Jings! Whit’s gaun on? Tintin gets a makeover for new Scots edition
Published: 6 September 2013
A new translation of Tintin will make the adventures of the plucky Belgian detective and faithful dog, Snowy, available in Scots for the first time
A new translation of Tintin will make the adventures of the plucky Belgian detective and faithful dog, Snowy, available in Scots for the very first time.
The first book to be translated is ‘LÎle Noire’ or ‘The Black Island’, which is partly set in Scotland. It is the seventh book in Hergé’s famous series ‘The Adventures of Tintin’.
"The new edition will be published by Taigh na Teud on the Isle of Skye (www.scotlandsmusic.com) and is being launched today at a concert during the Blas Festival alongside a new Gaelic translation of the comic.
‘The Derk Isle’ details Tintin and Snowy’s hunt for a gang of international counterfeiters, taking them on a journey from Belgium to England and on into Scotland. In order to unravel the mystery it they are drawn towards an uninhabited island that is supposedly home to a ferocious man-eating beast.
Dr Susan Rennie, Kelvin Smith Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, who translated the book from its original French, said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to translate a world famous character like Tintin into Scots. The Scots language is so wonderfully suited to Tintin’s adventures and there are so many words and phrases that lend themselves to the story that it really was a lot of fun to translate.
“I am sure that fans of Tintin both old and new will find a lot to love in this translation, and I also hope that it will encourage more people to engage with the Scots language and discover some of its unique characteristics.”
In order to relocate the story within a Scottish context the names of some of the characters were changed. In this translation detectives Thomson and Thomson are known as Nisbet and Nesbit and Tintin’s dog, Snowy, is called Tarrie (a Scots word meaning ‘terrier’). Other than that the publishers tried to remain as faithful as possible to the original text.
A website has been developed for new Scots translation which includes information on the character names and a glossary of Scots words and phrases used in the text: www.tintinscots.com
In Scots:
Hergé, ‘The Adventurs o Tintin: The Derk Isle’, translatit intae Scots by Susan Rennie.
Tintin an his faithfu dug, Tarrie, are on the trail o an international gang o conterfaiters. Forby, they themsels are bein follaed by the twa glaikit detectives, Nisbet an Nesbit! The trail leads them til the faur-awa north o Scotland, whaur legend tells o an unco craitur, the Hairy Etin, that bides i the ruins o Corbiecraig Castle, on the dreich an oorie Derk Isle. Unfleggit by tales o beasts an bogles, Tintin an Tarrie are makkin til the isle tae see whit’s gaun on …
For more information please contact Nick Wade in the University of Glasgow’s Media Relations Office on 01413307126 or on nick.wade@glasgow.ac.uk.
All images © Casterman/Hergé.
First published: 6 September 2013
<< September