Kääntäjä toiseuden välittäjänä : pohdintoja kääntäjähaastattelun pohjalta

The article discusses the different ideological aspects of the translation process and the role of thetranslator as the mediator of Otherness in relation to a case study which researches the image of FinnishLapland in French travel literature from the 17th to the 19th century. The article is based on an analysis ofan interview with a Finnish translator, Marja Itkonen-Kaila, who has done several translations of Frenchtravel depictions of Lapland. These Finnish texts can be characterized as partially domesticated, faithfultranslations whereas the translator’s strategy is that of minimum change: the translations are readerfriendly, but loyal to the source texts. The interview clarified the functions and intentions behind thetranslations and showed that many other factors besides the translator contribute to the translationprocess. However, the translator’s role as a writer and as the mediator of Otherness should not beminimized. The translations form an important part of the discursive representations of the Other.