Loss of Meaning in Translation: The Case Study of a Nepali Novel ‘Basain’
Loss
of Meaning in Translation: The Case Study of a Nepali Novel ‘Basain’
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Correspondence:
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Dr. Ramesh
Prasad Adhikary <rameshadhikary29@gmail.com>
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Assistant
Professor (English) TU, M. M. Campus, Nepalgunj, Nepal
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Abstract
The research paper titled‘Loss of Meaning in Translation:
The Case Study of a Nepali Novel Basain’ was an attempt of the researcher to
find out the cases of cultural meaning loss in the translation of a novel
‘Basain’. It further aimed to explore the causes of loss of meaning in
translation. In addition, it aimed to analyze the ways that can be used to
compensate the meaning gap in translation as well. Only the secondary sources
of data were used in the study employing descriptive and analytical design
along with qualitative data. Twenty two cases of meaning loss in the
translation of the novel Basain were found. The study also explored causes of
the loss of meaning to occur in translation. Some of the major causes were
pointed out i.e. cultural gap, deletion, negligence of the translator, lack of
functional equivalence, lack of co-cultural and socio-cultural knowledge (of
the SL) of the translator, over generalization of the meaning, carelessness of
the translator, incomplete linguistic knowledge (of the SL) of the translator,
transliteration and so on.
Keywords:
cultural
terms; equivalence; gaps; loss; manipulation; translation; SL
1. Introduction
1.1 General Background
Translation
studies is a new and emerging discipline. However, translation itself is as old
as human civilization. The activity of translating began along with the
existence of language as a means of communication. As the world developed,
simultaneously with the existence and development of many languages, this
multilingual nature of the world created the existence of translation as an
obligatory phenomenon. The development of language and culture varies from one
community to another and creates a gap between them. While this is happening,
translation is the only way to break the cultural, linguistic, contextual and
psychological barriers between (the people of) such communities.
Bhattarai
(2007) writes “it was Andre Lefebvre who proposed the designation of
translation studies for the first time in 1978 to replace the terms like
‘Translation Theory’ used in general contemporary ‘Translatology’ in Canada,
‘Translatologia’ in Spain and so on” (p. 1). It underwent different changes in
the course of time and is constantly undergoing change until recently.
The
word ‘translation’ is etymologically carried out from a Latin word 'trans' and
'lactum' in which ‘trans' means across and ‘lactum' means to carry. Generally,
it is the rendering of a text into another language. Many scholars have defined
it in various ways. It is an art, a science and a skill for respective
scholars, however for Newmark (1988, p. 6), “it is first a science and then a
skill, third an art and fourth a matter of taste”. This shows that defining
translation in a single word is incomplete and even inappropriate. Newmark
(1988, p. 5) has defined translation as “rendering the meaning of a text into
another language in a way that the author intends the text”. Newmark (1981)
sees translation as “a craft consisting in the attempt to replace a written
message and/or statement in one language by the same message and/or statement
in another language” (p. 7). According to Newmark (1981), translation is all
the science, skill, an art and the matter of taste.
Translation,
in its sense, is an obligatory phenomenon of the present day world as it is a
vehicle to accelerate the present multilingual world. Its theory covers a wide
range of pursuits, attempts always to be useful to assist the individual
translator both by stimulating to write better and to suggest points of
agreement on common translation problems. Wilss (1982, p.18) states that now we
are on the threshold of a planetary era in which local and regional conflicts
will be suppressed and the dynamics of global adaptation and civilizing
cosmopolitanisms will begin to be the predominant driving force which will be
accelerated through translation. For Wilss (1982), “the twentieth century
employed translation extensively as a most powerful and indispensable vehicle
for disseminating knowledge and information”.
1.1.1 Importance of Translation
Translation
is also a means of communication. It is a technique of learning a foreign
language, which allows an exercise of a learner’s intelligence to develop his
competence. Translation is only the vehicle to accelerate the multilingual
world. Translation has helped to bring cohesion in our multilingual and
multicultural society.It plays a crucial role to establish world literature
because it is the only way to break the linguistic barriers, bringing together
what lies beyond time and space.
Narshimhaiah
and Srinath (as cited in Bhattarai 2007, p. 11) write focusing on the
importance of translation as “the world came to know of the ‘Vedas and
Upanishads and Gita’ outside the charmed circle of the Brahmins in South Asia
through translation”. Translation has narrowed down the world in such a way
that the world cannot even be imagined in absence of it. Translation is not
simply an act of imitation or substitution; it is also the means of innovation
i.e. innovation in the receiver language. That is why the translators must meet
the challenges in the context of the world being narrowed down with every
decade passing by. Translation helps impart knowledge about a varied world of
literature which further helps understand multiple cultures.
1.1.2 Translation of Culture
As
language is context-bound and to understand the meaning of a text, the culture
associated should be judged and observed in depth. It shows that translation is
less linguistic and more cultural procedure. This view is epitomized in a
statement such as one does not translate language but culture. It is difficult
to decide whether translation is a cultural activity or not. But most of the
scholars agree that culture is one of the important aspects of translation.
