No. 9 (2009): Translating the Oral: Translatability and Cultural Dynamics - By Kailash C. Baral

The present paper seeks to examine the theoretical problematics of translatability that arises in translating the oral into a target language (here English). Even if we overcome the problem of translatability there are other critical areas which need to be examined such as cultural specificity and the context of the folk. As a folk text is perpetually displaced and translation as such is provisional, the problem of standardization and interpretation remain areas of critical concern. As good translation endures and bad translation withers away what role do institutions such as a University department of Translation Studies or Folklore and an organization like the Sahitya Akademi play in producing meaningful, readable translation of the oral, working towards a post-colonial archive of the folk that is crucial in terms of cultural identity and cultural specificity in the contemporary context.

(Note: I have used oral and folk interchangeably in this paper.)