c. Lore

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

Table 7

English-Polish Digger Translation Example 4a

Example no. English Polish

4a SB (Statue): No burrower, it is only a stone. But- the fact that it is here- well, I will try to explain.

SB (Rzeźba): Nie kopaczu, to tylko kamień. Ale- sam fakt, że tu jest- no cóż, spróbuje wytłumaczyć.

SB (Statue): Can you sew? SB (Rzeźba): Umiesz szyć?

SB (Digger): Not well. SB (Digger): Niezbyt.

SB (Statue): Well, this is simple enough. I hope.

SB (Rzeźba): Mam nadzieję, że nie będzie to zbyt skomplikowane.

SB (Statue): We, up here, and what is on the other side of the tunnel, are like two seperate pieces of cloth.

SB (Rzeźba): My, o tu na górze, i to, co jest na drugiej stronie tunelu, jesteśmy jak dwa oddzielne kawałki materiału.

SB (Statue): And the tunnel is like a thread, sewing them together, so that what was seperate is now joined.

SB (Rzeźba): Tunel jest jak nić, która je zszywa razem, czyniąc to co było oddzielne spójne.

SB (Digger): I’m with you so far. SB (Digger): Jak na razie łapie.

SB (Statue): Now, you cannot simply force two pieces of cloth through one another – not without damaging both beyond repair.

SB (Rzeźba): Jednak nie możesz po prostu zmusić, aby dwa kawałki materiału przeniknęły przez siebie- nie bez całkowitego zniszczenia obu kawałków.

SB (Statue): And magic being as it is, there is more resistance than the analogy can provide- imagine that you tried to force such a union, and the cloth bit your hand off.

SB (Rzeźba): A magia będąc jaka jest, stawia większy opór, niż można przedstawić metaforycznie. Wyobraź sobie, że próbujesz wymusić taki związek, a materiał odgryzł by ci rękę.

SB (Statue): Yet, until recently, I had believed that whatever force lies below had done just that- perhaps using you to do so.

SB (Rzeźba): Jednak wierzyłem, że jakakolwiek siła istnieje pod powierzchnią zrobiła właśnie to, aż do nie dawna,. Co więcej, być może użyła ciebie do tego celu.

SB (Statue): But you would reek of SB (Rzeźba): Ale gdyby tak było, czuć

arcane forces if that were so, and instead there is nothing remotely arcane about you.

by było od ciebie woń mistycznych sił- a jednak nie jesteś mistyczna, nawet w najmniejszym stopniu.

SB (Digger): Thank you. SB (Digger): Dziękuję.

SB (Statue): But this stone, burrower- it is part of what lies below, but a part so small, and of itself, so inert, that it may go unnoticed.

SB (Rzeźba): Ale ten kamień, kopaczu-choć stanowi częścią tego co leży pod ziemią, jest częścią tak małą, że samo w sobie jest pasywne i może przejść nie zauważone.

SB (Statue): Did go unnoticed, to my shame.

SB (Rzeźba): I przeszło niezauważone, ku memu wstydowi.

SB (Statue): And so it has acted like a needle, putting the smallest of holes into the cloth of our world, and drawing the thread behind it.

SB (Rzeźba): A zatem zachowało się jak igła, tworząc maleńkie dziury w materiale naszego świata, przewlekając przy tym nić.

SB (Digger): Um. So now we’re sewn to whatever’s on the other side of the hole?

SB (Digger): Ee. Jesteśmy zatem przyszyci do czegokolwiek jest po drugiej stronie dziury?

SB (Statue): Yes. SB (Rzeźba): Tak.

SB (Digger): And it’s bad. SB (Digger): I to jest złe.

SB (Statue): Yes. (Vernon, 2011, pp. 177-178)

SB (Rzeźba): Tak.

Vernon comprehensively illustrated the statue’s monologue, ensuring that the reader understands the lengthy exposition. It is for this reason that the Polish translation is longer. This in turn may cause spatial issues, something that must be accounted for in the translation of comics. However, the presence of image-altering software makes this issue far less significant. At the same time, one can notice the conversational tone and punctuation rules that take precedence, i.e. some speech bubbles beginning with conjunctions, so as to accurately portray dialogue flow. The statue’s elegant manner of speech has also been reflected with appropriate syntax and phrasing where possible, as was Digger’s casual manner of speech. Emphasis signaled by italics, e.g. in the translation of the phrase “thank you” into

“dziękuję”, was also preserved. It is here that the need for attention to typography is apparent- while dialogue is what can be translated linguistically, there is also the need for the visual aspect of words to

be kept as well. This produces an adequate translation, in accordance with Toury’s understanding of the term (Munday, 2016, p. 176), as in this case, italics add a sarcastic tone.

On the basis of this dialogue, one can also notice that Vernon does not default to overly complex fantasy world-building, a trend that is noticeable in her other fantasy works e.g. Dragonbreath (2009) and Castle Hangnail (2015). This is in contrast to other webcomics in the fantasy genre like Tom Siddel’s Gunnerkrigg Court (2005-current) and Ashley Cope’s Unsounded (2010-current). This certainly makes it easier for the translator, who can focus on e.g. accurately portraying the humorous, conversational tone that is predominant in Digger (2003-2011). Indeed, Vernon places greater importance on humor and character creation; fantasy aspects are naturally interwoven into dialogue.

The existence of foreign languages is acknowledged, but through either arbitrary clusters of sounds which are then explained in footnotes, or the languages being mentioned in passing, as exemplified in table 8.

Figure 19

Panels depicting Ganesh’s/the Statue’s explanation of magic.

Note. The possible Polish translation has been put into the panels. Adapted from Digger (2003-2011), by U.Vernon, Original image retrieved January 14, 2021, from https://diggercomic.com/blog/2007/08/04/digger-167, translation by E. Niewiadoma.

