Studia Islandica - 01.06.1994, Side 99
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Each of these examples consists of a sequence of two or
more semi-independent clauses, as do around 90% of the
sentences in the two Icelandic editions of Laxdœla saga
under consideration. They are sometimes joined with at or
því at (as in 2, 3, and 5), which can give them a bond of
causation, but more commonly simply with ok or en.
In many cases no conjunction as such is used and a
semi-colon sometimes inserted to indicate a break. The
ensuing phrases then often begin with a construction which
could be described as half-complete, with the verb in first
position (1,2), an impersonal construction (4), or an adver-
bial word or clause such as þar or þá (2, 3) which provides
a diachronic link.
The results of this are loose sequences of fairly short
phrases, linked by semantic or syntactic means. They are
brought to an audible and logical climax roughly where a
pause for breath or thought would naturally occur. This is
not a sentence ordering which occurs naturally in twenti-
eth-century English, as veteran saga translator George
Johnston points out:
English prose makes use of many participles, relatives, and adverbial
subordinations, and almost seems to apologize for its independent
clauses. But narrative prose is made of independent clauses, and the
principle of subordination belongs to a different kind of writing in
which novels, for instance, are written. (Johnston 1957-61:397)
How do translators deal with the sort of structure
described here? A look at the language employed in these
and other passages in the translations reveals several meth-
ods used by the authors to deal with the problem of conti-
nuity between sequences and the omnipresent problem of
ok and en. Most translators of this and other sagas feel they
must retain almost every ok and en which occurs in the
original, and follow the sequences of clauses almost blind-
ly. This is defended as “faithfulness” even though the usage
obviously does not serve the same function in both lan-