Australian Author Translates War & Peace into Informal Australian English
A Melbourne IT worker, operating under the pen name Ander Louis (Andrew Tesoriero), has translated Leo Tolstoy's War & Peace into a version utilizing informal Australian English, colloquially referred to as "bogan" language. The project began in 2018 as a personal endeavor.
Translation Approach and Terminology
The translation reinterprets Tolstoy's 19th-century Russian high society narrative using Australian slang. For example, a character's arrival is rendered as "Prince Andrei rocked up to Anna's joint," and noble figures are referred to as "sheilas" and "drongos." Louis describes this linguistic approach as conversational, akin to discourse heard "down the pub." The term "bogan," which originated in Australia in the 1980s, historically denoted an "unsophisticated and uncultured person." Louis, however, characterizes it as a "term of endearment."
Additional linguistic examples from the translated text include "fair dinkum" to describe a noble and "he's cactus" to signify a character's death, thereby altering the original narrative's tone.
Project Genesis and Public Reception
Louis initially avoided reading War & Peace, a novel exceeding 1,200 pages. In 2016, he participated in an online community that completed the book by reading one chapter daily over a year, a process he repeated twice. This engagement provided him with a comprehensive understanding of the text, leading to the translation project as a creative outlet. For over six years, the project remained a hobby, with Louis self-publishing the initial two translated books and achieving limited sales.
Public interest in the translation increased significantly after a New York-based tech writer shared excerpts online, resulting in a substantial rise in sales. Louis speculated that this surge in US interest might be connected to a broader appreciation for Australian cultural elements, referencing the popularity of the Australian children's cartoon "Bluey" in the United States.
Sociolinguistic Context of "Bogan"
Louis contends that "bogan" English serves as a social equalizer, applicable across various social strata. Mark Gwynn, a senior researcher at the Australian National University and contributor to the Australian National Dictionary, supports this view. Gwynn noted that "bogans can be wealthy, poor, or in the middle," and that the term has more recently acquired affectionate connotations, including self-referential use like "inner bogan."
Gwynn further elaborated that "bogan Australian" describes highly informal speech characterized by extensive use of Australian slang and colloquialisms. He clarified that "bogan" lacks direct equivalents in terms such as "hillbillies," "bumpkins," "yokels," "rustics," "rednecks," or the British "chav," due to its specific social and cultural implications. Louis's varied professional history, encompassing roles such as kitchen hand, energy analyst, Uber driver, and punk rocker, is cited as a contributing factor to his distinctive perspective on the translation endeavor.