According to the supporters of cultural translation, it is not only a finite
language activity, but it is also an ongoing cultural one. Translation can only
be studied along with speech acts in socio-cultural setting. The reason is that
in translation, we transfer culture not language. House (1994) and Ivir (1987)
also comment that cultural contact presupposes translation. By these points, we
can say that, in effect, one does not translate the language but translates the
culture and thus, in translation, we transform cultures not languages.
A
language is determined and shaped by the culture. Because of this phenomenon, a
translator will be translating a culture while translating a text. The world is
not only bilingual but also bi-cultural. Therefore, every culture has a
specific term or word that is distinct to the other culture. Translating
culture is difficult due to the lack of equivalence in the target language
culture. Translation of cultural terms from a literary text is difficult and
because of this, a meaning gap exists while translating the text. Although
culture creates a gap between two worlds and makes a translator's job
infinitely complex or even virtually impossible, it is possible to translate a
culture from one language to another with adjustment and even some loss.
According
to Richards, Platt and Weber (1985, p. 70) culture means the total set of
beliefs, attitudes, costumes, behaviours and social habits etc. of the member
of a particular society. Culture is a way of life in a society that consists of
the prescribed ways of behaving or norms of conduct, beliefs, values and
skills. It also includes the institutions, values, religions, communities,
foods, heritage, and histories and so on. Language is context-bound and to
understand the meaning of a text, culture should be judged in depth. Viewing
the importance of a culture in translation, in recent years there has been a
shift in translation studies from linguistically-oriented approaches to culturally-oriented
ones.
1.1.3 Loss of Meaning in Translation
Lack
of correspondence between the source language (SL) and target language (TL)
items creates a gap in translation and results in the loss of meaning. That is,
the loss of meaning in translation is due to the gap that exists between the
two languages. Generally, it is regarded that the gap in translation is common
and natural as no language and cultures are the same. Thus, it can both be
found in TL and SL.
We
find two languages, cultures, contexts etc. always different to some extent.
Subsequently, while translating we are bridging the gap between two cultures
and languages. It means that a text is the combination of a language and a
culture within certain context. Gaps are the serious threats in translation.
According to Crystal (1987) exact equivalence is of course impossible, no
translator could provide a translation that was a perfect parallel to the
sources text, there is always some loss in information (p. 346). Anyway the
translator’s main concern in translation should be to bridge the gaps so as to
make the translation meaningful and faithful as the original. According to
House (1994) there are three types of gaps in translation: a) Linguistic gap, b)
Cultural gap, and, c)
Extra-linguistic gap.
1.1.3.1 Linguistic gap
The
gap where the absence of a typical terminology persists is called linguistic
gap. The languages which are used in the world are different from one another.
We can observe this gap at different levels of a language. Such as:
1.1.3.1.1 Graphological level
Two languages are different in their graphics. Graphemes available in
one language may be absent in another language.
1.1.3.1.2 Phonological level
Phonemes of different languages are not the same. English has 44
phonemes but Nepali has only 35. If the exact phonological correspondence is
impossible, it certainly creates problems in translation.
1.1.3.1.3 Lexical/word level
Some lexical words create serious problems in translation. Same
lexical items available in a source language may not be available in the target
language.
1.1.3.1.4 Structure level
The difference in linguistic structures and the grammar rules between
the languages creates a gap.
1.1.3.1.5 Functional level
It is hardly possible to get equivalence of meaning at functional level
if the translator is not aware of the ambiguous meaning contained in the text.
1.1.3.2 Cultural Gap
Culture
is an inseparable part of the language. Translation is more cultural and less
linguistic activity. It creates gaps in translation. It may have the belief and
concept in one culture and another lacks that creates cultural gaps.
1.1.3.3 Extra-linguistic gap
The
extra-linguistic (pragmatic) gaps occur when there is a problem of
correspondence between the context of a source language text and a target
language text. Pragmatics plays a crucial role in the formation of a text. In
brief, when the background knowledge and real world knowledge differ,
extra-linguistic gaps occur. Such as the following example shows pragmatic gap
as a Hindu widow wears white dress but this kind of concept is not available in
English culture.
1.1.4 Compensating Meaning Gap in Translation
The
loss of meaning that is the gap in translation can be compensated. Bridging the
gaps between the two languages or cultures is one of the main concentrations of
a translator. There are some procedures and/or strategies that help compensate
these gaps or loss. Being based on Ivir (1987, p. 37), following procedures can
be used to compensate the gaps and loss of meaning in translation:
a.
Borrowing/Transliteration
b.
Naturalization
c.
Literal Translation
d.
Recognized Translation
e.
Addition
f.
Deletion/Omission
g.
Substitution
h.
Sense Translation
i.
Blending
j.
Reduction
k.
Elaboration
l.
Definition
m.
Componential Analysis
n.
Functional Equivalence
o.
Pragmatic Equivalence
q.
