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Cultural translation and Post colonialism
Written by: Alireza Sadeghi, MA student of Fars science and research university, Shiraz, Iran
Asalireza1@yahoo.com
Abstract
Cultural translation as an opposite against linguistic translation can be traced back along way; How ever, the main cultural translation theories and theorists came on scene during 1990 and this decade. Hopefully, it is very critical for nuances and small differences among languages which can be drawn by linguistic theories. To be sore, Jeremy Mundey in his book introducing translation studies quoted Simon (1996) as saying "to cast the widest net around issues of gender in translation.... And, through gender; to move translation studies closer to a cultural studies frame work".
It seems the cultural translation is very closer to the aim
of modern era. Additionally, Jeremy Munday (2001)
posits that the cultural turn might be described as an attempt by cultural studies to colonize the less established field of translation studies,. In terms of general issues in translation, Molanzar (1996) describes two general types of
issue known as linguistic gaps and cultural gaps.
Due to the fact that linguistic gaps are universal, they are easily found and restored in the process of translation. For example, we know that in English for third person singular there is an S letter which is added at the end of the verb. During the process of translation, a translator who is translating from English into Persian understandably knows the difference and considers its correspondences in Persian; however, regarding cultural gaps, a translator cannot easily convey them.
One can consider that cultural issues or gaps are not,
translatable. For example, the concept to sheep does not
exist in the Eskimo language, how a translator can translate it from English or Persian into Eskimo language. Even after explanation of such notions, they are not transferred completely.
It can be assumed that cultural issues are much more important than linguistic ones. Accordingly, some scholars believe that instead of studying translation based on linguistic elements, we have to follow the cultural path and cultural studies. In addition to the previous interpretation, one of the notions that support cultural theories is that of colonialism and post- colonialism theories. One of the most crucial aspects of colonialism and post- colonialism theories is cultural and cultural- related issues like literature.
In order to clarify the above - mentioned aspects we can
start with colonized and colonizer culture and literature. ,
Most of translation from these two into each other is
related to imbalance of power relation.
This can be called the effect of more powerful culture on the less powerful one. It is also related to miss translation from Colonized culture into colonizer culture.
Most of the time the translation is ideologically motivated. Some scholars like Cronin, Spivak and Vieira focused on the cultural aspects and established the center of their studies on cultural aspects of translation. Each of these translators has their special studies, as an example. Spivak (1993) who is a Bengali critic and translator concerns about the ideological concerns of translation of cultural and literature issues. She always focused on the distortion of translation from native and colonized culture into colonizer culture she called it the "transaltionese". She also says that the central intersection of translation studies and post colonial theory is that of power relation.
Another study which is relevant to this field is that of Nijana. She (1992) sees literary (as part of culture) translation as one of the discuses which in from the
hegemonic apparatuses that belong to the ideological structure of colonial rule. She focused on the way translation into English been used by the colonizers to establish a rewritten image of the east that has then come to stand for the truth. She also provides the readers with the colonizer's imposition of ideological values.
Another crucial instance of focus on cultural aspects of translation is that of Irish scholar Cronin. Cronin (1996) mainly focused on the more politically assertive work. He was in favor of colonialism and post colonialism because of the fact that they were against of Europe and the new world or Europe and the colony and they neglect the internal colonialism within Europe itself.
Cronin (1999) uses the metaphor of translation to draw a
parallel with what was happening physically to the Irish
: "Translation at a cultural level (the embrace of English
acculturation) is parallel by translation at a territorial
level, the forcible displacement and movement of populations."
The third important movement in translation has come from Brazil. It focuses on the metaphor of anthropology or cannibalism which emerged in the decade of 1920. Infant, cannibalism is a metaphor which means to drink and feed some one by blood. It is a means of absorbing others strength, which means not to deny foreign influences or nourishment, but to absorb and transform them by addition of dichotomous in put it is a verbal weapon.
