Mad Woman in the Attic

George Steiner characterized the history of translation until Jakobson/structuralism, as “a constant rehashing of the same formal versus free theoretical distinction. Early translation theories used concepts like “literariness”, “primary”, “secondary”, “estrangement”, which reveal the hierarchical nature of a culture. Thus, translation always has been a device in the hands of the canon and victimized by the canon for its own purposes (post colonial theory critiques in the same manner). It is imperative to remember that all theories of translation evolved reflected the political and social turmoil of the age. The ages have reflected theories of translation. It was not until the 60’s that translation as a scientific activity was thought of. Translation was a marginal activity. But with the North American Translation Workshop, the practice of literary translation got recognition as alternate value systems. Scholars as Ted Hughes and Jonas Zydnas, the propagators of the workshop m...

Literature has always been indebted to translation throughout history; most of the classics have had to be translated from their original language into major European languages. A brief history of the evolution of the translation studies and its theories helps to widen the scope of linguistic studies and exert tremendous influences. The Romans translated the well-known Greek classics, with Cicero and Horace as the first theorists. The Romans permitted the use of new words in translations, because they too aimed at enriching their own literary tradition. They did made a significant distinction between ‘word for word’ translation and ‘sense for sense’ translation. The Bible was translated into vernacular languages in Europe in the sixteenth century. The translators of Bible aimed at both intelligibility and a gratifying style. The renaissance style was that of creative appropriation. Wyatt’s translations of Petrarch’s sonnets have an immediate impact on the readers with a very con...