The subtle lack of pronouns in the Swedish original

[kaonto]

In the Swedish novel, Eli is described as a 'she' from Oskar's POV only, all the passages from Håkan's and Eli's own POV before the flashback-scene are written without any references to Eli's gender: Håkan thinks of Eli only as 'his beloved one', and when we see things from Eli's perspective (with the Cancer Woman), there are no pronouns used at all. Even after Eli has hinted at his true gender (telling the Cancer Woman the story about the young boy), JAL continues to just use Eli's name, and not 'he/she' or 'his/her'.

I was very impressed that he could get away with that without intrerrupting the flow of the narrative, I didn't notice it at all the first time I read the book. When re-reading those passages, it's obvious once you know what to look for. Sometimes sentences start with the pronoun omitted, which is fine both in Swedish and English I suppose, although it sounds a bit 'clipped': ('NN came in. Sat down. Had a cup of coffe. Stood up again. Went out.' and so on). In Swedish however, the reflexive pronoun 'sin/sitt' is gender-neutral, whereas an English translation needs to use 'his' or 'her'. (For instance "NN tog sin hatt" would be 'NN took his hat').

Now, I don't have a printed copy of the translation, but there was a pdf floating around the net a while ago, I guess it's legit. I checked some random passages (the encounter with the Cancer Woman, for instance), and it seems like this subtle yet important nuance has been... well, lost in translation.

Is it too difficult to translate the story into English without using pronouns, or did the translator decide to make her own interpretation? I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter!

[jonjon_z]

Hello Kaonto Welcome to Infected!
The part you mentioned about Eli and the woman is surprising to me. In the English version the POV is in third person and the narration refers to Eli as a she many times. It is true the woman never acknowledges Eli's as a he or she but I don't think gender is an issue here until much later in the book. As for the proper translation from Swedish into English I'll leave that to our Scandinavian members who have both versions of the novel.

[DMt.]

IIRC the English translation used 'she' [where a pronoun is obligatory] right up to the point where Eli reveals the secret to Oskar, after which 'he' is used.

In my own FF I felt a strong need to keep Eli gender-neutral up to the point of transformation, and it was often difficult, but it also seemed vitally necessary. In ACL's current tale he alternates freely between genders, and this is also good, I think.

[thestich]

Yes, welcome aboard.

I always recommend reading the "Tale told by hands" if you have not already read it:
http://let-the-right-one-in.com/woofy/4 ... -by-hands/

Also check out the Fan Fiction section. Quality varies from good to mind blowing IMHO.

Enjoy being infected.

[DMt.]

Damn, I'm sorry, can I just echo stichy, there? Hey Kaonto!

[drakkar]

I was very impressed that he could get away with that without intrerrupting the flow of the narrative, I didn't notice it at all the first time I read the book. When re-reading those passages, it's obvious once you know what to look for.

I first tried to read the Norwegian translation, which I ordered the morning after I first watched the film. After reading a bit I got this inkling something wasn't quite right, so after a couple of days I ordered the original. It was a revelation to learn how much better the Swedish original was, and when I now read you post it reminds me of how accurate JAL's language is actually is.

And - welcome!

[intrige]

I was very impressed that he could get away with that without intrerrupting the flow of the narrative, I didn't notice it at all the first time I read the book. When re-reading those passages, it's obvious once you know what to look for.

I first tried to read the Norwegian translation, which I ordered the morning after I first watched the film. After reading a bit I got this inkling something wasn't quite right, so after a couple of days I ordered the original. It was a revelation to learn how much better the Swedish original was, and when I now read you post it reminds me of how accurate JAL's language is actually is.

And - welcome!

The very day I turn 18 I shall buy the Swedish and the English one online!!!!!
In Norwegian we also have "Sitt, sin, " So the transelator didn't use he or she, only sin, sitt and the name Eli , Elis hatt. Eli sin hatt.

[gattoparde59]

Hello Kaonto.

Sometimes sentences start with the pronoun omitted, which is fine both in Swedish and English I suppose, although it sounds a bit 'clipped': ('NN came in. Sat down. Had a cup of coffe. Stood up again. Went out.' and so on).

I have noticed that the novel is written in a minimalist style, and part of that may be due to translation issues? It also occurs to me reading your post that this is a deliberate attempt to keep the reader in the dark. There is a dialogue early on between Hakan and Eli where the two speakers are not identified, no "he said, she said." If you are given less it forces you to pay attention to the text, go back and reread etc. Then again, I am a little slow about these things.

[babyboi102909]

I have friend from Estonia. I don't know if there is a version in Estonian, but i think it would be quite interesting to know how that one would go. It would probably go more smoothly as far as the pronouns situation goes since there's only one pronoun, ta, for both he and she. i have no idea about how the word would change as far as grammar goes and the context of sentences, but i think that would be quite interesting. Plus Estonian is a very complex language---even my friend said it is! Even though the pronouns wouldn't be an issue, i'd hate to be the poor translator!!

[ofelia]

Hello Kaonto.

Sometimes sentences start with the pronoun omitted, which is fine both in Swedish and English I suppose, although it sounds a bit 'clipped': ('NN came in. Sat down. Had a cup of coffe. Stood up again. Went out.' and so on).

I have noticed that the novel is written in a minimalist style, and part of that may be due to translation issues? It also occurs to me reading your post that this is a deliberate attempt to keep the reader in the dark. There is a dialogue early on between Hakan and Eli where the two speakers are not identified, no "he said, she said." If you are given less it forces you to pay attention to the text, go back and reread etc. Then again, I am a little slow about these things.

I don't think it's translation issues. The Swedish is written in short blocky sentences and doesn't always use a pronoun as long as it's still talking about the same person, such as in the example. I love the writing style and the dialogues between Eli and Hakan, it makes everything very subtle and open-ended, which the book does in general. It's not as smooth in the English version because there's no genders for nouns so it has to refer to Eli as she or he.