Eevan luokka kulttuurinsisäisenä ja kulttuurienvälisenä käännöksenä

Abstract

In this article, we discuss language- and culture-specific elements in versions of Evas klass/Eevan luokka (1917), a Finnish youth literature classic by Kersti Bergroth (1886–1975), a self-translator who wrote the Finland-Swedish and Finnish versions under the pseudonym of Mary Marck. The novel has also been translated into Norwegian (Eva’s klasse, 1933) by Anne Marie Worm-Müller. Drawing on translation theory and cultural semiotics, we explore the extent to which the three versions diverge from one another in terms of global and local translation strategies. The analysis, which focus on the linguistic identity and the names of the characters, geographical names, cultural traits, and quotations of J.L. Runeberg’s poetry, shows differences between the Finland-Swedish and the Finnish version (intracultural translation) and the Finland-Swedish and the Norwegian version (intercultural translation). When translating her own text, Bergroth uses official equivalents and other source-oriented strategies, as both the Finland-Swedish version and the Finnish version are primarily intended for readers living in Finland, where both the Finnish and the Finland-Swedish culture share a multitude of similarities notwithstanding the two different languages. The Norwegian translator, however, often uses target-oriented strategies, i.e., generalizations, substitutions, and omissions that are explainable by the longer cultural distance between Norway and Finland.