Taylor Belleville

Eng-L 204

Professor Walters

October 30, 2017

A Close Reading of Translations in Translations

In Brian Friel’s play Translations, a cultural gap and language barrier exist between his

two main sets of characters: the Englishmen and the Irishmen. Between these two groups, one

character, Owen, overlaps and serves as the translator for their conversations. While other

characters begin to gain knowledge of the other language throughout the play, Owen serves as

the primary translator and therefore is given much power in how he chooses to translate and

mediate interactions between these two groups. Owen has a tendency through the play to serve as

an “unfaithful translator” – meaning that he purposefully omits or adds things to his translations

to make both parties more amicable towards each other.

Owen exhibits this unfaithful translating during the first meeting of his bosses and his

friends and family from home. When Lancey and Yolland begin to describe their reasoning for

being in Ireland and what they are to be doing, Owen purposefully omits many of the finer

details of their work and spins the situation to look more favorable than it actually is. When

Lancey states on page 340 that: “This enormous task has been embarked on so that the military

authorities will be equipped with up-to-date and accurate information on every corner of this part

of the empire.” Owen translate this statement as “The job is being done by soldiers because they

are skilled in this work.” There are obvious discontinuities between these two statements, and

Owen purposefully does this to reassure his loved ones will react positively towards his bosses

and not question what they are doing. By smoothing over the harsher details of their mapping
Taylor Belleville

Eng-L 204

Professor Walters

October 30, 2017

process, Owen ensures that his job will be able to get completed without any interruptions from

his fellow Irishmen.

In conclusion, Owen takes on the role of the unfaithful translator in order to benefit

himself and terminate any conflict that may have arisen between both parties that he is affiliated

with.