Translating Culture vs.

Cultural Translation
Harish Trivedi
Harish Trivedi, professor of English at the University of Delhi, is the author of Colonial Transactions: English Literature and
India (1993), and has co-edited Interrogating Postcolonialism (199), Postcolonial Translations (199!) and Literature and
Nation: Britain and India 1800-1990 ("ith #ichard $llen, %&&&)' He also translates fro( Hindi into English, (ost
recently Premchand: his Life and Times (%&&%)'
He is also a prolific and engaged co((entator on the politics of glo)al English'
*t is "idely agreed to )e the case that translation and translation studies have never had it so good' +ver the last
t"o or three decades, translation has )eco(e a (ore prolific, (ore visi)le and (ore respecta)le activity than
perhaps ever )efore' $nd alongside translation itself, a ne" field of acade(ic study has co(e into e,istence,
initially called Translatology ()ut not for long, than- .od/) and no" Translation 0tudies, and it has gathered
re(ar-a)le acade(ic (o(entu(' There has of course al"ays )een translation, for al(ost as long as there has
)een literature' 1ut the historical reasons for the present )oo( are pro)a)ly tracea)le )ac- to three distinct
(o(ents across the span of the t"entieth century'
The first of these "as the concerted (ove(ent of translating #ussian fiction into English "hich )egan in the
1!9&s and "ent on until the 193&s, "hich revealed to readers in English a )ody of i(aginative "or- fro( an area
outside 2estern Europe "hich "as so ne" and e,citing as to )e shoc-ing and indeed to induce a state of "hat
"as then called the 3#ussian fever,4 "ith "riters as diverse as 5irginia 2oolf and D' H' 6a"rence not only
enthusing a)out the ne"ly discovered nineteenth-century (asters of #ussian fiction )ut actually helping to
translate the( in colla)oration "ith the #ussian e(igre 0' 0' 7otelians-y' The other t"o (o(ents )elong to the
other end of the t"entieth century, occurring as they did in the 198&s and the 19!&s "hen t"o other )odies of
literature fro( hitherto unregarded parts of the "orld "ere translated into English and caused a co(para)le
sensation9 fro( 6atin $(erica, and fro( the East European countries lying )ehind the *ron :urtain'
Unli-e "ith #ussian literature, these latter literatures "hen (ade availa)le in translation helped to transfor(
glo)ally our very e,pectations of "hat literature loo-s li-e or should loo- li-e' *f * (ay digress for a (o(ent to
touch native ground, perhaps the first instance "hen readers in English and in other European languages "ere
si(ilarly shoc-ed and e,hilarated )y the discovery of an alien literature "as in the last t"o decades of the
eighteenth century "hen :harles 2il-ins, 0ir 2illia( ;ones and other orientalists )egan translating fro(
0ans-rit, and caused in Europe "hat #ay(ond 0ch"a) has called The riental !enaissance and ;' ;'
:lar-e The riental Enlightenment" 1ut those "ere different ti(es, and "hat that discovery through translation
led to "as not any enhanced interest in translation )ut rather the founding of the discipline of co(parative
philology, and of course, if "e are to )elieve Ed"ard 0aid, further and (ore effective coloni<ation'
$s co(parative philology and colonialis( are )y no" )oth areas of hu(an endeavour "hich (ay )e regarded as
e,hausted, the three ne"er flashes of translational revelation have given rise instead to a "orthy i(pulse to loo-
(ore closely at the process and effect of translation itself' Though translators the(selves and so(e rare literary
critics too had for a long ti(e )een reflecting on the practice of translation, such activity "as, as "e say no",
theori<ed into an autono(ous field of acade(ic en=uiry only a)out t"o decades ago, in or a)out the year 19!&'
