Cover not available

Article published In: Voice in Retranslation
Edited by Cecilia Alvstad and Alexandra Assis Rosa
[Target 27:1] 2015
► pp. 25–39

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Anxieties of influence

The voice of the first translator in retranslation

 | University of Eastern Finland
 | University of Turku
Published online: 9 February 2015
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.27.1.01kos
A defining feature of retranslation is that a previous translation exists, and this earlier text has a first translator. In this article we argue that the figure of the first translator exerts an influence in the retranslation process, and all retranslators are forced to develop a stance towards the predecessor. Taking Harold Bloom’s notion of anxiety of influence in poetry as a starting point, we look at two cases of retranslation that share the same famous first translator, Pentti Saarikoski, analysing how and where the voice of this first translation can be heard in the retranslations. According to Bloom’s taxonomy, there are six modes available to poets. Applying the same taxonomy to our two retranslators, we find that they have resorted to different modes. What remains constant is that the figure of the first translator is an unavoidable function of the retranslation process and needs to be taken into account both by the retranslator and by researchers studying retranslations.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The first translator’s role in retranslation
  • 3.Pentti Saarikoski, the first translator
  • 4.Retranslating Saarikoski
    • 4.1The Catcher in the Rye
      • 4.1.1The source text
      • 4.1.2The first translation
      • 4.1.3The retranslation
    • 4.2Ulysses
      • 4.2.1The source text
      • 4.2.2The first translation
      • 4.2.3The retranslation
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (33)
References
Primary sources
Heikura, Pasi, ed. 2007. “Aristoteleen kantapää.” [Aristotle’s heel.] Radio interview with Leevi Lehto. Rebroadcast on YLE Radio 11, 18 January 2012.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Joyce, James. 1964. Odysseus. Translated by Pentti Saarikoski. Helsinki: Tammi.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012. Ulysses. Translated by Leevi Lehto. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kokko, Karri. 2012. “Yhteisyritys. Ulysses on monen tajunnan summa ja luomus.” [Joint effort. Ulysses is the sum and creation of many minds.] Parnasso 31: 30–34.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lehto, Leevi. 2012. “Suomentajan sana.” [Translator’s word.]. In Joyce 2012, 1–12.
Petäjä, Jukka. 2004. “Holden Caulfieldin toinen tuleminen.” [The second coming of Holden Caulfield.] Book review, Helsingin Sanomat, 11 August 2004.
Puttonen, Seppo. 2012. “Kirjakerho.” [Book club. Radio interview with Leevi Lehto and Hilkka Pekkanen, PhD.] YLE Radio 11, 2 July 2012.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Saarikoski, Pentti. 1960. “Suomen kieli ja kirjallisuus I.” [Finnish language and literature.] Parnasso 10 (5): 225–226.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Salinger, J.D. 1961. Sieppari ruispellossa. Orig. Catcher in the Rye. Translated by Pentti Saarikoski. Helsinki: Tammi.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2004. Sieppari ruispellossa. Translated by Arto Schroderus. Helsinki: Tammi.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schroderus, Arto. 2005. “Toisen jäljessä – merkintöjä suomentamisesta.” [In another’s footsteps – notes on translating.] In Suom.huom. Kirjoituksia kääntämisestä [Translator’s note. Writings about translating], ed. by Kristiina Rikman, 83–96. Helsinki: WSOY.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Other references
