Translation Is Not Only Language Problems

Brian Friel is a well-known Irish dramatist. His writing career ranges from the 1960s to the 1990s. During this period, he created many works which draw world-wide attention and bring him large popularity. His dramas reflect Irish politics and culture truly and profoundly. This thesis paper aims to discuss his representative work Translations, which is considered to be the culmination of his career. The drama is set in the 1830s, a decade before the Great Famine. It has two threads, one is the coming of the Ordnance Survey and the other is the establishment of the National School. The main plot happens in the hedge school master Hugh's home, and the struggle within the family reflects the struggle of the community. Through its story and conflicts, the play presents the erosion of Irish language and culture under the powerful invasion of English colonizers as its theme. Starting from language analysis, this paper discusses Translations'implied historical, political and cultural meanings. During the process of being colonized, English became the symbol of wealth and success, meanwhile, Gaelic represented poverty and low position. Then common Irish people had a preference for English because they believed this language could bring them a better future. Under the economic and military pressure, Gaelic was nibbled by English. And the Irish people's indifference to their own mother tongue deteriorated the Gaelic language. Politically speaking, Irish people lost the power of discourse and the right to name their own land, they became the "other" in their homeland. The characters in the play make different choices under the context of colonization, but they face the identity confusion and none of them can master his destiny. Friel grew up in Northern Ireland, and the continuous conflicts there made him see politics as part of the conflicts instead of a solution to the problems. In the play, "translation" contains multiplied meanings. It not only reveals the language's political connotation, but also its cultural profundity. Language and culture are closely related to each other, so the English colonizers tried to control Irish culture through language invasion. The repeated appearance of ancient Latin and Greek puts Ireland in the western cultural tradition. Though the play is set in a remote Irish village, it reflects the historical and present situation of the whole colonized world. The multiplied meanings in Translations demonstrate the drama's profundity and universality, thus arouse people's deep reflection.