Citation- “Sandamininena’- most venerable paravahera chandarathana nayaka thera

felicitation volume, International Buddhist center, Le Bourget, France (2019)

Importance of Cultural Awareness in Translation

Abstract
This paper aims at identifying the importance of culture in the process of Translation. Culture is
a complex area where a translator of any language faces obstacles. The task of the translator is to
deliver the same cultural aspects depicted in the source text to the Target Language audience or
the readers. Therefore the awareness of the culture is an essential fact in translation; whatever the
subfield it is, whether it is Literary, Religious, Legal or Technical.

1.1. Translation

Translation is a globally known mode of transmitting ideas written in one language with the use
of another. The history of the process of translation runs back to early centuries and one could
segment it as history of Asian translation, European translation, African translation etc. when
studying the history of translation, it is found that the origin of the word ‘Translation’ (English)
comes from the Latin word ‘translatio’ that means “a carrying across” or “a bringing across”1

However, the task of translation involves two languages, such as the Source Language and the
Target Language or the Destination Language. If further explained, the language of the original
text or the language you are translating from is called the Source Language (SL) and the
language you are translating into is called the Target Language (TL) or the Destination
Language. The idea that should be kept in mind is that there can be many Target Languages but
only one Source Language.

Eugine Nida defines translation as follows:

“Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the
S-1 message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style” 2
The process of translation here is identified as a reinstatement of an original work and the Source
Language message is remade through the most similar equivalent. Here, the priority is given to
the message of the Source Text. Then the style is given importance that is part and parcel with
the original.

Moreover it is worth of paying attention to Peter Newmark’s definition too:

“Translation is a craft consisting of the attempt to replace a written statement in one language by
the same message or statement in another language” 3
Newmark identifies it as a reinstatement. The priority is given to the message conveyed. He
identifies it as a ‘craft’ while realizing the artistic value of it.

Further, Goethe states that:

“Translators are like busy matchmakers who praise a half-veiled beauty as being very lovely:
they arouse an irrepressible desire for the original” 4

At the same time, The Encyclopedia of Translation Studies edited by Mona Baker gives a
detailed analysis on Translation Studies in different perspectives. As the present paper deals with
culture and translation, the following definition become important. She identifies it as a ‘process
of inter-cultural communication’:

“Translation is here conceived primarily as a process of intercultural communication, whose

end product is a text which is capable of functioning appropriately in specific situation and
context of use”5

However, one cannot say that the translation merely involves the two languages. It always
includes the people and culture of both languages. When one sees the original book and the
translation, he might think that the process of translation involves only languages, words,
grammar etc. Though physically invisible, one must not forget that the people and culture are
automatically involved in the text which is subjected to be translated.
1.2. Culture

Providing a definition to the term ‘culture’ is a complex and a tiring task just as the term and
aspects involved in it, and it is impossible to find a 100% complete and accurate definition for
the term ‘culture’. However, below given are some definitions by scholars on the concept of
‘culture’.

According to Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus (2004) culture could be defined as
follows:

“civilization, customs, lifestyle, mores, society, way of life”6

Another definition that explains the term ‘culture’ is as follows:

“the beliefs, customs, art etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time

:a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life art etc.

:a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization(such as a

business)” 7

In ‘The Text Book of Translation’ (1988) by Peter Newmark, defines culture as:

“the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular
language as its mean of expression”8

According to him, culture is unique to a particular group of people and it includes the way they
live in that society. That includes the habits, rituals, religions, behaviours and language. But the
task of language as one of the aspects of culture is vital as it acts as the mode of expression of the
said culture.

1.3. Awareness of culture in translation

Though there could be cultural references in most of the translation subfields except Science
translation, one could see and analyze the connection between culture and translation in relation
to Literary Translation, which includes novels, short stories, poetry, drama, classical prose and
poetry and biographies.

However, a translator acts as a mediator who carries the aspects and essence of the Source
Culture to the Target Culture. The place where he faces difficulties is, finding the appropriate
strategy for that task. So the translator should bridge the gap of two unknown cultures and create
the passage for the Target Readers to understand and enjoy the Source Culture as the limitations
permits.

There are different types of cultures in each and every part of the world. For example European
culture is totally different from Asian culture and Asian culture is different from African and so
on. If a translator is confronted with a task of translating a text from European culture for the
African Target Readers, he has to focus on not harming the original text and rendering the ideas
using closest approximate. There could be areas where culture shock occurs. The translator’s
task is to lessen them as far as possible.

In translating culture, the translators come across many unfamiliar words. As the researcher of
the present paper is from Sri Lanka, which is an Asian country, some examples from Sinhalese
and Tamil as well as from English could be given in presenting facts. For example words given
below are unfamiliar to a Target Audience of another culture:

Sinhalese

 Kotahalu magulǝ (age attending ceremony)

 Yakadura: (village shaman)

Tamil

 Ettuch chelǝvu (an alms giving on behalf of the dead person, taken place on the 8 th day
after the death)
 Ta:rǝdattǝm (wedding custom of pouring water to bride’s hand implying there is no
connection to her parent’s with her any more)
At these points the translator faces difficulties in translating these words. So he needs to find
information about the Source Culture, its rituals and gather sufficient information to include in
the Target Text or the Translation.

If there are equivalents in the Target Language for the Source Language words, the translator
could use them. Let us say the Source Text is in Sinhalese and going to be translated into Tamil,
so words like following might be found which have got equivalents:

Sinhalese Tamil English

Dæ:væddǝ Si:danǝm Dowry

Vashiya Vasiyam Charm/spell

But there are many instances where there are no equivalents for the Source Language cultural
word. So the translator is again in a trouble to find information to explain them and find a
strategy to explain them; whether to use notes, foot notes or a glossary. However, if there is
sufficient information the translator could do some addition to the Target Text using several
methods:

1. Using the original word in the text within inverted commas (preservation- Davies’s strategy)

and explaining the word then and there (addition- Davies’s strategy)

Eg: The children of Sirimal gave “hath dawase da:nǝyǝ” which is an alms giving occurred
on the seventh day after the death, to pass merits to the dead person in Sinhalese Buddhist
culture.

2. Using the original word in the text within inverted commas (preservation- Davies’s strategy)

and using foot notes or end notes or put it in a glossary. (addition- Davies’s strategy)

Eg: The Mula:dæ:ni1 observed the villagers working in his plantation.

A thovil2 ceremony was held to heal Nandaa, as she was affected by the evil spirits.

The Grandmother prepared kævum3 for the wedding.

 1. The Mula:dæ:ni is the village headman, who belongs to land owning village gentry
2. Thovil is a masked exorcising ceremony with dancing and chanting, which is performed
to chase away the bad evil spirits (devils) possessed by the people
3. Kævum is a sweet prepared by boiling a mixture of flour and honey, used in ceremonial
events

Moreover there are instances that the translator has to preserve the original word in the text such
as:

 Karma (action)
 Nirvana (ultimate spiritual solace described in Buddhism)

In translating idioms and phrases the translator has to have a good understanding about the
relevant culture and if there is an equivalent he could use it and if there is a similar idiom which
gives the same idea (not a word for word exact translation) he could use it. If the Target
Language lacks a similar idiom at all, the translator could explain it without using any idiom.

1.Tamil- “Intǝp pu:nayum pa:l kudikkuma:?” (This cat also drinks milk?)
Sinhala- “Upa:sakǝ balallu mi:yo denna denna allǝnǝwa” (the cats who have observed sil
(mentally and physically calmed and controlled) catch two mice at a time”

2.Tamil- “u:rukku upǝde:sǝm unakkillayadi mahǝle:” (give advice to the village but not for you
my daughter)
Sinhala- “lo:ketǝ parǝka:se gedǝrta marǝga:te”

3.Sinhala- “ekǝ galen kurullo dennai” (two birds with one stone- achieving two targets with one
attempt)
Tamil- “oru kallin rendu ma:nga:i” (two mangoes with one stone)

4.English- “Cats and dogs raining”

Sinhala- “morǝ so:rǝnǝ wessǝ” (heavy rain)
5.English- “It’s a piece of cake”
Sinhala- “kaju kanǝwa vage:” (easy task- like eating cashew)
There are some areas where the translator faces a severe difficulty whether to keep the relevant
cultural word in the text or to omit it, especially in relation to taboos and slang. For example, no
culture shocks occur for the European Target Readers when talking about sex related facts. But it
is a shock to talk it in public in Asian culture. So the translator should identify the thinking of the
Target Audience and the acceptability of such translations in certain Target Cultures.

Conclusion
Thus the translators cannot avoid culture in the process of translation. But by identifying the
Source and Target cultures and audience, the translator can decide the suitable strategy to
translate culture. Therefore the awareness of culture is quite vital in this regard.

End Notes

(1) https://en.m.wikipedi.org 02.03.2016

(2) Nida. E., Taber, (1969). The Theory and Practice of Translation. Leiden: E.J. Brill
(3) Newmark, P. (1981). Approaches to Translation. London: Pergamon.
(4) Goethe. J.W.V. In: Abe Mark Nornes. Film Quarterly.Vol.52, No.3. University of California
Press, pp.17-34
(5) Baker, Mona. (1998). (ed.) Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London and New
York: Routledge Publishers, p.3
(6) Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus (2004). Great Britain : HarperCollins publishers.
(7) https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=definition+about+culture&spell=1 12.09.2017
(8) Newmark, P. (1988). The Text Book of Translation, Prentice hall Inc. Great Britain
D.G.T.A. Jayasinghe

Lecturer

Department of Linguistics

University of Kelaniya