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Introduction
problematizes O. V. Vijayan’s novel translations in this new global locality. This is a new aspect
that is gaining focus in the field of world literary translation studies. Hence this is an attempt to
initiate fresh discussions on the link between translation and globalization in the translations by
New Canonization
Translations and globalization attempt to remove cultural-lingual barriers but with different
new culture and language where as globalization is to reduce the differences in the different
cultures as well as the languages. Thus the ‘glocal village’ demands new connotations for
Translations. A text can be written in a more foreignized/ eroticized manner due to the
translator in the postcolonial era is more distinctive one with its cultural denotations along with
the linguistic demands. The translator has the power to construct the image of the literature as
well as the culture within the evolving global context. Translation is a process of rewriting of the
lingo-cultural representations into another, which always entails an unstable relationship in terms
of the power which one culture may exercise over another. With its political-ideological
discursive mission the translation process forces the translator as a social agent with an explicit
ideological positioning. Within these contexts the current discussion is to find out the
This study starts with an assumption that Vijayan is a translocator of the ‘subject’ both as the
doer (subject) and the dependent (object) according to the different contexts of translation. It is
to re- site his new role as a translocator in its local connotation as a subject of his art as well as in
its global connotation as the objects of his art from the perspectives of a native user of the Source
language, who can easily recognize the lapses or additions or even the rewriting of concepts
undertaken by the author/ translator, a kind of attempt- translating the translator. Through
foreignness of the Target text; however globalization decreases the element of foreignness, by
keeping more of the source text in the translation, i.e., create a target text that is less foreign for
the source culture. In this context the re- positioning the author and his works demands a search
for the relevance of existing tools used in the available translated text(s) and the new measures
O. V. Vijayan is a “transcreator” of his own works like the Nobel laureate Tagore which
shows his ability to preserve the meaning and imagery of the original with the nuances of the
target language. However for him so much has been lost in the translation and there was no way
it could have been salvaged. The translated title for Dharmapuraanam as Saga of Dharmapuri is
just an example to illustrate the difficulty of translating the different resonances and the
languages are far removed from each other as cultural experiences. Here the enquiry extends to
his attraction towards the “political hegemony” of the English language too.
Foreignization/ Exoticization
The globalization has tremendously helped to facilitate the task of the translator by way
cultures to collaborate and interact with flexibility. Translation is the key to understanding and
learning foreign cultures. On the other hand globalization a killer of other languages and
cultures, too.
Among the two translating strategies: domestication and foreignization, Venuti considers
foreign text to the target language cultural values. This entails translating in a transparent, fluent,
invisible style in order to minimize the foreignness of the target text. But Foreignization,
developing a translation method that excluded by the dominant cultural values in the target
language, an ethno- deviant pressure on target language cultural values to register the linguistic
and cultural difference of the foreign text, sending the reader abroad, an effort to restrain the
translation style designed to make visible the persistence of the translator by highlighting the
foreign identity of the source text and protecting it from the ideological dominance of the target
culture. Later on Venuti came with another term “minoritizing” translation, to cultivate a varied
and heterogeneous discourse, a deliberate inclusion of foreignizing elements in a bid to make the
translator visible and to make the reader realize that he is reading a translation of the work from
a foreign culture. Foreignization is close by adheres to the source text structure and syntax.
In the context of globalization the text can be written in a more foreignizing/ eroticizing
manner. There is a relatively new trend wherein culturally bound elements (some, one might say,
untranslatable), are not translated. This trend contributes to learning and understanding foreign
cultures, which makes it more exotic and thus more interesting for those who want to learn more
about the culture in question. Eventually, these new words may find their way into target
language dictionaries.
As a Translator Vijayan has brought three options for his attempt of Translocating the
Malayalee ethos: adopting the foreign word without any explanation (see the name ‘Appu Kili’);
adopting the foreign word with extensive explanation; rewriting the text to make it more
comprehensible to the- target language audience(see the titles such as The Legends of Khasak;
instead of its Malayalam title; Khasakinte Ithihasm or “The Saga of Dharmapuri”; originally it is
Conclusion
In its Postcolonial terms, translation has sometimes been used by dominated natives to
form a resistance in the face of hegemonic cultural assaults. For Vijayan, it is also a same kind of
resistance. It is just a damaging instrument of the colonizers to impose their language and use
translation to construct a distorted image of the suppressed people which served to reinforce the
hierarchal structure of the colony. The fixity elements in the source language and its components
as well as flexibility in the target language and its nuances are important in translation. O. V.
Vijayan brought out his texts into English, as reward to the target a new aesthetical sensibility.
Through that he translocated his subjectivity into the target language. So this is a foray into
Vijayan’s re- citations, and is re- sites their significance within the arena of globalization as well
as postcolonialism.
This synopsis-summary is prepared for the doctoral committee interview held on 6th Jan 2008 by Thomas Zachariah.