Physical disability

Colin is called an invalid nine times, a cripple five times and once crippled in the source text.

Next, I will discuss how these expressions have been translated in the material. Invalid and cripple are both words that refer to physical disability. According to the Oxford English Dic-tionary (10 June 2018), the noun cripple is classified as dated and offensive, and it is defined as a “person who is unable to walk or move properly through disability or because of injury to their back or legs” and “a person with a severe limitation of a specified kind”. According to Merriam-Webster (10 June 2018) the noun cripple is classified as sometimes offensive, and it is defined as a “lame or partly disabled person or animal”, “one that is disabled or deficient in a specified manner” and “something flawed or imperfect”.

Neither Oxford English Dictionary (10 June 2018) nor Merriam-Webster (10 June 2018) classifies the expression invalid (noun) as offensive or dated. In addition, the Finnish word rampa, (cripple) are invalidi (invalid) are not dated or offensive according to Kielitoimis-ton sanakirja. However, for instance, Wiktionary (10 June 2018), which does not represent the established norms, classifies it as dated and offensive. Despite the fact that Wiktionary is not an official source nor represents an institution that sets the norms of correct language, it may be argued that this classification is an indication that the appropriateness of the expression is contested. In addition, it could be argued that norms reflected in dictionaries do not always directly reflect the usage of the expressions. This means that an expression which is not defined as offensive by the authorities of language usage, may still be avoided by some language users.

Studying how expressions are used and translated is therefore important because it may in some cases reveal a possible shift in or coexistence of norms.

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The noun cripple occurs 5 times in the source text. Two of these instances are connected: when Ben Weatherstaff recognizes Colin and refers to him as ‘the poor cripple’, Colin then repeats the expression by replying that he is not a cripple. In addition, Colin is de-scribed as cripple once by Dickon a second time by Ben, and then once by the omnipresent narrator. In each translation the expression is most often translated as rampa (cripple), with two exceptions. Firstly, Sari Karhulahti (TT2) has translated it once as raajarikko (cripple). The expression is categorized as dated by Kielitoimiston sanakirja (2 May 2018). Similarly, the expression raajarikkoinen (Kielitoimiston sanakirja 9 February 2019) is categorized as dated and defined as person with disability in limbs. Although both the expressions are categorized as dated, they are not defined as offensive.

Secondly, Toini Swan (TT1) has translated the expression a little lad as was like to be a cripple as pieni vaivainen poika (a little infirmed boy). This is illustrated in the following passage in which Mary talks with Dickon about Colin after she has discovered that he lives in the Misselthwaite Manor:

ST (53): ’Everybody as knowed about Mester Craven knowed there was a little lad as was like to be a cripple, an’ they knowed Mester Craven didn’t like him to be talked about. (p. 123)

TT1 (54): Kaikki jotka tuntevat herra Cravenin, tietävät että hänellä on pieni vai-vainen poika ja ettei herra Craven siedä hänestä puhuttavan. (p. 122)

[Everyone who knowns mister Craven, knows that he has a little infirmed boy and that mister Craven does not tolerate him to be talked about.]

TT2 (55): ”Kaikki jotka tuntee herra Cravenin tietää, että sillä on pieni poika, josta tulee vissiinki rampa ja josta ei saa puhua.” (p. 127)

[“Everyone who knows mister Craven knows that it has a little boy who will likely become a cripple and who cannot be spoken about.”]

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TT3 (56): ”Kaikki, jotka tietävät herra Cravenin, tietävät myös, että hänelle on pieni poika, jonka ennustettiin rampautuvan. Herra Craven ei halua, että pojasta puhutaan.” (p. 145)

[“Everyone, who knows mister Craven knows also that he has a little boy who was predicted to become crippled. Mister Craven does not want, that the boy is spoken about”]

Emilia Numminen (TT3) has translated the expression a little lad as was like to be a cripple as pieni poika, jonka ennustettiin rampautuvan (has a little boy who was predicted to cripple). The noun phrase cripple that functions as a predicative, is translated as the non-finite referative structure (-vAn-) in Finnish (VISK § 538). However, semantically this hardly has a big impact.