*n England and in (any other parts of the $nglophone "orld, the )irth of Translation 0tudies "as signalled,
inso(uch as such gradual consolidation is signaled )y any single event, )y the pu)lication of a )oo- under the
very title Translation #tudies )y 0usan 1assnett->c.uire (no" 0usan 1assnett) in 19!&' This short introductory
hand)oo- has had re(ar-a)le circulation and influence, )eing reprinted in a second edition in 1991 and in an
updated third edition in %&&%'
1ut a ne" field of study is seen in our ti(es to have )eco(e "ell and truly esta)lished "hen not only
(onographs )ut #eaders (or anthologies of pri(ary and critical (aterials) and Encyclopedias of the su)?ect
)egin co(ing out, and this has )een happening steadily in Translation 0tudies over the last fe" years9 for
e,a(ple, the !outledge Enc$clo%edia of Translation #tudies edited )y >ona 1a-er (199!), theEnc$clo%edia of
Literar$ Translation into English edited )y +live :lasse (%&&&), the&ford 'uide to Literature in English
Translation edited )y @eter Arance (%&&&), and the five-volu(e 3History of 6iterary Translation into English4
pro?ected )y the +,ford University @ress, as "ell as a seven-volu(e Encyclopedia no" in progress for so(e
years in .er(any' To these one (ay add anthologies of theoretical and critical state(ents such as Theories of
Translation: (n (ntholog$ of Essa$s from )r$den to )errida edited )y #ainer 0chulte and ;ohn 1iguenet
(199%), The Translation #tudies !eader edited )y 6a"rence 5enuti (%&&&), *estern Translation Theor$: from
+erodotus to Niet,sche )y Douglas #o)inson (%&&1) and critical surveys of such (aterials, such
as Contem%orar$ Translation Theories )y Ed"in .ent<ler (1993B updated edition %&&1), not to (ention
a )ictionar$ of Translation #tudies )y >ar- 0huttle"orth and >oira :o"ie (1998)' Ce" ?ournals e,clusively
devoted to the su)?ect such as The Translator have )een founded, pu)lishers )ig and s(all such as #outledge
and >ultilingual >atters have launched their Translation 0tudies series, and a "hole ne" pu)lishing house
e,clusively devoted to the su)?ect, 0t ;ero(e, has not )een doing too )adly'
>y assiduous citation of this select )i)liography (such as is generally relegated to the end of a paper) is intended
to sho" not only the ne" e()arrass(ent of riches availa)le in the field )ut also a tendency to push the range of
the discipline as "ide and retrospectively as far )ac- as possi)le (to Dryden and to Herodotus, for e,a(ple), so
as to give it a (ore respecta)le scholarly lineage' *t is all re(iniscent of the "ays in "hich @ostcolonial 0tudies
e(erged as an area of study ?ust a fe" years )efore Translation 0tudies and, in fact, the rese()lance here is not
only incidental )ut interactive, for at least four studies have )een pu)lished in recent years (a-ing an e,plicit
connection )et"een these t"o ne"ly )urgeoning areas9#iting Translation: +istor$- Poststructuralism and the
Colonial Conte&t (199%) )y Te?as"ini Ciran?ana, The Poetics of Im%erialism: Translation and Coloni,ation from
The Tem%est to Tar,an (1998) )y Eric :heyfit<, Translation and Em%ire: Postcolonial Theories E&%lained (1998)
)y Douglas #o)inson, and Postcolonial Translation: Theor$ and Practice (1999), a collection of essays edited )y
0usan 1assnett and Harish Trivedi' $ltogether, the ne"ly "on pre-e(inence of translation and translators is itself
reflected, "ittingly or un"ittingly, in the titles of t"o recent )oo-s, The Translator.s Turn ()y Douglas #o)inson,
1991), "hich it no" see(s to )e, and The Translator.s In/isi0ilit$ ()y 6a"rence 5enuti, 199D), "hich no" see(s
to have )een replaced )y a foregrounded, li(e-lit visi)ility'
I
1efore these ne" develop(ents too- place, any study of translation "as su)su(ed under either of t"o different
su)?ects or disciplines9 6inguistics and :o(parative 6iterature' Traditionally, translation "as seen as a seg(ent
