1. INTRODUCTION Field of interest Research question Delimitation Project outline... 5

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1 Side 1 af 69 Table of contents 1. INTRODUCTION Field of interest Research question Delimitation Project outline METHODICAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Our approach to evaluation of translation Formal vs. dynamic translation The degree of formal accuracy and equivalence False friends Form vs. function what to focus on? The concept of equivalence Ingo s linguistic-pragmatic model of criticism Grammatical structures Linguistic varieties Semantics Additions Omissions Slight differences in meaning or inexact translations Semantic errors Pragmatics Target group and translation purpose H. C. Andersen s style Time and culture Language

2 Side 2 af 69 Humour Presentation of texts for analysis Selection criteria for choice of story Nissen hos Spekhøkeren Selection criteria for choice of translations Choice of translation for analysis Translators and the importance of the context H.C. Andersen s position as a writer Children s literature Caroline Peachey Patricia Crampton ANALYSIS Grammatical structures Linguistic varieties Oral narrative style High vs. colloquial style Translation of alliterations and assonance The semantic aspect Danish nouns without any English equivalent Nisse Grød Madame Mundlæder Qvisten Problems due to lack of constant equivalents Rigtig

3 Side 3 af 69 Deilig Exclamations Transference of humour Religious references Picturesque descriptions of poetry Additions and omissions Metaphors and similes Translation of puns Inexact translations and direct semantic errors Discussion: the pragmatic aspect CONCLUSION Abstract Summary in Danish BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIXES : H.C. Andersen, 1852: Nissen hos Spekhøkeren : Caroline Peachey, 1861: The Nisse at the Grocer s : Patricia Crampton, 1985: The Goblin and the Grocer... 78

4 Side 4 af INTRODUCTION 1.2 Field of interest The prevailing attitude among H.C. Andersen scholars in the 20 th century is that the various English translations of his stories are of a poor quality (Pedersen, 2004: 15 & Bredsdorff, 1954: 520). [1] Still Elias Bredsdorff (1954: 520 ) concludes: Selv hvor stilens vidunderlige friskhed og charme gik tabt, selv hvor sproget blev tromlet ned til de fladeste klicheer og banaliteter, blev der stadig noget tilbaget, som man ikke kendte magen til i engelsk litteratur... Selv hvor det var dækket af jord og slagger, skinnede guldet igennem! We wonder to what extent can Hans Andersen s art be said to have survived a translation which is often combined with compression and adaptation? (Quote Pedersen, 1990:22), and how is it that even when many Danes often feel that the English adaptations of his works are very poor that he is still popular in English-speaking countries? H.C. Andersen became known as one of the most original writers in Europe in the 18 th century. Over the years his stories has been translated into approximately 125 different languages, and this has established him as a well-known author in countries all over the world. Today his worldwide fame is solemnly based on of his 156 fairy tales and stories (Lund, 1995 vol. 1: 389). In Britain he has always been seen as a children s writer whereas he in Denmark is recognized for his appeal to adults as well as children. Although fairy tales were respected as a genre for adults in Denmark at his time, the phrase tales told to the children ( Eventyr fortalte for Børn ) has been taken literarily in the UK and has caused him to be regarded solemnly as a writer of children s literature (Pedersen, 1990: 24). This might have led to e.g. shortenings, simplifications, distortions and omissions of the possible offensive passages (Pedersen & de Mylius, 1993: 10). In this project it is our claim that many of the specific features of H.C. Andersen s writing style create recurrent problems for translators of his stories, and that the problems of translating the many culture-bound elements are caused by the lack of English equivalents. In connection to this it becomes interesting how the different translators have chosen to deal with these problems. It is furthermore our point of view that any text or translation should be seen as a product of its time and environment. To what extent is a fulfilling translation possible, and what must be taken into consideration when doing a translation? What obstacles are there, and how are they overcome? Is the critique well-founded? In the report we see the translator as a mediator between two cultures and often between different time periods indeed not an easy job. These immediate questions lead us to the following research question. 1.3 Research question What problems occur when translating the features of H.C. Andersen s style and the Danish culture-

