Volume 9, Issue 1, 2015
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1.
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Marking Words with
Part-of-Speech (POS) Tags within Text Boundary of a Corpus: the Problems, the Process
and the Outcomes.
Author(s): Niladri Sekhar Dash
Pages: 5-24
Published: 2015
Abstract
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Marking Words with Part-of-Speech (POS) Tags within Text Boundary of a Corpus: the
Problems, the Process and the Outcomes
NILADRI SEKHAR DASH
Abstract
A natural language text stored in a corpus database in electronic version can be
tagged at the part-of-speech (POS) level manually or automatically. In both cases,
it has to be done carefully starting with the lowest level of hierarchy of tagset
meticulously devised for a language or a language group. Once the lower level tag
is selected and assigned to words, the higher level tags will be automatically identified
and assigned. Although tagging of words may be done with a focus on the part-of-speech
of words used in a piece of text, the long term goals should also be envisaged for
developing a generic scheme that may be useful for incorporating various kinds of
linguistic information easily at the later stages of text annotation. This paper
argues for taking a judicious decision for tagging words with different types of
information within a text following the universally accepted principles, maxims
and rules adopted for part-of-speech tagging. It describes the strategies, rules
and methods adopted for manual tagging of a Bengali written text corpus at the part-of-speech
level following the guidelines and methods proposed in the Bureau of Indian Standard
(BIS) suitable for the language.
Keywords: Part-of-speech Tagging, Metadata, Tagged Words.
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Dash, Niladri Sekhar. 2015. Marking Words with Part-of-Speech (POS) Tags within
Text Boundary of a Corpus: the Problems, the Process and the Outcomes. Translation
Today, Vol. 9 (1). 5-24.
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2.
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What Unites India?:
On the Role of Translation and Culture in Producing the Nation.
Author(s): Sushumna Kannan Pages: 25-55
Published: 20120156
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What Unites India?: On the Role of Translation and Culture in Producing the Nation
SUSHUMNA KANNAN
Abstract
The Two-Worlds theory is a specific result of postcolonial grids of thought that
provoke us to rethink the role of English as opposed to that of the vernacular languages
of India. All too often, arguments take the form of defending the vernacular and
questioning the role of English. Significantly enough, a connection is drawn between
the role of English and its function as a proxy for nationalism. This paper examines
the theoretical frameworks that articulate such connections and raises some questions
with regard to the Two-Worlds theory in Literary and Translation Studies, while
charting the current intellectual milieu. Methodologically, the paper discusses
underlying assumptions about concepts of culture, nationalism, colonialism and Orientalism.
Keywords:Nation, Postcolonialism, Two-Worlds Theory, IWE, Indian Literature.
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Kannan, Sushumna. 2015. What Unites India?: On the Role of Translation and Culture
in Producing the Nation1. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 25-55.
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3.
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Inequality of Languages
and the Question of Choice in Translation.
Author(s): Debarshi Nath
Pages: 56-67
Published: 2015
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Inequality of Languages and the Question of Choice in Translation
DEBARSHI NATH
Abstract
The paper looks at the practice of translation in the context of the continuing
cultural-linguistic hegemony of the West. Drawing on insights presented by Talal
Asad and Prasenjit Gupta, the paper looks at the different manifestations of inequality
that are obvious in the process of translation. The paper contends that translation
studies as a discipline must take into account the socio-political context of literature
and engage in greater self-reflexivity. Finally, the paper pleads for an ethical
turn in translation practices.
Keywords:Translation, Politics, Globalization, Language, Power.
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Nath, Debarshi. 2015. Inequality of Languages and the Question of Choice in Translation.
Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 56-67.
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4.
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Re-texting as Translation:
A Study Based on Ramayana Translations in India.
Author(s): Sreedevi K. Nair
Pages: 68-76
Published: 2015
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Re-texting as Translation: A Study Based on Ramayana Translations in India
SREEDEVI K. NAIR
Abstract
The purpose of this article is twofold. The first is to draw attention to a category
of texts like Sita Dukham which position themselves between original texts and translations
– just below original creations and much above translations (translation is used
here in its restricted sense of linguistic transfer). The second is to analyze the
process of re-texting which results in the formation of such texts, to establish
the validity of this process and to mark its contours. The article is consequently
organized in two parts. The first part fixes the context of the study and details
the special aspects of the selected text, namely Sita Dukham. The second section
discusses the process of re-texting.
Keywords: Literary Tradition, Sita Dukham, Re-Texts, Re-Texting, Seed Texts.
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Nair, Sreedevi K. 2015. Re-texting as Translation: A Study Based on Ramayana Translations
in India. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 68-76.
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5.