Sari Karhulahti (TT2) has translated the expression as the noun rampa, which functions as a predicative in a sentence expressing change. Thus, the source-text expression has been retained in her translation.

The expression crippled occurs in the novel as the omnipresent narrator tells about the circumstances on Colin’s birth:

ST (57): But to the surprise of those who took care of it the days passed and it lived, and then everyone believed it would be a deformed and crippled creature (p. 215)

TT1 (58): Mutta hoitajainsa hämmästykseksi se jäi elämään, ja sitten luulivat kaikki, että siitä tulisi viallinen ja rampa raukka (p. 210)

[But to its caretakers’ surprise, it continued to live and then everyone though that it would become a faulty and cripple poor thing.]

TT2 (59): Sen hoitajien yllätykseksi päivät olivat kuitenkin kuluneet ja se oli jäänyt henkiin, mutta sitten kaikki olivat alkaneet uskoa, että siitä tulisi rampa ja epämuo-dostunut. (p. 227)

[To the surprise of its caretakers, days had however passed, and it had survived, but then everyone had started to believe that it would become cripple and de-formed.]

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TT3 (60): Kaikkien ihmetykseksi lapsi jäi kuitenkin henkiin, mutta hänestä povat-tiin epämuodostunutta ja rampaa. (p. 270)

[To everyone’s surprise the child survived but he was predicted to become de-formed and cripple.]

The ed-participle crippled in the source text passage [b]ut to the surprise of those who took care of it the days passed and it lived, and then everyone believed it would be a deformed and crip-pled creature is translated as rampa (cripple) in each translation (partitive case in Emilia Num-minen’s translation).

In each translation, the expression invalid is most often translated as sairas (ill).

I will briefly discuss the translation of the expression in each Finnish translation. In Toini Swan’s (TT1) translation, in six instances out of nine translation for invalid contains the ex-pression sairas; it is used as a noun (sairas, the ill), an adjective (sairas poika, the ill boy) as well as a modifier in a compound word (the invalid’s chamber as sairashuone is literally sick-room).

Toini Swan (TT1) has translated invalid as something other than sairas (ill) in three instances. In the first instance, a passage as an imitation of a boy who was confirmed invalid he was a disgraceful sight (Burnett 1911:194) is translated as [k]uolemaan tuomitun pojan mallikappaleeksi häntä ei todella olisi uskonut (Burnett: 1994:190). Thus, in this case invalid is translated as a boy who is doomed to die, which refers to Colin’s assumed condition and illness. In the second instance, the passage [r]umours of the new and curious things which were occurring in the invalid’s apartments (Burnett 1911: is translated as [k]artanon perillistä koskevat merkilliset huhut (the strange rumors concerning the heir of the manor). The transla-tion refers more generally to the heir of the manor. In the third instance, the expression as she could not bear invalids (Burnett 1911:131), which describes the work ethics of nurse who takes care of Colin, is translated as sillä hän ei ollut innostunut työhönsä (Burnett 1994: 129). The translation is more general, as it describes how the nurse was not enthusiastic about her work.

In the translation, the nurse dislikes her job rather than specifically ‘invalids’.

In Emilia Numminen’s (TT3) translation, the expression invalid is also most often translated as sairas, and it is used as a noun, as a modifier in a noun phrase, and as a modifier in a compound word. There are two cases in which the translation of an expression containing the word invalid is not translated with a Finnish expression than includes the word sairas. In

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the first instance, the expression a confirmed invalid is translated as eikä kyennyt liikkumaan (he was not able to move). In this case, there is a transposition of a noun phrase into a verb. In the second instance, the expression the invalid himself is translated as Colin-herra (Master Colin).

Sari Karhulahti (TT2) has similarly translated the expression invalid most often as sairas. In six of the nine instances, the translation contains the expression sairas, which occurs both as a noun and an adjective. In the other three instances, invalid is translated as potilas (patient), invalidi (invalid) as well as nuori herra (young master).

