Milli mála - 2018, Page 116

NÆRVERA OG TÚLKUN ÞÝÐANDANS
116 Milli mála 10/2018
Abstract
A Translator’s Presence and Interpretations:
The use of paratexts in J.C. Poestion’s German
translation of Piltur og stúlka by Jón Thoroddsen
In recent decades, a discourse on the invisibility of the translator has
emerged in translation studies, and this invisibility has been criti-
cized. It is interesting, therefore, to examine historical examples of
translations where the translator is highly visible and present. This
is true of the translations of Josef C. Poestion from Icelandic into
German. The Austrian translator made use of a vast range of para-
texts, such as dedications, prefaces, footnotes, endnotes etc., to pro-
vide commentary and information. He may be said to have engaged
in constant conversation with his readers. This article examines
these paratexts, which reveal the translator’s attitude toward the
source text and its author, as well as toward the Icelandic nation.
The paper questions and analyses his interpretation of the task of
the translator and his objective in translating Icelandic texts into
German. It will also demonstrate that the translator assumed a cer-
tain inequality between cultural spheres, placing German-language
culture in the center and Icelandic culture on the periphery, with
an attendant imbalance of power.
Keywords: translation, paratexts, J. C. Poestion, visibility of the
translator, power