or su)-field of 6inguistics, on the )asic pre(ise that translation "as a transaction )et"een t"o languages' ;' :'
:atfordEs )oo- ( Linguistic Theor$ of Translation: (n Essa$ in (%%lied Linguistics (19D) "as perhaps the last
(a?or "or- "ritten on this assu(ption, in "hich he defined translation as co(prising a 3su)stitution of T6 Fi'e',
Target 6anguageG (eanings for 06 Fi'e', 0ource 6anguageG (eanings4 (=uoted in 1assnett9%&&&, 1D)
1ut shortly after"ards, it )egan to )e noticed that literary te,ts "ere constituted not pri(arily of language )ut in
fact of culture, language )eing in effect a vehicle of the culture' *n traditional discussions, the cru,es of
translation, i'e', the ite(s "hich proved particularly intracta)le in translation, "ere often descri)ed as )eing
3culture-specific4 H for e,a(ple, 1urta- dhoti- roti- loochi- dharma- 1arma or ma$a, all ite(s peculiarly *ndian and
not really li-e the 2estern shirt, trousers, )read, religion, deeds )oth past and present, or illusion' 1ut then the
reali<ation gre" that not only "ere such particular ite(s culture-specific )ut indeed the "hole language "as
specific to the particular culture it )elonged or ca(e fro(, to so(e degree or the other' The 0apir-2horf
hypothesis, to the effect that a language defined and deli(ited the particular "orld-vie" of its spea-ers, in the
sense that "hat they could not say in their language "as "hat they could not even conceive of, see(ed to
support the vie" that the specificity of a culture "as coe,tensive "ith the specificity of its language' The
increased valori<ation of diversity and plurality in cultural (atters also lent strength to this ne" understanding of
language and culture in a "ay that earlier ideas or ideals of universalis( had not'
Thus, in a paradig(atic departure, the translation of a literary te,t )eca(e a transaction not )et"een t"o
languages, or a so(e"hat (echanical sounding act of linguistic 3su)stitution4 as :atford had put it, )ut rather a
(ore co(ple, negotiation )et"een t"o cultures' The unit of translation "as no longer a "ord or a sentence or a
paragraph or a page or even a te,t, )ut indeed the "hole language and culture in "hich that te,t "as constituted'
This ne" a"areness "as aptly descri)ed as 3The :ultural Turn in Translation 0tudies4 in the title of a chapter
?ointly "ritten )y 0usan 1assnett and $ndre 6efevere in their )oo- Translation- +istor$ and Culture (199&)' *t "as
precisely the for(ulation and recognition of this cultural turn in Translation 0tudies that served to e,tend and
revitali<e the discipline and to li)erate it fro( the relatively (echanical tools of analysis availa)le in 6inguistics'
$s it happened, it "as a)out the sa(e ti(e that Translation 0tudies achieved a si(ilar li)eration fro(
su)servience to another discipline of "hich it "as for long considered a su)sidiary and (erely instru(ental part,
:o(parative 6iterature' 1ut this had as (uch to do "ith the decline of :o(parative 6iterature itself, especially in
the United 0tates "here the energising i(pulse and vision of (ultilingual European e(igres fro( )efore and
during the 0econd 2orld 2ar, such as #ene 2elle-, had spent itself out, as "ith the rise of Translation 0tudies' *t
"as 0usan 1assnett again, "ho had for (any years headed virtually the only full-fledged :o(parative 6iterature
depart(ent in the U'7', at 2ar"ic- University, "ho in her )oo- titled Com%arati/e Literature (1993) declared,
3Today, co(parative literature in one sense is dead4 and 3:o(parative literature as a discipline has had its day4
(pp' I8, 11), going on to e,plain that "hile the rise of @ostcolonial 0tudies had stolen the thunder of its
the(atological concerns, the rise of Translation 0tudies had left it )ereft of (uch of its (ethodological