Next, I will discuss some passages in more detail, since the translation of a single word provides limited information of its contexts. In the following passage, the omnipresent narrator describes the thoughts of Mr. Roach, the head gardener, as he learns that Colin, whom most of the servants have never seen, wishes to speak to him (Burnett 1911:155). The expres-sion invalid occurs twice in the passage:

ST (61): Rumours of the new and curious things which were occurring in the inva-lid’s apartments had, of course, filtered through the servants’ hall into the sta-bleyards and out among the gardeners, but, notwithstanding this, Mr Roach was startled one day when he received orders from master Colin’s room to the effect that he must report himself in the apartment no outsider had ever seen, as the invalid himself desired to speak to him. (p. 155)

TT1 (62): Kartanon perillistä koskevat merkilliset huhut olivat kuitenkin tihkuneet palvelijain huoneesta tallirenkien ja puutarhurien puolelle. Siitä huolimatta pääpuu-tarhuri Roach melkein säikähti eräänä päivänä, kun Colin-herra oli lähettänyt sanan, että hänen oli ilmaannuttava siihen osaan taloa, jota ei yksikään syrjäinen ollut vielä nähnyt, ja että sairas poika itse halusi puhutella häntä. (p. 152)

[The strange rumors concerning the heir of the manor had however oozed from the servants’ room to the stablemen’s and the gardeners’ side. In spite of that, the head gardener Roach was almost startled one day when master Colin had sent a word that he must show up in the part of the house that no stranger had yet seen and that the sick boy himself wanted to talk to him]

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TT2 (63): Huhut sairaan huoneissa tapahtuvista uusista ja oudoista asioista olivat tietenkin kulkeutuneet palvelusväen huoneesta tallipihalle ja puutarhureiden kor-viin, mutta ylipuutarhuri Roach yllättyi silti saadessaan eräänä päivänä käskyn il-moittautua Colin-herran huoneessa, jota kukaan ulkopuolinen ei ollut nähnyt. Nuori herra halusi puhua hänen kanssaan. (p. 162)

[The rumors of the new and strange things that take place in the room of the sick had of course found their way from the servants’ room to the stableyard and to the ears of the gardeners, but the head gardener Roach was nevertheless surprised as he one day received an order to report himself in Master Colin’s room that no outsider had seen. The young master wanted to speak with him.]

TT3 (64): Huhut merkillisistä asioista, joita sairaan pojan huoneessa tapahtui, oli-vat tihkuneet palvelijainhuoneen kautta talleille ja puutarhaan. Siitä huolimatta pää-puutarhuri Roach yllättyi, kun sai kutsun Colin-herran huoneeseen, jossa kukaan ulkopuolinen ei ollut vielä käynyt. Colin-herra halusi vaihtaa muutaman sanan. (p.

192)

[Rumours of the remarkable things that took place in the room of the sick boy had oozed through the servants’ room to the stables and the garden. In spite of that, head gardener Mr Roach was surprised when he got an invitation to mas-ter Colin’s room, where no outsider had yet been. Masmas-ter Colin wanted to ex-change a few words.]

The passage illustrates some of the variation of how the expression invalid is translated and how it is affected by its context. Toini Swan (TT1) has translated the source-text expression [r]umours of the new and curious things which were occurring in the invalid’s apartments as the noun phrase [k]artanon perillistä koskevat merkilliset huhut (the strange rumors concerning the heir of the manor). In this case, huhut is the head of the noun phrase and it is preceded by premodifiers. In the source text, the rumors deal with things, whereas in the translation the rumors concern Colin. The referent in Toini Swan’s (TT1) translation can, on the one hand, be interpreted as more general, as it may include all the things that Colin, the heir of the manor, does. On the other hand, it might be interpreted as more specific as it only refers to Colin and not everything that happens in his apartments. The translation avoids reducing the person whom

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expression describes to his condition, and rather focuses on his position as the heir. Interest-ingly, in this translation the adjective strange describes the rumors whereas in the source text and other Finnish translations, the things that take place in the apartments are defined as strange.

Emilia Numminen (TT3) has translated same passage, [r]umours of the new and curious things which were occurring in the invalid’s apartments, as [h]uhut merkillisistä asi-oista, joita sairaan pojan huoneessa tapahtui (rumours of the remarkable things that took place in the room of the sick boy). Thus, the referent of the noun phrase, which functions as the subject, is similar to the referent in the source text. The head of the phrase is huhut, which is followed by post-modifiers. The expression invalid is translated as sairas poika (the ill boy).

