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1 UNIT I
1
TERMS & CONCEPTS PART - I
Unit Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Terms and concepts
1.2.1 Translation
1.2.2 The concept of Transliteration.
1.2.3 Source Language Text and Target Language Text
1.3 Conclusion
1.4 Suggested Questions
1.5 Bibliography/References
1.0 OBJECTIVES This unit aims to introduce the readers to translation and ‗Translation
Studies‘. Very recently, ‗Translation Studies‘ has acquired the status of an
independent discipline. Previously it was considered to be a part of
Comparative Literature. Since ‗Translation Studies‘ has achieved greater
significance in academic and intellectual spheres at present, it is necessary
to understand its definitions, basic concepts and components of
translation. This unit, therefore, wi ll acquaint the readers with the term
‗translation’ in general and translation studies in particular. The unit will
enable the readers to understand the term ‘transliteration’ and how it is
different than the concept of ‗translation‘. It will also help the learners
understand the significance of the translation industry on a global level
and how it is one of the important career options. The readers will also
realize how the meaning is transferred from Source Language to Target
Language.
(Please do not trea t these study notes as the last word on the subject.
These are points to ponder.)
1.1. INTRODUCTION It is not possible to master all languages and learn their kinds of literature
and philosophy. The translation is a way of circumventing this difficulty.
Translation has established a link between the present generation of
mankind with the tradition, culture and intellectual attainments of the
people of the past. The works of Homer and Horace have come to us only
through translation. Similarly, the Vedas, Kal idasa‘s Shakuntala and
Indian religious scriptures in Sanskrit would never have been popularized
in the Western countries. Without translation, possibly the people of India munotes.in
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2 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
2 would have been completely in the dark about the Bible. Thus, it offers a
wide sco pe in matters of getting acquainted with various works of
literature of the world. The translation is an interlingual act of
communication. The translation is neither a creative art nor an imitative
art.
Translation study is related to the study of the phe nomena and theory of
translation. Dr. Johnson says ‗translation involves the process of change
into another language, relating to sense‘. By nature, it is multilingual and
interdisciplinary. It borrows from many languages, linguistics,
communication studie s, philosophy and a wide range of cultural subjects.
Because of this diversity, it offers a difficulty and a challenge at the same.
1.2 TERMS AND CONCEPTS 1.2.1 Translation :
Etymologically translation is a ―carrying across‖ process. The Latin
―translatio‖ is derived from ―transferre‖ where ―trans‖ means ―across‖ and
―ferre‖ means ―to carry‖ or ―to bring‖ something from one place to
another place. According to Webster‘s New World Dictionary ―to
translate‖ means ―to put into words of a different language.‖ Si milarly,
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines translation as ―the act or
an instance of translating‖ or ―a written or spoken expression of the
meaning of a word, speech book, etc. in another language.‖
Critics of Translation Studies at different t imes have defined translation
differently. A study of these statements reveals the true nature and
characteristics of translation. The translation is also defined as a
continuous sub -conscious association with the original. Breslin tells that
translation i s ―the general term referring to the transfer of thought and
ideas from one language (source) to another (target) whether the languages
are in written or in oral form. Pinchuck defines translation as a ―process of
finding a TL equivalent for an SL utteranc e‖. Wills says that ―translation
is a transfer process, which aims at the transformation of a written SL text
into an optimally equivalent TL text, and which requires the syntactic, the
semantic and the pragmatic understanding and analytical processing of the
SL.
Nida is of opinion that ―translation consists of reproducing in the receptor
language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message,
first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style‖.
Bell says that ―translation involves th e transfer of meaning from a text in
one language into a text in another language.‖
According to Johnson translation involves the process of change of a text
from one language to another language, retaining the sense.
Catford defines translation as ―the re placement of textual material in one
language (SL) by equivalent material in another language.‖ munotes.in
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3 Terms & Concepts Part - I Commenting on translation Susan Bassnett states:
Today the movement of people around the globe can be seen to mirror the
very process of translation itself, fo r translation is not just the transfer of
texts from one language into another, it is now rightly seen as a process of
negotiation between texts and between cultures, a process during which all
kind of transactions take place mediated by the figure of the translator.
Significantly, HomiBhaba uses the term ‗translation‘ not to describe a
transaction between texts and languages but in the etymological sense of
being carried across from one place to another. He uses translation
metaphorically to describe the c ondition of the contemporary world, in
which millions migrate and change their location every day.
Thus, translation as a process of linguistic activity has changed. The
emphasis on the linguistic approach of the sixties has been replaced by the
importanc e of the text in the seventies and at present, culture is considered
to be the prime factor. A translation is never complete or is so only
transnationally. It was A. K. Ramanujan who said that a translation is
never finished; only abandoned. Sujit Mukherji concludes ‗let me revert to
my earlier submission about there being more craft than art to translation.
The truly crafty translator will know why he translates, for whom he
translates, what he should translate, how much to translate and, semi -
finally, whe n to stop. Even after such knowledge, he may still require
forgiveness. The importance of translation lies in the fact that it brings the
readers, writers and critics of one nation into contact with those of others
not only in the field of literature alone but in all areas of development:
science and medicine, philosophy and religion, politics and law, and so on.
1.2.2 The concept of Transliteration:
Transliteration refers to the practice of transcribing a word or text written
in one writing system into ano ther writing system. It attempts to be exact
so that an informed reader should be able to reconstruct the original
spelling of unknown transliterated words. It occurs when the translator
transcribes the SL characters or sounds in the TL. This means that the
letters of the SL are converted into the letters of the TL. Unlike
transference, transliteration is not only concerned with words alone, on the
other hand, sentences, at times, full -length passages are thus transcribed.
Scholars reject transliteration as a process of translation because it relies
on transcription rather than searching for the cultural and semantic
equivalent word in the TL. In transliteration what is done is to use the
alphabetical letters of TL and use those letters which will when r ead, be
approximately equal to the phonological structure of the word in the
source language. Catford says: ―In transliteration, SL graphological units
are replaced by TL graphological units; but these are not translation
equivalents, since they are not se lected based on relationship to the same
graphic substance‖ (Catford, 1965).
Further Catford suggests three stages to be adopted while transliterating
words or passages from SL to TL. They are: munotes.in
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4 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
4 1. SL letters are replaced by SL phonological units from written to
spoken medium.
2. Then SL phonological units are translated into TL phonological units.
3. The TL phonological units are converted into TL letters or other
graphological units (Catford, 1965).
Thus, transliteration to a large extent depends on graphological u nits.
Transliteration is useful for those bilinguals who can speak both languages
fluently but can read and write only one language i.e. SL. In such a case
transliteration enables to read the TL without difficulty. The use of words
like ―train,‖ ―computer ‖ and ―switch‖ in Indian languages is an instance of
transliteration. Similarly, the words like ―saree,‖―lathi‖ and ―jalebi‖ in
English indicate instances of transliteration.
The oxford dictionary says - ‗The action or process of transliterating is the
rendering of the letters or characters of one alphabet in those of another.
Transliteration is different from translation. It can be used as a tool in the
process of translation. Transliteration also means ‗Representation of the
sounds, words or utterances of one language employing the symbols used
in the writing system of another language Transliteration as a tool the
process of translation is used when the text has untranslatability.
Transliteration is used to maintain the moral responsibility of the transl ator
to the TL reader. To maintain this, translator, while translating the creative
writing, has to remain faithful in her/his job. Codes, Symbols and certain
technical words cannot be translated but can only be transliterated.
Example:
Watt, Volt, Meter.
Transliteration of such terms will avoid confusion for the Target Audience
when they come across them in the translation of the different texts on
science. Some verbs lend themselves to, both translation and
transliteration and lead the choice to the tra nslator. One can sight the
following example.
‗Circuit, Unit, Phase, Node, etc‘
To be more lucid one can use the following example. Word Transliteration Translation (Marathi/Hindi) Computer कॉम्प्युटर संगणक Atom ऍटम अणू/ परमाणू Photocopy फोटोकॉपी छायाप्रत/ नकल munotes.in
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5 Terms & Concepts Part - I Following is an interesting case study to understand the term
―transliteration‖.
A case study:
A great scholar and multifaceted personality K. Ayyapa Panikershare his
experience with us. It is a model lesson for all how he achieved his goal.
To feel like an insider was very necessary -almost a prerequisite for
attempting something so unusual as translating Sikh scripture into
Malayalam. He buried the ignorance, lived down the prejudice of all
kinds, grasped the religious and literary association, and crossed the
barrier of language, by depending on the large -hearted friendship of Sikhs.
They transmitted their conviction and confidence. And yet it was not
enough. He had to listen to the chanting in authentic and orthodox style,
not to carry over th e original score at all, but to relive the intuition that for
medieval Bhakti poetry the aural -oral dimension was integral. Listening to
these chants resolved some of the difficulties he had encountered while
going through the printed texts. The chanting s tyle sounded familiar: it
was not too far from the way medieval hymns or Kirtans were recorded in
the translator‘s language Malayalam. But he warned himself against
rendering these compositions merely equivalent to the Malayalam Bhajans
or Bhakti songs. Th eir difference had to be maintained. Linguistic
similarities were another trap. Many of the words repeatedly used in these
songs were of Sanskrit origin. While it was a help in a way, taking them
for granted was fallacious. The cognate forms could not be t aken to mean
the same in the literary contexts of the two languages. The translation of
the monograph along with the illustrative poems was thus completed with
a reasonable satisfaction although there were still nagging problems. As an
extension of the pro ject, Paniker undertook the translation of a whole book
‗Selections from Guru Nanak‘ for the World Classic Retold series. A
decision was also taken to publish the original versions in the Malayalam
script on the left -hand page so that Malayalam readers cou ld not only see
the similarity or dissimilarity between the original and the translation but
also move on to the original after reading the Malayalam version. The
translation was not intended to replace the original; it was to be used as a
stepping stone o nly, a mediator. It was possible only between languages
that are similar in many ways, especially in terms of their sound systems
and vocabulary. This also helped preserve the musical structure, which
was difficult to transfer to another language without l oss or distortion of
meaning. The text was made available in Devanagari and then
transliterated in Malayalam script. It helped to keep intact the mantra -like
mystical quality of the original, where the order of the syllables and the
length of the vowels co uld be retained without any substantial change. The
opening moola mantra was first given in Malayalam transliteration. This
was immediately followed by a paraphrase in Malayalam, with the
translation on the right -hand page facing it. The translation had to be
longer than the original because of the latter‘s highly tight and profound
nature. The paraphrase does not take more space than the original, but the
translation had to bring out the extended meaning of the original in full.
This was not felt necessary in the case of the other poems, although some
concessions had to be made to suit the requirements of a metrical structure munotes.in
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6 natural to Malayalam. Preference for cognate forms of words, wherever
feasible was maintained. An effort to retain the tight formal s tructure of
the original resulted in the repetition of keywords. This as we know is a
part of the stock diction of medieval Bhakti poetry common to most Indian
languages.
1.2.3 Source Language Text and Target Language Text :
The translation is an operation performed on two languages viz: Source
Language and Target Language. The language from which the translation
is being done is called Source Language and the language into which it is
done is called Target Language. The term transfer refers to the process
involved in the transmission of the message (received after decoding the
SL text) into the other language (TL). It requires bilingual competence i.e.,
the ability to understand and articulate the same message in two
languages.
To understand the process of m essage transference the following facts of
language must be kept in mind:
1) There is no one -to-one relationship between the grammatical and
lexical units of two languages (SL and TL).
2) The grammatical and lexical structure of each language carries w ith it
its peculiar meaning.
According to Eugene Nida, translation is more than a triple Matching of
words, grammatical structures and cultural context. It is rendering of
‗SLT‘ into the ‗TLT‘ to ensure that the surface meaning of the two will be
approxim ately similar and the structure of the source language (SL) will
be preserved as closely as possible but not so close that the Target
Language (TL) structure will be seriously distorted. In other words,
translation is an activity comprising the interpreta tion of the meaning of a
text in one language — the Source Text — and the production, in another
language, of a new, equivalent text — the Target Text or translation. A
source text is a text (usually written but sometimes oral) from which
information or id eas are derived.
The process of translation between two different languages involves the
translator changing the source language text (SL) into a target language
text (TL). In this replacement, the form of SL text is changed and the
meaning is expected and hoped to be held constant. Translation in this
view is a contextual thing; a cross -cultural communication, a
communicative act that attempts to render the exact contextual meaning in
such a way that both content and language are readily acceptable to the
readership. Translation could be defined as a process through which (using
a metaphor) a passenger (ST) with help of a pilot (translator) takes a flight
to its destination (TL). There have been different views towards
translation processes, their method an d quality assessment etc.
Katharina Reiss has defined translation as a ―bilingual mediated process of
communication, which ordinarily aims at the production of a TL text that munotes.in
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7 Terms & Concepts Part - I is functionally equivalent to an SL text (2 media: SL and TL+1 medium:
the transl ator, who becomes a secondary sender; thus translating:
secondary communication)‖ (Venuti 160). In other words, translation is a
process of communication that involves two languages and in which the
translator acts as a mediator. Since the translator is th e one who is
originally sending the message s/he becomes a ‗secondary sender‘ and
therefore translation becomes ‗secondary communication‘. Thus,
translation also goes through many stages before its conclusion. According
to Eugene Nida, the SL message under goes analysis by the translator
before it is transferred to the TL. It is then restructured according to the
TL pattern before it is comprehended. In other words, a message is first
decoded by the receiver and then recoded by him/her.
The translation is an operation performed on languages, a process of
substituting a text in one language for a text in another. (Catford, 1965)
There are some other words like transference, transliteration and
transcription close to the word 'translation'. The word transferenc e refers
to an operation in which the target language or parts of the target language
text have values set up in the source language carrying the meanings and
essence of the source -language text. Converting from one language –
Source Language (SL) to anoth er - Target Language (TL) so that the TL
could convey the intended message in SL is the aim of the translation. In
other words, it is a process through which the translator decodes SL and
encodes his understanding of the TL form.
To further simplify it, o ne can say that, translation is an activity
comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language —
the Source Text — and the production, in another language, of a new,
equivalent text — the Target Text or translation. A source text is a t ext
(usually written but sometimes oral) from which information or ideas are
derived. The goal of translation is generally to establish a relation of
equivalence of intent between the source and target texts (that is to say, to
ensure that both texts commu nicate the same message) while taking into
account several constraints. These constraints include context, the rules of
grammar of both languages, their writing conventions, their idioms, and
the like. Henceforth, in your lessons the abbreviations SL and T L will
refer to Source Language and Target Language respectively. The Source
Text refers to the text that is taken for translation. The Target Text is the
text that is translated. So, the translation process is concerned with two
languages and the translat or must be proficient in both these languages.
