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Translation of The Lord of the Rings into Swedish

The translation of The Lord of the Rings into Swedish has been the subject of controversy. The first version, by Åke Ohlmarks, done in 1959–1961, was the only one available in Swedish for forty years. The book's author, J. R. R. Tolkien, took issue with Ohlmarks's translation, identifying numerous errors and inconsistencies. In response to Ohlmarks and to Max Schuchart's Dutch translation, Tolkien wrote a "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings", a framework for translating personal names and place names; it gives multiple examples from Ohlmarks's text of what not to do. Ohlmarks rejected all criticism,[1] stating that he had intentionally created an interpretation of Tolkien, not a straight translation.[2] Swedish commentators took a wide range of positions on Ohlmarks's version: some admired it, others did not.

Ohlmarks’s version was superseded in 2005 by Erik Andersson's more direct translation of the prose, with Lotta Olsson's rendering of the embedded poetry. Andersson followed Tolkien's framework for translating names. He kept some of Ohlmarks's choices, such as Vidstige for Strider and Fylke for the Shire, on the grounds that they were well established and did not contradict Tolkien’s wishes. The 2005 version attracted great interest in Sweden, and was on the whole well received.

Åke Ohlmarks 1959–1961

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Åke Ohlmarks in 1938

Åke Ohlmarks (1911–1984) was a philologist and prolific translator, who published Swedish versions of Shakespeare, Dante and the Quran.[3] His translation of The Lord of the Rings was the only one available in Swedish for forty years. He ignored complaints and calls for revision from readers,[1] stating in his 1978 book Tolkiens arv ("Tolkien's legacy") that his intention had been to create an interpretation, not a translation.[2][a]

The translation had its merits. Ohlmarks's experience translating Old Norse enabled him to find suitable old Swedish words for some of Tolkien's terms: Tolkien scholar Anders Stenström (pen name Beregond) praises his choices of alv for "elf", and of väströna (modelled on norröna, North Sea coast people of the heroic age) for "Westron". On the other hand, Beregond notes, Ohlmarks failed to use harg for the cognate "harrow" in Dunharrow, or skog for "shaw" in Trollshaws, things that "should have been obvious".[4] A much more widespread issue was Ohlmarks's "propensity for embroidering every description". When Tolkien calls Bilbo's wealth "a legend"; Ohlmarks goes beyond Tolkien's text to assert that "his travels are sägenomsusade ('legendary') as well."[4]

When The Silmarillion was published in 1977, Tolkien's son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien consented to a Swedish translation only on the condition that Ohlmarks have nothing to do with it. The translation was done by Roland Adlerberth.[T 1]

Ohlmarks went on to write a book in 1982 called Tolkien and Black Magic.[5]

Tolkien's response

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Further information: Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings

Tolkien intensely disliked Ohlmarks and his translation of The Lord of the Rings.[6][T 2][T 3] He thought Ohlmarks's version was even worse than Shuchart's 1956–57 Dutch translation, as is evident from a 1957 letter to his publisher Rayner Unwin:[T 4]

The enclosure that you brought from Almqvist &c. was both puzzling and irritating. A letter in Swedish from fil. dr. Åke Ohlmarks, and a huge list (9 pages foolscap) of names in the L.R. which he had altered. I hope that my inadequate knowledge of Swedish – no better than my kn. of Dutch, but I possess a v. much better Dutch dictionary! – tends to exaggerate the impression I received. The impression remains, nonetheless, that Dr. Ohlmarks is a conceited person, less competent than charming Max Schuchart, though he thinks much better of himself.[T 4]

Examples singled out by Tolkien in the same letter include:[T 4]