Descriptive Equivalence
1.1.6 Introduction to ‘Basain’
Basain
is one of the social novels written by Lil Bahadur Chhetri. The novel is
written within a typical Nepalese social periphery showing the poor hilly
Nepalese socio-cultural condition. The title of novel is justified by the plots
explaining the socio-economic condition and tradition of the then society as a
sole cause of migration. A poor family of Nepalese society becomes obliged to
migrate due to the social and economic causes in the novel. Michael J. Hutt
translated Basain as ‘Mountains Painted with Turmeric’. He has tried to bring
to light an iconic Nepali novel: the story of sheltered villagers faced with a
harsh, changing world. He has tried to share his deep empathy and fine
understanding of Nepali reality of socio-economical world through his
translation. His focus, on translation, can be observed mainly in the daily
farm work and chores, the gossip chain, the weekly market, the limited
opportunities, the rapacious rich preying on the poor, and women’s particular
vulnerabilities. In fact, it has offered the TL readers a window to the lives
of the people by depicting in subtle details the stark realities of village
life.
2. Methodology
The
researcher has adopted following methodological strategies to fulfill the
objectives of the study:
2.1 Sources of Data
The
researcher has made use of the secondary source of data only in the study.
Mainly, the Nepali and English versions of the novel Basain has been used as
the source of data in the study. Further, some of the related previously studied
theses, and related books were also used as the sources of data for this study.
Some of them were: Newmark (1981), Wilss (1982), Crystal (1987), Newmark
(1988), House (1994), House (2002), Sharma (2004), Bhandari (2007) and
Bhattarai (2007).
2.2 Sampling Procedure
To
carry out this research, the researcher studied both English and Nepali
versions intensively and found out the cases of meaning loss in translation.
The identified instances were picked up and taken into the study. The cases
have analyzed alongside with their causes to happen so and the ways to overcome
those problems while analyzing and interpreting the collected data.
2.3 Tools for Data Collection
Observation
was one and the only tool to collect the required data for the study. The researcher
developed an observational check list and used it to collect and arrange the
data. Both the English and Nepali versions of novel were intensively studied to
collect the data for the study.
2.4 Process of Data Collection
The
researcher, first of all, collected both the English and Nepali versions of the
novel and studied them in depth. Then, an overview of Nepali version was made
by collecting the possible instances of meaning loss in translation. The
possible words, phrases, clauses, and/or sentences were picked up and the
English version was studied to search for their equivalence. The collected
words, phrases, clauses and/or sentences were transliterated and the
translation of which was noted down. Finally, the researcher identified the
loss of meaning along with the causes of the loss. The sentences that were
taken for study are given below:
1) Dhane got up, went to the fire
place took out a glowing ember from the ashes, and lit a stub of tobacco
wrapped in an ãgerī leaf.
2) If anything goes wrong, I’ll
lose the oxen and everything else as well.
3) He works hard, he is
industrious.
4) Hariram! The price of the
buffalo is 120 rupees; the interest must be delivered to Harriram’s house at
the end of every month.
5)
It seems that bankale has got it.
6)
She helps her husband’s sister to wash the pots and
to mill and pound the grain.
7)
Bhauju (Bhauju: elder brother’s sister), the food’s
ready. Would you serve the meal today?
8)
Teej had just taken its leave of the women of
Nepalese society.
9)
Maina touched Dhane’s feet with her head and stood
up.
10)She is dying
to go, anyway.
11)lulu! Drive
them up from behind, thuli.
12)There’s no
sindur in my hair, and I am not wearing a bead necklace, can’t you see?
13)These streams
bring life to the khet field in the valley below.
14)With one
voice, the council judged in the baidar’s favor and authorized him to take away
Dhane’s oxen and buffalo.
15)And she
remembered that once Jhuma had mentioned that her monthly dharma had stopped.
16)One day in the
middle of Magh, Jhuma had gone into the forest to cut some fodder.
17)They say he
left in Phagun -22.
18)The path
forked at Bagedanda.
19)The old folk
said that an old woman of the forest lived on these cliffs.
20)We must cut
Dhane off from sharing our water; we don’t know who did this or what he was.
21)The next
morning, all the big man of the village gathered in Nande’s yard to decide
Dhane’s fate.
22)Every object
in there-the millstone and the husking machine, and even the beams, pillars and
roof pole- gave her plenty to remember...
3. Analysis and
Interpretation
Here, the transliteration of the
SL texts, their TL equivalence and the instance of loss of meaning will be
given. After their general presentation, the causes of meaning loss will be
analyzed along with the analysis of possible ways to overcome such meaning loss
in translation. As the collected data are qualitative in nature, they have been
analyzed and interpreted descriptively in a narration and have been presented
descriptively. For the clarity, this part has been divided into sub-headings as
well.
3.1
Transliteration and Anecdotal Evaluation of the Cases
The transliteration of Nepali
texts as well as their equivalent translation into the English language along
with their short anecdotal evaluation has been dealt in this sub-heading.
