An Overview of Translation Practice in Odisha: From Transcreation to Translation

Year 2020, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 46 - 69, 30.06.2020

Sonali Ganguly Lipika Das Tanutrushna Panıgrahı

https://doi.org/10.29228/transLogos.21

Abstract

The paper studies the historical evolution of translation tradition in an Indian provincial state, Odisha. The translation practice in Odisha projects an extensive history that enlists massive translations published since antiquity. The existing studies on the history of Odia translation focused either on the chronological development of Odia literature with an emphasis on translation or analyzed the socio-political matrix that prepared grounds for language movement and encouraged the literary development in Odia language. We argue that the study remains incomplete without a critical analysis of the trends, methods, strategies, and evolving discourses on translation that are not mutually exclusive. Changes were marked not only in the translation practice in distinct literary periods but also in the perception of the practitioners on defining translation. Exposure to world literature and Western concepts associated with translation practice enabled the Odia translators to examine practical problems and implement specific principles in their work. Nevertheless, the adopted strategies and principles were not blind adherence to Western concepts. We intend to examine the critical essays (nineteenth–twentieth century) reflecting the history, relevance, prevalent trends, principles, methods, and strategies of translation in Odisha. The thorough study redefines translation in Odisha from various perspectives. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the discourses on Odia translation from transcreation to adaptation, self-reliance to intertextuality.

Keywords

translation, colonialism, history, Odia translation practice, adaptation, transcreation