Tolkien's response to Ohlmarks' renderings of names[T 4]
Tolkien Ohlmarks Literally Tolkien's comments Notes on etymology
Ford of Bruinen Björnavad Bear Ford "!" A guess, using English "Bruin", a brown bear;[7]
Sindarin brui, "noisy"; nen, "water"[8]
Archet Gamleby Old Village "a mere guess, I suppose, from 'archaic'?" British *ar(e)cait, "near the woods";
compare Welsh argoed, "trees"[9][T 5]
Mountains of Lune
(Ered Luin)		 Månbergen Moon Mountains ——— A guess, using Latin luna, moon
Ered Luin is Sindarin: "Blue Mountains"[T 6]
Gladden Fields Ljusa slätterna Bright Plains "(in spite of descr[iption] in [Book] I. 62)" Gladden = Yellow iris[T 7]

In his 1967 "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings", produced in response to Ohlmarks' version,[10] Tolkien pointed out numerous other translations that he found dubious. For example, Ohlmarks used Vattnadal ("Water-dale") for Rivendell, apparently, Tolkien commented, by way of taking riven for river.[T 8] The Ent Quickbeam becomes Snabba solstrålen ("Swift Sunbeam"), apparently taking beam in the sense of "beam of light" instead of "tree", ignoring the fact that all Ents have names connected with trees. Tolkien stated that Quickbeam was so named because he was a "hasty" Ent; Tolkien advises translating the name to give the sense "quick (lively) tree", noting that both "Quickbeam" and "Quicken" are actual English names for the rowan tree.[T 9]

Ohlmarks sometimes offers multiple translations for names: for example, he renders Isengard variously as Isengard, Isengård, Isendor or Isendal. The "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings" states that this name was meant to be so "archaic in form" that its etymology had been forgotten. Tolkien advises that it could be used either as it was or, for Germanic languages (like Swedish), "one or both elements in [the] name" could be translated using "related elements" in those languages, mentioning gård as an option.[T 10]

Reception in Sweden

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Early welcome

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Some of the initial reception was warm; author and translator Sven Stolpe wrote in Aftonbladet that Ohlmarks "has made a ’swedification’ [försvenskning] – he has found wonderful, magnificent, Swedish compound words, he has translated poem after poem with great inspiration, there is not a page in his magnum opus that does not read like original Swedish work by a brilliant poet".[11] Staffan Björck [sv], reviewing the book for Dagens Nyheter, listed some objections but wrote that "I only list these objections so that I can with greater emphasis praise the translation as a whole: it is magnificent."[12]

Later hostility

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Later, the translation's reception became more hostile. In 2000, Leif Jacobsen [sv] of Lund University's Institute of Linguistics noted among other things Ohlmarks’s confusion/conflation of Éowyn and Merry in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and wrote that "There can be no doubt that the Swedish translation is defective and in many ways a failure".[13] He argued that whereas Tolkien was writing for adults, Ohlmarks translated for children; and that Ohlmarks tried to make the text his own, supplanting Tolkien rather than directly translating him.[13]

In 2004, Malte Persson wrote in Göteborgsposten that the translation was "so full of misunderstandings, misconceptions, inconsistencies, and arbitrary additions that it must mean that Ohlmarks was either significantly worse at English than Icelandic, or that he had not taken the assignment seriously".[14]

Also in 2004, Tolkien scholar Anders Stenström (pen name Beregond) wrote that Ohlmarks’s translation contains numerous factual errors, mistranslations of idiomatic expressions, and non-sequiturs.[15]

Andreas Brunner commented in Sydsvenska Dagbladet that Ohlmarks' prose is hyperbolic in style, where the original uses simple or even laconic language.[16]

Erik Andersson and Lotta Olsson, 2005

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Approach

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Erik Andersson in 2012

Ohlmarks's translation was not superseded until 2005, when a new translation was made by Erik Andersson [sv],[1] with poems interpreted by Lotta Olsson [sv]. This translation was by intention much closer to the original, hewing to Tolkien's instructions. In the translation process, Andersson had access to a team of Tolkien fans as advisors.[1] In 2007, he published a book called Översättarens anmärkningar ("The Translator's Notes") based on his diaries from the project.[17]

