b. Fantasy Terminology. …

3.2.3.b. Fantasy Terminology. Any work belonging to the fantasy genre will have distinctive

this contrast. The established used of terms allows for consistency and the implementation of appropriate synonyms or variations, as is the case with the word “witch”, which has been translated as

“czarownica”.

Table 5

English-Polish Digger Translation Examples 2a to 2l

Example no. English Polish

2a troll troll

2b vampire wampir

2c hag wiedźma

2d magic magia

2e demon demon

2f ghost duch

2g witch czarownica

2h ley line linia magiczna

2i witchcraft czarodziejstwo

2j dwarf krasnolud

2k druid druid

2l spell zaklęcie

The other examples speak for themselves, although a short comment should be brought forward about the term “ley line”, which has been translated descriptively. The term is defined as “an imaginary line between some important places such as hills, believed to be where there were very old paths (. . .) sometimes thought to have special powers” (Cambridge Dictionary, “ley line”). As the term is associated with folklore, mythology and magic, and appears frequently in the fantasy genre, e.g. in Sapkowski’s Witcher series. Therefore, it is advisable to adapt the term into “linia magiczna”, meaning

“magic line”, as in Digger (2003-2011), the term is primarily associated with its magic properties.

Alternatively, the term “żyły magiczne” could be used (“magic veins”), as well as “linie geomantyczne”

(“geomantic lines”), although this term has connotations with geography, as well as the art of divination connected to geomancy. Ultimately, the simple “linie magiczne” has been chosen.

Regarding fantasy place names, most were left unchanged in the webcomic. An example is the name of the area Digger first arrives in-the Cerulean mountains (simply transposed as “góry Cerulean”), or the name of a neighboring farmer community, Rath, also transposed as “Rath”. Similar solutions have been employed in the mentions of magical creatures that are either made up by Vernon,

or that are rooted in obscure mythology. Two such examples are the bunyip (Vernon, 2011, p. 20)- an aggressive, devilish creature from Aboriginal folklore that lives in swamps and wetlands (Britannica,

“bunyip”), and the dybbuk (Vernon, 2011, p.72), which is a possessing spirit rooted in Jewish folklore (Britannica, “dyubbuk”). While the creature is common knowledge for readers acquainted with Jewish and Australian folklore (who may not be Jewish or Australian themselves), most target readers would not possess such extralinguistic knowledge and would resort to looking it up. Therefore, in the case study, the Polish name has been transposed, with only appropriate inflection or spelling changes added i.e. “dybuk”, the common form in Polish. Lack of domestication allows for Polish target readers to also look up the creature, and the fantasy tone that relies on the unknown has been preserved. A descriptive translation would erase the mythological impression that in fact Digger herself is going through;

readers are meant to put themselves into her shoes, as they too are confronted with that which is unfamiliar.

Somewhat of a challenge arises in the case of neologisms and invented terminology. However, as could be seen on the example of Zamek zadzior (2019), Vernon favors neologisms and terminology that is descriptive in nature, thus allowing for the use of domesticating strategies if the translator chooses to do so, as was the case with Łukomska. The following table demonstrates a couple of interesting examples of descriptive translation of fantasy creatures or geographical places:

Table 6

English-Polish Digger Translation Examples 3a to 3g

Example no. English Polish

3a scrollworm (Vernon, 2011, p. 75) zwójrobak

3b Fretpeaks (Vernon, 2011, p. 78) Marudne Szczyty

3c Ironfoot Hall (Vernon, 2011, p. 71) Hala Żelaznej Stopy

3d tunnelnaga (Vernon, 2011, p. 71) Łaziki Tunelowe

3e cameleopards (Vernon, 2011, p. 72) żyrafa/wielbłądopard

3f cold servant (Vernon, 2011, p. 230) zimny sługa

3g rat birds (Vernon, 2011, p. 234); rat with wings (Vernon, 2011, p. 154)

szczuro-ptak; szczur ze skrzydłami

As can be seen, chrematonyms, that is “a proper name of a particular (unique) object, natural or artificially made” (Merriam-Webster, “chrematonym”), tend to appear in Digger (2003-2011).⁶¹ Such

61 More information about chrematonyms and their use can be found in corresponding academic articles and studies. Radu and Cotoc (2016) link chrematonyms with entertainment, leisure and culture, and see them as realizations of such contemporary phenomena as globalization and glocalization. Velykodna and Nazarenko (2019) discuss chrematonyms

chrematonyms as “Inronfoot Hall” and “Fret Peaks” preform a nominative, semantic and symbolic function, informing the reader about certain characteristics that can be associated with the places in question (Velykodna and Nazarenko, 2019, p. 5). The chrematonym “cold servant” is particularly expressive in its function, as it conjures up specific emotions and concepts associated with the mysterious being in question (Velykodna and Nazarenko, 2019, p. 5) - it is made of metal and seems to be loyal to a particular authority. As previously detailed, Vernon also relies on unusual anthroponyms, and in cases of animals, inspires herself by creating anthropomorphic versions of already existing species, such as wombats, lizards, shrews, rats, hyenas and so on. The examples in table 6 call for a few comments; for instance, the first three examples are portmanteaus, and thus have been translated into Polish after establishing the singular nouns making up each portmanteau. An interesting example is Fretpeaks, which is made up of the words “fret” (“przejmować się”, “marudzić”) and “peaks”

(“szczyty”). The word appears within the context of Digger studying a map with the librarian Vo, thus making it clear to the reader that this is the name of a mountain range. However, the Polish version was adapted into “Marudliwe Szczyty” (“Whining/Complaining Peaks”); the reason for this is that the word

“fret” was interpreted as meaning “to complain”. There is a possibility that the word “fret” could also imply fear, as in the collocation “do not fret”, but the thesis author decided to stay by the primary meaning, in any case conveying the noun meaning.