5 Side 5 af 69 bound elements in his story Nissen hos Spekhøkeren, and how do the translators choose to deal with these problems? 1.4 Delimitation In doing a project on translations from Danish to English we are aware that we are up against the normal conventions. Generally it is said to be easier to translate from the foreign language into ones native language (Ingo, 1991: 22). In this report it is our claim that the special features of H.C. Andersen s writing style create specific problems for translators. Among these special features are his implicit humour and use of culture-bound elements such as Nisse. In our choice of focus, our knowledge of the Danish language and understanding of the culture in which he wrote his tales becomes not only a strength but a necessity. Nevertheless, it is still important to be aware of the time difference. H.C. Andersen s stories reflected the reality of everyday life of the 19th century, but in today s society we are no longer familiar with concepts such as spekhøker or smørfjerdingen, and so Old-fashioned language may prove to be an obstacle. In order to reduce the risk of misunderstandings we make use of the online version of Ordbog over det danske sprog. This Danish-Danish dictionary covers the period from In the project our knowledge and understanding of the original text has been given the highest priority. The consequence of this may show in our evaluation of the English translations. English is not our native language, and consequently it demands much of our English proficiency. A danger may be that we misinterpret the different connotations of a specific word or simply fail to pick up certain types of language errors. To avoid connotative misunderstandings we have consulted the online version of The Oxford English Dictionary when in doubt. H.C. Andersen was a productive writer and providing the reader with a complete overview of his authorship and subsequent translations - would be an immense assignment. As part of our delimitation we have chosen to look at two translations of his story Nissen hos Spekhøkeren. It is our belief that these two translations are enough to give an impression of the problem areas when translating H.C. Andersen. The translations were made with more than a hundred years apart, and one may choose to see them as representatives of the typical norms and conventions of their time. We feel it would be almost impossible not to get into a discussion of how the context might have influenced the translations as we see them as a product of their time and environment. However, at the same time we are aware of the dangers of making any conclusions on such a small scale, and so they should be seen with certain reservations. During this process we have looked at many different translations of Nissen hos Spekhøkeren. On a few occasions during the analysis we choose to introduce examples from these in order to emphasize

6 Side 6 af 69 our points or bring in another perspective. 1.5 Project outline In this passage we are going to give an overview of what our project report is going to contain. The report is divided into four main chapters: the introduction which we have already gone through, the methodological and theoretical framework, analysis and conclusion. The methodical and theoretical framework is going to contain a presentation and evaluation of our main theorists and their viewpoints. Furthermore we are going to introduce our approach to evaluation of translations which evolves around Rune Ingo s linguistic-pragmatic model of criticism and define the theoretical terms used in the analysis. In this chapter we also elaborate on the characteristics of H.C. Andersen s style. This will guide us in what to look for in the analysis later on. Finally chapter two contains a presentation of our criteria for choice of story and choice of translations for analysis. Here it will become clear why we have chosen H.C. Andersen s Nissen hos Spekhøkeren, and the story will briefly be summed up to give the reader an idea of what it is about. Then we will introduce the translators and the importance of the context before turning to the analysis. In chapter three we analyse various linguistic features in the original Danish text and the two translations based on the specific features of H.C. Andersen s style that has previously been defined. We are going to look at the elements that are so closely connected to Danish culture and language that they can be hard to render. Finally we sum up and discuss our findings in the passage on pragmatics which brings us to our conclusion in the fourth chapter where we answer our research question. 2. METHODICAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This project is an ethnographic and linguistic study of two translations of H.C. Andersen. The emphasis is going to be on the translation of H.C. Andersen s specific writing style which is closely connected to Danish culture and on culturally specific elements in H.C. Andersen s work. This is what normally causes the greatest difficulties when translating this Danish writer. Ethnographic translation studies are concerned with explaining and translating cultural elements that cause problems because they do not exist in the same sense in the new target group s culture. The translator adjusts the linguistic and cultural norms in order to make the text accessible for the target group. A typical solution in ethnographic translation is text supplementation (Ingo, 1991: 202). Ethnographic translation often emphasises the pragmatic aspects (Ingo, 1991: 57).

7 Side 7 af 69 A lot of the problems with translating H.C. Andersen s way of writing are culture bound. The humorous effects, his use of puns and metaphors, his use of small words with no English equivalence etc. are very much linked to the Danish culture. We are going to look into his way of writing to be able to pinpoint the difficult parts in the analysis. Even though we in the first part of the semantic analysis have chosen to look at single words which carry cultural meaning and therefore are especially problematic to translate we are always going to make sure to analyse them in the context that they appear. Elias Bredsdorff is one of the specialists on English translation of H.C. Andersen. However he is very negative in his view upon these translations. Our agenda, however, is not solely to criticise the translators and their work but also to try and gain an understanding of the difficulties in translating H. C. Andersen and the translators possible reasons for choosing one solution in preference to another. It is with this in mind that we are going to evaluate the different attempts. It was not until around 1980 that critics and translators began to take culture and context into consideration (Leppihalme, 1997: 1), and Bredsdorff s main work from 1954 on the English translations is not part of this new way of thinking. Therefore we have turned to another modern specialist in H.C. Andersen namely the Danish professor Viggo Hjørnager Pedersen and his book Ugly Ducklings? from His basic assumption is that a translation is always coloured by the personality and background of the translator as well as by the contemporary literary climate. We find it important to bear this in mind as a possible explanation for the solutions chosen in the translations. Hjørnager Pedersen s idea of and approach to translation is appealing to us. He sees the translator as a cocreator. Hjørnager Pedersen s book Ugly Ducklings could be said to be popular science written for the purpose of being sold. He uses a lot of space on his bibliography of the different translators and does not do an in-depth analysis in this book. On the other he has done other studies where he goes into depth with restricted areas, and Ugly Ducklings? is his attempt to sum up his own studies and most central observations of H.C. Andersen and the English translations of his work. Pedersen himself points out that it is impossible to cover everything, but his work gives us an overview and has lead us to some of his more specialized works where we could get further information or check up on the studies that support his claims if necessary. We have professor of modern Finnish Rune Ingo and the Swedish edition of his book Från källspråk till målspråk introduction i översättningsvetenskap as theoretical starting point. His book provides us with an overview of the different translation methods and the terminology within this field. He provides us with a framework for our analysis. We have used Dansk Sprognævn and Professor Ida Klitgaard from University of Roskilde to guide us to the best and most extensive dictionaries. We have used English-English dictionaries to achieve an understanding of the English words used in the translations and consulted Danish-Danish