Andersson retained some of Ohlmarks's more popular and well-established choices, such as Vidstige (roughly ”Wide-walker”) for "Strider", Midgård for Middle-earth and Fylke for the Shire.[1] Stefan Spjut, reviewing the new translation in Svenska Dagbladet, commented that Ohlmarks's version had its merits, and that his Vidstige "even outdoes the original’s Strider", but that people would probably get used to the new version.[18]

Reception

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The 2005 translation project attracted great interest from Swedish Tolkien fans and Swedish media. Henrik Williams, reviewing the new translation for Dagens Nyheter, wrote: "Let me say that Andersson & Olsson have prepared a readable, even and in large part correct translation, a test of a very robust piece of work that deserves deep respect, but also a careful review".[19] Malte Persson wrote in Göteborgsposten that "the new translation follows the original's fluent prose very closely, and only a linguistic pedant could find anything to object to".[14]

Comparisons

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Titles

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Charlotte Strömbom notes that the Swedish titles chosen for the books immediately indicate differences between Andersson and Ohlmarks. Andersson’s title for the trilogy is, she writes, plainly closer to Tolkien's in both meaning and form; Ohlmarks' title shifts attention to the Ring itself. Ohlmarks omits the "Fellowship" from Volume I, giving what Strömbom suggests is a more epic feeling to the title, where Andersson's is more grounded in reality.[1]

Titles
Tolkien Ohlmarks Andersson
Whole book The Lord of the Rings Sagan om Ringen
(The Saga of the Ring)		 Ringarnas herre
(Lord of the Rings)
Volume I The Fellowship of the Ring Härskarringen
(The Master Ring)		 Ringens brödraskap
(Brotherhood of the Ring)
Volume II The Two Towers Sagan om de två tornen
(The Saga of the Two Towers)		 De två tornen
(The Two Towers)
Volume III The Return of the King Sagan om konungens återkomst
(The Saga of the Return of the King)		 Konungens återkomst
(Return of the King)

Names

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Strömbom comments that Ohlmarks prefers to give names a desired form, where Andersson wants to stay close to the meanings of the original names. Ohlmarks uses Lavskägge (Lichen-beard) for Treebeard, and Vattnadal (Water-dale) for Rivendell, where Andersson chooses the more literal Trädskägge and Riftedal. She adds that sometimes Ohlmarks' choices come closer to the sound of Tolkien's names.[1]

How Ohlmarks and Andersson translate names
Tolkien Ohlmarks Andersson
Baggins Bagger Secker
(sounds like 'Sacks')
Bag End Baggershus Säcks ände
Sack's end
Barliman Butterbur Barliman Bytteson, Smörblomma
Barliman Bucketson, Buttercup		 Malte Smörblom
Malte Buttercup (sounds like 'Malt')
Gaffer [Gamgee] Gubbtjuven
(derogatory term for an old man)		 Gammelfar
Grandad, granpa
Mount Doom Domedagsberget
Doomsday Mountain		 Domberget
Doom Mountain
The One Ring den enda ringen, härskarringen
The one ring, the master ring		 den stora ringen, den främsta ringen, den rätta, härskarringen
The great ring, the first ring, the right one, the master ring
Rivendell Vattnadal
Waterdale, Water valley		 Riftedal
Rift-dale, Rivendale
Sackville-Baggins Säcksta-Bagger
Sacktown-Bagger		 Kofferdi-Secker
Leathercase-Secker (see Baggins above)
Treebeard Lavskägge
Lichenbeard		 Trädskägge
Treebeard

Prose

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Commentators including Petter Lindgren in Aftonbladet have remarked on Ohlmarks's wordy text compared to Andersson's more laconic version.[20] Strömbom notes the following as an instance of the difference in styles and length:[1]

