Abstract
In the first edition of Descriptive Translation Studies, Gideon Tory defined pseudotranslations as “texts which have been presented as translations with no corresponding source texts in other languages ever having existed” (1995, p. 40). In later editions, he elaborates further regarding the possible reasons for publishing original works as translations, and the significance of pseudotranslation for translation studies, and concludes that as texts that pretend to be translations, pseudotranslations may offer an insight into how members of a community perceive of translations in general, and how they perceive of translations from a specific source culture in particular (2012, p. 50-54). Similarly, Brian Baer argues that pseudotranslation is indeed a topic of central importance for Translation studies, which ought to be re-conceived “not as fake but as translations of an ‘imagined’ original” (2017, pp. 131–132). That is, pseudotranslations are generally connected to the expectations of the reader, and build on assumptions about the “imagined” source culture.
One of the possible reasons for pseudotranslation is according to Sabine Strümper-Krobb related to marketing, and a wish to make a product on the book market seem more interesting (2018). Thus, it is not surprising that pseudotranslation occurs in popular genres such as crime fiction. Swedish crime fiction is indeed popular in Russia (Podlevskikh Carlström, 2023), and between 2013 and 2014, a series of six novels by the unknown Swedish author Eva Chansen were published by the Russian publishing house Eksmo. The novels were marketed as a mixture between Swedish crime fiction author Stieg Larson’s Millennium trilogy and E. L. James’ Fifty Shades-series. In reality, the author Eva Hansen does not exist and the so called Cvet-boli (The color of pain) book series consists of six elaborate pseudotranslations.
During my presentation, I will illustrate the textual and paratextual strategies applied by the author and publishing house in order to present the novels in the Cvet boli-series (The Color of Pain) as translations from Swedish, and also how they fail to appear as genuine translations. Furthermore, I will draw conclusions regarding the possible reasons for 1) publishing the novels as translations, and 2) publishing the novels as translation from Swedish. Based on the textual and paratextual strategies applied by the publishing house and author, I will also discuss Russian assumptions about the “imagined” source culture, Sweden, as well as ethical implications of this type of pseudotranslation.
Primary sources
Chansen, Ėva. 2013a. Cvet boli: krasnyj [The color of Pain: Red]. Moskva: Ėksmo.
Chansen, Eva. 2013b. Cvet boli: belyj [The color of Pain: White]. Moskva: Eksmo.
Chansen, Ėva. 2013c. Cvet boli: černyj [The color of Pain: Black]. Moskva: Ėksmo.
Chansen, Ėva. 2014a. Cvet boli: barchat [The color of Pain: Velvet]. Moskva: Ėksmo.
Chansen, Ėva. 2014b. Cvet boli: šelk [The color of Pain: Silk]. Moskva: Ėksmo.
Chansen, Ėva. 2014c. Cvet boli: lateks [The color of Pain: Latex]. Moskva: Eksmo.
Secondary sources
Baer, B. J. (2017). De-sacralizing the origin(al) and the transnational future of Translation Studies. Perspectives, 25(2), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2016.1211157
Podlevskikh Carlström, Malin. (2023). Swedish Crime Fiction in Russia 1992–2021. Publication, Marketing and Paratextual Framing. Samlaren: tidskrift för svensk litteraturvetenskaplig forskning, 144: 320–360. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-523154
Strümper-Krobb, S. (2018.) Pretending not to be original: Pseudotranslations and their functions. In J. Woodsworth (Ed.), The Fictions of Translation (pp. 199–213). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Toury, Gideon. 1995. Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Toury, Gideon. 2012. Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Revised Edition. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Accessed February 17, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Biography
Malin Podlevskikh Carlström is an associate senior lecturer at the Department of Languages and Literatures, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and affiliated researcher at the School of Languages and Translation Studies, University of Turku, Finland. Between 2021 and 2023, she was a Swedish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Turku. She has a PhD in Slavic languages and a master’s degree in translation, both from the University of Gothenburg. Her research interests cover intertextuality, contemporary Russian literature, and a wide range of aspects related to translation reception.