8 Side 8 af 69 dictionaries when we were in doubt of the meaning of the words used in the original Danish story. Some of the words that H.C. Andersen has used have changed meaning over time or is not used so often in contemporary Danish, and therefore it was important for us to have a good dictionary that could guide us to the right understanding of the word in its context. As already mentioned Ordbog over det Danske Sprog focuses on the Danish language and usage between 1700 and It provides us with older meanings of the words that are consistent with the usage in H.C. Andersen s time. We have also made use of the search engine Google to find examples of the words English as well as Danish - used in a context. 2.1 Our approach to evaluation of translation Before continuing with our actual analysis it is important that we establish our view on translation in order to clarify what we consider a good translation. In the following chapters we are going to establish our approach to evaluation of the translations. We adopt Rune Ingo s main viewpoints and use the tools that he suggests for evaluating translations Formal vs. dynamic translation Aiming at producing a formal translation one is concerned that the message in the target language should match as closely as possible the different elements in the source language both in regard to form and content (Pedersen, 2004: 29). The translator is trying to achieve formal correspondence between the original and the translation by translating word for word and trying to maintain the grammatical structures so that a verb in the translation corresponds with a verb in the original and a substantive is replaced by a substantive etc. Especially in former times the translators also aimed at word concordance which resulted in idiomatically incorrect translations because of the different structures of the languages. Even metaphors and similes were translated directly in order not to rewrite the original. In this kind of translation the focus is on the source language (Ingo, 1991: 225). Translators still translate word for word but tend to aim at producing a text that is grammatically correct in the source language, and they do not aim at word concordance anymore. Catford calls this way of translating literal translation (Ingo, 1991: 67). Other translators aim at producing a more dynamic translation where the target language is in focus. The idea is to translate meaning for meaning instead of word for word. According to Nida and Taber a good and dynamic translation is characterized in that the meaning is preserved and that the target language is not violated or conformed to the structures of the source language. Furthermore Nida and

9 Side 9 af 69 Taber emphasises the importance of pragmatics. They take pragmatic aspects into considerations and regard it as the translator s main task to see to it that the readers of the translation get the same experience and respond in the same way as the readers of the original (Ingo, 1991: 241). A translation which attempts to produce a dynamic [ ] equivalence is based upon the principle of equivalent effect [ ]. In such a translation one is [ ] concerned [ ] that the relationship between the receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message (Nida quoted in Pedersen, 2004: 29). The translation can lack dynamic correspondence in two ways. Either the translation is too influenced by the source language and pursues an absurd degree of formal correspondence or the translation is too free, wrongly paraphrased or semantically inexact. This can be the case even though the text is idiomatically correct (Ingo, 1991: 242). In order to produce a good and fluent text the translator should aim at dynamic correspondence by translating meaning for meaning rather than word for word. The translator s solutions must not constantly remind the reader of the fact that he or she is reading a translation (Ingo, 1991: 247). Ingo advices the translator to take this quotation as his or her point of departure: Så exakt som möjligt, så fritt som nöden kräver (Ingo, 1991: 247). This will also be our key notion. The translator ought to be as exact as possible as long as it does not have negative consequences for the translation - that is as long as the expressions are not offensive in the target language, are not idiomatically incorrect, carry different connotations etc The degree of formal accuracy and equivalence Ingo refers to Catford who divides the translations into subcategories according to the degree of formal accuracy and correspondence. A text consists of several components, and each component consists of more components of lower rank. The components, ranking from the lowest to the highest, are: morphemes, words, phrases/clauses and sentences. Sentences construct meaning that can be divided into passages which constitute the full, coherent text (Ingo, 1991: 64). In continuation of this, Catford talks about the rank of translation. If the components in the translation are in accordance with the components in the original text then you have a rank-bound translation. In a rank-bound translation the small units corresponds to each other: a morpheme is translated into a morpheme, a word into a word, a phrase into a phrase etc. In an unbound or free translation on the other hand the translation unities have another rank than in the original. A free translation or a dynamic translation as Nida and Taber would call it is typically related to the original in this way: a word is replaced by a phrase, a phrase by sentence, a phrase by a word etc. (Ingo, 1991: 64).