1.3 CONCLUSION In this age of globalization, there has been a migration of people from one
part of the world to the other. Without translation it would not have been
impossible for such people to know the cul ture and tradition of the host
country nor could they acquaint the people with the sociological and
cultural conditions of their home country. The greatest role that translation
plays in the modern world is that it has become a means of creating
internatio nal understanding. India is a multi -lingual country, hence, there
is a rich scope for translation. Thus, translation is such an all -pervasive munotes.in
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8 and all -permeating phenomenon that we have to look into it seriously
enough as an object of academic inquiry. The works of Sujit Mukherji,
Harish Trivedi, Ganesh Devi, K. AyyapaPaniker, and Aijaj Ahmad are
noteworthy.
1.4. SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 1. Attempt a definition of translation and explain its meaning.
2. Is translation a secondary activity? What are the positive contrib utions
of translation?
3. Explain the difference between translation and transliteration with
examples.
4. Write a short note on SLT & TLT
1.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY / REFERENCES 1) Baker, Mona. Translation and Conflict . London and New York:
Routledge, 2005.
2) Baker, Mona. Routledge Encyclopaedia of Translation Studies .
London: Routledge, 2001
3) Bassnett -McGuire, Susan. Translation Studies . London: Methuen,
1980
4) Asaduddin, M. ―Translation and Indian Literature: Some Reflections‖,
Translation Today. http://www.anukriti.net/tt5/arti cle1/page1.asp
5) Jakobson, Roman (1959/2004) ‗On linguistic aspects of translation‘,
in Lawrence Venuti (ed.) (2004), The Translation Studies Reader, 2nd
edition.
6) Nida, E. A. & Taber, C. R. (1969). The Theory and Practice of
Translation . Leiden
7) Vinay, J.P. a nd J. Darbelnet. Comparative Stylistics of French and
English: a Methodology for Translation, translated by J. C. Sager and
M. J. Hamel, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995.
8) Savory, Theodore. The Art of Translation. London: Cape, 1957.
9) Munday, J eremy. Introducing Translation Studies. Tehran:
YaldaGhalam, 2001.
10) Newmark, Peter. Approaches to Translation. Oxford: Pregamon
Press, 1981.
11) Newmark, Peter. A Textbook of Translation. London: Prentice Hall.
1988 munotes.in
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9 Terms & Concepts Part - I 12) Nida, Eugene A. Towards a Scienc e of Tra nslating, London: E. J.
Brill, 1964.
13) Yu. M. Lotman, B. A. Uspensky and George Mihaychuk. On the
Semiotic Mechanism of Culture. https://www.jstor.org/stable/468571
Belloc. Hilaire. On translation London: O.U.P., 1984.
14) Booth A.D. and Forster Leonard (Ed.) Aspects of Translation .
London: Secker and Warburg, 1958
15) Catford, John C. A Linguistic Theory of Translation: an Essay on
Applied Linguistics. London: Oxford University Press, 1965.
16) Fawcett, Peter. Transl ation and Language: Linguistic Theories
Explained, Manchester: St Jerome Publishing, 1997.
17) Frenz, Horst. ‗ The Art of Translation ‘ in Newton P. Stallknecht and
Horst Frenz, eds. Comparative Literature: Method and Perspective.
Amsterdam: Southern Illinois Un iversity Press, 1971.
18) Gentzler, Edwin. Contemporary Translation Theorie s: Revised 2nd
Edition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd., 2001
19) Hatim, Basil and J. Munday. Translation an Advance Resource Book .
London and New York: Routledge, 2006.
20) House, Juliane . A Model for Translation Quality Assessment,
Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 1997.
21) Hung, Eva. Translation and Cultural change. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins,2005.
22) Nida, Eugene A. and C.R.Taber. The Theory and Practice of
Translation. London: E. J. Brill, 1969
23) Nida, Eugene A. Language, Structure, and Translation: Essays by
Nida . Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975.
24) Nida, Eugene. On Translation . Beijing: Translation Publishing
Corp.,1984.
*****
munotes.in
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10 10 UNIT II
2
TERMS & CONCEPTS PART - II
Unit Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2. Terms and concepts
2.2.1 Loss and Gain in Translation
2.2.2 Creative & Free Translation
2.2.3 Word -to-word & Structural Translation
2.3 Conclusion
2.4 Suggested Quest ions
2.5 Bibliography/References
2.0 OBJECTIVES The main aim of this unit is to understand the concept of loss and gain in
the process of translation. The unit will also define the concept of creative
translation, its need and when and where free transla tion can be used. In
this unit, the reader will also get familiarized with the word to word and
structural translation as one of the types of translation. The students will
know the difference between all these concepts that are core to the process
of tran slation.
2.1 INTRODUCTION Few important terms form the core of the translation process and
translation theories. Translation can be classified according to its use and
according to the theoretical frameworks provided by various theorists.
These classificat ions are not final or arbitrary as various theorists have
given different models of classification. However, understanding the types
of translation as well as getting familiar with the basic concepts of it, will
also help the student in understanding diffe rent aspects and types of
translation. The translation industry is often categorized by several areas
of specialization. Each specialization has its own merits, challenges and
difficulties.
2.2. TERMS AND CONCEPTS 2.2.1 Loss and Gain in Translation:
The t ranslation is said to be a game of loss and gain. Along with the
concept of equivalence is the notion of loss and gain in translation.
Implicit in most translation theories is the assumption that something is
lost when you carry a text from one language in to another. There is always
the possibility of miscommunication in the act of communication that is munotes.in
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11 Terms & Concepts Part - II translation; if the receiver goes slightly askew in the decoding, the chances
are that the message will not be carried across correctly. Certain elements
can be added or left out. Robert Frost’s famous definition of poetry is
notable: “Poetry is what gets lost in translation”.
The basis of Frost’s statement is the concept of the creative originality of
the poet who creates a work where the meaning lurks some where beneath
the surface of words. The translator, it is assumed, cannot ever hope to
capture the ‘meaning’ of the original SL which tends to fall through the
gaps of the TL. Overenthusiastic translators can also inadvertently pad up
the text by adding mo re to it than is necessary with the result that the
translation might have more allusions in it than was originally thought of.
The problem of loss and gain is again due to the cultural dissimilarity
between two linguistic groups. Something very common in a particular
community might be rare in another. It is said that the language of the
Eskimos has more than one hundred words to describe ‘snow’. These
subtle distinctions they make between various types of snow cannot be
brought out in a single Hindi word . The reverse is also applicable. For
instance, the word ‘godhuli’ in Hindi cannot be translated with the help of
a single English word. It needs to be explained as the ‘hour at which the
cattle return home causing the dust to rise by their hooves’. There is of
course the word ‘dusk’ but that becomes only an approximation; what is
lost here is the suggestion of Indian village life where dusk is the holy
time when cattle return home and lamps are lit. Here there is a loss in
translation.
Loss in translation is one of the major challenges facing a translator who is
translating a literary work. Literary language, besides being informative
and factual, is also allusive and elliptical. The translator has to be vigilant
to these resonances in the SL text and atte mpt to recapture it for the TL
reader as best as s/he can, without any palpable loss or gain in the process.
Problems of Loss and Gain:
No two languages are exactly similar in their vocabulary and grammar. It
is this non -similarity between two languages th at are the root cause of loss
and gain in the translation process. We can make two expressions
belonging to two languages equivalent based on grammatical function,
semantic representation, or communicative value. Even so, there are many
other facets of the expression which are either lost or their distinctions
leveled in the process of translation.
Take for example English greeting words like ‘Good Morning’, ‘Good
Evening’, ‘Good Night’. Along with their wishing component, these
expressions convey a particu lar sense of time, in the morning we say
‘Good Morning’, in the evening, ‘Good evening’ and soon. Based on the
communicative value, its Marathi equivalence is नमèतेthe use of which
cuts across the time dimension. These translational equivalent levels are
the original distinction made on the temporal scale. Marathi greeting
words are oriented differently. munotes.in
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12 Here we have expressions like नमÖते and रामराम or पायI पडतो. Their use is
bound by the setting and the social status of the speakers. Equating them
with corresponding greeting words from English like Good
Morning/Evening means simply leveling the original distinction made on
the social hierarchy of its users.
In both cases of leveling we find some kind of information ‘loss’ in the
case of English to Marath i information about ‘नमÖते’ is lost while in the
case of Marathi to English, information about ‘social status’ is lost. You
should also notice that while substituting a TL greeting expression for an
SL expression, you have also transposed the orientation of the TL system.
For example, once you replace नमÖते with ‘Good Morning’ or
‘GoodNight’, you have added in the text a temporal axis that was not
originally present. This is ‘gain’ in meaning.
Once the principle is accepted that sameness cannot exist between two
languages, it becomes possible to approach the question of loss and gain in
the translation process. It is again an indication of the low status of
translation that so much time should have been spent on discussing what is
lost in the transfer of a text from SL to TL w hilst ignoring what can also
be gained, for the translator can at times enrich or clarify the SL text as a
direct result of the translation process. Moreover, what is often seen as
‘lost’ from the SL context may be replaced in the TL context, as in the
case of Wyatt and Surrey’s translations of Petrarch (see pp.60 -I; 105 -10).
2.2.2 Creative & Free Translation:
Free Translation:
Free Translation is translating loosely from the original. Contrasted with
word for word or literal translation, this may be the be st method
depending on the most appropriate unit of translation involved. Free
translation provides the general meaning of the original, but it might be far
from the exact wording of the original. It provides great freedom in
translating, the most extreme form of it, and should be avoided by
translators unless there is a specific reason for free translation. Different
theorists use different sets of terms to show the emphasis either on the
Source Text or the Target Text. Similarly, Faithful translation vs.
Idiomatic translation describes the same oppositional principle.
For translating such texts, a translator resorts to another type known as
free translation. A free translation of the above sentence would be -‘ you
are hardly seen these days. This type of tr anslation is called free
translation because the translated text appears to be free from the word -
for-word equivalents of the source language text. There appears to be
hardly any relationship between the form of the original text and its
translation. The e mphasis is on capturing the sense of the original text. If
the literal type of translation is suitable for those texts which have more
information content, free translation suits those texts which also evoke a
particular ‘emotional response’ among its read ers. In other words, free munotes.in
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13 Terms & Concepts Part - II translation is more suitable for literary texts while literal translation
generally suits scientific and technical texts.
Free translation also becomes more desirable in texts of creative literature
because the ‘emotional response ’ of each writer or book varies. While the
poems of Dinkar evoke feelings of patriotism, the poems of Mahadevi
Verma evoke the emotional response of the ‘pangs of love’ in their
readers. As such, a translator must choose vocabulary as well as sentence
structures that help in evoking such feelings. This may not be possible at
the level of a more matter -of-fact literal translation. A free translation also
takes liberties with the length of the original text, either omitting or adding
words and structures in t he translated text.
Where fidelity to the author’s meaning is important, the translator goes in
for literal translation. In texts where the reader’s response is a primary
concern, free translation is more suitable. On the other hand, adaptations
take anot her extreme position. Here the translator takes utmost freedom
and adapts the Source Text into the Target Language. The translator is not
concerned with accuracy but with giving a general idea of the text. The
guiding principle here is that the Source Text can be rewritten in terms of
the target culture and the structures of the Target Language. Unlike a
transcription (or literal translation), an adaptation is aimed at bringing the
target text in line with the spirit of the language, thus producing a text
which is not a translation.
Creative Translation:
Creative translation is not only translation but it’s a transcreation. A
common misunderstanding is that translation is a very straightforward
process with very little input from the translator. In effect, t he translator is
merely a conduit through which one language is transformed into another.
However, nothing could be further from the truth. A skilled translator
injects a healthy dose of creativity into their task. The act of translating
and the creative p rocess are virtually inseparable, a fact that is especially
true in literary translations.
Creativity is the key by which a skilled translator deals with some of the
most common problems in translating. Often, a translator will be torn
between representing form versus content. Creativity is the thing that can
find a harmonious balance between the two, and the whole process
becomes more art than science. In addition, translations should not be
literal. Rather, they need to convey the full meaning of the orig inal text,
which includes cultural context. Some languages have idioms and sayings
that don’t exist in other languages. Many of these are based on cultural
cues which may not even exist in the culture of the target language.
One of the most difficult trans lation tasks can be translating poetry. A
straight, literal translation will simply not suffice, as there are issues such
as rhyming, imagery, rhythm, and flow to consider. The Dao De Jing,
which is, by some accounts, the second most translated text in the world –
after the Holy Bible – is a perfect example of this. The original Chinese
text is written like poetry, with certain rhythms and rhymes. It also munotes.in
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14 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
14 conveys a very esoteric and elusive message. Translating that into another
language while maintaining e very aspect of the original is a daunting task.
To see many of the creative, yet different, interpretations, you can look at
the Tao Te Ching Comparison Project, which has a side -by-side
comparison of 29 different translations.
There are many degrees of cr eativity, and too little or too much can lead to
undesirable outcomes. Too little creativity can result in a bland translation
that is possibly inaccurate in tone, whereas too much creativity risks losing
the original intent of the text and replacing it wi th the translator’s intent.
An ideal translation would use the “Goldilocks Effect” – not too much
creativity and not too little, but just the right amount. Of course, pulling
this off successfully requires mastery of the target language and very good
knowl edge of the source language. In addition, it requires an excellent
understanding of the culture associated with both languages. Therefore,
when you are translating, you should keep in mind that it isn’t just about
the words. A masterful translator needs to both translate the word and also
interpret the cultural context, as well.
Translators are engaged in a process of negotiation between two cultures,
two languages and two different mindsets. A process that calls forth a
profound understanding of the langua ge they are translating from and a
fluency in the language they are translating into.
The complex and creative process of adapting one text into a new reality,
mediating between your source and target language insinuates that a
translator’s task is not onl y an intricate and a demanding one but highly
creative. The translation is often a task of solving “context” problems.
That is where creativity “chimes in”.
Translators are faced with a complex task: Use different words to achieve
the same meaning. This na turally suggests that excellent writing skills are
crucial and that what translators are engaged in, after all, is a process of
rewriting. In translation, the “writing” element is the basic raw material
translators use for their work. Considering that writ ing is a creative act,
there can be no doubt that, equally, translation is a creative act as well. A
creatively written text is a text creatively translated. This creativity of
translation is manifested in the transaction which gives rise to the “new
text” in TL. Examples of such transcreated works are many, but to cite the
example of Fitzgerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and
Rajaji’s translation of The Mahabharat into English will be enough to
prove the point.
2.2.3 Word -to-word & Struct ural Translation:
John Dryden in the seventeen century classified translation into three types
metaphrase, paraphrase and imitation. He defines metaphrase as word -for-
word and line -for-line rendering. A paraphrase is defined as a translation
in which the a uthor’s work is considered carefully but the sense is given
more importance than the words. Imitation according to Dryden is a form
of translation in which the translator takes liberty with the words and the munotes.in
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15 Terms & Concepts Part - II sense of the original. In other words, the sense alone is taken care of in
this form of translation.
