Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was first translated into Swedish in the 1950s. A fresh new translation was produced in 2004-05, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the book, as well as the movie trilogy.

Erik Andersson, the translator of this new version, kept a diary of his thoughts around this work. This diary was published under the title Översättarens anmärkningar (“Translator’s notes”).

I’ve always been fascinated by the craft of translation, and by LOTR in particular. It was the first major book I read in English, and the book that definitely lured me into fantasy, which led on to SF, which now dominates my reading. In fact I started on a translation of LOTR into Estonian, sometime in my early teens, together with a friend. I don’t think we got further than 100 pages or so.

Översättarens anmärkningar is an interesting and entertaining little book. The entries range from Andersson’s difficulties with translating “pools of light” and all the various names in LOTR, to his back pain – and the endless flood of suggestions, corrections and objections he gets from Tolkien fans from all over Sweden. “Translating The Lord of the Rings is almost like translating the Bible,” someone notes – everybody has strong opinions. Andersson has an editor, of course, but also a reference group, a group of fact checkers, plus various engaged fans who send him their unsolicited comments, or call him, or post their views in online forums. On top of that there’s Tolkien’s own “Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings” – he was rather unsatisfied with a few early translations.

I haven’t read the new translation (or the old one for that matter) but I liked what I saw of Erik Andersson’s style and philosophy in Översättarens anmärkningar, and really enjoyed reading it. Several times I found myself reading slower only to make the slim book last longer. Nevertheless it ended far too soon.

AdLibris.

With excellent timing, an essay was published today, comparing the two Swedish translations of LOTR and discussing the very different philosophies that underlie them. God åkermark eller fet och fruktbar mylla? – Om Erik Anderssons och Åke Ohlmarks översättningar av J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. Long and very interesting.