Many children’s book heroes, just like Hollywood actors, enjoy international fame. Karlsson, Harry Potter and the Little Prince are perhaps the most famous of all on the imaginary walk of fame.But none of their adventures could have been enjoyed in Ukrainian without the talents of their translators. Several unseen magicians were able to balance the difficult task of converting the words into a new language while preserving the intangible style and meaning of the original tales.
The story of Karlsson, the lovable and pudgy man on the roof, was translated into Ukrainian in the 1960s by Olga Seniuk, now 82. Originally planning to study English, her life took a different twist when she read the works of Swedish Astrid Lindgren, who authored countless books, including “Karlsson on the Roof” and “Pippi Longstocking.”
“I immediately fell in love with the magic, wit, humanity, and simplicity of the stories,” says Seniuk. From then on she decided to dedicate the rest of her life to translating all of Lindgren’s works into Ukrainian.
I got to meet Astrid when the Swedish Institute invited me to Stockholm – my first trip abroad. Her manner of conversation, as her writing, was rid of all pretense and that struck me, says Olga Seniuk.
Having earned her PhD in philology and Germanic languages, Seniuk was well prepared for the task.
“I was the only Scandinavian translator for a while.” In the 1960’s the first Ukrainian publisher “Veselka” released Seniuk’s “Karlsson on the roof” in Ukrainian.
Nearly 30 years later, Seniuk got the most desirable reward for her work – she got to meet her idol.
“I got to meet Astrid when the Swedish Institute invited me to Stockholm – my first trip abroad.
Her manner of conversation, as her writing, was rid of all pretense and that struck me,” says Seniuk.
But preserving Lindgren’s natural flow of language was no easy task. In her translation techniques Seniuk adhered to one key rule: always seek to convey the original voice and style of the author, but be open to one’s “gut feeling,” as she described it.
“Modern translators impose too much of their own style and perception in the author’s work. They put in the translated work something the author never meant to put there,” sighs Seniuk.
Besides Lindgren, she has translated dozens of other authors into Ukranian, including Ibsen, Thackeray, Mark Twain, Jack London, and William Faulkner.
Children growing up in the past decade, however, went wild for Harry Potter, not Karlsson. International “pottermania” propelled translators worldwide to race each other to gain rights to J.K. Rowling’s bestseller.
Rowling’s imaginary lexicon was a challenge during translation.
Viktor Morozov, 61, who now lives in Washington, DC with his family, finally secured the deal. Sensing the lack of Ukrainian literature and translations for teens in the beginning of the 90’s, the interpreter who is also a Ukrainian folk musician, got intrigued by the Harry Potter phenomenon in the West.
Encouraged by his wife, he independently embarked on the translation of Harry Potter’s debut book when the first movie came into American theatres. He had a noble mission to accomplish with his translation.
“There was no Harry Potter in Russian, so I thought that after watching the movie Russian-speaking children will rush to buy the book. I wanted to win the race against the Russian translation,” shares Morozov.
Searching for the publisher and getting the rights from author J. K. Rowling’s agents put Morozov and his Ukrainian publisher A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA behind in the race. Ukraine got ahead of Russian translations only after the fourth book.
Winningly, thanks to Morozov’s efforts, Ukraine was the first country to complete the translation of Rowling’s seventh book “The Deathly Hallows.”
“We continually get letters from parents in Ukraine and even expats in Australia and U.S. saying that ‘Harry Potter’ spiked their kids’ interest for reading in Ukrainian. And not just thin little books, but multiple volumes of one series.”
For the first time I read the ‘The Little Prince’ as a nine-year-old, I was struck by the naivete of the story; it seemed abstruse and I dismissed it, says Leonid Kononovych.
Morozov’s daughter who lives in Germany uses the magic of “Harry Potter” to teach her little son his native tongue, says the translator.
Rowling’s imaginary lexicon was a challenge during translation. Her agents sent the list of names and terms that must not be changed from English; but some terms could be adapted into Ukrainian.
“I struggled adapting in Ukrainian ‘Mirror of Erised’ (‘erised’ reads ‘desire’ backwards). The word ‘desire’ reversed in Ukrainian didn’t sound melodic, and since the mirror reflects the deepest desires of our hearts, I chose the word ‘heart’ to mirror in Ukrainian, which sounded much better.” Harry Potter saw his parents in this mirror.
Another challenge was the cat’s name Crookshanks, which became Kryvolapyk in Morozov’s translation.
Adventures of the French-speaking diminutive Little Prince navigating through galaxies appeared in Ukrainian thanks to Leonid Kononovych, 53, another Ukrainian translator. His translation is the only one on the Ukrainian market.
Enamoured with French existentialist literature, he used to write philosophical prose and detective novels in the 1980s and translated literary giants Camus and Sartres, not taking much interest in children’s books. Kanonovych read Antoine Saint-Exupery’s “Little Prince” as a child, but didn’t expect to come back to it in his profession.
“For the first time I read the ‘The Little Prince’ as a nine-year-old, I was struck by the naiveteof the story; it seemed abstruse and I dismissed it. In several decades, when I reread it for translation, I saw this book anew as a profound parable,” shares Kononovych.
For example, the exchange between the Little Prince and the Rose is symbolic of the relationship between a man and a woman, explains the translator.
Saint-Exupery’s Little Prince appeared in Ukrainian thanks to Leonid Kononovych. ([email protected])
In 2005 Ukrainian publisher Kalvaria managed to acquire the desirable rights for Saint-Exupery’s “The Little Prince” due to their close relationship with Gallimard, the French owner of the book’s rights.
Without delay, Kononovych was offered to translate the eminent tale of the Prince.
This ostensible children’s book appeared in Ukrainian with copies of Saint-Exupery’s own illustrations in 2005, even though illegally illustrated copies percolated the market in the 1990s.
Kononovych admits that the most challenging phrase to adapt in Ukrainian was one of book’s key ideas –Fennec Fox’s explanation of friendship as creer des liens or to create bonds. “The most fitting adaptation to me seemed to be ‘instill amicability.’” The translator believes that the “Little Prince” is for adults and continues be a source of discovery.
Kyiv Post staff writer Mariya Manzhos can be reached at [email protected]
