Minä-pronoun in literary translation: Observations on a Finnish-Italian translation

Keywords: Finnish, interlanguage, pronouns, Topic categories, translation

Abstract

This paper examines the utilization of first-person (singular) subject pronouns in a Finnish literary text and its translation into Italian. A crucial distinction between Finnish and Italian lies in the null subject parameter, but it is noteworthy that first-person pronouns in subject position is expected to be null in both languages when not motivated by discourse function. The study addresses four primary aspects: (i) the occurrence of overt pronouns in the Finnish source text; (ii) their analysis concerning Topic and Focus categories; (iii) the examination of whether, in the Italian translation, the corresponding pronouns are realized as overt or null; and (iv) the assessment of whether the discourse function is retained or compromised. The examination of overt first-person pronouns extends beyond the classification under discourse functional categories, incorporating an analysis of the impact of interference in the translator’s interlanguage.

Author Biographies

Lena Dal Pozzo, University of Florence

Lena Dal Pozzo (<lena.dalpozzo@unifi.it>) received her PhD Doctor Europeus in «Informatics, mathematics logic and cognitive sciences» at the University of Siena (2011). At present she is full-time instructor of Finnish language (CEL, collaboratrice ed esperta linguistica) at the University of Florence where she also has a fixed-term teaching contract as Finno-Ugric languages adjunct faculty. In 2020 she obtained the national scientific qualification required to compete for the position of associate professor in Finno-Ugric philology. Her research interests include L1 and L2 acquisition in children and adults, bilingualism, Finnish syntax, and the application of theoretical aspects to language teaching. She authored the monograph New information subjects in L2 acquisition: evidence from Italian and Finnish (Firenze University Press, 2015, open access); she co-authored Totta kai, corso di lingua finlandese (Hoepli, 2021) with Elina Ylinärä. She translated into Italian the Finnish grammar by Fred Karlsson (Hoepli, 2014).

Elina Ylinärä, University of Helsinki

Elina Ylinärä (<elina.ylinara@helsinki.fi>) received her PhD Doctor Europaeus in «Linguistica Diacronica, Sincronica e Applicata» at Roma Tre University (2016), where currently she is Honorary Fellow for General Linguistics. She has taught postgraduate refresher courses in Finnish language and culture at the University of Roma Tre, and has been a fixed-term instructor of Finnish language (CEL, collaboratrice ed esperta linguistica) at the University of Naples L’Orientale for years. She has had a fixed-term teaching contract as Finnish language adjunct faculty at the University of Helsinki since 2023. Her research interests includeFinnish syntax, morphosyntax, discourse-syntax interface, non-finite constructions, mixed categories, L2 acquisition, and bilingualism. She authored the monograph Forme infinitive in finlandese. Una proposta formale sulle proiezioni miste(2018, Lincom); she co-authored Totta kai, corso di lingua finlandese (Hoepli, 2021) with Lena Dal Pozzo.

Published
2023-12-12
How to Cite
Dal PozzoL., & YlinäräE. (2023). Minä-pronoun in literary translation: Observations on a Finnish-Italian translation. Studi Finno-Ugrici, N.S., 3, 1-48. https://doi.org/10.6093/1826-753X/10971
Section
Studi Linguistici