While the source text describes the things as new and curious, Emilia Numminen’s (TT3) trans-lation does not contain the adjective new (uusi) but has only the adjective merkillisistä, ‘re-markable’ (conjugated in the plural form in elative case). In Sari Karhulahti’s (TT2) translation, the referent is also similar to the referent in the source text, namely [h]uhut sairaan huoneissa tapahtuvista uusista ja oudoista asioista. Sari Karhulahti has translated invalid as sairas (the ill (person)).

In the passage presented above, Colin is also referred to as the invalid himself.

Toini Swan (TT1) has translated it as sairas poika itse (the ill boy himself). In this case, sairas is an adjective which modifies the noun poika. This again illustrates that invalid is translated as sairas, rather than invalidi. Emilia Numminen has translated the expression as Colin-herra (master Colin) and Sari Karhulahti as nuori herra (young master). It might be that both these strategies are based on the context as the expression master Colin is used in the previous sen-tence of the source text.

In the following passage, the omnipresent narrator describes how Colin’s father, Mr. Craven, rarely visits his son, and the only things he knows about Colin is that he is sick:

ST (65): After that he scarcely ever saw him except when he was asleep, and all he knew of him was that he was a confirmed invalid, with a vicious, hysterical, half-insane temper (p 215–216)

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TT1 (66): Sen jälkeen hän oli tuskin koskaan nähnyt poikaansa paitsi tämän nuk-kuessa, eikä hän tiennyt hänestä paljon muuta kuin että hän oli parantumattoman sairas, sisukas, hysteerinen ja puolittain hullu. (p. 210)

[After that he had barely ever seen his son except when he was sleeping, and he did not know much else about him than that he was terminally ill, insistent, hysterical and half-mad]

TT2 (67): Sen jälkeen hän ei ollut nähnyt Colinia juuri muuten kuin nukkuvana, eikä hän tiennyt tästä muuta kuin sen, että tämä oli häijy, hysteerinen ja puolihullu invalidi, joka vahingoitti itseään raivokohtauksillaan, ellei saanut tahtoaan läpi joka asiassa. (p. 227)

[After that he had not seen Colin much other way than asleep, and he did not know other than that he was a vicious, hysterical and a half-mad invalid, who harmed himself with his tantrums, if he did not get his way in every matter.]

TT3 (68): Sen jälkeen hän tuskin koskaan näki poikaa muulloin kuin tämän nuk-kuessa. Hän tiesi vain, että poika oli ilkeä, hysteerinen ja helposti suuttuva eikä kyennyt liikkumaan. (p. 271)

[After that he hardly ever saw the boy at other time than when he was sleeping.

He only knew that the boy was mean, hysterical and got angry easily and was not able to move.]

Toini Swan (TT1) has translated the expression he was a confirmed invalid, with a vicious, hysterical, half-insane temper as hän oli parantumattoman sairas, sisukas, hysteerinen ja puolittain hullu. A confirmed invalid is in this case is translated as parantumattoman sairas, (terminally ill).

Emilia Numminen’s (TT3) translation contains a transposition of a noun into a verb, as the sentence he was a confirmed invalid, with a vicious, hysterical, half-insane temper is translated as poika oli ilkeä, hysteerinen ja helposti suuttuva eikä kyennyt liikkumaan (the boy was mean, hysterical and got angry easily and was not able to move). Thus, the expression a confirmed invalid, which functions as a predicative, is translated with a more general or vague expression stating that Colin is not able to move.

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Sari Karhulahti (TT2) has translated the expression as hysteerinen ja puolihullu invalidi, joka vahingoitti itseään raivokohtauksillaan, ellei saanut tahtoaan läpi joka asiassa.

This is the only instance in my material, in which the expression invalid is translated as invalidi.

All the translations have in this instance used slightly different strategies with the expression invalid. While Swan’s (TT1) translation refers to Colin as a terminally ill person, it is described in Numminen’s (TT3) translation that he is not able to move and Karhulahti’s (TT2) translation contains the expression invalid.