From Tabermann to Mr. Baudelaire. Allusions and popular culture references in the Finnish comic Northern Overexposure and their English translations

Laura Santoo

doi:10.26881/ss.2020.24.06

Abstract

Comics, as other written works, contains allusions that serve many functions and might be difficult to translate due to cultural differences. The aim of this article is to analyse the selected allusions and popular culture references in the Finnish comic Northern Overexposure and compare the Finnish source text with the English target text. In addition, the function of these allusions as well as the relevant cultural background are covered. The examples were analysed with Ritva Leppihalme’s (1997) strategies for translating allusions. The article also provides insight into the Finnish field of comics and the translation process of the selected comic.

Highlights

The constant growth of Finnish comics outside Finland is noticeable
The first column, source language (SL) reference, contains the name or term that was used in the example comics in Finnish
This article aimed at comparing the allusions in the source and the target text of JP Ahonen’s comic Villimpi Pohjola

Summary

Introduction

A growing number of foreign readers are able to recognise Finnish comics, graphic novels and artists besides Tove Jansson’s famous Moomins. Moomins have made their way into the hearts of Finns and many Finland enthusiasts around the world, but new artists are getting more and more recognition, for instance in social media, which helps the artists to find a target audience. One of his long-term projects, Villimpi Pohjola (Northern Overexposure), started to appear in a regional newspaper as early as 2003. JP Ahonen has translated his two first published books by himself, which provides another interesting aspect to the analysis: usually the different source and target text cultures might cause difficulties for LAURA SANTOO the translator, but in this case the artist is the same as the translator, and, is able to achieve the desired and intended result

Objectives

Results

Conclusion