preoccupations' *ncreasingly no", co(parative studies of literature across languages have )eco(e the concern
of Translation 0tudiesB it is the translational tail no" that "ags the co(parative dog'
Through the 199&s, alongside the rise of Translation 0tudies, "e also sa" interestingly the rise of a larger and
(ore influential field of study, :ultural 0tudies, "ithout ho"ever any percepti)le overlap or interaction )et"een
the t"o' This lac- of convergence or i()rication "as again ta-en note of )y 1assnett and 6efevere in their ne,t
)oo-, Constructing Cultures (199!), in "hich they no" had a final chapter titled, 3The Translation Turn in :ultural
0tudies'4 They noted that these 3interdisciplines,4 as they called the(, had (oved )eyond their 3Eurocentric
)eginnings4 to enter 3a ne" internationalist phase,4 and they identified a four-point co((on agenda that
Translation 0tudies and :ultural 0tudies could together address, including an investigation of 3the "ay in "hich
different cultures construct their i(ages of "riters and te,ts,4 a trac-ing of 3the "ays in "hich te,ts )eco(e
cultural capital across cultural )oundaries,4 and an e,ploration of the politics of translation (1assnett and
6efevere 13!)' Ainally, they pleaded for a 3pooling of resources,4 and stressed again the co((onality of the
disciplinary (ethod and thrust )et"een Translation 0tudies and :ultural 0tudies9
' ' 'in these (ultifaceted interdisciplines, isolation is counter-productive' ' ' 'The study of translation, li-e the study
of culture, needs a plurality of voices' $nd si(ilarly, the study of culture al"ays involves an e,a(ination of the
processes of encoding and decoding that co(prise translation' (1assnett and 6efevere 13!-39)
Ho"ever, this plea for a ?oining of forces has apparently fallen on deaf ears' The clearly larger and certainly (ore
theoretically undergirded ?uggernaut of :ultural 0tudies continues to ru()le along its "ay, un(indful of the
overture (ade )y Translation 0tudies to )e ta-en on )oard' +ne possi)le reason (ay )e that for all the
co((onality of ground and direction pointed out )y 1assnett and 6efevere, one crucial difference )et"een the
t"o interdisciplines is that :ultural 0tudies, even "hen concerned "ith popular or su)altern culture, nearly
al"ays operate in ?ust the one language, English, and often in that high and a)struse variety of it called Theory,
"hile Translation 0tudies, ho"ever theoretical they (ay get fro( ti(e to ti(e, (ust sully their hands in at least
t"o languages only one of "hich can )e English' *n any case, "hile the :ultural Turn in Translation 0tudies had
proved to )e an act of transfor(ative redefinition, the Translation Turn in :ultural 0tudies still re(ains an
unfulfilled desideratu(, a consu((ation yet only "ished for'
II
>ean"hile, instead of a cultural turn in Translation studies, "e have on our hands a )east of si(ilar na(e )ut
very different fur and fi)re H so(ething called :ultural Translation' This is a ne" collocation and in its specific
ne" connotation is not to )e confused "ith a stray earlier use of it in the old-fashioned sense of translation
oriented to"ards the target culture, "hat (ay )e called a reader-oriented or 3do(esticating4 translation' *n fact,
the ter( :ultural Translation in its ne" and current (eaning does not find an entry or even (ention in any of the
recent encyclopedias and anthologies of translation listed a)ove'
*t "ould thus see( to )e the case that "hile "ishing for the practitioners of :ultural 0tudies to co(e and ?oin
hands "ith the(, those engaged in Translation 0tudies have not even noticed that so(ething called :ultural
Translation has already co(e into e,istence, especially in the do(ain of postcolonial and post(odernist
discourse, and represents so(ething that could not )e further fro( their heartsE desire' Aor, if there is one thing