Table 8

English-Polish Digger Translation Examples 5a to 5e

Example no. English Polish

5a SB (Digger): I’ll kill it! I’ll break its face and feed it gravel through a straw!

SB (Digger):

I’ll-I’ll-GNTTFF-UFF-SB (Digger): Zabije to! Złamię temu twarz i nakarmię go żwirem przez słomkę!

SB (Digger):

Ja-Ja-GNTTFF-UFF-URRRRFF!*

*NS: Lit. I will construct its dwelling using inferior materials! (Vernon, 2011, p. 179)

URRRRFF!*

*NS: Dosłownie “Wybuduje mu mieszkanie używając materiałów niskiej jakości!”

5b SB (Hyena): Grrrrrrunghgrff...*

*NS (Narrator Note): Not translatable. At least, not in mixed company. (Vernon, 2011, p. 166)

SB (Hiena): Grrrrrrungh grff...*

*NS (Notka od Narratora): *Nie da się przetłumaczyć. Przynajmniej nie w mieszanym towarzystwie.

5c SB (Hyena): Where’s your darrk frriend with all the teeth, anyway?

SB (Digger): HRRRFF-HNNGUHNG GRAH...*

*NS (Narrator Note): This is the closest phonetic approximation of the shortened version of an idiomatic phrase, roughly translating as: “Goodness, is that my pickaxe in your gut? And is this your pickaxe in my eye?” This denotes a stand off, although the origins of the phrase are perhaps fortunate lost to history. (Vernon, 2011, p. 164)

SB (Hiena): A gdzie twój cieeeemny przyyyyjaciel z wszystkim zębami?

SB (Digger): HRRRFF-HNNGUHNG GRAH...*

*NS (Notka od Narratora): Jest to najbliższym fonetycznym przybliżeniem idiomatycznego skróconej wersji wombackiego wyrażenia, z grubsza przetłumaczonego jako: „Och jeja, czy to mój kilof w twoim bebechu? I mój kilof w twoim oku?” Oznacza to impas, choć źródła tego wyrażenia zostały zapomniane w odmętach historii- być może na lepiej.

5d SB (Troll): Graagh. Raawgh, Gra Growargh- Arrghle.

SB (Surka): ‘e says ‘e like you. You smell like dirt. That’s good if you’re a troll.

(Vernon, 2011, p. 258)

SB (Troll): Graagh. Raawgh, Gra Growargh- Arrghle.

SB (Surka): Mówi, że cię lubi. Czućod ciebie ziemię. To dobrze jak się jest trollem.

5e SB (Digger): Hmm. The writing on this shackle looks like Dwarwish. I don’t suppose you read Dwarvish?

SB (Murai): No. They didn’t go in for gods, much. Can you read it?

SB (Digger): Couple of handy phrases only.

“Danger,” “Magic,” and I think this one is

“No user serviceable parts.” Not real

SB (Digger): Hmm. Na tym okowie pismo wygląda na krasnoludzki. Domyślam się, że nie umiesz czytać po krasnoludzku?

SB (Murai): Nie. Nie zbyt uwielbiają bogów. A ty możesz przeczytać?

SB (Digger): Tylko parę słów.

"Niebezpieczeństwo”, "Magia”, a ten tu to chyba “brak części nadających się do

helpful. That’s a clan mark, and this one next to it might be another one, but I don’t recognize it. (Vernon, 2011, p. 216)

użytku”. Niezbyt pomocne. A to znak klanowy, a ten obok to może jeszcze

jeden, ale nie rozpoznaje go.

Examples 5a through 5c demonstrate how fantasy language is humorously “translated” by a fictional narrator, presumably Vernon herself, in the footnotes that appear within the boundaries of the webcomic page; they are not located in the paratext, but are presented as in-panel or in-page footnotes, offering information in a light, humorous manner that informs the reader of a translation in a non-obliging way. This is done much like in the style of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, wherein those additions make up the main narrative, and are not simple authorial footnotes as one would find e.g. in a scientific paper, although they are stylized this way. One may call this an example of genre-bending, as William Spruiell (2014) comments in the context of Pratchett’s work: “Pratchett’s footnotes are a clearer example of genre-bending. They are a scholarly graphotextual device (. . .) Pratchett adopts the visual form of the scholarly convention (. . .) but the footnotes are in some cases adverbial which-clauses- a colloquial feature actively prohibited by some formal style guides” (p. 113). Pratchett employs this technique to not only immerse the reader within the created fantasy world, but to also provide information in a humorous and unconventional way. Vernon employs this technique for the same reasons; thus, not only are the footnotes are translated, but the fantasy language is kept as it is in the original.

Vernon did not denote if there was any logic to the sounds and letter arrangements she chose to denote fictional fantasy languages; it is highly probable they are arbitrarily created. It can be noticed that the wombat language in 5a and 5c contains similar letters (mostly “g”, “r”, “h” and “f”) to that of the hyena and troll languages; therefore, there is no need to try to understand the logic, but rather accept that Vernon used variations of these letters and combined them with others to make fantasy languages, which she then explains in footnotes. Often, fictional languages are used to liven and authenticate fantasy worlds, usually as a response to demanding readership: “It is no longer sufficient to introduce them into imaginary places or times. Imaginary worlds have to include invented cultures, with languages as an important element of these, to be attractive” (Fiedler, 2019, p. 141). Not every fantasy author can dedicate themselves to such a level, and those that do need a dedicated following to reward such an effort; in webcomics Ashley Cope stands out with her fictional language in the webcomic, Tanish, for which she has constructed a comprehensive grammar (Niewiadoma, 2016, pp.

43-44). Digger (2003-2011) was Vernon’s first serious creative endeavor, and thus, it made little sense