10 Side 10 af 69 Free or flexible translation Traditionally the term free translation has been used in a negative sense about translations that lack formal or semantic correspondence. Ingo however uses the term in a positive sense about translations which only deviates from the original on morpheme or word level when necessary, but which is still a good translation semantically. For that reason Ingo prefers the term flexible translation whereas Nida and Taber have chosen to call it a dynamic translation. Both these terms seem appropriate to us, but we have chosen to refer to it as a flexible translation from now on because the connotations of this term seem more neutral. The flexible translation aims at being semantically correct but is not as text-bound as a word-forword translation. It seeks correspondence on the higher levels that is on sentence or meaning level in order to adapt to the target language (Ingo, 1991: 68). A shift in rank is appropriate when the formal and more direct translation is either grammatically, stylistically, semantically or pragmatically unsatisfactory in the target language that is to say when there is a risk of e.g. danifications and other foreign influences or when the text might become confusing or ambiguous (Ingo, 1991: 68). The style of the text is significant for how fast the translator is forced to move to a higher level of meaning in the search for correspondence. Factual texts can be translated more freely than e.g. art literature (konstlitteratur) (Ingo, 1991: 68). In Ingo s opinion a translation is ideally speaking flexible yet exact as long as this does not have negative consequences for the target language text. A paraphrased translation is also a free translation, but it is considered too free. The shifts in rank are not well-founded and might just have been made for the sake of convenience (Ingo, 1991: 69). Even though the paraphrased translation might be semantically exact it cannot be regarded as a successful translation partly because it hardly ever corresponds to the original text stylistically. Also it is often way too long because of its explanatory character, and it tends to seem naïve and banal almost like Pidgin English (Ingo, 1991: 69). The paraphrased translation is not recommendable but necessary in some situations e.g. when the translator has to communicate scientific material full of special terms to laymen (Ingo, 1991: 69). Rewritten translations The translator can rewrite both the contents and the form. To rewrite the form becomes important if the original is an old classic. In such cases the old-fashioned language should not be regarded as a stylistic feature, and the translator s task is often to breathe new life into the old text. The translator can still aim at keeping the style that the original represented at the time it was written (Ingo, 1991: 70). Nissen hos Spekhøkeren was written over 150 years ago, and the old way of spelling and the

11 Side 11 af 69 old-fashioned words cannot be expected to survive. The need to rewrite the contents arises when the cultural background of the source-language does not resemble that of the target-language which is also relevant to some degree with reference to Nissen hos Spekhøkeren. Even though English and Danish culture has a lot in common today there are still culture-bound elements that create problems especially in translation of older texts. Full vs. partial translations Referring to Catford, Ingo finally distinguishes between full and partial translation. In most cases the whole text has been translated and is therefore regarded as a full translation, but sometimes certain parts of the original text has been transferred directly to the target-language without being translated. This is called quotation loan, and in such cases the translation is considered to be a partial translation of the text (Ingo, 1991: 72). The reasons for using quotation loans can be to maintain the atmosphere or to keep the local touch. In order to achieve this it is often enough to keep a title or a form of address untranslated such as Sir, Mylady, Monsieur, Mademoiselle etc. or a short exclamation e.g. Voilá!, Mama mia! etc. (Ingo, 1991: 72). The translator might choose a partial translation because there is something in the original text e.g. a lyrical passage that might loose its ring or musicality if translated. The translator can preserve its lyrical value by making use of a quotation loan, but at the same time he reduces the readability and accessibility for the reader that does not master the language of the original work. Therefore the method is not recommended for translating works for the general public unless it is a bilingual community (Ingo, 1991: 72). It is however not always the intention that the reader should understand all the elements. Sometimes elements are inserted to create a mysterious atmosphere False friends Words that are spelled alike or sound alike phonetically in the languages concerned but are not semantically the same are called false friends. In spite of their common origin the words might have different meanings or they might be used in different text genres etc. (Ingo, 1991: 145). There is a risk that the translator might misunderstand the word because he or she is not familiar with these differences. Pedersen also characterizes it as false friends when a word has two totally different meanings within one language depending on the context, and the translator chooses the wrong translation because he misinterprets the meaning (Pedersen, 2004: 316).

