Kulttuurin rajat, kääntämisen rajat

Abstract

While translation is usually conceived as interlingual and intercultural action, there are also intralingual and intracultural types of translation and potentially, even language- and culture-independent forms. This article proffers one approach to intracultural translation, examining its vague existence in Translation Studies, and charting its possible nature within one specific context. Intracultural translation is here argued to have a specific role in Finland with its two national languages, Finnish and Swedish, and a culture which the Finnish- and Swedish-speaking Finns share. The material discussed consists of the Swedish diary from 1909 1944 of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (2005) and its translation into Finnish (2015). What makes this diary translation-theoretically intriguing research material is that the published book contains not only the diary, but also an extensive commentary section a metatext for readers in Finland and Sweden as well as an example of both rewriting and intralingual-intercultural translation. While the published diary thus addresses an audience in at least two countries and cultures, probably in all Nordic countries, its translation is in practice merely for Finland, thereby highlighting the specificity and constraints of interlingual-intracultural translation.