1) SL: dhane uthyo ra ãgenāko dilmā āi
hātle khosrera kharānīmunī ghusārī rākheko āgoko bharbharāudo agult o jhikī
ãgerī pātmā bereko surtīko thuto salkāuna thālyo.
TL: Dhane got up, went to
the fire place took out a glowing ember from the ashes, and lit a stub of
tobacco wrapped in an ãgerī leaf.
The term ãgenā in SL
keeps cultural significance and has some more cultural meaning than that of the
TL term fire place. As same as this, ãgerī is a plant having toxicant leaf
which in general is used by poor Nepalese villagers to wrap the tobacco for
smoking. The translator has tried to translate these culturally and
geographically significant words while translating the Novel. However, the
translation has lost the original and real flavour of the words in its
rendering.
2) SL: kehī kisim bigriyo bhane halkā goru
samet janchan...tara kaso bigrelāra!
TL: If
anything goes wrong, I’ll lose the oxen and everything else as well.
Though the SL text
is not culturally so colorful, its target language expression has not become
completely successful to render the exact sense of original text. The term
halkāgoru denotes the oxen that are used for plaguing the field. The term
‘oxen' does not clearly indicate the original sense of an SL text just by its
rendering as ‘oxen' in the TL.
3) SL: mihinet garcha! udhyog
garcha.
TL: He works hard, he is
industrious.
The SL term
udhyoggarnu does not refer to industrious in the TL as it generally means to
labour hard in the farm work. In this regard, the translator has over
generalized the original sense and thus mistranslated the terminology. Actual
meaning of the source text is deviated and interpreted differently than what it
is actually intended. As a result, it rendered the message somehow different
from what it actually had.
4) SL: harīrāmko ke bhane,
bhãsīko dām cha-bīs rupiyābho, byāj mahinā marne bittikai harīramko gharmai
puryāidinuparcha.
TL: Hariram!
The price of the buffalo is 120 rupees; the interest must be delivered to
Harriram’s house at the end of every month.
The term ‘harīrāmko’,
as used in the SL, does not refer to the belongingness of someone else (i.e.,
any noun) but is a meaningless word often spoken in the conversation, generally
used by Nepalese old people while speaking. It does not indicate to any person
or people. However, the translator has regarded it as a noun while translating
the text. The expression “the interest must be delivered to Hariram’s house..” clearly
shows that Hariram is the name of a person which is not in fact. Thus, the
original sense of the SL expression has been deviated while translating it into
the English language and that causes the loss of meaning in translating.
5) SL: bankāle bhetāe jasto cha.
TL: It seems that bankale
has got it.
Banko Devi is
regarded as the deity of the people. It is generally believed that she lives in
the forest and takes care of all the animals and plants. If she gets angry, she
can perform something that goes wrong to the human beings. Here, “bankale”
refers to “by bankodevi” in the SL expression in which the translator has
translated the term bankale (by bankodevi) as a single noun as a whole
“bankale”. As a result, the original sense of the SL terminology (expression)
has been deviated and produced somehow different message.
6) SL: nandalāī bhādākũdā mājhna au kut na-pidhna u
saghāuche.
TL: She helps her husband’s
sister to wash the pots and to mill and pound the grain.
Husband’s younger
sister in Nepali is called ‘nanda’ as it is one of the terms of kinship that
denotes the lovely and dearest one. His elder sister is called ‘aamaju’. The TL
does not have such words to denote for. Further the translation of ‘nanda’ as
“husband’s sister” does not specify whether it is a younger or an elder one.
Thus, the original sense associated with the SL culture has not been rendered
by its translation.
7) SL: bhāujyu, bhānsā tayār bhayo, āj
timīle deu na hai.
TL: Bhauju (Bhauju: elder
brother’s sister), the food’s ready. Would you serve the meal today?
Bhāuju is a Nepalese
kinship term referring to one’s elder brother’s wife. But, the translator has
translated it as “elder brother’s sister”. It has created a vast difference
between the SL and TL meanings. That is, meaning is mistranslated in the TL.
Further, the SL expression is more informal in the family setting which
indicates closeness between the two characters. However, the TL expression is
more formal and shows some sorts of social distance between the interlocutors.
As a result, the intensity of expression has deviated and the meaning has been
mistransferred due to the misinterpretation of the family kinship term.
8) SL: tījle nepālī samājmā nārīharubāt
bharkhar bidā liyo.
TL: Teej had just taken its
leave of the women of Nepalese society.
‘Teej' is one of the
deeply rooted cultural words that refers to one of the famous Nepalese festival
of a woman. The translator has just transliterated the SL terminology into the
TL while rendering it. Due to this, it fails to transfer the original cultural
flavour of the SL text into the TL. Further, the TL readers may be in confusion
what the “teej” actually is. Thus, the meaning is lost and the translation has
become unable to render the exact flavour of SL text to the TL readers.
9) SL: maināle dhaneko godāma dhogī ra
telko cauthī liyera uthī.
TL: Maina touched Dhane’s
feet with her head and stood up.
To touch one’s feet
with self-forehead bowing the head (dhognu) is one of the greatest respects
that are offered by the youngest to elders in Nepalese culture and society.
