Comparison of three different English translations of Pippi Longstocking. How are they similar and different? Is one closer to the source text? What might be some of the reasons for these differences?

1. LOST IN
TRANSLATION
Looking for
Pippi
Longstocking

4. On the
screen/stage
US, 1988 Soviet Union, 1982

5. Toys, Games, Costumes, Pop
Culture

7. 1950
United States
Translated by
Florence Lamborn
2007
US/Great Britain
Translated by
Tiina Nunnally
3 English Translations
1954
Great Britain
Translated by
Edna Hurup

8. Looking for the voice of the
translator
Real Translator(Interpreting reader) Implied Reader
(original audience)
Implied translator
Implied reader (target audience)
-Emer O’Sullivan, Comparative Children’s Literature
Communicative model of translation
Author

9. Question:
Are the translations closer to
source text or target audience?
Examined culturally specific items
• money
• proper names
• food
Issues in Translation

10. Original Lamborn
1950
Hurup 1954 Nunnally 2007
coffee
herring
coffee tea
fish
coffee
pepparkakor
rhubarb pie
pepparkakor ginger snaps
strawberries & cream
ginger snaps
kronor dollars pence kronor/öre
meters yards/feet yards/feet metres
schottische schottische polka polka
Mr. Nilsson Mr. Nilsson Mr. Nelson Mr. Nilsson
Villa Villekulla Villa Villekulla Villakulla Cottage Villa Villekulla
Malin Malin Martha Malin
Schtarke Adolph Mighty Adolf Mighty Adolf Schtrong Adolf

11. Translating Humor:
How do you translate wordplay, irony, puns, and convey
nuance?
“The purifying translation of wordplay which
contravenes linguistic rules is primarily influenced by
educational norms in the target culture, but differing
degrees of comic talent and linguistic creativity among
translators are also factors.”
–Emer O’Sullivan, Compartive Children’s Literature (which itself
is translated from the German)

12. The burglars, when surprised by Pippi, ask her what
the clock says. She replies, “Big strong fellows like you,
and you don’t even know what a clock says? Who
brought you up anyway? Haven’t you ever heard a
clock before? A clock is a little round thingamajig that
says “tick tock” and keeps going and going but never
gets to the door. If you know any other riddles, let’s
hear them.” (Nunnally, 2007)
Tick-tock
When the burglars take their leave, Pippi yells, “I’m
not asking you to play tic-tac-toe! . . . But you could at
least play along with my tick-tock riddle. I don’t
know what makes you tick! But never mind, go in
peace.”

13. In the Lamborn translation, the clock says “tick
tack, tick tack.” – wordplay, as this version
depends upon knowing the Swedish
pronunciation of “tack” which is “tock.”
“I don’t demand that you say ‘tack’ [thanks in
Swedish], shouted Pippi after them, “but you
could at least make an effort and say ‘tick.’ You
haven’t even as much sense as a clock has.”

14. Pancake rhymes
Nu ska här bakas pannekakas,
Nu ska här vankas pannekankes,
Nu ska här stekas pannekekas.
(Lindgren, 1945)
Lamborn, 1950 Hurup, 1954
Now we’re going to make a pancake,
Now there’s going to be a pankee,
Now we’re going to fry a pankye.
Here pancakes will be baked now
Here pancakes will be served now,
Here pancakes will be fried now!
Nunnally, 2007
Now it’s time to make Pancakes,
Now it’s time to flip panclips,
Now it’s time to shape panchapes!

15. Sounds
When Pippi has wet clothes after an outing, they make different sounds
“It says ‘klaf, klafs’ in my
dress and ‘squish, squish
in my shoes. Isn’t that
jolly?”
Lamborn, 1950“Hey , just listen to
how it squishes
when I walk!”
“my clothes say
‘squish, squish ‘and
my shoes say ‘slosh,
slosh’.”
Nunnally, 2007
“Listen to the skwuffling
when I walk . . . It says
‘skwuff, skweep’ in my
clothes and ‘skwipp,
skwipp in my shoes.”
Hurup, 1954

16. Songs
Nunnally, 2007

17. Lamborn, 1950 Hurup, 1954
In the jolly summertime
Through field and wood I make my way.
I do exactly as I wish,
And when I walk it goes squish, squish.
Squish, squish. Squish, squish.
And my old shoe—
It’s really true –
Sometimes says “chip” and sometimes
“choo.”
For the shoe is wet.
The bull sleeps yet.
And I eat all the rice pudding I can get.
In the jolly summertime
I squish wherever I go.
Squish-oh! Squish-oh!
When summer days are warm and still
And I go over wood and hill
I do exactly as I will
And it drips as I go, Hi ho, hi ho!
And in my shoes,
Because I choose,
It squelches just like orange juice
Because the shoes are soaking wet.
Ho, Ha, what a silly bull we met!
And I – I do like chicken croquette!
When summer days are warm and still,
It drips as I go.
Drip ho! Drip ho!

18. AT SCHOOL
i is for . . .
Original Lamborn Hurup Nunnally Comic (Nunnally)
igelkott
(hedgehog)
ibex island iguana ivan the
hedgehog

19. AT THE CIRCUS
“surkas”
Original Lamborn Hurup Nunnally
Accent
present?
Yes No Yes yes
“broken
Swedish”
Phonetic depiction of
accent: Liddle girl, it is
constink vive crones the
front row and dree
crones the back row
and wan crones the
zdandinkroom)
“zeats” for
seats &
“schtanding”
for standing
(plus font is
different)
Miss Carmencita Miss Carmencita Senorita
Carmeñcita
“Horrible child!” “Derrible child” “You schtupid
child!”

20. “In a moment you vil behold the greatest marfel of our
time, the schtrongest man in the world, Schtrong Adolf,
who iss schtill undefeated. And now, ladies and
chentlemen, I give you Schtrong Adolf!”
“Zo, ladies and chentlemen,” shouted the ringmaster, “iss
there rrreally no one who vishes to earn a hundert
kroner? Am I rrreally going to haff to keep the money all
for myself?”
“No, I rrreallly don’t think so,” said Pippi. -Nunnally, 2007
And now, ladies and chantelmen, I
giff you a grrreat offer! Weech of
you dares to try a wrestling match
with Mighty Adolf, who dares to
try to beat ze world’s strongest
man)?” – Hurup, 1954

23. Shaun Tan’s tribute
to Pippi
(Upon receiving
the ALMA)