that :ultural Translation is not, it is the translation of culture' *n fact, it spells, as * shall go on to argue, the very
e,tinction and erasure of translation as "e have al"ays -no"n and practised it'
The (ost co(prehensive, sophisticated and influential for(ulation of the concept of :ultural Translation occurs
in the "or- of pro)a)ly the fore(ost postcolonial-post(odernist theorist of our ti(es, Ho(i 1ha)ha, in the last
chapter ()ar the 3:onclusion4) of his )oo- The Location of Culture (199I), titled 3Ho" ne"ness enters the "orld9
@ost(odern space, postcolonial ti(es and the trials of cultural translation'4 *n 1ha)haEs discussion, the literary
te,t treated as the pre-e(inent e,a(ple of cultural translation is 0al(an #ushdieEs novel #atanic 2erses, a novel
"ritten originally in English and read in that language )y 1ha)ha' $ clue to the ne" sense in "hich the ter(
translation is here )eing used is suggested )y a re(ar- (ade )y #ushdie hi(self ("hich 1ha)ha incidentally
does not cite) in "hich he said of hi(self and other diasporic postcolonial "riters9 3"e are translated (en4
(#ushdie 1)' #ushdie "as here e,ploiting the ety(ology of the "ord 3translation,4 "hich (eans to carry or )ear
across, and "hat he (eant, therefore, "as that )ecause he had )een )orne across, presu(a)ly )y an
aeroplane, fro( *ndia and @a-istan to the United 7ingdo(, he "as therefore a translated (an' He neglected to
tell us as to "hether, )efore he )eca(e a translated (an, he "as at any stage also an original (an'
1ut a second and overriding sense in "hich too #ushdie clai(ed to )e a translated (an is precisely "hat is
e,pounded )y Ho(i 1ha)ha in his essay, "ith specific reference to The #atanic 2erses' 1ha)ha )egins "ith an
epigraph fro( 2alter 1en?a(inEs classic essay on translation9 3JTranslation passes through continua of
transfor(ation, not a)stract ideas of identity and si(ilarityE4 (=ted' in 1ha)ha %1%)' 6ater, in a -ey passage,
1ha)ha )rings in DerridaEs deconstruction of 1en?a(inEs concept of translation as an after-life or survival, in order
to deploy it in a "holly ne" conte,t unintended )y either 1en?a(in or Derrida, i'e', the conte,t of #ushdean
(igrancy and hy)ridity' To =uote 1ha)ha9
*f hy)ridity is heresy, then to )lasphe(e is to drea(' ' ' ' it is the drea( of translation as 3survival4 as Derrida
translated the 3ti(e4 of 1en?a(inEs concept of the after-life of translation, as sur-vivre, the act of living on
)orderlines' #ushdie translates this into the (igrantEs drea( of survivalB aninitiator$ intersticesB an e(po"ering
condition of hy)ridity (1ha)ha %%-%8)'
$ little later 1ha)ha says9 3Translation is the perfor(ative nature of cultural co((unication4 (1ha)ha %%!), and
he goes on, in another ne" figurative e=uation, to spea- of the residual cultural unassi(ila)ility of the (igrant as
an instance of "hat 1en?a(in called 3untranslata)ility'4
Here, as indeed at nu(erous other places, one (ay get the feeling that one is still trying to catch 1ha)haEs
shado" "hile already living in it' 2hat is nevertheless clear and indisputa)le in 1ha)haEs for(ulations of "hat he
calls cultural translation is, firstly, that he does not at all )y this ter( (ean literary translation involving t"o te,ts
fro( t"o different languages and cultures, and secondly, that "hat he (eans )y translation instead is the
process and condition of hu(an (igrancy' To evo-e an irresisti)ly alliterative and )eguiling, (antra-li-e phrase
that 1ha)ha else"here uses (ore than once, "hat he is tal-ing a)out is the 3translational transnational4 (1ha)ha
183) i'e', the condition of 2estern (ulticulturalis( )rought a)out )y Third 2orld (igrancy'
0ince 1ha)ha first articulated it, the distinctly post(odernist idea of cultural translation in this non-te,tual non-