A comparison of Ohlmarks and Andersson's translations[1]
Tolkien Ohlmarks 1959–1961 Andersson and Olsson 2005
Indeed, few Hobbits had ever seen or sailed upon the Sea, and fewer still had ever returned to report it. (20 words)
 Det var ju så, att sjömanslivet alls inte passade samman med hobernas allmänna läggning. Ytterst få hade sett havet, ännu färre befarit det, och av dem som verkligen seglat hade blott ett försvinnande fåtal återvänt och kunnat berätta om vad de upplevat. (42 words) Över huvud taget var det få hobbitar som hade sett havet eller färdats på det, och ännu färre hade återvänt och berättat om det. (24 words)
Back-translations It was the case that a sailor's life did not fit in at all with the general disposition of the hobbits. Extremely few had seen the sea, even fewer had sailed it, and of those who really had sailed, only a vanishingly few had returned and been able to tell what they had experienced. Indeed there were few hobbits who had seen the sea or travelled on it, and even fewer had returned and told about it.

Verse

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Aftonbladet wrote of the poetry that "Lotta Olsson has had the thankless task of translating the book's numerous verses which many readers skip, though she does it well and economically".[20] Olsson rendered a sample of Tolkien's verse like this:

The Rhyme of the Rings
Tolkien Ohlmarks 1959–1961 Olsson, in Andersson 2005

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

En ring att sämja dem, en ring att främja dem,
en ring att djupt i mörkrets vida riken tämja dem
i Mordors land där skuggorna ruva.

En ring att styra dem, en ring att se dem,
en ring att fånga dem och till mörkret ge dem,
i Mordor, i skuggornas land.

Back-translations

One ring to unite them, one ring to bring them,
one ring to deep in the wide realms of darkness tame them
in Mordor's land where the shadows brood.

One ring to rule them, one ring to see them,
one ring to catch them and to the darkness give them,
in Mordor, in the shadows' land.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Ohlmarks wrote: Nej, Ohlmarks strävar helt enkelt inte efter att vara Tolkien så trogen så möjligt; hans ideal måste vara ett annat. Ty genom att brodera ut Tolkiens text, att lägga till ord och ägna sig åt långa omskrivningar, att helt enkelt träget göra om det enkla språket till ett mer komplicerat och högtravande sådant, förändras inte bara meningsbyggnad och ordföljd; även stilen blir en annan.

    (No, Ohlmarks is simply not aiming to be as faithful to Tolkien as possible; his ideal has to be different. For by embroidering Tolkien's text, adding words and indulging in lengthy paraphrases, by frankly stubbornly turning the simple language into a more complicated and high-faluting one, not only are the structure of sentences and word order changed; the style too becomes different.)[2]

References

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Primary

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  1. ^ Tolkien, J. R. R.; Adlerberth, Roland (trans.) (1979). Silmarillion (in Swedish). AWE/Gebers. ISBN 9120059051. OCLC 43152257.
  2. ^ Carpenter 2023, #228 to Allen & Unwin, 24 January 1961: "Ohlmarks is a very vain man (as I discovered in our correspondence), preferring his own fancy to facts, and very ready to pretend to knowledge which he does not possess."
  3. ^ Carpenter 2023, #229 to Allen & Unwin, 23 February 1961: "I now enclose a copy and version of Ohlmarks' nonsense [about Tolkien]. In the hope that you may think it justifies my annoyance. I have not looked at his second outburst. I feel I cannot just now take any more."
  4. ^ a b c d Carpenter 2023, #263 to Rayner Unwin, 1957
  5. ^ Tolkien 1975, p. 178
  6. ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (2007). "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings". Parma Eldalamberon (17): 66.
  7. ^ Tolkien 1975, pp. 185–186
  8. ^ Tolkien 1975, p. 190
  9. ^ Tolkien 1975, p. 172
  10. ^ Tolkien 1975, pp. 187–188