Example 3d, the tunnelnaga, have been translated as “łaziciele tunelowi” due to context coming from the narrator’s note about a wombat general who had the famous Ironfoot Hall named after him:

“Named for General “Stompers” Ironfoot, the legendary wombat tactician, who successfully repulsed an invasion by migratory tunnelnaga some three hundred years ago” (Vernon, 2011, p. 71) This term poses some challenges as even if “tunnel” was singled out and translated as “tunel”, and then combined with “naga”, this would cause greatly unwanted connotations- the word “naga” in Polish means

“naked”. Hence the interpretative measures in the translation, where “tunnel” was preserved in the dative case “tunelowi”, while “naga” has been replaced with “łaziciele”, denoting someone or something wonders, and has connotations with the word “tramp”. Furthermore, this decision would also coincide with the description of the tunnelnaga being migratory.

The fifth example, 2e, is particularly interesting in that it is not entirely made-up, but merely an outdated noun for “giraffe”, examples of which can be traced to e.g. Greek “kamēlopárdalis” and Latin

“camelopardalis”, meaning quite literally a cameleopard, or camelopard, as can be alternatively spelled (Marian, 2015). As is known, Vernon frequently uses mythical sounding names, and in this case most likely opted for the outdated term to uphold the fantasy foreignness present in the webcomic, as well as

in the context of fantasy literature, and Łuc (2020) discusses them in the context of dialect.

possibly a mild prank to readers that may be wholly unfamiliar with the term. Indeed, the thesis author missed this reference at first, which is reflected by the translation notes (Niewiadoma, 2020). Judging by this, there are two decisions to be made: one simply renders “cameleopard” as the Polish word for giraffe, “żyrafa”, while the second option is to create a Polish portmanteau - “wielbłądopard”. The first option fully domesticates, while the second transposes, thus preserving the foreignness. It also reflects an inside joke Vernon has with her readers- as could be seen in the case of Castle Hangnail (2015) and its Polish translation, Vernon regularly uses obscure mythology and inputs it into her works; readers and translators familiar with her works soon become accustomed to checking occasional references.

The last two examples are simple combinations of well-known words, but depict fully fantastical creatures: rats that can fly, and beings that are ensuring that the heart of a dead god continues to beat; it is only later that the creatures are revealed to be hyenas in disguise; here, a descriptive translation benefits best, as it directly compliments the illustrations on each panel.

Ideally, a work of fantasy, be it a print or online one, should be translated upon its completion in order to maintain inner and outer consistency regarding terminology and naming conventions: “It is easier when a cycle is completed and has one translator because he or she is able to see the entire imaginary world created by the author and build his own comprehensive and logical world” (Mucha, 2017, p. 62). However, this is often not possible due to the length and multi-year continuations of fantasy cycles, and contradictions frequently occur (Guttfeld, 2012, p. 127). A similar problem can be can be observed in the case of webcomics as well, particularly those that are long-form and non-enhanced. Nomenclature is often viable to a great host of misunderstandings deriving from literal translation or transliteration (Guttfeld, 2012, pp. 126-127), which is why a strategy focusing on minimal creative translation is seen as most optimal. In the translation case study translation regarding Ashley Cope’s ongoing fantasy epic webcomic, Unsounded (2010-current), such strategies were primarily chosen (Niewiadoma, 2016, pp. 32-46) for general fantasy nomenclature: “the names of gods and places to are key to the world of Unsounded (2010-current) and appear frequently in the webcomic (. . .) as such, a translation or excessive application of Polish sound changes is not advised”

(Niewiadoma, 2016, p. 34).

However, Unsounded (2010-current) is also additionally a transmedia work that is heavily contextualized within its active readership and online environment (Niewiadoma, 2016, p. 33). On the other hand, Digger (2003-2011) has ended, thus allowing for comprehensive translation decision-making, as well as a little more leeway connected to modifications and adaptations. Furthermore, all fantasy lore is contained within Digger (2003-2011); the only additional information is found in cursory commentary at the bottom of the pages, which fulfills a paratextual, but not necessary role.

This is not often the case for long webcomics that are regularly updated over the years; often, there is a natural accumulation of lore and content that is only accessible online or in dedicated printing releases, some of which is vital to understanding the webcomic itself. Such is the case for Unsounded (2010-current), which e.g. has vital explanations regularly added to the wiki, printed volumes and social media (Niewiadoma, 2016, pp. 43-45) wherein a translation would go beyond the core imagetext and therefore cause confusion not only for casual readers, but also for translators themselves (Niewiadoma, 2016, p. 45). This issue is avoided with Digger (2003-2011), and is the primary reason as to why overarching translation strategy decisions could be made regarding nomenclature and the following category of fantasy lore.

3.2.3.c. Lore. In Digger (2003-2011), fantasy lore, references and general world-building is