Bloom, Harold. (1973) 1997. The Anxiety of Influence. A Theory of Poetry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Costello, Donald P. (1959) 2000. “Language in Catcher in the Rye.” In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Modern Critical Interpretations, ed. by Harold Bloom, 11–20. New York: Chelsea House.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Frank, Armin Paul. 1989. “Einleitung: Methodische Hinweise.” In Die literarische Übersetzung. Der lange Schatten kurzer Geschichten. Amerikanische Kurzprosa in deutschen Übersetzungen, ed. by Armin Paul Frank, 195–199. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Greimas, A.-J. 1983. Structural Semantics: An Attempt at a Method. Translated by Daniele McDowell. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Koskinen, Kaisa. 2007a. “Pentti Saarikoski.” In Suomennoskirjallisuuden historia II [History of translation into Finnish II], ed. by H.K. Riikonen, Urpo Kovala, Pekka Kujamäki, and Outi Paloposki, 503–506. Helsinki: SKS.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007b. “James Joycen Odysseus suomeksi.” [James Joyce’s Ulysses in Finnish] In Suomennoskirjallisuuden historia I [History of translation into Finnish I], ed. by H.K. Riikonen, Urpo Kovala, Pekka Kujamäki, and Outi Paloposki, 461–463. Helsinki: SKS.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Koskinen, Kaisa, and Outi Paloposki. 2003. “Retranslations in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” Cadernos 2003 (1): 19–38.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. “Retranslation.” In Handbook of Translation Studies, vol. 11., ed. by Yves Gambier, and Luc van Doorslaer, 294–298. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paloposki, Outi. 2010. “The Translator’s Footprints.” In Translators’ Agency. Tampere Studies in Language, Translation and Culture. Series B4, ed. by Tuija Kinnunen, and Kaisa Koskinen, 86–107. Tampere: Tampere University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paloposki, Outi, and Kaisa Koskinen. 2004. “Thousand and One Translations. Retranslation Revisited.” In Claims, Changes and Challenges, ed. by Gyde Hansen, Kirsten Malmkjaer, and Daniel Gile, 27–38. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. “Reprocessing Texts. The Fine Line between Retranslating and Revising.” Across Languages and Cultures 11 (1): 29–49. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Popovič, Anton. 1976. Dictionary for the Analysis of Literary Translation. Edmonton: University of Alberta.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pulkkinen, J.P. 2007. “Keltainen kirjasto.” [The Yellow Library.] In Suomennoskirjallisuuden historia I [History of translation into Finnish I], ed. by H.K. Riikonen, Urpo Kovala, Pekka Kujamäki, and Outi Paloposki, 314–317. Helsinki: SKS.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pym, Anthony. 1998. Method in Translation History. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Robinson, Douglas. 1987. “Koskenko yli saareen? Pentti Saarikoski käännösteoreetikkona.” [Over the rapids, to the island? Pentti Saarikoski as translator theoretician.] In Kääntäjät kulttuurivaikuttajina: kääntäjäseminaari Jyväskylässä 3.-5.7.1986 [Translators as cultural agents: seminar on translation in Jyväskylä], ed. by Arja Ollikainen, and Martti Pulakka, 143–165. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän yliopiston kirjallisuuden laitos.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Simmons, John S. 2010. “Holden Caulfield – Alive and Well.” The ALAN Review, Winter 20101: 25–30.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tarkka, Pekka. 1996. Pentti Saarikoski. Vuodet [Years] 1937–1963. Helsinki: Otava.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003. Pentti Saarikoski. Vuodet 1964–1983. Helsinki: Otava.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tiittula, Liisa, and Pirkko Nuolijärvi. 2007. “Puhuttu kieli kaunokirjallisuuden suomennoksissa.” [Spoken language in Finnish literary translations.] In Suomennoskirjallisuuden historia II [History of translation into Finnish I], ed. by H.K. Riikonen, Urpo Kovala, Pekka Kujamäki, and Outi Paloposki, 387–400. Helsinki: SKS.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yardley, Jonathan. 2004. “J. D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly.” Washington Post, 19.10.2004, C01.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (37)

