LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 19:11 November 2019
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Lessons from Translation of a Historical Novel from
Tamil to English

Rajendran Sankaravelayuthan


Courtesy: Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalki_Krishnamurthy

Abstract

Historical novel is a novel that has as its setting a period of history and that attempts to convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with realistic detail and fidelity (which is in some cases only apparent fidelity) to historical fact. The work may deal with actual historical personages, or it may contain a mixture of fictional and historical characters. The historical novel Ponniyin Selvan taken for our analysis is a mixture of fictional and historical characters. The events are also both historical and fictional. Translating such a historical novel is a challenge for the translator. Arguably, the barriers to translation of the historical novel from Tamil to English are even higher since the challenges are many which include taking the readers not only to a new language situation but also to a period in the past. Before resorting to translation, the translator has to be sure that the novel to be translated meets the exacting standards of native English readers of historical fiction.

The translator Indra Neelameggham who translated the first part of Ponniyin Selvan has done her job with meticulous care. The translated version can be taken as a model to those who resort to translation of historical novels. The strategies adopted by Indra Neelamggham to make her venture palatable to English readers are highly commendable. So, it is worth attempting to learn lessons from her translated work.

Keywords: Ponniyin Selvan, Kalki Krishnamurthi, fiction translation, standards, linguistic criteria, stylistic criteria, translational criteria, strategies, retention, compromising, adhering, clarification, over statements, wrong statements, under statements, mismatches, omission.

1. Introduction

The writer Kalki is known for writing novels in Tamil based on history. A few of them are Sivakamiyin Sabadam, Partipan Kanavu, and Ponniyin Selvan. Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Ponniyin Selvan excels all his other novels and attracts the readers till now. It has all the ingredients of a historical novel say historical events, love, friendship, enmity, conspiracy, vengeance and war including the style. The narration takes you to the period of the events depicted in the novel. The style is vivid and interesting. The Part first of Ponniyin Selvan is translated into English by Indra Neelameggham in 1990. Another English version of Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan has been rendered by H. Subhalakshmi Narayanan in 2016. The present study is based on Indra Neelamggham’s English version of Ponniyin Selvan. The paper is not intended to evaluate the translation but to understand the strategies adopted by the translator for the successful translation of the historic novel Ponniyin Selvan in Tamil into English. It tries to explore the lessons or the strategies a translator can learn from such venture.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Rajendran Sankaravelayuthan
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Coimbatore 641 112
rajushush@gmail.com
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