Maina (Dhane’s wife) did so after messaging his feet with hot oil to show
(express) her respect, faithfulness and obedience as his wife by doing so. But,
this type of culturally rooted meaning does not carry by the just expression
“maina touched dhane’s feet with her head” in the TL. Thus, the translation has
transferred the literal meaning being failed to render the exact cultural taste
of the original expression.
10) SL: nānī sāthīharusita āphai gaer eutā
gunyu ra coloko lugā kinera lyauchin, jāna rahar
pani gardaichin.
TL: She is dying to go,
anyway.
Nānī is one of the
dearest kinship terms generally used by an elder brother’s wife to her
husband’s younger sisters. ‘Gunyu’ and ‘Cholo’ are the typical Nepali female
dresses. The instance of translation above does not carry both of these
socio-cultural scenario. Further, the SL expression shows the interest and
willingness of Jhuma to go to market and to buy ‘gunyu’ and 'cholo’ for
herself. However, the translated expression indicates her obligation to go and
to have so. Thus, the intensity of meaning highly differs between the two
expressions. As a result, the meaning is deviated and has lost the original
flavor in its translation.
11) SL: lu-lu pachibāt dhapāide-de
thūlī.
TL: lu lu! Drive them
up from behind, thuli.
“lulu” is a readymade formulaic expression, that is a chunk of
readymade speech used to start some
conversation. Further, it shows permission to do something in the SL. As the
translator has just transliterated the term (chunk) which gives no meaning to
the TL readers. Thus, meaning is lost in translation. It would be better if
this type of redundant words and expressions could be omitted in translation.
12) SL: mero sĩdur pote chainan,
dekhnuhunna.
TL: There’s no sindur
in my hair, and I am not wearing a bead
necklace, can’t you see? (Sindur-Vermillion powder)
Both “sindur” (a kind of vermillion powder) and “pote” (a kind of bead
necklace) are the things that are put/worn by the married women in the SL
culture. They are the symbols of marriage as well as of prosperity which they
(married women) have to put/wear continuously until their husband is dead. So
far as the instance given above is concerned, the SL expression clearly
expresses that the girl is unmarried having no 'sindur' and 'pote' on her
forehead.
As the translator
literally translated the SL expression, these cultural and original flavours of
the SL meaning have not been rendered in the TL.
13) SL: yinai kholsā tala besīka khetharukā
jīwandātā hun.
TL: These streams bring life
to the khet field in the valley below.
“khet” in SL refers
to the field where paddy is cultivated and harvested. Rest of other types of
field in SL is called “bārī”, “pākhā" or “tār”. The translator has
translated the term “khet” as the ‘khet field' which has not rendered the
intended meaning of the SL expression. It makes the TL readers get confused in
what the 'khet field' actually it is.
14) SL: pancāyatle ekai swarmā baidārko
paksamā nirnaya liyo.
Dhaneko halgoru ra bhaisī baidārle lāne bhae.
TL: With one voice, the
council judged in the Baidar’s
favor and authorized him to take away Dhane’s oxen and
buffalo.
The translator has
translated the SL term “pancāyat” as 'council' in the TL while translating. In
fact “pancāyat” is a typical and deeply rooted cultural term in the SL. It is a
group of five traditional village administrators- Mukhiya, Bahidar, Dittha,
Bichari and Karbari who use to rule the villages. Later, the term is used in
practice to refer to a group of wise people who decided the justice/injustice
in the village s. Thus, the translation of “pancāyat” as 'council' does not
transfer the original sense that is associated with the SL expression.
15) SL: ani uslai samjhanā bhayo-ektākā
jhumāle masikdharma rokieko kurā
garthī.
TL: And she
remembered that once Jhuma had mentioned that her monthly
dharma had stopped.
'māsik dharma' in SL
refers to menstruation in TL in general. It has high socio- cultural values in
SL culture and society however has no significance in the TL. Women, during the
period of their menstruation, are regarded as secular, unsacred and untouchable
(esp. to water and food). The translation does not talk about it. Further, the
stopping of menstruation denotes that the woman is pregnant. As menstruation in
SL is a matter of holiness and sin, to obey the socio cultural norms, values
and practices that are imposed upon women during their menstruation are
regarded as their dharma (duty). The translator has blended the term as
“monthly dharma” in the TL while translating, which does not convey the
detailed original flavour of the text.
16) SL: ek din māghko mājmā jhumā ghās kātna
bhanera ban gaekī thii.
TL: One day in the middle of
Magh, Jhuma had gone into the forest to
cut some fodder.
Magh is the 10th
month of Nepali calendar that falls in January-February. Here the translator
has transliterated the name of month in its rendering as well. But it does not
convey the TL reader what actually the “magh” is. Thus, it causes meaning loss
in translation that is unintelligible to its TL readers.
17) SL: tyo phāgunmai gayo re.
TL: They say he left
in Phagun.
