English Language & Literature

Linguistic, cultural and political acts in translating literary texts: prizes and pitfalls

Linguistic, cultural and political acts in translating literary texts: prizes and pitfalls

The research shows that of all the considerations, a translation is, broadly speaking, a three-pronged strategy, being linguistic, cultural and political act at the same time.

Author

Jagdish Batra, Professor of English, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.

Summary

While the importance of translation in the postmodern globalized world should be self-evident, the act of translation calls for a unique talent. Translation is best described as a phenomenological act in which a translator seeks to enter the mind of the original author and translates on the basis of equivalence, with as little change to the original as possible.

It calls for a certain historical sense and knowledge of linguistic transformation happening over a period of time. My research shows that of all the considerations, a translation is, broadly speaking, a three-pronged strategy, being linguistic, cultural and political act at the same time.

My paper takes up case studies of translations into English of some native languge/dialects texts and analyses them from the aforesaid angles, bringing out the benefits and underlining the pitfalls on the way.

Published in: Research Journal of English Language and Literature

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