linguistic sense has found an echo in (uch conte(porary "riting, )oth critical and creative' To cite a fe" select
e,a(ples, the first of "hich is perhaps an ur-illustration or an analogue fro( a "or- "hich "as "ritten )efore
1ha)haEs essay "as pu)lished, Te?as"ini Ciran?ana in her )oo-#iting Translation uses the ter( 3translation4 )y
and large to denote the colonial po"er-play )et"een the 1ritish rulers and *ndian su)?ects, and herself conscious
of the fact this is not "hat translation nor(ally (eans, she resorts early in her "or- to the Derridean
deconstructive ruse of clai(ing that she has used the ter( translation 3under erasure4 (Ciran?ana I! n'I) to suit
her o"n chosen conte,t and purpose'
$s for creative "riting, Hanif 7ureishi see(s to represent in his career a phase of cultural translation even (ore
acute and advanced than that e,e(plified )y #ushdie' Unli-e #ushdie, 7ureishi had one English parent, "as
)orn in England, and gre" up in the 3ho(e county4 of 7ent, thin-ing of hi(self as =uite and co(pletely 1ritish
rather than *ndianK@a-istani or even hy)rid' 3* "as )rought up really as an English child,4 he has clai(edB 3' ' ' *
"asnEt influenced )y $sian culture at all4 (=td' in #anasinha )' $s he forthrightly put it in another intervie", 3* a(
not a @a-istani or an *ndian "riter, *E( a 1ritish "riter4 (=ted' in #anasinha )' *t is true that, unli-e #ushdieEs,
7ureishiEs "or- contains no reference to popular su)-continental culture such as Hindi fil(s and fil(-songsB
instead, 7ureishi has co-edited The 3a0er Boo1 of Po% (199D), (eaning of course 1ritish and $(erican pop'
Cearly all 7ureishiEs "or-s are set in 6ondon or in the su)ur)ia, and one of the(, titled #lee% 4ith 5e(1999), has
only "hite 1ritish characters'
The only difficulty "ith such de(onstra)le 1ritishness of 7ureishi is that in the literary and cultural "orld of
6ondon in the 198&s, "hen 7ureishi "as )eginning to co(e into his o"n as a "riter, he "as nevertheless slotted
)y co((issioning editors for theatre and television into the role of an $sian cultural translator' $s he recounts,
3they re=uired stories a)out the ne" Fi((igrantG 1ritish co((unities, )y cultural translators, as it "ere, to
interpret one side to the other,4 and though 7ureishi -ne" that as a non-(igrant true-)orn 1ritisher he "as not )y
up)ringing and sensi)ility 3the sort of "riter )est-suited to this -ind of "or-,4 he did it nevertheless )ecause 3* ?ust
-ne" * "as )eing paid to "rite4 (=ted' in #anasinha 1%)' *n this version, cultural translation is not so (uch the
need of the (igrant, as 1ha)ha (a-es it out to )e, )ut rather (ore a re=uire(ent of the society and culture to
"hich the (igrant has travelledB it is a hege(onic 2estern de(and and necessity'
Aor an even (ore thoroughgoing and self-induced e,a(ple of a cultural translator, "e (ay loo- at ;hu(pa
6ahiri, "hose first )oo- of fiction, Inter%reter of 5aladies: #tories of Bengal- Boston and Be$ond (1999), (ade
her the first *ndian-)orn "riter to "in the @ulit<er pri<e for fiction' 0he "as )orn of 1engali parents in 6ondon,
gre" up in $(erica, )eca(e an $(erican citi<en at age 1!, is )y her o"n ad(ission not really a )ilingual though
she "ould li-e to thin- she "as, and has "ritten fiction not only a)out *ndians in $(erica )ut also so(e stories
a)out *ndian still living in *ndia' *n ans"er to the criticis( that her -no"ledge of *ndia as reflected in these stories
is de(onstra)ly erroneous and defective, she has said, 3* a( the first person to ad(it that (y -no"ledge of *ndia
is li(ited, the "ay in "hich all translations are4 (6ahiri 11!)' This gratuitous trope is sustained and further
highlighted )y her going on to say that her representation of *ndia is in fact her 3translation of *ndia4 (6ahiri 11!)' *t
soon transpires that not only is 6ahiri as author a translator )ut so are the fictional personages she translates into