12 Side 12 af Form vs. function what to focus on? In accordance with the tendency within contemporary translation theory, Ingo emphasizes that it is often impossible to preserve both form and semantic contents all the way through, and consequently the translator must choose to focus on one of the two when problems arises. In most cases the preservation of the original meaning is more important than that of the form. Only in some of the expressive and aesthetic-poetic texts, the form is more important than the contents (Ingo, 1991: 254). Different types of texts require different translation strategies. Katharina Reiss identifies the following text types: Informative: the informative text focuses on the factual information and can be e.g. a historic or a scientific text. The main task is to communicate the contents accurately. Expressive: the expressive text focuses on the speaker, and the main task is to preserve the appeal to the audience and the emotional values that have to be adapted to the new cultural environment. An expressive text can be e.g. fiction, lyric poetry or a drama that aims at giving the reader an experience. Operative: the operative text focuses on the reader whom it wants to influence, and therefore it is important to preserve the original effect. An operative text can e.g. be an order or an advice. Audio-medial: the audio-medial text makes use of audio-visual or mass media (e.g. a song or spoken language). It is important that the aesthetic elements can be re-created in the target language (Ingo 1991, 242). H.C. Andersen s story Nissen hos Spekhøkeren is an expressive text that aims at giving the reader an experience, and therefore we find it important to preserve the original humoristic and emotional appeal. The main task is to communicate the meaning of the story, but the form is also important in Andersen s texts. Nissen hos Spekhøkeren is fiction and has fairy tail elements, but parts of the story also contain traits from the genre of art literature ( konstlitteratur ). H.C. Andersen often refers to himself as a poet rather than a writer (Pedersen, 2004: 338). His stories are full of sound patterns, rhythm, puns, metaphors and picturesque descriptions etc., and they loose a dimension if the translator does not keep the form in mind as well. The form is part of the reading experience as well The concept of equivalence According to Pedersen there is no such thing as an exact equivalent (2004: 314). In related languages like English and Danish which have developed in close proximity and with mutual contact through most of their history, there are of course many perfectly good matches in any text (Pedersen, 2004: 314), but the denotation of a word might be slightly different or carry other connotations in the target language. Sometimes the word is used in different connections, genres or contexts in the two languages.

13 Side 13 af 69 Incompatibility may be purely linguistic, in that both the SL and TL cultures know a certain object or semantic area, but describe or analyse it differently; for instance, Danish stor corresponds to three English words: great, big and large. But incompatibility may also be extralinguistic or pragmatic, in that the TL culture lacks certain objects or concepts familiar to the SL culture, and consequently also lacks words for them [O]nly in Danish can one refer to such a group as søskende or at least that was the case until recently, when the technical term sibling(s) began to find its way into everyday use (Pedersen, 2004: ). Even though the distance between Danish and English culture might seem short it is a danger to think that the people from the two communities will understand each other perfectly well. Small differences in meaning might lead to huge misunderstandings or communication breakdowns because people do not think of the fact that culture might be a significant obstacle. In the following the term equivalence is simply used as shorthand for the best match we or the translators in question can think of under the circumstances Ingo s linguistic-pragmatic model of criticism The principles that govern the translation process are relevant to keep in mind when evaluating a translation. Ingo has worked out a model for evaluation of translations which is based on a linguisticpragmatic approach. This model forms the frame of our analysis Ingo s linguistic-pragmatic model of criticism consists of the following aspects that need to be examined: Grammatical structures Linguistic varieties Semantics Pragmatics Grammatical structures First of all a translation must represent a fluent and flawless target language. The readers should not be reminded of the fact that they are reading a translation. In cases where the translation deviates from the original text the translation critic must determine whether these deviations are optional or obligatory. Has the translator for no obvious reasons deviated from the structures of the source language text or are the changes due to the structural differences of the two languages? Optional deviations do not necessarily reduce the quality of the translation, but they are not desirable in the cases where the translator has paraphrased unnecessarily. As part of our delimitation we have chosen to desist from making an in depth grammatical analysis in order to be able to focus on the other aspects. We are only going to determine whether the