Phalgun is the 11th
month of Nepali calendar. It generally falls in February-March. As the
translator has transliterated the term in the TL, it does not convey anything
(any message) to the TL.
18) SL: bāghedãdābāta dota bātā phātekā
thie.
TL: The path forked at
Bagedanda.
The SL term
“bāghedãdā” is a noun referring to a local hill. It is a hill named after
perhaps a tiger. Tiger may have been found there once or people might have a
killed tiger once there and following so, they may name it “baghedanda”. This
message does not carry by its rendering while it is just transliterated in the
TL.
19) SL: budha-purānāharuko bhanāi cha,
“bankī budhenī yasai bhīrmā bās
garchin”.
TL: The old folk said
that an old woman of the forest lived on these cliffs.
"bankibudheni"
(an old woman of the forest) has socio-cultural value in the SL text. People
generally believe that an old woman used to live on the cliffs in the forest
that protects life if she gets happy and destroys if she gets unhappy. As the
stated instance is concerned, the old people say and believe so. The translator
has translated the term 'budhapurana' (means old people) as ‘old folk' which
has conveyed different meaning then that of its original sense.
20)SL: dhaneko pānī banda garnuparcha,
kasko ho, ke ho, kahile dekhiko laspas ho, najānikana kasarī khānu pānī?
TL: We
must cut Dhane off from sharing our water; we don’t know who did this or what
he was.
There is a general
tradition in the SL society that if something asocial has happened or if any
member of the family does something that is indigestible in the existing
society the whole family would cut off from all sorts of social relationship by
the villagers (other members of the society). Pre-marital sex is prohibited in
the Nepalese society and culture. Jhuma got pregnant before her marriage and
thus, all the other people of the village decided to cut their family off from
the social relationship with rest of the people. Translator has tried to render
this message stating cut off of Dhane form sharing water among the villagers.
However, it has not rendered why and how this is so. Thus, some sorts of
meaning loss have been occurred in the translation.
21) SL: bholipalt a nandeko āganmā gāukā
thulāthāluharu bhelā bhai dhaneko bhāgya nirnaya garirahekā thie.
TL: The next morning,
all the big man of the village gathered in Nande’s yard to decide Dhane’s
fate.
The translator has
translated the SL term ‘thulathala' as ‘the big man' while rendering the
message of the text. The SL term denotes the people at decision making level at
the village, which translates just as ‘big’ man' does not convey. The SL
terminology is more status focused as the TL one is more size focused.
22) SL: yahākā pratyek bastu jāto dhikī
yahātak ki balo, khābo, dhūrī sabai kura uslaī jīwanbharī samjhadai, rudai garna paryāpta thie.
TL: every object in
there-the millstone and the husking machine, and even the beams, spillars and roof pole- gave her plenty to remember...
The
term dhiki, and janto are typical to Nepali culture and society. They both are
the traditional machines. Thejanto is a pair of stones used to grind the
grains. Similarly, dhiki is a wooden made traditional machine used for husking
especially the paddy. The translator has translated these terms as ‘millstone'
and ‘husking machine' respectively. Here, the SL terms are more
tradition-oriented and domestic whereas the TL terms are mechanical and
industrious. The similar is the case for other terms like balo, khanbo and
dhuri where the translated terms have carried out the technical meaning
ignoring the cultural one.
3.2 Analysis of the
Translation
The translator of the novel has
translated the Nepali social novel ‘Basain’ into the English language entitled
‘Mountains Painted with Turmeric’. Michel J. Hutt, the translator, has made his
attempt to recreate the Nepali novel in the English scenario. His effort in
translation is really appraisable. However, as the case of meaning loss is
concerned, it is found that the translator has used transliteration, literal
translation, elaboration, blending, sense translation, and naturalization
techniques while rendering the text into TL. The original meaning of the text has
been found intact in many cases while translating. But, it does not mean that
the translation is not so good in overall. It is in fact, a good creation.
Wherever the causes to be/have so which has been analyzed in the following
section.
3.3 Causes of Meaning Loss in Translation
Translation is not just the
transference of the original text but it is the transcreation of something new.
Thus, some loss and gain of meaning in translation is common and natural. There
are some causes of meaning loss in translation. As the causes of meaning loss
in the translation of novel Basain are concerned, following causes can be
explored.
3.3.1 Lack of
Cultural Equivalence
Translation is not only a
linguistic activity but it is also a cultural one. In another word, a translator
does not only translate a language but also the culture associated with the
text. Translation and culture are so closely related that the rendering of the
information of any text becomes impossible without transculturation. Language
is context bound and to understand the meaning of a text, contextual factor
(i.e. culture) should be judged and observed in depth.
Translation is less linguistic
and more or even exclusively, a cultural procedure. Translation of culture is a
new area of interest in the field of translation studies.
