Literature and Translation

Answer

Literature and Translation

            Literature is at the heart of the world today, a mirror for the society without which it might crumble in its own ignorance. Basically, literature is any written work that is connotated with artistic merit. Literature is universally acceptable and understood by all cultures, depending on their language and environment. Translating from one language to another is essential for transmitting literature to all cultures – even those which the author does not know. It is this kind of translation that Cloe (2019) describes as carrying meaning from “words on that shore to words on this shore” (par 1). In his artistic work, Teju Cole describes his view on translation in his article – Carrying a Single Life: On Literature and Translation. In this text, Teju shows the importance of translation of literary work as he connects the same with saving life. A typical example of a translation is Nissim Ezekiel’s The Patriot, an originally Indian poem translated into the English language and that which talks about patriotism and peace (Ezekiel 1). I will use these two texts to illustrate the importance of literary translation. However, literature can be lost in the same process. Therefore, this paper seeks to illustrate the importance and the effect of translation in any literary work.

            First, translation of literary works expounds on the number of readers of a certain work – as Cloe (2019) illustrates – thus taking the same work to a new “cohort of true readers” (par 5). The process of translation is not a walk in the park, and sometimes take inventing new words in the language that is being translated to. It is for the same reason that Cloe describes the process of translation as a noble and holy work – equated with saving helpless immigrants, such heroic feats. Translating any piece of literature enables the writer to talk to a set of audience that were inaccessible in the first place, improving the author’s coverage. Cloe (2019) explicates how, in some sense, he could become a German writer without knowing German. In the same sense, we are able to read and understand the overall message of the Indian poet – Nissim – due to the translation of the poem.

            On the other hand, translation could be catastrophic and thus lead to destruction of the initial work of art. As in many of Cole’s description, it is evident how certain words can lose meaning when directly translated from one language to another. In the poem, The Patriot, the direct translation is evident with the quality and structure of the language espoused in the English translation of the poem. Certain words within the poem; such as “But modern generation is neglecting – Too much going for fashion and foreign thing” (line 8-9), makes no or little sense despite being ecstatic in their original Hindu language. What is more, it is evident how certain words have to be crafted in a different manner in order to translate a single line of literary text, an effect that could lead to the total loss of the original meaning of the same text.

            In conclusion, it is evident that literature is the mirror of any society without which it is void and empty – making it universal. However, some great literary works have often gone unread by a wide audience due to limitations of language – making reading of certain important and ground-breaking works of art to be essentially grim. However, this has been made possible through translation. This paper has analyzed two literary texts, using them to describe the importance of translation as well as the damages raised by the same. Translation widens the audience of a single writer as it enables access of information to a variety of audience. On the other hand, translation can lead to the loss of literature itself as illustrated within this text. This is important in assessing the importance of translation itself, how it is more of carrying food to helpless immigrants – a holy work.