Texts in Translation

Your task is to write a response that examines the study of literature in translation. Your response should demonstrate an awareness of specific benefits and challenges through references to today’s readings, as well as making tangible connections to the learning outcomes from Part 3 of the course.

The purpose of translating literature is to expand the range of audiences of a work from a particular culture to expose and spread different identities around the world to enhance our understanding and develop empathy with one another, making the work of translation a challenging one. Translators have the responsibility to maintain the originality and authenticity of a text from one language to another, yet to also make it distinct and unique. Without translated literature, we would be grounded with our own cultural, historical and social values and identity as a result of language barriers, thus limiting our understandings and knowledge capacity. However, also due to language barriers, the authenticity of a translated text may be ambiguous. This is because every language is uniquely distinct, and there are elements and meaning which cannot be fully translated from its original, thus also impacting our exposure to these cultural understandings. This is also because language is influenced by its context and setting where it is used in. There are words, phrases and proverbs which presents a certain attitude that has a significant value over one culture, but cannot be easily translated to be understood by another culture, which may be due to holes in diction and register in terms of meaning. The work of translation is also contributed by the translator’s own personal interpretations of the original text and their understanding of their language. Translators are constantly making choices and decisions of elements of language to keep and to lose, with the aim to maintain the meaning of the original text, thus placing the burden on them. In addition, loss of meaning due to translation also devalues the author’s work and the work itself which may be considered offensive, placing a larger burden on translator. However, it can also be argued that translators are free to be able to interpret a text however they want despite loss from the original meaning, which can be more beneficial for different perspectives and understandings to be exchanged between one another. 

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