14 Side 14 af 69 translations are rank-bound or not and comment briefly on whether the deviations are optional or obligatory Linguistic varieties There are many linguistic varieties. The way people use the language can vary according to time, geographical place, situation, genre, text function, the age of the sender, sex, social position and personal habits of language usages etc. (Ingo, 1991: 252). In the following analysis we are going to comment on the overall style and language usage in H.C. Andersen s story as opposed to the style and language used in the translations. It is important to have the style of the language usage in mind when we talk about whether one word is a better equivalent than the other in the semantic analysis. We are going to look at the rhythm and sound pattern created e.g. by the use of alliterations. Furthermore, we are going to look at how exact and consistent the translators have been when translating the style of Andersen s work. Ingo says that: Bedömningskriteriet bör vara den exakthet och konsekvens varmed översättning förverkligat de olika varieteterna i utgångstexten (1991: 253). It is crucial that the choices made by the translator in connection with style are followed from the beginning to the end Semantics The semantic level has to do with the meaning of single words, of sentences and of the text as a whole. In terms of semantics Ingo points out five relevant aspects to examine, namely additions, omissions, nuance differences in meaning, inexact translation solutions and direct semantic errors (1991: ) Additions Additions and omissions are some of the easiest alterations to discover when dealing with evaluation of translations. They are often necessary for pragmatic reasons i.e. the changes are necessary because of different linguistic backgrounds and cultural environments of the original and the translation. However, some additions cannot be justified by referring to pragmatic reasons. Ingo identifies another two kinds of additions: a. Semantic additions, that is, when the translator has added new components of meaning that does not exist in the original. b. Explicit components of meaning, that is, when the translator expresses explicit the meanings that can only be read between the lines in the original Omissions According to Ingo there are likewise two kinds of omissions. Either semantic components of

15 Side 15 af 69 meaning are simply left out or components of meaning that are explicit in the original have become implicit in the translation. In most cases omissions make the text less rich semantically and can have a disturbing effect or cause loss of information. Sometimes however omissions can be necessary e.g. in order to neutralize cultural differences (Ingo, 1991: 258) Slight differences in meaning or inexact translations Translation will always cause change on the semantic level. Components of meaning will be lost and others added, and what is unambiguous in the original text can become ambiguous in the translation or the other way around etc. Change on the semantic level is inevitable, but the translation critic must comment on the inexact translation solutions that can cause misinformation, mislead the reader or be the cause of misinterpretations or erroneous associations. Often the translator has used a too ambiguous translation or a broader term (överbegrepp) that can confuse. A narrower term (underbegrepp) has more components of meaning than the broader term and is consequently more specific. After an ambiguous expression you often find that the translator has added further explanation that does not fit into the context. These are, according to Ingo, usual weaknesses in a translation (Ingo, 1991: 256). The translation critic has to evaluate whether there is a slight difference in meaning or whether it is an inexact translation solution or as Ingo calls it a direct semantic error Semantic errors If most of the components of meaning in the translation passage are in accordance with the components of meaning in the original, we call it nuance differences, but if the original and the translations only have few components of meaning in common, then it is a semantic error (Ingo, 1991: 256). Often the text is still comprehensible in the target language in spite of the errors, and the reader will not detect these inconsistencies because it would require the ability to keep long passages of text in mind while reading (Ingo, 1991: 257) Pragmatics The pragmatic level has to do with the function of the text. Ingo emphasises the importance of looking into the pragmatic aspects because they are an indication of how well the translation functions in the new linguistic and cultural environment. The first question must be: Does the text fulfil its function in the target language? (Ingo, 1991: 257). The target language reader should react in the same way and get the same experience as the source language reader (Ingo, 1991: ).

16 Side 16 af 69 Has the translator made the right decisions when it comes to the translation of cultural elements such as names, abbreviations, units of measurement, holydays, institutions etc.? To get the answers to these questions the translation critic must go into the semantic level and examine the translator s additions, omissions and the passages that have been rewritten (Ingo, 1991: 258). At the pragmatic level we are interested in determining who the intended target audience is in order to be able to determine whether the translation functions or not. The intended reader is written into the text. By looking at the simplicity or complexity of the sentences, the language usage, the omissions and additions etc. the translation critic can determine whether the translation has been produced for children or adults and in this way be able to evaluate the outcome with the target group in mind. In spite of the fact that Ingo seems to regard the pragmatic aspect as being on the same level as the other aspects, we see it as a higher level that is based on the findings in the grammatical, stylistic and semantic analysis. The pragmatic aspect is more context oriented whereas the other aspects deals with problems on text level. Therefore we have chosen to regard the pragmatic aspect as our discussion chapter where we sum up and conclude on our analysis and make an overall evaluation of the two translations Target group and translation purpose When evaluating a translation, it is important to establish what the translator s idea might have been with translating the story in question. Who is his or her target audience? Is he or she aiming at preserving the old text as a museum s piece or translating with the purpose of making the text relevant to the modern reader? If the translation critic has another target audience or another purpose in mind, the evaluation of the translation will inevitably be negative. We are going to evaluate the two translations on how well they seem to appeal to their target group, if the language is idiomatically correct and fluid, and whether the translations are as adequate as possible but still free enough when necessary. 2.2 H. C. Andersen s style With later references to Andersen s style in mind this chapter should serve as a guideline for which elements we look for in the analysis Time and culture H.C. Andersen ( ) referred to himself as digter (poet) (Lund, 1995 vol. 1: 389 & Pedersen, 2004: 338). He lived during the literary period referred to as Romanticism in which the psychological split and the perspective of the small (frøperspektivet) were popular (Lund, 1995