Word -to-word Translation:
The Word -for-word translation can be the most unimaginative translation
possible. Here the emphasis is on mechanically transferring each word
from the Source Language onto the Target Language without giving any
importance to the whole structure of the text or without paying attention to
the loss of meaning in the Target Text. Word -for-word translation is a
verbatim rendering. It is the process of matching the individual words of
the source language as closely as possible to individual words of the target
language. It is often referred to as literal translation. One will rarely see a
true word -for-word translation, which is readable and with the exact
meaning as the original. Lite ral or Word -For-Word Translation is the
transferring of the meaning of each word in a text to another, an equivalent
word in the target language. It is called both Literal Translation and Word
for Word translation. While this is appropriate for dictionarie s, it can
produce very little for complex passages of text.
In this type of translation, the primary unit of translation is the word. A
substitute of each word in this source language is made from the target
language and the order of words remains the same as in the source
language. It is based on the principle that while translating a text, no word
should be left untranslated and no word which does not occur in the
original text should be included in the translated text. Words are
substituted in the TL in the same order in which they occur in the SL.
Let us look at an example of this type of translation.
जो लड़कì अ¸छी गायेगी उसे इनाम िमलेगा I
Jo Iarki: acchi: ga:yegi: uskoIna:mmilega:
which girl well sings to -her prize will be available.
As we can see, the nature of Hindi and English is so different, that the
word for - word translation seems odd. (The lit eral translation will be. ‘The
girl who sings well will get the prize' you can see that this is different from
the word -for-word translation’.)
Now, why do we need to do this? As you can see from the above example,
word -for-word translation helps us to und erstand the structure of a
complex sentence in Hindi as well as to contrast it with the word order in a
similar sentence in English. Thus, word -for-word translation has a
practical use for it helps linguists in teaching grammar. Similarly, when
we translat e a religious or classical text into a modern language, a word -
for-word translation helps us understand the word order of the SL. A
second translation in the modern language helps to understand the
meaning. Examples of word -for-word translation can also be found in
legal texts, where the legal terms are already codified and have to be
substituted for the words in the SL. munotes.in
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16 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
16 To study the syntactic structure of German, English and Hindi, we could
take up word -for-word translation:
Das istmein Broder - यह मेरा भाई है I -This is my brother
We can see that the word order is similar in German and English but यह
मेरा भाई है I different in Hindi as German and English are closelyrelated. Is
word -for-word translation 'bad' translation? Most people believe that word
for word is an example of third -rate translation and therefore must be
avoided. However, we would like to point out that this is only a different
form of translation and has its uses. Therefore, to dismiss it out of hand is
to lose sight of an importa nt method of translating available to us.
What then is 'good' or 'bad' translation? We are aware that a single
sentence or a paragraph can have several translated versions, especially in
the case of literary texts. Let us then avoid using the terms 'good' or 'bad'.
All the translated versions may not be appropriate and some may be better
than the others. In which case the word 'acceptable' is perhaps more
appropriate.
Structural Translation:
Every language has a unique structure attached to it. In its struc ture, one
finds its range of simplicity and accuracy embedded in its translation. The
simpler the language, the easier it becomes when translating it.For
example, a non -complex sentence in English “They chew food”. This
short sentence in this order has a s ubject, verb and object; but this is not
applicable in other languages like Persian, Arabic and Farsi. For Persian, it
follows a different pattern compared to English. For Arabic, the language
follows the rule of joining the verb and the subject pronoun. A word in
Arabic like “Yaikoloonallahom”, and “They” represent “ –oon” which is
found at the end of the word “Yaikol -oon”. For Farsi language, it is
similar to that of English in which a non -complex sentence like
“Anhagooshtmikhorand” comprises of a subject, object, and a verb.
In some cases, the meaning of a word is governed by its grammatical
structure. Here are the examples. I II 1 He picked up a stone. 1 They will stone him. 2 She saw a cloud. 2 A quarrel will cloud the issue. 3 She has a beautiful face. 3 He will face the audience. 4 He fell into the water. 4 Please, water the garden.
From the examples above, it can be seen that in column I the words
‘stone’, ‘cloud’, ‘face’, and ‘water’ are nouns that are usually translated
into ‘batu’, ‘awan’, ‘wajah’, dan ‘air’. While in column II, the underlined
words are not nouns, but verbs which in Indonesian language mean munotes.in
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17 Terms & Concepts Part - II ‘melempar (dengan batu)’, ‘memperkeruh’, ‘menghadapi’, and
‘menyiram’. In this ca se, the grammatical structure of each word refers to
the intended meaning explicitly.
It is conventionally believed that familiarity with the source and target
languages, as well as the subject matter on the part of the translator, is
enough for a good tra nslation. However, due to the findings in the field of
text analysis, the role of text structure in translation now seems crucial. As
a case in point, a text analysis of the rhetorical structure of newspaper
editorials in English and Persian and its contri bution to the translation of
this specific genre should be discussed. It indicates that newspaper
editorials in these two languages follow a tripartite structure including
"Lead," "Follow," and "Valuate" making the translation of this specific
genre possib le and more accurate between the two languages.
2.3 CONCLUSION The translation is a process of conveying the meaning or meaning of a
given -linguistic discourse of a language into other languages, more than
just transferring words or grammatical structure o f the SL. The meaning of
a word or set of words can be well understood because of its role in the
whole linguistic expression in which they occur. For this reason, the
meaning of a word is not only determined by the referred object or idea,
but it is also governed by the use of the words or phrases in a certain way,
context, and effects. When we try to find the equivalence, we are faced
with text as the unit of meaning, even in the form of sets of words or
sentences. It is important to note that language is used as a communication
means, so in translating a text we should remember the principle of "A
text is a whole entity, to be translated as a whole". One can see that the
classification of translations changes according to the domains and their
specific uses. The modern world looks at translation largely in the context
of its functional uses such as trade, communication and education. In the
world of literature, translation varies according to genre and literary forms.
2.4 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 1. What is word -for-word translation? Bring out its salient features.
2. Explain the difference between word -for-word and free translation.
3. Write a short note on free and structural translation.
2.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES 1. Bassnett -McGuire, Susan. Translation Studi es. London: Methuen,
1980.
2. Biber, D. (1988). Variation across speech and writing. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
3. Bloor, T. & Bloor, M. (1995). The functional analysis of English: A
Hallidayan approach. London: Arnold. munotes.in
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18 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
18 4. Catford, John C. A Lin guistic Theory of Translation: an Essay on
Applied Linguistics. London: Oxford University Press, 1965.
5. Connor, U. (1994). Text analysis. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 682-685.
6. Firth, J.R. (1935). The technique of semantics. Transactions of the
philological so ciety, 36 -72.
7. Hatim, B. & Mason, I. (1990). Discourse and the translator. London:
Longman.
8. Hatim, B. & Mason, I. (1997). The translator as communicator. New
York: Routledge.
9. Jakobson, Roman. ‘On Linguistic Aspects of Translation’, in R. A.
Brower (ed.) On Translation, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1959, pp. 232 -39.
10. Nida, Eugene A. Towards a Science of Translating, London: E. J.
Brill, 1964.
11 Nida, Eugene A. and C.R.Taber. The Theory and Practice of
Translation. London: E. J. Brill , 1969
12. Nida, Eugene A. Language, Structure, and Translation: Essays by
Nida. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975.
*****
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19 UNIT III
3
INDIAN THEORIES OF TRANSLATION
PART - I
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 A. Bhartrihari’s Sphota Theory and Translation
3.2 B. Theory of Auchitya and Translation
3.3 Conclusion
3.4 Suggested Questions
3.5 Bibliography /Refe rences
3.0 OBJECTIVES To orient the learners towards the ancient Indian theory of Sphota
propounded by Bhartrihari
To orient the learners towards the ancient Indian theory of Auchitya
To orient the learners towards the theoretical association between the
theory of Sphota and Translation
To orient the learners towards the theoretical association between the
theory of Auchitya and Translation
To motivate the learners to apply the theory of Sphota to their reading
and practice of translation
To motivate the l earners to apply the theory of Auchitya to their
reading and practice of translation
3.1 INTRODUCTION Though translation studies officially has West as its birthplace as a
discipline, one needs to essentially take note of the ancient philosophical
and aes thetic theories propounded in India, a soil of diverse cultures and
languages, that underline important ideas relating to translation. As
Choudhari (2010) puts it, the Western theory of translation is ‘obsessed by
the anxiety of authenticity.’ According to him, translation is ‘clarification,
interpretation obtained by repetitive utterances’ which means that for
ancient Indian scholars, ‘differing versions were the norms, not
exceptions.Devy (1993) calls Indian consciousness as a ‘translating
consciousness’. munotes.in
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20 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
20 It is necessary to mention the comparative statement by Choudhari(2010)
here as relates to the approach towards translation. The Western theorists
have considered translation as ‘a complicated linguistic and literary act’
whereas Indians have looked at it as ‘an inevitable way of life’ focusing
on the pragmatic aspects of translation. Choudhari is of the opinion that
Derrida who granted translator the status of a creative writer signifying
meaning, in the 20th century, was anticipated by Bhartrihari’s expo sition
of the ‘sphota’ theory. Propounding the theory of relationship between
‘nada’ and ‘sphota’, thus, he talked of an independent presence of
meaning. Theories of ‘dhwani’, ‘sphota’ and ‘auchitya’ (appropriateness)
are applied as the yardsticks of trans lation by the modern scholars.
(Gopinathan: 2000)
The theory of ‘auchitya’, according to Singh (1996 cited in Gopinathan),
as applied to translation, would expect appropriacy as an essential
criterion while selection a text as well as methodology and strat egies of
translation which would finally help in ‘placing the translated text in
proper perspective.’
It is thus inevitable to understand the basic tenets of Bhartrihari’s theory of
‘sphota’ and that of the theory of ‘Auchitya’ propounded by Kshemendra
and to analyse how both were and can be applied to the theory of
translation.
3.2 A BHARTRIHARI’S SPHOTA THEORY AND TRANSLATION Theory of Sphota by Bhartrihari:
The theory of Sphotarevisits Patanjali, a grammarian before Bhartrihari,
who used it to describe different stages in the process of articulation of
word. Sphota, according to Bhartrihari, is the last stage in this process.
Language, for him, did not have a sequence though it is presented in a
sequentially graded body. He believed in sentence and not a separate
word, being an undivided speech unit. (Bhartrihari and the Theory of
Sphota)
The literal meaning of the word ‘sphota’ is sudden opening’ or
‘disclosure’. It is the semantic realization. According to Bhartrihari, it
takes place at both, the speake r’s as well as the hearer’s levels. The speech
sound(dhvani), evokes the Sphoṭa in the hearer, as varṇa -sphoṭa, pada -
sphoṭa and vākya -sphoṭa,(the phoneme/morpheme -articulation -cognition,
the word -articulation -cognition and the text -articulation -cognition),
respectively. One needs to be able to differentiate between sound and
articulation according to the theory of Sphoṭa. Sphota, thus, is not a sound
we hear but the sound we articulate. Bhartrihari’ sargument is that Sphoṭa
operates within universal sounds whereas dhvani within a particular
sound. In modern terms Sphoṭa can be understood as having constant
distinctive phonetic features, whereas dhavi is of a phonic nature. Sphoṭa
is that which is to be manifested (vyaṅgya -), and the dhvani is manifesting
(vyañjaka -). Sphoṭa is not uttered but it is perceived by the hearer. munotes.in
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21 Indian Theories of Translation Part - I The grammarians in the later times opine that Sphoṭamakes the text
correspond with a universal Text -Totality, šabdabrahman, on the semantic
level and thus one can understand the text easily . It further corresponds to
the reader -response theory as it considers the inner perception (pratibhā)
of the hearer playing an important role in the process of revelation of the
meaning of the text, that takes places in the hearer’s consciousness. Thus,
meaning is not a ’fixed entity’ and needs to be specifically contextualized.
The translator, as the theory suggests, is not necessarily to be bound by the
mandate to transfer the original meaning.
Sphota as Applied to Translation:
According to Devy (1993), if the meaning is to be considered
unchangeable, it is not possible for the translator to translate at all. The
translated works are thus, to believe the Indian concept, is the translator’s
interpretation of the meaning which is purely based on his/her own set of
contextual beliefs, experiences etc. ‘Carrying something across as it is, is
thus not possible according to the Indian philosophers and according to
them, ‘anuwad’, ‘saying after’ or retelling is what happens in the act of
translation.
However, it is necessary to note that after the First War of Indian
Independence in 1857, in an attempt to promote English language among
Indians, English books were translated in Indian languages on a larger
scale along with Biblical translations. The translations of Bible, however,
had an impact on the translation strategies thus leading to an introduction
to the concept of fidelity to the original. (Chandran: 2016)This concept of
fidelity and notion of equivalence propounded in the Western theories of
translation, f or Devy (1995), is ‘essentially a western metaphysical
obsession that is in some way connected to the theological concept of a
paradise that has been lost and has to be regained.’To contextualize the
Indian theory of translation, thus, one needs to refer t o the theory in
Hinduism that the human soul constantly keeps progressing from one birth
to another and there is no original state as such. The concept of time is
also cyclical and not linear thus not having any origins or endings. The
obsession with the f idelity to the original, is thus, according to Devy, alien
to Indians. Bhartrihari’s concept of ‘pratibha’, a flash of insight that
qualifies a reader or a listener with an instinctive awareness to understand
and interpret the meaning of a sentence in its totality as against that of the
words as separate fragments of this sentence. (Sreeniwasrao: 2017)
To believe inBhartrihari’s theory of Sphota,thus, one can infer that there is
no need for a translator to transfer the original text in the form as well as
with meaning that it conveys. The translator is completely free to rewrite it
helped by his/her ‘pratibha’. Sri Aurobindo, later as a translator of Hindu
scriptures, while discussing the principle of integration, very close to what
Bhartrihari’s theory woul d expect, talks of a process of how consciousness
keeps moving upwards and downwards as it plays an important role in the
process of decision making in translation. Though in a slightly different
manner, Tagore too seems to agree with the concept of transl ation as
‘rewriting’ than a mere word -to-word translation. munotes.in
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22 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
22 A translator, as Sri Aurobindo mentions, as his/her first objective, ‘seeks
first to place the mind of the reader in the same spiritual atmosphere as the
original’, the next objective being ‘to pr oduce in him the same emotions
and the same kind of poetical delight and aesthetic gratification’ and
finally, to transfer the thought of the poet and ‘substance in such words as
will create, as far as may be, the same or a similar train of associations, t he
same pictures or the same sensuous impressions' ('On Translating
Kalidasa' cited in Chandran: 2016).
The scholars and practitioners of translation need to remember an
important aspect of this activity that every language and literature is
culture specif ic, intricately woven with a variety of ethnic threads
ensconced in the form of several references and allusions that may be alien
to the translator as well as to the reader. Fidelity to the original is thus not
possible to be achieved. As Aurobindo points out (Chandran:2016), in an
attempt ‘to suit the target culture’, the translator might run into the risk of
paraphrasing instead of translating but that’s what translation is all about
according to Sri Aurobindo.
Though not concerned much with the fidelit y to the original, the Indian
translations, however, aimed at evoking the similar kind of impact that an
original text did. Chandran (2016) is of the opinion that translations, for
most of Indian translators, were ‘original creations loosely based on a
source text’.