References

• Acharya, Snigdha. 2016. “Linguistic Movement of Odisha: A Brief Survey of Historiography.” Odisha Review (April): 27–33. http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/2016/April/Aprilreview.htm.
• Balliyarsingh, Shakuntala. (2006) 2018. “Anuvaad Kala: Samarthya O Sambhabana.” [Art of translation: Competence and possibility.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 213–218. Cuttack: Friends.
• Barik, Pabitra Mohan. 2006. “A Movement for Restoration of Oriya Language.” Orissa Review (April): 5–6. http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/April2006/aprilreview.htm.
• Barik, Sourendra. (2000) 2018. “Anuvaad Sapkarka re.” [About translation.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 187–191. Cuttack: Friends.
• Behera, Chintamani. (1982) 2018. “Kabita ra Bhasantara ra Prasanga.” [On translating poetry.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 114–120. Cuttack: Friends.
• Chandran, Mini. 2016. “The Practice of Translation in India.” Sahapedia. November 1. Accessed May 21, 2020. https://www.sahapedia.org/the-practice-of-translation-india.
• Chaudhury, Bijay. 2015. Odia Sahityara Sankhepa Aakalana [A brief analysis of Odia literature]. Cuttack: Chinmaya Prakashan.
• Das, Chittaranjan. 1988. “Odia Anuvaad Sahitya: Eka Samikhya.” [Odia translation literature: An analysis.] Konark, no. 66.
• Das, Dasarathi. 1972. “Kavyanuvaad.” [Poetry translation.] Jhankar 13 (11).
• Das, Jagannath Prasad. (2006) 2018. “Kabita ra Anuvaad.” [Poetry translation.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 200–205. Cuttack: Friends.
• Das, Rameshchandra. 1999. “Pilanka pae Anuvaad Rachana.” [Translation for children.] Konark, no. 112. Das, Samantak. 2002. “Multiple Identities: Notes towards a Sociology of Translation.” In Translation, Text and Theory: The Paradigm of India, edited by Rukmini Bhaya Nair, 35–45. New Delhi: Sage.
• Devy, Ganesh N. 1995. In Another Tongue: Essays on Indian English Literature. Madras: Macmillan.
• Dhal, Golokbihari. (1953) 2018. “Anuvaad.” [Translation.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 12–17. Cuttack: Friends.
• Di Giovanni, Elena. 2013. “Translation as Craft, as Recovery, as the Life and Afterlife of a Text: Sujit Mukherjee on Translation in India.” TranscUlturAl 5 (1–2): 99–115. doi:10.21992/T9B325.
• Kumar, Ravi, ed. 2013. Role of Translation in Nation Building. New Delhi: Modlingua.
• Mahapatra, Khageshwar. (1982) 2018. “Sahitya re Anuvaad Samasya.” [Literature and problems of translation.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 121–128. Cuttack: Friends.
• Mahapatra, Sitakanta. 1975. “Srujanashila Sahitya ra Anuvaad.” [Translation of creative literature.] Jhankar 17 (4): 306–310.
• Malik, Ramesh Chandra, and Panchanan Mohanty. 2017. “History of Odia Translations (1803-1936): A Bottom-Up Approach.” In History of Translation in India, edited by Tariq Khan, 33–100. Mysuru: National Translation Mission, Central Institute of Indian Languages.
• Mishra, Kumudini. 1998. “Pranayini Kabya re Nilakantha ka Anuvaad Kala-Kusalata.” [Nilakantha’s translation skills: Discussion of Prenayani.] Konark, no. 108.
• Mishra, Nilamani. (1976) 2018. “Odia Anuvaad: Sahitya O Purana.” [Odia translation: Literature and Purana.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 82–98. Cuttack: Friends.
• Mohanty, Janakiballav. 1969. “Odia Anuvaad Sahitya.” [Odia translation literature.] Jhankar 11 (9): 883–888. Mohanty, Laxminarayan. 1971. “Odia Anuvaad Sahitya.” [Odia translation literature.] Konark 6 (9).
• Mohanty, Panchanan. (1997) 2018. “Bada Kathina Se Priti Paliba.” [Difficulties of translation.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 151–156. Cuttack: Friends.
• Mohanty, Panchanan. 2002. “British Language Policy in 19th Century India and the Oriya Language Movement.” Language Policy 1 (1): 53–73. doi:10.1023/A:1014500828789.
• Mohanty, Panchanan, and Ramesh Chandra Malik, eds. 2018. Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies]. Cuttack: Friends.
• Mohanty, Prafulla Kumar. (2006) 2018. “Anuvaadaka ra Jantrana.” [The translator’s pain.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 206–212. Cuttack: Friends.
• Mukherjee, Sujit. 1981. Translation as Discovery and Other Essays on Indian Literature in English Translation. New Delhi: Allied.
• Mukherjee, Sujit. 2004. Translation as Recovery. Edited by Meenakshi Mukherjee. New Delhi: Pencraft International.
• Nayak, Khetrabasi. (1976) 2018. “Bhasantara ra Bhasya.” [Language of translation.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 108–113. Cuttack: Friends.
• Panda, Aditya Kumar. 2017. “Translation in Odia: A Historical Overview.” In History of Translation in India, edited by Tariq Khan, 257–280. Mysuru: National Translation Mission, Central Institute of Indian Languages.
• Patnaik, B. N. 2002. “Oriya Language Movement and Oriya Linguistics.” International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics 31 (2): 1–16. http://home.iitk.ac.in/~patnaik/documents/oriya_move.pdf.
• Pradhan, Krushnachandra. (2016) 2018. “Sampratika Samaya re Prekhyapatare Anuvaad ra Samasya O Gurutwa.” [Importance and challenges of translation in the contemporary time.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama, edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 245–251. Cuttack: Friends.
• Pradhan, Saratchandra. (1959) 2018. “Odia Sahitya re Anuvaad.” [Translation in Odia literature.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 18–22. Cuttack: Friends.
• Ramakrishna, Shantha. 2002. “Cultural Transmission through Translation: An Indian Perspective.” In Changing the Terms: Translating in the Postcolonial Era, edited by Sherry Simon and Paul St-Pierre, 87–100. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.
• Rath, Mrutyunjaya. (1921) 2018. “Anuvaad.” [Translation.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 1–9. Cuttack: Friends.
• Sahu, Abhinnachandra. (1962) 2018. “Anuvaad O amara Anuvaadaka.” [Translation and our translators.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 23–30. Cuttack: Friends.
• Tripathy, Kunjabihari. (1984) 2018. “Nilakantha ka Kabyakruti Dasa Nayaka: Eka Adhyayana.” [A study of Nilakantha’s translation of Dasa Nayaka.] In Sanjoga Shilpa ra Sutradhaar: Odia Anuvaad Adhyayana ra Kramaparinama [Architect’s craft of communication: A chronological history of the Odia translation studies], edited by Panchanan Mohanty and Ramesh Chandra Malik, 129–137. Cuttack: Friends.
• Trivedi, Harish. 2004. “Introduction.” In Translation as Recovery, edited by Meenakshi Mukherjee, 11–20. New Delhi: Pencraft International.
• Trivedi, Harish. 2007. “Colonial Influence, Postcolonial Intertextuality: Western Literature and Indian Literature.” Forum for Modern Language Studies 43 (2): 121–133. doi:10.1093/fmls/cqm006.