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Philosophical Affinity
between Tagore and Sufi Poets of Iran.
Author(s): Niaz Ahmed Khan Pages: 77-92
Published: 2015
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Philosophical Affinity between Tagore and Sufi Poets of Iran
NIAZ AHMED KHAN
Abstract
Abstract India and Iran have centuries’ old bond of socio-cultural, philosophical
and mystical pursuits firmly deep rooted in the socio-ethical lives of both the
countries. They have ever been a potential breeding ground for spiritual endeavours
and philosophical reflections. With the advent of Islam there upon the genesis and
development of Sufi movement in Iran side by side the Bhakti movement here in India
brought both the nations close to each other to interact and share their spiritual
gains. These two countries produced many luminaries throughout the ages immemorial.
Among them Hafiz, Rumi in Iran and Tagore in India outshined their predecessors
in their philosophical outlook and humanistic approach. The present article is a
humble attempt to trace, find out and correlate the thread of common elements much
pertinent to their works.
Keywords: Mysticism, Humanism and Philosophy.
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"Khan, Niaz Ahmed. 2015. Philosophical Affinity between Tagore and Sufi Poets of
Iran. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 77-92. "
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6.
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Reading the Eighth
Schedule – As a Text on Multilingualism.
Author(s): Shakira Jabeen .B Pages: 93-112
Published: 2015
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Reading the Eighth Schedule – As a Text on Multilingualism
SHAKIRA JABEEN .B
Abstract
Abstract This paper attempts to read the VIII Schedule (ES) of the Constitution
of India. This is an attempt to find out the criterion for entry into the VIII Schedule
and the incentives offered to the languages that are listed. The paper attempts
to capture the implications of this Schedule on the multiple languages of India.
The paper endeavors to find the underlying vision behind enlisting languages under
this Schedule. This hermeneutic study of an appendage of our Constitution begins
with the hypothesis that the VIII Schedule reflects the multilingual mind set of
the people of India in general and the framers of the Constitution in particular.
The text is the VIII Schedule. Primary and secondary sources are referred to read
the text. The method is based on both inductive and deductive logic.
Keywords: Eighth schedule, Indian languages, Multilingualism.
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B, Shakira Jabeen. 2015. Reading the Eighth Schedule – As a Text on Multilingualism.
Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 93-112.
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7.
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Issues of Reader
in Translation Studies: A case of Dawn of Dreams.
Author(s): Md. Rizwan Khan
Pages: 113-131
Published: 2015
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Issues of Reader in Translation Studies: A case of Dawn of Dreams
MD. RIZWAN KHAN
Abstract
The reader response paradigms in the last century have rendered radical interpretations
and theorizations to the literary pursuits. The culmination of the same was witnessed
in the death of the author. The reader’s issues have always also held a significant
position in the deliberations of translated studies. But the translations studies
have always been approached through the positions of translation as a process wherein
lay the translator’s connection and role exposed to analyses with an assumption
of that the reader is position and involvement is fully understood and correctly
estimated by the theorists. But this positioning of the reader does not emerge through
verifiable sources which is not the case with reader response practices.The present
paper takes up this insufficient positioning of the reader in the translation studies
through the analysis of Dawn of Dreams which is Mehr Afshan Faruqi’s translation
of Abdus Samad’s Urdu novel Khwabon Ka Savera. The paper surveys the theories and
paradigms of translation studies and reader-response in order to foreground the
need for a strengthened and proactive interface between the two. For the paper a
survey was conducted among the readers and responses were solicited through a questionnaire.
The findings, suggestions and conclusion supplicate the research questions wherein
lay the need to signify the reader’s role in translation studies.
Keywords: Readers, Dawn of Dreams, Translation.
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"Khan, Md. Rizwan. 2015. Issues of Reader in Translation Studies: A case of Dawn
of Dreams. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 113-131. "
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8.
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An Introduction
to the World of Monoranjan Byapari with a Translated Excerpt from Itibritte Chandal
Jiban (Prathama Khanda).
Author(s): Sayantan Mondal Pages: 132-147
Published: 2015
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An Introduction to the World of Monoranjan Byapari with a Translated Excerpt from
Itibritte Chandal Jiban (Prathama Khanda)
SAYANTAN MONDAL
Abstract
Can an introduction to a text become an appeal, a warning or perhaps a statement
on its own? Can it become a site of foregrounding certain uncertainties which the
text stands for? This is an attempt of such an introduction to a world of words
and actions, to a life which can hardly find a parallel. The paper proposes to do
so by taking out three aspects of Monoranjan Byapari’s writing. First, it attempts
to delve into the recent debate about the primacy of identity politics and by not
trying to be judgemental about this seemingly never-ending debate, this paper will
try to reflect upon it from the perspective of the novelist Monoranjan Byapari’s
world. Second, this paper will focus on the complexity of identity itself by taking
registered clues in the writing of Byapari where instead of the restriction of a
single tone what looms large is a spectrum of identity and a man’s breaking into
all of them equally. And third, this paper will be an attempt to dissuade attempts
of easy linear meaning making by dissecting layers of linguistic complexity that
crowds Byapari’s world of letters and imagination.