17 Side 17 af 69 vol. 16: 276, 278) - the last even became a specialty of his (Brorstrøm & Lund, 1991: 839). According to Bidstrup, H.C. Andersen master the art of telling a story in a way so simple that even the smallest child can understand it, but at the same time every sentence is loaded with meaning which only the most attentive reader understands how to extract. Further more she emphasises that what connects H.C. Andersen s tales to the folk tale is how he expresses the adult theme in a form understandable to children (Appel & Pedersen, 1999: 44). H.C. Andersen let most of his tales and stories take place in a peasant community and used elements taken from his contemporary Danish culture like e.g. customs, words, names of places, quotations from the Bible or from other authors (Jacobsen, 2000: 5-7). The mentioned elements are sometimes so embedded in Danish culture that they cause the translators problems. Allusions and intertextuality are another element of H.C. Andersen s style which is closely connected to Denmark, like e.g. Kunstkammeret (directly translated: the art chamber ) in The Princess on the Pea (Pedersen, 2004: 326). Kunstkammeret is a reference to Oehlenschläger s poem Guldhornene in which guldhornene is put on display in kunstkammeret. In connection with the contemporary translation of his works into English, it should be noted that the Victorian society looked with suspicion on the ideals of Romanticism (Pedersen, 2004: 65), and that it was a general concern that sexual and violent references should be left out of children s literature. In many of his texts H.C. Andersen s attitude is somewhat unintentionally religious and moralizing. There has been a tendency to tone down some of the religious references, and at the same time, critics among them Peachey have emphasised his Christian values (Pedersen, 2004: 27, 335) Language H.C. Andersen s use of the Danish language was quite different from the norms and standards of his time - his tales is kept in an oral and informal style of writing. In his days the distinction between written and spoken language was huge, and people were not really allowed to write in the same way as they spoke, the written language was considered more posh. H.C. Andersen also adapted his language according to the comprehension of children. This meant that he did not use dialect words, almost no foreign words and that his tales and stories contain some sort of moral (Tveden, 2004: 144, & Pedersen, 2004: & Jacobsen, 2000: 82). Furthermore the syntax is very free and approaches the general norms for literary prose. His sentence parts sometimes push the rules of his time, and he actually creates new elements for the language, mostly verbs and adjectives, as well as bends it according to his own benefit. In the beginning of his writing career his style might be described as simpler than the later where he developed towards elaborate prose with focus on rhythm. At least his later style is more literary than the early. All through his career he also used onomatopoetic expressions (Pedersen & de Mylius, 1993: & Pedersen, 2004: ). In order to create a certain flow and rhythm H.C. Andersen used little words with no exact equivalent in English, like e.g. så, da, jo, nok, vel and rigtig (Pedersen, 2004: 331, 337). It should be noted that H.C. Andersen often used extremely long sentences; although not all that

18 Side 18 af 69 complex since they often tend to consist of parallel main clauses (Pedersen, 2004: 305) Humour In order to create humour he used alliterations, wordplays and other twists of the language to catch the attention of the reader by a twist in the language (Pedersen & de Mylius, 1993: 29-30). In the wordplays he would use already existing word pictures in their own form, twist already existing expressions and words according to the situation or he would use an expression literarily or to create a new meaning. Sometimes the wordplays are nonsense, but mostly they should be seen as language wise experiments (Pedersen & de Mylius, 1993: 32-34). This way the wordplays and the ambiguity of the language are used to surprise the reader, hereby the language deviates from its conventional use (Jacobsen, 2000: 21). Another mean of creating humour is through insertions which create a confident relationship between the writer and the reader (Jacobsen, 2000: 7-9). Idioms and other collocations like proverbs, terse and stock phrases are also elements which most often create a humorous twist. The same is the case with puns like in The Tinder-Box was Hundene sad med til bords og gjorde store øjne (directly translated: The dogs sat by the table and made big eyes ). gjorde store øjne refers to both the fact that their eyes are big and to a Danish idiom used when you are impressed or surprised by something. As well as using puns it can generally be said that he used words and phrases which contain both an implicit and an explicit meaning (Pedersen, 2004: 323, 325, 335). To create a fantasy animation of objects is used as a rhetorical figure (Pedersen, 2004: 61). 2.3 Presentation of texts for analysis Selection criteria for choice of story - A story that contains Danish culturally rich expressions or passages. One great difficulty in translation is the rendition of names of places, institutions, historical figures or events and concepts linked to a specific culture etc. H.C. Andersen s stories vary considerably with regard to the importance of these categories: some, like The Little Mermaid, are virtually free from topical allusions, others are full of them (Pedersen, 2004: 318). - A story that has not been the subject of in depth analysis. - A story that takes place in a Danish context: We expect to find more culture bound elements in a story that more or less deals with real life in Denmark. A story about a princess in a fairytale land would tend to be more abstract and appeals to a broader audience. Of course there are some fairytale or mythical figures which can only be found in the Danish tradition Nissen hos Spekhøkeren

