Le otto montagne – toma, alpinista, stufato, mocetta in svedese : Analisi della resa in svedese dei realia culturospecifici di un romanzo italiano

Sammanfattning: In this thesis the translation of cultural elements from Italian to Swedish is examined. The study is based on the analysis of the realia found in the Italian novel Le otto montagne, which was written by Paolo Cognetti and published in 2016 by Einaudi. The analysis is based on theories of translation studies. The thesis presents the results of analytical parallel reading of the original Le otto montagne and the Swedish version De åtta bergen, which was translated by Malin Emitslöf and published by Contempo förlag in 2018. The original hypothesis was that the strategies chosen by the translator would show tendencies to aim for an adequate translation of the culture specific elements and the names. During the parallel reading phrases and words specific to the Italian language culture (realia) were collected. The elements of realia which were found were first grouped according to type of realia. The next step was to determine which method had been used by the translator, to render the specific element of realia into Swedish. The results obtained do not fully verify the original hypothesis, that the strategies chosen by the translator would in general show tendencies to aim for an adequate translation of the culture specific elements. However, when the culture specific element in question was connected to specific domains or subjects, this tendency to aim for an adequate translation was more distinct. These subjects were for instance traditional life in the mountains, alpinism etc, i.e. subjects with a strong connection to the mountains. As a complement to the results of the parallel reading, Malin Emitslöf, the translator, was asked to answer a number of questions regarding the translation, her background, etc. Her very helpful and comprehensive answers can be found in the appendix of this thesis. The answers to the questions in the interview suggest that the translator did not choose strategies or model readers consiously, but rather made the various choices during the translation process based on intuitive experience from previous work with translation, extensive exposure to the two language-cultures, the gut feeling, and a good instinct for language. Further work in this area could focus on the comparison of the translation of the elements of realia in the book (i.e. Le otto montagne) into different languages, for instance Swedish and Spanish. Another suggestion would be to compare the methods and experiences of two different translators, Malin Emitslöf e Aija Cirulis, by doing interviews with them both. They both have experience from translating a novel written by Paolo Cognetti, into Swedish. La Cirulis recently translated the book “Senza mai arrivare in cima” by Cognetti, into Swedish. (Contempo 2020). It would be interesting to make a comparison between their experiences, their methods and their strategies.