The world in Norwegian
The world in Norwegian:
A digital exploration of bibliomigration and reviews of translated fiction.
Background
The project “The world in Norwegian” will contribute to library development and infrastructure in the field of Digital Humanities (DH) and aims to fill a scientific void in the field of Translation Studies through methodological exploration and empirical data.
Digital methods are increasingly explored in the context of academic libraries, but relatively few studies combine DH methods with Translation Studies and library development, especially in case studies involving minor languages like Norwegian.
“The world in Norwegian” is a collaboration project between the NTNU University Library, University of Inland Norway (INN), Østfold University College (HiØ) and the DH-lab at the National Library of Norway. Parts of the project was funded by Bibliotekutvikling at the National Library of Norway.
We create openly accessible digital academic resources:
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An interactive map depicting the patterns of bibliomigration for translated fiction in Norway.
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A search app for fiction translated into Norwegian.
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A dynamic corpus of a selection of Norwegian newspaper reviews of translated fiction within the same time frame.
The map and the corpus will reveal trends in which cultures are (or are not) translated into Norwegian, how ideologies are spread, and can be used to challenge the existing canon of translated fiction. Based on research findings from the first phase, we will select a significant number of works and collect their reviews in a corpus. The aim is to facilitate analysis of these texts using digital methods like topic modeling and sentiment analysis, exploring criteria used to assess translated literature and whether these vary depending on which part of the world the literature comes from.
Our project can be defined as 'Big Translation History' (see Roig-Sanz & Fólica, 2021), where digital methods and tools are applied to large data sets to uncover and raise awareness of historical contexts and trends that are challenging to discern manually. The project is integrated into the development of NTNU's D-Lab, enhancing digital research and dissemination competencies.
Activities and publications
Skogmo, S. F., Axelsson, M., Schmidt-Melbye, I. H., & Tungland, L. M. (2025). Oversatt litteratur på kartet: Digitale metoder og tverrfaglig samarbeid i bibliografisk oversettelsesforskning. Nordisk tidsskrift for oversettelses-og tolkeforskning (NTOT), 1(2), 51-70.
Högre seminariet i litteraturvetenskap, Uppsala University, March 3, 2026.
We presented the project at "Högre seminariet i litteraturvetenskap" at Uppsala University. Presentasjon from "Högre seminariet" [pdf in Norwegian]
NOLS conference, Helsinki, June 11-13, 2025.
We participated and presented at the conference NOLS in Helsinki. Presentation from the NOLS-conference, Helsinki, 2025 [pdf in Norwegian].
Bibsys conference, Trondheim, March 19-20, 2025.
We participated at the Bibsys conference with the presentation «Verden på norsk - fra bibliotekkatalog til søkeapp og kart». (“The World in Norwegian- from library catalogue to search app and map”).
INN the LUP-seminar, University of Inland Norway, December 11, 2024.
We participated at the seminar INN the LUP with the presentation “Verden på norsk - en bibliomigrasjonshistorie” (“The World in Norwegian- a bibliomigration history”).
SNÖ, Østfold University College, November 14-15, 2024.
We participated at Svensk Nätverk för översättningsvetenskap’s yearly meeting with the presentation ”Oversettelse på kartet” (”Translation on the map”).
Kunnskap:kaffe, NTNU University Library, 23 October, 2024.
We presented the project to the public at NTNU University Library’s lunch seminar “Kunnskap: kaffe”. Presentation at Kunnskap:kaffe [pdf in Norwegian]
LiNN, University of Inland Norway, September 20, 2024.
We presented the “The world in Norwegian” at the yearly one-day conference LINN.
DHNB conference, Reykjavik, May 29-31, 2024.
We participated and presented at the Digital Humanities in the Nordic and Baltic countries 8th conference, in Reykjavik. Presentation from the DHNB conference, Reykjavik, May 2024.
HF Innovation days, NTNU University Library, D-lab, March 12-13, 2024.
Presentation in the D-lab at NTNU University library «Visualization of data in the humanities and the social sciences». Presentation from the HF Innovation days, NTNU University library, March 2024 [pdf in Norwegian].
DHKO conference University of Oslo, October 24, 2023.
Presentation at «Digital Humanities in Norway - Looking back, and taking a (big?) step forward?» organized by National Network for Digital Humanities and Culture Organization (DHKO).
Presentation from the DHKO conference, UiO, October 2023.
Info and resources
Contact the project group
Project lead: Inger Hesjevoll Schmidt-Melbye NTNU University library
Siri Fürst Skogmo Innland Norway University of Applied Sciences
Marcus Axelsson Østfold University College
If you have other questions, contact NTNU Help or ask your local library.
Collaborators
With support from