Cultural translation is a
concept used in cultural studies to denote the process of transformation in a
given culture. Being an emerging discipline in its own, it is so crucial that
human life is impossible and worthless in absence of it. It has made familiar
different cultures among the multi-lingual that have further helped establish
peace and harmony, sense of closeness and beauty and fraternity among the
people of different cultural background. As the instances of lack of cultural
equivalence in the novel Basain are concerned, there is no concept of the
“bankodevi” (the deity of the forest) in the English language and culture. This
is why the translator has just transliterated the term as “bankale” in
translation so that the term does not convey any message to the target language
readers. Similarly, “teej” refers to a typical Nepalese Hindu cultural festival
of females. This has no cultural equivalence in the target language so that the
translator has just transliterated the term. Due to this, the translation has
lost the cultural meaning in the target language.
Similar is the case with another
instance. Married women in the Nepalese culture put sindur, a red powder, in
their hair and wear a bead necklace around their neck. Jhuma by saying-
“there’s no sindur in my hair, and I am not wearing a bead necklace, can’t you
see?” was expressing that she was unmarried yet. But this information is not
rendered in the target language due to the cultural gap between the source and
target language.
To touch one’s feet with one’s
head is one of the greatest respects that younger offers to the elders in
Nepalese culture and so did Maina to Dhane, her husband. It has deeply rooted
cultural value. But due to the lack of cultural equivalence in the target
language, the translator failed to render this original taste in target
languages.
3.3.2 Lack of
Socio-cultural Knowledge (of the SL) of the Translator
As translation is the
re-creation of a new text, the translator should be known not only to the TL
but also to the TL culture. Translation cannot be a good one until the
translator is well known about the socio-cultural knowledge of both the SL and
TL. If not, there can be a high chance of mistranslation and thus, the original
meaning will not only be deviated but also will be lost. For example, the
translator has translated the SL term “bhauju” as “elder brother’s sister”
instead of “elder brother’s wife” in the translation of Basain due to which the
TL text has conveyed wrong meaning than what is true. It is mainly due to the
lack of socio-cultural knowledge of the translator of the SL text.
3.3.3 Avoidance of
Redundancies in Translation
It is not necessary to translate
redundant information while translating the text. As translation is the
transformation of a message in the text, it is the duty of the translator to
convey the meaning of the text to the TL readers. Thus, it is common and is
natural not to render the redundant information. However, the application of
the omission of redundancy sometimes does not convey any message, i.e. the
important information can also be omitted from being transferred.
3.3.4
Inappropriate Selection and Application of Translation Techniques
The selection and application of
appropriate translation technique has significant value in rendering the
message. It partly depends on the situation and mainly on the skills and
knowledge of the translator. That is, the proper selection and application of
translation techniques depends upon how competent the translator is. The
translator, who is familiar with the translation techniques and is competent to
apply them, becomes able to transfer the message more clearly. The selection
and application of proper translation techniques determines how well the text
is translated. A great difference is found between the applications of ‘A'
technique instead of 'B' in rendering the message of some culturally bounded
text. Thus, the translator's knowledge of translation techniques determines the
quality of translation and conversely, the quality of text in rendering the
message accurately shows the capacity of the translator to render it out.
3.4 Compensating
the Meaning Loss in Translation
As the two languages and
cultures are not the same, it is natural and common to have (to exist) a
meaning gap in translation. Furthermore, cultural texts have more loss of
meaning in comparison to the translation of other types of texts. What is
important is how to deal with those losses to better the translation. Literary
translation is the translation of different literary texts which always seems
to be expressive. It is the dynamics of the individual act of reading as well
as the virtue of the literary work of art being absorbed to its cultural
heritage. This is why, it assumes a degree of independence and stability which
in turn, creates gaps while translating. The loss of meaning in translation is
serious and problematic however, not so challenging as the barrier to convey
the message. That is, there are some ways to compensate the meaning loss in
translation. The main ones that the translator has used in translation have
been discussed in brief below:
3.4.1 Definition
Definition makes the text
linguistically transparent so that it becomes intelligible to its target
readers. It further clarifies meaning and makes the translation simple. It is
one of the techniques of translation mostly suitable in case of the literary
texts having cultural values. In the translation of the novel the translator
has defined so many terms to clarify the meaning to the target language readers
such as- bhauju, the elder brother’s sister (???) (Wife).
3.4.2 Addition
The translator adds some items in translation to make the TL
rendering transparent, clear and intelligible; mostly in case of the items
having complex literature with cultural terminologies. While describing about
teej, the translator has added some more concepts to clarify its meaning.
3.4.3 Deletion
Deletion in translation is due
to the structural/linguistic gap. It also occurs if the text is so complex or
the items to be translated are redundant. It creates meaning gaps as well as
solves the problems that arise due to the gap of meaning.
3.4.4 Substitution
Some cultural texts having the
universal reference of meaning can be substituted to each other. It helps the
translator to overcome the problems of gaps of meaning. But the translator has
not used this technique while translating.
3.4.5 Transliteration
It helps preserve the meaning in
case of having no equivalence of the SL terminology in the TL at all. The terms
like- angeri, angenu, banko, thuli, baidar etc. have been just transliterated.