e,istence9 3$l(ost all of (y characters are translators, insofar as they (ust (a-e sense of the foreign to survive4
(6ahiri 1%&)' This echoes, pro)a)ly un"ittingly, the 1en?a(inian-Derridean sur-/i/re, in the sense sei<ed upon )y
1ha)ha, ?ust as 6ahiriEs assertion that 3translation is not only a finite linguistic act )ut an ongoing cultural one4
(6ahiri 1%&) reiterates 1ha)haEs central pre(ise' $nd at the conclusion of this essay "hich 6ahiri clearly (eans to
serve as her (anifesto and apologia, she declares9
$nd "hether * "rite as an $(erican or an *ndian, a)out things $(erican or *ndian or other"ise, one thing
re(ains constant9 * translate, therefore * a( (6ahiri 1%&)'
$nd this fro( a "riter "ho, li-e 7ureishi, has never translated a "ord, and "ho ad(its that "hen one of her short
stories "as pu)lished in translation into 1engali, "hich is her parentsE (other-tongue (even if it "as not =uite her
o"n) and "hich "as therefore the (otherL) language of her childhood, she could not understand the translated
version H or as she herself put it, see(ing to shift the responsi)ility fro( herself on to the translation, it proved
3inaccessi)le to (e4 (6ahiri 1%&)'
*f this is cultural translation, "e perhaps need to "orry a)out the very (eaning of the "ord 3translation'4 +ne
"onders "hy 3translation4 should )e the "ord of choice in a collocation such as 3cultural translation4 in this ne"
sense "hen perfectly good and theoretically sanctioned "ords for this ne" pheno(enon, such as (igrancy, e,ile
or diaspora are already availa)le and current' 1ut given the usurpation that has ta-en place, it (ay )e ti(e for all
good (en and true, and of course "o(en, "ho have ever practised literary translation, or even read translation
"ith any a"areness of it )eing translation, to unite and ta-e out a patent on the "ord 3translation,4 if it is not
already too late to do so'
0uch a)use or, in theoretical euphe(is(, such catachrestic use, of the ter( translation is, as it happens,
(irrored and (agnified through a se(antic e,plosion or dilution in popular, non-theoretical usage as "ell'
Ce"spapers constantly spea- of ho" threats could 3translate4 into action or popularity into votesB there is a )oo-
titled Translating L" (', "hich apparently (eans no (ore than descri)ing 6'$', and 0usan 1assnett herself has
recently "ritten that Ed"in .ent<lerEs )oo-Contem%orar$ Translation Theories is not only a critical survey )ut
3effectively also a translation, for the author transfor(s a "hole range of co(ple, theoretical (aterial into
accessi)le language4 (in .ent<ler vi)' 1ut it is of course the sa(e language, English, in "hich such theoretical
co(ple,ity and such accessi)ility )oth e,ist' Even "hen these are not instances of 3cultural translation4 in the
sense e,pounded )y 1ha)ha, these are still instances of a -ind of translation "hich does not involve t"o te,ts, or
even one te,t, and certainly not (ore than one language' These are still e,a(ples of "hat 1ha)ha, "ith his usual
felicity, has in another conte,t called 3non-su)stantive translation4 (in personal conversation)' +ne could perhaps
go a step further and, "ithout any atte(pt at (atching felicity, call it si(ply non-translation'
*n conclusion, one (ay suggest that there is an urgent need perhaps to protect and preserve so(e little space in
this postcolonial-post(odernist "orld, "here ne"ness constantly enters through cultural translation, for so(e old
and old-fashioned literary translation' Aor, if such )ilingual )icultural ground is eroded a"ay, "e shall sooner than
later end up "ith a "holly translated, (onolingual, (onocultural, (onolithic "orld' $nd then those of us "ho are
still )ilingual, and "ho are still untranslated fro( our o"n native ground to an alien shore, "ill nevertheless have
