Parakraaffi

FinnishFinnish

AAPO. Sallitaanko minulle sananvuoro?

JUHANI. Kernaasti. Mitä mielit sanoa?

AAPO. Etten kiltaa minäkään tuota rangaistus-parakraaffia, jonka tahtoisit käytettäväksi välillemme asettaa, vaan katsonpa sen veljesten keskenä liian törkeäksi, pedolliseksi.

JUHANI. Vai et kiltaa? Etkö kiltaa? Etkö totisesti kiltaa? Sanoppas sitten viisaampi parakraaffi, koska minä en milloinkaan käsitä mikä on oikein, mikä väärin.

AAPO. Sitä en sano.

JUHANI. Sanoppas se uusi, kiilattava parakraaffi, sinä Jukolan tietäjä.

AAPO. Kaukana tietäjän arvosta. Mutta tämä ...

JUHANI. Parakraaffi, parakraaffi!

AAPO. Tämähän on ...

JUHANI. Parakraaffi, parakraaffi! Sanoppas se viisas parakraaffi!

AAPO. Oletko hullu? Huutelethan tuossa kuin istuisit tulisissa housuissa. Miksi kirkut ja keikuttelet päätäs kuin tarhapöllö?

JUHANI. Parakraaffi! huudan minä huikeasti. Se ihka uusi ja vanha, viisas parakraaffi! Sanoppas se, ja minä kuultelen äänetönnä kuin särki sammakon motkotusta.

EnglishEnglish

Aapo: May I be allowed to say a word?

Juhani: Willingly. What didst thou wish to say?

Aapo: That neither do I approve of that punishment paragraph, which thou wouldst lay down for us, but look upon it as too cruel, too savage amongst brothers.

Juhani: Oh, thou dost not approve? Thou dost not approve? Dost thou really not approve? Then tell us a wiser paragraph, as I never seem to know what is right, what wrong.

Aapo: That I won’t do.

Juhani: Tell us the new, approved paragraph, thou Jukola’s sage.

Aapo: Far from the honour of sage. But this …

Juhani: The paragraph! The paragraph!

Aapo: This is …

Juhani: The paragraph, the paragraph! Out with the wise paragraph!

Aapo: Art thou mad? Shouting there as though thy breeches were ablaze. What art thou shrieking and wagging thy head for like a garden-owl?

Juhani: The paragraph! I cry madly. The brand new and old wise paragraph! Say it and I’ll listen speechless as a roach to a frog’s croaking. (108-9)

    Version

  • 1929
  • 1991
  • 2016

Questions:

  1. What register is the translation written in? (Formal, semiformal, informal, etc.) Is there any bureaucratic jargon in it? If so, how does it sound? Plausible, implausible? Natural, awkward? (Version 1929)

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  2. What are the prevailing emotions in the scene? What is Juhani feeling, and what is Aapo feeling? Do they seem to be expressing those emotions in a natural, idiomatic way? Or does the expression of those emotions sound somewhat strange? If it sounds a bit strange, is the strangeness pleasurable? (Version 1929)

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  3. The Finnish original is written in a stylized dialect that now sounds rather archaic. Has the translator attempted to reproduce that archaic dialect? If not, has the translator used a standardized version of the target language, or a colloquial version without slang, or a slangy vernacular, or what? Whichever way the translator went with the archaic dialect, does the attempt seem successful to you? Why or why not? (Version 1929)

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  4. Does this passage sound like any existing novel you know in the target language, or like a certain author, or like a period novelistic style that you recognize? If so, what or whom? Does that feeling of familiarity make you like the passage more, or less, or have no effect on your response? (Version 1929)

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  5. If you had time, would you want to read this entire translation? Why or why not? (Does it make you say “wow!”? Are you astonished at its brilliance?) (Version 1929)

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  6. Does this translated passage make you think that Aleksis Kivi might be a great writer of World Literature, or not? Why or why not? (Version 1929)

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