Translations of Sexual Terminology in Fifty Shades of Grey into Scandinavian Languages - A descriptive-explanatory study

Abstract

The main objective of this thesis has been to investigate whether there are differences between the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish translations of sexual terminology in Fifty Shades of Grey (2011), and to discuss whether possible differences in translations may be caused by ideologies in the three target cultures. A descriptive-explanatory approach was used, and the study explored the reception of the novel in each target culture, and analysed the translation strategies used when translating sexual terminology from three chapters of Fifty Shades of Grey into the Scandinavian target languages. By first exploring the reception of the translated texts, it was possible to see how the three Scandinavian cultures may have slightly different ideologies. The textual analysis revealed that there were differences in the use of translation strategies between the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish translations. When comparing the reception of the novel in each target culture with the textual analysis of strategies, it was possible to debate how the translations may or may not have been governed by ideology.