In the labyrinth with Ariadne: Expert and novice translator reflections on literary translation processes

Translator reflections, whether concurrent or retrospective, and if the latter, supported by drafts and editorial feedback, and dealing with problems encountered and solutions arrived at in personal creative translation processes are one way into the "labyrinth" (Krings 2005) of translatorial decision-making, with the translators themselves as guides. This article presents and discusses retrospective reflections by two expert literary translators translating English classics into Finnish and by one novice working on his first book-length translation. The reflections consist of the M.A. theses of the three translators, done in 2002 and 2008 and available online. Each of the translators analyses stages of a past or on-going translation project that resulted in a published target text. The focus of the analyses is on solving specific problems; this is further linked to discussions of individual aims and translation philosophies. The translators were motivated to write at length on their own creative processes both to share their experiences with other translators and to stimulate exchange of views between translators and researchers.