Runojen uudelleensuomentaminen ja tekijyys

Abstract

For over a century, several Finnish literary translators have used existing translations as source texts alongside the ultimate source text. In indirectly translated poems, the different translators’ interpretations show in both the rhythm and the word choices. The anthology Tuhat laulujen vuotta (One Thousand Years of Songs, 1957) contains Finnish translations of poetry classics. The editor, Aale Tynni, translated 283 texts, 11 of them indirectly and included 89 mostly edited old translations. The original translators’ permission for the edits or for using their translations for retranslations was not asked. Moreover, Lauri Viljanen’s translation and Tynni’s retranslation of “A Toccata of Galuppi’s” (Robert Browning) share most of the rhythmical choices and several identical passages, rhymes, and interpretations. In contrast, Tynni’s edit of Viljanen’s translation of “La saison de semailles. Le soir” (Victor Hugo) has a different metric structure than Viljanen’s version. The Berne Convention (1889) prohibits publishing revised translations without the translator’s consent, but this type of activity can go unnoticed when sufficient information about the source text(s) is not published. Sometimes identifying the source texts requires extensive investigation. This study suggests that when detecting connections between poem translations, rhythm should also be considered.