To relate Indian translation theory and practice to Bhartrihari’s ‘sphota’
theory, thus, one can generalise that the contextualization of meaning, as
taking place in the mind of the reader/ hearer, frees the translator from the
mandate of fideli ty to the original and encourages the ‘flash of insight’ in
him/her to interpret and express the ‘meaning’ received and processed by
different levels of consciousness. Following this, one can refer to A. K.
Singh (1996 cited in Parmar: 2017) who believed t hat it is very important
while reading a translation ‘to displace author from his place, giving
freedom to translator/ reader to read text as one wants to read.’ One can
relate this to what Mahajan calls translation as ‘a possible approximate
redelivering of the socio -cultural linguistic set up of a context from SLT to
TLT.’ (Mahajan: 2004)
A translator, thus, needs to be ‘multidexterous’ because s/he has ‘to
operate from multiple choices to choose lessness’. Translation is not a
transfer of language and li terature but that of culture too making it a cross -
cultural event. One who undertakes the job of translation, thus, need to
constantly be occupied with the act of search, research, criticism,
equalization and appropriation, a movement to and from two separ ate
languages and cultures, the source and the target. This understanding of
the process of translation as an encounter between two cultures brings us
to an important ancient Indian aesthetic theory of Auchityapropounded by
Kshemendra.
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23 Indian Theories of Translation Part - I 3.2. B THEORY OF A UCHITYA AND TRANSLATION Kshemendra’s Theory of Auchitya:
Also known as the Theory of Coordination, Kshemendra’s theory of
Auchityatalks of propriety, being appropriate. According to Kshemendra,
propriety is the soul of poetry. He believed that in case of a ny imbalance
or over crossing the boundaries between any alankaror rasa, the beauty of
the poetry is marred and lost. (De, 554 cited in Sreekumar:2016)
Auchitya is harmony and the proportion in the whole and its parts.
According to Anandvardhana, another a ncient Indian aestheticist, it is the
propriety that matters in the formation of essence (rasa) in any poetic
work. It is thus the greatest secret of rasa. It is the anauchityaof character
and action that hinders the essence.
Kshemendra has mentioned 27 p laces where the propriety is expected to
be present. These proprieties are further divided into 5 major proprieties:
Bhasha auchitya (propriety of diction), Saundaryaauchitya (propriety of
aesthetics), Vyakaranauchitya(propriety of grammar), sanskritiauchi tya
(propriety of culture) and Pratibha auchitya(propriety of genius).
The theory thus expects a work of literature to embody the essence of
beauty through all these 5 aspects which need to be aesthetically presented
to the hearer/ reader in appropriacy, i.e., in proper combination and
proportion thus making a beautiful whole work of art.
Theory of Auchitya applied to Translation:
The Indian theory in aesthetics thus emphasizes an all -pervasive propriety
in a literary work so as to make the reader enjoy t he ‘beauty’ of perfect
creation. Applied to the theory and practice of translation, the translator,
to fulfil this expectation, holds a major responsibility to make his/ her
translated work satisfy the criteria propounded in Auchityatheory.
As Mahajan (2 004) suggests, translation is another creative activity that
involves ‘double -edged exercise’. She calls it ‘a vein filled by the blood of
culture’ and a ‘culturally determined linguistic process’. In this process,
the text to be translated has to undergo the stages of analysis,
interpretation and creation in order to replace the SL text with a
linguistically, contextually and culturally different set of equivalence in
the TL text. (Mahajan: 174) The translator’s responsibility is thus twofold.
According t o Singh (1996), in order to satisfy the condition of Auchitya in
translation, a translator’s job to ensure the propriety of translation begins
right from the selection of a text in the SL and extending it through the
methodology and strategy to be used for translation to placing the
translated text in proper perspective so as to make ‘the source writer’s/
text’s intended, not merely articulated meaning, finds its proper expression
in the target text.’ (Parmar: 2017) munotes.in
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24 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
24 Singh, according to Parmar (2017) relates ‘Auchitya’ to the social
responsibility of the translator and has clearly stated that failure to perform
this responsibility can lead to ‘misinterpretation, distortion, over -under
interpretation and even to much social disservice’. According to Singh,
this social appropriacy as a responsibility of the translator and of the
translated work has not been addressed by the Western poetics which is
rather ‘silent’ on this aspect.
As the concept of propriety expects the literary artist (translator as applied
to the theory and practice of translation) to bring about an all -pervasive
auchitya, the language, grammar, beauty, culture and genius - all five
aspects of a literary work need to be considered while translating a text
from SL to TL, an essential creative tale nt is a requisite on the part of the
translator. As opined by almost all the Indian practitioners and theorists of
translation from Tagore and Sri Aurobindo in the pre -Independence era to
G. N. Devy and A.K. Singh in the present times, translation is looke d upon
as a transcreation involving an equally creative process as the one
experienced by the creator of the original literary work and not merely a
word -to-word translation. Adaptations too would thus find a better place
in this regard.
According to Mahaj an (2004), it is very difficult to translate certain
contextual expressions into another language from an alien land.
According to her, in Vilas Sarang’s translation of some Marathi poems as
‘Songs’, certain expressions have not been suitably replaced by E nglish
words. For example, a word like ‘fakkad’ which connotes excellent as
well as the word ‘lavani’ which is used as in original instead of replacing
it with an equivalent in English. She has classified some expressions in
Marathi as follows:
Cultural ex pressions: Sankrantyene(which connotatively means to face a
disaster). The word Sankrantrefers to a festival in Maharashtra which
though a festival to be celebrated, is associated with black colour and also
carries negative connotations. The expression is thus based on this
contextual experience and used to imply negative meaning which a reader/
hearer would find difficult to understand.
Social expressions: bangdyavadhavne(it implies the death of a married
woman’s husband). The social conventions in Maharas htra expect a
married lady to wear green bangles in hand as it indicates her fortune of
being married and of being wife and as soon as the husband dies, she is
expected to break those glass bangles signifying as if her fortune has
broken. It is very import ant for the translator to know the implications of
such expressions in the SL and to employ his/her own creative talent to
transfer the essence of such contextual expressions using similar set of
expressions/ style in the TL.
Historical expressions: dorkap ane (that connotes deprive someone of any
further opportunity to proceed).
Religious expressions: zaritilShukracharya (which means a person acting
as a culprit to create a sudden barrier to a good task) munotes.in
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25 Indian Theories of Translation Part - I Ramkrishna (2002) refers to Premchand and Ganesh Sha nkar Vidyarthi to
illustrate the application of Auchityato translation. Vidyarthi who
translated Victor Hugo’s French book Quatre -Vingt -Treize
asBalidanwhich is not an exact translation but an adaptation. The original
text is set in the context of French R evolution which was translated with
an objective of infusing the spirit of nationalism among the Indians of his
times. In his preface to the translated work, the translator has clearly
mentioned that a translation and the original can never be the same and
also that the readers should not expect it to be so.
Translation by Premchand of Anatole France’s Thais was similar such
attempt to ideologically inspire the contemporary readership. According to
Ramchandra, these translators, by attempting to suit the t ranslations to the
target readerships, exercised the principle of Auchitya. With a specific
purpose in mind, they selected the texts that suited their purpose and also
their target readership and employed the translation strategy that was the
most suitable to serve the purpose.
P. L. Deshpande, a well -known Marathi author and a translator who has
bestowed upon Marathi readership some excellent translations/
adaptations, has authored an ironic adaptation (one can call it a parody
too) of Ionesco’s The Chairs as Khurchya: BhadyaneAnlelya, Ek n -N-
Natya(Chairs: Rented Ones, a no -drama). It is very interesting to note that
a creative literary artist like him who was well aware of the importance of
cultural context in the creation of a literary work could present his theory
of contextualization of a literary work through such a beautiful creative
parody. The concept of Theatre of the Absurd being alien to Indian
readership could never have been so aesthetically presented. Translation as
a transcreation / recreation has also been beautifully exemplified by his
adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion as TiFulrani.
A very essential aspect of the aesthetics in terms of creation of a literary
work, Auchitya, thus, has been the basis of Indian translation theories
though one can find some attempts that, due to lack of creativity on the
part of translator or due to an obsession with the fidelity to the original
text, fail to trans create and remain mere translations.
3.3 CONCLUSION Basing the theory and practice of t ranslation in Indian context on the
ancient Indian philosophical and aesthetic theories of Sphota by the
ancient grammarian Bhartrihari and of Auchityaby Kshemendra, it can be
summed up that the reader playing an important role in the process of
interpreta tion of meaning, the translator has to consider the context of the
TL as an important aspect of his/ her process of translation. Placing the
ideas, language, grammar, cultural significance of the original work from
SL into TL is a multifaceted task that de mands an equal extent of
creativity in a translator which the original literary artist possesses while
creating the work in the SL. According to Devy (1998),translation is ‘an
attempted revitalization of the original in another verbal order and
temporal sp ace.’ He believes that a translation, like literary texts which munotes.in
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26 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
26 belong to the original periods and styles as well as ‘exist through
successive chronological periods’, ‘approximates the original and
transcends it.’
Atranslator , thus shouldering a big resp onsibility, needs to be well -versed
in both the SL and the TL. Employing specific suitable strategies, thus, the
translator is expected to convey the essence to the work in TL. Pratibha
(the creative genius) of the translator thus can help him/her in this task.
3.4 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS Q. 1 ‘Reader Response Theory in the West has its anticipating footprints
in the Sphota theory propounded by Bhartrihari in ancient Indian
philosophy.
Q.2 ‘Indian theory and practice of translation believes in translation as a
process of transcreation’. Explain your views in support of the
statement with special reference to the theory of Sphota propounded
by Bhartrihari.
Q. 3 Explain the ancient Indian aesthetic theory of Auchitya.
Q.4 Explain the relevance of ancient Indian aesthetic theory of
Auchityain terms of translation as a creative act.
Q.4 ‘Ancient India n philosophical theories of Sphota and
Auchityaservethe guiding principles to the theory and practice of
translation in India.’ Explain.
3.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY / REFERENCES • Bhartrihari and the Theory of Sphota.
http://www.universityofhumanunity.org/biblios/Bhartrihari%20and%
20the%20Theory%20of%20Sphota.pdf Accessed on 25th April, 2022.
• Chandran, M. (2016). The Practice of Translation in Indi a. Literature and
Languages . https://www.sahapedia.org/the -practice -of-translation -india
Accessed on 28th April, 2022.
• Choudhari, I. N.(2010). Towards an Indian Theory ofTranslation . Indian
Literature. Vol. 54, No. 5 (259) (September/October 2010)
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/23348221?read -
now=1&refreqid=excelsio r%3A19abc58b4d18aaf7d6537f551e8d738
7&seq=4
• Devy, G.N. (1993). In Another Tongue: Essays on Indian English
Literature.
• Devy, G.N. (1993). “Translation and literary history: An Indian
view”Post -colonial Translation: Theory and Practice. (Eds. Susan munotes.in
Page 27
27 Indian Theories of Translation Part - I Bassnett and Harish Trivedi).
https://udrc.lkouniv.ac.in/Content/DepartmentContent/SM_c30be09c -
d6c7 -4cd2 -a95c -a81119f654eb_6.pdf Accessed on 30th April, 2022.
• Gopinathan, G.(2000) Translation, Transcreation and Culture: The
Evolving Theories of Translation in Hindi and Other Modern Indian
Languages .
http:// citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.494.7695&
rep=rep1&type=pdf
• Mahajan, M. (2004). Linguistic Deviations in Translation. Studies in
ELT, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics (Ed. Mohit
Ray). https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0HEwQ7pr1rQC&pg=PA177
&lpg=PA177&dq=devy+on+auchitya+and+translation&source=bl&ots=
P5OytbLG Ls&sig=ACfU3U36NUSNqnVpTKHSy7Bx_2QXqy0Y8Q&
Accessed on 29th April, 2022.
• Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/mill -eth/
Accessed on 25th April, 2022.
• Lecture 13: Indian Aesthetic Theories and Translation.
https://edurev.in/studytube/Lecture -13-Indian -Aesthetic -Theories -
and-Translati/dc3815ba -42fb-411f-99cb -99f1e8fdf977_p
• Parmar, M. (2017).A Critical note on Avadhesh Kumar Singh’s views
on “Translation: its Nature and Strategy”.
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.com/2017 /04/a -critical -note-on-
avadhesh -kumar.html Accessed on 28th April, 2022.
• Ramkrishna, S. (2002). Cultural Transmission Through Translation:
An Indian Perspective . Changing the Terms: Translating in the Post -
colonial Era. (Eds. Sherry Simon and Paul St. Pie rre. Hyderabad.
Orient Longman.
• Singh, H.K. Bhartrhari on Meaning.
https://cbpbu.ac.in/userfiles/file/2020/STUDY_MAT/PHILO/203%20
B%20sentence%20holism.pd f Accessed on 25th April, 2022.
• Sreekumar M. (1998). “A comparative study of Sphota theory of
language and F.D. Saussures theory of sign”
https://www.bajkulcollegeonlinestudy.in/StudyMaterialFinal/Sanskrit/
60%20P.G%20.4TH%20S EMESTER,%20PAPER -405,UNIT%20 -
%20I,%20TOPIC -
%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6
%AF%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F%E0
%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%20(PART%20 -II)%20 -
%20Dipankar%20Mishra.pdf Accessed on 25th April, 2022.
• Sreekumar, S. (2016). Rasa, Dhwani and Auchitya - Some Additional
Materials — Criticism & Theory. munotes.in
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28 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
28 http://sreekumarenglishliterature.blogspot.com /2016/10/rasa -dhwani -
and-auchityasome -additional.html
• Sreeniwasrao. (2017). The Meaning of MEANING: Part Eight.
Sreeniwasrao’s Blogs. https://sreenivasaraos.com/2017/02 /18/the -
meaning -of-meaning -part-eight/ Accesseed on 27th April, 2022.
*****
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29 UNIT IV
4
INDIAN THEORIES OF TRANSLATION
PART - II
Unit Structure
4.0. Objectives of the Unit
4.1 Introduction
4.2. A. Rabindranath Tagore on Translation
4.2. B. Sri Aurobindo on Translation
4.3. Conclusion
4.4. Suggested Questions
4.5. Bibliography
4.0 OBJE CTIVES To orient the learners towards the theory of translation propounded by
Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
To orient the learners towards the theory of translation propounded by
Rabindranath Tagore
To motivate the learners to incorporate the theory of translation by Sri
Aurobindo Ghosh while translating a text from one language to
another
To motivate the learners to incorporate the theory of translation by
Rabindranath Tagore while translating a text from one language to
another
4.1 INTRODU CTION Translation is look ed upon as a medium of unity and amalgamation of two
or more different cultures. The British imperial rule in India paved the
way for a meeting of two ways of life, that in the East and the West,
through various cultural aspects. English language and liter ature played a
major role in this process of amalgam.
