Lucknow: Every language has a soul and spirit of its own. It is impregnated with millions of stories and myths of the land from where it originates while translation is an art that bridges the gap between two different lands and their cultures.
Highlighting the vivid cultural moorings of different languages, noted linguist and Professor Emeritus at Lucknow University Sabra Habib on Sunday spoke about how literary translation is a carrier of the cultural messages during the third day of the Begum Fest at Salempur house.
Habib started by offering praises towards Urdu and how it has transcended the geographic and linguistic boundaries to influence the literature of Europe and beyond.
“When I went to Russia and recited a Nazm, people there were fascinated with that. I was asked which language I was speaking and when I said it was Urdu they were left in awe. Then I began translating Urdu literature in Russian and that stirred the curiosity of people to know about the language and the culture it embodied,” she said.
Habib further expounded that when two languages interact, and their works are translated, it aids in the evolution of literature. And in many cases even give birth to a syncretic language or dialect.
“The famous greeting of Lucknow—Adab—is a classic example of that,” she added. The interaction of the languages, however, is easier said than done. When one attempts to read literature from a distant land in a foreign language, they are immediately struck by the sheer oddity and strangeness of the words. And that’s where the translators come in to bridge the gap and bring two distinct cultures together.
“Translators have the job to do justice to the spirit of the language and the emotions of the author. To translate the works of Pushkin, Maxim Gorky, Keats, and Shelley, one has to understand how they used words to convey grief and pain, joy and pleasure, life, and death,” she pointed out.
‘For instance, winters in India are pleasant. But in Russia, they are punishingly harsh. The Opposite is true for summers. Thus, the use of the word cold there is symbolic of pain and suffering, while summer resembles merrier times.
These subtleties are very important to focus on when translating, otherwise, we’ll end up ruining the piece of art and do gross injustice to its creator,” she added.
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Highlighting the vivid cultural moorings of different languages, noted linguist and Professor Emeritus at Lucknow University Sabra Habib on Sunday spoke about how literary translation is a carrier of the cultural messages during the third day of the Begum Fest at Salempur house.
Habib started by offering praises towards Urdu and how it has transcended the geographic and linguistic boundaries to influence the literature of Europe and beyond.
“When I went to Russia and recited a Nazm, people there were fascinated with that. I was asked which language I was speaking and when I said it was Urdu they were left in awe. Then I began translating Urdu literature in Russian and that stirred the curiosity of people to know about the language and the culture it embodied,” she said.
Habib further expounded that when two languages interact, and their works are translated, it aids in the evolution of literature. And in many cases even give birth to a syncretic language or dialect.
“The famous greeting of Lucknow—Adab—is a classic example of that,” she added. The interaction of the languages, however, is easier said than done. When one attempts to read literature from a distant land in a foreign language, they are immediately struck by the sheer oddity and strangeness of the words. And that’s where the translators come in to bridge the gap and bring two distinct cultures together.
“Translators have the job to do justice to the spirit of the language and the emotions of the author. To translate the works of Pushkin, Maxim Gorky, Keats, and Shelley, one has to understand how they used words to convey grief and pain, joy and pleasure, life, and death,” she pointed out.
‘For instance, winters in India are pleasant. But in Russia, they are punishingly harsh. The Opposite is true for summers. Thus, the use of the word cold there is symbolic of pain and suffering, while summer resembles merrier times.
These subtleties are very important to focus on when translating, otherwise, we’ll end up ruining the piece of art and do gross injustice to its creator,” she added.
We also published the following articles recently
GU signs MoU to promote translations
The Goa University signed an MoU with a Pune-based translation company to train faculty and students. The MoU allows for translation services for documents and videos. The Union Ministry of Education emphasizes translation in regional languages and translating technical terms into modern Indian languages.
The Goa University signed an MoU with a Pune-based translation company to train faculty and students. The MoU allows for translation services for documents and videos. The Union Ministry of Education emphasizes translation in regional languages and translating technical terms into modern Indian languages.
Explained: What is Bhashini, the real-time translation tool that PM Narendra Modi used
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used Bhashini, a real-time Artificial Intelligence-based translation tool during a speech at Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi. Bhashini is an AI-tool designed to break the language barrier in India. It uses AI, NLP, and crowdsourcing to gather data and teach it different languages. The tool aims to simplify language diversity by offering real-time translation and allowing developers to build tools, apps, and services in native languages. Bhashini is accessible through an online platform that fosters an inclusive ecosystem and encourages crowdsourcing initiatives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used Bhashini, a real-time Artificial Intelligence-based translation tool during a speech at Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi. Bhashini is an AI-tool designed to break the language barrier in India. It uses AI, NLP, and crowdsourcing to gather data and teach it different languages. The tool aims to simplify language diversity by offering real-time translation and allowing developers to build tools, apps, and services in native languages. Bhashini is accessible through an online platform that fosters an inclusive ecosystem and encourages crowdsourcing initiatives.
“Human rights, culture, language, heritage being killed in PoK,” says rights activist Arif Aajikia
Arif Aajikia, a former MQM member and human rights activist from Karachi, highlights the erosion of human rights in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), particularly the diminishing cultural, linguistic, and heritage aspects. He emphasizes the disparities between PoK and Jammu and Kashmir, including the lack of progress and prosperity in PoK compared to the Union Territory. Aajikia also addresses issues such as prolonged load shedding, expensive electricity rates, water scarcity, demographic changes, lack of educational institutions and employment opportunities in PoK. He asserts that Article 370 is an internal matter of India and raises concerns about the lands occupied by Pakistan and China, including Aksai Chin.
Arif Aajikia, a former MQM member and human rights activist from Karachi, highlights the erosion of human rights in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), particularly the diminishing cultural, linguistic, and heritage aspects. He emphasizes the disparities between PoK and Jammu and Kashmir, including the lack of progress and prosperity in PoK compared to the Union Territory. Aajikia also addresses issues such as prolonged load shedding, expensive electricity rates, water scarcity, demographic changes, lack of educational institutions and employment opportunities in PoK. He asserts that Article 370 is an internal matter of India and raises concerns about the lands occupied by Pakistan and China, including Aksai Chin.