity. Thirdly, there is a brief presentation of Lewis Carroll, his Alice books and their translation history in Finland. The retranslation hypothesis and the motives of retranslation are considered in the light of the work of Outi Paloposki and Kaisa Koskinen. The final part of the thesis plunges into actual translation work. It includes one and a half chapters of Through the Looking-Glass (Alicen seikkailut peilintakamaassa) as translated into Finnish by the writer. The translation commentary first discusses a number of recurring and general translation points; the running commentary then analyses 77 individual translation solutions and their justifications. The writer uses introspection as a way of reflecting on her own translation process, its decisive points and the role of norms therein. Keywords: Translation studies, Carroll, norms

Lost in Translation : Translation Mechanisms in Production of Cocksfoot Mottle Virus Proteins

The present study focuses on the translational strategies of Cocksfoot mottle virus (CfMV, genus Sobemovirus), which infects monocotyledonous plants. CfMV RNA lacks the 5'cap and the 3'poly(A) tail that ensure efficient translation of cellular messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Instead, CfMV RNA is covalently linked to a viral protein VPg (viral protein, genome-linked). This indicates that the viral untranslated regions (UTRs) must functionally compensate for the lack of the cap and poly(A) tail. We examined the efficacy of translation initiation in CfMV by comparing it to well-studied viral translational enhancers. Although insertion of the CfMV 5'UTR (CfMVe) into plant expression vectors improved gene expression in barley more than the other translational enhancers examined, studies at the RNA level showed that CfMVe alone or in combination with the CfMV 3'UTR did not provide the RNAs translational advantage. Mutation analysis revealed that translation initiation from CfMVe involved scanning. Interestingly, CfMVe also promoted translation initiation from an intercistronic position of dicistronic mRNAs in vitro. Furthermore, internal initiation occurred with similar efficacy in translation lysates that had reduced concentrations of eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4E, suggesting that initiation was independent of the eIF4E. In contrast, reduced translation in the eIF4G-depleted lysates indicated that translation from internally positioned CfMVe was eIF4G-dependent. After successful translation initiation, leaky scanning brings the ribosomes to the second open reading frame (ORF). The CfMV polyprotein is produced from this and the following overlapping ORF via programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift (-1 PRF). Two signals in the mRNA at the beginning of the overlap program approximately every fifth ribosome to slip one nucleotide backwards and continue translation in the new -1 frame. This leads to the production of C-terminally extended polyprotein, which encodes the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). The -1 PRF event in CfMV was very efficient, even though it was programmed by a simple stem-loop structure instead of a pseudoknot, which is usually required for high -1 PRF frequencies. Interestingly, regions surrounding the -1 PRF signals improved the -1 PRF frequencies. Viral protein P27 inhibited the -1 PRF event in vivo, putatively by binding to the -1 PRF site. This suggested that P27 could regulate the occurrence of -1 PRF. Initiation of viral replication requires that viral proteins are released from the polyprotein. This is catalyzed by viral serine protease, which is also encoded from the polyprotein. N-terminal amino acid sequencing of CfMV VPg revealed that the junction of the protease and VPg was cleaved between glutamate (E) and asparagine (N) residues. This suggested that the processing sites used in CfMV differ from the glutamate and serine (S) or threonine (T) sites utilized in other sobemoviruses. However, further analysis revealed that the E/S and E/T sites may be used to cleave out some of the CfMV proteins.

Why study translation universals?

Abstract: Research on translation universals has its roots in the need to make generalizations about the features that distinguish translations from non-translations. They go back to the old tradition of negative comments about the failings of typical translations. These comments concern the relations between translations and the target language, and between translations and their source texts. With the rise of descriptive studies, and the use of corpus research methods borrowed from linguistics, the search for the typical features of translations became more systematic. A number of hypotheses about potential universals have been proposed, and tested on different languages and language pairs. Some of them are evidently false; on others, the jury is still out. If some hypotheses continue to be supported by empirical evidence, the question then arises of how they might best be explained. There has been fierce criticism of some of the assumptions underlying the search for universals, including the use of the term 'universal'itself, but the approach has also brought clear methodological benefits.