There now exists a considerable body of research into intralingual translation. Numerous studies have investigated various forms of rewriting (popularization, modernization, etc.), the translation of dialects and sociolects, and transmodal translation, e.g. speech to text in intralingual subtitling for the hard-of-hearing. The transfer of written text to speech which occurs in audiobook readings has, however, received very little attention in Translation Studies. This paper suggests some possible aspects of audiobook readings which could profitably be examined from a Translation Studies perspective. These include the oral interpretation of typographic elements such as parentheses, dashes, italics etc., as well as the reader’s use of paralinguistic features (intonation, emphasis, pitch changes) to, for example, render the voices of different protagonists. The paper further discusses the relationship between printed originals and audiobooks based on translations, focussing on language- and culture-specific items.

Humorous elements may evoke humorous effects of very different degrees. Elements that do not give any strong effects, may also characterize such literary works, when they appear very frequently. Such elements include style contrasts, repetitions, the use of very exact words and expressions, hyperboles, style parodies, ironic expressions, and other. From the point of view of translation, they pose several different problems, since they have to be discovered, estimated, and often coped with in creative ways. In this study, the German translations of the three books by Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002) about the child detective Bill Bergson are studied. These works have an abundance of small humorous elements. The analysis, focussing on style contrasts, hyperboles and style parodies, shows, that the German translators have dealt with them very competently, and also with creativity; however, in a number of such cases very expressive words and expressions have been muted, and the humour weakened. 

Skrivtolkning innebär tolkning från tal till skrift. I kapitlet ifrågasätts uppfattningen om skrivtolken som en snabbskrivande «maskin» som försöker skriva ned allt som sägs. Istället förfäktas tesen att skrivtolkning bör ses som en tolkningsform i sin egen rätt, och att tillämpande av rön från forskning kring andra former av tolkning kan fördjupa synen på skrivtolkning. Utifrån analyser av videoinspelad skrivtolkning i tre olika situationer (på en monologisk föreläsning, på ett seminarium med både monologiska och dialogiska passager och vid ett läkarbesök med snabb turtagning) diskuteras olika tolkningsstrategier och vilka roller skrivtolkar anammar. Det påvisas att varje situation kräver olika strategier och att ordagrant nedskrivande kan motverka klienternas deltagande istället för att främja det. Studien visar även att belysande av skrivtolkning ur ett tolkningsteoretiskt perspektiv kan bidra till att utforma mer tillförlitliga kvalitetskriterier. 

Research in the translation of humorous elements in children’s books is a complex subject, which cannot be reduced to studies of wordplay and of other highly humorous items. The translation of slightly humorous items can also influence the whole literary work if such elements are used frequently. This article analyses the ways in which such funny instances were dealt with in the English and German translations of the Bill Bergson books (original name: Kalle Blomkvist) by the Swedish author of children’s books Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002). More specifically, it discusses the translation of several funny words and expressions, repetitions and exaggerations.It is shown that the humorous effects in the English translation are sometimes less obvious than in the German translation, even if both translated texts rendered the majority of humorous instances in a very funny way.