Keywords: Introduction, Monoranjan Byapari, Itibritte Chandal Jiban.
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Mondal, Sayantan. 2015. An Introduction to the World of Monoranjan Byapari. Translation
Today, Vol. 9 (1). 132-147.
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9.
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Filling in the
Blank.
Author(s): Divya Pradhan Pages: 148-156
Published: 2015
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Filling in the Blank
DIVYA PRADHAN
Abstract
Minority communities tend to draw a blank in the national imagination. The paper
explores the problems of identity crisis and the use of translation to mitigate
it. A translated text like Gorkha’s Imagined: I.B.Rai in Translation, becomes a
means of communicating with the ‘Other’ through literature the visibility of the
Nepali community of India and thereby placing it as an integral part of the Indian
nation. For the unrecognized minority, narrating becomes of fundamental importance.
Translation and communication of minority texts is instrumental in restructuring
the asymmetrical power relations among nations in India.
Keywords: Minority community, Gorkha’s Imagined: I.B.Rai in Translation,
Translation
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Pradhan, Divya. 2015. Filling in the Blank. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 148-156.
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10.
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Translating the
Qur’ān: An Analysis of Discourse on Hijāb in Selected English Translations.
Author(s): Ubaid. VPC Pages: 157-177
Published: 2015
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Translating the Qur’ān: An Analysis of Discourse on Hijāb in Selected English Translations
UBAID. VPC
Abstract
Translation of a text from its original language to another requires not only great
skill in both languages, but also in depth knowledge of the background and culture
as well. A scripture, particularly the Qur’ān, which proclaims itself as a linguistic
marvel, presents a higher level of difficulty. Translating Qur’ān is different from
all other texts and scriptures. The Words of God cannot be presented in any human
language and it is difficult to have the formal and dynamic equivalence. A comparative
analysis of different versions of translation of the Qur’ānic verse Al Nūr 24:31
related to Hijāb is attempted here. The selected translations for the study are
those rendered by Yusuf Ali (apologetic and pseudo-rational), Hilali and Muhsin
Khan (salafi), Abul Ala Maududi (traditional), Muhammad Asad (apologetic) and Tarif
Khalidi (modern). The paper aims to explore the differences of translating the selected
verse in five representative English translations. The paper looks at the various
aspects of translation like ideological insertion, discourse and translation, culture
and translation and formal and dynamic equivalence.
Keywords: The Qur’ān, English Translations, Discourse on Hijāb
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"VPC, Ubaid. 2015. Translating the Qur’ān: An Analysis of Discourse on Hijāb in
Selected English Translations. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 157-177. "
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Between Being Readable
and Being a “Translation”: A Study of Dawn of Dreams.
Author(s): M. Sridhar and Alladi Uma Pages: 178-186
Published: 2015
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Reading the Ao-Naga Folksongs: Rewriting the Custom of Head Taking
M. SRIDHAR AND ALLADI UMA
Abstract
How do we as translators who do not know the “original” language, Urdu perceive
Dawn of Dreams? To us then the English text becomes the “original”. How then do
we look at the author of the Urdu text, Abdus Samad and the translator/ author of
the English text, Mehr Afshan Farooqi? Are we to look only at the themes in the
text and their relevance to contemporary India? Abdus Samad wrote the book in 1991.
Mehr Afshan Farooqi translated it in 2001. We are given to understand that she has
edited the text, even omitting chapters. We cannot but read the text aware of this
fact and wondering what has been left out and why. Would her choice have been determined
by notions of readability, about the balancing act of a translation being readable
and reading like a translation? Would it have been determined by her location as
a Muslim woman in the 21st century? We have no answers to these directly as we know
no Urdu. We have to depend on others’ views on these—but those are just their readings.