Secondary

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Strömbom, Charlotte (29 January 2009). "God åkermark eller fet och fruktbar mylla? – Om Erik Anderssons och Åke Ohlmarks översättningar av J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings" [Good arable land or fertile and fruitful soil? – On Erik Andersson's and Åke Ohlmarks' translations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings]. Vetsaga (in Swedish). ISSN 1654-0786.
  2. ^ a b c Ohlmarks, Åke (1978). Tolkiens arv [Tolkien's Legacy] (in Swedish). Bokförlaget Plus. p. 6. ISBN 9174061224.
  3. ^ Jarring, Gunnar (1992–1994). "Ohlmarks, Åke Joel". Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon (in Swedish). pp. 111–117.
  4. ^ a b Beregond (Anders Stenström), "Tolkien in Swedish Translation: From Hompen to Ringarnas herre", in Honegger 2011a, pp. 49–63
  5. ^ Ohlmarks, Åke (1982). Tolkien och den svarta magin [Tolkien and Black Magic] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sjöstrand. Title page. ISBN 978-91-7574-053-9.
  6. ^ Brown, Sara (15 October 2012). "Reviews [Tolkien in Translation]". Mythlore. 31 (1). Article 10. Tolkien's dislike for both Ohlmarks and his translation is made clear in his Letter #228
  7. ^ "Bruin (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  8. ^ Wynne, Patrick H. (28 February 2006). "_Bruinen_ in VT48". Lambengolmor. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  9. ^ Hammond & Scull 2005, p. 765.
  10. ^ Hammond & Scull 2005, pp. 760, 774.
  11. ^ Stolpe, Sven (2 October 1959). "Nutiden som saga". Aftonbladet. p. 3.
  12. ^ Björck, Staffan (11 December 1959). "Sagan om Ringen". Dagens Nyheter.
  13. ^ a b Jacobsen, Leif (2000). "Sagan om Ringen = The Lord of the Rings? En kritisk komparativ granskning av Åke Ohlmarks översättning av J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings" (PDF) (in Swedish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  14. ^ a b Persson, Malte (27 September 2004). "Ring, ring, ring". Göteborgsposten. pp. 48–49.
  15. ^ Stenström, Anders (aka Beregond) (2004). "Tolkien in Swedish Translation: from Hompen to Ringarnas herre". In Honegger, Thomas M. (ed.). Translating Tolkien: Text and Film. Walking Tree Publishers. pp. 115–124. ISBN 978-3-9521-4249-3.
  16. ^ Brunner, Andreas (26 September 2004). "Andreas Brunner läser nyöversatt Tolkien" [Andreas Brunner reads newly-translated Tolkien]. Sydsvenska Dagbladet (in Swedish).
  17. ^ Andersson, Erik (2015). Översättarens anmärkningar: dagbok från arbetet med Ringarnas herre [Translator's Notes: diary of my work with The Lord of the Rings]. Stockholm: Norstedt. ISBN 978-9-1130-7108-4.
  18. ^ Spjut, Stefan (27 September 2004). "Ordrenovering i Fylke" [Word Renewal in the Shire]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  19. ^ Williams, Henrik (27 September 2004). "En ring i Tolkiens anda" [A Ring in Tolkien's Spirit] (PDF). Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). pp. 4–5.
  20. ^ a b Lindgren, Petter (27 September 2004). "Hux flux - en ny Tolkien" [Abracadabra – a new Tolkien]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). pp. 4–5.

Bibliography

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Ohlmarks' translation of The Lord of the Rings
  • Sagan om ringen. Stockholm: Gebers. 1959. OCLC 43127536. (Volume 1)
  • Sagan om de två tornen. Stockholm: Gebers. 1960. OCLC 186811060. (Volume 2)
  • Sagan om konungens återkomst. Stockholm: Gebers. 1961. OCLC 43141566. (Volume 3)
Andersson and Olsson's translation of The Lord of the Rings
  • Ringens brödraskap: första delen av Ringarnas herre. Stockholm: Norstedt. 2004. OCLC 186369912. (Volume 1)
  • De två tornen: andra delen av Ringarnas herre. Stockholm: Norstedt. 2005. OCLC 186594636. (Volume 2)
  • Konungens återkomst: tredje delen av Ringarnas herre. Stockholm: Norstedt. 2005. OCLC 186770341. (Volume 3)
Tolkien
Secondary sources
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