„Kod kulturowy a przekład. Na podstawie wybranych utworów Astrid Lindgren ich polskich przekładów”. The Cultural Code and Translation. The Case of Selected Works by Astrid Lindgren into Polish. With a Summary in English.

Kod kulturowy a przekład. Na podstawie wybranych utworów Astrid Lindgren i ich polskich przekładów. Sylvia A. Liseling Nilsson Dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages, University of Stockholm. To be defended publicly on Saturday 18 February 2010 at 10.00 am (hörsal 9, hus D, Universitetsvägen 10 D). Abstract The Cultural Code and Translation: The Case of Selected Works by Astrid Lindgren into Polish The dissertation examines how the Swedish cultural code, contained in books by Astrid Lindgren, was transferred into the Polish linguistic and cultural domain. The research reveals how the Polish cultural filter affected the image of Swedish reality in the translations. The analysis took into account the transfer of both verbal and visual aspects of the cultural elements. A smooth transfer was achieved in the following sphere: changes in the linguistic code between interlocutors from different social strata; the way in which people from the privileged classes were addressed; the transfer of the verbal folklore of children. The folklore of Swedish and Polish children was shown to be more or less congruent, which may indicate the existence of a universal, transnational children’s code. The reconstruction of intertextual references was achieved in relation to the Bible. References to world literature succeeded in crossing the cultural border only partially. The complexity of the cultural code of the original led to an exoticization of the translated text. The colloquial language and dialect of the original, reflecting the structure of Swedish society failed to find its way into the translations. Emotionality in the form of expression, typical of Polish culture, caused the translations to be characterized by the use of diminutives. The emphasis on the emotional element is also visible in the enormous diversification of the verba dicendi in the translations, which also makes the text more expressive. The linguistic and stylistic conventions of the target language (i.e. Polish) caused the translations to depart from Lindgren’s simple and repetitive style. The addition of footnotes in the translations demonstrates the strong didactic tendencies in literature for children in Polish culture. They did not enrich the text of the translation, however, with any new information. The transfer of the visual element in the first translations was characterized by polonization and folkoricization. Scenes that show children at work and portray village life were subjected to a form of purification, so that the small-town milieu—in contrast to the village—was shown to advantage through its visualization. The typical rural buildings and the costumes of their inmates were transmitted via a strategy of folkloricization: by drawing on the relatively well-regarded peasant culture of the Podhale region of Poland. Keywords: translation, cultural studies, cross-cultural transfer, folklore, cultural, verbal and visual code, children’s books, Astrid Lindgren, illustrations, diminutives, intertextuality, verba dicendi, exoticization, folkloricization, polonization.nrpages: 330status: publishe