Translator's Translation Choices in Mary Hoffman's MacMillan Treasury of Nursery Stories' First Finnish Edition

Abstract

This thesis studies the translation choices made in Mary Hoffman’s MacMillan Treasury of Nursery Stories’ first Finnish edition, Otavan suuri satukirja. It aims to study whether the translator has had a domesticating or a foreignizing effect on the published children’s fairy tales, and to add knowledge on the study of translated children’s literature in Finland. The material for this study consists of six tales selected from Hoffman’s collection, which are analyzed through the lens of close reading. The analysis is based on the theoretical frameworks of Eugene Nida’s functional equivalence and Lawrence Venuti’s domestication and foreignization strategies. Nida’s theory aids with studying the transfer of meaning between the source and target texts, and Venuti’s strategies aid with studying the translator’s choices. These strategies also aid in studying the translator’s impact on the narrative of the tales. For this study, five translation technique categories have been formed, which are based on previously coined techniques. The translator has preferred domestication techniques when translating the tales. Only one of the thirteen examples contained a possibility of foreignization, but this example is arguable. The translator’s domesticating approach has formed a sense of familiarity into the tales, creating a domestic setting for the child reader. The results also support the idea that translation exists on a spectrum, as domestication and foreignization are not always clear-cut strategies. Domestication may be preferred on a linguistic level when translating for small children. The effects of foreignized versus domesticated texts on children could be a valuable future research topic.