Exposure of Indian intellectuals in India with unique creative talent to
English language and literature inspired them to express in English. Some
of these creative writers of the pre -Independence era in India, like
Rabindranath Tagore (1861 -1941) who produced classic literature like
Gitanjali in Bengali, had a flair for recreating similar creative work in
English. Tagore was widely accepted in the elite literary circles of London
due to his translated poetic work. munotes.in
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30 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
30 Though not in the form of a treatise, Tagore has expressed his views
towards translation through his letters and speeches. The study in
translation, thus, cannot be complete without reviewing how Tagore
looked at his act of translating his ow n literary works into English from
Bengali. He has a pioneering role to play in the field of translation studies
though he was not aware of the discipline in the times long before its
introduction in the Western academia in 1980s. The scholars of
‘Eurocent ric Translation Studies’ were not aware of the maiden attempt by
Tagore in terms of discussion of translation in India. According to
Dasgupta (2018 ), the time is ripe for the translation scholars ‘to recognize
Tagore’s pioneering efforts toward translation study in order to form a
correct idea of the genealogy of translation studies. ’
Sir Aurobindo, another pre -Independence era intellectual in India, well
known to be a Yogi and a mystic, was a polyglot and wrote in English
Savitri andmany other short secular poems. Being well -versed in many
Indian languages as well as in English and French, he translated from
different Indian languages. His translations from Greek and Latin are also
available. Aurobindo has translated from Vedas and Upanishads too. He
has his own views towards translation as an activity which were expressed
in some of his letters.
This unit aims at introducing the learners to the ideas of both these great
Indian philosophers and literary writers of the pre -independence India
relating to trans lation.
4.2 A. RABINDRANATH TAGORE ON TRANSLATION Rabindranath Tagore’s English translations of his own literary work in
Bengali, Gitanjali , for example, translated as Song Offerings (1910)
influenced the literary circles in England, especially the modern p oets
Yeats and Ezra Pound. It is believed that Tagore translated his Bengali
work due to an urge ‘to reach a wider audience’, as argued by Sengupta
(1990 cited in Collins: 2007).
Tagore looked upon translation as an act that involved creativity . His ideas
towards translation have not been published anywhere in the form of a
treatise. As Niranjana (1992 cited in Dasgupta: 2012) puts it, Tagore’s
specifications on translations are all available in the form of prefaces to his
own translated versionsbut Dasgup ta (2012)states that he ‘didn’t write any
such prefaces except a one -line confession about his mode of translation in
his preface to ‘The Gardener’. His theory also unfolded itself through his
speech at the time of the Nobel Prize Distribution Ceremony (19 12),
popularly known as the Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. It was for his
translation of his own poem, Gitanjali, that he was awarded the Nobel
Prize.
Dasgupta (2020) mentions that Tagore articulated most of his translation
views even before the publicati on of Walter Benjamin’s classic essay The
Task of the Translator (1923), however, he remains a much - neglected
figure in this new discipline. munotes.in
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31 Indian Theories of Translation Part - II One needs to understand his views regarding translation in term of
a. Translation as a medium for cultural harmon y
b. Distinction between ‘translation and rewriting’
Translation as a medium for cultural harmony:
Tagore enjoyed the act of translating his own literature from Bengali into
English. It was for his translation of his own poem, Gitanjali, that he was
awarde d the Nobel Prize for literature. In his Nobel Prize Acceptance
Speech, he specifically mentioned that the laurels thus showered on him
was a symbol of the representation of the East in him being accepted and
appreciated by the West. He thus accredited the ‘East’ern element in him
as deserving the accolades conferred on him by the West for his
contribution to the Western literature through this translated version.
According to Tagore, his was an age that witnessed the meeting of the
East and the West. Ghosh (2019) mentions that it was not merely for
‘rekindling’ the aesthetic pleasure that Tagore wanted to experience as he
did so while composing the poem in Bengali but he certainly had a desire
in mind to ‘create a space for a dialogue between two separate s pheres of
civilization - the East and the West’. For him, this translation was a
‘momentous meeting of humanity’ that according to him, that bore in its
heart a ‘great emotional idea, generous and creative.’ (Ghosh: 2019)
These ideas by Tagore need signific antly to be revered and implemented
especially while translating the literary works from English to Indian
languages and vice versa, in the age of globalization that has witnessed an
amalgam of numerous cultures thus encouraging a reciprocation among
diffe rent languages and literatures.
India is a land of diversity of cultures and languages. In the age of
globalization, thus, such a dialogue at the national level too, among
different languages, is equally commendable.
Ghosh (2019) quotes from the speech b y Harald Jharne , Chairman of the
Nobel Committee, in the ‘Award Ceremony Speech’ who appreciated
Tagore’s poetry as ‘truly universally human in character’ and how he
further highlighted that ‘the poet’s motivation extends to the effort of
reconciling two s pheres of civilization widely separated, which above all
is the characteristic mark of our present epoch and constitutes its most
important task and problem’.
He wanted the feelings of animosity between the East and the West to get
over. In his opinion, In dia had always stood for the spirit of unity that
‘never rejects anything, any race, or any culture…’ (NPAS 298 cited in
Ghosh:2019).
As Dr. Baikat (2021) cites Saha (2009), Tagore’s translations made him
‘the poet of the world.’ Yeats is often quoted in t his regard who
acknowledged the universality and greatness of Gitanjali. munotes.in
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32 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
32 Distinction between ‘translation and rewriting’:
Tagore used the word ‘rewriting’ to imply ‘creative translation’ in 1915 in
connection with the translation of his short stories thou gh unfortunately he
has not been accredited by translation scholars and critics for the coinage
of this word.
He used this word for the first time when he wrote a letter to Rothenstein
(31st December, 1915) and thus meant by this word, a creative translati on,
as distinguished from literal rendering or what he called ‘translating’.
According to Tagore, the act of ‘translating’ a literary work involved a
risk of losing the beauty of the original. He was of the opinion that it is
only the author of the origina l work can retain it by ‘rewriting’ in another
language but confesses that though he was the original author of the short
stories, lacked an adequate command of English to do it.(Lago: 1972 cited
in Dasgupta, 2020).
However, Daspgupta (2020) is of the opin ion that for Tagore, ‘rewriting’
stood for transmigration of the soul of the original which meant ‘an act of
creation’ for him. An extract from Tagore’s letter to Indira Devi (6th May,
1913) which is often quoted in this regard, gines an insight into his i dea of
‘rewriting’:
“… I took up the poems of Gitanjali and set myself to translate them one
by one ... I simply felt an urge to recapture, through the medium of another
language, the feelings and sentiments which had created such a feast of
joy within me in past days.”(cited in Dasgupta: 2020)
Tagore’s Ideas and Bassnett’s Core Issues of Translation:
Dasgupta (2018) states that it was Tagore’s descriptive approach to
translation that carves a remarkable space for him in the branch of modern
translation sch olars.
According to Bassnett (1980), following are the core issues of translation
studies:
Types of translation
Decoding and recoding
Problems of equivalence
Loss and gain
Untranslatability
Science or ‘secondary activity’?
Tagore, however, doesn’t categori se translation under any heads as Roman
Jakobson did under the heads of ‘intralingual’, ‘interlingual’ and
intersemiotic’ (Dasgupta: 2018) and he only concentrated on interlingual
translation. However, while translating Gitanjali, he spoke of a new kind
of translation not mentioned by Jakobson, namely, ‘self -translation’. munotes.in
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33 Indian Theories of Translation Part - II Dasgupta (2018) points out that this kind of translation was later adopted
by Vladimir Nabokov (1899 —1977) and Samuel Beckett (1906 —1989) as
they translated their works into English from th eir respective mother -
tongues.
Tagore, though not aware of the terms ‘decoding’ and ‘recoding’ in his
times, seems to have experienced similar dual process while translating
Gitanjali as he distinguishes between ‘translating’ and ‘rewriting’. He thus
can b e looked upon as the pioneer in “articulating the processes of
‘decoding and recoding’”. According to Dasgupta (2018), these two
processes must have prompted him to consider translation as ‘rewriting’ of
the original ‘much before Lefevere defined it so.
In terms of problem of equivalence, Tagore has mentioned that it is not
possible to render a word -for-word between two different languages. He
has confessed that Bengali and English being far different from each other,
a translator cannot find ‘complete equ ivalence between their words and
their synonyms’ (Tagore 375 cited in Dasgupta: 2018). But as Dasgupta
puts it, his concept of dynamism is close to what Nida coined as ‘dynamic
equivalence’. By this term, Nida means an attempt towards ‘the closest
natural equivalent to the source language message’ (Nida 166 cited in
Dasgupta:2018) what Venuti calls ‘domestication’ so as to make the
readers ‘attune themselves to it.’ As Tagore appreciated Kanti Chandra
Ghosh’s translation of Rubaiyat, he uses the term ‘dynam ism’
‘Kabitalajukbadhurmato ek
bhasarantahpurthekeanyabhasarantahpureastegelaadasthahoye jay.
Tomartarjamaytumi tar lajjwabhangechho, tar
ghomtarbhitarthekahasidekhajachhey’ 4
(‘Poetry, like a shy bride hesitates to enter the inner world of one language
from that of another. You have broken her shyness in your translation and
her smile is being seen from within her veil’)(quoted and translated in
Dasgupta:2018).
Tagore has also mentioned the issue of loss and gain in some of letters
discussing translation. In one of his letters to Rothenstein, (7 June 1912),
he writes, “I send you some more of my poems rendered into English…. I
know you will understand them through their faded meanings ” (Lago 49).
According to Dasgupta (2018), Tagorehere meant that ‘the fres hness of
the original meaning is considerably lost in its translation.’ Dasgupta also
has cited another letter to Harriet Monroe (31 December, 1913) in which
‘he complains of the inevitable loss from which some of his translations
suffer’.
Dasgupta further mentions the issue of untranslatability as discussed by
Tagore. As discussed already in terms of his distinction between
translation and rewriting, Tagore feels that no translation can re -express
what is said in the original.
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34 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
34 4.2 B. SRI AUROBINDO ON TRANSL ATION (1872 -1950) Sri Aurobindo (1892 -1950), a Yoga Guru, a mystic, a philosopher and a
nationalist was a poet who wrote and translated in many languages,
developed the psycho spiritual theories of translation in the context of
modern Indian languages. His t heoretical framework relating to his own
translations is available in his articles such as On translating Kalidasa, On
translating the Bhagavad Gita, On translating the Upanishads, The
interpretation of scripture, Freedom in translation, Importance of turn of
language in Translation, translation of Prose into poetry , and Remarks on
Bengali translations. (Jain: 2014). It is also revealed through some of his
letters.
As Jain (2014) observes, Aurobindo was highly influenced by the
cognitive ancient Indian phil osophy and thus proclaimed his own
philosophy that was based on the psycho -spiritual interpretations of the
ancient Indian thought in the Upanishads. He is also known for his
translations from the Indian scriptures. Jain states that his theories of
transla tion and philosophy have influenced many translators like
Sumitranandan Pant, Vyohar Rajendra Singh and VidyapatiKokil in Hindi
and Subramania Bharati in Tamil.
Sri Aurobindo on Literalness in Translation:
One can come across his thoughts about the way a l iterary work can be
translated as he writes in one of his letters,
“There are two ways of rendering a poem from one language into another,
one is to keep strictly to the manner and turn of the original, the other to
take its spirit, sense and imagery and r eproduce them freely so as to suit
the new language.” (11th July, 1937. Letters, 141. cited in
Bhattacharya:2016)
He is also cited mentioning in one of his letters that there is no need for a
translator to render the translated work in exact words and lett ers and that
s/he is free to create a new poem/ literary work as per his/her own creative
decisions. He rather advocates transcreation as being ‘more legitimate’
because according to him, a literal, word to word translation tend to betray
than the ones fre e in its choice of words and style, ‘turning life into death
and poetic power into poverty and flatness.’ (10th Oct, 1934, Letters , 141
cited in Bhattacharya:2016) According to him, a translator should try to be
‘as close as possible to the original’. (11th July, 1937. Letters, 142. cited in
Bhattacharya:2016)
In terms of literalness of the translation, Aurobindo clarifies that it is
acceptable ‘provided the result does not read like a translation but like an
original poem….’ (11th July, 1937. Letters, 142. cited in
Bhattacharya:2016)
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35 Indian Theories of Translation Part - II Sri Aurobindo’s Psycho -Spiritual Theory of Translation:
Sri Aurobindo spoke of the cognitive process involved in translation,
especially, the process of analysis and comprehension of the literal and
suggested meaning of the t arget text and that of finding an exact
equivalence in the TL. As a part of this cognitive theory, Sri Aurobindo
mentions three basic elements, i.e., nama (name), rupa (form of meaning)
and svarupa (the image of the essential figure of truth). ( The interpre tation
of Scripture cited in Jain: 2014). He has thus discussed the role of intuition
in the grasp of meaning at the higher levels. He has divided the levels of
consciousness on the basis of his psycho -spiritual philosophy into the
physical, mental and supr amental levels. He believed that an ordinary
human mind is merely a fraction of the entire consciousness ranging from
‘the mind levels to the super conscience above and the sub conscience
below’ and that the human mind is ‘only a middle term in a long seri es of
ascending consciousness.’ (cited in Jain; 2014).
Jain (2014) states that following Sri Aurobindo’s theory, thus one can
analyse a text linguistically and intellectually at the two levels of word and
its form of meaning but at the highest level, the analysis is possible ‘only
intuitively and perhaps at this level, the actual translation takes place.’ The
involvement of the ‘super mind’ is very important in the process of
translation as the mind mechanically dealing with the process of
translation woul d obviously produce a mechanical translation but
intuition, if involved in the process, can fetch excellent output in
translation.
His principle of integration , as discussed by Jain (2014), is functional in
the decision -making process in translation. This is because, as he believes,
consciousness keeps moving upwards and downwards thus integrating the
lower to the higher. The lower stages are transformed and continue under
new conditions . The decision -making process in translation integrates all
the three, the superconscious level of the image or the 'essential figure of
truth' , the mental level of the figure of meaning or rupa, and the physical
or material level of nama, or word . The translation , thus taking place at the
three levels, is not necessarily pu rely linguistic at the super conscious level
but acquires this status at the mental and the physical level as it becomes
conceptual. (Jain:2014). Using the Sanskrit word sabdbrahman (word as
God), Aurobindo seems to suggest that a translator, as s/he tries to
‘analyse and comprehend the meaning’, should surpass the superficial
linguistic level and reach the higher level where the text ‘exists in
language without form’ which means he suggests the translator to reach
the deeper level of meaning. This he expect s even in case of the process of
finding an equivalent as according to him, the initial act should be to reach
the idea and then to choose the ‘appropriate name and form’ in the target
language. The process of translation is, thus, for him, linguistic,
intellectual and intuitive at the same time.