It is emphasized and marked by creation and recreation,
absorbing the ST and revitalizing it through nourished,
TT employ an energized and various form of the
dominant nation that is the post colony.
All in all, cultural translation mainly studies during recent decades and developed crucially during 1990s by
the works of cronin, niranjana and spivak. They considerably turned to cultural translation and colonialism or post colonialism. They enlighten their studies with observable facts and examples which are acceptable to any logical theorists who are studying translation. The major focus of their study is on the power relation that distorts the process of translation in favor of the colonizer culture and language. In the next part the colonialism and post colonialism will be discussed and later on the relation is briefly explained.
Colonialism and post colonialism
Without colonialism there would be no post colonialism. Colonialism is about the dominance of a strong nation over another weaker one. Colonialism happens when a strong sees that its -material interest and affluence require that it expand outside its borders.
Characteristics of colonialism
1. Colonized cultures are savage and must be educated.
2. Colonizer culture is always standard
3. Colonized culture is in need of moral ground.
4. Colonizer considers education and religious teaching to colonized nation a holy action.
5. Colonized cultures are dangerous threat to themselves and civilized world.
The effect of colonizer culture
There are so many views on the effects of colonialism. These views depend on the political and ideological position of those who disseminate them. Some claim that in spite of the ugly face of colonialism, it did a lot of good to the colonized. It brought to the colonized a new vision of life, mainly western and advanced. It fostered a strong sense of national unity. It brought industrialization
and modern economy to the colonies; and above all it advanced cultural life where it occurred.
Post-Colonialism
In essence, what post colonialism, as a movement, does is to expose to both the colonizer and ex-colonized the falsity or validity of their assumptions. The pioneers are Niranjana, Spivak and Vieira that concerned them with social and cultural effect of colonization, they regarded the way in which the west paved its path to the orient and the rest of the world as based on fake truths. The features of post colonialism
1. Cultural relativism. This means that the colonialist's defilement of culture is socially, morally and politically incorrect.
2. The absurdity of colonial language and discourses.
3. Ambivalence towards authority. This ambivalence is born out of the struggle and conflict between native and settler with the outcome of the settler's disposal this victory over the settler leads the native to question all forms of authority.
4. Colonial alienation. Colonialism leads to the alienation
of the native in his own land. This is described as a
traumatic experience that erodes the individual's identity.
Interrelationship of cultural translation and post
colonialism.
Most of the post- colonial theorists believe that
translation is a matter of culture to be conveyed; therefore, the linguistic theories of translation are somehow marginal. It is not emphasized because its aspects are vivid and obvious; however, the cultural aspects are not easily and understandably conveyed. As it was mentioned before there are many cultural issues that
are not transferable. This problem deteriorates when in the process of translation one language and culture is more powerful (colonizer) and another one is called less powerful (colonized). The problem became harder to deal with. Cultural issues are called the center of study of translation in the colonialism and post colonialism fields. It is widely believed that language and culture is inseparably dependant. Whenever translation comes it is the matter of culture and when it comes it is the matter of culture and when it comes to deal with colonialism and post-colonialism, culture as the center of translation is also the center of colonial and post-colonial translation.
There fore, for example the literary translation from,
colonized culture into colonizer culture is a matter of
Conveying the all elements of colonized language and culture without any relation power or ideological motivation, some thing that is not regarded usually
In post-colonial translation theory is related to culture and sociology.
All translation must be according to comprehensibility of source language (colonized language). They must also be translated based on the differences of native culture and language it must not be in accordance with power relation or ideological and political motivation.
References
Munday, J. (1997) system in translation: a computer assisted systematic analysis of the translation of Garcia Marquez, University of Bradford, UK.
Niranjana, T. (1992) siting translation: History, post colonialism, and the colonial context, University of California Press.
Norris, C. (1991) deconstruction: Theory and Practice, London and New York: Rutledge.
Schaffner, C. (1997) Skopos theory, In M.Baker(ed.) (1997a) pp.235-8
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