)een translated against our "ill and against our grain' Aurther, translation itself "ould have )een untranslated or
detranslated, for it "ould have co(e under erasure in a sense rather less deconstructive than DerridaEs )ut
plainly (ore destructive' The postcolonial "ould have thoroughly coloni<ed translation, for translation in the
sense that "e have -no"n and cherished it, and the value it possessed as an instru(ent of discovery and
e,change, "ould have ceased to e,ist' #ather than help us encounter and e,perience other cultures, translation
"ould have )een assi(ilated in ?ust one (onolingual glo)al culture'
$ll the recent tal- of (ulticulturalis( relates, it (ay )e noted, not to the (any different cultures located all over
the "orld, )ut (erely to e,pedient social (anage(ent of a s(all sa(ple of (igrants fro( so(e of these cultures
"ho have actually dislocated the(selves and arrived in the Airst 2orld, and "ho no" (ust )e (elted do"n in
that pot, or tossed in that salad, or fitted as an odd little piece into that (osaic' These stray little flotsa( and
?etsa( of "orld culture "hich have )een "ashed up on their shores are =uite enough for the taste of the Airst
2orld' >igrancy, often upper-class elite (igrancy as for e,a(ple fro( *ndia, has already provided the Airst 2orld
"ith as (uch ne"ness as it needs and can cope "ith, and given it the illusion that this tiny fraction of the Third
2orld has already (ade the Airst 2orld the "hole "orld, the only "orld there is' Those of us still located on our
o"n ho(e turf and in our o"n cultures and spea-ing our o"n languages can no longer )e seen or heard' $ll the
politically correct tal- of ecodiversity and )iodiversity concerns a har(less and less pro)le(atic level of species
)elo" the hu(anB there is no corresponding desire that one can discern for cultural or linguistic diversity' Aunds
fro( all over the "orld are )eing poured in to preserve and propagate the #oyal 1engal Tiger, for e,a(ple, "hich
is declared to )e an endangered species, )ut no such support is forthco(ing for the *ndian languages, "hich
see( to )e e=ually endangered )y the increasing deci(ation of "orld languages )y the one all-devouring,
(ultinational, glo)al language, English' *t occurs to (e that no international agency (ight "ant to save the #oyal
1engal Tiger if it actually roared in 1engaliB there (ay )e the little pro)le( then of having to translate it into
English first' *n any case, the 2orld 2ildlife Aund is co((itted to saving only "ild life, not cultured life'
*n this )rave ne" dystopian "orld of cultural translation, translation ironically "ould have )een translated )ac- to
its literal, ety(ological (eaning, of hu(an (igration' *n early :hristian use of the ter(, in fact, translation in the
sense of )eing )orne across too- place "hen a dead person "as )odily transported to the ne,t "orld, or on a
rare occasion "hen his )ody "as transferred fro( one grave to another, as happened fa(ously in the case of
Tho(as a 1ec-ett, "ho "as actually (urdered and initially )uried near the crypt of the :anter)ury :athedral )ut
then, a)out 1D& years later, "hen the tric-le of pilgri(s had s"ollen into a (ainstrea(, (oved and )uried again
"ithin the sa(e cathedral in the grand ne" Trinity :hapel' *n )oth these senses, of )odily re(oval to the ne,t
"orld or to the ne,t grave, "e are tal-ing of so(eone "ho is truly dead and )uried' The (any indigenous
languages of the "orld and the channel of e,change )et"een the(, translation, (ay see( headed for the sa(e
fate in the ti(e of cultural translation9 to )e dead and )uried'M
M @arts and versions of this essay "ere delivered at the universities of *o"a, Esse,, 2ar"ic- and 6ondon, and *
a( grateful to (y audiences for (any helpful o)servations and suggestions'
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