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36 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
36 Sri Aurobindo on the Problem of the Knower, Knowledge and the
Known:
According to Sri Aurobindo, the interpretation of the Scripture involves 3
standards of truth, namely, the knower, knowledge and the known. The
original text is the ‘known’. Referring to the translation of the Upanishad,
he calls the original drasta (seer) as the knower which in case of other
translations would be the author. Sri Aurobindo expects the translator to
be in ‘spiritual contact with the original seer’(Jain: 2014). He believed in
knowledge as the eternal truth which is partly expressed by the author to
the readers. Knowledge, according to him, is beyond ideas and words and
that makes it essential for the translator to ‘transgress limits a nd penetrate
to the knowledge behind. S/he has to experience this knowledge before
knowing it. It can be called knowledge only when it is realized in the self.
Text should merely act as the ‘guiding factor’ for the translator. Perception
is, for Sri Aurobi ndo, the main ‘instrument of cognition’ necessary in the
process of understanding the true meaning of the text.
Sri Aurobindo on the Problem of Communicating New Concepts
Through Translation:
Sri Aurobindo has stated in his preface to the translation of t he Upanishad,
“The mind of man demands, and that demand is legitimate that new ideas
shall be presented in words which convey to him some associations with
which he should not feel like a foreigner in a strange country where no one
knows his language, nor he theirs. The new must be presented to him in
terms of the old, new wine must be put to some extent in old bottles.”
In terms of translating cultural terms from one language to another,
according to Sri Aurobindo, there is no need for ‘total replacement by the
available target terms.’ Based on the Nyaya philosophy of ancient India,
Upaman (analogy) which means to associate ‘a thing unknown with its
name by virtue of its similarity with some other known thing.’ (Jain:2014)
Sri Aurobindo on the problem of w ord value and image
transformation
Sri Aurobindo, in his essay On translating Kalidasa , opines that a
translator, while translating an aesthetically important text, should prefer
'closeness of word value’ to ‘closeness of meaning’. According to him, the
translator should ensure that something quite familiar in the original
language is not ‘entirely alien to the foreign audience/reader’. There
should be an attempt to make the foreign intelligence associate to the
original. In order to help the translator in this regard, he suggests two
devices used by himself while translating: to discard the original image
and to replace it with a more intelligible image in the TL and to coin a new
word or image to convey ‘any prominent characteristic of idea associated
with the thing it expresses.’ (Jain:2014) munotes.in
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37 Indian Theories of Translation Part - II Sri Aurobindo’s psycho spiritual theories, as Jain (2014) opines, have
deeply influenced many modern Indian writers and translators and these
theories are futuristic in nature.
4.3 CONCLUSION A glimpse into the theore tical framework that guided these two important
literary figures in their exercises of translation long before the emergence
of Translation Studies as a literary discipline in the West, illuminates the
scholars in the discipline on the path of translation as a creative act.
Tagore and Sri Aurobindo, though expressing in ways different from each
other, specifically advocate that an act of translation cannot be minimally
reduced to a mechanical process of replacing word with another word but
a specific (even creative in some cases wherever necessary) craftsmanship
is an essential calibre expected in the translator. It is the responsibility of
the translator to make the reader enjoy the deeper reality in the mind of the
author of original text.
Tagore’s concep t of ‘rewriting’ as well as Sri Aurobindo’s
psychospiritual ideas lead one to the interpretation of the term ‘translation’
as transcreation. One can thus conclude that ancient Indian culture
provides the base to the tradition of transcreation thus influen cing the
writers even in the present times.
4.4 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS Q. 1. Write short notes on the following:
a. Rabindranath Tagore’s Theory of Translation as a Medium for
Cultural Harmony
b. R abindranath Tagore’s Distinction between ‘Translation’ and
‘Rewriting’
Q. 2 ‘Rabindranath Tagore pioneered theorizing translation long before
Susan Bassnett talking of the core issues in translation’. Discuss.
Q. 3 ‘Sri Aurobindo’s psychospiritual theory of translation is based on the
process of analysis and comprehension of the literal and suggested
meaning of the target text and that of finding an exact equivalence in
the TL’. Explain.
Q.4 Explain how Sri Aurobindo promotes translation as a transcreation as
he discusses the problems of communicating new concepts through
translation and that of word value and image transformation.
Q.5 Write a short note on Sri Aurobindo’s theory of the Knower,
Knowledge and the Known in Translation.
Q.6 ‘Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo agreed on the co ncept of
translation as transcreation’. Do you agree? Justify your agreement or
disagreement. munotes.in
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38 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
38 4.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY Baikat, F. (2021). Rabindranath Tagore and Translation Studies: The
Perpetual Impact of South Asian Culture on World Literature.
https://himachalwatcher.com/2021/05/07/rabindranath -tagore -and-translation -
studies -the-perpetual -impact -of-south -asian -culture -on-world -
literature/ Accessed on 17th April, 2022.
Bassnett, S. (1980). Translation Studies . Routledge. London.
Bhattacharya, R. (2016). Sri Aurobindo as Translator.
https://www.academia.edu/11858504/Sri_Aurobindo_as_Translator Access
ed on 22nd April, 2022.
Collins, M. (2007) History and the Post -Colonial: Rabindranath
Tagore’s Reception in London, 1912 -1913. The International Journal
of the Humanitites. Vol. 4, No.
9.https://www.academia.edu/4466944/History_and_Postcolonial_Thought
_Rabindranath_Tagore_s_Reception_in_London_1912 -1913 Accessed on
20th April, 2022.
Dasgupta, S. (2012). Tagore’s Concept of Translation : A Critical Study.
Indian Literature. Vol. 56, No. 3 (269), May/ June, 2012. Published by
Sahitya Akademi. 32–144. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23345972 Accessed
on 13thApri, 2022.
Dasgupta, S. (2018). Rabindranath Tagore and Translation Studies.
Translation Journal .October, 2018
Issue. https://translationjournal.net/October -2018/rabindranath -tagore -and-
translation -studies.html Accessed on 21st April, 2022.
Dasgupta, S . (2020) . Translation as ‘Rewriting’: Revisiting Translation
Views of Tagore and Lefevere. Translat ion Today , Vol. 14(1). 56 -76.
https://ntm.org.in/download/ttvol/volume14 -1/article5.pdf Accessed on
20th April, 2022.
Ghosh, J.(2019). Translation as a Cultural Dialogue between the E ast
and the West: Re -reading ‘The Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech’ by
Tagore . Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities .
Vol. 11, No. 2, July -September,
2019. https://rupkatha.com/V11/n2/v 11n221.pdf Accessed on April, 8th,
2022.
Jain, P.R. (2014). Aurobindo's Psycho -Spiritual Theories of
Translation. Indian Streams Research Journal. Aug. 2014. Vol. 4,
Issue 7. http://oldisrj.lb p.world/UploadedData/10018.pdf Accessed on
22nd April, 2022.
***** munotes.in
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39 UNIT V
5
TRANSL ATED NON -FICTIONAL TEXTS
PART - I
ANNIHILATION OF CASTE
Unit Structure
5.0 Objectives of the Unit
5.1 Introduction.
5.2 Annihilation of Caste (Pages 1 -5) (English to Marathi / Hindi)
5.2.1 About the Source Language Writer and Source Lan guage Text
5.2.3 Critical Comment on the Translation of the Title
5.2.4 Critical Analysis of the Translation on a Linguistic Level
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Suggested Questions
5.5 Bibliography/References
5.0 OBJECTIVES OF THE UNIT This is entirely new unit a nd involves practical application of the theory
that the students have learnt in the previous units. The first objective of the
units is t o make the reader aware about the concept of translation through
the prescribed non -fictional text: Annihilation of Ca stes by Dr B. R.
Ambedkar. Secondly, it will guide the students to make a comparative
analysis of the text at thematic and linguistic levels. Students will also be
able toanalyse the degree of faithfulness achieved in the process of
translation and the gai n and loss in the act of translation concerning the
non-fictional text: Annihilation of Castes .
5.1 INTRODUCTION Dear students, there are primarily two types of translation viz: literary and
non-literary. Translation in the domain of literature is called literary
translation. It includes the translation of literary works such as novels,
short stories, plays and poems. Whereas non -literary/ non -fictional texts
include subjects like science, Geography, History, Law, technology etc.
and forms of a write -ups l ike essay, speech, review article etc.
5.2 ANNIHILATION OF CASTE (PAGES 1 -5) (ENGLISH TO MARATHI / HINDI) 5.2.1 About the Source Language Writer and Source Language Text :
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) does not
need any introductio n. Every one of us knows that was not only an Indian munotes.in
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40 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
40 jurist but also an economist, a leading social reformer as well as a political
leader who headed the drafting committee of the Indian constitution. He
inspired the Dalit Literary Movement. He renounced H induism to embrace
Buddhism.
Dr. Ambedkar was a graduate of Elphinstone College, University of
Mumbai. He studied Economics in 1927 and 1923 at Columbia University
and the London School of Economics. He was among a handful of Indian
students to have done s o at either institution in the 1920s. In his early
career, he was an economist, professor, and lawyer. Dr. Ambedkar was a
voracious reader and p rolific writer. His later life was marked by his
political activities; he became involved in campaigning and negotiations
for India's independence, publishing journals, advocating political rights
and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing significant ly to the
establishment of the state of India. In 1956, he initiated mass conversions
of Dalits to Buddhism. In 1990, India's highest civilian award Bharat
Ratna was posthumously conferred upon Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Among the numerous writings and speec hes of Dr. B. R Ambedkar,
Annihilation of Caste forms a very significant contribution to the social
cause. It is an undelivered speech of Dr. Ambedkar, written in 1936. He
wrote Annihilation of Caste for the 1936 meeting of a group of liberal
Hindu caste -reformers in Lahore. After reviewing the speech's
controversiality, conference organizers revoked Ambedkar's invitation. He
then self -published the work. The work is considered a classic and is being
re-evaluated time and again. In a letter dated 12 Decembe r 1935, the
secretary of the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal (Society for the Break Up of Caste
system), an anti -caste Hindu reformist group organization from Lahore,
invited B. R. Ambedkar to deliver a speech on the “The Caste System in
India” at their annual confer ence in 1936. Ambedkar wrote the speech as
an essay under the title "Annihilation of Caste" and sent it in advance to
the organizers in Lahore for printing and distribution. The organizers
found some of the content to be objectionable towards the orthodox Hindu
religion, so intemperate in the idiom and vocabulary used, and so
incendiary in promoting conversion away from Hinduism, that they sought
the deletion of large sections of the more controversial content
endangering Brahmanical interests. They wrote t o Ambedkar seeking to
remove certain sections. Ambedkar declared in response that he "would
not change a comma" of his text. After much deliberation, the committee
of organizers decided to cancel their annual conference in its entirety,
because they feared violence by orthodox Hindus at the venue if they held
the event after withdrawing the invitation to him. Ambedkar subsequently
published 1500 copies of the speech as a book on 15 May 1936 at his own
expense as Jat -Pat Todak Mandal failed to fulfill their promise.
In the essay, Ambedkar raised many issues regarding the different
dimensions of the castes in India. He criticized the Hindu religion, its caste
system and its religious texts which are patriarchal and spread hatred and
are against the interests o f women. He favoured inter -caste dining
and inter-caste marriage s. "The real method of breaking up the Caste
System was... to destroy the religious notions upon wh ich caste is munotes.in
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41 Translated Non-Fictional Texts Part - I Annihilation of Caste founded", according to him. Thus, he argued that the caste system in India
is not based on any scientific basis.
5.2.2 Introduction of the Translator and Translated Text:
In 2015, the government published the Marathi translation of the book
done by Prakash Shirsat . The Marathi translation of Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar’s ‘Annihilation of Caste’ is published by the Government Press ,
Kolhapur. The state government brought out a print in 2013 to mark
the diamond jubilee of the publication of Annihilati on of Caste . 6,550
copies were sold in 2016 -17, while 400 copies were sold of the source
language text i.e., English. Three editions of the source text have been
published. Marathi translation uses the second edition as a source -
language text. The present speech is a prose non -fictional text which is
deeply rooted in Indian culture. The source language is English while the
target languages are numerous while the students can comment on either
Marathi or Hindi target texts.
Although the mother tongue of Dr. Ambedkar is Marathi the present text
is in English. While the translator, Prof. Prakash Shirsat has a mother
tongue and target language both Marathi. Hence, the translator has the
expertise and complete control over the target language. Though the
source l anguage is English the context of the speech of Dr. Ambedkar is
deeply rooted in the Marathi language. It should be noted here that Dr.
Ambedkar has complete proficiency inthe English language. Yet it can’t
be denied that Dr. Ambedkar’s langue is Marathi a nd his parole is English.
However, readers can’t help but appreciate Ambedkar’s mastery ofEnglish
vocabulary and syntax.
5.2.3 Critical Comment on the Translation of the Title:
The title of the source text is A and the title of the target text is
जाǓतåयवèथेचेǓनमू[लन. Here the translation of ‘annihilation’ as Ǔनमू[लन is
perfect. However, the back translation of ‘ जातीåयवèथा ’ will be ‘caste
system’ and not ‘caste’. Having had a fair idea of the Indian social
structure and caste system, the trans lator, Prof. Prakash has tried to give a
dynamic equivalent rendering instead of just ‘ जातींचेǓनमू[लन’. Thus, the
translator has searched for such a rendering that the target readers will get
the point and the sense of the original title also could be mai ntained. By
the word ‘caste’ in the title, Dr. Ambedkar meant the entire caste system
and not a particular caste, therefore, ‘ जातीåयवèथा ’ is a beautiful word.
According to Eugene Nida and C. Taber as long as the text follows the
contextual consistency, the translation is faithful. Here one can say that the
translation of the title is faithful to the original as well as beautiful.
5.2.4 Critical Analysis of the Translationon a Linguistic Level:
Every translation is an operation performed on two languages, SL and TL.
The nature of both the languages being different, there are enormous
difficulties the translator faces on various linguistic levels such as munotes.in
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42 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
42 phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, lexical, etc. Also,
culturally if two languages are d ifferent, there is likely to be a huge loss in
the translation.
Whenever a linguistic approach is no longer suitable to translate, the
translator can rely on other procedures such as loan translations and
neologisms. Jakobson considers translation as a ta sk that can always be
carried out, regardless of the cultural or grammatical differences between
Source Text and Target Text. However, complexity in language structure
influences the process of translation. Hence, it is necessary to consider
certain lingui stic levels that convey meanings.
The most widely recognized levels of Linguistic Equivalence derive from
the structuralist techniques of the 1930s -1950s: phonetics, phonology,
morphology, syntax, lexis and semantics.
1] Phonetic Equivalence : Where there is an attempt to create auditory
or articulatory equivalence between the sounds of source and target
languages. For instance, preserving the sonority of certain consonants
or vowels in a text, the rhythm of a line, etc. Graphic Equivalence, a
similar conc ept, depends upon such variables as layout, type -size,
color, etc.
2] Phonological Equivalence: It is considered in terms of the way in
which the units of the sound system of a language are used to
structure the text. For instance, a translation that att empts to preserve
the alliteration or rhyme scheme of the Source Language in the Target
Language.
3] Morphological Equivalence: It tries to preserve the equivalence of
complexity of word structure, for instance, in terms of roots,
affixation, compounding etc.