3.5 Overall
Interpretation
The conveying of the message of
any text is completely based on the application of the appropriate translation
techniques. The intensity of cultural flavour of the terminologies determines
the choice of techniques to the translator. Unless transforming the message of
cultural words is central to the comprehension, the rendering becomes
worthless. Faithfulness is important for comprehensibility and transferring a
message correlating the source text. How good a translation in terms of
transfer of meaning, intelligibility, transfer of cultural message,
faithfulness and source text correlation is mainly determined by how able is
the translator to select the appropriate techniques to translate the text? The
deeply rooted cultural words having no sense of equivalence in target language
are generally deleted in translation both to avoid redundancy and to save
translation from mistranslating the message of the text. The literal
translation is used as the best technique of translating most of the culturally
bound words however, the selection and utilization of the same technique does
not seem leading to the same equivalence in target language and vice-versa.
The information presented in the
following table shows the overall status of meaning loss in the translation of
the novel Basain:
|
Sr. No.
|
Status of Meaning Loss
|
Examples
|
||
|
Case
|
Number
|
%
|
||
|
1
|
Complete Meaning Loss
|
4
|
18.18
|
1) Maina touched Dhane’s feet with her head and stood up.
|
|
2) She is dying to go, anyway.
|
||||
|
3) There’s no sindur in my hair, and I am not wearing a bead
necklace, can’t you see?
|
||||
|
4) We must cut Dhane off from sharing our water; we don’t know
who did this or what he was.
|
||||
|
2
|
Partial Meaning Loss
|
11
|
50
|
1) Dhane got up, went to the fire place meaning loss took out a
glowing ember from the ashes, and lit a stub of tobacco wrapped in an ãgerī
leaf.
|
|
2) If anything goes wrong, I’ll
lose the oxen and everything else as well.
|
||||
|
3) She helps her husband’s
sister to wash the pots and to mill and pound the grain.
|
||||
|
4) Teej had just taken its leave of the women of Nepalese
society.
|
||||
|
5) These streams bring life to the khet field in the valley
below.
|
||||
|
6) With one voice, the council judged in the baidar’s favor and authorized him to take away Dhane’s oxen and buffalo.
|
||||
|
7) And she remembered that once Jhuma had mentioned that her
monthly dharma had stopped.
|
||||
|
8) The path forked at Bagedanda.
|
||||
|
9) The old folk said that an old woman of the forest lived on
these cliffs.
|
||||
|
10) The next morning, all the big man of the village gathered in
Nande’s yard to decide Dhane’s fate.
|
||||
|
11) Every object in there-the millstone and the husking machine,
and even the beams, pillars and roof pole- gave her plenty to remember...
|
||||
|
3
|
Meaning Deviation
|
2
|
9.09
|
1) Hariram! The price of the buffalo is 120 rupees; the interest
must be delivered to Harriram’s house at the end of every month.
|
|
2) It seems that bankale has got it.
|
||||
|
4
|
Meaning Unclear
|
4
|
18.18
|
1) He works hard, he is industrious
|
|
2) lulu! Drive them up from behind, thuli.
|
||||
|
3) One day in the middle of Magh, Jhuma had gone into the forest
to cut some fodder.
|
||||
|
4) They say he left in Phagun -22.
|
||||
|
5
|
Mistranslation
|
1
|
4.54
|
1) Bhauju (Bhauju: elder brother’s sister), the food’s ready.
Would you serve the meal today?
|
|
Total
|
22
|
100
|
|
|
4. Findings
The
major findings of the study have been listed in the points as below:
a) Twenty two different cases of meaning loss have been
found in the translation of Basain. However, the loss of meaning has a variety
of nature. In some instances, it was found that the meaning was lost partially
and in some other cases the meaning was lost completely and in some more cases
the meaning was deviated/mistranslated as well.
b) As the instances of meaning loss are concerned, the
following status of the loss of meaning is found:
·
Complete meaning loss: 18.18%
·
Partial meaning loss: 50%
·
Meaning Deviations: 9.09%
·
Meaning unclear: 18.18%
·
Mistranslation: 4.54%
c) The study has explored some
causes of the loss of meaning to occur in translation. Some of the major causes
were pointed out as below:
·
Cultural gap (case-8/12)
·
Deletion (case-10)
·
Negligence of the translator (case-7)
·
Lack of functional equivalence (cases-18/20/21/22)
·
Lack of co-cultural and socio-cultural knowledge of
the translator (cases-6/7/9/14/15/19)
·
Over generalization of the meaning (cases-3/13)
·
Carelessness of the translator (case-4)
·
Incomplete linguistic knowledge (of the SL) of the
translator (case-5)
·
Transliteration (cases-11/16/17)
d) It has been found that the quality of translation is determined by
the selection and the application of the proper translation techniques. It also
depends upon how competent and familiar the translator is with the SL culture
and the message to render into the TL.
e) As a whole, following techniques have been found
effective to compensate the meaning loss in translation:
·
Definition
·
Addition
·
Deletion
·
Substitution
·
Transliteration
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Loss of Meaning in Translation: The Case Study of a Nepali Novel ‘Basain’
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