To English and Back Again

Preserving the Complexities of Fantastic Creatures on the Journey Between Languages

Abstract

As Anglocentric fantasy scholarship continues to globalise, the challenges and complexities of translation, specifically into English, reveal that an overreliance on tradition in translation has anglicized global fantasy. Fantastic creatures are a cornerstone of the fantasy genre and are also prominently featured in fantasy-adjacent texts such as mythology and folklore. As a result, translators of these texts are frequently faced with names and terminology surrounding fantastic creatures, which—whether entirely new or culturally specific—poses a unique challenge for translation. This article will identify some of the strategies that have been utilised to meet this challenge, with the goal of building a vocabulary with which to study this process further. The strategies identified are Substitution, Descriptor, Naturalisation, and Tradition. The implications and effects of these strategies are analyzed through the spectrum of foreignization and domestication in translation practices. This article discusses the potential pitfalls of Anglocentrism and Anglonormativity, primarily associated with domesticating approaches in translation into English. A case study examines how the word “giant” has been used to gloss or translate the jotunns of Norse mythology. The descriptions and behaviour of the jotunns in Norse mythology are often contradictory, and as a group they are incredibly complex and open to interpretation. This work will examine both the origins and limitations of the term “giant,” and how a dedication to tradition affirms its continued use. In conclusion, while domesticating translators hesitate to demand too much of readers by presenting complex and foreign terms, translators’ attempts to help readers can rob a creature or concept of its complexity—and perhaps the very things that make it so fantastic.