4] Syntactic Equivalence: It tries to maintain the equivalence in the use
of grammatical categories, sentence types, word order etc.
5] Lexical Equivalence: It tries to preserve the similarity between
lexical items such as idioms and words of Source Language and
Target Language.
6] Semantic Equivalence: This aims at the similarity of the overall
meaning of the utterance, not solely in terms of its component lexical
items, including, for example, whether there is an antithesis or a
metaphor.
In the present speech, the issues that the writer is addressing are very
native. Many terms are related to the mythology and social fabric of India.
Therefore, the translator did not face many problems bringing them down
in Marathi or even Hindi. Whereas Dr. Amb edkar had to struggle a lot in
finding the exact equivalent in English on a lexical level. SLT, being a
prose speech, there were no stylistic issues, however, English and
Marathi/Hindi have many syntactical, grammatical and structural munotes.in
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43 Translated Non-Fictional Texts Part - I Annihilation of Caste differences. Hence, t he translator faced many challenges. The complexity
of word formation is a result of a translation from a highly inflected
language into a more or less isolated language in which usually the
number of words involved is inevitable. Likewise, a reduction is also
possible in reverse conditions. Differences in word classes are understood
when languages differ extensively, not only in the number and semantic
content of word classes but also in the way in which such classes may be
combined.
For example, Dr. Ambe dkar writes, “I believe”, which is translated as
‘माझीधारणा ’ (pg. 22)while the translation of ‘ an act of daring’ is
‘धाडसीपाऊल ’. Both these examples are beautiful translations yet not
faithful to the original SLT. It fulfills all the requirements as regard s
grammatical categories and the care of transference of meaning is also
taken. The job of Prof. Shirsat is further made easy as some of the culture -
specific terms are just transliterated. For example, the term, ‘ shastras ’ is
translated as ‘ धम[शाèğ’, which is a perfect translation because that is what
is expected of Dr. Ambedkar in the context. The syntax of Marathi and
English has the basic difference. The pronoun ‘who’ could be translated as
‘जोͩकंवाÏया’ and not ‘ ×या’. Let’s see the translation of t he sentence on
page number 13.
'वणाªना Ìāाĺणो गŁः’ अशी धमªशाľांची आ²ा आहे. Âयामुळे िहंदूने कोणाकडून मागªदशªन
¶यावे आिण कोणाकडून घेऊ नयेत, हे मंडळाला माहीत आहे. एखादा केवळ िवĬान आहे
Ìहणून िहंदूने कोणालाही गुł Ìहणून ÖवीकारÁयास धमªशाľे िहंदूंना परवानगी देत नाहीत.
िशवाजीला िहंदूराºय Öथापन करÁयाची ÿेरणा ºया रामदास या महाराÕůातील āाĺण
संताने िदली असे सांिगतले जाते, Âयांनी हे ÖपĶ केले आहे.दासबोध या Âयां¸या सामािजक-
राजकìय-धािमªक मराठी पī úंथात रामदास िहंदूंना उĥेशून, एखादा अंÂयज पंिडत झाला
Ìहणून एकI अंÂयजाला, आपण गुŁ Ìहणून Öवीकारावे काय असे िवचारतात आिण Âयाचे ते
नकाराथê उ°र देतात.”Moreover, Great saint poets of the Marathi language
are referred to very respectfully and not cited singularly (िशवाजीला,
रामदासया…..संताने), as done by the translator. The English language doesn’t
have any scope to make a mention of honour or respect embedded in
words as in Marathi. The word ‘inflict’ is translated as ‘लादÁयाची’ and the
words like ‘heart -burning’ and ‘irri tation’ as ‘जळफळाट’ and ‘वैताग’ is a
beautiful translation that succeeds the transference of exact meaning.
Also, an extract fromMr. Banerji’s speech has cheers from the audience
and it is printed in SLT which is missing in TLT:
"I for one have no patience with those who say we shall not be fit for
political reform until we reform our social system. I fail to see any
connection between the two. Are we not fit (for political reform) because
our widows remain unmarried and our girls are given in marriage earl ier
than in other countries? because our wives and daughters do not drive munotes.in
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44 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
44 about with us visiting our friends? because we do not send our daughters
to Oxford and Cambridge?" ( Cheers from the audience)
Let’s see its translation:
Įी. बॅनजȸ àहणतात:
आपÐया सामािजक ÓयवÖथेत सुधारणा करेपय«त आपण राजकìय सुधारणांसाठी
लायक नाही असे Ìहणणाöया बाबत मला Öवतःला संयम नाही. या दोÆहीत मला
काहीही नाते िदसत नाही.... आपÐया िवधवा िवधवाच राहतात आिण आपÐया मुलéचे
िववाह इतर देशांतील मुलéपे±ा लवकर होतात Ìहणून आपण (राजकìय सुधारणेसाठी)
नालायक आहोत का? कì आपÐया बायका आिण मुली आपÐया सोबत गाडीने रपेट
करीत िमýां¸या भेटीला जात नाही Ìहणून? कì आपण आपÐया मुलéना ऑ³सफडª
आिण केिÌāजला पाठवत नाही Ìहणून? (pg 15 )
Comment on the Degree of Fait hfulness on a Cultural Level :
No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered twins in
terms of culture and social milieu. Intercultural competence and the
awareness of the cultural nuances of a language are essential for a
translator. The m ore a translator is aware of the complexities of
differences between cultures, the better a translator he/she will be. It is
probably right to say that there has never been a time when translators
were unaware of cultural differences and their significance for translation.
Translation theorists have been cognizant of the problems linked to
cultural differences since ancient Rome. Cultural knowledge has been a
major focus of translator training and translation theory for a long time.
One of the concerns of t ranslators has been with words and phrases that
are so heavily grounded in one culture that they are almost impossible to
translate into the terms of another language. Culture -bound words and
phrases continue to fascinate the translators and translator the orists.
Cultural Equivalence is also known as Contextual Equivalence.
Language is deeply rooted in culture. SL and TL have different cultural
frameworks which make the translator’s job challenging. Therefore,
keeping the target readers in mind, translatio n has to be done even at the
risk of not rendering the exact equivalent. E.g., the word ‘pollution’ is
aptly translated as “िवटाळ” and “country” as “मुलुख”. One more example of
cultural difference is the concept of “बाळंतपण” as “confinement”. Because,
though the birth of a child is universal yet, the post -delivery phenomenon
is unique in Indian tradition. It must be a huge chal lenge for Dr.
Ambedkar to bring out in English the concepts that are deeply rooted in
Indian culture. Compared to it, Prof Prakash’s job was simple. Indian
traditions, rites and rituals which proved to be unjust to the section of the
society, which Dr. Amb edkar is attacking, were easy to translate as they
were the part and parcel of very Indian culture and social system.
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45 Translated Non-Fictional Texts Part - I Annihilation of Caste 5.3 CONCLUSION It is an accepted fact that the translator faces problems when he or she
translates culture -specific terms, or terms related to dialects. It is not
incorrect to say that the translator is accomplishing a complicated task of
recreating a replica of the original work, where he or she is trying to use
words like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to bring to life a picture as seen by the
author himself. There are no set parameters to judge a translation. The
cultural elements are the heart and soul of any original text; they blow a
breath of life into any piece of writing. So, the translator has to accomplish
the mammoth task of translating and also thrive with life like the original
text, by translating the cultural elements, which in real sense carry the true
essence of any work. Incorrect translation of these elements leads the
reader to perceive a differen t image of the original work.
Annihilation of Caste is one of the celebrated speeches of Dr. B. R.
Ambedkar. It is a significant comment on the caste system of India. He
touches upon very important issues which are relevant even today. We
should appreciate the Government of Maharashtra bringing out its official
translation. Prof. Prakash Shirast had a challenging job in which he was
more than successful. There are many translations in Marathi available,
yet, Prof. Shirsat’s translation stands out. He has don e the justice to the
source text and there is all gain with little loss in this process of
translation. My Hindi speaking students should go the Hindi translation of
it, pick up any edition of the Hindi translation, compare it with the SLT
and comment base d on a linguistic and cultural level so also comment on
the rendering of the title, how far the entire endeavor has been succeeded,
etc. You have one more speech for study, that is Anna Bhau Sathe’s
inaugural speech at 1958’s Dalit Literary Meet. Using thi s chapter as a
guideline, one may try writing/commenting on the translation in English
by Dr. Anil Sonone.
5.4 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS i) Comment on the translation of the Annihilation of Caste in
Marathi/Hindi prescribed to you.
ii) Justify the loss and gain in the process of translation with the special
reference to Annihilation of Caste.
iii) Discuss the elements of culture that are lost and gained in the
translation of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s essay ‘ Annihilation of
Caste’.
5.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES 1. Catford, John C. A Linguistic Theory of Translation: an Essay on
Applied Linguistics. London: Oxford University Press, 1965. munotes.in
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46 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
46 2 Jakobson, Roman. 'On Linguistic Aspects of Translation', in R. A.
Brower (ed.) On Translation, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1959, pp. 232 -39.
3. Nida, Eugene A. and C. R. Taber. The Theory and Practice of
Translation. London: E. J. Brill, 1969
4. Nida, Eugene A. Language, Structure, and Translation: Essays by
Nida. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1975.
5. Toury, G ideon. Translation Across Cultures. New Delhi: Bahri
Publication, 1987.
6. Ambedkar B. R. Annihilation of Caste With A Reply to Mahatma Gandhi.
New Age Printing Press, Mumbai, 2009.
7. Ganjre M. F. (Translated by) JatibhedNirmulan. PradnyaPrakashan Mandal ,
Nagpur, 1970.
8. Shirsat Prakash. (Translated by) JativyavasthecheNirmulan, Government of
Maharashtra Printing Press, Mumbai, 2013.
9. file:///D:/download/aNNHILATION%20OF%20CAST E%20ENGLISH.pdf
(English)
10. file:///D:/download/Annihilation%20of%20Caste%20in%20Hindi -min.pdf (Hindi
Version)
*****
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47 6
TRANSLATED NON -FICTIONAL TEXTS
PART - II
1959 LITERARY CONFERENCE SPEECH
BY ANNA BHAU SATHE
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives of the Unit
6.1 Introduction
6.2 A. Original Text in Marathi
6.2 B. Translated Version of the Text in English
6.2 C. Context: An Esse ntial Aspect in Translation
6.2 D. Glossary
6.3 Conclusion
6.4 Suggested Questions
6.5 Bibliography
6.0 OBJECTIVES To familiarize the students to the nuances of translating a text from an
Indian language into English
To orient them towards the context -based issues involved in
translation of an Indian text into English
To familiarize them to some of the strategies in translation of an
Indian text into English
To familiarize them to the socio -cultural background of the original
text in Marathi
6.1 INTRODUC TION Annabhau Sathe, a pioneering Dalit voice in Marathi literature inaugurated
the first Dalit Literary Conference taken place in Mumbai on March 2nd,
1958. The speech in Marathi was attacked the established literary stalwarts
in Marathi who, according t o Annabhau were indifferent towards the
essence of Dalits’ lives and wrote literature that was far removed from the
reality of the lives of exploited and oppressed classes of society.
The text being crafted in a simple, common man’s language, is rich with
contextual references. Though not a regional dialect, the original language
of the speech is resplendent with simple yet socio -culturally complex
words thus making it necessary for the translator to ensure conveying the
exact shades of meaning of all such words and usages. munotes.in
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48 Translation Studies: Theory and Practice
48 The literary and socio -cultural context of the text plays a very important
role in the process of translating this speech. The present unit deals with
this process of translating the speech from Marathi to English, the problem
areas a t ranslator may face during the process and the strategies adopted in
order to tackle these problems and to reach out to the reader of translated
version with the similar shades of meaning.
6.2 A. ORIGI NAL TEXT IN MARATHI
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6.2 B TRANSLATED VERSION OF THE TEXT IN ENGLISH Chairperson of the Conference, Chairperson of the reception committee ,
and my dear brothers and sisters,
I am aware of the fact that I am performing the job to be otherwise
performed by Acharya Atre though it is an unprecedented coincidence that
a Dalit like me is inaugurating this Maharashtra Dalit Literary Conference.
Some people are questioning the intention behind a separate literary
conference of Dalit literary writers. According to some of them, the
existence of an act supporting eradication of untouchability has left no
room for the word ‘Dalit’. Everything is fine but this problem occurs munotes.in
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53 Translated Non-Fictional Texts Part - II 1959 Literary Conference Speech by Anna Bhau Sathe because those raising this question consider Dalits as human beings,
however, the y deny the existence of a specific class to which these Dalits
belong.
Considering the only state of Maharashtra, for example, there is a big
section of Dalits in this Maharashtra. Their life is different and is
associated with that of other sections of s ociety. This is a leading section
and the just struggle by this section keeps affecting the whole society.
That is the socio -cultural base of this society. But the same section is
different and forlorn as a Dalit who is exploited and who toils very hard.
And this Dalit cannot see a clear reflection of his own life in the present
Marathi literature. His only demand is for a mirror image of his own life in
the contemporary literature. One cannot be marked wrong for expecting
one’s face to be visible as it is .
The image of the present -day Dalits in the contemporary literature is
similar to a vertical and shaky shadow in a lake full of waves. This Dalit is
the heart of the present society. That heart vibrates subduedly. No one
cares for the emotions of happine ss, regret, tenderness of rudeness or
whether those emotions amalgamate and where lies the root of those
emotions. A writer will not be able to create his Dalit literature unless and
until he understands why this man toils laboriously. A writer needs to
possess a divine vision to view the unfathomable life of Dalits. S/he needs
to be loyal to that section. S/he needs to be objective. S/he equally needs
to strongly believe in the just struggle of Dalits and in their ultimate
victory. This means that such an author needs to be an idealist and his
imagination equally needs to be so.
We need to think why a human being lives and why s/he struggles so
much for survival. This Dalit who connects the electrical wires standing
on the electricity pole high in the sky, ignites the blasts in a mine or moves
fearlessly on a furnace that liquifies iron, is considered a coward by all of
us. At all these places, death keeps waiting for him. Sometimes, he meets
the death while toiling hard and dies. This is a different way of li ving and
ending one’s life. A writer should understand it. A writer should compare
between the death of a person who goes bankrupt and thus dies in the
share market and the deaths of these Dalits who die while igniting the
blasts or by drowning in the liquified iron or due to getting electrocuted. It
is necessary for a writer to decide which of these deaths is dignified.
All the emotions that a human being can have in mind are always present
in a Dalit’s mind. But s/he is a little different from others. Th is is because
s/he is not made up of mere blood and flesh but s/he is creative. Digging
up oceans of his own hardships, s/he contributes to the mountains of
wealth. A writer who can write an epic of this great man is the necessity of
this Dalit.