So we have no option but to go by the English text, even as our reading may be coloured
by other people’s views. At a time when we are bombarded with images of Muslims
being equated with terrorists, this text becomes all the more significant. The text
is not just a re-visiting of Partition, but a re-locating of Partition in the present
context. It is the translating of the experiences of Muslims who are trying even
today to assert their “national” identity. Our paper attempts to come to terms with
some of the above issues. How do we as translators who do not know the “original”
language, Urdu perceive Dawn of Dreams? To us then the English Translation becomes
the “original”. How then do we look at the author of the Urdu text, Abdus Samad
and the translator/author of the English text, Mehr Afshan Farooqi? Are we to look
only at the themes in the text and their relevance to contemporary India? Abdus
Samad wrote the book in 1991. Mehr Afshan Farooqi translated it in 2001. We are
given to understand that she has edited the text, even omitting chapters. We cannot
but read the text aware of this fact and wondering what has been left out and why.
Would her choice have been determined by notions of readability, about the balancing
act of a translation being readable and reading like a translation? Would it have
been determined by her location as a Muslim woman in the 21st century? We have no
answers to these directly as we know no Urdu. We have to depend on others’ views
on these—but those are just their readings. So we have no option but to go by the
English text, even as our reading may be coloured by other people’s views. At a
time when we are bombarded with images of Muslims being equated with terrorists,
this text becomes all the more significant. The text is not just a re-visiting of
Partition, but a re-locating of Partition in the present context. It is the translating
of the experiences of Muslims who are trying even today to assert their “national”
identity. Our paper attempts to come to terms with some of the above issues.
Keywords: Dawn of Dreams, Partition, Translation, Woman translator
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Cite this work
Sridhar. M. & Alladi Uma. 2015. Between Being Readable and Being a “Translation”:
A Study of Dawn of Dreams. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 178-186.
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The Pre-Dawn Language
of Dawn of Dreams.
Author(s): Sudhakar Marathé Pages: 187-201
Published: 2015
Abstract
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The Pre-Dawn Language of Dawn of Dreams
SUDHAKAR MARATHÉ
Abstract
There are two kinds of translations, literary translations and business, other kinds
of content related translations, such as telling someone what directions appear
on a packet of instant noodles. There may be a few instances in which the types
seem to merge. But by and large, given access to the original, one can make out
the difference beyond quibble. The second type is done only in classrooms and during
an introduction to a piece of writing or in business contexts where information
matters and nothing else does, for someone who does not know the original language.
That is a more or less literal translation, which does not have to satisfy any rigorous
linguistic criteria regarding acceptability in the target language. Communicating
the gist or a particular twist of the original is the motivation for such translation.
The first kind of translation comprises rendering a whole text with significant
human or experiential content into another language so as to become a genuine counterpart
of the original in the target language and literature. There is no doubt at all
that Dawn of Dreams aspires to become a translation of the first type. In fact it
appears that while the original Urdu novel adopts a simple and at times even literal
style of narration, the “literalness” of Dawn of Dreams is minimal and unintentional,
clearly arrived at from inability to exploit or employ idiomatic English.
Keywords: Dawn of Dreams, Novel, Translation
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Marathé, Sudhakar. 2015. The Pre-Dawn Language of Dawn of Dreams. Translation Today,
Vol. 9 (1). 187-201.
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Translation in
Odia: A Historical Survey.
Author(s): Aditya Kumar Panda
Pages: 202-226
Published: 2015
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Translation in Odia: A Historical Survey
ADITYA KUMAR PANDA
Abstract
History of translation in Odia could be studied either by surveying the major translated
works in Odia chronologically or by reflecting on the development of Odia literature
through translation socioculturally and politically, although both the approaches
are not mutually exclusive. Translation is central to the development of Odia literature
like that of any modern Indian literature. If one goes through the history of Odia
literature, one can find that the quantum of Odia literature is more through translation.
This essay deals with the historical account of the translation into Odia.
Keywords: History, Odia, Translation, Adaptation, Transcreation
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Panda, Aditya Kumar. 2015. Translation in Odia: A Historical Survey. Translation
Today, Vol. 9 (1). 202-226.
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The Tangled Mesh
of Words and Worlds: The Inbetweenness of Language in the Literature Classroom.
Author(s): Ananya Dutta Gupta Pages: 228-238
Published: 2015
Abstract
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The Tangled Mesh of Words and Worlds: The Inbetweenness of Language in the Literature
Classroom.
Ananya Dutta Gupta
Abstract
This essay examines the imperatives of the English literature classroom in a non-metropolitan
milieu and contends that bilingualism in such a setting is intellectually empowering
and helps fashion, in the true spirit of literature, the empathy between the global
and the local without which cultural cosmopolitanism is impossible. Keywords: Language
proficiency, Indian classroom, Bilingualism, Text, Pluralism, Translation
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Gupta, Ananya Dutta. 2015. The Tangled Mesh of Words and Worlds: The Inbetweenness
of Language in the Literature Classroom. Translation Today, Vol. 9 (1). 228-238.
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