Translation

Welcome back, it has been a while since the last post on this blog, and I’m excited to get right back into it. Today’s topic is interesting, as I will be discussing translated literature, the positives, negatives, and how it may affect the work overall.

Firstly we must ask the question as to why one would want to translate a text from one language to another?

The answer is quite simple, as learning a language is not the easiest thing to do, because of the amount of time it takes for anyone to learn it. Which is why a translating a text is necessary, as it now opens the text to multiple groups of people, giving them a new perspective into the culture and thoughts of the author. Which is great in theory, as we are now learning a lot about another culture, but is there a possibility that we may be damaging the text with its translation.

Obviously, translating texts are extremely useful, as it allows for a greater understanding of the other people that occupy the same planet as us, but it is a difficult task. Those who translate texts from one language to another, have multiple things to consider, such as keeping track of the context in which the text was written. The translator also has the responsibility of making sure the authors intentions, messages do not get mixed or disrupted, preventing it from becoming lost in translation. If this is not done correctly, it may cause an upset from the readers, with an example being Feng Tang and his interpretation of 3 of Tagore’s poems. Due to is slight deviation on 3 poems out of 326, a huge uproar had begun over his work, as many disagreed with his decisions, which ended with his translations being taken down.

To conclude, translated literary texts can be extremely useful and interesting, however are extremely treacherous for those who attempt to complete the translation of the texts from on language to another.