A Dalit c ooking in an earthen pot with an earthen stove made of three
stones, for the survival of his own wife and children may look pauper but
his longing to lead a family life is always holy. He never loses his faith in
the institution of family. But his institut ion of family is expelled by the munotes.in
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54 capitalist world to lead life under that tree. `We should observe it, try to
search for the reasons behind it and then write about that pauper -looking
Dalit. We should write carefully. This is because every moment in the li fe
of this society is occupied by that Dalit. In more poetic language, one can
say that this world, this earth has not been held by the Sesha, the mythical
snake on its hood, but safely rests on the palms of Dalits. The life of such
a Dalit is similar to a thin spring oozing out from a rock. Have a close look
at it and then write. This is because Tukaram has rightly mentioned, “One
who experiences can understand.”
Thisis the reason why a person writing about Dalits should be one with
them. It is necessary t o make oneself aware and to make him aware that he
is not a slave and that this world depends on his hardships. It is necessary
to contribute the best efforts to uplift his life and for that reason, the writer
always needs to be with his masses. The writer accompanying the masses
is always supported by the masses. The one who neglects the masses is
neglected by the literature. The best artists in the world have considered
literature as the third eye of the world and it is necessary for that eye to be
always ahead and to be with the masses.
Recently, the masses from Maharashtra contributed an unprecedented
battle for Marathi language. It was and is a battle for Marathi literature in
true sense. Sixteen -year-old girls sacrificed themselves in that battle. The
artists who accompanied masses in this battle composed verses based on
this Mahabharat. Some of their poetic saws were heated. Some of their
pens filled the pages with heroism. Some of them sung the greatness of
Marathi language. This Maharashtra will nev er forget those artists. But the
artist who doesn’t accompany the masses and expresses his creativity
inside four walls can never create an art of the masses. This is because the
art created in a closed room counts marks on one’s lap and the one
counting m arks on the lap doesn’t belong to us, Dalits. Our art counts the
marks of bullet. That is our art, that is our literature. At the same time the
art that expresses the beauty of the mole on the cheek of a Dalit lady, is
our art. Several examples can be cite d here of the path followed by an
artist who is not inspired by an objective and who doesn’t know masses.
They claim that they write what they see and according to them, an art
should be beyond classification, beyond propaganda and such artists are
quite w ell-known these days. But there can be ample examples of the fact
that the masses are defaced by the person who doesn’t understand them.
How to title a story of a twelve -year old girl who falls in love with a tom
cat and strips herself of her undergarment s so as to get her own sexual
desire satisfied by it? Doesn’t such a story convert a human being into a
monster? A clerk gets himself operated for birth control but is
disappointed because his wife conceives for the third time. Doesn’t it
mean that the wom an is licentious? What should we learn from the story?
A lady who is the president of women’s association plays the last game
with a man whom she meets in a train while travelling from Mumbai to
Pune. Isn’t this an act of condemning the human beings? This story by
Kamla Phadke doesn’t contain a human being and especially a Dalit is munotes.in
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55 Translated Non-Fictional Texts Part - II 1959 Literary Conference Speech by Anna Bhau Sathe certainly not there in this story. The literature by the Phadkes (husband
and wife) is an example of the fact that the one who doesn’t understand
objective is considered ugly by the masses. All these people have started
skinning off human beings with a peeler of an ism called psychoanalysis.
That is the only reason behind this literary conference of Dalits being
organized here separately. To justify their own literature, these pe ople
supporting psychoanalysis state that life has two sides and that they
analyse one of those deeply. But there exists the river Ganges as well as
gutter in Nasik. Why do you prefer gutter to the Ganges?
We want a literature that is clean like the water of the Ganges. We want
sanctity. We are proud of the great tradition of Marathi literature.
This is because our life struggle has been the pioneering theme of Marathi
literature. When the Dalits were outcaste from the society, the literary
artists belongi ng to Mahanubhav sect rebelliously stated that knowledge
was a basic right of everyone and according to them, knowledge was
salvation. Those are our literary writers. The one who gifted Maharashtra
a great work of literature in the form of Dnyaneshwari wri tten in the
language of Dalits claiming that a human being should be able to live like
a human being, is our literary writer. Eknath who carried a lost child from
Mahar community in his lap is our literary writer. The one who carries a
Dalit in his lap, ca rries him on his lips. The history has proved that the one
who defaces Dalit is defaced by Dalit.
It is easy to merely shape the words. It is difficult to bring that shape alive
pouring spirit into it. Some of the writers can succeed in it. But it is very
difficult to search for the historical background of that live spirit and to
interpret it.
We, Dalit writers should understand and interpret this clarification by
Acharya Atre and should try to search for the historical tradition. Let’s
create a literatur e of our community thus convincing the readers of the
loyalty of this community and ensuring that it wouldn’t be insulted. Let’s
contribute to and care for the upliftment of the life of this Dalit and to
make his pleasant and prosperous. Let’s try to uplif t this Dalit and his life
to a higher level through our art.
Some experts say that the law has eradicated untouchability and thus there
exists no creature called Dalit. But this is simply an illusion. The hearts of
upper -class Hindus keep throbbing while f illing water at the public well in
a village. They do not drop their own water drawing vessel into the well
until those from Mahar and Mang community have their vessel in the well.
Many of the restaurants maintain ‘special’ cups separately. The reason is
that it is very difficult to wipe out age -old beliefs. Therefore, we, the Dalit
literary writers should create a new literature that will liberate Dalits from
all forms of oppression in the real world. Gorky mentions, “One cannot
say that the real character istic of this art built with the help of words and
imagination, is not merely to make the reader aware of human mistakes.
The real characteristic of literature is to uplift the human being from the
environment of his external life to a higher level, to lib erate him from the munotes.in
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56 shackles of real life that looks down upon him and to make him aware that
he is not a slave and rather is the lord of this real world and an
independent creator of life. Literature, in this sense, is always
revolutionary in nature.” Ther efore, let’s create a complete, perfect
literature as mentioned above and let’s offer our pens at the feet of Dalits.
That’s it.
(Speech by Annabhau Sathe on the occasion of the inauguration of Dalit
Literary Conference organized by Maharashtra Dalit Lite rary Association
on March, 2nd, 1958.)
6.2 C CONTEXT: AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT IN TRANSLATION As Attri (2019) mentions the speaker is accredited to be the ‘founder of
Dalit literature’ by Dalit writers. Representing this section of the literary
artists who hav e always tried to voice the concerns, agony, pain,
exploitation and miseries of Dalits, the oppressed class of society, thus,
Annabhau was rightly honoured to inaugurate the first Dalit Literary
Conference.
Yengde (2020) mentions an important observation that Dalit writers like
Annabhau and other ‘were snubbed for their language, tone and tenor.”
This, according to him, was because they were more concerned with the
language of their literary works being loyal towards their own ‘people,
language and culture ’ than merely taking care of their linguistic style.
It is due to this characteristic of the language used here that the text gains
a unique simplicity yet a different contextual flair thus making it necessary
for a translator to possess an ability to rea d between and behind the lines.
Nida (2001 cited in Mulyanah: 2019) has also emphasized the association
between words and the context in which they are used. She has further
stated that the translator needs to decide ‘what is being addressed to
produce a v alid translation’.
The speech represents the rebellious and revolutionary spirit of the
socially deprived section. The translator needs to be aware of this
background to the text. An understanding of the struggle by these sections
for their basic human ri ghts is a prerequisite on the part of the translator.
The concept of literary conference, a congregation of literary artists from
across the state every year with different seminars, interviews, poetry
reading sessions carries a special significance in Mah arashtra. The
presidential address is considered to be a theme statement. The present
speech, however, is by the inaugurator of the conference which has
separately been organized for the first time to allow the voices of
oppressed classes an opportunity to be heard.
The content of the speech is an ardent request and call to all those literary
writers in Marathi to understand the deep -rooted agony and pain of these
oppressed classes. There is an urge for them by the speaker to be one with
this underprivileg ed class of society so as to bring in a genuineness to their munotes.in
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57 Translated Non-Fictional Texts Part - II 1959 Literary Conference Speech by Anna Bhau Sathe literary texture and content. The speech thus proves to be the theme
statement for the conference. It begins with a clarification as to why a
separate such conference has been organized for Dalit writers thus
expressing the pain of not being represented completely by the Marathi
literature in the mainstream.
According to Hatim and Munday (2004 cited in Mulyanah: 2019), the
process of translation includes negotiation of meaning between producers
and receivers of the text.As a translator, one needs to be well aware of the
socio -psychological context of the speech that can help him/ her convey
the meaning from the source text to the target readership.
Owji (2013) has listed semantic void as one of t he problems faced by a
translator while translating a text from one language to another. This kind
of problem, as Dr. Miremadi (1991 cited in Owji: 2013) suggests, occurs
when a specific word exists in a speech community, i.e., of the source
language, but may not in other languages.
According to Baker (1992), one of the commonly practised strategies is to
use ‘more general words’. The present speech includes two words which
have rather conceptualized ideas. The word Sesha signifying a mythical
snake and the word nandi are two such words that make it necessary for
the translator use more general words from the target language as a
strategy to convey meaning from the original text. The translator here has
also found it necessary to provide a detailed explanation of the concepts at
the end of the translation as a part of the glossary.
The speaker also quotes Tukaram, a well -known saint in Maharashtra
whose saying has gained the status of a proverb in Marathi,
‘JaaveTyaachyaaVanshaaTevhaa Kale’. The words used in the proverb
carry a specific contextual beauty that a reader of Marathi text can enjoy.
However, the translator found it apt to paraphrase (one of the 8 strategies
listed by Baker: 1992 to deal with the problems in the process of
translation) it using unre lated words. The translation of the proverb has
thus appeared ‘one who experiences can understand’.
In order to convey the concept of a separate literary conference of Dalit
writers as a genuine idea to give vent to the voice of oppressed section, the
translator found it necessary to describe the concept of Marathi Sahitya
Sammelan , i.e., the conference of the literary artists in the mainstream of
Marathi literature and the significance of a separate Dalit Sahitya
Sammelan as a part of the glossary.
Swagata dhyaksha is a context -specific term used for the chairperson of the
reception committee for literary conference. The speaker here addresses
him at the beginning. The translator found it necessary to explain the term
in the target language with the help of so me description in the glossary.
Similarly, povara is a culture -specific word for which the translator used
more general words in English so as to make it easier for the readers to
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58 in the TL can also be classified as a lexical problem, i.e., the absence of
direct TL counterparts as suggested by Sadiq (2008).
The context of not allowing untouchables to avail water from the public
well as mentioned in the speech made it necessary for th e translator to
provide description of the context in the glossary.
6.2 D. GLOSSARY Marathi Sahitya Sammelan : A literary conference is organized every
year in one of the cities of Maharashtra wherein all the literary writers in
Marathi congregate and the event is full of literature related seminars,
workshops, exhibitions, poetry reading sessions and speeches. The
reference in the speech to the activity points out to the lack of sensibility
in some of the writers of mainstream Marathi literature as, accord ing to
the speaker, a true understanding of the agony of oppressed Dalits can
make a writer reflect it in his/ her literary work.
Dalit Sahitya Sammelan : This can be considered as a revolutionary step
by some pioneering Dalit writers who eagerly wanted t he painful lives and
sentiments of Dalits to be penned down in Marathi literary world. The step
was followed, according to the speaker, because Dalit sensibility was not
being completely voiced in the mainstream Marathi literature. The
speakers also makes a special appeal to all those Dalit writers too, who,
according to him, carry an equal responsibility to express the sentiments of
Dalit community.
Swagatadhyaksha : The literary conference is organized in one of the
cities in Maharashtra. A local receptio n committee in the city initiates the
organizational planning and implementation. The chairperson of this local
committee plays a significant role in this process.
Sesha : It is a serpent, inHindu mythology, who is supposed to be the King
of all serpents a nd a devotee of Lord Vishnu, is considered to hold the
universe on his hoods.
Nandi : Originally from Sanskrit, the word means a new beginning. The
word also signifies a verse, an invocation to Lord, at the beginning of
Marathi musical plays.
The referen ce to the throbbing of hearts of upper -class Hindus draws
attention to the fact that the untouchables were deprived of availing
drinking water, the basic need for life, from the public wells, the only
source of water.
6.3 CONCLUSION A translator, functio ning as a mediator between the Source Text and the
Targeted Reader thus needs to act as a facilitator in the process of
understanding of the ST for the TR. An encounter with the problems of
untranslatability like semantic void (Owji: 2013) and the absence of direct
TL counterpart can be tackled using strategies like using a glossary at the munotes.in
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59 Translated Non-Fictional Texts Part - II 1959 Literary Conference Speech by Anna Bhau Sathe end of the translated text as well as by using more general words for
specific contextual terms.
Familiarity with and a good understanding of the Source Language,
Source Text and its contextual background is very essential on the part of
the translator so as to transfer the correct meaning across the linguistic
boundaries.
6.4 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS 1. Explain how context plays an important role in the process of
translat ion, with special reference to your own experience of
translating Anna Bhau Sathe’s speech from Marathi to English.
2. Write a note on the problems faced by a translator while translating
the speech by Anna Bhau Sathe from Marathi to English and the
strategies one can employ to resolve the problems.
3. Attempt a translation of the following extract from the speech by
Anna Bhau Sathe in Marathi to English.
6.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY Attri, P. (2019). Remembering Annabh au Sathe, The Dalit Writer Who
Dealt A Blow To Class and Caste
Slavery. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/annabhau -sathe -dalit-
writer-marathi_in_5d415c3ce4b0d24cde082f0d . Accessed on April, 4th,
2022.
Baker, M. (1992). In other words: A course book on translation . London:
Routledge.
Hatim, B., & Munday, J. (2004). Translation: An advanced source book.
London: Routledge.
Kashyap, O.P . (2019). Annabhau Sathe: Revolutionary poet, novelist,
playwright and social reformer.
https://www.forwardpress.in/2019/08/annabhau -sathe -revolutionary -poet-
novelist -playwright -and-social -reformer/ Accessed on April, 4th, 2022.
Miremadi, S. A. (1991). Theories of translation and interpretation . Tehran:
SAMT.
Mulyanah, A. (2019). The Strategy of Terminology Translation. Advances
in Soci al Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 430
Twelfth Conference on Applied Linguistics (CONAPLIN 2019). Atlantis
Press. file:///C:/Users/malha/Downloads/125938661%20(1).pdf Accessed
on April, 6th, 2022.
Nida, E. A. (1964). Towards a science of translation, with special
reference to principles and procedures involved in Bible translating .
Leiden: Brill. munotes.in
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60 Owji, Z. (2013).Translation Strategies: A Review and Comparison of
Theories . Translation Journal . Volume 17, No.1. January,
2013. https://translationjournal.net/Featured -Article/translation -strategies -
a-review-and-comparison -of-theories.html Accessed on April, 6th, 2022.
Sadiq, S. (2008). Translation: Some Lexical and Syntactic Problems &
Suggested
Solutions. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259190951_Translatio
n_Some_Lexical_and_Syntactic_Problems_Suggested_Solutions#:~:text
Accessed on April, 6th, 2022.
Yengde, S. (2020). Anna Bhau matured the purpose of li terature to serve
the Dalit cause. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/anna -
bhau -sathe -father -of-indias -creative -writing -6565871/
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