19 Side 19 af 69 The object of our analysis is H.C. Andersen s Nissen hos Spekhøkeren which was first published on November 30th 1852 in the leaflet Historier. The Danish version used in the analysis is a reprint of the original story from The tale is inspired by the folktale genre, and later on H.C. Andersen took up the nisse-theme in other tales. Around the time when the story was written nisser was an upcoming theme in the literary world which beforehand had only been touched upon briefly. Usually nisser was situated in the countryside, but H.C. Andersen proved their existence in the capital city. The core of the story is the omnipresent poetry of life which is not cared for enough (Rubow, 1978: ). Nissen hos Spekhøkeren is the story of a Nisse who lives in the house of the Spekhøker because here he gets a bowl of Grød every Christmas Eve. There is also a student living in the house, and when the Nisse one day peeps through the key-hole of the student s room a new world of poetry opens up to him. From that day on the Nisse is in a dilemma about who he should stay with the Spekhøker who serves him Grød and satisfy his physical needs or the student who has the power to unlock the wonders of the book of poetry. On a higher level the poetry is seen as spiritual nourishment, and the story is about the split between body and soul. Under a fire the Nisse saves the book and decides to divide himself between the Spekhøker and the student in order to satisfy both his physical and spiritual needs. The body cannot exist without food, and the mind needs nourishment as well. The story contains many cultural-bound elements like e.g. Nisse, Grød and Madame which judging from the various translations are words which cause the translators problems due to their embedment in Danish culture Selection criteria for choice of translations - To some extend we would like to find translations that deviate from one another in order to discus the different choices made by the translators. - Translations from different ages: The translation tendencies and ideals have changed over time. As we are interested in evaluating different solutions the time span might provide us with more distinctive material. In the Victorian age e.g. a lot of Andersen s tales were eddied according to what was considered suitable for children. Other translation difficulties become visible when we look at contemporary translations. The cultural barriers might seem greater to a modern translator who has to make H.C. Andersen s old texts accessible for a modern English audience. - The name of the translator and the time period in which the translation was made have to be known: The fact that the translator is willing to put his name on his work is a quality sample. Then we also know whether he or she was some unknown spare-time writer with no education or a writer of high standing. For us to be able to consider whether or not the contemporary tendencies in society have influenced the translator to make specific decisions in translating H. C. Andersen it is important to know who he or she was. The translator s convictions might explain some of the translation solutions. By knowing the translator s background we will be in a better position to speculate in whether the translator has used the

20 Side 20 af 69 original Danish text or been influenced by another translation e.g. a German one. If he or she does not master the Danish language this might explain some of the deviations from the original. - We are interested in a translation that is directed to a audience with a British English cultural background. - The translation must be accessible: It has proven quite difficult for us as students to get our hands on the older translations even though we are only interested in a copy. Therefore it has become a criterion in itself Choice of translation for analysis The translations chosen are Caroline Peachey s from 1861 and Patricia Crampton s from They both live up to the criteria listed above, and an introduction of the two translators will follow in the chapter below. 2.4 Translators and the importance of the context In the following chapter we look at the context surrounding the translations of Nissen hos Spekhøkeren as it is our belief that a translation must be viewed as a product of its time and environment. Many factors such as the translator s personal convictions, the contemporary literary climate and the views on translation may influence a text when it is translated from the source language into the target language. Consequently, we examine H.C. Andersen s position as a writer in Denmark and Britain. Here it will be established that even though he aimed at a wide audience consisting of both children and adults, in Britain he was and still is considered primarily a children s writer. This had and still has consequences for the translations of his stories. Attention will also be paid to the translators background where it will be revealed that both Peachey and Crampton wrote for children. According to separate studies made by Shavit and Toury (Quoted in Pedersen, 2004: 68) the norms of the target culture prove more influential in translations for children than in adult literature. Shavit elaborates: The translator is free to manipulate a text for children if he makes sure that it is made appropriate for them, in accordance with the norms and values of the target culture, and provided that he adjusts plot, characterisation and language to their comprehension and reading abilities. (Pedersen, 2004: 68). The two translations are made more than a hundred years apart in time, and the translations must be expected to vary accordingly. Hence an account of the influence of English norms in children s literature in the middle of the 19 th century and today will be made.