Cited by 37 other publications

Afzali, Katayoon
2025. The retranslator as the propagandist of MOI. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation / Revista Internacional de Traducción 71:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Bai, Ziling
2025. Deviations as precursors. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies DOI logo
Chan, Leo Tak-hung & Jindan Ni
2025.  Limits of retranslation: the first Chinese translation of The Tale of Genji and its successors . Translation Studies ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Heijns, Audrey
2025.  The role of the retranslator: a case study of partial retranslations of the Mencius in Dutch . Perspectives 33:6 ► pp. 1199 ff. DOI logo
Hu, Bei
2025. Charting Translation Reception, DOI logo
Pano Alamán, Ana & Valeria Zotti
2025. La subjectivité dans la retraduction collaborative des Vies de Giorgio Vasari en français, anglais et espagnol1. TTR 37:2 ► pp. 87 ff. DOI logo
Skibińska, Elżbieta
2025. Peut-on parler d’une subjectivité collective des traducteurs ? Autour des versions polonaises du premier vers d’« Ιθάκη [Ithaki] » de Constantin Cavafy. TTR 37:2 ► pp. 61 ff. DOI logo
Spezzatti, Lucie
2025. Unveiling translators through the archives. Perspectives ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Ding, Guoqi
2024. Triangulating text relationship in literary retranslation: The Great Gatsby in Chinese. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 39:3 ► pp. 849 ff. DOI logo
Gülmüş Sırkıntı, Halise
2024. Different Roles Played by Translators While Recontextualizing Turkish Literature: Navigating Contextual Voices. Çeviribilim ve Uygulamaları Dergisi :37 ► pp. 45 ff. DOI logo
Svahn, Elin
2024. The (non-)ageing of non-retranslations? The alleged ageing of Swedish non-retranslations. Translation Studies 17:1 ► pp. 53 ff. DOI logo
Veckrācis, Jānis
2024.  Various planes of retranslation: J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye in Russian and Latvian . Journal of Baltic Studies 55:2 ► pp. 327 ff. DOI logo
Chen, Xuemei
2023. The role of childhood nostalgia in the reception of translated children’s literature. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies 35:4 ► pp. 595 ff. DOI logo
Erlin, Matt, Douglas Knox & Stephen Pentecost
2023. Multi-retranslation and cultural variation. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies 35:2 ► pp. 215 ff. DOI logo
Hosay, Maureen
2023. Beyond the Metaphor: Conceptualizing Children’s Literature as (part of) a Rhizomatic Network. Journal of Literary Theory 17:2 ► pp. 241 ff. DOI logo
İrem Ceren, Doğan
2023. On the Verge between Retranslation and Revision: Revisiting Translations of Modernist Novels in Türkiye. English Studies at NBU 9:2 ► pp. 169 ff. DOI logo
Cipriani, Anna Maria
2022. The translator’s presence in (re)translations ofTo the Lighthouseinto Italian: a corpus-driven study. Corpora 17:3 ► pp. 423 ff. DOI logo
Cipriani, Anna Maria
2023. Empirical Results. In Literary Digital Stylistics in Translation Studies [New Frontiers in Translation Studies, ], ► pp. 93 ff. DOI logo
Majer, Krzysztof
2021. Retranslacja jako krytyka przekładu, czyli Benito Cereno ponowiony. Przekładaniec :42 ► pp. 64 ff. DOI logo
Majer, Krzysztof
2023. “That hive of subtlety”: Retranslation as Criticism, or a New Polish Benito Cereno. Przekładaniec :Special Issue 1/2023 ► pp. 68 ff. DOI logo
Ortiz García, Javier
2021. Qué, quién, dónde, cuándo, por qué y cómo: las retraducciones de Moby-Dick en España. Meta: Journal des traducteurs 66:3 ► pp. 714 ff. DOI logo
Tarkka, Laura
2021. Political Corrections: The Revolutionary Context and English Retranslations of Johann Georg Zimmermann’s Vom Nationalstolze [On National Pride] (1768). TTR 34:1 ► pp. 181 ff. DOI logo
Yu, Hailing
2021. One page, two stories: intersemiotic dissonance in a comic adaptation ofJourney to the West. Social Semiotics 31:4 ► pp. 529 ff. DOI logo
Zeven, Katinka & Aletta G. Dorst
2021. A beautiful little fool? Retranslating Daisy Buchanan inThe Great Gatsby. Perspectives 29:5 ► pp. 661 ff. DOI logo
AVCI SOLMAZ, Safiye Gül
2020. Şarkiyatçı bir metnin geri çevirilerinde güç ilişkileri ve “Makbul Garb” temsilini yakalama mücadelesi. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi :19 ► pp. 813 ff. DOI logo
Lanselle, Rainier
2020. Classical Chinese theatre for different times: French translations and retranslations. Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies 7:3 ► pp. 310 ff. DOI logo
Sezzi, Annalisa
2020. A Thousand and One Voices of Where the Wild Things Are: Translations and Transmediations. In Translating and Transmediating Children’s Literature, ► pp. 269 ff. DOI logo
Ziemann, Zofia
2020. Kafka re-re-retranslated: the graphic novel Kafka in English, German and Polish. The Translator 26:1 ► pp. 9 ff. DOI logo
Kim, Kyung Hye
2018. Retranslation as a socially engaged activity: the case ofThe Rape of Nanking. Perspectives 26:3 ► pp. 391 ff. DOI logo
Schnell, Bettina & Nadia Rodríguez
2018. FromEl Gran MeaulnestoMeaulnes el Grande. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation 64:1 ► pp. 81 ff. DOI logo
Valdeón, Roberto A.
2018. Topics and concepts in literary translation. Perspectives 26:4 ► pp. 459 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Huanyao & Huijuan Ma
2018. Intertextuality in retranslation. Perspectives 26:4 ► pp. 576 ff. DOI logo
Kolb, Waltraud
2017. “It was on my mind all day”. Translation Spaces 6:1 ► pp. 27 ff. DOI logo
Kolb, Waltraud
2019. “It was on my mind all day”. In Translation Practice in the Field [Benjamins Current Topics, 105], ► pp. 25 ff. DOI logo
Van Poucke, Piet
2017. Aging as a motive for literary retranslation. Translation and Interpreting Studies 12:1 ► pp. 91 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2020. Translation and Affect [Benjamins Translation Library, 152], DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2020. The Politics of Translating Sound Motifs in African Fiction [Benjamins Translation Library, 150], DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue