Translation, Text and Theory: The Paradigm of India

This volume re-evaluates the paradigm of translation within the multilingual and cultural context of the Indian subcontinent. Translation is seen by the contributors as a mode of asking questions—difficult, subtle and fundamental questions—about cultural identity. Additionally, they view translations not only as a bridge between languages but between divergent theoretical positions. Bringing together original contributions from leading practitioners and scholars from diverse disciplines, the volume is divided into five sections. The first section locates translation in its cultural context and explores the various factors which define the individual arenas of translators and theorists. The second section reflects not only the perils of translation in history but history as the perils of translation. The next section considers pragmatic issues related to publishing, pedagogy and hermeneutics while the fourth looks at the way linguistic tools are deployed to reveal the bare bones of grammatical structure. The last section is devoted to the more abstract and philosophical aspects of translation which are generic to the evolution of a more thoughtful multilogue on the discipline of translation. Multidisciplinary in approach, analytically sophisticated and supported by detailed textual analysis, this thought-provoking volume is essential reading for scholars and students of linguistics and literature while being of interest to philosophers, historians and sociologists.